other places about the Bay of Fundy, but rarely farther south, and
the number that remain in Labrador is comparatively small, as we did
not observe there more than six or seven broods. They generally leave
that part of the coast about the middle of August; but that season
they were still seen after the Eider Ducks had departed, which makes
me think that they require more warmth than these birds before they
begin to lay their eggs. Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, of the British Royal
Navy, a gentleman, besides his professional merits, distinguished
for his love of science, informed me that none of these birds were
observed on either of his Arctic voyages. The extreme limits of their
migrations remain unknown. I have already related the manner in which
this and several other species are caught by the Indians in the Bay
of Fundy, and therefore it is unnecessary that I should repeat it
here, as you will find it at p. 487. of Vol. II.
The flight of the Velvet Duck is strong and sustained, although it
usually flies low; yet when pursued, or at the sight of gunners in a
boat, it often rises to the height of forty or fifty yards, describes
elegant curved lines as it passes and repasses, and thus continues
to fly until danger is no longer apprehended. Its movements in the
air are performed by continued flappings, and when on wing the white
of the wings is beautifully contrasted with the dark hue of the rest
of its plumage. It dives with as much agility as the Eider or the
American Scoter, and, when wounded, is equally difficult to be caught,
nor can it be killed with certainty without a heavy shot.
The Velvet Ducks enter the bays and estuaries to a greater distance
than the Eiders. On land they move with more difficulty than those
birds, and keep themselves in a more erect attitude, like that in
which I have endeavoured to represent the male in the plate. They
swim with more buoyancy than the Eiders, but at times seem to rise
from the water with considerable difficulty. Their food consists
of shell-fish and crustacea, as well as sea-weeds, small fish, and
spawn. Their flesh is extremely dark, tastes of fish, and is very
unpalatable, although I have seen persons of great judgment in matters
of this kind not only eat it with avidity, but praise it as highly as
if it were equal to the most tender and juicy venison. They are sold
in abundance in our eastern markets and those of the Middle States,
at from fifty cents to a dollar the pair.
This species is, in my opinion, very closely allied to the Eider,
in so much that I frequently call it the Black King-Duck. Along
our coasts it commonly receives the name of White-winged Coot. The
female is smaller than the male. The young much resemble the female
during the first year. The white spots of the head, however, are
apparent, although mottled with dusky, and their feet now shew some
of the redness of those of the old males; but I am unable to say with
certainty at what age they attain their full summer plumage, and the
rich colouring of the bill. The Gizzard, which is not so large as
that of the Eider, is of a yellow colour; the gut very large, tough,
and strong, about eight feet in length.
ANAS FUSCA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 196.—_Lath._ Ind.
Ornith. vol. ii. p. 43.
FULIGULA FUSCA, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the
United States, p. 390.
OIDEMIA FUSCA, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
part ii. p. 449.
VELVET DUCK, ANAS FUSCA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. viii.
p. 137. pl. 92. fig. 3.
VELVET DUCK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 419.
Adult Male. Plate CCXLVII. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, very broad, as deep as broad at the
base, depressed and flattened towards the end, which is rounded. Upper
mandible with a short abrupt prominence at the base, its dorsal line
on the prominence straight, at its fore edge abruptly sloping, then
slightly concave, and at the end curved, the ridge on the prominence
very broad and nearly flat, towards the end broadly convex, the sides
convex, the edges obtuse with about thirty lamellæ, the unguis very
large, and elliptical. Nostrils subbasal, elliptical, very large,
pervious, nearer the ridge than the edge, and placed on the lower
side of the basal prominence. Lower mandible flat, with the angle
long, rather narrow, rounded, the dorsal line slightly convex, the
edges with about twenty-five lamellæ, the unguis nearly circular and
very large.
Head large. Eyes rather small. Neck of moderate length, thick. Body
large, and much depressed. Wings rather small. Feet very short, placed
rather far behind; tarsus very short, compressed, having anteriorly
in its whole length a series of small scutella, and above the outer
toe a partial series, the rest covered with reticular angular scales.
Hind toe small, with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes double
the length of the tarsus, united by reticulated membranes having a
sinus on their free margins, the inner with a lobed marginal membrane,
the outer with a thick edge, the third and fourth about equal and
longest. Claws small, that of first toe very small and curved, of
middle toe largest, with a dilated inner edge, of the rest slender,
all obtuse.
Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers on the fore part of the head
extremely small, on the neck velvety. Wings rather short, narrow,
pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering and pointed, the first
longest, the second very little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondary broad and rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail
very short, narrow, wedge shaped, of fourteen stiff narrow feathers.
Basal prominence and sides of the bill black, the sides towards the
end bright red, the unguis flesh-colour, with a black line on each
side. Iris bright yellow. Feet carmine on the outer side, orange-red on
the inner, the webs greyish-black. The general colour of the plumage
is brownish-black, on the upper parts glossed with blue, lighter on
the lower. The outer secondary quills are white, and there is a spot
of the same under the eye.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 19-1/4, to end of
claws 24-1/2; extent of wings 39; wing from flexure 12; tail 3-1/2;
bill 1-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-7/12; tarsus 1-11/12;
middle toe 3, its claw 5/12. Weight 3 lb. 10 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCXLVII. Fig. 2.
In the Female the basal prominence of the bill is much less elevated,
and the colour of the whole bill is dusky. The iris and feet are as
in the Male, but of duller tints. The general colour of the plumage
is a sooty brown, the breast and abdomen lighter. There are two
whitish spots on each side of the head, one near the base of the
upper mandible, the other behind the eye; the outer secondary quills
are white as in the Male.
Length to end of tail 22 inches, to end of wings 18, to end of claws
25-1/2; extent of wings 38; wing from flexure 11-1/4; tail 3-1/2; bill
1-7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-7/12; tarsus 1-3/4; middle
toe 2-10/12, its claw 5/12. Weight 3 lb. 3 oz.
The down of this species is similar to that of the Eider Duck, and
apparently of equal quality.
THE PIED-BILLED DOBCHICK.
_PODICEPS CAROLINENSIS_, LATH.
PLATE CCXLVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.
There go the little Dobchicks, among the tall rashes and aquatic
grasses that border the marsh. They have seen me, and now I watch
them as they sink gently backwards into the deep water, in the manner
of frightened frogs. Cunning things! “Water-witches,” as they call
you, I clearly see your bills, although you have withdrawn all of you
save those parts, and sneak off towards yon great bunch of bulrushes.
Well, speed on, and may safety attend you! Nature has granted you
means of eluding your enemies, and I am heartily glad to see that you
have profited by her instructions. I know you can fly too. How happy
must you be, to be thus enabled to migrate through the air, instead
of being obliged to labour for months with your curiously scolloped
feet, in removing from one country to another, as _authors_ say you do.
Ah! you have reached a small secluded pool, where you intend to breed
in peace and security; there you are, collecting rushes and weeds to
form a large matted bed, on which you intend to deposit your pearly
eggs. Labour on, mind me not, I am a true friend and admirer of your
race. I see that among these plants you have fixed your tenement, in
which there will soon be five eggs, which, although tinged with green,
will look as if pure white. I wish I knew how many days of constant
heat from your bodies it will require to hatch them. Some other time
perhaps you may tell me. Miniatures of yourselves I now see swimming
gaily, skipping, springing, gliding, dipping, just like yourselves.
So, you snatch the crawling bug, and gorge yourselves with leeches,
fish, and herbage. How fast your young ones grow, changing from downy
to hairy, and again to feathery and silky. On winglets they now cross
the clear pool, and crawl on the opposite shore, there enjoying the
warmth of the bright sunbeams. September has come; plump and strong
seven of you there are; the evening is calm and beautiful; you spread
out your wings, reach with some difficulty a proper height, and swift
as meteors glide through the air, until, meeting with warmer waters,
you alight on them, and there remain for a season.
The Pied-billed Dobchick may be met with in almost every part of the
United States, at one season or other: in the south and west during
autumn and winter, in the east and north-west in spring and summer,
mostly on fresh waters of all descriptions, yet when these are covered
with ice, on bays and estuaries, where it searches for shrimps and
fry, although under other circumstances such haunts are not congenial
to it. It is found in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but I did not
meet with it in Labrador or Newfoundland.
I had the good fortune, on the 28th of June, to stumble upon a nest
of this bird near the banks of the Wabash river, above Vincennes.
It was large for the bird, raised several inches above the muddy and
reedy shores of a pond, only a few feet from the water, and composed
of decayed weeds, rushes, and earth. On being discovered, the sitting
bird slid over the mud, along a path that led directly to the water, in
which it immediately dived, and I saw no more of it for about twenty
minutes. The eggs, which were five, measured an inch and a quarter,
by seven and a half-eighths, were smooth, rather rounded, and of a
light greenish-white colour. On breaking one of them, I found it to
contain a chick considerably advanced, which induced me to leave the
rest untouched, and before I departed I saw the bird, which I believed
to be the female, swimming low at a distance. I watched it for some
time, but could not discover another, and walked away to allow it to
resume its occupation. The nest was fixed among the stalks of strong
reeds, but was not attached to any of them. In the month of August,
while on the Cayuga lakes, I saw one of these birds with a brood of
young about half grown, but could not obtain a single specimen, as
they dived with extreme quickness, and eluded all pursuit.
Few birds plunge with more rapidity than this species, which, during
submersion, employs its wings, as I had an opportunity of observing
while some were passing under a boat when I was in pursuit of them. On
the water it is almost impossible to catch them, unless they have been
injured in the wing, when they are unable to dive without difficulty.
The curious habit which they have of sinking gradually backward in
the water, at the sight of an enemy, is very pleasing to observe. Not
a ripple do they leave on the spot where they have disappeared, and
one unacquainted with them can hardly conceive that a bird could have
escaped in so dexterous a manner. My friend THOMAS MACCULLOCH gave me
an account of one which, having been observed on a small mill-dam,
was pursued by the miller’s sons, who, after chasing it fully an
hour, could not even drive it on shore. Their father, however, who
was as anxious as themselves to see the curious creature, drained
the pond, when the little thing was seen crawling over the mud in a
manner not unlike that of a turtle. It was now easily caught, as it
was not able to rise on wing, the species, it seems, being incapable
of springing from the ground, and was afterwards given to my young
friend, who presented it beautifully prepared to me.
While I was at Philadelphia, my learned and staunch friend Dr RICHARD
HARLAN, received two Pied-billed Grebes alive, which had been caught
in a fishing-net on Brandy wine Creek. We placed them in a large tub
of water, where we could see all their subaqueous movements. They
swam round the sides of the tub in the manner of the Puffin, moving
their wings in accordance with their feet, and continued so a much
longer time than one could suppose it possible for them to remain
under water, coming up to breathe, and plunging again with astonishing
celerity. When placed on the carpet, they ran awkwardly half erect,
for a distance of a few feet, tumbled over, and scrambled along with
the aid of their wings. Nothing could induce them to eat, and after
a day or two of captivity, the little creatures were taken to the
Delaware, and set at liberty.
This bird retires to rest on the floating beds of rushes met with
in ponds, or on the edges of the shores; and in such places you may
see it sitting upright, and dressing its plumage in the sunshine.
They are extremely unwilling to rise on wing, unless during their
migrations, or when chasing each other at the pairing season, which
commences in March, when they manifest a good deal of pugnacity. On
such occasions, the males fly, dive, and rise again on wing, in the
manner of the Foolish Guillemot. While travelling, they pass rapidly
through the air, at times at a considerable elevation, when the
movements of their wings produce a sound like that of a hawk stooping
on its prey. They are seldom found in parties of more than six or
seven. The idea of their migrating by water is quite absurd. How long
would it take a Dobchick to swim from the mouths of the Mississippi
to the head waters of the Ohio; and when arrived there, after six or
seven weeks of constant paddling, how is he to proceed farther? Yet
it is well known that they breed farther north, and are general on
the southern waters early in October.
The food of the Pied-billed Dobchick consists of small fry, plants,
seeds, aquatic insects, and snails; along with which they swallow
gravel. On opening several individuals, in different parts of the
Union, I observed in their gizzards a quantity of hair and feather-like
substance, for which I could not account, but which I at length found
to be the down of certain plants, such as thistles, the seeds remaining
undigested and attached to it. My friend THOMAS MACCULLOCH made the
same observation on examining some at Pictou in Nova Scotia, and I
have found similar substances in the stomach of many individuals of
_Podiceps cristatus_.
The Pied-billed Bobchicks seem to form particular attachments to
certain ponds or small lakes, where, until they are closed by ice,
you may always observe a pair or a family. Opposite Henderson I
regularly saw a couple every autumn, and my friend the Reverend JOHN
BACHMAN has observed a group of them for many winters in a small pond
a few miles distant from Charleston. They seem to have a dislike to
swift-running streams, and when on them keep to the eddies along the
shores. The curious double pectination on the hind part of their tarsi,
seems to aid them greatly while sitting upright on the broad leaves
of water-lilies, on the surface of which I have observed indented
impressions after the birds had plunged into the water from them. The
young differ in colour from the adult, but the old males and females
resemble each other, only the former are larger.
PODICEPS CAROLINENSIS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p.
785.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States,
p. 418.—_Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii.
p. 412.
PIED-BILL DOBCHICK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 259.
Adult Male. Plate CCXLVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, stout, deep, compressed, tapering. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight at the base, curved
towards the end, the ridge slightly flattened for a short space at the
base, narrow in the rest of its extent, the sides convex towards the
end, the edges sharp, inflected, the tip obtuse, a little decurved.
Nasal groove broad, and extending beyond the middle of the mandible;
nostrils elliptical, lateral, sub-medial, pervious. Lower mandible
with the angle long and narrow, the sides nearly erect, but convex,
the dorsal line very short and sloping upwards, the edges inflected,
the tips narrow, the gape-line nearly straight.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed; neck rather long; body
depressed. Feet placed far behind, short, stout; tibia bare for a very
short space below; tarsus short, much compressed, thin before and
behind, anteriorly scutellate, on the sides with large scutelliform
scales, posteriorly rough, with a double row of very small scales.
Hind toe very small and situated high; fourth toe longest, third a
little shorter, second much shorter; anterior toes connected by webs,
which beyond the second joint are slit and rounded, the outer edges
of the second and fourth furnished with broad lobed membranes; the
lobes are marked with parallel grooves, directed a little forwards.
Claws of fore toes depressed, that of middle toe resembling a human
nail.
Plumage blended, on the forehead with stiff enlarged shafts, as in
the Rails, on the back shining and rather hard, as well as on the
lower part of the neck anteriorly and laterally, on the rest of the
lower parts glossy and hair-like. Wings very small; primary quills
curved, the second longest, first slightly shorter, third longer than
first; secondary short, broad, rounded, the inner elongated and more
tapering. Tail a slight tuft of loose feathers.
Bill pale blue, upper mandible dusky along the ridge, and with
the lower having a black spot beyond the middle. Iris brown. Feet
greyish-black. Upper part of the head and the throat black; neck
and sides of the head light greyish-brown, the stiff edges of the
feathers on the lower part and sides of the neck greyish-yellow; back
brownish-black, as are the inner secondaries; the outer light brown,
with a reddish-white spot on the end of the inner web; primaries light
brown, dusky at the end. The breast is silvery white, the abdomen
brownish-grey, and the sides mottled with the same.
Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 12, to end of claws
18; extent of wings 23: wing from flexure 4-10/12; bill along the
ridge 10/12; along the edge of lower mandible 1-4/12; tarsus 1-5/12;
middle toe 2, its claw 4/12. Weight 15 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCXLVIII. Fig. 2.
The Female wants the black band on the bill; but is in other respects
nearly similar to the male. Weight 13 oz.
THE TUFTED PUFFIN.
_MORMON CIRRHATUS_, TEMM.
PLATE CCXLIX. MALE.
The specimen from which I drew the figure of this singular looking
bird, was procured at the mouth of the Kennebeck River, in Maine.
It was shot by a fisherman gunner, while standing on some floating
ice, in the winter of 1831-32. No other individual was seen. I could
not obtain any information respecting its habits; but as the bird
was in tolerable order, I hope that my figures of it will prove not
unacceptable. It was a male, and appeared to be adult. My friend, the
Prince of Musignano, mentions this species as being an inhabitant
of the seas between North America and Kamtschatka, being, he adds,
often found on the western coasts of the United States in winter.
ALCA CIRRHATA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 791.
MORMON CIRRHATUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the
United States, p. 429.
TUFTED MORMON OR PUFFIN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 539.
Adult Male. Plate CCXLIX. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill about the length of the head, nearly as high as long, extremely
compressed, at the base as high as the head, furrowed on the sides.
Upper mandible with a horny rim along the basal margin, its dorsal
line convex to the middle, or along the extent of a long, narrow,
rounded dorsal prominence, which extends from the base to the first
groove, afterwards curved in the fourth of a circle, the ridge narrow,
in its basal half rounded, narrower and rather sharp towards the end,
the sides slightly convex, and marked with four curved transverse
grooves, between the nostril and the tip, the edges rather blunt,
nearly straight until close to the decurved, narrow, obtuse tip.
The basal rim is scrobiculate, the rest of the mandible smooth. The
nostrils are linear, direct, close to the edge, and near the base.
Lower mandible with the angle extremely short and narrow, the dorsal
line nearly straight and ascending, the sides slightly concave, without
grooves, the ridge narrow but convex, the tip very narrow, obliquely
truncate. The gape extends downwards a little beyond the base of the
bill, and is furnished with a soft corrugated extensible membrane.
Head large, oblong, anteriorly compressed; eye of moderate size,
with the edges of the eyelids bare; neck short and thick; body full
and rounded. Feet short, rather stout; tibia bare for a short space
above the joint; tarsus very short, anteriorly with a series of small
scutella, the rest with small roundish scales. Hind toe wanting; toes
of moderate length, rather slender, scutellate above, connected by
reticulated entire membranes, the third toe longest, the fourth little
shorter, the second considerably shorter, with a narrow marginal web.
Claws strong, of moderate length, compressed, arched, that of the
inner toe much curved, of the middle toe with a thin inner edge.
Plumage close, blended, soft, very short on the head, where, however,
along a line over and behind the eye, there is on each side a tuft of
long, very slender, acute incurved feathers, of a shining hair-like
texture. Wings rather short, curved, narrow, acute; primary quills
narrow, incurved, first longest, second slightly shorter, the rest
rapidly graduated; secondaries very short, small and rounded. Tail
very short, slightly rounded, of sixteen narrow rounded decurved
feathers.
Bill light yellowish-red, the basal rim and the ridge towards the end
of the upper mandible bright red, as is the edge of the eyelids. Iris
light blue. Feet bright red; webs of a deeper tint; claws black. Sides
of the head white; upper part brownish-black; the elongated feathers
behind the eye pale yellow. The general colour of the upper parts is
brownish-black, glossed with blue, of the lower deep purplish-brown.
Length to end of tail 15 inches, to end of wings 14, to end of claws
14; extent of wings 22-1/2; wing from flexure 8-4/12; tail 2-1/4; bill
along the ridge 2-3/4, along the edge of lower mandible 1-11/12; tarsus
1-5/12; middle toe 1-10/12, its claw 7/12.
THE ARCTIC TERN.
_STERNA ARCTICA_, TEMM.
PLATE CCL. MALE.
Light as a sylph, the Arctic Tern dances through the air above and
around you. The graces, one might imagine, had taught it to perform
those beautiful gambols which you see it display the moment you
approach the spot which it has chosen for its nest. Over many a league
of ocean has it passed, regardless of the dangers and difficulties that
might deter a more considerate traveller. Now over some solitary green
isle, a creek or an extensive bay, it sweeps, now over the expanse
of the boundless sea; at length it has reached the distant regions
of the north, and amidst the floating icebergs stoops to pick up a
shrimp. It betakes itself to the borders of a lonely sand-bank, or a
low rocky island; there side by side the males and the females alight,
and congratulate each other on the happy termination of their long
journey. Little care is required to form a cradle for their progeny;
in a short time the variegated eggs are deposited, the little Terns
soon burst the shell, and in a few days hobble towards the edge of
the water, as if to save their fond parents trouble; feathers now
sprout on their wings, and gradually invest their whole body; the
young birds at length rise on wing, and follow their friends to sea.
But now the brief summer of the north is ended, dark clouds obscure
the sun, a snow-storm advances from the polar lands, and before it
skim the buoyant Terns, rejoicing at the prospect of returning to
the southern regions.