Bill shorter than the head, robust, straight, slightly compressed, the
tip curved. Upper mandible with the nostrils on the ridge, separated
only by a thin partition, covered by an elevated horny case, and
opening directly forwards, the sides convex, and separated by a groove
from the nasal plate, as well as from the unguis, which is remarkably
strong, curved and acute, the edges sharp, inflected, and slightly
curved. Lower mandible with the angle long, rather wide, acute, the
sides erect but convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the very short
dorsal line ascending and slightly concave, the edges decurved at
the end.
Head rather large, ovate. Neck rather short. Body full. Feet of
moderate length, stout; tibia bare for a short space below; tarsus
a little compressed, rather sharp before, covered all round with
reticular scales, of which those on the anterior and posterior ridges
are much smaller. Hind toe a slight prominence, with a conical obtuse
claw; the fore toes long, slender, scutellate above, connected by
striated entire webs, the fourth a little longer than the third,
the second not much shorter. Claws rather small, arched, compressed,
rather acute, that of third toe with an inner thin edge.
Plumage free, close, elastic, blended; on the back and wings the
feathers rather distinct. Wings long; primary quills rather broad,
tapering, acuminate, the first longest, the rest graduated; secondary
broad and rounded. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve
broad, rounded feathers.
Bill, iris, and feet yellow, the latter tinged with green. The head,
neck and lower parts, are pure white; the back and wings light
greyish-blue, the rump paler, the tail bluish-white; the primary
quills and their coverts blackish-brown.
Length to end of tail 16-1/2 inches, to end of wings 17-3/4, to end
of claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 30; wing from flexure 13; tail 4-1/4;
bill along the back 1-10/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-2/12;
tarsus 2; outer toe 1-8/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 4 oz.
The Female is similar to the Male.
THE BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER.
_TRINGA RUFESCENS_, VIEILL.
PLATE CCLXV. MALE AND FEMALE.
It is a curious fact that although this beautiful bird is by no means
rare, at particular periods, along the shores of our Eastern Districts,
it remained unknown to WILSON, BONAPARTE, and, until found in England
by Mr YARRELL, to myself. It was first discovered by VIEILLOT in
Louisiana, where, however, I never met with it. My friend NUTTALL,
who has also described it, states that it is often seen near Boston,
in company with the Pectoral Sandpiper, and is not uncommon in the
market there. To my friend Mr YARRELL I am indebted for the use of
his specimen, from which I made the figure in the act of starting on
wing. The other figure was taken from an American specimen, procured
at Boston, and now in my possession. I regret, however, that I can
say nothing respecting the habits or haunts of this bird, farther than
that having seen a wing of it in the possession of my friend Captain
JAMES CLARK ROSS, I think it probable that it breeds near the Arctic
circle, as he received a wing from the sailors, who had found it in
the course of one of the numerous inland excursions in the desolate
regions from which these intrepid navigators have recently returned.
TRINGA RUFESCENS, LE TRINGA ROUSSATRE, _Vieill._ Nouv. Dict.
d’Hist. Nat.—_Yarrell_, in Linn. Trans. vol. xvi. p. 109.
pl. 11.
BUFF-BREASTED TRINGA, TRINGA RUFESCENS, _Selby_, Illustr.
vol. ii. p. 142. pl. 27. fig. 4.
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 113.
Adult Male. Plate CCLXV. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, slender, subcylindrical, very
slightly decurved, compressed at the base, the point rather depressed
and obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line very slightly decurved
towards the end, the ridge convex, the sides sloping, the edges rather
blunt and soft. Nasal groove extending to near the tip, nostrils
basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very
narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides sloping outwards, with
a long narrow groove, the tip a little broader, but tapering.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes rather large. Neck
of moderate length. Body rather slender. Feet rather long, slender;
tibia bare a third part of its length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly
and posteriorly with numerous small scutella; hind toe very small;
the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth slightly longer
than the second, the third longest; all free, scutellate above, flat
beneath, slightly marginate; claws rather small, slightly arched,
compressed, rather obtuse, that of the third toe much larger, with
the inner edge dilated.
Plumage very soft, blended on the lower parts, the feathers rather
distinct above. Wings very long, pointed; primaries tapering, obtuse,
the first longest, the second almost equal, the rest rapidly graduated;
outer secondaries slightly incurved, narrow, very obliquely sinuate on
the outer web towards the end, the inner web rounded, and extending
beyond the outer; inner secondaries very narrow, tapering, acute,
reaching, when the wing is closed, to within half an inch of its tip.
Tail of moderate length, nearly even, with the two middle feathers
exceeding the rest, and having the shaft projecting, of twelve narrow,
rounded feathers.
Bill dull olive-green, dusky towards the point. Iris hazel. Feet dull
yellowish-green, claws dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is
greyish-yellow, each feather blackish-brown in the centre; wing-coverts
lighter; quills and their coverts light greyish-brown, greenish-black
at the end, but with a whitish tip, the inner webs whitish in the
greater part of their breadth, and beautifully dotted with black in
undulating lines; the inner secondaries like the feathers of the back.
The two middle tail-feathers greyish-brown, dark-brown glossed with
green at the end, and slightly margined and tipped with white, the
rest gradually paler to the outer, margined and tipped with white,
within which are two lines of blackish-brown. Sides of the head, fore
neck, and sides light yellowish-red, the throat paler, the sides of
the neck and body spotted with brownish-black; the rest of the lower
parts paler and unspotted. The lower wing-coverts are white, those
near the edge of the wing black in the centre, the primary coverts
dotted with black, and having a spot of the same near the end.
Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 8-9/12; extent of wings
18; wing from flexure 5-3/4; tail 2-11/12; bill along the ridge
(10-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1; bare part of tibia
7/12; tarsus 1-4/12, middle toe 10/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12. Weight
2-1/2 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCLXV. Fig. 2.
The Female is somewhat larger than the male, which it resembles in
colour, but has the lower parts paler, and the feathers of the upper
parts of a lighter brown, with an inner margin of brownish-black and
an outer of greyish-yellow.
THE OPOSSUM.
This singular animal is found more or less abundant in most parts
of the Southern, Western, and Middle States of the Union. It is the
_Didelphis virginiana_ of PENNANT, HARLAN, and other authors who
have given some account of its habits; but as none of them, so far
as I know, have illustrated its propensity to dissimulate, and as I
have had opportunities of observing its manners, I trust that a few
particulars of its biography will prove amusing.
The opossum is fond of secluding itself during the day, although it
by no means confines its predatory rangings to the night. Like many
other quadrupeds which feed principally on flesh, it is also both
frugivorous and herbivorous, and, when very hard pressed by hunger,
it seizes various kinds of insects and reptiles. Its gait, while
travelling, and at a time when it supposes itself unobserved, is
altogether ambling: in other words, it, like a young foal, moves the
two legs of one side forward at once. The Newfoundland dog manifests
a similar propensity. Having a constitution as hardy as that of the
most northern animals, it stands the coldest weather, and does not
hybernate, although its covering of fur and hair may be said to be
comparatively scanty even during winter. The defect, however, seems
to be compensated by a skin of considerable thickness, and a general
subcutaneous layer of fat. Its movements are usually rather slow, and
as it walks or ambles along, its curious prehensile tail is carried
just above the ground, its rounded ears are directed forward, and at
almost every step its pointed nose is applied to the objects beneath
it in order to discover what sort of creatures may have crossed its
path. Methinks I see one at this moment slowly and cautiously trudging
over the melting snows by the side of an unfrequented pond, nosing as
it goes for the fare its ravenous appetite prefers. Now it has come
upon the fresh track of a grouse or hare, and it raises its snout
and snuffs the keen air. At length it has decided on its course, and
it speeds onward at the rate of a man’s ordinary walk. It stops and
seems at a loss in what direction to go, for the object of its pursuit
has either taken a considerable leap, or has cut backwards before the
opossum entered its track. It raises itself up, stands for a while on
its hind feet, looks around, snuffs the air again, and then proceeds;
but now, at the foot of a noble tree, it comes to a full stand. It
walks round the base of the huge trunk, over the snow-covered roots,
and among them finds an aperture, which it at once enters. Several
minutes elapse, when it re-appears, dragging along a squirrel already
deprived of life, with which in its mouth it begins to ascend the
tree. Slowly it climbs. The first fork does not seem to suit it, for
perhaps it thinks it might there be too openly exposed to the view
of some wily foe, and so it proceeds, until it gains a cluster of
branches intertwined with grape-vines, and there composing itself,
it twists its tail round one of the twigs, and with its sharp teeth
demolishes the unlucky squirrel, which it holds all the while with
its fore paws.
The pleasant days of spring have arrived, and the trees vigorously
shoot forth their buds; but the opossum is almost bare, and seems
nearly exhausted by hunger. It visits the margins of creeks, and is
pleased to see the young frogs, which afford it a tolerable repast.
Gradually the poke-berry and the nettle shoot up, and on their tender
and juicy stems it gladly feeds. The matin calls of the Wild Turkey
Cock delight the ear of the cunning creature, for it well knows that
it will soon hear the female, and trace her to her nest, when it will
suck the eggs with delight. Travelling through the woods, perhaps on
the ground, perhaps aloft, from tree to tree, it hears a cock crow,
and its heart swells as it remembers the savoury food on which it
regaled itself last summer in the neighbouring farm-yard. With great
care, however, it advances, and at last conceals itself in the very
hen-house.
Honest farmer! why did you kill so many crows last winter? aye, and
ravens too? Well, you have had your own way of it; but now hie to
the village and procure a store of ammunition, clean your rusty gun,
set your traps, and teach your lazy curs to watch the opossum. There
it comes! The sun is scarcely down, but the appetite of the prowler
is keen; hear the screams of one of your best chickens that has been
seized by him! The cunning beast is off with it, and nothing now
can be done, unless you stand there to watch the fox or the owl,
now exulting in the thought that you have killed their enemy and
your own friend, the poor crow. That precious hen under which you
last week placed a dozen eggs or so, is now deprived of them. The
opossum, notwithstanding her angry outcries and rufflings of feathers,
has removed them one by one; and now, look at the poor bird as she
moves across your yard; if not mad, she is at least stupid, for she
scratches here and there, calling to her chickens all the while. All
this comes from your shooting crows. Had you been more merciful or
more prudent, the opossum might have been kept within the woods, where
it would have been satisfied with a squirrel, a young hare, the eggs
of a Turkey, or the grapes that so profusely adorn the boughs of our
forest trees. But I talk to you in vain.
There cannot be a better exemplification of maternal tenderness than
the female oppossum. Just peep into that curious sack in which the
young are concealed, each attached to a teat. The kind mother not only
nourishes them with care, but preserves them from their enemies; she
moves with them as the shark does with its progeny, and now, aloft
on the tulip tree, she hides among the thick foliage. By the end of
two months they begin to shift for themselves; each has been taught
its particular lesson, and must now practise it.
But suppose the farmer has surprised an Opossum in the act of killing
one of his best fowls. His angry feelings urge him to kick the poor
beast, which, conscious of its inability to resist, rolls off like a
ball. The more the farmer rages, the more reluctant is the animal to
manifest resentment; at last there it lies, not dead, but exhausted,
its jaws open, its tongue extended, its eye dimmed; and there it
would lie until the bottle-fly should come to deposit its eggs, did
not its tormentor at length walk off. “Surely,” says he to himself,
“the beast must be dead.” But no, reader, it is only “’possuming,”
and no sooner has its enemy withdrawn, than it gradually gets on its
legs, and once more makes for the woods.
Once, while descending the Mississippi, in a sluggish flat-bottomed
boat, expressly for the purpose of studying those objects of nature
more nearly connected with my favourite pursuits, I chanced to meet
with two well-grown Opossums, and brought them alive to the “ark.”
The poor things were placed on the roof or deck, and were immediately
assailed by the crew, when, following their natural instinct, they lay
as if quite dead. An experiment was suggested, and both were thrown
overboard. On striking the water, and for a few moments after, neither
evinced the least disposition to move; but finding their situation
desperate, they began to swim towards our uncouth rudder, which was
formed of a long slender tree, extending from the middle of the boat
thirty feet beyond its stern. They both got upon it, were taken up,
and afterwards let loose in their native woods.
In the year 1829, I was in a portion of Lower Louisiana, where the
Opossum abounds at all seasons, and having been asked by the President
and the Secretary of the Zoological Society of London, to forward live
animals of this species to them, I offered a price a little above
the common, and soon found myself plentifully supplied, twenty-five
having been brought to me. I found them excessively voracious, and
not less cowardly. They were put into a large box, with a great
quantity of food, and conveyed to a steamer bound for New Orleans.
Two days afterwards, I went to the city, to see about sending them
off to Europe; but, to my surprise, I found that the old males had
destroyed the younger ones, and eaten off their heads, and that only
sixteen remained alive. A separate box was purchased for each, and
some time after they reached my friends the RATHBONES of Liverpool,
who, with their usual attention, sent them off to London, where, on
my return, I saw a good number of them in the Zoological Gardens.
This animal is fond of grapes, of which a species now bears its name.
Persimons are greedily eaten by it, and in severe weather I have
observed it eating lichens. Fowls of every kind, and quadrupeds less
powerful than itself, are also its habitual prey.
The flesh of the Opossum resembles that of a young pig, and would
perhaps be as highly prized, were it not for the prejudice generally
entertained against it. Some “very particular” persons, to my
knowledge, have pronounced it excellent eating. After cleaning its
body, suspend it for a whole week in the frosty air, for it is not
eaten in summer; then place it on a heap of hot wood embers; sprinkle
it when cooked with gunpowder; and now tell me, good reader, does
it not equal the famed Canvas-back Duck? Should you visit any of our
markets, you may see it there in company with the best game.
THE COMMON CORMORANT.
_PHALACROCORAX CARBO_, DUMONT.
PLATE CCLXVI. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
Look at the birds before you, and mark the affectionate glance of
the mother, as she stands beside her beloved younglings! I wish you
could have witnessed the actions of such groups as I did while in
Labrador. Methinks I still see the high rolling billows of the St
Lawrence breaking in foaming masses against the huge cliffs, on the
shelves of which the Cormorant places its nest. I lie flat on the
edge of the precipice some hundred feet above the turbulent waters,
and now crawling along with all care, I find myself only a few yards
above the spot on which the parent bird and her young are fondling
each other, quite unconscious of my being near. How delighted I am
to witness their affectionate gratulations, hear their lisping notes,
mark the tremulous motions of their expanded throats, and the curious
vacillations of their heads and necks! The kind mother gently caresses
each alternately with her bill; the little ones draw nearer to her,
and, as if anxious to evince their gratitude, rub their heads against
hers. How pleasing all this is to me! But at this moment the mother
accidentally looks upward, her keen eye has met mine, she utters a
croak, spreads her sable wings, and in terror launches into the air,
leaving her brood at my mercy. Far and near, above and beneath me, the
anxious parent passes and repasses; her flight is now unnatural, and
she seems crippled, for she would fain perform those actions in the
air, which other birds perform on the ground or on the water, in such
distressing moments of anxiety for the fate of their beloved young.
Her many neighbours, all as suspicious as herself, well understand the
meaning of her mode of flight, and one after another take to wing, so
that the air is in a manner blackened with them. Some fly far over
the waters, others glide along the face of the bold rock, but none
that have observed me realight, and how many of those there are I
am pretty certain, as the greater number follow in the track of the
one most concerned. Meanwhile the little ones, in their great alarm,
have crawled into a recess, and there they are huddled together. I
have witnessed their pleasures and their terrors, and now, crawling
backwards, I leave them to resume their ordinary state of peaceful
security.
It was on the 3d of July 1833, about three in the morning, that I
had the pleasure of witnessing the scene described above. I was aware
before that a colony of Cormorants had nestled on the ledges of the
great rocky wall that separated our harbour of Whapatiguan from the
waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence. A strong gale had ruffled the
sea, and the waves dashed with extreme violence against the rocks, to
which circumstance, I believe, was owing my having remained a while
unseen and unheard so near the birds, which were not more than four
or five yards below me. The mother fondled and nursed her young with
all possible tenderness, disgorged some food into the mouth of each,
and coaxed them with her bill and wings. The little ones seemed very
happy, billed with their mother, and caressed her about the breast.
When the parent bird flew off on observing me, the young seemed quite
frightened, squatted at once on their broad nest, and then crawled
with the aid of their bills until they reached a recess where they
remained concealed.
On another occasion, my young friends LINCOLN and COOLEDGE, along
with my son, went to the same rocks, for the purpose of bringing
me a nest and some of the young Cormorants. They reported that, in
one instance, they surprised the parent birds close beneath them,
apparently asleep, resting on their rumps in an upright position,
with the head thrust under the wing, and that, had they had a noose
attached to their poles, they might have secured at least one of
them, but that after a few minutes one drew out her head, stretched
her neck, and after looking around flew off croaking, so as to alarm
all her neighbours.
We saw no nests of this species placed in any other situations than
the highest shelves of the precipitous rocks fronting the water and
having a southern exposure. No other Cormorants bred on the spots
of which this kind had taken possession; but Ravens and Peregrine
Falcons were observed to have nests on the same rocks, and in some
instances close to them. The nests were formed of a quantity of small
dry sticks, matted in a rude manner with a large quantity of weeds
and moss, to a thickness of four or five inches in new nests, and in
others to that of a foot or more; for we observed that this species,
as well as the Double-crested and the Florida Cormorants, repair and
enlarge their tenements each season, and return to the same rocks many
years in succession, as was shewn by their places of resort remaining
whitewashed with excrements through the winter, in which condition
we saw them previous to the arrival of the birds that season. The
nests varied in breadth according to the space on which they were
placed; where there was ample room, they measured at the base from
thirty to thirty-six inches in diameter; others were scarcely large
enough to hold the young, which nevertheless seemed as contented as
their neighbours. On some shelves, eight or ten yards in extent, the
nests were crowded together; but more usually they were placed apart
on every secure place without any order; none, however, were below
a certain height on the rocks, nor were there any on the summit.
The nests being covered with filth, were offensive to the eye, and
still more so to the nose. The eggs, three or four in number, more
frequently the former, average two inches and five-eighths in length,
by one inch and three quarters in breadth, the shell of a uniform
pale bluish-green colour, mostly coated over with calcareous matter.
The young are at first of a dark purplish livid colour, and have a
very uncouth appearance, their legs and feet seeming enormous. In
less than a fortnight they become covered on all the upper parts with
brownish-black down, but the abdomen remains bare much longer than the
rest. They increase rapidly in size, and are fledged in six or seven
weeks. Some that were weighed when about a month old, averaged three
pounds, and others almost able to fly six pounds, the young of this
species, as of most water birds, being much heavier than the parent
at the time of leaving the nest. We procured several of different
sizes, which we kept on the deck. Whenever a person approached them,
they raised their heads, stretched their necks, and opened their
bills, so as to expand the skin of the throat, which they made to
vibrate, while they uttered a sort of hissing mutter of a very strange
character, but resembling that of the young of the Brown Pelican.
They crawled sluggishly about, aiding themselves in their progress
with their bills, and at all times looked extremely clumsy. They
took food very readily, ate a prodigious quantity, certainly more
than their own weight each day, and appeared always ready to receive
more. When thrown overboard, they swam off under water, like the old
birds, with considerable speed, moving their unfledged wings all the
while. Some would not rise for twenty or thirty yards, but few went
farther under water than that distance, and they were soon fatigued.
On one occasion, some half-grown young birds threw themselves from
their nest, or were pushed off by their parents while in the agonies
of death, they having been shot at. As they passed quickly downwards
through the air, they moved their wings with great rapidity, and the
instant they reached the water they disappeared beneath the surface.