Chapter I: Part 1

_PLATE I._ GOLDEN EAGLE. ⅙ NAT. SIZE.]

BRITISH BIRDS

BY

W. H. HUDSON, C.M.Z.S.

WITH A CHAPTER ON STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION
BY FRANK E. BEDDARD, F.R.S.

_With 8 Coloured Plates from Original Drawings by A. Thorburn
and 8 Plates and 100 Figures in black and white from Original
Drawings by G. E. Lodge and 3 Illustrations from Photographs
from Nature by R. B. Lodge_

NEW IMPRESSION

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS
1921

_All rights reserved_

CONTENTS.

PAGE

THE ANATOMY OF A BIRD 1

CLASSIFICATION 34

_Order_ PASSERES.

MISSEL-THRUSH. _Turdus viscivorus_ 39

SONG-THRUSH. _Turdus musicus_ 41

REDWING. _Turdus iliacus_ 45

FIELDFARE. _Turdus pilaris_ 46

Black-throated Thrush. _Turdus atrigularis_ 52

White’s Thrush. _Turdus varius_ 52

BLACKBIRD. _Turdus merula_ 49

RING-OUZEL. _Turdus torquatus_ 50

Rock-Thrush. _Monticola saxatilis_ 52

WHEATEAR. _Saxicola œnanthe_ 52

Black-throated Wheatear. _Saxicola strapazina_ 54

Desert Wheatear. _Saxicola deserti_ 54

WHINCHAT. _Pratincola rubetra_ 54

STONECHAT. _Pratincola rubicola_ 56

REDSTART. _Ruticilla phœnicurus_ 57

Black Redstart. _Ruticilla titys_ 59

White-spotted Bluethroat. CYANECULA WOLFI 59

Red-spotted Bluethroat. _Cyanecula suecica_ 59

REDBREAST. _Erithacus rubecula_ 59

NIGHTINGALE. _Daulias luscinia_ 62

WHITETHROAT. _Sylvia cinerea_ 64

LESSER WHITETHROAT. _Sylvia curruca_ 66

Orphean Warbler. _Sylvia orphea_ 70

BLACKCAP. _Sylvia atricapilla_ 67

GARDEN WARBLER. _Sylvia hortensis_ 69

Barred Warbler. _Sylvia nisoria_ 70

DARTFORD WARBLER. _Melizophilus undatus_ 70

GOLDCREST. _Regulus cristatus_ 72

Firecrest. _Regulus ignicapillus_ 74

Yellow-browed Warbler. _Phylloscopus superciliosus_ 79

CHIFFCHAFF. _Phylloscopus rufus_ 74

WILLOW-WREN. _Phylloscopus trochilus_ 76

WOOD-WREN. _Phylloscopus sibilatrix_ 78

Icterine Warbler. _Hypolaïs icterina_ 79

Rufous Warbler. _Aëdon galectodes_ 79

REED-WARBLER. _Acrocephalus streperus_ 79

Marsh-Warbler. _Acrocephalus palustris_ 82

Great Reed-Warbler. _Acrocephalus turdoïdes_ 82

Aquatic Warbler. _Acrocephalus aquaticus_ 82

SEDGE-WARBLER. _Acrocephalus phragmitis_ 80

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. _Locustella nævia_ 82

Savi’s Warbler. _Locustella luscinioïdes_ 84

HEDGE-SPARROW. _Accentor modularis_ 84

Alpine Accentor. _Accentor collaris_ 85

DIPPER. _Cinclus aquaticus_ 86

Black-bellied Dipper. _Cinclus melanogaster_ 88

BEARDED TITMOUSE. _Panurus biamicus_ 89

Long-tailed Titmouse. _Acredula caudata_ 90

LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. _Acredula rosea_ 92

GREAT TITMOUSE. _Parus major_ 92

Coal-Titmouse (Continental). _Parus ater_ 94

COAL-TITMOUSE. _Parus britannicus_ 94

MARSH TITMOUSE. _Parus palustris_ 96

BLUE TITMOUSE. _Parus cæruleus_ 97

CRESTED TITMOUSE. _Parus cristatus_ 98

NUTHATCH. _Sitta cæsia_ 99

WREN. _Troglodytes parvulus_ 101

White Wagtail. _Motacilla alba_ 108

PIED WAGTAIL. _Motacilla lugubris_ 104

GREY WAGTAIL. _Motacilla melanope_ 105

Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail. _Motacilla flava_ 108

YELLOW WAGTAIL. _Motacilla rayii_ 107

MEADOW-PIPIT. _Anthus pratensis_ 108

TREE-PIPIT. _Anthus trivialis_ 110

Tawny Pipit. _Anthus campestris_ 113

Richard’s Pipit. _Anthus richardi_ 113

Water Pipit. _Anthus spipoletta_ 113

ROCK-PIPIT. _Anthus obscurus_ 112

Golden Oriole. _Oriolus galbulus_ 114

Great Grey Shrike. _Lanius excubitor_ 116

Pallas’s Great Grey Shrike. _Lanius major_ 116

Lesser Grey Shrike. _Lanius minor_ 116

RED-BACKED SHRIKE. _Lanius collurio_ 114

Woodchat. _Lanius pomeranus_ 116

Waxwing. _Ampelis garrulus_ 114

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. _Muscicapa grisola_ 116

PIED FLYCATCHER. _Muscicapa atricapilla_ 118

Red-breasted Flycatcher. _Muscicapa parva_ 118

SWALLOW. _Hirundo rustica_ 118

MARTIN. _Chelidon urbica_ 121

SAND-MARTIN. _Cotile riparia_ 122

TREE-CREEPER. _Certhia familiaris_ 124

GOLDFINCH. _Carduelis elegans_ 126

SISKIN. _Chrysometris spinus_ 127

Serin. _Serinus hortulanus_ 128

GREENFINCH. _Ligurinus chloris_ 128

HAWFINCH. _Coccothraustes vulgaris_ 130

HOUSE-SPARROW. _Passer domesticus_ 132

TREE-SPARROW. _Passer montanus_ 133

CHAFFINCH. _Fringilla cœlebs_ 134

BRAMBLING. _Fringilla montifringilla_ 137

LINNET. _Linota cannabina_ 138

Mealy Redpoll. _Linota linaria_ 140

LESSER REDPOLL. _Linota rufescens_ 139

Greenland Redpoll. _Linota hornemanni_ 140

TWITE. _Linota flavirostris_ 141

Rosy Bullfinch. _Carpodacus erythrinus_ 144

BULLFINCH. _Pyrrhula europæa_ 142

Pine Grossbeak. _Pinicola enucleator_ 144

Parrot Crossbill. _Loxia pittyopsittacus_ 145

CROSSBILL. _Loxia curvirostra_ 144

White-winged Crossbill. _Loxia leucoptera_ 145

Two-barred Crossbill. _Loxia bifasciata_ 145

Black-headed Bunting. _Emberiza melanocephala_ 154

CORN-BUNTING. _Emberiza miliaria_ 146

YELLOWHAMMER. _Emberiza citrinella_ 148

CIRL BUNTING. _Emberiza cirlus_ 150

Ortolan Bunting. _Emberiza hortulana_ 154

Rustic Bunting. _Emberiza rustica_ 154

Little Bunting. _Emberiza pusilla_ 154

REED-BUNTING. _Emberiza schœniclus_ 151

Lapland Bunting. _Calcarius lapponica_ 154

SNOW-BUNTING. _Plectrophanes nivalis_ 152

STARLING. _Sturnus vulgaris_ 154

Rose-coloured Pastor. _Pastor roseus_ 156

CHOUGH. _Pyrrhocorax graculus_ 157

Nutcracker. _Nucifraga caryocatactes_ 174

JAY. _Garrulus glandarius_ 158

MAGPIE. _Pica rustica_ 160

JACKDAW. _Corvus monedula_ 163

CARRION CROW. _Corvus corone_ 166

HOODED CROW. _Corvus cornix_ 167

ROOK. _Corvus frugilegus_ 168

RAVEN. _Corvus corax_ 172

SKYLARK. _Alauda arvensis_ 174

WOODLARK. _Alauda arborea_ 176

Crested Lark. _Alauda cristata_ 178

Short-toed Lark. _Calendrella brachydactyla_ 178

White-winged Lark. _Melanocorypha sibirica_ 178

Shore Lark. _Otocorys alpestris_ 178

_Order_ PICARIÆ.

SWIFT. _Cypselus apus_ 178

White-bellied Swift. _Cypselus melba_ 179

Needle-tailed Swift. _Acanthyllis caudacuta_ 179

NIGHTJAR. _Caprimulgus europæus_ 179

Red-necked Nightjar. _Caprimulgus ruficollis_ 181

Egyptian Nightjar. _Caprimulgus ægyptius_ 181

SPOTTED WOODPECKER. _Dendrocopus major_ 181

BARRED WOODPECKER. _Dendrocopus minor_ 183

GREEN WOODPECKER. _Gecinus viridis_ 184

WRYNECK. _Iẏnx torquilla_ 186

KINGFISHER. _Alcedo ispida_ 188

Belted Kingfisher. _Ceryle alcyon_ 189

Roller. _Coracius garrula_ 190

Bee-eater. _Merops apiaster_ 190

Hoopoe. _Upupa epops_ 190

CUCKOO. _Cuculus canorus_ 190

Great Spotted Cuckoo. _Coccystes glandarius_ 193

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. _Coccyzus americanus_ 193

Black-billed Cuckoo. _Coccyzus erythrophthalmus_ 193

_Order_ STRIGES.

BARN-OWL. _Strix flammea_ 193

LONG-EARED OWL. _Asio otus_ 196

SHORT-EARED OWL. _Asio brachyotus_ 197

TAWNY OWL. _Syrnium aluco_ 198

Snowy Owl. _Nyctea scandiaca_ 199

European Hawk-Owl. _Surnia ulula_ 199

American Hawk-Owl. _Surnia funeria_ 199

Tengmalm’s Owl. _Nyctala tengmalmi_ 199

Scops Owl. _Scops giu_ 199

Eagle Owl. _Bubo ignavus_ 199

Little Owl. _Athene noctua_ 199

_Order_ ACCIPITRES.

Griffon Vulture. _Gyps fulvus_ 216

Egyptian Vulture. _Neophron percnopterus_ 216

Marsh-Harrier. _Circus æruginosus_ 216

HEN HARRIER. _Circus cyaneus_ 199

MONTAGU’S HARRIER. _Circus cineraceus_ 201

BUZZARD. _Buteo vulgaris_ 202

Rough-legged Buzzard. _Archibuteo lagopus_ 216

Spotted Eagle. _Aquila clanga_ 216

GOLDEN EAGLE. _Aquila chrysaëtus_ 204

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. _Haliaëtus albicilla_ 205

Goshawk. _Astur palumbarius_ 216

American Goshawk. _Astur atricapilla_ 216

SPARROW-HAWK. _Accipiter nisus_ 206

KITE. _Milvus ictinus_ 207

Black Kite. _Milvus nigrans_ 216

Swallow-tailed Kite. _Elanoïdes furcatus_ 217

Honey-Buzzard. _Pernis apivorus_ 217

Gyrfalcon. _Hierofalco gyrfalco_ 217

Greenland Falcon. _Hierofalco candicans_ 217

Iceland Falcon. _Hierofalco islandicus_ 217

PEREGRINE FALCON. _Falco peregrinus_ 208

HOBBY. _Falco subbuteo_ 210

MERLIN. _Falco æsalon_ 211

Red-footed Falcon. _Tinnunculus vespertinus_ 217

KESTREL. _Tinnunculus alaudarius_ 212

Lesser Kestrel. _Tinnunculus cenchris_ 217

OSPREY. _Pandion haliaëtus_ 215

_Order_ STEGANOPODES.

CORMORANT. _Phalacrocorax carbo_ 218

SHAG. _Phalacrocorax graculus_ 220

GANNET. _Sula bassana_ 221

_Order_ HERODIONES.

HERON. _Ardea cinerea_ 223

Purple Heron. _Ardea purpurea_ 226

Great White Heron. _Ardea alba_ 226

Little Egret. _Ardea gazetta_ 226

Buff-backed Heron. _Ardea bubulcus_ 226

Squacco Heron. _Ardea ralloïdes_ 226

LITTLE BITTERN. _Ardetta minuta_ 226

Night Heron. _Nycticorax griseus_ 226

BITTERN. _Botaurus stellaris_ 224

American Bittern. _Botaurus lentiginosus_ 226

White Stork. _Ciconia alba_ 226

Black Stork. _Ciconia nigra_ 226

Spoonbill. _Platalea leucorodia_ 226

Glossy Ibis. _Plegadis falcinellus_ 226

_Order_ ANSERES.

GREY LAG GOOSE. _Anser cinereus_ 227

BEAN-GOOSE. _Anser segetum_ 228

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. _Anser brachyrhynchus_ 229

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. _Anser albifrons_ 230

Cassins Snow Goose. _Chen albatus_ 227

BRENT GOOSE. _Bernicla brenta_ 230

BARNACLE GOOSE. _Bernicla leucopsis_ 232

Red-breasted Goose. _Bernicla ruficollis_ 227

MUTE SWAN. _Cygnus olor_ 233

Polish Swan. _Cygnus immutabilis_ 233

WHOOPER SWAN. _Cygnus musicus_ 234

Bewick’s Swan. _Cygnus bewickii_ 234

COMMON SHELDRAKE. _Tadorna cornuta_ 235

Ruddy Sheldrake. _Tadorna casarca_ 236

WIGEON. _Mareca penelope_ 237

American Wigeon. _Mareca americana_ 238

PINTAIL. _Dafila acuta_ 238

MALLARD. _Anas boscas_ 239

GADWELL. _Chaulelasmus streperus_ 241

GARGANEY. _Querquedula circia_ 243

Blue-winged Teal. _Querquedula discors_ 244

COMMON TEAL. _Querquedula crecca_ 244

American Green-winged Teal. _Querquedula carolinensis_ 244

SHOVELER. _Spatula clypeata_ 245

Red-Crested Pochard. _Fuligula rufina_ 246

TUFTED DUCK. _Fuligula cristata_ 246

SCAUP. _Fuligula marila_ 247

POCHARD. _Fuligula ferina_ 248

White-eyed Duck. _Nyroca ferruginea_ 246

GOLDENEYE. _Clangula glaucion_ 249

Barrow’s Goldeneye. _Clangula islandica_ 246

Buffel-headed Duck. _Clangula albeola_ 246

Harlequin Duck. _Cosmonetta histrionica_ 246

LONG-TAILED DUCK. _Harelda glacialis_ 250

Steller’s Duck. _Heniconetta stelleri_ 246

EIDER DUCK. _Somateria mollissima_ 251

King Eider. _Somateria spectabilis_ 246

COMMON SCOTER. _Œdemia nigra_ 253

VELVET SCOTER. _Œdemia fusca_ 54

Surf-Scoter. _Œdemia perspicillata_ 246

GOOSANDER. _Mergus merganser_ 255

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. _Mergus serrator_ 256

Hooded Merganser. _Mergus cucullatus_ 246

SMEW. _Mergus albellus_ 258

_Order_ COLUMBÆ.

WOOD-PIGEON. _Columba palumbus_ 258

STOCK-DOVE. _Columba œnas_ 261

ROCK-DOVE. _Columba livia_ 261

TURTLE-DOVE. _Turtur communis_ 262

Passenger Pigeon. _Ectopistes migratorius_ 264

_Order_ PTEROCLETES.

Pallas’s Sand-Grouse. _Syrrhaptes paradoxus_ 264

_Order_ GALLINÆ.

PHEASANT. _Phasianus colchicus_ 264

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. _Caccabis rufa_ 265

Barbary Partridge. _Caccabis petrosa_ 266

PARTRIDGE. _Perdix cinerea_ 267

QUAIL. _Coturnix communis_ 269

PTARMIGAN. _Lagopus mutus_ 270

RED GROUSE. _Lagopus scoticus_ 272

BLACK GROUSE. _Tetrao tetrix_ 273

CAPERCAILLIE. _Tetrao urogallus_ 275

_Order_ FULICARIÆ.

WATER-RAIL. _Rallus aquaticus_ 277

SPOTTED CRAKE. _Porzana maruetta_ 277

Baillon’s Crake. _Porzana bailloni_ 278

Little Crake. _Porzana parva_ 278

CORNCRAKE. _Crex pratensis_ 278

MOORHEN. _Gallinula chloropus_ 279

COOT. _Fulica atra_ 280

_Order_ ALECTORIDES.

Crane. _Grus communis_ 281

Great Bustard. _Otis tarda_ 281

Little Bustard. _Otis tetrax_ 281

Macqueen’s Bustard. _Otis macqueeni_ 281

_Order_ LIMICOLÆ.

STONE-CURLEW. _Œdicnemus scolopax_ 282

Collared Pratincole. _Glareola pratincola_ 284

Cream-coloured Courser. _Cursorius gallicus_ 284

GOLDEN PLOVER. _Charadrius pluvialis_ 284

Eastern Golden Plover. _Charadrius fulvus_ 286

GREY PLOVER. _Squatarola helvetica_ 286

KENTISH PLOVER. _Ægialitis cantiana_ 287

Little Ringed Plover. _Ægialitis curonica_ 288

RINGED PLOVER. _Ægialitis hiaticula_ 287

Killdeer Plover. _Ægialitis vocifera_ 288

DOTTEREL. _Endromias morinellus_ 289

LAPWING. _Vanellus vulgaris_ 290

TURNSTONE. _Strepsilus interpres_ 292

OYSTER-CATCHER. _Hæmatopus ostralegus_ 293

Avocet. _Recurvirostra avocetta_ 316

Black-winged Stilt. _Himantopus candidus_ 316

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. _Phalaropus hyperboreus_ 294

Grey Phalarope. _Phalaropus fulicarius_ 295

WOODCOCK. _Scolopax rusticula_ 296

GREAT SNIPE. _Gallinago major_ 298

COMMON SNIPE. _Gallinago cælestis_ 299

JACK-SNIPE. _Limnocryptes gallinula_ 300

Broad-billed Sandpiper. _Limicola platyrhyncha_ 317

Pectoral Sandpiper. _Tringa maculata_ 317

Bonaparte’s Sandpiper. _Tringa fuscicollis_ 317

DUNLIN. _Tringa alpina_ 300

LITTLE STINT. _Tringa minuta_ 302

Temminck’s Stint. _Tringa temmincki_ 303

American Stint. _Tringa minutilla_ 317

CURLEW-SANDPIPER. _Tringa subarquata_ 303

PURPLE SANDPIPER. _Tringa striata_ 304

KNOT. _Tringa canutus_ 304

RUFF and REEVE. _Machetes pugnax_ 306

SANDERLING. _Calidris arenaria_ 308

Buff-breasted Sandpiper. _Tryngites rufescens_ 317

Bartram’s Sandpiper. _Actiturus longicauda_ 317

COMMON SANDPIPER. _Tringoïdes hypoleucus_ 309

GREEN SANDPIPER. _Helodromus ochropus_ 310

Wood-Sandpiper. _Totanus glareola_ 316

REDSHANK. _Totanus calidris_ 310

Spotted Redshank. _Totanus fuscus_ 316

GREENSHANK. _Totanus canescens_ 312

Red-breasted Snipe. _Macroramphus griseus_ 317

Bar-tailed Godwit. _Limosa lapponica_ 316

Black-tailed Godwit. _Limosa melanura_ 316

Esquimaux Curlew. _Numenius borealis_ 317

WHIMBREL. _Numenius phæopus_ 313

CURLEW. _Numenius arquata_ 314

_Order_ GAVLÆ.

ARCTIC TERN. _Sterna macrura_ 317

COMMON TERN. _Sterna fluviatilis_ 319

ROSEATE TERN. _Sterna dougalli_ 320

LITTLE TERN. _Sterna minuta_ 320

Caspian Tern. _Sterna caspia_ 323

Gull-billed Tern. _Sterna anglica_ 323

SANDWICH TERN. _Sterna cantiaca_ 322

Sooty Tern. _Sterna fuliginosa_ 323

Scopoli’s Sooty Tern. _Sterna anæstheta_ 323

Whiskered Tern. _Hydrochelidon hybrida_ 323

White-winged Black Tern. _Hydrochelidon leucoptera_ 323

Black Tern. _Hydrochelidon nigra_ 323

Noddy. _Anoüs stolidus_ 323

Ivory Gull. _Pagophila eburnea_ 329

KITTIWAKE. _Rissa tridactyla_ 323

Glaucous Gull. _Larus glaucus_ 329

Iceland Gull. _Larus leucopterus_ 329

HERRING-GULL. _Larus argentatus_ 324

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. _Larus fuscus_ 325

COMMON GULL. _Larus canus_ 326

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. _Larus marinus_ 327

Great Black-headed Gull. _Larus ichthyaëtus_ 330

BLACK-HEADED GULL. _Larus ridibundus_ 328

Little Gull. _Larus minutus_ 330

SABINE’S GULL. _Xema sabinii_ 330

COMMON SKUA. _Stercorarius catarrhactes_ 330

Pomatorhine Skua. _Stercorarius pomatorhinus_ 333

RICHARDSON’S SKUA. _Stercorarius crepidatus_ 333

Buffon’s Skua. _Stercorarius parasiticus_ 333

_Order_ TUBINARES.

STORMY PETREL. _Procellaria pelagica_ 333

LEACH’S PETREL. _Procellaria leucorrhoa_ 335

Wilson’s Petrel. _Oceanites oceanicus_ 336

MANX SHEARWATER. _Puffinus anglorum_ 336

Sooty Shearwater. _Puffinus griseus_ 337

Greater Shearwater. _Puffinus major_ 337

Dusky Shearwater. _Puffinus obscurus_ 337

FULMAR. _Fulmarus glacialis_ 337

Capped Petrel. _Œstrelata hæsitata_ 339

Bulwer’s Petrel. _Bulweria columbina_ 339

_Order_ PYGOPODES.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. _Colymbus glacialis_ 340

BLACK-THROATED DIVER. _Colymbus arcticus_ 341

RED-THROATED DIVER. _Colymbus septentrionalis_ 342

GREAT CRESTED GREBE. _Podiceps cristatus_ 342

Red-necked Grebe. _Podiceps griseigena_ 345

Sclavonian Grebe. _Podiceps auritus_ 345

Eared Grebe. _Podiceps nigrocollis_ 345

LITTLE GREBE. _Tachybaptes fluviatilis_ 344

RAZORBILL. _Alca torda_ 345

COMMON GUILLEMOT. _Lomvia troile_ 347

Brünnich’s Guillemot. _Lomvia bruennichi_ 351

BLACK GUILLEMOT. _Uria grylle_ 350

Little Auk. _Margulus alle_ 351

PUFFIN. _Fratercula arctica_ 351

INDEX 353

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

_COLOURED PLATES._

GOLDEN EAGLE _By A. Thorburn_ _Frontispiece_

BEARDED TITMOUSE „ _To face p._ 89

GOLDFINCH „ „ 126

BITTERN „ „ 224

COMMON TEAL „ „ 244

PTARMIGAN „ „ 270

DOTTEREL „ „ 289

ROSEATE TERN „ „ 320

_PLATES._

FIELDFARES; MISSEL-THRUSH;
BLACKBIRD _By G. E. Lodge_ To face p._ 39

ROOKS; JACKDAWS; STARLINGS „ „ 164

LONG-EARED OWL; CHAFFINCH; GREAT,
BLUE AND, COAL TITS; GOLDCREST „ „ 196

GANNETS; GUILLEMOTS; HERRING-GULLS „ „ 221

MALLARDS; PEREGRINE FALCON; HERON; COOT „ „ 240

JAY; WOOD-PIGEONS; PHEASANTS „ „ 264

OYSTER-CATCHERS; RINGED PLOVER;
LITTLE STINT; CURLEW „ „ 314

BLACK-HEADED GULLS; POCHARDS,
SHOVELER; WATER-HENS „ „ 328

_ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT._

FIG. PAGE

1. SKELETON OF WING OF ARCHÆOPTERYX WITH REMIGES
ATTACHED. _From ‘Natural Science’_ 4

2, 3. STRUCTURE OF A FEATHER _From ‘Ibis’_ 5

4. PORTION OF TWO ADJACENT BARBS „ 5

5. FOOT OF PELICAN _From Owen’s ‘Anatomy of Vertebrates’_ 10

6. FOOT OF PERCHING BIRD „ 10

7. FOOT OF KINGFISHER „ 10

8. STERNUM OF SHRIKE „ 13

9. WING OF NESTLING OPISTHOCOMUS _From ‘Natural Science’_ 15

10. WING OF YOUNG FOWL OF SAME AGE AS FIG. 9
(OF WING OF OPISTHOCOMUS) „ 16

11. WING OF ADULT OPISTHOCOMUS „ 17

12. WING OF HALF-GROWN OSTRICH „ 17

13. PELVIS AND HIND LIMB OF DIVER _From Owen’s ‘Anatomy
of Vertebrates’_ 19

14. GIZZARD OF SWAN „ 21

15. SYRINX OF RAVEN (Posterior Surface) „ 26

16. SYRINX OF RAVEN (Lateral View) „ 26

17. SYRINX OF RAVEN CUT OPEN LONGITUDINALLY „ 26

18. SONG-THRUSH (¼ natural size) _By G. E. Lodge_ 41

19. THROSTLE’S NEST _From Photograph by R. B. Lodge_ 44

20. BLACKBIRD’S NEST „ 48

21. RING-OUZEL (⅕ natural size) _By G. E. Lodge_ 50

22. WHEATEAR (⅓ natural size) „ 52

23. STONECHAT (¼ natural size) „ 56

24. REDSTART (⅓ natural size) „ 57

25. REDBREAST (¼ natural size) „ 59

26. NIGHTINGALE (⅓ natural size) „ 62

27. WHITETHROAT (⅓ natural size) „ 64

28. BLACKCAP (⅓ natural size) „ 67

29. DARTFORD WARBLER (⅓ natural size) „ 71

30. SEDGE-WARBLER (⅓ natural size) „ 80

31. HEDGE-SPARROW (⅓ natural size) „ 84

32. DIPPER (⅕ natural size) „ 86

33. LONG-TAILED TIT (¼ natural size) „ 91

34. GREAT TIT (⅓ natural size) „ 93

35. CRESTED TIT (⅓ natural size) „ 98

36. NUTHATCH (¼ natural size) „ 99

37. WREN (¼ natural size) „ 102

38. PIED WAGTAIL (¼ natural size) „ 104

39. GREY WAGTAIL (⅓ natural size) „ 106

40. TREE-PIPIT (¼ natural size) „ 110

41. ROCK-PIPIT (⅓ natural size) „ 112

42. RED-BACKED SHRIKE (¼ natural size) „ 114

43. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (¼ natural size) „ 117

44. SWALLOW (¼ natural size) „ 119

45. MARTIN (⅓ natural size) „ 121

46. TREE-CREEPER (⅓ natural size) „ 124

47. HAWFINCH (⅓ natural size) „ 130

48. LESSER REDPOLL (⅓ natural size) „ 140

49. BULLFINCH (⅓ natural size) „ 142

50. CROSSBILL (¼ natural size) „ 144

51. YELLOWHAMMER (⅓ natural size) „ 148

52. CIRL BUNTING (⅓ natural size) „ 150

53. REED-BUNTING (¼ natural size) „ 151

54. CHOUGH (⅛ natural size) „ 157

55. MAGPIE (⅑ natural size) „ 161

56. ROOKS AND NEST _From Photograph by R. B. Lodge_ 169

57. RAVEN (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) _By G. E. Lodge_ 172

58. SKYLARK (⅓ natural size) „ 175

59. NIGHTJAR (⅕ natural size) „ 180

60. SPOTTED WOODPECKER (⅕ natural size) „ 182

61. GREEN WOODPECKER (⅙ natural size) „ 184

62. WRYNECK (⅓ natural size) „ 186

63. KINGFISHER (¼ natural size) „ 188

64. HOOPOE „ 190

65. CUCKOO (⅙ natural size) „ 191

66. BARN-OWL (⅐ natural size) „ 194

67. MONTAGU’S HARRIER (⅑ natural size) „ 201

68. BUZZARD (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 202

69. KITE (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 207

70. PEREGRINE (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 209

71. MERLIN (⅛ natural size) „ 211

72. KESTREL (⅑ natural size) „ 212

73. HONEY-BUZZARD (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 217

74. CORMORANT (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 218

75. GREY LAG-GOOSE (¹⁄₁₄ natural size) „ 227

76. BRENT GOOSE (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 231

77. BARNACLE GOOSE (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 232

78. SHELDRAKE (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 235

79. WIGEON (⅐ natural size) „ 237

80. PINTAIL (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 239

81. GADWELL (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 242

82. GARGANEY (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 243

83. TUFTED DUCK (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 246

84. EIDER DUCK (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 251

85. COMMON SCOTER (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 253

86. GOOSANDER (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 255

87. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 257

88. ROCK-DOVE (⅐ natural size) „ 262

89. TURTLE-DOVE (⅙ natural size) „ 263

90. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE (⅐ natural size) „ 266

91. PARTRIDGE (⅙ natural size) „ 267

92. QUAIL (⅕ natural size) „ 269

93. BLACKCOCK (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 274

94. CAPERCAILLIE (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 275

95. LANDRAIL (⅐ natural size) _By G. E. Lodge_ 278

96. STONE-CURLEW (⅐ natural size) „ 282

97. GOLDEN PLOVER (summer plumage) (⅙ natural size) „ 285

98. LAPWING (⅙ natural size) „ 290

99. TURNSTONE (⅕ natural size) „ 292

100. GREY PHALAROPE (¼ natural size) „ 295

101. WOODCOCK (⅙ natural size) „ 296

102. DUNLIN (summer plumage) (¼ natural size) „ 301

103. KNOT (¼ natural size) „ 305

104. RUFF AND REEVE (⅐ natural size) „ 306

105. SANDERLING (winter plumage) (¼ natural size) „ 308

106. GREENSHANK (⅙ natural size) „ 312

107. COMMON TERN (⅐ natural size) „ 319

108. LESSER TERN (¼ natural size) „ 321

109. BLACK TERN (⅐ natural size) „ 323

110. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 327

111. GREAT SKUA (¹⁄₁₂ natural size) „ 330

112. STORMY PETREL (⅓ natural size) „ 334

113. MANX SHEARWATER (⅛ natural size) „ 336

114. FULMAR (⅑ natural size) „ 338

115. GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (⅑ natural size) „ 340

116. GREAT CRESTED GREBE (¹⁄₁₀ natural size) „ 342

117. LITTLE GREBE (⅙ natural size) „ 344

118. RAZORBILL (winter plumage) (¹⁄₁₁ natural size) „ 346

119. LITTLE AUK (⅛ natural size) „ 350

120. PUFFIN (⅑ natural size) „ 351

INTRODUCTION.

The plan followed in the descriptive portion of this work has, I trust, the merit of simplicity. A brief account is given of the appearance, language, and life-habits of all the species that reside permanently, or for a portion of each year, within the limits of the British Islands. The accidental stragglers, with the irregular or occasional visitors, have been included, but not described, in the work. To have omitted all mention of them would, perhaps, have been to carry the process of simplification too far. And as much may be said of the retention in this book of Latin, or ‘science’ names. The mass of technical matter with which ornithological works are usually weighted is scarcely wanted in a book intended for the general reader, more especially for the young. Nor was there space sufficient to make the work at the same time a technical and a popular one: the briefest description that could possibly be given of the characters of genera would have occupied thirty to forty pages. The student must, in any case, go to the large standard works on the subject, especially to those of Yarrell (fourth edition), Seebohm, and Howard Saunders, which are repositories of all the most important facts relating to our bird life, gathered from the time of Willughby, the father of British ornithology, down to the present.

The order in which I have placed the species, beginning with the thrushes and ending with the auks, is that of Sclater, based on Huxley’s classification, and is the arrangement adopted in the official list of the British Ornithologists’ Union (1883). The B.O.U. list enumerates 376 species; and of this number 211 species are counted as residents and regular visitants; the remaining 165 being loosely described as ‘Occasional Visitants.’ About these aliens, which are claimed as citizens, something requires to be said.

It has long been the practice of our ornithologists to regard as ‘British’ any species of which one specimen has been found in a wild state within the limits of the United Kingdom. As a result of this excessive hospitality we find in the list about forty-three species of which not more than three specimens have been obtained; in a majority of cases only one. We also find that there are not fewer than forty-five exclusively American species in the list; but by what means, or by what series of extraordinary accidents, these lost wanderers have been carried thousands of miles from their own region, across the Atlantic, and have succeeded in reaching our shores alive, it is impossible to imagine. It is highly probable that some of the American, Asiatic, and European waifs that have been picked up in these islands were birds that had escaped from confinement; but whether brought by man or borne on the wings of the tempest to our shores, the fact remains that they are not members of our avifauna, and the young reader should clearly understand that only by a pleasing fiction are they called ‘British.’

I have spoken at some length on this subject, because it is one that appears to interest a great many persons who are not ornithologists. How many British species are there? is a question that is continually being asked of those who are supposed to know. I should say that, in round numbers, there are 200; at the very outside, 210. Seebohm, in the introduction to his great work, gives 222 as the number of species ‘fairly entitled to be considered British birds’; but he probably counted some that are usually regarded as irregular visitors, and perhaps others which have been exterminated in recent times. Of the 165 species set down in the ‘British’ list as occasional visitors, about 55 or 60 deserve that description, since they do, as a fact, visit the British Islands at irregular intervals. All the others are accidental stragglers.

It only remains to add something on another subject--the little life-histories of the two hundred and odd species described in this volume. Although this is in no sense a controversial subject, the apologetic tone must be still used. I wish that these sketches had been better done, but I do not greatly regret that they had to be brief. The longest history of a bird ever written, the most abounding in facts and delightful to read, when tested in the only sure way--namely, by close observation of its subject--is found to be scarcely more complete or satisfactory than the briefest, which contains only the main facts. This is because birds are not automata, but intelligent beings. Seebohm has well said, ‘The real history of a bird is its _life_-history. The deepest interest attaches to everything that reveals the little mind, however feebly it may be developed, which lies behind the feathers.’ It has been remarked more than once that we do not rightly appreciate birds because we do not see them well. In most cases persecution has made them fearful of the human form; they fly from us, and distance obscures their delicate harmonious colouring and blurs the exquisite aërial lines on which they are formed. When we look closely at them, we are surprised at their beauty and the indescribable grace of their varied motions. An analogous effect is produced by a close observation of their habits or actions, which, seen from afar, may appear few and monotonous. Canon Atkinson, in his ‘Sketches in Natural History’ (1865), has a chapter about the partridge, prefaced by Yarrell’s remark, that of a bird so universally known there was little that was new to be said. While admitting the general truth of this statement, the author goes on to say: ‘Still, I have from time to time observed some slight peculiarity in the habits of the partridge that I have not seen noticed in any professed description of the bird, forming certain passages, as it were, of its minute history. It is precisely this ‘minute history’ that gives so great and enduring a fascination to the study of birds in a state of nature. But it cannot be written, on account of the infinity of ‘passages’ contained in it, or, in other words, of that element of mind which gives it endless variety.

Let us imagine the case of a youth or boy who has read and re-read half a dozen long histories of some one species; and, primed with all this knowledge, who finally goes out to observe it for himself. It will astonish him to find how much he has not been told. He will begin to think that the writers must have been hasty or careless, that they neglected their opportunities, and missed much that they ought not to have missed; and he may even experience a feeling of resentment towards them, as if they had treated him unfairly. But after more time spent in observation he will make the interesting discovery that, so long as they are watched for, fresh things will continue to appear. The reflection will follow that there must be a limit to the things that can be recorded; that the life-history of a bird cannot be contained in any book, however voluminous it may be; and, finally, that books have a quite different object from the one he had imagined. And in the end he will be more than content that it should be so.

W. H. H.

BRITISH BIRDS.

_THE ANATOMY OF A BIRD._

It is very important that every one who studies birds should have some acquaintance with their insides as well as with their outsides. To have a proper appreciation of the mechanism of flight, the most distinctive attribute of a bird, we must explore the air reservoirs and muscles, which combine, with other organs, to form a complicated, but exquisitely adjusted, system. It is true that other animals show a similar adaptation to their several modes of life, but in a bird the necessities of life seem to have produced a more obvious and striking harmony between structure and habit. Furthermore, the young ornithologist should not be content with gaining the ability to recognise the different kinds of birds: he should understand their mutual relations, and the place of a bird in Nature. To form an opinion about these matters needs more than an acquaintance with the colours and outward form, and with the eggs and nest. A great deal can be learnt from these characters, but they are at most only useful in linking together closely related species. All the members of the extensive tribe of parrots, for example, are bound together by their hooked bills, their white eggs, their grasping feet, &c. But we want to go further, and determine what are the relations of the parrots to other birds which differ totally from them in all outward and visible signs. To solve, or rather to attempt to solve, broader questions of this kind we must have recourse to the scalpel, and even to the microscope. Besides, there not only _are_ birds, but there _were_ birds, which have now passed away utterly, leaving behind only a few bones embedded in the rocks. Nothing of an external nature will avail us in considering what these birds were like in their day, and which of existing kinds they most resembled. We must have a knowledge of bones, of osteology, to grapple with the problems which they present. For these reasons I have dealt in the following pages principally with the organs of flight, and with those internal and external characters which are admitted to be of most use in classificatory questions. I have paid less attention to those organs which are not of importance from these points of view.

Feathers and Feathering.

It is only a very few birds that have a complete and continuous covering of feathers. The penguins are in this condition; and some of the ostrich-like birds are so, more than most others. But in other birds the feathers are arranged in tracts, between which are patches of quite, or nearly, bare skin. The technical name for the feathered districts is ‘Pterylia’; that for the bare patches, ‘Apteria.’ If two birds, belonging to different families, are compared, it will often be discovered that they present considerable unlikeness in the mutual arrangement of the feathered and unfeathered tracts. In fact, it was pointed out not far from the beginning of this century that the dispersal of the feathers over the body was one of the very best characters for classifying birds upon. But when the author of this discovery, Professor Nitzsch, of Halle, first published his book on the matter, it was received with some ridicule, and the pictures of birds denuded of their feathers in order to show up clearly the feather tracts were ironically compared to a portion of a poulterer’s shop. This ridicule, however, did not do away with the fact that the character is often of great use in settling the mutual relationships of birds. When a bird is carefully skinned, it will be seen that the feather tracts have their own special slips of muscle inserted into the roots of the feathers. These muscles, when they contract, serve to raise the feathers slightly, and must be of at least subsidiary importance in flying. This is, perhaps, why the feather tracts are so well marked in birds that fly, and explains the reason for their unmarked character in birds that do not. We can easily understand that the movement of the feathers, if the covering were continuous, would be much more difficult and less pronounced than when there were separate patches far enough away from each other to allow of free and independent movement. In the Penguin, which glides smoothly and rapidly under water in pursuit of its fishy prey, a continuous coating of feathers is not only a source of additional warmth, but offers less resistance to the water; so, too, with a running bird like the Emu or Ostrich. But in the case of the latter, at any rate, the young nestling has quite distinct tracts and apteria, thus showing that, although nowadays it is incapable of flight, it has descended from an ancestor that could fly--at least, that is the way in which it is customary to interpret such differences in structure between young animals and their parents. The Apteryx also, of New Zealand, is quite analogous. The old bird has a nearly continuous covering of feathers, but the unhatched young show perfectly distinct patches of feathers with bare spaces between. We shall show on another page that there are other arguments which appear to prove that all these flightless birds have been gradually derived in the course of time from birds that could fly perfectly well. They are an instance, so far, of what is termed degeneration.

The examination of any bird will show that it has several kinds of feathers. They are all constructed upon the same plan, but some are larger than others, and the smallest are soft instead of firm to the touch.

I, II, III, digits.]

The biggest feathers of all are a set which fringe the wing (see fig. 1) and another set at the end of the tail. These are called respectively the ‘Remiges’ and ‘Rectrices,’ or the ‘rowing’ feathers and the ‘steering’ feathers. Their principal use, as may be imagined, is in flight. The remaining feathers are also to some extent used in flight, but their main use appears to be to keep the body warm. An eider-down quilt, as everybody knows, is the warmest kind of coverlet; the reason being that the feathers are very bad conductors of heat, and do not, therefore, allow the heat of the body to escape. Birds are the hottest of all animals, which is in part due to their covering of feathers. To understand the structure of a typical feather is perhaps a little difficult; but possibly the accompanying figures (figs. 1, 2, 3, 4) will render the explanation easier to follow. The feather consists of a stem which is technically called the rhachis, the word simply signifying stem. From each side of this a row of parallel rodlets arise which are called barbs. These in their turn give rise to another set of processes which are the barbules. This, however, is not all; the barbules are firmly locked together by other processes, so that the entire feather is quite firm, and can be used as a kind of oar with which to row through the air. It does not give when the wings are flapped. The barbules are of two sorts, those nearest to the root of the barb being different from those which are nearest to its tip. The former, as is shown in fig. 2, are shaped something like a knife-blade; they are thickened above and bent in the middle; they gradually taper away to a fine point. Just in the middle, where the bend is, are two or three small teeth (2, fig. 2) on the upper margin. By means of these teeth-like processes the successive barbules are attached to one another. At the end of each barb, as already mentioned, the barbules are of a different structure. A few of them are illustrated in fig. 4. The end is frayed out into a number of delicate spines, of which those farthest from the actual tip are hooked, while those at the tip are only curved and not hook-like. All these spines are called barbicels. They are upon the lower edge of the barbule; but upon the upper edge are a few shorter and stouter spinelets. As the barbules come off in an oblique direction, it follows that each one of them overlaps a considerable number, in fact five, barbules of the opposite barb. The attachment is by these hooklets, or hamuli, as they are usually termed. The stiff feathers which have this elaborate structure are not found at all in the ostrich-like birds; in them there is no need for a firm surface to catch the air; on the contrary, it would be, if anything, disadvantageous to swift runners, as those birds are. The feathers, therefore, are much reduced in complexity, and in some they consist only of the stem and the barbs. Even in flying birds there are plenty of feathers of a simple structure lying between the stronger contour feathers. These are the soft feathers which are generally spoken of as ‘down.’ Some of them are so reduced as to consist of little more than the stem. The same reduction is seen in the wing feathers of the Cassowary. Along the margin of the wing are a few strong black spines, which are really the quills of the wing feathers with no barbs at all; they consist merely of the stem, which has not dwindled in the least, but is quite as strong as it would be in a feather of use for flying. In a good many birds the contour feathers and the down feathers also have a kind of appendix, known as the aftershaft. This is a sort of supplementary feather arising from the stem just at the point where the barbs begin, and having precisely the structure of a small feather. In the Emu and the Cassowary this aftershaft is fully as large as the main feather; from each stem in these birds arise as it were two feathers.

B, Barbs; _bp_, proximal barbules; 1, flange; 2, ‘dog-tooth,’
part of flange; 3, overlapping portion.]

B, barbs; _bd_, _bp_, barbules (distal and proximal).]

The most curious modification, however, of the feather is into that structure known as a ‘powder-down.’ These feathers have, as their name denotes, a powdery appearance, which is due to the continual breaking off of the fine ends of the barbs; the feathers themselves are soft, and belong to the variety of feathers which have been described as down feathers. The dusty matter which they give off has been described as ‘dry and yet fatty to the touch.’ They are found in various birds; they do not characterise any one particular group, except the Heron tribe; some Parrots have them, a few Hawks, and certain other genera. It has been said that they are phosphorescent; and it has been suggested that their presence in the heron is of use to it in its fishing. The light, it is thought, attracts the small fishes within reach of the heron’s long bill. But this appears to be one of those exaggerations founded upon actual fact which are so common in natural history.

Another important fact about a feather is its colour. There is no purely white bird in this country and not very many that are chiefly white. But there are some, like the Gulls and the Storks. The nearest approach to an absolutely white bird is the beautiful little Egret, whose plumes are, unfortunately, so much used in feminine adornment. As concerns its feathers, this bird is absolutely white, but other parts of the body are black. A bird that is purely white, not only in the feathers but in the legs and beak, is called an albino. This state of affairs is not commonly met with, but it sometimes occurs; everybody has heard of that contradiction in terms, but actually existent creature, the ‘white blackbird.’ In all these cases there is something wanting in the feather; for white is not a colour--it is the negation of colour, and is due in nearly every case to the scattering of the rays of light which fall upon the object. This happens when the material that is coloured white is broken up into minute fragments separated by air. The froth of the sea or of a brimming tankard is simply due to the entangling of bubbles of air, which scatter the rays of light. The stems of the feathers contain bubbles of air, which bring about a like effect. But the majority of birds are coloured, and, as a rule, perhaps, brightly coloured. We have not in this country many birds which can compare with the gaudy parrots of the East; but brilliancy of hue is by no means wanting in the birds of this and of other countries which enjoy a temperate climate. It used to be said that brilliancy of colour was a characteristic of the tropics. But it is always pointed out, by way of a refutation of that statement, that the Golden Pheasant of China is as gorgeous a bird as any which exists. There are few small birds which are really more brilliant in hue than our Yellow-hammers, Goldfinches, Bullfinches, and some others. We have, it is true, nothing to seriously compete with the Humming-birds; but these birds are found not only in the tropical forests of Brazil, but also in North America and upon the snowy summits of the Andes, and can therefore hardly be used as an instance of the exclusive restriction of brilliant colour to a tropical climate.

The hues of the feathers are due to two causes. In every case where there is colour at all the feathers contain a certain amount of dye, or pigment, as it is more usually termed; this pigment may be alone responsible for the colour of the feather, or it may be only a part of the cause. If the bright blue feather from a Macaw’s wing be roughly pressed so as to injure the surface, the blue colour will disappear from the rubbed place, and will be apparently replaced by a brownish black. The reason for this is that the blue colour is the result of the actual structure of the feather, which requires the underlying black pigment for its manifestation. The crushing destroys that structure and leaves only the dark pigment. The brilliant and varying hues of the soap-bubble and of mother-of-pearl are examples of substances which owe their colour to their structure; and the hues of the bird’s feather are produced by a similar kind of structure. Finely ruled lines engraved upon the feather just below a clear and transparent outer skin are responsible for the tints of different colours. But there are many birds whose colours are entirely due to the pigments. The most interesting instance of this in many ways is an African bird, the Touraco. This bird is green for the most part, but the feathers of the wings are of a magnificent crimson. When the birds take to the wing this gorgeous colour is displayed; before, it is concealed by the overlying feathers. The colouring matter can be easily extracted from the wing, and it forms a solution of a splendid crimson as bright as the substance called cochineal, which is the product of an insect. It was once said that this colour could be, and was as a matter of fact, washed out from the wings of the bird during heavy storms of rain, and that when a touraco was shot and fell into the water it stained the water red, not with its blood, but with the dye from its feathers. This is, however, an exaggerated way of putting the fact that even very feebly alkaline water will dissolve out the colour. Some of the yellows of the woodpeckers and the browns and reds of other birds are solely brought about by the presence of pigments.

In speaking of birds as ‘feathered songsters’ or as ‘feathered bipeds,’ we are a little apt to lose sight of the fact that they are also scaly--an error which is occasionally rectified by the view of an obtrusive pair of legs belonging to the fowl upon the dinner-table. The legs of birds are nearly always scaly; there are a few exceptions or nearly exceptions. For instance, there is a special breed of pigeons with feathered legs; and the sand-grouse, which makes those remarkable and periodical invasions, has legs which are more covered with feathers than with scales.

The possession of scales is one of the most striking points of resemblance between birds and reptiles. At first sight it seems to be almost absurd to attempt to draw any parallel between the active, feathered, hot-blooded bird and the scaly, cold-blooded reptile; yet there are many resemblances, some others of which will be indicated in the following pages. In the meantime we are concerned with the scales. These are flat plates, produced by a horny alteration of the soft underlying skin, which are precisely like those of the lizards and snakes. No other animals possess scales; those of the armadillo appear to be not unlike the scales of reptiles and birds, but they really are not, nor are those of the scaly manis, which are more comparable to closely matted tufts of hair. The scales of a fish are totally different, since they are not formed by the true skin, the epidermis, at all, but by the underlying dermis. In no bird, however, are there scales upon any part of the body except the legs. But one bird makes a near approach to having scales elsewhere. This is the Penguin, the feathers of whose wings are flattened and very scale-like. But the characteristic fringing of the feather can be detected on a careful examination. The penguin uses its wings as paddles to fly under water. A branching and delicate feather would be worse than useless under such circumstances; hence the superfluous fringing of the stem of the feather has been got rid of, and the feather itself has become flattened and lies close to the skin.

Beak.

The beak is simply a horny tract of skin which has become hardened for its special uses. It is not even distinctive of the bird; for turtles, particularly the snapping turtles, have beaks which are not only precisely like those of birds, but are equally effectual when turned to aggressive ends. It is a commonplace of knowledge that the bill or beak presents an almost endless variety of form, which is associated with an equally diversified use. The remarkable shovel-shaped bill of the duck is suitable for dabbling in soft mud, just as is the hooked beak of the hawk or owl for tearing living prey. The most prevalent form of bill is that possessed by most passerine birds, a conical longer or shorter bill. The relatively enormous beak of the toucan is serrated along the free edge, which enables its possessor to obtain a firmer grasp of the fruits upon which it feeds. The ridges upon the inner surface of the beak in the ducks serve an analogous purpose; the same structure is seen in the bill of the Flamingo, though the outline of the bill is unlike that of the duck, and gave rise to the idea, or at any rate had something to do with the former impression, that the flamingo was a long-legged duck. But, as a matter of fact, there is a stork in which there is precisely the same ridging of the beak, and it is more usual now to place the flamingo among the storks, or near to them. The Spoonbill, as its name denotes, has a beak which is at the extreme of the series of beaks which are useful for sifting the mud at the bottom of pools and rivers; the extremity is widened and flattened out. Most singular is the recurved bill of the Avocet, and equally so the under-jawed Rhynchops, the terms used implying the peculiarities in each case. There is no living bird which lacks a beak; but in some of the extinct and toothed birds, which are again referred to later, the beak was absent. Its place was taken in them by the teeth.

Feet.

Hardly less diversified in form are the feet of birds. The skeleton of this part of the body is dealt with on another page; here we are concerned only with the external form of the feet and legs. Aquatic birds often have webbed feet, but not always. The Dipper, for example, is a bird which lives largely on and under the water, but its feet are not in the least like those of a Duck or Grebe. The webbed foot presents us with at least two varieties. In the Pelican tribe (fig. 5) the extreme of web-footedness is to be seen. Here all the toes (four) are connected by a webbing. In the Duck only three of the toes are webbed. Another kind of webbed foot is termed palmate. In the Coots, for example, each toe is fringed with a broad membrane, but there is no connection between the fringes of successive toes. The toes of birds are apt to be differently disposed. In most birds (fig. 6) there are three toes which are turned forwards, and one, the great toe (hallux), which is turned backwards. But in the Trogons and others two toes are turned forwards and two backwards, thus producing a very efficient mechanism for holding on tightly to the bough of a tree, a mechanism which is shared by that, in some other respects, bird-like lizard, the chameleon. A foot of this kind is technically called ‘zygodactyle.’ A singular modification of the foot is seen in the Kingfisher (fig. 7) where the two middle toes are enclosed in the same fold of skin; this is called ‘syngenesious.’

Skeleton.

A bird’s skeleton is wonderfully light and spongy in texture. It is full of air (see below, p. 27), but deficient in marrow. Its entire structure is pre-eminently suited to a flying creature, not only for the above reasons, but because the heaviest part (the sternum) lies in the middle, in the centre of gravity, and thus assists in preserving the balance, like Blondin’s pole.

The Skull.

The skull of a bird is composed of a large number of separate bones, which are very closely united in the adult bird, so much so that it is next to impossible to recognise that they are distinct bones. The bones are also thin and light, for to a flying animal any weight forward would be most disadvantageous. The weight of the bird should be, and is, concentrated in the middle of the body. We can divide the skull into two regions: behind is the smooth, rounded brain-case or cranium; in front is the face, which is largely ensheathed by the beak. It is chiefly formed by the maxillary and nasal bones above, and by the palatine and pterygoids below. The length of this part of the skull is subject to great variation in different birds. In the Storks, for instance, the face is extremely long, while in the Parrots it is comparatively short.

Professor Huxley, about thirty years ago, proposed to classify birds by the form of the bones of the palate. In the skull of the Hawk, it will be seen that two bones lying in the front region of the palate are fused with each other in the middle line, and to the type of skull which is thus characterised the name ‘desmognathous’ was given. It is found not only in the Hawks, but in a quantity of other birds; for instance, in the Stork tribe, and in the Hornbills and Toucans. The second form of skull distinguishes the gallinaceous birds; in them the two maxillo-palatines remain unconnected, and the palate is therefore in a way cleft; this is termed the ‘schizognathous’ skull. In the finch tribe there is a slight modification of this, called, from the Greek word for a finch, ‘ægithognathous.’ In these birds a median bone, called the vomer, from the fact that the bone to which it corresponds in the human skull is shaped somewhat like a plough-share, is truncated in front, instead of tapering, as it does in the schizognathous skull of the common fowl. There is a fourth variety, which marks out the Ostrich tribe and the American Tinamous, in which the two pairs of bones called the pterygoids and palatines do not, as they do in the types of skull that have been hitherto considered, reach the middle line of the skull, but are kept off from it by the vomers, which extend backwards. The term ‘dromæognathous,’ or emu-like, is applied to this form of skull. If the back of any bird’s skull be examined, it will be noticed that just below the great hole or foramen, through which the medulla passes to join the spinal cord in the canal of the vertebral column, is a rounded, rather kidney-shaped boss. This is the occipital condyle, by means of which the skull articulates with the first vertebra. If you look at the same region in a mammal, you will find that there are two of these, one on each side, though also below the foramen magnum. This is one of the many points of structure that distinguish a bird from a mammal and ally it to the reptiles; but it must be remembered that in some reptiles there is a commencing division of the single condyle into two.

The Vertebral Column.

Like all other backboned animals, birds have a chain of small bones running along the back, and enclosing a canal in which runs the spinal marrow. In most vertebrates some of the individual vertebræ in the region of the hind limb, the sacral region, are somewhat intimately fused together, forming a more solid structure for the support of the pelvis. In birds the strong coupling of the vertebræ is more marked, and extends to the dorsal region. The mechanical value of this to a flying animal is clear; it is analogous to the tight coupling of an express train, and prevents the back from bending from side to side under the strain produced by the powerful movements of the muscles in flight. The tail vertebræ show some curious modifications in different birds. In the typical carinate bird, the last few vertebræ are fused into a piece which is called the ‘plough-share bone,’ or ‘pygostyle.’ The name of this bone sufficiently indicates its shape; the expanded end of the bone serves as a firm base, upon which rest the strong tail feathers. Now, in the ostrich tribe there are no rectrices comparable in size to those of the flying carinates. Here there is no pygostyle, but the individual vertebræ are small and disconnected. They are, however, few in number, whereas in the Archæopteryx they are numerous, though, oddly enough, not so numerous altogether as are the tail vertebræ of some flying birds. Each individual vertebra in the Archæopteryx supports a pair of rectrices, which are thus arranged in a series, and not in one row. A very distinctive peculiarity of the vertebræ of birds is the saddle-shaped centrum. The centrum of the vertebra is the solid piece which underlies the canal of the spinal cord, the walls of the latter being formed by the neural arches, which unite above to form a neural spine. In other vertebrates the centra are flat (mammals), or procœlous (the concavity being forward), or opisthocœlous (the concavity posterior), or amphicœlous (concave on both sides). This latter form of vertebra is frequently met with in archaic forms belonging to various groups. It occurs, for example, in many fishes. Such reptiles as Hyperodapedon and the Geckos have the same kind of vertebræ. Among birds there is no existing genus or species which is to be thus characterised; but the extinct Ichthyornis had clearly biconcave vertebræ.

Shoulder Girdle.

_h_, ribs; 58, furcula; 52, coracoid; 59, anterior end of
sternum.]