Chapter XXV: Part 25

Bill of moderate length, strong, compressed; upper mandible with the dorsal outline a little arched, the tip declinate, the edges sharp and inflected towards the strong process, which is separated from the tip by a deep sinus; lower mandible with the dorsal line convex, the sides rounded, the edges inflected, the acute tip ascending. Nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane. Head large, neck short, body robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus rather short, compressed, anteriorly scutellate, sharp behind; toes five, the lateral ones nearly equal, the hind toe stouter; claws arched, compressed, acute.

Plumage soft, blended. Long bristles at the base of the bill. Wings of ordinary length, the fourth quill longest, third little shorter, second shorter than sixth, first about half the length of second; secondaries rounded, with a minute tip. Tail long, straight, graduated; of twelve rounded feathers.

Bill brownish-black at the end, paler towards the base, the edges of both mandibles and the basal part of the lower, flesh-colour tinged with yellow. Iris hazel. Feet brownish-black. The upper parts are light ash-grey, the ends of the scapulars, and the rump feathers and upper tail-coverts, greyish-white; a streak of the same colour over the eye; the lore and ear-coverts brownish-black. The first row of smaller wing-coverts, the primary and secondary coverts, and the quills, brownish-black; the latter, especially the secondary quills, as well as their coverts, tipped with white. Base of the primaries white, forming a conspicuous spot on the wing. Tail-feathers brownish-black; outer web of the outermost, with more than a third of the inner web from the tip, white; the extremities of all the rest, excepting the two middle, of the same colour, which gradually occupies less extent on the inner feathers. The whole under surface greyish white, tinged with brown on the fore part of the breast, which is transversely marked with faint undulating bars of dark grey, as are the sides.

Length 10¼ inches, extent of wings 14; bill along the back ¾, along the edge of lower mandible 1-2/12; tarsus 1-1/12.

Adult Female. Plate CXCII. Fig. 2.

The female differs from the male only in having the head and neck slightly tinged with brown, the band before the eye obscure, and the under parts with more numerous undulated lines.

Adult Male in summer. Plate CXCII. Fig. 3.

The grey of the upper parts tinged with brown, the white of the lower with yellowish-brown, in other respects the same.

Young bird. Plate CXCII. Fig. 4.

The bill greyish-blue, at the end brownish-black, the upper parts grey, deeply tinged with brown, with which the quills and their coverts are margined; the upper tail-coverts transversely barred; the whitish line over the eye less distinct, the ear-coverts dark brown, the lower parts pale grey, tinged with brown, and undulated all over; the four middle tail-feathers black.

The older the birds are, the more pure and pale does the grey of the upper parts become, while the undulations of the lower parts gradually disappear, although I have not seen an individual in which they were altogether obliterated.

On comparing this bird with the _Lanius Excubitor_ of Europe, I cannot perceive any differences that could induce me for a moment to conceive them distinct. The relative length of the quills, the length of the bill and tarsus, the general form, size, and colouring, differ in no essential respect. I am, therefore, decidedly of opinion that our Shrike is the same bird as that which occurs in Europe. The old female, as has been stated above, differs little in tint from the old male, the younger birds only (of both sexes) being deeply browned. A fine adult male which was shot near Edinburgh, and is preserved in the beautiful Museum of the University of that city, agrees in all respects with specimens from America in my possession.

CRATÆGUS APIIFOLIA, _Mich._ Fl. Amer. vol. i. p. 287. _Pursh_,
Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 336.—ICOSANDRIA PENTAGYNIA, _Linn._
ROSACEÆ, _Juss._

This species of Hawthorn bears a great resemblance to that so common in Europe. It grows on the banks of rivers and in damp woods in several of the Southern States, and attains a height of twelve or fifteen feet. The leaves are somewhat triangular in their general outline, inciso-lobate, the lobes acute and deeply toothed; the flowers white, and the berries ovate or oblong, of a deep red colour.

LINCOLN'S FINCH.

_FRINGILLA LINCOLNII._

PLATE CXCIII. MALE AND FEMALE.

We had been in Labrador nearly three weeks before this Finch was discovered. One morning while the sun was doing his best to enliven the gloomy aspect of the country, I chanced to enter one of those singular small valleys here and there to be seen. The beautiful verdure of the vegetation, the numerous flowers that grew sprinkled over the ground, the half-smothered pipings of some frogs, and the multitudes of mosquitoes and flies of various sorts, seemed to belong to a region very different from any that I had previously explored. But if the view of this favoured spot was pleasing to my eye, how much more to my ear were the sweet notes of this bird as they came thrilling on the sense, surpassing in vigour those of any American Finch with which I am acquainted, and forming a song which seemed a compound of those of the Canary and Wood-lark of Europe. I immediately shouted to my companions, who were not far distant. They came, and we all followed the songster as it flitted from one bush to another to evade our pursuit. No sooner would it alight than it renewed its song; but we found more wildness in this species than in any other inhabiting the same country, and it was with difficulty that we at last procured it. Chance placed my young companion, THOMAS LINCOLN, in a situation where he saw it alight within shot, and with his usual unerring aim, he cut short its career. On seizing it, I found it to be a species which I had not previously seen; and, supposing it to be new, I named it _Tom's Finch_, in honour of our friend LINCOLN, who was a great favourite among us. Three cheers were given him, when, proud of the prize, I returned to the vessel to draw it, while my son and his companions continued to search for other specimens. Many were procured during our stay in that country. They became more abundant and less shy the farther north we proceeded, but no longer sang, in consequence of the advance of the season. We did not, however, succeed in finding a nest.

The habits of this sweet songster resemble those of the Song Sparrow. Like it, mounted on the topmost twig of the tallest shrub or tree it can find, it chants for hours; or, diving into the thickets, it hops from branch to branch, until it reaches the ground, in search of those insects and berries from which it derives its support. It moves swiftly off when it discovers an enemy; and, if forced to take wing, flies low and rapidly to some considerable distance, jerking its tail as it proceeds, and throwing itself at the foot of the thickest bush it meets. I found it mostly near streams, and always in the small valleys, guarded from the cold winds so prevalent in the country, and which now and then nip the vegetation, and destroy many of the more delicate birds.

Like every other species of the genus, Lincoln's Finch is petulant and pugnacious. Two males often chase each other, until the weaker is forced to abandon the valley, and seek refuge in another. On this account I seldom saw more than two or three pairs in a tract seven or eight miles in extent.

On the 4th of July, the young were out of the nest, following their parents; and as, from that time, the old birds ceased to sing, I concluded that they raise only one brood each year. Before we left Labrador, these Finches had all disappeared. In what parts this species passes the winter is unknown to me; nay, I never met with it in any of the Southern States, although I saw several specimens in the collection of the learned WILLIAM COOPER, Esq. of New York, that had been procured in the vicinity of that city.

The plants represented along with a pair of these birds, grew in the little valley in which the first individual seen by us was procured. They were taken up with a spade from the midst of a rich broad bed of mosses, and may serve to convey an idea of the nature of the vegetation of those places.

LINCOLN'S FINCH, FRINGILLA LINCOLNII.

Adult Male. Plate CXCIII. Fig. 1.

Bill short, conical, acute; upper mandible almost straight in its dorsal outline, rounded on the sides; lower mandible slightly convex beneath, the sides rounded; edges of both sharp and inflected; gap-line deflected at the base. Nostrils basal, roundish, partially concealed by the feathers. Head rather large, neck short, body rather full. Feet of moderate length, slender; tarsus covered anteriorly with a few longish scutella; toes free, scutellate above, the lateral ones nearly equal; hind-toe not much stouter; claws slender, compressed, slightly arched, acute.

Plumage soft, blended, the feathers somewhat distinct on the back, slightly glossed. Wings shortish, curved, second and third quills longest, and equal, first almost as long as fifth; secondaries long and rounded. Tail rather long, graduated and emarginate, of twelve straight, narrow rather acute feathers.

Bill dark brown at the end, greyish-blue at the base. Iris brown. Feet yellowish-brown. The upper part of the head has a greyish-blue band in the centre, and two at the sides, the intermediate spaces chestnut, streaked with brownish-black. The general colour of the upper parts is yellowish-brown, with streaks of brownish-black. Quills and larger coverts deep brown, margined externally with yellowish-brown, and the latter slightly tipped with whitish. Tail yellowish-brown, the outer feathers paler. Cheeks of the same tint, tinged with grey, beneath which is a curved band of ochraceous yellow; throat white, streaked with dusky, and having a line of dusky spots on each side; fore part of the breast, and the sides pale greyish-yellow, streaked with dusky, the rest greyish-white.

Length 5¾ inches, extent of wings 8-2/12; bill along the ridge 5/12, along the edge 7/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CXCIII. Fig. 2.

The female differs from the male only in having the tints a little duller.

This species belongs to the same group as the Yellow-winged, the Savannah, Henslow's and Bachman's Finches.

THE SWEDISH OR DWARF CORNEL. Fig. 1.

CORNUS SUECICA, _Linn._ Sp. Pl. p. 171. _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. i.
p. 660.—TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA, _Linn._ CAPRIFOLIA, _Juss._

A small herbaceous plant with stems from three to five or six inches high, with opposite, ovate, acute leaves, and two branches, between which is the involucrum of four large unequal white leaves, containing an umbel of dark purple flowers. The berry is red, and has a sweetish taste.

THE CLOUDBERRY.

RUBUS CHAMÆMORUS, _Linn._ Sp. Pl. p. 708. _Willd._ Sp. Pl.
vol. ii. p. 1090. _Pursh_, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 349.
—ICOSANDRIA POLYGYNIA, _Linn._ ROSACEÆ, _Juss._

A herbaceous bramble with simple, plaited, and lobed leaves; stem without prickles, undivided and single-flowered. The flowers are white, the berries large and of a yellowish-red colour. They are ripe in July, when they drop from the stalk at the slightest touch, make an excellent preserve, and are collected by Indians, fishermen, and eggers, in great quantities. In Newfoundland I found them larger and better than in Labrador. Their ripeness is a sure intimation of the arrival of the Esquimaux Curlew (_Numenius borealis_), which comes in clouds from the north, to feed upon them.

THE GLAUCOUS KALMIA.

KALMIA GLAUCA, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. ii. p. 601. _Pursh_,
Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 296.—DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA, _Linn._

A small shrubby plant, with brown bark, opposite, sessile, ovato-oblong leaves, which have the margins revolute and the under surface glaucous; and terminal bracteated corymbs of beautiful rose-coloured flowers.

THE HUDSON'S BAY TITMOUSE.

_PARUS HUDSONICUS_, LATH.

PLATE CXCIV. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.

Nothing ever gave me more pleasure than the meeting with a bird long since discovered, at a time when I could fully study its habits. I had frequently searched for this interesting little Titmouse in the State of Maine, where it breeds, but always without success, nor was it until I visited Labrador, that I had an opportunity of seeing it.

On the 18th of July, after an early breakfast (at three o'clock), my party, accompanied by our captain and myself, left the Ripley in three boats for the main shore, distant about five miles. Although the fog was thick, the wind was fair, and we reached the land in safety, when we immediately commenced our search for birds. Having traversed an extensive marsh, without finding any thing of interest, the captain and I, fatigued and depressed by our want of success, retired to what in that country is called a wood, with the hope of mending our fortune. We separated and with great difficulty made our way among the stubborn tangled trees. Only a few minutes had elapsed when the report of my companion's gun reached my ear, and I at the same time heard him shout to me to come up as quickly as possible. This I managed to do after a while, and with much tugging and tearing; but as I approached him I heard with joy the notes of the Canada Titmouse. One had been shot, and a nest had been found. Securing both the parents and the young, which had leaped out on hearing the guns, we sat down to examine the curious fabric the birds had reared for their brood.

The nest was placed at the height of not more than three feet from the ground, in the hollow of a decayed low stump, scarcely thicker than a man's leg, the whole so rotten that it crumbled to pieces on being touched. I cautiously removed the woody enclosure, and took possession of the nest, which I obtained in perfect order. It was shaped like a purse, eight inches in depth, two in diameter inside, its sides about half an inch thick. It was entirely composed of the finest fur of different quadrupeds, but principally of the great northern hare, so thickly and ingeniously matted throughout, that it looked as if it had been felted by the hand of man. It was quite elastic throughout, and rather wider at the bottom, probably in consequence of the natural growth of the young. The captain told me that he had seen the parents enter the stump, and that on his walking towards it he was immediately assailed, not only by the owners of the nest, but by several other pairs of the same species, all of which, however, had retired when I reached the spot. It is probable they had nests in the vicinity, but we did not succeed in finding any. The male, which was shot last, several times flew at me so close, that I attempted to catch it alive, but it always eluded my grasp with dexterity, perched on a low branch, and emitted its angry _te-te-te-tee_. The young I carried on board alive.

This hardy little bird resembles in its manners the other species of its interesting and beautiful tribe; but as the habits of our Titmice are so well known, and have been so frequently spoken of by me, I shall not here trouble you with unnecessary repetitions. Its notes resemble those of our southern Black-headed Titmouse, but are much weaker.

This species is much scarcer in those parts of Labrador which I visited than in Newfoundland, where I found it as abundant as our northern Black-headed Titmouse. The old and young birds were moving in groups in the direction of Nova Scotia, whither I suppose they all retire in the autumn, and where I have seen the species along the roads between Halifax and Windsor. Many breed in that province, as well as in New Brunswick, and, as I have said, in Maine, where my young friend LINCOLN has at times found them. None have ever been seen as far south as even Massachusetts.

I have represented the male, the female, and the young, in the plumage in which I found them. The brown of the head is much duller in winter than in summer. The young do not acquire it until towards the spring following their birth.

PARUS HUDSONICUS, _Lath._ Index Ornith. vol. ii. p. 566.

HUDSON'S BAY TITMOUSE, Phil. Trans. vol. lxii. p. 408.—_Penn._
Arct. Zool. vol. ii. No. 329.—_Lath._ Synops. vol. iv. p. 557.
p. 24.

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

Bill short, straight, of moderate strength, somewhat conical, compressed towards the end; both mandibles with the dorsal outline a little convex, the sides sloping and slightly convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the recumbent feathers. The general form is slender. Feet proportionally large; tarsus of moderate length, anteriorly covered with a few long scutella, and sharp behind; hind toe very large and strong, the two lateral nearly equal, the outer united at the base with the middle; claws large, arched, much compressed, very acute.

Plumage blended, tufty. Wings of moderate length, the fourth quill longest, fifth almost equal, third scarcely shorter than fourth, first very short. Tail long, much rounded, of twelve rather narrow, rounded feathers.

Bill black. Iris very dark brown. Feet lead-colour. The general tint of the upper parts is dull leaden, tinged with light brown, the head umber brown; primaries edged with pale greyish-blue. The throat and fore neck are deep black, that colour being separated from the brown of the head by a broad band of white running under the eye: The breast and belly greyish-white, the sides light yellowish-brown.

Length 5 inches, extent of wings 7; bill along the ridge 3½/12, along the edge 5/12; tarsus 7/12, middle toe with the claw 6/12, hind toe the same.

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

The female resembles the male, but the upper parts are deeply tinged with brown, and the head and throat are of a lighter tint.

Young fully fledged. Plate CXCIV. Fig. 3.

Bill greyish-blue. Upper parts of a dull greenish-grey. The throat marked as in the adult, the under parts pale greyish tinged with brown.

The plant represented in this plate is abundant in Labrador, Newfoundland, and our Northern States. It is a species of _Prunus_, and attains a height of eight or ten feet.

THE RUBY-CROWNED REGULUS.

_REGULUS CALENDULA_, STEPHENS.

PLATE CXCV. MALE AND FEMALE.

The history of this diminutive bird is yet in a great measure unknown; and, although I have met with it in places where it undoubtedly breeds, I have not succeeded in finding its nest.

On the 27th June 1833, while some of my party and myself were rambling over the deserts of Labrador, the notes of a warbler came on my ear, and I listened with delight to the harmonious sounds that filled the air around, and which I judged to belong to a species not yet known to me. The next instant I observed a small bird perched on the top of a fir tree, and on approaching it, recognised it as the vocalist that had so suddenly charmed my ear and raised my expectations. We all followed its quick movements, as it flew from tree to tree backwards and forwards without quitting the spot, to which it seemed attached. At last, my son JOHN raised his gun, and, on firing, brought down the bird, which fell among the brushwood, where we in vain searched for it.

The next day we chanced to pass along the same patch of dwarf wood, in search of the nests of certain species of ducks, of which I intend to speak on another occasion. We were separated from the woods by a deep narrow creek; but the recollection of the loss of the bird, which I was sure had been killed, prompted me to desire my young friends to dash across and again search for it. In an instant six of us were on the opposite shore, and dispersed among the woods. My son was so fortunate as to find the little Regulus among the moss near the tree from which it had fallen, and brought it to me greatly disappointed. Not so was I; for I had never heard the full song of the Ruby-crowned Wren, and as I looked at it in my hand, I could not refrain from exclaiming—"And so this is the tiny body of the songster from which came the loud notes I heard yesterday!" When I tell you that its song is fully as sonorous as that of the Canary Bird, and much richer, I do not come up to the truth, for it is not only as powerful and clear, but much more varied and pleasing to the ear. We looked for its mate and its nest, but all around us was silent as death, or only filled with the hum of millions of insects. I made a drawing of it in what may be truly called its full spring plumage. A month later, the young of this species were seen feeding among the bushes.

The Ruby-crowned Wren is found in Louisiana and other Southern States, from November until March. Near Charleston, in January last, they were very abundant. The old birds were easily distinguished from the young, without shooting them, on account of the curious difference in their habits, for while the latter kept together among the lowest bushes, the former were generally seen on the top branches of high trees. I have not observed a similar difference in _Regulus tricolor_. The rich vermilion spot of the head in the present species was wanting in the young, that part being of the same plain colour as the back. I have found this bird in Kentucky also during winter, but generally in southern exposures, and usually in company with the Brown Creeper and the Titmouse.

The little bird of which I speak appears to feed entirely on small insects and their larvæ; and I have often thought it wonderful that there should seem to be no lack of food for it even during weather sometimes too cold for the birds themselves. It appears to migrate during the day only, and merely by passing from one bush to another, or hopping among the twigs, until a large piece of water happens to come in its way, when it rises obliquely to the height of above twenty yards, and then proceeds horizontally in short undulations. It emits a feeble chirp at almost every motion. So swiftly, however, does it perform its migration from Louisiana to Newfoundland and Labrador, that although it sometimes remains in the first of these countries until late in March, it has young in the latter by the end of June; and the brood is able to accompany the old birds back to the south in the beginning of August.

The pair before you are placed on a plant which occurs in abundance from Maine to Labrador.

REGULUS CALENDULA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the
United States, p. 91.

RUBY-CROWNED WREN, SYLVIA CALENDULA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. i. p. 83. pl. 5. fig 3.—_Nuttall_, Manual, part i. p. 415.

Adult Male, in summer plumage. Plate CXCV. Fig. 1.

Bill short, straight, subulate, very slender, compressed, with inflected edges; upper mandible nearly straight in its dorsal outline, the edges scarcely notched close upon the slightly declinate acute tip; lower mandible straight, acute. Nostrils basal, elliptical, half-closed above by a membrane, covered over by the feathers. The whole form is slender, although the bird looks somewhat bulky, on account of the loose texture of the feathers. Legs rather long; tarsus slender; longer than the middle toe, much compressed, covered anteriorly with a few indistinct scutella; toes scutellate above, the lateral ones nearly equal and free; hind toe stouter; claws weak, compressed, arched, acute.

Plumage very loose and tufty. Short bristles at the base of the bill. Feathers of the head elongated, silky. Wings of ordinary length, the third and fourth primaries longest. Tail of twelve feathers, emarginate, of ordinary length.

Bill black, yellow at the base of the lower, and on the edges of the upper mandible. Iris light brown. Feet yellowish-brown, the under parts yellow. The general colour of the upper parts is dull olivaceous, lighter behind. The eye is encircled with greyish-white, of which colour also are the tips of the wing-coverts. Quills and tail dusky, edged with greenish-yellow. The silky feathers of the crown of the head vermilion. The under parts greyish-white.

Length 4¼ inches, extent of wings 6; bill ⅓; tarsus ¾.

Adult Female, in summer plumage. Plate CXCV. Fig. 2.

The female resembles the male, but the tints are in general duller, especially the greenish-yellow of the wings.

THE NARROW-LEAVED KALMIA, OR LAUREL.

KALMIA ANGUSTIFOLIA, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. ii. p. 601.—_Pursh_,
Fl. Amer. vol. i. p. 296.—DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA, _Linn._
RHODODENDRA, _Juss._

This species is characterized by its petiolate, ternate, cuneato-oblong leaves, which are obtuse and tinged with red beneath. The corymbs of beautiful deep rose-coloured flowers are lateral; the peduncles and calyx downy, and the bracteæ smooth. It grows to the height of two or even sometimes four feet, and is common in the Northern States and British Provinces; flowers from the end of June to the middle of August.

THE MERCHANT OF SAVANNAH.

I left the little port of St Augustine, in East Florida, on the 5th of March 1832, in the packet schooner, the Agnes, bound for Charleston. The weather was fair, and the wind favourable; but on the afternoon of the second day, heavy clouds darkened the heavens, and our sails hung flapping against the masts. Nature, with an angry aspect, seemed to be breathing for a moment, before collecting her energies, to inflict some signal punishment on guilty man. Our captain was an old and experienced seaman. I alternately watched his eye and the distant cloud; both were black, firm, and determined. Satisfied as to our safety, the vessel being perfectly sound, and the crew composed of young active men, I determined to remain on deck, and witness the scene that was about to present itself. The rest of the passengers had withdrawn when the cloud approached the vessel. The captain went up to the helmsman, and in a twinkling the sails were furled excepting one, which was so closely reefed, that it no longer resembled its former self. In another minute, down came the blast upon us, sweeping the spray over the vessel, and driving her along at a furious rate. It increased; all on board was silent; but onward, unscathed, sped the Agnes, driving through the snow-topped waves. I cannot tell you at what rate we were carried by the gale, but at the end of a few hours, the blue sky again appeared, and the anchor was dropped in the mouth of the Savannah River.

Landing there, I presented my credentials to an officer of the Engineer Corps, who was engaged in building a fort. He received me with great politeness, invited me to spend the night at his quarters, and promised to have his barge ready at dawn to convey my party to Savannah. We, however, accepted only the proffered favour of the boat, and having purchased some "shads," returned to the Agnes, where we slept.

The morning was beautiful, and we felt cheerful and buoyant as we ascended the stream in the barge. Thousands of Canvass-backed Ducks swam gracefully in pairs over the broad waters; from the adjoining rice-fields rose myriads of Grakles, Red-wings, and Ortolans, as we approached the shores, while now and then the great Heron opened its broad blue wings, and with a hoarse scream rose slowly into the air. Presently we passed a ship at anchor, and now opened on our view the city of Savannah, where we soon landed.

Repairing to a hotel, I immediately took a seat in the mail, in order to proceed directly to Charleston; but happening to have a letter of introduction from the Rathbones of Liverpool, to a merchant in the city, to whom I had already written, and to whose care I had several times taken the liberty of consigning my baggage trunks, I resolved to wait upon him, and return him my thanks. In the company of a gentleman, who kindly offered to guide me, I therefore proceeded, and was fortunate enough to meet him on the street. The merchant took my arm under his, and as we proceeded, talked of the many demands of money made on him for charitable purposes, the high price of the "Birds of America," and his inability to subscribe for that work, concluding with telling me, that he much doubted if even a single purchaser could be got in Savannah.

My spirits were sadly depressed, for my voyage to the Floridas had been expensive and unprofitable, not having been undertaken at the proper season; and I confess I thought more of my family than of what the gentleman said to me. However, we reached his counting-house, where I met with Major Le Conte of the United States Army, with whom I was previously acquainted. Our conversation turned on the difficulties which authors have to encounter even in their own country. I observed that the merchant was extremely attentive, and at length seemed uneasy. He rose from his seat, spoke to his clerk, and sat down again. The Major took his leave, and I was about to follow him, when the merchant addressing himself to me, said he could not conceive why the arts and sciences should not be encouraged by men of wealth in our country. The clerk now returned and handed him some papers, which he transferred to me, saying, "I subscribe to your work; here is the price of the first volume; come with me, I know you now, and I will procure you some others; every one of us is bound to you for the knowledge you bring to us of things, which, without your zeal and enterprise, might probably never have reached us. I will now make it my duty to serve you, and will be your agent in this city. Come along."

"Thus, poor AUDUBON, art thou alternately transported from a cold to a warm climate, from one mood to another, desponding this morning, and now buoyant with the hopes inspired by this generous merchant!" Such, reader, were the thoughts that filled my mind, along with many others; for I thought of you also, and of my work then going on in England, under the care of my excellent friend J. G. CHILDREN, Esq. of the British Museum. The merchant took me back to the hotel, when he desired me to open the few drawings I had with me, and lay them, as I usually do, on the floor. He then went off in search of subscribers. I received three visits from the worthy soul, on each of which he was accompanied by a gentleman, of whom two subscribed, the merchant himself paying me the price of a copy of my first volume for each of them. Others who he thought might have met my wishes in the same agreeable way, were absent from town. The time of my departure having arrived, he accompanied me to the ferry boat, when I bade him adieu with feelings of gratitude which I found it utterly impossible to express.

Travelling through the woods, already rendered delightfully fragrant by the clusters of yellow jessamines that bordered them, I arrived in safety at Charleston, where I had the happiness of finding all my friends well. The next mail brought me a remittance from Savannah, and an additional name to my list of subscribers; and before the week was ended, two checks on the Branch Bank of the United States came to me with two more names.

Leaving Charleston some time after, I revisited the Floridas, crossed the whole of the Union, went to Labrador, and in October 1833, returned to my starting place, when I wrote to my generous friend at Savannah, announcing to him my intention of sailing for Europe. By return of post I received the following answer:—"Three of your subscribers are now, alas! dead; but I had taken the precaution to insure the continuation of their subscription for your works. I have called on their executors, who at once have paid over to me their respective amounts for the second volume of the 'Birds of America;' and I now feel great pleasure in enclosing to you a bill for the whole amount, including mine for the same volume, payable in London at par."

Some weeks ago I had the pleasure of forwarding the volumes wanted at Savannah, which I hope have reached their destination in safety; and here let me express my gratitude towards the generous merchant, who, on being made aware of the difficulties which men have to encounter whose success in their pursuits tends to excite the malevolent feelings of their competitors, nobly resolved to exert himself in the cause of science. I trust he will not consider it improper in me to inform you, that on inquiring at Savannah for WILLIAM GASTON, Esq. you will readily find him.

THE ICELAND OR JER FALCON.

_FALCO ISLANDICUS_, LATH.

PLATE CXCVI. MALE AND FEMALE.

On the 6th August 1833, while my young friends, THOMAS LINCOLN and JOSEPH COOLEDGE, accompanied by my son JOHN, were rambling by the rushing waters of a brook banked by stupendous rocks, eight or ten miles from the port of Bras d'Or, on the coast of Labrador, they were startled by a loud and piercing shriek, which issued from the precipices above them. On looking up, my son observed a large hawk plunging over and about him. It was instantly brought to the ground. A second hawk dashed towards the dead one, as if determined to rescue it; but it quickly met the same fate, the contents of my son's second barrel bringing it to his feet.

The nest of these hawks was placed on the rocks, about fifty feet from their summit, and more than a hundred from their base. Two other birds of the same species, and apparently in the same plumage, now left their eyry in the cliff, and flew off. The party having ascended by a circuitous and dangerous route, contrived to obtain a view of the nest, which, however, was empty. It was composed of sticks, sea-weeds, and mosses, about two feet in diameter, and almost flat. About its edges were strewed the remains of their food, and beneath, on the margin of the stream, lay a quantity of wings of the _Uria Troile_, _Mormon arcticus_, and _Tetrao Saliceti_, together with large pellets composed of fur, bones, and various substances.

My son and his companions returned to the Ripley towards evening. The two hawks which they had brought with them, I knew at once to be of a species which I had not before seen, at least in America. Think not that I laid them down at once—No, reader, I attentively examined every part of them. Their eyes, which had been carefully closed by the young hunters, I opened, to observe their size and colour. I drew out their powerful wings, distended their clenched talons, looked into their mouths, and admired the sharp tooth-like process of their upper mandible. I then weighed them in my hand, and at length concluded that no Hawk that I had ever before handled, looked more like a great Peregrine Falcon.

At day-dawn, the same party, highly elated with their success of the former day, were dispatched in quest of the other two; but although a third specimen was shot, it flew off to a great distance, fell among the deep moss, and was never found. Several visits to the nest proved fruitless. The parents I had, and the last young had probably for ever abandoned the place of its birth.

While we remained in Labrador, I was ever on the watch for hawks, and I frequently inspected the country around with a telescope, to try if I could discover some object worthy of my attention. I several times observed the individuals which I have portrayed, ranging high in the air, over an island where multitudes of Puffins were breeding. Many were the instances in which I saw these warriors descend like a streak of lightning, pounce on a Puffin, and carry it off in their talons. Their aerial course I also marked, and was thus enabled to trace them to their habitation.

Their flight resembled that of the Peregrine Falcon, but was more elevated, majestic, and rapid. They rarely sailed when travelling to and fro, between their nest and the island mentioned, but used a constant beat of their wings. When over the Puffins, and high in the air, they would hover almost motionless, as if watching the proper moment to close their pinions, and when that arrived, they would descend almost perpendicularly on their unsuspecting victims.

Their cries also resembled those of the Peregrine Falcon, being loud, shrill, and piercing. Now and then they would alight on some of the high stakes placed on the shore as beacons to the fishermen who visit the coast, and stand for a few minutes, not erect like most other Hawks, but in the position of a Lestris or Tern, after which they would resume their avocations, and pounce upon a Puffin, which they generally did while the poor bird was standing on the ground at the very entrance of its burrow, apparently quite unaware of the approach of its powerful enemy. The Puffin appeared to form no impediment to the flight of the Hawk, which merely shook itself after rising in the air, as if to arrange its plumage, as the Fish Hawk does when it has emerged from the water with a fish in its talons.

The four Falcons mentioned were all that were seen of this species during our expedition, and I am inclined to think that these birds must be rare in that part of Labrador. On dissecting them, I found them to be a male and a female, and saw that the latter had laid eggs that season. It is therefore probable that the two which left the nest at the approach of the party were the young birds.

I made my drawing of them the day after their death. It was one of the severest tasks which I ever performed, and was done under the most disagreeable circumstances. I sat up nearly the whole of the night, to sketch them in outline. The next day it rained for hours, and the water fell on my paper and colours all the while from the rigging of the Ripley.

The weight of the female was 3 pounds 2 ounces, that of the male 2 pounds 14 ounces avoirdupois. Their flesh was tough and bluish, and their whole structure was remarkable for the indications of strength which it exhibited. The intestines measured 4 feet 9 inches. The heart was extremely large, and very remarkable for its firmness. The liver also was large. The stomach, which was thin, contained remains of fish, feathers, and hair.

From the account which I received from my son and his companions, I would willingly suppose that no one had ever before disturbed their solitude. They flew about and close to them, as if altogether unacquainted with the effects of a gun. The young appeared full grown, and, as if aware of the fate of their parents, alighted only on the highest and most inaccessible parts of the rocks around. Both the specimens procured were carefully skinned and preserved. One is in my possession; the other I gave to my worthy and generous friend JOHN BACHMAN.

When I first saw this noble pair of Falcons, I thought, as I have above said, that they were new; but since my return to Europe, I have seen several specimens, which, though not altogether similar in the tints of the plumage, agree in most other respects with them, in so far as I can judge from the comparison of skins shrunk or distended beyond measure, such as we too often see in museums. These specimens are said to be young birds of the famous Iceland Falcon, and I am disposed to think that my birds belong to the same species.

That this species, as well as many others, should mate and produce young, before obtaining its full plumage, is not a singular phenomenon. I am persuaded that many years elapse before it obtains its perfect plumage, from the remarks made by a gentleman not yet personally known to me, although acquainted with my son VICTOR, Mr JOHN HEPPENSTALL, of Upper Thorpe, near Sheffield, who has kept one of these birds alive for more than three years. Of his letter to my son, which is dated "5th month 14th 1834," the following is an extract. "The bird thou saw when at my house is yet living, in perfect health, which it has always been in since I possessed it. I have now had it a little more than three years. It came over from Iceland in a whaler to Hull, and was presented by the owner of the vessel to a friend of mine, from whom I obtained it. I believe it must have been a bird of the preceding year's brood. It is therefore four years old, not less certainly, and may be considered adult. It has always moulted early, and has already cast a number of its primary quill-feathers, and several of the scapulars, although not disfigured. It is a very powerful, strong bird, and were it to be carried such a distance in confinement, it would struggle so much, that I am afraid it would very much injure its this year's moult at this time, and I think thou should have much difficulty in securing it. I shall now describe the bird, that thy father may be able to judge how far it may probably be of the same species as the one he has lately discovered and brought out.

"In length I should think it does not much exceed the Rough-legged Falcon, but in every other respect is larger, being very broad and powerful, the legs and thighs much stronger and formidable. When seen with its head towards you, in the act of tearing its food, it conveys an idea of very great power. Its breadth, and particularly its powerful thighs, are then seen to very great advantage. The legs and feet are very much the type of the Peregrine Falcon, and indeed the whole form of the bird, only that it is so much stronger, even more than its increased bulk alone would occasion. It has always got through the moult very well and nothing can be more perfect than its general state of plumage, and it is a very cleanly bird.

"The head, neck, throat, breast, belly, and legs (which are feathered to within an inch of the toes), are the most pure white, and the plumage very compact. The first year I had it, all these parts were slightly marked with delicate pencilled lines lengthwise, but have now totally disappeared, except one or two faint ones on the outside of the thighs. The back and tail are also pure white; the two middle feathers of the tail are a little barred on each side the shaft, which is dark coloured, as also the primary quills of the wings. The back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and primary quills, are all elegantly marked with a dark mouse colour, the markings on the primary quills, which are chiefly towards the tip, approach nearly to black. The tail when closed is a little rounded at the tip; the under side of the wings and vent pure white. The bill, which is notched in a very graceful form, is pale blue, inclining to black at the tip and also at the notchings. Cere, orbits, and legs, yellow, which seems to increase in depth. When I first had it, they were not then tinged with yellow, but the colour of a very white-legged fowl: claws black and powerful, inner one largest. The eye, which is exceedingly bright and piercing, and does not appear to have changed, seems black, but on close inspection, in a good light, is evidently dark-brown. Between the cere and the orbits, and under the eye, the hairy feathers, which lie close, and are pure white, are intermixed with hairs of black, which lie pretty close to the head.

"Were I to guess the weight, I should say it was double that of the Rough-legged Falcon. The wings reach nearly to the tip of the tail."

The above detailed account appears to me to furnish a better description of the adult Jer Falcon than any that I have met with, and cannot fail to be acceptable to ornithologists.

On inquiring of a Mr JONES, who had been a resident in Labrador for twenty years, I was informed that these Hawks feed on and destroy an immense number of hares, Rock Partridges, and Willow Grous; but he could not give me any information as to the change of plumage, never having seen them in any other state than that of the individuals represented in my plate, which I shewed to him. The fishermen called them Duck Hawks, and some of them reported many exploits performed by them, which I think it unnecessary to repeat, as I considered them exaggerated.

FALCO ISLANDICUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 32. Adult—F. RUSTICOLUS,
Idem, p. 28. Adult—F. GYRFALCO, Idem, p. 32. Young.—F. SACER,
F. OBSCURUS, and F. LAGOPUS β, Idem.—_Temminck_, Manuel, part i.
p. 17.—_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 27.

GYRFALCON, FALCO ISLANDICUS, _Nuttall_, Manual, part i. p. 51.

Male in immature state. Plate CXCVI. Fig. 1.

Bill shortish, as broad as deep at the base, the sides convex, the dorsal outline curved from the base; upper mandible cerate, the edges a little inflected, rather obtuse, nearly straight to the tooth-like process, which is rather rounded, the tip trigonal, descending, acute; lower mandible involute at the edges, truncate at the end, with a notch near it on either side, corresponding to the process above. In an individual which I have seen, the margin line of the upper mandible was undulated, or formed a festoon behind the tooth, but in my two specimens, the skin of one of which is now before me, it is quite straight when viewed directly, although when placed obliquely it shews a slight undulation. Nostrils round, basal, lateral, with a soft papilla in the centre, connected with the upper edge. Head rather large and round; neck shortish; body ovate, anteriorly broad; the whole conformation indicative of great strength and activity, such as befit a hunter. Legs robust, short; tarsus feathered more than half way down, their exposed part covered anteriorly with small quincuncial transversely oblong scales, as is the proximal portion of all the toes, posteriorly with smaller papillar scales (there are no broad scales or other scutella on the tarsus, as in most other Hawks, and in the Peregrine). Toes, excepting at the base, covered above with broad scales or scutella, scabrous and tubercular below; middle and outer toes connected by a membrane; second and fourth toes nearly equal, the latter very little longer, the hind toe shortest, but with the longest claw; claws strong, curved, acute, marginate beneath, convex above.

Plumage compact, imbricated. Feathers of the head short and narrow, of the back rounded, of the neck and breast broadly oblong, of the thighs long and rounded. Space between the bill and eye covered with short bristly feathers. Wings long, about four inches shorter than the tail; the third quill longest, but scarcely longer than the second, the first and fourth of the same length. The first and second are cut out or sinuated on the inner edge towards the tip, the second slightly. The tail is long, straight, slightly rounded, of twelve broad feathers, which at the end suddenly taper to a point. When worn, they seem rounded, but in my specimens the plumage was new.

Bill and cere pale blue, the rather narrow ridge of the upper mandible darker. Iris brownish-black. Feet greyish-blue, the under parts of the toes greenish-yellow; claws dusky. The general colour of the plumage above, is brownish-grey, the feathers having a very narrow margin of paler. Some of the upper tail-coverts are tipped with brownish-white, and the base or concealed part of the posterior cervical feathers is of that colour. The quills are more or less mottled with brownish-white on the inner webs. The tail is transversely barred with _thirteen rows_ of transversely oblong spots of brownish-white, confined chiefly to the inner webs, although there are some on the outer ones towards their end; the tips are of the same light colour. A few of these spots appear on the upper surface of the feathers towards their extremities. The tail is moreover very obscurely barred with darker. The two middle feathers are without white spots. The throat is brownish-white, finely streaked with brown. The lower parts in general are brownish-white, longitudinally patched with dark brown, the central part of each feather being of the latter colour. The under wing-coverts are similarly marked, as are the under tail-coverts, which are alternately barred with brown and white.

Length 22½ inches, extent of wings 4 feet 1 inch; bill 1-4/12 along the ridge, 1½ along the edge; tarsus 2.

The Female in the same state. Plate CXCVI. Fig. 2.

The above description applies in all particulars to the female, only the two middle tail-feathers were spotted like the rest.

Length 2 feet, extent of wings 4; bill 1-4/12 along the ridge; tarsus 2.

It is remarkable that the female, although the heaviest and apparently the strongest bird of the pair, has the alar extent less by an inch than that of the male, which she exceeds in length by 1½ inches.

THE COMMON CROSSBILL.

_LOXIA CURVIROSTRA_, LINN.

PLATE CXCVII. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.

This species I have found more abundant in Maine, and in the British provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, than any where else. Although I have met with it as early as the month of August in the Great Pine Forest of Pennsylvania, I have never seen its nest. Many persons in the State of Maine assured me that they had found it on pine-trees in the middle of winter, and while the earth was deeply covered with snow. The people employed in cutting pine timber at that season, when it is easier to remove the logs to the rivers, in which they are subsequently floated when the ice melts, have very frequently told me, that on felling a tree they have caught the young Crossbills, which had been jerked out of their nest. Several of my acquaintances in that district promised to send me nests, eggs, and young; but as yet, I am sorry to say, none of them have reached me. While at Labrador I was much disappointed at not finding a single bird of this species, although the White-winged Crossbill was tolerably abundant there; and in Newfoundland matters were precisely the same.

The Crossbill lives in flocks, composed apparently of several families, and is an extremely gentle and social bird. They are easily approached, caught in traps, or even killed with a stick. So unsuspicious are they with respect to man, that they not unfrequently come up to the very door of the woodman's cabin, and pick the mud with which he has plastered the spaces between the logs of which it is composed. When the huts are raised on blocks, to prevent dampness, they are often seen under them, picking up the earth for want of better food, while the weather is at its coldest.

Their food consists principally of the seeds contained in the cones of different species of the pine and fir. In the pine forests of Pennsylvania I saw them feeding on those of the white pine, the hemlock, and the spruce, as well as on various kinds of fruits. Wherever an apple-tree bore fruit, the Crossbills were sure to be on it, cutting the apples to pieces in order to get at the seeds, in the manner of our Parakeet of the south. Nothing can exceed the dexterity with which they extricate the seeds from the cones with their bill, the point of the upper mandible of which they employ as a hook, placing it at the base of the seed, and drawing it up with a sudden jerk of the head. They frequently stand on one foot only, and employ the other in conveying the food to their bill, in the manner of parrots. They are fond of all saline matter.

The flight of this species is undulating, firm, tolerably swift, and capable of being protracted over a large space. While travelling they pass in the air in straggling flocks, and keep up a constant noise, each individual now and then emitting a clear note or call. They move with ease on the ground, alight sidewise on the walls of houses and on trees, on the twigs of which they climb with the aid of their bill. When caged they soon become tame, and are fed without any difficulty.

I have presented you with a flock of these Crossbills, composed of individuals of different ages, engaged in their usual occupations, on a branch of their favourite tree, the hemlock pine.