Chapter XXV: Part 25

In a note contained in the Journals of LEWIS and CLARK, written in the course of the expedition of these daring travellers across the Rocky Mountains, it is stated that “the Swans are of two kinds, the large and small. The large Swan is the same with the one common in the Atlantic States. The small differs from the large only in size and note; it is about one-fourth less, and its note is entirely different. These birds were first found below the great narrows of the Columbia, near the Chilluckittequaw nation. They are very abundant in this neighbourhood, and remained with the party all winter, and in number they exceed those of the larger species in the proportion of five to one.” These observations are partly correct and partly erroneous. In fact, the smaller species of the two, which is the _C. Americanus_ of SHARPLESS, is the only one abundant in the middle districts of our Atlantic coast, while the larger Swan, the subject of this article, is rarely if ever seen to the eastward of the mouths of the Mississippi. A perfect specimen of the small Swan mentioned by LEWIS and CLARK has been transmitted to me from the Columbia River by Dr TOWNSEND, and I find it to correspond in every respect with the _C. Americanus_ of SHARPLESS. Dr TOWNSEND corroborates the observations of the two eminent travellers by stating, that the latter species is much more numerous than the large _C. Buccinator_.

The Trumpeter Swans make their appearance on the lower portions of the waters of the Ohio about the end of October. They throw themselves at once into the larger ponds or lakes at no great distance from the river, giving a marked preference to those which are closely surrounded by dense and tall cane-brakes, and there remain until the water is closed by ice, when they are forced to proceed southward. During mild winters I have seen Swans of this species in the ponds about Henderson until the beginning of March, but only a few individuals, which may have staid there to recover from their wounds. When the cold became intense, most of those which visited the Ohio would remove to the Mississippi, and proceed down that stream as the severity of the weather increased, or return if it diminished; for it has appeared to me, that neither very intense cold nor great heat suit them so well as a medium temperature. I have traced the winter migrations of this species as far southward as the Texas, where it is abundant at times, and where I saw a pair of young ones in captivity, and quite domesticated, that had been procured in the winter of 1836. They were about two years old, and pure white, although of much smaller size than even the younger one represented in the plate before you, having perhaps been stinted in food, or having suffered from their wounds, as both had been shot. The sound of their well-known notes reminded me of the days of my youth, when I was half-yearly in the company of birds of this species.

At New Orleans, where I made the drawing of the young bird here given, the Trumpeters are frequently exposed for sale in the markets, being procured on the ponds of the interior, and on the great lakes leading to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This species is unknown to my friend, the Rev. JOHN BACHMAN, who, during a residence of twenty years in South Carolina, never saw or heard of one there; whereas in hard winters the _Cygnus Americanus_ is not uncommon, although it does not often proceed further southward than that State. The waters of the Arkansas and its tributaries are annually supplied with Trumpeter Swans, and the largest individual which I have examined was shot on a lake near the junction of that river with the Mississippi. It measured nearly ten feet in alar extent, and weighed above thirty-eight pounds. The quills, which I used in drawing the feet and claws of many small birds, were so hard, and yet so elastic, that the best steel-pen of the present day might have blushed, if it could, to be compared with them.

Whilst encamped in the Tawapatee Bottom, when on a fur-trading voyage, our keel-boat was hauled close under the eastern shore of the Mississippi, and our valuables, for I then had a partner in trade, were all disembarked. The party consisted of twelve or fourteen French Canadians, all of whom were pretty good hunters; and as game was in those days extremely abundant, the supply of Deer, Bear, Racoons, and Opossums, far exceeded our demands. Wild Turkeys, Grous, and Pigeons, might have been seen hanging all around; and the ice-bound lakes afforded an ample supply of excellent fish, which was procured by striking a strong blow with an axe on the ice immediately above the confined animal, and afterwards extricating it by cutting a hole with the same instrument. The great stream was itself so firmly frozen that we were daily in the habit of crossing it from shore to shore. No sooner did the gloom of night become discernible through the grey twilight, than the loud-sounding notes of hundreds of Trumpeters would burst on the ear; and as I gazed over the ice-bound river, flocks after flocks would be seen coming from afar and in various directions, and alighting about the middle of the stream opposite to our encampment. After pluming themselves awhile they would quietly drop their bodies on the ice, and through the dim light I yet could observe the graceful curve of their necks, as they gently turned them backwards, to allow their heads to repose upon the softest and warmest of pillows. Just a dot of black as it were could be observed on the snowy mass, and that dot was about half an inch of the base of the upper mandible, thus exposed, as I think, to enable the bird to breathe with ease. Not a single individual could I ever observe among them to act as a sentinel, and I have since doubted whether their acute sense of hearing was not sufficient to enable them to detect the approach of their enemies. The day quite closed by darkness, no more could be seen until the next dawn; but as often as the howlings of the numerous wolves that prowled through the surrounding woods were heard, the clanging cries of the Swans would fill the air. If the morning proved fair, the whole flocks would rise on their feet, trim their plumage, and as they started with wings extended, as if, racing in rivalry, the pattering of their feet would come on the ear like the noise of great muffled drums, accompanied by the loud and clear sounds of their voice. On running fifty yards or so to windward, they would all be on wing. If the weather was thick, drizzly, and cold, or if there were indications of a fall of snow, they would remain on the ice, walking, standing, or lying down, until symptoms of better weather became apparent, when they would all start off. One morning of this latter kind, our men formed a plot against the Swans, and having separated into two parties, one above, the other below them on the ice, they walked slowly, on a signal being given from the camp, toward the unsuspecting birds. Until the boatmen had arrived within a hundred and fifty yards of them, the Swans remained as they were, having become, as it would appear, acquainted with us, in consequence of our frequently crossing the ice; but then they all rose on their feet, stretched their necks, shook their heads, and manifested strong symptoms of apprehension. The gunners meanwhile advanced, and one of the guns going off by accident, the Swans were thrown into confusion, and scampering off in various directions took to wing, some flying up, some down the stream, others making directly toward the shores. The muskets now blazed, and about a dozen were felled, some crippled, others quite dead. That evening they alighted about a mile above the camp, and we never went after them again. I have been at the killing of several of these Swans, and I can assure you that unless you have a good gun well loaded with large buck-shot, you may shoot at them without much effect, for they are strong and tough birds.

To form a perfect conception of the beauty and elegance of these Swans, you must observe them when they are not aware of your proximity, and as they glide over the waters of some secluded inland pond. On such occasions, the neck, which at other times is held stiffly upright, moves in graceful curves, now bent forward, now inclined backwards over the body. Now with an extended scooping movement the head becomes immersed for a moment, and with a sudden effort a flood of water is thrown over the back and wings, when it is seen rolling off in sparkling globules, like so many large pearls. The bird then shakes its wings, beats the water, and as if giddy with delight shoots away, gliding over and beneath the surface of the liquid element with surprising agility and grace. Imagine, Reader, that a flock of fifty Swans are thus sporting before you, as they have more than once been in my sight, and you will feel, as I have felt, more happy and void of care than I can describe.

When swimming unmolested the Swan shews the body buoyed up; but when apprehensive of danger, it sinks considerably lower. If resting and basking in the sunshine, it draws one foot expanded curiously towards the back, and in that posture remains often for half an hour at a time. When making off swiftly, the tarsal joint, or knee as it is called, is seen about an inch above the water, which now in wavelets passes over the lower part of the neck and along the sides of the body, as it undulates on the planks of a vessel gliding with a gentle breeze. Unless during the courting season, or while passing by its mate, I never saw a swan with the wings raised and expanded, as it is alleged they do, to profit by the breeze that may blow to assist their progress; and yet I have pursued some in canoes to a considerable distance, and that without overtaking them, or even obliging them to take to wing. You, Reader, as well as all the world, have seen Swans labouring away on foot, and therefore I will not trouble you with a description of their mode of walking, especially as it is not much to be admired.

The flight of the Trumpeter Swan is firm, at times greatly elevated and sustained. It passes through the air by regular beats, in the same manner as Geese, the neck stretched to its full length, as are the feet, which project beyond the tail. When passing low, I have frequently thought that I heard a rustling sound from the motion of the feathers of their wings. If bound to a distant place, they form themselves in angular lines, and probably the leader of the flock is one of the oldest of the males; but of this I am not at all sure, as I have seen at the head of a line a grey bird, which must have been a young one of that year.

This Swan feeds principally by partially immersing the body and extending the neck under water, in the manner of fresh-water Ducks and some species of Geese, when the feet are often seen working in the air, as if to aid in preserving the balance. Often however it resorts to the land, and then picks at the herbage, not sidewise, as Geese do, but more in the manner of Ducks and poultry. Its food consists of roots of different vegetables, leaves, seeds, various aquatic insects, land snails, small reptiles and quadrupeds. The flesh of a cygnet is pretty good eating, but that of an old bird is dry and tough.

I kept a male alive upwards of two years, while I was residing at Henderson in Kentucky. It had been slightly wounded in the tip of the wing, and was caught after a long pursuit in a pond from which it could not escape. Its size, weight, and strength rendered the task of carrying it nearly two miles by no means easy; but as I knew that it would please my wife and my then very young children, I persevered. Cutting off the tip of the wounded wing, I turned it loose in the garden. Although at first extremely shy, it gradually became accustomed to the servants, who fed it abundantly, and at length proved so gentle as to come to my wife’s call, to receive bread from her hand. “Trumpeter,” us we named our bird, in accordance with the general practice of those who were in the habit of shooting this species, now assumed a character which until then had been unexpected, and laying aside his timidity became so bold at times as to give chase to my favourite Wild Turkey Cock, my dogs, children, and servants. Whenever the gates of our yard happened to be opened, he would at once make for the Ohio, and it was not without difficulty that he was driven home again. On one occasion, he was absent a whole night, and I thought he had fairly left us; but intimation came of his having travelled to a pond not far distant. Accompanied by my miller and six or seven of my servants, I betook myself to the pond, and there saw our Swan swimming buoyantly about as if in defiance of us all. It was not without a great deal of trouble that we at length succeeded in driving it ashore. Pet birds, good Reader, no matter of what species they are, seldom pass their lives in accordance with the wishes of their possessors; in the course of a dark and rainy night, some of the servants having left the gate open, Trumpeter made his escape, and was never again heard of.

With the manners of this species during the breeding season, its mode of constructing its nest, the number of its eggs, and the appearance of its young, I am utterly unacquainted. The young bird represented in the plate was shot near New Orleans, on the 16th of December 1822. A figure of the adult male you will find in Plate CCCCVI; and should I ever have opportunities of studying the habits of this noble bird, believe me I shall have much pleasure in laying before you the results. Dr RICHARDSON informs us that it “is the most common Swan in the interior of the Fur Countries. It breeds as far south as lat. 61°, but principally within the arctic circle, and in its migrations generally precedes the Geese a few days.”

As the adult bird will be subsequently described, I judge it unnecessary at present to enter into a full detail of the external form and characters of the species, and will therefore confine myself to the colours and proportions of the individual represented.

CYGNUS BUCCINATOR, _Richardson_.—TRUMPETER SWAN, Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p.464. “White; head glossed above
with chestnut; bill entirely black, without a tubercle;
tail-feathers 24; feet black.”

Young after first moult. Plate CCCLXXVI.

In winter the young has the bill black, with the middle portion of the ridge, to the length of an inch and a half, light flesh-colour, and a large elongated patch of light dull purple, on each side; the edge of the lower mandible and the tongue dull yellowish flesh-colour. The eye is dark brown. The feet dull yellowish-brown, tinged with olive; the claws brownish-black; the webs blackish-brown. The upper part of the head and the cheeks are light reddish-brown, each feather having towards its extremity a small oblong whitish spot, narrowly margined with dusky; the throat nearly white, as well as the edge of the lower eyelid. The general colour of the other parts is greyish-white, slightly tinged with yellow; the upper part of the neck marked with spots similar to those on the head.

Length to end of tail 52-1/2 inches; extent of wings 91, wing from flexure 23-1/4; bill along the ridge 4-3/8, from the angle of the eye 6, along the edge of the lower mandible 4-1/8; tarsus 4-1/2; hind toe 1-1/4, its claw 3/8; middle toe 6-1/4, its claw 1; inner toe 4-1/2, its claw 10/12; outer toe 6-1/4, its claw 3/4. Weight 19 lb. 8 oz.; the bird very poor.

SCOLOPACEOUS COURLAN.

_ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS_, VIEILL.

PLATE CCCLXXVIL MALE.

This very remarkable bird appears to be entirely confined to that section of the Peninsula of Florida known by the name of “Ever-glades,” and the swampy borders of the many bayous and lagoons issuing from that great morass. Few are found farther north than “Spring-garden Spring,” of which I have given you an account. I have heard of its having been in one instance procured on one of the Florida Keys, by Mr TITIAN PEALE, whose specimen, which was a young male, has been described and figured in the continuation of WILSON’s American Ornithology. None were seen by me on any of these islands, and our worthy Pilot told me, that in the course of the many years which he had spent in that country he had never met with one off the main-land. It did not occur to me on any part of the coast, while I was proceeding to the Texas, nor is it to be found in that country, which seems very strange, when I look at this bird, and compare it with the Rail family, which is so abundant along the whole of that coast, and to which it is very nearly allied in some of its habits, more especially to the Fresh-water Marsh Hen, _Rallus elegans_.

The flight of the Scolopaceous Courlan is heavy and of short duration; the concavity and shortness of its wings, together with the nature of the places which it inhabits, probably rendering it slow to remove from one spot to another on wing, it being in a manner confined among tall plants, the roots of which are frequently under water. When it rises spontaneously it passes through the air at a short distance above the weeds, with regular beats of the wings, its neck extended to its full length, and its long legs dangling beneath, until it suddenly drops to the ground. Few birds then excel it in speed, as it proceeds, if pursued, by long strides, quickly repeated, first in a direct course, along paths formed by itself when passing and repassing from one place to another, and afterwards diverging so as to ensure its safety even when chased by the best dogs, or other not less eager enemies inhabiting the half-submersed wilderness which it has chosen for its residence. When accidentally surprised, it rises obliquely out of its recess, with the neck greatly bent downward, and although its legs dangle for a while, they are afterwards extended behind in the manner of those of the Heron tribe. At such times these birds are easily shot; but if they are only wounded, it would be vain to pursue them. Although of considerable size and weight, they are enabled, by the great length and expansion of their toes to walk on the broad leaves of the larger species of Nymphæa found in that country. They swim with the same buoyancy as the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails.

The nest of this bird is placed among the larger tufts of the tallest grasses that grow at short distances from the bayous, many of which are influenced by the low tides of the Gulf. It is so well fastened to the stems of the plants, in the same manner as that of _Rallus crepitans_, as to be generally secure from inundation; and is composed of rank weeds matted together, and forming a large mass, with a depression in the centre. The eggs, which rarely exceed five or six, are large for the size of the bird. The young are hatched early in May, and follow their parents soon after birth, being covered with coarse tufty feathers, of a black colour.

The Ever-glades abound with a species of large greenish snail, on which these birds principally feed; and, from the great number of empty shells which are found at the foot of the nest and around it, it is probable that the sitting bird is supplied with food by her mate. Their notes, when uttered while they are on wing, are a sort of cackle, but when on the ground, much louder, especially during the pairing season, or when they are started by the report of a gun. The flesh of the young is pretty good eating. Although it is alleged that this bird occasionally alights on trees, I have never seen it in such a situation.

ARDEA SCOLOPACEA, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 647.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 701.

ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 39.

SCOLOPACEOUS COURLAN, ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. iv. p. 111, pl. 26, fig. 2.—_Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 68.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXVII.

Bill long, being double the length of the head, rather slender, but strong, much compressed, straight, its breadth less before the nostrils than towards the point; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight until towards the end, then slightly arcuato-declinate, the ridge convex in its whole length, the sides nearly erect, more convex towards the extremity, the tip blunted, the edges broad and obtuse for half their length, sharp but thick in the rest of their extent; lower mandible slightly ascending at the base, then direct, much compressed towards the tip, which is acute, the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges obtuse, becoming sharp towards the end. Nasal groove nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils direct, linear, long.

Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Eyes rather large. Neck long and slender. Body ovato-oblong, much compressed. Feet very long and slender, rather stout; tibia bare in its lower half, which is anteriorly covered with hexagonal scales, posteriorly with transverse scutella; tarsus long, compressed, anteriorly with numerous broad scutella, laterally with very small elongated scales, posteriorly with large scutelliform scales, many of which are divided; toes long, rather slender; hind toe small and elevated; fourth considerably longer than second, middle toe nine-twelfths of an inch longer than the outer; the anterior toes are divided to the base, compressed, scutellate above, scaly on the sides, papillate beneath, compressed and not marginate. Claws of moderate length, very slightly arched, compressed, tapering to a point; that of the first toe smallest, of the third largest, without serratures on the inner edge, which is thin and a little expanded.

Plumage of ordinary texture, rather compact and glossy on the upper parts, blended on the lower; feathers on the head and neck short, oblong; on the back ovate and very broadly rounded. Wings of moderate length, very broad, concave, rounded; primaries broad, secondaries very broad and rounded; first primary two-thirds of the length of the second, which is ten-twelfths shorter than the third; the fourth, which is longest, exceeds the third by one-twelfth, and the fifth by half a twelfth; some of the secondaries reach to half an inch of the tip of the longest primary when the wing is closed; the three outer quills are narrower toward the base than toward the extremity, more especially the first. The tail is short, broad, convex, rounded, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.

Bill greenish-yellow, dusky toward the end of both mandibles, but especially of the upper; iris hazel; feet lead-grey, claws dusky. The general colour of the plumage is chocolate-brown, the upper parts glossed, with purple and bronze reflections; the fore part of the head paler, inclining to grey, each feather with a greyish-white central line; the sides of the head and the throat are still lighter, and a small portion of the throat is whitish, these parts being streaked with greyish-brown and greyish-white; the lower eyelid white. The hind part and sides of the neck are marked with elliptical spots of white in regular series, there being one on each feather, some of them extending forwards to the posterior angle of the eye. Some of the feathers on the middle of the breast and the lower wing-coverts are similarly marked with lanceolate white spots; the tail is more highly glossed and coloured than the rest of the upper parts.

Length to end of tail 25-3/4 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of claws 32, to carpal joint 13-3/4; extent of wings 41; wing from flexure 12-1/2; tail 5-1/2; bill along the ridge 4-7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 4-3/4; bare part of tibia 2-1/2; tarsus 4-8/12; hind toe 1-1/12, its claw 7/12; second toe 2-4/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12 twelfths; third toe 3-1/2, its claw 10/12; fourth toe 2-8/12, its claw 8/12.

The Female is somewhat less, but resembles the male.

Length to end of tail 25 inches, to end of claws 33-1/4; to end of wings 24, to carpal joint 12-3/4; extent of wings 42; wing from flexure 12; tail 4-3/4; bill along the gape 4-3/8.

The young when fully fledged is of a much lighter tint; the head and fore-neck brownish-grey, the lower parts greyish-brown. The bill is yellowish-green, darker toward the end; the feet much darker than in the adult. Excepting the quills, primary-coverts, tail-feathers, and the rump, all the plumage is marked with spots of white, of which there is one along the centre of each feather; those on the neck elongated, on the back, wings, and breast lanceolate. In this state it is figured in the continuation of Wilson’s American Ornithology, by the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO.

Length to end of tail 23 inches.

This remarkable bird has exercised the ingenuity of the systematizing ornithologists, some of whom have considered it as a Heron, others a Crane, while many have made it a Rail, and many more a genus apart, but allied to the Rails, or to the Herons or to both. It seems in truth to be a large Rail, with the wings and feet approaching in form to those of the Herons; but while frivolous disputes might be carried on _ad libitum_ as to its location in the system of nature, were we merely to consider its exterior; it is fortunate that we possess a means of determining its character with certainty:—if we examine its digestive organs, we shall at once see if it be a Rail, or a Heron, or anything else. If a Heron, it will have a very wide œsophagus, a roundish, thin-walled stomach, very slender intestines, and a single short obtuse cœcum; if a Rail or Gallinule, or bird of that tribe, it will have a narrow mouth, a narrow œsophagus, a very muscular stomach, intestines of moderate width, and two moderately long, rather wide cœca. Here then are two specimens, shot in Florida, and preserved in spirits.

The first, which is found to be a female, has the mouth narrow, measuring only 7 twelfths across; the tongue very long and extremely slender, trigonal, pointed, extending to within half an inch of the tip of the lower mandible, being 3-7/12 inches in length. The œsophagus, _a b c d_, which is 12 inches long, is narrow in its whole length, its diameter at the upper part being 6 twelfths, below the middle of the neck 8 twelfths. The proventriculus, _b c_, is nearly 1 inch long, 9 twelfths in its greatest diameter, bulbiform; its glandules cylindrical, 1-1/2 twelfth long. Between the termination of the proventriculus, and the commencement of the stomach, the space, _c d_, is more elongated than usual, an inch and 2 twelfths, and presents the appearance of a tube curved toward the left in the form of the letter S. The circular fibres of this part are strong, and its epithelium is very thick, soft, and raised into twelve very prominent rounded longitudinal rugæ. The stomach, properly so called, _d e f g_ is an extremely powerful gizzard, of an orbicular form, compressed, with its axis a little inclined toward the right side, its length 1 inch and 9 twelfths, its breadth 1 inch and 8 twelfths, its thickness 11 twelfths. The left lateral muscle, _d f_, is much larger than the right, occupying nearly one-half of the organ; the muscles are thick, but not very remarkably so, their greatest thickness being 4 twelfths; the epithelium is very hard and rugous. The duodenum, _g h i_, curves in the usual manner, folding back upon itself at the distance of 3 inches. The intestine, _g h i j k_, is of moderate length, 31 inches, its greatest diameter 3 twelfths; the rectum, _k l_, 3 inches long, including the cloaca, _l m_, which is globular, 1-1/2 inch in diameter; the cœca, _n n_, of moderate size, 1-3/4 inch long, for nearly half their length 2 twelfths in diameter, in the rest of their extent from 4 to 6 twelfths, obtuse; their distance from the cloaca 10 twelfths.

The trachea, _o p_, is 10 inches long, narrow, of nearly uniform diameter, being narrowest in the upper third of its length, unless for three-fourths of an inch at the commencement. Its rings 186 in number, are ossified, and a little flattened. The contractor muscles are slender, as are the sterno-tracheal; and there is a single pair of inferior laryngeal. The bronchi, _p q_, are wide, tapering, of about 15 narrow cartilaginous half rings. The heart is of moderate size, 1-7/12 inch long, 1 inch in breadth. The liver is small, its lobes, which are equal, being 1 inch in length.

The other individual, a male, has the œsophagus 12 inches long; the distance from the proventriculus to the stomach 1-2/12 inch; the stomach 1-8/12 inch long, and the same in breadth; the cœca 2 inches long, the greatest diameter 5 twelfths; the intestine 32-1/2 inches in length, their greatest diameter 3-1/2 twelfths.

Now, in all this there is nothing indicative of any affinity to the Herons; the structure of the intestinal canal being essentially like that of the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails. Even the external parts sufficiently indicate its station, the bill; the plumage, and the colouring being more like these of the Rallinæ than of any other family.

The Prince of MUSIGNANO, who first described this bird as a Rail, _Rallus giganteus_, afterwards adopted for it VIEILLOT’s genus _Aramus_, and considered it as belonging to the _Ardeidæ_, forming a connecting link with them and the _Rallidæ_ and “aberrating somewhat towards the _Scolopacidæ_, as well as tending a little towards the _Psophidæ_, sub-family _Gruinæ_” and claiming “again a well-founded resemblance to the most typical form of the genus _Rallus_.” Finally, he reverts to his original idea, and places it at the head of the _Rallidæ_. Mr SWAINSON refers it to the _Tantalidæ_, associating it with _Anastomus, Tantalus_, and _Ibis_, to which it certainly has very little affinity in any point of view.

The efficiency of the digestive organs as a means of determining affinities in cases of doubt, is happily illustrated in this instance; and any person who will make himself acquainted with them will easily discover numerous false associations in all systems founded on the external aspect alone.

HAWK OWL.

_STRIX FUNEREA_, LINN.

PLATE CCCLXXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.

It is always disagreeable to an author to come forward when he has little of importance to communicate to the reader, and on no occasion have I felt more keenly than on the present, when introducing to your notice an Owl, of which the habits, although unknown to me, must be highly interesting, as it seems to assimilate in some degree to the diurnal birds of prey. I have never seen it alive, and therefore can only repeat what has been said by one who has. Dr RICHARDSON gives the following account of it in the Fauna Boreali-Americana:—

“It is a common species throughout the Fur Countries from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific, and is more frequently killed than any other by the hunters, which may be partly attributed to its boldness and its habit of flying about by day. In the summer season it feeds principally on mice and insects; but in the snow-clad regions which it frequents in the winter, neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys mostly on Ptarmigan. It is a constant attendant on the flocks of Ptarmigan in their spring migrations to the northward. It builds its nest on a tree, of sticks, grass, and feathers, and lays two white eggs. When the hunters are shooting Grouse, this bird is occasionally attracted by the report of the gun, and is often bold enough, on a bird being killed, to pounce down upon it, though it may be unable from its size to carry it off. It is also known to hover round the fires made by the natives at night.”

I lately received a letter from my friend Dr THOMAS M. BREWER of Boston, Massachusetts, in which he informs me that “the Hawk Owl is very common at Memphramagog Lake in Vermont, where as many as a dozen may be obtained by a good gunner in the course of a single day. Its nests in the hollow trees are also frequently met with.” It is surprising that none should have been seen by Mr NUTTALL or Dr TOWNSEND, while crossing the Rocky Mountains, or on the Columbia River; especially as it has been found by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. as far southward on our eastern coast as New Jersey.

The specimens from which the figures in the plate were drawn, were given to me by THOMAS MACCULLOCH, Esq. of Pictou, who had a good number of them. Two entire individuals preserved in spirits afford materials for the following descriptions.

STRIX FUNEREA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 133.—_Lath._
Ind. Orn. vol. i. p. 62.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds
of United States, p. 35.

HAWK OWL, STRIX HUDSONIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p.
64, pl. 50, fig. 6.

STRIX FUNEREA, AMERICAN HAWK OWL, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 92.

HAWK OWL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 115.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXVIII. Fig. 1.

Bill short, strong, higher than broad; upper mandible with the dorsal line declinate and decurvate, the ridge convex, the sides convex toward the end, the edges nearly straight until toward the end, the tip decurvate, trigonal, acute; the cere covered with stiff bristly feathers directed forwards; lower mandible with the angle very wide, the dorsal outline convex, the ridge broad and convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp toward the end, the tip obtuse, thin-edged. Nostrils roundish, in the fore part of the cere, concealed by the feathers.

Head very large, roundish, convex above. Eyes very large. Neck very short; body of moderate size. Legs very short, robust; tarsus very short, feathered, as are the toes, of which the outer is reversible; claws long, stout, compressed, tapering to a very acute point, that of third toe with the inner edge considerably dilated.

Plumage full, very soft, blended; the cere covered with slender stiffish reversed feathers, having their filaments disunited; the facial disks incomplete above. Wings rather long, rounded; the third primary longest, the fourth one-twelfth and a half shorter, the second four and a half twelfths shorter than the third, the first intermediate between the fifth and sixth; the first four cut out on the outer web towards the end, the barbs on the greater part of the outer web of the first, and the terminal portion of the second, thickened, and a little separated, but not recurved; the secondaries of moderate length, rounded. Tail rather long, much rounded, of twelve rather broad rounded feathers, of which the lateral are two inches shorter than the middle.

Bill pale yellow; iris bright yellow; claws dusky. The facial disk is greyish-white, the shafts black, at its anterior part intermixed with black filaments. The upper part of the head brownish-black, closely spotted with white, there being generally three roundish spots on each feather. The hind part of the neck is brownish-black, with two broad longitudinal bands of white spots; a semicircle of brownish-black feathers margins the facial disk behind. The general colour of the upper parts is chocolate-brown, becoming lighter behind; all the feathers marked with white spots in pairs, larger and more conspicuous on the scapulars, disposed in bars on the rump and upper tail-coverts. On both webs of the quills are several transversely elliptical white spots, the outer webs of the first two and five inner primaries excepted; the tips of all brownish-white. The tail is marked with about eight transverse bars of white, formed by narrow oblong alternating spots on both webs, the feathers also tipped with white, the throat is greyish-dusky, that colour being succeeded by a semi-circular band of white, beneath which is an obscure brownish-black band; the rest of the lower parts transversely barred with dusky and white; the dark bars of a deeper tint anteriorly, approaching to chestnut on the sides and legs, fainter on the abdomen and feet, and greyish-brown on the lower tail-coverts.

Length to end of tail 15-3/4 inches, to end of wings 12-1/2, to end of claws 11-1/2, to carpal joint 3-3/8; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing from flexure 9-8/12; tail 7-1/2; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1; tarsus 1; hind toe 3/12, its claw (10-1/2)/12; middle toe 10/12, its claw 10/12; inner toe (8-1/2)/12, its claw 11/12; outer toe 6/12, its claw 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXVIII. Fig. 2.

The Female is somewhat larger, and resembles the male, but is of a lighter tint, especially on the wings and tail, where the white markings are smaller and less decided.

Length to end of tail 17-1/2 inches.

An adult male, presented by THOMAS M. BREWER, Esq. of Boston, and preserved in spirits.

The palate is concave, with two longitudinal, parallel, papillate ridges. The posterior aperture of the nares is lanceolate, with an anterior fissure, the space between which and the lateral ridge is papillate. The tongue is short, fleshy, deeply emarginate and papillate at the base, rounded and notched at the end; its length 7-1/2 twelfths, its breadth 3-1/4 twelfths. The mouth is very wide, measuring 1 inch 1 twelfth across. The œsophagus, _a b c_, which is 4-3/4 inches in length, is of nearly uniform diameter, its greatest breadth being 11 twelfths, and at its entrance into the thorax 10 twelfths. Its walls are extremely thin; but its longitudinal and transverse muscular fibres are distinctly seen. The proventricular glandules are very large and cylindrical, forming a belt, _b c_, 1 inch 1 twelfth in breadth. The stomach, _c d e_, is of moderate size, roundish, 1 inch 5 twelfths long, 1 inch 1-1/2 twelfth broad; its walls very thin, the muscular coat being composed of slender fasciculi converging toward two roundish tendinous spaces; the inner coat or epithelium very soft and rugous, but partially dissolved by the gastric juice. The pylorus has a semilunar margin, but is otherwise destitute of valve. The contents of the stomach are tufts of reddish hair, resembling that of some hare. The duodenum, _e f g_, which is 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter, curves backwards and upwards, running across to the left side, and returning upon itself opposite the fifth rib; it then proceeds to the right side under the liver, receives the biliary ducts, passes behind and above the stomach, and forms three folds, terminating in the rectum, which is laterally curved, and ends in a globular cloaca, _j k_, 10 twelfths in diameter. The entire length of the intestine, _e f g h k_, is 18 inches, its diameter from 4 twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth. The rectum is 2 inches long. The cœca, Fig. 2, _a b_, _a b_, are 2-1/4 inches in length, for 1 inch and 2 twelfths very narrow, their diameter varying from 1 to 2 twelfths, their greatest diameter 4 twelfths, their extremity blunt.

The aperture of the ear, Fig. 3, although very large, is inferior to that of many Owls of similar size. It is of an elliptical form, 5 twelfths in its greatest diameter, and 4 twelfths across.

The trachea is 3 inches long, flattened, its diameter nearly uniform, averaging 2 twelfths; the rings moderately firm, 74 in number. The bronchi are long, slender, of about 20 very slender cartilaginous half rings. The contractor muscles are moderate, as are the sterno-tracheal. There is a single pair of flat inferior laryngeal muscles, going to the first and second bronchial rings.

RUFF-NECKED HUMMING BIRD.

_TROCHILUS RUFUS_, GMEL.

PLATE CCCLXXIX. MALE AND FEMALE.

This charming Humming Bird was discovered by the great navigator, Captain Cook, who found it abundant at Nootka Sound. It does not appear to have been seen by Dr RICHARDSON or Mr DRUMMOND in the northern parts of America, traversed by those most zealous and highly talented naturalists. As no account has hitherto been given of its habits, the following notices from my friends Mr NUTTALL and Dr TOWNSEND, will, I doubt not, prove highly interesting.

“We began,” says the first of-these enterprising travellers, “to meet with this species near the Blue Mountains of the Columbia River, in the autumn, as we proceeded to the west. These were all young birds, and were not very easily distinguished from those of the common species of the same age. We now for the first time (April 16.) saw the males in numbers, darting, burring, and squeaking in the usual manner of their tribe; but when engaged in collecting its accustomed sweets in all the energy of life, it seemed like a breathing gem, or magic carbuncle of glowing fire, stretching out its gorgeous ruff, as if to emulate the sun itself in splendour. Towards the close of May, the females were sitting, at which time the males were uncommonly quarrelsome and vigilant, darting out at me as I approached the tree probably near the nest, looking like an angry coal of brilliant fire, passing within very little of my face, returning several times to the attack, sinking and darting with the utmost velocity, at the same time uttering a curious reverberating sharp bleat, somewhat similar to the quivering twang of a dead twig, yet also so much like the real bleat of some small quadruped, that for some time I searched the ground instead of the air, for the actor in the scene. At other times, the males were seen darting up high in the air, and whirling about each other in great anger, and with much velocity. After these manœuvres the aggressor returned to the same dead twig, where for days he regularly took his station with all the courage and angry vigilance of a King-bird. The angry hissing or bleating note of this species seems something like _wht’t’t’t’t sh vee_, tremulously uttered as it whirls and sweeps through the air, like a musket-ball, accompanied also by something like the whirr of the Night Hawk. On the 29th of May, I found a nest of this species in a forked branch of the Nootka Bramble, _Rubus Nutkanus_. The female was sitting on two eggs, of the same shape and colour as those of the common species. The nest also was perfectly similar, but somewhat deeper. As I approached, the female came hovering round the nest, and soon after, when all was still, she resumed her place contentedly.”

Dr TOWNSEND’s note is as follows:—“Nootka Sound Humming Bird, _Trochilus rufus_, _Ah-puets-Rinne_ of the Chinooks. On a clear day the male may be seen to rise to a great height in the air, and descend instantly near the earth, then mount again to the same altitude as at first, performing in the evolution the half of a large circle. During the descent it emits a strange and astonishingly loud note, which can be compared to nothing but the rubbing together of the limbs of trees during a high wind. I heard this singular note repeatedly last spring and summer, but did not then discover to what it belonged. I did not suppose it to be a bird at all, and least of all a Humming Bird. The observer thinks it almost impossible that so small a creature can be capable of producing so much sound. I have never observed this habit upon a dull or cloudy day.”

Mr NUTTALL having presented me with the nest of this species attached to the twig to which the bird had fastened it, my amiable friend Miss MARTIN has figured it for me, as well as the plant, about which these lovely creatures are represented. The nest, which measures two inches and a quarter in height, and an inch and three quarters in breadth, at the upper part, is composed externally of mosses, lichens, and a few feathers, with slender fibrous roots interwoven, and lined with fine cottony seed-down.

TROCHILUS RUFUS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 497.

TROCHILUS COLLARIS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 318.

TROCHILUS (SELASPHORUS) RUFUS, _Swainson_.

CINNAMON or NOOTKA HUMMING BIRD, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 324.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIX. Figs. 1, 2.

Bill long, straight, subulate, somewhat depressed at the base, acute; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge narrow at the base, broad and convex toward the end, the sides convex, the edges overlapping, the tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle very long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight, the edges erect, the tip acuminate. Nostrils basal, linear.

Head of ordinary size, oblong; neck short; body slender. Feet very small; tarsus very short, feathered more than half-way down, toes small; the lateral equal, the middle toe not much longer, the hind toe a little shorter than the lateral, anterior toes united at the base; claws rather long, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, very acute.

Plumage soft and blended; feathers on the throat, fore part and sides of the neck oblong-obovate, with the filaments towards the end thickened and flattened, with metallic gloss, those on the sides of the neck elongated and erectile. Wings rather short, extremely narrow, falcate, pointed; the primaries rapidly graduated, the second being longest, but only slightly longer than the first; these two quills taper to a point; the rest are broader, and gradually become less pointed; the secondaries are extremely short, and only five in number. Tail rather long, broad, graduated, the lateral feathers four and a half twelfths of an inch shorter than the central; the latter are extremely broad, measuring four and a half twelfths across, and the rest gradually diminish to the lateral, which are very narrow; all obtusely pointed.

Bill brownish-black; toes brown, claws dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is bright cinnamon or reddish-orange; the head bronzed green, the wings dusky, the coverts glossed with green, the primaries with purplish; each of the tail-feathers has a narrow longitudinal lanceolate median streak toward the end. The loral space, a narrow band over the eye, another beneath it, and the auriculars are reddish-orange; the scale-like feathers of the throat and sides of the neck are splendent fire-red, purplish-red, yellowish-red, greenish-yellow or yellowish-green, according to the light in which they are viewed; behind them, on the lower part of the neck, is a broad band of reddish-white; the rest of the lower parts are like the upper, the abdomen inclining to white.

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

Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIX. Fig. 3.

The Female has the bill and feet coloured as in the male. The upper parts are gold-green, the head inclining to brown; the wings as in the male; the tail-feathers reddish-orange at the base, brownish-black toward the end, the tip white. The lower parts are white, tinged with rufous, of which colour, especially, are the sides; the throat marked with roundish spots of metallic greenish-red.

Length to end of tail 3-(7-1/2)/12 inches; bill along the ridge (8-3/4)/12; wing from flexure 1-10/12; tail 1-(1-1/2)/12.

The above descriptions are from two individuals shot by Dr TOWNSEND on the “Columbia River, 30th May 1835.” A “young male, Columbia River, 29th May 1835,” resembles the female as above described, differing only in having the metallic spots on the throat larger. A “young female, Columbia River, June 10th 1835,” differs from the adult only in wanting the metallic spots on the throat, which is spotted with greenish-brown.

CLEOME HEPTAPHYLLA.

The beautiful plant represented in the plate belongs to _Tetradynamia Siliquosa_ of the Linnæan arrangement, and to the genus _Cleome_, characterized by having three nectariferous glandules at each corner of the calyx, the lower excepted; all the petals ascending; the germen stipitate; the siliqua unilocular, two-valved. The species, _C. heptaphylla_, is distinguished by its septenate leaves, of which the leaflets are lanceolate, acuminate, and of a deep green colour. It grows in South Carolina and Georgia.

TENGMALM’S OWL.

_STRIX TENGMALMI_, GMEL.

PLATE CCCLXXX. MALE AND FEMALE.

I procured a fine male of this species at Bangor, in Maine, on the Penobscot River, in the beginning of September 1832; but am unacquainted with its habits, never having seen another individual alive. Dr TOWNSEND informs me that he found it first on the Malade River Mountains, where it was so tame and unsuspicious, that Mr NUTTALL was enabled to approach within a few feet of it, as it sat upon the bushes. Dr RICHARDSON gives the following notice respecting it in the Fauna Boreali-Americana:—“When it accidentally wanders abroad in the day, it is so much dazzled by the light of the sun as to become stupid, and it may then be easily caught by the hand. Its cry in the night is a single melancholy note, repeated at intervals of a minute or two. Mr HUTCHINS informs us that it builds a nest of grass half-way up a pine tree, and lays two white eggs in the month of May. It feeds on mice and beetles. I cannot state the extent of its range, but believe that it inhabits all the woody country from Great Slave Lake to the United States. On the banks of the Saskatchewan it is so common that its voice is heard almost every night by the traveller, wherever he selects his bivouac.”

STRIX TENGMALMI, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 291.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 65.

STRIX TENGMALMI, TENGMALM’S OWL, _Swains. and Richards._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 94.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXX. Fig. 1.

Bill short, very deep, strong; upper mandible with its dorsal line curved from the base, its ridge convex, as are the sides, the edges sharp and incurved anteriorly, the tip very acute, and at its extremity nearly perpendicular; the cere short, and bare on its upper part; the lower mandible has the angle broad and short, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges inflected, towards the end incurved, with a notch on each side close to the abruptly-rounded tip. Nostrils broadly elliptical, oblique, in the fore part of the cere, which bulges considerably behind them.

The head is extremely large, roundish, when viewed from above somewhat triangular; the eyes large. The conch of the ear very large, of an elliptical form, extending from the base of the lower jaw to near the top of the head, being an inch and a quarter in length, with an anterior semicircular operculum stretching along its whole length, and an elevated margin behind. The neck is very short and thin; the body very slender; but both appear very full on account of the vast mass of plumage. The feet are rather short, and strong; the tarsi and toes covered with very soft downy feathers, the extremities of the latter with two scutella. The claws are slender, tapering to a fine point, compressed, and curved.

The facial disk is complete, as is the ruff. The plumage is full, very soft, and blended; the feathers broadly oblong and rounded. The wings are rather long, very broad, much rounded; the third primary longest, the fourth almost equal, the second four-twelfths of an inch shorter, the first equal to the seventh; the barbs of the outer web of the first, of half the second, and the terminal part of the third, free and recurved. Tail of moderate length, arched, slightly rounded, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.

Bill greyish-brown, yellowish-white at the end; claws yellowish-brown, their tips dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is greyish-brown tinged with olive. The feathers of the head have an elliptical central white spot; those of the neck are similarly marked with larger white spots, of which some are disposed so as to form a semicircular band; the scapulars have two or four large round spots near the end, and some of the dorsal feathers and wing-coverts have single spots on the outer web. All the quills have marginal white spots on both webs, arranged in transverse series, there being six on the outer web of the third quill. On the tail are five series of transversely elongated narrow white spots. The disk is yellowish-white, anteriorly black; the ruff yellowish-white, mottled with dusky. The throat is brown, the chin white. The general colour of the lower parts is yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with brown, some of the feathers of the sides have two white spots near the end; the tarsal and digital feathers greyish-yellow, with faint transverse bars of brown.