Chapter XXX: Part 30

But, in order to explain to you what I mean, let us take a general view of the subject. If we examine the foot of any common land bird, a domestic fowl for example, we observe that the extremity of its toes under the nail are rounded, and covered with quincuncial papillæ, generally flattened. The extreme degree of this rounded form is seen in the _Eagles_ and _Hawks_, of which the end of the toe projects beneath the claw, having the appearance of a large round knob or rather pad. It is not, however, my intention at present to describe the structure of this part in the land birds. I may however remark, that in them, as well as in the others, the examination of the parts in question will materially aid in limiting the number of merely nominal species, by disclosing an identity of form, as well as in separating species that have been confounded, by shewing a diversity, as I have had occasion to observe, in several species of both kinds.

In the aquatic tribes numerous remarkable modifications are observed. Beginning with those which have the extremity of the toe largest and most rounded, we find that the _Geese_, _Ducks_, and _Gulls_, supply good examples. Thus in _Larus marinus_, the protuberance beneath the claw is rounded, and covered with small rounded and flattened papillæ, of which there is a semicircular terminal series of a larger size, as is represented by fig. 1.

The _Pelicans_ and _Gannets_ are similar in this respect to the Gulls, as are the _Cormorants_, which, however, have the terminal pad projecting and more pointed. In the _Guillemots_, also, it is rounded, with small distinct rounded scales. In the _Frigate Bird_, in which the webs are short, and do not modify the pads, the terminal scales are similar to those of the Gulls. In the genus _Lestris_, they are smaller, and obscured by the webs, their papillæ smaller and more pointed. In the Terns, they are similar to those of the Gulls, but narrower, and with the papillæ large. In _Phaeton æthereus_, the webs appear to obliterate the terminal papillæ, which are very small. In all these, the extremities of the toes are more or less rounded, and terminated just beneath the claw by a semicircular series of scales larger than those immediately behind.

In the _Auks_, however, there is a large scale or plate, on the inner side of the middle toe, and then a series of narrow scales. In _Mormon glacialis_, of which the end of the middle toe is represented by fig. 2, there is a single much recurved narrow horny plate, behind which is a narrow series of oblong scales. In the genus _Puffinus_, there is also a single short rounded terminal scale or plate.

The _Colymbi_ or _Divers_ have the end of the toe very narrow and flat, with a single small rounded terminal plate, and numerous small scales behind it. These birds have the claws depressed, a form which shews its extreme development in the _Grebes_. Of the extremity of the middle toe of one of these, _Podiceps cristatus_, fig. 3. is a representation. Here the claw is almost quite flat, and the end of the toe beneath it is not elevated or rounded as in almost all the other genera, but perfectly depressed, and having its outline concave, but still, as usual, with a series of large scales.

If we now look to the _Grallæ_, we shall find similar modifications. Fig. 4 represents the lower surface, and the lateral aspect of the extremity of the middle toe of _Ardea rufescens_, which agrees, in a general point of view, with that of the other species of the genus, as well as with that of the _Cranes_. The pad here is rounded, and terminated by a semicircle of larger scales. In the genera _Numenius_ and _Limosa_, the arrangement is similar, the terminal scales being much smaller in the latter than in the former, and two of the lateral scales enlarged. In the genera _Tringa_, _Scolopax_ and _Gallinula_, the arrangement is similar. All these genera exhibit more or less of the rounded form, terminated by a series of larger scales.

In _Ibis alba_ the extremity is narrowed and terminated by a small rather pointed horny plate, divided into two unequal portions, as represented by fig. 5. The _Tantali_ have this part also narrowed at the end, flattened, and terminated by a semicircular slightly projecting plate or hooflet. The same appearance is presented in _Hæmatopus palliatus_, in which, however, the extremity is more rounded, the semicircular plate more decurved, and concave above, as represented by fig. 6. In _Rallus elegans_, fig. 7, and the _Rails_ generally, the terminal plate is similar, but narrow and rather curved upwards. It is in the genera _Strepsilas_, _Charadrius_ and _Totanus_, that the terminal plate, being narrower, more elongated and more pointed, assumes more especially the semblance of a second claw. The extremities of the middle toes of _Totanus semipalmatus_ and _Charadrius Pluvialis_, are represented by figs 8. and 9.

Having now reached the point from which I started, according to the approved method of reasoning in a circle, or if not, of exhibiting natural objects in a circular arrangement, I take my leave, hoping that when I again request your indulgence, I shall be enabled to present you with something equally curious, and perhaps better calculated to induce you to extend your inquiries into the neglected parts of the structure of those objects, whose investigation cannot fail to raise our minds towards the Being who framed the beautiful and harmonious system of which we form a part.

ERRATA.

Page 211, line 4, _for_ Traders _read_ Waders
— 222, ... 2, ... Sir James Ross, _read_ Sir John Ross,
— 273, ... 22, ... Orelans _read_Orleans
— 317, ... 13 from bottom, _for_ even _read_ not only
— 325, ... 22, _for_ Santie _read_ Santee

SUBSCRIBERS TO “THE BIRDS OF AMERICA,”

OBTAINED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

James Dickson, Esq. Philadelphia.
London Institution, per Mr Brayley, Librarian.
Ogden Haggerty, Esq. New York.
W. A. Coleman, Esq. New York.
R. O. Anderson, Esq. Georgetown, South Carolina.
James Grimshaw, Esq. New Orleans.

Persons intending to subscribe for “The Birds of America,” are requested to apply to the Author, J. J. AUDUBON, or the Engraver ROBERT HAVELL, 77. Oxford Street, London; THOMAS SOWLER, Bookseller, Manchester; Mrs ROBINSON, Bookseller, Leeds; ALEXANDER HILL, Bookseller, 50. Prince’s Street, Edinburgh; J. H. BEILBY, Bookseller, Birmingham; E. CHARNLEY, Bookseller, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; GEORGE SMITH, Bookseller, Tythebarn Street, Liverpool; ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, Booksellers, Edinburgh.

INDEX.

Page

Alca Torda, 112

American Coot, 291

— Oyster-catcher, 181

— Snipe, 322

— Sun Perch, 47

— Woodcock, 474

Anas acuta, 214

— Boschas, 174

— Crecca, 219

— Sponsa, 52

Anser albifrons, 598

— canadensis, 1

— Hutchinsii, 526

— leucopsis, 609

Arctic Jager, 470

— Tern, 366

Ardea candidissima, 317

— exilis, 77

— Herodias, 87

— ludoviciana, 136

— nycticorax, 275

— occidentalis, 542

— rufescens, 411

Auk, Razor-billed, 112

Barnacle Goose, 609

Bewick, Thomas, 300

Bittern Least, 77

Black Guillemot, 148

— Tern, 535

Black-backed Gull, 305

Booby Gannet, 63

Breaking up of the Ice, 408

Brown Pelican, 376

Buff-breasted Sandpiper, 452

Calm at Sea, 491, 520

Camp, a Maple-sugar, 438

Canada Goose, 1

Cayenne Tern, 505

Charadrius melodus, 154

Charadrius pluvialis, 623

— vociferus, 191

— Wilsonius, 73

Clapper Rail, 33

Claws of Birds, 629

Colymbus septentrionalis, 20

Common American Gull, 98

— Cormorant, 458

— Gallinule, 330

Coot American, 291

Cormorant, Double-crested, 420

— Common, 458

— Florida, 387

Crane, Whooping, 202, 441

Cray-fish, 199

Crested Grebe, 595

Curlew, Esquimaux, 69

— Hudsonian, 283

— Long-billed, 240

— Sandpiper, 444

Diver, Red-throated, 20

Dobchick, Pied-billed, 359

Double-crested Cormorant, 420

Duck, Eider, 342

— Harlequin, 612

— King, 523

— Pintail, 214

— Ring-necked, 259

— Scaup, 226

— Velvet, 354

— Wood, 52

Dusky Petrel, 620

Eider Duck, 342

Eggers of Labrador, 82

Egret, Reddish, 411

Esquimaux Curlew, 69

Fishing in the Ohio, 122

Florida, Wreckers of, 158

Florida Cormorant, 387

Foolish Guillemot, 142

Forked-tailed Gull, 561

— Petrel, 434

Fresh-water Marsh-hen, 27

Fulica americana, 291

Fuligula fusca, 354

— histrionica, 612

— Marila, 226

— mollissima, 342

— spectabilis, 523

— rufitorques, 259

Fulmar Petrel, 446

Frigate Pelican, 495

Gallinula Chloropus, 330

Gallinule, Common, 330

Gannet Booby, 63

Godwit, Great Marbled, 287

— Hudsonian, 426

Golden Plover, 623

Goose, Barnacle, 609

— Canada, 1

— Hutchins’s, 526

— White-fronted, 568

Great Black-backed Gull, 305

— Blue Heron, 87

— Egg Harbour, 606

— Marbled Godwit, 287

— White Heron, 542

Grebe, Crested, 595

— Horned, 429

— Red-necked, 617

Greenshank, 483

Green-winged Teal, 219

Grus Americana, 202, 441

Guillemot, Black, 148

— Foolish, 142

— Large-billed, 336

Gull, Common American, 98

— Forked-tailed, 561

— Great Black-backed, 305

— Herring, 588

— Ivory, 571

— Kittiwake, 186

— White-winged Silvery, 553

Hæmatopus palliatus, 181

Harlequin Duck, 612

Heron, Great Blue, 87

— Great White, 542

— Louisiana, 136

— Night, 275

— Snowy, 317

Herring Gull, 588

Hooded Merganser, 246

Horned Grebe, 429

Horse, a Wild, 270

Hudsonian Curlew, 283

— Godwit, 426

Hutchins’s Goose, 526

Hyperborean Phalarope, 118

Ibis alba, 173

— Wood, 128

Ice, Breaking up of the, 408

Ivory Gull, 571

Jager, Arctic, 470

— Pomarine, 396

— Richardson’s, 503

Kildeer Plover, 191

King Duck, 523

Kittiwake Gull, 186

Labrador, 584

— Eggers of, 82

Large-billed Guillemot, 336

— Puffin, 599

Larus argentatus, 588

— eburneus, 571

— leucopterus, 553

— marinus, 305

— Sabini, 561

— tridactylus, 186

— zonorhynchus, 98

Least Bittern, 77

Lestris parasiticus, 470

— pomarinus, 396

— Richardsonii, 503

Limosa Fedoa, 287

— Hudsonica, 426

Long-billed Curlew, 240

Long Calm at Sea, 491

Lost Portfolio, 564

Louisiana Heron, 136

Mangrove, 386

Mallard, 164

Marbled Godwit, 287

Mank’s Shearwater, 604

Maple-sugar Camp, 438

Marsh Hen, Salt-water, 33

— Hen, Fresh-water, 27

Mergus cucullatus, 246

Merganser, Hooded, 246

Mormon arcticus, 105

— cirrhatus, 364

— glacialis, 599

Natchez in 1820, 539

Night Heron, 275

Noddy Tern, 516

Numenius borealis, 69

— hudsonicus, 283

— longirostris, 240

Ohio, Fishing in the, 122

Opossum, 454

Oyster-catcher, American, 181

Pectoral Sandpiper, 601

Pelecanus fuscus, 376

Pelican, Brown, 376

— Frigate, 495

Perch, Sun, 47

— White, 197

Petrel, Dusky, 620

— Forked-tailed, 434

— Fulmar, 446

— Wilson’s, 486

Phaeton æthereus, 442

Phalacrocorax Carbo, 458

— dilophus, 420

— floridanus, 387

Phalarope, Hyperborean, 118

— Red, 404

— Wilson’s, 400

Phalaropus fulicarius, 404

— hyperboreus, 118

Phalaropus Wilsonii, 400

Pied-billed Dobchick, 359

Pintail Duck, 214

Piping Plover, 154

Pitting of Wolves, 338

Plover, Golden, 623

— Piping, 154

— Kildeer, 191

— Wilson’s, 73

Podiceps carolinensis, 359

— cornutus, 429

— cristatus, 595

— rubricollis, 617

Pomarine Jager, 396

Portfolio, the Lost, 564

Procellaria glacialis, 446

Puffin, 105

— Large-billed, 599

— Tufted, 364

Puffinus Anglorum, 604

— cinereus, 555

— obscurus, 620

Purple Sandpiper, 557

Racoon Hunt in Kentucky, 235

Rail, Clapper, 33

— Great Red-breasted, 27

— Sora, 51

— Virginian, 41

Rallus carolinus, 251

— crepitans, 33

— elegans, 27

— virginianus, 41

Razor-billed Auk, 112

Red-backed Sandpiper, 580

Red-breasted Rail, 27

Reddish Egret, 411

Red-necked Grebe, 617

Red Phalarope, 404

Red-throated Diver, 20

Reminiscences of Bewick, 300

Richardson’s Jager, 503

Ring-necked Duck, 259

Roseate Tern, 296

Sabine’s Gull, 561

Salt-water Marsh Hen, 33

Sanderling, 231

Sandpiper, Buff-breasted, 451

— Curlew, 444

— Pectoral, 601

— Purple, 558

— Red-backed, 580

— Schinz’s, 529

— Solitary, 576

Sandwich Tern, 531

Scaup Duck, 226

Schinz’s Sandpiper, 529

Scolopax minor, 474

— Wilsonii, 322

Semipalmated Snipe, 510

Shearwater Manks, 604

— Wandering, 555

Snipe, American, 322

Snowy Heron, 317

Solitary Sandpiper, 576

Sooty Tern, 263

Sora Rail, 251

Sterna arctica, 366

— cantiaca, 531

— Dougallii, 296

— cayana, 505

— fuliginosa, 263

— nigra, 535

— Stolida, 516

Still Becalmed, 520

Sula fusca, 63

Sun Perch, 47

Tachypetes Aquilus, 495

Tantalus Loculator, 128

Tringa alpina, 580

— arenaria, 231

Teal, Green-winged, 219

Tern, Arctic, 366

— Black, 535

— Cayenne, 505

— Noddy, 516

— Roseate, 296

— Sandwich, 531

— Sooty, 263

Thalassidroma Leachii, 434

— Wilsonii, 486

Thomas Bewick, 300

Totanus Glottis, 483

— flavipes, 573

— semipalmatus, 510

Tough Walk for a Youth, 371

Tringa maritima, 558

— pectoralis, 601

— rufescens, 451

— Schinzii, 529

— subarquata, 444

Tropic Bird, 442

Tufted Puffin, 364

Uria Brunnichii, 336

— Grylle, 148

— Troile, 142

Velvet Duck, 354

Virginian Rail, 41

Walk, a tough one for a youth, 371

Wandering Shear-water, 555

Wreckers of Florida, 158

Whooping Crane, 202, 441

White-fronted Goose, 568

White Heron, Great, 542

— Ibis, 173

— Perch, 197

White-winged Silvery Gull, 553

Wild Horse, 270

Willet, 510

Wilson’s Petrel, 486

— Phalarope, 400

— Plover, 73

Wolves, Pitting of, 338

Wood Duck, 52

— Ibis, 128

Woodcock, American, 474

Yellowshank, 573

PRINTED BY NEILL & CO. OLD FISHMARKET, EDINBURGH.