The natural history of British birds: or, a selection of the most rare, beautiful, and interesting birds which inhabit this country: the descriptions from the Systema naturæ of Linnæus; with general observations, either original, or collected ... By E. Donovan, F.L.S. In five volumes. ... [pt.2]

Table of contents

- [halftitle]

- [titlepage]

- PLATE XXV. TRINGA VANELLUS. LAPWING, or TEWIT. GRALLAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XXVI. PARUS CRISTATUS. CRESTED TITMOUSE. PASSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXVII. EMBERIZA NIVALIS? TAWNY BUNTING. PASSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXVIII. COLYMBUS TROILE. FOOLISH GUILLEMOT. ANSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXIX. COLYMBUS AURITUS. EARED GREBE. ANSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXX. FALCO APIVORUS. HONEY BUZZARD. ACCIPITRES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXI. LANIUS COLLURIO. RED-BACKED SHRIKE, BUTCHER-BIRD, or FLUSHER. ACCIPITRES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXII. TRINGA CINCLUS. OX-EYE, PURRE, OR STINT. GRALLAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXIII. CORACIAS GARRULA. GARRULOUS ROLLER. PICAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXIV. LE GEAY BLANC. WHITE JAY.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXV. STRIX BRACHYOTOS. SHORT-EARED OWL. ACCIPITRES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXVI. PICUS MINOR. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. PICAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXVII. PICUS VIRIDIS. GREEN WOODPECKER. PICAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXVIII. MERGUS SERRATOR. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. ANSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XXXIX. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. COMMON CROSSBILL. PASSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XL. MOTACILLA BOARULA. GREY WAGTAIL. PASSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XLI. CUCULUS CANORUS. COMMON CUCKOW. PICAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XLII. CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS. DOTTEREL. GRALLAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XLIII. LOXIA COCCOTHRAUSTES. GROSBEAK OR HAWFINCH. PASSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XLIV. PODICEPS NIGRICANS. DUSKY GREBE. ANSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XLV. CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS. GOLDEN PLOVER. GRALLAE.

- [description]

- PLATE XLVI. LARUS CANUS. COMMON GULL. ANSERES.

- [description]

- PLATE XLVII. FALCO MILVUS. KITE. ACCIPITRES.

- [description]

- PLATE XLVIII. MOTACILLA SALICARIA. SEDGE BIRD. PASSERES.

- [description]

- INDEX TO VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEM OF LINNAEUS.

- VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO LATHAM's SYNOPSIS OF BIRDS.

- DIVISION I. LAND BIRDS.

- DIVISION II. WATER BIRDS.

- VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO PENNANT's BRITISH ZOOLOGY,

- VOL. II. ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS; OR, A SELECTION OF THE MOST RARE, BEAUTIFUL, AND INTERESTING BIRDS WHICH INHABIT THIS COUNTRY: THE DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE SYSTEMA NATURAE OF LINNAEUS; WITH GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, EITHER ORIGINAL, OR COLLECTED FROM THE LATEST AND MOST ESTEEMED ENGLISH ORNITHOLOGISTS; AND ILLUSTRATED WITH FIGURES, DRAWN, ENGRAVED, AND COLOURED FROM FINE AND LIVING SPECIMENS.

BY E. DONOVAN, F. L. S.

IN FIVE VOLUMES. VOL. II.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR; AND FOR F. AND C. RIVINGTON, No. 62, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. 1799.

PLATE XXV. TRINGA VANELLUS. LAPWING, or TEWIT. GRALLAE.

Bill roundish. Tongue entire, fleshy. Thighs naked. Toes divided.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill roundish, strait, about the length of the head. Nostrils narrow. Toes four.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill, Crown, Crest, Throat, black; a black line under each Eye; at the back part of the Head a Crest of about twenty narrow feathers of unequal length; sides of the Neck white; fore part as far as the Breast black; the Back and Wings green, most beautifully glossed with fine purple, brown and blue. Quills black. Breast and Belly white. Upper Tail Coverts and Vent pale rufous. Tail white from the base half up, extreme half black. Legs red.

- Tringa Vanellus. Pedibus rubris, crista dependente, pectore nigro.

- Fn. Suec. 148.—Linn. Syst. Nat. Editio Decima. 1. 148.

- Scop. Ann. 1. No 141.

- Brun. No 170.

- Mull. No 192.

- Kram. El. p. 353.

- Frisch. II. 213.

- Olin. Uc. pl. in p. 21.

- Georgi Reise. p. 172.

- LAPWING, BASTARD

- PLOVER. PEWIT. Raii. Syn. p. 110. A. 1.

- Will. Orn. 307. pl. 57.

- Albin. 1. pl. 74.

- Arct. Zool. p. 480. D.

- Br. Zool. 190.

- Lev. Mus.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. V. 161.

- Le Vanneau. Bris. Orn. V. p. 94. 1. pl. 8. fig. 1.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 48. pl. 4.—Pl. enl. 242.

- Le Vanneau, Dixhuit, Papechieu. Belon. Av. 209.

- Zweiel. Gesner. Av. 765.

- Pavoncella. Olina. 21.

- Pavonzino. Aldr. Av. 111. 202.

- Kiwik. Kram. 353. Frisch. 11. 213.

- Wipa, Kowipa, Blaecka. Faun. Suec. Sp. 176.

- Danis Vibe, Kivit. Brunnich. 170.

The length of this species is about thirteen inches and a half; the breadth more than two feet; the weight eight ounces; the female is exactly like the male both in form and colour, but is rather smaller.

It lays four eggs, of a dirty olive cast, speckled with black [*], in a slight nest composed of bents, or on a bed of dried grass, scraped together on the ground; the hen fits about three weeks; the young as soon as hatched run together like chickens.

The old birds shew a remarkable solicitude for their young, flying with great anxiety about them if disturbed; and using every stratagem to decoy the disturber from the nest; feigning to flutter as if wounded on the ground at a little distance, or running along as if lame: should those artifices prove useless they become desperate, and will strike at the person or animal whom they cannot entice away.

Towards winter both young and old assemble in flocks of four or five hundered on the heaths or marshy places, at which time they are caught in nets for the use of the table in the same manner that Ruffs are.

They are common in most parts of Europe, as far as Iceland; change place according to the season; are met with in Persia and Egypt in winter, and Latham says he has seen a specimen from China.

They are esteemed a delicacy as their nourishment is only slugs and worms; these they draw out of the ground morning and evening. They are sometimes kept in gardens, and by good treatment become both useful and familiar.

Notes

*
Pennant observes that
the eggs are held in great esteem for their delicacy; and are sold by the London Poulterers for three shillings the dozen.

↵

PLATE XXVI. PARUS CRISTATUS. CRESTED TITMOUSE. PASSERES.

Bill conic, pointed. Nostrils oval, broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill short, strong, entire, bristles at the base. Tongue blunt, with bristles at the end.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Forehead and sides of the Head white; on the head a crest of black pointed feathers with white edges. Chin and Throat black; with a collar of the same colour bounding the Cheeks. Back, Wings, and Tail, rufous grey. Under parts of the Body white, sides with a rufous tinge. Legs lead colour.

- PARUS Cristatus, Capite Cristato. Linn. Syst. 1. p. 340. No 2.

- Scop. Ann. 1. p. 162. 243.

- Raii. Syn. p. 74. No 6.

- Muller. p. 34. No 282.

- Georgi Reise. p. 175.

- Frisch. t. 14.

- Kram. el. p. 379. No 2.

- CRESTED TITMOUSE. Raii. Syn. p. 74. No 6.

- Albin. 2. pl. 57.

- Will. Orn. p. 242. t. 43.

- Arct. Zool.—Br. Mus.

- Le Mesange Puppee. Bris. Orn. 3. p. 558. No 8.

- Buff. Ois. V. p. 447.—Pl. Enl. 502. f. 2.

The Crested Titmouse is so very rarely found in this country, that neither Latham or Pennant has described it as a British species; nor has the latter included it in the Appendix of the British Zoology, among the foreign birds which visit us at unstated periods.

It is met with in many parts of France, particularly in Normandy, and the intermediate country between that and Sweden; writers concur that it is of a very solitary disposition, never mixing with other birds, nor in numbers even with its own species; it is chiefly found among the ever-green trees in the deep and gloomy recesses of extensive forests, and is therefore little known even in those parts where the species is most frequent.

Walcot mentions that they are sometimes seen in Scotland, and once visited that country in a large flock; the specimen from which our figure is copied was shot in Scotland also, in company with several others in the year 1792.

PLATE XXVII. EMBERIZA NIVALIS? TAWNY BUNTING. PASSERES.

Bill conic, pointed. Nostrils oval, broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill conic, angular on each side; a hard knob within the upper mandible.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill yellow tipt with black. Head and round the Neck tawny. Back brown, marked with black. Legs black. Rump tawny. Tail twelve feathers, rather forked, exteriors white.

- EMBERIZA NIVALIS Faun. Suec. 227. B.

- EMBERIZA FRIGIDA. Lath. Cat. English Birds, Suppl.

- TAWNY BUNTING. Pen. Br. Zool. 121.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. III. 164.

- GREAT PIED MOUNTAIN FINCH or BRAMBLING. Will. Orn. 225.

- L'Ortolan de Neige, Hortulanus Nivalis. Bris. av. III. 285.

- Schnee-ammer (Snow-hammer). Frisch. 1. 6.

These birds are sometimes met with in the northern parts of England, but are not common; three males and one female were shot in the garden of Mr. Slade, Vauxhall-road, about a fortnight since. I carefully examined them, and found they varied very much in their colours: it is not indeed surprising that the accurate Linnaeus should consider the Tawny and Mountain Buntings with their varieties, as the Snow Bunting in its different approaches to its summer appearance.

Pennant is of a different opinion, and has described it under the English name Tawny Bunting, as a distinct species. Latham has also described it as a different species in his general Synopsis; and in the list of the Birds of Great Britain, in the supplemental volume, he adds "EMBERIZA FRIGIDA," and refers to the description of the Tawny Bunting in the British Zoology, No 121.

The name "Emberiza glacialis" has been also given to the same, or a mere variety of this bird.

Our specimens are about six inches and three quarters in length, twelve inches and three quarters in breadth; weight an ounce.

PLATE XXVIII. COLYMBUS TROILE. FOOLISH GUILLEMOT. ANSERES.

Bill obtuse, covered with a thin membrane; broad, gibbous below the base, swelled at the apex. Tongue fleshy. Legs naked. Feet webbed, or finned.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill straight, slender, pointed. Nostrils linear, at the base of the bill. Legs near the tail. Feet webbed.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill black. Inside of the mouth yellow. Tips of the small quills, breast, and belly white. The rest deep mouse colour.

- COLYMBUS TROILE. Linn. Syst. I. p. 220.

- 2.—Fn. Sv. No 149.

- Brun. No 108.

- Mull. No 152.

- Frisch. t. 185.

- GUILLEMOT, or SEA HEN.

- Lonruvia Hoieri. Raii. Syn. p. 120. A. 4.

- Will. Orn. p. 324. pl. 65.

- Albin. 1. pl. 84.

- Edw. pl. 359. Fig. I.

- FOOLISH GUILLEMOT. Br. Zool. No 234.

- Arct. Zool. No 436.

- Br. Mus.—Lev. Mus.

- THE LAVY. Martin's Voyage, St. Kilda, 32.

- Le Guillemot. Bris. Orn. VI. p. 70. 1. pl. 6. fig. 1.

- Buff. Ois. 9. p. 350. pl. 25.—Pl. Enl. 903.

- Lommia. N. Com. Petr. IV. 414.

- Sea-Taube, or Groenlandischer Taucher. Frisch. 11. 185.

The Guillemot is found in immense numbers on several of the English coasts in summer; they continue in the Orknies [*] the whole year; chiefly breed in the uninhabited Isle of Priestholm, near the Isle of Anglesea; the Farn Isles near the coast of Northumberland, and among the high cliffs in the neighbourhood of Scarborough [†], Yorkshire. Like the Auk, (which are also found with them in vast numbers). They lay only one egg, more than three inches in length, of a blueish white or pale sea-green colour, most elegantly streaked with black lines crossing each other in every direction.

They are very silly; for though they see their companions killed by their side, they only make a short circuit, and alight in the same place to be shot at in turn.

Our bird is seventeen inches in length, weight twenty-five ounces, breadth twenty-seven inches and a half. Brunnich mentions a variety, with a broader and shorter bill, and yellow margins. Muller speaks of a variety, with a white ring round the eyes, and a line of the same colour behind.

They are found in most of the northern parts of Europe to Spitzbergen [‡], the coast of Lapmark, along the White and Icy Sea to Kamtschatka; are found at Newfoundland and in some parts of North America.

It is called Guillem by the Welch, Guillemot or Sea Hen, at Northumberland and Durham; in the southern parts, Willocks.

Notes

*
Penn. Br. Zool.
↵

†
Willoughly.
↵

‡
Both Pennant and Latham has separated the Guillemots from the Divers, and Grebes; to the first Latham has given the generic title Uria after Brisson; the second he continues under the Linnaean genus (Colymbus); and the third he calls Podiceps.
↵

PLATE XXIX. COLYMBUS AURITUS. EARED GREBE. ANSERES.

Bill obtuse, covered with a thin membrane, broad, gibbous below the base, swelled at the apex. Tongue fleshly. Legs naked. Feet finned, or webbed.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill straight, slender, pointed. Nostrils linear, at the base of the bill. Legs near the tail. Feet webbed.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill curved a little upwards at the point. Lore and irides crimson. Head black, with an orange-coloured tuft of feathers behind each eye. Breast silvery white. Ridge and tips of the wings white. Legs olive.

- COLYMBUS AURITUS. Linn. Syst. I. p. 222. 8.

- Fn. Sv. 152.

- Scop. Ann. I. No 100.

- Muller. p. 20.

- EARED GREBE. Br. Zool. No 224. pl. 79.

- Arct. Zool. p. 499. B.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 5. 284. 4.

- EARED DOBCHICK. Edw. pl. 96. fig. 2.

- La Grebe à oreilles. Bris. Orn. 6. p. 54. 6.

- Le petit Grebe huppé. Buff. Ois. 8. p. 235.

- Novegis Sav-Orre, Soe-Orre.

- Bornholmis Soe-Hoene.

- Islandis Flaueskitt. Brun. 136.

The length of this Species is twelve inches; they inhabit the fens near Spalding, where they breed; they are found in the northern parts of Europe, and in the temperate parts of Siberia and Iceland. Said by Bougainville to be met with in Falkland Islands, wnere it is called the Diver with Spectacles.—Boug. Voy. p. 61.

The nest, like most others of the same Genus, is composed of twigs, roots and stalks of water-plants, and is usually found floating among the reeds and ••ags, nearly filled with water. The female lays four or five small white eggs, which are hatched in the water.

PLATE XXX. FALCO APIVORUS. HONEY BUZZARD. ACCIPITRES.

Birds of prey. Bill and claws strong, hooked. An angle in each margin of the upper mandible. Body muscular. Females larger and more beautiful than the males.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill arched from the base, which is covered with a wax-like membrane, or cere.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill and Cere black. Legs yellow; Claws black. Head ash-coloured. Back and Wings dark brown. Breast and Belly white, spotted. Tail barred.

- FALCO APIVORUS, Cere nigra, pedibus seminudis flavis, capite cinereo, caudae fascia cinerea apice albo.—Fn. Sv. 66.—Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 91. 23. edit. 12.

- BUTEO APIVORUS, Raii Syn. p. 16. No 2.

- HONEY BUZZARD, Will. Orn. p. 72. t. 3.

- Albin I. t. 2.

- Pen. Br. Zool. I. No 26.

- Latham's Gen. Syn. I. p. 52. No 33.

- Arct. Zool. 2. p. 224. I.

- La Bondrèe. Bris. Orn. I. p. 410. No 33.

- Buff. Ois. I. p. 208.

- Pl. enl. 420.

- Le Goiran, ou Bondrèe. Belon av. 101.

- Frosch-geyerl. Kram. 331.

- Slag-Hok. Faun Suec. sp. 65.

- Muse-Hoeg, Muse-Baage. Brun. p. 5.

Though the Honey Buzzard inhabits various parts of the continent of Europe it is no where common except in the open parts of Russia and Siberia; is seen as far north as Sondonor in Norway. In England it is scarcely ever met with.

The length of our Specimen is twenty-three inches; weight when taken thirty ounces. In its colours it precisely corresponds with the description of the Honey Buzzard in Latham's General Synopsis of Birds, but differs very materially from that either of Linnaeus [*], Brisson [†], Pennant [‡], or Albin |.

Albin says, "This bird builds its nest of small twigs, laying on them wool, and upon the wool its eggs. Some of them have been found to make use of an old nest of a kite to breed in, feeding their young with the nymphae of wasps, the combs of wasps being found in the aforesaid nests, in which were two young ones, covered with a white down, spotted with black; their feet of a pale yellow, their bills between the nostrils and the head white, their craws large: in the crops were found lizards, frogs, &c. In one of them were found two lizards entire, with their heads towards the bird's mouth, as if they fought to creep out."—"This bird runs very swiftly like a hen."—Alb. 1. t. 2.

The eggs of the Honey Buzzard are variously described by different authors; the specimens formerly preserved in the Portland Museum were of a very deep red brown, with ferruginous blotches of chesnut; Mr. Latham says he was informed by Mr. Boys, "that they are of a blueish white, marked with irregular rufous spots; the shape of the egg almost globular; usually three in the nest." Mr. Pennant says he was favoured with a description of the eggs by Mr. Plumly; "they were blotched over with two reds, something darker than those of the Kestril."

Notes

*
Linnaeus describes the tail with only one cinerous band, the tip white.
↵

†
Brisson says "the side tail-feathers are banded with white on the inner webs, and are spotted with brown."
↵

‡
Albin describes the tail of his specimen "plain without bars."
↵

|
Pennant, in the Br. Zool. describes the Honey Buzzard, "Chin, breast, and belly white; the two last marked with dusky spots, pointing downwards; and three dusky bars on the tail." He mentions a variety "entirely of a deep brown; had much the fame marks on the wings and tail as the male; and the head tinged with ash-colour."
↵

PLATE XXXI. LANIUS COLLURIO. RED-BACKED SHRIKE, BUTCHER-BIRD, or FLUSHER. ACCIPITRES.

Birds of prey. Bill and claws strong, hooked. An angle in each margin of the upper mandible. Body muscular. Females larger and more beautiful than the males.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill hooked towards the end, with a notch near the tip of the upper mandible; base not furnished with a cere. Tongue jagged at the end.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill black. A black stroke through the eyes. Head light grey. Upper parts of the back, and wing coverts, ferrugineous. Breast, belly, and sides, blossom-coloured. Legs black. Tail black; all the feathers, except the two middle ones, more or less white at the base.

- LANIUS COLLURIO. Cauda subcuneiformi, dorso griseo, rectricibus quatuor intermediis unicoloribus, rostro plumbeo.—Lin. Syst. Nat. 1. 94. 3. edit. 12.

- Faun. Arag. p. 71.

- Scop. Ann. I. p. 24. No 19.

- Kram. p. 363.

- Muller. p. 11.

- Sepp. Vog. pl. in p. 127.

- LANIUS TERTIUS. Aldr. av. I. 199.

- L'ANIUS minor ruffis seu 3•tus Aldrovandi, Raii Syn. p. 18. A. a.

- MERULAE congener alia, Raii Syn. p. 67. No 13?

- LESSER BUTCHER-BIRD. Will. Orn. p. 88.

- Albin. vol. II. pl. 14.

- FLUSHER, in Yorkshire.

- Red-backed Shrike, Br. Zool. I. No 72.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. I. 167. 15.—Suppl. 52. 15.

- Arct. Zool. No 131.

- Le petite Pie griesche grise. Belon av. 128.

- L'Ecorcheur. Bris. 2. p. 151. No 4.

- Buff. Ois. I. p. 304. pl. 21.—pl. enl. 31. fig. 2.

- Danis Tornskade. Norv. Hantvark. Br. 23.

- Dorngreul, Dornheher. Kram. 363.

- Bufferola, Ferlotta rossa. Zinan. 91.

- Mali Sokrakoper. Scopoli, No 19.

The length of this Species is seven inches and a half, breadth eleven inches; the female is of a dull ferruginous, mixed with grey: the breast, belly, and sides, dirty white, crossed with semicircular dusky lines: the tail deep brown, except the outer feather on each side, whose exterior webs are white; the female is rather larger than the male.

It visits this country in the spring and departs in autumn; it is common in France and Italy, as well as in the temperate parts of Russia.

It builds its nest in a hedge or low bush, and lays six white eggs, encircled at the largest end with a rufous brown circle; it not only feeds on insects, but will devour the young of other birds, taking hold of them by the neck and strangling them, then tearing out the eyes, brain, &c. and when satisfied sticks the remainder on a thorn for another meal; when confined in a cage it will do the same against the wires with beetles, grashoppers, or pieces of sheep's kidney.

It is said to imitate well the notes of other birds, though it has none of its own.

PLATE XXXII. TRINGA CINCLUS. OX-EYE, PURRE, OR STINT. GRALLAE.

Bill roundish. Tongue entire, fleshy. Thighs naked. Toes divided.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill roundish strait, about the length of the head. Nostrils narrow. Toes four.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill slender, black. Head, neck, back and tail, ash-coloured, or brown with dark spots. Breast, belly, and lower parts of the quill feathers white. Legs greenish brown.

- TRINGA CINCLUS. Linn. Syst. I. p. 251. 18.—Georgi Reise, p. 172.

- Cinclus sive Motacilla.

- Maritima, Lyssklicker. Gesn. av. 616.

- PURRE. Br. Zool. No 206. pl. 17.

- Arct. Zool. p. 390.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 5. 182. 30.

- SANDERLING. Albin. 3. pl. 88.

- LEAST SNIPE, Raii Syn. p. 190. 11.

- Sloan. •am. p. 320. 14. pl. 265. 4.

- STINT, or OX-EYE. Raii Syn. p. 110. A. 13.

- Will. Orn. p. 305.

- WAGTAIL, Kolb. Cap. I. p. 152.?—Brown Jam. p. 477.

- L'Allouette de Mer. Bris. av. 5. 211. tab. 19. fig. 1:

- Belon av. 213.

- Buff. Ois. 7. p. 548.—Pl. enl. 851.

- Giarolo. Aldr. av. 3. 188.

Length seven inches and a half; extent fourteen inches; weight an ounce and a half.

This Species is very common in most parts of Europe, and is said to be found at the Cape of Good Hope; in Jamaica and other West-India Islands. They frequent our coasts in the winter in vast flocks, alternately swimming and flying in large circles with the greatest regularity: they leave our shores in spring, and retire to some unknown place to breed. Mr. Latham suspects that they breed on the coast of Kent, having received some birds which scarcely differed from the description, from Mr. Boys of Sandwich; they were shot at Romney, in the month of August.

Le Cincle of Buffon and L'Alloutte de Mer à Collier of Brisson has much affinity to this Bird, and is supposed to be only a difference of sex or age, as they are often taken in company.

PLATE XXXIII. CORACIAS GARRULA. GARRULOUS ROLLER. PICAE.

Bill compressed, convex.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strait, bending towards the tip, edges cultrated. Nostrils narrow and naked.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, AND SYNONYMS. Head, neck, breast, and belly light bluish green. Back and scapulars reddish brown; tail forked; black, blue and green. Legs dirty yellow.

- CORACIAS GARRULA. caerulea, dorso rubro, remigibus nigris. Lin. Syst. Nat.

- CORVUS dorso sanguineo remigibus nigris, rectricibus viridibus. Fn. Sv. 73.

- CORNIX caerulea. Gesn. av. 335.

- GARRULUS argentoratensis. Raj. av. 41.

- GARRULOUS ROLLER. Lath. Gen. Syn. I. p. 406, No 1.

- Suppl. 815. 1.

- Arct. Zool. ii. p. 253. G.

- ROLLER Wil. Orn. 131. pl. 20.

- Raii. Syn. p. 41. No 3. p. 42.

- Pen. Br. Zool. appen. p. 624. pl. 2.

- Edw. Pl. 109.

- Le Rollier. Bris. Orn. ii. p. 64. pl. 5. f. 2. Pl. enl. 486.

- Le Rollier d'Europe. Buff. Ois. 3. p. 135. pl. 10.

- The Shagarag. Shaw's Travels. 252.

- Spransk Kraka, Blakraka, Allekraka. Faun. Suec. sp. 94.

- Ellekrage. Brun. 35.

- Blave racke, Birck-heher, Frisch. t. 57.

On the authority of Mr. Pennant we have ventured to introduce this species. "Of these birds," says Mr. Pennant, in the appendix to the British Zoology, "we have heard of only two being seen at large in our Island; one was shot near Helston-bridge, Cornwal, and an account of it transmitted to us by the Reverend Doctor William Borlase."

These birds are frequent in most parts of Europe; in Germany, Sicily and Malta they are so common as to be sold in the markets [*]. Edwards mentions one shot on Gibraltar Rock; it is also met with from the southern parts of Russia to the neighbourhood of the Irtish [†].

It makes its nest in woods, most frequently in Birch trees [‡]; never lays more than five eggs, which are of a clear green, sprinkled with innumerable dark specks [§]. It does not come to its colour till the second year; flies in troops in autumn, and is often seen in tilled ground, with rooks and other birds, searching for worms, small seeds, and roots ‖; it feeds also on frogs and beetles [¶].

By one author it is said sometimes to make the nest in holes in the ground, in one of which two eggs were found [**]; by another, it is observed never to be seen on the ground [††].

"It is remarkable for making a chattering noise; from which it is called by some Garrulus." Pennant.

Notes

*
Willughby.
↵

†
Arct. Zool.
↵

‡
Frisch.
↵

§
Latham.
↵

‖
Frisch.
↵

¶
Faun. Suec.
↵

**
Hist. des Ois. iii. p. 139.
↵

††
Dec. Russ. I. p. 108.
↵

PLATE XXXIV. LE GEAY BLANC. WHITE JAY.

Bris. av. 2. p. 51. A.

In the description of CORVUS GLANDARIUS, COMMON JAY, we mentioned the specimen from which our present figure is taken; it was found in a nest with four other Jays of the common sort, and can only be considered as a variety.

We have introduced it into this work, as a solitary example how far the plumage of birds will sometimes vary from local circumstances.

PLATE XXXV. STRIX BRACHYOTOS. SHORT-EARED OWL. ACCIPITRES.

Birds of prey. Bill and claws strong, hooked. An angle in each margin of the upper mandible. Body muscular. Females larger and more muscular than the males.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill short, hooked, without cere. Head large. A broad disk surrounding each eye. Legs feathered to the toes. Tongue bifid. Nocturnal.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Horns or ears a single feather. Above dark brown intermixed with pale yellow colour. Beneath pale yellow longitudinally streaked with dark brown; feathered to the toes. Tail yellow brown barred with dark colour, tip white. Wings when closed reach beyond the tail.

- STRIX OTUS.

- SHORT-EARED OWL. Pennant's Br. Zool. No 66. t. 31.

- STRIX BRACHYOTOS. Dr. Forster's Phil. Trans. Vol. lxii. p. 384. No 2.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. I. 124. Suppl. 43.

- SHORT-EARED OWL. Amer. Zool.

Length fourteen inches, breadth when the wings are extended three feet, weight fourteen ounces.

Mr. Pennant appears to be the first author who has described this species [*]; he says it is a bird of passage, has been observed to visit Lincolnshire the beginning of October, and to retire early in the spring; he supposes its summer retreat is Norway. It conceals itself in the long grass in the day-time; when disturbed it will seldom fly far, but will light and sit looking at one, at which time the horns may be seen very distinctly. Mr. Pennant further adds, "it is found frequently on the hill of Hoy in the Orknies, where it flies about and preys by day like a hawk. I have also received this species from Lancashire, which is a hilly and wooded country, and my friends have also sent it from New England and Newfoundland." Penn. Br. Zool.

Dr. Forster gave it the specific name Brachyotos, in the Philosophical Transactions; he says it is called Mouse Hawk at Hudson's Bay. It visits that part in May, and makes a nest of dry grass on the ground: The eggs are white; it departs south in September; is called by the natives Thothosecausew [†]. It is very common in the northern and woody parts of Siberia [†].

Is known in England by the name of Woodcock Owl, as it is supposed to perform its migrations with the Woodcock. Feeds on mice.

Notes

*
Mr. Latham has made this severe, though not entirely unmerited animadversion on the remarks of M. de Buffon, in Hist. des Ois. Vol. I. p. 353, note (a) "M. de Buffon seems to think that this bird is the Scops, than which no two species differ more. We have not the Scops in England, neither do I think the above-described bird to be a native of France. It would therefore have appeared candid in the abovementioned author, to have suspended his opinion of the matter till he had been better informed, as he seems to bear somewhat hard upon Mr. Pennant, who, I am clear, is the first who has described it."—Gen. Syn.
↵

†
Latham Gen. Syn.
↵

†
Latham Gen. Syn.
↵

PLATE XXXVI. PICUS MINOR. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. PICAE.

Bill compressed, convex.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill angular, strait. Nostrils covered with recumbent bristles. Tongue very long and round, with a sharp, hard, barbed point. Two fore and two hind claws.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Crown crimson. Above black barred with white. Beneath pale brown. In the female the crown is white.

- PICUS MINOR. Albo nigroque varius vertice rubro, ano albido. Linn. Syst. Nat.

- Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus seminigris. Fn. Suec. 83. Hasselqu. iter 242.

- Picus varius Minor. Alb. av. I. p. 20. t. 20.

- Picus varius tertius. Raj. av. 43.

- LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. Will. Orn. 138. pl. 31.

- Alb. av.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 2. 566. 14. Suppl. 107.

- Penn. Br. Zool. No 89. pl. 37.

- Amer. Zool.

- Le petit pic varié. Bris. Orn. iv. p. 41. No 15.

- Le petit Epeiche. Buff. Ois. 7. p. 62.—Pl. enl. 598.

- Kleiner bunt. Specht. Frisch. t. 37.

- Baumbackterl. Kramer. 336. No 5.

This is the smallest European species of the Woodpecker genus we have any knowledge of at this time; its length is six inches, breadth eleven inches, and weight one ounce.

It visits orchards, and feeds on the larva of insects, which it sometimes pecks out of the trunks of trees or decayed wood. It builds in an hole of a tree. Our figure represents the male; the female has the crown of the head white.—This species is not commonly met with in England.

Buffon says it inhabits most of the provinces of France [*], and Linnaeus observes it inhabits the higher parts of Asia; it is said also to be seen as far north as Denmark, Russia, and Siberia.

Pennant remarks it has all the characters and actions of the greater kind, but is not so often met with.

Notes

*
Salerne denies its being found in France. Orn. p. 107.
↵

PLATE XXXVII. PICUS VIRIDIS. GREEN WOODPECKER. PICAE.

Bill compressed, convex.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strait, strong, angular. Nostrils covered with recumbent bristles. Tongue very long, slender, armed with a sharp bony point. Two fore and two hind claws.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, AND SYNONYMS. Crown crimson. Back green. Rump yellow, beneath pale green. Legs and feet greenish, inclining to lead colour.

- PICUS VIRIDIS. P. viridis, vertice coccineo. Fn. Suec. 80. Linn. Syst. Nat.

- Gesn. av. 710. Scop. Ann. I. p. 47. No 52.

- Brun. No 39. Sepp. Vog. pl. in. p. 43.

- Raii Syn. p. 42. A.

- Pico Verde. Aldr. av. I. 416.

- GREEN WOODPECKER. Albin. I. pl. 18.

- Br. Zool. I. No 84.

- Arct. Zool. II. p. 277. B.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. II. p. 577. No 25.

- Woodspite, Rain fowl.

- High-hoe, Hew-hole. Will. Orn. p. 135. t. 21.

- Le Pic verd. Bris. Orn. 4. p. 9. No 1.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 7. pl. 1.—Pl. enl. 371. 879.

- Le Pic mart., Pic verd,

- Pic jaulne. Belon. av. 299.

- Grun-specht, Frisch. t. 35. Kramer. 334.

- Wedknar, Gronspik.

- Grongjoling. Faun. Suec. sp. 99.

This species is thirteen inches in length, weight six ounces and an half. The female has no red mark on the lower jaw; Frisch and Klein observe they have no red on the crown of the head; but Latham, in his Synopsis of Birds, says, he has had them when they could scarcely fly, the red was then mixed with brown, but became full red after the first moult.

It is common in many parts of Europe, and is found as high north as Lapmark; in England it is met with in most woody places.

They build in the hollow trunks of trees, fifteen or twenty feet from the ground: with their bills, which are very strong, hard, and formed like a wedge, they can bore through the living part of the wood, till they come to that which is rotten; the hole thus formed is as perfectly in the form of a circle as if made with the assistance of a pair of compasses, and is hollowed out to a proper depth before the eggs are deposited. They lay generally five, sometimes six [*] eggs; the young birds climb up and down the trees before they can fly.

According to Pennant the eggs are of a beautiful semitransparent white; greenish, with black spots, Latham; and greyish or yellowish white, marked with irregular pale yellow brown lines in the figure of the egg in Sepp's plate [†].

It feeds on Insects, which it sometimes extracts from beneath the bark of trees, or from the solid wood by means of its strong, though slender barbed tongue; is said to make great havock among bees.

In the Leverian Museum there is a variety of this species, entirely of a straw colour, except the crown, which is faintly marked with red. It was shot at Belvoir chase.

Notes

*
Willoughby. Pennant.
↵

†
Sepp. Vog. pl. in p. 43.
↵

PLATE XXXVIII. MERGUS SERRATOR. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. ANSERES.

Bill obtuse, covered with a thin membrane, broad, gibbous below the base, swelled at the apex. Tongue fleshy. Legs naked; feet webbed, or finned.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill long, roundish, serrated, hooked at the apex [*].

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, AND SYNONYMS. Irides red. Head and upper part of the neck black, crested; lower part white. Breast brown, mottled. Belly white. Back black. Wings, exterior scapulars black; interior white.

- MERGUS SERRATOR. Crista dependente, capite nigro maculis ferrugineis. Faun. Suec.—Linn. Syst. Nat. Georgi Reise. p. 169.—Muller, No 134.

- Mergus albellus. Scop. Ann. I. No 89.

- Anas Longirostra. Gesn. av. 133. Aldr. av. 3. 113.

- Mergus cristatus capite castaneo, &c. Kram. El. p. 343. 2. (female.)

- — cirratus fuscus. Raii Syn. p. 135. A. 4. Will. Orn. p. 336. (Mergus cirratus minor.) pl. 64. (female.)

- RED-BREASTED GOOSANDER. Edw. pl. 95.

- Albin. 2. pl. 101.

- RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 261.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 6. 423. 3.

- LESSER TOOTHED DIVER. Morton's Northampton, 429.

- L'Harle hupé. Bris. av. 6. 237.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 273. pl. enl. 207.

- Braun kopfiger Tilger.

- Taucher. Kram. 343.

- Pracka. Faun. Suec. sp. 136.

Length twenty-one inches, breadth thirty-three inches, weight two pounds. We have represented the male, the female has only the rudiment of a crest: the head and upper part of the neck, dull ferruginous: chin white: fore part of the neck and the breast ferruginous, mottled with black and white: upper part of the neck, back, rump, and scapulars, cinerous: the lower part of the breast and belly white.

Both male and female are very liable to variation in the colour of their plumage; in some the white space on the neck is much more diffused than in others; the same has been observed of the portion of white on the wings; and the females differ in the brightness of their colour frequently.

Mr. Latham mentions a specimen which was shot near Sandwich in Kent; but it is chiefly found in the northern parts of Great-Britain; it is observed to breed on Loch Mari, in the county of Ross, and in the Isle of Ilay [*].

The nest is made of withered grass, and is lined with the down of the bird's breast; it lays from eight to thirteen eggs, like those of a wild duck, but smaller and whiter; the young are of a dirty brown like goslings [†].

It is found in most of the northern parts of Europe, in Russia, about the great rivers of Siberia, and the lake Baikal; also frequent in Greenland, where it breeds on the shores; in Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay.

Notes

*
Nostrils near the middle of the mandible, small, and subovated. Feet furnished with four toes, three forwards, and one behind; the outer toe before longer than the middle one. Lath. Gen. Syn.
↵

*
Pennant's Zool.
↵

†
Latham Gen. Syn.
↵

PLATE XXXIX. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. COMMON CROSSBILL. PASSERES.

Bill conic pointed. Nostrils oval [*], broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strong, convex above and below, very thick at the base. (Nostrils small and round [†]). Tongue as if cut off at the end.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, AND SYNONYMS. Both mandibles curve opposite ways and cross each other. Male red. Female green.

- LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. Rostro forficato. Faun. Suec. 177.—Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 171. 96. I. edit. 10.

- Kram. El. 365. No 2.

- Brun. p. 66. No 238.

- Muller, No 244.

- Georgi Reise, p. 174.

- Frisch. t. 11.

- LOXIA. Gesn. av. 591.

- SHELL APPLE or CROSS BILL. Raii Syn. p. 86. A.

- Will. Orn. p. 248. t. 45.

- Albin. 1. pl. 61.

- Penn. Br. Zool. I. No 115. pl. 49.

- Arct. Zool.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 3. 106. I.

- Edw. pl. 303.

- Le Bec-croisé, Bris. Orn. 3. p. 329. No 1. pl. 17. f. 3.

- Buff. Ois. 3. p. 449. pl. 27. f. 2.— Pl. enl. 218.

- Korssnaff, Kinlgelrifvare. Faun. Suec. sp. 224.

- Krumbschnabl, Kreutzvogel. Kram. 365.

- Kreutz-Schnabel. Frisch. I. 11.

The length of this bird is six inches and three quarters; it is distinguished from other species of the same genus by the very singular structure of its bill, both mandibles of which curve across each other. The male is generally of a fine orange red inclining to rose-colour, mixed more or less with brown, the female of a dull green; but both sexes are very liable to variations: the male is sometimes of a yellowish orange; of a deep red; or even inclining to a dark purple hue, intermixed with yellow, red, brown, green, &c. the female varies also, but seldom acquires more than a dull intermixture of other colours on the olive-green according to the different seasons. The males are like the females when young, and gradually change to a fine red.

Mr. Pennant says there are two varieties of this species, our present specimen, and another which is very rare; of the latter he says he received a male and female from Shropshire; they were superior in size to the former, the bill remarkably thick and short, more encurvated than that of the common kind, and the ends more blunt [*].

The Cross-bill is common in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland; is found also in Russia and Siberia, in North America, Greenland, &c. It is not supposed to breed in England, but to visit us generally in small flocks, though it has been seen in vast multitudes in some seasons. As the seeds of the Fir, or Pine, is their natural food, they always retire to forests where those trees grow in most abundance: they feed also on Hemp-seed; and are said to do great damage in orchards, by tearing the apples to pieces to eat the pips or seeds.

It is observed, in North America, to build its nest in the highest part of the Fir-trees, fastening it to the branches by the resinous matter which exudes from the trees [†].

Notes

*
Linnaeus.
↵

†
Latham's Synopsis.—Pennant's Br. Zool.
↵

*
Pennant's Br. Zool.
↵

†
Latham.
↵

PLATE XL. MOTACILLA BOARULA. GREY WAGTAIL. PASSERES.

Bill conic, pointed. Nostrils oval, broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill weak, and slender; slightly notched at the tip. Tongue lacerated at the end. Legs slender [*].

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Crown, neck, back, ash-colour. Throat black in the male. A pale streak over the eye. Rump yellow. Breast and belly pale yellow. Wings brown; feathers edged with yellow. Tail-feather black, edged with yellow or brown; exteriors white.

- MOTACILLA BOARULA. Linn. Mant. 1771. p. 527.

- Scop. Ann. I. No 225.

- Faun. Arag. p. 89.

- Motacilla flava altera. Raii Syn. 75. 3.

- YELLOW WAGTAIL. Albin. 11. pl. 58. (female.)

- GREY WAGTAIL. Will. Orn. p. 238.

- Edw. pl. 259. (male.)

- Br. Zool. 1. No 144.—Arct. Zool.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 4. 178. 4.

- La Bergerette. Belon. av. 351.

- La Bergoronette jaune, Motacilla flava. Bris. av. p. 3. 471. t. 23. fig. 3. (male.)

Three kinds of Wagtails are found in this country, the Common, or White, the Yellow, and the Grey; the two former we have already figured; the latter is a very elegant bird, and appears to be the rarest of the three species, it breeds in the north of England; supposed not nearer than Cumberland [*], and departs southward in October.

In the male only the chin and throat are black. Length seven inches and an half.

All the birds of this genus frequent watery places; are very lively, and have a brisk motion in their tails. They feed on Insects. The nest of the Grey Wagtail is made on the ground; it is composed of dried fibres and moss, lined with wool or feathers within; it contains from six to eight eggs, of a dirty white, marked with yellow spots.

Notes

*
Latham, Gen. Syn.
↵

*
Latham, Gen. Syn.
↵

PLATE XLI. CUCULUS CANORUS. COMMON CUCKOW. PICAE.

Bill compressed, convex.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill roundish and curved a little. Nostrils bounded by a small margin. Tongue short, pointed. Toes two forward, two backward. Ten feathers in the Tail.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, Above ash-colour. Beneath white, waved with transverse black lines. Tail cuneated, black, with white spots.

- CUCULUS CANORUS. cauda aequali nigricante albo punctata.— Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 110. 52. I. edit. 10.

- Scop. Ann. I. p. 44. No 48.

- Brun. No 36.

- Georgi Reise, p. 165.

- Sepp. vog. pl. in p. 117.

- Faun Arag. p. 73.

- CUCKOW. Raii. Syn. p. 23.

- Will. Orn. p. 97. pl. 10. 77.

- Albin. 1. pl. 8.

- Br. Zool. 1. No 82. pl. 36.

- COMMON CUCKOW. Lath. Gen. Syn. 2. p. 509.

- Suppl. 98. I.

- Le Coucow. Bris. Orn. 4. p. 105. No 1.

- Buff. Ois. 6. p. 305.—pl. enl. 811.

- Le Coqu. Belon. av. 132.

- Ruckuk. Frisch. pl. 40. 41.

- Ructuct. Kram. 337.

- Gjok. Faun. Suec. sp. 96.

The earliest appearance of the Cuckow in this country is supposed to be in February [*], it is rarely in March, but more commonly in April: it has been emphatically called the harbinger of Summer, or the messenger of Spring; and its note, when heard early in the year, should never fail to invite the rural oeconomist to his useful occupation. With Stillingfleet and Pennant we acknowledge the fallibility of human Calendars, for the purposes of husbandry; and with them must conclude, that "some attention should be given to those feathered guides, who come heaven-taught, and point out the true commencement of the season; their food being the Insects of those seasons they continue with us [†]."

The Cuckow is so well known in this, and every other country of Europe, that we are not surprised to find its Natural History has engaged the particular attention of every writer on Ornithology, in whose works it could be introduced with propriety: it may hence be difficult, if not impossible, to treat of its peculiar habits with an elegance of language superior to the description of Buffon, to select more judiciously the beautiful fictions of Antient Bards, than has been done by Pennant and other preceding writers; who have thus embellished its history; or to add to general information any material circumstance that has evaded the vigilance and accuracy of Latham.

The note of this bird is a call to love, and is peculiar to the male; who, perched on the branch of a tree, or the summit of an eminence, thus invites the female from the coppice in which she sits in silence: in a calm evening his note may be heard among the trees far off; and when disappointed of its mate, the neighbouring woods reecho his hollow note at the distance of a quarter of a mile.

All Authors have allowed that the Cuckow does not hatch its own eggs, but deposits them in the nest of some other bird, generally in that of a Hedge-Sparrow, Water-Wagtail, or a Yellow-Hammer; some Writers say the Cuckow lays only one egg, others two [*] in the nest; the foster-parent attends them with the same care as her own, and when the brood is hatched, she shews no dislike to the spurious offspring; she treats them with equal tenderness, and toils with the same assiduity to supply them with food; the young Cuckow, when fledged, follows its little instructor for a short time; but as its appetite encreases, and the small Insects it collects, in imitation of its supposed parent, soon become insufficient for its subsistence, they separate. Its ingratitude is proverbial among the French [†], from a ridiculous supposition that it changed into a Hawk, and devoured its nurse.

About the end of June the call of the male ceases, though it does not take its final departure till the end of September or beginning of October. Latham observes he has heard it call at midnight more than once or twice in the course of the Summer, and adds it was bright moon-light every time.

They feed on Insects, flesh, &c. in the stomach of several that have been dissected the Caterpillars of the Fox [*] and Buff-tip [†] Moth have been found; in others vegetable matter, egg-shells, Beetles, &c.

They are supposed to migrate to Africa and Aleppo, and to visit several countries in their passage; and are known in the northern parts of the world, even to Kamtschatka.

Le Coucou roux, of Brisson, is a variety of a young bird, having the upper parts varied with rufous, where the other is white. Birds of the first year are very liable to variation, scarce two being found alike; the bars are much more numerous in some than in others, and the ground colour more or less varied with ferruginous, according to the age.

On dissection, the stomach has been discovered to be very capacious and long; protruding far beyond the sternum, that part being so very short, as not to be sufficient to take off the pressure in incubation, whereby digestion may be impeded. This has been assigned as the reason why it does not hatch its own eggs.

Length of the adult bird is fourteen inches, breadth twenty-five inches, weight two ounces and an half.

Notes

*
Mentioned in Br. Zool. Pen.
↵

†
Br. Zool.
↵

*
The egg figured by Sepp is like the Jackdaw's, both in size and shape, of a greenish white, speckled with brown.—Latham says it is certainly not that of the Cuckow, which he describes not much bigger than that of the Hedge-Sparrow, greatly elongated in shape, the ground colour not unlike it, and mottled all over with ferruginous purple.
↵

†
"Ingrat comme un Coucou."
↵

*
Phal. Rubi.
↵

†
Phal. Bucephalo.
↵

PLATE XLII. CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS. DOTTEREL. GRALLAE.

Bill roundish. Tongue entire fleshy. Thighs naked. Toes divided.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strait, roundish, obtuse. Nostrils linear. Toes three, all placed forwards.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill, Head, Belly black. Legs black brown. A broad white band above the eye; another across the breast. Breast and sides dull orange. Back and Wings olive brown.

- CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS.—Pectore ferrugineo, fascia superciliorum pectorisque lineari alba, pedibus nigris. Faun. Suec. 158, 160. Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 150. 79. 6. edit. 10.

- Brun. 185.

- Morinellus avis anglica. Gesner av. 615.

- DOTTEREL. Raii Syn. p. 111. A. 4.

- Will. Orn. p. 309. pl. 55. 57.

- Albin. 11. pl. 62.

- Br. Zool. No 210. pl. 73.

- Arct. Zool. p. 487. A.

- Pluvialis minor, sive Morinellus, le petit Pluvier, ou le Guignard.—

- Bris. av. V. 54. tab. 4. fig. 2.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 87.

- Pl. enl. 832.

- Lappis Lahul. Faun. Suec.

The Male of this species is about nine inches in length; its weight four ounces; the Female is rather larger, the colours are in general more obscure, the white stripe over the eye is narrower, the black on the belly is intermixed with white, and the white line across the breast is wanting.

They are found in plenty in some parts of England, in others are unknown. Are most common in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, about the latter end of April, in May and June; during which time they are very fat, and are much esteemed for their delicate flavour. In April and September they are taken on the Wiltshire and Berkshire downs [*]: they are also seen on the sea side at Meales, in Lancashire, in April; where they continue about three weeks; from thence they remove northward to Leyton Haws, where they stay about a fortnight [†]. It is supposed that they breed in the mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, as they appear there in May, and are observed there after the breeding season. They breed also on several of the Highland hills [*]. Are proverbially stupid birds, and easily taken in a net, or shot.

Le Guignard d'Angleterre of Brison [*] is considered as a variety of this species; the weight and size correspond with the former description; but the fore part of the Neck, Breast, Belly, Sides, and Thighs, are pale yellow and white mixed, the Tail white, except the two middle feathers, the Legs and Feet of a sordid green. Albin has figured this bird; he says he received it from Lincolnshire, by the name of Dotterel [†].

Those birds are common in the northern parts of Europe; Linnoeus says they are frequent in the Lapland Alps, and that they visit Sweden in May. Breed in the northern parts of Russia and Siberia.

Notes

*
Latham.
↵

†

〈…〉
.

↵

*
Latham.
↵

*
Bris. Orn. V. p. 58. 6.
↵

†
Albin. pl. 63. Vol. 2.
↵

PLATE XLIII. LOXIA COCCOTHRAUSTES. GROSBEAK OR HAWFINCH. PASSERES.

Bill conic, pointed. Nostrils oval, broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strong, convex above and below, thick at the base. Nostrils, small, round. Tongue as if cut off at the end. Toes placed three before and one behind.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. AND SYNONYMS, Bill horn-colour. Irides grey. Crown of the head rufous chesnut; sides the same colour, paler. Round the eye, and chin black. Breast pale rufous blossom colour. Hind part of the neck ash-colour. Back and coverts of the wings deep brown. Four outermost secondaries shaped like some antient battle-axes. Tail feathers black; on the inner webs white. Legs pale brown.

- LOXIA COCCOTHRAUSTES. linea alarum simplici alba, rectricibus latere tenuiore baseos albis. Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 171. 96. 2. edit. 10.

- Scop. Ann. I. No 1.

- Cramer. el. p. 364. No I.

- Frisch. t. 4. M. and F.

- Olin. uccel. pl. in pl. 37.

- GROSBEAK or HAWFINCH. Sep. Vog. pl. in p. 137.

- Raii. Syn. p. 85. A. I.

- Albin. 1. pl. 56.

- Edwards. pl. 188.

- Pen. Br. Zool. I. No 113.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. III. 109. 4.

- Suppl. 148. 4.

- Arct. Zool.

- Le Grosbeak ou Pinson royal. Belon av. 373.

- Bris. Orn. III. p. 219. No I.

- Buff. Ois. III. p. 444. pl. 27. f. 1. pl. enl. 99. 100.

- Dleschk Scop.

- Stenkneck. Faun. Suec.

- Kernbeis, Nusbeisser. Kram.

This beautiful bird is rarely met with in this country except in winter; it is only an occasional visitor with us, though in France it is not uncommon; and in Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the southern parts of Russia it is very plenty. It has been seen in England in the summer months once or twice, and Latham seems inclined to believe they may sometimes breed here.

They feed on berries, and on the kernels of cherries, almonds, haws, &c. their bills are very large, and so strong that they are able to crack the hardest stones of any fruit with the greatest facility.

They are said to build the nest in hollow trees; or between the forked branches, about twelve feet from the ground; it is composed of small dry fibres, intermixed with liver-wort; they lay five or six eggs [*] of a roundish shape, of a bluish green, spotted with olive brown, and interspersed with a few irregular black markings according to Latham; in the figure given by Sepp the eggs are of a pale purple colour, spotted with brown; the nest appears of a loose texture, and is placed on an oak.

The length of this species is seven inches, breadth thirteen, weight two ounces; the colours of the Female are not so bright as those of the Male, and the space between the bill and the eye, which is black in the latter, is grey in the other sex.

The general description we have given of its colours must not be supposed to constitute its distinguishing character: they vary exceedingly in different specimens; in some the bill is almost black, the crown of the head in some is whitish; in others wholly black: sometimes the white band across the wing inclines to grey; in others no trace of white can be perceived: it has been seen with the body wholly black, and Scopoli mentions one entirely white, the quills excepted.

Notes

*
Willughby.
↵

PLATE XLIV. PODICEPS [*] NIGRICANS. DUSKY GREBE. ANSERES.

Bill obtuse, covered with a thin membrane, broad, gibbous below the base, swelled at the apex. Tongue fleshy. Legs naked. Feet webbed or finned.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strong, slender, and sharp pointed. Nostrils linear. Space between the eye and bill bare of feathers. Tongue slightly cloven at the end. Body depressed: feathers thick set, compact, and very smooth and glossy. Wings short. No tail. Toes furnished on each side with a broad plain membrane.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER, AND SYNONYMS. Bill black. Lore and irides red. Upper parts of the head, neck, and body dusky brown, beneath silvery white. Legs dirty olive.

- PODICEPS NIGRICANS. Lath. Gen. Syn. Vol. 5. 286. 5.

- COLYMBUS NIGRICANS? Scopoli. No 101.

- COLYMBUS MINOR, la. petite grebe. Bris. Orn. 6. 56.

- BLACK and WHITE DOBCHICK. Edwards av. 96. fig. 1.

- DUSKY GREBE. Br. Zool. 225.

This species inhabits the fens of Lincolnshire, where it is perhaps not uncommon, though seldom found elsewhere. Length eleven inches.

In its manners it nearly agrees with the other birds of the same tribe already figured in this work.

Notes

*
We have had occasion in a former description to mention the alteration made by Brisson in the Colymbus genus of Ray and Linnaeus; and since adopted by our English ornithologists, Pennant and Latham. In the Linnaen genus are included the Grebes, Guillemots and Divers, which as they differ materially in the form of their feet, have been separated by those later authors into distinct tribes.—Podiceps is the new generic title given by Latham to the Grebes.
↵

PLATE XLV. CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS. GOLDEN PLOVER. GRALLAE.

Bill roundish. Tongue entire, fleshy. Thighs naked. Toes divided.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strait, obtuse. Nostrils linear. Toes three, all placed forwards.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Upper side of the plumage dusky; spotted with greenish yellow. Beneath white. Legs black.

- CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS. Pedibus cinereis, corpore nigro viridique maculato, subtus albido.— Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 151. 79. 8. edit. 10.

- Pluvialis aurea, le pluvier doré. Bris. av. v. 43. tab. 4. fig. 1.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 81. pl. 5.—Pl. enl. 904.

- GREEN PLOVER. Raii Syn. p. 111. A. 2. 190. 9.

- Albin. 1. pl. 75.

- Will. Orn. 308. pl. 57.

- Sloan. Jam. p. 318. 10. pl. 269. 2.

- GOLDEN PLOVER. Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 474. 32. 208.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 5. 193. 1.—Suppl. 252.

- Brachhennl. Kram. 354.

- Rechter Brachvogel. Frisch. 2. 217.

- Pivier. Aldr. av. 3. 206.

- Piviero verde. Zinan. 102.

- Brok-Fugl. Brun. 187.

The Golden Plover is found in small flocks on our moors and heaths, in the winter season; it is not a common species in this country. It breeds on several unfrequented mountains, particularly on those of the Isle of Rum, and the loftier Hebrides [*]: and on the Grampian, and all the heathy hills of the islands, and Highlands of Scotland [†].

It is an inhabitant of Sweden, Denmark, Lapland, and other countries towards the frozen ocean; and according to Russel [‡] extends to the south as far as Aleppo.

It lays four eggs, sharply pointed at the lesser end, two inches and one-eighth in length, of a pale cinereous olive, blotched with blackish spots [§].

In some specimens the belly is black, in others black intermixed with white; this is entirely owing to the season; early in March the black on the breast is first seen, it increases till that part becomes full black; but after the time of incubation that colour disappears. Instead of a hind toe some have only a small claw.

Notes

*
Pennant Br. Zool.
↵

†
Fl
•
r. Scot. 1. p. 35.

↵

‡
Russel, p. 71.
↵

§
Lath. Gen. Syn.
↵

PLATE XLVI. LARUS CANUS. COMMON GULL. ANSERES.

Bill obtuse, covered with a thin membrane, broad, gibbous below the base, swelled at the apex. Tongue fleshy. Legs naked; feet webbed, or finned.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strong, strait, bending down at the point, an angular prominence on the under part of the lower mandible. Nostrils narrow, in the middle of the bill.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bill yellow. Back grey; the rest white. Legs dull green.

- LARUS CANUS. albus, dorso cano. Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 136. 69. 2. edit. 10.

- Scop. Ann. 1. No 104.

- Brun. No 141.

- Georgi Reise, p. 170.

- COMMON GULL. Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No 249. pl. 89. f. 2.—Arct. Zool. No 458.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. vol. 6. 378. 8.

- Common Sea Mall, or Mew. Raii Syn. p. 127. A. 3.

- Will. Orn. p. 345. pl. 76.

- White web-footed Gull. Albin. 2. pl. 84.

- La grande Mouette cendrée. Bris. Orn. 6. p. 182. 10. pl. 16. fig. 2.

- Buff. Ois. 8. p. 428.—Pl. enl. 977.

- Gabbiano minore. Zinan. 115.

This species is the most common of all the gulls. It breeds on the rocks and cliffs on our shores and rivers which are contiguous to the sea, and is seen in vast numbers on the Thames in spring and winter, picking up the small fish, worms, &c. left by the tide.

It is seen as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and the Russian Lakes, and also on the coast of Newfoundland. It is an inhabitant of the warmer climates of the south, as Greece, some parts of Italy, and most of the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The length is seventeen inches: breadth thirty-six inches, and weight one pound. The eggs are two inches and a half in length; of a deep olive brown, marked with irregular deep red reddish blotches [*].

They differ a little in their markings: Mr. Latham mentions one, the head and half the neck of which were marked with short dusky streaks.

Notes

*
Lath. Gen. Syn.
↵

PLATE XLVII. FALCO MILVUS. KITE. ACCIPITRES.

Birds of prey. Bill and claws strong. Hooked. An angle in each margin of the upper mandible. Body muscular. Females larger, and more beautiful than the males.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill much arched. A cere or membrane at the base.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER AND SYNONYMS. Cere and irides yellow. Head hoary white with dashes of black. Body ferruginous. Tail forked. Legs yellow.

- FALCO MILVUS: Cera flava, cauda forficata, corpore ferrugineo, capite albidiore.—Fn. Sv. 59. Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 89. 10. edit. 10.

- MILVUS. Raii Syn. p. 17. No A. 6.

- Gesn. av. 609.

- KITE, or GLEAD. Will. orn. p. 74. t. 6.

- KITE. Penn. Br. Zool. 1. 185. 53.

- Lath. Gen. Syn. 1. p. 61. No 43.

- Le Milan royal. Belon. av. 129.

- Bris. orn. 1. p. 414. No 35. t. 33.

- Buff. ois. 1. p. 197. t. 7.—Pl. enl. 422.

- Rother Milon. Kram. 326.

- Glada. Faun. Suec. sp. 57.

- Nibbio. Zinan 82.

- Glede, Puttock, Kyte Turneri.

The Kite is very common in England, and is well known in several parts of the continent of Europe [*]; but it inhabits the more northern countries only during the hottest months of summer. Bosman mentions it as a native of Guinea [†]; Linnaeus also says it inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa. No author has yet described it as a native of America.

It breeds in woods. The nest is formed of different materials; the outside of sticks, the lining of rags, bits of flannel, rope, paper, &c [‡]. It lays two or three eggs, which are roundish, and of a whitish colour, spotted with dirty yellow. The egg of the Kite is described by Mr. Latham (in his Supplement to the Synopsis of Birds) from the specimen formerly preserved in the Portland Museum; it was of a bluish white, inclining to red at one end, blending itself with the white by small markings.

As a bird of prey, the Kite is known to be very destructive among poultry; it devours also small birds and animals, and Mr. Latham says it will sometimes eat fish, as it has been found feeding on the remains of one by the side of a pond, after having probably beaten off its first possessor.

The forked tail of the Kite distinguishes it from every other bird, and serves to direct its flight with the greatest precision. It sometimes appears suspended, and quite motionless at a considerable height, then glides with astonishing velocity through the sky, without the smallest apparent action of its wings. When it descends on small birds, it generally carries them off in its talons, to devour them.

The length of this bird twenty-six inches: breadth five feet. They differ very frequently in their colours. Mr. Pennant mentions a beautiful variety entirely of a tawny colour that was shot in Lincolnshire.

Notes

*
"The flesh is grosse. Aldrov. yet it's eaten by the poore people in Germany." R••t. Lovell, Hist. Animals and Birds, 1661.
↵

†
Bosman, Voy. de Guinee, p. 278.
↵

‡
Penn. Br. Zool.
↵

PLATE XLVIII. MOTACILLA SALICARIA. SEDGE BIRD. PASSERES.

Bill conic, pointed. Nostrils oval broad, naked.

GENERIC CHARACTER. Bill strait, slender. Tongue jagged.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER AND SYNONYMS. Bill black, head brown, marked with dusky streaks, a white line over the eye, with a black line above it; cheeks brown. Back, wings, and tail, brown; wing coverts edged with pale brown. Body beneath yellowish white. Legs dusky.

- METACILLA SALICARIA. cinerea, subtus alba, supercillis albis. —Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 185. 8. edit. 10.

- Avis consimilis stoparolae, & magnaninae, Raii Syn. 81. 6.

- Junco minor. Sepp. vog. pl. in p. 99?

- Lucinia salicaria. Klein. av. 47?

- SEDGE BIRD. Albin. 3. pl. 60.

- Penn. Br. Zool. 1. No 155.

- SEDGE WARBLER. Lath. Gen. Syn. 4. p. 403. No 21.

- WILLOW LARK. Br. Zool. 2. 241. Lond. 1766.

- LESSER Reed Sparrow. Will. Orn. 144.

- La Fauvette de roseaux. Bris. Orn. 3. p. 378. No 5.

- Buff. Ois. 5. p. 142.—Pl. enl. 581. 2.

This elegant bird is commonly met with in marshy places, or near rivers where willows, reeds, and sedges grow. The nest is generally made among the reeds. It is composed of straw, and dried fibres of plants, lined with hair, and contains five eggs, of a dirty white colour, marbled with brown [*].

It feeds on flies, spiders, &c. which it finds on the willows, or among the rushes, where it conceals itself. It imitates the note of the swallow, sky-lark, house-sparrow, and other birds, in a pleasing but hurrying manner, and sings all night [†].

Some authors have supposed that it leaves us before winter, but that is uncertain.

Length of this bird is six inches and an half.

Notes

*
Latham. Gen. Syn.
↵

†
Pennant. Br. Zool.
↵

INDEX TO VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEM OF LINNAEUS.

ORDER I. ACCIPITRES.

- FALCO MILVUS Plate 47

- FALCO APIVORUS Plate 30

- STRIX BRACHYOTOS Plate 35

- LANIUS COLLURIO Plate 31

ORDER II. PICAE.

- CUCULUS CANORUS Plate 41

- PICUS VIRIDIS Plate 37

- PICUS MINOR Plate 36

- Corvus. LE GEAY BLANC Plate 34

- CORACIAS GARRULA Plate 33

ORDER III. ANSERES.

- MERGUS SERRATOR Plate 38

- COLYMBUS TROILE Plate 28

- — AURITUS Plate 29

- PODICEPS NIGRICANS Plate 44

- LARUS CANUS Plate 46

ORDER IV. GRALLAE.

- TRINGA VANELLUS Plate 25

- — CINCLUS Plate 32

- CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS Plate 42

- — PLUVIALIS Plate 45

ORDER VI. PASSERES.

- LOXIA COCCOTHRAUSTES Plate 43

- — CURVIROSTRA Plate 39

- EMBERIZA NIVALIS? Plate 27

- MOTACILLA BOARULA Plate 40

- — SALICARIA Plate 48

- PARUS CRISTATUS Plate 26

VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO LATHAM's SYNOPSIS OF BIRDS.

DIVISION I. LAND BIRDS.

ORDER I. RAPACIOUS.

- GENUS II.

- HONEY BUZZARD Plate 30

- KITE Plate 47

- GENUS III. SHORT-EARED OWL Plate 35

ORDER II. PIES.

- GENUS IV. RED-BACKED SHRIKE Plate 31

- GENUS XII. WHITE JAY Plate 34

- GENUS XIII. GARRULOUS ROLLER Plate 33

- GENUS XIX. COMMON CUCKOW Plate 41

- GENUS XXI.

- LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER Plate 36

- GREEN WOODPECKER Plate 37

- GENUS XXXIV.

- COMMON CROSSBILL Plate 39

- HAWFINCH or GROSBEAK Plate 43

- GENUS XXXV. TAWNY BUNTING Plate 27

- GENUS XL. GREY WAGTAIL Plate 40

- GENUS XLI. SEDGE WARBLER Plate 48

- GENUS XLIII. CRESTED TITMOUSE Plate 26

DIVISION II. WATER BIRDS.

- GENUS LXIX.

- LAPWING Plate 25

- PURRE Plate 32

- GENUS LXX.

- GOLDEN PLOVER Plate 45

- DOTTEREL Plate 42

ORDER VIII. WITH PINNATED FEET.

- GENUS LXXIX.

- EARED GREBE Plate 29

- DUSKY GREBE Plate 44

ORDER IX. WBB-FOOTED.

- GENUS LXXXV. FOOLISH GUILLEMOT Plate 28

- GENUS LXXXIX. COMMON GULL Plate 46

- GENUS XCI. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER Plate 38

VOL. II. ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO PENNANT's BRITISH ZOOLOGY,

- GENUS I.

- KITE Plate 47

- HONEY BUZZARD Plate 30

- GENUS II. SHORT-EARED OWL Plate 35

- GENUS III. RED-BACKED SHRIKE Plate 31

- GENUS IV. WHITE JAY Plate 34

- GENUS V. CUCKOW Plate 41

- GENUS VII.

- GREEN WOODPECKER Plate 37

- LEAST-SPOTTED WOODPECKER Plate 36

- GENUS XVIII.

- HAW GROSBEAK Plate 43

- CROSS-BILLED GROSBEAK Plate 39

- GENUS XIX. TAWNY BUNTING Plate 27

- GENUS XXIII. GREY WAGTAIL Plate 40

- GENUS XXIV. SEDGE WARBLER Plate 48

- GENUS XXV. CRESTED TITMOUSE Plate 26

- GENUS XXXI. LAPWING Plate 25

- GENUS XXXII.

- DOTTEREL Plate 42

- GOLDEN PLOVER Plate 45

- GENUS XXXVIII.

- EARED GREBE Plate 29

- DUSKY GREBE Plate 44

- GENUS XLI. FOOLISH GUILLEMOT Plate 28

- GENUS XLIII. COMMON GULL Plate 46

- GENUS XLVI. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER Plate 38

- APPENDIX.

- ROLLER Plate 33

- PURRE Plate 32

VOL. II. ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT.

- Bunting, Tawny, Plate 27

- Butcher Bird, Red-beaked, Plate 31

- Buzzard, Honey, Plate 30

- Cross-bill, Common, Plate 39

- Cuckow, Common, Plate 41

- Dotterel, Plate 42

- Grebe, Eared, Plate 29

- — Dusky, Plate 44

- Grosbeak, Haw, Plate 43

- Guillemot, Foolish, Plate 28

- Gull, Common, Plate 46

- Jay, White, Plate 34

- Kite, Plate 47

- Lapwing, Plate 25

- Merganser, Red-breasted, Plate 38

- Owl, Short-eared, Plate 35

- Plover, Golden, Plate 45

- Purre, Plate 32

- Roller, Garrulous, Plate 33

- Titmouse, Crested, Plate 26

- Wagtail, Grey, Plate 40

- Warbler, Sedge, Plate 48

- Woodpecker, Lesser, Plate 36

- — Green, Plate 37

Information about this book

Title statement

The natural history of British birds: or, a selection of the most rare, beautiful, and interesting birds which inhabit this country: the descriptions from the Systema naturæ of Linnæus; with general observations, either original, or collected ... By E. Donovan, F.L.S. In five volumes. ... [pt.2]

Donovan, E. (Edward), 1768-1837.

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http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/4849

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1106018486

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9781106018489

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K080662.002

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CW3308527405

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0622700202

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— The natural history of British birds: or, a selection of the most rare, beautiful, and interesting birds which inhabit this country: the descriptions from the Systema naturæ of Linnæus; with general observations, either original, or collected ... By E. Donovan, F.L.S. In five volumes. ..., Donovan, E. (Edward), 1768-1837.. 5v.,plates ; 8⁰. London :: printed for the author; and for F. and C. Rivington,. 1799.. [Five additional volumes numbered 6-10 were published between 1816 and 1819.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT100223.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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