restricted to the more eastern and southern portions of the United
States, while in the parts of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona
adjacent to the southern Rocky Mountains, and thence stretching
southward along the eastern slope of Mexico as far as Orizaba,
there exists another form, essentially different, which, by way of
distinction, has been popularly called the Mexican Turkey. It is from
this species, and not from the other, as has been erroneously supposed
and taught, that the domestic fowl has been derived. Even in this
enlightened age, with so many ornithological teachers on every hand, we
see this mistake propagated by such as know better, and whose business
it is, or ought to be, to have a care that truth shall prevail.
Between the wild bird of Eastern North America and the Mexican and
typical barnyard fowls there are differences which must be apparent
even to the most superficial observer. The extremities of the
tail-feathers, as well as the feathers overlying the base of the tail,
are in the latter creamy or fulvous white, while in the former they are
of a decided chestnut-brown color. Other characteristics exist, but
these only become evident to the keen-sighted ornithologist.
The difficulty experienced in establishing a cross between our wild
and tame birds, shows that they are not as closely related as was once
supposed. Did a near kinship subsist, interbreeding could most readily
be accomplished. With the Mexican Turkey, matters are otherwise. That a
relationship does obtain between the domestic bird and the latter--its
wild original--there can be no question, as specimens of the
naturalized species are often met with which are nearly the counterpart
of its Mexican progenitor, differing only in the greater development
of the fatty appendages of the head and neck, differences which may
be accounted for as the effects of the influences to which the birds
have been subjected by man. No well-authenticated instances of similar
reversions to our once familiar Eastern bird have been known to occur,
which would necessarily have been the case had they been so closely
related as was once maintained.
_Meleagris Mexicana_ affects sparsely-overgrown savannas, and occupies
in Mexico the region of the oaks and the coast--the _tierra caliente_
of geographers. It is a very wary bird, and lives in families. Insects
of divers kinds, but chiefly of a coleopterous character, as well as
the seeds of grasses, constitute its bill of fare. When searching for
food, especially in perilous localities, a sentinel is stationed on the
outskirts of the flock, whose duty it is to announce the presence of
danger. Flight is seldom resorted to at such times, for these birds,
being fleeter of foot than the swiftest dog, are able to escape their
enemies by running.
Toward the close of March, or in the beginning of April, the hens
separate from the males, and seek for themselves nesting-places in
secluded localities. The nest is anything but an elaborate affair,
consisting of a few dry leaves or grasses scratched into a depression
by the side of a prostrate log. Here the eggs--twelve beautiful, oval,
speckled treasures--are laid, and for thirty long, weary days and
nights they are sat upon by their author in her efforts to warm them
into life. When she leaves them, which she does a short time each day
for food, she always takes the necessary precaution to cover them
with leaves, as a protection against cold and intrusion. Nothing will
tempt her to quit the nest when the young are about to be hatched. So
absorbed does she then become that she has been known to submit to
capture rather than endanger the lives of her offspring.
No human mother manifests deeper affection for her children than does
this bird of the prairie for hers. She fondles and dries them after
they have escaped from their prison-houses, and tenderly helps them out
of the nest. It is now that her cares may be said to commence. Where
their interest and well-being are concerned, hardly any responsibility
is too great for her to assume. She leads them into pleasant pastures,
teaches them to know good from bad foods, and acquaints them with
all the devices and subterfuges practised for eluding man and other
enemies. But it is not long that they are thus subservient to maternal
wisdom and forethought, for in fourteen days they are old enough to
scratch for a living, and to seek shelter and security from lawlessness
and cruelty. Their _menu_ consists of wheat, berries, grasses,
earth-worms, and all kinds of terrestrial insects.
When summer is over, the different families of the same neighborhood
come together, unite in one large flock, and travel over the country
for food. The males emerge from their meeting-places and join the
moving army, and parents and young have nothing to do but to feed
vigorously and grow fat. Late in October, or early in November, they
begin to attract the attention of gunners, and thousands are killed
for the market, where they are in eager demand by all lovers of good
living.
AMERICAN OSPREY.
_Pandion haliætus_, as the Fish Hawk or Osprey is called in
ornithological language, is found from the fur region surrounding
Hudson’s Bay to Central America, and from Labrador to Florida,
excepting Boston Harbor, on the Atlantic Coast, and almost from Alaska
to the southern extremity of the peninsula of Lower California on the
Pacific seaboard. Birds have been known to nest on the rocky islands
of California, and about Sitka, according to Bischoff, as well as
along the small streams in the vicinity of Nulato. From Long Island to
Chesapeake they breed in vast communities, which often number several
hundred pairs, but away from the sea-coast they are only occasionally
met with on the margins of rivers and lakes. Dr. Hayden found several
pairs nesting on the summit of high cottonwood trees in the Wind River
Mountains, and Mr. Allen observed the birds particularly abundant
about the lakes of the Upper St. John’s River in Florida, six nests
being noticeable within a single circle of vision. Salvin claims that
they nest on both coasts of Central America, but more especially about
Balize, although on the islands of Trinidad, St. Croix, Jamaica and
Cuba they are seen at all times except during the breeding-season.
Below Philadelphia, and in the south-eastern counties of Pennsylvania
bordering on the Delaware, individuals have been occasionally observed.
Their arrival is about the beginning of March, often when the streams
which they frequent are fettered with icy bonds, and their departure
occurs about the twenty-fifth of September, and frequently, especially
when the weather is remarkably fine, as late as the fifteenth of
October. Well-established communities, numbering more than fifty pairs,
have been met within the swamps of Southern New Jersey, among whom the
best order and most perfect harmony prevailed. Few species display
less shyness and greater confidence, or are more eminently social, as
is particularly shown when these birds take up their quarters in close
proximity to occupied dwellings, or by the side of frequented by-paths
and highways. Where undisturbed, the same localities are visited year
after year. Their exclusive piscine habits secure for them free and
unlimited sway in their carefully chosen abodes, for the poultry has
nothing to fear, and the smaller birds are not intimidated by their
presence and sent screaming to their coverts as they do even when
pursued by the little sparrow hawk. Wilson cites a case where four
nests of the common purple grackle were built within the interstices
of an Osprey’s nest, and a fifth on an adjoining branch, and the
Osprey was quite tolerant of such intrusion and freedom. The writer
has observed a nest of the grackle built in a similar position, while
all around the great Hawk’s home, and scarcely five rods distant, were
nests of the robin, wood thrush, red-winged blackbird and others, and
no annoyance was known to occur, the Ospreys carefully attending to
their own business and scarcely noticing their more humble brethren.
Their bitterest enemy is the white-headed eagle, against whom the
united attacks of many of these birds are concentrated when he has the
audacity to venture within their hunting-grounds or breeding-quarters,
for they are too familiar with his powerful muscularity and courageous
disposition to attempt a single attack. When an Osprey is pursued by
this king of the forest and hunting-ground, his loud, vociferous cries
of distress, resounding far and near, evoke an army of defenders,
who come with all possible speed to wreak vengeance upon the great
arch-enemy of their pleasures and happiness. These attacks are made
for the purpose of compelling the Osprey to drop his prey or disgorge,
which the superior bird, if his efforts have been successful, pounces
down upon and seizes before it has had time to reach the water or
ground.
[Illustration: NEST OF AMERICAN OSPREY.
Manner of Securing Food for Young.]
Powerful as the flight of the Fish Hawk is, yet it is never very high,
nor much protracted. While skimming over the water’s surface, even at a
moderate elevation, his quick eye soon descries his quarry, and, in an
instant, he pounces down with tremendous force below the water’s level,
often to a great distance, but seldom missing his prey. Arising from
his watery bath, he moves off to a suitable perch to digest his meal at
leisure. But should the movement attract the keen vision of the bald
eagle, who is generally waiting in some secret covert, or sailing so
high up in the air as to be almost invisible, the Osprey swallows his
victim if small, or seeks to bear it away in his talons to a position
of shelter and safety, but, rather than endure the too near approach of
his more powerful relative, drops it to the infinite delight and great
satisfaction of the latter. Where a suitable tree, or a commanding
stump, presents itself by the side of his chosen fishing-grounds, he
may be seen perched thereon for hours together, gazing into the liquid
depths below for the finny tribes that sport therein, and ever and anon
swooping down with amazing velocity and bearing up in his resistless
talons the squirming victim. In shallow places his mode of capture
is regulated in conformity with their character, gliding over their
surface and clutching at his victims as they come within sight.
The food of the Osprey consists mainly of fish, although the reptiles
and batrachians that inhabit the swamps and marshes wherein he builds
do not escape his vigilance. Almost all kinds of fish, except the
very largest, which would be more than a match for his strength, are
captured and devoured with avidity. We have watched with a great deal
of interest and pleasure his piscatorial pursuits on the shores of
Delaware Bay, and have often seen him bear from great depths fish much
larger than the common shad. The latter, together with the herring,
striped bass and black bass, are favorite articles of diet, while his
catchings from fresh-water streams, the larger cyprinidonts, cat-fish
and pumpkin-seed, are quite as great luxuries.
When the nesting-time comes around, the last of April or the beginning
of May, these birds are not so engrossed with the thoughts of feeding
as to be utterly oblivious of the duties which it imposes. Generally
the same nest is selected year after year, but when a new one is to
be constructed it is not uncommon to find many pairs engaged in its
building, the friends of the destitute assembling and laboring with the
most determined energy till its completion. A more sociable disposition
could hardly be conceived. The spirit which would lead these birds
to fly to the assistance of a distressed companion would certainly
induce them to co-operate with their brethren in the difficult task of
nest-building, especially when such a bulky structure as the species
is known to construct would severely task both the time and patience
of the pair which is to occupy it. The vast amount of labor and time
expended in rearing such a fabric is a sufficient inducement for them
not to want to indulge in such employment any more than is absolutely
necessary. Hence these nests are constructed for durability. Unlike
his European congener, whose nest is placed upon a high cliff, the
Osprey almost invariably builds on trees. All nests taken by the writer
have seldom been at a greater elevation than fifteen feet, although
instances have been recorded where they were twice that height. It is a
remarkable fact that the trees supporting these nests are always dead
and generally placed in the midst of marshy ground, either completely
isolated or surrounded by a dense growth of bushes. At all events, they
occupy rather conspicuous positions. It is probable that the excrement
of the birds or the saline character of their food has much to do with
killing the nesting-trees. Trees which seem vigorous and thrifty at
first manifest after a year’s occupancy unmistakable signs of death.
Not always are trees selected for nesting purposes, for a Mr. W. H.
Edwards describes a nest built on a tall cliff on the banks of the
Hudson River, not very far from West Point.
Externally the nest is composed of large sticks piled to a height
varying from two to five feet, and measuring fully three feet in
diameter. Corn-stalks, mullein-stocks and bark are occasionally
intermingled with the sticks, but within there is a rather profuse
lining of sea-weed and the long grasses which grow so luxuriantly in
salt-water marshes. The cavity ranges from fourteen to fifteen inches
in diameter, and is unusually shallow in proportion to the size of the
nest.
Three eggs constitute the usual nest-complement, although two
are sometimes laid, and rarely four, and these are deposited
on consecutive or alternate days, at the rate of one egg a day.
They measure about two and one-half inches in length and one and
three-fourths in width, and are of a yellowish-white color, thickly
covered with large blotches of different shades of brown. Incubation
follows close upon the last deposit, the task being begun by the
female, and devolving principally upon her, although the male
occasionally relieves her for a brief spell each day. While she is
on the nest, he is a jealous husband and a most faithful provider.
The choicest catch of his piscatorial exploits is carried directly to
the nest and ungrudgingly administered to the patient sitter. When
not engaged in providing for their wants he stations himself upon an
adjoining tree, if such should happen to be present, or somewhere in
the immediate neighborhood, and exercises the closest surveillance over
the nest and its occupant. All attempts at intrusion are most summarily
punished. Dr. Brewer mentions a case where a lad essayed to reach the
nest in order to rob it of its eggs, when he was assailed with so much
violence that the male’s talons were driven through a cloth cap that he
wore and laid bare the scalp. Experience has proved the risk incurred
in visiting these nests with hostile intentions. You may pass and
repass underneath the nest, the authors criticising your every movement
the while, without calling forth the slightest opposition. When,
however, you attempt to mount the tree that contains their cherished
treasures, you virtually invite the full measure of their wrath. That
the male is affectionately devoted to his partner is shown by Wilson in
a case which he cites of a female who was prevented from fishing by a
broken leg and that was abundantly supplied with food by her mate.
When the young appear they are objects of more than common parental
solicitude, the parents vying with each other in rendering them every
needed attention and in providing them with a plentiful supply of
suitable food. But one parent is absent from the nest at a time, the
other remaining at home to guard against danger. They are ravenous
feeders, and soon attain to full development, when they resemble
very closely in dress their parents, having the upper parts spotted
with pale reddish-brown or white. Adult birds are dark-brown or
grayish-brown above, with most of the head, neck and under parts white,
the chest in the female, and sometimes in the male, being spotted with
brown. The tail, usually paler than the back, has six or seven dusky
bars, and is tipped with white.
That these birds may be fitted for powerful flight they are provided
with long and pointed wings, the second and third quills being the
longest. They have a stout bill, with a very long hook and sharp end.
Their feathers are oily to resist water, those of the head being
lengthened and pointed, and of the thighs and a little of the front
parts of the tarsi short and close together. The legs, tarsi and feet
are very strong and robust, and the claws all of the same length and
very large and sharp. Rough scales completely invest the tarsi, and
the toes are padded below and covered with numerous hard-pointed
projections to aid in holding their slippery prey. The iris in some
specimens is reddish, but mostly yellow; the bill and claws blue-black,
and the tarsi and toes grayish-blue. Male birds are not so large as the
females, the latter measuring twenty-five inches in length, and with an
extent of wings of fifty-two inches.
TURKEY BUZZARD.
Few species, if any, have a wider distribution in America than the
Turkey Buzzard. It is found more or less abundantly to the Saskatchewan
throughout North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast,
and in all portions of South America as far south as the Strait of
Magellan. Individuals have been met with in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, though these birds are generally not common north of Central
New Jersey. From Eastern Maine, in the neighborhood of Calais, to
Connecticut, specimens have occasionally been captured. In a single
instance, Mr. Lawrence observed a small company of nine at Rockaway,
Long Island. West of the Alleghenies, from Central America nearly to
the Arctic regions, it occurs more abundantly. Without exception, it is
found in greater or less numbers in all the Middle, Western, Southern
and North-western States. From Lower California to Washington, along
the Pacific, numerous parties attest to its common occurrence. The West
Indies, the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad, the last-named in
particular, include it within their faunæ. Honduras and Guatemala, as
well as the Falkland Islands, off the eastern coast of Patagonia, are
permanent residing-places.
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the writer has had abundant
opportunities for studying the species, these Vultures summer quite
plentifully. From their first appearance, in March, large numbers
may be seen high up in the air, moving in large circles, apparently
exploring the ground below for their favorite articles of food. In
rural districts they are, however, more frequently observed than
in the vicinity of densely-populated towns, the greater abundance
of carrion to be met with in the former places doubtless being the
cause of this preference. But in California and Oregon, according to
Dr. Newberry, they are quite as common near towns as about the large
rivers. In our Southern States they visit cities and large villages,
and play the part of scavengers in company with the black vulture. They
are said to be so tame and unsuspicious in Kingston, Jamaica, that they
roost upon the house-tops or prey upon offal in the streets. In country
places they are no less familiar and trustful, as is evidenced while
feeding. So intent upon their business are they at this time that the
presence of human beings is unnoticed, and even when forced to forsake
their booty they sullenly repair to a short distance, only to resume
their feeding when the annoyance has passed. The common crow has been
observed to gather around the same food, and the utmost good-feeling
prevailed. A small flock will often settle down upon a dead horse
around which several dogs have gathered. The snapping and snarling
of the dogs, when they approach them too closely, do not cause the
Vultures to retire, but only to step a few paces aside, when, nothing
daunted, they continue their feeding, apparently oblivious of their
whereabouts and surroundings.
Although the sense of sight is rather keenly developed in these birds,
yet that of smell is none the less so. This is an advantage, for both
the visual and olfactory organs seem requisite in the determination of
the presence of decaying animal matters. As a proof that smell leads
to food-detection, Dr. Brewer cites an instance, on the authority of
Dr. Hill, where several of these birds were attracted to the house of a
German emigrant who was prostrated by fever, being drawn by the strong
odor escaping from his neglected food which had become putrid. Mr. G.
C. Taylor, whilst a resident of Kingston, sufficiently tested their
power of smell. He wrapped the carcass of a bird in a piece of paper,
and flung the parcel into the summit of a densely-leaved tree, that
stood in close proximity to his window. A moment or two only elapsed,
when the keen smell of these birds scented something edible, but they
were unable to find it, obviously for the reason that it was hidden
from view by the enveloping paper.
Generally their food consists of all kinds of animal matter. They are
often accused of sucking eggs, and also of eating the young of herons,
as well as those of other birds. In Trinidad, they are said to live
on friendly terms with the poultry. As no breach of faith has been
reported to have occurred in this instance, it is not likely that
they would molest in any way our smaller birds, at least we are not
cognizant of any such cases of interference from our own observation,
nor do we find them in the recorded experiences of friends. They
are worse-disposed, it seems to us, to their own kith. When several
are feeding together, most violent wrangles occur over the booty.
Each strives to get the lion’s share. It is amusing to witness their
manœuvres. Some luckless fellow has just discovered a choice and racy
bit, which he is endeavoring to make off with in a somewhat hurried
manner, when instantly he is beset by a near companion, who has
scarcely swallowed his own morsel. A conflict ensues. The latter, being
the stronger, succeeds after a little in defrauding the other of his
rightful property. When gorged, these birds are stupid and indisposed
to exertion, the period of digestion ordinarily being passed in a
motionless, listless attitude, with half-opened wings.
Recovered from their semi-stupid condition, they do not at once go to
feeding again, but spend a long time in the healthful exercise of their
volant appendages. Few birds are more graceful, easy and dignified
while on the wing. On the ground they may seem awkward, but it is
while soaring at a great height above the earth that they are seen in
all their glory. When prepared for lofty flights, they spring from
the ground with a single bound, and, after a few quick flappings of
wings, move heavenward. Attaining a great elevation, they cleave the
ether in ever-widening circles, or sail on nearly horizontal wings, the
tips being slightly raised, with steady, uniform motion. These aerial
diversions, for such they seem to be, are never performed singly, but
in small parties of a dozen or more, being more common in early spring,
and at the close of the breeding-season, than at any other time. It is
to be observed further that these movements are executed in silence,
the only sounds which the Buzzards are capable of producing being a
kind of hiss, which has not inaptly been compared to the seething noise
emitted by plunging a hot iron in a vessel of water.