Alfred Newton partridge. Birds became an abiding interest. Those included the great bustard ("Otis tarda"), Montagu's harrier ("Circus pygargus"), ravens, buzzards ("Buteo" sp.), redpolls, wrynecks ("Jynx"), which are small woodpeckers that specialise in feeding on ants. "The vast warrens of the 'Breck', the woods and water-meadows of the valley of the Little Ouse, and the neighbouring Fenland made an ideal training-ground for a naturalist". This enthusiasm Newton shared with his younger brother Edward: the two carried out bird observation when they were together and corresponded when they were apart. In 1846 Newton went to a tutor in Biggleswade for a few months,
Solidago tarda top of the plant. Solidago tarda Solidago tarda, commonly known as Atlantic goldenrod, is a rare North American species of goldenrod in the sunflower family. It is found along the Atlantic coastal plain from New Jersey and Alabama, though nowhere very common. "Solidago tarda" is a perennial herb up to 180 cm (6 feet) tall, with a branching underground caudex or rhizomes. Leaves are elliptic or egg-shaped, up to 35 cm (14 inches) long near the base of the plant, shorter farther up the stem. One plant can produce as many as 50 small yellow flower heads in a narrow,