Bill very short, thick, upper mandible curved, entire, nearly of the
same thickness as the lower, nostrils basal, concealed by projecting
feathers, wings rather short, first quill spurious, fourth and fifth
longest and nearly equal, tail long and slightly wedge-shaped. Tarsi
long and slender, feet rather strong, claws curved and acute, that on
the posterior toe strongest. Not crested, colors of all known species
principally cinereous and white.
This genus was established by the celebrated naturalist Temminck, of
Leyden, (in Planches Coloriees, vol. iii.) with a little bird as its
type named by him _Psaltria exilis_, which inhabits Java. The bird
discovered by Dr. Townsend in Oregon, and now well known to American
Ornithologists as _Parus minimus_, Townsend, not only belongs to this
genus, but only materially differs in size from _Psaltria exilis_. Temm.
Its colors and general appearance much resemble it.
The American species are:
1. Psaltria minima. (Townsend) Townsend’s Chickadee.
Parus minimus. Townsend, Jour. Acad. Philada. vii. p. 199. (1837.)
Length (of skin) about 4 inches. Head above deep cinereous, inclining to
purplish brown, body above cinereous, with a tinge of olive. Throat and
breast whitish, abdomen and flanks cinereous, tinged with purplish
brown, bill and feet black. Female rather smaller.
Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.
Obs. As frequently turns out to be the case with birds to which such
names as minor and minimus are applied, this little bird is considerably
_larger_ than its near relative, _P. exilis_, Temm. which otherwise it
much resembles. It is now frequently brought in collections from
California.
2. Psaltria melanotis. (Sanbach.) The black-eared Chickadee.
Parus melanotis. Sandb. Proc. Brit. Ass. for Adv. Sci. vi. p. 99.
(1837.)
“Parus melanotis. Sandb.” Hartlaub, Rev. Zool. 1844, p. 216.
Psaltriparus personatus. Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Paris, xxxi.
p. 478. (Sept. 1850.)
Length (of skin) about 4 inches. Male, broad stripes on each side of the
head under the eye, and uniting on the occiput, deep black with a green
metallic lustre. Head above pale cinereous, body above cinereous brown,
throat and neck white, below ashy white, with a purplish tinge, bill and
legs dark. Female, with the ears brown.
Hab. Texas and Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.
Obs. This pretty little bird has the bill longer and more compressed
than either the preceding species, or _Psaltria exilis_, Temm. It is,
however, we think, a true _Psaltria_, in which respect we coincide with
Prof. Westerman, who gives a description and excellent figure of it in
Contributions to Zoology, (Bijdragen tot de Dierkunden,) Amsterdam,
1851.
A few other names have been given to American species of the old genus
_Parus_ by the earlier authors, all of which are undoubtedly synonymes
for those of species previously described, and which we have enumerated.
We have in all cases given the authority for the first description and
its date.
Chamæa fasciata. (Gambel) a bird of California—though described
originally, but as Dr. Gambel expressly states provisionally only, as a
_Parus_, we regard as properly belonging to the family of Wrens
(Troglodytidæ.)
[Illustration: Plate 4
The Massena Partridge
Cyrtonyx Massena (_Lesson_)]
CYRTONYX MASSENA.—(Lesson.)
The Massena Partridge.
PLATE IV.—Male and Female.
This singularly, we had almost said, fantastically colored, though very
handsome Partridge, is an inhabitant of Texas and Mexico. No other
species presents such a remarkable arrangement of colors, and the black
lines in the face of the male bird, as the eminent English
Ornithologist, Mr. Gould, very appropriately observes, “forcibly remind
one of the painted face of the clown in a pantomime.”
It has, until recently, been an exceedingly rare and highly prized bird
in collections, a few specimens only having reached Europe or the cities
on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Those have received
names, and have been described by various European authors, as will
appear from the synonymes included in the present article; but neither
of them have published any information relative to the habits or history
of this curious bird, nor have indicated the district of Mexico from
which it had been received. It has been known only as a museum species.
Since the commencement of the military operations of the United States
in Texas, New Mexico and California, and the subsequent incorporation of
those countries into this great Confederacy, their natural history has
attracted a large share of the attention of naturalists and students at
home, and also of many highly accomplished officers of the army. In
fact, to the latter gentlemen is to be awarded the high merit of having
contributed, notwithstanding the engrossing and deeply responsible
character of their professional duties, a large portion of all that is
known relative to the zoology of those vast, and especially in a
scientific point of view, very interesting regions.
A valuable notice of the Massena Partridge is given by our highly
esteemed friend, Col. McCall, in his “Remarks on the habits of birds met
with in Western Texas, between San Antonio and the Rio Grande, and in
New Mexico, with descriptions of several species believed to have been
hitherto undescribed,” published in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia
Academy, V. p. 213, (June, 1851,) which we have taken the liberty of
transferring to our pages.
“This species was not seen before crossing the San Pedro, but it was not
long until it made its appearance in the waste and rocky region into
which we then entered. And from that time until we reached the Rio
Pecos, a distance of 140 miles, (westwardly by the route travelled,) it
was frequently seen, though I should not say it was very common. This
region is a desert of great length from north to south, our trail
crossing it at nearly right angles. The general face of the country is
level, and consists of either a crumbling argillaceous limestone, or a
coarse grey sand, producing nothing but a sparse growth of sand plants.
Water is found only at long intervals, and except at those points there
is little cover for game, and apparently less food,—the principal growth
being _Cacti_, of which the most common is _Cactus arborescens_; yet
here, amongst projecting rocks, or on the borders of dry gullies, or in
loose scrub, I found the Massena Partridge in all the beauty of his rich
and varied plumage.
“The habits of this species are different from those of any other
species of partridge that I have met with. They were in covies of from
eight to twelve individuals, and appeared to be extremely simple and
affectionate in disposition. In feeding, they separated but little,
keeping up a social _cluck_ all the time. They were so gentle as to
evince little or no alarm on the approach of man; scarcely moving out of
his way as he passed, and only running off or flying a few yards, when
perhaps half their numbers were laid low by a shot. This inclined me to
think they might with little difficulty be domesticated, although I
found them here in a boundless, barren waste, and nowhere near the
habitation of man. This trait of gentleness is the very opposite of
those strikingly manifested by the scaly partridge, (_Callipepla
squamata_,) which I always observed to be, though found perchance in
grounds as little frequented as these, remarkably vigilant, shy, and
difficult to approach. The call or signal note of this species is
peculiar. I never saw it after crossing the Pecos river.”
Col. McCall’s observations on the habits of this bird confirm an opinion
expressed by Mr. Gould in his Monograph of American Partridges: “No
account whatever has yet reached us of the habits and economy of this
species, which, judging from the comparative shortness of the toes, and
the great development of its claws, we may expect to be different from
those of other members of the family.”
The circular spots which are numerous on the inferior parts of the body
in this partridge, appear to indicate as a character an analogy to the
Guinea fowls, which is further sustained by its habit of uttering its
note continually when in company with its fellows, or when feeding. The
Guinea fowls in their native wilds also associate in small parties, and
take wing only reluctantly, and for short distances.
Capt. S. G. French, of the U. S. Army, has most kindly and very
opportunely presented us with fine specimens of this and other species
preserved in spirits, for which, as well as for some valuable memoranda,
we beg here to express our gratitude. He remarks, with reference to this
species: “It was in the summer of 1846, when crossing the then pathless
and untrodden plains or table lands which extend westwardly from San
Antonio, Texas, to New Mexico, that I first met with this beautiful
partridge. On a bright summer afternoon, I undertook the ascent of a
high rocky mountain for the purpose of obtaining a view of the valley
through which the San Pedro river takes its course, and when I had
gained the summit I observed several of these birds, a few feet only in
advance of me, running along over the fragments of rocks and through the
dwarf bushes, which grew wherever there was sufficient soil. Their
handsome plumage and their gentleness attracted my attention, and I felt
many regrets that I had left my gun behind me, thereby losing the
opportunity of securing specimens for examination.
“A few days afterwards, however, when encamped on the head waters of the
river, I found a covey, and succeeded in obtaining several specimens,
one of which I had skinned, but which was afterwards unfortunately lost.
From that point we occasionally met with these birds on the route to the
Pecos river, a distance of over one hundred miles. I did not see them
again until we came to the Eagle Springs, in a mountainous region about
twenty-five miles from the Rio Grande. Two covies were found there, and
several specimens were obtained.
“In the spring of 1851, I again passed over the same route in charge of
a military expedition, and on the way out, two of these birds only were
seen, one of which, (a female,) was killed by Major E. Backus, U. S.
Army, and is now in the collection of Dr. Woodhouse, who was then going
out with a party of topographical engineers to which he was attached.
When returning in July last, I chanced to kill at an encamping ground
near Howard’s Springs, between the San Pedro and Pecos rivers, the
specimen which I now send you. It was the only one that I saw on the
route as I came back from New Mexico, and it is but fair to conjecture
that these birds are not at all numerous.
“They appear to inhabit the rocky sides of the mountains and hills in
that desolate region of elevated plains, west of the fertile portions of
Texas, living amidst the solitude that wraps them in silence, far from
enemies and the busy haunts of men. In no instance have I met with this
species near any settlements. The wild, rocky hill-sides in the lone
wilderness, seem to be their favorite resort; and there, where trees are
almost unknown, and vegetation is scant, and where hardly a living thing
is seen, are these fine birds found in all their beauty and gentleness.
The covies of them showed but little alarm at our approach, and ran
along over the rocks, occasionally attempting to secrete themselves
beneath them, in which case they would let a person approach within a
few feet. When startled by the firing of a gun, they fly but a few yards
before again alighting, and exhibit little of that wildness peculiar to
all the other species of partridges with which I am acquainted.”
In 1832 this bird was described under the name _Tetrao guttata_, by Don
Pablo de la Llave, in _Registro trimestre ó coleccion de Memorias de
Historia, Literatura, Ciencasóy Artes_, Vol. I. p. 145, Mexico, 1832,
which periodical, though little known, and discontinued, we believe,
before the completion of the second volume, contains several valuable
papers by this and other Mexican authors, relative to the natural
history of their country. The ornithological papers by Sr. De la Llave,
evince much ability, and contain very accurate observations and
descriptions; and a tone pervades them too, which proclaims him to be a
true lover of nature. That in which we are interested at present, is
entitled, “Sobre tres especias neuvas del genero _Tetrao_,” and consists
of notices of birds of this genus, of which he had living specimens at
his residence in the city of Mexico, and descriptions of three species,
viz.: _Tetrao marmorata_ (which is _Ortyx macroura_, Jardine and Selby),
_T. cristata_, (which is _O. squamata_, Vigors.) and _T. guttata_,
(which is _O. Massena_, Lesson.)
To the last bird he thus alludes: “It is only a few days since the third
species has been brought to me. It is rather smaller than the former,
and its deportment is entirely different. It carries its head habitually
resting upon its shoulders, the neck being excessively _small_ and
deflexed, and in every thing it shows an amiability, and so to speak, a
kindness of character (_una bondad de caracter_) which is not found in
any other species of this genus, and it is naturally so tame and
domestic as to permit itself to be caught with the hand. These birds are
always united, forming a covey, and whenever one is separated, the
others follow it; they do not, like others, wish to sleep on elevated
places, but sit on the ground, drawing very near together. Their notes,
which are not varied, are very low and soft, and I have never heard loud
cries from the male. When they are frightened, they show much activity
and swiftness; at other times their gait and movement are habitually
slow and deliberate, carrying the crest puffed up (_esponjada_).”
Sr. De la Llave gives as the locality of his specimens, the warm regions
near the city of Mexico.
These statements comprise all that is known at present of the Massena
Partridge.
The contents of the crop in Capt. French’s specimen consisted
exclusively of fragments of insects, pronounced by Dr. Leconte to be
principally grasshoppers, and a species of _Spectrum_. No trace whatever
of food of a vegetable character.