or on high trees. In the latter case, they leave their feeding-ground
about an hour before sun-set, and going off in silence, proceed towards
the interior of high land forests, where they alight on the largest
branches of lofty trees, six or seven settling on the same branch.
For half an hour or so, they usually dress their plumage, standing
erect: but afterwards they crouch in the manner of Wild Turkeys. In
this situation they are sometimes shot by moonlight. Those which
resort to plantations, situated in the vicinity of large marshes,
covered with tall grasses, cat’s tails, and other plants, spend the
night on some hillock, standing on one leg, the other being drawn
under the body, whilst the head is thrust beneath the broad feathers
of the shoulder. In returning towards the feeding grounds, they all
emit their usual note, but in a very low undertone, leaving their
roost at an earlier or later hour, according to the state of the
weather. When it is cold and clear, they start very early; but when
warm and rainy, not until late in the morning. Their motions toward
night are determined by the same circumstances. They rise easily from
the ground after running a few steps, fly low for thirty or forty
yards, then rise in circles, crossing each other in their windings,
like Vultures, Ibises, and some other birds. If startled or shot
at, they utter loud and piercing cries. These cries, which I cannot
compare to the sounds of any instrument known to me, I have heard
at the distance of three miles, at the approach of spring, when the
males were paying their addresses to the females, or fighting among
themselves. They may be in some degree represented by the syllables
_kewrr_, _kewrr_, _kewrooh_; and strange and uncouth as they are,
they have always sounded delightful in my ear.
In December 1833, I sent my son to Spring Island, on the coast of
Georgia, to which these birds are in the habit of resorting every
winter. Mr HAMMOND, the proprietor of this island, treated him with
all the hospitality for which the southern planters are celebrated.
The Cranes, which were plentiful, resorted to the sweet potato fields,
digging up their produce as expertly as a troop of negroes. They walked
carefully over the little heaps, probed them in various parts in the
manner of Woodcocks or Snipes, and whenever they hit upon a potato,
removed the soil, took out the root, and devoured it in rather small
pieces. In this manner they would search over the whole field, which
was two miles in length, and rather more than a quarter of a mile in
breadth, gleaning all the potatoes that had escaped the gatherers.
They were so shy, however, that notwithstanding all the endeavours
of my son, who is a good hand at getting in upon game, as well as a
good shot, he only killed a young one, which was evidently of that
year’s brood, it being yet almost reddish-brown, the long feathers
of the rump just beginning to shew, and the head yet covered with
hairlike feathers to the mandible, and merely shewing between them the
wrinkled skin so conspicuous in the old birds. The specimen procured
on Spring Island was carefully examined and described, and the skin is
now in the British Museum in London. Its flesh was tender and juicy,
of a colour resembling that of young venison, and afforded excellent
eating. This I have always found to be the case with young birds of
this species, so long as they are in their brown livery, and even
when they have begun to be patched with white; but in old birds the
flesh becomes very dark, tough and unfit for the table, although the
Seminole Indians shoot them on all occasions for food.
In captivity the Whooping Crane becomes extremely gentle, and feeds
freely on grain and other vegetable substances. A Mr MAGWOOD, residing
near Charleston, in South Carolina, kept one for some time feeding it
on maize. It accidentally wounded one of its feet on the shell of an
oyster, and, although the greatest care was taken of it, died after
lingering some weeks. Having myself kept one alive, I will give you
an account of its habits.
It was nearly full-grown when I obtained it, and its plumage was
changing from greyish-brown to white. Its figure you will see in the
plate to which this article refers. I received it as a present from
Captain CLACK of the United States Navy, commander of the Erie sloop
of war. It had been wounded in the wing, on the coast of Florida, but
the fractured limb had been amputated and soon healed. During a voyage
of three months, it became very gentle, and was a great favourite
with the sailors. I placed it in a yard, in company with a beautiful
Snow Goose. This was at Boston. It was so gentle as to suffer me
to caress it with the hand, and was extremely fond of searching for
worms and grubs about the wood-pile, probing every hole it saw with
as much care and dexterity as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It also
watched with all the patience of a cat the motions of some mice which
had burrows near the same spot, killed them with a single blow, and
swallowed them entire, one after another, until they were extirpated.
I fed it on corn and garbage from the kitchen, to which were added
bits of bread and cheese, as well as some apples. It would pick up
the straws intended to keep its feet from being soiled, and arrange
them round its body, as if intent on forming a nest. For hours at a
time, it would stand resting on one foot in a very graceful posture;
but what appeared to me very curious was, that it had a favourite
leg for this purpose; and in fact none of my family ever found it
standing on the other, although it is probable that this happened in
consequence of the mutilation of the wing, the leg employed being
that of the injured side. The stump of its amputated wing appeared
to be a constant source of trouble, particularly at the approach of
the winter: it would dress the feathers about it, and cover it with
so much care that I really felt for the poor fellow. When the weather
became intensely cold, it regularly retired at the approach of night
under a covered passage, where it spent the hours of darkness; but
it always repaired to this place with marked reluctance, and never
until all was quiet and nearly dark, and it came out, even when the
snow lay deep on the ground, at the first appearance of day. Now
and then it would take a run, extend its only wing, and, uttering a
loud cry, leap several times in the air, as if anxious to return to
its haunts. At other times it would look upwards, cry aloud as if
calling to some acquaintance passing high in the air, and again use
its ordinary note whenever its companion the Snow Goose sent forth
her own signals. It seldom swallowed its food without first carrying
it to the water, and dipping it several times, and now and then it
would walk many yards for that express purpose. Although the winter
was severe, the thermometer some mornings standing as low as 10°, the
bird fattened and looked extremely well. So strong was the natural
suspicion of this bird, that I frequently saw it approach some cabbage
leaves with measured steps, look at each sideways before it would
touch one of them, and after all, if it by accident tossed the leaf
into the air when attempting to break it to pieces, it would run off
as if some dreaded enemy were at hand.
The trachea of this bird, of which you will find a notice at p. 213,
confirms my opinion that the Canada Crane and the Whooping Crane are
merely the same species in different states of plumage, or in other
words, at different ages; and, in truth, the differences are not
greater than those exhibited by many other birds, both aquatic and
terrestrial. In illustration of this subject I might adduce Ibises,
Herons, Divers, and Grebes; but this is quite unnecessary.
In reading the accounts given of the Canada Crane of authors, I find no
description of its manner of breeding. In the Fauna Boreali-Americana
of Mr SWAINSON and Dr RICHARDSON, the eggs of both are described, and
in NUTTALL’s Manual those of the Whooping Crane also; but in these
works the account given of the birds and of their eggs is such, that
one might even, from comparing the descriptions, suppose them to be
of the same species. I have never had the satisfaction of finding
any of the breeding-places of the Whooping Crane; but I well know
that many birds breed long before they have attained their full
plumage. The supposed new species of Heron described under the name
of _Ardea Pealii_, by my excellent friend Prince CHARLES BONAPARTE,
breeds as the White-headed Eagle sometimes does, the immature bird
in a snow-white dress, the adult in purple and greyish-blue plumage.
The young of _Ardea cœrulea_ were for some time considered to form
a distinct species, they being white also, then blue and white, and
finally dark blue. But the most remarkable instance of change of
plumage in the Waders is exhibited in the Scarlet Ibis. My humble
opinion is, that unless in cases where birds are at first of one
colour, and that colour remains ever after, little dependence can be
placed on the tints of the plumage as a specific character.
On looking over my notes, I find that I have omitted to inform you
that the extraordinary strength of the thighs, legs, and feet of the
Whooping Crane, tends greatly to make it more terrestrial than the
Herons; and that the great size of their nostrils, which so much
resemble those of the Vultures, is well adapted to keep the inner
parts of the organ from the damp earth and other matters with which
they are so often in contact, while searching in the ground or mud for
roots and other vegetable substances, on which the bird principally
feeds. I am convinced also, that this species does not attain its
full size or perfect plumage until it is four or five years old.
The beauty of the plumage may be improved in brilliancy during the
breeding-season by a greater brightness in the colour of the bill,
as in the Booby Gannet and White Ibis, as well as in the redness of
the fleshy parts of the head.
The measurements of the adult bird of my plate, drawn at New Orleans,
in the month of April, were as follows:—Length from tip of bill to
end of claws, 5 feet 5 inches; to end of tail, 4 feet 6 inches; the
drooping feathers 1 foot beyond; alar extent 7 feet 8 inches; length
of wing 22 inches; naked part of thigh 5 inches; tarsus 11-1/4 inches;
length of middle toe 4-1/4, of its claw 3/4.
The measurements of the specimen kept at Boston:—Length from tip
of bill to end of tail, 3 feet 9 inches; to end of claws, 4 feet 6
inches; tarsus 8 inches; naked part of thigh 3-1/2. The elongated
inner secondaries equalled the tail. The weight was 9 lb. 14-3/4 oz.
Measurements of that killed on Spring Island:—Length 4 feet 4-1/2
inches, the claws being 7 inches beyond the tail, so that the length
from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail was 3 feet 9-1/2
inches; alar extent 5 feet 8 inches. Weight 8-3/4 lb.
In the Museum of the University of Edinburgh, there is a specimen of
still smaller size.
My friend JOHN BACHMAN, in a note addressed to me, says, “I saw a
pair of tame birds of this species, which, as they advanced in age,
changed their colours from grey to white.”
GRUS AMERICANA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the
United States, p. 302.—_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.
Amer. part ii. p. 372.
WHOOPING CRANE, ARDEA AMERICANA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vii. p. 20. pl. 64. fig. 3. Adult.
GRUS CANADENSIS, BROWN CRANE, _Swains. and Richards._
Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 373.
Adult Male. Plate CCXXVI.
Bill long, straight, rather slender, but strong, compressed, pointed.
Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, a little concave
at the middle, slightly declinate toward the tip, the ridge flat
and rather broad as far as the middle, the sides sloping, towards
the end convex, with a wide groove filled by a soft membrane, and
extending nearly two-thirds of its length, the edges sharp but thick
for two-thirds of its length, and very slightly serrated. Nostrils
lateral, placed at about a third of the length of the bill from its
base, oblong, large, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle narrow
and very long, the sides perpendicular at the base, the edges straight
and sharp.
Head small, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck very long. Body
rather slender. Feet very long; tibia long, bare to a large extent,
and covered with transverse series of rectangular scales; tarsus very
long, rather compressed, covered anteriorly with numerous oblique
scutella, posteriorly with large, and laterally with small scales;
toes rather small; the first very small, second and fourth nearly
equal, third considerably longer, the third and fourth connected
at the base by a web of considerable size, all marginate, covered
above with numerous narrow scutella, beneath broad, flattened, and
granulate; claws of moderate size, strong, considerably curved, rather
compressed, that of hind toe much smaller, second and third largest,
the latter with a groove on its inner edge.
Fore and upper part of head to the occiput papillar, and covered only
with small hairs, as are the sides of the head. The plumage in general
is soft, but distinctly imbricated; the feathers rounded, those of
the neck short. Wings ample; the second primary longest, third and
fourth nearly as long, first longer than fifth; inner secondaries and
their coverts curved downwards, forming a beautiful bunch of loosely
barbed feathers. Tail short, rounded, of twelve broad rounded feathers.
Bill dusky, towards the base yellow. Iris yellow. Bare part of
head carmine, with the hairs black. Feet black. The plumage is pure
white, excepting the alula, primaries, and primary coverts, which
are brownish-black.
Length to end of tail 54 inches; to end of wings 53, to end of claws
65; extent of wings 92; wing from flexure 22-1/2; tail 7; bill along the
ridge 5-4/12, along the edge of the lower mandible 5-4/12, bare part
of tibia 5; tarsus 11-1/4; middle toe 4-1/4, its claw 3/4.
The Young after its first autumnal moult has the sides of the head
feathered behind the eye, and beneath to the base of the lower
mandible; the curved secondaries and their coverts are tapering and
elongated, but not nearly so much developed as in the old birds. The
skin of the head is red; the bill brownish-black, as are the feet.
Chin and sides of the head greyish-white. The plumage generally is
bluish-grey, but the feathers are largely tipped and margined with
yellowish-brown; the primary quills and their coverts dark brown
towards the end; but with brownish-white shafts; the abdomen pure
greyish-blue.
As the bird advances in age, the yellowish-brown disappears, and
the general colour of the plumage becomes pure bluish-grey, which
ultimately changes to white.
The trachea, which is 13 inches long to its entrance between the crura
of the furcula, passes into a cavity in the sternum, where it curves
so as to describe two-thirds of a circle, returns on the right side,
and enters the thorax by curving backwards. The cavity in the sternum
is 2 inches long, with an equal depth, and a breadth of 3/4 inch. The
ridge of the keel is at its fore part 3/4 in breadth, and contracts
to 1/2 inch at its junction with the angle of the furcula, which is
continuous with it. The gizzard is of moderate size; the intestine,
which is thin and small, measures 5 feet in length. Boston specimen.
THE PINTAIL DUCK.
_ANUS ACUTA_, LINN.
PLATE CCXXVII. MALE AND FEMALE.
The first observation that I made on arriving at Labrador, was that
no species of Ducks, excepting those which were entirely or chiefly
oceanic, seemed to resort to that coast, and I left the country with
the same impression. We saw no Mallards, Teals, Widgeons, or Wood Ducks
there; nor any species of Merganser, excepting the Red-breasted, which
is a marine bird. The Pintail Duck, then, was not seen in the parts
of that country which I visited; nor was it known in Newfoundland,
on the Magdeleine Islands, or in the British province of Nova Scotia,
at least along its Atlantic boundaries. In Kentucky and the whole of
the Western Country, where it is extremely abundant in early autumn,
during winter, and up to a very advanced period in spring, you meet
with it wherever its usual food is found. It follows the waters of
the Mississippi to New Orleans, is seen westward in the prairies
of Oppelousas, and extends to the eastward as far as Massachusetts,
beyond which, like the Mallard, it is very seldom seen. Indeed, this
species is at all times rare on the sea coast of America, and must
therefore be considered as an inland bird.
The Pintail, which, in the United States, is better known by the
name of Sprigtail, arrives on the western waters early in October,
sometimes even about the middle of September, the period of its
arrival depending on the state of the weather, or the appearance of
other species, with which it keeps company. Their plumage is in fine
condition when they arrive; their tail-feathers are then as long as
at any other period, and the whole apparel of the adult birds is as
perfect as in the breeding season.
On the water, few birds exhibit more graceful motions than the Pintail
Duck. Its delicately slender neck, the beautiful form of its body, and
its pointed tail, which it always carries highly raised, distinguish
it from the other species with which it may associate. There seems
also a kind of natural modesty in it which you do not find in other
ducks, and its notes, which are often heard, are soft and pleasant.
That these notes should ever have been compared to those of the
Mallard, appears to me very strange;—so strange that I am tempted to
believe that they who say so must have mistaken Mallards for Pintails.
Whilst with us, the Pintail is found in company with the Baldpate
or American Widgeon, the Blue-winged Teal, and the Mallard, more
frequently on ponds than on streams, although it sometimes resorts to
the latter, when their shores are overhung with beech-trees loaded
with their nutritious fruits, of which this species is extremely
fond, and in search of which they even ramble to a short distance
into the woods. Were this duck to feed entirely on beech-nuts, I have
no doubt that its flesh would be excellent. It feeds on tadpoles in
spring, and leeches in autumn, while, during winter, a dead mouse,
should it come in its way, is swallowed with as much avidity as by
a Mallard. To these articles of food it adds insects of all kinds,
and, in fact, it is by no means an inexpert fly-catcher.
The Pintails are less shy in the Western Country than most species of
their family, and in this respect they resemble the Blue-winged Teals,
which in fact might be called stupid birds with as much propriety as
many others. They swim rather deeply, keep close together, and raise
the hind part of the body like the Mallards; and on the water, on
land, or on the wing, several may generally be killed at a shot. A
friend of mine killed nineteen with two shots of his double-barrelled
gun. They are scarcely nocturnal, but rest much in the middle of
the day, basking in the sunshine whilst on the water, whenever they
can indulge in this luxury. While on ponds, they feed along the most
shallow parts, or by the edges; and if you take my advice, you will
never shoot at them while their heads are at the bottom, and their
feet kicking above water. I have several times, for diversion, done
so, but in no instance did I damage a single individual. But when
they raise their heads, you may commit great havock among them.
During heavy rains in winter, or after them, the Pintails are fond
of alighting on our broad prairies, corn-fields and meadows; and in
almost every puddle you may then find them busily engaged. They move
over the ground as swiftly as Wood Ducks, still carrying their tail
erect, unless when seizing an insect that is on wing or resting on a
blade of grass. I knew a particular spot in a corn-field, not many
miles from Bayou Sara in Louisiana, where, even after a shower, I
was sure to meet with this species, and where I could always have
produced a good number, had I thought them likely to be prized at
the dinner-table. While I was at General HERNANDEZ’s in Florida, the
Pintails were very numerous. They alighted everywhere, and I shot a
few in order to satisfy myself that they were of the same species
as those I had been accustomed to see. On one occasion I shot at
a large flock swimming on a shallow pond in a large savannah, and
wounded several, which I was surprised to see diving very expertly
as I waded out for them, this species being by no means addicted to
that practice. Those which I have now and then wounded, while in a
boat and in deep water, soon gave up diving, and surrendered, without
exhibiting any of those feats of cunning performed by other species.
The flight of the Pintails is very rapid, greatly protracted, and
almost noiseless. They arrive in the Western Country mostly in the
dusk of evening, and alight without much circumspection wherever they
find water. They remain at night in the ponds where they feed, and
continue there generally unless much disturbed. On such occasions they
keep in the middle of the water, to avoid their land enemies; but the
Virginian and Barred Owls not unfrequently surprise them, and force
them to rise or make towards the shore, when they fall a prey to the
nocturnal marauders. In the Middle States, they are highly esteemed
for the table. There they arrive later and retire sooner towards their
breeding-places, than in the country west of the Alleghany Mountains.
ANAS ACUTA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 202.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 864.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds
of the United States, p. 383.
PINTAIL DUCK, ANAS ACUTA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p. 72. pl. 68. fig. 3.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 386.
ANAS CAUDACUTA, PINTAIL DUCK, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna
Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 441.
Adult Male. Plate CCXXVII. Fig. 1.
Bill nearly as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base,
depressed towards the end, the frontal angles short and obtuse.
Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first sloping, then concave,
towards the curved unguis nearly straight, the ridge broad and flat
at the base, then broadly convex, the sides convex, the edges soft,
with about fifty internal lamellæ; unguis small, somewhat triangular,
curved abruptly at the broad end. Nostrils subbasal, lateral, rather
small, oval, pervious. Lower mandible flattish, its angle very long
and narrow, the dorsal line very short, slightly convex, the sides
convex, the edges soft, with about sixty lamellæ.
Head of moderate size, compressed, the forehead rounded. Neck rather
long and slender. Body full and depressed. Wings rather small. Feet
very short, placed rather far back; tarsus very short, compressed,
at its lower part anteriorly with two series of scutella, the rest
covered with reticulated angular scales. Toes obliquely scutellate
above; first very small, free, with a narrow membrane beneath; third
longest; fourth a little shorter, their connecting webs entire,
reticulated, at the edge pectinate; claws small, curved, compressed,
acute, the hind one smaller and more curved, that of the third toe
with an inner sharp edge.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head and neck short,
on the hind head and neck elongated. Wings narrow, of moderate
length, acute, the first quill longest, the second nearly equal, the
rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries broad and rounded; inner
elongated and tapering, as are their coats, and the scapulars; first
quill serrated on the outer edge, somewhat like that of an Owl. Tail
of moderate length, tapering, of fourteen tapering feathers, of which
the two middle project far beyond the rest.
Bill black, the sides of upper mandible light blue. Iris brown.
Feet greyish-blue; claws black. Head, throat, and upper part of neck
anteriorly greenish-brown, faintly margined behind with purplish-red;
a small part of hind neck dark green; the rest, and the upper parts in
general beautifully undulated with very narrow bars of brownish-black
and yellowish-white, smaller wing-coverts, alula, and primary quills
grey, the latter dark-brown towards the end; speculum of a coppery
red, changing to dull green, edged anteriorly with light brownish-red,
posteriorly with white; the inner secondaries, and the scapulars, black
and green, with broad grey margins. Upper tail-coverts cream-coloured,
the outer webs blackish and green; tail light grey, the middle feathers
dark brown, glossed with green. On each side of the neck is an oblique
band of white, of which colour are the under parts in general, the
sides however undulated like the back, the lateral feathers of the
rump cream-coloured, the lower tail-coverts black, those at the sides
edged with white.