often runs with considerable rapidity to some distance, suddenly stops
short, nods once or twice, vibrating its body at the same time, and
if it should imagine itself unnoticed, it often lies down and remains
crouched until the danger is over. At the time of their departure
from the north, and while on the sands or mud-bars on the sea shore,
they often raise their wings as if to air them for a few moments.
While searching for food, they move in a direct manner, often look
sideways toward the ground, and pick up the object of their search by
a peculiar bending movement of the body. They are frequently observed
to pat the moist earth with their feet, to force worms from their
burrows. In autumn they betake themselves to the higher grounds,
where berries as well as insects are to be met with, and where they
find abundance of grasshoppers.
When travelling to a considerable distance, the Golden Plover flies
at the height of from thirty to sixty feet, in a regular manner, with
considerable velocity, the flock, when large, forming an extended
front, and moving with regular flappings, an individual now and then
uttering a mellow note. Before alighting they often perform various
evolutions, now descending and flying swiftly over the ground, then
curving upwards or sidewise, closing and extending their ranks, until
the sportsman is often tired of watching them, and, after all, the
flock, just when he expects it to alight, may suddenly shoot off and
fly to a distance. When they alight within shooting distance, the
moment their feet touch the ground is the critical one, for they are
generally in a compact body, and almost immediately afterwards they
disperse. I have often observed them while flying from one place to
another, suddenly check their course for a moment or two, as if to
look at the objects below, in the manner of Curlews.
While at New Orleans, on the 16th of March 1821, I was invited by
some French gunners to accompany them to the neighbourhood of Lake
St John, to witness the passage of thousands of these birds, which
were coming from the north-east, and continuing their course. At the
first appearance of the birds early in the morning, the gunners had
assembled in parties of from twenty to fifty at different places,
where they knew from experience that the Plovers would pass. There
stationed, at nearly equal distances from each other, they were sitting
on the ground. When a flock approached, every individual whistled in
imitation of the Plover’s call-note, on which the birds descended,
wheeled, and passing within forty or fifty yards, ran the gauntlet
as it were. Every gun went off in succession, and with such effect
that I several times saw a flock of a hundred or more reduced to a
miserable remnant of five or six individuals. The game was brought
up after each volley by the dogs, while their masters were charging
their pieces anew. This sport was continued all day, and at sunset,
when I left one of these lines of gunners, they seemed as intent on
killing more as they were when I arrived. A man near the place where
I was seated had killed sixty-three dozens. I calculated the number
in the field at two hundred, and supposing each to have shot twenty
dozen, forty-eight thousand Golden Plovers would have fallen that day.
On inquiring if these passages were of frequent occurrence, I was
told that six years before, such another had occurred immediately
after two or three days of very warm weather, when they came up with
a breeze from the north-east. Only some of the birds were fat, the
greater number of those which I examined being very lean; scarcely
any had food in their stomach, and the eggs in the ovaries of the
females were undeveloped. The next morning the markets were amply
supplied with Plovers at a very low price.
I have again applied to my friend WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY for an account
of the manners of this species during the breeding season, which I
now lay before you.
“The Golden Plover is in many parts of Scotland, but especially in
the Northern Highlands, and in the Hebrides, a very common bird. When
the weather begins to improve towards the end of spring, these birds
may be seen flying over the shores or fields in their vicinity, at a
great height, in loose flocks, which now extend into a wide front, now
form irregular angular lines, move with a quiet and regular flight,
frequently emitting their peculiar soft notes, and at times uttering a
singular cry, somewhat resembling the syllables _courlie-wee_. These
flocks are leaving their winter haunts and returning to the inland
moors, over which they disperse in pairs. In the beginning of May,
should you traverse one of the dreary heaths, you will often hear
the plaintive cry of the Plover, mingling, perhaps, with the feeble
cheep of the Dunlin, or the loud scream of the Curlew. Before you have
advanced to any considerable distance, there may come up and alight
on some mossy knoll beside you, a male, clad in his beautiful summer
vesture of black and green. You may approach him within ten paces if
you are inclined, and in some districts it would be easy for one to
shoot many dozens of them in a day at this season. After incubation
has commenced, the females seldom make their appearance on such
occasions. Whether the males assist their mates at that time or not,
they certainly do not forsake them. The nest is a slight hollow in a
tuft of moss, or on a dry place among the heath, irregularly strewed
with fragments of withered plants. The eggs, of which the full number
is four, are placed, as usual in this genus, with their small ends
together. They are much larger and more pointed than those of the
Lapwing, being at an average two inches and one-twelfth in length,
and an inch and a-half in their greatest transverse diameter. The
shell is thin and smooth, of a light greyish-yellow or cream-colour,
irregularly spotted, dotted and patched with dark brown, and sometimes
having a few light purple spots interspersed, the markings larger
towards the broadest part. The young leave the nest immediately after
they burst the shell, and conceal themselves by lying flat on the
ground. At this period, the female evinces the greatest anxiety for
their safety, and will occasionally feign lameness to entice the
intruder to pursue her. I have several times seen one fly off to
a considerable distance, alight in a conspicuous place, and tumble
about as if in the agonies of death, her wings flapping as if they
had been fractured or dislocated. The eggs are delicious, and the
young birds when fledged not less so.
“When the young are able to fly, the Plovers collect into flocks, but
remain on the moors until the commencement of winter, when they advance
towards the pasture lands, and in severe weather betake themselves to
the low grounds near the shores. During continued frosts, they feed
on the sands and rocky shores at low water, and in general during
the winter remain at no great distance from the sea.
“When a flock alights at this season on a field, the individuals
disperse, run about with great activity, and pick up their food.
Sometimes one finds them so tame that he can approach within fifteen
yards, and I have often walked round a flock several times in order
to force them together before shooting. In windy weather they often
rest by lying flat on the ground, and I have reason to think that
at night this is their general practice. In the Hebrides I have
often gone to shoot them at night by moonlight, when they seemed as
actively engaged as by day, which was also the case with the Snipes;
but I seldom succeeded in my object, it being extremely difficult to
estimate distances at night. The numbers that at this season frequent
the sandy pastures and shores of the Outer Hebrides is astonishing.
“The Golden Plover, although occasionally addicted to wading, evidently
prefers dry ground, in which respect it differs essentially in habits
from the _Totani_ and _Limosæ_. It frequently probes the moist sands,
and in summer the dry cow dung on the moors and upland pastures is
seen perforated by its bill. It affords delicious eating, and in my
opinion is scarcely inferior in this respect to the Woodcock.”
CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
254.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 740.—_Ch. Bonaparte_,
Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 297.
GOLDEN PLOVER, CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith.
vol. vii. p. 71. pl. 59. fig. 5., Winter.—_Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 16.
Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCC. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, straight, subcylindrical. Upper mandible
with the dorsal line straight and slightly sloping for two-thirds of
its length, then bulging a little and curving to the tip, which is
rather acute, the sides flat and sloping at the base, convex towards
the end, where the edges are sharp and inclinate. Nasal groove extended
along two-thirds of the mandible, filled with a bare membrane; nostrils
basal, linear, in the lower part of the membrane, open and pervious.
Lower mandible with the angle long, narrow, but rounded, the sides
at the base sloping outwards and flat, the dorsal line ascending and
slightly convex, the edges sharp and involute towards the narrow tip.
Head of moderate size, oblong, rather compressed, the forehead rounded.
Eyes large. Neck rather short. Body ovate, rather full. Wings long.
Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus
rather compressed, covered all round with reticulated hexagonal scales;
toes slender; the hind toe wanting; third or middle toe longest,
fourth considerably longer than the second, all scutellate above and
marginate, the outer connected with the middle toe by a membrane as
far as the second joint; claws small, compressed, slightly arched,
slender but obtuse at the end, the inner edge of the middle claw
dilated.
Plumage soft, blended, slightly glossed, the feathers rounded. Wings
long and pointed; primary quills tapering, the first longest, the
second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries
short, broad, obliquely rounded, inner tapering and elongated. Tail
rather short, rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris brown. Feet bluish-grey. The upper part of the head,
the fore part of the back, and the scapulars are beautifully variegated
with brownish-black and bright yellow, the latter in spots along
the edges of the feathers. The hind part of the back greyish-brown,
variegated with yellow of a duller tint; the tail brown, barred with
white. The wings are hair-brown, the smaller coverts spotted with
yellowish-white, the primary coverts and secondaries tipped with white.
The inner secondaries like the scapulars. Part of the forehead, the
loral space, a band over the eye, and the throat, are greyish-white;
the sides of the neck and body variegated with brown, dull white
and yellowish. The breast and a broad band down the fore-neck, are
brownish-black, the latter margined on each side with white. Axillar
feathers, and lower tail-coverts white.
Length to end of tail 10-1/2 inches, to end of wings 10-1/4, to end
of claws 11-1/2; extent of wings 22-3/8; wing from flexure 7; tail
3-2/12; bill along the back 11/12, along the edge of lower mandible
1-2/12; bare part of tibia 8/12; tarsus 1-7/12; middle toe 1-1/12,
its claw 4/12. Weight 5-1/2 oz.
Adult in winter. Plate CCC. Fig. 2.
The black on the lower parts is peculiar to the breeding season;
and after the autumnal moult, they become of a light greyish colour,
spotted and streaked with deep grey. In other respects the plumage
is similar to that described above.
Length to end of tail 10-3/4, to end of claws 11-7/8; extent of wings
22-5/8. Weight 4-1/2 oz.
Light coloured variety. Plate CCC. Fig. 3.
Bill and feet greyish-blue. Iris deep brown. Upper part of head and
back mottled with black and pale yellow; wing-coverts greyish, with
white and dusky spots, as are the sides of the head and the throat; a
broad band of white over the eye; fore part of neck pale grey, fading
into pale cream colour and white; the breast and fore-neck with large
spots of black.
This individual was killed in the breeding season.
REMARKS ON THE FORM OF THE TOES OF BIRDS.
Although naturalists have laboured, more especially since the time of
the great LINNÆUS, who gave an impulse to the study of natural history
unparalleled in that of any other science, to make us acquainted with
animals of every class; and although much has been done by them in
ornithology in particular, it requires little knowledge to be enabled
to say with truth that a great deal more remains to be done. To take
an apparently trivial example, let us look to the tips of the toes
of birds, and we shall no doubt find much that is curious, and much
that has been entirely overlooked. The examination of those parts
was suggested to me by the following occurrence.
On the 21st of March 1816, while I was residing at Henderson in
Kentucky, great flocks of Golden Plovers happening to be passing from
their winter toward their summer haunts, I procured a good number of
them. While engaged in drawing a fine specimen, I observed something
beneath the claws, which induced me to look more particularly to that
part of the toes, when I found there what might be called a second
but smaller claw, equally horny with the part properly so called. I
examined several others, and, finding them all alike in this respect,
I mentioned the circumstance to a friend, who agreed with me in
thinking it very curious. Since that period I have generally, on
procuring a bird of any kind, looked to its toes, and I have found
many species, both of the genus _Charadrius_ and of other Grallæ,
similarly supplied with double claws.
Although I use this term, however, let it not be supposed that I
consider the parts in question as really subsidiary or secondary
claws; for as they are not furnished with a central bone, or process
either from the last phalanx or that next to it, they cannot be truly
considered as such, however much they may sometimes resemble them.
But, in order to explain to you what I mean, let us take a general
view of the subject. If we examine the foot of any common land bird, a
domestic fowl for example, we observe that the extremity of its toes
under the nail are rounded, and covered with quincuncial papillæ,
generally flattened. The extreme degree of this rounded form is seen
in the _Eagles_ and _Hawks_, of which the end of the toe projects
beneath the claw, having the appearance of a large round knob or
rather pad. It is not, however, my intention at present to describe
the structure of this part in the land birds. I may however remark,
that in them, as well as in the others, the examination of the parts
in question will materially aid in limiting the number of merely
nominal species, by disclosing an identity of form, as well as in
separating species that have been confounded, by shewing a diversity,
as I have had occasion to observe, in several species of both kinds.
In the aquatic tribes numerous remarkable modifications are observed.
Beginning with those which have the extremity of the toe largest and
most rounded, we find that the _Geese_, _Ducks_, and _Gulls_, supply
good examples. Thus in _Larus marinus_, the protuberance beneath the
claw is rounded, and covered with small rounded and flattened papillæ,
of which there is a semicircular terminal series of a larger size,
as is represented by fig. 1.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
The _Pelicans_ and _Gannets_ are similar in this respect to the
Gulls, as are the _Cormorants_, which, however, have the terminal pad
projecting and more pointed. In the _Guillemots_, also, it is rounded,
with small distinct rounded scales. In the _Frigate Bird_, in which
the webs are short, and do not modify the pads, the terminal scales
are similar to those of the Gulls. In the genus _Lestris_, they are
smaller, and obscured by the webs, their papillæ smaller and more
pointed. In the Terns, they are similar to those of the Gulls, but
narrower, and with the papillæ large. In _Phaeton æthereus_, the webs
appear to obliterate the terminal papillæ, which are very small. In
all these, the extremities of the toes are more or less rounded, and
terminated just beneath the claw by a semicircular series of scales
larger than those immediately behind.
In the _Auks_, however, there is a large scale or plate, on the inner
side of the middle toe, and then a series of narrow scales. In _Mormon
glacialis_, of which the end of the middle toe is represented by fig.
2, there is a single much recurved narrow horny plate, behind which
is a narrow series of oblong scales. In the genus _Puffinus_, there
is also a single short rounded terminal scale or plate.
The _Colymbi_ or _Divers_ have the end of the toe very narrow and
flat, with a single small rounded terminal plate, and numerous small
scales behind it. These birds have the claws depressed, a form which
shews its extreme development in the _Grebes_. Of the extremity of
the middle toe of one of these, _Podiceps cristatus_, fig. 3. is a
representation. Here the claw is almost quite flat, and the end of the
toe beneath it is not elevated or rounded as in almost all the other
genera, but perfectly depressed, and having its outline concave, but
still, as usual, with a series of large scales.
If we now look to the _Grallæ_, we shall find similar modifications.
Fig. 4 represents the lower surface, and the lateral aspect of the
extremity of the middle toe of _Ardea rufescens_, which agrees, in a
general point of view, with that of the other species of the genus,
as well as with that of the _Cranes_. The pad here is rounded, and
terminated by a semicircle of larger scales. In the genera _Numenius_
and _Limosa_, the arrangement is similar, the terminal scales being
much smaller in the latter than in the former, and two of the lateral
scales enlarged. In the genera _Tringa_, _Scolopax_ and _Gallinula_,
the arrangement is similar. All these genera exhibit more or less of
the rounded form, terminated by a series of larger scales.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
In _Ibis alba_ the extremity is narrowed and terminated by a small
rather pointed horny plate, divided into two unequal portions, as
represented by fig. 5. The _Tantali_ have this part also narrowed
at the end, flattened, and terminated by a semicircular slightly
projecting plate or hooflet. The same appearance is presented in
_Hæmatopus palliatus_, in which, however, the extremity is more
rounded, the semicircular plate more decurved, and concave above, as
represented by fig. 6. In _Rallus elegans_, fig. 7, and the _Rails_
generally, the terminal plate is similar, but narrow and rather
curved upwards. It is in the genera _Strepsilas_, _Charadrius_ and
_Totanus_, that the terminal plate, being narrower, more elongated
and more pointed, assumes more especially the semblance of a second
claw. The extremities of the middle toes of _Totanus semipalmatus_
and _Charadrius Pluvialis_, are represented by figs 8. and 9.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9.]
Having now reached the point from which I started, according to the
approved method of reasoning in a circle, or if not, of exhibiting
natural objects in a circular arrangement, I take my leave, hoping that
when I again request your indulgence, I shall be enabled to present
you with something equally curious, and perhaps better calculated to
induce you to extend your inquiries into the neglected parts of the
structure of those objects, whose investigation cannot fail to raise
our minds towards the Being who framed the beautiful and harmonious
system of which we form a part.
ERRATA.
Page 211, line 4, _for_ Traders _read_ Waders
— 222, ... 2, ... Sir James Ross, _read_ Sir John Ross,
— 273, ... 22, ... Orelans _read_Orleans
— 317, ... 13 from bottom, _for_ even _read_ not only
— 325, ... 22, _for_ Santie _read_ Santee
SUBSCRIBERS TO “THE BIRDS OF AMERICA,”
OBTAINED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
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London Institution, per Mr Brayley, Librarian.
Ogden Haggerty, Esq. New York.
W. A. Coleman, Esq. New York.
R. O. Anderson, Esq. Georgetown, South Carolina.
James Grimshaw, Esq. New Orleans.
Persons intending to subscribe for “The Birds of America,” are
requested to apply to the Author, J. J. AUDUBON, or the Engraver
ROBERT HAVELL, 77. Oxford Street, London; THOMAS SOWLER, Bookseller,
Manchester; Mrs ROBINSON, Bookseller, Leeds; ALEXANDER HILL,
Bookseller, 50. Prince’s Street, Edinburgh; J. H. BEILBY, Bookseller,
Birmingham; E. CHARNLEY, Bookseller, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; GEORGE
SMITH, Bookseller, Tythebarn Street, Liverpool; ADAM & CHARLES BLACK,
Booksellers, Edinburgh.
INDEX.
Page
Alca Torda, 112
American Coot, 291
— Oyster-catcher, 181
— Snipe, 322
— Sun Perch, 47
— Woodcock, 474
Anas acuta, 214
— Boschas, 174
— Crecca, 219
— Sponsa, 52
Anser albifrons, 598
— canadensis, 1
— Hutchinsii, 526
— leucopsis, 609
Arctic Jager, 470
— Tern, 366
Ardea candidissima, 317
— exilis, 77
— Herodias, 87
— ludoviciana, 136
— nycticorax, 275
— occidentalis, 542
— rufescens, 411
Auk, Razor-billed, 112
Barnacle Goose, 609
Bewick, Thomas, 300
Bittern Least, 77
Black Guillemot, 148
— Tern, 535
Black-backed Gull, 305
Booby Gannet, 63
Breaking up of the Ice, 408
Brown Pelican, 376
Buff-breasted Sandpiper, 452
Calm at Sea, 491, 520
Camp, a Maple-sugar, 438
Canada Goose, 1
Cayenne Tern, 505
Charadrius melodus, 154
Charadrius pluvialis, 623
— vociferus, 191
— Wilsonius, 73
Clapper Rail, 33
Claws of Birds, 629
Colymbus septentrionalis, 20
Common American Gull, 98
— Cormorant, 458
— Gallinule, 330
Coot American, 291
Cormorant, Double-crested, 420
— Common, 458
— Florida, 387
Crane, Whooping, 202, 441
Cray-fish, 199
Crested Grebe, 595
Curlew, Esquimaux, 69
— Hudsonian, 283
— Long-billed, 240
— Sandpiper, 444
Diver, Red-throated, 20
Dobchick, Pied-billed, 359
Double-crested Cormorant, 420
Duck, Eider, 342
— Harlequin, 612
— King, 523
— Pintail, 214
— Ring-necked, 259
— Scaup, 226
— Velvet, 354
— Wood, 52
Dusky Petrel, 620
Eider Duck, 342
Eggers of Labrador, 82
Egret, Reddish, 411
Esquimaux Curlew, 69
Fishing in the Ohio, 122
Florida, Wreckers of, 158
Florida Cormorant, 387
Foolish Guillemot, 142
Forked-tailed Gull, 561
— Petrel, 434
Fresh-water Marsh-hen, 27
Fulica americana, 291
Fuligula fusca, 354
— histrionica, 612
— Marila, 226
— mollissima, 342
— spectabilis, 523
— rufitorques, 259
Fulmar Petrel, 446
Frigate Pelican, 495
Gallinula Chloropus, 330
Gallinule, Common, 330
Gannet Booby, 63
Godwit, Great Marbled, 287
— Hudsonian, 426
Golden Plover, 623
Goose, Barnacle, 609
— Canada, 1
— Hutchins’s, 526
— White-fronted, 568
Great Black-backed Gull, 305
— Blue Heron, 87
— Egg Harbour, 606
— Marbled Godwit, 287
— White Heron, 542
Grebe, Crested, 595
— Horned, 429
— Red-necked, 617
Greenshank, 483
Green-winged Teal, 219
Grus Americana, 202, 441
Guillemot, Black, 148
— Foolish, 142
— Large-billed, 336
Gull, Common American, 98
— Forked-tailed, 561
— Great Black-backed, 305
— Herring, 588
— Ivory, 571
— Kittiwake, 186
— White-winged Silvery, 553
Hæmatopus palliatus, 181
Harlequin Duck, 612
Heron, Great Blue, 87
— Great White, 542
— Louisiana, 136
— Night, 275
— Snowy, 317
Herring Gull, 588
Hooded Merganser, 246
Horned Grebe, 429
Horse, a Wild, 270
Hudsonian Curlew, 283
— Godwit, 426
Hutchins’s Goose, 526
Hyperborean Phalarope, 118
Ibis alba, 173
— Wood, 128
Ice, Breaking up of the, 408
Ivory Gull, 571
Jager, Arctic, 470
— Pomarine, 396
— Richardson’s, 503
Kildeer Plover, 191
King Duck, 523
Kittiwake Gull, 186
Labrador, 584
— Eggers of, 82
Large-billed Guillemot, 336
— Puffin, 599
Larus argentatus, 588
— eburneus, 571
— leucopterus, 553
— marinus, 305
— Sabini, 561
— tridactylus, 186
— zonorhynchus, 98
Least Bittern, 77
Lestris parasiticus, 470
— pomarinus, 396
— Richardsonii, 503
Limosa Fedoa, 287
— Hudsonica, 426
Long-billed Curlew, 240
Long Calm at Sea, 491
Lost Portfolio, 564
Louisiana Heron, 136
Mangrove, 386
Mallard, 164
Marbled Godwit, 287
Mank’s Shearwater, 604
Maple-sugar Camp, 438
Marsh Hen, Salt-water, 33
— Hen, Fresh-water, 27
Mergus cucullatus, 246
Merganser, Hooded, 246
Mormon arcticus, 105
— cirrhatus, 364
— glacialis, 599
Natchez in 1820, 539
Night Heron, 275