Part 21
It is impossible for anyone who loves wild bird life to write about the buzzard without a feeling of profound melancholy. For this hawk, too, like the harriers, although once common, and still called in books the common buzzard, is a vanishing species. Howard Saunders writes: ‘Fifty years ago it used to breed in Norfolk and in other counties abounding in partridges and ground game, without being considered incompatible with their existence; but with the increase of pheasant-worship the doom of the buzzard was sealed, for, the larger the “hawk,” the worse it must necessarily be!’
My one consolation in this sad portion of my work, which tells of the noble and useful species whose ‘doom is sealed,’ is, that I am not writing for grown men, but for the young, who are not yet the slaves of a contemptible convention, nor have come under a system which has been only too mildly described as ‘stupid’ by every British ornithologist during the last five or six decades.
This once common bird is now almost unknown in England, and must be sought for in the wildest forest districts of Wales and Scotland. It is of a somewhat sedentary disposition, and in seeking its food displays little of the dashing and courageous spirit of the falcons. Small mammals, especially moles, reptiles, birds of various kinds, and insects, are its prey, which in all cases it drops upon and seizes on the ground. It is strongly attached to one favourite spot, and will return day after day to the same perch, where it will sit for hours at a stretch. All the buzzards show best when flying, and the appearance of the present species was thus described by Sir William Jardine: ‘The flight is slow and majestic; the birds rise in easy and graceful gyrations, often to an immense height, uttering occasionally their shrill and melancholy whistle. At this time, to a spectator underneath, and in particular lights, they appear of immense size; the motions of the tail when directing the circles may be plainly perceived, as well as the beautiful markings on it and the wings, sometimes rendered very plain and distinct by the body being thrown upwards, and the light falling on the clear and silvery tints of the base of the feathers. The buzzard is a fine accompaniment to the landscape, whether sylvan or wild and rocky.’
It nests both on crags and in forest trees, and sometimes makes use of the old nest of some other bird. The nest is of sticks, and is sometimes very large, lined with wool or some other soft material, and often with green leaves. Two to four eggs are laid, but three is the usual number. They vary from white, suffused with reddish brown, to bluish green, spotted, streaked, and clouded with reddish brown, with purple-grey under-markings.
Golden Eagle.
Aquila chrysaëtus.
Head, back of the neck, and legs lustrous reddish brown; the rest of the body dark brown; primaries nearly black; secondaries brownish black; tail dark grey, barred and tipped with brownish black; beak bluish at the base, black at the extremity; iris brown; cere and feet yellow; claws bluish black. Length of male, three feet.
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This noblest of the British birds of prey used at one time to breed in some localities in England and Wales, but it has gradually retreated farther and farther north, and is now restricted (as a breeder) to the Highlands and the western islands of Scotland. Fortunately, it now receives protection from the owners of large deer-forests in its northern habitat, and there is reason to hope that it will long continue to exist as a British species.
This species is very dark in hue, and is known in Scotland as the ‘black eagle.’ The colour is a very deep brown, the feathers of the head and nape tinged with reddish gold--hence its name of golden eagle. It preys on hares, rabbits, grouse, ptarmigan, and other birds, and occasionally destroys lambs and fawns, and will even attack full-grown ewes and deer.
The nest is a bulky structure of sticks, placed, as a rule, on a crag, sometimes in a tree, and the same nest is used year after year. Two or three eggs are laid, white or pale bluish green in ground-colour, blotched, spotted, and clouded with reddish brown and purple-grey under-markings.
Owing to his great size, dark colour, and power of wing, this eagle makes a very noble figure when flying. But he is noble in appearance at other times as well, and in this he differs from many of the larger species that are equally strong on the wing, or even much stronger--condors, vultures, albatrosses, and others. These, when they fold their pinions, lose all their majesty. But the golden eagle has just as grand a presence when perched as when soaring. The pleasure produced in us by the sight of this creature appears to differ in character from that which we find in contemplating such species as excel in elegance and grace, or in rich colouring--the mute swan glassed in the water it floats upon, and the peacock with splendid starry train. He is built on different lines, that indicate power and rapine; but his appearance in repose is not less attractive than theirs, and, in a sense, not less beautiful. Tennyson, in a few well-known lines, has described it better, perhaps, than any other writer--the majestic bird and the nature it inhabits, and is in harmony with--its sublimity and desolation:--
He grasps the crag with hooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed by the azure world he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls: He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.
White-tailed Eagle.
Haliaëtus albicilla.
Upper parts brown, head and neck lightest; under parts chocolate-brown; tail white; bill, cere, and feet yellowish white; claws black. In the young the tail is brown. Length of the male, two feet four inches; of the female, two feet ten inches.
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Immature specimens of the white-tailed, or sea-eagle, or erne, are from time to time obtained in England during the autumn and winter months. They are, probably, in nearly all cases migrants from northern Europe on their way south. The British race--the sea-eagles that bred formerly in many localities on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, and in the northern islands--is now all but extinct. The bird no longer breeds anywhere on the mainland, and but one or two pairs are known to inhabit the islands.
The sea-eagle has a more varied dietary than the species last described, and he hunts for food both on sea and land. In his habits he is by turns osprey, falcon, and raven. Like the osprey, he drops from a considerable height on to a fish seen near the surface, and, striking his talons into it, bears it away to land. But he preys more on puffins, guillemots, and other sea-fowl, than on fish. Like the golden eagle, he destroys mountain hares, grouse, and ptarmigan, and is regarded by the shepherd as the worst enemy to the flock. But the shepherd has his revenge, for the erne is a great lover of carrion, and may be easily poisoned.
The breeding habits of this species are similar to those of the golden eagle. The eggs, two in number, are white, without markings.
Its yelping cry is very powerful, and shriller than the scream of the golden eagle.
Sparrow-Hawk.
Accipiter nisus.
Upper parts dark bluish grey, with a white spot on the nape; under parts reddish white, transversely barred with deep brown; tail grey, barred with brownish black; beak blue, lightest at the base; cere, irides, and feet yellow. _Female_: upper parts brown, passing into blackish grey; under parts greyish white, barred with dark grey. Length of male, twelve inches; of female, fifteen inches.
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The sparrow-hawk is found in wooded districts in all parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and is, perhaps, the most generally diffused species of the diurnal birds of prey in this country, and, compared with most other species, may be said to be almost common. In reality it is becoming rare; which is not strange considering that, next to the carrion crow, it is the most persecuted of all the feathered creatures whose existence is an offence to the gamekeeper. In Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ it is said that the female sparrow-hawk is, indeed, the only bird of prey which the game-preserver nowadays need fear; and there is no doubt that it is immeasurably more destructive to the chicks of pheasant and partridge than any other raptor. It preys by preference on birds, as the kestrel does on mice, and in pursuit is capable of rapid flight and quick doublings; but its chases are short and near the surface of the earth. In habits it is a prowler, a stealthy flier among woods, by coppices and hedges, and takes its victims by surprise. It also dashes suddenly on them from its perch, where it has stood concealed by the foliage, keeping a sharp watch on the feathered creatures in its vicinity.
The sparrow-hawk is said to make a nest for itself, but it is more probable that in nearly all cases it takes possession of an old nest of some other bird. The eggs are four or five in number, and sometimes six, pale bluish white in ground-colour, blotched and spotted with various shades of reddish brown.
Kite.
Milvus ictinus.
[Illustration: FIG. 69.--KITE. ¹⁄₁₂ natural size.]
Upper parts reddish brown; the feathers with pale edges, those of the head and neck long, and tapering to a point, greyish white, streaked lengthways with brown; under parts rust-colour with longitudinal brown streaks; tail reddish orange, barred indistinctly with brown; beak horn-colour; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. _Female_: upper parts a deeper brown, the feathers pale at the extremity; head and neck white. Length, twenty-five inches.
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The kite, or glead, is another melancholy example of the effect of the pitiless persecution of some of our finest birds by game-preservers, and, as the species became rare, by collectors of ‘British-killed’ specimens and ‘British-taken’ eggs. Once a common species in the British Islands, it is now reduced to a miserable remnant, composed of a few breeding pairs in Wales and Scotland.
Among the various types of diurnal birds of prey, the kite is one of the finest; the great extent of his sharp-pointed wings and his long, forked tail, fit him for an aërial life. In appearance he is a swallow-shaped eagle; and few birds equal him in grace and majesty of motion when he soars at a vast height. Like the eagles, buzzards, and other strong-fliers among the raptors, he soars for exercise and recreation; but, vulture-like, when soaring he is ever on the watch for a meal. And, like the vulture, he will feed on garbage; for though of so noble an appearance, and possessed of such great power, he has, compared with the falcons, a poor spirit, and his name is a term of reproach that signifies cowardice and rapacity. A carrion-eater, he also preys on small mammals, reptiles, and birds, in most cases the young, the sickly, or wounded.
The nest of the kite is placed in a tree, and is a bulky structure of sticks, mixed with much rubbish--bones, turf, scraps of paper, and old rags--and is lined with wool and moss. Two to four eggs are laid, three being the usual number. In size, colour, and markings they closely resemble those of the buzzard.
Peregrine Falcon.
Falco peregrinus.
Upper parts dark bluish grey, with darker bands; head bluish black, as are also the moustaches descending from the gape; under parts white; breast transversely barred with brown; beak blue, darker at the point; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws black. _Female_: upper plumage tinged with brown, the under parts with reddish yellow. Length, fifteen inches; female, seventeen inches.
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This famed bird is of a handsome appearance, not swallow-like as is the kite, nor so massive as the eagle; but nature in fashioning it has observed the golden mean, and the result is a being so well-balanced in all its parts and so admirably adapted for speed, strength, and endurance, that to many minds it has seemed the most perfect among winged creatures. When standing perched on a crag, erect and motionless, as its custom is, its smooth and compact figure looks as if carved out of a stone or marble of a beautiful soft grey tint. The wings are sharp-pointed, and the flight is exceedingly rapid. In South America, where I first observed its habits, it used always to seem to me that the peregrine, alone among hawks, possessed a courage commensurate with its strength; and, in hunting, an infallible judgment. However swift of wing its quarry might be, it was almost invariably overtaken and struck to the earth; and the bird thus vanquished was in many cases the equal, and sometimes even the superior, in weight to the falcon. All other hawks make frequent mistakes, and often fail in their efforts: they chase birds they cannot overtake, and attack others that are too strong for them; and occasionally their courage fails, and they pass by the healthy and strong to attack the wounded or weak that are incapable of making an effort.
[Illustration: FIG. 70.--PEREGRINE. ¹⁄₁₀ natural size.]
In the British Islands the peregrine is an inhabitant of the iron-bound coasts, where it is still able to find comparatively safe breeding-sites. It makes no nest, the eggs being deposited in a slight hollow scratched in the soil on a ledge of a cliff. When it breeds in a tree it makes use of the deserted nest of some other bird. Two to four eggs are laid, yellowish white in ground-colour, mottled and spotted with reddish brown and orange-brown.
The peregrine preys almost exclusively on birds--ducks, waders, pigeons, grouse, partridges--and it has been seen to kill kestrels, jays, and magpies.
It has a sharp, powerful cry, uttered two or three times in rapid succession on the wing.
Hobby.
Falco subbuteo.
Upper parts bluish black; under parts reddish yellow with longitudinal brown streaks; moustaches broad, black; lower tail-coverts and legs reddish; beak bluish, dark at the tip; cere greenish yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws black. _Female_: colours less bright, and the streaks below broader. Length, twelve to fourteen inches.
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The hobby in appearance is a lesser peregrine, being about one-fifth smaller than that bird. It differs from the peregrine in having a softer plumage and a comparatively greater length of wing. It is probably the fastest flier among rapacious birds, being capable of the marvellous feat of capturing swallows and martins in the air. It is a summer visitant to this country, and is most often met with in the southern counties of England, where, however, it is a rare species; and the farther north we go the rarer it becomes. In Scotland it is not known to breed, and it does not range to Ireland. It inhabits woods, and breeds in an old nest of the carrion crow, jay, or some other bird, which it does not re-line. Three eggs are usually laid, and in some rare instances four or five. In size and colour they are not distinguishable from those of the kestrel.
The hobby is a spirited bird, but in courage and power greatly inferior to the peregrine. He preys principally on dragon-flies, beetles, and other large insects, and on small birds, such as skylarks and buntings. In falconry, the hobby was trained to fly at such small game as larks, snipe, and quail.
Merlin.
Falco æsalon.
[Illustration: FIG. 71.--MERLIN. ⅛ natural size.]
Upper parts greyish blue; under parts reddish yellow with longitudinal dark brown spots; tail barred with black; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws black. _Female_: upper parts tinged with brown; lower parts yellowish white. Length, eleven to twelve inches.
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The merlin is a third less than the peregrine in size, and has the distinction of being the smallest of the British birds of prey, But in courage it is second to none, and Yarrell relates an instance in which this small bird, weighing itself no more than six ounces, struck down and killed a partridge twice as heavy. It is a resident throughout the year of the British Islands, from the north of Yorkshire to the Shetlands, and the mountainous parts of Ireland.
The merlin is an inhabitant of the moors and mountains, and nests on the ground among the tall heather. The eggs are laid in a slight hollow with little or no lining, and are four or five in number, smaller than those of the kestrel, but similar in colour. It sometimes, but very rarely, breeds in the nest of a carrion crow or other bird, in a tree.
It preys chiefly on small birds, and it was formerly trained to pursue snipe, pigeons, larks, blackbirds, &c.
Kestrel, or Windhover.
Tinnunculus alaudarius.
Upper plumage, neck, and breast dark lead-grey; sides, under tail-coverts, and thighs light yellowish red, with longitudinal, narrow, dark streaks; beak blue; cere and feet yellow; irides brown; claws black. _Female_: upper plumage and tail light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown; lower parts paler than in the male. Length, fifteen inches.
[Illustration: FIG. 72.--KESTREL. ⅑ natural size.]
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The kestrel is the best known of the British hawks, not only because it is the most common species, but also because its peculiar preying habits bring it more into notice. It is resident and found throughout the United Kingdom, but undoubtedly possesses a partial migration, as it wholly disappears from some northern districts in the winter, and at the same season becomes more abundant in the southern counties.
When in quest of prey the kestrel has the habit of stopping suddenly in its rapid flight, and remaining for some time motionless in mid-air, suspended on its rapidly-beating wings, usually at a height of twenty or thirty yards above the surface. This habit, which has won for the species the appropriate name of windhover, is unique among British hawks. It is this peculiar aërial feat which makes the kestrel, when seen on the wing, so familiar a figure to country-people. The instant that the bird pauses in his swift-rushing flight you know that it is a kestrel, although it may be at such a distance as to appear a mere spot, a small moving shadow, against the sky. It has shorter wings than other falcons, and, by consequence, a more rapid and violent flight.
The kestrel preys chiefly on mice and field-voles; occasionally it takes a small bird, and carries off young, tender chicks, if they come in its way; but it certainly does not deserve its scientific name of _alaudarius_ (a feeder on larks), which would have fitted the hobby better. It also preys on frogs and coleopterous insects. Selby relates that a kestrel was observed late one evening pursuing the cockchafers, dashing at them and seizing one in each claw, eating them in the air, and then returning to the charge. When on the wing the kestrel’s downward-gazing eyes are constantly on the look-out for the mice that lurk on the surface, and as mice are usually well concealed by the grass and herbage, the eyes must indeed be wonderfully sharp to detect them. After remaining suspended for some seconds, sometimes for half a minute, or longer, during which the bird watches the ground below, he dashes down upon his prey, or flies on without descending, as if satisfied that what had been taken for a mouse had turned out to be something different.
When thus hovering motionless the wings are seen to beat rapidly for a few seconds, then to become fixed and rigid for a moment or two, after which the beating motion is renewed. A short time ago I watched a kestrel thus hovering in the face of a very violent wind, and it struck me that this suspension of the wings’ motion in such circumstances was very extraordinary and hard to explain. One can understand that, even in the face of a violent gale, the bird is able to maintain its motionless position by sheer muscular power; but how happened it that in the short intervals, when the outspread wings became fixed and motionless, the bird was not instantly blown from its position?
In its breeding habits the kestrel, like the starling and jackdaw, has a partiality for towers and lofty ruins, and it also nests in holes in rocks and hollow trees. In woods it frequently takes possession of a disused nest of a crow or magpie. The eggs are four or five, blotched with dull red on a reddish white ground; and in many eggs the ground-colour is quite covered with red.
The kestrel, among British birds of prey, is a favourite with the ornithologist in virtue of its interesting habits; and it deserves to be equally esteemed by the farmer on account of its usefulness. It is, indeed, the only bird of diurnal habits that wages incessant warfare against the prolific and injurious mice, and thus carries on by day the task of keeping down a pest which those ‘feathered cats,’ the owls, so efficiently pursue at night.