greenish-yellow, as are the eyelids and bare space before the eye.
Iris pale orange. Legs and feet dull yellowish-green, the scutella
and scales in front, as well as the claws, dusky. Upper part of
head and hind neck, black, longitudinally marked with somewhat
triangular elongated white spots; sides of the head and neck pale
dull yellowish-brown, streaked with darker; the upper parts light grey
tinged with brown, the feathers edged with yellowish-white, and tipped
with a triangular spot of the same; the primaries and their coverts
with the tail darker, margined with dull white. The fore part of the
neck, and all the lower parts, dull yellowish-grey, each feather with
its central part dark greyish-brown; lower tail-coverts unspotted.
Length to end of tail 23-1/2, to end of claws 29-1/2; extent of wings
40. Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
Adult Male from South Carolina.
The upper mandible is slightly concave, with a median prominent ridge,
the palate convex with two ridges; the posterior aperture of the
nares linear, with an oblique papillate flap on each side; the lower
mandible deeply concave. The tongue is of moderate length, measuring
1-3/4 inch, emarginate at the base, trigonal, flat above, tapering to
a point. The œsophagus, which is 12 inches long, gradually diminishes
in diameter from 1-1/2 inch to 1 inch. The proventriculus is 1-1/2
inch long, its glandules cylindrical, forming a complete belt, the
largest 3 twelfths long. The stomach is roundish, 2 inches in diameter,
compressed; its muscular coat thin, and composed of large fasciculi;
its tendinous spaces nearly 1 inch in diameter; its inner coat even,
soft, and destitute of epithelium. There is a small roundish pyloric
lobe, 4 twelfths in diameter; the aperture of the pylorus is extremely
small, having a diameter of only half a twelfth. The intestine is long
and very slender, 6 feet 3 inches in length, its diameter at the upper
part 3 twelfths; diminishing to 2-1/4 twelfths, for about a foot from
the extremity enlarged to 5 eighths; the rectum 6-1/4 inches long; the
cœcum 5 twelfths long, 1-1/2 twelfth in diameter at the base, tapering
to 1 twelfth, the extremity rounded. The stomach contained fragments of
crustacea.
The trachea is 8-1/2 inches long, cylindrical; the rings 154, and
ossified; its diameter at the top 5-1/2 twelfths, diminishing in the
space of an inch and a half to 3 twelfths, and so continuing nearly to
the end, when it contracts to 2-1/2 twelfths. The last rings are much
extended, and divided into two portions, the last transverse half ring
arched, and 5 twelfths in length. The bronchi are in consequence very
wide at the top, gradually taper, and are composed of about 25 half
rings. The contractor muscles are very feeble; the sterno-tracheal
slender; a pair of inferior laryngeal muscles inserted into the first
bronchial ring.
AMERICAN BITTERN.
_ARDEA MINOR_, WILS.
PLATE CCCXXXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
It never was my fortune to have a good opportunity of observing all the
habits of this very remarkable bird, which in many respects differs
from most other Herons. It is a winter resident in the Peninsula of
the Floridas, as well as many of the keys or islets which border its
shores. But the greater number of individuals which pass over the
United States, on their way northward, in March, come from places
beyond our southern limits. During my residence in Kentucky, I never
saw or heard of the occurrence of one of them; and although I have
killed and assisted in killing a considerable number at various times
of the year, I never heard their booming or love-notes; or, if I have,
I did not feel assured that the sounds which reached my ears were those
of the American Bittern. This may probably appear strange, considering
the many years I have spent in searching our swamps, marshes, and
woods. Yet true it is that in all my rambles I had not the good fortune
to come upon one of these birds sitting on its eggs either among the
grass or rushes, or on the branches of low bushes, where, I have been
informed, it builds.
In Lower Louisiana, it is called the “Garde Soleil,” because they say
it will stand on one foot for hours, with its eyes, or one of them at
least, fixed on the orb of day, and frequently spread out its wings, in
the manner of Cormorants and Vultures, to enjoy the heat, or perhaps
the gentle breeze. There it is seldom obtained in spring, but is a
regular autumnal visitant, appearing early in October, and frequenting
the marshes both of fresh and salt water, where many remain until the
beginning of May. It is then common in the markets of New Orleans,
where it is bought by the poorer classes to make gombo soup. In almost
every other part of the United States it is commonly called the “Indian
Pullet,” or “Indian Hen.”
Although in a particular place, apparently favourable, some dozens
of these birds may be found to-day, yet, perhaps, on visiting it
to-morrow, you will not find one remaining; and districts resorted
to one season or year, will be found deserted by them the next. That
they migrate by night I have always felt assured, but that they are
altogether nocturnal is rather uncertain, for in more than half a
dozen instances I have surprised them in the act of procuring food
in the middle of the day when the sun was shining brightly. That they
are extremely timid I well know, for on several occasions, when I have
suddenly come upon them, they have stood still from mere terror, until
I have knocked them down with an oar or stick. Yet, when wounded,
and their courage is raised, they shew great willingness to defend
themselves, and if in the presence of a dog, they never fail to
spread out to their full extent the feathers of the neck, leaving its
hind part bare, ruffle those of their body, extend their wings, and
strike violently at their enemy. When seized they scratch furiously,
and endeavour to bite, so that, unless great care be taken, they may
inflict severe wounds.
I never saw one of them fly farther than thirty or forty yards at a
time; and on such occasions, their movements were so sluggish as to
give opportunities of easily shooting them; for they generally rise
within a few yards of you, and fly off very slowly in a direct course.
Their cries at such times greatly resemble those of the Night and
Yellow-crowned Herons.
My friends, Dr BACHMAN and Mr NUTTALL, have both heard the love-notes
of this bird. The former says, in a letter to me, “their hoarse
croakings, as if their throats were filled with water, were heard
on every side;” and the latter states that “instead of the _búmp_ or
_böomp_ of the true Bittern, their call is something like the uncouth
syllables of _’pump-aū-gàh_, but uttered in the same low, bellowing
tone.”
Dr BACHMAN procured, on the 29th April 1833, about forty miles from
Charleston, individuals, in the ovaries of which he found eggs so
large as to induce him to believe that they would have been laid in
the course of a single week. Some others which were procured by him and
myself within nine miles of Charleston, on the 29th of March, had the
eggs extremely small.
While at Passamaquody Bay, at the eastern extremity of the United
States, I was assured that this species bred in the vicinity; but I
saw none there, or in any of the numerous places examined on my way
to Labrador and Newfoundland. In neither of these countries did I meet
with a single person who was acquainted with it.
In few other species of maritime or marsh birds have I seen so much
difference of size and weight, even in the same sex. Of about twenty
specimens in my possession, scarcely two correspond in the length of
the bills, legs, or wings. The plate before you was engraved from a
drawing made by my son JOHN WOODHOUSE.
AMERICAN BITTERN, ARDEA MINOR, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 35, pl. 65, fig. 3.
ARDEA MINOR, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 307.
AMERICAN BITTERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 60.
AMERICAN BITTERN, ARDEA LENTIGINOSA, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 374.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, moderately stout, straight, compressed,
tapering to the point. Upper mandible with its dorsal line straight,
towards the end slightly convex and declinate, the ridge broad and
rather rounded at the base, gradually narrowed to the middle, then a
little enlarged, and again narrowed to the point, the sides bulging,
towards the margin erect, the edges sharp, towards the end obscurely
serrated, the tip narrow, with a distinct notch or sinus on each side.
Nasal groove oblong, with a long depressed line in front; nostrils
sub-basal, linear, longitudinal. Lower mandible with the angle very
long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line ascending and slightly
convex, the sides flattened and sloping outwards, the edges sharp,
direct, obscurely serrulate, the tip extremely slender.
Head small, oblong, much compressed. Neck long. Body slender, much
compressed. Legs longish, stout; tibia bare for about an inch,
reticulated all round, the scales on the hind part larger; tarsus
roundish, with numerous large scutella before, reticulated behind with
angular scales; toes very long, slender, marginate, the fourth and
third connected by a short web, not reaching the second joint of the
former; first toe large, second longer than fourth, all covered with
numerous large scutella above; claws long, slender, tapering, slightly
arched, that of hind toe much larger and more arched.
Eyelids, and a large space before the eye, bare. Plumage loose, soft,
and blended; hind part of neck in its whole length, and a large space
on the fore part of the breast without feathers, but covered, those on
the neck being directed obliquely backwards. Wings rather short, broad,
convex; primaries broad, rounded, the first pointed, shorter than
the third, which is slightly exceeded by the second, the rest slowly
graduated; secondaries very broad, rounded, the inner elongated so as
slightly to exceed the primaries when the wing is closed. Tail very
short, rounded, of _ten_ feathers.
Bill dull yellowish-green, the ridge of the upper mandible
brownish-black, of a lighter tint toward the base. Bare space before
the eye brown; eyelids greenish-yellow; iris reddish-yellow. Feet
dull yellowish-green; claws wood-brown. Upper part of the head
brownish-grey; a streak of pale buff over the eye to behind the ear;
a dusky streak from the posterior angle of the eye; the cheek and
an oblique band to the middle of the neck light brownish-yellow;
beneath which is a dusky brown line from the base of the lower
mandible, continuous with a gradually enlarged band of black, which
runs along the side of the neck; the upper parts yellowish-brown,
patched, mottled, freckled, and barred with dark brown; alula, primary
coverts, and most of the quills, deep bluish-grey, approaching to
black; the tips of all these feathers light reddish-brown, dotted with
bluish-grey. The fore part of the neck white above, yellowish-white
beneath, the throat with a middle longitudinal line of yellowish-brown
spots; on the rest of the neck each feather with a light brown
central mark edged with darker, the rest of the lower parts dull
yellowish-white, most of the feathers marked like those on the neck.
Length to end of tail 27 inches, to end of wings 26-1/2, to carpal
joint 17, to end of claws 32-3/4; extent of wings 45; wing from flexure
13-1/4; tail 4-3/8; bill along the ridge 3-3/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 4-1/2; breadth of mouth 1; depth of bill at base 3/4; bare
part of tibia 1; tarsus 3-5/8; hind toe 1-3/4, its claw 1-1/2; middle
toe 3-3/8; its claw 1; outer toe 2-5/8, its claw (7-1/2)/8; inner toe
2-1/4, its claw 7/8. Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
Female. Plate CCCXXXVII. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male, but is somewhat smaller with the colours
duller.
Length to end of tail 26-1/4 inches, to end of wings 25-1/2, to end of
claws 27-3/4; extent of wings 42-1/2; wing from flexure 12-1/4. Weight
1 lb. 3 oz.
The dimensions of a young male shot in autumn were as follows:
To end of tail 24 inches, to end of wings 24, to end of claws 29;
extent of wings 26; wing from flexure 10-1/2. Weight 1 lb. 1-1/2 oz.
In dissecting this bird, the extreme compression of the body strikes
one with surprise, its greatest breadth being scarcely an inch and a
half, although it is capable of being much dilated. The great length
and thickness of the neck are also remarkable; but these circumstances
are not peculiar to the present species, being equally observed in many
other Herons. On the roof of the mouth are three longitudinal ridges;
the aperture of the posterior nares is linear, with an oblique flap on
each side; the lower mandible is deeply concave, its crura elastic and
expansile; the tongue 2-1/12 inches long, sagittate at the base with a
single very slender papilla on each side, trigonal, tapering, flattened
above; the width of the mouth is 10 twelfths; but the pharynx is much
wider. The œsophagus, _a b c_, which is fifteen inches long, is very
wide, having at its upper part, when inflated, a diameter of 2 inches,
but gradually contracting to 1/2 inch at its entrance into the thorax,
and again expanding to 1 inch. Its walls are extremely thin, and when
contracted, its mucous coat forms strongly marked longitudinal plaits.
The proventriculus is very wide, its glandules oblong and arranged in
a belt 10 twelfths in breadth. The stomach, _e_, is of moderate size,
membranous, that is with its muscular coat very thin, and not forming
lateral muscles; its tendinous spaces large and round, its inner
coat smooth and soft; its greatest diameter 1 inch. There is a small
roundish pyloric lobe, as in other Herons. Both lobes of the liver
lie on the right side of the proventriculus; one, _i_, being 1 inch
10 twelfths, the other, _j_, 1 inch 2 twelfths long; the gall-bladder
large, 11 twelfths long. The intestine is long and very slender,
measuring 4 feet 7 inches, with a diameter of only 2 twelfths at its
upper part, and 1-1/2 twelfth at the lower, when inflated; the rectum
4 inches long, and 4 twelfths in diameter, its anterior extremity
rounded, and having a minute papilliform termination, only 1 twelfth
long.
The trachea, which is 12-1/2 inches long, differs from that of ordinary
Herons in being much compressed, especially at its upper and lower
extremities; the middle part being less so. It is also proportionally
wider, and its rings are narrower. At the top its diameter is 5
twelfths, at the middle 4-1/4 twelfths, towards the lower part 4-3/4
twelfths, at the end 4-1/4 twelfths. The rings are osseous, in number
180; the five lower divided in front and behind, and much arched, the
last measuring half an inch in a direct line between its extremities.
The bronchi are in consequence very broad at their commencement,
but gradually taper, and are composed of about 18 half rings. The
contractor muscles are inconspicuous, the sterno-tracheal slender;
and there is a single pair of inferior laryngeal, going to the first
bronchial ring. The aperture of the glottis is 8 twelfths long, without
any papillæ, but with a deep groove behind, and two thin-edged flaps.
[Illustration]
In the digestive organs of this bird, there is nothing remarkably
different from that of other Herons. The stomach contained remains of
fishes and large coleopterous insects. The examination of the trachea,
bronchi, and lungs, would not lead us to suppose that its cry is of the
curious character represented, although it certainly would induce us
to believe it different from that of ordinary Herons, which have the
trachea narrower, round, and with broader and more bony rings.
Although in external appearance and habits it exhibits some affinity to
the Rails, its digestive organs have no resemblance to theirs.
An egg presented by Dr BREWER of Boston measures two inches in length
by one inch and a half, and is of a broadly oval shape, rather pointed
at the smaller end, and of a uniform dull olivaceous tint.
BREWER’S DUCK.
_ANAS BREWERI._
PLATE CCCXXXVIII. MALE.
The beautiful Duck from which I made the drawing copied on the plate
before you, was shot on Lake Barataria, in Louisiana, in February
1822. It was in company with seven or eight Canvass-back Ducks. No
other individuals of the species were in sight at the time, and all my
efforts to procure another have been ineffectual.
You will see that this curious bird is named in the plate “_Anas
glocitans_,” the descriptions of that species having induced me to
consider it identical with this. But on comparing my drawing with
specimens in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, I found
that the former represents a much larger bird, which, besides, is
differently coloured in some of its parts. The individual figured was
a male; but I have some doubts whether it had acquired the full beauty
of its mature plumage, and I considered it at the time as a bird of the
preceding season.
In form and proportions this bird is very nearly allied to the Mallard,
from which it differs in having the bill considerably narrower, in
wanting the recurved feathers of the tail, in having the feet dull
yellow in place of orange-red, the speculum more green and duller,
without the white bands of that bird, and in the large patch of light
red on the side of the head. It may possibly be an accidental variety,
or a hybrid between that bird and some other species, perhaps the
Gadwall, to which also it bears a great resemblance.
Bill nearly as long as the head, higher than broad at the base,
depressed and widened towards the end, rounded at the tip, the lamellæ
short and numerous, the unguis obovate, curved, the nasal groove
elliptical, the nostrils oblong.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck rather long and
slender; body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed behind the
centre of the body; legs bare a little above the joint; tarsus short, a
little compressed, anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind
with reticulated angular scales. Hind toe very small, with a narrow
free membrane; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter; claws small,
arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage dense, soft, and elastic; of the hind head and neck short and
blended; of the other parts in general broad and rounded. Wings of
moderate length, acute; tail short, graduated.
Bill dull yellow, slightly tinged with green, dusky along the ridge.
Iris brown. Feet dull yellow, claws dusky, webs dull grey. Head and
upper part of the neck deep glossy green; but there is an elongated
patch of pale reddish-yellow, extending from the base of the bill over
the cheek to two inches and a quarter behind the eye, and meeting that
of the other side on the chin; the space immediately over and behind
the eye light dull purple. A narrow ring of pale yellowish-red on
the middle of the neck; the lower part of the neck dull brownish-red,
the feathers with a transverse band of dusky, and edged with paler.
The upper parts are dull greyish-brown, transversely undulated with
dusky; the smaller wing-coverts without undulations, but each feather
with a dusky bar behind another of light dull yellow; first row of
smaller coverts tipped with black; primaries and their coverts, light
brownish-grey; some of the outer secondaries similar, the next five
or six duck-green, the next light grey with a dusky patch toward the
end. The rump and upper tail-coverts black, as are the parts under
the tail, excepting two longitudinal white bands; tail-feathers light
brownish-grey, edged with whitish. All the rest of the lower parts
are greyish-white tinged with yellow, beautifully undulated with dusky
lines, on the middle of the breast these lines less numerous, and each
feather with a reddish-grey central streak.
Length to end of tail 23 inches, to end of claws 24; extent of wings
39; bill along the ridge 2-1/2, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/8;
tarsus 1-1/8, middle toe 2, its claw 5/12; hind toe 3/8, its claw 1/8.
Weight 2 lb. 9 oz.
I have named this Duck after my friend THOMAS M. BREWER of Boston,
as a mark of the estimation in which I hold him as an accomplished
ornithologist.
LITTLE GUILLEMOT.
_URIA ALLE_, TEMM.
PLATE CCCXXXIX. MALE AND FEMALE.
This interesting little bird sometimes makes its appearance on our
eastern coasts during very cold and stormy weather. It does not proceed
much farther southward than the shores of New Jersey, where it is
of very rare occurrence. Now and then some are caught in a state of
exhaustion, as I have known to be the case especially in Passamaquody
Bay near Eastport in Maine, and in the vicinity of Boston and Salem in
Massachusetts.
In the course of my voyages across the Atlantic, I have often observed
the Little Guillemots in small groups, rising and flying to short
distances at the approach of the ship, or diving close to the bow and
reappearing a little way behind. Now with expanded wings they would
flutter and run as it were on the surface of the deep; again, they
would seem to be busily engaged in procuring food, which consisted
apparently of shrimps, other crustacea, and particles of sea-weeds,
all of which I have found in their stomach. I have often thought how
easy it would be to catch these tiny wanderers of the ocean with nets
thrown expertly from the bow of a boat, for they manifest very little
apprehension of danger from the proximity of one, insomuch that I
have seen several killed with the oars. Those which were caught alive
and placed on the deck, would at first rest a few minutes with their
bodies flat, then rise upright and run about briskly, or attempt to fly
off, which they sometimes accomplished, when they happened to go in a
straight course the whole length of the ship so as to rise easily over
the bulwarks. On effecting their escape they would alight on the water
and immediately disappear.
During my visit to Labrador and Newfoundland I met with none of these
birds, although the cod-fishers assured me that they frequently breed
there. I am informed by Dr TOWNSEND that this species is found near the
mouth of the Columbia River.
ALCA ALLE, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 211.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 795.
LITTLE AUK, ALCA ALLE, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix. p. 94,
pl. 74, fig. 5.
URIA ALLE, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 425.
LITTLE GUILLEMOT, URIA ALLE, _Richards. and Swains._ Faun.
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 479.
LITTLE AUK, or SEA DOVE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 531.
Adult Male in summer. Plate CCCXXXIX.
Bill shorter than the head, stout, straightish, subpentagonal at the
base, compressed towards the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line
convexo-declinate, the ridge convex, the sides sloping, the edges sharp
and overlapping, the tip rather obtuse. Nasal depression short and
broad; nostrils basal, oblong, with a horny operculum. Lower mandible
with the angle long and wide, the dorsal outline very short, ascending,
and straight, the sides convex, toward the end ascending and flattened,
the edges thin and inclinate, the tip acute, with a sinus behind.
Body full and compact; neck short and thick; head large, ovate. Feet
short, rather stout; tibia bare for two-twelfths of an inch; tarsus
very short, compressed, covered anteriorly with oblique scutella,
behind with angular scales; hind toe wanting; anterior toes connected
by reticulated webs, the inner much shorter than the outer, which
is almost as long as the middle; the scutella numerous. Claws rather
small, moderately arched, compressed, rather acute, that of the middle
toe having its inner edge considerably expanded.
Plumage dense, blended, glossy. Wings of moderate length, narrow,
pointed; primaries pointed, the first longest, the rest rapidly
graduated; secondaries rounded. Tail very short, slightly rounded, of
twelve feathers.
Bill black. Iris dark hazel. Feet pale flesh-coloured; webs dusky;
claws black. Inside of mouth light yellow. The head, upper part of
neck, and all the upper surface, glossy bluish-black. A small spot on
the upper eyelid, another on the lower, several longitudinal streaks
on the scapulars, and a bar along the tips of the secondary quills,
white. The lower parts white; the feathers on the sides under the
wings have the outer webs white, the inner dusky; lower wing-coverts
blackish-grey.
Length to end of tail 7-1/8 inches, to end of claws 7-7/8, to end of
wings 6-7/8, to carpal joint 2-7/8; extent of wings 14-1/4; wing from
flexure 4-7/8; bill along the ridge (4-1/2)/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 1; tarsus 3/4; middle toe 1, its claw 1/4; outer toe 1, claw
(1-1/2)/8; inner toe 5/8, its claw (1-1/2)/8. Weight 8-1/2 oz.
Adult Female, in winter. Plate CCCXXXIX. Fig. 2.