Part 24

The present bird was originally described in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Blossom, from specimens obtained on the western coast of North America; but apparently the naturalists attached to the party which performed that voyage, had no opportunities of acquiring any information respecting its history or the district that it inhabits. Nor have others been more successful; no American naturalist or traveller having noticed it again in Western America, notwithstanding the researches which have been carried on in that portion of this continent.

The only specimen that we have ever seen of this bird is in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, to which it was presented by our intimate and valued friend, Thomas M. Brewer, M. D., of the city of Boston, one of the most eminent of American ornithologists, and now particularly devoted to the investigation of the nidification and oology of the birds of this country, the results of which we hope soon to see published. Dr. Brewer obtained the specimen alluded to in Nova Scotia, but could procure no account of it beyond the fact that it was considered as of unusual occurrence in that province.

This bird is very closely allied to the Wheat Ear of Europe (_S. œnanthe_), and is in all probability of very similar habits. In the absence of positive information we can only suppose it to be an inhabitant of the countries north of the limits of the United States, in which there is a vast extent of territory well adapted to the habits of birds of this group. It is also probably not an abundant species, or it would have been noticed more frequently during its winter migration. But of the ornithology of all the northern portion of the United States from the ninetieth degree of longitude to the Pacific Ocean, or west of the Mississippi river, too little is known to justify any conclusions. Many species of Northern and Western America, of which little or nothing was previously known, have within a few years been demonstrated to be abundant, and such may hereafter prove to be the case with the bird which is the subject of our present article.

The figure in our plate is about two-thirds of the size of life.

The plant represented is _Abronia umbellata_, a native of western North America.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Saxicola. Bechstein, Ornithologisches Taschenbuch, p. 216. (1802.)

Bill straight, with the culmen distinct and somewhat ascending into the feathers of the forehead; a few short and weak bristles at the base of the upper mandible, which is rather wide; wing rather long; first quill spurious, third and fourth longest, and nearly equal; tail moderate, wide, truncate; legs long, rather slender. General form adapted to living on the ground.

Saxicola œnanthoides. Vigors, Zool. Voy. Blossom, Ornithology, p. 19. (1839.)

Form. Rather larger than _Saxicola œnanthe_, but very similar to that species in form and general characters and appearance; wing long; second primary longest; tail moderate or rather short; legs, especially the tarsi, long; bill moderate, rather wide at base.

Dimensions. Total length of skin, about 6½ inches; wing, 4⅛; tail, 3; tarsus, 1¼ inches.

Colors. Narrow line through the eye, enlarging on the ears, black, which is the color also of the wings; forehead ashy white, fading into the cinerous of the head above; back cinerous; upper coverts of the tail white; under parts white, tinged with pale fulvous, darker on the breast; two middle feathers of the tail white at base; terminal two-thirds of their length black; other feathers of the tail white, tipped with black; bill and legs dark.

Hab. Northern America, Nova Scotia, Oregon. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philadelphia.

Obs. We are not without doubts that the bird now before us is really distinct from _Saxicola œnanthe_ of Europe, but having unfortunately a single specimen only, we cannot make an examination or comparison in all respects satisfactory. Our specimen is uniformly larger than either of the numerous specimens of the European species in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, and is, as an especial character, longer in the tarsi. Its measurements do not, however, correspond with those given in the original description in Voy. Blossom; but it is expressly stated that the specimens described were in bad condition, and may not be entirely reliable. It is, at any rate, very closely allied to the European species that we have just mentioned.

With special reference to the present bird, we shall look with much interest for the results of future zoological investigations in the northwestern territories of the United States. There is at the present time no field more inviting to the American naturalist. While much has been done in California, New Mexico, and Texas, the extensive regions which we have above designated have scarcely been entered upon, and will yet contribute much to the fauna of our country.

DIOMEDEA NIGRIPES.—Audubon. The Black-footed Albatross. PLATE XXXV. Adult Male.

Those birds whose homes are the sea-coasts and islands, and whose lives are spent in gleaning a subsistence amongst the billows or by the shores of the ocean, have always been objects of interest both to the naturalist and the general observer. Idly reposing on the rocky crag or the sand-bank, or boldly sweeping the surface of the waters alike in the calm and amidst the fury of the tempest, few having the opportunity have failed to mark the sea-birds as a feature in the wild scenery peculiar to the localities for which they are fitted by nature, and perhaps to associate them with the adventurous character of our useful fellow-men whose profession it is, in the beautiful language of the liturgy, to “go down upon the deep.”

The large majority of the many birds that derive their subsistence from the productions of the Ocean, live habitually on its shores, or venture only short and easily-regainable distances from the land. This is the case with the numerous genera comprising the Ducks, Swans, and Geese, as well as the Pelicans, Cormorants, Penguins, and others. These, for the greater part, frequent the margins of the bays and estuaries, and many of them are almost as much birds of the land as of the sea. The Penguins in fact having but rudiments of wings, and incapable of flight, are necessarily restricted, though performing very remarkable migrations by swimming. These extraordinary birds are peculiar to the southern hemisphere, and have been met with amongst the ice and snow of the highest latitudes which navigators have succeeded in reaching within the Antarctic circle.

The bird which is the subject of our present article, is one of a group of species which, possessing great powers of flight and swimming with facility, do not content themselves with the vicinity of the coast, but venture boldly out to sea. The largest and best known species, the Wandering Albatross, has been observed by voyagers at a distance of two thousand miles or upwards from land; and it is even supposed that it performs a flight across the Atlantic from Cape Horn, or about its latitude, to the Cape of Good Hope. The smaller species, of which the present is one, do not venture on so long flights, but several voyagers have recorded their having been seen at two to five hundred miles out at sea.

On the sea-coast of America, on the Atlantic, the Albatrosses are found inhabiting only a portion of the shores of the southern division of this continent north of Cape Horn, but on the Pacific they are abundant throughout the extent of the continent.

The species that we present to the reader in the present plate, was discovered on the coast of California by the late John K. Townsend, M. D., and was first brought to notice by Mr. Audubon, in his Ornithological Biography, V., p. 327, but the specimen appears to have been accompanied by no notice of its history.

Since the period of its discovery, this bird has been again observed only by Dr. Heermann, who has kindly furnished the following note from his Journal:—

“The Black-footed Albatross abounds on the coast of California and southward, as do several other species of this genus. It is commonly to be seen skimming over the waves in its flight, and following in the wake of vessels, to pick up the refuse scraps thrown overboard. With the voracity characteristic of these birds, it seizes with little discrimination on whatever is thrown into the water, and of this propensity advantage may be taken by baiting a hook, by which, when seized, the bird is easily secured. From the stern-ports of our ship, during a voyage by sea to California, I have thus captured eight or ten specimens of this and other species of this genus in a single morning. All the species much resemble each other in habits, so far as my observations extend.

“On the coast of California, I observed a White Albatross much smaller than the large _Diomedea exulans_, but not having succeeded in procuring it, I cannot designate the species.”

The small white species alluded to by Dr. Heermann, is probably new to the ornithology of North America. Of the species known as inhabitants, we may say of the Pacific ocean, several have not heretofore been noticed by naturalists on the shores of the United States.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Diomedea. Linnæus, Syst. Nat. I., p. 214. (1766.)

Size large; general form short and compact; wings very long; bill straight, much compressed, hooked at the tip; both mandibles usually with lateral grooves; apertures of the nostrils tubular; first primary longest; secondaries short; tail short; legs moderate; feet large.

Diomedea nigripes. Audubon, Ornith. Biog. V., p. 327. (1839.)

Form. Medium sized or rather small for a bird of this genus; bill straight, hooked at the tip; upper mandible expanded on the forehead, its basal edge forming a crescent very distinct from the frontal feathers; tubular nostrils prominent; wing long; first quill longest; tail short, nearly square at the tip; tarsi short; feet large; tibia naked above the joint with the tarsus.

Dimensions. Total length of skin, 26 inches; wing, 19; tail, 5 inches.

Colors. Plumage at the base of the bill pale brownish-white, of which color there is also a spot behind and under the eye; entire other plumage above and below sooty brown, darkest on the back and wings, lighter on the under parts, and having a gray tinge on the breast; bill dark; tarsi and feet black.

Hab. Western Coast of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This species much resembles in colors and general appearance the Dusky Albatross (_Diomedea fuliginosa_, Gm., which is _D. fusca_, Aud.), but may at once be distinguished by the color of the feet, which in the present bird are black, and in the other yellow. In _D. fuliginosa_, the tail is much longer and wedge-shaped, and the upper mandible extends in a point into the plumage of the head in front, instead of being as above described in the species now before us.

It is a species apparently peculiar to the western coast of America; but as illustrative of the very extensive range of these birds, we may mention that several species, which are common on the Pacific coast of this continent, are also met with on the shores of Australia. The Great Wandering Albatross, the Dusky Albatross, and the Yellow-nosed Albatross (_D. exulans fuliginosa_ and _chlorhynchus_), are given as birds of that continent in Mr. Gould’s magnificent work, “The Birds of Australia,” and are now well known to be inhabitants of the western shores of the continent of America.

GEOCOCCYX MEXICANUS.—(Gmelin.) The Ground Cuckoo. The Prairie Cock. The Paisano. The Corre-camino. PLATE XXXVI. Adult Male.

Of the many birds of Western America, the history of which has been brought to light by the recent researches of our countrymen and fellow-laborers in the great field of zoological science, that now before the reader is one of the most curious and interesting. Its existence has been known to naturalists since the time of Hernandez, who, as early as 1651, in his “New History of the Plants, Animals, and Minerals of Mexico,” gives a short account of it, as one of the most remarkable of the birds that came under his observation. Though partially known for so long a period, and having received various names from European naturalists, who have described specimens met with in museums, there was extant no satisfactory account of this bird previous to the incorporation of countries which it inhabits with the confederacy of the United States, and the consequent facilities afforded to the investigations of American naturalists.

This bird is especially remarkable for great swiftness of foot, and in fact appears to be almost unrivalled in that respect by any other of our North American species, not even excepting the Grouse, Partridges, or any other of the smaller gallinaceous birds. These, though possessing the ability to run short distances very swiftly, are incapable of sustaining a protracted chase like the present bird. In Mexico, and the adjacent portions of the United States, it is not unusual, as a matter of amusement, to try the speed of our bird by pursuing him on horseback, or by chasing him with dogs, under which severe test of his fleetness, he acquits himself very creditably, and makes, as we shall see presently, a longer race than is usually expected by his pursuer. He evidently possesses both speed and bottom, unrivalled by any fair competition in ornithological pedestrianism, so far as its annals are chronicled, or the present writer’s information on that subject extends.

Clothed in plumage of agreeable and unusual colors for a Northern species, and habitually frequenting the ground, walking or running with its long tail carried erect, and assuming a variety of grotesque attitudes, it is not surprising that this bird has attracted the attention of nearly all our naturalists and travellers who have visited its native regions. Through their exertions, it is now to be found in nearly all our museums and private collections, and many facts respecting it have been placed on record.

Though terrestrial in its habits, and exhibiting in some degree the manners and habits of the gallinaceous birds (the Pheasants, Partridges, Grouse, &c.), this bird is by no means to be classed in that division of the ornithological kingdom. It is a Cuckoo, and a relative of the celebrated bird of Europe so long known as to have become classic, and of the unobtrusive and plain-plumaged little birds of the United States, of the genus _Coccyzus_, popularly known by the name of Cow-birds, or Rain-birds. Our present bird is a representative of the gallinaceous form, in the family of Cuckoos. Throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and in every division or subdivision of whatever character, five primary groups or forms present themselves. In birds and all their groups, these are: the typical, or bird-like form; the predatory, or rapacious; the gallinaceous, or walking; the grallatorial, or wading; and the natatorial, or swimming form. In the group of Cuckoos, which is quite extensive, and species of which are found in nearly all parts of the world, the bird now before us belongs to the subdivision comprising the gallinaceous or walking Cuckoos, and is a striking example of that peculiar form in the great circle of birds, and of the prevalence of a law which is universal, and not difficult to demonstrate.

The first American naturalist who observed the bird now before the reader, was Dr. William Gambel, and a description by him will be found in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. II., p. 263. (1845). Subsequently, it has been noticed by nearly all naturalists who have visited California, New Mexico, or Texas, and interesting contributions to its history are contained in their publications relating to the ornithology of those countries.

Our esteemed friend, Col. George A. McCall, with his usual clearness and scientific accuracy, gave the first satisfactory account of this bird, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, III. p. 234 (July, 1847.):

“Although the toes of this bird are disposed in opposite pairs, as in other species of his family, yet the outer toe being reversible, and of great flexibility, is in either position aptly applied in climbing or perching, as well as on the ground. Thus he at times pitches along the ground in irregular but vigorous hops; and again, when the outer toe is thrown forward, he runs smoothly, and with such velocity, as to be able to elude a dog in the _chaparral_, without taking wing. He feeds on _coleoptera_, and almost every description of insects, and near the river Nueces, where the snail (_Lynnæus stagnalis_) abounds, it is also greedily eaten. These he snatches from the ground, or plucks from the low branch of a bush; and as he rarely wanders far from his abode, the prize is carried to a particular spot, where the shell is broken with his strong bill, and the animal devoured. Piles of these shells are often found that would fill half a hat crown.

“Although dwelling principally on the ground, he is ready and expert in catching his prey in the air, in which act his movements are full of animation,—bounding from the ground with a sudden impulse to the height of eight or ten feet; his wings and tail are seen expanded for a scarcely appreciable instant, and his bill is heard to snap as he takes his prey, when he drops as suddenly to the spot from which he sprang. Here he will stand for a moment, his legs apart, and his tail flirted on one side with a wild and eccentric expression of exultation in his attitude, before he scampers off under cover of the thick _chaparral_. At first, I thought,—as is the general impression among the Mexicans,—that his powers of flight were extremely limited; but he will, when suddenly alarmed in open ground, rise with a light, quick motion, and continue his flight over the bushes for some hundred yards, apparently with an ease that would argue the ability to sustain a longer flight.

“Though fond of solitude and shade, he will, at an early hour in the morning, climb to the top of a straight leafless branch, there to sit and enjoy the first rays of the sun.

“He is said by the Mexican rancheros to build his nest of loose sticks, either in a low, thick bush, or in close cover on the ground. The eggs are said by them to be two or three in number, and of a whitish color.”

We have again to express our obligations to Col. McCall for the following contribution to our present article:—

“I never was so fortunate as to find the nest of this bird, yet I had frequent opportunities of witnessing its manners and habits in Texas, in New Mexico, and in California, between the years 1846-52.

“Of shy and retiring disposition, the _G. viaticus_ is most often met with singly. I have, however, frequently seen the male and female associated during the later period of the year, as well as in spring and summer; the former, at all seasons, being easily distinguishable by his larger size and more brilliant plumage. Whether the pairs I thus met were mated for life, or for the year, or were merely accidentally living in company, I am unable to say—I simply state the fact; and I well recollect my fruitless efforts, in Texas, for several successive days in autumn, to secure a pair that inhabited a large _chaparral_ near which I happened to be encamped at the time. The male was a remarkably fine bird, but evidently an old and cautious fellow; he would come just without the thicket, followed by the female—and there, with neck outstretched, cast a searching glance around; then, if an enemy appeared, even in the distance, he would instantly retreat to his impenetrable abode trebly fenced with thorns. In a little while, he would re-appear at another point, where, if the coast seemed clear, he would, closely followed by his mate, begin to search for grass-hoppers and other insects, but never venture more than a few paces from the border of the thicket. Thus it was impossible to approach him in open ground; and such was his constant caution and vigilance that, although I more than once lay in wait for the couple, which I regularly saw in the morning hours, I never succeeded in getting within gunshot.

“When suddenly surprised, I have seen this bird rise on wing and fly considerable distances, in order to gain close cover, the flight being effected by regular flappings, and executed, apparently, with ease; though the bird did not rise more than six or eight feet from the ground.

“The individuals that I killed in the fall and winter seasons, invariably were excessively fat, and their crops were usually filled with snails and various coleoptera. I do not recollect that I ever found in their stomachs the remains of lizards or other reptiles.

“The _Paisano_ (countryman), as this bird is called by the Mexicans, or _Corre-camino_ (run-the-road), as the native Californians designate it, is often met in the unfrequented roads that traverse forests of low brushwood, being enticed from its sombre retreats to the openings, in search of its favorite food. And here is often afforded the traveller an opportunity of witnessing its surpassing swiftness of foot. I have several times tested its speed with a good horse under me, and I have in truth been astonished at the almost incredible rate at which it passed over the ground. On one occasion, when approaching Limpia creek (W. Texas), with a small party, on my way to El Paso, I discovered a fine male _Paisano_ in the open road, about one hundred yards in advance. For amusement, I put spurs to my horse and dashed after him, followed by one of my men. For full four hundred yards, I ran him along a road level and smooth as a floor; and over which, with straightened neck and slightly-expanded wings, he swiftly glided, seeming scarcely to touch the ground. And when, at last, he deemed it prudent to seek shelter in the thicket alongside, I had not reduced the distance between us more than fifty yards.

“I was told on the frontier that the Mexican rancheros do sometimes run down and capture the _Paisano_ when they find him wandering on more open ground; and such I think is probable, for the one to which I have just referred was going, even to the moment at which he _took cover_, at a rate of speed that could not possibly have been much longer sustained; nor could he, I think, when so nearly ‘blown,’ have risen on wing. Such, at least, is the case with the wild turkey, which I have repeatedly captured in the same way, although his power of flight is greater than that of the _Paisano_.”

Capt. John P. McCown, of the United States Army, also observed the _Paisano_ in Texas; and in his observations on the birds of that State, in the Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, VI. p. 9, we find the following:—