I. PERMANENT RESIDENTS.
The Kestrel, or Windhover (Falco Tinnunculus), Morris, vol. i., pl. 17.
Common, building in woods, especially where little disturbed by visitors. One of the most beautiful and harmless of its race, and remarkable for hovering over its prey, which is often a field–mouse. It may be seen suspended in the air by quick, short flapping of the wings, sometimes for five minutes, then dropping down upon its victim with wonderful speed and force.
The Sparrow–hawk (Accipiter Fringillarius), i., 19.
Common, a bird of great daring, and a very general and successful destroyer of smaller ones, pouncing at once upon its prey. Usually builds in a tree which commands a good view in every direction.
The Short–eared Owl (Strix brachyotus), i., 23.
Frequently found on the mosses. Two upon Trafford Moss in the winter of 1858–9.
The White or Barn Owl (Strix flammea), i., 29.
Common. The most frequent, familiar, and useful of the British owls, being a great destroyer of mice and young rats, therefore especially valuable to farmers who have granaries. Often laughed at because of its “stupid” look, the owl is a bird of consummate interest. The great size of the eyes is adapted to the small amount of light in which they are usually to be employed. In the broad light of day the poor creature is dazzled, and may well look irrational. Mark also the beautiful fringe around the eyes. This prevents the interference of lateral light, and the bird can concentrate the whole of its power upon what lies immediately before it, just as we ourselves shade the eye with the hand, and curve the fingers, when we want to examine some distant object more particularly.
The Song Thrush (Turdus musicus), iii., 127.
Everywhere in the district, and its sweet voice known to every one. In congenial seasons it begins to sing in February. The nests, with the eggs, are brought every year to the market for sale. In the work of no creatures more than of birds, as in higher circles of life, is there more of “love’s labour lost.” But to balance extreme lack of wisdom, so great in the present instance is the perseverance, that if in endeavouring to raise a brood it is foiled by one of its many enemies, the thrush almost invariably follows that good old rule, “try again.”
The Missel Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), iii., 124.
Common, breeding freely and very early, and building a nest similar to that of the song–thrush, but in rather slovenly fashion, and usually very conspicuous, being placed in the forks of the branches of trees. Any odd stuff is used for it, as pieces of torn–up newspaper, bits of old flannel, stray cotton–wool, old ribbon, &c.
The Blackbird (Turdus merula), iii., 131.
Common everywhere, restless and vigilant, breeding freely, known to every one, and a great plague to gardeners. Blackbirds, however, consume so many snails, that in the matter of spoiled fruit we can quite afford to be lenient.
The Hedge Sparrow, or Dunnock (Accentor modularis), iii., 135.
Common, and especially attached to gardens. Begins to sing towards dusk, never any sooner; then mounts to the highest twig it can find near its nest, and is tuneful to the highest degree, saying, as well as a bird can, “Home, home, sweet, sweet home, my day’s work is done, like yours; good night, all’s well.” A more exquisitely beautiful and immaculate shade of blue than that of the eggs it is scarcely possible to discover.
The Robin, or Redbreast (Sylvia rubecula), iii., 136.
Universally known and beloved; very fond of visiting timber–yards in the town during the winter, where it sings freely; and in the country an excellent prophet of the weather, for if the next day is to be fine, the robin mounts to the top of the tallest tree; if the contrary, it warbles softly underneath. The young birds are nearly the colour of throstles, the distinctive hue not appearing till after the first moult. At this period the bird seems patched with red, presenting a most comical appearance.
The Stonechat (Sylvia rubicola), iii., 140.
Seen every winter in the neighbourhood of Withington, haunting the Swedish turnip fields. In the summer it lodges elsewhere.
The Golden–crested Wren (Regulus cristatus), iii., 162.
This bird builds annually in the yews in the grounds at Dunham Hall, and is common on the outskirts of the town generally. The note resembles that of a weak cricket, and is often repeated, as if the little creatures, like children, were afraid of losing one another. The male and female are never seen apart, and usually there are three or four couples together.
The Great Titmouse (Parus major), i., 36.
Common, haunting woods and gardens, and busy most of its time in looking for insects and spiders. Imitating other birds, and making all sorts of queer noises, the reward it often gets is to be shot for its pains, the wonder being what droll creature can it be.
The Blue Titmouse (Parus cœruleus), i., 39.
Very beautiful in plumage, usually a sweet light blue or dark blue and yellow, common in woods and gardens, and building its nest in holes of trees, in letter–boxes, old pumps, and anything else that has a cavity in it and it takes a fancy to. In late autumn and winter there is no prettier sight than to watch one of these elegant little creatures pecking away at one of the two or three apples that a kind–hearted man always leaves for it.
The Cole Titmouse (Parus ater), i., 37.
Common, but chiefly found in winter, usually going northwards to breed.
The Marsh Titmouse. (Parus palustris), i., 40.
Similar to the last both in habits and note, but building more frequently.
The Long–tailed Titmouse (Parus caudatus), i., 41.
The nest, which is usually suspended from the ends of branches in the thick of the hedge, is most beautifully formed, and resembles a little bee–hive. It is constructed of moss, lichens, and spiders’ webs, and lined with feathers, as many, when pulled out and scattered abroad, as would fill a couple of hats. In autumn, parties of about half–a–dozen usually go about together, scampering through the orchards, generally from east to west, examining every tree with remarkable rapidity, always moving, never resting; after which they are not seen again perhaps for months.
The Pied Wag–tail, or Dish–washer (Motacilla Yarrellii), ii., 80.
A common and very elegant bird, building under bridges, and near the water, but always in some rough or stony place, such as a hole where a brick has fallen out. Haunting stream and pond–sides in quest of food, it is quite as particular as a lady is over her dress, flirting its little tail so as to preserve it from getting soiled.
The Gray Wag–tail, (Motacilla sulphurea), ii., 82.
Similar to the last in habits, and very beautiful in its breeding plumage, showing yellow, blue, black, white, green, and many other tints. Near Manchester rather rare.
The Meadow Pipit, or Titling (Anthus pratensis), ii., 86.
Common in meadows and upon the mosses, as Chat Moss and White Moss, on which it breeds abundantly. This bird has most young cuckoos to rear of any of the feathered tribe that build on the ground, and a good deal of work to do, for the young cuckoos are both big and hungry. It is one also of many which, if they think their young are in danger, feign to be wounded, so as to draw attention away from the nest.
The Skylark, or Lavrock (Alauda arvensis), ii., 93.
Common everywhere, building on the ground. The male bird seems to collect the materials, while the female employs herself in arranging them. Seldom alighting upon either tree or bush, the lark, rather singular to say, is, except when soaring, in its habits almost wholly terrestrial.
The Common Bunting (Emberiza miliaria), ii., 97.
Not infrequent, singing, in a shrill note, in March, on the tops of trees near cultivated fields. The nest is built on the ground, near the sides of ditches.
The Black–headed Bunting, or Black–cap (Emberiza schœniculus), ii., 98.
Common about pit–sides and wide ditches.
The Yellow–ammer (Emberiza citrinella), ii., 90.
Common. The song, in March and April, is very peculiar, and sounds like the words, “A little bit of bread and no ch–e–e–se,” the first part of the sentence uttered rapidly, and the latter long drawn out. (This name, often mis–written yellow–hammer, represents the German goldammer, literally “yellow–bunting.”)
The Chaffinch (Fringilla cælebs), ii., 102.
Common. A very early harbinger of spring, in woods, fields, and gardens, and very fond of orchards, building a beautiful nest of all sorts of materials within reach. One has been found constructed entirely of raw cotton. The eggs are sometimes blue, sometimes white with pale spots, or pinky, or red, as if pencil–marked. Named cælebs by Linnæus, because in winter, especially when the season is severe, in many parts the sexes say good–bye to one another, and live asunder till spring, when they re–unite. One of the neatest in habits of all English birds. Even in the depth of winter the chaffinch seeks a lavatory every day.
The Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), ii., 104.
A sharp little bird, not uncommon, and usually building in hollow oak–trees. If the tree be approached during incubation it flies off like a shot.
The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), ii., 105.
The bold, pert, quarrelsome bird, indifferent alike to our kindness and our enmity, which nevertheless one is glad to see feeding on the crumbs considerately thrown to it from the parlour breakfast–table.
The Greenfinch (Coccothraustes chloris), ii., 106.
Common in cultivated fields and gardens. Song sweet but monotonous.
The Common Linnet (Linaria cannabina), ii., 110.
Abundant everywhere on heaths and in hedgerows. Many are kept in cages for the beauty of the song. Not only among mankind, it would seem, does a fine voice sometimes prove the road to ruin.
The Less Red–pole (Linaria minor), ii., 111.
This bird breeds in Marple Wood, Cotterill Clough, and similar places. The nest, rather hard to discover, is round, the size of a racket–ball, and composed of fibrous roots and the hemp–like bark of the dead nettle–stalks of the previous year, with which the little architect ties them together, the inside being lined with the pappus or down of the coltsfoot seed. It is generally placed in high hedges or in the boughs of fir–trees.
The Bullfinch (Loxia Pyrrhula), ii., 114.
Rare. Remarkable for the beauty of its nest, which is constructed of the withered ends of the slenderest woodbine twigs the bird can find, laid crosswise like a woven fabric. Generally found in a bush, and about a yard from the ground.
The Starling, or Shepster (Sturnus vulgaris), iii., 121.
A bird well–known as stopping up waterspouts with its nest, and never going to bed till after a prolonged chatter. Common everywhere.
The Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), i., 52.
Formerly common in Hough–end Clough, but now extinct, and fast disappearing from the neighbourhood in general.
The Rook (Corvus frugilegus), i., 54.
Common everywhere. Their clamour one of the most familiar of rural sounds, and their great feathers, of the only shade of black that is lively, constantly seen lying upon the ground.
The Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), i., 55.
Formerly an inhabitant of the steeples of St. John’s, St. Anne’s, St. Matthew’s, and St. Mary’s churches. Plentiful wherever there is an old ruin.
The Magpie (Pica caudata), i., 56.
Formerly very abundant about Urmston, but has become scarce with the disappearance of the tall trees, especially poplars, once so plentiful there. It suffers sadly, also, from sportsmen and gamekeepers.
The Jay (Garrulus glandarius), i., 58.
Frequent about Withington, Didsbury, Northen, and in that part of the neighbourhood.
The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis), ii., 64.
This bird used to breed in Dunham Park. One was seen there in January, 1859.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker (Picus major), ii., 65.
Rare. Dunham Park; Barlow Moor.
The Common Creeper (Certhia familiaris), ii., 62.
Abundant, but, in consequence of its retired habits, little known. At a short distance it looks like a mouse, running up the tree from the very bottom, and clearing it all round of every insect that may happen to be in the way. Plentiful at Gatley Carrs.
The Common Wren (Sylvia Troglodytes), iii., 160.
Well–known, and common everywhere in gardens, woods, and hedgerows. Often found with a few scattered white feathers, and sometimes with white wings. The large and pretty nest reminds one of what women do for the world. The hen commences one and completes it. Meantime the male bird begins two or three in succession, a short distance from his mate’s, but never completes one of them. The materials are moss, feathers, hair, dead leaves, and dead fern.
The Peewit, or Lapwing (Vanellus cristatus), iv., 192.
Common everywhere in marshy grounds, and known to most people by the peculiar cry represented in the name. The young ones are particularly fond of being in the bottom of deep ditches and drains, squatting down close to the ground.
The King–fisher (Alcedo ispida), i., 46.
Cheadle, Urmston, Flixton, and elsewhere in those directions, by all the tributaries of the Mersey. A beautiful but very timid bird, darting with great speed, its glossy green back glancing quick as thought.—(See, in reference to the Lancashire localities, the Manchester Guardian of Feb. 4th, 1882.)
The Moor–hen, or Water–hen (Gallinula chloropus), v., 247.
Common by old pits. Many breed on the ponds in Dunham Park, where we cannot go in the summer without seeing them in companies of four or five, their little white tails cocked up, and looking as if they were swimming on their necks.
The Great Crested Grebe (Colymbus cristatus), v., 294.
On all the Cheshire meres, Tatton, Tabley, Rostherne, &c.
The Little Grebe, or Dab–chick (Colymbus Hebridicus), v., 298.
Common on the Cheshire meres.
The Nuthatch (Sitta Europæa), i., 60.
Dunham Park, but only a few.
The Ringdove, Cushat, or Wood–pigeon (Columba palumbus), iii., 164.
Breeds in the woods in Trafford Park and about Chat Moss; plentiful about Urmston, though rather rare in the district generally.
The Stockdove (Columba ænas), iii., 165.
Very scarce. Marple Wood.—(On the Lancashire localities, see Manchester Guardian, Jan. 21, 1882.)
The Red Grouse (Lagopus Scoticus), iii., 172.
On the moors.
The Common Partridge (Perdrix cinerea), iii., 174.
Upon farm–land, common.
The Wild Duck (Anas Boschas), v., 270.
This bird breeds on Carrington Moss, Chat Moss, and in many other places.
The Common Heron (Ardea cinerea), iv., 197.
In the Manchester Guardian of December 28, 1881, it is stated that there is a heronry “within about fourteen miles of the Exchange,” and that within forty miles of Manchester there are a dozen other stations for this beautiful and celebrated bird. The former is probably that one which it is further stated has existed since 1871 in Tabley Park, though the older stations, Dunham Park, Oulton Park, and the trees near the water at Arley Hall, have long since been deserted.—(Vide also the Guardian of March 18th, 1882.)