Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][graphic]

THIS bird measures rather more than five inches in length. Its bill and eyes are black; its forehead is white; cheeks, throat, fore part of the sides, and neck, black, which colour extends over each eye; the crown of the head, hinder part of the neck, and the back, are of a deep blue grey; in some birds, probably old ones, this grey is almost black; its breast, rump, and sides, are of a fine glowing red, inclining to orange colour, which extends to all the feathers of the tail, excepting the two middle ones, which are brown; the belly is white; feet and claws black. The female differs considerably from the male, her colours are not so vivid; the top of her head and back are of a grey ash colour, and the skin is white.

The redstart is migratory: it appears about the middle of April, and departs in the latter end of September, or beginning of October; it frequents old walls and ruinous edifices, where it makes its nest, composed chiefly of moss, lined with hair and feathers. It is distinguished by a peculiar quick shake of its tail from side to side, on its alighting on a wall or other place. Though a wild and timorous bird, it is frequently found in the midst of cities, always choosing the most difficult and inaccessible places for its residence: it likewise builds in forests, in holes of trees, or in high and dangerous precipices. The female lays four or five eggs, not much unlike those of the hedge-sparrow, but somewhat longer. These birds feed on flies, spiders, the eggs of ants, small berries, soft fruits, and such like.

[merged small][graphic]

THE Cockatoo is a beautiful bird of the parrot kind: its plumage is white, its beak round and crooked, and its head is adorned with a crest of long feathers, which are capable of being erected or lowered at pleasure, and give the bird a most striking fine appearance. It is a native of the Molucca islands, and other parts of the East Indies, where it is frequently known to build on the tops of houses. Like the rest of the parrot kind, it is capable of uttering sea phrases and sentences, with equal propriety of tone and volubility.

[merged small][graphic]

THIS bird is somewhat above five inches in length. The upper mandible is of a dark brown colour; the under one light blue, and the edges of both whitish; top of the head black; sides of the head, and back of the neck, ashcolour; back and wings, of an iron grey; the throat and

breast are of a silvery grey: belly white; the legs are of a blueish colour, inclining to brown; the claws black. The head of the female is of a dull rust colour.

The black-cap visits us about the middle of April, and retires in September; it frequents gardens, and builds its nest near the ground; it is composed of dried grass, moss, and wood, and lined with hair and feathers. The female lays five eggs, of a pale redish brown, sprinkled with spots of a darker colour. During the time of incubation, the male attends the female, and sits by turns; he likewise procures her food, such as flies, worms, and insects. This bird sings sweetly, and so like the nightingale, that in Norfolk it is called the mock-nightingale. Black-caps feed chiefly on flies and insects, and not unfrequently on ivy and other berries.

[merged small][graphic]

THIS is a slender-bodied bird, that weighs about six drachms, and is about seven inches and a half from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and about eleven from the point of each wing, when extended. It has a slender, straight, sharp bill, of a black or dusky colour, upwards of an inch long; the circles of the eyes brown, or hazel-coloured, with a large white spot encircling each eye; and another or two underneath it, on each side of the throat; the top of the head and the fore part of the neck, or throat, and the upper part of the back, are all black. Some of the tips of the quill-feathers are white, which form a small white line upon the wing, and another is also formed by the white edges of some of the rows of the covert feathers, the lower parts of the breast and belly are both white. The tail is about three inches long, which are almost continually in motion, wagging up and down, from whence it is supposed to derive the name of

wagtail; the outer feathers are chiefly white, the rest black. The claws are sharp pointed, and pretty long, of a dusky or blackish colour.

These birds are frequently seen about the brinks of rivers, ponds, and small pools of water. and also amongst the low grass in dewy mornings, where they feed upon flies, worms, beetles, and other small insects. They build under the eaves of houses, and in holes in the walls of old buildings, and lay four or five eggs.

There is another species, called the wagtail, from the colour of its head, neck, and back. It is somewhat larger than the common wagtail, owing to the great length of its tail. It has a dark brown bill, and over each eye a pale streak; the throat and chin are black, and all the under parts of the body are a bright yellow; the wingcoverts and quills are dark brown, the former with pale edges; the secondaries, which are almost as long as the greater quills, are white at the base, and tipped with yellow on the outer edges; the middle feathers of the tail black, the outer ones white, and the legs are yellowish brown. The female builds her nest on the ground, and sometimes in the banks of rivulets, laying from six to eight eggs, of a dirty white, marked with yellow spots. The wagtails change their quarters in winter, from the north to the south of England.

[merged small][graphic]

THE yellow-hammer is about the size of a sparrow. Its head is of a greenish yellow, spotted with brown; the throat and belly are yellow; the breast and sides, under the wings, mingled with red; the tail flesh colour. These birds build upon the ground, and are common in most parts of England.

[merged small][graphic]

THE titmouse, which is also called the tomtit, is about four inches and a half in length, and has a straight black bill, about half an inch long, pretty thick. The upper part of the head, and the chin, are black, with a large spot of white beginning at the base of the bill, and passing under the eyes to the sides of the neck; which colour descends as low as the shoulders and middle part of the back, where it appears more shaded with a glossy green; the rump is of a fine blue; the quill feathers have some of their tips white, some blue, others green; the covert feathers, by their white tips, make a small transverse white line upon each wing. The breast, belly, and thighs, are yellow, with a broad black line passing from the throat down the middle of the breast to the vent. The tail is about two inches and a half long, of a black colour, except the outward edges of some of the feathers, which are blue. The legs and feet are a sort of lead colour.

These birds feed on insects, seeds, and fruit. They are very prolific, laying eighteen or twenty eggs at a time. Some of them will venture to assault birds that are twice or thrice their own bulk, and in this case they direct their aim chiefly at the eyes. They often seize upon birds that are weaker than themselves; which they kill, and having picked a hole in their skull, eat out their brains. This bird is distinguished above the rest of its kind, by its rancour against the owl.

There are many varieties of this bird; the greater titmouse is about five inches in length. The nests of almost every kind are constructed with the most exquisite art, and with materials of the utmost delicacy; such as moss, hair, and the web of spiders, with which the whole is strongly tied together.

« PreviousContinue »