British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black; on each side of the neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed; upper plumage dingy; all the tail-coverts white; belly brownish grey, barred on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three inches. Eggs greyish white.

The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland marshes, meadows, and arable land; but the Brent is a decidedly marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on marine plants, especially laver and zostéra. As soon as these are left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct that they have no time to lose, and hasten in 'skeins' or 'gaggles' making in their flight a trumpet-like noise which, heard at a distance, resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them off their feet. Then, away to sea again! or, if the weather be boisterous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding-grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species, for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, in quest of different food. sea-side fowlers are well acquainted with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural or artificial; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly shows himself; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst of them.

They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. They come to us in November and remain till late in February, when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest bird staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their nests of withered herbage in marshy ground.

THE BERNICLE GOOSE
BERNICLA LEUCOPSIS

Forehead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white; a dark streak between the eyes and bill; head/neck, quills, and tail, black; rest of the upper plumage undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white; lower plumage white, tinged on the flanks with grey; irides dusky-brown; bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white.

This beautiful bird occurs chiefly on the west side of Great Britain in winter. 'It then more frequently retires to the sea than to the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feeding-grounds. A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle, as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate their necks. Not less beautiful do they seem when on wing; now arranged in long lines, ever undulating; at one time extending in the direction of their flight; at another obliquely, or at right angles to it, sometimes in an angular figure, and again mingling together. Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably on the ear when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance'. In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes both on the eastern and western coast. The mythical fragment of ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree, is too trite to require repetition here.

THE WHOOPER SWAN
CYGNUS MÚSICUS

Whole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with yellow; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black; lore and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow; irides brown; legs black; tail of twenty feathers. Young birds have the plumage grey; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish.

The ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death did not survive the age which invented it. Pliny disbelieved it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on natural history.