. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . th zygodactylous toes. The head,neck, and upper surface of the body are dark ashen-grey,with iridescent hues on the back and wing-coverts; thelower parts are grey with darker spots. The female issmaller than her mate, and greyer in colour, withtransverse spots on the lower surface. The Cuckoo is a bird of passage, arriving in Apriland departing about the end of August, before whichtime its peculiar cry has ceased. Although it will eatsome fruit, the bulk of its diet consists of
. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . th zygodactylous toes. The head,neck, and upper surface of the body are dark ashen-grey,with iridescent hues on the back and wing-coverts; thelower parts are grey with darker spots. The female issmaller than her mate, and greyer in colour, withtransverse spots on the lower surface. The Cuckoo is a bird of passage, arriving in Apriland departing about the end of August, before whichtime its peculiar cry has ceased. Although it will eatsome fruit, the bulk of its diet consists of insects. It isvery impatient of cold. THE CUCKOOS MATE. See Wryneck. 32 BRITISH BIRDS THE Common Curlew. This bird is much larger than any other- member of thegroup, or family, in which it has been placed, attaining toa weight of 22 ounces or more, and a length of i foot9 or 10 inches. The call or note is well known and is loud and clear,uttered when the bird is on the wing, and has a whistlingsound. It flies strongly and is of a wandering disposition,usually travelling at a great height in the Common Curlews. The eggs are laid on the ground among grass or rushesand are four in number, differing so much in appearancethat scarcely two are found at all alike; they are wonder-fully large for the size of the bird. The young can runabout almost as soon as they are hatched; the parentsattend them carefully until they are able to fly, whichdoes not take place for some time. They are easily tamed. The Little Curlew. See Whimbrel FOR CAGES AND A VIARIlES. 33 The Stone Curlew. See Thick-Knee. The Whimbrel. Very much like the Curlew, but is not much more thanhalf its size, for which reason its popular name of LittleCurlew is not at all inappropriate. It breeds in the north,but spends the winter here. It is a noisy and restlessbird, nesting among ling and heather on moors. The eggsare four in number, of a dark greenish-brown colourspotted with still darker brown. The you
Size: 1912px × 1307px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectcag
