80 Bird - Lore 



with our Brown Creeper; Jay {Garrulus glandarius), a very handsome and noisy 

 bird with one very characteristic note which sounds like the ripping of a piece 

 of tough canvas; Crested Lark {Alauda cristata); Black Swift {Cypselus apus); 

 Cuckoo {Cuculus canorus), its call is a musical 'cuckoo' with the accent and 

 higher intonation on the first syllable; Barn Owl {Strix flammed); Long-eared 

 Owl (Asio otus); Kite {Milvus ictinus) — I saw three of these uncommon birds 

 together near Julvecourt on September 28, 1918, on the march of the First 

 Division into the Argonne; Kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius) nesting in old 

 Crow's nest, May 7, 1918, one egg; Mallard {Anas boscas); Wood Pigeon 

 {Columbia palumbus); Turtle Dove {Turtur communis); Pheasant {Phasianus 

 colchicus); Partridge (Perdix cinerea); Moor Hen {Gallinula chloropus); and 

 Coot {Fulica atra). 



It is interesting in this connection to compare the common English names 

 of the European birds with those of ours and to note how misleading such names 

 often are. The Blackbird of Europe is a "blackbird" in size and color of plum- 

 age perhaps, but the comparison ends there, for otherwise he is a Thrush in 

 appearance, habits, and song. The Redstart is a representative of the old World 

 Warblers and is entirely different in markings to our Warbler by this name. 

 The English Robin, or Redbreast, is a 'Robin' as far as popularity goes, but that 

 is all. He is, in fact, a small Warbler {Sylviince) with a bubbling, Wren-like 

 song. Even the crimson throat and breast of this species and the rufous under- 

 pays of the American Robin are hardly enough alike to be worthy of comparison. 

 Only the most casual observer would allow himself to be so influenced by the 

 Sparrow-like markings of the little Warbler {Accentor modularis) as to call it 

 the Hedge Sparrow. The Tree Sparrows of the two hemispheres are not to be 

 confused. The Yellow Hammer is a Finch instead of a Woodpecker, and the 

 Buzzard is a Hawk and not a Vulture. It seems that the early settlers in 

 naming many of our birds were very careless observers and were guided largely 

 by slight superficial resemblances with the birds of the mother country, with 

 which they were familiar. The scientific name is the only exact designation 

 of a species. 



Game-birds are sold in the markets of France, whether legally or not, 

 I cannot say. In Dijon I have seen Mallards and other Ducks exposed for sale, 

 and in Nice, last fall, I saw Moor Hens, two species of Rails, and also Song 

 Thrushes, Blackbirds, Jays, Magpies, and Tree Sparrows. In Marseilles, at the 

 same time, I saw Thrushes, Skylarks, Goldfinches, and Bullfinches offered for 

 sale as cage-birds. 



With the small birds of the insect-eating class in predominance, and the 

 birds of prey greatly reduced in numbers, we are not surprised at the results 

 which this unbalanced condition seems to have caused, namely, a moderation 

 in the numbers of insect pests and an over-abundance of injurious rodents — 

 field-mice and moles with which the fields of France abound, and rats which 

 were one of the scourges of the army. Snakes, another of the natural enemies 



