Chapter XXIV: Part 24

Bill black above, reddish-yellow beneath, with the tip blackish. Iris brown. Legs dusky-brown, the toes blackish-brown. Upper part of the head bright bay; a band of greyish-white passes over the eye, lighter at its commencement near the upper mandible, and gradually shaded into ash-grey; sides of the head and neck ash-grey, the latter with some streaks of bay, of which a short band proceeds from the eye backwards. Middle of the back streaked with deep brown, bay, and pale yellowish-grey; rump light yellowish-grey. Wing-coverts similar to the back, the first row of small coverts, and the secondary coverts broadly edged with bright bay and largely tipped with white, of which there are thus two conspicuous bands across the wing; quills dusky, margined the outer with dull white, the inner with pale bay, the three inner secondaries broadly margined towards the end with white. Tail-feathers also dusky, margined externally and internally with greyish-white, the edge of the outermost pure white. Fore-neck pale grey, the sides yellowish-grey, the breast and abdomen white, tinged with cream-colour, the under tail-coverts white. An obscure spot of dark brown on the middle of the breast; and the feathers that cover the flexure of the wing, when closed, are bay.

Length 6¼ inches, extent of wings 8¾; bill along the back 4/12, along the edge 6/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CLXXXVIII. Fig. 2.

The female resembles the male, but is paler in its tints, and rather smaller.

The species is very closely allied to the Field Sparrow and the Chipping Sparrow, which are at least as much Emberizæ as Fringillæ; but as the generic characters and affinities of species cannot be conveniently detailed in a work like this, I must for the present defer the grouping of these, and the numerous birds allied to them.

THE CANADIAN BARBERRY.

BERBERIS CANADENSIS, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. ii. p. 227. _Pursh_,
Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 219.—HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA, _Linn._
BERBERIDES, _Juss._

This species of Barberry is very abundant in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as in the British provinces. It is an erect shrub, from five to eight feet in height, with triple prickles, simple obovate remotely serrated leaves, short corymbose racemes; yellow flowers, and pendulous oblong red berries, having an agreeable acid taste.

THE SNOW BUNTING.

_EMBERIZA NIVALIS_, LINN.

PLATE CLXXXIX. ADULT AND YOUNG.

As soon as the cold blasts of winter have stiffened the earth's surface, and brought with them the first snow-clouds, millions of these birds, driven before the pitiless storm, make their way towards milder climes. Their wings seem scarcely able to support their exhausted, nay almost congealed bodies, which seem little larger than the great feathery flakes of the substance from which these delicate creatures have borrowed their name. In compressed squadrons they are seen anxiously engaged in attempting to overcome the difficulties which beset them amid their perilous adventures. They now glide low over the earth, relax the closeness of their phalanx, and with amazing swiftness sweep over the country in search of that food, without which they must all shortly perish. Disappointed in their endeavours, the travellers again ascend, close their files, and continue their journey. At last, when nearly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, some leader espies the wished-for land, not yet buried in snow. Joyful notes are heard from the famished voyagers, while with relaxed flight, and wings and tail expanded, they float as it were in broad circles, towards the spot where they are to find relief. They alight, disperse, run nimbly in masses from the foot of one corn stalk to the next, scratch the ground here, pick up a dormant insect there, or nibble the small seeds of the withered grass, mixing them with a portion of gravel. Now two meet, and contend for the scanty morsel; the weaker gives way, for hunger, it seems, acts on birds as on other beings, rendering them selfish and unfeeling.

The Snow Birds enter the eastern portions of the Union sometimes early in November, and remain in such parts as suit them best until the month of March. They now and then alight on trees, frequently on fences, and sometimes on the roofs of low buildings, in such compact bodies or continued lines, as to render it easy for the sportsman who may be inclined to shoot them, to procure a great number at once.

This species, while in the United States, never enters the woods, but prefers either the barreny portions of our elevated table-lands, or the vicinity of the sea, lakes, or rivers, where much loose sand, intermixed with small clumps of bushes and grasses, is to be found. To such places I have thought that the Snow Birds endeavour to return each successive winter, unless compelled by the weather to proceed still farther south. I have seen them on the borders of Lake Erie, and on some of the barrens of Kentucky, for several successive seasons in the same neighbourhood. At Louisville I saw a flock each winter, on a piece of open ground between that city and the village of Shippingport, when their movements seldom extended beyond a space half a mile in diameter. It was there that one morning I caught several which were covered with hoarfrost, and so benumbed, that they were unable to fly. At that season, they kept company with the Shore-larks, the Lark-finches, and several species of Sparrow. They frequently alighted on trees, particularly the sweet gum, of which they eat the seeds.

The flight of this bird has a considerable resemblance to that of the Shore-lark, being rapid, elevated, and greatly protracted. It glides, as it were, through the air, in long and easy undulations, repeating a soft whistling call-note at each of these curves. While on the ground they run nimbly, and if wounded make off with great celerity, hiding in the grass, where it is difficult to find them, as they lie close and silent until danger is over.

When they first arrive, they are usually gentle and easily approached; but as their flesh is savoury, and their appearance attractive, they are shot in immense numbers, so that they soon become shy and wary. During moderate weather, they become more careless, appear to stray farther from each other, and if by the middle of the day the sun shines out warm, the male birds sing a few plaintive but soft and agreeable notes.

Only a single nest of this bird has been found within the limits of the United States. It was seen by WRIGHT BOOTH, Esq. of Boston, on a declivity of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the month of July 1831. That gentleman described it to me as being fixed on the ground amid low bushes, and formed like that of the Song Sparrow. It contained young ones.

Whilst with us, these birds are found in all varieties of plumage, excepting the pure white and black, which form their summer dress. I have not seen any having these colours, even among those procured late in March when they usually leave the United States. In Labrador and Newfoundland, they are known by the name of the "White Bird." Their food there consists of grass seeds, insects of various kinds, and minute testaceous mollusca. They not unfrequently alight on the wild oats growing on the borders of lakes and ponds, to feed on its seeds, and with all these substances they mix a proportion of fine sand or gravel.

EMBERIZA NIVALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 308.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 103.

EMBERIZA (PLECTROPHANES) NIVALIS, SNOW BUNTLING, _Swains. and
Richards._ Fauna Boreal.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 247.

SNOW BUNTING, EMBERIZA NIVALIS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. iii.
p. 86. pl. 21. fig. 2.

Adult in winter. Plate CLXXXIX. Fig. 1, 2.

Bill short, robust, tapering, somewhat compressed; upper mandible slightly convex in its dorsal line, the sides rounded, the sharp edges inflected; the palate with a convex prominence; lower mandible broader, with involute sharp edges; the gap-line deflected at the base. Nostrils basal, rounded, open, partly concealed by the feathers. The general form is rather robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with a few long scutella, sharp behind; toes scutellate above, granulate beneath, compressed, lateral toes equal; claws slightly arched, compressed, rather obtuse, with a short deep groove on each side at the base, the hind claw much longer.

Plumage soft and blended, the feathers somewhat distinct on the back only. Wings long, pointed, first quill longest, second scarcely shorter, second and third slightly cut out on the outer edge towards the end; secondaries emarginate. Tail of moderate length, deeply emarginate.

Bill yellow, the tips brown. Iris brown. Feet brownish-black. Head brownish-white, the crown and ear-coverts pale chestnut. Hind neck greyish white, tinged with chestnut. Feathers of the back brownish, margined and broadly tipped with light yellowish-red; the rump feathers white, tipped with the latter colour. The whole under surface is white, the sides of the neck and breast tinged with reddish-brown. Wing-coverts on both sides, and six outer secondaries, white; primary coverts white, tipped with brownish-black, primaries brownish-black, slightly margined and tipped with white, and having a broad band of the same extending over the base, and enlarging inwards, inner secondaries brownish-black, margined with pale reddish. Three outer tail-feathers on each side white, excepting towards the end, where they are brownish-black, of which colour are the other feathers, all being tipped and edged with whitish; upper tail-coverts brownish-black, with a large white tip.

Length 7 inches, extent of wings 13; bill along the back nearly 5/12, along the edge 7/12; tarsus 9½/12.

Young bird in winter. Plate CLXXXIX. Fig. 3.

The young bird in autumn and winter has the bill of a more rufous tint, the legs dusky brown, the head deep reddish-brown tinged with grey, a rufous band across the fore part of the breast, the back streaked with blackish-brown and light red; the wing coverts dark coloured, and the white of the quills less extended. On the lower parts the white is also less pure.

THE YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER.

_PICUS VARIUS_, LINN.

PLATE CXC. MALE AND FEMALE.

This beautiful species returns to Louisiana and the other Southern States, about the beginning of October. It remains there during the winter, and takes its departure before the beginning of April, after which period I have never observed it in these districts. It is seen in Kentucky, and a few breed there; but the greater number return to the middle and especially the northern parts of the Union. During the winter months, it associates with the Hairy, the Red-bellied, and the Downy Woodpeckers. Its notes, which are extremely plaintive, differ widely from those of any other species, and are heard at a considerable distance in the woods.

The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker prefers the interior of the forest during spring and summer, seldom shewing itself near the habitations of man at those seasons. It is a sly and suspicious bird, spending most of its time in trees which have close branches and dense foliage. It generally bores its nest at a considerable height, and usually in the trunk of an undecayed tree, immediately beneath a large branch, and on its southern side. The hole is worked out by the male as well as the female, in the manner followed by other species, and to the depth of from fifteen to twenty-four inches. The aperture is just large enough to admit the birds, but the hole widens gradually towards the bottom, where it is large and roomy. The eggs, which are from four to six, and pure white, with a slight blush, are deposited on the chips without any nest. The young seldom leave the hole until they are fully fledged, after which they follow their parents, in a straggling manner, until the approach of spring, when the males become shy towards each other, and quarrel whenever they meet, frequently erecting the feathers of the head and fighting desperately.

They fly through the woods with rapidity, in short undulations, seldom going farther at a time than from one tree to another. I never observed one of these birds on the ground. Their food consists of wood-worms and beetles, to which they add small grapes and various berries during autumn and winter, frequently hanging head downwards at the extremity of a bunch of grapes, or such berries as those you see represented in the Plate.

I found this species extremely abundant in the upper parts of the State of Maine, and in the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but saw none in Newfoundland or Labrador.

While travelling I observed that they performed their migration by day, in loose parties or families of six or seven individuals, flying at a great height, and at the intervals between their sailings and the flappings of their wings, emitting their remarkable plaintive cries. When alighting towards sunset, they descended with amazing speed in a tortuous manner, and first settled on the tops of the highest trees, where they remained perfectly silent for a while, after which they betook themselves to the central parts of the thickest trees, and searched along the trunks for abandoned holes of squirrels or woodpeckers, in which they spent the night, several together in the same hole. On one occasion, while I was watching their movements at a late hour, I was much surprised to see a pair of them disputing the entrance of a hole with an owl (_Strix Asio_), which for nearly a quarter of an hour tried, but in vain, to drive them away from its retreat. The owl alighted sidewise on the tree under its hole, swelled out its plumage, blew and hissed with all its might; but the two Woodpeckers so guarded the entrance with their sharp bills, their eyes flushed, and the feathers of their heads erected, that the owner of the abode was at length forced to relinquish his claims. The next day at noon I returned to the tree, when I found the little nocturnal vagrant snugly ensconced in his diurnal retreat.

This species of Woodpecker does not obtain the full beauty of its plumage until the second spring; and the variety of colouring which it presents in the male and female, the old and young birds, renders it one of the most interesting of those found in the United States.

PICUS VARIUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 176.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 45.

PICUS (DENDROCOPUS) VARIUS, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-
Amer. vol. ii. p. 309.

YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER, PICUS VARIUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. i. p. 147. pl. 9. fig. 2. Male.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 75. pl. 8. fig. 1, 2, young.—_Nuttall_,
Manual, part i. p. 574.

Adult Male. Plate CXC. Fig. 1.

Bill longish, straight, strong, tapering, compressed towards the end, slightly truncated and cuneate at the tip; mandibles of equal length, both nearly straight in their dorsal outline, their sides convex, excepting at the base. Nostrils basal, lateral, elliptical, open, covered by the feathers, and having a sharp ridge passing over them to the edge of the bill near the middle. Head of moderate size, neck rather short, body rather robust. Feet rather short; tarsus compressed, anteriorly scutellate, laterally covered with hexagonal scales, sharp behind; two toes before, united as far as the second joint; two behind, the first very small, the second equal in length to the third, claws strong, much curved, compressed, with a short deep groove on each side, very acute.

Plumage soft, rather blended, slightly glossed, that of the head shining. Wings long, the first quill extremely small, fourth longest, third nearly equal, second shorter than fifth; secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail of ordinary length, cuneate, of ten pointed feathers, having very short shafts.

Bill brownish-black. Iris brown. Feet greyish-blue. Forehead and crown, chin and sides of the throat blood-red, the two patches margined with greenish-black, of which colour is a broad band on the occiput, and a large space on the lower neck and fore part of the breast, a broad band of white from the eye margining the back of the occiput; another from the base of the upper mandible down the side of the neck, the interspace black. Scapulars black, tinged with green. Wing-coverts and quills black, the first row of smaller coverts white, excepting at the base, those of the outer secondary coverts are white on the outer webs, and the quills, excepting the first, are spotted on the outer and inner edges, and more or less tipped with the same. The back is variegated with black and brownish-white. Tail-feathers black, the outer margined with white towards the tip, the two inner spotted with white on the inner web. Middle of the breast yellow, sides dusky yellow, variegated with brownish-black.

Length 8½ inches, extent of wings 15; bill along the ridge 10/12, along the edge 1-1/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CXC. Fig. 2.

The female resembles the male, but the throat is white, and the yellow of the lower parts less pure.

THE WILD ALMOND.

This plant has already been noticed at p. 340 of the present volume.

COD-FISHING.

Although I had seen, as I thought, abundance of fish along the coasts of the Floridas, the numbers which I found in Labrador quite astonished me. Should your surprise while reading the following statements be as great as mine was while observing the facts related, you will conclude, as I have often done, that Nature's means for providing small animals for the use of larger ones, and _vice versa_, are as ample as is the grandeur of that world which she has so curiously constructed.

The coast of Labrador is visited by European as well as American fishermen, all of whom are, I believe, entitled to claim portions of fishing-ground, assigned to each nation by mutual understanding. For the present, however, I shall confine my observations to those of our own country, who, after all, are probably the most numerous. The citizens of Boston, and many others of our eastern sea-ports, are those who chiefly engage in this department of our commerce. Eastport in Maine sends out every year a goodly fleet, of schooners and "pickaxes" to Labrador, to procure cod, mackerel, halibut, and sometimes herring, the latter being caught in the intermediate space. The vessels from that port, and others in Maine and Massachusetts, sail as soon as the warmth of spring has freed the gulf of ice, that is, from the beginning of May to that of June.

A vessel of one hundred tons or so, is provided with a crew of twelve men, who are equally expert as sailors and fishers, and for every couple of these hardy tars, a Hampton boat is provided, which is lashed on the deck, or hung in stays. Their provision is simple, but of good quality, and it is very seldom that any spirits are allowed, beef, pork, and biscuit, with water, being all they take with them. The men are supplied with warm clothing, waterproof oiled jackets and trowsers, large boots, broad-brimmed hats with a round crown, and stout mittens, with a few shirts. The owner or captain furnishes them with lines, hooks, and nets, and also provides the bait best adapted to ensure success. The hold of the vessel is filled with casks of various dimensions, some containing salt, and others for the oil that may be procured.

The bait generally used at the beginning of the season, consists of mussels salted for the purpose; but as soon as the capelings reach the coast, they are substituted to save expense; and in many instances, the flesh of gannets and other sea-fowl is employed. The wages of fishermen vary from sixteen to thirty dollars per month, according to the qualifications of the individual.

The labour of these men is excessively hard, for, unless on Sunday, their allowance of rest in the twenty-four hours seldom exceeds three. The cook is the only person who fares better in this respect, but he must also assist in curing the fish. He has breakfast, consisting of coffee, bread, and meat, ready for the captain and the whole crew, by three o'clock every morning, excepting Sunday. Each person carries with him his dinner ready cooked, which is commonly eaten on the fishing-grounds.

Thus, at three in the morning, the crew are prepared for their day's labour, and ready to betake themselves to their boats, each of which has two oars and lugsails. They all depart at once, and either by rowing or sailing, reach the banks to which the fishes are known to resort. The little squadron drop their anchors at short distances from each other, in a depth of from ten to twenty feet, and the business is immediately commenced. Each man has two lines, and each stands in one end of the boat, the middle of which is boarded off to hold the fish. The baited lines have been dropped into the water, one on each side of the boat; their leads have reached the bottom, a fish has taken the hook, and after giving the line a slight jerk, the fisherman hauls up his prize with a continued pull, throws the fish athwart a small round bar of iron placed near his back, which forces open the mouth, while the weight of the body, however small the fish may be, tears out the hook. The bait is still good, and over the side the line again goes, to catch another fish, while that on the left is now drawn up, and the same course pursued. In this manner, a fisher busily plying at each end, the operation is continued until the boat is so laden, that her gunwale is brought within a few inches of the surface, when they return to the vessel in harbour, seldom distant more than eight miles from the banks.

During the greater part of the day, the fishermen have kept up a constant conversation, of which the topics are the pleasure of finding a good supply of cod, their domestic affairs, the political prospects of the nation, and other matters similarly connected. Now the repartee of one elicits a laugh from the other; this passes from man to man, and the whole flotilla enjoy the joke. The men of one boat strive to outdo those of the others in hauling up the greatest quantity of fish in a given time, and this forms another source of merriment. The boats are generally filled about the same time, and all return together.

Arrived at the vessel, each man employs a pole armed with a bent iron, resembling the prong of a hay-fork, with which he pierces the fish, and throws it with a jerk on deck, counting the number thus discharged with a loud voice. Each cargo is thus safely deposited, and the boats instantly return to the fishing-ground, when, after anchoring, the men eat their dinner and begin a-new. There, good reader, with your leave, I will let them pursue their avocations for a while, as I am anxious that you should witness what is doing on board the vessel.

The captain, four men, and the cook, have, in the course of the morning, erected long tables fore and aft the main hatchway, they have taken to the shore most of the salt barrels, and have placed in a row their large empty casks, to receive the livers. The hold of the vessel is quite clear, except a corner where is a large heap of salt. And now the men having dined precisely at twelve, are ready with their large knives. One begins with breaking off the head of the fish, a slight pull of the hand and a gash with the knife effecting this in a moment. He slits up its belly, with one hand pushes it aside to his neighbour, then throws overboard the head, and begins to doctor another. The next man tears out the entrails, separates the liver, which he throws into a cask, and casts the rest overboard. A third person dexterously passes his knife beneath the vertebræ of the fish, separates them from the flesh, heaves the latter through the hatchway, and the former into the water.

Now, if you will peep into the hold, you will see the last stage of the process, the salting and packing. Six experienced men generally manage to head, gut, bone, salt and pack, all the fish caught in the morning, by the return of the boats with fresh cargoes, when all hands set to work, and clear the deck of the fish. Thus their labours continue until twelve o'clock, when they wash their faces and hands, put on clean clothes, hang their fishing apparel on the shrouds, and, betaking themselves to the forecastle, are soon in a sound sleep.

At three next morning comes the captain from his berth, rubbing his eyes; and in a loud voice calling "all hands, ho!" Stiffened in limb, and but half awake, the crew quickly appear on the deck. Their fingers and hands are so cramped and swollen by pulling the lines, that it is difficult for them to straighten even a thumb; but this matters little at present; for the cook, who had a good nap yesterday, has risen an hour before them, and prepared their coffee and eatables. Breakfast dispatched, they exchange their clean clothes for the fishing-apparel, and leap into their boats, which had been washed the previous night, and again the flotilla bounds to the fishing-ground.

As there may be not less than 100 schooners or pickaxes in the harbour, 300 boats resort to the banks each day; and, as each boat may procure 2000 cods per diem, when Saturday night comes about 600,000 fishes have been brought to the harbour. This having caused some scarcity on the fishing-grounds, and Sunday being somewhat of an idle day, the Captain collects the salt ashore, and sets sail for some other convenient harbour, which he expects to reach long before sunset. If the weather be favourable, the men get a good deal of rest during the voyage, and on Monday things go on as before.

I must not omit to tell you, reader, that, while proceeding from one harbour to another, the vessel has passed near a rock, which is the breeding place of myriads of Puffins. She has laid to for an hour or so, while part of the crew have landed, and collected a store of eggs, excellent as a substitute for cream, and not less so when hard boiled as food for the fishing-grounds. I may as well inform you also, how these adventurous fellows distinguish the fresh eggs from the others. They fill up some large tubs with water, throw in a quantity of eggs, and allow them to remain a minute or so, when those which come to the surface are tossed overboard, and even those that manifest any upward tendency, share the same treatment. All that remain at bottom, you may depend upon it, good reader, are perfectly sound, and not less palatable than any that you have ever eaten, or that your best guinea-fowl has just dropped in your barn-yard. But let us return to the cod-fish.

The fish already procured and salted, is taken ashore at the new harbour, by part of the crew, whom the captain has marked as the worst hands at fishing. There, on the bare rocks, or on elevated scaffolds of considerable extent, the salted cods are laid side by side to dry in the sun. They are turned several times a-day, and in the intervals the men bear a hand on board at clearing and stowing away the daily produce of the fishing-banks. Towards evening they return to the drying grounds, and put up the fish in piles resembling so many hay-stacks, disposing those towards the top in such a manner that the rain cannot injure them, and placing a heavy stone on the summit to prevent their being thrown down should it blow hard during the night. You see, reader, that the life of a Labrador fisherman is not one of idleness.

The capelings have approached the shores, and in myriads enter every basin and stream, to deposit their spawn, for now July is arrived. The cods follow them, as the blood-hound follows his prey, and their compact masses literally line the shores. The fishermen now adopt another method: they have brought with them long and deep seines, one end of which is, by means of a line fastened to the shore, while the other is, in the usual manner, drawn out in a broad sweep, to inclose as great a space as possible, and hauled on shore by means of a capstan. Some of the men in boats support the corked part of the net, and beat the water to frighten the fishes within towards the land, while others, armed with poles, enter the water, hook the fishes, and fling them on the beach, the net being gradually drawn closer as the number of fishes diminishes. What do you think, reader, as to the number of cods secured in this manner at a single haul?—thirty, or thirty thousand? You may form some notion of the matter when I tell you that the young gentlemen of my party, while going along the shores, caught cod-fish alive, with their hands, and trouts of many pounds weight with a piece of twine and a mackerel-hook hung to their gun-rods; and that, if two of them walked knee-deep along the rocks, holding a handkerchief by the corners, they swept it full of capelings. Should you not trust me in this, I refer you to the fishermen themselves, or recommend you to go to Labrador, where you will give credit to the testimony of your eyes.

The seining of the cod-fish, I believe, is not _quite_ lawful, for a great proportion of the codlings which are dragged ashore at last, are so small as to be considered useless; and, instead of being returned to the water, as they ought to be, are left on the shore, where they are ultimately eaten by bears, wolves, and ravens. The fishes taken along the coast, or on fishing-stations only a few miles off, are of small dimensions; and I believe I am correct in saying, that few of them weigh more than two pounds, when perfectly cured, or exceed six when taken out of the water. The fish are liable to several diseases, and at times are annoyed by parasitic animals, which in a short time render them lean and unfit for use.

Some individuals, from laziness, or other causes, fish with naked hooks, and thus frequently wound the cod without securing them, in consequence of which the shoals are driven away, to the detriment of the other fishers. Some carry their cargoes to other parts before drying them, while others dispose of them to agents from distant shores. Some have only a pickaxe of fifty tons, while others are owners of seven or eight vessels of equal or larger burden; but whatever be their means, should the season prove favourable, they are generally well repaid for their labour. I have known instances of men, who, on their first voyage, ranked as "boys," and in ten years after were in independent circumstances, although they still continued to resort to the fishing; for, said they to me, "how could we be content to spend our time in idleness at home!" I know a person of this class who has carried on the trade for many years, and who has quite a little fleet of schooners, one of which, the largest and most beautifully built, has a cabin as neat and comfortable as any that I have ever seen in a vessel of the same size. This vessel took fish on board only when perfectly cured, or acted as pilot to the rest, and now and then would return home with an ample supply of halibut, or a cargo of prime mackerel. On another occasion, I will offer some remarks on the improvements which I think might be made in the cod-fisheries of the coast of Labrador.

THE WILLOW GROUS.

_TETRAO SALICETI_, TEMM.

PLATE CXCI. MALE, FEMALE AND YOUNG.

Although I have not seen this beautiful bird within the limits of the United States, I feel assured that it exists in the State of Maine, as well as in the northern districts bordering on the great lakes. THEODORE LINCOLN, Esq. of Dennisville in Maine, shot seven one day, not many miles from that village; and the hunter who guided me to the breeding grounds of the Canada Grous, assured me, that he also knew where the "Red-necked Partridge" was to be found. The places which he described as frequented by them, seemed to bear as near a resemblance to those in which I found the species in Labrador and Newfoundland, as the difference of latitude and vegetation could admit. I have also seen several skins of individuals that were killed near Lake Michigan.

The Willow Grous differs in its habits from the Canada Grous in several remarkable circumstances. In the first place, neither myself nor any of my party ever found the former solitary or single. The males were always in the immediate vicinity of the nest while the females were sitting, and accompanied them and the young, from the time the latter were hatched until they were full-grown; and whenever we met with them, we observed that the males and the females manifested the strongest attachment towards each other, as well as towards their young. In fact, so much was this the case, that when a covey happened to come in our way, the parents would fly directly towards us with so much boldness, that some were actually killed on the wing with the rods of our guns, as they flew about in the agonies of rage and despair, with all their feathers raised and ruffled. In the mean time, the little ones dispersed and made off through the deep moss and tangled creeping plants with great rapidity, squatting and keeping close to the ground, when it became extremely difficult to find them. This is the only American species of Grous I am acquainted with that possesses these habits; in all others found in the United States, the male not only leaves the female as soon as incubation has commenced, but both fly from man and urge their young to do the same from their earliest age.

The Willow Grouse, moreover, join their broods whenever an opportunity offers, and we found flocks of old and young, in which the latter were of very different sizes. This species rarely if ever alights on bushes or trees after being fully grown, and appears to resort at all times by preference to the ground, living among the naked rocks of the open morasses.

The young birds do not acquire their full summer plumage before they are two years old. Many of these middle-aged birds, as I would call them, which our party procured early in the month of July, differed greatly from the older birds, which had their broods then quite small. They were much lighter in colour, their tails were shorter, and they weighed less, but afforded much better eating. Some of them had young, but their broods were much smaller in point of number, seldom exceeding four or five, while the old birds frequently had a dozen or more.

The flight of the Willow Grous resembles that of the Red Grous of Scotland, being regular, swift, and on occasion protracted to a very great distance. They have no whirring sound of their wings, even when put up by sudden surprise. Whenever we found a pair without young, they were extremely shy, and would fly from one hill to another often at a great distance. If pursued, they would be seen standing erect, and boldly watching our approach, until we got to the distance of a few hundred yards from them, when they would run from the naked rocks into the moss, and there squat so close, that unless one of the party happened to walk almost over them, they remained unseen, and could not be raised. When discovered and put up, they were easily shot, on account of the beautiful regularity of their flight. In rising from the ground, they utter a loud and quickly repeated chuck, which is continued for eight or ten yards.

Young birds shot in Newfoundland, on the 11th of August, weighed 6¼ ounces, and were fully fledged. Their primaries were of a sullied white, but their legs were not closely covered with hair-like feathers as in the old birds. Although this species breeds in the districts inhabited by the Canada Grous, it never enters the thickets to which the latter resorts, but always remains in the open grounds.

One day while in search of young Wild Geese, in a large oozy and miry flat, covered with a floating bed of tangled herbage, we were much surprised at finding there several Willow Grous. They were extremely shy, and flew from one part of the marsh to another. We procured with great difficulty two, which proved to be barren females.

To give you an idea of the difficulties we had occasionally to encounter, in our endeavours to procure such birds as breed in that country, it will suffice to say, that one of us was so mired in the flat just mentioned, that it was with extreme difficulty another of us succeeded in extricating him, to the great danger of being himself swamped, in which case we must all have perished, had no aid arrived. We were completely smeared with black mud, and so fatigued, that when we returned, we found it impossible to proceed more than a few yards before we were forced to sit down on the dangerous sward, which at every step shook for a considerable space around so that we were obliged to keep at a distance from each other, and move many yards apart, constantly fearing that the least increase of weight would have burst the thin layer that supported us, and sent us in to a depth from which we could not have been extricated. But once out of the bog, we were delighted with the success of our enterprise, and as we refreshed ourselves from our scanty stores, when we had reached the rocky shores of the sea, we laughed heartily at what had happened, although only a few hours before it was considered a most serious accident.

As I am speaking of fowling in Labrador, allow me to relate an incident connected with the Willow Grous. Among our crew was a sailor, who was somewhat of a wag. He was a "man-of-war's-man," and had seen a good deal of service in our navy, an expert sailor, perhaps the best diver I have seen, always willing to work hard, and always full of fun. This sailor and another had the rowing of our gig on an excursion after Grous and other wild birds. THOMAS LINCOLN and my son JOHN WOODHOUSE, managed the boat. The gig having landed on the main, the sailors, who had guns, went one way, and the young travellers another. They all returned, as was previously agreed upon, at the same hour, and produced the birds which they had procured. The sailor had none, and was laughed at. While rowing towards the Ripley, we heard the cries of birds as if in the air; the rowing ceased but nothing could be seen, and we proceeded. Again the sounds of birds were distinctly heard, but again none could be seen, and what seemed strange was, that they were heard only at each pull of the oars. The young men taxed the tar with producing the noises, as they saw him as if employed in doing so with his mouth; however, the thing still remained a mystery. Sometime after we had got on board, the provision basket was called for, and was produced by Master BILL, who, grinning from ear to ear, drew out of it two fine old Grous, and a whole covey of young ones, in all the exultation of one who had outwitted what he called his betters.

While at the harbour of Bras d'Or, I was told by persons who had resided in the country for many years, that, during the winter, when the snow covers the ground, and the Grous are obliged to scratch through it, in order to get at the mosses and lichens, they are so abundant that a hundred or more can be shot in a day, and congregate in flocks of immense numbers, now and then mixed with the smaller species, called there the Rock Grous, and which is the _Tetrao rupestris_. Their flesh is then salted for summer use. At that season they are of a pure white, except the tail, which retains its jetty blackness. I was further informed that their flesh is then dry, and not to be compared with what it is in summer, when I found it tender, and having an agreeable aromatic flavour.

The Willow Grous breeds in Labrador about the beginning of June. The female conceals her nest under the creeping branches of the low firs. It consists of bits of dry twigs and mosses drawn into a form. The eggs are from five to fourteen, according to the age of the bird, and are marbled with irregular spots of reddish-brown, on a dull fawn-colour or rufous ground. They raise only one brood in the season.

The pair represented in the plate, with their young, were procured by my friend GEORGE SHATTUCK, Esq. of Boston, one of my party, who shot the first pair found by us in Labrador. They were in their full summer plumage. I think these birds, as well as the Canada Grous, have what I call a continued moult, young feathers being found upon them at all seasons.

TETRAO SALICETI, _Temm._ Manuel d'Ornith. p. 471.

TETRAO (LAGOPUS) SALICETI, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna
Boreali-Americ. part. ii. p. 351.

WILLOW GROUS or LARGE PTARMIGAN, _Nuttall_, Manual, part ii.
p. 674.

Adult Male, in summer. Plate CXCI. Fig. 1.

Bill short, robust; upper mandible with the dorsal outline curved, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate and rounded, the basal part with a deep sinus on each side, lower mandible convex, broad, with the tip rounded. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the feathers. Head small, neck rather long, body bulky. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus feathered, as are the toes, excepting towards the end, where they are covered with small scales and three terminal scutella; hind toe extremely short, two lateral equal; claws slightly arched, depressed, broad, with thin edges, and rounded.

Plumage compact, the feathers generally rounded, those of the head and upper neck narrow and proportionally short. The legs and toes covered with hair-like feathers. Wings short, the primaries strong, narrow, tapering, curved, third longest, second and fourth little shorter. Tail short, even, or very slightly rounded, of fourteen broad feathers, and four narrower central ones, which are superior.

Bill black. Iris brown. Toes and claws dark brown, the edges of the latter yellowish-grey. Head and neck bright chestnut, the feathers on the back part of the latter and crown of the head barred with black, and tipped with whitish. The back, some of the wing-coverts, the nearer secondary quills, the four upper tail-feathers, the anterior part of the breast, and part of the sides under the wings, variegated with brownish-black, chestnut and white, the feathers being of the first colour in the middle, and transversely barred with the second towards the end, while the terminal margin is of the last. Most of the coverts, all the primaries, and the greater number of the secondaries, with the whole under surface of the wings, the middle of the breast, the abdomen, legs and feet, pure white, the shafts of the primaries are more or less brown, excepting towards the ends, The fourteen tail-feathers are brownish-black, with the tips white, as is the basal portion of the outer web of the outermost. The superciliary membranes are vermilion.

Length 17 inches, extent of wings 26½; bill along the ridge ¾; tarsus 1½; middle toe with the nail 1-7/12; weight 1¼ lb.

Adult Female, in summer. Plate CXCI. Fig. 2.

In the female the superciliary membrane is much smaller, but of the same colour, as are the wings and tail. The head, neck, breast, abdomen, sides, as well as the upper parts, are variegated in a manner resembling the back of the male, but with the black spots larger, and the transverse bars of light brownish-red, broader and less numerous; the lower surface much lighter.

Length 16 inches, extent of wings 25; weight 1 lb.

Young a few days old. Plate CXCI. Fig. 3, 3.

The young are covered with a dense elastic down, of a yellowish tint, variegated above with a few large streaks of dark brown, on a light brown ground; the top of the head with a longitudinal brown patch margined with black.

The Young when fully fledged resemble the Female.

THE LABRADOR TEA PLANT.

LEDUM LATIFOLIUM, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. ii. p. 602. _Pursh_,
Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 301.—DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA, _Linn._
RHODODENDRA, _Juss._

The Labrador Tea Plant springs up among the rich and thick moss that everywhere covers the country of Labrador. I was informed that the fishermen and Indians frequently make use of it instead of tea.

It is a small shrub, about a foot in height, with linear oblong leaves, which are folded back at the margin, and covered on the back with a rust-coloured down. The flowers are white.

THE SEA PEA.

PISUM MARITIMUM, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. iii. p. 1071. _Pursh_,
Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 470.—DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA,
_Linn._ LEGUMINOSÆ, _Juss._

This species of Pea grows in the same country, generally in the vicinity of the sea. It has an angular stem, with sagittate stipules, and many-flowered peduncles, with large purple, blue and red flowers.

THE GREAT CINEREOUS SHRIKE.

_LANIUS EXCUBITOR_, LINN.

PLATE CXCII. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.

Although this species spends the greater part of the year in our most Eastern States, and in countries still farther north, many individuals remain in the mountainous districts of the Middle States, and breed there. In severe winters, it migrates as far south as the neighbourhood of the city of Natchez, on the Mississippi, where I have shot several and seen many more. In Kentucky it is not a rare bird at that season, but along the coasts of our southern States I have never met with it, nor have I heard of its having been seen there.

In spring and summer it retires from the low lands of the Middle States, to the mountainous districts, where it generally remains until autumn. About the 20th of April, the male and his mate are seen engaged in building their nest, in the covered and secluded parts of the forests. I found several of their nests placed on bushes not above ten feet from the ground, without any appearance of choice as to the tree, but generally towards the top, and placed in a fork. The nest is as large as that of the Robin, and is composed externally of coarse grasses, leaves and moss, internally of fibrous roots, over which is a bed of the feathers of the Wild Turkey and Pheasant (_Tetrao umbellus_). The eggs are four or five, of a dull cinereous tint, thickly spotted and streaked with light brown towards the larger end. The period of incubation is fifteen days.

The young are at first of a dark bluish colour, but when they become covered with feathers, they assume a dull rufous tint above, and are transversely barred with zig-zag lines from the throat to the abdomen. In this State they remain until late in autumn, and might seem to one not acquainted with them to be of a different species. They remain with their parents all that time, and not unfrequently even during winter. Caterpillars, spiders and insects of various kinds form their first food, together with small fruits; but as they grow up, their parents bring them the flesh of small birds, on which they feed greedily even before they leave the nest.

This valiant little warrior possesses the faculty of imitating the notes of other birds, especially such as are indicative of pain. Thus it will often mimic the cries of Sparrows and other small birds, so as to make you believe you hear them screaming in the claws of a Hawk; and I strongly suspect this is done for the purpose of inducing others to come out from their coverts to the rescue of their suffering brethren. On several occasions I have seen it in the act of screaming in this manner, when it would suddenly dart from its perch into a thicket, from which there would immediately issue the real cries of a bird on which it had seized. On the banks of the Mississippi, I saw one which for several days in succession had regularly taken its stand on the top of a tall tree, where it from time to time imitated the cries of the Swamp and Song Sparrows, and shortly afterwards would pitch downwards like a Hawk, with is wings close to its body, seldom failing in obtaining the object of its pursuit, which it would sometimes follow even through the briars and brambles among which it had sought refuge. When unable to secure the prey, it would reascend to its perch, and emit loud and discordant notes of anger. Whenever I could see it strike its victim, it appeared to alight on its back, and instantly strike its head, which on such occasions I have several times found torn open. If not disturbed, the Shrike would then tear up the body, and swallow in large pieces, not well cleared of the feathers, every part excepting the wings. It now and then pursues birds that are on the wing to a considerable distance. Thus, I saw one follow a Turtle Dove, which, on being nearly caught, pitched on the ground, where its skull was bruised in a moment; but the next instant both birds were in my possession.

The courage, activity, and perseverance of this species, are quite surprising. In winter, when insects are scarce, and small birds rare in the Eastern States, I have known it to enter the cities and attack birds in cages. During my stay at Boston, several of them were brought to me, that had been caught in the apartments in which cages containing canaries were kept, and in every instance after the little favourite had been massacred. Near the same city I observed an individual poised on wing, in the manner of our Sparrow Hawk, for several minutes at a time, over the withered grass and sedges of salt water meadows, when it suddenly pounced on some small bird concealed there.

Although its feet are small and apparently weak, its claws are sharp, and it is capable of inflicting a pretty severe wound on the finger or hand. It bites with great pertinacity, and will seldom let go its hold unless its throat is squeezed.

Its flight is strong, swift, and sustained: it moves through the air in long undulations which have each an extent of twenty or thirty yards, but it seldom rises very high, unless for the purpose of obtaining a good point of observation, and in its usual flight merely passes over the tops of the low bushes rapidly and in silence, in starts of from fifty to a hundred yards. I never saw one walk or move on the ground.

They are extremely fond of crickets and grasshoppers, as well as other kinds of insects, and they feed on the flesh of birds whenever they can procure it. The individuals which I have kept in cages, appeared well pleased with pieces of fresh beef, but they generally remained dull and sullen until they died. As it was only during winter that I had them in confinement, when no coleopterous insects could be procured, I had no opportunity of observing if, like Hawks, they have the power of throwing up hard particles of the food which they swallow, although I should suppose this to be the case. Their propensity to impale insects and small birds on the sharp points of twigs and on thorns, which they so frequently do at all seasons of the year, is quite a mystery to me, as I cannot conceive what its object may be.

I have represented four of these birds of different ages, and therefore differing in colour and size, leaving to the naturalists of Europe to determine, if they can, whether the American species be the same as the one found in that portion of the globe. For my part, I believe the two to be the same. In our species the transverse lines of the breast disappear as the bird advances in age, when the tint of the upper part of the plumage also becomes lighter.

LANIUS EXCUBITOR, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 135.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 67.

LANIUS SEPTENTRIONALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. p. 72.

LANIUS BOREALIS, _Vieill._ Ois. de l'Amer. vol. i. p. 80. pl. 50.
—_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 111.
pl. 33. (Young.)

GREAT CINEREOUS SHRIKE, _Mont._ Ornith. Dict.—_Selby_,
Illustrations, vol. i. p. 148.

GREAT AMERICAN SHRIKE or BUTCHER BIRD, LANIUS EXCUBITOR,
_Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. p. 74. pl. 5. fig. 1.—_Nuttall_,
Manual, part i. p. 25.

Adult Male. CXCII. Fig. 1.