lake, on the margin of which I stood, revolving in my mind the many
enjoyments which the Author of nature has benignantly accorded to
his creatures. The air was clear and serene, and the waters spread
before me without a ruffle on their surface. The notes of the Rail
came loudly on my ear, and on moving towards the spot whence they
proceeded, I observed the bird exhibiting the full ardour of his
passion. Now with open wings raised over its body, it ran around its
beloved, opening and flirting its tail with singular speed. Each time
it passed before her, it would pause for a moment, raise itself to the
full stretch of its body and legs, and bow to her with all the grace
of a well-bred suitor of our own species. The female also bowed in
recognition, and at last, as the male came nearer and nearer in his
circuits, yielded to his wishes, on which the pair flew off in the
manner of house-pigeons, sailing and balancing their bodies on open
wings until out of sight. During this exhibition, the male emitted
a mellow note, resembling the syllables _cuckoe, cuckoe_, to which
the female responded with the kind of lisping sound uttered by young
birds of the species when newly hatched.
Excepting our Little Partridge, I know no bird so swift of foot as the
Virginian Rail. In fact, I doubt if it would be an easy matter for
an active man to outstrip one of them on plain ground; and to trust
to one’s speed for raising one among the thick herbage to which they
usually resort, would certainly prove fallacious. There they run to
a short distance, then tack about, and again scud away in a lateral
direction, so as to elude the best dog, or if likely to be overtaken,
rise on wing, fly with dangling legs eight or ten yards, drop among
the weeds, and run off as swiftly as before. Notwithstanding all this,
I managed to secure a good number of them by means of a partridge
net, setting the wings of that apparatus at very obtuse angles, and
calling them by imitating the lisping notes of the female from some
distance beyond the bag of the net. Now and then I found them too
cunning for me, as, on discovering that the wings of the net were in
their way, they would get over it in the same manner as that in which
a sailor mounts the shrouds of a ship. Our Common Coot uses the same
artifice, as I shall elsewhere describe.
The nest of the Virginian Rail is not easily found after incubation
has commenced, for then the male, contrary to the habits of most
birds, becomes comparatively silent, and the female quite mute. At
such times I have once or twice almost trodden on one, which I should
never have discovered, had not the poor bird fluttered off in despair,
employing all the artifices used by other species on such occasions.
It is placed on a small elevation formed by the accumulation of
the stalks of a large bunch of grasses, in the centre of which some
dry weeds are arranged to the height of two or three inches, with a
very shallow cavity. The eggs are four or five, seldom more than six
or seven, and resemble in colour those of the _Rallus crepitans_,
although smaller, measuring an inch and a quarter in length, by
eleven-twelfths in breadth, and being rather more rounded. The young
are covered with a jet black down, and run after their mother as soon
as they make their escape from the egg;—at least I suppose this to
be the case, on account of my having caught some that seemed newly
hatched. The mother leads them with the greatest care among the long
grass of the damp meadows, or the weeds growing near the ponds, to
which they resort at all times, and particularly near the margins
of pools or muddy streams, into which they run and disperse on the
least appearance of danger. When no water is near, the little ones
squat in silence, and await the call of their parent, to which all
at once answer, when they quickly collect once more around her.
This species is able to cling to, and climb along the blades of tall
grasses, even under water, when in danger, and is equally able to swim
gracefully to a considerable distance, as to alight on low bushes, in
which situation I have shot a few of them. When amid the broad leaves
of water-lilies, they walk and run on them with as much ease as the
Gallinules; and I would be inclined to assign them an intermediate
station between the genera Rallus and Crex, as they partake of the
habits of both. When pursued, the Virginian Rail is, with great
difficulty, put up, as I have already mentioned, but when it is once
on wing it may be shot by a very ordinary gunner. It rises without
noise, flies off with its legs dangling and its neck stretched out,
but seldom proceeds farther than twenty or thirty yards at a time,
unless when it has a stream to cross, or during its migrations. Like
all the other species with which I am acquainted, it feeds both by
day and by night. Its food consists of small slugs, snails, aquatic
insects, worms, crustacea, and the seeds of those grasses which grow
in salt or fresh water marshes, in either of which they reside and
even breed. I have not been able to ascertain whether they lay more
than once in the season; but, on account of the comparatively small
number of this species, I am inclined to suppose that they seldom
raise more than one brood, unless their eggs have been destroyed,
whether by inundation or otherwise.
The Virginian Rail is not without enemies; and, although it manifests
a good deal of courage, and at times acts towards the Marsh Hawk
in the same manner as the _Rallus crepitans_, it seldom succeeds in
its attempts, and on several occasions I have seen that bird seize
them as they attempted to strike it with their bill and claws for
the purpose of driving it away. The minx, the garfish, the snapping
turtle, and sometimes eels, destroy them, as well as the Sora Rail.
Whilst at Charleston in South Carolina, I frequently saw little strings
of these birds exposed in the market, at a very low price; and they
are excellent eating during autumn and winter. Their comparative
scarcity, however, prevents the gunner from searching after them with
the same eagerness as he pursues the _Rallus crepitans_, and to shoot
a dozen in the course of a day may be considered a remarkable feat.
In that country, during the latter part of autumn, and in winter,
they are usually met with in the salt-marshes bordering the estuaries
of large rivers.
Like the two preceding species, the Virginian Rail has the power of
contracting its body to enable it to pass with more ease between the
stalks of strong grasses or other plants. When observed unseen, it
frequently jerks the tail upwards, in the manner of Gallinules, but
the moment it notices any one of its enemies, it droops the tail,
lowers its head, and runs off with the quickness of thought.
The young of this species are at first of a black colour, like that of
_Rallus crepitans_ and _R. elegans_; but, like those of the latter,
attain the rufous hue of the parent birds before the commencement of
winter, although they increase in size and improve in the depth of
their tints probably for several years.
RALLUS VIRGINIANUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 263.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 334.
RALLUS AQUATICUS, var. _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 755.
VIRGINIAN RAIL, RALLUS VIRGINIANUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. vii. p. 109. pl. 62. fig. 2.
LESSER CLAPPER RAIL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 205.
Adult Male. Plate CCV. Fig. 1.
Bill longer than the head, slender, compressed, slightly curved, deep
at the base. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly curved, the
ridge flattish at the base, and extending a little on the forehead,
convex and narrow towards the end; a deep groove runs on either side
parallel to the ridge for two-thirds of the whole length; the edges
inflected, with a very slight notch close to the tip. Nostrils lateral,
linear, direct, open and pervious. Lower mandible with the angle
very long, extremely narrow, the sides erect, slightly convex, the
edges inflected, the tip narrowed, the dorsal and marginal outlines
slightly arched.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long. Body slender,
much compressed. Feet rather long; tibia bare a considerable way above
the joint; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, anteriorly covered
with broad scutella, posteriorly with smaller, and on the sides
reticulated. Hind toe very small and slender, middle toe longest,
fourth considerably shorter, and but little longer than the second;
toes free, scutellate above, compressed, granulate beneath. Claws of
moderate length, arched, slender, much compressed, acute, flat and
marginate beneath.
Plumage rather stiff, compact, slightly glossed on the back. Feathers
of the head and neck short and blended; of the forehead with the shaft
enlarged and extended beyond the tip. Wings very short and broad;
alula large; primaries curved, broad, tapering, but obtuse, third
longest, second very little shorter, first and sixth about equal;
secondaries broad and rounded. Tail extremely short, much rounded,
of twelve feeble rounded feathers; the upper and lower tail-coverts
nearly as long as the tail-feathers.
Bill dark brown, the lower mandible and edges of upper yellowish-brown.
Iris bright red. Feet yellowish-brown, tinged with olive; claws more
dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is deep brownish-black,
with streaks of light olive-brown; sides of the head dull bluish-grey,
loral space of a deeper tint; a brownish-orange line over the eye.
Alula, primary quills, and tail blackish-brown; secondary quills
like the back, but edged with greenish-brown, smaller coverts
dark chestnut. Throat reddish-white; fore neck and breast bright
orange-brown, approaching to yellowish-red; sides, abdomen, and lower
wing-coverts barred with brownish-black and white, the bands of the
latter narrower; tibial feathers dusky anteriorly, light reddish
behind. Lower tail-coverts each with a central brownish-black spot,
the edges white, the tips pale reddish.
Length to end of tail 10-1/2 inches, to end of claws 13, extent of
wings 14-1/4; bill 1-7/12; tarsus 1-5/12, middle toe and claw 1-9/12;
wing from flexure 4-1/2, tail 1-10/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCV. Fig. 2.
The Female is considerably smaller than the male, but resembles it
in colouring, only the dark tints of the upper parts are lighter, the
chestnut of the wings paler, and the lower parts of a less bright red.
Length 9-1/4.
Young bird fledged. Plate CCV. Fig. 3.
When fully fledged the young does not differ materially in colour
from the old, the tints being merely somewhat duller.
In colouring this species is so nearly allied to _R. elegans_, that
the description of the one might pass very well for that of the other;
the principal difference being that the sides of the head are grey
in the former, and dusky in the latter. Of course, the difference
in size and habits is sufficient to prevent their being confounded
together.
THE AMERICAN SUN PERCH.
Few of our smaller fresh-water fishes excel either in beauty or in
delicacy and flavour the species which I have chosen as the subject of
this article, and few afford more pleasure to young fishers. Although
it occurs in all our streams, whether rapid or gentle, small or large,
in the mill-dam overshadowed by tall forest-trees, or in the open
lake margined with reeds, you must never expect to find it in impure
waters. Let the place be deep or shallow, broad or narrow, the water
must be clear enough to allow the sun’s rays to fall unimpaired on
the rich coat of mail that covers the body of the Sun-fish. Look at
him as he poises himself under the lee of the protecting rock beneath
our feet! See how steadily he maintains his position, and yet how many
rapid motions of his fins are necessary to preserve it! Now another
is by his side, glowing with equal beauty, and poising itself by
equally easy and graceful movements. The sun is shining, and under
the lee of every stone and sunk log, some of the little creatures
are rising to the surface, to enjoy the bright blaze, which enhances
all their beauty. The golden hues of some parts of the body blend
with the green of the emerald, while the coral tints of the lower
parts and the red of its sparkling eye, render our little favourite
a perfect gem of the waters.
The rushing stream boils and gurgles as it forces its way over the
obstacles presented by its bed, the craggy points, large stones, and
logs that are strewn along the bottom. Every one of these proves a
place of rest, safety and observation to the little things, whose eyes
are ever anxiously watching their favourite prey as it passes. There
an unfortunate moth, swept along by the current, labours in vain to
extricate itself from the treacherous element; its body, indeed, at
intervals, rises a little above the surface, but its broad wings,
now wet and heavy, bear it down again to the water. The Sun-fish has
marked it, and as it passes his retreat, he darts towards it, with
twenty of his fellows, all eager to seize the prize. The swiftest
swallows it in a moment, and all immediately return to their lurking
places, where they fancy themselves secure. But, alas, the Sun-fish is
no more without enemies than the moth, or any other living creature.
So has Nature determined, evidently to promote prudence and industry,
without which none can reap the full advantage of life.
On the top of yon miller’s dam stands boldly erect the ardent fisher.
Up to the knees, and regardless of the danger of his situation, he
prepares his apparatus of destruction. A keen hook attached to his
grass-line is now hid within the body of a worm or grasshopper. With
a knowing eye he marks one after another every surge of the water
below. Observing the top of a rock scarcely covered, he sends his
hook towards it with gentleness and certainty; the bait now floats
and anon sinks; his reel slowly lengthens the line, which is suddenly
tightened, and he feels that a fish is secured. Now whirls the reel
again, thrice has the fish tried its utmost strength and speed, but,
soon panting and exhausted, it is seen floating for a moment on the
surface. Nothing now is required but to bring it to hand, which done,
the angler baits anew, and sends forth the treacherous morsel. For an
hour or more he continues the agreeable occupation, drawing from the
stream a fish at every short interval. To the willow-twig fastened
to his waist, a hundred “sunnies” are already attached. Suddenly the
sky is overcast, and the crafty fisher, although aware that, with
a different hook and bait, he might soon procure a fine eel or two,
carefully wades to the shore, and homeward leisurely plods his way.
In this manner are the sun-fishes caught by the regular or “scientific”
anglers, and a beautiful sight it is to see the ease and grace with
which they allure the objects of their desire, whether in the open
turbulence of the waters, or under the low boughs of the overhanging
trees, where, in some deep hole, a swarm of the little creatures
may be playing in fancied security. Rarely does his tackle become
entangled, whilst, with incomparable dexterity, he draws one after
another from the waters.
Thousands of individuals, however, there are, who, less curious in
their mode of fishing, often procure as many sunnies without allowing
them to play for a moment. Look at these boys! One stands on the shore,
while the others are on fallen trees that project over the stream.
Their rods, as you perceive, are merely shoots of the hazel or hickory,
their lines are simply twine, and their hooks none of the finest. One
has a calabash filled with worms and grubs of many sorts, kept alive
in damp earth, and another is supplied with a bottle containing half
a gross of live “hoppers;” the third has no bait at all, but borrows
from his nearest neighbour. Well, there they are, “three merry boys,”
whirling their rods in the air to unrol their lines, on one of which,
you observe, a cork is fastened, while on another is a bit of light
wood, and on the third a grain or two of large shot, to draw it at
once to a certain depth. Now their hooks are baited, and all are
ready. Each casts his line as he thinks best, after he has probed the
depth of the stream with his rod, to enable him to place his buoy at
the proper point. Bob, bob, goes the cork; down it moves; the bit
of wood disappears; the leaded line tightens; in a moment up swing
the sunnies, which, getting unhooked, are projected far among the
grass, where they struggle in vain, until death ends their efforts.
The hooks are now baited anew, and dropped into the water. The fish
is abundant, the weather propitious and delightful, for it is now
October, and so greedy have the sunnies become of grasshoppers and
grubs, that dozens at once dash at the same bait. The lads, believe
me, have now rare sport, and in an hour scarcely a fish remains in
the hole. The happy children have caught perhaps some hundreds of
delicious “pan-fish,” to feed their parents, and delight their little
sisters. Surely their pleasure is fully as great as that experienced
by the scientific angler.
I have known instances when the waters of a dam having been let out,
for some reason better known to the miller than to myself, all the
sun-fish have betaken themselves to one or two deep holes, as if to
avoid being carried away from their favourite abode. There I have seen
them in such multitudes that one could catch as many as he pleased
with a pinhook, fastened to any sort of line, and baited with any
sort of worm or insect, or even with a piece of a newly caught fish.
Yet, and I am not able to account for it, all of a sudden, without
apparent cause, they would cease to take, and no allurement whatever
could entice them or the other fishes in the pool to seize the hook.
During high freshets, this species of perch seldom bites at any thing,
but you may procure them with a cast-net or a seine, provided you are
well acquainted with the localities. On the contrary, when the waters
are low and clear, every secluded hole, every eddy under the lee of
a rock, every place sheltered by a raft of timber, will afford you
amusement. In some parts of the Southern States, the Negroes procure
these fishes late in the autumn in shallow ponds or bayous, by wading
through the water with caution, and placing at every few steps a
wicker apparatus, not unlike a small barrel, open at both ends. The
moment the fishes find themselves confined within the lower part of
this, which is pressed to the bottom of the stream, their skippings
announce their capture, and the fisher secures his booty.
This species, the _Labrus auritus_ of Linnæus, the _Pomotis vulgaris_
of Cuvier, seldom exceeds five or six inches in length, but is rather
deep in proportion. The usual size is from four to five inches, with
a depth of from two to two and a half. They are not bony, and at
all seasons afford delicate eating. Having observed a considerable
change in their colour in different parts of the United States; and
in different streams, ponds, or lakes, I was led to think that this
curious effect might be produced by the difference of colour in the
water. Thus, the Sun-fish caught in the deep waters of Green River,
in Kentucky, exhibit a depth of olive-brown quite different from the
general tint of those caught in the colourless waters of the Ohio
or Schuylkill; those of the reddish-coloured waters of the Bayous
of the Louisiana swamps, look as if covered with a coppery tarnish;
and, lastly, those met with in streams that glide beneath cedars or
other firs, have a pale and sallow complexion.
The Sun Perch, wherever found, seems to give a decided preference to
sandy, gravelly, or rocky beds of streams, avoiding those of which
the bottom is muddy. At the period of depositing their eggs, this
preference is still more apparent. The little creature is then seen
swimming rapidly over shallows, the bed of which is mostly formed of
fine gravel, when after a while it is observed to poise itself and
gradually sink to the bottom, where with its fin it pushes aside the
sand to the extent of eight or ten inches, thus forming a circular
cavity. In a few days a little ridge is thus raised around, and in
the cleared area the roe is deposited. By wading carefully over the
extent of the place, a person may count forty, fifty, or more of these
beds, some within a few feet of each other, and some several yards
apart. Instead of abandoning its spawn, as others of the family are
wont to do, this little fish keeps guard over it with all the care
of a sitting bird. You observe it poised over the bed, watching the
objects around. Should the rotten leaf of a tree, a piece of wood, or
any other substance, happen to be rolled over the border of the bed,
the Sun-fish carefully removes it, holding the obnoxious matter in its
mouth, and dropping it over the margin. Having many times witnessed
this act of prudence and cleanliness in the little sunny, and observed
that at this period it will not seize on any kind of bait, I took
it into my head one fair afternoon to make a few experiments for the
purpose of judging how far its instinct or reason might induce it to
act when disturbed or harassed.
Provided with a fine fishing-line, and such insects as I knew were
relished by this fish, I reached a sand-bar covered by about one foot
of water, where I had previously seen many deposits. Approaching the
nearest to the shore with great care, I baited my hook with a living
ground-worm, the greater part of which was left at liberty to writhe
as it pleased, and throwing the line up the stream, managed it so
that at last it passed over the border of the nest, when I allowed it
to remain on the bottom. The fish, I perceived, had marked me, and
as the worm intruded on its premises, he swam to the farther side,
there poised himself for a few moments, then approached the worm,
and carried it in his mouth over the side next to me, with a care
and gentleness so very remarkable as to afford me much surprise. I
repeated the experiment six or seven times, and always with the same
result. Then changing the bait, I employed a young grasshopper, which
I floated into the egg-bed. The insect was removed, as the worm had
been, and two attempts to hook the fish proved unsuccessful. I now
threw my line with the hook bare, and managed as before. The sunny
appeared quite alarmed. It swam to one side, then to another, in
rapid succession, and seemed to entertain a fear that the removal of
the suspicious object might prove extremely dangerous to it. Yet it
gradually approached the hook, took it delicately up, and the next
instant dropped it over the edge of the bed!
Reader, if you are one who, like me, have studied Nature with a
desire to improve your mental faculties, and contemplate the wonderful
phenomena that present themselves to the view at every step we take
in her wide domain, you would have been struck, had you witnessed the
actions of this little fish, as I was, with admiration of the Being
who gave such instincts to so humble an object. I gazed in amazement
on the little creature, and wondered that nature had endowed it
with such feelings and powers. The irrepressible desire of acquiring
knowledge prompted me to continue the experiment; but with whatever
dexterity I could in those days hook a fish, all my efforts proved
abortive, not with this individual only, but with many others, which
I subjected to the same trials.
Satisfied that at this period the Sun-fish was more than a match for
me, I rolled up my line, and with the rod gave a rap on the water as
nearly over the fish as I could. The sunny darted off to a distance
of several yards, poised itself steadily, and as soon as my rod was
raised from the water, returned to its station. The effect of the
blow on the water was now apparent, for I perceived that the fish was
busily employed in smoothing the bed; but here ended my experiments
on the Sun-fish.
THE WOOD DUCK.
_ANAS SPONSA_, LINN.
PLATE CCVI. MALES, FEMALES, AND NEST.