Chapter XXI: Part 21

The young when just hatched, are of a bluish-black colour tinged with purple, and look extremely odd. They remain blind for several days, and for about a fortnight are fed by the parents with the greatest care, the food being regurgitated into their open throats. They appear to grow rapidly, for in the course of eight or ten days we found some the size of a pullet, which, when marked, were scarcely half that size. They are covered with long down of a brownish-black colour, and do not leave the nest, unless they are intruded on, until they are able to fly, when their parents, who long before had ceased to feed them by dropping the fish into their bill, and had merely placed it on the ground near them, leave them to shift for themselves. By the middle of August all these birds remove southward, along Newfoundland, by Cape Breton Island, and the shores of Nova Scotia, scarcely any remaining on the coast of the first during winter, when indeed not many are seen farther east than the Bay of Halifax.

The fishermen and eggers never gather their eggs, they being unfit for being eaten by any other animals than Gulls or Jagers; but they commit great havock among the young, which they salt for food or bait. The old birds are too shy to be killed in great numbers, otherwise their feathers, although they smell strongly of fish, might be turned to account. I have never eaten Cormorant’s flesh, and intend to refrain from tasting it until nothing better can be procured.

The flight of this species is strong and well sustained, although not so rapid as that of the Florida Cormorant. It sails at times in a beautiful manner, and at a great height above the waters. Like other species, the Double-crested Cormorants are fond of sunning themselves, with their wings spread out. They walk awkwardly, and cannot run without the aid of their wings. In order to arise from the water, in which they sink so as nearly to be covered when swimming, they are obliged to run and beat the surface for many yards, before they get fairly on wing. Their food consists of shrimps, lents, capelings, codlings, and other fishes, scarcely any kind coming amiss unless too strong or of too great a size. Of the codlings especially they devour vast numbers, they being in astonishing shoals on the coast of Labrador at the time when the Cormorants are breeding, and indeed remaining until the departure of the birds, when they retire to deeper water. I never saw a Cormorant plunge from the air after its prey, but should be much gratified by such a sight, which, if we trust compilers, is nothing uncommon; nor have I ever seen a bird of this species perched on any thing higher than the top of the low island on which the nest is placed, none having been observed by me on any of the high rocks on which the common species breeds in America.

I have given the figure of a beautiful male in its perfect spring plumage. This is probably the only representation of the bird yet presented to the public, and the same remark applies to the Florida Cormorant.

PELECANUS (CARBO) DILOPHUS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT,
_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 473.

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 483.

Adult Male at the commencement of the breeding season. Plate CCLVII.

Bill about the length of the head, rather slender, somewhat compressed, straight, with the tip curved. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly concave, until near the tip, when it is curved, the ridge convex, and separated from the sides by a narrow groove, the sides erect, convex, the edges sharp and straight as far as the unguis, which is strong, convex above, incurved, acute. No external nostrils. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow towards the end, filled by an extensive membrane, which extends a short way down the throat, its dorsal line a little convex, the sides erect and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip compressed and obliquely truncate.

Head rather small, oblong, narrowed before. Neck long and rather slender. Body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed far behind; tibia feathered in its whole length; tarsus very short, strong, much compressed, covered all round with scales, of which the anterior and lateral are large and subhexagonal, the posterior very small and roundish. Toes all placed in the same plane, and connected by reticulated webs, covered above with very numerous oblique scutella; first toe smallest, fourth longest. Claws rather small, strong, compressed, acute.

Plumage of the head, neck, lower parts and posterior portion of the back glossy, blended and silky, of the fore part of the back and wings compact, the feathers with loose glossy margins. From behind the eye to the length of an inch and a half on each side, an elongated tuft of long slender, loose recurved feathers. Space around the eye, and to a large extent along the base of the bill, together with the small gular sac, bare. Wings rather small; primaries very strong, curved, rather narrow, tapering and obtuse, second longest, third almost equal, first longer than fourth; secondaries decurved, broad, broadly rounded, the inner narrower. Tail of moderate length, very narrow, much rounded or cuneate, of twelve narrow, rounded feathers, having extremely strong shafts.

Upper mandible dusky, along the edges greyish-yellow; lower yellow, irregularly marked with dusky towards the edges. Iris bright green, margin of eyelids, bare space on the head, and gular sac, rich orange. Feet and claws black. All the silky part of the plumage is greenish-black, at a distance appearing black, but at hand in a strong light green. The imbricated feathers of the back and wings greyish-brown, their fringe-like margins greenish-black; primary quills brownish-black; secondary like the other feathers of the wing. Tail black, the shafts of all the feathers black.

Length to end of tail 33 inches, to end of wings 29, to end of claws 33; extent of wings 51; wing from flexure 13; tail 6-3/4; bill along the back 2-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 3-8/12; tarsus 2-7/12; outer toe 3-3/4, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 5 lb. 7 oz.

The Female is somewhat smaller, but in other respects is similar to the male.

The Young, after the first moult, have the head and neck mottled with greenish-black and greyish-brown; the other parts as in the adult, but the tufts on the head wanting.

The Double-crested and the Florida Cormorants are very nearly allied, their forms, and the structure of their plumage, being precisely similar. There is, however, a very considerable difference in size, as will be seen on comparing their measurements and average weights as given by me. The bills are similar in form, but their colours differ, as do those of the eyelids; but in the breeding season these birds may readily be distinguished by the temporary tufts or crests behind the eyes, which in _P. floridanus_ consist of a mere line of single feathers curved downwards, while in _P. dilophus_ they are of considerable breadth, and composed of about forty recurved feathers. In the absence of the crests, the difference in size affords the principal means of distinguishing them.

THE HUDSONIAN GODWIT.

_LIMOSA HUDSONICA_, SWAINS.

PLATE CCLVIII. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG FEMALE.

This species, which is of rare occurrence in any part of the United States, is scarcely ever found farther south along the coast than the State of Maryland. I had never seen it in the flesh, until I went to Boston in 1832, when I found specimens of it in the market late in September. An old gunner in my employ brought me eight or ten in the course of a month, but they were all young birds. From one of them my son drew the figure in the plate. While I was at Pictou Professor MACCULLOCH presented me with a pair of adult birds in beautiful plumage. When we were on our way towards Labrador, the fishermen and inhabitants of the Magdeleine Islands, who gave the name of Curlews to the Godwits, assured me that this species breeds there in some marshes at the extremity of the principal island, and that they were in the habit of killing them as soon as they were able to fly, when they were considered excellent food. We saw none, however, on our voyage farther north, and in Labrador and Newfoundland nobody seemed to know them.

My young friend THOMAS MACCULLOCH, who gave me, in London, several well-mounted specimens of this species, in the spring of 1835, confirmed the assertions of the people of the Magdeleine Islands, and informed me that these birds breed at times on Prince Edward’s Island, from which they spread along the coast of Nova Scotia, where they remain until very severe weather comes on, when they suddenly disappear.

I have tried to give a good figure of the adult, and that made by my son will, I hope, be considered faithful by those who are acquainted with the bird in its autumnal plumage. The adult has been represented as lying down, in order to shew the difference between this species and the _Limosa melanura_ of Europe, to which it is allied, but from which it may readily be distinguished at all periods by the black colour of the inner wing-coverts. In the European bird these feathers are white, and the species does not occur in the United States, perhaps not in any part of North America. The females are rather larger than the males, but nothing is known respecting the nests or eggs.

SCOLOPAX HUDSONICA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 720.

LIMOSA HUDSONICA, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, _Swains. and Richards._
Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 396.

HUDSONIAN GODWIT, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 175.

Adult Male. Plate CCLVIII. Fig. 1.

Bill double the length of the head, subcylindrical, compressed at the base, tapering to the obtuse point, which is a little enlarged, slightly recurved. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly curved upwards in its whole extent, the ridge convex, the sides with a narrow groove extending almost to the point, the edges rather obtuse, the tip slightly enlarged. Nostrils basal, lateral, near the edges, small, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line slightly recurved, the sides with a narrow groove extending almost to the end, the edges rather blunt, the tip obtuse.

Head small, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long and slender. Body slender. Feet long and slender; tibia bare for about a third, anteriorly scutellate; tarsus long, slender, covered anteriorly and posteriorly with numerous scutella, laterally for a very small space reticulate; toes small, slender, scutellate above, flat beneath, broadly marginate, the anterior connected at the base by webs, of which the outer is much larger; first toe very small, second slightly shorter than fourth, third little longer. Claws small, compressed, slightly arched, obtuse, that of middle toe with the inner edge curved outwards and thin.

Plumage soft on the head, neck and lower parts blended, on the back imbricated; all the feathers oblong and rounded. Wings long, very acute, narrow; primaries tapering, the first longest, the second little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded, with a recurved tip, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, of twelve rounded feathers, slightly forked, but with the two middle feathers a little longer than those next them.

Bill greyish-yellow, dark brown along the ridge of the upper mandible, and blackish toward the tips of both. Iris brown. Feet light greyish-blue. The head and neck brownish-grey, with darker lines; a band from the bill over the eye, and the throat greyish-white; the back deep grey; the scapulars brownish-black, with small white markings on the edges of the feathers; the smaller wing-coverts, alula, primary quills and their coverts brownish-black; the secondaries lighter, and with their inner webs pale grey; tips of the primary coverts and bases of the quills, white, as is a broad band over the rump. Tail feathers and upper tail-coverts brownish-black, their bases white, and their tips narrowly edged with brownish-white. The lower parts are bright yellowish-red, the sides mottled with dark brown; the abdomen and lower tail-coverts paler and variegated with dusky; the lower wing-coverts blackish-brown, edged with whitish.

Length to end of tail 15-3/4 inches, to end of wings 16-3/8 to end of claws 19-3/4; wing from flexure 8-1/2; tail 3-1/4; extent of wings 28; bill along the back 3-7/12; along the edge of lower mandible 3-6/12; bare part of tibia 1-1/4; tarsus 2-1/2; middle toe 1-4/12 its claw (2-1/2)/12. Weight 9 oz.

Young Female in winter. Plate CCLVIII. Fig. 2.

The bill, iris and feet, as in the adult male. Upper part of the head dusky, with darker lines; sides of the head, and the neck, greyish-yellow; a whitish band over the eye. The lower parts are pale brownish-grey, the upper brownish-grey; the fore part of the back and scapulars brownish-black, the feathers edged with light brownish-red; the wing-coverts brownish-grey; the quills as in the adult, as is the tail, anterior to which is also a broad white band.

In September 1835, I shot, near Edinburgh, a young individual of _Limosa rufa_, which I had previously observed for some time. It thrust its bill into the wet sand in the same manner as the Woodcocks; and I was much surprised, on taking it up, to see that its bill was perfectly straight in its whole length. When I opened it, however, in order to place a little cotton in its throat, a sudden spring-like movement of the mandibles made them curve upwards. Never having kept birds of this genus alive, I am unable to say whether the bill be naturally straight or not.

THE HORNED GREBE.

_PODICEPS CORNUTUS_, LINN.

PLATE CCLIX. MALE AND YOUNG.

The period at which this little Grebe makes its first appearance, after the breeding season, on the waters of the Western States, such as the Ohio, the Mississippi, and their numerous tributaries, is the beginning of October, when I have seen them arriving and passing onward on wing at a considerable height in the air, following the course of the streams. The generally received idea that birds of this genus perform their migrations on the water, is extremely absurd. I have already offered some remarks on this subject, but as too much cannot be said, when an erroneous notion extensively adopted has to be disproved, I here repeat that I have seen flocks of Grebes on wing and migrating high in the air, apparently with as much ease, as many longer-winged birds, and with considerable velocity.

Towards evening, on the 14th of October 1820, I was floating in a small boat on the Ohio. The weather was perfectly calm, and I was startled by a whistling sound over head, resembling that of a Hawk stooping on its prey, when, on looking up, I saw a flock of Grebes, about thirty in number, gliding towards the water as if about to alight within a quarter of a mile from me. In a few minutes they had come within a few yards of the surface of the water, when suddenly checking their speed, they pursued their course until out of sight; but in a short time I saw them returning towards me, and in less than a minute they all passed at a distance of forty or fifty yards, took a round and alighted pell-mell. The next moment, they were all engaged in washing and trimming themselves, in the manner of Ducks, Cormorants, and other aquatic birds. As I rowed towards them, they scarcely took notice of me, so that they were easily approached; and finding a number of them close together, I fired and killed four. The rest paddled off for some yards, rose on wing, and flew down the stream in a pretty close body, looking as if not disposed to settle again for some time. On picking up the dead birds, I found them to be of the present species, three being young, the other an adult with the winter plumage beginning to appear. Here I may remark, that Grebes in general do not moult so early as most other birds after they have young; thus the Crested Grebe often passes to the south in September, with its head still adorned with a large portion of the feathers of its spring and summer tippet. While residing at different places on the Ohio, I have many times witnessed the passage of the Horned and the Crested.

The Horned Grebe is abundant during autumn and winter on the large rivers or inlets of the Southern States, but rare along the coasts of the Middle and Eastern Districts. On the rivers about Charleston in South Carolina it is seen at those seasons in considerable numbers, although not in larger flocks than from four to seven individuals. The same is observable from that place to the mouths of the Mississippi. It is particularly fond of those streams of which the borders are overgrown by rank sedges and other plants, and are subject to the influx of the tide. In such places they enjoy greater security while searching for their food, than in ponds, to which, however, they for the most part retire at the approach of the pairing season, which commences early in February. At that time one might be apt to think that these birds could scarcely fly, as they are then rarely seen on wing; but when they are pursued, and there happens to be a breeze, they rise from the water with considerable ease, and fly to a distance of several hundred yards. In December and January I have never procured any having the least remains of their summer headdress; but by the 10th of March, when they were on their journey towards the north, the long feathers of the head were apparent. These tufts seem to attain their full development in the course of a fortnight or three weeks, the old birds becoming plumed sooner than the young, some of which leave the country in their winter dress.

On the ground, this species is not better off than the Dobchick, it being obliged to stand nearly erect, the hind part of the body resting, and the tarsi and toes extended laterally. They dive with great celerity, and when once acquainted with the effects of the gun, are not easily shot. A report is at times sufficient to make the old birds dive at once, although they may be quite beyond the reach of a shot. The young birds are more easily procured at their first appearance; but the most efficient method of obtaining them is to employ fishing nets, in the meshes of which they become entangled.

Excepting a species of Hawk nearly allied to _Circus cyaneus_, I know of no other bird that has the eye of such colour, the iris being externally of a vivid red, with an inner circle of white, which gives it a very singular appearance. On attentively examining the eyes of our Divers and Grebes, I have not found any with similar eyes. The Horned Grebe does not seem to see better than any other species, nor does it appear to be more diurnal than the rest, nor are the objects on which it feeds more minute, for I have found as small seeds in the stomach of the large Grebe as in that of the present species. The reason of this strange colouring of the iris, therefore, I am unable to conjecture.

Although the greater number of these birds go far northward to breed, some remain within the limits of the United States during the whole year, rearing their young on the borders of ponds, particularly in the northern parts of the State of Ohio, in the vicinity of Lake Erie. Two nests which I found were placed at a distance of about four yards from the water’s edge, on the top of broken down tussocks of rank weeds. The materials of which they were composed were of the same nature, and rudely interwoven to a height of upwards of seven inches. They were rather more than a foot in diameter at the base, the cavity only four inches across, shallow, but more neatly finished with finer plants, of which a quantity lay on the borders, and was probably used by the bird to cover the eggs when about to leave them. There were five eggs in one nest, seven in the other; all contained chicks (on the 29th of July); they measured one inch and three quarters in length, by one inch and two and a half eighths; their shell was smooth, and of a uniform yellowish cream colour, without spots or marks of any kind. The nests were not more than fifty yards apart, on the south-western side of the pond. I am thus particular because of the near relation of this bird to the _Podiceps auritus_ of LATHAM, with which it may be confounded by a not over-careful observer, as may the eggs too, those of the latter species being precisely of the same length, but fully an eighth of an inch narrower, which of course gives them a more elongated appearance. I have observed the same differences in the eggs of these two species in Europe. I could not ascertain if both the parent birds incubate; but as I saw two pairs on the pond, I am inclined to think that they do. The nests were not fastened to the weeds around them, nor do I conceive it probable that they could be floated, as various writers assert they are at times.

I have not seen the young of this species when small; but from the knowledge I have of those of other Grebes, I feel pretty certain that the notions entertained of their being carried either on the back or under the wings of their parents in cases of danger must be erroneous, as Grebes in all such cases dive or fly at once, when it would be impossible for the old and young to keep thus attached to each other.

I have observed in the stomachs of almost all that I have examined, a quantity of hair-like substances rolled together like the pellets of owls, but have not ascertained whether or not these masses are disgorged. They certainly cannot pass through the intestines. But unless birds of this kind are kept in an aviary and watched, this matter must remain unknown. The food of this species, while on salt-water, is composed of shrimps, small fishes, and minute crustacea. While on fresh-water, they procure insects, leeches, small frogs, tadpoles, and aquatic lizards; they also pick up the seeds of grasses, and I have found as many in the stomach of an individual as would fill the shell of one of its eggs. Their flight is performed by regular short flappings, executed with great quickness.

I have represented an adult male in full spring plumage, and a young bird shot in December. The males are rather larger than the females, which are similar in colour, but rarely have the head so well feathered during the breeding season.

PODICEPS CORNUTUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 782.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p.
417.—_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p.
411.

HORNED GREBE, or DOBCHICK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
254.

Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCLIX. Fig.1.

Bill shorter than the head, straight, acute, rather slender. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight for one-half of its length, towards the end declinate and slightly convex, the ridge convex, the sides sloping, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute. Nasal groove broad, extending to beyond the middle of the mandible; nostrils subbasal, linear-elliptical, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line short, ascending, straight, the sides erect, slightly convex, the edges sharp, inflected, the tip narrow, acute.

Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long and slender. Body depressed. Feet large, short, placed far behind; tibia feathered to the joint; tarsus short, extremely compressed, anteriorly with a narrow scutellate ridge, laterally with numerous broad scutella; posteriorly with a narrow ridge having a double row of small prominent scales. Hind toe very small, with an inferior small membrane; fore toes long, the outer longest, scutellate above, united at the base by short webs, externally margined, internally with broad rounded expansions, which are marked with parallel oblique lines, and crenate on the edges. Claws flattened, that of the middle toe broadest, with an extremely thin broad terminal edge.

Plumage of the head and neck very soft and downy, of the breast and sides silky and highly glossed, of the abdomen downy, of the upper parts imbricated, but with loose edges. Wings small; primaries much curved, the first longest, the second almost equal. Tail, a small tuft of loose feathers. On the head, at this season, is a tuft of soft feathers on each side behind the eye, and a larger on each side of the upper part of the neck.

Bill bluish-black, its tip yellow. Short loral space bright carmine, as is the iris, its inner margin white; edges of eyelids greyish-blue. Feet dusky externally, internally and on the anterior and posterior ridges of the tarsus dull yellow; claws dusky. Forehead greyish-brown; upper parts of the head bluish-black, as are the sides, fore neck anteriorly, and the elongated ruff feathers; a broad band over the eyes, and the elongated tufts behind them yellowish-brown. Fore neck brownish-red; lower parts white, the sides reddish-brown; abdomen dull grey. The upper parts are brownish-black, the feathers edged with greyish, the middle secondary quills white.

Length to end of tail 14-3/4, to end of claws 19; extent of wings 25-1/2; wing from flexure 5-3/4; bill along the back 11/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-1/4; tarsus 1-1/4; outer toe 1-10/12, its claw 3/12. Weight 14 oz.

Young Female in winter. Plate CCLIX. Fig. 2.

The feathers of the hind head are a little elongated, but at this age there are no tufts on the head. In other respects the plumage is as in the adult male. The bill is bluish-grey, as is the bare loral space; the eye bright carmine, the iris with an inner white edge; the feet bluish-grey. The upper part of the head, and the hind neck, are greyish-black, as are the upper parts in general. The feathers of the back edged with light grey. The throat, the sides of the head, a broad patch on each side of the neck nearly meeting behind, the breast white; the sides and downy feathers of the abdomen brownish-grey. Some of the secondaries are white, as in the adult male.

THE FORKED-TAILED PETREL.

_THALASSIDROMA LEACHII_, BONAP.

PLATE CCLX. MALE AND FEMALE.

Before describing the habits of this bird, I think it necessary to speak of three distinct species which are at times found near our coasts, and of which I have found two breeding within the Union. The present species is the largest; that named after WILSON the next in size; and the one called the Stormy Petrel the least. Until I had met with the whole of these species near our coast, I, like others, thought that the last mentioned kept nearer to Europe than it in reality does at certain seasons.

In August 1831, I was on board of the American packet-ship the Columbia, commanded by my friend JOSEPH DELANO, Esq. who had promised that, in case of a calm occurring, he would allow me to have a boat manned to go in search of birds. The day is not given, because I never keep a journal while crossing the Atlantic; but as I had left England on the first of the month, and was then on the banks of Newfoundland, it must have been towards the latter part of it, when the weather suddenly became quite calm and beautiful. “Mother Carey’s Chickens” were by hundreds around the noble ship, and although ill in consequence of the sickness which never leaves me at sea, I asked for a boat and some hands to row me about for an hour or so. This was granted, guns and ammunition were placed in the yawl, and my assistant Mr HENRY WARD of London, an officer, and two sailors, accompanied me. We had three guns which were alternately loaded and handed to me. In the course of about an hour twenty-five or thirty Petrels were shot, together with some Fulmars. Had you been looking on, you might perhaps have laughed at me on seeing that the moment after I fired, I was obliged to lean over the side of the bark to relieve myself from the distressing state of my stomach. On returning to the ship, my companions nimbly ascended the chains; but although when on land I am pretty firm and active, I was now quite unfit for service, and therefore was hoisted in a chair. Once on deck, I laid myself down on a mattress, my wife attended to me, and I gradually became relieved, as the ship stood, to use the words of my kind captain, “as still as if on the stocks.” There were the dead birds nicely arranged on a board by my side; the wounded ones were placed in a cage, and I began to examine them all with care. To my great surprise, I found among them all the three species mentioned above. Sixteen of these birds were beautifully prepared by Mr WARD, and the rest were placed in spirits, after I had made correct outlines of each species, and taken their exact dimensions and weight. The drawings, however, I was unable to finish on account of the giddiness, which seldom leaves me while at sea. The calm continued the whole of the next day, and, laying myself down on the top of the round-house, I had ample opportunities of observing the habits of the three species, while thus at a distance from land.

My esteemed friend the Prince of Musignano has stated that the Forked-tailed Petrel is less numerous near the American coast than the species named after WILSON. It is true that it rarely goes so far south, but in the vicinity of Massachusetts, and from thence to Newfoundland, it is by far the most abundant of the two; and it breeds on all suitable places from the Islands of Mount Desert to the last mentioned country.

The species of this genus with which I am acquainted all ramble over the seas, both by night and by day, until the breeding season commences, when they remain in their burrows, under rocks, or in their fissures, until towards sunset, when they start off in search of food, returning to their mates or young in the morning, and feeding them then. I feel pretty confident that these birds, like Owls, can hold out against hunger for many hours, and are satisfied with one abundant meal in the day. WILSON was of a different opinion, but I believe he never found these birds breeding.

The Forked-tailed Petrel emits its notes night and day, and at not very long intervals, although it is less noisy than WILSON’s Petrel. They resemble the syllables _pewr-wit_, _pewr-wit_. Its flight differs from that of the other two species, it being performed in broader wheelings, and with firmer flappings, in which respect it resembles that of the Night Hawk, _Caprimulgus virginianus_, while that bird is passing low over the meadows or the waters. It is more shy than the other species, and when it wheels off after having approached the stern of a ship, its wanderings are much more extended before it returns. I have never seen it fly close around a vessel, as the others are in the habit of doing, especially at the approach of night; nor do I think that it ever alights on the rigging of ships, but spends the hours of darkness either on the water, or on low rocks or islands. It also less frequently alights on the water, or pats it with its feet, probably on account of the shortness of its legs, although it frequently allows them to hang down. In this it resembles the _Thalassidroma pelagica_, and WILSON’s Petrel has a similar habit during calm weather. I have seen all the three species immerse their head into the water, to seize their food, and sometimes keep it longer under than I had expected.

About the first of June, the species separate, collect in numbers, and return to their breeding places. I state so from the report of persons on whose testimony I can rely, and who have assured me that, like the Guillemots, they revisit their haunts each spring for years in succession. They now fly in front of the high rocks, in the manner of our Purple Martin when it first arrives at its well known box, passing and repassing a thousand times in the day, enter their dark and narrow mansions, or stand in the passage, and emit their cries, as the bird just mentioned is wont to do on similar occasions. Now they alight on some broad shelf, and walk as if about to fall down, but with considerable ease, and at times with rapidity. Now and then the mated birds approach each other, and, I believe, disgorge some food into each other’s mouths, although I am not absolutely certain that they do so, having only observed them at such times by means of a glass. They collect grasses and pebbles, of which they form a flat nest, on which a single white egg is deposited, which measures an inch and a quarter in length, by seven-eighths in breadth, is nearly equally rounded at both ends, and looks very large for the size of the bird. When boiled, it has a musky smell, but is palatable. When you pass close to the rocks in which they are, you easily hear their shrill querulous notes; but the report of a gun silences them at once, and induces those on the ledges to betake themselves to their holes.

The Forked-tailed Petrel, like the other species, feeds chiefly on floating mollusca, small fishes, crustacea, which they pick up among the floating sea-weeds, and greasy substances, which they occasionally find around fishing-boats or ships out at sea. When seized in the hand, it ejects an oily fluid through the tubular nostrils, and sometimes disgorges a quantity of food. I could not prevail on any of those which I had caught to take food.

These birds are caught from the sterns of vessels, with long slender threads, the manner of using which I shall describe when I come to speak of WILSON’s Petrel. I never could entice one of them to swallow a hook. Very few are found on the coasts of England or Scotland, where, however, the species is said to breed.

THALASSIDROMA LEACHII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds
of the United States, p. 367.

PROCELLARIA LEACHII, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p. 812.

Adult Male. Plate CCLX. Fig. 1.

Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, with the tips curved, as broad as high at the base, extremely compressed at the end. Upper mandible with the nostrils forming a tube on its ridge at the base, beyond which the dorsal line is for a short space straight, then decurved, the ridge narrow and separated from the convex sides by a narrow groove, the edges sharp, inflected, the tip compressed, incurved. Lower mandible with the angle rather long, narrow and pointed, the dorsal line beyond it decurved, the sides erect, the edges sharp, the tip decurved.

Head of ordinary size, roundish, anteriorly narrowed. Neck short. Body rather slender. Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare at its lower part; tarsus slender, reticulate all round. Hind toe minute, with a conical claw; anterior toes of moderate length, slender, scutellate above, connected by striated webs with concave margins; the third and fourth toes longest, and about equal. Claws slender, arched, compressed, acute.

Plumage very soft, blended, the feathers distinct only on the wings, which are very long; primary quills tapering but rounded, the outer four a little incurved at their extremities, the second longest, the third almost equal, the first and fourth about the same length, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded; inner longer, tapering, straight. Tail deeply forked, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.

Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The general colour of the plumage is dark greyish-brown, the quills and tail brownish-black, the smaller wing-coverts and inner secondaries light greyish-brown; the rump, sides of the abdomen, and exterior lower tail-coverts, white.

Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 8-1/2; extent of wings 18-1/2; wing from flexure 6-1/2; tail 3; bill along the back 8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 10/12; tarsus 1; middle toe 10/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12. Weight 1-5/8 oz.

The Female is exactly similar to the male.

Adult Female. Plate CCLX. Fig. 2.

A MAPLE-SUGAR CAMP.

While advancing the best way I could through the magnificent woods that cover the undulating grounds in the vicinity of the Green River in Kentucky, I was overtaken by night. With slow and cautious steps I proceeded, feeling some doubt as to my course, when the moon came forth, as if purposely to afford me her friendly light. The air I thought was uncommonly keen, and the gentle breeze that now and then shook the tops of the tall trees, more than once made me think of halting for the night, and forming a camp. At times I thought of the campaigns of my old friend DANIEL BOON, his strange adventures in these very woods, and the extraordinary walk which he performed to save his fellow-creatures at Fort Massacre from the scalping knives of the irritated Indians. Now and then a racoon or opossum, causing the fallen leaves to rustle, made me pause for a moment; and thus I was forcing my way, thinking on many things dismal as well as pleasing, when the glimmer of a distant fire suddenly roused me from my reveries, and inspired me with fresh animation. As I approached it, I observed forms of different kinds moving to and fro before it, like spectres; and ere long, bursts of laughter, shouts, and songs apprised me of some merrymaking. I thought at first that I had probably stumbled upon a camp-meeting; but I soon perceived that the mirth proceeded from a band of sugar-makers. Every man, woman, and child stared as I passed them, but all were friendly, and, without more ceremony than was needful, I walked up to the fire, at which I found two or three old women, with their husbands, attending to the kettles. Their plain dresses of Kentucky homespun were far more pleasing to my sight than the ribboned turbans of city dames, or the powdered wigs and embroidered waistcoats of antique beaux. I was heartily welcomed, and supplied with a goodly pone of bread, a plate of molasses, and some sweet potatoes.

Fatigued with my long ramble, I lay down under the lee of the smoke, and soon fell into a sound sleep. When day returned, the frost lay thick around; but the party arose cheerful and invigorated, and after performing their orisons, resumed their labour. The scenery around was most pleasing; the ground all round looked as if it had been cleared of underwood; the maples, straight and tall, seemed as if planted in rows; between them meandered several rills, which gently murmured as they hastened toward the larger stream; and as the sun dissolved the frozen dews, the few feathered songsters joined the chorus of the woodsmen’s daughters. Whenever a burst of laughter suddenly echoed through the woods, an Owl or Wild Turkey would respond to it, with a signal welcome to the young men of the party. With large ladles the sugar-makers stirred the thickening juice of the maple; pails of sap were collected from the trees and brought in by the young people; while here and there some sturdy fellow was seen first hacking a cut in a tree, and afterwards boring with an auger a hole, into which he introduced a piece of hollow cane, by which the sap was to be drained off. About half a dozen men had felled a noble yellow poplar, and sawed its great trunk into many pieces, which, after being split, they were scooping into troughs to be placed under the cane-cocks, to receive the maple juice.

Now, good Reader, should you ever chance to travel through the maple grounds that lie near the banks of that lovely stream the Green River of Kentucky, either in January or in March, or through those on the broader Monongahela in April; nay, should you find yourself by the limpid streamlets that roll down the declivities of the Pocano Mountains to join the Lehigh, and there meet with a sugar-camp, take my advice and tarry for a while. If you be on foot or on horseback, and are thirsty, you can nowhere find a more wholesome or more agreeable beverage than the juice of the maple. A man when in the Floridas may drink molasses diffused in water; in Labrador he may drink what he can get; and at New York or Philadelphia he may drink what he chooses; but in the woods a draught from the sugar-maple is delicious and most refreshing. How often, when travelling, have I quenched my thirst with the limpid juice of the receiving troughs, from which I parted with regret; nay, even my horse, I have thought, seemed to desire to linger as long as he could.

But let me endeavour to describe to you the manner in which the sugar is obtained. The trees that yield it (_Acer saccharinum_) are found more or less abundantly in all parts of the Union from Louisiana to Maine, growing on elevated rich grounds. An incision is made into the trunk, at a height of from two to six feet; a pipe of cane or of any other kind is thrust into the aperture; a trough is placed beneath and receives the juice, which trickles by drops, and is as limpid as the purest spring water. When all the trees of a certain space have been tapped, and the troughs filled, the people collect the juice, and pour it into large vessels. A camp has already been pitched in the midst of a grove, several iron boilers have been fixed on stone or brick supports, and the business proceeds with vigour. At times several neighbouring families join, and enjoy the labour as if it were a past-time, remaining out day and night for several weeks; for the troughs and kettles must be attended to from the moment when they are first put in requisition until the sugar is produced. The men and boys perform the most laborious part of the business, but the women and girls are not less busy.

It takes ten gallons of sap to produce a pound of fine-_grained sugar_; but an inferior kind in lumps, called _cake-sugar_, is obtained in greater quantity. When the season is far advanced, the juice will no longer grain by boiling, and only produces a syrup. I have seen maple sugar so good, that some months after it was manufactured it resembled candy; and well do I remember the time when it was an article of commerce throughout Kentucky, where, twenty-five or thirty years ago, it sold at from 6-1/4 to 12-1/2 cents per pound, according to its quality, and was daily purchased in the markets or stores.

Trees that have been thus bored rarely last many years; for the cuts and perforations made in their trunks injure their health, so that after some years of _weeping_ they become sickly, exhibit monstrosities about their lower parts, gradually decay, and at length die. I have no doubt, however, that, with proper care, the same quantity of sap might be obtained with less injury to the trees; and it is now fully time that the farmers and land-owners should begin to look to the preservation of their sugar-maples.

THE WHOOPING CRANE.

_GRUS AMERICANA_, TEMM.

PLATE CCLXI. YOUNG.

The specimen from which the figure in this plate was drawn, was that mentioned at p. 209, as having been presented to me by Captain CLACK. It has already been described at p. 213. In this state, the Whooping Crane has been considered as a distinct species, to which the name of Brown or Canada Crane, _Grus canadensis_, has been given.

On referring to one of my journals, written on the Gulf of Mexico, I find it stated that one of these birds came on board one dark night, and, after passing the man at the helm, fell into the yawl hanging at the stern of the ship, where in the morning it was discovered and secured. Although to appearance in good health, it refused every kind of food, and in a few days died. Knowing the great power of flight of this species, I could only conjecture that some disease operating powerfully at the moment, had caused the bird to take refuge in the boat.

THE TROPIC BIRD.

_PHAETON ÆTHEREUS_, LINN.

PLATE CCLXII. ADULT MALE AND FEMALE.

The specimens from which the figures in the plate were taken, were obtained on the Tortugas, in the summer of 1832, by my kind friend ROBERT DAY, Esq. of the United States’ Revenue Cutter, the Marion. They were shot out of a flock of eight or ten, and were in fine condition. I have represented the Male and Female, in what I suppose to be their full summer or breeding plumage; but not having had an opportunity of studying the habits of this remarkable bird, I am unable to give any information respecting them.

PHAETON ÆTHEREUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 219.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 893.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of
Birds of the United States, p. 409.

TROPIC BIRD, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 503.

Adult Male in summer. Plate CCLXII. Fig. 1.

Bill as long as the head, stout, very much compressed, slightly curved, tapering, acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge narrow, but rounded, the sides sloping and slightly convex at the base, nearly perpendicular towards the end, the edges sharp, irregularly broken, the tip acute. Nasal groove short, near the ridge; nostrils linear, very small. Lower mandible with the angle of moderate length, extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight and ascending, the sides erect and slightly convex, the edges sharp but irregularly serrated, the tip very acute.

Head rather large, ovate. Neck short and thick. Body rather full. Feet very short; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus extremely short, roundish, covered all round with small round scales; toes rather small, placed in the same place, and connected by reticulated webs; the first toe very small, the third and fourth about equal, all scutellate above. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather sharp, that of middle toe largest, with an undulated thin inner edge.

Plumage soft, blended, on the back and wings rather compact. Wings long, acute; primaries strong, tapering, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries very short, incurved, rounded, the inner longer. Tail of twelve feathers, wedge-shaped, the two middle feathers extremely elongated, narrow, and tapering.

Bill orange-red. Iris brown. Tarsi and base of toes yellow, the rest and the webs black, as are the claws. The general colour of the plumage is pale pink, or white tinged with carmine, the two middle tail feathers redder. A curved spot before the eye, and band behind it, black. A band of the same colour extends across the wing from the flexure, running narrow along the middle coverts, much enlarged on the inner secondaries and their coverts, and including the extremities of the scapulars. The outer webs, shafts, and a portion of the inner webs of the first four primary quills, are also black, and there is a spot of the same on some of the primary coverts. The shafts of the two middle tail feathers are black, excepting towards the end; and some of the long hypochondrial feathers are greyish-black in the centre.

Length to end of tail 29-1/2 inches, to end of wings 16; to end of claw 14; extent of wings 38; wing from flexure 11-1/4; tail 19-1/8; bill along the ridge 2, along the edge of lower mandible 2-3/4; tarsus 1-10/12; middle toe 1-4/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 15 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCLXII. Fig. 2.

The Female resembles the male, but is less tinged with red. The bill is yellow, the iris and feet as in the male. The tail-feathers are also less elongated.

Length to end of tail 26 inches, to end of wings 14-1/4, to end of claws 13; wing from flexure 11; tail 16; extent of wings 34; bill along the ridge 11/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/2; tarsus 10/12; middle toe 1-4/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 12 oz.

THE CURLEW SANDPIPER.

_TRINGA SUBARQUATA_, TEMM.

PLATE CCLXIII. ADULT AND YOUNG.

In the course of my extensive rambles along our coasts and in the interior, I have seen only three birds of this species, all of which I have kept with care, considering the Cape Sandpiper or Pigmy Curlew as the rarest of its genus with us. It appears to resort to particular districts; two of my birds were shot at Great Egg Harbour in New Jersey, in the spring of 1829, the other on Long Island near Sandy Hook. No other birds were near them, and I approached them without much difficulty. They were wading along the shores up to the knees, picking up floating garbage and sand worms. In their stomachs I found fragments of minute shells, slender red worms, and bits of marine plants. The one killed on Long Island was a fine male in full plumage, and from it I made the figure that has been engraved in the plate. The others were females or young birds of the preceding year. One, in plain plumage, was drawn; the other, mottled beneath with patches of white and dull rufous, I considered as a female which might perhaps have perfected its colouring that season. I have seen a few specimens in New York, and two in Boston; and my friend JOHN BACHMAN has one or two in his possession.

TRINGA SUBARQUATA, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p.
609.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of the United
States, p. 317.

NUMENIUS AFRICANUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. 712.

CAPE CURLEW OR SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, p. 104.

Adult Male. Plate CCLXIII. Fig. 1.

Bill longer than the head, slender, subcylindrical, flexible, very slightly decurved, compressed at the base, the point obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first slightly sloping, then nearly straight, and towards the end slightly decurved, the ridge convex but narrow, the sides sloping, the edges rather blunt and soft. Nasal groove extending to near the tip; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides nearly erect, with a long narrow groove, the tip tapering but rounded.

Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body rather slender. Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare about a third of its length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly and posteriorly covered with numerous scutella; hind toe very small; the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth a little longer than the second, the third longest, all free, scutellate above, flat beneath, slightly marginate; claws small, slightly arched, compressed, acute, that of third toe largest, with the inner edge slightly dilated.

Plumage very soft, blended beneath, slightly distinct above. Wings long and pointed; primaries tapering, obtuse, the first longest, the second scarcely shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries short, incurved, obliquely truncate, the inner web extending beyond the outer; the inner secondaries elongated, tapering. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve rounded feathers, the two middle a little longer.

Bill dark olive-green, dusky towards the point. Iris hazel. Feet light olive, claws dusky. The head, neck and breast, are bright yellowish-red, the sides whitish, the lower tail-coverts white, with a brownish-black spot towards the end. The central parts of the feathers on the upper part of the head are dark brown, and there are slight streaks of the same on the hind neck and sides of the breast. The upper parts are mottled with brownish-black and dull red, the rump pale brownish-grey, as are the smaller wing-coverts. Quills greyish-brown, the primaries dark, the outer secondaries light and tipped with white, the inner darker and glossed with green. Upper tail-coverts white, spotted with brown and red; tail pale brownish grey, glossed with green.

Length to end of tail 8-3/4 inches, to end of wings 9-2/12; extent of wings 16; wing from flexure 5; tail 2-2/12; bill along the back 1-1/2, along the edge of lower mandible 1-5/12; bare parts of tibia 1/2; tarsus 1-1/12, middle toe 1, its claw 2/12. Weight 2-1/4 oz.

Adult Female, Plate CCLXIII. Young in autumn.

The bill, iris, and feet as in the adult. On the upper parts the feathers are brown, edged with darker, and margined with greyish yellow; the lore, cheeks and sides of the neck and body are greyish-yellow, with dusky lines, a broad band from the mandible over the eye, the fore part of the neck, and the rest of the lower parts, white. Quills and tail as in the adult, but lighter.

Length to end of tail 7-3/4 inches; extent of wings 14-1/2. Weight 1-3/4 oz.

THE FULMAR PETREL.

_PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS_, LINN.