roe, and water-insects. Thus, according to WILLUGHBY, “Pisces predatur,
nec insecta aversatur.” MONTAGU states that he saw an “old bird flying
in with a fish in its bill,” and that “these birds will sometimes pick
up insects at the edge of the water.” M. TEMMINCK alleges that its
food consists of “insectes d’eau, demoiselles et leurs larves; souvent
du frai de truite.” Mr SELBY judiciously combines these statements,
informing us that “water-insects and the fry and spawn of fish form its
food.” Mr JENYNS, more wary, confines it to “aquatic insects.” It would
answer no good purpose to bring forward the notions of other compilers.
There is nothing incredible in all these statements, although it is to
be remarked that no one states that he has actually observed fishes, or
their eggs, in the stomach of this bird. I have opened a great number
of individuals, at all seasons of the year, but have never found any
other substances in the stomach than _Lymneæ_, _Ancyli_, Coleoptera,
and grains of gravel. As to the ova and fry of the salmon, there is no
evidence whatever that the Dipper ever swallows them; and, therefore,
the persecution to which this bird has been subjected in consequence of
the mere suspicion, ought to cease until the fact be proved. That the
mollusca above mentioned form a principal part of its food was never
suspected, and therefore I was much pleased with making the discovery,
which satisfactorily accounted to me for all the subaqueous excursions
of the species.
“The Dipper is generally seen in pairs, sometimes singly, and, for a
short period, at the breeding season, in families but never in flocks.
In some favourite places, such as a water-fall, or a series of rapids,
one may in winter find so many as four or five individuals, but always
scattered. Its song is short, but lively, and continued at intervals.
It bears no resemblance to the full song of the Thrushes, but closely
resembles the subdued winter warble of the Redwing and Starling, or the
first notes of a young Song Thrush. This gentle warble is not confined
to any period of the year, but may be heard during sunny weather at all
seasons. Its common note, which it frequently utters while perched on a
stone or while flying along the stream, resembles the syllable _chit_.
“About the middle of spring it begins to form its nest, so that its
first brood is abroad at the same time with that of the Blackbird.
The nest, which is placed among the moss on the bank of a stream,
or among the roots of a tree in a concealed place overhanging the
water, sometimes in a crevice of a rock, or under a bridge, or even
in the space behind a waterfall, varies considerably in form and size,
according to its position; but is always very bulky, arched over, and
resembles that of the Wren more than of any other bird. A perfect
specimen found by my friend Mr WEIR, in the county of Linlithgow,
presents externally the appearance of a flattened elliptical mass,
measuring ten inches from the front to the back part, eight and a
half in breadth, and six in height. The aperture is in front, of a
transversely oblong form, three inches and a quarter wide, and one
inch and a half high. The exterior is composed of various species
of mosses, chiefly hypna, firmly felted, so as to form a mass not
easily torn asunder, especially in its lower part. This portion may be
considered as forming a case for the nest properly so called, and in
this respect resembles the mud case of the swallows. The nest itself is
hemispherical, five and a half inches in diameter, composed of stems
and leaves of grasses, and very copiously lined with beech-leaves. I
have examined several other nests, which were similarly constructed,
and all lined with beech-leaves, one having a few of ivy, and another
one or two of the plane, intermixed. MONTAGU describes the nest as
“very large, formed of moss and water plants externally, and lined with
dry oak leaves”, and others have stated that the lining is of leaves
of various trees, which may depend upon the locality. The eggs, five or
six in number, are of a regular oval form, rather pointed, pure white,
varying from eleven-twelfths to an inch and one-twelfth in length, and
averaging nine-twelfths in their greatest breadth. They are somewhat
smaller than those of the Song Thrush.
“The genus _Cinclus_ may be considered as placed on the limits of
the families of Turdinæ and Myrmotherinæ, being in fact more allied
to _Turdus_ than to _Pitta_, although through _Chamæza_ perhaps more
obviously related to the latter. The digestive organs of the Common
Dipper are entirely analogous to those of the Thrushes and allied
genera, but bear no resemblance to those of the piscivorous birds, the
œsophagus being narrow, and the stomach a true gizzard. The bird, being
destined to feed upon aquatic insects and mollusca, which adhere to the
stones under the water, is fitted for making its way to the bottom at
small depths, and maintaining itself there for a short time, a minute
or more; in conformity with which design its plumage is rather short
and dense, its tail abbreviated, its wings short, broad, and strong,
its bill unencumbered by bristles, and of the proper form for seizing
small objects, as well as for detaching them from stones. Having
its feet constructed like those of the Thrushes, but proportionally
stronger, the Dipper thus forms a connecting link between the
slender-billed land birds and the diving palmipedes, as the Kingfisher
seems to unite them with the plunging birds of the same order.”
The only original observations respecting the habits of the American
Dipper that I have to present here are the following, with which I have
been favoured by Dr TOWNSEND:—“This bird inhabits the clear mountain
streams in the vicinity of the Columbia River. When observed it was
swimming among the rapids, occasionally flying for short distances
over the surface of the water, and then diving into it, and reappearing
after a long interval. Sometimes it will alight along the margin, and
jerk its tail upwards like a Wren. I did not hear it utter any note.
The stomach was found to contain fragments of fresh-water snails. I
observed that this bird did not alight on the surface of the water, but
dived immediately from the wing.”
CINCLUS PALLASII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p.
1, pl. 16, fig. 1.
CINCLUS AMERICANUS, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-Amer.
vol. ii. p. 173.
BLACK WATER-OUSEL, or DIPPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
358.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXX. Fig. 1.
Bill rather short, slender, slightly ascending, much compressed toward
the end; upper mandible with its dorsal line slightly arched, the
ridge rounded, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected with
an obscure notch close to the narrow slightly deflected tip: lower
mandible slightly bent upwards, the angle medial and very narrow, the
dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the tip narrow and rather
acute, the gape-line straight. Nostrils linear, direct, in the lower
and fore part of the nasal membrane which is covered with very short
feathers. Eyes rather small; eyelids densely feathered.
The general form is short, full, and compact; the head oblong,
compressed, rather small; the neck rather short; the body rather deeper
than broad. Legs strong, of ordinary length; tarsus compressed, covered
anteriorly with a long undivided plate and four inferior scutella,
posteriorly with two long plates meeting at a very acute angle. Toes
rather large and strong; the first, second, and fourth, nearly equal
in length, but the first much stronger, the third much longer; the
third and fourth united as far as the second joint of the latter. Claws
rather long, arched, much compressed, that of the hind toe considerably
larger.
Plumage very soft and blended, the feathers oblong and rounded; those
about the base of the bill very short and velvety. No bristles at the
base of the bill. Wings rather short, broad, convex, and rounded; the
first quill very short and narrow, being about a third of the length
of the second, which is shorter than the fourth, the third longest, and
with the next three slightly cut out on the outer web towards the end;
secondary quills long, broadband rounded. Tail short, even, of twelve
rather broad feathers, which are slightly decurved. Legs feathered to
the joint, but the tarsus entirely bare.
Bill brownish-black; iris hazel; feet flesh-coloured, toes dusky
towards the end; claws yellowish-grey. The general colour of the
plumage is blackish-grey or deep bluish-grey; the head and neck
chocolate-brown, that colour extending lower on the fore part of the
neck than behind; the downy feathers of both eyelids white; the quills
and tail-feathers dusky; the secondaries terminally margined with
white.
Length to end of tail 7-1/2 inches; extent of wings 10-1/2; wing from
flexure 3-3/4; tail 2-1/4; bill along the ridge 9/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 11/12 tarsus 1-1/12; hind toe 5/12, its claw 4/12;
middle toe 10/12, its claw 4/12.
Adult female. Plate CCCLXX. Fig. 2.
The Female is in all respects similar to the male.
In form, size, and proportion, the American Dipper is almost precisely
similar to the European.
COCK OF THE PLAINS.
_TETRAO UROPHASIANUS._ BONAPARTE.
PLATE CCCLXXI. MALE AND FEMALE.
Although the Cock of the Plains has long been known to exist within
the limits of the United States, the rugged and desolate nature of
the regions inhabited by it has hitherto limited our knowledge of its
habits to the cursory observations made by the few intrepid travellers,
who, urged by their zeal in the cause of science, have ventured
to explore the great ridge of mountains, that separate our western
prairies from the rich valleys bordering on the Pacific Ocean. Two of
these travellers, my friends Dr TOWNSEND and Mr NUTTALL, have favoured
me with the following particulars respecting this very remarkable
species, the history of which, not being myself personally acquainted
with it, I shall endeavour to complete by adding some notes of Mr
DOUGLAS.
“_Tetrao Urophasianus_, _Pi-imsh_ of the Wallah Wallah Indians,
_Mak-esh-too-yoo_ of the Nezpercee Indians, is first met with about
fifty miles west of the Black Hills. We lose sight of it in pursuing
the route by the Snake River until we reach Wallah Wallah, on the
banks of the Columbia, near the mouth of Lewis River. This bird is only
found on the plains which produce the worm-wood (_Artemisia_), on which
plant it feeds, in consequence of which the flesh is so bitter that it
is rejected as food. It is very unsuspicious, and easily approached,
rarely flies unless hard pressed, runs before you at the distance of a
few feet, clucking like the common Hen, often runs under the horses of
travellers when disturbed, rises very clumsily, but when once started
flies with rapidity to a great distance, and has the sailing motion
of the Pinnated Grous. In the autumn they frequent the branches of the
Columbia River, where they feed on a narrow-leaved plant. At this time
they are considered good food by the natives, who take great quantities
of them in nets. J. K. TOWNSEND.”
“On the north branch of the Platte (Larimie’s Fork) we begin to meet
with the _Tetrao Urophasianus_ in considerable numbers, always on the
ground in small flocks or pairs, by no means shy, but when too nearly
approached arising with a strong whirring noise, and uttering at the
same time a rather loud but very short alarmed guttural cackle. The
notes of the female indeed at such times almost resemble those of
a common Hen. The old male when killed by Dr TOWNSEND turned out so
different from the imperfect and unadult specimens figured, that we
could scarcely recognise it for the same species. Its size seemed
to promise a fine meal, but appearances are often deceitful, and
after being nicely broiled, it truly deserved to be treated like
the well-prepared plate of cucumbers, proving so very bitter, though
delicately white, that our hungry hunters could scarcely swallow more
than a morsel. In short, it feeds by choice on the bitterest shrubs of
these sterile plains, and under-wood (several species of _Artemisia_)
is literally its favourite food. Of its nest and breeding habits we
ascertained nothing, but cannot for a moment hesitate to say that
some mistake must exist in either asserting or supposing that a bird
so constantly confined to the open desert plains, could retire to the
shady forests and dark alluvial thickets of the Columbia to rear its
young apart from their usual food and habits. We met with this very
fine Grous near to the plains around Wallah Wallah, on the south side
of the Columbia, but never saw it either in the forests of the Columbia
or the Wahlamet, nor, so far as we know, has it ever been found on the
coast of California, or in the interior of Mexico. T. NUTTALL.”
Mr DOUGLAS’s statement is as follows:—“The flight of these birds is
slow, unsteady, and affords but little amusement to the sportsman. From
the disproportionately small, convex, thin-quilled wing,—so thin that a
vacant space half as broad as a quill appears between each,—the flight
may be said to be a sort of fluttering, more than any thing else: the
bird giving two or three claps of the wings in quick succession, at
the same time hurriedly rising; then shooting or floating, swinging
from side to side, gradually falling, and thus producing a clapping,
whirring sound. When started, the voice is _cuck_, _cuck_, _cuck_, like
the Common Pheasant. They pair in March and April. Small eminences on
the banks of streams are the places usually selected for celebrating
the weddings, the time generally about sunrise. The wings of the male
are lowered, buzzing on the ground; the tail, spread like a fan,
somewhat erect; the bare yellow œsophagus inflated to a prodigious
size,—fully half as large as his body, and, from its soft, membranous
substance, being well contrasted with the scale-like feathers below
it on the breast, and the flexile, silky feathers on the neck, which
on these occasions stand erect. In this grotesque form he displays,
in the presence of his intended mate, a variety of attitudes. His
love-song is a confused, grating, but not offensively disagreeable
tone,—something that we can imitate, but have a difficulty in
expressing—_Hurr-hurr-hurr-r-r-r-hoo_, ending in a deep, hollow tone,
not unlike the sound produced by blowing into a large reed. Nest on
the ground, under the shade of _Purshia_ and _Artemisia_, or near
streams, among _Phalaris arundinacea_, carefully constructed of dry
grass and slender twigs. Eggs, from thirteen to seventeen, about the
size of those of a common fowl, of a wood-brown colour, with irregular
chocolate blotches on the thick end. Period of incubation twenty-one
to twenty-two days. The young leave the nest a few hours after they
are hatched. In the summer and autumn months these birds are seen in
small troops, and in winter and spring in flocks of several hundreds.
Plentiful throughout the barren, arid plains of the river Columbia;
also in the interior of North California. They do not exist on the
banks of the River Missouri; nor have they been seen in any place east
of the Rocky Mountains.”
TETRAO UROPHASIANUS, _Ch. Bonap._ Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. pl.
21, fig. 1. Female.
TETRAO (CENTROCERCUS) UROPHASIANUS, _Richards. and Swains._
Fauna Bor.-Americana, vol. ii. p. 358.
COCK of the PLAINS, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 665.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXI. Fig. 1.
Bill shortish, strong, somewhat compressed; upper mandible with the
dorsal line arcuato-declinate, the ridge flattened at the base and
narrowed on account of the great extent of the nasal sinus, which is
feathered, the sides convex toward the end, the edges inflected, the
tip narrow and rounded; lower mandible with the angle of moderate
length and width, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges sharp
and inflected, the tip obtuse, but like the upper thin-edged. Head
rather small, oblong; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet rather
short, stout; tarsus roundish, feathered, bare and reticulated behind.
Toes of moderate size, covered above with numerous scutella, laterally
pectinated with slender projecting flattened scales; first toe small,
second a little shorter than fourth, third much longer. Claws stout,
slightly arched, moderately compressed, obtuse.
Plumage dense, soft, rather compact, the feathers in general broadly
ovate; those on the head very short, on the sides of the neck
anteriorly at its lower part and across the fore part of the breast,
small, very short, broad, stiff, and imbricated like scales; higher
up on the sides of the neck a tuft of feathers having their shafts
elongated, bristle-like, and terminated by a few filaments. On each
side of the lower part of the neck in front is a large bare space
capable of being inflated into a hemispherical sac. On the fore part
of the breast the feathers, although long, have the shaft thickened
and elongated; the rest of the feathers are of ordinary structure.
Wings rather short, concave, much rounded, the primaries stiff and
very narrow, so as to leave a large interval when the wing is extended;
the third, fourth, and fifth quills longest. Tail long, graduated, of
twenty stiffish feathers, each tapering to a very elongated point.
Bill black; iris light hazel; superciliary membrane vermilion;
toes brownish-grey; claws brownish-black. The upper parts are light
yellowish-brown, variegated with brownish-black and yellowish-white;
the feathers of the head and neck transversely barred, of the back
barred, undulated and dotted, with a whitish longitudinal line
along the shafts of the wing-feathers. The quills chocolate-brown,
their outer webs and part of their inner margins mottled with
yellowish-white. Tail with about ten bands of yellowish-white on the
outer webs, which are otherwise variegated like the back, the inner
webs nearly plain brown. The throat and fore part of neck whitish,
longitudinally spotted with brownish-black; a narrow white band across
the throat; the sides of the neck and fore part of the breast white;
the elongated shafts of the tuft-feathers, black; the sides variegated
like the back with a broad line of white along the middle of each
feather; the axillars and lower wing-coverts pure white; the hind part
of the breast and the abdomen, brownish-black; the sides of the rump
like the back, the lower tail-coverts brownish-black, largely tipped
with white, the feathers of the tibiæ and tarsi pale brownish-grey,
faintly barred with brown.
Length to end of tail 30 inches; extent of wings 36; wing from flexure
13; tail 12, shortest feathers 7; bill along the ridge 1-6/12, along
the edge of lower mandible 1-4/12; tarsus 2-1/2; hind toe 1/2, its claw
4/12; middle toe 2-1/4, its claw 6/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXI. Fig. 2.
The female is much smaller than the male, and differs in being
destitute of the bare skin on the fore neck, in having the superciliary
membranes smaller, the plumage entirely of ordinary texture; the tail
less elongated, with the feathers less narrow and ending in a rounded
point. All the upper parts, fore neck and sides are variegated with
brownish-black, yellowish-grey and whitish disposed nearly as in the
male; the throat whitish, the fore part of the breast white, the middle
part brownish-black, the legs and tarsi as in the male, as are the
quills; the tail-feathers mottled like the back and tipped with white.
Length to end of tail 22 inches; wing from flexure 10-1/2; tail
7-3/4; bill along the ridge 1-4/12; tarsus 1-(10-1/2)/12; middle toe
1-(8-1/2)/12, its claw 6/12.
The size of this species has been exaggerated, it having been by
some compared to the Turkey, and by others to the Great Wood Grous
of Europe, _Tetrao Urogallus_, whereas, in fact, it seems not much
to exceed _Tetrao hybridus_. In some individuals, as I am informed by
Dr TOWNSEND, the hair-like shafts of the feathers on the sides of the
neck, are considerably longer than in my figure of the male.
COMMON BUZZARD.
_FALCO BUTEO_, LINN.
PLATE CCCLXXII. FEMALE.
The specimen from which the figure before you was taken, was shot by Dr
TOWNSEND on a rock near the Columbia River, on which it had its nest.
Unfortunately, however, he has not supplied me with any account of this
species, and the only notice respecting its habits that I have seen,
is that in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, by Dr RICHARDSON:—“The Common
Buzzard arriving in the Fur Countries in the middle of April very soon
afterwards begins to build its nest; and, having reared its young,
departs about the end of September. It haunts the low alluvial points
of land which stretch out under the high banks of a river; and may be
observed sitting for a long time motionless on the bough of a tree,
watching patiently for some small quadruped, bird, or reptile, to pass
within its reach. As soon as it espies its prey, it glides silently
into the air, and, sweeping easily and rapidly down, seizes it in its
claws. When disturbed, it makes a short circuit, and soon settles on
another perch. It builds its nest on a tree, of short sticks, lining it
sparingly with deer’s hair. The eggs, from three to five in number, are
equal in size to those of the domestic fowl, and have a greenish-white
colour, with a few large dark brown blotches at the thick end. It was
seen by the Expedition as far north as the fifty-seventh parallel of
latitude, and it most probably has a still higher range.”
FALCO BUTEO, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 127.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. i. p. 23.
BUTEO VULGARIS, COMMON BUZZARD, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 47.
Female. Plate CCCLXXII.
Bill short, strong, as broad as deep at the base, compressed toward the
end. Upper mandible cerate, its dorsal outline declinate and a little
convex as far as the cere, then decurved, the sides rapidly sloping,
towards the end nearly perpendicular but convex, the edge with a slight
festoon, the tip trigonal, acute; lower mandible with the angle short
and rounded, the dorsal line convex and ascending, the edges sharp,
arched, at the end deflected, the tip rounded. Nostrils irregularly
obovate, in the fore part of the cere, nearer the ridge than the
margin.
Head large, roundish, flattened above; neck rather short; body full.
Feet short, robust; tarsi roundish, anteriorly feathered half-way
down, anteriorly scutellate, laterally reticulate, posteriorly also
scutellate; the lower part all round covered with series of small
scales, as are the toes for half their length, the terminal portion
being scutellate: they are strong, of moderate length, the hind toe
stouter, with four large scutella, the inner with four, the middle with
about eight, and connected at the base by a web with the outer, which
has four large scutella. Claws long, arched, compressed, tapering to a
point, flat beneath.
Plumage ordinary, full, rather blended beneath. Space between the
bill and eye covered with bristly feathers; eyelids with soft downy
feathers, and ciliate: the superciliary ridge prominent. Feathers
of the head and neck ovato-oblong, of the back and breast ovate and
rounded, of the sides and outer part of the leg elongated, of the
rest of the leg short. Wings long, broad, the fourth quill longest,
the third next, the fifth very little shorter, the second longer than
fifth, the first and seventh about equal; first four abruptly cut out
on the inner web; secondaries broad and rounded. Tail rather long,
broad, slightly rounded.
Bill light blue at the base, with the margins yellowish, the tip
black; the cere yellow. Iris hazel. Feet yellow; claws black, at the
base bluish. The general colour of the upper parts is chocolate-brown.
The quills are of the general colour externally, but the primaries
are black toward the tip, a great part of the inner web, with the
shaft, white, and barred with brownish-black, the bars more extended
on the secondaries. The tail is marked with about ten dusky bars on
a reddish-brown ground, tinged with grey, the last dark bar broader,
the tips paler. The eyelids are whitish, as is the throat, which is
longitudinally streaked with dusky. The rest of the lower parts are
yellowish or brownish white, barred with brown. The lower wing-coverts
are white, barred or spotted with dusky; the white of the inner
webs of the primaries forms a conspicuous patch, contrasted with the
greyish-black of their terminal portion.
Length to end of tail 23 inches; wing from flexure 17; tail 10-1/2;
bill along the ridge 1-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-7/12;
tarsus 3-5/12; hind toe 1, its claw 1-1/12; middle toe 1-10/12, its
claw 1-1/12.