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Title: Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Author: Audubon, John James
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America" ***
Transcriber’s Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation, capitalization, and spelling in the
original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical
errors have been corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
The following inconsistencies were noted and retained:
Lorimier’s Fork, Lorimie’s Fork and Larimie’s Fork may be the
same place.
Grand Mannan and Grand Manan may be the same place.
J. R. Poinsett and Joel Poinsett may be the same person.
Mr Abbot and Mr Abbott may be the same person.
The following are possible errors, but retained:
Arkansa River should possibly be Arkansas.
gambling should possibly be gambolling.
ORNITHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY.
ORNITHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY,
OR AN ACCOUNT OF THE HABITS OF THE
BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
ACCOMPANIED BY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE OBJECTS REPRESENTED
IN THE WORK ENTITLED
BIRDS OF AMERICA,
TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS OF MANY
OF THE SPECIES, ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
BY JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, F.R.SS.L.&E.
FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN AND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON;
MEMBER OF THE LYCEUM OF NEW YORK, OF THE NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY OF PARIS, THE WERNERIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
OF EDINBURGH; HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF NATURAL
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER, AND OF THE SCOTTISH ACADEMY OF
PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE; MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES AT
PHILADELPHIA, OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES OF BOSTON,
OF CHARLESTON IN SOUTH CAROLINA, THE QUEBEC LITERARY AND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, THE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, &C.
&C.
VOL. IV.
EDINBURGH:
ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH:
LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS, LONDON; R. HAVELL,
ENGRAVER, 77. OXFORD STREET, LONDON; ALEXANDER HILL,
EDINBURGH; AND GEORGE SMITH, LIVERPOOL.
MDCCCXXXVIII.
PRINTED BY NEILL AND CO., OLD FISHMARKET, EDINBURGH.
INTRODUCTION.
Three years have nearly elapsed since I had the pleasure of presenting
you with the third volume of my “Ornithological Biography,” and
about twelve since the first fasciculus of my “Illustrations of
the Birds of America” was submitted to your inspection. This work,
comprising four hundred and thirty-five plates, and one thousand and
sixty-five figures, was finished on the 20th of June 1838, without
the continuity of its execution having been broken for a single day,
and the numbers having been delivered with exemplary regularity; for
all which I am indebted to my friend and Engraver, Mr ROBERT HAVELL.
Once more surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying
the countenance of numerous friends who have never deserted me, and
possessing a competent share of all that can render life agreeable, I
look up with gratitude to the Supreme Being, and feel that I am happy.
The adventures and vicissitudes which have fallen to my lot, instead of
tending to diminish the fervid enthusiasm of my nature, have imparted
a toughness to my bodily constitution, naturally strong, and to my
mind, naturally buoyant, an elasticity, such as to assure me that,
though somewhat old, and considerably denuded in the frontal region, I
could yet perform on foot a journey of any length, were I sure that I
should thereby add materially to our knowledge of the ever-interesting
creatures which have for so long a time occupied my thoughts by
day, and filled my dreams with pleasant images. Nay, Reader, had I
a new lease of life presented to me, I should chuse for it the very
occupations in which I have been engaged.
And, Reader, the life which I have led has been in some respects a
singular one. Think of a person intent on such pursuits as mine have
been, aroused at early dawn from his rude couch on the alder-fringed
brook of some northern valley, or in the midst of some yet unexplored
forest of the west, or perhaps on the soft and warm sands of the
Florida shores, and listening to the pleasing melodies of songsters
innumerable, saluting the magnificent orb from whose radiant influence
the creatures of many worlds receive life and light. Refreshed and
reinvigorated by healthful rest, he starts upon his feet, gathers
up his store of curiosities, buckles on his knapsack, shoulders his
trusty firelock, says a kind word to his faithful dog, and recommences
his pursuit of zoological knowledge. Now the morning is spent, and
a squirrel or a trout afford him a repast. Should the day be warm,
he reposes for a time under the shade of some tree. The woodland
choristers again burst forth into song, and he starts anew, to wander
wherever his fancy may direct him, or the objects of his search may
lead him in pursuit. When evening approaches and the birds are seen
betaking themselves to their retreats, he looks for some place of
safety, erects his shed of green boughs, kindles his fire, prepares his
meal, and as the Widgeon or Blue-winged Teal, or perhaps the breast of
a Turkey, or a steak of venison, sends its delicious perfumes abroad,
he enters into his parchment-bound journal the remarkable incidents
and facts that have occurred in the course of the day. Darkness has
now drawn her sable curtain over the scene, his repast is finished,
and kneeling on the earth he raises his soul to Heaven, grateful for
the protection that has been granted to him and the sense of the Divine
presence in this solitary place. Then wishing a cordial good night to
all the dear friends at home, THE AMERICAN WOODSMAN wraps himself up
in his blanket, and closing his eyes, soon falls into that comfortable
sleep which never fails him on such occasions.
Since I last parted from you, my exertions have been unremitted, and my
rambles extended as far as circumstances allowed, for I have been ever
anxious to render the fourth and concluding volume of my Illustrations
as worthy of your approbation as I could. Whether I have added to our
knowledge of the birds which constantly reside within the limits of the
United States and their Territories, or periodically visit us from the
South, it is yours to say. That I have left undone much that might have
been accomplished by an abler student of Nature, is doubtless quite
true; but that any would have prosecuted the study of our numerous
feathered denizens with more good will or more sincere desire to obtain
facts and rectify errors, would, I think, be difficult to prove. If
my “Birds of America,” and “Ornithological Biography,” are looked upon
by you as having contributed in some degree to the improvement of our
knowledge of these my favourite objects of observation, and as likely
to stimulate other and perhaps more successful students to perfect it.
I shall rest satisfied with my labours.
Having hitherto given you some account of the occurrences that have
taken place during the time intervening between the appearance of one
volume and that of another, I again resume the subject, hoping that
what I have now to say may prove not less interesting to a friend
like you. When I last left Edinburgh, I proceeded to London, full of
the desire to revisit my native land before concluding my work. It
was my wish to cross the Continent of America, gaze on the majestic
wilds of the Rocky Mountains, wander along the green valleys of the
Oregon, and search the shores of the Pacific Ocean and a portion of
North California; but circumstances denied me the pleasure anticipated.
However, here we are on the way to the metropolis of England; we have
already passed through Newcastle, York, Leeds, and Manchester, and are
just about to alight in the Main Street of Sheffield. The gentleman who
meets me at the coach door, is JOHN HEPPENSTALL, Esq., well known to me
by correspondence, but not personally until now. Arrived here according
to appointment, we shake hands, and in a few minutes are beneath his
most hospitable roof, and in the midst of his family and friends. The
expectations which we had formed, so far from being disappointed,
were more than gratified, for this sincere and honourable man is
distinguished, not less by liberality of sentiment than by a generosity
commensurate with the goodness of his heart. In these respects every
member of his family is a counterpart of himself; and, such being our
hosts, you may judge how agreeable to us was our stay in Sheffield.
It was while enjoying the hospitality of this excellent friend, that
we became acquainted with EBENEZER ELLIOT, Esq. and subsequently with
JONATHAN BRAMMELL, Esq. from whom we have since received many acts of
kindness. Stopping afterwards at Derby, we saw our relations there,
and on arriving in London were kindly welcomed by my brother-in-law,
ALEXANDER GORDON, Esq., and soon established ourselves in a house in
Wimpole Street.
I now again enjoyed the society of our numerous friends, and had the
pleasure of seeing my work proceed apace. One day Mr ROBERT HAVELL
informed me, that a gentleman, a Fellow of the Royal Society, residing
not far from us, in the same street, had subscribed for the Birds
of America. The gentleman called to see me; my wife and myself, were
introduced to his lady, and the several members of his amiable family,
and our intimacy and friendship have ever since increased. This
excellent friend of mine is a surgeon of the highest merit. Long before
I left England for America, he took charge of my wife’s precarious
health; and when we parted at the coach that took my son, JOHN
WOODHOUSE, and myself, to Portsmouth, he promised to watch over her.
When I again reached my house in Wimpole Street, after an absence of a
year, he was the first friend to greet me with a cordial welcome. Were
I to mention the many occasions on which he has aided me by his advice
and superior knowledge of the world, you would be pleased to find
so much disinterestedness in human nature. His professional aid too,
valuable as it has proved to us, and productive of much inconvenience
to him, has been rendered without reward, for I could never succeed in
inducing him to consider us his patients, although for upwards of two
years he never passed a day without seeing my wife. But why should I
say more? This fine specimen of human nature, eminent for every virtue,
this kind and generous friend, is BENJAMIN PHILLIPS, Esq.
Having been long anxious to introduce into America several species of
European birds, which I thought might thrive with us, I purchased about
an hundred individuals of that delightful songster, the Sky Lark, fifty
Starlings, and several Jays and Wood Pigeons, intending to set them
loose in the Western States. Putting them in ample cages, accompanied
with a store of food for the voyage, I had them sent on board in the
London Docks; but on our reaching Portsmouth by land, we heard that
the weather had been very bad in the Channel, and that our birds had
suffered severely. The news, to my vexation, proved true; many of the
birds had died; and, although our passage to New York was pleasant as
well as speedy, very few were landed, so that my hopes were entirely
disappointed.
On the 1st of August 1836, we went on board the fine American Packet
Ship, the Gladiator, commanded by THOMAS BRITTON, Esq. and proceeded
on our voyage, which proved agreeable. On arriving at New York, we
soon reached the house of my good friend and brother-in-law NICHOLAS
BERTHOUD, Esq. Leaving my son there, I proceeded almost immediately
to Boston, where, under the roof of my generous friend Dr GEORGE C.
SHATTUCK, I enjoyed life for a while. My friend Dr GEORGE PARKMAN
was absent, and I missed him much. Here, through the kindness of Dr
SHATTUCK, I procured two subscribers, and formed acquaintance with
THOMAS M. BREWER, Esq., from whom I have received many valuable
services, which you will find mentioned in the proper places. Pushing
on to Salem I formed some acquaintances there, and procured several
subscribers; then returned to Boston, and as fortune would have it,
heard of the arrival of THOMAS NUTTALL, Esq., the well-known zoologist,
botanist, and mineralogist, who had performed a journey over the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, accompanied by our mutual friend
JOHN KIRK TOWNSEND, Esq., M. D. Mr NUTTALL generously gave me of
his ornithological treasures all that was new, and inscribed in my
journal the observations which he had made respecting the habits and
distribution of all the new and rare species which were unknown to
me. All this information you will find in the different articles to
which it refers, and you will allow that while it proves his zeal for
the furtherance of science, it manifests the generosity of his noble
nature.
Dr TOWNSEND’S collection was at Philadelphia; my anxiety to examine
his specimens was extreme; and I therefore, bidding farewell to my
Boston friends, hurried off to New York, where, in a week, I added
eighteen names to my list of subscribers, in obtaining which I was
materially aided by my brother-in-law. Once more my son and I reached
Philadelphia, where at once we placed ourselves under the roof of my
ever staunch and true friend RICHARD HARLAN, Esq., M. D., with whom we
remained several weeks. Soon after my arrival, I called on my learned
friend Dr CHARLES PICKERING, formed the desired acquaintance of an
enthusiastic young ornithologist, JAMES TRUDEAU, Esq., and met my firm
friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. Having obtained access to the collection
sent by Dr TOWNSEND, I turned over and over the new and rare species;
but he was absent at Fort Vancouver, on the shores of the Columbia
River; THOMAS NUTTALL had not yet come from Boston, and loud murmurs
were uttered by the _soi-disant_ friends of science, who objected to
my seeing, much less portraying and describing those valuable relics
of birds, many of which had not yet been introduced into our Fauna. The
traveller’s appetite is much increased by the knowledge of the distance
which he has to tramp before he can obtain a meal; and with me the
desire of obtaining the specimens in question increased in proportion
to the difficulties that presented themselves. Having ascertained
the names of the persons best able or most willing to assist me on
this occasion, and aided by THOMAS NUTTALL, who had now arrived, Drs
PICKERING, HARLAN, S. G. MORTON, Secretary to the Academy of Natural
Sciences, M’MURTRIE, TRUDEAU, and above all my friend EDWARD HARRIS,
who offered to pay for them with the view of presenting them to me, I
at length succeeded. It was agreed that I might _purchase duplicates,
provided_ the specific names agreed upon by Mr NUTTALL and myself were
published in Dr TOWNSEND’S name. This latter part of the affair was
perfectly congenial to my feelings, as I have seldom cared much about
priority in the naming of species. I therefore paid for the skins which
I received, and have now published such as proved to be new, according
to my promise. But, let me assure you, Reader, that seldom, if ever in
my life, have I felt more disgusted with the conduct of any opponents
of mine, than I was with the unfriendly boasters of their zeal for the
advancement of ornithological science, who at the time existed in the
fair city of Philadelphia.
From Philadelphia I bent my course toward Baltimore, where I spent
a few days. Before leaving the former city, my good friend EDWARD
HARRIS had promised to join us at Charleston, for the purpose of
accompanying us along the western coast of the Floridas, and the Gulf
of Mexico, at least as far as Galveston Island in Texas. On reaching
the city of Washington, I presented myself to the Honourable LEVI
WOODBURY, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, a gentleman
of learning, long friendly towards me, who at once assured me that
he would, if possible, grant me one of our Revenue Cutters, for
my intended voyage. The war, which was at that time raging between
the Seminole Indians and the citizens of Florida tended strongly to
frustrate my wishes, as every disposable vessel of the class under the
Secretary of the Treasury was engaged on the coast of the Peninsula.
I called on President ANDREW JACKSON, from whom, since 1819, I have
received peculiar facilities, and who assured me of his wish to grant
my request. My son and I dined with him on that day _sans façon_, both
of us in the undress best suited to practical students of nature. And
here I may inform you, that I have seldom eaten of a better Wild Turkey
than the one which graced his table, and which had been procured not
many miles distant from our centre of political intercourse. I also
had the pleasure of seeing my excellent friend, Colonel J. J. ABERT, of
the U. S. Topographical Department, the Honourable J. R. POINSETT, and
the Secretary of the Navy, to whom I then recommended several American
naturalists as worthy of being engaged on any naval expedition of
discovery.
We now proceeded towards Charleston in South Carolina, travelling the
latter part of the way on one of the most extraordinary rail-roads
in the world, and reached in safety the house of my worthy friend
the Reverend JOHN BACHMAN, D.D. It was indeed a happy meeting! Here
I opened the box containing Dr TOWNSEND’S precious series of birds,
and while waiting the arrival of Mr HARRIS, drew upwards of seventy
figures of the species which I had procured at Philadelphia, assisted
in the finishing of the plants, branches of trees, and flowers, which
accompany these figures, by my friend’s sister-in-law Miss M. MARTIN,
to whom I now again offer my most sincere thanks. While here I received
the agreeable intelligence of my having been elected a Member of the
Ornithological Society of London.
EDWARD HARRIS joined me, but the Revenue Cutter had not made its
appearance; and time becoming precious, on account of the approach
of spring, we bid adieu to all at Charleston, and pushed for New
Orleans, where, I was informed by Government letters, I should meet
with a vessel. On reaching Augusta in Georgia, I called on Dr WRAY, who
promised to forward to me a number of plants for my noble friend Lord
RAVENSWORTH, who has received them in good order. After several days
of severe travelling, we arrived at Montgomery in Alabama, and meeting
there with a steam-boat bound to Mobile, secured our passage. Next day
we arrived there, and spent two days in examining the neighbourhood;
after which we proceeded to Pensacola, where I felt proud to find a
harbour commodious enough to contain a fleet sufficient to repel the
attacks of any naval force brought against the United States. Here
I made the long-sought-for acquaintance of Mr INNERARITY, to whom I
had letters from my friend ALEXANDER GORDON, Esq., and who introduced
us to all who were likely to forward our views. The next morning he
accompanied us on board the United States’ frigate, the Constellation,
and presented us to Commodore DALLAS, to whom I had letters of
introduction from our government. This polite and gallant officer
received us all with great kindness, and, after reading my letters,
assured me that as soon as a cutter could be spared, it should be at
my service, and that the information would be transmitted to me through
the medium of the Collector of Customs at Mobile or New Orleans. After
searching the country around Pensacola, we returned to Mobile, and
proceeded to New Orleans in a steamer, by way of the great lakes.
Having previously received the most pressing invitation from my friend
JAMES GRIMSHAW, Esq., my son and I went at once to his house, where
we were treated with all the kindness to be expected from a true
English gentleman. I had the pleasure of renewing my acquaintance with
Ex-Governor ROMAN, and several members of his most amiable family,
among whom was Mr ZARINGUE. From that gentleman I received much
valuable information respecting some of our birds, as well as from my
long-known acquaintance, the great sportsman Mr LOUIS ADAM. Here also
I for the last time met with good M. LE SUEUR, well known to the world
of science as a zoologist of great merit, and with whom I first became
acquainted at Philadelphia in 1824. He, alas! is now no more.
Having called on Mr BREEDLOVE, Collector of Customs for New Orleans,
and presented to him my letters from the Honourable LEVI WOODBURY, he
at once assured me that the Revenue Cutter the Campbell, would be at my
disposal in a very few days. But the service, or other circumstances,
did not allow the arrival of that vessel at New Orleans until late in
March, and at a time when, apprehensive that our intended voyage might
be frustrated, we were all “crest-fallen.” Time, however, passed on,
and one morning I was gladdened by being called upon by the Commander
of the Campbell, and still more upon recognising in him the Lieutenant
and Pilot of the Marion, or Lady of the Green Mantle, so frequently
mentioned in the former volumes of these Ornithological Biographs.
I knew that NAPOLEON COSTE was a true sea-fowl. He assured me of
the excellence of his vessel, and gay and happy were we all when we
removed on board the tight little sea-boat, of scarcely more than sixty
tons burden. Proceeding down the Mississippi, we sailed through its
south-west Pass, where we were joined by a vessel of eight tons, as a
tender for our excursions along the shores. It was commanded by Captain
WILLIAM TAYLOR, now, I believe, a Commodore in the Texian service, a
gentleman who has seen much of the world, an excellent companion, and
a good hunter and fisher.
Of our various excursions, whether by water or by land, between
the mouths of the Mississippi and the point at which we returned, a
detailed account would prove tedious and fatiguing; for what interest
can there be in the relation of our wading through mud for whole days,
exposed to the scorching heat, and continually annoyed by myriads of
insects? We reached the Bay of Galveston on the 24th of April 1837,
and ransacked not only the island of that name, but all those in that
celebrated inlet of the Mexican Gulf, which we thought worthy of our
attention. It was a curious circumstance to me, that, being on board
of the first American armed vessel in the United States’ Service
that had entered the Bay, the fort of Galveston returned the salute
of twenty-six fires from the great gun of the Campbell; and almost
equally so when I received a visit from the Secretary of the Navy of
the infant Republic of Texas, with a written invitation to proceed
to the seat of Government, the newly founded city of Houston, distant
from our anchorage about eighty miles. Toward this place the Campbell
proceeded about twenty miles, when, meeting with a bar, on which there
is not more than about four feet of water at full tide, she again came
to anchor. At this place, which is called Red-Fish Bar, on the 9th of
May, my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Captain COSTE, and five sailors took the
gig, while the Crusader, our tender, took the Secretary of the Texian
Navy, M. FISHER, Esq., a Mr WARD, my son, and myself. We crossed a
large but shallow bay with a fair wind, and proceeding rapidly, passed
the lately founded town of New Washington, and soon afterwards several
plantations, the sight of all which afforded us much pleasure, as
contrasted with the low salt-marshes and flat lands along the shores
of the Mexican Bay, among which we had so long wandered. About noon
we entered Buffalo Bayou, near the mouth of the San Jacinto River,
almost opposite the celebrated battle-ground. Ducks of various species,
Ibises, Wild Turkeys, and many other birds, were seen in great numbers,
and we proceeded smoothly over the then turbid waters of the Bayou,
until we reached a comfortable house, where we spent the night, after
previously examining several miles of the country around.
The Secretary of the Texian Navy being anxious to reach the seat of
his government, we started in the gig of the Campbell, although the
rain, which had commenced in the night, was falling in torrents, and
the waters of the Bayou, which the day before were still, now rushed
at a rapid rate toward the Gulf. About two o’clock in the afternoon,
we reached Houston, completely drenched, and were soon afterwards
introduced to the President General HOUSTON, who received us kindly,
and offered us horses and men to assist us in our researches. The town
was crowded with hundreds of Indians, only a few of whom were sober.
Although here and there groups of great interest to the painter might
be seen, their howlings and gesticulations were by no means pleasing.
The beautiful level plain on the margin of which Houston is situated,
was covered with water ankle deep. Having seen all that was thought
interesting, and offered the President as well as all the officers of
his Staff my best thanks, we returned to our yawl, and floating on the
accumulated waters, flew as it were down the stream. Several days were
afterwards spent in rambling as much as possible over the country, and
among other places, we visited the battle-ground of San Jacinto, where
we saw scattered the remains of numerous individuals destroyed in that
bloody fray.
On our way towards “Red-Fish Bar,” we stopped two days at the
hospitable mansion of Colonel JAMES MORGAN, who received us in the
most friendly manner. This spot, possessing a fine extent of woodland,
surrounded by vast prairies, ornamented with numerous detached
groves, reminded us of some of the beautiful parks of England. There,
among other rarities, we procured a fine specimen of the climbing
Rattle-snake with _recurved_ fangs, which, along with several others of
the same kind, is now in my possession.
On the 18th of May, we bade adieu to the Texas, amid the salutes of
the several armed Texian vessels at Galveston, and were soon on the
broad waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We had as passenger Mr CRAWFORD,
the British Consul at Tampico; and after a pleasant voyage, anchored
on the 24th within the south-west Pass of the Mississippi. After
visiting Captain TAYLOR and his family at the Balize, we were towed
by a steamer to New Orleans, where we arrived on the 27th. Here I had
the gratification of meeting with my youngest brother-in-law, WILLIAM
G. BAKEWELL, Esq. of Louisville, Kentucky, as well as with his amiable
wife, neither of whom I had seen for several years.
The commercial revolution which had taken place during our absence,
prompted us to proceed at once to the eastward, and bidding farewell
to our friends, I and my son set out for Charleston by way of Mobile,
whence we crossed the country in a cart with the United States’
mail-bags, whereon, in lieu of downy beds and pillows, our bones
rested in cramped positions during the night, whilst by day we had
ample opportunities of walking over miserable roads, through an almost
uncultivated country, and with very indifferent fare. On reaching
Montgomery, however, we met with a good coach, and moved more rapidly
toward our destination.
My friend EDWARD HARRIS had parted from us, at New Orleans, and gone up
the Mississippi to secure for me a collection of preserved Reptiles and
other objects; but, after a more pleasant journey than ours, by way of
Mobile, Pensacola, and the level country between the latter and Augusta
in Georgia, joined us again at the house of our friend Dr BACHMAN,
where we arrived on the 5th of June. And here, good-natured Reader, let
me say to you, that the friendship which had so long subsisted between
that reverend gentleman and myself, became, still more cemented by the
marriage of his eldest daughter to my youngest son.
In the course of our long journeys through woods and over plains, and
of our sinuous sailings along the many bays, creeks or bayous, which
we visited on this expedition, notwithstanding all our exertions and
constant anxiety, we did not discover a single bird not previously
known. However, the enterprise proved exceedingly interesting to my
companions and myself, and I trust its results will be found to possess
some value in your eyes also, for, as you will perceive, it has enabled
me to speak with more confidence on the migratory movements of a
good number of species which visit us from southern climes during the
breeding season. It also enables me to define more accurately than I
could otherwise have done, the geographical distribution of most of
those which at various times make their appearance in the different
sections of the United States, and other portions of North America.
Leaving Charleston, we reached Norfolk by a steamer, after a short
passage of thirty-eight hours, and proceeded at once to Washington,
where I presented myself to the President of the United States, MARTIN
VAN BUREN, to whom I had letters from my amiable and celebrated friend,
WASHINGTON IRVING, Esq., and offered my best thanks to the heads of the
several departments, and my various friends. We then passed rapidly
through Baltimore and Philadelphia, my wish being to reach New York
as soon as possible. There I remained a fortnight, while my son and
daughter-in-law visited the Falls of Niagara. They having returned, we
embarked, on the 16th of July 1837, on board the American packet-ship,
the England, commanded by ROBERT WAITE, Esq., for Liverpool, where,
seventeen days after, we were safely landed. Here we quickly paid our
respects to the RATHBONES, the CHORLEYS, and other friends, to whom
bidding adieu at the same time, we proceeded to join my family in
London, where, on the 7th of August, we once more met all together.
I found the publication of the “Birds of America” in a satisfactory
state of progression, but received the disagreeable intelligence
that a great number of my British patrons had discontinued their
subscriptions, and that most of those who still received the numbers
as they came out, were desirous of seeing the work finished in Eighty
Numbers, as I had at first anticipated. On this account, I found myself
obliged to introduce, and in some instances to crowd, a number of
species into one and the same plate, in order to try to meet the wishes
of those who had by their subscriptions in some measure assisted me in
the publication of that work. This, however, I did in such a manner as
seemed best to accord with the affinities of the species. But, Reader,
Dr TOWNSEND meantime returned to Philadelphia, after an absence of
about four years, and with a second collection, containing several
rare and new birds, which, after meeting with the same difficulties
as on the former occasion, in consequence of the opposition of various
enlightened persons at Philadelphia, although Dr TOWNSEND was extremely
desirous that every thing new or rare belonging to our Fauna should be
given to me, I received only a few weeks before closing the engraving
of my plates. A few others did not reach me until several days after.
What was I to do? Why, Reader, to publish them to be sure; for this I
should have done, to the best of my power, even if every subscriber in
Europe had refused to take them. What! said I, shall the last volume of
the “Birds of America” be now closed, at a time when new species are
in my hands? No! And in spite of threats from this quarter and that,
that such and such persons would discontinue their subscriptions (which
indeed they have done, and refused to take the few numbers that would
have rendered their copies complete), my wish to do all that was in
my power has been accomplished:—All Dr TOWNSEND’s species, as well as
some received through different channels, have been published. To that
enthusiastic naturalist and excellent friend I am also deeply indebted
for the valuable notes which he has forwarded to me through my friend
EDWARD HARRIS.
I had the gratification of receiving at London a diploma from the
Literary and Historical Society of Quebec; and since then have been
favoured with a list of the birds which have been observed in the
environs of that city, by WILLIAM SHEPPARD, Esq., his lady, and son,
for which I offer them my most sincere thanks. I am also much indebted
to the members of the Council of the Zoological Society of London, who
have never ceased to furnish me with whatever American specimens their
valuable museum contains, allowing me to take them to my house. I am
farther indebted to my excellent and generous friend Professor J. T.
HENSLOW of Cambridge for the continuance of his most kind services to
me. Nor must I here omit mentioning the efficient aid I have received
from THOMAS DURHAM WEIR, Esq. of Boghead, in the county of Linlithgow,
and Mr MACDUFF CARFRAE, Preserver of Animals in Edinburgh, who have
kindly procured for me many specimens of British birds for comparison
with such of our American species as seemed to be identical.
For several years past I have felt a great desire to place before
the world an account of the digestive organs of our various birds.
With this view I have, at a great expense, obtained specimens
preserved entire in spirits. In collecting them I have received the
most effectual aid from several of my American friends, residing in
different parts of the country; and in particular from the Rev. Dr
BACHMAN of Charleston in South Carolina, Colonel THEODORE ANDERSON
of Baltimore, Dr RICHARD HARLAN of Philadelphia, Dr THOMAS M. BREWER
of Boston in Massachusetts, THOMAS M’CULLOCH, Esq. of Pictou in Nova
Scotia; ALEXANDER GORDON, Esq. of London, who wrote to Havannah for
Flamingoes; JEAN CHARTRAND, Esq. who sent me a pair of these birds from
Matanzas in Cuba; and from Captain NAPOLEON COSTE of the United States’
Revenue Service. Besides the valuable contributions of these friends,
to whom my warmest thanks are due, a vast number of specimens were
procured by the members of my several parties, in Labrador, in Texas,
and in various parts of the United States, as well as many purchased
from Mr WARD of New York. An account of the digestive organs and
trachea of these, generally concise, but occasionally of considerable
length, you will find under the articles to which they refer, in the
present volume. These anatomical descriptions, as well as the sketches
by which they are sometimes illustrated, have been executed by my
learned friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, who in the most agreeable manner
consented to undertake the labour, by no means small, of such a task,
and to whom those who are interested in the progress of Ornithological
science, as well as myself, must therefore feel indebted. These details
I had resolved to present to you, because I have thought that no
perfect knowledge of the affinities of species can be obtained until
their internal organization is known. I believe the time to be fast
approaching when much of the results obtained from the inspection of
the exterior alone will be laid aside; when museums filled with stuffed
skins will be considered insufficient to afford a knowledge of birds;
and when the student will go forth not only to observe the habits and
haunts of animals, but to procure specimens of them to be carefully
dissected.
When I commenced the present volume, I expected that it should contain
descriptions of all the species represented in the fourth volume
of my Illustrations; but, on proceeding, I found that, even without
Episodes, which I have been obliged to exclude, in order to make room
for anatomical notices, of more interest to the scientific reader, I
could not include more than the usual number of one hundred species.
In the fifth and concluding volume, the printing of which has already
begun, you will find Descriptions of upwards of a hundred species, many
of which are new to science, together with Lists illustrative of the
geographical distribution of birds, an Appendix containing additions
and corrections, and, finally, a Synopsis of the Birds of North
America, methodically arranged, with generic and specific characters.
JOHN J. AUDUBON.
EDINBURGH, _1st November 1838_.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Canvass-back Duck, _Fuligula valisneriana_, 1
Dusky Duck, _Anas obscura_, 15
Bartramian Sandpiper, _Totanus Bartramius_, 24
Turnstone, _Strepsilas Interpres_, 31
Purple Gallinule, _Gallinula martinica_, 37
Great Northern Diver or Loon, _Colymbus glacialis_, 43
Blue Heron, _Ardea cœrulea_, 58
Tell-Tale Godwit, _Totanus melanoleucus_, 68
Common Tern, _Sterna Hirundo_, 74
Spotted Sandpiper, _Totanus macularius_, 81
American White Pelican, _Pelecanus americanus_, 88
Long-tailed Duck, _Fuligula glacialis_, 103
Blue-winged Teal, _Anas discors_, 111
Black-headed or Laughing Gull, _Larus Atricilla_, 118
Knot or Ash-coloured Sandpiper, _Tringa islandica_, 130
Anhinga or Snake-Bird, _Plotus Anhinga_, 136
Surf Duck, _Fuligula perspicillata_, 161
American Avoset, _Recurvirostra americana_, 168
Least Tern, _Sterna minuta_, 175
Little Sandpiper, _Tringa pusilla_, 180
Roseate Spoonbill, _Platalea Ajaja_, 188
Red-headed Duck, _Fuligula Ferina_, 198
Black Skimmer or Razor-billed _Rhynchops nigra_, 203
Shearwater,
Bonapartian Gull, _Larus Bonapartii_, 212
Buffel-headed Duck, _Fuligula Albeola_, 217
Common Gannet, _Sula bassana_, 222
Shoveller Duck, _Anas clypeata_, 241
Black-necked Stilt, _Himantopus nigricollis_, 247
Yellow-breasted Rail, _Rallus noveboracensis_, 251
American Ring-Plover, _Charadrius semipalmatus_, 256
Goosander, _Mergus Merganser_, 261
Pied Duck, _Fuligula labradora_, 271
Green Heron, _Ardea virescens_, 274
Black-bellied Plover, _Charadrius helveticus_, 280
Red-breasted Snipe, _Scolopax noveboracensis_, 285
Yellow-crowned Heron, _Ardea violacea_, 290
American Bittern, _Ardea minor_, 296
Brewer’s Duck, _Anas Breweri_, 302
Little Guillemot, _Uria Alle_, 304
Least Petrel, _Thalassidroma pelagica_, 310
Great Auk, _Alca impennis_, 316
Golden-eye Duck, _Fuligula Clangula_, 318
Ruddy Duck, _Fuligula rubida_, 326
Long-legged Sandpiper, _Tringa Himantopus_, 332
American Widgeon, _Anas americana_, 337
Black-throated Diver, _Colymbus arcticus_, 345
Smew, or White Nun, _Mergus Albellus_, 350
Gadwall Duck, _Anas strepera_, 353
Least Water Rail, _Rallus jamaicensis_, 359
Rocky-Mountain Plover, _Charadrius montanus_, 362
Great Cinereous Owl, _Strix cinerea_, 364
Black-shouldered Hawk, _Falco dispar_, 367
Chestnut-backed Titmouse, _Parus rufescens_, 371
Black-cap Titmouse, _Parus atricapillus_, 374
Chestnut-crowned Titmouse, _Parus minimus_, 382
Louisiana Tanager, _Tanagra ludoviciana_, 385
Scarlet Tanager, _Tanagra rubra_, 388
Macgillivray’s Finch, _Fringilla Macgillivraii_, 394
Marsh Hawk, _Falco cyaneus_, 396
Common Magpie, _Corvus Pica_, 408
Pine Grosbeak, _Pyrrhula Enucleator_, 414
Arkansaw Flycatcher, _Musicapa verticalis_, 422
Swallow-tailed Flycatcher, _Musicapa forficata_, 426
Say’s Flycatcher, _Musicapa Saya_, 428
Winter Wren, _Troglodytes hyemalis_, 430
Rock Wren, _Troglodytes obsoletus_, 443
Dusky Grous, _Tetrao obscurus_, 446
Yellow-billed Magpie, _Corvus Nuttalli_, 450
Steller’s Jay, _Corvus Stelleri_, 453
Ultramarine Jay, _Corvus ultramarinus_, 456
Clarke’s Nutcracker, _Nucifraga columbiana_, 459
Bohemian Chatterer, _Bombycilla garrula_, 462
White-winged Crossbill, _Loxia leucoptera_, 467
Lapland Longspur, _Emberiza lapponica_, 472
Iceland or Jer Falcon, _Falco islandicus_, 476
Band-tailed Pigeon, _Columba fasciata_, 479
Rock Grous, _Tetrao rupestris_, 483
Mountain Mocking Bird, _Turdus montanus_, 487
Varied Thrush, _Turdus nævius_, 489
American Dipper, _Cinclus americanus_, 493
Cock of the Plains, _Tetrao Urophasianus_, 503
Common Buzzard, _Falco Buteo_, 508
Evening Grosbeak, _Fringilla vespertina_, 515
Black-headed Grosbeak, _Fringilla melanocephala_, 519
Sharp-shinned or Slate-coloured} _Falco fuscus_, 522
Hawk, }
Lesser Redpoll, _Fringilla Linaria_, 533
Trumpeter Swan, _Cygnus Buccinator_, 536
Scolopaceous Courlan, _Aramus scolopaceus_, 543
Hawk Owl, _Strix funereal_, 550
Ruff-necked Humming Bird, _Trochilus rufus_, 555
Tengmalm’s Owl, _Strix Tengmalmi_, 559
Snow Goose, _Anser hyperboreus_, 562
Sharp-tailed Grous, _Tetrao Phasianellus_, 569
Long-eared Owl, _Strix Otus_, 572
Black-throated Bunting, _Emberiza Americana_, 579
Bank Swallow or Sand Martin, _Hirundo riparia_, 584
Rough-winged Swallow, _Hirundo serripennis_, 573
Violet-green Swallow, _Hirundo thalassina_, 597
Great American Egret, _Ardea Egretta_, 600
Glossy Ibis, _Ibis Falcinellus_, 608
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
Page
1. Digestive Organs of _Pelecanus Americanus_, One-third size, 99
2. Sternum of _Pelecanus Americanus_, Rather less than half size, 102
3. Stomach and proventriculus of _Plotus Anhinga_, Full size, 159
4. Trachea and stomach of _Platalea Ajaja_, Half size, 197
5. Stomach and proventriculus of _Rhynchops nigra_, Full size, 211
6. Stomach, proventriculus, and intestine of _Sula
alba_, One-third size, 239
7. Stomach and œsophagus of _Ardea virescens_, Full size, 279
8. Stomach and proventriculus of _Charadrius helveticus_, 285
9. Stomach and proventriculus of _Scolopax noveboracensis_, 289
10. Digestive organs of _Ardea minor_, 301
11. Digestive organs of _Uria Alle_, 307
12. Stomach and proventriculus of _Uria Alle_ opened, 307
13. Cloaca and cœca of _Uria Alle_, 307
14. Digestive organs of _Thalassidroma pelagica_, 314
15. Stomach, proventriculus, and duodenum of _Thalassidroma
pelagica_, 314
16. Stomach and intestines of _Thalassidroma pelagica_, 314
17. Digestive organs and inferior larynx of _Anas americana_, 343
18. Digestive organs and part of trachea of _Anas strepera_, 358
19. Digestive organs of _Parus atricapillus_, 381
20. Digestive Organs of _Tanagra rubra_, 393
21. Digestive Organs of _Falco cyaneus_, Half size, 407
22. Digestive Organs of _Pyrrhula Enucleator_, Full size, 420
23. Another view of the same, 420
24. Digestive Organs of _Muscicapa verticalis_, 425
25. Digestive Organs of _Troglodytes hyemalis_, 442
26. Digestive Organs of _Loxia leucoptera_, 471
27. Digestive Organs of _Falco islandicus_, 478
28. Digestive Organs of _Falco fuscus_, 529
29. Digestive organs of _Aramus scolopaceus_, Full size, 549
30. Digestive organs of _Strix funerea_, 554
31. Cœca and cloaca of _Strix funerea_, 554
32. Aperture of ear of _Strix funerea_, 554
33. External ear of _Strix Otus_, 578
34. Cœca and cloaca of _Strix Otus_, 578
35. Digestive organs of _Emberiza americana_, 583
36. Tail of _Hirundo riparia_, 595
37. Tail of _Hirundo serripennis_, 595
38. Part of outer primary of _Hirundo serripennis_, 595
39. Cœcum and cloaca of _Ardea Egretta_, 606
ORNITHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY.
CANVASS-BACK DUCK.
_FULIGULA VALISNERIANA_, STEPHENS.
PLATE CCCI. MALE AND FEMALE.
The range of the celebrated Duck with the history of which I commence
the fourth volume of my Biographs, may be considered as limited on
the one hand by the mouths of the Mississippi, and on the other by
the Hudson or North River. Beyond the latter it is rarely seen at
any season on our eastern coasts; and this circumstance, conjoined
with its being now and then observed on the upper waters of our
Western Districts, and its breeding in great numbers on the borders
of Bear River, which flows into the salt lake of Timpanajoz in upper
California, as well as in the marshes and along the banks of streams
in many parts of the Rocky Mountains, induces me to believe that the
individuals of this species, instead of proceeding along the shores,
pass overland towards their breeding grounds, however far northward
they may be situated. According to DR RICHARDSON, it breeds in all
parts of the Fur-Countries, from the 50th parallel to their most
northern limits.
While in our Atlantic Districts, it is found in much greater numbers on
the Chesapeake and the streams that flow into it, than any where else.
Indeed it is not more than twenty years since its regular appearance
and sojourn on the waters of the Southern States has been observed or
at least acknowledged. Although at New Orleans, where it goes by the
name of _Canard Cheval_, it has been known to the oldest duck-shooters
now alive, from their earliest recollection, it is not more than about
fifteen years since it began to rise, from a very low price to two
dollars the pair, at which it sold during my visit in March 1837.
This enhancement of its value I look upon as having arisen from the
preference given to it by the epicures of our Middle Districts, who
have strangely lauded it as superior to every other duck in the world.
This alleged pre-eminence has indeed become so deeply impressed on the
minds of many of our Southerns, that they have on various occasions
procured the transportation of numbers of Canvass-backs from Baltimore
to Charleston in South Carolina, and even to Savannah in Georgia,
although this species is by no means uncommon within a few miles of
the latter city, as well as on the Great Santee River. I well remember
that on my pointing out to a friend, now alas dead, several dozens of
these birds in the market of Savannah, he would scarcely believe that
I was not mistaken, and assured me that they were looked upon as being
poor, dry, and very fishy, in short not half so good as Mallards, or
Blue-winged Teals. With this I cordially agreed, for there, at that
season, they are not better than represented.
I found this species in considerable numbers on and about the numerous
inlets and rivers of East Florida; but did not see a single individual
on the Gulf of St Lawrence, along the coast of Labrador, or on that of
Newfoundland.
It arrives in the neighbourhood of New Orleans from the 20th of October
to the end of December, coming in flocks of eight or twelve, probably
the members of a single family, and, unlike many other species, keeping
in small groups during winter. At the approach of spring however they
flock together, and about the first of April depart in large bodies.
During their stay, they are wont to alight on wet prairies and muddy
ponds in all open places, feeding on the seeds of various plants, of
which may be particularized the wild oat and the water lily.
According to ALEXANDER WILSON, who first described this species, their
arrival in autumn in the Middle Districts takes place about the 15th
of October; but more recent writers say, that “unless the weather to
the north has been severe, the Canvass-back rarely appears till the
middle of November.” With this I fully agree, being convinced that
their journeys to and from their breeding places are performed across
the country. Were this perfectly ascertained, it would prove that this
species, unlike most other ducks, instead of removing farther southward
in autumn and winter, takes what may be called a lateral march toward
our Eastern Districts, in which it remains until the weather has become
too cold for its constitution, when it is forced a second time to
migrate, and betake itself to warmer parts of the country, where it
continues during the rest of the winter.
The flight of this species, although resembling that of our larger
sea-ducks in having the appearance of being rather laboured, is strong,
rapid, at times very elevated, and well sustained. It swims deeply,
especially when under apprehension of danger, and this probably the
better to enable it to escape by diving, at which it is almost as
expert as our sea or diving ducks. But although its speed on the water
is considerable, it moves rather heavily on land. Its food varies,
according to the season and locality. The plant named _Valisneria_, on
which it is said to feed when on the head waters of the Chesapeake,
is not found equally abundant in other parts, and even there is at
times so reduced in quantity, that this duck and several other species
which are equally fond of it, are obliged to have recourse to fishes,
tadpoles, water-lizards, leeches, snails, and molluscs, as well as such
seeds as they can meet with; all which have been in greater or less
quantity found in their stomach.
Nothing is known of its manners during the breeding season; and we are
equally ignorant of the changes of plumage which, like other species,
it may undergo at that period.
As I have not had very good opportunities of making myself acquainted
with the modes in which the Canvass-backs are obtained for the
markets, I here present an account of duck-shooting on the waters of
the Chesapeake, published some years ago in the “Cabinet of Natural
History,” and of which a copy has been transmitted to me by its author,
Dr J. J. SHARPLESS, of Philadelphia, to whom, for this and other marks
of attention, I offer my best thanks.
“The Chesapeake Bay, with its tributary streams, has, from its
discovery, been known as the greatest resort of water-fowl in the
United States. This has depended on the profusion of their food, which
is accessible on the immense flats or shoals that are found near the
mouth of the Susquehanna, along the entire length of North-East and
Elk Rivers, and on the shores of the bay and connecting streams, as far
south as York and James Rivers.
“The quantity of fowl of late years has been decidedly less than in
times gone by; and I have met with persons who have assured me that the
number has decreased one-half in the last fifteen years. This change
has arisen, most probably, from the vast increase in their destruction,
from the greater number of persons who now make a business or pleasure
of this sport, as well as the constant disturbance they meet with
on many of their feeding grounds, which induces them to distribute
themselves more widely, and forsake their usual haunts.
“As early as the first and second weeks in October, the smaller ducks,
as the Buffel-head, _Anas Albeola_; South-southerly, _A. glacialis_;
and the Ruddy or Heavy-tailed Duck, _A. rubidus_, begin to shew
themselves in the upper part of the bay; and by the last of the month,
the Black-head, _A. Marila_; Widgeon or Bald-pate, _A. Americana_;
Red-head, _A. Ferina_; and the Goose, _A. Canadensis_, appear, and
rapidly distribute themselves down the bay. The Canvass-back, _A.
Valisneria_, and the Swan, _Cygnus Americanus_, rarely, unless the
weather to the north has been severe, appear in quantities till the
middle of November. All these fowl, when first arrived, are thin and
tasteless, from their privation during their migration, and perhaps
preparatory arrangements, and require some days at least of undisturbed
repose, to give them that peculiar flavour for which some of them
are so celebrated. During the low tides succeeding their arrival, the
birds sit on the flats far from the shores, and rarely rise to the wing
unless disturbed; but when the spring-tides render the water too deep
for feeding, they commence their career, and pass down the bay in the
morning, and return in the evening. Most of these fowl feed on the same
grass, which grows abundantly on the shallows in the bay and adjacent
waters, and has been called duck-grass, _Valisneria Americana_. It
grows from six to eighteen inches in length, and is readily pulled
up by the root. Persons who have closely observed these ducks while
feeding, say that the Canvass-back and Black-head dive and pull the
grass from the ground, and feed on the roots, and that the Red-head
and Bald-pate then consume the leaves. Indeed, although the Bald-pate
is a much smaller bird than the Canvass-back, it has been seen to rob
the latter, immediately on its return from under the water, of all its
spoil.
“All these larger ducks are found together when feeding, but separate
when on the wing. That they feed on the same grass, is evident from the
similarity of flavour; and those most accustomed to the article have a
difficulty in deciding on the kind of duck from the taste. Indeed, the
Bald-pate is generally preferred by residents.
“By the middle of December, particularly if the weather has been a
little severe, the fowl of every kind have become so fat, that I have
seen Canvass-backs burst open in the breast in falling on the water;
and spending less time in feeding, they pass up and down the bay
from river to river, in their morning and evening flights, giving, at
certain localities, great opportunities for destruction. They pursue,
even in their short passages, very much the order of their migratory
movements, flying in a line, or baseless triangle; and when the wind
blows on the _points_ which may lie on their course, the sportsman
has great chances of success. These points or courses of the ducks
are materially affected by the winds, for they avoid, if possible,
an approach to the shore; but when a strong breeze sets them on these
projections of the land, they are compelled to pass within shot, and
often over the land itself.
“In the Susquehanna and Elk rivers, there are few of these points
for shooting, and there success depends on approaching them while on
their feeding grounds. After leaving the eastern point at the mouth of
the Susquehanna and Turkey Point, the western side of the Elk River,
which are both moderately good for flying shooting, the first place
of much celebrity is the _Narrows_, between Spesutie Island and the
western shore. These narrows are about three miles in length, and from
three to five hundred yards in breadth. By the middle of November,
the Canvass-backs in particular, begin to feed in this passage, and
the entrance and outlet, as well as many intermediate spots, become
very successful stations. A few miles further down the western shore
is Taylor’s Island, which is situated at the mouth of the Rumney, and
Abbey Island at the mouth of Bush River, which are both celebrated
for ducks, as well as swans and geese. These are the most northerly
points where large fowl are met with, and projecting out between
deep coves, where immense numbers of these birds feed, they possess
great advantages. The south point of Bush River, or Legoe’s Point,
and Robbin’s and Rickett’s Points near Gunpowder River, are fruitful
localities. Immediately at the mouth of this river is situated
Carroll’s Island, which has long been known as a great shooting ground,
and is in the rentage of a company at a high rate. Maxwell’s Point, as
well as some others up this and other rivers, and even further down the
bay, are good places, but less celebrated than those I have mentioned.
Most of these points are let out as shooting grounds to companies
and individuals, and they are esteemed so valuable that intruders are
severely treated.
“It has been ascertained that disturbing the fowl on the feeding flats
is followed in most cases by their forsaking those haunts, and seeking
others; hence, in the rivers leading to the bay near flying points,
they are never annoyed by boat-shooting, either by night or day, and
although the discharge of guns from the shore may arouse them for a
time, they soon return; whereas a boat or sail in chase a few times,
will make them forsake a favourite spot for days.
“From the great number of ducks that are seen in all directions, one
would suppose that there could be no doubt of success at any one of
the points in the course of flight; but whilst they have such correct
vision as to distance, and wide range of space, unless attending
circumstances are favourable, a sportsman may be days without a
promising shot. From the western side of the bay, and it is there the
best grounds are found, the southerly winds are the most favourable;
and, if a high tide is attended by a smart frost and mild south
wind, or even calm morning, the number of birds set in motion becomes
inconceivable, and they approach the points so closely, that even a
moderately good shot can procure from fifty to one hundred ducks a-day.
This has often occurred, and I have seen eight fat Canvass-backs killed
at one discharge into a flock, from a small gun.
“To a stranger visiting these waters, the innumerable ducks, feeding in
beds of thousands, or filling the air with their careering, with the
great numbers of beautiful white swans resting near the shores, like
banks of driven snow, might induce him to suppose that the facilities
for their destruction were equal to their profusion, and that with
so large an object in view, a sportsman could scarcely miss his aim.
But, when he considers the great thickness of their covering, the
velocity of their flight, the rapidity and duration of their diving,
and the great influence that circumstances of wind and weather have on
the chances of success, it becomes a matter of wonder how so many are
destroyed.
“The usual mode of taking these birds has been, till recently, by
shooting them from the points during their flight, or from the land or
boats, on their feeding grounds, or by _toling_, as it is strangely
termed, an operation by which the ducks are sometimes induced to
approach within a few feet of the shore, from a distance often of
several hundred yards. A spot is usually selected where the birds have
not been much disturbed, and where they feed at three or four hundred
yards from, and can approach to within forty or fifty yards of the
shore, as they will never come nearer than they can swim freely. The
higher the tides, and the calmer the day, the better, for they feed
closer to the shores and see more distinctly. Most persons on these
waters have a race of small white or liver-coloured dogs, which they
familiarly call the _toler_ breed, but which appear to be the ordinary
poodle. These dogs are extremely playful, and are taught to run up
and down the shore, in sight of the ducks, either by the motion of
the hand, or by throwing chips from side to side. They soon become
perfectly acquainted with their business, and as they discover the
ducks approaching them, make their jumps less high till they almost
crawl on the ground, to prevent the birds discovering what the object
of their curiosity may be. This disposition to examine rarities
has been taken advantage of by using a red or black handkerchief by
day, and a white one by night in toling, or even by gently plashing
the water on the shore. The nearest ducks soon notice the strange
appearance, raise their heads, gaze intently for a moment, and then
push for the shore, followed by the rest. On many occasions, I have
seen thousands of them swimming in a solid mass direct to the object;
and by removing the dog farther into the grass, they have been brought
within fifteen feet of the bank. When they have approached to about
thirty or forty yards, their curiosity is generally satisfied, and
after swimming up and down for a few seconds, they retrograde to
their former station. The moment to shoot is while they present their
sides, and forty or fifty ducks have often been killed by a small gun.
The Black-heads toll the most readily, then the Red-heads, next the
Canvass-backs, and the Bald-pates rarely. This also is the ratio of
their approach to the points in flying, although, if the Canvass-back
has determined on his direction, few circumstances will change his
course. The total absence of cover or precaution against exposure to
sight, or even a large fire, will not turn these birds aside on such
occasions. In flying-shooting, the Bald-pates are a great nuisance, for
they are so shy that they not only avoid the points themselves, but by
their whistling and confusion of flight at such times, alarm others.
“Simple as it may appear to shoot with success into a solid mass of
ducks sitting on the water at forty or fifty yards’ distance, yet when
you recollect that you are placed nearly level with the surface, the
object opposed to you, even though composed of hundreds of individuals,
may be in appearance but a few feet in width. To give, therefore, the
best promise of success, old duckers recommend that the _nearest_ duck
should be in perfect relief above the sight, whatever the size of the
column, to avoid the common result of over-shooting. The correctness of
this principle I saw illustrated in an instance in which I had toled to
within a space of from forty to seventy yards off the shore, a bed of
certainly hundreds of ducks. Twenty yards beyond the outside birds of
the dense mass, were five Black-heads, one of which was alone killed
out of the whole number, by a deliberate aim into the _middle_ of the
large flock from a rest, by a heavy well-proved duck-gun.
“Before I leave the subject of _sitting-shooting_, I will mention an
occurrence that took place in Bush River, a few years since. A man
whose house was situated near the bank, on rising early one morning,
observed that the river had frozen, except an open space of ten or
twelve feet in diameter, about eighty yards from the shore, nearly
opposite his house. The spot was full of ducks, and with a heavy gun
he fired into it. Many were killed, and those that flew soon returned,
and were again and again shot at, till, fearful that he was injuring
those already his own, he ceased the massacre, and brought on shore
ninety-two ducks, most of which were Canvass-backs.
“To prevent the dogs, whilst toling, from running in, they are not
allowed to go into the water to bring out the ducks, but another
breed of large dogs of the Newfoundland and water-spaniel mixture
are employed. These animals, whilst toling is in progression, or at a
point, take apparently as much interest in success as the sportsman
himself. During a flight, their eyes are incessantly occupied
in watching the direction from whence the birds come; and I have
frequently seen them indicate by their manner, the approach of a flock
so distant that the human eye would have overlooked it. As the ducks
come on, the dog lies down, but still closely observing them, and the
moment the discharge occurs, jumps up to see the effect. If a duck
falls dead, they plunge to bring it; but many of them wait to see _how_
he falls, and whither he swims, and they seem to be as aware as the
gunner, of the improbability of capture, and will not make the attempt,
knowing from experience that a bird merely winged will generally save
himself by swimming and diving. These dogs usually bring one duck at
a time out of the water; but a real Newfoundland, who was with me and
my company this autumn, was seen on several occasions to swim twenty
yards further, and take a second in the mouth to carry on shore. The
indefatigability and ambition of these animals are remarkable, and a
gentleman informed me he had known his dog bring, in the space of one
hour, twenty Canvass-backs and three Swans from the water, when the
weather was so severe that the animal was covered with icicles, and
to prevent his freezing be took his great-coat to envelope him. Some
dogs will dive a considerable distance after a duck, but a crippled
Canvass-back or Black-head, will swim so far under the water, that
they can rarely be caught by the dog; and it often has been observed,
that the moment one of these ducks, if merely winged, reaches the
surface, he passes under, and however calm, cannot be seen again. To
give an idea of the extreme rapidity with which a duck can dive, I will
relate an occurrence which was noticed by myself, and a similar one was
observed by another of the party the same day. A male South-southerly
was shot at in the water by a percussion-gun, and after escaping the
shot by diving, commenced his flight. When about forty yards from the
boat, he had acquired an elevation of a foot or more from the surface.
A second percussion-gun was discharged, and he dived from the wing at
the flash, and though the spot of entrance was covered by the shot,
soon rose unharmed and flew.
“Canvass-backs, when wounded on the streams near the bay, instantly
direct their course for it, and there nestle among the grass on the
shores till cured, or destroyed by eagles, hawks, gulls, foxes, or
other vermin, that are constantly on the search. If a dead Canvass-back
be not soon secured, it becomes a prey to the gulls, which rarely touch
any other kind. I have seen severe contests take place between crippled
Canvass-backs and Gulls; and although a pounce or two generally
prevents further resistance, sometimes they are driven off. If the bird
is remarkably savoury, the gull makes such a noise, that others are
soon collected, when possession is determined by courage or strength.
“Another mode of taking Ducks consists in placing gilling-nets under
water on the feeding-grounds, and when they dive for food, their head
and wings become entangled in the meshes, and they are drowned. This
plan, though successful at first, soon drives the bird from these
places; and in some cases, a few applications have entirely prevented
their return for some weeks. Paddling upon them in the night or day
produces the same effect, and although practised to some extent on
Bush River is highly disapproved of by persons shooting from points.
For the last three years a man has been occupied on this stream with
a gun of great size, fixed on a swivel in a boat, and the destruction
of game on their feeding-flats has been immense; but so unpopular is
the plan, that many schemes have been privately proposed of destroying
his boat and gun, and he has been fired at with balls so often that his
expeditions are at present confined to the night. Sailing with a stiff
breeze upon the geese and swans, or throwing rifle-balls from the shore
into their beds, is sometimes successful.
“Moonlight shooting has not been a general practice, but as these birds
are in motion during light nights, they could readily be brought within
range by “honking” them when flying. This sound is very perfectly
imitated at Egg Harbour; and I have seen geese drawn at a right angle
from their course by this note. They can indeed be made to hover over
the spot, and if a captive bird was employed, the success would become
certain.
“Notwithstanding the apparent facilities that are offered of success,
the amusement of duck-shooting is probably one of the most exposing to
cold and wet, and those who undertake its enjoyment without a courage
“screwed to the sticking-point”, will soon discover that “to one good
a thousand ills oppose.” It is indeed no parlour sport, for after
creeping through mud and mire, often for hundreds of yards, to be at
last disappointed, and stand exposed on points to the “pelting rain
or more than freezing cold,” for hours, without even the promise of a
shot, would try the patience of even FRANKLIN’s “glorious nibbler.”
It is, however, replete with excitement and charm, and to one who
can enter on the pleasure, with a system formed for polar cold, and a
spirit to endure “the weary toil of many a stormy day,” it will yield
a harvest of health and delight, that the “roamer of the woods” can
rarely enjoy.”
Although this far-famed bird was named by its discoverer after the
plant _Valisneria Americana_, on which it partially feeds when on
fresh-water, its subsistence is by no means dependent upon that
species, which indeed is not extensively distributed, but is chiefly
derived from the grass-wrack or Eel-grass, _Zostera marina_, which is
very abundant on the shallows and flats along the whole sea-coast. Its
flesh seems to me not generally much superior to that of the Pochard or
Red-head, which often mingles in the same flocks; and both species are
very frequently promiscuously sold in the markets as Canvass-backs.
In the Plate are represented two Males and a Female. In the back ground
is a view of Baltimore, which I have had great pleasure in introducing,
on account of the hospitality which I have there experienced, and the
generosity of its inhabitants, who, on the occasion of a quantity of my
plates having been destroyed by the mob during an outburst of political
feeling, indemnified me for the loss.
FULIGULA VALISNERIA, _Bonap._ Synops. of Birds of the United
States, p. 392.
ANAS VALISNERIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith., vol. viii. p. 103.
pl. 70. fig. 5.
FULIGULA VALISNERIA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
iv. Part II. p. 450.
CANVASS-BACKED DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 430.
Adult Male. Plate CCCI. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base, the margins
parallel, slightly dilated towards the end, which is rounded, the
frontal angles rather narrow and pointed. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line at first straight and declinate, then slightly concave,
direct for a short space near the tip, where it is incurved, the ridge
broad and concave at the base, narrowed at the middle, enlarged and
convex at the end, the sides nearly erect and concave at the base,
becoming anteriorly more and more declinate and convex, the edges
curved upwards, with about 50 lamellæ, the unguis small and oblong.
Nostrils submedial, linear-oblong, rather large, pervious, near the
ridge, in an oblong depression covered with soft membrane. Lower
mandible flattened, being but slightly convex, with the angle very
long and rather narrow, the dorsal line very short and straight, the
erect edges with about 55 inferior and 105 superior lamellæ, the unguis
obovato-elliptical.
Head rather large, compressed, convex above. Eyes small. Neck of
moderate length, rather thick. Body full, depressed. Wings small.
Feet very short, strong, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short,
compressed, anteriorly with narrow scutella continuous with those of
the middle toe, and having another series commencing half-way down
and continuous with those of the outer toe, the rest reticulated with
angular scales. Hind toe small, with an inner expanded margin or web;
middle toe nearly double the length of the tarsus, outer a little
shorter. Claws small, compressed, that of the first toe very small and
curved, of the third toe larger and more expanded than the rest.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the upper part of the head
small and rather compact, of the rest of the head and neck small,
blended, and glossy. Wings shortish, narrow, pointed; primary quills
strong, tapering, the first longest, the second almost as long, the
rest rapidly diminishing; secondary quills broad and rounded, the inner
elongated and tapering. Tail very short, much rounded, or wedge-shaped,
of fourteen feathers.
Bill black, with a tinge of green. Iris bright carmine. Upper part
of the head, and a space along the base of the bill dusky; a small
transverse band of white on what is called the chin; the rest of the
head, and the neck all round, for more than half its length, of a rich
brownish-red. A broad belt of brownish-black occupies the lower part of
the neck, and the fore part of the body, of which the posterior part
is of the same colour, more extended on the back than under the tail.
Back and scapulars white or greyish-white, very minutely traversed
by undulating black lines; wing-coverts similar but darker. Alular
feathers greyish-brown. Primary quills brownish-black, tinged with grey
towards the base; the shaft brown. Secondaries ash-grey, whitish, and
undulated with dark grey towards the end; five of them also having a
narrow stripe of black along their outer margin. Tail brownish-grey,
towards the end ash-grey. The lower parts white, the sides and abdomen
marked with fine undulating grey lines, of which there are faint traces
on most of the other feathers. The feet are greyish-blue tinged with
yellow.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 20, to end of claws
25; extent of wings 33; wing, from flexure, 9-3/4; tail 2-10/12; bill
along the back, measured from the tip of the frontal process to the end
of the unguis, 3; lower mandible along the edge 2-7/12; tarsus 1-3/4;
first toe 6/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe 2-10/12, its claw 5/12; outer
toe scarcely shorter; inner, 7/12 shorter. Weight 3-3/4 lb.
Adult Female. Plate CCCI. Fig. 2.
The Female has the bill coloured as in the male; the iris
reddish-brown; the feet lead-grey; the upper parts greyish-brown; the
top of the head darker, its anterior part light reddish; the chin
whitish; the neck greyish-brown, as are the sides and abdomen; the
breast white; wing-coverts brownish-grey; primary quills greyish-brown,
dusky at the end; secondary quills ash-grey, five of the inner
with an external black margin, the innermost greyish-brown like the
back, and with some of the scapulars faintly undulated with darker.
Tail greyish-brown, paler at the end; axillars and smaller under
wing-coverts white, as in the male.
Length to end of tail, 20-1/4 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2, to end of
claws, 23-1/4; extent of wings, 30-3/4: wing from flexure, 9-1/4. Weigh
2-3/4 lb.
This species is very closely allied to the Pochard, or Red-headed
Duck, _Fuligula Ferina_, but is much larger, and differs in having the
bill proportionally higher at the base, and less dilated towards the
end. The colours are also generally similar, but present differences.
The upper parts of the Canvass-back are much whiter than those of
the Pochard; the head of the former is dusky above, of the latter
uniform with the neck; and the white spot on the chin is wanting in the
Pochard.
The Digestive and Respiratory Organs of a male shot near Baltimore
present the following characters.
The upper mandible is broadly and deeply concave. The tongue, which is
thick and fleshy, as in other ducks, is 2-2/12 inches long, its sides
parallel, slightly sloping, and furnished with two series of bristly
filaments; its base with numerous straight conical papillæ directed
backwards, its upper surface marked with a broad median groove, the
lower flat, its extremity formed by a thin semi-circular appendage,
a quarter of an inch in length. The œsophagus passes along the right
side of the neck, for six inches has a diameter of 5/12 then dilates
to 9/12, so as to form a slight crop, again contracts as it enters the
thorax, and in terminating forms the proventriculus, which is 1-3/4
inches in length, with oblong glandules, generally a twelfth of an
inch in length. The stomach is a very large and powerful gizzard, of
a broadly elliptical form, with extremely thick lateral muscles, the
left being 11/12 in thickness, the right 10/12, the tendons large and
strong. The transverse diameter of the gizzard is 2-11/12 inches, the
longitudinal, from the cardiac orifice to the bulge of the inferior
muscle, 2-1/12. Its cuticular lining is of very dense texture, and
rugous; the grinding plates opposite the lateral muscles about half a
twelfth thick, and slightly rugous. The intestine, which is 5 feet 9
inches in length, first forms in the usual manner the duodenal fold,
at the distance of 5 inches from the pylorus, encloses the pancreas,
receives the biliary ducts, and passing under the right lobe of the
liver, proceeds backward beneath the kidneys, is convoluted in several
large folds, and finally from above the stomach, passes in a direct
course to the anus. Its coats are thick, its inner surface villous, and
its diameter is considerable, being in the first part of the duodenum
9/12, then for two feet from 5/12 to 4/12, enlarged again to 6/12,
and so continuing to the rectum, which is 6 inches long, 1/2 inch
in diameter, and ends in an enlargement or cloaca, about an inch in
diameter. The cœca, which commence at the distance of 6 inches from
the anus, are 8 inches long, slender, 2/12 in diameter for 3 inches,
afterwards about 3/12, with the extremity obtuse. The œsophagus and
stomach contained young shoots of _Zostera marina_, and in the latter
were numerous particles of quartz.
The trachea, when moderately extended, measures 10 inches in length,
and is furnished with strong lateral or contractor muscles, a pair
of cleido-tracheal, and a pair of more slender sterno-tracheal. Its
diameter at the upper part is 4-1/2 twelfths, it gradually contracts
to 3-1/2 twelfths, enlarges to 4-1/2 twelfths, and at the distance
of 7-1/4 inches from the upper extremity, forms a dilatation about
an inch in length, and 7/12 in its greatest diameter, but composed
of distinct rings, then contracts to 5/12, and ends in a bony and
membranous expansion, forming on the left side an irregular thin disk,
convex towards the right, and flattened towards the left where it is
membranous. The expansions of the trachea are thus similar to those of
the Red-breasted Merganser, but of less extent; the rings are of equal
breadth on both sides, but alternately overlap each other, one side
being partially concealed by the corresponding sides of those above and
below it, while the other stands exposed. The lower larynx is formed
of ten united rings, together with the bony and membranous expansion
described. The tracheal rings, rather broad and osseous, are 118; the
half-rings of the bronchi about 16.
DUSKY DUCK.
_ANAS OBSCURA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCII. MALE AND FEMALE.
This species, which is known in all parts of the United States by the
name of “Black Duck,” extends its migrations from the Straits of Belle
Isle, on the coast of Labrador, to the province of Texas. Strange as
the fact may appear, it breeds in both these countries, as well as in
many of the intermediate districts. On the 10th of May 1833, I found it
breeding along the marshy edges of inland pools, near the Bay of Fundy,
and, on Whitehead Island in the same bay, saw several young birds of
the same species, which, although apparently not more than a week old,
were extremely active both on land and in the water. On the 30th of
April 1837, my son discovered a nest on Galveston Island, in Texas.
It was formed of grass and feathers, the eggs eight in number, lying
on the former, surrounded with the down and some feathers of the bird,
to the height of about three inches. The internal diameter of the nest
was about six inches, and its walls were nearly three in thickness.
The female was sitting, but flew off in silence as he approached. The
situation selected was a clump of tall slender grass, on a rather
sandy ridge, more than a hundred yards from the nearest water, but
surrounded by partially dried salt-marshes. On the same island, in the
course of several successive days, we saw many of these ducks, which,
by their actions, shewed that they also had nests. I may here state my
belief, that the Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Mallard,
American Widgeon, and Spoon-billed Duck, all breed in that country,
as I observed them there late in May, when they were evidently paired.
How far this fact may harmonize with the theories of writers respecting
the migration of birds in general, is more than I can at present stop
to consider. I have found the Black Duck breeding on lakes near the
Mississippi, as far up as its confluence with the Ohio, as well as in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and every one acquainted with its habits
will tell you, that it rears its young in all the Eastern States
intervening between that last mentioned and the St Lawrence, and is of
not less frequent occurrence along the margins of all our great lakes.
It is even found on the Columbia River, and on the streams of the Rocky
Mountains; but as Dr RICHARDSON has not mentioned his having observed
it in Hudson’s Bay or farther north, we may suppose that it does not
visit those countries.
On arriving in Labrador, on the 17th June 1833, we found the Dusky
Ducks in the act of incubation, but for nearly a month after, met
with no young birds, which induced me to suppose that this species
does not reach that country at so early a period as many others, but
lingers behind so as to be nearly four weeks later than some of them.
At the end of four weeks after our arrival, all the females we met
with had young broods, which they led about the fresh-water ponds, and
along their margins, either in search of food, or to secure them from
danger. None of these broods exceeded seven or eight in number, and,
at this early period of their life, we found them covered with long
soft down of a deep brown colour. When alarmed they would dive with
great celerity several times in succession, but soon became fatigued,
made for the shore, ran a few feet from the water, and squatted among
the grass, where they were easily caught either by some of our party,
or by the Gulls, which are constantly on the look-out for such dainty
food. At other times, as soon as the mother apprehends danger, she
calls her young around her, when the little things form themselves into
a line in her wake, and carefully follow her in all her movements. If
a Hawk or a Gull make a plunge towards them, she utters a loud cry of
alarm, and then runs as it were along the surface of the water, when
the young dive as quick as lightning, and do not rise again until
they find themselves among the weeds or the rocks along the shores.
When they thus dive, they separate and pursue different directions,
and on reaching the land lie close among the herbage until assured,
by the well-known voice of their parent, that the danger is over.
If they have often been disturbed in one pond, their anxious mother
leads them overland to another; but she never, I believe, conducts
them to the open sea, until they are able to fly. The young grow with
remarkable rapidity, for, by the middle of August, they almost equal
their parents in size; and their apprehension of danger keeps pace with
their growth, for at the period of their southward migration, which
takes place in the beginning of September, they are as wild and as
cunning as the oldest and most experienced of their species. Each brood
migrates separately; and the old males, which abandoned the females
when incubation commenced, set out in groups of eight or ten. Indeed,
it is not common to see birds of this species assemble in such flocks
as their relatives the Mallards, although they at times associate with
almost all the fresh-water Ducks.
The males, on leaving the females, join together in small bands, and
retire into the interior of the marshes, where they remain until their
moult is completed. My young friend COOLEDGE brought me a pair shot
on the 4th of July, in Labrador, in so ragged a state that very few
feathers remained even on the wings. On his approaching them, they
skimmed over the surface of the water with such rapidity, that when
shot at they seemed as if flying away. On examining these individuals
I found them to be sterile, and I am of opinion that those which are
prolific moult at a later period, nature thus giving more protracted
vigour to those which have charge of a young brood. I think, Reader,
you will be of the same opinion, when I have told you, that on the
5th of July I found some which had young, and which were still in full
plumage, and others, that were broodless, almost destitute of feathers.
As many of the nests found in Labrador differed from the one mentioned
above, I will give you an account of them. In several instances, we
found them imbedded in the deep moss, at the distance of a few feet
or yards from the water. They were composed of a great quantity of dry
grass and other vegetable substances; and the eggs were always placed
directly on this bed without the intervention of the down and feathers,
which, however, surrounded them, and which, as I observed, the bird
always uses to cover them when she is about to leave the nest for a
time. Should she be deprived of her eggs, she goes in search of a male,
and lays another set; but unless a robbery of this kind happens, she
raises only a single brood in the season. But although this is the case
in Labrador, I was assured that this species rears two broods yearly in
Texas, although, having been but a short time in that country, I cannot
vouch for the truth of this assertion. The eggs are two inches and a
quarter in length, one inch and five-eighths in breadth, shaped like
those of the domestic fowl, with a smooth surface, and of a uniform
yellowish-white colour, like that of ivory tarnished by long exposure.
The young, like those of the Mallard, acquire the full beauty of their
spring plumage before the season of reproduction commences, but exhibit
none of the curious changes which that species undergoes.
Although the Dusky Duck is often seen on salt-water bays or inlets,
it resembles the Mallard in its habits, being fond of swampy marshes,
rice-fields, and the shady margins of our rivers, during the whole
of its stay in such portions of the Southern States as it is known to
breed in. They are equally voracious, and may sometimes be seen with
their crops so protruded as to destroy the natural elegance of their
form. They devour, with the greatest eagerness, water-lizards, young
frogs and toads, tadpoles, all sorts of insects, acorns, beech nuts,
and every kind of grain that they can obtain. They also, at times,
seize on small quadrupeds, gobble up earth-worms and leeches, and
when in salt water, feed on shell-fish. When on the water, they often
procure their food by immersing their head and neck, and, like the
Mallard, sift the produce of muddy pools. Like that species also, they
will descend in a spiral manner from on high, to alight under an oak or
a beech, when they have discovered the mast to be abundant.
Shy and vigilant, they are with difficulty approached by the gunner,
unless under cover or on horseback, or in what sportsmen call floats,
or shallow boats made for the purpose of procuring water-fowl. They
are, however, easily caught in traps set on the margins of the waters
to which they resort, and baited with Indian corn, rice, or other
grain. They may also be enticed to wheel round, and even alight,
by imitating their notes, which, in both sexes, seem to me almost
precisely to resemble those of the Mallard. From that species, indeed,
they scarcely differ in external form, excepting in wanting the
curiously recurved feathers of the tail, which Nature, as if clearly to
distinguish the two species, had purposely omitted in them.
The flight of this Duck, which, in as far as I know, is peculiar to
America, is powerful, rapid, and as sustained as that of the Mallard.
While travelling by day they may be distinguished from that species by
the whiteness of their lower wing-coverts, which form a strong contrast
to the deep tints of the rest of their plumage, and which I have
attempted to represent in the figure of the female bird in my plate.
Their progress through the air, when at full speed, must, I think, be
at the rate of more than a mile in a minute, or about seventy miles
in an hour. When about to alight, they descend with double rapidity,
causing a strong rustling sound by the weight of their compact body and
the rapid movements of their pointed wings. When alarmed by a shot or
otherwise, they rise off their feet by a single powerful spring, fly
directly upwards for eight or ten yards, and then proceed in a straight
line. Now, if you are an expert hand, is the moment to touch your
trigger, and if you delay, be sure your shot will fall short.
As it is attached to particular feeding grounds, and returns to them
until greatly molested, you may, by secreting yourself within shooting
distance, anticipate a good result; for even although shot at, it will
reappear several times in succession in the course of a few hours,
unless it has been wounded. The gunners in the vicinity of Boston, in
Massachusetts, who kill great numbers of these birds, on account of the
high price obtained for them in the fine market of that beautiful and
hospitable city, procure them in the following manner:—They keep live
decoy-ducks of the Mallard kind, which they take with them in their
floats or boats. On arriving at a place which they know to be suitable,
they push or haul their boat into some small nook, and conceal it among
the grass or rushes. Then they place their decoys, one in front of
their ambush, the rest on either side, each having a line attached to
one of its feet, with a stone at the other end, by which it is kept as
if riding at anchor. One of the birds is retained in the boat, where
the gunner lies concealed, and in cold weather amply covered with thick
and heavy clothing. No sooner is all in order, than the decoy-ducks,
should some wild birds appear, sound their loud call-notes, anxious
as they feel to be delivered from their sad bondage. Should this fail
to produce the desired effect of drawing the wild ducks near, the
poor bird in the boat is pinched on the rump, when it immediately
calls aloud; those at anchor respond, and the joint clamour attracts
the travellers, who now check their onward speed, wheel several times
over the spot, and at last alight. The gunner seldom waits long for a
shot, and often kills fifteen or twenty of the Black Ducks at a single
discharge of his huge piece, which is not unfrequently charged with as
much as a quarter of a pound of powder and three quarters of a pound of
shot!
The Black Ducks generally appear in the sound of Long Island in
September or October, but in very cold weather proceed southward;
while those which breed in Texas, as I have been informed, remain
there all the year. At their first arrival they betake themselves to
the fresh-water ponds, and soon become fat, when they afford excellent
eating; but when the ponds are covered with ice, and they are forced
to betake themselves to estuaries or inlets of the sea, their flesh
becomes less juicy and assumes a fishy flavour. During continued frost
they collect into larger bodies than at any other time, a flock once
alighted seeming to attract others, until at last hundreds of them
meet, especially in the dawn and towards sunset. The larger the flock
however, the more difficult it is to approach it, for many sentinels
are seen on the look-out, while the rest are asleep or feeding along
the shores. Unlike the “Sea Ducks,” this species does not ride at
anchor, as it were, during its hours of repose.
My friend, the Reverend Dr JOHN BACHMAN, assures me that this bird,
which some years ago was rather scarce in South Carolina, is now
becoming quite abundant in that state, where, during autumn and winter,
it resorts to the rice fields. After feeding a few weeks on the seeds
it becomes fat, juicy, and tender. He adds that the farther inland,
the more plentifully does it occur, which may be owing to the many
steamers that ply on the rivers along the sea coast, where very few are
to be seen. They are however followed in their retreats, and shot in
great numbers, so that the markets of Charleston are now amply supplied
with them. He also informs me that he has known hybrid broods produced
by a male of this species and the common domestic duck; and that
he had three of these hybrid females, the eggs of all of which were
productive. The young birds were larger than either of their parents,
but although they laid eggs in the course of the following spring, not
one of these proved impregnated. He further states that he procured
three nests of the Dusky Duck in the State of New York.
The young of this species, in the early part of autumn, afford
delicious eating, and, in my estimation, are much superior in this
respect to the more celebrated Canvass-back Duck. That the species
should not before now have been brought into a state of perfect
domestication, only indicates our reluctance unnecessarily to augment
the comforts which have been so bountifully accorded by Nature to the
inhabitants of our happy country. In our eastern markets the price
of these birds is from a dollar to a dollar and fifty cents the pair.
They are dearer at New Orleans, but much cheaper in the States of Ohio
and Kentucky, where they are still more abundant. Their feathers are
elastic, and as valuable as those of any other species.
I have represented a pair of these birds procured in the full
perfection of their plumage.
ANAS OBSCURA, _Lath._ Synops. iii. p. 545.—_Ch. Bonaparte_,
Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 384.
DUSKY DUCK, ANAS OBSCURA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p.
141. pl. 72. fig. 5.
DUSKY DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 392.
Adult Male. Plate CCCII, Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, higher than broad at the base,
depressed and widened towards the end, rounded at the tip. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line sloping and a little concave, the ridge
at the base broad and flat, towards the end broadly convex, as are
the sides, the edges soft and thin, the marginal lamellæ about forty
on each side; the unguis obovate, curved, abrupt at the end. Nasal
groove elliptical, sub-basal, filled by the soft membrane of the bill;
nostrils sub-basal, placed near the ridge, longitudinal, elliptical,
pervious. Lower mandible slightly curved upwards, flattened, with the
angle very long, narrow, and rather pointed, the lamellæ about sixty.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck rather long and
slender; body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a little
behind the centre of the body; legs bare a little above the joint;
tarsus short, a little compressed, anteriorly with small scutella,
externally of which is a series continuous with those of the outer
toe, laterally and behind with reticulated angular scales. Hind toe
extremely small, with a very narrow membrane; third toe longest, fourth
a little shorter, but longer than the second; the scutella of the
second and third oblique, of the outer transverse; the three anterior
toes connected by reticulated membranes, the outer with a thick margin,
the inner with the margin extended into a slightly lobed web. Claws
small, arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the middle toe much
larger, with a dilated, thin edge.
Plumage dense, soft, and elastic; on the head and neck the feathers
linear-oblong, on the other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings
of moderate breadth and length, acute; primaries narrow and tapering,
the second longest, the first very little shorter; secondaries broad,
curved inwards, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, much
rounded, of eighteen acute feathers, none of which are reserved.
Bill yellowish-green, the unguis dusky. Iris dark brown. Feet
orange-red, the webs dusky. The upper part of the head is glossy
brownish-black, the feathers margined with light brown; the sides
of the head and a band over the eye are light greyish-brown, with
longitudinal dusky streaks; the middle of the neck is similar, but more
dusky. The general colour is blackish-brown, a little paler beneath,
all the feathers margined with pale reddish-brown. The wing-coverts are
greyish-dusky, with a faint tinge of green; the ends of the secondary
coverts velvet-black. Primaries and their coverts blackish-brown, with
the shafts brown; secondaries darker; the speculum is green, blue,
violet, or amethyst purple, according to the light in which it is
viewed, bounded by velvet-black, the feathers also tipped with a narrow
line of white. The whole under surface of the wing, and the axillaries,
white.
Length to end of tail 24-1/2 inches, to end of claws 26; extent of
wings 38-1/2; bill 2-4/12 along the back; wing from flexure 11-1/2;
tail 4-4/12; tarsus 1-(6-1/2)/12; middle toe 2-3/12, its claw 4/12;
first toe 5/12, its claw 2/12. Weight 3 lb.
Adult Female. Plate CCCII. Fig. 2.
The female, which is somewhat smaller, resembles the male in colour,
but is more brown, and has the speculum of the same tints, but without
the white terminal line.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 21-1/4, to end of
claws 22; wing from flexure 10-1/2; extent of wings 34-1/4; tarsus 2,
middle toe and claw 2-1/2; hind toe and claw 5/12.
In this species, the number of feathers in the tail is eighteen,
although it has been represented as sixteen. In form and proportions
the Dusky Duck is very closely allied to the Mallard. The following
account of the digestive and respiratory organs is obtained from the
examination of an adult male.
On the upper mandible are 43 lamellæ; on the lower, 85 in the upper,
and 56 in the lower series. The tongue is 1-1/12 inch long, with the
sides parallel and furnished with a double row of filaments, numerous
small conical papillæ at the base, a median groove on the upper
surface, and a thin rounded appendage, a twelfth and a half in length
at the tip. The aperture of the glottis is 7-(1/2)/12 long, with very
numerous minute papillæ behind. The œsophagus 12 inches long, of a
uniform diameter of 4/12, until near the lower part of the neck, where
it enlarges to 8/12, again contracts as it enters the thorax, ending
in the proventriculus, which is 1-1/4 long, with numerous oblong
glandules, about a twelfth in length. Gizzard obliquely elliptical,
2-1/4 inches across, 1-8/12 in length, its lateral muscles extremely
large, the left 10/12 in thickness, the right 9/12; their tendons large
and strong; the lower muscle moderately thick; the cuticular lining
firm and rugous, the grinding surfaces nearly smooth. The intestine,
which is 5 feet 7-1/2 inches long, is slender and nearly uniform
in diameter, measuring 4/12 across in the duodenal portion, 3/12 in
the rest of its extent; the rectum 3-1/2 inches long, dilated into
a globular cloaca 1 inch in length, and of nearly the same diameter.
The cæca are 6-1/4 long, (1-1/2)/12 in diameter for 2 inches of their
length, enlarged to 3/12 in the rest of their extent, and terminating
in an obtuse extremity.
The trachea, moderately extended, is 10 inches long. Its lateral or
contractor muscles are strong, and it is furnished with a pair of
cleido-tracheals, and a pair of sterno-tracheals. The number of rings
is 136, besides 12 united rings forming a large inferior larynx, which
has a transversely oblong bony expansion, forming on the left side a
bulging and rounded sac. There are 28 bronchial half rings on the right
side, 26 on the left.
BARTRAMIAN SANDPIPER.
_TOTANUS BARTRAMIUS_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The Bartramian Sandpiper is the most truly terrestrial of its tribe
with which I am acquainted. It is even more inclined, at all seasons,
to keep away from the water, than the Kildeer Plover, which may often
be seen wading in shallow pools, or searching along the sandy or muddy
margins of the shores of the sea, or of fresh-water lakes and streams.
Although not unfrequently met with in the vicinity of such places, it
never ventures to wade into them; and yet the form and length of its
legs and feet would naturally induce a person not acquainted with its
habits to consider it as a wading bird.
The dry upland plains of those sections of Louisiana called Opellousas
and Attacapas, are amply peopled with this species in early spring, as
well as in autumn. They arrive there from the vast prairies of Texas
and Mexico, where they spend the winter, in the beginning of March,
or about the period of the first appearance of the Martins, _Hirundo
purpurea_, and return about the first of August. They are equally
abundant on all the western prairies on either side of the Missouri,
where, however, they arrive about a month later than in Louisiana,
whence they disperse over the United States, reaching the middle
districts early in May, and the State of Maine by the middle of that
month, or about the same period at which they are seen in Indiana,
Kentucky, and Ohio. Some proceed as far north as the plains adjoining
the Saskatchewan River, where Dr RICHARDSON met with this species in
the month of May.
It has been supposed that the Bartramian Sandpiper never forms large
flocks, but this is not correct, for in the neighbourhood of New
Orleans, where it is called the “Papabote,” it usually arrives in great
bands in spring, and is met with on the open plains and large grassy
savannahs, where it generally remains about two weeks, though sometimes
individuals may be seen as late as the 15th of May. I have observed the
same circumstances on our western prairies, but have thought that they
were afterwards obliged to separate into small flocks, or even into
pairs, as soon as they are ready to seek proper places for breeding
in, for I have seldom found more than two pairs with nests or young
in the same field or piece of ground. On their first arrival, they
are generally thin, but on their return southward, in the beginning
of August, when they tarry in Louisiana until the first of October,
they are fat and juicy. I have observed, that in spring, when they
are poor, they are usually much less shy than in autumn, when they
are exceedingly wary and difficult of approach; but this general
observation is not without exceptions, and the difference, I think,
depends on the nature of the localities in which they happen to be
found at either period. When on newly ploughed fields, which they are
fond of frequenting, they see a person at a greater distance than when
they are searching for food among the slender grasses of the plains. I
have also thought that the size of the flocks may depend upon similar
contingencies, for this bird is by no means fond of the society of man.
Like the Spotted Sandpiper, _Totanus macularius_, they not unfrequently
alight on fences, trees, and out-houses; but whether in such situations
or on the ground, they seldom settle without raising both wings
upright to their full extent, and uttering their loud and prolonged,
but pleasing notes. They run with great activity, stop suddenly,
and vibrate their body once or twice. When earnestly followed by the
sportsman, they lower their heads in the manner of WILSON’s Plover, and
the species called the Piping, and run off rapidly, or squat, according
to the urgency of the occasion. At other times, they partially extend
their wings, run a few steps as if about to fly, and then cunningly
move off sideways, and conceal themselves among the grass, or behind
a clod. You are not unfrequently rendered aware of your being within
sight of them, by unexpectedly hearing their plaintive and mellow
notes, a circumstance, however, which I always concluded to be
indicative of the wariness of their disposition, for although you have
just heard those well-known cries, yet, on searching for the bird,
you nowhere see it, for the cunning creature has slipped away and hid
itself. When wounded in the wing, they run to a great distance, and are
rarely found.
Like all experienced travellers, they appear to accommodate themselves
to circumstances as regards their food, for in Louisiana, they feed
on cantharides and other coleopterous insects; in Massachusetts on
grasshoppers, on which my friend NUTTALL says, they soon grow very fat;
in the Carolinas on crickets and other insects, as well as the seeds of
the crab-grass, _Digitaria sanguinaria_; and in the barrens of Kentucky
they often pick the strawberries. Those which feed much on cantharides,
require to be very carefully cleaned, otherwise persons eating them
are liable to suffer severely. Several gentlemen of New Orleans have
assured me, that they have seen persons at dinner obliged to leave the
room at once, under such circumstances, which cannot well be described
here. When flavoured with the ripe strawberries, on which they have
fed, their flesh is truly delicious.
This species performs its migrations by night as well as by day.
Its flight is rather swift and well sustained. While travelling, it
generally flies so high as to be beyond reach of the gun: but if the
weather be cloudy, or if it blow hard, it flies lower, and may easily
be shot. It generally proceeds in straggling bands, and moves along
with continuous easy beats of the wings, but sails, as it were, when
about to alight, as well as during the love season.
As long ago as 1805 and 1806, I observed this species breeding in the
meadows and green-fields of my plantation of Millgrove, near the banks
of Perkioming Creek. Since then, I have known of its rearing broods
in different parts of Pennsylvania, in the State of New York, and in
various districts to the eastward as far as the confines of Maine; but
I did not find it in Newfoundland or Labrador; and I have reason to
believe that it does not breed to the south of Maryland.
My friend, the Rev. Dr BACHMAN, has informed me that the Bartramian
Sandpiper makes its appearance in South Carolina about the 15th of
July, the hottest period of the year, in considerable numbers, betakes
itself at once to the high grassy lands, and there remains about a
month. He considers it to be then on its return from the north, and
states that it is very fat and affords delicious food. His manner of
shooting them is, to ride in a chair or gig over the fields which
they frequent, or along the roads in their neighbourhood, by which
means they can be approached near enough to enable the sportsman to
shoot with almost a certainty of success, as the bird rises out of
the grass. If one attempts to get near them on foot, they rise at too
great a distance, then sweep in circles over the spot, and alight a
considerable way off. They are seldom met with there in flocks of more
than four or five individuals.
I have found the eggs of this bird laid on the bare earth, in a hollow
scooped out to the depth of about an inch and a half, near the roots of
a tuft of rank grass, in the middle of a meadow, and seen some nests of
the same species formed of loosely arranged grasses, and placed almost
beneath low bushes growing on poor elevated ridges, furnished with a
scanty vegetation. I have also heard my esteemed young friend, JOHN
TRUDEAU, state that he had discovered one on a high part of the bank of
the Delaware River. When disturbed while on its nest, but unobserved,
it runs thirty or forty yards, and then flies off as if severely
wounded. Should it have young, its attempts to decoy you away are quite
enough to induce you to desist from harassing it. The eggs measure an
inch and five and a half eighths, by an inch and a quarter in their
greatest breadth. In form they resemble those of _Totanus macularius_,
being broadly rounded at one end, and rather pointed at the other;
their surface smooth; their ground colour dull greyish-yellow, with
numerous spots of light purple and reddish-brown. They are placed in
the nest in the same manner as those of the Spotted Sandpiper, that
is, with the smaller ends together, which is also the case with those
of the Tell-tale Godwit, Wilson’s Plover, and the Kildeer Plover.
The young, which run about immediately after exclusion, grow rapidly,
and in about a month are able to use their wings, after which, they
and their parents gradually, and according to the temperature of the
season, move southward.
In Massachusetts, and to the eastward of that state, this species is
best known by the name of “Upland Plover,” and in some other districts
it is named the Field Plover. The drawing from which the plate was
engraved was taken from individuals shot near Bayou Sara, in the State
of Mississippi.
TOTANUS BARTRAMIUS, _Ch. Bonap._, Synopsis of Birds of the
United States, p. 262.
TRINGA BARTRAMIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 63. pl.
59. fig. 2.
BARTRAMIAN TATLER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 169.
TOTANUS BARTRAMIUS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
vol. ii. p. 391.
Adult Male. Plate CCCIII. Fig. 1.
Bill a little longer than the head, slender, straight, slightly
defected at the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the
ridge convex, the sides grooved beyond the middle, afterwards convex,
the edges inflected, the tips a little deflected, and tapering to an
obtuse point. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, linear, pervious, nearer the
edge than the dorsal line. Lower mandible, with the angle very narrow
and elongated, beyond it the outline slightly convex, the sides sloping
outwards and concave until the middle, afterwards flattened, the edges
sharp, the point very narrow.
Head rather small, convex above, compressed. Neck of moderate length,
slender. Body rather slender. Feet long and slender; tibia bare for
about half its length, scutellate before and behind; tarsus long,
slender, having before and behind numerous scutella, the narrow lateral
spaces with very small oblong scales. Toes slender, the first very
short, the second much shorter than the fourth, the third and fourth
connected at the base by a web; the scutella numerous; claws small,
compressed, slightly arched, rather blunt.
Plumage soft, on the neck and lower parts, blended; on the upper rather
distinct. Wings rather long, acute, narrow; primaries tapering, and
rounded, the first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest
rapidly graduated; secondaries obliquely rounded, the inner elongated
and tapering. Tail of moderate length, much rounded, of twelve rather
narrow feathers.
Bill yellowish-green, the tip dusky, the edges towards the base yellow.
Iris dark hazel. Legs and tarsi light yellowish-grey, toes rather
darker, claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head dark brown, with a
median pale yellowish-brown line, the margins of the feathers also of
that colour, which prevails along the sides of the head and the back
of the neck, which are streaked with dusky; the eye surrounded with
yellowish-white. Throat yellowish white, without spots; fore-part and
sides of the neck, with a portion of the breast and sides of the body,
cream-coloured, with dusky lines, which gradually become arrow-shaped
on the breast, forming a double transverse band; the feathers on
the sides barred; the rest of the lower parts yellowish-white, the
lower tail-coverts rich cream-coloured. Axillar feathers and lower
wing-coverts white, banded with brownish-black. On the upper parts the
feathers are dark brown, glossed with green, with rich cream-coloured
margins; the rump darker. On the margins of the scapulars, within the
pale edge, is a series of dusky spots, which towards the end become
continuous. Alula, primary coverts, and primary quills, blackish-brown,
the inner webs crossed by white bands, until about an inch from the
end, the shaft of the first quill white, those of the rest dusky.
Secondaries greyish-brown, their outer margins pale brown, with dusky
spots; the inner darker. The two middle feathers of the tail are dark
olive, tinged with grey, transversely barred with black, the last
bar arrow-shaped, the margins light cream-colour: the next feather on
each side lighter, and tinged with yellowish-red; the rest gradually
lighter, the outer white, all barred with black.
Length to end of tail 12-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-1/8, to end
of claws 13-1/2; extent of wings 22; wing from flexure 7; tail 3-3/4;
bare part of tibia 9/10; tarsus 1-(1-1/2)/12, first toe 4/12, its claw
1-(1/2)/12; middle-toe 1, its claw (2-1/4)/12; bill along the ridge
1-2/12; along the edge of lower mandible 1-3/12. Weight 6 oz.
Female. Plate CCCIII. Fig. 2.
The female is a little larger, and weighs 7 oz., but resembles the
male in colour. The individual of which the weight is here given was
very fat, but I have never met with any that weighed three-fourths of
a pound, as described by WILSON!
Length to end of tail 13 inches, to end of claws 14, extent of wings
22-3/4.
In an adult bird of this species, the tongue measures seven-twelfths of
an inch in length, and is sagittate at the base, with conical papillæ,
of which the outermost is much larger, then contracted, being deeper
than broad, and tapering to a very acute compressed point. Aperture
of the glottis 2/12 long, with numerous papillæ behind, the middle
two largest. The œsophagus is 5-1/4 inches long, of uniform diameter,
measuring about 3/12 across, and passing along the right side of the
neck, along with the trachea. Proventriculus oblong, 8/12 in diameter,
its glandules extremely numerous, oblong, half a twelfth in length.
The stomach is a strong gizzard of an oblong form; an inch and a
twelfth long, nine-twelfths in breadth, its lateral muscles of moderate
thickness, the right (2-1/2)/12, the left (5-1/2)/12, the central
tendons oblong, 5/12 in diameter. The cuticular lining is tough, of
moderate thickness, longitudinally rugous, the grinding plates scarcely
thicker than the rest. The intestine is 18 inches long, its diameter
generally (3-1/2)/12. The rectum 2-1/4 inches long; the cæca 2-2/12,
very slender, their greatest diameter being only (1-1/2)/12; the cloaca
globular, about 1/2 inch in diameter. The stomach was filled with
remains of grasshoppers, of a deep red colour, with which the inner
coat was tinged, together with the head of a Libellula. No gravel or
other hard substances.
The trachea moderately extended is 3-10/12 inches long, its transverse
diameter (2-1/2)/12, diminishing to (1-1/2)/12. The rings are
unossified and extremely thin, 105 in number; the contractor or lateral
muscles feeble; the inferior larynx simple, with a single pair of
tracheali-bronchiales, and the usual sterno-tracheales; the bronchi of
about 15 half-rings.
This individual presented a very remarkable accumulation of fat over
the abdominal and pectoral muscles, and especially about the furcula.
TURNSTONE.
_STREPSILAS INTERPRES_, ILLIGER.
PLATE CCCIV. ADULT IN SUMMER AND WINTER.
This bird, which, in its full vernal dress, is one of the most
beautiful of its family, is found along the southern coasts of the
United States during winter, from North Carolina to the mouth of the
Sabine River, in considerable numbers, although perhaps as many travel
at that season into Texas and Mexico, where I observed it on its
journey eastward, from the beginning of April to the end of May 1837.
I procured many specimens in the course of my rambles along the shores
of the Florida Keys, and in the neighbourhood of St Augustine, and have
met with it in May and June, as well as in September and October, in
almost every part of our maritime shores, from Maine to Maryland. On
the coast of Labrador I looked for it in vain, although Dr RICHARDSON
mentions their arrival at their breeding quarters on the shores of
Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic Sea up to the seventy-fifth parallel.
In spring the Turnstone is rarely met with in flocks exceeding five
or six individuals, but often associates with other species, such
as the Knot, the Red-backed Sandpiper, and the _Tringa subarquata_.
Towards the end of autumn, however, they collect into large flocks,
and so continue during the winter. I have never seen it on the margins
of rivers or lakes, but always on the shores of the sea, although it
prefers those of the extensive inlets so numerous on our coasts. At
times it rambles to considerable distances from the beach, for I have
found it on rocky islands thirty miles from the mainland; and on two
occasions, whilst crossing the Atlantic, I saw several flocks near
the Great Banks flying swiftly, and rather close to the water around
the ships, after which they shot off toward the south-west, and in a
few minutes were out of sight. It seems to be a hardy bird, for some
of them remain in our Eastern Districts until severe frost prevails.
Having seen some, in the beginning of June, and in superb plumage, on
the high grounds of the Island of Grand Mannan, in the Bay of Fundy,
I supposed that they bred there, although none of my party succeeded
in discovering their nests. Indeed the young, as I have been informed,
are obtained there, and along the coast of Maine, in the latter part of
July.
I have found this bird much more shy when in company with other species
than when in flocks by itself, when it appears to suspect no danger
from man. Many instances of this seeming inattention have occurred to
me, among others the following:—When I was on the island of Galveston
in Texas, my friend EDWARD HARRIS, my son, and some others of our
party, had shot four deer, which the sailors had brought to our little
camp near the shore. Feeling myself rather fatigued, I did not return
to the bushes with the rest, who went in search of more venison for
our numerous crew, but proposed, with the assistance of one of the
sailors, to skin the deer. After each animal was stripped of its hide,
and deprived of its head and feet, which were thrown away, the sailor
and I took it to the water and washed it. To my surprise, I observed
four Turnstones directly in our way to the water. They merely ran to
a little distance out of our course, and on our returning, came back
immediately to the same place; this they did four different times,
and, after we were done, they remained busily engaged in searching for
food. None of them was more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and
I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the
oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by
the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent
its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and with a
sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up
the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked deliberately to
the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances,
when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to
be removed in the ordinary way, they would use not only the bill and
head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength,
and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over
a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on the shore,
they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side, with
a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold. In this manner, I saw these
four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space
of from thirty to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our
hunters might not kill them on their return.
On another occasion, when in company with Mr HARRIS, and on the same
island I witnessed the same pleasing proceeding, several Turnstones
being engaged in searching for food in precisely the same manner. At
other times, and especially when in the neighbourhood of St Augustine,
in East Florida, I used to amuse myself with watching these birds on
the racoon-oyster banks, using my glass for the purpose. I observed
that they would search for such oysters as had been killed by the
heat of the sun, and pick out their flesh precisely in the manner of
our Common Oyster-catcher, _Hæmatopus palliatus_, while they would
strike at such small bivalves as had thin shells, and break them, as I
afterwards ascertained, by walking to the spot. While on the Florida
coast, near Cape Sable, I shot one in the month of May, that had its
stomach filled with those beautiful shells, which, on account of their
resemblance to grains of rice, are commonly named rice-shells.
I have always looked upon the Turnstone, while at its avocations, as
a species very nearly allied to the Oyster-catcher; and, although
it certainly differs in some particulars, were I to place it in a
position determined by its affinities, I should remove it at once
from the Tringa family. Its mode of searching for food around pebbles
and other objects, the comparative strength of its legs, its retiring
disposition, and its loud whistling notes while on wing, will, I think,
prove at some period that what I have ventured to advance may be in
accordance with the only true system, by which I mean Nature’s own
system, could one be so fortunate as to understand it.
While this species remains in the United States, although its residence
is protracted to many months, very few individuals are met with in as
complete plumage as the one represented in my plate with the wings
fully extended; for out of a vast number of specimens procured from
the beginning of March to the end of May, or from August to May, I
have scarcely found two to correspond precisely in their markings. For
this reason, no doubt exists in my mind that this species, as well as
the Knot and several others, loses its rich summer plumage soon after
the breeding season, when the oldest become scarcely distinguishable
from the young. In the spring months, however, I have observed that
they gradually improve in beauty, and acquire full-coloured feathers
in patches on the upper and lower surfaces of the body, in the same
manner as the Knot, the Red-breasted Snipe, the Godwits, and several
other species. According to Mr HEWITSON, the eggs are four in number,
rather suddenly pointed towards the smaller end, generally an inch and
four and a half eighths in length, an inch and one and a half eighths
in their greatest breadth, their ground colour pale yellowish-green,
marked with irregular patches and streaks of brownish-red, and a few
lines of black.
My drawing of the Turnstones represented in the plate was made at
Philadelphia, in the end of May 1824; and the beautiful specimen
exhibited in the act of flying, I procured near Camden, while in the
agreeable company of my talented friend LE SUEUR, who, alas! is now no
more.
I have not observed any remarkable difference in the plumage of the
sexes at any season of the year. The males I have generally found to be
somewhat larger than the females, which, as is well known, is not the
case in the Tringa family.
My worthy friend, Dr BACHMAN, once had a bird of this species alive.
It had recovered from a slight wound in the wing, when he presented it
to a lady, a friend of his and mine, who, fed it on boiled rice, and
bread soaked in milk, of both of which it was very fond. It continued
in a state of captivity upwards of a year, but was at last killed by
accident. It had become perfectly gentle, would eat from the hand of
its kind mistress, frequently bathed in a basin placed near it for the
purpose, and never attempted to escape, although left quite at liberty
to do so.
TRINGA INTERPRES, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol i. p. 248.—_Lath._
Ind. Orn. vol. ii. p. 738.
TRINGA MORINELLA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 249.
TURNSTONE, TRINGA INTERPRES, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii.
p. 32. pl. 57. fig 1.
STREPSILAS COLLARIS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith, part ii. p. 553.
STREPSILAS INTERPRES, _Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis of Birds of the
United States, 299.
TURNSTONE or SEA-DOTTEREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 30.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCIV. Fig. 1.
Bill a little shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed,
tapering, straightish, being recurvate in a slight degree. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line very slightly concave, the nasal groove
extending to the middle, the sides beyond it sloping, the tip depressed
and blunted. Nostrils sub-basal linear-oblong, pervious. Lower mandible
with the angle short, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex,
the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip depressed and blunted.
Head small, ovate; eyes of moderate size. Neck of ordinary length.
Body rather full. Feet of moderate length, stout; tibia bare at the
lower part, and covered with reticulated scales; tarsus roundish, with
numerous broad anterior scutella; toes four, the first very small,
and placed higher than the rest; the anterior toes free to the base,
distinctly margined on both edges, the inner toe a little shorter than
the outer, the third or middle toe considerably longer; claws rather
small, arcuate, compressed, blunted.
Plumage full, soft, rather dense, and glossy; feathers on the hind
neck blended, and rather narrow, on the other parts ovate. Wings long,
pointed, of moderate breadth: primaries with strong shafts, rather
broad, narrowed towards the end, the first longest, the rest rapidly
decreasing; outer secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded; inner
elongated, one of them extending to half an inch of the tip of the
longest primary, when the wing is closed. Tail rather short, slightly
rounded, of twelve moderately broad, rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris hazel. Feet deep orange red, claws black. Plumage
variegated with white, black, brown, and red. Upper parts of the
head and nape streaked with black and reddish-white; a broad band of
white crosses the forehead, passes over the eyes, and down the sides
of the neck, the hind-part of which is reddish-white faintly mottled
with dusky; a frontal band of black curves downwards before the eye,
enclosing a white patch on the lore, and meeting another black band
glossed with blue, which proceeds down the neck, from the base of
the lower mandible, enlarging behind the ear, covering the whole
anterior part of the neck, and passing along the shoulder over the
scapulars; the throat, hind part of the back, the outer scapulars,
upper tail-coverts, and the under parts of the body and wings, white.
Anterior smaller wing-coverts dusky, the rest bright chestnut or
brownish-orange, as are the outer webs of the inner tertiaries; alula,
primary coverts, outer secondary coverts and quills blackish-brown,
their inner webs becoming white towards the base; a broad band of white
extends across the wing, including the bases of the primary quills,
excepting the outer four, and the ends of the secondary coverts; the
shafts of the primaries white. Tail white, with a broad blackish-brown
bar towards the end, broader in the middle, the tips white. A dusky
band crosses the rump.
Length to end of tail 9 inches, to end of wings 8-3/8, to end of claws
10; extent of wings 18-3/8; along the ridge 9-(1/2)/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 11/12; wing from flexure 6-1/12; tail 2-4/12; tarsus
11/12; hind toe (2-1/2)/12, its claw 2/12; middle toe 10/12, its claw
(3-1/2)/12. Average weight of three specimens 3-2/3 oz.
Male in winter. Plate CCCIV. Fig. 2.
In winter, the throat, lower parts, middle of the back, upper
tail-coverts, and band across the wing, are white, as in summer;
the tail, and quills, are also similarly coloured, but the inner
secondaries are destitute of red, of which there are no traces on the
upper parts, they being of a dark greyish-brown colour, the feathers
tipped or margined with paler; the outer edges of the outer scapulars,
and some of the smaller wing-coverts, white; on the sides and fore part
of the neck the feathers blackish, with white shafts.
Individuals vary much according to age and sex, as well in size as in
colour, scarcely two in summer plumage being found exactly similar.
In a male bird, the tongue is (6-1/2)/12 of an inch in length,
sagittate and papillate at the base, concave above, narrow, and
tapering to the point. The œsophagus is 4-1/4 inches long, inclines
to the right, is rather narrow, and uniform, its diameter (4-1/2)/12.
Proventriculus oblong, 8/12 in length, 5/12 in breadth, its glandules
cylindrical. Stomach oblong, 11/12 in length, its cuticular lining
very tough and hard, with broad longitudinal rugæ, its lateral muscles
moderately large. Intestine 17-1/2 inches long, slender, varying in
diameter from (2-1/2)/12 to (1-1/2)/12; rectum 1-1/2; cæca 1-8/12,
11/12 in diameter at the commencement, 2/12 toward the end; cloaca
globular.
The trachea is 3-1/4 inches long, 2-(1/2)/12 in breadth, contracts to
1/12; its lateral muscles very thin; sterno-tracheal slender, a pair
of tracheali-bronchial muscles. The rings are very thin and unossified,
104 in number. Bronchi of moderate length, with about 15 half rings.
In a female, the œsophagus is 4-1/4 inches long, the intestine 18. In
both individuals, the stomach contained fragments of shells, and claws
of very small crabs: which were also found in the intestine, although
there more comminuted.
PURPLE GALLINULE.
_GALLINULA MARTINICA_, LATH.
PLATE CCCV. MALE.
Reader, although you may think it strange, I candidly assure you that
I have experienced a thousand times more pleasure while looking at the
Purple Gallinule flirting its tail while gaily moving over the broad
leaves of the water-lily, than I have ever done while silently sitting
in the corner of a crowded apartment, gazing on the flutterings of
gaudy fans and the wavings of flowing plumes. Would that I were once
more extended on some green grassy couch, in my native Louisiana,
or that I lay concealed under some beautiful tree, overhanging the
dark bayou, on whose waters the bird of beauty is wont to display its
graceful movements, and the rich hues of its glossy plumage! Methinks
I now see the charming creature gliding sylph-like over the leaves
that cover the lake, with the aid of her lengthened toes, so admirably
adapted for the purpose, and seeking the mate, who, devotedly attached
as he is, has absented himself, perhaps in search of some secluded
spot in which to place their nest. Now he comes, gracefully dividing
the waters of the tranquil pool, his frontal crest glowing with the
brightest azure. Look at his wings, how elegantly they are spread and
obliquely raised; see how his expanded tail strikes the water; and
mark the movements of his head, which is alternately thrown backward
and forward, as if he were congratulating his mate on their happy
meeting. Now both birds walk along clinging to the stems and blades,
their voices clearly disclosing their mutual feelings of delight, and
they retire to some concealed place on the nearest shore, where we lose
sight of them for a time.
Now, side by side, they look for the most secure spot among the
tall rushes that border the lake, and there they will soon form a
nest, removed alike from danger to be dreaded from the inhabitants
of the land as of the water. On the thick mass of withered leaves
are deposited the precious eggs, from which in time emerge the dusky
younglings, that presently betake themselves to the water, over which
they wander, guided by their affectionate parent, until it becomes
expedient for the party to disperse.
The Purple Gallinule is a constant resident in the United States,
although peculiar to their southern districts, where I have met with
it at all seasons. It is in the Floridas, the lower parts of Alabama,
and among the broad marshes bordering the Gulf of Mexico, in Lower
Louisiana, that I have observed its habits. Beyond the Carolinas
eastward, it is only met with as an accidental straggler. It never,
I believe, ascends the Mississippi beyond Memphis, where indeed it is
but rarely seen; but between Natchez and the mouths of the great river,
it is abundant on all the retired bayous and small lakes. The southern
portions of Georgia are also furnished with it; but in South Carolina
it is rare. Proceeding southwestward along the Gulf of Mexico, I have
found it as far as Texas, where it breeds, as well as in Louisiana,
where I observed it coming from the south in May 1837.
Having studied the habits of this bird under every advantage in
Louisiana, and especially in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, and
the mouths of the Mississippi, I will now, good Reader, place before
you the results of my observation. In the summer months, the Purple
Gallinules remove with their broods to the prairies or large savannahs
bordering the bayous or lakes on which they have bred, and remain in
those places, which are generally covered with thick and tall grass,
until the beginning of September, when the vegetation having been
dried up by the intense heat and drought, neither food nor sufficient
concealment can be obtained. The young birds usually abandon these
plains first, and while the colour of their plumage is still green,
instead of purplish-blue, which tint, however, is assumed before the
return of spring. During all this while, its notes are as frequently
heard as during the breeding season. They resemble the delicate
whistling sounds of the Blue-winged Teal during its residence with us.
At this season also its flesh is best, although it never equals that
of the Freshwater Marsh-hen, _Rallus elegans_, or of the Sora Rail,
_Rallus carolinus_.
On the approach of winter, all the Purple Gallinules leave the
savannahs, and betake themselves to the immediate vicinity of ponds,
bayous, or rivers, where through experience they become shy, vigilant,
and cunning. They seldom remove from one place to another, or travel at
all, unless by night, although in sequestered parts they feed both on
land and on the water by day.
The Purple Gallinule breeds at a remarkably early period of the year.
I have found young birds in their jetty down clothing in February,
and they have been observed in the same month by the keepers of the
lighthouse at the south-west Pass of the Mississippi, at Key West,
and in other places. The parent birds are sometimes so very intent
on saving their young, as to suffer themselves to be caught. At this
period their calls are almost incessantly heard during the whole night,
and are elicited during the day by any musical or remarkable noise.
The nest is generally placed among a kind of rushes that are green at
all seasons, round, very pithy, rarely more than five feet high, and
grow more along the margins of ponds than in the water itself. The
birds gather many of them, and fasten them at the height of two or
three feet, and there the nest is placed. It is composed of the most
delicate rushes, whether green or withered, and is quite as substantial
as that of the Common Gallinule, flattish, having an internal diameter
of eight or ten inches, while the entire breadth is about fifteen. The
eggs, which are from five to seven, rarely more, are very similar to
those of the Common Gallinule, being of a light greyish-yellow, spotted
with blackish-brown. The young are at first quite black, and covered
with down. They are fully fledged by the first of June, when, as I
have said, they and their parents remove to the wet savannahs in the
neighbourhood.
The jerking motions of the tail of this bird, whenever it is disturbed,
or attracted by any remarkable object, are very quick, and so often
repeated as to have a curious appearance. It runs with great speed, and
dives with equal address, often moving off under water with nothing
but the bill above. The lightness and ease with which it walks on
the floating plants are surprising, for in proceeding they scarcely
produce any perceptible disturbance of the water. When swimming in full
security, they move buoyantly and gracefully, throwing the head forward
at every propelling motion of the feet. The flight of this species is
less swift than that of the Common Gallinule, or of the Rails, unless
when it is travelling far, when it flies high, and advances in a
direct course by continued flappings; but when it is in its breeding or
feeding grounds, its flight is slow and short, seldom exceeding thirty
or forty yards, and with the legs hanging down; and it alights among
the herbage with its wings spread upwards in the manner of the Rails.
It often alights on the low branches of trees and bushes growing over
the water, and walks lightly and gracefully over them.
It is seldom that more than one Purple Gallinule is shot at a time,
unless in the beginning of the love season, when the male and female
are apt to swim or walk close together. The male at this period is said
to be able to inflate the frontal plate while strutting, but I have
never been fortunate enough to observe this.
The Purple Gallinule not unfrequently alights on ships at sea. While
at the Island of Galveston, on the 26th of April, I was offered several
live individuals by the officers of the Boston frigate, which they had
caught on board. My friend JOHN BACHMAN once received three specimens
that had been caught three hundred miles from land, one of them having
come through the cabin window. He also obtained from the Hon. Mr
POINSET a fine specimen caught on board, on the Santee River, in South
Carolina, in May. It is easily kept alive if fed with bread soaked
in milk; and on this food I have known several that remained in good
health for years. In Louisiana, where it is called _Rale Bleu_, its
flesh is not held in much estimation, but is used by the negroes for
making gombo.
My friend BACHMAN considers this species as rather scarce in South
Carolina and Georgia, but states that it breeds there, as he has
occasionally observed pairs on the head waters or preserves of rice
plantations during summer, but never met with any in winter. The
extreme limit of its range eastward is the neighbourhood of Boston,
where a few individuals have been procured.
I think I may safely tell you that the figure of the Purple Gallinule
exhibited in the plate, is the first ever published from a drawing
taken from Nature!
FULICA MARTINICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 259.
GALLINULA MARTINICA, _Lath._ Ind Ornith. p. 769.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. p. 336.
GALLINULA PORPHYRIO, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix. p. 67.
pl. 73. fig. 2.
PURPLE GALLINULE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 221.
Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCCV.
Bill as long as the head, nearly straight, stout, deep, compressed,
tapering. Upper mandible with a soft ovate plate at the base
extending over a great part of the head, the dorsal line beyond
this plate straightish and slightly declinate as far as the middle,
then arcuato-declinate, the ridge gradually narrowed until over the
nostrils, afterwards considerably widened, the sides nearly erect,
the edges sharp, the notch obsolete. Nasal groove extending nearly to
the middle of the bill, broad; nostrils sub-medial, lateral, oblong,
direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle rather long and narrow,
the sides nearly erect and slightly concave, the dorsal line beyond
the angle ascending, straight, the edges sharp and direct, the tip
narrowed, rather sharp.
Head small, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Body much
compressed. Feet large, long; tibia bare a considerable way above the
joint, and reticulated; tarsus long, stout, compressed, anteriorly
covered with very broad scutella, laterally and posteriorly with two
series of broad scutella, between which on the posterior edge is a
series of very minute scales; hind toe comparatively small, middle toe
longest, and much longer than the tarsus, fourth longer than second;
toes free, slender, compressed, with numerous broad scutella above,
obliquely flattened beneath, marginate; claws very long, slender,
slightly arched, much compressed, tapering to a very acute point.
Plumage blended, firm, glossy, the feathers ovato-oblong, broad at the
end. Wings rather long, broad, rather concave; ovula large: primaries
incurvate, broad, third longest, second a twelfth of an inch shorter,
fourth two-twelfths shorter than second, which exceeds the first by
eleven-twelfths; secondaries broad and grounded. Tail short, much
rounded, of twelve rather weak, rounded feathers, which but slightly
exceed the lower coverts.
Frontal plate ultramarine blue; bill bright carmine, tipped with
bright yellow. Iris bright carmine; margins of eyelids white. Tarsi,
toes, and claws bright yellow. Head, fore part of neck, and breast
rich purplish-blue; abdomen and feathers of legs dusky; sides green;
lower wing-coverts light green; sides of the neck light purplish-blue,
shaded into verdigris and brownish-green above; the fore part of the
back verdigris-green, shaded with olivaceous; the hind part and upper
tail-coverts olivaceous; the coverts and outer webs of the quills
greenish-blue, the inner webs clove-brown; tail-feathers olivaceous.
Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 13-1/2, to end
of claws 18; extent of wings 21-1/2; bill along the ridge, including
frontal plate 2; edge of lower mandible 1-1/4; tarsus 2-1/4; hind toe
1, its claw 10/12; middle toe 2-4/12, its claw 9/12.
Weight of one individual 7-1/2 oz., of another 8-1/2, both males; of a
fourth 7 oz.; of a fifth 5-1/2; and of a sixth only 4-1/2.
The female is somewhat smaller, but similar to the male, the frontal
plate is less extended, and the tints of the plumage a little less
vivid.
The young are at first covered with black down. When fledged they
are olivaceous on the upper parts, dull purple beneath; the bill
dull green. After the first moult, the bill is light carmine,
greenish-yellow at the end, the head dark purple; the plumage
coloured as above described, but less brilliant, the tarsi and toes
greenish-yellow.
In a male bird, the tongue is 10 twelfths of an inch long, sagittate at
the base, with conical papillæ, of which the outer are larger, slightly
concave above, horny towards the end, which is thin, rather obtuse,
and lacerated. On the middle line of the roof of the mouth anteriorly
is a row of large blunt papillæ, behind which are two rows; aperture
of posterior nares linear. Œsophagus 7 inches long, of moderate width,
its greatest diameter, at the lower part of the neck, where it is a
little dilated, 8 twelfths. Proventriculus 1-2/12 long; its glandules
1-(1/4)/12 long. Stomach a large and powerful gizzard, broadly
elliptical, 1-1/2 inch long, 1-5/12 broad, its lateral muscles large,
the tendons covering nearly their whole surface, the left muscles 1/4
inch think, the right 5/12, the cuticular lining moderately rugous.
Intestine 21 inches long, from 5/12 to 3/12 in diameter. Rectum 2-3/4
inches; cæca 2, their diameter 3/12 towards the end.
Trachea, moderately extended, 5-1/2 inches long, its greatest breadth
3-(1/4)/12, its least 1-(1/2)/12. Its rings 130, very slender,
unossified, collapsed, and owing to their narrowness in the middle
line before and behind, seeming as if broken there; bronchi with
15 half-rings. The contractor muscles moderate, the sterno-tracheal
slender; a pair of muscles on the lower larynx, from the lower rings of
the trachea to the membrane over the first bronchial ring.
In the mouth was a small frog, in the pharynx two, in the œsophagus
two more, a large piece of root, numerous fragments of insects, and
a leach, the frogs 2-1/2 inches long. In the gizzard were seeds, and
fragments of white fleshy roots.
GREAT NORTHERN DIVER OR LOON.
_COLYMBUS GLACIALIS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCVI. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG MALE.
The Loon, as this interesting species of Diver is generally called in
the United States, is a strong, active, and vigilant bird. When it has
acquired its perfect plumage, which is not altered in colour at any
successive moult, it is really a beautiful creature; and the student
of Nature who has opportunities of observing its habits, cannot fail
to derive much pleasure from watching it as it pursues its avocations.
View it as it buoyantly swims over the heaving billows of the Atlantic,
or as it glides along deeply immersed, when apprehensive of danger,
on the placid lake, on the grassy islet of which its nest is placed;
calculate, if you can, the speed of its flight, as it shoots across
the sky; mark the many plunges it performs in quest of its finny
food, or in eluding its enemies; list to the loud and plaintive notes
which it issues, either to announce its safety to its mate, or to
invite some traveller of its race to alight, and find repose and food;
follow the anxious and careful mother-bird, as she leads about her
precious charge; and you will not count your labour lost, for you will
have watched the ways of one of the wondrous creations of unlimited
Power and unerring Wisdom. You will find pleasure too in admiring the
glossy tints of its head and neck, and the singular regularity of the
unnumbered spots by which its dusky back and wings are checkered.
I have met with the Great Diver, in winter, on all the water-courses of
the United States, whence, however, it departs when the cold becomes
extreme, and the surface is converted into an impenetrable sheet of
ice. I have seen it also along the whole of our Atlantic coast, from
Maine to the extremity of Florida, and from thence to the mouths of the
Mississippi, and the shores of Texas, about Galveston Island, where
some individuals in the plumage characteristic of the second moult,
were observed in the course of my late expedition, in the month of
April 1837. Indeed, as is the case with most other species of migrating
birds, the young remove farther south that the old individuals, which
are better able to withstand the cold and tempests of the wintry
season.
The migratory movements of this bird seem to be differently managed
in the spring and autumn. In the latter case, a great number of young
Loons are seen to alight on the head waters of our great streams,
on which, without much exertion, being aided by the current, they
float along, diving at intervals in pursuit of the numerous fishes,
as they proceed toward milder climes. The few old birds which, at a
later date, appear on the same water-courses, frequently take to wing,
and shorten their way by flying at a considerable elevation directly
across the great bends or peninsulas. These modes of travelling are
also adopted by those which advance along the Atlantic coasts, where,
indeed, the birds have the double advantage of meeting with food and
obtaining repose, on the rivers and on the sea. I think, however, that
this maritime course is followed only by such of the Loons as have
bred in the more immediate vicinity of the coast. But whether you are
in the interior, or on the coast, it is seldom that you see at a time
more than one Loon travelling at this season; whereas, in spring, they
proceed in pairs, the male taking the lead, as is easily ascertained by
observing that the bird in the rear is the smallest.
Although, its wings are rather small, its flight is strong and rapid,
so that it is enabled to traverse a large extent of country on wing.
When travelling, or even when only raised from its nest, it moves
through the air with all the swiftness of the other species of its
tribe, generally passing directly from one point to another, however
distant it may be. Its long transits are at times performed at so
great an elevation, that its form can scarcely be distinguished, and
yet, even then, in calm weather, the noise of its wings striking the
air comes distinctly on your ear. I have seen them thus, on their way
towards Labrador, passing over the head waters of the Bay of Fundy,
to cross the Gulf of St Lawrence. Whenever it chances to alight on
the water, in the course of its long journeys, it almost immediately
dives, as if to taste the water, and judge whether it contains food
suited to its appetite. On emerging, and after having somewhat raised
the fore part of its body, shaken its wings, and by a strong shiver
rearranged its plumage, it emits its loud echoing call-note, to induce,
perchance, some traveller of its tribe to alight for awhile, that they
may communicate to each other their experience of the past, or their
hopes of the future. There is an absurd notion, entertained by persons
unacquainted with the nature of this bird, that its plaintive cries
are a sure indication of violent storms. Sailors, in particular, are
ever apt to consider these call-notes as portentous. In the course of
a voyage from Charleston to the Florida Keys, in May 1832, I several
times saw and heard Loons travelling eastward; but, notwithstanding all
the dire forebodings of the crew, who believed that a hurricane was
at hand, our passage was exceedingly pleasant. Although I have heard
the notes of the Loon in rainy and blowy weather, yet I never heard
them so frequent or so loud, both by day and by night, as on the Ohio,
during that delightful and peculiarly American autumnal season called
the Indian Summer; when, although not so much as a cloud was seen for
weeks, I have frequently observed the passing birds checking their
flight, or heard the murmuring plash which they produced on alighting
upon the placid water, to rest and refresh themselves.
Another strange notion, not deserving of credit, although you will find
it gravely announced in books, is that, when the Loon is breeding,
it will dart down suddenly from the air, and alight securely in its
nest. I have never witnessed such a procedure, although I have closely
watched, from under cover, at least, twenty pairs. On such occasions I
have seen the incubating bird pass over the dear spot several times in
succession, gradually rounding and descending so as at last to alight
obliquely on the water, which it always did at a considerable distance
from the nest, and did not approach it until after glancing around and
listening attentively, as if to assure itself that it was not watched,
when it would swim to the shore, and resume its office.
The Loon breeds in various parts of the United States, from Maryland
to Maine. I have ascertained that it nestles in the former of these
States, on the Susquehannah river, as well as in the districts between
Kentucky and Canada, and on our great lakes. Dr RICHARDSON states that
it is found breeding as far north as the 70th degree of latitude. The
situation and form of the nest differ according to circumstances. Some
of those which breed in the State of Maine, place it on the hillocks
of weeds and mud prepared by the musk-rat, on the edges of the lakes,
or at some distance from them among the rushes. Other nests, found on
the head-waters of the Wabash River, were situated on the mud, amid
the rank weeds, more than ten yards from the water. Authors have said
that only one pair breed on a lake; but I have found three pairs, with
their nests, on a pond not exceeding a quarter of a mile in length,
in the State of Maine. One that I saw after the young had left it,
on Cayuga Lake, in 1824, was almost afloat, and rudely attached to
the rushes, more than forty yards from the land, though its base was
laid on the bottom, the water being eight or nine inches deep. Others
examined in Labrador were placed on dry land, several yards from the
water, and raised to the height of nearly a foot above the decayed
moss on which they were laid. But, in cases when the nest was found
at any distance from the water, we discovered a well-beaten path
leading to it, and very much resembling those made by the Beaver,
to which the hunters give the name of “crawls.” The nest, wherever
placed, is bulky, and formed of the vegetable substances found in the
immediate vicinity, such as fresh or withered grasses and herbaceous
plants. The internal part, or the true nest, which is rarely less
than a foot, and is sometimes fifteen inches, in diameter, is raised
upon the external or inferior mass, to the height of seven or eight
inches. Such was one found on the 5th July 1835, in Labrador, and
which was placed within three yards of the edge of a considerable
pond of limpid water, supposed to have been produced by the melting
of the snow, and upwards of a mile distant from the sea. Of the many
nests which I have examined, I have found more containing three than
two eggs, and I am confident that the former number is that which more
frequently occurs, although many European, and some American writers,
who probably never saw a nest of this bird, allege the contrary. The
eggs average three inches and three quarters in length, by two inches
and a quarter in their greatest breadth, and thus are considerably
elongated, being particularly narrowed from the bulge to the smaller
end, which is rather pointed. They are of a dull greenish-ochry tint,
rather indistinctly marked with spots of dark umber, which are more
numerous toward the larger extremity. The weight of two of these eggs,
containing young nearly ready to emerge, was ten ounces and a half. In
Maine the Loon lays fully a month earlier than in Labrador, and about
the same period as on the Wabash.
On approaching the female while sitting on her eggs, I assured myself
that she incubates with her body laid flat upon them, in the same way
as the Domestic Duck, and that, on perceiving the intruder, she squats
close, and so remains until he is almost over her, when she springs up
with great force, and makes at once for the water, in a scrambling and
sliding manner, pushing herself along the ground. On gaining the water,
she dives at once, emerges at a great distance, and very rarely suffers
herself to be approached within gunshot. Sometimes they swim so deeply
immersed as scarcely to be perceptible, and keep as much as possible
among the rushes and other water plants. When the eggs are on the eve
of being hatched, the mother, when disturbed, often cries loudly and
dismally for some time, but seldom flies off. At other times, when I
found the eggs to have been recently laid, the bird, on reaching the
water, and diving, swam lightly, flapping its wings, drank once or
twice, and moved about at a respectful distance. On such occasions,
should you persist in watching it, it rises on wing and flies off.
Should you not mark the spot in which the nest is, but leave it to go
in pursuit of the bird, you may search for hours before finding it,
for the path leading from the water to it is generally covered over
by the herbage. Once while approaching a spot in which I knew a Loon
to be engaged in forming her nest, I was disappointed at not finding
her at work: her keen sense of hearing had apprised her of my purpose,
and cunningly must she have slipped away, for, on finding her absent,
although I had not heard any noise, I happened to look toward the
water, and there she was, gliding off in the quiet manner usual on such
occasions.
The young of the Loon are covered at birth with a kind of black
stiff down, and in a day or two after are led to the water by their
mother. They swim and dive extremely well even at this early stage
of their existence, and after being fed by regurgitation for about
a fortnight, receive portions of fish, aquatic insects, and small
reptiles, until they are able to maintain themselves. During this
period, grey feathers appear among the down of the back and belly,
and the black quill-feathers of the wings and tail gradually elongate.
They are generally very fat, and so clumsy as to be easily caught on
land, if their retreat to the water be cut off. But should you miss
your opportunity, and the birds succeed in gaining the liquid element,
into which they drop like so many Terrapins, you will be astonished to
see them as it were run over the water with extreme celerity, leaving
behind them a distinct furrow. This power of traversing the surface of
the water is possessed not only by the young and old of this species,
but by all other kinds of swimmers, including even Gallinules and
Coots. When the young are well able to fly, the mother entices them to
remove from the pond or lake on which they have been bred, and leads
them on wing to the nearest part of the sea, after which she leaves
them to shift for themselves. Now and then, after this period, the end
of August or beginning of September, I have still seen the young of
a brood, two or three in number, continuing together until they were
induced to travel southward, when they generally set out singly.
Having given you a figure of a young bird, taken in October 1819 from
a specimen obtained on the Ohio, I will not here trouble you with its
description, but merely state that the young undergo their first moult
in December, when they are seen singularly patched with portions of
new plumage beautifully speckled with white, on a bed of almost uniform
ash-brown. I was told, while in the State of Maine, that if the young
were caught soon after being hatched, and before they had been in the
water, they would, if thrown into it, immediately follow a paddled
canoe anywhere; but, as I have not myself made the experiment, I cannot
speak of this as a fact.
Although it has been generally asserted that Loons cannot walk or run
in an efficient manner, I feel assured that on emergency the case is
very different. An instance which occurred to my youngest son, JOHN
WOODHOUSE, who accompanied me to Labrador, may here be related. One
day, when he was in pursuit of some King Ducks, a Loon chanced to
fly immediately over him within shooting distance of his enormous
double-barrelled gun. The moment was propitious, and on firing he was
glad to see the bird fall broken-winged on the bare granitic rocks.
As if perfectly aware of its danger, it immediately rose erect on its
feet, and inclining its body slightly forward, ran off, stumbled, rose
again, and getting along in this manner actually reached the water
before my son, who is by no means slow of foot. The space traversed
was fully an hundred yards, and the water to an equal distance was
not more than ankle-deep. The bird and its pursuer ran swiftly through
the water, and just as both reached a sudden break about four feet in
depth, the Loon, which had been wounded elsewhere than in the wing,
expired and floated at the disposal of its enemy, who brought it on
board the Ripley; when I entered this anecdote in my journal.
These birds are so very strong and hardy that some of the old ones
remain in Maine and Massachusetts until all the fresh waters are
frozen, first leaving the quiet lakes and ponds, then the slow streams,
and lastly the turbulent pools below waterfalls, which latter they do
not quit until they are overhung by icicles and deserted of fish. On
the other hand, this species returns northward at a later period than
most others that breed in high latitudes. I have witnessed the arrival
of some on the coast of Labrador, after they had crossed the Gulf of St
Lawrence, as late as the 20th of June, after which they had scarcely
four months to seek out a breeding place, lay their eggs, hatch and
rear their young, and with them remove southward, before the rigour of
winter commenced.
The Great Northern Diver is a heavy-bodied bird, and generally swims
rather deep in the water, more especially if apprehensive of immediate
danger, when scarcely more than two inches in height of its back
can be seen above the surface. As its body is more flattened than
that of the Cormorant, this circumstance might seem to favour the
action in question; but other species less depressed exhibit the same
peculiarity; and I have thought that in all of these the internal
structure alone can account for this peculiar faculty.
With the exception of that most expert of all divers, the Anhinga, and
the Great Auk, the Loon is perhaps the most accomplished. Whether it
be fishing in deep water amid rolling billows, or engaged in eluding
its foes, it disappears beneath the surface so suddenly, remains so
long in the water, and rises at so extraordinary a distance, often in
a direction quite the reverse of that supposed to be followed by it,
that your eyes become wearied in searching for it, and you renounce
the wish of procuring it out of sheer vexation. At least, this has
very frequently happened to me; nay, I have at times abandoned the
chase when the bird was so severely wounded as to be obliged to dive
immediately beside my boat, and had it not died of exhaustion and
floated near enough to be seized by me, I felt as if I could not have
pulled my oars any longer, and was willing to admit that I was outdone
by a Loon.
In Labrador, where these birds were abundant, my son JOHN one day shot
at one on wing, which fell upon the water to appearance quite dead,
and remained on its back motionless until we had leisurely rowed to
it, when a sailor put out his hand to take it up. The Loon, however, to
our surprise, suddenly sprung up, and dived, and while we stood amazed,
watching its appearance, we saw it come up at the distance of about an
hundred yards, shake its head, and disgorge a quantity of fish mixed
with blood; on which it dived again, and seemed lost to us. We rowed
however to the spot in all haste, and the moment it rose, sent another
shot after it, which terminated its career. On examining it afterwards,
we found it quite riddled by the heavy shot.
If ever so slightly wounded, the Loon prefers diving to flying off, and
all your endeavours to kill it are almost sure to prove unavailing,
You may shoot at it under such circumstances, but you will lose both
your time and your ammunition. Its keenness of sight defies the best
percussion-locked gun, for it is generally deep in the water before the
shot reaches the spot where it has been. When fatigued with diving in
the ordinary manner, it will sink backwards, like a Grebe or a Frog,
make for some concealed spot among the rushes, and there lie until
your eyes ache with searching, and your stomach admonishes you of the
propriety of retiring.
Loons are now and then caught in fishermen’s nets, and are soon
drowned. I have also caught them with hooks fastened to lines laid
across the Ohio, but on no such occasion have I taken the bird alive. A
method of shooting these birds, which I have often practised, and which
was several times successfully employed by our Labrador party, may
here be related. On seeing a Loon on the water, at whatever distance,
the sportsman immediately places himself under the nearest cover on
the shore, and remains there as carefully concealed as possible. A
few minutes are allowed to pass, to give the wary and sharp-sighted
bird all due confidence; during which time the gun, charged with large
shot, is laid in a convenient position. The gunner then takes his
cap or pocket-handkerchief, which if brightly coloured is so much the
better, and raising it in one hand, waves it three or four times, and
then suddenly conceals it. The bird commonly detects the signal at
once, and, probably imagining the object thus exhibited to be one of
its own species, gradually advances, emitting its love-notes, which
resemble a coarse laugh, as it proceeds. The sportsman imitates these
notes, making them loud and yet somewhat mellow, waving his cap or
kerchief at the same time, and this he continues to do at intervals.
The Loon, in order to arrive more quickly, dives, perhaps rises within
fifty yards of him, and calling less loudly, advances with considerable
caution. He shews the signal less frequently, imitates the notes of
the bird more faintly, and carefully keeps himself concealed, until
the Loon, having approached within twenty or even ten paces, dives
and on emerging raises itself up to shake its wings, when off goes
the shot, and the deluded bird floats dead on the water. Many species
of Ducks are procured in nearly the same manner. The male Turkey, in
the gobbling season, and the Stag in autumn, may also be drawn within
shot by the same means. I once “tolled” two Loons with my hat from a
distance of nearly half a mile, and although they were at one time so
near to me that I could clearly perceive the colour of their eyes, I
had no sure opportunity of firing at them, as it was in the pairing
season, and they never once dived, or raised their wings to flap them,
so that, knowing the extreme agility with which they disappear when
they have seen a gun snap, I judged it useless to shoot. Until my visit
to Labrador I had supposed, agreeably to the common belief, that the
Loons always repose at night on the water, which, however, I have since
assured myself they rarely if ever do.
Colonel MONTAGU, than whom none has written more correctly on the
habits of the birds of Great Britain, having procured a wounded Loon,
placed it in a pond, and observed the manner in which it made its way
under the surface of the water. “In swimming and diving,” he remarks,
“only the legs are used and not the wings, as in the Guillemot and Auk
tribes, and by their position so far behind, and their little deviation
from the line of the body, the bird is enabled to propel itself in the
water with great velocity, in a straight line, as well as turn with
astonishing quickness.” This I have no doubt was the case with the
individual observed; but that this is not the usual mode of proceeding
of the species is equally true. Having myself seen Loons pass and
repass under boats, at the distance of several feet from the surface,
and propel themselves both with their feet, and their half-extended
wings, I am inclined to believe that when not wounded, and when
pursuing their prey, they usually employ all the limbs.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, who kept one for some time, gives the
following account of its manners while in his possession. “A young
bird of this kind which I obtained in the Salt Marsh at Chelsea
Beach, and transferred to a fish-pond, made a good deal of plaint,
and would sometimes wander out of his more natural element, and hide
and bask in the grass. On these occasions he lay very still until
nearly approached, and then slid into the pond and uttered his usual
plaint. When out at a distance he made the same cautious efforts to
hide, and would commonly defend himself in great anger, by darting
at the intruder, and striking powerfully with his dagger-like bill.
This bird, with a pink-coloured iris-like albinos, appeared to suffer
from the glare of broad day-light, and was inclined to hide from its
effects, but became very active towards the dusk of the evening. The
pupil of the eye in this individual, like that of nocturnal animals,
appeared indeed dilatable; and the one in question often put down his
head and eyes into the water to observe the situation of his prey.
This bird was a most expert and indefatigable diver, and remained down
sometimes for several minutes, often swimming under water, and as it
were flying with the velocity of an arrow in the air. Though at length
inclining to become docile, and shewing no alarm when visited, it
constantly betrayed its wandering habits, and every night was found to
have waddled to some hiding place, where it seemed to prefer hunger to
the loss of liberty, and never could be restrained from exercising its
instinct to move onwards to some secure or more suitable asylum.”
The same valued friend has corroborated the result of my observations
respecting the number of eggs usually laid by this species, by stating
as follows: “About the 11th of June, through the kindness of Dr J. W.
HARRIS, I received three eggs, which had been taken from the nest of a
Loon, made in a hummock, or elevated grassy hillock, at Sebago Pond, in
New Hampshire.”
The range of this species is immense. It occurs on the waters that fall
into the Pacific Ocean, and has been observed on the Columbia River.
In the Fur Countries it is plentiful; and, as I have already stated,
it breeds in many parts of the United States. It is found equally in
Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. In all these countries it moves
southward on the approach of winter, and returns when the mild weather
commences in spring.
Unlike the Cormorant, the Loon usually swallows its food under the
water, unless when it happens to bring up a shell-fish or a crustaceous
animal, which it munches for a while before it swallows it. Fishes of
numerous kinds, aquatic insects, water-lizards, frogs, and leeches,
have been found by me in its stomach, in which there is also generally
much coarse gravel, and sometimes the roots of fresh-water plants.
Although the flesh of the Loon is not very palatable, being tough,
rank, and dark coloured, I have seen it much relished by many lovers of
good-living, especially at Boston, where it was not unfrequently served
almost raw at the table of the house where I boarded.
A female bird particularly examined by me presented the following
appearances. From the point of the bill to the end of the tail it
measured 34 inches; to the claws 41; the extended wings were 71; the
bill measured 5 inches along the gape; the breadth of the body was
8 inches, its depth only four; the wings were 2 inches shorter than
the tail; and the weight was 10 lb. 11 oz. avoirdupois. The first
primary was longest. The trachea, which was even and flattened, being
in diameter about 5/8 of an inch by 1/2 inch, was 16 inches long. The
eggs were numerous. The gizzard was moderate, and contained many large
pebbles. The intestines were 7 feet long, and about the same size as
a Swan’s quill. Every bone and sinew was strong and tough. The tongue
resembled in shape and size that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The
bones of the wing and leg were almost solid, the cavity for the marrow
being very small. All the bones of this specimen were presented to Mr
THOMAS ALLIS, of the Friend’s Retreat, near York.
My friend Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, of the Royal Navy of England, once
placed at my disposal a specimen of the Loon procured in a very high
latitude, and which, having closely inspected it, I found to differ
from the one represented in the plate, only in having the point of
the bill slightly elevated or recurved, and of a fine yellow tint. Dr
RICHARDSON informed me that, on one of his arduous northern journeys,
he saw a very large and handsomely crested Diver, which, although
somewhat prematurely, I propose honouring with the name of _Colymbus
Richardsoni_.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 221.
Adult.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 799.
COLYMBUS IMMER, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 222.
Young.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 800.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 420.
GREAT NORTHERN DIVER or LOON, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix.
pl. 74, fig. 3.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
vol. ii. p. 474.
LOON, or GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
513.
Adult Male. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, straight, stout, much compressed, tapering to
a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line descending and slightly
convex towards the end, the ridge convex, narrowed towards the point,
the sides convex beyond the nostrils, the edges sharp and considerably
inflected, the tip narrow and sharpish. Nasal groove short, nostrils
basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle
extremely narrow, and extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line
straight and sloping upwards to the point, the ridge convex and narrow,
the edges sharp and involute; the tip attenuated.
Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long and
thick. Eyes of moderate size. Body elongated, much depressed, of an
elliptical form viewed from above. Wings small. Feet short, rather
large, placed very far back; tibia almost entirely concealed; tarsus
short, exceedingly compressed, sharp-edged before and behind, covered
all over with reticulated angular scales; hind toe extremely small,
connected with the second by a very small membrane; the anterior toes
united by articulated membranes, the fourth or outer longest, the third
a little shorter, the second considerably shorter than the third, all
covered above with very numerous narrow scutella, the second toe with
a free two-lobed membrane; claws very small, depressed, blunt.
Plumage short and dense; of the head and neck very short, and blended;
of the lower parts blended, short, with slight gloss; of the upper
compact, glossy; the feathers in general oblong, those of the upper
parts with the extremity abrupt. Wings proportionally very small and
narrow, curved; primaries strong, tapering, the first longest, the
second almost as long, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad,
and rounded. Tail extremely short, rounded, of twenty feathers.
Bill black. Iris deep bright red. Feet, tarsi, and toes, of a
livid greyish-blue, their inner sides tinged with pale yellowish
flesh-colour; claws black, lighter at the base; webs brownish-black,
lighter in the middle. Head and neck dark greenish-blue, with
purple reflections. On the throat a small transverse patch of white,
longitudinally striated with dusky; about the middle of the neck,
two large patches of the same, separated in front to the distance
of an inch, behind continuous, but when the feathers are laid close,
appearing as if separated by a longitudinal dark band about half an
inch in breadth. The under parts glossy white, excepting the feathers
on the sides under the wing, which are black, each with two, three,
or four elliptical white spots, a faint dusky band across the vent,
the lower tail-coverts, which are brownish-black tipped with white,
and the axillar feathers and larger wing-coverts, which have a dusky
streak along the middle. The sides of the neck at its lower part are
longitudinally streaked with black and white, there being two oblong
spots of the latter on each feather towards the end. The upper parts
are glossy black, variegated with spots of white in regular transverse
slightly-curved lines having the convexity backwards. These spots
vary in form and size, being small and roundish towards the neck and
sides, larger and somewhat four-sided along the middle of the back:
largest and rectangular on the scapulars, very small and roundish on
the hind part of the back and tail-coverts. The upper part of the wing
is similar, with smallish spots; the alula and quill brownish-black,
a few of the inner secondaries only having two white spots at their
extremity. Tail brownish-black, paler at the tip.
Adult Male. Adult Male. Young.
Length to the end of tail, 32-7/8 36 31-1/4
claws, 39-1/4 40-1/2 36
wings, 31-1/4 — 29-3/4
carpal joint, 16-3/4 — 16-1/4
Extent of wings, 57-1/2 52 54-1/2
Wing from flexure, 15-1/2 — 14-1/4
Depth of body, — 6 —
Breadth, — 9-1/2 —
Bill along the ridge, — 3-4/12 —
Gape-line, — 4-1/2 —
Tarsus, — 3-5/12 —
Hind toe, — 9-1/2 —
Its claw, — 2/12 —
Outer toe and claw, — 4-1/2 —
Middle toe, — 4-1/4 —
Inner, — 3-9/12 —
Tail, — 29-1/12 —
Wing from flexure, — 14-1/2 —
Weight, 8-3/4 8-1/2 9
The female is generally smaller, but in all other respects resembles
the male. Weight 10 lb. 11 oz.
Young in winter. Plate, CCCVI. Fig. 2.
Bill pale yellowish-green, the ridge and tip of the upper
mandible dusky. Iris brown. Feet dusky externally, pale yellowish
flesh-colour internally, webs dusky, but yellow in the middle.
Claws yellowish-brown. All the upper parts are of a uniform dark
greyish-brown, each feather margined with lighter, the lower parts
white; the sides of the neck at the lower part whitish, streaked with
dusky; the sides dusky, without spots.
Towards spring the eye assumes a redder tint, and the plumage of the
upper parts gradually becomes spotted with white; and when the moult
is completed about the end of summer, the plumage is as in the adult,
although the tints are improved at each successive moult for several
years.
A fine male killed at Boston, 34 inches in length, with an alar extent
of 56, presents the following characters. There is a general layer
of subcutaneous adipose tissue, and the skin is very tenacious. The
external aperture of the ear roundish, very small, having a diameter of
only 2 lines. The tongue is 2 inches 1 line in length, fleshy, as high
as broad, slightly concave and longitudinally grooved above, tapering
to a horny point. On the palate are 6 rows of papillæ; the posterior
aperture of the nares is linear 2-1/2 inches in length. The aperture of
the glottis is 1/2 an inch long, with numerous papillæ along its sides
and behind. The pharynx is extremely dilatable, as is the œsophagus,
which is 17 inches long, passes along the right side of the neck,
together with the trachea, and when distended has an average diameter
of 2-1/2 inches, but on entering the thorax contracts to 1-1/2. The
structure of the œsophagus in birds may be very conveniently examined
in this species, the different layers being remarkably developed in
it. Properly speaking, it has only two coats,—the outer muscular, its
external layer composed of transverse or circular fibres, the internal
of equally distinct longitudinal fibres, which are not straight, but
irregularly undulated. The inner, or mucous coat, when contracted falls
into longitudinal plaits. The proventriculus is 2-3/4 inches long,
the glandules large, roundish, simple, and disposed in a continuous
belt. Over this part, the transverse muscular fibres are remarkably
developed. The right lobe of the liver is 5-3/4 inches long, the
left lobe 5-1/2. The heart is very large, of a broadly conical form,
3 inches long, 2-3/4 inches in breadth. The stomach is three inches
long, 2-1/2 in breadth, of an elliptical form, a little compressed;
its lateral muscles 9 lines in thickness, and composed of strong large
fasciculi; the tendons 1-1/2 inch in diameter; the cuticular lining
thick, its upper and lower parts marked with strong longitudinal ridges
having numerous transverse fissures; the grinding surfaces irregularly
wrinkled, with a deep fissure down the middle of each. The pylorus
is 8 lines in diameter when distended, and is destitute of valve, but
has a strong prominent rim. In the stomach were remains of fishes, and
some pebbles, chiefly quartz, the largest 4 lines long. The intestine
measures 6 feet 6 inches in length, and varies in diameter from 8 to
6 lines. The rectum is 3-1/2 inches long, the cloaca extremely large,
forming a cavity about 3 inches in diameter. The cæca are 1-3/4 inch
long, cylindrical, rounded at the extremity; one of them 7 lines, the
other 9 lines, in diameter.
The trachea, when moderately extended, measures 13-1/2 inches in
length, inconsiderably depressed, its transverse diameter at the upper
part 9-1/2 lines, at the lower 6-1/2 lines; the rings cartilaginous,
of moderate breadth, uniform, with a contraction in the middle before
and behind, their number 134, the four lowest united. The bronchi are
composed of about 20 narrow cartilaginous half rings. The contractor
muscles are very broad but thin, their fibres irregularly disposed in
front; they become thicker and narrower toward the lower part, and are
continued beyond the sterno-tracheal muscles, which come off from the
20th ring from the inferior larynx, to the membrane between the last
tracheal and first bronchial ring.
BLUE HERON.
_ARDEA CŒRULEA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCVII. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG.
Along with a few other Herons, this is, comparatively speaking,
confined within narrow limits along our southern coast in winter. It
occurs, however, in most parts of the Floridas, where it is a constant
resident, and whence, at the approach of summer, vast multitudes are
seen proceeding northward, in search of suitable places in which they
may rear their young in security. Many, however, go southward, beyond
the limits of the United States, and proceed coastwise to Texas and
Mexico to spend the winter, especially the younger birds, when still
in that singular white plumage which differs so much from that of the
young of every other known species of this genus, except that of the
Reddish Egret (_A. rufescens_). At New Orleans, where it arrives at the
same period, both from Mexico and the Floridas, its first appearance in
spring is about the beginning of March; at which time also multitudes
leave the Floridas on their way eastward, to settle in Georgia, the
Carolinas, and other States farther east, as far as Long Island in that
of New York. Beyond this, I believe, no birds of the species have been
met with. They rarely, if ever, proceed far inland, or leave the shores
of our large rivers and estuaries. On the Mississippi, the swamps and
lakes on the borders of which are so well adapted to the habits of
these birds, few individuals are ever seen above Natchez. About the
beginning of September, by which time the young are able to shift for
themselves, they return southward.
When in the Floridas, during winter, I observed that the Blue Herons
associated with other species, particularly the White Heron, _Ardea
alba_, and the Louisiana Heron, _Ardea Ludoviciana_, all of which were
in the habit of roosting together in the thick evergreen low bushes
that cover the central parts of the islands along the coast. Their
passage to and from their feeding places, is as regular as the rising
and setting of the sun, and, unless frequently disturbed, they betake
themselves every night to the same locality, and almost to the same
spot. In the morning, they rise with one accord from the roosts on
which they have been standing all night on one leg, the other drawn
up among the feathers of the abdomen, their neck retracted, and their
head and bill buried beneath their scapulars. On emerging from their
retreats, they at once proceed to some distant place in search of
food, and spend the day principally on the head waters of the rivers,
and the fresh-water lakes of the interior, giving a decided preference
to the soft mud banks, where small crabs or fiddlers are abundant, on
which they feed greedily, when the inland ponds have been dried up, and
consequently no longer supply them with such fishes as they are wont to
feed upon.
There, and at this season, Reader, you may see this graceful Heron,
quietly and in silence walking along the margins of the water,
with an elegance and grace which can never fail to please you. Each
regularly-timed step is lightly measured, while the keen eye of the
bird seeks for and watches the equally cautious movements of the
objects towards which it advances with all imaginable care. When at a
proper distance, it darts forth its bill with astonishing celerity, to
pierce and secure its prey; and this it does with so much precision,
that, while watching some at a distance with a glass, I rarely observed
an instance of failure. If fish is plentiful, on the shallows near
the shore, when it has caught one, it immediately swallows it, and
runs briskly through the water, striking here and there, and thus
capturing several in succession. Two or three dashes of this sort,
afford sufficient nourishment for several hours, and when the bird
has obtained enough it retires to some quiet place, and remains there
in an attitude of repose until its hunger returns. During this period
of rest, however, it is as watchful as ever, and on hearing the least
noise, or perceiving the slightest appearance of danger, spreads its
wings, and flies off to some other place, sometimes to a very distant
one. About an hour before sunset, they are again seen anxiously
searching for food. When at length satisfied, they rise simultaneously
from all parts of the marsh, or shore, arrange themselves into loose
bodies, and ascending to the height of fifty or sixty yards in the
air, fly in a straight course towards their roosting place. I saw very
few of these birds during the winter, on or near the river St John in
Florida; but on several occasions met with some on small ponds in the
pine barrens, at a considerable distance from any large stream, whither
they had been attracted by the great number of frogs.
The flight of the Blue Heron is rather swifter than that of the Egret,
_Ardea candidissima_, and considerably more so than that of the Great
Blue Heron, _Ardea Herodias_, but very similar to that of the Louisiana
Heron, _Ardea Ludoviciana_. When the bird is travelling, the motion
is performed by flappings in quick succession, which rapidly propel
it in a direct line, until it is about to alight, when it descends in
circular sailings of considerable extent towards the spot selected.
During strong adverse winds, they fly low, and in a continuous line,
passing at the necessary distance from the shores to avoid danger,
whether at an early or a late hour of the day. I recollect that once,
on such an occasion, when, on the 15th of March, I was in company with
my friend JOHN BACHMAN, I saw a large flock about sunset arising from
across the river, and circling over a large pond, eight miles distant
from Charleston. So cautious were they, that although the flock was
composed of several hundred individuals, we could not manage to get
so much as a chance of killing one. I have been surprised to see how
soon the Blue Herons become shy after reaching the districts to which
they remove for the purpose of breeding from their great rendezvous
the Floridas, where I never experienced any difficulty in procuring as
many as I wished. In Louisiana, on the other hand, I have found them
equally vigilant on their first arrival. On several occasions, when I
had placed myself under cover, to shoot at some, while on their way to
their roosts or to their feeding grounds, I found it necessary to shift
from one place to another, for if one of them had been fired at and had
fallen in a particular place, all that were in its company took care
not to pass again near it, but when coming up diverged several hundred
yards, and increased their speed until past, when they would assume
their more leisurely flappings. In South Carolina, where they are very
shy on their arrival, I have seen them fly off on hearing the very
distant report of a gun, and alight on the tops of the tallest trees,
where they would congregate in hundreds, and whence they would again
fly off on the least apprehension of danger. But when once these Herons
have chosen a place to nestle in, or reached one in which they bred the
preceding year, they become so tame as to allow you to shoot as many as
you are disposed to have.
While on Cayo Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the 10th of April 1837,
I observed large flocks of the Blue and Green Herons, _Ardea cœrulea_
and _A. virescens_, arriving from the westward about the middle of
the day. They flew at a considerable height, and came down like so
many hawks, to alight on the low bushes growing around the sequestered
ponds; and this without any other noise than the rustling of their
wings as they glided through the air towards the spot on which they at
once alighted. There they remained until sunset, when they all flew
off, so that none were seen there next day. This shews that although
these species migrate both by day and night, they are quite diurnal
during the period of their residence in any section of the country
which they may have chosen for a season. It is more than probable that
it has been from want of personal knowledge of the habits of these
birds, that authors have asserted that all Herons are nocturnally
inclined. This certainly is by no means the case, although they find
it advantageous to travel by night during their migrations, which is
a remarkable circumstance as opposed to their ordinary habits. In the
instance above mentioned, I found the birds remarkably gentle, which
was probably owing to fatigue.
The Blue Heron breeds earlier or later according to the temperature
of the district to which it resorts for that purpose, and therefore
earlier in Florida, where, however, considerable numbers remain, during
the whole year than in other parts of the United States. Thus I have
found them in the southern parts of that country, sitting on their
eggs, on the 1st of March, fully a month earlier than in the vicinity
of Bayou Sara, on the Mississippi, where they are as much in advance
of those which betake themselves, in very small numbers indeed, to
our Middle Districts, in which they rarely begin to breed before the
fifteenth of May.
The situations which they choose for their nests are exceedingly
varied. I have found them sitting on their eggs on the Florida Keys,
and on the islands in the Bay of Galveston, in Texas, in nests placed
amidst and upon the most tangled cactuses, so abundant on those curious
isles, on the latter of which the climbing Rattlesnake often gorges
itself with the eggs of this and other species of Heron, as well as
with their unfledged young. In the Lower parts of Louisiana, it breeds
on low bushes of the water-willow, as it also does in South Carolina;
whereas, on the islands on the coast of New Jersey, and even on the
mainland of that State, it places its nest on the branches of the cedar
and other suitable trees. Wherever you find its breeding place, you
may expect to see other birds in company with it, for like all other
species, excepting perhaps the Louisiana Heron, it rarely objects to
admit into its society the Night Heron, the Yellow-crowned Heron, or
the White Egret.
The heronries of the southern portions of the United States are often
of such extraordinary size as to astonish the passing traveller. I
confess that I myself might have been as sceptical on this point as
some who, having been accustomed to find in all places the Heron to
be a solitary bird, cannot be prevailed on to believe the contrary,
had I not seen with my own eyes the vast multitudes of individuals
of different species breeding together in peace in certain favourable
localities. Such persons may be excused from giving that credit to my
account of the Passenger Pigeon which posterity will, I trust, accord
to it.
The nest of the Blue Heron, wherever situated, is loosely formed of dry
sticks, sometimes intermixed with green leaves of various trees, and
with grass or moss, according as these materials happen to be plentiful
in the neighbourhood. It is nearly flat, and can scarcely be said to
have a regular lining. Sometimes you see a solitary nest fixed on a
cactus, a bush, or a tree; but a little beyond this you may observe
from six to ten, placed almost as closely together as you would have
put them had you measured out the space necessary for containing them.
Some are seen low over the water, while others are placed high; for,
like the rest of its tribe, this species is rather fond of placing its
tenement over or near the liquid element.
The eggs are usually three, rarely four; and I have never found a nest
of this species containing five eggs, as is stated by WILSON, who,
probably found a nest of the Green Heron containing that number among
others of the present species. They measure an inch and three quarters
in length, by an inch and a quarter in breadth, being about the size
of those of _Ardea candidissima_, though rather more elongated, and
precisely of the same colour.
The young bird is at first almost destitute of feathers, but scantily
covered with yellowish-white down. When fully fledged, its bill and
legs are greenish-black, and its plumage pure white, or slightly
tinged with cream-colour, the tips of the three outer primaries light
greyish-blue. Of this colour the bird remains until the breeding
season, when, however, some individuals exhibit a few straggling pale
blue feathers. When they have entered on their second year, these young
birds become spotted with deeper blue on some parts of the body, or on
the head and neck, thus appearing singularly patched with that colour
and pure white, the former increasing with the age of the bird in so
remarkable a manner, that you may see specimens of these birds with
portions even of the pendant feathers of their head or shoulders so
marked. And these are produced by _full moultings_, by which I mean
the unexpected appearance, as it were, of feathers growing out of the
skin of the bird coloured entirely blue, as is the case in many of our
land birds. In all these stages of plumage, and from the first spring
after birth, the young birds breed with others, as is equally the case
with _Ardea rufescens_. You may see a pure white individual paired with
one of a full blue colour, or with one patched with blue and white.
The young, after leaving their parents, remain separate from the old
birds until the next breeding season. At no period can the young of
this species be confounded with, or mistaken for that of the _Ardea
candidissima_, by a person really acquainted with these birds, for the
Blue Heron is not only larger than the latter, but the very colour of
its feet and legs is perfectly distinctive. Indeed, during the time
when the young Blue Heron is quite white (excepting on the tips of
the outer primaries), it would be easier to confound it with the young
of the Reddish Egret, _Ardea rufescens_, than with that of any other,
were the feathers of its hind head and neck of the same curious curled
appearance as those of that species.
My friend JOHN BACHMAN informs me, that in South Carolina, this species
not unfrequently breeds in the company of the Louisiana Heron, the
nests and eggs of which, he adds, are very similar. He has specimens
of these birds in all the different stages which I have described. At
New Orleans, the Blue Herons, during the transition of their plumage
from white to blue, are called “Egrettes folles,” or foolish Egrets,
on account of their unusual tameness. My friend BACHMAN and I, shot,
on the 6th and 9th of April, several specimens spotted with blue
feathers, and having their crests and trains similarly mixed, although
of full length; but in most of the specimens obtained, the white was
still prevalent. I have shot some in Louisiana, in autumn, in the same
curious dress.
This species, though larger than the Snowy Heron, _Ardea candidissima_,
is considerably inferior to it in courage; and I was much amused as
well as surprised, when at Galveston Bay, on the 24th of April 1837,
to see one of that species alight near a Purple Heron, attack it, and
pursue it as far as I could follow them with my eyes. When the Blue
Herons are on the sea-coast they not unfrequently repose on the large
mud or sand bars, at some distance from the adjacent marshes; but they
generally prefer roosting on trees or bushes, when there are any in
their neighbourhood. The Creoles of Louisiana not unfrequently eat the
flesh of this species, and although they by no means consider it equal
to that of the Night Heron, some of them have assured me that it is not
bad food. Like other birds of this family, they become larger with age,
and the male is usually somewhat superior in size to the female; but,
with this exception, no difference can be perceived in the external
appearance of the sexes.
ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. 1. p. 238.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 689.
ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis, p. 300.
BLUE HERON, ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p.
117. pl. 62. fig. 3. Adult.
BLUE HERON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 58.
Adult Male in full plumage. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.
Bill much longer than the head, rather slender, very slightly decurved,
compressed, tapering to a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line
nearly straight for two-thirds of its length, then slightly decurved,
the ridge convex, broad at the base, gradually narrowed to the point;
a groove from the base to near the end, the sides convex beneath, the
edges thin and sharp, with a slight notch close to the tips. Nostrils
basal, linear, longitudinal, with a membrane above and behind. Lower
mandible with the angle extremely narrow and elongated, the dorsal
line beyond it ascending and almost straight, the sides sloping
outwards, and flattened, the edges sharp and slightly inflected, the
tip acuminate.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck very long and slender. Body
slender and compressed. Feet very long; tibia elongated, its lower half
bare, very slender, covered all round with angular scales, of which the
posterior are large; tarsus elongated, slender, compressed, anteriorly
covered with numerous broad scutella, laterally and behind with
angular scales. Toes long, slender, with numerous broad scutella above,
flattened and reticularly granulate beneath. Claws rather long, arched,
compressed, acute, that of hind toe much larger and more curved, the
inner edge of that of the third finely and regularly pectinate.
Space between the bill and eye, and around the latter, bare. Plumage
soft, thin, and blended. Feathers of the upper and hind part of
the head very long, linear, with loose barbs; of the sides of the
neck loose and inclined obliquely backwards, of its lower part much
elongated, narrow, and tapering to a point; of the middle of the back
extremely long, linear, acuminate, their tips projecting about five
inches beyond the tail. Wings long, and very broad; primaries broad,
tapering, and rounded, the first, second and third almost equal, the
latter being only a twelfth of an inch longer; secondaries broad and
rounded; some of the inner only half an inch shorter than the longest
primary, when the wing is closed. Tail very short, small, even, of
twelve rather weak feathers.
Bill ultramarine blue at the base, gradually shaded into black towards
the point; the bare space between it and the eye, as well as the edges
of the eyelids, ultramarine. Iris pale yellow. Legs, tarsi, toes,
and claws, black. Head and neck of a rich deep purple, inclining to
vinaceous; the lower part of the neck and all the other parts deep
greyish-blue, the edges of the feathers lighter.
Length to end of tail 24-1/2 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of
elongated dorsal feathers 26-1/2, to end of claws 30-3/4; wing from
flexure 11-1/2; tail 4-2/12; extent of wings 42; bill along the ridge
3-4/12 along the edge of lower mandible 4; bare part of tibia 2-2/12;
tarsus 3-5/12; first toe 11/12, its claw 2/12; middle toe 2-1/4, its
claw 7/12. Weight 1 lb.
The female is similar to the male, but smaller. Weight 11 oz.
The young are at first sparely covered with yellowish-white down. When
a fortnight old, the bill is yellow, with the tips greenish-black; the
feet greenish-yellow, the claws dusky, with the tips greyish-yellow.
The general colour of the plumage is pure white, but the down which
tips the feathers of the head is brownish-white; two of the alular
feathers are tinged with dull bluish-grey, and the outer seven or eight
primaries are broadly margined on both sides to the length of about an
inch and a half with the same colour of a deeper tint, the extreme tip
white.
When fully fledged, the bare parts at the base of the bill, and the
basal half of the upper mandible, are light greenish-blue, the rest
black; the lower mandible yellow, with a patch of black, an inch and
a quarter in length on each side at the end. Legs, tarsi, and toes
greenish-blue, the sides yellowish; claws dusky. The feathers of the
head are slightly elongated; those of the back are also elongated, but
much broader and shorter than in the adult. The feathers on the upper
part of the head are of a faint bluish-grey; and the alular feathers
and eight outer primaries are tinged with the same colour. At this
period, the length to the end of the tail is 22 inches, to end of claws
28-1/2; bill along the ridge 2-7/8; wing from flexure 11; tail 4-2/12.
In November, when the moult is advanced. The bill is black, dull blue
at the base. The feet are nearly black, as are the claws. The occipital
feathers are now two inches and a half in length, and some of the
dorsal feathers extend as far as the tips of the wings; those of the
lower part of the neck have also a length of about three inches. The
general colour of the plumage is white; the upper part of the head, the
hind neck, back, anterior edge of the wing, and outer primaries at the
end, of a faint bluish-grey tint; some of the elongated feathers of the
back darker.
Length to end of tail 22 inches; to end of claws 29-1/2; bill 3; wing
from flexure 11-1/4.
A year old. Bill nearly as in the adult; feet bluish-black, the plumage
is white, with the upper parts pale greyish-blue as in November, but
the whole interspersed with numerous feathers of a deep greyish-blue,
similar to that of the adult; the primaries and tail being still white.
Length to end of tail 23-1/4; extent of wings 32-1/2; bill 3-1/8.
Weight 9 oz.
At the age of a year the bird propagates, so that individuals in the
white, mottled, or blue plumage, may be seen breeding together.
When only a few weeks old, the serrature of the claw of the middle toe
is scarcely perceptible, exhibiting merely faint indications of points
upon a very slight margin. This margin enlarges, and when the bird is
completely fledged the serratures are perfectly formed.
In this bird, as in most other Herons, the crura of the lower mandible
are thin, flexible, and elastic, the angle filled by an elastic
membrane covered by the skin. The tongue is 1 inch long, sagittate
at the base, tapering to a point. The roof of the mouth has a median
prominent ridge, and two lateral lines; the palate is convex; the
posterior aperture of the nares 10 lines in length. The pharynx may be
dilated to 1-1/2 inch; the œsophagus, which is 12 inches long, is when
dilated 10 lines in diameter at its upper part, and gradually contracts
to 7 lines; at the curvature of the neck it lies directly behind,
having passed down on the left side, along with the trachea. Its walls
are extremely thin, contrasting in this respect with the œsophagus
of the Great Northern Diver and other swimming piscivorous birds. The
proventriculus is 1 inch long, its glandules cylindrical, and extremely
slender. The stomach seems as if it merely formed a basal sac to the
œsophagus, its muscles being extremely thin, its tendons circular and
half an inch in diameter; cuticular lining soft. The intestine is long
and very narrow, 5 feet 10 inches in length, 2 lines in diameter at
the upper part, 1-1/2 near the rectum, which is 2-3/4 inches long,
with a diameter of 4-1/2 lines, and terminates in a nipple-like cœcum,
projecting 3 lines beyond the entrance of the small intestine, but
having no appearance of the two lateral appendages usually called cœca.
In this respect, the Blue Heron agrees with others of the same family.
The cloaca is about an inch in length and breadth.
The trachea, when extended, is 8-3/4 inches long. The rings 170 in
number, are osseous and circular, so that the organ preserves its
cylindrical form under all circumstances. They are, like those of
all Herons, of equal breadth on both sides, not broad on one side and
narrow on the other, as has been represented. The contractor muscles
are very slender, as are the sterno-tracheal; the former send down
a slip on each side to the first bronchial ring. The diameter of the
trachea is 2 lines at the upper part, 1-1/2 at the lower. The bronchi
are short, wide, conical, of about 13 half rings.
The right lobe of the liver is 2-1/4 inches long, the left lobe 1-1/2;
the heart 1-1/4 in length, 8 lines broad, of an oblong conical form.
The stomach contained remains of insects and crustaceous animals,
together with a few seeds.
TELL-TALE GODWIT.
_TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
It is my opinion that they who have given so much importance to the cry
of this bird, as to believe it to be mainly instrumental in ensuring
the safety of other species, and in particular of Ducks, have called in
the aid of their imagination to increase the interest of what requires
no such illustration. A person unacquainted with this Godwit would
believe, on reading its history as recorded in books, that the safety
of these birds depends on the friendly warning of their long-billed
and long-tongued neighbour. And yet it is at no season more noisy or
more vigilant than the Kildeer Plover, nor ever half so much so as the
Semipalmated species, the reiterated vociferations of which are so
annoying. It is true that the Tell-tale is quite loquacious enough;
nay, you, Reader, and I, may admit that it is a cunning and watchful
bird, ever willing to admonish you or me, or any other person whom
it may observe advancing towards it with no good intent, that it has
all along watched us. But then, when one has observed the habits of
this bird for a considerable time, in different situations, and when
no other feathered creatures are in sight, he will be convinced that
the Tell-tale merely intends by its cries to preserve itself, and not
generously to warn others of their danger. So you may safely banish
from your mind the apprehension, which the reading of books may have
caused, that duck-shooting in the marshes of our Middle Districts, is
as hopeless a pursuit as “a wild goose chase.”
The Tell-tale Godwit has a great range in the United States, where,
indeed, I have found it in almost every district, and at all seasons.
It spends the winter along the shores of our estuaries, rivers, and
ponds, and in the rice-fields, from Maryland to Mexico. It is abundant
then in South Carolina, the Floridas, and along the shores of the Gulf
of Mexico, as far as Texas, where I found it in considerable numbers
and paired, in the months of April and May, along with the Yellow-shank
Snipe, _Totanus flavipes_. It is also met with in spring and autumn
over the whole interior of the country, and I have found it quite
abundant at those seasons along the entire length of the Mississippi,
Ohio, and Missouri rivers, as well as on the Arkansas. They congregate
in great numbers in the inland marshes of Florida, and along its
rivers, during the winter. I found them near Eastport, in the State of
Maine, on the 11th of May 1833; and on the coast of Labrador, on the
18th of June of the same year. In Newfoundland, on the 11th of August,
the young were equal in size to their parents, and being extremely
fat, tender, and juicy, afforded excellent eating. In general, however,
these birds are thin and have a fishy taste.
In the State of Maine and the province of New Brunswick, the Tell-tale
is known by the name of “Humility,” which, however, is an appellation
that ill accords with its vociferous habits. The Creoles of New Orleans
call it “Clou-clou;” and were these syllables rapidly enunciated from
two to five times in succession, the sounds would have some resemblance
to the usual notes of the species.
When these Godwits arrive in the vicinity of New Orleans about the
middle of March, they appear in considerable flocks. They retire,
however, in the beginning of May, and return about the first of July,
from which time they continue there until the end of autumn, some
indeed remaining all winter. It seems, that at the period of their
disappearance at New Orleans, they retire to the vast marshes near
the sea-shore, and there breed, for I have found them abundant near
the passes or mouths of the Mississippi in pairs, on the first of
April, when the air is warmer than in the interior. They are said to
breed in the marshes along the coast of New Jersey, where, according
to Wilson, they arrive early in April, and continue until November.
It is a curious fact that the Tell-tale Godwit, as well as some other
birds of similar habits, is of very rare occurrence along the shores
of Massachusetts and Maine. This, however, seems to be accounted for by
the absence there of the large spongy marshes, to which these birds are
fond of resorting.
Although found in the vicinity of both salt and fresh water, at all
seasons, it usually prefers the latter, and the spots which appear to
be best adapted to its nature are ponds of which the water is shallow
and the shores muddy, so that they can walk and wade at ease upon them.
Wherever such ponds occur, whether in plantations or in the interior
of forests, or on extensive savannahs or prairies, there you will find
them actively employed, wading so far into the water as to seem as if
they were swimming. If just alighted after ever so short a flight, they
hold their wings upright for a considerable time, as if doubtful of
not having obtained good footing. Closing their wings, they then move
nimbly about the pool, and are seen catching small fishes, insects,
worms, or snails, which they do with rapidity and a considerable degree
of grace, for their steps are light, and the balancing or vibratory
motion of their body, while their head is gently moved backwards and
forwards, is very pleasing to the eye.
I have often observed these birds on large logs floating on the
Mississippi, and moving gently with the current, and this sometimes in
company with the Snowy Heron, _Ardea candidissima_, or the American
Crow, _Corvus Americanus_. In such situations, they procure shrimps
and the fry of fishes. In autumn, they are extremely prone to betake
themselves to the margins of our most sequestered lakes in the interior
of Louisiana and Kentucky, where the summer heat has left exposed great
flats of soft sandy mud abounding with food suited to their appetite,
and where they are much less likely to be disturbed than when on the
marshes on the sea-shore, or on the margins of rivers. When they have
been some time in the salt-marshes, and have eaten indiscriminately
small shell-fish, worms, and fry, they acquire a disagreeable fishy
taste, and being at the same time less fat, are scarcely fit for
the table. They are social birds, and frequently mingle with other
waders, as well as with the smaller ducks, such as the Blue-winged and
Green-winged Teals. In the salt-marshes they associate with Curlews,
Willets, and other species, with which they live in peace, and on the
watchfulness of which they depend quite as much as on their own.
The flight of the Tell-tale Godwit, or “Great Yellow-Shank,” as it is
generally named in the Western Country, is swift, at times elevated,
and, when necessary, sustained. They pass through the air with their
necks and legs stretched to their full length, and roam over the places
which they select several times before they alight, emitting their
well-known and easily imitated whistling notes, should any suspicious
object be in sight, or if they are anxious to receive the answer of
some of their own tribe that have already alighted. At such times,
any person who can imitate their cries can easily check their flight,
and in a few moments induce them to pass or to alight within shooting
distance. This I have not unfrequently succeeded in doing, when they
were, at the commencement of my calls, almost half a mile distant. Nay,
I have sometimes seen them so gentle, that on my killing several in a
flock, the rest would only remove a few yards.
I have always found that the cries of this bird were louder and more
frequent during the period of its breeding, when scarcely any birds
were in the vicinity. I therefore conclude that its cries are then more
intended to draw you from the spot where its nest is concealed, than
for any other purpose, as on such occasions the bird either moves off
on foot, or flies away and alights at a short distance from the place
where its treasure lies.
When in Labrador, I found these birds breeding, two or three pairs
together, in the delightful quiet valleys bounded by rugged hills
of considerable height, and watered by limpid brooks. These valleys
exhibit, in June and July, the richest verdure, luxuriant grasses of
various species growing here and there in separate beds many yards in
extent, while the intervening spaces, which are comparatively bare, are
of that boggy nature so congenial to the habits of these species. In
one of those pleasing retreats my son found a pair of Tell-tales, in
the month of June, both of which were procured. The female was found to
contain a full-formed egg, and some more of the size of peas. The eggs
are four, pyriform, 2-1/4 inches long, 1-(4-1/2)/8 in their greatest
breadth, pale greenish-yellow, marked with blotches of umber and pale
purplish-grey.
The plumage of this bird has a very different appearance in autumn
and winter from that which it presents at the approach of the breeding
season. This has led some students of Nature in the United States to
suppose, that there exist two nearly allied species; but this, I am
confident, is not the case. The female is larger than the male, but
only in a slight degree.
Dr RICHARDSON has found this species on the Saskatchewan and Dr
TOWNSEND on the Columbia River.
TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 324.
TELL-TALE GODWIT or SNIPE, Scolopax vociferus, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 57, pl. 58, fig. 5.
TELL-TALE, or GREATER YELLOW-SHANKS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol.
ii. p. 148.
TOTANUS VOCIFERUS, _Tell-tale_, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun.
Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 389.
Adult male. Plate CCCVIII. Fig 1.
Bill much longer than the head, very slender, subcylindrical, straight,
flexible, compressed at the base, the point rather depressed and
obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge convex,
broader at the base beyond the nostrils blended with the sides, which
are convex, the edges thick, with a groove running their whole length,
the tip slightly deflected. Lower mandible with the angle very long
and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides convex, with a slight
groove in their basal half, the sides convex, the edges grooved
longitudinally, the tip narrow. Nasal groove long and narrow, extending
to nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, direct,
pervious.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed, eyes large. Neck rather long
and slender. Body slender. Feet very long and slender; tibia bare for
half its length, scutellate before and behind, tarsus compressed, also
scutellate before and behind; hind toe very small and elevated; fore
toes of moderate length, very slender, connected at the base by webs,
of which the outer is larger; second or inner toe considerably shorter
than fourth, which is in a similar degree exceeded by the third; all
covered with numerous scutella above, flattened beneath, and marginate.
Claws small, slightly arched, much compressed, rather obtuse, that of
the middle toe much larger, with the inner edge dilated.
Plumage soft and blended, on the fore part of the head very short.
Wings long, narrow, pointed; primaries narrow and tapering, first
longest, second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondaries short, broad, incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner
elongated and tapering. Tail short, doubly emarginate in a slight
degree, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill black, tinged with bluish-grey at the base. Iris dark brown. Feet
bright yellow, claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head, lores,
cheeks, and the neck all round, excepting the throat, streaked with
brownish-black, on a white ground, tinged with grey on the head and
hind neck; the throat, breast, and abdomen, are pure white, the sides
and lower tail-coverts barred with brownish-black, as are the axillar
feathers and lower wing-coverts, the lower surface of the primaries
light grey, their shafts white. The upper parts generally are black,
glossed with green, each feather margined with white triangular spots.
The hind part of the rump and the upper tail-coverts white, barred with
dusky. The anterior smaller wing-coverts, alula, primary coverts, and
primary quills, brownish-black, without spots; shaft of first primary
white, of the rest brown. Tail-feathers white, with numerous bands of
dark greyish-brown, the middle six feathers more or less of a light
brownish-grey toward the end, the bars not extending over their central
part, their tips white. Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of
wings 14, to end of claws 16; extent of wings 24-3/4; bill along the
ridge 2-3/12, along the edge of the lower mandible 2-5/12, wing from
flexure 8-2/12; tail 3-8/12; bare part of tibia 1-1/2; tarsus 2-5/12;
hind toe and claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe and claw 1-(8-1/2)/12. Weight
6 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCVIII. Fig. 2.
The female resembles the male.
Length to end of tail 13-3/4, to end of wings 14-1/2, to end of claws
17-3/4; extent of wings 25-1/2. Weight 6-1/2 oz.
Both sexes become darker on the upper parts, at the approach of spring.
This dark colour disappears after their autumnal moult.
The tongue is 1-2/12 inch in length, slender, sagittate and papillate
at the base, triangular, tapering to a fine point. On the roof of the
mouth are two rows of large blunt papillæ directed backwards; the edges
of the mandibles are thick and grooved; the posterior aperture of the
nares linear, 9/12 long. The œsophagus, 6-3/4 inches in length, passes
along the right side of the neck, and has a diameter of 3/12 of an inch
in its upper part, but is dilated to 5/12 before it enters the thorax.
The proventriculus is oblong, 8/12 in length, its glandules oblong. The
stomach is oblong, 1-2/12 inch in length, 8/12 in breadth, its lateral
muscles of moderate size, the tendons 5/12 in diameter, the cuticular
lining hard, with large longitudinal rugæ, and of a deep red colour.
The intestine 2 feet 8 inches long, varying in diameter from (2-1/2)/12
to 2/12. The rectum 1-9/12 inch long; the cæca 4 inches 5/12 long, of
an oblong form, with the extremity rounded, their diameter (1-1/2)/12.
In another individual, the œsophagus is 6-1/2 inches long; the stomach
1-9/12; the intestine 2 feet 3 inches; the rectum 1-9/12, the cæca
4-1/12, their diameter (1-1/2)/12.
The trachea, 4-8/12 inches long, (2-1/2)/12 in diameter above, 2/12
below; of 120 unossified rings; its contractor muscles feeble, the
sterno-tracheal moderate; a single pair of inferior laryngeal; the
bronchial rings about 15.
COMMON TERN.
_STERNA HIRUNDO_, LINN.
PLATE CCCIX. ADULT.
Although the Prince of Musignano has thought that the bird named
the Common Tern in America, differs from that bearing the same name
in Europe, and has in consequence changed its appellation to that
of Wilson’s Tern, I am of opinion that no difference exists between
the Common Terns of the two Continents. The cry of both is besides
precisely similar, so that with me there is no doubt whatever as
to their identity. Experience has shewn me that the markings or
white spots on the primary quills of Gulls, at one time assumed as
a criterion by which species might be distinguished, cannot in the
least be depended on, varying, as they always do, in individuals of
the same species, at almost each successive moult. Then why, Reader,
should not Terns exhibit analogous changes? The fact is, they do so;
and it is almost impossible, on closely inspecting a dozen or more
specimens procured at the same period, in either country, to find two
individuals exactly corresponding in every particular. Some have the
bill almost entirely black, while others have it more or less red and
black, and tipped with yellow. The length of the tail-feathers, that
of the tarsus, and the size of the inter-digital membranes, are all
found to differ in some degree, if minutely compared. If species are
to be founded on such slight differences, an ample field is open to
those who are ambitious of being discoverers. At all events, I cannot
help remarking here, that it seems to me improper to impose new names
on objects, until it is proved by undeniable facts that they present
permanent differences.
I have observed this species along the Atlantic coast of North
America, from Galveston Island in Texas to the Straits of Belle Isle
on the coast of Labrador, both in spring and in early autumn. But
when on the islands in Galveston Bay, in the month of April, I saw
only a few arriving there from the west; whereas, in the beginning
of May great numbers arrived there from the east, settled at once,
and commenced breeding. I felt convinced that the numbers which came
from the direction of the Floridas were much greater than those which
arrived from the westward, and judged it probable that vast numbers
had at the same time left the Peninsula on their way northward. Should
other travellers observe the same or similar phenomena at the season
mentioned, it will be proved that this species does not extend its
autumnal migration so far as several others, which I observed arriving
at Galveston Island from the south-west, for example, the Least Tern,
_Sterna minuta_, the Cayenne Tern, _St. cayana_, and the Black Tern,
_St. nigra_.
The Common Tern commences breeding on the coast of our Middle Districts
about the 5th of May. On my voyage to Labrador, I found its eggs on
the islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and especially on the Magdalene
Islands, which I visited on the 11th of that month. On the 18th I saw
them in great abundance in the neighbourhood of American Harbour, on
the coast of Labrador, where thousands of Terns were plunging headlong
after shrimps all round us. In that country, their eggs were deposited
among the short grass, and the places which they occupied were but
slightly scratched; whereas on the Magdalene Islands, where they breed
on sandy ridges, slight hollows were scooped out, as is generally
the case along the eastern coast of the United States. Their sojourn
in Labrador is of short duration; and when we were at Newfoundland,
on the 14th of August, multitudes were already passing southward.
At the same period considerable numbers pass by an inland route from
the Canadas, and all our great lakes, travelling along the Ohio and
Mississippi. While residing at Henderson, and afterwards at Cincinnati,
I had ample opportunities of watching their movements in the month
of September. And yet, you will think it strange, that, during their
vernal migration, I never saw one ascend any of these rivers or the
streams connected with them. Perhaps the inferior temperature of the
waters, compared with those of the ocean, in the early spring months,
may induce them to abandon their route at that season. In autumn, on
the contrary, when these rivers are heated and reduced in size, the
Terns may find in them an abundant supply of the fry of various fishes.
It would thus appear, being corroborated by other observations which I
have made relative to migration, that species whose range is extensive,
are determined in their movements by a genial temperature and an
abundant supply of food.
With an easy and buoyant flight, the Tern visits the whole of our
indented coasts, with the intention of procuring food, or of rearing
its young, amidst all the comforts and enjoyments which kind Nature has
provided for it. Full of agreeable sensations, the mated pair glide
along side by side, as gaily as ever glided bridegroom and bride.
The air is warm, the sky of the purest azure, and in every nook the
glittering fry tempts them to satiate their appetite. Here, dancing in
the sunshine, with noisy mirth, the vast congregation spreads over the
sandy shores, where, from immemorial time, the species has taken up
its temporary abode. They all alight, and with minced steps, and tails
carefully raised so as not to be injured by the sand, the different
pairs move about, renew their caresses, and scoop out a little cavity
in the soil. If you come again in a few days, you will find the place
covered with eggs. There they lie, three in each hollow, beautifully
spotted and pointed; and as they receive heat enough from the sun,
the birds have left them until evening. But not absent are they from
the cherished spot, for they have seen you, and now they all fly up
screaming. Although unable to drive you away, they seem most anxiously
to urge your departure by every entreaty they can devise; just as you
would do, were your family endangered by some creature as much stronger
than yourself as you are superior to them. Humanity fills your heart,
you feel for them as a parent feels, and you willingly abandon the
place. The eggs are soon hatched; the young in due time follow their
parents, who, not considering their pleasant labour ended when they are
able to fly, feed them on wing in the manner of swallows, until they
are quite capable of procuring their subsistence themselves. So soon as
this is the case, the young birds fly off in bands, to seek on distant
shores, and in sunny climes, the plentiful food which the ocean yields.
The nest of the Common Tern is, as I have said, a mere hollow made in
the loose sand of some island or mainland beach, scantily tufted with
wiry grass, or strewed with sea-weeds. Their eggs never exceed three
in number; their average length is 1 inch 5-1/2 eighths, their breadth
1-1/4 inch. They vary greatly in their markings, as is the case with
those of all the smaller species of this family; but their ground
colour is generally pale yellowish-green, blotched and spotted with
brownish-black and purplish-grey or neutral tint.
The young, which are fed with small fishes, shrimps, and insects,
separate from the old birds when fully fledged, and do not again
associate with them until the following spring, when both are found
breeding in the same places. It seems quite curious to see these young
birds in winter, during boisterous weather, throwing themselves into
the remotest parts of estuaries, and even visiting salt-water ponds at
some distance from the sea, as I have often seen them do at Charleston,
in South Carolina, when accompanied by my friend the Rev. Dr BACHMAN.
Their plumage is then so very different from that of the old birds,
that one might readily believe them to be of another species, did he
not observe that their mode of flying and their notes are the same.
Not less strange is it, that on such occasions none of the old birds
are to be seen in the place, they having remained, braving the fury of
the tempest, on the outer harbours. In the beginning of winter, young
birds also sometimes ascend the Mississippi as far as Natchez; and in
the same manner betake themselves to all the large lakes bordering the
Gulf of Mexico. There, as well as elsewhere, you see them plunge into
the water, and instantaneously secure their prey, rise as quickly, and
dash into another spot hard by, whenever food happens to be abundant.
I have many times seen the Common Tern suddenly fly up and come close
over a man or a dog, without the least apparent provocation, indeed
when far distant from its nest, and then pass and repass repeatedly
within a few yards, emitting a plaintive cry, as if its eggs or young
were in the immediate vicinity. At other times, when the birds were
yet distant from their young, and carrying fish in their bills, they
would, on seeing a man, round to, drop their food, and perform the same
evolutions. I, however, know nothing more remarkable of this species of
Tern, than that it should breed, as I know from personal observation to
be the case, along the whole of our Atlantic coast, in suitable places,
from Texas to Labrador.
When travelling in stormy weather, they skim over the surface of the
water, moving rapidly and close together; whereas in fine weather,
they rise high, and proceed in a straggling manner. Now and then I have
seen them alight among Tringas of different species, as well as among
Razor-billed Shearwaters, on outward sand beaches.
STERNA HIRUNDO, _Linn._ Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 227.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith., vol. ii. p. 807.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis
of Birds of the United States, 354.—_Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 412.
GREAT TERN, STERNA HIRUNDO, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith., vol. viii.
p. 76, pl. 60, fig. 1.
GREAT or COMMON TERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 271.
Adult Male. Plate CCCIX.
Bill about the same length as the head, rather slender, compressed,
nearly straight, tapering to a narrow point. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad and convex at the
base, narrow towards the end, the sides sloping, convex towards the
end, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip very slender. Nasal groove
rather long, and with a faint groove and ridge extending obliquely to
the edge of the mandible; nostrils sub-basal, linear, direct, pervious.
Lower mandible with the angle very narrow, extending beyond the middle,
the dorsal line straight, the sides ascending and convex, the edges
sharp and inflected, the tip very acute.
Head of moderate size, oblong; neck of moderate length; body very
slender. Feet very small; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus
very short, slender, compressed, covered anteriorly with twenty-two
small scutella, laterally and behind with reticular scales; toes very
small, slender, the first extremely small, the third longest, the
fourth considerably shorter, the second shorter than the fourth in the
same proportion; the anterior toes connected by reticulated webs, which
are deeply concave at their margin. Claws arched, compressed, that of
the hind toe smallest, of the middle by much the largest, and having
the inner edge thin and dilated.
Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the fore part of the
head; the feathers, in general, broad and rounded; wings very long,
narrow, and pointed; primary quills tapering to a rounded point,
slightly curved inwards, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondary quills short, broad incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner
more tapering. Tail long, very deeply forked, of twelve feathers, of
which the outer are tapering, the middle short and rounded.
Bill bright coral-red, black towards the end, the tip light yellow;
inside of mouth reddish-orange; eye hazel. Feet coral-red, lighter
than the bill; claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head, and the
hind neck half-way down, deep black, the anterior part tinged with
brown, the posterior with blue. The sides of the head, the fore neck,
and all the lower parts, white, with a slight tinge of greyish-blue on
the breast. Back, scapulars, and wings, light greyish-blue, the edges
of the wings, the rump, and upper tail-coverts, white, slightly tinged
with grey. First primary, with the outer web deep black, the shaft
white, on the inner web a greyish-black band running along the shaft,
narrow at the base, and widening so as to occupy the whole breadth of
the web for an inch at the end, where it is hoary. The next five have
the outer web, and a varying portion of the inner, in nearly their
whole length hoary, but at the same time with a dusky shade, which
becomes more apparent at the ends; the rest of the quills are like
the back, but margined and tipped with white. Tail-feathers with the
inner webs white, the outer webs of the colour of the back, paler on
the middle feathers, gradually deepening outwards, and on the outer
feathers dark or blackish-grey.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to the fork of the tail 11, to end
of wings 15-3/8, to end of claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing
from flexure 11-5/12; tail to end of lateral feathers 7-1/12, to fork
3-1/12; bare part of tibia (6-1/2)/12; tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe and
claw (3-1/2)/12, middle toe and claw 1-1/12. Weight 5 oz.
The female is similar to the male, but rather smaller. In some
instances I have seen a small portion of the forehead white.
Length to end of tail 15 inches, to the fork 11-1/2, to end of wings
15-1/4, to end of claws 11; extent of wings 30-1/4; wing from flexure
10-1/2. Weight 5 oz.
The young in their first plumage, have the bill dull greenish-black,
with the tip yellowish; the feet greenish-yellow.
In winter, the bill is black, with the base pale orange, and the tip
yellowish; the feet orange-yellow. The colours are as in the adult, the
forehead white, the rest of the head dusky, the upper parts having the
feathers slightly margined with lighter.
Length to end of tail 12-3/4, to the fork 11; to end of wings 14, to
end of claws 10-1/2; extent of wings 29-1/4; wing from flexure 8-1/4.
American and British specimens present no essential differences
when compared in considerable numbers. The outer web of the lateral
tail-feather is blackish-grey, and the inner webs of the tail-feathers
are white in all the specimens collected for comparison. The tarsus
in American specimens varies in length from 9 to 10-1/2 twelfths, and
the claw of the middle toe from 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 twelfths; but similar
differences are observed in the British birds.
The tongue is 1-4/12 inch long, sagittate and papillate at the base,
very slender, tapering, the point slit, the upper surface a little
concave, the lower horny towards the end. Aperture of posterior nares
linear, 9 twelfths long. Palate with a middle and two lateral ridges.
Œsophagus 6 inches long, extremely wide, its average diameter on
the neck 7 twelfths, within the thorax 11 twelfths. The stomach is
muscular, 1 inch long, the lateral muscles not distinguishable, the
fasciculi of fibres being disposed as in the rapacious birds; the
central tendinous spaces 3 twelfths in diameter; the cuticular lining
strong, with broad longitudinal rugæ. The contents of the stomach,
fishes. The proventriculus 1 inch long. Intestine 1 foot 7 inches long,
of moderate diameter, convoluted, varying from 2-3/4 twelfths to 2-1/2
twelfths. Rectum 1 inch long. Cœca 5 twelfths long, with a diameter of
3/4 of a twelfth.
The trachea is 3-1/4 inches long, 2-1/2 twelfths in breadth above,
1-1/2 twelfth below; its rings 103, feeble and unossified; the lateral
muscles extremely slender; there are sterno-tracheal muscles, but none
besides. Bronchial half-rings about 18.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER.
_TOTANUS MACULARIUS_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCX. MALE AND FEMALE.
In the course of my last journey in search of information respecting
the birds which at one season or other are found within the limits of
the United States, I observed so vast a number of them in Texas, that I
almost concluded that more than two-thirds of our species occur there.
Among them I observed the beautiful bird now before you.
The Spotted Sandpiper has a wonderfully extensive range, for I have met
with it not only in most parts of the United States, but also on the
shores of Labrador, where, on the 17th June 1833, I found it breeding.
On the 29th of July, the young were fully fledged, and scampering
over the rocks about us, amid the putrid and drying cod-fish. In that
country it breeds later by three months than in Texas; for on the
head waters of Buffalo Bayou, about sixty miles from the margin of
the Mexican Gulf, I saw broods already well grown on the 5th of May
1837. On the same day of the same month in 1832, a similar occurrence
happened on an island near Indian Key, on the south-east coast of
Florida. In Newfoundland, on the other hand, the young were just fully
fledged on the 11th of August 1833. It appears strange that none were
observed by Dr RICHARDSON on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, or in the
interior of that country. They are quite abundant along the margins
of the Mississippi, the Ohio, and their tributaries, where they remain
until driven off by the cold, and return about the beginning of April,
at which period the Purple Martin also makes its appearance. In our
Middle Districts, they arrive a fortnight later. On the Island of
Jestico, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, about twenty pairs had nests and
eggs on the 11th of June; and the air was filled with the pleasing
sound of their voices while we remained there. The nests were placed
among the tall slender grass that covered the southern part of the
island. They were more bulky and more neatly constructed than any
that I have examined southward of the Gulf of St Lawrence; and yet
they were not to be compared with those found in Labrador, where, in
every instance they were concealed under ledges of rocks extending for
several feet over them, so that I probably should not have observed
them, had not the birds flown off as I was passing. These nests were
made of dry moss, raised to the height of from six to nine inches, and
well finished within with slender grasses and feathers of the Eider
Duck. As usual however, the eggs were always four, when the bird was
sitting. They measure an inch and a quarter in length, by an inch at
their thickest part, so that they have a shortish and bulky appearance,
though they run almost to a point. They are smooth, and handsomely
marked with blotches of deep brown and others of a lighter tint, on a
greyish-yellow ground, the spots being larger and closer towards the
rounded end. Both sexes incubate, and remain with their brood until the
time of their departure.
My learned friend THOMAS NUTTALL has described the manners of this
species as observed in the neighbourhood of Boston, with so much
truth and accuracy, that I cannot do better than present you with
his account of it, the more especially, that in so doing, I have an
opportunity of expressing the high opinion I entertain of his talents
and varied accomplishments. “The Peet Weet is one of the most familiar
and common of all the New England marsh birds, arriving along our
river shores, and low meadows, about the beginning of May, from their
mild or tropical winter quarters in Mexico. As soon as it arrives on
the coast, small roving flocks are seen, at various times of the day,
coursing rapidly along the borders of our tide-water streams, flying
swiftly and rather low, in circular sweeps along the meanders of the
rock or river, and occasionally crossing from side to side, in rather
a sportive and cheerful mien, than as the needy foragers they appear
at the close of the autumn. While flying out in these wide circuits,
agitated by superior feelings to those of hunger and necessity, we hear
the shores re-echo the shrill and rapid whistle of ’weet, ’weet, ’weet,
’weet, and usually closing the note with something like a warble, as
they approach their companions on the strand. The cry then varies to
’peet, ’weet, ’weet, ’weet, beginning high and gradually declining
into a somewhat plaintive tone. As the season advances, our little
lively marine wanderers often trace the streams some distance into the
interior, resting usually in fresh meadows among the grass, sometimes
even near the house, and I have seen their eggs laid in a strawberry
bed; and the young and old, pleased with their allowed protection,
familiarly fed, and probed the margin of the adjoining duck-pond, for
their usual fare of worms and insects. They have the very frequent
habit of balancing or wagging the tail, in which even the young join
as soon as they are fledged. From the middle to the close of May, the
pairs, seceding from their companions, seek out a place for their nest,
which is always in a dry open field of grass or grain, sometimes in
the seclusion and shade of a field of maize, but most commonly in a dry
pasture, contiguous to the sea shore; and in some of the solitary and
small sea islands, several pairs sometimes nestle near to each other,
in the immediate vicinity of the noisy nurseries of the quailing Terns.
On being flushed from her eggs, the female goes off without uttering
any complaint; but when surprised with her young, she practises all
the arts of dissimulation common to many other birds, fluttering in
the path, as if badly wounded, and generally proceeds in this way so
far as to deceive a dog, and cause it to overlook the brood, for whose
protection these instinctive arts are practised; nor are the young
without their artful instinct, for on hearing the reiterated cries of
their parents, they scatter about, and squatting still in the withered
grass, almost exactly their colour, it is with careful search very
difficult to discover them, so that in nine times out of ten, they
would be overlooked, and only be endangered by the tread, which they
would endure sooner than betray their cautious retreat.
“At a later period the shores and marshes resound with the quick,
clear, and oft-repeated note of peet weet, peet weet, followed up by
a plaintive call on the young, of peet, peet, peet? peet? If this is
not answered by the scattered brood, a reiterated ’weet, ’weet, ’weet,
’wait, ’wait, is heard, the voice dropping on the final syllables.
The whole marsh and the shores at times echo to this loud, lively, and
solicitous call of the affectionate parents for their brood. The cry,
of course, is most frequent toward evening, when the little family,
separated by the necessity of scattering themselves over the ground in
quest of food, are again desirous of reassembling to roost. The young,
as soon as hatched, run about the grass, and utter from the first
a weak plaintive peep, at length more frequent and audible; and an
imitation of the whistle of peet weet, is almost sure to meet with an
answer from the sympathizing broods, which now throng our marshes. When
the note appears to be answered, the parents hurry, and repeat their
call with great quickness. Young and old, previous to their departure,
frequent the sea shores, like most of the species, but never associate
with other kinds, nor become gregarious, living always in families till
the time of their departure, which usually occurs about the middle of
October.”
My esteemed friend THOMAS MACCULLOCH of Pictou, Nova Scotia, having
transmitted to me a curious account of the attachment of one of
these birds to her eggs, I here insert it with pleasure. “Being on an
excursion to the Hardwood Heights, which rise to the west of Pictou,
my attention was attracted by the warble of a little bird, which
appeared to me entirely new, and which proceeded from a small thicket
a short way off. Whilst crossing an intervening meadow, I accidentally
raised a Spotted Sandpiper from its nest, and having marked the spot I
hastened forwards; but the shyness of the object of my pursuit rendered
all my efforts unavailing, and returning to the nest which I had just
left, I expected to find it still unoccupied; but the Sandpiper had
again resumed her place, and left it with great reluctance, on my near
approach. The nest contained four eggs, which I determined to remove on
my return at night, and for the purpose of preventing the bird sitting
again upon them, I placed a number of stones in a slanting position
over the nest, and so close that it was impossible for the bird to get
into it. On my return in the evening, however, I observed the little
creature rise from beside the stones apparently in greater trepidation
than ever, and more anxious to draw me away by the exhibition of all
those little arts which they practise for this purpose. On examining
the spot I was very much surprised to find that the poor thing had not
only hollowed out a new nest, but had actually succeeded in abstracting
two eggs from the other nest. How the bird had contrived to remove
the eggs I cannot conceive, as the stones remained unaltered. This
attachment to its nest and eggs appeared to me more singular as the
bird had just commenced incubation, the eggs exhibiting very little
appearance of the young.”
In addition to the observations of THOMAS NUTTALL, I must inform you
that this species is often observed to alight on the branches of trees
hanging over water-courses, on which they walk deliberately, and with
their usual delicate elegance of gait, and balancing of both body
and tail. They are also wont to alight more frequently on the rails
and stakes of fences, or on walls. I have seen them on the tops of
hay-stacks, where they seemed to be engaged in pursuing insects. On
several occasions I have found their nests in orchards of both peach
and apple trees, at a considerable distance from water, the use of
which, indeed, they do not appear to require much during the progress
of incubation, or the first weeks after hatching their young, when I
have seen them rambling in search of food over large open fields of
sweet potatoes and other vegetables, in the neighbourhood of some of
our cities.
While these birds are flying, in the love season, the points of their
wings are considerably bent down, and they propel themselves by strong
and decided beats, supporting themselves afterwards by slow tremulous
motions of their pinions, to the distance of some yards, when they
repeat the strong beats, and thus continue until they realight,
uttering all the while their well-known notes, so accurately described
by my friend NUTTALL.
In the autumnal months, along the shores of La Belle Riviere, I have
often with much delight watched the movements of these birds, when I
have been surprised to see the pertinacity with which, after the first
frosts, they would pursue their migration down the stream, for on
attempting to make them fly the other way, they would rise, sometimes
to the height of twenty yards, and flying over head or along the river,
proceed downwards, although at any other time they would exhibit no
such propensity. They run along the shores, and through shallow water,
with great nimbleness; and while courting, the male struts before the
female, with depressed wings, spreading out his tail and trailing it
along the ground, in the manner of the Migratory and Rufous Thrushes.
The young become very fat in autumn, and afford delicious eating, for
as they feed much on worms, aquatic insects, and small mollusca, their
flesh seldom has a fishy taste. The male and female are alike, and
almost equal in size. The young differ from the old until the approach
of winter, when, with the exception of their being rather smaller, no
difference can be perceived.
This species occurs also in Europe, and a few individuals have been
shot in England.
TOTANUS MACULARIUS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p.
656.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
325.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER, TRINGA MACULARIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
pl. 59. fig. 1.
SPOTTED TATLER or PEET WEET, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
162.
Adult Male. Plate CCCX. Fig. 1.
Bill a little longer than the head, very slender, subcylindrical,
straight, flexible, compressed, the point rather obtuse. Upper mandible
with the dorsal line straight, the ridge convex, broader at the base,
slightly depressed towards the end, the sides sloping, towards the
end convex, the edges sharp, the tip slightly deflected. Nasal groove
extending over three-fourths of the length of the bill; nostrils basal,
linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and extremely
narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides grooved at the base, convex
towards the end.
Head small, oblong. Eyes rather large. Neck of moderate length. Body
rather slender. Feet rather long and slender; tibia bare nearly half
its length, scutellate before and behind; tarsus also scutellate
before and behind; hind toe very small and elevated; fore toes rather
long, very slender, connected by basal webs, of which the outer is
much larger; second toe considerably shorter than fourth; all flat
beneath, and marginate. Claws small, slightly arched, much compressed,
rather sharp, that of the middle toe much larger, with the inner edge
considerably dilated.
Plumage very soft, blended, on the fore part of the head very short.
Wings long, narrow, pointed; primaries rather narrow and tapering,
first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries short, broad,
incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail of
moderate length, much rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill greenish-olive above, yellow beneath, the point of both mandibles
black. Eye hazel. Feet pale yellowish flesh-colour, claws black. All
the upper parts shining deep brownish-olive, the head longitudinally
streaked, the back transversely barred, with black. A line from the
bill to the eye and beyond it white, another beneath it dusky. All
the lower parts white, marked with numerous brownish-black spots,
smaller on the throat, largest and roundish on the breast and sides.
Axillary feathers pure white, lower wing-coverts white mottled with
dusky. Quills brownish-black, glossed with green, the elongated inner
secondaries like the back; the primaries slightly tipped with white,
the secondaries, excepting the inner, more distinctly so, the white
forming on them a conspicuous band. Four middle tail-feathers like the
back, with a band of black at the end, the tip white; the next pair
on each side similar, with the white tip larger; the next barred with
dusky on the outer web; the lateral feather with the outer web white
similarly barred.
Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 7-1/2, to end of claws
8-1/2; extent of wings 13-3/4; wing from flexure 4-7/8; tail 2; bill
along the ridge 1; tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe and claw (4-1/4)/12;
middle toe and claw 1-1/12.
Female. Plate CCCX. Fig. 2.
There is hardly any difference between the sexes.
The young in winter have the bill black at the end, dusky olive above,
yellow beneath; the feet yellowish flesh-colour. The lower parts are
brownish-white, without spots; the upper of the same brownish-olive as
in the adult, but the head and hind neck destitute of streaks, and the
rest with narrower and more numerous dusky bars.
The tongue is 10 twelfths long, slender, tapering to a point, grooved
above, sagittate and papillate at the base. The roof of the mouth
with a single row of papillæ, posteriorly divided into two series.
Œsophagus 3 inches and 8 twelfths long, its diameter 2 twelfths,
and nearly uniform. Proventriculus 1/2 inch long, 3-1/2 twelfths in
diameter. Stomach elliptical, 8-1/2 twelfths long, 6-1/2 twelfths
in breadth; its lateral muscles strong, the tendinous spaces oblong;
the cuticular lining with large longitudinal rugæ, and of a deep red
colour. The contents of the stomach in this individual were remains of
marine insects, and quartz sand. Intestine 10 inches long, its diameter
varying from 1-1/2 twelfth to 1 twelfth; it enlarges near the rectum
to 2 twelfths. Rectum 1 inch and 1 twelfth; cœca 1 inch and 1 twelfth,
their diameter 3/4 of a twelfth.
The trachea is 2 inches and 8 twelfths long, its diameter from 2
twelfths to 1 twelfth; its rings 105, feeble and unossified. The
lateral muscles extremely feeble; sterno-tracheals moderate; a single
pair of inferior laryngeal muscles.
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN.
_PELECANUS AMERICANUS._
PLATE CCCXI. ADULT MALE.
I feel great pleasure, good Reader, in assuring you, that our White
Pelican, which has hitherto been considered the same as that found
in Europe, is quite different. In consequence of this discovery, I
have honoured it with the name of my beloved country, over the mighty
streams of which, may this splendid bird wander free and unmolested to
the most distant times, as it has already done from the misty ages of
unknown antiquity.
In Dr RICHARDSON’s Introduction to the second volume of the Fauna
Boreali-Americana, we are informed, that the _Pelecanus Onocrotalus_
(which is the bird now named _P. Americanus_) flies in dense flocks
all the summer in the fur countries. At page 472, the same intrepid
traveller says, that “Pelicans are numerous in the interior of the fur
countries up to the sixty-first parallel; but they seldom come within
two hundred miles of Hudson’s Bay. They deposit their eggs usually on
rocky islands, on the brink of cascades, where they can scarcely be
approached; but they are otherwise by no means shy birds.” My learned
friend also speaks of the “long thin bony process seen on the upper
mandible of the bill of this species;” and although neither he nor Mr
SWAINSON pointed out the actual differences otherwise existing between
this and the European species, he states that no such appearance has
been described as occurring on the bills of the White Pelicans of the
old Continent.
When, somewhat more than thirty years ago, I first removed to Kentucky,
Pelicans of this species were frequently seen by me on the sand-bars of
the Ohio, and on the rock-bound waters of the rapids of that majestic
river, situated, as you well know, between Louisville and Shippingport.
Nay when, a few years afterwards, I established myself at Henderson,
the White Pelicans were so abundant that I often killed several at a
shot, on a well known sand-bar, which protects Canoe Creek Island.
During those delightful days of my early manhood, how often have I
watched them with delight! Methinks indeed, Reader, those days have
returned to me, as if to enable me the better once more to read the
scattered notes contained in my often-searched journals.
Ranged along the margins of the sand-bar, in broken array, stand a
hundred heavy-bodied Pelicans. Gorgeous tints, all autumnal, enrich the
foliage of every tree around, the reflection of which, like fragments
of the rainbow, seems to fill the very depths of the placid and almost
sleeping waters of the Ohio. The subdued and ruddy beams of the orb
of day assure me that the Indian summer has commenced, that happy
season of unrivalled loveliness and serenity, symbolic of autumnal
life, which to every enthusiastic lover of nature must be the purest
and calmest period of his career. Pluming themselves, the gorged
Pelicans patiently wait the return of hunger. Should one chance to
gape, all, as if by sympathy, in succession open their long and broad
mandibles, yawning lazily and ludicrously. Now, the whole length of
their largest quills is passed through the bill, until at length their
apparel is as beautifully trimmed as if the party were to figure at a
route. But mark, the red beams of the setting sun tinge the tall tops
of the forest trees; the birds experience the cravings of hunger, and
to satisfy them they must now labour. Clumsily do they rise on their
columnar legs, and heavily waddle to the water. But now, how changed
do they seem! Lightly do they float, as they marshal themselves, and
extend their line, and now their broad paddle-like feet propel them
onwards. In yonder nook, the small fry are dancing in the quiet water,
perhaps in their own manner bidding farewell to the orb of day, perhaps
seeking something for their supper. Thousands there are, all gay, and
the very manner of their mirth, causing the waters to sparkle, invites
their foes to advance toward the shoal. And now the Pelicans, aware
of the faculties of their scaly prey, at once spread out their broad
wings, press closely forward with powerful strokes of their feet,
drive the little fishes toward the shallow shore, and then, with their
enormous pouches spread like so many bag-nets, scoop them out and
devour them in thousands.
How strange it is, Reader, that birds of this species should be found
breeding in the Fur Countries, at about the same period when they
are to be found on the waters of the inland bays of the Mexican Gulf!
On the 2d of April 1837, I met with these birds in abundance at the
south-west entrance or mouth of the Mississippi, and afterwards saw
them in the course of the same season, in almost every inlet, bay, or
river, as I advanced toward Texas, where I found some of them in the
Bay of Galveston, on the 1st of May. Nay, while on the Island of Grande
Terre, I was assured by Mr ANDRY, a sugar-planter, who has resided
there for some years, that he had observed White Pelicans along the
shores every month of the year. Can it be, that in this species of
bird, as in many others, barren individuals should remain in sections
of countries altogether forsaken by those which are reproductive? The
latter, we know, travel to the Rocky Mountains and the Fur Countries
of the north, and there breed. Or do some of these birds, as well
as of certain species of our ducks, remain and reproduce in those
southern localities, induced to do so by some organic or instinctive
peculiarity? Ah, Reader, how little do we yet know of the wonderful
combinations of Nature’s arrangements, to render every individual of
her creation comfortable and happy under all the circumstances in which
they may be placed!
My friend JOHN BACHMAN, in a note to me, says that “this bird is now
more rare on our coast than it was thirty years ago; for I have heard
it stated that it formerly bred on the sand banks of our Bird Islands.
I saw a flock on the Bird Banks off Bull’s Island, on the 1st day of
July 1814, when I procured two full-plumaged old birds, and was under
the impression that they had laid eggs on one of those banks, but the
latter had the day previous to my visit been overflowed by a spring
tide, accompanied with heavy wind.”
A single pair of our White Pelicans were procured not far from
Philadelphia, on the Delaware or Schuylkill, ten or twelve years
ago. These were the only birds of this kind that, I believe, were
ever observed in our Middle Districts, where even the Brown Pelican,
_Pelecanus fuscus_, is never seen. Nor have I heard that an individual
of either species has ever been met with on any part of the shores
of our Eastern States. From these facts, it may be concluded that
the White Pelicans reach the Fur Countries of Hudson’s Bay by inland
journeys, and mostly by passing along our great western rivers in the
spring months, as they are also wont to do, though with less rapid
movements, in autumn.
Reader, I have thought a thousand times perhaps that the present state
of migration of many of our birds, is in a manner artificial, and
that a portion of the myriads of Ducks, Geese, and other kinds, which
leave our Southern Districts every spring for higher latitudes, were
formerly in the habit of remaining and breeding in every section of the
country that was found to be favourable for that purpose. It seems to
me that it is now on account of the difficulties they meet with, from
the constantly increasing numbers of our hostile species, that these
creatures are urged to proceed towards wild and uninhabited parts of
the world, where they find that security from molestation necessary
to enable them to rear their innocent progeny, but which is now denied
them in countries once their own.
The White American Pelican never descends from on wing upon its prey,
as is the habit of the Brown Pelican; and, although on many occasions
it fishes in the manner above described, it varies its mode according
to circumstances, such as a feeling of security, or the accidental
meeting with shoals of fishes in such shallows as the birds can well
compass. They never dive for their food, but only thrust their head
into the waters as far as their neck can reach, and withdraw it as soon
as they have caught something, or have missed it, for their head is
seldom out of sight more than half a minute at a time. When they are
upon rivers, they usually feed along the margin of the water, though,
I believe, mostly in swimming depth, when they proceed with greater
celerity than when on the sand. While thus swimming, you see their
necks extended, with their upper mandible only above the water, the
lower being laterally extended, and ready to receive whatever fish or
other food may chance to come into the net-like apparatus attached to
it.
As this species is often seen along the sea shores searching for
food, as well as on fresh water, I will give you a description of its
manners there. While on the Island of Barataria in April 1837, I one
afternoon observed a number of White Pelicans in company with a flock
of the Brown species, all at work, searching for food, the Brown in the
manner already described, the White in the following. They all swam
against the wind and current, with their wings partially extended,
and the neck stretched out, the upper mandible alone appearing above
the surface, while the lower must have been used as a scoop-net, as I
saw it raised from time to time, and brought to meet the upper, when
the whole bill immediately fell to a perpendicular position, the water
was allowed to run out, and the bill being again raised upwards, the
fish was swallowed. After thus swimming for about an hundred yards
in an extended line, and parallel to each other, they would rise on
wing, wheel about, and realight at the place where their fishing had
commenced, when they would repeat the same actions. They kept farther
from the shore than the Brown Pelicans, and in deeper water, though at
times one of the latter would dive after fish close to some of them,
without their showing the least degree of enmity towards each other.
I continued watching them more than an hour, concealed among a large
quantity of drifted logs, until their fishing was finished, when they
all, White and Brown together, flew off to the lee of another island,
no doubt to spend the night there, for these birds are altogether
diurnal. When gorged, they retire to the shores, to small islands in
bays or rivers, or sit on logs floating in shallow water, at a good
distance from the beach; in all which situations they are prone to lie
down, or stand closely together.
Being anxious, when on my last expedition, to procure several specimens
of these birds for the purpose of presenting you with an account of
their anatomical structure, I requested all on board our vessel to
shoot them on all occasions; but no birds having been procured, I was
obliged to set out with a “select party” for the purpose. Having heard
some of the sailors say that large flocks of White Pelicans had been
seen on the inner islets of Barataria Bay, within the island called
Grande Terre, we had a boat manned, and my friend EDWARD HARRIS, my
son, and myself, went off in search of them. After a while we saw large
flocks of these birds on some grounded logs, but found that it was
no easy matter to get near them, on account of the shallowness of the
bay, the water being scarcely two feet in depth for upwards of half a
mile about us. Quietly, and with all possible care, we neared a flock;
and strange it was for me to be once more within shooting distance of
White Pelicans. It would no doubt be a very interesting sight to you,
were you to mark the gravity and sedateness of some hundreds of these
Pelicans, closely huddled together on a heap of stranded logs, or a
small bank of racoon oysters. They were lying on their breasts, but as
we neared them they all arose deliberately to their full height. Some,
gently sliding from the logs, swam off towards the nearest flock, as
unapprehensive of danger as if they had been a mile distant. But now
their bright eyes were distinctly visible to us, our guns, charged with
buckshot, were in readiness, and my son was lying in the bow of the
boat waiting for the signal. “Fire!”—The report is instantly heard,
the affrighted birds spread their wings and hurry away, leaving behind
three of their companions floating on the water. Another shot from a
different gun brought down a fourth from on wing; and as a few were
scampering off wounded, we gave chase, and soon placed all our prizes
in the after sheets. About a quarter of a mile farther on, we killed
two, and pursued several that were severely wounded in the wing, but
they escaped, for they swam off so rapidly that we could not propel our
boat with sufficient force amidst the tortuous shallows. The Pelicans
appeared tame, if not almost stupid; and at one place, where there
were about sixty on an immense log, could we have gone twenty yards
nearer, we might have killed eight or ten at a single discharge. But
we had already a full cargo, and therefore returned to the vessel, on
the decks of which the wounded birds were allowed to roam at large.
We found these Pelicans hard to kill, and some which were perforated
with buckshot did not expire until eight or ten minutes after they were
fired at. A wonderful instance of this tenacity of life was to be seen
on board a schooner then at anchor in the harbour. A Pelican had been
grazed on the hind part of the head with an ounce ball from a musket,
and yet five days afterwards it was apparently convalescent, and had
become quite gentle. When wounded, they swim rather sluggishly, and do
not attempt to dive, or even to bite, like the Brown Pelicans, although
they are twice as large, and proportionally stronger. After being shot
at, they are perfectly silent, but when alighted they utter a hollow
guttural sound somewhat resembling that produced by blowing through the
bung-hole of a cask.
The White Pelicans appear almost inactive during the greater part
of the day, fishing only soon after sunrise, and again about an hour
before sunset; though at times the whole flock will mount high in the
air, and perform extended gyrations in the manner of the Hooping Crane,
Wood Ibis, and Vultures. These movements are probably performed for
the purpose of assisting their digestion, and of airing themselves,
in the higher and cooler regions of the atmosphere. Whilst on the
ground, they at times spread their wings to the breeze, or to the rays
of the sun; but this act is much more rarely performed by them than
by the Brown Pelicans. When walking, they seem exceedingly awkward,
and like many cowardly individuals of our own species, are apt to snap
at objects which they appear to know perfectly to be so far superior
to them as to disdain taking notice of them. Their usual manner of
flight is precisely similar to that of our Brown species. It is said
by authors that the White Pelican can alight on trees; but I have never
seen a single instance of its doing so. I am of opinion that the ridge
projecting from the upper mandible increases in size as the bird grows
older, and that it uses that apparatus as a means of defence or of
attack, when engaged with its rivals in the love-season.
The number of small fishes destroyed by a single bird of this species
may appear to you, as it did to me, quite extraordinary. While I was
at General HERNANDEZ’s plantation in East Florida, one of them chanced
to pass close over the house of my generous host, and was brought dead
to the ground. It was not a mature bird, but apparently about eighteen
months old. On opening it, we found in its stomach several hundreds of
fishes, of the size of what are usually called minnows. Among the many
which I have at different times examined, I never found one containing
fishes as large as those commonly swallowed by the Brown species,
which, in my opinion, is more likely to secure a large fish by plunging
upon it from on wing, than a bird which must swim after its prey.
This beautiful species,—for, Reader, it is truly beautiful, and you
would say so were you to pick it up in all the natural cleanness of
its plumage, from the surface of the water,—carries its crest broadly
expanded, as if divided into two parts from the centre of the head.
The brightness of its eyes seemed to me to rival that of the purest
diamond; and in the love season, or the spring of the year, the
orange-red colour of its legs and feet, as well as of the pouch and
bill, is wonderfully enriched, being as represented in my plate, while
during the autumnal months these parts are pale. Its flesh is rank,
fishy, and nauseous, and therefore quite unfit for food, unless in
cases of extreme necessity. The idea that these birds are easily caught
when gorged with fish, is quite incorrect, for when approached, on such
an occasion, they throw up their food, as Vultures are wont to do.
I regret exceedingly that I cannot say any thing respecting their
nests, eggs, or young, as I have not been in the countries in which
they are said to breed.
PELECANUS AMERICANUS.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXI.
Bill a little more than thrice the length of the head, rather slender,
almost straight, depressed. Upper mandible linear, depressed, convex at
the base, gradually flattened and a little enlarged to near the end,
when it again narrows, and terminates in a hooked point. The ridge is
broad and convex at the base, becomes gradually narrowed and flattened
beyond the middle, is elevated into a thin crest about an inch high,
of a fibrous structure, and about three inches in length (in some
specimens as much as five inches) which is continued forwards of less
elevation to the extent of an inch farther. The ridge of the mandible
is then narrow and flat, and terminates in the unguis, which is oblong,
slightly carinate above, curved, obtuse, concave beneath. The edges are
very sharp and a little involute; the lower surface of the mandible has
a median slender sharp ridge, on each side of which, at the distance
of a quarter of an inch is a stronger ridge having a groove in its
whole length; the sides then slope upwards to the incurved margin, and
in this latter space is received the edge of the other mandible. Lower
mandible having its crura separated, very slender, elastic, and meeting
only at the very extremity, so that the angle or interspace may be
described as extremely long, occupying in fact the whole length of the
bill excepting four-twelfths of an inch at the end; for two-thirds of
its length from the base, the lower mandible is broader than the upper,
which is owing to the crura lying obliquely, but beyond the crest it is
narrower; the extremely short dorsal line ascending, convex, the edges
inflected, sharp, and longitudinally grooved. To the lower mandible,
in place of the skin or membrane filling up the angle in most other
birds, is appended a vast sac seven inches in depth opposite the base
of the bill, and extending down the throat about eight inches, so that
its length from the tip of the lower mandible is twenty-one and a half
inches. It is formed of the skin, which is thin, transparent, elastic,
rugous, highly vascular, and capable of being expanded like a net,
supported by the elastic mandibles to the breadth of nine and a half
inches.
Head small, oblong; neck long, stout; body full, rather flattened.
Feet short and very stout; tibia bare at its lower part, covered
all round with small scales; tarsus short, very stout, compressed,
covered all round with hexagonal scales, of which the anterior are much
larger; toes in the same plane, all connected by reticulated webs, the
first shortest, the second an inch shorter than the fourth, which is
considerably longer than the third, scaly at the base, scutellate over
the rest of their extent. Claws short, strong, curved, rather blunt,
that of the middle toe with a sharp pectinate inner edge.
Feathers of the head and neck exceedingly small, slender, and of
a downy texture, those on the fore part of the head a little more
compact; on the nape they are elongated, acuminate, and form a
longitudinal narrow crest, which runs down the back of the neck. The
feathers in general are lanceolate, acuminate, and of moderately dense
texture; those at the junction of the neck and breast anteriorly are
stiffer and more elongated. Wings very long, rather narrow, rounded;
the humerus and cubitus very long in proportion; primaries much curved;
secondaries rather narrow, also incurved toward the end, the inner
extending when the wing is closed far beyond the tips of the primaries.
Tail short, broad, rounded, of _twenty-four_ feathers, which are broad
and abruptly acuminate.
Bill bare, space about the eye, and feet, rich bright yellow, becoming
brighter before their departure for their breeding grounds; claws
yellowish-brown; tip of the bill brighter than the rest. Iris white,
in younger birds dusky. The general colour of the plumage is pure
white; the crest, the elongated feathers on the fore part of the
breast, and those near the edge of the cubitus, pale yellow. The alula,
primary coverts, and primary quills, black, the shafts white, becoming
brownish-black, toward the end. The inner ten secondaries are white,
the rest black, more or less tipped with greyish-white, their bases
white, that colour more extended on the inner than the outer, the
shafts of all the quills white beneath, those of the secondaries tinged
with grey.
Dimensions of an old male. Length to end of tail 61-3/4 inches, to end
of wing 61-3/4, to end of claws 66-3/4, from the point of the bill to
the carpal joint 40; extent of wings 103; wing from flexure 24-1/2;
length of cubitus 15; tail 6-1/4; bill along the ridge 13-3/4, along
the edge of lower mandible 15; breadth of lower mandible at the base 2;
bare part of tibia 1; tarsus 4-8/12; middle toe 4-1/2, its claw 5/8;
outer toe 4-1/2, its claw 6/12; inner toe 3, its claw 7/12; hind toe
1-3/4, its claw 8/12. Weight 17-1/2 lb.
The female is rather less, and in as far as I am warranted by the
examination of several individuals in stating, is destitute of the
horny crest of the upper mandible.
A male, shot near Grande Terre, in the Gulf of Mexico, examined. The
skin is very thin, but the subcutaneous cellular tissue is extremely
developed, forming a thick reticular layer over the whole body. The
internal cells are also of vast size, the right hepatic being 4-1/2
inches long, the right abdominal 4-1/2 by 4; the left abdominal 5-1/2
by 4; the clavicular cell is not formed by a single cavity, but of
numberless cellules, like those of the subcutaneous tissue. The heart
_n_ is triangular, pointed, 3 inches long, 2 inches and 10 twelfths in
breadth; the aorta branches at the base, as in other birds, sending
off the two trunks which separate into the subclavian and carotid.
The lobes of the liver are extremely unequal, the right, _o_, being 4
inches in length, and 2-1/4 in breadth, while the left, _p_, is only 2
inches long, and 1-1/4 inch broad.
The mandibles are entirely covered with skin, of which the subcutaneous
tissue is wanting, the cutis condensed, and the cuticle in large
irregular longitudinal plates, leaving the surface somewhat rough and
scaly. The crest-like excrescence on the ridge of the upper mandible is
not formed of bone, nor otherwise connected with the osseous surface,
which is smooth and continuous beneath it, than by being placed upon
it, like any other part of the skin, and when softened by immersion in
a liquid may be bent a little to either side. It is composed internally
of erect slender plates of a fibrous texture, externally of horny
fibres, which are erect on the sides, and longitudinal on the broadened
ridge; these fibres being continuous with the cutis and cuticle. The
skin of the mandible is continuous with that of the pouch, of which
the structure is as follows. Externally there is a layer of cuticle,
beneath which is the cutis, extremely thin, and with the cuticle thrown
into longitudinal rugæ when contracted. The internal surface is also
of cuticle, and beneath it is a layer of cutis. Between these two very
thin layers of skin, is interposed an equally thin layer, composed
of two sets of very slender muscular fibres, separated from each
other, and running in two opposite directions. The outer fibres run
in fasciculi from the lower and inner edge of the mandible; those from
its base pass downwards, those arising more anteriorly pass gradually
more forwards, and spreading out, reach the middle line of the
pouch. The inner fibres have the same origin, and pass in a contrary
direction, backwards and inwards. From the hyoid bone to the junction
of the two crura of the mandible, which takes place almost at the
very tip, there extends a thin band of longitudinal muscular fibres,
in the centre of which is a cord of elastic tissue. By means of this
apparatus, the sac is contracted, so as to occupy little space. When
the bill is opened, the crura of the lower mandible separate from each
other to a considerable extent, by the action of the muscles inserted
into their base, this depending upon their oblique position, and the
sac is expanded. The upper mandible is capable of being moved to a
considerable extent.
Below the anterior angle of the eye is a small sac about 5 twelfths of
an inch in length, with an external aperture of 2 twelfths, and filled
with a pulpy substance. The nostrils are linear, about 3 twelfths of
an inch long, and quite concealed by the wrinkles of the skin. The
aperture of the posterior nares 8 twelfths. The tongue is an extremely
small, papilliform body, 3-1/2 twelfths of an inch long, and 1 twelfth
in diameter. The aperture of the glottis is linear, 8 twelfths in
length, destitute of papillæ behind.
[Illustration]
The pharynx is about 2-1/2 inches in breadth. The œsophagus _a_, at
the commencement, or opposite the tongue, has a diameter of about
6 inches, and contracts until the middle of the neck, where it is 3
inches in width; at its entrance into the thorax at _b_ it contracts
to 1-1/2 inch, but is dilatable to 3 inches; at this part, its inner
coat is thrown into very prominent longitudinal rugæ. The structure
of the œsophagus is similar to that of the Loon already described,
but its muscular coat is much thinner. On entering the thorax, it
again expands to a diameter of 3 inches. Its length from the glottis,
exclusive of the proventriculus, is 2 feet. The proventriculus, _cd_,
when not extended, has a diameter of 2 inches, its length being 4
inches and 8 twelfths. It is marked internally with six longitudinal
broad ridges, about half an inch in breadth, and separated by grooves;
and its cuticular lining is 1-1/2 twelfths thick, of a compact but soft
texture, elevated into tortuous reticulated ridges. The glandules,
which are cylindrical, the largest 3 twelfths of an inch long, 1/2
twelfth in diameter, form a complete elongated belt. The muscular coat
is also very thick, its inner layer composed of transverse, its outer
of longitudinal fibres, and the greatest thickness of the walls of the
proventriculus is about 4-1/2 twelfths of an inch. The stomach, _e_,
properly so called, is extremely small, being of a roundish, compressed
form, 1-1/4 inches in length, and of the same breadth; its muscular
coat composed of slender fasciculi, and not presenting a distinction
into lateral and inferior muscles, its inner coat smooth. Appended to
it on the right side is a sac _f_, of a roundish form, 1-9/12 inch in
length, and 1-1/2 in breadth, joining it by a contraction, of which
the diameter is 1/2 inch, and opening directly into the proventriculus,
as well as into the stomach; its walls thin, its inner surface smooth,
with numerous mucous crypts irregularly disposed. The pylorus, _g_, is
exceedingly small, 1-1/2 twelfths in diameter, with a thickened margin.
The duodenum _g_, _h_, _i_, passes backwards and upwards to the
length of 6-1/2 inches, returns upon itself enclosing the pancreas,
receives the biliary ducts at the distance of 14 inches from the
pylorus. The gall-bladder is oblong, 2 inches long, and 10 twelfths
broad. The intestine then forms numerous convolutions, _j_, _k_, _l_,
occupying the whole abdomen, and lying in part over the stomach and
proventriculus. Its entire length is 10 feet 10 inches. Its diameter
varies little, it being at the upper part 5 twelfths of an inch,
towards the rectum 3-1/2 twelfths. The rectum is 5-1/2 inches long,
including the cloaca, _m_, which is globular, and about 2-1/2 inches
in diameter. The cœca are 1 inch and 1 twelfth in length, 4 twelfths
in diameter, cylindrical, rounded at the end. The muscular coat of the
intestine is very strong, the inner villous.
One of the testes is 1 inch long, the other 1-1/2; their form oblong.
In the proventriculus and stomach is a vast accumulation of small
lumbrici, about 1-1/4 inch in length, and amounting to about 1000.
The trachea is 1 foot 10 inches long, a little flattened, 1/2 inch in
diameter throughout, but a little narrower about the middle; the rings
160, not ossified, excepting the lower. The contractor muscles are very
small; as are the sterno-tracheal; and the inferior larynx is destitute
of muscles. The bronchi are large, 5 twelfths in diameter, of 25 half
rings.
The upper mandible is hollow in its whole extent; but the lateral
spaces intervening between the edges of the median bone or ridge and
the margins, are filled with a beautiful net-work of bony spiculæ. The
two superior maxillary branches of the fifth pair of nerves, which
are very large, being about 1 twelfth of an inch in diameter at the
base, run close together along the median line, sending off branches at
intervals, and extending to the end of the mandible. The lower mandible
is also hollow, and similarly reticulated. The inferior maxillary
branch, having entered on the inner side at the base, runs in like
manner along its whole length, and is of the same thickness; by an
aperture on the outer side near the base, it sends off a branch almost
as thick, which runs within the membrane of the gular sac, parallel
to the mandible, and about half an inch distant from it, sending off
branches at intervals. The sac is plentifully supplied with blood
vessels.
The nasal cavity is of an oblong form, 1 inch and 5 twelfths in
length, passing obliquely backwards and upwards from the aperture
of the posterior nares, and opening externally by curving forwards;
its greatest diameter 5 twelfths, in its lower third 3 twelfths, and
so continuing until it expands into the inferior slit-like aperture,
which is 8 twelfths long. The cavity of the nose is thus small, and
the olfactory nerve, which passes out from the anterior part of the
brain, is a slender filament, about 1/3 of a twelfth in diameter. It
runs at first through a bony tube, then passes along the bony septum
of the orbits, in contact for a short space with the superior maxillary
nerve of the fifth pair, which at its commencement makes a great curve
upwards, and crosses the orbit to enter the maxillary cavity, which
has no communication with the olfactory. Fig. 2 represents the sternum
viewed from before. It is remarkable chiefly for its great breadth
and convexity. Its sides, _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, are nearly parallel; its
posterior margin broad, with two shallow notches, _e_, _f_, separated
by a short conical obtuse median process. The crest or ridge, _h_, _i_,
is carried forward in front, where it is only, however, of moderate
height, and is not continued to the posterior extremity, but terminates
at _i_, in the most convex part. The coracoid bones, _i_, _i_, are
extremely large, very broad at their lower part, and having a deep
groove and thin elongated process, _j_, at the upper for the tendon
of the pectoralis medius, which raises the wing. The furcula, _k_,
_k_, _l_, is anchylosed with the crest of the sternum, at _h_, has its
crura moderately stout and much diverging, and its upper extremity very
broad and recurvate. The scapula, of which only the anterior process
_t_, _l_, is seen, is small. A sternal apparatus like this indicates a
steady and powerful flight, the wings being supported upon a very firm
basis, and well separated. The great mass of the pectoral muscle being
thrown forward, it acts more directly than in such birds as the Gallinæ
and Ducks, in which it is placed farther backwards, and although its
bulk is not so great as in them, it is more advantageously situated.
The sternal apparatus of this Pelican is thus extremely similar to that
of the Cormorant, and the American Anhinga, and is also constructed on
the same plan as that of the Gannets, although in the latter its body
is more elongated.
[Illustration]
LONG-TAILED DUCK.
_FULIGULA GLACIALIS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXII. MALE AND FEMALE IN SUMMER, MALE IN WINTER, AND UNFLEDGED
YOUNG.
In the course of one of my rambles along the borders of a large
fresh-water lake, near Bras-d’or in Labrador, on the 28th of July 1833,
I was delighted by the sight of several young broods of this species
of Duck, all carefully attended to by their anxious and watchful
mothers. Not a male bird was on the lake, which was fully two miles
distant from the sea, and I concluded that in this species, as in many
others, the males abandon the females after incubation has commenced.
I watched their motions a good while, searching at the same time for
the nests, one of which I was not long in discovering. Although it was
quite destitute of anything bearing the appearance of life, it still
contained the down which the mother had plucked from herself for the
purpose of keeping her eggs warm. It was placed under an alder bush,
among rank weeds, not more than eight or nine feet from the edge of
the water, and was formed of rather coarse grass, with an upper layer
of finer weeds, which were neatly arranged, while the down filled the
bottom of the cavity, now apparently flattened by the long sitting of
the bird. The number of young broods in sight induced me to search for
more nests, and in about an hour I discovered six more, in one of which
I was delighted to find two rotten eggs. They measured 2 inches and 1/8
long, by 1-(4-1/2)/8 broad, were of a uniform pale yellowish-green, and
quite smooth.
My young companions had, unfortunately for me, walked that morning to
Blanc Sablon, about thirty miles distant, down the Straits of Belle
Isle; and having no dog to assist me in procuring some of the young
ducks, I was obliged to enact the part of one myself, although the
thermometer that day was 45° 50´, and the atmosphere felt chilly. I
gave chase to the younglings, which made for different parts of the
shore, as I followed them up to my middle in the water, while they
dived before me like so many Water-witches, the mothers keeping aloof,
and sounding their notes of alarm and admonition. I was fortunate
enough to procure several of the young birds, and afterwards shot one
of the old, which having young much smaller than the rest, was more
anxious for their safety, and kept with them within shot. She and
the young were afterwards put in rum, to be subsequently examined. I
counted eleven broods on the same pond, and Mr JONES assured me that
these birds always breed in numbers together, but rarely on the same
lake two successive years. Their plumage was ragged, in so far as I
could judge, and the individual which I shot was similar. They never
dived while in my sight, but seemed constantly to urge their young
to do so, and the little things so profited by the advice of their
parents, that had they remained in the water, instead of making, after
a while, for the land, I believe I should not have succeeded, after all
my exertions, in capturing a single one of them.
The gentleman above mentioned informed me that the old birds keep the
young in the ponds until they are quite able to fly, or until the end
of August, when the flocks remove on wing to the sea, and soon after
leave the coast, seldom reappearing before the first days of May, or
about two weeks before most other kinds of ducks. The little ones which
I procured, were as you see them represented in my plate. Those that
were larger were of the same colour, and none shewed any feathers on
their bodies. Now and then, like all other young ducks, they would
skim over the surface of the water with astonishing rapidity, emitting
a sharp note somewhat resembling the syllables _pee_, _pee_, _pee_,
and would then dive with the quickness of thought. When squatted among
the moss, they allowed me to take them without making any attempt to
escape. The young were put in a tub, and had some soaked biscuit placed
near them; but they were all found dead the next morning.
The range of this noisy, lively, and beautiful duck, extends along
our coast as far south as Texas, and it is also found at the mouth
of the Columbia River; but the species is never found on any of our
fresh-water courses, and I am quite confident that Mr SAY mistook for
it the Pintail Duck, _Anas acuta_, when he says that he found it on the
waters of the Missouri. During all my residence in the neighbourhood
of the Mississippi, and in the course of all my journeys on and along
its waters, I never saw one of these birds, or heard of any having
occurred on that stream above its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico;
whereas the Pintails are extremely abundant there, as well as on the
Missouri, the Ohio, and all our western streams, in spring and autumn.
Few Long-tailed Ducks are to be seen in the market of New Orleans, and
in fact they are altogether what our gunners usually call “sea ducks.”
The period of the first appearance of this species in autumn depends
much on the state of the weather. I have known a difference of a whole
month in the Sound, and quite as much in Chesapeake Bay, in both of
which it is most abundant in winter, rarely proceeding farther south
until driven away by extreme cold. Their advance from Labrador and
Newfoundland along the coast, until they reach Long Island, is more
hurried than afterwards. They arrive in small flocks, which are soon
joined by others, and as they are prone to congregate, vast numbers are
seen together in winter, when their cacklings, though different from
those of our frogs in spring, are almost as incessant from sunset until
dawn. For my part, I have never perceived any resemblance which their
notes bear to the words “south-southerly,” but think their noisy cries
as duckish as those of the Mallard, although sharper and more musical.
The best imitation is given by my friend NUTTALL, but if you attempt to
reduce the syllables to sounds, there is some probability of your at
least succeeding in exciting laughter in yourself or others. He says
the notes are “ogh, ough, egh,” and again “ogh, ogh, ogh, ough, egh,”
and adds that they are guttural, and have a ludicrous drawling tone. Dr
RICHARDSON informs us that “the peculiar cry of this duck is celebrated
in the songs of the Canadian voyagers.” This to my mind would imply
that the Long-tailed Ducks are seen by these adventurous travellers on
the waters of the inland streams, which would appear to be at variance
with their usual habits, for unless during the breeding season, they
give a decided preference to the sea; and indeed generally keep in deep
water. Owing to their reiterated cries these birds are named “Noisy
Ducks;” but they have various appellations, among others those of “old
wives,” and “old squaws.”
Although, like all sea-ducks, the “Old Wife” swims deeply, it moves
with a grace and celerity, which if not superior to those of any of
its tribe, are at least equal; and when the weather is rough, and the
waters agitated, it raises its tail in the same manner as the Ruddy
Duck and Pintail. When advancing in smooth water, its speed is such as
to cause a considerable swell before it, such as sea-faring persons
usually call a “bone.” Like all others of its tribe, it also prefers
swimming against both wind and tide, as then it can sooner take wing
if necessary. In calm and pleasant weather, like its congeners, it is
fond of throwing its body almost over, and of pluming itself in that
position. When on wing, the long feathers of its tail do not seem to
aid its progress, any more than in other species.
It seldom removes from the north on its way to our Middle Districts
in large flocks; but at the approach of the breeding season, and after
the birds appear to be all paired, they fly northward in long lines, or
broad fronts, moving high or low according to the state of the weather,
passing at times at a considerable distance from the shores, but flying
close to the points of every cape, although they never pass over an
isthmus however narrow. Their flight is swift, well sustained, and
accompanied with a well-marked whistling of their wings. Being expert
divers, it is difficult to kill them on the water; and if you happen
to wound one but slightly, I would advise you, Reader, to give up the
chase, unless you have hit it while on the ice, in which case you will
find that it runs rather awkwardly. Their flesh is none of the best,
being dark, generally tough, and to the taste fishy; for which reason
they are now-a-days frequently brought to our markets plucked, with the
head and feet cut off, and called by the venders by all names excepting
old wives, squaws, noisy ducks, or south-southerlies. The food of this
species consists chiefly of shell-fish; but in the stomachs of those
killed on fresh water in Labrador, I found small fishes, and a quantity
of grass and its roots.
From the great number of specimens which I have procured in our Middle
Districts in winter, and those which I have seen killed during the love
season in the north, I am induced to think that the elongated feathers
of the tail of this species scarcely if at all, differ in length at
these different periods, although some writers have said that in spring
they are much longer than in winter, in which latter season, however,
I think the old males differ only in the colour of their plumage from
their state in spring. I have obtained male specimens at New York and
at Baltimore early in March, when they were already much changed from
their appearance in winter; but my friend BACHMAN informs me that
he has never seen one with any appearance of the summer plumage at
Charleston in South Carolina, where however, he adds, this species is
not common.
I have represented two male birds, one in its full spring dress, the
other in that of winter. You will also find in the same plate the
first figure ever given of an adult female, accompanied with as many
younglings as I could conveniently introduce. WILSON gave the figure of
a young male in the first winter as that of a female.
ANAS GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 203.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 864.
FULIGULA GLACIALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis, p. 395.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, ANAS GLACIALIS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 93. pl. 70. fig. 1. male, pl. 70. fig. 2. female.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, HARELDA GLACIALIS, _Richardson and
Swainson_, Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 460.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 453.
Adult male in summer. Plate CCCXII. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, higher than broad at the base, gradually
depressed toward the end, the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded.
Upper mandible with the basal angles inconspicuous, the dorsal line
descending and straight to the unguis, then convex and decurved, the
ridge broad and flattened at the base, convex toward the end, the
sides sloping and convex, the unguis roundish, the edges membranous,
very narrow at the base, enlarged towards the end, with about thirty
lamellæ ending in a projecting point. Nostrils sub-basal, oblong,
direct, large, pervious, near the ridge, in an oblong groove with a
soft membrane. Lower mandible flat, a little curved upwards, the angle
very long and narrow, the unguis broad and rounded, the erect edges
with about forty direct lamellæ.
Head oblong, compressed, of moderate size. Eyes of moderate size. Neck
rather short. Body compact, rather elongated, and somewhat depressed.
Feet short, stout, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short,
compressed, anteriorly with a series of small scutella, externally of
which are five in a line with the outer toe, the rest reticulated with
angular scales. Hind toe very small, with a free membrane beneath;
outer toe, which is the longest, almost double the length of the
tarsus, middle toe scarcely shorter than outer; anterior toes with
numerous narrow scutella, webbed, the margin of the webs concave; inner
toe with a two-lobed expanded margin. Claws small, slightly arched,
blunt.
Plumage dense, blended, elastic, stiffish; but soft and glossy on the
head; the feathers broad and slightly rounded at the end. Scapulars
elongated, acuminate, the posterior decurved over the wing. Wings
shortish, narrow, pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering, the
second longest, exceeding the first by about one twelfth of an inch,
the rest rapidly decreasing; secondaries broad and rounded, the inner
elongated and pointed. Tail of fourteen pointed feathers, the outer
very short, the middle extremely attenuated and slightly recurved, the
intermediate proportional.
Bill black in its basal half, orange-yellow towards the end, the
unguis bluish-grey. Iris bright carmine. Feet light bluish-grey, the
webs dusky, claws black. A large oblong greyish white patch on each
side of the head from the bill to behind the ear; the upper part of
the head and nape black, that colour being narrowed in front by the
encroachment of the white patches. The neck all round, and anterior
half of the breast, of a rich dark chocolate-brown; the back and
wing-coverts brownish-black; the scapulars broadly margined with
light reddish-brown; the quills are of the same chocolate tint as the
breast, the secondaries margined externally with lighter, the primaries
internally. The middle four feathers of the tail brownish-black, the
outer two of these slightly margined with white, all the rest white,
but the inner with a longitudinal dusky patch on the outer web.
Length to end of tail 23 inches, to end of wings 15, to end of
claws 17; extent of wings 29-1/2; wing from flexure 9-1/2; middle
tail-feathers 10, lateral tail-feathers 2-1/2; bill along the ridge
1-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-8/12; tarsus 1-2/12; outer
toe and claw 2-3/12, middle toe and claw 1-2/12, hind toe and claw
(7-1/2)/12.
Female in summer. Plate CCCXII. Fig. 3.
The female is somewhat less than the male, and differs not only in
colour, but in the scapulars, which are not elongated, and in the
tail, which is short and rounded. The bill and feet are dusky green,
the iris yellow. The head is dark greyish-brown, with a patch of
greyish-white surrounding the eye, but not extending to the bill; there
is a larger patch of the same colour on the side of the neck, the hind
part of which is similar to the head, the fore part greyish-brown, the
feathers broadly margined with whitish. All the upper parts are of a
dark greyish-brown, the two lateral tail-feathers edged with white; the
lower parts white, the feathers under the wings slightly tinged with
grey.
Length to end of tail 15-3/4 inches, to end of wings 14-1/2, to end
of claws 16-5/8; extent of wings 26-1/2; wing from flexure 8; middle
tail-feathers 2-9/12, lateral 2-1/4; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along
the edge of lower mandible 1-5/12.
Adult male in winter. Plate CCCXII. Fig. 2.
The outer half of the bill rich orange-yellow, that colour extending
to the base along the ridge, the unguis and the basal half black, as
well as the unguis and edges of the lower mandible. The head, neck, the
fore part of back and scapulars, white; the space about the eye pale
greyish-red, and a large oblong patch of chocolate brown on the side of
the neck. The upper parts, including the four middle tail-feathers, are
brownish-black, but the secondary quills tinged with reddish-brown, and
having paler margins. The anterior half of the breast chocolate brown,
the rest of the lower parts and the four lateral tail-feathers white.
Unfledged young. Plate CCCXII.
The young when newly excluded are covered with stiffish down. Bill
and feet greenish-dusky; the upper parts chocolate-brown; a small spot
of white under the eye; throat and lower parts whitish, as well as an
oblong patch on the cheeks.
The young male in winter, that is, after its first moult, has the bill
and legs dusky green. The head and half of the neck are whitish; the
upper part of the former and a patch on the side of the latter mottled
with brownish-black and chocolate. The upper parts brownish-black,
variegated with brownish-red, the still unelongated scapulars chiefly
of the latter colour. A broad undefined belt of reddish-brown over the
lower fore part of the neck; the rest of the lower parts greyish-white.
Length to end of tail 22 inches; extent of wings 29.
The young female in winter is similar to the adult, but with the upper
parts paler, the light-coloured patches on the head and neck more
dusky, and the lower parts of a less pure white.
Adult males, assuming the summer plumage, about April, present a
curious intermixture of the variously coloured feathers of the two
seasons.
In a male bird, the tongue is 1 inch and 5 twelfths long, papillate
at the base, fleshy, with two rows of bristles along the edges. There
are 35 lamellæ on each side of the upper, and about 40 on the lower
mandible. The œsophagus is 7-1/2 inches long, 7 twelfths in diameter at
the upper part, towards the lower parts of the neck dilated to 1 inch,
and continuing so to the end. The proventriculus is 1 inch 3 twelfths
long, its glandules cylindrical and 2 twelfths long. The stomach is
a very powerful gizzard, of a roundish form, 1-3/4 inch in length, 2
inches and 2 twelfths in breadth; its tendons large; the right muscle
10 twelfths, the left 11 twelfths in thickness. The cuticular lining
is thick, and slightly rugous; the grinding plates thicker and denser.
The contents of the stomach are small muscles and particles of quartz,
some of which are 3 twelfths in diameter. The intestine is 5 feet 6
inches long, its diameter nearly uniform, about 4 twelfths; the rectum
enlarged to 5 twelfths, its length 2-1/2 inches. Cœca 4-3/4 inches
long, 3 twelfths in diameter, their extremity rounded; the cloaca
globular, about 9 twelfths in diameter.
The trachea, moderately extended, measures 6 inches in length, its
breadth at the top 5 twelfths, about the middle 3-3/4 twelfths. The
number of ordinary rings is 72; at the lower part there are 6 expanded
rings which are broad posteriorly and on the sides, but extremely
narrow before; beyond this is a solid bony expansion of 7 united rings,
forming anteriorly a transversely oblong case, having a membrane in
front. The contractor muscles are very large, for two inches at the
top expanded over the fore part, sending off two cleido-tracheals, then
passing down along the edges of the six enlarged rings, and terminating
on the drum, where the sterno-tracheals come off.
BLUE-WINGED TEAL.
_ANAS DISCORS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Is it not strange, Reader, that birds which are known to be abundant
on the Saskatchewan River during the breeding season, and which have
been observed as far north as the 57th parallel, should also be found
breeding at nearly the same period in Texas? Stranger still it is
that species should proceed from certain points, or winter quarters,
to both of the above-mentioned regions, without paying any regard
to the intermediate districts, which yet seem to be as well adapted
for breeding in, as they afford thousands of convenient and secluded
localities for that purpose. Yet these facts, and many others connected
with Nature’s wonderful arrangements, we may look upon as intended
to increase the innate desire which every true lover of Nature has to
study her beautiful and marvellous works.
Having for some years observed such habits exhibited by the Blue-winged
Teal and other birds, I have been induced to believe in the existence
of what I would term _a double sense of migration_ in many species,
acted upon both in spring and in autumn, and giving to them at the
latter period, the power as well as the desire of removing from the
higher latitudes to opposite or meridional parts, thus to enter into
the formation of the Fauna of different countries, from which again
they are instigated to return to the place of their nativity, and
thence diverge toward new sections of the globe equally adapted to
their wants. If these observations should prove not unfounded, we need
no longer be surprised to meet in different portions of the world with
species which hitherto were supposed to be inhabitants only of far
distant shores.
The mouths of the Mississippi, surrounded by extensive flat marshes,
which are muddy, and in some degree periodically inundated by the
overflowings of that great stream, or by the tides of the Mexican Gulf,
and having in the winter months a mildness of temperature favourable
to almost all our species of Waders and Swimmers, may be looked upon
as the great rendezvous of the Blue-winged Teals, which are seen
arriving there coastways, in autumn and the greater part of winter, to
meet the multitudes that have travelled across the interior from the
north and west. At New Orleans, and during spring, when this bird is
in full plumage, it is called by the Creoles of Louisiana “Sarcelle
Printanniere;” and in autumn, when scarcely an individual can be
seen retaining the beauty of its spring plumage, it is known as the
“Sarcelle Automniere;” in consequence of which double appellation, many
persons imagine that there are two Blue-winged Teals.
They are the first ducks that arrive in that part of the country,
frequently making their appearance in the beginning of September, in
large flocks, when they are exceedingly fat. They depart, however, when
the cold becomes so intense as to form ice; and in this respect they
differ from the Green-winged Teals, which brave the coldest weather of
that country. Toward the end of February, however, they are as abundant
as ever, but they are then poor, although their plumage is perfected,
and the males are very beautiful. During their stay, they are seen
on bayous and ponds, along the banks of the Mississippi, and on the
large and muddy sand-bars around, feeding on grasses and their seeds,
particularly in autumn, when they are very fond of the wild pimento.
Many remain as late as the 15th of May, in company with the Shoveller
and Gadwall Ducks, with which they are usually fond of associating.
On my reaching the south-western pass of the Mississippi, on the 1st
April 1837, I found these birds very abundant there, in full plumage,
and in flocks of various sizes. On the 11th of the same month, when
about an hundred miles to the westward, we saw large and dense flocks
flying in the same direction. On the 15th, at Derniere Isle, the
Blue-wings were very plentiful and gentle. Two days after, they were
quite as numerous round Rabbit Island, in the Bay called Cote Blanche;
and on the 26th they were found on all the ponds and salt bayous or
inlets of Galveston Island in Texas, as well as on the water-courses
of the interior, where I was assured that they bred in great numbers.
Though on account of the nature of the localities in which these Teals
breed, and which cannot be explored otherwise than in extremely light
canoes, or by risking being engulphed in oozy morasses covered with
tall grass, we were not so fortunate as to find any of their nests,
we could easily judge by their manœuvres both while on wing and on
the water, that we were not far from their well-concealed treasures
and the females which we procured unequivocally exhibited the state of
exhaustion common in the course of incubation.
During the months of September and October, this species is plentiful
on the Ohio, and in the whole of the Western Country, through which
they pass again in April, but without tarrying. On the other hand, they
seem to prolong their stay at this season in our Eastern Districts
more than in autumn; and this is also the case in South Carolina,
as I learn from the observations of my friend JOHN BACHMAN, who has
seen them mated there as early as February. I have found them in the
Boston markets on the 8th of September, but it is very rare to see
any of them there in full spring dress. I saw or heard of none when I
was in Labrador and Newfoundland; from which it may be inferred that
those found in the Fur Countries reach them through the interior. They
also occur on the Columbia River. On the 21st of March 1821, I saw
many Blue-winged Teals copulating on the Mississippi, a little below
Natchez; yet none of these birds have been known to breed in that
section of the country. They were at the time mentioned on a sand-bar
in company with some American Widgeons, which also were similarly
employed.
The flight of the Blue-winged Teal is extremely rapid and well
sustained. Indeed, I have thought that, when travelling, it passes
through the air with a speed equal to that of the Passenger Pigeon.
When flying in flocks in clear sunny weather, the blue of their wings
glistens like polished steel, so as to give them the most lively
appearance; and while they are wheeling over the places in which
they intend to alight, their wings being alternately thrown in the
shade and exposed to the bright light, the glowing and varied lustre
thus produced, at whatever distance they may be, draws your eyes
involuntarily towards them. When advancing against a stiff breeze, they
alternately shew their upper and lower surfaces, and you are struck by
the vivid steel-blue of their mantle, which resembles the dancing light
of a piece of glass suddenly reflected on a distant object. During
their flight, they almost constantly emit their soft lisping note,
which they also utter when alighted and under apprehension of danger.
I have never observed them travelling in company with other ducks, but
have seen them at times passing over the sea at a considerable distance
from land. Before alighting, and almost under any circumstances, and
in any locality, these Teals pass and repass several times over the
place, as if to assure themselves of the absence of danger, or, should
there be cause of apprehension, to watch until it is over. They swim
buoyantly, and generally in a close body, at times nearly touching
each other. Indeed, during their first appearance in autumn, when you
are apt to meet with a flock entirely composed of young birds, you
may, by using a little care, kill a considerable number at one shot. I
was assured by a gunner residing at New Orleans, that as many as one
hundred and twenty had been killed by himself at a single discharge;
and I myself saw a friend of mine kill eighty-four by pulling together
the triggers of his double-barrelled gun!
The Blue-winged Teal is easily kept in captivity, and soon becomes
very docile. In this state it feeds freely on coarse corn meal, and I
have no doubt that it could readily be domesticated, in which case, so
tender and savoury is its flesh that it would quickly put the merits of
the widely celebrated Canvass-backed Duck in the shade.
In the course of my stay in East Florida, at General HERNANDEZ’s, and
Mr BULOW’s, I have observed this Teal in company with the Red-breasted
Snipe, the Tell-tale Godwit, and the Yellow-shank Snipe. I observed the
same circumstance in Texas.
During the time of their residence on the Delaware River, they feed
principally on the seeds of the wild oats, which I also found them
to do whilst at Green Bay. I have been assured by persons residing on
the island of Cuba, that the Blue-winged Teal is abundant, and breeds
there.
The old males lose the spring plumage of the head almost entirely
during a great portion of the autumn and winter, but it is reassumed
sometimes as early as the beginning of January. The young of both sexes
in their first plumage resemble the females, but the males acquire
their full beauty before they are a year old.
ANAS DISCORS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol i. p. 205.—_Lath._ Ind.
Orn. vol. ii. p. 854.
BLUE-WINGED TEAL, ANAS DISCORS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 74. pl. 68. fig. 4.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
397.
ANAS DISCORS, _Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis of Birds of the United
States, p. 385.
ANAS DISCORS, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 444.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill almost as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base,
depressed towards the end, its breadth nearly equal in its whole
length, being however a little enlarged towards the rounded tip.
Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first sloping, then nearly
straight, on the unguis decurved, the ridge broad and flat at the base,
suddenly narrowed over the nostrils, broader and convex towards the
end; the sides erect at the base, afterwards sloping and convex; the
narrow membranous margins a little broader towards the end. Nostrils
sub-basal, near the ridge, rather small, elliptical, pervious. Lower
mandible flattened, straight, with the angle very long and rather
narrow, the dorsal line very short, and slightly convex, the sides
internally erect, with about a hundred and twenty lamellæ.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck of moderate length,
rather slender. Body full, depressed. Feet short, placed rather far
back; tarsus short, compressed, at its lower part anteriorly with two
series of scutella, the rest covered with reticulated angular scales.
Toes with numerous scutella above; first toe very small and with a
narrow membrane beneath; third longest, fourth about a quarter of an
inch shorter; the anterior toes united by reticulated webs, of which
the outer is deeply sinuate; claws small, curved, compressed, acute,
the hind one smaller and more curved, that of the third toe largest,
and with the inner margin sharp.
Plumage dense, soft, and blended. Feathers of the head and neck, very
small and slender, of the back and lower parts in general broad and
rounded. Wings of moderate length, rather narrow and acute; primaries
strong, slightly curved, tapering, the first scarcely longer than
the second, the rest rapidly decreasing; secondaries broad, the
outer obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and acuminate, as are
the scapulars. Tail short, rounded and acuminate, of fourteen rather
narrow, acuminate feathers.
Bill bluish-black. Iris dark hazel. Feet dull yellow, webs dusky,
claws brownish-black, with the tips greyish-yellow. Upper part of the
head black; a semilunar patch of pure white on the side of the head
before the eye, margined before and behind with black. The rest of the
head, and the anterior parts of the neck of a deep purplish-blue, with
purplish-red reflections; the lower hind neck and fore part of back,
brownish-black, glossed with green, each feather with a curved band
of pale reddish-buff, and a line or band of the same in the centre;
the hind part of the back greenish-brown, the feathers edged with
paler. The smaller wing-coverts of a rich ultramarine blue, silky with
almost metallic lustre. Alula, primary coverts, and primary quills,
greyish-brown, edged with pale bluish; outer secondaries of the
same colour, those of the speculum duck-green, changing to blue and
bronze, with a narrow line of white along their terminal margin; the
inner greenish-black on the outer web, greenish-brown on the inner,
with a central line and narrow external margin of pale reddish buff,
the more elongated scapulars similar, but some of them margined with
greenish-blue. Secondary coverts brown, with their terminal portion
white. Tail-feathers chocolate brown, slightly glossed with green,
their margins buffy. The lower parts are pale reddish-orange, shaded
on the breast with purplish-red, and thickly spotted with black, the
number of roundish or elliptical spots on each feather varying from ten
to twenty-five, those on the upper and hind parts of the sides running
into transverse bars. Axillar feathers, some of the lower wing-coverts,
and a patch on the side of the rump pure white; lower tail-coverts
brownish-black.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of claws 14-1/4, to end of
wings also 14-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/4; wing from flexure 7-4/12;
tail 3-5/12; bill along the back 1-1/4, from frontal process to tip
1-1/2; tarsus 1-2/12; first toe and claw 5/12; middle toe and claw
1-10/12; outer toe and claw 1-8/12. Weight 12-1/2 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXIII. Fig. 2.
Bill greenish-dusky; iris hazel; feet of a duller yellow than those
of the male, the head and neck are pale dull buff, longitudinally
marked with brownish-black lines, which are broader and darker on the
top of the head; the fore part of the cheeks and the throat whitish,
without markings. The upper parts are dark brown, the feathers margined
with brownish-white; the smaller wing-coverts coloured as in the
male, but less brilliantly; no blue on the scapulars, which are also
less elongated. On the lower parts, the feathers are dusky brown,
broadly margined with light brownish-grey, of which there is a streak
or spot in the centre. The axillary feathers, and some of the lower
wing-coverts are white, but the patch of that colour so conspicuous in
the male is wanting.
Length to end of tail 15 inches, to end of wings 14-1/2, to end of
claws 15-1/2; extent of wings 24; wing from flexure 7-1/4; tail 2-7/12;
bill along the ridge 2-2/12. Weight 10-1/2 oz.
The young birds are similar to the female, but paler, and without the
green speculum.
In a male, the roof of the mouth is deeply concave, with a prominent
middle ridge, on which are a few blunt papillæ; on the upper mandible
are 50 lamellæ, on the lower about 65 below, and 85 above. The tongue,
8 twelfths long, large and fleshy, has two rows of lateral bristles.
The œsophagus is 8-1/2 inches long, 4 twelfths in diameter until the
middle of the neck, when it enlarges gradually to half an inch. The
proventriculus is 1-1/4 inch in length, with oblong glandules. The
stomach is a strong roundish gizzard, 1 inch and 2 twelfths long,
1-1/2 inch broad; its left muscle 7 twelfths thick, the right 6-1/2
twelfths; its cuticular lining or epithelium of moderate thickness
and longitudinally rugous. The intestine, 5 feet 1 inch long, varies
in diameter from 3 to 2 twelfths; the cœca are 2 inches 10 twelfths
long, cylindrical and rounded, their diameter 3 twelfths; the cloaca
globular. The contents of the stomach were gravel and seeds of plants.
The trachea is 6 inches and 2 twelfths long; its diameter at the top 4
twelfths, at the middle 2 twelfths, at the lower part 3-1/2 twelfths.
The inferior larynx is formed of three or four united rings, and has an
irregular roundish bony expansion on the left side. The number of rings
of the trachea is 98, of the bronchi about 25. The contractor muscles
are large; cleido-tracheales and sterno-tracheales.
BLACK-HEADED, OR LAUGHING GULL.
_LARUS ATRICILLA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXIV. MALE IN SPRING, AND YOUNG.
Before entering upon the peculiar habits of this Gull, allow me,
good-natured Reader, to present you with some general observations on
the genus to which it belongs.
At the approach of autumn, it frequently happens that the young birds
of several species associate together, congregating at times in vast
numbers, and especially during low tides, on the outer margins of
sand-bars situated in estuaries. There you may hear them keeping up
an almost incessant cackle, and see them running about dressing their
plumage, or patiently waiting the rising of the waters, on which much
desired event taking place, they generally disperse, and fly off to
search for food. If disturbed while thus reposing, they shew greater
shyness, perhaps, than at any other time, and the loud note of alarm
from one of the group soon reaches your ear. Look at them now, Reader,
as they simultaneously spread their wings, and after a step or two
launch into the air, gradually ascend, and in silence rise to a great
height, performing extended gyrations, and advancing toward the open
sea.
It seldom happens that when one of the larger species is shot, its
companions will come to the rescue, as is the case with the smaller,
such as the Kittiwake, and the present species. I have thought it
remarkable how keenly and aptly Gulls generally discover at once
the intentions towards them of individuals of our own species.
To the peaceable and industrious fisherman they scarcely pay any
regard, whether he drags his heavy net along the shore, or patiently
waits until his well-baited hook is gulped below the dancing yet
well-anchored bark, over the side of which he leans in constant and
anxious expectation. At such a time indeed, if the fisher has had much
success, and his boat displays a good store, Gulls will almost assail
him like so many beggars, and perhaps receive from him a trifling yet
dainty morsel. But, on the opposite side of the bay, see how carefully
and suspiciously the same birds are watching every step of the man who,
with a long gun held in a trailing position, tries to approach the
flock of sleeping Widgeons. Why, not one of the Gulls will go within
three times the range of his murderous engine; and, as if to assure him
of their knowledge of his designs, they merely laugh at him from their
secure station.
When congregated during the love-season, their loquacity has never
failed to remind me of the impetuous, unmusical, and yet not unpleasant
notes of our thieving Red-winged Starlings. But when apart, and at all
times excepting the periods of pairing or breeding, or while some of
the smaller species are chased by their vigilant enemies the Jagers,
they are usually silent birds, especially when on wing. In rainy or
squally weather, they skim low over the water, or the land, always
against the wind, passing at times within a few feet of the surface.
Again, at such times, I have observed Gulls of every species with which
I am acquainted, suddenly give a shake or two to their wings, and
stop as it were for a moment in their flight, as if they had espied
something worthy of their attention below; but, on closely observing
them, I have become convinced that such manœuvres were performed only
with the view of readjusting their whole plumage, which had perhaps
been disarranged by a side current of wind.
All Gulls are wonderfully tenacious of life. When wounded or closely
pursued, they are very apt to disgorge their food, or to sustain
themselves against the agonies of death with uncommon vigour. They
appear indeed to be possessed of extraordinary powers of respiration,
through means of which they revive at the very moment when you might
conceive them to have actually reached the last gasp. I have seen
cases in which individuals of this tribe, after having been strongly
squeezed for several minutes across the body, and after their throats
had been crammed with cotton or tow, recovered as soon as the pressure
was remitted, and immediately attempted to bite with as much eagerness
as when first seized, when, by the by, they are wont to mute, as well
as when suddenly surprised and taking to wing. In certain states of
the atmosphere, Gulls, as well as other birds, appear much larger than
they actually are; and on such occasions, they, of course, seem nearer
than you would find them to be; for which reason, I would advise you,
Reader, to be on your guard, for you may be strangely misled as to the
distance at which you suppose the bird to be, and pull your trigger
merely to send your shot into the sand, far short from the Gulls or
other light-coloured birds in view.
Much confusion appears to exist among authors regarding our Laughing
Gull, and this, in my humble opinion, simply because not one of them
has studied it, in its native haunts, and at all seasons, since the
period when it was briefly characterized by our great master LINNÆUS,
who, after all that has been said against him, has not yet had his
equal. ALEXANDER WILSON, who, it seems, knew something of the habits
of this bird, thought it however identical with the _Larus ridibundus_
of Europe as is shewn by the synonyms which he has given. Others, who
only examined some dried skins, without knowing so much as the day or
even the year in which they had been shot, or their sex, or whether the
feathers before them had once belonged to a bird that was breeding, or
barren, when it was procured, described its remains perhaps well enough
for their own purpose, but certainly not with all the accuracy which is
necessary to establish once and for ever a distinct species of bird.
Others, not at all aware that most Gulls, and the present species in
particular, assume, in the season of pairing, and in a portion of the
breeding time, beautiful rosy tints in certain parts of their plumage,
which at other periods are pure white, have thought that differences
of this sort, joined to those of the differently-sized white spots
observable in particular specimens, and not corresponding with the
like markings in other birds of the same size and form, more or less
observable at different periods on the tips of the quills, were quite
sufficient to prove that the young bird, and the breeding bird, and the
barren bird, of one and the same species, differed specifically from
the old bird, or the winter-plumage bird. But, Reader, let us come to
the point at once.
At the approach of the breeding season, or, as I like best to term
it, the love season, this species becomes first hooded, and the white
feathers of its breast, and those of the lower surface of its wings,
assume a rich blush of roseate tint. If the birds procured at that time
are several years old and perfect in their powers of reproduction,
which is easily ascertained on the spot, their primary quills shew
little or no white at their extremities, and their hood descends about
three quarters of an inch lower on the throat than on the hind part of
the head, provided the bird be a male. But should they be barren birds,
_the hood will be wanting_, that portion of their plumage remaining as
during winter, and although the primaries will be black, or nearly so,
each of them will be broadly tipped, or marked at the end, with a white
spot, which in some instances will be found to be fully half an inch in
size; yet the tail of these birds, as if to prove that they are adults,
is as purely white to its extreme tip, as in those that are breeding;
but neither the breast, nor the under wing-coverts, will exhibit the
rosy tint of one in the full perfection of its powers.
The males of all the Gulls with which I am acquainted, are larger than
the females; and this difference of size is observable in the young
birds even before they are fully fledged. In all of these, however,
putting aside their sex, I have found great differences of size to
exist, sometimes as much as two inches in length, with proportional
differences in the bills, tarsi, and toes; and this, in specimens
procured from one flock of these gulls at a single discharge of the
gun, and at different seasons of the year. The colour of their bills
too is far from being always alike, being brownish-red in some,
purplish or of a rich and deep carmine in others. As to the white spots
on the extremities of the primary quills of birds of this family, I
would have you, Reader, never to consider them as affording essential
characters. Nay, if you neglect them altogether, you will save yourself
much trouble, as they will only mislead you by their interminable
changes, and you may see that the spots on one wing are sometimes
different in size and number from those on the other wing of the same
specimen. If all this be correct, as I assure you it must be, being the
result of numberless observations made in the course of many years, in
the very places of resort of our different Gulls, will you not agree
with me, Reader, that the difficulty of distinguishing two very nearly
allied species must be almost insuperable when one has nothing better
than a few dried skins for objects of observation and comparison?
The Black-headed Gull may be said to be a constant resident along
the southern coast of the United States, from South Carolina to the
Sabine River; and I have found it abundant over all that extent both
in winter and in summer, but more especially on the shores and keys of
the Floridas, where I found it breeding, as well as on some islands
in the Bay of Galveston in Texas. A very great number of these birds
however remove, at the approach of spring, towards the Middle and
Eastern Districts, along the shores of which they breed in considerable
numbers, particularly on those of New Jersey and Long Island, as well
15-1/2; extent of wings 24; wing from flexure 7-1/4; tail 2-7/12; bill
along the ridge 2-2/12. Weight 10-1/2 oz.
The young birds are similar to the female, but paler, and without the
green speculum.
In a male, the roof of the mouth is deeply concave, with a prominent
middle ridge, on which are a few blunt papillæ; on the upper mandible
are 50 lamellæ, on the lower about 65 below, and 85 above. The tongue,
8 twelfths long, large and fleshy, has two rows of lateral bristles.
The œsophagus is 8-1/2 inches long, 4 twelfths in diameter until the
middle of the neck, when it enlarges gradually to half an inch. The
proventriculus is 1-1/4 inch in length, with oblong glandules. The
stomach is a strong roundish gizzard, 1 inch and 2 twelfths long,
1-1/2 inch broad; its left muscle 7 twelfths thick, the right 6-1/2
twelfths; its cuticular lining or epithelium of moderate thickness
and longitudinally rugous. The intestine, 5 feet 1 inch long, varies
in diameter from 3 to 2 twelfths; the cœca are 2 inches 10 twelfths
long, cylindrical and rounded, their diameter 3 twelfths; the cloaca
globular. The contents of the stomach were gravel and seeds of plants.
The trachea is 6 inches and 2 twelfths long; its diameter at the top 4
twelfths, at the middle 2 twelfths, at the lower part 3-1/2 twelfths.
The inferior larynx is formed of three or four united rings, and has an
irregular roundish bony expansion on the left side. The number of rings
of the trachea is 98, of the bronchi about 25. The contractor muscles
are large; cleido-tracheales and sterno-tracheales. to reproduce
out of season, as it were. On some such occasions, when I was at St
Augustine, in the month of December, I have observed four or five
males of the present species paying their addresses to one female,
who received their courtesies with evident welcome. Yet the females in
that country did not deposit eggs until the 20th day of April. The most
surprising fact of all was, that, although these birds were paired, and
copulated regularly, by the 1st of February, not one had acquired the
spring or summer plumage, or the dark coloured hood, or the rosy tint
of the breast, nor lost the white spots on the tips of their primary
quills. This change, however, was apparent by the 5th of March, became
daily stronger, and was perfected by the 15th of that month. A few
exceptions occurred among the numbers procured at these periods, but
the generality of the birds were as above described.
Whilst at Great Egg Harbour, in May 1829, shortly after my return from
England, I found this species breeding in great numbers on the margins
of a vast salt marsh, bordering the sea-shore, though separated from
the Atlantic by a long and narrow island. About sunrise every morning,
an immense number of these birds would rise in the air, as if by
common consent, and wing their way across the land, probably intent
on reaching the lower shores of the Delaware River, or indeed farther
towards the head waters of Chesapeake Bay. They formed themselves into
long straggling lines, following each other singly, at the distance
of a few yards. About an hour before sunset, the same birds were seen
returning in an extended front, now all silent, although in the morning
their cries were incessant, and lasted until they were out of sight. On
arriving at the breeding ground, they immediately settled upon their
nests. On a few occasions, when it rained and blew hard, the numbers
that left the nests were comparatively few, and those, as I thought,
mostly males. Instead of travelling high, as they were wont to do in
fair and calm weather, they skimmed closely over the land, contending
with the wind with surprising pertinacity, and successfully too. At
such times they were also quite silent. I now and then observed some
of them whilst on wing, and at a considerable height, suddenly check
their course, as if to examine some object below; but on none of these
occasions did I see one attempt to alight, for it soon resumed its
wonted course, and rejoined its companions.
Now, Reader, though I am growing old, I yet feel desirous of acquiring
knowledge regarding the habits of our birds, and should much like to
learn from you the reasons why these gulls went off in lines from
their breeding grounds, and returned in an extended front? Was it,
in the latter case, because they were afraid of passing their nests
unknowingly; or, in the former, under the necessity of following an
experienced leader, who, under the stimulus of an empty maw, readily
undertook the office, but who, like many other bon-vivants, became in
the evening too dull to be of use to his companions?
This species breeds, according to the latitude, from the 1st of March
to the middle of June; and I have thought that on the Tortuga Keys,
it produced two broods each season. In New Jersey, and farther to the
eastward, the nest resembles that of the Ring-billed Gull, or Common
American Gull, _Larus zonorhynchus_, being formed of dried sea-weeds,
and land plants, two and sometimes three inches high, with a regular
rounded cavity, from four and a half to five inches in diameter, and
an inch and a half in depth. This cavity is formed of finer grasses,
placed in a pretty regular circular form. I once found a nest formed as
it were of two; that is to say, two pairs had formed a nest of nearly
double the ordinary size, and the two birds sat close to each other
during rainy weather, but separately, each on its own three eggs. I
observed that the males, as well as the females, thus concerned in
this new sort of partnership, evinced as much mutual fondness as if
they were brothers. On the Tortugas, where these Gulls also breed in
abundance, I found their eggs deposited in slight hollows scooped in
the sand. Whilst at Galveston, in Texas, I found their nests somewhat
less bulky than in the Jerseys, which proved to me how much birds are
guided in these matters by differences in atmospheric temperature and
locality.
I never found more than three eggs in a nest. Their average length is
two inches and half an eighth, their greatest breadth a trifle more
than an inch and a half. They vary somewhat in their general tint, but
are usually of a light earthy olive, blotched and spotted with dull
reddish-brown and some black, the markings rather more abundant towards
the larger end. As an article of food, they are excellent. These gulls
are extremely anxious about their eggs, as well as their young, which
are apt to wander away from the nest while yet quite small. They are
able to fly at the end of six weeks, and soon after this are abandoned
by their parents, when the old and young birds keep apart in flocks
until the following spring, when, I think, the latter nearly attain the
plumage of their parents, though they are still smaller, and have the
terminal band on the tail.
The Black-headed Gull frequently associates with the Razor-billed
Shearwater, _Rhynchops nigra_, in winter; and I can safely say that I
have seen more than a thousand of each kind alight on the same points
of estuaries and mouths of rivers; the Gulls standing or sitting by
themselves, at no great distance from the Razor-bills. Now and then
they would all suddenly rise on wing as if frightened, perform a
few evolutions in the air, and again settle on the very same spot,
still, however, keeping separate. While thus in the company of the
Razor-bills, the Gulls are with great difficulty approached, the former
being exceedingly wary, and almost always rising when a person draws
near, the Gulls immediately following them, and the two great flocks
making off to some distant point, generally not very accessible. If
taken up on being wounded, these gulls are apt to bite severely. If,
on being shot at, they fall on the water, they swim fast and lightly,
their companions all the while soaring above, and plunging towards
them, as if intent on rescuing them. This great sympathy often proves
fatal to them, for, if the gunner is inclined, he may shoot them down
without any difficulty, and the more he kills the more his chances are
increased.
On the 10th of May 1832, it was my good fortune to be snugly on
board the “Lady of the Green Mantle,” or, in other words, the fine
revenue cutter the Marion. The Gulls that laughed whilst our anchors
were swiftly descending towards the marvellous productions of the
deep, soon had occasion to be sorrowful enough. As they were in
great numbers, officers and men, as well as the American Woodsman,
gazing upon them from the high decks of the gallant bark, had ample
opportunities of observing their motions. They were all busily engaged
on wing, hovering here and there around the Brown Pelicans, intent on
watching their plunges into the water, and all clamorously teasing
their best benefactors. As with broadly extended pouch and lower
mandible, the Pelican went down headlong, so gracefully followed
the gay rosy-breasted Gull, which, on the brown bird’s emerging,
alighted nimbly on its very head, and with a gentle stoop instantly
snatched from the mouth of its purveyor the glittering fry that moment
entrapped!
Is this not quite strange, Reader? Aye, truly it is. The sight of these
manœuvres rendered me almost frantic with delight. At times, several
gulls would attempt to alight on the head of the same Pelican, but
finding this impossible, they would at once sustain themselves around
it, and snatch every morsel that escaped from the pouch of the great
bird. So very dexterous were some of the Gulls at this sport, that I
have seen them actually catch a little fish as it leaped from the yet
partially open bill of the Pelican. And now, Reader, I will conclude
this long article with some fragments from my journals.
Tortugas, May 1832.—Whilst here, I often saw the Black-headed Gull of
Wilson, sucking the eggs of _Sterna fuliginosa_, and _Sterna stolida_.
Our sailors assured me that these gulls also eat the young of these two
species of Terns when newly hatched.
Great Egg Harbour, May 1829.—Like all other gulls, the _Larus
Atricilla_ disgorges its food when attacked by a Lestris, or when
wounded, or suddenly surprised; but on all occasions of respite this
gull is apt to return to it, and vulture-like to swallow it anew. It
differs however from the larger species of gulls, by never, as far as
I have observed, picking up bivalve shells, for the purpose of letting
them fall to break them, and afterwards feed on their contents. On the
ground they walk with considerable alertness, and not without a certain
degree of elegance, especially during the love season. Whilst floating
or swimming on the water, they are graceful in a high degree, and when
seen, as they oftentimes are, in groups of many pairs, rising with,
or sinking amidst the billows, which ever and anon break on the sandy
shores of the coast, their alternate appearance brings to the mind of
the bystander ideas connected with objects altogether different from
the simple yet beautiful Laughing Gull.
April 1, 1837.—South-west pass of the Mississippi. _L. Atricilla_
abundant here at this season, as well as at New Orleans. Saw some
floating on logs during a heavy breeze. Not noisy yet, though they and
_L. zonorhynchus_ are in full spring dress (the old birds).
Barataria Bay, April 1837.—This species is abundant, following the
porpoises, whilst the latter are fishing, and attending on them, as
they do on the Brown Pelicans, which I saw here tormented by these
birds, as in the Floridas. These Gulls follow the Brown Pelicans
to their roosts, and along with them sit on grounded logs, at some
distance from the shores, to avoid the attacks of racoons and other
carnivorous animals.
Galveston Bay, April 26, 1837.—Black-headed Gulls are not unfrequently
seen hovering over the inner ponds of these islands, as if in search of
food. They are now all paired, and very noisy.
May 4.—I observed to-day that at the single cry of a Black-headed
Gull, all others within hearing at once came towards the caller, and
this never failed when any of them had found floating garbage on which
to feed. These, as well as all other gulls, pat the water with their
feet, their legs being partially extended, whilst assisting themselves
with the bill to pick up any floating food. At this time the whole
group emit a more plaintive single note than usual. They come not
unfrequently within a few yards of our vessel at anchor, and when the
food thrown to them is exhausted, they separate, and at once renew
their repeated cries. I observed that the few immature birds among the
old ones, were quite silent even when in the company of the adults.
When the young are nearly able to fly, they are by no means bad eating.
LARUS ATRICILLA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 225.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 812.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of the United States, p. 359.
BLACK-HEADED GULL, LARUS RIDIBUNDUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. ix. p. 89. pl. 74. fig. 4.
BLACK-HEADED GULL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 291.
Adult Male in spring. Plate CCCXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill rather shorter than the head, nearly straight, moderately
stout, compressed. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline straight to
the middle, then curved and declinate, the ridge convex, the sides
rapidly sloping, the edges sharp and direct, the tip rather obtuse
but sharp-edged. Nasal groove rather long and narrow; nostrils in
its fore part, longitudinal, submedial, large, linear-oblong, broader
anteriorly, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and pointed,
the outline of its crura decurved anteriorly, that of the ridge
slightly concave and ascending, the sides erect and nearly flat.
Head of moderate size. Neck of ordinary length. Body compact. Feet
rather long, stoutish; tibia bare below for three-fourths of an inch,
covered behind with narrow scutella; tarsus compressed, anteriorly
covered with numerous curved scutella, laterally with small oblong
scales, posteriorly with small scutella. Toes slender, of moderate
length, covered above with numerous scutella; first extremely small,
second much shorter than fourth, third two-twelfths of an inch longer
than the latter; anterior toes connected by reticulated webs, the outer
and inner slightly marginate; claws small, slightly arched, compressed,
thin-edged, that of the middle toe with an expanded inner margin.
Plumage close, soft, and blended. Wings very long and pointed;
primaries tapering to a rounded point; first longest, second a
twelfth of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly diminishing; secondaries
broad, incurvate, and obliquely rounded, the inner straight and more
elongated. Tail of moderate length, even, of twelve broad, rounded
feathers.
Bill and feet, as well as the margin of eyelids, and the inside of the
mouth, of a rich deep carmine; claws brownish-black. Iris bluish-black.
The head and a portion of the upper part of the neck all round,
blackish lead-grey, darker on the upper part of the head and along the
posterior margin, which descends lower in front, or to the extent of
about two inches and a half from the base of the lower mandible; two
narrow white bands bordering the upper and lower eyelids. Lower neck
all round, the whole lower surface, the rump and tail, pure white;
but the fore part of the neck and the breast, down to the legs, of a
beautiful light rosy tint. The back and wings are greyish-blue, with
a very slight tinge of purple, excepting a large terminal portion of
the secondaries, and the tips of the primaries, which are white. The
first primary is black, with a tinge of grey on the inner web at the
base; the second and third similar, with the grey more extended; on the
fourth it extends over two-thirds; the fifth is black only for an inch
and a half; and on the sixth the black is reduced to two spots near the
end; the other parts and the remaining primaries of the same general
colour as the back.
Length to end of tail 17 inches, to end of wings 20, to end of claws
17; extent of wings 40-3/4; wing from flexure 12-10/12; tail 5-2/12;
bill along the ridge 1-11/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/4;
tarsus 2; hind toe and claw 4/12; middle toe and claw 1-9/12; outer toe
and claw 1-1/2; inner toe and claw 1-3/12.
The female is precisely similar to the male, but considerably smaller.
In winter the head is white, the feathers on its upper part and on the
nape more or less brownish-grey in their concealed part, that colour
appearing in slight patches here and there, and especially along the
posterior margin of the part that is coloured in summer, as well as on
a small space before the eye. The rosy tint of the breast disappears
after the breeding season. In other respects the plumage is as in
summer.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCXIV. Fig. 2.
Bill, feet, inside of mouth, and edges of eyelids, olivaceous brown.
The upper parts are brownish-grey, the feathers edged with paler; the
hind part of the back light bluish-grey; upper tail-coverts nearly
white; tail pale greyish-blue, with a broad band of brownish-black at
the end, the extreme tips narrowly edged with white, the outer margin
of the lateral feathers of the same colour. The first four primaries
are destitute of white at the tip. A smaller patch before the eye,
two slight bands on the eyelids, and the throat, greyish-white; the
lower part of the neck brownish-grey, the rest of the lower parts
greyish-white, the sides darker, the axillars ash-grey, the lower
surface of the wing dusky-grey.
In an adult male, the tongue is 1-1/4 inch long, slender, tapering,
emarginate at the base, with minute papillæ, the tip horny along
the back. The œsophagus is 6-1/2 inches long, 5 twelfths in diameter
until it enters the thorax, then dilates to 1 inch and 5 twelfths;
its walls are extremely thin, its inner coat longitudinally plaited.
Proventriculus very short, the belt of oblong glandules being only 7
twelfths in breadth. Stomach rather small, oblong, 1-1/2 inch long,
10 twelfths broad; its lateral muscles rather thick, the tendons
large; the inner coat thick, horny, and thrown into very prominent
longitudinal rugæ, its upper margin abrupt, and manifestly not
continuous with the inner coat of the proventriculus, as some have
supposed the epithelium to be in all birds. In the stomach remains of
fishes. Intestines 1 foot 9-1/2 inches long, its general diameter 1/4
inch. Rectum 1-1/2 inch; cœca extremely small, 2-1/2 twelfths long, 1/2
twelfth in diameter.
Trachea 5-1/2 inches long; its rings 110, extremely thin and
feeble; its diameter at the top 4-1/2 twelfths, at the lower part
2-1/2 twelfths. The lateral muscles are scarcely perceptible, the
sterno-tracheal very slender; the inferior larynx small; the bronchi of
moderate length and width, with 25 half-rings.
KNOT OR ASH-COLOURED SANDPIPER.
_TRINGA ISLANDICA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXV. ADULT IN SUMMER AND WINTER.
The Knot, good Reader, is a handsome and interesting species, whether
in its spring or in its winter plumage, and, provided it be young and
fat, is always welcome to the palate of the connoisseur in dainties.
As to its habits, however, during the breeding season, I am sorry
to inform you that I know nothing at all, for in Labrador, whither I
went to examine them, I did not find a single individual. I have been
informed that several students of nature have visited its breeding
places; but why they have given us no information on the subject,
seeing that not only you and I, but many persons besides, would be glad
to hear about it, is what we cannot account for.
I do not wish you to infer from these remarks, that the persons
alluded to are the only ones who have neglected to note down on the
spot observations which might be interesting and useful. I myself am
very conscious of my own remissness in this respect, and deeply regret
the many opportunities of studying nature which have been in a manner
lost to me, on account of a temporary supineness which has seized
upon me, at the very moment when the objects of my pursuit were placed
within my reach by that bountiful Being to whom we owe all our earthly
enjoyments, and all our hopes of that future happiness which we strive
to merit.
I have traced the Knot along the shores of our Atlantic states, from
Texas to the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, in the months of April and
May, and again in the autumnal months. I have also found it in winter
in East Florida, and therefore feel confident that some of the species
do not proceed beyond our southern limits at that season. Whilst on
the Bay of Galveston, in Texas, in April 1837, I daily observed groups
of Knots arriving there, and proceeding eastward, meandering along the
shores of the Gulf of Mexico. In the interior of the United States I
never observed one, and for this reason I am inclined to think that
the species moves northward along the coast. But as I did not find
any in Nova Scotia, Labrador, or Newfoundland, I consider it probable
that those which betake themselves to the fur countries, turn off from
our Atlantic shores when they have reached the entrance of the Bay of
Fundy. However this may be, it is certain that they reach a very high
latitude, and that some stop to breed about Hudson’s Bay, where Dr
RICHARDSON found them in summer.
On some few occasions I have observed the Knot associating with the
Tell-tale Godwit and Semi-palmated Snipe, about a mile from the sea,
along the margins of ponds of brackish-water; but such localities
seemed in a manner unnatural to them, and it was seldom that more than
two or three were seen there. Along the shores, in spring, I have
not unfrequently thought that they seemed dull, as if they had lost
themselves, for they would allow a person to go very near, and seldom
took to wing unless induced to do so by companions of other species,
who were better aware of their situation. In autumn, when they at times
collect into very large flocks, I have often followed them until I
obtained as many as I wished. WILSON has so beautifully described their
movements at such times, that, although I have often witnessed them
myself, I prefer giving his own words.
“In activity it is superior to the Turnstone; and traces the flowing
and recession of the waves along the sandy beach with great nimbleness,
wading and searching among the loosened particles for its favourite
food, which is a small thin oval bivalve shell-fish, of a white or
pearl-colour, and not larger than the seed of an apple. These usually
lie at a short distance below the surface; but in some places are seen
at low water in heaps, like masses of wet grain, in quantities of more
than a bushel together. During the latter part of summer and autumn,
these minute shell-fish constitute the food of almost all those busy
flocks that run with such activity along the sands, among the flowing
and retreating waves. They are universally swallowed whole; but the
action of the bird’s stomach, assisted by the shells themselves, soon
reduces them to a pulp. Digging for these in the hard sand would be a
work of considerable labour, whereas, when the particles are loosened
by the flowing of the sea, the birds collect them with great ease and
dexterity. It is amusing to observe with what adroitness they follow
and elude the tumbling surf, while at the same time they seem wholly
intent on collecting their food.”
I have however seen the Knot probe the wet sands, on the borders
of oozy salt marshes, thrusting in its bill to the feathers on the
forehead, and this with the same dexterity as several other species.
Its flight is swift, at times rather elevated, and well sustained. At
their first arrival in autumn, when they are occasionally seen in great
numbers in the same flock, their aërial evolutions are very beautiful,
for, like our Parrakeet, Passenger Pigeon, Rice-bird, Red-winged
Starling, and other birds, they follow each other in their course, with
a celerity that seems almost incomprehensible, when the individuals
are so near each other that one might suppose it impossible for them
to turn and wheel without interfering with each other. At such times,
their lower and upper parts are alternately seen, the flock exhibiting
now a dusky appearance, and again gleaming like a meteor.
Many of these young birds continue mottled with dull reddish-orange on
their lower parts until the winter is far advanced. The old individuals
have their whole upper plumage of a uniform grey, and their lower parts
white. As those of the first year have their markings at that season
handsomer than at any other period of their lives, I have given the
figure of one in preference to that of an adult.
It has been supposed by some that two different species of Knot occur
in the United States, but I am of a different opinion. The dimensions
of birds of this family, as well as of many others, are extremely
variable; and, on shooting eight or ten Knots, it would be difficult
to find two of them having exactly the same size and proportions. If I
add to this the very remarkable changes of plumage exhibited by birds
of this family before and after maturity, you will not think it strange
that WILSON should have mistaken the young of the Knot for a separate
species from the old bird in its spring dress. Indeed, I am obliged to
tell you that I have been much puzzled, when, on picking up several of
these birds from the same flock, I have found some having longer and
thicker bills than others, with as strange a difference in the size
of their eyes. These differences I have endeavoured to represent in my
plate.
My friend JOHN BACHMAN states, that this species is quite abundant in
South Carolina, in its autumn and spring migrations, but that he has
never seen it there in full plumage. In that country it is called the
“May Bird,” which, however, is a name also given to the Rice Bird.
Along the coasts of our Middle District, it is usually known by the
name of “Grey-back.”
TRINGA ISLANDICA, CANUTUS, CINEREA, GRISEA, &c. of _Linnæus_
and _Latham, &c._
TRINGA ISLANDICA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 350.
RED-BREASTED SANDPIPER, TRINGA RUFA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. vii. p. 43, pl. 57, fig. 5. Summer.
ASH-COLOURED SANDPIPER, TRINGA CINEREA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. vii. p. 36, pl. 57, fig. 2. Winter.
KNOT, or ASH-COLOURED SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii.
p. 125.
TRINGA CINEREA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol.
ii. p. 387.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCXV. Fig. 1.
Bill rather longer than the head, slender, straight, compressed,
tapering, with the tip a little enlarged and blunt. Upper mandible with
the dorsal line straight, and slightly declinate, the ridge narrow and
flattened until towards the end, when it becomes considerably broader,
the sides sloping, the tip convex above and ending in a blunt point,
the edges thick and flattened. Nasal groove extending to near the tip;
nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long
and very narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides sloping outwards,
with a long narrow groove, the tip a little broader, but tapering.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck
of ordinary length. Body rather full. Feet rather long, slender;
tibia bare, a third part of its length; tarsus somewhat compressed,
anteriorly and posteriorly with numerous small scutella; hind toe
very small, the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth slightly
longer than the second, the third longest; all free, broadly marginate,
flattened beneath, and with numerous scutella above. Claws small,
slightly arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the third toe much
larger, with the inner edge dilated.
Plumage very soft, blended on the head, neck, and lower parts, the
feathers rather distinct above. Wings very long and pointed; primaries
tapering, obtuse, the first longest, the second two-twelfths of an
inch shorter, the rest rapidly decreasing; outer secondaries slightly
incurved, inner elongated, straight and tapering, one of them extending
when the wing is closed, to an inch and a quarter from its tip. Tail
rather short, nearly even, of twelve rather broad feathers which taper
to a broad point.
Bill and feet black. Iris dark hazel. Upper part of the head and hind
neck light grey, tinged with buff, and longitudinally streaked with
dusky; fore part of back and scapulars, variegated with brownish-black
and yellowish, and each feather with several spots of the latter
and tipped with whitish; the hind part of the back, rump, and upper
tail-coverts, white, barred with black; wing-coverts ash-grey, edged
with paler. Alula and primary-coverts brownish-black, tipped with
white; primaries similar, their shafts and the outer margins of all
excepting the first three, white, the inner webs towards the base
light grey; secondaries and their coverts grey, margined with white.
Tail-feathers ash-grey tinged with brown, and narrowly edged with
white. The sides of the head, fore part of neck, breast, and abdomen,
rich brownish-orange; lower tail-coverts and feathers of the legs,
white, each of the former with a central dusky narrow-shaped or
elongated spot, axillaries white barred with dusky; lower wing-coverts
dusky with white margins.
Length to end of tail 10-1/4 inches, to end of wings 10-3/4, to end of
claws 11-1/2; extent of wings 21; wing from flexure 7; tail 2-9/12;
bill along the ridge 1-(4-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-1/4; hind toe and claw 4/12; middle toe and claw
1-(1-1/2)/12. Weight 5-1/2 oz.
The female is similar to the male, but considerably larger.
Length to end of tail 10-3/4 inches. Weight 6 ounces.
In Winter. Plate CCCXV. Fig. 2.
Bill greenish-black, eye of a darker brown. Feet dull yellowish-green;
claws dusky. The upper parts are deep ash-grey, each feather margined
with whitish; feathers of the rump greyish-white, upper tail-coverts
white, barred with dusky. The quills and tail feathers as in summer.
A band from the bill over the eye to the hind part of head, white;
loral space, cheeks, and sides of neck pale grey, streaked with
darker; throat and lower parts in general, white; the sides, axillar
feathers, and under wing-coverts, barred or spotted with dusky; lower
tail-coverts as in summer.
The young in autumn are of a dull light brownish-grey colour above,
each feather having a narrow whitish margin, within which is a dusky
line. The fore part and sides of the neck, and the fore part of the
breast dull greyish-white, with small dusky-grey longitudinal streaks;
the band over the eye indistinct, the loral space darker. The bill and
feet are of a duller tint, and the eye darker, than in the adult in
winter. Weight 4-1/4 oz.
On the roof of the mouth is a double series of small blunt papillæ. The
tongue is very slender, 1-1/12 inch long, emarginate and papillate at
the base, channelled above, horny beneath, the point rather acute. The
œsophagus is 4-3/4 inches long, narrow, its diameter 3-1/2 twelfths.
The proventriculus is oblong, 5-1/2 twelfths in diameter, 9 twelfths
long. The stomach is an extremely powerful gizzard, of a roundish
form, 1 inch and 5 twelfths long, its greatest breadth 1-1/4 inch;
the cuticular lining thin, horny, with large longitudinal rugæ. The
intestine 25 inches long, its average diameter 3-1/2 twelfths; cœca
cylindrical, 3 twelfths long. The contents of the stomach are fragments
of mussels and gravel, with which part of the intestine is also filled.
The trachea is 3-1/4 inches long, flattened, 2-1/2 twelfths broad
at the top, diminishing to 2 twelfths; its rings very slender and
unossified, 98 in number; the bronchial half-rings about 15. The
lateral muscles very thin, the sterno-tracheal slender.
ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD.
_PLOTUS ANHINGA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXVI. MALE AND FEMALE.
Reader, the pleasures which I have experienced in the course of this
chequered life of mine have been many;—perhaps many more than would
have fallen to my share, had I not, fortunately for me, become a
devoted and enthusiastic lover of Nature’s beauteous and wondrous
works, which, in truth, I have been from the earliest period to which
my recollection extends; and those who have known me best will not
for a moment consider it extravagant in me to say, that among the
greatest pleasures I have known, has been that derived from pursuing
and faithfully describing such of our American birds as were previously
unknown or but little observed. Many sultry summer days I have passed
amidst the most dismal swamps of the secluded woods of Louisiana,
watching with anxiety and in silence the curious habits of the Anhinga;
the female bird now sitting closely on her eggs, in a nest constructed
by herself and securely placed on the widely extended branch of the
tallest cypress, that, as if by magic planted, stood in the midst of
an ample lake, while with keen eyes she watched every motion of the
wily Buzzard and cunning Crow, lest either of these cowardly marauders
might deprive her of her treasures; the partner of her cares and joys
meanwhile, with outspread wings and fan-like tail, soaring on high, and
glancing first anxiously towards her he loves, then in anger towards
one and all of their numerous enemies. In wider and bolder circles he
moves, rising higher and still higher, until at length, becoming a mere
dusky speck, he almost vanishes from my sight amidst the expanse of the
blue sky; but now, suddenly closing his wings, and rushing downwards
like a meteor, I see him instantly alight erect upon the edge of the
nest, and complacently gaze upon his beloved.
After some time, about three weeks perhaps, I have found the eggshells
beneath the great cypress tree, cast out of the nest by the intelligent
and attentive mother, and floating on the green slime of the stagnant
pool. Climbing to the nest itself, I have seen the tender young clad in
down far softer than our sea-island cottons, writhing their slender and
tremulous necks, and with open mouths and extended pouches seeking, as
all infants are wont to seek, the food suited to their delicate frame.
Then, retiring to some concealed spot, I have seen the mother arrive
with a supply of finely masticated nutriment, compounded of various
fishes from the lake, and furnish each of her progeny by regurgitation
with its due proportion. Thus, also, I have watched the growth of the
younglings, marking their daily progress, which varied according to
the changes of temperature and the state of the atmosphere. At length,
after waiting many days in succession, I have seen them stand, in
an almost erect posture, on a space scarcely large enough to contain
them. The parents seemed aware of the condition of their brood, and,
affectionate as they still appeared to be, I thought their manner
towards them was altered, and I felt grieved. Indeed, sorely grieved I
was when, next week, I saw them discharge, as it were, their children,
and force them from the nest into the waters that were spread below. It
is true that, previous to this, I had seen the young Anhingas trying
the power of their wings as they stood upright on the nest, flapping
them many minutes at a time; yet, although thus convinced that they
were nearly in a state to provide for themselves, it was not without a
feeling of despondency that I saw them hurled into the air, and alight
on the water. But, Reader, Nature in all this had acted beneficially;
and I afterwards found that in thus expelling their young so soon, the
old birds had in view to rear another brood in the same spot, before
the commencement of unfavourable weather.
Many writers have described what they have been pleased to call the
habits of the Anhinga; nay, some have presumed to offer comments upon
them, and to generalize and form theories thereon, or even to inform
us gravely and oracularly what they ought to be, when the basis of all
their fancies was merely a dried skin and feathers appended. Leaving
these ornithologists for the present to amuse themselves in their snug
closets, I proceed to detail the real habits of this curious bird, as
I have observed and studied them in Nature.
The Snake-Bird is a constant resident in the Floridas, and the lower
parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Few remain during winter in
South Carolina, or in any district to the eastward of that State; but
some proceed as far as North Carolina in spring, and breed along the
coast, I have found it in Texas in the month of May, on the waters of
Buffalo Bayou, and the St Jacinto River, where it breeds, and where,
as I was told, it spends the winter. It rarely ascends the Mississippi
beyond the neighbourhood of Natchez, from which most of the individuals
return to the mouths of that great stream, and the numerous lakes,
ponds, and bayous in its vicinity, where I have observed the species at
all seasons, as well as in the Floridas.
Being a bird which, by its habits, rarely fails to attract the notice
of the most indifferent observer, it has received various names. The
Creoles of Louisiana, about New Orleans, and as far up the Mississippi
as Pointe Coup, call it “Bec à Lancette,” on account of the form
of its bill; whilst at the mouths of the river it bears the name
of “Water Crow.” In the southern parts of Florida, it is called the
“Grecian Lady,” and in South Carolina it is best known by the name
of “Cormorant.” Yet in all these parts, it bears also the name of
“Snake-Bird;” but it is nowhere with us called the “Black-bellied
Darter,” which, by the way, could only be with strict propriety applied
to the adult male.
Those which, on the one hand, ascend the Mississippi, and, on the
other, visit the Carolinas, arrive at their several places of resort
early in April, in some seasons even in March, and there remain until
the beginning of November. Although this bird is occasionally seen in
the immediate vicinity of the sea, and at times breeds not far from
it, I never met with an individual fishing in salt water. It gives
a decided preference to rivers, lakes, bayous, or lagoons in the
interior, always however in the lowest and most level parts of the
country. The more retired and secluded the spot, the more willingly
does the Snake-Bird remain about it. Sometimes indeed I have suddenly
come on some in such small ponds, which I discovered by mere accident,
and in parts of woods so very secluded, that I was taken by surprise
on seeing them. The Floridas therefore are peculiarly adapted for this
species, as there the torpid waters of the streams, bayous, and lakes,
are most abundantly supplied with various species of fish, reptiles,
and insects, while the temperature is at all seasons congenial, and
their exemption from annoyance almost unparalleled. Wherever similar
situations occur in other parts of the Southern States, there the
Anhingas are met with in numbers proportioned to the extent of the
favourable localities. It is very seldom indeed that any are seen on
rapid streams, and more especially on clear water, a single instance
of such an occurrence being all that I have observed. Wherever you may
chance to find this bird, you will perceive that it has not left itself
without the means of escape; you will never find one in a pond or bayou
completely enclosed by tall trees, so as to obstruct its passage; but
will observe that it generally prefers ponds or lakes, surrounded by
deep and almost impenetrable morasses, and having a few large trees
growing out of the water near their centre, from the branches of which
they can easily mark the approach of an enemy, and make their escape in
good time. Unlike the Fish-hawk and Kings-fisher, the Anhinga however
never plunges or dives from an eminence in procuring its prey, although
from its habit of occasionally dropping in silence to the water from
its perch, for the purpose of afterwards swimming about and diving in
the manner of the Cormorant, some writers have been led to believe that
it does so.
The Black-bellied Darter, all whose names I shall use, for the purpose
of avoiding irksome repetitions, may be considered as indefinitely
gregarious; by which I mean that you may see eight or more together
at times, during winter especially, or only two, as in the breeding
season. On a few occasions, whilst in the interior of the southernmost
parts of Florida, I saw about thirty individuals on the same lake.
While exploring the St John’s River of that country in its whole
length, I sometimes saw several hundreds together. I procured a great
number on that stream, on the lakes in its neighbourhood, and also
on those near the plantation of Mr BULOW, on the eastern side of the
Peninsula. I observed that the young Darters, as well as those of
the Cormorants, Herons, and many other birds, kept apart from the
old individuals, which they however joined in spring, when they had
attained their full beauty of plumage.
The Anhinga is altogether a diurnal bird, and, like the Cormorant, is
fond of returning to the same roosting place every evening about dusk,
unless prevented by molestation. At times I have seen from three to
seven alight on the dead top branches of a tall tree, for the purpose
of there spending the night; and this they repeated for several weeks,
until on my having killed some of them and wounded others, the rest
abandoned the spot, and after several furious contests with a party
that roosted about two miles off, succeeding in establishing themselves
among them. At such times they seldom sit very near each other, as
Cormorants do, but keep at a distance of a few feet or yards, according
to the nature of the branches. Whilst asleep, they stand with the body
almost erect, but never bend the tarsus so as to apply it in its whole
length, as the Cormorant does; they keep their head snugly covered
among their scapulars, and at times emit a wheezing sound, which I
supposed to be produced by their breathing. In rainy weather they often
remain roosted the greater part of the day, and on such occasions they
stand erect, with their neck and head stretched upwards, remaining
perfectly motionless, as if to allow the water to glide off their
plumage. Now and then, however, they suddenly ruffle their feathers,
violently shake themselves, and again compressing their form, resume
their singular position.
Their disposition to return to the same roosting places is so decided
that, when chased from their places of resort, they seldom fail to
betake themselves to them during the day; and in this manner they may
easily be procured with some care. Whilst at Mr BULOW’s, I was almost
daily in the habit of visiting a long, tortuous, bayou, many miles
in extent, which at that season (winter) was abundantly supplied with
Anhingas. There the Otter, the Alligator, and many species of birds,
found an ample supply of food; and as I was constantly watching them,
I soon discovered a roosting place of the Snake-Birds, which was a
large dead tree. I found it impossible to get near them either by
cautiously advancing in the boat, or by creeping among the briars,
canes, and tangled palmettoes which profusely covered the banks. I
therefore paddled directly to the place, accompanied by my faithful and
sagacious Newfoundland dog. At my approach the birds flew off towards
the upper parts of the stream, and as I knew that they might remain
for hours, I had a boat sent after them with orders to the Negroes to
start all that they could see. Dragging up my little bark, I then hid
myself among the tangled plants, and, with my eyes bent on the dead
tree, and my gun in readiness, I remained until I saw the beautiful
bird alight and gaze around to see if all was right. Alas! it was not
aware of its danger, but, after a few moments, during which I noted its
curious motions, it fell dead into the water, while the reverberations
consequent on the discharge of my gun alarmed the birds around, and by
looking either up or down the bayou I could see many Anhingas speeding
away to other parts. My dog, as obedient as the most submissive of
servants, never stirred until ordered, when he would walk cautiously
into the water, swim up to the dead bird, and having brought it to me,
lie down gently in his place. In this manner, in the course of one day
I procured fourteen of these birds, and wounded several others. I may
here at once tell you that all the roosting places of the Anhinga which
I have seen were over the water, either on the shore or in the midst
of some stagnant pool; and this situation they seem to select because
there they can enjoy the first gladdening rays of the morning sun,
or bask in the blaze of its noontide splendour, and also observe with
greater ease the approach of their enemies, as they betake themselves
to it after feeding, and remain there until hunger urges them to fly
off. There, trusting to the extraordinary keenness of their beautiful
bright eyes in spying the marauding sons of the forest, or the not
less dangerous enthusiast, who, probably like yourself, would venture
through mud and slime up to his very neck, to get within rifle shot of
a bird so remarkable in form and manners, the Anhingas, or “Grecian
Ladies,” stand erect, with their wings and tail fully or partially
spread out in the sunshine, whilst their long slender necks and heads
are thrown as it were in every direction by the most curious and sudden
jerks and bendings. Their bills are open, and you see that the intense
heat of the atmosphere induces them to suffer their gular pouch to
hang loosely. What delightful sights and scenes these have been to
me, good Reader! With what anxiety have I waded toward these birds, to
watch their movements, while at the same time I cooled my over-heated
body, and left behind on the shores myriads of hungry sand-flies,
gnats, mosquitoes, and ticks, that had annoyed me for hours! And oh!
how great has been my pleasure when, after several failures, I have
at last picked up the spotted bird, examined it with care, and then
returned to the gloomy shore, to note my observations! Great too is
my pleasure in now relating to you the results of my long personal
experience, together with that of my excellent friend Dr BACHMAN, who
has transmitted his observations on this bird to me.
WILSON, I am inclined to think, never saw a live Anhinga; and the
notes, furnished by Mr ABBOT of Georgia, which he has published, are
very far from being correct. In the supplementary volumes of American
Ornithology published in Philadelphia, the Editor, who visited the
Floridas; added nothing of importance beyond giving more accurate
measurements of a single specimen than WILSON had given from the
stuffed skins from which he made his figures, and which were in the
museum of that city.
The peculiar form, long wings, and large fan-like tail of the Anhinga,
would at once induce a person looking upon it to conclude that it was
intended by nature rather for protracted and powerful flight, than for
spending as it does more than half of its time by day in the water,
where its progress, one might suppose, would be greatly impeded by the
amplitude of these parts. Yet how different from such a supposition is
the fact? The Anhinga in truth is the very first of all fresh-water
divers. With the quickness of thought it disappears beneath the
surface, and that so as scarcely to leave a ripple on the spot; and
when your anxious eyes seek around for the bird, you are astonished
to find it many hundred yards distant, the head perhaps merely above
water for a moment; or you may chance to perceive the bill alone gently
cutting the water, and producing a line of wake not observable beyond
the distance of thirty yards from where you are standing. With habits
like these it easily eludes all your efforts to procure it. When shot
at while perched, however severely wounded they may be, they fall at
once perpendicularly, the bill downward, the wings and tail closed, and
then dive and make their way under water to such a distance that they
are rarely obtained. Should you, however, see them again, and set out
in pursuit, they dive along the shores, attach themselves to roots of
trees or plants by the feet, and so remain until life is extinct. When
shot dead on the trees, they sometimes cling so firmly to the branches
that you must wait some minutes before they fall.
The generally received opinion or belief that the Anhinga always swims
with its body sunk beneath the surface is quite incorrect; for it does
so only when in sight of an enemy, and when under no apprehension of
danger it is as buoyant as any other diving bird, such as a Cormorant,
a Merganser, a Grebe, or a Diver. This erroneous opinion has, however,
been adopted simply because few persons have watched the bird with
sufficient care. When it first observes an enemy, it immediately sinks
its body deeper, in the manner of the birds just mentioned, and the
nearer the danger approaches, the more does it sink, until at last it
swims off with the head and neck only above the surface, when these
parts, from their form and peculiar sinuous motion, somewhat resemble
the head and part of the body of a snake. It is in fact from this
circumstance that the Anhinga has received the name of Snake-Bird.
At such a time, it is seen constantly turning its head from side
to side, often opening its bill as if for the purpose of inhaling a
larger quantity of air, to enable it the better to dive, and remain
under water so long that when it next makes its appearance it is out
of your reach. When fishing in a state of security it dives precisely
like a Cormorant, returns to the surface as soon as it has procured a
fish or other article of food, shakes it, if it is not too large often
throws it up into the air, and receiving it conveniently in the bill,
swallows it at once, and recommences its search. But I doubt much if
it ever seizes on any thing that it cannot thus swallow whole. They
have the curious habit of diving under any floating substances, such
as parcels of dead weeds or leaves of trees which have accidentally
been accumulated by the winds or currents, or even the green slimy
substances produced by putrefaction. This habit is continued by the
species when in a perfect state of domestication, for I have seen one
kept by my friend JOHN BACHMAN thus diving when within a few feet of
a quantity of floating rice-chaff, in one of the tide-ponds in the
neighbourhood of Charleston. Like the Common Goose, it invariably
depresses its head while swimming under a low bridge, or a branch
or trunk of a tree hanging over the water. When it swims beneath
the surface of the water, it spreads its wings partially, but does
not employ them as a means of propulsion, and keeps its tail always
considerably expanded, using the feet as paddles either simultaneously,
or alternately.
The quantity of fish consumed by this bird is astonishing; and what I
am about to relate on this subject will appear equally so. One morning
Dr BACHMAN and I gave to an Anhinga a Black Fish, measuring nine and
a half inches, by two inches in diameter; and although the head of the
fish was considerably larger than its body, and its strong and spinous
fins appeared formidable, the bird, which was then about seven months
old, swallowed it entire, head foremost. It was in appearance digested
in an hour and a half, when the bird swallowed three others of somewhat
smaller size. At another time, we placed before it a number of fishes
about seven and a half inches long, of which it swallowed nine in
succession. It would devour at a meal forty or more fishes about three
inches and a half long. On several occasions it was fed on Plaice, when
it swallowed some that were four inches broad, extending its throat,
and compressing them during their descent into the stomach. It did
not appear to relish eels, as it eat all the other sorts first, and
kept them to the last; and after having swallowed them, it had great
difficulty in keeping them down, but, although for a while thwarted,
it would renew its efforts, and at length master them. When taken to
the tide-pond at the foot of my friend’s garden, it would now and then
after diving return to the surface of the water with a cray-fish in its
mouth, which it pressed hard and dashed about in its bill, evidently
for the purpose of maiming it, before it would attempt to swallow it,
and it never caught a fish without bringing it up to subject it to the
same operation.
While residing near Bayou Sara, in the State of Mississippi, I was
in the habit of occasionally visiting some acquaintances residing
at Pointe Coup, nearly opposite the mouth of the bayou. One day, on
entering the house of an humble settler close on the western bank of
the Mississippi, I observed two young Anhingas that had been taken out
of a nest containing four, which had been built on a high cypress in
a lake on the eastern side of the river. They were perfectly tame and
gentle, and much attached to their foster-parents, the man and woman
of the house, whom they followed wherever they went. They fed with
equal willingness on shrimps and fish, and when neither could be had,
contented themselves with boiled Indian corn, of which they caught with
great ease the grains as they were thrown one by one to them. I was
afterwards informed, that when a year old, they were allowed to go to
the river and fish for themselves, or to the ponds on either side, and
that they regularly returned towards night for the purpose of roosting
on the top of the house. Both birds were males, and in time they fought
hard battles, but at last each met with a female, which it enticed to
the roost on the house-top, where all the four slept at night for a
while. Soon after, the females having probably laid their eggs in the
woods, they all disappeared, and were never again seen by the persons
who related this curious affair.
The Anhinga is shy and wary when residing in a densely peopled part
of the country, which, however, is rarely the case, as I have already
mentioned; but when in its favourite secluded and peaceful haunts,
where it has seldom or never been molested, it is easily approached and
without difficulty procured; nay, sometimes one will remain standing
in the same spot and in the same posture, until you have fired several
bullets from your rifle at it. Its mode of fishing is not to plunge
from a tree or stump in pursuit of its prey, but to dive while swimming
in the manner of Cormorants and many other birds. Indeed, it could very
seldom see a fish from above the surface of the turbid waters which it
prefers.
It moves along the branches of trees rather awkwardly; but still it
walks there, with the aid of its wings, which it extends for that
purpose, and not unfrequently also using its bill in the manner of a
Parrot. On the land, it walks and even runs with considerable ease,
certainly with more expertness than the Cormorant, though much in
the same style. But it does not employ its tail to aid it, for, on
the contrary, it carries that organ inclined upwards, and during its
progress from one place to another, the movements of its head and neck
are continued. These movements, which, as I have said, resemble sudden
jerkings of the parts to their full extent, become extremely graceful
during the love season, when they are reduced to gentle curvatures.
I must not forget to say, that during all these movements, the gular
pouch is distended, and the bird emits rough guttural sounds. If they
are courting on wing, however, in the manner of Cormorants, Hawks,
and many other birds, they emit a whistling note, somewhat resembling
that of some of our rapacious birds, and which may be expressed by
the syllables _eek_, _eek_, _eek_, the first loudest, and the rest
diminishing in strength. When they are on the water, their call-notes
so much resemble the rough grunting cries the Florida Cormorant, that
I have often mistaken them for the latter.
The flight of the Anhinga is swift, and at times well sustained; but
like the Cormorants, it has the habit of spreading its wings and tail
before it leaves its perch or the surface of the water, thus frequently
affording the sportsman a good opportunity of shooting it. When once on
wing, they can rise to a vast height, in beautiful gyrations, varied
during the love-season by zigzag lines chiefly performed by the male,
as he plays around his beloved. At times they quite disappear from the
gaze, lost as it were, in the upper regions of the air; and at other
times, when much lower, seem to remain suspended in the same spot for
several seconds. All this while, and indeed as long as they are flying,
their wings are directly extended, their neck stretched to its full
length, their tail more or less spread according to the movements to
be performed, being closed when they descend, expanded and declined to
either side when they mount. During their migratory expeditions, they
beat their wings at times in the manner of the Cormorant, and at other
times sail like the Turkey Buzzard and some Hawks, the former mode
being more frequently observed when they are passing over an extent
of woodland, the latter when over a sheet of water. If disturbed or
alarmed, they fly with continuous beats of the wings, and proceed with
great velocity. As they find difficulty in leaving their perch without
previously expanding their wings, they are also, when about to alight,
obliged to use them in supporting their body, until their feet have
taken a sufficient hold of the branch on which they desire to settle.
In this respect, they exactly resemble the Florida Cormorant.
There are facts connected with the habits of birds which might afford a
pretty good idea of the relative temperatures of different parts of the
country during a given season; and those observed with regard to the
Anhinga seem to me peculiarly illustrative of this circumstance. I have
found the “Grecian Lady” breeding on St John’s River in East Florida,
near Lake George, as early as the 23d of February; having previously
seen many of them caressing each other on the waters, and again
carrying sticks, fresh twigs, and other matters, to form their nests,
and having also shot females with the eggs largely developed. Now,
at the same period, perhaps not a single Anhinga is to be seen in the
neighbourhood of Natchez, only a few about New Orleans, in the eastern
parts of Georgia, and the middle maritime portions of South Carolina.
In Louisiana this bird breeds in April or May, and in South Carolina
rarely before June, my friend BACHMAN having found eggs, and young just
hatched, as late as the 28th of that month. In North Carolina, where
only a few pairs breed, it is later by a fortnight.
I have already expressed my opinion that birds which thus breed so much
earlier in one section of the country than in another, especially when
at great distances, may, after producing one or even two broods, in the
same year, still have time enough to proceed toward higher latitudes
for the purpose of again breeding. Actual observations have moreover
satisfied me that individuals of the same species produced in warm
latitudes have a stronger disposition toward reproduction than those
of more northern climates. This being the case, and most birds endowed
with the power of migrating, having a tendency to exercise it, may we
not suppose that the pair of Anhingas which bred on the St John’s in
February, might be inclined to breed again either in South Carolina
or in the neighbourhood of Natchez, several months after. But, as yet,
I have not been able to adduce positive proof of the accuracy of this
opinion.
The nest of the Snake-bird is variously placed in different localities;
sometimes in low bushes, and even on the common smilax, not more than
eight or ten feet above the water, if the place be secluded, or on
the lower or top branches of the highest trees, but always over the
water. In Louisiana and the State of Mississippi, where I have seen a
goodly number of nests, they were generally placed on very large and
tall cypresses, growing out of the central parts of lakes and ponds,
or overhanging the borders of lagoons, bayous, or rivers, distant
from inhabited places. They are frequently placed singly, but at
times amidst hundreds or even thousands of nests of several species
of Herons, especially _Ardea alba_ and _A. Herodias_, the Great White
and Great Blue Herons. As however in all cases the form, size, and
component materials are nearly the same, I will here describe a nest
procured for the purpose by my friend BACHMAN.
It measured fully two feet in diameter, and was of a flattened form,
much resembling that of the Florida Cormorant. The first or bottom
layer was made of dry sticks of different sizes, some nearly half
an inch in diameter, laid crosswise, but in a circular manner. Green
branches with leaves on them, of the common myrtle, _Myrica cerifera_,
a quantity of Spanish moss, and some slender roots, formed the upper
and inside layer, which was as solid and compact as that of any nest of
the Heron tribe. This nest contained four eggs; another examined on the
same day had four young birds; a third only three; and in no instance
has a nest of the Anhinga been found with either eight eggs, or “two
eggs and six young ones,” as mentioned by Mr ABBOTT, of Georgia, in his
notes transmitted to WILSON. Mr ABBOTT is however correct in saying
that this species “will occupy the same tree for a series of years,”
and I have myself known a pair to breed in the same nest three seasons,
augmenting and repairing it every succeeding spring, as Cormorants and
Herons are wont to do. The eggs average two inches and five-eighths
in length, by one and a quarter in diameter, and are of an elongated
oval form, of a dull uniform whitish colour externally, being covered
with a chalky substance, beneath which the shell, on being carefully
scraped, is of a light blue, precisely resembling in this respect the
eggs of the different species of American Cormorants with which I am
acquainted.
The young when about a fortnight old are clad with a uniform
buff-coloured down; their bill is black, their feet yellowish-white,
their head and neck nearly naked; and now they resemble young
Cormorants, though of a different colour. The wing feathers make their
appearance through the down, and are dark brown. The birds in the same
nest differ as much in size as those of Cormorants, the largest being
almost twice the size of the smallest. At this age they are in the
habit of raising themselves by placing their bills on the upper part
of the nest, or over a branch if convenient, and drawing themselves
up by their jaws, which on such occasions they open very widely. This
habit is continued by young birds whilst in confinement, and was also
observed in the Cormorant, _Phalacrocorax Carbo_, the young of which
assisted themselves with their bills while crawling about on the deck
of the Ripley. The action is indeed performed by the Anhinga at all
periods of its life. At an early age the young utter a low wheezing
call, and at times some cries resembling those of the young of the
smaller species of Herons. From birth they are fed by regurgitation,
which one might suppose an irksome task to the parent birds, as during
the act they open their wings and raise their tails. I have not been
able to ascertain the period of incubation, but am sure that the male
and the female sit alternately, the latter however remaining much
longer on the nest. Young Anhingas when approached while in the nest
cling tenaciously to it, until seized, and if thrown down, they merely
float on the water, and are easily captured. On the contrary, the young
Florida Cormorants throw themselves into the water, and dive at once.
When they are three weeks old, the quills and tail-feathers grow
rapidly, but continue of the same dark-brown colour, and so remain
until they are able to fly, when they leave the nest, although they
still present a singular motley appearance, the breast and back being
buff-coloured, while the wings and tail are nearly black. After the
feathers of the wings and tail are nearly fully developed, those of
the sides of the body and breast become visible through the down,
and the bird appears more curiously mottled than before. The young
male now assumes the colour of the adult female, which it retains
until the beginning of October, when the breast becomes streaked with
dusky; white spots shew themselves on the back, the black of which
becomes more intense, and the crimpings on the two middle feathers of
the tail, which have been more or less apparent from the first, are
now perfect. By the middle of February, the male is in full plumage,
but the eyes have not yet acquired their full colour, being only of a
dull reddish-orange. In this respect also two differences are observed
between the Anhinga and the Cormorants. The first is the rapid progress
of the Anhinga towards maturity of plumage, the other the retaining
of its complete dress through the whole of its life, no change taking
place in its colours at each successive moult. The Cormorants, on the
contrary, take three or four years to attain their full dress of the
love season, which lasts only during that period of excitement. The
progress of the plumage in the female Anhinga is as rapid as in the
male, and the tints also remain unaltered through each successive
moult.
Like all other carnivorous and piscivorous birds, the Anhinga can
remain days and nights without food, apparently without being much
incommoded. When overtaken on being wounded, and especially if brought
to the ground, it seems to regard its enemies without fear. On several
occasions of this kind, I have seen it watch my approach, or that of
my dog, standing as erect as it could under the pain of its wounds,
with its head drawn back, its bill open, and its throat swelled with
anger until, when at a sure distance, it would dart its head forward
and give a severe wound. One which had thus struck at my dog’s nose,
hung to it until dragged to my feet over a space of thirty paces. When
seized by the neck, they scratch severely with their sharp claws, and
beat their wings about you with much more vigour than you would suppose
they could possess. Having witnessed the singular means employed by
this bird in making its escape on sudden emergencies, I will here
relate an instance, which evinces a kind of reason. Whilst ascending
the St John’s river in East Florida, along with Captain PIERCY of the
U. S. Navy, our boat was rowed into a circular basin of clear shallow
water, having a sandy bottom; such places being found occasionally
in that country, produced by the flowing of springs from the more
elevated sandy parts into the muddy rivers and lakes. We entered the
cove by passing between the branches of low trees, overhung by others
of great height. The first object that attracted my attention was a
female Anhinga perched on the opposite side of the cove, and, as I did
not wish that it should be shot, we merely advanced towards it, when
it began to throw its head about, and watch our motions. The place
was small, and the enclosing trees high. Though it might have flown
upwards and escaped, it remained perched, but evidently perturbed and
apprehensive of danger. When the boat was at a short distance, however,
it suddenly threw itself backward, cutting a somerset as it were, and,
covered by the branches, darted straight through the tangled forest,
and was soon out of sight. Never before nor since have I seen or heard
of Anhingas flying through the woods.
For the following description of the Snake-bird’s breeding grounds,
a few miles distant from Charleston in South Carolina, I am indebted
to my friend JOHN BACHMAN:—“On the 28th of June 1837, accompanied by
Dr WILSON, Dr DRAYTON, and WILLIAM RAMSAY, Esq., I went to Chisholm
Pond, about seven miles from the city, for the purpose of seeing the
Anhingas while breeding. The day was fine, and in about an hour our
horses brought us to the margin of the swamp. We soon discovered a
bird flying over us, and making for the upper part of the pond toward
a retired place, rendered almost inaccessible in consequence of its
being a morass overgrown with vines and rushes. As there was no other
way of examining their locality but by water, we hauled ashore a small
leaky canoe which we found in the pond, caulked it in the best manner
we could, so as to render it not unsafe, although after all we could
do to it, we found it still very leaky. It proved uncomfortable enough,
and could hold only two persons. So it was agreed that I should proceed
in it, accompanied by a servant, who understood well how to paddle it.
“The pond is artificial, and such as in this country is called a
“Reserve.” It is situated at the upper part of rice fields, and is
intended to preserve water sufficient, when needed, to irrigate and
overflow the rice. It is studded with small islands, covered by a thick
growth of a small species of Laurel (_Laurus geniculata_) and the Black
Willow (_Salix nigra_), all entangled by various species of Smilax
and other plants. These were at the time covered with Herons’ nests of
several kinds. Farther on the Night Herons also had formed a city. As
I proceeded onwards in my search I found the difficulties increasing.
The water became shallow, the mire deeper and softer, and the boat
required the best of management to be propelled along, for now it was
retarded by rushes and vines. Enormous live oaks and cypress trees
reared their majestic branches towards the pure sky above, covered as
they were with dangling masses of Spanish moss, reaching to the very
surface of the water, and turning day into night. Alligators of great
size wallowed in the mire, or were heard to plunge into it, from the
many logs which ever and anon intercepted my progress, while terrapins,
snakes, and other reptiles swarmed around. My situation was thus not
altogether so very pleasant, and the less so as it was necessary for
me to destroy as many musquitoes as possible, and guard against being
upset in such a truly “dismal swamp.” We moved extremely slowly, yet
advanced, and at last, having reached an open space where the trees
were of small size and height, I espied the nest of the Anhinga before
me! The female was sitting on it, but on our coming nearer she raised
herself by her bill to a branch about one foot above, and there stood
with outstretched neck, like a statue. It was cruel thus to disturb her
in her own peaceful solitude; but naturalists, alas! seldom consider
this long, when the object of their pursuit is in their view and almost
within their grasp. Being now within twenty yards of the innocent
and interesting creature, I pointed my short rifle towards her, and
immediately fired; but the unsteadiness of the canoe, and perhaps that
of a hand not accustomed to this weapon, saved her life. She remained
in her statue-like posture, the rifle was reloaded, and thrice fired,
without touching her; but at last a bullet having cut through the
branch on which she stood, she spread her dark pinions, and launching
into the air, was soon beyond the reach of my eyes, and I trust of
further danger.”
The same kind friend having procured eggs and young of this interesting
bird, I will present you with his observations respecting them. He
writes thus:—“I brought home three young Snake-birds, two of which I
immediately undertook to raise and domesticate, entrusting the third to
the care of one of our mutual friends. I found no difficulty in rearing
one of them. The other, by neglect of my servant, died a few weeks
afterwards, during a short personal absence. Whilst these two birds
were yet in the same cage, it was curious indeed to see the smaller
one when hungry incessantly trying to force its bill into the mouth and
throat of the other, which, after being thus teased for a short time,
would open its mouth to suffer the little one to thrust its whole head
down the throat of its brother, from which it would receive the fish
that the latter had previously swallowed. In this singular manner did
the larger bird, which after awhile proved to be a male, continue to
act as if the foster-parent of his little sister, which indeed seemed
to be thrown upon his protection. The one still in my possession is
fed on fish, which it picks up, tosses a few times in the air, and
swallows at the first convenient opportunity, that is when the fish
falls towards its mouth head foremost. At the onset, when the fish was
large, I had it cut into pieces, thinking that the apparent slenderness
of the bird’s neck could not expand enough to swallow it whole; but I
soon ascertained that this was unnecessary. Fish three times the size
of the neck were tossed in the expanded jaws and gobbled at once, and
immediately after, the bird would come to my feet, clicking its bill
in such an unequivocal manner that I never failed to give it more. My
pet was tame from the beginning of its captivity, and followed me about
the house, the yard, and garden, until I thought it quite troublesome
in consequence of its peculiar attachment to me. The one given to our
friend was fed on fish and raw beef; but although it grew to its full
size, never seemed to thrive as well as the one I had, and finally
died of an affection causing spasms. This was a female, and although
less bright in colour than the adult of the same sex, the two middle
feathers of her tail were partially crimped, and her markings were
the same. While in the young state I frequently carried it to a pond,
believing that it would relish the water, and would improve in health;
but I invariably found it to scramble towards the shore as soon as
possible, as if dreading the element in which it was by nature destined
to live. When thrown into the pond, it usually dived at once, but
the next instant arose to the surface, and swam with all the buoyancy
of a common duck. It is a fearless bird, keeping at bay the hens and
turkeys in the yard, and never sparing any dog that chances to pass by
it, dealing blows right and left with its sharp bill, and occasionally
placing itself at the trough where they are fed, to prevent them from
taking a morsel of food till he has tantalized them sufficiently, when
he leaves them to share whatever he does not himself relish.
“It was not until my bird was fully fledged that I found it willing
or anxious to go to the water, and then, whenever it saw me go toward
the pond, it accompanied me as far as the gate of the garden, seeming
to say “Pray let me go.” On my opening this gate, it at once followed
me waddling along like a duck, and no sooner was it in sight of its
favourite element than it immediately let itself in, not with a plunge
or a dive, but by dropping from a plank into the stream, where for a
while it would swim like a duck, then, dipping its long neck, it would
dive for the purpose of procuring fish. The water was clear enough to
enable me to see all its movements, and after many various windings it
would emerge at the distance of forty or fifty yards. This bird sleeps
in the open air during warm nights, perched on the highest bar of the
fence, with its head under its wings, placed there from above its back,
and in rainy weather it often sits in the same position for nearly the
whole day. It appears to be very susceptible of cold, retreating to
the kitchen and near the fire, battling with the dogs or the cooks for
the most comfortable place on the hearth. Whenever the sun shines, it
spreads its wings and tail, rustles its feathers, and seems delighted
with our warmest sunny days. When walking and occasionally hopping, it
does not support itself by the tail, as Cormorants sometimes do. When
fishes are presented to it, it seizes and swallows them greedily; but
when these cannot be procured, we are forced to feed it on meat, when
it opens its mouth, and receives the food placed in it. Occasionally
it has spent several days without any food; but in those cases the
bird became very troublesome, harassing all around by its incessant
croakings, and giving blows to the servants, as if to remind them of
their neglect.
“Once it made its escape, and flew off about a quarter of a mile
into the pond. Some boys happening to be there in a canoe, the bird
approached them with open mouth, for it was hungry and wanted food.
They seeing such a strange creature pursuing them with a head somewhat
like that of a snake, took alarm and paddled for the shore; but my bird
followed in their wake, and landed as soon as they did. They now fled
to the house, where the Anhinga also arrived, and was recognised by
some members of the family, who sent it back to me; and I, to prevent
its farther escape or loss, clipped one of its wings.”
I saw the bird above mentioned at my friend’s house at Charleston
in the winter of 1836, when on my way to the Gulf of Mexico, and
had many opportunities of watching its habits. It was killed by a
beautiful retriever presented to me by the EARL OF DERBY, and its death
occasioned sorrow both to my friend and myself, as he had given it to
me for the purpose of being sent to that nobleman.
Ever since I have been acquainted with the Anhinga, I have thought that
in form and habits it is intimately connected with the Cormorants,
and was induced to compare their manners. In some respects I found
them similar, in others different; but when I discovered that all
these birds possess a remarkable peculiarity in the structure of their
feathers, I thought that their generic affinity could not be denied.
The Anhinga has its body and neck covered with what I would call
_fibrous_ feathers, having a very slender shaft; while its quills and
tail-feathers are _compact_, that is, perfect in structure, strong, and
elastic. Now the shafts of all these latter feathers are _tubular from
their bases to their very extremities_, which, in so far as I know,
is not the case in any other bird, excepting the Cormorants. They are
all very elastic, like those in the tails of our largest Woodpeckers,
the shafts of which, however, are filled with a spongy pith, as in all
other land-birds, and in all the aquatic species which I have examined,
including Divers and Grebes, as well as _Plungers_, such as Gannets,
Kings-fishers, and Fishing Hawks. The quills and tail-feathers of the
Cormorants and Anhinga, in short, have the barrel as in other birds,
but the shaft _hollow, even to the tip, its walls being transparent,
and of the same nature as the barrel_.
WILSON, who, it is acknowledged, made his figures from stuffed
specimens in the Philadelphia Museum, had no positive proof that
the bird which he took for a female was one, for he had not seen
the Anhinga alive or recently killed. Even his continuator, Mr ORD,
procured only males during his visit to the Floridas. But the female
which I have represented was proved to be of that sex by dissection,
and was examined by myself nineteen years ago near Bayou Sara. Since
that time I have had numerous opportunities of satisfying myself as to
this point, by examining birds in various stages.
The substances which I have found in many individuals of this species
were fishes of various kinds, aquatic insects, crays, leeches, shrimps,
tadpoles, eggs of frogs, water-lizards, young alligators, water-snakes,
and small terrapins. I never observed any sand or gravel in the
stomach. On some occasions I found it distended to the utmost, and,
as I have already stated, the bird has great powers of digestion. Its
excrements are voided in a liquid state, and squirted to a considerable
distance, as in Cormorants, Hawks, and all birds of prey.
The flesh of the Anhinga, after the bird is grown, is dark, firm, oily,
and unfit for food, with the exception of the smaller pectoral muscles
of the female, which are white and delicate. The crimpings of the two
middle tail-feathers become more deeply marked during the breeding
season, especially in the male. When young, the female shews them only
in a slight degree, and never has them so decided as the male.
PLOTUS ANHINGA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 218.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith., vol. ii. p. 895.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of the United States, p. 411.
PLOTUS MELANOGASTER, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 895.
BLACK-BELLIED DARTER, PLOTUS MELANOGASTER, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith., vol. ix. p. 75. pl. 74, fig. 1. adult, and p. 82.
pl. 74, fig. 2. young.
BLACK-BELLIED DARTER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 507.
Adult male. Plate CCCXVI. Fig. 1.
Bill about twice the length of the head, almost straight, being very
slightly recurved, rather slender, compressed, tapering to a fine
point. Upper mandible with the dorsal outline slightly declinate,
and almost straight, being however somewhat convex, the ridge convex,
gradually narrowed, the sides sloping, the edges sharp, and beyond the
middle cut into minute slender-pointed serratures, which are directed
backwards; the tips very slender. Lower mandible with the angle very
long and narrow, the dorsal line beyond it straight and ascending,
the sides sloping slightly outwards, the edges sharp and serrated like
those of the upper, the point extremely narrow; the gape line slightly
ascending towards the end. No external nostrils.
Head very small, oblong. Neck very long and slender. Body elongated
and slender. Feet very short and stout. Tibia feathered to the joint.
Tarsus very short, roundish, reticulated all over, the scales on
the hind part extremely small. Toes all connected by webs; the first
of moderate length, the second much longer, the fourth longest and
slightly margined externally; the first toe and the first phalanges of
the rest, covered above with transverse series of scales, the rest of
their extent scutellate. Claws rather large, very strong, compressed,
curved, very acute; the outer smallest, the third longest, with a deep
groove on the inner side, and a narrow thin edge, cut with parallel
slits; those of the first and second toes nearly equal.
There is a bare space at the base of the upper mandible, including
the eye; the skin of the throat is bare and dilated, like that of the
Cormorants. The plumage of the head, neck, and body, is close, blended,
and of a silky texture; the feathers oblong, rounded, with the filament
disunited toward the end. On each side of the neck, from near the eye
to half its length, is a series of elongated narrow loose feathers, a
few of which are also dispersed over the back of the neck, and which in
the breeding season are an inch and a quarter in length. The scapulars,
which are very numerous, are elongated, lanceolate, tapering to a
point, compact, stiffish, elastic, highly glossed, gradually increasing
in size backwards, the outer web of the largest, crimped. Wings of
moderate length and breadth; primaries strong, firm, considerably
curved, the third longest, the second almost as long, the first a
little shorter than the fourth; the second, third, and fourth cut out
on the outer web. Secondaries a little decurved, broad, rounded and
acuminate; the inner elongated, straightish, acuminate, and resembling
the posterior scapulars. Tail very long, narrow, of twelve straight
feathers having strong shafts, and increasing in breadth from the base
to the end, which is rounded and very broad, the two middle feathers
have their outer webs curiously marked with transverse alternate ridges
and depressions.
Upper mandible dusky olive, the edges yellow; lower mandible bright
yellow, the edges and tips greenish; bare space about the eye
bluish-green; gular sac bright orange. Iris bright carmine. Tarsi and
toes anteriorly dusky olive, the hind parts and webs yellow; claws
brownish-black. The general colour of the head, neck, and body, is
glossy blackish-green; of the scapulars, wings, and tail, glossy
bluish-black. The long loose feathers on the neck are purplish-white
or pale lilac. The lower part of the neck behind is marked with very
numerous minute oblong spots of white; which form two broad bands
extending backwards, and gradually becoming more elongated, there
being one along the centre of each feather including the scapulars.
The smaller wing-coverts are similarly marked with broader white spots
disposed in regular rows; the four last of which have merely a central
line towards the tip, while the inner has a broad band extending from
near the base over the outer half of the inner web, and towards the end
including a portion of the outer web; the first row of small coverts,
and the secondary coverts are white excepting the portion of the inner
web. The five inner elongated secondaries are marked with a narrow
white band, occupying the inner half of the outer web, from about an
inch from their base to the extremity, near which it includes a part
of the inner web. The tail-feathers tipped with a band of brownish-red,
fading into white.
Length to end of tail 35-3/4 inches, to end of wings 30-1/4, to end of
claws 28-1/2, to carpus 17-1/2; extent of wings 44; wing from flexure
14; tail 11-1/2; bill along the ridge 3-1/4, along the edge of lower
mandible 3-10/12; tarsus 1-4/12; hind toe 11/12, its claw 6/12; second
toe 1-9/12, its claw (5-1/2)/12; third toe 2-5/12, its claw 8/12;
fourth toe 2-(4-1/2)/12, its claw (5-3/4)/12. Weight 3-1/4 lb.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXVI. Fig. 2. The female has the plumage similar
in texture to that of the male, but only a few inconspicuous elongated
feathers on the neck. The bill is lighter than in the male, the naked
part around the eye darker, the eye and gular sac as in the male; as
are the feet. The upper part of the head and the hind neck are dull
greenish-brown, lighter at the lower part, the fore part of the neck
is pale reddish-brown, tinged with grey, lighter on the throat; this
colour extends over part of the breast, an inch and a half beyond the
carpal joint, and terminates abruptly in a transverse band of deep
reddish-chestnut; the rest of the lower parts as in the male, as are
the upper, only the fore part of the back is tinged with brown, and its
spots less distinct.
Length to end of tail 34 inches, to end of wings 29-1/4, to end of
claws 27-1/2; to carpal joint 16-1/4; extent of wings 43. Weight 2 lb.
15 oz.
In external appearance and habits, the Snake-bird is very nearly allied
to the Cormorants. The structure of the feet is essentially the same in
both genera, as is that of the wings and tail, the latter however being
more elongated in the Anhinga, in correspondence with the neck. If one
might suppose a small Cormorant elongated and attenuated, with the feet
rather enlarged but shortened, the head diminished in size, and the
bill formed more on the model of that of a Heron, being destitute of
the distinct ridge and curved unguis, he would form a pretty correct
notion of this bird. Not only is the bill like that of a Heron, but the
vertebræ of the neck are very similar to those of that family, and form
the same abrupt curvatures between the seventh and eighth vertebræ.
But all the other bones are those of the Cormorants and Pelicans.
The sternum in particular is almost precisely similar to that of the
Crested Cormorant, so that without entering very minutely into its
description, no differences could be pointed out.
Both mandibles are concave within; the palate flat, with two
longitudinal ridges; the posterior aperture of the nares linear
and 9 twelfths long, the anterior or external aperture _entirely
obliterated_. The lower mandible has a distinct oblique joint at about
a third of its length, enabling it to be expanded to the extent of an
inch and a half. The pouch, which is small, is constructed in the same
manner as that of the Pelicans and Cormorants; its muscular fibres
running from the lower edge of the mandible downwards and backwards,
and a slender muscle passing from the anterior part of the hyoid bone
to the junction of the crura of the mandible. The tongue is reduced
to a mere oblong knob, 1-1/2 twelfth long, and 1/2 twelfth in height.
The aperture of the glottis is 3 twelfths long, with two roundish
thin edged flaps behind, destitute of papillæ. There is a small
bone appended to the occipital ridge, 1/4 inch in length, as in the
Cormorants.
The œsophagus _a b_, is 17 inches long, exceedingly delicate and
dilatable, with external longitudinal fibres, the transverse fibres
becoming stronger towards the lower parts. Its diameter when moderately
dilated is 1-3/4 inch at the top, 1 inch farther down, at its entrance
into the thorax, 9 twelfths, and finally 1-1/2 inch; but it may be
dilated to a much greater extent. _The proventricular glands, instead
of forming a belt at the lower part of the œsophagus, are placed
on the right side in the form of a globular sac_, about an inch in
diameter, communicating with the œsophagus, _b_, and stomach, _d_. For
two inches of the lower part of the œsophagus, _b_, or at that part
usually occupied by the proventriculus, the transverse muscular fibres
are enlarged, and form an abrupt margin beneath; on the inner surface
there are four irregular series of large apertures of gastric glandules
or crypts. The proventriculus itself, _c_, is composed of large crypts
of irregular form, with very wide apertures, and covered externally
with muscular fibres. The stomach, _d d_, is roundish, about an inch
and three quarters in diameter, with two roundish tendinous spaces,
_e_, and fasciculi of muscular fibres; its inner coat thin, soft, and
smooth. It opens by an aperture a quarter of an inch in diameter into
a small sac, _f_, precisely similar to that of the Pelican, which
has a muscular coat, with a soft even internal membrane, like that of
the stomach. The pylorus has a diameter of 2 twelfths, is closed by a
semilunar valve or flap, and is surrounded by a disk of radiating rugæ
three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The intestine, _g h_, is 3 feet
4 inches long, its average diameter 2-1/4 twelfths, but only 1 twelfth
at its junction with the rectum, which is 3-1/2 inches long, 3 twelfths
in diameter. The cloaca globular, 1-1/2 inch in diameter. There are
_no cœca_ properly so called, but a _small rounded termination of the
rectum_ 2 twelfths in length as in the Herons.
[Illustration]
The subcutaneous cellular tissue is largely developed, and the
longitudinal cells on the neck are extremely large, as in Gannets and
Herons. The olfactory nerve is of moderate size, and the nasal cavity
is a simple compressed sac 4 twelfths in its greatest diameter. The
external nares are closed, and there are _no supraorbital glands_.
The external aperture at the ear is circular, and not more than half a
twelfth in diameter.
The trachea is 13-1/2 inches long, much flattened, narrow at the
upper extremity, where it is 2-1/2 twelfths in breadth, enlarging
gradually to 4-1/2 twelfths, and toward the lower larynx contracting
to 2-1/2 twelfths. The rings are very slender, unossified, and feeble;
their number 230; the bronchial half-rings 25. The contractor muscles
moderate; sterno-tracheales; and a pair of inferior muscles going to
the last ring.
In a young bird scarcely two days old, and measuring only 3-3/4 inches
in length, the two most remarkable circumstances observed refer to the
nostrils and stomach. The posterior or palatal aperture of the nares
is of the same form, and proportional size, as in the adult; the nasal
cavity is similar; but there is an external nasal aperture, or nostril,
on each side, so small as merely to admit the mystachial bristle
of a Common Squirrel. The stomach is of enormous size, occupying
three-fourths of the cavity of the thorax and abdomen, being 10
twelfths of an inch long, and of an oval shape. The proventriculus is
separated from the stomach and formed into a roundish lobe, as in the
old bird; and beside it is the lobe or pouch appended to the stomach,
and from which the duodenum comes off. Even at this very early age,
the stomach was turgid with a pultaceous mass apparently composed of
macerated fish, without any bones or other hard substances intermixed.
Here then we have an instance of external nares in the young of a bird
in which they are entirely obliterated in the adult.
SURF DUCK.
_FULIGULA PERSPICILLATA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although several years have elapsed since I visited the sterile
country of Labrador, I yet enjoy the remembrance of my rambles there;
nay, Reader, many times have I wished that you and I were in it once
more, especially in the winter season. I calculate indeed how easily
this wish might be accomplished, were I ten years younger. Under
the hospitable roof of Mr JONES, while the tempest might be hurling
southward the drifting snows, I could live in peaceful content, cheered
by the matchless hand-organ of my kind hostess. Then, how pleasant it
would be in calm weather to traverse the snowy wastes, to trap the
cunning fox and the Jer Falcon, allured by their favourite winter
food, the Rock Grous; with what delight should I gaze on the dim
red sun creeping along the southern horizon, or watch the flittering
beams of the northern aurora. Now, over the glittering snow, JONES’s
Esquimaux curs might swiftly convey us to his friends, here crossing
the ice-bound gulf, there traversing fissures and crags impassable in
summer. Then what long tales for the long nights, and sports for the
short days. The broad-antlered Caribou might have scampered before me,
but its bounds would have been suddenly checked by the fleeter ball of
my well-directed rifle. The wolf might have prowled around us, until he
had been captured in the deeply dug and well-baited pit. Then Nature’s
pure mantle would be seen slowly to disappear, the low grounds would be
inundated with the snow-waters, the warm breezes would dry the mountain
ridges, and with the first appearance of verdure joy would cause every
heart to bound. Thousands of seals would be seen to snuff the milder
air, myriads of tiny fishes would approach the shores, and millions of
feathered wanderers would pass over on whistling pinions. But alas! I
shall never spend a winter in Labrador.
While proceeding towards that country in 1833, on board the Ripley,
I found the waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence alive with ducks of
different species. The nearer we approached the coast, the more
numerous did they become; and of the many kinds that presented
themselves to our anxious gaze, the Surf Duck was certainly not the
least numerous. It is true that in the noble bays of our own coast,
in the Sound, between New York and the Hook, on the broader waters
of the Chesapeake, and beyond them to the mouths of the Mississippi,
I had seen thousands of Surf Ducks; but the numbers that passed the
shores of Labrador, bound for the far north, exceeded all my previous
conceptions.
For more than a week after we had anchored in the lovely harbour of
Little Macatina, I had been anxiously searching for the nest of this
species, but in vain: the millions that sped along the shores had no
regard to my wishes. At length I found that a few pairs had remained
in the neighbourhood, and one morning, while in the company of Captain
EMERY, searching for the nests of the Red-breasted Merganser, over
a vast oozy and treacherous fresh-water marsh, I suddenly started
a female Surf Duck from her treasure. We were then about five miles
distant from our harbour, from which our party had come in two boats,
and fully five and a half miles from the waters of the Gulf of St
Lawrence. The marsh was about three miles in length, and so unsafe that
more than once we both feared, as we were crossing it, that we might
never reach its margin. The nest was snugly placed amid the tall leaves
of a bunch of grass, and raised fully four inches above its roots. It
was entirely composed of withered and rotten weeds, the former being
circularly arranged over the latter, producing a well-rounded cavity,
six inches in diameter, by two and a half in depth. The borders of this
inner cup were lined with the down of the bird, in the same manner as
the Eider Duck’s nest, and in it lay five eggs, the smallest number I
have ever found in any duck’s nest. They were two inches and two and a
half eighths in length, by one inch and five-eighths in their greatest
breadth; more equally rounded at both ends than usual; the shell
perfectly smooth, and of a uniform pale yellowish or cream colour.
I took them on board, along with the female bird, which was shot as
she rose from her nest. We saw no male bird near the spot; but in the
course of the same day, met with several males by themselves, about
four miles distant from the marsh, as we were returning to the harbour.
This induced me to believe that, like the Eider and other ducks that
breed in Labrador, the males abandon the females as soon as incubation
commences. I regret that, notwithstanding all my further exertions, I
did not succeed in discovering more nests or young birds.
In the States of Maine and Massachusetts, this species is best known
by the name of “Butter-boat-billed Coot.” The gunners of Long Island
and New Jersey call it the Black Sea Duck. It is often seen along
the coast of South Carolina, where my friend JOHN BACHMAN Has met
with it. The Surf Duck is a powerful swimmer and an expert diver. It
is frequently observed fishing at the depth of several fathoms, and
it floats buoyantly among the surf or the raging billows, where it
seems as unconcerned as if it were on the most tranquil waters. It
rises on wing, however, with considerable difficulty, and in this
respect resembles the Velvet Duck; but when once fairly under way,
it flies with rapidity and to a great distance, passing close to
the water during heavy gales, but at the height of forty or fifty
yards in calm and pleasant weather. It is an uncommonly shy bird, and
therefore difficult to be obtained, unless shot at while on wing, or
when asleep, and as it were at anchor on our bays, or near the shore,
for it dives as suddenly as the Velvet and Scoter Ducks, eluding even
the best percussion-locked guns. The female, which was killed as she
flew off from the nest, uttered a rough uncouth guttural cry, somewhat
resembling that of the Goosander on similar occasions; and I have never
heard any other sound from either sex.
The migration of the Surf Ducks eastward from our Southern coast,
begins at a very early season, as in the beginning of March none are to
be seen in the New Orleans markets. When I was at Eastport in Maine, on
the 7th of May 1833, they were all proceeding eastward. How far up the
St Lawrence they advance in winter I have not learned, but they must
give a decided preference to the waters of that noble stream, if I may
judge by the vast numbers which I saw apparently coming from them as we
approached the Labrador coast. I have never seen this species on any
fresh-water lake or river, in any part of the interior, and therefore
consider it as truly a marine duck.
During their stay with us, they are always seen in considerable numbers
together, and, unless perhaps during the breeding season, they seem to
be gregarious; for even during their travels northward they always move
in large and compact bodies. When I was at Newfoundland, I was assured
that they breed there in considerable numbers on the lakes of the
interior. My friend Professor MACCULLOCH, of Pictou, however informs
me that none are seen in Nova Scotia in summer. A gentleman of Boston,
with whom I once crossed the Atlantic, assured me that the species is
extremely abundant on the northern shores of the Pacific Ocean, and
about the mouth of Mackenzie’s River. Doctor TOWNSEND mentions it as
being also found on the Columbia. It appears that a single specimen
of the Surf Duck has been procured on the shores of Great Britain; and
this has induced the ornithologists of that country to introduce it as
a constituent of its Fauna.
In all the individuals which I have examined, I have found the stomach
to contain fish of different kinds, several species of shell-fish, and
quantities of gravel and sand, some of the fragments being of large
size. Their flesh is tough, rank, and fishy, so as to be scarcely fit
for food.
In the young males, in the month of September, the whole upper plumage
is mottled with darkish-brown and greyish-white, the latter colour
margining most of the feathers. The neck has a considerable extent of
dull greyish-white, spread over two or three inches, and approaching
toward the cheeks and throat. This colour disappears about the
beginning of January, when they become of a more uniform dark tint,
the upper part of the head brownish-black, without any white spot;
there is a patch of brownish-white at the base of the upper mandible on
each side; another of an oblong form over the ear, and on the nape are
elongated greyish-white marks; the bill and feet dusky green, the iris
brown.
ANAS PERSPICILLATA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 847.
BLACK or SURF DUCK, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 49,
pl. 67, fig. 2.
FULIGULA PERSPICILLATA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
the United States, p. 389.
OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun. Bor.
Amer. vol. ii. p. 449.
BLACK or SURF DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 416.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, very broad, as deep as broad at the
base, depressed towards the end, which is rounded. Upper mandible with
the dorsal outline convex and descending, before the nostrils concave,
on the unguis convex and declinate; the ridge broad and convex at the
base; the sides at the base erect, bulging, and very broad, towards
the end convex, the edges soft, with about 30 internal lamellæ, for
two-thirds from the base they are nearly parallel and straight, but
towards the end ascending, the unguis very large, somewhat triangular
and rounded. Lower mandible flattened, with the angle long and rather
narrow, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges with about 35
lamellæ. Nostrils submedial, elliptical, large, pervious, near the
ridge.
Head large, oblong, flattened above. Eyes of moderate size. Neck short
and thick. Body large and much depressed. Feet short, placed rather far
behind; tarsus very short, compressed, having anteriorly in its whole
length a series of small scutella, and above the outer toe a partial
series, the rest covered with reticular angular scales. Hind toe small,
with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes nearly double the length of
the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes having a sinus on their
free margins, the inner with a lobed marginal membrane, the outer with
a thick margin, the third and fourth about equal and longest. Claws
small, that of the first toe very small and curved, of the middle toe
largest, with a dilated inner edge, of the rest slender, all rather
obtuse.
Plumage soft, dense, blended, and glossy. Feathers on the head and neck
of a velvety texture. Wings rather short, narrow, and pointed; primary
quills curved, strong, tapering, and pointed, the first longest, the
second little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad
and rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail very short, narrow,
wedge-shaped, of fourteen stiff, narrow, pointed feathers.
Upper mandible with a nearly square black patch at the base, margined
with orange, unless in front, where there is a patch of bluish-white
extending to near the nostrils, prominent part over the nostrils deep
reddish-orange, becoming lighter towards the unguis, and shaded into
rich yellow towards the margins; the unguis dingy greyish-yellow; lower
mandible flesh-coloured, unguis darker. Iris bright yellowish-white.
Tarsi and toes orange-red, the webs dusky tinged with green; claws
black. The plumage is of a deep black, glossed with blue. On the top
of the head, between the eyes, is a roundish patch of white, and on the
nape a larger patch of an elongated form.
Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 18, to end of claws
22; extent of wings 33-1/2; bill from the angle in front 1-1/2; from
the prominence at the base 2-1/2; along the edge of lower mandible
2-5/12; wing from flexure 9-3/4; tail 3-3/4; tarsus 1-7/12; first
toe and claw 11/12; outer toe, and claw 2-1/4; middle, toe and claw,
(1/2)/12 longer. Weight 2 lb. 7 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXVII. Fig. 2.
Bill greenish-black; iris as in the male; feet yellowish-orange,
webs greyish-dusky, claws black. The general colour of the plumage
is brownish-black; darker on the top of the head, the back, wings,
and tail; on the breast and sides the feathers edged with dull
greyish-white.
Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 15-3/4, to end of
claws 18; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing from flexure 8-3/4; tarsus
1-5/8; middle toe 2-3/4, hind toe 9/12. Weight 2 lb. 2 oz.
In an adult Male, the tongue is 1 inch 9 twelfths long, has numerous
conical papillæ at the base, is deeply grooved along the middle, has
two lateral series of bristles, and terminates in a thin rounded lobe,
2 twelfths long. On the middle line of the upper mandible are about ten
short conical papillæ, and on each of its margins about 35 lamellæ;
on the lower an equal number. The heart is 1 inch 8 twelfths long,
1 inch 2 twelfths broad. The œsophagus, 8-1/2 inches long, is wide,
its diameter at the upper part being 1 inch, towards the middle of
the neck 1 inch and a quarter. The proventriculus is 1-1/2 inch long;
its glandules cylindrical, 1-1/2 twelfths in length, and, as in all
other ducks, arranged so as to form a complete belt. The stomach is a
powerful gizzard of a roundish form, 1 inch 10 twelfths long, 1 inch 10
twelfths broad, its lateral muscles very large, the right 10 twelfths
thick, the left 9 twelfths. In the stomach were various small bivalve
shells and much gravel. The cuticular lining longitudinally rugous; the
grinding plates 3/4 inch in diameter. The intestine, 5 feet 7 inches
in length, has an average diameter of 6 twelfths. The rectum is 7-1/2
inches long, 8 twelfths in diameter. Of the cœca one is 3 inches 4
twelfths long, cylindrical, obtuse, 2-1/2 twelfths in diameter, the
other 4-1/2 inches long.
The aperture of the glottis is 8 twelfths long, with numerous minute
papillæ behind. The trachea presents the same structure as that
of the Velvet Duck. Its upper rings, to the number of 9, are very
narrow, and continuous with a large bony expansion, 7 twelfths long,
and 8 twelfths broad. Beyond this part its diameter is 5 twelfths,
gradually diminishes to 3 twelfths about the middle, then enlarges
to 5 twelfths. In this part the number of rings is 78. Then comes a
roundish or transversely elliptical enlargement, 1 inch 2 twelfths in
breadth, 9 twelfths in length, convex before, slightly concave behind,
and composed of about 12 united rings. The trachea then contracts to 4
twelfths and presently enlarges to form the inferior larynx, which is
large, ossified, but symmetrical. In this space there are 6 distinct
rings, and 10 united. The entire length of the trachea is 7-1/2 inches,
its rings are all osseous and strong. The contractor muscles are very
strong, pass along the sides of the lower dilatation, on which are
given off the cleido-tracheals, then continue to the commencement of
the inferior larynx, where the sterno-tracheals come off. The bronchial
half-rings 25, unossified.
The cavity of the nose is very large, being 2 inches long, 1/2 inch
in diameter at the lower part, continued narrow in front over the
dilatation causing the external protuberance of the base of the bill.
The olfactory nerves are of moderate size; the maxillary branches of
the fifth pair very large.
AMERICAN AVOSET.
_RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCXVIII. ADULT MALE, AND YOUNG IN WINTER.
The fact of this curious bird’s breeding in the interior of our
country accidentally became known to me in June 1814. I was at the time
travelling on horseback from Henderson to Vincennes in the State of
Indiana. As I approached a large shallow pond in the neighbourhood of
the latter town, I was struck by the sight of several Avosets hovering
over the margins and islets of the pond, and although it was late,
and I was both fatigued and hungry, I could not resist the temptation
of endeavouring to find the cause of their being so far from the sea.
Leaving my horse at liberty, I walked toward the pond, when, on being
at once assailed by four of the birds, I felt confident that they had
nests, and that their mates were either sitting or tending their young.
The pond, which was about two hundred yards in length, and half as
wide, was surrounded by tall bulrushes extending to some distance from
the margin. Near its centre were several islets, eight or ten yards in
length, and disposed in a line. Having made my way through the rushes,
I found the water only a few inches deep; but the mud reached above
my knees, as I carefully advanced towards the nearest island. The
four birds kept up a constant noise, remained on wing, and at times
dived through the air until close to me, evincing their displeasure
at my intrusion. My desire to shoot them however was restrained by my
anxiety to study their habits as closely as possible; and as soon as
I had searched the different inlets, and found three nests with eggs,
and a female with her brood, I returned to my horse, and proceeded
to Vincennes, about two miles distant. Next morning at sunrise I was
snugly concealed amongst the rushes, with a fair view of the whole
pond. In about an hour the male birds ceased to fly over me, and betook
themselves to their ordinary occupations, when I noted the following
particulars.
On alighting, whether on the water or on the ground, the American
Avoset keeps its wings raised until it has fairly settled. If in the
water, it stands a few minutes balancing its head and neck, somewhat
in the manner of the Tell-tale Godwit. After this it stalks about
searching for food, or runs after it, sometimes swimming for a yard
or so while passing from one shallow to another, or wading up to its
body, with the wings partially raised. Sometimes they would enter among
the rushes, and disappear for several minutes. They kept apart, but
crossed each other’s path in hundreds of ways, all perfectly silent,
and without shewing the least symptom of enmity towards each other,
although whenever a Sandpiper came near, they would instantly give
chase to it. On several occasions, when I purposely sent forth a loud
shrill whistle without stirring, they would suddenly cease from their
rambling, raise up their body and neck, emit each two or three notes,
and remain several minutes on the alert, after which they would fly
to their nests, and then return. They search for food precisely in
the manner of the Roseate Spoonbill, moving their heads to and fro
sideways, while their bill is passing through the soft mud; and in many
instances, when the water was deeper, they would immerse their whole
head and a portion of the neck, as the Spoonbill and Red-breasted Snipe
are wont to do. When, on the contrary, they pursued aquatic insects,
such as swim on the surface, they ran after them, and on getting up
to them, suddenly seized them by thrusting the lower mandible beneath
them, while the other was raised a good way above the surface, much in
the manner of the Black Shear-water, which however performs this act
on wing. They were also expert at catching flying insects, after which
they ran with partially expanded wings.
I watched them as they were thus engaged about an hour, when they all
flew to the islets where the females were, emitting louder notes than
usual. The different pairs seemed to congratulate each other, using
various curious gestures; and presently those which had been sitting
left the task to their mates and betook themselves to the water,
when they washed, shook their wings and tail, as if either heated or
tormented by insects, and then proceeded to search for food in the
manner above described. Now, Reader, wait a few moments until I eat my
humble breakfast.
About eleven o’clock the heat had become intense, and the Avosets
gave up their search, each retiring to a different part of the pond,
where, after pluming themselves, they drew their heads close to their
shoulders, and remained perfectly still, as if asleep, for about an
hour, when they shook themselves simultaneously, took to wing, and
rising to the height of thirty or forty yards, flew off towards the
waters of the Wabash River.
I was now desirous of seeing one of the sitting birds on its nest, and
leaving my hiding place, slowly, and as silently as possible, proceeded
toward the nearest islet on which I knew a nest to be, having the
evening before, to mark the precise spot, broken some of the weeds,
which were now withered by the heat of the sun. You, good Reader, will
not, I am sure, think me prolix; but as some less considerate persons
may allege that I am tediously so, I must tell them here that no
student of Nature ever was, or ever can be, too particular while thus
marking the precise situation of a bird’s nest. Indeed, I myself have
lost many nests by being less attentive. After this short but valuable
lecture, you and I will do our best to approach the sitting bird unseen
by it. Although a person can advance but slowly when wading through mud
and water knee-deep, it does not take much time to get over forty or
fifty yards, and thus I was soon on the small island where the Avoset
was comfortably seated on her nest. Softly and on all four I crawled
toward the spot, panting with heat and anxiety. Now, Reader, I am
actually within three feet of the unheeding creature, peeping at her
through the tall grasses. Lovely bird! how innocent, how unsuspecting,
and yet how near to thine enemy, albeit he be an admirer of thy race!
There she sits on her eggs, her head almost mournfully sunk among
the plumage, and her eyes, unanimated by the sight of her mate, half
closed, as if she dreamed of future scenes. Her legs are bent beneath
her in the usual manner. I have seen this, and I am content. Now she
observes me, poor thing, and off she scrambles,—running, tumbling,
and at last rising on wing, emitting her clicking notes of grief and
anxiety, which none but an inconsiderate or callous-hearted person
could hear without sympathizing with her.
The alarm is sounded, the disturbed bird is floundering hither and
thither over the pool, now lying on the surface as if ready to die,
now limping to induce me to pursue her and abandon her eggs. Alas, poor
bird! Until that day I was not aware that gregarious birds, on emitting
cries of alarm, after having been scared from their nest, could induce
other incubating individuals to leave their eggs also, and join in
attempting to save the colony. But so it was with the Avosets, and the
other two sitters immediately rose on wing and flew directly at me,
while the one with the four younglings betook herself to the water, and
waded quickly off, followed by her brood, which paddled along swimming,
to my astonishment, as well as ducklings of the same size.
How far such cries as those of the Avoset may be heard by birds of
the same species I cannot tell; but this I know, that the individuals
which had gone toward the Wabash reappeared in a few minutes after I
had disturbed the first bird, and hovered over me. But now, having, as
I thought, obtained all desirable knowledge of these birds, I shot down
five of them, among which I unfortunately found three females.
The nests were placed among the tallest grasses, and were entirely
composed of the same materials, but dried, and apparently of a former
year’s growth. There was not a twig of any kind about them. The inner
nest was about five inches in diameter, and lined with fine prairie
grass, different from that found on the islets of the pond, and about
two inches in depth, over a bed having a thickness of an inch and a
half. The islets did not seem to be liable to inundation, and none
of the nests exhibited any appearance of having been increased in
elevation since the commencement of incubation, as was the case with
those described by WILSON. Like those of most waders, the eggs were
four in number, and placed with the small ends together. They measured
two inches in length, one inch and three-eighths in their greatest
breadth, and were, exactly as WILSON tells us, “of a dull olive colour,
marked with large irregular blotches of black, and with others of a
fainter tint.” To this I have to add, that they are pear-shaped and
smooth. As to the time of hatching, I know nothing.
Having made my notes, and picked up the dead birds, I carefully waded
through the rushes three times around the whole pond, but, being
without my dog, failed in discovering the young brood or their mother.
I visited the place twice the following day, again waded round the
pond, and searched all the islets, but without success: not a single
Avoset was to be seen; and I am persuaded that the mother of the four
younglings had removed them elsewhere.
Since that time my opportunities of meeting with the American Avoset
have been few. On the 7th of November 1819, while searching for rare
birds a few miles from New Orleans, I shot one which I found by itself
on the margin of Bayou St John. It was a young male, of which I merely
took the measurements and description. It was very thin, and had
probably been unable to proceed farther south. Its stomach contained
only two small fresh-water snails and a bit of stone. In May 1829,
I saw three of these birds at Great Egg Harbour, but found no nests,
although those of the Long-legged Avoset of WILSON were not uncommon.
My friend JOHN BACHMAN considers them as rare in South Carolina, where,
however, he has occasionally seen some on the gravelly shores of the
sea islands.
On the 16th of April 1837, my good friend Captain NAPOLEON COSTE, of
the United States Revenue Cutter the Campbell, on board of which I then
was, shot three individuals of this species on an immense sand-bar,
intersected by pools, about twelve miles from Derniere Island on the
Gulf of Mexico, and brought them to me in perfect order. They were
larger, and perhaps handsomer, than any that I have seen; and had been
killed out of a flock of five while feeding. He saw several large
flocks on the same grounds, and assured me that the only note they
emitted was a single whistle. He also observed their manner of feeding,
which he represented as similar to that described above.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL says in a note, that he “found this species
breeding on the islands of shallow ponds throughout the Rocky Mountains
about midsummer. They exhibited great fear and clamour at the approach
of the party, but no nests were found, they being then under march.”
Dr RICHARDSON states, that it is abundant on the Saskatchewan Plains,
where it frequents shallow lakes, and feeds on insects and small fresh
water crustacea.
The flight of the American Avoset resembles that of the _Himantopus
nigricollis_. Both these birds pass through the air as if bent on
removing to a great distance, much in the manner of the Tell-tale
Godwit, or with an easy, rather swift and continued flight, the legs
and neck fully extended. When plunging towards an intruder, it at times
comes downwards, and passes by you, with the speed of an arrow from
a bow, but usually in moving off again, it suffers its legs to hang
considerably. I have never seen one of them exhibit the bending and
tremulous motions of the legs spoken of by writers, even when raised
suddenly from the nest; and I think that I am equally safe in saying,
that the bill has never been drawn from a fresh specimen, or before
it has undergone a curvature, which it does not shew when the bird is
alive. The notes of this bird resemble the syllable _click_, sometimes
repeated in a very hurried manner, especially under alarm.
RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p.
787.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
394.
AMERICAN AVOSET, RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 126, pl. 63, fig. 2.
RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Richards. and Swains._, Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 375.
AMERICAN AVOSET, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 74.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill more than twice the length of the head, very slender, much
depressed, tapering to a point, and _slightly_ recurved. Upper
mandible, with the dorsal line straight for half its length, then a
little curved upwards, and at the tip slightly decurved, the ridge
broad and flattened, the edges rather thick, the nasal groove rather
long and very narrow. Nostrils linear, basal, pervious. Lower mandible
with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line slightly curved
upwards, the point very slender, extremely thin and a little curved
upwards.
Head small, rounded above, rather compressed. Neck long. Body compact,
ovate. Legs very long, slender; tibia elongated, bare for half its
length, and reticulated; tarsus very long, compressed, reticulated with
hexagonal scales; toes rather short, the first extremely small; outer
toe a little longer than inner; the anterior toes connected by webs of
which the anterior margin is deeply concave, the lateral toes thickly
margined. Claws very small, compressed, rather blunt.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings long, of moderate breadth, pointed;
primaries straightish, tapering, the first longest, the rest rapidly
graduated; secondaries broad, incurved, the outer rounded, the rest
becoming pointed, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, even,
of twelve rather narrow, rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris bright carmine. Feet light blue, webs flesh-coloured
towards their edges, claws black. Head, neck, and fore part of breast,
reddish-buff, the parts around the base of the bill and the eye,
nearly white. The back is white; but on its fore part is a longitudinal
band of brownish-black elongated feathers on each side, and the inner
scapulars are of the same colour, the outer and the anterior edge of
the wing being white. The wing brownish-black, with a broad band of
white formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, four of the inner
secondaries, and the basal part, with the inner webs and outer edges of
the rest. The under parts white, excepting some of the primary quills
and some of their coverts, which are greyish-brown.
Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2, to end of
claws 23-1/2 extent of wings 30-5/8; wing from flexure 9-1/2; tail
3-1/2; bill along the ridge 3-3/4; bare part of the tibia 2-3/12;
tarsus 3-5/8; hind toe and claw 3/12; middle toe and claw 1-10/12;
breadth of foot extended 2-5/8. Weight 16-3/4 oz.
The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat smaller.
Young in winter. Plate CCCXVIII. Fig. 2.
The young in winter is similar to the adult, but with the head and neck
white, the dark colours of a browner tint.
Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2; extent of
wings 30-1/2. Weight 13 oz.
In structure the Avosets are similar to the Numenii and Totani. In an
adult female the tongue is very short in proportion to the length of
the bill, being only 1-3/4 inch long, slightly emarginate at the base
with a few conical papillæ, slender, tapering to a point, horny on the
back, and flattened above. On the palate are two longitudinal series
of blunt papillæ. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear, 10
twelfths long, papillate on the edges. The œsophagus is 7 inches and
9 twelfths long, inclines to the right side, and when the neck is bent
becomes posterior at the middle, as in the Herons and other long-necked
birds; its diameter 5 twelfths at the upper part, dilated to 8 twelfths
previous to its entrance into the thorax. The proventriculus is 1 inch
long and 7 twelfths in diameter; its glandules cylindrical, 1 twelfth
long. The stomach is a gizzard of moderate strength, oblong, 1-1/2 inch
in length, 10 twelfths in breadth, its right lateral muscle 4 twelfths
thick. Its contents were remains of small shells. Its inner membrane
of moderate thickness, hard, longitudinally rugous, and deeply tinged
with red. The intestine is 3 feet long, and 4 twelfths in diameter; the
rectum 2 inches long; of the cœca one is 2-3/4 inches long, the other
2-1/4, their diameter 2 twelfths.
In another individual the intestine is 3 feet 9 inches long; one of
the cœca 2-3/4 inches, the other 3; the stomach 1-1/2 by 1-1/12. Its
contents small shell-fish and fragments of quartz.
The trachea is 6-1/2 inches long; its rings extremely thin and
unossified, 140 in number, its diameter 3-1/4 twelfths, nearly uniform
throughout, but rather narrower in the middle. The lateral muscles are
very thin. The bronchi are short, of about 10 rings.
LEAST TERN.
_STERNA MINUTA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXIX. ADULT AND YOUNG.
Sylph-like bird of the waters, how delightful has it been to me to gaze
on thy gliding movements, on the fannings of thy gentle wings, on the
delicate silvery glance of thy soft and sattiny bosom, as thou camest
from distant and unknown shores, when the winter had passed away, and
the mild breezes of early summer blew around thee, and thou soughtest
a place of safety in which to sojourn for a time. That frail frame of
thine must have suffered many a hardship. Fronting that last damp and
chilling blast, I have seen thee gathering up all thy little strength
to force thy way; and when the fury of the tempest assailed thee,
wert thou not glad to seek for refuge under yon bold headland! Ah,
deny it not, for I have seen the delight expressed by thee, when after
awhile, returning calm and sunshine revived thee, and thou spreadest
thy wings anew, to ramble gaily over the still turbulent waters. Well
knowest thou, heaven-taught, each bar and shallow along the desolate
shore which thou skirtest pilotless; soon shalt thou reach the haven
where last summer smiled on thee and thy brood; and there shalt thou
gracefully alight by the side of one whose love is all to thee.
As no account of this species exists in the Fauna Boreali-Americana,
it is to be supposed that it is not met with beyond the western shores
of Labrador, where however I found it in abundance and breeding, in
the beginning of June 1833. On the 14th of August following I observed
them at Newfoundland, moving southward in detached parties of old and
young, against a strong breeze, and uttering their clamorous cries.
Again, in the end of April 1837, hundreds of pairs were breeding on
the islands of Galveston Bay in Texas, the numerous specimens which I
then examined exhibiting no difference from those obtained in Labrador
and in our Middle Districts. Nay, once, in the middle of June, while
wading through the quick-sands of Bayou Sara in Louisiana, I came to a
high and dry sand-bar where I picked up several eggs belonging to three
pairs of birds of this species, although the distance was about two
hundred miles from the sea in a direct line. I have at various times
observed this Tern on the waters of the Ohio in autumn, and now and
then in spring, at the latter period in company with the Short-tailed
Tern, _Sterna nigra_, and have again met with it on the shores of
Lake Erie. I have also found it in winter on the eastern coast of the
Floridas, but in small numbers. Few birds indeed seem to me to be so
irregular in their migratory movements, for they appear to stop at any
convenient breeding place from Texas to Labrador.
This species in some of its habits resembles the Marsh Tern, of
WILSON, which I feel certain is the _Sterna anglica_ of MONTAGU. The
resemblance is especially manifest in the peculiar manner in which
it seizes insects while on wing over the pools of salt marshes and
elsewhere, where it is fond of rambling whenever the weather is at
all fine or pleasantly warm. It then plunges toward the ground or the
water, and, like a true Flycatcher, snatches its prey unawares from the
tops of the grasses, or whilst flying over the shallow green-mantled
pools.
Few birds are more gentle than this delicate species is at times; for,
apparently unaware of danger from the vicinity of man, it allows him to
approach within a few yards, whether it be on wing or on the ground.
Indeed, in the latter case, I have seen it when gorged so reluctant
to fly off that I have more than once thought it was asleep, although
on coming up I was always disappointed in my attempts to catch it.
Nothing can exceed the lightness of the flight of this bird, which
seems to me to be among water-fowls, the analogue of the Humming-bird.
They move with great swiftness at times, at others balance themselves
like hawks over their prey, then dart with the velocity of thought to
procure the tiny fry beneath the surface of the waters. When you invade
their breeding place, they will sometimes sweep far away, and suddenly
return, coming so near as almost to strike you. While travelling, their
light but firm flight is wonderfully sustained; and on hearing and
seeing them on such occasions, one is tempted to believe them to be the
happiest of the happy. They seem as if marshalled and proceeding to a
merry-making, so gaily do they dance along, as if to the music of their
own lively cries. Now you see the whole group suddenly check their
onward speed, hover over a deep eddy supplied with numberless shrimps,
and dash headlong on their prey. Up rises the little thing with the
shrimp in its bill, and again down it plunges; and its movements are
so light and graceful that you look on with pleasure, and are in no
haste to depart. Should this scene be enacted while they have young in
their company, the latter await in the air the rise of their parents,
meet them, and receive the food from them. When all are satiated,
they proceed on their journey, stopping at another similar but distant
place.
Although along our Southern and Middle Districts, the Least Tern merely
scoops a very slight hollow in which to deposit its eggs, doing this
from the first of April to the first of June, according to the latitude
of the place, those which I found breeding on the coast of Labrador
had formed very snug nests, composed of short fragments of dry moss,
well matted together, and nearly of the size of that of the American
Robin, _Turdus migratorius_; while those met with on the islands near
the Bay of Galveston, were observed to have laid their eggs upon the
dry drifted weeds which appeared to have been gathered by them for the
purpose. The nests are generally placed out of reach of the tides, but
on some occasions I have known the hopes of a whole colony destroyed by
the sudden overflow of their selected places caused by a severe gale,
and have observed that, on such occasions, their clamour was as great
as if they had been robbed of their eggs by man.
The number of eggs deposited by this species is more frequently three
than four. Like those of most other Terns, they differ somewhat in size
and markings, although I never found any so large as those described by
WILSON, who states that they measure nearly an inch and three quarters
in length, which would better agree with the eggs of the Common Tern.
The average of a basketful was found to be one inch and two and a half
eighths in length, by seven and a half eighths in breadth. They are
rather pointed at the smaller end, and their ground colour is pale
yellowish-white, blotched with irregular dark brown spots, intermixed
with others of a dull purplish tint.
I have found this Tern breeding among Shearwaters along the Florida
coast; and my friend the Reverend JOHN BACHMAN has observed the same
circumstance on the “Bird’s Banks,” on the coasts of South Carolina,
where it is abundant, as well as on Sullivan Island.
The common note of our Least Tern resembles that of the Barn Swallow
when disturbed about its nest, being as smartly and rapidly repeated at
times. When it proves convenient for it to alight on the ground or on
a sand-beach, after it has secured a prawn or small fish, it does so,
and there devours its prey piecemeal, but it more usually swallows it
on wing. On the ground it walks prettily, with short steps, keeping its
tail somewhat raised.
STERNA MINUTA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 228.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 809.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 355.
LESSER TERN, STERNA MINUTA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii.
p. 80, pl. 60, fig. 2.
SILVERY TERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 280.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXIX. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, slender, tapering, much compressed,
nearly straight, extremely attenuated towards the end. Upper mandible
with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad and convex
at the base, narrow towards the end, the sides nearly erect, the edges
sharp and direct. Nasal groove short, extending to a fourth of the
length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower
mandible with the angle extremely narrow, very acute, extending to the
middle, the dorsal line straightish, the sides erect, the edges sharp
and inflected, the tip extremely acute.
Head of moderate size, ovate; neck short; body very slender; feet
small. Tibia bare below; tarsus very short, slender, compressed,
covered anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind with
reticular scales; toes small, slender, the first extremely small, the
third longest, the fourth considerably shorter, all scutellate above,
the anterior united by reticulated webs having a deeply concave margin.
Claws arched, compressed, acute, that of hind toe smallest, of middle
toe by much the largest, and having its inner edge thin and dilated.
Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the fore part of the head;
the feathers in general broad and rounded. Wings very long, narrow, and
pointed; primary quills tapering, straight, the first longest, the next
five-twelfths of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary
quills short, broad, incurved, narrowed towards the end, the inner
straight. Tail rather long, very deeply forked, the lateral feathers
extending an inch and seven-twelfths beyond the fork.
Bill light yellowish-orange, its tips black, but the extreme points
horn-colour. Iris hazel; feet light orange-red, the bare part of the
tibia dusky; claws black. On the forehead, a triangular white patch
extending to the middle of the eye; upper part of the head and the
nape, with a line from the eye to the bill, deep black; sides of the
head, fore-neck and lower parts, pure white; back and wings very pale
bluish-grey; first two quills with the outer web greyish-black, and
rather less than half of their inner web of the same colour, the rest
white, extending to about half an inch from their extremities. Tail
white in summer, of a paler tint than the back at other times.
Length to end of tail 8-3/4 inches, to end of wings 9-1/2, to end
of claws 7-1/2, to end of shortest tail-feathers 7; extent of wings
18-3/4; wing from flexure 6-11/12; tail 3-1/2; bill along the ridge
7-1/2 twelfths, along the edge of lower mandible 1-5/12; tarsus 7/12;
middle toe 7/12, its claw 5/12.
The Female is a little smaller than the male, but otherwise similar.
Young fledged. Plate CCCXIX. Fig. 2.
Bill greenish-black. Iris dusky. Feet pale yellowish-orange. All the
under parts dull greyish-white, as are the upper parts including the
tail; the hind part of the head streaked with dusky, on the back and
rump the feathers with a curved marginal band of greyish-brown; primary
quills greyish-brown, the outer two darker. At this period the tail is
even, each feather narrowly margined with greyish-white.
In a male bird the tongue is 10 twelfths long, slender, triangular,
tapering to a point, horny beneath, emarginate and papillate at
the base. On the palate are five longitudinal ridges. The posterior
aperture of the nares is linear, 7 twelfths long. The œsophagus is 4
inches 2 twelfths long, very wide, its average diameter on the neck
4-1/2 twelfths, within the thorax 9 twelfths; it is exceedingly thin
and delicate, its muscular fibres scarcely apparent, unless closely
examined. The proventriculus is only a quarter of an inch long. The
stomach is 9 twelfths long, 8 twelfths broad, its lateral muscles of
considerable size, the cuticular lining dense, tough, longitudinally
rugous, and of a reddish-brown colour, as in gulls. Contents of stomach
and œsophagus, small fishes, one of them 2 inches long. The intestine
is 14 inches long, its diameter 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca are 2 twelfths
long, nearly 1 twelfth in diameter.
The trachea is 2 inches and 4 twelfths long, its diameter 2 twelfths at
the top, diminishing to 1 twelfth; its rings about 105, unossified; its
lateral muscles moderate, as are the sterno-tracheal, and single pair
of inferior laryngeal. The bronchial half-rings about 25.
LITTLE SANDPIPER.
_TRINGA PUSILLA_, WILS.
PLATE CCCXX. MALE AND FEMALE.
Before proceeding to detail my observations on the habits of this
humble but extremely interesting bird, I deem it necessary to inform
you that I disclaim as species belonging to the United States, or
even to any part of North America, the following, which however are
given in the Synopsis of the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO, and in the work
of my generous friend THOMAS NUTTALL, viz., _Tringa platyrhincha_
of TEMMINCK, _T. Temminckii_ of LEISLER, _T. minuta_ of LEISLER, _T.
minuta_ of TEMMINCK, and _T. pusilla_ of BECHSTEIN. This opinion of
mine I divulged to the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO in London, and he has on
this account omitted these species in his recently published list.
The extreme confusion that exists with respect to these species, and
many others of the same tribe, is in my opinion caused solely by the
anxiety of authors to discover or invent new species, often founding
distinctions on slight differences in the length of bills, tarsi, or
toes. Now, Reader, if in such large species as the _Grus Americana_,
for example, the young has been palmed on the world of science as a
distinct species for nearly a century past, without any other kind of
reason or proof than that obtained from mere dried skins, can we be
surprised that in birds so small as the present, opportunities should
have occurred of committing errors. My opinion, which I do not present
to you without due consideration, is, that we have in the United
States only the diminutive species badly figured by WILSON, and almost
as carelessly described by that wonderful man. To enter upon a long
discussion as to the identity of the present bird with any of the small
Tringas enumerated by European authors, would be to me quite as irksome
as it would prove unprofitable to you, for there scarcely exists a
single description of these birds sufficiently accurate to enable one
to decide with certainty. All are as nearly as possible of the same
size and colour, excepting in those deviations dependent upon age,
and the different states of plumage. But in the most intimately allied
species there are always marked differences in habits, and especially
in the sound of the voice.
That this species is naturally disposed to seek alpine sections of the
country for the purpose of reproduction, I obtained abundant proof
whilst in Labrador, where I found it plentiful, and breeding on the
moss-clad crests of the highest rocks, within short distances of the
sea. There are means through which the experienced student of Nature
may discover the hidden treasures of birds of this family, which to
others would prove useless, and which I shall here point out. At all
periods, excepting those at which they have nests containing eggs,
or young so small and delicate as to require all the care of their
parents, the flight of the present species usually resembles that
of the Common Snipe, _Scolopax Wilsonii_; but when startled from the
nest, or from any place in its immediate vicinity, it rises on wing,
and moves off low over the ground with deeply incurved wings, and
with a whirring motion of these organs, which, if as rapid as that
of a Partridge, would appear quite similar; but, on such occasions,
our bird moves slowly before you, and instead of uttering the note of
independence, as it were, which it emits at other times while freely
and fearlessly travelling, it gives out sounds weakened as if by grief
or anxiety, for the purpose of inducing you to follow it. If on the
ground, it acts in a similar manner, moves off slowly, and limping
as if crippled, and this at times quite as much as if you had really
come upon it while on its nest, or surprised it with its young. On all
such occasions, Reader, you ought to mark well the spot from which
the bird has started, and, to assure yourself that your eye may not
be deceived, throw your cap or hat at your feet to serve as a beacon,
should necessity afterwards call for it, to guide you around the place
until you have discovered the nest which you are desirous of seeing.
Through these means, on the 20th of July 1838, I after some search
found the nest and eggs of this species. The birds flew, to use the
words of my Journal, like Partridges, and not like Tringas. I marked
them well, for both the female and the male flew from near the nest,
and having left my fisher’s hat where I then stood, I walked carefully
over the moss hither and thither, until at last I came upon the spot.
My pleasure would have been greatly augmented had any of my young
companions been near; but the sailors who had rowed me to the foot of
the rocks exhibited little more delight than they would have done on
finding that their grog had been stopped. For my part, I felt as happy
as when, on the same coast, I for the first time saw the nest and eggs
of the Black-crowned Warbler, of which you have read an account, in
the second volume of this work. Four beautiful eggs, larger than I
had expected to see produced by birds of so small a size, lay fairly
beneath my eye as I knelt over them for several minutes in perfect
ecstasy. The nest had been formed first, apparently, by the patting
of the little creature’s feet on the crisp moss, and in the slight
hollow thus produced were laid a few blades of slender dry grass bent
in a circular manner, the internal diameter of the nest being two
inches and a half, and its depth an inch and a quarter. The eggs,
which were in shape just like those of the Spotted Sandpiper, _Totanus
macularius_, measured seven and a half eighths of an inch in length,
and three-fourths of an inch in breadth. Their ground colour was a
rich cream-yellow tint, blotched and dotted with very dark umber,
the markings larger and more numerous toward the broad end. They were
placed with their pointed ends together, and were quite fresh. The nest
lay under the lea of a small rock, exposed to all the heat the sun can
afford in that country. No sooner had the little creatures felt assured
that I had discovered their treasure, than they manifested a great
increase of sorrow, flew from the top of one crag to another in quick
succession, and emitted notes resembling the syllables _peep_, _peet_,
which were by no means agreeable to my feelings, for I was truly sorry
to rob them of their eggs, although impelled to do so by the love of
science, which affords a convenient excuse for even worse acts.
This pair, however, would seem to have been late in depositing their
eggs, for on the 4th of August my party and myself saw young birds
almost as large as their parents, and agreeing in almost every point
with the descriptions given of _Tringa Temminckii_. Many small flocks
of these birds, consisting of old and young, were already departing
from Labrador, and were seen on all our excursions. On the 11th of
August, we also found adult and young in great numbers. But not a
single newly hatched individual of this species could I procure, while
the young of the Ring Plover were very abundant.
I was surprised, whilst rambling along the shores of the Raritan River,
between New Jersey and New York, to find a great number of Little
Sandpipers, on the 29th of July 1832, leading me to believe that they
had probably bred on the elevated portions of Staten Island, although
on the other hand, they might have been barren birds. I have been
equally astonished to see large flocks of this species on the sand-bars
along the shores of the Ohio, below the great Rapids, about the middle
of August. According to Dr RICHARDSON, it “breeds within the Arctic
Circle, arriving as soon as the snow melts. It was observed on the 21st
of May, on the swampy borders of small lakes in latitude 66°. The crops
of those we killed were filled with a soft blackish earth, and some
white worms.” From the above quotation, I would be almost inclined to
believe that, like some others of our birds, which are said to be found
in northern Europe, this might be one.
The habits of the Little Sandpiper have been described with great
care and accuracy by my friend THOMAS NUTTALL. His account is indeed
so perfect that I shall here lay it before you in preference to one
by myself. “The Peeps, as they have been called, are seen in the salt
marshes around Boston, as early as the 8th of July. Indeed, so seldom
are they absent from us in the summer season, that they might be taken
for denizens of the state, or the neighbouring countries. When they
arrive, now and then accompanied by the semi-palmated species, the air
is sometimes, as it were, clouded with their flocks. Companies led
from place to place in quest of food, are seen whirling suddenly in
circles, with a desultory flight, at a distance, resembling a swarm of
hiving bees, seeking out some object on which to settle. At this time,
deceiving them by an imitation of their sharp and querulous whistle,
the fowler approaches, and adds destruction to the confusion of their
timorous and restless flight. Flocking together for common security,
the fall of their companions, and their plaintive cry, excite so much
sympathy among the harmless Peeps, that, forgetting their own safety,
or not well perceiving the cause of the fatality which the gun spreads
among them, they fall sometimes in such a state of confusion, as to be
routed with but little effort, until the greedy sportsman is glutted
with his timorous and infatuated game. When much disturbed, they,
however, separate into small and wandering parties, and are now seen
gleaning their fare of larvæ, worms, minute shell-fish, and insects,
in the salt marshes, or on the muddy and sedgy shores of tide rivers
and ponds. At such times they may be very nearly approached, betraying
rather a heedless familiarity than a timorous mistrust of their most
wily enemy; and even when rudely startled, they will often return to
the same place in the next instant, to pursue their lowly occupation
of scraping in the mud, whence, probably, originated the contemptible
appellation of _Humility_, by which they and some other small birds
of similar habits have been distinguished. For the discovery of
their food, their flexible and sensitive awl-like bills are thrust
into the mire, marshy soil, or wet sand, in the manner of the Snipe
and Woodcock, and in this way they discover and route from their
hiding retreat, the larvæ and soft worms which form a principal part
of their fare. At other times, they also give chase to insects, and
pursue their calling with amusing alacrity. When at length startled,
or about to join the company they have left, a sharp, short, and
monotonous whistle, like the word _peet_, or _peep_, is uttered, and
they instantly take to wing, and course along with the company they had
left. On seeing the larger marsh-birds feeding, as the Yellow-shanks
and others, a whirling flock of the Peeps will descend among them,
being generally allowed to feed in quiet; and at the approach of the
sportsman, these little timorous rovers are ready to give the alarm.
At first, a slender _peep_ is heard, which is then followed by two
or three others, and presently _peep_, _pip_, _pip’ p’p_, murmurs
in a lisping whistle through the quailing ranks, as they rise on the
wing, and inevitably entice with them their larger but less watchful
associates. Towards evening in fine weather, the marshes almost re-echo
with the shrill but rather murmuring or lisping, subdued, and querulous
call of _peet_, and then a repetition of _pé-dee_, _pé-dée_, _deĕ-dĕe_,
which seems to be the collecting cry of the old birds calling together
their brood, for, when assembled, the note changes into a confused
murmur of _peet_, _peet_, attended by a short and suppressed whistle.”
During my never-to-be-forgotten residence at Henderson, on the banks
of the fair Ohio, I was in the habit of frequently seeing large flocks
of these birds on the sandy shores of that river, during the autumnal
months, and finding after a while that they could easily be driven into
a partridge net, I laid one accordingly on several occasions, when,
by using gentle means, I induced many dozens of these tiny, fat, and
delicious birds to enter and become prisoners. I clipped the wings of
many of them, and turned them loose in my garden, for the purpose of
studying their habits in this sort of half-confined state; but they
were all soon destroyed by these most destructive pests, the Norway
rats, which at that time infested all my premises.
I found these birds quite abundant on the whole coast of Florida,
during winter, and I have no doubt that many remain with us all the
year; indeed, it would not at all surprise me to hear that some of them
actually breed in parts of the alpine districts of our Middle States. I
have also found them equally numerous along the whole coast of the Bay
of Mexico, during my recent visit to Texas, when, late in April, some
of them were still travelling from farther south-west, and proceeding
eastward. In South Carolina, they are frequent in spring and autumn,
along the borders of the rice fields, and inland fresh-water ponds.
Since writing the above, my friend Dr TOWNSEND has furnished me with
a list of some of the birds seen by him on the Rocky Mountains and the
Columbia River, in which this species is mentioned as being found along
the shores of that celebrated stream of the far west.
TRINGA PUSILLA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 32, pl. 37,
fig. 4.—_Ch. Bonap._, Synopsis of Birds of the United States,
p. 319.
WILSON’S SANDPIPER, TRINGA WILSONII, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol.
ii. p. 120.
Adult Male in Summer Plumage. Plate CCCXX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, compressed, tapering
from the base to near the point, which is slightly swelled, but with
the tip rather acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight,
the ridge narrow and convex, a little broader and flattened towards
the end, the sides sloping, with the nasal groove extending to near
the tip. Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the dorsal
line straight, towards the end slightly declinate, the sides sloping a
little outwards, with a groove extending to near the tip.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather short. Body
compact, ovate. Feet of moderate length and slender; tibia bare a
fourth of its length; tarsus of moderate length, compressed, scutellate
before and behind, so as to leave scarcely any intermediate space; hind
toe extremely small; anterior toes rather long, slender, free, slightly
margined, and with numerous scutella above. Claws small, slightly
arched, much compressed, that of the third toe larger, with the inner
edge a little dilated.
Plumage soft, blended on the neck and lower parts, somewhat compact
on the upper. Wings long, pointed; primaries tapering, obtuse, the
first longest, the second very little shorter, the third rather more
than one-eighth of an inch shorter than the second, the rest rapidly
decreasing; outer secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded, inner
straight, tapering, one of them reaching to two-twelfths of an inch of
the end of the first quill. Tail of moderate length, doubly emarginate,
that is with the middle feathers considerably longer than the lateral,
which are a little longer than the intermediate.
Bill greenish-dusky; feet pale dull yellowish-green; claws black;
iris hazel. The feathers on the upper part of the head, and back,
including the scapulars, smaller wing-coverts, and inner secondaries,
black, broadly margined with light brownish-red; some of the
scapulars margined externally with white, and the larger glossed
with green. Alula, primary coverts, primary quills, and outer
secondaries, greyish-black, all more or less narrowly tipped with
greyish-white; secondary coverts largely tipped with the same; the
primaries externally edged with the same toward the base, as are the
outer secondaries in a fainter degree, the inner webs of some of the
latter greyish-white towards the base. Rump and upper tail-coverts
black. The two middle tail-feathers black, with pale brownish-red
margins, the next feather on each side greyish-brown, margined with
greyish-white, the outer four pale brownish-grey, very narrowly
margined externally, more broadly round their points and along the
inner edges with greyish-white; lateral tail-coverts with the outer web
white. From the forehead over the eye to the occiput, a band of dull
greyish-white, faintly streaked with dusky; loral band brownish-dusky,
that colour extending to the ear-coverts; the rest of the cheeks dull
greyish-white, faintly streaked with dusky; the throat greyish-white;
the sides and fore part of the neck of the same colour, faintly
streaked with dusky; the rest of the lower parts, including the axillar
and lateral rump feathers, pure white; the lower surface of the wing
pale brownish-grey, the coverts margined and tipped with greyish-white;
the shafts of the primaries white.
Length to end of tail 5-5/8 inches, to end of wings 5-1/8, to end
of claws 5-3/4; extent of wings 11-3/8; from tip of bill to carpal
joint 2; wing from flexure 3-8/12; tail 1-8/12; bill along the ridge
(8-1/2)/12; tarsus (8-3/4)/12; hind toe and claw (2-1/2)/12, middle toe
and claw (10-1/2)/12; outer toe and claw 8/12; inner (1/2)/12 shorter.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXX. Fig. 2.
The Female is somewhat larger than the male, but similarly coloured.
In autumn, previous to the moult, the upper parts are of a darker
colour, on account of the wearing of the red margins of the feathers.
On the roof of the mouth is a series of papillæ, and the tongue is 7
twelfths long, extremely slender, and tapering to a fine point. The
œsophagus is 2 inches and 11 twelfths long, 1 twelfth in diameter;
the proventriculus enlarged to 2-1/2 twelfths, its length 5 twelfths.
The stomach is a powerful gizzard, 1/2 inch long, 4-1/2 twelfths
broad; its lateral muscles large, as are the tendons. Its contents
were coleopterous and other insects. The epithelium longitudinally
rugous, and of a brownish-red colour. The intestine of moderate length,
measuring 9-1/2 inches, its average diameter 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca
1-1/2 inch long, their greatest diameter 3/4 of a twelfth.
The trachea is 1-8/12 inch long, flattened, unossified, 1-1/2 twelfth
in diameter at the top, diminishing to 1 twelfth; the number of rings
about 105. Bronchial half-rings 15.
ROSEATE SPOONBILL.
_PLATALEA AJAJA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXI. ADULT MALE.
This beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the
southern extremities of the peninsula of Florida, seldom extends its
journeys in an eastern direction beyond the State of North Carolina.
Indeed it is of extremely rare occurrence there, and even in South
Carolina, my friend JOHN BACHMAN informs me that he has observed only
three individuals in the course of twenty years. He once obtained a
specimen in full plumage about ten miles north of Charleston. It is
rarely seen in the interior of the country, at any distance from the
waters of the Atlantic, or those of the Gulf of Mexico. A specimen
sent to WILSON at Philadelphia from the neighbourhood of the city of
Natchez, in the State of Mississippi, appears to have lost itself, as
during my stay in that section of the country I never heard of another;
nor have I ever met with one of these birds farther up the Mississippi
than about thirty miles from its mouths. Although rather abundant on
some parts of the coast of Florida, I found it more so along the Bay
of Mexico, particularly in Galveston Bay in the Texas, where, as well
as on the Florida Keys, it breeds in flocks. The Spoonbills are so
sensible of cold, that those which spend the winter on the Keys, near
Cape Sable in Florida, rarely leave those parts for the neighbourhood
of St Augustine before the first days of March. But after this you
may find them along most of the water courses running parallel to the
coast, and distant about half a mile or a mile from it. I saw none
on any part of the St John’s River; and from all the answers which I
obtained to my various inquiries respecting this bird, I feel confident
that it never breeds in the interior of the peninsula, nor is ever seen
there in winter.
The Roseate Spoonbill is found for the most part along the marshy
and muddy borders of estuaries, the mouths of rivers, ponds, or sea
islands or keys partially overgrown with bushes, and perhaps still
more commonly along the shores of those singular salt-water bayous so
abundant within a mile or so of the shores, where they can reside and
breed in perfect security in the midst of an abundance of food. It is
more or less gregarious at all seasons, and it is rare to meet with
fewer than half a dozen together, unless they have been dispersed by a
tempest, in which case one of them is now and then found in a situation
where you would least expect it. At the approach of the breeding
season, these small flocks collect to form great bodies, as is the
manner of the Ibises, and resort to their former places of residence,
to which they regularly return, like Herons. During the moult, which
takes place in Florida late in May, the young of the preceding year
conceal themselves among the close branches of the mangroves and other
trees growing over narrow inlets, between secluded keys, or on bayous,
where they spend the whole day, and whence it is difficult to start
them. Toward night they return to their feeding grounds, generally
keeping apart from the old birds. In the same country the old birds
pass through their spring moult early in March, after which they are
truly beautiful, presenting the appearance which I have attempted to
represent in the plate before you. The sight of a flock of fifteen
or twenty of these full-dressed birds is extremely pleasing to the
student of nature, should he conceal himself from their view, for then
he may observe their movements and manners to advantage. Now, they all
stand with their wings widely extended to receive the sun’s rays, or
perhaps to court the cooling breeze, or they enjoy either seated on
their tarsi. Again, they all stalk about with graceful steps along the
margin of the muddy pool, or wade in the shallows in search of food.
After a while they rise simultaneously on wing, and gradually ascend
in a spiral manner to a great height, where you see them crossing each
other in a thousand ways, like so many Vultures or Ibises. At length,
tired of this pastime, or perhaps urged by hunger, they return to their
feeding grounds in a zigzag course, and plunge through the air, as
if displaying their powers of flight before you. These birds fly with
their necks stretched forward to their full length, and their legs and
feet extended behind, moving otherwise in the manner of Herons, or with
easy flappings, until about to alight, when they sail with expanded
wings, passing once or twice over the spot, and then gently coming to
the ground, on which they run a few steps. When travelling to a distant
place they proceed in regular ranks, but on ordinary occasions they fly
in a confused manner. When the sun is shining, and they are wheeling
on wing previous to alighting, their roseate tints exhibit a richer
glow, which is surpassed only by the brilliancy of the Scarlet Ibis,
and American Flamingo.
This beautiful bird is usually fond of the company of our different
Herons, whose keen sight and vigilance are useful to it in apprising
it of danger, and allowing it to take flight in due time. When the
Spoonbills are by themselves and feeding, they can easily be approached
by those who, like yourself perhaps, are expert at crawling over the
mud on hands and knees, through the tall and keen-edged saw-grass. I
well recollect my own success when, after having seen three of these
precious birds alight on their feeding grounds, about a quarter of a
mile from where I stood, I managed after something short of half an
hour to get within shot of them. Then, after viewing them for a while
unseen, I touched one of my triggers, and two of them fell upon the
surface of the shallow water. The other might, I believe, have been as
easily shot, for it stood, as I have seen Wild Turkey cocks do on like
occasions, looking with curious intensity as it were upon its massacred
friends, until, seeing me get up and wade towards them, it hurriedly
extended its broad wings, and flew off towards the sea-shore. When
wounded in the wing, they make towards deeper water, and, if closely
pursued, will swim to some distance, but without ever attempting to
dive, and when at last seized, offer no resistance. On the contrary,
if their wings are uninjured, though they may otherwise be severely
wounded, they rise and fly to a great distance, or drop while on the
way. I have considered these birds as tough to kill, and, when on open
ground, even without being in company with Herons, as difficult of
approach. They are as nocturnal as the night Heron, and, although they
seek for food at times during the middle of the day, their principal
feeding time is from near sunset until daylight. To all such feeding
grounds as are exposed to the tides, they betake themselves when it is
low water, and search for food along the shallow margins until driven
off by the returning tide. Few birds are better aware of the hours
at which the waters are high or low, and when it is near ebb you see
them wending their way to the shore. Whenever a feeding place seems
to be productive, the Spoonbills are wont to return to it until they
have been much disturbed, and persons aware of this fact may waylay
them with success, as at such times one may shoot them while passing
over head. To procure their food, the Spoonbills first generally
alight near the water, into which they then wade up to the tibia, and
immerse their bills in the water or soft mud, sometimes with the head
and even the whole neck beneath the surface. They frequently withdraw
these parts however, and look around to ascertain if danger is near.
They move their partially opened mandibles laterally to and fro with
a considerable degree of elegance, munching the fry, insects, or small
shell-fish, which they secure, before swallowing them. When there are
many together, one usually acts as sentinel, unless a Heron should
be near; and in either case you may despair of approaching them. I
have never seen one of these birds feeding in fresh water, although
I have been told that this is sometimes the case. To all those keys
in the Floridas in which ponds have been dug for the making of salt,
they usually repair in the evening for the purpose of feeding; but the
shallow inlets in the great salt marshes of our southern coasts are
their favourite places of resort.
The Roseate Spoonbills alight on trees with as much facility as Herons,
and even walk on their large branches. They usually nestle on the tops
of the mangroves, placing their nests at the distance of a few yards
from each other. They are formed of sticks of considerable size and are
flat, like most of those of the Heron tribe. The eggs are laid about
the middle of April, and are usually three. They measure two inches
and five-eighths in length, an inch and seven-eighths in their greatest
breadth, are slightly granulated, almost equally rounded at both ends,
and have a pure white colour. I have never seen the young when recently
hatched; but when able to fly they are greyish-white. The bill is then
quite smooth, of a yellowish-green colour, as are the legs and feet, as
well as the skin on part of the head. Young birds in their second year
have the wings and the lower wing-coverts of a pale roseate tint, the
bill more richly coloured, and the legs and feet dark brownish-red, or
purplish. At this age, they are unadorned with the curling feathers on
the breast; but in the third spring the bird is perfect, although it
increases in size for several seasons after. I have never seen one of
these birds of the bright red colour assigned to them by some authors.
While on one of the islands of Galveston Bay in Texas, I found eight or
ten nests of these birds, placed in low cactuses, amid some hundreds of
nests belonging to Herons of different species, but was not rendered
aware of the fact until I compared the eggs found there with those
procured in the Floridas, although I did at the time mention to my
friend EDWARD HARRIS, and to my son, that I thought the eggs and
nests of which I speak were those of the Roseate Spoonbill and not
of the Herons. What rendered the fact doubtful, however, was, that
no Spoonbills were to be seen, as they had all betaken themselves to
flight on hearing the reports of our guns.
In connection with the procuring of some of these birds, I find
a rather curious occurrence recorded in my journal. On the 2d of
May 1837, my party and I went on shore from the Revenue Cutter the
“Campbell,” on the island of Galveston, for the purpose of obtaining
fish and prawns, the latter of which are in that country extremely
abundant, and certainly the largest I have ever seen. Our fishing over,
we were on the point of returning, when we saw three Spoonbills alight
on a sand-bar, and almost immediately proceed to the water in search of
food. My son was despatched after them, and having waded through some
muddy parts of the inlet on the shore of which we were standing, he
succeeded in getting near, and killed the finest of the three. Almost
at the same instant, the back fins of a large fish, resembling those
of a shark, were seen meandering above the surface of the shallow
waters. My son received prompt intelligence of this, to enable him to
make good his return. The monster moved about rather slowly, and JOHN
having rammed home a couple of bullets, lodged them in its body, on
which it floundered about apparently in great agony. One of our boats
immediately pushed toward the spot, and my son was taken on board,
while the animal used its best efforts to get into deeper water. Now
sailors and all joined in the chase. The gun was again charged with
balls, my son waded once more towards it, and lodged the missiles in
its body, while from the bow of the boat it received several blows
from the oars and gaff-hook. The tars all leaped into the water, and
the bleeding fish was at once closely beset. The boatswain at a single
lucky stroke cut off its tail, and having afterwards fastened the hook
in one of its eyes, we dragged it to the beach. About a hundred Mexican
prisoners, Texian soldiers, and officers, were there; but instead of
our prize turning out a shark, it proved to be a sawfish, measuring
rather more than twelve feet in length. From its body we took out
alive ten young ones. It was cut into pieces by the Mexican prisoners,
and soon devoured. Five or six of the young were put into rum, and
ultimately carried to England.
The feathers of the wings and tail of the Roseate Spoonbill are
manufactured into fans by the Indians and Negroes of Florida; and at
St Augustine these ornaments form in some degree a regular article of
trade. Their flesh is oily and poor eating.
PLATALEA AJAJA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol i. p. 231.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 668.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 346.
ROSEATE SPOONBILL, PLATALEA AJAJA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 123, pl. 63, fig. 1.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
79.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXI.
Bill very long, excessively depressed, being when viewed laterally very
slender, but when seen from above nearly as broad as the head at the
base, considerably contracted in the middle, and at the end expanded
into a large obovate disk much broader than the head. Upper mandible
with the dorsal outline almost straight, descending at the base,
at the tip decurved, the ridge extremely broad and flat, gradually
widening beyond the nostrils, at the end terminated by the very small,
decurved, blunt claw; the sides declinate at the base, horizontally
flattened towards the end, separated in their whole length from the
ridge by a narrow groove, their margins soft and blunt. Nostrils basal,
oblong-linear, of moderate size. Lower mandible with the angle very
long, narrow, rounded, the crura narrow, and gradually flattened, the
extremity expanded into a flattened disk as in the upper. The mandibles
are covered with soft skin, which for half their length is rough with
roundish plates having their anterior margin somewhat prominent.
Head of moderate size, flattened above. Neck long and slender. Body
compact, ovate. Legs long and rather slender; tibia bare in its lower
half, and reticulate; tarsus rather long, stout, roundish, covered
all round with reticulated subhexagonal scales; toes rather long,
moderately stout, covered above with numerous scutella, but at the
base reticulated; first more slender, articulated on the same plane;
second considerably shorter than third, which is in the same proportion
exceeded by the fourth. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, laterally
grooved, rather obtuse.
The head, gular sac, and a small part of the neck, destitute of
feathers. Those on the neck linear or lanceolate, small, with disunited
barbs; a tuft on the lower and fore part of the neck recurved and
silky. The feathers on the other parts are of moderate length, ovate,
rather compact above, blended beneath. Wings long and very broad;
primaries firm, broad, tapering, but rounded, the second longest, the
third next, the first a quarter of an inch shorter; secondaries broad
and broadly rounded. Tail short, even, of twelve rather broad, abruptly
rounded feathers.
Bill yellowish-grey at the base, mottled with brownish-black, in the
rest of its extent pale greenish-blue, light on the margins; base of
margin of lower mandible greenish-yellow. Iris bright carmine. Feet
pale lake; claws brownish-black. Head yellowish-green; space around the
eye and the gular sac orpiment orange; a band of black from the lower
mandible to the occiput. Feathers of the neck white. Back and wings of
a beautiful delicate rose colour; the lower parts of a deeper tint;
the tuft of recurved feathers on the fore neck, a broad band across
the wing along the cubitus, and the upper and lower tail-coverts, of a
rich and pure carmine with silky lustre. The shafts of all the quills
and scapulars are light carmine. On each side of the lower part of the
neck and fore part of the body a patch of pale ochre. Tail feathers
ochre-yellow, but at the base pale roseate, with the shafts carmine.
Length to end of tail 30-3/4 inches, to end of wings 29-3/4, to end of
claws 36; extent of wings 53; bill 7; breadth of gape 1-3/8, depth of
pouch 2; breadth of bill at the base 1-5/8; at the end 2-1/12; bare
part of tibia 3; tarsus 4; hind toe and claw 1-10/12; second toe and
claw 2-8/12; middle toe and claw 3-7/12; outer toe and claw 3-1/12;
wing from flexure 15-1/4; tail 4-3/4. Weight 4 lb. 2 oz.
The female is smaller, but resembles the male.
Length to end of tail 28 inches, to end of wings 28, to end of claws
35-3/4; extent of wings 48. Weight 3 lb.
The affinities of this remarkable bird being variously represented
by authors, it becomes a matter of considerable interest to determine
its relations according to its internal organs. The skin is thin, but
tough, and the subcutaneous cellular tissue is largely developed. In
these respects its affinity is to the Ibises and Curlews, as much at
least as to any other birds. On the roof of the mouth are two rows
of blunt papillæ, as in many Scolopacidæ. The tongue is extremely
small, being only 3 twelfths of an inch in length, but 7 twelfths in
breadth at the base, where it is emarginate and furnished with numerous
delicate papillæ, the outer much larger. The gular membrane is very
dilatable and of the same general nature as that of the Cormorants and
Pelicans, having a longitudinal series of muscular fibres along the
centre, with two layers of fasciculi interposed between the external
skin and the internal, the inner fasciculi running parallel to the
lower mandible, the outer transversely. The bill is similar to that
of the Pelican’s modified, the middle part or ridge being flattened,
and the unguis abbreviated. The breadth of the mouth is within 1-1/12
inch. The external aperture of the ear is roundish, 4 twelfths in
diameter, that of the meatus oblique, oblong, 3 twelfths across. The
œsophagus, _a b_, is 17 inches long (including the proventriculus,
as in all the other measurements); its diameter at the top 1-1/4
inch, at the distance of six inches, it contracts to 5 twelfths, then
for four inches enlarges, having its greatest diameter 1-1/12 inch;
between the coracoid bones it again contracts to half an inch, and
on entering the thorax enlarges to an inch. The proventriculus is
bulbiform, 1-1/2 inch long, its glandules very large, cylindrical,
the longest being 1/4 inch, and 1 twelfth in diameter. The stomach,
_c d_, is a powerful gizzard of a roundish form, 1 inch 11 twelfths
long, and 1 inch 10 twelfths broad; the muscular fibres disposed in
large fasciculi all around, but not forming distinct lateral muscles;
the central tendons very large, being 10 twelfths in diameter; the
cuticular lining excessively thick, of a rather soft texture, divided
by deep longitudinal irregular fissures, its greatest thickness being
about half an inch. The intestine _d e f_ is very long, measuring
8 feet 9-1/2 inches, of moderate diameter, varying from 4 to 3-1/2
twelfths. It is compactly and beautifully arranged in very numerous
somewhat concentric folds, being coiled up like a rope, the duodenum
_d e_ curving backwards and upwards over the stomach for five inches,
then returning, and enclosing the pancreas, until under the right
lobe of the liver where it receives the biliary ducts. The cloaca is
globular, 2 inches in diameter when distended; the rectum, exclusive
of the cloaca 3-1/2 inches, and having at its upper extremity two
bulging knobs in place of cœca. Now, the œsophagus and proventriculus
are those of a Numenius, the stomach that of a Heron in the arrangement
of its fasciculi, and in the softness of its epithelium; but otherwise
it differs in being much larger and more muscular. The intestines
are thicker and more muscular than those of Herons, and differ more
especially in having two cœcal appendages, which however are extremely
short, whereas the herons have merely a single cœcal prominence.
The heart, _g_, is remarkably large, being 1 inch and 10 twelfths long,
1 inch and a half in breadth. The lobes of the liver, _h_, _i_, are
very large, and about _equal_, their greatest length being 3 inches;
the gall-bladder globular, 8 twelfths in diameter. One of the testes
is 11 twelfths long, 9 twelfths broad; the other 10 twelfths by 7
twelfths; their great size being accounted for by the individual’s
having been killed in the breeding season.
In a female of much smaller size the œsophagus is 15 inches long; the
stomach 2 inches in length, 1 inch and 9 twelfths broad; the intestine
7 feet 7 inches. The contents of the stomach, fishes, shrimps, and
fragments of shells.
One of the most remarkable deviations from ordinary forms in this bird
is _the division of the trachea previous to its entering the thorax_.
It may be described as very short, a little flattened, and quite
membranous, the rings being cartilaginous and very thin. Its diameter
at the top is 5 twelfths, and it is scarcely less at the lower part,
where, half-way down the neck, is formed an inferior larynx, _k_, which
is scarcely enlarged. The two bronchi _lm_, _l m_, are in consequence
excessively elongated. They are compressed, 5 twelfths in diameter at
the commencement, gradually contracting to 3 twelfths, and enlarging
a little towards the end; and are singular in this respect that the
rings of the upper fourth are incomplete, the tube being completed by
membrane in the usual manner, whereas in the rest of their extent, the
rings are elliptical, entire, stronger, and those at the lower part
united or anchylosed on the inner side. The rings of the trachea are
105, of the two bronchi 73 and 71. The contractor muscles are feeble
and terminate at the lower larynx; from which no muscle extends along
the bronchi, which, until they enter the thorax, run parallel and
in contact, being enclosed within a common sheath of dense cellular
tissue. The bronchi have the last ring much enlarged, and open into a
funnel, which passing backwards and terminating in one of the abdominal
cells, is perforated above with eight or ten transverse elliptical
slits, which open into similar tubes or tunnels, opening in the same
manner into smaller tubes, and thus ramifying through the lungs.
In the male bird, of which the upper part of the trachea has been
destroyed, there are in one bronchus 80, in the other 71 rings, 20 of
the upper rings being incomplete.
The vertebræ of the neck have no resemblance to those of Herons, nor
does that part curve in the same abrupt manner; and the sternum is in
all essential respects similar to that of the Curlews, Tringas, and
other birds of that family, it having a very prominent crest, with two
deep posterior notches on each side. In fact, the sternum of Tringa
Cinclus is almost an exact miniature of it.
[Illustration]
The compact form of the body, its great muscularity, the form of the
legs, the length and slenderness of the neck, the form and bareness
of the head, and the elongation of the bill, especially when it is
laterally viewed, all indicate an affinity to the Tantali and Numenii.
But the Spoonbills are also allied in various degrees to the Herons
and Pelicaninæ; so that they clearly present one of those remarkable
centres of radiation, demonstrative of the absurdity of quinary and
circular arrangements, founded merely on a comparison of skins.
RED-HEADED DUCK.
_FULIGULA FERINA_, STEPHENS.
PLATE CCCXXII. MALE AND FEMALE.
At New Orleans, this bird is commonly known by the name of “Dos
Gris.” It arrives there in great flocks, about the first of November,
and departs late in April, or in the beginning of May. On the lakes
Borgne, St John, and Ponchartrain, it is very abundant, keeping in
large flocks, separate from the other species. In that part of the
country its food consists of small fishes, in pursuit of which it is
seen constantly diving. It is caught in different sorts of nets, and
easily kept in confinement, feeding greedily on Indian corn, whether
entire or crushed by the millstone. In 1816, many thousands of these
ducks as well as others of different species, were caught in nets
by a Frenchman, who usually sent them alive to market in cages from
the narrows of the Lakes, especially from those called “La pointe
aux herbes,” and the “Isle aux pins.” So many of them, however, were
procured by this man, that he after a while gave up sending them
alive, on account of the great difficulty he encountered in procuring
a sufficient number of cages for their accommodation.
Although Dr RICHARDSON informs us that this species breeds “in all
parts of the fur-countries, from the fiftieth parallel to their most
northern limits,” I saw none of these birds during the spring and
summer months which I spent on the coast of Labrador. I was equally
unsuccessful in my search for it in Newfoundland. Indeed, I have never
observed it eastward of the State of Massachusetts, although from
thence it is more and more abundant the farther south you proceed,
until you reach the tributaries of the Mississippi. Beyond the mouths
of that river, these birds are rarely seen; and when I was there in
April 1837, none were observed by my party or myself after we had left
the south-west Pass on our way westward. In the Texas none were even
heard of. From these circumstances I have inferred that, along with
several other species, the Red-headed Duck reaches the Middle and
Southern States by passing overland or following our great streams,
such as the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi, westward, and the North
River, and others eastward, both in its vernal and autumnal migrations.
This I am the more inclined to believe, on account of the great numbers
which on such occasions I have seen in ponds in the States of Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
I found it abundant in the marshes near St Augustine, in East Florida,
on the 8th November 1831, when the young males of that year had the
breast and lower neck mottled with brown and blackish feathers; and
yet whilst at General HERNANDEZ’s, in that district, on the 20th of
December, they were in almost perfect plumage. At this latter period
they were shy, and kept in company with Mallards, American Wigeons,
Scaup Ducks, and Spoonbills, generally in shallow fresh-water ponds,
at some distance from the sea shore. In South Carolina, these ducks
are now much more abundant than they were twenty years ago, especially
on the Santee River, where my friend Dr SAMUEL WILSON Has shot many of
them, as well as of the Canvass-back species.
The Red-headed Duck may be said to be equally fond of salt and fresh
water, and is found in abundance, during its stay with us, on the
Chesapeake Bay, especially in the month of March, when it associates
with the Canvass-back and other Ducks, and is offered for sale in the
Baltimore markets in great numbers. There I have seen them sold at 75
cents the pair, which was lower by 25 cents than their price at New
Orleans in April 1837.
Although they dive much and to a great depth, while in our bays and
estuaries, yet when in the shallow ponds of the interior, they are seen
dabbling the mud along the shores, much in the manner of the Mallard;
and on occasionally shooting them there, I have found their stomach
crammed with young tadpoles and small water-lizards, as well as blades
of the grasses growing around the banks. Nay, on several occasions, I
have found pretty large acorns and beech-nuts in their throats, as well
as snails, entire or broken, and fragments of the shells of various
small unios, together with much gravel.
In confinement, they do not exhibit that degree of awkwardness
attributed to them when on land. It is true that the habitual
shortening of the neck detracts from their beauty, so that in this
state they cannot be said to present a graceful appearance; yet their
aspect has always been pleasing to my sight. Their notes are rough
and coarse, and bear less resemblance to the cries of those species
which are peculiar to fresh water than those of any other of their
tribe. Their flight is performed in a hurried manner, and they start
from the water pell-mell; yet they can continue very long on wing,
and the motions of their pinions, especially at night, produce a clear
whistling sound.
The fine pair from which I made the two figures in the plate were given
me by my friend DANIEL WEBSTER, Esq. of Boston, Massachusetts, whose
talents and accomplishments are too well known to require any eulogium
from me.
The flesh of this bird is generally esteemed, insomuch that many
persons know no difference between it and that of the Canvass-back
Duck, for which it is not unfrequently sold; but I look upon it as far
inferior to that of many other ducks. Individuals of both sexes vary
much in size. On comparing American with European skins, I am unable to
perceive any difference of colour or proportions indicative of specific
distinction.
ANAS FERINA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 31.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 862.
RED-HEADED DUCK, ANAS FERINA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 110, pl. 70, fig. 6.
FULIGULA FERINA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 392.
FULIGULA FERINA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer.
vol. ii. p. 452.
THE RED-HEADED DUCK, or POCHARD, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii.
p. 434.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXII. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base, the margins
parallel, slightly dilated towards the end, which is rounded, the
frontal angles rather narrow and pointed. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line at first straight and declinate, then slightly concave,
direct for a short space near the tip, where it is incurved, the
ridge broad and concave at the base, narrowed at the middle, enlarged
and convex at the end; the sides nearly erect at the base, becoming
anteriorly more and more declinate and convex, the edges curved,
with about 45 lamellæ, the unguis elliptical, and abruptly rounded
at the end. Nostrils submedial, oblong, rather large, pervious, near
the ridge, in an oblong depression covered with soft membrane. Lower
mandible flattened, being but slightly convex, with the angle very
long and rather narrow, the dorsal line very short and slightly convex,
the erect edges with about 55 inferior lamellæ; the unguis obovate and
abrupt.
Head rather large, compressed, convex above. Eyes small. Neck of
moderate length, rather thick. Body full, depressed. Wings small.
Feet very short, strong, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short,
compressed, anteriorly with narrow scutella continuous with those of
the middle toe, and having another series commencing half-way down
and continuous with those of the outer toe, the rest reticulated with
angular scales. Hind toe small, with an inner expanded margin or web;
middle toe nearly double the length of the tarsus, outer a little
shorter. Claws small, compressed, that of the first toe very small and
curved, of the third toe larger and more expanded than the rest.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the upper part of the head
small and rather compact, of the rest of the head and neck small,
blended, and glossy. Wings shortish, narrow, pointed; primary quills
strong, tapering, the first longest, the second almost as long, the
rest rapidly diminishing; secondary quills broad and rounded, the inner
elongated and tapering. Tail very short, much rounded, or wedge-shaped,
of fourteen feathers.
Bill light greyish-blue, with a broad band of black at the end, and
a dusky patch anterior to the nostrils. Iris orange-yellow. Head and
neck all round, for more than half its length of a rich brownish-red,
glossed with carmine above. A broad belt of brownish-black occupies
the lower part of the neck, and the fore part of the body, of which
the posterior part is of the same colour, more extended on the back
than under the tail. Back and scapulars pale greyish-white, very
minutely traversed by dark brownish-grey lines; the sides and abdomen
similar, the undulations gradually fading away into the greyish-white
of the middle of the breast; upper wing-coverts brownish-grey, the
feathers faintly undulated with whitish toward the end. Primary quills
brownish-grey, dusky along the outer web and at the end; secondaries
ash-grey, narrowly tipped with white, the outer faintly tinged with
yellow, and almost imperceptibly dotted with whitish, four or five
of the inner of a purer tint tinged with blue, and having a narrow
brownish-black line along the margin; the innermost like the scapulars
but more dusky. Tail brownish-grey, towards the end lighter. Axillar
feathers and lower wing-coverts white. Feet dull greyish-blue, the webs
dusky, the claws black.
Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2, to end of
claws 22; extent of wings 33; wing from flexure 9-2/12; tail 2-8/12;
bill along the ridge 2, from the tips of the frontal processes 2-4/12;
tarsus 1-1/2, first toe and claw 10/12; second toe 1-10/12, its claw
(5-1/2)/12, third toe 2-5/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12; fourth toe 2-6/12,
its claw (3-1/2)/12. Weight 2-1/2 lb.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXXII. Fig. 2.
The female has the bill of a dusky bluish-grey, with a broad band of
black at the end, and a narrow transverse blue line, narrower than in
the male. Iris yellow. Feet as in the male, the head and upper part
of the neck dull reddish-brown, darker above, and lighter on the fore
part of the cheeks and along a streak behind the eye. The rest of the
neck all round, and the upper parts in general, are dull greyish-brown,
the feathers paler at their extremity; the flanks and fore part of
the neck dull reddish-brown, the feathers broadly tipped with pale
greyish-brown. The wings are as in the male, but of a darker tint, and
without undulations. The tail as in the male. Lower wing-coverts light
grey, those in the middle white; middle of breast greyish-white, hind
part of abdomen light brownish-grey.
Length to end of tail 21 inches, to end of claws 23-1/2; extent of
wings 32-1/2. Weight 2 lb. 7 oz.
The following account of the digestive organs is taken from a _British
specimen_, an adult male, examined by Mr MACGILLIVRAY in March 1836.
The tongue is 1 inch and 10 twelfths long, 6-1/2 twelfths broad, its
sides furnished with two series of bristly filaments. The œsophagus
is 11 inches long, with a diameter of nearly 5 twelfths at the top,
8 twelfths at the lower part of the neck. The proventriculus has a
diameter of 9 twelfths; its glandules are cylindrical, and 2 twelfths
long. The stomach is an extremely powerful gizzard, of an elliptical
form, compressed, oblique, its length 2-1/2 inches, its breadth 1-3/4;
its lateral muscles more than half an inch thick; the cuticular coat
rather thin, but very tough, slightly rugous, with two circular thicker
parts opposite the centres of the lateral muscles. The upper part forms
a small sac, from which the duodenum comes off; the pylorus without
valve. The intestine is 5 feet 4 inches long, narrowest in its upper
part where its diameter is 4 twelfths, widest at the middle, where it
is 6-1/2 twelfths, near the cœca 5/12. The rectum is 5-1/2 inches long,
its diameter 6 twelfths; the cœca 7 inches long, nearly cylindrical, 4
twelfths in diameter, a little narrower at the commencement.
BLACK SKIMMER OR RAZOR-BILLED SHEARWATER.
_RYNCHOPS NIGRA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXIII. MALE.
This bird, one of the most singularly endowed by nature, is a constant
resident on all the sandy and marshy shores of our more southern
States, from South Carolina to the Sabine River, and doubtless also in
Texas, where I found it quite abundant in the beginning of spring. At
this season parties of Black Skimmers extend their movements eastward
as far as the sands of Long Island, beyond which however I have not
seen them. Indeed in Massachusetts and Maine this bird is known only
to such navigators as have observed it in the southern and tropical
regions.
To study its habits therefore, the naturalist must seek the extensive
sand-bars, estuaries, and mouths of the rivers of our Southern States,
and enter the sinuous bayous intersecting the broad marshes along
their coasts. There, during the warm sunshine of the winter days,
you will see thousands of Skimmers, covered as it were with their
gloomy mantles, peaceably lying beside each other, and so crowded
together as to present to your eye the appearance of an immense black
pall accidentally spread on the sand. Such times are their hours of
rest, and I believe of sleep, as, although partially diurnal, and
perfectly able to discern danger by day, they rarely feed then, unless
the weather be cloudy. On the same sands, yet apart from them, equal
numbers of our common Black-headed Gulls may be seen enjoying the same
comfort in security. Indeed the Skimmers are rarely at such times found
on sand or gravel banks which are not separated from the neighbouring
shores by some broad and deep piece of water. I think I can safely
venture to say that in such places, and at the periods mentioned,
I have seen not fewer than ten thousand of these birds in a single
flock. Should you now attempt to approach them, you will find that as
soon as you have reached within twice the range of your long duck-gun,
the crowded Skimmers simultaneously rise on their feet, and watch all
your movements. If you advance nearer, the whole flock suddenly taking
to wing, fill the air with their harsh cries, and soon reaching a
considerable height, range widely around, until, your patience being
exhausted, you abandon the place. When thus taking to wing in countless
multitudes, the snowy white of their under parts gladdens your eye, but
anon, when they all veer through the air, the black of their long wings
and upper parts produces a remarkable contrast to the blue sky above.
Their aërial evolutions on such occasions are peculiar and pleasing,
as they at times appear to be intent on removing to a great distance,
then suddenly round to, and once more pass almost over you, flying
so close together as to appear like a black cloud, first ascending,
and then rushing down like a torrent. Should they see that you are
retiring, they wheel a few times close over the ground, and when
assured that there is no longer any danger, they alight pell-mell, with
wings extended upwards, but presently closed, and once more huddling
together they lie down on the ground, to remain until forced off by
the tide. When the Skimmers repose on the shores of the mainland during
high-water, they seldom continue long on the same spot, as if they felt
doubtful of security; and a person watching them at such times might
suppose that they were engaged in searching for food.
No sooner has the dusk of evening arrived than the Skimmers begin to
disperse, rise from their place of rest singly, in pairs, or in parties
from three or four to eight or ten, apparently according to the degree
of hunger they feel, and proceed in different directions along parts of
the shores previously known to them, sometimes going up tide-rivers to
a considerable distance. They spend the whole night on wing, searching
diligently for food. Of this I had ample and satisfactory proof when
ascending the St John River in East Florida, in the United States’
Schooner the Spark. The hoarse cries of the Skimmers never ceased more
than an hour, so that I could easily know whether they were passing
upwards or downwards in the dark. And this happened too when I was at
least a hundred miles from the mouth of the river.
Being aware, previously to my several visits to the peninsula of the
Floridas and other parts of our southern coasts where the Razor-bills
are abundant, of the observations made on this species by M. LESSON, I
paid all imaginable attention to them, always aided with an excellent
glass, in order to find whether or not they fed on bivalve shell-fish
found in the shallows of sand-bars and other places at low water;
but not in one single instance did I see any such occurrence, and in
regard to this matter I agree with WILSON in asserting that, while
with us, these birds do not feed on shell-fish. M. LESSON’s words
are as follows:—“Quoique le Bec-en-ciseaux semble defavorisé par la
forme de son bec, nous acquimes la preuve qu’il savait s’en servir
avec avantage et avec la plus grande adresse. Les plages sabloneuses
de Peuce sont en effect remplies de Macetres, coquilles bivalves, que
la marée descendente laisse presque à sec dans des petites mares; le
Bec-en-ciseaux très au fait de cet phenomène, se place aupres de ces
mollusques, attend que leur valves s’entrouvrent un peu, et profite
aussitot de ce movement en enforçant la lame inferieure et tranchante
de son bec entre les valves qui se reserrent. L’oiseaux enleve alors la
coquille, la frappe sur la grève, coupe le ligament du mollusque, et
peut ensuite avaler celui-ci sans obstacle. Plusieurs fois nous avons
été temoins de cet instinct très perfectionné.”
While watching the movements of the Black Skimmer as it was searching
for food, sometimes a full hour before it was dark, I have seen it pass
its lower mandible at an angle of about 45 degrees into the water,
whilst its _moveable_ upper mandible was elevated a little above the
surface. In this manner, with wings raised and extended, it ploughed as
it were, the element in which its quarry lay to the extent of several
yards at a time, rising and falling alternately, and that as frequently
as it thought it necessary for securing its food when in sight of it;
for I am certain that these birds never immerse their lower mandible
until they have observed the object of their pursuit, for which reason
their eyes are constantly directed downwards like those of Terns and
Gannets. I have at times stood nearly an hour by the side of a small
pond of salt water having a communication with the sea or a bay, while
these birds would pass within a very few yards of me, then apparently
quite regardless of my presence, and proceed fishing in the manner
above described. Although silent at the commencement of their pursuit,
they become noisy as the darkness draws on, and then give out their
usual call notes, which resemble the syllables _hurk_, _hurk_, twice
or thrice repeated at short intervals, as if to induce some of their
companions to follow in their wake. I have seen a few of these birds
glide in this manner in search of prey over a long salt-marsh bayou,
or inlet, following the whole of its sinuosities, now and then lower
themselves to the water, pass their bill along the surface, and on
seizing a prawn or a small fish, instantly rise, munch and swallow it
on wing. While at Galveston Island, and in the company of my generous
friend EDWARD HARRIS and my son, I observed three Black Skimmers, which
having noticed a Night Heron passing over them, at once rose in the
air, gave chase to it, and continued their pursuit for several hundred
yards, as if intent on overtaking it. Their cries during this chase
differed from their usual notes, and resembled the barkings of a very
small dog.
The flight of the Black Skimmer is perhaps more elegant than that of
any water bird with which I am acquainted. The great length of its
narrow wings, its partially elongated forked tail, its thin body and
extremely compressed bill, all appear contrived to assure it that
buoyancy of motion which one cannot but admire when he sees it on wing.
It is able to maintain itself against the heaviest gale; and I believe
no instance has been recorded of any bird of this species having been
forced inland by the most violent storm. But, to observe the aërial
movements of the Skimmer to the best advantage, you must visit its
haunts in the love season. Several males, excited by the ardour of
their desires, are seen pursuing a yet unmated female. The coy one,
shooting aslant to either side, dashes along with marvellous speed,
flying hither and thither, upwards, downwards, in all directions.
Her suitors strive to overtake her; they emit their love-cries with
vehemence: you are gladdened by their softly and tenderly enunciated
_ha_, _ha_, or the _hack_, _hack_, _cae_, _cae_, of the last in the
chase. Like the female they all perform the most curious zigzags, as
they follow in close pursuit, and as each beau at length passes her in
succession, he extends his wings for an instant, and in a manner struts
by her side. Sometimes a flock is seen to leave a sand-bar, and fly off
in a direct course, each individual apparently intent on distancing
his companions; and then their mingling cries of _ha_, _ha_, _hack_,
_hack_, _cae_, _cae_, fill the air. I once saw one of these birds fly
round a whole flock that had alighted, keeping at the height of about
twenty yards, but now and then tumbling as if its wings had suddenly
failed, and again almost upsetting, in the manner of the Tumbler
Pigeon.
On the 5th of May 1837, I was much surprised to find a large flock of
Skimmers alighted and apparently asleep, on a dry grassy part of the
interior of Galveston Island in Texas, while I was watching some marsh
hawks that were breeding in the neighbourhood. On returning to the
shore, however, I found that the tide was much higher than usual, in
consequence of a recent severe gale, and had covered all the sand banks
on which I had at other times observed them resting by day.
The instinct or sagacity which enables the Razor-bills, after being
scattered in all directions in quest of food during a long night,
often at great distances from each other, to congregate again towards
morning, previously to their alighting on a spot to rest, has appeared
to me truly wonderful; and I have been tempted to believe that the
place of rendezvous had been agreed upon the evening before. They have
a great enmity towards Crows and Turkey Buzzards when at their breeding
ground, and on the first appearance of these marauders, some dozens of
Skimmers at once give chase to them, rarely desisting until quite out
of sight.
Although parties of these birds remove from the south to betake
themselves to the eastern shores, and breed there, they seldom arrive
at Great Egg Harbour before the middle of May, or deposit their eggs
until a month after, or about the period when, in the Floridas and
on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, the young are hatched.
To these latter sections of the country we will return, Reader, to
observe their actions at this interesting period. Were I to speak of
the vast numbers that congregate for the purpose of breeding, some of
my readers might receive the account with as little favour as they have
accorded to that which I have given of the wild pigeons; and therefore
I will present you with a statement by my friend the Rev. JOHN BACHMAN,
which he has inserted in my journal. “These birds are very abundant,
and breed in great numbers on the sea islands at Bull’s Bay. Probably
twenty thousand nests were seen at a time. The sailors collected an
enormous number of their eggs. The birds screamed all the while, and
whenever a Pelican or Turkey Buzzard passed near, they assailed it by
hundreds, pouncing on the back of the latter, that came to rob them of
their eggs, and pursued them fairly out of sight. They had laid on the
dry sand, and the following morning we observed many fresh-laid eggs,
when some had been removed the previous afternoon.” Then, Reader, judge
of the deafening angry cries of such a multitude, and see them all over
your head begging for mercy as it were, and earnestly urging you and
your cruel sailors to retire and leave them in the peaceful charge of
their young, or to settle on their lovely rounded eggs, should it rain
or feel chilly.
The Skimmer forms no other nest than a slight hollow in the sand.
The eggs, I believe, are always three, and measure an inch and three
quarters in length, an inch and three-eighths in breadth. As if to be
assimilated to the colours of the birds themselves, they have a pure
white ground, largely patched or blotched with black or very dark
umber, with here and there a large spot of a light purplish tint. They
are as good to eat as those of most Gulls, but inferior to the eggs
of Plovers and other birds of that tribe. The young are clumsy, much
of the same colour as the sand on which they lie, and are not able to
fly until about six weeks, when you now perceive their resemblance to
their parents. They are fed at first by the regurgitation of the finely
macerated contents of the gullets of the old birds, and ultimately pick
up the shrimps, prawns, small crabs, and fishes dropped before them.
As soon as they are able to walk about, they cluster together in the
manner of the young of the Common Gannet, and it is really marvellous
how the parents can distinguish them individually on such occasions.
This bird walks in the manner of the Terns, with short steps, and the
tail slightly elevated. When gorged and fatigued, both old and young
birds are wont to lie flat on the sand, and extend their bills before
them; and when thus reposing in fancied security, may sometimes be
slaughtered in great numbers by the single discharge of a gun. When
shot at while on wing, and brought to the water, they merely float, and
are easily secured. If the sportsman is desirous of obtaining more, he
may easily do so, as others pass in full clamour close over the wounded
bird.
RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, _Linn._ Syst Nat. vol i. p. 228.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 802.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 352.
BLACK SKIMMER, or SHEAR-WATER, RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 85, pl. 60, fig. 4.—_Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 264.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXIII.
Bill longer than the head, nearly straight, tetragonal at the base,
suddenly extremely compressed, and continuing so to the end. Upper
mandible much shorter than the lower, its dorsal outline very slightly
convex, its ridge sharp, the sides erect, more or less convex, the
edges approximated so as to leave merely a very narrow groove between
them; the tip a little rounded when viewed laterally. Nasal groove
rather short, narrow near the margin; nostrils linear-oblong, sub-basal
in the soft membrane. Lower mandible with the angle extremely short,
the dorsal outline straight or slightly decurved, the sides erect, the
edges united into a very thin blade which fits into the narrow groove
of the upper mandible, the tip rounded or abrupt when viewed laterally.
Head rather large, oblong, considerably elevated in front. Neck short
and thick. Body short, ovate, and compact. Feet short, moderately
stout; tibia bare below, with narrow transverse scutella before and
behind; tarsus short, moderately compressed, anteriorly covered with
broad scutella, reticulated on the sides and behind; toes very small;
the first extremely short, and free; the inner much shorter than the
outer, which is but slightly exceeded by the middle toe; the webs
very deeply concave at the margin, especially the inner. Claws long,
compressed, tapering, slightly arched, rather obtuse, the inner edge
of the middle toe dilated and extremely thin. Plumage moderately full,
soft, and blended; the feathers oblong and rounded. Wings extremely
elongated, and very narrow; the primary quills excessively long; the
first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; the secondaries short,
broad, incurved, obliquely pointed, some of the inner more elongated.
Tail rather short, deeply forked, of twelve feathers, disposed in two
inclined planes.
Bill of a rich carmine, inclining to vermilion for about half its
length, the rest black. Iris hazel. Feet of the same colour as the base
of the bill, claws black. The upper parts are deep brownish-black; the
secondary quills, and four or five of the primaries, tipped with white;
the latter on their inner web chiefly. Tail-feathers black, broadly
margined on both sides with white, the outer more extensively; the
middle tail-coverts black, the lateral black on the inner and white on
the outer web. A broad band of white over the forehead, extending to
the fore part of the eye; cheeks and throat of the same colour; the
rest of the neck and lower parts in spring and summer of a delicate
cream-colour; axillary feathers, lower wing-coverts, and a large
portion of the secondary quills, white; the coverts along the edge of
the wing black.
Length from point of upper mandible to end of tail 20 inches, to end
of wings 24-1/2, to end of claws 17; to carpal joint 8-1/4; extent of
wings 48; upper mandible 3-1/8; its edge 3-7/8; from base to point of
lower mandible 4-1/2; depth of bill at the base 1; wing from flexure
15-3/4; tail to the fork 3-1/2; to end of longest feather 5-1/4; tarsus
1-1/4; hind toe and claw 4/12; middle toe 10/12; its claw 4/12. Weight
13 oz.
The female, which is smaller, is similar to the male, but with the
tail-feathers white, excepting a longitudinal band including the shaft.
Length to end of tail 16-3/4, to end of wings 20-1/4, to end of claws
16-1/4, to carpus 8; extent of wings 44-1/2. Weight 10 oz.
After the first autumnal moult, there is on the hind part of the neck
a broad band of white mottled with greyish-black; the lower parts
pure white, the upper of a duller black; the bill and feet less richly
coloured.
Length to end of tail 16-3/4 inches, to end of wings 20, to end of
claws 14-1/2, to carpus 6-3/8; extent of wings 42.
In some individuals at this period, the mandibles are of equal length.
The palate is flat, with two longitudinal series of papillæ directed
backwards. The upper mandible is extremely contracted, having
internally only a very narrow groove, into which is received the single
thin edge of the lower mandible. The posterior aperture of the nares
is 1-5/12 inch long, with a transverse line of papillae at the middle
on each side, and another behind. The tongue is sagittiform, 6-1/2
twelfths long, with two conical papillae at the base, soft, fleshy,
flat above, horny beneath. Aperture of the glottis 4-1/2 twelfths long,
with numerous small papillae behind. Lobes of the liver equal, 1-1/2
inch long. The heart of moderate size, 1-1/12 long, 10 twelfths broad.
The œsophagus, of which only the lower portion, _a_, is seen in the
figure, is 8 inches long, gradually contracts from a diameter of 1
inch to 4 twelfths, then enlarges until opposite the liver, where its
greatest diameter is 1-4/12. Its external transverse fibres are very
distinct, as are the internal longitudinal. The proventriculus, _b_, is
9 twelfths long, its glandules extremely small and numerous, roundish,
scarcely a quarter of a twelfth in length. The stomach, _c_, _d_, _e_,
is rather small, oblong, 1 inch 4 twelfths long, 11 twelfths broad,
muscular, with the lateral muscles moderate. The cuticular lining of
the stomach is disposed in nine broad longitudinal rugae of a light
red colour, as in the smaller Gulls and Terns. Its lateral muscles
are about 4 twelfths thick, the tendons, _e_, 6 twelfths in diameter.
The intestine is 2 feet 4 inches long, its average diameter 2-1/2
twelfths. The rectum is 2 inches long. One of the cœca is 4, the other
3 twelfths, their diameter 1-1/4 twelfths.
In another individual, the intestine is 22-1/2 inches long; the cœca 5
twelfths long, 1 twelfth in diameter; the rectum 1-3/4 inch long; the
cloaca 9 twelfths in diameter.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 5-3/4 inches long, round, but not ossified, its diameter
at the top 5 twelfths, contracting gradually to 2-1/2 twelfths. The
lateral or contractor muscles are small; the sterno-tracheal slender;
there is a pair of inferior laryngeals, going to the last ring of the
trachea. The number of rings is 90, and a large inferior ring. The
bronchi are of moderate length, but wider, their diameter being 3-1/2
twelfths at the upper part; the number of their half-rings about 18.
The digestive organs of this bird are precisely similar to those of
the Terns and smaller Gulls, to which it is also allied by many of its
habits.
BONAPARTIAN GULL.
_LARUS BONAPARTII_, SWAINS.
PLATE CCCXXIV. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
My first acquaintance with this species took place whilst I was at
Cincinnati, in the beginning of August 1819. I was crossing the Ohio,
along with Mr ROBERT BEST, then curator of the Cincinnati Museum,
for the purpose of visiting the Cliff Swallows which had taken up
their abode on the walls of the garrison on the Kentucky side, when
we observed two Gulls sweeping gracefully over the tranquil waters.
Now they would alight side by side, as if intent on holding a close
conversation; then they would rise on wing and range about, looking
downwards with sidelong glances, searching for small fishes, or perhaps
eyeing the bits of garbage that floated on the surface. We watched
them for nearly half an hour, and having learned something of their
manners, shot one, which happened to be a female. On her dropping, her
mate almost immediately alighted beside her, and was shot. There, side
by side, as in life, so in death, floated the lovely birds. One, having
a dark bluish nearly black head, was found to be the male; the other,
with a brown head, was a female. On the 12th of November 1820, I shot
one a few miles below the mouth of the Arkansas, on the Mississippi,
which corresponded in all respects with the male just mentioned.
No sooner do the shads and old-wives enter the bays and rivers of our
Middle Districts, than this Gull begins to shew itself on the coast,
following these fishes as if dependent upon them for their support,
which however is not the case, for at the time when these inhabitants
of the deep deposit their spawn in our waters, the Gull has advanced
beyond the eastern limits of the United States. However, after the
first of April, thousands of Bonapartian Gulls are seen gambling over
the waters of Chesapeake Bay, and proceeding eastward, keeping pace
with the shoals of fishes.
During my stay at Eastport in Maine, in May 1833, these Gulls were to
be seen in vast numbers in the harbour of Passamaquody at high water,
and in equal quantities at low water on all the sand and mud-bars in
the neighbourhood. They were extremely gentle, scarcely heeded us,
and flew around our boats so close that any number might have been
procured. My son JOHN shot seventeen of them at a single discharge
of his double-barrelled gun, but all of them proved to be young
birds of the preceding year. On examining these specimens, we found
no development of the ovaries in several, which, from their smaller
size, we supposed to be females, nor any enlargement of the testes in
the males; and as these young birds kept apart from those which had
brown and black hoods, I concluded that they would not breed until
the following spring. Their stomachs were filled with _coleopterous
insects_, which they caught on the wing, or picked up from the water,
into which they fell in great numbers when overtaken by a cold fog,
while attempting to cross the bay. On the 24th of August 1831, when at
Eastport with my family, I shot ten of these Gulls. The adult birds had
already lost their dark hood, and the young were in fine plumage. In
the stomach of all were shrimps, very small fishes, and fat substances.
The old birds were still in pairs.
When exploring the Bay of Fundy, in May 1833, I was assured by the
captain and sailors, as well as the intelligent pilot of the Revenue
Tender, the Nancy, that this Gull bred in great abundance on the
islands off Grand Manan; but unfortunately I was unable to certify
the fact, as I set out for Labrador previous to the time at which
they breed in that part of the country. None of them were observed
on any part of the Gulf of St Lawrence, or on the coast of Labrador
or Newfoundland. In winter this species is common in the harbour of
Charleston, but none are seen at that season near the mouths of the
Mississippi.
The flight of this Gull is light, elevated, and rapid, resembling
in buoyancy that of some of our Terns more than that of most of our
Gulls, which move their wings more sedately. I found the adult birds
in moult in August. Although their notes are different from those of
all our other species, being shriller and more frequent, I am unable to
represent them intelligibly by words.
Since I began to study the habits of Gulls, and observe their changes
of plumage, whether at the approach of the love season, or in autumn,
I have thought that the dark tint of their hoods was in the first
instance caused by the extremities of the feathers then gradually
changing from white to black or brown, without the actual renewal of
the feathers themselves, as happens in some species of land-birds. At
Eastport, I had frequent opportunities of seeing the black-hooded males
copulating with the brown-hooded females, so that the colour of the
head in the summer season is really distinctive of the sexes. I found
in London a pair of these birds, of which the sexes were distinguished
by the colour of the head, and which had been brought from Greenland.
They were forwarded by me to the EARL of DERBY, in whose aviaries they
are probably still to be seen.
This is certainly the species described in the Fauna Boreali-Americana
under the same name; but it is there stated that the females agree
precisely with the males, their hood being therefore “greyish-black;”
which I have never found to be the case. As to the _Larus capistratus_
of Bonaparte’s Synopsis, I have nowhere met with a Brown-headed Gull
having the tail “sub-emarginate;” and I infer that the bird described
by him under that name is merely the female of the present species.
LARUS BONAPARTII, BONAPARTIAN GULL, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 425.
BROWN-MASKED GULL, LARUS CAPISTRATUS, _Bonap._ Amer. Ornith.,
vol. iv. Female.
LARUS CAPISTRATUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 358.
BONAPARTIAN GULL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 294.
Adult Male in Spring Plumage. Plate CCCXXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, nearly straight, slender, compressed.
Upper mandible with its dorsal line straight to the middle, then curved
and declinate, the ridge narrow, the sides slightly convex, the edges
sharp and a little inflected, the tips narrow but rather obtuse, with
a slight notch on each side. Nasal groove rather long and narrow;
nostrils in its fore part, longitudinal, submedial, linear, pervious.
Lower mandible with a slight prominence at the end of the angle,
which is long and narrow, the dorsal line then ascending and slightly
concave, the ridge convex, the sides nearly erect and flattened.
Head of moderate size, ovate, narrowed anteriorly, convex above. Eyes
of moderate size. Neck rather short. Body rather slender. Wings very
long. Feet of moderate length, rather strong; tibia bare below for a
short space, covered behind with narrow scutella; tarsus compressed,
anteriorly covered with numerous scutella and three inferior series
of transverse scales, laterally with oblong scales, posteriorly with
oblique scutella. Toes slender, with numerous scutella; first extremely
small, second considerably shorter than fourth, third longest; anterior
toes connected by reticulated webs, of which the anterior margins are
deeply concave, the outer and inner slightly marginate. Claws small,
compressed, moderately arched, rather obtuse, that of middle toe with
an expanded inner edge.
Plumage full, close, soft, blended. Wings very long and pointed;
primaries tapering and rounded, first longest, second very little
shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries obliquely pointed,
the rounded extremity extending beyond the tip of the shaft, which is
exterior to it, the inner feathers more elongated. Tail of moderate
length, almost even, the middle feathers slightly longer.
Bill black, inside of mouth vermilion. Iris reddish hazel. Feet orange,
slightly tinged with vermilion; claws dusky brown. Head and upper part
of neck all round, greyish-black, that colour extending half an inch
lower on the throat than on the occiput. A white band divided by a
narrow black line margining the eye behind; the remaining part of the
neck white; back, scapulars and wings, light greyish-blue. The anterior
ridge of the wing, alula, smaller coverts on the carpal margin, four
outer primary coverts, shaft and inner web of the outer primary, both
webs of second, inner webs of third and fourth white; of which colour
also are the rump, tail, and all the lower parts. Outer web of first
quill, excepting a small portion towards the end, its tip to the length
of half an inch, black, as are the ends of the next six, which however
have a small tip of white, the black on some of them about an inch
long, and running along the inner edge to a considerable extent.
Length to end of tail 14-1/8 inches, to end of wings 15-5/8, to end of
claws 13-1/8; extent of wings 32-1/4; wing from flexure 10-3/4; tail
4-2/12; bill along the ridge 1-4/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-10/12; tarsus 1-3/12; hind toe and claw (3-1/4)/12; middle toe
1-3/12; its claw (3-1/4)/12, outer toe 1-(1/3)/12, its claw (2-1/4)/12;
inner toe 11/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12. Weight 6-1/2 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXXIV. Fig. 2.
The female is somewhat smaller, and resembles the male, but has the
head and upper part of the neck umber brown.
Young in December. Plate CCCXXIV. Fig. 3.
Bill greyish-black, iris dark brown; feet flesh-coloured, claws
dusky. Head and neck greyish-white; a small black patch about an inch
behind the eye on each side. Upper parts dull bluish-grey, many of the
wing-coverts greyish brown, edged with paler; quills as in the adult;
rump and tail white, the latter with a broad band of black at the end,
the tips narrowly edged with whitish.
Length to end of tail 13-3/8, to end of wings 15-5/8, to end of claws
13; extent of wings 32-1/2 inches. Weight 6 oz.
The white spots on the tips of the wings vary greatly in size, and are
frequently obliterated when the feathers become worn.
Palate with five series of small distant papillæ. Tongue 1 inch 1-1/2
twelfths long, slender, tapering to a slit point, emarginate and
papillate at the base, horny towards the end. Aperture of posterior
nares linear, 9 twelfths long. Heart 1 inch long, 9 twelfths broad.
Right lobe of liver 1 inch 11 twelfths long, the other lobe 1 inch 7
twelfths.
The œsophagus is 6-1/2 inches long, very wide with rather thin
parietes, its average diameter when dilated 10 twelfths, within the
thorax enlarged to 1 inch 2 twelfths. The transverse muscular fibres
are distinct, the internal longitudinal less so; the mucous coat
longitudinally plicate. The proventriculus is 1/2 inch long, with very
numerous small glandules. The stomach is a small oblong gizzard, 10
twelfths long, 8 twelfths broad; its lateral muscles rather large, as
are its tendons. The inner coat or epithelium is of moderate thickness,
dense, with nine longitudinal broad rugæ, and of a brownish-red colour.
The intestine is 24-1/2 inches long, its diameter 2 twelfths. The
rectum is 1-1/2 inch long. The cœca are 2 twelfths long, 1 twelfth in
diameter, cylindrical and obtuse.
The intestine of another individual, a male, is 20-1/2 inches long, 3
twelfths in diameter.
The trachea is 3 inches 10 twelfths long, its diameter at the top 3
twelfths, at the lower part 2-1/4 twelfths, the rings very feeble,
unossified, about 130 in number. The sterno-tracheal muscles are very
slender, as are the contractors; and there is a pair of inferior
laryngeals. The bronchi are of moderate length, with about 18 half
rings.
BUFFEL-HEADED DUCK.
_FULIGULA ALBEOLA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
There are no portions of the Union on the waters of which this
beautiful miniature of the Golden-eye Duck is not to be found,
either during the autumnal months or in winter; and, therefore, to
point out any particular district as more or less favoured by its
transient visits would be useless. The miller’s dam is ornamented by
its presence; the secluded creeks of the Middle States are equally
favoured by it as the stagnant bayous and lakes of Lower Louisiana; in
the Carolinas and on the Ohio, it is not less frequent; it being known
in these different districts by the names of Spirit Duck, Butter-box,
Marrionette, Dipper, and Die-dipper. It generally returns from the far
north, where it is said to breed, about the beginning of September, and
many reach the neighbourhood of New Orleans by the middle of October,
at which period I have also observed them in the Floridas. Their
departure from these different portions of our country varies from
the beginning of March to the end of May. On the 11th of that month in
1833, I shot some of them near Eastport in Maine. None of them have, I
believe, been found breeding within the limits of the Union. During the
period of their movements towards the north, I found them exceedingly
abundant on the waters of the Bay of Fundy, the males in flocks, and
in full dress, preceding the females about a fortnight, as is the case
with many other birds.
The Marrionette—and I think the name a pretty one—is a very hardy bird,
for it remains at times during extremely cold weather on the Ohio,
when it is thickly covered with floating ice, among which it is seen
diving almost constantly in search of food. When the river is frozen
over, they seek the head waters of the rapid streams, in the turbulent
eddies of which they find abundance of food. Possessed of a feeling
of security arising from the rapidity with which they can dive, they
often allow you to go quite near them, though they will then watch
every motion, and at the snap of your gun, or on its being discharged,
disappear with the swiftness of thought, and perhaps as quickly rise
again, within a few yards as if to ascertain the cause of their alarm.
I have sometimes been much amused to see the apparent glee with which
these little Dippers would thus dive at the repeated snappings of
a miserable flint lock, patiently tried by some vagrant boys, who
becoming fatigued with the ill luck of their piece, would lay it aside,
and throw stones at the birds, which would appear quite pleased.
Their flight is as rapid as that of our Hooded Merganser, for they
pass through the air by regularly repeated beats of their wings, with
surprising speed; and yet this is the best time for the experienced
sportsman to shoot them, as they usually fly low. Their note is a mere
croak, much resembling that of the Golden-eye, but feebler. At the
approach of spring, the males often swell their throats and expand the
feathers of the head, whilst they utter these sounds, and whilst moving
with great pomposity over the waters. Often too, they charge against
each other, as if about to engage in combat, but I have never seen them
actually fighting.
When these birds return to us from the north, the number of the young
so very much exceeds that of the old, that to find males in full
plumage is much more uncommon than toward the time of their departure,
when I have thought the males as numerous as the females. Although at
times they are very fat, their flesh is fishy and disagreeable. Many
of them, however, are offered for sale in our markets. I have often
found some of them on inland ponds, which they seemed loth to leave,
for, although repeatedly shot at, they would return. Their food is much
varied according to situation. On the sea-coast, or in estuaries, they
dive after shrimps, small fry, and bivalve shells; and in fresh-water,
they feed on small crayfish, leeches, and snails, and even grasses.
Not having found any of these birds in Labrador or Newfoundland, I am
unable to say anything as to their nests. Dr RICHARDSON states, that
they frequent the rivers and fresh-water lakes throughout the Fur
Countries in great numbers, but does not mention having observed them
breeding. As in almost all other species of this family, the young of
both sexes in autumn resemble the adult female. Dr TOWNSEND has found
this species on the streams of the Rocky Mountains, and it has been
observed as far westward as Monterey in New California.
ANAS ALBEOLA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 199.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 867.
ANAS BUCEPHALA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 200; ANAS
RUSTICA, p. 201.
BUFFEL-HEADED DUCK, ANAS ALBEOLA, _Wilson_, American Ornith.
vol. viii. p. 51, pl. 67, fig. 2, 3.
FULIGULA ALBEOLA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of United
States, p. 394.
CLANGULA ALBEOLA, SPIRIT DUCK, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 458.
SPIRIT DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 445.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXV. Fig. 1.
Bill much shorter than the head, comparatively narrow, deeper than
broad at the base, gradually depressed towards the end, which is
rounded. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight and sloping to
the middle, then nearly straight, at the end decurved; the ridge broad
and flat at the base, narrowed between the nostrils, convex towards
the end, the sides convex, the edges soft, with about thirty-five
lamellæ, the unguis oblong. Nostrils submedial, linear, pervious,
nearer the ridge than the margin. Lower mandible flat, ascending,
curved at the base, the angle long, rather narrow, the dorsal line very
slightly convex, the edges with about forty lamellæ, the unguis broadly
elliptical.
Head rather large, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck short and
thick. Body compact, depressed. Feet very short, placed far back;
tarsus very short, compressed, having anteriorly in its whole length a
series of small scutella, and above the outer toe a few broad scales,
the rest covered with reticular angular scales. Hind toe very small,
with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes longer than the tarsus,
connected by reticulated membranes, having a sinus on their free
margins, the inner with a narrow lobed marginal membrane, the outer
with a thickened edge, the third and fourth about equal and longest,
all covered above with numerous narrow scutella. Claws small, slightly
arched, obtuse, that of first toe very small, of third largest, and
with an inner thin edge.
Plumage dense, soft and blended. Feathers on the fore part of the
head very small and rounded, on the upper and hind parts linear and
elongated, as they also are on the lateral and hind parts of the upper
neck, so that when raised, they give the head an extremely tumid
appearance, which is the more marked that the feathers of the neck
immediately beneath are short. Wings very small, decurved, pointed; the
outer primaries pointed, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated;
the secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner much elongated
and acuminate. Tail short, graduated, of sixteen feathers.
Bill light greyish-blue. Iris hazel. Feet very pale flesh-colour, claws
brownish-black. Fore part of the head of a deep rich green, upper part
rich bluish-purple, of which colour also are the elongated feathers on
the fore part and sides of the neck, the hind part of the latter deep
green; a broad band of pure white from one cheek to the other over
the occiput. The coloured parts of the head and neck are splendent and
changeable. The rest of the neck, the lower parts, the outer scapulars,
and a large patch on the wing, including the greater part of the
smaller coverts and some of the secondary coverts and quills, pure
white, the scapulars narrowly margined with black, as are the inner
lateral feathers. Axillary feathers brownish-black, some of them white
on the margins and towards the end; lower wing-coverts brownish-black,
the smaller tipped with white. The back, inner scapulars, and inner
secondary quills, velvet-black. The feathers on the anterior edge of
the wing are black, narrowly edged with white; alula, primary coverts,
and primary quills deep black. The feathers on the rump gradually fade
into greyish-white, and those of the tail are brownish-grey, with the
edges paler, and the shafts dusky.
Length to end of tail 14-1/2 inches, to end of wings 13-3/4, to end
of claws 15-3/4; extent of wings 23; wing from flexure 6-3/4; tail
3-1/4; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-(5-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-3/12 hind toe and claw 8/12; outer toe 2-1/12,
its claw 2-1/2/12; middle toe 2, its claw (3-1/2)/12; inner toe and
claw 1-9/12. Weight 1 lb.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXXV. Fig. 2.
The female is much smaller. The plumage of the head is not elongated as
in the male, but there is a ridge of longish feathers down the occiput
and nape. Bill darker than that of the male; feet greyish-blue, with
the webs dusky. Head, upper part of neck, hind neck, back and wings,
greyish-brown; a short transverse white band from beneath the eye, and
a slight speck of the same on the lower eyelid. Six of the secondary
quills white on the outer web. Lower parts white, shaded into light
greyish-brown on the sides; tail dull greyish-brown.
Length to end of tail 13 inches, to end of claws 13-1/2, to end of
wings 11-1/2; extent of wings 22-1/4. Weight 8 oz.
Individuals of both sexes differ much in size, and in the tints of
their plumage.
In an adult male, the tongue is 1 inch and 2 twelfths long, fleshy,
and of the same general form as in the other ducks already described.
The œsophagus is 6-3/4 inches long, passes along the right side, has
a diameter at the top of 4-1/2 twelfths, enlarges about the middle to
9 twelfths, and contracts to 1/2 inch as it enters the thorax. The
proventriculus is 1 inch long, 8 twelfths in its greatest diameter,
its glandules, which are of moderate size, forming a complete belt,
as in all other ducks. The stomach is a muscular gizzard of a roundish
form, 1 inch 5 twelfths long, 1 inch 4 twelfths in breadth; its lateral
muscles 5 twelfths in thickness; its epithelium tough, hard, and
slightly rugous. The intestine is 3 feet 11 inches long; its average
diameter 3 twelfths, its walls thick, and its inner surface villous.
The rectum is 3 inches long; the cœca 2-1/4 inches in length, their
diameter at the commencement 1 twelfth, towards the end 2 twelfths.
The trachea is 5 inches long, much flattened, its rings unossified, its
diameter at the top 2-3/4 twelfths, towards the lower part 3 twelfths,
having scarcely any appearance of dilatation at the part which is so
excessively enlarged in the Golden-eyed Duck, which in form and habits
is yet very closely allied. The lateral muscles are strong, and there
are cleido-tracheal and sterno-tracheal muscles, as in other ducks.
COMMON GANNET.
_SULA BASSANA_, LACEP.
PLATE CCCXXVI. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG.
On the morning of the 14th of June 1833, the white sails of the Ripley
were spread before a propitious breeze, and onward she might be seen
gaily wending her way toward the shores of Labrador. We had well
explored the Magdalene Islands, and were anxious to visit the Great
Gannet Rock, where, according to our pilot, the birds from which it
derives its name bred. For several days I had observed numerous files
proceeding northward, and marked their mode of flight while thus
travelling. As our bark dashed through the heaving billows, my anxiety
to reach the desired spot increased. At length, about ten o’clock, we
discerned at a distance a white speck, which our pilot assured us was
the celebrated rock of our wishes. After a while I could distinctly see
its top from the deck, and thought that it was still covered with snow
several feet deep. As we approached it, I imagined that the atmosphere
around was filled with flakes, but on my turning to the pilot, who
smiled at my simplicity, I was assured that nothing was in sight but
the Gannets and their island home. I rubbed my eyes, took up my glass,
and saw that the strange dimness of the air before us was caused by the
innumerable birds, whose white bodies and black-tipped pinions produced
a blended tint of light-grey. When we had advanced to within half a
mile, this magnificent veil of floating Gannets was easily seen, now
shooting upwards, as if intent on reaching the sky, then descending
as if to join the feathered masses below, and again diverging toward
either side and sweeping over the surface of the ocean. The Ripley now
partially furled her sails, and lay to, when all on board were eager
to scale the abrupt sides of the mountain isle, and satisfy their
curiosity.
Judge, Reader, of our disappointment. The weather, which hitherto had
been beautiful, suddenly changed, and we were assailed by a fearful
storm. However, the whale-boat was hoisted over, and manned by four
sturdy “down-easters,” along with THOMAS LINCOLN and my son. I remained
on board the Ripley, and commenced my distant observations, which I
shall relate in due time.
An hour has elapsed; the boat, which had been hid from our sight, is
now in view; the waves run high, and all around looks dismal. See what
exertions the rowers make; it blows a hurricane, and each successive
billow seems destined to overwhelm their fragile bark. My anxiety is
intense, as you may imagine; in the midst of my friends and the crew I
watch every movement of the boat, now balanced on the very crest of a
rolling and foaming wave, now sunk far into the deep trough. We see how
eagerly yet calmly they pull. My son stands erect, steering with a long
oar, and LINCOLN is bailing the water which is gaining on him, for the
spray ever and anon dashes over the bow. But they draw near, a rope is
thrown and caught, the whale-boat is hauled close under our lee-board;
in a moment more all are safe on deck, the helm round, the schooner to,
and away under bare poles she scuds toward Labrador.
THOMAS LINCOLN and my son were much exhausted, and the sailors required
a double allowance of grog. A quantity of eggs of various kinds, and
several birds, had been procured, for wherever sufficient room for
a gannet’s nest was not afforded on the rock, one or two Guillemots
occupied the spot, and on the ledges below the Kittiwakes lay thick
like snow-flakes. The discharging of their guns produced no other
effect than to cause the birds killed or severely wounded to fall into
the water, for the cries of the countless multitudes drowned every
other noise. The party had their clothes smeared with the nauseous
excrements of hundreds of gannets and other birds, which in shooting
off from their nests caused numerous eggs to fall, of which some were
procured entire. The confusion on and around the rock was represented
as baffling all description; and as we gazed on the mass now gradually
fading on our sight, we all judged it well worth the while to cross
the ocean to see such a sight. But yet it was in some measure a
painful sight to me, for I had not been able to land on this great
breeding-place, of which, however, I here present a description given
by our pilot Mr GODWIN.
“The top of the main rock is a quarter of a mile wide, from north to
south, but narrower in the other direction. Its elevation is estimated
at about four hundred feet. It stands in Lat. 47° 52´. The surf beats
its base with great violence, unless after a long calm, and it is
extremely difficult to land upon it, and still more so to ascend to
the top or platform. The only point on which a boat may be landed lies
on the south side, and the moment the boat strikes it must be hauled
dry on the rocks. The whole surface of the upper platform is closely
covered with nests, placed about two feet asunder, and in such regular
order that a person may see between the lines, which run north and
south, as if looking along the furrows of a deeply ploughed field. The
Labrador fishermen and others who annually visit this extraordinary
resort of the Gannets, for the purpose of procuring their flesh to bait
their cod-fish hooks, ascend armed with heavy short clubs, in parties
of eight, ten, or more, and at once begin their work of destruction. At
sight of these unwelcome intruders, the affrighted birds rise on wing
with a noise like thunder, and fly off in such a hurried and confused
manner as to impede each other’s progress, by which thousands are
forced downwards, and accumulate into a bank many feet high; the men
beating and killing them with their clubs until fatigued, or satisfied
with the number they have slain.” Here Mr GODWIN assured us that he
had visited the Gannet Rock ten seasons in succession, for the purpose
just mentioned, and added, that on one of these occasions, “six men had
destroyed five hundred and forty Gannets in about an hour, after which
the party rested a while, and until most of the living birds had left
their immediate neighbourhood, for all around them, beyond the distance
of about a hundred yards, thousands of Gannets were yet sitting on
their nests, and the air was filled with multitudes of others. The
dead birds are now roughly skinned, and the flesh of the breast cut
up in pieces of different sizes, which will keep good for bait about
a fortnight or three weeks. So great is the destruction of these birds
for the purpose mentioned, that the quantity of their flesh so procured
supplies with bait upwards of forty boats, which lie fishing close to
the Island of Brion each season. By the 20th of May the rock is covered
with birds on their nests and eggs, and about a month afterwards the
young are hatched. The earth is scratched by the birds for a few inches
deep, and the edges surrounded by sea-weeds and other rubbish, to the
height of eight or ten inches, tolerably well matted together. Each
female Gannet lays a single egg, which is pure white, but not larger
than a good-sized hen’s egg. When the young are hatched, they are
bluish-black, and for a fortnight or more their skin is not unlike that
of the common dog-fish. They gradually become downy and white, and when
five or six weeks old look like great lumps of carded wool.”
I was well pleased with this plain statement of our pilot, as I had
with my glass observed the regularity of the lines of nests, and seen
many of the birds digging the earth with their strong bills, while
hundreds of them were carrying quantities of that long sea-weed called
Eel-grass, which they seem to bring from towards the Magdalene Islands.
While the Ripley lay to near the rock, thousands of the Gannets
constantly flew over our heads; and although I shot at and brought
several to the water, neither the reports nor the sight of their dead
companions seemed to make any impression on them.
On weighing several of the Gannets brought on board, I found them to
average rather more than seven pounds; but Mr GODWIN assured me that
when the young birds are almost ready to fly, they weigh eight and
sometimes nine pounds. This I afterwards ascertained to be true, and I
account for the difference exhibited at this period by the young birds,
by the great profusion of food with which their parents supply them,
regardless in a great measure of their own wants. The Pilot further
told me that the stench on the summit of the rock was insupportable,
covered as it is during the breeding season, and after the first visits
of the fishermen, with the remains of carcasses of old and young birds,
broken and rotten eggs, excrements, and multitudes of fishes. He added
that the Gannets, although cowardly birds, at times stand and await the
approach of a man, with open bill, and strike furious and dangerous
blows. Let me now, Reader, assure you that unless you had seen the
sight witnessed by my party and myself that day, you could not form a
correct idea of the impression it has to this moment left on my mind.
The extent of the southward migration of the Gannet, after it has
reared its young, is far greater perhaps than has hitherto been
supposed. I have frequently seen it on the Gulf of Mexico, in the
latter part of autumn and in winter; and a few were met with, in the
course of my last expedition, as far as the entrance of the Sabine
River into the Bay of Mexico. Being entirely a maritime species, it
never proceeds inland, unless forced by violent gales, which have
produced a few such instances in Nova Scotia and the State of Maine,
as well as the Floridas, where I saw one that had been found dead in
the woods two days after a furious hurricane. The greater number of
the birds of this species seen in these warm latitudes during winter
are young of that or the preceding year. My friend JOHN BACHMAN has
informed me that during one of his visits to the Sea Islands off the
shores of South Carolina, on the 2d of July 1836, he observed a flock
of Gannets of from fifty to an hundred, all of the colouring of the one
in my plate, and which was a bird in its first winter plumage. They
were seen during several days on and about Cole’s Island, at times
on the sands, at others among the rolling breakers. He also mentions
having heard Mr GILES, an acquaintance of his, who knows much about
birds, say, that in the course of the preceding summer he had seen
a pair of Gannets going to, and returning from, a nest in a tree!
This is in accordance with the report of Captain NAPOLEON COSTE, who
commanded the United States Revenue Cutter, the Campbell, placed at my
disposal during my visit to the Texas, and who was Lieutenant as well
as Pilot of the Marion. He stated that he had found a breeding place on
the coast of Georgia, occupied by a flock of old, and therefore White
Gannets, the nests of all of which were placed upon trees. No one can
be greatly surprised at these reports, who knows, as I do, that the
Brown Gannet, _Sula fusca_, breeds both on trees and on dry elevated
sand bars. During winter months I have generally observed single birds
at some considerable distance from the shore out at sea, sometimes
indeed beyond what mariners call soundings, but rarely young ones, they
generally keeping much nearer to the shores, and procuring their food
in shallower water.
The flight of the Gannet is powerful, well sustained, and at times
extremely elegant. While travelling, whether in fine or foul weather,
they fly low over the surface of the water, flapping their wings thirty
or forty times in succession, in the manner of the Ibis and the Brown
Pelican, and then sailing about an equal distance, with the wings at
right angles to the body, and the neck extended forwards. But, Reader,
to judge of the elegance of this bird while on wing, I would advise
you to gaze on it from the deck of any of our packet ships, when her
commander has first communicated the joyful news that you are less
than three hundred miles from the nearest shore, whether it be that
of merry England or of my own beloved country. You would then see the
powerful fisher, on well-spread pinions, and high over the water, glide
silently along, surveying each swelling wave below, and coursing with
so much ease and buoyancy as to tempt you to think that had you been
furnished with equal powers of flight, you might perform a journey of
eighty or ninety miles without the slightest fatigue in a single hour.
But perhaps at the very moment when these thoughts have crossed your
mind, as they many times have crossed mine on such occasions, they are
suddenly checked by the action of the bird, which, intent on filling
its empty stomach, and heedless of your fancies, plunges headlong
through the air, with the speed of a meteor, and instantaneously
snatches the fish which its keen sight had discovered from on high.
Now perchance you may see the snow-white bird sit buoyantly for a
while on the bosom of its beloved element, either munching its prey,
or swallowing it at once. Or perhaps, if disappointed in its attempt,
you will see it rise by continued flappings, shaking its tail sideways
the while, and snugly covering its broad webbed feet among the under
coverts of that useful rudder, after which it proceeds in a straight
course, until its wings being well supplied by the flowing air, it
gradually ascends to its former height, and commences its search anew.
In severe windy weather, I have seen the Gannet propelling itself
against the gale by sweeps of considerable extent, placing its body
almost sideways or obliquely, and thus alternately, in the manner of
Petrels and Guillemots; and I have thought that the bird then moved
with more velocity than at any other time, except when plunging after
its prey. Persons who have seen it while engaged in procuring food,
must, like myself, have been surprised when they have read in books
that Gannets “are never known to dive,” and yet are assured that they
“have been taken by a fish fastened to a board sunk to the depth of two
fathoms, in which case the neck has either been found dislocated, or
the bill firmly fixed in the wood.” With such statements before him,
one might think that his own vision had been defective, had he not been
careful to note down at once the result of his observations. And as
this is a matter of habit with me, I will offer you mine, good Reader,
not caring one jot for what has been said to you before on the subject.
I have seen the Gannet plunge, and afterwards remain under the surface
of the water for at least one minute at a time. On one occasion of this
kind, I shot one just as it emerged, and which held a fish firmly in
its bill, and had two others half-way down its throat. This has induced
me to believe that it sometimes follows its prey in the water, and
seizes several fishes in succession. At other times I have observed the
Gannet plunge amidst a shoal of launces so as scarcely to enter the
water, and afterwards follow them, swimming, or as it were running,
on the water, with its wings extended upwards, and striking to the
right and left until it was satiated. While on the Gulf of Mexico, I
wounded a Gannet, which, on falling to the water, swam so fast before
the boat, that we rowed about a quarter of a mile before we reached it,
when it suddenly turned towards us, opened its bill, as if intent on
defending itself, but was killed with the stroke of an oar by one of
the sailors. When shot at without even being touched, these birds often
disgorge their food in the manner of Vultures; and this they always do
when wounded, if their stomach and gullet happen to be full. Sometimes,
after being wounded in the wings, they will float and allow you to
take them, without making any attempt to escape. Nay, my young friend,
GEORGE C. SHATTUCK, M. D., of Boston, while with me at Labrador, caught
one which he found walking amongst a great number of Guillemots, on a
low and rocky island.
When they are on their favourite breeding rocks, and about to fly,
they elevate their head, throw it backward, open the bill, and emit a
loud prolonged cry, before launching themselves into the air, in doing
which they waddle a few paces with their wings partially extended.
After starting, their first motion is greatly inclined downwards, but
they, presently recover, and seem to support themselves with ease.
When they are twenty or thirty yards off, you observe them shaking the
tail sideways, and then hiding their feet among the under coverts of
the tail. At other times they suddenly open their feet, moving them as
if for the purpose of grasping some object below, in the same manner
as some hawks, but only for a few moments, when again the tail is
shaken, and the feet hidden as before. They beat their wings and sail
alternately, even when flying around their breeding places.
On the ground the movements of the Gannet are exceedingly awkward,
and it marches with hampered steps, assisting itself with the wings,
or keeping them partially open, to prevent its falling. Their walk,
indeed, is merely a hobble. When the sun shines, they are fond of
opening their wings and beating them in the manner of Cormorants,
shaking the head meanwhile rather violently, and emitting their
usual uncouth guttural notes of _cara_, _karew_, _karow_. You may
well imagine the effect of a concert performed by all the Gannets
congregated for the purpose of breeding on such a rock as that in
the Gulf of St Lawrence, where, amidst the uproar produced by the
repetition of these notes, you now and then distinguish the loud and
continued wolfish howling-like sounds of those about to fly off.
The newly-finished nest of this bird is fully two feet high, and quite
as broad externally. It is composed of seaweeds and maritime grasses,
the former being at times brought from considerable distances. Thus,
the Gannets breeding on the rocks in the Gulf of St Lawrence, carry
weeds from the Magdalene Islands, which are about thirty miles distant.
The grasses are pulled or dug up from the surface of the breeding place
itself, often in great clods consisting of roots and earth, and leaving
holes not unlike the entrances to the burrows of the Puffin. The
nests, like those of Cormorants, are enlarged or repaired annually. The
single egg, of a rather elongated oval form, averages three inches and
one-twelfth in length, by two inches in its greatest breadth, and is
covered with an irregular roughish coating of white calcareous matter,
which on being scraped off, leaves exposed the pale greenish-blue tint
of the under layer.
The birds usually reach the rock when already paired, in files often of
hundreds, and are soon seen billing in the manner of Cormorants, and
copulating on the rocks, but never, like the birds just mentioned, on
the water, as some have supposed. The period of their arrival at their
breeding grounds appears to depend much on the latitude of the place;
for, on the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, which I had the pleasure
of visiting in the agreeable company of my learned friend WILLIAM
MACGILLIVRAY and his son, on the 19th of August 1835, the Gannets are
first seen in February, whereas in the Gulf of St Lawrence they rarely
reach the Great Rock until the middle of April or beginning of May;
and at Chateau Beau in the Straits of Belle Isle, not until a fortnight
or three weeks later. Like the members of most large communities, the
Gannets, though so truly gregarious at this season, shew a considerable
degree of animosity towards their more immediate neighbours as soon
as incubation commences. A lazy bird perhaps, finding it easier to
rob the nest of its friend of weeds and sods, than to convey them
from some distant place, seizes some, on which the other resents the
injury, and some well-directed thrusts of their strong bills are made,
in open day and in full view of the assembled sitters, who rarely
fail to look on with interest, and pass the news from one to another,
until all are apprized of the quarrel. The time however passes on.
The patient mother, to lend more warmth to her only egg, plucks a
few of the feathers from some distance beneath her breast. In sunny
weather, she expands those of her upper parts, and passing her bill
along their roots, destroys the vile insects that lurk there. Should
a boisterous gale or a thick cold fog mar the beauty of the day, she
gathers her apparel around her, and shrinks deeper into her bed; and
should it rain, she places her body so as to prevent the inundation
of her household. How happy, Reader, must she be when now and then her
keen eyes distinguish in the crowd her affectionate mate, as he returns
from the chase, with loaded bill, and has already marked her among the
thousand beauties all equally anxious for the arrival of their lords!
Now by her side he alights as gently as is in his nature, presents
her with a welcome repast, talks perhaps cheeringly to her, and again
opening his broad wings departs in search of a shoal of herrings. At
length, the oval chest opens, and out crawls the tender young; but lo!
the little thing is black. What a strange contrast to the almost pure
white of the parent! Yet the mother loves it, with all the tenderness
of other mothers. She has anxiously expected its appearance, and at
once she nurses it with care; but so tender is it that she prefers
waiting a while before she feeds it. The time however soon comes, and
with exceeding care she provides some well macerated morsels which
she drops into its open mouth; so well prepared are they that there
is no instance on record of a Gannet, even of that tender age, having
suffered from dyspepsia or indigestion.
The male Gannet assists in incubating, though he sits less assiduously
than the female; and, on such occasions, the free bird supplies
the other with food. The sight of the young Gannet just after birth
might not please the eye of many, for it is then quite naked, and of
a deep bluish-black, much resembling a young Cormorant. Its abdomen
is extremely large, its neck thin, its head large, its eyes as yet
sightless, its wings but slightly developed. When you look at it three
weeks afterwards, it has grown much, and almost entirely changed its
colour, for, now, with the exception of certain parts of the neck,
the short thighs, and the belly, it is covered with yellowish soft
and thick down. In this state it looks perhaps as uncouth as at first,
but it grows so rapidly that at the end of three weeks more, you find
its downy coat patched with feathers in the most picturesque manner
imaginable. Looking around you, you observe that all the young are not
of the same growth; for all the Gannets do not lay on the same day,
and probably all the young are not equally supplied with food. At this
period, the great eyrie looks as if all its parts had become common
property; the nests, which were once well fashioned are trampled down;
the young birds stand everywhere or anywhere; lazy-looking creatures
they are, and with an appearance of non-chalance which I have never
observed in any other species of bird, and which would lead you to
think that they care as little about the present as the future. Now
the old birds are freed of part of their cares, they drop such fish as
they have obtained by the side of their young, and, like Cormorants,
Pelicans, or Herons, seldom bring a supply oftener than once a-day.
Strange to say, the young birds at this period do not appear to pay the
least attention to the old ones, which occasionally alight near them,
and drop fish for them to feed upon.
Gannets do not feed, as some have supposed, and as many have believed,
on herring only; for I have found in their stomachs codlings eight
inches in length, as well as very large American mackerels, which, by
the way, are quite different from those so abundantly met with on the
coasts of Europe.
The young never leave the spot on which they have been reared until
they are well able to fly, when they separate from the old birds, and
do not rejoin them until at least a year after. Although I have in a
few instances found individuals yet patched with dark-grey spots, and
with most of their primary quills still black, I am confident that it
is not until the end of two years that they acquire their full plumage.
I have seen some with one wing almost pure black, and the tail of that
colour also; others with the tail only black; and several with pure
black feathers interspersed among the general white plumage.
I know of no other bird that has so few formidable enemies as the
Gannet. Not one of the species of Lestris with which I am acquainted,
ever attempts to molest it; and, although I have seen the Frigate
Pelican in quest of food within a short distance of it, I never saw
it offer injury. The insular rocks on which it breeds are of course
inaccessible to quadrupeds. The only animals, so far as I know, that
feed on the eggs or young, are the _Larus marinus_ and _Larus glaucus_.
It is said that the Skua, _Lestris Cataractes_, sometimes pursues the
Gannets, but that species does not exist in North America; and I am
inclined to doubt the truth of this statement, for I have never seen a
Lestris of any kind attack a bird equal to itself in size and strength.
Soon after the young Gannets are able to fly, all the birds of the
species leave the breeding place, and absent themselves until the
following season. While at Newfoundland, I was told that the English
and French fishermen who inhabit that country salt young Gannets for
winter provision, as is done in Scotland; but I saw none there. In my
estimation, the flesh of this bird is so bad that, as long as any other
can be procured, it ought to be rejected.
It is a curious fact, that the Gannets often procure mackerels or
herrings four or five weeks before the fishermen fall in with them on
our coast; but this is easily explained by their extensive wanderings.
Although this bird is easily kept in captivity, it is far from being a
pleasant pet. Its ordure is abundant, disagreeable to the eye as well
as the nose; its gait is awkward; and even its pale owl-like eyes glare
on you with an unpleasant expression. Add to this, the expense of its
food, and I can easily conceive that you will not give it a place in
your aviary, unless for the mere amusement of seeing it catch the food
thrown to it, which it does like a dog.
The feathers of the lower parts of the Gannet differ from those of
most other birds, in being extremely convex externally, which gives
the bird the appearance of being covered beneath with light shell-work,
exceedingly difficult to be represented in a drawing.
My highly esteemed and talented friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY having
given a full account of the habits of the Gannet, as observed on the
Bass Rock in Scotland, I here present it to you.
“The Bass is an abrupt rock, having a basis of about a mile in
circumference, and of an oblong form. The cliffs are perpendicular
in some places, overhanging in others, and everywhere precipitous,
excepting at the narrow extremity next the land, where, sloping less
abruptly, they form at the base a low projection, on which is the
only landing-place. Above this are the ruins of the fortifications
and houses, the Bass having formerly been used as a State-prison. The
rocks are in some places apparently two hundred feet in height, and
the summit, towards which the surface rises in an irregular manner, is
probably a hundred and fifty feet higher. In as far as I observed, the
whole mass is of a uniform structure, consisting of trap, intermediate
between greenstone and clinkstone, of a dull brownish-red colour, and
small granular structure. Although a great portion of the upper surface
of the island is composed of rock, there is an abundant vegetation,
consisting chiefly of _Festuca ovina_, _F. duriuscula_, and a few other
grasses, mixed with the plants usually found in maritime situations.
“The circumstance connected with the Bass most interesting to the
Zoologist, is its being one of the few places in Britain to which the
Gannet resorts during the breeding season. The number which I saw on
the 13th May 1831, when I for the first time visited it along with some
friends, might be estimated at twenty thousand. Every part of the mural
faces of the rock, especially towards their summits, was more or less
covered by them. In one spot near the landing place, about forty yards
in circumference, and on a gentle slope of gravelly ground, about three
hundred individuals were sitting in peaceful security on their nests.
“The Gannets arrive about the middle of February or the beginning of
March, and depart in October; some years a few individuals remain
during the winter. The nests are composed of grass and sea-weeds,
generally placed on the bare rock or earth, elevated in the form of a
truncated cone, of which the base is about twenty inches in diameter,
with a shallow terminal cavity. On the summit of the island are
numerous holes in the turf, from eight to fifteen inches deep, and
from six to nine broad, formed by the Gannets in pulling away grass
and turf for their nests. They are placed on all parts of the rocks
where a convenient spot occurs, but are much more numerous towards the
summit. Some of them on the face of the rock, or in a shallow fissure,
and which have been occupied for years, are piled up to the height of
from three to five feet, but in this case they always lean against the
rock. The egg, which is solitary, and presents nothing remarkable in
its position, is of an elongated oval form, bluish-white, dull, with
a chalky surface, usually patched with yellowish-brown dirt. It is
subjected to what might appear rough usage, for the bird in alighting,
flying off, or when disturbed by the intrusion of human visitors,
tosses it about, and often stands upon it.
“When sitting, the Gannets usually allow a person to approach within
three feet, sometimes much nearer, so that one may even touch them.
When one approaches them, they merely open their bill, and utter their
usual cry, or they rise and express some degree of resentment, but seem
to have very little apprehension of danger. They take advantage of the
absence of their neighbours to pilfer the materials of their nests,
frequently two join in this act, and occasionally two may be seen
tugging at the same bunch, endeavouring to wrest it from each other.
They are constantly repairing their nests, which being composed in a
great measure of sea-weeds, shrink up in dry weather, and decompose in
wet; and when seated close together they have frequent quarrels. I saw
one seize its neighbour by the back of the neck, until the latter, I
may say, roared out; but in general, they are satisfied with menacing
each other with open bills and loud clamour. In leaving the nest, they
generally scatter about a quantity of the materials of which it is
composed, for they are extremely awkward in their motions when on the
ground, hobbling and limping along, aiding themselves with their wings,
and draggling the abdominal feathers and tail.
“In launching from the cliffs, they frequently utter a single plaintive
cry, perform a curve, having its concavity upwards, then shake the
tail, frequently the whole plumage, draw the feet backwards, placing
them close under the tail, on each side, and cover them with the
feathers. In some the feet were entirely covered, while in others parts
of the toes were apparent. In flying, the body, tail, neck, and bill,
are nearly in a straight line, the wings extended and never brought
close to the body, and they move by regular flappings, alternating with
short sailings. In alighting, they generally ascend in a long curve,
keeping their feet spread, and come down rather heavily, often finding
it difficult to balance themselves, and sometimes, when the place is
very steep, or when another bird attacks them, flying off, to try it a
second time. On the rocks they stand with the body nearly horizontal,
or they lie on their belly, although some may be seen in an oblique or
even nearly erect posture. They usually repose with the head resting
between the shoulders, the bill concealed among the feathers of the
back. I caught one in that state, by walking up to it, and seizing it
by the tail and the tips of the wings, which cross each other over it.
“Owing to their interference with each other, a constant noise is kept
up amongst them. Their cry is hoarse and harsh, and may be expressed
by the syllables _carra_, _carra_, _carra_, or _kirra_, _kirra_,
_kirra_, or _crac_, _crac_, _crac_. The cry varies considerably
in different individuals, some having a sharper voice than others,
and when unusually irritated they repeat it with great rapidity. An
ornithological writer thinks they cry _grog_, _grog_; but neither Mr
AUDUBON nor myself interpreted their notes so, otherwise we could have
satisfied a few at least, as we had a bottle of whisky and a keg of
water.
“The young are at first covered with very beautiful close snow-white
down; at the age of about six weeks the feathers make their appearance
among the down; when two months old the birds are pretty well fledged,
and at the end of three months they are able to fly. The old bird at
first feeds the young with a kind of fish-soup prepared in its gullet
and stomach, and which it introduces drop by drop as it were into its
throat. But when its nursling is pretty well grown, it places its bill
within its mouth, and disgorges the fish either entire or in fragments.
They never carry fish to the rock in their bills. The smallest number
of young killed in a year is a thousand, the greatest two thousand;
but in general the number is fifteen or sixteen hundred. After being
plucked, they are sold at from sixpence to a shilling each. The price
of a young bird for stuffing is two shillings; of an old bird five,
of an egg one. For the information contained in this paragraph I am
indebted to the keeper.
“At the period of my second visit with Mr AUDUBON (the 19th August
1835), the nests in most places had almost entirely disappeared, for it
is only during incubation that the birds keep them in constant repair.
The young were in various stages, a few quite small and covered all
over with white down, the greater number partially fledged, with the
down remaining on the head and neck, and some nearly ready to fly,
and having merely a few tufts of down on the hind neck. The young lay
flat, either on the remnants of their nest, or on the bare rock or
ground. They are very patient and uncomplaining; in fact, none uttered
a single cry while we were inspecting them. I observed an old bird,
with its own young beside it, squeeze the neck of another youngling
with considerable force The poor bird bore the persecution with perfect
resignation, and merely cowered under the bill of the tyrant. The young
of the latter also attacked its neighbour, but was instantly checked,
on which it meekly desisted. One of the men informed me that last year
there were fourteen nests, each with two eggs. In such cases, one of
the young is said to be much smaller than the other.”
PELECANUS BASSANUS, _Linn._ Nat. vol. i. p. 217.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 891.
SULA BASSANA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 408.
GANNET, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 495.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVI. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, opening beyond the eyes, straight,
elongated-conical, moderately compressed. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line straight and declinate, at the end convex and a little
decurved; ridge very broad, convex, with a slight median carina, and
separated on each side, from the sides, which are nearly perpendicular,
slightly convex, and have an additional narrow jointed piece below the
eye; edges sharp, direct, irregularly serrate, with numerous slender
cuts directed backwards; tip compressed, a little decurved, rather
acute. No external nostrils. Lower mandible with the angle very long
and narrow, the dorsal line straight, ascending, the sides erect,
convex, the edges sharp and serrated, the tip compressed and sharp.
Head large; neck of moderate length and very thick, body of moderate
bulk, rather elongated; wings long. Feet short, strong, placed rather
far behind; tibiæ concealed; tarsus very short, rounded before, sharp
behind, at its upper part anteriorly with rather large roundish-flat
scales, in the rest of its extent with very small oblong tubercles;
anteriorly there are three lines of small transversely oblong scutella,
which rim down the toes. The latter are long and slender, all united
by membranes, which are reticularly granulated, and have their margins
straight; first toe rather small, directed inwards and forwards, middle
toe longest, the outer almost equal. Claws of moderate size, slightly
arched, those of the first and middle toes depressed, the latter with
its inner edge thin and pectinated.
Plumage generally close, rather compact, the feathers small and
rounded; those on the head and neck blended and slightly glossed. A
bare space between the bill and the eye, surrounding the latter, and
extending an inch behind the angle of the mouth. The gular membrane
also bare for a small breadth, extending two inches beyond the base
of the mandible. About a quarter of an inch of the tibia bare. Wings
very long, narrow, acute; primaries strong, narrow, tapering rapidly
to a rounded point; first longest, second about a quarter of an inch
shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries short, rather broad,
rounded, with a minute acumen. Tail rather long, cuneate, of twelve
narrow tapering feathers.
Bill pale bluish-grey, tinged with green towards the base; the lines
on the upper mandible blackish-blue; the bare space about the eye,
and that on the throat, blackish-blue. Iris white. Tarsi, toes, and
webs brownish-black, the bands of narrow scutella on the tarsus and
toes light greenish-blue; claws greyish-white. The general colour of
the plumage is white; the upper part of the head and the hind neck of
a fine buff colour. Primary quills brownish-black, their shafts white
toward the base.
Length to end of tail 40-1/2 inches, to end of wings 38-1/4, to end of
claws 41; extent of wings 75; wing from flexure 20-3/4; tail 10; bill
along the ridge 4, along the edge of lower mandible 6; tarsus 2-2/12;
first toe and claw 1-1/4; middle toe 3-8/12, its claw 7/12; outer toe
3-(8-1/2)/12; its claw 4/12. Weight 7 lb.
The Female is similar to the male, but rather smaller.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCXXVI. Fig. 2.
Bill light greyish-brown; the bare space around the eye pale
greyish-blue. Iris green. Feet dusky, the narrow bands of scutella pale
greyish-blue; claws greyish-white. The head, neck, and upper parts
are chocolate brown, each feather with a terminal narrow triangular
white spot; the lower parts greyish-white, spotted with greyish-brown;
each feather having a broad terminal margin of that colour. The quills
and tail-feathers are brownish-black. An individual shot in October
measured as follows:—
Length to end of tail 38 inches, to end of claws 32-1/2; extent of
wings 72. Weight 3 lb. 4 oz. This individual, however, was very poor.
Three individuals shot in the neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts,
presented the following dimensions, which are here given as indicative
of the difference of size frequently observed:—
Length to end of tail, 38-3/4 38-3/4 37
wings, 37-1/2 37-1/2 35
claws, 34-1/4 34-1/2 33
Extent of wings, 73-1/2 72 68-1/2
Wing from flexure, 19-1/2 17-1/2 19-1/2
An adult Male killed near Boston. The cellular tissue of the back
exhibits vacuities of very large size, intervening between the skin and
the muscles: one, at the lower part of the neck behind, being 5 inches
in length; another 5-1/2 inches long, extending from the furcula down
the humerus; and behind the wings four others, extending to the last
rib. Branches from these pass between the muscles, which present the
appearance of having been as it were dissected. A cell of enormous size
covers the side of the abdomen, and another pair run down the middle
of it, separated by a partition in the median line. That part of the
cellular tissue which adheres to the bases of the feathers is also
remarkably loose; and, close to each of them, is a roundish aperture
of large size, communicating with the great cavities mentioned above.
Between the pectoralis major and the subjacent muscles is a large
interspace formed by a great cell. The internal thoracic and abdominal
cells are also very large.
On the roof of the mouth are five sharp ridges. The nasal aperture is
1 inch and 5 twelfths long, linear, with a soft longitudinal flap on
each side. The tongue is extremely small, being only 7 twelfths long,
1 twelfth broad, blunt at the extremity, and with two papillae at the
base. The bare skin between the crura of the mandibles is of the same
structure as that of the Pelicans and Cormorants, but of small extent,
its posterior acute extremity not extending farther than that at the
base of the bill. The aperture of the glottis is 7-1/2 twelfths long.
The thyroid bone has an anterior curved prolongation, which projects
forwards, and from the extremity of which comes the elastic ligament
by which it is connected with the hyoid bone. The œsophagus, _a_, _b_,
is 15 inches long, measured to the commencement of the proventriculus,
extremely dilated, its diameter 2-1/2 inches at the top, contracting
to 2 inches as it enters the thorax, its narrowest part 1 inch 4
twelfths; its transverse muscular fibres moderately strong. The
proventriculus, _c_, _d_, is excessively large, 3-1/2 inches long,
its greatest diameter 2-1/4 inches. The glandules are cylindrical,
3 twelfths long, forming a very broad belt, separated however at its
narrowest part by a longitudinal interval of 5 twelfths of an inch,
and having three partial divisions on its lower edge. The greatest
length of the proventriculus, or breadth of the belt of glandules, is
2-1/2 inches. The mucous coat of the œsophagus is smooth, but thrown
into longitudinal plicæ when contracted; that of the proventriculus is
continuous, and of the same nature, being marked with extremely minute
reticulated lines, of which the more prominent have a longitudinal
direction. The stomach, properly so called, _d e_, is extremely small,
being only 1 inch 9 twelfths long, and about the same breadth. Its
inner coat is similar to that of the œsophagus and proventriculus;
being destitute of epithelium; several large mucous crypts are
scattered over its surface. The pylorus is small, having a diameter
of nearly 3 twelfths, and a marginal flap or valve on one side. The
intestine, _f_, _g_, _h_, is of moderate length, measuring 53 inches.
The duodenum _at first passes upwards_ in the direction of the liver
for 2 inches, _f g_, is then recurved for 3 inches, _g_, _h_, ascends
for 4 inches, _h_, _i_, and receives the biliary ducts, then passes
toward the spine and forms a curvature. The average diameter of the
intestine is 5 twelfths at the upper part, and it gradually contracts
to 3 twelfths. The rectum, _k_, measured to the anus is 5-1/4 inches.
It gradually enlarges from 4 to 6-1/2 twelfths. The cloaca, _m_, is
globular, 9 twelfths long, 8 twelfths broad. The cœca are 3 twelfths
long, 1-1/2 twelfth broad.
[Illustration]
The lobes of the liver are extremely unequal, as is always the case
when the stomach or the proventriculus is excessively large, the right
lobe being 2-3/4 inches long, the left 1 inch and 8 twelfths. The
gall-bladder, _n_, is very large, of an oblong form, rounded at both
ends, 1 inch and 8 twelfths long.
The trachea is 12 inches long, moderately ossified, round, its diameter
at the top 7 twelfths, gradually narrowing to 4 twelfths; the rings
124, the lower 4 united, The bronchi are large, their diameter greater
than that of the lower part of the trachea; of 25 cartilaginous
half-rings. The lateral or contractor muscles of the trachea are of
moderate strength; the sterno-tracheals strong; a pair of inferior
laryngeal muscles attached to the glandular-looking, yellowish-white
bodies inserted upon the membrane between the first and second rings of
the bronchi.
The olfactory nerve comes off from the extreme anterior point of the
cerebrum, enters a canal in the spongy tissue of the bone, and runs in
it close to the septum between the eyes for 10 twelfths of an inch,
with a slight curve. It then enters the nasal cavity, which is of an
irregular triangular form, 1-1/2 inch long at the external or palatal
aperture, 10 twelfths in height. The supramaxillary branch of the
fifth pair runs along the upper edge of the orbit, and by a canal in
the spongy tissue of the bones, enters the great cavity of the upper
mandible, keeping nearer its lower surface, and there branching. This
cavity appears to have no communication with the nasal; nor has the
latter any passage towards the obliterated external nostrils. The
lachrymal duct passes obliquely inwards from the anterior corner of
the eye, and enters the nasal cavity by an aperture 1/2 twelfth in
diameter, near its anterior margin.
In the cloaca was found a solid calculus, half an inch in diameter, of
an irregular form, white within, externally pale yellowish-brown, and
marked with grooves impressed by the action of the sphincter ani.
The digestive and respiratory organs of the American Gannet are
thus precisely similar to those of the European. In external form,
proportions, and colours, there are no appreciable differences. The
young in all stages are similar. The flight, voice, general habits,
and all other circumstances, are the same. What, then, shall we say
to those who have pretended that the American bird differs from the
European? Merely this, compare the two, outside and inside, shew us
differences, and then we shall judge if they be sufficient to indicate
different species; but until you have done this, do not imagine that a
mere “_Sula Americana_ Nob,” is enough to satisfy the world on this or
any similar point.
SHOVELLER DUCK.
_ANAS CLYPEATA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The Creoles of Louisiana are well acquainted with this species, under
the name of “_Micoine_,” the etymology of which I am unable to trace.
In that country it arrives, both from the westward and from the
eastern inland districts, along with the Blue-winged Teal, or at the
commencement of autumn. It associates with that species, to which,
as well as to the Green-winged, the Mallard, the Dusky Duck, and the
Gadwall, I should consider it very nearly allied, notwithstanding the
peculiar expansion of its bill. The Shovellers remain in the lower
parts of Louisiana during the whole of the winter, and depart along
with the Blue-wings between the end of April and the middle of May.
There, in early spring, they resort chiefly to ponds, where they
feed on grasses and their seeds, as well as at times a small kind of
onion, the bulbs of which they pull up from the moist grounds on their
margins. This may perhaps to some seem strange, but I have long since
made up my mind to learn from Nature, and believe what is, rather than
what philosophers imagine ought to be. Having fed through the night,
they collect towards dawn into large bands, and betake themselves
to the margins of sand-bars on the Mississippi, where they spend the
greater part of the day. At other times I have found them swimming or
wading along the muddy margins of ponds and streams, immersing the head
and part of the neck while alternately moving the bill to either side,
in the manner of the Roseate Spoonbill, sifting as it were the contents
of the soft mud or water, and ejecting the substances unfit for food.
Repeated inspection of the stomach has shewn me that the Shoveller is
not more nice as to the quality of its food than the Mallard or any
other of the Duck tribe, for I have found in it leeches, small fishes,
large ground-worms, and snails. They never however, I believe, feed by
semi-immersion, like the Mallards and Teals, nor do they dive unless
hard pressed, or when in a sportive mood, when they will dash for a
moment beneath the surface.
This species is generally considered scarce in the United States, and
I believe it is so, for, although many pass northward and breed in the
Fur Countries, a greater number spend the summer months in the Texas
and the districts farther westward. It is however abundant on the
streams of the Rocky Mountains, as well as on the tributaries of the
Columbia River, where it was frequently observed by Dr TOWNSEND, during
summer.
We have no Ducks in the United States whose plumage is more changeable
than that of the male of this beautiful species. While the female
is sitting on her eggs, he undergoes a moult, after which he appears
mottled, and seems as if inclined to assume the garb of his partner.
From this period, the beginning of July, until late in November, very
few finely-coloured males are to be seen, and only such as have not
mated that season, in which case they do not moult until the beginning
of winter, as if to be the sooner ready to associate with females on
the approach of the next breeding season.
In the Carolinas, this species, though found during winter in the rice
fields, is not abundant; more than three or four being seldom seen
together. In our Central and Eastern Districts, they are rather rare,
and a male in full dress is not to be obtained without difficulty,
although I have seen some in the markets of New York and Philadelphia.
The Shoveller walks prettily, and I have often admired its movements in
the puddles formed by heavy dashes of rain in our southern corn-fields,
where I have found it in company with the Wood Duck, the Mallard, and
the Pin-tail. Its flight resembles that of the Blue-winged Teal; and
in tenderness as well as in flavour, it rivals, as an article of food,
that beautiful bird. No sportsman who is a judge will ever pass a
Shoveller to shoot a Canvass-back. It is rarely however found on salt
water, and that only when compelled to resort thither.
In the beginning of May, when I was in Texas, I found Shovellers
breeding in considerable numbers. The males had already left the
females, and were seen on the sand-bars of the Bay of Galveston, up
to the River St Jacinto, but none of my party discovered the nest.
During the autumn, they are to be seen on the waters adjoining the
Ohio, and generally in ponds in company with the Bald-pate or American
Widgeon, when they become very fat, and afford delicious eating. At
this time I have been often much pleased when, on perceiving a flock
of eight or nine of these ducks, probably members of a single family,
and cautiously approaching them, while they were busily engaged in
searching for food with their heads and necks immersed, I have obtained
several of them at the first shot, and as the survivors flew off have
succeeded in procuring one or two more. On such occasions, they rise
almost perpendicularly to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and
then fly off in a direct course, in the manner of Mallards.
ANAS CLYPEATA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 200.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 856.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 382.
SHOVELLER, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 45, pl. 67,
fig. 7.
ANAS CLYPEATA, SHOVELLER, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun. Bor.
Amer. vol. ii. p. 439.
SHOVELLER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 439.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, higher than broad at the base, depressed
and much widened towards the end, where its breadth is doubled. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line sloping and very slightly concave, the
ridge at the base broad, narrowed over the nostrils; sides nearly erect
at the base, gradually more decimate and convex; the tip very broadly
rounded, with the unguis oblong, rather small, curved and rounded at
the extremity; the margins soft, with very numerous lamellæ, which
are prolonged beyond the edges and taper to a point, unless at the
commencement of the broadest part of the bill. Nasal groove elliptical,
and filled by the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils elliptical,
pervious, placed near the ridge. Lower mandible slightly curved
upwards, with the angle very long and narrow, the unguis obovate.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed, rounded above; neck
moderate; body rather full, slightly depressed. Feet short, stout,
placed a little behind the centre of the body; legs bare a little above
the joint; tarsus very short, moderately compressed, anteriorly with
small scutella, and an external short series of larger, on the other
parts reticulated with small scales. Hind toe very small, with a narrow
free membrane; third toe longest, fourth almost as long; the three
anterior slender, with numerous oblique scutella, and connected by webs
which have the margin concave and denticulate; the inner toe with a
broad margin. Claws small, arched, compressed, acute; that of middle
toe slightly dilated on the inner edge.
Plumage dense, soft, and elastic; of the head and neck short, blended,
and splendent, of the occiput and nape considerably elongated; of the
other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings of moderate length,
acute; primaries narrow and tapering, the first longest, the second
very little shorter; the secondaries broad, curved inwards; the
inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, rounded, of fourteen acute
feathers, of which the two middle extend five twelfths of an inch
beyond the next.
Bill greyish-black tinged with yellow. Iris reddish-orange. Feet
vermilion; claws dusky. Head and upper part of neck, deep green
with purplish reflections, the top of the head of a darker tint
with less vivid gloss. A longitudinal band on the hind neck and the
back, greyish-brown, the feathers edged with paler; the rump and
upper tail-coverts greenish-black. The anterior scapulars white,
the posterior elongated, light blue on the outer web, longitudinally
banded with white and greenish-black on the inner. Smaller wing-coverts
light blue; alula, primary coverts, and primary quills blackish-brown,
their shafts white. Outer secondaries greyish-brown, eight of them
externally of a rich duck-green; the inner greenish-black, with a
longitudinal white streak; the secondary coverts broadly tipped with
white. Tail-feathers greyish-brown, irregularly variegated and margined
with reddish-white, that colour enlarging on the outer feathers.
Lower part of neck pure white; breast and middle part of abdomen
dull purplish-chestnut. A large patch of white on each side of the
rump, with a band of the same towards the tail; lower tail-coverts
greenish-black, with bright green and blue reflections; axillaries and
lower wing-coverts pure white.
Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of wings 19, to end of
claws 21-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/2: bill along the ridge 2-8/12;
wing from flexure 9-8/12; tail 2-10/12; tarsus 1-4/12; first toe and
claw 8/12; third toe 1-9/12, its toe 5/12, fourth toe 1-9/12, its claw
(3-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 9 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXXVII. Fig. 2.
Bill dull yellowish-green, iris paler than in the male; feet as in
the male but lighter. The upper parts are blackish-brown, the feathers
edged with light reddish-brown; the throat and sides of the head are
light reddish-brown, which is the prevailing colour over the lower part
of the neck, a portion of the breast and the sides, of which however
the feathers are margined with dusky; the middle of the breast white.
Smaller wing-coverts dull brownish-grey; alula and primaries as in the
male; inner secondaries brownish-black; the speculum as in the male,
but paler, and changing to blue; the secondary coverts tipped with
white; tail nearly as in the male.
Length to end of tail 17 inches; to end of claws 20; bill along the
ridge 2-1/12; extent of wings 29-1/2. Weight 1 lb. 1 oz.
The bill of a male measures 2 inches and 8 twelfths along the ridge,
the frontal angles 4 twelfths more; the breadth of the upper mandible
at the base is 8-1/2 twelfths, near the end 1 inch and 3 twelfths.
The roof of the mouth is broadly and deeply concave, with a prominent
median ridge, which becomes papillate towards the base; the edges
of the mandible soft, direct, inflected towards the end; lamellæ
projecting beyond the margins and tapering to a point. On each side of
the lower mandible are about 220 lamellæ, and about 180 on the upper.
The tongue is 2-3/4 inches long, deeply emarginate at the base, with
numerous papillæ, for half an inch narrow and compressed, then for an
inch expanded, with a thin longitudinal flap above on each side divided
into lamellæ and minute bristles, at its anterior part having a breadth
of 1 inch and terminating abruptly, but with a median thin semicircular
tip, which is 3 twelfths long.
The œsophagus is 8 inches and 10 twelfths long, 4-1/2 twelfths in
diameter, its walls thick. The proventriculus is oblong, 1 inch in
length; its glandules of moderate size. The stomach is a strong gizzard
of moderate size; the lateral muscles and their tendons large as in
all other ducks. The intestine is very long, measuring 8 feet, and very
narrow, its diameter being from 2 twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth, for half
its length, after which it enlarges to 3-1/2 twelfths at the distance
of about 2 feet from the commencement of the rectum, then gradually
diminishes to 2 twelfths. The rectum is 3 inches 2 twelfths long, the
cœca 4 inches, their diameter for 1-1/4 inch 1-1/2 twelfth, afterwards
3-1/2 twelfths.
The trachea is 6 inches 9 twelfths long, very little flattened, its
diameter at the upper part 2-1/2 twelfths, gradually enlarging to 4
twelfths. On the left side of the inferior larynx there is a rounded
expansion of very moderate size compared with that observed in many
other ducks. The rings are 98; those at the lower part broader and much
stronger, but all of them ossified. The bronchial half rings about 35.
In another individual, the stomach is 1-1/2 inch long, 1-5/12 broad;
the right lateral muscle 6 twelfths thick. Contents, particles of
quartz, and fragments of shells. Intestine 11 feet 6 inches long; cœca
6-1/4 inches long; rectum 3-1/2 inches.
Long intestines, like long bills, often exhibit great differences in
the same species; for which reason characters taken from the length
of these parts must be received with latitude. Even in the Rapacious
Birds, in which the intestine is generally very short, considerable
differences are observed in individuals of the same sex and size. It
will be seen from the above statement that the Shoveller has a longer
and more slender intestine than any other American duck. In this
respect it is analogous to Pandion and Haliaetus among the Raptores;
generalizing vaguely from the consideration of which, as some have
done, one might be apt to conclude that it is more piscivorous than
the Canvass-back and Pochard, which however is by no means the case.
Although in some birds and mammalia a very elongated intestinal
canal is connected with piscivorous habits, yet many birds which feed
exclusively on fish, such as Gannets, Auks, and Guillemots, have the
intestine of only moderate length or short. It appears simply that
when for some reason resulting from the economy of the species, the
intestine must be elongated, it is made proportionally narrow; whereas
if it be expedient that it should be short, its calibre is increased.
BLACK-NECKED STILT.
_HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCXXVIII. ADULT MALE.
A few individuals of this singular species occasionally pass the winter
in the lower parts of Louisiana, especially in the section called
Oppellousas. I have also found it at the same period in the Floridas,
but the greater number follow the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and
proceed beyond our southern limits. In April 1837, I observed their
first appearance at Galveston Bay in Texas, where many remained until
our departure. They were in small flocks, seldom composed of more than
seven or eight individuals, which almost immediately separated into
parties of two or three, and commenced their search for food. They
kept about the small shallow brackish ponds on the islands of the bay,
and now and then were observed following the sinuosities of bayous in
company with other birds. They were much more shy than they are while
breeding, and it was with some difficulty that we procured specimens.
When one was killed, the rest would fly to a considerable distance,
sometimes from one island to another, in a rapid manner, with regular
beats of the wings, their necks and legs extended. On such occasions
they uttered a whistling cry, different from the _cleek_, _cleek_,
_cleek_, which they emit when they have nests or young.
All the writers who have described the habits of this bird, allege that
it walks with a “staggering gait;” but this is by no means the case,
for they appeared to us to walk as firmly as any other long-legged
birds, such as Herons, Curlews, and the American Avoset; and I had many
opportunities of observing them, as had my friend EDWARD HARRIS, my
son, and all the members of our party.
Toward the end of April, flocks of this bird reach the Middle
Districts, by following the coast, for they are very rarely met with at
any great distance from the sea shore. They generally betake themselves
to extensive marshes abounding in muddy inlets and small ponds, in the
vicinity of which they usually place their nests. About the middle
of May, parties of from ten to twenty collect, and are seen wading
sometimes up to their breast, in search of food, which is extremely
abundant in such places. They are now paired, and select suitable spots
for their nests, which are generally not far distant from each other,
and near the margins of the ponds, or on small islets. The nest is
very similar to that of the Willet, or Semi-palmated Snipe, _Totanus
semipalmatus_, being rather large, and formed of dry weeds and the
twigs of small shrubs. I have never observed the singular manner of
augmenting and raising their tenements, described by ALEXANDER WILSON,
although, like him, I have found and examined several in the very
same districts. The eggs are always four, placed with the smaller
ends together, pyriform, almost 2 inches long, with the smaller end
rounded, 1-3/8 in their greatest breadth; of a pale yellowish-clay
colour, and plentifully marked with large irregular blotches and lines
of brownish-black.
While the females are sitting, the males pay them much attention,
acting in this respect like those of the American Avoset, watching the
approach of intruders, giving chase to the Red-winged Starlings, as
well as to the Fishing and American Crows, and assailing the truant
young gunner or egger. When there is no appearance of annoyance, they
sometimes roam as far as the sea-beach. When the young are hatched,
they leave the nest, and follow their parents through the grass, but
on the appearance of danger squat and remain motionless. About the
beginning of September, young and old commence their journey southward.
This species is rather scarce along the shores of the Carolinas; nor
is it abundant in any part of the United States, and is seldom seen
to the eastward beyond Long Island. Its food consists of insects,
small crustacea, worms, and young fry of fishes. I have frequently
observed them running after flies, and attempting to seize the smaller
Libellulæ. When wounded so as to fall on the water, they are unable
to dive, but on reaching the shore they run nimbly off and hide
themselves.
I feel confident that in spring the males migrate apart from the
females, but in autumn in company with them. The flesh of this species
is not decidedly good or bad, being of ordinary quality. The males
are larger than the females, and individuals of both sexes vary
considerably in size.
LONG-LEGGED AVOSET, RECURVIROSTRA HIMANTOPUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 48, pl. 55, fig. 1.
HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 322.
BLACK-NECKED STILT, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 8.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVIII.
Bill about twice as long as the head, very slender, roundish, tapering,
slightly recurved. Upper mandible with its outline very slightly curved
upwards, at the tip declinate; the ridge convex, the sides convex,
the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute. Nasal
groove nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils linear, direct,
sub-basal, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and
narrow, the sides grooved as far as the angle, the edges sharp and
inflected, the tip narrow.
Head small, ovate, rounded above; neck very long and slender; body
rather compact. Legs extremely elongated and slender; tibia bare
for more than half its length, covered anteriorly with large curved
scutella; tarsus very long, moderately compressed, scutellate before,
reticulate on the sides; toes of moderate length, slender; hind toe
wanting, outer a little longer than inner, and connected with the
middle toe by a web extending nearly to the second joint; the inner toe
also connected with the middle by a very short web. Claws small, nearly
straight, moderately compressed.
Plumage ordinary, the feathers ovate and rounded. Wings very long, of
moderate breadth, acute, the first quill longest, the other primaries
rapidly graduated. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers.
Bill black, iris bright carmine; feet lake-coloured, claws dusky.
Forehead, a spot above the eye, another below it, fore part and sides
of the neck, and all the other lower parts, pure white. Upper part of
head, hind neck, and upper parts, bluish-black, glossed with green;
tail white.
Length to end of tail 14-1/2 inches, to end of wings 16-1/2, to end of
claws 21-3/4; extent of wings 27; wing from flexure 9; tail 2-10/12;
bill along the ridge 2-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-11/12;
bare part of tibia 3-1/4; tarsus 4-(2-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-1/2, its
claw 3/12. Weight 6-1/4 oz.
The Female is smaller than the male but otherwise similar.
Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 15-1/4, to end of
claws 20; extent of wings 25-3/4. Weight 5 oz.
The median ridge of the anterior part of the roof of the mouth is
furnished with a few short papillæ. The tongue is 1 inch 2 twelfths
long, slender, tapering, emarginate and papillate at the base. The
œsophagus is 7 inches long, with an average diameter of 4 twelfths;
the proventriculus 9 twelfths long, and 6 twelfths in diameter. The
stomach is elliptical, 1 inch in length, 8-1/2 twelfths in breadth;
its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the right being 4 twelfths
thick; the inner coat or epithelium dense, longitudinally rugous, and
of a brownish-red colour. The intestine is 20 inches long, its diameter
varying from 3 to 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca are 1-1/2 inch long, 1/12 in
diameter at the base, 2 twelfths towards the end, which is blunt.
The trachea is 5-1/4 inches long, rather wide, its diameter at
the upper part 3 twelfths, gradually diminishing to 1-1/2 twelfth;
the rings 120, unossified, excepting a few at the lower part. The
contractor muscles are feeble; the sterno-tracheal slender. The bronchi
are very short, with about 10 half rings.
The Prince of MUSIGNANO has introduced into his lately published list
a species of this genus, under the name of _Himantopus Mexicanus_.
I have received from Florida two skins, which from their large size
might at first sight be thought to differ from the common kind; but
after closely comparing them with my other specimens, I can find no
difference indicative of a distinction of species. Nor have I ever met
with individuals in North America of any other species than that above
described.
YELLOW-BREASTED RAIL.
_RALLUS NOVEBORACENSIS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXXIX. MALE.
The PRINCE of MUSIGNANO, who purchased one of these birds in the New
York market, in February 1826, gave a figure of it, and considered it
as an arctic species. This opinion, however, is incorrect, for the
Yellow-breasted Rail is a constant resident in the Peninsula of the
Floridas, as well as in the lower parts of Louisiana, where I have
found it at all seasons. That a few straggling individuals should
proceed northwards, advancing even to pretty high latitudes, is
not much to be wondered at, as we have a similar case in the Common
Gallinule. But at the season mentioned the individual referred to must
have been forced thither by a storm, as no Rails of any kind are found
in that part of the country in winter.
In the neighbourhood of New Orleans, this species is found in all the
deserted savannahs, covered with thick long grass, and pools of shallow
water. There you hear its sharp and curious notes many times in the
course of the day, just as you hear those of _Rallus crepitans_ near
the sea-shore, more especially after the report of a gun, when they are
louder and more quickly repeated. These sounds come on the ear so as
to induce you to believe that the bird is near; but whether this be the
case or not is not easily determined, for when you move towards a spot
in which you suppose it to be, the sounds recede at your approach, and
you may think yourself fortunate if, after half an hour of search, you
discover one on wing. Indeed, if we have a bird in America approaching
in its habits the Corn Crake of Europe, it is the Yellow-breasted
Rail; and were I disposed to systematize, I should consider it as a
connecting link between land and water birds, as in some of its habits
it also resembles the European Quail, a bird as fond at times of damp
meadows bordering rivers as this species is wont to be, when it seeks
for a place of safety in which to form its nest and rear its young.
In the Floridas, this bird is more abundant than even in Louisiana;
and I met with it frequently in the course of my wanderings there, not
only on the mainland, but also on several of the keys, where they begin
breeding in March. On Sandy Island, near Cape Sable, I found several
pairs, in May 1832. About New Orleans it commences breeding at the same
period. Dr BACHMAN has procured specimens near Charleston. I have also
found a few near Vincennes on the Wabash River in summer, when they had
young broods. In the course of my stay at the Silver Springs in East
Florida, I observed a good number of these birds along the margins of
the lakes and swampy bayous, and had ample opportunities of assuring
myself that this species is far from being nocturnal, as authors have
alleged, at least when in places where they are under no apprehension
of danger. In those sultry solitudes I have at times seen them
following the margins of the muddy shores, with delicate and measured
steps, until attracted by something worthy of their attention, when
they suddenly jerked their tail upwards and for a moment disappeared.
Again, they would gracefully leap upon the slender twig of some low
shrub or bush, apparently in search of small snails or other objects,
jerking their tail at every movement. There it was that I again saw the
extraordinary power of contraction which their body is able to assume
while they are pushing forward between two or more stubborn branches.
They were all so gentle that I at times approached within a few yards
of them, when they would now and then look cunningly at me, rise more
erect for a moment, and then resume their occupations.
When searched for by a dog, they seem as if determined to put him out
by continual manœuvring, running and cutting backwards within a few
yards of extent until the dog can no longer follow the last trail.
Just then they rise on wing, or run off to some other spot equally
adapted for security. A friend of mine who resides in New Orleans, and
has shot some hundreds of this species, told me that the best method
of obtaining a shot is to lie concealed near an opening in the grass,
and call the bird out of cover by imitating its notes, when in a few
minutes, being extremely pugnacious, it comes to the clear space, and
may be easily shot. Its flesh is delicate and savoury.
The nest somewhat resembles that of _Rallus elegans_. It is generally
placed upon the ground in the centre of a thick tuft of grass, and the
bed of it is at times elevated above the soil to the height of four
or five inches. It is composed of weeds of various kinds, and is now
and then covered over in the same manner as that of our Meadow Lark.
The eggs are from eight to ten, pure white, thin-shelled, and measure
1-1/8 inch by nearly seven eighths. The young are at first black, and
are able to follow their parents almost immediately after birth. I am
induced to believe that two, or perhaps three, broods are reared in the
season.
The flight of this pretty little bird is rather swift, and more
protracted than that of some of our Rails, especially when put up by
a dog coming inadvertently upon it. At other times, when in places not
frequented, it rises and removes to a distance rarely exceeding thirty
or forty yards, falling as it were among the grass with wings stretched
upwards and dangling legs. The gizzard is large and muscular, as in
the Water-hen and our other Rails. One which I opened was filled with
minute fresh-water shell-fish and gravel. They feed also on insects of
various kinds, and the seeds of grasses.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL has so well described the notes of this bird,
that I cannot do better than present you with his account of them.
“On the 6th of October (1831), having spent the night in a lodge, on
the borders of Fresh Pond, employed for decoying and shooting Ducks, I
heard, about sunrise, the Yellow breasted Rails begin to stir among the
reeds (_Arundo Phragmites_) that thickly skirt this retired border of
the lake, and in which, among a host of various kinds of Blackbirds,
they had for sometime roosted every night. As soon as awake, they
called out in an abrupt and cackling cry, _’krèk_, _’krèk_, _’krèk_,
_’krèk_, _’kuk’ k’kh_, which note, apparently from the young, was
answered by the parent (probably the hen), in a lower soothing note.
The whole of these uncouth and guttural notes have no bad resemblance
to the croaking of the tree frog, as to sound. This call and answer,
uttered every morning, is thus kept up for several minutes in various
tones, till the whole family, separated for the night, have met and
satisfactorily recognised each other.”
I once shot a female bird of this species near New Orleans upon which I
had nearly trodden as she was on the nest and about to lay an egg, and
which she dropped as she flew before me, previously to my touching the
trigger. In August and September I have found this species uncommonly
fat, and most delicious. The difficulty of procuring them, however,
renders them a rarity for the table even in those parts of the country
where they are most abundant.
I have no doubt that a few stragglers now and then go far north to
breed, as I find in the Fauna Boreali-Americana the following note
from Mr Hutchins’s manuscripts:—“This elegant bird is an inhabitant of
the marshes (on the coast of Hudson’s Bay, near the efflux of Severn
River, where Mr Hutchins resided) from the middle of May to the end of
September. It never flies above sixty yards at a time, but runs with
great rapidity among the long grass near the shores. In the morning and
evening it utters a note, which resembles the striking of a flint and
steel; at other times it makes a shrieking noise. It builds no nest,
but lays from ten to sixteen perfectly white eggs among the grass.”
Now, this making no nest is to me a convincing proof that the species
is not there in its natural place, but finding itself pushed for time,
and yet obliged to breed, is contented to do so under unfavourable
circumstances. Dr RICHARDSON, who spent several years in the northern
parts of America, did not meet with this species. I saw none in
Labrador or Newfoundland; and in the British provinces of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, the only bird of this family known is the Sora,
_Rallus carolinus_.
GALLINULA NOVEBORACENSIS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p.
771.
RALLUS NOVEBORACENSIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 335.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, American Ornith. vol.
iv. p. 136, pl. 27, fig. 2.
YELLOW-BREASTED RAIL, RALLUS NOVEBORACENSIS, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 402.
YELLOW-BREASTED RAIL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 402.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXIX.
Bill shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, being slightly convex
towards the end, the ridge narrow and convex in its whole length, the
sides convex towards the end, the edges sharp, slightly overlapping,
destitute of notch. Nasal groove broad, and extending to a little
beyond the middle of the bill; nostrils linear, lateral, submedial,
pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the sides
erect, the dorsal line sloping upwards, the edges a little inflected,
the tip narrowed, the gape-line straight.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck shortish. Body compact,
deeper than broad. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare
a short way above the joint; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed,
anteriorly covered with broad scutella, posteriorly with smaller, and
on the sides reticulated. Hind toe small and very slender; middle toe
longest, and longer than the tarsus; inner toe considerably shorter
than the outer; toes free, with numerous scutella above. Claws much
compressed, slightly arched, tapering to a fine point, flat and
marginate beneath.
Plumage rather stiff, but soft, blended, and slightly glossed above.
Feathers of the forehead somewhat bristly, broad and rounded; of
the hind parts elongated. Wings short, broad, concave; alula large,
primaries curved, broad, abruptly rounded, the second longest, third
scarcely shorter, first equal to seventh; secondaries broad and
rounded, the inner elongated, some of them extending a quarter of an
inch beyond the longest primary. Tail extremely short, much rounded, of
_ten_ feeble rounded feathers; the upper and lower tail-coverts as long
as the tail-feathers.
Bill greenish-black, with the base dull yellowish-orange. Iris
hazel. Feet and claws light flesh-colour. Upper part of the head
and hind neck blackish-brown, the feathers slightly edged with dull
light brownish-red, those on the occiput and hind neck with a small
white spot on the outer edge. The upper parts are brownish-black,
longitudinally streaked with brownish-yellow, each feather being
broadly margined with the latter, and crossed with from one to three
narrow white bars. Alula greyish-brown, each feather with a white
dot near the tip; primaries similar, the outer four unspotted; the
edge of the wing, and the basal half of the outer web of the first
primary yellowish-white; outer secondaries greyish-brown, white
towards the end, three of them having that colour extending over
more than half of their length; inner secondaries like the back;
as are the tail-feathers. Loral space and a line beyond the eye
blackish-brown. Sides of the head, neck, and anterior part of the
body light brownish-red, each feather terminally margined with deep
brown; sides like the back; axillaries, lower wing-coverts, and middle
of the abdomen, pure white; sides of the rump like the back; lower
tail-coverts brownish-red, with faint whitish dots.
Length to end of tail 7-3/4 inches, to end of claws 9-3/4, to end of
wings 7; extent of wings 12-1/4; wing from flexure 3-9/12; tail 1-4/12;
tarsus 11/12; first toe and claw 5/12; second toe 10/12, its claw 3/12;
third toe 1-1/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12; fourth toe (10-1/2)/12, its claw
(2-1/2)/12. Weight 2-3/4 oz.
The Female is smaller than the male, but similar in colour.
Length to end of tail 6-3/4 inches, to end of claws 8-3/4; extent of
wings 11. Weight 2 oz.
AMERICAN RING PLOVER.
_CHARADRIUS SEMIPALMATUS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXXX. MALE AND YOUNG.
I have had great pleasure in observing the migrations of this species,
particularly in early spring, when great numbers enter the southern
portions of the United States, on their way northward, where it is
now well known to breed. At that period, whatever attempts you may
make to prevent their progress, they always endeavour to advance
eastward; whereas in early autumn, they will rove in any direction, as
if perfectly aware that, the task imposed upon them by Nature having
been accomplished, they may enjoy their leisure. Those which pass
the winter within the limits of the Union, are mostly found along the
shores of South Carolina, Georgia, the Floridas, and as far south as
the mouths of the Mississippi; there being no doubt that many remain
on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, as I have found some there early
in spring, before observing those which I knew by their manners to be
recently arrived. In the course of my late visit to Texas, I found them
on Galveston Bay, where I observed some arriving from the westward.
During their polar migration, they proceed rather swiftly, for although
they appear to touch at every place likely to afford them food and
repose, they seldom tarry long. Thus, many individuals, which may have
been in Texas early in April, not unfrequently reach Labrador by the
middle of May; although some are a month later in reaching the ultimate
point of their journey, which, according to Dr RICHARDSON, sometimes
extends as far as the Arctic Regions.
While with us in spring, they confine themselves to the sandy beaches
of our sea-coasts, whether on the mainland or on islands; but when
they arrive at their breeding stations, they abandon their maritime
life, and resort to mountainous mossy lands, as is also the custom with
several other species. On my way to Labrador, I saw some of them in
almost every place at which we landed; and when I reached Nastasguan
Bay, they were breeding in all the spots that were adapted for that
purpose. Their manners formed an agreeable subject of observation to
all the members of my party. As soon as one of us was noticed by a
Ring Plover, it would at once stand still and become silent. If we did
the same, it continued, and seldom failed to wear out our patience. If
we advanced, it would lower itself and squat on the moss or bare rock
until approached, when it would suddenly rise on its feet, droop its
wings, depress its head, and run with great speed to a considerable
distance, uttering all the while a low rolling and querulous cry,
very pleasing to the ear. On being surprised when in charge of their
young, they would open their wings to the full extent, and beat the
ground with their extremities, as if unable to rise. If pursued, they
allowed us to come within a few feet, then took flight, and attempted
to decoy us away from their young, which lay so close that we very
seldom discovered them, but which, on being traced, ran swiftly off,
uttering a plaintive _peep_ often repeated, that never failed to bring
their parents to their aid. At Labrador, the Ring Plover begins to
breed in the beginning of June. On the 2d of July, I procured several
young birds apparently about a week old; they ran briskly to avoid
us, and concealed themselves so closely by squatting, that it was very
difficult to discover them even when only a few feet distant.
This species, like the Piping Plover, _Charadrius melodus_, forms
no nest; and whilst the latter scoops a place in the sand for its
eggs, the Ring Plover forms a similar cavity in the moss, in a place
sheltered from the north winds, and exposed to the full rays of the
sun, usually near the margins of small ponds formed by the melting
of the snow, and surrounded by short grass. Some of these pools are
found on the tops of the highest rocks of that country. The eggs,
like those of all the family, are four, and placed with the small ends
together. They are broad at the larger end, rather sharp at the other,
measure 1-1/4 inch in length, 7-1/8 inches in their greatest breadth,
are of a dull yellowish colour, irregularly blotched and spotted all
over with dark brown of different tints. The young are at first of
a yellowish-grey colour, prettily marked with darker spots on the
shoulders and rump. As soon as their parents dismissed them, they were
observed searching for food among the drying cod-fish, and along the
beaches.
By the 12th of August, all the individuals which had bred in Labrador
and Newfoundland, had taken their departure, migrating southward in
company with the Phalaropes and Schintz’s Sandpipers. Many of these
birds proceed by our great lakes and rivers, they being sometimes seen
in September along the shores of the Ohio and Mississippi. At this
period they are now and then observed on ploughed lands, where they
appear to procure different species of seeds and insects. Along the
whole extent of our Atlantic shores, they are numerous at this season,
and great numbers are killed, the flesh of the young birds especially
being juicy and tender.
The flight of this species is swift and sustained. They are fond of
associating with other birds of similar habits, and are generally
unsuspicious, so that they are easily approached. When on wing,
their notes are sharp, sonorous, and frequently repeated. The young
members of my party were often much amused by witnessing our pointer
chasing the old birds, whilst the latter, as if perfectly aware of
the superiority in speed, would seem to coax him on, and never failed
to exhaust him by flying along the declivities of the rocks up to
their summits, and afterwards plunging downwards to the base, thus
forming great circuits over a limited range. Their food consists of
small crustacea, mollusca, and the eggs of various marine animals.
The old males are very pugnacious in the breeding season, and engage
in obstinate conflicts, drooping their wings, and trailing their tail
fully spread out in the manner of some species of Grouse on similar
occasions.
RING PLOVER, TRINGA HIATICULA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 65, pl. 59, fig 3.
CHARADRIUS SEMIPALMATUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds
of United States, p. 296.
AMERICAN RING PLOVER, CHARADRIUS SEMIPALMATUS, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna. Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 367.
SEMIPALMATED RING PLOVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 24.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, straight, somewhat cylindrical. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line straight for half its length, then
bulging a little and curving to the tip, which is rather acute, the
sides sloping at the base, convex towards the end, where the edges are
sharp and direct. Nasal groove extended along more than half of the
mandible; nostrils basal, linear, in the lower part of the membrane,
open, and pervious. Lower mandible with the angle short, narrow, but
rounded, the sides at the base sloping outwards and flat, the dorsal
line ascending and slightly convex, the edges sharp and involute
towards the tip.
Head of moderate size, oblong, rather compressed, the forehead rounded.
Eyes large. Neck rather short. Body ovate, compact. Wings long. Feet
slender, of moderate length; tibia bare a considerable way above the
joint; tarsus of moderate length, rather compressed, covered all round
with sub-hexagonal scales; toes slender; the hind toe wanting; third
or middle toe much longer than the outer, which exceeds the inner; all
with numerous scutella; the outer connected with the middle toe by a
web which extends to the second joint of the former, and runs along
the edge of the latter, forming a broad margin, the outer toe also
connected with the middle toe by a short membrane which does not extend
more than half-way to the second joint. Claws small, slightly arched,
compressed, rather blunt, that of the middle toe having the inner edge
dilated.
Plumage soft and blended; the feathers rounded, those of the back
somewhat distinct. Wings long and pointed; primary quills tapering, the
first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
outer secondaries incurved and obliquely emarginate; the inner tapering
and elongated, one of them reaching to half an inch from the tip of
the longest primary. Tail of moderate length, considerably rounded, of
twelve feathers.
Bill black, its basal half rich orange. Iris deep hazel. Feet pale
flesh-colour, claws black. Forehead, loral space, and a band passing
below the eye and including the auriculars, black; the rest of the
head above and the nape, light greyish-brown, tinged with dull olive.
A broad band between the eyes, continuous with a streak over them,
a small band on the lower eyelid, and a ring on the middle of the
neck, enlarged in front so as to cover the throat, pure white. A
broad ring of black on the lower part of the neck, broader in front.
All the lower parts and the sides of the rump white. The upper parts
of the same greyish-brown as the head, the scapulars and elongated
inner secondaries more decidedly glossed with olive. Alula, primary
coverts, and primary quills dusky, the coverts tipped with white, the
outer primaries, with a portion of the shaft white, the inner with
an elongated patch of white on the outer web in addition, and the
proximal part of the inner web of the same colour. Secondary quills
with a narrow terminal margin of white, which is much enlarged on (or
in some specimens covers) the two next to the elongated ones, which
are externally margined with brownish-white. Tail pale greyish-brown,
brownish black towards the end, the tip white, enlarging on the outer,
and including the whole of the lateral feather, and the outer web of
the next.
Length to end of tail 7-1/4 inches, to end of wings 8, to end of claws
7; extent of wings 14; bill along the ridge 1/2, along the edge of
lower mandible 7/12; wing from flexure 5, tail 2-1/2; tarsus 11/12,
middle toe and claw 10/12. Weight 1-1/2 oz.
The Female is a little larger than the male, but similar, although the
black markings are tinged with brown.
Young in September. Plate CCCXXX. Fig. 2.
Bill dusky, at the base yellowish. Feet pale yellowish-green, claws
dusky. Upper parts lighter than in the adult, the feathers margined
with pale yellowish-grey; no black band on the forehead, or on the
neck, but a patch of dusky on the side of the neck and breast; the band
from the bill to behind the eye greyish-brown.
This species exhibits a very intimate affinity to _Charadrius
Hiaticula_ of Europe, which is precisely similar in form, proportions,
and colouring, but considerably larger, and having the feet
orange-coloured, with the webs much less extended.
GOOSANDER.
_MERGUS MERGANSER_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXXI. MALE AND FEMALE.
This species may be said to be a constant resident with us, as
many individuals breed in the interior of the States of New York,
Massachusetts, and Maine. When I first resided in Kentucky, some bred
there also, although at the present day none pass the summer in that
country. In the latter part of autumn, in winter, and in early spring,
they are found in all parts of the Union; in Texas I procured some in
April 1837, and in the beginning of May saw a considerable flock in
Galveston Bay. How much farther southward their migrations extend I
know not, but from having observed them coming from that direction,
I suspect that they advance pretty far into the interior of Mexico,
from which some perhaps cross to the Arkansas River, on which I have
also seen them. On the Mississippi, the Ohio, and their tributaries,
Goosanders are found during the coldest weather; and when the larger
streams are covered with ice, they betake themselves to such smaller
creeks as have very rapid currents or cascades, about which they feed.
But there are parts of our southern coast, where they are exceedingly
rare, such as South Carolina, where my friend Dr BACHMAN has never seen
one, and the Floridas, in which none occurred to me during my rambles
there. Indeed one is surprised to find that among birds like this,
which is so hardy as to remain in our North-eastern States during the
severest part of the winter, some should extend their movements at the
same season as far to the south-west as Texas; but facts like these are
beyond our philosophy. In the lower parts of Louisiana, this species is
called the “Bee-scie-de-mer,” probably because there it is found only
on the large salt-water lakes, and about the mouths of the Mississippi,
and to distinguish it from the Hooded Merganser, which there is
more usually seen on fresh water. I have been assured by Professor
MACCULLOCH of Pictou that it now and then breeds in Nova Scotia. Yet I
found none in Labrador or Newfoundland, where the Red-breasted species
was breeding in great numbers. Dr RICHARDSON found it in abundance in
the Fur Countries.
The Goosander is a vigorous and robust bird. It swims deeply, but with
considerable speed, even against a strong current, running waters being
generally preferred by it, even when rather shallow, provided their
beds are of sand or pebbles, for it is rarely seen on muddy or stagnant
waters, even during the breeding season, when it returns to the inland
lakes. Like the Grebes it has the power of sinking backwards, and it
dives expertly, remaining occasionally several minutes beneath the
surface. It usually swims and dives against the current, and close by
the shores, extricating itself from floating ice by passing under it.
Its voracity is great, so that it consumes an extraordinary quantity
of fish. I have found fishes in its stomach seven inches in length, and
of smaller kinds so many as to weigh more than half a pound. Digestion
takes place with great rapidity, insomuch that some which I have fed
in captivity devoured more than two dozen of fishes about four inches
in length, four times daily, and yet always seemed to be desirous of
more. The alleged awkwardness of this bird when on shore is a fable,
for I have seen individuals while courting in spring run with great
celerity fifty or more yards at a time, keeping nearly in an erect
position. On occasions of this kind I have observed on the sand-bars of
the Mississippi flocks of seven or eight males chasing each other with
great animosity. At other times, however, they are not fond of walking
much, but when on shore are generally seen lying flat on the ground. At
times the Mergansers rise almost at once on wing from the water, but
at others they seem to find considerable difficulty, patting it with
their feet for many yards. These differences seem to depend on various
circumstances, such as their being suddenly surprised, or during
violent winds. They generally, if not always, rise on wing against the
breeze.
The flight of the Goosander is powerful, and as rapid and sustained
as that of the Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers. When fairly under
way and at a good height, they advance in an almost direct course and
proceed with surprising velocity, so that, when suddenly apprised
of the vicinity of man, they at times find it difficult to check
their speed so quickly as may be necessary for their safety. I well
remember that on several occasions having watched one of these birds
flying directly up a creek and towards me, I have taken aim at it
and fired when it was at the proper distance, and yet such had been
its velocity that it would advance, after being shot, many yards
towards me. When rising from the water, whatever number may be in the
flock, they all start together, paddle off with their feet and wings,
stretching out their necks, and thus run as it were on the water to
the distance of twenty or thirty yards with great velocity, extending
in a front, or following each other in a line, according to the extent
of the space before them. They then gradually ascend to the height
of the trees, and move off to some considerable distance, but often
return to the same place. They seem to ascertain the fertility of the
water by sipping a little on their alighting, and then, having found
appearances favourable, they open their bills, apparently to take
a deep inspiration, and immediately dive. When they have procured a
sufficiency of food, they betake themselves to some sand-bar, on which
they repose until it is digested.
The Goosander rises to the surface with the fish in its bill, and,
shifting it about until it is in a proper position, swallows it head
foremost, then dives for more. So deeply does it swim, that on such
occasions not more than a third of its body is seen on the surface;
and there is very little chance of shooting it, for it dives on seeing
the flash, or even on hearing the click of the lock. The only chance
of procuring one at such times is when, on coming to the surface, it
stretches itself up and beats its wings. If it is only wounded, it
often exhibits great tenacity of life, and diving at once remains
a long time in the water. On emerging, it is seen shaking its head
violently, for the purpose of disgorging its food, and, perhaps, the
blood that has flowed into its lungs; and, on effecting this, it again
plunges headlong. At length, you see it come to the surface, with its
beautifully tinged breast upwards; but if your object be to obtain
game, you will have little satisfaction in procuring a Goosander or
any of its genus, for they are all fishy, oily, tough, and fitted for
the palate of none but experienced epicures. The food of the Goosander
consists chiefly of fish, but also of bivalve shells, snails, leeches,
aquatic lizards, crays, and frogs.
Now, good Reader, Spring has once more gladdened the face of Nature,
pearly drops hang on every leaf, glistening in the bright sunshine, and
thousands of gay insects flutter around. My light canoe is ready. Leap
in, seat yourself snugly in the bow, and sit still while I paddle you
to the green islands of this beautiful lake, where we shall probably
find a Merganser or two, perhaps a female sitting on her eggs. As to
the dog, we need him not; so lie thee down, Baron, until I return.
I was always fond of “paddling my own canoe,” and I never met with a
single accident so long as I managed it myself; but on more occasions
than one I have been turned out as gently as one turns himself in bed,
and having put the frail bark to rights, have assisted the awkward
fellow who had caused the disaster, dived for his gun and my own, and
conducted him to the camp to dry his garments. Therefore, be quiet,
and fear nothing. See! what’s that? Nothing, friend, but the head of
a musk-rat. But look there, how swiftly swims that beautiful Loon!
Heed him not; have I not already told you all that I know about him?
How smooth and silvery are the pure waters, how beautiful those tall
trees! The dogwood is in full bloom, so are the maples, whose rich red
blossoms cluster on the twigs. Here we are just entering the rushes of
this little island. Get out, and wade to the shore with all possible
gentleness; or allow me to do so; for to lighten our slight bark, one
of us must get into the water. Softly we advance as I pull the canoe by
the bow; but now, squat, for here are tracks of the Goosander. There
now lies the female close before us. She thinks we have not seen her,
for she crouches closer upon her eggs. Alarm her not, or she will soon
depart. There she croaks, and scrambling off through the tall grass,
flies off on rapid wings. Look at the nest! count the eggs if you
choose, but allow me, if you please, to describe them.
The islands on which the Goosander is wont to breed are mostly small,
as if selected for the purpose of allowing the sitting bird to get
soon to the water in case of danger. The nest is very large, at times
raised seven or eight inches on the top of a bed of all the dead weeds
which the bird can gather in the neighbourhood. Properly speaking, the
real nest, however, is not larger than that of the Dusky Duck, and is
rather neatly formed externally of fibrous roots, and lined round the
edges with the down of the bird. The interior is about seven and a half
inches in diameter, and four inches in depth. There are seldom more
than seven or eight eggs, which measure two inches and seven-eighths
in length, by two inches in breadth, are of an elliptical form, being
nearly equally rounded at both ends, smooth, and of a uniform dull
cream-colour. The young are led to the water in a few hours after they
are hatched, and are covered with fur-like hair, of a reddish-brown
colour about the head and neck, the body lightish grey. They are
excellent divers, and run on the surface with surprising velocity; but
they are not able to fly for nearly two months, when, being fat, they
are easily fatigued if closely pursued, and on such occasions will
often betake themselves to the shore, lie down, and even allow you to
lay hold of them. My friend THOMAS NUTTALL has given an interesting
account of his chase of a brood of Goosanders.
“Early in the month of May 1832, while descending the Susquehannah near
to Dunstown, a few miles below the gorge of the Alleghanies, through
which that river meanders near the foot of the Bald Eagle Mountain,
G. LYMAN, Esq. and myself observed, near the head of a little bushy
island, some Wild Duck, as we thought, with her brood making off round
a point which closed the view. On rowing to the spot, the wily parent
had still continued her retreat, and we gave chase to the party, which
with all the exertions that could be made in rowing, still kept at a
respectful distance before us. We now perceived that these diminutive
possessors of their natal island were a female Goosander or Dun Diver,
with a small but active little brood of eight young ones. On pushing
the chase for near half an hour, the young, becoming somewhat fatigued,
drew around their natural protector, who now and then bore them along
crowding on her back. At length, stealing nearly from our sight, as the
chase relaxed, the mother landed at a distance on the gravelly shore,
which being nearly of her own grey colour and that of her family,
served for some time, as a complete concealment. When approached
again, however, they took to the water, and after a second attempt,
in which the young strove to escape by repeated divings, we succeeded
in cutting off the retreat of one of the family, which was at length
taken from behind a flat boat under which it had finally retreated to
hide. We now examined the little stranger, and found it to be a young
Merganser of this species, not bigger than the egg of a Goose, and yet
already a most elegant epitome of its female parent, generally grey,
with the rufous head and neck, and the rudiments of a growing crest.
After suffering itself to be examined with great calmness, and without
any apparent fear, we restored it to its more natural element, and, at
the first effort, this little diminutive of its species flew under the
water like an arrow, and coming out to the surface only at considerable
distances, we soon lost sight of it, making good its aquatic retreat
in quest of the parent. On inquiry, we learned from the tavern-keeper,
that for several years past a nest or brood of these birds had annually
been seen near this solitary and secluded island.”
The male Goosanders leave the females immediately after incubation
has commenced, and are then seen in the wildest parts of the country.
Several females are often found breeding on the same island, and it is
after their young are pretty well grown, that they moult. For a number
of years past, I have sometimes entertained a hope, at the approach
of the breeding season, of finding a male Goosander having his head
adorned with a broad erectile crest, like that of the female and young,
but I have hitherto been disappointed, and am therefore unable to say
whether such a crest ever exists in that sex. The young of both sexes
retain the colouring of the female for two years, during which time
the males can be distinguished from the females only by their being
much larger. The males have not the rich buffy tint on the breast
until about two years after they have commenced breeding, and the
first perceptible change by which their sex is distinguished is the
appearance of black feathers on the head and neck. Until of late years,
the females were thought to be of a distinct species, to which the name
of Dun Diver was given.
Many writers have said that this bird breeds in the hollows of trees,
or on their branches; but of the various nests which I have found, not
one occurred in such situations; and the Hooded Merganser is the only
species of this genus which I have observed nestling in an elevated
place.
The notes of the Goosander are harsh, consisting of hoarse croaks,
seldom uttered unless the bird be suddenly startled, or when courting.
The females are usually silent, but when with their young brood, and
pursued, they emit the same guttural sounds as the males. Goosanders
are easily caught with hooks baited with fish; my friend JOHN BACHMAN
has procured them in this manner on the Hudson River, and I also have
on the Ohio.
Along with the representation of a pair of adult birds of this species,
I have given a correct view of the Cohoes Falls in the State of New
York.
MERGUS MERGANSER, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. 208.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 828.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 397.
GOOSANDER, MERGUS MERGANSER, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p.68, pl. 68, fig. 1. Male, and fig. 2. Female.—_Richards.
and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 461.—_Nuttall_,
Manual, vol. ii. p. 460.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXXI. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, straight, strong, tapering, higher
than broad at the base, nearly cylindrical toward the end. Upper
mandible with the dorsal outline sloping gently to the middle, then
straight, along the unguis suddenly decurved; the ridge broad at
the base, then convex; the sides sloping rapidly at the base, convex
toward the end; the edges serrated beneath; the unguis oblong, much
curved, abruptly rounded at the end. Nasal groove elongated; nostrils
submedial, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very
narrow, and extended to the unguis, which is obovate; the sides nearly
erect in their outer half, with a long narrow groove, the edges serrate
within.
Head rather large, compressed, oblong. Neck rather short, thick.
Body full, depressed. Feet placed far behind, short, stout; tibia
bare for about a quarter of an inch; tarsus very short, compressed,
anteriorly covered with small scutella, and another row on the lower
half externally, the sides reticulate. Hind toe very small, with an
inferior free membrane; anterior toes half as long again as the tarsus;
second shorter than fourth, which is almost as long as the third, all
connected by reticulated webs, which are deeply concave; the outer
toe slightly margined, the inner with a broad marginal membrane. Claws
rather small, moderately arched, compressed, acute, that of the middle
toe with a thin inner edge.
Plumage moderately full, dense, soft, glossy. Feathers of the head and
neck silky, blended, elongated along the median line, so as to form a
not conspicuous crest; of the back rather compact; of the lower parts
blended. Wings short, of moderate breadth, convex, acute; primaries
narrow, tapering, the first scarcely shorter than the second, the rest
rapidly graduated; secondaries rather short, narrow, rounded, the inner
elongated and tapering. Tail short, much rounded, of eighteen rather
narrow rounded feathers.
Bill bright vermilion, with the unguis black. Iris carmine. Feet
orange-red in winter, bright vermilion in the breeding season. Head
and upper half of neck greenish-black, splendent, with bright green
reflections; hind part of neck below white; fore part of neck and all
the under parts of a delicate reddish-buff; the sides of the rump and
part of the abdomen greyish-white, finely undulated and dotted with
dark grey; some of the lower wing-coverts dusky, the larger coverts
and primaries light grey. The fore part of the back, and the inner
scapulars, glossy black; the hind part ash-grey, becoming lighter and
finally undulated on the rump. Upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers
deep grey, outer scapulars white; a transverse band of black at the
base of the wing, concealed by the scapulars. Wing-coverts white;
alula, primary coverts, primary quills, and a band formed by the base
of the first row of large coverts, black; secondaries white, six of
them margined externally with a black line, the innermost margined on
both webs, but more broadly on the inner, and with the tip black.
Length to end of tail 27 inches, to end of claws 26-1/2, to end of
wings 24, to carpal joint 13-5/8, to end of green on the neck 7-1/4;
extent of wings 36; bill along the ridge 2-8/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 3-1/12; wing from flexure 11-1/4; tail 5; tarsus
1-(10-1/2)/12; first toe and claw 10/12; outer toe 2-(7-1/2)/12, its
claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe 2-8/12, its claw 5/12. Weight 5 lb. Of
another 3-3/4 lb.
Dimensions of two other Males:
Length to end of tail, 26 25-7/8 inches.
claws, 27 25
wings, 24 23-1/2
Extent of wings, 38 35
Female. Plate CCCXXXI.
The female is much smaller. The bill, eyes, and feet are coloured as
in the male, but the ridge of the bill is black, and the nail whitish;
the longitudinal crest is much more elongated, being composed of linear
feathers, some of them fully two inches and a half long. Head and upper
part of neck brownish-red; throat white; all the upper parts, with
the sides of the body and rump deep ash-grey, the feathers paler at
the margin. Smaller wing-coverts and inner secondaries grey; bases and
tips of secondary coverts black, the intermediate part white; middle
secondaries white, outer and primaries black; anterior part of neck
below faintly banded with ash-grey; breast and abdomen white, slightly
tinged with buff.
Length to end of tail 24 inches, to end of claws 23-1/2, to end of
wings 20-3/4; extent of wings 34; bill along the ridge 1-11/12, along
the edge of lower mandible 2-1/2; wing from flexure 10-1/4; tail 4-1/2;
tarsus 1-9/12; hind toe and claw (8-1/2)/12; middle toe 2-4/12, its
claw 5/12; outer toe 2-4/12, its claw 4/12.
The young males after the autumnal moult, and until the middle of
summer, resemble the females.
An adult male obtained near Boston examined. The heart is 2 inches
long; the lobes of the liver are nearly equal, the right being 3 inches
7 twelfths long, the left 3 inches 3 twelfths.
The upper mandible has about 28 recurved conical, acute, horny papillæ,
and an internal series of smaller, on each side; the tip of the unguis
serrulate; on the lower mandible are about 40 of the same nature. The
tongue is 2 inches 1 twelfth long, fleshy, emarginate, and papillate at
the base, tapering, with a double row of slender reversed papillæ along
the upper surface, and two lateral series of filaments on each side;
the tip lacerated, horny on the back. Posterior nasal aperture oblong,
10 twelfths in length, papillate on the edges. Aperture of the glottis
4-1/2 twelfths long. The mouth is 10 twelfths in breadth, but may be
extended to 1 inch 9 twelfths. The œsophagus is 10-1/2 inches long, its
diameter 1 inch 7 twelfths on the neck, contracting to 8 twelfths as it
enters the thorax, but again expanding; the external coat of transverse
muscular fibres very thick; the internal layer of longitudinal fibres
very distinct; the mucous coat thrown into prominent longitudinal
plaits when contracted; the mucous follicles disposed in longitudinal
single series. The proventriculus is 2 inches long, the glandules very
numerous, oblong, about 2 twelfths in length, forming a complete belt.
The stomach is a strong gizzard, of moderate size, 2 inches long, the
lateral muscles 5 twelfths thick; the epithelium very thick, nearly 1
twelfth, longitudinally rugous. In the stomach and gullet was a fish
9 inches long, the portions lying in the stomach and proventriculus
partially dissolved, the rest 4 inches long, not acted upon; there were
also two fragments of quartz, one of them a quarter of an inch long.
The intestine is long, measuring 6 feet 3 inches, its diameter from
5 to 3 twelfths. The cœca are 2 inches long, for half an inch 1-1/2
twelfth in diameter, in the rest of their extent 4 twelfths. The rectum
5 inches long, including the cloaca, which has a diameter of an inch
and a quarter.
The trachea, 10-1/2 inches long, has at first a diameter of 4 twelfths,
dilates gradually to 8 twelfths, then contracts to 4 twelfths, enlarges
a second time to 7 twelfths, and gradually contracts to 3 twelfths.
In this space the rings, 146, are strong, broad, and osseous. At
its lower part is an enormous dilatation composed of numerous united
rings, bulging irregularly on the right side and behind, and on the
left expanded into a case having two large spaces filled by membrane;
the greatest diameter of this tympanum is 2 inches and 2 twelfths. The
bronchi come off at the distance of nearly an inch from each other,
and are short, but wide, with about 25 half-rings. The lateral or
contractor muscles are very strong, give off a pair of cleido-tracheals
from the second enlargement, and at the commencement of the labyrinth
the sterno-tracheals, which are also very large; but there are no other
inferior laryngeal muscles.
The intestine of a male in the first winter is 6 feet 8 inches long,
its greatest diameter half an inch, wider towards the rectum than at
the upper part, where the diameter is 4 twelfths. Rectum 4-1/2 inches
long, exclusive of the cloaca. Cœca 2-1/4 inches. Contents of stomach,
remains of fishes and a great quantity of quartz fragments.
An adult Female. Œsophagus 10-1/2 inches long; stomach 2 inches long;
intestine 5 feet 3 inches; rectum 4-1/2; cœca 2-2/12. The trachea
9 inches long, of uniform diameter, 4 twelfths, with a very slight
dilatation toward the lower part, and at the lower larynx contracted
to 3 twelfths; the last ring is very large, laterally dilated, but
symmetrical; the bronchi come off at the distance of 5 twelfths from
each other, and are composed of 25 rings. The tracheal rings 150.
With respect to their digestive organs, the Mergansers are perhaps more
allied to the Divers than to the Ducks. In this, as in other respects,
they seem to be placed on the limits of the two families.
PIED DUCK.
_FULIGULA LABRADORA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCXXXII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although no birds of this species occurred to me when I was in
Labrador, my son, JOHN WOODHOUSE, and the young friends who accompanied
him on the 28th of July 1833 to Blanc Sablon, found, placed on the top
of the low tangled fir-bushes, several deserted nests, which from the
report of the English clerk of the fishing establishment there, we
learned to belong to the Pied Duck. They had much the appearance of
those of the Eider Duck, being very large, formed externally of fir
twigs, internally of dried grass, and lined with down. It would thus
seem that the Pied Duck breeds earlier than most of its tribe. It is
surprising that this species is not mentioned by Dr RICHARDSON in the
Fauna Boreali-Americana, as it is a very hardy bird, and is met with
along the coasts of Nova Scotia, Maine, and Massachusetts, during the
most severe cold of winter. My friend Professor MACCULLOCH of Pictou
has procured several in his immediate neighbourhood; and the Honourable
DANIEL WEBSTER of Boston sent me a fine pair killed by himself, on the
Vineyard Islands, on the coast of Massachusetts, from which I made the
drawing for the plate before you. The female has not, I believe, been
hitherto figured; yet the one represented was not an old bird.
The range of this species along our shores does not extend farther
southward than Chesapeake Bay, where I have seen some near the influx
of the St James River. I have also met with several in the Baltimore
market. Along the coast of New Jersey and Long Island it occurs
in greater or less number every year. It also at times enters the
Delaware River in Pennsylvania, and ascends that stream at least as
far as Philadelphia. A bird-stuffer whom I knew at Camden had many
fine specimens, all of which he had procured by baiting fish-hooks
with the common mussel, on a “trot-line” sunk a few feet beneath the
surface, but on which he never found one alive, on account of the
manner in which these Ducks dive and flounder when securely hooked.
All the specimens which I saw with this person, male and female, were
in perfect plumage; and I have not enjoyed opportunities of seeing the
changes which this species undergoes.
The Pied Duck seems to be a truly marine bird, seldom entering rivers
unless urged by stress of weather. It procures its food by diving
amidst the rolling surf over sand or mud bars; although at times it
comes along the shore, and searches in the manner of the Spoonbill
Duck. Its usual fare consists of small shell-fish, fry, and various
kinds of sea-weeds, along with which it swallows much sand and gravel.
Its flight is swift, and its wings emit a whistling sound. It is
usually seen in flocks of from seven to ten, probably the members of
one family.
ANAS LABRADORA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 859.
PIED DUCK, ANAS LABRADORA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p. 91, pl. 69, fig. 6. male.
FULIGULA LABRADORA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 391.
PIED DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 428.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXXII. Fig. 1.
Bill nearly as long as the head, rather broader than high at the base,
the sides nearly parallel, but at the end enlarged by soft membranous
expansions to the upper mandible. The latter has the dorsal outline
at first straight and declinate, then direct and slightly convex, at
the extremity decurved; the ridge broad at the base, convex toward the
end; the sides sloping at the base, then convex, the extremity broad
and rounded, the unguis broadly obovate; the margins soft, expanded
toward the end, and with about 50 lamellæ, of which the anterior are
inconspicuous. Nasal groove oblong, nostrils linear-oblong, sub-basal
near the ridge. Lower mandible flattened, curved upwards, with the
angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line very short, and nearly
straight, the nearly erect edges with about 30 large and prominent
lamellæ; the unguis very broad.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes small. Neck rather
short and thick. Body full, depressed. Feet very short, strong, placed
rather far behind; tarsus very short, compressed, with two anterior
series of rather small scutella, the sides and back part reticulated
with angular scales. Hind toe very small, with a free membrane beneath;
outer anterior toes double the length of the tarsus, and nearly equal,
the inner much shorter, and with a broad marginal membrane. Claws
small, slightly arched, compressed, rather acute.
Plumage dense, soft, blended; feathers of the head and neck small,
oblong; those on the lower part of the cheeks very stiff, having
the terminal filaments more or less united into a horny plate. Wings
short, of moderate breadth, concave, acute; primary quills curved,
strong, tapering, the second very slightly longer than the first, the
rest rapidly graduated; secondary quills broad and rounded, the inner
elongated and tapering. Tail very short, much rounded, of fourteen
tapering feathers.
Bill with the basal space between the nostrils running into a rounded
point in the middle, pale greyish-blue; the sides of the base, and
the edges of both mandibles for two-thirds of their length, dull pale
orange; the rest of the bill black. Iris reddish-hazel. Feet light
greyish-blue, webs and claws dusky. Head and upper half of neck white,
excepting an elongated black patch on the top of the head and nape.
Below the middle of the neck is a black ring, from the hind part
of which proceeds a longitudinal band of the same colour, gradually
becoming wider on the back and rump; below the black ring anteriorly is
a broad band of white, passing backwards on each side so as to include
the scapulars. All the under parts black, excepting the axillaries and
lower wing-coverts. Upper wing-coverts and secondary quills white, some
of the inner quills with a narrow external black margin; alula, primary
coverts, and primary quills, brownish-black. Tail brownish-black,
tinged with grey, the shafts black; upper tail-coverts dusky, minutely
dotted with reddish-brown.
Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of claws 22-1/2, to end of
wings 18-1/4; extent of wings 30; wing from flexure 9-1/4; tail 3-5/8;
bill along the ridge 1-3/4, along the edge of lower mandible 2-3/8;
tarsus 1-1/2; middle toe 2-3/8, its claw 3/8, hind toe 4-(1/2)/8, its
claw (1-1/2)/8; outer toe and claw slightly longer than middle: inner
toe 1-7/8, its claw (2-1/2)/8. Weight 1 lb. 14-1/2 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXXXII. Fig. 2.
The female is less than the male. The bill, iris, and feet are
coloured as in the male; sides of the forehead white (not in the
figure, it having been taken from a young bird). The general colour is
brownish-grey, darker on the head, cheeks, back, rump, and abdomen,
of a lighter tint approaching to ash-grey, on the throat, breast,
wing-coverts, and inner secondaries, which are margined externally with
black; seven or eight of the secondary quills white; the primaries and
tail-feathers as in the male.
Length to end of tail 18-1/4 inches, to end of claws 19-3/8, to end
of wings 17; extent of wings 29; wing from flexure 9; tail 3-1/2; bill
along the ridge 1-5/8, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/8; tarsus
1-1/2; hind toe and claw 3/4; middle toe and claw 2-1/2. Weight 1 lb.
1 oz.
GREEN HERON.
_ARDEA VIRESCENS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXXIII. MALE AND YOUNG.
This species is more generally known than any of our Herons, it being
very extensively dispersed in spring, summer, and early autumn. It
ranges along our many rivers to great distances from the sea, being
common on the Missouri and its branches, from which it spreads to
all such localities as are favourable to its habits. To the north of
the United States, however, it is very seldom seen, it being of rare
occurrence even in Nova Scotia. At the approach of winter it retires to
the Florida and Lower Louisiana, where individuals, however, reside all
the year, and many remove southward beyond the limits of our country.
I have observed their return in early spring, when arriving in flocks
of from twenty to fifty individuals. They would plunge downwards from
their elevated line of march, cutting various zigzags, until they would
all simultaneously alight on the tops of the trees or bushes of some
swampy place, or on the borders of miry ponds. These halts took place
pretty regularly about an hour after sun-rise. The day was occupied
by them, as well as by some other species, especially the Blue, the
Yellow-crowned, and Night Herons, all of which at this period travelled
eastward, in resting, cleansing their bodies, and searching for food.
When the sun approached the western horizon, they would at once ascend
in the air, arrange their lines, and commence their flight, which, I
have no doubt, continued all night. You may therefore, good Reader,
conclude that Herons are not only diurnal habits when feeding, but also
able to travel at night when the powerful impulse of migration urges
them from one portion of the country to another. But although on their
northward journey, the Green Herons travel in flocks, it is a curious
fact, that, unlike our smaller Waders, Ducks, Geese, and Cranes, they
usually return southward at the approach of winter, singly or in very
small flocks.
Stagnant pools or bayous, and the margins of the most limpid streams,
are alike resorted to by this species for the purpose of procuring
food. It is little alarmed by the presence of man, and you may often
see it close to houses, on the mill-dams, or even raising its brood
on the trees of gardens. This is often the case in the suburbs of
Charleston in South Carolina, where I have seen several nests on the
same live oak in the grounds of the Honourable Joel Poinset, as well
as in those of other cities of the Southern States. The gentleness,
or as many would say, the stupidity of this bird is truly remarkable,
for it will at times allow you to approach within a few paces, looking
as unconcernedly upon you as the House Sparrow is wont to do in the
streets of London.
Although they not unfrequently breed in single pairs; they also
associate, not only forming communities of their own kind, but mingling
with the larger species of their tribe, and with the Boat-tailed
Grakles, and other birds. On the 23d May 1831, I found two nests of
the Green Heron on one of the Florida Keys, close to some of _Ardea
rufescens_ and _A. cœrulea_. Now and then a dozen or more of their
nests are found on a bunch of vines in the middle of a pond, and placed
within two or three feet of the water; while in other cases, they
place their tenements on the highest branches of tall cypresses. In
our Middle Districts, however, and especially at some distance from
the sea, it is very seldom that more than a single nest is seen in one
locality.
The nest of the Green Heron, like that of almost every other species
of the tribe, is flat and composed of sticks, loosely arranged, among
which are sometimes green twigs with their leaves still attached.
The eggs are three or four, seldom more, an inch and three-eighths
in length, an inch and one-eighth in breadth, nearly equally rounded
at both ends, and of a delicate sea-green colour. According to the
locality, they are deposited from the middle of March to the beginning
of June. In the Southern States, two broods are frequently reared, but
in the Middle and Northern Districts, seldom more than one.
The young, which are at first of a deep livid colour, sparingly covered
here and there, and more especially about the head, with longish tufts
of soft hair-like down, of a brownish colour, remain in the nest until
nearly able to fly; but if disturbed, at once leave their couch, and
scramble along the branches, clinging to them with their feet, so as
not to be easily drawn off.
After the spring migration is over, the flight of this species is
rather feeble, and when they are passing from one spot to another, they
frequently use a stronger flap of their wings at intervals. On such
occasions, they scarcely contract their neck; but when travelling to
a considerable distance, they draw it in like all other species of the
tribe, and advance with regular and firm movements of their wings. When
alighting to rest, they come down with such force, that their passage
causes a rustling sound like that produced by birds of prey when
pouncing on their quarry, and on perching they stretch up their neck
and jerk their tail repeatedly for some time, as they are also wont to
do on any other occasion when alarmed.
The Green Herons feed all day long, but, as I think, rarely at night.
Their food consists of frogs, fishes, snails, tadpoles, water lizards,
crabs, and small quadrupeds, all of which they procure without much
exertion, they being abundant in the places to which they usually
resort. Their gait is light but firm. During the love-season they
exhibit many curious gestures, erecting all the feathers of their neck,
swelling their throat, and uttering a rough guttural note like _qua_,
_qua_, several times repeated by the male as he struts before the
female. This note is also usually emitted when they are started, but
when fairly on wing they proceed in silence. The flesh of this species
affords tolerable eating, and Green Herons are not unfrequently seen in
the markets of our Southern cities, especially of New Orleans.
The young attain their full beauty in the second spring, but continue
to grow for at least another year. The changes which they exhibit,
although by no means so remarkable as those of _Ardea rufescens_ and
_A. cœrulea_, have proved sufficient to cause mistakes among authors
who had nothing but skins on which to found their decisions. I have
given figures of an adult in full plumage, and of an immature bird,
to enable you to judge how carefully _Nature_ ought to be studied to
enable you to keep free of mistakes.
ARDEA VIRESCENS, _Linn._ Syst Nat. vol i. p. 238.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 684.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 307.
GREEN HERON, ARDEA VIRESCENS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 97, pl. 61, fig. 1.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
63.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, straight, rather slender, tapering to a very
acute point, higher than broad at the base, compressed towards the end.
Upper mandible with its dorsal line very slightly arched, the ridge
broad and rather flattened at the base, narrowed towards the end, the
sides sloping, erect towards the edges, which are sharp and direct, the
tip acute. Nasal depression long, with a groove extending to near the
point; nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal. Lower mandible with the
angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line sloping upwards, the sides
sloping outwards and nearly flat, the edges sharp, the tip acuminate.
Head oblong, much compressed. Neck long. Body very slender, much
compressed. Feet rather long, moderately stout; tibia bare for about an
inch; tarsi of moderate length, covered with hexagonal scales of which
some of the anterior are much larger and scutelliform. Toes rather long
and slender, with numerous scutella above; hind toe stout, second and
fourth nearly equal, third much longer; claws rather long, slender,
arched, compressed, acute, that of middle toe expanded and serrated on
the inner edge.
A large space extending from the bill to behind the eye bare. Plumage
very soft, loose, and blended; feathers of the hind head elongated
and erectile, as are those of the neck generally, but especially of
its hind and lower anterior parts; of the fore part of the back much
elongated and acuminate, scapulars very large. Wings short, very broad,
rounded; second and third quills equal and longest, first and fourth
equal and but slightly shorter, the rest slowly graduated; secondaries
broad and rounded. Tail very short, even, of twelve, broad, soft
feathers.
Bill greenish-black above, bright yellow beneath. Iris and bare part
about the eye also bright yellow. Feet, greenish-yellow, claws dusky.
Upper part of the head and nape glossy deep green. Neck purplish-red,
tinged with lilac behind, and having anteriorly a longitudinal band
of white, spotted with dusky-brown; a similar white band along the
base of lower mandible to beyond the eye. Elongated feathers of
the back greyish-green, in some lights bluish-grey, with the shafts
bluish-white; the rest of the back similar; the upper tail-coverts and
tail bluish-green; the lateral feathers slightly margined with white.
Scapulars, wing-coverts, and inner secondaries, deep glossy green,
bordered with yellowish-white; primary quills and outer secondaries
greyish-blue tinged with green. Lower parts pale purplish-brown tinged
with grey; axillary feathers purplish-grey, as are some of the lower
wing-coverts; lower tail-coverts greyish-white.
Length to end of tail 17-3/4 inches, to end of wings 17-1/2, to end of
claws 24, to carpal joint 11-1/4; extent of wings 27; wing from flexure
7-5/8; tail 3-3/4; bill along the ridge 2-1/4, along the edge of lower
mandible 3-1/4; bare part of tibia 10/12; tarsus 2; hind toe 7/8, its
claw 1/2; middle toe 1-1/8, its claw (2-1/2)/8; inner toe 1-5/8, its
claw 1/4; outer toe 1-3/8, its claw 1/4. Weight 7-1/2 oz.
The Female is considerably smaller, but otherwise similar.
Length to end of tail 17 inches, to end of wings 17, to end of claws
21-3/4; extent of wings 25. Weight 6-1/4 oz.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCXXXIII.
The bill dull greyish-green, the lower mandible lighter: bare space
around the eye greenish-blue, with the exception of a streak of
yellow at the upper part. Iris yellow. Feet greenish-yellow, duller
than in the adult. The hind neck light brownish-red, the fore part of
the neck and all the under parts white, longitudinally streaked with
brownish-red, some of the long feathers on the sides of the neck also
white. At this age there are no elongated feathers on the back, which
is greenish-blue, as well as the scapulars, and tail-feathers. Wing
as in the adult, but the smaller feathers on its anterior part more
red, the coverts with a small triangular tip of white, and the quills
narrowly tipped and margined with the same.
Length to end of tail 17-1/2 inches, to end of wings 17, to end of
claws 23; extent of wings 25. Weight 6-1/2 oz.
The roof of the mouth is anteriorly a little concave, with a median
prominent line; the palate convex; the lower jaw with a kind of joint
about an inch from the base, its intercrural membrane or skin very
extensile. The tongue is 1-7/12 inch long, very slender, trigonal,
emarginate at the base, with a groove along the middle, and pointed.
Posterior apertures of nares linear, 1/2 inch long. Œsophagus, _a_, _b
c_, 10 inches long, its walls delicate, its diameter at the upper part
1-1/4 inch, gradually contracting to 1/2 inch at its entrance into the
thorax. The lobes of the liver unequal, the right 1 inch 5 twelfths
long, the left 11 twelfths; the gall-bladder large, 7 twelfths long.
The stomach, _c_, _d_, is membranous, of an oblong form, 9 twelfths
long, 10 twelfths in breadth; its tendons elliptical, twelfths by 3
twelfths. The proventriculus, _c c_, 9 twelfths long, with a complete
belt of oblong glandules. There is a small roundish pyloric lobe _e_.
Intestine, _f_, _g_, 2 feet 11 inches long, its diameter uniform, 1
twelfth, or about the thickness of a crow’s quill. Rectum enlarged to 3
twelfths, and 3-1/4 inches long, its cœcal extremity rounded, and only
one-twelfth long.
The trachea is 7-1/4 inches long, of nearly uniform diameter, averaging
2 twelfths; the rings 160, nearly circular and ossified. The bronchial
half-rings about 18. The lateral muscles are very inconspicuous;
sterno-tracheals; and a pair of inferior laryngeal, going to the first
bronchial rings.
[Illustration]
The Herons generally differ from the other Grallæ in having the
œsophagus much wider and similar to that of the fish-eating palmipedes;
the stomach in a manner membranous, like that of the rapacious
land-birds, without lateral muscles or strung epithelium; the intestine
extremely slender, and the anterior extremity of the large intestine or
rectum furnished with a single cœcum, in place of two, as in almost all
other birds.
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
_CHARADRIUS HELVETICUS_, WILSON.
PLATE CCCXXXIV. MALE IN SUMMER, YOUNG, AND ADULT IN WINTER.
This beautiful bird makes its appearance on our southern coasts in
the beginning of April, as I had many opportunities of observing in
the course of my journey along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, in
the spring of 1837. Instead of being congregated in large flocks, as
is the case during their southward migration in autumn, they are seen
coming in small numbers, but at short intervals, so as almost to form
a continuous line. They travel chiefly by night, and rest for a great
part of the day along the margins of the sea, either reposing on the
sands in the sunshine, or searching the beaches for food. After dusk
their well-known cries give note of their passage, but by day they
remain silent, even when forced to betake themselves to flight. On such
occasions they generally wheel over the waters, and not unfrequently
return to the spot which they had at first selected. I have traced
this species along the whole of our eastern coast, and beyond it to
the rugged shores of Labrador, where my party procured a few, on the
moss-covered rocks, although we did not then find any nests, and where
some young birds were obtained in the beginning of August.
Individuals of this species spend the summer months in the mountainous
parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, where they breed. I
found their nests near the waters of the Delaware and the Perkioming
Creek, when I resided in the first of these States, and in the same
localities as those of _Totanus Bartramius_, as well as in ploughed
fields. The nest is merely a slight hollow with a few blades of grass.
The eggs are four, an inch and seven and a-half eighths in length, an
inch and three-eighths in their greatest breadth; their ground-colour
yellowish-white, tinged with olivaceous, and pretty generally covered
with blotches and dots of light brown, and pale purple, the markings
being more abundant toward the small end. Their form is similar to
that of the egg of the Guillemot, that is, broadly rounded at the
large end, then tapering, with the sides nearly straight, and the
narrow end rounded. When sitting, these birds will remain until they
are almost trodden upon. On being started, they fly off a few yards,
alight running, and use all the artifices employed on such occasions
to induce the intruder to set out in pursuit. The young leave the nest
almost immediately after they are hatched, and should one approach
them the parents become very clamorous, and fly around until they are
assured of the safety of their brood, when they take a long flight,
and disappear for a time. Unless during the breeding season, they
are exceedingly shy; but their anxiety for their young renders them
forgetful of the danger which they incur in approaching man. The young,
when two or three weeks old, run with great celerity, and squat in
perfect silence when apprehensive of danger. When they are able to fly,
several families unite, and betake themselves to the sea-shore, where
other flocks gradually arrive, until at length, on the approach of cold
weather, almost all of them begin to move southward. Although the great
body of these Plovers pass beyond the limits of the United States, some
remain on the shores of the Floridas during winter. In their habits
they are more maritime than the Golden Plovers, which, when migrating,
generally advance over the land.
The flight of this bird is swift, strong, and well sustained. When
roaming over large sand-bars, they move in compact bodies, whirling
round, and suddenly veering, so as alternately to exhibit their upper
and lower parts. At this time old and young are intermixed, and many of
the former have lost the black so conspicuous on the neck and breast in
summer. During winter, or as long as they frequent the sea-shore, they
feed on marine insects, worms, and small shell-fish; and when they are
in the interior, on grasshoppers and other insects, as well as berries
of various kinds, on which they fatten so as to become tolerably good
eating.
This species is known in Pennsylvania by the name of Whistling Field
Plover, suggested by the loud and modulated cries which it emits during
the love-season. In the Eastern States, as well as in Kentucky, it
is called the Bull-head; but in the South its most common appellation
is Black-bellied Plover. I have seen it, though sparingly, along the
shores of the Ohio, probably during its passage from the north.
As its habits agree with those of the Plovers generally, and its
form is similar to that of the Golden Plover and other species, the
only difference being the presence of a rudimentary hind toe, it was
scarcely necessary to distinguish it generically from _Charadrius_, as
many recent authors have done.
TRINGA HELVETICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 250.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 728.
TRINGA SQUATAROLA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 252.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 729.
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, CHARADRIUS HELVETICUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 41, pl. 59, fig. 4. Summer.
CHARADRIUS HELVETICUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 298.
GREY LAPWING, VANELLUS MELANOGASTER, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 370.
BLACK-BELLIED or SWISS PLOVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
26.
Adult Male in summer. Plate CCCXXXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, straight, somewhat compressed, stout. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line straight and slightly sloping for more
than half its length, then bulging a little and arched to the tip,
which is rather acute, the sides flat and sloping at the base, convex
towards the end, where the edges are sharp and inclinate. Nasal
groove extended to a little more than half the length of the mandible;
nostrils sub-basal, linear, open and pervious. Lower mandible with the
angle rather long and narrow, the sides at the base erect and nearly
flat, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the edges sharp
and involute towards the narrow tip.
Head of moderate size, roundish, the forehead much rounded. Eyes large.
Neck rather short. Body ovate, rather full. Feet rather long, slender;
tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus rather compressed, covered
all round with reticulated hexagonal scales; toes of moderate length,
slender; the first extremely diminutive, with an equally minute claw;
the second shorter than the fourth, which is much exceeded by the
third; the anterior toes are rather broadly marginate, the web between
the third and fourth extending to the second joint of the latter, that
between it and the second smaller. Claws small, compressed, slightly
arched, acute.
Plumage soft, blended, the feathers broad and rounded. Wings long
and pointed, primary quills tapering, the first longest, the second a
quarter of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries,
short, broad, obliquely rounded; the inner tapering and elongated. Tail
rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill and claws black. Iris and feet greyish-black. Forehead
yellowish-white, the rest of the head and the hind neck greyish-white,
spotted with dusky. The upper parts are variegated with black,
yellowish-brown, and white, the feathers being tipped with the
latter. The hind part of the rump, the upper tail-coverts, and the
tail-feathers, white, transversely barred with brownish-black, the tail
tipped with white, and having four dark bars on the middle feathers,
and seven or eight on the outer webs of the rest. Alula, primary
coverts, and primary quills brownish-black, the coverts terminally
margined with white; shafts of the primaries about the middle, and
part of the inner web towards the base, white; the inner six with a
white patch on the outer web towards the base, and margined with white
externally; the outer secondary feathers white at the base and margined
with the same; the inner dusky, with marginal white triangular spots.
A narrow ring round the eye, and a broad longitudinal band on the side
of the neck white; loral space, cheeks, fore part of neck, breast, and
axillar feathers, black; the rest of the lower parts white, the lower
primary coverts grey towards the end.
Length to end of tail 11-3/4 inches, to end of wings 12-1/2, to end of
claws 14; extent of wings 25; wing from flexure 8-1/4; tail 3-1/4; bill
along the ridge 1-1/4, along the edge of lower mandible 1-1/4; bare
part of tibia 3/4; tarsus 2; hind toe (1-1/2)/8; middle toe 1-1/8, its
claw 1/4; outer toe and claw 1-1/8; inner toe 1. Weight 6-1/2 oz.
The Female resembles the male, but has the black of the lower parts of
a less deep tint.
Young about a week old. Plate CCCXXXIV. Fig. 2.
Bill and feet dull greenish-brown. Iris brown. The general colour is
pale brownish-yellow, mottled with dusky; a whitish ring round the eye;
tail with a black band, rump whitish, primary quills dusky, the outer
edges of the secondaries whitish.
The young in autumn.
Bill greyish-black; feet bluish-grey. The upper parts brownish-black,
spotted with white, some of the spots yellow; the wings and tail as
in the adult, but the latter tinged with grey, and having eight dark
bars on all the feathers. The fore part and sides of the neck, and the
sides of the body, greyish-white, mottled with brownish-grey; axillary
feathers brownish-black; the rest of the lower parts white.
Adult in winter. Plate CCCXXXIV. Fig. 3.
The adult in winter has the upper parts light greyish-brown, the
margins of the feathers much lighter; the sides and fore parts of the
neck pale grey, with dark grey streaks and spots; lower parts white. In
other respects the colours are as in summer.
In an adult male of this species, there is a double row of papillæ on
the roof of the mouth. The tongue is 1 inch long, slender, tapering,
emarginate and papillate at the base, grooved above, horny on the back.
The œsophagus _a_, is 5 inches long, at its upper part 4 twelfths in
diameter, enlarged to 1/2 inch on the lower part of the neck. The
proventriculus, _b_, oblong, its greatest diameter 8 twelfths, its
glandules oblong and about a twelfth in length. The stomach, _c_, _d_,
_e_, _f_, is a very powerful gizzard of an irregular roundish form, 1
inch 5 twelfths long, 1 inch 3-1/2 twelfths in breadth; its lateral
muscles very large and distinct, the right _d_, 4 twelfths thick,
the left, _e_, 3 twelfths, the tendons large; the epithelium thick,
longitudinally rugous, and of a reddish colour. The intestine _g_, _h_,
_i_, is 2 feet 2 inches long, its diameter about 2 twelfths; the cœca
2 inches 2 twelfths long, their diameter at the base half a twelfth,
toward the end 2 twelfths; the rectum 3 twelfths in diameter, and 2-1/2
inches long.
[Illustration]
In the stomach were several shrimps. The lobes of the liver very
unequal, the right being 2-1/4 inches in length, the other 1-4/12. No
gall-bladder.
The trachea is wide, flattened, membranous, 4 twelfths broad at the
upper part, gradually diminishing to 2 twelfths, its rings which are
very slender, about 100. The lateral muscles exceedingly thin, but
becoming more distinct towards the lower part; the sterno-tracheal
slender. Bronchi of moderate length, of about 20 half-rings.
RED-BREASTED SNIPE.
_SCOLOPAX NOVEBORACENSIS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCXXXV. ADULT IN SUMMER AND WINTER.
On our arrival at the mouths of the Mississippi, on the first of April
1837, I observed large flocks of this species on their way eastward.
They were still in their winter plumage, and it was pleasing to see
in how short a period that garb was changed, as we had opportunities
of observing during our progress. At Grande Terre, on the 4th, several
having reddish feathers scattered over their lower parts were procured.
On the 13th, at Cayo Island, the change of colour was very considerable
in some specimens, which I found to be old birds, while the younger
were quite grey above, and white beneath. At Derniere Isle on the
16th, several were shot in as fine plumage as that represented in my
plate, and few, even of the younger birds, were without some of the
markings peculiar to the summer dress. Their numbers were exceedingly
great, and continued without diminution until we reached Galveston Bay
in Texas, on the 26th of the same month. How far they proceed beyond
that place to spend the winter I am unable to say; but their range
over North America is known to be very extensive, as they have been
found on the Columbia River on the western coast, on the borders of the
great northern lakes, and over the whole extent of the Fur Countries,
from the time of their appearance in spring until that of their return
southward in autumn.
Although much more abundant along the coast, and in its vicinity,
the Red-breasted Snipe is not uncommon in many parts of the interior,
especially in autumn, and I have procured many individuals along the
muddy margins of lakes, more than three hundred miles in a direct
line from the sea. Its migratory movements are performed with uncommon
celerity, as many are observed along the coast of New Jersey early in
April, and afterwards on the borders of the arctic sea, in time to rear
young, and return to our Eastern and Middle Districts before the end of
August.
This bird exhibits at times a manner of feeding which appeared to me
singular, and which I repeatedly witnessed while at Grande Terre in
Louisiana. While watching their manner of walking and wading along
sand-bars and muddy flats, I saw that as long as the water was not
deeper than the length of their bills, they probed the ground beneath
them precisely in the manner of the American Snipe, _Scolopax Wilsoni_;
but when the water reached their bodies, they immersed the head and a
portion of the neck, and remained thus sufficiently long to satisfy me
that, while in this position, they probed several spots before raising
their head to breathe. On such grounds as are yet soft, although not
covered with water, they bore holes as deep as the soil will admit,
and this with surprising rapidity, occupying but a few moments in one
spot, and probing as they advance. I have watched some dozens at this
work for half an hour at a time, when I was completely concealed from
their view. Godwits, which are also borers, probe the mud or moist
earth often in an oblique direction, whilst the Woodcock, the Common
Snipe, and the present species, thrust in their bills perpendicularly.
The latter bird also seizes many sorts of insects, and at times small
fry, as well as the seeds of plants that have dropped into the water.
Dr RICHARDSON informs us that “individuals killed on the Saskatchewan
plains had the crops filled with leeches and fragments of coleoptera.”
The flight of this bird is rapid, strong, and remarkably
well-sustained. When rising in large numbers, which they usually do
simultaneously, they crowd together, are apt to launch upwards in the
air for a while, and after performing several evolutions in contrary
directions, glide towards the ground, and wend their way close to it,
until finding a suitable place, they alight in a very compact body,
and stand for a moment. Sometimes, as if alarmed, they recommence their
meandering flight, and after a while return to the same spot, alighting
in the same manner. Then is the time when the gunner may carry havoc
amongst them; but in two or three minutes they separate and search for
food, when you must either put them up to have a good shot, or wait the
arrival of another flock at the same place, which often happens, for
these birds seldom suffer any of their species to pass without sending
them a note of invitation. It is not at all uncommon to shoot twenty
or thirty of them at once. I have been present when 127 were killed by
discharging three barrels, and have heard of many dozens having been
procured at a shot. When wounded and brought to the water, they try
in vain to dive, and on reaching the nearest part of the shore, they
usually run a few steps and squat among the grass, when it becomes
difficult to find them. Those which have escaped unhurt often remain
looking upon their dead companions, sometimes waiting until shot at
a second time. When they are fat, they afford good eating, but their
flesh is at no time so savoury as that of the common American Snipe.
The cry of this species when on wing is a single and rather mellow
_weet_. When on the ground I have heard them emit a continued guttural
rolling sound, such as is on certain occasions given out by the species
last mentioned. Their call-note resembles the soft and pleasing sound
of a whistle; but I have never heard them emit it while travelling.
Nothing is known respecting their breeding, and yet there can be little
doubt that many of them must rear young within the limits of the Union.
By the Creoles of Louisiana the Red-breasted Snipe is named “Becassine
de Mer,” as well as “Carouk.” In South Carolina it is more abundant
in the autumnal months than in spring, when I should think they fly
directly across from the Floridas toward Cape Hatteras, as my friend
Dr BACHMAN informs me that he never saw one of them in spring in the
vicinity of Charleston.
SCOLOPAX NOVEBORACENSIS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
658.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 723.
SCOLOPAX GRISEA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 658.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 724.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 330.
RED-BREASTED SNIPE, _Wilson_, Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 48,
p. 58, fig. 2. Summer.
SCOLOPAX NOVEBORACENSIS, NEW YORK GODWIT, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 398.
BROWN or RED BREASTED SNIPE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
181.
Adult Male in summer. Plate CCCXXXV. Fig. 1.
Bill twice as long as the head, subulate, straight, compressed for
more than half its length, depressed towards the end. Upper mandible
with the dorsal line declinate at the base, then straight, at the end
slightly arched, that part being considerably enlarged, the ridge
convex, towards the end flattened, the sides with a narrow groove
extending to near the tip, the edges soft and obtuse or flattened,
the tip narrowed but blunt. Nostrils basal, linear, very small. Lower
mandible with the angle extremely long and narrow, the sides nearly
erect, with a longitudinal groove, the edges flattened and directly
meeting those of the upper mandible, the extremity enlarged, the tip
contracted and rather blunt.
Head rather small, oblong, narrowed anteriorly, the forehead elevated
and rounded. Neck rather short. Body rather full. Legs of moderate
length, slender; tibia bare below, scutellate before and behind; tarsus
with numerous scutella before, smaller ones behind, and reticulated
sides; toes very slender, free, with numerous scutella above, flattened
and slightly marginate beneath; first very small and elevated, third
with its claw scarcely so long as the tarsus, lateral toes nearly
equal, the outer connected with the middle by a web. Claws small,
slightly arched, compressed, rather acute.
Plumage very soft, blended, rather dense, on the fore part of the
head very short. Wings long, narrow, pointed; primaries rather broad,
tapering to an obtuse point, the first longest, the rest rapidly
graduated; secondaries broad, obliquely terminated, with the inner
web projecting beyond the outer; the inner much elongated, one of them
reaching to half an inch of the tip of the wing when it is closed. Tail
moderate, nearly even, the middle feathers a little longer, of twelve
rounded feathers.
Bill dark olive. Iris reddish-hazel. Feet light yellowish-olive, claws
black. Upper parts brownish-black, variegated with light brownish-red,
the feathers being margined and the scapulars obliquely barred with
that colour. Hind part of back, upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers,
light reddish-buff, obliquely barred with black, the bars on the
tail seven or eight, and its tip white. Wing-coverts and secondaries
greyish-brown, margined with greyish-white; the secondary coverts
tipped with white, the quills tipped and obliquely banded with the
same; alula, primary coverts and quills brownish-black, the shaft
of the first quill white. From the base of the bill to the eye, and
surrounding it, a dull reddish-white band; loral space dusky;. All
the lower parts dull orange-red, with streaks and spots of black, more
numerous along the sides, and on the tail-coverts.
Length to end of tail 10-1/4 inches, to end of wings 10, to end of
claws 11-1/2; extent of wings 18-1/8; wing from flexure 6-1/8; tail
2-1/2; bill along the ridge 2-(1-1/2)/8; along the edge of lower
mandible (2-1/2)/8; bare part of tibia 1/2; tarsus 1-(2-1/2)/8; middle
toe and claw 1-(1-1/2)/8; hind toe and claw (3-1/2)/8. inner toe and
claw 1; outer toe and claw (7-1/2)/8. Weight 3-1/4 oz.
Adult in Winter. Plate CCCXXXV. Fig. 2.
The bill, iris, and feet as in summer. Upper part of head and hind
neck dusky grey, with which the feathers of the fore part of the back,
scapulars and wing-coverts are margined, their central parts being
brownish-black. A white band from the bill over the eye; margins of
eyelids also white. Hind part of back and tail barred with dusky as in
summer. Quills as in summer, the inner marked with grey in place of
brownish-red. Loral space, cheeks, and sides of the neck, pale grey;
throat and lower parts white; the sides, axillary feathers, and lower
tail-feathers, barred with dusky; lower wing-coverts dusky, edged with
white, and having a central streak of the same. Individuals exhibit
great differences in the length of the bills and tarsi.
On the upper mandible internally are three series of minute papillæ
which become larger on the palate. While the upper mandible is flat
beneath, the lower is deeply concave, and its crura elastic and capable
of being separated near the base to the distance of three-fourths of
an inch. The tongue, which is 2-1/4 inches long, and of a slender form,
carinate beneath, with the tip pointed, lies in the deep hollow of the
lower mandible, and being deeply concave above, leaves a vacant space,
by which, when the bill is immersed in the mud and the tips separated,
the food-passes along. The œsophagus is 4-3/4 inches long, 1/4 inch
in diameter, and nearly uniform. The proventriculus, _a_, _b_, _c_, is
bulbiform, its diameter 6 twelfths. The stomach, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_, is
an oblong gizzard of moderate strength, with the lateral and inferior
muscles decided, the tendons large, its length 1 inch, its breadth 8
twelfths. The epithelium is dense, tough, with numerous longitudinal
rugæ, and of a reddish colour. The contents of the stomach were very
small hard hemispherical seeds and vegetable fibres. The intestine,
_f_, _g_, _h_, 19-1/2 inches long, its diameter 3 twelfths in its upper
part; the cœca 1-3/4 inch long, and from 1 to 2 twelfths in diameter,
with the extremity obtuse.
[Illustration]
The trachea is wide, flattened, 3-1/2 inches long, 2-3/4 twelfths broad
at the top, gradually diminishing to 2 twelfths; the rings about 130.
The contractor muscles are very thin, the sterno-tracheal slender; and
there is a pair of inferior laryngeal. The bronchial half rings are
about 25.
YELLOW-CROWNED HERON.
_ARDEA VIOLACEA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXXXVI. ADULT AND YOUNG.
The Yellow-crowned Heron, which is one of the handsomest species of
its tribe, is called “Cap-cap” by the Creoles of Lower Louisiana, in
which country it is watched and shot with great eagerness, on account
of the excellence of its flesh. It arrives about New Orleans toward the
end of March, and departs in the middle of October. On arriving, they
throw themselves among the thickets along the bayous, where they breed.
Like the Night Heron, this species may be enticed near by imitating its
cries, when it approaches, cutting many curious zigzags in the air,
and alights close by. It is a curious circumstance that when passing
over several gunners placed on the watch for them, they dive toward
the ground if shot at and missed, and this they do several times in
succession, according to the number of shots. It is in the evening and
at dawn that they are chiefly obtained. They are said not to travel in
boisterous weather, or when there is thunder; and I have heard the same
stated with regard to the Night Heron.
In some parts of the Southern States, this species is quite abundant,
while in the intermediate tracts it is seldom or never met with. Thus,
in the Floridas, I found great numbers on a bayou near Halifax River,
but afterwards saw none until I reached one of the keys, more than
two hundred miles distant, and farther south, where it was breeding in
society. The first of these flocks I saw in winter, the other on the
22d of May. Again, while proceeding toward the Texas, we saw a few on
an island in Bay Blanche, but met with none afterwards until we reached
Galveston Island, where they were plentiful. They seldom advance
eastward far beyond North Carolina, and I am not aware of any having
been seen farther than New Jersey. On the other hand, they are not
generally found on the Mississippi beyond Natchez, although stragglers
may sometimes be seen farther up.
This species is by no means entirely nocturnal, for I have seen it
searching for food among the roots of mangroves at all hours of the
day, and that as assiduously as any diurnal bird, following the margins
of rivers, and seizing on both aquatic and terrestrial animals. Whilst
at Galveston, I frequently saw a large flock similarly occupied. When
they had satisfied their hunger, they would quietly remove to some safe
distance toward the middle of an island, where, standing in a crouching
posture on the ground, they presented a very singular appearance. That
they are able to see to a considerable distance on fine clear nights,
I have no doubt, as I am confident that their migratory movements are
usually performed at such times, having seen them, as well as several
other species, come down from a considerable height in the air, after
sun-rise, for the purpose of resting and procuring food.
The flight of the Yellow-crowned Heron is rather slow, and less
protracted than that of the Night Heron, which it however somewhat
resembles. When in numbers, and surprised on their perches, they
usually rise almost perpendicularly for thirty or forty yards, and then
take a particular direction, leading them to some well-known place.
Whenever I have started them from the nest, especially on the Florida
Keys, they would sneak off on wing quite low, under cover of the
mangroves, and fly in this manner until they had performed the circuit
of the island, when they would alight close to me, as if to see whether
I had taken their eggs or young.
When on the ground, they exhibit little of the elegance displayed by
the Louisiana, the Reddish, the Blue, or the White Herons; they advance
with a less sedate pace, and seldom extend their neck much even when
about to seize their food, which they appear to do with little concern,
picking it up from the ground in the manner of a domestic fowl. Nor
are they at all delicate in the choice of their viands, but swallow
snails, fish, small snakes, crabs, crays, lizards, and leeches, as well
as small quadrupeds, and young birds that have fallen from their nests.
One which was killed by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq., on the 19th of
April 1837, on an island in the Bay of Terre Blanche, about 4 o’clock
in the evening, was, when opened next morning, found to have swallowed
a terrapin, measuring about an inch and a half in length, by one in
breadth. It was still alive, and greatly surprised my companions as
well as myself by crawling about when liberated.
This species places its nest either high or low, according to the
nature of the place selected for it, and the abundance of food in the
neighbourhood. In the interior of swampy woods, in Lower Louisiana,
I have found the nests placed on the tops of the loftiest cypresses,
and on low bushes, but seldom so close together as those of many
other Herons. On the Florida Keys, where I have examined more of these
tenements than in any other part, I found them either on the tops of
mangroves, which there seldom attain a greater height than twenty-five
feet, or on their lowest branches, and not more than two or three
feet from the water. In the Carolinas, they usually resort to swamps,
nestling on the bushes along their margins. The nest is similar to
that of other Herons, being formed of dry sticks loosely put together,
a few weeds, with at times a scanty lining of fibrous roots. The eggs
are generally three, never, in as far as I have seen, more, of a pale
blue colour, inclining to green, thin-shelled, and averaging two inches
in length by an inch and three and a half eighths in their greatest
breadth. The young seldom remain in the nest until able to fly, as
is the case with those of some other species, but usually leave it
to follow their parents along the shores. If scared from the nest,
they scramble along the branches with considerable agility, and hide
whenever an opportunity occurs. I have given the figure of a young bird
procured in October.
The differences between the periods at which this bird breeds in
different latitudes, correspond with those observed with respect to
other species of the same tribe. Thus, eggs and young may be procured
on the Florida Keys six weeks sooner than in South Carolina, although
two broods are usually raised in both districts, the birds frequently
removing from one place to another for the purpose. The beautiful
slender plumes on the head and back generally fall off soon after
incubation commences, although I have on a few occasions found the male
still bearing these ornaments when the female was sitting on her second
set of eggs. When the young are just able to fly I have found them good
eating, but the old birds I never relished.
When wounded, the Yellow-crowned Heron defends itself vigorously
with its claws, the scratches inflicted by which are severe, and also
strikes with the bill. If not brought to the ground, in a place where
the trees are close and thickly branched, it is difficult to obtain
them without a second shot, for they scamper quickly from one twig to
another, and are very soon out of reach.
WILSON complains that the name “Yellow-crowned” should be given to this
species, and this would almost induce me to suppose that he had never
seen one in the breeding season, when the white of the head is strongly
tinged with yellow, which however disappears at the approach of autumn,
when the bird might with all propriety be named the White-crowned
Heron.
The adult bird represented in the plate was shot by my friend Dr
BACHMAN, a few miles from Charleston, while I was in his company; and
the drawing of the plant was made by his amiable sister-in-law, MISS
MARTIN.
ARDEA VIOLACEA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 268.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 690.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 306.
YELLOW-CROWNED HERON, ARDEA VIOLACEA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. viii. p. 26, pl. 65, fig. 1. Adult.
WHITE-CROWNED HERON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 52.
Adult Male in spring plumage. Plate CCCXXXVI. Fig. 1.
Bill a little longer than the head, strong, straight, moderately
compressed, tapering. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly
arched and declinate, the ridge broad, convex, the sides bulging, the
edges sharp and overlapping, the tip slender, with a distinct notch.
Nasal depression wide, with a broad shallow groove extending towards
the end of the mandible; nostrils basal, oblong, pervious. Lower
mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line straight
and sloping upwards, the sides sloping outwards and flat, the edges
sharp, obscurely serrulate, the tip slender.
Head large, oblong, compressed. Eyes large. Neck long. Body slender,
much compressed. Feet long, moderately stout; tibia bare at its lower
part, with reticular angular scales; tarsus covered anteriorly for more
than half its length with scutella, over the rest of its extent with
angular scales; toes long and rather slender, with numerous scutella
above, flat beneath, marginate; hind toe stout, fourth a little longer
than second, third much longer. Claws of moderate size, arched,
compressed, acute, that of middle toe beautifully pectinate on the
inner edge.
Plumage loose, soft, and blended; feathers on the upper part of the
head lanceolate and acuminate, those on the occiput very long, linear,
forming a pendant crest, which however is capable of being erected;
on the sides of the neck oblong, and directed obliquely backwards; on
the fore part of the back ovate-oblong; on the lower part generally
very long and loose. Between the scapulæ are two longitudinal series of
very elongated feathers, with loose margins, the longest extending far
beyond the end of the tail. Wings long, of great breadth, rounded; the
primaries broad and rounded, the third longest, the second and fourth
nearly equal, the first half an inch shorter than the longest, the rest
slowly graduated; secondaries very broad, rounded, the inner elongated,
some of them nearly as long as the outer primaries when the wing is
closed. Tail short, even, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris reddish-orange; margins of eyelids and bare space
in front of the eye, dull yellowish-green. Tibia, upper part of the
tarsus, its hind part, and the soles, bright yellow; the scutella and
scales, the fore part of the tarsus, the toes, and the claws, black.
Upper part of the head pale reddish-yellow in front, white behind,
of which colour are most of the elongated crest feathers, as well as
an oblong patch extending from the corner of the mouth, beneath, to
behind the ear. The rest of the head, and a small portion of the neck
all round, bluish-black; that colour extending nearly half-way down the
neck behind. The rest of the neck all round, as well as the upper and
lower surface of the body, light greyish-blue; the feathers of the fore
part of the back, and wings, having their central parts bluish-black,
which is also the case with the elongated loose feathers, the dark
part margined with bluish-white. Alular, primary coverts, and primary
quills, dark bluish-grey; secondaries and tail-feathers of a lighter
tint.
Length to end of tail 23-1/2 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of
loose feathers 30, to end of claws 30-1/4, to carpal joint 12-1/4;
extent of wings 43-1/2; bill along the ridge 2-7/8, along the edge of
lower mandible 4; width of gape 1-1/4; depth of bill at base 7-(1/2)/8;
wing from flexure 12-1/2; bare part of tibia 2-1/4; tarsus 4-1/8;
middle toe 2-1/2, its claw 3/8; outer toe 1-7/8, its claw (2-1/2)/8;
inner toe 1-3/4, its claw (2-1/2)/8; hind toe 1, its claw 5/8; tail 5.
Weight 1 lb. 9 oz.
The Female resembles the male, but is somewhat smaller.
The Young in October. Plate CCCXXXVI. Fig. 2.
Bill greenish-black, the lower and basal part of the lower mandible
greenish-yellow, as are the eyelids and bare space before the eye.
Iris pale orange. Legs and feet dull yellowish-green, the scutella
and scales in front, as well as the claws, dusky. Upper part of
head and hind neck, black, longitudinally marked with somewhat
triangular elongated white spots; sides of the head and neck pale
dull yellowish-brown, streaked with darker; the upper parts light grey
tinged with brown, the feathers edged with yellowish-white, and tipped
with a triangular spot of the same; the primaries and their coverts
with the tail darker, margined with dull white. The fore part of the
neck, and all the lower parts, dull yellowish-grey, each feather with
its central part dark greyish-brown; lower tail-coverts unspotted.
Length to end of tail 23-1/2, to end of claws 29-1/2; extent of wings
40. Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
Adult Male from South Carolina.
The upper mandible is slightly concave, with a median prominent ridge,
the palate convex with two ridges; the posterior aperture of the
nares linear, with an oblique papillate flap on each side; the lower
mandible deeply concave. The tongue is of moderate length, measuring
1-3/4 inch, emarginate at the base, trigonal, flat above, tapering to
a point. The œsophagus, which is 12 inches long, gradually diminishes
in diameter from 1-1/2 inch to 1 inch. The proventriculus is 1-1/2
inch long, its glandules cylindrical, forming a complete belt, the
largest 3 twelfths long. The stomach is roundish, 2 inches in diameter,
compressed; its muscular coat thin, and composed of large fasciculi;
its tendinous spaces nearly 1 inch in diameter; its inner coat even,
soft, and destitute of epithelium. There is a small roundish pyloric
lobe, 4 twelfths in diameter; the aperture of the pylorus is extremely
small, having a diameter of only half a twelfth. The intestine is long
and very slender, 6 feet 3 inches in length, its diameter at the upper
part 3 twelfths; diminishing to 2-1/4 twelfths, for about a foot from
the extremity enlarged to 5 eighths; the rectum 6-1/4 inches long; the
cœcum 5 twelfths long, 1-1/2 twelfth in diameter at the base, tapering
to 1 twelfth, the extremity rounded. The stomach contained fragments of
crustacea.
The trachea is 8-1/2 inches long, cylindrical; the rings 154, and
ossified; its diameter at the top 5-1/2 twelfths, diminishing in the
space of an inch and a half to 3 twelfths, and so continuing nearly to
the end, when it contracts to 2-1/2 twelfths. The last rings are much
extended, and divided into two portions, the last transverse half ring
arched, and 5 twelfths in length. The bronchi are in consequence very
wide at the top, gradually taper, and are composed of about 25 half
rings. The contractor muscles are very feeble; the sterno-tracheal
slender; a pair of inferior laryngeal muscles inserted into the first
bronchial ring.
AMERICAN BITTERN.
_ARDEA MINOR_, WILS.
PLATE CCCXXXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
It never was my fortune to have a good opportunity of observing all the
habits of this very remarkable bird, which in many respects differs
from most other Herons. It is a winter resident in the Peninsula of
the Floridas, as well as many of the keys or islets which border its
shores. But the greater number of individuals which pass over the
United States, on their way northward, in March, come from places
beyond our southern limits. During my residence in Kentucky, I never
saw or heard of the occurrence of one of them; and although I have
killed and assisted in killing a considerable number at various times
of the year, I never heard their booming or love-notes; or, if I have,
I did not feel assured that the sounds which reached my ears were those
of the American Bittern. This may probably appear strange, considering
the many years I have spent in searching our swamps, marshes, and
woods. Yet true it is that in all my rambles I had not the good fortune
to come upon one of these birds sitting on its eggs either among the
grass or rushes, or on the branches of low bushes, where, I have been
informed, it builds.
In Lower Louisiana, it is called the “Garde Soleil,” because they say
it will stand on one foot for hours, with its eyes, or one of them at
least, fixed on the orb of day, and frequently spread out its wings, in
the manner of Cormorants and Vultures, to enjoy the heat, or perhaps
the gentle breeze. There it is seldom obtained in spring, but is a
regular autumnal visitant, appearing early in October, and frequenting
the marshes both of fresh and salt water, where many remain until the
beginning of May. It is then common in the markets of New Orleans,
where it is bought by the poorer classes to make gombo soup. In almost
every other part of the United States it is commonly called the “Indian
Pullet,” or “Indian Hen.”
Although in a particular place, apparently favourable, some dozens
of these birds may be found to-day, yet, perhaps, on visiting it
to-morrow, you will not find one remaining; and districts resorted
to one season or year, will be found deserted by them the next. That
they migrate by night I have always felt assured, but that they are
altogether nocturnal is rather uncertain, for in more than half a
dozen instances I have surprised them in the act of procuring food
in the middle of the day when the sun was shining brightly. That they
are extremely timid I well know, for on several occasions, when I have
suddenly come upon them, they have stood still from mere terror, until
I have knocked them down with an oar or stick. Yet, when wounded,
and their courage is raised, they shew great willingness to defend
themselves, and if in the presence of a dog, they never fail to
spread out to their full extent the feathers of the neck, leaving its
hind part bare, ruffle those of their body, extend their wings, and
strike violently at their enemy. When seized they scratch furiously,
and endeavour to bite, so that, unless great care be taken, they may
inflict severe wounds.
I never saw one of them fly farther than thirty or forty yards at a
time; and on such occasions, their movements were so sluggish as to
give opportunities of easily shooting them; for they generally rise
within a few yards of you, and fly off very slowly in a direct course.
Their cries at such times greatly resemble those of the Night and
Yellow-crowned Herons.
My friends, Dr BACHMAN and Mr NUTTALL, have both heard the love-notes
of this bird. The former says, in a letter to me, “their hoarse
croakings, as if their throats were filled with water, were heard
on every side;” and the latter states that “instead of the _búmp_ or
_böomp_ of the true Bittern, their call is something like the uncouth
syllables of _’pump-aū-gàh_, but uttered in the same low, bellowing
tone.”
Dr BACHMAN procured, on the 29th April 1833, about forty miles from
Charleston, individuals, in the ovaries of which he found eggs so
large as to induce him to believe that they would have been laid in
the course of a single week. Some others which were procured by him and
myself within nine miles of Charleston, on the 29th of March, had the
eggs extremely small.
While at Passamaquody Bay, at the eastern extremity of the United
States, I was assured that this species bred in the vicinity; but I
saw none there, or in any of the numerous places examined on my way
to Labrador and Newfoundland. In neither of these countries did I meet
with a single person who was acquainted with it.
In few other species of maritime or marsh birds have I seen so much
difference of size and weight, even in the same sex. Of about twenty
specimens in my possession, scarcely two correspond in the length of
the bills, legs, or wings. The plate before you was engraved from a
drawing made by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE.
AMERICAN BITTERN, ARDEA MINOR, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 35, pl. 65, fig. 3.
ARDEA MINOR, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 307.
AMERICAN BITTERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 60.
AMERICAN BITTERN, ARDEA LENTIGINOSA, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 374.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, moderately stout, straight, compressed,
tapering to the point. Upper mandible with its dorsal line straight,
towards the end slightly convex and declinate, the ridge broad and
rather rounded at the base, gradually narrowed to the middle, then a
little enlarged, and again narrowed to the point, the sides bulging,
towards the margin erect, the edges sharp, towards the end obscurely
serrated, the tip narrow, with a distinct notch or sinus on each side.
Nasal groove oblong, with a long depressed line in front; nostrils
sub-basal, linear, longitudinal. Lower mandible with the angle very
long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line ascending and slightly
convex, the sides flattened and sloping outwards, the edges sharp,
direct, obscurely serrulate, the tip extremely slender.
Head small, oblong, much compressed. Neck long. Body slender, much
compressed. Legs longish, stout; tibia bare for about an inch,
reticulated all round, the scales on the hind part larger; tarsus
roundish, with numerous large scutella before, reticulated behind with
angular scales; toes very long, slender, marginate, the fourth and
third connected by a short web, not reaching the second joint of the
former; first toe large, second longer than fourth, all covered with
numerous large scutella above; claws long, slender, tapering, slightly
arched, that of hind toe much larger and more arched.
Eyelids, and a large space before the eye, bare. Plumage loose, soft,
and blended; hind part of neck in its whole length, and a large space
on the fore part of the breast without feathers, but covered, those on
the neck being directed obliquely backwards. Wings rather short, broad,
convex; primaries broad, rounded, the first pointed, shorter than
the third, which is slightly exceeded by the second, the rest slowly
graduated; secondaries very broad, rounded, the inner elongated so as
slightly to exceed the primaries when the wing is closed. Tail very
short, rounded, of _ten_ feathers.
Bill dull yellowish-green, the ridge of the upper mandible
brownish-black, of a lighter tint toward the base. Bare space before
the eye brown; eyelids greenish-yellow; iris reddish-yellow. Feet
dull yellowish-green; claws wood-brown. Upper part of the head
brownish-grey; a streak of pale buff over the eye to behind the ear;
a dusky streak from the posterior angle of the eye; the cheek and
an oblique band to the middle of the neck light brownish-yellow;
beneath which is a dusky brown line from the base of the lower
mandible, continuous with a gradually enlarged band of black, which
runs along the side of the neck; the upper parts yellowish-brown,
patched, mottled, freckled, and barred with dark brown; alula, primary
coverts, and most of the quills, deep bluish-grey, approaching to
black; the tips of all these feathers light reddish-brown, dotted with
bluish-grey. The fore part of the neck white above, yellowish-white
beneath, the throat with a middle longitudinal line of yellowish-brown
spots; on the rest of the neck each feather with a light brown
central mark edged with darker, the rest of the lower parts dull
yellowish-white, most of the feathers marked like those on the neck.
Length to end of tail 27 inches, to end of wings 26-1/2, to carpal
joint 17, to end of claws 32-3/4; extent of wings 45; wing from flexure
13-1/4; tail 4-3/8; bill along the ridge 3-3/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 4-1/2; breadth of mouth 1; depth of bill at base 3/4; bare
part of tibia 1; tarsus 3-5/8; hind toe 1-3/4, its claw 1-1/2; middle
toe 3-3/8; its claw 1; outer toe 2-5/8, its claw (7-1/2)/8; inner toe
2-1/4, its claw 7/8. Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXXXVII. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male, but is somewhat smaller with the colours
duller.
Length to end of tail 26-1/4 inches, to end of wings 25-1/2, to end of
claws 27-3/4; extent of wings 42-1/2; wing from flexure 12-1/4. Weight
1 lb. 3 oz.
The dimensions of a young male shot in autumn were as follows:
To end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 24, to end of claws 29;
extent of wings 26; wing from flexure 10-1/2. Weight 1 lb. 1-1/2 oz.
In dissecting this bird, the extreme compression of the body strikes
one with surprise, its greatest breadth being scarcely an inch and a
half, although it is capable of being much dilated. The great length
and thickness of the neck are also remarkable; but these circumstances
are not peculiar to the present species, being equally observed in many
other Herons. On the roof of the mouth are three longitudinal ridges;
the aperture of the posterior nares is linear, with an oblique flap on
each side; the lower mandible is deeply concave, its crura elastic and
expansile; the tongue 2-1/12 inches long, sagittate at the base with a
single very slender papilla on each side, trigonal, tapering, flattened
above; the width of the mouth is 10 twelfths; but the pharynx is much
wider. The œsophagus, _a b c_, which is fifteen inches long, is very
wide, having at its upper part, when inflated, a diameter of 2 inches,
but gradually contracting to 1/2 inch at its entrance into the thorax,
and again expanding to 1 inch. Its walls are extremely thin, and when
contracted, its mucous coat forms strongly marked longitudinal plaits.
The proventriculus is very wide, its glandules oblong and arranged in
a belt 10 twelfths in breadth. The stomach, _e_, is of moderate size,
membranous, that is with its muscular coat very thin, and not forming
lateral muscles; its tendinous spaces large and round, its inner
coat smooth and soft; its greatest diameter 1 inch. There is a small
roundish pyloric lobe, as in other Herons. Both lobes of the liver
lie on the right side of the proventriculus; one, _i_, being 1 inch
10 twelfths, the other, _j_, 1 inch 2 twelfths long; the gall-bladder
large, 11 twelfths long. The intestine is long and very slender,
measuring 4 feet 7 inches, with a diameter of only 2 twelfths at its
upper part, and 1-1/2 twelfth at the lower, when inflated; the rectum
4 inches long, and 4 twelfths in diameter, its anterior extremity
rounded, and having a minute papilliform termination, only 1 twelfth
long.
The trachea, which is 12-1/2 inches long, differs from that of ordinary
Herons in being much compressed, especially at its upper and lower
extremities; the middle part being less so. It is also proportionally
wider, and its rings are narrower. At the top its diameter is 5
twelfths, at the middle 4-1/4 twelfths, towards the lower part 4-3/4
twelfths, at the end 4-1/4 twelfths. The rings are osseous, in number
180; the five lower divided in front and behind, and much arched, the
last measuring half an inch in a direct line between its extremities.
The bronchi are in consequence very broad at their commencement,
but gradually taper, and are composed of about 18 half rings. The
contractor muscles are inconspicuous, the sterno-tracheal slender;
and there is a single pair of inferior laryngeal, going to the first
bronchial ring. The aperture of the glottis is 8 twelfths long, without
any papillæ, but with a deep groove behind, and two thin-edged flaps.
[Illustration]
In the digestive organs of this bird, there is nothing remarkably
different from that of other Herons. The stomach contained remains of
fishes and large coleopterous insects. The examination of the trachea,
bronchi, and lungs, would not lead us to suppose that its cry is of the
curious character represented, although it certainly would induce us
to believe it different from that of ordinary Herons, which have the
trachea narrower, round, and with broader and more bony rings.
Although in external appearance and habits it exhibits some affinity to
the Rails, its digestive organs have no resemblance to theirs.
An egg presented by Dr BREWER of Boston measures two inches in length
by one inch and a half, and is of a broadly oval shape, rather pointed
at the smaller end, and of a uniform dull olivaceous tint.
BREWER’S DUCK.
_ANAS BREWERI._
PLATE CCCXXXVIII. MALE.
The beautiful Duck from which I made the drawing copied on the plate
before you, was shot on Lake Barataria, in Louisiana, in February
1822. It was in company with seven or eight Canvass-back Ducks. No
other individuals of the species were in sight at the time, and all my
efforts to procure another have been ineffectual.
You will see that this curious bird is named in the plate “_Anas
glocitans_,” the descriptions of that species having induced me to
consider it identical with this. But on comparing my drawing with
specimens in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, I found
that the former represents a much larger bird, which, besides, is
differently coloured in some of its parts. The individual figured was
a male; but I have some doubts whether it had acquired the full beauty
of its mature plumage, and I considered it at the time as a bird of the
preceding season.
In form and proportions this bird is very nearly allied to the Mallard,
from which it differs in having the bill considerably narrower, in
wanting the recurved feathers of the tail, in having the feet dull
yellow in place of orange-red, the speculum more green and duller,
without the white bands of that bird, and in the large patch of light
red on the side of the head. It may possibly be an accidental variety,
or a hybrid between that bird and some other species, perhaps the
Gadwall, to which also it bears a great resemblance.
Bill nearly as long as the head, higher than broad at the base,
depressed and widened towards the end, rounded at the tip, the lamellæ
short and numerous, the unguis obovate, curved, the nasal groove
elliptical, the nostrils oblong.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck rather long and
slender; body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed behind the
centre of the body; legs bare a little above the joint; tarsus short, a
little compressed, anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind
with reticulated angular scales. Hind toe very small, with a narrow
free membrane; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter; claws small,
arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage dense, soft, and elastic; of the hind head and neck short and
blended; of the other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings of
moderate length, acute; tail short, graduated.
Bill dull yellow, slightly tinged with green, dusky along the ridge.
Iris brown. Feet dull yellow, claws dusky, webs dull grey. Head and
upper part of the neck deep glossy green; but there is an elongated
patch of pale reddish-yellow, extending from the base of the bill over
the cheek to two inches and a quarter behind the eye, and meeting that
of the other side on the chin; the space immediately over and behind
the eye light dull purple. A narrow ring of pale yellowish-red on
the middle of the neck; the lower part of the neck dull brownish-red,
the feathers with a transverse band of dusky, and edged with paler.
The upper parts are dull greyish-brown, transversely undulated with
dusky; the smaller wing-coverts without undulations, but each feather
with a dusky bar behind another of light dull yellow; first row of
smaller coverts tipped with black; primaries and their coverts, light
brownish-grey; some of the outer secondaries similar, the next five
or six duck-green, the next light grey with a dusky patch toward the
end. The rump and upper tail-coverts black, as are the parts under
the tail, excepting two longitudinal white bands; tail-feathers light
brownish-grey, edged with whitish. All the rest of the lower parts
are greyish-white tinged with yellow, beautifully undulated with dusky
lines, on the middle of the breast these lines less numerous, and each
feather with a reddish-grey central streak.
Length to end of tail 23 inches, to end of claws 24; extent of wings
39; bill along the ridge 2-1/2, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/8;
tarsus 1-1/8, middle toe 2, its claw 5/12; hind toe 3/8, its claw 1/8.
Weight 2 lb. 9 oz.
I have named this Duck after my friend THOMAS M. BREWER of Boston,
as a mark of the estimation in which I hold him as an accomplished
ornithologist.
LITTLE GUILLEMOT.
_URIA ALLE_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCXXXIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
This interesting little bird sometimes makes its appearance on our
eastern coasts during very cold and stormy weather. It does not proceed
much farther southward than the shores of New Jersey, where it is
of very rare occurrence. Now and then some are caught in a state of
exhaustion, as I have known to be the case especially in Passamaquody
Bay near Eastport in Maine, and in the vicinity of Boston and Salem in
Massachusetts.
In the course of my voyages across the Atlantic, I have often observed
the Little Guillemots in small groups, rising and flying to short
distances at the approach of the ship, or diving close to the bow and
reappearing a little way behind. Now with expanded wings they would
flutter and run as it were on the surface of the deep; again, they
would seem to be busily engaged in procuring food, which consisted
apparently of shrimps, other crustacea, and particles of sea-weeds,
all of which I have found in their stomach. I have often thought how
easy it would be to catch these tiny wanderers of the ocean with nets
thrown expertly from the bow of a boat, for they manifest very little
apprehension of danger from the proximity of one, insomuch that I
have seen several killed with the oars. Those which were caught alive
and placed on the deck, would at first rest a few minutes with their
bodies flat, then rise upright and run about briskly, or attempt to fly
off, which they sometimes accomplished, when they happened to go in a
straight course the whole length of the ship so as to rise easily over
the bulwarks. On effecting their escape they would alight on the water
and immediately disappear.
During my visit to Labrador and Newfoundland I met with none of these
birds, although the cod-fishers assured me that they frequently breed
there. I am informed by Dr TOWNSEND that this species is found near the
mouth of the Columbia River.
ALCA ALLE, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 211.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 795.
LITTLE AUK, ALCA ALLE, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix. p. 94,
pl. 74, fig. 5.
URIA ALLE, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 425.
LITTLE GUILLEMOT, URIA ALLE, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun.
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 479.
LITTLE AUK, or SEA DOVE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 531.
Adult Male in summer. Plate CCCXXXIX.
Bill shorter than the head, stout, straightish, subpentagonal at the
base, compressed towards the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line
convexo-declinate, the ridge convex, the sides sloping, the edges sharp
and overlapping, the tip rather obtuse. Nasal depression short and
broad; nostrils basal, oblong, with a horny operculum. Lower mandible
with the angle long and wide, the dorsal outline very short, ascending,
and straight, the sides convex, toward the end ascending and flattened,
the edges thin and inclinate, the tip acute, with a sinus behind.
Body full and compact; neck short and thick; head large, ovate. Feet
short, rather stout; tibia bare for two-twelfths of an inch; tarsus
very short, compressed, covered anteriorly with oblique scutella,
behind with angular scales; hind toe wanting; anterior toes connected
by reticulated webs, the inner much shorter than the outer, which
is almost as long as the middle; the scutella numerous. Claws rather
small, moderately arched, compressed, rather acute, that of the middle
toe having its inner edge considerably expanded.
Plumage dense, blended, glossy. Wings of moderate length, narrow,
pointed; primaries pointed, the first longest, the rest rapidly
graduated; secondaries rounded. Tail very short, slightly rounded, of
twelve feathers.
Bill black. Iris dark hazel. Feet pale flesh-coloured; webs dusky;
claws black. Inside of mouth light yellow. The head, upper part of
neck, and all the upper surface, glossy bluish-black. A small spot on
the upper eyelid, another on the lower, several longitudinal streaks
on the scapulars, and a bar along the tips of the secondary quills,
white. The lower parts white; the feathers on the sides under the
wings have the outer webs white, the inner dusky; lower wing-coverts
blackish-grey.
Length to end of tail 7-1/8 inches, to end of claws 7-7/8, to end of
wings 6-7/8, to carpal joint 2-7/8; extent of wings 14-1/4; wing from
flexure 4-7/8; bill along the ridge (4-1/2)/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 1; tarsus 3/4; middle toe 1, its claw 1/4; outer toe 1, claw
(1-1/2)/8; inner toe 5/8, its claw (1-1/2)/8. Weight 8-1/2 oz.
Adult Female, in winter. Plate CCCXXXIX. Fig. 2.
In winter, the throat and the lower parts of the cheeks are white;
the sides and fore part of the neck white, irregularly barred with
blackish-grey; the upper parts of a duller black than in summer.
There is nothing very remarkable in the anatomy of this bird, beyond
what is observed in the Auks and Guillemots. The ribs extend very far
back, and, having the dorsal and sternal portions much elongated, are
capable of aiding in giving much enlargement to the body, of which
the internal, or thoracic and abdominal cells are very large. The
subcutaneous cells are also largely developed, as in many other diving
and plunging birds.
The roof of the mouth is flat, broad, and covered with numerous series
of short horny papillæ directed backwards. The tongue is large, fleshy,
10 twelfths of an inch long, emarginate at the base, flat above, horny
on the back. The heart is large, measuring 10 twelfths in length, 8-1/2
twelfths in breadth. The right lobe of the liver is 1-3/12 inch in
length, the left 1-1/12; the gall-bladder is elliptical. The kidneys
are very large.
The œsophagus, Fig. 1, _a b c_, is 3 inches 10 twelfths long, its
walls very thin, its inner or mucous coat thrown into longitudinal
plates; its diameter at the middle of the neck 5 eighths, diminishing
to 4 twelfths as it enters the thorax. It then enlarges and forms
the proventriculus, _c e_, which has a diameter of 8 twelfths; the
glandules are cylindrical, very numerous, and arranged in a complete
belt, half an inch in breadth, in the usual manner, as seen in Fig. 2,
_b c_. The stomach, properly so called, Fig. 1, _d g_, is oblong, 11
twelfths in length, 8 twelfths in breadth; its muscular coat moderately
thick, and disposed into two lateral muscles with large tendons; its
epithelium, Fig. 2, _c d e_, thick, hard, with numerous longitudinal
and transverse rugæ, and of a dark reddish colour. The duodenum, _f g
h_, curves in the usual manner at the distance of 1-1/4 inch, ascends
toward the upper surface of the right lobe of the liver for 1 inch and
10 twelfths, then forms 4 loops, and from above the proventriculus,
passes directly backward. The length of the intestine, _f g h i_,
is 16-1/2 inches, its diameter 2-1/4 twelfths, and nearly uniform as
far as the rectum, which is 1-1/4 inch long, at first 3 twelfths in
diameter, enlarged into an ovate cloaca of great size, Fig. 3. _b_; the
cœca _a_, _a_, 41 twelfths long, cylindrical, 1/2 twelfth in diameter,
obtuse.
The trachea, Fig. 1. _k_, _l_, is very wide, flattened, its rings
unossified, its length 2-9/12 inches, its breadth 3 twelfths, nearly
uniform, but at the lower part contracted to 2 twelfths. There are
75 rings, with 5 inferior blended rings, which are divided before and
behind. The bronchi, Fig. 1. _m_, _m_, are wide and rather elongated,
with about 25 half rings. The contractor muscles are extremely thin,
the sterno-tracheal slender; there is a pair of inferior laryngeal
attached to the first bronchial rings.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
The above account of the digestive organs of this bird will be seen
to be very different from that given by Sir Everard Home, who has, in
all probability, mistaken the species. “There is still,” says he, “one
more variety in the structure of the digestive organs of birds, that
live principally upon animal food, which has come under my observation;
and with an account of which I shall conclude the present lecture.
This bird is the Alea Alle of Linnæus, the Little Auk. The termination
of the œsophagus is only known by the ending of the cuticular lining,
and the beginning of the gastric glands; for the cardiac cavity is
one continued tube, extending considerably lower down in the cavity of
the abdomen, and gradually enlarging at the lower part; it then turns
up to the right side, about half-way to the origin of the cavity,
and is there connected to a small gizzard, the digastric muscle of
which is strong, and a small portion of the internal surface on each
side has a hard cuticular covering. The gastric glands at the upper
part are placed in four distinct longitudinal rows, becoming more
and more numerous towards the lower part of the cavity, and extend to
the bottom, where it turns up. The extent of the cavity in which the
gastric glands are placed, exceeds any thing met with in the other
birds that live upon fish; and the turn which the cavity takes almost
directly upwards, and the gizzard being at the highest part instead
of the lowest, are peculiarities, as far as I am acquainted, not met
with in any other birds of prey. This mechanism, which will be better
understood by examining the engraving, makes the obstacles to the
food in its passage to the intestines unusually great; and enables
the bird to digest both fishes and sea-worms with crustaceous shells.
It appears to be given for the purpose of economizing the food in two
different ways,—one retaining it longer in the cardiac cavity, the
other supplying that cavity with a greater quantity of gastric liquor
than in other birds. This opinion is further confirmed by the habits
of life of this particular species of bird, which spends a portion of
the year in the frozen regions of Nova Zembla, where the supplies of
nourishment must be both scanty and precarious.”
With respect to this statement and the reasonings founded upon it,
it will be seen from the description and accompanying figures above,
taken directly from nature, and without the least reference to the
dissections or theories of any person, that the œsophagus and stomach
of the Little Auk or Guillemot, _Alca Alle_ of Linnæus, are very
similar to those of other Auks, Guillemots, Divers, and fish-eating
birds in general. The cardiac or proventricular cavity forms no curve;
and the gizzard with which it is connected, is not small, nor has it
merely a small portion of the internal surface on each side covered
with a hard cuticular lining; for the epithelium covers its whole
surface, and is of considerable extent. The gastric glands are not at
all disposed as represented by Sir E. HOME, but are aggregated in the
form of a compact belt half an inch broad, Fig. 2. _b_, _c_. As to
the ingenious reasoning by which the economy of the Little Auk is so
satisfactorily accounted for, it is enough here to say, that having
no foundation, it is of less than no value. But were there such a
curvature as that in question, there could be no propriety in supposing
that it presented any great obstacle to the passage of the food, or
retained it longer than usual. Nor is the statement as to scanty and
precarious supply of nourishment correct; for the Arctic Seas, to which
this bird resorts in vast numbers, are represented by navigators as
abounding in small crustacea, on which chiefly the Little Auk feeds,
and that to such an extent as to colour the water for leagues. Besides,
if there were such a scarcity of food in Nova Zembla, why should the
birds go there? In short, the whole statement is incorrect; and the
many compilers, from Dr CARUS to the most recent, who have pressed it
into their service, may, in their future editions, with propriety leave
it out, and supply its place with something equally ingenious.
The egg of this species measures one inch and nearly five-eighths
in length, one inch and an eighth in its greatest breadth. It is
remarkably large for the size of the bird, and of a dull uniform pale
greenish-blue.
LEAST PETREL.
_THALASSIDROMA PELAGICA_, LEACH.
PLATE CCCXL. MALE AND FEMALE.
In August 1830, being becalmed on the banks of Newfoundland, I obtained
several individuals of this species from a flock composed chiefly of
_Thalassidroma Leachii_, and _Th. Wilsoni_. Their smaller size, and
the more rapid motions of their wings, rendered them quite conspicuous,
and suggested the idea of their being a new species, although a closer
inspection shewed them to belong to the present. In their general
manners, while feeding, floating on the water, or rambling round the
boat in which I went in pursuit of them, they did not differ materially
from the other species. Their flight, however, was more hurried and
irregular, and none of them uttered any note or cry, even when wounded
and captured. I have been assured that this bird breeds on the sandy
beaches of Sable Island on the coast of Nova Scotia; but not having
had an opportunity of visiting it, or any other breeding place, I here
present you with Mr HEWITSON’s observations on this subject.
“In an excursion,” says this amiable and enterprising naturalist,
“through the Shetland Islands during the present summer, in search
of rarities for this work (the British Oology), I had the very great
satisfaction of seeing and taking many of these most interesting
birds alive; they breed in great numbers on several of the islands,
principally upon Foula, the north of Hunst, and upon Papa, and Oxna,
two small islands in the Bay of Scalloway; the last of these I visited
on the 31st of May in hopes of procuring their eggs (it being the
season in which most of the sea-birds begin to lay); but in this I
was disappointed; the fishermen who knew them well by the name of
Swallows, assured me that my search would be quite useless, that they
had not yet “come up from sea,” and so it proved. Sixteen days after
this (June 16th and three following days) I was at Foula, but was alike
unsuccessful, the birds had arrived at their breeding places, but had
not yet begun laying their eggs; numbers of them were sitting in their
holes, and were easily caught; one man brought me about a dozen tied
up in an old stocking, two of which I kept alive in my room for nearly
three days, and derived very great pleasure from their company; during
the day they were mostly inactive, and after pacing about the floor for
a short time, poking their head into every hole, they hid themselves
between the feet of the table and the wall; I could not prevail upon
them to eat any thing, though I tried to tempt them with fish and oil;
their manner of walking is very light and pleasing, and differing from
that of every other bird which I have seen; they carry their body so
far forward and so nearly horizontal, as to give them the appearance
of being out of equilibrium. In the evening, toward sun-set, they left
their hiding places, and for hours afterwards, never ceased in their
endeavours to regain their liberty; flying round and round the room,
or fluttering against the windows; when flying, their length of wing,
and white above the tail, gives them a good deal the appearance of our
House-Martin. I went to bed and watched them in their noiseless flight
long ere I fell asleep, but in the morning they had disappeared; one
had fortunately made its escape through a broken pane in the window
which a towel should have occupied, the other had fallen into a basin,
full of the yolks of eggs which I had been blowing, and was drowned.
I regretted much the fate of a being so interesting, by its very
remarkable, wandering, solitary, and harmless life. Before leaving
Shetland I again visited the island of Oxna, and though so late as the
30th of June, they were only just beginning to lay their eggs. In Foula
they breed in the holes in the cliff, at a great height above the sea;
but here under stones which form the beach, at a depth of three or four
feet, or more, according to that of the stones; as they go down to
the earth, beneath them, on which to lay their eggs. In walking over
the surface, I could hear them, very distinctly, singing in a sort of
warbling chatter, a good deal like swallows when fluttering above our
chimneys, but harsher; and in this way, by listening attentively, was
guided to their retreat, and, after throwing out stones as large as I
could lift on all sides of me, seldom failed in capturing two or three
seated on their nests, either under the lowest stone or between two
of them. The nests, though of much the same materials as the ground
on which they were placed, seem to have been made with care; they
were of small bits of stalks of plants, and pieces of hard dry earth.
Like the rest of the genus, the Stormy Petrel lays invariably one egg
only. During the day-time they remain within their holes; and though
the fishermen are constantly passing over their heads (the beach under
which they breed being appropriated for the drying of fish), they are
then seldom heard, but toward night become extremely querulous; and
when most other birds are gone to rest, issue forth in great numbers,
spreading themselves far over the surface of the sea. The fishermen
then meet them very numerously; and though they have not previously
seen one, are sure to be surrounded by them upon throwing pieces of
fish overboard.”
The egg measures one inch and an eighth in length, six and a half
eighths in breadth, is nearly equally rounded at both ends, rather
thick-shelled, and pure white, but generally with numerous minute dots
of dull red at the larger end, sometimes forming a circular band.
PROCELLARIA PELAGICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
212.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 826.
STORMY PETREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 327.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXL. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, slender, compressed towards the end,
straight, with the tips curved. Upper mandible with the nostrils
forming a tube at the base, beyond which, for a short space, the dorsal
line is nearly straight, then suddenly decurved, the sides declinate,
the edges sharp, the tip compressed and acute. Lower mandible with the
angle rather long, narrow, and pointed, the dorsal line beyond it very
slightly concave and decurved, the sides erect, the edges sharp, the
tip slightly decurved.
Head of moderate size, roundish, anteriorly narrowed. Neck short. Body
rather slender. Feet of moderate length, very slender; tibia bare at
its lower part; tarsus very slender, reticulate; hind toe extremely
minute, being reduced, as it were, to a slightly decurved claw;
anterior toes rather long and extremely slender, obscurely scutellate
above, connected by striated webs with concave margins. Claws slender,
arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage very soft, blended, the feathers distinct only on the wings,
which are very long and narrow; primary quills tapering, but rounded,
the second longest, the first three and a half twelfths, the third
a twelfth and a half shorter; secondaries short, the outer incurved,
obliquely rounded. Tail rather long, broad, slightly rounded, of twelve
broad rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The general colour of the upper
parts is greyish-black, with a tinge of brown, and moderately glossed;
the lower parts of a sooty brown; the secondary coverts margined
externally with dull greyish-white; the feathers of the rump and the
upper tail-coverts white, with the shafts black, the tail-coverts
broadly tipped with black.
Length to end of tail 5-3/4 inches, to end of claws 5-1/4, to end of
wings 6-1/4; extent of wings 13-1/2; wing from flexure 5-1/8; tail
2-1/8; bill above (4-1/2)/8, along the edge of lower mandible 5/8;
tarsus 7/8; middle toe and claw 7/8; outer toe nearly equal; inner toe
and claw (5-1/2)/8. Weight 4-1/2 drachms; the individual poor.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXL. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male.
A male bird, from Nova Scotia, examined. The upper mandible internally
has a longitudinal median ridge; the palate is convex, with two lateral
ridges. The tongue is 5-1/2 twelfths long, emarginate and serrulate at
the base, very much flattened, tapering to a horny point. The heart,
Fig. 1, _a_, is of a very elongated narrow conical form, 2 twelfths
in length, 4 twelfths in breadth at the base. The lobes of the liver,
_b_, _c_, are equal, 6-1/2 twelfths long. The œsophagus, _d_, _e_, is 1
inch 10 twelfths long, of a uniform diameter of 2-1/2 twelfths; behind
the liver, it enters as it were a large sac, _f_, _g_, _h_, 9 twelfths
of an inch long, which gradually expands to a diameter of 6 twelfths,
forming a broad rounded fundus _g_, then curves forwards on the right
side, and at _h_ terminates in a small gizzard, about 3 twelfths long,
and nearly of the same breadth, from the left side of which comes off
the intestine. The latter passes forward, curving to the right, behind
and in contact with the posterior surfaces of the liver, then forms
the duodenal fold, _h_, _j_, _k_, in the usual manner. The intestine,
on arriving at the right lobe of the liver, at _k_, receives the
biliary duct, curves backward beneath the kidneys, and forms several
convolutions, which terminate above the proventriculus. It then becomes
much narrower, and passes directly backward, in a straight course to
the rectum, which is only 4 twelfths of an inch long. The cœca are
oblong, 1-1/4 twelfth in length, and 1/2 twelfth in diameter. The
intestine is 8-1/2 inches long, its diameter diminishing gradually from
2 twelfths to 3/4 of a twelfth.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
In Fig 2. are represented:—the lower part of the œsophagus, _d_, _e_,
_f_; the proventricular sac, _f_, _g_, _h_; the very small gizzard,
_h_; the duodenal fold of the intestine, _i_, _j_, _k_. Here the parts
are viewed from the left side.
Fig. 3. represents:—the proventricular sac thrust forward, _f_, _g_,
_h_, the gizzard, _h_; the duodenum, _i_, _j_, _k_, pulled to the right
side; the convolutions of the intestine, _l_, _m_, under the kidneys,
the cœca, _n_; the rectum, _o_, and the cloaca, _p_.
The proventricular glands are very numerous, but not so closely placed
as is usual, although scattered over a much larger extent, from _e_ to
_g_ in Fig. 2. Between the termination of the glands and the stomach
there is a portion destitute of glandules. The stomach or gizzard
has its muscular coat thick, its tendons moderate, its inner surface
covered with a rather thick but not very hard epithelium, which is more
prolonged on two opposite sides, although in the fundus it is complete.
This curious digestive apparatus agrees very nearly with that
described and figured by Sir EVERARD HOME as that of _Alca Alle_. The
stomach, it is seen, is excessively large in proportion to the size
of the bird; but why it should be so, and moreover be curved in this
manner, is not very obvious. Conjectures are easily made, and might
run in this form. This little bird, which wanders over the face of
the ocean, subsisting upon garbage, oily and fatty substances, small
fishes, and even sea-weeds, requires a large stomach for the reception
of its heterogeneous fare, which not being always very nutritious
or easily digestible, must be very plentifully intermixed with the
gastric juices, and detained a considerable time; which conditions
are accordingly provided for by the very great number and extensive
dispersion of the proventricular glandules, and the curve of the organ.
Should any hard substances, as crustacea, be introduced, they are
pounded by the gizzard; but as the bird is little addicted to feeding
on such substances, that organ is reduced to a very small size.
The aperture of the glottis is 1-1/2 twelfth long. The trachea is
1 inch 7 twelfths in length, wide, flattened, its diameter from 2
twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth; its rings unossified, 82 in number. The
bronchi are short, wide, of about 12 half rings.
GREAT AUK.
_ALCA IMPENNIS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXLI. ADULT.
The only authentic account of the occurrence of this bird on our
coast that I possess, was obtained from Mr HENRY HAVELL, brother of my
Engraver, who, when on his passage from New York to England, hooked
a Great Auk on the banks of Newfoundland, in extremely boisterous
weather. On being hauled on board, it was left at liberty on the
deck. It walked very awkwardly, often tumbling over, bit every one
within reach of its powerful bill, and refused food of all kinds.
After continuing several days on board, it was restored to its proper
element.
When I was in Labrador, many of the fishermen assured me that the
“Penguin,” as they name this bird, breeds on a low rocky island to the
south-east of Newfoundland, where they destroy great numbers of the
young for bait; but as this intelligence came to me when the season was
too far advanced, I had no opportunity of ascertaining its accuracy.
In Newfoundland, however, I received similar information from several
individuals. An old gunner residing on Chelsea Beach, near Boston, told
me that he well remembered the time when the Penguins were plentiful
about Nahant and some other islands in the Bay.
The egg is very large, measuring five inches in length, and three
in its greatest breadth. In form it resembles that of the Common
Guillemot; the shell is thick and rather rough to the touch; its
colour yellowish-white, with long irregular lines and blotches of
brownish-black, more numerous at the larger end.
ALCA IMPENNIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 791.
GREAT AUK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 553.
Adult in Summer. Plate CCCXLI. Figs. 1, 2.
Bill as long as the head, feathered as far as the nostrils, beyond
which it is very high, exceedingly compressed, tapering, and slightly
declinate. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight for an inch
and a quarter, then declinate and decurvate to the end, the ridge
very narrow, broader at the base; the sides nearly flat, with a basal
ridge succeeded by a deep groove, then a large flat space, succeeded
by eight oblique curved ridges, the edges sharp toward the end, the
tip decurved and obtuse. Nostrils marginal, linear, short, pervious,
but concealed by the feathers. Lower mandible with the angle long,
the sides extremely narrow and linear for half their length, the horny
part not being extended over the bone, which is covered with feathers,
afterwards deep and compressed, with the dorsal line at first convex,
then ascending and concave to the end, the sides flat, with about ten
transverse ridges, the edges sharp, the tip deflected.
Head large, oblong, anteriorly narrowed. Eyes rather small. Neck short
and thick. Body compact and full. Wings extremely small, but perfectly
formed. Feet placed far behind, short, very strong; tarsus short,
compressed, anteriorly scutellate, laterally covered with angular
scales, those on the hind part very small. Hind toe wanting; third
toe longest, outer nearly as long, inner much shorter, lateral toes
marginate, all with numerous scutella and several rows of angular
scales above, and connected by reticulated webs. Claws rather small,
narrow, arched, convex above, and obtuse.
Plumage close, blended, very soft, on the head and neck short and
velvety. Wings diminutive, much pointed; the primaries tapering to
an acute point, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated, their
coverts long; secondaries short and broad, scarcely longer than their
coverts. Tail short, pointed, of _fourteen_ feathers.
Bill black, with the grooves between the transverse ridges white. Iris
hazel. Feet and claws black. Fore part of the neck below, and all
the lower parts white, of which colour also is a large oblong patch
before each eye, and the tips of the secondary quills; the rest black,
the throat and sides of the neck tinged with chocolate-brown, the
wings with greyish-brown, the head, hind neck, and back glossed with
olive-green.
Length to end of tail 29 inches, to end of wings 23-3/4, to end of
claws 31-1/2, to carpal joint 18-1/2; extent of wings 27-1/4; wing from
flexure 7-1/8; tail 2-7/8, bill along the ridge 3-5/8, along the edge
of lower mandible 4-1/2, greatest depth of upper mandible 1, depth of
lower 5/8; width of gape 1-7/8; tarsus 2; middle toe 2-5/8, its claw
5/8; outer toe 2-5/8; its claw (3-1/2)/8; inner toe 2-(1/2)/8, its claw
(4-1/2)/8.
GOLDEN-EYE DUCK.
_FULIGULA CLANGULA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXLII. MALE AND FEMALE.
You have now before you another of our Ducks, which at least equals
any of the rest in the extent of its migrations. Braving the blasts
of the north, it visits the highest latitudes in spring, and returns
at the approach of winter, spreading over the whole country, as if
it seemed not to care in what region it spends its time, provided
it find abundance of water. Now propelling itself gaily, it may be
seen searching the pebbly or rocky bottom of the Ohio, or diving deep
in the broad bays of Massachusetts or the Chesapeake. Presently it
emerges with a cray-fish or a mussel held firmly in its bill. It shakes
its head, and over its flattened back roll the large pearly drops of
water, unable to penetrate the surface of its compact and oily plumage.
The food is swallowed, and the bird, having already glanced around,
suddenly plunges headlong. Happy being! Equally fitted for travelling
through the air and the water, and not altogether denied the pleasure
of walking on the shore; endowed with a cunning, too, which preserves
you from many at least of the attempts of man to destroy you; and
instinctively sagacious enough to place your eggs deep in the hollow of
a tree, where they are secure from the nocturnal prowler, and, amid the
down of your snowy breast, are fostered until the expected young come
forth. Then with your own bill you carry your brood to the lake, where
under your tender care they grow apace. The winged marauders, rapid as
their flight may be, cannot injure you there; for while your young ones
sink into the deep waters, you arise on whistling wings, and, swifter
than Jer Falcon, speed away.
In South Carolina the Golden-eye is abundant during winter, when it
at times frequents the reserves of the rice-planters. I have also met
with it on the water-courses of the Floridas at that season. From these
countries westward and northward, it may be found in all parts of the
Union where the waters are not frozen. It is seldom seen on small ponds
entirely surrounded by trees, but prefers open places, and on the Ohio
is generally found in the more rapid parts, on the eddies of which it
dives for food.
This species exhibits a degree of cunning which surpasses that of
many other Ducks, and yet at times it appears quite careless. When
I have been walking, without any object in view, along the banks of
the Ohio, between Shippingport and Louisville, I have often seen the
Golden-eyes, fishing almost beneath me, when, although I had a gun,
they would suffer me to approach within an hundred paces. But at other
times, if I crawled or hid myself in any way while advancing towards
them, with a wish to fire at them, they would, as if perfectly aware
of my intentions, keep at a distance of fully two hundred yards.
On the former occasion they would follow their avocations quite
unconcernedly: while on the latter, one of the flock would remain above
as if to give intimation of the least appearance of danger. If, in
the first instance, I fired my gun at them, they would all dive with
the celerity of lightning, but on emerging, would shake their wings as
if in defiance. But if far away on the stream, when I fired at them,
instead of diving, they would all at once stretch their necks, bend
their bodies over the water, and paddle off with their broad webbed
feet, until the air would resound with the smart whistling of their
wings, and away they would speed, quite out of sight, up the river.
In this part of the country, they are generally known by the name of
“Whistlers.”
I have observed that birds of this species rarely go to the shores to
rest until late in the evening, and even then they retire to secluded
rocks, slightly elevated above the surface, or to the margins of
sand-bars, well protected by surrounding waters. In either case, it
is extremely difficult for a man to get near them; but it is different
with the sly Racoon, which I have on several occasions surprised in the
dawn, feeding on one which it had caught under night. Yet, on some of
the bays of our sea-coasts, the Whistlers are easily enticed to alight
by the coarsest representations of their figures in wooden floats,
and are shot while they pass and repass over the place to assure
themselves that what they see is actually a bird of their own kind.
This mode is successfully followed in the Bay and Harbour of Boston in
Massachusetts, as well as farther to the eastward.
The Golden-eye is rarely if ever seen in the company of any other
species than those which are, like itself, expert divers; such, for
example, as the Mergansers, or the Buffel-headed Duck: and it is very
rare to see all the individuals of a flock immersed at once. Sometimes,
when suddenly surprised, they immediately dive, and do not rise again
until quite out of gun-shot. When wounded, it is next to impossible
to catch them; for their power of remaining under water is most
surprising, and the sooner one gives up the chase the better.
The Golden-eye Ducks manifest a propensity to adhere to a place which
they find productive, and that to a most extraordinary degree. One
day, while approaching the shallow fording-place of Canoe Creek, near
Henderson, in Kentucky, I observed five Whistlers fishing and swimming
about. They allowed me to advance to within a few yards of the shore,
when, swimming close together, and shaking their necks, they emitted
their rough croaking notes. Not being desirous of shooting them, I
slapped my hands smartly together, when in an instant they all went
down, but suddenly rose again, and running as it were over the water
for about ten yards, took flight, passed and repassed several times
over the ford, and alighted on the large branches of a sycamore that
hung over the creek, at no greater distance from where I stood than
about twenty yards. This was the first time in my life that I had
seen Golden-eyes alight on a tree. I waded to the opposite side, and
gazed upon them with amazement for several minutes. When on the eve
of pursuing my course, one of them, gliding downwards with nearly
closed wings, launched upon the water, and at once dived. The other
four followed one after another, somewhat in the manner of Pigeons
or Starlings, as if to ascertain whether some danger might not still
exist. I left them at their avocations, and soon after met a family of
country people going to Henderson, one of whom asked me respecting the
depth of the ford, to which I replied that the water was low, and added
that they should be careful lest some ducks that I had left there might
frighten the horses on which the women were. The good folks, with whom
I was acquainted, laughed, and we parted.
About four o’clock, as I was returning, with a fine Turkey-cock slung
to my back, I met the same party, who told me that, “sure enough,”
the ducks were at the ford, and I was likely to have “a good crack at
them.” There they were when I went up, and I forced them to fly off;
but as I was proceeding, and not more than fifty yards beyond the
creek, I heard their splashings as they again alighted. In the course
of a fortnight I visited the place several times, but never missed
finding these five ducks there. This led me to inquire as to the cause,
and, having undressed, I waded out barefooted, and examined the bottom,
which I found to be composed of rather hard blue clay, full of holes
bored by cray-fish. But to make myself quite sure that these creatures
formed the attraction to the Ducks, I watched an opportunity, and
shot two of the latter, the examination of which satisfied me on the
subject.
I had long before this been convinced, that an abundant supply of
food afforded a powerful attraction to migrating birds, and on this
subject you may remember my remarks in the articles of the Wild Turkey
and Passenger Pigeon, in the first volume of this work; but I had not
then, nor have I since, seen so strong an instance of pertinacity in
attachment to a particular spot.
The flight of this species is powerful, extremely rapid, and
wonderfully protracted. It passes along with a speed equal to that of
any of the Duck tribe, and I believe can easily traverse the space of
ninety miles in an hour. The whistling of its wings may be distinctly
heard when it is more than half a mile distant. This statement may
be found to be in contradiction to those of probably every previous
writer, for it has been a general opinion, that the greater the extent
of wing the more rapid is the flight, which is anything but correct.
On flying from the water, they proceed for a considerable distance very
low, not rising to any height until they have advanced several hundred
yards.
The only nest of the Golden-eye which I have examined, I discovered,
on the 15th of June, on the margin of a small creek about eight miles
from Green Bay. The female left it, probably to go in search of food,
whilst I was sitting under the tree in which it was, thinking more
of my peculiar situation than of birds of any kind, for I was almost
destitute of ammunition, and bent on returning to my family, then in
Louisiana. How exciting are such moments to the ardent observer of
Nature! In an instant, hunger, fatigue, even the thoughts of my beloved
wife and children, vanished; and in a few minutes I was safely lodged
on the tree, and thrusting my arm into the cavity of a large broken
branch. Nine beautiful, greenish, smooth eggs, almost equally rounded
at both ends, were at my disposal. They were laid on some dry grass of
the kind that grew on the edges of the creek, and were deeply imbedded
in the down of the bird. Not being then aware of the necessity of
measuring or keeping eggs, I roasted them on some embers, and finding
them truly delicious, soon satisfied my hunger. While I was eating
them, the bird returned, but no male was to be seen. Whether many of
these birds breed within the limits of the Union I cannot tell. Dr
RICHARDSON says they are abundant in the Fur Countries, and Dr TOWNSEND
states, that they are plentiful on the Rocky Mountains and along the
north-west coast of America.
Of the changes which the young males undergo, nothing is known beyond
the fact, that the young of both sexes resemble the adult female,
until the approach of the first spring, when their general migration
northward removes them from our observation.
At the approach of spring, I have observed this species swell the
throat and the feathers of the head, and emit their rough croaking
notes very frequently. The males at this period become very pugnacious,
though, after all, they remove northward together, preceding the
females for at least a fortnight. They usually spend the autumn and
the earlier parts of winter separate from the females. These birds
have, like the Goosanders, a habit of shaking their heads violently
on emerging from the water Their flesh is fishy, and in my opinion
unfit for being eaten, unless in cases of excessive hunger. The food of
this species, while on fresh water, consists of fish of various kinds,
mollusca, young frogs, tadpoles, crayfish, and, I believe, some kinds
of grass. When on salt water, they feed principally on bivalves and
fishes of different species.
ANAS CLANGULA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 867. Male.
ANAS GLAUCION, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 867. Female and Young.
GOLDEN-EYE, ANAS CLANGULA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p. 62, pl. 67, fig. 6.
FULIGULA CLANGULA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 393.
CLANGULA VULGARIS, COMMON GOLDEN-EYE, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 456.
COMMON GOLDEN-EYE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol ii. p. 441.
Adult Male in winter. Plate CCCXLII. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, deeper than broad at the base, gradually
depressed toward the end, which is rounded. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line straight and sloping to the middle, then slightly concave,
and finally decurved; the ridge broad and rather concave at the base,
narrowed between the nostrils, convex towards the end, the frontal
angles long, the sides erect at the base, sloping and convex towards
the end, the edges soft, with about fifty lamellæ, the unguis oblong
and decurved. Nostrils medial, linear, pervious, nearer the ridge than
the margin. Lower mandible flattened, ascending, nearly straight, a
little curved at the base, the angle long, rather narrow, the dorsal
line very slightly convex, the edges with about fifty lamellæ, the
unguis broadly elliptical.
Head large, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck short and thick.
Body compact, much depressed. Feet very short, placed far back; tarsus
very short, compressed, having anteriorly in its whole length a series
of small scutella, and above the outer toe a few broad scales, the
rest covered with reticular angular scales. Hind toe very small, with
a broad free membrane beneath; anterior toes longer than the tarsus,
connected by reticulated membranes, having a sinus on their free
margins, the inner with a narrow, lobed, marginal membrane, the outer
with a thickened edge, the third and fourth about equal and longest,
all covered above with numerous narrow scutella. Claws small, slightly
arched, compressed, obtuse, that of first toe very small, of third
largest, and with an inner thin edge.
Plumage dense, soft and blended; feathers on the fore part of the
head and cheeks very small and rounded, on the upper and hind parts,
linear and elongated, as they also are on the lateral and hind parts
of the upper neck, so that when raised they give the head a very tumid
appearance, which is the more marked that the feathers of the neck
beneath are short. Wings small, decurved, pointed; the outer primaries
pointed, the first generally longest, the second slightly shorter,
in some specimens a little longer, the rest rapidly graduated; the
secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner much elongated. Tail
short, graduated, of sixteen feathers.
Bill black. Iris bright yellow. Feet orange-yellow, webs dusky, claws
black. Head and upper part of neck deep green, changing to purple in
certain lights. Back, posterior scapulars, inner secondaries, edge of
wing, alula, primary coverts, primary quills, and four or five outer
secondaries, black,—the back being darker and glossy, the wing-feathers
tinged with brown. An elliptical patch between the base of the bill and
the eye, lower part of neck all round, sides of the body anteriorly,
the lower parts generally, the scapulars, excepting their margins,
which are black, a large patch on the wing, including many of the
smaller coverts, some of the secondary coverts, and six or seven of the
secondary quills, pure white. The basal part of the secondary coverts
black. Axillar feathers and lower wing-coverts dusky; the elongated
feathers of the sides have the inner, some of them also their outer
margins black, that colour in those of the innermost covering the whole
inner web. The feathers on the legs, and along the sides of the rump
dusky. The tail brownish-grey.
Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 17-1/2, to end of
claws 20-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/2; bill along the ridge 1-5/8,
from the angles 2, along the edge of lower mandible 2-3/12; wing from
flexure 9; tail 4-1/2; tarsus 1-5/12; hind toe (6-1/2)/12, its claw
(2-1/2)/12; second toe 1-9/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12; third toe 2-1/4,
its claw (4-1/2)/12; fourth toe 2-4/12, its claw 3/12. Weight 2 lb.
4-1/2 oz.
Of another male, length to end of tail 19-1/2, to end of claws 21-1/2,
to end of wings 17; extent of wings 31.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLII. Fig. 2.
The female is much smaller. Bill dusky, a portion at the end, not
however including the unguis, dull yellowish-orange. Eyes and feet as
in the male. Head and upper part of neck dull reddish-brown. Lower part
of neck and the sides of the body brownish-grey, the feathers margined
with pale grey. Upper parts greyish-brown, much darker behind; tail
brownish-grey; wings brownish-black, seven of their coverts, excepting
at the bases, white, the smaller coverts lighter and tipped with
greyish-white; the legs and sides of the rump greyish-brown.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 15, to end of claws
17-1/4; extent of wings 28; wing from flexure 8-1/2; tail 3-1/4; bill
along the ridge 1-3/8, from the angles 1-3/4, along the lower mandible
1-(5-1/2)/8; tarsus 1-(3-1/2)/8; hind toe 5/8, its claw (1-1/2)/8;
middle toe 2-(2-1/2)/8, its claw 3/8; outer toe 1/8 longer; inner toe
and claw 2. Weight 1-3/4 lb.
An adult male examined. The tongue is 2 inches long, fleshy, papillate
at the base, with two series of lateral filaments, a deep median
groove, and a thin semicircular tip, as in many other ducks. The
œsophagus is 10 inches long, of moderate diameter, dilated towards
the lower part of the neck to 1/2 inch; its walls very thick; the
proventriculus with numerous oblong glandules. The stomach is a large
and powerful gizzard, of a roundish form, 2 inches long, and of equal
diameter, its lateral muscles very large, and upwards of half an inch
thick; its epithelium rugous. The intestine is 6 feet 1 inch long, its
diameter varying from 5 twelfths to 4 twelfths; the rectum 4 inches
long; the cœca 3-1/4 inches in length, their greatest diameter 2-1/2
twelfths. The contents of the stomach a soft mass of a reddish colour,
in which are distinguished small mussels and remains of fishes, with
some vegetable fibres.
The trachea is 9 inches long, for 4 inches narrow, its diameter
being about 4-1/2 twelfths, and its rings, which are 60 in number,
cartilaginous; it then forms an ovato-oblong expansion, which, when
drawn out, is 2-1/2 inches long, and 1 inch in breadth, and is formed
of ossified and flattened rings, narrower behind, placed obliquely,
and about 30 in number; it then contracts to a diameter of 5 twelfths,
and has 16 free rings, but below this the rings, 25 in number, become
united or blended, and gradually expand into a vast irregular cavity,
having a broad bony frame in front, membranous behind, and separating
to the distance of 1 inch, the bronchi, which are large, the right one
much larger and longer than the left, and composed of 20 rings, all of
which are almost complete and cartilaginous, excepting the two upper.
The rings of the left bronchus, also about 20, are more incomplete.
Now for conjectures. These enormous dilatations are intended for
strengthening the voice. But the voice is not strong in this duck.
Well, then, they are receptacles of air, to enable the bird to keep
longer under water. But the bird does not keep longer under water
than many other ducks, and besides, the female, which has no such
dilatations, dives as well as the male.
One use at least is this. A comparison of the windpipe of an American
Golden-eye, with those of two Scotch ones, shews that the so-called
_Clangula Americana_, is in this respect precisely similar to the
_Clangula chrysophthalma_. Their digestive organs are also the same;
and American skins compared with European skins, exhibit no differences
of the slightest importance. Some individuals, especially males,
have much larger bills than others, but this happens in the birds of
both countries, and the Golden-eye is not singular in this respect.
_Clangula Americana_, therefore, requires a better elucidation than the
appendage of a “Nob,” before it can be admitted as a species.
RUDDY DUCK.
_FULIGULA RUBIDA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXLIII. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
Look at this plate, Reader, and tell me whether you ever saw a greater
difference between young and old, or between male and female, than is
apparent here. You see a fine old male in the livery of the breeding
season, put on as it were expressly for the purpose of pleasing the
female for a while. The female has never been figured before; nor, I
believe, has any representation been given of the young in the autumnal
plumage. Besides these, you have here the young male at the approach of
spring.
The Ruddy Duck is by no means a rare species in the United States;
indeed I consider it quite abundant, especially during the winter
months, in the Peninsula of Florida, where I have shot upwards of forty
in one morning. In our Eastern Districts they make their appearance
early in September, and are then plentiful from Eastport to Boston, in
the markets of which, as well as of New York, I have seen them. On the
Ohio and Mississippi they arrive about the same period; and I have no
doubt that they will be found breeding in all our Western Territories,
as soon as attention is paid to such matters as the searching for nests
with the view of promoting science, or of domesticating birds which
might prove advantageous to the husbandman.
My friend Dr BACHMAN informs me that this species is becoming more
abundant every winter in South Carolina. In the month of February he
has seen a space of the extent of an acre covered with it. Yet he has
never found one in full summer plumage in that country. It is equally
fond of salt or brackish and of fresh waters; and thus we find it
at times on our sea-coast, bays, and mouths of rivers, as well as on
lakes and even small ponds in the interior, or on our salt marshes,
provided they are not surrounded by trees, as it cannot rise high in
the air unless in an open space of considerable extent. At the time of
their arrival, they are seen in small flocks, more than from seven to
ten being seldom found together, until they reach the Southern States,
where they congregate in great flocks. When they leave their northern
breeding-grounds, some proceed along the coast, but a greater number
along our numerous rivers.
The flight of the Ruddy Duck is rapid, with a whirring sound,
occasioned by the concave form of the wings and their somewhat broad
ends, the whistling sound produced by other species having more pointed
and stiffer quills, not being heard in this, or only in a very slight
degree. They rise from the water, with considerable difficulty, being
obliged to assist themselves with their broad webbed feet, and to
run as it were on the surface for several yards, always against the
breeze, when it blows smartly. The strength of the muscles of their
feet enables them to spring from the ground at once. When they are
fairly on wing, they fly in the same manner as most of our travelling
ducks, sustain themselves with ease, and are apt to remove to great
distances. They alight on the water more heavily than most others that
are not equally flattened and short in the body; but they move on that
element with ease and grace, swimming deeply immersed, and procuring
their food altogether by diving, at which they are extremely expert.
They are generally disposed to keep under the lee of shores on all
occasions. When swimming without suspicion of danger, they carry the
tail elevated almost perpendicularly, and float lightly on the water;
but as soon as they are alarmed, they immediately sink deeper, in the
manner of the Anhinga, Grebes, and Cormorants, sometimes going out of
sight without leaving a ripple on the water. On small ponds they often
dive and conceal themselves among the grass along the shore, rather
than attempt to escape by flying, to accomplish which with certainty
they would require a large open space. I saw this very often when on
the plantation of General HERNANDEZ in East Florida. If wounded, they
dived and hid in the grass; but, as the ponds there were shallow, and
had the bottom rather firm, I often waded out and pursued them. Then
it was that I saw the curious manner in which they used their tail
when swimming, employing it now as a rudder, and again with a vertical
motion; the wings being also slightly opened, and brought into action
as well as the feet. They are by no means shy, for I have often waded
toward them with my gun until very near them, when I cared not about
shooting them, but was on the look-out for a new Rail or Gallinule,
along the margin of the ponds. They are often seen in company with
Teals, Scaup Ducks, Gadwalls, Shovellers, and Mallards, with all of
which they seem to agree.
My opinion that the males of this species lose the brightness of
their spring dress before they return to us in autumn, is founded
on the occurrence of multitudes of males at that season destitute of
the garb in question, and my examination of many for the purpose of
determining their sex and ascertaining that they were old birds. In
February 1832, I saw immense flocks of Ruddy Ducks about an hundred
miles up the St John’s in Florida. They would start from the water,
as our schooner advanced under sail, patting it with their feet, so as
to make a curious and rather loud noise, somewhat resembling the fall
of hail-stones on the shingles. Their notes are uttered in a rather
low tone and very closely resemble those of the female Mallard. They
afford good eating when fat and young, and especially when they have
been feeding for some weeks on fresh waters, where their food generally
consists of the roots and blades of such grasses as spring from the
bottom of rivers and ponds, as well as of the seeds of many gramineæ.
When on salt marshes, they eat small univalve shells, fiddlers, and
young crabs, and on the sea-coast, they devour fry of various sorts.
Along with their food, they swallow great quantities of sand or gravel.
At St Augustine, in Florida, I shot a young bird of this species
immediately under the walls of the fort. Although wounded severely and
with one of its legs broken close to the body, it dived at once. My
Newfoundland dog leaped into the water, and on reaching the spot where
the bird had disappeared, dived also, and in a few moments came up with
the poor thing in his mouth. When the dog approached I observed that
the duck had seized his nose with its bill; and when I laid hold of it,
it tried to bite me also. I have found this species hard to kill, and
when wounded very tenacious of life, swimming and diving at times to
the last gasp.
In the Fauna Boreali-Americana, the tail of the Ruddy Duck is said to
be composed of sixteen feathers, and in NUTTALL’s Manual of twenty; but
the number is eighteen.
RUDDY DUCK, ANAS RUBIDA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p.
137, pl. 71, fig. 5. male; pl. 130, fig. 6. young male.
FULIGULA RUBIDA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 390.
FULIGULA RUBIDA, RUDDY DUCK, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 455.
RUDDY DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 426.
Adult Male in summer. Plate CCCXLIII. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, a little higher than broad at the base,
depressed and widened toward the end, which is rounded. Dorsal outline
straight and declinate to the nostrils, then direct and slightly
concave, the sides sloping and concave at the base, broadly convex
toward the end, the edges soft, with about forty short erect lamellæ
internally on each side, the unguis linear-oblong, suddenly decurved
and directed backwards, its lower part transversely expanded and
serrulate. Nostrils in an oblong depression covered with skin, medial,
rather small, linear oblong, pervious. Lower mandible flattened, a
little recurved, its angle very long and narrow, the laminæ about a
hundred and forty and extremely small, the unguis oblong.
Head rather large, oblong. Eyes of moderate size. Neck short and
thick. Body full, much depressed. Legs short and placed rather far
behind; tibia bare for a short space; tarsus very short, compressed,
with an anterior series of small scutella, an outer short series going
to the fourth toe, the rest reticulated. Hind toe very small, with
a free inferior web; anterior toes very long, slender, the middle
toe double the length of the tarsus, the outer almost as long, the
inner considerably shorter, and having a broad lobed margin; the webs
reticulated. Claws rather small, slender, compressed, slightly arched,
acute.
Plumage dense, blended, on the upper parts very soft; on the fore part
of the head stiffish; on the lower parts with a silky gloss, and stiff,
having the extremities broad, and the barbs strong and pointed. Wings
very short, of moderate breadth, concave, pointed; primaries tapering,
the first longest, obliquely rounded. Tail short, much graduated, of
_eighteen_ stiff, narrow feathers, of which the shaft is very strong,
and runs out in a flattened concave point.
Bill and edges of eyelids greyish-blue. Iris hazel. Feet dull
greyish-blue; webs inclining to dusky; claws greyish-brown. Upper part
of the head and nape deep bluish-black, that colour running to a point
about the middle of the neck; a large white patch on each side of the
head, from the bill to behind the ear, narrowed on the throat. Neck all
round, and all the upper parts, as well as the sides of the rump, rich
glossy brownish-red or chestnut; the lower parts greyish-white, tinged
with brown, and marked with transverse interrupted bands of dusky.
Wing-coverts, quills, and tail-feathers, blackish-brown.
Length to end of tail 14-3/4 inches, to end of wings 12-1/2, to end
of claws 15, to carpal joint 7-3/4; extent of wings 21-1/2; wing from
flexure 6-1/4; tail 3-1/2; bill along the ridge 1-5/8, along the edge
of lower mandible 1-5/8; tarsus 1-1/4; hind toe and claw (4-1/2)/8;
inner toe 1-3/4, its claw 1/4; middle toe 2-3/8, its claw 3/8; outer
toe 2-3/8, its claw 1/4. Weight 1-3/4 lb. Average measurements of six
individuals.
The black on the head of the male is sometimes marked with a few white
feathers.
Adult Female in summer. Plate CCCXLIII. Fig. 2.
The plumage presents the same characters as in the male. The bill is of
a darker greyish-blue; iris as in the male; feet darker. The top of the
head, and all the upper parts, are dark reddish-brown, minutely dotted
and undulated with dusky; wings and tail as in the male; lower parts
duller than in the male, but similarly marked; the throat, and a band
from the base of the upper mandible to beneath the eye, brownish-white.
Male one year old. Plate CCCXLIII. Fig. 3.
Bill, eyes, and feet as in the adult. A similar white patch on the side
of the head; upper part of head and hind neck dull blackish-brown;
throat and sides of the neck greyish-brown; lower part of neck, dull
reddish-brown, waved with dusky; upper parts as in the adult, but of a
duller tint; lower parts greyish-white.
Young in December. Plate CCCXLIII. Fig. 4.
Bill dusky; iris hazel; feet yellowish-green, webs dusky. All the upper
parts dull reddish-brown tinged with grey, and barred with dusky; wings
and tail dark greyish-brown. Cheeks, fore part and sides of neck, and
all the lower parts, dull yellowish-white, undulated with dusky; as is
the rump above; the lower tail-coverts white.
The tongue of a male is 1 inch 8 twelfths long, and of the same general
form as that of the Fuligulæ, but a little more dilated at the end.
The œsophagus is 1/2 inch in diameter until its entrance into the
thorax, when it contracts, and again expands to 6 twelfths, to form
the proventriculus, of which the glandules are oblong, small, and very
numerous, occupying a space of 2-1/4 inches in length. The stomach is
a strong gizzard, of a roundish form, 1 inch 5 twelfths long, 1-1/2
inch broad; its lateral muscles very large, and about 8 twelfths thick;
the epithelium confined to two round spaces 1/2 inch in diameter,
opposite the lateral muscles. The intestine is 5 feet 1-1/2 inch long,
its diameter varying from 5 twelfths to 3-1/2 twelfths. The rectum is
2 inches 10 twelfths long; the cœca 4 inches 2 twelfths their greatest
diameter 2-1/2 twelfths.
In another male, the œsophagus is 7-1/2 inches long; the stomach 1
inch 5 twelfths long, 1 inch 6 twelfths broad; the intestine 5 feet
11 inches long; the rectum 2-3/4 inches; the cœca 4-1/8 inches, their
greatest diameter 2-1/2 twelfths.
The trachea is 5-3/4 inches long. The thyroid bone is comparatively
large, forming an expansion 7 twelfths long, 5 twelfths broad. At its
upper part the trachea has a diameter of 3 twelfths, about the middle
enlarges to 4 twelfths, and so continues nearly to the end, when it
contracts to 2 twelfths. The last ring is very large, being formed of
five or six united rings, of which the last two or three are split;
but there is no expansion or tympanum as in other ducks. The muscles
are as in the other species of this family. The bronchi are of moderate
length, with about 15 half rings.
LONG-LEGGED SANDPIPER.
_TRINGA HIMANTOPUS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXLIV.
I have often spoken of the great differences as to size and colour
that are observed in birds of the same species, and which have
frequently given rise to mistakes, insomuch that the male, the female,
and the young, have been considered as so many distinct species.
The Long-legged Sandpiper has been treated in this manner, and has
latterly reappeared under the name of _Tringa Douglassii_, in the Fauna
Boreali-Americana of my friends RICHARDSON and SWAINSON. BONAPARTE
was, in truth, the first who described this bird; and although some
differences might be found between his specimen and the _one_ described
in the work just mentioned, they are trifling compared with those which
I have observed between seven or eight individuals all procured from
the same flock at a single shot. It is strange that neither BONAPARTE
nor SWAINSON have mentioned the sex of their specimen.
On the morning of the 4th of April 1837, while seated among the drift
wood that had accumulated on the southern shore of the island of
Barataria, forty miles from the south-west pass of the Mississippi,
and occupied in observing some Pelicans, I saw a flock of about thirty
Long-legged Sandpipers alight within ten steps of me, near the water.
They immediately scattered, following the margin of the retiring and
advancing waves, in search of food, which I could see them procure by
probing the wet sand in the manner of Curlews, that is, to the full
length of their bill, holding it for a short time in the sand, as if
engaged in sucking up what they found. In this way they continued
feeding on an extended line of shore of about thirty yards, and
it was pleasing to see the alacrity with which they simultaneously
advanced and retreated, according to the motions of the water. In
about three quarters of an hour, during all which time I had watched
them with attention, they removed a few yards beyond the highest wash
of the waves, huddled close together, and began to plume and cleanse
themselves. All of a sudden they ceased their occupation, stood still,
and several of them emitted a sharp _tweet-tweet_, somewhat resembling
the notes of _Totanus solitarius_; immediately after which seven birds
of the same species passed close to me, and alighted near those which I
had already watched. They at once began to feed, and as I thought that
the first flock might join them, and that I might lose the opportunity
of procuring specimens, in sufficient number, I fired and killed
eleven. The rest flew off, and were joined by the second group, the
whole flying to windward in a compact body, and emitting every now and
then their sharp _tweet_, _tweet_, until out of sight and hearing.
My son JOHN obtained several of these birds on the same island while
they were feeding on the margins of a fresh-water pond; and we saw them
on almost every island and bay on our way to the Texas, where we also
procured some on Galveston Island.
The flight of these Sandpipers is rapid and regular. They move
compactly, and often when about to alight, or after being disturbed,
incline their bodies to either side, shewing alternately the upper and
lower parts. On foot they move more like Curlews than Tringas, they
being as it were more sedate in their deportment. At times, on the
approach of a person, they squat on the ground, very much in the manner
of the Esquimaux Curlew, _Numenius borealis_; and their flesh is as
delicate as that of the species just named. In the stomach of several
individuals I found small worms, minute shell-fish, and vegetable
substances, among which were the hard seeds of plants unknown to me.
I suspect that in summer and autumn they feed on small fruits and
berries, though of this I have no proof.
Among those which we procured, I found the differences in the colour
of the plumage quite as great as in _Scolopax noveboracensis_, some
of the younger birds being yet in their winter dress, while the older
had already assumed a reddish colour on the cheeks, the top of the
head, and the breast. The females were all larger than the males, and
differed from each other not only in the markings of the plumage, but
also in the length of the bill, to the extent of a quarter of an inch,
and of the legs, to a still greater extent. Whether or not this species
assumes a uniform reddish tint in the breeding season, such as is
observed in the Pigmy Curlew, _Tringa subarquata_, I am unable to say,
although I am much inclined to think that it does.
Their passage through the United States is very rapid, both in spring
and autumn, Some few spend the winter in Lower Louisiana, but nearly
all proceed southward beyond the Texas.
TRINGA HIMANTOPUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 316.
TRINGA DOUGLASSII, _Swainson_, DOUGLAS’S SANDPIPER,
_Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. 379.
TRINGA HIMANTOPUS, SLENDER-SHANKS SANDPIPER, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. 380.
LONG-LEGGED SANDPIPER, AUDUBON’S STILT SANDPIPER, and
DOUGLASS’ STILT SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
138, 140, 141.
Male in Spring. Plate CCCXLIV. Fig. 1.
Bill much longer than the head, very slender, subcylindrical, very
slightly decurved, compressed at the base, the end rather depressed,
considerably enlarged. Upper mandible with the dorsal line almost
straight, being very slightly decurved towards the end, the ridge
narrow, convex, flattened towards the tip, the sides sloping, with
a narrow groove extending nearly to the end, the edges rather blunt
and soft, the tip decurved. Nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower
mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line straight,
towards the end slightly deflected, the sides sloping outwards, with a
long narrow groove, the tip a little broader.
Head small, oblong, compressed. Eyes small. Neck rather long. Body
slender. Feet long, very slender; tibia bare for an inch; tarsus long,
slender, compressed, covered before and behind with numerous small
scutella; hind toe very small, the rest of moderate length, slender,
the second very slightly longer than the fourth, the third very little
longer; short basal webs, running out along the margins, that between
the third and fourth toes larger. Claws rather long, very slender,
slightly arched, tapering, compressed.
Plumage very soft, blended; the feathers somewhat distinct on the back.
Wings very long, pointed; primaries tapering, the first longest, the
second slightly shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries
slightly incurved, obliquely sinuate on the outer web towards the
end, the inner web rounded; inner secondaries very narrow, tapering,
reaching to three-fourths of an inch of the longest primary when the
wing is closed. Tail of moderate length, nearly even, but with the two
middle feathers exceeding the rest by two and a half twelfths of an
inch, of twelve narrow, rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris brown. Feet dull yellowish-green, claws black.
The upper parts are brownish-black, the feathers margined with
reddish-white, the edges of the scapulars with serriform markings of
the same; rump and upper tail-coverts white, transversely barred with
dusky; tail light grey, the feathers white at the base and along the
middle. Primary quills and their coverts brownish-black, the inner
tinged with grey, the shaft of the outer primary white, secondaries
brownish-grey, margined with reddish-white, the inner dusky. A
broad whitish line over the eye; loral band dusky; auriculars pale
brownish-red; fore part and sides of neck, greyish-white, tinged with
red, and longitudinally streaked with dusky; the rest of the lower
parts pale reddish-brown, transversely barred with dusky; the middle
of the breast and the abdomen without markings. Dimensions of five
individuals.
Length to end of tail, 8-3/4 8-1/4 7-3/4 8 7-1/2
wings, 9-1/4 8-3/8 8-1/2 8-3/4 8-3/4
claws, 11-1/4 10-5/8 10 10-1/2 10-7/8
Extent of wings, 16-3/4 16 15-1/2 17 16
Weight of an individual, 2-3/4 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXLIV. Fig. 2.
The female is considerably larger, but otherwise resembles the male.
Dimensions of five individuals.
Length to end of tail, 10-1/2 11 9-1/4 10-3/4 8-1/2
wings, 11 10-3/4 11-3/4 11-1/2 10-1/8
claws, 13-1/4 12-1/2 11-1/2 12-3/4 11-3/4
Extent of wings, 18 16-1/2 16-7/8 16-1/2 17-3/4
Weight of two individuals, 4 oz., 3-3/4 oz.
The winter plumage differs considerably; the bill, iris, and feet, are
as above. The upper parts are brownish-grey, the head narrowly streaked
with dusky; the rump as in summer; the scapulars plainly margined with
whitish; the quills as in summer. The band over the eye lighter, the
loral space grey; the fore part and sides of the neck greyish-white,
longitudinally streaked with grey, the sides similar, and with the
lower tail-coverts barred with grey, the rest of the lower parts white.
Length to end of tail in a male 9 inches; extent of wings 16-1/2;
wing from flexure 5-1/4; tail 2-4/12; bill along the ridge 1-6/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-7/12; bare part of tibia 1; tarsus
1-7/12; hind toe and claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe (9-1/12)/12, its claw
(2-1/2)/12.
The roof of the mouth is flat, with three rows of papillæ. The tongue
is 1 inch 5 twelfths long, emarginate and papillate at the base, very
slender, concave above, tapering to a point. The œsophagus is 4 inches
long, very narrow, its diameter 2 twelfths. The proventriculus is
oblong, 7 twelfths in length, 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter. The stomach
is a strong gizzard of a roundish form, compressed, 8 twelfths long,
7-1/12 twelfths broad; its lateral muscles large, its epithelium very
dense, thick, longitudinally rugous, and of a reddish-brown colour. The
intestine is 12-1/2 inches long, its anterior part 2-3/4 twelfths in
diameter, the hind part 1-1/2 twelfth. The rectum is 1-1/2 inch long;
the cœca 11 twelfths long, 1 twelfth in diameter, obtuse.
The trachea is 3 inches long, slender, its diameter at the upper part
1-3/4 twelfths, gradually diminishing to the lower part, where it is 1
twelfth. The rings, about 110 in number, are slender and unossified,
the two last divided. The bronchi have about 15 half rings. The
contractor muscles are thin, the sterno-tracheal slender; and there
is a pair of inferior laryngeal muscles going to the first bronchial
rings.
In another individual, the intestine was 13-1/4 inches long, the rectum
1-1/2 inch, the cœca 1 inch.
The contents of the gizzard in both were fragments of shells, small
black seeds, and much sand and gravel.
AMERICAN WIDGEON.
_ANAS AMERICANA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCXLV. MALE AND FEMALE.
This lively and very handsome Duck is abundant during winter at New
Orleans, where it is much esteemed on account of the juiciness of
its flesh, and is best known by the name of _Zinzin_. In the Western
Country, and in most parts of the Eastern and Middle States, it is
called the _Bald Pate_. Early in September it enters the United States
by their northern extremities, as well as from the Texas; and in both
these regions it is now well known to breed in nearly equal numbers.
Those which retreat south-westward remain along the coast and in the
interior of the Floridas, as well as all that portion of the Gulf of
Mexico extending to the mouths of the Mississippi, where they remain
until the latter part of April, sometimes even until the middle of May,
as they have but a comparatively short journey to perform in order to
arrive in Mexico in time to breed. On the coast of the Atlantic they
keep in the marshes in company with various species of the same family,
being in a manner indifferent as to their associates. During early
spring, in Louisiana, they are often seen alighted on extensive plains
that have very little water on them.
While advancing along the shores of the Bay of Mexico, in April 1837, I
and my party observed this species in considerable numbers; and during
the whole of our stay in the Texas, we daily saw and very frequently
procured Widgeons. There they were found in ponds of brackish water,
as well as in the fresh-water streams. Before we left that country
they were all paired, and I was informed by the Honourable M. FISHER,
Secretary to the Texian Navy, that a good number of them breed in
the maritime districts, along with several other Ducks, and that he
annually received many of the young birds. Their manners at this time
fully proved the correctness of the statements of all those who spoke
to me on this subject. Indeed my opinion is that some of these birds
also propagate in certain portions of the most southern districts of
the Floridas, and in the Island of Cuba, as I have seen Widgeons in the
peninsula in single pairs, in the beginning of May.
Their retrograde movements in spring, like those of other species,
depend much upon the temperature or the advance of the season; and
those which proceed northward set out on their journey much earlier
than those which move in the opposite direction, the former departing
from the middle of March to the 20th of April. Their first appearance
on the waters of the Ohio takes place late in September or early
in October, when they at once throw themselves into the ponds of
the interior, and there remain until the waters are closed by ice,
scarcely any betaking themselves to the rivers, unless to repose on
the sand-bars. They are there, however, less abundant than nearer the
sea-coast, and usually associate with Pintails and Teals, but rarely
with Mallards or Dusky Ducks. Whilst in those retired ponds of the
forest, from one to another of which they roam in quest of food, they
are less noisy than most other species, even than the Pintails, and in
this respect resemble the Blue-winged Teals, whose notes are feeble and
delicate. Those of the Widgeon are a soft whistle somewhat similar to
the word _Sweet_, enunciated as if produced by a flute or a hautboy,
and in my judgment not at all like the _hew hew_ spoken off by WILSON.
They are less shy in those retired places than most species, or are
to appearance less aware of the danger of allowing the sportsman to
approach them.
In feeding they immerse their neck and the anterior part of the body,
generally swimming closer together than other Ducks, in consequence of
which habits they are easily neared and often shot in great numbers at
a single discharge. During their stay in those districts they feed on
the roots and seeds of grasses, water-insects, beech-nuts, small fry,
and leeches, and are not so delicate as an article of food as those
procured in the rice-fields of South Carolina, or in the plantations of
Louisiana and Florida. On their return in spring (for in mild winters
they remain all the season in Kentucky), they generally continue until
the end of April, and usually pair before they depart; which induces me
to believe that numbers of them breed within the northern limits of the
United States, although I have not heard of any having actually been
seen doing so.
On the lakes near New Orleans, as well as on the Chesapeake, they are
not unfrequently found in company with the Canvass-back Ducks. WILSON
mentions their being partially supplied with food by the industry
of the latter; but they manage very well in most parts without such
assistance. When in full security, the Bald-pates feed at all hours of
the day; but in thickly inhabited parts of the country, they usually
seek for food at night or early in the morning.
The flight of this species is rather swift, well sustained, and
accompanied by the whistling sound of the wings usual in birds of this
family. They move in flocks of moderate size, and without much care
as to the disposition of their ranks, being sometimes extended into a
front line, sometimes in single file, frequently mingled confusedly,
and flying at a moderate height, whether over the land or over the
water. When they are first started, they fly almost perpendicularly,
in a hurried and rather irregular manner. They walk prettily and with
ease. After heavy falls of rain in our Southern States, they often
alight in the corn fields, in company with other Ducks, where the
ploughed earth, being quite moist and soft, yields them an abundant
supply of worms and insects, as well as grains of corn, pease, and
other equally nutritious substances.
Dr RICHARDSON informs us that this species breeds in the woody
districts of the Fur Countries, up to their most northern limits,
in latitude 80°; and Dr TOWNSEND states that it is abundant on the
Columbia River; but he has not furnished me with any account of its
breeding, and I have not had an opportunity of observing it during the
season of propagation, as I left the Texas without having found a nest
or young.
ANAS AMERICANA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 526.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 861.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 384.
AMERICAN WIDGEON, ANAS AMERICANA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 86, pl. 69, fig 4.
MARECA AMERICANA, _Stephens_, AMERICAN WIDGEON, _Richards.
and Swains._ Fauna Boreali-Americana, vol. ii. p. 445.
AMERICAN WIDGEON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 389.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXLV. Fig. 1.
Bill nearly as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base,
depressed towards the end, the sides nearly parallel, the tip rounded.
Upper mandible with the frontal angles short and obtuse, the dorsal
line at first sloping, then concave, at the end decurved, the ridge
broad and flat at the base, then broadly convex, the edges soft, with
about fifty-five internal lamellæ, the unguis obovate, curved abruptly
at the end. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, near the ridge, oblong,
pervious. Lower mandible flattened, its angle very long and rather
narrow, the dorsal line very short, slightly convex, the edges soft,
with about seventy lamellæ.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long, slender.
Body elongated and slightly depressed. Feet very short; tibia bare for
about a quarter of an inch; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly
with two series of scutella, the outer shorter, the rest covered with
reticulated angular scales; toes obliquely scutellate above; first
very small, free, with a narrow membrane beneath; third longest, fourth
considerably shorter, second shorter than fourth; their connecting webs
entire, on the edge crenate; the second or inner toe with a membranous
margin. Claws small, slightly arched, compressed, rather acute; the
hind one very small and more curved, that of the middle toe curved
outwards, and having the inner edge dilated.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head and upper neck
oblong, small, those along the crown and occiput longer; of the lower
parts ovate, glossy, with the extremities of the filaments stiffish.
Wings rather long, little curved, narrow, pointed; the first quill
longest, the next scarcely shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondaries very short, broad, obliquely rounded; the inner elongated
and tapering; the tips of the filaments of the outer web of the first
primary are separated and curved a little outwards. Tail short, rounded
and pointed, of sixteen feathers, of which the middle pair are more
pointed and project considerably.
Bill light greyish-blue, with the extremity including the unguis, and a
portion of the margins, black. Iris hazel. Feet light bluish-grey, the
webs darker, the claws dusky. The upper part of the head is white, more
or less mottled with dusky on its sides; the loral space and cheeks
reddish-white, dotted with greenish-black; a broad band from the eye
to behind the occiput deep green. The lower part of the hind neck, the
scapulars, and the fore part of the back, are minutely transversely
undulated with brownish-black and light brownish-red; the hind part
similarly undulated with blackish-brown and greyish-white. The smaller
wing-coverts are brownish-grey; the primary quills and coverts dark
greyish-brown; the secondary coverts white, tipped with black. The
speculum is duck-green anteriorly, bounded by the black tips of the
secondary coverts, black behind, internally black with white streaks,
the inner elongated secondaries having their outer webs black, margined
with white, their inner webs brownish-grey. The tail-feathers are light
brownish-grey. The throat is brownish-black; the lower part of the
neck in front, and the fore part of the breast, light brownish-red;
the breast, belly, and sides of the rump, white; the sides of the body
finely undulated with white and dusky; the rump beneath and the lower
tail-coverts black.
Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of claws 21; extent of
wings 34-1/2; bill to frontal processes 1-(7-1/2)/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 1-7/12; wing from flexure 11; tail 4-1/2; tarsus
1-7/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12, middle toe 1-8/12, its claw
(4-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 14 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLV. Fig. 2.
The female is considerably smaller. The bill, feet, and iris are
coloured as in the male. The head and upper part of the neck all
round, are white or reddish-white, longitudinally streaked with
brownish-black, the top of the head transversely barred; the lower
part of the neck in front and behind, the fore part of the back, and
the scapulars, are blackish-brown, the feathers broadly margined
with brownish-red, and barred with the same, the bars on the back
narrow; the hind part of the back dusky; the upper tail-coverts
barred with white. The wings are greyish-brown; the secondary coverts
tipped with white; the secondary quills are brownish-black, the
inner greyish-brown, all margined with white. The tail-feathers are
greyish-brown, margined with white. All the lower parts are white,
excepting the feathers of the sides, and under the tail, which are
broadly barred with dusky and light reddish-brown.
Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of claws 19-1/2; extent of
wings 30; bill along the ridge 1-6/12; wing from flexure 9-3/12; tail
3-9/12; tarsus 1-6/12; middle toe 1-9/12, its claw 3/12. Weight 1 lb.
5 oz.
A very great diversity of colouring exists in this species, which,
however, is not yet properly understood. Although males are often
found as described above, and as represented in the plate, others have
a very different appearance. Thus, an individual shot at the mouth of
the Mississippi, in the beginning of April 1837, has the head and neck
brownish-orange, the feathers all minutely tipped with dark green, the
lower fore neck lilac; all the upper parts finely undulated with white
and dusky, as are the sides; the wing-coverts light brownish-grey; the
other parts as described above, but the upper tail-coverts black at
the end. In some individuals the top of the head is reddish-white, in
others light red, in others pure white; in some, most of the smaller
wing-coverts are white, in others grey or brownish-grey; in some the
throat is whitish, in others black. These differences, no doubt, depend
upon age and season.
The American Widgeon has been considered distinct from the European;
not on account of any difference in size or form, or texture of
plumage, but because it has in certain stages a green band on the side
of the head, which the European bird is said not to have. The mirror
is the same in both; the wing-coverts are white or grey in both; the
crown is white, or cream-coloured, or orange-brown, in both; but in the
European the head and neck are described as reddish-chestnut, and in
the American as yellowish-white. Now, in fact, American birds sometimes
have the head and neck red, and European Birds sometimes have the
green streak on the side of the head. In short, on comparing specimens
from America, with others from India and Norway, I cannot perceive any
essential difference. At the same time, not having traced our Widgeon
through all its gradations, and being equally unacquainted with all
those of the European and Asiatic Widgeon, I cannot _positively_ affirm
that _Anas Americana_ is identical with _Anas Penelope_.
A male preserved in spirits presents the following characters.
[Illustration]
The roof of the mouth is deeply concave, with a median prominent line,
and numerous irregular small tubercles on the sides, with several
larger ones at the fore part. Two large branches of the supra-maxillary
nerve run in this ridge, as in other ducks. The tongue is 1 inch 5
twelfths long, with numerous straight, pointed papillæ at the base,
a median longitudinal groove, and a thin broadly rounded point. The
œsophagus, _a b c d_, is 10 inches long, narrow, dilating a little
on the lower part of the neck, where its diameter is 1/2 inch. The
proventriculus, _b c_, is 8 twelfths broad; its glands oblong,
2 twelfths in length, and occupying a belt 1 inch 4 twelfths in
breadth. The gizzard, _e f g_, is extremely large, of a nearly regular
elliptical form, placed obliquely, its length 1 inch 8 twelfths, its
breadth 2-1/2 inches; its lateral muscles extremely large, the left,
_e_, 1 inch 2 twelfths in thickness, the other, _f_, 1 inch and 1
twelfth; the inferior muscle, _g_, only 1 twelfth. In the œsophagus
are contained slender leaves of grasses; in the gizzard some of these
leaves and other vegetable matters, small seeds, and a great quantity
of sand. The cuticular lining or epithelium is dense, slightly rugous,
much thickened on the spaces opposite the middle of the lateral
muscles. The duodenum, _g h i_, is 5-1/2 inches in its first curve,
_g h_, and is then reflected for 7 inches, passes backwards under the
kidneys and forms several convolutions. The intestine, _g h i j k l_,
is 6 feet 2 inches long, 1/2 inch in diameter in its duodenal portion,
gradually contracts to 4 twelfths at the distance of 18 inches from
the pylorus, again enlarges to 5 twelfths, and near the rectum to 7
twelfths. The rectum is 4-1/2 inches long; the cœca 9 inches, their
diameter for nearly 2 inches being 2 twelfths, after which they are
enlarged, their greatest diameter being 4 twelfths. The liver is large,
the right lobe being 3-1/2 inches long, the left 2-1/2.
The trachea, _m_, is 7-1/2 inches long, of moderate diameter, the rings
roundish and ossified, about 140 in number, its breadth at the top
4-1/2 twelfths, gradually diminishing to 3 twelfths. At the lower part
several of the rings are united so as to form an irregular dilatation,
bulging out into a rounded sac, _n_, on the left side, its greatest
diameter being 10 twelfths. The bronchi are of moderate length,
wide, with about 25 half rings. The contractor muscles are rather
strong; and besides the sterno-tracheals, _o_, _p_, there is a pair of
cleido-tracheals.
In a female, the gizzard is 2 inches in its greatest diameter; the
intestine is 5 feet 2 inches long. The contents of the œsophagus and
stomach as in the male.
BLACK-THROATED DIVER.
_COLYMBUS ARCTICUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXLVI. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
One of the most remarkable circumstances relative to this beautiful
bird, which is intermediate between the Red-throated Diver and the
Loon, is the extraordinary extent to which the wanderings of the young
are carried in autumn and winter. It breeds in the remote regions of
the north, from which many of the old birds, it would seem, do not
remove far, while the young, as soon as they are able to travel, take
to wing and disperse, spreading not only over the greater part of the
United States, but beyond their south-western limits. In the Texas I
saw individuals of this species as late as the middle of April 1837;
and I find it enumerated in a list of the birds observed by my young
friend Dr J. K. TOWNSEND on the Columbia River, where he also met with
_Columbus glacialis_. Its ramblings over a considerable portion of
northern and eastern Europe have equally been noted, and it has been
found breeding in the extreme north of Scotland.
For many years I knew the young of this bird only by the name “Imber
Diver,” applied by BEWICK to that of another species, and now have
pleasure in looking upon a drawing of mine, made about thirty years
ago, with that appellation attached to it. Very few old birds in full
plumage have been procured within the limits of the United States, and
none in as far as I know, farther south than the Capes of Delaware.
No sooner has the foliage of the trees that border our western waters
begun to drop and float on the gentle current of the fair Ohio, than
the Black-throated Diver makes its appearance there, moving slowly
with the stream. The Mississippi, Missouri, and their tributaries, are
at the same period supplied with these birds. Along our eastern and
southern shores they are seen from the end of autumn until spring.
Whilst in Labrador, I saw a few pairs courting on wing, much in the
manner of the Red-throated Diver; but all our exertions failed to
procure any of the nests, which I therefore think must have been placed
farther inland than those of the Loon or Red-throated Diver. I observed
however, that in their general habits they greatly resemble those
species, for on alighting on the water, they at once immerse their
bills, as if for the purpose of ascertaining whether it yields a supply
of suitable food, and afterwards raise themselves and beat their wings.
This species has almost as powerful a flight as the Great Northern
Diver or Loon, and I think shoots through the air with even greater
velocity. When flying it moves its wings rapidly and continuously,
and has the neck and feet stretched out to their full length. I well
recollect that while I was standing near the shore of a large inlet
in South Carolina, one of these birds, being shot while passing over
my head at full speed, did not, on account of the impetus, reach the
ground until upwards of twenty yards beyond me. They are equally expert
at diving, and fully as much so in eluding the pursuit of their enemies
when wounded. I saw my friend Mr HARRIS bring down one from on wing,
on which NAPOLEON COSTE, and WILLIAM TAYLOR, Captains of the Revenue
Cutter and Tender of which we had the use, paddled in pursuit of it
in a light canoe; but, although they advanced with all the address of
Indians, they proved unsuccessful, for after following it both in the
Bay of Cayo Island, and in the Bay of Mexico, for nearly an hour, they
were obliged to return without it, having found it apparently not in
the least fatigued, although it had dived sufficiently often to travel
above two miles, shifting its course at each immersion. It is curious
to observe how carefully these birds avoid the danger of sudden storms
or heavy gales. On such occasions, I have seen Divers at once seek the
lee of rocks, islands, or artificial embankments, where they could not
only remain in security, but also procure their accustomed food. At
other times, when striving against the tempest, they dive headlong from
on wing, and are sure to reappear in the smooth parts which sailors
term the trough.
I once caught one of these birds on the Ohio, it having been
incapacitated from diving by having swallowed a large mussel, which
stuck in its throat. It was kept for several days, but refused food
of every kind, exhibited much bad humour, struck with its bill, and
died of inanition. The food of this species consists of fish, aquatic
reptiles, testaceous mollusca, and all sorts of small crustaceous
animals. Its flesh resembles that of the Loon, and is equally unfit to
be eaten.
The eggs, which are sometimes two, more frequently three, average three
inches in length, by two in their greatest breadth, which is about a
third of the whole length distant from the extremity. Their form is
that of the Red-throated Diver, which however they exceed in size.
The shell is rather thick, the surface roughish, the ground colour
chocolate tinged with olive, sparingly spotted at the larger end with
very dark umber and black, and sprinkled all over with very small dots
of the same colour.
I have represented an adult male, a female, and a young bird.
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 221.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 800.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 420.
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS, BLACK-THROATED DIVER, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Boreali-Americana, vol. ii. p. 475.
BLACK-THROATED DIVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXLVI. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, straight, stout, higher than broad at the
base, much compressed toward the end, and tapering to a point. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line descending and considerably convex toward
the end, the ridge convex, narrowed toward the point, the sides convex
beyond the nostrils, the edges involute for half their length in the
middle, direct at the base and toward the end, the tip narrow and
sharpish. Nasal groove rather long and narrowed; nostrils sub-basal,
linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle extremely
narrow, and very long, the dorsal line ascending and very slightly
convex, the ridge convex and narrow, the edges sharp and involute, the
tip attenuated.
Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long and
thick. Eyes of moderate size. Body elongated, much depressed, of an
elliptical form viewed from above. Wings small. Feet short, rather
large, placed very far back; tibia almost entirely concealed; tarsus
short, exceedingly compressed, sharp-edged before and behind, covered
all over with reticulated angular scales, hind toe extremely small,
externally marginate, connected with the second for half its length by
a membrane, which extends, narrowing, to the end; the anterior toes
connected by articulated membranes, the fourth or outer longest, the
third a little shorter, the second considerably shorter than the third;
all covered above with numerous narrow scutella; the second toe with a
free two-lobed membrane, the claws very small, depressed, blunt.
Plumage short and dense, of the head and neck very short, soft and
blended; of the lower parts short, blended, stiffish, considerably
glossed; of the upper compact, glossy; the feathers on the lower part
of the sides of the neck much incurved, oblong with the terminal barbs
stiff; those of the fore part of the back and the scapulars straight,
oblong, abrupt. Wings proportionally very small and narrow, curved;
primaries strong, tapering, the first longest, the second slightly
shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries very short, broad, and
rounded. Tail extremely short, rounded, of eighteen feathers.
Bill black. Iris deep bright red. Feet greyish-blue, their inner sides
tinged with yellow; claws black, that of the inner toe yellowish at
the base. The upper part of the head and the hind neck are light grey
or hoary, the fore part and sides of the head darker. The upper parts
are glossy black tinged with green anteriorly, and shaded with brown
behind. On the fore part of the back are two longitudinal bands of
transverse white bars, the feathers being tipped with that colour;
the scapulars, excepting the outer, are marked in the same manner with
transverse rows of rather large square spots. Most of the wing-coverts
have two roundish spots of white near the end. The quills are
blackish-brown, tinged with grey externally, paler on the inner webs;
the tail also blackish-brown. The fore neck, to the length of six and
a half inches, is purplish-black, ending angularly below, and with a
transverse interrupted band of linear white spots near the upper part;
beyond which the sides of the neck are blackish-brown, with several
longitudinal white streaks, formed by the edges of the feathers; on the
lower part of the neck a broad space is occupied by these longitudinal,
dusky, and white streaks the former of which gradually become narrower.
The lower parts are pure white, excepting a longitudinal band on the
sides under the wing, which is dusky.
Length to end of tail 29 inches, to end of wings 27-1/2, to end of
claws 33; extent of wings 39-1/2; wing from flexure 12-3/4; tail 2-3/4;
bill along the ridge 2-(5-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible
3-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 3-1/12; hind toe 8/12, its claw 2/12; second toe
3-2/12, its claw (5-1/2)/12; third toe 3-8/12, its claw 5-(5-1/2)/12;
fourth toe 4-1/4, its claw (4-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLVI. Fig. 2.
The Female is smaller than the male, but is similarly coloured.
Young in Winter. Plate CCCXLVI. Fig. 3.
The texture of the plumage is less dense, the feathers on the neck
being more downy, and those of the back oblong and rounded. The bill
is light bluish-grey, dusky along the ridge; the iris brown; the feet
more dusky. The upper part of the head and the hind neck are dark
greyish-brown; the sides of the head greyish-white, minutely streaked
with brown. The upper parts have a reticulated or scaly appearance, the
feathers being brownish-black, with broad bluish-grey margins; the rump
dull brownish-grey. The primaries and their coverts are brownish-black,
the secondaries and tail-feathers dusky, margined with grey. The
fore part of the neck is greyish-white, minutely and faintly dotted
with brown, its sides below streaked with the same; the lower parts,
including the under surface of the wing, pure white; the sides of the
body and rump, with part of the lower tail-coverts, dusky, edged with
bluish-grey.
When in their first downy plumage, the young are of a uniform
brownish-black colour.
SMEW OR WHITE NUN.
_MERGUS ALBELLUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXLVIL. MALE AND FEMALE.
The Smew is a bird of extremely rare occurrence in the United States,
insomuch that it must be considered merely as a transient or accidental
visitor. Indeed I have felt strong misgivings on reading WILSON’s
article on this species, and cannot but think that he is mistaken when
he states that it “is much more common on the coast of New England
than farther south,” and again “In the ponds of New England, and some
of the lakes in the State of New York, where the Smew is frequently
observed—.” Now, although I have made diligent inquiry, not only
in New England, but in every part of our country where I thought it
likely that the Smew might occur, I have not met with any person well
acquainted with birds of this family, who has seen it. WILSON, in
short, was in all probability misinformed, and it is my opinion that
his figure was made from a stuffed European specimen which was then in
Peale’s Museum in Philadelphia, and that he had taken the Buffel-headed
Duck, seen at a distance, for this species, as I am aware has been the
case with other individuals.
The only specimen procured by me was shot by myself on Lake Barataria,
not far from New Orleans, in the winter of 1819. It was an adult female
in fine plumage. How it had wandered so far south is an enigma to me;
but having found it, and made a drawing of it on the spot, I have taken
the liberty to add one of the other sex from an equally fine specimen.
After all, the Smew can scarcely be considered as belonging to the
American Fauna, any more than our Fork-tailed Hawk can with propriety
be called a denizen of England; and in this I am supported by all the
great navigators of our Arctic Seas, such as ROSS, PARRY, and FRANKLIN,
none of whom, nor any of their companions, ever met with a single
individual of this beautiful bird.
MERGUS ALBELLUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 209.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 831.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 398.
SMEW or WHITE NUN, MERGUS ALBELLUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. viii. p. 126, pl. 71, fig. 4. Male.
The SMEW, or WHITE NUN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 467.
Adult Male Plate CCCXLVII. Fig. 1.
Bill rather shorter than the head, straight, rather slender, a little
higher than broad at the base, tapering, somewhat cylindrical toward
the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal outline sloping gently and
slightly concave to the middle, then straight, at the tip declined,
the ridge rather broad and flat at the base, then convex, the sides
sloping at the base, convex toward the end, the edges serrate beneath,
with about forty slightly reversed, compressed, tapering, tooth-like
lamellæ, the unguis elliptical, much curved. Nasal groove oblong,
sub-basal, filled by a soft membrane; nostrils oblong, submedial,
direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow and
extended to the obovate, very convex unguis, the sides rounded, with a
long groove, the edges with about sixty perpendicular sharp lamellæ.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck of moderate length.
Body full and depressed. Feet placed far behind, extremely short; tibia
bare for a quarter of an inch; tarsus extremely short, much compressed,
anteriorly covered with a series of very small scutella, and another
row on the lower half externally, the sides reticulate. Hind toe very
small, with an inferior free membrane; anterior toes double the length
of the tarsus; the second shorter than the fourth, which is nearly
as long as the third; all connected by reticulated webs, of which
the outer is deeply emarginate. Claws short, considerably curved,
compressed, acute, that of the middle toe with a thin inner edge.
Plumage full, soft, and blended; feathers of the head and upper part of
the hind neck very slender, and elongated along the median line into
a narrow decurved crest; those of the shoulders obovate and abrupt,
of the rest of the upper parts ovate, of the lower elliptical. Wings
very short, narrow, curved, and pointed; primaries narrow, tapering,
the first scarcely longer than the second, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondaries short, narrow, rounded, the inner tapering to an obtuse
point. Tail short, graduated, of sixteen rather narrow, tapering
feathers.
Bill dark greyish-blue. Iris bright red. Feet livid blue, claws dusky.
The general colour of the plumage is pure white; a short band on each
side of the hind neck bordering the crest, duck-green; a broad patch
on the lore and below the eye, a narrow band across the lower part of
the hind neck, formed by single bars near the tips of the feathers,
the middle of the back in its whole length, a short transverse bar
under the fore edge of the wing, the anterior margin of that organ
to beyond the carpal joint, the outer edges of the scapulars, the
primary coverts, the secondary coverts, and the outer secondary quills,
excepting the tips of both, deep black. The quills are also black,
but of a less deep tint; the hind part of the back becomes tinged with
grey, and the rump and tail-feathers are dusky grey. The sides of the
body and rump are white, finely undulated with blackish-grey.
Length to end of tail 17-1/2 inches, to end of claws 18-1/4, to end of
wings 15-1/2; extent of wings 27; bill along the ridge 1-(3-1/2)/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-(7-1/2)/12; wing from flexure 7-3/4;
tail 3-1/2; tarsus 1-(1-1/2)/12; first toe 1/2, its claw 2/12; second
toe 1-1/2, its claw 4/12, third toe 1-11/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12;
fourth toe 1-10/12, its claw 5/12. Weight 1 lb. 8 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLVII. Fig. 2.
The Female is much smaller. The feathers of the hind part of the head
and neck are also elongated so as to form a crest. The bill, iris,
and feet, are coloured as in the male. All the lower parts are white,
excepting a broad band of light grey across the middle of the neck, and
a narrow portion of the sides, which are of a deeper tint. There is
a patch of brownish-black on the lore and beneath the eye; the upper
part of the head and half of the hind neck, are light reddish-brown;
the rest of the hind neck, and all the upper parts, bluish-grey, darker
behind, and in the middle of the back approaching to black. The wings
as in the male, that is black, with a large patch of white, and two
narrow transverse bands of the same; the tail dusky grey.
Length to end of tail 15-1/4 inches, to end of claws 16-1/2, to end of
wings 14-1/2; extent of wings 25. Weight 1 lb. 4 oz.
GADWALL DUCK.
_ANAS STREPERA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXLVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
I have met with this species along the whole of our Atlantic coast,
from Eastport in Maine to Texas. It is, however, more abundant in the
interior than in most of our maritime districts, and is particularly so
on the tributaries of the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi. In the early
part of autumn and late in spring many are found on the margins of our
great lakes. Yet the Gadwall has been represented as not plentiful
in the United States, probably on account of its being generally
dispersed, and not congregated in particular districts.
The Creoles of Louisiana name it “Violon,” on account of the whistling
sound of its wings. It arrives in the neighbourhood of New Orleans and
the mouths of the Mississippi along with the Widgeon, and is fond of
the company of the Red-head, to which it is about equal as an article
of food. The Gadwalls are usually seen in small flocks, and during
winter resort to the larger lakes and the pools in the interior of the
great marshes, adjoining the waters of the Gulf. In that part of the
country they feed on small fish, insects, and aquatic grasses. Fewer
of them are found in Massachusetts and the State of New York than
elsewhere, and this probably on account of these districts being more
elevated and less marshy than those farther south. My friend Dr BACHMAN
informs me that they are rather plentiful in South Carolina, where they
are considered good eating, and where they arrive in the beginning of
October, but are more frequently met with at that season, and in early
spring, than during winter, when a single individual may sometimes be
seen in a flock of other ducks.
While we were in the Texas, in the latter part of April and the
beginning of May, we found the Gadwall quite abundant on all the inland
ponds and streams, as well as on the brackish pools and inlets of
the islands and shores of Galveston Bay. Many of them had paired and
separated from the other ducks; and I was assured that this species
breeds there, as does the Dusky Duck, the Mallard, the Blue-winged
Teal, the Widgeon, and the Shoveller, the young of all these species
being plentiful in the end of June and beginning of July. I was
satisfied as to the truth of the repeated assurances I had received
on this subject, by observing the manners of individuals of all these
species before my departure from that country. After a continuance of
rainy weather, Gadwalls are found in great numbers on the vast prairies
of Oppelousas and Attacapas, where I have been told they continue until
very late in spring, and some remain to breed.
This species dives well on occasion, especially on being wounded. At
the appearance of danger, it rises on wing—whether from the ground or
from the water—at a single spring, in the manner of the Mallard, and,
like it also, ascends almost perpendicularly for several yards, after
which it moves off in a direct course with great celerity. I have never
seen it dive on seeing the flash of the gun; but when approached it
always swims to the opposite part of the pond, and, when the danger
increases, flies off. On being wounded, it sometimes by diving makes
its escape among the grass, where it squats and remains concealed.
It walks with ease, and prettily, often making incursions upon the
land, when the ponds are not surrounded by trees, for the purpose of
searching for food. It nibbles the tender shoots and blades of grasses
with apparent pleasure, and will feed on beech-nuts, acorns, and seeds
of all kinds of gramineæ, as well as on tadpoles, small fishes, and
leeches. After rain it alights in the corn-fields, like the Mallard,
and picks up the scattered grains of maize. The common notes or cry
of the female have a considerable resemblance to those of the female
Mallard; but the cry of the male is weaker as in that species.
It is by no means shy in the Western Country, where I have often found
it associating with other species, which would leave the pond before
it. Near the sea, however, it is much more wary, and this no doubt
on account of the greater number of persons who there follow shooting
as a regular and profitable employment. From the following note of my
friend Dr BACHMAN, you may judge how easily this fine species might be
domesticated.
“In the year 1812 I saw in Dutchess County, in the State of New York,
at the house of a miller, a fine flock of ducks, to the number of
at least thirty, which, from their peculiar appearance, struck me as
differing from any I had before seen among the different varieties of
the tame Duck. On inquiry, I was informed that three years before, a
pair of these ducks had been captured in the mill pond, whether in a
trap, or by being wounded, I cannot recollect. They were kept in the
poultry-yard, and, it was said, were easily tamed. One joint of the
wing was taken off, to prevent their flying away. In the following
spring they were suffered to go into the pond, and they returned
daily to the house to be fed. They built their nest on the edge of the
pond, and reared a large brood. The young were perfectly reconciled
to domestication, and made no attempts, even at the migratory season,
to fly away, although their wings were perfect. In the following
season they produced large broods. The family of the miller used them
occasionally as food, and considered them equal in flavour to the
common duck, and more easily raised. The old males were more beautiful
than any that I have examined since; and as yet domestication had
produced no variety in their plumage.”
The migration of this species extends to the Fur Countries, where it
is said to breed. The description of a male killed on the Saskatchewan
River, on the 22d of May 1827, is given in the Fauna Boreali-Americana;
and I have a fine male procured by Dr TOWNSEND on the Columbia River.
ANAS STREPERA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 200.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 859.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 383.
GADWALL, ANAS STREPERA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p. 120, pl. 71, fig. 1.—_Richards._ and _Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 440.
GADWALL or GREY, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 383.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXLVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill nearly as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base,
depressed towards the end, the sides parallel, the tip rounded. Upper
mandible with the frontal angles short and obtuse, the dorsal line
at first sloping, then slightly concave and direct, the ridge broad
and flat at the base, then broadly convex, the edges soft, with about
fifty internal lamellæ, the unguis roundish, curved abruptly at the
end. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, rather small, oblong, pervious. Lower
mandible flattened, its angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line
very short, slightly convex, the edges soft, with about sixty lamellæ.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long, slender.
Body elongated, slightly depressed. Feet very short; tibia bare for
about a quarter of an inch; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly
with two series of scutella, the outer shorter, the rest covered with
reticulated angular scales; toes obliquely scutellate above; first
very small, free, with a narrow membrane beneath; third longest, fourth
considerably shorter, second shorter than fourth, their connecting webs
entire, on the edge crenate; the second or inner toe with a membranous
margin. Claws small, slightly arched, compressed, rather acute, the
hind one very small and more curved, that of the middle toe with an
inner sharp edge.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head short, of the
occiput and nape a little elongated, of the lower parts glossy with
the extremities of the filaments stiffish. Wings rather long, little
curved, pointed; the first quill longest, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondaries very broad, but pointed, the inner much elongated, and
tapering to a point. The tips of the filaments of the outer web of the
first primary are separated and curved a little forwards. Tail short,
rounded, of sixteen strong pointed feathers, of which the middle pair
project considerably.
Bill bluish-black. Iris reddish hazel. Feet dull orange-yellow, claws
brownish-black, webs dusky. Head light yellowish-red, the upper part
and nape much darker and barred with dusky; the rest dotted with the
same. The lower part of the neck, the sides of the body, the fore
part of the back, and the outer scapulars, undulated with dusky, and
yellowish-white, the bands much larger and semicircular on the fore
part of the neck and breast; the latter white, the abdomen faintly
and minutely undulated with brownish-grey; the elongated scapulars
brownish-grey, broadly margined with brownish-red; the hind part
of the back brownish-black; the rump all round, and the upper and
lower tail-coverts, bluish-black. The anterior smaller wing-coverts
are light grey, undulated with dusky, the middle coverts of a deep
rich chestnut-red; primary coverts brownish-grey, outer secondary
coverts darker and tinged with chestnut, the rest black, excepting
the inner, which are grey. Primaries and inner elongated secondaries
brownish-grey, of which colour also are the inner webs of the rest,
part of the outer webs of five of the outer black, and their terminal
margins white, of which colour are the whole outer webs of the three
next to the inner elongated quills. Tail brownish-grey, the feathers
margined with paler.
Length to end of tail 21-3/4 inches, to end of wings 19, to end of
claws 23-1/4; extent of wings 35; bill along the ridge 1-3/4, along the
edge of lower mandible 1-7/8; wing from flexure 11; tail 4-3/8; tarsus
1-1/2; hind toe and claw 1/2; second toe 1-5/8, its claw 4/12; third
toe 1-7/8, its claw 4/12; outer toe 1-(7-1/2)/12, its claw 2/12. Weight
1 lb. 10 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLVIII. Fig. 2.
The female is considerably smaller. Bill dusky along the ridge, dull
yellowish-orange on the sides. Iris hazel. Feet of a fainter tint than
in the male. Upper part of head brownish-black, the feathers edged
with light reddish-brown; a streak over the eye, the cheeks, the upper
part of the neck all round, light yellowish-red tinged with grey, and
marked with small longitudinal dusky streaks, which are fainter on the
throat, that part being greyish-white; the rest of the neck, the sides,
all the upper parts and the lower rump feathers brownish-black broadly
margined with yellowish-red. Wing-coverts brownish-grey, edged with
paler; the wing otherwise as in the male, but the speculum fainter.
Tail-feathers, and their coverts dusky, laterally obliquely indented
with pale brownish-red, and margined with reddish-white.
Length to end of tail 19-1/4 inches, to end of wings 18-3/4, to end of
claws 19-1/2; extent of wings 31; wing from flexure 8-1/4; tail 3-3/4;
tarsus 1-(4-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-(9-1/2)/12, its claw 4/12.
In a male, the roof of the mouth is deeply concave, with a prominent
median ridge, and oblique grooves toward the end. The tongue is 1
inch 10 twelfths long, fleshy, with a deep longitudinal groove, two
lateral series of filaments, and a thin broadly rounded tip, as in
other ducks. The œsophagus, _a_, _b_, is 10-1/2 inches long, 5 twelfths
in diameter for about four inches, then enlarged to 10 twelfths, and
again contracted as it enters the thorax. The proventriculus, _b b_,
is 1 inch and two twelfths long, its greatest diameter 8 twelfths.
The stomach, _c d e_, is a very large and powerful gizzard, of an
elliptical form, compressed, 1 inch and 9 twelfths long, 2 inches in
its greatest breadth, or in the direction of the lateral muscles, of
which the right, _c_, is 10 twelfths thick, the left, _d_, 9 twelfths.
The epithelium is thick and rugous; much thickened and forming two
roundish, flat or slightly concave grinding surfaces, opposite the
muscles. The intestine, _e f g_, is 6 feet 10 inches long, wide, its
diameter for 2 feet being 4-1/2 twelfths, towards the rectum enlarging
to 6 twelfths. It forms first a very long duodenal curve, _c e f g_,
and is then convoluted or coiled in numerous folds. The rectum is 5-1/4
inches long; the cœca 11 inches, their greatest diameter 6 twelfths,
for 2 inches at the commencement 2 twelfths, towards the end 2-1/2
twelfths, their extremity rounded.
[Illustration]
The trachea, _h_, is 7-1/2 inches long; its diameter at the upper part
4 twelfths, gradually diminishing to 3-1/2 twelfths; it then enlarges
to 5 twelfths, and contracts to 3-1/2 twelfths at the commencement
of the dilatation of the inferior larynx, which is extremely similar
to that of the Widgeon, but larger; there being an enlargement, _i_,
formed by a number of the lower rings united, and to the left side a
rounded bony tympanum _j_; the greatest transverse diameter of this
part, from _i_ to _j_, is 1 inch 1 twelfth. The bronchi, _k k_, are of
moderate size, covered with a dense layer of adipose matter.
LEAST WATER RAIL.
_RALLUS JAMAICENSIS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCXLIX. MALE AND YOUNG.
My knowledge of this pretty little species is altogether derived from
TITIAN PEALE, Esq., of Philadelphia, by whom, in October 1836, I was
favoured with the following letter:—
“I herewith send you the ‘Little Rail’ of which we were
speaking yesterday, and the letter of Dr ROWAN which relates
to it. The young died soon after I received them, but the old
one lived with me until the 26th of July (four days after
its capture), evincing considerable anxiety for the young,
as long as they lived. Both young and old partook sparingly
of Indian meal and water, or bread and water, and soon became
quite at home, and probably might have been domesticated, had
they been properly accommodated.
“The most remarkable part of the history of this individual
is, that after its death we should have discovered in
dissection that it was a male, rendering it singularly
curious that _he_ should have suffered himself to be captured
by hand while in defence of the young brood.
“There is now in the Museum a specimen of this species,
which has been in the collection for about thirty years, said
to have been caught in the vicinity of the city. It stands
labelled ‘Little Rail, _Rallus minutus_, Turton’s Linn;’ but
the authenticity of the specimen has always been disputed
by BONAPARTE and others, because none else had been found;
and the author just named expressed a belief that it was an
immature specimen of _Rallus (Crex) Porzana_ of Europe.
“I regret that I should have mislaid the measurements of
the specimen when recent, if any were taken, and cannot lay
my hands on them, or any thing more than the above notes.
Respectfully yours, &c.
TITIAN R. PEALE.”
Inclosed in Mr PEALE’s letter was the following note from Dr ROWAN “to
the Messrs PEALES.”
“On Saturday last I wrote to you of the Rail Bird breeding
near this place. I then described one that I caught last
summer, which was unlike the Rail in the fall season, and
I presumed that all in the wet ground were the same, but
this day my men mowing around the pond started up two of the
usual kind. The hen flew a few rods, and then flew back to
her young in an instant, when they caught her together with
her four young, which I herewith send you. Many more can be
caught. I have seen them in our meadow every month of the
year, but they never make a great noise except when very fat
on the wild oat’s seed. From the above you will conclude
that they do not migrate to the south, but breed here.
Respectfully,
THOMAS ROWAN.”
RALLUS JAMAICENSIS, _Brisson_ Sup. p. 140.—_Gmel._ Syst. Nat.
vol. ii. p. 718.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 761.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXLIX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, being slightly convex
toward the end, the ridge narrow and convex in its whole length, the
sides convex towards the end, the edges sharp, the tip rather acute.
Nasal groove extending to a little beyond the middle of the bill;
nostrils linear, lateral, submedial, pervious. Lower mandible with
the angle long and narrow, the sides erect, the dorsal line sloping
upwards, the edges a little inflected, the tip narrowed, the gape line
straight.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck shortish. Body compact,
deeper than broad. Feet of moderate length, rather slender; tibia bare
a short way above the joint; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed
anteriorly covered with broad scutella, posteriorly with smaller, and
on the sides reticulated. Hind toe small and very slender; middle toe
longest, and longer than the tarsus; inner toe considerably shorter
than the outer; toes free, with numerous scutella above. Claws of
moderate length, compressed, slightly arched, acute.
Plumage blended, slightly glossy above. Wings short and broad;
tapering, rounded, the first and second nearly equal and longest. Tail
very short, much rounded, of twelve feeble rounded feathers; the upper
and lower tail-coverts nearly as long as the tail-feathers.
Bill black. Iris red. Feet bright yellowish-green, claws dusky. The
head and all the lower parts are very dark purplish-grey, on the upper
part of the head approaching to black, on the fore part of the neck
faintly undulated with paler, on the sides and hind parts barred with
greyish-white; the lower wing-coverts barred with grey and white;
the lower tail-coverts of the latter colour. The hind neck and fore
part of the back dark chestnut; the rest of the back and tail-coverts
greyish-black, transversely barred with white. Wing-coverts and inner
secondaries reddish-brown, with white spots; the other quills more
dusky. The tail-feathers also reddish-brown, barred with dusky and
marked with white spots.
Length to end of tail 6 inches; wing from flexure 3-7/8; tail 1-1/16;
bill along the ridge 1/2, along the edge of lower mandible (4-1/2)/8;
bare part of tibia 1/4; tarsus 1; hind toe and claw 1/2; middle toe and
claw 1, outer toe and claw 7/8; inner toe and claw 5/8.
Young a few days old. Plate CCCXLIX. Fig. 2.
While yet covered with down, the young is black all over; the bill
bright yellow, with the point of the upper mandible, and a band across
the middle of the lower, black; the feet dull yellowish-green, the
claws dusky.
Since the above was written, I have received a letter from my friend
J. TRUDEAU, M. D., in which he says that his father shot a considerable
number of these Rails last winter in the vicinity of New Orleans.
ROCKY-MOUNTAIN PLOVER.
_CHARADRIUS MONTANUS_, TOWNSEND.
PLATE CCCL. FEMALE.
For the following brief account of this bird, I am indebted to my
learned and obliging friend, THOMAS NUTTALL.
“This remarkable species, so much allied to the _Charadrius Wilsoni_,
was scarcely seen by us for more than one or two days, and then on
the central table-land of the Rocky Mountains, in the plains near the
last of the streams of the Platte, pursued in our western and northern
route. It being the month of July when we saw it, there is little doubt
but that it was breeding in this subalpine region. The only individual
shot, was seen skulking and running through the wormwood bushes which
so generally clothe those arid and dry wastes. After running some time,
it would remain perfectly still, as if conscious of the difficulty of
distinguishing it from the colour of the grey soil on which it stood.
All that we saw were similar to the present individual, and none,
however flushed, took to the wing. We do not recollect hearing from it
the slightest complaint or note of any kind, being intent probably on
concealing its young or eggs by a perfect silence.”
The skin from which I made my drawing was that of a female; and it is
my opinion, that the male, when found, will have as distinct markings
as those exhibited by _Charadrius melodus_ or _Ch. semipalmatus_.
CHARADRIUS MONTANUS, ROCKY-MOUNTAIN PLOVER. _Townsend_,
Journ. Acad. of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vii.
p. 192.
Adult Female. Plate CCCL.
Bill shorter than the head, straight, somewhat cylindrical. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line straight to beyond the middle, then
bulging a little and curving to the rather acute tip, which projects
beyond that of the lower mandible, the sides flat and sloping at the
base, convex towards the end. Nasal groove extended to the middle of
the bill; nostrils basal, linear, open and pervious. Lower mandible
with the angle rather short, the sides at the base sloping outwards:
the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the edges sharp, the tip
rather acute.
Head of moderate size, oblong, the forehead rounded. Legs rather long
and slender; tibia bare half an inch above the joint; tarsus slender,
compressed, covered with angular scales, of which the anterior are much
larger; toes short, slender, with numerous scutella above, marginate,
the outer connected with the middle by a short membrane. Claws small,
compressed, slightly arched, rather acute.
Plumage soft, the feathers rather distinct on the upper parts, blended
on the lower. Wings long and pointed; primary quills tapering, the
first longest by a quarter of an inch, the rest rapidly graduated;
inner secondaries tapering and elongated, one of them nearly as long
as the outer primary when the wing is closed. Tail of moderate length,
even, of twelve feathers.
Bill black. Feet light dull brownish-yellow. Forehead, a band over the
eye, fore part of neck, and all the rest of the lower surface, white;
top of the head and nape dark yellowish-brown, sides and hind part of
the neck dull ochre-yellow, which is the prevailing colour on the upper
parts, the feathers being broadly margined with it while their central
portion is greyish-brown. Wing-coverts lighter; primary coverts and
quills dusky, their shafts and margins white, that colour becoming more
extended on the inner and on some of the secondaries, so as to form a
conspicuous patch on the wing; inner secondaries like the back. Tail
yellowish-brown, tipped with yellowish-white, the two outer broadly
margined with the same.
Length to end of tail about 8-1/4 inches, to end of wings the same,
to end of claws 9-1/4; wing from flexure 6-1/8; tail 2-1/2; tarsus
1-(4-1/2)/8; middle toe 3/4, claw 1/4.
GREAT CINEREOUS OWL.
_STRIX CINEREA_, GMELIN.
PLATE CCCLI.
This fine Owl, which is the largest of the North American species, is
nowhere common with us, although it ranges from the north-eastern coast
of the United States to the sources of the Columbia River. It has been
procured near Eastport in Maine, and at Marble Head in Massachusetts,
where one of them was taken alive, perched on a wood pile, early in the
morning, in February 1831. I went to Salem for the purpose of seeing
it, but it had died, and I could not trace its remains. The gentleman,
Mr IVES, in whose keeping it had been for several months, fed it on
fish and small birds, of which it was very fond. Besides shewing me
various marks of attention, he gave me a drawing of it made by his
wife, which is still in my possession. It uttered at times a tremulous
cry not unlike that of the Little Screech Owl, _Strix Asio_, and shewed
a great antipathy to cats and dogs. In the winter of 1832, I saw one
of these Owls flying over the harbour of Boston, Massachusetts, amid
several Gulls, all of which continued teasing it until it disappeared.
I have seen specimens procured on the Rocky Mountains by Dr TOWNSEND,
and several brought to London by the medical officer who accompanied
Captain BACK in his late Arctic journey. Among the individuals which
I have examined I have found considerable differences as to size and
markings, which may be attributed to age and sex. My drawing was taken
from a remarkably fine specimen in the collection of the Zoological
Society of London.
The comparatively small size of this bird’s eyes renders it probable
that it hunts by day, and the remarkable smallness of its feet and
claws induces me to think that it does not prey on large animals.
Dr RICHARDSON says that “it is by no means a rare bird in the Fur
Countries, being an inhabitant of all the woody districts, lying
between Lake Superior and latitudes 67° or 68°, and between Hudson’s
Bay and the Pacific. It is common on the borders of Great Bear Lake;
and there, and in the higher parallels of latitude, it must pursue
its prey, during the summer months, by day-light. It keeps however
within the woods, and does not frequent the barren grounds, like the
Snowy Owl, nor is it so often met with in broad day light as the Hawk
Owl, but hunts principally when the sun is low; indeed, it is only at
such times, when the recesses of the woods are deeply shadowed, that
the American hare and the murine animals, on which the Cinereous Owl
chiefly preys, come forth to feed. On the 23d of May I discovered
a nest of this Owl, built on the top of a lofty balsam poplar, of
sticks, and lined with feathers. It contained three young, which were
covered with a whitish down. We got them by felling the tree, which
was remarkably thick; and whilst this operation was going on, the two
parent birds flew in circles round the objects of their cares, keeping,
however, so high in the air as to be out of gunshot; they did not
appear to be dazzled by the light. The young ones were kept alive for
two months, when they made their escape. They had the habit, common
also to other Owls, of throwing themselves back, and making a loud
snapping noise with their bills, when any one entered the room in which
they were kept.”
STRIX CINEREA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 291.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 58—_Richards._ and _Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p 77.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLI.
Bill short, stout, broader than high at the base, its dorsal outline
convex to the end of the cere, which is covered with stiffish linear
feathers having their barbs separated, the ridge very broad, the sides
sloping and nearly flat, the tip compressed, decurved, acute; lower
mandible small, with the angle long and wide, the dorsal line convex,
the edges sharp, the tip narrow; the gape-line straight, at the end
decurved. Nostrils large, elliptical; eyes large, but proportionally
smaller than in most other Owls.
The body is slender, anteriorly broad, but seems large and full
on account of the great mass of plumage; the neck short; the head
extremely large. Feet rather short; the tarsi very short, and
feathered; the toes very short and feathered, there being only two or
three bare scutella at their extremity. Claws slightly curved, long,
slender, compressed, tapering to an extremely narrow point.
Plumage very full, soft, and downy; the feathers generally oblong.
Those on the face linear, stiffish, with loose barbs, and disposed in
two large disks surrounding the eyes; besides which there is a ruff
of softer linear, denser feathers from the forehead, behind the ears,
to the chin. The conch of the ear is very large, although greatly
exceeded by that of many other Owls, and furnished with an anterior
semicircular operculum, beset with slender feathers. Wings very large,
concave; primaries, decurved toward the end, the first with the tips of
the filaments separated, and recurved in its whole length, the second
in its terminal half; the first quill short, being of the same length
as the sixth, the second 2-1/2 inches longer, the third 1-1/2 inch
longer than the second, 1/4 inch shorter than the fourth, which is the
longest, or equals the next. The first five have their outer webs more
or less cut out towards the end, and the first seven have their inner
webs sinuate. The tail is long, ample, rounded, of twelve broad rounded
feathers.
Bill yellow. Iris bright yellow. Claws brownish-black. The general
colour of the upper parts is greyish-brown, variegated with
greyish-white in irregular undulated markings; the feathers on the
upper part of the head with two transverse white spots on each web; the
smaller wing-coverts of a darker brown, and less mottled than the back;
the outer scapulars with more white on their outer webs; the primary
quills blackish-brown toward the end, marked in the rest of their
extent with few broad light-grey oblique bands, which are dotted and
undulated with darker. Tail-feathers similarly barred, darker towards
the end, the middle ones more intricately marked. The feathers of the
ruff are white towards the end, dark-brown in the centre. The disks are
on their inner side grey, with black tips; in the rest of their extent
greyish-white, with six bars of blackish-brown very regularly disposed
in a concentric manner; feathers on the chin or upper part of throat
greyish-white. All the under parts are greyish-brown, variegated with
greyish and yellowish white; the feet barred with the same.
Length to end of tail 30-1/2 inches, to end of wings 27-1/4, to end
of claws 22; extent of wings 48-1/2; wing from flexure 19-1/4; tail
12-3/4; bill along the ridge 1, along the edge of lower mandible 1-3/4;
breadth of gape 1-1/2; tarsus 2-1/2; hind toe 7/12, its claw 7/8;
middle toe 1, its claw 1-5/12.
BLACK-SHOULDERED HAWK.
_FALCO DISPAR_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCLII. MALE AND FEMALE.
I have traced the migration of this beautiful Hawk from the Texas as
far east as the mouth of the Santee River in South Carolina. CHARLES
BONAPARTE first introduced it into our Fauna, on the authority
of a specimen procured in East Florida, by TITIAN PEALE, Esq. of
Philadelphia, who it seems had some difficulty in obtaining it. On
the 8th of February 1834 I received one of these birds alive from Dr
RAVENEL of Charleston, who had kept it in his yard for eight days
previously, without being able to induce it to take any food. The
beauty of its large eyes struck me at once, and I immediately made
a drawing of the bird, which was the first I had ever seen alive. It
proved to be a male, and was in beautiful plumage. Dr RAVENEL told me
that it walked about his yard with tolerable ease, although one of its
wings had been injured. On the 23d of the same month I received another
fine specimen, a female, from FRANCIS LEE, Esq., who had procured it
on his plantation, forty miles west of Charleston, and with it the
following note. “When first observed, it was perched on a tree in an
erect posture. I saw at once that it was one of the birds which you
had desired me to procure for you, and went to the house for my gun. On
returning I saw the Hawk very high in the air, sailing beautifully over
a large wet meadow, where many Common Snipes were feeding. It would now
and then poise itself for a while, in the manner of our Little Sparrow
Hawk, and suddenly closing its wings plunge towards its prey with great
velocity, making a rumbling noise as it passed through the air. Now and
then, when about half-way, it suddenly checked its descent, recommenced
hovering, and at last marking its prey, rushed upon it and secured it.
Its cries, on being wounded, so much resembled those of the Mississippi
Kite, that I thought, as I was going to pick it up, that I had only
got one of that species. It was so shy that I was obliged to get on
horseback before I could approach it within gun shot.”
Mr H. WARD, who accompanied me on my expedition to the Floridas found
this species breeding on the plantation of ALEXANDER MAYZCK, Esq., on
the Santee River, early in the month of March, and shot three, two of
which, a male and a female, are now in my possession. Their nests were
placed on low trees near the margins of the river, and resembled those
of the American Crow, but had none of the substantial lining of that
bird’s nest. Mr WARD states, that at this time they were seen flying
over the cane brakes in pursuit of large insects, somewhat in the
manner of the Mississippi Kite, and that they were very shy.
My friend JOHN BACHMAN has seen this species fly in groups, at a very
great height, in the beginning of March, and thinks that it is only of
late years that they have located themselves in South Carolina, where,
however, five of them have been procured in one year.
The Black-shouldered Hawk appears to give a decided preference to low
lands, not distant from the shores of the Atlantic. On our way toward
the Texas, several of these birds were seen over the large marshes,
flying at a small elevation, and coursing in search of prey, much in
the manner of the Hen-harrier or Marsh Hawk, but all evidently bent on
proceeding to the eastward. Whether this species winters there or not,
I am unable to say, but that some remain all the year in Florida, and
even in South Carolina, I am quite confident.
The difference between the food of this species and that of the
Mississippi Kite is surprising to me. I have never seen the latter
seize any bird, whereas the Black-shouldered Hawk certainly does so,
as in the stomachs of two individuals which I examined were remains
of birds as well as of coleopterous insects. These two birds agree
nearly with the description of the one procured by Mr TITIAN PEALE,
excepting in the length of the wings, which in them and in several
others that have come under my notice, have their tips fully an inch
shorter than the end of the tail. A breeding female differed from the
rest in having the eyes dull yellowish-red; the tail-feathers had all
been ash-grey, all the primaries were edged with white, and many of the
secondaries were still of a light brownish-grey; the black spots under
the wings were smaller than usual; the abdomen was also tinged with
brownish-grey. I am therefore of opinion, that these birds undergo as
many changes of plumage as the Mississippi Kite.
BLACK-WINGED HAWK, FALCO MELANOPTERUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer.
Orn. vol. ii. pl. 11. fig. 1. Female.
FALCO MELANOPTERUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 31.
FALCO DISPAR, _Temm._ _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis. Append, p.
435.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, broader than deep at the base, with the gape very wide.
Upper mandible with the cere covered at the base with bristly feathers,
the dorsal line convex and declinate to the end of the cere, then
curved downwards in about the third of a circle, the sides at the
base sloping towards the end convex and erect, the sharp edges with
a distinct festoon, the tip narrow and acute. Lower mandible with the
angle very wide and long, the dorsal outline very short, ascending and
slightly convex, the sharp edges inflected, the tip obliquely truncate
and narrow. Nostrils elliptical, rather large, in the fore part of the
cere.
Head rather large, broad, flattened above, with the superciliary ridges
prominent. Eyes large, directed obliquely forwards. Neck short; body
compact. Legs of moderate length; tibia long and muscular; tarsus very
short, stout, roundish, covered anteriorly with feathers for half
its length, the rest with small roundish scales, toes short, thick,
tuberculate and papillate beneath, scaly above, like the tarsus, but
with three large scutella at the end. Claws long, curved, conical,
extremely pointed, that of middle toe with an inner edge.
Plumage soft, blended, full, on the back rather compact. Feathers
of the cere, lore, and eyelids, bristle-pointed. Wings very long and
pointed, the second quill longest, the third nearly as long, the first
longer than the fourth; the first, second, and third with the outer
web attenuated toward the end; the first and second with the inner web
sinuated; secondaries very broad, rounded, the inner web exceeding the
outer. Tail of twelve feathers, of moderate breadth, long, emarginate
and rounded, the middle and lateral feathers being about equal, and
eight-twelfths of an inch shorter than the second feather from the
side.
Bill black; the cere and soft basal margins yellow. Iris bright red.
Tarsi and toes yellow, of a darker tint than the cere; claws black.
All the lower parts are pure white, with the exception of a patch on
five or six of the larger wing-coverts; the forehead is also white,
as are the cheeks; the superciliary bristles black, the white of the
head gradually blends into the general colour of the upper parts, which
is ash-grey; the smaller wing-coverts bluish-black; the shafts of the
quills brownish-black; all the feathers of the tail, excepting the two
middle, white; the shafts of the two middle feathers blackish-brown,
of the rest white towards the end, the whole of that of the outer pure
white.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of claws 12-1/4, to end of
wings 14-7/8; extent of wings 40; wing from flexure 13; tail 7-10/12;
bill along the ridge (1-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-5/12; tarsus 1-4/12; first toe 7/12, its claw 3/4; second toe
(10-1/2)/12, its claw 10/12; third toe 1/4, its claw (9-1/2)/12; fourth
toe (10-1/2)/12, its claw 8/12. Weight 14 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLII. Fig. 2.
The female is rather larger than the male, but in other respects
similar.
Length to end of tail 16-3/4 inches, to end of wings 15-3/4, to end of
claws 12-3/8; extent of wings 41-1/2; tail 8; wing from flexure 13-1/2;
bill along the ridge 1-1/8, along the edge of lower mandible 1-1/2;
tarsus 1-3/8; hind toe 3/4, its claw 7/8; outer toe 7/8, its claw 1/2;
middle toe 1-3/8, its claw 5/8; inner toe 7/8, its claw 3/4. Weight
17-1/4 oz.
The young when fledged have the bill and claws black, the cere and feet
dull yellow; the upper parts brownish-grey, the scapulars and quills
tipped with white, the former also margined, with yellowish-brown;
the primary and secondary coverts are also tipped with white; the
smaller wing-coverts are brownish-black; the outer webs of all the
tail-feathers are more or less brownish-grey toward the end. The lower
parts are white, the feathers on the breast tinged with brownish-yellow
at the end, and with the shaft yellowish-brown. The lower wing-coverts
are all white.
CHESTNUT-BACKED TITMOUSE.
_PARUS RUFESCENS_, TOWNSEND.
PLATE CCCLIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
You have before you on the same plate three species of _Parus_, two of
which are new to science. Of specimens of these I obtained possession
in consequence of the purchase which I made of part of Dr TOWNSEND’s
hard-earned collection, made during his laborious expedition over the
Rocky Mountains, and the valley of the Columbia River. For an account
of the habits of those which are not found to the east of the Rocky
Mountains, I am indebted to my friends THOMAS NUTTALL, Esq., and J. K.
TOWNSEND, M. D. Mr NUTTALL’s notice respecting the present species is
as follows:—
“The Chestnut-backed Titmouse is seen throughout the year in the
forests of the Columbia, and as far south as Upper California, in all
which tract it breeds, forming, as I have some reason to believe, a
pendulous, or at least an exposed nest, like some of the European
species. It is made of large quantities of hypna and lichens, and
copiously and coarsely lined with deer’s hair and large feathers, such
as those of the Grouse and the Jay. They are commonly seen in small
flocks of all ages in the autumn and winter, when they move about
briskly, and emit a number of feeble querulous notes, after the manner
of the Chickadee, or common species, _Parus atricapillus_, but seldom
utter any thing like a song, though now and then, as they glean about,
they utter a _t’she_, _de_, _de_, or _t’dee_, _t’dee_, _dee_, their
more common querulous call, however, being like _t’she_, _dé_, _de_,
_vait_, _t’she_, _de_, _de_, _vait_, sometimes also a confused warbling
chatter. The busy troop, accompanied often by the common species, the
_Regulus tricolor_, and the small yellow-bellied _Parus_, are seen
flitting through bushes and thickets, carefully gleaning insects and
larvæ for an instant, and are then off to some other place around,
proceeding with restless activity to gratify the calls of hunger and
the stimulus of caprice. Thus they are seen to rove along for miles
together, until satisfied or fatigued, when they retire to rest in
the recesses of the darkest forests, situations which they eventually
choose for their temporary domicile, where in solitude and retirement
they rear their young, and for the whole of the succeeding autumn and
winter remain probably together in families. When the gun thins their
ranks, it is surprising to see the courage, anxiety, and solicitude
of these little creatures: they follow you with their wailing scold,
and entreat for their companions in a manner that impresses you with a
favourable idea of their social feelings and sympathy.”
Dr TOWNSEND says, that “the Chinook Indians call this species _a kul_.
It inhabits the forests of the Columbia River, where it breeds and goes
in flocks in the autumn, more or less gregarious through the season.
The legs and feet are light blue.”
PARUS RUFESCENS, CHESTNUT-BACKED TITMOUSE, _Townsend_, Journ.
Acad. of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vii. p. 190.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIII. Fig. 1.
Bill very short, straight, strong, compressed, rather acute; both
mandibles with the dorsal line slightly convex, the sides sloping and
convex, the edges sharp, the tip of the upper scarcely longer. Nostrils
basal, roundish, concealed by the recumbent feathers. Head large,
ovate; neck short; body rather robust. Feet of ordinary length, robust;
tarsus compressed, with seven anterior scutella, and two lateral
plates meeting behind so as to form a thin edge; toes large, the three
anterior united as far as the second joint, the hind one much stronger,
and with its claw as long as the third. Claws large, arched, much
compressed, acute.
Plumage blended, tufty, unglossed. Wings of moderate length, the fourth
and fifth quills equal and longest, the sixth scarcely shorter, the
third and seventh equal, the second and eighth equal, the first very
short, being only half the length of the second. Tail long, slender,
arched, very slightly emarginate, or with its tip divaricate, of twelve
rather narrow feathers.
Bill brownish-black, with the edges and tip paler. Feet greyish-blue;
claws paler. Head and neck, and fore part of the sides, dark-brown,
with a broad longitudinal band of white on each side, from the bill
under the eye, curving up on the shoulder, and almost meeting on the
back; which, including the rump, is bright chestnut, as are the sides
under the wings; the middle of the breast and abdomen greyish-white,
the lower tail-coverts tinged with chestnut. Wings and tail
brownish-grey, the smaller coverts tinged with chestnut, the secondary
coverts margined and tipped with greyish-white, of which colour also
are the outer edges of the quills, except the first; tail feathers
faintly margined with bluish-grey.
Length to end of tail 4-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 2-3/8; tail
1-11/12; bill along the ridge (4-1/2)/12; tarsus (7-1/2)/12; hind toe
(3-1/4)/12, its claw 4/12; middle toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw (2-3/4)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIII. Fig. 2.
The Female is similar to the male.
BLACK-CAP TITMOUSE.
_PARUS ATRICAPILLUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The opinion generally entertained respecting the extensive dispersion
of the Black-cap Titmouse, has in all probability originated from
the great resemblance which it bears to the Carolina Titmouse, _Parus
Carolinensis_, described at p. 341 of the second volume of this work;
that species being now known to extend its spring and summer migrations
as far eastward as the State of New Jersey, where it has been found
breeding by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. of Moorestown. The Black-cap,
on the other hand, is rarely observed farther south, and then only
in winter, when it proceeds as far as beyond the middle portions of
Maryland, from whence I have at that season received specimens in
spirits, collected by my friend Colonel THEODORE ANDERSON of Baltimore.
Westward of the Alleghanies it extends as far as Kentucky in winter,
but at the approach of spring returns northward. In Pennsylvania and
New Jersey some are known to breed; but as the Carolina Titmouse breeds
there also, it is difficult to say which of them is the most numerous,
they being so like each other that one is apt to confound them. In
the State of New York it is abundant, and often rears two broods in
the season; as you proceed eastward you may observe it in all places
favourable to its habits; and, according to Dr RICHARDSON, it is found
as far north as Lat. 65°, it being in the Fur Countries the most common
bird, “a small family inhabiting almost every thicket.” None were seen
by Dr TOWNSEND either on the Rocky Mountains or about the Columbia
River, where, on the contrary, _Parus Carolinensis_ is abundant, as
it is also in the Texas, where I found it breeding in the spring of
1837. Although bearing a considerable resemblance to the Marsh Titmouse
of Europe, _P. palustris_, it differs from that species not only in
colour, but more especially in its habits and notes.
Hardy, smart, restless, industrious, and frugal, the Black-cap Titmouse
ranges through the forest during the summer, and retiring to its more
secluded parts, as if to ensure a greater degree of quiet, it usually
breeds there. Numerous eggs produce a numerous progeny, and as soon
as the first brood has been reared, the young range hither and thither
in a body, searching for food, while their parents, intent on forming
another family, remain concealed and almost silent, laying their
eggs in the hole deserted by some small Woodpecker, or forming one
for themselves. As it has been my fortune to witness a pair at this
work, I will here state what occurred, notwithstanding the opinion
of those who inform us that the bill of a Titmouse is “not shaped for
digging.” While seated one morning under a crab-apple tree (very hard
wood, Reader), I saw two Black-cap Titmice fluttering about in great
concern, as if anxious to see me depart. By their manners indeed I was
induced to believe that their nest was near, and, anxious to observe
their proceedings, I removed to the distance of about twenty paces.
The birds now became silent, alighted on the apple-tree, gradually
moved towards the base of one of its large branches, and one of them
disappeared in what I then supposed to be the hole of some small
Woodpecker; but I saw it presently on the edge, with a small chip in
its bill, and again cautiously approached the tree. When three or four
yards off I distinctly heard the peckings or taps of the industrious
worker within, and saw it come to the mouth of the hole and return many
times in succession in the course of half an hour, after which I got
up and examined the mansion. The hole was about three inches deep, and
dug obliquely downward from the aperture, which was just large enough
to admit the bird. I had observed both sexes at this labour, and left
the spot perfectly satisfied as to their power of boring a nest for
themselves.
The Black-cap Titmouse, or Chickadee, as it is generally named in our
Eastern States, though exceedingly shy in summer or during the breeding
season, becomes quite familiar in winter, although it never ventures
to enter the habitations of man; but in the most boisterous weather,
requiring neither food nor shelter there, it may be seen amidst the
snow in the rugged paths of the cheerless woods, where it welcomes
the traveller or the woodcutter with a confidence and cheerfulness far
surpassing the well-known familiarity of the Robin Redbreast of Europe.
Often, on such occasions, should you offer it, no matter how small
a portion of your fare, it alights without hesitation, and devours
it without manifesting any apprehension. The sound of an axe in the
woods is sufficient to bring forth several of these busy creatures,
and having discovered the woodman, they seem to find pleasure in his
company. If, as is usually the case, he is provided with a dinner,
the Chickadee at once evinces its anxiety to partake of it, and loses
no opportunity of accomplishing its object, although it sets about
it with much circumspection, as if it were afraid of being detected,
and brought to punishment, A woodcutter in Maine assured me, that one
day he happened to be at work, and had scarcely hung up his basket of
provisions, when it was observed by a flock of these birds, which,
having gathered into it at once, attacked a piece of cold beef; but
after each peck, he saw their heads raised above the edge, as if to
guard against the least appearance of danger. After picking until they
were tired or satisfied, they left the basket and perched directly
over his fire, but out of the direction of the smoke. There they sat
enjoying themselves and ruffling their feathers to allow the warmth
more easy access to their skin, until he began his dinner, when they
immediately alighted near him, and in the most plaintive tones seemed
to solicit a portion.
WILSON and others have spoken of this species as being addicted to
moving in the company of our smaller Woodpeckers and Brown Creepers,
and this in such a way as to induce most readers to believe the act to
be customary; but I have often found groups of them, at times composed
of more than a dozen, without any such companions, and I should be more
inclined to think that the Downy Woodpecker, and the Brown Creeper,
seek the company of the Titmice, rather than that the latter associate
with them. Often indeed have I watched the busy Chickadees, as they
proceeded from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, whether by
the road-side or in the interior of the forest, when no other birds
were with them. The light rustling sound of their concave wings would
intimate their approach as well as their retreat, as gaily one after
another they passed onwards from one spot to another, chattering,
peeping everywhere, and determined as it were, not to suffer a chink to
pass without inspection. Now hanging, back downward, at the extremity
of a twig, its feet almost up to its bill, it would peck at a berry
or a seed until it had devoured it, or it had fallen to the ground:
should the latter be the case, the busy bird would at once fly down,
and hammer at the fruit. To the Black-cap Titmouse the breaking of
a hazel nut is quite a pleasure, and I have repeatedly seen the feat
accomplished not only by a bird in its natural state, but by one kept
in confinement. Courageous and at times exceedingly tyrannical, it will
attack young birds, break their skulls, and feed upon their flesh, as
I have more than once witnessed. In this habit they resemble the Jays,
but in every other they differ entirely from those birds, although
the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO has thought fit to assimilate the two groups.
The Chickadee feeds on insects, their larvæ, and eggs, as well as on
every sort of small fruit, or berries, including grapes, acorns, and
the seeds of various pines. I have seen them eat the seeds of the
sunflower, the poke-berry, and pears, as well as flesh of all kinds.
Indeed it may be truly called omnivorous. Often, like Jays, you may see
them perched as it were upon their food, and holding it beneath their
feet while pecking at it; but no Jays are seen to hang head downwards
at the end of a branch.
My friend THOMAS M’CULLOCH, Esq. of Pictou, in Nova Scotia, has
favoured me with the following interesting remarks having reference
to this species. “Sometimes I have been inclined to think, that the
sight of this bird is comparatively imperfect, and that it is chiefly
indebted to some of the other senses for its success in obtaining
subsistence. This idea may not be correct, but it seems to derive some
support from the little incident which I am about to mention. While
standing at the edge of a patch of newly-felled wood, over which the
fire had recently passed, and left every thing black in its course, I
observed a small flock of these birds coming from the opposite side of
the clearing. Being dressed in black and aware of their familiarity, I
stood perfectly motionless, for the purpose of ascertaining how near
they would approach. Stealing from branch to branch, and peering for
food among the crevices of the prostrate trunks, as they passed along,
onward they came until the foremost settled upon a small twig a few
feet from the spot upon which I stood. After looking about for a short
time it flew and alighted just below the lock of a double-barrelled
gun which I held in a slanting direction below my arm. Being unable
however to obtain a hold, it slided down to the middle of the piece,
and then flew away, jerking its tail, and apparently quite unconscious
of having been so near the deadly weapon. In this country these birds
seem to be influenced by a modification of that feeling by which so
many others are induced to congregate at the close of autumn and seek
a more congenial clime. At that period they collect in large flocks
and exhibit all the hurry and bustle of travellers, who are bent upon
a distant journey. If these flocks do not migrate, their union is soon
destroyed, for when the Black-cap Titmice again appear, it is in small
flocks; their former restlessness is gone, and they now exhibit their
wonted care and deliberation in searching for food.”
The nest of this species, whether it be placed in the hole of a
Woodpecker or Squirrel, or in a place dug by itself, is seldom found
at a height exceeding ten feet. Most of those which I have seen were
in low broken or hollowed stumps only a few feet high. The materials
of which it is composed vary in different districts, but are generally
the hair of quadrupeds, in a considerable quantity, and disposed in
the shape of a loose bag or purse, as in most other species which do
not hang their nests outside. Some persons have said that they lay
their eggs on the bare wood, or on the chips left by Woodpeckers; but
this is not the case, in so far as I have examined them; and in this
my observations are confirmed by those of Dr BREWER of Boston and Mr
M’CULLOCH of Pictou, who also have inspected nests of this species.
The eggs rarely exceed eight in number; they measure five-eighths of an
inch in length, by three-eighths and three-quarters, are rather pointed
at the smaller end, white, slightly sprinkled with minute dots and
markings of light reddish. Those of the first brood are deposited from
the middle of April to that of May; for the second about two months
later. The parents I have thought generally move along with the young
of the second brood.
Dr BREWER says, “on the 20th of June, I found in a single Titmouse’s
hole a mass of the hair of the Common Skunk and moss large enough to
weigh two or more ounces, and sufficient to construct a nest for some
of our larger birds, such for instance as Wilson’s Thrush.”
Mr M’CULLOCH found a nest of this bird placed about two feet from the
ground in a small stump, which seemed to have been excavated by the
birds themselves. It contained six young, and was lined entirely with
the hair which cattle, in rubbing themselves, had left upon the stump.
The flight of this species, like that of all our American Titmice, is
short, fluttering, generally only from tree to tree, and is accompanied
with a murmuring sound produced by the concavity of the wings. It is
seldom seen on the ground, unless when it has followed a fruit that
has fallen, or when searching for materials for its nest. It usually
roosts in its nest during winter, and in summer amid the close foliage
of firs or evergreens. In winter, indeed, as well as often in autumn,
it is seen near the farm-houses, and even in villages and towns, busily
seeking for food among the trees.
“On seeing a cat, or other object of natural antipathy,” says Mr
NUTTALL, “the Chickadee, like the peevish Jay, scolds in a loud, angry,
and hoarse note, _’tshe_, _dáigh dáigh dáigh_. Among the other notes
of this species, I have heard a call like _tshe-de-jay_, _tshe-de-jay_,
the two first syllables being a slender chirp, with the _jay_ strongly
pronounced. The only note of this bird which may be called a song, is
one which is frequently heard at intervals in the depths of the forest,
at times of day usually when all other birds are silent. We then may
sometimes hear in the midst of this solitude two feeble, drawling,
clearly whistled, and rather melancholy notes like _’te-dĕrry_, and
sometimes _ye-pĕrrit_, and occasionally, but more rarely in the same
wiry, whistling, solemn tone, _’phēbé_. The young in winter also
sometimes drawl out these contemplative strains. In all cases the first
syllable is very high and clear, the second word drops low, and ends
like a feeble plaint. This is nearly all the quaint song ever attempted
by the Chickadee. On fine days, about the commencement of October, I
have heard the Chickadee sometimes, for half an hour at a time, attempt
a lively, petulant warble, very different from his ordinary notes.
On these occasions he appears to flirt about, still hunting for his
prey, in an ecstacy of delight and vigour. But after a while the usual
drawling note again occurs. These birds, like many others, are very
subject to the attacks of vermin, and they accumulate in great numbers
around that part of the head and front which is least accessible to
their foot.”
PARUS ATRICAPILLUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 341.
PARUS ATRICAPILLUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 566.
BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE, PARUS ATRICAPILLUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 134, pl. 8, fig. 4.
PARUS ATRICAPILLUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 100.
BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 241.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIII. Fig. 3.
Bill short, straight, strong, compressed, rather obtuse; both mandibles
with the dorsal line slightly convex, the sides sloping and convex,
the edges sharp, that of the upper mandible slightly sinuate. Nostrils
basal, roundish, concealed by the recumbent feathers. Head large,
neck short, body robust. Feet of ordinary length, rather robust;
tarsus compressed, with seven anterior scutella; toes large, the three
anterior united as far as the second joint; the hind one much stronger,
and with its claw nearly as long as the middle toe. Claws large,
arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage blended, tufty; feathers of the head glossy. Wings of moderate
length, the first quill scarcely half the length of the second, which
is equal to the first secondary, the third and seventh about equal,
the fourth and fifth equal and longest. Tail long, a little arched,
emarginate and rounded, of twelve slender rounded feathers.
Bill brownish-black. Iris dark brown. Feet greyish-blue, as are the
claws. The whole upper part of the head and the hind neck pure black,
as is a large patch on the throat and fore-neck. Between these patches
of black is a band of white, from the base of the bill down the sides
of the neck, becoming broader behind, and encroaching on the back,
which, with the wing-coverts, is ash-grey tinged with brown. Quills
dark greyish-brown, margined with bluish-white, the secondary quills
so broadly margined as to leave a conspicuous white dash on the wing;
tail of the same colour, the feathers similarly edged. Lower parts
brownish-white, the sides pale yellowish-brown.
Length to end of tail 5-1/8 inches, to end of wings 3-7/8, to end of
claws 4-1/2; extent of wings 8-1/4; wing from flexure 2-10/12; tail
2-9/12; these measurements taken from three males. In another, the bill
along the ridge (4-1/2)/12; along the edge of lower mandible 7/12;
tarsus 7/12; hind toe 3/12, its claw 4/12; middle toe 5/12, its claw
3/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIII. Fig. 4.
The Female is similar to the male.
Male examined. The tongue is 4-1/2 twelfths long, emarginate and
papillate at the base, flat above, depressed, tapering, the point
horny, slit, with four bristly points. Œsophagus, _b_, _c_, _d_,
1-1/2 inch long, tapering at the commencement to the diameter of 2
twelfths, and then continuing nearly uniform, without dilatation; the
proventriculus, _c_, _d_, is not much enlarged. The stomach, _d_,
_e_, is a strong gizzard, of an oblong form or ovate, 4 twelfths
long, 3 twelfths broad, with strong lateral muscles; its epithelium
longitudinally rugous, and of a dark reddish-brown colour. Intestine
7-1/4 inches long, the diameter of its duodenal portion, _f_, _g_, _h_,
2-1/2 twelfths. The rectum, _g_, _k_, is 7-1/2 twelfths long; the cœca,
_j_, 1 twelfth long, and 1/4 twelfth in diameter.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 1-2/12 inch long, its diameter uniform, 3/4 twelfths,
its rings 42. It is furnished with lateral or contractor muscles,
sterno-tracheal, and four pairs of inferior laryngeal. Bronchi short,
of about 10 rings.
CHESTNUT-CROWNED TITMOUSE.
_PARUS MINIMUS_, TOWNSEND.
PLATE CCCLIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
My friend NUTTALL’s account of this Titmouse is as follows, “We first
observed the arrival of this plain and diminutive species on the
banks of the Wahlamet, near to its confluence with the Columbia, about
the middle of May. Hopping about in the hazel thickets which border
the alluvial meadows of the river, they appeared very intent and
industriously engaged in quest of small insects, chirping now and then
a slender call of recognition. They generally flew off in pairs, but
were by no means shy, and kept always in the low bushes or the skirt
of the woods. The following day I heard the males utter a sort of weak
monotonous short and quaint song, and about a week afterwards I had the
good fortune to find the nest, about which the male was so particularly
solicitous as almost unerringly to draw me to the spot, where hung
from a low bush, about 4 feet from the ground, his little curious
mansion, formed like a long purse, with a round hole for entrance near
the summit. It was made chiefly of moss, down, lint of plants, and
lined with some feathers. The eggs, six in number, were pure white,
and already far gone towards being hatched. I saw but few other pairs
in this vicinity, but on the 21st of June, in the dark woods near Fort
Vancouver, I again saw a flock of about twelve, which, on making a
chirp something like their own call, came around me very familiarly,
and kept up a most incessant and querulous chirping. The following
season (April 1836) I saw numbers of these birds in the mountain
thickets around Santa Barbara, in Upper California, where they again
seemed untiringly employed in gleaning food in the low bushes, picking
up or catching their prey in all postures, sometimes like the common
Chickadee, head downwards, and letting no cranny or corner escape their
unwearied search. As we did not see them in the winter, they migrate in
all probability throughout Mexico and the Californian peninsula at this
season.”
According to Dr TOWNSEND, “the Chinooks name it _a-ha-ke-lok_. It is a
constant resident about the Columbia River; hops about in the bushes,
and frequently hangs from the twigs in the manner of other Titmice,
twittering all the while with a rapid enunciation resembling the words
_thshish_, _tshist_, _tsee_, _twee_. The irides are bright yellow.”
PARUS MINIMUS, _Townsend_, Journal of Acad. Nat. Sciences of
Philadelphia, vol. vii. p. 190.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIII. Fig. 5.
Bill short, strong, compressed; upper mandible with its outline arched,
the sides sloping and convex. The edges sharp, the tip descending,
acute, and considerably exceeding that of the lower; which has the
angle short, the dorsal line ascending and very slightly convex,
the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils round, basal. Head rather
large, broadly ovate, convex in front; neck short; body slender. Feet
of moderate length, tarsus proportionally longer than in any other
American species, stout, compressed, with seven anterior scutella, and
two lateral plates, forming a very sharp edge behind. Toes moderately
stout, the first with its claw equal to the third, the anterior united
as far as the first web. Claws rather large, arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings, short, very broad, concave, rounded;
first quill half the length of the second, which is a quarter of an
inch shorter than the outer secondaries. Tail very long, being half the
entire length of the bird, slightly arched, much rounded, and a little
emarginate.
Bill black; feet and claws dusky or blackish brown. Upper part of the
head, and hind neck dull greyish brown; upper parts brownish-grey;
wings and tail dusky brown, tinged with grey, the margins of the quills
and tail-feathers greyish-white. Cheeks of a paler tint than the head;
all the lower parts brownish-white, the sides tinged with reddish.
Length to end of tail 4-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 1-(10-1/2)/12;
tail 2-2/12; bill along the ridge (4-1/2)/12; tarsus 7/12; hind toe
(2-3/4)/12, its claw (2-3/4)/12; middle toe 4/12, its claw 9/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIII.
The Female is rather smaller, and its colours are somewhat paler.
A nest presented to me by Mr NUTTALL is of a cylindrical form nine
inches long, three and a half in diameter. It is suspended from the
fork of a small twig, and is composed externally of hypna, lichens,
and fibrous roots, interwoven so as to present a smoothish surface,
and with a few stems of grasses, and some feathers of _Garrulus
Stelleri_ intermixed. The aperture, which is at the top, does not
exceed seven-eighths of an inch in diameter; but for two-thirds of
the length of the nest, the internal diameter is two inches. This part
is lined with the cottony down of willows, carefully thrust into the
interstices, and contains a vast quantity of soft feathers chiefly
of Steller’s Jay, with some others, among which can be distinguished
those of _Tetrao urophasianus_, _Columba fasciata_, and _Tanagra
ludoviciana_. The eggs, nine in number, are pure white, (4-1/2)/8 of an
inch in length, by (3-1/2)/8 broad, and are rather pointed at the small
end.
LOUISIANA TANAGER.
_TANAGRA LUDOVICIANA_, WILS.
PLATE CCCLIV. MALE.
WILSON was the first ornithologist who figured this handsome bird. From
his time until the return of Dr TOWNSEND from the Columbia River no
specimen seems to have been procured. That gentleman forwarded several
males in much finer condition than those brought by LEWIS and CLARKE.
Some of these I purchased, and, on his return to Philadelphia, I was
presented with a female by my young friend Dr TRUDEAU, of Louisiana,
a representation of which you will find in Plate CCCC. fig 4. The
only account of this species is by THOMAS NUTTALL, who, however, was
unacquainted with the female.
“We first observed this fine bird in a thick belt of wood near
Lorimier’s Fork of the Platte, on the 4th of June, at a considerable
distance to the east of the first chain of the Rocky Mountains (or
Black Hills), so that the species in all probability continues some
distance down the Platte. We have also seen them very abundant in
the spring, in the forests of the Columbia, below Fort Vancouver.
On the Platte they appeared shy and almost silent, not having there
apparently commenced breeding. About the middle of May we observed the
males in small numbers scattered through the dark pine forests of the
Columbia, restless, shy, and flitting when approached, but at length
more sedentary when mated. We frequently traced them out by their song,
which is a loud, short, slow, but pleasing warble, not much unlike
the song of the Common Robin, delivered from the tops of the lofty
fir-trees. This music continues at short intervals throughout the whole
forenoon, during which time our songster is busily engaged in quest
of such coleopterous insects and larvæ as are to be found on the young
branches of the trees he frequents, and which require an assiduous and
long-continued search to gratify his wants. Of the female and nest we
are still ignorant, though they are in all probability very similar
to those of our other known species. We have not seen this bird as far
south as Upper California, though it may exist in the thicker forests
remote from the coast, which we had no opportunity of visiting.”
LOUISIANA TANAGER, TANAGRA LUDOVICIANA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. iii. p. 27, pl. 20, fig. 1.
TANAGRA LUDOVICIANA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 105.
LOUISIANA TANAGER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 471.
Adult Male, in Spring. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill rather short, robust, tapering, compressed toward the end,
acute. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline declinate and slightly
convex, the ridge rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges sharp,
overlapping, with two slightly prominent small festoons about the
middle, and a distinct notch close to the tip, which is a little
declinate. Lower mandible strong, with the angle short and wide, the
dorsal line straight, the back broadly convex, the sides convex, the
edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils round, basal.
Head rather large, ovate, flattish above; neck very short; body ovate,
compact. Legs shortish; tarsus short, compressed, rather stout, with
seven anterior scutella, and two lateral plates forming an acute edge
behind; toes of moderate length; middle toe longer than tarsus, lateral
toes much shorter and equal, hind toe stout. Claws rather large,
arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft, blended; feathers of the head stiffish with silky lustre,
bristles at the base of the upper mandible small. Wings of ordinary
length, the second quill longest, the first four having the outer
web attenuated towards the end; secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail
rather long, straight, emarginate, of twelve feathers.
Bill dull greenish-yellow, brown along the ridge. Feet greyish-blue.
The head all round is of a beautiful rich carmine, fading gradually
on the nape, paler on the throat and fading on the fore neck; the
rest of the neck, all the lower parts, two bands on the wing, formed
by the middle coverts, and the extremities of the secondary coverts,
together with the rump and upper tail-coverts pure bright yellow. The
anterior half of the back, the scapulars, two bands on the wings, and
the inner secondaries black, the latter broadly margined at the end
and tipped with yellowish-white; alula, primary coverts, and primary
quills chocolate-brown, margined with yellowish-white; tail black,
the feathers narrowly tipped with greyish-white, and slightly margined
toward the end with yellowish white.
Length to end of tail 7-1/4 inches; wing from flexure 3-(9-1/2)/12;
tail 3; bill along the ridge 7/12, along the edge of lower mandible
(8-1/2)/12 tarsus 8/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw 4/12; middle toe 6/12,
its claw 5/12.
The female which has not been described or figured before, will
be seen on Plate CCCC, Fig. 4. The bill is dusky brown above,
light greyish-yellow beneath. The head, ear-coverts, and hind
neck, dull green, as is the rump; the middle of the back and the
scapulars greyish-brown tinged with green. Anterior wing-coverts
greyish-brown; middle coverts black with the extremities dull yellow,
secondary coverts and inner secondaries blackish-brown, tipped
with greyish-white; alula, primary coverts, and primary quills
chocolate-brown, slightly edged with brownish-white; tail-feathers
similar, but margined with yellowish-green. The lower parts are light
dull greenish-yellow, the sides tinged with grey.
Length to end of tail 6-3/4 inches; wing from flexure 3-9/12; tail
2-10/12; bill along the ridge 7/12; tarsus 8/12; middle toe and claw
9/12.
SCARLET TANAGER.
_TANAGRA RUBRA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLIV. MALE AND FEMALE.
You have now before you representations of one of the most richly
coloured of our birds, and one whose history is in some degree
peculiar. The Scarlet Tanager enters the United States from Mexico,
through the Texas, in the beginning of April. On several of the islands
in the Bay of Mexico, I found it exceedingly abundant, and restrained
in a great measure from proceeding eastward by the weather, which was
unseasonably cold. Many were procured in their full dress, and a few
in the garb of the females. These plain-coloured individuals turned
all out to be males, which in so far confirmed my former observations
respecting this and several other species, in which the males precede
the females by about a fortnight in their spring migrations. It was at
the same period that I observed the wonderful rapidity in the change
of the plumage from its winter aspect to its summer colouring, in the
Red-breasted Snipe, _Scolopax Noveboracensis_; and I became convinced
that nearly the same phenomenon took place in the Tanagers. In them, in
fact, the older individuals, being stronger, had attained their full
colouring, while the younger were later in changing. As we advanced,
I procured many specimens partially coloured, and when the males had
mostly passed, the females made their appearance; manifesting similar
gradations in the changes of their colours. I knew that many of the
males of this species reach our Middle Districts in a spotted dress,
and soon after acquire their full colours; and I am disposed to think
that in the autumnal months, the young males of the year become of
a much purer tint than that of the young or old females. The latter
themselves improve materially in this respect as they advance in age,
and I have some nearly twice as richly coloured as birds only a year
old. The same observations apply to our Summer Red Bird, _Tanagra
æstiva_, of which I have females, procured by my valued friend EDWARD
HARRIS, Esq., exhibiting tints nearly as bright as those of their
mates obtained at the same time, when they had nests. In the Scarlet
Tanager it is remarkable, moreover, that some males acquire a beautiful
transverse band of glowing red on the smaller wing-coverts; and I have
several specimens in this state, presented to me by Mr HARRIS and Dr
TRUDEAU.
The Scarlet Tanager proceeds as far northward as Lake Huron, where
it was observed by Dr RICHARDSON; but this must happen rarely, as
it is very sensible to cold, so much so indeed, that in the State
of Massachusetts, should a sudden change take place in the weather,
during the time of their spring migrations, hundreds die in the course
of a night, not only in the woods and orchards, but even in the towns
and villages. I witnessed a like occurrence at Eastport in Maine late
in May, when I was on my way to Labrador; and as I was proceeding to
the Texas, I observed that they sought the shelter of the low bushes,
when the weather was damp or chill. None were seen after we left the
former place, though they are at times found breeding in the British
provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In the United States they
seem extremely partial to certain districts, generally preferring sandy
soils and undulating grounds. Thus, I found them breeding abundantly in
Louisiana, but rarely there in the lower parts. My friend Dr BACHMAN
informs me that they are seldom met with in the maritime districts of
South Carolina, and that there they follow the mountain range as it
were for a guide. Yet they are plentiful in the Jerseys, where they
usually arrive about the middle of May, in Kentucky, and along the
Missouri; and, in short, are generally dispersed over the Union.
The migrations of this species are performed by night. Its flight on
ordinary occasions is even and swift, and it passes through the woods
in a gliding manner, when the glowing colours on the males render
them as conspicuous as pleasing to the sight. On the branches their
movements are rather sedate, and it is but seldom that they emit their
usual notes when in motion. These are by no means musical, although oft
repeated. They have been well imitated by WILSON, who represents them
by the syllables “_chip_, _churr_.” I have not, however, thought them
pensive in any degree, but rather lively: and when emitting them, the
bird often inflates his throat, stands erect, and vibrates his body, as
if in perfect ecstacy.
It is by no means true, as authors allege, that the Scarlet Tanager
retires from the sight of man, and prefers the deepest recesses of
the forest to the neighbourhood of the husbandman’s cottage; at least,
this is not the case in those parts of our country where the population
is not very dense; for I have observed it to take up its abode for a
season in the very vicinity of the squatter’s cabin, to the patch of
open ground near which it constantly resorted to search for coleoptera
and other insects, forming its slightly-built nest on the lower branch
of a spreading oak, or on a tree close to the road-side. It is composed
externally of a few dry weeds and small twigs, and scantily lined with
fibrous roots or slender grasses. In Louisiana the eggs are deposited
by the first of May, about a month later in our central districts, but
in the State of Maine frequently not until the middle of June. It never
raises more than one brood in the season; and I have observed that,
notwithstanding the difference in the temperature of our Southern and
Northern States, the young are no sooner able to travel than they are
at once led off, so that families may be seen travelling southward for
many weeks in succession, and by the end of September all have left
the United States. The eggs are from three to five, smooth, of a dull
greenish-blue colour, speckled with reddish-brown and light purple, and
measure a little more than 7 eighths of an inch in length, by 5 eighths
in breadth. The young are fed with insects and fruits of many sorts.
At this period the old birds feed also on insects and larvæ, but toward
the latter period of their stay they all subsist chiefly on the smaller
berries and grapes.
The parental affection of this bird has been so beautifully and truly
described by WILSON, that, in presenting the following statement
regarding it, I must contribute to the gratification of your kindly
feelings as much as of my own. “Passing through an orchard one morning,
I caught one of the young birds that had but lately left the nest.
I carried it with me about half a mile, to shew it to my friend, Mr
WILLIAM BARTRAM; and, having procured a cage, hung it upon one of the
large pine trees in the Botanic Garden, within a few feet of the nest
of an Orchard Oriole, which also contained young; hopeful that the
charity or tenderness of the Orioles would induce them to supply the
cravings of the stranger. But charity with them, as with too many of
the human race, began and ended at home. The poor orphan was altogether
neglected, notwithstanding its plaintive cries; and, as it refused to
be fed by me, I was about to return it back to the place where I found
it, when, towards the afternoon, a Scarlet Tanager, no doubt its own
parent, was seen fluttering round the cage, endeavouring to get in.
Finding this impracticable, he flew off, and soon returned with food
in his bill; and continued to feed it till after sunset, taking up
his lodgings on the higher branches of the same tree. In the morning,
almost as soon as day broke, he was again seen most actively engaged
in the same affectionate manner; and, notwithstanding the insolence of
the Orioles, continued his benevolent offices the whole day, roosting
at night as before. On the third or fourth day, he appeared extremely
solicitous for the liberation of his charge, using every expression of
distressful anxiety, and every call and invitation that nature had put
in his power, for him to come out. This was too much for the feelings
of my venerable friend; he procured a ladder, and, mounting to the spot
where the bird was suspended, opened the cage, took out the prisoner,
and restored him to liberty and to his parent, who, with notes of
great exultation, accompanied his flight to the woods. The happiness
of my good friend was scarcely less complete, and shewed itself in his
benevolent countenance; and I could not refrain saying to myself,—If
such sweet sensations can be derived from a single circumstance of
this kind, how exquisite—how unspeakably rapturous—must the delight of
those individuals have been, who have rescued their fellow beings from
death, chains, and imprisonment, and restored them to the arms of their
friends and relations! Surely in such godlike actions, virtue is its
own most abundant reward.”
TANAGRA RUBRA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 314.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 420.
SCARLET TANAGER, TANAGRA RUBRA, _Wilson_, Amer. Ornith. vol.
ii. p. 42, pl. 11, fig. 3. Male; fig. 4. Female.
TANAGRA RUBRA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 105.
SCARLET TANAGER, or BLACK-WINGED SUMMER RED-BIRD.
PYRANGA RUBRA, SCARLET BLACK-WINGED TANAGER, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor. Americana, vol. ii. p. 273.
Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCCLIV. Fig. 3.
Bill rather short, robust, compressed toward the end, acute. Upper
mandible with its dorsal outline declinate and slightly convex, the
ridge rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges sharp, overlapping,
with two slightly prominent small festoons about the middle, and a
faint notch close to the tip, which is a little declinate. Lower
mandible strong, with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line
straight, the back broadly convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp,
the tip acute. Nostrils round, basal.
Head rather large, ovate, flattish above; neck very short; body ovate,
compact. Legs shortish; tarsus short, compressed, rather stout, with
seven anterior scutella, and two lateral plates forming an acute edge
behind; toes of moderate length; middle toe longer than the tarsus,
lateral toes much shorter and equal, hind toe stout. Claws rather
large, arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended; very small bristles at the base of the upper
mandible. Wings of ordinary length, the second quill longest, the
first four having the outer web attenuated toward the end; secondaries
slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, straight, emarginate, of twelve
feathers.
Bill dull greenish-yellow, brown above. Iris hazel. Feet greyish-blue,
claws greyish-yellow. The general colour of the plumage is pure
scarlet; the wings and tail black; the axillar feathers, inner lower
wing-coverts, and more or less of the inner webs of nearly all the
quills, white.
Length to end of tail 7 inches, to end of wings 5-3/4, to end of claws
6-3/8; extent of wings 11-3/4; wing from flexure 4-1/12; tail 2-10/12;
bill along the ridge (7-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible
10/12; tarsus 9/12; hind toe (4-1/4)/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12; middle
toe (7-1/4)/12, its claw (4-1/4)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIV. Fig. 4.
Bill and feet as in the male. The general colour of the upper parts is
yellowish-green, tinged with grey, of the lower parts greenish-yellow;
the feathers of the wings and tail greyish-brown, margined with
yellowish-green, the secondaries and tail-feathers narrowly tipped with
greyish-white, the lower wing-coverts and the edges of all the quills
white.
Length to end of tail 6-1/2 inches, to end of wings 5-3/4, to end of
claws 6-1/4; extent of wings 10-3/4.
The young when fledged resemble the female; the males being, however,
distinguishable from the females by their brighter tints.
The young male in autumn, after the first, moult, has the lower parts
of a much brighter yellow, the upper of a lighter green, but with all
the feathers having a central black mark, those on the head oblong,
on the middle of the back broad, on the rump linear. The wing-coverts
are black; the quills and tail-feathers brownish-black, margined with
yellowish-green.
Two males in my possession, shot by Dr TRUDEAU, are remarkable for
having the first row of small coverts scarlet, forming a conspicuous
band amidst the black of the wing, and the lower wing-coverts tipped
and margined with the same. In all other respects, however, these
individuals agree with the others.
[Illustration]
An adult male examined. The roof of the mouth is concave, with a
median prominent ridge and two more prominent lateral ridges, between
which and the edges is a broad groove for the reception of the
lower mandible. The tongue is 6 twelfths long, deeply emarginate and
papillate at the base, flat above, with a median groove, the tip horny
and pointed, but terminated by several flattened bristles or shreds
Œsophagus, _a b c_, 2-1/2 inches long, its diameter 4-1/2 twelfths,
until its entrance into the thorax, when it contracts a little.
Proventriculus, _b c_, 1/2 inch long, and 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter.
The stomach, _c d e_, is a strong gizzard, 8 twelfths long, 7 twelfths
in breadth, its lateral muscles moderately thick; the epithelium rugous
and dark reddish-brown. Intestine, _f g h_, 7-1/2 inches long, its
average diameter 2-1/2 twelfths, its narrowest part 2 twelfths. The
rectum _i j_, 10 twelfths long; the cœca, _i_, 3/4 of a twelfth long,
and 1/2 twelfth in diameter.
The trachea is 2 inches long, its diameter 1-1/2 twelfths, and nearly
uniform; the rings about 60. The contractor and sterno-tracheal muscles
are slender; and there are four pairs of inferior laryngeal.
In a female the intestine is 7-1/4 inches long.
The contents of the stomach in both were remains of insects and seeds.
The digestive organs of this bird, and probably of all the Tanagers of
the same group, are thus not essentially different from those of the
Passerine tribe, including Finches, Buntings, &c. The œsophagus has a
more elongated dilatation than in most of the species of that tribe,
of which, however, the Corn Bunting of Europe is very similar in this
respect.
MACGILLIVRAY’S FINCH.
_FRINGILLA MACGILLIVRAII._
PLATE CCCLV. MALE AND FEMALE.
Whilst BACHMAN’s Finch resides in the pine forests of the Carolinas
and other Southern States, preferring dry and sandy lands covered with
grasses; and whilst HENSLOW’s Bunting or Finch, and the Yellow-winged
Bunting, are fond of open prairies and ploughed fields, in which they
nestle; the species, on which I have bestowed the name of my friend
MACGILLIVRAY, chooses for its residence the salt marshes of our
Southern Atlantic shores, in which also are found the Sharp-tailed and
Seaside Finches of WILSON and other authors. The three former spend the
greater part of the winter in the forests, perch occasionally on trees,
and feed principally on seeds; whereas the latter three are never
found elsewhere than in the salt marshes, and feed chiefly on minute
shells and aquatic insects. Were I therefore to adopt the minimum
generic groups which have become prevalent, I would place the three
birds of the interior in a genus apart from that containing the three
marsh-birds.
MACGILLIVRAY’s Finch is as yet very rare within the United States, and
has not been observed farther eastward than Sullivan Island, about six
miles from Charleston in South Carolina; but it is very abundant in
the Texas, occurring on all the low islands that are much intersected
by salt-water bayous, and interspersed with ponds of brackish water,
seldom leaving these localities unless whilst travelling, or passing
from one island to another, which they do by flying at the height of
only a few feet above the surface. They run among the rankest weeds
with uncommon celerity, and do not seem to mind being followed by a
dog, which they very easily elude amongst the thick grass. Whilst
breeding they often start from a little distance, and pursue a
singularly irregular or zigzag flight, much resembling that of the Jack
Snipe of Europe, and yet performed with apparently slow beats of the
wings. They fall as it were among the grass as suddenly as they rise
from it, and by these manœuvres save their nests from the searching
eye of the keenest student of nature. They very seldom alight on the
stems of grasses, although when they do they climb with facility,
occasionally using their tail as a support, in the same manner as the
Rice-bird. Their strong tarsi and toes enable them to walk on the
ground with great vigour. When they take wing deliberately, their
flight resembles that of a young partridge, and, if over the land,
is seldom extended between forty or fifty yards at a time. The males
appear very jealous of each other, and frequently one pursues another
on wing, but usually abandons the chase before the conquered bird has
alighted, leaving it to pursue its course as it pleases after it has
been driven beyond the assailant’s jurisdiction. The notes of this
species are few and unmusical, consisting of a sort of roll of five
or six syllables, which it seems to me impossible to imitate. They
are usually heard early in the morning. My friend Dr BACHMAN informs
me that none of these Finches remain in South Carolina during winter,
and that they generally disappear early in November, when the weather
is still very pleasant in the maritime portions of that state. Many,
however, spend the winter in the salt marshes about the mouths of
the Mississippi, and I have no doubt that they are constant residents
there, as they are in the Texas.
This species has already been described at p. 285 of the second volume
of the present work.
MARSH HAWK.
_FALCO CYANEUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLVI.
With ease and elegance of flight, guided by an uncommon acuteness
of what I would call short-sightedness, the Marsh Hawk, like an
experienced gleaner, ranges over the wide extent of the prairie. The
pure white of the hind part of the female’s back, and the pale blue of
the male, attract your eye so long as the pair remain within sight. The
diligence and industry which they exhibit remind you of the search of
a well-trained pointer.
This species visits the greater part of the United States. Dr
RICHARDSON procured some specimens in latitude 65° north, and Dr
TOWNSEND found it on the plains of the Columbia River, as well as on
the extensive prairies bordering on the Missouri. I have met with it in
Newfoundland and Labrador on the one hand, in Texas on the other, and
in every intermediate portion of the country.
In the Fauna Boreali-Americana, Mr SWAINSON has published an excellent
paper relating to such birds as have and have not been considered as
identical with this bird and the European one bearing the same name.
I perfectly agree with that gentleman when he says that “the typical
structure of the wing in the present group must unquestionably be that
most prevalent among the species. It must, however, be remembered, that
even this character is subject to variation, according to the age and
perhaps the locality of the bird, and that it must not be insisted upon
with too much rigour.” I regret that this learned ornithologist did not
introduce the word _sex_ into the above well-founded remark, as in the
sexes of birds, as well as in individuals of different ages, remarkable
differences are often observed.
It is to MONTAGU that we are indebted for our first knowledge of the
differences that exist between the male and the female of the European
Hen Harrier, with which WILSON believed the Marsh Hawk of America to
be identical. The Prince of MUSIGNANO, in his continuation of Wilson’s
American Ornithology, also considered these birds as the same; although
he has since altered his opinion. For my part, having carefully
observed the habits, and compared specimens of both, I have come to the
conclusion of their being the same species.
The flight of the Marsh Hawk, although light and elegant, cannot be
said to be either swift or strong; but it is well sustained, and this
may be accounted for on comparing the small size and weight of its body
with the great extent of its wings and tail, which are proportionally
larger than those of any other American Hawk. While searching for
prey, it performs most of its rambles by rather irregular sailings;
by which I mean that it frequently deviates from a straight course
peeping hither and thither among the tall grasses of the marshes,
prairies, or meadows, or along the briary edges of our fields. It is
seldom indeed seen to chase birds on wing, although I have met with
a few instances; nor is it much in the habit of carrying its quarry
to any distance; for generally as it observes an object suited to
its appetite, it suddenly checks its speed, and almost poising itself
by a few flaps of its wings, drops with astonishing quickness on its
unfortunate victim, which it usually tears to pieces and devours on the
spot. If disappointed, however, it rises as quickly as it dropped, and
proceeds as before. Whilst engaged in feeding, it may very easily be
approached, surprised, and shot, by an experienced sportsman, for it
rises in a flurried manner, and generally cuts a few curious zigzags at
the outset. To obtain it, one has only to mark the spot with accuracy,
keep his eye upon it, and advance with his gun in readiness, for he
will probably get within a few yards before the bird rises. I have
frequently seen it shot in this manner. At other times, by watching
its beats over a field or meadow, one may obtain a good opportunity by
concealing himself near a spot where he has seen it miss its object,
as it is sure to repass there in a short time, at all events before it
removes to another field. When wounded and brought to the ground, it
makes off on the approach of its enemy by great leaps, and at times so
swiftly that great exertion is requisite to overtake it; and when this
is accomplished, it throws itself on its back, strikes furiously, and
can inflict pretty severe wounds with its very sharp claws.
This species flies very high at times, and in a direct course, as
if intent on proceeding to some great distance; but as I observed
that this frequently occurred when the bird was satiated with food,
I have thought that it preferred this method of favouring digestion,
to its more usual mode of sitting on the top of a fence rail, and
there remaining quiet until again roused by the feeling of hunger. I
have often seen it, after sailing about in circles for a long while,
half-close its wings, and come towards the ground, cutting curious
zigzags, until within a few feet of it, when it would resume its usual
elegant and graceful mode of proceeding.
I have observed it in our western prairies in autumn moving in flocks
of twenty, thirty, or even so many as forty individuals, and appearing
to be migrating, as they passed along at a height of fifty or sixty
yards, without paying any attention to the objects below; but on all
these occasions I could never find that they were bent on any general
course more than another; as some days a flock would be proceeding
southward, on the next to the northward or eastward. Many times I have
seen them follow the grassy margins of our great streams, such as the
Ohio and Mississippi, at the approach of winter, as if bent on going
southward, but have become assured that they were merely attracted by
the vast multitudes of Finches or Sparrows of various sorts which are
then advancing in that direction.
In winter, the notes which the Marsh Hawk emits while on wing, are
sharp, and sound like the syllables _pee_, _pee_, _pee_, the first
slightly pronounced, the last louder, much prolonged, and ending
plaintively. During the love-season, its cry more resembles that of
our Pigeon Hawk; especially when the males meet, they being apparently
tenacious of their assumed right to a certain locality, as well as to
the female of their choice.
The Marsh Hawk breeds in many parts of the United States, as well as
beyond our limits to the north and south in which it finds a place
suited to its habits; as is the case with the Blue-winged Teal, and
several other species, which have until now been supposed to retreat
to high latitudes for the purpose. That many make choice of the more
northern regions, and return southward in autumn, is quite certain; but
in all probability an equal number remain within the confines of the
United States to breed.
It is by no means restricted to the low lands of the sea-shores
during the breeding season, for I have found its nest in the Barrens
of Kentucky, and even on the cleared table-lands of the Alleghany
Mountains and their spurs. In one instance, I found it in the
high-covered pine-barrens of the Floridas, although I have never seen
one on a tree; and the few cases of its nest having been placed on low
trees or bushes, may have been caused by the presence of dangerous
quadrupeds, or their having been more than once disturbed or robbed
of their eggs or young, when their former nests had been placed on the
ground.
Many birds of this species breed before they have obtained their
full plumage. I have several times found a male bird in brown plumage
paired with a female which had eggs; but such a circumstance is not
singular, for the like occurs in many species of different families.
I have never met with a nest in situations like those described by
some European writers as those in which the Hen-harrier breeds; but
usually on level parts of the country, or flat pieces of land that are
sometimes met with in hilly districts. As I am well aware, however,
that birds adapt the place and even the form and materials of their
nests to circumstances, I cannot admit that such a difference is by any
means sufficient to prove that birds similar in all other respects, are
really different from each other. If it be correct, as has been stated,
that the male of the European bird deserts the female, as soon as
incubation commences, this indeed would form a decided difference; but
as such a habit has not been observed in any other Hawk, it requires
to be confirmed. Our Marsh Hawks, after being paired, invariably keep
together, and labour conjointly for the support of their family, until
the young are left to shift for themselves. This is equally the case
with every Hawk with which I am acquainted.
Having considerable doubts as to whether any American writer who
has spoken of the Marsh Hawk ever saw one of its nests, I will here
describe one found on Galveston Island by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE, and
carefully examined by him as well as by my friend EDWARD HARRIS and
myself. As is usually the case when in a low and flat district, this
was placed about a hundred yards from a pond, on the ground, upon a
broom-sedge ridge, about two feet above the level of the surrounding
salt marsh. It was made of dry grass, and measured between seven and
eight inches in its internal diameter, with a depth of two inches and
a half, while its external diameter was twelve inches. The grass was
pretty regularly and compactly disposed, especially in the interior,
on which much care seemed to have been bestowed. No feathers or other
materials had been used in its construction, not even a twig. The
eggs were four, smooth, considerably rounded, or broadly elliptical,
bluish-white, an inch and three-quarters in length, an inch and a
quarter in breadth. The two birds were procured, and their measurements
carefully entered in my journal, as well as those of others obtained
in various parts of the United States and of the British Provinces. A
nest found on the Alleghanies was placed under a low bush, in an open
spot of scarcely half an acre. It was constructed in the same manner,
as the one described above, but was more bulky, the bed being about
four inches from the earth. The eggs, although of the same form and
colour, were slightly sprinkled with small marks of pale reddish-brown.
In general, the Marsh Hawks scoop the ground, for the purpose of fixing
their nest to the spot. On returning to London, in the summer of 1837,
I shewed several of the eggs of the American bird to WILLIAM YARBELL,
Esq. who at once pronounced them to belong to the Hen Harrier; and on
comparing their measurements with those of the eggs described by my
friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, I find that they agree perfectly.
The young are at first covered with soft yellowish-white down, but in
a few weeks shew the brownish and ferruginous tints of their female
parent, the young males being distinguishable from the females by their
smaller size.
I have found a greater number of barren females in this species than
in any other; and to this I in part attribute their predominance over
the males. The food of the Marsh Hawk consists of insects of various
kinds, especially crickets, of small lizards, frogs, snakes, birds,
principally the smaller sorts, although it will attack Partridges,
Plovers, and even Green-winged Teals, when urged by excessive hunger.
The only instance in which I have seen this bird carry any prey in its
talons on wing, happened on the 2d of April 1837, at the south-west
Pass of the Mississippi, when I was in company with EDWARD HARRIS, Esq.
and my son JOHN WOODHOUSE. A Marsh Hawk was seen to seize a bird on its
nest, perhaps a Marsh Wren, _Troglodytes palustris_, and carry it off
in its talons with the nest! A pair were hovering over the marsh during
the whole of our stay, and probably had a nest thereabout. It is rather
a cowardly bird, however, for on several occasions, when I was in the
Floridas, where it is abundant, I saw it chase a Salt-water Marsh Hen,
_Rallus crepitans_, which courageously sprung up, and striking at its
enemy, forced it off. My friend JOHN BACHMAN has frequently observed
similar occurrence in the neighbourhood of Charleston. Whenever it
seizes a bird on wing, it almost at once drops to the ground with
it, and if in an exposed place, hops off with its prey to the nearest
concealment.
In autumn, after the young have left their parents, they hunt in packs.
This I observed on several occasions when on my way back from Labrador.
In Nova Scotia, on the 27th of August, we procured nearly a whole pack,
by concealing ourselves, but did not see an adult male. These birds
are fond of searching for prey over the same fields, removing from
one plantation to another, and returning with a remarkable degree of
regularity, and this apparently for a whole season, if not a longer
period. My friend JOHN BACHMAN observed a beautiful old male which had
one of its primaries cut short by a shot, regularly return to the same
rice-field during the whole of the autumn and winter, and believes
that the same individual revisits the same spot annually. When satiated
with food, the Marsh Hawk may be seen perched on a fence-stake for more
than an hour, standing motionless. On horseback I have approached them
on such occasions near enough to see the colour of their eyes, before
they would reluctantly open their wings, and remove to another stake
not far distant, where they would probably remain until digestion was
accomplished.
I have never seen this species searching for food in the dusk. Indeed,
in our latitudes, when the orb of day has withdrawn from our sight, the
twilight is so short, and the necessity of providing a place of safety
for the night so imperious in birds that are not altogether nocturnal,
that I doubt whether the Marsh Hawk, which has perhaps been on wing the
greater part of the day, and has had many opportunities of procuring
food, would continue its flight for the sake of the scanty fare which
it might perchance procure at a time when few birds are abroad, and
when quadrupeds only are awakening from their daily slumber.
WILSON must have been misinformed by some one unacquainted with the
arrival and departure of this species, as well as of the Rice Bird,
in South Carolina, when he was induced to say that the Marsh Hawk “is
particularly serviceable to the rice-fields of the Southern States, by
the havoc it makes among the clouds of Rice Buntings that spread such
devastation among the grain, in its early stages. As it sails low,
and swiftly, over the surface of the field, it keeps the flocks in
perpetual fluctuation, and greatly interrupts their depredations. The
planters consider one Marsh Hawk to be equal to several Negroes for
alarming the Rice Birds.” Now, good Reader, my friend JOHN BACHMAN,
who has resided more than twenty years in South Carolina, and who is
a constant student of nature, and perhaps more especially attentive to
the habits of birds, informs me that the Marsh Hawk is proportionally
rare in that State, and that it only makes its appearance there _after_
the Rice Birds have left the country for the south, and retires at the
approach of spring, _before_ they have arrived.
European writers have generally considered our Marsh Hawk as larger
than their _Circus cyaneus_; but this opinion must have originated from
a want of specimens for comparison, and perhaps also a want of books
on which one might depend. Were all ornithological works characterized
by the accuracy and detail to be found in those of my friend WILLIAM
MACGILLIVRAY, the case might be different. The measurements which he
has taken from recent specimens correspond with those which I also
have taken from individuals newly killed, as nearly as is usual in
birds of other species. Indeed, should you measure as accurately as
possible a hundred specimens of any bird as large as our Marsh Hawk,
I am persuaded you would not find many of them to agree in all their
proportions. Instead of the American exceeding the European bird in
size, I think it will generally be found to be as nearly equal as
possible.
FALCO CYANEUS and F. PYGARGUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
126.
FALCO CYANEUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 39.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 33.
MARSH HAWK, FALCO ULIGINOSUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vi.
p. 67, pl. 1, fig. 1., young female.
FALCO CYANEUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_; Amer. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 30,
pl. xi. fig. 1., male.
BUTEO (CIRCUS) CYANEUS ? VAR ? AMERICANUS, AMERICAN
HEN-HARRIER, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol.
ii. p. 55.
HEN-HARRIER, or MARSH HAWK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
109.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 1.
Bill short, compressed. Upper mandible with its dorsal line a little
tumid at the base, sloping to beyond the cere, then decurved in
the fourth of a circle, the sides sloping, towards the end a little
convex, the edge with a festoon a little anterior to the nostril, the
tip acute, concave beneath. Lower mandible with the angle broad, the
dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges a little inflected, the tip
rounded, with the edges decurved. Nostrils large, ovato-oblong, in the
middle and fore part of the cere, and having an oblique ridge from the
upper edge.
Head of moderate size, oblong; neck short; body slender, much
compressed behind. Legs long and slender; tibia long but muscular;
tarsi long, compressed, with seventeen or eighteen large oblique
scutella on the fore and outer side, oval or subhexagonal scales
on the sides, and scutella behind, excepting at the upper and lower
parts; toes small, slender, the outer with a short web at the base,
connecting it with the third; first considerably shorter than second,
fourth a little longer than the latter, third much longer; all covered
above with scutella, unless at the base, where there are small scales,
beneath tuberculate and papillate, there being a long fleshy tubercle
on the last joint of each toe, and one on the next joint of the two
outer. Claws long, compressed, rounded above, flat beneath, curved into
the fourth of a circle, those of the first and second toes largest,
that of the third with a slight internal edge, of the fourth much
smaller and less curved.
Plumage very soft, generally blended. Cere covered on the sides with
rather long bristle-tipped feathers, which curve upwards and partially
conceal the nostrils; space between the bill and eye with radiating
feathers of the same nature. A distinct ruff of narrow feathers, which
are decurved, but with the tips recurved, extends from behind the
eye on each side to the chin. Wings long, much rounded; the fourth
quill longest, the third two-twelfths of an inch shorter, the second a
quarter of an inch shorter than the fifth, the first and seventh about
equal. The outer webs of the first five are attenuated towards the
end; and the outer four have their inner webs sinuate; the secondaries
are broad and rounded. Tail straight, long, of moderate breadth, and
slightly rounded, the middle feathers longest (in perfect specimens,
but often worn). The quills and tail-feathers are extremely soft, being
covered with a velvety down.
Bill bluish-black, cere yellow; inside of mouth dark bluish-grey. Iris
yellow. Tarsi and toes yellow, tinged with orange; claws black. The
general colour of the plumage above is light greyish-blue, the head and
scapulars of a deeper tint, the hind part of the back paler; the bases
of the occipital and ruff feathers white; the bristles of the cere and
lores black, their downy bases white. The fore neck and anterior part
of the breast are also greyish-blue; the middle of the breast and the
sides white, tinged with blue, the feathers having their shafts dusky,
and some very faint indications of bars; those of the legs, the lower
wing-coverts, and lower and upper tail-coverts, pure white. The seven
outer primaries are black, tipped with pale brown at the base white,
and on the outer edge tinged with grey; the rest and the secondaries of
the general colour, but with more or less brown towards the end, their
inner webs white, and obscurely barred with dark grey. The two middle
tail-feathers are of a lighter tint than the back, and the colour on
the outer webs of the rest gradually fades into white; the inner webs
of all but the two middle more or less white, with eight irregular
narrow bars of darkish grey.
Length to end of tail 19-3/4 inches, to end of wings 16-1/2, to end
of claws 16-1/2; extent of wings 44; wing from flexure 14-4/12; tail
8-9/12; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-2/12; tarsus 2-8/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw 10/12; middle toe
1-(2-1/2)/12, its claw (8-1/2)/12. Weight 16 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 2.
The female is larger than the male, and differs extremely in the
colours of the plumage, although those of the bare parts are the
same. The general colour of the upper parts is umber-brown, of
the lower light yellowish-red. The upper part of the head is deep
brown, the feathers edged with light yellowish-red; the anterior
part of the forehead, a band over the eye, and the loral space,
pale greyish-yellow, the bristle-tips of the latter black. The cheek
feathers are dull brown, slightly edged with yellowish-red; the ruff
feathers light yellowish-red, with a narrow brown central band. The
upper hind part, sides, and fore part of the neck, the breast and
sides, are light reddish-yellow, each feather with an oblong-lanceolate
umber-brown mark. Some of the hypochondrial feathers have four
light spots; the central part of the outer tibial feathers is light
brownish-red; the feathers of the middle of the breast, the abdomen,
and the lower tail-coverts, are of a uniform light yellowish-red. On
some of the scapulars, as well as many of the wing-coverts, are one or
two round light red or whitish spots; and the bases of the occipital
feathers are white. The primary and secondary quills are of the same
colour as the back, slightly edged with paler, the greater part of the
inner webs whitish, the primaries with broad bands of deeper brown.
Upper tail-coverts white. Tail light greyish-brown, white at the base,
with six broad bands of deep brown on the middle feathers, four on
the lateral, the last band much larger, the tips brownish or reddish
white, the inner webs, excepting the two middle feathers, reddish-grey
or whitish, the shafts light brown. Lower wing-coverts reddish-white,
with central lanceolate brown markings: lower surface of primary quills
greyish-white, with very conspicuous broad blackish-brown bands; tail
reddish-grey beneath, with the dark bands more distinct.
Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of wings 18-3/4, to end of
claws 15-3/4: extent of wings 46-3/8: wing from flexure 15-1/4: tail
9-10/12; bill along the ridge 1-3/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-2/12; tarsus 3-2/12; hind toe 10/12, its claw 1-2/12; middle toe
1-1/2, its claw 10/12.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 3.
The young of both sexes when fully fledged, resemble the adult female,
but have the colours of a richer or deeper tint; all the lower parts
with an elongated brown streak on each feather; the upper tail-coverts
white, with a lanceolate reddish-brown spot.
After the first moult, the male still resembles the adult female.
At least, such is the case with a specimen presented to me by Dr
RICHARDSON, and marked “_Buteo (Circus) cyaneus_. Spec. N. 6. Male.
May 31. 1826. Fort Franklin,” being the one elaborately described at
p. 63 of the second volume of the _Fauna Boreali-Americana_. In this
specimen the colours are much faded, and the feathers worn, the upper
tail-coverts in particular being reduced almost to the shafts. It is
valuable as indicating by two feathers on the leg, which are new, the
next state of plumage of the male, which is as follows:—
The upper part of the head and the hind neck are light brownish-red,
with dusky streaks, the white of the nuchal feathers conspicuous.
The upper parts are brown, with a tinge of grey, more apparent on the
wings, the scapulars and some of the smaller wing-coverts still marked
as in the young and females; the upper tail-coverts pure white; the
tail-feathers grey, with a tinge of brown, the lateral reddish-grey;
the dark bars much diminished in breadth, and the inner webs still
tinged with yellowish-red. The ruff is brownish-grey, margined with
reddish-white; the fore part of the neck and breast pale brownish-red,
tinged with grey, each feather marginally spotted or edged with dull
white. The rest of the lower parts are white, the feathers generally
with several spots of light red along the centre; these spots assuming
the appearance of transverse bars on the sides and legs; the smaller
wing coverts are similarly spotted, but those near the edge have only
a dusky streak, and the secondary coverts are barred with dusky. The
inner webs of the quills toward the base are white, with narrow bars
of brownish-black, and the extremities of the primaries are as in the
adult.
After a very careful comparison of seven skins of American birds with
an equal number of European, no essential differences can be observed.
I am therefore compelled to conclude, that the Marsh Hawk of America is
the Hen-Harrier of Europe. The following measurements are obtained from
a comparison of eight individuals.
Amer.
M. M.
Length to end of tail, 19-3/4 16-1/2
wings, 16-1/2 14-1/2
Extent of wings, 44 40-1/2
Wing from flexure, 14-4/12 13
Tail, 8-9/12 8-7/12
Bill along the ridge, 1-2/12 1-(1-1/2)/12
Tarsus, 2-8/12 2-9/12
Hind toe, (7-1/2)/12 (7-1/2)/12
Its claw, 10/12 (10-1/2)/12
Middle toe, 1-(2-1/2)/12 1-(2-1/2)/12
Its claw, (8-1/2)/12 (8-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 17 18
Scutella on first toe, 7 6
second, 5 5
third, 16 17
fourth, 7 8
Europ.
M. M.
Length to end of tail, 18 18-1/4
wings, 15-3/4 —
Extent of wings, 40 39-1/2
Wing from flexure, 13-1/2 13
Tail, 9 8-1/2
Bill along the ridge, 1-1/12 1-1/12
Tarsus, 2-1/2 2-8/12
Hind toe, 8/12 7/12
Its claw, 9/12 (9-1/2)/12
Middle toe, 1-1/2 1-2/12
Its claw, 8/12 (8-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 18 15
Scutella on first toe, 6 6
second, 5 5
third, 18 15
fourth, 7 7
Amer.
F. F.
Length to end of tail, 20-1/2 20-1/4
wings, 18-3/4 18-1/2
Extent of wings, 46-3/8 45-1/2
Wing from flexure, 15-1/4 14-9/12
Tail, 9-10/12 9-9/12
Bill along the ridge, 1-3/12 1-3/12
Tarsus, 3-2/12 3-2/12
Hind toe, 10/12 (7-1/2)/12
Its claw, 1-2/12 1
Middle toe, 1-1/2 1-4/12
Its claw, 10/12 (9-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 19 17
Scutella on first toe, 7 5
second, 5 5
third, 16 16
fourth, 8 7
Europ.
F. F.
Length to end of tail, 21 21
wings, 18-1/2 19
Extent of wings, 46 46
Wing from flexure, 14-1/4 15-1/4
Tail, 9-9/12 10
Bill along the ridge, 1-2/12 1-3/12
Tarsus, 2-9/12 2-9/12
Hind toe, (7-1/2)/12 9/12
Its claw, 1-1/12 11/12
Middle toe, 1-4/12 1-5/12
Its claw, 10/12 11/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 18 —
Scutella on first toe, 6 —
second, 5 —
third, 17 —
fourth, 8 —
If measurements of this kind are calculated to throw light on the
subject, the collectors of skins are welcome to the above, which have
been made with as much accuracy as possible.
An adult male examined. On the roof of the mouth are two lateral and
a median prominent ridge, the intervening space covered with small
papillæ. The posterior aperture of the nares is oblong, 4 twelfths of
an inch in length, but with an anterior slit 7-1/2 twelfths long. The
tongue, a, is 8-1/2 twelfths long, fleshy, emarginate and papillate
at the base, concave above, rounded and slightly emarginate at the
tip. The mouth is 1 inch in breadth. The œsophagus, _a b c d e_,
which is 6 inches long, is very wide, with very thin parietes, and
on the lower part of the neck is dilated into a sac or crop, _b c_,
which on being distended has a diameter of 2 inches at the widest
part. It then contracts to 10 twelfths as it enters the thorax; its
proventricular portion, _d e_, has a diameter of 1 inch. The stomach,
_e f g_ is roundish, 1-1/2 inch in diameter, somewhat compressed; its
muscular coat extremely thin, being reduced to small parallel fasciculi
converging toward two tendinous spaces of an elliptical form, and about
half an inch long. The intestine, _g h_, is 3 feet 2 inches long; its
diameter at the upper part 3 twelfths, towards the cœca 2 twelfths. The
rectum, _i j_, is 2 inches long, not including the cloaca, _j_, which
is globular and 1 inch in diameter. The cœca are extremely small, being
2-1/4 twelfths long, and 1 twelfth in diameter. The pylorus has no
valve properly so called, but two ridges run from it into the intestine
to the length of about 3 twelfths of an inch. The gall-bladder is 7
twelfths long and 4 twelfths in breadth.
[Illustration]
In a very small male, the œsophagus is 4-3/4 inches long; the intestine
3 feet 4 inches. In a female, the intestine is 3 feet 9 inches long.
The trachea is 4-8/12 inches long, flattened. 4-1/4 twelfths broad at
the upper part, gradually contracting to 2-3/4 twelfths; its rings 95,
extremely thin and unossified. The bronchi are of moderate length, with
about 20 half-rings. The lateral muscles are thin, the sterno-tracheal
slender.
THE COMMON MAGPIE.
_CORVUS PICA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although Magpies are abundant in the north-western portions of the
United States, and are met with as far north as the Saskatchewan River,
where, according to Dr RICHARDSON, some of them spend the winter,
none have yet been seen nearer the shores of the Atlantic than the
head waters of the Red River in Louisiana, where they were seen in
abundance by the lamented Colonel PIKE, then a lieutenant in the United
States’ army. His notice, although already published by WILSON, so
well describes the habits of this species, that I repeat it here with
pleasure. “Our horses,” he says, “were obliged to scrape the snow away
to obtain their miserable pittance; and, to increase their misfortune,
the poor animals were attacked by the Magpies, who, attracted by the
scent of their sore backs, alighted on them, and, in defiance of their
wincing and kicking, picked many places quite raw; the difficulty of
procuring food rendering those birds so bold as to alight on our men’s
arms, and eat meat out of their hands.” To CLARKE and LEWIS, however,
is due the first introduction of this bird into the Fauna of the United
States. These intrepid travellers first observed the Magpie near the
great bend of the Missouri, although it was known to have been obtained
at the fur-trading factories of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
There is a difference of opinion as to the identity of the Magpie of
America and that of Europe. THOMAS NUTTALL, who has seen those of both
countries, as well as their nests, and observed their habits, assures
me, that he looks upon them as clearly of the same species. Captain
SABINE thought differently, and CHARLES BONAPARTE, after remarking in
his “Observations on the Nomenclature of WILSON,” that “it is not a
little singular that this species, which is so common in every part
of Europe, should be confined in its range on this continent to the
western and northern regions,” thus plainly indicating his belief of
their identity, names it, in a list of European and North American
Birds, published in London in April 1838, “_Pica Hudsonica_. Nob.” the
European bird being at the same time ticketed “_Pica melanoleuca_.”
Mr SWAINSON, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, remarks on comparing
them:—“We cannot perceive the slightest difference whereon to build
even the character of a variety, much less a species;” and this truly
is my own opinion.
The following notice regarding our bird was given me by my friend
THOMAS NUTTALL:—“On the 15th of July, arriving at the borders of the
Shoshonee, or Snake River, we first met with the Common Magpie on our
route, mostly accompanied by the Raven, but there were no Crows. The
young birds were so familiar and greedy, approaching the encampment
in quest of food, as to be easily taken by the Indian boys, when they
soon become reconciled to savage domesticity. The old birds were
sufficiently shy, but the young were observed hopping and croaking
around us, and tugging at any offal of flesh meat thrown out, like
so many vultures. Differing so far from the proscribed and persecuted
Magpies of Europe, these, at least the young, seemed evidently to court
the advantages of society in supplying them with food, and betrayed
scarcely any alarm on our approach. If chased off for an instant,
they returned the next, and their monotonous and gluttonous croak was
heard around us at all hours of the day. The dryness of the season,
and the scarcity of insects and small birds, urged them no doubt to
this unusual familiarity with their doubtful friend and frequent enemy,
man. By the borders of streams in the central table-land of the Rocky
Mountains, in several places we saw the old nests of the Magpie, made
usually in low but thick bushes in the usual manner, barricaded over
and floored with interlaced twigs. We scarcely ever saw them at all
in the heavy forests of the Lower Columbia, any more than the Platte
and Missouri, in all which places they are merely accidental visitors.
They are not uncommon, however, in the vicinity of Monterey in Upper
California. Their common call is _pay pay_, and the usual low social
chatter when approaching their companions. I one day observed a small
flock, and among the fraternity heard one chattering familiarly in the
varied tune of the Cat-bird, as he sat on a bough by the water, where
birds might become his prey. At another time I observed a flock of
young Magpies boldly persecuting other birds, and chasing even Pigeon
Hawks.”
The following characteristic account of the habits of the Magpie as
observed in Scotland, I have extracted from my friend MACGILLIVRAY’s
“History of British Birds.” “It is generally distributed in Britain,
being more or less common in all the cultivated and wooded districts
of England and Scotland, both in the interior and along the coast,
although nowhere numerous, on account of the hostility of gamekeepers,
gardeners, and sportsmen of all degrees. There, on the old ash that
overshadows the farm-yard, you may see a pair, one perched on the
topmost twig, the other hopping among the branches, uttering an
incessant clatter of short hard notes, scarcely resembling any thing
else in nature, but withal not unpleasant, at least to the lover of
birds. How gracefully she of the top twig swings in the breeze! Off
she starts, and directing her flight towards the fir wood opposite,
proceeds with a steady, moderately rapid, but rather heavy flight,
performed by quick beats of her apparently short wings, intermitted for
a moment at intervals. Chattering by the way, she seems to call her
mate after her; but he, intent on something which he has spied, hops
downwards from twig to branch, and descends to the ground. Raising his
body as high as possible, and carrying his tail inclined upwards, to
avoid contact with the moist grass, he walks a few paces, and spying an
earthworm half protruded from its hole, drags it out by a sudden jerk,
breaks it in pieces, and swallows it. Now, under the hedge he has found
a snail, which he will presently detach from its shell. But something
among the bushes has startled him, and lightly he springs upwards,
chattering the while, to regain his favourite tree. It is a cat, which,
not less frightened than himself, runs off toward the house. The Magpie
again descends, steps slowly over the green, looking from side to
side, stops and listens, advances rapidly by a succession of leaps,
and encounters a whole brood of chickens, with their mother at their
heels. Were they unprotected, how deliciously would the Magpie feast,
but alas, it is vain to think of it, for with fury in her eye, bristled
plumage, and loud clamour, headlong rushes the hen, overturning two
of her younglings, when the enemy suddenly wheels round, avoiding the
encounter, and flies off after his mate.
There again, you perceive them in the meadow, as they walk about, with
elevated tails, looking for something eatable, although apparently
with little success. By the hedge afar off are two boys with a gun,
endeavouring to creep up to a flock of plovers on the other side. But
the Magpies have observed them, and presently rising fly directly over
the field, chattering vehemently, on which the whole flock takes to
wing, and the disappointed sportsmen sheer off in another direction.
The food of the Magpie consists of testaceous mollusca, slugs, larvæ,
worms, young birds, eggs, small quadrupeds, carrion, sometimes grain
and fruits of different kinds, in search of which it frequents the
fields, hedges, thickets, and orchards, occasionally visits the
farm-yard, prowls among the stacks, perches on the house-top, whence
it sallies at times, and examines the dunghill and places around.
Although it searches for larvæ and worms in the ploughed fields, it
never ventures, like the Rook, and several species of Gull, to follow
the plough as it turns over each successive furrow. It has been accused
of picking the eyes of lambs and sickly sheep, I think with injustice;
but it sometimes carries off a chicken or duckling, and sucks an egg
that may have been dropt abroad.
It is extremely shy and vigilant in the vicinity of towns, where it
is much molested, but less so in country places, although even there
it is readily alarmed. When one pursues it openly, it flits along the
walls and hedges, shifts from tree to tree, and at length flies off to
a distance. Yet it requires all its vigilance to preserve its life;
for, as it destroys the eggs and young of game birds, it is keenly
pursued by keepers and sportsmen, so that one might marvel to find
it maintaining its ground as a species, and yet it is not apparently
diminishing in most parts of the country.
On the ground it generally walks in the same manner as the Crows, but
occasionally leaps in a sidelong direction. The sounds which it emits
are a sort of chuckling cry or chatter, which it utters when alarmed,
as well as when it wishes to apprize other birds of danger. On the
appearance of a fox, a cat, or other unfriendly animal, it never ceases
hovering about it, and alarming the neighbourhood by its cries, until
the enemy has slunk away out of sight.
It generally keeps in pairs all the year round, accompanies its young
for some weeks after they first come abroad, and after the breeding
season retires at night to the copses or woods, where sometimes a
considerable number meet together. It begins to construct its nest
early in March, selecting as its site the top of some tall tree,
a poplar, an ash, an elm, sometimes a willow, or a beech; or, in
defect of such in a favourite locality, placing it in a thick bush of
hawthorn, holly, or other low tree, or even in a hedge. It is a large,
and therefore generally very conspicuous fabric, of a spheroidal or
elliptical form, composed first of a layer of twigs, on which is laid a
quantity of mud; then a dome of twigs, frequently hawthorn or sloe, but
as often of any other kind, loosely but securely interlaced; while the
bottom of the interior is lined with fibrous roots; and there is left
in the side an aperture not much larger than is barely sufficient to
admit the bird. The eggs are from three to six, and differ considerably
in form and colouring. In general, they are regularly ovate, or a
little pointed, about an inch and five-twelfths long, eleven and a half
twelfths or an inch across; but sometimes more elongated by one-twelfth
of an inch, or abbreviated by nearly the same quantity. Frequently they
are pale green freckled all over with umber-brown and light purple, and
sometimes pale blue or bluish-white, or greenish-white, with smaller
spots and dots of the same dark colours, so as very nearly to resemble
the eggs of the Jay, which however are smaller.
CORVUS PICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 157.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 162—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 57.—_Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 292.
CORVUS HUDSONIUS, _Sabine_, Frankl. Journ. p. 671.
MAGPIE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 219.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLVII. Fig. 1.
Bill rather shorter than the head, straight, robust, compressed; upper
mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate, the sides convex,
the edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the tip, which is rather
sharp; lower mandible straight, the angle rather long and wide, the
dorsal outline very slightly convex and ascending, the sides convex,
the edges sharp and inclinate. Nostrils basal, lateral, roundish,
covered by bristly feathers, which are directed forwards.
Head large, ovate; eyes of moderate size; neck rather short; body
compact. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus with seven large
anterior scutella, and two long plates behind, meeting so as to form
a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella, separated almost to the
base; first very strong; lateral toes nearly equal, third considerably
longer. Claws strong, arched, compressed, sharp, the third with the
inner edge somewhat dilated.
Plumage full, soft, blended; stiff bristly feathers with disunited
barbs over the nostrils, some of them extending nearly half the
length of the bill; feathers on the throat with the shaft downy, and
prolonged. Wings of moderate length, much rounded; the first quill
very short, extremely narrow, and falciform, the second two inches and
four-twelfths longer, and about the same length as the ninth; the third
an inch and a quarter longer than the second, and four-twelfths shorter
than the fourth, which is the longest by half a twelfth or so. The tail
is very long, much graduated, the lateral feather being four inches and
nine-twelfths shorter than the middle.
Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The plumage of the head, neck,
fore part of the breast and back, black, the feathers on the latter
part being very long, and although rising between the shoulders
extending nearly to the rump; the top of the head, and the back,
glossed with green, the neck tinged with blue, the shafts of the
throat-feathers grey. The feathers on the middle of the back are
greyish-white, those behind tipped with black; rum and tail-coverts
bluish-black. The scapulars are white; the smaller wing-coverts
black, the secondary coverts, alula, and primary coverts splendent
with bronzed green; primaries black, glossed with green, their
inner webs white excepting at the end and for some way along the
margin; secondaries bright blue changing to green, their inner
webs greenish-black. Tail splendent with bright green, changing to
greenish-yellow, purplish-red, bluish-purple and dark green at the
end; the inner webs chiefly greenish-black, but with various tints.
The breast and sides are pure white; legs, abdominal region, lower
tail-coverts, and lower wing-coverts black.
Length to end of tail 18-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-3/8; extent of
wings 22-1/2; wing from flexure 8; tail 10-1/2; bill along the ridge
1-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-(10-1/2)/12; first toe 8/12, its claw 10/12;
middle toe 1-2/12, its claw 6/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLVII.
The Female is similar to the male, and little inferior in size.
Five American specimens compared with several European, present no
appearances indicative of a specific difference. Some individuals of
both countries are larger than others, and the tail differs much in
length, according to age or the growth of the feathers. The largest
specimen in my possession, presented to me by Dr RICHARDSON, and marked
as shot by Mr DRUMMOND, measures as follows:—Length to end of tail
20-1/2 inches; bill along the ridge 1-7/12; tail 11-3/4; wing from
flexure 8-9/12; tarsus 2; middle toe 1-1/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12. In
this individual the feathers on the fore neck are white for more than
half their length from the base. In the other specimens this white part
is fainter or light grey, and of less extent.
PINE GROSBEAK.
_PYRRHULA ENUCLEATOR_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCLVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
In WILSON’s time, this beautiful bird was rare in Pennsylvania; but
since then it has occasionally been seen in considerable numbers,
and in the winter of 1836 my young friend J. TRUDEAU, M. D. procured
several in the vicinity of Philadelphia. That season also they were
abundant in the States of New York and Massachusetts. Some have been
procured near the mouth of the Big Guyandotte on the Ohio; and Mr
NUTTALL has observed it on the lower parts of the Missouri. I have
ascertained it to be a constant resident in the State of Maine, and
have met with it on several islands in the Bay of Fundy, as well as in
Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr RICHARDSON mentions it as having been
observed by the Expedition in the 50th parallel, and as a constant
resident at Hudson’s Bay. It is indeed the hardiest bird of its tribe
yet discovered in North America, where even the Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
though found during summer in Newfoundland and Labrador, removes in
autumn to countries farther south than the Texas, where as late as the
middle of May I saw many in their richest plumage.
The Pine Grosbeak is a charming songster. Well do I remember how
delighted I felt, while lying on the moss-clad rocks of Newfoundland,
near St George’s Bay, I listened to its continuous lay, so late as
the middle of August, particularly about sunset. I was reminded of the
pleasure I had formerly enjoyed on the banks of the clear Mohawk, under
nearly similar circumstances, when lending an attentive ear to the
mellow notes of another Grosbeak. But, Reader, at Newfoundland I was
still farther removed from my beloved family; the scenery around was
thrice wilder and more magnificent. The stupendous dark granite rocks,
fronting the north, as if bidding defiance to the wintry tempests,
brought a chillness to my heart, as I thought of the hardships endured
by those intrepid travellers who, for the advancement of science,
had braved the horrors of the polar winter. The glowing tints of the
western sky, and the brightening stars twinkling over the waters of the
great Gulf, rivetted me to the spot, and the longer I gazed, the more
I wished to remain; but darkness was suddenly produced by the advance
of a mass of damp fog, the bird ceased its song, and all around seemed
transformed into chaos. Silently I groped my way to the beach, and soon
reached the Ripley.
The young gentlemen of my party, accompanied by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE,
and a Newfoundland Indian, had gone into the interior in search of Rein
Deer, but returned the following afternoon, having found the flies and
musquitoes intolerable. My son brought a number of Pine Grosbeaks, of
different sexes, young and adult, but all the latter in moult, and
patched with dark red, ash, black and white. It was curious to see
how covered with sores the legs of the old birds of both sexes were.
These sores or excrescences are, I believe, produced by the resinous
matter of the fir-trees on which they obtain their food. Some specimens
had the hinder part of the tarsi more than double the usual size, the
excrescences could not be removed by the hand, and I was surprised
that the birds had not found means of ridding themselves of such an
inconvenience. One of the figures in my plate represents the form of
these sores.
I was assured that during mild winters, the Pine Grosbeak is found
in the forests of Newfoundland in considerable numbers, and that some
remain during the most severe cold. A lady who had resided there many
years, and who was fond of birds, assured me that she had kept several
males in cages; that they soon became familiar, would sing during the
night, and fed on all sorts of fruits and berries during the summer,
and on seeds of various kinds in winter; that they were fond of
bathing, but liable to cramps; and that they died of sores produced
around their eyes and the base of the upper mandible. I have observed
the same to happen to the Cardinal and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
The flight of this bird is undulating and smooth, performed in a direct
line when it is migrating, at a considerable height above the forests,
and in groups of from five to ten individuals. They alight frequently
during the day, on such trees as are opening their buds or blossoms.
At such times they are extremely gentle, and easily approached, are
extremely fond of bathing, and whether on the ground or on branches,
move by short leaps. I have been much surprised to see, on my having
fired, those that were untouched, fly directly towards me, until within
a few feet, and then slide off and alight on the lower branches of the
nearest tree, where, standing as erect as little Hawks, they gazed
upon me as if I were an object quite new, and of whose nature they
were ignorant. They are easily caught under snow-shoes put up with a
figure of four, around the wood-cutters camps, in the State of Maine,
and are said to afford good eating. Their food consists of the buds
and seeds of almost all sorts of trees. Occasionally also they seize a
passing insect. I once knew one of these sweet songsters, which, in the
evening, as soon as the lamp was lighted in the room where its cage was
hung, would instantly tune its voice anew.
My kind friend THOMAS M’CULLOCH of Pictou in Nova Scotia, has sent me
the following notice, which I trust will prove as interesting to you
as it has been to me. “Last winter the snow was exceedingly deep, and
the storms so frequent and violent that many birds must have perished
in consequence of the scarcity of food. The Pine Grosbeaks being driven
from the woods, collected about the barns in great numbers, and even
in the streets of Pictou they frequently alighted in search of food.
A pair of these birds which had been recently taken were brought me
by a friend, but they were in such a poor emaciated condition, that I
almost despaired of being able to preserve them alive. Being anxious,
however, to note for you the changes of their plumage, I determined to
make the attempt; but notwithstanding all my care, they died a few days
after they came into my possession. Shortly after, I received a male
in splendid plumage, but so emaciated that he seemed little else than
a mass of feathers. By more cautious feeding, however, he soon regained
his flesh, and became so tame as to eat from my hand without the least
appearance of fear. To reconcile him gradually to confinement, he was
permitted to fly about my bedroom, and upon rising in the morning, the
first thing I did was to give him a small quantity of seed. But three
mornings in succession I happened to lie rather later than usual, and
each morning I was aroused by the bird fluttering upon my shoulder,
and calling for his usual allowance. The third morning, I allowed him
to flutter about me some time before shewing any symptom of being
awake, but he no sooner observed that his object was effected than
he retired to the window and waited patiently until I arose. As the
spring approached, he used to whistle occasionally in the morning,
and his notes, like those of his relative the Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
were exceedingly rich and full. About the time, however, when the
species began to remove to the north, his former familiarity entirely
disappeared. During the day he never rested a moment, but continued to
run from one side of the window to the other, seeking a way of escape,
and frequently during the night, when the moonlight would fall upon the
window, I was awakened by him dashing against the glass. The desire of
liberty seemed at last to absorb every other feeling, and during four
days I could not detect the least diminution in the quantity of his
food, while at the same time he filled the house with a piteous wailing
cry, which no person could hear without feeling for the poor captive.
Unable to resist his appeals, I gave him his release; but when this
was attained he seemed very careless of availing himself of it. Having
perched upon the top of a tree in front of the house, he arranged
his feathers, and looked about him for a short time. He then alighted
by the door, and I was at last obliged to drive him away, lest some
accident should befall him.
“These birds are subject to a curious disease, which I have never seen
in any other. Irregularly shaped whitish masses are formed upon the
legs and feet. To the eye these lumps appear not unlike pieces of lime;
but when broken, the interior presents a congeries of minute cells, as
regularly and beautifully formed as those of a honey-comb. Sometimes,
though rarely, I have seen the whole of the legs and feet covered with
this substance, and when the crust was broken, the bone was bare, and
the sinews seemed almost altogether to have lost the power of moving
the feet. An acquaintance of mine kept one of these birds during the
summer months. It became quite tame, but at last it lost the power
of its legs and died. By this person I was informed that his Grosbeak
usually sang during a thunder-storm, or when rain was falling on the
house.”
While in the State of Maine, I observed that these birds, when
travelling, fly in silence, and at a considerable height above the
trees. They alight on the topmost branches, so that it is difficult
to obtain them, unless one has a remarkably good gun. But, on waiting
a few minutes, you see the flock, usually composed of seven or eight
individuals, descend from branch to branch, and betake themselves to
the ground, where they pick up gravel, hop towards the nearest pool
or streamlet, and bathe by dipping their heads and scattering the
water over them, until they are quite wet; after which they fly to
the branches of low bushes, shake themselves with so much vigour as to
produce a smart rustling sound, and arrange their plumage. They then
search for food among the boughs of the taller trees.
LOXIA ENUCLEATOR, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 299.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 372.
PINE GROSBEAK, LOXIA ENUCLEATOR, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
i. p. 80, pl. 5, fig. 2.
PYRRHULA ENUCLEATOR, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 119.
PYRRHULA (CORYTHUS) ENUCLEATOR, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 262.
PINE GROSBEAK or BULLFINCH, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p.
535.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, robust, bulging at the base, conical, acute; upper mandible
with its dorsal outline convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp
and overlapping; lower mandible with the angle short and very broad,
the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides rounded, the
edges inflected; the acute decurved tip of the upper mandible extending
considerably beyond that of the lower; the gape-line deflected at the
base.
Head rather large, ovate, flattened above; neck short; body full.
Legs short, of moderate strength; tarsus short, compressed, with six
anterior scutella, and two plates behind, forming a thin edge; toes
short, the first proportionally stout, the third much longer than the
two lateral, which are about equal; their scutella large, their lower
surface with large pads covered with prominent papillæ. Claws rather
long, arched, much compressed, laterally grooved, and acute.
Plumage soft, full, rather blended, the feathers oblong. At the base
of the upper mandible are strong bristly feathers directed forwards.
The wings of moderate length; the primaries rounded, the second and
third longest, and with the fourth and fifth having their outer webs
slightly cut out. Tail rather long, emarginate, of twelve strong,
broad, obliquely rounded feathers.
Bill reddish-brown. Iris hazel. Feet blackish-brown, claws black.
The general colour of the plumage is bright carmine tinged with
vermilion; the feathers of the fore part of the back and the scapulars
greyish-brown in the centre; the bristly feathers at the base of the
bill blackish-brown; the middle of the breast, abdomen, and lower
tail-coverts, light grey, the latter with a central dusky streak. Wings
blackish-brown; the primaries and their coverts narrowly edged with
reddish-white, the secondaries more broadly with white; the secondary
coverts and first row of small coverts tipped with reddish-white, the
smaller coverts edged with red.
Length to end of tail 8-1/2 inches, to end of wings 6-1/4, to end of
claws 6-3/4; extent of wings 14; wing from flexure 4-3/4; tail 4; bill
along the ridge (7-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 7/12;
tarsus (9-1/2)/12; first toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe
8/12, its claw 5/12.
Female. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 2.
The female is scarcely inferior to the male in size. The bill is dusky,
the feet as in the male. The upper part of the head and hind neck are
yellowish-brown, each feather with a central dusky streak; the rump
brownish-yellow; the rest of the upper parts light brownish-grey. Wings
and tail as in the male, the white edgings and the tips tinged with
grey; the cheeks and throat greyish-white or yellowish; the fore part
and sides of the neck, the breast, sides, and abdomen ash-grey, as are
the lower tail-coverts.
Length to end of tail 8-1/4 inches, to end of wings 6-1/4, to end of
claws 6-3/4; extent of wings 13-1/2; wing from flexure 4-1/2; tail
3-10/12; tarsus (9-1/2)/12; middle toe and claw 1-1/12.
Young fully fledged. Plate CCCLVIII. Fig. 3.
The young, when in full plumage, resemble the female, but are more
tinged with brown.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
An adult male from Boston examined. The roof of the mouth is moderately
concave, its anterior horny part with five prominent ridges; the lower
mandible deeply concave. Tongue 4-1/2 twelfths long, firm, deflected
at the middle, deeper than broad, papillate at the base, with a median
groove; for the distal half of its length, it is cased with a firm
horny substance, and is then of an oblong shape, when viewed from
above, deeply concave, with two flattened prominences at the base,
the point rounded and thin, the back or lower surface convex. This
remarkable structure of the tongue appears to be intended for the
purpose of enabling the bird, when it has insinuated its bill between
the scales of a strobilus, to lay hold of the seed by pressing it
against the roof of the mandible. In the Crossbills, the tongue is
nearly of the same form, but more slender, and these birds feed in
the same manner, in so far as regards the prehension of the food. In
the present species, the tongue is much strengthened by the peculiar
form of the basi-hyoid bone, to which there is appended as it were
above a thin longitudinal crest, giving it great firmness in the
perpendicular movements of the organ. The œsophagus _a b c d_, Fig.
1. is two inches 11 twelfths long, dilated on the middle of the neck
so as to form a kind of elongated dimidiate crop, 4 twelfths of an
inch in diameter, projecting to the right side, and with the trachea
passing along that side of the vertebræ. The proventriculus _c_, is
8 twelfths long, somewhat bulbiform, with numerous oblong glandules,
its greatest diameter 4-1/2 twelfths. A very curious peculiarity of
the stomach _e_, is, that in place of having its axis continuous with
that of the œsophagus or proventriculus, it bends to the right nearly
at a right angle. It is a very powerful gizzard, 8-1/2 twelfths long,
8 twelfths broad, with its lateral muscles 1/4 inch thick, the lower
very distinct, the epithelium longitudinally rugous, of a light reddish
colour. The duodenum, _f_, _g_, first curves backward to the length
of 1-1/4 inch, then folds in the usual manner, passing behind the
right lobe of the liver; the intestine then passes upwards and to the
left, curves along the left side, crosses to the right, forms about
ten circumvolutions, and above the stomach terminates in the rectum,
which is 11 twelfths long. The cœca are 1-1/4 twelfth in length and
1/4 twelfth in diameter. The entire length of the intestine from the
pylorus to the anus is 31-1/2 inches (in another male 31); its greatest
breadth in the duodenum 2-1/2 twelfths, gradually contracting to 1-1/4
twelfth. Fig. 2. represents the convoluted appearance of the intestine.
The œsophagus _a b c_; the gizzard _d_, turned forwards; the duodenum,
_e f_; the rest of the intestine, _g h_ the cœca, _i_; the rectum, _i
j_, which is much dilated at the end.
The trachea is 2 inches 2 twelfths long, of uniform diameter. 1-1/2
twelfth broad, with about 60 rings; its muscles like those of all the
other species of the Passerinæ or Fringillidæ.
In a female, the œsophagus is 2 inches 10 twelfths long; the intestine
31 inches long.
In all these individuals and several others, the stomach contained a
great quantity of particles of white quartz, with remains of seeds; and
in the œsophagus of one was an oat seed entire.
Although this bird is in its habits very similar to the Crossbills,
and feeds on the same sort of food, it differs from them in the form
and extent of its crop, in having the gizzard much larger, and the
intestines more than double the length, in proportion to the size of
the bird.
ARKANSAW FLYCATCHER.
_MUSCICAPA VERTICALIS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCLIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
This species extends its range from the mouth of the Columbia River,
across our continent, to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; but how far
north it may proceed is as yet unknown. On the 10th of April 1837,
whilst on Cayo Island, in the Bay of Mexico, I found a specimen of
this bird dead at the door of a deserted house, which had recently
been occupied by some salt-makers. From its freshness I supposed that
it had sought refuge in the house on the preceding evening, which
had been very cold for the season. Birds of several other species
we also found dead on the beaches. The individual thus met with
was emaciated, probably in consequence of a long journey and scanty
fare; but I was not the less pleased with it, as it afforded me the
means of taking measurements of a species not previously described
in full. In my possession are some remarkably fine skins, from Dr
TOWNSEND’s collection, which differ considerably from the figure given
by BONAPARTE, who first described the species. So nearly allied is it
to the Green-crested Flycatcher, _M. crinita_, that after finding the
dead bird, my son and I, seeing many individuals of that species on
the trees about the house mentioned, shot several of them, supposing
them, to be the same. We are indebted to the lamented THOMAS SAY for
the introduction of the Arkansaw Flycatcher into our Fauna. Mr NUTTALL
has supplied me with an account of its manners.
“We first met with this bold and querulous species, early in July, in
the scanty woods which border the north-west branch of the Platte,
within the range of the Rocky Mountains; and from thence we saw
them to the forests of the Columbia and the Wahlamet, as well as in
all parts of Upper California, to latitude 32°. They are remarkably
noisy and quarrelsome with each other, and in the time of incubation,
like the King Bird, suffer nothing of the bird kind to approach them
without exhibiting their predilection for battle and dispute. About
the middle of June, in the dark swamped forests of the Wahlamet, we
every day heard the discordant clicking warble of this bird, somewhat
like _tsh’k_, _tsh’k_, _tshivait_, sounding almost like the creaking
of a rusty door-hinge, somewhat in the manner of the King Bird, with
a blending of the notes of the Blackbird or Common Grakle. Although I
saw these birds residing in the woods of the Columbia, and near the St
Diego in Upper California, I have not been able to find the nest, which
is probably made in low thickets, where it would be consequently easily
overlooked. In the Rocky Mountains they do not probably breed before
midsummer, as they are still together in noisy quarrelsome bands until
the middle of June.”
Dr TOWNSEND’s notice respecting it is as follows: “This is the
_Chlow-ish-pil_ of the Chinooks. It is numerous along the banks of
the Platte, particularly in the vicinity of trees and bushes. It is
found also, though not so abundantly, across the whole range of the
Rocky Mountains; and among the banks of the Columbia to the ocean,
it is a very common species. Its voice is much more musical than is
usual with birds of its genus, and its motions are remarkably quick
and graceful. Its flight is often long sustained, and like the Common
King Bird, with which it associates, it is frequently seen to rest in
the air, maintaining its position for a considerable time. The males
are wonderfully belligerent, fighting almost constantly, and with great
fury, and their loud notes of anger and defiance remind one strongly of
the discordant grating and creaking of a rusty door hinge. The Indians
of the Columbia accuse him of a propensity to destroy the young, and
eat the eggs of other birds.”
TYRANNUS VERTICALIS, _Say_, Long’s Exped. vol. ii. p. 60.
MUSICAPA VERTICALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 67.
ARKANSAW FLYCATCHER, MUSICAPA VERTICALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_,
Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 18, pl. 2, fig. 2.
ARKANSAW FLYCATCHER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 273.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 1.
Bill rather long, stout, tapering, broader than high, unless toward the
end. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline straight and declinate,
until at the tip, where it is deflected, the ridge narrow, the sides
convex, the edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the very narrow
tip. Lower mandible with the angle short and broad, the dorsal line
ascending and very slightly convex, the ridge broad and flat at the
base, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. The gape-line
almost straight. Nostrils basal, elliptical, partly covered by the
bristly feathers.
Head rather large; neck short; body slender. Feet very short; tarsus
slender, compressed, with six anterior scutella, which are so large
below as almost to meet behind; toes free, slender, of moderate length.
Claws moderately arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Strong bristles along the basal margin of the
upper mandible, and over the nostrils. Wings rather long, broad; the
first five primaries much attenuated toward the end, the first more so,
the fifth least; this attenuation being chiefly produced by an incision
on the first web; the first four are nearly equal, the third longest,
the fourth half a twelfth shorter, the third one-twelfth shorter than
the hind, and exceeding the first by nearly two-twelfths; the other
primaries gradually broader and more rounded; outer secondaries abrupt
and slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, almost even, of twelve
broad, abruptly rounded and acuminate feathers.
Bill black. Iris brown. Feet and claws black. The general colour of the
upper parts is ash-grey, the back tinged with yellow; the wing-coverts
and quills chocolate-brown, with brownish-white edges, those of the
inner secondaries broader. Upper tail-coverts and tail black, excepting
the outer web of the lateral feather on each side, and the basal margin
of the next. There is a patch of bright vermilion on the top of the
head, tinged with orange-yellow behind. Throat greyish-white, the sides
and fore part of the neck pale ash-grey, shaded on the fore part of
the breast into pure yellow, which is the prevalent colour of the lower
parts; lower wing-coverts yellow, the middle ones tinged with grey.
Length to end of tail 9 inches, to end of wings 7, to end of claws
7, extent of wings 15-1/4; tail 3-7/8; wing from flexure 5-1/2; bill
along the ridge 9/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-1/12; tarsus
(8-1/2)/12; first toe (3-1/2)/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12; third toe 7/12,
its claw 4/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 2.
The Female is rather smaller, but is similar to the male in colouring.
The young also is similar to the adult, but wants the red patch on the
head.
[Illustration]
In the female mentioned above as having been found in Texas, the mouth
is half an inch wide, its roof anteriorly slightly concave, with three
median prominent lines, the palate flat, with its membrane or skin
diaphanous, as in Goatsuckers. The tongue is 7 twelfths long, deeply
emarginate and papillate at the base; triangular, extremely depressed,
tapering to a thin slit and bristly point. The posterior aperture of
the nares is 4 twelfths long, linear, papillate on the edges, ending
abruptly at its fore part, without a prolonged fissure. Œsophagus, _a_,
_a_, _b_, 2 inches 9 twelfths long, funnel-shaped for half an inch,
then cylindrical and nearly 4 twelfths in diameter, until it enters
the thorax. Proventriculus, _c_, 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter, and with a
belt of oblong glandules. Stomach _c_, _d_, elliptical, 7-1/2 twelfths
long, 6 twelfths broad, its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the
lower not distinct; the epithelium with broad longitudinal rugæ, and of
a dark reddish-brown colour. Intestine, _e_, _f_, _g_, 7 inches long,
its diameter at the anterior part 3-1/2 twelfths, gradually diminishing
to 1-1/2 twelfth. Cœca extremely small, 1 twelfth long, 1/2 twelfth
broad, and 1-1/4 inch distant from the anus; cloaca _i_, globular.
Trachea 1 inch 10 twelfths long, tapering from a diameter of 2 twelfths
to 1 twelfth; the rings ossified and firm, about 70 in number; the
lateral and sterno-tracheal muscles slender; the inferior laryngeal
muscles are strong but very short, forming a prominent knob, and
attached to the first bronchial ring. Bronchi wide, of about 20
half-rings.
The digestive organs of this bird, and of the Flycatchers in general,
do not differ materially from those of the Thrushes and Warblers. The
pharynx and œsophagus, however, are much wider.
SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER.
_MUSCICAPA FORFICATA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLIX. MALE.
Not having seen this handsome bird alive, I am unable to give you any
account of its habits from my own observation; but I have pleasure in
supplying the deficiency by extracting the following notice from the
“Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and of Canada,” by my
excellent friend THOMAS NUTTALL.
“This very beautiful and singular species of Flycatcher is
confined wholly to the open plains and scanty forests of the remote
south-western regions beyond the Mississippi, where they, in all
probability, extend their residence to the high plains of Mexico. I
found these birds rather common near the banks of Red River, about the
confluence of the Kiamesha. I again saw them more abundant, near the
Great Salt River of the Arkansa in the month of August, when the young
and old appeared, like our King Birds, assembling together previously
to their departure for the south. They alighted repeatedly on the tall
plants of the prairie, and were probably preying upon the grasshoppers,
which were now abundant. At this time also, they were wholly silent,
and flitted before our path with suspicion and timidity. A week or
two after, we saw them no more, having retired probably to tropical
winter-quarters.
“In the month of May, a pair, which I daily saw for three or four
weeks, had made a nest on the horizontal branch of an elm, probably
twelve or more feet from the ground. I did not examine it very near,
but it appeared externally composed of coarse dry grass. The female,
when first seen, was engaged in sitting, and her mate wildly attacked
every bird which approached their residence. The harsh chirping note of
the male, kept up at intervals, as remarked by Mr SAY, almost resembled
the barking of the Prairie Marmot, _’tsh_, _’tsh_, _’tsh_. His flowing
kite-like tail, spread or contracted at will while flying, is a
singular trait in his plumage, and rendered him conspicuously beautiful
to the most careless observer.”
MUSCICAPA FORFICATA _Gmel. Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
931.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 485.—_Ch. Bonaparte_,
Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 275.
SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER, MUSCICAPA FORFICATA, _Bonap._
Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 15, pl. 2, fig. 1.
SWALLOW-TAILED FLYCATCHER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 275.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 3.
Bill of moderate length, rather stout, subtrigonal, depressed at
the base, straight; upper mandible with its dorsal outline nearly
straight, and declinate, to near the tip, which is deflected, slender,
compressed, and acute, the edges sharp and overlapping, with a slight
notch close to the tip; lower mandible with the angle rather long
and wide, the back broad at the base, the dorsal line ascending and
very slightly convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils basal,
roundish, partly covered by the bristly feathers.
Head rather large; neck short; body ovate. Feet short; tarsus with six
anterior very broad scutella. Toes free, slender; the first stout, the
lateral equal; claws rather long, arched, slender, much compressed,
very acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Bristles at the base of the upper mandible
strong. Wings rather long, the first four quills longest, with their
inner webs emarginate and attenuate at the end. Tail very long, deeply
forked, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black. Iris hazel. Upper part of the head, the cheeks,
and the hind part and sides of the neck, ash-grey; scapulars and
back darker and tinged with reddish-brown; the rump darker, the upper
tail-coverts black. Wings brownish black, all the feathers margined
with greyish-white, the anterior wing-coverts scarlet; tail-feathers
deep black, with their terminal margins white, the three outer on each
side pale rose-coloured to near the end. The throat, fore part of neck
and breast, pure white; the sides, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts,
and lower wing-coverts, pale rose-colour; the axillary feathers bright
scarlet.
Length to end of tail 11-1/2 inches, to end of wings 7-1/2; tail to the
fork 2-2/12, to the end 5-1/2; wing from flexure 5-1/8; bill along the
ridge 5/8, along the edge of lower mandible 7/8; tarsus 3/4; hind toe
3/8, its claw 4/12; middle toe (5-1/2)/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
SAY’S FLYCATCHER.
_MUSCICAPA SAYA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCLIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
This species was first discovered by TITIAN PEALE, Esq. of
Philadelphia, and named after Mr THOMAS SAY by BONAPARTE, who described
and figured it in his continuation of WILSON’s American Ornithology.
It appears to range over a very extensive portion of country, lying
between Mexico and the settlements of the British Fur Companies, a pair
having been procured at Carlton House, as mentioned by Dr RICHARDSON.
Little is yet known of the habits of this species, but it would seem,
from Mr NUTTALL’s remarks, to be a rupestrine Flycatcher, and not
strictly arboreal, as supposed by Mr SWAINSON.
“We first observed this bird,” says Mr NUTTALL, “in our route westward,
about the 14th of June, within the first range of the Rocky Mountains
called the Black Hills, and in the vicinity of that northern branch of
the Platte known by the name of Larimie’s Fork. At the time, we saw a
pair perched as usual on masses of rocks, from which, like the Pewee,
though occasionally alighted, they flew after passing insects, without
uttering any note that we heard; and from their predilection, it is
probable they inhabit among broken hills and barren rocks, where we
have scarcely a doubt, from their behaviour, they had at this time a
brood in a nest among these granite cliffs. They appeared very timorous
on our approach, and seemed very limited in their range. Except among
the Blue Mountains of the Columbia, we scarcely ever saw them again.
Their manners appear to be very much like those of the Common Pewee;
but they are much more silent and shy.”
MUSCICAPA SAYA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 67.—Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 20, pl. 2, fig. 3.
TYRANNULA SAYA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol.
ii. p. 142.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLIX. Fig. 4.
Bill of moderate length, rather slender, broader than high at the base,
straight; upper mandible with its dorsal outline nearly straight and
declinate, to near the tip, which is deflected, slender, compressed,
and acute, the edges sharp and overlapping, with a slight notch close
to the tip; lower mandible with the angle short and rounded, the back
broad, the dorsal line ascending and almost straight, the edges sharp,
the tip acute. Nostrils basal, elliptical, partly covered by the
bristly feathers.
Head of moderate size, ovate; neck of moderate length; body slender.
Feet short; tarsus with six very broad anterior scutella; toes free,
slender; the first stout, the lateral equal; claws long, arched,
slender, much compressed, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Bristles at the base of the upper mandible
slender. Wings rather long, rounded; primaries tapering, rounded, the
outer not sinuated on the inner web, the first half an inch shorter
than the second, which is half a twelfth shorter than the third,
the fourth about the same length as the second, the rest moderately
graduated; secondaries long, broad, rounded. Tail rather long, very
slightly divaricate and emarginate, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black, basal margin of lower mandible yellow. Iris
hazel. Upper parts brownish-grey, the head more tinged with brown;
upper tail-coverts and tail brownish-black; wings of a darker tint
than the back, the feathers margined with greyish-white; a dusky spot
before the eye; fore part and sides of neck light brownish-grey, shaded
into pale brownish-red on the breast and abdomen; lower wing-coverts
reddish-white.
Length to end of tail 7 inches, to end of wings 5-8/12; wing from
flexure 4-2/12; tail 3-1/4; bill along the ridge (7-1/2)/12, along the
edge of lower mandible (10-1/2)/12; tarsus (9-1/2)/12; hind toe 3/12,
its claw 4/12; middle toe (5-1/2)/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
WINTER WREN.
_TROGLODYTES HYEMALIS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCLX. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
The extent of the migratory movements of this diminutive bird, is
certainly the most remarkable fact connected with its history. At the
approach of winter it leaves its northern retreats, perhaps in Labrador
or Newfoundland, crosses the inlets of the Gulf of St Lawrence on tiny
concave wings, and betakes itself to warmer regions, where it remains
until the beginning of spring. Playfully and with alacrity it performs
the task, hopping from one stump or fallen log to another, flitting
from twig to twig, from bush to bush, here and there flying a few
yards; feeding, singing, and bustling on, as if quite careless as to
time or distance. It has reached the shore of some broad stream, and
here a person ignorant of its habits might suppose it would be stopped;
but no, it spreads its wings, and glides over like a meteor.
I have found the Winter Wren in the lower parts of Louisiana, and in
the Floridas, in December and January, but never saw one there after
the end of the latter month. Their stay in those parts rarely exceeds
three months; two more are employed in forming a nest and rearing
their broods; and as they leave Labrador by the middle of August
at the latest, they probably spend more than half of the year in
travelling. It would be interesting to know whether those which breed
along the Columbia River, near the Pacific Ocean, visit the shores
of our Atlantic States. My friend THOMAS NUTTALL informs me that he
occasionally saw the Winter Wren feeding its young in the woods, along
the north-west coast.
At Eastport, in Maine, when on my way to Labrador, I found this species
in full song, and extremely abundant, although the air was chill, and
icicles hung from every rock, it being then the 9th of May. On the 11th
of June, I found it equally plentiful in the Magdalene Islands, and
wondered how it could have made its way there, but was assured by the
inhabitants that none were ever seen in winter. On the 20th of July, I
met with it at Labrador, and again asked myself, how it could possibly
have reached those remote and rugged shores? Was it by following the
course of the St Lawrence, or by flying from one island to another
across the Gulf? I have seen it in almost every State of the Union,
but only twice found it breeding there, once near the Mohawk River in
New York, and again in the Great Pine Swamp in Pennsylvania. It breeds
abundantly in Maine, and probably in Massachusetts, but few spend the
winter even in the latter State.
The song of the Winter Wren excels that of any other bird of its size
with which I am acquainted. It is truly musical, lull of cadence,
energetic, and melodious; its very continuance is surprising, and dull
indeed must be the ear that thrills not on hearing it. When emitted, as
it often is, from the dark depths of the unwholesome swamp, it operates
so powerfully on the mind, that it by contrast inspires a feeling of
wonder and delight, and on such occasions has usually impressed me with
a sense of the goodness of the Almighty Creator, who has rendered every
spot of earth in some way subservient to the welfare if his creatures.
Once when travelling through a portion of the most gloomy part of
a thick and tangled wood, in the Great Pine Forest, not far from
Maunchunk in Pennsylvania, at a time when I was intent on guarding
myself against the venomous reptiles which I expected to encounter,
the sweet song of this Wren came suddenly on my ear, and with so
cheering an effect, that I instantly lost all apprehension of danger,
and pressed forward through the rank briars and stiff laurels, in
pursuit of the bird, which I hoped was not far from its nest. But
he, as if bent on puzzling me, rambled here and there among the
thickest bushes with uncommon cunning, now singing in one spot not
far distant, and presently in another in a different direction. After
much exertion and considerable fatigue, I at last saw it alight on
the side of a large tree, close to the roots, and heard it warble a
few notes, which I thought exceeded any it had previously uttered.
Suddenly another Wren appeared by its side, but darted off in a moment,
and the bird itself which I had followed disappeared. I soon reached
the spot, without having for an instant removed my eyes from it, and
observed a protuberance covered with moss and lichens, resembling
those excrescences which are often seen on our forest trees, with this
difference, that the aperture was perfectly rounded, clean, and quite
smooth. I put a finger into it, and felt the pecking of a bird’s bill,
while a querulous cry was emitted. In a word, I had, the first time
in my life, found the nest of our Winter Wren. Having gently forced
the tenant from his premises, I drew out the eggs with a sort of scoop
which I formed. I expected to find them numerous, but there were not
more than six, and the same number I afterwards found in the only other
nest of this species ever discovered by me. The little bird called upon
its mate, and their united clamour induced me to determine upon leaving
their treasures with them; but just as I was about going off, it struck
me that I ought to take a description of the nest, as I might not
again have such an opportunity. I hope, Reader, you will believe that
when I resolved to sacrifice this nest, it was quite as much on your
account as my own. Externally it measured seven inches in length, four
and a half in breadth; the thickness of its walls, composed of moss
and lichen, was nearly two inches; and thus it presented internally
the appearance of a narrow bag, the wall, however, being reduced to a
few lines where it was in contact with the bark of the tree. The lower
half of the cavity was compactly lined with the fur of the American
Hare, and in the bottom or bed of the nest there lay over this about
half a dozen of the large downy abdominal feathers of our Common Grous,
_Tetrao Umbellus_. The eggs were of a delicate blush-colour, somewhat
resembling the paler leaves of a partially decayed rose, and marked
with dots of reddish-brown, more numerous towards the larger end.
The nest which I found near the Mohawk was discovered by mere accident.
One day in the beginning of June, and about noon, feeling fatigued,
I sat down on a rock overhanging the water, where, while resting,
I might have the pleasure of watching the motions of some fishes in
sight. The damp of the place produced a sudden chillness, and caused
me to sneeze aloud, when from beneath my feet there flew off a Winter
Wren. The nest, which I soon found, was attached to the lower parts
of the rock, and presented the same form and structure as that already
described; but it was smaller, the eggs, six in number, contained young
far advanced.
The motions of this interesting bird are performed with great rapidity
and decision. While searching for food it hops, creeps, and leaps about
from one spot to another, as if it derived pleasure from exercise. At
each movement it bends its breast downward, so as almost to touch the
object on which it stands, and by a sudden extension of its strong
feet, aided by the action of its half drooping concave wings, jerks
itself forward, keeping its tail elevated all the while. Now through
a hollow log it passes like a mouse, now it clings to the surface in
various attitudes, suddenly disappears, but presently shews itself
by your side; at times it chirrups in a querulous rolling tone, then
emits single clear sharp chirps resembling the syllables _tshick_,
_tshick_, and again remains silent for a time. It will now and then
reach the upper branches of a small tree or a bush, by hopping and
leaping from twig to twig; in the course of this transit it will
present its opposite sides to you a score of times; and when at length
it has gained the summit, it will salute you with its delicate melody,
and then dash headlong and be out of sight in a moment. This is almost
constantly observed during the spring season, when more than ever its
alertness is displayed. On all such occasions however, whilst in the
act of singing, its tail is seen to be depressed. In winter, when it
takes possession of the wood-pile, close to the husbandman’s dwelling,
it will challenge the cat in querulous tones, and peeping out here and
there, as it frisks in security, wear out Grimalkin’s patience.
The food of the Winter Wren consists chiefly of spiders, caterpillars,
and small moths, as well as larvæ. Towards autumn it eats small juicy
berries.
Having lately spent a winter, at Charleston in South Carolina, with my
worthy friend JOHN BACHMAN, I observed that this little Wren made its
appearance in that city and its suburbs in December. On the 1st January
I heard it in full song in the garden of my friend, who informed me
that in that State it does not appear regularly every winter, but is
sure to be found during very cold weather.
With the view of enabling you to compare the habits of our Winter Wren
and the Common Wren of Europe, the manners of birds being a subject
on which, as you are well aware, I have always bestowed particular
attention, I here present you with those of the latter bird, as
observed in Britain, by my learned friend, WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY:—“With
us the Wren is not migratory, but is found during winter in the most
northern parts of the island, as well as in the Hebrides. Its flight is
effected by a rapid and continuous motion of the wings, and therefore
is not undulated, but direct; nor is it usually sustained, for the bird
merely flits from one bush to another, or from stone to stone. It is
most frequently met with along stone-walls, among fragments of rocks,
in thickets of gorse, and by hedges, where it attracts notice by the
liveliness of its motions, and frequently by its loud chirring noise.
When standing, it keeps its tail nearly erect, and jerks its whole
body; then hops about with alacrity, using its wings at the same time,
and continually enunciating its rapid chit. In spring and summer, the
male has a very pleasing, full, rich, and mellow song, which it repeats
at intervals; and even in autumn and on fine days in winter, it may
often be heard hurrying over its ditty, the loudness and clearness of
which, as proceeding from so diminutive a creature, is apt to excite
surprise, even after it has been long familiar.
“During the breeding season, Wrens keep in pairs, often in unfrequented
parts, such as bushy dells, mossy woods, the banks of streams, and
stony places overgrown with brambles, sloes, and other shrubs; but
they are also to be found in shrubberies, gardens, and hedges in
the immediate vicinity of human habitations, to which the wilder
individuals also approach in winter. They are not properly speaking
shy, as they conceive themselves to be secure at the distance of
twenty or thirty yards; but on the approach of a person, they conceal
themselves in holes among stones, or the roots of bushes.
“I know not a more pleasant object to look at than the Wren; it is
always so smart and cheerful. In gloomy weather, other birds often seem
melancholy, and in rain the Sparrows and Finches stand silent on the
twigs, with drooping wings and ruffled plumage. But to the Wren all
weathers are alike. The big drops of the thunder-shower no more wet
it than the drizzle of an easterly haar; and as it peeps from beneath
the bramble, or glances from a hole in the wall, it seems as snug as a
kitten frisking on the parlour rug.
“It is amusing to watch the motions of a young family of Wrens just
come abroad. Walking among furze, or broom, or juniper, you are
attracted to some bush by hearing issue from it a lively and frequent
repetition of a sound which resembles the syllable _chit_. On going
up you perceive an old Wren flitting about the twigs, and presently
a young one flies off, uttering a stiffled chirr, to conceal itself
among the bushes. Several follow in succession, while the parents
continue to flutter about, in great alarm, uttering their loud _chit_,
_chit_, _chit_, with indications of varied degrees of excitement. On
open ground a young Wren might easily be run down, and I have heard it
asserted that an old one may soon be tired out in time of snow, when
it cannot easily conceal itself. And yet, even in such a case, it is
by no means easy to keep it in sight, for on the side of a bank, or by
a wall, or in a thicket, it will find a hole where one least expected
it, and creeping in some crevice beneath the snow, reappear at a
considerable distance.
“The food of birds can be determined only by opening their crops or
stomachs, or by observation directed to living individuals, the former,
however, being the only sure method. The Wrens which I have opened
generally contained remains of insects of various kinds, with larvæ,
and sometimes pupæ; but I have also found in them seeds, and Mr NEVILLE
WOOD states that they sometimes eat red currants. In the stomach of an
individual examined in December 1830, I found many small hard seeds,
an entire pupæ, and numerous fragments of the shells of pupæ, and
elytra of coleopterous insects. So small a bird having so slender a
bill, might doubtless be taken for a typical entomophagist; but it is
probable that no species of this order confines itself exclusively to
insects.
“The Wren pairs about the middle of spring, and begins early in April
to construct its nest, which varies much in form and composition,
according to the locality. One brought me by my son is of astonishing
size compared with that of its architect, its greatest diameter being
seven inches, and its height five. Having been placed on a flat surface
under a bank, its base is of a corresponding form, and is composed
of layers of decayed ferns and other plants, mixed with twigs of
herbaceous and woody vegetables. Similar materials have been employed
in raising the outer wall of the nest itself, of which the interior
is spherical, and three inches in diameter. The wall is composed of
mosses of several species, quite fresh and green, and it is arched
over with fern leaves and straws. The mosses are curiously interwoven
with fibrous roots and hair of various animals, and the inner surface
is even and compact, like coarse felt. To the height of two inches
there is a copious lining of large soft feathers, chiefly of the Wood
Pigeon, but also of the Pheasant and Domestic Duck, with a few of the
Blackbird. The aperture, which is in front, and in the form of a low
arch, two inches in breadth at the base, and an inch and a half in
height, has its lower edge formed of slender twigs, strong herbaceous
stalks, and stems of grasses, the lowest being felted in the usual
manner. It contained five eggs of an elongated oval form, averaging
eight lines in length, and six lines in breadth, pure white, with
some scattered dots of light red at the larger end, one of them with
scarcely any, and another with a great number. Of three nests presented
to me by my friend THOMAS DURHAM WEIR, Esq. one is extremely beautiful,
being composed entirely of fresh green hypna, without any internal
layer, although, no eggs having been found in it, it possibly had
not been completed. It is of an oblong form, seven inches in length,
and four in its transverse diameter. The mouth measures an inch and
eight-twelfths across, an inch and a twelfth in height. Its lower part
is formed of small twigs of larch laid across and interwoven, so as
to present a firm pediment. The longitudinal diameter of the interior
is three inches and a half. Another, formed on a decayed tuft of _Aira
cæspitosa_, is globular, six inches in diameter, and composed of moss,
with a lining of hair and feathers, chiefly of the domestic fowl. The
third is globular, and externally formed almost entirely of ferns, like
that described above. In all the nests of this species which I have
seen, the lower part of the mouth was composed of twigs of trees, or
stems of herbaceous plants laid across, and kept together with moss and
hair.
“The nests are found in a great variety of situations: very often in
a recess overhung by a bank, sometimes in a crevice among stones, in
the hole of a wall, or of a tree, among the thatch of a cottage or
outhouse, on the top of a shed or barn, the branch of a tree, whether
growing along a wall, or standing free, among ivy, honeysuckle,
clematis, or other climbing plants. When the nest is on the ground, its
base is generally formed of leaves, twigs, and straws, and its exterior
is often similar; but when otherwise, the outer surface is generally
smooth and chiefly composed of moss.
“The number of eggs which it lays has been variously stated by authors.
Mr WEIR says that, although it is commonly seven or eight, so many as
sixteen or seventeen have been found in its nest. ROBERT SMITH, weaver
in Bathgate, told me, that a few years ago, he saw in a nest, which
was built on the bank of a rivulet about two miles from Linlithgow,
seventeen eggs; and JAMES D. BAILLIE, Esq. informed me, that in June
last, he took out of one which he discovered in a spruce tree, near
Polkemmet House, sixteen eggs.”
My friend THOMAS M’CULLOCH of Pictou has presented me with the
following curious account of a European individual of this species.
“During my residence at Spring Vale in the vicinity of Hammersmith,
I was amusing myself one afternoon with the movements of a pair of
Water-hens, which were flirting about the edge of the tall reeds so
abundant in that neighbourhood, when my attention was arrested by a
Wren, carrying a straw, darting into a small hedge directly beneath
the window at which I stood. In a few minutes the bird reappeared,
and flew to a piece of old thatch which was lying near, and having
disengaged another straw he immediately returned with it to the
place in which the first had been deposited. For about two hours this
operation was continued by the bird with the greatest diligence. He
then abandoned his task, and ascending the highest twig of the hedge,
he poured forth his sweet and merry notes, until driven away by some
person passing near. For the remainder of the evening I saw no more
of the little architect, but on the following morning, being drawn
to the window by his song, I observed him leave his favourite perch
and resume with ardour the employment of the previous day. During the
forenoon I was not able to pay much attention to the movements of the
Wren, but from an occasional glance I observed that his task, with
the exception of a few intervals of relaxation, when his merry warble
fell upon the ear, was plied with a degree of bustling activity which
was worthy of the important undertaking. On examining his labours at
the close of the second day, I observed that the exterior of a large
spherical nest was nearly finished, and that from the old thatch,
though exceedingly moist and black from decay, all the materials had
been obtained. By the afternoon of the ensuing day his visits to the
thatch were discontinued, and he kept bustling and flirting about
the spot. He seemed from his lengthened intervals of song rather to
be exulting in the progress, than to be making any addition to the
work. In the evening I inspected the nest, and found the exterior
complete, and by carefully inserting my finger, I ascertained that
no lining had yet been applied, in consequence most probably of the
moisture which still remained in the straw. Returning to the spot
in about half an hour afterwards, with one of my cousins, to look at
the nest, I observed with no small surprise that the little bird had
not only resented the intrusion by closing up the aperture, but also
had opened another passage from the opposite side of the hedge. The
aperture was closed with pieces of the old thatch, and the work was so
neatly executed that no traces of the former entrance were perceptible.
The nest was altogether the work of one bird, and during the time he
spent in building we never observed another Wren in his company. In
the choice of the materials, as well as in the situation of the nest,
there was something exceedingly curious. Though the bottom and sides
of the garden were enclosed by a thick hedge, in which he could have
built in perfect security, and where, from the vicinity of the stables,
abundance of fresh materials could have been easily obtained, yet the
old thatch and the hedge at the head of the garden were preferred. This
part of the hedge was young and thin, and separated from the buildings
by a narrow path, which was constantly frequented by the servants of
the establishment. Interruptions from this source, however, he did not
seem to mind, for though often driven from his task he returned the
next moment with as much confidence as if he had never been disturbed.
Even when his nest was destroyed by the wantonness of a stranger, he
did not abandon the place, but continued to carry straws from the old
thatch with as much diligence as before. From the extreme caution,
however, which he subsequently displayed, and the circuitous routes
which he took, I never could discover the spot which he selected for
his second nest.”
The Winter Wren so closely resembles the European Wren, that I was long
persuaded of their identity; but a careful comparison of a great number
of specimens, has convinced me that permanent differences in colouring
may be pointed out, although still, I am not by any means persuaded
that they are specifically different.
TROGLODYTES HYEMALIS, _Vieill._ Encyl. Meth., ii. p. 470.
TROGLODYTES EUROPÆUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 93.
WINTER WREN, SYLVIA TROGLODYTES, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
i. p. 139, pl. 8, fig. 6.
TROGLODYTES HYEMALIS, WINTER WREN, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 318.
WINTER WREN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 427.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLX. Fig 1.
Bill rather long, slender, tapering, acute, nearly straight,
subtrigonal at the base, compressed towards the end. Upper mandible
with the dorsal outline slightly arched, the ridge narrow, the sides
sloping at the base, towards the end slightly convex and erect, the
edges sharp, direct, without notæ; lower mandible with the angle narrow
and rather acute, the dorsal outline straight, the back narrow, the
edges sharp, and inflected, the tip very narrow; the gape-line very
slightly arched. Nostrils linear-oblong, basal.
Head ovate, of moderate size, neck short; body ovate. Feet of ordinary
length; tarsus compressed, with seven anterior scutella, of which
the upper are indistinct; toes rather large compressed; first large,
and much longer than the two lateral which are equal, the third much
longer; the third and fourth coherent as far as the second joint of the
latter. Claws long, arched, extremely compressed, laterally grooved,
acute.
Plumage soft and blended; no bristle-feathers at the base of the bill.
Wing shortish, broad, much rounded; first quill very small, being
little more than half the length of the second, which is 2-1/4 twelfths
shorter than the third; the fourth longest, and exceeding the third
by half a twelfth, and the fourth by somewhat less; secondaries long,
rounded. Tail short, much rounded, of twelve slightly arched, weak
rounded feathers.
Bill dusky brown, with the basal edges of the upper and two-thirds
of the lower mandible paler. Iris brown. Tarsi and toes pale
greenish-brown, as are the claws. The general colour of the upper parts
is reddish-brown, darker on the head, brighter on the tail-coverts,
quills, and tail. There is a white spot near the tips of the posterior
dorsal feathers. The secondary coverts, and the first small coverts,
have each a white spot at the tip. The wing-coverts and quills banded
with blackish-brown and brownish-red, the bands of the latter colour
becoming reddish-white on the outer five quills. Tail with twelve
dusky-bands. The dorsal feathers and scapulars are more faintly barred
in the same manner. A brownish-white band from the upper mandible over
the eye; the cheeks brown, spotted with brownish-white, the margins
of the feathers being of the former colour; the lower parts pale
reddish-brown, the sides and abdomen barred with brownish-black and
greyish-white; the fore neck and breast more faintly barred; the lower
wing-coverts and axillars greyish-white, barred with dusky; the lower
tail-coverts brownish-red, barred with dusky and having the tip white.
Length to end of tail 3-7/8 inches, to end of wings 3-1/8, to end of
claws 4-3/8; extent of wings 6-(1-1/2)/8; wing from flexure 1-7/8; tail
1-5/12; bill along the ridge 5/12; tarsus 8/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw
4/12; middle toe 6/12, its claw (2-3/4)/12. Weight 6 dr.
Female. Plate CCCLX. Fig. 2.
The Female is somewhat smaller than the male.
Length to end of tail 3-5/8 inches, to end of wings 3, to end of claws
4-2/8; extent of wings 5-3/8; wing from flexure 1-7/8; tail 1-4/12.
Weight 4 dr.
Young in Autumn. Plate CCCLX. Fig. 3.
The upper parts are much darker than in the adult; the lower parts of
a deeper tint.
Length to end of tail 3-1/2 inches, to end of wings 3-1/8, to end of
claws 4-1/8; extent of wings 5-3/8; wing from flexure 1-(5-1/2)/8.
The young bird just ready to fly, has the bill bright yellow,
excepting the ridge of the upper mandible, which is brown; the feet
yellowish-brown. The upper parts are reddish-brown, faintly barred with
dusky; the wings as in the adult, but the secondary coverts with only
a very small dull white spot at the tip, and the first row of coverts
with a line of the same colour along the shaft. The lower parts are
dull greyish-brown, with the terminal margin of each feather darker,
and the sides and hind parts barred with dusky.
On comparing numerous specimens of American and European birds, it
is found that the proportions of the parts are nearly the same, and
the colours generally similar. But the American birds generally have
the lower parts more tinged with red, their general colour being
pale reddish-brown, whereas those of the European birds are pale
greyish-brown; in the former the bars on the sides and hind parts are
much darker, advance farther on the breast, and in some specimens are
seen even on the neck; in the latter the bars are dusky, and never
appear on the middle of the breast, much less on the neck. In old
European birds, the axillars and lower wing-coverts are greyish-white,
without spots; in old American birds, even those of which the neck
is unbarred, the axillars and lower wing-coverts are always barred
with dusky. As to the two rows of white spots on the wings, they seem
to be quite similar in the birds of both continents, and in those of
each exhibit variations in form, sometimes being short and somewhat
triangular, sometimes also extending along the shaft. The tarsi, toes,
and claws are precisely similar, as are the wings, and it does not
appear that in the American bird the claws are larger, or the wings
longer, as might be supposed by a person desirous of proving the one to
be more scansorial and migratory than the other. Perhaps the European
bird is somewhat larger, and it certainly differs a little in colour.
After one has studied the differences, he can easily select from a
promiscuous assemblage of skins the European or the American specimens.
But, after all, the differences are very slight, and certainly not
such as to form good essential characters. Were the two species to be
comparatively characterized, they might be described as follows.
_T. europæa._ In the male the upper parts reddish-brown, faintly barred
with dusky, the lower parts pale greyish-brown, the sides and abdomen
barred with dusky and greyish-white, the fore neck and breast without
bars, the lower wing-coverts and axillars greyish-white.
_T. hyemalis._ In the male the upper parts reddish-brown, faintly
barred with dusky, the lower parts pale reddish-brown, the sides and
abdomen barred with brownish-black and greyish-white, the fore neck
and breast more faintly barred, the lower wing-coverts and axillars
greyish-white, barred with dusky.
The following is a comparative view of the measurements of several
American and European birds.
American.
M. M. F.
Length to end of tail, 3-7/8 3-11/12 3-5/8
.... wings, 3-1/8 — 3-1/8
.... claws, 4-3/8 — 4-2/8
Extent of wings, 6-(1-1/2)/8 — 5-3/8
Wing from flexure, 1-7/8 1-11/12 1-7/8
Tail, 1-5/8 1-3/12 1-4/12
Bill, 5/12 5/12 (4-3/4)/12
Tarsus, 8/12 (8-1/2)/12 8/12
Hind toe, 4/12 (4-1/2)/12 4/12
Its claw, 4/12 (3-1/2)/12 3/12
Middle toe, 6/12 (6-1/2)/12 5-3/4)/12
Its claw, (2-3/4)/12 (2-1/2)/12 2/12
European.
M. M. F.
Length to end of tail, 4 4-1/4 3-6/8
.... wings, 3-1/4 — 3-1/8
.... claws, 4-1/2 — 4-1/4
Extent of wings, 5-7/8 6-1/2 5-3/4
Wing from flexure, 1-7/8 1-11/12 1-7/8
Tail, 1-(5-1/2)/12 1-1/2 1-4/12
Bill, 5/12 (5-1/2)/12 5/12
Tarsus, 8/12 8/12 8/12
Hind toe, 4/12 (4-1/2)/12 4/12
Its claw, (3-1/2)/12 4/12 3/12
Middle toe, 6/12 (6-1/2)/12 6/12
Its claw, (2-1/2)/12 (2-1/4)/12 (2-1/4)/12
In a male shot at Charleston in January, the upper mandible has a
prominent median line beneath, the palate is flat, the mouth 2-3/4
twelfths in breadth. The tongue is 5 twelfths long, emarginate and
papillate at the base, slender, flattened, very narrow, tapering to a
lacerated point. The œsophagus, _a_, _b_, _c_, is 1-1/2 inch long, of
uniform diameter, being 1-1/2 twelfths in breadth. The stomach, _d_,
_e_, is oblong, 5 twelfths in length, 3-1/2 twelfths in breadth, its
muscles of moderate strength, the lower not distinct from the right;
the cuticular lining longitudinally rugous, and of a dark brown colour.
The intestine, _f_, _g_, _h_, is 8 inches long, the duodenum 2 twelfths
in diameter; the cœca 1 twelfth long, 1-1/4 twelfth broad; the neck 9
twelfths long; the cloaca large, globular, 3 twelfths in diameter.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 1 inch 3 twelfths long, of nearly uniform diameter,
1-1/2 twelfths broad; the lateral muscles strong, sterno-tracheal, and
four pairs of inferior laryngeal muscles; the rings ossified.
ROCK WREN.
_TROGLODYTES OBSOLETUS_, SAY.
PLATE CCCLX. ADULT FEMALE.
This species was discovered by some of Major LONG’s exploring party,
and first described by Mr THOMAS SAY. My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, who
had opportunities of studying its habits, during his recent journey in
company with Dr TOWNSEND, has assured me that they are very similar
to those of the other Wrens. The figure in the plate was taken from
an adult female, given to me by Mr NUTTALL; and I have since then
obtained two males. In my drawing the bird was represented on a stone,
but for the reasons mentioned in my Introduction, my son VICTOR GIFFORD
attached it to the drawing of the Winter Wren, so that it now appears
perched on a twig, which, however, is not a common practice with this
species.
“On the 21st of June,” says Mr NUTTALL, “on the ledges of the bluffs
which border the bottom of Hare’s Fork of the Siskadee (or Colorado of
the West), I heard, and at length saw this curious Mountain Wren. Its
actions are those of the Carolina species, _Troglodytes ludovicianus_.
The old female (as I supposed) sat upon a ledge of rock at the head of
a high ravine in the bluff, cocking her tail, and balancing herself,
at the same time uttering a _tshurr_, _tshurr_, and _té aigh_, with a
strong guttural accent, and now and then, when approached, like the
common Short-billed Marsh Wren, _Troglodytes brevirostris_, a quick
guttural _tshe de de_. It has also a shrill call at times, as it
perches on a stone on the summit of some hill, again similar to the
note of the Carolina Wren, occasionally interrupted by a _tshurr_.
Among these arid and bare hills of the central table-land they were
quite common. The old ones were feeding and watching a brood of four
or five young, which, though fully grown, were protected and cherished
with the querulous assiduity so characteristic of the other Wrens.
They breed under the rocky ledges where we so constantly observed them,
under which they skulk at once when surprised, and pertinaciously hide
in security, like so many rats. Indeed so suddenly do they disappear
among the rocks, and remain so silent in their retreat, that it is
scarcely possible to believe them beneath your feet till after a
lapse of a few minutes you begin to hear a low cautious chirp, and
the next moment, at the head of the ravine, the old female probably
again appears, scolding and jerking in the most angry attitudes she
is capable of assuming. In the same rocky retreats they are commonly
accompanied by a kind of small striped Ground Squirrel, like that of
the eastern coast in many respects, but much smaller. These little
animals, which are numerous, the White-chinned Buzzard, _Buteo
vulgaris_ of RICHARDSON and SWAINSON, and the Raven frequently hover
over and pounce upon. We met with this species as far west as the
lowest falls of the Columbia, or within a few miles of Fort Van Couver,
but among rocks and cliffs as usual.”
TROGLODYTES OBSOLETA, _Say_.
MYOTHERA OBSOLETA, _Ch. Bonap_. Amer. Ornith vol. i. p. 6,
pl. 1, fig. 2.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WREN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 435.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLX Fig. 4.
Bill nearly as long as the head, slender, slightly arched, compressed
toward the end; upper mandible with the sides convex towards the end,
flat and declinate at the base, the edges sharp and overlapping, with
a very slight notch close to the declinate tip; lower mandible with the
angle long and narrow, the dorsal line very slightly concave, the sides
sloping outwards and concave, the tip narrow. Nostrils oblong, basal,
with a cartilaginous operculum, open and bare.
Head oblong; neck short; body slender. Legs of ordinary length; tarsus
longer than the middle toe, compressed, with eight anterior distinct
scutella, and two lateral plates forming a sharp edge behind. Toes
of moderate size, the third and fourth united at the base, the first
large, the outer considerably longer than the inner. Claws rather long,
moderately arched, much compressed, with an abruptly tapering, very
acute tip.
Plumage soft and loose. Wings of moderate length, convex, broad and
rounded; the first quill very short, the second a quarter of an inch
shorter than the third; the fourth longest, but scarcely exceeding
the third and fifth. Tail rather long, much rounded, of twelve broad,
rounded feathers.
Bill dusky, with the edges pale yellow. Iris hazel. Feet dusky. Upper
parts light dull yellowish-brown, and, excepting the rump, transversely
barred with greyish-brown; the wings barred in the same manner,
excepting the primaries, which are plain; the secondary coverts with
a small white spot near the tip. Tail-coverts barred like the back, as
are the two middle tail-feathers; the others broadly tipped with pale
yellowish-red, undulated with dusky; behind which is a broad band of
brownish-black; the remaining or basal part banded like the central
feathers, the outer feather with four reddish-white spots or bars
on the outer web, the intervals being brownish-black, and a spot of
white on the inner web. The lower parts are greyish-white, tinged with
sienna, the sides inclining to yellowish-red. The lower tail-coverts
are barred with brownish-black.
Length to end of tail 6 inches, wing from flexure 2-11/12; tail 2-1/4;
bill along the ridge (9-1/2)/12; tarsus (9-1/2)/12; hind toe 4/12, its
claw (3-1/2)/12; middle toe 6/12, its claw (2-1/4)/12.
DUSKY GROUS.
_TETRAO OBSCURUS_, SAY.
PLATE CCCLXI. MALE AND FEMALE.
As I have never seen this species in its native haunts, I am obliged to
have recourse to the observations of those who have had opportunities
of studying its habits. The only accounts that can be depended upon
are those of Dr RICHARDSON, Dr TOWNSEND, and Mr NUTTALL, which I here
give in order, beginning with what is stated respecting it in the Fauna
Boreali-Americana by the first of these naturalists.
“This large Grous inhabits the Rocky Mountains from latitude 40° to
60°, and perhaps to a greater extent, for the limits of its range
either northward or southward have not been ascertained. It has been
known to the fur-traders for nearly thirty years; but it was first
introduced to the scientific world by Mr SAY, who, in 1820, accompanied
Major LONG to the source of the Missouri; and a female specimen,
deposited by him in the Philadelphia Museum, has lately been figured by
the Prince of MUSIGNANO in his continuation of Wilson’s Ornithology.
I had no opportunity of observing the habits of this bird myself, but
was informed by Mr DRUMMOND that, in the mornings during pairing time,
usual station of the male is on some rocky eminence or large stone,
where he sits swelling out the sides of his neck, spreading his tail,
and repeating the cry of “Coombe, Coombe,” in a soft hollow tone. Its
food consists of various berries, and its flesh is very palatable. Mr
ALEXANDER STEWART, a chief-factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who has
often crossed the mountains, informs me that the males of this species
fight each other with such animosity, that a man may take one of them
up in his hand before it will quit its antagonist.”
Dr RICHARDSON adds in a note, that “the description and figure of Mr
SAY’s specimen agree so completely with our younger female specimens,
that there can be no doubt of their specific identity; but it is proper
to observe that there is some discrepancy in the dimensions. The Prince
of MUSIGNANO states the total length of the bird to be eighteen inches,
that of the wing nine inches and a half. The wing of the largest of our
males is scarcely so long; while the biggest of our females, measuring
twenty-one inches in total length, has a wing barely eight inches long.
This, perhaps, merely indicates the uncertainty of measurements taken
from prepared specimens. Mr DOUGLAS’s specimens in the Edinburgh Museum
are of younger birds than ours, but evidently the same species.” These
remarks correspond with what I have so often repeated, that age, sex,
and different states of moult, produce disparities in individuals of
the same species.
Dr TOWNSEND, in the notes with which he has favoured me, has
the following observations:—“Dusky Grous, _Tetrao obscurus_.
_Qul-al-lalleun_ of the Chinooks. First found in the Blue Mountains,
near Wallah Wallah, in large flocks, in September. Keep in pine
woods altogether, never found on the plains; they perch on the trees.
Afterwards found on the Columbia River in pairs in May. The eggs are
numerous, of a cinereous brown colour, blunt at both ends, and small
for the size of the bird. The actions of the female, when the young are
following her, are precisely the same as the Ruffed Grous, using all
the arts of that bird in counterfeiting lameness, &c. Female smaller
than the male, lighter coloured, and wants the yellow warty skin upon
the sides of the neck.”
Mr NUTTALL’s notice is as follows:—“The Dusky Grous breeds in the shady
forests of the Columbia, where we heard and saw them throughout the
summer. The male at various times of the day makes a curious uncouth
tooting, almost like the sound made by blowing into the bung-hole of
a barrel, _boo wh’h_, _wh’h_, _wh’h_, _wh’h_, the last note descending
into a kind of echo. We frequently tried to steal on the performer, but
without success, as, in fact, the sound is so strangely managed that
you may imagine it to come from the left or right indifferently. They
breed on the ground, as usual, and the brood keep together nearly all
winter. The Ruffed Grous also breeds here commonly, and I one day found
the nest concealed near a fallen log, but it was at once forsaken after
this intrusion, though I did not touch the eggs.”
From the examination of specimens in my possession, I am persuaded
that this species, like _Tetrao Cupido_, has the means of inflating the
sacs of bare skin on the sides of the neck, by means of which, in the
breeding season, are produced the curious sounds above described.
TETRAO OBSCURUS, DUSKY GROUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer. Ornith.
vol. iii. pl. 18.—_Id._ Synopsis of Birds of United States,
p. 127.—_Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p.
344.
DUSKY GROUS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 666.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXI. Fig. 1.
Bill short, robust, slightly arched, rather obtuse, the base covered
by feathers. Upper mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate,
the ridge convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and overlapping,
the tip thin-edged and rounded; lower mandible with the angle long and
wide, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the ridge broad, the sides
convex, the edges inflected, the tip rounded. Nostrils in the fore part
of the large and feathered nasal depression, roundish.
Head small, ovate; neck of ordinary length; body large and full. Feet
stout, of moderate length; tarsus short, feathered; toes stout; the
first very small, the lateral about equal, and much shorter than the
third; the anterior toes connected by basal scaly membranes, partially
covered with feathers; all with broad and short scutella, margined,
but scarcely pectinate, the lateral scales not being prominent. Claws
rather large, arched, compressed, rather obtuse.
Plumage full, soft, rather blended, the feathers broad and rounded. A
bare papillate space around the eye. Feathers on the upper part of the
head narrow and elongated. Wings rather short, convex, much rounded;
the quills very strong; the third longest, the fourth next, the third
and sixth about equal, as are the first and seventh. Tail large, of
ordinary length, rounded, of twenty feathers, which are broader toward
the end, and abruptly rounded.
Bill brownish-black, lighter at the base. Iris dark hazel. Toes
bluish-grey, claws wood-brown. Papillar space around the eye vermilion.
Upper parts blackish-brown, the wings lighter. The elongated feathers
on the head greyish-brown; the hind neck minutely undulated with
bluish-grey; the scapulars, inner secondaries, and smaller wing-coverts
also minutely undulated with grey and brownish-red, and most of the
latter with a small greyish tip; the rump and upper tail-coverts
obscurely undulated with grey. Alula, primary coverts and quills,
clove-brown, the secondaries bordered and tipped with yellowish-grey;
the primaries mottled with grey on their outer webs. The tail is
black. The sides of the head, fore part and sides of the neck, and
fore part of the breast greyish-black; the lore and throat are barred
with white; the greyish-black of the breast passes into blackish-grey,
and finally into dull bluish-grey; the feathers of the abdomen tipped
with greyish-white, as are the lower rump and tail-coverts, which have
moreover one or two narrow bars of the same; the flanks undulated with
black and marked with an elongated white spot along the central part
and on the tip; axillary feathers white, as are the inner wing-coverts;
the tarsal feathers brownish-grey. The concealed part of the plumage is
light grey, unless on the feathers around the bare space on each side
of the neck, which is of an orange colour, and which the bird inflates.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 15-1/2, to end of
claws 18-1/2; extent of wings 30; wing from flexure 9-1/2; tail 7-1/2;
bill along the ridge 1, along the edge of lower mandible 1-(2-1/2)/12;
tarsus 1-9/12; hind toe 6/12, its claw 6/12; second toe 1-2/12 its claw
7/12; third toe 1-10/12, its claw (8-1/2)/12; fourth toe 1-5/12, its
claw (6-1/2)/12.
Female. Plate CCCLXI. Fig. 2.
The female is considerably smaller than the male. The bare papillar
space over the eye is of much less extent, but, as well as the
bill and feet, is coloured as in the male. The upper parts are dark
greyish-brown, barred on the neck with grey, on the other parts barred
and minutely undulated with yellowish-brown; the wings as in the male,
but lighter and more mottled; the tail greyish-brown, becoming black
toward the end, the middle feathers undulated like the back, and having
four grey bands with a terminal white one. The sides of the head and
the throat are greyish-white, undulatingly barred with brown; the
general colour of the fore neck is greyish-brown, with pale sienna
bands; on the breast the colour is brownish-grey, and the colours and
markings of the rest of the under parts are as in the male, but paler.
Length to end of tail 19-1/4 inches; wing from flexure 9; tail 6-1/4;
bill along the ridge 10/12.
In a specimen in my possession, killed by Dr TOWNSEND on the “Columbia
River, Sept. 26. 1834,” the tail is considerably rounded, the lateral
feathers being 7 twelfths shorter than the longest remaining, the
middle feathers being lost. The tail is deep black, with a terminal
band of ash-grey, half an inch in breadth. It is therefore probable,
that when the tail is unworn, it is distinctly rounded, and tipped with
grey.
YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE.
_CORVUS NUTTALLI._
PLATE CCCLXII. ADULT.
I have conferred on this beautiful bird the name of a most zealous,
learned, and enterprising naturalist, my friend THOMAS NUTTALL, Esq.,
to whom the scientific world is deeply indebted for the many additions
to our zoological and botanical knowledge which have resulted from his
labours. It is to him alone that we owe all that is known respecting
the present species, which has not hitherto been portrayed. In a note
inserted by him in my journal, he says:
“As we proceed to the south in Upper California, around the village of
Sta. Barbara, we find the Common Magpie substituted by this remarkable
species, which is much more shy and cautious, as well as more strictly
insectivorous. It utters, however, nearly if not quite the same
chatter. In the month of April they were everywhere mated, and had
nearly completed their nests in the evergreen oaks of the vicinity
(_Quercus agrifolia_). The only one I saw was situated on a rather high
tree, towards the summit, and much concealed among the thick and dark
branches. Their call was _pait_, _pait_; and on approaching each other,
a low congratulatory chatter was heard. After being fired at once,
it seemed nearly impossible again to approach them within gun-shot.
When alighted in the thick oaks, they remained for a considerable time
silent, and occasionally even wholly hid themselves; but after a while
the call of recognition was again renewed, and if the pair then met,
they would often fly off a mile or more, without stopping, in quest of
insects. We often saw them on the ground, but never near the offal of
the oxen, so attractive to the Crows and Ravens around.”
CORVUS NUTTALLI.
Adult. Plate CCCLXII. Fig. 1.
Bill almost as long as the head, straight, robust, compressed; upper
mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate, the sides sloping
and slightly convex, the edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the
tip, which is rather sharp; lower mandible straight, the angle rather
long and wide, the dorsal outline very slightly convex and ascending,
the sides sloping outwards and slightly convex, the edges sharp and
inclinate, the tip narrow. Nostrils basal, lateral, roundish, covered
by bristly feathers, which are directed forwards.
Head large, ovate; eyes of moderate size; neck rather short; body
compact. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus with seven large
scutella in front, and two long plates behind, meeting so as to form
a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella, and separated almost
to the base; first very strong; lateral toes nearly equal, third
considerably longer. Claws strong, arched, compressed, sharp, the third
with the inner edge somewhat dilated.
Plumage full, soft, blended; stiff bristly feathers, with disunited
filaments over the nostrils, some of them extending nearly half the
length of the bill; feathers on the throat with the shaft downy and
prolonged. Wings of moderate length, much rounded; the first quill
very short, extremely narrow, and falciform; the second two inches and
four and a half twelfths longer, and a little longer than the ninth;
the third an inch and one twelfth longer than the second, and three
twelfths shorter than the fourth, which is the longest. The tail is
very long, much graduated, the lateral feathers being four inches and
seven twelfths shorter than the middle.
Bill pure yellow, as is a bare space under and behind the eye. Iris
hazel. Feet black. The plumage of the head, neck, fore part of the
breast and back, brownish-black, the feathers on the latter part being
very long, those on the upper part of the head strongly glossed with
green; the shafts of the throat-feathers greyish, and those of the
feathers on the middle of the neck white. The feathers on the middle of
the back are light grey, some of them whitish, and those behind tipped
with black; rump and tail-coverts brownish-black. The scapulars are
white; the smaller wing-coverts splendent with bronzed green; primaries
black, glossed with shining green, their inner webs white, excepting
at the end, and for some way along the margin; secondaries bright blue,
changing to green, their inner webs greenish-black. Tail splendent with
bright green, changing to greenish-yellow, purplish-red, bluish-purple,
and dark green at the end; the inner webs chiefly greenish-black, but
with various tints. The breast and sides are pure white; the legs,
abdominal region, lower tail coverts, and lower wing-coverts, black.
Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 11-1/2; wing from
flexure 7-3/4; tail 9-10/12; bill along the ridge 1-4/12; tarsus
1-11/12; first toe 7/12, its claw 7/12; middle toe 1-2/12, its claw
6/12.
In form, proportion, and size, this Magpie is precisely similar to
the common species. Its bill has the sides less convex; the bare space
under the eye is of much greater extent, and the feathers of the tail
are much narrower. The colours are similar, and distributed in the
same manner; but the bill of the present species is yellow, instead of
black, and the black of the back and fore neck is tinged with brown.
The two species are wonderfully closely allied; but on comparing my
specimen with several others in the Museum of the Zoological Society of
London, I found that they all precisely agreed with it.
I have represented in the plate a twig of a species of _Platanus_
discovered by the excellent naturalist after whom I have named the bird
perched upon it.
STELLER’S JAY.
_CORVUS STELLERI_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXII. ADULT.
Of this Jay, discovered by STELLER, whose name it bears, Dr RICHARDSON
states that it “is not uncommon in the summer time on the Pacific
coast of America, from the mouth of the Columbia to the 56th parallel.
It also frequents the Rocky Mountains, where Mr DRUMMOND procured a
specimen. In its manner it greatly resembles the _Garrulus cristatus_.”
Mr NUTTALL’s account of it is as follows:—
“We first observed this bird in our Western route in the Blue Mountains
of the Columbia, east of Wallah Wallah. Here they were scarce and shy,
but we met them in sufficient abundance in the majestic pine forests
of the Columbia, where, in autumn, their loud and trumpeting clangour
was heard at all hours of the day, calling out _djay_, _djay_, and
sometimes chattering and uttering a variety of other notes scarcely
recognisable as distinct from the calls of our common Blue Jay. They
are, however, far more bold, irritable, and familiar. Watchful as
dogs, a stranger no sooner shews himself in their vicinity then they
neglect all other employment to come round, follow, peep at and scold
him, sometimes with such pertinacity and irritability as to provoke the
sportsman intent on other game to level his gun against them in mere
retaliation. At other times, stimulated by mere curiosity, they will
be observed to follow you in perfect silence, until something arouses
their ready ire, when the _djay_, _djay_, _pay_, _pay_, is poured upon
you without intermission, till you are beyond their view. So intent
are they on vociferating, that it is not uncommon to hear them busily
scolding even while engaged with a large acorn in the mouth. Of their
geographical limits we are as yet uncertain. They were first found
by STELLER at Nootka; but they do not extend into upper California,
and scarcely to the west as far as the most western of the true Rocky
Mountain Chains. They feed on insects, acorns, and the seeds of the
gigantic pines which form a belt along the Pacific and the rivers
of the Oregon Territory. In the month of May, I found a nest of this
species in a small sapling of Douglas’s Fir, on the borders of a dark
and dense forest, and again some time after a second nest with young,
in an elevated branch of the same pine, on the border of a rocky cliff.
On approaching the nest, which contained four eggs, of a pale green
colour, with small olive-brown specks, varied with others of rather a
violet hue, both the male and female flew at me with the utmost anger
and agitation, deafening me almost with their cries and entreaties.
But though I took only two of their eggs, I found next day that they
had forsaken the nest, being too fearful and jealous of the intrusion
to remain any longer in the same place. The nest as usual was bulky,
made of interlaced twigs, and roots, with a stout layer of mud, and
lined with black root-fibres. I saw the nest about ten days previous
to the time of taking two of the four eggs. On that occasion the female
(probably) only followed me in silence.”
CORVUS STELLERI, _Gmel._ _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
370.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 158.—_Ch. Bonaparte_,
Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 438.
STELLER’S JAY, GARRULUS STELLERI, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 44.
GARRULUS STELLERI, STELLER’S JAY, Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii.
p. 294.
STELLER’S JAY, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 229.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXII. Fig. 2.
Bill shorter than the head, strong, straight, a little compressed;
upper mandible with the dorsal line declinate and convex toward the
end, the sides sloping and becoming more convex toward the tip, which
is declinate, thin edged and obtuse, the edges sharp and overlapping,
with a slight notch; lower mandible straight, the angle short and
broad, the dorsal outline ascending and slightly convex, the sides
convex, the edges sharp and directed outwards, the tip narrow. Nostrils
basal, roundish, covered by reversed bristly feathers.
Head large, ovate, eyes of moderate size; neck rather short; body
compact. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus much compressed, with
seven large anterior scutella, and two long plates behind, meeting so
as to form a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella, the outer
adherent as far as its second joint to the middle toe; first very
strong; lateral toes nearly equal, third much longer. Claws strong,
arched, compressed, sharp.
Plumage full, soft, blended; stiff bristly feathers with disunited
barbs over the nostrils, some of them extending a third of the length
of the bill; at the base of the upper mandible several longish
slender bristles. The feathers on the top of the head and occiput
linear-oblong, slightly recurved, and forming an erectile crest an
inch and a half in length. Wings of moderate length, convex, and
much rounded; the first quill very short, the second an inch and a
quarter longer, the third nine-twelfths longer than the second, and
three-twelfths shorter than the fourth, which is one-twelfth shorter
than the fifth, the latter being the longest, although scarcely
exceeding the sixth. Tail long, rounded, of twelve rather broad,
rounded, and acuminate feathers, of which the shafts are undulated.
Bill and feet black. Iris hazel. Head and neck, with the fore part and
middle of the back brownish-black, of a lighter tint on the back, and
on the throat streaked with dull grey; the feathers on the forehead
tipped with bright blue; the hind part of the back, the rump, and the
upper tail-coverts, light blue; as are the lower tail-coverts, the
sides and lower parts of the rump, the sides of the body, and the whole
of the breast; the middle of the abdomen paler, the tibial feathers,
and the lower wing-coverts dusky, tinged with blue. Wings blue, the
secondary coverts and quills rich indigo and ultra-marine, narrowly
barred with black, the outer coverts of the primaries pale; the inner
webs of the primaries and outer secondaries dusky; tail blue with
numerous narrow, inconspicuous dusky bars; the lower surface of the
wings and tail dusky.
Length to end of tail 13 inches; bill along the ridge 1-(1-1/2)/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-(4-1/2)/12; wing from flexure
5-11/12; tail 6; tarsus 1-8/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw 7/12;
middle toe 11/12, its claw 5/12.
The Female is similar to the male, and scarcely inferior in colouring,
but somewhat smaller.
Length to end of tail 12 inches; bill along the ridge 1-1/2; wing from
flexure 5-1/2; tail 5-1/2; tarsus 1-8/12; middle toe 11/12 its claw
5/12.
Dr TOWNSEND informs me that it is called _Ass-ass_ by the Chinooks,
who regard it with a superstitious feeling, believing that should a
person hear it enunciating certain notes, which resemble the syllables
_jaa-jaa_, he will shortly die, whereas its other notes, _kuc_, _kuc_,
_kuc_, _kuc_, rapidly repeated, portend good. He further states that
it is gregarious, like the Blue Jay, and corroborates some of the
particulars above given.
Two eggs presented to me by Mr NUTTALL measure an inch and an eighth in
length, and seven-eighths in breadth.
ULTRAMARINE JAY.
_CORVUS ULTRAMARINUS._
PLATE CCCLXII. ADULT.
Although the Ultramarine Jay has been described by Mr SWAINSON, in his
Synopsis of the Birds of Mexico, under the name of _Garrulus sordidus_,
I retain the specific name “_ultramarinus_,” previously given by the
Prince of MUSIGNANO. The only observations respecting its habits that
I am aware of having been made, are the following, for which I am
indebted to my friend THOMAS NUTTALL.
“Early in October, on arriving in the forests of the Columbia, near
Fort Vancouver, an establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company, we saw
in the same situations with the Steller’s Jay, the present species.
Its habits are much like those of the Common Jay. It usually flies out
to the tops of the lofty pines, jerks its tail, and perches playfully
on some extreme branch, where it utters at times, as if excited by
petulant anger, a strong _whoit_, _woit_, _woit_, _woit_, after which
expression it emits a sort of recognition-call at short intervals,
_twee_, and sometimes a shorter _’twee ’twee_. When much pursued, it
sits still in the concealing shade of the lofty branches on which it
seeks refuge. It feeds on insects, acorns broken up, and probably pine
seeds. They appear to associate in roving families throughout the fall
and winter, like the other species, seldom if ever associating with
the more Common Steller’s Jay, though now and then perhaps in the same
tree. It is a graceful, active, and rather shy species, flying out
straight from tree to tree, remarkable by its long tail and rather
short wings; and its note is much less harsh and loud than that of
Steller’s Jay. They breed in the dark pine woods probably where we so
frequently saw them alight, and on the 15th of June they were feeding
their fully fledged young, two of which I pursued for some time, but
they skulked so effectually as to escape me after a long and doubtful
chase. The young had a great predominance of grey on the back. The same
species also extends into Upper California.”
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXII. Fig. 3.
Bill shorter than the head, strong, straight, compressed toward the
end; upper mandible with the dorsal line declinate and convex toward
the end, the sides sloping and becoming convex toward the tip, which
is declinate, thin-edged and obtuse, the edges sharp and overlapping,
with a slight notch; lower mandible straight, the angle rather short
and broad, the dorsal outline ascending and slightly convex, the sides
convex, the edges sharp and directed outwards, the tip narrow. Nostrils
basal, roundish covered by the reversed bristly feathers.
Head large, ovate; eyes of moderate size; neck rather short; body
compact. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus much compressed, with
seven large anterior scutella, and two long plates behind, meeting so
as to form a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella, the outer
adherent as far as its second joint to the middle toe; first very
strong; inner toe shorter than outer, third much longer. Claws strong,
arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage full, soft, blended. Stiff feathers with disunited barbs
over the nostrils, the longest scarcely extending to a third of the
length of the bill; at the base of the upper mandible several longish
slender bristles. Wings of moderate length, convex, and much rounded;
the first quill very short, an inch and two-twelfths shorter than the
second, which is eight-twelfths shorter than the third, the fourth
three-twelfths longer than the third, and a twelfth and a half shorter
than the fifth, which is the longest, but scarcely exceeds the sixth.
Tail long, much rounded, of twelve rather narrow, rounded and acuminate
feathers, of which the lateral is an inch and a quarter shorter than
the longest.
Bill and feet brownish-black. Iris hazel. Upper part of the head, sides
and hind part of the neck, wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail, light
blue; back light greyish-brown, the feathers of the rump whitish and
tinged with blue at the end; the inner webs of the quills dusky; the
tail transversely undulated, and having the appearance of being faintly
barred with a darker tint. A white band over the eye formed by the tips
of the feathers there; the cheeks dusky; the fore neck greyish-white
faintly streaked with dusky; and bounded below by a narrow semilunar
band of light blue continuous with that of the neck. The lower parts
are pale purplish-grey, passing into white on the abdomen; lower
tail-coverts tinged with blue.
Length to end of tail 12 inches; bill along the ridge 1-(1-1/2)/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-4/12; wing from flexure 5-8/12; tail
6-2/12; tarsus 1-8/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw 7/12; middle toe
1-1/12, its claw (6-1/2)/12.
The Female is considerably smaller, but resembles the male in colour.
Length to end of tail 11-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 5-3/12; tail
6-2/12; tarsus 1-7/12; middle toe 1, its claw (6-1/2)/12.
The resemblance which this species bears to the Florida Jay is so close
that one might readily confound the two. That species, however, is
distinguishable by its smaller size and its more rounded tail; by its
having a band of whitish across the forehead and extended over the eye,
where it is not in dots as in the Ultramarine Jay.
CLARKE’S NUTCRACKER.
_NUCIFRAGA COLUMBIANA._
PLATE CCCLXII. ADULT.
No sooner had I examined perfect specimens of this somewhat singularly
coloured bird, than I felt assured, more especially from the form
of its bill, that it is with us a representative of the Nutcracker
of Europe; and I was much surprised, on comparing it with the figure
given of it by ALEXANDER WILSON, to find the latter very defective,
the bill being nearly half an inch shorter than in four specimens which
I have inspected. All that is known of its habits is contained in the
following notes from Mr NUTTALL and Dr TOWNSEND.
“We first observed this species in a small pine grove, on the borders
of Bear River, in the table-land of the Rocky Mountains, where
they were probably breeding, in the month of July. We again saw a
considerable flock of the young birds early in August, in a lofty
ravine near the summit of one of the three belts or isolated mountains,
about thirty or forty miles west of the Shoshonee River. They appeared
somewhat shy, and scattered through a grove of aspens, flying with a
slight chatter, scarcely a caw, from the tops of the bushes or trees,
on to the ground, probably in quest of insect food. We never saw this
species either on the lower plains or forests of the Columbia, or in
any part of Upper California. It appears never to descend below the
mountain plains.” T. N.
“CLARKE’s Crow, _Corvus columbianus_. First found on Bear River,
and afterwards on the Blue Mountains, plentiful. Its flight is very
unlike that of the Common Crow, being performed by jerks, like that of
the Woodpecker. When sitting, it is almost constantly screaming; its
voice is very harsh and grating, and consists of one rather prolonged
note. It breeds here in very high pine trees. The White Pelican also
seen here in July, no doubt breeds; also the Canvass-backed Duck, the
Shoveller, and Dusky Duck; found young of all of them. The _Corvus
columbianus_ is never seen within five hundred miles of the mouth of
the Columbia. It appears generally to prefer a mountainous country and
pine trees; and feeds chiefly on insects and their larvæ.” J. K. T.
CLARKE’S CROW, CORVUS COLUMBIANUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
iii. p. 29. pl. 20, fig. 2.
CORVUS COLUMBIANUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 57.
COLUMBIAN CROW, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 218.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXII. Fig. 4.
Bill as long as the head, stout, somewhat conical, compressed, at the
tip rather depressed. Upper mandible with its dorsal line slightly
arcuato-declinate, the ridge convex, the sides rounded, the edges
sharp and overlapping, without notæ, the tip flattened and obtuse;
lower mandible with the angle short and rounded, the dorsal line
straight, the sides convex, the edges sharp and a little inflexed, the
tip flattened, and rather obtuse. Nostrils basal, lateral, roundish,
covered by bristly feathers, which are directed forwards.
Head large, broadly ovate; eyes of moderate size; neck rather short;
body compact. Legs of moderate length, stout; tarsus compressed, with
seven large anterior scutella and two plates behind, meeting so as to
form a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella; the first toe very
large, the inner a little shorter than the outer, the hind much longer;
the third and fourth united as far as the second joint of the latter.
Claws large, arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage full, very soft and blended; the stiff bristly feathers over
the nostrils extend about one-fifth of the length of the bill; and
there are no distinct bristles at the base of the upper mandible;
the feathers on the head are very short. The wings are long, and much
rounded; the first quill two inches shorter than the second, which is
ten-twelfths shorter than the third, the latter exceeded two-twelfths
by the fourth, which is the longest; the outer primaries being narrow,
give the wing, when closed, the appearance of being pointed. Tail of
moderate length, rounded, of twelve rather broad feathers, of which the
lateral is half an inch shorter than the middle.
Bill and feet brownish-black. Iris hazel. The general colour above
and below is light brownish-grey, the forehead, throat, fore part of
cheeks, and a space around the eye white, tinged with yellow. Wings
black, glossed with blue; seven of the secondaries largely tipped with
white, upper tail-coverts greyish-black; tail pure white, excepting the
two middle feathers and the greater part of the inner webs of the next
pair, which are black glossed with blue; lower wing-coverts dusky, some
tipped with white; lower tail-coverts pure white.
Length to end of tail 12 inches; bill along the ridge 1-8/12, along the
edge of lower mandible 1-10/12; wing from flexure 7-11/12; tail 5-1/4;
tarsus 1-4/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12; its claw 8/12; middle toe 11/12,
its claw 6/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXII. Fig. 5.
The Female is similar to the male.
BOHEMIAN CHATTERER.
_BOMBYCILLA GARRULA_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCLXIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The first intimations of the occurrence of this beautiful bird in North
America, were made by Mr DRUMMOND and Dr RICHARDSON, by the former
of whom it was found in 1826, near the sources of the Athabasca, or
Elk River, in the spring, and by the latter, in the same season, at
Great Bear Lake, in latitude 50°. Dr RICHARDSON states, in the Fauna
Boreali-Americana, that “specimens procured at the former place, and
transmitted to England, by the servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company,
were communicated, by Mr LEADBEATER to the Prince of MUSIGNANO, who
had introduced the species into his great work on the Birds of the
United States.” “In its autumn migration southwards,” he continues,
“this bird must cross the territory of the United States, if it does
not actually winter within it; but I have not heard of its having been
hitherto seen in America to the southward of the fifty-fifth parallel
of latitude. The mountainous nature of the country skirting the
Northern Pacific Ocean being congenial to the habits of this species,
it is probably more generally diffused in New Caledonia and the Russian
American Territories, than to the eastward of the Rocky Mountain chain.
It appears in flocks at Great Bear Lake about the 24th of May, when
the spring thaw has exposed the berries of the alpine arbutus, marsh
vaccinium, &c., that have been frozen and covered during winter. It
stays only for a few days, and none of the Indians of that quarter with
whom I conversed had seen its nests; but I have reason to believe,
that it retires in the breeding season to the rugged and secluded
mountain-limestone districts, in the sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth
parallels, where it feeds on the fruit of the common juniper, which
abounds in those places.” In a note, he further states:—“I observed a
large flock, consisting of at least three or four hundred individuals,
on the banks of the Saskatchewan at Carlton House, early in May 1827.
They alighted in a grove of poplars, settling all on one or two trees,
and making a loud twittering noise. They stayed only about one hour in
the morning, and were too shy to allow me to approach within gunshot.”
I am informed by Dr TOWNSEND, who has spent about four years in the
Columbia River district and on the Rocky Mountains, that he did not
observe there a single bird of this species. In the autumn of 1832,
whilst rambling near Boston, my sons saw a pair, which they pursued
more than an hour, but without success. The most southern locality
in which I have known it to be procured, is the neighbourhood of
Philadelphia, where, as well as on Long Island, several were shot in
1830 and 1832. The specimens from which I made the figures of the male
and female represented in the plate, were given to me by my friend
THOMAS M’CULLOCH of Pictou, in Nova Scotia, who procured several others
in the winter of 1834. The following account of the affection displayed
by one towards its companion, with which he has also favoured me, will
be found highly interesting.
“During the winter of 1834, many species of the northern birds were
more than usually abundant in the province of Nova Scotia, being
driven, no doubt, from their customary places of resort by the cold
which was very intense at the commencement of the season. Large flocks
of the _Loxia Enucleator_ appeared in every part of the country, while
the _Fringilla Linaria_, of which we had not seen a single specimen
for upwards of two years, could be shot at almost any hour of the
day, in the streets of Pictou; and we were often told of birds being
seen, which from the description we could not recognise as belonging
to any species with which we were already acquainted. The first day
of the year having proved uncommonly mild, I went out, accompanied
by my father, with the expectation of obtaining something new for our
collection of birds. We had scarcely left our own door when we observed
a small flock alight in a thicket of evergreens a short distance from
where we stood. Thinking they were Pine Grosbeaks, we directed the
man who was with us to push on and obtain a shot. He did so, and we
just arrived in time to pick up a pair of birds which he had killed.
One glance was sufficient to shew us that they were not what we had
supposed, but a species we had never previously seen or heard of as
visiting that portion of the Continent. You, my dear Sir, have often
enjoyed such moments, and therefore can easily conceive the intense
delight with which we surveyed our prize, and how anxiously we watched
the progress of the remainder, as they flew to an adjoining thicket,
where one immediately disappeared, while the other took its station on
the top of a spruce, from which its simple _tze tze tze_ was uttered
with the greatest vehemence, as if calling on its companions to hasten
from the danger which it had recently escaped. Seeing the bird so
very watchful, we made a small circuit with the view of diverting
its attention, and at the same time of looking for the one by which
it was accompanied, as I conceived it to be severely wounded, from
the apparent difficulty of its flight. After a careful examination
of the bush we at length observed it upon a low twig, and from its
inattention to the calls of its mate, and the cowering position in
which it sat, I concluded that it was unable to make another attempt to
escape. Giving it an occasional glance, we turned towards the other,
which still retained its former station on the top of the spruce,
though its uneasiness seemed to increase at every step. While the
man was cautiously working his way through the thick alder, in order
to get within shot, I carefully examined the bird, which certainly
presented a very interesting object. It stood almost as upright as
the top on which it was perched, its height being much increased by
its long and graceful crest being quite erect, while at the same time
its wings were kept in a constant jerking motion, as if in readiness
to remove at a moment’s notice. Independent of the mere beauty of the
bird, there was something deeply interesting in the anxiety for the
safety of its mate, so touchingly displayed by the force and rapidity
of its simple but affectionate warning. The motion of the alders
frightened the bird, and I had the mortification of seeing it rise in
the air, as if about to commence a lofty and long-continued flight.
Unwilling to give it up, I watched its progress with longing eyes,
but at last, when about turning away in despair, it suddenly wheeled
about, dashed by with great velocity, gently brushed its companion,
and thus by dispelling its stupor induced it to make another effort to
escape the danger which threatened its destruction. Though surprised
and delighted with this singular display of fidelity and affection,
I felt not a little disappointed to see them both about to elude our
grasp. The weakness of the wounded bird, however, soon induced it to
seek concealment in another thicket, while the other, still faithful
to a friend in distress, alighted as formerly on a spruce top, whence
it could both see and warn it of approaching danger. As we again drew
near, its anxiety seemed to be redoubled, while its notes were uttered
with corresponding quickness and energy; but before we could get within
reach, it again launched into the air, and made off, calling on the
other to follow with all possible speed. After flying for some time,
and finding itself unattended, it again returned and alighted on a
top near the one it had just left. The opportunity was too good to be
lost, and notwithstanding our admiration of this additional instance
of its fidelity, we shot it down, affection for its species being the
occasion of its ruin. These, my dear Sir, are all the observations
I was enabled to make upon these interesting birds, during the short
and only time they ever came under my notice. From the man I learned
that before the first shot they were quite mute, and unsuspicious of
danger. Some days after these were obtained, a single one was observed
by my father repeatedly to come and sit for a considerable time on some
willows at the bottom of our garden, but not being accustomed to the
use of a gun, he did not procure it. Whether this was the wounded one
or not, we could not tell, but from the affection of the bird for its
kind, we thought that possibly it might be that one in search of its
lost companions.”
AMPELIS GARRULUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 297.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 363.
BOMBYCILLA GARRULA, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. pl.
16, fig. 2.—Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 438.
BOMBYCILLA GARRULA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Americana, vol. ii. p. 237.
EUROPEAN WAXEN-CHATTERER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 579.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, rather stout, straightish, broader than high at the
base, compressed towards the end; upper mandible with its dorsal line
convex and declinate towards the tip, which is deflected, narrow, and
rather acute, its sides convex, its edges sharp and overlapping, with
a distinct notch; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the
dorsal line convex and ascending, the edges sharp and inflected, the
tip very small, acute, ascending, with a small sinus behind. Gape-line
nearly straight, the upper mandible having a wide festoon near the
base. Nasal membrane large, feathered; nostrils oval, partially
concealed.
Head ovate, of ordinary size; neck short; body full. Feet rather short;
tarsus short, rather stout, compressed, with six anterior scutella, and
two plates behind, meeting so as to form an edge, except at the lower
part; toes of moderate size, first stout, third and fourth slightly
connected at the base; inner toe a little shorter than outer; third
much longer. Claws rather long, arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage blended, very soft, silky, but with little gloss. A tuft of
linear, oblong, erectile, decurved feathers on the head; no bristles
at the base of the bill. Wings rather long, broad, and pointed; first
quill longest, the second slightly shorter, the other primaries pretty
equally graduated; secondaries, excepting the inner two, broad and
abruptly rounded, with the shaft projecting and enlarged into a flat,
oblong, horny appendage, of the colour of red sealing-wax. Tail of
moderate length, even, or very slightly emarginate, the middle feathers
being shorter, by a twelfth of an inch, than the one next the lateral.
Bill black, the base of the lower mandible whitish. Iris hazel. Feet
and claws black. The general colour of both surfaces is ash-grey,
becoming more tinged anteriorly with brownish-orange, of which colour
are the forehead, a patch on each side of the throat near the base
of the bill, and the feathers under the tail. A band of deep black
from the nasal membrane, along the lore, and over the eye, to the
top of the head, where it is concealed by the crest; feathers at the
base of the lower mandible, and a narrow streak below the eye white;
the upper part of the throat deep black. Alula, primary coverts, and
quills greyish-black, the secondaries more grey; the primary coverts
largely tipped with white, the primary quills with a bright yellow, the
secondary with a white elongated spot at the end of the outer web. Tail
light grey at the base, gradually shaded into deep black, with a broad
terminal band of bright yellow.
Length to end of tail 9-3/4 inches; extent of wings 16-1/4; wing from
flexure 4-8/12; tail 3; bill along the ridge 6/12, along the edge of
lower mandible 9/12; tarsus (9-1/2)/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw 4/12;
middle toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
Female. Plate CCCLXIII. Fig. 2.
The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat smaller.
The wax-like appendages vary from seven, which is the greatest number,
to four or three, and are sometimes wanting, especially in young birds,
of which, however, some possess them. In some specimens the yellow
tips of the tail-feathers and primary quills are very pale yellow or
whitish.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.
_LOXIA LEUCOPTERA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXIV. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
I found this species quite common on the islands near the entrance
of the Bay of Fundy, which I visited early in May 1833. They were
then journeying northwards, although many pass the whole year in the
northern parts of the State of Maine, and the British provinces of
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where, however, they seem to have been
overlooked, or confounded with our Common American Crossbill. Those
which I met with on the islands mentioned above were observed on their
margins, some having alighted on the bare rocks, and all those which
were alarmed immediately took to wing, rose to a moderate height, and
flew directly eastward. On my passage across the Gulf of St Laurence
to Labrador, in the same month, about a dozen White-winged Crossbills,
and as many Mealy Redpolls, one day alighted on the top-yards of the
Ripley; but before we could bring our guns from below, they all left
us, and flew ahead of the vessel, as if intent on pointing out to us
the place to which we were bound. On the 30th of June, a beautiful male
was shot, on a bunch of grass growing out of the fissure of a rock,
on a small island a few miles from the coast of Labrador; and on the
23d of July, my young friend Dr GEORGE SHATTUCK, procured a fine adult
female on the Murre Islands, whilst she was feeding among the scanty
herbage.
Within the limits of the United States, I have obtained some during
winter along the hilly shores of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania;
also in New Jersey, and in one instance in Maryland, a few miles from
Baltimore, beyond which southward I have never met with this species,
nor have I heard of any having been seen there. According to Dr
TOWNSEND, who resided about four years on the Columbia River, none are
met with in that region. As it appears that individuals accidentally
visit Europe, I am led to think that the true summer haunts of
this species are as yet not better known than those of the Bohemian
Chatterer and Common Crossbill. The latter has been shot in winter
by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE, within a few miles of Charleston in South
Carolina, where several were seen, and the specimen he procured there
is now in the collection of my friend the Reverend JOHN BACHMAN.
The southward migration of this Crossbill, as well as of the other, is
extremely irregular. Being evidently hardy birds, they appear to prefer
northern to temperate climates, and to shift their station only during
the most severe cold. The comparatively small number that spend the
year in Maine and the British Provinces adjoining, may be forced to do
so by wounds or other accidents, as in general I have found them moving
toward the north as soon as the chill blasts of winter were tempered by
the warmer rays of the vernal sun.
The habits of the White-winged Crossbill are in general similar
to those of our common species. Its flight is well sustained and
undulated; it is easily approached, is fond of saline substances, uses
its bill and feet in the manner of Parrots, and procures its food from
the cones of pines. Its song is at times mellow and agreeable, and in
captivity it becomes gentle and familiar.
Mr HUTCHINS says that this species reaches Hudson’s Bay in the month of
March, and breeds in May, forming a nest of grass, mud, and feathers,
about midway up pine trees, and laying five white eggs, marked with
yellowish spots. The young are abroad in the end of June, and the
species remains in that country until the latter part of November. Dr
RICHARDSON states that it “inhabits the dense white spruce forests
of the Fur Countries, feeding principally on the seeds of cones. It
ranges through the whole breadth of the continent, and probably up to
the sixty-eighth parallel, where the woods terminate, though it was not
observed by us higher than the sixty-second. It is mostly seen on the
upper branches of the trees, and, when wounded, clings so fast, that
it will remain suspended after death. In September it collects in small
flocks, which fly from tree to tree, making a chattering noise; and in
the depth of winter it retires from the coast to the thick woods of the
interior.”
LOXIA LEUCOPTERA, _Gmel._ _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 844.
LOXIA FALCIROSTRA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 371.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, LOXIA LEUCOPTERA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. iv. p. 48, pl. 41, fig. 4. Male.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer. Ornith vol.
ii. pl. 14, fig. 3. Female.
LOXIA LEUCOPTERA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 117.
LOXIA LEUCOPTERA, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 263.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 540.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXIV. Figs. 1, 2.
Bill rather long, stout at the base, where it is higher than broad,
extremely compressed toward the end, the mandibles towards their
extremity deflected to opposite sides, so as to cross each other. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line convex and deflected, the sides slightly
convex, the edges sharp, and towards the end united, as in _Rhynchops
nigra_ the tip excessively compressed, decurved, and extending far
beyond that of the other. Lower mandible with its angle very short
and broad, the dorsal outline ascending and convex, the edges sharp,
inflected, and approximated at the tip, which is extremely acute.
Nostrils small, basal, round, covered by the short, bristly feathers.
Head large, broadly ovate; eyes small; neck short; body compact. Feet
rather short, strong; tarsus short, compressed, with seven anterior
scutella, and two posterior plates meeting so as to form a thin edge;
toes of moderate size, the outer united at the base, the first strong,
the lateral toes nearly equal, the third much longer; the pads and
papillæ of the soles very large. Claws long, arched, very slender, much
compressed, tapering to a fine point
Plumage blended. Wings of ordinary length, pointed, the outer three
primaries longest (in one specimen the first longest, in three the
second); secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail of moderate length,
deeply emarginate, the feathers curved outwards at the point.
Bill dusky, tinged with greyish-blue, especially on the edges. Iris
hazel. Feet dark reddish-brown. The general colour of the plumage is
rich carmine, inclining to crimson; the feathers on the fore part and
middle of the back dusky, excepting the tips; the scapulars, wings,
upper tail-coverts, and tail black; two broad bands of white on the
wing, the anterior formed by the first row of small coverts and several
of those adjoining, the other by the secondary coverts, of which the
basal half only is black; the inner secondaries are tipped with white,
as are the tail-coverts, and the quills and tail-feathers are very
slightly margined with whitish. Bristly feathers at the base of the
bill yellowish-white; sides brownish, and streaked with dusky, axillar
feathers whitish; lower tail-coverts brownish-black, broadly margined
with reddish-white.
Length to end of tail 6-1/2 inches, to end of wings 5-1/4, to end of
claws 5; extent of wings 10-5/8; bill along the ridge (8-3/4)/12, along
the edge of lower mandible 7/12; wing from flexure 3-7/12; tail 2-7/12;
tarsus (7-1/2)/12; hind toe (3-1/2)/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe 5/12,
its claw 5/12.
Female. Plate CCCLXIV. Fig. 3.
The female has the upper parts dusky, the feathers margined
with greyish-yellow, the rump wax-yellow; the lower parts are
yellowish-grey, streaked with dusky, the fore part of the breast
wax-yellow; the wings and tail are as in the male, but paler, and with
the white bands on the former of less breadth. Bill and feet darker
than those of the male.
Length to end of tail 6-1/4 inches, to end of wings 5, to end of claws
5-1/4; extent of wings 10.
Young. Plate CCCLXIV. Fig. 4.
The young resemble the female, but the lower parts are dull
yellowish-grey, spotted and streaked with dark brown.
After the first moult the male still resembles the female, but is more
yellow. At the next moult it acquires the red colour, which becomes
richer and purer the older the bird.
In this species there are three longitudinal ridges on the roof of
the mouth, and the palate is bent in the same manner as in Buntings.
The tongue is of the same general form as that of the Pine Grosbeak,
3-1/2 twelfths long, compressed and slender at the base, with the
basi-hyoid bone of a similar form, concave above, dilated and rounded
at the end, so as to resemble a scoop or spoon. The œsophagus, _b c d
e_, is 2 inches and 8 twelfths long, when dilated forms a crop of vast
size, _c d_, which lies chiefly on the right side of the neck, but
also passes behind so as to appear on the left side. This form occurs
equally in the Common Crossbill, and seems to be peculiar to this
genus. The greatest breadth of the crop is 10 twelfths. On entering
the thorax, the œsophagus contracts to 2 twelfths. The proventriculus,
_e_, is bulbiform, with a diameter of 3 twelfths. The stomach, _f_,
is a strong gizzard of rather small size, somewhat bent in the same
manner as that of the Pine Grosbeak, 4-3/4 twelfths long, 6 twelfths
broad; its muscles distinct; the cuticular lining very firm but thin,
longitudinally rugous, and of a light red colour. The intestine, _g h
i j k_, is 10-1/2 inches long, its greatest diameter 2 twelfths, its
least 1-1/2 twelfth. The rectum, _j k_, is 1 inch 2 twelfths long,
including the cloaca. The cœca, _j_, are 1-1/4 twelfth long, and 1/4
twelfth broad.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 1 inch 9 twelfths long, 1-1/2 twelfth broad at the upper
part, gradually diminishing to 1 twelfth; its rings firm, and about 75
in number. The inferior laryngeal muscles are large. The bronchi are
formed of about 15 half-rings.
The twigs represented in the plate are those of a species of Alder
common in Newfoundland.
LAPLAND LONGSPUR.
_EMBERIZA LAPPONICA_, NILSSON.
PLATE CCCLXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
My first acquaintance with this species took place on the 15th of
February 1819. Walking with my wife, on the afternoon of that day,
in the neighbourhood of Henderson, in Kentucky, I saw immense flocks
scattered over the open grounds on the elevated grassy banks of the
Ohio. Having my gun with me, as usual, I procured more than sixty in a
few minutes. All the youths of the village turned out on this occasion,
and a relative of mine, in the course of the next day killed about six
hundred. Although in rather poor condition, we found them excellent
eating. Three days after they disappeared as suddenly as they had
arrived, for although on the previous evening they seemed as numerous
as ever, none but wounded birds were to be seen in the morning. Whilst
at Shippingport, near Louisville, in the same State, I found a good
number of these birds on the commons, feeding in company with Shore
Larks and Snow Buntings, and obtained some dozens. Among all the
specimens which I procured in that part of the country, none were in
perfect or summer plumage, most of them being in the garb of the male,
as represented by the second figure of my plate.
In their movements they resemble the Snow Bunting. They run and hop
on the ground with ease and celerity, many making towards a tuft of
withered grass at the same time, to search for the few seeds that may
yet be procured around or beneath it, and all the while uttering a
repetition of _chips_, in a rather low and plaintive accent. When on
wing, to which they resorted after each discharge of the gun, or when
nearly approached, they formed into compact bodies, wheeled and cut
to and fro through the air, now high, now low, in the manner of Larks,
alighting suddenly, and perhaps immediately flying off again to renew
their curious evolutions. At times flocks composed of hundreds would
settle on the top-rails of fences, or on the lower large branches of
the trees in the fields; but on such occasions they appeared as much
discontented as the Snow Buntings are, when they also alight on trees,
fences, or houses.
The Lapland Longspur visits the neighbourhood of Louisville in Kentucky
almost every year, but seldom appears when the weather is not intensely
cold. I found it also in the vicinity of St Genevieve in Missouri; and
it seems surprising that none were observed near the Columbia River by
Dr TOWNSEND.
The best account of this species, as observed in the northern
latitudes of America where it breeds, is that given by Dr RICHARDSON,
in the Fauna Boreali-Americana. After stating that it is common in
the northern regions of both continents, he says:—“I never met with
this species in the interior of the Fur Countries during winter,
and I suspect that its principal retreats in that season are on the
borders of Lakes Huron and Superior, and in the country extending to
the westward on the same parallel. In the year 1827, it appeared on
the plains at Carlton House, about the middle of May, in very large
flocks, among which were many Shore Larks (_Alauda alpestris_) and a
few individuals of _Emberiza picta_. During their stay of ten or twelve
days, they frequented open spots, where recent fires had destroyed
the grass. They came to Cumberland House a few days later in the same
season, and there kept constantly in the furrows of a newly ploughed
field. In the preceding year they were seen, though in smaller flocks,
in the vicinity of Fort Franklin (lat. 65-1/2°) in the beginning of
May; and the crops of those that were then killed were filled with
the seeds of the _Arbutus alpina_. They breed in the moist meadows on
the shores of the Arctic Sea. The nest, placed on a small hillock,
among moss and stones, is composed externally of the dry stems of
grass, interwoven to a considerable thickness, and lined very neatly
and compactly with Deer’s hair. The eggs, usually seven, are pale
ochre-yellow, spotted with brown.”
The figure of the male in summer plumage represented in my plate,
was drawn from a beautiful specimen in the collection of my esteemed
friend, Captain JAMES ROSS of the British Navy.
FRINGILLA LAPPONICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
317.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 440.
LAPLAND LONGSPUR, EMBERIZA LAPPONICA, _Ch. Bonaparte_. Amer.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 53, pl. 13, fig. 2, Male, fig. 3, Female.
EMBERIZA LAPPONICA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis, p. 440.
EMBERIZA (PLECTROPHANES) LAPPONICA, LAPLAND BUNTLING,
_Richards._ and _Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 248.
LAPLAND LONGSPUR, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 463.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCLXV. Fig 1.
Bill short, robust, tapering, somewhat compressed; the upper mandible
nearly as large as the lower, its dorsal outline very slightly convex,
the sides rounded, the sharp edges inflected, the marginal outline
slightly angulate; lower mandible broader, with involute sharp edges.
The palate with a prominent knob. Nostrils basal, round, partly
concealed by the feathers.
Head of moderate size, ovate; eyes rather small; neck short, body
compact. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered
with seven large scutella, sharp behind; toes of moderate size; the
lateral toes equal, the hind toe stout. Claws long, slightly arched,
laterally grooved, compressed toward the end, very acute, that of the
hind toe much elongated.
Plumage soft and blended, the feathers somewhat distinct on the back
and wings. Wing long, pointed; first quill longest, second scarcely
shorter; secondaries emarginate. Tail rather long, deeply emarginate.
Bill yellow tipped with dusky; iris hazel; feet and claws black. The
head and fore part of the neck are black; a band of white passes from
the base of the upper mandible over the eye, becomes broader, and,
descending on the neck, margins the black of that part. The lower parts
are white, the sides streaked with black. A brownish-red crescent on
the hind neck; the feathers of the upper parts black, broadly margined
with yellowish-red; the first row of smaller wing-coverts margined with
white, the secondary coverts tipped with the same; the primary quills
narrowly edged with reddish-white, the secondary with yellowish-red; as
are the tail-feathers, of which the two outer have a wedge-shaped white
spot at the end.
Length to end of tail 6-3/12 inches; wing from flexure 3-10/12; tail
2-1/12; bill along the ridge 6/12, along the edge of lower mandible
8/12; tarsus 9/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw 7/12; middle toe (7-1/2)/12,
its claw 4/12.
Male in winter. Plate CCCLXV. Fig. 2.
Bill dull yellow, tipped with dusky; feet and claws black. Upper part
of the head black, the feathers edged with brownish-red; the cheeks
greyish-brown; the throat, and fore part of the neck, greyish-white,
a reddish-white band from the bill, over the eye, and down the side of
the neck; the upper parts light brownish-red with black spots. The tips
of the first row of small coverts, and of the secondary coverts, white;
the quills and coverts blackish-brown, edged with light red; the tail
brownish-black, the feathers edged with reddish-grey.
Female in summer. Plate CCCLXV. Fig. 3.
The female has the bill yellowish-brown, tipped with dusky, the feet
and claws brownish-black, the upper part of the head, the hind neck,
and the back, are reddish-grey, spotted with black; the wings and tail
as in the male. A reddish-white band over the eye, and down the neck;
the lore dusky; a black band from behind the eye; the cheeks light
yellowish-brown; a black band from the lower mandible margining the
throat, which is white; as are the lower parts generally; but the lower
part of the neck is spotted with black, and the sides streaked with
dusky.
Length to end of tail 5-9/12 inches; wing from flexure 3-8/12; tail 2.
ICELAND OR JER FALCON.
_FALCO ISLANDICUS_, LATH.
PLATE CCCLXVI. ADULT FEMALE.
The figures of the adult female of this superb Falcon now before you
were taken from the bird described by Mr JOHN HEPPENSTALL, at page
554 of the second volume of this work. It was kept by him upwards of
six years; and it was his intention to have sent it to me alive from
Sheffield; but it died of an affection of the œsophagus, which had
for some days rendered it unable to swallow its food. My kind and most
worthy friend, however, sent it to me immediately, so that after having
received it in good condition, I was enabled not only to make it the
subject of the present plate, and to take accurate measurements of all
its parts, but also to institute a comparison between it and one of the
specimens obtained in Labrador, which, with its consort, is represented
in Plate CXCVI.
In all essential respects it agrees with the Labrador bird. The festoon
on the edge of the lower mandible is however more prominent, and on
the other hand, the tooth which is prominent in the young bird from
Labrador, is in the old Iceland bird broken off and worn on both sides.
In like manner, several of the claws, which are larger and stronger
in this individual, are worn and blunted. These are the accidents of
domestication or long use, and shew that no dependence can be placed
on the prominence of either the festoon or the tooth of the bill as
indicating a difference of species. The tarsi, toes, their scales and
scutella, are the same as in the Labrador specimen. The wing, however,
is more pointed, although the feathers are of the same form; but this
arises from the first quill of the Labrador bird not having completed
its growth, as both it and some of the other quills are still sheathed
at the base. In Mr HEPPENSTALL’s bird the second quill is longest, the
third very little shorter, and the first nearly as long, and three
quarters of an inch longer than the fourth. The tail is slightly
rounded, as in the Labrador bird, the lateral feathers being three
quarters of an inch shorter than the longest, and the feathers are
similarly though less distinctly pointed, they having been considerably
worn. The plumage is compact, and the feathers are of the same form in
both birds, but those of the head are a little broader in the Iceland
bird. On the whole, however, no differences are observable beyond what
might be expected between a young and an old individual of the same
species. The colouring of the Iceland bird, however, is very different.
The bill is very pale blue, the extremity of the upper mandible
black, that of the lower yellowish; the eyes greyish-black; the cere,
superciliary ridge, edges of eyelids, tarsi and toes, pale yellow; the
eyelids pale blue; the claws black. The plumage is pure white, but all
the feathers of the back and rump, the scapulars, the wing-coverts,
and the secondary quills, have near their extremity a brownish-black
spot, generally arrow-shaped. The anterior feathers of the back have,
moreover, a black streak on the shaft, which on those farther back
becomes larger and lanceolate, and on the rump is accompanied by a
third spot; the larger coverts and secondary quills have also three
or more spots, and the primary quills have seven spots or partial
bars toward their extremity, besides a large subterminal black space,
their tips however being white. On the inner margin of the two middle
tail-feathers are eight, and on the outer four dusky spots, and their
shafts are also dusky, as are those of all the quills on their upper
surface. There are also a few slight lanceolate dark spots on the sides
of the body, and on the tibial feathers.
Length to end of tail 23-1/2 inches, to end of wings 21-1/2, to end of
claws 18-3/4, to carpal joint 5-1/2; extent of wings 51-1/4; breadth
of gape 1-1/8; wing from flexure 17; tail 9-3/4; bill along the ridge
1-5/12; tarsus 2-4/12; hind toe 1-1/12, its claw 1-5/12; middle toe
2-1/12, its claw (worn) 11/12. Weight 2 lb., it being much emaciated.
The tongue, _a_, is 10-1/2 twelfths long, fleshy, deeply emarginate
at the base, having on its upper surface numerous orifices of mucous
crypts, towards the end narrowed, deeply concave, horny, with the
extremity rounded and very slightly emarginate. The œsophagus, _b c d
e_, is 7-1/2 inches long, wide, dilated into a large crop, _c d_, lying
on the right side; the proventriculus, _f_, is 1/2 inch in diameter,
with a belt of oblong glandules, arranged into four very prominent
longitudinal ridges, with deep grooves between them. The stomach, _f
g h_, is round, compressed, 1-1/2 inch in length, 1 inch 5 twelfths
in breadth; its muscular coat thin, composed of large fasciculi, not
arranged into distinct muscles; its inner coat soft, without horny
epithelium, but irregularly rugous, especially towards the pylorus,
which has three knobs or valves. The intestine, _h i j k_, is 36-1/2
inches long, 5 twelfths in diameter at its anterior part, gradually
contracting to 4 twelfths. The rectum is 3-1/2 inches long, 1/2 inch
in diameter at the commencement; the cœca 2 twelfths long, 1-1/2
twelfth in diameter; the cloaca, _l m_, globular. The right lobe of
the liver is 2 inches 4 twelfths long, the left 2 inches 1 twelfth; the
gall-bladder large.
The crop or dilatation of the œsophagus was nearly filled by two
excrescences from its inner surface, of a soft spongy texture, but not
ulcerated, or in any part scirrhous. The inner surface of the stomach
was similarly affected, but in a much less degree, and the pyloric
region was indurated. The intestines quite sound.
[Illustration]
The trachea, _m n o_, is 6 inches long, considerably flattened, 5-1/2
twelfths, in breadth at the upper part, gradually diminishing to 4
twelfths. Its rings, about 78 in number, are ossified, the last large,
divided, arched, and with a broad membrane, _o_, intervening between
them and the first bronchial ring. The lateral or contractor muscles,
_p_, are very strong, as are the sterno-tracheal, _q r_, and there is
a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, _s_, inserted into the
membrane between the last ring of the trachea and the first of the
bronchi. The bronchial half rings 15, slender and cartilaginous.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON.
_COLUMBA FASCIATA_, SAY.
PLATE CCCLXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
In the course of Colonel SAY’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains, a
single specimen of this large and handsome Pigeon was procured. This
individual was afterwards figured in the continuation of WILSON’s
American Ornithology. Many specimens however have more recently been
obtained by Dr TOWNSEND, from whom I have procured three pairs of adult
and some young birds. Comparing them with the figure above alluded
to, I should consider it as having been taken from a young male. In my
plate are represented two adult birds, placed on the branch of a superb
species of Dogwood, discovered by my learned friend, THOMAS NUTTALL,
Esq., when on his march toward the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and
which I have graced with his name! The beautiful drawing of this branch
was executed by Miss MARTIN, the amiable and accomplished sister of my
friend Dr BACHMAN. Seeds of this new species of _Cornus_ were sent by
me to Lord RAVENSWORTH, and have germinated, so that this beautiful
production of the rich valley of the Columbia River may now be seen
in the vicinity of London, and in the grounds of the nobleman just
mentioned, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Dr TOWNSEND’s notice respecting
the bird here spoken of is as follows:—
“The Band-tailed Pigeon is called by the Chinook Indians ‘_akoigh
homin_.’ It ranges from the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains
across to the Columbia River, where it is abundant. It arrived in 1836
in very great numbers, on the 17th of April, and continued in large
flocks while breeding. Their breeding places are on the banks of the
river. The eggs are placed on the ground, under small bushes, without
a nest, where numbers congregate together. The eggs are two, of a
yellowish-white colour, inclining to bluish-white, with minute spots
at the great end. These Pigeons feed upon the berries of the black
elder and the buds of the balsam poplar. When sitting in the trees,
they huddle very close together in the manner of the Carolina Parrot,
and many may be killed at a single discharge of the fowling-piece. The
flesh is tender and juicy, and therefore fine eating.”
Mr NUTTALL has favoured me with an equally interesting notice. “This
large and fine Pigeon, always moving about in flocks, keeps in Oregon
only in the thick forests of the Columbia and the Wahlamet, and during
the summer is more particularly abundant in the alluvial groves of
the latter river, where throughout that season we constantly heard
their cooing, or witnessed the swarming flocks feeding on the berries
of the elder tree, those of the Great Cornel (_Cornus Nuttalli_), or,
before the ripening of berries, on the seed-germs or the young pods
of the Balsam poplar. The call of this species is somewhat similar to
that of the Carolina Dove, but is readily distinguishable, sounding
like a double suppressed syllable, as _h ’koo_, _h ’koo_, _h ’koo_, _h
’koo_, uttered at the usual intervals, and repeated an hour or two at
a time, chiefly in the morning and evening. They are said to breed on
the ground, or in the low bushes, but I did not find the nest, although
I saw the birds feeding around every day near Watpatoo Island. During
the whole of this time they keep in flocks, either in the poplars or
elder bushes, and on being started, sweep about like flocks of domestic
pigeons, soon returning to their fare, when they feed in silence,
keeping a strict watch for intruders. They remain on the lower part
of the Columbia nearly the whole year, late in the season (October and
November) feeding mostly on the berries of the Tree Cornel, but still
they seem to migrate some distance to the south, as the severity of the
winter approaches.”
COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Say_, in Long’s Exped. to Rocky Mountains,
vol. ii. p. 10.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON, COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer.
Ornith. pl. viii, fig. 3, vol. i. p. 77.
COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Bonap._ Synops. p. 119.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 64.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill straight, rather short, slender, compressed; upper mandible with
a tumid fleshy covering at the base, where it is straight in its dorsal
outline, convex towards the end, with a sharp-edged, declinate, rather
obtuse tip; lower mandible with the angle long and pointed, the sides
erect at the base, sloping outwards toward the end, the edges sharp,
the tip narrow but blunt. Nostrils medial, oblique, linear.
Head small, oblong, compressed; neck of moderate length; body full.
Feet short, strong; tarsus very short, rounded, with two anterior rows
of large hexagonal scales; the hind part fleshy with very small scales;
toes broad and flat beneath, marginate, with large scutella above;
the hind toe smallest, the lateral nearly equal, the middle toe much
longer. Claws of moderate size, arched, compressed, grooved beneath,
rather acute.
Plumage rather compact above, blended beneath, on the hind neck strong,
with metallic gloss. Wings long, the second quill longest, the third
only a twelfth of an inch shorter, the first six-twelfths shorter, and
a little longer than the fourth, the rest rather quickly graduated;
secondaries of moderate breadth and rounded. First quill with the outer
web narrower at the base than toward the end, the second and third
quills with their outer webs having a slight sinus and attenuated
toward the end. Tail of moderate length, rounded, of twelve broad
abruptly rounded feathers, of which the lateral is half an inch shorter
than the longest.
Bill yellow, with the tips black. Feet yellow, claws greyish-black.
Bare space around the eyes carmine. The head, fore neck, and breast
are of a light reddish-purple or wine-colour, which on the abdomen and
lower tail-coverts fades into whitish; a narrow half-ring of white on
the hind neck, the lower part of which is of a metallic brownish-green
tint. The upper parts are greyish-blue, darker, and tinged with brown
on the fore part of the back and scapulars; sides of the body and
rump greyish-blue. Alula, primary coverts, primary quills, and outer
secondaries brownish-black, very narrowly margined with brownish-white.
Tail greyish-blue at the base, much paler and tinged with yellow toward
the end, these colours being separated at the distance of two inches
from the tip by a band of black.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 13-3/4; wing from
flexure 9; tail 6-1/4; bill along the ridge 10/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 1-1/12; tarsus 1-1/12; hind toe 8/12, its claw
(5-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-(4-1/2)/12, its claw 7/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXVII. Fig. 2.
The female differs from the male only in having the tints a little
duller, and on the upper parts somewhat darker, with the black band
on the tail less decided, the middle feathers being but faintly marked
with it.
Length to end of tail 15-1/2 inches.
It was omitted to mention that the minute spots on the eggs are white.
NUTTALL’S DOG-WOOD.
CORNUS NUTTALLI, _Audubon_.
This very beautiful tree, which was discovered by Mr NUTTALL, on
the Columbia River, attains a height of fifty feet or more, and is
characterized by its smooth reddish-brown bark; large, ovate, acuminate
leaves, and conspicuous flowers, with six obovate, acute, involucral
bracteas, which are rose-coloured at the base, white towards the end,
veined and reticulated with light purple. The berries are oblong, and
of a bright carmine.
ROCK GROUS.
_TETRAO RUPESTRIS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Whilst at Labrador, I was informed by Mr JONES, of whom I have made
mention on several occasions, that a smaller species of Ptarmigan
than that called the Willow Grous, _Tetrao Saliceti_, was abundant on
all the hills around Bras d’Or, during the winter, when he and his
son usually killed a great number, which they salted and otherwise
preserved; and that in the beginning of summer they removed from
the coast into the interior of the country, where they bred in open
grounds, never, like the Willow Grous, retreating to the wooded parts.
They seldom appear at Bras d’Or until the last of the Wild Geese have
passed over, or before the cold has become intense, and the plains
deeply covered with snow. While about his house, they repair to the
most elevated hilltops, from which the violence of the winds has
removed the snow. There they feed on the mosses and lichens attached to
the rocks, as well as on the twigs and grasses scantily found in such
places at that season. They keep in great packs, and when disturbed
are apt to fly to a considerable distance, shifting from one hill to
another often half a mile off.
Not having seen this species alive, and my drawing having been taken
from specimens kindly presented to me by my friend Captain JAMES ROSS,
R. N., I cannot do better than present you here with the observations
of Dr RICHARDSON, as recorded in the Fauna Boreali-Americana. “HUTCHINS
reports that the Rock Grous is numerous at the two extremities of
Hudson’s Bay, but does not appear at the middle settlements (York and
Severn Factories), except in very severe seasons, when the Willow Grous
are scarce, and Captain SABINE informs us that they abound on Melville
Peninsula, Lat. 74° to 75°, in the summer. It arrived there in its
snow-white dress, on the 12th of May 1820; at the end of that month
the females began to assume their coloured plumage, which was complete
by the first week in June, the change at the latter period being only
in its commencement with the males. Some of the males were killed as
late as the middle of June in their unaltered winter plumage. In this
respect the species differs from the Willow Grous whose males first
assume the summer colour. The Rock Grous is found also on Melville
Peninsula and the Barren Grounds, seldom going farther south in winter
than latitude 63° in the interior, but descending along the coast of
Hudson’s Bay to latitude 58°, and in severe seasons still farther to
the southward. It also occurs on the Rocky Mountains as far south as
latitude 55°. It exists in Greenland, is common in Norway, is known in
Sweden by the name of _Sno Rissa_, and is the species most frequent in
the Museums of France and Italy under the name of _Tetrao Lagopus_. It
is not a native of Scotland. The Rock Grous in its manners and mode
of living resembles the Willow Grous, except that it does not retire
so far into the woody country in winter. Contrary, however, to what
HEARNE says, it is frequent in open woods on the borders of lakes in
that season, particularly in the 65th parallel of latitude, though
perhaps the bulk of the species remains on the skirts of the Barren
Grounds. It hatches in June. The ground colour of the egg is, according
to Captain SABINE, a pale reddish-brown, and is irregularly spotted and
blotched with darker brown.” Specimens in my possession, coloured as
here described, average one inch and five-eighths in length, by an inch
and an eighth in breadth.
TETRAO RUPESTRIS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 751.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 640.
TETRAO (LAGOPUS) RUPESTRIS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 354.
ROCK GROUS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 610.
Adult Male in Winter. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, robust; upper mandible with the dorsal outline curved, the
ridge and sides convex, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate, thin
edged, but rounded; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the
dorsal line convex, the back broadly convex, the sides rounded, the
edges inflected, the tip blunt. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by
feathers.
Head small, ovate; neck of moderate length; body bulky. Feet of
ordinary length, robust; tarsus feathered, as are the toes, the first
toe very small, the middle toe much longer than the lateral, which are
nearly equal, the inner being a little longer. Claws slightly arched,
depressed, broad, with thin edges and rounded at the tip.
Plumage compact, the feathers generally ovate and rounded; those on
the tarsi, toes, and soles oblong, with loose stiffish barbs. Wings
rather short, concave; the primaries strong, narrow, tapering, pointed;
the first an inch and seven-twelfths shorter than the second, which
is four-twelfths shorter than the third, this being the longest, but
only exceeding the fourth by a twelfth and a half. Tail rather short,
nearly even, of sixteen broad feathers, of which two are incumbent,
less strong, and longer than the rest by two-twelfths of an inch.
Bill black; superciliary membrane scarlet; claws dusky, towards the
end yellowish. The plumage is pure white, with the exception of a
broad band of black from the upper mandible to the eye, and for a
short space behind it; the shafts of the six outer quills, which are
brownish-black, and all the tail-feathers, the two middle excepted,
they being of a deep greyish-black colour, with a terminal narrow band
of white.
Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 12; wing from
flexure 8; tail 4-1/2; tarsus 1-2/12; hind toe 2/12, its claw 5/12;
middle toe 11/12, its claw 8/12.
Male in Summer. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 2.
In summer, the plumage differs little in texture, with the exception
of that on the feet, which is short and thin on the tarsi, worn on the
base of the toes, of which the soles and half of the upper surface are
denuded. The bill and claws are of the same colour as in winter; but
the plumage is variegated with black, reddish-yellow, and white. The
upper parts may be described as black, transversely and irregularly
banded and spotted with yellowish-red, the feather terminally margined
with white, there being on each feather several bars of yellowish-red
running from the margin inwards, but leaving a black space in the
centre. The lower parts are lighter, more broadly and regularly barred
with brownish-black and light reddish-yellow. The feathers along the
edge of the wing, the alula, primary coverts, nearly all the secondary
coverts, primaries and outer secondaries, white; as are the lower
surface of the wing, the axillar feathers, and some of the feathers
on the abdomen, as well as those on the feet, the latter being soiled
or tinged with yellowish or grey. The shafts of the primaries are
brownish-black, and the tail is black as in winter, tipped with white,
and with the lateral feathers having part of their outer web white;
the two middle feathers barred like the back. The dimensions of an
individual are as follows:
Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-1/2; wing from
flexure 7-10/12; tail 4-1/2; bill along the ridge 7/12; tarsus 1-2/12;
middle toe (1-1/2)/12, its claw 6/12.
Female in Summer. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 3.
The female does not differ materially from the male, the yellow bands
being only broader and lighter.
Very great differences are observed in the length and form of the
claws, they being in some individuals very long, thin-edged, and
tapering, to a rounded point; in others very short, being worn down
to the stump. This species is considerably smaller than the Ptarmigan
of Scotland, which it precisely resembles in its winter plumage. In
its summer plumage, however, it differs in having the markings larger;
and as yet no specimens have been obtained marked with undulated
slender, ash-grey, and dusky lines, in any degree approaching those
characteristic of the British bird in its autumnal plumage. The bill
of the Rock Grous is shorter and thicker than that of the Ptarmigan,
although the reverse has been alleged.
MOUNTAIN MOCKING BIRD.
_TURDUS MONTANUS._
PLATE CCCLXIX. MALE.
This interesting and hitherto unfigured species was procured on the
Rocky Mountains by Dr TOWNSEND, who forwarded a single specimen to
Philadelphia, where I made a drawing of it. The following notice by
Mr NUTTALL shews that it is nearly allied in its habits to the Mocking
Bird:—
“On the arid plains of the central table-land, betwixt the northern
sources of the Platte and the Colorado of the West, in the month of
June, we frequently heard the cheering song of this delightful species,
whose notes considerably resemble those of the Brown Thrush, with
some of the imitative powers of the Mocking Bird. For a great part of
the day, and especially early and late, its song resounds through the
desert plains, as it warbles to its mate from some tall weed or bush
of wormwood, and continues with little interruption nearly for an hour
at a time. We met with it in the plains exclusively, till our arrival
at Wallah Wallah, but we are not certain of having seen it in any part
of California, it being apparently entirely confined to the cooler
and open regions of the Rocky Mountains. Just before arriving at Sandy
Creek of the Colorado, while resting for refreshment at noon, I had the
good fortune to find the nest in a wormwood bush, on the margin of a
ravine, from whence the male was singing with its unusual energy. It
contained four almost emerald green eggs, spotted with dark olive of
two shades, more numerous towards the greater end, the spots large and
roundish. The nest itself was made of small twigs and rough stalks,
lined with stripes of bark and bison wool. The female flew off to a
little distance, and looked on her unwelcome and unexpected visitor,
without uttering either call or complaint.”
ORPHEUS MONTANUS, MOUNTAIN MOCKING BIRD, _Townsend_, Journal
of Acad. of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vii. p. 192.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXIX. Fig. 1.
Bill of moderate length, rather slender, compressed, straightish,
pointed; upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly
declinato-arcuate, the sides convex toward the end, the edges sharp,
with a slight sinus close to the narrow declinate tip; lower mandible
with the angle short and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the edges
sharp and a little declinate at the end, the tip narrow; the gape-line
very slightly arched.
Head oblong, of ordinary size; neck rather short, but somewhat slender.
Feet longish, rather strong; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered
with seven large scutella, sharp-edged behind; toes of moderate
length, slender, the hind toe stout, the lateral nearly equal, the
anterior united for a short space at the base. Claws slender, arched,
compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings of moderate length, rounded, the first
quill short, the third and fourth longest, the second and fifth equal,
and about a quarter of an inch shorter than the fourth. Tail long,
rounded, of twelve rather narrow rounded feathers.
Bill dark-brown, the base of the lower mandible paler. Feet
yellowish-brown, claws dusky. The general colour of the upper parts
is greyish-brown, the tips of the secondary coverts, the edges of
the primary quills, and a large spot at the end of the three lateral
tail-feathers, white; the lower parts whitish, marked with triangular
dusky spots, of which there is a distinct line from the base of the
bill; the throat, the middle of the breast, the abdomen, and lower
tail-coverts unspotted.
Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 5-3/4; wing from
flexure 3-9/12; tail 3-1/2; bill along the ridge (7-1/2)/12; tarsus
1-2/12; hind toe 4/12, its claw 4/12; middle toe 8/12, its claw
(3-1/4)/12.
VARIED THRUSH.
_TURDUS NÆVIUS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXIX. ADULT MALE.
Of this beautiful Thrush, of which a figure not having the black band
running quite across the breast, as is the case in the adult male, is
given by Mr SWAINSON, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, Dr RICHARDSON
speaks as follows:—“This species was discovered at Nootka Sound, in
Captain COOK’S third voyage, and male and female specimens, in the
possession of Sir JOSEPH BANKS, were described by LATHAM: PENNANT has
also described and figured the same male. The specimen represented in
this work was procured at Fort Franklin, lat. 65-1/4°, in the spring of
1826. We did not hear its song, nor acquire any information respecting
its habits, except that it built its nest in a bush, similar to that
of the _Merula migratoria_. It was not seen by us on the banks of the
Saskatchewan; and, as it has not appeared in the list of the Birds of
the United States, it most probably does not go far to the eastward of
the Rocky Mountains in its migrations north and south. It may perhaps
be more common to the westward of that ridge.”
Dr RICHARDSON’s conjecture as to the line of march followed by it
has proved to be correct, Dr TOWNSEND and Mr NUTTALL having found it
abundant on the western sides of the Rocky Mountains. The former of
these zealous naturalists informs me that he “first found this Thrush
on the Columbia River in the month of October, and that it becomes more
numerous in winter, which it spends in that region, though some remove
farther south. It there associates with the Common Robin, _Turdus
migratorius_, but possesses a very different note, it being louder,
sharper, and quicker than those of the latter, and in the spring,
before it sets out for its yet unascertained breeding-place, it warbles
very sweetly. It is called _Ammeskuk_ by the Chinooks.”
Mr NUTTALL’s notice respecting it is as follows:—“Of this bird, whose
manners so entirely resemble those of the Common Robin, we know almost
nothing. They probably breed as far north as Nootka, where they were
first seen by the naturalists of COOK’s expedition. On the Columbia
they are only winter birds of passage, arriving about October, and
continuing more or less frequently throughout the winter. At this time
they flit through the forest in small flocks, frequenting usually low
trees, on which they perch in perfect silence, and are at times very
timorous and difficult of approach, having all the shy sagacity of the
Robin, and appearing at all times in a very desultory manner.”
The numerous specimens of this Thrush in my possession have enabled
me to compare it with _Turdus migratorius_, and another new Thrush
from Chili. On examining the tail, from the shape of which Mr SWAINSON
considers this species allied to our Mocking Bird, I found its form,
length, and extent beyond the wings, to correspond almost exactly with
those of the tail of our Robin; and, if it proves true that the Varied
Thrush forms a nest bedded with mud, it will strengthen my opinion that
both these and the Chilian species are as nearly allied as possible,
and therefore ought to be considered as true Thrushes, of which, to
assume the language of systematic writers, _Turdus migratorius_ is the
type in America, whilst _Turdus Merula_ is that of Europe.
The two figures in my plate were taken from adult males shot in spring.
You will find a figure of the female in Plate CCCCXXXIII.
TURDUS NÆVIUS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 817.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 331.
ORPHEUS MERULOIDES, THRUSH-LIKE MOCK-BIRD, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 187.
Adult Male, Plate CCCLXIX. Figs. 2, 3.
Bill of moderate length, rather strong, compressed, acute; upper
mandible with its dorsal outline slightly arched, the ridge narrow, the
sides convex toward the end, the edges sharp, overlapping, destitute
of notch, there being in its place an extremely slight sinus, the tip a
little declinate; lower mandible with the angle rather long and narrow,
the dorsal line very slightly convex, the ridge narrow, the sides
erect and convex, the edges sharp and slightly decurved towards the
narrow, rather obtuse, tip. Nostrils basal, oblong, half closed by a
horny operculum. Head of moderate size, ovate, convex anteriorly; neck
rather short, body moderately full. Feet of ordinary length, rather
stout; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with a long plate and four
inferior scutella, posteriorly with two long plates meeting at a very
acute angle. Toes rather large, the first strongest, the lateral nearly
equal, the third and fourth united as far as the second joint of the
latter. Claws rather large, moderately arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and rather blended. Wings of moderate length, broad,
rounded; the first primary extremely short, being about a fifth of the
length of the third, which is longest, but scarcely exceeds the fourth;
the second four-twelfths shorter than the third. Tail large, rather
long, nearly even, of twelve broad rounded feathers.
Bill black, with the basal half of the lower mandible yellow; iris
hazel; feet and claws flesh-coloured. The general colour of the upper
parts is a deep leaden-grey, darker on the head, the feathers very
narrowly margined with brown; the quills and tail-feathers dusky, the
outer webs of the latter tinged with grey, and their tips white; the
lore dusky; a band of reddish-orange passes from over the fore part of
the eye down the side of the neck, and almost meets its fellow on the
hind part; two conspicuous bands of the same cross, the wing obliquely
being formed of the tips of the first row of small coverts, and those
of the secondary coverts; the outer webs of the primary coverts about
the middle, a band on the primaries near the base, part of the outer
webs towards the end, and the tips of the secondaries, also pale
reddish-orange. The lower parts in general are reddish-orange, paler
behind; a band of greyish-black passes down the side, and crosses the
lower part of the neck, where it is almost pure black; the feathers
of the sides are tipped with light grey; those of the middle of the
abdomen are white; and the lower tail-coverts are tipped with the
latter colour. The axillary feathers are white, tipped with grey; the
smaller coverts grey, tipped with reddish-white, the primary coverts
grey, the secondary nearly white, of which also there is a bar formed
by part of the inner webs of the quills.
Length to end of tail 10-1/4 inches; wing from flexure 5-1/4; tail
3-10/12; bill along the ridge 10/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-(1-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-1/4; hind toe (5-1/2)/12, its claw (5-1/2)/12;
middle toe (10-1/2)/12, its claw 4/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCCXXXIII. Fig. 6.
The female, which is scarcely smaller than the male, is coloured in the
same manner; but the upper parts are strongly tinged with olive-brown;
the reddish-orange bands are much paler, the tail-feathers are margined
with dull reddish-brown; the band on the lore, down the sides of the
neck, and across it, is light greyish-brown; the orange tint of the
lower parts is much paler; the lower wing-coverts have no tinge of red,
and part of the breast and abdomen is nearly pure white.
Length to end of tail 10 inches; wing from flexure 5-2/12; tail 3-8/12;
bill along the ridge 10/12; tarsus 1-1/4; middle toe and claw 1-3/12.
The plant represented on the plate is the American Mistletoe, _Viscum
verticillatum_, on the berries of which several of our Thrushes
occasionally feed, as the Mistle thrush, _Turdus viscivorus_, is said
to do on those of _Viscum album_. It is found in almost every part of
the United States, growing chiefly on oaks and apple-trees.
AMERICAN DIPPER.
_CINCLUS AMERICANUS_, SWAINSON.
PLATE CCCLXX. MALE AND FEMALE.
The specimens from which figures here given have been taken, were
procured on the Rocky Mountains, on the 15th of June, when they were
supposed to be breeding, so that they were probably adults in full
plumage. Having little taste for critical discussions, I shall refrain
from inflicting on the reader a long and elaborate review of all that
has been said on the subject of this interesting but little-known
bird, which was figured by the Prince of MUSIGNANO from a specimen
obtained near the sources of the Athabasca River, under the name of
_Cinclus Pallasii_; and has been described by Mr SWAINSON, first
as _C. Mexicanus_, and again, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, as
_C. Americanus_. The latter name I prefer to that of _C. unicolor_,
which is in fact incorrect, the bird not being of one single colour.
Unfortunately very little is known respecting the habits of the
American Dipper, which however, being in form and size so very similar
to that of Europe, probably resembles it in its mode of life. I
therefore cannot do better than endeavour to supply the deficiency
by presenting you with the history of the latter species, as given in
detail by my friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, who, among the wild hills of
his native country, has studied its habits with a zeal and acuteness
certainly not exceeded by those of any ornithologist. His account,
which first appeared in a periodical named “The Naturalist,” and which
he has revised and amended for insertion here, is in truth a model of
histories of this kind.
“The Dipper is in many respects one of the most interesting of our
native birds. Residing chiefly in the wild glens of the mountainous
districts, it now and then presents itself to the wandering naturalist
as it flits along the streams, or is seen perched on a stone in
the midst of the water, the white patch on its breast rendering it
conspicuous at a great distance. Even the mere collector of plants,
who, of all men, seems to be the least capable of comprehending the
harmonies of nature, pauses to gaze upon it, as it shoots past him
in its rapid and even flight; the solitary shepherd, wending his way
to the mountain corry, meets it with delight; and the patient and
contemplative angler, as he guides his tackle over the deep pool,
smiles upon the tiny fisher, whose frequent becks have attracted his
notice. The singular circumstance of its obtaining its food under the
surface of the water, although in form and structure it is allied to
the Thrushes, Wrens, and other land birds, has especially drawn the
attention of ornithologists to it; and the explanation of its mode of
progression in that element has exercised their ingenuity, although
very few have based their conjectures on actual observation. Lastly,
the land-proprietor, or his factor, too much occupied with other
pursuits to inquire for themselves, and trusting to the reports of
prejudiced persons, direct their gamekeepers and shepherds to destroy
the lively and harmless creature, whenever an opportunity occurs,
because it has been supposed to destroy the eggs and fry of the salmon.
“This bird having in a particular manner engaged my attention in the
course of my many rambles, I have been enabled to trace its history
in a satisfactory degree, so that the account here presented of it I
consider as among the most accurate of those which I have written.
“It frequents the sides of rivers and streams of inferior magnitude,
especially such as are clear and rapid, with pebbly or rocky margins.
I have met with it in every part of Scotland, as well as in the hilly
parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and it is said by MONTAGU to
occur in Wales and Devonshire. In Scotland it is not peculiar to the
mountainous regions, being found in the lowest parts of the Lothians,
as well as on the alpine rills of the Grampians, and other elevated
tracts, but it is generally more abundant in hilly ground, and,
although never common in any district, is nowhere more plentiful than
on the Tweed and its tributaries, in the pastoral counties of Peebles
and Selkirk. It is also a well-known inhabitant of all the larger
Hebrides. It is not only a permanent resident, but seldom shifts its
station to any great extent, excepting during continued frosts, when it
descends along the streams, and is seen flitting about by the rapids
and falls. Mill-dams are also favourite resorts, especially in winter
and spring. On lakes having a muddy or peaty bottom I have never
observed it; but it may sometimes be seen on those which are shallow
and pebbly at the margins, as on St Mary’s Loch in Yarrow, where I have
shot it.
“The flight of the Dipper is steady, direct, and rapid, like that of
the Kingfisher, being effected by regularly timed and quick beats of
the wings, without intermissions or sailings. It perches on stones or
projecting crags by the sides of streams, or in the water, where it
may be seen frequently inclining the breast downwards, and jerking
up the tail, much in the manner of the Wheatear and Stonechat, and
still more of the Wren; its legs bent, its neck retracted, and its
wings slightly drooping. It plunges into the water, not dreading the
force of the current, dives, and makes its way beneath the surface,
generally moving against the stream, and often with surprising speed.
It does not, however, immerse itself head foremost from on high like
the Kingfisher, the Tern, or the Gannet; but either walks out into
the water, or alights upon its surface, and then plunges like an Auk
or a Guillemot, slightly opening its wings, and disappearing with an
agility and dexterity that indicate its proficiency in diving. I have
seen it moving under water in situations where I could observe it with
certainty, and I readily perceived that its actions were precisely
similar to those of the Divers, Mergansers, and Cormorants, which I
have often watched from an eminence, as they pursued the shoals of
sand-eels along the sandy shores of the Hebrides. It in fact flew,
not merely using the wing, from the carpal joint, but extending it
considerably and employing its whole extent, just as if advancing in
the air. The general direction of the body in these circumstances is
obliquely downwards; and great force is evidently used to counteract
the effects of gravity, the bird finding it difficult to keep itself at
the bottom, and when it relaxes its efforts coming to the surface like
a cork. MONTAGU has well described the appearance which it presents
under such circumstances:—“In one or two instances, where we have been
able to perceive it under water, it appeared to tumble about in a very
extraordinary manner, with its head downwards, as if picking something;
and at the same time great exertion was used, both by the wings and
legs.” This tumbling, however, is observed only when it is engaged
in a strong current, and its appearance is greatly magnified by the
unequal refraction caused by the varying inequalities of the surface
of the water. When searching for food, it does not proceed to great
distances under water; but, alighting on some spot, sinks, and soon
reappears in the immediate neighbourhood, when it either dives again,
or rises on wing to drop somewhere else on the stream, or settle on a
stone. Often from a shelving crag or large stone it may be seen making
short incursions into the water, running out with quiet activity,
and presently bobbing up to the surface, and regaining its perch by
swimming or wading. The assertion of its walking _in_ the water, _on_
the bottom, which some persons have ventured, is not made good by
observation, nor countenanced by reason and the nature of things. The
Dipper is by no means a walking bird: even on land I have never seen
it move more than a few steps, which it accomplished by a kind of
leaping motion. Its short legs and curved claws are very ill adapted
for running, but admirably calculated for securing a steady footing
on slippery stones, whether above or beneath the surface of the water.
Like the Kingfisher, it often remains a long time perched on a stone,
but in most other respects its habits are very dissimilar.
“The first opportunity which I had of observing this bird advancing
under water occurred in Braemar, in 1819, when, from the bank of the
stream which passes by Castletown, I noticed one “tumbling about” in
the rapid current. In September 1832 I watched a Dipper for some time,
on a part of the Tweed, where the current was very rapid. It flew off
from the shore, and alighted in the middle of the stream, where it
immediately dived. Reappearing a little way farther up the river, it
floated for a few seconds, dived, emerged, and flew to the opposite
bank, on reaching which it again disappeared under water for a short
time, and thus continued its exertions. When perched on a stone near
the shore, especially if the water be not much agitated around, it
usually makes short incursions into it, apparently for the purpose of
procuring food, and returns to its station. On these occasions it is
not difficult to approach it, provided due precaution be used; but in
general it is shy and easily alarmed. I have several times shot at an
individual which observed me as I was quietly walking up to it; but
it is not often that one remains until you come within shot. A method
which I have often successfully practised was to mark the position of
the bird at a distance, taking note of an object on the bank opposite
to it, then make a circuit and suddenly come upon the spot. When one
has been pursued either up or down a stream for a quarter of a mile or
so, it usually turns, to regain its ordinary station, when it may be
shot as it dashes past.
“In August 1834, while ascending White Coom, the highest mountain in
Dumfriesshire, accompanied by my son, I observed a Dipper retreating
behind a large stone, over which the water fell, in the midst of
a streamlet that flowed along the bottom of a narrow sear or rut.
Imagining that its nest or young might be concealed there, we went up
to the place, and, on perceiving the bird behind the little waterfall,
endeavoured to catch it, on which it sallied forth, plunged into a
pool, and attempted to escape down the stream, but without success, for
we met it at every turn, and it was obliged to betake itself again to
its retreat. We now turned off the water from the stone, when it again
plunged into the pool, and after some windings, at length effected its
escape. On emerging at some distance it flew off, and I considered
it strange that it had not used its wings at first, as it certainly
could more easily have escaped through the air than through the water.
The chase afforded another rare opportunity of viewing its subaqueous
flight, which in all probability was caused by excessive alarm. It flew
about in the pool, just as a bird would fly in a confined space in the
air, but of course, with less velocity, and on diving at first seemed
covered with small air-bubbles which adhered to its surface.
“On being wounded the Dipper commonly plunges into the water, flies
beneath its surface to the shore, and conceals itself among the stones
or under the bank. In fact, on all such occasions, if enough of life
remains, it is sure to hide itself, so that one requires to look
sharply after it. In this respect it greatly resembles the Common
Gallinule. In the winter of 1829, I shot one on the Almond, which flew
to the other side, walked deliberately out into the water, disappeared,
and slowly emerged under a bank at some distance, where I found it
after wading through the stream, which was partially frozen. Another
had just strength sufficient to fly into a deep hole under a bridge on
the Yarrow, partially filled with water, on which it was found floating
dead. In August 1834, I shot a Dipper on Manor Water in Tweeddale,
which flew off, dived, and hid itself under a bank, on which I forded
the stream and endeavoured to secure it, but it slipped out under
water, swam down the current twenty yards or so, and got under a large
stone, where it was traced. The introduction of the gun-rod only caused
the persecuted bird to retreat as far as it could, and when I was
employed in removing some pebbles and gravel from behind the stone, it
slipped out under water, and proceeded down the stream a considerable
way before it rose to breathe. I noticed the place where it dived in
under the bank, and it being at length obliged to come up to respire,
I met the bird with my hand and so secured it.
“When wounded and caught, it struggles hard, grasping firmly with the
feet, but does not attempt to bite. I mention this circumstance as
common to certain species of birds, such as the Fieldfare, Blackbird,
and Starling, which without possessing the power of annoying their
enemy, yet do not tamely suffer themselves to be destroyed, but
struggle to the last, undismayed, and ready to use the slightest chance
of escape. Other species, equal in strength, such as the Snipe, the
Golden Plover, and the Lapwing, do not struggle so vigorously, but meet
their fate in a quiet and apparently stupid manner. Some birds, again,
such as the Tits and Warblers, although evidently extremely frightened
on being seized, watch every opportunity of biting. I need scarcely add
that some, as the Kestril and Sparrowhawk, grasp and bite with as much
good-will as effect.
“The most melancholy ornithological exhibition that I remember to have
witnessed, was that of a wounded Dipper which was shot through the
lungs, above Cramond Bridge, near Edinburgh. It stood still, without
attempting to fly off, apparently insensible to all external objects,
its legs bent, its wings drooping, its head declined. The blood was
oozing from its side, and gurgling in its windpipe, which the poor bird
made ineffectual efforts to clear. At intervals, a convulsive heaving
of the chest took place, followed by an effort to vomit; and in that
state the sufferer stood for five minutes, until I got over the stream
to it, when it expired in my hand. In the agony of death, the pupil
became contracted to a mere point, and presently after dilated, when
the lower eyelid gradually rose and covered the eye. This is commonly
the case in birds, which do not expire with their eyes open, like man
and most quadrupeds.
“The food of the Dipper is said by authors to consist of small fishes,
roe, and water-insects. Thus, according to WILLUGHBY, “Pisces predatur,
nec insecta aversatur.” MONTAGU states that he saw an “old bird flying
in with a fish in its bill,” and that “these birds will sometimes pick
up insects at the edge of the water.” M. TEMMINCK alleges that its
food consists of “insectes d’eau, demoiselles et leurs larves; souvent
du frai de truite.” Mr SELBY judiciously combines these statements,
informing us that “water-insects and the fry and spawn of fish form its
food.” Mr JENYNS, more wary, confines it to “aquatic insects.” It would
answer no good purpose to bring forward the notions of other compilers.
There is nothing incredible in all these statements, although it is to
be remarked that no one states that he has actually observed fishes, or
their eggs, in the stomach of this bird. I have opened a great number
of individuals, at all seasons of the year, but have never found any
other substances in the stomach than _Lymneæ_, _Ancyli_, Coleoptera,
and grains of gravel. As to the ova and fry of the salmon, there is no
evidence whatever that the Dipper ever swallows them; and, therefore,
the persecution to which this bird has been subjected in consequence of
the mere suspicion, ought to cease until the fact be proved. That the
mollusca above mentioned form a principal part of its food was never
suspected, and therefore I was much pleased with making the discovery,
which satisfactorily accounted to me for all the subaqueous excursions
of the species.
“The Dipper is generally seen in pairs, sometimes singly, and, for a
short period, at the breeding season, in families but never in flocks.
In some favourite places, such as a water-fall, or a series of rapids,
one may in winter find so many as four or five individuals, but always
scattered. Its song is short, but lively, and continued at intervals.
It bears no resemblance to the full song of the Thrushes, but closely
resembles the subdued winter warble of the Redwing and Starling, or the
first notes of a young Song Thrush. This gentle warble is not confined
to any period of the year, but may be heard during sunny weather at all
seasons. Its common note, which it frequently utters while perched on a
stone or while flying along the stream, resembles the syllable _chit_.
“About the middle of spring it begins to form its nest, so that its
first brood is abroad at the same time with that of the Blackbird.
The nest, which is placed among the moss on the bank of a stream,
or among the roots of a tree in a concealed place overhanging the
water, sometimes in a crevice of a rock, or under a bridge, or even
in the space behind a waterfall, varies considerably in form and size,
according to its position; but is always very bulky, arched over, and
resembles that of the Wren more than of any other bird. A perfect
specimen found by my friend Mr WEIR, in the county of Linlithgow,
presents externally the appearance of a flattened elliptical mass,
measuring ten inches from the front to the back part, eight and a
half in breadth, and six in height. The aperture is in front, of a
transversely oblong form, three inches and a quarter wide, and one
inch and a half high. The exterior is composed of various species
of mosses, chiefly hypna, firmly felted, so as to form a mass not
easily torn asunder, especially in its lower part. This portion may be
considered as forming a case for the nest properly so called, and in
this respect resembles the mud case of the swallows. The nest itself is
hemispherical, five and a half inches in diameter, composed of stems
and leaves of grasses, and very copiously lined with beech-leaves. I
have examined several other nests, which were similarly constructed,
and all lined with beech-leaves, one having a few of ivy, and another
one or two of the plane, intermixed. MONTAGU describes the nest as
“very large, formed of moss and water plants externally, and lined with
dry oak leaves”, and others have stated that the lining is of leaves
of various trees, which may depend upon the locality. The eggs, five or
six in number, are of a regular oval form, rather pointed, pure white,
varying from eleven-twelfths to an inch and one-twelfth in length, and
averaging nine-twelfths in their greatest breadth. They are somewhat
smaller than those of the Song Thrush.
“The genus _Cinclus_ may be considered as placed on the limits of
the families of Turdinæ and Myrmotherinæ, being in fact more allied
to _Turdus_ than to _Pitta_, although through _Chamæza_ perhaps more
obviously related to the latter. The digestive organs of the Common
Dipper are entirely analogous to those of the Thrushes and allied
genera, but bear no resemblance to those of the piscivorous birds, the
œsophagus being narrow, and the stomach a true gizzard. The bird, being
destined to feed upon aquatic insects and mollusca, which adhere to the
stones under the water, is fitted for making its way to the bottom at
small depths, and maintaining itself there for a short time, a minute
or more; in conformity with which design its plumage is rather short
and dense, its tail abbreviated, its wings short, broad, and strong,
its bill unencumbered by bristles, and of the proper form for seizing
small objects, as well as for detaching them from stones. Having
its feet constructed like those of the Thrushes, but proportionally
stronger, the Dipper thus forms a connecting link between the
slender-billed land birds and the diving palmipedes, as the Kingfisher
seems to unite them with the plunging birds of the same order.”
The only original observations respecting the habits of the American
Dipper that I have to present here are the following, with which I have
been favoured by Dr TOWNSEND:—“This bird inhabits the clear mountain
streams in the vicinity of the Columbia River. When observed it was
swimming among the rapids, occasionally flying for short distances
over the surface of the water, and then diving into it, and reappearing
after a long interval. Sometimes it will alight along the margin, and
jerk its tail upwards like a Wren. I did not hear it utter any note.
The stomach was found to contain fragments of fresh-water snails. I
observed that this bird did not alight on the surface of the water, but
dived immediately from the wing.”
CINCLUS PALLASII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p.
1, pl. 16, fig. 1.
CINCLUS AMERICANUS, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-Amer.
vol. ii. p. 173.
BLACK WATER-OUSEL, or DIPPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
358.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXX. Fig. 1.
Bill rather short, slender, slightly ascending, much compressed toward
the end; upper mandible with its dorsal line slightly arched, the
ridge rounded, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected with
an obscure notch close to the narrow slightly deflected tip: lower
mandible slightly bent upwards, the angle medial and very narrow, the
dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the tip narrow and rather
acute, the gape-line straight. Nostrils linear, direct, in the lower
and fore part of the nasal membrane which is covered with very short
feathers. Eyes rather small; eyelids densely feathered.
The general form is short, full, and compact; the head oblong,
compressed, rather small; the neck rather short; the body rather deeper
than broad. Legs strong, of ordinary length; tarsus compressed, covered
anteriorly with a long undivided plate and four inferior scutella,
posteriorly with two long plates meeting at a very acute angle. Toes
rather large and strong; the first, second, and fourth, nearly equal
in length, but the first much stronger, the third much longer; the
third and fourth united as far as the second joint of the latter. Claws
rather long, arched, much compressed, that of the hind toe considerably
larger.
Plumage very soft and blended, the feathers oblong and rounded; those
about the base of the bill very short and velvety. No bristles at the
base of the bill. Wings rather short, broad, convex, and rounded; the
first quill very short and narrow, being about a third of the length
of the second, which is shorter than the fourth, the third longest, and
with the next three slightly cut out on the outer web towards the end;
secondary quills long, broadband rounded. Tail short, even, of twelve
rather broad feathers, which are slightly decurved. Legs feathered to
the joint, but the tarsus entirely bare.
Bill brownish-black; iris hazel; feet flesh-coloured, toes dusky
towards the end; claws yellowish-grey. The general colour of the
plumage is blackish-grey or deep bluish-grey; the head and neck
chocolate-brown, that colour extending lower on the fore part of the
neck than behind; the downy feathers of both eyelids white; the quills
and tail-feathers dusky; the secondaries terminally margined with
white.
Length to end of tail 7-1/2 inches; extent of wings 10-1/2; wing from
flexure 3-3/4; tail 2-1/4; bill along the ridge 9/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 11/12 tarsus 1-1/12; hind toe 5/12, its claw 4/12;
middle toe 10/12, its claw 4/12.
Adult female. Plate CCCLXX. Fig. 2.
The Female is in all respects similar to the male.
In form, size, and proportion, the American Dipper is almost precisely
similar to the European.
COCK OF THE PLAINS.
_TETRAO UROPHASIANUS._ BONAPARTE.
PLATE CCCLXXI. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although the Cock of the Plains has long been known to exist within
the limits of the United States, the rugged and desolate nature of
the regions inhabited by it has hitherto limited our knowledge of its
habits to the cursory observations made by the few intrepid travellers,
who, urged by their zeal in the cause of science, have ventured
to explore the great ridge of mountains, that separate our western
prairies from the rich valleys bordering on the Pacific Ocean. Two of
these travellers, my friends Dr TOWNSEND and Mr NUTTALL, have favoured
me with the following particulars respecting this very remarkable
species, the history of which, not being myself personally acquainted
with it, I shall endeavour to complete by adding some notes of Mr
DOUGLAS.
“_Tetrao Urophasianus_, _Pi-imsh_ of the Wallah Wallah Indians,
_Mak-esh-too-yoo_ of the Nezpercee Indians, is first met with about
fifty miles west of the Black Hills. We lose sight of it in pursuing
the route by the Snake River until we reach Wallah Wallah, on the
banks of the Columbia, near the mouth of Lewis River. This bird is only
found on the plains which produce the worm-wood (_Artemisia_), on which
plant it feeds, in consequence of which the flesh is so bitter that it
is rejected as food. It is very unsuspicious, and easily approached,
rarely flies unless hard pressed, runs before you at the distance of a
few feet, clucking like the common Hen, often runs under the horses of
travellers when disturbed, rises very clumsily, but when once started
flies with rapidity to a great distance, and has the sailing motion
of the Pinnated Grous. In the autumn they frequent the branches of the
Columbia River, where they feed on a narrow-leaved plant. At this time
they are considered good food by the natives, who take great quantities
of them in nets. J. K. TOWNSEND.”
“On the north branch of the Platte (Larimie’s Fork) we begin to meet
with the _Tetrao Urophasianus_ in considerable numbers, always on the
ground in small flocks or pairs, by no means shy, but when too nearly
approached arising with a strong whirring noise, and uttering at the
same time a rather loud but very short alarmed guttural cackle. The
notes of the female indeed at such times almost resemble those of
a common Hen. The old male when killed by Dr TOWNSEND turned out so
different from the imperfect and unadult specimens figured, that we
could scarcely recognise it for the same species. Its size seemed
to promise a fine meal, but appearances are often deceitful, and
after being nicely broiled, it truly deserved to be treated like
the well-prepared plate of cucumbers, proving so very bitter, though
delicately white, that our hungry hunters could scarcely swallow more
than a morsel. In short, it feeds by choice on the bitterest shrubs of
these sterile plains, and under-wood (several species of _Artemisia_)
is literally its favourite food. Of its nest and breeding habits we
ascertained nothing, but cannot for a moment hesitate to say that
some mistake must exist in either asserting or supposing that a bird
so constantly confined to the open desert plains, could retire to the
shady forests and dark alluvial thickets of the Columbia to rear its
young apart from their usual food and habits. We met with this very
fine Grous near to the plains around Wallah Wallah, on the south side
of the Columbia, but never saw it either in the forests of the Columbia
or the Wahlamet, nor, so far as we know, has it ever been found on the
coast of California, or in the interior of Mexico. T. NUTTALL.”
Mr DOUGLAS’s statement is as follows:—“The flight of these birds is
slow, unsteady, and affords but little amusement to the sportsman. From
the disproportionately small, convex, thin-quilled wing,—so thin that a
vacant space half as broad as a quill appears between each,—the flight
may be said to be a sort of fluttering, more than any thing else: the
bird giving two or three claps of the wings in quick succession, at
the same time hurriedly rising; then shooting or floating, swinging
from side to side, gradually falling, and thus producing a clapping,
whirring sound. When started, the voice is _cuck_, _cuck_, _cuck_, like
the Common Pheasant. They pair in March and April. Small eminences on
the banks of streams are the places usually selected for celebrating
the weddings, the time generally about sunrise. The wings of the male
are lowered, buzzing on the ground; the tail, spread like a fan,
somewhat erect; the bare yellow œsophagus inflated to a prodigious
size,—fully half as large as his body, and, from its soft, membranous
substance, being well contrasted with the scale-like feathers below
it on the breast, and the flexile, silky feathers on the neck, which
on these occasions stand erect. In this grotesque form he displays,
in the presence of his intended mate, a variety of attitudes. His
love-song is a confused, grating, but not offensively disagreeable
tone,—something that we can imitate, but have a difficulty in
expressing—_Hurr-hurr-hurr-r-r-r-hoo_, ending in a deep, hollow tone,
not unlike the sound produced by blowing into a large reed. Nest on
the ground, under the shade of _Purshia_ and _Artemisia_, or near
streams, among _Phalaris arundinacea_, carefully constructed of dry
grass and slender twigs. Eggs, from thirteen to seventeen, about the
size of those of a common fowl, of a wood-brown colour, with irregular
chocolate blotches on the thick end. Period of incubation twenty-one
to twenty-two days. The young leave the nest a few hours after they
are hatched. In the summer and autumn months these birds are seen in
small troops, and in winter and spring in flocks of several hundreds.
Plentiful throughout the barren, arid plains of the river Columbia;
also in the interior of North California. They do not exist on the
banks of the River Missouri; nor have they been seen in any place east
of the Rocky Mountains.”
TETRAO UROPHASIANUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. pl.
21, fig. 1. Female.
TETRAO (CENTROCERCUS) UROPHASIANUS, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Americana, vol. ii. p. 358.
COCK of the PLAINS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 665.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXI. Fig. 1.
Bill shortish, strong, somewhat compressed; upper mandible with the
dorsal line arcuato-declinate, the ridge flattened at the base and
narrowed on account of the great extent of the nasal sinus, which is
feathered, the sides convex toward the end, the edges inflected, the
tip narrow and rounded; lower mandible with the angle of moderate
length and width, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges sharp
and inflected, the tip obtuse, but like the upper thin-edged. Head
rather small, oblong; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet rather
short, stout; tarsus roundish, feathered, bare and reticulated behind.
Toes of moderate size, covered above with numerous scutella, laterally
pectinated with slender projecting flattened scales; first toe small,
second a little shorter than fourth, third much longer. Claws stout,
slightly arched, moderately compressed, obtuse.
Plumage dense, soft, rather compact, the feathers in general broadly
ovate; those on the head very short, on the sides of the neck
anteriorly at its lower part and across the fore part of the breast,
small, very short, broad, stiff, and imbricated like scales; higher
up on the sides of the neck a tuft of feathers having their shafts
elongated, bristle-like, and terminated by a few filaments. On each
side of the lower part of the neck in front is a large bare space
capable of being inflated into a hemispherical sac. On the fore part
of the breast the feathers, although long, have the shaft thickened
and elongated; the rest of the feathers are of ordinary structure.
Wings rather short, concave, much rounded, the primaries stiff and
very narrow, so as to leave a large interval when the wing is extended;
the third, fourth, and fifth quills longest. Tail long, graduated, of
twenty stiffish feathers, each tapering to a very elongated point.
Bill black; iris light hazel; superciliary membrane vermilion;
toes brownish-grey; claws brownish-black. The upper parts are light
yellowish-brown, variegated with brownish-black and yellowish-white;
the feathers of the head and neck transversely barred, of the back
barred, undulated and dotted, with a whitish longitudinal line
along the shafts of the wing-feathers. The quills chocolate-brown,
their outer webs and part of their inner margins mottled with
yellowish-white. Tail with about ten bands of yellowish-white on the
outer webs, which are otherwise variegated like the back, the inner
webs nearly plain brown. The throat and fore part of neck whitish,
longitudinally spotted with brownish-black; a narrow white band across
the throat; the sides of the neck and fore part of the breast white;
the elongated shafts of the tuft-feathers, black; the sides variegated
like the back with a broad line of white along the middle of each
feather; the axillars and lower wing-coverts pure white; the hind part
of the breast and the abdomen, brownish-black; the sides of the rump
like the back, the lower tail-coverts brownish-black, largely tipped
with white, the feathers of the tibiæ and tarsi pale brownish-grey,
faintly barred with brown.
Length to end of tail 30 inches; extent of wings 36; wing from flexure
13; tail 12, shortest feathers 7; bill along the ridge 1-6/12, along
the edge of lower mandible 1-4/12; tarsus 2-1/2; hind toe 1/2, its claw
4/12; middle toe 2-1/4, its claw 6/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXI. Fig. 2.
The female is much smaller than the male, and differs in being
destitute of the bare skin on the fore neck, in having the superciliary
membranes smaller, the plumage entirely of ordinary texture; the tail
less elongated, with the feathers less narrow and ending in a rounded
point. All the upper parts, fore neck and sides are variegated with
brownish-black, yellowish-grey and whitish disposed nearly as in the
male; the throat whitish, the fore part of the breast white, the middle
part brownish-black, the legs and tarsi as in the male, as are the
quills; the tail-feathers mottled like the back and tipped with white.
Length to end of tail 22 inches; wing from flexure 10-1/2; tail
7-3/4; bill along the ridge 1-4/12; tarsus 1-(10-1/2)/12; middle toe
1-(8-1/2)/12, its claw 6/12.
The size of this species has been exaggerated, it having been by
some compared to the Turkey, and by others to the Great Wood Grous
of Europe, _Tetrao Urogallus_, whereas, in fact, it seems not much
to exceed _Tetrao hybridus_. In some individuals, as I am informed by
Dr TOWNSEND, the hair-like shafts of the feathers on the sides of the
neck, are considerably longer than in my figure of the male.
COMMON BUZZARD.
_FALCO BUTEO_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXII. FEMALE.
The specimen from which the figure before you was taken, was shot by Dr
TOWNSEND on a rock near the Columbia River, on which it had its nest.
Unfortunately, however, he has not supplied me with any account of this
species, and the only notice respecting its habits that I have seen,
is that in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, by Dr RICHARDSON:—“The Common
Buzzard arriving in the Fur Countries in the middle of April very soon
afterwards begins to build its nest; and, having reared its young,
departs about the end of September. It haunts the low alluvial points
of land which stretch out under the high banks of a river; and may be
observed sitting for a long time motionless on the bough of a tree,
watching patiently for some small quadruped, bird, or reptile, to pass
within its reach. As soon as it espies its prey, it glides silently
into the air, and, sweeping easily and rapidly down, seizes it in its
claws. When disturbed, it makes a short circuit, and soon settles on
another perch. It builds its nest on a tree, of short sticks, lining it
sparingly with deer’s hair. The eggs, from three to five in number, are
equal in size to those of the domestic fowl, and have a greenish-white
colour, with a few large dark brown blotches at the thick end. It was
seen by the Expedition as far north as the fifty-seventh parallel of
latitude, and it most probably has a still higher range.”
FALCO BUTEO, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 127.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 23.
BUTEO VULGARIS, COMMON BUZZARD, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 47.
Female. Plate CCCLXXII.
Bill short, strong, as broad as deep at the base, compressed toward the
end. Upper mandible cerate, its dorsal outline declinate and a little
convex as far as the cere, then decurved, the sides rapidly sloping,
towards the end nearly perpendicular but convex, the edge with a slight
festoon, the tip trigonal, acute; lower mandible with the angle short
and rounded, the dorsal line convex and ascending, the edges sharp,
arched, at the end deflected, the tip rounded. Nostrils irregularly
obovate, in the fore part of the cere, nearer the ridge than the
margin.
Head large, roundish, flattened above; neck rather short; body full.
Feet short, robust; tarsi roundish, anteriorly feathered half-way
down, anteriorly scutellate, laterally reticulate, posteriorly also
scutellate; the lower part all round covered with series of small
scales, as are the toes for half their length, the terminal portion
being scutellate: they are strong, of moderate length, the hind toe
stouter, with four large scutella, the inner with four, the middle with
about eight, and connected at the base by a web with the outer, which
has four large scutella. Claws long, arched, compressed, tapering to a
point, flat beneath.
Plumage ordinary, full, rather blended beneath. Space between the
bill and eye covered with bristly feathers; eyelids with soft downy
feathers, and ciliate: the superciliary ridge prominent. Feathers
of the head and neck ovato-oblong, of the back and breast ovate and
rounded, of the sides and outer part of the leg elongated, of the
rest of the leg short. Wings long, broad, the fourth quill longest,
the third next, the fifth very little shorter, the second longer than
fifth, the first and seventh about equal; first four abruptly cut out
on the inner web; secondaries broad and rounded. Tail rather long,
broad, slightly rounded.
Bill light blue at the base, with the margins yellowish, the tip
black; the cere yellow. Iris hazel. Feet yellow; claws black, at the
base bluish. The general colour of the upper parts is chocolate-brown.
The quills are of the general colour externally, but the primaries
are black toward the tip, a great part of the inner web, with the
shaft, white, and barred with brownish-black, the bars more extended
on the secondaries. The tail is marked with about ten dusky bars on
a reddish-brown ground, tinged with grey, the last dark bar broader,
the tips paler. The eyelids are whitish, as is the throat, which is
longitudinally streaked with dusky. The rest of the lower parts are
yellowish or brownish white, barred with brown. The lower wing-coverts
are white, barred or spotted with dusky; the white of the inner
webs of the primaries forms a conspicuous patch, contrasted with the
greyish-black of their terminal portion.
Length to end of tail 23 inches; wing from flexure 17; tail 10-1/2;
bill along the ridge 1-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-7/12;
tarsus 3-5/12; hind toe 1, its claw 1-1/12; middle toe 1-10/12, its
claw 1-1/12.
Another specimen in my possession, procured by Dr TOWNSEND on the
plains of Snake River, has the upper parts brown, streaked and spotted
with reddish-white; the upper tail-coverts white, barred with dusky,
the lower parts as above described. The colours however vary, and in
some the upper parts are deep brown, the lower reddish or brownish
white, barred with reddish-brown.
When compared with European specimens, mine have the bill somewhat
stronger; but in all other respects, including the scutella and scales
of the feet and toes, and the structure of the wings and tail, the
parts are similar.
MARSH HARE.
LEPUS PALUSTRIS, _Bachman_.
The Hare figured in the plate is thus described by my learned friend
Dr BACHMAN, in his excellent observations on the different species of
the genus Lepus inhabiting the United States and Canada, inserted in
the seventh volume of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia:—
“Smaller than the American Hare. Ears much shorter than the head; eyes
rather small; tail very short; feet small, thinly clothed with hair.
Upper surface yellowish-brown; beneath, grey.
Incisors 4/2, Canines (0—0)/(0—0), Molars (6—6)/(5—5) = 28.
“The upper incisors are longer and broader than those of the
American Hare, marked, like all the rest of the species, with a deep
longitudinal furrow. The small accessory incisors are smaller and less
flattened than those of the last mentioned species, and the molars are
narrower and a little shorter. The transverse diameter of the cranium
is much smaller, the vertical diameter about equal. Orbits of the eyes
one-third smaller. This is a striking peculiarity, giving it a smaller
and less prominent eye than that of any other American species. The
pterygoid processes of the temporal bone project downwards nearly in a
vertical line, whilst those of the American Hare are almost horizontal.
“Head and ears shorter than those of the _Lepus Americanus_; legs
short, and rather small; body short and thick; feet small, thinly
clothed with hair beneath, so as not to cover the nails, which are
larger than those of the American Hare. Tail shorter than that of any
other species of true hare inhabiting the United States, except the
_Lepus Nuttalli_. Hair on the back long and somewhat rough. From the
short legs and ears of this species, and its general clumsy habit, it
has the appearance when running through the marshes, splashing through
mud and mire, and plunging into creeks and ponds of water, of some
large Norway Rat, hastening to escape from its pursuers.
“The teeth are yellowish-white; the eyes are dark brown, appearing
in certain lights quite black. Upper parts of the head brown and
greyish-ash. Around the orbits of the eyes slightly fawn-coloured.
Whiskers black. Ears dark greyish-brown. The back and whole upper
parts yellowish-brown, intermixed with many strong black hairs. The
hairs, when examined singly, are bluish-grey at the roots, then light
brown, and are tipped with black. The fur, beneath, is light plumbeous;
under the chin grey; throat yellowish-brown; belly light grey, the fur
beneath bluish. Under surface of the tail ash-colour, edged with brown.
During winter the upper surface becomes considerably darker than in
summer.
Dimensions, taken from a specimen in the flesh:
Length, from point of nose to insertion of tail, 13 inches
Height, from the top of the fore-shoulder to the end
of the middle claw 7
Length of the head, 3-1/2
ears, 2-1/2
hind foot, 3
tail (vertebræ), 5/6
tail, including the fur, 1-1/2
Weight 2-1/2 lb.
“I have not heard of the existence of this small species of Hare to
the north of the State of South Carolina, nor is it found in the upper
parts of this State,—confining itself to the maritime districts, to low
marshy grounds partially inundated, to the borders of rivers subject
to the overflowing of their banks, and to the ponds, usually termed
reserves, where the waters intended to overflow the rice-fields are
preserved. In these situations, rendered almost inaccessible on account
of mud, entangled vines, and stagnant waters, sending up poisonous
miasmata, the fruitful source of disease, surrounded by frogs,
water-snakes, and alligators, this species resides through the whole
year, scarcely molested by man. In these forbidden retreats, frequented
by Herons (_Ardea_), Snake-birds (_Plotus Anhinga_), and Ibises, this
almost aquatic quadruped finds a home suited to its habits; making up
for its want of speed in eluding pursuit, by its facility in winding
through miry pools and marshes overgrown with rank weeds and willows.
In such situations, I have met with it fifty miles north of Charleston;
but, as soon as the traveller arrives at the high grounds of the middle
country, where the marshes disappear, this Hare is no longer seen. It
is common in all the lower parts of Georgia, and I have observed it
for sale in the market of Savannah. It is abundant in East Florida,
even at its farthest southern extremity. I received a living animal
of this species, taken on one of the islands near Indian Key, called
Rabbit Key, separated from the main-land by several miles of sea; where
it could have proceeded only by swimming, but where it is now found in
great numbers. In all the low grounds of Florida, this species takes
the place of the American Hare, which has not been observed in those
situations.
“The Marsh Hare is one of the most singular in its habits of all the
species. It runs low on the ground, and cannot be said to possess the
fine leaping gait of the American Hare. It is so slow of foot, that
nothing but the sheltered and miry situations in which it resides
can save it from being easily overtaken and captured. I have, indeed,
observed the domestics on a plantation, during a holiday, setting fire
to a piece of marsh ground, in a very dry season, and armed with clubs,
waiting till the flames drove these Hares from their retreats, when
they were run down and killed in considerable numbers, I noticed that
when the American Hare made its appearance it was suffered to pass,
on account of the speed they knew it to possess, but no sooner did
the Marsh Hare appear, than with a whoop, they gave chase, and seldom
failed to overtake it.
“The feet of the Marsh Hare are admirably adapted to its aquatic
habits. A thick covering of hair on its soles, like that on the other
species, would be inconvenient; they would not only be kept wet for
a considerable length of time, but would retard them in swimming. All
quadrupeds that frequent the water, such as the Beaver, Otter, Muskrat,
Mink, &c., and aquatic birds, have nearly naked palms; and it is this
peculiar structure, together with the facility of distending its toes,
that enables this quadruped to swim with such ease and rapidity. The
track, when observed in moist or muddy situations, differs very much
from that of the other species. Its toes are spread out, each leaving
a distinct impression, like those of the rat.
“The Marsh Hare deposits its young in a pretty large nest, composed
of a large species of rush (_Juncus effusus_) growing in a convenient
situation. These appeared to have been cut into pieces of about a foot
in length. I have seen these nests nearly surrounded by, and almost
floating on, the water. They were generally arched, by carefully
bending the rush-grass over them, admitting the mother by a pretty
large hole in the side. A considerable quantity of hair was found
lining the nest, but whether plucked out by the parent, or the effect
of the season, (it being late in spring when these animals shed their
coat) I was unable to ascertain. The young were from five to seven.
They evidently breed several times in the season, but I have observed
that the females usually produce their young two months later, at
least, than the American Hare. Twenty-one specimens were obtained from
the 9th to the 14th day of April; none of the females had produced
young that season, although some of them would have done so in a very
few days. On one occasion only, have I seen the young in March. These
bear a strong resemblance to the adults, and may almost at a glance be
distinguished from those of the last-mentioned species.
“This species possesses a strong marshy smell at all times, even when
kept in confinement, and fed on the choicest food. Its flesh, however,
although dark, is fully equal, if not superior, to that of the American
Hare. The Marsh Hare never visits gardens or cultivated fields,
confining itself throughout the year to the marshes. It is occasionally
found in places overflown by salt or brackish water, but seems to
prefer fresh-water marshes, where its food can be most conveniently
obtained. It feeds on various grasses, gnaws off the twigs of the young
sassafras, and of the pond spice (_Laurus geniculata_). I have seen
many places in the low grounds dug up, the foot-prints indicating that
it was the work of this species in search of roots. It frequently is
found digging for the bulbs of the wild potato (_Apios tuberosa_), as
also for those of a small species of Amaryllis (_Amaryllis Atamasco_).
“I possess a living animal of this species, which was sent me a few
weeks ago, having been captured when full grown. It became so gentle
in a few days that it freely took its food from the hand. It is fed on
turnip and cabbage leaves, but prefers bread to any other food that
has been offered to it. It is fond of lying for hours in a trough
of water, and seems restless and uneasy when the trough is removed,
scratching the sides of its tin cage until it has been replaced, when
it immediately plunges in, burying the greater part of its body in the
water.
“It has already shed a great portion of its summer, and resumed its
winter, dress. The hairs on the upper surface, instead of becoming
white at the point, as in the American Hare, have grown long and black,
through which the brownish parts beneath are still distinctly visible.
“This species, like others of the genus existing in this country,
as well as in the deer and squirrels, is infested with a troublesome
larva of an œstrus in the summer and autumn, which, penetrating into
the flesh, and continually enlarging, causes pain to the animal, and
renders it lean. One of these larvæ dropped from an orifice in the
throat of the hare which I have in confinement. It was of the usual
cylindrical shape, but appears to differ in some particulars from the
_Œstrus cuniculi_.”
EVENING GROSBEAK.
_FRINGILLA VESPERTINA_, COOPER.
PLATE CCCLXXIII. MALE.
This fine species of Grosbeak was first introduced to the notice of
ornithologists by Mr WILLIAM COOPER, who published an account of it in
the Annals of the Lyceum of New York. Mr SCHOOLCRAFT observed a few
individuals, in the beginning of April 1823, near the Sault Sainte
Marie in Michigan, from which the species was traced to the Rocky
Mountains. Dr RICHARDSON mentions it as a common inhabitant of the
maple groves on the Saskatchewan plains, whence “its native appellation
of Sugar-bird.” The female remained utterly unknown until it was
obtained by Dr TOWNSEND, who found this Grosbeak abundant about the
Columbia River, and procured a great number of specimens, several of
which are in my possession. The following note from him contains all
the information respecting its habits that I can lay before you.
“Columbia River, May 27, 1836.—The Evening Grosbeak, _Fringilla
vespertina_, is very numerous in the pine-woods at this time. You can
scarcely enter a grove of pines at any hour in the day without seeing
numbers of them. They are very unsuspicious and tame, and I have,
in consequence, been enabled to procure a fine suite of specimens.
The accounts that have been published respecting them by the only
two authors to whom I have access, Mr NUTTALL and Prince BONAPARTE,
are, I think, in many respects incorrect. In the first place, it is
stated that they are retiring and silent during the day, and sing
only on the approach of evening. Here they are remarkably noisy
during the whole of the day, from sunrise to sunset. They then retire
quietly to their roosts in the summits of the tall pines, and are not
aroused until daylight streaks the east, when they come forth to feed
as before. Thus I have observed them _here_, but will not say but
that at other seasons, and in other situations, their habits may be
different. They are now, however, very near the season of breeding,
as the organs of the specimens I have examined sufficiently indicate.
They appear fond of going in large bodies, and it is rare to see
one alone in a tree. They feed upon the seeds of the pine and other
trees, alighting upon large limbs, and proceeding by a succession of
hops to the very extremities of the branches. They eat, as well as
seeds, a considerable quantity of the larvæ of the large black ant,
and it is probable that it is to procure this food that they are
not uncommonly seen in the tops of the low oaks which here skirt the
forests. Their ordinary voice, when they are engaged in procuring food,
consists of a single rather screaming note, which from its tone I at
first supposed to be one of alarm, but soon discovered my error. At
other times, particularly about mid-day, the male sometimes selects a
lofty pine branch, and there attempts a song; but it is a miserable
failure, and he seems conscious of it, for he frequently pauses and
looks discontented, then remains silent sometimes for some minutes,
and tries it again, but with no better success. The note is a single
warbling call, exceedingly like the early part of the Robin’s song, but
not so sweet, and checked as though the performer were out of breath.
The song, if it may be so called, is to me a most wearisome one: I am
constantly listening to hear the stave continued, and am as constantly
disappointed. Another error of the books is this,—they both state that
the female is similar to the male in plumage. Now, this is entirely a
mistake: she is so very different in colour and markings, that were it
not for the size and colour of the bill, and its peculiar physiognomy,
one might be induced to suppose it another species. The specimens in
possession of Mr LEADBEATER of London, and from which Prince BONAPARTE
drew up his descriptions, must have been all males.”
In the present plate you will find the figure of a male only; but in
Plate CCCCXXIV. are representations of the young male and adult female,
which are however here described.
FRINGILLA VESPERTINA, _Cooper_, Ann. Lyc. New York, vol. i.
p. 220.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States,
p. 113.
EVENING GROSBEAK, FRINGILLA VESPERTINA, _Ch. Bonaparte_,
Amer. Orn. vol. ii. pl. 14. fig. 1.
COCCOTHRAUSTES VESPERTINA, EVENING GROSBEAK, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 269.
EVENING GROSBEAK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. Appendix, p.
594.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIII.
Bill of moderate length, extremely thick, conical, pointed; upper
mandible with the dorsal line very slightly convex, the sides rounded;
the edges sharp, overlapping, with a slight sinus close to the acute
tip; lower mandible with the angle very short and broad, the dorsal
line straight, or very slightly concave, the back very broad, the sides
rounded, the edges inflected, the tip acute. Nasal sinus extremely
short and broad: nostrils round, basal, concealed by short reflected
bristly feathers.
Head large, roundish-ovate; neck short; body moderately full. Feet
short, of moderate strength; tarsus short, compressed, with seven
anterior scutella, and two plates behind forming a sharp edge; hind
toe large, outer toe somewhat longer than inner; claws rather large,
moderately arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage full, soft, blended, the feathers oblong. Wings rather long,
broad, abruptly pointed; the outer three primaries almost equal, the
first longest; outer secondaries emarginate. Tail of moderate length,
rather narrow, emarginate, of twelve rather narrow feathers.
Bill yellow; iris hazel; feet flesh-colour, claws brown. The upper part
of the head and the occiput are brownish-black, bounded anteriorly by
a broadish band of bright yellow across the forehead, and laterally
by a streak of the same, passing over the eye; the stiff feathers over
the nostrils black, as is the loral space. The cheeks, hind neck, and
throat are dark yellowish-olive, and that colour gradually brightens
until, on the outer edges of the scapulars, the rump, the axillars
and inner lower wing-coverts, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts, it
becomes pure yellow. The smaller wing-coverts, alula, primary coverts,
three outer secondaries, outer web of the next, and the bases of the
inner secondaries, black; as is the tail; six of the inner secondaries,
inner web of the next, and inner margin of the rest, as well as their
coverts, white, the basal part excepted.
Length to end of tail 8 inches; wing from flexure 4-3/4; tail 3; bill
along the ridge 10/12, along the edge of lower mandible 11/12; tarsus
(9-1/2)/12; hind toe 5/12, its claw, (4-1/2)/12; middle toe, 8/12, its
claw (3-3/4)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCCXXIV. Fig. 5.
The adult female, which is here figured and described for the first
time, from a specimen obtained from Dr TOWNSEND, and marked “Black
Hills, Female, June 3, 1834,” wants the yellow band on the forehead,
the streak of the same colour over the eye, the black line along the
basal margin of the upper mandible, and the large patch of white on
the wings. The bill and feet are as in the male, but paler. The upper
part of the head is dark brownish-olive; the cheeks lighter; the hind
neck, back, and scapulars light brownish-grey, with a slight olivaceous
tint, shaded into brownish-yellow on the rump. The wings are black;
a portion of the edge of the wing, the tips and part of the margins
of the secondary coverts, a concealed band on the basal part of the
primaries, the outer three excepted, and the edges of all the quills
toward the end, white, which is broader on the secondaries, and forms
a band on them. Tail-coverts black, tipped with a triangular spot of
white; tail-feathers also black, with a white spot on the inner web
at the tip, eight-twelfths long on the outermost feather, gradually
diminishing towards the central feathers, which are slightly tipped.
Throat greyish-white, margined on either side by a longitudinal band of
black, from the base of the lower mandible, and ten-twelfths in length;
the lower parts yellowish-grey; abdomen and lower tail-coverts white,
axillars and some of the lower wing-coverts yellow.
Length to end of tail 7-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 4-1/4; tail
2-10/12; bill along the ridge (9-1/2)/12.
Young Male. Plate CCCXXIV. Fig. 6.
The young male bears a considerable resemblance to the female,
differing chiefly in wanting the black bands on the throat, and in
having the upper parts much lighter, and the lower more yellow. Bill
yellow; iris hazel; feet flesh-colour, claws dusky. Head and cheeks
light greyish-brown, the rest of the upper parts of a paler tint,
slightly tinged with yellow on the margins. The wings and tail are
black, as in the female, and similarly spotted with white, but tinged
with yellow. The lower parts are yellowish-grey, the sides of the neck
and the axillars pale yellow, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts white.
The young male has been described as the adult female by Mr SWAINSON
in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, and has been made a distinct species
by M. LESSON, under the name of _Coccothraustes Bonapartii_. The Prince
of MUSIGNANO, it is observed, has erred in stating that “no difference
of any consequence is observable between the sexes; though it might
be said that the female is a little less in size, and rather duller in
plumage.”
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.
_FRINGILLA MELANOCEPHALA._
PLATE CCCLXXIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The following account of this Grosbeak affords another proof of the
ardent zeal of my excellent friend THOMAS NUTTALL, who, though more
especially engaged with botany on his recent journey to the Columbia,
has not neglected opportunities of noting many interesting facts
relative to birds.
“On the central table-land of the Rocky Mountains, and on the upper
branches of the Colorado of the west, we first heard the powerful
song of this most delightful Finch. From thence, in the thick groves
of all the streams on our western course to the borders of the
Columbia, and throughout the dense forests of that river nearly to
the sea, we were frequently cheered amidst the wildest desolation
by the inimitable voice of this melodious bird. Jealous of all
intrusion on his lonely and wild haunts, it was seldom that we had
the opportunity of witnessing this almost fairy musician, which gave
a charm to the saddest gloom, and made the very woods as it were
re-echo to his untiring song. With the modesty of superior merit,
and almost with the solicitude of the Nightingale, our favourite
Finch seeks the darkest thicket of the deepest forest. The moment his
eye rests on the intruding observer he flits off in haste, calls to
his mate, and plunging into the thicket sits in silence till he is
satisfied of the restoration of solitude, when he again cautiously
mounts the twig and pours out afresh the oft-told but never-tiring
tale of his affection and devotion to the joys of nature. His song,
which greatly resembles that of the Red-breasted Grosbeak, is heard
at early dawn, and at intervals nearly to the close of night. It is a
loud, varied, high-toned and melodious fife, which rises and falls in
the sweetest cadence; but always, like the song of the nightingale,
leaves a sensation of pleasing sadness on the ear, which fascinates
more powerfully than the most cheering hilarity. In fact, the closing
note of our bird is often so querulous as to appear like the shrill
cry of appealing distress: it sinks at last so faintly, yet still so
charmingly on the sense. When seen, which is only by accident, he sits
conspicuously on some lofty bough, below the summit of the tree, and
raising his head, and swelling his throat with a rising motion, almost
amounting to a flutter, he appears truly rapt in ecstacy, and seems to
enjoy his own powers of melody as much as the listener. Even the cruel
naturalist, ever eager to add another trophy to his favourite science,
feels arrested by his appeal, and connives at his escape from the
clutch of the collector.
“About the month of July, in the Rocky Mountains, I observed the
female feeding her fledged young, and they also spent the summer in the
thickest branches, but with the nest and eggs I am unacquainted. The
song, as I have heard it, in the forests of Columbia, seems to be like
the syllables _’tait_, _weet_, _teet_, _weowit_, _teet weowit_, _teet
weeowit_, _verr_, and sometimes terminating _weet_, _weet_, _weet_,
every note a loud tender trill of the utmost sweetness, delivered in
his own “wood-notes wild,” mocking nothing, but still exulting in his
powers, which, while exerted, seem to silence every songster around.
The Robin seems almost his pupil in song and similarity of expression,
but falls short, and after our Orpheus, seems at best but a faultering
scholar.”
GUIRACA MELANOCEPHALA, _Swainson_.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIII. Figs. 2, 3.
Bill rather short, very robust, bulging at the base, conical, acute;
upper mandible with its dorsal outline a little convex, the sides
rounded, the edges sharp, ascending from the base to beyond the
nostrils, then deflected with a slight median festoon, and an obscure
notch close to the tip; lower mandible with the angle short and very
broad, the dorsal line straight, the back very broad at the base, the
sides high and convex, the edges inflected, the tip acute. Nostrils
basal, roundish, partly concealed by the feathers.
Head large, roundish-ovate; neck short; body rather full. Legs of
moderate length, rather strong; tarsus anteriorly covered with seven
scutella, posteriorly with two plates forming a sharp edge; toes rather
large, the first stout, the lateral nearly equal, the middle toe much
longer. Claws rather long, arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings of moderate length, broad. The
first quill two-twelfths shorter than the second, which is longest,
but scarcely exceeds the third, the fourth longer than the first;
secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, nearly even.
Bill with the upper mandible dusky, the lower white. Iris hazel. Feet
and claws wood-brown. Head, cheeks, and a small portion of the throat
black; the upper parts brownish-black; the feathers on the lower part
of the hind neck all round, a streak over each eye, another along the
middle of the hind head, the greater part of the rump, and the lower
parts generally, yellowish-red or brownish-orange; the edges of some of
the feathers on the back, a broad band formed by the first row of small
coverts, a narrow band formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, a
band on the base of the primaries, the outer web of the first excepted,
the margins of three of the primaries toward the end, and a spot on
the outer web of most of the secondaries at the end; a large patch on
the inner web of all the tail-feathers, excepting the two middle, and
largest on the outer, pure white; the middle of the breast and abdomen,
with the axillaries and lower wing-coverts, yellow.
Length to end of tail 8-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 4-1/4; tail
3-8/12; bill along the ridge 9/12, along the edge of lower mandible
10/12; tarsus 11/12; hind toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe
8/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIII. Fig. 4.
The female is much less beautiful. The bill is of a lighter brown
above, brownish-white beneath, with the edges and tip of the lower
mandible light brown; the feet and claws wood-brown. The upper parts
are wood-brown, the head darker, with three longitudinal bands of
brownish-white; a band of reddish-white across the hind neck, the
feathers of the back margined with whitish; the wings marked as in the
male, but with brownish-white; the tail without white spots. The lower
parts are of a much paler tint than those of the male; the axillars and
lower wing-coverts yellow.
Length to end of tail 8-1/4 inches; bill along the ridge 9/12; tarsus
11/12; middle toe and claw 1-3/12.
SHARP-SHINNED OR SLATE-COLOURED HAWK.
_FALCO FUSCUS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXIV. MALE AND FEMALE.
There is a pleasure which that ornithologist only can feel who spends
his days in searching for the materials best adapted for his purpose,
and which arises from the contemplation of the objects he is anxious
to portray and describe, as they roam in freedom over Nature’s
wild domains. Another pleasure is derived from finding in different
countries birds so much alike in form, colour, and habits, that they
seem as if formed for the purpose of exercising our faculties of
observation and comparison. But this pleasure passes into pain, or at
least perplexity, when, as in the present instance, two species differ
so slightly that you cannot clearly define their characters, although
they yet seem to be distinct. In fact, I long felt uncertain whether
the American bird described by WILSON under the names of Sharp-shinned
Hawk, and Slate-coloured Hawk, was distinct from the Sparrow Hawk, _F.
Nisus_, of Europe.
It is mentioned in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, that a specimen of
this bird was killed in the vicinity of Moose Factory, and that it has
been deposited by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Zoological Museum
of London. This specimen I have not seen, but confiding entirely in
the accuracy of every fact mentioned by the authors of that work, I
here adduce it as a proof of the extraordinary range of this species
in America, which from the extreme north extends to our most southern
limits, perhaps far beyond them, during its autumnal and winter
migrations. I have met with it in every State or Territory of the Union
that I have visited. In the spring of 1837, it was abundant in Texas,
where it appeared to be travelling eastward. I have a specimen procured
by Dr TOWNSEND in the neighbourhood of the Columbia River; and, when
on my way towards Labrador, I met with it plentifully as far as the
southern shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence, beyond which, however, none
were observed by me or any of my party.
I never saw this daring little marauder on wing without saying or
thinking “There goes the miniature of the Goshawk!” Indeed, reader,
the shortness of the wings of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, its long tail,
though almost perfectly even, instead of being rounded as in the
Goshawk, added to its irregular, swift, vigorous, varied, and yet often
undecided manner of flight, greatly protracted however on occasion,
have generally impressed upon me the idea alluded to. While in search
of prey, the Sharp-shinned Hawk passes over the country, now at a
moderate height, now close over the land, in so swift a manner that,
although your eye has marked it, you feel surprised that the very next
moment it has dashed off and is far away. In fact it is usually seen
when least expected, and almost always but for a few moments, unless
when it has procured some prey, and is engaged in feeding upon it. The
kind of vacillation or wavering with which it moves through the air
appears perfectly adapted to its wants, for it undoubtedly enables
this little warrior to watch and to see at a single quick glance of
its keen eyes every object, whether to the right or to the left, as it
pursues its course. It advances by sudden dashes, as if impetuosity
of movement was essential to its nature, and pounces upon or strikes
such objects as best suit its appetite; but so very suddenly that it
appears quite hopeless for any of them to try to escape. Many have been
the times, reader, when watching this vigilant, active, and industrious
bird, I have seen it plunge headlong among the briary patches of one
of our old fields, in defiance of all thorny obstacles, and, passing
through, emerge on the other side, bearing off with exultation in its
sharp claws a Sparrow or Finch, which it had surprised when at rest. At
other times I have seen two or three of these Hawks, acting in concert,
fly at a Golden-winged Woodpecker while alighted against the bark of
a tree, where it thought itself secure, but was suddenly clutched by
one of the Hawks throwing as it were its long legs forward with the
quickness of thought, protruding its sharp talons, and thrusting them
into the back of the devoted bird, while it was endeavouring to elude
the harassing attacks of another, by hopping and twisting round the
tree. Then down to the ground assailants and assailed would fall, the
Woodpecker still offering great resistance, until a second Hawk would
also seize upon it, and with claws deeply thrust into its vitals, put
an end to its life; when both the marauders would at once commence
their repast.
On several such occasions, I have felt much pleasure in rescuing
different species of birds from the grasp of the little tyrant, as
whenever it seizes one too heavy to be carried off, it drops to the
ground with it, and being close by, I have forced it to desist from
committing further mischief, as it fears man quite as much as its poor
quarry dreads itself. One of these occurrences, which happened in the
neighbourhood of Charleston, in South Carolina, is thus related in my
journal.
Whilst walking one delightful evening in autumn, along a fine hedge-row
formed by the luxuriant Rocky Mountain rose-bushes, I observed a male
of this species alighted in an upright position on the top-bar of a
fence opposite to me. I marked it with particular attention, to see
what might follow. The Hawk saw me as plainly as I did him, and kept
peeping now at me, and now at some part of the hedge opposite, when
suddenly, and with the swiftness of an arrow, it shot past me, entered
the briars, and the next instant was moving off with a Brown Thrush,
_Turdus rufus_ in its talons. The Thrush, though seized by the sharp
claws of the marauder, seemed too heavy for him to carry far, and I saw
both falling to the ground. On running up, I observed the anxiety of
the Hawk as I approached, and twice saw it attempt to rise on wing to
carry off its prize; but it was unable to do so, and before it could
disengage itself I was able to secure both. The Thrush must have been
killed almost instantaneously, for, on examining it, I found it quite
dead.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, Esq., tells us that in the “thinly settled
parts of the States of Georgia and Alabama, this Hawk seems to abound,
and proves extremely destructive to young chickens, a single one
having been known regularly to come every day until he had carried
away between twenty and thirty. At noon-day, while I was conversing
with a planter, one of these Hawks came down, and without ceremony, or
heeding the loud cries of the housewife, who most reluctantly witnessed
the robbery, snatched away a chicken before us.” Again, while speaking
of the wild and violent manner of this bird, he adds “descending
furiously and blindly upon its quarry, a young Hawk of this species
broke through the glass of the green-house, at the Cambridge Botanic
Garden; and fearlessly passing through a second glass partition, he was
only brought up by the third, and caught, though little stunned by the
effort. His wing-feathers were much torn by the glass, and his flight
in this way so impeded as to allow of his being approached.”
Whilst travelling to some distance, the Sharp-shinned Hawk flies high,
though in a desultory manner, with irregular quick flappings of the
wings, and at times, as if to pause for a while and examine the objects
below, moves in short and unequal circles, after which it is seen to
descend rapidly, and then follow its course at the height of only a few
feet from the ground, visiting as it were every clump of low bushes or
briar patches likely to be supplied with the smaller birds, on which
it principally feeds. Again, after having satisfied its hunger, this
little warrior, at times rises to a great height, and indeed now and
then is scarcely discernible from the ground.
I found a nest of this Hawk in a hole of the well-known “Rock-in-cave”
on the Ohio River, in the early part of the spring of 1819. It was
simply constructed, having been formed of a few sticks and some grasses
carelessly interwoven, and placed about two feet from the entrance of
the hole. I had the good fortune to secure the female bird, while she
was sitting on her eggs, which were nearly hatched, and it was from
that individual that I made the figure in the plate. The eggs, four
in number, were almost equally rounded at both ends, though somewhat
elongated, and their ground colour was white, with a livid tinge,
scarcely discernible however amid the numerous markings and blotches of
reddish-chocolate with which they were irregularly covered. The second
opportunity which I had of seeing a nest of this species occurred not
far from Louisville in Kentucky, when I accidentally observed one of
these hawks dive into the hollow prong of a broken branch of a sycamore
overhanging the waters of the Ohio. Here the eggs were five in number,
and deposited on the mouldering fragments of the decayed wood. The
third and last opportunity happened when I was on my way from Henderson
to St Genevieve on horseback. I saw a pair of these birds forming a
nest in the forks of a low oak, in a grove in the centre of the prairie
which I was then crossing. The young in the nest I have never seen.
This interesting species usually resorts to the fissures of rocks for
the purpose of there passing the hours of repose, and generally in
places by no means easy of access, such as precipitous declivities
overhanging some turbulent stream. It is often not until the darkness
has so much gained on the daylight as to render objects difficult to
be distinguished, that it betakes itself to its place of rest, and
then I have only been assured of its arrival by the few cries which
it utters on such occasions. The earliness of its departure has often
much puzzled me, for with all my anxiety to witness it, I have never
succeeded in doing so, although on two or three occasions I have
watched the spot more than half an hour before dawn, and remained
patiently waiting until long after the sun had risen, when I clambered
to the hole, and always found it empty.
The food of this Hawk consists chiefly of birds of various sizes, from
the smallest of our warblers to the Passenger Pigeon or young chickens,
the latter appearing to afford a special temptation to it, as has been
above related. I am also aware that it feeds occasionally on small
reptiles and insects, and I shot the male represented in the plate, on
wing, whilst it held in its claws the small Shrew also represented. It
is extremely expert at seizing some of our smaller snakes and lizards,
and not unfrequently snatches up a frog while basking in the sun.
The difference of size observed between the males and females, as
well as between individuals of the same sex, is very remarkable; and
no doubt it was on account of this very great disparity that WILSON
described specimens of both sexes as two distinct species. Its notes
are short, shrill, and repeated in a hurried manner, when the bird is
wounded and brought to the ground. It often emits cries of this kind
while falling, but suddenly becomes silent when it comes to the earth,
and then makes off swiftly, with long and light leaps, keeping silent
until approached. Although a small bird, it possesses considerable
muscular power, and its extremely sharp claws are apt to inflict severe
pain, should a person lay hold of it incautiously.
FALCO FUSCUS, and DUBIUS, _Gmel._ and _Lath._
SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, FALCO PENNSYLVANICUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vi. p. 13, pl. 46, fig. 1. Adult Male.
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, FALCO VELOX, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vi. p. 116, pl. 45, fig. 1. Young Female.
FALCO VELOX, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 29.
FALCO FUSCUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Ibid. Append. p. 433.
ACCIPITER PENNSYLVANICUS, SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 44.
AMERICAN BROWN or SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, _Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 87.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill short, with the dorsal line of the upper mandible curved from the
base, so as to form nearly the fourth of a circle, the sides sloping
rapidly and convex toward the end, the edges sharp anteriorly, with
a broad tooth-like process or prominent festoon about the middle, the
tip very acute and decurvate; the cere rather short, its margin forming
a convex curve before the nostrils, which are oblique, oblongo-ovate,
broader behind; the lower mandible with the angle broad and short, the
dorsal line convex, the back broad at the base, the sides convex, the
edges inflected, the tip obliquely truncate, rounded, with a very faint
sinus behind.
Head of moderate size, broad, rather flattened above; neck very short;
body very slender, remarkably attenuated behind. Legs long and very
slender; tarsus rather long, extremely slender, compressed, anteriorly
covered with fifteen scutella disposed in a longitudinal plate, of
which the inner sharp edge projects considerably, whence the name
of “Sharp-shinned” given to this species, the sides with hexagonal
scales, the hind part with numerous scutella. Toes slender, the third
and fourth connected at the base by a web, extending beyond the second
joint of the latter, and curving forward as far as that of the former;
first and second toes strongest and about equal; third extremely
elongated, fourth very slender; tuberculate and papillate beneath,
there being a long fleshy tubercle on the last joint of each toe,
and one on the next joint of the two outer. Claws very long, arched,
gradually attenuated to a fine point.
Plumage full, soft, blended, somewhat distinct on the upper parts.
Wings of moderate length, reaching beyond the middle of the tail;
the fourth quill longest, the fifth scarcely shorter, the third
intermediate between the fifth and seventh, the second a little longer
than the seventh, the first generally shorter than the outer secondary;
the first five quills cut out on the outer, the first four more deeply
on the inner edge. The tail is long, even, of twelve rather broad,
rounded feathers.
The bill is light blue at the base, bluish-black at the end; the cere
and eyelids yellowish-green; the iris bright reddish-orange; the tarsi
and toes yellow; the claws black, pale bluish at the base. The general
colour of the plumage on the upper parts is deep greyish-blue, or dark
slate-blue, the shafts darker; the feathers on the occiput are white at
the base, that colour appearing more or less as they are raised; and
on each of the scapulars are two large white patches, which, however,
are not seen until the feathers are raised. The outer primaries are
tinged with brown; all the quills are marked on the inner web with
dusky bands, between which the inner margins are white toward the base.
The tail has four broad bands of blackish-brown, and is tipped with
greyish-white. The cheeks are yellowish-red, and the forehead is tinged
with the same colour. The throat is reddish-white; the lower parts are
transversely and rather broadly barred with light red and white, there
being from three to five bars or double spots of the latter colour on
each feather, those on the sides with the inner web entirely red; part
of abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; feathers of the legs barred
like the breast; lower wing-coverts yellowish-white, barred and spotted
with dusky.
Length to end of tail 11-1/4 inches; to end of wings 8-3/4; to end of
claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 20-1/2; wing from flexure 6-10/12; tail
5-10/12; bill along the ridge 8/12, along the edge of lower mandible
8/12; tarsus 1-11/12; hind toe (5-3/4)/12, its claw, 6/12; middle toe
1-2/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 3-1/2 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIV. Fig. 2.
The female, which greatly exceeds the male in size is generally
greyish-brown tinged with blue on the upper parts, in very old
individuals bluish-grey or dark bluish-grey, more or less tinged with
brown. The bill, cere, iris, feet, and claws are as in the male, and
the markings on the plumage are similar on the upper parts; the lower
are generally of a lighter tint, but otherwise nearly the same.
Length to end of tail 14 inches; extent of wings 26; wing from flexure
8-2/12; tail 6-8/12; bill along the ridge 10/12; tarsus 2-1/12; hind
toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-11/12, its claw 6/12.
Weight of an individual 7-1/2 oz., of another 8-1/4.
Young birds of either sex, when fully fledged, have the upper parts
generally hair-brown, on the back darker; the feathers on the head
and hind neck margined with light red; those of the rest of the upper
parts also terminally edged with brownish-red; the feathers of the
hind head and neck are white at the base, but to less extent, and the
scapulars are also spotted with the same. The lower parts are white or
yellowish-white, the throat longitudinally streaked, the rest banded
with dark brown, the feathers of the sides spotted, those of the legs
light reddish, obscurely marked with darker along the middle; the lower
tail-coverts white. The female has the markings on the lower parts much
narrower at this age.
[Illustration]
A male bird preserved in spirits presents the following characters:—The
roof of the mouth is flat, with two longitudinal ridges; the posterior
aperture of the nares oblong, with a linear anterior slit, papillate
on the edges. The tongue is 5 twelfths long, narrow, concave above,
slightly emarginate. The œsophagus, _a b c d e_, is 3 inches 3
twelfths long; its diameter at the upper part 5 twelfths; it enlarges
on the neck to a capacious crop, _c d_, 1 inch in diameter. The
proventriculus, _e_, has a complete belt of small oblong glandules.
The stomach, _f g_, is large, roundish, membranous, without distinct
muscles, 1 inch 3 twelfths long, and 1 inch broad. The intestine, _g
h i l_, is 14-3/4 inches long, its greatest diameter 2 twelfths. The
rectum, _j l_, is 1 inch 9 twelfths long; its diameter at the anterior
part 3 twelfths; the cœca, _j_, are exceedingly small, forming two
scarcely observable sacs, about half a twelfth in depth. The trachea
is 2-1/12 inches long, its rings unossified, 78 in number; the bronchi
long and slender, of about 18 half rings. The contents of the crop and
stomach were portions of two small birds.
On comparing several specimens, male and female, of this Sharp-shinned
Hawk, with others of the European Sparrow Hawk, the proportions
are found to be similar, as are the colours of the upper parts; but
the American birds, especially the males, are much smaller; and the
transverse bands on the lower parts of the Sharp-shinned Hawk are
redder and broader than those of the Sparrow Hawk. The number of dark
bands on the tail is the same in both, namely four on the middle
feathers, and six on the lateral. The tail is not always precisely
even, being in both European and American birds often slightly rounded,
the lateral feather being sometimes a quarter of an inch shorter than
the longest.
A species most intimately allied to the Sharp-shinned Hawk presents
the same form and colours, but differs somewhat in its proportions,
and is much larger. The bill is much higher at the base, its upper
outline slopes from the commencement, and the festoon on its edge is
less prominent. The tarsi and toes are proportionally stronger, the
edge on the former not nearly so prominent. The first quill is a little
longer than the first secondary, the fifth quill (not the fourth) is
longest; and the tail is rounded, the lateral feather in a female being
eight-twelfths of an inch shorter than the longest. The dimensions
of a female of this species, shot by myself in South Carolina, are as
follows:—
Length to end of tail 16-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 10; tail
7-10/12; bill along the ridge 1; tarsus 2-7/12; hind toe 10/12, its
claw 1; middle toe 1-8/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12.
It is very probable that this is the _Accipiter Mexicanus_ of Mr
SWAINSON, whose brief account of a female of that species, in the
Fauna Boreali-Americana, agrees sufficiently with it. There are,
however, some errors in his critical observations, at p. 44. Thus, he
states that WILSON’s figure of the Slate-coloured Hawk, _Accipiter
Pennsylvanicus_, is perfectly characteristic, in having the tail
quite even at the end; but that TEMMINCK’s _Autour a bec sinueux_
is doubtful, the tail being represented as distinctly rounded. Now,
in fact, the tail of our Sharp-shinned Hawk is when perfect a little
rounded, but often when worn quite even or square. Both the figures
in Plate CCCLXXIV represent it as a little rounded, and such it is in
five specimens out of eight, four of these being females, and one a
male; while the three specimens in which the tail may be said to be
quite even are males. Again, he states that “the anterior scales on
the tarsus of _A. Pennsylvanicus_ are entire, being apparently formed
externally of one entire piece; whereas in _Mexicanus_, the transverse
divisions are distinctly visible.” The latter part of the sentence
is certainly correct, in so far as may be judged from a single very
fine specimen; but the scales are equally distinct in all the younger
individuals of the _A. Pennsylvanicus_, although in one, an old male,
the distinctions between the greater number are obliterated, so that
they resemble a single plate. There is nothing very remarkable in this,
however, for the like happens to other Hawks; it having been long ago
remarked with regard to the Sparrow Hawk of Europe, _Accipiter Nisus_,
that “in some individuals, the anterior oblique scutella, as well as
the hexagonal scales of the sides, are so indistinct, that all traces
of them disappear when the parts become dry.”
_Accipiter Nisus_, _A. velox_, and _A. Mexicanus_, which are most
closely allied, insomuch that it is extremely difficult to distinguish
them from each other, may be characterized as follows:—
_A. Mexicanus_ is largest; has the fifth quill longest, the first
primary much longer than the last, the tail distinctly rounded,
the tarsi stouter, and with fifteen scales; the upper parts deep
slate-blue; the lower banded with light red and white.
_A. velox_ is smallest, has the fourth quill longest, the first primary
much shorter than the last, the tail even, the tarsi extremely slender,
with fifteen scales; the colours exactly as in _Mexicanus_.
_A. Nisus_ is intermediate in size, never so small as _velox_, but
sometimes as large as _Mexicanus_, with the fourth quill longest, the
first and last primary about equal, the tail very slightly rounded or
even, the tarsi very slender, with eighteen scales, the upper parts
deep slate-blue, the lower narrowly banded with light red in the male,
and dusky in the female.
This species was described by WILSON under the name of Sharp-shinned
Hawk, _Falco velox_, and figured in Pl. XLV, a young female only being
represented, although a description is given of a young male also. He
afterwards figured an adult male (Pl. XLVI), and described it under
the name of Slate-coloured Hawk, _Falco Pennsylvanicus_, considering
it as a distinct species. It appears, however, that it had previously
been described under several names. Thus _Falco fuscus_ of MILLER and
GMELIN, and the American Brown Hawk of LATHAM, seem to be the same bird
in the young state. _Falco dubius_ of GMELIN and LATHAM, the Dubious
Falcon of the latter and of PENNANT are also synonymous. The Dusky
Falcon of PENNANT and LATHAM, _Falco obscurus_ of the latter and of
GMELIN, may also belong to the same species. If we consider priority of
name as of paramount importance, then, in so far as can be shewn, the
species ought to be named the “American Brown Hawk, _Falco fuscus_;”
or, according to the newer nomenclature, _Astur_ or _Accipiter fuscus_.
The names of “Sharp-shinned,” “Slate-coloured,” and “_velox_” are not
more distinctive; and _Pennsylvanicus_ is out of the question, having
been applied to another species.
LESSER REDPOLL.
_FRINGILLA LINARIA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
When I was in Labrador, my young companions and my son one day (the
27th of July 1833) procured eight individuals of this species, of
different sexes and ages. Next morning I went to the place where they
had been shot, and found a good number remaining. The first observation
I made had reference to their notes, which, instead of resembling
those of the Goldfinch, as alleged by an American writer, are very
similar to those of the Siskin, and are frequently uttered both when
the birds are alighted and while they are on wing. They were in small
parties of seven or eight, apparently formed by the members of the same
family, and although several of these groups were around me, they did
not intermingle until fired at, when they all simultaneously rose on
wing, mixed together, and after performing several short evolutions
returned to the same bushes, separated into families, and resumed
their occupations. When alighted they were quite unsuspecting, and so
heedless as to allow a close approach, scarcely regarding my presence,
but clinging to the branches, dexterously picking out the seeds of the
alder-cones, and occasionally coming to the ground after some which had
dropped.
Few birds exhibit a more affectionate disposition than the Little
Redpoll, and it was pleasing to see several on a twig feeding each
other by passing a seed from bill to bill, one individual sometimes
receiving food from his two neighbours at the same time. Occasionally,
however, they shewed considerable pugnacity, and one would drive off
its companion, inflicting some smart blows upon it with its bill, and
uttering a low querulous chatter.
In other portions of the same country, I saw flocks composed of
twenty or more individuals flying loosely at a moderate height, in
the undulatory manner of the American Goldfinch and Siskin, without,
however, making the deep sweeps of the former; suddenly alighting, and
at once beginning to search with great expertness between the stems and
leaves, picking at the embryo buds while perched over them, like Jays
and Titmice.
So hardy is this species, that, according to Dr RICHARDSON, it is
a “permanent resident in the Fur Countries, where it may be seen in
the coldest weather, on the banks of lakes and rivers, hopping among
the reeds and carices, or clinging to their stalks. Although numerous
throughout the year, even in the most northern districts, a partial
migration takes place, as large flocks visit Pennsylvania for a month
or two in severe winters.” The migrations alluded to are of rare
occurrence in that State, however, as well as in that of New York.
I never saw one of these birds to the westward of the Alleghanies,
and none were observed by Dr TOWNSEND or Mr NUTTALL on the Columbia
River. They are abundant every cold winter in the northern parts of
Massachusetts and Maine, as well as in all the British Provinces.
The food of this species consists of buds, seeds of various grasses,
berries, and the small leaves of bushes and trees. I have represented
a male and a female on a plant which grows abundantly in the localities
in which I found it in Labrador.
The many young birds which I examined in the month of August, had
the head entirely grey. The feathers of that part, and those on the
breast and rump, were of the same colour nearly to the base, which
is bluish-grey; and I suspect that they do not acquire any redness
until the approach of spring. The old birds were moulting at the
period mentioned, and from their appearance I concluded that all
their red feathers are reassumed each spring. The eggs, from four to
six in number, measure five-eighths in length, rather more than half
an inch in diameter, and are pale bluish-green sparingly dotted with
reddish-brown toward the larger end.
FRINGILLA LINARIA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 322.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 458.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis. p.
112.
LESSER REDPOLL, FRINGILLA LINARIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
iv. p. 42, pl. 30, fig. 4. Male.
LINARIA MINOR, LESSER REDPOLL, Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p.
267.
LESSER REDPOLL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. 512.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCLXXV. Fig. 1.
Bill short, strong, conical, compressed toward the end, extremely
acute; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge narrow,
the sides convex, the edges sharp and overlapping, without notch, the
tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle short and semicircular,
the dorsal line straight, the ridge broadish at the base, the sides
convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute. Nostrils basal,
roundish, covered by stiffish reversed feathers.
Head of moderate size, roundish; neck short; body moderate, Feet of
moderate length, slender; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with
a few scutella of which the upper are blended, posteriorly with two
longitudinal plates meeting at a very acute angle; toes slender, the
first with its claw as long as the third with its claw; the lateral
toes equal. Claws large, moderately arched, much compressed, acute.
Plumage soft, rather blended, with very little gloss, unless on the red
parts. Wings of ordinary length, the first three quills almost equal,
but the second longest. Tail rather long, forked.
Bill yellowish, the upper mandible dusky on the ridge; iris brown; feet
blackish brown. A band edging the forehead, the loral space, and the
throat, brownish-black; the reversed feathers on the base of the bill
yellowish; the crown of the head crimson; the hind part of the head,
the neck, the fore part of the back, and the scapulars yellowish-brown,
longitudinally streaked with blackish-brown, the feathers on the hind
part of the back margined with whitish, and tipped with carmine; the
wings and tail dusky, with yellowish-brown edges, and two transverse
bands of the same on the tips of the first row of small coverts and the
secondary coverts. The sides of the neck, its fore part, the breast,
and flanks, rich carmine; the middle of the breast, the abdomen,
and the lower tail-coverts white, tinged with rose colour; the sides
longitudinally streaked with dusky.
Length to end of tail 5; to end of wings 4; extent of wings 8-3/4; wing
from flexure 3-2/12; tail 2-1/2; bill along the ridge 4-1/2 twelfths,
along the edge of lower mandible 5-1/2 twelfths; tarsus 7/12; first toe
(2-1/2)/12, its claw, (4-1/2)/12; middle toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw 3/12.
Adult Female in Summer. Plate CCCLXXV. Fig. 2.
The female, which is somewhat less, has the black of the forehead and
throat more brown, with less red on the head, and little or none on
the rump, or on the lower parts, which are white, the breast and flanks
longitudinally streaked with dusky.
TRUMPETER SWAN.
_CYGNUS BUCCINATOR_, RICHARDSON.
PLATE CCCLXXVI. YOUNG IN WINTER.
The history of the American Swans has been but very slightly traced.
Few records of the habits of these majestic, elegant, and useful birds
exist, on which much reliance can be placed; their geographical range
still remains an unsolved problem; one species has been mistaken for
another, and this by ornithologists who are said to be of the first
order. The _Cygnus Bewickii_ of Great Britain has been given as a
North American Swan in place of _Cygnus Americanus_ (well described
by Dr SHARPLESS of Philadelphia) in the Fauna Boreali-Americana; and
the latter bird has been taken for the Whistling Swan, _C. musicus_
of BECHSTEIN, by the Prince of MUSIGNANO, who says in his Synopsis,
p. 379, No. 321, that it is “very numerous in winter in Chesapeake
Bay.” It is possible that we may have more than two species of Swan
within the limits of North America, but I am at present acquainted
with only that which forms the subject of this article, and the _Cygnus
Americanus_ of SHARPLESS.
In a note contained in the Journals of LEWIS and CLARK, written in
the course of the expedition of these daring travellers across the
Rocky Mountains, it is stated that “the Swans are of two kinds, the
large and small. The large Swan is the same with the one common in
the Atlantic States. The small differs from the large only in size and
note; it is about one-fourth less, and its note is entirely different.
These birds were first found below the great narrows of the Columbia,
near the Chilluckittequaw nation. They are very abundant in this
neighbourhood, and remained with the party all winter, and in number
they exceed those of the larger species in the proportion of five to
one.” These observations are partly correct and partly erroneous. In
fact, the smaller species of the two, which is the _C. Americanus_
of SHARPLESS, is the only one abundant in the middle districts of our
Atlantic coast, while the larger Swan, the subject of this article, is
rarely if ever seen to the eastward of the mouths of the Mississippi.
A perfect specimen of the small Swan mentioned by LEWIS and CLARK has
been transmitted to me from the Columbia River by Dr TOWNSEND, and
I find it to correspond in every respect with the _C. Americanus_ of
SHARPLESS. Dr TOWNSEND corroborates the observations of the two eminent
travellers by stating, that the latter species is much more numerous
than the large _C. Buccinator_.
The Trumpeter Swans make their appearance on the lower portions of
the waters of the Ohio about the end of October. They throw themselves
at once into the larger ponds or lakes at no great distance from the
river, giving a marked preference to those which are closely surrounded
by dense and tall cane-brakes, and there remain until the water is
closed by ice, when they are forced to proceed southward. During
mild winters I have seen Swans of this species in the ponds about
Henderson until the beginning of March, but only a few individuals,
which may have staid there to recover from their wounds. When the cold
became intense, most of those which visited the Ohio would remove to
the Mississippi, and proceed down that stream as the severity of the
weather increased, or return if it diminished; for it has appeared
to me, that neither very intense cold nor great heat suit them so
well as a medium temperature. I have traced the winter migrations of
this species as far southward as the Texas, where it is abundant at
times, and where I saw a pair of young ones in captivity, and quite
domesticated, that had been procured in the winter of 1836. They were
about two years old, and pure white, although of much smaller size
than even the younger one represented in the plate before you, having
perhaps been stinted in food, or having suffered from their wounds, as
both had been shot. The sound of their well-known notes reminded me of
the days of my youth, when I was half-yearly in the company of birds of
this species.
At New Orleans, where I made the drawing of the young bird here given,
the Trumpeters are frequently exposed for sale in the markets, being
procured on the ponds of the interior, and on the great lakes leading
to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This species is unknown to my
friend, the Rev. JOHN BACHMAN, who, during a residence of twenty years
in South Carolina, never saw or heard of one there; whereas in hard
winters the _Cygnus Americanus_ is not uncommon, although it does
not often proceed further southward than that State. The waters of
the Arkansas and its tributaries are annually supplied with Trumpeter
Swans, and the largest individual which I have examined was shot on a
lake near the junction of that river with the Mississippi. It measured
nearly ten feet in alar extent, and weighed above thirty-eight pounds.
The quills, which I used in drawing the feet and claws of many small
birds, were so hard, and yet so elastic, that the best steel-pen of the
present day might have blushed, if it could, to be compared with them.
Whilst encamped in the Tawapatee Bottom, when on a fur-trading
voyage, our keel-boat was hauled close under the eastern shore of the
Mississippi, and our valuables, for I then had a partner in trade,
were all disembarked. The party consisted of twelve or fourteen French
Canadians, all of whom were pretty good hunters; and as game was in
those days extremely abundant, the supply of Deer, Bear, Racoons,
and Opossums, far exceeded our demands. Wild Turkeys, Grous, and
Pigeons, might have been seen hanging all around; and the ice-bound
lakes afforded an ample supply of excellent fish, which was procured
by striking a strong blow with an axe on the ice immediately above
the confined animal, and afterwards extricating it by cutting a hole
with the same instrument. The great stream was itself so firmly frozen
that we were daily in the habit of crossing it from shore to shore.
No sooner did the gloom of night become discernible through the grey
twilight, than the loud-sounding notes of hundreds of Trumpeters would
burst on the ear; and as I gazed over the ice-bound river, flocks after
flocks would be seen coming from afar and in various directions, and
alighting about the middle of the stream opposite to our encampment.
After pluming themselves awhile they would quietly drop their bodies
on the ice, and through the dim light I yet could observe the graceful
curve of their necks, as they gently turned them backwards, to allow
their heads to repose upon the softest and warmest of pillows. Just
a dot of black as it were could be observed on the snowy mass, and
that dot was about half an inch of the base of the upper mandible,
thus exposed, as I think, to enable the bird to breathe with ease.
Not a single individual could I ever observe among them to act as a
sentinel, and I have since doubted whether their acute sense of hearing
was not sufficient to enable them to detect the approach of their
enemies. The day quite closed by darkness, no more could be seen until
the next dawn; but as often as the howlings of the numerous wolves
that prowled through the surrounding woods were heard, the clanging
cries of the Swans would fill the air. If the morning proved fair, the
whole flocks would rise on their feet, trim their plumage, and as they
started with wings extended, as if, racing in rivalry, the pattering
of their feet would come on the ear like the noise of great muffled
drums, accompanied by the loud and clear sounds of their voice. On
running fifty yards or so to windward, they would all be on wing. If
the weather was thick, drizzly, and cold, or if there were indications
of a fall of snow, they would remain on the ice, walking, standing, or
lying down, until symptoms of better weather became apparent, when they
would all start off. One morning of this latter kind, our men formed
a plot against the Swans, and having separated into two parties, one
above, the other below them on the ice, they walked slowly, on a signal
being given from the camp, toward the unsuspecting birds. Until the
boatmen had arrived within a hundred and fifty yards of them, the Swans
remained as they were, having become, as it would appear, acquainted
with us, in consequence of our frequently crossing the ice; but then
they all rose on their feet, stretched their necks, shook their heads,
and manifested strong symptoms of apprehension. The gunners meanwhile
advanced, and one of the guns going off by accident, the Swans were
thrown into confusion, and scampering off in various directions took
to wing, some flying up, some down the stream, others making directly
toward the shores. The muskets now blazed, and about a dozen were
felled, some crippled, others quite dead. That evening they alighted
about a mile above the camp, and we never went after them again. I have
been at the killing of several of these Swans, and I can assure you
that unless you have a good gun well loaded with large buck-shot, you
may shoot at them without much effect, for they are strong and tough
birds.
To form a perfect conception of the beauty and elegance of these Swans,
you must observe them when they are not aware of your proximity, and
as they glide over the waters of some secluded inland pond. On such
occasions, the neck, which at other times is held stiffly upright,
moves in graceful curves, now bent forward, now inclined backwards
over the body. Now with an extended scooping movement the head becomes
immersed for a moment, and with a sudden effort a flood of water
is thrown over the back and wings, when it is seen rolling off in
sparkling globules, like so many large pearls. The bird then shakes
its wings, beats the water, and as if giddy with delight shoots
away, gliding over and beneath the surface of the liquid element with
surprising agility and grace. Imagine, Reader, that a flock of fifty
Swans are thus sporting before you, as they have more than once been
in my sight, and you will feel, as I have felt, more happy and void of
care than I can describe.
When swimming unmolested the Swan shews the body buoyed up; but when
apprehensive of danger, it sinks considerably lower. If resting and
basking in the sunshine, it draws one foot expanded curiously towards
the back, and in that posture remains often for half an hour at a
time. When making off swiftly, the tarsal joint, or knee as it is
called, is seen about an inch above the water, which now in wavelets
passes over the lower part of the neck and along the sides of the
body, as it undulates on the planks of a vessel gliding with a gentle
breeze. Unless during the courting season, or while passing by its
mate, I never saw a swan with the wings raised and expanded, as it
is alleged they do, to profit by the breeze that may blow to assist
their progress; and yet I have pursued some in canoes to a considerable
distance, and that without overtaking them, or even obliging them to
take to wing. You, Reader, as well as all the world, have seen Swans
labouring away on foot, and therefore I will not trouble you with a
description of their mode of walking, especially as it is not much to
be admired.
The flight of the Trumpeter Swan is firm, at times greatly elevated
and sustained. It passes through the air by regular beats, in the
same manner as Geese, the neck stretched to its full length, as are
the feet, which project beyond the tail. When passing low, I have
frequently thought that I heard a rustling sound from the motion of
the feathers of their wings. If bound to a distant place, they form
themselves in angular lines, and probably the leader of the flock is
one of the oldest of the males; but of this I am not at all sure, as
I have seen at the head of a line a grey bird, which must have been a
young one of that year.
This Swan feeds principally by partially immersing the body and
extending the neck under water, in the manner of fresh-water Ducks
and some species of Geese, when the feet are often seen working in the
air, as if to aid in preserving the balance. Often however it resorts
to the land, and then picks at the herbage, not sidewise, as Geese do,
but more in the manner of Ducks and poultry. Its food consists of roots
of different vegetables, leaves, seeds, various aquatic insects, land
snails, small reptiles and quadrupeds. The flesh of a cygnet is pretty
good eating, but that of an old bird is dry and tough.
I kept a male alive upwards of two years, while I was residing at
Henderson in Kentucky. It had been slightly wounded in the tip of
the wing, and was caught after a long pursuit in a pond from which it
could not escape. Its size, weight, and strength rendered the task of
carrying it nearly two miles by no means easy; but as I knew that it
would please my wife and my then very young children, I persevered.
Cutting off the tip of the wounded wing, I turned it loose in the
garden. Although at first extremely shy, it gradually became accustomed
to the servants, who fed it abundantly, and at length proved so
gentle as to come to my wife’s call, to receive bread from her hand.
“Trumpeter,” us we named our bird, in accordance with the general
practice of those who were in the habit of shooting this species, now
assumed a character which until then had been unexpected, and laying
aside his timidity became so bold at times as to give chase to my
favourite Wild Turkey Cock, my dogs, children, and servants. Whenever
the gates of our yard happened to be opened, he would at once make for
the Ohio, and it was not without difficulty that he was driven home
again. On one occasion, he was absent a whole night, and I thought he
had fairly left us; but intimation came of his having travelled to a
pond not far distant. Accompanied by my miller and six or seven of my
servants, I betook myself to the pond, and there saw our Swan swimming
buoyantly about as if in defiance of us all. It was not without a great
deal of trouble that we at length succeeded in driving it ashore. Pet
birds, good Reader, no matter of what species they are, seldom pass
their lives in accordance with the wishes of their possessors; in the
course of a dark and rainy night, some of the servants having left the
gate open, Trumpeter made his escape, and was never again heard of.
With the manners of this species during the breeding season, its mode
of constructing its nest, the number of its eggs, and the appearance
of its young, I am utterly unacquainted. The young bird represented
in the plate was shot near New Orleans, on the 16th of December 1822.
A figure of the adult male you will find in Plate CCCCVI; and should
I ever have opportunities of studying the habits of this noble bird,
believe me I shall have much pleasure in laying before you the results.
Dr RICHARDSON informs us that it “is the most common Swan in the
interior of the Fur Countries. It breeds as far south as lat. 61°, but
principally within the arctic circle, and in its migrations generally
precedes the Geese a few days.”
As the adult bird will be subsequently described, I judge it
unnecessary at present to enter into a full detail of the external form
and characters of the species, and will therefore confine myself to the
colours and proportions of the individual represented.
CYGNUS BUCCINATOR, _Richardson_.—TRUMPETER SWAN, Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p.464. “White; head glossed above
with chestnut; bill entirely black, without a tubercle;
tail-feathers 24; feet black.”
Young after first moult. Plate CCCLXXVI.
In winter the young has the bill black, with the middle portion of the
ridge, to the length of an inch and a half, light flesh-colour, and
a large elongated patch of light dull purple, on each side; the edge
of the lower mandible and the tongue dull yellowish flesh-colour. The
eye is dark brown. The feet dull yellowish-brown, tinged with olive;
the claws brownish-black; the webs blackish-brown. The upper part of
the head and the cheeks are light reddish-brown, each feather having
towards its extremity a small oblong whitish spot, narrowly margined
with dusky; the throat nearly white, as well as the edge of the
lower eyelid. The general colour of the other parts is greyish-white,
slightly tinged with yellow; the upper part of the neck marked with
spots similar to those on the head.
Length to end of tail 52-1/2 inches; extent of wings 91, wing from
flexure 23-1/4; bill along the ridge 4-3/8, from the angle of the eye
6, along the edge of the lower mandible 4-1/8; tarsus 4-1/2; hind toe
1-1/4, its claw 3/8; middle toe 6-1/4, its claw 1; inner toe 4-1/2,
its claw 10/12; outer toe 6-1/4, its claw 3/4. Weight 19 lb. 8 oz.; the
bird very poor.
SCOLOPACEOUS COURLAN.
_ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCLXXVIL MALE.
This very remarkable bird appears to be entirely confined to that
section of the Peninsula of Florida known by the name of “Ever-glades,”
and the swampy borders of the many bayous and lagoons issuing from that
great morass. Few are found farther north than “Spring-garden Spring,”
of which I have given you an account. I have heard of its having been
in one instance procured on one of the Florida Keys, by Mr TITIAN
PEALE, whose specimen, which was a young male, has been described and
figured in the continuation of WILSON’s American Ornithology. None were
seen by me on any of these islands, and our worthy Pilot told me, that
in the course of the many years which he had spent in that country he
had never met with one off the main-land. It did not occur to me on any
part of the coast, while I was proceeding to the Texas, nor is it to be
found in that country, which seems very strange, when I look at this
bird, and compare it with the Rail family, which is so abundant along
the whole of that coast, and to which it is very nearly allied in some
of its habits, more especially to the Fresh-water Marsh Hen, _Rallus
elegans_.
The flight of the Scolopaceous Courlan is heavy and of short duration;
the concavity and shortness of its wings, together with the nature of
the places which it inhabits, probably rendering it slow to remove from
one spot to another on wing, it being in a manner confined among tall
plants, the roots of which are frequently under water. When it rises
spontaneously it passes through the air at a short distance above the
weeds, with regular beats of the wings, its neck extended to its full
length, and its long legs dangling beneath, until it suddenly drops
to the ground. Few birds then excel it in speed, as it proceeds, if
pursued, by long strides, quickly repeated, first in a direct course,
along paths formed by itself when passing and repassing from one
place to another, and afterwards diverging so as to ensure its safety
even when chased by the best dogs, or other not less eager enemies
inhabiting the half-submersed wilderness which it has chosen for its
residence. When accidentally surprised, it rises obliquely out of its
recess, with the neck greatly bent downward, and although its legs
dangle for a while, they are afterwards extended behind in the manner
of those of the Heron tribe. At such times these birds are easily shot;
but if they are only wounded, it would be vain to pursue them. Although
of considerable size and weight, they are enabled, by the great length
and expansion of their toes to walk on the broad leaves of the larger
species of Nymphæa found in that country. They swim with the same
buoyancy as the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails.
The nest of this bird is placed among the larger tufts of the tallest
grasses that grow at short distances from the bayous, many of which are
influenced by the low tides of the Gulf. It is so well fastened to the
stems of the plants, in the same manner as that of _Rallus crepitans_,
as to be generally secure from inundation; and is composed of rank
weeds matted together, and forming a large mass, with a depression
in the centre. The eggs, which rarely exceed five or six, are large
for the size of the bird. The young are hatched early in May, and
follow their parents soon after birth, being covered with coarse tufty
feathers, of a black colour.
The Ever-glades abound with a species of large greenish snail, on
which these birds principally feed; and, from the great number of
empty shells which are found at the foot of the nest and around it,
it is probable that the sitting bird is supplied with food by her
mate. Their notes, when uttered while they are on wing, are a sort
of cackle, but when on the ground, much louder, especially during the
pairing season, or when they are started by the report of a gun. The
flesh of the young is pretty good eating. Although it is alleged that
this bird occasionally alights on trees, I have never seen it in such
a situation.
ARDEA SCOLOPACEA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 647.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 701.
ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 39.
SCOLOPACEOUS COURLAN, ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. iv. p. 111, pl. 26, fig. 2.—_Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 68.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXVII.
Bill long, being double the length of the head, rather slender,
but strong, much compressed, straight, its breadth less before the
nostrils than towards the point; upper mandible with the dorsal line
straight until towards the end, then slightly arcuato-declinate, the
ridge convex in its whole length, the sides nearly erect, more convex
towards the extremity, the tip blunted, the edges broad and obtuse for
half their length, sharp but thick in the rest of their extent; lower
mandible slightly ascending at the base, then direct, much compressed
towards the tip, which is acute, the angle long and very narrow, the
dorsal line slightly convex, the edges obtuse, becoming sharp towards
the end. Nasal groove nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils
direct, linear, long.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Eyes rather large. Neck long
and slender. Body ovato-oblong, much compressed. Feet very long
and slender, rather stout; tibia bare in its lower half, which is
anteriorly covered with hexagonal scales, posteriorly with transverse
scutella; tarsus long, compressed, anteriorly with numerous broad
scutella, laterally with very small elongated scales, posteriorly with
large scutelliform scales, many of which are divided; toes long, rather
slender; hind toe small and elevated; fourth considerably longer than
second, middle toe nine-twelfths of an inch longer than the outer; the
anterior toes are divided to the base, compressed, scutellate above,
scaly on the sides, papillate beneath, compressed and not marginate.
Claws of moderate length, very slightly arched, compressed, tapering to
a point; that of the first toe smallest, of the third largest, without
serratures on the inner edge, which is thin and a little expanded.
Plumage of ordinary texture, rather compact and glossy on the upper
parts, blended on the lower; feathers on the head and neck short,
oblong; on the back ovate and very broadly rounded. Wings of moderate
length, very broad, concave, rounded; primaries broad, secondaries
very broad and rounded; first primary two-thirds of the length of the
second, which is ten-twelfths shorter than the third; the fourth, which
is longest, exceeds the third by one-twelfth, and the fifth by half a
twelfth; some of the secondaries reach to half an inch of the tip of
the longest primary when the wing is closed; the three outer quills
are narrower toward the base than toward the extremity, more especially
the first. The tail is short, broad, convex, rounded, of twelve broad,
rounded feathers.
Bill greenish-yellow, dusky toward the end of both mandibles, but
especially of the upper; iris hazel; feet lead-grey, claws dusky.
The general colour of the plumage is chocolate-brown, the upper parts
glossed, with purple and bronze reflections; the fore part of the head
paler, inclining to grey, each feather with a greyish-white central
line; the sides of the head and the throat are still lighter, and a
small portion of the throat is whitish, these parts being streaked
with greyish-brown and greyish-white; the lower eyelid white. The hind
part and sides of the neck are marked with elliptical spots of white in
regular series, there being one on each feather, some of them extending
forwards to the posterior angle of the eye. Some of the feathers on
the middle of the breast and the lower wing-coverts are similarly
marked with lanceolate white spots; the tail is more highly glossed and
coloured than the rest of the upper parts.
Length to end of tail 25-3/4 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of
claws 32, to carpal joint 13-3/4; extent of wings 41; wing from flexure
12-1/2; tail 5-1/2; bill along the ridge 4-7/12, along the edge of
lower mandible 4-3/4; bare part of tibia 2-1/2; tarsus 4-8/12; hind toe
1-1/12, its claw 7/12; second toe 2-4/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12 twelfths;
third toe 3-1/2, its claw 10/12; fourth toe 2-8/12, its claw 8/12.
The Female is somewhat less, but resembles the male.
Length to end of tail 25 inches, to end of claws 33-1/4; to end of
wings 24, to carpal joint 12-3/4; extent of wings 42; wing from flexure
12; tail 4-3/4; bill along the gape 4-3/8.
The young when fully fledged is of a much lighter tint; the head and
fore-neck brownish-grey, the lower parts greyish-brown. The bill is
yellowish-green, darker toward the end; the feet much darker than in
the adult. Excepting the quills, primary-coverts, tail-feathers, and
the rump, all the plumage is marked with spots of white, of which there
is one along the centre of each feather; those on the neck elongated,
on the back, wings, and breast lanceolate. In this state it is figured
in the continuation of Wilson’s American Ornithology, by the PRINCE of
MUSIGNANO.
Length to end of tail 23 inches.
This remarkable bird has exercised the ingenuity of the systematizing
ornithologists, some of whom have considered it as a Heron, others a
Crane, while many have made it a Rail, and many more a genus apart, but
allied to the Rails, or to the Herons or to both. It seems in truth to
be a large Rail, with the wings and feet approaching in form to those
of the Herons; but while frivolous disputes might be carried on _ad
libitum_ as to its location in the system of nature, were we merely
to consider its exterior; it is fortunate that we possess a means of
determining its character with certainty:—if we examine its digestive
organs, we shall at once see if it be a Rail, or a Heron, or anything
else. If a Heron, it will have a very wide œsophagus, a roundish,
thin-walled stomach, very slender intestines, and a single short obtuse
cœcum; if a Rail or Gallinule, or bird of that tribe, it will have a
narrow mouth, a narrow œsophagus, a very muscular stomach, intestines
of moderate width, and two moderately long, rather wide cœca. Here then
are two specimens, shot in Florida, and preserved in spirits.
The first, which is found to be a female, has the mouth narrow,
measuring only 7 twelfths across; the tongue very long and extremely
slender, trigonal, pointed, extending to within half an inch of
the tip of the lower mandible, being 3-7/12 inches in length. The
œsophagus, _a b c d_, which is 12 inches long, is narrow in its whole
length, its diameter at the upper part being 6 twelfths, below the
middle of the neck 8 twelfths. The proventriculus, _b c_, is nearly
1 inch long, 9 twelfths in its greatest diameter, bulbiform; its
glandules cylindrical, 1-1/2 twelfth long. Between the termination of
the proventriculus, and the commencement of the stomach, the space,
_c d_, is more elongated than usual, an inch and 2 twelfths, and
presents the appearance of a tube curved toward the left in the form
of the letter S. The circular fibres of this part are strong, and its
epithelium is very thick, soft, and raised into twelve very prominent
rounded longitudinal rugæ. The stomach, properly so called, _d e f g_
is an extremely powerful gizzard, of an orbicular form, compressed,
with its axis a little inclined toward the right side, its length 1
inch and 9 twelfths, its breadth 1 inch and 8 twelfths, its thickness
11 twelfths. The left lateral muscle, _d f_, is much larger than the
right, occupying nearly one-half of the organ; the muscles are thick,
but not very remarkably so, their greatest thickness being 4 twelfths;
the epithelium is very hard and rugous. The duodenum, _g h i_, curves
in the usual manner, folding back upon itself at the distance of 3
inches. The intestine, _g h i j k_, is of moderate length, 31 inches,
its greatest diameter 3 twelfths; the rectum, _k l_, 3 inches long,
including the cloaca, _l m_, which is globular, 1-1/2 inch in diameter;
the cœca, _n n_, of moderate size, 1-3/4 inch long, for nearly half
their length 2 twelfths in diameter, in the rest of their extent from
4 to 6 twelfths, obtuse; their distance from the cloaca 10 twelfths.
The trachea, _o p_, is 10 inches long, narrow, of nearly uniform
diameter, being narrowest in the upper third of its length, unless
for three-fourths of an inch at the commencement. Its rings 186 in
number, are ossified, and a little flattened. The contractor muscles
are slender, as are the sterno-tracheal; and there is a single pair of
inferior laryngeal. The bronchi, _p q_, are wide, tapering, of about 15
narrow cartilaginous half rings. The heart is of moderate size, 1-7/12
inch long, 1 inch in breadth. The liver is small, its lobes, which are
equal, being 1 inch in length.
The other individual, a male, has the œsophagus 12 inches long; the
distance from the proventriculus to the stomach 1-2/12 inch; the
stomach 1-8/12 inch long, and the same in breadth; the cœca 2 inches
long, the greatest diameter 5 twelfths; the intestine 32-1/2 inches in
length, their greatest diameter 3-1/2 twelfths.
Now, in all this there is nothing indicative of any affinity to the
Herons; the structure of the intestinal canal being essentially like
that of the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails. Even the external parts
sufficiently indicate its station, the bill; the plumage, and the
colouring being more like these of the Rallinæ than of any other
family.
The Prince of MUSIGNANO, who first described this bird as a Rail,
_Rallus giganteus_, afterwards adopted for it VIEILLOT’s genus
_Aramus_, and considered it as belonging to the _Ardeidæ_, forming a
connecting link with them and the _Rallidæ_ and “aberrating somewhat
towards the _Scolopacidæ_, as well as tending a little towards the
_Psophidæ_, sub-family _Gruinæ_” and claiming “again a well-founded
resemblance to the most typical form of the genus _Rallus_.” Finally,
he reverts to his original idea, and places it at the head of the
_Rallidæ_. Mr SWAINSON refers it to the _Tantalidæ_, associating it
with _Anastomus, Tantalus_, and _Ibis_, to which it certainly has very
little affinity in any point of view.
The efficiency of the digestive organs as a means of determining
affinities in cases of doubt, is happily illustrated in this instance;
and any person who will make himself acquainted with them will easily
discover numerous false associations in all systems founded on the
external aspect alone.
[Illustration]
HAWK OWL.
_STRIX FUNEREA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
It is always disagreeable to an author to come forward when he has
little of importance to communicate to the reader, and on no occasion
have I felt more keenly than on the present, when introducing to your
notice an Owl, of which the habits, although unknown to me, must be
highly interesting, as it seems to assimilate in some degree to the
diurnal birds of prey. I have never seen it alive, and therefore can
only repeat what has been said by one who has. Dr RICHARDSON gives the
following account of it in the Fauna Boreali-Americana:—
“It is a common species throughout the Fur Countries from Hudson’s Bay
to the Pacific, and is more frequently killed than any other by the
hunters, which may be partly attributed to its boldness and its habit
of flying about by day. In the summer season it feeds principally on
mice and insects; but in the snow-clad regions which it frequents in
the winter, neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys
mostly on Ptarmigan. It is a constant attendant on the flocks of
Ptarmigan in their spring migrations to the northward. It builds its
nest on a tree, of sticks, grass, and feathers, and lays two white
eggs. When the hunters are shooting Grouse, this bird is occasionally
attracted by the report of the gun, and is often bold enough, on a bird
being killed, to pounce down upon it, though it may be unable from its
size to carry it off. It is also known to hover round the fires made by
the natives at night.”
I lately received a letter from my friend Dr THOMAS M. BREWER of
Boston, Massachusetts, in which he informs me that “the Hawk Owl
is very common at Memphramagog Lake in Vermont, where as many as
a dozen may be obtained by a good gunner in the course of a single
day. Its nests in the hollow trees are also frequently met with.”
It is surprising that none should have been seen by Mr NUTTALL or Dr
TOWNSEND, while crossing the Rocky Mountains, or on the Columbia River;
especially as it has been found by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. as far
southward on our eastern coast as New Jersey.
The specimens from which the figures in the plate were drawn, were
given to me by THOMAS MACCULLOCH, Esq. of Pictou, who had a good number
of them. Two entire individuals preserved in spirits afford materials
for the following descriptions.
STRIX FUNEREA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 133.—_Lath._
Ind. Orn. vol. i. p. 62.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds
of United States, p. 35.
HAWK OWL, STRIX HUDSONIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p.
64, pl. 50, fig. 6.
STRIX FUNEREA, AMERICAN HAWK OWL, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 92.
HAWK OWL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 115.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, strong, higher than broad; upper mandible with the dorsal
line declinate and decurvate, the ridge convex, the sides convex
toward the end, the edges nearly straight until toward the end, the
tip decurvate, trigonal, acute; the cere covered with stiff bristly
feathers directed forwards; lower mandible with the angle very wide,
the dorsal outline convex, the ridge broad and convex, the sides
convex, the edges sharp toward the end, the tip obtuse, thin-edged.
Nostrils roundish, in the fore part of the cere, concealed by the
feathers.
Head very large, roundish, convex above. Eyes very large. Neck very
short; body of moderate size. Legs very short, robust; tarsus very
short, feathered, as are the toes, of which the outer is reversible;
claws long, stout, compressed, tapering to a very acute point, that of
third toe with the inner edge considerably dilated.
Plumage full, very soft, blended; the cere covered with slender
stiffish reversed feathers, having their filaments disunited; the
facial disks incomplete above. Wings rather long, rounded; the third
primary longest, the fourth one-twelfth and a half shorter, the second
four and a half twelfths shorter than the third, the first intermediate
between the fifth and sixth; the first four cut out on the outer web
towards the end, the barbs on the greater part of the outer web of
the first, and the terminal portion of the second, thickened, and a
little separated, but not recurved; the secondaries of moderate length,
rounded. Tail rather long, much rounded, of twelve rather broad rounded
feathers, of which the lateral are two inches shorter than the middle.
Bill pale yellow; iris bright yellow; claws dusky. The facial disk is
greyish-white, the shafts black, at its anterior part intermixed with
black filaments. The upper part of the head brownish-black, closely
spotted with white, there being generally three roundish spots on each
feather. The hind part of the neck is brownish-black, with two broad
longitudinal bands of white spots; a semicircle of brownish-black
feathers margins the facial disk behind. The general colour of the
upper parts is chocolate-brown, becoming lighter behind; all the
feathers marked with white spots in pairs, larger and more conspicuous
on the scapulars, disposed in bars on the rump and upper tail-coverts.
On both webs of the quills are several transversely elliptical white
spots, the outer webs of the first two and five inner primaries
excepted; the tips of all brownish-white. The tail is marked with about
eight transverse bars of white, formed by narrow oblong alternating
spots on both webs, the feathers also tipped with white, the throat
is greyish-dusky, that colour being succeeded by a semi-circular band
of white, beneath which is an obscure brownish-black band; the rest of
the lower parts transversely barred with dusky and white; the dark bars
of a deeper tint anteriorly, approaching to chestnut on the sides and
legs, fainter on the abdomen and feet, and greyish-brown on the lower
tail-coverts.
Length to end of tail 15-3/4 inches, to end of wings 12-1/2, to end of
claws 11-1/2, to carpal joint 3-3/8; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing from
flexure 9-8/12; tail 7-1/2; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 1; tarsus 1; hind toe 3/12, its claw (10-1/2)/12;
middle toe 10/12, its claw 10/12; inner toe (8-1/2)/12, its claw 11/12;
outer toe 6/12, its claw 10/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXVIII. Fig. 2.
The Female is somewhat larger, and resembles the male, but is of
a lighter tint, especially on the wings and tail, where the white
markings are smaller and less decided.
Length to end of tail 17-1/2 inches.
An adult male, presented by THOMAS M. BREWER, Esq. of Boston, and
preserved in spirits.
The palate is concave, with two longitudinal, parallel, papillate
ridges. The posterior aperture of the nares is lanceolate, with an
anterior fissure, the space between which and the lateral ridge is
papillate. The tongue is short, fleshy, deeply emarginate and papillate
at the base, rounded and notched at the end; its length 7-1/2 twelfths,
its breadth 3-1/4 twelfths. The mouth is very wide, measuring 1 inch
1 twelfth across. The œsophagus, _a b c_, which is 4-3/4 inches in
length, is of nearly uniform diameter, its greatest breadth being 11
twelfths, and at its entrance into the thorax 10 twelfths. Its walls
are extremely thin; but its longitudinal and transverse muscular fibres
are distinctly seen. The proventricular glandules are very large and
cylindrical, forming a belt, _b c_, 1 inch 1 twelfth in breadth. The
stomach, _c d e_, is of moderate size, roundish, 1 inch 5 twelfths
long, 1 inch 1-1/2 twelfth broad; its walls very thin, the muscular
coat being composed of slender fasciculi converging toward two roundish
tendinous spaces; the inner coat or epithelium very soft and rugous,
but partially dissolved by the gastric juice. The pylorus has a
semilunar margin, but is otherwise destitute of valve. The contents of
the stomach are tufts of reddish hair, resembling that of some hare.
The duodenum, _e f g_, which is 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter, curves
backwards and upwards, running across to the left side, and returning
upon itself opposite the fifth rib; it then proceeds to the right
side under the liver, receives the biliary ducts, passes behind and
above the stomach, and forms three folds, terminating in the rectum,
which is laterally curved, and ends in a globular cloaca, _j k_, 10
twelfths in diameter. The entire length of the intestine, _e f g h
k_, is 18 inches, its diameter from 4 twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth. The
rectum is 2 inches long. The cœca, Fig. 2, _a b_, _a b_, are 2-1/4
inches in length, for 1 inch and 2 twelfths very narrow, their diameter
varying from 1 to 2 twelfths, their greatest diameter 4 twelfths, their
extremity blunt.
The aperture of the ear, Fig. 3, although very large, is inferior
to that of many Owls of similar size. It is of an elliptical form, 5
twelfths in its greatest diameter, and 4 twelfths across.
The trachea is 3 inches long, flattened, its diameter nearly uniform,
averaging 2 twelfths; the rings moderately firm, 74 in number. The
bronchi are long, slender, of about 20 very slender cartilaginous half
rings. The contractor muscles are moderate, as are the sterno-tracheal.
There is a single pair of flat inferior laryngeal muscles, going to the
first and second bronchial rings.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 3._]
RUFF-NECKED HUMMING BIRD.
_TROCHILUS RUFUS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
This charming Humming Bird was discovered by the great navigator,
Captain Cook, who found it abundant at Nootka Sound. It does not appear
to have been seen by Dr RICHARDSON or Mr DRUMMOND in the northern
parts of America, traversed by those most zealous and highly talented
naturalists. As no account has hitherto been given of its habits, the
following notices from my friends Mr NUTTALL and Dr TOWNSEND, will, I
doubt not, prove highly interesting.
“We began,” says the first of-these enterprising travellers, “to meet
with this species near the Blue Mountains of the Columbia River, in the
autumn, as we proceeded to the west. These were all young birds, and
were not very easily distinguished from those of the common species of
the same age. We now for the first time (April 16.) saw the males in
numbers, darting, burring, and squeaking in the usual manner of their
tribe; but when engaged in collecting its accustomed sweets in all the
energy of life, it seemed like a breathing gem, or magic carbuncle
of glowing fire, stretching out its gorgeous ruff, as if to emulate
the sun itself in splendour. Towards the close of May, the females
were sitting, at which time the males were uncommonly quarrelsome and
vigilant, darting out at me as I approached the tree probably near the
nest, looking like an angry coal of brilliant fire, passing within very
little of my face, returning several times to the attack, sinking and
darting with the utmost velocity, at the same time uttering a curious
reverberating sharp bleat, somewhat similar to the quivering twang
of a dead twig, yet also so much like the real bleat of some small
quadruped, that for some time I searched the ground instead of the air,
for the actor in the scene. At other times, the males were seen darting
up high in the air, and whirling about each other in great anger, and
with much velocity. After these manœuvres the aggressor returned to
the same dead twig, where for days he regularly took his station with
all the courage and angry vigilance of a King-bird. The angry hissing
or bleating note of this species seems something like _wht’t’t’t’t sh
vee_, tremulously uttered as it whirls and sweeps through the air,
like a musket-ball, accompanied also by something like the whirr of
the Night Hawk. On the 29th of May, I found a nest of this species in
a forked branch of the Nootka Bramble, _Rubus Nutkanus_. The female
was sitting on two eggs, of the same shape and colour as those of
the common species. The nest also was perfectly similar, but somewhat
deeper. As I approached, the female came hovering round the nest, and
soon after, when all was still, she resumed her place contentedly.”
Dr TOWNSEND’s note is as follows:—“Nootka Sound Humming Bird,
_Trochilus rufus_, _Ah-puets-Rinne_ of the Chinooks. On a clear day
the male may be seen to rise to a great height in the air, and descend
instantly near the earth, then mount again to the same altitude as at
first, performing in the evolution the half of a large circle. During
the descent it emits a strange and astonishingly loud note, which can
be compared to nothing but the rubbing together of the limbs of trees
during a high wind. I heard this singular note repeatedly last spring
and summer, but did not then discover to what it belonged. I did not
suppose it to be a bird at all, and least of all a Humming Bird. The
observer thinks it almost impossible that so small a creature can be
capable of producing so much sound. I have never observed this habit
upon a dull or cloudy day.”
Mr NUTTALL having presented me with the nest of this species attached
to the twig to which the bird had fastened it, my amiable friend Miss
MARTIN has figured it for me, as well as the plant, about which these
lovely creatures are represented. The nest, which measures two inches
and a quarter in height, and an inch and three quarters in breadth, at
the upper part, is composed externally of mosses, lichens, and a few
feathers, with slender fibrous roots interwoven, and lined with fine
cottony seed-down.
TROCHILUS RUFUS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 497.
TROCHILUS COLLARIS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 318.
TROCHILUS (SELASPHORUS) RUFUS, _Swainson_.
CINNAMON or NOOTKA HUMMING BIRD, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 324.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIX. Figs. 1, 2.
Bill long, straight, subulate, somewhat depressed at the base, acute;
upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge narrow at the
base, broad and convex toward the end, the sides convex, the edges
overlapping, the tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle very long
and extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight, the edges erect, the
tip acuminate. Nostrils basal, linear.
Head of ordinary size, oblong; neck short; body slender. Feet very
small; tarsus very short, feathered more than half-way down, toes
small; the lateral equal, the middle toe not much longer, the hind toe
a little shorter than the lateral, anterior toes united at the base;
claws rather long, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended; feathers on the throat, fore part and
sides of the neck oblong-obovate, with the filaments towards the end
thickened and flattened, with metallic gloss, those on the sides of
the neck elongated and erectile. Wings rather short, extremely narrow,
falcate, pointed; the primaries rapidly graduated, the second being
longest, but only slightly longer than the first; these two quills
taper to a point; the rest are broader, and gradually become less
pointed; the secondaries are extremely short, and only five in number.
Tail rather long, broad, graduated, the lateral feathers four and
a half twelfths of an inch shorter than the central; the latter are
extremely broad, measuring four and a half twelfths across, and the
rest gradually diminish to the lateral, which are very narrow; all
obtusely pointed.
Bill brownish-black; toes brown, claws dusky. The general colour
of the upper parts is bright cinnamon or reddish-orange; the head
bronzed green, the wings dusky, the coverts glossed with green,
the primaries with purplish; each of the tail-feathers has a narrow
longitudinal lanceolate median streak toward the end. The loral space,
a narrow band over the eye, another beneath it, and the auriculars
are reddish-orange; the scale-like feathers of the throat and sides
of the neck are splendent fire-red, purplish-red, yellowish-red,
greenish-yellow or yellowish-green, according to the light in which
they are viewed; behind them, on the lower part of the neck, is a broad
band of reddish-white; the rest of the lower parts are like the upper,
the abdomen inclining to white.
Length to end of tail 3-7/12 inches; bill along the ridge (7-1/2)/12,
along the edge of lower mandible (9-1/4)/12; wing from flexure
1-(7-1/4)/12; tail 1-(3-1/2)/12; tarsus (1-1/2)/12; hind toe
(1-1/2)/12, its claw (1-1/4)/12; middle toe (2-1/4)/12, its claw
(1-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIX. Fig. 3.
The Female has the bill and feet coloured as in the male. The upper
parts are gold-green, the head inclining to brown; the wings as in
the male; the tail-feathers reddish-orange at the base, brownish-black
toward the end, the tip white. The lower parts are white, tinged with
rufous, of which colour, especially, are the sides; the throat marked
with roundish spots of metallic greenish-red.
Length to end of tail 3-(7-1/2)/12 inches; bill along the ridge
(8-3/4)/12; wing from flexure 1-10/12; tail 1-(1-1/2)/12.
The above descriptions are from two individuals shot by Dr TOWNSEND
on the “Columbia River, 30th May 1835.” A “young male, Columbia River,
29th May 1835,” resembles the female as above described, differing only
in having the metallic spots on the throat larger. A “young female,
Columbia River, June 10th 1835,” differs from the adult only in wanting
the metallic spots on the throat, which is spotted with greenish-brown.
CLEOME HEPTAPHYLLA.
The beautiful plant represented in the plate belongs to _Tetradynamia
Siliquosa_ of the Linnæan arrangement, and to the genus _Cleome_,
characterized by having three nectariferous glandules at each corner
of the calyx, the lower excepted; all the petals ascending; the
germen stipitate; the siliqua unilocular, two-valved. The species,
_C. heptaphylla_, is distinguished by its septenate leaves, of which
the leaflets are lanceolate, acuminate, and of a deep green colour. It
grows in South Carolina and Georgia.
TENGMALM’S OWL.
_STRIX TENGMALMI_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXX. MALE AND FEMALE.
I procured a fine male of this species at Bangor, in Maine, on
the Penobscot River, in the beginning of September 1832; but am
unacquainted with its habits, never having seen another individual
alive. Dr TOWNSEND informs me that he found it first on the Malade
River Mountains, where it was so tame and unsuspicious, that Mr NUTTALL
was enabled to approach within a few feet of it, as it sat upon the
bushes. Dr RICHARDSON gives the following notice respecting it in the
Fauna Boreali-Americana:—“When it accidentally wanders abroad in the
day, it is so much dazzled by the light of the sun as to become stupid,
and it may then be easily caught by the hand. Its cry in the night is
a single melancholy note, repeated at intervals of a minute or two. Mr
HUTCHINS informs us that it builds a nest of grass half-way up a pine
tree, and lays two white eggs in the month of May. It feeds on mice
and beetles. I cannot state the extent of its range, but believe that
it inhabits all the woody country from Great Slave Lake to the United
States. On the banks of the Saskatchewan it is so common that its voice
is heard almost every night by the traveller, wherever he selects his
bivouac.”
STRIX TENGMALMI, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 291.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 65.
STRIX TENGMALMI, TENGMALM’S OWL, _Swains. and Richards._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 94.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXX. Fig. 1.
Bill short, very deep, strong; upper mandible with its dorsal line
curved from the base, its ridge convex, as are the sides, the edges
sharp and incurved anteriorly, the tip very acute, and at its extremity
nearly perpendicular; the cere short, and bare on its upper part;
the lower mandible has the angle broad and short, the dorsal line
slightly convex, the edges inflected, towards the end incurved, with
a notch on each side close to the abruptly-rounded tip. Nostrils
broadly elliptical, oblique, in the fore part of the cere, which bulges
considerably behind them.
The head is extremely large, roundish, when viewed from above somewhat
triangular; the eyes large. The conch of the ear very large, of an
elliptical form, extending from the base of the lower jaw to near
the top of the head, being an inch and a quarter in length, with an
anterior semicircular operculum stretching along its whole length, and
an elevated margin behind. The neck is very short and thin; the body
very slender; but both appear very full on account of the vast mass
of plumage. The feet are rather short, and strong; the tarsi and toes
covered with very soft downy feathers, the extremities of the latter
with two scutella. The claws are slender, tapering to a fine point,
compressed, and curved.
The facial disk is complete, as is the ruff. The plumage is full, very
soft, and blended; the feathers broadly oblong and rounded. The wings
are rather long, very broad, much rounded; the third primary longest,
the fourth almost equal, the second four-twelfths of an inch shorter,
the first equal to the seventh; the barbs of the outer web of the
first, of half the second, and the terminal part of the third, free and
recurved. Tail of moderate length, arched, slightly rounded, of twelve
broad, rounded feathers.
Bill greyish-brown, yellowish-white at the end; claws yellowish-brown,
their tips dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is
greyish-brown tinged with olive. The feathers of the head have an
elliptical central white spot; those of the neck are similarly marked
with larger white spots, of which some are disposed so as to form a
semicircular band; the scapulars have two or four large round spots
near the end, and some of the dorsal feathers and wing-coverts have
single spots on the outer web. All the quills have marginal white
spots on both webs, arranged in transverse series, there being six
on the outer web of the third quill. On the tail are five series of
transversely elongated narrow white spots. The disk is yellowish-white,
anteriorly black; the ruff yellowish-white, mottled with dusky. The
throat is brown, the chin white. The general colour of the lower parts
is yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with brown, some of the
feathers of the sides have two white spots near the end; the tarsal and
digital feathers greyish-yellow, with faint transverse bars of brown.
Length to end of tail 11 inches; wing from flexure 6-10/12; bill along
the ridge 1; tarsus 11/12; hind toe 5/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe
9/12, its claw 8/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXX. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male, but is considerably larger.
SNOW GOOSE.
_ANSER HYPERBOREUS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCLXXXI. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG FEMALE.
The geographical range of the Snow Goose is very extensive. It has been
observed in numerous flocks, travelling northward, by the members of
the recent overland expeditions. On the other hand, I have found it
in the Texas, and it is very abundant on the Columbia River, together
with Hutchins’s Goose. In the latter part of autumn, and during winter,
I have met with it in every part of the United States that I have
visited.
While residing at Henderson on the Ohio, I never failed to watch the
arrival of this and other species in the ponds of the neighbourhood,
and generally found the young Snow Geese to make their appearance
in the beginning of October, and the adult or white birds about a
fortnight later. In like manner, when migrating northward, although
the young and the adult birds set out at the same time, they travel in
separate flocks, and, according to Captain Sir GEORGE BACK, continue
to do so even when proceeding to the higher northern latitudes of
our continent. It is not less curious that, during the whole of the
winter, these Geese remain equally divided, even if found in the same
localities; and although young and old are often seen to repose on the
same sand-bar, the flocks keep at as great a distance as possible.
The Snow Goose in the grey state of its plumage is very abundant in
winter, about the mouths of the Mississippi, as well as on all the
muddy and grassy shores of the bays and inlets of the Gulf of Mexico,
as far as the Texas, and probably still farther to the south-west.
During the rainy season, it betakes itself to the large prairies of
Attacapas and Oppellousas, and there young and adult procure their food
together, along with several species of Ducks, Herons, and Cranes,
feeding, like the latter, on the roots of plants, and nibbling the
grasses sideways, in the manner of the Common Tame Goose. In Louisiana
I have not unfrequently seen the adult birds feeding in wheat fields,
when they pluck up the plants entire.
When the young Snow Geese first arrive in Kentucky, about Henderson
for instance, they are unsuspicious, and therefore easily procured. In
a half-dry half-wet pond, running across a large tract of land, on the
other side of the river, in the State of Indiana, and which was once my
property, I was in the habit of shooting six or seven of a-day. This,
however, rendered the rest so wild, that the cunning of any “Red Skin”
might have been exercised without success upon them; and I was sorry to
find that they had the power of communicating their sense of danger to
the other flocks which arrived. On varying my operations however, and
persevering for some time, I found that even the wildest of them now
and then suffered; for having taken it into my head to catch them in
large traps, I tried this method, and several were procured before the
rest had learned to seize the tempting bait in a judicious manner.
The Snow Goose affords good eating when young and fat; but the old
Ganders are tough and stringy. Those that are procured along the
sea-shores, as they feed on shell-fish, fry and marine plants, have a
rank taste, which, however suited to the palate of the epicure, I never
could relish.
The flight of this species is strong and steady, and its migrations
over the United States are performed at a considerable elevation, by
regular flappings of the wings, and a disposition into lines similar
to that of other Geese. It walks well, and with rather elevated steps;
but on land its appearance is not so graceful as that of our common
Canada Goose. Whilst with us they are much more silent than any other
of our species, rarely emitting any cries unless when pursued on being
wounded. They swim buoyantly, and, when pressed, with speed. When
attacked by the White-headed Eagle, or any other rapacious bird, they
dive well for a short space. At the least appearance of danger, when
they are on land, they at once come close together, shake their heads
and necks, move off in a contrary direction, very soon take to wing,
and fly to a considerable distance, but often return after a time.
I am unable to inform you at what age the Snow Goose attains its pure
white plumage, as I have found that a judgment formed from individuals
kept in confinement is not to be depended upon. In one instance at
least, a friend of mine who had kept a bird of this species four
years, wrote to me that he was despairing of ever seeing it become pure
white. Two years after, he sent me much the same message; but, at the
commencement of next spring, the Goose was a Snow Goose, and the change
had taken place in less than a month.
Dr RICHARDSON informs us that, this species “breeds in the
barren grounds of Arctic America, in great numbers. The eggs of a
yellowish-white colour, and regularly ovate form, are a little larger
than those of the Eider Duck, their length being three inches, and
their greatest breadth two. The young fly in August, and by the middle
of September all have departed to the southward. The Snow Goose feeds
on rushes, insects, and in autumn on berries, particularly those of
the _Empetrum nigrum_. When well fed it is a very excellent bird, far
superior to the Canada Goose in juiciness and flavour. It is said that
the young do not attain the full plumage before their fourth year, and
until that period they appear to keep in separate flocks. They are
numerous at Albany Fort in the southern part of Hudson’s Bay, where
the old birds are rarely seen; and, on the other hand, the old birds in
their migrations visit York Factory in great abundance, but are seldom
accompanied by the young. The Snow Geese make their appearance in
spring a few days later than the Canada Geese, and pass in large flocks
both through the interior and on the coast.”
The young birds of this species begin to acquire their whiteness about
the head and neck after the first year, but the upper parts remain
of a dark bluish colour until the bird suddenly becomes white all
over; at least, this is the case with such as are kept in captivity.
Although it is allied to the White-fronted or Laughing Goose, _Anser
albifrons_, I was surprised to find that WILSON had confounded the
two species together, and been of opinion that the Bean Goose also
was the same bird in an imperfect state of plumage. That excellent
ornithologist tells us that “this species, called on the sea-coast,
the Red Goose, arrives in the river Delaware, from the north, early
in November, sometimes in considerable flocks, and is extremely noisy,
their notes being shriller and more squeaking than those of the Canada,
or common Wild Goose. On their first arrival, they make but a short
stay, proceeding, as the depth of winter approaches, farther south; but
from the middle of February, until the breaking up of the ice in March,
they are frequently numerous along both shores of the Delaware, about
and below Reedy Island, particularly near Old Duck Creek, in the State
of Delaware. They feed on roots of the reeds there, which they tear up
like hogs.”
This species is rare both in Massachusetts and South Carolina, although
it passes over both these States in considerable numbers, and in the
latter some have been known to alight among the common domestic Geese,
and to have remained several days with them. My friend Dr BACHMAN,
of Charleston, South Carolina, kept a male Snow Goose several years
along with his tame Geese. He had received it from a friend while it
was in its grey plumage, and the following spring it became white.
It had been procured in the autumn, and proved to be a male. In a
few days it became very gentle, and for several years it mated with a
common Goose; but the eggs produced by the latter never hatched. The
Snow Goose was in the habit of daily frequenting a mill-pond in the
vicinity, and returning regularly at night along with the rest; but
in the beginning of each spring it occasioned much trouble. It then
continually raised its head and wings, and attempted to fly off; but
finding this impossible, it seemed anxious to perform its long journey
on foot, and it was several times overtaken and brought back, after it
had proceeded more than a mile, having crossed fences and plantations
in a direct course northward. This propensity cost it its life: it had
proceeded as far as the banks of the Cooper River, when it was shot by
a person who supposed it to be a wild bird.
In the latter part of the autumn of 1832, whilst I was walking with
my wife, in the neighbourhood of Boston in Massachusetts, I observed
on the road a young Snow Goose in a beautiful state of plumage, and
after making some inquiries, found its owner, who was a gardener.
He would not part with it for any price offered. Some weeks after, a
friend called one morning, and told me that this gardener had sent his
Snow Goose to town, and that it would be sold by auction that day. I
desired my friend to attend the sale, which he did; and before a few
hours had elapsed, the bird was in my possession, having been obtained
for 75 cents! We kept this Goose several months in a small yard at the
house where we boarded, along with the young of the Sand-hill Crane,
_Grus Americana_. It was fed on leaves and thin stalks of cabbage,
bread, and other vegetable substances. When the spring approached, it
exhibited great restlessness, seeming anxious to remove northward, as
was the case with Dr BACHMAN’s bird. Although the gardener had kept it
four years, it was not white, but had the lower part of the neck and
the greater portion of the back, of a dark bluish tint, as represented
in the plate. It died before we left Boston, to the great regret of my
family, as I had anticipated the pleasure of presenting it alive to my
honoured and noble friend the EARL of Derby.
There can be little doubt that this species breeds in its grey plumage,
when it is generally known by the name of Blue-winged Goose, as is
the case with the young of _Grus Americana_, formerly considered as a
distinct species, and named _Grus Canadensis_.
ANAS HYPERBOREA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 504.—_Lath._
Ind. Orn. vol. ii. p. 837.
SNOW GOOSE, ANAS HYPERBOREA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 76, pl. 68, fig. 3, Male, and p. 89, pl. 69, fig. 5,
Young.
ANSER HYPERBOREUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 376.
ANSER HYPERBOREUS, SNOW GOOSE, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 467.
SNOW GOOSE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 344.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXI. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, much higher than broad at the base,
somewhat conical, compressed, rounded at the tip. Upper mandible with
the dorsal line sloping, the ridge broad and flattened at the base,
narrowed towards the unguis, which is roundish and very convex, the
edges beset with compressed, hard teeth-like lamellæ, their outline
ascending and slightly arched; lower mandible ascending, nearly
straight, the angle long and of moderate length, the dorsal line beyond
it convex, the sides erect, and beset with lamellæ; similar to those
of the upper, but more numerous, the unguis obovate and very convex.
Nasal groove oblong, parallel to the ridge, filled by the soft membrane
of the bill; nostrils medial, lateral, longitudinal, narrow-elliptical,
open, pervious.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long and
slender. Body full, slightly depressed. Feet rather short, strong,
placed about the centre of the body; legs bare a little above the
joint; tarsus rather short, strong, a little compressed, covered all
round with hexagonal, reticulated scales, which are smaller behind;
hind toe very small, with a narrow membrane; third toe longest,
fourth considerably shorter, but longer than the second; all the toes
reticulated above at the base, but with narrow transverse scutella
towards the end; the three anterior connected by a reticulated
membrane, the outer having a thick margin, the inner with the margin
extended into a two-lobed web. Claws small, arched, rather compressed,
obtuse, that of the middle toe bent obliquely outwards, and depressed,
with a curved edge.
Plumage close, full, compact above, blended beneath, as well as on the
head and neck, on the latter of which it is disposed in longitudinal
bands, separated by narrow grooves; the feathers of the lateral parts
small and narrow, of the back ovato-oblong, and abruptly rounded, of
the lower parts curved and oblong. Wings rather long, broad; primaries
strong, incurved, broad, towards the end tapering, the second longest,
but only a quarter of an inch longer than the first, which scarcely
exceeds the third; the first and second sinuate on the inner web, the
second and third on the outer. Secondaries long, very broad, rounded,
the inner curved outwards. Tail very short, rounded, of sixteen broad
rounded feathers.
Bill carmine-red, the unguis of both mandibles white, their edges
black. Iris light brown. Feet dull lake, claws brownish-black. The
general colour of the plumage is pure white; the fore part of the head
tinged with yellowish-red; the primaries brownish-grey, towards the end
blackish-brown, their shafts white unless toward the end.
Length to end of tail 31-3/4 inches, to end of claws 33-1/2, to end
of wings 31-3/4, to carpus 14; extent of wings 62; wing from flexure
19-1/2; tail 6-1/4; bill along the ridge 2-5/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 3-1/4; bare part of tibia 3/4; tarsus 3-5/8; hind toe 1/2, its
claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe 3, its claw 4/12. Weight 6-3/4 lb.
Young Female, in first winter. Plate CCCLXXXI. Fig. 2.
The colours of the young bird, in its first plumage, are unknown; but
in its second plumage, in autumn and winter, it presents the appearance
exhibited in the plate. The bill is pale flesh-colour, its edges black,
and the unguis bluish-white; the feet flesh-colour, the claws dusky.
The head and upper part of the neck are white, tinged above with grey,
the lower part of the neck all round, the fore part of the back, the
scapulars, the fore part of the breast, and the sides, blackish-grey;
paler beneath. The hind part of the back and the upper tail-coverts,
are ash-grey; as are the wing-coverts; but the secondary coverts are
greyish-black in the middle; and all the quills are of that colour, the
secondaries margined with greyish-white; the tail-feathers dusky-grey,
broadly margined with greyish-white. The dark colour of the fore part
of the breast gradually fades into greyish-white, which is the colour
of the other inferior parts, excepting the axillar feathers, and some
of the lower wing-coverts, which are white.
Length of an individual in this plumage, kept four years, to end of
tail 26 inches, to end of claws 25; extent of wings 55; bill along the
ridge 2-1/4, from frontal angle 2-1/2; tarsus 2-(7-1/2)/12; hind toe
6/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe 2-1/4, its claw 4/12. Weight 2
lb. 13 oz. The bird very poor.
In an adult male preserved in spirits, the roof of the mouth is
moderately concave, with five series of strong conical papillæ directed
backwards. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear, margined with
two series of extremely slender papillæ. The marginal lamellæ of the
upper mandible are 25, of the lower about 45. The tongue is 2 inches 5
twelfths long, nearly cylindrical, with strong pointed papillæ at the
base, and on each side a series of flattened, sharp lamellæ, directed
backwards, together with very numerous bristle-like filaments. It is
fleshy, has a soft prominent pad at the base above, and towards the end
has a median groove, the point rounded thin, and horny. The œsophagus;
which is 17 inches long, has a diameter of 9 twelfths at the upper
part, and at the lower part of the neck is dilated to 1 inch. The
proventricular glands are cylindrical, simple, and arranged in a belt
nearly 1 inch in breadth. The other parts were removed.
The reddish tint on the head affords no indication of the age of the
bird, some individuals of all ages having that part pure white, while
others have it rusty. The same remark applies to our two Swans.
SHARP-TAILED GROUS.
_TETRAO PHASIANELLUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXXII. MALE AND FEMALE.
This is another species of our birds with the habits of which
I am entirely unacquainted. Dr RICHARDSON’s account of it is as
follows:—“The northern limits of the range of the Sharp-tailed Grous is
Great Slave Lake, in the sixty-first parallel; and its most southern
recorded station is in latitude 41°, on the Missouri. It abounds on
the outskirts of the Saskatchewan plains, and is found throughout
the woody districts of the Fur Countries, haunting open glades or low
thickets on the borders of lakes, particularly in the neighbourhood of
the trading paths, where the forests have been partially cleared. In
winter it perches generally on trees, in summer is much on the ground;
in both seasons assembling in coveys of from ten to sixteen. Early in
spring, a family of these birds select a level spot, whereon they meet
every morning, and run round in a circle of fifteen or twenty feet in
diameter, so that the grass is worn quite bare. When any one approaches
the circle, the birds squat close to the ground, but in a short time
stretch out their necks to survey the intruder; and, if they are not
scared by a nearer advance, soon resume their circular course, some
running to the right, others to the left, meeting and crossing each
other. These “Partridge dances” last for a month or more, or until
the hens begin to hatch. When the Sharp-tailed Grous are put up, they
rise with the usual whirring noise, and alight again at the distance
of a few hundred yards, either on the ground, or on the upper branches
of a tree. Before the cock quits his perch, he utters repeatedly
the cry of _cuck_, _cuck_, _cuck_. In winter they roost in the snow
like the Willow Grous, and they can make their way through the loose
wreaths with ease. They feed on the buds and sprouts of the _Betula
glandulosa_, of various willows, and of the aspen and larch; and in
autumn on berries. Mr HUTCHINS says that the hen lays thirteen white
eggs with coloured spots early in June; the nest being placed on the
ground and formed of grass, lined with feathers.”
Dr TOWNSEND informs me that while crossing the north branch of the
Platte (Lorimie’s Fork), he found this species breeding, and that as an
article of food it proved to be a very well-flavoured and plump bird,
considerably superior to any of the other larger species that occur in
the United States.
TETRAO PHASIANELLUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
273.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 635.—_Ch. Bonaparte_,
Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 127.
TETRAO PHASIANELLUS, SHARP-TAILED GROUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_,
Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 37, pl. 19.
TETRAO (CENTROCERCUS) PHASIANELLUS, _Swains._ Sharp-tailed
Grous, _Richards._ and _Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p.
361.
SHARP-TAILED GROUS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 669.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, strong, as broad as high; upper mandible with the dorsal
line arcuato-declinate, the ridge narrow at the base on account of the
great extent of the nasal sinus, which is feathered, the sides convex
toward the end, the edges overlapping and thin, the tip declinate and
blunt, but thin-edged; lower mandible with the angle of moderate length
and width, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges sharp and
inclinate, the tip obtuse.
Head rather small, oblong; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet
rather short, stout; tarsus roundish, feathered, bare and reticulated
behind. Toes of moderate size, with numerous scutella above, but
covered over at the base by the hair-like feathers which grow from the
sides and the intervening basal membranes, laterally pectinate with
long slender projecting flattened scales; first toe small, second a
little longer than fourth, third much longer. Claws slender, arched,
moderately compressed, rather obtuse; that of the third toe with the
inner edge dilated.
Plumage dense, soft, rather compact, the feathers in general broadly
ovate; those on the head and upper part of the neck short, but some on
the upper and hind part of the former elongated and forming a slight
crest. There is a papillate coloured membrane over the eye, as in the
other species; and on each side of the neck is a large bare space,
concealed by the plumage, which I have no doubt is inflated, as in
_Tetrao Cupido_ and _T. Urophasianus_, during the love season. Wings
rather short, concave, much rounded; the primaries stiff and very
narrow, so as to leave large intervals when the wing is extended;
the third quill longest, the fourth next, the second shorter than the
fifth, the sixth longer than the first. Tail short, much graduated,
of sixteen feathers, of which the lateral are three inches shorter
than the central; all the feathers are more or less concave, excepting
the two middle worn along the inner edge, obliquely and abruptly
terminated, the two middle projecting an inch beyond the next.
Bill dusky above, brown beneath; iris light hazel; superciliary
membrane vermilion; toes brownish-grey, claws brownish-black. The upper
parts are variegated with light red or brownish-orange, brownish-black
and white; the black occupying the central part of the feathers,
the light red forming angular processes from the margin, generally
dotted with black, and a lighter bar near the end; the white being
in terminal, triangular, or guttiform spots on the scapulars and
wing-coverts. The alula, primary coverts, secondary coverts, and
quills are greyish-brown, the coverts spotted and tipped with white;
the primaries with white spots on the outer web, the inner tipped with
white, as are all the secondaries, of which the outer have two bars
of white spots, and the inner are coloured like the back. The tail is
white, at the base variegated, and the two middle feathers like the
back. Loral space, and a line behind the eye, white; a dusky streak
beneath the eye, succeeded by a light coloured one. The throat is
reddish-white, with some dusky spots; the fore part and sides of the
neck barred with dusky and reddish-white: on the lower part of the neck
and fore part of the breast, the dusky bars become first curved, and
then arrow-shaped, and so continue narrowing on the hind part of the
breast, and part of the sides, of which the upper portion is barred;
the abdomen, lower tail-coverts, axillar feathers, and most of the
lower wing-coverts, white. The hair-like feathers of the tarsi are
light brownish-grey, faintly barred with greyish-white.
Length to end of tail 17-1/2 inches, to end of wings 14, to end of
claws 17; extent of wings 23; wing from flexure 8-1/4, tail 4-1/2;
bill along the ridge (10-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-(1-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-(7-1/2)/12; hind toe 6/12, its claw 6/12: middle
toe 1-(7-1/2)/12, its claw 7/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXII. Fig. 2.
The Female is considerably smaller, but is coloured like the male, the
tints being duller.
LONG-EARED OWL.
_STRIX OTUS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXXIII. MALE.
This Owl is much more abundant in our Middle and Eastern Atlantic
Districts than in the Southern or Western parts. My friend Dr BACHMAN
has never observed it in South Carolina; nor have I met with it in
Louisiana, or any where on the Mississippi below the junction of the
Ohio. It is not very rare in the upper parts of Indiana, Illinois,
Ohio, and Kentucky, wherever the country is well wooded. In the Barrens
of Kentucky its predilection for woods is rendered apparent by its
not being found elsewhere than in the “Groves;” and it would seem that
it very rarely extends its search for food beyond the skirts of those
delightful retreats. In Pennsylvania, and elsewhere to the eastward, I
have found it most numerous on or near the banks of our numerous clear
mountain streams, where, during the day, it is not uncommon to see it
perched on the top of a low bush or fir. At such times it stands with
the body erect, but the tarsi bent and resting on a branch, as is the
manner of almost all our Owls. The head then seems the largest part,
the body being much more slender than it is usually represented. Now
and then it raises itself and stands with its legs and neck extended,
as if the better to mark the approach of an intruder. Its eyes, which
were closed when it was first observed, are opened on the least noise,
and it seems to squint at you in a most grotesque manner, although it
is not difficult to approach very near it. It rarely on such occasions
takes to wing, but throws itself into the thicket, and makes off on
foot by means of pretty long leaps.
I have never seen this bird moving on wing to a sufficient distance to
enable me to speak with certainty of its mode of flight, especially as
it is one of our most nocturnal species, seldom beginning to seek for
prey before it is quite dusky. In the morning I have never seen one
abroad at however early an hour I have been on the look-out.
The Long-eared Owl is careless as to the situation in which its young
are to be reared, and generally accommodates itself with an abandoned
nest of some other bird that proves of sufficient size, whether it
be high or low, in the fissure of a rock or on the ground. Sometimes
however it makes a nest itself, and this I found to be the case in
one instance near the Juniatta River in Pennsylvania, where it was
composed of green twigs with the leaflets adhering, and lined with
fresh grass and sheep wool, but without feathers. The eggs are usually
four, nearly equally rounded at both ends, thin-shelled, smooth, when
newly deposited pure white, with a slight blush, which is no longer
observable when they have been for some time sitten upon, their
average length an inch and a half, their greatest breadth an inch and
three-sixteenths. I found eggs of this bird on the 15th of April, and
again on the 25th of June, which induces me to believe that it rears
two broods in the season in the State of Pennsylvania, as it probably
does also to the westward. WILSON relates the following instance of
its indifference as to the place selected for its eggs. “About six or
seven miles below Philadelphia, and not far from the Delaware, is a low
swamp, thickly covered with trees, and inundated during great part of
the year. This place is the resort of great numbers of the Qua-bird or
Night Raven (_Ardea Nycticorax_), where they build in large companies.
On the 25th of April, while wading among the dark recesses of this
place, observing the habits of these birds, I discovered a Long-eared
Owl, which had taken possession of one of their nests, and was sitting;
on mounting to the nest, I found it contained four eggs, and breaking
one of these, the young appeared almost ready to leave the shell. There
were numbers of the Qua-birds’ nests on the adjoining trees all around,
and one of them actually on the same tree.”
When encamped in the woods, I have frequently heard the notes of this
bird at night. Its cry is prolonged and plaintive, though consisting of
not more than two or three notes repeated at intervals.
Dr RICHARDSON states that it has been found “as far north as Lat. 60°,
and probably exists as high as the forests extend. It is plentiful in
the woods skirting the plains of the Saskatchewan, frequents the coast
of Hudson’s Bay only in the summer, and retires into the interior in
the winter. It resides all the year in the United States, and perhaps
is not a rare bird in any part of North America; but as it comes seldom
abroad in the day, fewer specimens are obtained of it than of the other
Owls. It preys chiefly on quadrupeds of the genus _Arvicola_, and in
summer destroys many beetles. It lays three or four roundish white
eggs, sometimes on the ground, at other times in the deserted nests
of other birds in low bushes. Mr HUTCHINS says it lays in April, and
that the young fly in May; and Mr DRUMMOND found a nest on the ground
in the same neighbourhood, containing three eggs, on the 5th of July,
and killed both the birds. On comparing the above-mentioned eggs with
those of the English Long-eared Owl, the American ones proved to be
smaller, measuring only an inch and a half in length, and 1.27 inches
in breadth; while the English ones measured 1.8 inch in length, and
1-1/4 in breadth. The form and colour were the same in both.”
The food of this Owl consists of rats, mice, and other small
quadrupeds, as well as birds of various species; its stomach having
been found by me crammed with feathers and other remains of the latter.
There is a marked difference between the sexes. The males are not
only smaller than the females, but darker; and this has tempted me
to consider the _Strix Mexicanus_ of Mr SWAINSON and the Prince of
MUSIGNANO as merely a large female of our Long-eared Owl.
STRIX OTUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 132.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. i. p 53.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 37.
LONG-EARED OWL, STRIX OTUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p.
52, pl. 50, fig. 1.
STRIX OTUS, LONG-EARED OWL, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 72.
LONG-EARED OWL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 130.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXIII.
Bill short, stout; upper mandible with its dorsal line slightly curved
from the base, towards the end decurved, the ridge broad at the base,
narrowed anteriorly, convex in its whole extent, the sides sloping at
the base, convex towards the tip, the edges soft and obtuse as far as
the nostrils, then sharp and barred to the end, below the nostrils
inflected, afterwards direct, the tip acute, and at its extremity
descending obliquely; the cere of moderate length, feathered on the
sides; the lower mandible straight, its angle elongated, wide, and
rounded, the dorsal line very short and slightly convex, the back
and sides convex, the edges toward the end sharp and inflected,
their outline decurved and with a slight sinus on each side, the tip
obliquely truncate. Nostrils medial, lateral, large, oblique, oblong,
in the fore edge of the cere, with a tough soft membrane above, and
having internally a ridge curved backwards from the inner edge.
Head very large, flattened anteriorly; neck short; body very slender,
but seeming large on account of the great mass of plumage. Feet of
moderate length, and stout; tarsi feathered, short; toes also short,
and feathered; the third and fourth connected at the base by a short
web; the first shortest, and admitting of much lateral motion, the
third longest, the second and fourth nearly equal. On all the toes
are two terminal scutella. Claws long, curved in the fourth of a
circle, tapering, extremely acute, rounded above, very narrow beneath,
the first and second rounded, the rest flat; that of the fourth toe
smallest, of the first slightly larger, those of the other toes much
larger and nearly equal.
Plumage extremely soft and downy. The facial disks complete, and
composed of circular series of weak, slender, slightly recurved
feathers, having remote barbs; surrounding which is a ruff formed of
several rows of oblong incurved feathers, having the barbs close. The
feathers of the forehead are apparent between the ruffs, although that
part is very narrow; the bill is partially concealed by the plumage;
the feathers are oblong or ovate, and rounded, extremely soft, and
blended, those on the tarsi and toes, small, and somewhat silky. Wings
long and broad; primaries very broad, rounded, the outer a little
incurved towards the end, the first sinuate on the inner web near
the end, the second very slightly so; the second longest, the third a
little shorter, the fourth a little longer than the first; the outer
in its whole length, the second towards the end, and the first alular
feather, with the barbs disunited and recurved at the ends. Tail rather
short, slightly convex, a little rounded, of twelve broad rounded
feathers, having feeble shafts.
Bill brownish-black, cere flesh-coloured; iris orange; claws
bluish-grey, dusky towards the end. The colouring of the plumage is
very intricate, but may be described as buff, mottled and spotted
with brown and greyish-white. The disks are whitish anteriorly, with
the tips black, posteriorly reddish-white; the ruff mottled with red
and black; the upper part of the head, minutely mottled with whitish,
brownish-black, and light red; the tufts light reddish toward the base,
brownish-black in the central part toward the end, the inner edge
white, dotted with dark-brown. The upper parts are buff, variegated
with brown and whitish-grey, minutely mottled or undulatingly barred.
The first row of coverts tipped with white on the outer web; the edge
of the wing, and the outer margin of the first alular feather also
white; the alula and primary coverts greyish-brown barred with darker;
the quills and scapulars pale grey, barred with dark brown, and having
more or less buff towards the base of the outer web, that colour being
conspicuous on the six outer primaries. The tail is barred and mottled
in the same manner, the bars very narrow, ten on the middle and eight
on the outer feathers. The lower parts are in general similar to the
upper, but with more buff, and fewer spots, each feather with a long
dark brown streak and several irregular transverse bars. The legs and
toes are pure buff. The lower surface of the wing is yellowish-white,
a few of the coverts with a brown spot; the quills banded with brown
towards the end. The lower tail-coverts have a narrow central brown
line.
Length to end of tail 14-1/2 inches, to end of claws 14-3/4, to end of
wings 15; extent of wings 38; wing from flexure 11-1/2; tail 6; bill
along the ridge 1-5/12; tarsus 1-8/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw
8/12; second toe 1, its claw 9/12; third toe 1-2/12, its claw 10/12;
fourth toe 8/12, its claw 7/12. Weight 8 oz.
The Female is considerably larger, and of a lighter colour than the
male, but otherwise similar.
A male sent in spirits from Boston by Dr BREWER:—The roof of the
mouth is flat, with two longitudinal ridges, the sides ascending;
the posterior aperture of the nares oblong, 4 twelfths long, with an
anterior fissure. The tongue is 7-1/2 twelfths long, deeply emarginate
and papillate at the base, flattish above, with a faint median groove,
the sides parallel, the tip narrowed and emarginate. The mouth is
very wide, measuring 1 inch and 1-1/2 twelfth. The œsophagus is 5-1/2
inches long, of nearly uniform diameter throughout, as in all other
Owls, its breadth being 1 inch. The proventricular glandules form a
belt 9 twelfths in diameter. The stomach is large, round, 1 inch 9
twelfths long, 1 inch 7 twelfths broad, its walls thin, its muscular
coat composed of rather coarse fasciculi, but without distinction into
lateral muscles, the tendinous spaces circular, and about 8 twelfths in
diameter; its epithelium soft and rugous. The duodenum is 3 twelfths in
diameter, and curves at the distance of 3 inches from the pylorus. The
intestine is 23 inches long, its smallest diameter only 1 twelfth. The
cœca, Fig. 2, are in this individual unequal, as they very frequently
are in Owls; the largest being 2 inches 10 twelfths in length, their
greatest diameter 5-1/2 twelfths, their distance from the anus 3 inches
and a quarter. The cloaca is of an enormous size, ovate, 2 inches long,
1 inch 2 twelfths broad. It contains a calculous concretion 9 twelfths
long, 7 twelfths broad, and 3 twelfths thick.
The trachea, which is 3 inches long, is 3-1/2 twelfths in breadth
at the upper part, 2-1/2 twelfths in the middle, and 3 twelfths at
its lower extremity; its rings about 75 in number, cartilaginous,
and considerably flattened. The lateral muscles are strong, the
sterno-tracheal moderate, and there is a single pair of very slender
inferior laryngeal muscles. Five of the lower rings are elongated,
arched, and slit. The bronchi are rather long, of 12 half rings.
The conch of the ear, Fig. 1, is of enormous size, extending from the
level of the forehead over the eye to the chin, in a semilunar form, of
which the posterior curve is 3 inches, and the distance between the two
extremities in a direct line 1 inch and a half. There is an anterior
semicircular flap in its whole length, 5 twelfths in breadth at the
middle. The aperture or meatus externus is of a rhomboidal form 4-1/2
twelfths in length, 3-1/2 twelfths broad, bounded anteriorly by the
eye, posteriorly by a ligament extended along the edge of the occipital
bone, above by a ligament stretching to the operculum, below the
articulation of the lower jaw. Above the meatus is a deep depression
covered with skin, above which another ligament stretches across to the
operculum.
In another specimen, a female, the œsophagus is 5-1/2 inches long, its
average diameter 11 twelfths. The intestine is 21 inches long, from
2-1/2 twelfths to 1 twelfth in diameter; the cœca are 2-1/4 inches in
length; their greatest diameter 4 twelfths; the cloaca still larger
than that of the other individuals, being 2 inches long.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2._]
BLACK-THROATED BUNTING.
_EMBERIZA AMERICANA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXXIV. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although this handsome Bunting may be said to be abundant in our middle
Atlantic districts, it is there much less so than in the vast prairies
of the south-west; and I consider those of the Texas to afford the
localities best adapted to its habits. There, as my companions and I
were returning from the capital of the infant republic, Houston, we
were surprised to see how very numerous the Black-throated Buntings
were in every open piece of ground covered by tufts of tall grass. They
are also abundant on the open lands of Missouri and Illinois: but rarer
in Ohio, and scarce in Kentucky. They are rarely observed to pass over
South Carolina, but in Pennsylvania they are plentiful, and there breed
in every field covered with grass or grain. I have also met with them
in Massachusetts, but beyond this they are not seen to the eastward.
At the approach of the period of their removal from our Middle States
southward, the Black-throated Buntings congregate in particular
localities, as if to consult regarding their future proceedings.
At this season I once went from Philadelphia in search of them,
accompanied by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, and my son JOHN WOODHOUSE.
Having reached Salem in New Jersey, we rambled some time in the
neighbourhood, and found an elevated piece of ground, closely covered
with high rank weeds, among which a great number of these birds had
assembled. It being late in July, the males were moulting, or had
already acquired their new plumage; the young, although full grown,
had not yet assumed their second clothing, in which the sexes are
distinguished; and the females were generally ragged. The birds were
at first quite gentle, but after we had fired a few times they all
flew off to a considerable distance, from which, however, they soon
returned. On our continuing to harass them, however, they rose high
in the air, and flew out of our sight in a southward direction. They
had then undoubtedly begun migrating. These birds are very partial to
particular localities. Sandy soil, unmixed with clay or earth, is not
favourable to them; and it is probably for this reason that none are
found in any purely sandy part of the State of New Jersey.
The Black-throated Buntings reach our Middle States about the 10th
or 15th of May, and at once betake themselves to the dry meadow lands
and grain fields, where they soon after begin to breed. The males are
often observed perched on the top branches of the shade trees found in
those places, and engaged in delighting their mates with their simple
ditty, which, according to my learned friend Mr NUTTALL, resembles
_’tic ’tic-tshĕ tshĕ tshĕ tshe_, and _tship tship_, _tschĕ tschĕ tschĕ
tschip_. To my ears the notes of our Black-throated Bunting so much
resemble those of the Corn Bunting of Europe, _Emberiza Miliaria_, that
I have often been reminded of the one by hearing the song of the other.
These unmusical notes are almost continuously uttered from sunrise to
sunset, and all this while the female is snugly seated on her eggs, and
listening to her beloved. He often visits her, alighting within a few
yards of where she is concealed, and then cautiously proceeding toward
the spot on foot, through the grass. When the bird leaves the nest, it
creeps along to some distance, and then flies off low over the ground.
About the first of June the nest is formed. It is constructed of
fine grass neatly woven in a circular form, and is partly imbedded
in the soil, and sheltered or concealed by a tuft of herbage. The
eggs, usually five, are six and a half eighths in length, four and
three-fourths in breadth, of a sullied white, generally sprinkled with
faint touches of different tints of umber. In Pennsylvania, it seldom
rears more than one brood in the season; but in the Texas, I have
reason to believe that it raises two.
The flight of this bird, when it has settled in a place, is usually
of short extent. The male, while passing to and fro from the nest,
exhibits a quivering motion of the wings. The female seldom shews this,
unless when her property is in danger from intruders. While travelling,
which they always do by day, they pass high over the trees, in flocks
of thirty or forty, which suddenly alight at the approach of night,
and throw themselves into the most thickly-leaved trees, where they
repose until dawn. I have surprised them in such situations both in
Kentucky and in Louisiana, and on shooting into the place to which they
had betaken themselves, although I could not see them, have procured
several at one discharge; which proved in one instance to be males, and
in the other females, thus shewing that the sexes travel separately.
On such occasions, the survivors would sally forth, make a few rapid
evolutions, and alight on the same tree.
In spring, I have found them, on two or three occasions, near Natchez,
in the State of Mississippi, in meadows, in company with Bob-o-links,
_Emberiza Oryzivora_. On the ground they leap or hop, but never walk.
Their flesh is good, especially that of the young birds.
EMBERIZA AMERICANA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
872.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 411.
BLACK-THROATED BUNTING, EMBERIZA AMERICANA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 54, pl. 3, fig. 2, male.
FRINGILLA AMERICANA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 107.
BLACK-THROATED BUNTING, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 461.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill of moderate length, stout, conical, compressed toward the end;
upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly declinate and convex,
the ridge indistinct, the sides convex, the edges a little inflected,
ascending to beneath the nostrils, then descending, with a slight
notch close to the narrow tip: lower mandible with the angle short and
wide, the dorsal line ascending and very slightly convex, the ridge
broad at the base, the sides convex, the edges ascending at the base,
then straight and involute to the end, the tip narrow. Nostrils basal,
roundish in the fore part of the very short and wide nasal depression.
Head large, ovate; neck very short; body rather stout. Feet of moderate
length, rather strong; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, with
seven anterior scutella, thin-edged behind; toes rather large; the hind
one strong and longer than the lateral, which are equal, the third much
longer, and united to the fourth at the base. Claws long, arched, much
compressed, acute.
Plumage soft and blended, but firm. Wings of moderate length, acute;
the first quill longest, the second slightly shorter, the other
primaries graduated; secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail of moderate
length, emarginate, of twelve rather narrow, obliquely pointed
feathers.
Bill light blue; iris hazel; feet light brownish-red, claws of the
same colour. The upper part of the head, the cheeks and the hind
neck are ash-grey, the feathers on the head with a central blackish
streak; loral space, a band over the eye, and a shorter one beneath
it, bright yellow. The fore part of the back greyish-brown, with
longitudinal streaks of brownish-black; the hind parts brownish-grey.
The smaller wing-coverts are bright chestnut, the quills and large
coverts blackish-brown, the primaries narrowly, the secondaries and
their coverts broadly edged with pale greyish-brown. The tail is dark
greyish-brown, the feathers faintly margined with paler. The fore neck
is light yellow, the throat at first white, then with a large patch
of black; the breast, sides, abdomen, legs and lower tail-coverts
white, the breast tinged with yellow, the sides with grey; the lower
wing-coverts yellow.
Length to end of tail 6-1/2 inches, to end of wings 5, to end of claws
6-1/4; extent of wings 10-3/8; wing from flexure 3-3/8; tail 2-1/2;
bill along the ridge 7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 8/12;
tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw (5-1/2)/12,; middle
toe 8/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXIV. Fig. 2.
The Female has the upper parts coloured as in the male, but paler;
the lower parts are also similar, but in place of the black patch on
the throat, there are only two dusky lines from the base of the lower
mandible, and some faint streaks on the lower part of the neck and the
sides.
Length to end of tail 6, to end of wings 4, to end of claws 5-7/8;
extent of wings 9; wing from flexure 3; tail 2-5/12; bill along the
ridge (6-1/2)/12; tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw
5/12; middle toe 3/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
In an adult male, the roof of the mouth has anteriorly three
longitudinal ridges, and two lateral grooves; the palate descends
obliquely, and at its anterior part has a distinct prominence of a
softish texture; from which there passes backwards and outwards, a
large soft ridge on each side of the nasal aperture; which is linear
and papillate. The tongue is 5-1/2 twelfths long, narrow, deep,
trigonal, deeply emarginate and papillate at the base, soft for
half its length, convex and hard towards the end, which terminates
with bristly points. The œsophagus, _a b c d_, is 2-1/2 inches long,
dilated along the greater part of the neck into a kind of crop, _b_, 5
twelfths in diameter, lying on the right side along with the trachea.
The proventriculus, _c d_, is not much enlarged. The stomach, _e f_,
is a strong gizzard, of a broad elliptical form, 7-1/2 twelfths in
length, 6-1/2 twelfths in breadth. Its contents are small hard seeds,
a few remains of insects, and some particles of sand. The epithelium is
very tough, longitudinally rugous, and of a dark reddish-brown colour.
The intestine, _f g h_, is 8-1/2 inches long, its greatest diameter
2 twelfths. The rectum, _j k l_, is 9 twelfths long; the cœca, _j_,
extremely small, being 1-1/2 twelfth long and 1/2 twelfth in diameter.
[Illustration]
The trachea, which is 1 inch 10 twelfths long, is rather wide,
flattened, of uniform diameter, measuring 1-3/4 inch across, the
rings about 55, and ossified. The contractor muscles are of moderate
strength; the sterno-tracheal slender; and there are four pairs of
inferior laryngeal. The bronchi have about 15 half rings.
In its habits, this bird closely resembles the Common or Corn Bunting
of Europe, its flight and notes being almost the same. Like it, our
bird alights on walls, fences, detached rocks, or eminences of any
kind, where it is often seen even in the immediate neighbourhood of
our cities. Indeed, I have found it in full song perched on the trees
that ornament the squares of Washington city. In the form of its bill
it also agrees with the Buntings, although that organ is proportionally
longer and less attenuated toward the end. If, on the principle of
minute division, it is not admitted into the genus _Emberiza_, it must
at least occupy a place in its immediate proximity.
The plants represented are the _Phalaris arundinacea_ and _Antirrhinum
Linaria_, both common in many parts of the United States, as well
as in Europe; the former growing in wet meadows and by the sides of
rivers, the latter in fields and waste places, a troublesome weed, very
difficult to be extirpated.
BANK SWALLOW OR SAND MARTIN.
_HIRUNDO RIPARIA_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXXV. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
Imagine, Reader, how delighted I was when, in East Florida, in the
winter of 1831, I found thousands of Bank Swallows gaily skimming over
the waters, and along the shores of the rivers and inlets. So numerous
indeed were they that I felt inclined to think that the greater part
of those which are in summer dispersed over the United States, and the
regions still farther north, must have congregated to form those vast
swarms. The first time I saw them was before sunrise, when I stood by
the side of Lieutenant PERCY of our Navy, on the deck of the United
States’ schooner the Spark, then at anchor opposite St Augustine.
The weather though warm, was thick and drizzly, so that we could not
see to a great distance; but as probably some hundreds of thousands
passed close to the vessel, in long and rather close flocks, I was well
enabled to assure myself that the birds were of this species. On my
expressing my surprise and delight at beholding so vast a concourse,
Lieutenant PERCY assured me, that he had seen them on all the streams
which he had visited south of where we then were. The weather cleared
up in a few hours, the sun shone brightly, and the little creatures
were seen all around, dipping into the water to wash themselves,
gambolling close over its surface, and busily engaged in procuring
insects, which in that country are always abundant. In the course of
the same season I also observed a good number of our Green-backed and
Barn Swallows, but few compared with what is seen about New Orleans.
We can thus account for the early appearance of the Bank Swallows in
our Middle Districts. That species always arrives there sooner than
the rest, sometimes preceding them by a fortnight, and keeping equally
in advance as far northward as its range extends. The Green-backed
Swallow, _Hirundo bicolor_, follows closely after it; then the Purple
Martin, _Hirundo purpurea_; after which are seen the Barn Swallow,
_Hirundo rustica_, and lastly, on our eastern Atlantic coasts, the
American Swift, _Cypselus Americanus_. It is probable that these
species extend their autumnal migrations southward in a degree
proportionate to the lateness of their appearance in Spring. I have
likewise observed the arrival of the Bank Swallows on the waters of
the Serpentine River and those of the Regent’s Park, in London, to be
in the same proportion earlier than that of the other species which
visit England in spring, and have thought that, as with us, the first
mentioned species retires to a less distance in winter than the rest.
The Bank Swallow has been observed on both sides of North America,
and in all intermediate places suited to its habits. This is easily
accounted for, when we reflect how easy it is for these birds to follow
our great water-courses to their very sources. Even the ponds and lakes
of our vast forests are at times visited by them; but no person seems
to have been aware of the existence of two species of Bank Swallows in
our country, which, however, I shall presently shew to be the case.
Wherever, throughout the United States, sand-banks or artificial
excavations occur, there is found the Bank Swallow during the breeding
season, in greater or smaller numbers, according to the advantages
presented by the different localities, not only along the shores of
our rivers and lakes, but also on the coasts of the Atlantic, and not
unfrequently in inland situations, at some distance from any water.
High banks, composed of softish sandy earth, on the shores of rivers,
lakes, or other waters, suit them best, and in such situations their
colonies are far more numerous than elsewhere. The banks of the Ohio,
and some parts of those of the Mississippi, called “Bluffs” have
appeared to me to be more resorted to by this species in our western
and southern districts, although I have met with considerable numbers
in every State of the Union.
In Louisiana this species begins to breed early in March, and generally
rears two, sometimes three broods in a season. In our Middle Districts
it commences about a month later, or about the period at which it
lays in Kentucky, and there produces two broods. In Newfoundland and
Labrador, it rarely begins to breed before the beginning of June, and
lays only once. Dr RICHARDSON states, that he saw “thousands of these
Swallows near the mouth of the Mackenzie, in the sixty-eighth parallel,
on the 4th of July,” and from the state of the weather at that period
supposed that they had arrived there at least a fortnight prior to that
date, but no specimens were brought to England, and the description
given in the Fauna Boreali-Americana is a mere transcript of that which
in itself is quite imperfect. Indeed, there is not in any work with
which I am acquainted an account of the Sand Swallow, sufficiently
minute and accurate to characterize in an adequate manner that very
common species.
The sociability and gentleness of these birds, the lightness and
vigour with which they perform their various evolutions, the low and
unobtrusive twittering of their voice, in short, all their actions and
economy, are delightful to contemplate. Their flight is exceedingly
graceful, light, yet firm, and capable of great continuance. They seem
indeed as if created for the purpose of spending their time on wing,
for they alight less often to rest when full grown than any other
of our species, when not sitting on their eggs, and are seen abroad
searching for food later in the dusk, retiring for the night as late,
I think, as our Swift, _Cypselus Americanus_. As they procure their
food more commonly than the other species along the margins or over
the surface of pools, lakes, rivers, or even the sea, their flight
is generally performed at a small elevation, which is the case with
others only when the wind blows smartly, or the atmosphere is damp and
chill. The movements of their wings are those common to the family of
Swallows, which flap these members less frequently than perhaps any
other small land birds. The wings act on the hinge formed by the carpal
joint, opening and closing like the blades of scissors. Their sailings,
though frequent, are not extensive, and their tail appears to be of
great service to them, as you observe that on the least deviation from
a straight course, it becomes suddenly more or less closed or inclined
upward, downward, or sideways; and when you see some hundreds of pairs
about their breeding places, passing, repassing, and crossing each
other in various ways, you almost wonder that they never come into
collision with each other. The slightest movement in any direction
seems sufficient to enable them to overtake and secure their prey; and
they less frequently than any other species follow an insect upward to
any great distance. Like all other Swallows, they drink and bathe on
wing.
Their migrations are performed by day, although perhaps continued by
night, and their movements are more desultory and rather slower than
those of other Swallows. It is rare to observe them in great flocks
at that time, their associations not being apparently formed until
they reach the countries in which they spend the winter months. Their
flight, when they are thus travelling, is continued rather low over the
land or the water; and as in America they retire to a less distance
southward than our other Swallows, they are not unfrequently seen to
linger behind the rest. In South Carolina, indeed, I have seen some in
November.
In summer and autumn they roost in the holes excavated for their nests;
but in winter, at least in the Floridas, they always repose at night
among the tall grass of the salt marshes, making choice of situations
sheltered by the winds and not liable to be overflowed. At this time
they keep together in large bodies while searching for food. I have
several times accidentally crossed their roosting places, which I at
once recognised by the quantity of their dung attached to the blades,
and lying on the ground, and from which I infer that they rest clinging
to the plants.
At the first appearance of spring they leave their winter quarters
in pairs, or singly, or in very small flocks; but they follow each
other so closely in this manner as to form an almost continued line
of march. I had the pleasure of observing this to be the case with the
Barn Swallow also, whilst I was proceeding toward the Texas, when that
species was advancing in a contrary direction.
Although small, the Sand Swallow is a rather hardy bird: for I observed
that the transient cold weather that at times occurs in the Florida at
night, seldom forces them to remove farther south. On one occasion,
however, when the ice was about the thickness of a dollar, many
were found dead along the shores, as well as floating on the water,
whilst the rest appeared in great perturbation, wending their way in
a hurried manner toward the warmer parts of the country, and taking
advantage of every spot that afforded them more warmth, such as the
borders of woods, and high banks of streams. I am, however, of opinion
that the inclemency of the weather at times proves to be the greatest
evil these birds have to encounter, especially when in early spring
they are moving northward, and occasionally meet with a sudden change
from temperate to cold. Even in the places selected for their summer
residence, great numbers die in their holes, and many have been found
there in a state bordering on torpidity.
Their food, which consists of small insects, principally of the
hymenopterous kind, even during winter in the Floridas, is procured on
wing. They very seldom approach walls or the trunks of trees to seize
them, but frequently snatch them from the tops of grasses or other
plants on which they have alighted. They also seize small aquatic
insects; but, although, I suspect that they disgorge in pellets
the harder parts of these, I have no proof, obtained from actual
observation, that they do so.
The holes perforated by this species for the purpose of breeding
require considerable exertion and labour. They are usually bored at the
distance of two or three feet from the summit of the bank or surface
of the ground, to the depth of about three feet, but sometimes to that
of four or even five. They are near each other or remote, according
to the number of pairs of swallows that resort to the place, and the
extent of the bank. In one situation you may find not more than a dozen
pairs at work, while in another several hundreds of holes may be seen
scattered over some hundreds of yards. On the bluffs of the Ohio and
the Mississippi there are many very extensive breeding-places. While
engaged in digging a sand-bank on the shore of the Ohio, at Henderson,
for the purpose of erecting a steam-mill, I was both amused and vexed
by the pertinacity with which the little winged labourers continued to
bore holes day after day, whilst the pickaxes and shovels demolished
them in succession. The birds seemed to have formed a strong attachment
to the place, perhaps on account of the fine texture of the soil, as
I observed many who had begun holes a few hundred yards off abandon
them, and join those engaged in the newly opened excavation. Whether
the holes are frequently bored horizontally or not I cannot say, but
many which I examined differed in this respect from those described by
authors, for on introducing a gun-rod or other straight stick, I found
them to have an inclination of about ten degrees upwards. The end of
the hole is enlarged in the form of an oven, for the reception of the
nest, and the accommodation of the parents and their brood.
When the birds have for a while examined the nature of the bank, they
begin their work by alighting against it, securing themselves by the
claws, and spreading their tails considerably so as, by being pressed
against the surface, to support the body. The bill is now employed in
picking the soil, until a space large enough to admit the body of the
bird is formed, when the feet and claws are also used in scratching
out the sand. I have thought that the slight ascent of the burrow
contributed considerably to enable the bird to perform the severe task
of disposing of the loose materials, which are seen dropping out at
irregular intervals. Both sexes work alternately, in the same manner
as Woodpeckers; and few ornithological occupations have proved more
pleasing to me than that of watching several hundred pairs of these
winged artificers all busily and equally engaged, some in digging the
burrows, others in obtaining food, which they would now and then bring
in their bills for the use of their mates, or in procuring bits of dry
grass or large feathers of the duck or goose, for the construction of
their nests.
So industrious are the little creatures that I have known a hole dug
to the depth of three feet four inches, and the nest finished in four
days, the first egg being deposited on the morning of the fifth. It
sometimes happens that soon after the excavation has been commenced,
some obstruction presents itself, defying the utmost exertions of the
birds; in which case they abandon the spot, and begin elsewhere in the
neighbourhood. If these obstructions occur and are pretty general,
the colony leaves the place; and it is very seldom that, after such
an occurrence, any swallows of this species are seen near it. I have
sometimes been surprised to see them bore in extremely loose sand. On
the sea coast, where soft banks are frequent, you might suppose that,
as the burrows are only a few inches apart, the sand might fall in so
as to obstruct the holes and suffocate their inmates; but I have not
met with an instance of such a calamitous occurrence. Along the banks
of small rivulets I have found these birds having nests within a foot
or two of the water, having been bored among the roots of some large
trees, where I thought they were exposed to mice, rats, or other small
predaceous animals. The nest is generally formed of some short bits of
dry grass, and lined with a considerable number of large feathers. They
lay from five to seven eggs for the first brood, fewer for the next.
They are of an ovate, somewhat pointed form, pure white, eight-twelfths
of an inch long, and six-twelfths in breadth
The young, as soon as they are able to move with ease, often crawl
to the entrance of the hole, to wait the return of their parents
with food. On such occasions they are often closely watched by the
smaller Hawks, as well as the common Crows, which seize and devour
them, in spite of the clamour of the old birds. These depredations
upon the young are in fact continued after they have left the nest,
and while they are perched on the dry twigs of the low trees in the
neighbourhood, until they are perfectly able to maintain themselves on
wing without the assistance of their parents.
In Louisiana, or in any district where this species raises more than
one brood in the season, the males, I believe, take the principal
charge of the young that have left the nest, though both sexes
alternately incubate, all their moments being thus rendered full of
care and anxiety respecting both their offspring and the sitting bird.
The young acquire the full brown plumage of the adult by the first
spring, when there is no observable difference between them; but I am
induced to think that they keep apart from the old birds during the
first winter, when I have thought I could yet perceive an inferiority
in their flight, as well as in the loudness of their notes.
This species has no song, properly so called, but merely a twitter of
short lisping notes. In autumn it at times alights on trees preparatory
to its departure. On such occasions the individuals, often collected in
great numbers, take up the time chiefly in pluming themselves, in which
occupation they continue for hours.
I must conclude with assuring you that in my opinion, no difference
whatever exists between the Bank Swallow of America and that of Europe.
The birds from which I made the drawing for my plate were procured on
the banks of the Schuylkil River in 1824.
HIRUNDO RIPARIA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 344.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 575.—_Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis, p. 65.
BANK SWALLOW or SAND MARTIN, HIRUNDO RIPARIA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. v. p. 46, pl. 38, fig. 4.
HIRUNDO RIPARIA, THE SAND MARTIN, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii p. 333.
BANK SWALLOW, or SAND MARTIN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p.
607.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 1.
Bill very short, much depressed and very broad at the base, compressed
toward the point, of a triangular form with the lateral outlines
concave, when viewed from above or beneath; upper mandible with the
dorsal line considerably convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and
overlapping, with a slight but distinct notch close to the deflected
tip; lower mandible with the angle very broad, the dorsal line
ascending and convex, the ridge broad and flat at the base, narrowed
toward the tip, which is acute, the edges inflected. Nostrils basal,
lateral, oblong.
Head of ordinary size, roundish, depressed; neck short; body slender.
Feet very small; tarsus very short, anteriorly scutellate, moderately
compressed, with a tuft of feathers behind at the lower part; toes
free, small, the lateral equal, the first much stronger; claws long,
slightly arched, much compressed, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended, without lustre. Wings very long, extending a
little beyond the tail, very narrow, slightly falciform; the primaries
tapering to an obtuse-point, the first quill longest, the second half a
twelfth shorter, the third four and a quarter twelfths shorter than the
second, the rest rapidly graduated; six of the secondaries distinctly
emarginate. Tail rather long, deeply emarginate, the feathers tapering
to an obtuse point.
Bill brownish-black. Iris hazel. Feet flesh-coloured, claws dusky.
The upper parts are greyish-brown, or mouse colour, the head and
wing-coverts darker, as are the primary coverts, primary quills, and
outer secondaries, of which the shafts are dusky above, white beneath.
The lower parts are white; the cheeks, a broad band across the lower
part of the neck and fore part of the breast, and the sides under the
wings, greyish-brown. The tail-feathers are very narrowly edged with a
lighter tint, the outer with whitish.
Length to end of tail 5 inches, to end of wings 5-1/4, to end of claws
4-1/8; extent of wings 11; bill along the ridge 3/12, along the edge of
lower mandible (6-1/2)/12; wing from flexure 4-2/12; tail to the fork
1-11/12; to the end 2-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 5/12; hind toe (2-1/4)/12; its
claw (3-1/2)/12; middle toe (4-3/4)/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 2.
The Female cannot be distinguished from the male by any difference in
her external appearance.
Length to end of tail 4-7/8 inches, to end of wings 5-1/4, to end of
claws 4.
Young. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 3.
The young when fully fledged, have the bill dusky, with the edges
yellow, the feet flesh-coloured, the claws yellowish. The colour of
the upper parts is darker, but the feathers are margined with light
greyish-brown; the quills brownish-black, the outer very faintly, the
inner broadly margined; the tail-feathers greyish-black, edged with
greyish-white. The lower parts are white, the throat faintly streaked
with dusky; the band across the breast, and the sides, coloured as in
the adult, but darker.
On very carefully comparing skins of this Swallow, with a series
of those of the Bank Swallow of Europe, procured for me by my
esteemed friend, THOMAS DURHAM WEIR of Boghead, Esq. an enthusiastic
and successful observer of the habits of birds, I can perceive no
difference whatever. Old birds compared with old, and young with young,
prove perfectly similar. There is, however, another species closely
allied to the present, and which might very readily be confounded with
it. This species, to which I give the name of Rough-winged Swallow,
_Hirundo serripennis_, I consider it expedient to describe, although it
has not as yet been figured by me.
In a male of the present species, from Boston, the palate is flat, the
mouth very wide, measuring 5 twelfths across. The tongue is short,
triangular, 2-1/2 twelfths long, deeply emarginate and papillate at
the base, two of the lateral papillæ much larger than the rest, the
tip bluntish and slightly slit. The œsophagus, _a b c_, is 1 inch
9 twelfths long, narrow, 2 twelfths in diameter, without crop or
dilatation. The proventriculus, _b_, is little enlarged. The stomach,
_cdef_, a gizzard of moderate length, with distinct lateral muscles,
and of an elliptical form, is half an inch long, and 5 twelfths
broad; its epithelium longitudinally rugous, tough, and light red. It
is filled with remains of insects. The intestine, _f g h_, is 5-1/2
inches long, its greatest diameter 1-1/2 twelfth; the cœca very small,
being 1-1/2 twelfth long, and 1/2 twelfth in diameter, their distance
from the anus 9 twelfths. There is no essential difference between
the digestive organs of this and other swallows, and the Flycatchers,
Warblers, and other slender-billed birds.
[Illustration]
The trachea is 1 inch 4 twelfths long; slender, flattened, of about
55 unossified rings. The contractor and sterno-tracheal muscles are
slender; and there are four pairs of inferior laryngeal muscles
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.
_HIRUNDO SERRIPENNIS._
On the afternoon of the 20th of October 1819, I was walking along
the shores of a forest-margined lake, a few miles from Bayou Sara,
in pursuit of some Ibises, when I observed a flock of small Swallows
bearing so great a resemblance to our common Sand Martin, that I at
first paid little attention to them. The Ibises proving too wild to be
approached, I relinquished the pursuit, and being fatigued by a long
day’s exertion, I leaned against a tree, and gazed on the Swallows,
wishing that I could travel with as much ease and rapidity as they,
and thus return to my family as readily as they could to their winter
quarters. How it happened I cannot now recollect, but I thought of
shooting some of them, perhaps to see how expert I might prove on other
occasions. Off went a shot, and down came one of the birds, which my
dog brought to me between his lips. Another, a third, a fourth, and at
last a fifth were procured. The ever-continuing desire of comparing one
bird with another led me to take them up. I thought them rather large,
and therefore placed them in my bag, and proceeded slowly toward the
plantation of WILLIAM PERRY, Esq., with whom I had for a time taken up
my residence.
The bill and feet of the Swallows were pure black, and both, I thought,
were larger than in the Sand Martin; but differences like these I
seldom hold in much estimation, well knowing from long experience,
that individuals of any species may vary in these respects. I was
more startled when I saw not a vestige of the short feathers usually
found near the junction of the hind toe with the tarsus in the common
species, and equally so when I observed that the bird in my hand had
a nearly even tail, with broad rounded feathers, the outer destitute
of the narrow margin of white. At this time my observations went no
farther.
Doubts have been expressed by learned ornithologists respecting the
identity of the Common Sand Martin of America and that of Europe.
Some of them in their treatises write _Hirundo riparia?_ or _Cotyle
riparia?_ which in my opinion is foolish, especially if no reason be
given for appending so crooked a character. About two years ago, my
friend the Rev. JOHN BACHMAN, sent me four Swallow’s eggs accompanied
with a letter, in which was the following notice:—“Two pairs of
Swallows resembling the Sand Martin, have built their nests for two
years in succession in the walls of an unfinished brick house at
Charleston, in the holes where the scaffoldings had been placed. It
is believed here that there are two species of these birds.” The eggs
which my friend sent me differ greatly from those of our Common Sand
Martin, being so much longer, larger, and more pointed, that I might
have felt inclined to suppose them to belong to the European Swift,
_Cypselus murarius_. But of the birds which had laid them no particular
account was given. Time has passed; and during the while I have been
anxious to meet again with such Swallows as I had shot near Bayou Sara,
as well as to determine whether our Common Sand Martin be the same as
that of Europe. And now, Reader, I am at last able to say, that the
Sand Martin or Bank Swallow, _Hirundo riparia_, is common to Europe and
America; and further, that a species, confounded with it in the latter
country, is perfectly distinct.
I perhaps should never have discovered the differences existing between
these species had I not been spurred by the remarks of VIEILLOT, who,
in expressing his doubts as to their identity, and perhaps holding
in his hand the bird here spoken of, says that the tarsus is much
larger than in the European Sand Martin. I have been surprised that
these doubts did not awaken in others a desire to inquire into the
subject. Had this been done, however, I should probably have lost an
opportunity of adding another new species to those to whose nomination
I can lay claim, not to speak of such as, although well known to me
previous to their having been published by others, I have lost the
right of naming because I had imparted my knowledge of them to those
who were more anxious of obtaining this sort of celebrity. I have now
in my possession one pair of these Swallows procured by myself in South
Carolina during my last visit to that State. Of their peculiar habits I
can say nothing; but, owing to their being less frequent than the Sand
Martin, I am inclined to believe that their most habitual residence may
prove to be far to the westward, perhaps in the valleys of the Columbia
River.
I regret that I have not figured this species, though it would have
proved exceedingly difficult to exhibit in an engraving the peculiar
character presented by the outer quill, unless it were much magnified.
The specific characters of these two Swallows, so nearly allied, are as
follows:—
_Hirundo riparia._ Tail, Fig. 1, slightly forked, margin of first
quill smooth, tarsus with a tuft of feathers behind; upper parts
greyish-brown, lower whitish, with a dusky band across the fore part of
the neck.
_Hirundo serripennis._ Tail, Fig. 2, slightly emarginate, margin of
first quill, Fig. 3, rough with the strong decurved tips of the barbs,
tarsus bare; upper parts greyish-brown, lower pale greyish-brown, white
behind.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 3._]
In its general appearance, including proportions as well as colour,
the Rough-winged Swallow is extremely similar to the Bank Swallow. It
differs however in having the bill considerably longer, more attenuated
toward the end, with the point of the upper mandible more decurved.
The tail, Fig. 2, is shorter and but slightly emarginate, the lateral
exceeding the middle feathers by only two-twelfths of an inch, whereas
in the other species they exceed them by five-twelfths or even six;
feathers are also broader and more rounded at the end. The wings are
longer, and extend half an inch beyond the tail. The tarsi and toes are
somewhat longer and more slender, and there are no feathers on the hind
part of the tarsus as in the common species; the claws are much more
slender.
The bill is black, the tarsi, toes, and claws dusky. The upper parts
are of the same greyish-brown, or mouse-colour, as those of the Bank
Swallow. The lower are of a very light greyish-brown, gradually paler
on the hind parts, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts being white.
Length to end of tail 5-3/4 inches, to end of wings 6-1/4; extent of
wings 12-1/2; bill along the ridge (3-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower
mandible (6-1/2)/12; wing from flexure 4-4/12; tail to end of middle
feather 1-10/12; to end of longest feather 2; tarsus 5/12; hind toe
(2-1/4)/12, its claw (2-1/4)/12; middle toe 5/12, its claw (3-1/4)/12.
In a specimen, from Charleston, South Carolina, preserved in spirits,
the roof of the mouth is flat, the width of the gape 5-1/2 twelfths;
the tongue triangular, 3-1/2 twelfths long, emarginate and papillate
at the base, with two of the papillæ much larger, flat above, tapering
to a slit point, more narrow and elongated than that of the Sand
Swallow. The œsophagus is 1 inch 11 twelfths long, without dilatation,
its breadth 1-1/2 twelfth. The stomach is elliptical, muscular, 5
twelfths long, being 4-1/2 twelfths, and placed a little obliquely;
the epithelium brownish-red, tough, longitudinally rugous, filled with
remains of insects. The intestine is 4-1/2 inches long; the cœca 1-1/2
twelfth in length, and 8 twelfths distant from the anus.
The trachea is 1 inch 4 twelfths long, its diameter 1 twelfth; its
rings about 50; the muscles as in the other species; the bronchi very
slender, of about 12 half rings.
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.
_HIRUNDO THALASSINA_, SWAINSON.
PLATE CCCLXXXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
Of this, the most beautiful Swallow hitherto discovered within the
limits of the United States, the following account has been transmitted
to me by my friend Mr NUTTALL. “We first met with this elegant
species within the table-land of the Rocky Mountains, and they were
particularly abundant around our encampment on Harris Fork, a branch
of the Colorado of the west. They are nearly always associated with
the Cliff Swallow, here likewise particularly numerous. Their flight
and habits are also similar, but their twitter is different, and not
much unlike the note of our Barn Swallow. In the Rocky Mountains,
near our camp, we observed them to go in and out of deserted nests of
the Cliff Swallow, which they appeared to occupy in place of building
nests of their own. We saw this species afterwards flying familiarly
about in the vicinity of a farm-house (M. LE BOUTE’s) on an elevated
small isolated prairie on the banks of the Wahlamet, and as there are
no cliffs in the vicinity, they probably here breed in trees, as I
observed the White-bellied Martin do. This beautiful species in all
probability extends its limits from hence to the table-land of Mexico,
where Mr BULLOCH, it seems, found it.”
Dr TOWNSEND, who afterwards had better opportunities of observing the
habits of this bird, thus speaks of it:—“_Aguila chin chin_ of the
Chinook Indians, inhabits the neighbourhood of the Colorado of the
west, and breeds along its margins on bluffs of clay, where it attaches
a nest formed of mud and grasses resembling in some measure that of
the Cliff Swallow, but wanting the pendulous neck in that of the latter
species. The eggs are four, of a dark clay colour, with a few spots of
reddish-brown at the larger end. This species is also found abundant
on the lower waters of the Columbia. River, where _it breeds in hollow
trees_.”
Dr TOWNSEND also informs me that in the neighbourhood of the Columbia
River, the Cliff Swallow attaches its nest to the trunks of trees,
making it of the same form and materials as elsewhere. From the above
facts, and many equally curious, which I have mentioned, respecting the
variations exhibited by birds in the manner of forming their nests, as
well as in their size, materials, and situation, it will be seen that
differences of this kind are not of so much importance as has hitherto
been supposed, in establishing distinctions between species supposed
by some to be different, and by others identical. To give you some
definite idea of what I would here impress upon your mind, I need only
say that I have seen nests of the Barn or Chimney Swallow placed within
buildings, under cattle-sheds, against the sides of wells, and in
chimneys; that while some were not more than three inches deep, others
measured nearly nine; while in some there was scarcely any grass, in
others it formed nearly half of their bulk. I have also observed some
nests of the Cliff Swallow in which the eggs had been deposited before
the pendent neck was added, and which remained so until the birds had
reared their brood, amidst other nests furnished with a neck, which
was much longer in some than in others. From this I have inferred
that nests are formed more or less completely, in many instances, in
accordance with the necessity under which the bird may be of depositing
its eggs.
HIRUNDO THALASSINUS, _Swains._ Synopsis of Mexican Birds,
Philos. Mag. for 1827, p. 365.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 4.
Bill very short, much depressed and very broad at the base, compressed
toward the point, of a triangular form, with the lateral outlines
nearly straight; upper mandible with the dorsal line considerably
convex, the sides convex toward the end, the edges sharp and
overlapping, with a slight but distinct notch close to the deflected
acute tip; lower mandible with the angle very broad, the dorsal line
ascending and slightly convex, the ridge broad and a little convex
at the base, narrowed toward the tip, which is acute. Nostrils basal,
lateral oblong.
Head rather large, roundish; neck very short; body slender. Feet very
small; tarsus very short, anteriorly scutellate, compressed; toes
free, small, the lateral equal, the first stronger; claws rather long,
arched, much compressed, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended, on the upper parts somewhat velvety. Wings
very long, extending far beyond the tail, very narrow, slightly
falciform; the primaries tapering to an obtuse point; the first quill
longest, the second almost equal, the rest rapidly diminishing; six of
the secondaries emarginate. Tail of moderate length, emarginate, the
middle feathers four-twelfths shorter than the lateral; all rounded.
Bill black; iris brown; feet dusky. The upper part of the head deep
green gradually shaded into the dark purple of the hind neck; the back
rich grass-green, the rump and upper tail-coverts carmine purple. The
smaller wing-coverts are dusky, broadly tipped with green, glossed
with purple; the quills and larger coverts dusky, glossed with blue;
the tail also dusky, glossed with blue. A line over the eye, the
cheeks, and all the lower parts, are pure white excepting the lower
wing-coverts, which are light grey.
Length to end of tail 4-10/12, to end of wings 5-7/12; bill along the
ridge (2-3/4)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 5/12; wing from
flexure 4-6/12; tail to end of middle feathers 1-1/2, to end of longest
1-((10-1/2)/12); tarsus (4-3/4)/12; hind toe 2/12, its claw 2/12;
middle toe (5-1/2)/12, its claw 2/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXV. Fig. 5.
The Female is somewhat smaller, and differs considerably in colour.
The upper part of the head and the hind neck are light greyish-brown
glossed with bronzed green; the back bright green as in the male, the
rump greyish-brown; the wings and tail are as in the male, but less
glossy; as are the lower parts, which are, however, anteriorly tinged
with grey.
Length to end of tail 4-7/12, to end of wings 5; wing from flexure
4-1/4, tail 1-((8-1/2)/12).
GREAT AMERICAN EGRET.
_ARDEA EGRETTA_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXXVI. MALE.
In the third volume of this work, I have already intimated that the
truly elegant Heron which now comes to be described, is a constant
resident in the Floridas, that it migrates eastward sometimes as far
as the State of Massachusetts, and up the Mississippi to the city of
Natchez, and, lastly, that it is never seen far inland, by which I mean
that its rambles into the interior seldom extend to more than fifty
miles from the sea-shore, unless along the course of our great rivers.
I have now to add that on my way to the Texas, in the spring of 1837,
I found these birds in several places along the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico, and on several of the islands scattered around that named
Galveston, where, as well as in the Floridas, I was told that they
spend the winter.
The Great American Egret breeds along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico,
and our Atlantic States, from Galveston Island in the Texas to the
borders of the State of New York, beyond which, although stragglers
have been seen, none, in so far as I can ascertain, have been known
to breed. In all low districts that are marshy and covered with large
trees, on the margins of ponds or lakes, the sides of bayous, or
gloomy swamps covered with water, are the places to which it generally
resorts during the period of reproduction; although I have in a few
instances met with their nests on low trees, and on sandy islands
at a short distance from the main land. As early as December I have
observed vast numbers congregated, as if for the purpose of making
choice of partners, when the addresses of the males were paid in a
very curious and to me interesting manner. Near the plantation of JOHN
BULOW, Esq. in East Florida, I had the pleasure of witnessing this sort
of tournament or dress-ball from a place of concealment not more than
a hundred yards distant. The males, in strutting round the females,
swelled their throats, as Cormorants do at times, emitted gurgling
sounds, and raising their long plumes almost erect, paced majestically
before the fair ones of their choice. Although these snowy beaux were a
good deal irritated by jealousy, and conflicts now and then took place,
the whole time I remained, much less fighting was exhibited than I had
expected from what I had already seen in the case of the Great Blue
Heron, _Ardea Herodias_. These meetings took place about ten o’clock
in the morning, or after they had all enjoyed a good breakfast, and
continued until nearly three in the afternoon, when, separating into
flocks of eight or ten individuals, they flew off to search for food.
These manœuvres were continued nearly a week, and I could with ease,
from a considerable distance mark the spot, which was a clear sand-bar,
by the descent of the separate small flocks previous to their alighting
there.
The flight of this species is in strength intermediate between that of
_Ardea Herodias_ and _A. rufescens_, and is well sustained. On foot
its movements are as graceful as those of the Louisiana Heron, its
steps measured, its long neck gracefully retracted and curved, and its
silky train reminded one of the flowing robes of the noble ladies of
Europe. The train of this Egret, like that of other species, makes its
appearance a few weeks previous to the love season, continues to grow
and increase in beauty, until incubation has commenced, after which
period it deteriorates, and at length disappears about the time when
the young birds leave the nest, when, were it not for the difference
in size, it would be difficult to distinguish them from their parents.
Should you however closely examine the upper plumage of an old bird
of either sex, for both possess the train, you will discover that its
feathers still exist, although shortened and deprived of most of their
filaments. Similar feathers are seen in all other Herons that have a
largely developed train in the breeding season. Even the few plumes
hanging from the hind part of the _Ardea Herodias_, _A. Nycticorax_,
and _A. violacea_, are subject to the same rule; and it is curious
to see these ornaments becoming more or less apparent, according to
the latitude in which these birds breed, their growth being completed
in the southern part of Florida two months sooner than in our Middle
Districts.
The American Egrets leave the Floridas almost simultaneously about the
1st of March, and soon afterwards reach Georgia and South Carolina,
but rarely the State of New Jersey, before the middle of May. In these
parts the young are able to fly by the 1st of August. On the Mule
Keys off the coast of Florida, I have found the young well grown by
the 8th of May; but in South Carolina they are rarely hatched until
toward the end of that month or the beginning of June. In these more
southern parts two broods are often raised in a season, but in the
Jerseys there is, I believe, never more than one. While travelling,
early in spring, between Savannah in Georgia and Charleston in South
Carolina, I saw many of these Egrets on the large rice plantations,
and felt some surprise at finding them much wilder at that period of
their migrations than after they have settled in some locality for the
purpose of breeding. I have supposed this to be caused by the change
of their _thoughts_ on such occasions, and am of opinion that birds of
all kinds become more careless of themselves. As the strength of their
attachment toward their mates or progeny increases through the process
of time, as is the case with the better part of our own species, lovers
and parents performing acts of heroism, which individuals having no
such attachment to each other would never dare to contemplate. In these
birds the impulse of affection is so great, that when they have young
they allow themselves to be approached, so as often to fall victims to
the rapacity of man, who, boasting of reason and benevolence, ought at
such a time to respect their devotion.
The American Egrets are much attached to their roosting places,
to which they remove from their feeding grounds regularly about an
hour before the last glimpse of day; and I cannot help expressing my
disbelief in the vulgar notion of birds of this family usually feeding
by night, as I have never observed them so doing even in countries
where they were most abundant. Before sunset the Egrets and other
Herons (excepting perhaps the Bitterns and Night Herons) leave their
feeding grounds in small flocks, often composed of only a single
family, and proceed on wing in the most direct course, at a moderate
height, to some secure retreat more or less distant, according to the
danger they may have to guard against. Flock after flock may be seen
repairing from all quarters to these places of repose, which one may
readily discover by observing their course.
Approach and watch them. Some hundreds have reached the well-known
rendezvous. After a few gratulations you see them lower their bodies
on the stems of the trees or bushes on which they have alighted, fold
their necks, place their heads beneath the scapular feathers, and
adjust themselves for repose. Daylight returns, and they are all in
motion. The arrangement of their attire is not more neglected by them
than by the most fashionable fops, but they spend less time at the
toilet. Their rough notes are uttered more loudly than in the evening,
and after a very short lapse of time they spread their snowy pinions,
and move in different directions, to search for fiddlers, fish, insects
of all sorts, small quadrupeds or birds, snails, and reptiles, all of
which form the food of this species.
The nest of the Great White Egret, whether placed in a cypress one
hundred and thirty feet high, or on a mangrove not six feet above the
water, whether in one of those dismal swamps swarming with loathsome
reptiles, or by the margin of the clear blue waters that bathe the Keys
of Florida, is large, flat, and composed of sticks, often so loosely
put together as to make you wonder how it can hold, besides itself, the
three young ones which this species and all the larger Herons have at
a brood. In a few instances only have I found it compactly built, it
being the first nest formed by its owners. It almost always overhangs
the water, and is resorted to and repaired year after year by the same
pair. The eggs, which are never more than three, measure two inches
and a quarter in length, an inch and five-eighths in breadth, and when
newly laid are smooth, and of a pale blue colour, but afterwards become
roughish and faded. When the nest is placed on a tall tree, the young
remain in it, or on its borders, until they are able to fly; but when
on a low tree or bush, they leave it much sooner, being capable of
moving along the branches without fear of being injured by falling, and
knowing that should they slip into the water they can easily extricate
themselves by striking with their legs until they reach either the
shore or the nearest bush, by clinging to the stem, of which they soon
ascend to the top.
This Egret is shy and vigilant at all times, seldom allowing a person
to come near unless during the breeding season. If in a rice-field of
some extent, and at some distance from its margins, where cover can be
obtained, you need not attempt to approach it; but if you are intent
on procuring it, make for some tree, and desire your friend to start
the bird. If you are well concealed, you may almost depend on obtaining
one in a few minutes, for the Egrets will perhaps alight within twenty
yards or less of you. Once, when I was very desirous of making a new
drawing of this bird, my friend JOHN BACHMAN followed this method, and
between us we carried home several superb specimens.
The long plumes of this bird being in request for ornamental purposes,
they are shot in great numbers while sitting on their eggs, or soon
after the appearance of the young. I know a person who, on offering a
double-barrelled gun to a gentlemen near Charleston, for one hundred
White Herons fresh killed, received that number and more the next day.
The Great Egret breeds in company with the Anhinga, the Great Blue
Heron, and other birds of this family. The Turkey Buzzards and the
Crows commit dreadful havoc among its young, as well as those of
the other species. My friend JOHN BACHMAN gives me the following
account of his visit to one of its breeding places, at the “Round
O,” a plantation about forty miles from Charleston: “Our company was
composed of BENJAMIN LOGAN, S. LEE, and Dr MARTIN. We were desirous
of obtaining some of the Herons as specimens for stuffing, and the
ladies were anxious to procure many of their primary feathers for
the purpose of making fans. The trees were high, from a hundred to a
hundred and thirty feet, and our shot was not of the right size; but
we commenced firing at the birds, and soon discovered that we had a
prospect of success. Each man took his tree, and loaded and fired as
fast as he could. Many of the birds lodged on the highest branches of
the cypresses, others fell into the nest, and, in most cases, when
shot from a limb, where they had been sitting, they clung to it for
some time before they would let go. One thing surprised me: it was the
length of time it took for a bird to fall from the place where it was
shot, and it fell with a loud noise into the water. Many wounded birds
fell some distance off, and we could not conveniently follow them on
account of the heavy wading through the place. We brought home with us
forty-six of the large White Herons, and three of the great Blues. Many
more might have been killed, but we became tired of shooting them.”
ARDEA EGRETTA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 629.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 694.
ARDEA ALBA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 304.
GREAT WHITE HERON, ARDEA EGRETTA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 106, pl. 61, fig. 1.
ARDEA EGRETTA, _Wagler_, Syst. Avium,—GREAT WHITE HERON,
_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 47.
ARDEA LEUCE, _Illiger_, _Lichtenstein_.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCLXXXVI.
Bill much longer than the head, straight, compressed, tapering to
a point, the mandibles nearly equal. Upper mandible with the dorsal
line nearly straight, the ridge broad and slightly convex at the base,
narrowed and becoming rather acute towards the end, a groove from the
base to two-thirds of the length, beneath which the sides are convex,
the edges thin and sharp, with a notch close to the acute tip. Nostrils
basal, linear, longitudinal, with a membrane above and behind. Lower
mandible with the angle extremely narrow and elongated, the dorsal line
beyond it ascending and almost straight, the edges sharp and direct,
the tip acuminate.
Head small, oblong, compressed. Neck very long and slender. Body
slender and compressed. Feet very long, tibia elongated, its lower half
bare, slender, covered anteriorly and laterally with hexagonal scales,
posteriorly with scutella; tarsus elongated, compressed, covered
anteriorly with numerous scutella, some of which are divided laterally
and posteriorly with angular scales. Toes of moderate length, rather
slender, scutellate above, granulate beneath; third toe considerably
longer than the fourth, which exceeds the second; the first large; the
claws of moderate length, rather strong, arched, compressed, rather
acute, that of the hind toe much larger, the inner edge of that of the
third regularly pectinated.
Space between the bill and eye, and around the latter, bare. Plumage
soft, blended; the feathers oblong, with their filaments generally
disunited, unless on the wings and tail. There is no crest on the head,
but the feathers on its upper and hind part are slightly elongated;
those on the lower part of the neck anteriorly are elongated; and from
between the scapulæ arises a tuft of extremely long, slightly decurved
feathers, which extend about ten inches beyond the end of the tail,
and have the shaft slightly undulated, the filaments long and distant.
The wing is of moderate length; the primaries tapering but rounded, the
second and third longest, the first slightly shorter than the fourth;
the secondaries broad and rounded, some of the inner as long as the
longest primaries, when the wing is closed. Tail very short, small,
slightly rounded, of twelve rather weak feathers.
Bill bright yellow, as is the bare space between it and the eye; iris
pale yellow; feet and claws black. The plumage is pure white.
Length to end of tail 37 inches, to end of claws 49, to end of wings
57-1/4, to carpus 23-1/2, to end of dorsal plumes 57; bill along
the ridge 4-7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 5-5/12; wing from
flexure 16-1/2; tail 6-1/4; extent of wings 55; bare part of tibia
3-1/2; tarsus 6-1/12; hind toe 1-1/2, its claw 1-2/12; second toe
2-8/12, its claw 7/12; third toe 3-11/12, its claw 9/12; fourth toe
3-2/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12. Weight 2-1/4 lb.
The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat smaller.
[Illustration]
The roof of the mouth is slightly concave, with a median and two
lateral longitudinal ridges, the palate convex, the posterior aperture
of the nares linear, without an anterior slit. The mouth is rather
narrow, measuring only 8 twelfths across, but is dilatable to 1-1/2
inch, the branches of the lower mandible being very elastic. The
aperture of the ear is very small, being 2 twelfths in diameter,
and roundish. The œsophagus is 2 feet 2 inches long, 1 inch and 4
twelfths in diameter, extremely thin, the longitudinal fibres within
the transverse, the inner coat raised into numerous longitudinal
ridges. The œsophagus continues of uniform diameter, and passes as
it were directly into the stomach, there being no enlargement at its
termination indicative of the proventriculus, which however exists, but
in a modified form, there being at the termination of the gullet eight
longitudinal series of large mucous crypts, about half an inch long,
and immediately afterwards a continuous belt, 1-1/2 inch in breadth,
of small cylindrical mucous crypts with minute apertures. Beyond this
the stomach forms a hemispherical sac 1-1/2 inch in diameter, of a
membranous structure, having externally beneath the cellular coat a
layer of slender muscular fibres, convex towards two roundish tendons,
and internally a soft, thin, smooth lining, perforated by innumerable
minute apertures of glandules. The intestine is very long and extremely
slender, measuring 6 feet 7 inches in length, its average diameter 2
twelfths. The rectum, _b d f_, is 3 inches long; the cloaca, _d e f_,
globular, 1-1/2 inch in diameter; the cœcum, _c_, single, as in the
other Herons, 3 twelfths long, and nearly 2 twelfths in diameter.
The trachea is 1 foot 9-1/4 inches long, of nearly uniform diameter,
flattened a little for about half its length, its greatest breadth
3-1/2 twelfths; the rings 285, the last four rings divided and arched.
The contractor muscles are extremely thin, the sterno-tracheal
moderate, and coming off at the distance of 1 inch from the lower
extremity, from which place also there proceeds to the two last rings a
pair of slender inferior laryngeal muscles. The bronchi are very short,
of about two half rings.
TAPAYAXIN.
The animal represented on the plate is the _Tapayaxin_ of Hernandez,
_Phrynosoma orbicularis_ of WIEGMANN, _Tapaya orbicularis_ of CUVIER.
The specimen from which it was drawn was entrusted to my care by my
friend RICHARD HARLAN, M. D., to whom it was presented by Mr NUTTALL,
who found it in California. A notice respecting this species by Dr
HARLAN will be found in the American Journal of Science and Arts, vol.
xxxi.
GLOSSY IBIS.
_IBIS FALCINELLUS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCLXXXVII. MALE.
The first intimation of the existence of this beautiful species of
Ibis within the limits of the United States is due to Mr GEORGE ORD
of Philadelphia, the friend and companion of the celebrated ALEXANDER
WILSON. It was described by him in the first volume of the Journal of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. He states that “on the
seventh of May of the present year (1817), Mr THOMAS SAY received from
Mr ORAM, of Great Egg Harbour, a fine specimen of _Tantalus_, which
had been shot there. It is the first instance which has come to my
knowledge of this species having been found in the United States. I was
informed that a recent specimen of this bird was, likewise in the month
of May, presented to the Baltimore Museum, and that two individuals
were killed in the district of Columbia.” In the sequel Mr ORD compares
it with Dr LATHAM’s account of the _Tantalus Mexicanus_ of that author,
and conjectures that it is the same.
It is not a little curious to see the changes of opinion that have
taken place within these few years among naturalists who have thought
of comparing American and European specimens of the birds which
have been alleged to be the same in both continents. The Prince of
MUSIGNANO, for example, who has given a figure of the very individual
mentioned by Mr ORD, thought at the time when he published the fourth
volume of his continuation of WILSON’s American Ornithology, that
our Glossy Ibis was the one described by the older European writers
under the name of _Ibis Falcinellus_. Now, however, having altered his
notions so far as to seem desirous of proving that the same species
of bird cannot exist on both the continents, he has latterly produced
it anew under the name of _Ibis Ordi_. This new name I cannot with
any degree of propriety adopt. I consider it no compliment to the
discoverer of a bird to reject the name which he has given it, even for
the purpose of calling it after himself.
The Glossy Ibis is of exceedingly rare occurrence in the United States,
where it appears only at long and irregular intervals, like a wanderer
who has lost his way. It exists in Mexico, however, in vast numbers.
In the spring of 1837, I saw flocks of it in the Texas; but even there
it is merely a summer resident, associating with the White Ibis, along
the grassy margins of the rivers and bayous, and apparently going to
and returning from its roosting places in the interior of the country.
Its flight resembles that of its companion, the White Ibis, and it is
probable that it feeds on the same kinds of crustaceous animals, and
breeds on low bushes in the same great associations as that species,
but we unfortunately had no opportunity of verifying this conjecture.
Mr NUTTALL, in his Ornithology of the United States and Canada, says
that “a specimen has occasionally been exposed for sale in the market
of Boston.”
I have given the figure of a male bird in superb plumage, procured in
Florida, near a wood-cutter’s cabin, a view of which is also given.
TANTALUS FALCINELLUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
241.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii, p. 707.
IBIS FALCINELLUS, _Vieill._ Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
311.—_Wagler_, Syst. Avium.
GLOSSY IBIS, IBIS FALCINELLUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. iv. p. 23.
TANTALUS IGNEUS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 649.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 708. Adult.
TANTALUS VIRIDIS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 648.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 707. Young.
NUMENIUS CASTANEUS, _Briss._ vol. v. p. 329. Adult.
NUMENIUS VIRIDIS, _Briss_. vol. v. p. 326. Young.
TANTALUS MEXICANUS? _Ord_, Journal of Acad. of Sciences of
Philadelphia, vol. i. p. 53.
BAY or GLOSSY IBIS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 88.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXVII.
Bill very long, slender, higher than broad, compressed, tapering,
acute, obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line arched in its whole
length, the ridge convex, broader towards the end, the sides at the
base nearly erect, towards the end very convex and narrow, the ridge
separated in its whole length from the sides by a deep narrow groove,
the edges inflected and sharp. Nostrils basal, dorsal, linear, direct.
Lower mandible more slender than the upper, its angle very narrow, and
protracted in the form of a groove to the tip, the sides convex, the
edges sharp, but strong and closely approximated, bearing only a very
narrow groove between them.
Head small, compressed, oblong; neck long and slender; body slender,
deeper than broad; wings rather large. Feet very long, slender; tibia
long, bare about half its length, and covered all round with hexagonal
scales; tarsi long, slender, anteriorly covered with numerous broad
scutella, laterally with angular scales, beneath flattened, with thick
soft margins; the anterior connected at the base by membranes, of which
the outer is large; claws rather small, slightly arched, compressed,
tapering, pointed, that of the middle toe with a sharp thin edge.
There is a bare space margining the forehead, occupying the part before
the eye, and extending a little beyond it. Feathers of the head and
neck slender lanceolate; those of the former glossy and compact, of
the latter blended, as are those of the breast and abdomen, which are
ovate. The upper parts highly glossed, with silky lustre, the feathers
generally ovate and rounded. Wings long, ample, the first primary
a quarter of an inch shorter than the second, which is two-twelfths
longer than the third, the rest moderately graduated; the first sinuate
on the inner web near the end, the second less deeply so; some of the
inner secondaries elongated, but rounded, and when the wing is closed
an inch and ten-twelfths shorter than the longest primary. Tail short,
very slightly emarginate, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill black; bare part of the head greyish-blue; iris hazel; feet
greyish-black, claws brown. The upper part and sides of the head are
dark glossy, with purplish reflections. The neck, a portion of the
back anteriorly, the breast, abdomen, and legs, are of a deep rich
brownish-red, or dark chestnut; part of the breast shaded with green,
the sides dusky tinged with green, as are the lower wing-coverts, and
lower tail-coverts. Excepting the anterior edge of the wing, and the
anterior scapulars, which are deep glossy brownish-red, the upper parts
are splendent dark green, glossed with purple; the primaries black,
shaded with green; the tail glossy with purple reflections.
Length to end of tail 25 inches; to end of claws 30-1/2; bill along
the ridge 5-4/12, along the edge of lower mandible 5-2/12; wing from
flexure 11-1/4; tail 4-1/4; bare part of tibia 2-1/2; hind toe 1-1/12,
its claw (5-1/4)/12; second toe 1-11/12, its claw (6-1/4)/12; third toe
2-8/12, its claw 7/12; fourth toe 2-4/12, its claw 5/12.
The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat less.
The young in its second plumage, has the bill dusky, tinged with
yellow, the bare part of the head dusky; the feet blackish-brown, the
head, neck and lower parts are greyish-brown, the head and greater part
of the neck marked with small longitudinal streaks of white, of which
there are two on each feather. All the upper parts are blackish-green,
glossy in a less degree than those of the adult.
On comparing adult American specimens with others obtained on the
old continent, I can perceive no difference between them. A young
Mexican bird, and one from India, are also precisely similar. I cannot
therefore entertain a doubt as to the identity of our bird with the
_Tantalus Falcinellus_ of LATHAM and other European writers, which has
been shewn by SAVIGNY to be the Black Ibis of the ancients.
SUBSCRIBERS TO “THE BIRDS OF AMERICA,”
OBTAINED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
Miss Elizabeth L. Pickman, Salem, Massachusetts.
The Salem Atheneum, Salem, Massachusetts.
Augustus Thorndike, Esq. Boston, Massachusetts.
J. J. Hughes, Esq. Manchester, Mississippi.
John Hunt, Esq. Mobile, Alabama.
L. Baldwin, Esq. Civil Engineer, Boston.
The Honourable Daniel Webster, Boston.
Samuel Swartout, Esq. New York.
James Watson Webb, Esq. New York.
Thomas H. Faile, Esq. New York.
Lewis Rogers, Esq. New York.
Henry Hitchcock, Mobile, Alabama.
Jer. Van Rensselaer, Esq. M. D., New York.
The Honourable Levy Woodbury, Washington City, for the State
Departments.
Stephen A. Halsey, Hallet’s Cove, Long Island.
The State of Michigan, by Governor Mason.
Thomas Metcalf, Esq. Augusta, Georgia.
Henry Clay, junior, Esq. Ashland, Kentucky.
H. C. De Rham, junior, Esq. New York.
Benjamin Phillips, Esq., F.R.S.L., &c. &c. &c. 17 Wimpole
Street, London.
Henry G. Bohn, Esq., London.
John Gould, Esq. F.L.S., &c. London.
Charles J. Warde, Esq. Welcomb, near Stratford-on-Avon.
The British Museum, London.
His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, &c. &c. &c.
Earl Hardwicke, &c. &c. &c. Wimpole, Arlington, Cambridge.
Sir Jacob Hastley, Bart., &c. &c. 7 Cavendish Square, London.
INDEX.
Page
Alea impennis, 316
American Avoset, 168
—— Bittern, 296
—— Dipper, 493
—— Ring Plover, 256
—— White Pelican, 88
—— Widgeon, 337
Anas americana, 237
—— Breweri, 302
—— clypeata, 241
—— discors, 111
—— obscura, 15
—— strepera, 353
Anhinga, 136
Anser hyperboreus, 562
Aramus Scolopaceus, 543
Ardea cœrulea, 58
—— Egretta, 600
—— minor, 296
—— violacea, 290
—— virescens, 274
Arkansaw Flycatcher, 422
Ash-coloured Sandpiper, 130
Auk, Great, 316
Avoset, American, 168
Band-tailed Pigeon, 479
Bank Swallow, 584
Bartramian Sandpiper, 24
Bittern, American, 296
Black Skimmer, 203
Black-bellied Plover, 280
Black-cap Titmouse, 374
Black-headed Grosbeak, 519
Black-headed Gull, 118
Black-necked Stilt, 247
Black-shouldered Hawk, 367
Black-throated Bunting, 579
—— Diver, 345
Blue Heron, 58
Blue-winged Teal, 111
Bohemian Chatterer, 462
Bombycilla garrula, 462
Bonapartian Gull, 212
Brewer’s Duck, 302
Buffel-headed Duck, 217
Bunting, Black-throated, 579
Buzzard, Common, 508
Canvass-back Duck, 1
Charadrius helveticus, 280
—— montanus, 362
—— semipalmatus, 256
Chatterer, Bohemian, 462
Chestnut-backed Titmouse, 371
Chestnut-crowned Titmouse, 382
Clarke’s Nutcracker, 459
Cinclus Americanus, 493
Cleome heptaphylla, 558
Cock of the Plains, 503
Columba fasciata, 479
Colymbus arcticus, 345
—— glacialis, 43
Common Buzzard, 508
—— Gannet, 222
—— Magpie, 408
—— Tern, 74
Corvus Nuttalli, 450
—— Pica, 408
—— Stelleri, 453
—— ultramarinus, 456
Courlan, Scolopaceous, 543
Crossbill, White-winged, 467
Cygnus Buccinator, 536
Dipper, American, 493
Diver, Black-throated, 345
—— Great Northern, 43
Duck, Brewer’s, 302
—— Buffel-headed, 217
—— Canvass-back, 1
—— Dusky, 15
—— Gadwall, 353
—— Golden-eye, 318
—— Long-tailed, 103
—— Pied, 271
—— Red-headed, 198
—— Ruddy, 326
—— Shoveller, 241
—— Surf, 161
Dusky Duck, 15
Dusky Grous, 446
Egret, Great American, 600
Emberiza americana, 579
—— lapponica, 472
Evening Grosbeak, 515
Falco Buteo, 508
—— cyaneus, 396
—— dispar, 367
—— fuscus, 522
Falcon, Iceland, 476
—— Jer, 476
Finch, Macgillivray’s, 394
Flycatcher, Arkansaw, 422
—— Say’s, 420
—— Swallow-tailed, 426
Fringilla Linaria, 533
—— Macgillivraii, 394
—— melanocephala, 519
—— vespertina, 515
Fuligula Albeola, 217
—— clangula, 318
—— Ferina, 198
—— glacialis, 103
—— labradora, 271
—— perspicillata, 161
—— rubida, 326
—— valisneriana, 1
Gadwall Duck, 353
Gallinula martinica, 37
Gallinule, Purple, 37
Gannet, Common, 222
Glossy Ibis, 608
Godwit, Tell-tale, 68
Golden-eye Duck, 318
Goosander, 261
Goose, Snow, 562
Great American Egret, 600
—— Auk, 316
—— Cinereous Owl, 364
—— Northern Diver, 43
Green Heron, 274
Grous, Dusky, 446
—— Rock, 483
—— Sharp-tailed, 569
Grosbeak, Black-headed, 519
—— Evening, 515
—— Pine, 414
Guillemot, Little, 304
Gull, Black-headed, 519
—— Bonapartian, 212
—— Laughing, 118
Hawk, Black-shouldered, 367
—— Marsh, 396
—— Owl, 550
—— Sharp-shinned, 522
—— Slate-coloured, 522
Heron, Blue, 58
—— Green, 274
—— Yellow-crowned, 290
Himantopus nigricollis, 247
Hirundo riparia, 584
—— serripennis, 593
—— thalassina, 597
Humming Bird, Ruff-necked, 555
Ibis Falcinellus, 608
—— Glossy, 608
Iceland Falcon, 476
Jay, Steller’s, 453
—— Ultramarine, 456
Jer Falcon, 476
Knot, 130
Lapland Longspur, 472
Larus Atricilla, 118
—— Bonapartii, 212
Laughing Gull, 118
Least Petrel, 310
—— Tern, 175
—— Water Rail, 359
Lepus palustris, 510
Lesser Redpoll, 533
Little Guillemot, 304
—— Sandpiper, 180
Long-eared Owl, 572
Long-legged Sandpiper, 332
Longspur, Lapland, 472
Long-tailed Duck, 103
Loon, 43
Louisiana Tanager, 385
Loxia leucoptera, 467
Macgillivray’s Finch, 394
Magpie, Common, 408
—— Magpie, Yellow-billed, 450
Marsh Hare, 510
—— Hawk, 396
Martin, Sand, 584
Mergus Albellus, 350
—— Merganser, 261
Mocking Bird, Mountain, 487
Mountain Mocking Bird, 487
Muscicapa forficata, 426
—— Saya, 428
—— verticalis, 422
Northern Diver, 43
Nucifraga columbiana, 459
Nun, White, 350
Nutcracker, Clarke’s, 459
Owl, Great Cinereous, 364
—— Hawk, 550
—— Long-eared, 572
—— Tengmalm’s, 559
Parus atricapillus, 374
—— minimus, 382
—— rufescens, 371
Pelecanus Americanus, 88
Pelican, American, White, 88
—— White, 88
Petrel, Least, 310
Pied Duck, 271
Pigeon, Band-tailed, 479
Pine Grosbeak, 414
Plains, Cock of the, 503
Platalea Ajaja, 189
Plotus Anhinga, 136
Plover, American Ring, 256
—— Black-bellied, 280
—— Rocky mountain, 362
Purple Gallinule, 37
Rail, Least Water, 359
—— yellow-breasted, 251
Rallus noveboracensis, 251
—— jamaicensis, 359
Razor-billed Shearwater, 203
Recurvirostra americana, 168
Red-breasted Snipe, 285
Red-headed Duck, 198
Redpoll, Lesser, 533
Rhynchops nigra, 203
Ring-plover, American, 256
Rock Grous, 483
—— Wren, 443
Rocky Mountain Plover, 362
Roseate Spoonbill, 189
Rough-winged Swallow, 593
Ruddy Duck, 326
Ruff-necked Humming Bird, 555
Sand Martin, 584
Sandpiper, Ash-coloured, 130
—— Bartramian, 24
—— Little, 180
—— Long-legged, 332
—— Spotted, 81
Say’s Flycatcher, 428
Scarlet Tanager, 388
Scolopaceous Courlan, 543
Scolopax noveboracensis, 285
Sharp-shinned Hawk, 522
Sharp-tailed Grous, 569
Shear-water, Razor-billed, 203
Shoveller Duck, 241
Skimmer, Black, 203
Slate-coloured Hawk, 522
Smew, 350
Snake-bird, 136
Snipe, Red-breasted, 285
Snow Goose, 562
Spoonbill, Roseate, 189
Spotted Sandpiper, 81
Steller’s Jay, 453
Sterna Hirundo, 74
—— minuta, 175
Stilt, Black-necked, 247
Strepsilas Interpres, 31
Strix cinerea, 364
—— funerea, 550
—— Tengmalmi, 559
Sula bassana, 222
Surf Duck, 161
Swallow, Bank, 584
—— Rough-winged, 593
Swallow-tailed Flycatcher, 426
Swallow, violet-green, 597
Swan, Trumpeter, 536
Tanager, Louisiana, 385
—— Scarlet, 388
Tanagra ludoviciana, 385
—— rubra, 388
Tapaya orbicularis, 606
Tapayaxin, 607
Teal, Blue-winged, 111
Tengmalm’s Owl, 559
Tell-tale Godwit, 68
Tern, Common, 74
—— Least, 175
Tetrao obscurus, 446
—— Phasianellus, 569
—— rupestris, 483
—— Urophasianus, 503
Thalassidroma pelagica, 310
Thrush, Varied, 489
Titmouse, Black-cap, 374
—— Chestnut-backed, 371
—— Chestnut-crowned, 382
Totanus Bartramius, 24
—— macularius, 81
—— melanoleucus, 68
Tringa himantopus, 332
—— islandica, 130
—— pusilla, 180
Troglodytes hyemalis, 430
—— obsoletus, 443
Trochilus rufus, 555
Trumpeter Swan, 536
Turdus montanus, 487
—— nævius, 489
Turnstone, 31
Ultramarine Jay, 456
Uria Alle, 304
Varied Thrush, 489
Violet-green Swallow, 597
White Nun, 350
White-winged Crossbill, 467
Widgeon, American, 337
Winter Wren, 430
Wren, Rock, 443
—— Winter, 430
Yellow-billed Magpie, 450
Yellow-breasted Rail, 251
Yellow-crowned Heron, 290
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