Part 21

Except under stress of weather, it is a very resident species, seldom leaving its favourite haunts, but sometimes in winter, when these are frozen over, it will be found in the fields consorting with large flocks of Buntings and Finches. As a rule, however, it is by no means gregarious, rarely more than ten or twelve being found together.

In summer the male has the whole of the head and chin deep black, surrounded by a white collar and having a white stripe along the line of the lower mandible. Mantle and wings black with broad rufous and grey edgings. Rump grey streaked with black. Under parts white striped with brown on the flanks. In winter the black and white of the head and neck are largely obscured by pale brownish margins to each feather.

The female has the upper parts tawny brown with darker centres to the feathers. Under parts pale buff streaked with brown. The young resemble the female. Length 6 in; wing 3 in.

THE LAPLAND BUNTING Calcarius lapponicus (Linnæus)

This species is only known to us by the appearance of a few stragglers that have wandered here from time to time in autumn and winter, though during the last few years its occurrences have been more numerous and regular, especially along our eastern and south-eastern shores. In its winter dress it bears at a distance a superficial resemblance to the Lark, and from being found in situations, viz. salt marshes near the coast, where the latter is also abundant it has probably frequently been overlooked.

It is another of those species whose home is circumpolar, and rears its young on the lonely tundras of Lapland, Novaya Zembla, and Franz Josef Land. In winter it moves southward, but becomes scarce south of the Baltic and is unknown in Italy, the south of France, and Spain. As mentioned above, the adult in winter is not unlike a Lark at a distance, but in summer the male is a very handsome bird. The crown, cheeks, throat, and breast are black, the hind neck is banded with deep chestnut, which is separated from the black of the head by a white stripe, which, starting behind the eye, runs backwards for a short distance and then turns downwards, to lose itself in the white of the abdomen. The rest of the upper parts are brownish with darker centres to the feathers, while the under parts are white with dark streaks on the flanks. In winter the brighter colours are hidden by long brown margins to the feathers which wear off in spring. The female retains her dull dress throughout the year.

The hind claw in this species is straight and longer than the toe. Length 6·25 in.; wing 3·6 in.

THE SNOW BUNTING Plectrophenax nivalis (Linnæus)

Like the preceding species, the true home of this bird is also in the Far North; it has, however, a much wider breeding range, and a few pairs nest annually on the mountains of Scotland and in the Shetlands.

The nest is placed on the ground, hidden in a cleft of the rock or among loose boulders, and, as is characteristic of nests in holes, is very loose in construction. It is made of moss and dry grass, and is warmly lined with feathers. About six eggs, of a very pale blue spotted and zoned round the larger end with purplish red, form the clutch.

Unlike the Lapland Bunting, which is found in the salt marshes or on the tundras of the North, this species shows a predilection for the rocky coasts or hills covered with loose boulders and is seldom found in the localities frequented by the former bird. In winter it is a regular migrant to our east coast, and also visits the west, but more sparingly.

In cold winters it becomes much more abundant, returning northwards, however, on the first approach of milder weather.

In summer the adult male has the back, inner secondaries, two-thirds of each of the primaries, and the six central tail feathers black, the rest of the plumage being white; the female resembles her mate but is rather smaller, the head and neck are streaked with greyish white, and there is less white on the wing.

In winter both sexes have broad tawny margins to the feathers of the back, while the head, breast, and flanks are largely suffused with the same colour. The young bird is greyish brown, spotted both above and below with a darker tint of the same colour. Length 6·55 in.; wing 4·4 in.

THE STARLING Sturnus vulgaris, Linnæus

Except that it commits depredations in the cherry orchards as the fruit ripens, nothing but good can be said of the Starling. Tame, confiding, no mean songster, and an excellent mimic, he is very welcome wherever found. In autumn he congregates in vast flocks, whose numbers reach many thousands, and there must be few people who have not noticed these flocks go through their aerial evolutions, now drawing close together in a compact mass, or spreading out in wedge-shaped formation, rising and falling as though imbued with one mind. These flocks are to a large extent migratory, and in the evening will often collect to roost on reed-beds, which are laid flat with their weight. To enter such a spot quietly just after dusk and then make a noise, will afford one a sensation never to be forgotten, as they rise with a sound like rolling thunder, caused by the clattering of thousands of wings against the reeds, while others farther off, disturbed in turn, will also rise, until the whole flock is on the wing, circling round our head with a subdued roar which increases and diminishes as they approach or retreat. In a few minutes, however, if we remain quiet, they will soon begin to return, making no sound except the rattling together of the reeds as they settle, and in a few minutes all is quiet once more. At daybreak the flock divides into smaller parties which set out to forage in the neighbouring country. In the afternoon, as their hunger is appeased, the scattered flocks begin to collect again, and it is then that we may observe the evolutions referred to above, till finally at dusk they are all roosting once more in the reed-bed. After staying in the locality for some time, their numbers being increased by fresh arrivals daily, they will one night fail to return to their accustomed quarters, but will instead start on a long journey on which we are unable to follow them. Apart, however, from these large flocks, smaller bodies will be found throughout the winter, wandering over the country and even penetrating the parks and gardens of our large cities. In March and April a migration of small flocks returning to their accustomed breeding haunts takes place, but the immense flocks of the autumn are never seen, and we can but suspect that Nature has in some way or other taken heavy toll of them.

Any hole in a tree or wall, the roof of a house, drain-pipes, church towers, or cliffs suit this species for a nesting-site. An untidy mass of straw, grass, and rubbish is collected to form a nest, and a few feathers, or wool, are added as lining. Five eggs of a uniform pale blue form the clutch, and two broods are reared in the season. The young when fledged begin at once to join with those from other nests and thus form the nucleus of the immense flocks which are, perhaps, one of the main characteristics of this species.

It feeds chiefly on insects, worms, and slugs, which are sought for in damp meadows and pasture-lands. It walks in a curious deliberate way, and on seeing a likely worm casting, it pushes in its closed beak, and after drawing it back with open mandibles, the hole, thus enlarged, is examined for the grub it may contain. It is also very partial to sheep runs, settling on the sheep's backs and relieving them of many and various ticks and parasites.

The sexes are practically alike and in winter the whole of the plumage is glossy black, with metallic reflections, the feathers of the upper parts being tipped with buff and those of the under parts with white. In summer it loses almost all the spots on the under parts and a large proportion of those on the back. The bill is lemon yellow in summer and blackish in winter. The young are greyish brown all over, rather lighter on the chin and under parts. In very old birds the feathers round the base of the bill wear off, leaving a bare patch as in the Rook. Length 8·5 in.; wing 5·2 in.

THE ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR Pastor roseus (Linnæus)

Eastern Europe and Asia is the true breeding home of this species, which wanders about in immense numbers, breeding gregariously wherever it happens to find itself at that season. Stragglers from these flocks often join with other migrating hosts of birds, and thus this species occurs as an irregular wanderer over the rest of Europe. The farther west, however, the rarer it becomes, and its occurrences in our islands, though noted from most districts, are not very frequent. It is about the size of the common Starling but has a longish black crest. Except for the back, shoulders, breast, and belly, which are rose pink, it is of a uniform metallic black. Length 8·5 in.; wing 5 in.

THE CHOUGH Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linnæus)

This bird is one of the handsomest and at the same time our rarest member of the Crow family. With its glossy black plumage and brilliant red legs and beak it forms a beautiful sight to the ornithologist as he watches it flying over the wild and wind-swept headland that juts out into the Atlantic.

Its flight is extremely graceful and peculiar; a few beats of its wings, then it glides onward with outstretched pinions, the ends of the outer primaries being well separated from each other; its wings close, it drops towards the ground, and then with a few more beats it recovers its former level and continues its flight. This species, which is only found on rocky coasts, is yearly becoming scarcer, but its chief enemy, if we except the ubiquitous egg-collector, is one of its own family, the Jackdaw. As this latter species extends its breeding quarters, so the Chough has to give way before it, being turned out of its nesting-holes till, weary of ineffectual attempts, it leaves the locality. In other places that king of Falcons, the Peregrine, will attack it, resulting in its very rapid extermination. This, however, is apparently an acquired taste on the part of certain Peregrines only, as we have known both species to nest on the same cliff without apparently interfering with each other in the least.

Any hole or fissure in the rock, or the ledge of some cliff, will provide this bird with a nesting-site, and a substantial cup-shaped structure of roots and twigs is built, and lined with wool, rabbit fleck, and hair. Three to five eggs are laid; they are pale greyish white in colour, spotted and streaked with grey or pale brown. Both parents attend to the wants of their young, feeding them on larvæ grubs and beetles. This species is almost entirely an insect-feeder and far less omnivorous than most of his kind, the long curved beak being especially useful for poking the soft earth or overturning the stones in its search for food. The note, which is very frequently uttered, is not unlike that of the Jackdaw but rather more metallic.

The adult is of a deep, glossy blue black all over. Bill and legs cherry red. The sexes are alike and the young only differ in having the bill and legs dull orange. Length 16 in.; wing 10·7 in.

This species is now only to be found in the wilder and more remote parts of the west of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. A few solitary pairs may still be found in some parts of England, but they are rapidly disappearing.

THE NUTCRACKER Nucifraga caryocatactes (Linnæus)