Chapter XVIII: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (18)

The Turkey-Buzzard breeds on or near the ground, usually in hollow trees, stumps, or decaying logs. It generally constructs no nest, depositing the eggs with little or no preparatory pains for their shelter. Mr. Ord found them breeding as early as the month of May in the deep recesses of the solitary swamps of New Jersey. He describes the nest as formed, without any painstaking, in a truncated hollow tree, and in excavated stumps or logs, and mentions the number of eggs as from two to four. Except in regard to the number of eggs, which is probably never more than two, these observations substantially correspond with other accounts of their breeding. In Jamaica, Mr. Gosse mentions that the situations usually selected by the Turkey-Buzzard of that island for laying and hatching its eggs are hollows and ledges of rocks in secluded places or inaccessible crags and cliffs. A little dry trash, he adds, or decaying leaves, are all the apology for a nest. On the island of Galveston, where this Vulture was plentiful, Mr. Audubon several times found its nest on a level part of the salt marshes, either under the widespread branches of cactuses, or among tall grass growing beneath low bushes. Mr. T. H. Jackson found this Vulture nesting in Maryland, with fresh eggs, from April 10 to May 1.

Dr. C. Kollock, of Cheraw, S. C., informs me that in his neighborhood both this species and the Black Vulture frequent places in the interior of swamps and thick woods, generally called Buzzards’ roosts. They congregate there through the year in large numbers, and usually breed in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Audubon visited one of these roosts, near Charleston, S. C., which extended over two acres of ground, and was entirely destitute of vegetation.

Mr. Dresser, who found this species one of the most common birds of Southern Texas, gives a somewhat different account of their nesting. He found them breeding all through the country on the banks of streams where the timber afforded a secure shelter. He saw many nests on the banks of the Medina, Altacosta, and San Antonio Rivers; and these, he states, were large and bulky, composed of sticks, and generally placed at some height on a cypress or an oak near the river-bank.

Captain C. C. Abbott states (Ibis, 1861, p. 149) that in the Falkland Islands they lay their eggs, two in number, but sometimes three, under a high bank amongst bushes, or on the top of a dead balsam log, without constructing any nest. The time of their laying was the first week of November. The young birds have the bare space of the head and neck of a bluish color, as also the feet. The old birds go in pairs the whole year.

The eggs exhibit slight deviations in size, and occasionally the nature of their markings, yet for the most part preserve specific characteristics. The following are the proportions of four specimens, which will represent their usual variations: 2.81 inches by 1.94; 2.75 by 1.87; 2.94 by 1.87; 2.62 by 1.94. These were from New Jersey, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tamaulipas (Mexico). The more common varieties have a ground of a light cream-color, marked with large confluent spots of reddish-brown or chocolate, chiefly predominating at the larger end, but also sparsely scattered over the entire egg. Intermixed with these are less frequent markings of a light purplish or lilac shade of drab. These are often so faint as only to be perceptible on a close examination. An egg taken some years since in New Jersey, by Alexander Wilson, and somewhat faded, is marked over the entire shell with confluent spots of a dark greenish-brown, with no perceptible shades of red or purple. Another variety from Cheraw, S. C., has a ground of nearly pure white, is very nearly unspotted, and is only marked with a few small dots and lines of red and indistinct purple at the larger end.

GENUS CATHARISTA, VIEILLOT.

_Catharista_, VIEILL. 1816. (Type, _Vultur atratus_, BARTRAM.)
_Coragypys_, I. GEOFFROY, 1854.
_Cathartes_, AUCT. (in part).

GEN. CHAR. Size of _Rhinogryphus_, but more robust, with shorter wings, and very different flight. Wings with the remiges abbreviated, the primaries scarcely reaching to the middle of the tail. Tail even, or faintly emarginated. Head and upper portion of the neck naked, the feathers extending farther up behind than in front; naked skin of the side of the neck transversely corrugated; no bristles before the eye. Nostril narrow, occupying only about the posterior half of the nasal orifice, its anterior end contracted and acute. Cere not contracted anteriorly, but the upper and lower outline parallel; much depressed, or broader than deep. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck with normal, or broad and rounded, feathers. Fourth or fifth quill longest; outer five with inner webs sinuated. Tarsus longer than middle toe.

This well-marked genus is composed of a single species, which is confined to the tropical and warm temperate portions of America. The difference from the other Vultures which this bird exhibits in its habits, and especially in its flight, is very striking, and furnishes additional characters distinctive of the genus.

Catharista atrata (BARTRAM).

CARRION CROW; BLACK VULTURE.

_Vultur atratus_, BARTRAM, Trav. Carol. 285, 1792.—MEYER, Zool. Ann.
I, 290.—ORD (WILS.) Am. Orn. pl. lxxv, f. 2.—AUD. Birds Am. pl.
cvi.—BREWST. Ed. Journ. Sc. Ser. 1, VI, 156. _Cathartes atratus_,
LESS. Man. Orn. I, 73, 1828.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II, 6,
1831.—DARW. Journ. Res. p. 68; Zool. Beag. pt. iii, p. 7.—SWAINS.
Classif. B. II, 206.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 10.—BREWER (WILS.) Am.
Orn. Synop. Birds Am. p. 682.—IB. N. A. Oölogy.—AUD. Synop. Birds Am.
p. 3.—BRIDG. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. xi, p. 108; Am. Nat. Hist. XIII,
498.—BONAP. Consp. p. 9.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 3.—REICH. Prakt.
Nat. Vög. p. 27.—CASS. Bird N. Am. 1858, 5.—COUES, Key, 1872, 222.
_Catharista atratus_, GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 3, No. 16. _Vultur
aura niger_ β, KERR, Transl. Gmel. 473, 1792. _Vultur aura_ (not of
Linn.!), DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 19 (quotes Pl. Enl. 187, 1800). _Vultur
urubu_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. ii, 1807.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 14.
_Cathartes urubu_, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 27, 1831.—D’ORB. Voy. Am. Mérid.
Ois. p. 31, pl. i. _Percnopterus urubu_, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, 7, pl.
xxxi, 1826. _Vultur iota_, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. III, 226, 1832.—ORD
(WILS.) Am. Orn. (ed. 2). _Neophron iota_, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2),
I, 317, 1829. _Cathartes iota_, BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. B. p. 23; Isis,
1832, p. 1135; List, p. 1.—KING, Voy. Beag. I, 532.—NUTT. MAN. I,
46.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 59. _Cathartes fœtens_, ILLIG. Mus.
Berol.—LICHT. Verz. Doubl. p. 63, 1823.—GRAY, Gen. B. sp. 1, pl. i, f.
3.—MAX. Beitr. III, 58.—RICH. SCHOMB. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 742.—CAB.
Av. Consp. Wieg. Archiv, 1844, 262; Faun. Per. Orn. p. 71.—HARTL.
Syst. Ind. Azar. p. 1.

SP. CHAR. Form heavy; the wings and tail short, the latter square; the remiges and rectrices very hard and stiff. Bill strong, the mandibles broader than deep, and of about equal depth, the terminal hook well developed; upper and lower outlines of the cere parallel, and nearly straight. Nostril narrow, its anterior end contracted and pointed. Wing, 17.00–17.50; tail, 7.50–8.50; culmen, .90–.95; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 2.90; outer, 1.90; inner, 1.50; posterior, .75.

_Adult._ Bill blackish, the point horny white; naked skin of the head and upper part of the neck blackish. Entire plumage continuous, perfectly uniform dull black; primaries becoming grayish basally (more hoary whitish on their under surface), their shafts pure white for their whole length.

♂ (11933, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia; Dr. Wilson). Wing, 17.50; tail, 8.25.

HAB. Tropical and warmer portions of America, especially near the sea-coast.

HABITS. The Black Vulture or Carrion Crow of the Southern States, though found in a much less extended area than the Turkey Vulture, has yet a very wide distribution. It is quite common along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Mexico. It does not occur on the Pacific coast of the United States, though given by Douglas as being abundant on the Columbia River; indeed, it has not, that I am aware of, been detected west of the Rocky Mountains. It is, however, as Dr. Gambel states, very common about the Gulf of California, and at Mazatlan, particularly, he saw it around the town in large companies. On the Atlantic coast it is not often met with farther north than Wilmington, N. C. I could not detect it near Norfolk, Va., nor could I ascertain that it was known ever to occur there. Accidental specimens have been taken, two on the coast of Massachusetts and one in the Bay of Fundy; but such occurrences are very rare. Along the coast of all the Southern States, from North Carolina to Texas, it is much more abundant than its kindred species, even where, in the interior of the same State, it is far less frequent. Along the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, as far as Ohio to the east and Illinois to the north, it is found more or less abundantly at certain seasons. It is met with in several of the West India Islands, though rare in Jamaica. It is abundant throughout Central America, and occurs in nearly all parts of South America. Specimens were brought from Chile by Lieutenant Gilliss, obtained near Santiago, where it was not common, and only found in the mountainous regions of the interior. Darwin fixes its extreme southern limit in latitude 41° south, near the Rio Negro, and he did not meet with any in Chile or Patagonia.

Mr. E. C. Taylor, in his paper on the Birds of the West Indies, mentions the great abundance of Black Vultures at Port of Spain, in Trinidad. They swarmed over the town, covered the roofs of the houses, and lived on the best terms with the poultry. So tame and familiar were they that he often poked them with his stick or umbrella as he walked through the streets. At night they roosted in the trees in the gardens and squares of the town. They were very abundant all over Trinidad and in the parts of Venezuela he visited, but he found none in any of the islands from Trinidad to St. Thomas. This species was not found in Jamaica by Mr. Gosse, but Mr. March afterwards reported it as a “recent settler.”

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 22) found the Black Vulture very abundant in Honduras, where it is always to be seen in the villages, sitting on the roofs of the houses, wheeling in flocks high in the air, or feeding on the offal in the streets. They were very tame and very numerous, forty or fifty being frequently seen in a single company. They abounded in all parts of Central America that he visited.

With the exception of _Quiscalus macrurus_, Mr. Salvin regards this species as the most familiar bird in Guatemala. At night they retired to the forests, and in the early morning trooped back to their posts in the streets and lanes, and about the tops of the houses and churches. They generally nested in the forests, though in Antigua Guatemala they were said to use the ruins of the old churches for that purpose.

Mr. Dresser found this Vulture about equally common with the _R. aura_ on the Lower Rio Grande, but much less common near San Antonio. He usually found the two species in company, attended also by the _Polyborus auduboni_ and _Craxirex harrisi_. They were found breeding among the rocks at Systerdale, where they were said to be the only species found.

Dr. Coues did not meet with any in Arizona, nor were any taken on the survey of the Mexican boundary. In South Carolina he considered it chiefly confined to the lower country, while the _C. aura_ is more generally distributed over the State. The two meet together freely, and as they circle about in each other’s company they afford an excellent opportunity of noticing the great differences in their mode of flight and in the outline of their bodies and wings. On the other hand, Wilson, Ord, and others deny that the two kinds live together.

In the Southern Atlantic cities, especially Charleston and Savannah, the Black Vulture is a semi-domestic bird, and is very abundant. It is also to be found in the interior, but is neither so common nor so tame.

The _Catharista atratus_ is said to be much more sensitive to cold than the _aura_, and when the weather is at all unfavorable they cower around the tops of chimneys to enjoy the heat. Though tolerated and even protected by law, their filthy habits render them a source of annoyance to those whose houses they frequent. Their value as scavengers and the services they render in the removal of offal render them almost a necessity in Southern cities.

Both in their mode of flight and in their movements upon the ground this species differs materially from the Turkey-Buzzard. The latter walks steadily while on the ground, and when it mounts does so by a single upward spring. The Black Vulture is ill at ease on the ground, moves awkwardly, and when it essays to fly upward takes several leaps in a shuffling sidelong manner before it can rise. Their flight is more labored, and is continued by flapping several times, alternating with sailing a limited distance. Their wings are held at right angles, and their feet protrude beyond their tail-feathers. In all these respects the differences between the two birds are very noticeable, and plainly mark the species.

Mr. Audubon states that at the commencement of the mating-season, early in February, the gesticulations of the males are very conspicuous. They strut in the manner of a Turkey-cock, open their wings, lower their heads, and utter a puffing sound that is anything but musical.

Alexander Wilson describes with great minuteness a scene he witnessed near Charleston, where the carcass of a horse was devoured by these birds, the ground for hundreds of yards around being black with them. He counted at one time two hundred and thirty-seven, while others were in the air flying around. He ventured within a few yards of the horse without their heeding his presence. They frequently attacked one another, fighting with their claws and striking with their open wings, fixing their claws in each other’s head. They made a hissing sound with open mouths, resembling that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker into water, and occasionally a snuffling noise, as if clearing their nostrils. At times one would emerge with a large fragment, and in a moment would be surrounded by several others, who would tear it in pieces and soon cause it to disappear.

The Black Vulture breeds on or near the ground in the same manner as the Turkey-Buzzard, in hollow logs, decayed trunks of trees, and stumps, and also without this protection, the bare earth only being made use of. It is said to make no nest. The eggs seldom, if ever, exceed two in number. These are greater, both in their length and capacity, than those of the Turkey-Buzzard, although the measurements of the birds themselves would seem to show the latter to be apparently the larger bird. The average weight of the Black Vulture’s egg, however, is about one pound, or fifteen per cent greater than that of the Buzzard. Three from Charleston, Galveston, and the Rio Grande furnish the following measurements: 3.81 inches by 1.94; 3 by 2.06; 3.06 by 1.94. The principal difference between the eggs of this and the preceding species is in regard to their size. Their ground-color is the same, or nearly the same,—a yellowish-white or cream-color, almost never a pure white, and only in exceptional cases. The eggs are more elongate in their shape, and the blotches are usually larger. These are of a dark reddish-brown, confluent, and chiefly distributed around the larger end. There are also markings, smaller and less frequent, of lilac and purplish-drab, similar to those noticed in the eggs of _C. aura_. An egg from the Rio Grande is marked with small spots of reddish-brown and obscure lilac, equally distributed over the whole surface on a ground of cream-color.

Mr. Audubon is positive that this Vulture never breeds in trees, and that they never build any nest, but deposit their eggs on the ground, on a dead log, or in a hollow tree. Twenty-one days are required for hatching their eggs, on which the male and female sit by turns and feed each other. The young are covered with a light cream-colored down, and are fed with regurgitated food, in the manner of Pigeons. As soon as they are able, they follow their parents through the woods, at which period their entire head and neck, which afterwards become bare, are covered with feathers.

NOTE.

The following figures are given to illustrate some of the cranial and sternal peculiarities of the _Cathartidæ_.

14. Sarcorhamphus gryphus. One half natural size.
3369. Pseudogryphus californianus. One half natural size.
7260. Rhinogryphus aura. One half natural size.
1588. Catharista atrata. One half natural size.]

14. Sarcorhamphus gryphus. Skull and palatine bones. One half
natural size.

1588. Catharista atrata. Skull and palatine bones. One half natural
size.

3369. Pseudogryphus californianus. Skull and palatine bones. One half
natural size. Sternum, 3369. One fourth natural size.

260. Rhinogryphus aura. Skull and palatine bones. One half natural
size. Sternum, 9007. One fourth natural size.

9007. Sarcorhamphus papa. Skull and palatine bones. One half natural
size.]

FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ.—THE PIGEONS.

CHAR. The basal portion of the bill covered by a soft skin, in which are situated the nostrils, overhung by an incumbent fleshy valve, the apical portion hard and convex. The hind toe on the same level with the rest; the anterior toes without membrane at the base. Tarsi more or less naked; covered laterally and behind with hexagonal scales.

The bill of the _Columbidæ_ is always shorter than the head, thinnest in the middle; the basal half covered by a soft skin; the apical portion of both jaws hard; the upper one very convex, blunt, and broad at the tip, where it is also somewhat decurved. There is a long nasal groove, the posterior portion occupied by a cartilaginous scale, covered by a soft cere-like skin. The nostrils constitute an elongated slit in the lower border of the scale. The culmen is always depressed and convex. The bill is never notched in the true Doves, though _Didunculus_ shows well-defined serrations. The tongue is small, soft, and somewhat fleshy.

The wing has ten primaries, and eleven or twelve, rarely fifteen, secondaries; the latter broad, truncate, and of nearly equal length. The tail is rounded or cuneate, never forked.

The tarsus is usually short, rarely longer than the middle toe, scutellate anteriorly, and with hexagonal plates laterally and behind; sometimes naked. An inter-digital membrane is either wanting entirely, or else is very slightly indicated between the middle and outer toes.

The valuable monograph of Bonaparte in the second part of _Conspectus Avium_ renders the task of arranging the American _Columbidæ_ in proper sequence and of determining their synonomy comparatively easy. He divides the family into _Lopholæminæ_, _Columbinæ_, _Turturinæ_, _Zenaidinæ_, and _Phapinæ_, the second and fourth alone occurring in North America. They may be briefly distinguished as follows:—

=Columbinæ.= Tarsus shorter than the lateral toe; feathered above.

=Zenaidinæ.= Tarsus longer than the lateral toes; entirely bare of
feathers.

SUBFAMILY COLUMBINÆ.

CHAR. Tarsi stout, short, with transverse scutellæ anteriorly; feathered for the basal third above, but not at all behind. Toes lengthened, the lateral decidedly longer than the tarsus. Wings lengthened and pointed. Size large. Tail-feathers twelve.

This section of doves embraces the largest North American species, and among them the more arboreal ones. The genera are as follows:—

=Columba.= Head large; tail short, broad, and rounded.

Outer toe much longer than the inner; bill rather short, stout …

_Columba._

Outer toe scarcely longer than the inner; bill lengthened,
compressed …

_Patagiœnas._

=Ectopistes.= Head very small; tail much lengthened, cuneate.

GENUS COLUMBA, LINNÆUS.

_Columba_, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, _Columba livia_, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill stout and rather short; culmen from the base of the feathers about two fifths the head. Lateral toes and claws about equal, reaching nearly to the base of the middle claw; the claws rather long, and not much curved. Tail rather short, rounded, or nearly even; as long as from the carpal joint to the end of secondaries in the closed wing. Second and third quills longest.

_Columba fasciata._]

The genus _Columba_, as characterized above, includes the _C. livia_, or domestic Pigeon, the differences between it and the American forms being very slight. Reichenbach and Bonaparte separate the North American birds from _Columba_, under the name of _Chlorœnas_, while _C. leucocephala_ and a near ally of the West Indies (_C. corensis_) have been placed in the subgenus _Patagiœnas_, Reichenbach.

The variations of form among the numerous American members of _Columba_ are more with the species, however, than with groups, and withal are so exceedingly slight that an attempt at subdividing the genus is scarcely justifiable. They may be arranged by the style of coloration as follows. None of the American species have the forepart of the neck metallic, as in the European species, or _Columba_ proper, as restricted, and in which these metallic feathers have the fibres loose and blended, instead of being compact; the feathers also have a well-defined squamate arrangement in nearly or quite all the American _Columbæ_.

Species and Varieties.

=A.= Tail with a broad terminal band abruptly lighter in color than
the basal portion, and with a more or less well-defined blackish band
across the middle. Nape with metallic reflections.

_a._ A narrow nuchal band of white; the metallic feathers beneath
this, with their outlines distinct, producing a squamate appearance.

1. =C. fasciata.= Blackish band across the middle of the tail
narrow, and badly defined, and concealed by the coverts; terminal
portion of the tail much lighter than the basal part. Bill
yellow; crissum whitish; hood and anterior lower parts ashy
vinaceous-purple; dorsal region ashy.

Bill tipped with black; wing-coverts conspicuously edged with
white; back with an olivaceous cast. Wing, 8.80; tail, 6.10;
culmen, .75; tarsus, 1.13; middle toe, 1.37; outer, 1.05; inner,
.94. _Hab._ Pacific Province of the United States, south to
Guatemala …

var. _fasciata_.

Bill entirely yellow; wing-coverts not distinctly edged with
white; back with a bluish cast. Wing, 8.30; tail, 6.20; culmen,
.80; tarsus, 1.04; middle toe, 1.27; outer, 1.00; inner, .88.
_Hab._ Costa Rica …

var. _albilinea_.[99]

2. =C. araucana.=[100] Black band across the middle of the tail as
broad as the terminal lighter one, and wholly exposed; terminal
portion not lighter than the base. Bill black; crissum deep slate;
hood and lower parts deep purplish-vinaceous; dorsal region like
the breast. Wing, 8.35; tail, 6.20; culmen, .58; tarsus, 1.13;
middle toe, 1.26; outer, .90; inner, .77. _Hab._ Chile.

_b._ No nuchal bar of white; metallic feathers of the nape with
their fibres blended, producing a soft even surface.

3. =C. caribæa.=[101] Tail much as in _C. fasciata_, but with a
much greater contrast between the nearly equal dark basal and
light terminal portions; the former more uniformly dusky, not
showing any distinct darker intermediate band. Bill black; hood
and lower parts light ashy-pinkish vinaceous; crissum white;
dorsal region ashy. Wing, 8.70; tail, 6.90; culmen, .81; tarsus,
1.05; middle toe, 1.28; outer, .90; inner, .88. _Hab._ Jamaica.

4. =C. rufina.=[102] Terminal light band of the tail narrow, badly
defined. Bill black. Forehead, dorsal region, lesser wing-coverts,
neck and breast, deep chocolate-purple; forepart of the back with
a violet reflection. Other portions mainly ashy. Wing, 7.50; tail,
5.00; culmen, .68; tarsus, .97; middle toe, 1.13; outer, .89;
inner, .78. _Hab._ Brazil, north to Guatemala.

=B.= Tail of a uniform shade throughout.

_a._ A metallic “cape” on the nape, each feather bordered with
black, producing a conspicuously squamate appearance; above this,
a broad, transverse, crescentic patch of dark maroon color. No
vinaceous tints on the body.

5. =C. leucocephala.= Hood white; metallic cape brassy-green;
throat, cheeks, etc., dark plumbeous-slate, like the rest of the
plumage. Bill yellow only at the tip. Wing, 7.70; tail, 5.50;
culmen, .66; tarsus, 1.00; middle toe, 1.25; outer, .85; inner,
.83. _Hab._ Cuba, and south Florida.

6. =C. corensis.=[103] Hood, with remaining portions of head and
neck, purplish-vinaceous; metallic cape vinaceous-purple. Bill
wholly yellow. Wing, 8.00; tail, 5.70; culmen, .63; tarsus, 1.05;
middle toe, 1.25; outer, .86; inner, .83. _Hab._ Porto Rico; St.
Thomas; Santo Domingo; Santa Cruz.

_b._ No metallic reflections on the nape.

Head and neck, all round, lower parts to the anal region, and a
patch on the lesser wing-coverts, reddish chocolate-purple. Rest
of plumage slaty-blue, darker on tail and primaries, and more
olivaceous on the dorsal region.

7. =C. flavirostris.= Feathers of the forehead reaching forward to
the anterior end of the nasal lobe, and wholly covering the cere
on top. Culmen much arched. Bill and claws yellow. Wing, 7.80;
tail, 5.40; culmen, .52; tarsus, 1.03; middle toe, 1.15; outer,
.82; inner, .75. _Hab._ Middle America, and southern borders of
Middle Province of United States, from Arizona and the Rio Grande;
south to Costa Rica.

8. =C. inornata.=[104] Feathers of the forehead reaching forward
to only about the middle of the nasal lobe, leaving the top of the
cere naked; culmen only moderately arched. Bill and claws black.
Wing, 9.20; tail, 6.60; culmen, .75; tarsus, 1.16; middle toe,
1.47; outer, 1.18; inner, .97. _Hab._ Jamaica.

[Plate: PLATE LVII.

1. Ortalida maccalli. _Ad._, Texas.
2. Columba fasciata. ♂ Cal., 33661.
3. Columba leucocephala. ♂ Fla., 8662.
4. Ectopistes migratoria. ♂ 7115.
5. Columba flavirostris. ♂ Mazatlan, 30893.]

Columba fasciata, SAY.

BAND-TAILED PIGEON.

_Columba fasciata_, SAY, Long’s Exped. R. Mts. II, 1823, 10.—BON.
Amer. Orn. I, 1825, 77, pl. viii.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, _Columba_,
No. 47.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 624.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 479,
pl. ccclxvii.—IB. Syn. 1839, 191.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 312, pl.
cclxxix.—TSCHUDI, Fauna Peruana, 1844–46, No. 261.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl.
Cal. & Or. Route, Rep. P. R. R. VI, IV, 92.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
597.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 506. _Chlorœnas fasciata_, BONAP.
Consp. II, 1854, 51. _Columba monilis_, VIGORS, Zoöl. Beechey’s
Voyage, 1839, 26, pl. x. _Chlorœnas monilis_, REICH. Icones Av.
ccxxvii, fig. 2481.

SP. CHAR. Above ash, inclining to olivaceous on the back, and with a fine bluish cast on the rump, under surface of wings, and sides. The primaries and basal portion of the tail dusky. Larger wing-coverts and secondaries, with primaries, distinctly edged with white; terminal third of tail of nearly the same tint as the wing-coverts, but the basal portion much darker, with a rather indistinct, narrow dusky band between the two shades, a little beyond the tips of the upper coverts. Whole head, lateral and front part of neck, and lower parts to the anal region, ashy vinaceous-purple, lighter, and more pinkish on the abdomen; chin considerably lighter; anal region and crissum white. A narrow half-collar of white across the upper portion of the nape; feathers beneath this dull metallic golden-green, with an occasional bronzy reflection, the feathers somewhat squamate. Bill and feet yellow, the former black at the end; iris red. Length, about 15.00; wing, 8.80; tail, 6.10. _Female_ smaller, and less deeply colored, the purplish tint more ashy; sometimes with the nuchal white band obsolete or wanting; the abdomen whitish, etc.

HAB. Pacific Province of United States, and table-lands of Mexico, to Guatemala. Oaxaca (SCL. 1858, 304); Xalapa, 1859, 369 (CORDOVA, 1856, 359); Guatemala (SALVIN, Ibis, II, 276); Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 93); Vera Cruz, alpine region (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I, 562).

Specimens—even those from the same locality—vary a great deal in size, particularly as to the bill, and there is also considerable variation in the shade and depth as well as the extent of the purplish tint; this varies from a purplish-chocolate tint to nearly violaceous, and sometimes tinges the ends of the lower tail-coverts; sometimes the back has faint bronzy reflections. Guatemalan skins have the white edgings to the wing-coverts less conspicuous than in northern ones, showing an approximation to the features of var. _albilinea_ of Costa Rica; they also have a shorter bill than California specimens. Oregon birds, on the other hand, have longer bills than the California, and are considerably darker in color.

HABITS. The Band-tailed Pigeon was first met with in Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and described by Say in 1823. It is found from the northern Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific, and from Central America northward along the whole of the Pacific Coast as far to the north as Washington Territory, and probably portions of British Columbia.

Mr. Townsend, quoted by Audubon, noticed this Pigeon from the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains across to the Columbia River, where it was very abundant. He noticed their arrival in very great numbers on the 17th of April, and they continued in large flocks even while breeding. Their breeding-places were on the banks of the river, the eggs were placed on the ground, under small bushes without any nest, where numbers congregated together. The eggs were two in number, and are described as of a yellowish-white color, some inclining to a bluish-white with minute white dots at the larger end.

These birds feed on the berries of the black-elder and the buds of the balsam poplar. When sitting on the trees, they huddle close together in the manner of the Carolina Parrot, and many may be killed at a single discharge. Their flesh is said to be tender, juicy, and fine eating.

Mr. Nuttall states that this Pigeon is always in flocks, and in Oregon keeps 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 he constantly heard its cooing, and saw it in large flocks, feeding on the berries of the elder, the _Cornus nuttalli_, and the seed-germs and young pods of the balsam poplar. Its call is somewhat similar to that of the Carolina Dove, but is readily distinguishable, is uttered at the usual intervals, and is repeated an hour or two at a time, chiefly in the morning and evening. It remains on the lower part of the Columbia nearly the whole year, feeding on the berries of the tree cornel, moving south only in the severity of winter.

Mr. Salvin found this Pigeon at Volcan de Fuego, in Guatemala, at an elevation of six thousand feet, and at Coban. It was quite common in the high forests of the Volcano.

Dr. Woodhouse met with small flocks of these Pigeons in different parts of New Mexico, and especially in the San Francisco Mountains, now included within the limits of Arizona.

This species was found at Los Nogales, in Mexico, July, 1855, by Dr. Kennerly, and at New Leon by Lieutenant Couch. Dr. Kennerly states that these beautiful birds were often observed in the valleys of the Santa Cruz and Los Nogales Rivers, as well as among the oaks on the adjacent hills. In the month of June they were found in small flocks of four or five, rarely more. When flying, the wings often caused a flapping noise, similar to that made by the domestic Pigeon.

Dr. Newberry, in his Report on the zoölogy of Colonel Williamson’s route, states that he met with this Pigeon at several points of his journey. He speaks of it as an attractive bird, about the size and with many of the habits of the domestic Pigeon. At McCumbers, northeast of Fort Reading, the first individual was seen and killed by one of his party. In that region they were not rare, and during the season of acorns they subsist on those of the scrub-oak, which abounds in that vicinity. On the Columbia they were seen in pairs, and near the Dalles might readily be mistaken for domestic doves.

Dr. Suckley found this Pigeon a very common bird in Washington Territory, especially west of the Cascade Mountains. He saw but a single flock containing five individuals east of those mountains. In 1856, the first birds of this species that arrived in the spring made their appearance about the 15th of May, which he found to be their customary time of arrival. One or two individuals were first seen, and within two or three days thereafter the main body of the migration followed. A small number remained throughout the summer to breed, the rest proceeded farther north. Those that remained generally made their nests in the thick fir forests near water. During the summer they subsisted on wild cherries and other berries, and later in the season, in the settled parts of the country, on grain. About the first week in September large flocks congregated on the stubble-fields in the vicinity of Fort Steilacoom, and for two or three weeks thereafter their numbers were daily augmented by arrivals from the north. Some of the flocks that he saw in September, he states, must have contained at least a thousand individuals. He was told that on the cultivated districts on Cowlitz River, at the same season, they were in still greater numbers. By the 5th of October all had suddenly disappeared, except a few stragglers, generally young birds. In their flights, Dr. Suckley states, they are not quite as compactly crowded as in the case of the Passenger Pigeon. During the summer, while they were breeding, their cooing and calls could be heard quite a long distance. The name of this bird in the Nisqually language is “Hubboh,” in imitation of their call. In the autumn these birds are said to be excellent eating.

According to Dr. Cooper, these Pigeons arrive at the Columbia River in April, and frequent all the forests of the Territory until the end of October, when they retire south. They keep about the borders of prairies and clearings, and frequently do much damage to fields of grain, though never found in such immense numbers as the common Passenger Pigeon east of the Mississippi. In June they lay two white eggs about the size of those of the House Pigeon, on the ground near streams or openings, and without constructing any nests. During the summer they were observed to feed upon wild peas, wild cherries, and other wild fruits and berries, which are very abundant. Later in the season they seem to depend upon acorns and other nuts. Their cooing is very much like that of the common Pigeon. He saw none east of the Cascade Range.

Mr. Ridgway did not meet with this Pigeon in his route from the Sierra Nevada eastward to the Rocky Mountains, along the line of the 40th parallel, and it is supposed not to occur in that latitude except near the Pacific Coast.

An egg of this Pigeon, given me by Dr. Holden, of Stockton, and obtained in the Coast Range, is oval in shape, equally rounded at either end, and of a dull white. It measures 1.49 inches in length by 1.15 in breadth. Another, in the Smithsonian collection, measures 1.55 by 1.20 inches.

Columba leucocephala, LINN.

WHITE-HEADED PIGEON.

_Columba leucocephala_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 164.—BONAP.
J. A. N. S. Ph. V, 1825, 30; Syn. 119; Am. Orn. II, 1828, 11, pl.
xv.—NUTT. Man. I, 1832, 625.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 443; V, 557,
pl. clxxvii; Birds Am. IV, 1842, 315, pl. cclxxx.—TEMM. Pig. et
Gallin. I, 459.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1847, 299.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am.
1858, 599.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 301 (says there are two species).
_Patagiœnas leucocephalus_, REICHENB. Syst. Av. 1851, xxv; Ic. Av.
tab. 223 and 255.—BONAP. Consp. II, 1854, 54.—GUNDL. Caban. Journ.
1856, 107.—REICH. Handb. 64, tab. 223, f. 1257, 1258, 255, 2863, 2864.

SP. CHAR. General color very dark slate-blue, primaries and tail darker. Upper half of the head, from the bill to the nape, pure white, not reaching the edge of the eyelids; a triangular patch of dark maroon-purple on the occiput, and below it a semicircular “cape” covering the nape, of metallic brassy-green, each feather distinctly bordered externally with velvety-black, producing a squamate appearance. Bill deep purple, the end light blue; iris white; legs deep lake-red. In skins the bill dusky tipped with yellowish, the feet yellow. Sexes similar. Length, 13.50; wing, 7.00; tail, 5.80.

½
=8662= ♂
=8663= ♂ ½

_Columba leucocephala._]

HAB. Southern Keys of Florida (including Indian Key) and West Indies generally. Honduras (MOORE, P. Z. S. 1859, 61); Santa Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 253); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 107); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. J. 299); Porto Rico (TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 171); Cuba (GUNDL. Repert. I, 1866, 298); Santa Bartholemy (SUND. Ofv. 1869, 585).

HABITS. The White-headed Pigeon occurs in the more southern of the keys of Florida, but, so far as I am aware, has never been taken on any part of the mainland. It is an abundant species in Cuba, Jamaica, and in most of the other West India Islands.

This Dove, according to Audubon, arrives on the southern keys of Florida about the 20th of April, sometimes not until the first of May. On the 30th of April he shot several just after their arrival from across the Gulf Stream. He noticed them as they approached the shore, skimming along the surface of the water, and flying with great rapidity, in the manner of the House Pigeon. As they approached the land they rose to about a hundred yards, flying in circles as if to survey the country. To procure specimens, it was necessary to force them out from the dark retreats in which they had alighted. They were at all times exceedingly shy and wary, probably on account of the war that is incessantly waged against them, their flesh being very juicy and finely flavored. This shyness is only partially abated even during the breeding-season, as they will silently slide from their nest when sitting, if it is approached, and retreat to the dark shade of the mangroves, and do not return for an interval to their charge. They were more abundant in the more southern keys, except the sterile Tortugas.

According to Mr. March, there are two varieties of this Pigeon, known as the Baldpate in Jamaica, distinguished as the Mountain and the Mangrove Baldpate. The latter he has never met with in the mountains, but both kinds resort at all times to the lowlands and mangrove-swamps along the coasts, and to the neighboring islands and keys (Pigeon Island and the two Goat Islands in particular), where they breed in numbers, making their nests in trees, some at high elevations, others so low as to be within reach of a person standing, according to the convenience of the site. Large numbers of squabs are often taken from these places and brought into the towns for sale. They feed in company in the morning and afternoon, and as they often feed at a distance from their roosting-places, large flocks are sometimes seen in the early morning and evening passing and repassing overhead, sometimes in high, at other times in low flight, going to and returning from the feeding-ground or convenient watering-place. Their food is grain, fruit, and berries, nuts and seeds; and they commit serious depredations on the Guinea-corn fields, not only by the quantity they devour, but by breaking down the brittle cornstalks with the weight of their bodies. They are easily kept in confinement, and often breed and become quiet and contented, but take the earliest opportunity of emancipation. The nest is a platform of sticks and twigs loosely put together, and bedded with softer materials, with a slight hollow in the centre. The eggs are two, glarish-white in color, varying in form and dimensions, but usually long oval, measuring 1.63 inches in length by 1.13 in breadth.

According to Mr. Leyland (Ibis, I, p. 222) this Pigeon inhabits the keys or small islands on the coast of Honduras.

It was found at St. Croix by Professor Alfred Newton, frequenting the hills in the north of the island, and occasionally in the brush-land on the south side. It was not very common, and was said to be a visitor from Porto Rico; but it undoubtedly breeds on the island of St. Croix, as Professor Newton obtained a young bird, shot July 28, which could not have left the nest many days. A caged specimen of this bird, that had been in the possession of Dr. Carden of St. Croix several years, was given to Professor Newton by that gentleman, and presented to the Zoölogical Society of London.

Mr. Audubon found the nests placed high or low according to circumstances, but never saw two on the same tree. He has met with them on the top of a cactus, only a few feet from the ground, or on a low branch of a mangrove almost touching the water. They are said to resemble that of the common Passenger Pigeon, but are more compact and better lined; the outer part being composed of small dry twigs, the inner of fibrous roots and grasses. The eggs are two, of an opaque white, roundish, and as large as those of the common Pigeon. Mr. Audubon thinks that these birds may have several broods in a season. None were known by him to visit the mainland of Florida.

In captivity these birds may be easily managed, and breed readily, as Mr. Audubon witnessed in the aviaries of Dr. Wilson and Rev. Dr. Bachman of Charleston, S. C.

In confinement they are said never to lay more than a single egg. The measurement of their eggs, as given by Mr. Audubon, is 1.31 inches in length by 1.06 in breadth. Eggs in my cabinet from Cuba measure 1.40 by 1.03 inches. They are of a pure but not a brilliant white color, equal at either end and oval in shape.

Columba flavirostris, WAGLER.

RED-BILLED DOVE.

_Columba flavirostris_, WAGLER, Isis, 1831, 519.—LAWRENCE, Annals
N. Y. Lyc. V. May, 1851, 116.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 598, pl.
lxi.—IB. Mex. B. II, Birds 21, pl. xxiii.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I,
1870, 508. _Chlorœnas flavirostris_, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854,
52.—REICHENB. Handb. 61. _? Columba solitaria_, MCCALL, Pr. A. N. Sc.
Phila. III, July, 1847, 233 (Rio Grande, Texas. Description referring
probably to this species).

SP. CHAR. Second and third quills equal, and decidedly longer than the first and fourth, also nearly equal. Tail truncate, slightly rounded. Head and neck all round, breast, and a large patch on the middle and lesser wing-coverts, light chocolate-red, the latter deeper and more opaque red; the middle of the back, scapulars, and tertials olive; the rest of body, wings, and tail very dark slaty-blue; the inferior and concealed surfaces of the latter black. Bill and legs yellow in the dried skin, said to be purple in life; eyes purple. Length, 14.00; wing, 8.00; tail, 5.70.

HAB. Lower Rio Grande, and Mexico, south to Costa Rica. Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 391); (Cordova, 1856, 309); Honduras (TAYLOR, Ibis, II, 226; SALV. Ibis, III, 355); City of Mexico (SCL. P. Z. S. 1864, 178); Southeastern Texas, breeding (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 23); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

There is no trace of any metallic scale-like feathers on the neck of this species. The wing-feathers, including the greater coverts, are whitish on their external border. There is sometimes a tinge of the red on the inside of the wing.

The _C. inornata_ of Jamaica (see synopsis) is wonderfully similar, except in the form and color of the bill; the plumage of the two does not differ in the minutest particular. The West Indian bird is much the larger, however, the bill black, and very differently shaped.

The _Columba solitaria_ of McCall appears to be closely related to this species, but, judging from the description, seems to differ in having the head and neck bluish rather than red. It may possibly be the female of _C. flavirostris_, as this sex usually has a bluish tinge instead of red; the smaller size, too, would favor this supposition.[105]

=Habits.= The Red-billed Dove claims a place in the North American fauna only as a resident in the valley of the Lower Rio Grande River. It appears also to be found on and near the gulf-coast of Mexico and Central America.

It was taken at New Leon, Mexico, in March, 1853, by Lieutenant Couch, and on the Rio Grande by Mr. A. Schott. It was first seen by the former in the thick woody bottoms of the San Juan, New Leon. The birds were quite common, but remained very secluded. They are said to be of very rapid flight.

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 226) mentions finding these birds not uncommon on Tigre Island, in Honduras, but did not meet with them in the interior. He speaks of them as very handsome birds, but gives no account of their habits.

Mr. Henry E. Dresser found the Red-billed Dove quite common near Matamoras, and breeding there. During the autumn great quantities, as well as of the _leucoptera_ and the _carolinensis_, are brought to the market for sale. At Brownsville, also, these birds were not uncommon, but were found for only a short distance towards the interior of Texas, and none were seen higher up the Rio Grande than Roma. A Mexican, who shot doves for the market, informed Mr. Dresser that he had found this species breeding near the town of Matamoras, and that it builds a nest somewhat similar to that of _Z. carolinensis_, but that its two eggs are somewhat larger. Their stomachs were found filled with a kind of blueberry.

Eggs in the Berlandier collection are oval in shape, equal and slightly tapering at either end, and of a creamy-white color. They measure 1.18 inches in length by .90 of an inch in breadth.

GENUS ECTOPISTES, SWAINSON.

_Ectopistes_, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 362. (Type, _Columba
migratoria_, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Head very small. Bill short, black; culmen one third the rest of the head; feathers of the chin running very far forward; gonys very short. Tarsi very short, half covered anteriorly by feathers. Inner lateral claw much larger than outer, reaching to the base of the middle one. Tail very long and excessively cuneate; above as long as the wings. First primary longest. Black spots on scapulars; a black and a rufous spot on inner webs of tail-feathers.

This genus is readily distinguished from the other _Columbinæ_ by the excessively lengthened and acute middle feathers. It formerly included the _Columba carolinensis_, but this, with more propriety, has been erected into a different genus, and will be found in the next section.

_Ectopistes migratoria._]

The _Ectopistes migratoria_ is blue above, the male purplish-red beneath, the female brownish-ashy, passing into whitish behind. The wing above and scapulars are spotted with bluish-black, the sides of the neck with metallic gloss of solferino-purple; the inner webs of tail-feathers have each a rufous and a black spot.

Ectopistes migratoria, SWAINSON.

WILD PIGEON; PASSENGER-PIGEON.

_Columba migratoria_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 285.—GM. I,
389.—FORSTER, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 398.—WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808,
102, pl. xliv.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 91.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I,
1831, 319; V, 561, pl. lxii. _Ectopistes migratoria_, SWAINSON, Zoöl.
Jour. III, 1827, 355.—IB. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 363.—BON. Consp. Av.
II, 1854, 59.—AUD. Syn. 1839, 194.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 25, pl.
cclxxxv.—“REICH. Icones Av. tab. 249, figs. 1377, 1379.”—BAIRD, Birds
N. Am. 1858, 600.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 424.—LORD, Pr. R. A. I. IV,
122 (British Columbia, from coast; nest on ground).—COOPER & SUCKLEY,
218.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 509. _Columba canadensis_, LINNÆUS,
Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 284.—GM. I, 1788, 785. Female or young. (Prior
name ?) _Columba americana_, “KALM, It. II, 527.” _Passenger Pigeon_,
PENNANT, II, 322.—LATH. Syn. II, II, 661.

SP. CHAR. Tail with twelve feathers. Upper parts generally, including sides of body, head, and neck, and the chin, blue. Beneath, purple brownish-red, fading behind into a violet tint. Anal region and under tail-coverts bluish-white. Scapulars, inner tertials, and middle of back with an olive-brown tinge; the wing-coverts, scapulars, and inner tertials with large oval spots of blue-black on the outer webs, mostly concealed, except on the latter. Primaries blackish, with a border of pale bluish tinged internally with red. Middle tail-feather brown; the rest pale blue on the outer web, white internally; each with a patch of reddish-brown at the base of the inner web, followed by another of black. Sides and back of neck richly glossed with metallic golden-violet or reddish-purple. Tibiæ bluish-violet. Bill black. Feet lake-red. The female is smaller, much duller in color, more olivaceous above; beneath, pale ash instead of red, except a tinge on the neck; the jugulum tinged with olive, the throat whitish. Length of male, 17.00; wing, 8.50; tail, 8.40.

HAB. North America to high Central Plains; West Humboldt Mountains, Nevada (September; RIDGWAY). Cuba (GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 302; CAB. J. IX, 112).

The blue of the side of the head extends to the throat and chin. The upper part of the back and lesser coverts are of a darker blue than the head and rump. The inner primaries are more broadly margined with light blue, which tapers off to the end. The axillars and under surface of the wing are light blue. The longest scapulars have the black on both webs. There is no blue on the outer web of the first tail-feather, which is white, as is the inferior surface of the tail generally.

In some specimens the entire head all round is blue.

The immature male varies in having most of the feathers of the head and body margined with whitish.

HABITS. The common Passenger Pigeon of North America is found throughout the continent in great abundance, from the Atlantic to the great Central Plains, and from the Southern States, in which it only occasionally occurs, to at least the 62d parallel of northern latitude, in the interior.

Richardson states that this Pigeon arrives in the fur countries in the latter part of May and leaves in October. On the coast of Hudson’s Bay it reaches no farther than the 58th parallel, and only in very fine summers, but in the interior or in the warmer central districts it attains to the 62d degree. Mr. Hutchins mentions, as a remarkable occurrence, that a flock of these Pigeons visited York Factory and remained two days.

It is not found on the Pacific coast. Dr. Suckley only met with a single bird in immature plumage on a branch of Milk River, in Nebraska, about one hundred and seventy-five miles east of the Rocky Mountains; he thinks the eastern base may be considered their western limit. Dr. Cooper has seen it at Fort Laramie, but has never seen nor heard of it in Oregon, though Townsend mentions it as found there.

Dr. Woodhouse found these Pigeons common throughout the Indian Territory in the spring and fall, during their migrations.

Captain Blakiston noticed the first arrival of the Passenger Pigeons at Fort Carlton, on the 23d of May. By the middle of June numerous flocks were moving northward. These could, at a long distance, be readily distinguished from flocks of water-fowl or waders, by their flight being in no particular order. On the Mackenzie, Mr. Ross observed these birds as far north as Fort Norman in latitude 65°, while on the coast of Hudson’s Bay they are only found as far as 58°, even in warm summers.

The Wild Pigeon appears to be almost entirely influenced in its migrations by the abundance of its food, excepting in those parts of the country in which it has not been known to remain during winter. Even in these movements it is largely influenced by instinctive considerations of food. Evidently the temperature has but little to do with their migrations, as they not unfrequently move northward in large columns as early as the 7th of March, with a thermometer twenty degrees below the freezing-point. In the spring of 1872 a large accumulation of these birds took place early in March, in the eastern portion of New York. They were present in the forests about Albany, and were taken in such immense numbers that the markets of New York and Boston were very largely supplied with them.

As early as the 10th of March they were ascertained to have in their ovaries full-grown eggs, ready for exclusion. In Kentucky they have been known, according to Audubon, to remain summer and winter in the same districts for several successive years, in consequence of the great abundance of food, while in other parts of the State none were to be met with. They suddenly disappeared as soon as the beech-mast had become exhausted, and did not return for a long period.

The Wild Pigeons are capable of propelling themselves in long-continued flights, and are known to move with an almost incredible rapidity, passing over a great extent of country in a very short time. It is quite a common and well-ascertained fact that Pigeons are captured in the State of New York with their crops still filled with the undigested grains of rice that must have been taken in the distant fields of Georgia or South Carolina, apparently proving that they must have passed over the intervening space within a very few hours. Audubon estimates the rapidity of their flight as at least a mile a minute.