Part 5

=87. Slender-billed Fulmar= (_Priocella glacialoides_). L. 18.5. _Ads._ Head and underparts white; back and tail pearl; primaries black, _white on inner web_.

Range.--Southern Seas; north on Pacific coast to Washington.

=94. Sooty Shearwater= (_Puffinus fuliginosus_). L. 17. _Ads._ Sooty gray, lighter below.

Range.--"Atlantic Ocean, breeding in the southern hemisphere; a summer visitor off our coast, from South Carolina northward." (A.O.U.)

=95. Dark-bodied Shearwater= (_Puffinus griseus_). L. 17. _Ads._ Above dusky black or brownish, paler below; under wing coverts _white_ and dusky; bill black.

Range.--South Pacific; north in summer on the American coast to California.

=96.1. Wedge-tailed Shearwater= (_Puffinus cuneatus_). L. 17. T. 5.4, pointed. _Ads._ Above brown; below white; sides of neck mottled with gray; middle tail feathers nearly 2. longer than lateral ones. (Cat. B. M.)

Range.--"North Pacific Ocean, from the Hawaiian Islands north to the Bonin Group and Lower California." (A.O.U.)

Shearwaters

=88. Cory Shearwater= (_Puffinus borealis_). L. 21. _Ads._ Above grayish brown; below, including under wing coverts and _under tail coverts, white_.

Range.--North Atlantic; recorded only off the coast from Massachusetts to Long Island.

=89. Greater Shearwater= (_Puffinus gravis_). L. 20. _Ads._ Above grayish brown or blackish; tips of longer upper tail coverts white; below white; _middle of belly and under tail coverts ashy gray_.

Range.--"Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope north to Arctic Circle." (A.O.U.)

=91. Pink-footed Shearwater= (_Puffinus creatopus_). L. 19.5. _Ads._ Above dusky gray or brown; below white; sides and lower belly with grayish; longer under tail coverts dusky brown; feet, flesh-color; bill yellowish.

Range.--Pacific Ocean north on the American coast in summer and fall to middle California.

=92. Audubon Shearwater= (_Puffinus lherminieri_). L. 12. _Ads._ Above black or brownish black; below white; _under tail coverts sooty_.

Range.--Middle Atlantic; breeds in West Indies and Bahamas; wanders north to Long Island.

=93. Black-vented Shearwater= (_Puffinus opisthomelas_). L. 15. _Ads._ Above dusky _black_; below white; sides of breast grayish; under tail coverts dusky brown; bill black.

Range.--"Pacific Ocean, chiefly southward; coast of Lower California north to Santa Cruz, Cal." (A.O.U.)

=93.1. Townsend Shearwater= (_Puffinus auricularis_). Similar to No. 93, but bill and feet smaller, B. 1.2; above darker, nearly black; black of head extending below eye. (Townsend.)

Range.--Pacific Ocean (Clarion Island, Lower California).

=96. Slender-billed Shearwater= (_Puffinus tenuirostris_). L. 13., bill slender 1.2 _Ads._ "Above dark sooty slate; beneath deep sooty gray, paler on throat where sometimes inclining to whitish." (Ridgw.)

Range.--North Pacific, from Japan and Kotzebue Sound south on the American coast to middle California.

Petrels

=98. Black-capped Petrel= (_Æstrelata hasitata_). L. 15. _Ads._ Above sooty brown; back of neck and upper tail coverts _white_; base of tail _white_.

Range.--Tropical Atlantic; irregular in United States (Florida, Virginia, New York, Kentucky, Vermont, and Ontario.)

=103. Least Petrel= (_Halocyptena microsoma_). L. 5.7. _Ads._ Sooty blackish brown, lighter below.

Range.--"Coast of Lower California south to Panama." (A.O.U.)

=105. Forked-tailed Petrel= (_Oceanodroma furcata_). L. 8. 7. _Ads._ Tail forked; bluish gray, wings darker; a blackish space about eye.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds in Aleutian Islands; recorded north to Bering Strait; winters south to California.

=105.1. Kaeding Petrel= (_Oceanodroma kaedingi_). W. 6. _Ads._ Similar to _O. leucorrhoa_, but much smaller with much less deeply forked tail. (Anthony.)

Range.--Pacific Ocean; (Socorro Islands, Lower California.)

=108. Ashy Petrel= (_Oceanodroma homochroa_). L. 8.5. _Ads._ No white on rump; tail forked; sooty black above, browner below; wing coverts grayish.

Range.--"Coast of California; breeds on the Santa Barbara and Farallone Islands." (A.O.U.)

=104. Stormy Petrel; Mother Carey's Chicken= (_Procellaria pelagica_). L. 5.5. _Ads._ Sooty black, browner below; upper tail coverts white, _tipped with black_.

Range.--North Atlantic; winters south to western Africa and New Brunswick.

=106. Leach Petrel; Stormy Petrel= (_Oceanodroma leucorhoa_). L. 8., W. 6.2. _Ads._ Tail forked; above sooty brownish black; below browner; _lesser wing coverts grayish brown_; longer upper tail coverts _not_ tipped with black. _Notes._ An elfin-like crow of eight notes.

Range.--North Atlantic and North Pacific; breeds from Maine to Greenland and from Farallone to Aleutian Islands; winters south to Virginia and California.

=106.1. Guadalupe Petrel= (_Oceanodroma macrodactyla_). L. 8.4; W. 6.4; T. 3.9, fork 1 in. deep. _Ads._ Similar to _O. leucorhoa_, but with much longer and more deeply forked tail, larger feet, shorter bill, and very broad dusky tips to the upper tail coverts. (Ridgw. in Cat. B. M.)

Range.--Pacific Ocean; (Guadalupe Island, Lower California.)

=107. Black Petrel= (_Oceanodroma melania_.) L. 9. _Ads._ Sooty black, paler below; wing-coverts grayish, tail forked.

Range.--South Pacific, north to Santa Barbara Islands; breeds on Coronados Islands, southern California.

=108.1 Socorro Petrel= (_Oceanodroma socorroensis_). W. 5.5. _Ads._ Similar to No. 108, but wings longer; tail shorter and less deeply forked; sides of rump _whitish_; no white on under surface of wing. (Towns.)

Range.--Pacific Ocean; (Socorro Island, southern California.)

=109. Wilson Petrel; Stormy Petrel= (_Oceanites oceanicus_). L. 7. _Ads._ Webs of feet with yellow patch: tail not forked; longer upper tail coverts not tipped with black. _Notes._ A weak _weet_, _weet_, and a hoarse chattering _patret-tu-cuk-cuk-tu-tu_. (Wilson.)

Range.--Atlantic Ocean; breeds in Southern seas, (Kerguelen Island in February), and migrates north to Newfoundland, spending summer off coast of eastern United States.

Order IV. TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS.

STEGANOPODES.

Family 1. TROPIC BIRDS. Phaëthontidæ. 2 species.

Family 2. GANNETS. Sulidæ. 6 species.

Family 3. DARTERS. Anhingidæ. 1 species.

Family 4. CORMORANTS. Phalacrocoracidæ. 6 species, 5 subspecies.

Family 5. PELICANS. Pelecanidæ. 3 species.

Family 6. MAN-O'-WAR-BIRDS. Fregatidæ. 1 Species.

The members of this Order agree in having all four toes connected by webs, but in other respects they differ widely in structure and, consequently, in habit. The young of all the Steganopodes are born naked, unlike the young of most of the other water birds, which, as a rule, are hatched covered with feathers and can swim or run about soon after birth. The nests of the Steganopodes are, of necessity, therefore, more complex structures than those of birds whose nests are merely incubators and not cradles as well.

Tropic Birds resemble the larger Terns, when in the air, but their wing strokes are more rapid. They usually nest in holes in the face of cliffs, and lay one whitish egg, marked with chocolate.

Gannets are true sea birds, but, as a rule, do not live very far from the land. When breeding, Gannets are usually associated in great numbers. Their nests, as a rule, are placed on the ground or on cliffs, and one or two chalky white eggs are laid. At this season the birds are exceedingly tame and in localities where they have not been much molested, one may walk about among the sitting birds without their taking flight. Gannets are powerful birds on the wing. Their vigorous wing strokes are interrupted at intervals by short sails. They feed on fish which they capture by diving from the air.

The Darters or Anhingas number four species, distributed throughout the tropical parts of the globe, only one species inhabiting America. This is generally called the Snakebird or Water Turkey in Florida, where it is a common species on the more isolated rivers and lakes. The name Snakebird is derived from the bird's habit of swimming with the body submerged, when the long, sinuous neck, appearing above the water, readily suggests a snake. At other times Snakebirds mount high in the air and sail about, like Hawks, in wide circles. They build a large, well-made nest in a bush or tree, generally over the water, and lay four bluish white, chalky eggs.

Cormorants nest in large colonies, generally on isolated islets, but sometimes in remote swamps. The nests are placed closely together on the ground, in bushes, and less frequently in trees, according to the nature of the bird's haunts.

Cormorants feed on fish which they catch by pursuing them under the water. They dive from the surface of the water like Ducks, or from a low perch, but not from the air, as do the Gannets.

Pelicans nest in colonies, generally on some small island, building their nests on the ground or in bushes, and laying two or three large, white, chalky eggs.

Brown Pelicans secure their food by plunging on it from the air, generally from about twenty feet above the water. The sides of the bill are then bowed outward, the opening widened, forming, with the pouch, an effective net in which fish, twelve and fourteen inches long, are captured.

White Pelicans, on the contrary, feed from the water, scooping up fishes as they swim. At times a flock of these birds may surround a school of small fish in shallow water and drive them shoreward, at the same time actively filling their pouches.

Young Pelicans are fed on fish which they take from the pouch of the parent bird by thrusting their bills and heads well into it and prodding actively about for the food to be found there. Young Cormorants secure their food in a similar manner.

Frigate Birds, of which only two species are known, have a greater expanse of wing in proportion to the weight of their body than any other bird. Their power of flight is consequently unexcelled and they may spend days in the air without tiring. Their feet are as weak as their wings are strong, and are of use only in perching.

The food of Frigate Birds consists chiefly of fish, which they catch from near the surface of the water, or rob from Gulls and Terns by pursuing them, forcing them to disgorge their prey, and catching it ere it reaches the water.

Tropic Birds and Gannet

=112. Yellow-billed Tropic Bird= (_Phaëthon americanus_). L. 30; T. 19. _Ads._ Bill yellow; no bars above; middle tail feathers lengthened. _Yng._ Above barred with black; middle tail feathers not lengthened.

Range.--Tropical coasts; breeds in West Indies, Bahamas and Bermudas; casual in Florida; accidental in western New York and Nova Scotia.

=113. Red-billed Tropic Bird= (_Phaëthon æthereus_). L. 30; T. 20. _Ads._ Bill red; above barred with black; long middle tail feathers pure white.

Range.--"Coasts of tropical America, north on the Pacific coast to Cape Colnett, Lower California; accidental on the Newfoundland Banks. Breeds on San Pedro Martir and other Islands in the Gulf of California." (A.O.U.)

=117. Gannet= (_Sula bassana_). L. 35. _Ads._ White; head and neck tinged with straw; primaries blackish. _Yng._ Grayish brown with white spots. _Notes._ A harsh _gor-r-r-rok_.

Range.--North Atlantic; breeds, in America, only on Bird Rock and Bonaventure Islands, Gulf of St. Lawrence; winters off the coast, south to Florida.

Boobies

=114. Blue-faced Booby= (_Sula cyanops_). L. 28. _Ads._ Body and lesser wing coverts white; central tail feathers whitish, others dark brown. _Yng._ Above plain dark grayish brown with some grayish streaks; below white; flanks streaked with grayish.

Range.--Tropical seas; north in America to Lower California and Bahamas; casual in southern Florida.

=114.1. Blue-footed Booby= (_Sula nebouxii_). L. 33. _Ads._ Head, neck, and underparts white, the first two streaked with grayish; back dusky brownish, tipped with whitish; legs and feet bright blue. (Goss.)

Range:--Pacific coast of America, from Gulf of California to Galapagos and Chili. (Cat. B. M.)

=115. Booby= (_Sula sula_). L. 30. _Ads._ Breast and belly white; bill and feet yellow. _Yng._ Entirely brownish, lighter below; bill blackish; feet yellow. _Notes._ A harsh, guttural _bork_, _hork_. (Audubon).

Range.--"Atlantic coasts of tropical and subtropical America, north to Georgia. Also, West Pacific and Indian Oceans." (A.O.U.) Accidental on Long Island. No United States breeding record.

=115.1. Brewster Booby= (_Sula brewsteri_). L. 30. _Ads._ Similar to No. 115, but head and neck paler, bill blue, feet greenish.

Range,--"Coasts and Islands of the eastern south Pacific Ocean, north to Lower California; breeding as far north as Georges Island at the head of the Gulf of California." (A.O.U.)

=116. Red-footed Booby= (_Sula piscator_). L. 28. Feet _reddish_. _Ads._ White; head and nape straw color; primaries _hoary grayish brown_; tail _white_. _Yng._ Above sooty brown; head, neck, and lower parts light smoky gray. (Ridgw.)

Range.--Tropical seas, except Pacific coast of America (Cat. B. M.); north in Atlantic to Bahamas and, rarely, southern Florida.

Cormorants

=119. Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax carbo_). L. 36; T. 7.5, of 14 feathers. _Ads._ Chin and sides of throat whitish; back glossy brownish, _distinctly_ margined with black; below uniform shining black. _Breeding plumage._ Head and throat with white plumes; a white patch on flanks. _Yng._ _Belly white_; above olive grayish brown, margined with black; throat _whitish_; neck brownish.

Range.--North Atlantic; breeds from Nova Scotia to Greenland; winters south to Carolinas.

=120. Double-crested Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax dilophus_). L. 30; W. 12.5; T. 6.2, of 12 feathers. _Ads._ Back brownish with distinct black margins; below shining black. _Breeding plumage._ With tufts on either side of head black, sometimes mixed with white; throat pouch orange. _Yng._ Back browner; head, neck, and lower belly brown; breast whitish.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds locally from Bay of Fundy, Minnesota, North Dakota, northward; west to Assiniboia; winters from southern Illinois and Virginia southward.

=120a. Florida Cormorant= (_P. d. floridanus_). Similar to No. 120, but blacker and smaller. L. 25.

Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States; breeds north to North Carolina and southern Illinois.

=120b. White-crested Cormorant= (_P. d. cincinatus_). Similar to No. 120, but larger, L. 36; nuptial crests _white_.

Range.--Pacific coasts; breeds in Alaska; winters south to California.

=120c. Farallone Cormorant= (_P. d. albociliatus_). Similar to 120b., but smaller, L. 28.

Range.--Breeds on California coast and in interior, south to Socorro Island. (Ridgw.)

=121. Mexican Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax mexicanus_). L. 25. W. 10. _Ads._ Narrow border at base of pouch white. _Breeding plumage._ Neck with white plumes. _Yng._ Head and hindneck brownish; back grayish, margined with black; throat, foreneck and breast brownish white; belly black.

Range.--Breeds In West Indies and Central America to west Gulf States; north in summer rarely to Kansas and southern Illinois.

=122. Brandt Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax penicillatus_). L. 35; T. 6. Chin and sides of throat _buffy white or brownish_. _Ads._ Above blue black, _faintly_ margined with black; below green black. _Breeding plumage._ With white, hair-like plumes from back and neck; no white on flanks; throat pouch blue. _Yng._ Above dark brown; throat and belly whitish; breast and sides brown.

Range.--Pacific coast from Cape St. Lucas to Washington; resident.

=123. Pelagic Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax pelagicus_). L. 28; W. 10; T. 6.2. Forehead _feathered_; back feathers _not_ margined. _Ads._ Above glossy green and purplish black; below bottle green. _Breeding plumage._ With white plumes on neck and rump and white patches on flanks; nape and forehead, crested. _Yng._ Above greenish dusky brown, less green below.

Range.--"Aleutian and Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka, south to Japan." (A.O.U.)

=123a. Violet-green Cormorant= (_P. p. robustus_). Similar to No. 123, but larger; bill stouter, W. 10.8.

Range.--"Coast of Alaska, from Norton Sound south to Washington." (A.O.U.)

=123b. Baird Cormorant= (_P. p. resplendens_). Similar to No. 123, but smaller; bill slenderer; W. 9.5. _Notes._ A croaking, guttural note.

Range.--Pacific coast from Washington south to Mazatlan, Mexico.

=124. Red-faced Cormorant= (_Phalacrocorax urile_). L. 34. _Forehead_ as well as lores bare. _Ads._ Above green and purple; head and neck blue black; belly green. _Breeding plumage._ With forehead and nape crests and white patches on flanks. _Notes._ "A low, droning croak." (Nelson.)

Range.--"Pribilof, Aleutian, and Kuril Islands, and coast of Kamchatka. South in winter to northern Japan." (A.O.U.)

Anhinga, Pelicans, and Man-o'-War bird

=118. Anhinga; Snakebird; Water Turkey= (_Anhinga anhinga_). L. 36. _Ad._ [Male]. Black; grayish head and neck plumes which, in winter, are absent. _Ad._ [Female]. Resembles male but whole head, neck, and breast brownish. _Yng._ Similar to [Female] but black parts duller. _Notes._ A rasping, clattering croak, uttered when fighting or in coming to the nest.

Range.--Tropical and subtropical America; breeds north to southern Illinois and South Carolina; winters from Gulf States southward.

=125. American White Pelican= (_Pelecanus erythrorhynchos_). L. 60. _Ads._ White; primaries black; bill in breeding season with a knob. _Yng._ With crown brownish.

Range:--North America; breeds in interior from eastern California, Utah, Yellowstone Park, Minnesota (?) northward to Lat. 61°; winters from Gulf States and southern California, south to Central America.

=126. Brown Pelican= (_Pelecanus occidentalis_). L. 50; W. 19.5. _Ads._ Pouch greenish; head white, rarely yellowish; neck brown. In fall, no brown on neck. _Yng._ Brownish gray, white below. _Notes._ Adults as a rule silent; young before flying, very noisy.

Range:--Atlantic and Gulf coast of tropical and subtropical America; breeds from northern South America to South Carolina; has strayed to Illinois and Nova Scotia; winters from Gulf States southward.

=127. California Brown Pelican= (_Pelecanus californicus_). Similar to No. 126, but larger. L. 54; W. 21; pouch in breeding season, red.

Range.--Pacific coast from Galapagos north to British Columbia; breeds north only to Los Coronados Islands.

=128. Man-o'-War Bird; Frigate Bird= (_Fregata aquila_). L. 40. _Ad._ [Male]. Black, glossy above; pouch "scarlet or orange." _Ad._ [Female]. Browner; breast and belly white. _Yng._ Similar to [Female], but head and neck white. _Notes._ Usually silent; rarely a croaking note.

Range:--Tropical and subtropical coasts; in America north to Florida, Texas, and southern California; casually to Kansas, Ohio and Nova Scotia; winters from southern Florida and Lower California southward.

Order V. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS.

ANSERES.

Family 1. DUCKS, GEESE, and SWANS. Anatidæ. 49 species, 6 subspecies.

The Anatidæ of North America are placed in five well-marked subfamilies, the Mergansers (_Merginæ_), River Ducks (_Anatinæ_), Sea Ducks (_Fuligulinæ_), Geese (_Anserinæ_), and Swans (_Cygninæ_).

The Mergansers, Saw-bills, or Shelldrakes are fish-eating Ducks and their rounded bills, set with tooth-like projections along the sides, are of evident use to them in holding their prey.

The River Ducks include such well-known species as the Mallard, Black Duck, and Widgeon. They differ from the Bay or Sea Ducks in not having a well-developed web or flap on the hind-toe. As a rule they feed in shallow water by tipping, standing on their heads, as it were, while reaching the bottom for food.

The Bay or Sea Ducks have the hind-toe webbed. They feed, as a rule, in deeper water than the River Ducks, sometimes descending to the bottom in water over one hundred feet deep. During the winter they gather in flocks often of several thousand individuals, and frequent the larger bodies of water.

With both the River and Bay Ducks the sides of the broad, flat bill are set with gutters which serve as strainers, retaining the mollusks, seeds and roots of aquatic plants on which these Ducks feed, while the mud or water taken in with the food is forced out the sides of the bill as it closes.

Geese are more terrestrial than Ducks and often visit the land to nip the grass. This is particularly true in the west where large flocks of, Geese, especially Snow Geese, may be seen feeding on the prairies. On the water they feed over shallows by tipping and probing the bottoms.

Swans also feed from the surface of the water either by simply immersing the head and neck or by half submerging the body, when, with the tail pointed to the zenith, the length of their reach is greatly increased.

In spite of their comparatively short wings the large muscles attached to them give to the Anatidæ great power of flight. Not only do they make extended journeys, when migrating, without a rest, but they attain a speed which is surpassed by but few birds. Some of the smaller species, when alarmed, doubtless flying at the rate of one hundred miles an hour.

In common with other diving water birds the Ducks, when molting, lose most of their wing feathers all at once, and for a time are therefore unable to fly. During this comparatively helpless period the brightly colored males assume in part the plumage of the females and are thereby rendered less conspicuous. With the return of the power of flight, however, they regain their distinctive, male plumage, which is usually brighter than that of the female. With our Geese and Swans there is no sexual difference in color.

Most of our Ducks and Geese breed in the north, some within the Arctic Circle, and winter from the southern limit of frozen water southward. The American Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Buffle-head, Golden-Eyes, Tree Ducks, and possibly Harlequin Duck nest in hollow trees, at times some distance from the water. The young of the American Golden-eye and of the Wood Duck have been seen to reach the water by jumping from the nest-hole and fluttering down in response to the calls of the parent below. It is said that they are also brought down in the bill of the old bird, but this statement apparently lacks confirmation.