very short, of the neck full. Wings short, rounded; the fourth and
fifth quills about equal and longest, the first three extraordinarily
attenuated, being in fact sublinear, narrower beyond the middle, the
inner web slightly enlarged towards the end, the first as long as the
seventh; secondaries broad, the outer a little incurved and rounded,
the inner tapering and elongated. Tail very short, wedge-shaped, of
twelve narrow feathers, which taper towards the rounded point.
Bill light yellowish-brown, dusky towards the end. Iris brown. Feet
flesh coloured; claws brownish-black. The forehead is yellowish-grey,
with a few dark mottlings in the centre; on the upper part of the head
are two broad blackish brown transverse bands, and on the occiput
two narrower, separated by bands of light red; a brownish-black
loral band, and a narrow irregular line of the same across the cheek
and continued to the occiput. The upper parts are variegated with
brownish-black, light yellowish-red, and ash-grey; there are three
broad longitudinal bands of the first colour, barred with the second,
down the back, separated by two of the last. The inner wing-coverts
and secondary quills are similarly barred; the outer pale greyish-red,
faintly barred with dusky. The quills are greyish-brown, tipped with
dull grey, the secondaries spotted on the outer web with dull red.
Upper tail-coverts barred; tail-feathers brownish-black, their tips
grey, their outer edges mottled with reddish. The sides of the neck
are grey tinged with red; the lower parts in general light red, tinged
with grey on the breast, on the sides and lower wing-coverts deeper;
the lower tail-coverts with a central dusky line, and the tip white.
Length to end of tail 11 inches, to end of wings 9-1/2; wing from
flexure 5-1/4; tail 2-4/12; bill along the ridge 2-8/12, along the edge
of lower mandible 2-(5-1/2)/12; tarsus 1-2/12; middle toe 1-5/12, its
claw 1/4. Weight 6-1/4 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCLXVIII. Fig. 2.
The Female, which is considerably larger, has the same colours as
the male.
Length to end of tail 11-7/12, to end of wings 10-5/12, to end of claws
13-4/12; wing from flexure 5-4/12; tail 2-4/12; bill along the ridge
2-10/12; along the edge of lower mandible 2-(6-/1/2)/12; tarsus 1-2/12;
middle toe 2-5/12, its claw 1/4. Weight 8-1/2 oz.
Young fledged. Plate CCLXVIII. Fig. 3.
The Young when fully fledged is similar to the old female.
THE GREENSHANK.
_TOTANUS GLOTTIS_, BECHST.
PLATE CCLXIX. MALE.
While on Sand Key, which is about six miles distant from Cape Sable
of the Floridas, in lat. 24° 57´ north, and 81° 45´ long, west of
Greenwich, I shot three birds of this species on the 28th of May 1832.
I had at first supposed them to be Tell-tale Godwits, as they walked
on the bars and into the shallows much in the same manner, and, on
obtaining them, imagined they were new; but on shewing them to my
assistant Mr WARD, who was acquainted with the Greenshank of Europe,
he pronounced them to be of that species, and I have since ascertained
the fact by a comparison of specimens. They were all male birds, and
I observed no material difference in their plumage. We did not find
any afterwards; but it is probable that we had seen some previously,
although we did not endeavour to procure them, having supposed them
to be Tell-tales. Almost all the birds seen in the Floridas at this
date had young or eggs; and this circumstance increased my surprise
at finding all the three individuals to be males. They had been shot
merely because they offered a tempting opportunity, being all close
together, and it is not often that one can kill three Tell-tales at
once. As I am not acquainted with the habits of this species, I have
applied to my friend Mr MACGILLIVRAY, who has kindly furnished me
with the following notice of them as observed in the Hebrides.
“The Greenshank is seen in the Outer Hebrides early in spring, and
generally departs in October, although I have observed individuals
there in November. Previous to the commencement of the breeding-season,
and after the young are fledged, it resorts to the shores of the sea,
frequenting pools of brackish-water at the head of the sand-fords,
and the shallow margins of bays and creeks. Its habits are very
similar to those of the Redshank, with which it associates in autumn.
It is extremely shy and vigilant, insomuch that one can very seldom
shoot it, unless after it has deposited its eggs. Many individuals
remain during the summer, when they are to be found by the lakes
in the interior, of which the number in Uist, Harris, and Lewis is
astonishing. At that season it is very easily discovered, for when you
are perhaps more than a quarter of a mile distant, it rises into the
air with clamorous cries, alarming all the birds in its neighbourhood,
flies round the place of its nest, now wheeling off to a distance,
again advancing towards you, and at intervals alighting by the edge
of the lake, when it continues its cries, vibrating its body all the
while. I once found a nest of this bird in the island of Harris.
It was at a considerable distance from the water, and consisted
of a few fragments of heath and some blades of grass, placed in a
shallow cavity scraped in the turf, in an exposed place. The nest,
in fact, resembled that of the Golden Plover, the Curlew, or the
Lapwing. The eggs, placed with their narrow ends together, were four
in number, pyriform, larger than those of the Lapwing, and smaller
than those of the Golden Plover, equally pointed with the latter,
but proportionally broader and more rounded at the larger end than
either. The dimensions of one of them, still remaining with me, are
two inches exactly, by one inch and three-eighths; the ground colour
is a very pale yellowish-green, sprinkled all over with irregular
spots of dark brown, intermixed with blotches of light purplish-grey,
the spots, and especially the blotches, more numerous on the larger
end. Although in summer these birds may be seen in many parts of the
islands, they are yet very rare, a pair being to be met with only
at an interval of several miles. In other parts of Scotland they are
seen chiefly in autumn, but are of rare occurrence.”
It is curious how nearly by this account the habits of the Greenshank
correspond with those of the Tell-tale Godwit, _Totanus melanoleucos_.
SCOLOPAX GLOTTIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 245.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 270.
TOTANUS GLOTTIS, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p.
659.—_Selby_, Illust. vol.ii. p. 86.
GREENSHANK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 618.
Male in Summer. Plate CCLXIX.
Bill long, slender, compressed, tapering, slightly recurved. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line very slightly curved upwards, the ridge
convex, the sides grooved nearly to the middle, afterwards convex,
the edges inflected and directly meeting those of the lower mandible,
the tip narrowed and slightly deflected. Nostrils basal, linear,
pervious, nearer the edge than the dorsal line. Lower mandible with
the angle very narrow and medial, beyond it the outline straight
and ascending, the sides grooved as far as the angle and convex, the
edges sharp and inflected, the point very narrow.
Head small, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long, slender.
Body slender. Feet long and slender; tibia bare for half its length,
scutellate before and behind; tarsus long, slender, covered before
and behind with numerous scutella, the narrow lateral spaces with
extremely small oblong scales. Toes small, very slender, scutellate
above, flat beneath, marginate, the middle toe connected with the
outer by a basal membrane, with the inner by an extremely small one;
first toe extremely small, second slightly shorter than fourth, third
considerably longer. Claws small, compressed, arched, rather obtuse,
that of third toe with a dilated inner edge.
Plumage soft and blended, on the fore part of the head very short,
on the neck short and almost downy. Wings rather long, very acute,
narrow; primaries tapering and rounded, the first longest, the second
little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries obliquely
rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, of twelve
narrow, rounded feathers, the two middle ones considerably longer
than the rest.
Bill dusky-green, black at the end. Iris brown. Feet dull
greenish-grey. A broad band from the bill to the eye, all the lower
parts, as well as the back, excepting a small portion anteriorly, pure
white; that colour, however, does not appear on the back, when the
wings are closed, it being covered over by the scapulars. Loral space
white, marked with small oblong spots of greyish brown; sides of the
lower part of fore neck and a portion of the breast faintly barred
with grey. The upper part of the head, and the hind part and sides of
the neck are greyish-white, with longitudinal central greyish-brown
markings. The scapulars and inner secondaries are greyish-brown,
the feathers edged with greyish-white, and lined or mottled with
dark brown towards the margins; the smaller wing-coverts plain, the
larger darker near the edge and margined with whitish, as are the
outer secondaries; the primary quills and their coverts dark brown,
the shaft of the outer white. The tail is greyish-white, undulated
with light brown, the four outer feathers on each side with only a
series of spots on the outer edge, which on the outermost feathers
is almost obliterated.
Length to end of tail 11 inches, to end of wings 12; wing from flexure
7; tail 3; bill along the back 2-2/12, along the edge of lower mandible
2-2/12; bare part of tibia 1-5/12; tarsus 2-5/12; middle toe 1-2/12, its
claw 5/12.
WILSON’S PETREL.
_THALASSIDROMA WILSONII._
PLATE CCLXX. MALE AND FEMALE.
A long voyage would always be to me a continued source of suffering,
were I restrained from gazing on the vast expanse of the waters, and
on the ever-pleasing inhabitants of the air that now and then appear
in the ship’s wake. The slightest motion of the vessel effectually
prevents me from enjoying the mirth of my fellow passengers, or
sympathizing with them in their sickness. When the first glimpse
of day appears, I make my way on deck, where I stand not unlike a
newly hatched bird, tottering on feeble legs. Let the wind blow high
or not, I care little which, provided it waft me toward the shores
of America. If the sky be clear, the first sight of the sun excites
emotions of gratitude towards the Being by whose power it was formed,
and sent forth to shed its benign influence on surrounding worlds.
Silent adoration occupies my soul, and I conclude with ardent wishes
for the happiness of friends left far behind, and those toward whom
I am proceeding. But now, ever flapping its winglets, I have marked
the little bird, dusky all over save a single spot, the whiteness of
which contrasts with the dark hue of the waters and the deep tone of
the clear sky. Full of life and joy it moves to and fro, advances
toward the ship, then shoots far away, gambols over the swelling
waves, dives into their hollows, and twitters with delight as it
perceives an object that will alleviate its hunger. Never fatigued,
the tiny Petrels seldom alight, although at times their frail legs
and feet seem to touch the crest of the foaming wave. I love to give
every creature all the pleasure I can confer upon it, and towards
the little things I cast over the stern such objects as I know they
will most prize. Social creatures! would that all were as innocent
as you! There are no bickerings, no jealousies among you; the first
that comes is first served; it is all the result of chance; and thus
you pass your lives. But the clouds gather, the gale approaches, and
our gallant bark is trimmed. Darkness spreads over the heavens, and
the deep waters send back a blacker gloom, broken at intervals by
the glimmer of the spray. You meet the blast, and your little wings
bear you up against it for a while; but you cannot encounter the full
force of the tempest; and now you have all come close beneath me,
where you glide over the curling eddies caused by the motion of the
rudder. You shall have all possible attention paid you, and I will
crawl to the camboose, in search of food to support your tiny frames
in this hour of need. But at length, night closes around, and I bid
you farewell.
The gale is over; the clear blue of the sky looks clearer than ever,
the sun’s rays are brighter, on the quiet waters the ship seems to
settle in repose, and her wings, though widely spread, no longer
swell with the breeze. At a distance around us the dusky wanderers
are enjoying the bright morning; the rudder-fish, yesterday so lively,
has ended its career, so violently was it beaten by the waves against
the vessel; and now the Petrels gather around it, as it floats on the
surface. Various other matters they find; here a small crab, there
the fragments of a sea-plant. Low over the deep they range, and now
with little steps run on the waters. Few are their notes, but great
their pleasure, at this moment. It is needless for me to feed them
now, and therefore I will return to my task.
It would be extremely difficult for any individual to determine the
extent of the movements of the three species of Petrel seen on the
waters of the Atlantic. My opinion is that until their breeding places
are repeatedly visited by naturalists, little can be known respecting
the range of their flight. I have crossed the ocean many times, and
have always paid more or less attention to these birds; yet I am as
ignorant of their migrations as my predecessors. I have rarely seen
Wilson’s Petrel farther to the eastward than the Azores, and beyond
these islands it generally abandoned the vessel. Along the American
coast, I have not met with it to the northward beyond the 51st degree
of latitude; while to the southward I have rarely observed many on
the Gulf of Mexico; nor do I believe that any breed on the shores of
the Floridas, or on the Bahama Islands, as alleged by WILSON, who,
it would appear, stated so from report. Petrels are rarely destroyed
by men, quadrupeds, or rapacious birds, when breeding; to the former
they are of no value as an article of food, and by the latter they
are seldom sought after; consequently they are more likely to return
to their breeding places than most other birds, many of which are
frequently induced to abandon them on account of the persecutions
to which they are subjected. I have found the Forked-tailed Petrel
breeding on our coast, in the fissures of rocks above the reach of
the spray, and WILSON’s digging for itself burrows in the sand or
loose earth, on low islands. The _Thalassidroma pelagica_ I have
never found breeding on any part of our coast; but it is well known
that it resorts to holes on certain of the Shetland Islands, among
the blocks and stones of which the beaches are formed; though it
appears that in some spots, where the fisherman are in the habit of
destroying them, many resort to the elevated fissures of the rocks,
where also a few of the Forked-tailed species occasionally breed.
The latter then, though more abundant in America, belongs to Europe
also. WILSON was not aware that the species now named after him was
any thing else than “the Stormy Petrel, _Procellaria pelagica_ of
LINNÆUS;” and he remarks that it “is found over the whole Atlantic
ocean, from Europe to North America, at all distances from land, and
in all weathers.”
To my learned friend the PRINCE OF MUSIGNANO, the scientific world is
indebted for a Memoir on Petrels, in which he has clearly shewn the
specific differences of the three species mentioned above, of which
he has also given figures, as well as those of the bills and feet
nearly of the natural size. But the artist who drew these birds for
him, or the engraver, committed an error in representing the present
bird as the largest of the three.
Wilson’s Petrel breeds on some small islands situated off the southern
extremity of Nova Scotia, and called “Mud Islands,” but which are
formed of sand and light earth, scantily covered with grass. Thither
the birds resort in great numbers, about the beginning of June, and
form burrows of the depth of two or two and a half feet, in the bottom
of which is laid a single white egg, a few bits of dry grass, scarcely
deserving the name of a nest, having been placed for its reception.
The egg measures an inch and a half in length, by seven-eighths of an
inch in breadth, is almost equally rounded at both ends, and has a pure
white colour. These Petrels copulate on the water, in the same manner
as the Hyperborean Phalarope. By the beginning of August the young
follow their parents to sea, and are then scarcely distinguishable
from them. During incubation, they remain in the burrows, or at their
entrance, rarely going to seek for food before the dusk.
On wing this species is more lively than the Forked-tailed, but
less so than the Common Stormy Petrel. It keeps its wings nearly at
right angles with its body, and makes considerable use of its feet,
particularly during calm weather, when it at times hops or leaps
for several feet, or pats the water, whilst its wings are extended
upwards with a fluttering motion, and it inclines its head downwards
to pick up its food from the water, and I have observed it immerse
the whole head beneath the surface, to seize on small fishes, in
which it generally succeeded. It can walk pretty well on the deck of
a vessel, or any other flat surface, and rise from it without much
difficulty. Its notes are different from that of the Forked-tailed
Petrel, and resembles the syllables _kee-re-kee kee_. They are more
frequently emitted at night than by day. I never could ascertain
whether or not these birds alight on the rigging at night, but my
opinion is that they do not, for the sailors, to whom I had offered
premiums for catching some of them, told me that although they flew
about them while aloft, they could not see one standing anywhere.
In my journal written on board the packet ship Columbia, commanded by
my worthy friend JOSEPH DELANO, Esq., I find the following memorandums:
“Wilson’s Petrel was first seen, this voyage, about two hundred miles
from England, and _alone_ until we reached the middle of the Atlantic,
when the Forked-tailed came in sight, after which the latter was most
plentiful, and the pelagica by far the least numerous.” During my
several visits to the coasts of the Floridas, I saw scarcely any of
these birds in the course of several months spent there, but I found
them pretty abundant on returning towards Charleston. This species,
like the others, feeds on mollusca, small fishes, crustacea, marine
plants, excrements of cetaceous animals; and the greasy substances
thrown from vessels. When caught, they squirt an oily substance through
the nostrils, and often disgorge the same. The sexes are similar in
their external appearance.
THALASSIDROMA WILSONII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds
of the United States, p. 367.
STORMY PETREL, PROCELLARIA PELAGICA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. vii. p. 90. pl. 60.
PROCELLARIA WILSONII, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Journ. Acad. Phil.
vol. vi. p. 231. pl. 9.
WILSON’S STORMY PETREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 322.
Adult Male. Plate CCLXX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, with the tips curved,
as broad as high at the base, compressed towards the end. Upper
mandible with the nostrils forming a tube at the base, beyond which,
for a short space, the dorsal line is straight, then decurved, the
ridge narrow and separated from the sides by a narrow groove, the
edges sharp, inflected, the tip compressed obliquely deflected. Lower
mandible with the angle rather long, narrow and pointed, the dorsal
line beyond it very slightly concave and decurved, the sides erect,
the edges sharp, the dip slightly decurved.
Head of moderate size, roundish, anteriorly narrowed. Neck short.
Body rather slender. Feet long, very slender; tibia bare at its lower
part; tarsus very slender, reticulate, anteriorly with a long plate
which is very slightly marked. Hind toe conical, so minute as scarcely
to be perceptible; anterior toes rather long and extremely slender,
obscurely scutellate above, connected by striated webs with concave
margins; the third and fourth toes longest, and about equal. Claws
slender, arched, depressed, acute.
Plumage very soft, blended, the feathers distinct only on the wings,
which are very long; primary quills tapering, but rounded, the third
longest, the second slightly longer than the fourth, the first much
shorter and a little longer than the sixth; secondaries short, the
outer incurved, obliquely rounded. Tail rather long, even, of twelve
broad rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black, but the webs yellow excepting at the margin. Iris
dark brown. The general colour of the plumage is dark greyish-brown,
the quills and tail brownish-black, the outer secondary wing-coverts
and some of the secondary quills light greyish-brown, and tipped
with whitish. The rump, sides of the abdomen, and exterior lower
tail-coverts, white.
Length to end of tail 7-1/4 inches, to end of wings 8, to end of claws
8; extent of wings 15-3/4; wing from flexure 6; tail 3-3/4; bill along
the back 7/12, along the edge of lower mandible 8/12; tarsus 1-5/8,
middle toe 1, its claw 5/12. Weight 1-1/8 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCLXX. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male.
A LONG CALM AT SEA.
On the 17th of May 1826, I left New Orleans on board the ship Delos,
commanded by JOSEPH HATCH, Esq. of Kennebunk, bound for Liverpool.
The steamer Hercules, which towed the ship, left us several miles
outside the Balize, about ten hours after our departure; but there
was not a breath of wind, the waters were smoother than the prairies
of the Oppelousas, and notwithstanding our great display of canvass,
we lay, like a dead whale, floating at the mercy of the currents.
The weather was uncommonly fair, and the heat excessive; and in
this helpless state we continued for many days. About the end of
a week we had lost sight of the Balize, although I was assured by
the commander, that all this while the ship had rarely answered the
helm. The sailors whistled for wind, and raised their hands in all
directions, anxious as they were to feel some motion in the air; but
all to no purpose; it was a dead calm, and we concluded that Æolus
had agreed with Neptune to detain us, until our patience should be
fairly tried, or our sport exhausted; for sport we certainly had,
both on board and around the ship. I doubt if I can better contribute
to your amusement at present, than by giving you a short account of
the occurrences that took place, during this sleepy fit of the being
on whom we depended for our progress toward merry England.
Vast numbers of beautiful dolphins glided by the side of the vessel,
glancing like burnished gold through the day, and gleaming like meteors
by night. The captain and his mates were expert at alluring them with
baited hooks, and not less so at piercing them with a five-pronged
instrument, which they called grains; and I was delighted with the
sport, because it afforded me an opportunity of observing and noting
some of the habits of this beautiful fish, as well as several other
kinds.