British Birds in their Haunts Part 41

The Sandpiper is found in all parts of Europe and Asia, but not in America.

THE COMMON REDSHANK ToTa.n.u.s CALIDRIS

_Winter_--upper plumage ash-brown; throat, sides of the head, streak over the eye, neck, and breast, greyish white; rump, belly, and abdomen, white; tail marked transversely with black and white zigzag bars, tipped with white; feet and lower half of both mandibles red. _Summer_--upper feathers ash-brown, with a broad dusky streak in the centre; under parts white, spotted and streaked with dusky; feet and lower half of both mandibles vermilion red. Length ten to eleven inches. Eggs greenish yellow, blotched and spotted with brown.

The Redshank is a bird of frequent occurrence on all such parts of the coast as are suited to its habits. Nowhere, I suppose, is it more abundant than on the coast of Norfolk--at least, on those parts of the coast where it can have access to muddy marshes. It does not, indeed, confine itself to such places, for it is not unfrequently to be seen on the sea-sh.o.r.e, feeding in the neighbourhood of Dunlins, Knots, Grey Plovers, and other Waders; or, when its favourite haunts are covered by the tide, a solitary bird or a party of three or four meet or overtake the stroller, by the sea-side, taking care to keep at a respectful distance from him, either by flying high over his head or sweeping along, a few feet above the surface of the sea, in the line of the breakers or in the trough outside them. They may easily be distinguished from any other common bird of the same tribe by the predominance of white in their plumage. Other Waders, such as Dunlins and Sanderlings, present the dark and light sides of their plumage alternately, but the Redshank shows its dark and white feathers simultaneously, and if seen only on the wing might be supposed to be striped with black and white. Keen-sighted observers can also detect its red legs. Its flight, as accurately described by Macgillivray, 'is light, rapid, wavering, and as if undecided, and, being performed by quick jerks of the wings, bears some resemblance to that of a Pigeon'.

During its flight it frequently utters its cry, which is a wild shrill whistle of two or three notes, approaching that of the Ringed Plover, but louder and less mellow. At low water, it frequents, in preference to all other places of resort, flat marshes which are intersected by muddy creeks, and in these it bores for food. It is very wary, flying off long before the fowler can come within shot if it happens to be standing exposed; and even if it be concealed under a high bank, where it can neither see nor be seen, it detects his approach by some means, and in most cases is up and away before any but the most expert shot can stop its flight. On these occasions it invariably utters its alarm note, which both proclaims its own escape and gives warning to all other birds feeding in the vicinity. Scattered individuals thus disturbed sometimes unite into flocks, or fly off, still keeping separate, to some distant part of the marsh. On one occasion only have I been enabled to approach near enough to a Redshank to watch its peculiar movements while feeding, and this observation I was much pleased in making, as it confirms the account of another observer. A writer in the _Naturalist_, quoted by Yarrell and Macgillivray, says: 'I was very much struck with the curious manner in which they dart their bill into the sand nearly its whole length, by jumping up and thus giving it a sort of impetus, if I may use the word, by the weight of their bodies pressing it downwards.' This account Macgillivray, with an unamiable sneer too common in his writings when he refers to statements made by others of facts which have not fallen within his own observation, considers to be so inaccurate that he p.r.o.nounces the birds to be not Redshanks at all, and calls them 'Irish Redshanks'. On the occasion to which I have referred, I saw at a distance a largish bird feeding on a bank of mud close to an embankment. Calculating as nearly as I could how many paces off it was, I cautiously crept along the other side of the embankment; and when I had reached what I supposed was the right spot, took off my hat and peeped over. Within a few yards of me was an unmistakable Redshank, pegging with his long beak into the mud, and aiding every blow with an impetus of his whole body. In my own mind I compared his movements with those of a Nuthatch, with which I was quite familiar, and, the surface of the mud being frozen hard, I imagined that the laborious effort on the part of the bird was necessitated by the hardness of the ground. Perhaps this may have been the case; but, whether or not, it is clear enough that the bird does, when occasion requires it, lend the weight of his body to the effort of his beak in searching for food. I should add that I did not know, at the time, that any similar occurrence had been recorded.

The food of the Redshank consists of worms, marine insects, and any other animal matter which abounds on the sea-sh.o.r.e. In small communities it builds its nest of a few blades of gra.s.s in the marshes, in a tuft of rushes or long gra.s.s, never among the shingle where that of the Ringed Plover is placed, but often under a shrub (popularly known on the coast of Norfolk by the name of 'Rosemary'), the _Suaeda fruticosa_, Shrubby Sea Blite, of botanists. It lays four eggs, which are considered delicate eating.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Redshank [M]

Greenshank.

Black-tailed G.o.dwit [F]

Ruff & Reeve.

[_face p. 270._]]

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Sandwich Tern.

Black Tern.

Arctic Tern.

Roseate Tern.]

THE GREENSHANK ToTa.n.u.s CANESCENS

Bill strong, compressed at the base, slightly curved upwards.

_Winter_--forehead, all the lower parts, and lower back, white; head, cheeks, neck and sides of the breast, streaked with ash-brown and white; rest of the upper feathers mottled with dusky and yellowish white; tail white, middle feathers barred with brown, outer white with a narrow dusky streak on the outer web; bill ash-brown; legs yellowish green, long and slender.

_Summer--_feathers of the back edged with white, breast and adjacent parts white, with oval black spots; middle tail-feathers ash, barred with brown. Length fourteen inches.

Eggs olive-brown, spotted all over with dusky.

An unusual colour and disproportionate length of leg are characters which sufficiently distinguish the Greenshank and account for its name. It is far less common than the Redshank, but seems to resemble it in many of its habits. It is sociably disposed towards birds of its own kind and allied species, but utterly averse to any familiarity with man, insomuch that fowlers rarely come within shot of it. It frequents low muddy or sandy sh.o.r.es and brackish pools, the oozy banks of lakes, ponds, and rivers, preferring such open situations as allow it a clear view of threatening danger while there is plenty of time to decamp. In the course of feeding it wades unconcernedly through pools of shallow water, and, if so minded, hesitates neither to swim nor to dive.

Its visits to England are paid most commonly in spring and autumn, while it is on its way to and from the northern climates in which it breeds. 'In Scotland it is seen', says Macgillivray, 'in small flocks here and there along the sea-sh.o.r.e, by the margins of rivers, and in marshy places breeding there in the north, but it is nowhere common, and in most districts of very rare occurrence. By the beginning of summer it has disappeared from its winter haunts, and advanced northwards; individuals or pairs remaining here and there in the more northern parts of Scotland, while the rest extend their migration.'

The same author describes a nest, which he found in the island of Harris, as very like those of the Golden and Lapwing Plovers, with four eggs, intermediate in size between the eggs of these two birds.

Another nest was also found by Selby, in Sutherlandshire. There can be therefore no doubt that the north of Scotland is within the extreme southern limit of its breeding-ground. During the winter it is to be seen in the west of Ireland only.

THE BAR-TAILED G.o.dWIT LIMoSA LAPPONICA

Beak slightly curved upwards; middle claw short, without serratures. _Winter_-upper plumage variously mottled with grey, dusky, and reddish ash; lower part of the back white, with dusky spots; tail barred with reddish white and dusky; lower parts white. _Summer_--all the plumage deeply tinged with red.

_Young birds_ have the throat and breast brownish white, streaked with dusky, and a few dusky lines on the flanks.

Length sixteen inches. Eggs unknown.

On the coast of Norfolk, where I made my first acquaintance with this bird in the fresh state, it is called a Half-Curlew. In like manner, a Wigeon is called a Half-Duck. In either case the reason for giving the name is, that the smaller bird possesses half the market value of the larger. It resembles the Curlew in its flight and the colour of its plumage; but differs in having its long beak slightly curved upwards, while that of the Curlew is strongly arched downwards; and it is far less wary, allowing itself to be approached so closely that it falls an easy prey to the fowler. It appears to be most frequently met with in spring and autumn, when it visits many parts of the coast in small flocks. In Norfolk it is met with from May, the twelfth of that month being called 'G.o.dwit day,' by the gunners, although it is almost unknown up north at that season.

The specimens which were brought to me were shot in the very severe weather which ushered in the year 1861. These birds have nowhere been observed in England later than the beginning of summer, from which fact the inference is fairly drawn that they do not breed in this country. Their habits differ in no material respects from the other sea-side Waders, with whom they frequently mingle while feeding, not, seemingly, for the sake of good fellowship, but attracted by a motive common to all, that of picking up food wherever an abundance is to be met with. Their note is a loud, shrill cry, often uttered while on the wing. The female is much larger than the male.

This bird is sometimes called the Sea Woodc.o.c.k. Its flesh is good eating, but is far inferior in flavour to that of the true Woodc.o.c.k.

THE BLACK-TAILED G.o.dWIT LIMoSA BELGICA

Beak nearly straight; middle claw long and serrated; upper parts ash-brown, the shafts of the feathers somewhat deeper; breast and adjacent parts greyish white; tail black, the base, and the tips of the two middle feathers, white; beak orange at the base, black at the point; feet dusky. _Summer_--much of the plumage tinged with red. Length seventeen and a half inches.

Eggs deep olive, spotted with light brown.

This bird is, in outward appearance, mainly distinguished from the preceding by having two-thirds of the tail black, instead of being barred throughout with white and black. Like its congener, it is most frequently seen in autumn and spring, while on the way to and from its breeding-ground in the north; but it does not stay with us through winter, though occasionally a few pairs used to remain in the fen-countries to breed. It is by far the less common of the two, and seems to be getting annually more and more rare. Its habits, as far as they have been observed, approach those of the other Scolopacidae. In its flight it resembles the Redshank. Its note is a wild screaming whistle, which it utters while on the wing. It builds its nest in swamps, among rushes and sedges, simply collecting a few gra.s.ses and roots into any convenient hole, and there it lays four eggs.

THE COMMON CURLEW NUMENIUS ARQUATA

General plumage reddish ash, mottled with dusky spots; belly white, with longitudinal dusky spots; feathers of the back and scapulars black, bordered with rust-red; tail white, with dark brown transverse bars; upper mandible dusky; lower, flesh-colour; irides brown; feet bluish grey. Length varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. Eggs olive-green, blotched and spotted with brown and dark green.

Dwellers by the sea-side--especially where the tide retires to a great distance leaving a wide expanse of muddy sand, or on the banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive banks of soft ooze--are most probably quite familiar with the note of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables, which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similar cry, mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound--wild, but in perfect harmony with the character of the scene--announces the fact that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well advanced, and that their feeding-ground is uncovered. The stroller, if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the birds themselves as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows; and though they will probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe distance, they will most likely come quite close enough to be discriminated. Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls; for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill, which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance, is disproportionately long, and is curved to a remarkable degree. Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding-ground those portions of the sh.o.r.e which most abound in worms and small crustaceous animals; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw from the sh.o.r.e, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools, or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects.

Hay-fields, before the gra.s.s is cut, are favourite resorts, especially in the North; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, sea-side birds, frequenting, more or less, all the coast; but at the approach of the breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put together.

The eggs, which are very large, are four in number. During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neighbourhood, but is scarcely less wary than at other seasons. The female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to be disabled; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed. The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to me in Norfolk in the winter of 1861, and among them about half seemed full-grown; of the others some were so small that, at the first glance, I supposed them to be Whimbrels.

The Curlew is found on the sea-coast over the whole of Europe and Asia, and along the northern coast of Africa.

The flesh of this bird is said by some to be excellent eating. This, perhaps, may be the case with young birds shot early in autumn before they have been long subjected to a marine diet. My own experience of birds shot in winter does not confirm this opinion. I have found them eatable, but not palatable.

THE WHIMBREL NUMENIUS PHaeOPUS

General plumage pale ash-colour, mottled with white and dusky spots; crown divided by a longitudinal streak of yellowish white; over each eye a broader brown streak; belly and abdomen white, with a few dusky spots on the flanks; feathers on the back, and scapulars deep brown, in the middle bordered by lighter brown; rump white; tail ash-brown, barred obliquely with dark brown; bill dusky, reddish at the base; irides brown; feet lead-colour. Length not exceeding seventeen inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, blotched with dusky.

Though by no means a rare bird, the Whimbrel is of far less common occurrence than the Curlew, and is seen only at two periods of the year, in May and August, when performing its migrations. It resembles the Curlew both in figure and habits, though much smaller in size; its note, too, is like the whistle of that bird, but somewhat higher. It is gregarious, but unsociable with other birds. The extreme southern limit at which the Whimbrel breeds is considered to be the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is known to visit most of the countries of Europe and Asia in spring and autumn, but is nowhere very abundant.

ORDER GAVIae

FAMILY LARIDae