Part 46

Head rather large, ovate. Neck short and thick. Body rather full. Feet very short; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus extremely short, roundish, covered all round with small round scales; toes rather small, placed in the same place, and connected by reticulated webs; the first toe very small, the third and fourth about equal, all scutellate above. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather sharp, that of middle toe largest, with an undulated thin inner edge.

Plumage soft, blended, on the back and wings rather compact. Wings long, acute; primaries strong, tapering, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries very short, incurved, rounded, the inner longer. Tail of twelve feathers, wedge-shaped, the two middle feathers extremely elongated, narrow, and tapering.

Bill orange-red. Iris brown. Tarsi and base of toes yellow, the rest and the webs black, as are the claws. The general colour of the plumage is pale pink, or white tinged with carmine, the two middle tail feathers redder. A curved spot before the eye, and band behind it, black. A band of the same colour extends across the wing from the flexure, running narrow along the middle coverts, much enlarged on the inner secondaries and their coverts, and including the extremities of the scapulars. The outer webs, shafts, and a portion of the inner webs of the first four primary quills, are also black, and there is a spot of the same on some of the primary coverts. The shafts of the two middle tail feathers are black, excepting towards the end; and some of the long hypochondrial feathers are greyish-black in the centre.

Length to end of tail 29-1/2 inches, to end of wings 16; to end of claw 14; extent of wings 38; wing from flexure 11-1/4; tail 19-1/8; bill along the ridge 2, along the edge of lower mandible 2-3/4; tarsus 1-10/12; middle toe 1-4/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 15 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCLXII. Fig. 2.

The Female resembles the male, but is less tinged with red. The bill is yellow, the iris and feet as in the male. The tail-feathers are also less elongated.

Length to end of tail 26 inches, to end of wings 14-1/4, to end of claws 13; wing from flexure 11; tail 16; extent of wings 34; bill along the ridge 11/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-1/2; tarsus 10/12; middle toe 1-4/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 12 oz.

THE CURLEW SANDPIPER.

_TRINGA SUBARQUATA_, TEMM.

PLATE CCLXIII. ADULT AND YOUNG.

In the course of my extensive rambles along our coasts and in the interior, I have seen only three birds of this species, all of which I have kept with care, considering the Cape Sandpiper or Pigmy Curlew as the rarest of its genus with us. It appears to resort to particular districts; two of my birds were shot at Great Egg Harbour in New Jersey, in the spring of 1829, the other on Long Island near Sandy Hook. No other birds were near them, and I approached them without much difficulty. They were wading along the shores up to the knees, picking up floating garbage and sand worms. In their stomachs I found fragments of minute shells, slender red worms, and bits of marine plants. The one killed on Long Island was a fine male in full plumage, and from it I made the figure that has been engraved in the plate. The others were females or young birds of the preceding year. One, in plain plumage, was drawn; the other, mottled beneath with patches of white and dull rufous, I considered as a female which might perhaps have perfected its colouring that season. I have seen a few specimens in New York, and two in Boston; and my friend JOHN BACHMAN has one or two in his possession.

TRINGA SUBARQUATA, _Temm._ Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p. 609.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 317.

NUMENIUS AFRICANUS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. 712.

CAPE CURLEW OR SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, p. 104.

Adult Male. Plate CCLXIII. Fig. 1.

Bill longer than the head, slender, subcylindrical, flexible, very slightly decurved, compressed at the base, the point obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first slightly sloping, then nearly straight, and towards the end slightly decurved, the ridge convex but narrow, the sides sloping, the edges rather blunt and soft. Nasal groove extending to near the tip; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides nearly erect, with a long narrow groove, the tip tapering but rounded.

Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body rather slender. Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare about a third of its length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly and posteriorly covered with numerous scutella; hind toe very small; the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth a little longer than the second, the third longest, all free, scutellate above, flat beneath, slightly marginate; claws small, slightly arched, compressed, acute, that of third toe largest, with the inner edge slightly dilated.

Plumage very soft, blended beneath, slightly distinct above. Wings long and pointed; primaries tapering, obtuse, the first longest, the second scarcely shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries short, incurved, obliquely truncate, the inner web extending beyond the outer; the inner secondaries elongated, tapering. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve rounded feathers, the two middle a little longer.

Bill dark olive-green, dusky towards the point. Iris hazel. Feet light olive, claws dusky. The head, neck and breast, are bright yellowish-red, the sides whitish, the lower tail-coverts white, with a brownish-black spot towards the end. The central parts of the feathers on the upper part of the head are dark brown, and there are slight streaks of the same on the hind neck and sides of the breast. The upper parts are mottled with brownish-black and dull red, the rump pale brownish-grey, as are the smaller wing-coverts. Quills greyish-brown, the primaries dark, the outer secondaries light and tipped with white, the inner darker and glossed with green. Upper tail-coverts white, spotted with brown and red; tail pale brownish grey, glossed with green.

Length to end of tail 8-3/4 inches, to end of wings 9-2/12; extent of wings 16; wing from flexure 5; tail 2-2/12; bill along the back 1-1/2, along the edge of lower mandible 1-5/12; bare parts of tibia 1/2; tarsus 1-1/12, middle toe 1, its claw 2/12. Weight 2-1/4 oz.

Adult Female, Plate CCLXIII. Young in autumn.

The bill, iris, and feet as in the adult. On the upper parts the feathers are brown, edged with darker, and margined with greyish yellow; the lore, cheeks and sides of the neck and body are greyish-yellow, with dusky lines, a broad band from the mandible over the eye, the fore part of the neck, and the rest of the lower parts, white. Quills and tail as in the adult, but lighter.

Length to end of tail 7-3/4 inches; extent of wings 14-1/2. Weight 1-3/4 oz.

THE FULMAR PETREL.

_PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS_, LINN.

PLATE CCLXIV. MALE.

Though not a large bird, the Fulmar is possessed of considerable strength, and has a powerful and sustained flight. In autumn and winter it is seen on our eastern coasts, from which it retires early in summer, to betake itself to the northern retreats in which it rears its young. I have never seen it farther south than Long Island, but I have often found it on the banks of Newfoundland, and in the space intervening between them and our shores. From the beginning of September to that of May it may be said to be pretty common, especially around the banks, to which the cod-fishers resort, and where it feeds chiefly on the rejected garbage.

One calm day in August, when on a voyage from England to New York, of which I have already spoken when describing the Forked-tailed Petrel, I procured several Fulmars. They came up and alighted near the boat, whenever we threw any thing overboard, and did not seem to be in the least alarmed by the report of a gun. In one instance I shot one on the water, when it was so near that I could distinctly see the colour of its eye. A great number of them were swimming in small detached flocks of eight or ten, their colour at a distance appearing as if pure white, and contrasting beautifully with the dark blue of the sea. They floated very buoyantly, some swimming about with great ease, others to appearance sound asleep. Most of them had the wing and tail feathers ragged, and some were much soiled with greasy matter, which gave them an unpleasant appearance. Those which were caught, on being wounded, emitted quantities of oily matter by their nostrils, and disgorged much of the same substance; but did not attempt to bite, which seemed strange in birds having the bill so powerful and hooked. They fly with less grace than the Shearwaters, proceeding in a direct line, and at a small height, towards the objects on which they feed.

I was much disappointed at not finding the Fulmar along the rocky shores of Labrador, where I had expected to meet with it, as it is regularly observed in spring moving northward in files opposite the entrance of the Straits of Belle Isle. Its passage towards the Arctic Regions has been observed by Captain SABINE on the coast of Greenland. “Whilst the ships,” he says, “were detained by the ice in Jacob’s Bay, in latitude 71°, from the 24th of June to the 3d of July, Fulmars were passing in a continual stream to the northward, in numbers inferior only to the flight of the Passenger Pigeon in America.” While on my way to Labrador, I was told that they bred on the Seal Islands off the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. The egg, which is of a regular ovate form, with a smooth brittle pure white shell, measures two inches and seven-eighths in length, by two inches in breadth.

My much esteemed friend Mr SELBY, in his Illustrations of British Ornithology, gives the following account of this species. “The steep and rocky St Kilda, one of the western islands of Scotland, is the only locality within the British dominions annually resorted to by the Fulmar, the rest of the Scottish and our more southern coasts being rarely visited even by stragglers. Upon St Kilda these birds are found in vast numbers during the spring and summer months, breeding in the caverns and holes of the rocks; and, from the various uses to which the down, feathers, and oil of the young are applied, contribute essentially to the comfort of the inhabitants. They lay but one egg each, white, and of a large size, with a shell of very brittle texture. The young are hatched about the middle of June, and are fed with _oil_ thrown up by the parents (the produce of the food upon which they subsist), and, as soon as fledged, are eagerly sought for by the natives, although often at the risk of life, in scaling the tremendous and overhanging cliffs in which they nestle. Like most of the group, these birds have the power of ejecting oil with much force through their tubular nostrils, which is used as the principal mode of defence; it becomes an essential point, therefore, that they should be taken and killed by surprise, in order to prevent the loss of a liquid so requisite for the comfort of the inhabitants, by supplying them with the necessary fuel for their lamps. The Fulmar is of voracious appetite, feeding upon all sorts of animal substance, particularly of an oily nature, such as the blubber of whales, seals, &c.; and for this purpose it follows in great numbers the track of the whale vessels, and is so greedy of its favourite food, as to be often seen alighting upon the wounded animal, when not quite dead, and immediately proceeding to break the skin with its strong hooked bill, and gorging itself with the blubber to repletion.”

The Rev. Mr SCORESBY, in his “Arctic Regions,” vol. i. p. 528, gives the following account of its habits as observed by him in the polar seas.

“The Fulmar is the constant companion of the whale-fisher. It joins his ship immediately on passing the Shetland Islands, and accompanies it through the trackless ocean to the highest accessible latitudes. It keeps an eager watch for any thing thrown overboard; the smallest particle of fatty substance can scarcely escape it. As such, a hook baited with a piece of fat meat or blubber, and towed by a long twine over the ship’s stern, is a means employed by the sailor boys for taking them. In the spring of the year, before they have glutted themselves too frequently with the fat of the whale, they may be eaten; and when cleared of the skin, and of every particle of yellow fatty substance lying beneath it, and well soaked in water, they are pretty good, particularly in ‘sea pies.’ They are remarkably easy and swift on the wing. They can fly to windward in the highest storms, and rest on the water with great composure in the most tremendous seas. But it is observed that, in heavy gales, they fly extremely low, generally skimming along by the surface of the water. The Fulmar walks awkwardly, and with the legs so bent that the feet almost touch the belly. When on ice it rests with its body on the surface, and presents its breast to the wind. Like the Duck, it sometimes turns its head backward, and conceals its bill beneath its wing.

“Fulmars are extremely greedy of the fat of the whale. Though few should be seen when a whale is about being captured, yet, as soon as the flensing process commences, they rush in from all quarters, and frequently accumulate to many thousands in number. They then occupy the greasy track of the ship; and being audaciously greedy, fearlessly advance within a few yards of the men employed in cutting up the whale. If, indeed, the fragments of fat do not float sufficiently away, they approach so near the scene of operations, that they are knocked down with boat hooks in great numbers, and sometimes taken up by the hand. The sea immediately about the ship’s stern, is sometimes so completely covered with them, that a stone can scarcely be thrown overboard, without striking one of them. When any thing is thus cast among them, those nearest the spot where it falls take the alarm, and these exciting some fear in others more remote, sometimes put a thousand of them in motion; but as, in rising into the air, they assist their wings, for the first few yards, by striking the water with their feet, there is produced by such a number of them, a loud and most singular splashing. It is highly amusing to observe the voracity with which they seize the pieces of fat that fall in their way; the size and quantity of the pieces they take at a meal; the curious chuckling noise which in their anxiety for dispatch they always make; and the jealousy with which they view, and the boldness with which they attack, any of this species that are engaged in devouring the finest morsels. They frequently glut themselves so completely, that they are unable to fly; in which case, when they are not relieved by a quantity being disgorged, they endeavour to get on the nearest piece of ice, where they rest until the advancement of digestion restores their wonted powers. Then, if opportunity admit, they return with the same gust to the banquet as before; and though numbers of the species may be killed, and allowed to float about among them, they appear unconscious of danger to themselves.

“The Fulmar never dives, but when incited to it by the appearance of a morsel of fat under water. When in close view of any men, it keeps a continual watch both on the men and its prey; having its feet continually in motion, and yet perhaps not moving at all through the water. Its boldness increases with the numbers of its species that surround it. It is a very hardy bird. Its feathers being thick it is not easily killed with a blow. Its bite, from the crookedness, strength, and sharpness of its bill, is very severe.

“When carrion is scarce, the Fulmars follow the living whale; and sometimes, by their peculiar motions, when hovering at the surface of the water, point out to the fisher the position of the animal of which he is in pursuit. They cannot make much impression on the dead whale, until some more powerful animal tears away the skin; the epidermis and rete mucosum they entirely remove, but the true skin is too tough for them to make way through it.”

PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 213.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 823.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 369.

FULMAR PETREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 330.

Adult Male in Summer. Plate CCLXIV.

Bill shorter than the head, robust, straight, slightly compressed, the tip curved. Upper mandible with the nostrils on the ridge, separated only by a thin partition, covered by an elevated horny case, and opening directly forwards, the sides convex, and separated by a groove from the nasal plate, as well as from the unguis, which is remarkably strong, curved and acute, the edges sharp, inflected, and slightly curved. Lower mandible with the angle long, rather wide, acute, the sides erect but convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the very short dorsal line ascending and slightly concave, the edges decurved at the end.

Head rather large, ovate. Neck rather short. Body full. Feet of moderate length, stout; tibia bare for a short space below; tarsus a little compressed, rather sharp before, covered all round with reticular scales, of which those on the anterior and posterior ridges are much smaller. Hind toe a slight prominence, with a conical obtuse claw; the fore toes long, slender, scutellate above, connected by striated entire webs, the fourth a little longer than the third, the second not much shorter. Claws rather small, arched, compressed, rather acute, that of third toe with an inner thin edge.

Plumage free, close, elastic, blended; on the back and wings the feathers rather distinct. Wings long; primary quills rather broad, tapering, acuminate, the first longest, the rest graduated; secondary broad and rounded. Tail rather short, slightly rounded, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.

Bill, iris, and feet yellow, the latter tinged with green. The head, neck and lower parts, are pure white; the back and wings light greyish-blue, the rump paler, the tail bluish-white; the primary quills and their coverts blackish-brown.

Length to end of tail 16-1/2 inches, to end of wings 17-3/4, to end of claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 30; wing from flexure 13; tail 4-1/4; bill along the back 1-10/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-2/12; tarsus 2; outer toe 1-8/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 1 lb. 4 oz.

The Female is similar to the Male.

THE BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER.

_TRINGA RUFESCENS_, VIEILL.

PLATE CCLXV. MALE AND FEMALE.

It is a curious fact that although this beautiful bird is by no means rare, at particular periods, along the shores of our Eastern Districts, it remained unknown to WILSON, BONAPARTE, and, until found in England by Mr YARRELL, to myself. It was first discovered by VIEILLOT in Louisiana, where, however, I never met with it. My friend NUTTALL, who has also described it, states that it is often seen near Boston, in company with the Pectoral Sandpiper, and is not uncommon in the market there. To my friend Mr YARRELL I am indebted for the use of his specimen, from which I made the figure in the act of starting on wing. The other figure was taken from an American specimen, procured at Boston, and now in my possession. I regret, however, that I can say nothing respecting the habits or haunts of this bird, farther than that having seen a wing of it in the possession of my friend Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, I think it probable that it breeds near the Arctic circle, as he received a wing from the sailors, who had found it in the course of one of the numerous inland excursions in the desolate regions from which these intrepid navigators have recently returned.

TRINGA RUFESCENS, LE TRINGA ROUSSATRE, _Vieill._ Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat.—_Yarrell_, in Linn. Trans. vol. xvi. p. 109. pl. 11.

BUFF-BREASTED TRINGA, TRINGA RUFESCENS, _Selby_, Illustr. vol. ii. p. 142. pl. 27. fig. 4.

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 113.

Adult Male. Plate CCLXV. Fig. 1.

Bill about the length of the head, slender, subcylindrical, very slightly decurved, compressed at the base, the point rather depressed and obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line very slightly decurved towards the end, the ridge convex, the sides sloping, the edges rather blunt and soft. Nasal groove extending to near the tip, nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line straight, the sides sloping outwards, with a long narrow groove, the tip a little broader, but tapering.

Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes rather large. Neck of moderate length. Body rather slender. Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare a third part of its length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly and posteriorly with numerous small scutella; hind toe very small; the rest of moderate length, slender, the fourth slightly longer than the second, the third longest; all free, scutellate above, flat beneath, slightly marginate; claws rather small, slightly arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the third toe much larger, with the inner edge dilated.

Plumage very soft, blended on the lower parts, the feathers rather distinct above. Wings very long, pointed; primaries tapering, obtuse, the first longest, the second almost equal, the rest rapidly graduated; outer secondaries slightly incurved, narrow, very obliquely sinuate on the outer web towards the end, the inner web rounded, and extending beyond the outer; inner secondaries very narrow, tapering, acute, reaching, when the wing is closed, to within half an inch of its tip. Tail of moderate length, nearly even, with the two middle feathers exceeding the rest, and having the shaft projecting, of twelve narrow, rounded feathers.

Bill dull olive-green, dusky towards the point. Iris hazel. Feet dull yellowish-green, claws dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is greyish-yellow, each feather blackish-brown in the centre; wing-coverts lighter; quills and their coverts light greyish-brown, greenish-black at the end, but with a whitish tip, the inner webs whitish in the greater part of their breadth, and beautifully dotted with black in undulating lines; the inner secondaries like the feathers of the back. The two middle tail-feathers greyish-brown, dark-brown glossed with green at the end, and slightly margined and tipped with white, the rest gradually paler to the outer, margined and tipped with white, within which are two lines of blackish-brown. Sides of the head, fore neck, and sides light yellowish-red, the throat paler, the sides of the neck and body spotted with brownish-black; the rest of the lower parts paler and unspotted. The lower wing-coverts are white, those near the edge of the wing black in the centre, the primary coverts dotted with black, and having a spot of the same near the end.

Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 8-9/12; extent of wings 18; wing from flexure 5-3/4; tail 2-11/12; bill along the ridge (10-1/2)/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1; bare part of tibia 7/12; tarsus 1-4/12, middle toe 10/12, its claw (2-1/2)/12. Weight 2-1/2 oz.

Adult Female. Plate CCLXV. Fig. 2.

The Female is somewhat larger than the male, which it resembles in colour, but has the lower parts paler, and the feathers of the upper parts of a lighter brown, with an inner margin of brownish-black and an outer of greyish-yellow.

THE OPOSSUM.