Chapter IX: Part 9

The œsophagus _a b_, is 17 inches long, exceedingly delicate and dilatable, with external longitudinal fibres, the transverse fibres becoming stronger towards the lower parts. Its diameter when moderately dilated is 1-3/4 inch at the top, 1 inch farther down, at its entrance into the thorax, 9 twelfths, and finally 1-1/2 inch; but it may be dilated to a much greater extent. _The proventricular glands, instead of forming a belt at the lower part of the œsophagus, are placed on the right side in the form of a globular sac_, about an inch in diameter, communicating with the œsophagus, _b_, and stomach, _d_. For two inches of the lower part of the œsophagus, _b_, or at that part usually occupied by the proventriculus, the transverse muscular fibres are enlarged, and form an abrupt margin beneath; on the inner surface there are four irregular series of large apertures of gastric glandules or crypts. The proventriculus itself, _c_, is composed of large crypts of irregular form, with very wide apertures, and covered externally with muscular fibres. The stomach, _d d_, is roundish, about an inch and three quarters in diameter, with two roundish tendinous spaces, _e_, and fasciculi of muscular fibres; its inner coat thin, soft, and smooth. It opens by an aperture a quarter of an inch in diameter into a small sac, _f_, precisely similar to that of the Pelican, which has a muscular coat, with a soft even internal membrane, like that of the stomach. The pylorus has a diameter of 2 twelfths, is closed by a semilunar valve or flap, and is surrounded by a disk of radiating rugæ three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The intestine, _g h_, is 3 feet 4 inches long, its average diameter 2-1/4 twelfths, but only 1 twelfth at its junction with the rectum, which is 3-1/2 inches long, 3 twelfths in diameter. The cloaca globular, 1-1/2 inch in diameter. There are _no cœca_ properly so called, but a _small rounded termination of the rectum_ 2 twelfths in length as in the Herons.

The subcutaneous cellular tissue is largely developed, and the longitudinal cells on the neck are extremely large, as in Gannets and Herons. The olfactory nerve is of moderate size, and the nasal cavity is a simple compressed sac 4 twelfths in its greatest diameter. The external nares are closed, and there are _no supraorbital glands_. The external aperture at the ear is circular, and not more than half a twelfth in diameter.

The trachea is 13-1/2 inches long, much flattened, narrow at the upper extremity, where it is 2-1/2 twelfths in breadth, enlarging gradually to 4-1/2 twelfths, and toward the lower larynx contracting to 2-1/2 twelfths. The rings are very slender, unossified, and feeble; their number 230; the bronchial half-rings 25. The contractor muscles moderate; sterno-tracheales; and a pair of inferior muscles going to the last ring.

In a young bird scarcely two days old, and measuring only 3-3/4 inches in length, the two most remarkable circumstances observed refer to the nostrils and stomach. The posterior or palatal aperture of the nares is of the same form, and proportional size, as in the adult; the nasal cavity is similar; but there is an external nasal aperture, or nostril, on each side, so small as merely to admit the mystachial bristle of a Common Squirrel. The stomach is of enormous size, occupying three-fourths of the cavity of the thorax and abdomen, being 10 twelfths of an inch long, and of an oval shape. The proventriculus is separated from the stomach and formed into a roundish lobe, as in the old bird; and beside it is the lobe or pouch appended to the stomach, and from which the duodenum comes off. Even at this very early age, the stomach was turgid with a pultaceous mass apparently composed of macerated fish, without any bones or other hard substances intermixed.

Here then we have an instance of external nares in the young of a bird in which they are entirely obliterated in the adult.

SURF DUCK.

_FULIGULA PERSPICILLATA_, BONAP.

PLATE CCCXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.

Although several years have elapsed since I visited the sterile country of Labrador, I yet enjoy the remembrance of my rambles there; nay, Reader, many times have I wished that you and I were in it once more, especially in the winter season. I calculate indeed how easily this wish might be accomplished, were I ten years younger. Under the hospitable roof of Mr JONES, while the tempest might be hurling southward the drifting snows, I could live in peaceful content, cheered by the matchless hand-organ of my kind hostess. Then, how pleasant it would be in calm weather to traverse the snowy wastes, to trap the cunning fox and the Jer Falcon, allured by their favourite winter food, the Rock Grous; with what delight should I gaze on the dim red sun creeping along the southern horizon, or watch the flittering beams of the northern aurora. Now, over the glittering snow, JONES’s Esquimaux curs might swiftly convey us to his friends, here crossing the ice-bound gulf, there traversing fissures and crags impassable in summer. Then what long tales for the long nights, and sports for the short days. The broad-antlered Caribou might have scampered before me, but its bounds would have been suddenly checked by the fleeter ball of my well-directed rifle. The wolf might have prowled around us, until he had been captured in the deeply dug and well-baited pit. Then Nature’s pure mantle would be seen slowly to disappear, the low grounds would be inundated with the snow-waters, the warm breezes would dry the mountain ridges, and with the first appearance of verdure joy would cause every heart to bound. Thousands of seals would be seen to snuff the milder air, myriads of tiny fishes would approach the shores, and millions of feathered wanderers would pass over on whistling pinions. But alas! I shall never spend a winter in Labrador.

While proceeding towards that country in 1833, on board the Ripley, I found the waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence alive with ducks of different species. The nearer we approached the coast, the more numerous did they become; and of the many kinds that presented themselves to our anxious gaze, the Surf Duck was certainly not the least numerous. It is true that in the noble bays of our own coast, in the Sound, between New York and the Hook, on the broader waters of the Chesapeake, and beyond them to the mouths of the Mississippi, I had seen thousands of Surf Ducks; but the numbers that passed the shores of Labrador, bound for the far north, exceeded all my previous conceptions.

For more than a week after we had anchored in the lovely harbour of Little Macatina, I had been anxiously searching for the nest of this species, but in vain: the millions that sped along the shores had no regard to my wishes. At length I found that a few pairs had remained in the neighbourhood, and one morning, while in the company of Captain EMERY, searching for the nests of the Red-breasted Merganser, over a vast oozy and treacherous fresh-water marsh, I suddenly started a female Surf Duck from her treasure. We were then about five miles distant from our harbour, from which our party had come in two boats, and fully five and a half miles from the waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence. The marsh was about three miles in length, and so unsafe that more than once we both feared, as we were crossing it, that we might never reach its margin. The nest was snugly placed amid the tall leaves of a bunch of grass, and raised fully four inches above its roots. It was entirely composed of withered and rotten weeds, the former being circularly arranged over the latter, producing a well-rounded cavity, six inches in diameter, by two and a half in depth. The borders of this inner cup were lined with the down of the bird, in the same manner as the Eider Duck’s nest, and in it lay five eggs, the smallest number I have ever found in any duck’s nest. They were two inches and two and a half eighths in length, by one inch and five-eighths in their greatest breadth; more equally rounded at both ends than usual; the shell perfectly smooth, and of a uniform pale yellowish or cream colour. I took them on board, along with the female bird, which was shot as she rose from her nest. We saw no male bird near the spot; but in the course of the same day, met with several males by themselves, about four miles distant from the marsh, as we were returning to the harbour. This induced me to believe that, like the Eider and other ducks that breed in Labrador, the males abandon the females as soon as incubation commences. I regret that, notwithstanding all my further exertions, I did not succeed in discovering more nests or young birds.

In the States of Maine and Massachusetts, this species is best known by the name of “Butter-boat-billed Coot.” The gunners of Long Island and New Jersey call it the Black Sea Duck. It is often seen along the coast of South Carolina, where my friend JOHN BACHMAN Has met with it. The Surf Duck is a powerful swimmer and an expert diver. It is frequently observed fishing at the depth of several fathoms, and it floats buoyantly among the surf or the raging billows, where it seems as unconcerned as if it were on the most tranquil waters. It rises on wing, however, with considerable difficulty, and in this respect resembles the Velvet Duck; but when once fairly under way, it flies with rapidity and to a great distance, passing close to the water during heavy gales, but at the height of forty or fifty yards in calm and pleasant weather. It is an uncommonly shy bird, and therefore difficult to be obtained, unless shot at while on wing, or when asleep, and as it were at anchor on our bays, or near the shore, for it dives as suddenly as the Velvet and Scoter Ducks, eluding even the best percussion-locked guns. The female, which was killed as she flew off from the nest, uttered a rough uncouth guttural cry, somewhat resembling that of the Goosander on similar occasions; and I have never heard any other sound from either sex.

The migration of the Surf Ducks eastward from our Southern coast, begins at a very early season, as in the beginning of March none are to be seen in the New Orleans markets. When I was at Eastport in Maine, on the 7th of May 1833, they were all proceeding eastward. How far up the St Lawrence they advance in winter I have not learned, but they must give a decided preference to the waters of that noble stream, if I may judge by the vast numbers which I saw apparently coming from them as we approached the Labrador coast. I have never seen this species on any fresh-water lake or river, in any part of the interior, and therefore consider it as truly a marine duck.

During their stay with us, they are always seen in considerable numbers together, and, unless perhaps during the breeding season, they seem to be gregarious; for even during their travels northward they always move in large and compact bodies. When I was at Newfoundland, I was assured that they breed there in considerable numbers on the lakes of the interior. My friend Professor MACCULLOCH, of Pictou, however informs me that none are seen in Nova Scotia in summer. A gentleman of Boston, with whom I once crossed the Atlantic, assured me that the species is extremely abundant on the northern shores of the Pacific Ocean, and about the mouth of Mackenzie’s River. Doctor TOWNSEND mentions it as being also found on the Columbia. It appears that a single specimen of the Surf Duck has been procured on the shores of Great Britain; and this has induced the ornithologists of that country to introduce it as a constituent of its Fauna.

In all the individuals which I have examined, I have found the stomach to contain fish of different kinds, several species of shell-fish, and quantities of gravel and sand, some of the fragments being of large size. Their flesh is tough, rank, and fishy, so as to be scarcely fit for food.

In the young males, in the month of September, the whole upper plumage is mottled with darkish-brown and greyish-white, the latter colour margining most of the feathers. The neck has a considerable extent of dull greyish-white, spread over two or three inches, and approaching toward the cheeks and throat. This colour disappears about the beginning of January, when they become of a more uniform dark tint, the upper part of the head brownish-black, without any white spot; there is a patch of brownish-white at the base of the upper mandible on each side; another of an oblong form over the ear, and on the nape are elongated greyish-white marks; the bill and feet dusky green, the iris brown.

ANAS PERSPICILLATA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 847.

BLACK or SURF DUCK, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 49,
pl. 67, fig. 2.

FULIGULA PERSPICILLATA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
the United States, p. 389.

OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun. Bor.
Amer. vol. ii. p. 449.

BLACK or SURF DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 416.

Adult Male. Plate CCCXVII. Fig. 1.

Bill about the length of the head, very broad, as deep as broad at the base, depressed towards the end, which is rounded. Upper mandible with the dorsal outline convex and descending, before the nostrils concave, on the unguis convex and declinate; the ridge broad and convex at the base; the sides at the base erect, bulging, and very broad, towards the end convex, the edges soft, with about 30 internal lamellæ, for two-thirds from the base they are nearly parallel and straight, but towards the end ascending, the unguis very large, somewhat triangular and rounded. Lower mandible flattened, with the angle long and rather narrow, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges with about 35 lamellæ. Nostrils submedial, elliptical, large, pervious, near the ridge.

Head large, oblong, flattened above. Eyes of moderate size. Neck short and thick. Body large and much depressed. Feet short, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short, compressed, having anteriorly in its whole length a series of small scutella, and above the outer toe a partial series, the rest covered with reticular angular scales. Hind toe small, with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes nearly double the length of the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes having a sinus on their free margins, the inner with a lobed marginal membrane, the outer with a thick margin, the third and fourth about equal and longest. Claws small, that of the first toe very small and curved, of the middle toe largest, with a dilated inner edge, of the rest slender, all rather obtuse.

Plumage soft, dense, blended, and glossy. Feathers on the head and neck of a velvety texture. Wings rather short, narrow, and pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering, and pointed, the first longest, the second little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad and rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail very short, narrow, wedge-shaped, of fourteen stiff, narrow, pointed feathers.

Upper mandible with a nearly square black patch at the base, margined with orange, unless in front, where there is a patch of bluish-white extending to near the nostrils, prominent part over the nostrils deep reddish-orange, becoming lighter towards the unguis, and shaded into rich yellow towards the margins; the unguis dingy greyish-yellow; lower mandible flesh-coloured, unguis darker. Iris bright yellowish-white. Tarsi and toes orange-red, the webs dusky tinged with green; claws black. The plumage is of a deep black, glossed with blue. On the top of the head, between the eyes, is a roundish patch of white, and on the nape a larger patch of an elongated form.

Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 18, to end of claws 22; extent of wings 33-1/2; bill from the angle in front 1-1/2; from the prominence at the base 2-1/2; along the edge of lower mandible 2-5/12; wing from flexure 9-3/4; tail 3-3/4; tarsus 1-7/12; first toe and claw 11/12; outer toe, and claw 2-1/4; middle, toe and claw, (1/2)/12 longer. Weight 2 lb. 7 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCCXVII. Fig. 2.

Bill greenish-black; iris as in the male; feet yellowish-orange, webs greyish-dusky, claws black. The general colour of the plumage is brownish-black; darker on the top of the head, the back, wings, and tail; on the breast and sides the feathers edged with dull greyish-white.

Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 15-3/4, to end of claws 18; extent of wings 31-1/2; wing from flexure 8-3/4; tarsus 1-5/8; middle toe 2-3/4, hind toe 9/12. Weight 2 lb. 2 oz.

In an adult Male, the tongue is 1 inch 9 twelfths long, has numerous conical papillæ at the base, is deeply grooved along the middle, has two lateral series of bristles, and terminates in a thin rounded lobe, 2 twelfths long. On the middle line of the upper mandible are about ten short conical papillæ, and on each of its margins about 35 lamellæ; on the lower an equal number. The heart is 1 inch 8 twelfths long, 1 inch 2 twelfths broad. The œsophagus, 8-1/2 inches long, is wide, its diameter at the upper part being 1 inch, towards the middle of the neck 1 inch and a quarter. The proventriculus is 1-1/2 inch long; its glandules cylindrical, 1-1/2 twelfths in length, and, as in all other ducks, arranged so as to form a complete belt. The stomach is a powerful gizzard of a roundish form, 1 inch 10 twelfths long, 1 inch 10 twelfths broad, its lateral muscles very large, the right 10 twelfths thick, the left 9 twelfths. In the stomach were various small bivalve shells and much gravel. The cuticular lining longitudinally rugous; the grinding plates 3/4 inch in diameter. The intestine, 5 feet 7 inches in length, has an average diameter of 6 twelfths. The rectum is 7-1/2 inches long, 8 twelfths in diameter. Of the cœca one is 3 inches 4 twelfths long, cylindrical, obtuse, 2-1/2 twelfths in diameter, the other 4-1/2 inches long.

The aperture of the glottis is 8 twelfths long, with numerous minute papillæ behind. The trachea presents the same structure as that of the Velvet Duck. Its upper rings, to the number of 9, are very narrow, and continuous with a large bony expansion, 7 twelfths long, and 8 twelfths broad. Beyond this part its diameter is 5 twelfths, gradually diminishes to 3 twelfths about the middle, then enlarges to 5 twelfths. In this part the number of rings is 78. Then comes a roundish or transversely elliptical enlargement, 1 inch 2 twelfths in breadth, 9 twelfths in length, convex before, slightly concave behind, and composed of about 12 united rings. The trachea then contracts to 4 twelfths and presently enlarges to form the inferior larynx, which is large, ossified, but symmetrical. In this space there are 6 distinct rings, and 10 united. The entire length of the trachea is 7-1/2 inches, its rings are all osseous and strong. The contractor muscles are very strong, pass along the sides of the lower dilatation, on which are given off the cleido-tracheals, then continue to the commencement of the inferior larynx, where the sterno-tracheals come off. The bronchial half-rings 25, unossified.

The cavity of the nose is very large, being 2 inches long, 1/2 inch in diameter at the lower part, continued narrow in front over the dilatation causing the external protuberance of the base of the bill. The olfactory nerves are of moderate size; the maxillary branches of the fifth pair very large.

AMERICAN AVOSET.

_RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA_, GMEL.

PLATE CCCXVIII. ADULT MALE, AND YOUNG IN WINTER.

The fact of this curious bird’s breeding in the interior of our country accidentally became known to me in June 1814. I was at the time travelling on horseback from Henderson to Vincennes in the State of Indiana. As I approached a large shallow pond in the neighbourhood of the latter town, I was struck by the sight of several Avosets hovering over the margins and islets of the pond, and although it was late, and I was both fatigued and hungry, I could not resist the temptation of endeavouring to find the cause of their being so far from the sea. Leaving my horse at liberty, I walked toward the pond, when, on being at once assailed by four of the birds, I felt confident that they had nests, and that their mates were either sitting or tending their young. The pond, which was about two hundred yards in length, and half as wide, was surrounded by tall bulrushes extending to some distance from the margin. Near its centre were several islets, eight or ten yards in length, and disposed in a line. Having made my way through the rushes, I found the water only a few inches deep; but the mud reached above my knees, as I carefully advanced towards the nearest island. The four birds kept up a constant noise, remained on wing, and at times dived through the air until close to me, evincing their displeasure at my intrusion. My desire to shoot them however was restrained by my anxiety to study their habits as closely as possible; and as soon as I had searched the different inlets, and found three nests with eggs, and a female with her brood, I returned to my horse, and proceeded to Vincennes, about two miles distant. Next morning at sunrise I was snugly concealed amongst the rushes, with a fair view of the whole pond. In about an hour the male birds ceased to fly over me, and betook themselves to their ordinary occupations, when I noted the following particulars.

On alighting, whether on the water or on the ground, the American Avoset keeps its wings raised until it has fairly settled. If in the water, it stands a few minutes balancing its head and neck, somewhat in the manner of the Tell-tale Godwit. After this it stalks about searching for food, or runs after it, sometimes swimming for a yard or so while passing from one shallow to another, or wading up to its body, with the wings partially raised. Sometimes they would enter among the rushes, and disappear for several minutes. They kept apart, but crossed each other’s path in hundreds of ways, all perfectly silent, and without shewing the least symptom of enmity towards each other, although whenever a Sandpiper came near, they would instantly give chase to it. On several occasions, when I purposely sent forth a loud shrill whistle without stirring, they would suddenly cease from their rambling, raise up their body and neck, emit each two or three notes, and remain several minutes on the alert, after which they would fly to their nests, and then return. They search for food precisely in the manner of the Roseate Spoonbill, moving their heads to and fro sideways, while their bill is passing through the soft mud; and in many instances, when the water was deeper, they would immerse their whole head and a portion of the neck, as the Spoonbill and Red-breasted Snipe are wont to do. When, on the contrary, they pursued aquatic insects, such as swim on the surface, they ran after them, and on getting up to them, suddenly seized them by thrusting the lower mandible beneath them, while the other was raised a good way above the surface, much in the manner of the Black Shear-water, which however performs this act on wing. They were also expert at catching flying insects, after which they ran with partially expanded wings.

I watched them as they were thus engaged about an hour, when they all flew to the islets where the females were, emitting louder notes than usual. The different pairs seemed to congratulate each other, using various curious gestures; and presently those which had been sitting left the task to their mates and betook themselves to the water, when they washed, shook their wings and tail, as if either heated or tormented by insects, and then proceeded to search for food in the manner above described. Now, Reader, wait a few moments until I eat my humble breakfast.

About eleven o’clock the heat had become intense, and the Avosets gave up their search, each retiring to a different part of the pond, where, after pluming themselves, they drew their heads close to their shoulders, and remained perfectly still, as if asleep, for about an hour, when they shook themselves simultaneously, took to wing, and rising to the height of thirty or forty yards, flew off towards the waters of the Wabash River.

I was now desirous of seeing one of the sitting birds on its nest, and leaving my hiding place, slowly, and as silently as possible, proceeded toward the nearest islet on which I knew a nest to be, having the evening before, to mark the precise spot, broken some of the weeds, which were now withered by the heat of the sun. You, good Reader, will not, I am sure, think me prolix; but as some less considerate persons may allege that I am tediously so, I must tell them here that no student of Nature ever was, or ever can be, too particular while thus marking the precise situation of a bird’s nest. Indeed, I myself have lost many nests by being less attentive. After this short but valuable lecture, you and I will do our best to approach the sitting bird unseen by it. Although a person can advance but slowly when wading through mud and water knee-deep, it does not take much time to get over forty or fifty yards, and thus I was soon on the small island where the Avoset was comfortably seated on her nest. Softly and on all four I crawled toward the spot, panting with heat and anxiety. Now, Reader, I am actually within three feet of the unheeding creature, peeping at her through the tall grasses. Lovely bird! how innocent, how unsuspecting, and yet how near to thine enemy, albeit he be an admirer of thy race! There she sits on her eggs, her head almost mournfully sunk among the plumage, and her eyes, unanimated by the sight of her mate, half closed, as if she dreamed of future scenes. Her legs are bent beneath her in the usual manner. I have seen this, and I am content. Now she observes me, poor thing, and off she scrambles,—running, tumbling, and at last rising on wing, emitting her clicking notes of grief and anxiety, which none but an inconsiderate or callous-hearted person could hear without sympathizing with her.

The alarm is sounded, the disturbed bird is floundering hither and thither over the pool, now lying on the surface as if ready to die, now limping to induce me to pursue her and abandon her eggs. Alas, poor bird! Until that day I was not aware that gregarious birds, on emitting cries of alarm, after having been scared from their nest, could induce other incubating individuals to leave their eggs also, and join in attempting to save the colony. But so it was with the Avosets, and the other two sitters immediately rose on wing and flew directly at me, while the one with the four younglings betook herself to the water, and waded quickly off, followed by her brood, which paddled along swimming, to my astonishment, as well as ducklings of the same size.

How far such cries as those of the Avoset may be heard by birds of the same species I cannot tell; but this I know, that the individuals which had gone toward the Wabash reappeared in a few minutes after I had disturbed the first bird, and hovered over me. But now, having, as I thought, obtained all desirable knowledge of these birds, I shot down five of them, among which I unfortunately found three females.

The nests were placed among the tallest grasses, and were entirely composed of the same materials, but dried, and apparently of a former year’s growth. There was not a twig of any kind about them. The inner nest was about five inches in diameter, and lined with fine prairie grass, different from that found on the islets of the pond, and about two inches in depth, over a bed having a thickness of an inch and a half. The islets did not seem to be liable to inundation, and none of the nests exhibited any appearance of having been increased in elevation since the commencement of incubation, as was the case with those described by WILSON. Like those of most waders, the eggs were four in number, and placed with the small ends together. They measured two inches in length, one inch and three-eighths in their greatest breadth, and were, exactly as WILSON tells us, “of a dull olive colour, marked with large irregular blotches of black, and with others of a fainter tint.” To this I have to add, that they are pear-shaped and smooth. As to the time of hatching, I know nothing.

Having made my notes, and picked up the dead birds, I carefully waded through the rushes three times around the whole pond, but, being without my dog, failed in discovering the young brood or their mother. I visited the place twice the following day, again waded round the pond, and searched all the islets, but without success: not a single Avoset was to be seen; and I am persuaded that the mother of the four younglings had removed them elsewhere.

Since that time my opportunities of meeting with the American Avoset have been few. On the 7th of November 1819, while searching for rare birds a few miles from New Orleans, I shot one which I found by itself on the margin of Bayou St John. It was a young male, of which I merely took the measurements and description. It was very thin, and had probably been unable to proceed farther south. Its stomach contained only two small fresh-water snails and a bit of stone. In May 1829, I saw three of these birds at Great Egg Harbour, but found no nests, although those of the Long-legged Avoset of WILSON were not uncommon. My friend JOHN BACHMAN considers them as rare in South Carolina, where, however, he has occasionally seen some on the gravelly shores of the sea islands.

On the 16th of April 1837, my good friend Captain NAPOLEON COSTE, of the United States Revenue Cutter the Campbell, on board of which I then was, shot three individuals of this species on an immense sand-bar, intersected by pools, about twelve miles from Derniere Island on the Gulf of Mexico, and brought them to me in perfect order. They were larger, and perhaps handsomer, than any that I have seen; and had been killed out of a flock of five while feeding. He saw several large flocks on the same grounds, and assured me that the only note they emitted was a single whistle. He also observed their manner of feeding, which he represented as similar to that described above.

My friend THOMAS NUTTALL says in a note, that he “found this species breeding on the islands of shallow ponds throughout the Rocky Mountains about midsummer. They exhibited great fear and clamour at the approach of the party, but no nests were found, they being then under march.” Dr RICHARDSON states, that it is abundant on the Saskatchewan Plains, where it frequents shallow lakes, and feeds on insects and small fresh water crustacea.

The flight of the American Avoset resembles that of the _Himantopus nigricollis_. Both these birds pass through the air as if bent on removing to a great distance, much in the manner of the Tell-tale Godwit, or with an easy, rather swift and continued flight, the legs and neck fully extended. When plunging towards an intruder, it at times comes downwards, and passes by you, with the speed of an arrow from a bow, but usually in moving off again, it suffers its legs to hang considerably. I have never seen one of them exhibit the bending and tremulous motions of the legs spoken of by writers, even when raised suddenly from the nest; and I think that I am equally safe in saying, that the bill has never been drawn from a fresh specimen, or before it has undergone a curvature, which it does not shew when the bird is alive. The notes of this bird resemble the syllable _click_, sometimes repeated in a very hurried manner, especially under alarm.

RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p.
787.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
394.

AMERICAN AVOSET, RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 126, pl. 63, fig. 2.

RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA, _Richards. and Swains._, Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 375.

AMERICAN AVOSET, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 74.

Adult Male. Plate CCCXVIII. Fig. 1.

Bill more than twice the length of the head, very slender, much depressed, tapering to a point, and _slightly_ recurved. Upper mandible, with the dorsal line straight for half its length, then a little curved upwards, and at the tip slightly decurved, the ridge broad and flattened, the edges rather thick, the nasal groove rather long and very narrow. Nostrils linear, basal, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line slightly curved upwards, the point very slender, extremely thin and a little curved upwards.

Head small, rounded above, rather compressed. Neck long. Body compact, ovate. Legs very long, slender; tibia elongated, bare for half its length, and reticulated; tarsus very long, compressed, reticulated with hexagonal scales; toes rather short, the first extremely small; outer toe a little longer than inner; the anterior toes connected by webs of which the anterior margin is deeply concave, the lateral toes thickly margined. Claws very small, compressed, rather blunt.

Plumage soft and blended. Wings long, of moderate breadth, pointed; primaries straightish, tapering, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad, incurved, the outer rounded, the rest becoming pointed, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, even, of twelve rather narrow, rounded feathers.

Bill black. Iris bright carmine. Feet light blue, webs flesh-coloured towards their edges, claws black. Head, neck, and fore part of breast, reddish-buff, the parts around the base of the bill and the eye, nearly white. The back is white; but on its fore part is a longitudinal band of brownish-black elongated feathers on each side, and the inner scapulars are of the same colour, the outer and the anterior edge of the wing being white. The wing brownish-black, with a broad band of white formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, four of the inner secondaries, and the basal part, with the inner webs and outer edges of the rest. The under parts white, excepting some of the primary quills and some of their coverts, which are greyish-brown.

Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2, to end of claws 23-1/2 extent of wings 30-5/8; wing from flexure 9-1/2; tail 3-1/2; bill along the ridge 3-3/4; bare part of the tibia 2-3/12; tarsus 3-5/8; hind toe and claw 3/12; middle toe and claw 1-10/12; breadth of foot extended 2-5/8. Weight 16-3/4 oz.

The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat smaller.

Young in winter. Plate CCCXVIII. Fig. 2.

The young in winter is similar to the adult, but with the head and neck white, the dark colours of a browner tint.

Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 18-1/2; extent of wings 30-1/2. Weight 13 oz.

In structure the Avosets are similar to the Numenii and Totani. In an adult female the tongue is very short in proportion to the length of the bill, being only 1-3/4 inch long, slightly emarginate at the base with a few conical papillæ, slender, tapering to a point, horny on the back, and flattened above. On the palate are two longitudinal series of blunt papillæ. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear, 10 twelfths long, papillate on the edges. The œsophagus is 7 inches and 9 twelfths long, inclines to the right side, and when the neck is bent becomes posterior at the middle, as in the Herons and other long-necked birds; its diameter 5 twelfths at the upper part, dilated to 8 twelfths previous to its entrance into the thorax. The proventriculus is 1 inch long and 7 twelfths in diameter; its glandules cylindrical, 1 twelfth long. The stomach is a gizzard of moderate strength, oblong, 1-1/2 inch in length, 10 twelfths in breadth, its right lateral muscle 4 twelfths thick. Its contents were remains of small shells. Its inner membrane of moderate thickness, hard, longitudinally rugous, and deeply tinged with red. The intestine is 3 feet long, and 4 twelfths in diameter; the rectum 2 inches long; of the cœca one is 2-3/4 inches long, the other 2-1/4, their diameter 2 twelfths.

In another individual the intestine is 3 feet 9 inches long; one of the cœca 2-3/4 inches, the other 3; the stomach 1-1/2 by 1-1/12. Its contents small shell-fish and fragments of quartz.

The trachea is 6-1/2 inches long; its rings extremely thin and unossified, 140 in number, its diameter 3-1/4 twelfths, nearly uniform throughout, but rather narrower in the middle. The lateral muscles are very thin. The bronchi are short, of about 10 rings.

LEAST TERN.

_STERNA MINUTA_, LINN.

PLATE CCCXIX. ADULT AND YOUNG.

Sylph-like bird of the waters, how delightful has it been to me to gaze on thy gliding movements, on the fannings of thy gentle wings, on the delicate silvery glance of thy soft and sattiny bosom, as thou camest from distant and unknown shores, when the winter had passed away, and the mild breezes of early summer blew around thee, and thou soughtest a place of safety in which to sojourn for a time. That frail frame of thine must have suffered many a hardship. Fronting that last damp and chilling blast, I have seen thee gathering up all thy little strength to force thy way; and when the fury of the tempest assailed thee, wert thou not glad to seek for refuge under yon bold headland! Ah, deny it not, for I have seen the delight expressed by thee, when after awhile, returning calm and sunshine revived thee, and thou spreadest thy wings anew, to ramble gaily over the still turbulent waters. Well knowest thou, heaven-taught, each bar and shallow along the desolate shore which thou skirtest pilotless; soon shalt thou reach the haven where last summer smiled on thee and thy brood; and there shalt thou gracefully alight by the side of one whose love is all to thee.

As no account of this species exists in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, it is to be supposed that it is not met with beyond the western shores of Labrador, where however I found it in abundance and breeding, in the beginning of June 1833. On the 14th of August following I observed them at Newfoundland, moving southward in detached parties of old and young, against a strong breeze, and uttering their clamorous cries. Again, in the end of April 1837, hundreds of pairs were breeding on the islands of Galveston Bay in Texas, the numerous specimens which I then examined exhibiting no difference from those obtained in Labrador and in our Middle Districts. Nay, once, in the middle of June, while wading through the quick-sands of Bayou Sara in Louisiana, I came to a high and dry sand-bar where I picked up several eggs belonging to three pairs of birds of this species, although the distance was about two hundred miles from the sea in a direct line. I have at various times observed this Tern on the waters of the Ohio in autumn, and now and then in spring, at the latter period in company with the Short-tailed Tern, _Sterna nigra_, and have again met with it on the shores of Lake Erie. I have also found it in winter on the eastern coast of the Floridas, but in small numbers. Few birds indeed seem to me to be so irregular in their migratory movements, for they appear to stop at any convenient breeding place from Texas to Labrador.

This species in some of its habits resembles the Marsh Tern, of WILSON, which I feel certain is the _Sterna anglica_ of MONTAGU. The resemblance is especially manifest in the peculiar manner in which it seizes insects while on wing over the pools of salt marshes and elsewhere, where it is fond of rambling whenever the weather is at all fine or pleasantly warm. It then plunges toward the ground or the water, and, like a true Flycatcher, snatches its prey unawares from the tops of the grasses, or whilst flying over the shallow green-mantled pools.

Few birds are more gentle than this delicate species is at times; for, apparently unaware of danger from the vicinity of man, it allows him to approach within a few yards, whether it be on wing or on the ground. Indeed, in the latter case, I have seen it when gorged so reluctant to fly off that I have more than once thought it was asleep, although on coming up I was always disappointed in my attempts to catch it. Nothing can exceed the lightness of the flight of this bird, which seems to me to be among water-fowls, the analogue of the Humming-bird. They move with great swiftness at times, at others balance themselves like hawks over their prey, then dart with the velocity of thought to procure the tiny fry beneath the surface of the waters. When you invade their breeding place, they will sometimes sweep far away, and suddenly return, coming so near as almost to strike you. While travelling, their light but firm flight is wonderfully sustained; and on hearing and seeing them on such occasions, one is tempted to believe them to be the happiest of the happy. They seem as if marshalled and proceeding to a merry-making, so gaily do they dance along, as if to the music of their own lively cries. Now you see the whole group suddenly check their onward speed, hover over a deep eddy supplied with numberless shrimps, and dash headlong on their prey. Up rises the little thing with the shrimp in its bill, and again down it plunges; and its movements are so light and graceful that you look on with pleasure, and are in no haste to depart. Should this scene be enacted while they have young in their company, the latter await in the air the rise of their parents, meet them, and receive the food from them. When all are satiated, they proceed on their journey, stopping at another similar but distant place.

Although along our Southern and Middle Districts, the Least Tern merely scoops a very slight hollow in which to deposit its eggs, doing this from the first of April to the first of June, according to the latitude of the place, those which I found breeding on the coast of Labrador had formed very snug nests, composed of short fragments of dry moss, well matted together, and nearly of the size of that of the American Robin, _Turdus migratorius_; while those met with on the islands near the Bay of Galveston, were observed to have laid their eggs upon the dry drifted weeds which appeared to have been gathered by them for the purpose. The nests are generally placed out of reach of the tides, but on some occasions I have known the hopes of a whole colony destroyed by the sudden overflow of their selected places caused by a severe gale, and have observed that, on such occasions, their clamour was as great as if they had been robbed of their eggs by man.

The number of eggs deposited by this species is more frequently three than four. Like those of most other Terns, they differ somewhat in size and markings, although I never found any so large as those described by WILSON, who states that they measure nearly an inch and three quarters in length, which would better agree with the eggs of the Common Tern. The average of a basketful was found to be one inch and two and a half eighths in length, by seven and a half eighths in breadth. They are rather pointed at the smaller end, and their ground colour is pale yellowish-white, blotched with irregular dark brown spots, intermixed with others of a dull purplish tint.

I have found this Tern breeding among Shearwaters along the Florida coast; and my friend the Reverend JOHN BACHMAN has observed the same circumstance on the “Bird’s Banks,” on the coasts of South Carolina, where it is abundant, as well as on Sullivan Island.

The common note of our Least Tern resembles that of the Barn Swallow when disturbed about its nest, being as smartly and rapidly repeated at times. When it proves convenient for it to alight on the ground or on a sand-beach, after it has secured a prawn or small fish, it does so, and there devours its prey piecemeal, but it more usually swallows it on wing. On the ground it walks prettily, with short steps, keeping its tail somewhat raised.

STERNA MINUTA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 228.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 809.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 355.

LESSER TERN, STERNA MINUTA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. vii.
p. 80, pl. 60, fig. 2.

SILVERY TERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 280.

Adult Male. Plate CCCXIX. Fig. 1.

Bill about the length of the head, slender, tapering, much compressed, nearly straight, extremely attenuated towards the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad and convex at the base, narrow towards the end, the sides nearly erect, the edges sharp and direct. Nasal groove short, extending to a fourth of the length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow, very acute, extending to the middle, the dorsal line straightish, the sides erect, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip extremely acute.

Head of moderate size, ovate; neck short; body very slender; feet small. Tibia bare below; tarsus very short, slender, compressed, covered anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind with reticular scales; toes small, slender, the first extremely small, the third longest, the fourth considerably shorter, all scutellate above, the anterior united by reticulated webs having a deeply concave margin. Claws arched, compressed, acute, that of hind toe smallest, of middle toe by much the largest, and having its 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, straight, the first longest, the next five-twelfths of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary quills short, broad, incurved, narrowed towards the end, the inner straight. Tail rather long, very deeply forked, the lateral feathers extending an inch and seven-twelfths beyond the fork.

Bill light yellowish-orange, its tips black, but the extreme points horn-colour. Iris hazel; feet light orange-red, the bare part of the tibia dusky; claws black. On the forehead, a triangular white patch extending to the middle of the eye; upper part of the head and the nape, with a line from the eye to the bill, deep black; sides of the head, fore-neck and lower parts, pure white; back and wings very pale bluish-grey; first two quills with the outer web greyish-black, and rather less than half of their inner web of the same colour, the rest white, extending to about half an inch from their extremities. Tail white in summer, of a paler tint than the back at other times.

Length to end of tail 8-3/4 inches, to end of wings 9-1/2, to end of claws 7-1/2, to end of shortest tail-feathers 7; extent of wings 18-3/4; wing from flexure 6-11/12; tail 3-1/2; bill along the ridge 7-1/2 twelfths, along the edge of lower mandible 1-5/12; tarsus 7/12; middle toe 7/12, its claw 5/12.

The Female is a little smaller than the male, but otherwise similar.

Young fledged. Plate CCCXIX. Fig. 2.

Bill greenish-black. Iris dusky. Feet pale yellowish-orange. All the under parts dull greyish-white, as are the upper parts including the tail; the hind part of the head streaked with dusky, on the back and rump the feathers with a curved marginal band of greyish-brown; primary quills greyish-brown, the outer two darker. At this period the tail is even, each feather narrowly margined with greyish-white.

In a male bird the tongue is 10 twelfths long, slender, triangular, tapering to a point, horny beneath, emarginate and papillate at the base. On the palate are five longitudinal ridges. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear, 7 twelfths long. The œsophagus is 4 inches 2 twelfths long, very wide, its average diameter on the neck 4-1/2 twelfths, within the thorax 9 twelfths; it is exceedingly thin and delicate, its muscular fibres scarcely apparent, unless closely examined. The proventriculus is only a quarter of an inch long. The stomach is 9 twelfths long, 8 twelfths broad, its lateral muscles of considerable size, the cuticular lining dense, tough, longitudinally rugous, and of a reddish-brown colour, as in gulls. Contents of stomach and œsophagus, small fishes, one of them 2 inches long. The intestine is 14 inches long, its diameter 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca are 2 twelfths long, nearly 1 twelfth in diameter.

The trachea is 2 inches and 4 twelfths long, its diameter 2 twelfths at the top, diminishing to 1 twelfth; its rings about 105, unossified; its lateral muscles moderate, as are the sterno-tracheal, and single pair of inferior laryngeal. The bronchial half-rings about 25.

LITTLE SANDPIPER.

_TRINGA PUSILLA_, WILS.

PLATE CCCXX. MALE AND FEMALE.

Before proceeding to detail my observations on the habits of this humble but extremely interesting bird, I deem it necessary to inform you that I disclaim as species belonging to the United States, or even to any part of North America, the following, which however are given in the Synopsis of the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO, and in the work of my generous friend THOMAS NUTTALL, viz., _Tringa platyrhincha_ of TEMMINCK, _T. Temminckii_ of LEISLER, _T. minuta_ of LEISLER, _T. minuta_ of TEMMINCK, and _T. pusilla_ of BECHSTEIN. This opinion of mine I divulged to the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO in London, and he has on this account omitted these species in his recently published list. The extreme confusion that exists with respect to these species, and many others of the same tribe, is in my opinion caused solely by the anxiety of authors to discover or invent new species, often founding distinctions on slight differences in the length of bills, tarsi, or toes. Now, Reader, if in such large species as the _Grus Americana_, for example, the young has been palmed on the world of science as a distinct species for nearly a century past, without any other kind of reason or proof than that obtained from mere dried skins, can we be surprised that in birds so small as the present, opportunities should have occurred of committing errors. My opinion, which I do not present to you without due consideration, is, that we have in the United States only the diminutive species badly figured by WILSON, and almost as carelessly described by that wonderful man. To enter upon a long discussion as to the identity of the present bird with any of the small Tringas enumerated by European authors, would be to me quite as irksome as it would prove unprofitable to you, for there scarcely exists a single description of these birds sufficiently accurate to enable one to decide with certainty. All are as nearly as possible of the same size and colour, excepting in those deviations dependent upon age, and the different states of plumage. But in the most intimately allied species there are always marked differences in habits, and especially in the sound of the voice.