|
MAGPIE
This handsome bird of the crow family
is intelligent and cautious - and a great
thief. It has a habit of egg stealing
- though any animal food - including carrion
- is taken. The nest is built of twigs
cemented with clay and lined with fine
roots. Above a a sort of roof or dome
is constructed - and there is one well-concealed
entrance. When not persecuted the magpie
appears to favour the neighbourhood of
mankind. Its name is an abbreviation of
the old name maggot-pie - an indication
of at least one article of its diet.
Back
To Bird Index
|
 STARLING
A common bird both of town and country.
In winter vast flocks gather and roost
in woods and plantations - and on high
buildings in towns. It is a mimic and
is able to reproduce a large variety
of sounds from the call of a curlew
to the rasp of a saw - in addition to
its own flutings and clucks. It nests
in holes in trees - and in the crevices
of buildings. The young bird's plumage
is grey and brown - and quite unlike
the speckled - glossy - metallic plumage
of the adult.
Back
To Bird Index
|
 SONG
THRUSH
A feature of this bird is its song -
as the name implies. Perched high up
on some tree - in the mornings and evenings
of spring and early summer - the song
thrush sings its best. It is fond of
gardens and of the insects and snails
to be found in them. It has its own
way with snails; gripping the lip of
the opening of the shell in its bill
- the thrush finds a convenient stone
on which it hammers the shell until
it breaks and is then able to devour
the soft snail inside. Often the same
stone is used as an "anvil" and - around
it - may be seen a litter of broken
snail shells.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
HOUSE SPARROW
Wherever humans have their dwellings,
the house sparrow is sure to be found.
It is a sociable "flock" bird even in
the nesting season. It is bold and mischievous
- and when the corn is ripe it leaves
its town or village home - and descends
in devouring crowds on the grain. It nests
in buildings and in hales in trees - and
will often take over the mud nest of house
martins and the holes of sand martins
- occasionally evicting the rightful owners.
Two broods - and often three are reared
in the year.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
GOLDFINCH
This exquisite finch is a real charmer
- indeed the collective noun for a number
of goldfinches is a "charm". Its beauty
as it flutters from plant to plant reminds
one more of an exotic butterfly than a
bird. It is a seed-eater and likes thistle
and ragwort seeds - and is therefore beneficial
as well as beautiful. Its neat nest lined
with wool and thistledown is often built
in an orchard tree. The goldfinch is with
us the whole year round.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
BULLFINCH
It is a pity that this striking bird has
such a bad reputation for attacking fruit-buds
in orchards - for it is a beautiful member
of the finch family. The bullfinch is
believed to mate for life - and usually
the pair will be found near each other.
The male (shown here) has a blue-grey
back and red breast. The female is brown
- with black and white markings - and
no red breast. The nest consists of a
basis of sticks supporting a shallow cup
of roots and a lining of hair - and is
built in a hedge or bash - and well concealed.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
GREENFINCH
This sociable finch - sometimes known
as the green linnet - is more often seen
in small flocks than alone. It is fairly
common where there is an abundance of
its favourite food: the seeds of flowers
and weeds - and the grain which it gleans
from the stubble fields. In winter it
is fond of the stockyard. The male is
depicted. When he flies - bright patches
of yellow are revealed on wings and tail;
the female is not so bright in colour.
The nest is placed in thick bushes - hawthorn
- gorse - yew trees and holly - and is
made of twigs and small thin roots and
is lined with hair and feathers.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
GREAT TIT
This handsome bird is the largest of the
tit family - and is with us the whole
year through. It feeds chiefly on insects
and larvae but - in winter when insects
are scarce - will feed on acorns and nuts.
It is a regular visitor to the bird-table.
Any bole serves as a nesting site - even
letter boxes have been used - but it is
usually in a tree - wall or stump. The
nest is made of grass and moss with a
lining of hair and feathers.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
WREN
A tiny bird but a great character - bold
and courageous - with a small stump tail
usually carried erect - and having an
astonishingly loud song for so small a
singer. The nest is usually built in rocks
- walls - trees - or tree roots. It has
been known to nest inside a scarecrow.
Insects are its chief food - and even
in winter - for it is non-migratory -
this very active tiny bird appears to
be able to find insect food in the form
of grubs and larvae.
Back
To Bird Index
|
|
GREEN
WOODPECKER
Strong feet and claws and stiff tail feathers
enable this bird to cling to vertical
trunks and branches into which it probes
with its sharp bill in its search for
larvae which it extracts with its long
sticky tongue. Ants also are much sought
after and here again the specially adapted
tongue is used. It nests in tree trunks
- making a kind of vertical tunnel down
from the entrance hole at the bottom of
which the eggs are deposited. The ringing
call has been likened to a derisive laugh
- and one of its country names is the
"Yaffle".
Back
To Bird Index
|
Originally Illustrated and described
by C F Tunnicliffe for Brooke Bond as
part of their educational tea cards
series.
|
