MARRIAGE 



hatched. Peregrine-falcons, ravens, guillemots, 

 razorbills, partridges, pheasants, red grouse, and 

 others, are held on good authority to wait the 

 second spring. The different kind of gulls are 

 seldom or never known to breed until the juvenile 

 dress is laid aside. This is not done until the 

 third spring or even the fourth. The rule, 

 however, that birds assume their full mature 

 plumage before they nest, is not always borne 

 out. Kestrels and sparrow-hawks rear young 

 families in their second season although they 

 have not got rid of their immature feathers. 



The age at which a bird nests would not appear 

 to bear a definite relation to the average length 

 of life of the species. Thus the life of the raven 

 may extend to fifty years, or according to many 

 records, veiy much longer : still it nests in its 

 second season. The herring gull whose average 

 life has been estimated at from 15 to 20 years, 

 remains unmated until its third or fourth. 



We have, from time to time, noted down 

 records, from various sources, of the longevity of 

 individual birds, but as these usually apply to 

 birds living a sheltered life in aviaries or cages, 

 they cannot be taken as representing the average 

 or even the extreme duration of the life existence 

 of the species in a wild state. Thrush 10 years, 

 Robin 12, Canary 24, Lark 13, Goldfinch 15, 

 Ivinnet 12, Pigeon 20, Partridge 15, Pheasant 15 

 Peacock 30, Goose 50, Parrot 60. 



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