on some birds of the Balkans.



143



fore and aft. These birds are evidently shy and prefer lonely and

deserted hamlets. One flew out from under the eaves of a house as I

passed, and later I disturbed one from the village close by from

which the inhabitants had just departed. Its general colour is a

bright chequered buff and grey.*


Following one day the stream which leads up from the

Butkovo plain I came upon a solitary dipper, sometimes known as

the Water Blackbird or Ouzel. Though by no means rare at home,

yet few people other than fishermen seem to be acquainted with it.

This specimen was sitting on a rock in the middle of the stream and

executed its comical bobbing bows before flying upstream. A puzzle

to naturalists is the power which the dipper has of running about

under water on the bed of a stream as it searches for its insect food.


One day a Weaver Bird’s nest was handed to me.f This is

oval in shape, with the larger end upwards, where at one side is the

entrance 1 in. in diameter. It was made of the fluff of a species of

willow having the texture of thick, closely-woven felt. It had been

hanging from an outstretched bough only a foot or two above the

water.


The Black-headed Tern is common along the Struma plain.

It resembles a small sea-gull, from which, however, it is easily

distinguished by the long marked tail. If often dives from a height

upon its quarry, a small fish, imitating in miniature the great plunge

into the sea of the Gannet or Solent Goose.


At the time of writing several of the smaller birds were with

us about the low thorn bushes. The Wheatear, with its snow-white

feathers above the tail, and the Stone-Chat, with its jet-black head,

could be observed. The former dips down to hide when disturbed,

but the latter always chooses the topmost twig. Another larger bird

is of a general bronze colour, especially the male—a species of butcher

bird which feeds on the ubiquitous grasshopper.


Pelicans are quite common. Lately I made out a great flock

containing many hundreds. They were wheeling about leisurely as

if wishing to descend but were prevented by the sight of the military.



* [The Hoopoe, when flying, shows a great deal of black and white.— Ed.]

f [Surely there is no true Weaver Bird in the Balkans. May it not have been

the nest of the Penduline Tit ?— Ed.]



