Stray Feathers (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 edition. Excerpt: ... places where the grass and fern are very long. You might go close to one of these places where there were several birds without seeing one, as till disturbed they are very quiet and are generally underneath the fern, but when once they are aroused they perch themselves on the topmost spray of grass and give forth that plaintive sort of whistle in a most persistent manner. They are shy little birds and rather hard to get near, and will take wonderfully long flights for so small a bird. One thing I noticed about their note was that at first it was almost impossible to tell which direction it came from, and sometimes one would eventually discover that it was in the air, high up above one's head. I could only get a few specimens. I found an ordinary gun knocked them about too much, and it was not easy to get sufficiently close to kill them with a '450 gun, which I generally use for small birds. Then again I was very unlucky in losing several that I had shot in the long fern; in fact, I think, I lost more than half the number I shot in that way. I cannot tell whether there are two varieties of this bird or not. At first I thought they were male and female till I shot a male with the brown instead of the rufous head. The former too is a larger bird. MBbis.--Drymosca fusca? Eodgs. I am not quite certain whether this bird is fusca or not. I suppose it is impossible to tell without others to compare with it. I found it common everywhere where there was long grass or fern. 561.--Phylloscopus affinis? Tick. Bather a common bird at Pulungi. Always saw several together. 589.--Motacilla maderaspatana, Om. Saw one in the end of May by the side of a stream at Pumbarrah. 592.--Calobates melanope, Pall. Common round the lake at Kodikanal and small streams till...