forty miles distant from it, although not far from the shore, we
observed a bird of this species approaching the vessel. It flew in
the manner of the Pigeon Hawk, to my account of which I may refer
you, alighted on the water like a Gull, and fed on some cod-fish’s
liver that had been thrown overboard for the purpose of attracting it.
Several small Petrels joined it, but it did not come within shot, and
the sea was too rough for even our whale-boat. On the 30th of July the
young men of my party brought me a fine adult female, in excellent
order, from which I drew the figure in the plate. A few days after
we experienced a very heavy gale while in the harbour of Bras d’Or,
during the continuance of which twenty or thirty of these birds came
about us, although none of them approached within shot, and no boat
could have ridden the furious waves without imminent danger. On that
occasion, however, I was enabled to observe some of their habits.
They flew wildly about, yet with much grace, moving rapidly to and
fro, now struggling against the blast, now bearing off and drifting
to a considerable distance. Many Gulls were flying about, having
also made for the harbour to obtain some shelter from the storm. The
Lestris chased the smaller species with effect, but never approached
the Great Black-backed Gulls, nor even their young, which were also
flying with the rest. The Kittiwakes and the Ring-billed Gulls were
the species which we saw them attack, although they did not procure
much food from them, the weather being such that they could not fish.
They were therefore contented, as was the Lestris, with the fishes
that had been thrown on shore. At times the Jagers would ramble over
the land, flying close upon the rocks, and proceeding at a rapid rate
even against the wind. They remained in our neighbourhood until the
tempest abated, when they went off to sea, and I saw no more of them
until we reached St George’s Bay in Newfoundland.
There, on a squally afternoon, two or three of them were observed
flying around, but keeping at such a distance that we could not shoot
any of them. The following day, after setting sail, we encountered a
heavy gale, which, although foretold by me from the appearance of the
birds in the harbour, our good captain would not believe as likely to
happen. We were obliged to lie-to, and were tossed about for three
nights and days, but escaped with little other damage than the loss
of a pet Gull, which was washed overboard.
On our return to Eastport, Captain EMERY told me that he had seen
a great number of these Jagers near Cape Sable; and at Halifax, in
Nova Scotia, I was assured that they breed on Sable Island, which is
sixty or seventy miles distant from the coast. I never observed one
of these birds along the shores of the United States, although some
of the genus go as far south in winter as the Gulf of Mexico.
Nothing is known with certainty respecting the changes which this
species undergoes as it advances toward maturity. Captain JAMES CLARK
ROSS, R. N. has informed me that a nest containing two eggs was found
by him near Fury Point, close by the edge of a small lake. I have
no doubt that this bird breeds in Labrador, as the female which I
obtained in July appeared as if it had young at the time.
My friend Mr SELBY states that he is not aware that an adult bird has
yet been killed in Britain. M. TEMMINCK says it forms a rude nest of
grass and moss, which is placed on a tuft in the marshes, or on a rock,
and lays two or three very pointed eggs, of a greyish-olive colour,
marked with a few blackish spots. Dr RICHARDSON has the following
notice respecting it in the Fauna Boreali-Americana:—“The Pomarine
Jager or Gull-hunter is not uncommon in the Arctic seas and northern
outlets of Hudson’s Bay, where it subsists on putrid fish and other
animal substances thrown up by the sea, and also on the matters which
the Gulls disgorge when pursued by it. It retires from the north in
the winter, and makes its first appearance at Hudson’s Bay in May,
coming in from seaward.”
LESTRIS POMARINUS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p. 793.
LESTRIS POMARINA, POMARINE JAGER, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis
of Birds of the United States, p. 364.—_Swains. and
Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 429.
POMARINE JAGER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 315.
Adult Female. Plate CCLIII.
Bill shorter than the head, strong, slightly compressed, straight,
the tip curved. Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight,
toward the tip curved, the ridge broad and convex with a slight central
depression, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the
tip compressed, rather rounded but sharp. Nasal groove long, narrow,
curved; nostrils in its fore part, medial, lateral, longitudinal, broad
before, extremely narrow behind, open and pervious. Lower mandible
with the angle long and narrow, a slight prominence at its extremity,
beyond which the dorsal line is slightly concave, the sides erect,
and slightly convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip obliquely
truncate.
Head rather large. Neck of moderate length. Body rather full. Feet of
moderate length, rather slender; tibia bare at its lower part, and
rough all round with small convex scales; tarsus compressed behind,
anteriorly covered with decurved scutella, the sides reticulated, the
hind part rough with small pointed scales; hind toe extremely small
and elevated, the fore toes of moderate size, connected by reticulated
webs, which have their margins convex; the third toe longest, the
fourth nearly as long, all scutellate above. Claws strong, curved,
very acute, compressed, that of third toe with a sharp inner edge.
The plumage in general is close, elastic, soft and blended; the
feathers on the back and wings rather compact and distinct. Wings very
long, rather broad, pointed; primary quills tapering and rounded, the
first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary rather short,
rounded. Tail of moderate length, the feathers, which are twelve,
are broad and rounded, the two middle an inch longer than the next.
Bill blackish-brown at the end, dingy yellow towards the base.
Iris brown. Tibia, toes, webs, and lower half of tarsus black,
the upper half light blue; claws black. Upper part and sides
of the head anteriorly brownish-black; upper part of neck all
round yellowish-white; the rest of the neck white, barred with
brownish-black, each feather having two transverse bands of that
colour; breast white; sides, abdomen and lower tail-coverts white,
barred with brownish-black, as are the upper tail-coverts. Back and
wings brownish-black; primary quills of the same colour, white on the
inner webs towards the base, as are the secondaries and tail-feathers,
lower surface of wings mottled and barred with white and dusky.
Length to end of tail 20-1/4 inches, to end of wings 20-1/4, to end of
claws 19-1/4; extent of wings 48; wing from flexure 14; tail 6-2/12;
bill along the back 1-9/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/2;
tarsus 2-1/12; middle toe 1-9/12, its claw 8/12. Weight 1-1/2 lb.
WILSON’S PHALAROPE.
_PHALAROPUS WILSONII_, SABINE.
PLATE CCLIV. MALE AND YOUNG.
The habits of this beautiful species are little known, for so
irregularly does it perform its migrations, and so rarely does it
settle for any length of time in any part of the United States, that
at present few opportunities of studying them occur. Although I have
found individuals in various places along our eastern coast, from
Boston to New Jersey, as well as in Kentucky and other portions of
the Union, I have not seen its nest, nor even its eggs. Mr DRUMMOND,
whose zeal as a student of nature must be known to every one devoted
to natural history, had the good fortune to find its nest in the
course of his rambles among the Rocky Mountains, but he has given no
information respecting its habits. A person who shewed me the skins of
two specimens procured in July near Cape May in New Jersey, assured
me that he shot them near their nests, and that they had four eggs.
While I was in the same neighbourhood, in the month of June 1829, a
fisherman gunner, with whom I was at the time residing at Great Egg
Harbour, brought me a pair which he had just killed. He represented
them as very gentle and easily approached, and said that on going
towards them they affected to be lame, and opened their wings as if
to induce him to run after them; instead of doing which, however, he
immediately fired and killed them both. Having put away the birds
in a safe place, he and I took to his boat and went to the island
where he had found them. He shewed me the spot on which they had
been shot; but although we searched most diligently for the nest,
we could not find it. On examining the birds when we returned, I saw
that the female must have been sitting. About the same period my son
procured two specimens of this Phalarope out of a flock of five, on
the rocks at the rapids of the Ohio below Louisville. Late in the
summer of 1824 I shot three of them near Buffalo Creek on Lake Erie.
My generous friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq. presented me, at New York,
with a young bird in autumnal plumage, from which I made the figure
in the plate; and another, in a most emaciated state, was given me
at Boston in the winter by my young friend JOHN BETHUNE, Esq.
Those which I procured near Lake Erie were engaged in feeding around
the borders and in the shallows of a pond of small extent. When I first
observed them at some distance, I thought they were Yellow-shanks
(_Totanus flavipes_), so much did their motions resemble those of
that species. Like it, this Phalarope wades in the water up to its
body, picks for food right and left, turns about, and performs all
its motions with vivacity and elegance. They kept closer together
than the Yellow-shanks usually do, but, like them, they would for
a few moments raise their wings as if apprehensive of getting into
too deep water and being obliged to fly. They preferred flying to
swimming on such occasions, although from the general character of
the tribe one might expect otherwise. After watching them about a
quarter of an hour, during which time they did not utter a single
note, I fired at them when they were all close together, and killed
the whole. On opening them I found their stomachs to contain small
worms and fragments of very delicate shells. The birds seen at the
Falls of the Ohio flew in the manner of the Common Snipe, proceeding
at first in an undulating or zigzag line, but more steadily after
reaching a certain elevation, when they came pretty close together,
wheeled a few times, and alighted again near the same shallow pools.
Dr RICHARDSON, who found this species breeding on the Saskatchewan,
says “it lays two or three eggs among the grass on the margins of small
lakes: they are very obtuse at one end, taper much at the other, and
have a colour intermediate between yellowish-grey and cream-yellow,
interspersed with small roundish spots and a few larger blotches of
umber-brown, more crowded at the obtuse end. The eggs measure sixteen
lines and a half in length and eleven across.”
I observed scarcely any difference in the colouring of the sexes,
the female being merely larger than the male.
PHALAROPUS WILSONII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
the United States, p. 342.
GRAY PHALAROPE, PHALAROPUS LOBATUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. ix. p. 72. pl. 73. fig. 2.
WILSON’S PHALAROPE, PHALAROPUS WILSONII, _Ch. Bonaparte_,
Amer. Ornith. vol. iv. p. 59. pl. 24. fig. 1. Adult; and
pl. 25. fig. 1. Young.
PHALAROPUS WILSONII, WILSON’S PHALAROPE, _Swains. and
Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 405, pl. 69.
AMERICAN PHALAROPE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 245.
Adult Male. Plate CCLIV. Fig. 1.
Bill long, very slender, flexible, flattened towards the end. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge flattened, the
sides at the base sloping, but towards the end nearly horizontal,
the edges obtuse, the tip narrow. Nasal groove linear, long; nostrils
basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and
extremely narrow, the sides slightly convex, the tip narrowed.
Head small, with the fore part high and rounded; eyes of moderate
size. Neck rather long and slender. Body slender. Feet rather long,
slender; tibia bare a considerable way above the joint; tarsus
extremely compressed, narrowed before, very thin behind, covered
anteriorly with numerous scutella, posteriorly with two series of
scutella meeting with a sharp edge; toes slender, first very small,
free, with a slight membrane beneath, second slightly shorter than
fourth, third considerably longer; all scutellate above, margined
on both sides with narrow, slightly lobed, crenate membranes, which
are united at the base so as to form short webs, of which the outer
is longer. Claws very small, compressed, arched, that of the middle
toe with the inner edge sharp.
Plumage soft and blended. Feathers of the back and wings distinct.
Wings long and pointed, primary quills tapering but rounded, the first
longest, the second scarcely shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondary quills rather short, broad, obliquely rounded, with a
small tip, the inner tapering and elongated, so as nearly to equal
the longest primaries when the wing is closed. Tail rather short,
nearly even but with the two middle feathers longer, of twelve rounded
feathers, of which the outer are incurved.
Bill black. Iris brown. Feet bluish-grey, claws black. The general
colour of the upper parts is brownish-grey, the hind neck and upper
tail-coverts greyish-white, the top of the head ash-grey. A white line
over the eye; a band of black along the lore, under the eye, and down
the side of the neck, on which it becomes broader and changes into
chestnut-brown, when it proceeds along the scapulars of a brownish-red
colour; another brownish-red band across the wing and including part
of the inner secondaries. Quills greyish-brown, the outer primaries
and their coverts darker. Tail-feathers pale brownish-grey on the
outer, white more or less mottled on the inner webs. Throat and cheeks
white; fore neck orange-brown, fading below, and extending paler
along the sides of the body; breast, abdomen and lower wing-coverts
white; lower surface of wings pale grey, of tail white.
Length to end of tail 10 inches, to end of claws 11; extent of wings
17-1/2; wing from flexure 7-4/12; tail 2-2/12; bill along the back
1-7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-8/12; bare part of tibia
3/4; tarsus 1-1/4; middle toe 1-2/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12. Weight 2-1/2
oz.
The Female, which is somewhat larger, is in colour precisely similar
to the Male. Weight 3 oz.
Young in autumn. Plate CCLIV. Fig. 2.
The young bird after the first moult has the bill brownish-black,
the iris brown, the feet greenish-yellow, the claws black. The upper
parts are variegated with brownish-black and light greenish-yellow,
the central part of each feather being of the former colour; primary
quills brownish-black; tail-feathers as in the adult. The lower parts
are white.
THE RED PHALAROPE.
_PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS_, BONAP.
PLATE CCLV. ADULT MALE AND FEMALE IN SUMMER, AND ADULT IN WINTER.
My first drawing of the Red Phalarope was made at Louisville in
Kentucky, a few weeks after my removal to that place, in 1808. One
afternoon, while returning from the house of my hospitable friend
General CROGHAN, I observed a large flock of birds proceeding along
the shores of the Ohio. They were quite unknown to me, and therefore
extremely anxious I was to procure some of them. I therefore ran
through the woods until I got ahead of them, went to the margin of
the river, and concealed myself at some distance from them. They
swam beautifully, played about, picked up substances floating on the
water, now dispersed, and again came close together, until at length
coming opposite to a small sand-bar stretching out from the shore to
the distance of a few yards, they directed their course towards it,
and waded out. When just landing, they were so close to each other
that I could not withstand the temptation, and so levelled my gun,
pulled both triggers, and saw that I had made considerable havock
among them. Those which had not been bitten flew off in a compact
body, while the birds that had been but slightly wounded made for
the water, and swam away so fast that they seemed to be running on
the surface. I picked up seventeen, which I found so beautiful and
withal so plump, that I felt quite delighted, and resolved to shoot
as many more as I could. But I did not succeed in killing more than
other five that day.
I had never until then seen a Phalarope of any kind, although I had
inspected some shocking figures of these elegant birds, figures so
unlike the originals that even with the aid of a name printed beneath,
you could not recognise them. Such of my acquaintances at Louisville
as had been accustomed to shoot birds, had never seen one of this
species on the Ohio, or in any part of the country. It was then and
there that I made my first drawing of the Red Phalarope, which I
shewed to ALEXANDER WILSON during his visit to Louisville. It being
late in October, the specimens which I had procured were all in their
grey livery, and proved capital eating. As I was anxious to watch
the rest of the flock, which I think must have been composed of at
least a hundred individuals, I went to the same place on the following
afternoon. As I crossed Bear Grass Creek, near its junction with the
Ohio, I observed eight or ten of them walking over the green moss
on the surface of the water near the shore. Of these I succeeded in
killing three. In the course of a walk of two miles along the banks
of the river, I could see none; and some Blue-winged Teals happening
to pass over from the stream in the direction of a pond between it
and Kieger’s Ferry-house, I went in pursuit of them. Before I got
up they had flown away, or had passed over without alighting. There,
however, to my great joy, I found all the Phalaropes swimming along
the margins and picking up the seeds of grasses. They were much less
shy than when I met with them on the river, so that I soon procured
eight more at a single shot. The rest rose, emitting quick sharp
cries, performed a few evolutions at a considerable height, and went
off to the westward.
On the 1st of September 1831, while on board the packet ship Columbia,
commanded by my good friend JOSEPH DELANO, Esq. Nantucket being distant
about sixty miles, we came upon an extensive bank of sea-weeds and
froth, about a mile in length, which I was told was produced by the
action of the tides. On this bed were hundreds of Phalaropes of this
species, walking as unconcernedly as if on land. As we approached it,
they rose and flew around the vessel for a few minutes, and when we
had passed through we saw them re-alight.
I have not seen the Red Phalarope alive on any other occasion than
those mentioned above; and I am indebted to my generous friend Captain
JAMES CLARK ROSS for the beautiful specimens in summer plumage, from
which the figures in the plate were taken.
None of those which I had wounded attempted to dive. When caught and
held in the hand, they merely fluttered and tried to escape, like
other small birds. Their flight was rapid, resembling that of the
Red-backed Sandpiper, _Tringa alpina_, and they performed various
evolutions, sometimes skimming over the water, when they kept more
apart than either when rising at first, or when they reached a certain
height, on attaining which they pursued their course, with alternate
inclinations to either side.
According to Captain J. C. ROSS, these birds breed in great numbers
far north. The eggs, of which he has favoured me with some, measure
an inch and a quarter by seven-eighths; their ground colour is dull
greenish-yellow, irregularly blotched and dotted with reddish-brown.
PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds
of the United States, p. 341.
RED PHALAROPE, PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. ix. p. 75. pl. 74, fig. 4.
PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS, FLAT-BILLED PHALAROPE, _Swains. and
Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 407.
RED PHALAROPE, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 236.
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCLV. Fig. 1.
Bill scarcely longer than the head, straight, slender, nearly
cylindrical, towards the end broader and flattened, the tip narrow.
Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, excepting at the end,
where it is a little curved, the ridge convex, flattened at the broad
part, the sides slightly sloping, the edges rounded, and near the
slightly curved obtuse tip inflected. Nasal groove linear, extending to
near the tip; nostrils basal, linear-elliptical. Lower mandible with
the angle very long and narrow, the sides convex, the tip narrowed,
obtuse.
Head small, with the fore part high and rounded; eyes small. Neck of
moderate length. Body rather full. Feet rather short, slender; tibia
bare a short way above the joint; tarsus much compressed, narrowed
before and behind, covered anteriorly with numerous scutella; toes
very slender, first extremely small, free, with a slight membrane
beneath, second shorter than third, which is a little longer; all
scutellate above, the anterior margined on both sides with lobed and
pectinated membranes, which are united at the base, so as to render
the foot nearly half-webbed, the outer web much longer than the inner.
Claws very small, compressed, arched, obtuse, that of the middle toe
with an inner sharp edge.
Plumage soft and slender, the feathers on the back and wings somewhat
distinct. Wings long and pointed; primary quills tapering, but
rounded, the first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest
rapidly graduated; secondary quills rather short, obliquely truncate,
the inner tapering and elongated, so as nearly to equal the longest
primaries when the wing is closed. Tail of moderate length, much
rounded, of twelve feathers.
Bill greenish-yellow, black at the point. Iris brown. Feet pale
greyish-blue. Upper part of the head black; loral space and chin
blackish-grey; sides of the head, and a band round the occiput,
white. Sides and fore part of the neck, breast, abdomen, and lower
tail-coverts deep orange-red. Fore part of the back, scapulars, and
inner secondaries, black, the feathers edged with whitish; wing-coverts
deep ash-grey; quills dark greyish-brown, their shafts and basal parts
white; the ends of the secondary and primary coverts, and the basal
part of the outer webs of the primaries, being white, a band of that
colour is seen on the wing when it is extended. Upper tail-coverts
orange-red; tail deep grey, darker towards the end, slightly tipped
with reddish.
Length to end of tail 7-1/2 inches, to end of claws 6-3/4; extent of
wings 13; wing from flexure 5; tail 2-3/4; bill along the back 11/12,
along the edge of lower mandible 1-1/12; tarsus 10/12; middle toe
10/12, its claw (1-1/2)/12.
Adult Female in summer. Plate CCLV. Fig. 2.
The Female has the upper part variegated with light red and
brownish-black, the central part of each feather being of the
latter colour, the upper tail-coverts entirely of the former. Wings
greyish-black, with a transverse white band; tail deep grey as in
the male. The lower parts are of a less pure red than those of the
male, being paler and tinged with grey.
Adult in winter. Plate CCLV. Fig. 3.
The winter plumage of the adult is very different in colour. The
bill is nearly black, the feet as in summer. The upper part of the
head, cheeks, fore part and sides of the neck, breast, abdomen, lower
and upper tail-coverts, and a band across the wing, are white; a
brownish-black line from the eye to the occiput, which is of the same
colour, as well as the middle of the hind neck. The back, scapulars,
and inner secondaries, are ash-grey, the wings as in summer.
Length to end of tail 7-1/2 inches.
BREAKING UP THE ICE.