The British bird book (1921) (14568893800)

Identifier: cu31924022566420 (find matches)
Title: The British bird book
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Wood, Theodore, 1862- Pycraft, W. P., (William Plane), b. 1868 Green, Roland, 1895-
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: London : A. & C. Black
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Text Appearing Before Image:
ard ? Why do they not fly all abreast ?One cannot say, but they never do. Some mention must be made here of the surprisingnumbers in which geese, of some species, congregate. Writingof the Brent goose, in his Bird Life of the Borders, Mr. AbelChapman—and there are few men who can write with suchauthority on the subject—^tells us : Just at dark the wholehost rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea.In the morning they have come in by companies and battalions,but at night they go out in one solid army; and a fine sightit is to witness their departure. The whole host, perhaps tenthousand strong, here massed in dense phalanxes, elsewherein columns taiUng off into long skeins, Vs or rectilinealformations of every conceivable shape (but always with acertain formation)—out they go, full one hundred yardshigh, while their loud clanging, defiance— honk, honk,—torrock, torrock, and its running accompaniment of lowercroaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds for miles around. 185
Text Appearing After Image:
o Qo CO o Hg s ow« 187 CHAPTER V Courtship Flights A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,In clamorous agitation ... Wordsworth. The wing-play of blackgame and grouse—The musical ride of the snipe—The roding of the woodcock—^The musical flights of redshank and curlew—The tumbhng of the lapwing—^The ravens somersaults—^The courting flightof the wood-pigeon—^The manakins castanets—Wings as lures—^The strangepose of the sun-bittern—The wooing of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler— Darwin and wing-displays—The wonderful wings of the arguspheasant. ONE of the most striking features of bird-life is surelyits restless activity. This is always apparent, but itattains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the springadvances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As theygather strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts ofsong—often of exquisite beauty—strange antics, or wonderfulevolutions in mid-air. It is with these last that we are chiefly c

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