though much broader. The outer feathers are broad to the terminal
third, where they become rapidly pointed, the tip only somewhat
rounded; the sides of this attenuated portion (one or other, or both)
broadly and concavely emarginated, which distinguishes them from the
females of _Selasphorus_ and _Calypte_, in which the tail is broadly
linear to near the end, which is much rounded without any distinct
concavity.
A peculiarity is observable in the wing of the two species of
_Trochilus_ as restricted, especially in _T. colubris_, which we have
not noticed in other North American genera. The outer four primaries
are of the usual shape, and diminish gradually in size; the remaining
six, however, are abruptly much smaller, more linear, and nearly equal
in width (about that of inner web of the fourth), so that the interval
between the fifth and fourth is from two to five times as great as
that between the fifth and sixth. The inner web of these reduced
primaries is also emarginated at the end. This character is even
sometimes seen in the females, but to a less extent, and may serve to
distinguish both _colubris_ and _alexandri_ from other allied species
where other marks are obscured.
The following diagnosis will serve to distinguish the species found in
the United States:—
COMMON CHARACTERS. Above and on the sides metallic green. A
ruff of metallic feathers from the bill to the breast, behind
which is a whitish collar, confluent with a narrow abdominal
stripe; a white spot behind the eye. Tail-feathers without
light margins.
Tail deeply forked (.30 of an inch). Throat bright
coppery-red from the chin. Tail of female rounded,
emarginated _T. colubris_.
Larger. Tail slightly forked (.10 of an inch). Throat
gorget with violet, steel, green, or blue reflections
behind; anteriorly opaque velvety-black. Tail of female
graduated; scarcely emarginated _T. alexandri_.
Trochilus colubris, LINNÆUS.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.
_Trochilus colubris_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766,
191.—WILSON, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 26, pl. x.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I,
1832, 248, pl. xlvii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 190, pl.
ccliii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 131.—MAX. Cab. J. VI,
154.—SAMUELS, 111.—ALLEN, B. Fla. 301. _Ornisyma colubris_,
DEVILLE, Rev. et Mag. Zool. May, 1852 (habits). _Trochilus
aureigaster_, LAWRENCE (alcoholic specimens).
SP. CHAR. Tail in the male deeply forked; the feathers all narrow
lanceolate-acute. In the female slightly rounded and emarginate; the
feathers broader, though pointed. Male, uniform metallic green above;
a ruby-red gorget (blackish near the bill), with no conspicuous ruff;
a white collar on the jugulum; sides of body greenish; tail-feathers
uniformly brownish-violet. Female, without the red on the throat; the
tail rounded and emarginate, the inner feathers shorter than the
outer; the tail-feathers banded with black, and the outer tipped with
white; no rufous or cinnamon on the tail in either sex. Length, 3.25;
wing, 1.60; tail, 1.25; bill, .65. _Young_ males are like the females;
the throat usually spotted, sometimes with red; the tail is, in shape,
more like that of the old male.
HAB. Eastern North America to the high Central Plains; south to
Brazil. Localities: Cordova (SCL. P. Z. S. 1856, 288); Guatemala (SCL.
Ibis, I, 129); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 98; Gundl. Rep. I, 1866, 291); S. E.
Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 470, breeds); Veragua (SALV. P. Z. S.
1870, 208).
The _Trochilus aureigaster_ (_aureigula?_) of Lawrence, described from
an alcoholic specimen in the Smithsonian collection, differs in having
a green throat, becoming golden towards the chin. It is quite
probable, however, that the difference is the result of immersion in
spirits.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVII.
1. Trochilus alexandri. ♂ Cal., 44959.
2. ” colubris. ♂ Pa., 2713.
3. Heliopædica xantusi. ♂ Cape St. Lucas.
4. Selasphorus rufus. ♂ Oregon, 2896.
5. ” platycercus. ♂ Rocky Mts., 10847.
6. Atthis heloisæ. ♂ Mex., 25874.
7. Calypte anna. ♂ Cal., 5501.
8. ” costæ. ♂ Cal., 39397.
9. Stellula calliope. ♂ Cal., 17992.]
The red of the throat appears paler in some Mexican and Guatemalan
skins; others, however, are not distinguishable from the northern
specimens.
HABITS. This species is found throughout eastern North America, as far
west as the Missouri Valley, and breeds from Florida and the valley of
the Rio Grande to high northern latitudes. Richardson states that it
ranges at least to the 57th parallel, and probably even farther north.
He obtained specimens on the plains of the Saskatchewan, and Mr.
Drummond found one of its nests near the source of the Elk River. Mr.
Dresser found this bird breeding in Southwestern Texas, and also
resident there during the winter months, and I have received their
nests and eggs from Florida and Georgia. It was found by Mr. Skinner
to be abundant in Guatemala during the winter months, on the southern
slope of the great Cordillera, showing that it chooses for its winter
retreat the moderate climate afforded by a region lying between the
elevations of three and four thousand feet, where it winters in large
numbers. Mr. Salvin noted their first arrival in Guatemala as early as
the 24th of August. From that date the number rapidly increased until
the first week in October, when it had become by far the most common
species about Dueñas. It seemed also to be universally distributed,
being equally common at Coban, at San Geronimo, and the plains of
Salamá.
The birds of this species make their appearance on our southern border
late in March, and slowly move northward in their migrations, reaching
Upper Georgia about the 10th of April, Pennsylvania from the last of
April to about the middle of May, and farther north the last of May or
the first of June. They nest in Massachusetts about the 10th of June,
and are about thirteen days between the full number of eggs and the
appearance of the young. They resent any approach to their nest, and
will even make angry movements around the head of the intruder,
uttering a sharp outcry. Other than this I have never heard them utter
any note.
Attempts to keep in confinement the Humming-Bird have been only
partially successful. They have been known to live, at the best, only
a few months, and soon perish, partly from imperfect nourishment and
unsuitable food, and probably also from insufficient warmth.
Numerous examinations of stomachs of these birds, taken in a natural
state, demonstrate that minute insects constitute a very large
proportion of their necessary food. These are swallowed whole. The
young birds feed by putting their own bills down the throats of their
parents, sucking probably a prepared sustenance of nectar and
fragments of insects. They raise, I think, but one brood in a season.
The young soon learn to take care of themselves, and appear to remain
some time after their parents have left. They leave New England in
September, and have all passed southward beyond our limits by
November.
A nest of this bird, from Dr. Gerhardt, of Georgia, measures 1.75
inches in its external diameter and 1.50 in height. Its cavity
measures 1.00 in depth and 1.25 inches in breadth. It is of very
homogeneous construction, the material of which it is made being
almost exclusively a substance of vegetable origin, resembling wool,
coarse in fibre, but soft, warm, and yielding, of a deep buff color.
This is strengthened, on the outside, by various small woody fibres;
the whole, on the outer surface, entirely and compactly covered by a
thatching of small lichens, a species of _Parmelia_.
A nest obtained in Lynn, Mass., by Mr. George O. Welch, in June, 1860,
was built on a horizontal branch of an apple-tree. It measures 1.50
inches in height, and 2.25 in its external diameter. The cavity is
more shallow, measuring .70 of an inch in depth and 1.00 in diameter.
It is equally homogeneous in its composition, being made of very
similar materials. In this case, however, the soft woolly material of
which it is woven is finer in fibre, softer and more silky, and of the
purest white color. It is strengthened on the base with pieces of
bark, and on the sides with fine vegetable fibres. The whole nest is
beautifully covered with a compact coating of lichens, a species of
_Parmelia_, but different from those of the Georgian nest.
The fine silk-like substance of which the nest from Lynn is chiefly
composed is supposed to be the soft down which appears on the young
and unexpanded leaves of the red-oak, immediately before their full
development. The buds of several of the oaks are fitted for a climate
liable to severe winters, by being protected by separate downy scales
surrounding each leaf. In Massachusetts the red-oak is an abundant
tree, expands its leaves at a convenient season for the Humming-Bird,
and these soft silky scales which have fulfilled their mission of
protection to the embryo leaves are turned to a good account by our
tiny and watchful architect. The species in Georgia evidently make use
of similar materials from one of the southern oaks.
The eggs measure .50 by .35 of an inch, and are of a pure dull white.
Trochilus alexandri, BOURC. & MULSANT.
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMING-BIRD.
_Trochilus alexandri_, BOURCIER & MULSANT, Ann. de la Soc. d’Agric.
de Lyons, IX, 1846, 330.—HEERMANN, Jour. A. N. Sc. Phila. 2d
ser. II, 1853, 269.—CASSIN, Ill. N. Am. Birds, I, V, 1854,
141, pl. xxii.—GOULD, Mon. Trochilidæ, XIV, Sept. 1857,
plate.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 133, pl. xliv, f. 3.—IB. M.
B. II, Birds, 6, pl. v, f. 3.—HEERM. X, S, 56.—COOPER, Orn.
Cal. I, 1870, 353.
SP. CHAR. Very similar to _Trochilus colubris_. Tail slightly forked;
the chin and upper part of the throat opaque velvety-black, without
metallic reflections, which are confined to the posterior border of
the gorget, and are violet, sometimes changing to steel blue or green,
instead of coppery-red. _Female_ without the metallic scales; the
tail-feathers tipped with white; the tail graduated, not emarginated;
the innermost feather among the longest. Length of male, 3.30; wing,
1.70; tail, 126; bill, .75.
_Hab._ Coast of California, southward, and east to the Wahsatch and
Uintah Mountains, Utah.
[Line drawing: ♂ _juv._ _Trochilus alexandri._ 4963 ♀ ]
The chief characters of this species are to be found in the violet,
steel-blue, or steel-green reflections of the hinder part of the
gorget, varying with the situation of the feathers and the specimen,
as distinguished from the bright fiery or coppery red of the other.
The chin and upper part of the throat extending beneath the eyes are
opaque velvety or greenish black, without metallic lustre, while in
_T. colubris_ it is only the extreme chin which is thus dull in
appearance. The bill is about .10 of an inch longer, the tail less
deeply forked, and tinged with green at the end.
[Illustration: _Trochilus alexandri._]
It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the female of this species
from that of _T. colubris_. The size is rather larger, and the tail
rounded, without any distinct emargination; the middle feathers being
.15 of an inch longer than the lateral ones, instead of actually
shorter. The color is much the same. The primaries are also much
broader in the present species.
In both species the outer tail-feathers, though broader than in the
male, are quite acutely pointed on the terminal third, one side or the
other of which is slightly concave, instead of being linear to near
the end, and rounded without any concavity, as in _Selasphorus_ and
_Calypte_.
HABITS. This Humming-Bird, originally described as a Mexican species,
is found from the highlands of that republic northward, not only to
the southern borders of the western United States, but as far north as
the 58th parallel. It was first discovered on the table-lands of
Mexico, east of the city, by Signor Floresi, a distinguished
naturalist, who devoted himself to the study of the _Trochilidæ_ of
Mexico, but was first added to the fauna of North America by Dr.
Heermann, who detected it, and obtained several specimens, within the
burying-ground of Sacramento City, Cal. There several pairs remained
during the period of incubation, and reared their young, finding both
food and shelter among the flowering plants of that cemetery. He found
several of their nests which were essentially similar to the _T.
colubris_.
Dr. Cooper met with this species along the Mohave River. He saw the
first on the 3d of June. He also found one of their nests built in a
dark willow-thicket in the fork of a tree, eight feet from the ground.
Those afterwards found near Santa Barbara were all built near the end
of hanging branches of the sycamore, constructed of white down from
willow catkins, agglutinated by the bird’s saliva, and thus fastened
to the branch on which it rested. These were built in the latter part
of April, and early in May contained two eggs, exactly resembling
those of the _T. colubris_, and measuring .51 by .32 of an inch.
Afterwards Mr. W. W. Holden obtained a specimen in the Colorado
Valley, March 20.
Mr. J. K. Lord, one of the English commissioners of the Northwestern
Boundary Survey, met with this species near his camping-place on the
western slope of the Rocky Mountains. This was near a lake, by the
margin of which, with other trees, grew a number of the black birch.
On these trees he found a sweet gummy sap exuding plentifully from
splits in the bark, and on this sap hosts of insects, large and small,
were regaling themselves. As the sap was very sticky, numbers of the
smaller winged insects were trapped in it. Busily employed in picking
off and devouring these captive insects were several very
sombre-looking Humming-Birds, poising themselves over the flowers, and
nipping off, as with delicate forceps, the imprisoned insects. Upon
securing one of these birds, he ascertained that it belonged to this
species. This was pretty satisfactory proof that they are
insect-eaters. Not only on this occasion, but many times afterwards,
Mr. Lord saw this bird pick the insects from the tree; and the
stomachs of those he killed, on being opened, were filled with various
kinds of winged insects. He found this bird lingering around lakes,
pools, and swamps, where these birches grow. They generally build in
the birch or alder, selecting the fork of a branch high up.
This species bears a very close resemblance in size, appearance, and
markings, to the common eastern species, but is readily
distinguishable by the difference in the color of the chin and the
shape of the tail.
In the spring of 1851, on a trip to Sonora, Mexico, Dr. Heermann found
these birds abundant in the arid country around Guaymas, where amid
the scanty vegetation they had constructed their nests in the month of
April. He also afterwards found them on Dry Creek and the Cosumnes
River.
According to the observations of Mr. Ridgway, this species has quite
an extended distribution in the West. He found it in varying abundance
from the Sacramento Valley, in California, to the Wahsatch and Uintah
Mountains in Utah.
At Sacramento it was more abundant than the _C. anna_, nesting in the
door-yards and in gardens, but particularly in the thick copses of
small oaks in the outskirts of the city. In the Great Basin it
associated with the _Selasphorus rufus_ in the western portion, and
with _S. platycercus_ to the eastward, nesting everywhere, from the
lowest valleys to a height of eight or nine thousand feet in the
mountains.
GENUS CALYPTE, GOULD.
_Calypte_, GOULD, Introd. Trochilidæ, 1861, 87. (Type, _Ornysmya
costæ_.)
[Line drawing: _Calypte costæ._
39399 ♂ 39400 ♀]
GEN. CHAR. Bill longer than the head, straight or slightly curved;
tail rather short. Outer primary not attenuated at end. Top of head,
as well as throat, with metallic scale-like feathers, a decided and
elongated ruff on each side the neck.
[Illustration: _Calypte costæ._]
The metallic feathers on top of head, the attenuated outer
tail-feathers (except in _C. helenæ_), and the elongated ruff,
distinguish the males of this genus very readily from any other in
North America.
Species.
A. No rufous on tail-feathers; tail forked or emarginated.
_a._ Lateral tail-feather as broad as the others; tail
emarginated. Rump and middle tail-feathers blue.
C. helenæ.[114] Very small (wing, 1.15); metallic hood
and ruff of the male purplish-red. _Hab._ Cuba.
_b._ Lateral tail-feather abruptly narrower than the
others, tail forked. Rump and middle tail-feathers
green.
C. anna. Large (wing, 2.00); outer tail-feather with a
double curve, the end inclining outward. Metallic hood
and ruff of the male purplish-red. _Hab._ California.
C. costæ. Small (wing, 1.75); outer tail-feather with
a simple curve, the end inclining inward. Metallic
hood and ruff of the male violet-blue. _Hab._ Southern
California, Arizona, and Mexico.
B. Inner webs of tail-feathers mostly rufous, and outer
webs edged with the same. Tail rounded. Lateral
tail-feather abruptly narrower than the others.
C. floresi.[115] Size of _C. anna_. Hood and ruff of
the male crimson. _Hab._ Table-lands of Mexico
(Bolanos).
[114] _Calypte helenæ_, (LEMB.) GOULD, Monog. Troch. III,
pl. cxxxvi. _Orthorhynchus helenæ_, LEMB. Aves de l’Isle de
Cuba, p. 70, pl. x, fig. 2. _O. boothi_, GUNDL. MSS. (GOULD,
Monog.).
[115] _Calypte floresi_, (LODD.) _Trochilus floresi_, LODD.
MSS. _Selasphorus floresi_, GOULD, Monog. Troch. III, pl.
cxxxix. There are certainly few reasons for considering this
bird as a _Selasphorus_, while there are many for referring
it to _Calypte_. The only feature that it shares with the
former is the peculiar coloration, and to some extent the
shape, of the tail. However, in _Selasphorus_ the outer
primary is always (in the male) attenuated and acute at the
tip, and the crown is never metallic, while in _Calypte_ the
outer primary is never attenuated nor acute, and the crown
of the male is always metallic. The form and coloration of
the tail are nothing more than a specific character, since
no two species, of either genus, agree in this respect. In
view, then, of these considerations, we find _floresi_ to be
strictly congeneric with the other species of _Calypte_.
Calypte anna, GOULD.
ANNA HUMMING-BIRD.
_Ornismya anna_, LESSON, Oiseaux Mouches, 1830, (?) pl. cxxiv.
_Trochilus anna_, JARDINE, Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, I, 93,
pl. vi.—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 428, pl.
ccccxxviii.—IB. Birds America, IV, 1842, 188, pl.
cclii.—HEERM. X, _S_, 56 (nest). _Calliphlox anna_,
GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. III, 1846, 3.—IB. Journ. 2d
ser. I, 1847, 32. _Trochilus (Atthis) anna_, REICHENBACH,
Cab. Jour. Extraheft for 1853, 1854, App. 12. _Trochilus
icterocephalus_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 712
(male with forehead covered with yellow pollen). _Atthis
anna_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 137. _Calypte annæ_,
GOULD, Introd. Trochilidæ.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 358.
[Line drawing: _Calypte anna._
5501 ♂ 44953 ♀]
SP. CHAR. Largest of North American species of Humming-Bird. Tail
deeply forked; external feather narrow, linear. Top of the head,
throat, and a moderate ruff, metallic crimson-red, with purple
reflections. Rest of upper parts and a band across the breast green.
Tail-feathers purplish-brown, darkest centrally. In the female the
tail is slightly rounded, not emarginate; the scales of the head and
throat are wanting. Tail barred with black, and tipped with white.
Length, about 3.60; wing, 2.00; tail, 1.45.
HAB. Mexico and coast region of California.
[Illustration: _Calypte anna._]
The _C. floresi_ of the table-lands of Mexico resembles this species
in every respect except the tail, which is somewhat like that of
_Selasphorus rufus_. The only North American species to which the male
of this bird bears any resemblance is the _A. costæ_, which has the
same metallic crown and other generic features. The latter, however,
is much smaller; has the metallic reflections varied, chiefly violet,
instead of nearly uniform purplish-red. The tail is much less deeply
forked, the depth being only about .10 of an inch, instead of .32; the
outer feather is much narrower. The females of the two, however,
appear to be distinguishable only by their relative size. The absence
of rufous, and the rounded, not graduated, tail always separates the
female of _anna_ from that of _Selasphorus rufus_. The larger size is
the chief distinction from the female _Calypte costæ_, while the size
and less acutely pointed outer tail-feathers distinguish it from the
female _Trochilus colubris_.
We have never seen any specimens of this bird taken out of California,
nor quoted of late years as occurring in Mexico, although stated by
Gould to belong to the table-lands.
HABITS. This beautiful Humming-Bird is found from the high table-lands
of Mexico throughout the western portions of that region, and through
all the coast country of California, from the slopes of the Sierra to
the ocean. It was first taken in Mexico, and named in honor of Anna,
Duchess of Rivoli. Mr. Nuttall was the first of our own naturalists to
take it within our territory. He captured a female on its nest near
Santa Barbara. This was described and figured by Audubon. The nest was
attached to a small burnt twig of _Photinia_, and was small for the
bird, being only 1.25 inches in breadth. It was somewhat conic in
shape, made of the down of willow catkins, intermixed with their
scales, and a few feathers, the latter forming the lining. It had none
of the neatness of the nests of our common species, and was so rough
on the outside that Mr. Nuttall waited several days in expectation of
its being completed, and found the female sitting on two eggs when he
caught her. Dr. Cooper, however, thinks this description applies much
better to the nest of _T. alexandri_, as all that he has seen of this
species are twice as large, and covered externally with lichens, even
when on branches not covered with these parasites.
Dr. Gambel, in his paper published in 1846 on the birds of California,
describes this as a very abundant species, numbers of which pass the
entire winter in California. At such times he found them inhabiting
sheltered hillsides and plains, where, at all seasons, a few bushy
plants were in flower and furnished them with a scanty subsistence. In
the latter part of February and during March they appeared in greater
numbers. About the Pueblo the vineyards and the gardens were their
favorite resort, where they build a delicate downy nest in small
flowering bushes, or in a concealed spot about a fence. In April and
May they may be seen in almost every garden.
In the wilder portions of the country Dr. Gambel found them attaching
their nest almost exclusively to low horizontal branches of the
_Quercus agrifolia_, or evergreen oak, so common in that region. The
nest he describes as small, only about an inch in depth, and 1.25
inches in diameter, formed in the most delicate manner of pappus and
down of various plants matted into a soft felt, with spider’s-webs,
which he frequently observed them collecting for the purpose, in the
spring, along hedges and fence-rows. The base of the nest is formed of
a few dried male aments of the oak, which, with the adjoining
felt-like matting of pappus, are agglutinated and bound around the
twig with a thick layer of spider’s-webs. The note of this bird, he
states, is a slender _chep_, frequently repeated. During the
breeding-season they are very pugnacious, darting like meteors among
the trees, uttering a loud and repeated twittering scold. They also
have the habit of ascending to a considerable height, and then of
descending with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a peculiar
cry. The glutinous pollen of a tubular flower upon which these birds
feed often adheres to the rigid feathers of the crown, and causes the
bird to seem to have a bright yellow head. Nuttall, who never obtained
the male of this species, but saw them in this condition, supposed
this to be a yellow spot in the crown, and hence his supposed species
of _icterocephalus_.
In California, south of San Francisco, this species was also observed,
by Dr. Cooper, to be a constant resident in mild winters, remaining
among the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, at least fifteen hundred
feet above the sea. There he has found them quite common in February.
At that season flowers, and consequently insects, are more abundant
than in the dry summers. The males are in fine plumage early in
January.
Dr. Cooper states that the nests of this species are built at various
heights and positions, often in gardens, and sometimes on dead
branches, without any attempt at concealment except the outside
covering of lichens. He has found them made almost wholly of mosses,
with only a lining of feathers and down of plants. In the neighborhood
of San Francisco the young are sometimes hatched as early as the
middle of March. This species appears to be more hardy than the
others, being common along the coast border, though Dr. Cooper saw
none near the summits of the Sierra Nevada.
The notes of the male bird, he states, are like the sound produced by
the filing of a saw or the whetting of a scythe. They enter familiarly
into the city of San Francisco, and even venture into rooms, attracted
by the flowers. They are bold and confident, approach to within a few
feet of man, but at the least motion disappear like a flash.
Dr. Heermann found this species quite common at San Diego in March,
and in its full spring plumage. In September he procured a number of
specimens on a small island in the Cosumnes River. While on the wing
in pursuit of insects, or after alighting on a small branch, he heard
them utter a very weak twitter, continued for a minute or more.
A nest of this species from Petaluma is about 1.50 inches in diameter,
and 1.00 in height, and bears no resemblance to the one described by
Nuttall. It is made of a commingling of mosses and vegetable down,
covered externally with a fine yellow lichen. The eggs measure .60 by
.40 of an inch, and are about ten per cent larger than those of any
other North American Humming-Bird.
Another nest of this Humming-Bird, obtained in Petaluma, Cal., by Mr.
Emanuel Samuels, measures 1.75 inches in diameter, and about 1.00 in
height. Its cavity is one inch in diameter at the rim, and half an
inch in depth. Its lining is composed of such soft materials that its
limits are not well defined. The base of the nest is made of feathers,
mosses, and lichens of several varieties of the smaller kinds. The
periphery and rim of the nest are of nearly the same materials. The
inner fabric consists of a mass of a dirty-white vegetable wool, with
a lining of the very finest and softest of feathers, intermingled with
down from the seeds of some species of silkweed. The predominant
lichen in the base and sides of the nest is the _Ramalina menziesii_,
which is peculiar to California. The nest contained a single egg.
Calypte costæ, GOULD.
COSTA’S HUMMING-BIRD; RUFFED HUMMER.
_Ornismya costæ_, BOURCIER, Rev. Zoöl. Oct. 1839, 294 (Lower
California).—IB. Ann. Sc. Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Lyon, 1840,
225, tab. ii.—PREVOST & DES MURS, Voyage de la Venus, Zool. I,
1855, 194, Atlas, tab. ii, f. 1, 2. _Selasphorus costæ_, BON.
Conspectus Avium, I, 1850, 82. _Atthis costæ_, REICHENBACH,
Cab. Jour. für Orn. Extraheft, 1853, 1854.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am.
1858, 138, pl. xix.—KENNERLY, P. R. R. x, b, 36, pl. xix.
_Calypte costæ_, GOULD, Mon. Humming-Birds.—COOPER, Orn. Cal.
I, 1870, 360.
SP. CHAR. Tail very slightly emarginated and rounded; exterior feather
very narrow, and linear. A very long ruff on each side of the throat.
Head above and below, with the ruff, covered with metallic red, purple
and violet (sometimes steel green). Remaining upper parts and sides of
the body green. Throat under and between the ruffs, side of head
behind the eye, anal region, and under tail-coverts whitish. Female
with the tail rounded, scarcely emarginate; barred with black, and
tipped with white. The metallic colors of the head wanting. Length,
3.20; wing, 1.75; tail, 1.10; bill, .68.
HAB. Mexico, Southern California, and the Colorado Basin, Monterey
(NEBOUX). Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 57).
Specimens vary considerably in the color of the ruff, which, however,
is only occasionally green; violet being the prevailing shade. The
length of this appendage varies considerably.
The female of this species differs much from the male in the absence
of the metallic scales on the head and throat. It has a close
resemblance to the female _T. colubris_, although the bill is smaller
and narrower. The tail-feathers are narrower, more linear, and less
acutely pointed at the tip. The black on the outer tail-feathers,
instead of extending very nearly to the base, is confined to the
terminal half, the basal portion being green. All the tail-feathers
are terminated by white, although that on the fourth and fifth is very
narrow. In _T. colubris_ this color is confined to the three outer
ones. The much smaller size will alone distinguish it from the female
of _C. anna_.
HABITS. This species is a Mexican bird, first discovered by Signor
Floresi among the valleys of the Sierra Madre, in that country,
throughout the western portions of which it is said to be an abundant
species, as well as along our southern borders, whence it extends into
New Mexico, the Colorado Valley, Southern California, and Arizona. It
was first described by Bourcier in 1839, and named in honor of the
Marquis de Costa, of Chambery.
Mr. Xantus found this species exceedingly abundant at Cape St. Lucas.
It has also been found on the eastern coast of the Gulf of California,
at Guaymas, and Mazatlan, and also on the table-lands of Mexico.
It was first added to our fauna by Dr. Kennerly, who obtained
specimens near Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico, February 9, 1854. At
that early season a few flowers had already expanded beneath the
genial rays of the sun, and around them the party rarely failed to
find these beautiful birds. They had already paired, and were
constantly to be seen hovering over the flowers. Their notes consisted
of a rapid chirping sound. As Dr. Kennerly’s party approached the
coast of California, where the valleys abounded with flowers of every
hue, these birds continued flitting before them in great numbers. Dr.
Coues states that this species was not taken at Fort Whipple, though
abundantly distributed throughout the Territory, particularly in its
southern and southwestern portions, and found about fifty miles south
of Prescott. It is presumed to winter within the Territory, and also
within the valley of the Colorado. Dr. Cooper did not observe any at
Fort Mohave until March 5, and they were not numerous afterwards. At
San Diego, in 1862, when the spring was unusually backward, he saw
none before April 22, and he has since met with them as far north as
San Francisco, where, however, they are rare. The notes uttered by the
male he compares to the highest and sharpest note that can be drawn
from a violin. Nothing more is known as to their distinctive specific
peculiarities.
GENUS SELASPHORUS, SWAINSON.
_Selasphorus_, SWAINSON, F. B. A. II, 1831, 324. (Type, _Trochilus
rufus_.)
[Line drawing: _Selasphorus rufus._
2896 ♂]
As already stated, the characters of _Selasphorus_, as distinguished
from _Calypte_ (to which it is most nearly related, through the _C.
floresi_), consist in the lack of metallic feathers on the crown, and
in the attenuation of the outer primary, and the pointed and acuminate
cuneate (instead of forked) tail.
As distinguished from _Trochilus_, the quills diminish gradually,
instead of showing an abrupt transition between the fourth and fifth,
so characteristic of the two species of _Trochilus_, as restricted.
The very attenuated tip of the outer primary is a character entirely
peculiar to _Selasphorus_.
The two North American species, though strictly congeneric, differ
from each other considerably in details of form, as well as in color.
They may be distinguished from each other and from their two Central
American allies as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
A. Feathers of the metallic gorget not elongated
laterally.
S. platycercus. Above continuous metallic green;
tail-feathers merely edged with rufous. Gorget
purplish-red.
Wing, 1.90; tail, 1.40; bill (from forehead), .66.
Gorget rich solferino-purple, the feathers
grayish-white beneath the surface. Outer primary with
its attenuated tip turned outward. _Hab._ Rocky
Mountains and Middle Province of United States, south
to Guatemala var. _platycercus_.
Wing, 1.65; tail, 1.20; bill, .41. Gorget dull
velvety-crimson, the feathers ochraceous beneath the
surface. Outer primary apparently with its attenuated
tip curved inward. _Hab._ Costa Rica var. _flammula_.[116]
B. Feathers of the metallic gorget much elongated
laterally.
S. rufus. Above chiefly rufous, overlaid by green
(except in _S. scintilla_, which is almost wholly green
above); tail-feathers rufous with a shaft-streak of
dusky. Gorget fiery red. Attenuated tip of outer primary
curved inwards.
Wing, 1.60; tail, 1.30; bill, .65. Rufous prevailing
above; gorget very brilliant. _Hab._ Western Province
of North America, from East Humboldt Mountains to the
Pacific. North to Sitka, south to Mirador var. _rufus_.
Wing, 1.35; tail, 1.00 to 1.10; bill, .42. Continuous
green above; gorget not brilliant, but with a dusty
appearance. Tail less graduated. _Hab._ Costa Rica and
Chiriqui var. _scintilla_.[117]
[116] _Selasphorus_ (_platycercus_, var. ?) _flammula_
(SALV.). _Selasphorus flammula_, SALVIN, P. Z. S. 1864
(Costa Rica). (Described above from specimen in Mr.
Lawrence’s collection.)
[117] _Selasphorus_ (_rufus_ var. ?) _scintilla_ (GOULD).
_Selasphorus scintilla_, GOULD, P. Z. S. 1850, 162, Monog.
Troch. III, pl. cxxxviii. The foregoing species are so
similar in all essential respects to the northern _S.
platycercus_ and _S. rufus_, that it is exceedingly probable
that they are merely the southern forms of those species.
Both differ in exactly the same respects from their northern
representatives, namely, in smaller size and less burnished
throat, and to a very slight degree only in form. The only
specimen of the _S. flammula_ that we have examined is a
badly shot male in Mr. Lawrence’s collection; what appears
to be the outer primary in this specimen is not attenuated
at the tip, which is curved inward, instead of acutely
attenuated and turned outward as in _platycercus_; the wings
are badly cut with shot, however, and the first primary may
be wanting.
Selasphorus rufus, SWAINSON.
RUFOUS-BACKED HUMMING-BIRD.
_Trochilus rufus_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 497.—AUD. Orn. Biog.
IV, 1838, 555, pl. ccclxxii. _Selasphorus rufus_, SWAINSON,
F.-Bor. Am. II, 1831, 324.—AUD. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 200, pl.
ccliv.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 134.—_Cooper & Suckley_,
164.—_Dall & Bannister_, Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869, 275
(Alaska).—_Finsch_, Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 29 (Alaska).—COOPER,
Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 355. _Trochilus collaris_, LATH.
(Bonaparte). _Trochilus sitkensis_, RATHKE (Bonaparte).
_Ornysmia sasin_, LESSON (Bonaparte).
SP. CHAR. Tail strongly cuneate and wedge-shaped. Upper parts, lower
tail-coverts, and breast cinnamon. A trace of metallic green on the
crown, which sometimes extends over the back, never on the belly.
Throat coppery red, with a well-developed ruff of the same; below this
a white collar. Tail-feathers cinnamon, edged or streaked at the end
with purplish-brown. _Female_ with the rufous of the back covered or
replaced with green; less cinnamon on the breast. Traces only of
metallic feathers on the throat. Tail rufous, banded with black and
tipped with white; middle feathers glossed with green at the end. Tail
still cuneate. Length of male, 3.50; wing, 1.55; tail, 1.30.
HAB. West coast of North America, and across from Gulf of California
to the Upper Rio Grande Valley, and along the table-lands of Mexico,
south; in Middle Province east to East Humboldt Mountains.
Specimens from the table-lands of Mexico are smaller than those from
Oregon, and have yellower, less ruby throats.
[Illustration: _Selasphorus rufus._]
HABITS. This brilliant species has an extended distribution throughout
the western part of North America, being found from the valley of the
Rio Grande to the Pacific, and from Mexico to Sitka. It was first
discovered near Nootka Sound, by that distinguished navigator, Captain
Cook, and described by Latham, and has been met with as far to the
south as Real del Monte, on the table-lands of Mexico, by Mr. Taylor,
whose specimens were described by Mr. Swainson.
Dr. Coues found it very abundant at Arizona, near Fort Whipple, as it
is also along the whole slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is a summer
resident in that Territory, and breeds there abundantly, arriving at
Fort Whipple April 10, and remaining until the middle of September,
being found in all situations, particularly meadows, open copses,
ravines, etc., where flowers are most abundant.
Mr. Dall gives them as common summer residents at Sitka. Bischoff
obtained sixteen specimens. Dr. Suckley says they are very abundant in
the western provinces of both Oregon and Washington Territory, and in
Vancouver Island. They appear to be very hardy, and are one of the
earliest of the migratory birds to arrive in spring. At Fort
Steilacoom, latitude 47°, they appeared April 10. They are supposed to
commence their southern migrations from that region in September,—a
move induced by the scarcity of flowers and lack of means of
captivating insects, rather than by cold. In Washington Territory
their incubation commences about the 10th of May, and is made evident
by the fierce and angry battles continually occurring between the male
birds, in which they tilt at each other at full speed, at the same
time keeping up a loud and vociferous squeaking and buzzing.
A nest with eggs, of this species, obtained by Dr. Cooper near Fort
Slaughter, May 23, was found in the forked branch of a snowberry-bush.
It was composed principally of fine green moss, lined internally with
the delicate floss of the cottonwood, and externally bordered most
artistically with rock lichens. The female was on the nest, and
allowed so near an approach as almost to admit of being grasped by the
hand. The nest was 2.00 inches in diameter and 1.50 in height. The
eggs measured .45 by .33 of an inch, and were white, as in all the
species.
Dr. Cooper states that the appearance of this species at the Straits
of Fuca is coincident with the blossoming of the red-flowering
currant, which begins to bloom on the Columbia March 10. The male of
this species has a remarkable habit, when a stranger or a wild animal
approaches its nest, of rising to a great height in the air, and of
then darting down perpendicularly upon the intruder, producing a
hollow rushing sound, like that of the Night-Hawk, but of a much
sharper tone. These sounds are produced by the wings. In July, when
flowers are more abundant among the mountain summits, they leave the
lower country. Dr. Cooper found them abundant in August at an
elevation of nearly six thousand feet, and where ice was formed at
night in their camp.
In California, Dr. Cooper has not found any of this species remaining
in winter, even at San Diego, where, however, he has known them to
arrive as early as the 5th of February. He also saw several on the 22d
of the same month feeding among the flowers of the evergreen
gooseberry. By the first of April they were swarming about San Diego.
Their young are hatched before the middle of June. When perching, this
species is said to utter a shrill wiry call, like the highest note of
a violin. They also produce a curious kind of bleating sound. They are
among the most noisy and lively of their race, are very quarrelsome,
chase each other away from favorite flowers, rising into the air until
out of sight, chirping as they go in the most excited manner.
Mr. Lord noticed the arrival of this species at Little Spokan River,
in latitude 49°, early in May. He found their nests usually in low
shrubs and close to rippling streams. The females of this and other
species are said to arrive about a week later than the males.
Dr. Heermann for several successive seasons found many pairs of these
birds breeding in the vicinity of San Francisco.
Mr. Nuttall compares the appearance of the male birds of this species,
when he approached too near their nests, to an angry coal of brilliant
fire, as they darted upon him, passing within a few inches of his face
as they returned again and again to the attack, making a sound as of a
breaking twig.
Dr. Woodhouse, who found this bird abundant in New Mexico,
particularly in the vicinity of Santa Fé, speaks of the great noise
they make for so small a bird, and of their quarrelsome and pugnacious
disposition.
Mr. R. Brown, in his synopsis of the birds of Vancouver Island, notes
the appearance of this species, from the end of March to the beginning
of May, according to the state of the season. Its nest was built on
the tips of low bushes, or the under branches of trees. This was the
only species of Humming-Bird seen west of the Cascade Mountains.
The Rufous Hummer was first noticed by Mr. Ridgway in the valley of
the Truckee River, in August, where it was the only species shot, and
was extremely abundant among the sunflowers which ornament the
meadows. In May of the succeeding year, when the same locality was
again visited, not one of this species was to be found, its place
being apparently supplied by the _T. alexandri_, which was quite
common, and breeding. Eastward it was met with as far as the East
Humboldt Mountains, where, however, only a single pair was seen, and
one of them shot, in September.
Selasphorus platycercus, GOULD.
BROAD-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD.
_Trochilus platycercus_, SW. Philos. Mag. I, 1827, 441 (Mexico).
_Selasphorus platycercus_, GOULD, Mon. Trochilid. or
Humming-Birds, III, May, 1852.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 135,
pl. xliii, figs. 1 and 2.—COOPER, Pr. Cal. Ac. 1868 (Lake
Tahoe).—IB. Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 357. _Ornismia tricolor_,
LESSON, Colibris, 125 (no date), pl. xiv (Brazil).—IB.
Trochilide. 1831, 156, pl. lx (Mexico).—JARDINE, Nat. Lib. II,
77, pl. xiii. _Ornismya montana_, LESSON, Trochilid. 1831, 161,
pl. lxiii, adult, and 163; pl. lxiv, young (Mexico).
[Line drawing: ♂ 10847 _Selasphorus platycercus._ 10750 ♀]
SP. CHAR. Outer primaries greatly attenuated at the end and turned
outward. Outer tail-feathers nearly linear, but widening a little from
the base; its width .20 of an inch. Tail slightly graduated and
emarginate. _Male_ above and on the sides metallic green; chin and
throat light reddish-purple, behind which, and along the belly to the
tail, is a good deal of white. Wings and tail dusky purplish; the
tail-feathers, excepting the internal and external ones, edged towards
the base with light cinnamon. _Female_ without the metallic gorget;
the throat-feathers with dusky centres. The tail somewhat cuneate, as
in the male, the feathers less pointed; the outer three
cinnamon-rufous at base (this extending somewhat along the outer
edges), then black, and broadly tipped with white (much as in the male
_Atthis heloisa_), the inner two feathers green, the fourth with black
spot at end, and only edged at base with rufous. The sides and crissum
also tinged with cinnamon. Length, 3.50; wing, 1.92; tail, 1.40. Bill,
gape, .80.
HAB. Table-lands of Mexico and Rocky Mountains, and Middle Province of
United States, north to Wyoming Territory. Uintah, Wahsatch, and East
Humboldt Mountains (RIDGWAY); Sierra Nevada (COOPER); Cordova (SCL. P.
Z. S. 1856, 288); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 129); Arizona (COUES, P. A.
N. S. 1866, 57).
A decided character of this species among its North American relatives
is the rufous outer border of the exterior tail-feathers. This rufous
in _S. rufus_ pervades most of the feathers, instead of being
restricted as above. Females of the two species are not dissimilar:
those of _S. platycercus_ are larger, less rufous beneath; the
tail-feathers broader and less pointed, and with the inner two (on
each side) entirely green to base (the fourth edged with rufous),
instead of being principally rufous, except at tip.
Specimens from Mirador, Mexico, are undistinguishable from those of
Fort Bridger; those from Guatemala are smaller than the Mexican.
HABITS. Until recently this Humming-Bird has been presumed to be an
exclusively Mexican and Central American species. Until taken within
our limits, it had been supposed to be confined on the north to the
Mexican plateau, westward to the city, and thence southward to
Guatemala, while throughout this region it is said to be very
generally and very plentifully distributed. It was first taken, in
1851, by Mr. J. H. Clark, near El Paso, Texas. Subsequently numerous
specimens were seen by Dr. Coues on the summit of Whipple’s Pass of
the Rocky Mountains, in July, feeding among clumps of wild roses. It
was not noticed near Fort Whipple, though the range of this species is
now well known to include New Mexico and Arizona, as far north, at
least, as Fort Bridger in Wyoming. It was found breeding abundantly in
the vicinity of Fort Grant, Arizona, by Dr. Palmer.
This Humming-Bird was found by Mr. Allen more or less common among the
foot-hills, as well as among the mountains, of Colorado, and extending
several miles out on the plains. On Mount Lincoln, in Colorado, he
found it exceedingly numerous, and though larger and otherwise
different from the eastern Ruby-throat, it might easily be mistaken
for it. The shrill whistling of its wings, he adds, is a peculiarity
one is sure to notice. This Humming-Bird continued to be common on the
sides of Mount Lincoln to far above the timber line, being apparently
as much at home among the bright flowers growing on the highest parts
of the mountain as in the valleys.
At Lake Tahoe, at an elevation of six thousand feet, Dr. Cooper found
the young of this species quite common near the middle of September.
Supposing them to be the more common _S. rufus_, he only obtained a
single specimen. He thinks that these birds extend their northern
migrations as far as the Blue Mountains, near Snake River, Oregon, and
that they are the ones referred to by Nuttall as seen by him in
autumn, and supposed to be the _rufus_.
The nests of this species procured by Dr. Palmer were large for the
size of the bird, unusually broad and shallow, composed of soft downy
pappus from seeds of plants, and vegetable down, with the outer walls
covered with mosses and lichens. The eggs are not distinguishable from
those of the other species.
The Rocky Mountain or Broad-tailed Hummer, according to Mr. Ridgway’s
observations, is the most abundant species in the Great Basin, though
he did not see it to recognize it west of the East Humboldt Mountains.
It is essentially a bird of the mountains, since in that region there
are few flowers elsewhere; yet in the gardens of Salt Lake City, an
altitude far below its usual habitat, it was abundant. Its favorite
resorts are the flowery slopes of the higher and well-watered
mountain-ranges of the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain system, at an
average elevation of about eight or nine thousand feet, yet it will be
found wherever flowers are abundant. Mr. Ridgway saw one at an
altitude of about twelve thousand feet, in July, on the East Humboldt
Mountains, but it merely passed rapidly by him. In the Wahsatch
Mountains, particularly in the neighborhood of Salt Lake City, this
species was most plentiful. It there nested abundantly in the
scrub-oaks on the hills or slopes of the cañons.
The male bird is very pugnacious, and was observed to attack and drive
away an _Accipiter fuscus_, the Hawk retreating as rapidly as
possible. When the nest is approached, the male often rises high into
the air and then sweeps down almost to the head of the intruder, its
swift descent being accompanied by a very peculiar shrill, screeching
buzz, of an extraordinary degree of loudness to be produced by so
small a creature. The same sound Mr. Ridgway noticed when the bird was
passing overhead, in a manner not observed in any other species, its
horizontal flight being by a peculiar undulating course. The shrill
noise made by the male of this species he suggests may be caused by
the curious attenuated and stiffened outer primary. He noticed a
curious piece of ingenuity in nest-making on the part of this species.
The nest in question was fastened upon a dead twig of a small
cottonwood-tree; the loosening bark, which probably had separated
after the nest was finished, had allowed the nest to turn around so as
to hang beneath the branch, thus spilling the eggs upon the ground.
The owners, however, built another nest upon the top of the branch,
fastening its sides to that of the old one, and making the new nest
lighter and less bulky, so that the weight of the older nest kept the
other in a permanently upright position.
GENUS ATTHIS, REICHENBACH.
_Atthis_, REICH. Cab. Jour. f. Orn. extraheft für 1853, 1854.
Appendix B. (Type, _Ornysmya heloisa_, LESSON, DEL.)
GEN. CHAR. Size very diminutive; bill short, scarcely longer than the
head. Outer primary attenuated nearly as in _Selasphorus_; the tail
graduated, the feathers, however, not lanceolate-acute, but rounded at
end, and tipped with white in the male.
[Line drawing: _Atthis heloisa._
♂ 25874 24618 ♀]
This genus seems closely related to _Selasphorus_, agreeing in
character of throat, the curious attenuation of outer primary, and the
general shape of the tail, with its rufous base and edging. The
feathers, however, are not lanceolate and pointed, either sharply as
in _S. rufus_, or obtusely as in _platycercus_, but are more equal to
near the end, where they round off. The white tip of the tail in the
male seems to be the principal reason why Mr. Gould removes the single
species from _Selasphorus_, where it was previously placed by him, and
where perhaps it might have not inappropriately remained.
Atthis heloisa, LESS. & DEL.
HELOISA’S HUMMING-BIRD.
_Ornysmya heloisa_, LESSON & DELATTRE, Rev. Zoöl. 1838, 15 (Xalapa).
_Mellisuga heloisa_, GRAY & MITCHELL, Gen. Birds, I, 113.
_Tryphæna heloisa_, BONAP. Consp. Troch. Rev. Mag. Zoöl. 1854,
257. _Selasphorus heloisæ_, GOULD, Mon. Trochil. III, pl. cxli.
_Atthis heloisæ_, REICH. Cab. Jour. extraheft, 1853, App.
12.—GOULD, Introd. Trochil. 1861, 89.—ELLIOT, Illust. Birds
N. Am. I, xxi, XII, plate.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 361.
SP. CHAR. _Male._ Above metallic green with golden reflections;
beneath white; the sides of breast glossed with green; the flanks with
rufous, which tinges the crissum very faintly; gorget brilliant violet
or light purplish-red, bordered behind by clear white. All the
tail-feathers rufous-cinnamon for basal half; the three outer black
centrally and tipped with white (mixed with reddish on the third); the
fourth green, centrally tipped with black; the central entirely green
for the exposed portion, perhaps glossed with blackish at the end.
Length, 2.70; wing, 1.35; tail, 1.00; exposed part of bill above, .45.
_Female._ Outer primary not attenuated. Colors similar to male,
wanting the metallic gorget; the feathers spotted with dusky; crissum
and flanks more rufous; innermost tail-feathers entirely green; other
feathers as in male, but with the central black encroaching on the
basal rufous; third and fourth feathers tipped with reddish-white.
HAB. Southern New Mexico and Texas, to Guatemala.
The introduction of this species into the fauna of the United States
is based on a female specimen collected by Mr. J. H. Clark at El Paso,
Texas, and for a time supposed to be _Selasphorus rufus_, but after a
careful examination by Mr. Lawrence, pronounced to belong to this
species. Its range is southward along the highlands to Guatemala.
The species is very much like _Selasphorus_ in shape, and hardly
differs more than _S. rufus_ and _platycercus_ do from each other. The
male is easily distinguished from its allies; the females are closely
related to those of _rufus_, differing in much shorter bill (.55 to
.65), much less rufous on the more nearly even tail, with broader
feathers, etc.
HABITS. This species claims a place within the fauna of North America,
probably only as an accidental visitor, on the ground of a single
specimen,—a female, taken by Mr. J. H. Clark at El Paso, Texas. It
was at first mistaken for _Selasphorus rufus_. It is a Mexican and
Central American species, ranging throughout the highlands at least as
far to the south as Guatemala, where it was taken by Mr. Salvin.
It was first discovered on the highlands of Mexico by Mr. Delattre,
who procured his specimens between Jalapa and Quatepu. It is
crepuscular in its habits, collecting its food only in the morning or
in the evening. Mr. Delattre states that the male bird is known to
rise very early in the morning, and is never seen in quest of food
later than nine in the forenoon. It very seldom goes to any distance
from its mate or young, seeming to prefer to frequent the flowers in
the edge of forests, but does not disdain those of the open fields.
Mr. Salvin received specimens of this species taken in a place called
Chimachoyo near Calderas, in the Volcan de Fuego, and other specimens
taken in the _tierra caliente_, near Coban, showing that, like many
other species, it is found in very different climates.
GENUS HELIOPÆDICA, GOULD.
_Heliopædica_, GOULD, Mon. Trochilidæ, II, Introd. Trochil. 1861,
60. (Type, _Trochilus melanotus_, SWAINSON.)
[Line drawing: _Heliopædica xantusi._
♂ 17767 16935 ♀]
GEN. CHAR. Bill longer than head, depressed, broad at its exposed
base; the frontal feathers not advancing forward beyond the beginning
of the nostrils, nor so far as those of the chin. Hind toe shorter
than the lateral, tarsi feathered; outer primary not attenuated. Tail
nearly even, slightly rounded and emarginate, the feathers broad, the
webs nearly even. Metallic feathers of throat not elongated. Female
quite similar in form.
This genus is quite peculiar among those of North America in the
exposure of the base of bill, which is entirely bare between the
lengthened nostrils, instead of covered by the frontal feathers. This
makes the bill appear very broad, although it really is more so than
in the other genera. The feathers on the chin extend considerably
beyond those of the forehead, instead of to about the same line. The
tail and its feathers are much broader than in the other genera.
The two known species of this genus may be distinguished by the
following characters:—
COMMON CHARACTERS. Above metallic green; tail plain black or
chestnut, glossed with green, and without white in either
sex. A conspicuous white post-ocular stripe, and a blackish
auricular one beneath it; beneath with more or less green.
♂. Forehead, chin, and side of head deep black or metallic
dark blue; throat and jugulum brilliant green. ♀. Front dull
brownish-green; chin, throat, and jugulum white or
ochraceous, with or without a green gloss.
H. melanotis.[118] _Male._ Belly white, glossed with
green; tail black beneath; base of bill, all round,
brilliant blue; white cheek-stripe beginning back of the
eye. _Female._ Beneath white glossed with green; tail
bluish-black. _Hab._ Guatemala and table-lands of Mexico.
H. xantusi. _Male._ Belly cinnamon; tail beneath
purplish-cinnamon; chin black; white cheek-stripe
beginning at the bill. _Female._ Beneath plain pale
rufous; tail deep rufous. _Hab._ Cape St. Lucas.
[118] _Heliopædica melanotis_, (SWAINS.) GOULD, Monog.
Troch. II, pl. lxiv. _Trochilus melanotus_, SWAINS. Phil.
Mag. 1827, 441. _Trochilus leucotis_, VIEILL. _Ornismyia
arsenni_, LESS. _Hab._ Mexico and Guatemala.
Heliopædica xantusi, LAWRENCE.
XANTUS’S HUMMING-BIRD.
_Amazilia xantusi_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, April, 1860, 109.
_Heliopædica xantusi_, GOULD, Mon. Troch. II, pl. lxv.—IB.
Introd. Troch. 61.—ELLIOT, Ill. Birds N. Am. XI,
plate.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 365. _Heliopædica
castaneocauda_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1860, 145
(female).—ELLIOT, Illust. Birds N. Am. I, xxii.
[Illustration: _Heliopædica xantusi._]
SP. CHAR. _Male._ Above metallic green; the forehead, cheeks, and chin
velvety black (the former with a deep blue gloss). A distinct white
stripe from bill, through and behind the eye. Throat and forepart of
breast brilliant metallic green; rest of under parts cinnamon-rufous;
all the tail-feathers purplish-rufous,—the central glossed with green
above, near the edges, the others obscurely edged with blackish along
ends. Bill red at base, black at end. Length, 3.50; wing, 2.10; tail,
1.40; exposed portion of bill above, .65. _Female._ Forehead and all
under parts light cinnamon beneath, without any green, or any dusky
specks on throat; white cheek-stripe appreciable, but tinged with
rufous. Tail as in male, but the central feathers entirely green
above, the other, except the outer, with a dusky greenish or purplish
spot on each web near the end. Whole upper mandible apparently dusky;
base of lower, red.
HAB. Cape St. Lucas.
This well-marked and interesting species we owe to Mr. Xantus,
together with many other birds of the west coast. It is sufficiently
distinct to require no comparison other than that given under the
general head; it can be separated from _H. melanotis_ in all stages of
plumage by the rufous tail.
Specimens vary sometimes in the intensity of the rufous shade, and, as
stated, it is probable that the forehead, instead of being black, in
full plumage is deep blue, as in _melanotis_.
HABITS. This is a new and well-marked species, and although belonging
to the North American fauna cannot be claimed for the United States,
having thus far been only taken at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus, and
described by Mr. Lawrence in 1860. Nothing is known as to its specific
habits.
GENUS THAUMATIAS, BONAP.
GEN. CHAR. Very similar in general form to _Heliopædica_, but the tail
emarginated, instead of rounded, the feathers narrower and less
rounded at the ends. The coloration quite different. Sexes alike, in
all the species. Color nearly uniform green, with the anal region
white, the wings and tail dusky. Many species with the whole lower
parts, except laterally, pure white. One species (_T. chionurus_) with
the tail white, except the ends of the feathers and the intermediæ.
The species are all of rather small size and rather plain appearance,
from the uniformity of their green, or green and white, coloring. They
belong to northern South America, and to Central America north to
Guatemala.
The genus is included in the North American fauna solely upon the
accidental occurrence of one species (_T. linnæi_) in Eastern
Massachusetts.
Thaumatias linnæi, BONAP.
LINNÆUS’S EMERALD.
_Thaumatias linnæi_, BONAP. Rev. et Mag. de Zoöl. 1854, 255.
_Thaumatias l._ GOULD, Monog. Trochilid. pl. _? Trochilus
tobaci_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. I, 498. _? Trochilus tobagensis_,
LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 316. _? Trochilus tobago_, SHAW, Gen. Zoöl.
viii, 350. _Ornismya viridissima_, LESS. Hist. Nat. 257, pl.
lxxv. _? L’Oiseau-mouche à poitrine verte_ (_Trochilus
maculatus_), AUD. et VIEILL. Ois. Dor. tom. I, 87, pl. xliv.
_Argyrtria maculata_, MAYNARD, Birds E. Mass. 1870, 128
(Cambridge, Mass.!).
SP. CHAR. Continuous green, darker above, more brilliant, and of an
emerald tint on the throat and jugulum; crissum, anal region, and
middle of the abdomen, white. Primaries plain dusky. Tail blackish,
with a faint reflection of dark blue subterminally, and of dull green
basally, the lateral feathers obscurely tipped with dull dark ashy.
Sexes alike. Wing, about 2.00; bill, .70.
HAB. Northern Brazil, Guiana, Tobago, and Bogota (GOULD)?? Accidental
in the eastern United States (Cambridge, Mass., MAYNARD).
This race much resembles the _T. albiventris_, (REICHENB.) BONAP.
(GOULD, Monog. Troch., Vol. V, p. ccci), of Brazil, but is said to be
smaller and with less white on the abdomen and the under tail-coverts
tinged with gray.
HABITS. The single specimen of this Humming-Bird, referred to by both
Mr. Maynard and Mr. Allen[119] as having been taken in Massachusetts,
is said to have been shot by Mr. William Brewster in the summer of
1868, in Cambridge, near Mount Auburn. It was secured by accident, and
was presumed to be, when taken, a female specimen of _Trochilus
colubris_. It was sent to Mr. Vickary, of Lynn, to be mounted, and the
question has been raised if by chance a South American bird may not
have been substituted for the original. This, however, Mr. Vickary is
positive could not have happened. Nothing distinctive was observed as
to its habits. In view, however, of the possibility of an error, the
propriety of including it in our fauna is very questionable.
[119] Am. Naturalist, 1869-70.
* * * * *
The three families next in order are those generally known as the
_Zygodactyli_, in their more restricted sense, that is, having the
toes arranged in pairs, two before and two behind. In the present case
the anterior toes are the inner and the middle (the second and third),
the posterior being the hinder and outer (the first and fourth);
where, as is sometimes the case, a hind toe is wanting, it is the
first, or the hind toe proper.
By this definition we exclude the _Trogonidæ_, the _Bucconidæ_, and
the _Galbuilidæ_, which likewise have the toes in pairs, but in which
they are differently combined.
The North American families, the _Cuculidæ_, the _Picidæ_, and the
_Psittacidæ_, are defined as follows:—
A. Upper mandible not movable nor hinged. Tarsus with
transverse scutellæ. Bill without a naked skin, or cere,
at the base; lower mandible much longer than deep, the end
not truncated.
_a._ Tongue short, and not extensible; not barbed at the
point.
Bill hooked or curved at tip; not constructed for
hammering. No nasal tufts _Cuculidæ_.
_b._ Tongue long and cylindrical, and generally capable
of great extension; barbed at the point.
Bill not hooked, but nearly straight; strong, and
constructed for hammering. Thick nasal tufts at base
of the bill (except in the _Nudinares_). _Picidæ_.
B. Upper mandible movable or hinged. Tarsus without
transverse scutellæ. Bill with a naked skin, or cere, at
the base; lower mandible not longer than deep, its end
truncated.
_c._ Tongue short and thick, fleshy.
Bill enormously large, much curved, the upper mandible
hooked, both much arched _Psittacidæ_.
FAMILY CUCULIDÆ.—THE CUCKOOS.
CHAR. Bill compressed, usually more or less lengthened and with
decurved culmen. Rictal bristles few or none. Nostrils exposed, no
nasal tufts. Tail long and soft, of eight to twelve feathers. Toes in
pairs, deeply cleft or not united, the outer anterior toe usually
versatile, but directed rather laterally than backward.
The _Cuculidæ_ form a strongly marked group of birds, easily
distinguished among the _Zygodactyli_ by the characters given above.
The outer toe is versatile, but in the American form is more lateral
than posterior in the skin, standing sideways, or even anterior, more
frequently than behind.
Modern systematists divide the family into six or more subfamilies, of
which two only are American, none of these having more than ten
tail-feathers. These may be characterized as follows:—
Coccyginæ. Face covered with feathers; bill elongated,
more or less cylindrical, straight or curved. Tail of ten
feathers.
Bill about the length of the head, or not longer;
curved. Loral feathers soft. Legs weak, tarsus shorter
than the toes. Arboreal _Coccygus_.
Bill longer than the head; straight. Loral feathers
stiff, bristly. Tarsi much longer than the toes.
Terrestrial _Geococcyx_.
Crotophaginæ. Face naked. Bill much compressed, with a
sharp crest. Tail of eight feathers. Bill shorter than and
nearly as high as the head. _Crotophaga_.
SUBFAMILY COCCYGINÆ.
GENUS GEOCOCCYX, WAGLER.
_Geococcyx_, WAGLER, Isis, 1831, 524.
_Leptostoma_, SWAINSON, Classification Birds, II, 1837, 325.
GEN. CHAR. Bill long and strong, slightly compressed, and at least as
long as the head; head crested; loral feathers, and those at base of
bill, stiffened and bristly. Nostrils elongated, linear. A naked
colored skin around and behind the eye; the eyelids ciliated. Tarsi
longer than the toes; very stout. Wings very short and concave; the
tertials as long as the primaries. Tail longer than the head and body;
composed of ten narrow, much graduated feathers.
[Line drawing: _Geococcyx californianus._
12925 ♂]
This remarkable genus is represented in the United States by a single
species, known as the Paisano, Chaparral Cock, or sometimes
Road-Runner, on account of its frequenting public highways. Its very
long legs enable it to run with great rapidity, faster even than a
fleet horse. A second species occurs in Mexico, the _Geococcyx
affinis_ of Hartlaub. This is smaller, and differently proportioned.
In both the feathers above are bronzed brown and green; nearly all
with opaque white edges; beneath white, with black streaks on the
sides of neck and breast; the feathers with broad white tips; the
principal differences are as follows:—
G. californianus. Bill above, about 2.00; gape nearly
straight to near tip; nostril behind middle of gape.
Feathers of throat and upper part of breast light
brownish, with shaft-streaks of black. _Hab._ Southwestern
United States, from Cape St. Lucas and Southern California
to Texas.
G. affinis.[120] Bill above about 1.60; gape gently curved
throughout. Nostril opposite middle of gape. Feathers of
throat and breast fulvous-white, without shaft-streaks,
except on the sides, where they are broad and abruptly
defined. _Hab._ Mexico, from Mazatlan to Xalapa.
This last species is common at Mazatlan, as well as elsewhere in
Mexico, and may yet be found in Arizona.
[120] _Geococcyx affinis_, HARTLAUB, Rev. Zoöl. 1844,
215.—BONAP. 97.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 305.—SCLATER &
SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, 134.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 325.
_Geococcyx velox_, KARW. BONAP. 97.
Geococcyx californianus, BAIRD.
PAISANO; ROAD-RUNNER; CHAPARRAL COCK.
_Saurothera californiana_, LESSON, Complem. Buff. VI, 1829,
420.—BOTTA, Ann. du Mus. 1835, 121, pl. (Cape St. Lucas to San
Francisco). _Geococcyx variegata_, WAGLER, Isis, V, 1831, 524.
_Saurothera bottæ_ (BLAINVILLE), LESSON, Traité d’Orn. I, 1831,
145. _Diplopterus viaticus_ (LICHT.) BOIE, Isis, 1831, 541 (no
description). _Geococcyx viaticus_, HARTLAUB, Rev. Zoöl. 1844,
215.—M’CALL, Pr. A. N. Sc. III, July, 1847, 234.—BON. Consp.
1850, 97.—IB. Consp. Zygod. in Aten. Ital. 1854, 5.—HEERMANN,
J. A. N. Sc. Ph. 2d series, II, 1853, 270.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl.
Cal. and Oregon Route, 91, P. R. R. Rep. VI, 1857. _Saurothera
marginata_, KAUP, Isis, 1832, 991; tab. xxvi (fig. of head and
foot). _Leptostoma longicauda_, SWAINSON, Birds, II, 1837,
325.—GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. S. I, 1843, 263. _Geococcyx mexicanus_,
GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. 2d series, I, 1849, 215 (not of
GMELIN).—CASSIN, Ill. I, 1855, 213, pl. xxxvi.—SCLATER,
Catal. 324, 1862.—HEERM. X, _S_, 59 (nest). _Geococcyx
californianus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 73.—COOPER, Orn.
Cal. I, 1870, 368.
SP. CHAR. Tail very long; the lateral feathers much shortest. An
erectile crest on the head. A bare skin around and behind the eye.
Legs very long and stout.
All the feathers of the upper parts and wings of a dull metallic
olivaceous-green, broadly edged with white near the end. There is,
however, a tinge of black in the green along the line of white, which
itself is suffused with brown. On the neck the black preponderates.
The sides and under surface of the neck have the white feathers
streaked centrally with black, next to which is a brownish suffusion.
The remaining under parts are whitish, immaculate. Primary quills
tipped with white, and with a median band across the outer webs.
Central tail-feathers olive-brown; the others clear dark green, all
edged, and (except the central two) broadly tipped with white. Top of
the head dark blackish-blue. Length, 20 to 23 inches; wing, about
6.50; tail, 12 to 13. Size generally very variable.
[Illustration: _Geococcyx californianus._]
HAB. Middle Texas, New Mexico, and California to Central Mexico. Seen
as far north as Fort Reading, California, and Fort Chadbourne, Texas.
Localities: Southeast Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 466, resident); W.
Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 57); Cape St. Lucas (XANTUS); Kioway
Agency (DR. PALMER).
There are seemingly no differences of plumage depending on sex, age,
or season.
In calling this species _Geococcyx californianus_ we do not feel
entirely sure that we have selected the earliest name. Hartlaub and
other authors give 1829 as the date of Lesson’s Vol. VI, of complement
to Buffon (VI, 420). A copy of this volume in the Library of Congress
bears date of 1834 upon the titlepage. It is, however, quoted at the
date of 1829 by Engelmann, so that the copy referred to above may
possibly be a second edition, or with a new post-dated titlepage. In
this uncertainty, however, we prefer to retain the name of
_californianus_.
Botta, in his description of the bird (the original of Lesson’s
species), speaks of it as occurring from Cape St. Lucas to San
Francisco. Specimens from Cape St. Lucas, brought by Mr. Xantus, are
smaller than those of Upper California, but otherwise apparently
identical.
HABITS. This very remarkable bird, variously named, in Mexico, Texas,
and California, the Paisano, the Road-Runner, the Chaparral Cock, the
Ground Cuckoo, the Prairie Cock, and the Corre-camino, is one of the
most curious and interesting of the recent additions to our
ornithological lists. It is found throughout Northern Mexico, Texas as
far north as Port Chadbourne, and in California as far as Fort
Reading. It is also abundant in portions of Arizona and New Mexico,
and is supposed to be resident in all these districts. It is described
as very remarkable for great swiftness of foot, in which it appears to
be equalled by no other North American bird. In Mexico, and in some
parts of the United States, it is not unusual to hunt these birds, as
a matter of amusement, on horseback, and to pursue them with
hounds,—a test of their fleetness in which they are said to often
make a longer race than their pursuers anticipated.
This bird habitually frequents the ground. When walking or running,
its long tail is borne in an erect position, and often assumes a
variety of grotesque positions. While thus more or less terrestrial in
its habits, and sharing with gallinaceous birds many of their
peculiarities, it has no other affinities with them, but ranks in a
very different ornithological division, being classed with the
Cuckoos.
This bird was first brought to the attention of American naturalists
by Dr. William Gambel, who published a description of it in 1845. Two
years afterwards Colonel McCall published the first satisfactory
account that has been given of its habits and manners of life. He
states that though this bird is zygodactyle, with toes disposed in
opposite pairs, yet that the reversibility of the outer toe favors its
use for climbing or perching, as well as for movements on the ground.
The food of the Ground Cuckoo consists of coleopterous and almost
every other description of insects, and where snails abound they also
are greedily eaten. These are usually taken either from the ground or
a branch, and carried to a particular spot, where the shell is broken
and its contents eaten. Piles of these shells are often found thus
collected in places frequented by them. They are also said to be ready
and expert in catching their prey in the air, sometimes springing up
to the height of eight or ten feet. In these performances the wings
and tail are expanded for but a moment, the bill is heard to snap as
the insect is seized, and the bird drops again suddenly to the ground.
Colonel McCall adds that the general impression that its powers of
flight are very limited is not correct. When suddenly alarmed in open
ground, it rises with a light quick motion, and flies some hundreds of
yards continuously with an ease that attests its ability to maintain
even a longer flight. He has often seen it climb to the top of a
straight leafless branch, and there sit, apparently to enjoy the first
rays of the morning sun.
They are shy and retiring in disposition, wary, vigilant, and
cautious, so that it is generally difficult to approach them on the
open ground. When suddenly surprised and driven to fly a considerable
distance for cover, though they fly with evident ease, they rarely
rise higher than six or eight feet from the ground. In evidence of its
wonderful swiftness of foot, Colonel McCall states that when on one
occasion, approaching Limpia Creek, in Texas, with a small party, he
discovered a Chaparral Cock in the open road, about a hundred yards in
advance, for his amusement he put spurs to his horse, and dashed after
the bird with one of the men. It was thus pursued for full four
hundred yards along a smooth and level road, over which with
straightened neck and slightly expanded wings it swiftly glided
without seeming to touch the ground. When at last it sought shelter in
the thicket, they had not gained upon it more than fifty yards.
Captain McCown kept a young half-grown bird in confinement, but it
refused to eat, and soon died; others, however, have been more
fortunate, and have succeeded in taming them.
Dr. Heermann states that the stomachs of all these birds examined by
him were filled with the grasshoppers and the large black beetles
found on the plains. A nest of this bird was found by him, built on
the branches of the cactus, and constructed of loose sticks put
negligently together in a manner similar to the nests of the
Yellow-billed Cuckoos. It contained two large white and nearly
spherical eggs.
Dr. Gambel states that these birds devour reptiles as well as other
insects, which is also confirmed by the observations of Mr. Arthur
Schott.
Lieutenant Couch mentions that this bird, called Paisano by the
Mexicans, is also held in high estimation by them on account of its
enmity to the rattle-snake, which it usually succeeds in killing in
fair combat. Though by no means deficient in courage, it is
represented as remarkably quiet and harmless in its habits. The only
note he heard from it was a weak scream, which is seldom uttered. It
is unsocial, is never seen in flocks, and rarely wanders from its
restricted locality.
In regard to their note, Dr. Cooper mentions hearing one at Fort
Mohave making a low cooing noise like that of a dove, for which it was
at first mistaken. He afterwards heard it cooing harshly and
chattering its mandibles together, at the same time jerking up its
tail and erecting its crest.
Where not molested, Dr. Cooper states that they become quite tame, and
seem to have a preference for towns and houses. At Santa Barbara he
observed one young bird nearly fledged as early as May.
Mr. A. J. Grayson had one of these birds in confinement, which became
quite tame, and readily fed upon any kind of raw meat, but preferred
lizards and small birds, the latter of which it swallowed, feathers
and all. If given to him alive, he would play with them awhile before
swallowing them, as a cat does with a mouse. They are sometimes tamed,
and kept about gardens to kill mice and insects. Dr. Kennerly also
states that when taken alive they soon become quite tame, and
willingly remain about a house, soon destroying all the mice in the
vicinity, which they catch with as much dexterity as a cat.
Mr. Dresser found this bird abundant throughout the mesquite regions,
and more particularly so near the Rio Grande. He found its eggs near
San Antonio in April and May, and received them even as late as the
23d of September. They build a clumsy nest of mesquite twigs, placed
at some height on a bough or in a hollow tree, and lay from two to
four pure white eggs. The stomachs examined by Mr. Dresser were found
to contain small snakes, lizards, and ticks. He had one in a
semi-domesticated state at Matamoras, which became very tame, and was
so mischievous that he could not let it remain in the house. It would
steal and hide everything that it could carry off, and was
particularly fond of tearing up letters and upsetting the inkstand. It
was never caged or tied up, and would frequently pay the neighbors a
visit, always returning before evening. He fed it on raw meat and
lizards. It flew with great ease, and was very fond of perching on the
house-top. This bird had a singular antipathy to a tame parrot, and
whenever the latter was let out of the cage, it would get into a rage,
and either go to the house-top or decamp to some of the neighbors.
The eggs are white, of a rounded oval, equal at either end, and
measure 1.60 by 1.22 inches.
GENUS COCCYGUS, VIEILLOT.
_Coccyzus_, VIEILLOT, Analyse, 1816. (Type, _Cuculus americanus_, LINN.)
_Erythrophrys_, SWAINSON, Class. Birds, II, 1837, 322.
GEN. CHAR. Head without crest; feathers about base of bill soft; bill
nearly as long as the head, decurved, slender, and attenuated towards
the end. Nostrils linear. Wings lengthened, reaching the middle of the
tail; the tertials short. Tail of ten graduated feathers. Feet weak;
tarsi shorter than the middle toe.
The species of _Coccygus_ are readily distinguished from those of
_Geococcyx_ by their arboreal habits, confining themselves mainly to
trees, instead of living habitually on the ground. The plumage is
soft, fine, and compact.
The American Cuckoos differ from the European (_Cuculus_) by having
lengthened naked tarsi, instead of very short feathered ones. The
nostrils, too, are elongated instead of rounded. The habits of the two
are entirely different, the American species rearing their own young,
instead of laying the eggs in the nests of other birds, like the
European Cuckoo and the American Cowbird (_Molothrus pecoris_).
[Line drawing: _Coccygus americanus._
1541 ♂]
The following synopsis will serve to distinguish the North American
species of _Coccygus_, with their more nearly related southern allies,
all of them being of a light greenish color above, tinged with ashy
towards the head:—
Species and Varieties.
A. Tail-feathers except two middle ones black, with broad,
sharply defined terminal spaces of white.
_a._ Lower mandible yellow.
1. C. americanus. Beneath pure white, with an ashy
shade across the jugulum. Inner webs of primaries
mostly rufous. Auriculars nearly concolor with the
nape. Length, 12.00; wing, 5.45; tail, 5.64; culmen,
1.00; tarsus, .90. _Hab._ United States (very rare in
the Western Province), Jamaica, Porto Rico.
2. C. minor. Beneath ochraceous, generally paler
anteriorly. Inner webs of primaries without any
rufous. Auriculars blackish, conspicuously different
from the nape. Length, 12.00; wing, 5.30; tail, 7.50;
graduation of tail, 2.75. Tail-spots about 1.00 long.
_Hab._ West Indies, and Northern and Eastern South
America, Southern Florida.
_b._ Lower mandible blackish like the upper (pale blue
in life).
3. C. melanocoryphus.[121] Colors similar to those of
_C. minor_, but upper parts more brown. Wing, 4.50;
tail, 5.85; graduation of the tail, 2.00. Tail-spots
about .50 long. _Hab._ South America (Buenos Ayres,
Peru, La Plata, Cayenne, etc.).
B. Tail-feathers all grayish-brown, with narrow terminal,
obscure spots of white.
_c._ Lower mandible blackish like the upper (pale blue
in life?).
C. erythrophthalmus. No rufous on primaries, except in
young (which have black bill, brown tail-feathers,
etc.). Beneath continuous white, with a faint
ashy-buff shade across the jugulum; above
grayish-brown. Bare eyelids bright red in the adult.
Length, 11.30; wing, 5.12; tail, 6.24; tarsus, .90;
culmen, 1.00. _Hab._ Eastern Province of the United
States, south through eastern Middle America to Bogota.
[121] _Coccygus melanocoryphus_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict. VIII,
271.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 323.—IB. P. Z. S. 1864, 122.
Coccygus americanus, BONAP.
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.
_Cuculus americanus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 170, 10. _Coccyzus
americanus_, BON. Obs. Wilson, 1825, No. 47.—IB. Conspectus,
1850, IV.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 18, V; 520, pl. ii.—IB.
Birds Am. IV, 1842, 293, pl. cclxxv.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
76.—SCL. Cat. 1862, 322.—COOPER, Pr. Cal. Ac. 1868
(Sacramento, Cal.)—SAMUELS, 83.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
371. _Erythrophrys americanus_, SW. Birds II, 1837.—BON. List,
1838. _Cureus americanus_, BON. List, Eur. Birds, 1842. _?
Cuculus dominicensis_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 170, 13. _?
Cuculus dominicus_, LATHAM, Syst. I, 1790, 221 (considered
distinct by BONAPARTE). _Coccygus dominicus_, BAIRD, pl.
_Cuculus carolinensis_ (BRISSON), WILSON, Am. Orn. IV, 1811,
13, pl. xxviii. _Cuculus cinerosus_, TEMMINCK, Man. IV, 1835,
277. _Coccyzus pyrrhopterus_, VIEILL. Dict. _Coccygus bairdi_,
SCLATER, P. Z. S. March, 1864, 120 (Jamaica; no rufous
externally on wing). _? Coccygus julieni_, LAWR. Ann. N. Y.
Lyc. VIII, June, 1864, 42, 99 (Sombrero Island; no rufous on
wing).
[Illustration: _Coccygus americanus._]
SP. CHAR. Upper mandible and tip of lower, black; rest of lower
mandible and cutting edges of the upper, yellow. Upper parts of a
metallic greenish-olive, slightly tinged with ash towards the bill;
beneath white. Tail-feathers (except the median, which are like the
back) black, tipped with white for about an inch on the outer
feathers, the external one with the outer edge almost entirely white.
Quills orange-cinnamon; the terminal portion and a gloss on the outer
webs olive; iris brown. Length, 12.00; wing, 5.95; tail, 6.35.
HAB. Eastern United States to the Missouri plains. California and
Nevada (RIDGWAY); Mazatlan; Jamaica; Porto Rico. Localities: ? Sta.
Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 149, eggs!); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 154; GUNDL. Rep.
I, 1866, 295); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. Jam. 279?) Costa Rica (CAB. J. 1862,
167); Lower Rio Grande (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 466, breeds).
There is considerable variation in the amount of rufous in the quills;
sometimes this shows very distinctly externally, sometimes it is
entirely replaced by the bronzed olive of the back. A greater amount
of the rufous seems to characterize the more southern and Jamaica
specimens, which also are smaller; northern specimens, however, show
similar variations. In the immature birds the under surface of the
tail-feathers is gray, not black, so that the contrast with the white
tips is very indistinct, as in _erythrophthalmus_, in which, however,
these light tips are much narrower, while the bill is entirely black.
Specimens of this bird from regions west of the Missouri, and
especially one from Cantonment Burgwyn, New Mexico, are appreciably
larger than eastern, with decidedly longer bill. One brought from
Mazatlan by Mr. Xantus is undistinguishable from the long-billed
western variety.
HABITS. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is distributed throughout North
America from Canada to Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to
California. It has been met with in all the principal West India
Islands. I have received specimens of its eggs and nest from
Southwestern Texas. Audubon mentions finding this bird high up on the
Mississippi River, on the upper branches of the Arkansas, and in Upper
Canada, as well as in every State between these limits. Mr. Newton
found it breeding in the island of St. Croix, Mr. Gosse mentions it as
a bird of Jamaica, and Lembeye gives it among those of Cuba, and Mr.
Salvin found it in Central America. It is known to breed from the West
Indies and Florida to Minnesota, and from New Brunswick to Texas. It
does not appear to have been met with in any of the government
expeditions, except by Dr. Woodhouse, who speaks of it as very common
in the Indian Territory, Texas, and New Mexico.
This species was seen on one occasion, and heard at other times, near
Sacramento City, Cal., by Mr. Ridgway, in June, 1867. It was there
rare, or at least not common, and found principally in the
willow-thickets. It was again met with in July, of the same year,
along the Truckee River, in Nevada, where, also, it appeared to be
very rare.
Wilson traced it as far north as Lake Ontario, and speaks of finding
it numerous in the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, and as breeding in
the upper part of Georgia. He seems to have observed very carefully
its habits, and to have enjoyed favorable opportunities for his
observations. His account of their nesting is interesting. He states
that, in marked contrast to the singularly unparental conduct of their
European relatives, the American Cuckoos build their own nest, hatch
their own eggs, and rear their own young, and that in conjugal and
parental affection they seem to be surpassed by no other birds. He
adds that they begin to pair early in May, and commence building about
the 10th of that month. He describes their nest as usually fixed among
the horizontal branches of an apple-tree; sometimes in a solitary
thorn, crab, or cedar, in some retired part of the woods. It is
constructed with little art, and scarcely any concavity, of small
sticks and twigs, intermixed with green weeds and blossoms of the
maple. On this almost flat bed the eggs, usually three or four in
number, are placed; these are of a uniform greenish-blue color, and of
a size proportionate to that of the bird. While the female is sitting,
the male is usually not far distant, and gives the alarm by his notes
when any person is approaching. The female sits so close that you may
almost reach her with your hand, and then precipitates herself to the
ground, feigning lameness to draw you away from the spot, fluttering,
trailing her wings, and tumbling over in the manner of the Woodcock
and other birds. Both parents unite in providing food for the young.
This consists chiefly of caterpillars, particularly such as infest
apple-trees.
Mr. Audubon speaks of this species as not abundant anywhere, therein
differing from Wilson’s statements, but more in accordance with my own
observations. They are, as a species, pretty generally distributed,
but at the same time their numbers are materially affected by the
character of the locality, as they are chiefly to be met with on low
grounds and in damp places. Mr. Audubon also describes their nest as
simple and flat, composed of a few dry sticks and grass, formed much
like that of the Carolina Dove, and like it fastened to a horizontal
branch, often within reach. He subsequently states that when in
Charleston, S. C., in the early part of June, 1837, he was invited by
Mr. Rhett to visit his grounds in the vicinity of that city, for the
purpose of viewing a nest of this bird. The following is his account
of it: “A nest, which was placed near the centre of a tree of moderate
size, was reached by a son of the gentleman on whose grounds we were.
One of the old birds, which was sitting upon it, left its situation
only when within a few inches of the climber’s hand, and silently
glided off to another tree close by. Two young Cuckoos, nearly able to
fly, scrambled off from their tenement among the branches of the tree,
and were caught. The nest was taken, and carefully handed to me. It
still contained three young Cuckoos, all of different sizes, the
smallest apparently just hatched, the next in size probably several
days old, while the largest, covered with pin-feathers, would have
been able to leave the nest in about a week. There were also in the
nest two eggs, one containing a chick, the other fresh or lately laid.
The two young birds which escaped from the nest clung so firmly to the
branches by their feet, that our attempts to dislodge them were of no
avail, and we were obliged to reach them with the hand. On looking at
all these birds, our surprise was great, as no two of them were of the
same size, which clearly showed that they had been hatched at
different periods, and I should suppose the largest to have been fully
three weeks older than any of the rest. Mr. Rhett assured us that he
had observed the same in another nest, placed in a tree within a few
paces of his house. He stated that eleven young Cuckoos had been
successively hatched and reared in it by the same pair of old birds in
one season, and that young birds and eggs were to be seen in it at the
same time for many weeks in succession.”
Mr. Nuttall states that the nest of this bird is usually forsaken by
the owner if the eggs are handled before the commencement of
incubation. They are very tenacious and affectionate towards their
young, and sit so close as almost to allow of being taken off by the
hand. They then frequently precipitate themselves to the ground,
fluttering, tumbling, and feigning lameness, in the manner of many
other affectionate and artful birds, to draw the intruder away from
the vicinity of the brood. At such times, the mother also utters the
most uncouth guttural sounds as she runs along the ground. While the
female is engaged in sitting on her charge, the male takes his station
at no great distance, and gives alarm by his notes, on the approach of
an intruder. When the young are hatched, both unite in the labor of
providing them with food. He subsequently states that these birds
hatch several broods in a season, which he inferred from the fact of
his meeting with a nest containing eggs as late as the 28th of August.
He also speaks of finding in one instance an egg of the Cuckoo laid in
the nest of a Catbird, and in another instance (June 15) an egg in the
nest of a Robin. Such instances must, however, be very rare. No other
writer mentions any similar instance, and none have ever fallen under
my observations.
Mr. Gosse, in his Birds of Jamaica, describes the Yellow-bill as among
the birds of that island, speaks of it as among the regular visitants
in spring, but makes no mention of its breeding there.
Mr. Edward Newton, in his paper on the birds of St. Croix (Ibis, 1859,
p. 149), gives an interesting account of its breeding in that
locality. He adds his testimony to the general credit given to this
species for the conjugal affection they evince. On one occasion, he
says, a male having been shot, and shrieking as it fell, the female
instantly flew to the spot, and fluttered along the ground in the
manner that an old hen Partridge or other bird would do, to lead
astray the pursuer of her young. On June 2, 1858, he shot a female of
this species, having an egg in her ovary nearly ready for exclusion;
it was quite soft, but had its proper color. On the 29th of the same
month, while riding, he saw the white terminal spots of a Cuckoo’s
tail projecting from a small nest on a manchineel that overhung the
path. It was built in a very open situation, and the bird, as he rode
underneath, was not more than a yard above his head. She sat with
nearly all her neck and breast outside the nest, which was only just
large enough to contain the eggs. She did not fly off until after he
had tied up the pony hard by, and had almost touched her with his
whip. There were three eggs, laid side by side in a row, _along_ which
the bird had been sitting. The nest was at some distance from the stem
of the tree, and placed loosely on the bough. It was a mere platform
of small sticks laid one across another, with a few finer twigs and a
little grass as a lining; so slightly was it put together, that, on
attempting to take it from the tree, it fell to pieces.
No writer besides Mr. Audubon makes any mention of, or appears to have
been aware of, the peculiar habits of these birds in hatching out
their successive depositions of eggs, one by one. In this respect they
are eccentric, and do not always exhibit this trait. While I have
repeatedly observed facts exactly corresponding with those noticed by
Mr. Audubon in the garden of Mr. Rhett, at other times I have found in
the opening of the season three or four eggs laid before incubation
commenced, and all hatched before others were deposited. Then the
parents seemed to depend, in no small degree, upon the warmth of the
bodies of the older offspring to compensate to the younger for their
own neglect, as well as for the exposed and insufficient warmth of the
nest. I have repeatedly found in a nest three young and two eggs, one
of the latter nearly fresh, one with the embryo half developed, while
of the young birds one would be just out of the shell, one half
fledged, and one just ready to fly. My attention was first called to
these peculiarities of hatching as early as 1834, by finding, in
Cambridge, in a nest with three young birds, an egg which, instead of
proving to be addled, as I anticipated, was perfectly fresh, and
evidently just laid. Subsequent observations in successive seasons led
to the conviction that both this species and the Black-billed Cuckoo
share in these peculiarities, and that it is a general, but not a
universal practice. These facts were communicated to Mr. Audubon, but
not before his attention had been called to the same thing.
In referring to these peculiarities of the American Cuckoo, Mr.
Audubon finds in them a closely connecting link with the European
bird, and Mr. Darwin, carrying still farther the same idea, finds in
them also data for regarding our birds as only one remove from the
vagaries of the European Cuckoo. At the first glance there may seem to
be some plausibility in these deductions. The mere apology for a nest
of our Cuckoos and their alternations of laying and hatching may, to
some extent, be regarded as but one remove from the total neglect of
the European to build any nest, making, instead, successive
depositions in the nests of other birds. But there are other
peculiarities of our Cuckoos to be taken into consideration, totally
variant from the polygamous, unconjugal, and unparental European.
Their devotion to their mates and to their offspring, in which both
sexes vie with each other; their extended breeding-season, varying
from one to nearly four months,—all these characteristics separate
them by a long interval from their namesakes of the Old World.
If the nests of the Cuckoos are incomplete and insufficient, so are
also those of the most exemplary of parents, the whole tribe of
Pigeons, and, like the latter, our Cuckoos more than atone for such
deficiencies by the devoted fidelity with which they adhere to their
post of duty even in the face of imminent dangers; while, after the
first offspring of the season have been hatched, the warmth of their
bodies becomes an additional protection from the exposure of the bare
platform on which they are deposited.
The eggs of this species are of an oblong-oval shape, equally obtuse
at either end, and measure 1.30 inches in length by 1.00 in breadth.
They vary considerably in size, their minimum breadth being .90 of an
inch, and the length 1.20 inches. Their color is a uniform light
bluish-green, extremely fugitive, and fading even in the closed drawer
of a cabinet.
Coccygus minor, CABANIS.
MANGROVE CUCKOO.
_? Cuculus minor_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 411. _? Coccyzus
minor_, CABANIS, Cab. Journal für Orn. 1856, 104
(Cuba).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 78.—_Cuculus seniculus_,
LATH. Ind. I, 1790, 219. _Coccyzus seniculus_, NUTTALL, Man. I,
1832, 558.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 390, pl. clxix.—IB.
Birds America, IV, 1842, 303, pl. cclxxvii.—GOSSE, Birds
Jamaica, 281.—BON. Conspectus, 1850, III. _Erythrophrys
seniculus_, BON. List, 1838. _Coccygus dominicus_, SCL. Cat.
1862, 323.
SP. CHAR. Lower mandible yellow, except at the tip. Body above
olivaceous, strongly tinged with ashy towards and on the head. Beneath
pale yellowish-brown, darkest on the legs and abdomen, becoming
lighter to the bill. An elongated spot of dark plumbeous behind the
eye. Inner edges of the quills and under wing-coverts like the belly.
Tail-feathers, except the central, black, with a sharply defined tip
of white for about an inch, this color not extending along the outer
web of the quill. Length about 12.00; wing about 5.25.
HAB. Florida Keys to West Indies. Localities: ? Sta. Cruz (NEWTON,
Ibis, I, 150); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 154; GUNDL. Repert. I, 1866, 295);
Jamaica (GOSSE, B. Jam. 281).
This species is readily distinguishable by its fulvous under parts,
dark ear-coverts, and lack of rufous on inner webs of quills. It has
the yellow bill and dark tail, with broad white tips, of _C.
americanus_, although the white does not extend along the outer web of
the feathers.
According to Mr. Audubon, this species is a regular summer visitor to
Key West and the other Florida keys.
This species is more especially West Indian, occurring in nearly all
the islands. There are some local variations in color (Porto-Rican
being much redder, Bahaman paler), as well as in size, but in a large
series from the same island there will be found such differences as to
warrant us in considering all as one species. In a very large series
before us, we cannot see any tangible difference, although Cabanis and
Sclater recognize a _C. nesiotes_ from the Antillean West Indies, as
distinguished from _C. seniculus_ from South American and the windward
West Indies; the former, smaller and paler, and, according to Cabanis,
with the white of tip of tail confined to the inner web; the latter
darker beneath, and larger. These characters I do not find
substantiated, nor have I seen one specimen without white in both webs
at the ends of the tail-feathers.
As the name of _C. minor_ is the earliest one for at least the South
American race, we retain it in preference to _seniculus_, as although
scarcely _minor_ in this genus, it is so compared with _Piaya_,
_Geococcyx_, and _Saurothera_.
HABITS. This species claims a place in the fauna of North America as a
resident of the Florida keys. This is the only locality positively
known as its habitat within the limits of the territory of the United
States. The only specimen referred to in the ninth volume of the
Pacific Railroad Surveys was supposed to have been obtained in
Florida. Mr. Nuttall, who was the first to include the Mangrove Cuckoo
among North American birds, speaks of it as an inhabitant chiefly of
Cayenne, and as occasionally visiting the extreme Southern States. Mr.
Audubon, who was the first to meet with the species within the limits
of the United States, only obtained specimens of it in Florida, near
Key West. I have seen a specimen which was given to Mr. John G. Bell
as having been procured in Southern Mississippi. Mr. Gosse obtained
specimens of this bird in Jamaica, though he had no opportunity of
observing its domestic economy. In the month of January the specimens
he dissected had eggs in their ovaries as large as duck-shot. Dr.
Gundlach gives it as a Cuban bird, but does not mention it as one that
breeds on that island. The Newtons met with this species in St. Croix,
but appear to have regarded it as not a summer resident, but only in
the light of a visitant in the winter.
Mr. March, referring without doubt to this species, mentions it as a
constant resident in the island of Jamaica, where it is common in the
lowlands during summer. It is said to breed from March to July,
building in the low branches of trees or in shrubs. The nest is
described as a structure composed of a few dry sticks, so loosely put
together that it falls to pieces on any attempt to remove it. Three,
rarely four, eggs are laid, which are of a glaucous-green color, oval,
generally round at both ends, and varying in size from 1.25 inches by
.90 to 1.38 inches by 1 inch.
Of late years no specimens seem to have been obtained in Florida,
either by Maynard or by the many other explorers of the Peninsula; and
even if the earlier notices are correct, we may have to consider it as
merely a straggler from the Bahamas, like _Certhiola bahamensis_,
_Crotophaga ani_, _Phonipara zena_, _Vireosylvia barbatula_, etc.
Mr. Audubon, who was the only one of our naturalists who met with the
nest and eggs, discovered them near Key West. He describes the nest as
slightly constructed of dry twigs, and as almost flat, nearly
resembling that of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The eggs are the same in
number and form as those of that species, but are somewhat larger. It
is said to raise two broods in one season, and to feed its young on
insects until they are able to provide for themselves. An old bird,
caught on its nest, which Mr. Audubon saw confined in a cage, refused
all food and soon pined itself to death,—thus evincing, in his
opinion, the great affection these birds have for their own eggs. An
egg in the Smithsonian Institution collection, given me by Mr. John G.
Bell of New York, is said to have been obtained in Mississippi with
the parent bird. Its color has slightly faded, and, except in its
greater comparative breadth, it is not distinguishable from the eggs
of the Yellow-bill.
Coccygus erythrophthalmus, BON.
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO.
_Cuculus erythrophthalmus_, WILSON, Am. Orn. IV, 1811, 16, pl.
xxviii. _Coccyzus erythrophthalmus_, BON. Obs. Wils. 1825,
48.—IB. Consp. 1850, IV.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 170; V,
523, pl. xxxii.—IB. Birds America, IV, 1842, 300, pl.
cclxxvi.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 77.—SCL. Cat. 1862,
323.—_Samuels_, 85. _Erythrophrys erythrophthalmus_, BON.
List, 1838. _Coccyzus dominicus_, (LATH.) NUTT. Man. I, 1832,
556 (not of LATHAM, which belongs rather to _C. americanus_, on
account of the red quills and white edge of outer tail-feather).
SP. CHAR. Bill entirely black. Upper parts generally of a metallic
greenish-olive, ashy towards the base of the bill; beneath pure white,
with a brownish-yellow tinge on the throat. Inner webs of the quills
tinged with cinnamon. Under surface of all the tail-feathers hoary
ash-gray. All, except the central on either side, suffused with darker
to the short, bluish-white, and not well-defined tip. A naked red skin
round the eye. Length, about 12.00; wing, 5.00; tail, 6.50.
HAB. United States to the Missouri plains, south to Bogota.
Localities: Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 154, nests; GUNDL. Repert. I, 1866,
295); Guatemala (SALVIN, Ibis, II, 276); Mexico and Bogota (SCL. Cat.
323); Isth. Panama (LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 62); Costa Rica (LAWR.
N. Y. Lyc. IX, 128).
This species differs from the _C. americanus_ in the black bill, and
the absence of black on the tail-feathers, the white tips of which are
much shorter and less abruptly defined. One specimen (5,253) from the
Upper Missouri has a much stronger tinge of yellowish-cinnamon on the
inner webs of the quills than the others. The sexes are quite similar.
HABITS. The Black-billed Cuckoo, so closely allied with the common
species in respect to size, appearance, habits, and all its general
characteristics, is also distributed throughout very nearly the same
localities, where, however, it is usually regarded as a much less
abundant bird. It is found throughout the United States as far west as
the Missouri plains. Dr. Woodhouse met with this bird in his
expedition down the Zuni and Colorado Rivers, but states that he saw
but very few, either in Texas or in the Indian Territory. Lembeye, De
la Sagra, and Dr. Gundlach include it as a visitant, in the winter
months, to Cuba. Mr. Audubon met with this Cuckoo in Louisiana only a
few times in the course of his various researches, and never in any
Western State except Ohio. He does not seem to have been aware that it
ever breeds south of North Carolina. From thence to Maine, and even as
far north as the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and Southern Labrador, he gives
as its distribution during the breeding-season. He also regarded it as
much more common in low and wooded ground on the borders of the sea,
where it frequents the edges of woods rather than their interior, and
chiefly on the edges of creeks, and in damp places. Mr. Nuttall
appeared to have regarded it as very nearly as common as the
Yellow-bill throughout the United States, and as extending its
migrations as far north as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. He states
that it is found in St. Domingo and Guiana, and also, on the authority
of Mr. Abbott, that it breeds in Georgia as early as the 1st of April.
Mr. Audubon says it was never met with by Dr. Bachman in South
Carolina. It certainly breeds, however, as far south, at least, as
Georgia, as the nest and eggs of this species were taken at Varnell
Station, in the northwestern part of that State, by the late Dr.
Alexander Gerhardt.
It is not mentioned by either Dr. Gambel or Dr. Heermann as among the
birds of the Pacific Coast, and it does not appear to have been
actually obtained by any of the expeditions to the Pacific beyond the
Indian Territory. Its distribution, therefore, during the
breeding-season, would seem to be from Georgia to Canada, and from
Texas to Minnesota, inclusive of all the intermediate territory. Dr.
Newberry frequently saw and heard what he supposed to have been this
species, in the trees bordering Cow Creek, near Fort Reading, but as
he did not secure a specimen, he may have been mistaken. It has been
taken at Devil’s Lake, in Minnesota, and in the Red River Settlement.
Wilson describes the nest of this bird as generally built in a cedar,
much in the same manner, and of nearly the same materials, as that of
the Yellow-bill; the eggs are smaller than those of that bird, usually
four or five in number, and of a deeper greenish-blue.
Mr. Audubon speaks of the nest as built in places similar to those
chosen by the other species, as formed of the same materials, and
arranged with quite as little art. He gives the number of eggs as from
four to six, of a greenish-blue, nearly equal at both ends, but rather
smaller than those of the Yellow-bill, rounder, and of a much deeper
tint of green. He gives their measurement as 1.50 inches in length and
.87 of an inch in breadth.
Mr. Nuttall, whose description more nearly corresponds with my own
observations, speaks of this species as usually retiring into the
woods to breed, being less familiar than the former species, and
choosing an evergreen bush or sapling for the site of the nest, which
is made of twigs pretty well put together, but still little more than
a concave flooring, and lined with moss occasionally, and withered
catkins of the hickory. The eggs are described as smaller, and three
to five in number, of a bluish-green. The female sits very close on
the nest, admitting a near approach before flying. He also speaks of
this species as being less timorous than the Yellow-billed, and states
that near the nest, with young, he has observed the parent composedly
sit and plume itself for a considerable time without showing any alarm
at his presence.
In all the instances in which I have observed the nest of this
species, I have invariably found it in retired damp places, usually
near the edges of woods, and built, not in trees, after the manner of
the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but in bushes and in low shrubbery, often
not more than two or three feet from the ground. The nest, without
being at all remarkable for its finish, or the nicety of its
arrangement, is much more artistic and elaborate than that of the
Yellow-bill. It is composed of twigs, roots, fine strips of bark, and
moss, and is sometimes interwoven and partially lined with the soft
catkins of trees and blossoms of plants. The eggs vary from three to
six in number, and are often found to have been deposited, and
incubation commenced on them, at irregular intervals, and to be in
various stages of development in the same nest. I have hardly been
able to observe a sufficient number of their nests to be able to state
whether this species carries this irregularity so far as the
Yellow-bill, nor am I aware that it has ever been known to extend its
incubations into so late a period of the season. It is, if anything,
more devoted to its offspring than the Yellow-bill. Both parents are
assiduous in the duties of incubation, and in supplying food to each
other and to their offspring. In one instance, where the female had
been shot by a thoughtless boy, as she flew from the nest, the male
bird successfully devoted himself to the solitary duty of rearing the
brood of five. At the time of the death of the female the nest
contained two eggs and three young birds. The writer was present when
the bird was shot, and was unable to interpose in season to prevent
it. Returning to the spot not long afterwards, he found the widowed
male sitting upon the nest, and so unwilling to leave it as almost to
permit himself to be captured by the hand. His fidelity and his
entreaties were not disregarded. His nest, eggs, and young, were left
undisturbed; and, as they were visited from time to time, the young
nestlings were found to thrive under his vigilant care. The eggs were
hatched out, and in time the whole five were reared in safety. This
single incident shows how wide is the interval between these Cuckoos
and their European namesakes.
The egg resembles that of the other, but is more spherical and of a
much darker shade of green. The color is equally fugitive, and even in
a closed cabinet fades so that the eggs of the two species are
undistinguishable, except in size and shape. This egg averages 1.10
inches in length by .90 of an inch in breadth.
GENUS CROTOPHAGA, LINNÆUS.
_Crotophaga_, LINNÆUS, Systema Naturæ, 1756. (Type, _C. ani_, LINN.).
GEN. CHAR. Bill as long as the head, very much compressed; the culmen
elevated into a high crest, extending above the level of the forehead.
Nostrils exposed, elongated. Point of bill much decurved. Wings
lengthened, extending beyond the base of the tail, the fourth or fifth
quill longest. Tail lengthened, of eight graduated feathers. Toes
long, with well-developed claws.
The feathers in this genus are entirely black; those on the head and
neck with a peculiar stiffened metallic or scale-like border. The
species are not numerous, and are entirely confined to America.
[Line drawing: _Crotophaga ani._
8639 ♂]
Of _Crotophaga_, two species have heretofore been recognized in the
United States, _C. ani_ and _C. rugirostris_. We are, however,
satisfied that there is but one here and in the West Indies, _C. ani_
(extending to South America). _C. major_ of South America, and _C.
sulcirostris_, found from Mexico southward, are the other species, and
are easily distinguishable by the following characters among others:—
C. major.[122] Length, 17.00; wing, 7.50; outline of
culmen abruptly angulated in the middle. _Hab._ Brazil and
Trinidad.
C. ani. Length, 13.00 to 15.00; wing, 6.00; culmen gently
curved from base. Bill smooth or with a few transverse
wrinkles. _Hab._ Northeastern South America, West Indies,
and South Florida.
C. sulcirostris.[123] Length, 12.00; wing, 5.00; culmen
gently curved. Bill with several grooves parallel to
culmen. _Hab._ Middle America, from Yucatan, south to
Ecuador.
[122] _Crotophaga major_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 363.—MAX.
Beitr. iv, 319.—SCL. Cat. 1862, 320. _C. ani_, VIEILL. Gal.
Ois. II, 35, pl. xliii.
[123] _Crotophaga sulcirostris_, SWAINSON, Phil. Mag. 1827,
I, 440.—BONAP. Consp. 89.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1856, 309, 1859,
pp. 59, 368, 388, et 1860, pp. 285, 297.—IB. Catal. 1862,
320. _C. casasi_, LESS. Voy. Coq. Zoöl. I, pl. ii, 619, et
Cent. Zoöl. pl. ix.
Crotophaga ani, LINN.
THE ANI; THE SAVANNA BLACKBIRD.
_Crotophaga ani_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 154.—BURMEISTER, Th.
Bras. (Vögel.) 1856, 254.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 72, pl.
lxxxiv, f. 2.—CABANIS, Mus. Hein. IV, 100. _Crotophaga minor_,
LESS. Traite Orn. 1831, 130. _Crotophaga lævirostra_, SWAINSON,
An. in Menag. 2¼ Cent. 1838, 321. _Crotophaga rugirostra_,
SWAINSON, 2¼ Cent. 1838, 321, fig. 65, bill.—BURM. Th. Bras.
II, 1856, 235.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 71, pl. lxxxiv, f. 1.
[Illustration: _Crotophaga ani._]
SP. CHAR. Bill at the nostrils nearly twice as high as broad; the
nostrils elliptical, a little oblique, situated in the middle of the
lower half of the upper mandible. Gonys nearly straight. Indications
of faint transverse wrinkles along the upper portion of the bill,
nearly perpendicular to the culmen. Legs stout; tarsus longer than
middle toe, with seven broad scutellæ anteriorly extending round to
the middle of each side; the remaining or posterior portion of each
side with a series of quadrangular plates, corresponding nearly to the
anterior ones, the series meeting behind in a sharp ridge. The wings
reach over the basal third of the tail. The primary quills are broad
and acute, the fourth longest; the first about equal to the tertials.
The tail is graduated, the outer about an inch and a half shorter than
the middle ones.
The color generally is black, with steel-blue reflections above,
changing sometimes into violet; duller beneath. The pointed feathers
of the head, neck, and breast, with a bronzy metallic border,
appearing also to some extent on the wing-coverts and upper part of
back. Iris brown. Length, 13.20; wing, 6.00; tail, 8.30; tarsus, 1.48.
HAB. West Indies; South Florida. Accidental near Philadelphia.
Localities: Sta. Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 148).
As already remarked, we do not find reason to admit more than one
species of _Crotophaga_ in the United States and the West Indies, as
in the great variation in size, and to some extent in shape of bill,
there is nothing constant. The species can hardly be considered more
than a straggler in the United States, although a considerable number
of specimens have been seen or taken within its limits. That in the
Smithsonian collection was killed on the Tortugas; but there is one in
the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, killed near Philadelphia
by Mr. John Krider, and presented by him. Mr. Audubon also possessed a
pair said to have been killed near New Orleans.
HABITS. This species, the common Savanna Blackbird of the West India
Islands, is probably only an accidental visitant of the United States,
and may not strictly belong to the avi-fauna of North America.
It is common throughout the West Indies, and in South America as far
south as Brazil. Gosse states it to be one of the most abundant birds
of Jamaica. In speaking of its breeding habits he mentions that it was
universally maintained by the inhabitants that these birds unite and
build in company an immense nest of basket-work, made by the united
labors of the flock. This is said to be placed on a high tree, where
many parents bring forth and educate a common family. This statement
is reiterated by Mr. Hill, who says that a small flock of about six
individuals build but one large and capacious nest, to which they
resort in common, and rear their young together.
In July Mr. Gosse found the nest of one of these birds in a _guazuma_
tree. It was a large mass of interwoven twigs, and was lined with
leaves. There were eight eggs in the nest, and the shells of many
others were scattered beneath the tree.
Mr. Newton found these birds very common in St. Croix. He mentions
meeting with a nest of this species June 17. It was about five feet
from the ground, on a large tamarind-tree. He speaks of it as a rude
collection of sticks and twigs, large and deep, partly filled with dry
leaves, among which were fourteen eggs, and around the margin were
stuck upright a few dead twigs of tamarind. Five days afterwards he
went to the nest, where he found but nine eggs, two of which he took.
Three days later he found but four eggs in the nest, it having been
robbed in the interim; but six days afterwards the number had again
been increased to eight. He never found the eggs covered up as if
intentionally done. The nest was evidently common property. There were
generally two or three birds sitting close to or on it, and up in the
tree perhaps four or five more, who would continue screeching all the
time he was there. Mr. Newton adds that when the egg is fresh the
cretaceous deposit on the shell is very soft and easily scored, but it
soon hardens. It is mentioned in De Sagra’s list as one of the common
birds of Cuba.
Mr. J. F. Hamilton, in his interesting paper (Ibis, July, 1871) on the
birds of Brazil, mentions finding this species very common at Santo
Paulo. There was scarcely an open piece of ground where there were but
few bushes that had not its flock of these birds. They were especially
fond of marshy ground. They were also often to be seen running about
among a herd of cattle, picking up the insects disturbed by the
animals. They seemed utterly regardless of danger, and would scarcely
do more than flit from one bush to another, even when the numbers of
their flock were being greatly thinned. When concealed in the long
grass, they would allow themselves to be almost trodden on before
rising. The Brazilians seldom molest them, as their flesh is not good
to eat.
This bird is known as the Black Witch in St. Croix,—a name Mr. Newton
supposes to be due to its peculiar call-note, which sounds like
_que-yuch_. Its familiar habits and its grotesque appearance make it
universally known. It is a favorite object of attack to the Chickaree
Flycatcher, in which encounters it is apt to lose its presence of
mind, and to be forced to make an ignominious retreat.
These birds are said to be attracted by collections of cattle and
horses, upon the bodies of which they are often seen to alight,
feeding upon the ticks with which they are infested. They are at once
familiar and wary, permitting a limited acquaintance, but a too near
approach sets the whole flock in motion. It moves in a very peculiar
gliding flight. In feeding it is omnivorous; besides insects of all
kinds, such as ticks, grasshoppers, beetles, etc., it eats berries of
various kinds, lizards, and other kinds of food. It catches insects on
the ground by very active jumps, pursues them on the wing, and with
its sharp thin bill digs them out in the earth. They hop about and
over the bodies of cattle, especially when they are lying down, and
when grazing they have been observed clinging to a cow’s tail, picking
insects from it as far down even as its extremity.
Mr. Hill states that these birds are downward, not upward, climbers.
They enter a tree by alighting on the extremity of some main branch,
and reach its centre by creeping along the stem, and seldom penetrate
far among the leaves.
The eggs of this species are of a regularly oval shape, equally obtuse
at either end. In color they are of a uniform light-blue, with a very
slight tinge of green. This is usually covered, but not entirely
concealed, by a white cretaceous coating. When fresh, this may readily
be rubbed off, but becomes hard and not easily removed. The eggs vary
in size from 1.40 to 1.50 inches in length, and in breadth from 1.10
to 1.15 inches.
FAMILY PICIDÆ.—THE WOODPECKERS.
CHAR. Outer toe turned backwards permanently, not versatile laterally,
the basal portion of the tongue capable of great protrusion.
The preceding characters combined appear to express the essential
characters of the _Picidæ_. In addition, it may be stated that the
tongue itself is quite small, flat, and short, acute and horny,
usually armed along the edges with recurved hooks. The horns of the
hyoid apparatus are generally very long, and curve round the back of
the skull, frequently to the base of the bill, playing in a sheath,
when the tongue is thrown forward out of the mouth to transfix an
insect.
There are twelve tail-feathers, of which the outer is, however, very
small and rudimentary (lying concealed between the outer and adjacent
feathers), so that only ten are usually counted. The tail is nearly
even, or cuneate, never forked, the shafts very rigid in the true
Woodpeckers; soft in _Picumninæ_ and _Yunginæ_. The outer primary is
generally very short, or spurious, but not wanting. The bill is chisel
or wedge shaped, with sharp angles and ridges and straight culmen;
sometimes the culmen is a little curved, in which case it is smoother,
and without the ridges. The tarsi in the North American forms are
covered with large plates anteriorly, posteriorly with small ones,
usually more or less polygonal. The claws are compressed, much curved,
very strong and acute.
The _Picidæ_ are found all over the world with the exception of
Madagascar, Australia, the Moluccas, and Polynesia. America is well
provided with them, more than half of the described species belonging
to the New World.
The subfamilies of the _Picidæ_ may be most easily distinguished as
follows, although other characters could readily be given:—
Picinæ. Tail-feathers pointed, and lanceolate at end; the
shafts very rigid, thickened and elastic.
Picumninæ. Tail soft and short, about half the length of
wing; the feathers without stiffened shafts, rather
narrow, linear, and rounded at end.
Yunginæ. Tail soft and rather long, about three fourths
the length of wing; the feathers broad, and obtusely
rounded at end.
Of these subfamilies the _Picinæ_ alone occur north of Mexico. The
_Yunginæ_, to which the well-known Wryneck of England (_Jynx
torquilla_) belongs, are exclusively Old World; the _Picumninæ_ belong
principally to the tropical regions of America, although a few species
occur in Africa and India. One species, _Picumnus micromegas_,
Sundevall, belongs to St. Domingo, although erroneously assigned to
Brazil. This is the giant of the group, being about the size of the
White-bellied Nuthatch (_Sitta carolinensis_) the other species being
mostly very diminutive, varying from three to four inches in length.
SUBFAMILY PICINÆ.
The diagnosis on the preceding page will serve to distinguish this
group from its allies, without the necessity of going into greater
detail. It includes by far the largest percentage of the _Picidæ_, and
in the great variations of form has been variously subdivided by
authors into sections. Professor Sundevall, in his able
monograph,[124] establishes the following four series, referring all
to the single genus _Picus_:—
I. Angusticolles. Neck slender, elongated. Nostrils
concealed by bristles. Tail-feathers black or brownish,
immaculate.
II. Securirostres. Neck not slender, and shorter. Nostrils
concealed by bristles. Bill stout, cuneate, with the nasal
ridges widely distant from each other.
III. Ligonirostres. Neck not slender. Nostrils covered,
nasal ridges of bill placed near the culmen (or at least
nearer it than the lower edge of the upper mandible), for
the most part obsolete anteriorly.
IV. Nudinares. Nostrils open, uncovered by bristly hairs.
Neck and bill various.
Of these series, the first and second correspond with _Piceæ_, as
given below, while _Centureæ_ and _Colapteæ_ both belong to
_Ligonirostres_. The _Nudinares_ are not represented in North America,
and by only one group, _Celeus_, in any portion of the continent.
In the following account of the _Picinæ_, we shall not pretend to
discuss the relationship of the North American species to the _Picinæ_
in general, referring to Sundevall’s work, and the monographs of
Malherbe and Cassin, for information on the subject. For our present
purposes they may be conveniently, even if artificially, arranged in
the following sections:—
Piceæ. Bill variable in length; the outlines above and
below nearly straight; the ends truncated; a prominent
ridge on the side of the mandible springing from the
middle of the base, or a little below, and running out
either on the commissure, or extending parallel to and a
little above it, to the end, sometimes obliterated or
confluent with the lateral bevel of the bill. Nostrils
considerably overhung by the lateral ridge, more or less
linear, and concealed by thick bushy tufts of feathers at
the base of the bill. Outer posterior toe generally longer
than the anterior.
Centureæ. Bill rather long; the outlines, that of the
culmen especially, decidedly curved. The lateral ridge
much nearest the culmen, and, though quite distinct at the
base, disappearing before coming to the lower edge of the
mandible; not overhanging the nostrils, which are broadly
oval, rounded anteriorly, and not concealed by the bristly
feathers at the base. Outer pair of toes nearly equal; the
anterior rather longer.
Colapteæ. Bill rather long, much depressed, and the upper
outline much curved to the acutely pointed (not truncate)
tip. The commissure considerably curved. Bill without any
ridges. The nostrils broadly oval, and much exposed.
Anterior outer toe longest.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVIII.
1. Geococcyx californianus ♂ Cal., 12925.
2. Crotophaga ani. ♀ Fla., 8639.
3. Coccygus americanus. ♂ Penn., 1541.
4. ” minor.
5. ” erythrophthalmus. 27028.]
The preceding diagnoses will serve to distinguish the three groups
sufficiently for our present purposes; the bill being strongest in the
_Picinæ_ and best fitted for cutting into trees by its more perfect
wedge-shape, with strengthening ridges, as well as by the lateral
bevelling of both mandibles, which are nearly equal in thickness at
the base, and with their outlines nearly straight. The lateral ridge
is prominent, extending to the edge or end of the bill, and overhangs
the nostrils, which are narrow and hidden. The _Centureæ_ and the
_Colapteæ_ have the upper mandible more curved (the commissure
likewise), the lower mandible smaller and weaker, the bill with little
or no lateral bevelling. The nostrils are broadly oval and exposed. In
the former, however, there is a distinct lateral ridge visible for a
short distance from the base of the bill; while in the other there is
no ridge at all, and the mandible is greatly curved.
In all the species of North American Woodpeckers, there is more or
less red on the head in the male, and frequently in the female. The
eggs of all are lustrous polished white, without any markings, and
laid in hollow trees, upon a bed of chips, no material being carried
in for the construction of the nest.
[124] _Conspectus avium picinarum._ Stockholm, 1866.
SECTION PICEÆ.
With the common characters, as already given, there are several
well-marked generic groups in this section of Woodpeckers which may be
arranged for the United States species as follows:—
A. Posterior outer toe longer than the anterior outer one.
(Fourth toe longer than third.)
_a._ Lateral ridge starting above the middle of the base
of the bill, and extending to the tip.
1. Campephilus. Lateral ridge above the middle of the
lateral profile of the bill when opposite the end of
the nostrils, which are ovate, and rounded anteriorly.
Bill much depressed, very long; gonys very long.
Posterior outer toe considerably longer than the
anterior. Primaries long, attenuated towards the tip.
Spurious quill nearly half the second. Shafts of four
middle tail-feathers remarkably stout, of equal size,
and abruptly very much larger than the others; two
middle tail-feathers narrower towards bases than
towards end.[125] A pointed occipital crest.
2. Picus. Lateral ridge in the middle of the lateral
profile opposite the end of the nostrils, which are
ovate and sharp-pointed anteriorly. Bill moderate,
nearly as broad as high.
Outer hind toe moderately longer than the outer fore
toe. Primaries broad to the tip, and rounded. Spurious
primary not one third the second quill.
3. Picoides. Lateral ridge below the middle of the
profile, opposite the end of the ovate acute nostrils,
which it greatly overhangs. Bill greatly depressed;
lower mandible deeper than the upper. Inner hind toe
wanting, leaving only three toes. Tufts of nasal
bristles very full and long.
_b._ Lateral ridge starting below the middle of the base
of the bill, and running as a distinct ridge into the
edge of the commissure at about its middle; the terminal
half of the mandible rounded on the sides, although the
truncate tip is distinctly bevelled laterally.
4. Sphyropicus. Nostrils considerably overhung by the
lateral ridge, very small, linear. Gonys as long as
the culmen, from the nostrils. Tips of tail-feathers
elongated and linear, not cuneate. Wings very long;
exposed portion of spurious primary about one fourth
that of second quill.
B. Posterior outer toe considerably shorter than the
anterior outer one. (Fourth toe shorter than third).
5. Hylotomus. Bill depressed. Lateral ridge above the
middle of the lateral profile near the base. Nostrils
elliptical, wide, and rounded anteriorly. Tail almost
as in _Sphyropicus_. A pointed occipital crest, as in
_Campephilus_, and not found in the other genera.