Part 52

This bird, though rare on the coast of the United States, visits the shores of Massachusetts and Maine, where, during winter, it is seen over the bays and inlets, to which various species of Gulls also resort at the same season. It is more shy and difficult to be approached than the Pomarine Jager. Its flight is rapid and greatly protracted; and, like the other species of this genus, it harasses the smaller Gulls and Terns, forcing them to disgorge their food. Dr RICHARDSON informs us that it breeds in considerable numbers in the barren grounds, at a distance from the coast, and that it feeds on testaceous mollusca, which are plentiful in the small lakes of the fur countries. I am unable to afford any information respecting its habits; nor can I state decidedly the number of eggs which it lays, although I have procured several of them. They measure two inches and three-eighths in length, by one inch and five-eighths in breadth, are of an oval rather pointed form, and have a dull greyish-yellow ground, patched with umber and faint purple, the markings closer towards the larger end. I am extremely doubtful as to the right which this bird has to rank as a species distinct from _L. parasiticus_.

LESTRIS RICHARDSONII, RICHARDSON’S JAGER, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 433.—_Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 319.

Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCLXXII. Fig. 1.

Bill about the length of the head, rather slender, straight, the tip curved. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, toward the end curved, the ridge broad and convex, the sides separated from the ridge by a narrow groove, extremely narrow and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip compressed, rather obtuse. Nostrils in the fore part of the nasal groove, nearer the tip than the base, submarginal, pervious, linear-oblong, wider anteriorly. Lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, a slight prominence at its extremity, beyond which the dorsal line is straight and ascending, the sides sloping outwards and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip obliquely truncate and rather obtuse.

Head rather small, oblong, much narrowed before. Neck of moderate length. Body rather slender. Feet rather short, and of moderate strength; tibia bare at its lower part; tarsus anteriorly covered with broad decurved scutella, on the sides with oblong scales, behind with smaller oblong prominent scales; hind toe extremely small and elevated, the fore toes of moderate size, connected by reticulated webs, which have their margins convex; the third toe longest, the fourth a little shorter, the second considerably shorter; all covered above with numerous scutella, the lateral ones margined externally with small prominent scales directed forwards. Claws of moderate size, curved, acute, compressed, that of third toe with a sharp inner edge.

The plumage in general is close, elastic, soft, and blended; the feathers on the back and wings rather compact and distinct. Wings very long, rather broad, pointed; primary quills tapering and rounded, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary rather short, obliquely rounded. Tail feathers of moderate length, excepting the two middle, which extend beyond the rest and taper to a point, the other feathers broad and rounded, there being twelve in all.

Bill greyish-black, the upper part bluish. Iris brown. Legs and feet black. The general colour of the plumage is of a sooty brown, the upper part of the head, the primary quills, and the tail darker, the breast and abdomen lighter; the shafts of the primary quills white, of the tail feathers brownish.

Length to end of tail 18-1/2 inches, to end of wings 17; extent of wings 40; wing from flexure 12-3/4; tail 8-1/2, the middle feathers 2-3/4 longer than the rest; bill along the back 1-4/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1-3/4; tarsus 1-8/12; middle toe 1-5/12, its claw 4/12.

Young Bird in September. Plate CCLXXII. Fig. 2.

Bill light blue, dusky at the end. Iris brown. Tarsi and basal portion of the toes and webs light blue, the rest black. The general colour of the plumage is sooty brown, lighter on the neck and lower parts; the feathers of the back are all tipped with whitish, and the breast, sides, lower wing-coverts, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, are undulatingly barred with pale greyish-yellow.

Length to end of tail 15-1/2 inches, to end of wings 13-1/2, to end of claws 13-1/4; wing from flexure 11-1/2; tail 6-1/4, the middle feathers only 3/4 longer than the rest; bill along the back 1-1/4; tarsus 1-3/4; middle toe and claw 1-1/2. Weight 7 oz.

THE CAYENNE TERN.

_STERNA CAYANA_, LATH.

PLATE CCLXXIII. MALE.

On reaching the entrance of the little port of St Augustine in East Florida, I observed more Cayenne Terns together than I had ever before seen. I had afterwards good opportunities of watching them both during that season and the following, about the Keys. Their shyness surprised me not a little, especially as they are very seldom molested, and it was such that I could study their habits only with the aid of a good glass. I found them at first in great flocks, composed of several hundred individuals, along with Razor-billed Shearwaters, which also congregated there in great numbers. During low water, both species resorted to a large flat sand-bar in the middle of the channel, where they reposed until the return of the tide, sitting close together, in an easy posture, with their heads facing the breeze. They kept separate, however, placing themselves in parallel lines twenty or thirty paces asunder, and either lay flat on the sand, or stood up and plumed themselves. My attempts to procure some of them were always futile, for they flew off when I was yet several hundred yards distant, and moved directly towards the sea. It was pleasing to see the whole of these birds take to wing at the same moment, the jetty hue of the Shearwaters contrasting with the pale blue of the Terns, and the brilliantly-coloured bills of both species, their different modes of flight, and their various evolutions presenting a most agreeable sight. The Terns on these occasions constantly emitted their harsh loud cries, while the Shearwaters moved in perfect silence. After spending several days in unsuccessful endeavours to approach them, I employed several boats, which advanced towards the sands at several points, and we shot as many as we wished, for as the flocks passed over any of the boats, several individuals were brought down at once, on which the rest would assail the gunners, as if determined to rescue their brethren, and thus afford subjects for them on which to exercise their skill. We found it necessary to use large shot, the Cayenne Tern being a strong and tough bird, the largest of the genus met with on our Atlantic coasts. When wounded, however slightly, they disgorged in the manner of Vultures; and when brought to the water disabled, they at once endeavoured to make off from the shores, swimming with buoyancy and grace, though without making much progress. When seized they at once erected their beautiful crest, threw up the contents of their stomach, uttered loud cries, and bit severely. One that was merely touched in the wing, and brought ashore, through a high surf, by my Newfoundland dog, stuck fast to his nose until forced to relinquish its hold by having its throat squeezed, after which it disgorged seven partially digested fishes.

Although the Cayenne Tern often searches for food over the sea, and at times several miles from the shore, it gives a decided preference to the large inlets running parallel to the coast of the Floridas, within the high sandy embankments, as well as the rivers in the interior of the peninsula. They alight on the banks of racoon oysters, so abundant in the inlets, and are seen in company with the Semipalmated Snipe and the American Oystercatcher, searching for food like these birds, and devouring crabs and such fishes as are confined in small shallow pools. These they catch with considerable agility, in a manner not employed by any of our other Terns. While on the St John’s River, I saw them alight on stakes, in the manner of the Marsh Tern and the Noddy; and as I ascended that stream, I often saw them, at the distance of seventy miles from the sea, perched in the middle of the river, on the same sticks as the Florida Cormorants, and found them more easily approached in the dusk than during broad daylight. Until then I had supposed this species to be entirely oceanic, and averse from mingling with any other.

The flight of the Cayenne Tern is strong and well sustained, although less lively or graceful than that of the smaller species, excepting on particular occasions. They usually incline their bill downwards, as they search for their prey, like the other Terns, but keep at a much greater height, and plunge towards the waters with the speed of an arrow, to seize on small fishes, of which they appear to capture a great number, especially of the “mullets,” which we saw moving about in shoals, composed of individuals of different sizes. When travelling, these birds generally proceed in lines; and it requires the power of a strong gale to force them back, or even to impede their progress, for they beat to windward with remarkable vigour, rising, falling, and tacking to right and left, so as to seize every possible opportunity of making their way. In calm and pleasant weather, they pass at a great height, with strong unremitted flappings, uttering at intervals their cries, which so nearly resemble the shrieking notes of our little Parrakeet, that I have often for a moment thought I heard the latter, when in fact it was only the Tern. At times their cries resemble the syllables _kwee-reek_, repeated several times in succession, and so loudly as to be heard at the distance of half a mile or more, especially when they have been disturbed at their breeding places, on which occasion they manifest all the characteristic violence of their tribe, although they are much more guarded than any other species with which I am acquainted, and generally keep at a considerable distance from their unwelcome visitors.

On the 11th May 1832, I found the Cayenne Terns breeding on one of the Tortugas. There they had dropped their eggs on the bare sand, a few yards above high-water mark, and none of the birds paid much attention to them during the heat of the day. You may judge of my surprise when, on meeting with this Tern breeding on the coast of Labrador, on the 18th of June 1833, I found it sitting on two eggs deposited in a nest neatly formed of moss and placed on the rocks, and this on a small island, in a bay more than twelve miles from our harbour, which itself was at some distance from the open Gulf. On another equally sequestered islet, some were found amidst a number of nests of our Common Gull; and, during my stay in that country, I observed that this Tern rarely went to the vicinity of the outer coast, for the purpose of procuring food, probably because there was an extreme abundance of small fishes of several kinds in every creek or bay. Until that period I was not aware that any Tern could master the _Lestris Pomarinus_, to which, however, I there saw the Cayenne Tern give chase, driving it away from the islands on which it had its eggs. On such occasions, I observed that the Tern’s power of flight greatly exceeded that of the Jager; but the appearance of the Great Black-backed Gull never failed to fill it with dismay, for although of quicker flight, none of the Terns dared to encounter that bird, any more than they would venture to attack the Frigate Pelican in the Floridas.

The Cayenne Tern usually lays two eggs; in a few instances I found only one, and I concluded that no more had been laid, as it contained a chick, which would not have been there had the Great Gull ever visited the nest. The eggs measure two inches and six-eighths in length, by one inch and six and a half eighths in breadth, and are rather sharp at the smaller end. They have a pale yellowish ground colour, irregularly spotted with dark umber and faint purplish marks, dispersed all over but not close. The eggs, like those of the other species, afford good eating.

I never saw the young of this bird while small, and cannot speak of the changes which they undergo from their first state until autumn. Then, however, they greatly resemble the young of the Sandwich Tern, their colour being on the upper parts of a dark greyish-brown, transversely marked with umber, and on the lower dull white. While in this plumage, they keep by themselves, in flocks of fifty or more individuals, and remain separated from the old birds until spring, when they have acquired the full beauty of their plumage, although they appear rather inferior in size.

My surprise at finding this species breeding in Labrador was increased by the circumstance of its being of rare occurrence at any season along the coasts of our Middle and Eastern Districts. Nor does it become abundant until you reach the shores of North Carolina, beyond which it increases the farther south you proceed. It winters in the Floridas, and along the shores of the Mexican Gulf; but I never saw it far up the Mississippi. While on the coast of Newfoundland, on the 14th of August, I saw several individuals on their way southward, flying very high, and keeping up their remarkable cries.

The flesh of every species of Tern is oily, like that of the Gulls and Jagers, and the smallest hole made by shot affords an exit to the grease, which is apt to destroy the beauty of their elastic plumage, so that it is very difficult to preserve them, both on account of this circumstance, and of the quantity of oil that flows from their bill. In no species have I found this to be more remarkably the case than in the Cayenne Tern.

STERNA CAYANA, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 804.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 353.

CAYENNE TERN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 268.

Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCLXXIII.

Bill longer than the head, stout, nearly straight, compressed, very acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge broad and convex at the base, narrowed towards the end, the sides convex, the edges sharp and direct, the tip acute. Nasal groove short; nostrils basal, lateral, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow, acute, extending to the middle, the dorsal line straight, the sides slightly convex, nearly erect, the sharp edges inflected, the tip very acute.

Head rather large, oblong; neck of moderate length and thick; body rather slender; feet short, stout. Tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus short, roundish, covered all round with small scales; first toe very small, third longest, fourth a little shorter, the anterior connected by reticulated webs having an incurved margin; claws slightly curved, compressed, acute, that of hind toe smallest, of middle toe by much the largest, and having the inner edge thin and dilated.

Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the fore part of the head elongated behind, rather compact on the back and wings. Wings extremely long, narrow, and pointed; primary quills tapering but rounded, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated; secondary short, rather narrow, tapering, rounded. Tail long, deeply forked, of twelve feathers, of which the outer taper to a rounded point.

Bill bright carmine, the tips paler. Iris dark brown. Feet black. The top of the head and occiput is greenish black; the back and wings light greyish-blue; the primary quills bluish-grey on their outer webs, darker on the outer part of the inner, their inner part white, as are the ends and inner webs of the secondaries; upper tail-coverts and tail greyish-white; all the other parts are pure white.

Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 20-1/4; extent of wings 44; wing from flexure 15; tail 7; bill along the back 2-3/4, along the edge of lower mandible 1-11/12; tarsus 3-2/12; middle toe 1, its claw 1/2. Weight 14-1/2 oz.

The figure of the Crab in the plate was introduced on account of its singularly bright red colour, which, when the animal is boiled, changes to pale yellow. It is rather common along the rocky shores of some of the Florida Keys, and is excellent eating.

THE SEMIPALMATED SNIPE, OR WILLET.

_TOTANUS SEMIPALMATUS_, TEMM.

PLATE CCLXXIV. MALE AND FEMALE.

Many individuals of this fine species spend the winter in our Southern States, and the extent of its migration northwards is comparatively limited. Some are occasionally seen as far eastward as the neighbourhood of Boston, and a few have been known to breed not far from New Bedford in Massachusetts; but beyond that state the species may be said to be unknown. Their propensity to remain at all seasons in the immediate vicinity of the coast is such, that they are very seldom met with far inland, even along large rivers, on the margins of which they might find the food they usually prefer. I once shot one in autumn on the lower part of the Ohio, but it was much emaciated, and I concluded that its appearance there was merely accidental. From the mouth of the Mississippi to New York it is pretty generally found during the breeding season; but all the individuals betake themselves in winter to the shores of Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the countries bordering the Mexican Gulf. I have very little doubt that those seen by Mr SAY on the banks of the Missouri had accidentally visited that country, as the favourite haunts of this species at all seasons are the salt-marshes and sea-shores. It is well ascertained that it occurs on the western coast, and I have seen many skins of it recently brought from the mouth of the Columbia River. It is probably from thence that it migrates to the shores of the Saskatchewan, where it was observed by Dr RICHARDSON along the small saline lakes.

In the Middle States, the Semipalmated Snipe is known to every fisherman gunner by the name of “Willet;” and from the Carolinas southward by that of “Stone Curlew.” In the latter districts, during autumn and winter, it resorts to the stony shores of estuaries, the banks of racoon oysters, and the extensive salt-marshes so common there along the coast. On the 1st of May 1832, while rambling over some large and partially submersed islets of the Floridas called Duck Keys, scantily covered with bushes and some mangroves, I saw a good number of these birds in company with the Great Marbled Godwit. The Willets were all paired and very clamorous, although we found none of their nests. To my great surprise, I saw them alight on the bushes and trees with as much ease as if they had been land birds, stand erect, open their wings to the sun, and await our approach, exhibiting, when thus perched, much less shyness than when on the ground. Until then I had never observed such a habit in this bird, and indeed had felt surprised at seeing the Bartram Snipe, _Totanus Bartramius_, alight on fences and trees. Nothing of this kind is mentioned by WILSON, who, however, speaks of both species as if he were well acquainted with their habits. A few days after my visit to the Duck Keys, some nests containing eggs were found on other islets not far distant.

Along the shores of the Carolinas, this species begins to lay about the beginning of April; but in the Middle States, in New Jersey, for example, it seldom makes its appearance before the 15th of April, and does not begin to breed until a month later. At the approach of the love season, the Willets shew a great degree of vivacity, ramble much on wing, and fill the air with their sharp cries. Once mated, they attend to the security of their eggs and brood with affectionate care, and are silent until disturbed by the approach of some of their numerous enemies. The sight of a Crow, a Turkey Buzzard, a quadruped of any kind, and more especially of a gunner, at once excites the greatest alarm; and, rising on wing, they fly above and around you at a considerable distance, vociferating their anger with great vehemence, and continually endeavouring to allure you away from the spot where their treasure is concealed. Should they have young broods, they not unfrequently alight within sight, emit clicking and querulous notes, raise their wings upright, and run over the ground as if wounded, moving in so pitiable a manner as frequently to excite a good feeling towards them in the gunner, who, should he be a parent himself, is almost sure to leave them unmolested. When much pursued, the birds join and form a flock, the individuals of which continue to wheel through the air, at some distance from their nests, until their enemy has departed.

The Semipalmated Snipe is at all times a shy and wary bird, so that in approaching it the sportsman requires to use the greatest caution. The method which I found most effectual was to employ a well-trained dog, and conceal myself among the rankest herbage of the marshes. The Willets rarely failed to fly close over the dog, and as he now and then, playfully, as it were, approached me, the birds came within shooting distance. On such occasions, if one is brought down, another may follow, provided the sportsman is quick; but, after being thus shot at, the Willets generally take a long circuit, and remove towards some clear spot near the water, where they alight and watch your motions. The cries of one suffice to alarm all within hearing, and you see all of them with outstretched legs and necks running away as you approach. Often at the very instant when you are preparing to shoot, they all rise on wing, fly across some bay or creek, and betake themselves to the marsh, where they are safe from your pursuit.

During winter you frequently see these birds in the Southern States along the naked shores. The moment they see you the cry of alarm is sounded, and the flock, which now consists of one, two, or perhaps three families, suffer you to come almost within shot, as if purposely to tantalize you, but at this moment fly off circuitously over the water, and alight at the distance of some hundred yards. At such times you may procure them by floating your boat quietly along the shores; but the experiment rarely succeeds on the same flock more than once. When they are on large racoon-oyster beds, it is almost impossible to approach them; and if there should be a few Curlews or Oyster-catchers among them, it were better for you to go in search of some other game.

The flight of this species is strong, rapid, and greatly protracted. Its movements on wing greatly resemble those of the Oyster-catcher, and, unless during the breeding season, are performed low over the waters. They seldom rise without emitting their usual notes, which resemble the syllables _will-willet_, or _will_, _will_, _willet_, and are different from the softer and more prolonged whistling notes which they emit during the love season. They generally travel in flocks, even in spring, and congregate for the purpose of breeding, being attracted when passing by the notes of those which have already arrived at a chosen spot. The males and females remain together until autumn, when several families join and live peaceably together. When wounded and brought to the water, they swim tolerably well, but do not dive, although they now and then, on being approached, try to submerse themselves.