almost straight, depressed. Upper mandible linear, depressed, convex at
the base, gradually flattened and a little enlarged to near the end,
when it again narrows, and terminates in a hooked point. The ridge is
broad and convex at the base, becomes gradually narrowed and flattened
beyond the middle, is elevated into a thin crest about an inch high,
of a fibrous structure, and about three inches in length (in some
specimens as much as five inches) which is continued forwards of less
elevation to the extent of an inch farther. The ridge of the mandible
is then narrow and flat, and terminates in the unguis, which is oblong,
slightly carinate above, curved, obtuse, concave beneath. The edges are
very sharp and a little involute; the lower surface of the mandible has
a median slender sharp ridge, on each side of which, at the distance
of a quarter of an inch is a stronger ridge having a groove in its
whole length; the sides then slope upwards to the incurved margin, and
in this latter space is received the edge of the other mandible. Lower
mandible having its crura separated, very slender, elastic, and meeting
only at the very extremity, so that the angle or interspace may be
described as extremely long, occupying in fact the whole length of the
bill excepting four-twelfths of an inch at the end; for two-thirds of
its length from the base, the lower mandible is broader than the upper,
which is owing to the crura lying obliquely, but beyond the crest it is
narrower; the extremely short dorsal line ascending, convex, the edges
inflected, sharp, and longitudinally grooved. To the lower mandible,
in place of the skin or membrane filling up the angle in most other
birds, is appended a vast sac seven inches in depth opposite the base
of the bill, and extending down the throat about eight inches, so that
its length from the tip of the lower mandible is twenty-one and a half
inches. It is formed of the skin, which is thin, transparent, elastic,
rugous, highly vascular, and capable of being expanded like a net,
supported by the elastic mandibles to the breadth of nine and a half
inches.
Head small, oblong; neck long, stout; body full, rather flattened.
Feet short and very stout; tibia bare at its lower part, covered
all round with small scales; tarsus short, very stout, compressed,
covered all round with hexagonal scales, of which the anterior are much
larger; toes in the same plane, all connected by reticulated webs, the
first shortest, the second an inch shorter than the fourth, which is
considerably longer than the third, scaly at the base, scutellate over
the rest of their extent. Claws short, strong, curved, rather blunt,
that of the middle toe with a sharp pectinate inner edge.
Feathers of the head and neck exceedingly small, slender, and of
a downy texture, those on the fore part of the head a little more
compact; on the nape they are elongated, acuminate, and form a
longitudinal narrow crest, which runs down the back of the neck. The
feathers in general are lanceolate, acuminate, and of moderately dense
texture; those at the junction of the neck and breast anteriorly are
stiffer and more elongated. Wings very long, rather narrow, rounded;
the humerus and cubitus very long in proportion; primaries much curved;
secondaries rather narrow, also incurved toward the end, the inner
extending when the wing is closed far beyond the tips of the primaries.
Tail short, broad, rounded, of _twenty-four_ feathers, which are broad
and abruptly acuminate.
Bill bare, space about the eye, and feet, rich bright yellow, becoming
brighter before their departure for their breeding grounds; claws
yellowish-brown; tip of the bill brighter than the rest. Iris white,
in younger birds dusky. The general colour of the plumage is pure
white; the crest, the elongated feathers on the fore part of the
breast, and those near the edge of the cubitus, pale yellow. The alula,
primary coverts, and primary quills, black, the shafts white, becoming
brownish-black, toward the end. The inner ten secondaries are white,
the rest black, more or less tipped with greyish-white, their bases
white, that colour more extended on the inner than the outer, the
shafts of all the quills white beneath, those of the secondaries tinged
with grey.
Dimensions of an old male. Length to end of tail 61-3/4 inches, to end
of wing 61-3/4, to end of claws 66-3/4, from the point of the bill to
the carpal joint 40; extent of wings 103; wing from flexure 24-1/2;
length of cubitus 15; tail 6-1/4; bill along the ridge 13-3/4, along
the edge of lower mandible 15; breadth of lower mandible at the base 2;
bare part of tibia 1; tarsus 4-8/12; middle toe 4-1/2, its claw 5/8;
outer toe 4-1/2, its claw 6/12; inner toe 3, its claw 7/12; hind toe
1-3/4, its claw 8/12. Weight 17-1/2 lb.
The female is rather less, and in as far as I am warranted by the
examination of several individuals in stating, is destitute of the
horny crest of the upper mandible.
A male, shot near Grande Terre, in the Gulf of Mexico, examined. The
skin is very thin, but the subcutaneous cellular tissue is extremely
developed, forming a thick reticular layer over the whole body. The
internal cells are also of vast size, the right hepatic being 4-1/2
inches long, the right abdominal 4-1/2 by 4; the left abdominal 5-1/2
by 4; the clavicular cell is not formed by a single cavity, but of
numberless cellules, like those of the subcutaneous tissue. The heart
_n_ is triangular, pointed, 3 inches long, 2 inches and 10 twelfths in
breadth; the aorta branches at the base, as in other birds, sending
off the two trunks which separate into the subclavian and carotid.
The lobes of the liver are extremely unequal, the right, _o_, being 4
inches in length, and 2-1/4 in breadth, while the left, _p_, is only 2
inches long, and 1-1/4 inch broad.
The mandibles are entirely covered with skin, of which the subcutaneous
tissue is wanting, the cutis condensed, and the cuticle in large
irregular longitudinal plates, leaving the surface somewhat rough and
scaly. The crest-like excrescence on the ridge of the upper mandible is
not formed of bone, nor otherwise connected with the osseous surface,
which is smooth and continuous beneath it, than by being placed upon
it, like any other part of the skin, and when softened by immersion in
a liquid may be bent a little to either side. It is composed internally
of erect slender plates of a fibrous texture, externally of horny
fibres, which are erect on the sides, and longitudinal on the broadened
ridge; these fibres being continuous with the cutis and cuticle. The
skin of the mandible is continuous with that of the pouch, of which
the structure is as follows. Externally there is a layer of cuticle,
beneath which is the cutis, extremely thin, and with the cuticle thrown
into longitudinal rugæ when contracted. The internal surface is also
of cuticle, and beneath it is a layer of cutis. Between these two very
thin layers of skin, is interposed an equally thin layer, composed
of two sets of very slender muscular fibres, separated from each
other, and running in two opposite directions. The outer fibres run
in fasciculi from the lower and inner edge of the mandible; those from
its base pass downwards, those arising more anteriorly pass gradually
more forwards, and spreading out, reach the middle line of the
pouch. The inner fibres have the same origin, and pass in a contrary
direction, backwards and inwards. From the hyoid bone to the junction
of the two crura of the mandible, which takes place almost at the
very tip, there extends a thin band of longitudinal muscular fibres,
in the centre of which is a cord of elastic tissue. By means of this
apparatus, the sac is contracted, so as to occupy little space. When
the bill is opened, the crura of the lower mandible separate from each
other to a considerable extent, by the action of the muscles inserted
into their base, this depending upon their oblique position, and the
sac is expanded. The upper mandible is capable of being moved to a
considerable extent.
Below the anterior angle of the eye is a small sac about 5 twelfths of
an inch in length, with an external aperture of 2 twelfths, and filled
with a pulpy substance. The nostrils are linear, about 3 twelfths of
an inch long, and quite concealed by the wrinkles of the skin. The
aperture of the posterior nares 8 twelfths. The tongue is an extremely
small, papilliform body, 3-1/2 twelfths of an inch long, and 1 twelfth
in diameter. The aperture of the glottis is linear, 8 twelfths in
length, destitute of papillæ behind.
[Illustration]
The pharynx is about 2-1/2 inches in breadth. The œsophagus _a_, at
the commencement, or opposite the tongue, has a diameter of about
6 inches, and contracts until the middle of the neck, where it is 3
inches in width; at its entrance into the thorax at _b_ it contracts
to 1-1/2 inch, but is dilatable to 3 inches; at this part, its inner
coat is thrown into very prominent longitudinal rugæ. The structure
of the œsophagus is similar to that of the Loon already described,
but its muscular coat is much thinner. On entering the thorax, it
again expands to a diameter of 3 inches. Its length from the glottis,
exclusive of the proventriculus, is 2 feet. The proventriculus, _cd_,
when not extended, has a diameter of 2 inches, its length being 4
inches and 8 twelfths. It is marked internally with six longitudinal
broad ridges, about half an inch in breadth, and separated by grooves;
and its cuticular lining is 1-1/2 twelfths thick, of a compact but soft
texture, elevated into tortuous reticulated ridges. The glandules,
which are cylindrical, the largest 3 twelfths of an inch long, 1/2
twelfth in diameter, form a complete elongated belt. The muscular coat
is also very thick, its inner layer composed of transverse, its outer
of longitudinal fibres, and the greatest thickness of the walls of the
proventriculus is about 4-1/2 twelfths of an inch. The stomach, _e_,
properly so called, is extremely small, being of a roundish, compressed
form, 1-1/4 inches in length, and of the same breadth; its muscular
coat composed of slender fasciculi, and not presenting a distinction
into lateral and inferior muscles, its inner coat smooth. Appended to
it on the right side is a sac _f_, of a roundish form, 1-9/12 inch in
length, and 1-1/2 in breadth, joining it by a contraction, of which
the diameter is 1/2 inch, and opening directly into the proventriculus,
as well as into the stomach; its walls thin, its inner surface smooth,
with numerous mucous crypts irregularly disposed. The pylorus, _g_, is
exceedingly small, 1-1/2 twelfths in diameter, with a thickened margin.
The duodenum _g_, _h_, _i_, passes backwards and upwards to the
length of 6-1/2 inches, returns upon itself enclosing the pancreas,
receives the biliary ducts at the distance of 14 inches from the
pylorus. The gall-bladder is oblong, 2 inches long, and 10 twelfths
broad. The intestine then forms numerous convolutions, _j_, _k_, _l_,
occupying the whole abdomen, and lying in part over the stomach and
proventriculus. Its entire length is 10 feet 10 inches. Its diameter
varies little, it being at the upper part 5 twelfths of an inch,
towards the rectum 3-1/2 twelfths. The rectum is 5-1/2 inches long,
including the cloaca, _m_, which is globular, and about 2-1/2 inches
in diameter. The cœca are 1 inch and 1 twelfth in length, 4 twelfths
in diameter, cylindrical, rounded at the end. The muscular coat of the
intestine is very strong, the inner villous.
One of the testes is 1 inch long, the other 1-1/2; their form oblong.
In the proventriculus and stomach is a vast accumulation of small
lumbrici, about 1-1/4 inch in length, and amounting to about 1000.
The trachea is 1 foot 10 inches long, a little flattened, 1/2 inch in
diameter throughout, but a little narrower about the middle; the rings
160, not ossified, excepting the lower. The contractor muscles are very
small; as are the sterno-tracheal; and the inferior larynx is destitute
of muscles. The bronchi are large, 5 twelfths in diameter, of 25 half
rings.
The upper mandible is hollow in its whole extent; but the lateral
spaces intervening between the edges of the median bone or ridge and
the margins, are filled with a beautiful net-work of bony spiculæ. The
two superior maxillary branches of the fifth pair of nerves, which
are very large, being about 1 twelfth of an inch in diameter at the
base, run close together along the median line, sending off branches at
intervals, and extending to the end of the mandible. The lower mandible
is also hollow, and similarly reticulated. The inferior maxillary
branch, having entered on the inner side at the base, runs in like
manner along its whole length, and is of the same thickness; by an
aperture on the outer side near the base, it sends off a branch almost
as thick, which runs within the membrane of the gular sac, parallel
to the mandible, and about half an inch distant from it, sending off
branches at intervals. The sac is plentifully supplied with blood
vessels.
The nasal cavity is of an oblong form, 1 inch and 5 twelfths in
length, passing obliquely backwards and upwards from the aperture
of the posterior nares, and opening externally by curving forwards;
its greatest diameter 5 twelfths, in its lower third 3 twelfths, and
so continuing until it expands into the inferior slit-like aperture,
which is 8 twelfths long. The cavity of the nose is thus small, and
the olfactory nerve, which passes out from the anterior part of the
brain, is a slender filament, about 1/3 of a twelfth in diameter. It
runs at first through a bony tube, then passes along the bony septum
of the orbits, in contact for a short space with the superior maxillary
nerve of the fifth pair, which at its commencement makes a great curve
upwards, and crosses the orbit to enter the maxillary cavity, which
has no communication with the olfactory. Fig. 2 represents the sternum
viewed from before. It is remarkable chiefly for its great breadth
and convexity. Its sides, _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, are nearly parallel; its
posterior margin broad, with two shallow notches, _e_, _f_, separated
by a short conical obtuse median process. The crest or ridge, _h_, _i_,
is carried forward in front, where it is only, however, of moderate
height, and is not continued to the posterior extremity, but terminates
at _i_, in the most convex part. The coracoid bones, _i_, _i_, are
extremely large, very broad at their lower part, and having a deep
groove and thin elongated process, _j_, at the upper for the tendon
of the pectoralis medius, which raises the wing. The furcula, _k_,
_k_, _l_, is anchylosed with the crest of the sternum, at _h_, has its
crura moderately stout and much diverging, and its upper extremity very
broad and recurvate. The scapula, of which only the anterior process
_t_, _l_, is seen, is small. A sternal apparatus like this indicates a
steady and powerful flight, the wings being supported upon a very firm
basis, and well separated. The great mass of the pectoral muscle being
thrown forward, it acts more directly than in such birds as the Gallinæ
and Ducks, in which it is placed farther backwards, and although its
bulk is not so great as in them, it is more advantageously situated.
The sternal apparatus of this Pelican is thus extremely similar to that
of the Cormorant, and the American Anhinga, and is also constructed on
the same plan as that of the Gannets, although in the latter its body
is more elongated.
[Illustration]
LONG-TAILED DUCK.
_FULIGULA GLACIALIS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXII. MALE AND FEMALE IN SUMMER, MALE IN WINTER, AND UNFLEDGED
YOUNG.
In the course of one of my rambles along the borders of a large
fresh-water lake, near Bras-d’or in Labrador, on the 28th of July 1833,
I was delighted by the sight of several young broods of this species
of Duck, all carefully attended to by their anxious and watchful
mothers. Not a male bird was on the lake, which was fully two miles
distant from the sea, and I concluded that in this species, as in many
others, the males abandon the females after incubation has commenced.
I watched their motions a good while, searching at the same time for
the nests, one of which I was not long in discovering. Although it was
quite destitute of anything bearing the appearance of life, it still
contained the down which the mother had plucked from herself for the
purpose of keeping her eggs warm. It was placed under an alder bush,
among rank weeds, not more than eight or nine feet from the edge of
the water, and was formed of rather coarse grass, with an upper layer
of finer weeds, which were neatly arranged, while the down filled the
bottom of the cavity, now apparently flattened by the long sitting of
the bird. The number of young broods in sight induced me to search for
more nests, and in about an hour I discovered six more, in one of which
I was delighted to find two rotten eggs. They measured 2 inches and 1/8
long, by 1-(4-1/2)/8 broad, were of a uniform pale yellowish-green, and
quite smooth.
My young companions had, unfortunately for me, walked that morning to
Blanc Sablon, about thirty miles distant, down the Straits of Belle
Isle; and having no dog to assist me in procuring some of the young
ducks, I was obliged to enact the part of one myself, although the
thermometer that day was 45° 50´, and the atmosphere felt chilly. I
gave chase to the younglings, which made for different parts of the
shore, as I followed them up to my middle in the water, while they
dived before me like so many Water-witches, the mothers keeping aloof,
and sounding their notes of alarm and admonition. I was fortunate
enough to procure several of the young birds, and afterwards shot one
of the old, which having young much smaller than the rest, was more
anxious for their safety, and kept with them within shot. She and
the young were afterwards put in rum, to be subsequently examined. I
counted eleven broods on the same pond, and Mr JONES assured me that
these birds always breed in numbers together, but rarely on the same
lake two successive years. Their plumage was ragged, in so far as I
could judge, and the individual which I shot was similar. They never
dived while in my sight, but seemed constantly to urge their young
to do so, and the little things so profited by the advice of their
parents, that had they remained in the water, instead of making, after
a while, for the land, I believe I should not have succeeded, after all
my exertions, in capturing a single one of them.
The gentleman above mentioned informed me that the old birds keep the
young in the ponds until they are quite able to fly, or until the end
of August, when the flocks remove on wing to the sea, and soon after
leave the coast, seldom reappearing before the first days of May, or
about two weeks before most other kinds of ducks. The little ones which
I procured, were as you see them represented in my plate. Those that
were larger were of the same colour, and none shewed any feathers on
their bodies. Now and then, like all other young ducks, they would
skim over the surface of the water with astonishing rapidity, emitting
a sharp note somewhat resembling the syllables _pee_, _pee_, _pee_,
and would then dive with the quickness of thought. When squatted among
the moss, they allowed me to take them without making any attempt to
escape. The young were put in a tub, and had some soaked biscuit placed
near them; but they were all found dead the next morning.
The range of this noisy, lively, and beautiful duck, extends along
our coast as far south as Texas, and it is also found at the mouth
of the Columbia River; but the species is never found on any of our
fresh-water courses, and I am quite confident that Mr SAY mistook for
it the Pintail Duck, _Anas acuta_, when he says that he found it on the
waters of the Missouri. During all my residence in the neighbourhood
of the Mississippi, and in the course of all my journeys on and along
its waters, I never saw one of these birds, or heard of any having
occurred on that stream above its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico;
whereas the Pintails are extremely abundant there, as well as on the
Missouri, the Ohio, and all our western streams, in spring and autumn.
Few Long-tailed Ducks are to be seen in the market of New Orleans, and
in fact they are altogether what our gunners usually call “sea ducks.”
The period of the first appearance of this species in autumn depends
much on the state of the weather. I have known a difference of a whole
month in the Sound, and quite as much in Chesapeake Bay, in both of
which it is most abundant in winter, rarely proceeding farther south
until driven away by extreme cold. Their advance from Labrador and
Newfoundland along the coast, until they reach Long Island, is more
hurried than afterwards. They arrive in small flocks, which are soon
joined by others, and as they are prone to congregate, vast numbers are
seen together in winter, when their cacklings, though different from
those of our frogs in spring, are almost as incessant from sunset until
dawn. For my part, I have never perceived any resemblance which their
notes bear to the words “south-southerly,” but think their noisy cries
as duckish as those of the Mallard, although sharper and more musical.
The best imitation is given by my friend NUTTALL, but if you attempt to
reduce the syllables to sounds, there is some probability of your at
least succeeding in exciting laughter in yourself or others. He says
the notes are “ogh, ough, egh,” and again “ogh, ogh, ogh, ough, egh,”
and adds that they are guttural, and have a ludicrous drawling tone. Dr
RICHARDSON informs us that “the peculiar cry of this duck is celebrated
in the songs of the Canadian voyagers.” This to my mind would imply
that the Long-tailed Ducks are seen by these adventurous travellers on
the waters of the inland streams, which would appear to be at variance
with their usual habits, for unless during the breeding season, they
give a decided preference to the sea; and indeed generally keep in deep
water. Owing to their reiterated cries these birds are named “Noisy
Ducks;” but they have various appellations, among others those of “old
wives,” and “old squaws.”
Although, like all sea-ducks, the “Old Wife” swims deeply, it moves
with a grace and celerity, which if not superior to those of any of
its tribe, are at least equal; and when the weather is rough, and the
waters agitated, it raises its tail in the same manner as the Ruddy
Duck and Pintail. When advancing in smooth water, its speed is such as
to cause a considerable swell before it, such as sea-faring persons
usually call a “bone.” Like all others of its tribe, it also prefers
swimming against both wind and tide, as then it can sooner take wing
if necessary. In calm and pleasant weather, like its congeners, it is
fond of throwing its body almost over, and of pluming itself in that
position. When on wing, the long feathers of its tail do not seem to
aid its progress, any more than in other species.
It seldom removes from the north on its way to our Middle Districts
in large flocks; but at the approach of the breeding season, and after
the birds appear to be all paired, they fly northward in long lines, or
broad fronts, moving high or low according to the state of the weather,
passing at times at a considerable distance from the shores, but flying
close to the points of every cape, although they never pass over an
isthmus however narrow. Their flight is swift, well sustained, and
accompanied with a well-marked whistling of their wings. Being expert
divers, it is difficult to kill them on the water; and if you happen
to wound one but slightly, I would advise you, Reader, to give up the
chase, unless you have hit it while on the ice, in which case you will
find that it runs rather awkwardly. Their flesh is none of the best,
being dark, generally tough, and to the taste fishy; for which reason
they are now-a-days frequently brought to our markets plucked, with the
head and feet cut off, and called by the venders by all names excepting
old wives, squaws, noisy ducks, or south-southerlies. The food of this
species consists chiefly of shell-fish; but in the stomachs of those
killed on fresh water in Labrador, I found small fishes, and a quantity
of grass and its roots.
From the great number of specimens which I have procured in our Middle
Districts in winter, and those which I have seen killed during the love
season in the north, I am induced to think that the elongated feathers
of the tail of this species scarcely if at all, differ in length at
these different periods, although some writers have said that in spring
they are much longer than in winter, in which latter season, however,
I think the old males differ only in the colour of their plumage from
their state in spring. I have obtained male specimens at New York and
at Baltimore early in March, when they were already much changed from
their appearance in winter; but my friend BACHMAN informs me that
he has never seen one with any appearance of the summer plumage at
Charleston in South Carolina, where however, he adds, this species is
not common.
I have represented two male birds, one in its full spring dress, the
other in that of winter. You will also find in the same plate the
first figure ever given of an adult female, accompanied with as many
younglings as I could conveniently introduce. WILSON gave the figure of
a young male in the first winter as that of a female.
ANAS GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 203.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 864.
FULIGULA GLACIALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis, p. 395.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, ANAS GLACIALIS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 93. pl. 70. fig. 1. male, pl. 70. fig. 2. female.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, HARELDA GLACIALIS, _Richardson and
Swainson_, Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 460.
LONG-TAILED DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 453.
Adult male in summer. Plate CCCXII. Fig. 1.