Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America

AMMODROMUS ROSTRATUS.—(Cassin.)
The Long-billed Swamp Sparrow.
PLATE XXXVIII. Adult Male.

Of this bird we can give but a very imperfect history. It is one of a group of Sparrows, of which other species inhabit North America, characterized in some measure like the present, by the length and large size of their bills, and their partiality for the vicinity of salt water. Two species, the Sea-side Finch, and the Sharp-tailed Finch (Ammodromus maritimus and caudacutus), are of frequent occurrence on the shores of the Atlantic, almost throughout the extent of the coast of the temperate regions of North America,—and in New Jersey may be met with in the summer season in considerable numbers, wherever there are salt marshes, or that description of vegetation peculiar to the shores of the ocean, or within reach of its tides. In those localities, frequently of difficult access, these birds rear their young in comparative safety, subsisting on seeds and insects, and seldom attracting attention. They may occasionally be seen, too, on the bare sands of the beach, searching for small marine animals thrown up by the waves.

The present bird is a representative of this group on the shores of the Pacific, and from the notice by its discoverer, which we shall give directly, it appears to be very similar in its habits. It was first observed by Dr. Heermann, near San Diego, California, during his first visit to that country, and has since that time been again noticed only by him. Specimens in excellent plumage and preservation, from his collections, are in the National Museum, Washington city, and in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

This bird was first described in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, VI. p. 184 (Oct., 1852). For our present article, Dr. Heermann has kindly permitted us to make the following extract from his Journals, kept during his former and recent visits to California:—

“In 1851, I procured this bird on the shores of the Bay of San Diego, where, in company with other species, it appeared to be engaged in searching for grass-seeds. During the late Pacific Railroad survey by the party under command of Lieut. Williamson, I again saw it in considerable numbers at Santa Barbara and San Pedro. At the latter places, as at San Diego, it frequents the low, sandy beach, and the heavy sedge-grass which abounds on the shores, feeding on marine insects and seeds thrown up by the tides on the former, and in the latter, finding quick and easy concealment when alarmed or pursued. It appears to be a quiet, unsuspicious bird, and I heard it utter only a short, sharp chirp during the limited time that I had to observe it.”

At present, nothing further is known of this species. The figure in our plate is that of an adult male, and is of the size of life.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Ammodromus. Swainson, Zool. Jour. III. p. 348. (1827.)

Ammodromus rostratus. (Cassin.)

Emberiza rostrata. Cassin, Proc. Acad., Philada., VI. p. 184. (1852.)

Form. Short, and rather heavy; bill lengthened, strong; wings with the first, second, and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail rather short, emarginate; legs and feet moderately strong.

Dimensions. Total length of skin, about 5¼ inches; wing, 2¾; tail, 2 inches.

Colors. Entire plumage above dull-brownish and cinereous, every feather longitudinally marked with the former, and tipped and edged with the latter, the brown stripes being most strongly marked on the head and back; narrow superciliary lines ashy-white; throat and entire under-parts white, with longitudinal stripes, and arrow-heads of brown on the breast and flanks; stripes of this character forming lines on the sides of the neck from the lower mandible, above which are stripes of white; abdomen and under tail-coverts dull white; wings and tail brown, edged with paler shades of the same color, nearly white on the outer-webs of the external feathers of the tail, deeper and tinged with rufous on the wing-coverts and exposed edges of the secondaries; bill and feet light-colored, the former brownish above (in dried skin).

Hab. California. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Museum, Washington.

Obs. We are acquainted with no species which this bird resembles in any considerable degree, though its general characters are similar to the birds that we have mentioned in the present article. Its bill is remarkably large and strong, and its entire organization robust.

PLECTROPHANES McCOWNII.—Lawrence.
McCown’s Bunting.
PLATE XXXIX. Adult Male and Female in Summer Plumage.

It is not only in the spring, or at the advent of the month sung by the poets as the real birth of the year, that everywhere in the temperate regions of North America, hosts of feathered travellers arrive, either to remain for a season, or to continue their journey to more northern countries. In the autumn and winter, also, troops of them constantly appear, succeeding each other in some measure according to the earlier or later setting in of winter, or the greater or less severity of that season. Nearly all of the autumnal species, like our summer visitors, proceed to the South to spend the winter—others, coming later, remain during the whole of the winter, and are constantly recruited by new comers of the same species, but at the first opening of spring, return to their homes. Some, as the Purple Finch and the little Snow-bird, come every winter—others, as the Pine Grosbeak, the Northern Linnet, and the two species of Crossbills, only occasionally. Though abundant, perhaps, for one season, years may elapse before either of the birds last mentioned will be seen again by the most diligent collector. At the time of writing the present article (December, 1853), both the White-winged Crossbill and the common Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera and americana), are abundant in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, the former of which has not before been seen here since the winter of 1835-6. The latter appears more frequently.

In addition to these, we are visited by flocks of several species that are to be found here rearing their young in the summer; but while our bird reared in Pennsylvania has taken an excursion to the South, so his Northern namesake, reared, perhaps, at Hudson’s Bay, has done the same, and made Pennsylvania the limit of his journey. The Robin (Merula migratoria) is an instance of this description of migration. This bird, in large flocks, is to be met with almost every winter, especially in New Jersey, and wanders much further southwardly and westward. We fancy that we can distinguish a stranger of this species from one “native and to the manor born.” The Northern Robin is slightly a larger bird than our summer resident; his colors are a shade darker, and his bill decidedly a clearer yellow. Though not presenting characters sufficient at all to raise a suspicion of distinction in species, the northern bird is clearly of a different race. And so it is, too, with the Red-winged Blackbird, the Meadow Lark, the Golden-winged and the Red-headed Woodpeckers, and other species, all of which come here in the winter from more northern latitudes, and in most of which close observation will detect small characteristics of difference in race.

The spring migration is confined to birds that pass the winter in the South, in many cases not beyond the limits of the United States; but there are birds that extend their journey to the islands of the West Indies, to Mexico, and to Central America, and in some instances to South America. Many of the Warblers, several of our common Thrushes and Finches, and various others of our well-known North American species, visit Cuba and Jamaica in the course of the winter, and in both those islands some of them make their appearance while yet the season is not so far advanced in the United States as to incommode them either by the cold or an abridged supply of their favorite food.

The migration of these birds is a curious problem, and regulated by laws entirely independent of the considerations of climate and supply of food. One cannot readily find a reason why a bird that has passed the winter in a tropical or southern latitude, should leave for the North at the coming of spring, when a more plentiful supply of food than has sufficed for its winter support is about to be presented. And then, too, why should birds proceed so far to the North?—to the very confines of the Arctic circle, as many small species do, when the great forests of the middle and northern States offer ample accommodation, and supplies of food certainly equal to those in which they will at last terminate their journey. There are questions here difficult to answer. It would appear that the existence of an animal is predicated on its performance of certain functions antecedently involved in its organization. That its entire history, we may say, is but an answer to the calls of organization. That the organization and the performance of its indicated functions are strictly exponents of each other, the latter modified by circumstances, and the relations of species to each other, dependent in some measure on circumstances, but not produced by them, no more than forms or other physical characters. No feature in the history of an animal is absolutely produced by circumstances. There is, too, the consideration of inherited instincts, and if the faculty of memory, and impressions on it, are transmissible, nearly the whole phenomena of instinct may be explained.

In the western and southwestern countries of North America, within the limits of the United States, various species of northern birds appear in winter that have never been noticed on the Atlantic seaboard. The handsome little bird that we present to the reader in the plate now before him, is one of that description. It appears to be a native of the extensive and little-known regions of northwestern America, migrating in the winter to California, New Mexico, and Texas, where it has been seen by several of our naturalists.

There are several species in Western America of the group to which this bird belongs, all characterized by agreeable and somewhat similar colors. In the States on the Atlantic, the Snow Bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis) is their only relative that is of usual occurrence,—though another, the Lapland Longspur (Plectrophanes Lapponica), occasionally appears, and of the capture of which, in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, several instances have come to our knowledge.

Capt. McCown, who discovered this present species in Texas, gives no further account of it than that he shot it in company with a flock of Shore Larks. His notice is in the Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, VI. p. 14. Dr. Henry has obtained it in the vicinity of Fort Thorne, New Mexico. These, with Dr. Heermann, are the only naturalists that have as yet noticed this bird in its native wilds.

During the survey for a route for a railroad to the Pacific, by Lieut. Williamson’s party, to which Dr. Heermann was attached, he met with this bird in large numbers, and his collection contains numerous specimens in various stages of plumage. From these we have selected adults of both sexes, from which the plate now before the reader has been prepared. In Dr. Heermann’s manuscripts, kindly placed at our disposal for the purposes of our present work, we find this bird thus noticed:—

“I found this species congregated in large flocks with the chestnut-collared Lark Bunting (Plectrophanes ornatus), and engaged in gleaning the seeds from the scanty grass on the vast arid plains of New Mexico. Insects and berries also form part of their food, in search of which they show considerable activity, running on the ground with ease and celerity.

“We found this bird, as well as various other species, particularly abundant whenever we struck on the isolated water-holes that occur in this region, these being the only spots for miles around where water can be obtained. When fired at, or otherwise alarmed, they rise as if to fly away, but seem to be irresistibly impelled by thirst to return to the only localities where relief is to be obtained, and where, if the hunter is so inclined, large numbers of this handsome little bird, and others, may be slaughtered with little exertion.

“From Dr. T. C. Henry, of the U. S. Army, I learned that in the spring, large flocks of this species appear at Fort Thorne, apparently on their return to the North, having migrated southwardly the fall previous, and that they leave on the return of mild weather. In several flocks of these birds I noticed also the Shore Lark (Alanda alpestris), but it formed a small proportion of the numbers.”

The figures in our plate are about two-thirds of the size of life.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Plectrophanes. Meyer, Taschenbuch der deutschen Vögelkunde III. p. 56. (1822.)

Bill short, conical, strong; nostrils basal, partially concealed; wing rather long; first, second, and third quills longest; tail moderate, or short, usually even at the end, or emarginate; legs and feet moderately strong; hind toe with the claw long, somewhat like that of the Larks (Alauda).

Plectrophanes McCownii. Lawrence, Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, VI. p. 122. (1851.)

Form. Bill very strong, wide, and somewhat tumid at base; wing long; secondaries emarginate; tertiaries longer than secondaries; second primary longest; tail rather short, slightly emarginate; legs moderate; hind claw long; coverts of the tail long.

Dimensions. Male.—Total length of skin, 5½ inches; wing, 3½; tail, 2¼ inches.

Colors. Male.—Head above, from the base of the bill, stripe on each side of the neck from lower mandible, and wide transverse band on the breast, black; lesser coverts of the wing chestnut; neck behind and body above dark brown and brownish-ashy, every feather with a central stripe of the former and edged with the latter; under-parts (except the breast) white, all the feathers, with a basal portion, ashy-black, particularly observable immediately below the black of the breast; quills brown, edged outwardly with yellowish cinereous, on their inner-webs with white; two central feathers of the tail brown, others white, tipped with brown; bill and feet light-colored. Female.—Entire plumage above dark brown and brownish-ashy; beneath white, tinged with dull yellowish on the throat and breast; no black on the head or breast.

Hab. California, New Mexico, Texas. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington.

Obs. This little species is strictly of the same group as Plectrophanes ornatus and pictus, and, like them, appears to be exclusively western. It does not resemble those species in such degree as to be liable to be mistaken for either of them.

The original description of this bird by Mr. Lawrence, as above cited, appears to have been made from its winter plumage. Its dedication to Capt. McCown, we regard as a highly appropriate acknowledgement of his valuable services in the investigation of the ornithology of the southwestern regions of the United States.

RECURVIROSTRA OCCIDENTALIS.—Vigors.
The Western Avocet. The White Avocet.
PLATE XL. Adult Male.

This is a second American species of this singular group of birds, and is as yet only known as an inhabitant of the regions of the far west. This apparent restriction in the locality of the present bird is the more remarkable, as the previously-known species, distinguished as the American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), is widely diffused, having been ascertained to be abundant in the vicinity of Hudson’s Bay in the summer season, and thence, through a wide central region of North America, to Texas. Occasionally it is noticed on the coast of the Atlantic, sparingly north of New Jersey, but becoming more numerous southwardly.

This species was discovered at San Francisco, California, by the naturalists attached to H. B. M. ship Blossom, then on a voyage of discovery in the Pacific ocean; and although that occurred about the year 1825, it has been again noticed only by Col. McCall and Dr. Heermann, both of whom, however, represent it as being by no means a rare bird.

With his usual kindness, Col. McCall has furnished the following notice of this bird for our present article:—

“At the village of San Elizario, 22 miles south of El Paso, on the 16th October, 1851, I found small flocks of the Western Avocet feeding along the banks of the Rio Grande, and frequenting the sloughs and pools in its vicinity, whilst moving to the South in the course of their regular autumnal migration. They were tame and unsuspicious, and evidently ignorant of the destructive character of the gun, for its report seemed to create little alarm, even when the discharge carried death into their ranks. To illustrate this, I need only mention the fact that the first flock which came immediately under my observation alighted within twenty yards of the piazza where I was sitting on the morning after my arrival. They waded at once into the shoal water of a ‘cut-off’ from the river which passed immediately in front of the house, and began to feed. I was near enough to see them immerse their bills into the water, and search the soft mud below for their prey; and as they, from time to time, were scattered, and again assembled in a group, I had ample time and an excellent opportunity to note their manner of feeding. I was soon satisfied that in this respect their habits did not differ from those of R. americana, which I had previously seen in great numbers, and closely observed on the borders of the Oso river, in southern Texas. After watching them for some time, I took my gun, and at a single discharge, secured five of the dozen that composed the flock. The remainder flew the distance of a stone’s throw, and alighting in shoal water, began to feed again without appearing to notice the loss of their companions. I followed them, and in a few minutes procured three more within one hundred yards of the house. During that day, and several successive days that I remained at the post, I saw flocks of from six to ten on their feeding grounds, both morning and afternoon. I shot them, as well as ducks and snipe, daily; and at no time that I recollect, had I any difficulty in approaching within easy gun-shot.

“A few days previously, I had seen a very large flock of these birds near Val Verde, some 170 miles further up the river. This flock contained fifty or sixty birds; they rose near me as I fired at a flock of Teal, and circled round in very compact order, presenting the beautiful contrast of their white and black markings, and at length settled on the opposite side of the pond, where they were beyond pursuit. The occasions here mentioned are the only ones on which I have met with R. occidentalis.

“On the wing, the flocks were usually closely compacted; the flight was buoyant, and with little exertion of muscular force.”

Dr. Heermann found this bird in California, and procured numerous specimens, now in the National Museum, Washington, and in the Museum of the Philadelphia Academy. In his manuscripts We find the following:—

“This species was observed in various parts of California, resorting to the shallow pools, in which it waded breast-deep, usually finding on the soft muddy bottom a plentiful feast of insects and snails. Although partially web-footed, it does not swim, so far as I have noticed, unless wounded, when it takes immediately to the deep water, swimming with great celerity, soon getting beyond range, if not at once disabled by a second shot. I have noticed this bird in abundance on the borders of the reedy swamps which cover a large portion of the lower part of the Sacramento valley.”

The upward curve of the bill in the birds of this group, though very singular and characteristic, has not been ascertained to be indicative of any peculiarity of habits.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Recurvirostra. Linn., Syst. Nat, I. p. 256. (1766.)

Bill depressed, smooth, recurved; wing rather long, pointed; first quill longest; tail short; legs long, moderately strong; toes rather short, partially webbed. A peculiar and somewhat isolated genus, of which a few species only are known, though inhabiting nearly all parts of the world.

Recurvirostra occidentalis. Vigors, Zool. Journal, IV. p. 356. (1829.)

Form. General form rather robust; bill depressed, soft at the tip; wing with the first quill longest; tertiaries longer than secondaries; tail quite short; legs long; tibia feathered nearly one-half of its length; tarsus covered with scales.

Dimensions. Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail, about 16½ inches; Wing, 9; tail, 3; tarsus, 3½; bill, 3½ inches.

Colors. Back and upper surface of wings brownish black, lightest on the tertiaries, and darkest on the primaries; all other parts white, slightly tinged with ashy on the head above and neck behind; secondary quills white; greater coverts of the wing widely tipped with the same.

Hab. California. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Museum, Washington.

Obs. This strongly-marked species bears some resemblance to the European Avocet, and in fact is more closely allied to it than to the only American species previously known. It is, however, a well characterized and distinct bird.

The sexes of this species differ somewhat in size, the female being slightly the smaller; and in the male, the dark tints are stronger. The latter is represented in our plate.

SYNOPSIS
OF
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.

II. ORDER INSESSORES. THE PERCHING BIRDS.

A group containing much the greater number of all known birds, almost impossible to characterise in general terms. The birds of this order are, however, generally organized for perching or living in trees, and have the legs and feet moderately developed and formed for grasping. In this group is found the highest development of the bird-like form of animal life.

I. TRIBE FISSIROSTRES. THE GOATSUCKERS, SWALLOWS, KINGFISHERS, &c.

Bill wide at base; gape very large; feet small, weak; general form adapted to the capture of insects on the wing, and in some of the families to rapid and long-continued flight. This group contains the Goatsuckers (Caprimulgidæ), the Swallows (Hirundinidæ), the Trogons (Trogonidæ), the Bee-eaters (Meropidæ), and the Kingfishers (Halcyonidæ).

I. FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDÆ. THE GOATSUCKERS.

Plumage soft, blended, and owl-like. Species generally nocturnal in their habits, or venturing abroad only in the twilight or in the night.

Bill small, weak, generally furnished at the base with projecting bristles; gape very wide; feet usually slender and weak; wings generally long, adapted to long-continued flight. This family is represented in all temperate and tropical regions of the world.

A.

1. Genus Antrostomus. Gould, Nuttall. Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada, I. p. 739 (second edition, 1840).

General form plump and robust; head large; bill short, weak, opening to beyond the eyes; gape very large; nostrils basal, oval, prominent; eyes large; wing long; somewhat pointed; second and third quills longest; legs and toes short, feeble; claw of the middle toe pectinated; tail moderate, wide, generally even at the end; bristles at the base of the bill rigid, long, usually curved at their ends; throat in males with an uninterrupted collar of white; quills with bars of rufous. An exclusively American genus containing six or seven species, more nearly related to typical Caprimulgus than any other birds of this family inhabiting this continent, and almost nocturnal in their habits, venturing abroad only by twilight or in the night.

1. Antrostomus carolinensis. (Gm.) The Chuck-wills-widow. The great Carolina Goatsucker.

Caprimulgus carolinensis. Gm., Syst. Nat., II. p. 1028. (1788.)

Caprimulgus lucifugus. Bartram, Travels, p. 292. (1793.)

Caprimulgus rufus. Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, p. 57. (1807.)

Caprimulgus brachypterus. Stephens, Gen. Zool., X. p. 150. (1817.)

Catesby’s Carolina, I. pl. 8; Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, pl. 25; Wilson, Am. Orn., VI. pl. 54, fig. 2; Aud., Birds of Am., pl. 52, Oct. ed., I. pl. 41.

Largest of the North American species. General form broad and robust; wing long; second quill longest; tail ample; legs short; bristles at the base of the bill strong; each one ciliated; entire upper parts dark brown, minutely dotted with reddish fulvous, and with many of the feathers having large, longitudinal stripes of black; inferior parts similar to the upper, but more minutely marked with black, and marked with circular fulvous spots; throat with an uninterrupted collar of white, running into a collar of fulvous on the neck behind; quills with irregular alternate bars of reddish fulvous and brownish-black; middle feathers of the tail reddish fulvous, mottled with, and with irregular bars of black; other feathers of the tail similar, but tipped with silky white, frequently tinged with reddish fulvous on their outer-webs. Female like the male, but without white on the tail-feathers.

Dimensions. Total length, about 12 inches; wing, 8½; tail, 5¾ to 6 inches.

Hab. Southern United States. South Carolina (Gibbes); New Mexico (McCall); Cuba (Lembeye); Florida (Bartram). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This fine species is frequently met with in the southern and southwestern States, and is much the largest of the North American birds of this family.

2. Antrostomus vociferus. (Wilson.) The Whip-poor-will.

Caprimulgus vociferus. Wilson, Am. Orn., V. p. 71. (1812.)

Caprimulgus clamator. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., X. p. 234. (1817.)

“Caprimulgus virginianus. Linn. Gm.” Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, p. 65.

Caprimulgus macromystax. Wagler, Isis, 1831, p. 533?

Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, pl. 23; Wilson, Am. Orn., V. pl. 41; Aud., Birds of Am., pl. 82; Oct. ed., I. pl. 42; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 27, fig. 39.

Smaller than the preceding; wing with the third quill slightly longest; tail ample, rounded; neck with an uninterrupted collar of white before and fulvous behind; head above ashy-gray, with a longitudinal stripe of brownish-black; back and rump dark brown, with minute points and irregular lines of cinereous; under-parts mottled with pale reddish-white and brownish-black, the latter most conspicuous on the breast, the former on the abdomen and under tail-coverts; four middle feathers of the tail mottled with gray and brownish-black, the latter forming irregular bands; external feathers of the tail brownish-black, widely tipped with silky white, and with traces of rufous bars towards the base; quills brownish-black, with interrupted bars of rufous; exposed ends of primaries same as the back. Female rather smaller than the male, with the white collar on the neck tinged with fulvous, which is also the color of the tips of the external tail-feathers.

Dimensions. Total length, about 9½ inches; wing, 6½; tail, 5 inches.

Hab. Eastern North America. Western? Canada (Dr. Hall); Cuba (Mr. Lembeye); Florida (Bartram). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This species is of common occurrence in the States on the Atlantic, and is universally known from its loud and often-repeated notes in the season of pairing and incubation. It is not recorded by our late naturalists and travellers to have been observed in the western regions of this continent, but the specimens described by Wagler as above were from Mexico, and were either this species, or a near relative. To Caprimulgus macromystax we shall more particularly allude under the head of obscure species of this family.

3. Antrostomus Nuttallii. (Aud.) Nuttall’s Whip-poor-will.

Caprimulgus Nuttallii. Aud., Orn. Biog., V. p. 335. (1839.)

Aud., B. of Am., Oct. ed., VII. pl. 495.

Small, aberrant; wing long; third quill longest; legs rather long; tail moderate; upper-parts brownish-black, mottled and spotted with ashy white and reddish fulvous; wing-coverts tipped with pearly ashy white; under-parts with transverse stripes of brownish-black and yellowish-white; under tail-coverts pale reddish fulvous; quills with alternate transverse bars of brownish-black and handsome reddish fulvous; middle feathers of the tail same colors as other upper parts; other tail feathers brownish-black, with irregular bars and lines of dark cinereous, and widely tipped with silky white; collar on the neck before silky white. Female similar, but with the colors paler, and the white of the throat and tail tinged with pale fulvous.

Dimensions. Total length, about 7 inches; wing, 5¾; tail, 3¼ inches.

Hab. Western North America, Rocky Mountains (Audubon); Oregon (U. S. Ex. Exp. Vincennes); Washington Territory (Dr. Cooper); Texas (Mr. J. H. Clark). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington.

Obs. This handsome species, which is the smallest of the birds of this family yet discovered in North America, appears to be a rather common bird in the countries above mentioned. It varies in some degree from the characters of the typical species, and with a small South American bird (A. ocellatus), may form a distinct group. Nothing is recorded of its habits.

II. GENUS CHORDEILES. Swainson, Fauna Boreali Americana, Birds, p. 496. (1831.)

Bill small and weak; gape very wide, without bristles; wing long, pointed, with the first and second quills longest; tail moderate or rather long, usually emarginate; legs short, weak; tarsus usually partly covered with short feathers; toes rather long, slender; claw of the middle toe pectinated. General form stout and heavy, broad. A genus containing about six species, inhabiting North and South America, the North American species of which are less nocturnal in their habits than those of the preceding genus.

1. Chordeiles virginianus. (Brisson.) The Night Hawk.

Caprimulgus virginianus. Briss., Orn., II. p. 477. (1760.)

Caprimulgus popetue. Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, p. 56. (1807.)

Caprimulgus americanus. Wilson, Am. Orn., V. p. 65. (1812.)

Edwards, Birds, II. pl. 63.; Catesby, Carolina, II. Appendix, pl. 16; Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept. 1, pl. 24; Wilson, Am. Orn., V. pl. 40; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 147; Oct. ed., I. pl. 43; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 27, fig. 60.

Bill short, weak; gape very wide; wing long, pointed; first and second quills longest, and nearly equal; tail emarginate; legs short; tarsus feathered below the joint, with the tibia; bare part covered with scales; middle toe long, partially united to the outer toe by a web, and with its claw distinctly pectinated. Male.—Throat white; entire upper parts brownish black, every feather more or less mottled and spotted with ashy white and reddish fulvous, the former most conspicuous on the secondaries and wing-coverts, and the latter on the back; neck behind with an irregular collar of reddish; quills brownish-black, with a wide bar of white about their middle, forming a conspicuous transverse bar on the wing; tail feathers brownish-black, all, excepting the two central, with a wide subterminal transverse band of white, and with other irregular transverse narrow bands of ashy white; breast brownish-black, with rounded and irregular spots of ashy white and reddish fulvous; abdomen with transverse bars of ashy white and dark brown; under tail-coverts white. Female with the white stripe on the wing much narrower, and in some specimens confined to the inner-webs; white of the throat less pure, and tinged with reddish-yellow; general plumage paler, and more tinged with ashy and reddish fulvous.

Dimensions. Total length, 9 to 9½ inches; wing, 7½; tail, 4½ inches.

Hab. All of temperate North America, New Mexico (McCall); Oregon (Townsend); California (Heermann); Canada (Hall); Mexico (Rivoli collection); Nicaragua (Barruel); Cuba (Lembeye); Jamaica (Gosse). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. An abundant species everywhere in the United States.

2. Chordeiles sapiti. Bonaparte, Cons. Av., p. 63. (1849.)

Not figured.

Very similar in form and general appearance to the preceding, but smaller, and with all the colors paler; bill very short and weak; gape large; wing long; first quill slightly longest; tail moderate, emarginate; tarsus feathered in front somewhat below the point with the tibia; throat white; entire upper plumage brownish-black, mottled, and variegated, with very pale cinereous, which predominates on the back, rump, and coverts of the wings; under-parts with transverse narrow bands of dark brown and yellowish-white; quills brownish-black, with a wide transverse band of white at the distance from their end of about one-third their length, and also with some irregular spots and pairs of spots of rufous in their basal halves. Female paler, and with the white of the throat tinged with pale reddish fulvous.

Dimensions. Total length, about 8½ inches; wing, 7¼; tail, 4½ inches.

Hab. Texas (Mr. Clark, Capt. McCown); New Mexico, Central America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington.

Obs. This species is nearly allied to the preceding, and also to Chordeiles brasilianus, from both of which it differs in some particulars of form, and also in having its colors much paler. In the latter character it somewhat resembles the C. acutipennis of South America. We regard this bird provisionally under the name above given, but the description as cited is too brief to be satisfactory. It is, however, the only species known to us that can be referred to it.

This bird is abundant in Texas during the summer.

3. Chordeiles Henryi. nobis (new species, January, 1855).

Not figured.

Larger than either of the two preceding species; wing long; second quill longest; tail rather long; emarginate; legs and feet short; tarsus feathered in front slightly below the joint with the tibia; bare part of the tarsus and the toes with very distinct scales; entire upper parts variegated with dark brown and pale reddish fulvous, every feather being tipped and spotted with the latter, which predominates on the back, rump, wing-coverts, and tertiaries; some spots on the tertiaries rufous; breast dark brown, every feather tipped with dull reddish fulvous; abdomen white, tinged with pale reddish-yellow, every feather with transverse stripes of brownish-black; under-coverts dull reddish white, with transverse lines of brownish-black; neck with a large band of white in front; quills brownish-black, tipped with dull reddish-white; primaries with a wide transverse band of white at about half their length; tail with alternate irregular stripes of brownish-black and pale reddish fulvous, the latter mottled with black; under wing-coverts pale reddish-white, with bands and spots of brownish-black. Female. Colors paler, and white of the neck obscure.

Dimensions. Total length of skin, about 10 inches; wing, 8; tail, 4½ inches.

Hab. New Mexico (Dr. Henry, Lieut. Gunnison). Spec. in Nat. Mus., Washington, and Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This bird may be distinguished from other American species by its color, which is lighter and of a different style of variegation, the prevailing tone being a dull, pale reddish and yellowish, somewhat approaching what is called buff or drab color. It is larger than Chordeiles virginianus.

Specimens of this interesting species have been procured at Fort Webster, New Mexico, by Dr. Henry, and by the unfortunate party under command of the late Lieut. Gunnison.

As a token of respect for T. Charlton Henry, M. D., of the United States Army, whose exertions in the investigation of the natural productions of New Mexico, now continued for several years, and the formation of large collections in various departments, which attest his zeal and attachment to zoological science, we propose the specific name above given.

B.
OBSCURE OR LITTLE KNOWN SPECIES OF THIS FAMILY.

1. Caprimulgus macromystax. Wagler, Isis, XXIV. p. 533. (1831.)

This species is noticed by Wagler, as above, from a Mexican specimen, and his description is essentially a comparison with the Caprimulgus europæus. It is stated that the bristles at the base of the bill are very long, or “nearly as long as the head without the bill,” and the plumage generally bearing a resemblance to the European species mentioned.

There is in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, a specimen from Mexico, and another from California, differing in shade of color only from the Antrostomus vociferus, and from which the distinctive characters are too slight to establish a separate species. We regard these specimens as C. macromystax. The length of the bristles in Wagler’s description applies as well to A. vociferus, and we think it probable that his name is a synonyme.

The following is a translation of Wagler’s description or notice as above cited, and is at the end of an elaborate and valuable paper, in which he describes several new American species of birds:—

“At the conclusion of these descriptions of birds, I will yet remark that we have received from Mexico, also, a Caprimulgus (which specimen unfortunately is without the tail), that nearly resembles ours in size and color, but which nevertheless may be distinguished at a glance; the tarsi on their upper sides are hardly feathered to the middle, and the bristles on both sides of the upper mandible are uncommonly stiff, and longer than in any other American Night Swallow, nearly as long as the head without the bill, and are turned rake-like obliquely downwards. I have named it, therefore, Caprimulgus macromystax. The feet are short, as in ours; also as in ours, the claw of the middle toe on its inner border is pectinated, the primaries are small, the second, third, and fourth, externally from their middles to their ends, are strongly sinuated; they are brown-black, without white spots, but have internally and externally rust-red angular dots.”

2. Caprimulgus minor. Forster. Catalogue of the Animals of North America, p. 13. London, 1771.

A name given without being accompanied by a description, though probably applicable to Antrostomus vociferus, which was known to some of the older naturalists, and, previous to the introduction of the binomial nomenclature, was called minor, in distinction from the Caprimulgus europæus.

The catalogue by Forster above referred to is a pamphlet, and is, so far as We know, the first attempt at an enumeration of the species of all classes of animals inhabiting North America. There is also a catalogue of the Plants of North America by the same author.

3. Antrostomus californianus. Bonaparte, Cons. Av. p. 61. (1849.)

The description by the Prince of Canino, as above, is as follows:—

“(Confer Capr. nuttalli, Aud. Am. Orn., 2d edit., t. 495,) ex California, Vix Turdi magnitudine. Mas. Griseus, nucha fulvescenti, abdomine cervino, nigro undulato; gula macula utrinque alba nigro terminata: remigibus fuscis, macula mediana alba, rectricibus lateralibus nigricantibus, extima late ad apicem candida.”

The characters here given differ so essentially from those of any other species of Antrostomus, that we much suspect that the bird alluded to neither belongs to this genus, nor is an American species.

4. Caprimulgus europæus. Linn.

This name occurs in several of the older authors on American Natural History, which is to be attributed to the fact that the Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) was regarded by Linnæus as a variety only of the European Goatsucker. President Jefferson, in Notes on the State of Virginia, p. 117 (London edition, 1787), gives both of the then known North American birds of this group as two varieties only of the European bird. Professor Barton, in Fragments of the Natural History of Pennsylvania, p. 14, under the head of Caprimulgus europæus, says: “This, or a variety of it, is certainly a native of Pennsylvania. So that now all the fifteen species of this genus (mentioned by Gmelin) are known to be natives of America.” Both of these distinguished and venerated fathers of American zoological science adopted the opinion of Linnæus, and the name of the European bird is given also on the same authority by some others of the earlier American writers.

The European Goatsucker has never been observed on the continent of America.

Professor Barton’s observation above quoted is singularly suggestive. Linnæus, at the date of his last edition of the Systema Naturæ, knew two species only of the genus Caprimulgus. Gmelin, in the edition of the same work, edited by him, and published in 1788, extended the list to fifteen species, and was, when Professor Barton wrote, in 1799, recent and high authority. So greatly has the knowledge of species of birds been extended, that at this time (1855) there are at least ninety known birds of the family Caprimulgidæ, all of which would have been regarded by Linnæus and Gmelin as belonging to the genus Caprimulgus. There are seventy-four species of this family in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy. Though, as Professor Barton observes, all of those known to Gmelin (except Caprimulgus europæus), are American, others are now ascertained to inhabit all the temperate and tropical regions of both of the great divisions of the globe, and the whole of Australia.

Of this family of birds, the only species that have been ascertained or supposed by naturalists to inhabit that part of North America within our limits, are given in the preceding pages. The group is, however, represented in South America not only by other species of the genera above given, but by various other genera and species, amongst which are some curious and interesting forms. The genus Steatornis, containing a single species, first brought to notice by the celebrated Humboldt (Steatornis caripensis, Humboldt), is remarkable for its near approach to the Owls, and would, to a casual observer, scarcely be regarded as belonging to any other than that family. The genus Nyctibius, which is also South American, contains some species as large as the Crow of the United States, and which are amongst the largest birds of this group. Another genus, Hydropsalis, or the Scissors-tailed Goatsuckers, as they are termed by Azara (an enthusiastic and accurate Spanish writer on South American Natural History), are remarkable for having tails of singular forms, and of great length in some species. Hydropsalis torquatus has the two outermost feathers of its tail long, and the two middle feathers also long, leaving the intermediate comparatively short. Hydropsalis lyra, Bonaparte, has the outermost feathers of the tail very long, and curved inwards at their ends. Two species, first described by us, Hydropsalis limbatus and segmentatus (in Proc. Acad., Philadelphia), have that appendage several times the length of their bodies.

About thirty-five species of Caprimulgidæ inhabit South and Central America and Mexico. The largest birds of this group are natives of Australia.

We are inclined to the opinion that this family (and the Swallows also) properly belong to the circle of rapacious birds in which they have been arranged by Prof. Reichenbach, in Avium Systema Naturale (Dresden and Leipsic, 1850).[4]

II. FAMILY HIRUNDINIDÆ. THE SWALLOWS.

Plumage compact; size generally small; bill small, much depressed, very wide at base, and suddenly compressed to the tip, giving it a somewhat triangular shape; wings long; tail various, frequently forked; legs and feet short and weak.

These birds form a peculiar and easily-recognized family, species of which inhabit all parts of the world, and in civilized countries are generally regarded with favor. The Swallows are eminently social and gregarious, being almost constantly seen in companies even in the breeding season, and are amongst the comparatively few birds whose numbers are not diminished by the progress of the settlement and cultivation of countries. They subsist exclusively on insects captured on the wing, in the pursuit of which they exhibit extraordinary powers of flight.

A.

1. Genus Hirundo. Linn., Syst. Nat. I. p. 343. (1766.)

Bill depressed, wide at base, compressed to the end, nostrils basal; wing long, pointed, first primary usually longest, secondaries short; legs and feet short and weak; tail moderate, forked or emarginate. General form rather broad, robust; flight protracted, rapid.