southern New Hampshire and southern Vermont, south to Virginia and
along the Alleghanies to Georgia; west to northwestern Arkansas.
=300a. Canadian Ruffed Grouse= (_B. u. togata_). Similar to No. 300,
but slightly grayer above; tail generally gray; bars on breast and
belly darker and better defined.
Range.--Spruce forests of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine northern
New Hampshire, northern Vermont and south to higher mountains of
Massachusetts and northern New York; west to eastern slope of coast
ranges of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia; north to James Bay.
=300b. Gray Ruffed Grouse= (_B. u. umbelloides_). Similar to No. 300a,
but grayer; prevailing color of upperparts, including crown, gray;
tail always gray.
Range.--Rocky Mountains, from Colorado north to latitude 65A deg. in
Alaska, east to Mackenzie and poplar woods of western Manitoba.
[Illustration: 300c.]
=300c. Oregon Ruffed Grouse= (_B. u. sabini_). Similar to No. 300, but
much darker, prevailing color of upper parts rusty brown; tail always
rusty brown.
Range.--Pacific coast ranges from Cape Mendocino, California, north to
British Columbia.
Ptarmigan
[Illustration: 301. Winter]
[Illustration: 301. Summer]
=301. Willow Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus lagopus_). L. 15. Bill large, more
than .4 deep at base; tail _black_, narrowly tipped with white. _Ad._
[Male] _Summer._ Throat and upper breast rusty brown. _Ad._ [Male]
_Fall._ Rustier and more finely marked above. _Ad._ [Female].
_Summer._ Above black barred with buff and tipped with white; below
buff barred with black; middle of belly whitish. _Ad._ [Female].
_Fall._ Much like fall male. _Ads._, _Winter_. White, tail black
tipped with white; _no_ black before eye. _Notes._ Song, _kA"-kA"-kA"-kA"_
while ascending five or ten yards in the air; a hard rolling
_kr-r-r-r_ when descending. (Nelson.)
Range.--Arctic Regions; in America breeding south to Lat. 55A deg. in
winter migrating south to Lat. 50A deg.; recorded once from Penobscot Co.,
Maine, and once from Manchester, Mass.
=301a. Allen Ptarmigan= (_L. l. alleni_). Similar to No. 301, but
[Female] more finely marked; shafts of primaries, at all seasons,
strongly black spreading to the web of the feather.
Range.--Newfoundland.
[Illustration: 302.]
[Illustration: 302. Autumn.]
=302. Rock Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus rupestris_). L. 14. Bill _less_
than .4 deep at base; tail black. Always to be known from No. 301 by
its smaller bill. _Ad._ [Male] _Summer._ Above irregularly barred and
mottled with gray and rusty buff; below barred black and white and
rusty buff. _Ad._ [Male] _Fall._ Above minutely speckled black, gray
and buff, the prevailing color being grayish brown. _Ad._ [Male]
_Winter._ White, lores and tail black. _Ad._ [Female] _Summer._ Above
black barred with rusty and margined with whitish; below rusty barred
with black and tipped with whitish. _Ad._ [Female] =Fall.= Like fall
[Male]. _Ad._ [Female] _Winter._ Like winter [Male] but no black
before eye.
Range.--North America from Gulf of St. Lawrence and higher mountains
of British Columbia north to Arctic Regions (except northern Labrador)
west through Alaska to Aleutian Islands.
=302a. Reinhardt Ptarmigan= (_L. r. reinhardti_). _Ad._ [Male]
_Summer._ Similar to No. 302, but "less regularly and coarsely barred
above" (Ridgw.) _Ad._ [Female] _Summer._ Resembles [Female] of No.
302. _Ads. Fall._ Much grayer than No. 302 in fall. _Ads. Winter._
Like No. 302 in winter. _Notes._ When courting the male utters a
growling _kurr-kurr_. (Turner.)
Range.--Northern Labrador north to Greenland.
=302b. Nelson Ptarmigan= (_L. r. nelsoni_). _Ad._ [Male], _Summer._
Ground color of upperparts deep umber-brown, very finely and densely
vermiculated; chest barred with bright tawny brown and black. _Ad._
[Female], _Summer._ Similar to [Male] of No. 302. (Ridgw.)
Range.--Unalaska, Aleutian Islands.
[Illustration: Beaks - 301. 302. Nat. Size]
=302c. Turner Ptarmigan= (_L. r. atkhensis_). Lighter in general hue
than 302d and without black blotches on upperparts. (Elliot.) _Ad._
[Male], _Summer._ "Ground color of upperparts pale raw-umber brown,
mixed with pale grayish; chest and neck barred with pale brownish
ochre and black." _Ad._ [Female], _Summer._ Ground color of upperparts
rusty, mixed with pale grayish buff, narrowly and irregularly barred
with black; chest and neck coarsely barred with rusty and black.
(Ridgw.)
Range.--Atka, Aleutian Islands.
=302d. Townsend Ptarmigan= (_L. r. townsendi_). _Ad._ [Male],
_Summer._ Above, breast and flanks raw umber finely vermiculated with
black on back; with black blotches on head, neck and upperpart of back
and wings. _Ad._ [Female], _Summer._ Above ochraceous, blotched and
barred with black; lighter below. (Elliot.)
Range.--Kyska and Adak, Aleutian Islands.
[Illustration: 302.1]
=302.1. Evermann Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus evermanni_). L. 13.9. _Ad._
[Male], _Summer._ Above and breast black slightly marked with rusty.
_Ad._ [Female], _Summer._ Entire body plumage, ochraceous, blotched
and barred with black and above tipped with white or ochraceous: below
black bars wider and no white tips. (Elliot.)
Range.--Attu, Aleutian Islands.
=303. Welch Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus welchi_). L. about 14. Bill and tail
as in No. 302; plumage grayer than in No. 302. _Ad._ [Male], _Summer._
Above black _finely_ and irregularly marked with wavy lines of buff
and white. _Ad._ [Female], _Summer._ Above black _finely_ and
irregularly barred with buffy, grayish and white.
Range.--Newfoundland.
[Illustration: 304.]
=304.? White-tailed Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus leucurus_). L. 13. Tail
_white_. _Ad._ [Male], _Summer._ Breast barred, black and white. _Ad._
[Female], _Summer._ Above black barred with rich buff; below rich buff
barred with black. _Ads., Fall._ Above and breast rich buff finely
vermiculated with black. _Ads., Winter._ Entirely white. _Notes._ When
about to fly and at the beginning of flight a sharp cackle like that
of a frightened hen. (Grinnell.)
Range.--"Alpine summits of Rocky Mountains; south to New Mexico; north
into British America (as far as Fort Halkett, Liard River); west to
higher ranges of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia." (Bendire.)
=304a.? Kenai White-tailed Ptarmigan= (_L. l. peninsularis_). Similar
to No. 304, but in summer buff markings much paler; in fall, colors
much grayer.
Range.--Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.
Prairie Hens and Grouse
[Illustration: 305.]
=305. Prairie Hen= (_Tympanuchus americanus_). L. 18. Underparts with
distinct brown and white bars of about equal width. _Ad._ [Male]. A
neck-tuft of ten or more _rounded_ feathers. _Ad._ [Female].
Neck-tufts much smaller; whole tail barred. _Notes._ Song, a loud
"booming."
Range.--"Prairies of Mississippi Valley; south to Louisiana and Texas;
east to Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario; west through
eastern portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and
Indian Territory; north to Manitoba; general tendency to extension of
range westward and contraction eastward; migration north and south in
Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri." (A.O.U.)
[Illustration: 305a.]
=305a. Attwater Prairie Hen= (_T. a. attwateri_). Similar to No. 305,
but smaller and darker; neck-tufts proportionately wide; tarsus not
fully feathered.
Range.--Southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas.
=306. Heath Hen= (_Tympanuchus cupido_). Similar to No. 305, but
smaller; scapulars more broadly tipped with buff; neck-tuft of _less_
than ten feathers; obtusely _pointed_; axillars _barred_ with dusky.
Range.--Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
=307. Lesser Prairie Hen= (_Tympanuchus pallidicinctus_). Similar to
No. 305, but smaller, more buffy above; brown bars below narrower than
whitish spaces between them. _Notes._ Doubtless the same as those of
No. 305.
Range.--Southwestern parts of Kansas and western Indian Territory,
western (and southern?) Texas. (Bendire.)
=308. Sharp-tailed Grouse= (_PediA"cetes phasianellus_). L. 17. Breast
feathers with internal =V= shaped _loops_; no neck-tufts. _Ads._
Prevailing color above _black_; narrowly barred with rusty and
margined with paler.
Range--Interior of British America, east to Rocky Mountains, about
James Bay (Moose Factory) and the west shore of Hudson Bay, northern
Manitoba, north at least to Fort Simpson, Mackenzie River, northwest
territory. (Bendire.)
=308a. Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse= (_P. p. columbianus_). Similar
to No. 308, but prevailing color above buffy.
Range.--"Northwest United States; south to northeastern California,
northern Nevada and Utah; east to Montana and Wyoming, west to Oregon
and Washington; north, chiefly west of Rocky Mountains, through
British Columbia to central Alaska (Fort Yukon)" (Bendire.)
[Illustration: 308b.]
=308b. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse= (_P. p. campestris_). Similar to
No. 308a, but more rusty. _Notes._ Song, a bubbling crow, a rattling
of tail-feathers, and stamping of feet. Calls, when disturbed, _cack_,
_cack_, _cack_; a soft clear whistle and a grunt of alarm. (Seton.)
Call of mother to young and of young in reply a guttural, raucous
croak. (Grinnell.)
Range--"Plains and prairies of United States, north to Manitoba; east
to Wisconsin and northern Illinois; west to eastern Colorado; south to
eastern New Mexico." (Bendire.)
Grouse, Turkeys and Chachalaca
[Illustration: 309.]
=309. Sage Grouse= (_Centrocercus urophasianus_). _Ad._ [Male], L. 29;
_Ad._ [Female], L. 22. Similar to [Male], but smaller, throat whiter;
breast barred black and whitish. _Notes._ When courting, low,
grunting, guttural sounds; when alarmed, a sort of cackle, _kA¤k_,
_kA¤k_. (Bendire.)
Range.--"Sage regions of the Rocky Mountain Plateau, and west chiefly
within the United States, but north to Assiniboia and the dry interior
of British Columbia; east to North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and
Colorado; south to northern New Mexico, Utah and Nevada; west in
California, Oregon and Washington, to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
Range." (A.O.U.)
[Illustration: 1/10 Nat. Size.]
=Pheasant= (_Phasianus torquatus A-- P. colchicus_). An introduced
species, see remarks on page 114.
[Illustration: 310. 1/16 Nat. Size.]
=310. Wild Turkey= (_Meleagris gallopavo silvestris_). [Male] _Ad._
L. about 48; upper tail-coverts and tail tipped with rusty chestnut:
white bars in primaries entire, crossing the webs of the feathers.
_Notes._ Similar to those of the domesticated Turkey.
Range.--Eastern United States from Pennsylvania south to central
Florida; west to Nebraska and northeastern Texas.
=310a. Merriam Turkey= (_M. g. merriami_). Similar to No. 310, but
tail and upper tail-coverts tipped with whitish.
Range.--"Mountains of southern Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and
western Texas; and northern Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico." (Bailey.)
=310b. Florida Wild Turkey= (_M. g. osceola_). Similar to No. 310, but
smaller; primaries with narrow _broken_ bars _not_ reaching across
feather.
Range.--Southern Florida.
=310c. Rio Grande Turkey= (_M. g. intermedia_). Tips of upper
tail-coverts and of tail rusty buff intermediate in color between
those of Nos. 310 and 310a.
Range.--"Lowlands of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico."
(A.O.U.)
[Illustration: 311.]
=311. Chachalaca= (_Ortalis vetula maccalli_). L. 21. _Ads._ Above
olive-brown; tail blacker, all but middle-feathers bordered with
whitish; belly brownish. _Notes._ A loud, trumpeting _cha-cha-laca_,
repeated a number of times.
Range.--Tropical portions of eastern Mexico, from Vera Cruz north to
Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Order XI. PIGEONS AND DOVES.
COLUMBA†.
Family 1. PIGEONS and DOVES. ColumbidA|. 13 species, 3 subspecies.
Pigeons are distributed throughout the greater part of the globe, but
their center of abundance appears to be in the Malay Archipelago,
where about one hundred and twenty of the some three hundred known
species are found. One hundred or more species have been described
from the New World but only twelve of these inhabit North America.
The various races of domestic Pigeons, 'Pouters,' 'Fantails,' etc. are
descendants of the Rock Dove of Europe, modified in form and habit
through the selection by the breeder or 'fancier.'
Pigeons build a flimsy, platform nest of twigs and lay two white eggs.
Both sexes incubate, one relieving the other at certain hours each
day. The young are born naked and are fed by regurgitation, on
'Pigeons' milk,' the parent thrusting its bill into the mouth of its
young and discharging therein food which has been softened in its own
crop.
Some species of Pigeons nest in isolated pairs, others in large
colonies, but it is the habit of many species to gather in large
flocks after the nesting season.
The Wild or Passenger Pigeon, once so abundant in this county, was
found in flocks throughout the year. Alexander Wilson, the 'father of
American Ornithology' writing about 1808, estimated that a flock of
Wild Pigeons seen by him near Frankfort, Kentucky, contained at least
2,230,272,000 individuals. Audubon writes that in 1805 he saw
schooners at the wharves in New York city loaded in bulk with Wild
Pigeons caught up the Hudson River, which were sold at one cent each.
As late as 1876 or 1877 there was a colony of nesting Wild Pigeons in
Michigan, which was twenty-eight miles long and averaged three or four
miles in width, and in 1881 the birds were still so abundant in parts
of the Mississippi Valley that the writer saw thousands of birds,
trapped in that region, used in a Pigeon match near New York City.
Today, however, as a result of constant persecution, the Wild Pigeon
is so rare that the observation of a single individual is noteworthy.
Pigeons and Doves
[Illustration: 312.]
=312. Band-tailed Pigeon= (_Columba fasciata_). L. 15. _Ad._ [Male].
Tail-band ashy above, whiter below; a white nape-band; tail square.
_Ad._ [Female]. Similar, or in some specimens, nape band absent;
pinkish of crown and breast dingy. _Notes._ An owl-like hooting,
sometimes a calm _whoA cubed-hoo-hoo_, _whoA cubed-koo-hoo_, at others a spirited
_hoA cubedp-ah-whA cubedo_, and again _wh'oo-ugh_. (Bailey.)
Range.--"Western United States from Rocky Mountains to the Pacific:
north to Washington and British Columbia; south to Mexico and the
highlands of Guatemala; distribution irregular, chiefly in wooded
mountain regions." (A.O.U.)
=312a. Viosca Pigeon= (_C. f. vioscA|_). Similar to No. 312, but paler,
more clearly bluish slate above; pink of crown and breast with a
grayish _bloom_.
Range.--Cape Region of Lower California.
[Illustration: 313.]
=313. Red-billed Pigeon= (_Columba flavirostris_). L. 15. _Ads._ No
tail-band; wings, tail, and belly slate; head and neck purplish pink;
no iridescent markings. _Notes._ A fine, loud, _coo-whoo-er-whoo_.
Range.--Costa Rica migrating north to southern Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona.
[Illustration: 314.]
=314. White-crowned Pigeon= (_Columba leucocephala_). L. 13.5 _Ad._
[Male]. Crown white; body slate; lower hindneck iridescent; nape
maroon. _Ad._ [Female]. Much paler; crown ashy.
Range.--Greater Antilles and Islands about Anegada Channel, coast of
Honduras, Bahamas and certain Florida Keys.
[Illustration: 315.]
=315. Passenger Pigeon, Wild Pigeon= (_Ectopistes migratorius_).
L. 16. Outer tail-feathers chestnut at base of inner web. _Ad._
[Male]. Chin, whole head., and lower back bluish slate. _Ad._
[Female]. Browner above, breast brownish ashy; neck feathers less
iridescent. _Notes._ An explosive, squeaky, squawk.
Range.--Formerly eastern North America north to Hudson Bay; now
exceedingly rare, less so in the upper Mississippi valley than
elsewhere.
[Illustration: 316.]
=316. Mourning Dove, Carolina Dove= (_Zenaidura macroura_). L. 11.8.
Outer tail-feathers slate color at base of inner web. _Ad._ [Male].
Chin whitish; sides of head buffy; _a black ear mark_. _Ad._ [Female].
Similar but paler, breast more ashy brown, neck-feathers less
iridescent. _Notes._ _Coo-o-o-ah, coo-o-o-coo-o-o-coo-o-o._
Range.--North America, breeding from West Indies and Mexico north to
southern Maine, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia;
winters from southern New York, southern Illinois, Kansas and southern
California southward.
[Illustration: 317.]
=317. Zenaida Dove= (_Zenaida zenaida_). L. 10. _Ad._ [Male]. Tail
short, _without_ white markings; all but central pair of feathers
tipped with ashy blue; secondaries tipped with white. _Ad._ [Female].
Similar but pinkish of crown and underparts brownish; neck feathers
less iridescent. _Notes._ Resemble those of No. 316, but are louder
and deeper.
Range.--Greater Antilles, coast of Yucatan and Bahamas, north in April
to Florida Keys.
[Illustration: 318.]
=318. White-fronted Dove= (_Leptotila fulviventris brachyptera_).
L. 12. No black ear-mark; under wing-coverts rusty chestnut. _Ad._
[Male]. Forehead whitish; all but central pair of tail-feathers tipped
with white. _Ad._ [Female]. Forehead dingier; breast brownish ashy;
neck feathers less iridescent. _Notes._ A short, soft _coo_.
Range.--Central America and Mexico, north in February to valley of
Lower Rio Grande.
[Illustration: 319.]
=319. White-winged Dove= (_Melopelia leucoptera_). L. 12.
Wing-coverts, externally, widely margined with white; large black ear
marks. _Ads._ All but central pair of tail-feathers bluish slate
with a black band and whitish tip. _Notes._ A loud, crowing
_cookeree-cookeree-coo-ree-coo_, _crow-co-er-coo_, _crow-co-er-coo_.
Range.--Southern border of United States from Texas to Arizona south
to Lower California and Central America, Cuba and Jamaica, casual at
Key West, Florida.
[Illustration: 320.]
=320. Ground Dove; Mourning Dove= (_Columbigallina passerina
terrestris_). L. 6.7. Smallest of our Doves. _Ad._ [Male]. Forehead
and underparts deep vinaceous pink; hindhead and nape ashy blue
margined with dusky; base of bill _coral_, tip black. _Ad._ [Female].
Forehead and breast brownish gray; breast feathers with dusky centers
and margins. _Notes._ A soft, crooning _coo_.
Range.--Atlantic and Gulf States north to northern North Carolina,
west to eastern Texas; more common near coast.
=320a. Mexican Ground Dove= (_C. p. pallescens_). Similar to No. 320,
but forehead and underparts much paler; back grayer.
Range.--Texas to southern California and south to Central America.
=320b. Bermuda Ground Dove= (_C. p. bermudiana_). Similar to 320a, but
smaller and paler; bill wholly black. (Bangs and Bradlee.)
Range.--Bermuda.
[Illustration: 321.]
=321. Inca Dove= (_Scardafella inca_). L. 8. _Ads._ Tail long, outer
feathers tipped with white; plumage above and below margined with
dusky, giving a scaled appearance.
Range.--Southern Texas (San Antonio), southern Mexico and southern
Arizona south to Lower California and Central America.
[Illustration: 322.]
=322. Key West Quail-Dove= (_Geotrygon chrysia_). L. 12. _Ads._ A
white line below eye; belly white; back rich rusty with beautiful,
metallic, purplish, _green_ and _blue_ reflections; tail rusty with no
white.
Range.--Cuba, Hayti, Bahamas and, rarely, Florida Keys.
=322.1. Ruddy Quail-Dove= (_Geotrygon montana_). L. 11. _Ad._ [Male].
No white line below eye; breast dull pinkish; belly deep buff; back
rich rusty with purplish reflections, tail rusty without white. _Ad._
[Female]. Above olive-brown with greenish reflections; below rusty
buff.
Range.--Mexico south to Brazil; West Indies; casual at Key West
Florida.
[Illustration: 323.]
=323. Blue-headed Quail Dove= (_StarnA"nas cyanocephala_). L. 12.
_Ads._ Crown and sides of throat dull blue; middle of upper breast
black with white bars and pinkish tips; belly rusty brown, lower back
as in No. 316. _Notes._ A hollow sounding _hu-up_, the first syllable
long, the second short. (Gundlach.)
Range.--Cuba, and rarely Florida Keys.
Order XII. VULTURES, HAWKS, AND OWLS.
RAPTORES.
Family 1. AMERICAN VULTURES. CathartidA|. 3 species.
Family 2. FALCONS, HAWKS, EAGLES, etc. FalconidA|. 33 species,
13 subspecies.
Family 3. BARN OWLS. StrigidA|. 1 species.
Family 4. HORNED OWLS. BubonidA|. 19 species, 20 subspecies.
In the Raptores we have a group of birds of great value to man but
whose services for the most part, are so little appreciated that, far
from protecting these birds, we have actually persecuted them.
The Vultures, it is true, are given credit for their good work as
scavengers and they are protected both by law and by public sentiment.
Every one knows that a living Vulture is infinitely more useful than a
dead one. As a result throughout countries inhabited by these birds
they are usually both abundant and tame, entering the cities to feed
in the streets with an assurance born of years of immunity from harm.
But how differently their kin of the family FalconidA| act in their
relations to man! 'Wild as a Hawk' has become an adage. These birds
are universally condemned. To kill one is a commendable act. Every
ones hand is raised against them. In some localities a price has
actually been set upon their heads.
A fondness for chickens, it is alleged, is the chief crime of Hawks,
and in popular parlance all Hawks are 'Chicken Hawks' and as such are
to be killed on sight.
Naturalists have long been aware that only one of our common Hawks
habitually preys upon poultry while most of our species, by feeding
largely on meadow mice, are actually beneficial. It was not, however,
until this matter received the attention of the Biological Survey of
the United States Department of Agriculture, that the economic status
of Hawks, as well as of Owls, was placed on a sound scientific basis.
In Dr. A. K. Fisher's report on the food of Hawks and Owls, issued by
the Biologic Survey in 1893, the results of the examination of the
contents of several thousands stomachs of these birds is tabulated. It
is stated, for example, that only three out of two hundred and twenty
stomachs of the so-called 'Chicken' or Red-shouldered Hawk contained
the remains of poultry, while mice were found in no less than one
hundred and two, and insects in ninety-two.
That the Sparrow Hawk is also wrongly named is clear from a study of
its food, only fifty-four out of three hundred and twenty stomachs
examined containing remains of birds, while insects were found in two
hundred and fifteen.
As a matter of fact, among our commoner Hawks, the Cooper and
Sharp-shinned are the only ones feeding largely on birds and poultry,
and if the farmer will take the pains to ascertain what kind of Hawk
it is that pays unwelcome visits to his barn-yard, he will be spared
the injustice of condemning all Hawks for the sins of one or two.
Feeding after sunset, when the small mammals are most active, Owls are
even more beneficial than Hawks. The Great Horned Owl, it is true,
has an undue fondness for poultry, but the bird is generally so rare
near thickly populated regions that on the whole it does comparatively
little harm.
Fortunately, it is those Owls which are most common in settled regions
which are of most value to man. Thus, our little Screech Owl feeds
chiefly on mice and insects. Only one of the two hundred and
fifty-five stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher contained the remains of
poultry while mice were found in ninety-one and insects in one
hundred. Of the Short-eared or Marsh Owl, seventy-seven out of one
hundred and one stomachs contained mice remains, and the same
injurious little rodents were found in eighty-four out of one hundred
and seven stomachs of the Long-eared Owl.