Chapter IV: Part 4

The Great Northern Diver is a heavy-bodied bird, and generally swims rather deep in the water, more especially if apprehensive of immediate danger, when scarcely more than two inches in height of its back can be seen above the surface. As its body is more flattened than that of the Cormorant, this circumstance might seem to favour the action in question; but other species less depressed exhibit the same peculiarity; and I have thought that in all of these the internal structure alone can account for this peculiar faculty.

With the exception of that most expert of all divers, the Anhinga, and the Great Auk, the Loon is perhaps the most accomplished. Whether it be fishing in deep water amid rolling billows, or engaged in eluding its foes, it disappears beneath the surface so suddenly, remains so long in the water, and rises at so extraordinary a distance, often in a direction quite the reverse of that supposed to be followed by it, that your eyes become wearied in searching for it, and you renounce the wish of procuring it out of sheer vexation. At least, this has very frequently happened to me; nay, I have at times abandoned the chase when the bird was so severely wounded as to be obliged to dive immediately beside my boat, and had it not died of exhaustion and floated near enough to be seized by me, I felt as if I could not have pulled my oars any longer, and was willing to admit that I was outdone by a Loon.

In Labrador, where these birds were abundant, my son JOHN one day shot at one on wing, which fell upon the water to appearance quite dead, and remained on its back motionless until we had leisurely rowed to it, when a sailor put out his hand to take it up. The Loon, however, to our surprise, suddenly sprung up, and dived, and while we stood amazed, watching its appearance, we saw it come up at the distance of about an hundred yards, shake its head, and disgorge a quantity of fish mixed with blood; on which it dived again, and seemed lost to us. We rowed however to the spot in all haste, and the moment it rose, sent another shot after it, which terminated its career. On examining it afterwards, we found it quite riddled by the heavy shot.

If ever so slightly wounded, the Loon prefers diving to flying off, and all your endeavours to kill it are almost sure to prove unavailing, You may shoot at it under such circumstances, but you will lose both your time and your ammunition. Its keenness of sight defies the best percussion-locked gun, for it is generally deep in the water before the shot reaches the spot where it has been. When fatigued with diving in the ordinary manner, it will sink backwards, like a Grebe or a Frog, make for some concealed spot among the rushes, and there lie until your eyes ache with searching, and your stomach admonishes you of the propriety of retiring.

Loons are now and then caught in fishermen’s nets, and are soon drowned. I have also caught them with hooks fastened to lines laid across the Ohio, but on no such occasion have I taken the bird alive. A method of shooting these birds, which I have often practised, and which was several times successfully employed by our Labrador party, may here be related. On seeing a Loon on the water, at whatever distance, the sportsman immediately places himself under the nearest cover on the shore, and remains there as carefully concealed as possible. A few minutes are allowed to pass, to give the wary and sharp-sighted bird all due confidence; during which time the gun, charged with large shot, is laid in a convenient position. The gunner then takes his cap or pocket-handkerchief, which if brightly coloured is so much the better, and raising it in one hand, waves it three or four times, and then suddenly conceals it. The bird commonly detects the signal at once, and, probably imagining the object thus exhibited to be one of its own species, gradually advances, emitting its love-notes, which resemble a coarse laugh, as it proceeds. The sportsman imitates these notes, making them loud and yet somewhat mellow, waving his cap or kerchief at the same time, and this he continues to do at intervals. The Loon, in order to arrive more quickly, dives, perhaps rises within fifty yards of him, and calling less loudly, advances with considerable caution. He shews the signal less frequently, imitates the notes of the bird more faintly, and carefully keeps himself concealed, until the Loon, having approached within twenty or even ten paces, dives and on emerging raises itself up to shake its wings, when off goes the shot, and the deluded bird floats dead on the water. Many species of Ducks are procured in nearly the same manner. The male Turkey, in the gobbling season, and the Stag in autumn, may also be drawn within shot by the same means. I once “tolled” two Loons with my hat from a distance of nearly half a mile, and although they were at one time so near to me that I could clearly perceive the colour of their eyes, I had no sure opportunity of firing at them, as it was in the pairing season, and they never once dived, or raised their wings to flap them, so that, knowing the extreme agility with which they disappear when they have seen a gun snap, I judged it useless to shoot. Until my visit to Labrador I had supposed, agreeably to the common belief, that the Loons always repose at night on the water, which, however, I have since assured myself they rarely if ever do.

Colonel MONTAGU, than whom none has written more correctly on the habits of the birds of Great Britain, having procured a wounded Loon, placed it in a pond, and observed the manner in which it made its way under the surface of the water. “In swimming and diving,” he remarks, “only the legs are used and not the wings, as in the Guillemot and Auk tribes, and by their position so far behind, and their little deviation from the line of the body, the bird is enabled to propel itself in the water with great velocity, in a straight line, as well as turn with astonishing quickness.” This I have no doubt was the case with the individual observed; but that this is not the usual mode of proceeding of the species is equally true. Having myself seen Loons pass and repass under boats, at the distance of several feet from the surface, and propel themselves both with their feet, and their half-extended wings, I am inclined to believe that when not wounded, and when pursuing their prey, they usually employ all the limbs.

My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, who kept one for some time, gives the following account of its manners while in his possession. “A young bird of this kind which I obtained in the Salt Marsh at Chelsea Beach, and transferred to a fish-pond, made a good deal of plaint, and would sometimes wander out of his more natural element, and hide and bask in the grass. On these occasions he lay very still until nearly approached, and then slid into the pond and uttered his usual plaint. When out at a distance he made the same cautious efforts to hide, and would commonly defend himself in great anger, by darting at the intruder, and striking powerfully with his dagger-like bill. This bird, with a pink-coloured iris-like albinos, appeared to suffer from the glare of broad day-light, and was inclined to hide from its effects, but became very active towards the dusk of the evening. The pupil of the eye in this individual, like that of nocturnal animals, appeared indeed dilatable; and the one in question often put down his head and eyes into the water to observe the situation of his prey. This bird was a most expert and indefatigable diver, and remained down sometimes for several minutes, often swimming under water, and as it were flying with the velocity of an arrow in the air. Though at length inclining to become docile, and shewing no alarm when visited, it constantly betrayed its wandering habits, and every night was found to have waddled to some hiding place, where it seemed to prefer hunger to the loss of liberty, and never could be restrained from exercising its instinct to move onwards to some secure or more suitable asylum.”

The same valued friend has corroborated the result of my observations respecting the number of eggs usually laid by this species, by stating as follows: “About the 11th of June, through the kindness of Dr J. W. HARRIS, I received three eggs, which had been taken from the nest of a Loon, made in a hummock, or elevated grassy hillock, at Sebago Pond, in New Hampshire.”

The range of this species is immense. It occurs on the waters that fall into the Pacific Ocean, and has been observed on the Columbia River. In the Fur Countries it is plentiful; and, as I have already stated, it breeds in many parts of the United States. It is found equally in Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. In all these countries it moves southward on the approach of winter, and returns when the mild weather commences in spring.

Unlike the Cormorant, the Loon usually swallows its food under the water, unless when it happens to bring up a shell-fish or a crustaceous animal, which it munches for a while before it swallows it. Fishes of numerous kinds, aquatic insects, water-lizards, frogs, and leeches, have been found by me in its stomach, in which there is also generally much coarse gravel, and sometimes the roots of fresh-water plants.

Although the flesh of the Loon is not very palatable, being tough, rank, and dark coloured, I have seen it much relished by many lovers of good-living, especially at Boston, where it was not unfrequently served almost raw at the table of the house where I boarded.

A female bird particularly examined by me presented the following appearances. From the point of the bill to the end of the tail it measured 34 inches; to the claws 41; the extended wings were 71; the bill measured 5 inches along the gape; the breadth of the body was 8 inches, its depth only four; the wings were 2 inches shorter than the tail; and the weight was 10 lb. 11 oz. avoirdupois. The first primary was longest. The trachea, which was even and flattened, being in diameter about 5/8 of an inch by 1/2 inch, was 16 inches long. The eggs were numerous. The gizzard was moderate, and contained many large pebbles. The intestines were 7 feet long, and about the same size as a Swan’s quill. Every bone and sinew was strong and tough. The tongue resembled in shape and size that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The bones of the wing and leg were almost solid, the cavity for the marrow being very small. All the bones of this specimen were presented to Mr THOMAS ALLIS, of the Friend’s Retreat, near York.

My friend Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, of the Royal Navy of England, once placed at my disposal a specimen of the Loon procured in a very high latitude, and which, having closely inspected it, I found to differ from the one represented in the plate, only in having the point of the bill slightly elevated or recurved, and of a fine yellow tint. Dr RICHARDSON informed me that, on one of his arduous northern journeys, he saw a very large and handsomely crested Diver, which, although somewhat prematurely, I propose honouring with the name of _Colymbus Richardsoni_.

COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 221.
Adult.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 799.

COLYMBUS IMMER, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 222.
Young.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 800.

COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 420.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER or LOON, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix.
pl. 74, fig. 3.

COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
vol. ii. p. 474.

LOON, or GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
513.

Adult Male. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.

Bill as long as the head, straight, stout, much compressed, tapering to a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line descending and slightly convex towards the end, the ridge convex, narrowed towards the point, the sides convex beyond the nostrils, the edges sharp and considerably inflected, the tip narrow and sharpish. Nasal groove short, nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow, and extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line straight and sloping upwards to the point, the ridge convex and narrow, the edges sharp and involute; the tip attenuated.

Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long and thick. Eyes of moderate size. Body elongated, much depressed, of an elliptical form viewed from above. Wings small. Feet short, rather large, placed very far back; tibia almost entirely concealed; tarsus short, exceedingly compressed, sharp-edged before and behind, covered all over with reticulated angular scales; hind toe extremely small, connected with the second by a very small membrane; the anterior toes united by articulated membranes, the fourth or outer longest, the third a little shorter, the second considerably shorter than the third, all covered above with very numerous narrow scutella, the second toe with a free two-lobed membrane; claws very small, depressed, blunt.

Plumage short and dense; of the head and neck very short, and blended; of the lower parts blended, short, with slight gloss; of the upper compact, glossy; the feathers in general oblong, those of the upper parts with the extremity abrupt. Wings proportionally very small and narrow, curved; primaries strong, tapering, the first longest, the second almost as long, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad, and rounded. Tail extremely short, rounded, of twenty feathers.

Bill black. Iris deep bright red. Feet, tarsi, and toes, of a livid greyish-blue, their inner sides tinged with pale yellowish flesh-colour; claws black, lighter at the base; webs brownish-black, lighter in the middle. Head and neck dark greenish-blue, with purple reflections. On the throat a small transverse patch of white, longitudinally striated with dusky; about the middle of the neck, two large patches of the same, separated in front to the distance of an inch, behind continuous, but when the feathers are laid close, appearing as if separated by a longitudinal dark band about half an inch in breadth. The under parts glossy white, excepting the feathers on the sides under the wing, which are black, each with two, three, or four elliptical white spots, a faint dusky band across the vent, the lower tail-coverts, which are brownish-black tipped with white, and the axillar feathers and larger wing-coverts, which have a dusky streak along the middle. The sides of the neck at its lower part are longitudinally streaked with black and white, there being two oblong spots of the latter on each feather towards the end. The upper parts are glossy black, variegated with spots of white in regular transverse slightly-curved lines having the convexity backwards. These spots vary in form and size, being small and roundish towards the neck and sides, larger and somewhat four-sided along the middle of the back: largest and rectangular on the scapulars, very small and roundish on the hind part of the back and tail-coverts. The upper part of the wing is similar, with smallish spots; the alula and quill brownish-black, a few of the inner secondaries only having two white spots at their extremity. Tail brownish-black, paler at the tip.

Adult Male. Adult Male. Young.

Length to the end of tail, 32-7/8 36 31-1/4
claws, 39-1/4 40-1/2 36
wings, 31-1/4 — 29-3/4
carpal joint, 16-3/4 — 16-1/4
Extent of wings, 57-1/2 52 54-1/2
Wing from flexure, 15-1/2 — 14-1/4
Depth of body, — 6 —
Breadth, — 9-1/2 —
Bill along the ridge, — 3-4/12 —
Gape-line, — 4-1/2 —
Tarsus, — 3-5/12 —
Hind toe, — 9-1/2 —
Its claw, — 2/12 —
Outer toe and claw, — 4-1/2 —
Middle toe, — 4-1/4 —
Inner, — 3-9/12 —
Tail, — 29-1/12 —
Wing from flexure, — 14-1/2 —
Weight, 8-3/4 8-1/2 9

The female is generally smaller, but in all other respects resembles the male. Weight 10 lb. 11 oz.

Young in winter. Plate, CCCVI. Fig. 2.

Bill pale yellowish-green, the ridge and tip of the upper mandible dusky. Iris brown. Feet dusky externally, pale yellowish flesh-colour internally, webs dusky, but yellow in the middle. Claws yellowish-brown. All the upper parts are of a uniform dark greyish-brown, each feather margined with lighter, the lower parts white; the sides of the neck at the lower part whitish, streaked with dusky; the sides dusky, without spots.

Towards spring the eye assumes a redder tint, and the plumage of the upper parts gradually becomes spotted with white; and when the moult is completed about the end of summer, the plumage is as in the adult, although the tints are improved at each successive moult for several years.

A fine male killed at Boston, 34 inches in length, with an alar extent of 56, presents the following characters. There is a general layer of subcutaneous adipose tissue, and the skin is very tenacious. The external aperture of the ear roundish, very small, having a diameter of only 2 lines. The tongue is 2 inches 1 line in length, fleshy, as high as broad, slightly concave and longitudinally grooved above, tapering to a horny point. On the palate are 6 rows of papillæ; the posterior aperture of the nares is linear 2-1/2 inches in length. The aperture of the glottis is 1/2 an inch long, with numerous papillæ along its sides and behind. The pharynx is extremely dilatable, as is the œsophagus, which is 17 inches long, passes along the right side of the neck, together with the trachea, and when distended has an average diameter of 2-1/2 inches, but on entering the thorax contracts to 1-1/2. The structure of the œsophagus in birds may be very conveniently examined in this species, the different layers being remarkably developed in it. Properly speaking, it has only two coats,—the outer muscular, its external layer composed of transverse or circular fibres, the internal of equally distinct longitudinal fibres, which are not straight, but irregularly undulated. The inner, or mucous coat, when contracted falls into longitudinal plaits. The proventriculus is 2-3/4 inches long, the glandules large, roundish, simple, and disposed in a continuous belt. Over this part, the transverse muscular fibres are remarkably developed. The right lobe of the liver is 5-3/4 inches long, the left lobe 5-1/2. The heart is very large, of a broadly conical form, 3 inches long, 2-3/4 inches in breadth. The stomach is three inches long, 2-1/2 in breadth, of an elliptical form, a little compressed; its lateral muscles 9 lines in thickness, and composed of strong large fasciculi; the tendons 1-1/2 inch in diameter; the cuticular lining thick, its upper and lower parts marked with strong longitudinal ridges having numerous transverse fissures; the grinding surfaces irregularly wrinkled, with a deep fissure down the middle of each. The pylorus is 8 lines in diameter when distended, and is destitute of valve, but has a strong prominent rim. In the stomach were remains of fishes, and some pebbles, chiefly quartz, the largest 4 lines long. The intestine measures 6 feet 6 inches in length, and varies in diameter from 8 to 6 lines. The rectum is 3-1/2 inches long, the cloaca extremely large, forming a cavity about 3 inches in diameter. The cæca are 1-3/4 inch long, cylindrical, rounded at the extremity; one of them 7 lines, the other 9 lines, in diameter.

The trachea, when moderately extended, measures 13-1/2 inches in length, inconsiderably depressed, its transverse diameter at the upper part 9-1/2 lines, at the lower 6-1/2 lines; the rings cartilaginous, of moderate breadth, uniform, with a contraction in the middle before and behind, their number 134, the four lowest united. The bronchi are composed of about 20 narrow cartilaginous half rings. The contractor muscles are very broad but thin, their fibres irregularly disposed in front; they become thicker and narrower toward the lower part, and are continued beyond the sterno-tracheal muscles, which come off from the 20th ring from the inferior larynx, to the membrane between the last tracheal and first bronchial ring.

BLUE HERON.

_ARDEA CŒRULEA_, LINN.

PLATE CCCVII. ADULT MALE AND YOUNG.

Along with a few other Herons, this is, comparatively speaking, confined within narrow limits along our southern coast in winter. It occurs, however, in most parts of the Floridas, where it is a constant resident, and whence, at the approach of summer, vast multitudes are seen proceeding northward, in search of suitable places in which they may rear their young in security. Many, however, go southward, beyond the limits of the United States, and proceed coastwise to Texas and Mexico to spend the winter, especially the younger birds, when still in that singular white plumage which differs so much from that of the young of every other known species of this genus, except that of the Reddish Egret (_A. rufescens_). At New Orleans, where it arrives at the same period, both from Mexico and the Floridas, its first appearance in spring is about the beginning of March; at which time also multitudes leave the Floridas on their way eastward, to settle in Georgia, the Carolinas, and other States farther east, as far as Long Island in that of New York. Beyond this, I believe, no birds of the species have been met with. They rarely, if ever, proceed far inland, or leave the shores of our large rivers and estuaries. On the Mississippi, the swamps and lakes on the borders of which are so well adapted to the habits of these birds, few individuals are ever seen above Natchez. About the beginning of September, by which time the young are able to shift for themselves, they return southward.

When in the Floridas, during winter, I observed that the Blue Herons associated with other species, particularly the White Heron, _Ardea alba_, and the Louisiana Heron, _Ardea Ludoviciana_, all of which were in the habit of roosting together in the thick evergreen low bushes that cover the central parts of the islands along the coast. Their passage to and from their feeding places, is as regular as the rising and setting of the sun, and, unless frequently disturbed, they betake themselves every night to the same locality, and almost to the same spot. In the morning, they rise with one accord from the roosts on which they have been standing all night on one leg, the other drawn up among the feathers of the abdomen, their neck retracted, and their head and bill buried beneath their scapulars. On emerging from their retreats, they at once proceed to some distant place in search of food, and spend the day principally on the head waters of the rivers, and the fresh-water lakes of the interior, giving a decided preference to the soft mud banks, where small crabs or fiddlers are abundant, on which they feed greedily, when the inland ponds have been dried up, and consequently no longer supply them with such fishes as they are wont to feed upon.

There, and at this season, Reader, you may see this graceful Heron, quietly and in silence walking along the margins of the water, with an elegance and grace which can never fail to please you. Each regularly-timed step is lightly measured, while the keen eye of the bird seeks for and watches the equally cautious movements of the objects towards which it advances with all imaginable care. When at a proper distance, it darts forth its bill with astonishing celerity, to pierce and secure its prey; and this it does with so much precision, that, while watching some at a distance with a glass, I rarely observed an instance of failure. If fish is plentiful, on the shallows near the shore, when it has caught one, it immediately swallows it, and runs briskly through the water, striking here and there, and thus capturing several in succession. Two or three dashes of this sort, afford sufficient nourishment for several hours, and when the bird has obtained enough it retires to some quiet place, and remains there in an attitude of repose until its hunger returns. During this period of rest, however, it is as watchful as ever, and on hearing the least noise, or perceiving the slightest appearance of danger, spreads its wings, and flies off to some other place, sometimes to a very distant one. About an hour before sunset, they are again seen anxiously searching for food. When at length satisfied, they rise simultaneously from all parts of the marsh, or shore, arrange themselves into loose bodies, and ascending to the height of fifty or sixty yards in the air, fly in a straight course towards their roosting place. I saw very few of these birds during the winter, on or near the river St John in Florida; but on several occasions met with some on small ponds in the pine barrens, at a considerable distance from any large stream, whither they had been attracted by the great number of frogs.

The flight of the Blue Heron is rather swifter than that of the Egret, _Ardea candidissima_, and considerably more so than that of the Great Blue Heron, _Ardea Herodias_, but very similar to that of the Louisiana Heron, _Ardea Ludoviciana_. When the bird is travelling, the motion is performed by flappings in quick succession, which rapidly propel it in a direct line, until it is about to alight, when it descends in circular sailings of considerable extent towards the spot selected. During strong adverse winds, they fly low, and in a continuous line, passing at the necessary distance from the shores to avoid danger, whether at an early or a late hour of the day. I recollect that once, on such an occasion, when, on the 15th of March, I was in company with my friend JOHN BACHMAN, I saw a large flock about sunset arising from across the river, and circling over a large pond, eight miles distant from Charleston. So cautious were they, that although the flock was composed of several hundred individuals, we could not manage to get so much as a chance of killing one. I have been surprised to see how soon the Blue Herons become shy after reaching the districts to which they remove for the purpose of breeding from their great rendezvous the Floridas, where I never experienced any difficulty in procuring as many as I wished. In Louisiana, on the other hand, I have found them equally vigilant on their first arrival. On several occasions, when I had placed myself under cover, to shoot at some, while on their way to their roosts or to their feeding grounds, I found it necessary to shift from one place to another, for if one of them had been fired at and had fallen in a particular place, all that were in its company took care not to pass again near it, but when coming up diverged several hundred yards, and increased their speed until past, when they would assume their more leisurely flappings. In South Carolina, where they are very shy on their arrival, I have seen them fly off on hearing the very distant report of a gun, and alight on the tops of the tallest trees, where they would congregate in hundreds, and whence they would again fly off on the least apprehension of danger. But when once these Herons have chosen a place to nestle in, or reached one in which they bred the preceding year, they become so tame as to allow you to shoot as many as you are disposed to have.

While on Cayo Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the 10th of April 1837, I observed large flocks of the Blue and Green Herons, _Ardea cœrulea_ and _A. virescens_, arriving from the westward about the middle of the day. They flew at a considerable height, and came down like so many hawks, to alight on the low bushes growing around the sequestered ponds; and this without any other noise than the rustling of their wings as they glided through the air towards the spot on which they at once alighted. There they remained until sunset, when they all flew off, so that none were seen there next day. This shews that although these species migrate both by day and night, they are quite diurnal during the period of their residence in any section of the country which they may have chosen for a season. It is more than probable that it has been from want of personal knowledge of the habits of these birds, that authors have asserted that all Herons are nocturnally inclined. This certainly is by no means the case, although they find it advantageous to travel by night during their migrations, which is a remarkable circumstance as opposed to their ordinary habits. In the instance above mentioned, I found the birds remarkably gentle, which was probably owing to fatigue.

The Blue Heron breeds earlier or later according to the temperature of the district to which it resorts for that purpose, and therefore earlier in Florida, where, however, considerable numbers remain, during the whole year than in other parts of the United States. Thus I have found them in the southern parts of that country, sitting on their eggs, on the 1st of March, fully a month earlier than in the vicinity of Bayou Sara, on the Mississippi, where they are as much in advance of those which betake themselves, in very small numbers indeed, to our Middle Districts, in which they rarely begin to breed before the fifteenth of May.

The situations which they choose for their nests are exceedingly varied. I have found them sitting on their eggs on the Florida Keys, and on the islands in the Bay of Galveston, in Texas, in nests placed amidst and upon the most tangled cactuses, so abundant on those curious isles, on the latter of which the climbing Rattlesnake often gorges itself with the eggs of this and other species of Heron, as well as with their unfledged young. In the Lower parts of Louisiana, it breeds on low bushes of the water-willow, as it also does in South Carolina; whereas, on the islands on the coast of New Jersey, and even on the mainland of that State, it places its nest on the branches of the cedar and other suitable trees. Wherever you find its breeding place, you may expect to see other birds in company with it, for like all other species, excepting perhaps the Louisiana Heron, it rarely objects to admit into its society the Night Heron, the Yellow-crowned Heron, or the White Egret.

The heronries of the southern portions of the United States are often of such extraordinary size as to astonish the passing traveller. I confess that I myself might have been as sceptical on this point as some who, having been accustomed to find in all places the Heron to be a solitary bird, cannot be prevailed on to believe the contrary, had I not seen with my own eyes the vast multitudes of individuals of different species breeding together in peace in certain favourable localities. Such persons may be excused from giving that credit to my account of the Passenger Pigeon which posterity will, I trust, accord to it.

The nest of the Blue Heron, wherever situated, is loosely formed of dry sticks, sometimes intermixed with green leaves of various trees, and with grass or moss, according as these materials happen to be plentiful in the neighbourhood. It is nearly flat, and can scarcely be said to have a regular lining. Sometimes you see a solitary nest fixed on a cactus, a bush, or a tree; but a little beyond this you may observe from six to ten, placed almost as closely together as you would have put them had you measured out the space necessary for containing them. Some are seen low over the water, while others are placed high; for, like the rest of its tribe, this species is rather fond of placing its tenement over or near the liquid element.

The eggs are usually three, rarely four; and I have never found a nest of this species containing five eggs, as is stated by WILSON, who, probably found a nest of the Green Heron containing that number among others of the present species. They measure an inch and three quarters in length, by an inch and a quarter in breadth, being about the size of those of _Ardea candidissima_, though rather more elongated, and precisely of the same colour.

The young bird is at first almost destitute of feathers, but scantily covered with yellowish-white down. When fully fledged, its bill and legs are greenish-black, and its plumage pure white, or slightly tinged with cream-colour, the tips of the three outer primaries light greyish-blue. Of this colour the bird remains until the breeding season, when, however, some individuals exhibit a few straggling pale blue feathers. When they have entered on their second year, these young birds become spotted with deeper blue on some parts of the body, or on the head and neck, thus appearing singularly patched with that colour and pure white, the former increasing with the age of the bird in so remarkable a manner, that you may see specimens of these birds with portions even of the pendant feathers of their head or shoulders so marked. And these are produced by _full moultings_, by which I mean the unexpected appearance, as it were, of feathers growing out of the skin of the bird coloured entirely blue, as is the case in many of our land birds. In all these stages of plumage, and from the first spring after birth, the young birds breed with others, as is equally the case with _Ardea rufescens_. You may see a pure white individual paired with one of a full blue colour, or with one patched with blue and white. The young, after leaving their parents, remain separate from the old birds until the next breeding season. At no period can the young of this species be confounded with, or mistaken for that of the _Ardea candidissima_, by a person really acquainted with these birds, for the Blue Heron is not only larger than the latter, but the very colour of its feet and legs is perfectly distinctive. Indeed, during the time when the young Blue Heron is quite white (excepting on the tips of the outer primaries), it would be easier to confound it with the young of the Reddish Egret, _Ardea rufescens_, than with that of any other, were the feathers of its hind head and neck of the same curious curled appearance as those of that species.

My friend JOHN BACHMAN informs me, that in South Carolina, this species not unfrequently breeds in the company of the Louisiana Heron, the nests and eggs of which, he adds, are very similar. He has specimens of these birds in all the different stages which I have described. At New Orleans, the Blue Herons, during the transition of their plumage from white to blue, are called “Egrettes folles,” or foolish Egrets, on account of their unusual tameness. My friend BACHMAN and I, shot, on the 6th and 9th of April, several specimens spotted with blue feathers, and having their crests and trains similarly mixed, although of full length; but in most of the specimens obtained, the white was still prevalent. I have shot some in Louisiana, in autumn, in the same curious dress.

This species, though larger than the Snowy Heron, _Ardea candidissima_, is considerably inferior to it in courage; and I was much amused as well as surprised, when at Galveston Bay, on the 24th of April 1837, to see one of that species alight near a Purple Heron, attack it, and pursue it as far as I could follow them with my eyes. When the Blue Herons are on the sea-coast they not unfrequently repose on the large mud or sand bars, at some distance from the adjacent marshes; but they generally prefer roosting on trees or bushes, when there are any in their neighbourhood. The Creoles of Louisiana not unfrequently eat the flesh of this species, and although they by no means consider it equal to that of the Night Heron, some of them have assured me that it is not bad food. Like other birds of this family, they become larger with age, and the male is usually somewhat superior in size to the female; but, with this exception, no difference can be perceived in the external appearance of the sexes.

ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. 1. p. 238.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 689.

ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis, p. 300.

BLUE HERON, ARDEA CŒRULEA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p.
117. pl. 62. fig. 3. Adult.

BLUE HERON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 58.

Adult Male in full plumage. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.

Bill much longer than the head, rather slender, very slightly decurved, compressed, tapering to a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight for two-thirds of its length, then slightly decurved, the ridge convex, broad at the base, gradually narrowed to the point; a groove from the base to near the end, the sides convex beneath, the edges thin and sharp, with a slight notch close to the tips. Nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal, with a membrane above and behind. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow and elongated, the dorsal line beyond it ascending and almost straight, the sides sloping outwards, and flattened, the edges sharp and slightly inflected, the tip acuminate.

Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck very long and slender. Body slender and compressed. Feet very long; tibia elongated, its lower half bare, very slender, covered all round with angular scales, of which the posterior are large; tarsus elongated, slender, compressed, anteriorly covered with numerous broad scutella, laterally and behind with angular scales. Toes long, slender, with numerous broad scutella above, flattened and reticularly granulate beneath. Claws rather long, arched, compressed, acute, that of hind toe much larger and more curved, the inner edge of that of the third finely and regularly pectinate.

Space between the bill and eye, and around the latter, bare. Plumage soft, thin, and blended. Feathers of the upper and hind part of the head very long, linear, with loose barbs; of the sides of the neck loose and inclined obliquely backwards, of its lower part much elongated, narrow, and tapering to a point; of the middle of the back extremely long, linear, acuminate, their tips projecting about five inches beyond the tail. Wings long, and very broad; primaries broad, tapering, and rounded, the first, second and third almost equal, the latter being only a twelfth of an inch longer; secondaries broad and rounded; some of the inner only half an inch shorter than the longest primary, when the wing is closed. Tail very short, small, even, of twelve rather weak feathers.

Bill ultramarine blue at the base, gradually shaded into black towards the point; the bare space between it and the eye, as well as the edges of the eyelids, ultramarine. Iris pale yellow. Legs, tarsi, toes, and claws, black. Head and neck of a rich deep purple, inclining to vinaceous; the lower part of the neck and all the other parts deep greyish-blue, the edges of the feathers lighter.

Length to end of tail 24-1/2 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of elongated dorsal feathers 26-1/2, to end of claws 30-3/4; wing from flexure 11-1/2; tail 4-2/12; extent of wings 42; bill along the ridge 3-4/12 along the edge of lower mandible 4; bare part of tibia 2-2/12; tarsus 3-5/12; first toe 11/12, its claw 2/12; middle toe 2-1/4, its claw 7/12. Weight 1 lb.

The female is similar to the male, but smaller. Weight 11 oz.

The young are at first sparely covered with yellowish-white down. When a fortnight old, the bill is yellow, with the tips greenish-black; the feet greenish-yellow, the claws dusky, with the tips greyish-yellow. The general colour of the plumage is pure white, but the down which tips the feathers of the head is brownish-white; two of the alular feathers are tinged with dull bluish-grey, and the outer seven or eight primaries are broadly margined on both sides to the length of about an inch and a half with the same colour of a deeper tint, the extreme tip white.

When fully fledged, the bare parts at the base of the bill, and the basal half of the upper mandible, are light greenish-blue, the rest black; the lower mandible yellow, with a patch of black, an inch and a quarter in length on each side at the end. Legs, tarsi, and toes greenish-blue, the sides yellowish; claws dusky. The feathers of the head are slightly elongated; those of the back are also elongated, but much broader and shorter than in the adult. The feathers on the upper part of the head are of a faint bluish-grey; and the alular feathers and eight outer primaries are tinged with the same colour. At this period, the length to the end of the tail is 22 inches, to end of claws 28-1/2; bill along the ridge 2-7/8; wing from flexure 11; tail 4-2/12.

In November, when the moult is advanced. The bill is black, dull blue at the base. The feet are nearly black, as are the claws. The occipital feathers are now two inches and a half in length, and some of the dorsal feathers extend as far as the tips of the wings; those of the lower part of the neck have also a length of about three inches. The general colour of the plumage is white; the upper part of the head, the hind neck, back, anterior edge of the wing, and outer primaries at the end, of a faint bluish-grey tint; some of the elongated feathers of the back darker.

Length to end of tail 22 inches; to end of claws 29-1/2; bill 3; wing from flexure 11-1/4.

A year old. Bill nearly as in the adult; feet bluish-black, the plumage is white, with the upper parts pale greyish-blue as in November, but the whole interspersed with numerous feathers of a deep greyish-blue, similar to that of the adult; the primaries and tail being still white.

Length to end of tail 23-1/4; extent of wings 32-1/2; bill 3-1/8. Weight 9 oz.

At the age of a year the bird propagates, so that individuals in the white, mottled, or blue plumage, may be seen breeding together.

When only a few weeks old, the serrature of the claw of the middle toe is scarcely perceptible, exhibiting merely faint indications of points upon a very slight margin. This margin enlarges, and when the bird is completely fledged the serratures are perfectly formed.

In this bird, as in most other Herons, the crura of the lower mandible are thin, flexible, and elastic, the angle filled by an elastic membrane covered by the skin. The tongue is 1 inch long, sagittate at the base, tapering to a point. The roof of the mouth has a median prominent ridge, and two lateral lines; the palate is convex; the posterior aperture of the nares 10 lines in length. The pharynx may be dilated to 1-1/2 inch; the œsophagus, which is 12 inches long, is when dilated 10 lines in diameter at its upper part, and gradually contracts to 7 lines; at the curvature of the neck it lies directly behind, having passed down on the left side, along with the trachea. Its walls are extremely thin, contrasting in this respect with the œsophagus of the Great Northern Diver and other swimming piscivorous birds. The proventriculus is 1 inch long, its glandules cylindrical, and extremely slender. The stomach seems as if it merely formed a basal sac to the œsophagus, its muscles being extremely thin, its tendons circular and half an inch in diameter; cuticular lining soft. The intestine is long and very narrow, 5 feet 10 inches in length, 2 lines in diameter at the upper part, 1-1/2 near the rectum, which is 2-3/4 inches long, with a diameter of 4-1/2 lines, and terminates in a nipple-like cœcum, projecting 3 lines beyond the entrance of the small intestine, but having no appearance of the two lateral appendages usually called cœca. In this respect, the Blue Heron agrees with others of the same family. The cloaca is about an inch in length and breadth.

The trachea, when extended, is 8-3/4 inches long. The rings 170 in number, are osseous and circular, so that the organ preserves its cylindrical form under all circumstances. They are, like those of all Herons, of equal breadth on both sides, not broad on one side and narrow on the other, as has been represented. The contractor muscles are very slender, as are the sterno-tracheal; the former send down a slip on each side to the first bronchial ring. The diameter of the trachea is 2 lines at the upper part, 1-1/2 at the lower. The bronchi are short, wide, conical, of about 13 half rings.

The right lobe of the liver is 2-1/4 inches long, the left lobe 1-1/2; the heart 1-1/4 in length, 8 lines broad, of an oblong conical form. The stomach contained remains of insects and crustaceous animals, together with a few seeds.

TELL-TALE GODWIT.

_TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS_, VIEILL.

PLATE CCCVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.

It is my opinion that they who have given so much importance to the cry of this bird, as to believe it to be mainly instrumental in ensuring the safety of other species, and in particular of Ducks, have called in the aid of their imagination to increase the interest of what requires no such illustration. A person unacquainted with this Godwit would believe, on reading its history as recorded in books, that the safety of these birds depends on the friendly warning of their long-billed and long-tongued neighbour. And yet it is at no season more noisy or more vigilant than the Kildeer Plover, nor ever half so much so as the Semipalmated species, the reiterated vociferations of which are so annoying. It is true that the Tell-tale is quite loquacious enough; nay, you, Reader, and I, may admit that it is a cunning and watchful bird, ever willing to admonish you or me, or any other person whom it may observe advancing towards it with no good intent, that it has all along watched us. But then, when one has observed the habits of this bird for a considerable time, in different situations, and when no other feathered creatures are in sight, he will be convinced that the Tell-tale merely intends by its cries to preserve itself, and not generously to warn others of their danger. So you may safely banish from your mind the apprehension, which the reading of books may have caused, that duck-shooting in the marshes of our Middle Districts, is as hopeless a pursuit as “a wild goose chase.”

The Tell-tale Godwit has a great range in the United States, where, indeed, I have found it in almost every district, and at all seasons. It spends the winter along the shores of our estuaries, rivers, and ponds, and in the rice-fields, from Maryland to Mexico. It is abundant then in South Carolina, the Floridas, and along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, as far as Texas, where I found it in considerable numbers and paired, in the months of April and May, along with the Yellow-shank Snipe, _Totanus flavipes_. It is also met with in spring and autumn over the whole interior of the country, and I have found it quite abundant at those seasons along the entire length of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers, as well as on the Arkansas. They congregate in great numbers in the inland marshes of Florida, and along its rivers, during the winter. I found them near Eastport, in the State of Maine, on the 11th of May 1833; and on the coast of Labrador, on the 18th of June of the same year. In Newfoundland, on the 11th of August, the young were equal in size to their parents, and being extremely fat, tender, and juicy, afforded excellent eating. In general, however, these birds are thin and have a fishy taste.

In the State of Maine and the province of New Brunswick, the Tell-tale is known by the name of “Humility,” which, however, is an appellation that ill accords with its vociferous habits. The Creoles of New Orleans call it “Clou-clou;” and were these syllables rapidly enunciated from two to five times in succession, the sounds would have some resemblance to the usual notes of the species.

When these Godwits arrive in the vicinity of New Orleans about the middle of March, they appear in considerable flocks. They retire, however, in the beginning of May, and return about the first of July, from which time they continue there until the end of autumn, some indeed remaining all winter. It seems, that at the period of their disappearance at New Orleans, they retire to the vast marshes near the sea-shore, and there breed, for I have found them abundant near the passes or mouths of the Mississippi in pairs, on the first of April, when the air is warmer than in the interior. They are said to breed in the marshes along the coast of New Jersey, where, according to Wilson, they arrive early in April, and continue until November. It is a curious fact that the Tell-tale Godwit, as well as some other birds of similar habits, is of very rare occurrence along the shores of Massachusetts and Maine. This, however, seems to be accounted for by the absence there of the large spongy marshes, to which these birds are fond of resorting.

Although found in the vicinity of both salt and fresh water, at all seasons, it usually prefers the latter, and the spots which appear to be best adapted to its nature are ponds of which the water is shallow and the shores muddy, so that they can walk and wade at ease upon them. Wherever such ponds occur, whether in plantations or in the interior of forests, or on extensive savannahs or prairies, there you will find them actively employed, wading so far into the water as to seem as if they were swimming. If just alighted after ever so short a flight, they hold their wings upright for a considerable time, as if doubtful of not having obtained good footing. Closing their wings, they then move nimbly about the pool, and are seen catching small fishes, insects, worms, or snails, which they do with rapidity and a considerable degree of grace, for their steps are light, and the balancing or vibratory motion of their body, while their head is gently moved backwards and forwards, is very pleasing to the eye.

I have often observed these birds on large logs floating on the Mississippi, and moving gently with the current, and this sometimes in company with the Snowy Heron, _Ardea candidissima_, or the American Crow, _Corvus Americanus_. In such situations, they procure shrimps and the fry of fishes. In autumn, they are extremely prone to betake themselves to the margins of our most sequestered lakes in the interior of Louisiana and Kentucky, where the summer heat has left exposed great flats of soft sandy mud abounding with food suited to their appetite, and where they are much less likely to be disturbed than when on the marshes on the sea-shore, or on the margins of rivers. When they have been some time in the salt-marshes, and have eaten indiscriminately small shell-fish, worms, and fry, they acquire a disagreeable fishy taste, and being at the same time less fat, are scarcely fit for the table. They are social birds, and frequently mingle with other waders, as well as with the smaller ducks, such as the Blue-winged and Green-winged Teals. In the salt-marshes they associate with Curlews, Willets, and other species, with which they live in peace, and on the watchfulness of which they depend quite as much as on their own.

The flight of the Tell-tale Godwit, or “Great Yellow-Shank,” as it is generally named in the Western Country, is swift, at times elevated, and, when necessary, sustained. They pass through the air with their necks and legs stretched to their full length, and roam over the places which they select several times before they alight, emitting their well-known and easily imitated whistling notes, should any suspicious object be in sight, or if they are anxious to receive the answer of some of their own tribe that have already alighted. At such times, any person who can imitate their cries can easily check their flight, and in a few moments induce them to pass or to alight within shooting distance. This I have not unfrequently succeeded in doing, when they were, at the commencement of my calls, almost half a mile distant. Nay, I have sometimes seen them so gentle, that on my killing several in a flock, the rest would only remove a few yards.