88 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



does not commence prior to the first week in 

 August, and continues for two months and a half, 

 though, by the third week of August, small patches 

 of glossy feathering show up well on their other- 

 wise dowdy garb. By early September, the beak, 

 though still orange in the main, has turned red at 

 its base, while the legs, which are very scaly, no\\ 

 assume a rusty orange tinge. 



Choughs are plucky fellows. They will fear- 

 lessly mob Eagles, Ravens, Gulls, and, in short, 

 any bird but the Peregrine Falcon. This I have 

 seen well exemplified when watching a party of 

 Choughs circling and cackling above the cliffs ; a 

 Peregrine has winnowed its way through them, 

 when without a sound they have scattered like 

 chaff, and dispersed instantly. 



I have never seen, or heard of, wild Choughs 

 eating carrion or attacking small birds, and yet a 

 pair I had once in partial captivity deeply resented 

 the presence of any little bird, while, on one occa- 

 sion, I was only just in time to rescue a winged 

 Thrush from their evidently murderous onslaught. 

 Still, in captivity, birds are prone to change their 

 habits. Barring this most unusual trait, the 

 Chough is charming, docile, handsome, and fearless. 

 May he live long and prosper in his surviving 

 haunts ! 



