Chapter XIX: Part 19

Bill rather short, robust, compressed toward the end, acute. Upper mandible with its dorsal outline declinate and slightly convex, the ridge rather narrow, the sides convex, the edges sharp, overlapping, with two slightly prominent small festoons about the middle, and a faint notch close to the tip, which is a little declinate. Lower mandible strong, with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line straight, the back broadly convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip acute. Nostrils round, basal.

Head rather large, ovate, flattish above; neck very short; body ovate, compact. Legs shortish; tarsus short, compressed, rather stout, with seven anterior scutella, and two lateral plates forming an acute edge behind; toes of moderate length; middle toe longer than the tarsus, lateral toes much shorter and equal, hind toe stout. Claws rather large, arched, much compressed, acute.

Plumage soft and blended; very small bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Wings of ordinary length, the second quill longest, the first four having the outer web attenuated toward the end; secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, straight, emarginate, of twelve feathers.

Bill dull greenish-yellow, brown above. Iris hazel. Feet greyish-blue, claws greyish-yellow. The general colour of the plumage is pure scarlet; the wings and tail black; the axillar feathers, inner lower wing-coverts, and more or less of the inner webs of nearly all the quills, white.

Length to end of tail 7 inches, to end of wings 5-3/4, to end of claws 6-3/8; extent of wings 11-3/4; wing from flexure 4-1/12; tail 2-10/12; bill along the ridge (7-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 10/12; tarsus 9/12; hind toe (4-1/4)/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12; middle toe (7-1/4)/12, its claw (4-1/4)/12.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLIV. Fig. 4.

Bill and feet as in the male. The general colour of the upper parts is yellowish-green, tinged with grey, of the lower parts greenish-yellow; the feathers of the wings and tail greyish-brown, margined with yellowish-green, the secondaries and tail-feathers narrowly tipped with greyish-white, the lower wing-coverts and the edges of all the quills white.

Length to end of tail 6-1/2 inches, to end of wings 5-3/4, to end of claws 6-1/4; extent of wings 10-3/4.

The young when fledged resemble the female; the males being, however, distinguishable from the females by their brighter tints.

The young male in autumn, after the first, moult, has the lower parts of a much brighter yellow, the upper of a lighter green, but with all the feathers having a central black mark, those on the head oblong, on the middle of the back broad, on the rump linear. The wing-coverts are black; the quills and tail-feathers brownish-black, margined with yellowish-green.

Two males in my possession, shot by Dr TRUDEAU, are remarkable for having the first row of small coverts scarlet, forming a conspicuous band amidst the black of the wing, and the lower wing-coverts tipped and margined with the same. In all other respects, however, these individuals agree with the others.

An adult male examined. The roof of the mouth is concave, with a median prominent ridge and two more prominent lateral ridges, between which and the edges is a broad groove for the reception of the lower mandible. The tongue is 6 twelfths long, deeply emarginate and papillate at the base, flat above, with a median groove, the tip horny and pointed, but terminated by several flattened bristles or shreds Œsophagus, _a b c_, 2-1/2 inches long, its diameter 4-1/2 twelfths, until its entrance into the thorax, when it contracts a little. Proventriculus, _b c_, 1/2 inch long, and 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter. The stomach, _c d e_, is a strong gizzard, 8 twelfths long, 7 twelfths in breadth, its lateral muscles moderately thick; the epithelium rugous and dark reddish-brown. Intestine, _f g h_, 7-1/2 inches long, its average diameter 2-1/2 twelfths, its narrowest part 2 twelfths. The rectum _i j_, 10 twelfths long; the cœca, _i_, 3/4 of a twelfth long, and 1/2 twelfth in diameter.

The trachea is 2 inches long, its diameter 1-1/2 twelfths, and nearly uniform; the rings about 60. The contractor and sterno-tracheal muscles are slender; and there are four pairs of inferior laryngeal.

In a female the intestine is 7-1/4 inches long.

The contents of the stomach in both were remains of insects and seeds.

The digestive organs of this bird, and probably of all the Tanagers of the same group, are thus not essentially different from those of the Passerine tribe, including Finches, Buntings, &c. The œsophagus has a more elongated dilatation than in most of the species of that tribe, of which, however, the Corn Bunting of Europe is very similar in this respect.

MACGILLIVRAY’S FINCH.

_FRINGILLA MACGILLIVRAII._

PLATE CCCLV. MALE AND FEMALE.

Whilst BACHMAN’s Finch resides in the pine forests of the Carolinas and other Southern States, preferring dry and sandy lands covered with grasses; and whilst HENSLOW’s Bunting or Finch, and the Yellow-winged Bunting, are fond of open prairies and ploughed fields, in which they nestle; the species, on which I have bestowed the name of my friend MACGILLIVRAY, chooses for its residence the salt marshes of our Southern Atlantic shores, in which also are found the Sharp-tailed and Seaside Finches of WILSON and other authors. The three former spend the greater part of the winter in the forests, perch occasionally on trees, and feed principally on seeds; whereas the latter three are never found elsewhere than in the salt marshes, and feed chiefly on minute shells and aquatic insects. Were I therefore to adopt the minimum generic groups which have become prevalent, I would place the three birds of the interior in a genus apart from that containing the three marsh-birds.

MACGILLIVRAY’s Finch is as yet very rare within the United States, and has not been observed farther eastward than Sullivan Island, about six miles from Charleston in South Carolina; but it is very abundant in the Texas, occurring on all the low islands that are much intersected by salt-water bayous, and interspersed with ponds of brackish water, seldom leaving these localities unless whilst travelling, or passing from one island to another, which they do by flying at the height of only a few feet above the surface. They run among the rankest weeds with uncommon celerity, and do not seem to mind being followed by a dog, which they very easily elude amongst the thick grass. Whilst breeding they often start from a little distance, and pursue a singularly irregular or zigzag flight, much resembling that of the Jack Snipe of Europe, and yet performed with apparently slow beats of the wings. They fall as it were among the grass as suddenly as they rise from it, and by these manœuvres save their nests from the searching eye of the keenest student of nature. They very seldom alight on the stems of grasses, although when they do they climb with facility, occasionally using their tail as a support, in the same manner as the Rice-bird. Their strong tarsi and toes enable them to walk on the ground with great vigour. When they take wing deliberately, their flight resembles that of a young partridge, and, if over the land, is seldom extended between forty or fifty yards at a time. The males appear very jealous of each other, and frequently one pursues another on wing, but usually abandons the chase before the conquered bird has alighted, leaving it to pursue its course as it pleases after it has been driven beyond the assailant’s jurisdiction. The notes of this species are few and unmusical, consisting of a sort of roll of five or six syllables, which it seems to me impossible to imitate. They are usually heard early in the morning. My friend Dr BACHMAN informs me that none of these Finches remain in South Carolina during winter, and that they generally disappear early in November, when the weather is still very pleasant in the maritime portions of that state. Many, however, spend the winter in the salt marshes about the mouths of the Mississippi, and I have no doubt that they are constant residents there, as they are in the Texas.

This species has already been described at p. 285 of the second volume of the present work.

MARSH HAWK.

_FALCO CYANEUS_, LINN.

PLATE CCCLVI.

With ease and elegance of flight, guided by an uncommon acuteness of what I would call short-sightedness, the Marsh Hawk, like an experienced gleaner, ranges over the wide extent of the prairie. The pure white of the hind part of the female’s back, and the pale blue of the male, attract your eye so long as the pair remain within sight. The diligence and industry which they exhibit remind you of the search of a well-trained pointer.

This species visits the greater part of the United States. Dr RICHARDSON procured some specimens in latitude 65° north, and Dr TOWNSEND found it on the plains of the Columbia River, as well as on the extensive prairies bordering on the Missouri. I have met with it in Newfoundland and Labrador on the one hand, in Texas on the other, and in every intermediate portion of the country.

In the Fauna Boreali-Americana, Mr SWAINSON has published an excellent paper relating to such birds as have and have not been considered as identical with this bird and the European one bearing the same name. I perfectly agree with that gentleman when he says that “the typical structure of the wing in the present group must unquestionably be that most prevalent among the species. It must, however, be remembered, that even this character is subject to variation, according to the age and perhaps the locality of the bird, and that it must not be insisted upon with too much rigour.” I regret that this learned ornithologist did not introduce the word _sex_ into the above well-founded remark, as in the sexes of birds, as well as in individuals of different ages, remarkable differences are often observed.

It is to MONTAGU that we are indebted for our first knowledge of the differences that exist between the male and the female of the European Hen Harrier, with which WILSON believed the Marsh Hawk of America to be identical. The Prince of MUSIGNANO, in his continuation of Wilson’s American Ornithology, also considered these birds as the same; although he has since altered his opinion. For my part, having carefully observed the habits, and compared specimens of both, I have come to the conclusion of their being the same species.

The flight of the Marsh Hawk, although light and elegant, cannot be said to be either swift or strong; but it is well sustained, and this may be accounted for on comparing the small size and weight of its body with the great extent of its wings and tail, which are proportionally larger than those of any other American Hawk. While searching for prey, it performs most of its rambles by rather irregular sailings; by which I mean that it frequently deviates from a straight course peeping hither and thither among the tall grasses of the marshes, prairies, or meadows, or along the briary edges of our fields. It is seldom indeed seen to chase birds on wing, although I have met with a few instances; nor is it much in the habit of carrying its quarry to any distance; for generally as it observes an object suited to its appetite, it suddenly checks its speed, and almost poising itself by a few flaps of its wings, drops with astonishing quickness on its unfortunate victim, which it usually tears to pieces and devours on the spot. If disappointed, however, it rises as quickly as it dropped, and proceeds as before. Whilst engaged in feeding, it may very easily be approached, surprised, and shot, by an experienced sportsman, for it rises in a flurried manner, and generally cuts a few curious zigzags at the outset. To obtain it, one has only to mark the spot with accuracy, keep his eye upon it, and advance with his gun in readiness, for he will probably get within a few yards before the bird rises. I have frequently seen it shot in this manner. At other times, by watching its beats over a field or meadow, one may obtain a good opportunity by concealing himself near a spot where he has seen it miss its object, as it is sure to repass there in a short time, at all events before it removes to another field. When wounded and brought to the ground, it makes off on the approach of its enemy by great leaps, and at times so swiftly that great exertion is requisite to overtake it; and when this is accomplished, it throws itself on its back, strikes furiously, and can inflict pretty severe wounds with its very sharp claws.

This species flies very high at times, and in a direct course, as if intent on proceeding to some great distance; but as I observed that this frequently occurred when the bird was satiated with food, I have thought that it preferred this method of favouring digestion, to its more usual mode of sitting on the top of a fence rail, and there remaining quiet until again roused by the feeling of hunger. I have often seen it, after sailing about in circles for a long while, half-close its wings, and come towards the ground, cutting curious zigzags, until within a few feet of it, when it would resume its usual elegant and graceful mode of proceeding.

I have observed it in our western prairies in autumn moving in flocks of twenty, thirty, or even so many as forty individuals, and appearing to be migrating, as they passed along at a height of fifty or sixty yards, without paying any attention to the objects below; but on all these occasions I could never find that they were bent on any general course more than another; as some days a flock would be proceeding southward, on the next to the northward or eastward. Many times I have seen them follow the grassy margins of our great streams, such as the Ohio and Mississippi, at the approach of winter, as if bent on going southward, but have become assured that they were merely attracted by the vast multitudes of Finches or Sparrows of various sorts which are then advancing in that direction.

In winter, the notes which the Marsh Hawk emits while on wing, are sharp, and sound like the syllables _pee_, _pee_, _pee_, the first slightly pronounced, the last louder, much prolonged, and ending plaintively. During the love-season, its cry more resembles that of our Pigeon Hawk; especially when the males meet, they being apparently tenacious of their assumed right to a certain locality, as well as to the female of their choice.

The Marsh Hawk breeds in many parts of the United States, as well as beyond our limits to the north and south in which it finds a place suited to its habits; as is the case with the Blue-winged Teal, and several other species, which have until now been supposed to retreat to high latitudes for the purpose. That many make choice of the more northern regions, and return southward in autumn, is quite certain; but in all probability an equal number remain within the confines of the United States to breed.

It is by no means restricted to the low lands of the sea-shores during the breeding season, for I have found its nest in the Barrens of Kentucky, and even on the cleared table-lands of the Alleghany Mountains and their spurs. In one instance, I found it in the high-covered pine-barrens of the Floridas, although I have never seen one on a tree; and the few cases of its nest having been placed on low trees or bushes, may have been caused by the presence of dangerous quadrupeds, or their having been more than once disturbed or robbed of their eggs or young, when their former nests had been placed on the ground.

Many birds of this species breed before they have obtained their full plumage. I have several times found a male bird in brown plumage paired with a female which had eggs; but such a circumstance is not singular, for the like occurs in many species of different families. I have never met with a nest in situations like those described by some European writers as those in which the Hen-harrier breeds; but usually on level parts of the country, or flat pieces of land that are sometimes met with in hilly districts. As I am well aware, however, that birds adapt the place and even the form and materials of their nests to circumstances, I cannot admit that such a difference is by any means sufficient to prove that birds similar in all other respects, are really different from each other. If it be correct, as has been stated, that the male of the European bird deserts the female, as soon as incubation commences, this indeed would form a decided difference; but as such a habit has not been observed in any other Hawk, it requires to be confirmed. Our Marsh Hawks, after being paired, invariably keep together, and labour conjointly for the support of their family, until the young are left to shift for themselves. This is equally the case with every Hawk with which I am acquainted.

Having considerable doubts as to whether any American writer who has spoken of the Marsh Hawk ever saw one of its nests, I will here describe one found on Galveston Island by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE, and carefully examined by him as well as by my friend EDWARD HARRIS and myself. As is usually the case when in a low and flat district, this was placed about a hundred yards from a pond, on the ground, upon a broom-sedge ridge, about two feet above the level of the surrounding salt marsh. It was made of dry grass, and measured between seven and eight inches in its internal diameter, with a depth of two inches and a half, while its external diameter was twelve inches. The grass was pretty regularly and compactly disposed, especially in the interior, on which much care seemed to have been bestowed. No feathers or other materials had been used in its construction, not even a twig. The eggs were four, smooth, considerably rounded, or broadly elliptical, bluish-white, an inch and three-quarters in length, an inch and a quarter in breadth. The two birds were procured, and their measurements carefully entered in my journal, as well as those of others obtained in various parts of the United States and of the British Provinces. A nest found on the Alleghanies was placed under a low bush, in an open spot of scarcely half an acre. It was constructed in the same manner, as the one described above, but was more bulky, the bed being about four inches from the earth. The eggs, although of the same form and colour, were slightly sprinkled with small marks of pale reddish-brown. In general, the Marsh Hawks scoop the ground, for the purpose of fixing their nest to the spot. On returning to London, in the summer of 1837, I shewed several of the eggs of the American bird to WILLIAM YARBELL, Esq. who at once pronounced them to belong to the Hen Harrier; and on comparing their measurements with those of the eggs described by my friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, I find that they agree perfectly.

The young are at first covered with soft yellowish-white down, but in a few weeks shew the brownish and ferruginous tints of their female parent, the young males being distinguishable from the females by their smaller size.

I have found a greater number of barren females in this species than in any other; and to this I in part attribute their predominance over the males. The food of the Marsh Hawk consists of insects of various kinds, especially crickets, of small lizards, frogs, snakes, birds, principally the smaller sorts, although it will attack Partridges, Plovers, and even Green-winged Teals, when urged by excessive hunger. The only instance in which I have seen this bird carry any prey in its talons on wing, happened on the 2d of April 1837, at the south-west Pass of the Mississippi, when I was in company with EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. and my son JOHN WOODHOUSE. A Marsh Hawk was seen to seize a bird on its nest, perhaps a Marsh Wren, _Troglodytes palustris_, and carry it off in its talons with the nest! A pair were hovering over the marsh during the whole of our stay, and probably had a nest thereabout. It is rather a cowardly bird, however, for on several occasions, when I was in the Floridas, where it is abundant, I saw it chase a Salt-water Marsh Hen, _Rallus crepitans_, which courageously sprung up, and striking at its enemy, forced it off. My friend JOHN BACHMAN has frequently observed similar occurrence in the neighbourhood of Charleston. Whenever it seizes a bird on wing, it almost at once drops to the ground with it, and if in an exposed place, hops off with its prey to the nearest concealment.

In autumn, after the young have left their parents, they hunt in packs. This I observed on several occasions when on my way back from Labrador. In Nova Scotia, on the 27th of August, we procured nearly a whole pack, by concealing ourselves, but did not see an adult male. These birds are fond of searching for prey over the same fields, removing from one plantation to another, and returning with a remarkable degree of regularity, and this apparently for a whole season, if not a longer period. My friend JOHN BACHMAN observed a beautiful old male which had one of its primaries cut short by a shot, regularly return to the same rice-field during the whole of the autumn and winter, and believes that the same individual revisits the same spot annually. When satiated with food, the Marsh Hawk may be seen perched on a fence-stake for more than an hour, standing motionless. On horseback I have approached them on such occasions near enough to see the colour of their eyes, before they would reluctantly open their wings, and remove to another stake not far distant, where they would probably remain until digestion was accomplished.

I have never seen this species searching for food in the dusk. Indeed, in our latitudes, when the orb of day has withdrawn from our sight, the twilight is so short, and the necessity of providing a place of safety for the night so imperious in birds that are not altogether nocturnal, that I doubt whether the Marsh Hawk, which has perhaps been on wing the greater part of the day, and has had many opportunities of procuring food, would continue its flight for the sake of the scanty fare which it might perchance procure at a time when few birds are abroad, and when quadrupeds only are awakening from their daily slumber.

WILSON must have been misinformed by some one unacquainted with the arrival and departure of this species, as well as of the Rice Bird, in South Carolina, when he was induced to say that the Marsh Hawk “is particularly serviceable to the rice-fields of the Southern States, by the havoc it makes among the clouds of Rice Buntings that spread such devastation among the grain, in its early stages. As it sails low, and swiftly, over the surface of the field, it keeps the flocks in perpetual fluctuation, and greatly interrupts their depredations. The planters consider one Marsh Hawk to be equal to several Negroes for alarming the Rice Birds.” Now, good Reader, my friend JOHN BACHMAN, who has resided more than twenty years in South Carolina, and who is a constant student of nature, and perhaps more especially attentive to the habits of birds, informs me that the Marsh Hawk is proportionally rare in that State, and that it only makes its appearance there _after_ the Rice Birds have left the country for the south, and retires at the approach of spring, _before_ they have arrived.

European writers have generally considered our Marsh Hawk as larger than their _Circus cyaneus_; but this opinion must have originated from a want of specimens for comparison, and perhaps also a want of books on which one might depend. Were all ornithological works characterized by the accuracy and detail to be found in those of my friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY, the case might be different. The measurements which he has taken from recent specimens correspond with those which I also have taken from individuals newly killed, as nearly as is usual in birds of other species. Indeed, should you measure as accurately as possible a hundred specimens of any bird as large as our Marsh Hawk, I am persuaded you would not find many of them to agree in all their proportions. Instead of the American exceeding the European bird in size, I think it will generally be found to be as nearly equal as possible.

FALCO CYANEUS and F. PYGARGUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
126.

FALCO CYANEUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 39.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 33.

MARSH HAWK, FALCO ULIGINOSUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vi.
p. 67, pl. 1, fig. 1., young female.

FALCO CYANEUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_; Amer. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 30,
pl. xi. fig. 1., male.

BUTEO (CIRCUS) CYANEUS ? VAR ? AMERICANUS, AMERICAN
HEN-HARRIER, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol.
ii. p. 55.

HEN-HARRIER, or MARSH HAWK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
109.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 1.

Bill short, compressed. Upper mandible with its dorsal line a little tumid at the base, sloping to beyond the cere, then decurved in the fourth of a circle, the sides sloping, towards the end a little convex, the edge with a festoon a little anterior to the nostril, the tip acute, concave beneath. Lower mandible with the angle broad, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges a little inflected, the tip rounded, with the edges decurved. Nostrils large, ovato-oblong, in the middle and fore part of the cere, and having an oblique ridge from the upper edge.

Head of moderate size, oblong; neck short; body slender, much compressed behind. Legs long and slender; tibia long but muscular; tarsi long, compressed, with seventeen or eighteen large oblique scutella on the fore and outer side, oval or subhexagonal scales on the sides, and scutella behind, excepting at the upper and lower parts; toes small, slender, the outer with a short web at the base, connecting it with the third; first considerably shorter than second, fourth a little longer than the latter, third much longer; all covered above with scutella, unless at the base, where there are small scales, beneath tuberculate and papillate, there being a long fleshy tubercle on the last joint of each toe, and one on the next joint of the two outer. Claws long, compressed, rounded above, flat beneath, curved into the fourth of a circle, those of the first and second toes largest, that of the third with a slight internal edge, of the fourth much smaller and less curved.

Plumage very soft, generally blended. Cere covered on the sides with rather long bristle-tipped feathers, which curve upwards and partially conceal the nostrils; space between the bill and eye with radiating feathers of the same nature. A distinct ruff of narrow feathers, which are decurved, but with the tips recurved, extends from behind the eye on each side to the chin. Wings long, much rounded; the fourth quill longest, the third two-twelfths of an inch shorter, the second a quarter of an inch shorter than the fifth, the first and seventh about equal. The outer webs of the first five are attenuated towards the end; and the outer four have their inner webs sinuate; the secondaries are broad and rounded. Tail straight, long, of moderate breadth, and slightly rounded, the middle feathers longest (in perfect specimens, but often worn). The quills and tail-feathers are extremely soft, being covered with a velvety down.

Bill bluish-black, cere yellow; inside of mouth dark bluish-grey. Iris yellow. Tarsi and toes yellow, tinged with orange; claws black. The general colour of the plumage above is light greyish-blue, the head and scapulars of a deeper tint, the hind part of the back paler; the bases of the occipital and ruff feathers white; the bristles of the cere and lores black, their downy bases white. The fore neck and anterior part of the breast are also greyish-blue; the middle of the breast and the sides white, tinged with blue, the feathers having their shafts dusky, and some very faint indications of bars; those of the legs, the lower wing-coverts, and lower and upper tail-coverts, pure white. The seven outer primaries are black, tipped with pale brown at the base white, and on the outer edge tinged with grey; the rest and the secondaries of the general colour, but with more or less brown towards the end, their inner webs white, and obscurely barred with dark grey. The two middle tail-feathers are of a lighter tint than the back, and the colour on the outer webs of the rest gradually fades into white; the inner webs of all but the two middle more or less white, with eight irregular narrow bars of darkish grey.

Length to end of tail 19-3/4 inches, to end of wings 16-1/2, to end of claws 16-1/2; extent of wings 44; wing from flexure 14-4/12; tail 8-9/12; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-2/12; tarsus 2-8/12; hind toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw 10/12; middle toe 1-(2-1/2)/12, its claw (8-1/2)/12. Weight 16 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 2.

The female is larger than the male, and differs extremely in the colours of the plumage, although those of the bare parts are the same. The general colour of the upper parts is umber-brown, of the lower light yellowish-red. The upper part of the head is deep brown, the feathers edged with light yellowish-red; the anterior part of the forehead, a band over the eye, and the loral space, pale greyish-yellow, the bristle-tips of the latter black. The cheek feathers are dull brown, slightly edged with yellowish-red; the ruff feathers light yellowish-red, with a narrow brown central band. The upper hind part, sides, and fore part of the neck, the breast and sides, are light reddish-yellow, each feather with an oblong-lanceolate umber-brown mark. Some of the hypochondrial feathers have four light spots; the central part of the outer tibial feathers is light brownish-red; the feathers of the middle of the breast, the abdomen, and the lower tail-coverts, are of a uniform light yellowish-red. On some of the scapulars, as well as many of the wing-coverts, are one or two round light red or whitish spots; and the bases of the occipital feathers are white. The primary and secondary quills are of the same colour as the back, slightly edged with paler, the greater part of the inner webs whitish, the primaries with broad bands of deeper brown. Upper tail-coverts white. Tail light greyish-brown, white at the base, with six broad bands of deep brown on the middle feathers, four on the lateral, the last band much larger, the tips brownish or reddish white, the inner webs, excepting the two middle feathers, reddish-grey or whitish, the shafts light brown. Lower wing-coverts reddish-white, with central lanceolate brown markings: lower surface of primary quills greyish-white, with very conspicuous broad blackish-brown bands; tail reddish-grey beneath, with the dark bands more distinct.

Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of wings 18-3/4, to end of claws 15-3/4: extent of wings 46-3/8: wing from flexure 15-1/4: tail 9-10/12; bill along the ridge 1-3/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-2/12; tarsus 3-2/12; hind toe 10/12, its claw 1-2/12; middle toe 1-1/2, its claw 10/12.

Young fully fledged. Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 3.

The young of both sexes when fully fledged, resemble the adult female, but have the colours of a richer or deeper tint; all the lower parts with an elongated brown streak on each feather; the upper tail-coverts white, with a lanceolate reddish-brown spot.

After the first moult, the male still resembles the adult female. At least, such is the case with a specimen presented to me by Dr RICHARDSON, and marked “_Buteo (Circus) cyaneus_. Spec. N. 6. Male. May 31. 1826. Fort Franklin,” being the one elaborately described at p. 63 of the second volume of the _Fauna Boreali-Americana_. In this specimen the colours are much faded, and the feathers worn, the upper tail-coverts in particular being reduced almost to the shafts. It is valuable as indicating by two feathers on the leg, which are new, the next state of plumage of the male, which is as follows:—

The upper part of the head and the hind neck are light brownish-red, with dusky streaks, the white of the nuchal feathers conspicuous. The upper parts are brown, with a tinge of grey, more apparent on the wings, the scapulars and some of the smaller wing-coverts still marked as in the young and females; the upper tail-coverts pure white; the tail-feathers grey, with a tinge of brown, the lateral reddish-grey; the dark bars much diminished in breadth, and the inner webs still tinged with yellowish-red. The ruff is brownish-grey, margined with reddish-white; the fore part of the neck and breast pale brownish-red, tinged with grey, each feather marginally spotted or edged with dull white. The rest of the lower parts are white, the feathers generally with several spots of light red along the centre; these spots assuming the appearance of transverse bars on the sides and legs; the smaller wing coverts are similarly spotted, but those near the edge have only a dusky streak, and the secondary coverts are barred with dusky. The inner webs of the quills toward the base are white, with narrow bars of brownish-black, and the extremities of the primaries are as in the adult.

After a very careful comparison of seven skins of American birds with an equal number of European, no essential differences can be observed. I am therefore compelled to conclude, that the Marsh Hawk of America is the Hen-Harrier of Europe. The following measurements are obtained from a comparison of eight individuals.

Amer.

M. M.
Length to end of tail, 19-3/4 16-1/2
wings, 16-1/2 14-1/2
Extent of wings, 44 40-1/2
Wing from flexure, 14-4/12 13
Tail, 8-9/12 8-7/12
Bill along the ridge, 1-2/12 1-(1-1/2)/12
Tarsus, 2-8/12 2-9/12
Hind toe, (7-1/2)/12 (7-1/2)/12
Its claw, 10/12 (10-1/2)/12
Middle toe, 1-(2-1/2)/12 1-(2-1/2)/12
Its claw, (8-1/2)/12 (8-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 17 18
Scutella on first toe, 7 6
second, 5 5
third, 16 17
fourth, 7 8

Europ.

M. M.
Length to end of tail, 18 18-1/4
wings, 15-3/4 —
Extent of wings, 40 39-1/2
Wing from flexure, 13-1/2 13
Tail, 9 8-1/2
Bill along the ridge, 1-1/12 1-1/12
Tarsus, 2-1/2 2-8/12
Hind toe, 8/12 7/12
Its claw, 9/12 (9-1/2)/12
Middle toe, 1-1/2 1-2/12
Its claw, 8/12 (8-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 18 15
Scutella on first toe, 6 6
second, 5 5
third, 18 15
fourth, 7 7

Amer.

F. F.
Length to end of tail, 20-1/2 20-1/4
wings, 18-3/4 18-1/2
Extent of wings, 46-3/8 45-1/2
Wing from flexure, 15-1/4 14-9/12
Tail, 9-10/12 9-9/12
Bill along the ridge, 1-3/12 1-3/12
Tarsus, 3-2/12 3-2/12
Hind toe, 10/12 (7-1/2)/12
Its claw, 1-2/12 1
Middle toe, 1-1/2 1-4/12
Its claw, 10/12 (9-1/2)/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 19 17
Scutella on first toe, 7 5
second, 5 5
third, 16 16
fourth, 8 7

Europ.

F. F.
Length to end of tail, 21 21
wings, 18-1/2 19
Extent of wings, 46 46
Wing from flexure, 14-1/4 15-1/4
Tail, 9-9/12 10
Bill along the ridge, 1-2/12 1-3/12
Tarsus, 2-9/12 2-9/12
Hind toe, (7-1/2)/12 9/12
Its claw, 1-1/12 11/12
Middle toe, 1-4/12 1-5/12
Its claw, 10/12 11/12
Anterior tarsal scutella, 18 —
Scutella on first toe, 6 —
second, 5 —
third, 17 —
fourth, 8 —

If measurements of this kind are calculated to throw light on the subject, the collectors of skins are welcome to the above, which have been made with as much accuracy as possible.

An adult male examined. On the roof of the mouth are two lateral and a median prominent ridge, the intervening space covered with small papillæ. The posterior aperture of the nares is oblong, 4 twelfths of an inch in length, but with an anterior slit 7-1/2 twelfths long. The tongue, a, is 8-1/2 twelfths long, fleshy, emarginate and papillate at the base, concave above, rounded and slightly emarginate at the tip. The mouth is 1 inch in breadth. The œsophagus, _a b c d e_, which is 6 inches long, is very wide, with very thin parietes, and on the lower part of the neck is dilated into a sac or crop, _b c_, which on being distended has a diameter of 2 inches at the widest part. It then contracts to 10 twelfths as it enters the thorax; its proventricular portion, _d e_, has a diameter of 1 inch. The stomach, _e f g_ is roundish, 1-1/2 inch in diameter, somewhat compressed; its muscular coat extremely thin, being reduced to small parallel fasciculi converging toward two tendinous spaces of an elliptical form, and about half an inch long. The intestine, _g h_, is 3 feet 2 inches long; its diameter at the upper part 3 twelfths, towards the cœca 2 twelfths. The rectum, _i j_, is 2 inches long, not including the cloaca, _j_, which is globular and 1 inch in diameter. The cœca are extremely small, being 2-1/4 twelfths long, and 1 twelfth in diameter. The pylorus has no valve properly so called, but two ridges run from it into the intestine to the length of about 3 twelfths of an inch. The gall-bladder is 7 twelfths long and 4 twelfths in breadth.

In a very small male, the œsophagus is 4-3/4 inches long; the intestine 3 feet 4 inches. In a female, the intestine is 3 feet 9 inches long.

The trachea is 4-8/12 inches long, flattened. 4-1/4 twelfths broad at the upper part, gradually contracting to 2-3/4 twelfths; its rings 95, extremely thin and unossified. The bronchi are of moderate length, with about 20 half-rings. The lateral muscles are thin, the sterno-tracheal slender.

THE COMMON MAGPIE.

_CORVUS PICA_, LINN.

PLATE CCCLVII. MALE AND FEMALE.

Although Magpies are abundant in the north-western portions of the United States, and are met with as far north as the Saskatchewan River, where, according to Dr RICHARDSON, some of them spend the winter, none have yet been seen nearer the shores of the Atlantic than the head waters of the Red River in Louisiana, where they were seen in abundance by the lamented Colonel PIKE, then a lieutenant in the United States’ army. His notice, although already published by WILSON, so well describes the habits of this species, that I repeat it here with pleasure. “Our horses,” he says, “were obliged to scrape the snow away to obtain their miserable pittance; and, to increase their misfortune, the poor animals were attacked by the Magpies, who, attracted by the scent of their sore backs, alighted on them, and, in defiance of their wincing and kicking, picked many places quite raw; the difficulty of procuring food rendering those birds so bold as to alight on our men’s arms, and eat meat out of their hands.” To CLARKE and LEWIS, however, is due the first introduction of this bird into the Fauna of the United States. These intrepid travellers first observed the Magpie near the great bend of the Missouri, although it was known to have been obtained at the fur-trading factories of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

There is a difference of opinion as to the identity of the Magpie of America and that of Europe. THOMAS NUTTALL, who has seen those of both countries, as well as their nests, and observed their habits, assures me, that he looks upon them as clearly of the same species. Captain SABINE thought differently, and CHARLES BONAPARTE, after remarking in his “Observations on the Nomenclature of WILSON,” that “it is not a little singular that this species, which is so common in every part of Europe, should be confined in its range on this continent to the western and northern regions,” thus plainly indicating his belief of their identity, names it, in a list of European and North American Birds, published in London in April 1838, “_Pica Hudsonica_. Nob.” the European bird being at the same time ticketed “_Pica melanoleuca_.” Mr SWAINSON, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, remarks on comparing them:—“We cannot perceive the slightest difference whereon to build even the character of a variety, much less a species;” and this truly is my own opinion.

The following notice regarding our bird was given me by my friend THOMAS NUTTALL:—“On the 15th of July, arriving at the borders of the Shoshonee, or Snake River, we first met with the Common Magpie on our route, mostly accompanied by the Raven, but there were no Crows. The young birds were so familiar and greedy, approaching the encampment in quest of food, as to be easily taken by the Indian boys, when they soon become reconciled to savage domesticity. The old birds were sufficiently shy, but the young were observed hopping and croaking around us, and tugging at any offal of flesh meat thrown out, like so many vultures. Differing so far from the proscribed and persecuted Magpies of Europe, these, at least the young, seemed evidently to court the advantages of society in supplying them with food, and betrayed scarcely any alarm on our approach. If chased off for an instant, they returned the next, and their monotonous and gluttonous croak was heard around us at all hours of the day. The dryness of the season, and the scarcity of insects and small birds, urged them no doubt to this unusual familiarity with their doubtful friend and frequent enemy, man. By the borders of streams in the central table-land of the Rocky Mountains, in several places we saw the old nests of the Magpie, made usually in low but thick bushes in the usual manner, barricaded over and floored with interlaced twigs. We scarcely ever saw them at all in the heavy forests of the Lower Columbia, any more than the Platte and Missouri, in all which places they are merely accidental visitors. They are not uncommon, however, in the vicinity of Monterey in Upper California. Their common call is _pay pay_, and the usual low social chatter when approaching their companions. I one day observed a small flock, and among the fraternity heard one chattering familiarly in the varied tune of the Cat-bird, as he sat on a bough by the water, where birds might become his prey. At another time I observed a flock of young Magpies boldly persecuting other birds, and chasing even Pigeon Hawks.”

The following characteristic account of the habits of the Magpie as observed in Scotland, I have extracted from my friend MACGILLIVRAY’s “History of British Birds.” “It is generally distributed in Britain, being more or less common in all the cultivated and wooded districts of England and Scotland, both in the interior and along the coast, although nowhere numerous, on account of the hostility of gamekeepers, gardeners, and sportsmen of all degrees. There, on the old ash that overshadows the farm-yard, you may see a pair, one perched on the topmost twig, the other hopping among the branches, uttering an incessant clatter of short hard notes, scarcely resembling any thing else in nature, but withal not unpleasant, at least to the lover of birds. How gracefully she of the top twig swings in the breeze! Off she starts, and directing her flight towards the fir wood opposite, proceeds with a steady, moderately rapid, but rather heavy flight, performed by quick beats of her apparently short wings, intermitted for a moment at intervals. Chattering by the way, she seems to call her mate after her; but he, intent on something which he has spied, hops downwards from twig to branch, and descends to the ground. Raising his body as high as possible, and carrying his tail inclined upwards, to avoid contact with the moist grass, he walks a few paces, and spying an earthworm half protruded from its hole, drags it out by a sudden jerk, breaks it in pieces, and swallows it. Now, under the hedge he has found a snail, which he will presently detach from its shell. But something among the bushes has startled him, and lightly he springs upwards, chattering the while, to regain his favourite tree. It is a cat, which, not less frightened than himself, runs off toward the house. The Magpie again descends, steps slowly over the green, looking from side to side, stops and listens, advances rapidly by a succession of leaps, and encounters a whole brood of chickens, with their mother at their heels. Were they unprotected, how deliciously would the Magpie feast, but alas, it is vain to think of it, for with fury in her eye, bristled plumage, and loud clamour, headlong rushes the hen, overturning two of her younglings, when the enemy suddenly wheels round, avoiding the encounter, and flies off after his mate.

There again, you perceive them in the meadow, as they walk about, with elevated tails, looking for something eatable, although apparently with little success. By the hedge afar off are two boys with a gun, endeavouring to creep up to a flock of plovers on the other side. But the Magpies have observed them, and presently rising fly directly over the field, chattering vehemently, on which the whole flock takes to wing, and the disappointed sportsmen sheer off in another direction.

The food of the Magpie consists of testaceous mollusca, slugs, larvæ, worms, young birds, eggs, small quadrupeds, carrion, sometimes grain and fruits of different kinds, in search of which it frequents the fields, hedges, thickets, and orchards, occasionally visits the farm-yard, prowls among the stacks, perches on the house-top, whence it sallies at times, and examines the dunghill and places around. Although it searches for larvæ and worms in the ploughed fields, it never ventures, like the Rook, and several species of Gull, to follow the plough as it turns over each successive furrow. It has been accused of picking the eyes of lambs and sickly sheep, I think with injustice; but it sometimes carries off a chicken or duckling, and sucks an egg that may have been dropt abroad.

It is extremely shy and vigilant in the vicinity of towns, where it is much molested, but less so in country places, although even there it is readily alarmed. When one pursues it openly, it flits along the walls and hedges, shifts from tree to tree, and at length flies off to a distance. Yet it requires all its vigilance to preserve its life; for, as it destroys the eggs and young of game birds, it is keenly pursued by keepers and sportsmen, so that one might marvel to find it maintaining its ground as a species, and yet it is not apparently diminishing in most parts of the country.

On the ground it generally walks in the same manner as the Crows, but occasionally leaps in a sidelong direction. The sounds which it emits are a sort of chuckling cry or chatter, which it utters when alarmed, as well as when it wishes to apprize other birds of danger. On the appearance of a fox, a cat, or other unfriendly animal, it never ceases hovering about it, and alarming the neighbourhood by its cries, until the enemy has slunk away out of sight.

It generally keeps in pairs all the year round, accompanies its young for some weeks after they first come abroad, and after the breeding season retires at night to the copses or woods, where sometimes a considerable number meet together. It begins to construct its nest early in March, selecting as its site the top of some tall tree, a poplar, an ash, an elm, sometimes a willow, or a beech; or, in defect of such in a favourite locality, placing it in a thick bush of hawthorn, holly, or other low tree, or even in a hedge. It is a large, and therefore generally very conspicuous fabric, of a spheroidal or elliptical form, composed first of a layer of twigs, on which is laid a quantity of mud; then a dome of twigs, frequently hawthorn or sloe, but as often of any other kind, loosely but securely interlaced; while the bottom of the interior is lined with fibrous roots; and there is left in the side an aperture not much larger than is barely sufficient to admit the bird. The eggs are from three to six, and differ considerably in form and colouring. In general, they are regularly ovate, or a little pointed, about an inch and five-twelfths long, eleven and a half twelfths or an inch across; but sometimes more elongated by one-twelfth of an inch, or abbreviated by nearly the same quantity. Frequently they are pale green freckled all over with umber-brown and light purple, and sometimes pale blue or bluish-white, or greenish-white, with smaller spots and dots of the same dark colours, so as very nearly to resemble the eggs of the Jay, which however are smaller.

CORVUS PICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 157.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 162—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 57.—_Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 292.

CORVUS HUDSONIUS, _Sabine_, Frankl. Journ. p. 671.

MAGPIE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 219.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLVII. Fig. 1.

Bill rather shorter than the head, straight, robust, compressed; upper mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate, the sides convex, the edges sharp, with a slight notch close to the tip, which is rather sharp; lower mandible straight, the angle rather long and wide, the dorsal outline very slightly convex and ascending, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inclinate. Nostrils basal, lateral, roundish, covered by bristly feathers, which are directed forwards.

Head large, ovate; eyes of moderate size; neck rather short; body compact. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus with seven large anterior scutella, and two long plates behind, meeting so as to form a sharp edge. Toes stout, with large scutella, separated almost to the base; first very strong; lateral toes nearly equal, third considerably longer. Claws strong, arched, compressed, sharp, the third with the inner edge somewhat dilated.

Plumage full, soft, blended; stiff bristly feathers with disunited barbs over the nostrils, some of them extending nearly half the length of the bill; feathers on the throat with the shaft downy, and prolonged. Wings of moderate length, much rounded; the first quill very short, extremely narrow, and falciform, the second two inches and four-twelfths longer, and about the same length as the ninth; the third an inch and a quarter longer than the second, and four-twelfths shorter than the fourth, which is the longest by half a twelfth or so. The tail is very long, much graduated, the lateral feather being four inches and nine-twelfths shorter than the middle.

Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The plumage of the head, neck, fore part of the breast and back, black, the feathers on the latter part being very long, and although rising between the shoulders extending nearly to the rump; the top of the head, and the back, glossed with green, the neck tinged with blue, the shafts of the throat-feathers grey. The feathers on the middle of the back are greyish-white, those behind tipped with black; rum and tail-coverts bluish-black. The scapulars are white; the smaller wing-coverts black, the secondary coverts, alula, and primary coverts splendent with bronzed green; primaries black, glossed with green, their inner webs white excepting at the end and for some way along the margin; secondaries bright blue changing to green, their inner webs greenish-black. Tail splendent with bright green, changing to greenish-yellow, purplish-red, bluish-purple and dark green at the end; the inner webs chiefly greenish-black, but with various tints. The breast and sides are pure white; legs, abdominal region, lower tail-coverts, and lower wing-coverts black.

Length to end of tail 18-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-3/8; extent of wings 22-1/2; wing from flexure 8; tail 10-1/2; bill along the ridge 1-(4-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-(10-1/2)/12; first toe 8/12, its claw 10/12; middle toe 1-2/12, its claw 6/12.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLVII.

The Female is similar to the male, and little inferior in size.

Five American specimens compared with several European, present no appearances indicative of a specific difference. Some individuals of both countries are larger than others, and the tail differs much in length, according to age or the growth of the feathers. The largest specimen in my possession, presented to me by Dr RICHARDSON, and marked as shot by Mr DRUMMOND, measures as follows:—Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches; bill along the ridge 1-7/12; tail 11-3/4; wing from flexure 8-9/12; tarsus 2; middle toe 1-1/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12. In this individual the feathers on the fore neck are white for more than half their length from the base. In the other specimens this white part is fainter or light grey, and of less extent.

PINE GROSBEAK.

_PYRRHULA ENUCLEATOR_, TEMM.

PLATE CCCLVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.