INDEX

Animals, mysterious faculties possessed by, 290, 291

Animal world, the, its existence ignored by writers on psychical subjects, 294

Antics, possible origin of some kinds of, 184, 185, 191-193

Artists, leave the fenlands alone, 3

Australian parrakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus), roosting habits of, 5, 6

Australian swan, nest-building actions of the, 174

Birds, roosting habits of, 5, 6

Song of, at dawn, 74, 75

Chases à trois of, 109, 110

Nuptial rite performed habitually on nest by some, 181

Some peculiarities in the fighting of, 185

Mixture of pugnacity and timidity in, 191

Their delight in nest-building, 199, 200;

false ideas on this subject, 199, 200

Parental love in; from what period does it date? 208, 209

Parental affection and instinct of incubation; are they distinct? 208

Performance of parental duties by male; in what originating? 208-211

Male feeding female, remarks on, 210, 211

Nebbing or billing, origin of habit in, 211-213

More interesting questions in regard to, avoided by ornithologists, 210

Kiss in proper sense of the word, 211-213

Collect insects, &c., to feed young, 216

Sexual relations of, 234-236

Permanent unions of, 265

Power of expression in, 274

Cries of, definite significance falsely attributed to, 278

Maternal ruses practised by, 279;

suggested origin of these, 181, 279, 280

Our commoner ones related to foreign species with interesting habits should be more closely observed, 286, 287

“Bird Watching,” referred to, 127, 128, 158, 175, 181, 253

Blackbirds, roosting note of, 4, 5

Variety of notes of, 4, 5

Alarm-note, so-called, of, 5

Strange actions of, in construction of nest, 173, 174

Hen alone observed to build by author, 206;

cock seen to, also, by Mr. Dewar, 206;

transition process probable; but which way? 206, 207

Cock does not incubate, 207

But helps feed the young, 208

Blue-Tit, movements of, compared with those of long-tailed tit, 17

Note of, 18

Steals materials from blackbird’s nest, to build with, 205

Bower, the, may have grown out of the nest, 70;

or out of the cleared space where some birds meet to court, &c., 70

Bower-Birds, possible origin of bowers, &c., of, 64-70

Cat, effects of a, on author’s observations, 265, 268

Chaffinch, hen demolishes the nest of golden-crested wren, 205

Hen alone observed to make nest, 205

Nest-building actions of hen, 205, 206

Cheerful constitution, a, a good thing but not a good argument, 231

Children, death of, in quantity not affecting, 153

Cinnabar moth caterpillar, pupating habits of, 15

Ignored by fowls, 15

May offer example of warning coloration, 15

Coal-Tit, feeds on spruce-buds, 16;

and on larch-buds, 16

Note of, 16

Motions of, 16

Extracts seeds from fir-cones, 18, 19

Possible origin of name, 19, 20

Nesting habits of, 194-197

Flies directly into nest, 195, 196

Composition of nest of, 197

Size of nest of, 197

Commensalism, possible origin of, 120, 121

Coot, change of coloration in the, 276

Has become more aquatic than moorhen, 285

Dives better than moorhen, 285

Bathes floating on water, 285

Cow-birds, their habit of destroying their own, and foster-parents’, eggs, 273

Cuckoo, comes late in April, 92

Playground of, 93, 94, 97, 98

Nuptial and social sportings of, 93-95

Various notes of, 95, 96

Does the male only say “cuckoo”? 96, 102, 103;

difficulty of making sure of this, 102, 103;

some evidence on the subject, 104, 105

Tune of, changed before June, 96;

the old rhyme about, not trustworthy, 96

Manner of feeding of, 98, 99

Becoming nocturnal, 99, 100

Persecuted by small birds, 100, 101

Possible relations to, of small birds, 100, 101

Not confounded by small birds with hawk, 101, 102

Dabchicks, haunt the river Lark, 261

Eleven together seen on Lark in winter, 261

Fascination in becoming acquainted with, 261

Curious note of, 262-264;

and what it suggests, 262;

is not “whit” but “queek,” 263, 264

Grande Finale of, 262, 263

Matrimonial duet of, 263, 299, 300, 303, 305, 314, 315;

and what it expresses, 263-265;

is performed summer and winter, 299, 300

Mate for life, 263, 265

Observations on a pair of, at Tuddenham, 296-306

Domestic habits of, 296-320

Additions to nest by, after apparent completion and during incubation, 297-299, 301

Such additions seem unnecessary, 301

Leap on to nest of, 297, 302

Removal of weed from eggs by, 297, 299, 303

Nest of, described, 298

Close sitting of, on occasions, 298

Eggs sometimes left uncovered by, 298, 299, 300, 303, 304

Change on the nest of the, 299, 301, 304

Difficulty in eluding observation of, 299

Habit of covering eggs of, seems fluctuating and unintelligent, 300;

probable origin of the habit, 300

Chicks fed by parents with weed, 301, 302, 304, 307, 308, 311

Chicks ride on parent’s back, 302, 303, 304

Jump up on to nest, with young on back, 302, 303, 305

Sit still in water as though on nest, 303, 305

Family scenes, 303, 305, 311

Three chicks on parent’s back, 304

One egg out of the four laid by, left unhatched, 305, 306, 307, 319, 320

Pair of, observed from pair of Hatherley steps, 306

Chicks divided between parents after leaving nest for good, 307, 320

Subdivision of parental labour in, 307

Assiduous feeding of chicks by male, 307

“Peep, peep” of, whilst feeding young, 308

Chicks sit under parent’s wing, on back, 308, 309, 313

Natural hollow on back of, for chicks to sit in, 308, 309

Chicks rarely sit in true nest with parent except on back, 309

“Dearest chuck,” note of, 309

Invisibility of chicks on parent’s back, 310

Parent dives with three chicks on back, 310-312

Chicks prefer mother’s back, 312, 313;

and mount male’s with more difficulty, 312

Back of, as seat for young, 313

Chicks striped like tigers, 313

Discovery made in regard to, 313

“Chook-a, chook-a,” note of, 314

Moorhen’s nest used by, to sit in with chicks, 314-318;

probable origin of this habit, 319

Darwin, views of, as to origin of music, 10, 11;

ignored by the late Mr. F. W. H. Myers, 10

Attributes colours of tiger, leopard, jaguar, &c., to sexual selection, 44, 45

“Laudetur et alget,” 45

Fenlands, charm of the, 3

Fieldfare, scolding of, 4

Firs, planted near Icklingham fifty years ago, 4

Frank Buckland, his brown paper parcel, 85

His half-part edition of White’s “Selborne,” 85

Gilbert White on House-Martins, 243, 249, 251, 252;

unfair treatment of, 259, 260

Great Crested Grebe, consummates nuptial rite on the nest, 68

Great Tit, movements of, compared to those of long-tailed tit, 17

Green Woodpecker, nest of, often seized by the starling, 129;

is not much the worse for this, 130, 131;

possible result of such deprivation, 131, 132

Feeds on ants, 31

Ants, how procured by, 219, 230

Young of, fed by regurgitation, 31, 217, 218

Does not bring insects in beak to young, 216, 217

Almost wholly an ant eater, 218-221

Contents of excrements of, 220, 221

Almost as salient an instance of changed habits as Darwin’s La Plata woodpecker, 220

Ant diet of, related to regurgitation of food in feeding young, 221

Must mate for life, 221

Conjugal habits in winter, 221, 222

Tail not required as support, 222

A fighter, though the contrary has been stated, 223

Spring tide activities of, account of, 224-238

Hostile demonstrations of, 225

Its method of fighting, 226-230, 233, 237

Fighting actions of, have become stereotyped, 227-230

Sexual relations of, 233, 234, 236, 237

Divergence of habits of, from those of the family, 236, 237

Ant-eating habits of, 236, 237

How does it roost? 237

Hatherley steps make good observatory for watching birds, 306, 307

Heart of man, Chinese proverb in regard to, 286

Hedge-Sparrow, steals building material from blackbird’s nest, 205

Heron, cries, &c., uttered by, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79

Nuptial flight of, 73, 80, 81

Uncouth appearance of, 73, 74, 81, 82

Ordinary flight of, 74

Domestic habits of, 72-80

Change on the nest, the, 75-78

Sits firm in a hurricane, 78, 79

A close sitter, 79

Watchfulness of, 79, 80

Descent of pair on to nest, 80

Can rise with single flap, 82

Eats frogs, moles, mice, shrews, &c., 82, 83

Its manner of catching and eating fish, 83, 84, 119

Delicacy of beak, 84

Beak of, compared with human hand, 84

Serratures in beak, 84

Serrated claw of, how used, 84-86

Management of large eel by, 85, 86

Supposed filament of, 86

Stalks his prey, 87

Settling on nest, 87, 88

Sometimes overbalances in catching fish, &c., 83

Heronry, a, near Icklingham, 72

The awakening of the, 72, 73

Historians, their song to an old tune, 231

Hooded-Crow, common in West Suffolk during winter, 51

Called “carrion crow” by the people, 51

Feeding habits of, 51, 52, 55

Haunt open warren lands, 51

Mingle with rooks, 52, 58

Disagreements of, with rooks, 52-54

Fighting methods of, 54

Rules of precedence of, when feeding in company, 53

Gregarious instincts of, compared with those of rooks, 54, 55

May sometimes roost with rooks, 55

Eats thistle roots, 56

Mysterious relations of, with rooks, 58-60

One seen flying with peewits, 127

House-Martin, domestic habits of, 239-259

Nest building of, 240-243, 246-248

Musical meetings of, 242-244, 253, 256

Gilbert White’s reference to slow rate of building of, 243, 249;

his explanation of this not the true one, 243, 249

Possible intercommunal marriages of, 244, 245

Sexual relations of, 244, 245, 252, 253, 255, 256, 259

Oppressed by sparrows, 243-246, 248

Quick building of nest of, 245, 249

Social and communistic relations of, 248, 250, 251, 252, 259

Fighting of, 248

Apparent inability to resist sparrows, 248

Suggested explanation of this, 248, 249

Builds nest on site of old one, 249;

curious fact in relation to this, 249, 250

Young, feeding of, 253-257

Young, fed by regurgitation, 254-258

Insects, how caught by, 258;

and how brought to young, 257-259

Icklingham, where situated, 1, 3

The country about, 1, 2, 4

Some seven miles from the fenlands, 56

Incubation, is instinct of, differentiated from parental love? 208

Instinct, may sometimes have grown out of mere mechanical movements, 179-180, 184, 185, 300, 301;

evidence in regard to this, 180, 181

Resulting from lapsed intelligence, 185

“Intimations of immortality,” supposed, 10

Jackdaws, seem conscious of their superiority when with rooks, 54

Decorate their nests, 68

Jaguar, theory of protective colouring in regard to, questioned, 43, 44

Kestrel flying with peewits, 127

Kissing, origin of, in man probably utilitarian, 211-213

In relation to birds, 211-213

Landseer, false criticism of, 88, 89

Masterpiece of, removed from the National Gallery, 89

Larks, various ways of mounting and descending of, 107, 108

Individual variety in flight of, 108

Winter ways of, 108, 109

Piping note in winter of, 109

Song in February of, 109

Chases à trois of, 109

Change locality according to season, 110

Leopard, theory of protective colouring in regard to, questioned, 43, 44

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker brings collection of insects in beak to feed young, 216

Lion, theory of protective colouring in regard to, questioned, 43

Long-tailed Tit, roosting habits of, 6

Movements of, 16-18;

compared with those of blue tit, 17, 18

Aerial forced march of, 17

Note of, 18

Nest-building habits of, 198-204

Origin of dome of nest of, 199;

and of entrance to, 200, 201, 203

Uniform way of entering and leaving nest of, 200

Contortionist powers of, 202, 204

Approaches and leaves nest by one set path, 202, 203

The “sweep” up to nest of, 203

Man, the chief animal in this world only, 295

Maternal affection, beauty of, 214

All hail to, 216

Mellersh, Mr., letter of, to Standard about starlings referred to, 160

Migration, facts of, marginal reference to, 290

Missel-Thrush, harsh strident note of, 4

Puts a peewit to flight, 123

Skirmishes of, with stone-curlews, 123, 124

Retreats with honour, 124

Moorhen, haunts the river Lark, 261

Pair of, built yearly in author’s pond, 265

Supernumerary nests made by, 265-269

Sits in two or more nests, 266-269

Bathing habits of, 267

Special bathing-places of, public and private, 267

Pronounced habit of over-building of, 269

Destruction of its own eggs by, 269-273;

possible explanation of this habit, 272, 273;

may be compared with that of the cow-birds of America, 273

Continued building of nest by, during incubation and rearing of young, 273

Due, probably, to a blind impulse, 273, 274

Legs of, gartered in male alone, 275

Triple successive coloration of the cere in, 275

Difficulty of explaining this, 275, 276

Precocity of young, 276, 277

Fear of man in the newly-hatched chick, 277

Carries shell of hatched egg to shore, 277

Young, fed by dams, 277

Young, notes of, 277, 278

Maternal cries of, 277, 278

Clucking note of, to call young, 277, 278;

and for other uses, 278

Variety of expression in cries of young, 278

Young, sit in nest with one parent, 278

No maternal ruse employed by, 181, 278, 279;

material for the evolution of one possibly observed, 279

Nerves of, highly strung, 280

Effect of report of gun on, 280

Motions, actions, &c., of, 280

A bundle of caprices, 280

Habit of flirting tail of, 280

Pugnacity of, 281

Scene in “The Rivals” acted by, 281

Warlike display of, 281-283

Method of fighting of, 283-285;

is essentially unaquatic, 284, 285

Pugnacity of, even in winter, 281

Bathes only in shallow water, 285

Analogy between some actions of, and more developed ones of Ypecaha rail, 285, 286

Nuptial antic or pose of, 287, 288

Emotional hermaphroditism of, 288

Interchangeable performance of nuptial rite in sexes of, 288;

bearing of this on questions of nature and origin of sexual display, and of inter-sexual selection, 288, 289;

as, also, on the subliminal self theory, 289

Myers, the late Mr. F. W. H., has ignored Darwin’s views as to origin of musical faculty in man, 10

Natural history, no finality in, 249

Nature, sometimes looks unnatural, 88

Two voices of, 110

Full of irony, 245

Nest, false, of peewit, the, 166-168;

is the real nest, 168

Of birds, suggested origin of the, 168-180

May have been originally a thalamum more especially, 181, 182

Was once put to two uses habitually, 181, 182;

as it still is in some instances, 182

Nest-building instinct, suggested origin of, in birds, 168-184

Nightingale, hen alone seen to build, 206

Nightjar, common about Icklingham, 21

Sits on extreme tip-top of spruce or larch, 21

Its habit of clapping its wings, 21-23;

sometimes a great many times consecutively, 22, 23

“Quaw-ee,” note of, 21

Beauty of flight and aerial mastery of, 22

A new sensation obtained by seeing it, 22

Domestic habits of, 23-37

Change on the nest of, 24

Churring note uttered by both sexes, 25

Expressive power of the churr, 26

Incubation shared by male and female, 23, 24, 26

Sexes hard to distinguish, 26

Male less skilful in incubation than female, 26

Hen, the more assiduous sitter, 26

Interesting scene observed, 26-29

Method of moving eggs adopted by, 27

Mahomet and the mountain, 28

Both parents feed chicks, 29

Low querulous note of, whilst in unharassed circumstances, 29

Chicks fed by regurgitation, 29-32, 34

Probable mode of catching insects of, 30-33

Kind of insects, &c., mostly eaten by, 31-33

An aerial whale, 33, 258

Difference in size between the two chicks of, 35

Early quiescence and later activity of chicks, 35, 36

Nesting site gradually deserted, 35

Chicks called up by parents, 35, 36

Maternal ruse practised by, 36

Anxiety of parents in regard to chicks, 36, 37

Chicks walk or run easily, 37;

as do also the grown birds, 37

Nuptial rite may be performed on the ground, 37

Variety of notes of, 37-39;

no special limited meaning assignable to these, 37-39

Resemblance of, to piece of fir-bark, 40, 41;

possible meaning of such resemblance, 41, 42

Generally protective colouring in relation to incubative, &c., habits of, 42, 43

Returns, each year, to same locality, 50

Has favourite trees and branches, 50

Does not always nest in same spot, 50

Nuptial antics, suggested origin of, 180, 181

Optimists, as reasoners, 231

Ostrich, nesting habits of, as described by Mr. Cronwright Schreiner, 176-178;

suggestions as to the meaning and origin of these, 177-179

Rolling of, in courtship, 178

Two kinds of, 178

Ornithologists, works of seem written to assist bird-nesters, 210

Parasitic instinct, in birds, possible origin of, 132

Parental ruses, suggested origin of, 180, 181

Partridges, curious chasings of one another of, 188-191;

nature and suggested explanation of, 189-192

Peewits, repair to fens towards end of October for the winter, 3, 116

Return in February, 116

Appearance, &c., of, 117

Their way of bathing, 117, 118;

and of feeding, 119

Chased by missel-thrush, 124

Rolling and other strange sexual antics of, 163-166, 174, 175;

nature of such movements, 167, 168, 171-173;

theory founded upon them as to origin of nest-building amongst birds, 166-184

“False nests” of, 166-168;

not essentially differing from the real nest, 168

“Pesses,” formerly used in Icklingham church, 56

Pheasant, at roosting time, 5

Roosting habits of, 6

Trumpety note of, 7

Soft note of, at roosting, 7

Partial paralysis produced in, by sudden fright, 279, 280

A cock, put to flight by stone-curlew, 123

Philistines, the, bloodthirsty shouts of, 156

False plea of the, 156, 157

Having no appreciation of anything, can destroy everything with impunity, 156, 157

Hypocritical pretence of, to an æsthetic motive, 157

Poet, the, not a teacher, 11

His aptitude to feel and express, 12

Protective coloration theory, unsatisfactory in regard to tiger, leopard, jaguar, &c., 43-49

Inapplicable to animals that hunt at night by scent, 47

Versus sexual selection, 43-50

Psychical Research Society, great mistake made by, 143-145

Its man-worshipping attitude, 143-145

Its neglect of the comparative method, 143-145

Indifferent to field natural history, 145

Should let the dogs into church, 145

Conclusions of, reared on too narrow a basis of fact and observation, 290

Rabbits, the stamping of, with hind legs may have various meanings, 38

Theory in regard to white tail of, unsubstantiated, 46, 47

Browse lichen, 92

One warming his paws at camp fire, 93

Rhyme, old, about cuckoo changing its tune in June not trustworthy, 96

Truth sacrificed for sake of, 96, 97

So-called cockney, the, the bugbear of pedants and purists, 97

Fetters of, should be loosened, not tightened, 97

River Lark, description of, 2

Rooks, feeding habits of, 52

Mingle with hooded crows, 52, 58

Disagreements of, with hooded crows, 52-54

Rules of precedence of, when feeding in company, 53

Fighting methods of, 54

Partial reversion of some, to less social state, 55

Gregarious instinct of, sometimes in abeyance, 55, 56

Eat roots of thistles, 56

May sometimes roost singly, 57

Are more civilised than the hooded crow, 57

Mysterious relations of, with the hooded crow, 58-60

Visits of, to nesting-trees during winter, 60-63;

reasons for, and suggested origin of these visits, 63-70

Compared to bower-birds, 64-70

Often pair on nest, 68

Are swayed by love in winter as well as in summer, 70

Their round of life during winter, 70, 71

Sand-martins, fight violently, 248

Late appearance of several, 259

Schiller, his two great forces “hunger and love,” 70

Has forgotten sleep, 71

Scott, his style not appreciated by the inappreciative, 82

Sense of direction referred to, 290

Sexual selection, prejudice in regard to theory of, 45;

the reason for this, 45

May account for white tail in rabbit, 47

And for posterior markings, colours, &c., generally, 47

Stripes and spots of tiger, leopard, jaguar, zebra, &c., probably due to, 43-50

Shag, decorates its nest with flowers, &c., 68

“She oaks,” characteristic of country round Icklingham, 3, 4

Of the poplar tribe, 3

Their great size, 3

Are, fortunately, valueless, 3

Sleep, a third ruling power, forgotten by Schiller, 71

Snipe, one as part of picturesque scene, 119

Their odd, stereotyped way of fighting, 185-189;

and of pursuing one another, 188;

suggested explanation of these and similar phenomena exhibited by other birds, 190-193

Song-Thrush, a fighter, though said not to be, 223

Sparrow with a grievance, a, 245

Nest-building habits of, 245-247

Oppression of house-martins by, 243-246, 248

Spiders, one answers query, 14

Hibernate under bark of trees, 14

Spiritualism, doctrine of, does not answer certain questions, 232

Makes best of bad job, but the bad job remains, 232

Presents many difficulties, 232

Spur-winged lapwing, antics, à trois of, 110;

suggested origin of, 109, 110

Starlings, bathing, 119

Feeding over the land, 119

Enjoy company of peewits, 120

A single one flying with peewits, 120

One welcomed back by another, 120, 121

Have hearts even in winter, 121, 122

Imitate note of peewit, 122

Relations of, with green woodpecker, 129-132;

may lead to one or other acquiring parasitic instinct, 131, 132

As architects, 133-136

Their nests in sand-pits, 133-135

How made? 133-136

Social nesting habits of, 136-138

Make morality seem a bore, 137

Roosting habits of, 138-154

Flocking of, before roosting, 138, 139

Susurrus, or sing-song of, 138

Erratic descent into trees of, 139

Simultaneous aerial movement amongst large bodies of, 140, 142, 143;

some form of thought-transference seems necessary to explain these, 143

Distinctive note uttered by, whilst flying, 145, 146

Twitter whilst flying, 146

Varied entry of, into roosting place, 146

Exodus of, from wood in regiments, 147-152;

back regiments fly first, 150

Breaking back of, during exodus, 150, 151

Increase altitude when passing hedges, &c., 152

Great flights of, a study for Turner, 152

Poetry in numbers of, 152

Actions of, in the roosting place, 153, 154;

a disseminating process observable, 153;

slow diminution of the sing-song, 153;

sudden flights and scurryings, 153, 154;

silence not till long after nightfall, 154

Morning flight out from roosting-place, 154, 155;

takes place by successive bands or regiments, 154, 155

Kind of bushes, &c., chosen to roost in, 155, 156;

possible explanation of this, 155, 156

Letter written to Daily Telegraph about, 157-160

Good done by, 160, 161

Harm done by, to fruit inconsiderable, 160, 161

Small space occupied by, to sleep in, 157-161

Do no harm to song-birds, 158, 159, 161, 162

Do not “infest,” but country gentlemen do, 162

Statesmen, good that might be done by “translation” of, into dabchicks, 305

Stevenson, style of, preferred by Stevenson to Scott’s, 82

But not by author, 82

Stock-dove, odd formalities in combats of, 185;

explanation of these, 185

Stone-chat, his motions, &c., 115, 116

An angry bird, 115

His tail flirted at you, 116;

his certain answer if questioned on the subject, 116

Variation in appearance of, 116

Stone-curlew, a special feature of country round Icklingham, 124

Often feeds with peewits, 122

A fighter, 122, 123

Puts a cock pheasant to flight, 123

Skirmishes of, with missel-thrushes, 123, 124

Warlike display of rival males, 123;

not employed when attacking another species, 123;

suggested explanation of this, 123

Sad cry of, 124, 125

The clamour of, 125

Other notes of, 125, 126

Cry of, recalling piping of oyster-catcher, 126

The gathering of the clans, 125

Pursued by sparrow-hawk, 126

The Heimkehr of, in the early morning, 127

Is di-nocturnal, 128

More active during the day in spring, 128

Crouching habits of, 128

Evening dances of, in autumn, 128

Migration of, 128

Subliminal self, theory of the, a criticism of, 289-294

Numerous objections to, 292-294

Author’s counter hypothesis to, of innumerable ancestral subliminal selves, 289, 290

Swallow tribe, the, insects, how caught and swallowed by, 258

Swan, nest-building actions of the male, 174

“Test of time,” the, a misleading expression, 89-92

Tiger, protective coloration theory in regard to, questioned, 43-45

Beauty of the, Darwin’s view as to how acquired, 44-46

Coloration of, in relation to man, 47, 48

Chinese proverb in regard to Coreans and the, 48

Eye-witness’s account of the stalking of a cow by a, 48, 49

Titlark, mounting and descent of, 110, 111

More like a lark than a wagtail, 111, 112;

resembles a wagtail also, 113

Tits, a feature of Icklingham, 194

Tree-pipit, voice of, like the skylark’s, 112

Tuddenham, observations on pair of dabchicks at, 296-306

Voice, importance of the, in classification, 112, 113

Water-wagtail, courting actions of male, 113, 114;

similarity in, to those of pheasant, 114

Nest of, in that of song-thrush, 213

Hen alone seems to incubate, 213

Alternates eating with building, 213, 214

Open bills of young, like Venetian glass vases, 214

Collects a number of flies, &c., for young, 214

Beauty of maternal love as exemplified by, 214

Skill of, in collecting flies, 215, 216

Weather, the, and the cries of birds, 6, 7

Wheatear, characteristic of the steppes of Icklingham, 106

Arrival of first pair of, 106

Arrives in splendid plumage, 106

Ways of the male, 106, 107

Plumage of male, 114, 115

Courtship of male, 107, 114

Curious sexual actions of male, 175, 176

Wood-pigeons, cooing of, 8, 9

Roosting of, 9, 10, 12, 13

Emotions raised by rushing sound of wings of, 9, 10;

remarks as to this, 10-12

Numbers of, in West Suffolk, 12, 13

Pigeon-trees made by, 13

Less characteristic coo of, 74, 75

Single one flying with starlings, 127

Partial paralysis produced in, by sudden fright, 279, 280

Wordsworth, his “intimations of immortality” due to the laws of inheritance, 10, 11

No evidence contained in the famous ode of, 11, 12

Wren, house-hunting of, 13, 14

Food of, in winter, 14

Seen to enter long-tailed tit’s nest in absence of owner, 204, 205

Ypecaha rails, screaming dances of, referred to, 285

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