BIRDS 



Saunders* remark {Manual, p. 26a) that ' the 

 swift seems to revel in the storm.' In Suffolk 

 the name of ' swift ' is applied to the common 

 water-newt. 



96. Alpine Swift. Cypselus melha (Linn.) 



A very rare visitant from the continent of 

 Europe which has only occurred two or three 

 times. On 8 September, 1870, two were 

 seen at Aldeburgh, and one flew into a room 

 at the Brudenell Hotel, where it was cap- 

 tured and killed. It was for some time in 

 the possession of the late Mr. H. Greenwood, 

 who kindly gave several of his friends the 

 opportunity of seeing it in the flesh. The 

 alpine swift can be recognized by its white 

 under-parts and large size, having a wing 

 expanse of quite eighteen inches. 



97. Nightjar. Caprimulgus europaus, Linn. 

 Locally, Night-hawk, Night-reel or Eve-jar. 



The above-given local names, like the 

 orthodox * nightjar,' are derived from the bird's 

 nocturnal habits and singular note, and the 

 absurd and misleading name of ' goatsucker ' 

 is happily almost obsolete. This bird is a 

 summer migrant to SuSblk, frequenting heaths 

 and commons throughout the county. Arriving 

 about the first week of May its eggs may be 

 found about a month later, and the blending 

 of delicate grey and rich brown on a fresh 

 clutch of nightjar's eggs is very beautiful, but 

 the delicate colouring soon fades when the 

 eggs are blown. The two eggs are laid on 

 the ground without any pretence of a nest, 

 and the young, which are well covered with 

 down when hatched, soon begin to move from 

 place to place. Many interesting photographs 

 of young nightjars have been obtained, and 

 more than one artist has been successful in 

 getting a picture of the hen on her eggs. 

 There is no more harmless bird than the 

 nightjar, as its food consists entirely of in- 

 sects, and it is to be regretted that it is 

 sometimes wantonly shot by rabbit-shooters 

 on summer evenings when in pursuit of its 

 prey. 



98. Wryneck, lynx torquilla, Linn. 



Locally, Cuckoo-leader, Cuckoo's mats or 

 Barley-bird. 



The wryneck's well known note is usually 

 heard quite early in April, and the name of 

 ' barley-bird ' appears to be derived from the 

 arrival of the bird at about the time of sowing 

 spring barley. It is a * masterful ' bird, and 

 has been known to eject not only the great 

 tit but even the sparrow from a nest-box 

 which it coveted for its own use. When dis- 

 turbed on its eggs, which are usually laid in a 



hole in a tree, it protests with a hissing noise 

 which can be almost exactly imitated by 

 dropping a lighted match into cold water. No 

 nest is made, the eggs being laid on scraps of 

 wood, and when the tree is very soft and de- 

 cayed the wryneck will enlarge the hole. A 

 few years ago three clutches of nine, eight 

 and six eggs were taken from an old apple- 

 tree near Bury, all of which were undoubtedly 

 laid by the same bird in one season. 



99. Green Woodpecker. Gecinus virldis 



(Linn.) 

 Locally, Woodsprite, probably the ' sprite ' or 



' spirit ' of the wood, from its loud 



laughing cry being heard when the bird 



was unseen. 

 A beautiftil resident species, which like the 

 nuthatch seems to remain in the same locality 

 all the year. Its domestic arrangements are 

 often upset by starlings, which take possession 

 of the holes bored by the woodpecker when 

 completed, and thus often cause it to postpone 

 the laying of eggs till the end of May or even 

 till June. The elm is its favourite tree, but 

 its nest-holes have been noticed in Suffolk in 

 the birch, alder, willow, white poplar, oak, 

 ash, beech, silver fir and even in an old dead 

 holly, of which part is still standing in Hes- 

 sett churchyard. Fresh eggs of the green 

 woodpecker are very lovely, the yolk giving 

 an exquisite pink tint to the glossy white 

 shell. A beautiful pair of these birds, in the 

 Tostock rectory collection, were picked up 

 dead during a very severe frost in February, 

 1895, the cock at Elmswell and the hen near 

 Bury, which had evidently died of cold and 

 hunger, as no trace of injury could be found 

 on either. This woodpecker sometimes comes 

 into gardens and searches the grass for ants 

 and other insects. 



100. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Dendrocopus 



major (Linn.) 

 This bird is also a resident, but neither so 

 common nor so conspicuous as the green 

 woodpecker. It is also more migratory, and 

 at times crosses the sea in some numbers. In 

 spring the cock makes a very loud vibrating 

 noise by rapidly hammering a branch or the 

 trunk of a tree with his bill, and this, as it is 

 never heard in winter, is probably his method 

 of attracting the attention of the hen. Being 

 a later breeder than the green woodpecker it 

 suffers less from the molestation of starlings. 

 A nest in an old dead birch at Tostock con- 

 tained four slightly sat on eggs on 2 June, 

 1 900, which were much less glossy than those 

 of the green woodpecker, and the hen sat very 

 close. These birds roost in old nest-holes. 



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