Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE SPECTACLED WARBLER (Curruca conspicillata).

These birds inhabit the whole of Southern Europe, even to its smallest islands, and are especially numerous in Greece, Italy, and Spain; everywhere they frequent any situation covered with shrubs and bushes, and remain throughout the entire year within the limits of their native lands. Naumann tells us that the song of this species, which is very varied, and consists of prolonged piping notes, is constantly uttered both upon the wing and as the bird rises or sinks rapidly through the air.

When singing in the trees the male usually selects a prominent branch, and accompanies his performance by agitating his tail, erecting the feathers that form his crest, and bowing his head repeatedly; should any unusual sound occur, the bold little creature is at once on the alert to discover the meaning of the noise, and invariably hurries to the spot to mingle in every fray or take his part in any dispute that arises among his feathered companions. The female is not of an inquisitive and intrusive disposition, and, as she usually remains quietly hidden among the sheltering branches, is but seldom seen. During the breeding season, the male is even still more pugnacious and determined. He resents all intrusions upon his privacy by approaching almost close to the unwelcome visitor, loudly uttering his shrill, clear call with such rapidity as to make it appear but one prolonged note. In such moments of excitement the black crest upon his head is raised aloft, and the bare circles round the eyes gleam with fiery brilliancy. The nest, which is substantial in its structure, is usually placed in a bush or tree, and carefully concealed from view. The four or five eggs have a dirty white shell delicately marked with extremely fine dark specks, sometimes they are also decorated with blue markings and a wreath of olive-brown spots at the broad end. We have found nests containing newly-laid eggs from March to August. After the breeding season is over the parents fly about for some time in company with their young, and occasionally they remain associated during the winter.

THE SARDINIAN FIRE-EYED BLACK-HEAD.

The SARDINIAN FIRE-EYED BLACK-HEAD (Pyropthalma sarda), as its name implies, is a native of Sardinia; it is likewise met with in Malta, Greece, and the neighbouring islands, also, according to Homeyer, upon the Balearic Islands. In this species the head, nape, and back are blackish grey, lightly tinted with red; the under side is pale grey, the throat whitish; the quills and tail-feathers are brownish black edged with reddish grey, except the two exterior tail-feathers, which are bordered with white on the outer web. The eye is nut brown, the bare eyelid yellowish pink, and the beak black, except at the yellow base of the lower mandible; the foot is light grey. The colours of the female are somewhat paler. Salvatori tells us that this interesting Warbler is one of the commonest birds in Sardinia, and that it frequents all parts of the country, whether mountain or plain, provided the ground is covered with bushes or heather. Homeyer speaks in the same terms of such as inhabit the Balearic Isles, and tells us that their movements closely resemble those of mice, as they scurry over the ground from stone to stone and shrub to shrub; now running into a hole, now closely examining every little twig of a bush, with a rapidity and dexterity far exceeding even that of the Wren. During the whole time the bird is in motion the tail is brandished aloft with most grotesque effect. The voice much resembles that of a male Canary in some of its notes, while others are like the sound of a tiny bell; the call-note is exactly similar to that of the Redbacked Shrike. The nest is placed in thick bushes, and is formed of grass, lined with horsehair and a few feathers; the interior is deep, and the walls very thin. The four or five eggs have a greenish-white shell, clouded with yellowish green, or marked with spots of various shades and with black streaks; in size they resemble those of the Goldfinch. The plumage of the young is like that of the parents, except that the head is paler, and the eyelid only slightly touched with red. Three broods are produced within the year, the first being laid in August. This species does not migrate.

THE PROVENCE FIRE-EYED WARBLER.

The PROVENCE FIRE-EYED WARBLER, called in England the DARTFORD WARBLER (Pyropthalma Provincialis), a species nearly allied to the above, is dark grey on the upper portion of its body, and deep red on the under side, streaked upon the throat with white. The quills and tail-feathers are brownish grey, the four exterior tail-feathers having white tips; the eye is light brown, its lid bright red; the beak black, with the exception of the base of the under mandible, which is of a reddish hue, as is the foot. The length of this bird is from four inches and three-quarters to five inches, and its breadth from six inches to six and a quarter. The wing measures two inches, and the tail from two inches and a quarter to two inches and a half. This beautiful active little Warbler inhabits not only the most southern part of Europe, but is also met with in Great Britain, Asia Minor, and North-western Africa. Hedges, shrubs, and brushwood are its favourite haunts, and in them it is to be seen hopping briskly about in search of insects, or perching at the end of a branch while it carols forth its blithe song, accompanying the notes by gesticulations with its tail, and a display of the feathers on its throat. Should its quiet retreat be disturbed by an unusual sound, the vigilant little minstrel is at once silent, and after a momentary survey of surrounding objects from the end of a projecting bough, promptly retires to seek safety amid the densest part of the foliage. "The male," as Mudie informs us, "often hovers about the bushes, uttering his chirping cry, which, being rather feeble and hurried, can scarcely be termed a genuine warble. At these times, from the thickness of the head and neck, the long tail, and the short and rounded wings, the bird has some resemblance to a dragonfly. A spy-glass must be used when observing him, for if one venture near he instantly drops into the bush, where it is in vain to search for him; and the alarm-note he then utters is not unlike the cry of some of the field-mice."

This bird was first seen in England by Pennant, who, having killed his specimens in the neighbourhood of Dartford, gave it the name of the Dartford Warbler. Since that time it has been found on furzy commons in several of the southern counties, and been proved to build and reside throughout the year in this country. Colonel Montague, who met with this bird in Devonshire, gives the following account of his search after its nest:—"Mr. Stackhouse, of Pendennis, assured me that his brother had observed these birds for several years to inhabit furze near Truro. This information redoubled, if possible, my ardour, and I visited a large furze bush in my neighbourhood, where I had seen them the previous autumn, and upon close search, on the 16th of July, three old birds were observed, two of which had young, as evidenced by their extreme clamour and by frequently appearing with food in their bills. On the 17th my researches were renewed, and, after three hours' watching the motions of another pair, I discovered the nest with three young; it was placed among the dead branches of the thickest furze, about two feet from the ground, slightly fastened between the main stems, not in a fork. On the same day a pair were discovered carrying materials for building, and, by concealing myself in the bushes, I soon discovered the place of nidification, and, upon examination, I found the nest was just begun. As early as the 19th the nest appeared to be finished; but it possessed only one egg on the 21st, and on the 26th it contained four, when the nest and eggs were secured. The nest is composed of dry vegetable stalks, particularly goose grass, mixed with the tender dead branches of furze, not sufficiently hard to become prickly. These are put together in a very loose manner, and intermixed very sparingly with wool. In one of these nests was a single Partridge's feather. The lining is equally sparing, for it consists only of a few dry stalks of some species of carex without a single leaf of the plant, and only two or three of the panicles. This thin flimsy structure, which the eye pervades in all parts, much resembles the nest of the Whitethroat. The eggs are also somewhat similar to those of the Whitethroat, weighing only twenty-two grains; like the eggs of that species, they possess a slight tinge of green; they are fully speckled all over with olivaceous brown and cinereous, on a greenish-white ground, the markings becoming more dense and forming a zone at the larger end. The young were considered no small treasure, and were taken as soon as the proper age arrived for rearing them by hand, which is at the time the tips of the quills and the greater coverts of the wings expose a portion of the fibrous end. By experience grasshoppers (which at this season of the year are to be procured in abundance) are found to be an excellent food for all insectivorous birds; these, therefore, at first were their constant food, and, after five or six days, a mixture of bread and milk, chopped boiled meat, and a little finely powdered hemp and rape seed, made into a thick paste, to wean them from insect food by degrees; this they became more partial to than even grasshoppers, but they afterwards preferred bread and milk, with pounded hemp seed only, to every other food, the smaller house or window flies excepted. Before these birds left their nest I put them into a pair of scales, and found that they weighed two drachms and a quarter each. At this time they ate in one day one drachm and a quarter each, so that in two days each consumed more than its own weight. Such a repletion is almost incredible, and doubtless greatly beyond what the parent birds could usually supply them with, which, by observation, appeared to consist of variety, and, not unfrequently, small Phælenæ; their growth, however, was in proportion to the large supply of food. This interesting little family began to throw out some of their mature feathers on each side of the breast about the middle of August, and the sexes became apparent. At this time they had forsaken their grasshopper food, feeding by choice on the soft victuals before mentioned. The nestling attachment of these little birds was very conspicuous towards the dusk of the evening; for a long time after they had forsaken the nest they became restless, and apparently in search of a roosting-place, flying about the cage for half an hour, or until it was too dark to move with safety, when a singular soft note was uttered by one which had chosen a convenient spot for the night, at which instant they all assembled, repeating the same plaintive cry. In this interesting scene, as warmth was the object of all, a considerable bustle ensued, in order to obtain an inward berth, those on the outside alternately perching upon the others, and forcing in between them; during this confusion, which sometimes continued for a few minutes, the cuddling note was continually emitted, and in an instant all was quiet. Nothing can exceed the activity of these little creatures; they are in perpetual motion the whole day, throwing themselves into various attitudes and gesticulations, erecting the crest and tail at intervals, accompanied by a double or triple cry, which seems to express the words 'Cha! cha! cha!' They frequently take their food while suspended to the wires with their heads downwards, and not unusually turn over backwards on the perch. The males, of which there were three out of the four, began to sing with the appearance of their first mature feathers, and continued in song all the month of October, frequently with scarcely any intermission for several hours together; the notes are entirely native, consisting of considerable variety, delivered in a hurried manner, and in a much lower tone than I have heard the old birds in their natural haunts. This song is different from anything of the kind I ever heard, but in part resembles that of the Stone Chat. The Dartford Warbler will sometimes suspend itself on wing over the furze, singing the whole time, but is more frequently observed on the uppermost spray in vocal strain for half an hour together."

The same habits were observed by "Rusticus," of Godalming, who, writing in "Loudon's Magazine," says:—"Its habits are very like those of the little Wren; and when the leaves are off the trees, and the chill winter winds have driven the summer birds to the olive gardens of Spain, or across the Straits, the Furze Wren, as it is there called, is in the height of its enjoyment. I have seen them by dozens skipping about the furze, lighting for a moment on the very point of the sprigs, and instantly diving out of sight again, singing out their angry, impatient ditty, for ever the same. They prefer those places where the furze is very thick, high, and difficult to get in."