Nests and Eggs of Familiar British Birds Part 5

_Columba enas_ is the scientific name of this species. The first term, as you are aware, means simply a Dove, the etymology of the second is not so clear, most likely it comes from _oinos_--relating to wine, and alludes to the ruddy or vinous tinge of the breast. This is a somewhat stouter bird in the body than the last, and it wants the white patches which so vary and enliven the plumage of the Ring Dove, than which it is less elegant, although perhaps its plumage is more rich and splendid, with that s.h.i.+fting play of golden green and violet which all the Doves, and some other of the feathered tribes present. But for this, the plumage of our Stock Dove, (so called, it is said, because it is the original stock from which our common domestic Pigeons are derived,) would be considered plain and dull; it is chiefly greyish blue, deepening at parts into purple, and flushed here and there with deep red; the legs of this, as of most Doves and Pigeons, are light red, and the bill light brown or yellowish.

"The Stock Dove builds in the old oak wood,"

says Mary Howitt, in her beautiful song of the Pheasant, and so no doubt it often does; but more frequently, perhaps, in the fir plantation, or among the beeches, or any other trees that present a suitable nesting-place; a hole in the trunk is frequently chosen, it may be only four or five, or as many as forty or fifty feet from the ground. Sometimes the flat and shallow nest, just a few sticks loosely put together, is placed on the ground itself, in a deserted rabbit-burrow, or some other hollow place; beneath furze bushes it is occasionally found, and even in hedges and fruit trees near to woods and coppices.

Nidification commences about the end of March or beginning of April; incubation lasts about seventeen days, and in a month from the time of hatching the young are ready to fly. There are two or three broods in the year. The eggs are white, somewhat smaller than those of the Ring Dove, and more pointed at the smaller end. The parent birds sit very close, and will even allow themselves to be taken off by the hand; they evince great attachment for their young, as well for each other, and although several pairs may build within a very limited s.p.a.ce, they do not appear to quarrel; indeed gentleness and tenderness is the main characteristic of all their motions, as well as of their soft notes, the old familiar _coo, coo, coo_. In winter they consort with the Ring Doves, but are not perhaps so numerous in this country as these birds.

They migrate from place to place, and feed on hemp, rape, and other seeds, young shoots of plants, berries, beech-mast, acorns, and grain.

ROCK DOVE.

WHITE-BACKED DOVE. WILD, OR ROCK PIGEON.

FIGURE 22.

Scientific name _Columba livia_; the latter name probably from _livida_--livid, blue, or lead-coloured. It is held by some that this species, and not the Stock Dove, has the best claim to be considered the original of the Common Pigeon; others have confounded the species, although there appears to be a very clear mark of distinction in the white patch over the tail, which is never absent, the broad black band across the grey wings, and the more deep and distinct marking of the plumage altogether. Besides, the habits of this bird differ considerably from those of either of the other species.

It is, as its name implies, a haunter of rocks, in the crevices and caverns of which it generally builds its rude nest of twigs, and gra.s.s, and stalks of plants. It is a social bird, building in companies; the first eggs, two in number, and white, are generally laid about the middle of April, and the last towards the latter end of August; the young are fledged in about three weeks, and after that, a few days'

training by their parents, enables them to fly and obtain their own livelihood. They feed like their congeners, and are great grain-eaters, only at times varying this kind of food with a few snails. Like all the Doves they are swift flyers.

TURTLE DOVE.

RING-NECKED TURTLE.

FIGURE 23.

This is perhaps the most beautiful, as it is also the smallest and rarest of our native Doves; naturalists term it _Columba turtur_, of which its English name is simply a translation; sometimes the specific name _auritus_--golden, is applied to it, and this well describes the plumage of the bird, which has a rich golden tinge throughout most parts of the plumage, the chief colours of which are brown and grey, running off into yellow and white, flushed at places with red, and elegantly marked with black.

With us, the Turtle Dove is migratory, generally arriving towards the latter end of April, and departing early in September; it is pretty much confined to the southern and eastern counties, but few specimens having been found in Scotland. It frequents the wooded districts both hilly and flat, flies in small flocks, and feeds on grain and seeds, peas, of which it is particularly fond, and sometimes small slugs and snails; being fond of drinking and bathing, it is commonly found in the neighbourhood of streams and brooks; in such situations may its soft note, _tur, tur_, doubtless the origin of its name, be frequently heard, when the shy bird itself is hidden amid the thick shade of the leafy boughs.

Mr. Morris tells us that the nest is so slight and carelessly constructed that the eggs may frequently be seen from below; it is generally placed at some distance from the ground, ten or twenty feet, and is commonly well concealed among the foliage. The glossy white eggs, two in number, and of a narrow oval form, are generally laid about the middle of May, and the young birds come forth in sixteen or seventeen days: there are two or three broods in the year.

The prophet Jeremiah, we may remember, speaks of this as a migratory bird, "Yea, the Stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow observe the time of their coming." The soft note of the bird is also spoken of by Solomon as one of the signs of returning spring, "For lo! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the Turtle is heard in our land."

PHEASANT.

COMMON OR RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

FIGURE 24.

This glorious bird is the _Phasia.n.u.s Colchicus_ of naturalists, the first term meaning a Pheasant, and the second of Colchis, the ancient name of a country of Asia Minor, from whence it is said the bird was originally brought into Europe, by the old Greek navigators, called the argonauts, say some--those who in the s.h.i.+p Argo, sailed the seas under the command of Jason, and went through a series of surprising adventures connected with the bearing away of a certain _golden fleece_ from the King of Colchis, all of which are faithfully reported in the mythology, for the admiration and belief of the credulous. Certain it is that if Jason had not with him such a treasure as a golden fleece, he had in the Pheasant a golden bird, if there really ever was such a person, and he did in reality bring the splendid king of the English preserves into Europe.

A description of the bird's gorgeous plumage we need not attempt, as all of our readers must have seen it hanging up in the poulterer's shops, if they have not been startled by the sudden _whirr_ of its wings as it rose from the fern-brake or thicket at their approach, as they wandered amid the green woods where it delights to dwell.

The nest of this bird consists of merely a few leaves placed in a slight depression on the ground, sometimes in the open field near to a preserve or plantation, but more frequently among the underwood, in long gra.s.s and in hedge-rows; frequently the situation chosen is beneath boughs that have been felled, or have fallen from the tree. The laying of the eggs commences in April or May; incubation lasts from twenty-four to twenty-six days; the number sat upon varies from six up to as many as fourteen; more than this have been found in one nest, but it was not likely to have been the produce of a single hen; the colour of the eggs is pale olive brown, covered all over with very small dots of a deeper tint. Poachers are ever on the look-out for these eggs, as a sitting of them fetches a high price; they are generally, when taken from the nest, placed under a common hen to be hatched. Some have been found of a greyish white tinged with green. It is said that Partridges are sometimes expelled from their nests by these birds, which will sit upon their own eggs, and those of the rightful owner of the nest, and hatch them all.

Generally speaking, the Pheasant is a shy wary bird, and with good reason, being such an object of pursuit with sportsmen, as well as unlicensed depredators; but where secured from molestation and well fed, it becomes bold and familiar. Its general food is grain of various kinds, peas, beans, nuts, and berries, shoots and leaves of several plants, roots, and insects: it is particularly partial to sunflower seeds and buckwheat.

The variety called the Ring-necked Pheasant is distinguished by a clear ring of white round the neck; there is also a variety known as the Bohemian Pheasant, which is of a stone-colour prettily marked and mottled with black and brown. White and cream-coloured ones occasionally occur.

BLACK GROUSE.

BLACK GAME. BLACK c.o.c.k. FEMALE--GREY OR BROWN HEN.

FIGURE 25.

The meaning of the generic name of this bird--_Tetrao_, is by no means clear, neither is that of its specific name _tetrix_: are they not both derived from the Hindostanee word _Tetur_? is the query of Morris, who does not tell us what this _tetur_ means.

The Black Grouse, conspicuous for its large size, glossy black plumage, forked tail, turning out like the flakes of an anchor, and n.o.ble bearing, is, with the exception of its near relative, the Capercaillie, or c.o.c.k of the Woods, now only to be found in some of the Scottish forests, the largest of our native game birds. It is found chiefly in Scotland, where it frequents those parts where there is a good growth of underwood or heather, or other thick vegetation, and also plenty of water, which appears to be necessary to its existence. It is also found in many of the English counties, being tolerably plentiful in Yorks.h.i.+re and Northumberland, and about Windermere, in Westmoreland. It feeds on juniper and most other berries, and wild fruits, heather-twigs, and young shoots of many plants; the tops of gra.s.ses, rushes, sedge, and buds of trees, turnip and rape leaves, and even the young fronds of the fern.

The nest, which is placed in some marshy spot among heath, or in plantations or hedge-rows, amid the rank vegetation, is composed of gra.s.s or twigs, neatly laid but not woven together. The eggs are from five to eight or ten in number; the colour is reddish yellow, in some nearly white; they are irregularly spotted with reddish brown: they are generally laid in May.

A fine full-grown Black c.o.c.k will weigh nearly four pounds; and the Grey Hen, which has a sober dress of brown and grey prettily intermixed, about half this weight. They are birds much valued as table delicacies; and every year immense numbers are shot by eager sportsmen, who leave the desk and the counter, the senate-house and the drawing-room, to roam amid the Scottish moors and mountains, and undergo fatigues and privations with an endurance and perseverance worthy of a better cause.

RED GROUSE.

GOR, OR MOOR-c.o.c.k. MOOR, OR MUIR-FOWL. RED-GAME. RED, OR BROWN PTARMIGAN.

FIGURES 26 & 27.

_Tetrao_, or _Lagopus Scoticus_ is the scientific name of this species; the meaning of the first term is already explained, the second comes from _Lagos_--a hare, and _pous_--a foot, and is given to this bird because it has the lower joints of the leg, and even the toes, feathered, differing in this respect from the other kinds of Grouse.

_Scoticus_ means Scotch, and indicates the country in which the species most abounds, although it is also found in various parts of England and Wales; it is, however, peculiar to Great Britain, and therefore the name _Britannicus_ has been suggested as a more appropriate generic name for it.

The Red Grouse is, perhaps, the most highly-prized of all game birds, and the wonder is that it continues so abundant, notwithstanding the annual slaughter which takes place in its breeding and feeding grounds, which are mostly the open moors and hill-sides, where there is plenty of heath and ling, and other low-growing plants of the like nature. It is especially partial to the heather, which affords it both shelter and food. It also feeds on various gra.s.ses and mountain berries, and grain when its home is near cultivated districts, which it generally, however, avoids, retiring as far as possible from the presence of man, as though it knew and feared him as its greatest enemy.

The nest of the Muir c.o.c.k, as the Scotch call it, is formed of heather and gra.s.s, with a few of the soft downy feathers of the bird, and is placed in a hollow of the ground among the heath. The first eggs are laid in March or April; they are usually six or seven in number, although sometimes they amount to twelve and even more; they vary considerably in colour, the ground being usually a greyish white, with more or less of a reddish brown or yellow tinge. They are thickly dotted or clouded with dark grey and brown; the shape is a regular oval.

The Heath Poults, as the young are called, leave the nest directly they are hatched, as do most of the game birds, and are very soon able to fly. At first they lie close, and may almost be trodden upon, but they get more wild and wary as the shooting-season advances; this commences in August.

PTARMIGAN.

WHITE GAME, OR GROUSE. IN GAELIC, PTARMICHAN.

FIGURE 28.

Rich as is the plumage of the Red Grouse, with its beautiful markings, and warm sienna tint, which prevails throughout every part except the snowy legs, yet we are inclined to give the preference to this, its close relative, for elegance of appearance. It is all over of a pure delicate white, except just the points of the toes, the larger tail feathers, the bill, and a patch on each side of the head, which surrounds the eye, all of black; there is also, as in every other species of Grouse with which we are acquainted, a semicircular patch, like a piece of crimson velvet over each eye. The edges of the white feathers are delicately pencilled, as we see them in the Silver Pheasant, so that they appear perfectly distinct from each other. This is the winter dress, according well with the snowy regions which the bird chiefly inhabits. In summer the plumage in parts becomes brown and yellowish grey of different shades; this dress also a.s.similating well with the lichen-covered rocks of those Alpine solitudes where the Ptarmigan must be sought. With us it is found only in the Grampians, and others of the Scottish mountains; there it dwells in seldom-disturbed security, feeding upon such plants as grow in these elevated places, in winter descending lower, to obtain a better supply of food, but never venturing into the plain.

Its eggs, which vary from seven to twelve in number, are sometimes laid on the bare earth, under the shadow of a rock or some plant; their colour is white, with sometimes a green, yellow, or reddish tinge; they are blotted and spotted with dark brown. The laying does not commence until June; incubation lasts three weeks. The young at first feed on insects.

The scientific name of this bird is _Tetrao lagopus_, the meaning of which has already been explained, and _Lagopus vulgaris_, that is, common, or mutus--changeable, in allusion to the variation in the colour of the plumage.

PARTRIDGE.