than that of the male of this beautiful species. While the female
is sitting on her eggs, he undergoes a moult, after which he appears
mottled, and seems as if inclined to assume the garb of his partner.
From this period, the beginning of July, until late in November, very
few finely-coloured males are to be seen, and only such as have not
mated that season, in which case they do not moult until the beginning
of winter, as if to be the sooner ready to associate with females on
the approach of the next breeding season.
In the Carolinas, this species, though found during winter in the rice
fields, is not abundant; more than three or four being seldom seen
together. In our Central and Eastern Districts, they are rather rare,
and a male in full dress is not to be obtained without difficulty,
although I have seen some in the markets of New York and Philadelphia.
The Shoveller walks prettily, and I have often admired its movements in
the puddles formed by heavy dashes of rain in our southern corn-fields,
where I have found it in company with the Wood Duck, the Mallard, and
the Pin-tail. Its flight resembles that of the Blue-winged Teal; and
in tenderness as well as in flavour, it rivals, as an article of food,
that beautiful bird. No sportsman who is a judge will ever pass a
Shoveller to shoot a Canvass-back. It is rarely however found on salt
water, and that only when compelled to resort thither.
In the beginning of May, when I was in Texas, I found Shovellers
breeding in considerable numbers. The males had already left the
females, and were seen on the sand-bars of the Bay of Galveston, up
to the River St Jacinto, but none of my party discovered the nest.
During the autumn, they are to be seen on the waters adjoining the
Ohio, and generally in ponds in company with the Bald-pate or American
Widgeon, when they become very fat, and afford delicious eating. At
this time I have been often much pleased when, on perceiving a flock
of eight or nine of these ducks, probably members of a single family,
and cautiously approaching them, while they were busily engaged in
searching for food with their heads and necks immersed, I have obtained
several of them at the first shot, and as the survivors flew off have
succeeded in procuring one or two more. On such occasions, they rise
almost perpendicularly to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and
then fly off in a direct course, in the manner of Mallards.
ANAS CLYPEATA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 200.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 856.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of
Birds of United States, p. 382.
SHOVELLER, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 45, pl. 67,
fig. 7.
ANAS CLYPEATA, SHOVELLER, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun. Bor.
Amer. vol. ii. p. 439.
SHOVELLER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 439.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, higher than broad at the base, depressed
and much widened towards the end, where its breadth is doubled. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line sloping and very slightly concave, the
ridge at the base broad, narrowed over the nostrils; sides nearly erect
at the base, gradually more decimate and convex; the tip very broadly
rounded, with the unguis oblong, rather small, curved and rounded at
the extremity; the margins soft, with very numerous lamellæ, which
are prolonged beyond the edges and taper to a point, unless at the
commencement of the broadest part of the bill. Nasal groove elliptical,
and filled by the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils elliptical,
pervious, placed near the ridge. Lower mandible slightly curved
upwards, with the angle very long and narrow, the unguis obovate.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed, rounded above; neck
moderate; body rather full, slightly depressed. Feet short, stout,
placed a little behind the centre of the body; legs bare a little above
the joint; tarsus very short, moderately compressed, anteriorly with
small scutella, and an external short series of larger, on the other
parts reticulated with small scales. Hind toe very small, with a narrow
free membrane; third toe longest, fourth almost as long; the three
anterior slender, with numerous oblique scutella, and connected by webs
which have the margin concave and denticulate; the inner toe with a
broad margin. Claws small, arched, compressed, acute; that of middle
toe slightly dilated on the inner edge.
Plumage dense, soft, and elastic; of the head and neck short, blended,
and splendent, of the occiput and nape considerably elongated; of the
other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings of moderate length,
acute; primaries narrow and tapering, the first longest, the second
very little shorter; the secondaries broad, curved inwards; the
inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, rounded, of fourteen acute
feathers, of which the two middle extend five twelfths of an inch
beyond the next.
Bill greyish-black tinged with yellow. Iris reddish-orange. Feet
vermilion; claws dusky. Head and upper part of neck, deep green
with purplish reflections, the top of the head of a darker tint
with less vivid gloss. A longitudinal band on the hind neck and the
back, greyish-brown, the feathers edged with paler; the rump and
upper tail-coverts greenish-black. The anterior scapulars white,
the posterior elongated, light blue on the outer web, longitudinally
banded with white and greenish-black on the inner. Smaller wing-coverts
light blue; alula, primary coverts, and primary quills blackish-brown,
their shafts white. Outer secondaries greyish-brown, eight of them
externally of a rich duck-green; the inner greenish-black, with a
longitudinal white streak; the secondary coverts broadly tipped with
white. Tail-feathers greyish-brown, irregularly variegated and margined
with reddish-white, that colour enlarging on the outer feathers.
Lower part of neck pure white; breast and middle part of abdomen
dull purplish-chestnut. A large patch of white on each side of the
rump, with a band of the same towards the tail; lower tail-coverts
greenish-black, with bright green and blue reflections; axillaries and
lower wing-coverts pure white.
Length to end of tail 20-1/2 inches, to end of wings 19, to end of
claws 21-1/4; extent of wings 31-1/2: bill along the ridge 2-8/12;
wing from flexure 9-8/12; tail 2-10/12; tarsus 1-4/12; first toe and
claw 8/12; third toe 1-9/12, its toe 5/12, fourth toe 1-9/12, its claw
(3-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 9 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXXVII. Fig. 2.
Bill dull yellowish-green, iris paler than in the male; feet as in
the male but lighter. The upper parts are blackish-brown, the feathers
edged with light reddish-brown; the throat and sides of the head are
light reddish-brown, which is the prevailing colour over the lower part
of the neck, a portion of the breast and the sides, of which however
the feathers are margined with dusky; the middle of the breast white.
Smaller wing-coverts dull brownish-grey; alula and primaries as in the
male; inner secondaries brownish-black; the speculum as in the male,
but paler, and changing to blue; the secondary coverts tipped with
white; tail nearly as in the male.
Length to end of tail 17 inches; to end of claws 20; bill along the
ridge 2-1/12; extent of wings 29-1/2. Weight 1 lb. 1 oz.
The bill of a male measures 2 inches and 8 twelfths along the ridge,
the frontal angles 4 twelfths more; the breadth of the upper mandible
at the base is 8-1/2 twelfths, near the end 1 inch and 3 twelfths.
The roof of the mouth is broadly and deeply concave, with a prominent
median ridge, which becomes papillate towards the base; the edges
of the mandible soft, direct, inflected towards the end; lamellæ
projecting beyond the margins and tapering to a point. On each side of
the lower mandible are about 220 lamellæ, and about 180 on the upper.
The tongue is 2-3/4 inches long, deeply emarginate at the base, with
numerous papillæ, for half an inch narrow and compressed, then for an
inch expanded, with a thin longitudinal flap above on each side divided
into lamellæ and minute bristles, at its anterior part having a breadth
of 1 inch and terminating abruptly, but with a median thin semicircular
tip, which is 3 twelfths long.
The œsophagus is 8 inches and 10 twelfths long, 4-1/2 twelfths in
diameter, its walls thick. The proventriculus is oblong, 1 inch in
length; its glandules of moderate size. The stomach is a strong gizzard
of moderate size; the lateral muscles and their tendons large as in
all other ducks. The intestine is very long, measuring 8 feet, and very
narrow, its diameter being from 2 twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth, for half
its length, after which it enlarges to 3-1/2 twelfths at the distance
of about 2 feet from the commencement of the rectum, then gradually
diminishes to 2 twelfths. The rectum is 3 inches 2 twelfths long, the
cœca 4 inches, their diameter for 1-1/4 inch 1-1/2 twelfth, afterwards
3-1/2 twelfths.
The trachea is 6 inches 9 twelfths long, very little flattened, its
diameter at the upper part 2-1/2 twelfths, gradually enlarging to 4
twelfths. On the left side of the inferior larynx there is a rounded
expansion of very moderate size compared with that observed in many
other ducks. The rings are 98; those at the lower part broader and much
stronger, but all of them ossified. The bronchial half rings about 35.
In another individual, the stomach is 1-1/2 inch long, 1-5/12 broad;
the right lateral muscle 6 twelfths thick. Contents, particles of
quartz, and fragments of shells. Intestine 11 feet 6 inches long; cœca
6-1/4 inches long; rectum 3-1/2 inches.
Long intestines, like long bills, often exhibit great differences in
the same species; for which reason characters taken from the length
of these parts must be received with latitude. Even in the Rapacious
Birds, in which the intestine is generally very short, considerable
differences are observed in individuals of the same sex and size. It
will be seen from the above statement that the Shoveller has a longer
and more slender intestine than any other American duck. In this
respect it is analogous to Pandion and Haliaetus among the Raptores;
generalizing vaguely from the consideration of which, as some have
done, one might be apt to conclude that it is more piscivorous than
the Canvass-back and Pochard, which however is by no means the case.
Although in some birds and mammalia a very elongated intestinal
canal is connected with piscivorous habits, yet many birds which feed
exclusively on fish, such as Gannets, Auks, and Guillemots, have the
intestine of only moderate length or short. It appears simply that
when for some reason resulting from the economy of the species, the
intestine must be elongated, it is made proportionally narrow; whereas
if it be expedient that it should be short, its calibre is increased.
BLACK-NECKED STILT.
_HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCCXXVIII. ADULT MALE.
A few individuals of this singular species occasionally pass the winter
in the lower parts of Louisiana, especially in the section called
Oppellousas. I have also found it at the same period in the Floridas,
but the greater number follow the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and
proceed beyond our southern limits. In April 1837, I observed their
first appearance at Galveston Bay in Texas, where many remained until
our departure. They were in small flocks, seldom composed of more than
seven or eight individuals, which almost immediately separated into
parties of two or three, and commenced their search for food. They
kept about the small shallow brackish ponds on the islands of the bay,
and now and then were observed following the sinuosities of bayous in
company with other birds. They were much more shy than they are while
breeding, and it was with some difficulty that we procured specimens.
When one was killed, the rest would fly to a considerable distance,
sometimes from one island to another, in a rapid manner, with regular
beats of the wings, their necks and legs extended. On such occasions
they uttered a whistling cry, different from the _cleek_, _cleek_,
_cleek_, which they emit when they have nests or young.
All the writers who have described the habits of this bird, allege that
it walks with a “staggering gait;” but this is by no means the case,
for they appeared to us to walk as firmly as any other long-legged
birds, such as Herons, Curlews, and the American Avoset; and I had many
opportunities of observing them, as had my friend EDWARD HARRIS, my
son, and all the members of our party.
Toward the end of April, flocks of this bird reach the Middle
Districts, by following the coast, for they are very rarely met with at
any great distance from the sea shore. They generally betake themselves
to extensive marshes abounding in muddy inlets and small ponds, in the
vicinity of which they usually place their nests. About the middle
of May, parties of from ten to twenty collect, and are seen wading
sometimes up to their breast, in search of food, which is extremely
abundant in such places. They are now paired, and select suitable spots
for their nests, which are generally not far distant from each other,
and near the margins of the ponds, or on small islets. The nest is
very similar to that of the Willet, or Semi-palmated Snipe, _Totanus
semipalmatus_, being rather large, and formed of dry weeds and the
twigs of small shrubs. I have never observed the singular manner of
augmenting and raising their tenements, described by ALEXANDER WILSON,
although, like him, I have found and examined several in the very
same districts. The eggs are always four, placed with the smaller
ends together, pyriform, almost 2 inches long, with the smaller end
rounded, 1-3/8 in their greatest breadth; of a pale yellowish-clay
colour, and plentifully marked with large irregular blotches and lines
of brownish-black.
While the females are sitting, the males pay them much attention,
acting in this respect like those of the American Avoset, watching the
approach of intruders, giving chase to the Red-winged Starlings, as
well as to the Fishing and American Crows, and assailing the truant
young gunner or egger. When there is no appearance of annoyance, they
sometimes roam as far as the sea-beach. When the young are hatched,
they leave the nest, and follow their parents through the grass, but
on the appearance of danger squat and remain motionless. About the
beginning of September, young and old commence their journey southward.
This species is rather scarce along the shores of the Carolinas; nor
is it abundant in any part of the United States, and is seldom seen
to the eastward beyond Long Island. Its food consists of insects,
small crustacea, worms, and young fry of fishes. I have frequently
observed them running after flies, and attempting to seize the smaller
Libellulæ. When wounded so as to fall on the water, they are unable
to dive, but on reaching the shore they run nimbly off and hide
themselves.
I feel confident that in spring the males migrate apart from the
females, but in autumn in company with them. The flesh of this species
is not decidedly good or bad, being of ordinary quality. The males
are larger than the females, and individuals of both sexes vary
considerably in size.
LONG-LEGGED AVOSET, RECURVIROSTRA HIMANTOPUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vii. p. 48, pl. 55, fig. 1.
HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 322.
BLACK-NECKED STILT, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 8.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVIII.
Bill about twice as long as the head, very slender, roundish, tapering,
slightly recurved. Upper mandible with its outline very slightly curved
upwards, at the tip declinate; the ridge convex, the sides convex,
the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute. Nasal
groove nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils linear, direct,
sub-basal, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and
narrow, the sides grooved as far as the angle, the edges sharp and
inflected, the tip narrow.
Head small, ovate, rounded above; neck very long and slender; body
rather compact. Legs extremely elongated and slender; tibia bare
for more than half its length, covered anteriorly with large curved
scutella; tarsus very long, moderately compressed, scutellate before,
reticulate on the sides; toes of moderate length, slender; hind toe
wanting, outer a little longer than inner, and connected with the
middle toe by a web extending nearly to the second joint; the inner toe
also connected with the middle by a very short web. Claws small, nearly
straight, moderately compressed.
Plumage ordinary, the feathers ovate and rounded. Wings very long, of
moderate breadth, acute, the first quill longest, the other primaries
rapidly graduated. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers.
Bill black, iris bright carmine; feet lake-coloured, claws dusky.
Forehead, a spot above the eye, another below it, fore part and sides
of the neck, and all the other lower parts, pure white. Upper part of
head, hind neck, and upper parts, bluish-black, glossed with green;
tail white.
Length to end of tail 14-1/2 inches, to end of wings 16-1/2, to end of
claws 21-3/4; extent of wings 27; wing from flexure 9; tail 2-10/12;
bill along the ridge 2-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-11/12;
bare part of tibia 3-1/4; tarsus 4-(2-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-1/2, its
claw 3/12. Weight 6-1/4 oz.
The Female is smaller than the male but otherwise similar.
Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 15-1/4, to end of
claws 20; extent of wings 25-3/4. Weight 5 oz.
The median ridge of the anterior part of the roof of the mouth is
furnished with a few short papillæ. The tongue is 1 inch 2 twelfths
long, slender, tapering, emarginate and papillate at the base. The
œsophagus is 7 inches long, with an average diameter of 4 twelfths;
the proventriculus 9 twelfths long, and 6 twelfths in diameter. The
stomach is elliptical, 1 inch in length, 8-1/2 twelfths in breadth;
its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the right being 4 twelfths
thick; the inner coat or epithelium dense, longitudinally rugous, and
of a brownish-red colour. The intestine is 20 inches long, its diameter
varying from 3 to 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca are 1-1/2 inch long, 1/12 in
diameter at the base, 2 twelfths towards the end, which is blunt.
The trachea is 5-1/4 inches long, rather wide, its diameter at
the upper part 3 twelfths, gradually diminishing to 1-1/2 twelfth;
the rings 120, unossified, excepting a few at the lower part. The
contractor muscles are feeble; the sterno-tracheal slender. The bronchi
are very short, with about 10 half rings.
The Prince of MUSIGNANO has introduced into his lately published list
a species of this genus, under the name of _Himantopus Mexicanus_.
I have received from Florida two skins, which from their large size
might at first sight be thought to differ from the common kind; but
after closely comparing them with my other specimens, I can find no
difference indicative of a distinction of species. Nor have I ever met
with individuals in North America of any other species than that above
described.
YELLOW-BREASTED RAIL.
_RALLUS NOVEBORACENSIS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXXIX. MALE.
The PRINCE of MUSIGNANO, who purchased one of these birds in the New
York market, in February 1826, gave a figure of it, and considered it
as an arctic species. This opinion, however, is incorrect, for the
Yellow-breasted Rail is a constant resident in the Peninsula of the
Floridas, as well as in the lower parts of Louisiana, where I have
found it at all seasons. That a few straggling individuals should
proceed northwards, advancing even to pretty high latitudes, is
not much to be wondered at, as we have a similar case in the Common
Gallinule. But at the season mentioned the individual referred to must
have been forced thither by a storm, as no Rails of any kind are found
in that part of the country in winter.
In the neighbourhood of New Orleans, this species is found in all the
deserted savannahs, covered with thick long grass, and pools of shallow
water. There you hear its sharp and curious notes many times in the
course of the day, just as you hear those of _Rallus crepitans_ near
the sea-shore, more especially after the report of a gun, when they are
louder and more quickly repeated. These sounds come on the ear so as
to induce you to believe that the bird is near; but whether this be the
case or not is not easily determined, for when you move towards a spot
in which you suppose it to be, the sounds recede at your approach, and
you may think yourself fortunate if, after half an hour of search, you
discover one on wing. Indeed, if we have a bird in America approaching
in its habits the Corn Crake of Europe, it is the Yellow-breasted
Rail; and were I disposed to systematize, I should consider it as a
connecting link between land and water birds, as in some of its habits
it also resembles the European Quail, a bird as fond at times of damp
meadows bordering rivers as this species is wont to be, when it seeks
for a place of safety in which to form its nest and rear its young.
In the Floridas, this bird is more abundant than even in Louisiana;
and I met with it frequently in the course of my wanderings there, not
only on the mainland, but also on several of the keys, where they begin
breeding in March. On Sandy Island, near Cape Sable, I found several
pairs, in May 1832. About New Orleans it commences breeding at the same
period. Dr BACHMAN has procured specimens near Charleston. I have also
found a few near Vincennes on the Wabash River in summer, when they had
young broods. In the course of my stay at the Silver Springs in East
Florida, I observed a good number of these birds along the margins of
the lakes and swampy bayous, and had ample opportunities of assuring
myself that this species is far from being nocturnal, as authors have
alleged, at least when in places where they are under no apprehension
of danger. In those sultry solitudes I have at times seen them
following the margins of the muddy shores, with delicate and measured
steps, until attracted by something worthy of their attention, when
they suddenly jerked their tail upwards and for a moment disappeared.
Again, they would gracefully leap upon the slender twig of some low
shrub or bush, apparently in search of small snails or other objects,
jerking their tail at every movement. There it was that I again saw the
extraordinary power of contraction which their body is able to assume
while they are pushing forward between two or more stubborn branches.
They were all so gentle that I at times approached within a few yards
of them, when they would now and then look cunningly at me, rise more
erect for a moment, and then resume their occupations.
When searched for by a dog, they seem as if determined to put him out
by continual manœuvring, running and cutting backwards within a few
yards of extent until the dog can no longer follow the last trail.
Just then they rise on wing, or run off to some other spot equally
adapted for security. A friend of mine who resides in New Orleans, and
has shot some hundreds of this species, told me that the best method
of obtaining a shot is to lie concealed near an opening in the grass,
and call the bird out of cover by imitating its notes, when in a few
minutes, being extremely pugnacious, it comes to the clear space, and
may be easily shot. Its flesh is delicate and savoury.
The nest somewhat resembles that of _Rallus elegans_. It is generally
placed upon the ground in the centre of a thick tuft of grass, and the
bed of it is at times elevated above the soil to the height of four
or five inches. It is composed of weeds of various kinds, and is now
and then covered over in the same manner as that of our Meadow Lark.
The eggs are from eight to ten, pure white, thin-shelled, and measure
1-1/8 inch by nearly seven eighths. The young are at first black, and
are able to follow their parents almost immediately after birth. I am
induced to believe that two, or perhaps three, broods are reared in the
season.