340 



INDEX 



147 ; charm of watching, etc., 

 1417, 148 ; appearance of, under 

 water, 148, 149 



GOLDFINCH, solitary at straw-stack, 

 203 ; beauty of, rivalling bram- 

 blings, 203 ; manner of feeding 

 of, 203 



Great Auk, flight, how lost by, 151 



Great Crested Grebe, manner of 

 fighting of, 150; various ways of 

 diving of, 161 ; grace of, 161, 

 162 ; nest-building of, 329, 330, 

 33 !> 33 2 J habit of building plat- 

 form of male, 331, 332 



Great Plover, haunts of, 4 ; manner 

 of sitting, 4. Fanciful resemblance 

 to Don Quixote, 4, 5, 1 8 ; and to 

 the Baron of Bradwardine, 4, 5, 

 20. Odd actions of, 5, 6 ; chase 

 of moths, etc., by, 6, 7,8. Autumn 

 dances of, 9, 10, n, 12, 13, 14, 

 IS> suggested motive for, 15. 

 Wailing notes or "clamour" of, 

 IO ; ordinary flying note of, 10 ; 

 nuptial or courting antics of, 15, 

 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 ; an old- 

 fashioned bird, 1 6 



Great Green Woodpecker, spiral 

 ascent of trunk, 243 ; assisted by 

 tail, 243 ; can descend trunk 

 backwards, 244 



Greenfinch, at straw-stack in winter, 

 199, 2OI ; feeding within three 

 feet, 201, 202 ; manner of feed- 

 ing, 202 ; manner of fighting, 

 2IO. Feeding on seeds of exotic 

 fir, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235; 

 manner of loosening the seeds, 

 231, 232, 233, 235, 236 ; curious 

 noise made with beak in so doing, 

 231, 232, 233; and with wings 

 on the fir-needles, 234. An ex- 

 ample of sexual selection acting 

 in two directions, 318 



Guillemots, diving of, 152; ar- 

 rangement of, on ledge, 182, 183 ; 

 disparity in time of laying, 183 ; 

 affectionate conduct of paired 

 birds, 183, 184 ; attention paid 

 to young, 184 ; feeding of young, 

 184, 185, 189. Incubate with 



face turned to cliff, 185 ; sug- 

 gested explanation of this, 185. 

 Lethargy of chicks, 186. Fish 

 carried to young in beak, 186 ; 

 and are often headless, 186, 188 ; 

 held lengthways, 187. Coquetry 

 with fish, 187, 1 88 ; quarrelling 

 of married birds with fish, 188, 

 189; birds with fish attacked, etc., 

 189, 190. Combats, frequency 

 and character of, 190 ; suggested 

 explanation of, 190. Preening 

 and helping to clean each other's 

 feet, 191, 192; fighting, usual 

 cause of, 192; manner of, 192, 

 193 ; a fight on the brink, 193 ; 

 will fight whilst incubating, 193, 

 194 ; no respect paid to incu- 

 bating birds, 194 ; management 

 of egg during incubation, 194 ; 

 possible trace of lost nest-building 

 instinct, 195 ; attitudes assumed, 

 195 ; resemblance to human 

 beings, 195, 196 ; stones pro- 

 cured and swallowed, 196 ; life 

 on a guillemot ledge, notes of, 

 196, 197, 198 



Guillemot, Black, way of diving, 

 148 ; appearance under water, 

 148 ; appearance and character, 

 149 ; the dabchick of ocean, 148 ; 

 a fair flier, 149 ; manner of fight- 

 ing, 149, 150; and of bathing, 

 171 



Gulls, Black -backed, best watched 

 on island where they breed, 96 ; 

 arrangement of, etc., on the 

 gullery, 97 ; nuptial habits, antics, 

 etc., 97, 98, in, 112; nest- 

 building of, 103, 104, 105 ; fight- 

 ing of females when collecting 

 materials for the nest, 104, 105 ; 

 fighting of males, 105, 106, 107 ; 

 a gull melodrama, 105, 106 ; 

 fighting of two causing excite- 

 ment amongst others, 107 ; fight- 

 ing not specialised, 108 ; im- 

 portunity of female, 112; larger 

 size of male, 113; persecution of, 

 by Arctic skua, 113, 114, 115; 

 habit of forcing each other or 

 other gulls to disgorge fish in- 



