Form. Medium sized or rather small for a bird of this genus; bill
straight, hooked at the tip; upper mandible expanded on the forehead,
its basal edge forming a crescent very distinct from the frontal
feathers; tubular nostrils prominent; wing long; first quill longest;
tail short, nearly square at the tip; tarsi short; feet large; tibia
naked above the joint with the tarsus.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, 26 inches; wing, 19; tail, 5 inches.
Colors. Plumage at the base of the bill pale brownish-white, of which
color there is also a spot behind and under the eye; entire other
plumage above and below sooty brown, darkest on the back and wings,
lighter on the under parts, and having a gray tinge on the breast; bill
dark; tarsi and feet black.
Hab. Western Coast of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This species much resembles in colors and general appearance the
Dusky Albatross (_Diomedea fuliginosa_, Gm., which is _D. fusca_, Aud.),
but may at once be distinguished by the color of the feet, which in the
present bird are black, and in the other yellow. In _D. fuliginosa_, the
tail is much longer and wedge-shaped, and the upper mandible extends in
a point into the plumage of the head in front, instead of being as above
described in the species now before us.
It is a species apparently peculiar to the western coast of America; but
as illustrative of the very extensive range of these birds, we may
mention that several species, which are common on the Pacific coast of
this continent, are also met with on the shores of Australia. The Great
Wandering Albatross, the Dusky Albatross, and the Yellow-nosed Albatross
(_D. exulans fuliginosa_ and _chlorhynchus_), are given as birds of that
continent in Mr. Gould’s magnificent work, “The Birds of Australia,” and
are now well known to be inhabitants of the western shores of the
continent of America.
[Illustration: Plate 36
The Ground Cuckoo
Geococcyx mexicanus (_Gmelin_)]
GEOCOCCYX MEXICANUS.—(Gmelin.)
The Ground Cuckoo. The Prairie Cock. The Paisano. The Corre-camino.
PLATE XXXVI. Adult Male.
Of the many birds of Western America, the history of which has been
brought to light by the recent researches of our countrymen and
fellow-laborers in the great field of zoological science, that now
before the reader is one of the most curious and interesting. Its
existence has been known to naturalists since the time of Hernandez,
who, as early as 1651, in his “New History of the Plants, Animals, and
Minerals of Mexico,” gives a short account of it, as one of the most
remarkable of the birds that came under his observation. Though
partially known for so long a period, and having received various names
from European naturalists, who have described specimens met with in
museums, there was extant no satisfactory account of this bird previous
to the incorporation of countries which it inhabits with the confederacy
of the United States, and the consequent facilities afforded to the
investigations of American naturalists.
This bird is especially remarkable for great swiftness of foot, and in
fact appears to be almost unrivalled in that respect by any other of our
North American species, not even excepting the Grouse, Partridges, or
any other of the smaller gallinaceous birds. These, though possessing
the ability to run short distances very swiftly, are incapable of
sustaining a protracted chase like the present bird. In Mexico, and the
adjacent portions of the United States, it is not unusual, as a matter
of amusement, to try the speed of our bird by pursuing him on horseback,
or by chasing him with dogs, under which severe test of his fleetness,
he acquits himself very creditably, and makes, as we shall see
presently, a longer race than is usually expected by his pursuer. He
evidently possesses both speed and bottom, unrivalled by any fair
competition in ornithological pedestrianism, so far as its annals are
chronicled, or the present writer’s information on that subject extends.
Clothed in plumage of agreeable and unusual colors for a Northern
species, and habitually frequenting the ground, walking or running with
its long tail carried erect, and assuming a variety of grotesque
attitudes, it is not surprising that this bird has attracted the
attention of nearly all our naturalists and travellers who have visited
its native regions. Through their exertions, it is now to be found in
nearly all our museums and private collections, and many facts
respecting it have been placed on record.
Though terrestrial in its habits, and exhibiting in some degree the
manners and habits of the gallinaceous birds (the Pheasants, Partridges,
Grouse, &c.), this bird is by no means to be classed in that division of
the ornithological kingdom. It is a Cuckoo, and a relative of the
celebrated bird of Europe so long known as to have become classic, and
of the unobtrusive and plain-plumaged little birds of the United States,
of the genus _Coccyzus_, popularly known by the name of Cow-birds, or
Rain-birds. Our present bird is a representative of the gallinaceous
form, in the family of Cuckoos. Throughout the animal and vegetable
kingdoms, and in every division or subdivision of whatever character,
five primary groups or forms present themselves. In birds and all their
groups, these are: the typical, or bird-like form; the predatory, or
rapacious; the gallinaceous, or walking; the grallatorial, or wading;
and the natatorial, or swimming form. In the group of Cuckoos, which is
quite extensive, and species of which are found in nearly all parts of
the world, the bird now before us belongs to the subdivision comprising
the gallinaceous or walking Cuckoos, and is a striking example of that
peculiar form in the great circle of birds, and of the prevalence of a
law which is universal, and not difficult to demonstrate.
The first American naturalist who observed the bird now before the
reader, was Dr. William Gambel, and a description by him will be found
in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,
Vol. II., p. 263. (1845). Subsequently, it has been noticed by nearly
all naturalists who have visited California, New Mexico, or Texas, and
interesting contributions to its history are contained in their
publications relating to the ornithology of those countries.
Our esteemed friend, Col. George A. McCall, with his usual clearness and
scientific accuracy, gave the first satisfactory account of this bird,
in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, III. p. 234 (July,
1847.):
“Although the toes of this bird are disposed in opposite pairs, as in
other species of his family, yet the outer toe being reversible, and of
great flexibility, is in either position aptly applied in climbing or
perching, as well as on the ground. Thus he at times pitches along the
ground in irregular but vigorous hops; and again, when the outer toe is
thrown forward, he runs smoothly, and with such velocity, as to be able
to elude a dog in the _chaparral_, without taking wing. He feeds on
_coleoptera_, and almost every description of insects, and near the
river Nueces, where the snail (_Lynnæus stagnalis_) abounds, it is also
greedily eaten. These he snatches from the ground, or plucks from the
low branch of a bush; and as he rarely wanders far from his abode, the
prize is carried to a particular spot, where the shell is broken with
his strong bill, and the animal devoured. Piles of these shells are
often found that would fill half a hat crown.
“Although dwelling principally on the ground, he is ready and expert in
catching his prey in the air, in which act his movements are full of
animation,—bounding from the ground with a sudden impulse to the height
of eight or ten feet; his wings and tail are seen expanded for a
scarcely appreciable instant, and his bill is heard to snap as he takes
his prey, when he drops as suddenly to the spot from which he sprang.
Here he will stand for a moment, his legs apart, and his tail flirted on
one side with a wild and eccentric expression of exultation in his
attitude, before he scampers off under cover of the thick _chaparral_.
At first, I thought,—as is the general impression among the
Mexicans,—that his powers of flight were extremely limited; but he will,
when suddenly alarmed in open ground, rise with a light, quick motion,
and continue his flight over the bushes for some hundred yards,
apparently with an ease that would argue the ability to sustain a longer
flight.
“Though fond of solitude and shade, he will, at an early hour in the
morning, climb to the top of a straight leafless branch, there to sit
and enjoy the first rays of the sun.
“He is said by the Mexican rancheros to build his nest of loose sticks,
either in a low, thick bush, or in close cover on the ground. The eggs
are said by them to be two or three in number, and of a whitish color.”
We have again to express our obligations to Col. McCall for the
following contribution to our present article:—
“I never was so fortunate as to find the nest of this bird, yet I had
frequent opportunities of witnessing its manners and habits in Texas, in
New Mexico, and in California, between the years 1846-52.
“Of shy and retiring disposition, the _G. viaticus_ is most often met
with singly. I have, however, frequently seen the male and female
associated during the later period of the year, as well as in spring and
summer; the former, at all seasons, being easily distinguishable by his
larger size and more brilliant plumage. Whether the pairs I thus met
were mated for life, or for the year, or were merely accidentally living
in company, I am unable to say—I simply state the fact; and I well
recollect my fruitless efforts, in Texas, for several successive days in
autumn, to secure a pair that inhabited a large _chaparral_ near which I
happened to be encamped at the time. The male was a remarkably fine
bird, but evidently an old and cautious fellow; he would come just
without the thicket, followed by the female—and there, with neck
outstretched, cast a searching glance around; then, if an enemy
appeared, even in the distance, he would instantly retreat to his
impenetrable abode trebly fenced with thorns. In a little while, he
would re-appear at another point, where, if the coast seemed clear, he
would, closely followed by his mate, begin to search for grass-hoppers
and other insects, but never venture more than a few paces from the
border of the thicket. Thus it was impossible to approach him in open
ground; and such was his constant caution and vigilance that, although I
more than once lay in wait for the couple, which I regularly saw in the
morning hours, I never succeeded in getting within gunshot.
“When suddenly surprised, I have seen this bird rise on wing and fly
considerable distances, in order to gain close cover, the flight being
effected by regular flappings, and executed, apparently, with ease;
though the bird did not rise more than six or eight feet from the
ground.
“The individuals that I killed in the fall and winter seasons,
invariably were excessively fat, and their crops were usually filled
with snails and various coleoptera. I do not recollect that I ever found
in their stomachs the remains of lizards or other reptiles.
“The _Paisano_ (countryman), as this bird is called by the Mexicans, or
_Corre-camino_ (run-the-road), as the native Californians designate it,
is often met in the unfrequented roads that traverse forests of low
brushwood, being enticed from its sombre retreats to the openings, in
search of its favorite food. And here is often afforded the traveller an
opportunity of witnessing its surpassing swiftness of foot. I have
several times tested its speed with a good horse under me, and I have in
truth been astonished at the almost incredible rate at which it passed
over the ground. On one occasion, when approaching Limpia creek (W.
Texas), with a small party, on my way to El Paso, I discovered a fine
male _Paisano_ in the open road, about one hundred yards in advance. For
amusement, I put spurs to my horse and dashed after him, followed by one
of my men. For full four hundred yards, I ran him along a road level and
smooth as a floor; and over which, with straightened neck and
slightly-expanded wings, he swiftly glided, seeming scarcely to touch
the ground. And when, at last, he deemed it prudent to seek shelter in
the thicket alongside, I had not reduced the distance between us more
than fifty yards.
“I was told on the frontier that the Mexican rancheros do sometimes run
down and capture the _Paisano_ when they find him wandering on more open
ground; and such I think is probable, for the one to which I have just
referred was going, even to the moment at which he _took cover_, at a
rate of speed that could not possibly have been much longer sustained;
nor could he, I think, when so nearly ‘blown,’ have risen on wing. Such,
at least, is the case with the wild turkey, which I have repeatedly
captured in the same way, although his power of flight is greater than
that of the _Paisano_.”
Capt. John P. McCown, of the United States Army, also observed the
_Paisano_ in Texas; and in his observations on the birds of that State,
in the Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, VI. p. 9, we
find the following:—
“Often in my wanderings through the _chapparel_ on the Rio Grande, I
observed piles of broken snail shells, and always near some hard
substance, such as a bone, or hard piece of wood, which had evidently
been used in breaking the shells. I made many conjectures as to the
probable animal, but never suspected that a bird had left these
evidences of its peculiar habits. I heard, also, at times, generally in
the morning or evening, a sound very similar to that made by some
Woodpeckers, rapidly beating their bills upon an old dry tree. This was
also a mystery, as I could find no Woodpeckers near the place where the
sound came from. Upon inquiry of a Mexican, I was told that it was the
_Paisano_ breaking the snail-shells to get at the snail, which explained
at once both the noise and the mutilated shells. I was afterwards so
fortunate as to see a bird so occupied. It took the snail in its bill
and beat it upon the hard substance, striking faster and faster, until
the shell broke.
“A few of these birds are to be found on the Rio Nueces. They run with
great speed, seldom taking to wing. I have seen them on trees apparently
observing the vicinity. I had a young bird of this species, about
half-grown, but it refused to eat, and soon died; and I have seen some
in coops, and have been informed that they have been tamed.
“When approached, this bird runs very swiftly until near cover, when it
stops and reconnoitres the intruder, gives its tail a flirt, and away it
goes again.
“In 1846, on the mountains between Monterey and Saltillo, I saw a pair
of birds much like these, but much smaller. I observed them for some
time, and feel satisfied that they were another species. The snail that
seems to form the principal food of these birds is found sticking to
almost every bush, and some are literally covered with them.”
In California, this bird was frequently noticed by Dr. Heermann, from
whose manuscripts in our possession we have permission to make the
following extract:—
“We found this bird throughout California inhabiting the most arid
portions of the country. It often crossed our path, or ran before us for
a short distance on the road, dashing, when alarmed, immediately into
the _chapparel_, in which its swiftness of foot enabled it to readily
elude pursuit. It may, however, be overtaken when followed on horseback
over the vast open plains in which it is found, if no friendly bush
offers it a shelter. When closely chased, if on an elevated point, it
will sometimes fly, but appears to prefer sailing downwards. I once saw
a specimen captured by a couple of dogs, their appetites whetted by
recent success in overtaking and bringing down a Prairie wolf, or
cayote.
“The stomachs of all the specimens that I examined of this bird were
filled with the grass-hoppers and large black beetles found on the
plains. The nest, built on the branches of the cactus, is formed of
loose sticks, thrown negligently together, in the same manner as that of
the yellow-billed Cuckoo of the United States (_Coccyzus americanus_).
It contains two large, nearly spherical, white eggs.
“I have never witnessed the following, but was gravely assured of its
truth by several old Californians: It is said that this bird, on
perceiving the rattlesnake coiled up asleep, will collect the cactus and
hedge him around in a circle, out of which he is prevented from escaping
by the prickly points opposing him on every side; and becoming enraged,
strikes himself, and dies from the effects of his self-inoculated venom.
“This bird is common in Western Texas and on the Rio Grande.”
This remarkable bird has been found in the vicinity of Fort Webster, New
Mexico, by Dr. Henry, and was also noticed in that country and in Texas
by Mr. Clark, Mr. Schott, and Dr. Kennerly, and in Mexico by Lieut.
Couch.
Though neither of the authors above cited have mentioned that this bird
devours reptiles as well as insects and snails, that fact is stated by
Dr. Gambel in his paper on the Birds of California, in the first volume
of the quarto Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, and it is so
represented in some spirited sketches by Mr. Arthur Schott, now attached
to the United States and Mexican Boundary Surveying party, whose
drawings of this bird made in its native wilds are in the possession of
our valued friend, Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution. It
is probable that although it may prefer insects, other small animals
afford suitable food.
Lieut. D. N. Couch, of the U. S. Army, to whom we have been indebted for
other valuable contributions, has, with his usual kindness, added to our
present article the following interesting notice of this bird as an
inhabitant of Northern Mexico:—
“This bird was first met with in Southwestern Texas, near the Rio
Grande, where it is called ‘Prairie Cock’ by the inhabitants. Few or no
opportunities occurred for me to observe it carefully, until I found
myself in the dreary chapparel districts of Tamaulipas, and next beyond
the Sierra Madre.
“The chapparel is its home. Equally avoiding the forests of high trees
or the open prairies,—in the former of which its short wings would
preclude an easy flight to the branches, and in the latter, for the same
reason, it would be unable to escape from the numerous hawks of various
species that are ever hovering over the arid wastes of that region. Once
only I saw it perched near the top of a stout Mesquite tree, though not
many feet from the ground.
“So far as I have observed, this bird rarely takes to wing, but with
head lowered and tail nearly horizontal; crouching to the ground, it
runs without using its wings, with incredible swiftness; stopping
suddenly, its long and beautiful tail is raised and depressed with as
much grace as a fan in the hand of an accomplished senorita.
“In one of my excursions, I saw a wolf chase a hare (_Lepus texianus_),
but was distanced in a few seconds, in the short race, a bird of this
species was started, and the wolf in turn tried its fleetness, with the
same result very distinctly arrived at. Apparently much disappointed, he
looked at me for a moment, with an expression that seemed to say, “I
have half a mind to try you;” but he turned off sulkily and trotted
away, leaving me quite satisfied with his conclusion.
“Pa-i-san-o is the name by which this bird is known to the Mexicans.
They hold it in high estimation on account of its enmity to the
rattlesnake, which it usually succeeds in killing in fair combat.
Notwithstanding that it is by no means deficient in courage, there is
scarcely one of the feathered tribe that is so quiet and harmless in its
habits. I have never noticed any note except a weak scream, and that
very seldom. It is apparently not social, never occurring in flocks, not
a wanderer to much extent, and though almost a hermit, is the most
pleasing and friendly-looking inhabitant that lives only in the
chapparel.”