Chapter V: Part 5

I have always found that the cries of this bird were louder and more frequent during the period of its breeding, when scarcely any birds were in the vicinity. I therefore conclude that its cries are then more intended to draw you from the spot where its nest is concealed, than for any other purpose, as on such occasions the bird either moves off on foot, or flies away and alights at a short distance from the place where its treasure lies.

When in Labrador, I found these birds breeding, two or three pairs together, in the delightful quiet valleys bounded by rugged hills of considerable height, and watered by limpid brooks. These valleys exhibit, in June and July, the richest verdure, luxuriant grasses of various species growing here and there in separate beds many yards in extent, while the intervening spaces, which are comparatively bare, are of that boggy nature so congenial to the habits of these species. In one of those pleasing retreats my son found a pair of Tell-tales, in the month of June, both of which were procured. The female was found to contain a full-formed egg, and some more of the size of peas. The eggs are four, pyriform, 2-1/4 inches long, 1-(4-1/2)/8 in their greatest breadth, pale greenish-yellow, marked with blotches of umber and pale purplish-grey.

The plumage of this bird has a very different appearance in autumn and winter from that which it presents at the approach of the breeding season. This has led some students of Nature in the United States to suppose, that there exist two nearly allied species; but this, I am confident, is not the case. The female is larger than the male, but only in a slight degree.

Dr RICHARDSON has found this species on the Saskatchewan and Dr TOWNSEND on the Columbia River.

TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 324.

TELL-TALE GODWIT or SNIPE, Scolopax vociferus, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 57, pl. 58, fig. 5.

TELL-TALE, or GREATER YELLOW-SHANKS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol.
ii. p. 148.

TOTANUS VOCIFERUS, _Tell-tale_, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun.
Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 389.

Adult male. Plate CCCVIII. Fig 1.

Bill much longer than the head, very slender, subcylindrical, straight, flexible, compressed at the base, the point rather depressed and obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge convex, broader at the base beyond the nostrils blended with the sides, which are convex, the edges thick, with a groove running their whole length, the tip slightly deflected. Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides convex, with a slight groove in their basal half, the sides convex, the edges grooved longitudinally, the tip narrow. Nasal groove long and narrow, extending to nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious.

Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed, eyes large. Neck rather long and slender. Body slender. Feet very long and slender; tibia bare for half its length, scutellate before and behind, tarsus compressed, also scutellate before and behind; hind toe very small and elevated; fore toes of moderate length, very slender, connected at the base by webs, of which the outer is larger; second or inner toe considerably shorter than fourth, which is in a similar degree exceeded by the third; all covered with numerous scutella above, flattened beneath, and marginate. Claws small, slightly arched, much compressed, rather obtuse, that of the middle toe much larger, with the inner edge dilated.

Plumage soft and blended, on the fore part of the head very short. Wings long, narrow, pointed; primaries narrow and tapering, first longest, second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries short, broad, incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, doubly emarginate in a slight degree, of twelve rounded feathers.

Bill black, tinged with bluish-grey at the base. Iris dark brown. Feet bright yellow, claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head, lores, cheeks, and the neck all round, excepting the throat, streaked with brownish-black, on a white ground, tinged with grey on the head and hind neck; the throat, breast, and abdomen, are pure white, the sides and lower tail-coverts barred with brownish-black, as are the axillar feathers and lower wing-coverts, the lower surface of the primaries light grey, their shafts white. The upper parts generally are black, glossed with green, each feather margined with white triangular spots. The hind part of the rump and the upper tail-coverts white, barred with dusky. The anterior smaller wing-coverts, alula, primary coverts, and primary quills, brownish-black, without spots; shaft of first primary white, of the rest brown. Tail-feathers white, with numerous bands of dark greyish-brown, the middle six feathers more or less of a light brownish-grey toward the end, the bars not extending over their central part, their tips white. Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 14, to end of claws 16; extent of wings 24-3/4; bill along the ridge 2-3/12, along the edge of the lower mandible 2-5/12, wing from flexure 8-2/12; tail 3-8/12; bare part of tibia 1-1/2; tarsus 2-5/12; hind toe and claw (4-1/2)/12; middle toe and claw 1-(8-1/2)/12. Weight 6 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCCVIII. Fig. 2.

The female resembles the male.

Length to end of tail 13-3/4, to end of wings 14-1/2, to end of claws 17-3/4; extent of wings 25-1/2. Weight 6-1/2 oz.

Both sexes become darker on the upper parts, at the approach of spring. This dark colour disappears after their autumnal moult.

The tongue is 1-2/12 inch in length, slender, sagittate and papillate at the base, triangular, tapering to a fine point. On the roof of the mouth are two rows of large blunt papillæ directed backwards; the edges of the mandibles are thick and grooved; the posterior aperture of the nares linear, 9/12 long. The œsophagus, 6-3/4 inches in length, passes along the right side of the neck, and has a diameter of 3/12 of an inch in its upper part, but is dilated to 5/12 before it enters the thorax. The proventriculus is oblong, 8/12 in length, its glandules oblong. The stomach is oblong, 1-2/12 inch in length, 8/12 in breadth, its lateral muscles of moderate size, the tendons 5/12 in diameter, the cuticular lining hard, with large longitudinal rugæ, and of a deep red colour. The intestine 2 feet 8 inches long, varying in diameter from (2-1/2)/12 to 2/12. The rectum 1-9/12 inch long; the cæca 4 inches 5/12 long, of an oblong form, with the extremity rounded, their diameter (1-1/2)/12.

In another individual, the œsophagus is 6-1/2 inches long; the stomach 1-9/12; the intestine 2 feet 3 inches; the rectum 1-9/12, the cæca 4-1/12, their diameter (1-1/2)/12.

The trachea, 4-8/12 inches long, (2-1/2)/12 in diameter above, 2/12 below; of 120 unossified rings; its contractor muscles feeble, the sterno-tracheal moderate; a single pair of inferior laryngeal; the bronchial rings about 15.

COMMON TERN.

_STERNA HIRUNDO_, LINN.

PLATE CCCIX. ADULT.

Although the Prince of Musignano has thought that the bird named the Common Tern in America, differs from that bearing the same name in Europe, and has in consequence changed its appellation to that of Wilson’s Tern, I am of opinion that no difference exists between the Common Terns of the two Continents. The cry of both is besides precisely similar, so that with me there is no doubt whatever as to their identity. Experience has shewn me that the markings or white spots on the primary quills of Gulls, at one time assumed as a criterion by which species might be distinguished, cannot in the least be depended on, varying, as they always do, in individuals of the same species, at almost each successive moult. Then why, Reader, should not Terns exhibit analogous changes? The fact is, they do so; and it is almost impossible, on closely inspecting a dozen or more specimens procured at the same period, in either country, to find two individuals exactly corresponding in every particular. Some have the bill almost entirely black, while others have it more or less red and black, and tipped with yellow. The length of the tail-feathers, that of the tarsus, and the size of the inter-digital membranes, are all found to differ in some degree, if minutely compared. If species are to be founded on such slight differences, an ample field is open to those who are ambitious of being discoverers. At all events, I cannot help remarking here, that it seems to me improper to impose new names on objects, until it is proved by undeniable facts that they present permanent differences.

I have observed this species along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Galveston Island in Texas to the Straits of Belle Isle on the coast of Labrador, both in spring and in early autumn. But when on the islands in Galveston Bay, in the month of April, I saw only a few arriving there from the west; whereas, in the beginning of May great numbers arrived there from the east, settled at once, and commenced breeding. I felt convinced that the numbers which came from the direction of the Floridas were much greater than those which arrived from the westward, and judged it probable that vast numbers had at the same time left the Peninsula on their way northward. Should other travellers observe the same or similar phenomena at the season mentioned, it will be proved that this species does not extend its autumnal migration so far as several others, which I observed arriving at Galveston Island from the south-west, for example, the Least Tern, _Sterna minuta_, the Cayenne Tern, _St. cayana_, and the Black Tern, _St. nigra_.

The Common Tern commences breeding on the coast of our Middle Districts about the 5th of May. On my voyage to Labrador, I found its eggs on the islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and especially on the Magdalene Islands, which I visited on the 11th of that month. On the 18th I saw them in great abundance in the neighbourhood of American Harbour, on the coast of Labrador, where thousands of Terns were plunging headlong after shrimps all round us. In that country, their eggs were deposited among the short grass, and the places which they occupied were but slightly scratched; whereas on the Magdalene Islands, where they breed on sandy ridges, slight hollows were scooped out, as is generally the case along the eastern coast of the United States. Their sojourn in Labrador is of short duration; and when we were at Newfoundland, on the 14th of August, multitudes were already passing southward. At the same period considerable numbers pass by an inland route from the Canadas, and all our great lakes, travelling along the Ohio and Mississippi. While residing at Henderson, and afterwards at Cincinnati, I had ample opportunities of watching their movements in the month of September. And yet, you will think it strange, that, during their vernal migration, I never saw one ascend any of these rivers or the streams connected with them. Perhaps the inferior temperature of the waters, compared with those of the ocean, in the early spring months, may induce them to abandon their route at that season. In autumn, on the contrary, when these rivers are heated and reduced in size, the Terns may find in them an abundant supply of the fry of various fishes. It would thus appear, being corroborated by other observations which I have made relative to migration, that species whose range is extensive, are determined in their movements by a genial temperature and an abundant supply of food.

With an easy and buoyant flight, the Tern visits the whole of our indented coasts, with the intention of procuring food, or of rearing its young, amidst all the comforts and enjoyments which kind Nature has provided for it. Full of agreeable sensations, the mated pair glide along side by side, as gaily as ever glided bridegroom and bride. The air is warm, the sky of the purest azure, and in every nook the glittering fry tempts them to satiate their appetite. Here, dancing in the sunshine, with noisy mirth, the vast congregation spreads over the sandy shores, where, from immemorial time, the species has taken up its temporary abode. They all alight, and with minced steps, and tails carefully raised so as not to be injured by the sand, the different pairs move about, renew their caresses, and scoop out a little cavity in the soil. If you come again in a few days, you will find the place covered with eggs. There they lie, three in each hollow, beautifully spotted and pointed; and as they receive heat enough from the sun, the birds have left them until evening. But not absent are they from the cherished spot, for they have seen you, and now they all fly up screaming. Although unable to drive you away, they seem most anxiously to urge your departure by every entreaty they can devise; just as you would do, were your family endangered by some creature as much stronger than yourself as you are superior to them. Humanity fills your heart, you feel for them as a parent feels, and you willingly abandon the place. The eggs are soon hatched; the young in due time follow their parents, who, not considering their pleasant labour ended when they are able to fly, feed them on wing in the manner of swallows, until they are quite capable of procuring their subsistence themselves. So soon as this is the case, the young birds fly off in bands, to seek on distant shores, and in sunny climes, the plentiful food which the ocean yields.

The nest of the Common Tern is, as I have said, a mere hollow made in the loose sand of some island or mainland beach, scantily tufted with wiry grass, or strewed with sea-weeds. Their eggs never exceed three in number; their average length is 1 inch 5-1/2 eighths, their breadth 1-1/4 inch. They vary greatly in their markings, as is the case with those of all the smaller species of this family; but their ground colour is generally pale yellowish-green, blotched and spotted with brownish-black and purplish-grey or neutral tint.

The young, which are fed with small fishes, shrimps, and insects, separate from the old birds when fully fledged, and do not again associate with them until the following spring, when both are found breeding in the same places. It seems quite curious to see these young birds in winter, during boisterous weather, throwing themselves into the remotest parts of estuaries, and even visiting salt-water ponds at some distance from the sea, as I have often seen them do at Charleston, in South Carolina, when accompanied by my friend the Rev. Dr BACHMAN. Their plumage is then so very different from that of the old birds, that one might readily believe them to be of another species, did he not observe that their mode of flying and their notes are the same. Not less strange is it, that on such occasions none of the old birds are to be seen in the place, they having remained, braving the fury of the tempest, on the outer harbours. In the beginning of winter, young birds also sometimes ascend the Mississippi as far as Natchez; and in the same manner betake themselves to all the large lakes bordering the Gulf of Mexico. There, as well as elsewhere, you see them plunge into the water, and instantaneously secure their prey, rise as quickly, and dash into another spot hard by, whenever food happens to be abundant.

I have many times seen the Common Tern suddenly fly up and come close over a man or a dog, without the least apparent provocation, indeed when far distant from its nest, and then pass and repass repeatedly within a few yards, emitting a plaintive cry, as if its eggs or young were in the immediate vicinity. At other times, when the birds were yet distant from their young, and carrying fish in their bills, they would, on seeing a man, round to, drop their food, and perform the same evolutions. I, however, know nothing more remarkable of this species of Tern, than that it should breed, as I know from personal observation to be the case, along the whole of our Atlantic coast, in suitable places, from Texas to Labrador.

When travelling in stormy weather, they skim over the surface of the water, moving rapidly and close together; whereas in fine weather, they rise high, and proceed in a straggling manner. Now and then I have seen them alight among Tringas of different species, as well as among Razor-billed Shearwaters, on outward sand beaches.

STERNA HIRUNDO, _Linn._ Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 227.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith., vol. ii. p. 807.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis
of Birds of the United States, 354.—_Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 412.

GREAT TERN, STERNA HIRUNDO, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith., vol. viii.
p. 76, pl. 60, fig. 1.

GREAT or COMMON TERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 271.

Adult Male. Plate CCCIX.

Bill about the same length as the head, rather slender, compressed, nearly straight, tapering to a narrow point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad and convex at the base, narrow towards the end, the sides sloping, convex towards the end, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip very slender. Nasal groove rather long, and with a faint groove and ridge extending obliquely to the edge of the mandible; nostrils sub-basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow, extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line straight, the sides ascending and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip very acute.

Head of moderate size, oblong; neck of moderate length; body very slender. Feet very small; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus very short, slender, compressed, covered anteriorly with twenty-two small scutella, laterally and behind with reticular scales; toes very small, slender, the first extremely small, the third longest, the fourth considerably shorter, the second shorter than the fourth in the same proportion; the anterior toes connected by reticulated webs, which are deeply concave at their margin. Claws arched, compressed, that of the hind toe smallest, of the middle by much the largest, and having the inner edge thin and dilated.

Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the fore part of the head; the feathers, in general, broad and rounded; wings very long, narrow, and pointed; primary quills tapering to a rounded point, slightly curved inwards, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary quills short, broad incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner more tapering. Tail long, very deeply forked, of twelve feathers, of which the outer are tapering, the middle short and rounded.

Bill bright coral-red, black towards the end, the tip light yellow; inside of mouth reddish-orange; eye hazel. Feet coral-red, lighter than the bill; claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head, and the hind neck half-way down, deep black, the anterior part tinged with brown, the posterior with blue. The sides of the head, the fore neck, and all the lower parts, white, with a slight tinge of greyish-blue on the breast. Back, scapulars, and wings, light greyish-blue, the edges of the wings, the rump, and upper tail-coverts, white, slightly tinged with grey. First primary, with the outer web deep black, the shaft white, on the inner web a greyish-black band running along the shaft, narrow at the base, and widening so as to occupy the whole breadth of the web for an inch at the end, where it is hoary. The next five have the outer web, and a varying portion of the inner, in nearly their whole length hoary, but at the same time with a dusky shade, which becomes more apparent at the ends; the rest of the quills are like the back, but margined and tipped with white. Tail-feathers with the inner webs white, the outer webs of the colour of the back, paler on the middle feathers, gradually deepening outwards, and on the outer feathers dark or blackish-grey.

Length to end of tail 16 inches, to the fork of the tail 11, to end of wings 15-3/8, to end of claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing from flexure 11-5/12; tail to end of lateral feathers 7-1/12, to fork 3-1/12; bare part of tibia (6-1/2)/12; tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe and claw (3-1/2)/12, middle toe and claw 1-1/12. Weight 5 oz.

The female is similar to the male, but rather smaller. In some instances I have seen a small portion of the forehead white.

Length to end of tail 15 inches, to the fork 11-1/2, to end of wings 15-1/4, to end of claws 11; extent of wings 30-1/4; wing from flexure 10-1/2. Weight 5 oz.

The young in their first plumage, have the bill dull greenish-black, with the tip yellowish; the feet greenish-yellow.

In winter, the bill is black, with the base pale orange, and the tip yellowish; the feet orange-yellow. The colours are as in the adult, the forehead white, the rest of the head dusky, the upper parts having the feathers slightly margined with lighter.

Length to end of tail 12-3/4, to the fork 11; to end of wings 14, to end of claws 10-1/2; extent of wings 29-1/4; wing from flexure 8-1/4.

American and British specimens present no essential differences when compared in considerable numbers. The outer web of the lateral tail-feather is blackish-grey, and the inner webs of the tail-feathers are white in all the specimens collected for comparison. The tarsus in American specimens varies in length from 9 to 10-1/2 twelfths, and the claw of the middle toe from 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 twelfths; but similar differences are observed in the British birds.

The tongue is 1-4/12 inch long, sagittate and papillate at the base, very slender, tapering, the point slit, the upper surface a little concave, the lower horny towards the end. Aperture of posterior nares linear, 9 twelfths long. Palate with a middle and two lateral ridges. Œsophagus 6 inches long, extremely wide, its average diameter on the neck 7 twelfths, within the thorax 11 twelfths. The stomach is muscular, 1 inch long, the lateral muscles not distinguishable, the fasciculi of fibres being disposed as in the rapacious birds; the central tendinous spaces 3 twelfths in diameter; the cuticular lining strong, with broad longitudinal rugæ. The contents of the stomach, fishes. The proventriculus 1 inch long. Intestine 1 foot 7 inches long, of moderate diameter, convoluted, varying from 2-3/4 twelfths to 2-1/2 twelfths. Rectum 1 inch long. Cœca 5 twelfths long, with a diameter of 3/4 of a twelfth.

The trachea is 3-1/4 inches long, 2-1/2 twelfths in breadth above, 1-1/2 twelfth below; its rings 103, feeble and unossified; the lateral muscles extremely slender; there are sterno-tracheal muscles, but none besides. Bronchial half-rings about 18.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

_TOTANUS MACULARIUS_, TEMM.

PLATE CCCX. MALE AND FEMALE.

In the course of my last journey in search of information respecting the birds which at one season or other are found within the limits of the United States, I observed so vast a number of them in Texas, that I almost concluded that more than two-thirds of our species occur there. Among them I observed the beautiful bird now before you.

The Spotted Sandpiper has a wonderfully extensive range, for I have met with it not only in most parts of the United States, but also on the shores of Labrador, where, on the 17th June 1833, I found it breeding. On the 29th of July, the young were fully fledged, and scampering over the rocks about us, amid the putrid and drying cod-fish. In that country it breeds later by three months than in Texas; for on the head waters of Buffalo Bayou, about sixty miles from the margin of the Mexican Gulf, I saw broods already well grown on the 5th of May 1837. On the same day of the same month in 1832, a similar occurrence happened on an island near Indian Key, on the south-east coast of Florida. In Newfoundland, on the other hand, the young were just fully fledged on the 11th of August 1833. It appears strange that none were observed by Dr RICHARDSON on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, or in the interior of that country. They are quite abundant along the margins of the Mississippi, the Ohio, and their tributaries, where they remain until driven off by the cold, and return about the beginning of April, at which period the Purple Martin also makes its appearance. In our Middle Districts, they arrive a fortnight later. On the Island of Jestico, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, about twenty pairs had nests and eggs on the 11th of June; and the air was filled with the pleasing sound of their voices while we remained there. The nests were placed among the tall slender grass that covered the southern part of the island. They were more bulky and more neatly constructed than any that I have examined southward of the Gulf of St Lawrence; and yet they were not to be compared with those found in Labrador, where, in every instance they were concealed under ledges of rocks extending for several feet over them, so that I probably should not have observed them, had not the birds flown off as I was passing. These nests were made of dry moss, raised to the height of from six to nine inches, and well finished within with slender grasses and feathers of the Eider Duck. As usual however, the eggs were always four, when the bird was sitting. They measure an inch and a quarter in length, by an inch at their thickest part, so that they have a shortish and bulky appearance, though they run almost to a point. They are smooth, and handsomely marked with blotches of deep brown and others of a lighter tint, on a greyish-yellow ground, the spots being larger and closer towards the rounded end. Both sexes incubate, and remain with their brood until the time of their departure.

My learned friend THOMAS NUTTALL has described the manners of this species as observed in the neighbourhood of Boston, with so much truth and accuracy, that I cannot do better than present you with his account of it, the more especially, that in so doing, I have an opportunity of expressing the high opinion I entertain of his talents and varied accomplishments. “The Peet Weet is one of the most familiar and common of all the New England marsh birds, arriving along our river shores, and low meadows, about the beginning of May, from their mild or tropical winter quarters in Mexico. As soon as it arrives on the coast, small roving flocks are seen, at various times of the day, coursing rapidly along the borders of our tide-water streams, flying swiftly and rather low, in circular sweeps along the meanders of the rock or river, and occasionally crossing from side to side, in rather a sportive and cheerful mien, than as the needy foragers they appear at the close of the autumn. While flying out in these wide circuits, agitated by superior feelings to those of hunger and necessity, we hear the shores re-echo the shrill and rapid whistle of ’weet, ’weet, ’weet, ’weet, and usually closing the note with something like a warble, as they approach their companions on the strand. The cry then varies to ’peet, ’weet, ’weet, ’weet, beginning high and gradually declining into a somewhat plaintive tone. As the season advances, our little lively marine wanderers often trace the streams some distance into the interior, resting usually in fresh meadows among the grass, sometimes even near the house, and I have seen their eggs laid in a strawberry bed; and the young and old, pleased with their allowed protection, familiarly fed, and probed the margin of the adjoining duck-pond, for their usual fare of worms and insects. They have the very frequent habit of balancing or wagging the tail, in which even the young join as soon as they are fledged. From the middle to the close of May, the pairs, seceding from their companions, seek out a place for their nest, which is always in a dry open field of grass or grain, sometimes in the seclusion and shade of a field of maize, but most commonly in a dry pasture, contiguous to the sea shore; and in some of the solitary and small sea islands, several pairs sometimes nestle near to each other, in the immediate vicinity of the noisy nurseries of the quailing Terns. On being flushed from her eggs, the female goes off without uttering any complaint; but when surprised with her young, she practises all the arts of dissimulation common to many other birds, fluttering in the path, as if badly wounded, and generally proceeds in this way so far as to deceive a dog, and cause it to overlook the brood, for whose protection these instinctive arts are practised; nor are the young without their artful instinct, for on hearing the reiterated cries of their parents, they scatter about, and squatting still in the withered grass, almost exactly their colour, it is with careful search very difficult to discover them, so that in nine times out of ten, they would be overlooked, and only be endangered by the tread, which they would endure sooner than betray their cautious retreat.

“At a later period the shores and marshes resound with the quick, clear, and oft-repeated note of peet weet, peet weet, followed up by a plaintive call on the young, of peet, peet, peet? peet? If this is not answered by the scattered brood, a reiterated ’weet, ’weet, ’weet, ’wait, ’wait, is heard, the voice dropping on the final syllables. The whole marsh and the shores at times echo to this loud, lively, and solicitous call of the affectionate parents for their brood. The cry, of course, is most frequent toward evening, when the little family, separated by the necessity of scattering themselves over the ground in quest of food, are again desirous of reassembling to roost. The young, as soon as hatched, run about the grass, and utter from the first a weak plaintive peep, at length more frequent and audible; and an imitation of the whistle of peet weet, is almost sure to meet with an answer from the sympathizing broods, which now throng our marshes. When the note appears to be answered, the parents hurry, and repeat their call with great quickness. Young and old, previous to their departure, frequent the sea shores, like most of the species, but never associate with other kinds, nor become gregarious, living always in families till the time of their departure, which usually occurs about the middle of October.”

My esteemed friend THOMAS MACCULLOCH of Pictou, Nova Scotia, having transmitted to me a curious account of the attachment of one of these birds to her eggs, I here insert it with pleasure. “Being on an excursion to the Hardwood Heights, which rise to the west of Pictou, my attention was attracted by the warble of a little bird, which appeared to me entirely new, and which proceeded from a small thicket a short way off. Whilst crossing an intervening meadow, I accidentally raised a Spotted Sandpiper from its nest, and having marked the spot I hastened forwards; but the shyness of the object of my pursuit rendered all my efforts unavailing, and returning to the nest which I had just left, I expected to find it still unoccupied; but the Sandpiper had again resumed her place, and left it with great reluctance, on my near approach. The nest contained four eggs, which I determined to remove on my return at night, and for the purpose of preventing the bird sitting again upon them, I placed a number of stones in a slanting position over the nest, and so close that it was impossible for the bird to get into it. On my return in the evening, however, I observed the little creature rise from beside the stones apparently in greater trepidation than ever, and more anxious to draw me away by the exhibition of all those little arts which they practise for this purpose. On examining the spot I was very much surprised to find that the poor thing had not only hollowed out a new nest, but had actually succeeded in abstracting two eggs from the other nest. How the bird had contrived to remove the eggs I cannot conceive, as the stones remained unaltered. This attachment to its nest and eggs appeared to me more singular as the bird had just commenced incubation, the eggs exhibiting very little appearance of the young.”

In addition to the observations of THOMAS NUTTALL, I must inform you that this species is often observed to alight on the branches of trees hanging over water-courses, on which they walk deliberately, and with their usual delicate elegance of gait, and balancing of both body and tail. They are also wont to alight more frequently on the rails and stakes of fences, or on walls. I have seen them on the tops of hay-stacks, where they seemed to be engaged in pursuing insects. On several occasions I have found their nests in orchards of both peach and apple trees, at a considerable distance from water, the use of which, indeed, they do not appear to require much during the progress of incubation, or the first weeks after hatching their young, when I have seen them rambling in search of food over large open fields of sweet potatoes and other vegetables, in the neighbourhood of some of our cities.

While these birds are flying, in the love season, the points of their wings are considerably bent down, and they propel themselves by strong and decided beats, supporting themselves afterwards by slow tremulous motions of their pinions, to the distance of some yards, when they repeat the strong beats, and thus continue until they realight, uttering all the while their well-known notes, so accurately described by my friend NUTTALL.

In the autumnal months, along the shores of La Belle Riviere, I have often with much delight watched the movements of these birds, when I have been surprised to see the pertinacity with which, after the first frosts, they would pursue their migration down the stream, for on attempting to make them fly the other way, they would rise, sometimes to the height of twenty yards, and flying over head or along the river, proceed downwards, although at any other time they would exhibit no such propensity. They run along the shores, and through shallow water, with great nimbleness; and while courting, the male struts before the female, with depressed wings, spreading out his tail and trailing it along the ground, in the manner of the Migratory and Rufous Thrushes.

The young become very fat in autumn, and afford delicious eating, for as they feed much on worms, aquatic insects, and small mollusca, their flesh seldom has a fishy taste. The male and female are alike, and almost equal in size. The young differ from the old until the approach of winter, when, with the exception of their being rather smaller, no difference can be perceived.

This species occurs also in Europe, and a few individuals have been shot in England.

TOTANUS MACULARIUS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p.
656.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
325.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER, TRINGA MACULARIA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
pl. 59. fig. 1.

SPOTTED TATLER or PEET WEET, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
162.

Adult Male. Plate CCCX. Fig. 1.

Bill a little longer than the head, very slender, subcylindrical, straight, flexible, compressed, the point rather obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge convex, broader at the base, slightly depressed towards the end, the sides sloping, towards the end convex, the edges sharp, the tip slightly deflected. Nasal groove extending over three-fourths of the length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides grooved at the base, convex towards the end.

Head small, oblong. Eyes rather large. Neck of moderate length. Body rather slender. Feet rather long and slender; tibia bare nearly half its length, scutellate before and behind; tarsus also scutellate before and behind; hind toe very small and elevated; fore toes rather long, very slender, connected by basal webs, of which the outer is much larger; second toe considerably shorter than fourth; all flat beneath, and marginate. Claws small, slightly arched, much compressed, rather sharp, that of the middle toe much larger, with the inner edge considerably dilated.

Plumage very soft, blended, on the fore part of the head very short. Wings long, narrow, pointed; primaries rather narrow and tapering, first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries short, broad, incurved, obliquely rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail of moderate length, much rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.

Bill greenish-olive above, yellow beneath, the point of both mandibles black. Eye hazel. Feet pale yellowish flesh-colour, claws black. All the upper parts shining deep brownish-olive, the head longitudinally streaked, the back transversely barred, with black. A line from the bill to the eye and beyond it white, another beneath it dusky. All the lower parts white, marked with numerous brownish-black spots, smaller on the throat, largest and roundish on the breast and sides. Axillary feathers pure white, lower wing-coverts white mottled with dusky. Quills brownish-black, glossed with green, the elongated inner secondaries like the back; the primaries slightly tipped with white, the secondaries, excepting the inner, more distinctly so, the white forming on them a conspicuous band. Four middle tail-feathers like the back, with a band of black at the end, the tip white; the next pair on each side similar, with the white tip larger; the next barred with dusky on the outer web; the lateral feather with the outer web white similarly barred.

Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 7-1/2, to end of claws 8-1/2; extent of wings 13-3/4; wing from flexure 4-7/8; tail 2; bill along the ridge 1; tarsus (10-1/2)/12; hind toe and claw (4-1/4)/12; middle toe and claw 1-1/12.

Female. Plate CCCX. Fig. 2.

There is hardly any difference between the sexes.

The young in winter have the bill black at the end, dusky olive above, yellow beneath; the feet yellowish flesh-colour. The lower parts are brownish-white, without spots; the upper of the same brownish-olive as in the adult, but the head and hind neck destitute of streaks, and the rest with narrower and more numerous dusky bars.

The tongue is 10 twelfths long, slender, tapering to a point, grooved above, sagittate and papillate at the base. The roof of the mouth with a single row of papillæ, posteriorly divided into two series. Œsophagus 3 inches and 8 twelfths long, its diameter 2 twelfths, and nearly uniform. Proventriculus 1/2 inch long, 3-1/2 twelfths in diameter. Stomach elliptical, 8-1/2 twelfths long, 6-1/2 twelfths in breadth; its lateral muscles strong, the tendinous spaces oblong; the cuticular lining with large longitudinal rugæ, and of a deep red colour. The contents of the stomach in this individual were remains of marine insects, and quartz sand. Intestine 10 inches long, its diameter varying from 1-1/2 twelfth to 1 twelfth; it enlarges near the rectum to 2 twelfths. Rectum 1 inch and 1 twelfth; cœca 1 inch and 1 twelfth, their diameter 3/4 of a twelfth.

The trachea is 2 inches and 8 twelfths long, its diameter from 2 twelfths to 1 twelfth; its rings 105, feeble and unossified. The lateral muscles extremely feeble; sterno-tracheals moderate; a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles.

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN.

_PELECANUS AMERICANUS._

PLATE CCCXI. ADULT MALE.

I feel great pleasure, good Reader, in assuring you, that our White Pelican, which has hitherto been considered the same as that found in Europe, is quite different. In consequence of this discovery, I have honoured it with the name of my beloved country, over the mighty streams of which, may this splendid bird wander free and unmolested to the most distant times, as it has already done from the misty ages of unknown antiquity.

In Dr RICHARDSON’s Introduction to the second volume of the Fauna Boreali-Americana, we are informed, that the _Pelecanus Onocrotalus_ (which is the bird now named _P. Americanus_) flies in dense flocks all the summer in the fur countries. At page 472, the same intrepid traveller says, that “Pelicans are numerous in the interior of the fur countries up to the sixty-first parallel; but they seldom come within two hundred miles of Hudson’s Bay. They deposit their eggs usually on rocky islands, on the brink of cascades, where they can scarcely be approached; but they are otherwise by no means shy birds.” My learned friend also speaks of the “long thin bony process seen on the upper mandible of the bill of this species;” and although neither he nor Mr SWAINSON pointed out the actual differences otherwise existing between this and the European species, he states that no such appearance has been described as occurring on the bills of the White Pelicans of the old Continent.

When, somewhat more than thirty years ago, I first removed to Kentucky, Pelicans of this species were frequently seen by me on the sand-bars of the Ohio, and on the rock-bound waters of the rapids of that majestic river, situated, as you well know, between Louisville and Shippingport. Nay when, a few years afterwards, I established myself at Henderson, the White Pelicans were so abundant that I often killed several at a shot, on a well known sand-bar, which protects Canoe Creek Island. During those delightful days of my early manhood, how often have I watched them with delight! Methinks indeed, Reader, those days have returned to me, as if to enable me the better once more to read the scattered notes contained in my often-searched journals.

Ranged along the margins of the sand-bar, in broken array, stand a hundred heavy-bodied Pelicans. Gorgeous tints, all autumnal, enrich the foliage of every tree around, the reflection of which, like fragments of the rainbow, seems to fill the very depths of the placid and almost sleeping waters of the Ohio. The subdued and ruddy beams of the orb of day assure me that the Indian summer has commenced, that happy season of unrivalled loveliness and serenity, symbolic of autumnal life, which to every enthusiastic lover of nature must be the purest and calmest period of his career. Pluming themselves, the gorged Pelicans patiently wait the return of hunger. Should one chance to gape, all, as if by sympathy, in succession open their long and broad mandibles, yawning lazily and ludicrously. Now, the whole length of their largest quills is passed through the bill, until at length their apparel is as beautifully trimmed as if the party were to figure at a route. But mark, the red beams of the setting sun tinge the tall tops of the forest trees; the birds experience the cravings of hunger, and to satisfy them they must now labour. Clumsily do they rise on their columnar legs, and heavily waddle to the water. But now, how changed do they seem! Lightly do they float, as they marshal themselves, and extend their line, and now their broad paddle-like feet propel them onwards. In yonder nook, the small fry are dancing in the quiet water, perhaps in their own manner bidding farewell to the orb of day, perhaps seeking something for their supper. Thousands there are, all gay, and the very manner of their mirth, causing the waters to sparkle, invites their foes to advance toward the shoal. And now the Pelicans, aware of the faculties of their scaly prey, at once spread out their broad wings, press closely forward with powerful strokes of their feet, drive the little fishes toward the shallow shore, and then, with their enormous pouches spread like so many bag-nets, scoop them out and devour them in thousands.

How strange it is, Reader, that birds of this species should be found breeding in the Fur Countries, at about the same period when they are to be found on the waters of the inland bays of the Mexican Gulf! On the 2d of April 1837, I met with these birds in abundance at the south-west entrance or mouth of the Mississippi, and afterwards saw them in the course of the same season, in almost every inlet, bay, or river, as I advanced toward Texas, where I found some of them in the Bay of Galveston, on the 1st of May. Nay, while on the Island of Grande Terre, I was assured by Mr ANDRY, a sugar-planter, who has resided there for some years, that he had observed White Pelicans along the shores every month of the year. Can it be, that in this species of bird, as in many others, barren individuals should remain in sections of countries altogether forsaken by those which are reproductive? The latter, we know, travel to the Rocky Mountains and the Fur Countries of the north, and there breed. Or do some of these birds, as well as of certain species of our ducks, remain and reproduce in those southern localities, induced to do so by some organic or instinctive peculiarity? Ah, Reader, how little do we yet know of the wonderful combinations of Nature’s arrangements, to render every individual of her creation comfortable and happy under all the circumstances in which they may be placed!

My friend JOHN BACHMAN, in a note to me, says that “this bird is now more rare on our coast than it was thirty years ago; for I have heard it stated that it formerly bred on the sand banks of our Bird Islands. I saw a flock on the Bird Banks off Bull’s Island, on the 1st day of July 1814, when I procured two full-plumaged old birds, and was under the impression that they had laid eggs on one of those banks, but the latter had the day previous to my visit been overflowed by a spring tide, accompanied with heavy wind.”

A single pair of our White Pelicans were procured not far from Philadelphia, on the Delaware or Schuylkill, ten or twelve years ago. These were the only birds of this kind that, I believe, were ever observed in our Middle Districts, where even the Brown Pelican, _Pelecanus fuscus_, is never seen. Nor have I heard that an individual of either species has ever been met with on any part of the shores of our Eastern States. From these facts, it may be concluded that the White Pelicans reach the Fur Countries of Hudson’s Bay by inland journeys, and mostly by passing along our great western rivers in the spring months, as they are also wont to do, though with less rapid movements, in autumn.

Reader, I have thought a thousand times perhaps that the present state of migration of many of our birds, is in a manner artificial, and that a portion of the myriads of Ducks, Geese, and other kinds, which leave our Southern Districts every spring for higher latitudes, were formerly in the habit of remaining and breeding in every section of the country that was found to be favourable for that purpose. It seems to me that it is now on account of the difficulties they meet with, from the constantly increasing numbers of our hostile species, that these creatures are urged to proceed towards wild and uninhabited parts of the world, where they find that security from molestation necessary to enable them to rear their innocent progeny, but which is now denied them in countries once their own.

The White American Pelican never descends from on wing upon its prey, as is the habit of the Brown Pelican; and, although on many occasions it fishes in the manner above described, it varies its mode according to circumstances, such as a feeling of security, or the accidental meeting with shoals of fishes in such shallows as the birds can well compass. They never dive for their food, but only thrust their head into the waters as far as their neck can reach, and withdraw it as soon as they have caught something, or have missed it, for their head is seldom out of sight more than half a minute at a time. When they are upon rivers, they usually feed along the margin of the water, though, I believe, mostly in swimming depth, when they proceed with greater celerity than when on the sand. While thus swimming, you see their necks extended, with their upper mandible only above the water, the lower being laterally extended, and ready to receive whatever fish or other food may chance to come into the net-like apparatus attached to it.

As this species is often seen along the sea shores searching for food, as well as on fresh water, I will give you a description of its manners there. While on the Island of Barataria in April 1837, I one afternoon observed a number of White Pelicans in company with a flock of the Brown species, all at work, searching for food, the Brown in the manner already described, the White in the following. They all swam against the wind and current, with their wings partially extended, and the neck stretched out, the upper mandible alone appearing above the surface, while the lower must have been used as a scoop-net, as I saw it raised from time to time, and brought to meet the upper, when the whole bill immediately fell to a perpendicular position, the water was allowed to run out, and the bill being again raised upwards, the fish was swallowed. After thus swimming for about an hundred yards in an extended line, and parallel to each other, they would rise on wing, wheel about, and realight at the place where their fishing had commenced, when they would repeat the same actions. They kept farther from the shore than the Brown Pelicans, and in deeper water, though at times one of the latter would dive after fish close to some of them, without their showing the least degree of enmity towards each other. I continued watching them more than an hour, concealed among a large quantity of drifted logs, until their fishing was finished, when they all, White and Brown together, flew off to the lee of another island, no doubt to spend the night there, for these birds are altogether diurnal. When gorged, they retire to the shores, to small islands in bays or rivers, or sit on logs floating in shallow water, at a good distance from the beach; in all which situations they are prone to lie down, or stand closely together.