other, visit the Carolinas, arrive at their several places of resort
early in April, in some seasons even in March, and there remain until
the beginning of November. Although this bird is occasionally seen in
the immediate vicinity of the sea, and at times breeds not far from
it, I never met with an individual fishing in salt water. It gives
a decided preference to rivers, lakes, bayous, or lagoons in the
interior, always however in the lowest and most level parts of the
country. The more retired and secluded the spot, the more willingly
does the Snake-Bird remain about it. Sometimes indeed I have suddenly
come on some in such small ponds, which I discovered by mere accident,
and in parts of woods so very secluded, that I was taken by surprise
on seeing them. The Floridas therefore are peculiarly adapted for this
species, as there the torpid waters of the streams, bayous, and lakes,
are most abundantly supplied with various species of fish, reptiles,
and insects, while the temperature is at all seasons congenial, and
their exemption from annoyance almost unparalleled. Wherever similar
situations occur in other parts of the Southern States, there the
Anhingas are met with in numbers proportioned to the extent of the
favourable localities. It is very seldom indeed that any are seen on
rapid streams, and more especially on clear water, a single instance
of such an occurrence being all that I have observed. Wherever you may
chance to find this bird, you will perceive that it has not left itself
without the means of escape; you will never find one in a pond or bayou
completely enclosed by tall trees, so as to obstruct its passage; but
will observe that it generally prefers ponds or lakes, surrounded by
deep and almost impenetrable morasses, and having a few large trees
growing out of the water near their centre, from the branches of which
they can easily mark the approach of an enemy, and make their escape in
good time. Unlike the Fish-hawk and Kings-fisher, the Anhinga however
never plunges or dives from an eminence in procuring its prey, although
from its habit of occasionally dropping in silence to the water from
its perch, for the purpose of afterwards swimming about and diving in
the manner of the Cormorant, some writers have been led to believe that
it does so.
The Black-bellied Darter, all whose names I shall use, for the purpose
of avoiding irksome repetitions, may be considered as indefinitely
gregarious; by which I mean that you may see eight or more together
at times, during winter especially, or only two, as in the breeding
season. On a few occasions, whilst in the interior of the southernmost
parts of Florida, I saw about thirty individuals on the same lake.
While exploring the St John’s River of that country in its whole
length, I sometimes saw several hundreds together. I procured a great
number on that stream, on the lakes in its neighbourhood, and also
on those near the plantation of Mr BULOW, on the eastern side of the
Peninsula. I observed that the young Darters, as well as those of
the Cormorants, Herons, and many other birds, kept apart from the
old individuals, which they however joined in spring, when they had
attained their full beauty of plumage.
The Anhinga is altogether a diurnal bird, and, like the Cormorant, is
fond of returning to the same roosting place every evening about dusk,
unless prevented by molestation. At times I have seen from three to
seven alight on the dead top branches of a tall tree, for the purpose
of there spending the night; and this they repeated for several weeks,
until on my having killed some of them and wounded others, the rest
abandoned the spot, and after several furious contests with a party
that roosted about two miles off, succeeding in establishing themselves
among them. At such times they seldom sit very near each other, as
Cormorants do, but keep at a distance of a few feet or yards, according
to the nature of the branches. Whilst asleep, they stand with the body
almost erect, but never bend the tarsus so as to apply it in its whole
length, as the Cormorant does; they keep their head snugly covered
among their scapulars, and at times emit a wheezing sound, which I
supposed to be produced by their breathing. In rainy weather they often
remain roosted the greater part of the day, and on such occasions they
stand erect, with their neck and head stretched upwards, remaining
perfectly motionless, as if to allow the water to glide off their
plumage. Now and then, however, they suddenly ruffle their feathers,
violently shake themselves, and again compressing their form, resume
their singular position.
Their disposition to return to the same roosting places is so decided
that, when chased from their places of resort, they seldom fail to
betake themselves to them during the day; and in this manner they may
easily be procured with some care. Whilst at Mr BULOW’s, I was almost
daily in the habit of visiting a long, tortuous, bayou, many miles
in extent, which at that season (winter) was abundantly supplied with
Anhingas. There the Otter, the Alligator, and many species of birds,
found an ample supply of food; and as I was constantly watching them,
I soon discovered a roosting place of the Snake-Birds, which was a
large dead tree. I found it impossible to get near them either by
cautiously advancing in the boat, or by creeping among the briars,
canes, and tangled palmettoes which profusely covered the banks. I
therefore paddled directly to the place, accompanied by my faithful and
sagacious Newfoundland dog. At my approach the birds flew off towards
the upper parts of the stream, and as I knew that they might remain
for hours, I had a boat sent after them with orders to the Negroes to
start all that they could see. Dragging up my little bark, I then hid
myself among the tangled plants, and, with my eyes bent on the dead
tree, and my gun in readiness, I remained until I saw the beautiful
bird alight and gaze around to see if all was right. Alas! it was not
aware of its danger, but, after a few moments, during which I noted its
curious motions, it fell dead into the water, while the reverberations
consequent on the discharge of my gun alarmed the birds around, and by
looking either up or down the bayou I could see many Anhingas speeding
away to other parts. My dog, as obedient as the most submissive of
servants, never stirred until ordered, when he would walk cautiously
into the water, swim up to the dead bird, and having brought it to me,
lie down gently in his place. In this manner, in the course of one day
I procured fourteen of these birds, and wounded several others. I may
here at once tell you that all the roosting places of the Anhinga which
I have seen were over the water, either on the shore or in the midst
of some stagnant pool; and this situation they seem to select because
there they can enjoy the first gladdening rays of the morning sun,
or bask in the blaze of its noontide splendour, and also observe with
greater ease the approach of their enemies, as they betake themselves
to it after feeding, and remain there until hunger urges them to fly
off. There, trusting to the extraordinary keenness of their beautiful
bright eyes in spying the marauding sons of the forest, or the not
less dangerous enthusiast, who, probably like yourself, would venture
through mud and slime up to his very neck, to get within rifle shot of
a bird so remarkable in form and manners, the Anhingas, or “Grecian
Ladies,” stand erect, with their wings and tail fully or partially
spread out in the sunshine, whilst their long slender necks and heads
are thrown as it were in every direction by the most curious and sudden
jerks and bendings. Their bills are open, and you see that the intense
heat of the atmosphere induces them to suffer their gular pouch to
hang loosely. What delightful sights and scenes these have been to
me, good Reader! With what anxiety have I waded toward these birds, to
watch their movements, while at the same time I cooled my over-heated
body, and left behind on the shores myriads of hungry sand-flies,
gnats, mosquitoes, and ticks, that had annoyed me for hours! And oh!
how great has been my pleasure when, after several failures, I have
at last picked up the spotted bird, examined it with care, and then
returned to the gloomy shore, to note my observations! Great too is
my pleasure in now relating to you the results of my long personal
experience, together with that of my excellent friend Dr BACHMAN, who
has transmitted his observations on this bird to me.
WILSON, I am inclined to think, never saw a live Anhinga; and the
notes, furnished by Mr ABBOT of Georgia, which he has published, are
very far from being correct. In the supplementary volumes of American
Ornithology published in Philadelphia, the Editor, who visited the
Floridas; added nothing of importance beyond giving more accurate
measurements of a single specimen than WILSON had given from the
stuffed skins from which he made his figures, and which were in the
museum of that city.
The peculiar form, long wings, and large fan-like tail of the Anhinga,
would at once induce a person looking upon it to conclude that it was
intended by nature rather for protracted and powerful flight, than for
spending as it does more than half of its time by day in the water,
where its progress, one might suppose, would be greatly impeded by the
amplitude of these parts. Yet how different from such a supposition is
the fact? The Anhinga in truth is the very first of all fresh-water
divers. With the quickness of thought it disappears beneath the
surface, and that so as scarcely to leave a ripple on the spot; and
when your anxious eyes seek around for the bird, you are astonished
to find it many hundred yards distant, the head perhaps merely above
water for a moment; or you may chance to perceive the bill alone gently
cutting the water, and producing a line of wake not observable beyond
the distance of thirty yards from where you are standing. With habits
like these it easily eludes all your efforts to procure it. When shot
at while perched, however severely wounded they may be, they fall at
once perpendicularly, the bill downward, the wings and tail closed, and
then dive and make their way under water to such a distance that they
are rarely obtained. Should you, however, see them again, and set out
in pursuit, they dive along the shores, attach themselves to roots of
trees or plants by the feet, and so remain until life is extinct. When
shot dead on the trees, they sometimes cling so firmly to the branches
that you must wait some minutes before they fall.
The generally received opinion or belief that the Anhinga always swims
with its body sunk beneath the surface is quite incorrect; for it does
so only when in sight of an enemy, and when under no apprehension of
danger it is as buoyant as any other diving bird, such as a Cormorant,
a Merganser, a Grebe, or a Diver. This erroneous opinion has, however,
been adopted simply because few persons have watched the bird with
sufficient care. When it first observes an enemy, it immediately sinks
its body deeper, in the manner of the birds just mentioned, and the
nearer the danger approaches, the more does it sink, until at last it
swims off with the head and neck only above the surface, when these
parts, from their form and peculiar sinuous motion, somewhat resemble
the head and part of the body of a snake. It is in fact from this
circumstance that the Anhinga has received the name of Snake-Bird.
At such a time, it is seen constantly turning its head from side
to side, often opening its bill as if for the purpose of inhaling a
larger quantity of air, to enable it the better to dive, and remain
under water so long that when it next makes its appearance it is out
of your reach. When fishing in a state of security it dives precisely
like a Cormorant, returns to the surface as soon as it has procured a
fish or other article of food, shakes it, if it is not too large often
throws it up into the air, and receiving it conveniently in the bill,
swallows it at once, and recommences its search. But I doubt much if
it ever seizes on any thing that it cannot thus swallow whole. They
have the curious habit of diving under any floating substances, such
as parcels of dead weeds or leaves of trees which have accidentally
been accumulated by the winds or currents, or even the green slimy
substances produced by putrefaction. This habit is continued by the
species when in a perfect state of domestication, for I have seen one
kept by my friend JOHN BACHMAN thus diving when within a few feet of
a quantity of floating rice-chaff, in one of the tide-ponds in the
neighbourhood of Charleston. Like the Common Goose, it invariably
depresses its head while swimming under a low bridge, or a branch
or trunk of a tree hanging over the water. When it swims beneath
the surface of the water, it spreads its wings partially, but does
not employ them as a means of propulsion, and keeps its tail always
considerably expanded, using the feet as paddles either simultaneously,
or alternately.
The quantity of fish consumed by this bird is astonishing; and what I
am about to relate on this subject will appear equally so. One morning
Dr BACHMAN and I gave to an Anhinga a Black Fish, measuring nine and
a half inches, by two inches in diameter; and although the head of the
fish was considerably larger than its body, and its strong and spinous
fins appeared formidable, the bird, which was then about seven months
old, swallowed it entire, head foremost. It was in appearance digested
in an hour and a half, when the bird swallowed three others of somewhat
smaller size. At another time, we placed before it a number of fishes
about seven and a half inches long, of which it swallowed nine in
succession. It would devour at a meal forty or more fishes about three
inches and a half long. On several occasions it was fed on Plaice, when
it swallowed some that were four inches broad, extending its throat,
and compressing them during their descent into the stomach. It did
not appear to relish eels, as it eat all the other sorts first, and
kept them to the last; and after having swallowed them, it had great
difficulty in keeping them down, but, although for a while thwarted,
it would renew its efforts, and at length master them. When taken to
the tide-pond at the foot of my friend’s garden, it would now and then
after diving return to the surface of the water with a cray-fish in its
mouth, which it pressed hard and dashed about in its bill, evidently
for the purpose of maiming it, before it would attempt to swallow it,
and it never caught a fish without bringing it up to subject it to the
same operation.
While residing near Bayou Sara, in the State of Mississippi, I was
in the habit of occasionally visiting some acquaintances residing
at Pointe Coup, nearly opposite the mouth of the bayou. One day, on
entering the house of an humble settler close on the western bank of
the Mississippi, I observed two young Anhingas that had been taken out
of a nest containing four, which had been built on a high cypress in
a lake on the eastern side of the river. They were perfectly tame and
gentle, and much attached to their foster-parents, the man and woman
of the house, whom they followed wherever they went. They fed with
equal willingness on shrimps and fish, and when neither could be had,
contented themselves with boiled Indian corn, of which they caught with
great ease the grains as they were thrown one by one to them. I was
afterwards informed, that when a year old, they were allowed to go to
the river and fish for themselves, or to the ponds on either side, and
that they regularly returned towards night for the purpose of roosting
on the top of the house. Both birds were males, and in time they fought
hard battles, but at last each met with a female, which it enticed to
the roost on the house-top, where all the four slept at night for a
while. Soon after, the females having probably laid their eggs in the
woods, they all disappeared, and were never again seen by the persons
who related this curious affair.
The Anhinga is shy and wary when residing in a densely peopled part
of the country, which, however, is rarely the case, as I have already
mentioned; but when in its favourite secluded and peaceful haunts,
where it has seldom or never been molested, it is easily approached and
without difficulty procured; nay, sometimes one will remain standing
in the same spot and in the same posture, until you have fired several
bullets from your rifle at it. Its mode of fishing is not to plunge
from a tree or stump in pursuit of its prey, but to dive while swimming
in the manner of Cormorants and many other birds. Indeed, it could very
seldom see a fish from above the surface of the turbid waters which it
prefers.
It moves along the branches of trees rather awkwardly; but still it
walks there, with the aid of its wings, which it extends for that
purpose, and not unfrequently also using its bill in the manner of a
Parrot. On the land, it walks and even runs with considerable ease,
certainly with more expertness than the Cormorant, though much in
the same style. But it does not employ its tail to aid it, for, on
the contrary, it carries that organ inclined upwards, and during its
progress from one place to another, the movements of its head and neck
are continued. These movements, which, as I have said, resemble sudden
jerkings of the parts to their full extent, become extremely graceful
during the love season, when they are reduced to gentle curvatures.
I must not forget to say, that during all these movements, the gular
pouch is distended, and the bird emits rough guttural sounds. If they
are courting on wing, however, in the manner of Cormorants, Hawks,
and many other birds, they emit a whistling note, somewhat resembling
that of some of our rapacious birds, and which may be expressed by
the syllables _eek_, _eek_, _eek_, the first loudest, and the rest
diminishing in strength. When they are on the water, their call-notes
so much resemble the rough grunting cries the Florida Cormorant, that
I have often mistaken them for the latter.
The flight of the Anhinga is swift, and at times well sustained; but
like the Cormorants, it has the habit of spreading its wings and tail
before it leaves its perch or the surface of the water, thus frequently
affording the sportsman a good opportunity of shooting it. When once on
wing, they can rise to a vast height, in beautiful gyrations, varied
during the love-season by zigzag lines chiefly performed by the male,
as he plays around his beloved. At times they quite disappear from the
gaze, lost as it were, in the upper regions of the air; and at other
times, when much lower, seem to remain suspended in the same spot for
several seconds. All this while, and indeed as long as they are flying,
their wings are directly extended, their neck stretched to its full
length, their tail more or less spread according to the movements to
be performed, being closed when they descend, expanded and declined to
either side when they mount. During their migratory expeditions, they
beat their wings at times in the manner of the Cormorant, and at other
times sail like the Turkey Buzzard and some Hawks, the former mode
being more frequently observed when they are passing over an extent
of woodland, the latter when over a sheet of water. If disturbed or
alarmed, they fly with continuous beats of the wings, and proceed with
great velocity. As they find difficulty in leaving their perch without
previously expanding their wings, they are also, when about to alight,
obliged to use them in supporting their body, until their feet have
taken a sufficient hold of the branch on which they desire to settle.
In this respect, they exactly resemble the Florida Cormorant.
There are facts connected with the habits of birds which might afford a
pretty good idea of the relative temperatures of different parts of the
country during a given season; and those observed with regard to the
Anhinga seem to me peculiarly illustrative of this circumstance. I have
found the “Grecian Lady” breeding on St John’s River in East Florida,
near Lake George, as early as the 23d of February; having previously
seen many of them caressing each other on the waters, and again
carrying sticks, fresh twigs, and other matters, to form their nests,
and having also shot females with the eggs largely developed. Now,
at the same period, perhaps not a single Anhinga is to be seen in the
neighbourhood of Natchez, only a few about New Orleans, in the eastern
parts of Georgia, and the middle maritime portions of South Carolina.
In Louisiana this bird breeds in April or May, and in South Carolina
rarely before June, my friend BACHMAN having found eggs, and young just
hatched, as late as the 28th of that month. In North Carolina, where
only a few pairs breed, it is later by a fortnight.
I have already expressed my opinion that birds which thus breed so much
earlier in one section of the country than in another, especially when
at great distances, may, after producing one or even two broods, in the
same year, still have time enough to proceed toward higher latitudes
for the purpose of again breeding. Actual observations have moreover
satisfied me that individuals of the same species produced in warm
latitudes have a stronger disposition toward reproduction than those
of more northern climates. This being the case, and most birds endowed
with the power of migrating, having a tendency to exercise it, may we
not suppose that the pair of Anhingas which bred on the St John’s in
February, might be inclined to breed again either in South Carolina
or in the neighbourhood of Natchez, several months after. But, as yet,
I have not been able to adduce positive proof of the accuracy of this
opinion.
The nest of the Snake-bird is variously placed in different localities;
sometimes in low bushes, and even on the common smilax, not more than
eight or ten feet above the water, if the place be secluded, or on
the lower or top branches of the highest trees, but always over the
water. In Louisiana and the State of Mississippi, where I have seen a
goodly number of nests, they were generally placed on very large and
tall cypresses, growing out of the central parts of lakes and ponds,
or overhanging the borders of lagoons, bayous, or rivers, distant
from inhabited places. They are frequently placed singly, but at
times amidst hundreds or even thousands of nests of several species
of Herons, especially _Ardea alba_ and _A. Herodias_, the Great White
and Great Blue Herons. As however in all cases the form, size, and
component materials are nearly the same, I will here describe a nest
procured for the purpose by my friend BACHMAN.
It measured fully two feet in diameter, and was of a flattened form,
much resembling that of the Florida Cormorant. The first or bottom
layer was made of dry sticks of different sizes, some nearly half
an inch in diameter, laid crosswise, but in a circular manner. Green
branches with leaves on them, of the common myrtle, _Myrica cerifera_,
a quantity of Spanish moss, and some slender roots, formed the upper
and inside layer, which was as solid and compact as that of any nest of
the Heron tribe. This nest contained four eggs; another examined on the
same day had four young birds; a third only three; and in no instance
has a nest of the Anhinga been found with either eight eggs, or “two
eggs and six young ones,” as mentioned by Mr ABBOTT, of Georgia, in his
notes transmitted to WILSON. Mr ABBOTT is however correct in saying
that this species “will occupy the same tree for a series of years,”
and I have myself known a pair to breed in the same nest three seasons,
augmenting and repairing it every succeeding spring, as Cormorants and
Herons are wont to do. The eggs average two inches and five-eighths
in length, by one and a quarter in diameter, and are of an elongated
oval form, of a dull uniform whitish colour externally, being covered
with a chalky substance, beneath which the shell, on being carefully
scraped, is of a light blue, precisely resembling in this respect the
eggs of the different species of American Cormorants with which I am
acquainted.
The young when about a fortnight old are clad with a uniform
buff-coloured down; their bill is black, their feet yellowish-white,
their head and neck nearly naked; and now they resemble young
Cormorants, though of a different colour. The wing feathers make their
appearance through the down, and are dark brown. The birds in the same
nest differ as much in size as those of Cormorants, the largest being
almost twice the size of the smallest. At this age they are in the
habit of raising themselves by placing their bills on the upper part
of the nest, or over a branch if convenient, and drawing themselves
up by their jaws, which on such occasions they open very widely. This
habit is continued by young birds whilst in confinement, and was also
observed in the Cormorant, _Phalacrocorax Carbo_, the young of which
assisted themselves with their bills while crawling about on the deck
of the Ripley. The action is indeed performed by the Anhinga at all
periods of its life. At an early age the young utter a low wheezing
call, and at times some cries resembling those of the young of the
smaller species of Herons. From birth they are fed by regurgitation,
which one might suppose an irksome task to the parent birds, as during
the act they open their wings and raise their tails. I have not been
able to ascertain the period of incubation, but am sure that the male
and the female sit alternately, the latter however remaining much
longer on the nest. Young Anhingas when approached while in the nest
cling tenaciously to it, until seized, and if thrown down, they merely
float on the water, and are easily captured. On the contrary, the young
Florida Cormorants throw themselves into the water, and dive at once.