File:Harmonia ruralis, or, An essay towards a natural history of British song birds - illustrated with figures the size of life, of the birds, male and female, in their most natural attitudes (1794) (14563137590).jpg

Identifier: harmoniaruraliso00bolt (find matches)
Title: Harmonia ruralis, or, An essay towards a natural history of British song birds : illustrated with figures the size of life, of the birds, male and female, in their most natural attitudes ...
Year: 1794 (1790s)
Authors: Bolton, James, fl. 1775-1795
Subjects: Birds Birds Birds Birds
Publisher: Stannary, near Halifax : Printed and sold by the author ... London : Sold also by B. and J. White ...
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

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Text Appearing Before Image:
on the thighs, in the malebird, are tipped with a brownish colour at their extremepoints. In the female these spots are paler, larger, andmore numerous, being extended over the whole head,neck, breast, and belly. The first quill feathers of the wing are of a duskyblack, with narrow borders of a pale brown. The sec-ond quills are of the same colour, with a shade of adarker hue near the tip. The covert feathers glister withgreen, and those next the shoulder of the wing are someof them pointed with brown. The tail is shorter thanthat of the blackbird, a little forked, and of a duskyblack; the feathers have narrow borders of a pale brown.The legs and feet are of a yellowish flesh colour; theclaws horn colour, with black tips. Their food is worms, beetles, and various kinds ofberries, and in this part of the kingdom they seem to beparticularly fond of those of the * berry-bearmg-heatk,avwberries, oi which I have given a figure, with its fruit,at the bottom of the plate. * Empetrum nigrum.
Text Appearing After Image:
„t...y,.H..t..i.. NEST AND EGGS OF THE STARLING. PLATE II. Starlings make their nests in old buildings, such ascastles, towers, Sec. and sometimes in the clefts of rocks. The nest before me is formed of straw in the lowerpart, in the middle with a coarse kind of hay, and theinner coat or lining of fine soft hay, with a few feathers.The whole is a rude and loosely compacted fabrick,neither firm nor handsome. In this nest was four egg-s about the size of those ofthe throstle, they are of a pale bright blue, with a castof green, and are destitute of spots. The Starling is not valued for his own song, but forthe beauty of his plumage, for his docility and aptnessin learning to whistle or to speak. Those who wish to have good birds for caging,should have them taken out of the nest at three or fourdays old; for if they are suffered to remain ten ortwelve days in the nest, they will retain, for their wholelives, too much of their own harsh notes and disagree-able scream. As soon as they ar

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