CHAPTER VII.

_Of Birds, and Flying Insects_.

Birds are so very numerous in Louisiana, that if all the different kinds of them were known, which is far from being the case at present, the description of them alone would require an entire volume. I only undertake the description of all those which have come within my knowledge, the number of which, I am persuaded, will be sufficient to satisfy the curious reader.

The Eagle, the king of the birds, is smaller than the eagle of the Alps; but he is much more beautiful, being entirely white, excepting only the tips of his wings, which are black. As he is also very rare, this is another reason for heightening his value to the native, who purchase at a great price the large {258} feathers of his wings, with which they ornament the Calumet, or Symbol of Peace, as I have elsewhere described.

When speaking of the king of birds, I shall take notice of the Wren, called by the French Roitelet (Petty King) which is the same in Louisiana as in France. The reason of its name in French will plainly enough appear from the following history. A magistrate, no less remarkable for his probity than for the rank he holds in the law, assured me that, when he was at Sables d'Olonne in Poitou, on account of an estate which he had in the neighbourhood of that city, he had the curiosity to go and see a white eagle which was then brought from America. After he had entered the house a wren was brought, and let fly in the hall where the eagle was feeding. The wren perched upon a beam, and was no sooner perceived by the eagle, than he left off feeding, flew into a corner, and hung down his head. The little bird, on the other hand, began to chirp and appear angry, and a moment after flew upon the neck of the eagle, and pecked him with the greatest fury, the eagle all the while hanging his head in a cowardly manner, between his feet. The wren, after satisfying its animosity, returned to the beam.

The Falcon, the Hawk, and the Tassel are the same as in France; but the falcons are much more beautiful than ours.

The Carrion-Crow, or Turky Bustard, is of the size and shape of a Turky-cock; his head is covered with red flesh, and his plumage is black: he has a hooked beak, but his toes are armed with very small talons, and are therefore very improper for seizing live game, which indeed he does not chuse to attack, as his want of agility prevents him from darting upon it with the rapidity of a bird of prey. Accordingly he lives only upon the dead beasts that he happens to meet with, and yet notwithstanding this kind of food he smells of musk. Several people maintain, that the Carrion-Crow, or Carancro, is the same with our Vulture. The Spaniards forbid the killing of it under pain of corporal punishment; for as they do not use the whole carcase of the buffaloes which they kill, those birds eat what they leave, which otherwise, by rotting on the ground, would, according to them, infect the air.

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The Cormorant is shaped very much like a duck, but its plumage is different and much more beautiful. This bird frequents the shores of the sea and of lakes, but rarely appears in rivers. Its usual food is fish; but as it is very voracious, it likewise eats dead flesh; and this it can tear to pieces by means of a notch in its bill, which is about the size of that of a duck.

The Swan of Louisiana are like those of France, only they are larger. However, notwithstanding their bulk and their weight, they often rise so high in the air, that they cannot be distinguished but by their shrill cry. Their flesh is very good to eat, and their fat is a specific against cold humours. The natives set a great value upon the feathers of the Swan. Of the large ones they make the diadems of their sovereigns, hats, and other ornaments; and they weave the small ones as the peruke-makers weave hair, and make coverings of them for their noble women. The young people of both sexes make tippets of the skin, without stripping it of its down.

The Canada-Goose is a water-fowl, of the shape of a goose; but twice as large and heavy. Its plumage is ash-coloured; its eyes are covered with a black spot; its cries are different from those of a goose, and shriller; its flesh is excellent.

The Pelican is so called from its large head, its large bill, and above all for its large pouch, which hangs from its neck, and has neither feather nor down. It fills this pouch with fish, which it afterwards disgorges for the nourishment of its young. It never removes from the shores of the sea, and is often killed by sailors for the sake of the pouch, which when dried serves them as a purse for their tobacco.

The Geese are the same with the wild geese of France. They abound upon the shores of the sea and of lakes, but are rarely seen in rivers.

In this country there are three kinds of Ducks; first, the Indian Ducks, so called because they came originally from that country. These are almost entirely white, having but a very few grey feathers. On each side of their head they have flesh of a more lively red than that of the Turky-cock, and they are larger than our tame ducks. They are as tame as those of {260} Europe, and their flesh when young is delicate, and of a fine flavour. The Wild Ducks are fatter, more delicate, and of better taste than those of France; but in other respects they are entirely the same. For one you see in France you may here count a thousand. The Perching-Ducks, or Carolina Summer-Ducks, are somewhat larger than our teals. Their plumage is quite beautiful, and so changeable that no painting can imitate it. Upon their head they have a beautiful tuft of the most {261} lively colours, and their red eyes appear like flames. The natives ornament their calumets or pipes with the skin of their neck. Their flesh is very good, but when it is too fat it tastes oily. These ducks are to be met with the whole year round; they perch upon the branches of trees, which the others do not, and it is from this they have their name.

The Teal are found in every season; and they differ nothing from those of France but in having a finer relish.

The Divers of Louisiana are the same with those of France: they no sooner see the fire in the pan, than they dive so suddenly that the shot cannot touch them, and they are therefore called Lead-Eaters.

The Saw-bill has the inside of its beak indented like the edge of a saw: it is said to live wholly upon shrimps, the shells of which it can easily break.

The Crane is a very common water-fowl; it is larger than a turkey, very lean, and of an excellent taste. It eats somewhat like beef, and makes very good soup.

The Flamingo has only a little down upon its head; its plumage is grey, and its flesh good.

The Spatula has its name from the form of its bill, which is about seven or eight inches long, an inch broad towards the head, and two inches and a half towards the extremity; it is not quite so large as a wild goose; its thighs and legs are about the height of those of a turkey. Its plumage is rose-coloured, the wings being brighter than any other part. This is a water-fowl, and its flesh is very good.

The Heron of Louisiana is not in the least different from that of Europe.

The Egret, or White Heron, is so called from tufts of feathers upon the wings near the body, which hinder it from flying high; it is a water-fowl with white plumage; but its flesh tastes very oily.

The Bec-croche, or Crook-bill, has indeed a crooked bill, with which it seizes the cray-fish upon which it subsists. Its {262} flesh has that taste, and is red. Its plumage is a whitish grey; and it is about the size of a capon.

The Indian Water-Hen, and the Green-Foot, are the same as in France.

The Hatchet-Bill is so called on account of its bill, which is red, and formed like the edge of an ax. Its feet are also Of a beautiful red, and it is therefore often called Red-Foot. As {263} it lives upon shell-fish, it never removes from the sea-coast, but upon the approach of a storm, which is always sure to follow its retiring into the inland parts.

The King-Fisher excels ours in nothing but in the beauty of its plumage, which is as various as the rainbow. This bird, it is well known, goes always against the wind; but perhaps few people know that it preserves the same property when it is dead. I myself hung a dead one by a silk thread directly over a sea-compass, and I can declare it as a fact, that the bill was always turned towards the wind.

The Sea-Lark and Sea-Snipe never quit the sea; their flesh may be eat, as it has very little of the oily taste.

The Frigate-Bird is a large bird, which in the day-time keeps itself in the air above the shore of the sea. It often rises very high, probably for exercise; for it feeds upon fish, and every night retires to the coast. It appears larger than it really is, as it is covered with a great many feathers of a grey colour. Its wings are very long, its tail forked, and it cuts the air with great swiftness.

The Draught-Bird is a large bird, not much unlike the Frigate-Bird, as light, but not so swift. The under-part of its plumage is chequered brown and white, but the upper-part is of greyish brown.

The Fool is of a yellowish colour, and about the size of a hen; it is so called, because it will suffer a man to approach it so near as to seize it with his hand: but even then it is too soon to cry victory; for if the person who seizes it does not take the greatest precaution, it will snap off his finger at one bite.

When those three last birds are observed to hover very low over the shore, we may most certainly expect an approaching storm. On the other hand, when the sailors see the Halcyons behind their vessel, they expect and generally meet with fine weather for some days.

Since I have mentioned the Halcyon, I shall here describe it. It is a small bird, about the size of a swallow, but its beak {264} is longer, and its plumage is violet-coloured. It has two streaks of a yellowish brown at the end of the feathers of its wings, which when it sits appear upon its back. When we left Louisiana, near an hundred halcyons followed our vessel for near three days: they kept at the distance of about a stone-cast, and seemed to swim, yet I could never discover that their feet were webbed, and was therefore greatly surprised. They probably live upon the small insects that drop from the outside of the vessel when sailing; for they now-and-then dived, and came up in the same place. I have some suspicion that, by keeping in the wake of the ship, they float after it without swimming; for when they happened to be out of the wake of the ship, they were obliged to fly, in order to come up with the ship again. This bird is said to build its nest of the glutinous froth of the sea close upon the shore, and to launch it when a land breeze arises, raising one of its wings in the form of a sail, which receiving the wind, helps to carry it out to sea.

I shall now proceed to speak of the fowls which frequent the woods, and shall begin with the Wild-Turky, which is very common all over the colony. It is finer, larger, and better than that in France. The feathers of the turky are of a duskish grey, edged with a streak of gold colour, near half an inch broad. In the small feathers the gold-coloured streak is not above one tenth of an inch broad. The natives make fans of the tail, and of four tails joined together, the French make an umbrella. The women among the natives weave the feathers as our peruke-makers weave their hair, and fasten them to an old covering of bark, which they likewise line with them, so that it has down on both sides. Its flesh is more delicate, fatter, and more juicy than that of ours. They go in flocks, and with a dog one may kill a great many of them. I never could procure any of the turky's eggs, to try to hatch them, and discover whether they were as difficult to bring up in this country as in France, since the climate of both countries is almost the same. My slave told me, that in his nation they brought up the young turkies as easily as we do chickens.

The Pheasant is the most beautiful bird that can be painted, and in every respect entirely like that of Europe. {265} Their rarity, in my opinion, makes them more esteemed than they deserve. I would at any time prefer a slice off the fillet of a buffalo to any pheasant.

The Partridges of Louisiana are not larger than a wood-pigeon. Their plumage is exactly the same with that of our grey partridges; they have also the horse-shoe upon the breast; they perch upon trees, and are seldom seen in flocks. Their {266} cry consists only of two strong notes, somewhat resembling the name given them by the natives, who call them Ho-ouy. Their flesh is white and delicate, but, like all the other game in this country, it has no _fumet_, and only excels in the fine taste.

The Woodcock is very rare, because it is only to be met with in inhabited countries. It is like that of France; its flesh is white, but rather plumper and more delicate than that of ours, which is owing to the plenty and goodness of its fruit.

The Snipe is much more common than the woodcock, and in this country is far from being shy. Its flesh is white, and of a much better relish than that of ours.

I am of opinion that the Quail is very rare in Louisiana; I have sometimes heard it, but never saw it, nor know any Frenchman that ever did.

Some of our colonists have thought proper to give the name of Ortolan to a small bird which has the same plumage, but in every other respect does not in the least resemble it.

The Corbijeau is as large as the woodcock, and very common. Its plumage is varied with several shady colours, and is different from that of the woodcock; its feet and beak are also longer, which last is crooked and of a reddish yellow colour; its flesh is likewise firmer and better tasted.

The Parroquet of Louisiana is not quite so large as those that are usually brought to France. Its plumage is usually of a fine sea-green, with a pale rose-coloured spot upon the crown, which brightens into red towards the beak, and fades off into green towards the body. It is with difficulty that it learns to speak, and even then it rarely practices it, resembling in this the natives themselves, who speak little. As a silent parrot would never make its fortune among our French ladies, it is doubtless on this account that we see so few of these in France.

The Turtle-Dove is the same with that of Europe, but few of them are seen here.

The Wood-Pigeons are seen in such prodigious numbers, that I do not fear to exaggerate, when I affirm that they sometimes {267} cloud the sun. One day on the banks of the Missisippi I met with a flock of them which was so large, that before they all passed, I had leisure to fire with the same piece four times at them. But the rapidity of their flight was so great, that though I do not fire ill, with my four shots I brought down but two.

These birds come to Louisiana only in the winter, and remain in Canada during the summer, where they devour the corn, as they eat the acorns in Louisiana. The Canadians have used every art to hinder them from doing so much mischief, but without success. But if the inhabitants of those colonies were to go a fowling for those birds in the manner that I have done, they would insensibly destroy them. When they walk among the high forest trees, they ought to remark under the trees the largest quantity of dung is to be seen. Those trees being once discovered, the hunters ought to go out when it begins to grow dark, and carry with them a quantity of brimstone which they must set fire to in so many earthen plates placed at regular distances under the trees. In a very short time they will hear a shower of wood-pigeons falling to the ground, which, by the light of some dried canes, they may gather into sacks, as soon as the brimstone is extinguished.

I shall here give an instance that proves not only the prodigious number of those birds, but also their singular instinct. In one of my journeys at land, when I happened to be upon the bank of the river, I heard a confused noise which seemed to come along the river from a considerable distance below us. As the sound continued uniformly I embarked, as fast as I could, on board the pettyaugre, with four other men, and steered down the river, keeping in the middle, that I might go to any side that best suited me. But how great was my surprise when I approached the place from whence the noise came, and observed it to proceed from a thick short pillar on the bank of the river. When I drew still nearer to it, I perceived that it was formed by a legion of wood-pigeons, who kept continually flying up and down successively among the branches of an ever-green oak, in order to beat down the acorns with their wings. Every now and then some alighted to eat the {268} acorns which they themselves or the others had beat down; for they all acted in common, and eat in common; no avarice nor private interest appearing among them, but each labouring as much for the rest as for himself.

Crows are common in Louisiana, and as they eat no carrion their flesh is better tasted than that of the crows of France. Whatever their appetite may be, they dare not for the carrion crow approach any carcass.

I never saw any Ravens in this country, and if there be any they must be very rare.

The Owls are larger and whiter than in France, and their cry is much more frightful. The Little Owl is the same with ours, but much more rare. These two birds are more common in Lower Louisiana than in the higher.

The Magpye resembles those of Europe in nothing but its cry; it is more delicate, is quite black, has a different manner of flying, and chiefly frequents the coasts.

The Blackbirds are black all over, not excepting their bills nor their feet, and are almost as large again as ours. Their notes are different, and their flesh is hard.

There are two sorts of Starlings in this country; one grey and spotted, and the other black. In both the tip of the shoulder is of a bright red. They are only to be seen in winter; and then they are so numerous, that upwards of three hundred of them have been taken at once in a net. A beaten path is made near a wood, and after it is cleaned and smoothed, it is strewed with rice. On each side of this path is stretched a long narrow silken net, with very small meshes, and made to turn over at once by strings fastened to the stick that stretches the end of it. The starlings no sooner alight to pick up the grain, than the fowler, who lies concealed with the strings in his hand, pulls the net over them.

The Wood-pecker is much the same as in France; but here there are two kinds of them; one has grey feathers spotted with black; the other has the head and the neck of a bright red, and the rest of the body as the former. This bird lives upon the {269} worms which it finds in rotten wood, and not upon ants, as a modern author would have us believe, for want of having considered the nature of the things which he relates. The bird, when looking for its food, examines the trunks of trees that have lost their bark; it clasps by its feet with its belly close to the tree, and hearkens if it can hear a worm eating the wood; in this manner it leaps from place to place upon the trunk till it hears a worm, then it pierces the wood in that part, pricks the worm with its hard and pointed tongue, and draws it out. The arms which nature has furnished it with are very proper for this kind of hunting; its claws are hard and very sharp; its beak is formed like a little ax, and is very hard; its neck is long and flexible, to give proper play to its beak; and its hard tongue, which it can extend three or four inches, has a most sharp point with several beards that help to hold the prey.

The Swallows of this country have that part yellow which ours have white, and they, as well as the martins, live in the woods.

The Nightingale differs in nothing from ours in respect to its shape or plumage, unless that it has the bill a little longer. But in this it is particular that it is not shy, and sings through the whole year, though rarely. It is very easy to entice them to your roof, where it is impossible for the cats to reach them, by laying something for them to eat upon a lath, with a piece of the shell of a gourd which serves to hold their nest. You may in that case depend upon their not changing their habitation.

The Pope is a bird that has a red and black plumage. It has got that name perhaps because its colour makes it look somewhat old, and none but old men are promoted to that dignity; or because its notes are soft, feeble, and rare; or lastly, because they wanted a bird of that name in the colony, having two other kinds named cardinals and bishops.

The Cardinal owes its name to the bright red of the feathers, and to a little cowl on the hind part of the head, which resembles that of the bishop's ornament, called a camail. It is as large as a black-bird, but not so long. Its bill and toes are {270} large, strong, and black. Its notes are so strong and piercing that they are only agreeable in the woods. It is remarkable for laying up its winter provision in the summer, and near a Paris bushel of maiz has been found in its retreat, artfully covered, first with leaves and then with small branches, with only a little opening for the bird itself to enter.

The Bishop is a bird smaller than the linnet; its plumage is a violet-coloured blue, and its wings, which serve it for a cope, are entirely violet-colour. Its notes are so sweet, so variable, and tender, that those who have once heard it, are apt to abate in their praises of the nightingale. I had such great pleasure in hearing this charming bird, that I left an oak standing very near my apartment, upon which he used to come and perch, though I very well knew, that the tree, which stood single, might be overturned by a blast of wind, and fall upon my house to my great loss.

The Humming-Bird is not larger even with its feathers than a large beetle. The colour of its feathers is variable, according to the light they are exposed in; in the sun they appear like enamel upon a gold ground, which delights the eyes. The longest feathers of the wings of this bird are not much more than half an inch long; its bill is about the same length, and pointed like an awl; and its tongue resembles a sowing-needle; its feet are like those of a large fly. Notwithstanding its little size, its flight is so rapid, that it is always heard before it be seen. Although like the bee it sucks the flowers, it never rests upon them, but supports itself upon its wings, and passes from one flower to another with the rapidity of lightening. It is a rare thing to catch a humming-bird alive; one of my friends however had the happiness to catch one. He had observed it enter the flower of a convolvulus, and as it had quite buried itself to get at the bottom, he ran forwards, shut the flower, cut it from the stalk, and carried off the bird a prisoner. He could not however prevail upon it to eat, and it died four days after.

The Troniou is a small bird about the size of a sparrow; its plumage is likewise the same; but its beak is slenderer. Its notes seem to express its name.

{271} The French settlers raise in this province turkies of the same kind with those of France, fowls, capons, &c. of an excellent taste. The pigeons for their fine flavour and delicacy are preferred by Europeans to those of any other country. The Guinea fowl is here delicious.

In Louisiana we have two kinds of Silk-worms; one was brought from France, the other is natural to the country. I shall enlarge upon them under the article of agriculture.

The Tobacco-worm is a caterpillar of the size and figure of a silk-worm. It is of a fine sea-green colour, with rings of a silver colour; on its rump it has a sting near a quarter of an inch long. These insects quickly do a great deal of mischief, therefore care is taken every day, while the tobacco is rising, to pick them off and kill them.

In summer Caterpillars are sometimes found upon the plants, but these insects are very rare in the colony. Glow-worms are here the same as in France.

Butterflies are not near so common as in France; the consequence of there being fewer caterpillars; but they are of incomparable beauty, and have the most brilliant colours. In the meadows are to be seen black grasshoppers, which almost always walk, rarely leap, and still seldomer fly. They are about the size of a finger or thum, and their head is shaped somewhat like that of a horse. Their four small wings are of a most beautiful purple. Cats are very fond of grasshoppers.

The Bees of Louisiana lodge in the earth, to secure their honey from the ravages of the bears. Some few indeed build their combs in the trunks of trees, as in Europe; but by far the greatest number in the earth in the lofty forests, where the bears seldom go.

The Flies are of two kinds, one a yellowish brown, as in France, and the other black.

The Wasps in this country take up their abode near the houses where they smell victuals. Several French settlers endeavored to root them out of their neighbourhood; but I acted otherwise; for reflecting, that no flies are to be seen where the {272} wasps frequent, I invited them by hanging up a piece of flesh in the air.

The quick-stinger is a long and yellowish fly, and it receives its name from its stinging the moment it lights. The common flies of France are very common also in Louisiana.

The Cantharides, or Spanish flies, are very numerous, and larger than in Europe; they are of such an acid nature, that if they but slightly touch the skin as they pass, a pretty large blister instantly rises. These flies live upon the leaves of the oak.

The Green-flies appear only every other year, and the natives superstitiously look upon their appearance as a presage of a good crop. It is a pity that the cattle are so greatly molested by them, that they cannot remain in the fields; for they are extremely beautiful and twice as large as bees.

Fire flies are very common; when the night is serene they are so very numerous, that if the light they dart out were constant, one might see as clearly as in fine moonshine.

The Fly-ants, which we see attach themselves to the flower of the acacia, and which disappear when that flower is gone, do not proceed from the common ants. The fly ants, though shaped like the other kind, are however longer and larger. They have a square head; their colour is a brownish red bordered with black; they have four red and grey wings, and fly like common flies, which the other ants do not even when they have wings.

The Dragon-flies are pretty numerous; they do not want to destroy them because they feed upon moskitos, which is one of the most troublesome kind of insects.

The Moskitos are famous all over America, for their multitude, the troublesomeness of their buzzing and the venom of their stings, which occasion an insupportable itching, and often form so many ulcers, if the person stung does not immediately put some spittle on the wound. In open places they are less tormenting; but still they are troublesome; and the best way of driving them out of the houses is to burn a little brimstone in {273} the mornings and evenings. The smoke of this infallibly kills them, and the smell keeps others away for several days. An hour after the brimstone has been burnt, the apartments may be safely entered into by men.

By the same means we may rid ourselves of the flies and moskitos, whose sting is so painful and so frequent during the short time they fly about; for they do not rise till about sun-set, and they retire at night. This is not the case with the Burning-fly. These, though not much larger than the point of a pin, are insupportable to the people who labour in the fields. They fly from sun-rising to sun-setting, and the wounds they give burn like fire.

The Lavert is an insect about an inch and a quarter long, a little more than a quarter broad, and a tenth part of an inch thick. It enters the houses by the smallest crevices and in the night-time it falls upon dishes that are covered even with a plate, which renders it very troublesome to those whose houses are only built of wood. Bue they are so relishing to the cats, that these last quit everything to fall upon them wherever they perceive them. When a new settler has once cleared the ground about his house, and is at some distance from the woods, he is quickly freed from them.

In Louisiana there are white ants, which seem to love dead wood. Persons who have been in the East-Indies have assured me, that they are quite like those which in that country are called _cancarla_, and that they would eat through glass, which I never had the experience of. There are in Louisiana, as in France, red, black, and flying ants.

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