Chapter III: Part 3

I have found the eggs of this bird laid on the bare earth, in a hollow scooped out to the depth of about an inch and a half, near the roots of a tuft of rank grass, in the middle of a meadow, and seen some nests of the same species formed of loosely arranged grasses, and placed almost beneath low bushes growing on poor elevated ridges, furnished with a scanty vegetation. I have also heard my esteemed young friend, JOHN TRUDEAU, state that he had discovered one on a high part of the bank of the Delaware River. When disturbed while on its nest, but unobserved, it runs thirty or forty yards, and then flies off as if severely wounded. Should it have young, its attempts to decoy you away are quite enough to induce you to desist from harassing it. The eggs measure an inch and five and a half eighths, by an inch and a quarter in their greatest breadth. In form they resemble those of _Totanus macularius_, being broadly rounded at one end, and rather pointed at the other; their surface smooth; their ground colour dull greyish-yellow, with numerous spots of light purple and reddish-brown. They are placed in the nest in the same manner as those of the Spotted Sandpiper, that is, with the smaller ends together, which is also the case with those of the Tell-tale Godwit, Wilson’s Plover, and the Kildeer Plover. The young, which run about immediately after exclusion, grow rapidly, and in about a month are able to use their wings, after which, they and their parents gradually, and according to the temperature of the season, move southward.

In Massachusetts, and to the eastward of that state, this species is best known by the name of “Upland Plover,” and in some other districts it is named the Field Plover. The drawing from which the plate was engraved was taken from individuals shot near Bayou Sara, in the State of Mississippi.

TOTANUS BARTRAMIUS, _Ch. Bonap._, Synopsis of Birds of the
United States, p. 262.

TRINGA BARTRAMIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 63. pl.
59. fig. 2.

BARTRAMIAN TATLER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 169.

TOTANUS BARTRAMIUS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
vol. ii. p. 391.

Adult Male. Plate CCCIII. Fig. 1.

Bill a little longer than the head, slender, straight, slightly defected at the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge convex, the sides grooved beyond the middle, afterwards convex, the edges inflected, the tips a little deflected, and tapering to an obtuse point. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, linear, pervious, nearer the edge than the dorsal line. Lower mandible, with the angle very narrow and elongated, beyond it the outline slightly convex, the sides sloping outwards and concave until the middle, afterwards flattened, the edges sharp, the point very narrow.

Head rather small, convex above, compressed. Neck of moderate length, slender. Body rather slender. Feet long and slender; tibia bare for about half its length, scutellate before and behind; tarsus long, slender, having before and behind numerous scutella, the narrow lateral spaces with very small oblong scales. Toes slender, the first very short, the second much shorter than the fourth, the third and fourth connected at the base by a web; the scutella numerous; claws small, compressed, slightly arched, rather blunt.

Plumage soft, on the neck and lower parts, blended; on the upper rather distinct. Wings rather long, acute, narrow; primaries tapering, and rounded, the first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail of moderate length, much rounded, of twelve rather narrow feathers.

Bill yellowish-green, the tip dusky, the edges towards the base yellow. Iris dark hazel. Legs and tarsi light yellowish-grey, toes rather darker, claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head dark brown, with a median pale yellowish-brown line, the margins of the feathers also of that colour, which prevails along the sides of the head and the back of the neck, which are streaked with dusky; the eye surrounded with yellowish-white. Throat yellowish white, without spots; fore-part and sides of the neck, with a portion of the breast and sides of the body, cream-coloured, with dusky lines, which gradually become arrow-shaped on the breast, forming a double transverse band; the feathers on the sides barred; the rest of the lower parts yellowish-white, the lower tail-coverts rich cream-coloured. Axillar feathers and lower wing-coverts white, banded with brownish-black. On the upper parts the feathers are dark brown, glossed with green, with rich cream-coloured margins; the rump darker. On the margins of the scapulars, within the pale edge, is a series of dusky spots, which towards the end become continuous. Alula, primary coverts, and primary quills, blackish-brown, the inner webs crossed by white bands, until about an inch from the end, the shaft of the first quill white, those of the rest dusky. Secondaries greyish-brown, their outer margins pale brown, with dusky spots; the inner darker. The two middle feathers of the tail are dark olive, tinged with grey, transversely barred with black, the last bar arrow-shaped, the margins light cream-colour: the next feather on each side lighter, and tinged with yellowish-red; the rest gradually lighter, the outer white, all barred with black.

Length to end of tail 12-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-1/8, to end of claws 13-1/2; extent of wings 22; wing from flexure 7; tail 3-3/4; bare part of tibia 9/10; tarsus 1-(1-1/2)/12, first toe 4/12, its claw 1-(1/2)/12; middle-toe 1, its claw (2-1/4)/12; bill along the ridge 1-2/12; along the edge of lower mandible 1-3/12. Weight 6 oz.

Female. Plate CCCIII. Fig. 2.

The female is a little larger, and weighs 7 oz., but resembles the male in colour. The individual of which the weight is here given was very fat, but I have never met with any that weighed three-fourths of a pound, as described by WILSON!

Length to end of tail 13 inches, to end of claws 14, extent of wings 22-3/4.

In an adult bird of this species, the tongue measures seven-twelfths of an inch in length, and is sagittate at the base, with conical papillæ, of which the outermost is much larger, then contracted, being deeper than broad, and tapering to a very acute compressed point. Aperture of the glottis 2/12 long, with numerous papillæ behind, the middle two largest. The œsophagus is 5-1/4 inches long, of uniform diameter, measuring about 3/12 across, and passing along the right side of the neck, along with the trachea. Proventriculus oblong, 8/12 in diameter, its glandules extremely numerous, oblong, half a twelfth in length. The stomach is a strong gizzard of an oblong form; an inch and a twelfth long, nine-twelfths in breadth, its lateral muscles of moderate thickness, the right (2-1/2)/12, the left (5-1/2)/12, the central tendons oblong, 5/12 in diameter. The cuticular lining is tough, of moderate thickness, longitudinally rugous, the grinding plates scarcely thicker than the rest. The intestine is 18 inches long, its diameter generally (3-1/2)/12. The rectum 2-1/4 inches long; the cæca 2-2/12, very slender, their greatest diameter being only (1-1/2)/12; the cloaca globular, about 1/2 inch in diameter. The stomach was filled with remains of grasshoppers, of a deep red colour, with which the inner coat was tinged, together with the head of a Libellula. No gravel or other hard substances.

The trachea moderately extended is 3-10/12 inches long, its transverse diameter (2-1/2)/12, diminishing to (1-1/2)/12. The rings are unossified and extremely thin, 105 in number; the contractor or lateral muscles feeble; the inferior larynx simple, with a single pair of tracheali-bronchiales, and the usual sterno-tracheales; the bronchi of about 15 half-rings.

This individual presented a very remarkable accumulation of fat over the abdominal and pectoral muscles, and especially about the furcula.

TURNSTONE.

_STREPSILAS INTERPRES_, ILLIGER.

PLATE CCCIV. ADULT IN SUMMER AND WINTER.

This bird, which, in its full vernal dress, is one of the most beautiful of its family, is found along the southern coasts of the United States during winter, from North Carolina to the mouth of the Sabine River, in considerable numbers, although perhaps as many travel at that season into Texas and Mexico, where I observed it on its journey eastward, from the beginning of April to the end of May 1837. I procured many specimens in the course of my rambles along the shores of the Florida Keys, and in the neighbourhood of St Augustine, and have met with it in May and June, as well as in September and October, in almost every part of our maritime shores, from Maine to Maryland. On the coast of Labrador I looked for it in vain, although Dr RICHARDSON mentions their arrival at their breeding quarters on the shores of Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic Sea up to the seventy-fifth parallel.

In spring the Turnstone is rarely met with in flocks exceeding five or six individuals, but often associates with other species, such as the Knot, the Red-backed Sandpiper, and the _Tringa subarquata_. Towards the end of autumn, however, they collect into large flocks, and so continue during the winter. I have never seen it on the margins of rivers or lakes, but always on the shores of the sea, although it prefers those of the extensive inlets so numerous on our coasts. At times it rambles to considerable distances from the beach, for I have found it on rocky islands thirty miles from the mainland; and on two occasions, whilst crossing the Atlantic, I saw several flocks near the Great Banks flying swiftly, and rather close to the water around the ships, after which they shot off toward the south-west, and in a few minutes were out of sight. It seems to be a hardy bird, for some of them remain in our Eastern Districts until severe frost prevails. Having seen some, in the beginning of June, and in superb plumage, on the high grounds of the Island of Grand Mannan, in the Bay of Fundy, I supposed that they bred there, although none of my party succeeded in discovering their nests. Indeed the young, as I have been informed, are obtained there, and along the coast of Maine, in the latter part of July.

I have found this bird much more shy when in company with other species than when in flocks by itself, when it appears to suspect no danger from man. Many instances of this seeming inattention have occurred to me, among others the following:—When I was on the island of Galveston in Texas, my friend EDWARD HARRIS, my son, and some others of our party, had shot four deer, which the sailors had brought to our little camp near the shore. Feeling myself rather fatigued, I did not return to the bushes with the rest, who went in search of more venison for our numerous crew, but proposed, with the assistance of one of the sailors, to skin the deer. After each animal was stripped of its hide, and deprived of its head and feet, which were thrown away, the sailor and I took it to the water and washed it. To my surprise, I observed four Turnstones directly in our way to the water. They merely ran to a little distance out of our course, and on our returning, came back immediately to the same place; this they did four different times, and, after we were done, they remained busily engaged in searching for food. None of them was more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, and with a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would use not only the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on the shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side, with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold. In this manner, I saw these four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return.

On another occasion, when in company with Mr HARRIS, and on the same island I witnessed the same pleasing proceeding, several Turnstones being engaged in searching for food in precisely the same manner. At other times, and especially when in the neighbourhood of St Augustine, in East Florida, I used to amuse myself with watching these birds on the racoon-oyster banks, using my glass for the purpose. I observed that they would search for such oysters as had been killed by the heat of the sun, and pick out their flesh precisely in the manner of our Common Oyster-catcher, _Hæmatopus palliatus_, while they would strike at such small bivalves as had thin shells, and break them, as I afterwards ascertained, by walking to the spot. While on the Florida coast, near Cape Sable, I shot one in the month of May, that had its stomach filled with those beautiful shells, which, on account of their resemblance to grains of rice, are commonly named rice-shells.

I have always looked upon the Turnstone, while at its avocations, as a species very nearly allied to the Oyster-catcher; and, although it certainly differs in some particulars, were I to place it in a position determined by its affinities, I should remove it at once from the Tringa family. Its mode of searching for food around pebbles and other objects, the comparative strength of its legs, its retiring disposition, and its loud whistling notes while on wing, will, I think, prove at some period that what I have ventured to advance may be in accordance with the only true system, by which I mean Nature’s own system, could one be so fortunate as to understand it.

While this species remains in the United States, although its residence is protracted to many months, very few individuals are met with in as complete plumage as the one represented in my plate with the wings fully extended; for out of a vast number of specimens procured from the beginning of March to the end of May, or from August to May, I have scarcely found two to correspond precisely in their markings. For this reason, no doubt exists in my mind that this species, as well as the Knot and several others, loses its rich summer plumage soon after the breeding season, when the oldest become scarcely distinguishable from the young. In the spring months, however, I have observed that they gradually improve in beauty, and acquire full-coloured feathers in patches on the upper and lower surfaces of the body, in the same manner as the Knot, the Red-breasted Snipe, the Godwits, and several other species. According to Mr HEWITSON, the eggs are four in number, rather suddenly pointed towards the smaller end, generally an inch and four and a half eighths in length, an inch and one and a half eighths in their greatest breadth, their ground colour pale yellowish-green, marked with irregular patches and streaks of brownish-red, and a few lines of black.

My drawing of the Turnstones represented in the plate was made at Philadelphia, in the end of May 1824; and the beautiful specimen exhibited in the act of flying, I procured near Camden, while in the agreeable company of my talented friend LE SUEUR, who, alas! is now no more.

I have not observed any remarkable difference in the plumage of the sexes at any season of the year. The males I have generally found to be somewhat larger than the females, which, as is well known, is not the case in the Tringa family.

My worthy friend, Dr BACHMAN, once had a bird of this species alive. It had recovered from a slight wound in the wing, when he presented it to a lady, a friend of his and mine, who, fed it on boiled rice, and bread soaked in milk, of both of which it was very fond. It continued in a state of captivity upwards of a year, but was at last killed by accident. It had become perfectly gentle, would eat from the hand of its kind mistress, frequently bathed in a basin placed near it for the purpose, and never attempted to escape, although left quite at liberty to do so.

TRINGA INTERPRES, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol i. p. 248.—_Lath._
Ind. Orn. vol. ii. p. 738.

TRINGA MORINELLA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 249.

TURNSTONE, TRINGA INTERPRES, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii.
p. 32. pl. 57. fig 1.

STREPSILAS COLLARIS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith, part ii. p. 553.

STREPSILAS INTERPRES, _Ch. Bonap._ Synopsis of Birds of the
United States, 299.

TURNSTONE or SEA-DOTTEREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 30.

Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCCIV. Fig. 1.

Bill a little shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering, straightish, being recurvate in a slight degree. Upper mandible with the dorsal line very slightly concave, the nasal groove extending to the middle, the sides beyond it sloping, the tip depressed and blunted. Nostrils sub-basal linear-oblong, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle short, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp, the tip depressed and blunted.

Head small, ovate; eyes of moderate size. Neck of ordinary length. Body rather full. Feet of moderate length, stout; tibia bare at the lower part, and covered with reticulated scales; tarsus roundish, with numerous broad anterior scutella; toes four, the first very small, and placed higher than the rest; the anterior toes free to the base, distinctly margined on both edges, the inner toe a little shorter than the outer, the third or middle toe considerably longer; claws rather small, arcuate, compressed, blunted.

Plumage full, soft, rather dense, and glossy; feathers on the hind neck blended, and rather narrow, on the other parts ovate. Wings long, pointed, of moderate breadth: primaries with strong shafts, rather broad, narrowed towards the end, the first longest, the rest rapidly decreasing; outer secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded; inner elongated, one of them extending to half an inch of the tip of the longest primary, when the wing is closed. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve moderately broad, rounded feathers.

Bill black. Iris hazel. Feet deep orange red, claws black. Plumage variegated with white, black, brown, and red. Upper parts of the head and nape streaked with black and reddish-white; a broad band of white crosses the forehead, passes over the eyes, and down the sides of the neck, the hind-part of which is reddish-white faintly mottled with dusky; a frontal band of black curves downwards before the eye, enclosing a white patch on the lore, and meeting another black band glossed with blue, which proceeds down the neck, from the base of the lower mandible, enlarging behind the ear, covering the whole anterior part of the neck, and passing along the shoulder over the scapulars; the throat, hind part of the back, the outer scapulars, upper tail-coverts, and the under parts of the body and wings, white. Anterior smaller wing-coverts dusky, the rest bright chestnut or brownish-orange, as are the outer webs of the inner tertiaries; alula, primary coverts, outer secondary coverts and quills blackish-brown, their inner webs becoming white towards the base; a broad band of white extends across the wing, including the bases of the primary quills, excepting the outer four, and the ends of the secondary coverts; the shafts of the primaries white. Tail white, with a broad blackish-brown bar towards the end, broader in the middle, the tips white. A dusky band crosses the rump.

Length to end of tail 9 inches, to end of wings 8-3/8, to end of claws 10; extent of wings 18-3/8; along the ridge 9-(1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 11/12; wing from flexure 6-1/12; tail 2-4/12; tarsus 11/12; hind toe (2-1/2)/12, its claw 2/12; middle toe 10/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12. Average weight of three specimens 3-2/3 oz.

Male in winter. Plate CCCIV. Fig. 2.

In winter, the throat, lower parts, middle of the back, upper tail-coverts, and band across the wing, are white, as in summer; the tail, and quills, are also similarly coloured, but the inner secondaries are destitute of red, of which there are no traces on the upper parts, they being of a dark greyish-brown colour, the feathers tipped or margined with paler; the outer edges of the outer scapulars, and some of the smaller wing-coverts, white; on the sides and fore part of the neck the feathers blackish, with white shafts.

Individuals vary much according to age and sex, as well in size as in colour, scarcely two in summer plumage being found exactly similar.

In a male bird, the tongue is (6-1/2)/12 of an inch in length, sagittate and papillate at the base, concave above, narrow, and tapering to the point. The œsophagus is 4-1/4 inches long, inclines to the right, is rather narrow, and uniform, its diameter (4-1/2)/12. Proventriculus oblong, 8/12 in length, 5/12 in breadth, its glandules cylindrical. Stomach oblong, 11/12 in length, its cuticular lining very tough and hard, with broad longitudinal rugæ, its lateral muscles moderately large. Intestine 17-1/2 inches long, slender, varying in diameter from (2-1/2)/12 to (1-1/2)/12; rectum 1-1/2; cæca 1-8/12, 11/12 in diameter at the commencement, 2/12 toward the end; cloaca globular.

The trachea is 3-1/4 inches long, 2-(1/2)/12 in breadth, contracts to 1/12; its lateral muscles very thin; sterno-tracheal slender, a pair of tracheali-bronchial muscles. The rings are very thin and unossified, 104 in number. Bronchi of moderate length, with about 15 half rings.

In a female, the œsophagus is 4-1/4 inches long, the intestine 18. In both individuals, the stomach contained fragments of shells, and claws of very small crabs: which were also found in the intestine, although there more comminuted.

PURPLE GALLINULE.

_GALLINULA MARTINICA_, LATH.

PLATE CCCV. MALE.

Reader, although you may think it strange, I candidly assure you that I have experienced a thousand times more pleasure while looking at the Purple Gallinule flirting its tail while gaily moving over the broad leaves of the water-lily, than I have ever done while silently sitting in the corner of a crowded apartment, gazing on the flutterings of gaudy fans and the wavings of flowing plumes. Would that I were once more extended on some green grassy couch, in my native Louisiana, or that I lay concealed under some beautiful tree, overhanging the dark bayou, on whose waters the bird of beauty is wont to display its graceful movements, and the rich hues of its glossy plumage! Methinks I now see the charming creature gliding sylph-like over the leaves that cover the lake, with the aid of her lengthened toes, so admirably adapted for the purpose, and seeking the mate, who, devotedly attached as he is, has absented himself, perhaps in search of some secluded spot in which to place their nest. Now he comes, gracefully dividing the waters of the tranquil pool, his frontal crest glowing with the brightest azure. Look at his wings, how elegantly they are spread and obliquely raised; see how his expanded tail strikes the water; and mark the movements of his head, which is alternately thrown backward and forward, as if he were congratulating his mate on their happy meeting. Now both birds walk along clinging to the stems and blades, their voices clearly disclosing their mutual feelings of delight, and they retire to some concealed place on the nearest shore, where we lose sight of them for a time.

Now, side by side, they look for the most secure spot among the tall rushes that border the lake, and there they will soon form a nest, removed alike from danger to be dreaded from the inhabitants of the land as of the water. On the thick mass of withered leaves are deposited the precious eggs, from which in time emerge the dusky younglings, that presently betake themselves to the water, over which they wander, guided by their affectionate parent, until it becomes expedient for the party to disperse.

The Purple Gallinule is a constant resident in the United States, although peculiar to their southern districts, where I have met with it at all seasons. It is in the Floridas, the lower parts of Alabama, and among the broad marshes bordering the Gulf of Mexico, in Lower Louisiana, that I have observed its habits. Beyond the Carolinas eastward, it is only met with as an accidental straggler. It never, I believe, ascends the Mississippi beyond Memphis, where indeed it is but rarely seen; but between Natchez and the mouths of the great river, it is abundant on all the retired bayous and small lakes. The southern portions of Georgia are also furnished with it; but in South Carolina it is rare. Proceeding southwestward along the Gulf of Mexico, I have found it as far as Texas, where it breeds, as well as in Louisiana, where I observed it coming from the south in May 1837.

Having studied the habits of this bird under every advantage in Louisiana, and especially in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, and the mouths of the Mississippi, I will now, good Reader, place before you the results of my observation. In the summer months, the Purple Gallinules remove with their broods to the prairies or large savannahs bordering the bayous or lakes on which they have bred, and remain in those places, which are generally covered with thick and tall grass, until the beginning of September, when the vegetation having been dried up by the intense heat and drought, neither food nor sufficient concealment can be obtained. The young birds usually abandon these plains first, and while the colour of their plumage is still green, instead of purplish-blue, which tint, however, is assumed before the return of spring. During all this while, its notes are as frequently heard as during the breeding season. They resemble the delicate whistling sounds of the Blue-winged Teal during its residence with us. At this season also its flesh is best, although it never equals that of the Freshwater Marsh-hen, _Rallus elegans_, or of the Sora Rail, _Rallus carolinus_.

On the approach of winter, all the Purple Gallinules leave the savannahs, and betake themselves to the immediate vicinity of ponds, bayous, or rivers, where through experience they become shy, vigilant, and cunning. They seldom remove from one place to another, or travel at all, unless by night, although in sequestered parts they feed both on land and on the water by day.

The Purple Gallinule breeds at a remarkably early period of the year. I have found young birds in their jetty down clothing in February, and they have been observed in the same month by the keepers of the lighthouse at the south-west Pass of the Mississippi, at Key West, and in other places. The parent birds are sometimes so very intent on saving their young, as to suffer themselves to be caught. At this period their calls are almost incessantly heard during the whole night, and are elicited during the day by any musical or remarkable noise. The nest is generally placed among a kind of rushes that are green at all seasons, round, very pithy, rarely more than five feet high, and grow more along the margins of ponds than in the water itself. The birds gather many of them, and fasten them at the height of two or three feet, and there the nest is placed. It is composed of the most delicate rushes, whether green or withered, and is quite as substantial as that of the Common Gallinule, flattish, having an internal diameter of eight or ten inches, while the entire breadth is about fifteen. The eggs, which are from five to seven, rarely more, are very similar to those of the Common Gallinule, being of a light greyish-yellow, spotted with blackish-brown. The young are at first quite black, and covered with down. They are fully fledged by the first of June, when, as I have said, they and their parents remove to the wet savannahs in the neighbourhood.

The jerking motions of the tail of this bird, whenever it is disturbed, or attracted by any remarkable object, are very quick, and so often repeated as to have a curious appearance. It runs with great speed, and dives with equal address, often moving off under water with nothing but the bill above. The lightness and ease with which it walks on the floating plants are surprising, for in proceeding they scarcely produce any perceptible disturbance of the water. When swimming in full security, they move buoyantly and gracefully, throwing the head forward at every propelling motion of the feet. The flight of this species is less swift than that of the Common Gallinule, or of the Rails, unless when it is travelling far, when it flies high, and advances in a direct course by continued flappings; but when it is in its breeding or feeding grounds, its flight is slow and short, seldom exceeding thirty or forty yards, and with the legs hanging down; and it alights among the herbage with its wings spread upwards in the manner of the Rails. It often alights on the low branches of trees and bushes growing over the water, and walks lightly and gracefully over them.

It is seldom that more than one Purple Gallinule is shot at a time, unless in the beginning of the love season, when the male and female are apt to swim or walk close together. The male at this period is said to be able to inflate the frontal plate while strutting, but I have never been fortunate enough to observe this.

The Purple Gallinule not unfrequently alights on ships at sea. While at the Island of Galveston, on the 26th of April, I was offered several live individuals by the officers of the Boston frigate, which they had caught on board. My friend JOHN BACHMAN once received three specimens that had been caught three hundred miles from land, one of them having come through the cabin window. He also obtained from the Hon. Mr POINSET a fine specimen caught on board, on the Santee River, in South Carolina, in May. It is easily kept alive if fed with bread soaked in milk; and on this food I have known several that remained in good health for years. In Louisiana, where it is called _Rale Bleu_, its flesh is not held in much estimation, but is used by the negroes for making gombo.

My friend BACHMAN considers this species as rather scarce in South Carolina and Georgia, but states that it breeds there, as he has occasionally observed pairs on the head waters or preserves of rice plantations during summer, but never met with any in winter. The extreme limit of its range eastward is the neighbourhood of Boston, where a few individuals have been procured.

I think I may safely tell you that the figure of the Purple Gallinule exhibited in the plate, is the first ever published from a drawing taken from Nature!

FULICA MARTINICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 259.

GALLINULA MARTINICA, _Lath._ Ind Ornith. p. 769.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. p. 336.

GALLINULA PORPHYRIO, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix. p. 67.
pl. 73. fig. 2.

PURPLE GALLINULE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 221.

Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCCV.

Bill as long as the head, nearly straight, stout, deep, compressed, tapering. Upper mandible with a soft ovate plate at the base extending over a great part of the head, the dorsal line beyond this plate straightish and slightly declinate as far as the middle, then arcuato-declinate, the ridge gradually narrowed until over the nostrils, afterwards considerably widened, the sides nearly erect, the edges sharp, the notch obsolete. Nasal groove extending nearly to the middle of the bill, broad; nostrils sub-medial, lateral, oblong, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle rather long and narrow, the sides nearly erect and slightly concave, the dorsal line beyond the angle ascending, straight, the edges sharp and direct, the tip narrowed, rather sharp.

Head small, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Body much compressed. Feet large, long; tibia bare a considerable way above the joint, and reticulated; tarsus long, stout, compressed, anteriorly covered with very broad scutella, laterally and posteriorly with two series of broad scutella, between which on the posterior edge is a series of very minute scales; hind toe comparatively small, middle toe longest, and much longer than the tarsus, fourth longer than second; toes free, slender, compressed, with numerous broad scutella above, obliquely flattened beneath, marginate; claws very long, slender, slightly arched, much compressed, tapering to a very acute point.

Plumage blended, firm, glossy, the feathers ovato-oblong, broad at the end. Wings rather long, broad, rather concave; ovula large: primaries incurvate, broad, third longest, second a twelfth of an inch shorter, fourth two-twelfths shorter than second, which exceeds the first by eleven-twelfths; secondaries broad and grounded. Tail short, much rounded, of twelve rather weak, rounded feathers, which but slightly exceed the lower coverts.

Frontal plate ultramarine blue; bill bright carmine, tipped with bright yellow. Iris bright carmine; margins of eyelids white. Tarsi, toes, and claws bright yellow. Head, fore part of neck, and breast rich purplish-blue; abdomen and feathers of legs dusky; sides green; lower wing-coverts light green; sides of the neck light purplish-blue, shaded into verdigris and brownish-green above; the fore part of the back verdigris-green, shaded with olivaceous; the hind part and upper tail-coverts olivaceous; the coverts and outer webs of the quills greenish-blue, the inner webs clove-brown; tail-feathers olivaceous.

Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 13-1/2, to end of claws 18; extent of wings 21-1/2; bill along the ridge, including frontal plate 2; edge of lower mandible 1-1/4; tarsus 2-1/4; hind toe 1, its claw 10/12; middle toe 2-4/12, its claw 9/12.

Weight of one individual 7-1/2 oz., of another 8-1/2, both males; of a fourth 7 oz.; of a fifth 5-1/2; and of a sixth only 4-1/2.

The female is somewhat smaller, but similar to the male, the frontal plate is less extended, and the tints of the plumage a little less vivid.

The young are at first covered with black down. When fledged they are olivaceous on the upper parts, dull purple beneath; the bill dull green. After the first moult, the bill is light carmine, greenish-yellow at the end, the head dark purple; the plumage coloured as above described, but less brilliant, the tarsi and toes greenish-yellow.

In a male bird, the tongue is 10 twelfths of an inch long, sagittate at the base, with conical papillæ, of which the outer are larger, slightly concave above, horny towards the end, which is thin, rather obtuse, and lacerated. On the middle line of the roof of the mouth anteriorly is a row of large blunt papillæ, behind which are two rows; aperture of posterior nares linear. Œsophagus 7 inches long, of moderate width, its greatest diameter, at the lower part of the neck, where it is a little dilated, 8 twelfths. Proventriculus 1-2/12 long; its glandules 1-(1/4)/12 long. Stomach a large and powerful gizzard, broadly elliptical, 1-1/2 inch long, 1-5/12 broad, its lateral muscles large, the tendons covering nearly their whole surface, the left muscles 1/4 inch think, the right 5/12, the cuticular lining moderately rugous. Intestine 21 inches long, from 5/12 to 3/12 in diameter. Rectum 2-3/4 inches; cæca 2, their diameter 3/12 towards the end.

Trachea, moderately extended, 5-1/2 inches long, its greatest breadth 3-(1/4)/12, its least 1-(1/2)/12. Its rings 130, very slender, unossified, collapsed, and owing to their narrowness in the middle line before and behind, seeming as if broken there; bronchi with 15 half-rings. The contractor muscles moderate, the sterno-tracheal slender; a pair of muscles on the lower larynx, from the lower rings of the trachea to the membrane over the first bronchial ring.

In the mouth was a small frog, in the pharynx two, in the œsophagus two more, a large piece of root, numerous fragments of insects, and a leach, the frogs 2-1/2 inches long. In the gizzard were seeds, and fragments of white fleshy roots.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER OR LOON.

_COLYMBUS GLACIALIS_, LINN.

PLATE CCCVI. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG MALE.

The Loon, as this interesting species of Diver is generally called in the United States, is a strong, active, and vigilant bird. When it has acquired its perfect plumage, which is not altered in colour at any successive moult, it is really a beautiful creature; and the student of Nature who has opportunities of observing its habits, cannot fail to derive much pleasure from watching it as it pursues its avocations. View it as it buoyantly swims over the heaving billows of the Atlantic, or as it glides along deeply immersed, when apprehensive of danger, on the placid lake, on the grassy islet of which its nest is placed; calculate, if you can, the speed of its flight, as it shoots across the sky; mark the many plunges it performs in quest of its finny food, or in eluding its enemies; list to the loud and plaintive notes which it issues, either to announce its safety to its mate, or to invite some traveller of its race to alight, and find repose and food; follow the anxious and careful mother-bird, as she leads about her precious charge; and you will not count your labour lost, for you will have watched the ways of one of the wondrous creations of unlimited Power and unerring Wisdom. You will find pleasure too in admiring the glossy tints of its head and neck, and the singular regularity of the unnumbered spots by which its dusky back and wings are checkered.

I have met with the Great Diver, in winter, on all the water-courses of the United States, whence, however, it departs when the cold becomes extreme, and the surface is converted into an impenetrable sheet of ice. I have seen it also along the whole of our Atlantic coast, from Maine to the extremity of Florida, and from thence to the mouths of the Mississippi, and the shores of Texas, about Galveston Island, where some individuals in the plumage characteristic of the second moult, were observed in the course of my late expedition, in the month of April 1837. Indeed, as is the case with most other species of migrating birds, the young remove farther south that the old individuals, which are better able to withstand the cold and tempests of the wintry season.

The migratory movements of this bird seem to be differently managed in the spring and autumn. In the latter case, a great number of young Loons are seen to alight on the head waters of our great streams, on which, without much exertion, being aided by the current, they float along, diving at intervals in pursuit of the numerous fishes, as they proceed toward milder climes. The few old birds which, at a later date, appear on the same water-courses, frequently take to wing, and shorten their way by flying at a considerable elevation directly across the great bends or peninsulas. These modes of travelling are also adopted by those which advance along the Atlantic coasts, where, indeed, the birds have the double advantage of meeting with food and obtaining repose, on the rivers and on the sea. I think, however, that this maritime course is followed only by such of the Loons as have bred in the more immediate vicinity of the coast. But whether you are in the interior, or on the coast, it is seldom that you see at a time more than one Loon travelling at this season; whereas, in spring, they proceed in pairs, the male taking the lead, as is easily ascertained by observing that the bird in the rear is the smallest.

Although, its wings are rather small, its flight is strong and rapid, so that it is enabled to traverse a large extent of country on wing. When travelling, or even when only raised from its nest, it moves through the air with all the swiftness of the other species of its tribe, generally passing directly from one point to another, however distant it may be. Its long transits are at times performed at so great an elevation, that its form can scarcely be distinguished, and yet, even then, in calm weather, the noise of its wings striking the air comes distinctly on your ear. I have seen them thus, on their way towards Labrador, passing over the head waters of the Bay of Fundy, to cross the Gulf of St Lawrence. Whenever it chances to alight on the water, in the course of its long journeys, it almost immediately dives, as if to taste the water, and judge whether it contains food suited to its appetite. On emerging, and after having somewhat raised the fore part of its body, shaken its wings, and by a strong shiver rearranged its plumage, it emits its loud echoing call-note, to induce, perchance, some traveller of its tribe to alight for awhile, that they may communicate to each other their experience of the past, or their hopes of the future. There is an absurd notion, entertained by persons unacquainted with the nature of this bird, that its plaintive cries are a sure indication of violent storms. Sailors, in particular, are ever apt to consider these call-notes as portentous. In the course of a voyage from Charleston to the Florida Keys, in May 1832, I several times saw and heard Loons travelling eastward; but, notwithstanding all the dire forebodings of the crew, who believed that a hurricane was at hand, our passage was exceedingly pleasant. Although I have heard the notes of the Loon in rainy and blowy weather, yet I never heard them so frequent or so loud, both by day and by night, as on the Ohio, during that delightful and peculiarly American autumnal season called the Indian Summer; when, although not so much as a cloud was seen for weeks, I have frequently observed the passing birds checking their flight, or heard the murmuring plash which they produced on alighting upon the placid water, to rest and refresh themselves.

Another strange notion, not deserving of credit, although you will find it gravely announced in books, is that, when the Loon is breeding, it will dart down suddenly from the air, and alight securely in its nest. I have never witnessed such a procedure, although I have closely watched, from under cover, at least, twenty pairs. On such occasions I have seen the incubating bird pass over the dear spot several times in succession, gradually rounding and descending so as at last to alight obliquely on the water, which it always did at a considerable distance from the nest, and did not approach it until after glancing around and listening attentively, as if to assure itself that it was not watched, when it would swim to the shore, and resume its office.

The Loon breeds in various parts of the United States, from Maryland to Maine. I have ascertained that it nestles in the former of these States, on the Susquehannah river, as well as in the districts between Kentucky and Canada, and on our great lakes. Dr RICHARDSON states that it is found breeding as far north as the 70th degree of latitude. The situation and form of the nest differ according to circumstances. Some of those which breed in the State of Maine, place it on the hillocks of weeds and mud prepared by the musk-rat, on the edges of the lakes, or at some distance from them among the rushes. Other nests, found on the head-waters of the Wabash River, were situated on the mud, amid the rank weeds, more than ten yards from the water. Authors have said that only one pair breed on a lake; but I have found three pairs, with their nests, on a pond not exceeding a quarter of a mile in length, in the State of Maine. One that I saw after the young had left it, on Cayuga Lake, in 1824, was almost afloat, and rudely attached to the rushes, more than forty yards from the land, though its base was laid on the bottom, the water being eight or nine inches deep. Others examined in Labrador were placed on dry land, several yards from the water, and raised to the height of nearly a foot above the decayed moss on which they were laid. But, in cases when the nest was found at any distance from the water, we discovered a well-beaten path leading to it, and very much resembling those made by the Beaver, to which the hunters give the name of “crawls.” The nest, wherever placed, is bulky, and formed of the vegetable substances found in the immediate vicinity, such as fresh or withered grasses and herbaceous plants. The internal part, or the true nest, which is rarely less than a foot, and is sometimes fifteen inches, in diameter, is raised upon the external or inferior mass, to the height of seven or eight inches. Such was one found on the 5th July 1835, in Labrador, and which was placed within three yards of the edge of a considerable pond of limpid water, supposed to have been produced by the melting of the snow, and upwards of a mile distant from the sea. Of the many nests which I have examined, I have found more containing three than two eggs, and I am confident that the former number is that which more frequently occurs, although many European, and some American writers, who probably never saw a nest of this bird, allege the contrary. The eggs average three inches and three quarters in length, by two inches and a quarter in their greatest breadth, and thus are considerably elongated, being particularly narrowed from the bulge to the smaller end, which is rather pointed. They are of a dull greenish-ochry tint, rather indistinctly marked with spots of dark umber, which are more numerous toward the larger extremity. The weight of two of these eggs, containing young nearly ready to emerge, was ten ounces and a half. In Maine the Loon lays fully a month earlier than in Labrador, and about the same period as on the Wabash.

On approaching the female while sitting on her eggs, I assured myself that she incubates with her body laid flat upon them, in the same way as the Domestic Duck, and that, on perceiving the intruder, she squats close, and so remains until he is almost over her, when she springs up with great force, and makes at once for the water, in a scrambling and sliding manner, pushing herself along the ground. On gaining the water, she dives at once, emerges at a great distance, and very rarely suffers herself to be approached within gunshot. Sometimes they swim so deeply immersed as scarcely to be perceptible, and keep as much as possible among the rushes and other water plants. When the eggs are on the eve of being hatched, the mother, when disturbed, often cries loudly and dismally for some time, but seldom flies off. At other times, when I found the eggs to have been recently laid, the bird, on reaching the water, and diving, swam lightly, flapping its wings, drank once or twice, and moved about at a respectful distance. On such occasions, should you persist in watching it, it rises on wing and flies off. Should you not mark the spot in which the nest is, but leave it to go in pursuit of the bird, you may search for hours before finding it, for the path leading from the water to it is generally covered over by the herbage. Once while approaching a spot in which I knew a Loon to be engaged in forming her nest, I was disappointed at not finding her at work: her keen sense of hearing had apprised her of my purpose, and cunningly must she have slipped away, for, on finding her absent, although I had not heard any noise, I happened to look toward the water, and there she was, gliding off in the quiet manner usual on such occasions.

The young of the Loon are covered at birth with a kind of black stiff down, and in a day or two after are led to the water by their mother. They swim and dive extremely well even at this early stage of their existence, and after being fed by regurgitation for about a fortnight, receive portions of fish, aquatic insects, and small reptiles, until they are able to maintain themselves. During this period, grey feathers appear among the down of the back and belly, and the black quill-feathers of the wings and tail gradually elongate. They are generally very fat, and so clumsy as to be easily caught on land, if their retreat to the water be cut off. But should you miss your opportunity, and the birds succeed in gaining the liquid element, into which they drop like so many Terrapins, you will be astonished to see them as it were run over the water with extreme celerity, leaving behind them a distinct furrow. This power of traversing the surface of the water is possessed not only by the young and old of this species, but by all other kinds of swimmers, including even Gallinules and Coots. When the young are well able to fly, the mother entices them to remove from the pond or lake on which they have been bred, and leads them on wing to the nearest part of the sea, after which she leaves them to shift for themselves. Now and then, after this period, the end of August or beginning of September, I have still seen the young of a brood, two or three in number, continuing together until they were induced to travel southward, when they generally set out singly.

Having given you a figure of a young bird, taken in October 1819 from a specimen obtained on the Ohio, I will not here trouble you with its description, but merely state that the young undergo their first moult in December, when they are seen singularly patched with portions of new plumage beautifully speckled with white, on a bed of almost uniform ash-brown. I was told, while in the State of Maine, that if the young were caught soon after being hatched, and before they had been in the water, they would, if thrown into it, immediately follow a paddled canoe anywhere; but, as I have not myself made the experiment, I cannot speak of this as a fact.

Although it has been generally asserted that Loons cannot walk or run in an efficient manner, I feel assured that on emergency the case is very different. An instance which occurred to my youngest son, JOHN WOODHOUSE, who accompanied me to Labrador, may here be related. One day, when he was in pursuit of some King Ducks, a Loon chanced to fly immediately over him within shooting distance of his enormous double-barrelled gun. The moment was propitious, and on firing he was glad to see the bird fall broken-winged on the bare granitic rocks. As if perfectly aware of its danger, it immediately rose erect on its feet, and inclining its body slightly forward, ran off, stumbled, rose again, and getting along in this manner actually reached the water before my son, who is by no means slow of foot. The space traversed was fully an hundred yards, and the water to an equal distance was not more than ankle-deep. The bird and its pursuer ran swiftly through the water, and just as both reached a sudden break about four feet in depth, the Loon, which had been wounded elsewhere than in the wing, expired and floated at the disposal of its enemy, who brought it on board the Ripley; when I entered this anecdote in my journal.

These birds are so very strong and hardy that some of the old ones remain in Maine and Massachusetts until all the fresh waters are frozen, first leaving the quiet lakes and ponds, then the slow streams, and lastly the turbulent pools below waterfalls, which latter they do not quit until they are overhung by icicles and deserted of fish. On the other hand, this species returns northward at a later period than most others that breed in high latitudes. I have witnessed the arrival of some on the coast of Labrador, after they had crossed the Gulf of St Lawrence, as late as the 20th of June, after which they had scarcely four months to seek out a breeding place, lay their eggs, hatch and rear their young, and with them remove southward, before the rigour of winter commenced.