Herons, whose keen sight and vigilance are useful to it in apprising
it of danger, and allowing it to take flight in due time. When the
Spoonbills are by themselves and feeding, they can easily be approached
by those who, like yourself perhaps, are expert at crawling over the
mud on hands and knees, through the tall and keen-edged saw-grass. I
well recollect my own success when, after having seen three of these
precious birds alight on their feeding grounds, about a quarter of a
mile from where I stood, I managed after something short of half an
hour to get within shot of them. Then, after viewing them for a while
unseen, I touched one of my triggers, and two of them fell upon the
surface of the shallow water. The other might, I believe, have been as
easily shot, for it stood, as I have seen Wild Turkey cocks do on like
occasions, looking with curious intensity as it were upon its massacred
friends, until, seeing me get up and wade towards them, it hurriedly
extended its broad wings, and flew off towards the sea-shore. When
wounded in the wing, they make towards deeper water, and, if closely
pursued, will swim to some distance, but without ever attempting to
dive, and when at last seized, offer no resistance. On the contrary,
if their wings are uninjured, though they may otherwise be severely
wounded, they rise and fly to a great distance, or drop while on the
way. I have considered these birds as tough to kill, and, when on open
ground, even without being in company with Herons, as difficult of
approach. They are as nocturnal as the night Heron, and, although they
seek for food at times during the middle of the day, their principal
feeding time is from near sunset until daylight. To all such feeding
grounds as are exposed to the tides, they betake themselves when it is
low water, and search for food along the shallow margins until driven
off by the returning tide. Few birds are better aware of the hours
at which the waters are high or low, and when it is near ebb you see
them wending their way to the shore. Whenever a feeding place seems
to be productive, the Spoonbills are wont to return to it until they
have been much disturbed, and persons aware of this fact may waylay
them with success, as at such times one may shoot them while passing
over head. To procure their food, the Spoonbills first generally
alight near the water, into which they then wade up to the tibia, and
immerse their bills in the water or soft mud, sometimes with the head
and even the whole neck beneath the surface. They frequently withdraw
these parts however, and look around to ascertain if danger is near.
They move their partially opened mandibles laterally to and fro with
a considerable degree of elegance, munching the fry, insects, or small
shell-fish, which they secure, before swallowing them. When there are
many together, one usually acts as sentinel, unless a Heron should
be near; and in either case you may despair of approaching them. I
have never seen one of these birds feeding in fresh water, although
I have been told that this is sometimes the case. To all those keys
in the Floridas in which ponds have been dug for the making of salt,
they usually repair in the evening for the purpose of feeding; but the
shallow inlets in the great salt marshes of our southern coasts are
their favourite places of resort.
The Roseate Spoonbills alight on trees with as much facility as Herons,
and even walk on their large branches. They usually nestle on the tops
of the mangroves, placing their nests at the distance of a few yards
from each other. They are formed of sticks of considerable size and are
flat, like most of those of the Heron tribe. The eggs are laid about
the middle of April, and are usually three. They measure two inches
and five-eighths in length, an inch and seven-eighths in their greatest
breadth, are slightly granulated, almost equally rounded at both ends,
and have a pure white colour. I have never seen the young when recently
hatched; but when able to fly they are greyish-white. The bill is then
quite smooth, of a yellowish-green colour, as are the legs and feet, as
well as the skin on part of the head. Young birds in their second year
have the wings and the lower wing-coverts of a pale roseate tint, the
bill more richly coloured, and the legs and feet dark brownish-red, or
purplish. At this age, they are unadorned with the curling feathers on
the breast; but in the third spring the bird is perfect, although it
increases in size for several seasons after. I have never seen one of
these birds of the bright red colour assigned to them by some authors.
While on one of the islands of Galveston Bay in Texas, I found eight or
ten nests of these birds, placed in low cactuses, amid some hundreds of
nests belonging to Herons of different species, but was not rendered
aware of the fact until I compared the eggs found there with those
procured in the Floridas, although I did at the time mention to my
friend EDWARD HARRIS, and to my son, that I thought the eggs and
nests of which I speak were those of the Roseate Spoonbill and not
of the Herons. What rendered the fact doubtful, however, was, that
no Spoonbills were to be seen, as they had all betaken themselves to
flight on hearing the reports of our guns.
In connection with the procuring of some of these birds, I find
a rather curious occurrence recorded in my journal. On the 2d of
May 1837, my party and I went on shore from the Revenue Cutter the
“Campbell,” on the island of Galveston, for the purpose of obtaining
fish and prawns, the latter of which are in that country extremely
abundant, and certainly the largest I have ever seen. Our fishing over,
we were on the point of returning, when we saw three Spoonbills alight
on a sand-bar, and almost immediately proceed to the water in search of
food. My son was despatched after them, and having waded through some
muddy parts of the inlet on the shore of which we were standing, he
succeeded in getting near, and killed the finest of the three. Almost
at the same instant, the back fins of a large fish, resembling those
of a shark, were seen meandering above the surface of the shallow
waters. My son received prompt intelligence of this, to enable him to
make good his return. The monster moved about rather slowly, and JOHN
having rammed home a couple of bullets, lodged them in its body, on
which it floundered about apparently in great agony. One of our boats
immediately pushed toward the spot, and my son was taken on board,
while the animal used its best efforts to get into deeper water. Now
sailors and all joined in the chase. The gun was again charged with
balls, my son waded once more towards it, and lodged the missiles in
its body, while from the bow of the boat it received several blows
from the oars and gaff-hook. The tars all leaped into the water, and
the bleeding fish was at once closely beset. The boatswain at a single
lucky stroke cut off its tail, and having afterwards fastened the hook
in one of its eyes, we dragged it to the beach. About a hundred Mexican
prisoners, Texian soldiers, and officers, were there; but instead of
our prize turning out a shark, it proved to be a sawfish, measuring
rather more than twelve feet in length. From its body we took out
alive ten young ones. It was cut into pieces by the Mexican prisoners,
and soon devoured. Five or six of the young were put into rum, and
ultimately carried to England.
The feathers of the wings and tail of the Roseate Spoonbill are
manufactured into fans by the Indians and Negroes of Florida; and at
St Augustine these ornaments form in some degree a regular article of
trade. Their flesh is oily and poor eating.
PLATALEA AJAJA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol i. p. 231.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 668.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 346.
ROSEATE SPOONBILL, PLATALEA AJAJA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 123, pl. 63, fig. 1.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
79.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXI.
Bill very long, excessively depressed, being when viewed laterally very
slender, but when seen from above nearly as broad as the head at the
base, considerably contracted in the middle, and at the end expanded
into a large obovate disk much broader than the head. Upper mandible
with the dorsal outline almost straight, descending at the base,
at the tip decurved, the ridge extremely broad and flat, gradually
widening beyond the nostrils, at the end terminated by the very small,
decurved, blunt claw; the sides declinate at the base, horizontally
flattened towards the end, separated in their whole length from the
ridge by a narrow groove, their margins soft and blunt. Nostrils basal,
oblong-linear, of moderate size. Lower mandible with the angle very
long, narrow, rounded, the crura narrow, and gradually flattened, the
extremity expanded into a flattened disk as in the upper. The mandibles
are covered with soft skin, which for half their length is rough with
roundish plates having their anterior margin somewhat prominent.
Head of moderate size, flattened above. Neck long and slender. Body
compact, ovate. Legs long and rather slender; tibia bare in its lower
half, and reticulate; tarsus rather long, stout, roundish, covered
all round with reticulated subhexagonal scales; toes rather long,
moderately stout, covered above with numerous scutella, but at the
base reticulated; first more slender, articulated on the same plane;
second considerably shorter than third, which is in the same proportion
exceeded by the fourth. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, laterally
grooved, rather obtuse.
The head, gular sac, and a small part of the neck, destitute of
feathers. Those on the neck linear or lanceolate, small, with disunited
barbs; a tuft on the lower and fore part of the neck recurved and
silky. The feathers on the other parts are of moderate length, ovate,
rather compact above, blended beneath. Wings long and very broad;
primaries firm, broad, tapering, but rounded, the second longest, the
third next, the first a quarter of an inch shorter; secondaries broad
and broadly rounded. Tail short, even, of twelve rather broad, abruptly
rounded feathers.
Bill yellowish-grey at the base, mottled with brownish-black, in the
rest of its extent pale greenish-blue, light on the margins; base of
margin of lower mandible greenish-yellow. Iris bright carmine. Feet
pale lake; claws brownish-black. Head yellowish-green; space around the
eye and the gular sac orpiment orange; a band of black from the lower
mandible to the occiput. Feathers of the neck white. Back and wings of
a beautiful delicate rose colour; the lower parts of a deeper tint;
the tuft of recurved feathers on the fore neck, a broad band across
the wing along the cubitus, and the upper and lower tail-coverts, of a
rich and pure carmine with silky lustre. The shafts of all the quills
and scapulars are light carmine. On each side of the lower part of the
neck and fore part of the body a patch of pale ochre. Tail feathers
ochre-yellow, but at the base pale roseate, with the shafts carmine.
Length to end of tail 30-3/4 inches, to end of wings 29-3/4, to end of
claws 36; extent of wings 53; bill 7; breadth of gape 1-3/8, depth of
pouch 2; breadth of bill at the base 1-5/8; at the end 2-1/12; bare
part of tibia 3; tarsus 4; hind toe and claw 1-10/12; second toe and
claw 2-8/12; middle toe and claw 3-7/12; outer toe and claw 3-1/12;
wing from flexure 15-1/4; tail 4-3/4. Weight 4 lb. 2 oz.
The female is smaller, but resembles the male.
Length to end of tail 28 inches, to end of wings 28, to end of claws
35-3/4; extent of wings 48. Weight 3 lb.
The affinities of this remarkable bird being variously represented
by authors, it becomes a matter of considerable interest to determine
its relations according to its internal organs. The skin is thin, but
tough, and the subcutaneous cellular tissue is largely developed. In
these respects its affinity is to the Ibises and Curlews, as much at
least as to any other birds. On the roof of the mouth are two rows
of blunt papillæ, as in many Scolopacidæ. The tongue is extremely
small, being only 3 twelfths of an inch in length, but 7 twelfths in
breadth at the base, where it is emarginate and furnished with numerous
delicate papillæ, the outer much larger. The gular membrane is very
dilatable and of the same general nature as that of the Cormorants and
Pelicans, having a longitudinal series of muscular fibres along the
centre, with two layers of fasciculi interposed between the external
skin and the internal, the inner fasciculi running parallel to the
lower mandible, the outer transversely. The bill is similar to that
of the Pelican’s modified, the middle part or ridge being flattened,
and the unguis abbreviated. The breadth of the mouth is within 1-1/12
inch. The external aperture of the ear is roundish, 4 twelfths in
diameter, that of the meatus oblique, oblong, 3 twelfths across. The
œsophagus, _a b_, is 17 inches long (including the proventriculus,
as in all the other measurements); its diameter at the top 1-1/4
inch, at the distance of six inches, it contracts to 5 twelfths, then
for four inches enlarges, having its greatest diameter 1-1/12 inch;
between the coracoid bones it again contracts to half an inch, and
on entering the thorax enlarges to an inch. The proventriculus is
bulbiform, 1-1/2 inch long, its glandules very large, cylindrical,
the longest being 1/4 inch, and 1 twelfth in diameter. The stomach,
_c d_, is a powerful gizzard of a roundish form, 1 inch 11 twelfths
long, and 1 inch 10 twelfths broad; the muscular fibres disposed in
large fasciculi all around, but not forming distinct lateral muscles;
the central tendons very large, being 10 twelfths in diameter; the
cuticular lining excessively thick, of a rather soft texture, divided
by deep longitudinal irregular fissures, its greatest thickness being
about half an inch. The intestine _d e f_ is very long, measuring
8 feet 9-1/2 inches, of moderate diameter, varying from 4 to 3-1/2
twelfths. It is compactly and beautifully arranged in very numerous
somewhat concentric folds, being coiled up like a rope, the duodenum
_d e_ curving backwards and upwards over the stomach for five inches,
then returning, and enclosing the pancreas, until under the right
lobe of the liver where it receives the biliary ducts. The cloaca is
globular, 2 inches in diameter when distended; the rectum, exclusive
of the cloaca 3-1/2 inches, and having at its upper extremity two
bulging knobs in place of cœca. Now, the œsophagus and proventriculus
are those of a Numenius, the stomach that of a Heron in the arrangement
of its fasciculi, and in the softness of its epithelium; but otherwise
it differs in being much larger and more muscular. The intestines
are thicker and more muscular than those of Herons, and differ more
especially in having two cœcal appendages, which however are extremely
short, whereas the herons have merely a single cœcal prominence.
The heart, _g_, is remarkably large, being 1 inch and 10 twelfths long,
1 inch and a half in breadth. The lobes of the liver, _h_, _i_, are
very large, and about _equal_, their greatest length being 3 inches;
the gall-bladder globular, 8 twelfths in diameter. One of the testes
is 11 twelfths long, 9 twelfths broad; the other 10 twelfths by 7
twelfths; their great size being accounted for by the individual’s
having been killed in the breeding season.
In a female of much smaller size the œsophagus is 15 inches long; the
stomach 2 inches in length, 1 inch and 9 twelfths broad; the intestine
7 feet 7 inches. The contents of the stomach, fishes, shrimps, and
fragments of shells.
One of the most remarkable deviations from ordinary forms in this bird
is _the division of the trachea previous to its entering the thorax_.
It may be described as very short, a little flattened, and quite
membranous, the rings being cartilaginous and very thin. Its diameter
at the top is 5 twelfths, and it is scarcely less at the lower part,
where, half-way down the neck, is formed an inferior larynx, _k_, which
is scarcely enlarged. The two bronchi _lm_, _l m_, are in consequence
excessively elongated. They are compressed, 5 twelfths in diameter at
the commencement, gradually contracting to 3 twelfths, and enlarging
a little towards the end; and are singular in this respect that the
rings of the upper fourth are incomplete, the tube being completed by
membrane in the usual manner, whereas in the rest of their extent, the
rings are elliptical, entire, stronger, and those at the lower part
united or anchylosed on the inner side. The rings of the trachea are
105, of the two bronchi 73 and 71. The contractor muscles are feeble
and terminate at the lower larynx; from which no muscle extends along
the bronchi, which, until they enter the thorax, run parallel and
in contact, being enclosed within a common sheath of dense cellular
tissue. The bronchi have the last ring much enlarged, and open into a
funnel, which passing backwards and terminating in one of the abdominal
cells, is perforated above with eight or ten transverse elliptical
slits, which open into similar tubes or tunnels, opening in the same
manner into smaller tubes, and thus ramifying through the lungs.
In the male bird, of which the upper part of the trachea has been
destroyed, there are in one bronchus 80, in the other 71 rings, 20 of
the upper rings being incomplete.
The vertebræ of the neck have no resemblance to those of Herons, nor
does that part curve in the same abrupt manner; and the sternum is in
all essential respects similar to that of the Curlews, Tringas, and
other birds of that family, it having a very prominent crest, with two
deep posterior notches on each side. In fact, the sternum of Tringa
Cinclus is almost an exact miniature of it.
[Illustration]
The compact form of the body, its great muscularity, the form of the
legs, the length and slenderness of the neck, the form and bareness
of the head, and the elongation of the bill, especially when it is
laterally viewed, all indicate an affinity to the Tantali and Numenii.
But the Spoonbills are also allied in various degrees to the Herons
and Pelicaninæ; so that they clearly present one of those remarkable
centres of radiation, demonstrative of the absurdity of quinary and
circular arrangements, founded merely on a comparison of skins.
RED-HEADED DUCK.
_FULIGULA FERINA_, STEPHENS.
PLATE CCCXXII. MALE AND FEMALE.
At New Orleans, this bird is commonly known by the name of “Dos
Gris.” It arrives there in great flocks, about the first of November,
and departs late in April, or in the beginning of May. On the lakes
Borgne, St John, and Ponchartrain, it is very abundant, keeping in
large flocks, separate from the other species. In that part of the
country its food consists of small fishes, in pursuit of which it is
seen constantly diving. It is caught in different sorts of nets, and
easily kept in confinement, feeding greedily on Indian corn, whether
entire or crushed by the millstone. In 1816, many thousands of these
ducks as well as others of different species, were caught in nets
by a Frenchman, who usually sent them alive to market in cages from
the narrows of the Lakes, especially from those called “La pointe
aux herbes,” and the “Isle aux pins.” So many of them, however, were
procured by this man, that he after a while gave up sending them
alive, on account of the great difficulty he encountered in procuring
a sufficient number of cages for their accommodation.
Although Dr RICHARDSON informs us that this species breeds “in all
parts of the fur-countries, from the fiftieth parallel to their most
northern limits,” I saw none of these birds during the spring and
summer months which I spent on the coast of Labrador. I was equally
unsuccessful in my search for it in Newfoundland. Indeed, I have never
observed it eastward of the State of Massachusetts, although from
thence it is more and more abundant the farther south you proceed,
until you reach the tributaries of the Mississippi. Beyond the mouths
of that river, these birds are rarely seen; and when I was there in
April 1837, none were observed by my party or myself after we had left
the south-west Pass on our way westward. In the Texas none were even
heard of. From these circumstances I have inferred that, along with
several other species, the Red-headed Duck reaches the Middle and
Southern States by passing overland or following our great streams,
such as the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi, westward, and the North
River, and others eastward, both in its vernal and autumnal migrations.
This I am the more inclined to believe, on account of the great numbers
which on such occasions I have seen in ponds in the States of Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
I found it abundant in the marshes near St Augustine, in East Florida,
on the 8th November 1831, when the young males of that year had the
breast and lower neck mottled with brown and blackish feathers; and
yet whilst at General HERNANDEZ’s, in that district, on the 20th of
December, they were in almost perfect plumage. At this latter period
they were shy, and kept in company with Mallards, American Wigeons,
Scaup Ducks, and Spoonbills, generally in shallow fresh-water ponds,
at some distance from the sea shore. In South Carolina, these ducks
are now much more abundant than they were twenty years ago, especially
on the Santee River, where my friend Dr SAMUEL WILSON Has shot many of
them, as well as of the Canvass-back species.
The Red-headed Duck may be said to be equally fond of salt and fresh
water, and is found in abundance, during its stay with us, on the
Chesapeake Bay, especially in the month of March, when it associates
with the Canvass-back and other Ducks, and is offered for sale in the
Baltimore markets in great numbers. There I have seen them sold at 75
cents the pair, which was lower by 25 cents than their price at New
Orleans in April 1837.
Although they dive much and to a great depth, while in our bays and
estuaries, yet when in the shallow ponds of the interior, they are seen
dabbling the mud along the shores, much in the manner of the Mallard;
and on occasionally shooting them there, I have found their stomach
crammed with young tadpoles and small water-lizards, as well as blades
of the grasses growing around the banks. Nay, on several occasions, I
have found pretty large acorns and beech-nuts in their throats, as well
as snails, entire or broken, and fragments of the shells of various
small unios, together with much gravel.
In confinement, they do not exhibit that degree of awkwardness
attributed to them when on land. It is true that the habitual
shortening of the neck detracts from their beauty, so that in this
state they cannot be said to present a graceful appearance; yet their
aspect has always been pleasing to my sight. Their notes are rough
and coarse, and bear less resemblance to the cries of those species
which are peculiar to fresh water than those of any other of their
tribe. Their flight is performed in a hurried manner, and they start
from the water pell-mell; yet they can continue very long on wing,
and the motions of their pinions, especially at night, produce a clear
whistling sound.
The fine pair from which I made the two figures in the plate were given
me by my friend DANIEL WEBSTER, Esq. of Boston, Massachusetts, whose
talents and accomplishments are too well known to require any eulogium
from me.
The flesh of this bird is generally esteemed, insomuch that many
persons know no difference between it and that of the Canvass-back
Duck, for which it is not unfrequently sold; but I look upon it as far
inferior to that of many other ducks. Individuals of both sexes vary
much in size. On comparing American with European skins, I am unable to
perceive any difference of colour or proportions indicative of specific
distinction.
ANAS FERINA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 31.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 862.
RED-HEADED DUCK, ANAS FERINA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
viii. p. 110, pl. 70, fig. 6.
FULIGULA FERINA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 392.
FULIGULA FERINA, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer.
vol. ii. p. 452.
THE RED-HEADED DUCK, or POCHARD, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii.
p. 434.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXII. Fig. 1.