Chapter XII (2)

Huge as the mass of weeds is, which constitutes the nest of these birds, it is collected by them in an astonishingly short space of time; how short, I am not quite sure about, but this I can positively say, that whereas on a certain morning I could see no trace of it above the surface of the water, on the morning after this it was to all intents and purposes finished, though the male bird, alone, once added very slightly to it, not occupying more than a few minutes in so doing. As to this, however, it can be said, in a certain sense, that the nest never is finished, or, at any rate, not till after the female has begun to lay her eggs. Morning after morning the male brings weeds to the heap that his partner is sitting on, but as I had to leave early in this stage of the bird's domestic history, I cannot tell for how long he continues to do this. Probably, as in the case of the shag, and also, I believe, the moor-hen, the nest is added to during the whole time that the birds make use of it. A nest, however, may properly be considered finished from the time that it is _en état_ to receive the eggs and the sitting bird, and according to this, these two grebes must have built theirs between about 8.30 A.M. on one day and 6 A.M. on the next. Now, in my experience, these birds only work during the early morning, from dawn or thereabouts, up to about 8 or 9. Possibly they may begin again in the evening, or work at night, but I never saw them building, or even (before it was finished) near the nest, at any later time of the day. That the nest I speak of was not begun till _after_ 6.30 A.M. on the one day, is practically certain, for up to that time the birds were building another one, so that unless, as I say, they worked on the evening of that day, or in the night-time, they must have begun and finished it in one morning, between dawn (as we may suppose) and 8 o'clock--and this is what I believe. If so, it seems a remarkable feat, but the swiftness with which they dive and swim up with their cargoes, and the bulk of weeds which these represent makes me think it possible, though I must confess that all the work which I actually saw on the morning in question made little perceptible difference in the size of the heap that was already there on my arrival.

Like an iceberg, the great mass of the nest is beneath the surface of the water. It seems to be woven amongst the stems of growing weeds or other aquatic plants, but I have noticed in it (indeed, I have seen the birds placing and carrying them) water-logged sticks of some size, one end of which is fixed amongst the mass, whilst the other sinks down into the mud, and the tangle that may spring from it. Such sticks must act as so many anchors, and may, perhaps, be the chief means by which the nest is kept stationary. To judge by the two birds which I particularly watched, the great crested grebe has the habit of building several nests, and, besides this, the male makes a small platform of weeds just off the edge of the bank, and near to the nest. Sometimes he seems in doubt whether to take his weeds to the nest or the platform, and in this hesitation, and in the building of more than one nest, we may, perhaps, see the origin of the latter structure. With regard to this, and some other points which seemed to me of interest, I may refer to a paper of mine which has lately appeared in the _Zoologist_.[28] In this I give a minute account of the nest-building and some other habits of these birds, as illustrated by a pair which I watched very closely; and I will here record my conviction that there is more to be learnt by such watching of any one species, or even any one individual bird, than in the killing or robbing of thousands.

[28] May 1901.

When I say this, it is not only of the interest that there is in a creature's ways and habits that I am thinking, but also of the light that these may, at any moment, throw upon its descent and affinities--upon all those questions and subjects which are suggested by the word "evolution" and the names of Darwin and Wallace. To have a true classificatory system seems to be, now, the grand ideal of the naturalist, and this, I suppose, must be called a high one, though it is wonderful how, in some modern works, the soul of it has been taken out of the body, so that all has become dull and pedantic again, though a flight of stairs higher up than some fifty years ago. Thus can a matter seem rich or poor as one or another treats of it. But habits and instincts are as strongly inherited as structure, so that, as it appears to me, the study of life is, even from the orthodox scientific point of view, as important as the study of death. Yet it is death that most zoologists (as they call themselves) really revel in, and, though they may not say so, one cannot help feeling that they are a great deal happier and more comfortable dissecting a body in their study than studying a life out-of-doors.

Even admitting that both ways of acquiring knowledge are equally efficacious and legitimate, yet this is very clear, that the destruction of any species ends both, in regard to it. We can no more dissect the great auk or the dodo (or blow their eggs) now than we can observe their habits. Thus it is not only beauty, but knowledge also--how great and how varied who can say?--that is being every day drained out of the world, and against this there is, as it seems to me, an insufficient protest on the part of scientific men as a body. They care too little about it. When they think of birds or beasts, it is under glass cases in museums that their mind's eye sees them, and if there is only a specimen--nay, a bone or a feather--in one of these, it is to them as though a nation had been saved. More, if only a specimen, or a bone or feather, can be got for a museum in which they are interested, for the sake of it such nation _may_ perish, and of this spirit we have only lately had a salient example. In their writings, these serenities are accustomed to speak calmly of the approaching extinction of this or that more or less lovely or interesting creature--say, for instance, the lyre-bird of Australia--if, "happily," such and such a museum has been supplied, or if Professor somebody has ascertained this or that in regard to it; or professors and the public generally are exhorted to obtain such supplies or such information "before the end comes."

"Before the end comes!" Every effort should be exhausted, every nerve strained, to avert such end, which, in nine cases out of ten, could be averted if the requisite measures were taken. This way of writing, however, is not calculated to further such efforts, or to hasten the taking of such measures. Indifference, at least with regard to the greater evil, is but too clearly indicated, and to this indifference the life of species after species is sacrificed.

No one, of course, supposes that the opinions or emotions of a scientific body (and in this I mean to include more than the term strictly covers) would exercise any influence on money-seeking men or brainless and heartless women; but they might on that great army of collectors who, thinking all the while that they are in some way doing good and helping science, keep sweeping countless thousands of birds, beasts, eggs, and insects out of existence. Alas for these amiable basilisks, these busy little man-shaped rinderpests, who kill so well-meaningly and hate the very breath of life without ever once knowing it! if they had devoted their whole lives to picking pockets, or even to being politicians, they would have done, at the end of them, less harm--far, far less harm--in the world than they are now every day doing. Every day, through them, some specific life that is, or was, of more value than all their individual ones put together, is getting scarcer, or ceasing to be. For, surely, a beautiful butterfly, say, that, for all time, charms--and raises by charming--some number of those who see it, does more good on this earth than any single man or woman, who, "departing," leaves no "footprints on the sands of time." Homer, for instance, has left his "Iliad" and "Odyssey," and these have been, and still are, mighty in their effects. But let them once perish, and Homer will be caught up and overtaken by almost any bird or butterfly--even a brown one. Or, if Homer will not, assuredly many an English poet-laureate will be, or has been already (Pye, for instance), though his volumes in the British Museum are safe as consols. If there be any truth in this reflection, it should tend to make us a little less conceited than we are. Yet what is a little in such a matter?--"Oh, reform it altogether."

For myself, I must confess that I once belonged to this great, poor army of killers, though, happily, a bad shot, a most _fa_tigable collector, and a poor, half-hearted bungler, generally. But now that I have watched birds closely, the killing of them seems to me as something monstrous and horrible; and, for every one that I have shot, or even only shot at and missed, I hate myself with an increasing hatred. I am convinced that this most excellent result might be arrived at by numbers and numbers of others, if they would only begin to do the same; for the pleasure that belongs to observation and inference is, really, far greater than that which attends any kind of skill or dexterity, even when death and pain add their zest to the latter. Let anyone who has an eye and a brain (but especially the latter), lay down the gun and take up the glasses for a week, a day, even for an hour, if he is lucky, and he will never wish to change back again. He will soon come to regard the killing of birds as not only brutal, but dreadfully silly, and his gun and cartridges, once so dear, will be to him, hereafter, as the toys of childhood are to the grown man.

Nor will the good effect stop here. Birds are but a part of the life on this our earth, and the hatred of destruction, once kindled by them, will, like the ripples made by a stone flung into the water, extend outwards through the whole animal and vegetable kingdom till it include, at last, man himself--yes, even the Chinese. Unfortunately, long before anything of this kind is likely to happen, all birds, except poultry, and, perhaps, a lingering sparrow or two, will have been destroyed. This seems a cheerless prospect, but, as usual (to write like an optimist), it has its brighter side. Women will then be no longer able to wear hats, to adorn which the most beautiful of earth's creatures have been ruthlessly slaughtered, and, therefore, faith in them will begin once more to revive. Faith in woman, we know, is a very important thing. A nation that has once lost it must either get it again, or go rapidly downhill. How much better, therefore, to get it again!

I had meant, in this last chapter, besides touching a little more fully on some points to which I have here and there referred, to say something about the heron, nightjar, cuckoo, barn-owl, wagtail, and a few other birds; but I have managed so clumsily that I now find myself at the furthest possible limit of space, without having left myself room either for the one or the other. With regard to the nightjar, I have kept an observational diary on the nesting habits of a pair of these birds, which was published in the _Zoologist_ for, I think, September 1899. From this I had intended to quote, as in the case of the great plover, but it is too late to begin now. All these birds, therefore, must wait a little, but I will not forget them should I ever write another book of this kind.

INDEX

Animals, figures of, in heraldry may come down from savage times, 102;
teach meaning of our high terminology, 110;
word "love" properly used in connection with, 110;
gregarious, thought-transference more likely in, 222;
careful observation of, advisable, 223;
slaughter of, 224

Authority, no attention to be paid to, 248

Barn-owl, must wait a little, 336

Birds, great range of vision of most, etc., 24, 25;
aerial fighting of, sometimes deceptive, 35;
nesting habits of, must follow general habits, 48;
will vary habits suddenly, 48.
Instinct of feigning injury possessed by some, 59;
suggested origin of, 63, 64.
Pugnacity of, mingled with timidity, 74, 75, 76;
nervous or frenzied movements as aids to courage in, and leading
to sexual display of plumage by, 76, 77, 78, 79;
association of three, 82, 83, 85, 90;
sexual feelings of, not always quite dormant in winter, 86, 87,
89;
sportings of, may be selected, 89;
fighting of, tendency to become formal, 109;
frequent difficulty in distinguishing male and female of, 112;
slaughter of, each year, and consequent retardation of knowledge
as to, 126;
power of ejecting excrement to distance possessed by some, and
suggested significance of this, 131, 132;
can "bring all heaven before our eyes," 143;
female not always coy in courtship, 146;
wings of, when opened in diving show feet are little used, 148;
power of flight in aquatic, how lost or retained, 151, 152;
webbed foot of aquatic, how obtained, 160, 161;
possible relation between opening bill and colour of gular region,
170;
sea, disparity in time of laying of, 183;
watching of at straw-stack, 199 _et seq._
Attempt to catch at, 200, 201;
feeding at, 204;
sudden simultaneous flights of small, from, and discussion of,
201, 210, 211, 212, 213, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223;
fighting of small, at, 208.
Self-reliance of, 208, 225;
most timid may be least liable to change, 226;
wariness combined with boldness in, 226;
various, behaving like tree-creepers, 236;
origin of some strange actions of foreign, possibly to be traced
in our own, 256;
song of, founded on call, etc., notes in analogy with plumage,
310, 311;
correspondence between call, etc., notes and song of, 312;
matrimonial teachings of, conveyed delicately, 328;
more knowledge of, gained by watching one than by killing or
robbing thousands, 332;
killing of, silly as well as brutal, 336;
total destruction of, approaching, 336;
hatred of destruction of, might extend to man, 336

Blackbird, chariness of fighting sometimes shown by male, 76;
pugnacity of hen, 76;
at straw-stack, 199-204;
hen fighting with starling, 204;
a charming nest-builder, 301;
nest-building of, described, 301, 302, 303, 304.
Nest plastered with mud, 304;
suggested origin of this habit, 304, 305;
and future development of, 305, 306.
Habit of plastering of, seldom alluded to, 307;
nest, how differing from that of thrush, 304;
male does not sing during nest-building, 307;
song of, unjustly rated, 312

Blackcap, song of, how differing from nightingale's, 312

Blackcock, readiness to avoid a conflict shown by male, 75

Brambling, at straw-stack, 199, 202;
beauty of, 202, 203

Bullfinch, a bud-eater, 249;
feeding on elms with blue-tit, 249;
acrobatism of, 249, 250;
awkwardness of, _à la_ Harpagon, 250;
manner of securing buds, 250;
attacks blue-tit, 250;
an example of sexual selection acting in two directions, 318

Bunting, at straw-stack, 199

Caress, a possible origin of the, 192

Carnage, difficulty in conjuring up scenes of, nowadays, 135

Chaffinch, combats between the hens whilst collecting materials for
the nest, 105.
At straw-stacks in winter, 199, 201;
numbers of, predominate, 208.
Pugnacity of, and manner of fighting, 208, 209, 210;
acting like fly-catcher, 247;
an example of sexual selection acting in two directions, 318

Chinese, a recipe to dislike killing of, 336

Collectors, immense harm done by, 334

Coot, diving of, 158, 159;
in flocks in winter, 160.
Manner of feeding of, 159;
a better diver than the moor-hen, 160;
lobes of toes, how possibly acquired, 160, 161

Cormorants (_see also_ Shag), hop in courtship and for convenience,
49;
their power of ejecting excrements to distance, 131;
nest of, 131;
excelled by shag in diving, 153;
popular idea of, 163;
evil-looking appearance of, 163;
Longfellow's lines on, 164;
Milton in connection with, 164, 165;
similarity to shag in habits, etc., 165, 166

Creature, when observed varying, dubbed new species or variety, 229

Cuckoo, must wait a little, 336

Curlew, peculiarities of, 139;
resemblance to ibis, 139;
an opposite bird, 140;
inconspicuous when on ground, 140;
conspicuous, by contrast, in flight, 140;
flight, ordinary and nuptial, of, 141;
note of, 141, 142;
its connection with the prophet Jeremiah, 141

Dabchick, sporting of three together, with suggested explanation of,
87, 88, 89;
probable way of fighting, 88;
can fly seriously, 149;
his manners of diving, etc., 154, 155, 156;
and claims to a tail, 156

Darwin, sexual selection as conceived by, 25;
his comment on Bate's account of humming-bird destroyed by spider,
52;
his theory that birds can admire, 255;
origin of language, his view as to the, 289

Eider-duck, courting note of male, 142;
suggestions, etc., raised by, 142, 143;
difficult to locate, 143.
The poetry of the family, 143;
female pleasing, 144;
beauty of male, 144.
Courting actions of male, 144, 145;
and of female, 145.
Female active agent in being wooed, 144;
demonstrations of female between two males, 145;
males mobbing females politely, 145;
males, combats between, 145;
dive as a relaxation, 145;
choice and dismissal of suitors by female, 146;
advances of female declined by male, 146;
female not coy, 146;
nesting habits of, 146, 147;
male sitting inland, 147;
charm of watching, etc., 147, 148;
appearance of, under water, 148, 149

Goldfinch, solitary at straw-stack, 203;
beauty of, rivalling bramblings, 203;
manner of feeding of, 203

Great Auk, flight, how lost by, 151

Great Crested Grebe, manner of fighting of, 150;
various ways of diving of, 161;
grace of, 161, 162;
nest-building of, 329, 330, 331, 332;
habit of building platform of male, 331, 332

Great Plover, haunts of, 4;
manner of sitting, 4.
Fanciful resemblance to Don Quixote, 4, 5, 18;
and to the Baron of Bradwardine, 4, 5, 20.
Odd actions of, 5, 6;
chase of moths, etc., by, 6, 7, 8.
Autumn dances of, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15;
suggested motive for, 15.
Wailing notes or "clamour" of, 10;
ordinary flying note of, 10;
nuptial or courting antics of, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20;
an old-fashioned bird, 16

Great Green Woodpecker, spiral ascent of trunk, 243;
assisted by tail, 243;
can descend trunk backwards, 244

Greenfinch, at straw-stack in winter, 199, 201;
feeding within three feet, 201, 202;
manner of feeding, 202;
manner of fighting, 210.
Feeding on seeds of exotic fir, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235;
manner of loosening the seeds, 231, 232, 233, 235, 236;
curious noise made with beak in so doing, 231, 232, 233;
and with wings on the fir-needles, 234.
An example of sexual selection acting in two directions, 318

Guillemots, diving of, 152;
arrangement of, on ledge, 182, 183;
disparity in time of laying, 183;
affectionate conduct of paired birds, 183, 184;
attention paid to young, 184;
feeding of young, 184, 185, 189.
Incubate with face turned to cliff, 185;
suggested explanation of this, 185.
Lethargy of chicks, 186.
Fish carried to young in beak, 186;
and are often headless, 186, 188;
held lengthways, 187.
Coquetry with fish, 187, 188;
quarrelling of married birds with fish, 188, 189;
birds with fish attacked, etc., 189, 190.
Combats, frequency and character of, 190;
suggested explanation of, 190.
Preening and helping to clean each other's feet, 191, 192;
fighting, usual cause of, 192;
manner of, 192, 193;
a fight on the brink, 193;
will fight whilst incubating, 193, 194;
no respect paid to incubating birds, 194;
management of egg during incubation, 194;
possible trace of lost nest-building instinct, 195;
attitudes assumed, 195;
resemblance to human beings, 195, 196;
stones procured and swallowed, 196;
life on a guillemot ledge, notes of, 196, 197, 198

Guillemot, Black, way of diving, 148;
appearance under water, 148;
appearance and character, 149;
the dabchick of ocean, 148;
a fair flier, 149;
manner of fighting, 149, 150;
and of bathing, 171

Gulls, Black-backed, best watched on island where they breed, 96;
arrangement of, etc., on the gullery, 97;
nuptial habits, antics, etc., 97, 98, 111, 112;
nest-building of, 103, 104, 105;
fighting of females when collecting materials for the nest, 104,
105;
fighting of males, 105, 106, 107;
a gull melodrama, 105, 106;
fighting of two causing excitement amongst others, 107;
fighting not specialised, 108;
importunity of female, 112;
larger size of male, 113;
persecution of, by Arctic skua, 113, 114, 115;
habit of forcing each other or other gulls to disgorge fish
incipient, 118, 119;
come near to attacking one, on one's approaching their nest, 121;
mode of attack ineffective, 122

Gulls, Herring, fighting of, 108, 109;
power of retaining a mental image, 110;
curious behaviour of a pair, 110, 111;
habit of forcing each other or other gulls to disgorge fish
incipient, 118, 119;
feed young by disgorging fish, 119, 120;
disgorge fish for each other, 119, 120

Habits, variations of, more interesting than of structure, 228;
may be marked _in transitu_, 229;
plasticity of, 48

Hare, disturbing rooks, 227

Hate, oneself, a good way to, 335

Hedge-sparrow, at straw-stacks in winter, 201, 202

Heine, allusion of to the nightingale, 313

Heron, must wait a little, 337

Herring, going a progress twice, 116.
Head absent in those disgorged by great skua for its young, 116,
117;
possible explanations of this, 117, 118.
Profusion of, brought by great skua for its young, 118

Homer, may be caught up by a butterfly, 335

Hooded Crow, flying with peewits, 27, 28;
frolicking or skirmishing with raven, 137;
curious antics of, 137, 138;
flying with rooks, 296;
consorting with rooks in the fields, 296;
may sometimes roost with rooks, 296;
when with rooks acts as though of the same species, 296

Hudson, Mr, views of, referred to, 79, 80, 81

Kestrel, importunity of female, 112

Kittiwakes, habit of forcing each other or other gulls to disgorge
fish incipient, 118;
will turn to bay and drive off Arctic skua, 128;
roosting in extraordinary numbers, 197, 198

Language, idea as to origin of, suggested by rooks, 288, 289

Larks (_see_ Skylark)

Life, study of, as important as that of death, 332

Linnet, an example of sexual selection acting in two directions, 318

Lyre-bird, an example of a highly adorned species which is also
musical, 334

Merganser, manner of diving of, 153, 154

Meves, M., on cause of bleating in the snipe, 53

Moor-hen, becoming a partridge or plover, 48;
an orchestra of peculiar brazen instruments, 57.
Manner of diving of, 156, 157, 158;
habit of, may be becoming established, 158;
and may differ in different localities, 158.
Browses grass, 227;
wariness of, 226;
power of drawing an inference, 227;
independent spirit and originality, 227, 228

Naturalist in La Plata, referred to, 79, 80, 81

Nightingale, male not singing much during nest-building, 307;
song of, a vehicle of hatred and rivalry, 308.
Conduct of rival males, 308, 309;
similar to wheatears, 308.
Conduct of female during combats of rival males, 309, 310;
croaking notes of, 310.
Song probably founded on these, 310;
which would account for its low key, 312;
how differing from that of thrush, blackcap, skylark, etc., 312;
does not include every excellence, 312;
frequent pauses in, 312;
when at its best, 313;
effect of, on Heine, 313;
and on others, 313;
sometimes mistaken for that of thrush, 313, 314;
by day not more noticed than that of lark or thrush, 314;
some of effect of due to night and silence, 314, 315.
Sobriety of colouring exaggerated, 316;
brightness of tail, 316;
ruddy patch on, 316, 317;
glossy appearance of, 317, 318;
example of a bird doubly distinguished, 317;
may be getting brighter, 318;
pictures of, in natural history books, 318;
real appearance of, 319;
sings without pose, 319;
and sometimes on ground, 319;
Milton fortunately not familiar with, 319;
female alone builds nest, 319;
is attended by male, 319

Nightjar, sound with the wings made by, 52;
movements of, to protect young, 60, 61;
seem result of nervous shock or mental disturbance, 61;
twitching of muscles of throat of, 179;
must wait a little, 337

Night-raven, possible origin of idea of, 288

Nut-hatch, feeding on seeds of exotic fir, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235;
manner of loosening the seeds of, 233, 235

Organisms, plasticity of, 48

Ostrich, courting or nuptial antics of male, 169;
incubation shared by the sexes, 169

Partridge, movements of, to protect young, 60, 61.
At straw-stack, 199, 205;
coming down to, on a winter morning, 205.
Soft sounds made by, 205

Peacocks, shot in India, 206

Peewit, cry of, 25;
somersaults thrown by, 26;
sound made with wings, 27;
bridal dances of, 26, 27;
flying with hooded crow, 27, 28.
Attacking hen pheasant, 27;
and moor-hen, 28.
Call-note on ground, 28, 29, 30;
sporting of two, 30, 31;
upward sweep in flight, 31, 32;
understudying of one another, 32;
aerial combats possible, 33, 42;
aerial evolutions, remarks on, 33, 34;
feigning broken wing not observed, 66;
three flying together, remarks on, etc., 83, 84, 85, 86;
roll over of compared with that of raven, 263

Penguins, flight, how lost by, 151;
manner of diving of, 152

People, mental approach of some, 223;
not explained by such terms as insight, intuition, perception,
affinity, etc., 223

Φημη, Greek idea of the, 219;
brought to mind by watching birds, 220, 221, 294

Pheasants, timidity shown by males in fighting, 75;
at straw-stack in winter, 199, 205;
beauty of male, 206.
Curious low notes and piping sounds of, 207;
not quite so soft as those of partridges, 207.
Timidity of, tempered by judgment and individual temperament, 207;
conduct of, when small birds fly off, 207, 208;
males agree together, feeding, 208;
roosting of dove-tailing with last flight home of rooks, 261, 262;
trying to look like a soldier, 283, 284;
dull plumage of hen representing that of progenitor of the family,
310, 311

Pigeons, twitching of muscles of throat of, 180

Puffin, diving of, 152;
disparity in time of laying, 183;
carrying fish crosswise in beak, 187

Rabbit, with young in sandpit, 328, 329

Ravens, molested by gulls, 129;
at first not impressed by, 129;
peculiar croak of, 130;
appearance, etc., of nest of, 130;
behaviour of young in nest, 130, 131;
attempts to see feed young unsuccessful, 132;
add no effect to precipice, 134;
plumage of, 134;
look black at a little distance, 134;
ordinary flight not majestic, 134;
shape of wings of, 134, 135;
effect of number of, over battlefield, 135.
Curious doubtful if these are nuptial, 138;
antics in the air of, 136, 137.
Skirmishing with gulls, 137;
skirmishing or frolicking with hooded crow, 137;
devoted guardians of young, 138;
cunning plan adopted by, 138, 139

Raven Mother, the real one, 133;
appearance and behaviour of, 133, 134

Razorbills, manner, etc., of diving of, 151, 152;
fish, how carried in beak by, 187

Redshanks, handsomer flying than when on ground, 23, 24;
courting actions of male, 24.
Aerial and aquatic combats of, 36, 37;
at first mistaken as to nature of these, 37

Richardson's Skua, objected to as a title, 61

Ring Plover, nuptial flight of, 21, 22;
courting actions of male on ground, 22, 23

Robin, becoming wagtail or stilt-walker, 48;
how it may develop in the future, 229;
occasional aquatic habits of, out of character, 229, 230;
has two figures, 230;
a part of most landscapes, 230, 231;
looks different in different places, 231;
an example of sexual selection acting in two directions 318

Rooks, importunity of female, 112;
simultaneous flights, etc., of, 210, 292, 293, 294;
winter rookery or roosting-place of, 258, 259, 278, 280;
crowd of better than crowd of men, 259;
aerial evolutions, sports, gambols, manœuvres, etc., of, 259, 260,
262, 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 270, 271, 280, 295;
peculiar burring note of, 260, 282, 283;
powers of flight possessed by, 260, 271;
flight full of effects, 271;
how associated with starlings, 261;
chirruppy or croodling note of, 261, 268, 269;
last flight of, dove-tailing with roosting of pheasants, 261, 262;
roll over of, compared with that of ravens, 263;
two great assemblages of, manœuvrings and different conduct of,
262, 264, 265;
difficulty of supposing that they are led, 213, 265, 266;
if led, should be so habitually, 266, 267;
evidence against theory of leadership, 267, 268, 269, 270, 284,
285;
the caw the business note of, 268;
two bands flying at different elevations, 270;
flight of, at great elevation different to usual flight, 270, 271;
conclusion against theory of leadership, 271, 273;
supposed to employ sentinels, 271;
evidence as to and conclusion against their doing so, 272, 273;
vast assemblage of, 274, 277, 278;
fighting of, 274, 275, 276, 277;
disturbed by hare, 277;
lullaby of, 278, 281;
return of, to winter rookery in evening, 274, 277, 278, 280, 281,
292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299;
various cries of, 281, 283, 284, 286, 288, 291, 292, 299, 300.
Whishing noise made by, 281, 282, 295;
doubt as to how produced, 282.
"Burring" note of, 282, 283;
morning flight of, from winter rookery, 283, 284, 285, 292;
voice of, pleasing and expressive, 283;
talk kind of Chinese, 284;
tits flying with, 284;
some staying back after general flight out, 285;
actions of, governed by two leading principles, 285;
unknown force suggested by movements of, 285, 286;
some movements of, may be due to thought-transference or
collective thinking, 287;
may be origin of the night-raven, 287, 288;
origin of language suggested by, 288, 289;
zones of sound and silence amongst, 289, 290;
notes of, best described as talking, 291;
method of yawning of, 291, 292;
φημη the idea of the, applied to, 294;
psychical state of during the _heimkehr_, 295;
wonderful scene of excitement amongst, 294, 295, 296.
Found dead in plantation, 295, 296;
possible reason and theory of keeper in regard to this, 296.
Non-collision of, wonderful, 295;
consort with hooded crows in fields, 296;
resembling storm-cloud and rain, 298;
seem as though evolving a language, 299;
powers of modulation and inflexion in voice of, 299;
voice of, unjustly spoken of, 299;
vocabulary of notes of, 299, 300

Rules, to be guided by in watching birds, 248, 249

Sand-martins, manner of excavating tunnels, 323, 326, 327, 328;
both sexes excavate, 323, 324.
Sometimes work socially, 324;
but not as do insects, 324.
Make simultaneous flights from cliff, 324, 325;
sometimes fight fiercely, 325;
are victimised by sparrows and tree-sparrows, 325;
length of their tunnels, 326

Scientific men, indifference of, to extermination, 333

Sexual selection, as conceived by Darwin, 25;
antics, etc., not in the nature of display, no evidence against,
79;
as having modified some birds both in voice and plumage, 318

Shags (_see also_ Cormorant), power of ejecting excrement to distance
possessed by, 131;
how useful to the bird, 131, 132;
nest of, 131.
Manner of diving of, 153;
dive uniformly, 156;
amiable character of, 163, 165;
courtship, love-making of, etc., 166, 167, 168, 169, 170;
courting antics like those of the ostrich, but with significant
difference, 169, 170;
habit of opening and shutting bill at each other, 170, 176, 177;
bathing of, 170;
gargoyle idylls of, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179,
180, 181;
tendency of, to ornament nest, 174, 175, 176;
change on the nest of, 175, 176, 177;
feeding the young, 177, 178, 179;
twitching muscles of the throat, 179, 180;
character, etc., of the young, 180;
guarding the nest and affairs of honour, 181, 182;
manner of fighting, 181

Skua, Arctic, diverting attention from eggs or young, 61;
persecutes gulls, 113, 114, 127;
is safe from retributive justice, 114;
said only to eat fish robbed from gulls, 114;
probability that it would feed by piracy exclusively, 115;
not seen stooping on fish in water, 115;
disgorge fish for each other, 120, 121;
attacks those approaching its nest, 121;
swoop made in silence, 121;
mode of attack, 122, 123;
blow with feet ineffective, 123;
both birds often attack, but more usually only one, 125.
Combines fraud with force, 125;
theory as to this, 125.
Polymorphism of, 126, 127;
sexual selection suggested as an explanation, 126, 127.
Seems bolder and more aggressive than the great skua, 127;
driven off by kittiwake, 127, 128;
feared more by gulls than the great skua, 128;
extreme boldness of, 139;
chased by curlews, 139

Skua, Great, nuptial habits, antics, etc., 98, 99, 101, 102;
powers of flight, 99;
flight seen to best advantage at sea, 99, 100;
nest, 103;
said only to eat fish robbed from gulls, and secured in mid-air,
114;
would probably feed by piracy exclusively, 115;
not seen stooping on fish in water, 115;
young fed entirely on disgorged herrings, 115;
nesting habits difficult to observe, 115, 116;
probably eats heads of herrings disgorged for young, 117, 118;
has no reason to vary diet during breeding-season, as asserted,
118;
suggested origin of its specialised method of feeding, 118, 119;
attacks those approaching its nest, 121;
makes swoop in silence, but utters cry whilst circling between
each, 121;
blow with feet ineffective, 122;
attacks almost indefinitely, 122;
mode of attack, 123, 124.
Attack made by both sexes, 124;
an exception noted, 124, 125;
theory in regard to this, 125.
Feared less by gulls than Arctic skua, 128;
mobbed by gulls, 128

Skylarks, aerial combats of, 35, 36;
impressive hops of male in courtship, 49;
song of, how differing from the nightingale's, 312;
effect of if heard at night, 314

Snipe, a familiar example of instrumental music during flight, 52;
modification of tail-feathers by sexual selection, 53;
wings apparent but not real cause of bleating, 53, 54, 55;
different ways of descending to earth, 53, 55, 56;
different modes of flight, 54;
see-saw or "chack-wood" note, 54, 56;
swishing of wings, 56;
extraordinary notes of, 57.
Tail feathers less modified in female, and producing a different
bleat, 57;
but difference not great, 57, 58.
Individual differences in bleat, 57, 58;
flying in circles, 58;
bleat best in morning and evening, 58;
flight difficult to follow, 58;
private allotment in fields of air, 58;
bleating of males against each other, 59;
bleating of male and female to each other, 59;
bleating of one answered vocally by the other on ground, 59.
Extraordinary movements when alarmed during incubation, 60, 61;
theory with regard to these, 63, 64

Sparrows, seize burrows of sand-martins, 325;
creditable motives of, in so doing, 325, 326

Sparrows, Tree, at straw-stack in winter, 199;
seize burrows of sand-martins, 325

Species, knowledge lost by destruction of any, 333

Specific life, any, of more value than most individual ones, 334

Spiders, if they had their Phidiases, 52

Spur-winged Lapwing, curious performances of, 81, 82;
suggested origin of, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92,
93, 94, 95

Starlings, acting as fly-catchers, 8, 48;
and as wood-peckers, 48.
Manner of feeding, 9;
at straw-stack in winter, 199, 204, 205;
fighting with hen blackbird, 204;
fighting with each other, 204, 205.
Their simultaneous flights, 210, 214, 215;
difficulty of explaining these and suggestions as to, 214, 215.
How associated with rooks, 261

Stock-doves, their aerial combats, 38, 39;
arising sometimes out of the ground-tourney, 41, 42.
Their ground-tourneys, 39, 40, 41;
bowing of fighting birds to each other, 39, 40, 41;
fighting of male and female, 42, 43;
courting bow of male to female, 43, 44, 45;
bowing of female to male, 43, 44;
bow silent or accompanying note subdued, 45;
court on trees or on ground, 45;
their nuptial flights in early morning, 46, 47;
make nest in rabbit-burrows, 47

Structure, slight changes of, not easy to see, 229

Thought-transference, as possible explanation of some movements of
birds and other animals, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 286, 287, 289,
290, 292, 293, 294;
a retarding influence, 222;
in man, may be reversion to more primitive method of
intercommunion, 223;
may be, in some ways, superior to speech 223

Thrush, Song of, how differing from the nightingale's, 312;
mistaken for the nightingale's, 313, 314;
effect of if heard at night, 314

Tit, Blue, at straw-stack in winter, 199, 202;
acts like tree-creeper, 236, 237, 238, 239.
Ascends trunk perpendicularly, 237;
suggested explanation of this, 242, 243.
Descends trunk head downwards assisted by wings, 237, 238, 245;
suggested explanation, 245.
His hardiness, 247, 248;
eats buds rather than insects in them, 248, 249;
attacked by bullfinch, 250;
feeds on catkins of alder or insects in them, 251, 253;
his tiring-room and banqueting-hall, 253;
drive each other from catkins of alder, 253;
flying with rooks, 284

Tit, Coal, attacks fir-cones, 231;
manner of holding them, 251.
Ascends tree-trunks as does blue-tit, 252

Tits, Long-tailed, nest-building, 320, 321;
"chit, chit" note, 320, 321;
roosting together, 321, 322, 323;
returning to roost in same place, 322, 323;
their prettiness, 320, 321

Tit, Great, feeding on seeds of exotic fir, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235;
manner of loosening the seeds, 232, 235.
Probably eats seeds of indigenous firs, 252

Tree, old, winter foliage of, 201

Tree-creeper, becoming a fly-catcher, 48.
Flies downwards from tree-trunk, 240;
but not invariably, 241;
suggested origin of the habit, 241.
Spiral ascent not so general as asserted, 241, 242;
often ascends perpendicularly, 242;
suggested origin of spiral ascent, 242, 243.
Said never to descend trunk, 241, 244;
but can descend backwards, 244;
interesting to watch, 246;
skill in using beak, etc., 246;
sometimes acts like fly-catcher, 247;
his æsthetic beauty, 247;
his hardiness, 247

Trogons, shot in Mexico, 206

Turtle-dove, courting of male on ground or in trees, 50;
the nuptial flight, 50, 51

Wagtail, must wait a little, 337

Warrener, how affected by beauty, 47

Wheatear, combats and displays of rival males, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,
72, 73, 74;
his hopping out of character, 68;
conduct of hen whilst fought for by rival males, 68, 69, 71, 72,
74, 78;
chariness of fighting shown by males, 71, 74.
Antics of males not resembling a set display, 77, 78;
attempt to explain these and other antics of various birds, 74
_et seq._ (to end of chapter).
Power of retaining a mental image, 110;
conduct of rival males similar to that of nightingales 308

Wild Duck, intelligent feigning of injury to distract attention from
young, 60, 62, 63;
suggested origin of the habit, 63, 64

Willow-warbler, preference for birch-trees, 253;
pretty behaviour with the catkins of, 253, 254, 255;
reason for this possibly æsthetic, 255, 256

Wood-pigeons, courting of female by male on tree, 45;
raucous note after pairing, 46;
may hereafter lay in rabbit-burrows, 48;
courting of female by male on ground, 48, 49;
the clapping of wings in flight, 51;
beauty of nuptial flight, 51, 52;
swishing or beating of wings in flight, 52.
Their simultaneous flights, 210;
suggested explanation as to, 215, 216

Wren, acting like a tree-creeper, 48, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240.
Ascends tree-trunks perpendicularly, 237;
descent of doubtful, 238;
sometimes assisted by wings, 240.
Suggestions as to habit and mode of tree-creeping, 242, 243

Wren, Golden-crested, amongst pine-trees, 252;
suggesting humming-bird, 252;
examines pine-needles, 252, 253;
his note, 253

Yellow-hammer, at straw-stack in winter, 199, 201

Zoologists, have been _thanatologists_, 224;
prefer death to life, 332, 333

THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED

ST BERNARD'S ROW, EDINBURGH

* * * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Dialectic and archaic spellings have been maintained. Obvious misspellings and other printing errors have been fixed as detailed below.

Page vii (LoI): Great Skuas: ... 100
Originally: Great Skuas: ... 101

Page vii (LoI): On a Guillemot Ledge
Originally: On a Guillemot-ledge

Page vii (LoI): In a Sand-Pit ... 328
Originally: In a Sand-Pit ... 329

Page 12: même jeu
Originally: meme jeu

Facing page 12 (caption): Dancing of Great Plovers in Autumn
Originally: Autumn "Dancings" of the Great Plover

Page 18: of Cervantes' creation
Originally: of Cervante's creation

Page 25: il faut rendre à cela
Originally: il faut rendre a cela

Page 29 (caption): Master and Pupil: Hooded-Crow flying with Peewits
Originally: Master and Pupil

Page 46: sans cérémonie
Originally: sans ceremonie

Page 50: à deux
Originally: a deux

Page 51: is fairly over. In full flight,
Originally: is fairly over. "In full flight,

Page 54: creaky, see-sawey note
Originally: creaky, sea-sawey note

Page 88: or, at any rate, a something
Originally: or, at anyrate, a something

Page 89: à trois
Originally: a trois

Page 99: vis-à-vis
Originally: vis-a-vis

Facing page 100 (caption): Great Skuas: Nuptial Flight and Pose
Originally: Great Skuas: a nuptial pose

Page 105: and acts in the same way on the next occasion
Originally: and acts in the some way on the next occasion

Page 110: en évidence
Originally: en evidence

Page 122: when thus aerially delivered
Originally: when thus aerialy delivered

Page 127: gulls, but occasionally the great skua also, this last,
Originally: gulls, but ocasionally the great skua also, this last,

Page 140: may be called conspicuous, at any rate
Originally: may be called conspicuous, at anyrate

Page 147: Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galere?
Originally: Que diable allait il faire dans cette galere?

Page 150 (caption): Habet! Great-Crested Grebe Attacked by Another
Under Water.
Originally: Crested Grebe

Page 161: became in some degree truly aquatic,
Originally: became in some degree truly acquatic,

Page 172: vis-à-vis
Originally: vis-a-vis

Page 176: gargoyle-like
Originally: gargoil-like

Page 211: sauve-qui-peut
Originally: sauve qui peut

Page 227: sauve-qui-peut
Originally: sauve qui peut

Page 254 (caption): Fairy Artillery: Willow-Warbler Pecking Catkins
in Flight.
Originally: Fairy Artillery

Page 283 (footnote 21): Je m'en doute
Originally: Je me'en doute

Page 313: Vergessene Träume erwachen
Originally: Vergessene Traüme erwachen

Page 331: en état
Originally: en etat

In the index, page numbers were missing on the following entries and were supplied by the transcriber:

Under Robin,
an example of sexual selection acting in two directions 318

Under Thought-transference,
may be, in some ways, superior to speech 223

Under Wheatear,
conduct of rival males similar to that of nightingales 308