Chapter XV: Part 15

At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marshland. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they take their departure in October, either to the European shores of the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep, moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course. This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher, who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, but may be noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the ground beyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather. In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only known as passengers on their way to the south. From making their appearance in the rainy season they are there called _pluviers_, whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill is marvellous.

The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and Green Plover, is found at various seasons In most countries of Europe; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered to be different species.

THE GREY PLOVER
SQUATÁROLA HELVETICA

_Winter_--forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted
on the neck and flanks with grey and brown; upper plumage dusky
brown, mottled with white and ash colour; long axillary
feathers black or dusky; tail white, barred with brown and
tipped with reddish; bill black; irides dusky; feet blackish
grey. _Summer_--lore, neck, breast, belly, and flanks, black,
bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and white.
Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with
black.

Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes them in summer; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudimentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.

The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes, they are disposed to be "sociable, not only towards their own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix with every other species, and thus produce a motley group." They fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line, more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles. As they advance they alternately show their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows; but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.

The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits; but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself; it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every now and then to pick up its food; it carries its body in a horizontal position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, consequently increasing the thick appearance of the head."

The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on. When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.

THE DOTTEREL
EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS

_Winter_--head dusky ash; over each eye a reddish white band,
meeting at the nape; face whitish, dotted with black; back
dusky ash, tinged with green, the feathers edged with rust-red;
breast and flanks reddish ash; gorget white; beak black; hides
brown; feet greenish ash. _Summer_--face and a band over the
eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of the neck ash;
feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, edged
with deep red; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black
line; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red;
middle of the belly black; abdomen reddish white. Young birds
have a reddish tinge on the head, and the tail is tipped with
red. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs yellowish olive,
blotched and spotted with dusky brown.

The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, 'little fool', received both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity. 'It is a silly bird', says Willughby, writing in 1676; 'but as an article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamplight, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing; if he a leg, the bird does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, that it is unawares entangled in the net.' Such, at least, was the common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following passage from the poet Drayton

Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,
As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us
Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,
So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.

In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June; and I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being much sought after for the table, they have become more rare; and the same thing has taken place in France.

The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel's eggs.

THE RINGED PLOVER
ÆGIALITIS HIATÍCULA

Forehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the
neck, black; a band across the forehead and through the eyes,
throat, a broad collar, and all the lower parts, white; upper
plumage ash-brown; outer tail-feather white, the next nearly
so, the other feathers grey at the base, passing into dusky and
black, tipped with white, except the two middle ones, which
have no white tips; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter
tipped with black. _Young_--colours of the head dull; gorget
incomplete, ash-brown; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the
base of the lower mandible; feet yellowish. Length seven and a
half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey
spots.

On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed, not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the neck, and a black one below. If the wind be high, or rain be falling, the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings; for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than in fair. On a nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft, sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance, and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping, stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shellfish, or a sand-hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible; or, if the observer be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion, but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival, find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name; others call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under the former of these names.

The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any other season; for the females are then employed in the important business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach; and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are able to run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses her wings; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder, and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.

The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin of a lake; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together repair to the sea-shore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while performing which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally, too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant, they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.

Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more frequently than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me, answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second time.

THE KENTISH PLOVER
ÆGIALITIS CANTIANA

Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts,
white; upper part of the forehead, a band from the base of the
beak extending through the eye, and a large spot on each side
of the breast, black; head and nape light brownish red; rest
of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer tail-feathers while,
the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and feet,
brown. _Female_ wants the black spot on the forehead, and the
other parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length
six and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled
with black.

The Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size, in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.

On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird is found in Egypt called the Tróchilus, which is noted for the friendly and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth, comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tróchilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which, adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the father of history, and pronounces the Tróchilus of the ancients to be the _Pluvier à Collier interrompu_, the subject of the present chapter. The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however, is not a Plover, but a Toddy.

Curlew [M]

Peewit [F]

Dotterel [M]

Norfolk Plover [F]

[_face p. 246._]]

Avocet

Grey Phalarope [F]

Red-necked Phalarope

Bar-tailed Godwit [F]]

THE LAPWING, OR PEEWIT
VANELLUS VULGARIS

Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards;
head, crest and breast, glossy black; throat, sides of the
neck, belly and abdomen white; under tail-coverts yellowish
red; upper plumage dark green with purple reflections; tail,
when expanded, displaying a large semicircular graduated black
patch on a white disk, outer feather on each side wholly white;
bill dusky; feet reddish brown. _Young_--throat dull white,
mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers tipped
with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs
olive-brown to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky
black.

The Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings, furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great distance; and its strange note, resembling the word 'peweet' uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England its eggs also are well known to most people; for 'Plovers' eggs', as they are called, are considered great delicacies.

Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries, the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially migratory; hence they may appear at a certain season in some particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for many months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration is so regular that the month of October has received the name of the 'Lapwing month'. In Britain their wanderings are both more uncertain and limited; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn, they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.

In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social, even in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France (from _van_, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached without difficulty; but as they are considered good eating, many of them fall before the fowler.

OYSTER CATCHER
HÆMÁTOPUS OSTRATEGUS

The plumage of this species is entirely black and white; head, neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black; rump, upper tail-coverts white; legs and toes pink; eyelids crimson. Length, sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered a harsh note in a high key which, though unmusical, harmonized well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more frequently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also been observed many miles away from the coast; but this is a rare occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young are able to run soon after breaking the shell.

In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; consequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to pass the night. One of these is what is called the "Eastern point" of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all advancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company being at the same height above the water. They are very wary at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single Oyster Catcher was brought to me.

A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate one is 'Mussel picker'; and it is thought that 'Catcher' comes from the Dutch _aekster_ (magpie). The note is a shrill _keep_, _keep_. It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr. Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty 'stack.'

THE TURNSTONE
STRÉPSILAS INTÉRPRES

Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks; upper
part of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown,
spotted with black; rest of the plumage variegated with black
and white; bill and irides black; feet orange-yellow. Length
nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched and spotted with
slate and brown.

The Turnstone is a regular annual visitor to the shores of Great Britain, and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan; but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the beginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage, active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manoeuvres while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived their name, though their industry is often apparent from the number of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where, owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity: "They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold.[46] In like manner I saw there four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return."

A writer in the _Zoologist_[47] gives an equally interesting account of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.

For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the breeding season--it never breeds with us--we are indebted to Mr. Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says, 'We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface, when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone, which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected to meet a bird of this sort breeding; it was placed against a ledge of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are visited.

[46] From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a
'Tangle-picker'.--C. A. J.

[47] Vol. ix. p. 3077.

FAMILY SCOLOPACIDÆ

THE AVOCET
RECURVIROSTRA AVOCÉTTA

General plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser
wing-coverts, and primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish
brown; feet bluish ash. Length eighteen inches. Eggs
olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dusky.

This bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet, to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that they were not seen oftener than once in seven years--by the other, that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased for less than five pounds. In Ray's time it was not unfrequent on the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed. They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir Thomas Browne says of it: '_Avoseta_, called shoeing horn, a tall black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed upward; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.' Pennant, writing of the same bird, says: 'These birds are frequent in the winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the Severn's mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed, they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite extended, and made a shrill noise (_twit_) twice repeated, during the whole time. The country people for this reason call them _Yelpers_, and sometimes distinguish them by the name of _Picarini_. They feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which show their progress.[48] They lay three or four eggs, about the size of those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large black spots.' Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species, which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.

The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World, and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer of the latter country says that 'by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud; this it searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey, a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches it with its beak'.

[48] It is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird
which strongly contrasts with the Avocet in the form of
its bill, ploughs the sand from one side to another, while
hunting for its food.

THE GREY PHALAROPE
PHALÁROPUS FULICARIUS

_Winter_--plumage in front and beneath white; back of the head,
ear-coverts, and a streak down the nape, dusky; back
pearl-grey, the feathers dusky in the centre, a white
transverse bar on the wings; tail-feathers brown, edged with
ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish
yellow; feet greenish ash. _Summer_--head dusky; face and nape
white; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown;
front and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a
half. Eggs greenish stone colour, blotched and spotted with
dusky.

The Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions, from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its structure being such that a naturalist would expect, _à priori_, that these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the sea-shore, where it builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers; but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.

THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
PHALÁROPUS HYPERBOREUS

Head deep ash-grey; throat white; neck bright rust-red; under
plumage white, blotched on the flanks with ash; back black, the
feathers bordered with rust-red; a white bar across the wing;
two middle tail-feathers black, the rest ash, edged with white;
bill black; irides brown; feet greenish ash. Length seven
inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted with black.

The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circle of residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numerous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at sea on beds of floating sea-weed, and indifferently swimming about in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, and unaffected by the report of a gun.

THE WOODCOCK
SCÓLOPAX RUSTÍCOLA

Back of the head barred transversely with dusky; upper plumage
mottled with chestnut, yellow, ash, and black; lower reddish
yellow, with brown zigzag lines; quills barred on their outer
web with rust-red and black; tail of twelve feathers tipped
above with grey, below with silvery white; bill flesh-colour;
feet livid. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dirty yellow, blotched
and spotted with brown and grey.

The history of the Woodcock as a visitor in the British Isles is briefly as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition; so weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion; and they become the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down with a stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days they are enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their way inland. They have been known even to settle on the deck of a ship at sea, in order to rest; or actually to alight for a few moments in the smooth water of the ship's wake. Their usual places of resort by day are woods and coppices in hilly districts, whither they repair for shelter and concealment. Disliking cold, they select, in preference, the side of a valley which is least exposed to the wind; and though they never perch on a branch, they prefer the concealment afforded by trees to that of any other covert. There, crouching under a holly, or among briers and thorns, they spend the day in inactivity, guarded from molestation by their stillness, and by the rich brown tint of their plumage, which can hardly be distinguished from dead leaves. Their large prominent bead-like eyes are alone likely to betray them; and this, it is said, is sometimes the case. So conscious do they seem that their great security lies in concealment, that they will remain motionless until a dog is almost on them or until the beater reaches the very bush under which they are crouching. When at length roused, they start up with a whirr, winding and twisting through the overhanging boughs, and make for the nearest open place ahead; now, however, flying in almost a straight line, till discovering another convenient lurking-place, they descend suddenly, to be 'marked' for another shot. About twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its lethargy, and repairs to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown that on these occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the trees before it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the wood through which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in the habit of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from which was suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across the course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew against it, the net was suddenly made to drop by the concealed fowler, and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes. Not many years ago, these nets were commonly employed in the woods, near the coast of the north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use on the Continent. The passages through which the birds flew were known by the name of 'cockroads', and 'cockshoots'.

The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which abound in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain either by turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and picking up the scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the soft earth, where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find any worm lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole, with much dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift their ground, repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs; and now, probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any living animal matter that may fall in their way. In March they change their quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country; hence it often happens that considerable numbers are seen at this season in places where none had been observed during the previous winter. They now have a call-note, though before they have been quite mute; it is said by some to resemble the syllables _pitt-pitt-coor_, by others to be very like the croak of a frog. The French have invented the verb _croûler_, to express it, and distinguish Woodcock shooting by the name _croûle_. Some sportsmen wisely recommend that no Woodcock should be shot after the middle of February; for it has been ascertained that increasing numbers of these remain for the purpose of breeding in this country; and it is conjectured, with reason, that if they were left undisturbed in their spring haunts, they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it is, there are few counties in England in which their nest has not been discovered; and there are some few localities in which it is one of the pleasant sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to watch the Woodcocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed feeding-ground.

The nest is built of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed among dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs, which, unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at each end.

There have been recorded numerous instances in which a Woodcock has been seen carrying its young through the air to water, holding the nestling between her thighs pressed close to her body.

During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed in a direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the nest are easily reared; and afford much amusement by the skill they display in extracting worms from sods with which they are supplied. The Woodcock is found in all countries of the eastern hemisphere where trees grow; but it is only met as a straggler on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

THE GREAT SNIPE
GALLINÁGO MAJOR

Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white band;
a streak of the same colour over each eye; from the beak to the
eye a streak of dark brown; upper plumage mottled with black
and chestnut-brown, some of the feathers edged with
straw-colour; greater wing-coverts tipped with white; under
parts whitish, spotted and barred with black; tail of sixteen
feathers; bill brown, flesh-coloured at the base. Length eleven
and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish
brown.

The Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is intermediate in size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not among the rarest of our visitants, it is far from common. It is, however, an annual visitor, and is seen most frequently in the eastern counties in the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp meadows and grassy places near marshes, but it does not frequent swamps like its congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a different diet, and this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvæ or grubs of Tipulæ (known by the common name of Father Daddy-Long-legs), which are in summer such voracious feeders on the roots of grass. It breeds in the northern countries of Europe, and in some parts of Sweden is so abundant that as many as fifty have been shot in a day. When disturbed on its feeding-ground, it rises without uttering any note, and usually drops in again, at no great distance, after the manner of the Jack Snipe. It may be distinguished by its larger size, and by carrying its tail spread like a fan. In the northern countries where it breeds it is found most commonly in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is much prized for the delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of sport. It is remarkable for being always in exceedingly good condition, a remark which applies to specimens procured in this country as well as those shot in Sweden. The nest, which has rarely been seen, is placed in a tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. The _Zoologist_ once mentioned the fact of four solitary Snipes being killed in the county of Durham in August, and two of these were young birds, scarcely fledged.

Great Snipe

Jack Snipe [M]

Common Snipe

Woodcock [M]

[_face p. 256_.]]

Knot [M]

Wood Sandpiper.

Sanderling [M]

Whimbrel [M]]

THE COMMON SNIPE
GALLINÁGO CÆLESTIS

Upper plumage very like the last; chin and throat reddish
white; lower parts white, without spots; flanks barred
transversely with white and dusky; tail of fourteen feathers.
Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light greenish yellow,
spotted with brown and ash.

The Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being found in all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Ireland to Japan, and from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also in many parts of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in many of the American islands. In Britain, Snipes are most numerous in the winter, their numbers being then increased by arrivals from high latitudes, from which they are driven by the impossibility of boring for food in ground hardened by frost or buried beneath snow. In September and October large flocks of these birds arrive in the marshy districts of England, stopping sometimes for a short time only, and then proceeding onwards; but being like many other birds, gregarious at no other time than when making their migrations, when they have arrived at a district where they intend to take up their residence, they scatter themselves over marsh land, remaining in each other's neighbourhood perhaps, but showing no tendency to flock together. Their food consists of the creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is said by some, they add small seeds and fine vegetable fibre; but it is questionable whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident, mixed up with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furnished with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes when disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly scared from their feeding-ground, and compelled to rise without any previous intention on their part, they seem at first uncertain which course to take, but twist and turn without making much progress in any direction; but in a few seconds, having decided on their movements, they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a sharp cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe, but once heard can scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such an occasion is fired at, it often happens that a number of others, who have been similarly occupied, rise at the report, and after having performed a few mazy evolutions, dart off in the way described. At other times they lie so close that between the sportsman and the bird which he has just killed there may be others concealed, either unconscious of danger, or trusting for security to their powers of lying hid. This tendency to lie close, or the reverse, depends much on the weather, though why it should be so seems not to have been decided. But the movements of Snipes generally are governed by laws of which we know little or nothing. At one season they will be numerous in a certain marsh; the next year perhaps not one will visit the spot; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality; a night's frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a few days after will bring them all back again. If very severe weather sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the reason is obvious; the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their feeding. They then retire to milder districts, to springs which are never frozen, to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the majority perform a second migration southwards; for, as a rule, they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring--that is, while on their way to and from some distant winter-quarters. After March they become far less frequent, yet there are few extensive marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of England, where some do not remain to breed. At this season a striking change in their habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is built of withered grass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of heath or reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if disturbed, instead of making off with his zigzag winter's flight, utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into the air, now ascending with a rapid vibration of wing, wheeling, falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is produced by the action of the wings, assisted by the tail-feathers, in his descents. One of its French names is _Chèvre volant_, flying goat, and the Scottish name 'Heather-bleater', was also given to it as descriptive of its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of her yet unfledged brood, endeavours to distract the attention of an intruder from them to herself by the artifice already described as being employed by others of the Waders.

'Sabine's Snipe', which was at one time thought to be a distinct species, is now admitted to be a melanism, a dark variety of the Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved that its tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was supposed. It is seldom found outside Great Britain.

THE JACK SNIPE
GALLINÁGO GALLÍINULA

Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish
brown; beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band
reaching from the bill to the nape; back beautifully mottled
with buff, reddish brown, and black, the latter lustrous with
green and purple; neck and breast spotted; belly and abdomen
pure white; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged with reddish
grey; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight and a
half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown.

As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account of its being superior in size to the common species, so the subject of the present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being contrasted with the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes, but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the ordinary pedestrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely to put one up. Its food and general habits are much the same as those of the Common Snipe; but it rises and flies off without any note. Its flight is singularly crooked until it has made up its mind which direction it intends to take; indeed it seems to decide eventually on the one which was at first most unlikely to be its path, and after having made a short round composed of a series of disjointed, curves, it either returns close to the spot from which it was started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden impulse, into a ditch a few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus within twenty yards of the spot where I stood, and though I threw upwards of a dozen stones into the place where I saw it go down, it took no notice of them. It was only by walking down the side of the ditch, beating the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise again. It then flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into the little stream from which I had first started it.

From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of the passenger, as well as from its silence, it is called in France _la Sourde_, 'deaf'. In the same country it is known also as 'St. Martin's Snipe', from the time of its arrival in that country, November 11; with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week in September.

A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen in this country at a season which would lead to the inference that it occasionally breeds here; but no instance of its doing so has been ascertained as a fact.

THE SANDERLING
CALIDRIS ARENARIA

_Winter_--upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash;
cheeks and all the under plumage, pure white; bend and edge of
the wing and quills blackish grey; tail deep grey, edged with
white; bill, irides, and feet, black. _Summer_--cheeks and
crown black, mottled with rust-red and white; neck and breast
reddish ash with black and white spots; back and scapulars deep
rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged and tipped
with white; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and tipped
with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges.
_Young in autumn_--cheeks, head, nape, and back variously
mottled with black, brown, grey, rust-red and dull white.
Length eight inches. Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with
black.