and claws brownish-black, the upper part of the head, the hind neck,
and the back, are reddish-grey, spotted with black; the wings and tail
as in the male. A reddish-white band over the eye, and down the neck;
the lore dusky; a black band from behind the eye; the cheeks light
yellowish-brown; a black band from the lower mandible margining the
throat, which is white; as are the lower parts generally; but the lower
part of the neck is spotted with black, and the sides streaked with
dusky.
Length to end of tail 5-9/12 inches; wing from flexure 3-8/12; tail 2.
ICELAND OR JER FALCON.
_FALCO ISLANDICUS_, LATH.
PLATE CCCLXVI. ADULT FEMALE.
The figures of the adult female of this superb Falcon now before you
were taken from the bird described by Mr JOHN HEPPENSTALL, at page
554 of the second volume of this work. It was kept by him upwards of
six years; and it was his intention to have sent it to me alive from
Sheffield; but it died of an affection of the œsophagus, which had
for some days rendered it unable to swallow its food. My kind and most
worthy friend, however, sent it to me immediately, so that after having
received it in good condition, I was enabled not only to make it the
subject of the present plate, and to take accurate measurements of all
its parts, but also to institute a comparison between it and one of the
specimens obtained in Labrador, which, with its consort, is represented
in Plate CXCVI.
In all essential respects it agrees with the Labrador bird. The festoon
on the edge of the lower mandible is however more prominent, and on
the other hand, the tooth which is prominent in the young bird from
Labrador, is in the old Iceland bird broken off and worn on both sides.
In like manner, several of the claws, which are larger and stronger
in this individual, are worn and blunted. These are the accidents of
domestication or long use, and shew that no dependence can be placed
on the prominence of either the festoon or the tooth of the bill as
indicating a difference of species. The tarsi, toes, their scales and
scutella, are the same as in the Labrador specimen. The wing, however,
is more pointed, although the feathers are of the same form; but this
arises from the first quill of the Labrador bird not having completed
its growth, as both it and some of the other quills are still sheathed
at the base. In Mr HEPPENSTALL’s bird the second quill is longest, the
third very little shorter, and the first nearly as long, and three
quarters of an inch longer than the fourth. The tail is slightly
rounded, as in the Labrador bird, the lateral feathers being three
quarters of an inch shorter than the longest, and the feathers are
similarly though less distinctly pointed, they having been considerably
worn. The plumage is compact, and the feathers are of the same form in
both birds, but those of the head are a little broader in the Iceland
bird. On the whole, however, no differences are observable beyond what
might be expected between a young and an old individual of the same
species. The colouring of the Iceland bird, however, is very different.
The bill is very pale blue, the extremity of the upper mandible
black, that of the lower yellowish; the eyes greyish-black; the cere,
superciliary ridge, edges of eyelids, tarsi and toes, pale yellow; the
eyelids pale blue; the claws black. The plumage is pure white, but all
the feathers of the back and rump, the scapulars, the wing-coverts,
and the secondary quills, have near their extremity a brownish-black
spot, generally arrow-shaped. The anterior feathers of the back have,
moreover, a black streak on the shaft, which on those farther back
becomes larger and lanceolate, and on the rump is accompanied by a
third spot; the larger coverts and secondary quills have also three
or more spots, and the primary quills have seven spots or partial
bars toward their extremity, besides a large subterminal black space,
their tips however being white. On the inner margin of the two middle
tail-feathers are eight, and on the outer four dusky spots, and their
shafts are also dusky, as are those of all the quills on their upper
surface. There are also a few slight lanceolate dark spots on the sides
of the body, and on the tibial feathers.
Length to end of tail 23-1/2 inches, to end of wings 21-1/2, to end of
claws 18-3/4, to carpal joint 5-1/2; extent of wings 51-1/4; breadth
of gape 1-1/8; wing from flexure 17; tail 9-3/4; bill along the ridge
1-5/12; tarsus 2-4/12; hind toe 1-1/12, its claw 1-5/12; middle toe
2-1/12, its claw (worn) 11/12. Weight 2 lb., it being much emaciated.
The tongue, _a_, is 10-1/2 twelfths long, fleshy, deeply emarginate
at the base, having on its upper surface numerous orifices of mucous
crypts, towards the end narrowed, deeply concave, horny, with the
extremity rounded and very slightly emarginate. The œsophagus, _b c d
e_, is 7-1/2 inches long, wide, dilated into a large crop, _c d_, lying
on the right side; the proventriculus, _f_, is 1/2 inch in diameter,
with a belt of oblong glandules, arranged into four very prominent
longitudinal ridges, with deep grooves between them. The stomach, _f
g h_, is round, compressed, 1-1/2 inch in length, 1 inch 5 twelfths
in breadth; its muscular coat thin, composed of large fasciculi, not
arranged into distinct muscles; its inner coat soft, without horny
epithelium, but irregularly rugous, especially towards the pylorus,
which has three knobs or valves. The intestine, _h i j k_, is 36-1/2
inches long, 5 twelfths in diameter at its anterior part, gradually
contracting to 4 twelfths. The rectum is 3-1/2 inches long, 1/2 inch
in diameter at the commencement; the cœca 2 twelfths long, 1-1/2
twelfth in diameter; the cloaca, _l m_, globular. The right lobe of
the liver is 2 inches 4 twelfths long, the left 2 inches 1 twelfth; the
gall-bladder large.
The crop or dilatation of the œsophagus was nearly filled by two
excrescences from its inner surface, of a soft spongy texture, but not
ulcerated, or in any part scirrhous. The inner surface of the stomach
was similarly affected, but in a much less degree, and the pyloric
region was indurated. The intestines quite sound.
[Illustration]
The trachea, _m n o_, is 6 inches long, considerably flattened, 5-1/2
twelfths, in breadth at the upper part, gradually diminishing to 4
twelfths. Its rings, about 78 in number, are ossified, the last large,
divided, arched, and with a broad membrane, _o_, intervening between
them and the first bronchial ring. The lateral or contractor muscles,
_p_, are very strong, as are the sterno-tracheal, _q r_, and there is
a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, _s_, inserted into the
membrane between the last ring of the trachea and the first of the
bronchi. The bronchial half rings 15, slender and cartilaginous.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON.
_COLUMBA FASCIATA_, SAY.
PLATE CCCLXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
In the course of Colonel SAY’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains, a
single specimen of this large and handsome Pigeon was procured. This
individual was afterwards figured in the continuation of WILSON’s
American Ornithology. Many specimens however have more recently been
obtained by Dr TOWNSEND, from whom I have procured three pairs of adult
and some young birds. Comparing them with the figure above alluded
to, I should consider it as having been taken from a young male. In my
plate are represented two adult birds, placed on the branch of a superb
species of Dogwood, discovered by my learned friend, THOMAS NUTTALL,
Esq., when on his march toward the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and
which I have graced with his name! The beautiful drawing of this branch
was executed by Miss MARTIN, the amiable and accomplished sister of my
friend Dr BACHMAN. Seeds of this new species of _Cornus_ were sent by
me to Lord RAVENSWORTH, and have germinated, so that this beautiful
production of the rich valley of the Columbia River may now be seen
in the vicinity of London, and in the grounds of the nobleman just
mentioned, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Dr TOWNSEND’s notice respecting
the bird here spoken of is as follows:—
“The Band-tailed Pigeon is called by the Chinook Indians ‘_akoigh
homin_.’ It ranges from the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains
across to the Columbia River, where it is abundant. It arrived in 1836
in very great numbers, on the 17th of April, and continued in large
flocks while breeding. Their breeding places are on the banks of the
river. The eggs are placed on the ground, under small bushes, without
a nest, where numbers congregate together. The eggs are two, of a
yellowish-white colour, inclining to bluish-white, with minute spots
at the great end. These Pigeons feed upon the berries of the black
elder and the buds of the balsam poplar. When sitting in the trees,
they huddle very close together in the manner of the Carolina Parrot,
and many may be killed at a single discharge of the fowling-piece. The
flesh is tender and juicy, and therefore fine eating.”
Mr NUTTALL has favoured me with an equally interesting notice. “This
large and fine Pigeon, always moving about in flocks, keeps in Oregon
only in the thick forests of the Columbia and the Wahlamet, and during
the summer is more particularly abundant in the alluvial groves of
the latter river, where throughout that season we constantly heard
their cooing, or witnessed the swarming flocks feeding on the berries
of the elder tree, those of the Great Cornel (_Cornus Nuttalli_), or,
before the ripening of berries, on the seed-germs or the young pods
of the Balsam poplar. The call of this species is somewhat similar to
that of the Carolina Dove, but is readily distinguishable, sounding
like a double suppressed syllable, as _h ’koo_, _h ’koo_, _h ’koo_, _h
’koo_, uttered at the usual intervals, and repeated an hour or two at
a time, chiefly in the morning and evening. They are said to breed on
the ground, or in the low bushes, but I did not find the nest, although
I saw the birds feeding around every day near Watpatoo Island. During
the whole of this time they keep in flocks, either in the poplars or
elder bushes, and on being started, sweep about like flocks of domestic
pigeons, soon returning to their fare, when they feed in silence,
keeping a strict watch for intruders. They remain on the lower part
of the Columbia nearly the whole year, late in the season (October and
November) feeding mostly on the berries of the Tree Cornel, but still
they seem to migrate some distance to the south, as the severity of the
winter approaches.”
COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Say_, in Long’s Exped. to Rocky Mountains,
vol. ii. p. 10.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON, COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer.
Ornith. pl. viii, fig. 3, vol. i. p. 77.
COLUMBA FASCIATA, _Bonap._ Synops. p. 119.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. i. p. 64.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill straight, rather short, slender, compressed; upper mandible with
a tumid fleshy covering at the base, where it is straight in its dorsal
outline, convex towards the end, with a sharp-edged, declinate, rather
obtuse tip; lower mandible with the angle long and pointed, the sides
erect at the base, sloping outwards toward the end, the edges sharp,
the tip narrow but blunt. Nostrils medial, oblique, linear.
Head small, oblong, compressed; neck of moderate length; body full.
Feet short, strong; tarsus very short, rounded, with two anterior rows
of large hexagonal scales; the hind part fleshy with very small scales;
toes broad and flat beneath, marginate, with large scutella above;
the hind toe smallest, the lateral nearly equal, the middle toe much
longer. Claws of moderate size, arched, compressed, grooved beneath,
rather acute.
Plumage rather compact above, blended beneath, on the hind neck strong,
with metallic gloss. Wings long, the second quill longest, the third
only a twelfth of an inch shorter, the first six-twelfths shorter, and
a little longer than the fourth, the rest rather quickly graduated;
secondaries of moderate breadth and rounded. First quill with the outer
web narrower at the base than toward the end, the second and third
quills with their outer webs having a slight sinus and attenuated
toward the end. Tail of moderate length, rounded, of twelve broad
abruptly rounded feathers, of which the lateral is half an inch shorter
than the longest.
Bill yellow, with the tips black. Feet yellow, claws greyish-black.
Bare space around the eyes carmine. The head, fore neck, and breast
are of a light reddish-purple or wine-colour, which on the abdomen and
lower tail-coverts fades into whitish; a narrow half-ring of white on
the hind neck, the lower part of which is of a metallic brownish-green
tint. The upper parts are greyish-blue, darker, and tinged with brown
on the fore part of the back and scapulars; sides of the body and
rump greyish-blue. Alula, primary coverts, primary quills, and outer
secondaries brownish-black, very narrowly margined with brownish-white.
Tail greyish-blue at the base, much paler and tinged with yellow toward
the end, these colours being separated at the distance of two inches
from the tip by a band of black.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 13-3/4; wing from
flexure 9; tail 6-1/4; bill along the ridge 10/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 1-1/12; tarsus 1-1/12; hind toe 8/12, its claw
(5-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-(4-1/2)/12, its claw 7/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXVII. Fig. 2.
The female differs from the male only in having the tints a little
duller, and on the upper parts somewhat darker, with the black band
on the tail less decided, the middle feathers being but faintly marked
with it.
Length to end of tail 15-1/2 inches.
It was omitted to mention that the minute spots on the eggs are white.
NUTTALL’S DOG-WOOD.
CORNUS NUTTALLI, _Audubon_.
This very beautiful tree, which was discovered by Mr NUTTALL, on
the Columbia River, attains a height of fifty feet or more, and is
characterized by its smooth reddish-brown bark; large, ovate, acuminate
leaves, and conspicuous flowers, with six obovate, acute, involucral
bracteas, which are rose-coloured at the base, white towards the end,
veined and reticulated with light purple. The berries are oblong, and
of a bright carmine.
ROCK GROUS.
_TETRAO RUPESTRIS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
Whilst at Labrador, I was informed by Mr JONES, of whom I have made
mention on several occasions, that a smaller species of Ptarmigan
than that called the Willow Grous, _Tetrao Saliceti_, was abundant on
all the hills around Bras d’Or, during the winter, when he and his
son usually killed a great number, which they salted and otherwise
preserved; and that in the beginning of summer they removed from
the coast into the interior of the country, where they bred in open
grounds, never, like the Willow Grous, retreating to the wooded parts.
They seldom appear at Bras d’Or until the last of the Wild Geese have
passed over, or before the cold has become intense, and the plains
deeply covered with snow. While about his house, they repair to the
most elevated hilltops, from which the violence of the winds has
removed the snow. There they feed on the mosses and lichens attached to
the rocks, as well as on the twigs and grasses scantily found in such
places at that season. They keep in great packs, and when disturbed
are apt to fly to a considerable distance, shifting from one hill to
another often half a mile off.
Not having seen this species alive, and my drawing having been taken
from specimens kindly presented to me by my friend Captain JAMES ROSS,
R. N., I cannot do better than present you here with the observations
of Dr RICHARDSON, as recorded in the Fauna Boreali-Americana. “HUTCHINS
reports that the Rock Grous is numerous at the two extremities of
Hudson’s Bay, but does not appear at the middle settlements (York and
Severn Factories), except in very severe seasons, when the Willow Grous
are scarce, and Captain SABINE informs us that they abound on Melville
Peninsula, Lat. 74° to 75°, in the summer. It arrived there in its
snow-white dress, on the 12th of May 1820; at the end of that month
the females began to assume their coloured plumage, which was complete
by the first week in June, the change at the latter period being only
in its commencement with the males. Some of the males were killed as
late as the middle of June in their unaltered winter plumage. In this
respect the species differs from the Willow Grous whose males first
assume the summer colour. The Rock Grous is found also on Melville
Peninsula and the Barren Grounds, seldom going farther south in winter
than latitude 63° in the interior, but descending along the coast of
Hudson’s Bay to latitude 58°, and in severe seasons still farther to
the southward. It also occurs on the Rocky Mountains as far south as
latitude 55°. It exists in Greenland, is common in Norway, is known in
Sweden by the name of _Sno Rissa_, and is the species most frequent in
the Museums of France and Italy under the name of _Tetrao Lagopus_. It
is not a native of Scotland. The Rock Grous in its manners and mode
of living resembles the Willow Grous, except that it does not retire
so far into the woody country in winter. Contrary, however, to what
HEARNE says, it is frequent in open woods on the borders of lakes in
that season, particularly in the 65th parallel of latitude, though
perhaps the bulk of the species remains on the skirts of the Barren
Grounds. It hatches in June. The ground colour of the egg is, according
to Captain SABINE, a pale reddish-brown, and is irregularly spotted and
blotched with darker brown.” Specimens in my possession, coloured as
here described, average one inch and five-eighths in length, by an inch
and an eighth in breadth.
TETRAO RUPESTRIS, _Gmel._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 751.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 640.
TETRAO (LAGOPUS) RUPESTRIS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 354.
ROCK GROUS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 610.
Adult Male in Winter. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, robust; upper mandible with the dorsal outline curved, the
ridge and sides convex, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate, thin
edged, but rounded; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the
dorsal line convex, the back broadly convex, the sides rounded, the
edges inflected, the tip blunt. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by
feathers.
Head small, ovate; neck of moderate length; body bulky. Feet of
ordinary length, robust; tarsus feathered, as are the toes, the first
toe very small, the middle toe much longer than the lateral, which are
nearly equal, the inner being a little longer. Claws slightly arched,
depressed, broad, with thin edges and rounded at the tip.
Plumage compact, the feathers generally ovate and rounded; those on
the tarsi, toes, and soles oblong, with loose stiffish barbs. Wings
rather short, concave; the primaries strong, narrow, tapering, pointed;
the first an inch and seven-twelfths shorter than the second, which
is four-twelfths shorter than the third, this being the longest, but
only exceeding the fourth by a twelfth and a half. Tail rather short,
nearly even, of sixteen broad feathers, of which two are incumbent,
less strong, and longer than the rest by two-twelfths of an inch.
Bill black; superciliary membrane scarlet; claws dusky, towards the
end yellowish. The plumage is pure white, with the exception of a
broad band of black from the upper mandible to the eye, and for a
short space behind it; the shafts of the six outer quills, which are
brownish-black, and all the tail-feathers, the two middle excepted,
they being of a deep greyish-black colour, with a terminal narrow band
of white.
Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 12; wing from
flexure 8; tail 4-1/2; tarsus 1-2/12; hind toe 2/12, its claw 5/12;
middle toe 11/12, its claw 8/12.
Male in Summer. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 2.
In summer, the plumage differs little in texture, with the exception
of that on the feet, which is short and thin on the tarsi, worn on the
base of the toes, of which the soles and half of the upper surface are
denuded. The bill and claws are of the same colour as in winter; but
the plumage is variegated with black, reddish-yellow, and white. The
upper parts may be described as black, transversely and irregularly
banded and spotted with yellowish-red, the feather terminally margined
with white, there being on each feather several bars of yellowish-red
running from the margin inwards, but leaving a black space in the
centre. The lower parts are lighter, more broadly and regularly barred
with brownish-black and light reddish-yellow. The feathers along the
edge of the wing, the alula, primary coverts, nearly all the secondary
coverts, primaries and outer secondaries, white; as are the lower
surface of the wing, the axillar feathers, and some of the feathers
on the abdomen, as well as those on the feet, the latter being soiled
or tinged with yellowish or grey. The shafts of the primaries are
brownish-black, and the tail is black as in winter, tipped with white,
and with the lateral feathers having part of their outer web white;
the two middle feathers barred like the back. The dimensions of an
individual are as follows:
Length to end of tail 13-1/2 inches, to end of wings 11-1/2; wing from
flexure 7-10/12; tail 4-1/2; bill along the ridge 7/12; tarsus 1-2/12;
middle toe (1-1/2)/12, its claw 6/12.
Female in Summer. Plate CCCLXVIII. Fig. 3.
The female does not differ materially from the male, the yellow bands
being only broader and lighter.
Very great differences are observed in the length and form of the
claws, they being in some individuals very long, thin-edged, and
tapering, to a rounded point; in others very short, being worn down
to the stump. This species is considerably smaller than the Ptarmigan
of Scotland, which it precisely resembles in its winter plumage. In
its summer plumage, however, it differs in having the markings larger;
and as yet no specimens have been obtained marked with undulated
slender, ash-grey, and dusky lines, in any degree approaching those
characteristic of the British bird in its autumnal plumage. The bill
of the Rock Grous is shorter and thicker than that of the Ptarmigan,
although the reverse has been alleged.
MOUNTAIN MOCKING BIRD.
_TURDUS MONTANUS._
PLATE CCCLXIX. MALE.
This interesting and hitherto unfigured species was procured on the
Rocky Mountains by Dr TOWNSEND, who forwarded a single specimen to
Philadelphia, where I made a drawing of it. The following notice by
Mr NUTTALL shews that it is nearly allied in its habits to the Mocking
Bird:—
“On the arid plains of the central table-land, betwixt the northern
sources of the Platte and the Colorado of the West, in the month of
June, we frequently heard the cheering song of this delightful species,
whose notes considerably resemble those of the Brown Thrush, with
some of the imitative powers of the Mocking Bird. For a great part of
the day, and especially early and late, its song resounds through the
desert plains, as it warbles to its mate from some tall weed or bush
of wormwood, and continues with little interruption nearly for an hour
at a time. We met with it in the plains exclusively, till our arrival
at Wallah Wallah, but we are not certain of having seen it in any part
of California, it being apparently entirely confined to the cooler
and open regions of the Rocky Mountains. Just before arriving at Sandy
Creek of the Colorado, while resting for refreshment at noon, I had the
good fortune to find the nest in a wormwood bush, on the margin of a
ravine, from whence the male was singing with its unusual energy. It
contained four almost emerald green eggs, spotted with dark olive of
two shades, more numerous towards the greater end, the spots large and
roundish. The nest itself was made of small twigs and rough stalks,
lined with stripes of bark and bison wool. The female flew off to a
little distance, and looked on her unwelcome and unexpected visitor,
without uttering either call or complaint.”
ORPHEUS MONTANUS, MOUNTAIN MOCKING BIRD, _Townsend_, Journal
of Acad. of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vii. p. 192.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXIX. Fig. 1.