the base, depressed and enlarged towards the end, the frontal angles
acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first sloping, then
concave, along the unguis decurved, the ridge broad and flat at the
base, then broadly convex, the sides nearly flat and perpendicular at
the base, convex and sloping towards the end, the edges soft, with
about forty-five internal lamellæ, unguis obovate, curved. Nostrils
subbasal, lateral, rather small, oval, pervious. Lower mandible flat,
with the angle very long and rather narrow, the dorsal line very
short, slightly convex, the edges with about sixty-five lamellæ and
smaller intermediate ones above.
Head of moderate size, neck rather long and slender, body full and
depressed, wings rather small. Feet very short, strong, placed rather
far behind; tarsus very short, compressed, at its lower part anteriorly
with two series of scutella, the rest covered with reticulated angular
scales. Toes scutellate above, first very small, free, with a broad
membrane beneath, fourth longest, third scarcely shorter; claws small,
curved, compressed, obtuse, the hind one smaller, more curved and
acute, that of the third toe with an inner sharp edge.
Plumage dense, soft, blended, rather glossy. Feathers of the middle
of the head, and upper part of hind neck, very narrow and a little
elongated; of the rest of the head and upper part of the neck very
short, of the back and lower parts in general broad and rounded. Wings
of moderate length, narrow, acute; primaries curved, strong, tapering,
first longest, second very little shorter; secondaries broad, rounded,
short, the inner longer and tapering. Tail very short, rather broad,
much rounded, of sixteen rounded feathers.
Bill black, with a basal band, the edges of both mandibles, and a
band across the upper towards the end, pale blue. Iris yellow. Legs
greyish-blue, the webs brownish-black. The head, and upper part of the
neck, greenish-black, with purple reflexions. A brownish-red collar,
broader before, on the middle of the neck. Its lower part all round,
as well as the back, scapulars, smaller wing-coverts, and posterior
part of abdomen, brownish-black. Inner secondaries of the same colour,
outer bluish-grey on the outer web, light brown on the inner, as are
the primaries, of which the outer webs and tips are dark brown. Tail
brownish-grey. Chin white, breast greyish-white, sides and fore part
of abdomen greyish-white, minutely undulated with greyish-brown.
Length to end of tail 18 inches, to end of wings 16; extent of wings
28; wing from flexure 7-3/4; tail 2-1/2; bill along the back 2-1/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-11/12; tarsus 1-4/12; middle toe
2-2/12, its claw 4/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCXXXIV. Fig. 2.
The Female has the neck umber brown, the upper part of the head darker,
the back blackish-brown, the speculum bluish-grey, as in the male,
the breast brownish-white, the loral spaces and chin pale brown, the
abdomen umber brown.
Length 16 inches.
The Tufted Duck of Europe, _Fuligula cristata_, is very intimately
allied to this species. The bill of the latter is longer, narrower,
and differently coloured, the unguis broader at the end, as is the
flat triangular space at the base of the upper mandible. The bill of
the Scaup Duck is still broader towards the end, with a much narrower
unguis, and the flattened part of the upper mandible still narrower
than in the Tufted Duck; the colour of the speculum is also different,
being bluish-grey in the Ring-necked Duck, and white in the two allied
species. The females of the Ring-necked and Scaup Ducks, which are
nearly similar in colour, differ in the speculum, and in the peculiar
form of the bill.
THE SOOTY TERN.
_STERNA FULIGINOSA_, LATH.
PLATE CCXXXV. MALE.
Early in the afternoon of the 9th of May 1832, I was standing on the
deck of the United States’ revenue-cutter the Marion. The weather
was very beautiful, although hot, and a favourable breeze wafted
us onwards in our course. Captain ROBERT DAY, who stood near me, on
looking toward the south-west, ordered some person to be sent to the
top to watch the appearance of land. A young lad was instantly seen
ascending the rigging, and not many minutes after he had attained
his post, we heard from him the cry of “land.” It was the low keys
of the Tortugas, toward which we had been steering. No change was
made in the course of the “Lady of the Green Mantle,” who glided
along as if aware of the knowledge possessed by her commander. Now
the light-house lantern appeared, like a bright gem glittering in the
rays of the sun. Presently the masts and flags of several wreckers
shewed us that they were anchored in the small but safe harbour. We
sailed on, and our active pilot, who was also the first lieutenant
of the Marion, pointed out to me a small island which he said was
at this season the resort of thousands of birds, which he described
by calling them “Black and White Sea Swallows,” and again another
islet, equally well stocked with another kind of Sea Swallow, which
he added were called Noddies, because they frequently alighted on
the yards of vessels at night, and slept there. He assured me that
both species were on their respective breeding-grounds by millions,
that the eggs of the first lay on the sand under bushes, at intervals
of about a foot, while the nests of the last were placed as thickly
on the bushes of their own chosen island. “Before we cast anchor,”
he added, “you will see them rise in swarms like those of bees when
disturbed in their hive, and their cries will deafen you.”
You may easily imagine how anxious I was to realize the picture; I
expressed a wish to be landed on the island; but the kind officer
replied, “My good Sir, you will soon be tired of their incessant noise
and numbers, and will enjoy the procuring of Boobies much better.”
After various tacks, we made our way through the curious and extremely
dangerous channels leading to the small harbour, where we anchored. As
the chain grated the ear, I saw a cloud-like mass arise over the “Bird
Key,” from which we were only a few hundred yards distant; and in a
few minutes the yawl was carrying myself and my assistant ashore. On
landing, I felt for a moment as if the birds would raise me from the
ground, so thick were they all round, and so quick the motion of their
wings. Their cries were indeed deafening, yet not more than half of
them took to wing on our arrival, those which rose being chiefly male
birds, as we afterwards ascertained. We ran across the naked beach,
and as we entered the thick cover before us, and spread in different
directions, we might at every step have caught a sitting bird, or one
scrambling through the bushes to escape from us. Some of the sailors,
who had more than once been there before, had provided themselves
with sticks, with which they knocked down the birds as they flew thick
around and over them. In less than half an hour, more than a hundred
Terns lay dead in a heap, and a number of baskets were filled to the
brim with eggs. We then returned on board, and declined disturbing
the rest any more that night. My assistant, Mr H. WARD, of London,
skinned upwards of fifty specimens, aided by Captain DAY’s servant.
The sailors told me that the birds were excellent eating, but on this
point I cannot say much in corroboration of their opinion, although
I can safely recommend the eggs, for I considered them delicious,
in whatever way cooked, and during our stay at the Tortugas we never
passed a day without providing ourselves with a good quantity of them.
The next morning Mr WARD told me that great numbers of the Terns left
their island at two o’clock, flew off towards the sea, and returned a
little before day, or about four o’clock. This I afterwards observed
to be regularly the case, unless there happened to blow a gale, a
proof that this species sees as well during the night as by day,
when they also go to sea in search of food for themselves and their
young. In this respect they differ from the _Sterna stolida_, which,
when overtaken at sea by darkness, even when land is only a few miles
distant, alight on the water, and frequently on the yards of vessels,
where if undisturbed they sleep until the return of day. It is from
this circumstance that they have obtained the name of Noddy, to which
in fact they are much better entitled than the present species, which
has also been so named, but of which I never observed any to alight on
a vessel in which I was for thirty-five days in the Gulf of Mexico,
at a time when that bird was as abundant during the day as the other
species, of which many were caught at my desire by the sailors.
The present species rarely alights on the water, where it seems
incommoded by its long tail; but the other, the _Sterna stolida_,
which, in the shape of its tail, and in some of its habits, shews
an affinity to the Petrels, not only frequently alights on the sea,
but swims about on floating patches of the Gulf Weed, seizing on the
small fry and little crabs that are found among the branches of that
plant, or immediately beneath them.
I have often thought, since I became acquainted with the habits of the
bird which here occupies our attention, that it differs materially from
all the other species of the same genus that occur on our coasts. The
_Sterna fuliginosa_ never dives headlong and perpendicularly as the
smaller species are wont to do, such as _St. Hirundo_, _St. arctica_,
_St. minuta_, _St. Dougallii_, or _St. nigra_, but passes over its
prey in a curved line, and picks it up. Its action I cannot better
compare to that of any other bird than the Night Hawk, while plunging
over its female. I have often observed this Tern follow and hover in
the wake of a porpoise, while the latter was pursuing its prey, and
at the instant when by a sudden dash it frightens and drives toward
the surface the fry around it, the Tern as suddenly passes over the
spot, and picks up a small fish or two.
Nor is the flight of this Tern characterized by the buoyancy and
undecidedness, if I may so speak, of the other species mentioned
above, it being as firm and steady as that of the Cayenne Tern,
excepting during the movements performed in procuring its food. Like
some of the smaller gulls, this bird not unfrequently hovers close
to the water to pick up floating objects, such as small bits of fat
pork and greasy substances thrown overboard purposely for making the
experiment. It is not improbable that the habits peculiar to this
species, the Noddy, and one or two others, of which I shall have
occasion to speak elsewhere, may tend to induce systematic writers
to place them in a new “subgenus.”
There is a circumstance connected with the habits of the two species of
which I now more particularly speak, which, although perhaps somewhat
out of place, I cannot refrain from introducing here. It is that the
_Sterna stolida always forms a nest on trees or bushes_, on which
that bird alights with as much ease as a Crow or Thrush; whereas the
_Sterna fuliginosa_ never forms a nest of any sort, but deposits its
eggs in a slight cavity which it scoops in the sand under the trees.
But, reader, let us return to the Bird Key.
Early the next morning I was put on shore, and remained there until
I had completed my observations on the Terns. I paid no attention
to their lamentable cries, which were the less piercing that on this
occasion I did not molest them in the least. Having seated myself on
the shelly sand, which here formed the only soil, I remained almost
motionless for several hours, in consequence of which the birds
alighted about me, at the distance of only a few yards, so that I
could plainly see with what efforts and pains the younger females
deposited their eggs. Their bill was open, and their pantings indicated
their distress, but after the egg had been expelled, they immediately
walked off in an awkward manner, until they reached a place where they
could arise without striking the branches of the bushes near them,
when they flew away. Here and there, in numerous places within twenty
yards of me, females, having their complement of eggs, alighted,
and quietly commenced the labour of incubation. Now and then a male
bird also settled close by, and immediately disgorged a small fish
within the reach of the female. After some curious reciprocal nods of
their heads, which were doubtless intended as marks of affection, the
caterer would fly off. Several individuals, which had not commenced
laying their eggs, I saw scratch the sand with their feet, in the
manner of the common fowl, while searching for food. In the course
of this operation, they frequently seated themselves in the shallow
basin to try how it fitted their form, or find out what was still
wanted to ensure their comfort. Not the least semblance of a quarrel
did I observe between any two of these interesting creatures; indeed,
they all appeared as if happy members of a single family; and as if
to gratify my utmost wishes, a few of them went through the process
of courtship in my presence. The male birds frequently threw their
heads over their back as it were, in the manner of several species of
gulls; they also swelled out their throats, walked round the females,
and ended by uttering a soft puffing sound as they caressed them. Then
the pair for a moment or two walked round each other, and at length
rose on wing and soon disappeared. Such is one of the many sights it
has been my good fortune to witness, and by each of them have I been
deeply impressed with a sense of the pervading power of the Deity.
The Sooty Tern always lays three eggs as its full number, and in no
instance, among thousands of the nests which were on the Bird Key,
did I find one more when the female was sitting close. I was desirous
of ascertaining whether the male and the female incubate alternately;
but this I was unable to do, as the birds frequently left their eggs
for half an hour or even three quarters at a time, but rarely longer.
This circumstance, together with the very slight difference in size
and colour between the sexes, was the cause of my failure.
It was curious to observe their actions whenever a large party landed
on the island. All those not engaged in incubation would immediately
rise in the air and scream aloud; those on the ground would then join
them as quickly as they could, and the whole forming a vast mass,
with a broad extended front, would as it were charge us, pass over
for fifty yards or so, then suddenly wheel round, and again renew
their attack. This they would repeat six or eight times in succession.
When the sailors, at our desire, all shouted as loud as they could,
the phalanx would for an instant become perfectly silent, as if to
gather our meaning; but the next moment, like a huge wave breaking
on the beach, it would rush forward with deafening noise.
When wounded and seized by the hand, this bird bites severely, and
utters a plaintive cry differing from its usual note, which is loud
and shrill, resembling the syllables _oo-ee, oo-ee_. Their nests are
all scooped near the roots or stems of the bushes, and under the shade
of their boughs, in many places within a few inches of each other.
There is less difference between their eggs, than is commonly seen in
those of water birds, both with respect to size and colouring. They
generally measure two inches and one-eighth, by one and a-half, have
a smooth shell, with the ground of a pale cream colour, sparingly
marked with various tints of lightish umber, and still lighter marks
of purple, which appear as if within the shell. The Lieutenant, N.
LACOSTE, Esq. informed me that shortly after the young are hatched,
they ramble pell-mell over the island, to meet their parents, and be
fed by them; that these birds have been known to collect there for
the purpose of breeding, since the oldest wreckers on that coast can
recollect; and that they usually arrive in May, and remain until the
beginning of August, when they retire southward to spend the winter
months. I could not however obtain a sufficiently accurate description
of the different states of plumage which they go through, so as to
enable me to describe them in the manner I should wish to do. All
that I can say is, that before they take their departure, the young
are greyish-brown above, dull white beneath, and have the tail very
short.
At Bird Key we found a party of Spanish Eggers from Havannah. They
had already laid in a cargo of about eight tons of the eggs of this
Tern and the Noddy. On asking them how many they supposed they had,
they answered that they never counted them, even while selling them,
but disposed of them at seventy-five cents per gallon; and that one
turn to market sometimes produced upwards of two hundred dollars,
while it took only a-week to sail backwards and forwards and collect
their cargo. Some eggers, who now and then come from Key West, sell
their eggs at twelve and a half cents the dozen; but wherever these
eggs are carried, they must soon be disposed of and eaten, for they
become putrid in a few weeks.
On referring to my journals once more, I find the following remarks
with reference to the Sooty Tern. It would appear that at some period
not very remote, the Noddy, _Sterna stolida_, must have had it in
contemplation to appropriate to itself its neighbour’s domains; as
on examination of this island, several thousand nests of that bird
were found built on the tops of the bushes, although no birds of the
species were about them. It is therefore probable that if such an
attempt was made by them, they were defeated and forced to confine
themselves to the neighbouring island, where they breed by themselves,
although it is only a few miles distant. That such interferences and
conflicts now and then occur among different species of birds, has
often been observed by other persons, and in several instances by
myself, particularly among Herons. In these cases, right or wrong,
the stronger party never fails to dislodge the weaker, and keep
possession of the disputed ground.
STERNA FULIGINOSA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 804.—_Ch.
Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 355.
SOOTY TERN, STERNA FULIGINOSA, _Lath._ Synops. vol. vi. p.
352.—_Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 145. pl. 72. fig.
7.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 284.
Adult Male. Plate CCXXXV.
Bill longer than the head, strong, slender, nearly straight,
compressed, very acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly
arched, the ridge broad and convex at the base, narrowed towards
the end, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip
acute. Nasal groove extended to beyond half the length of the bill,
slightly inflected towards the edge; nostrils basal, linear, direct,
pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow, acute, extending
to a little beyond the middle, the dorsal line straight, the sides
convex, the sharp edges inflected, the tip very acute.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck of moderate length;
body slender; feet very small, wings and tail very long. Tibia bare
for a short space; tarsus very short, slender, roundish, covered
anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind with reticulated
rather indistinct scales; toes small, slender, the first very small,
the third longest, the fourth nearly as long, the second much shorter,
all scutellate above, the anterior united by reticulated webs, having
an incurved margin; claws curved, compressed, acute, that of hind
toe smallest, of middle toe by much the largest, and having the inner
edge thin and dilated.
Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the head; the feathers
in general broad and rounded. Wings very long, narrow and pointed;
primary quills tapering but rounded, the first longest, the rest
rapidly graduated; secondary short, broad, rather acute, the inner
more tapering. Tail long, very deeply forked, of twelve feathers, of
which the outer are tapering, the middle rounded and short.
Bill and feet black. Iris chestnut. Forehead white; lores, upper
part of the head, the hind neck and all the upper parts, deep black
glossed with blue, excepting the edges of the wings and the lateral
tail-feathers, which are white, the latter with the inner web towards
the end dusky. All the lower parts and the sides of the neck are pure
white.
Length to end of tail 16-1/4 inches, to end of wings 15-5/8, to end
of claws 11-1/2; extent of wings 34-3/4; wing from flexure 12; tail to
the end 7-3/4, to the fork 3-3/4; bill along the ridge 1-3/4, along the
edge of lower mandible 2-5/12; tarsus 10/12; middle toe (9-1/2)/12, its
claw 4/12.
The Female is similar to the Male.
A WILD HORSE.
While residing at Henderson in Kentucky, I became acquainted with a
gentleman who had just returned from the country in the neighbourhood
of the head waters of the Arkansas River, where he had purchased
a newly caught “Wild Horse,” a descendant of some of the horses
originally brought from Spain, and set at liberty in the vast prairies
of the Mexican lands. The animal was by no means handsome:—he had
a large head, with a considerable prominence in its frontal region,
his thick and unkemt mane hung along his neck to the breast, and his
tail, too scanty to be called flowing, almost reached the ground.
But his chest was broad, his legs clean and sinewy, and his eyes and
nostrils indicated spirit, vigour, and endurance. He had never been
shod, and although he had been ridden hard, and had performed a long
journey, his black hoofs had suffered no damage. His colour inclined
to bay, the legs of a deeper tint, and gradually darkening below
until they became nearly black. I inquired what might be the value
of such an animal among the Osage Indians, and was answered, that
the horse being only four years old, he had given for him, with the
tree and the buffalo tug fastened to his head, articles equivalent
to about thirty-five dollars. The gentleman added, that he had never
mounted a better horse, and had very little doubt, that if well fed,
he could carry a man of ordinary weight from thirty-five to forty
miles a-day, for a month, as he had travelled at that rate upon him,
without giving him any other food than the grass of the prairies, or
the canes of the bottom lands, until he had crossed the Mississippi
at Natchez, when he fed him with corn. Having no farther use for
him, now that he had ended his journey, he said he was anxious to
sell him, and thought he might prove a good hunting horse for me, as
his gaits were easy, and he stood fire as well as any charger he had
seen. Having some need of a horse possessed of qualities similar to
those represented as belonging to the one in question, I asked if I
might be allowed to try him. “Try him, Sir, and welcome; nay, if you
will agree to feed him and take care of him, you may keep him for a
month, if you choose.” So I had the horse taken to the stable and fed.