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Read Ebook: British Birds in Their Haunts by Johns C A Charles Alexander Owen J A Jean Allan Editor Foster William Illustrator
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Ebook has 1266 lines and 182547 words, and 26 pages
BRITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS
Illustrated with 64 Coloured Plates by WILLIAM FOSTER, M.B.O.U.
WITH A GLOSSARY OF COMMON AND PROVINCIAL NAMES AND OF TECHNICAL TERMS
TWELFTH EDITION
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
JOHN'S BIRDS, EDITED BY OWEN.
Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London
EDITOR'S PREFACE
This admirable work by the late Rev. C. A. Johns, F.L.S., which is now offered in a new form, has already proved the making of many a naturalist and it will be a delight and help to many more nature lovers who wish to determine a species without recourse to bulky scientific works.
In editing the present edition I have carefully preserved all Mr. Johns' delightful personal stories and his descriptions of the birds and their daily life in their haunts, but I have brought the scientific arrangement of the species up to date, as well as altered the nomenclature, in accordance with present-day knowledge and use.
We begin with the Passeres because modern ornithologists are now nearly all agreed that this order attains the highest Avian development.
I have rectified statements as to the local distribution of various species which, with the progress of time and local changes, no longer apply, and have added facts here and there which I considered of some value.
The faithful and beautiful presentments made by Mr. William Foster for this new edition have no need of our commendation to the public.
J. A. OWEN.
SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERA OF BIRDS
ORDER PASSERES
Bill various; feet adapted for perching on trees or on the ground ; toes four, all in the same plane, three before and one behind; claws slender, curved, and acute. Food, various; that of the nestlings, perhaps in all instances, soft insects.
FAMILY TURDIDAE
Bill as long as the head, compressed at the sides; upper mandible arched to the tip, which is not abruptly hooked, notch well marked, but not accompanied by a tooth; gape furnished with bristles; feet long, with curved claws. Food--insects, snails and fruits.
Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under parts spotted.
Bill strong and broad at base; upper mandible overlapping lower and slightly notched at tip.
Young on leaving nest differ slightly in colour from adults.
Arboreal. Each nostril covered by a single stiff feather.
FAMILY PARIDAE
Bill short, straight, conical, sharp-pointed, destitute of a notch; nostrils basal, concealed by reflected bristly hairs. Small birds, remarkable for their activity, not highly gifted with musical power, constantly flitting and climbing about trees and bushes, which they examine for small insects, suspending themselves in all attitudes, feeding also on grains and fruits, and not sparing small birds when they are able to overpower them.
FAMILY PANURIDAE
FAMILY SITTIDAE
FAMILY CERTHIIDAE
Bill either straight and subulate or slender, long, and curved; nostrils basal; tail never emarginate; fourth toe coalesced at first phalanx with middle toe. Principally insectivorous.
FAMILY TROGLODYTIDAE
FAMILY CINCLIDAE
FAMILY ORIOLIDAE
Bill with notch in upper mandible; nostrils placed well in front of base of bill and quite bare.
FAMILY STURNIDAE
Bill nearly straight, short at the base, diminishing regularly to a sharp point, which is not distinctly notched; the ridge of the upper mandible; ascends upon the forehead, dividing the plumage of that part; nostrils placed low in the bill; planta tarsi entire; wings moderate, not reaching to end of tail. An extensive and widely diffused family, comprising species for the most part above the average size of Passerine birds, yet inferior to the Crows. They are in general social, feeding much on the ground; their legs and feet are robust, their gait stately, their plumage, though commonly of dark colours, is lustrous, with reflections of steel-blue, purple, or green.
FAMILY CORVIDAE
Bill powerful, more or less compressed at the sides; upper mandible more or less arched to the point without distinct notch; gape nearly straight; nostrils concealed by stiff bristles. Hallux very strong, but with its claw not as long as the middle toe and claw. Birds of firm and compact structure; their wings long, pointed, and powerful; their feet and claws robust. In disposition bold and daring, extremely sagacious, easily tamed and made familiar. Most of them have the power of imitating various sounds, but their natural voices are harsh. They evince a remarkable propensity for thieving and hiding brilliant and gaudy substances. In appetite they are omnivorous.
FAMILY LANIIDAE
Bill strong, arched, and hooked, the upper mandible strongly notched after the manner of the FALCONIDAE; claws adapted for capturing insects and even small birds. Sylvan. Young barred below.
FAMILY AMPELIDAE
Bill stoat, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible, to that of the Corvidae; the upper mandible is however somewhat broad at the base, flat, with the upper edge more or less angular and ridged, and the tip distinctly notched. Feet usually stout, with the outer toe united to the middle one as far as, or beyond, the first joint. They feed principally on berries and other soft fruits, occasionally also on insects.
FAMILY MUSCICAPIDAE
Bill broad, flattened horizontally , slightly toothed and adapted for catching small flying insects; nostrils more or less covered by bristly hairs; feet generally feeble.
FAMILY HIRUNDINIDAE
Beak short but broad, and more or less flattened horizontally; mouth very deeply cleft; feet small and weak; wings with nine visible primaries, long and powerful, and thus adapted for sustaining a protracted flight in pursuit of winged insects, which form the sole sustenance of these birds; tail long and usually forked; plumage close, smooth, often burnished with a metallic gloss. Migratory birds, spending the summer in temperate climates, but being impatient of cold, withdrawing in winter to equatorial regions.
FAMILY FRINGILLIDAE
FAMILY MOTACILLIDAE
Wings with nine visible primaries. Inner secondaries nearly as long as primaries.
FAMILY ALAUDIDAE
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