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

SYLVICOLA KIRTLANDII.—Baird.
Kirtland’s Warbler.
PLATE XLVII. Adult.

Of the smaller birds of North America, no group exceeds that of the Warblers, in variety and richness of color. It is, too, one of the largest of the groups of our birds, embracing not less than forty species, besides several which are South American.

Migrating in the spring, and again in the autumn, these little birds are known in the Middle and Southern States, for the greater part as visitors only, though various species are residents during the summer, which have been supposed to continue their journey much further north, before undertaking the duties of incubation. The Blackburnian Warbler (Sylvicola Blackburniæ), the Chestnut-sided (S. icterocephala), the Yellow-backed (S. Americana), and several others, breed in the mountains of Pennsylvania. The Prairie (S. discolor), the Blue-winged (Helinaia solitaria), and two or three other species, are to be met with every summer in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. The greater number of species proceed further north, but much the majority of all known as North American rear their young within the limits of the United States, as well as in more northern countries; but by no means exclusively in the latter, as is to be inferred from the representations of various authors. The Black-poll (S. striata), raises its young in the State of Maine.

These birds are great favorites with collectors. Coming northward, as many species do in the months of April and May, when excursions to the woods are attended with such agreeable accompaniments, the short period of their stay is the most deeply interesting of the ornithological season, whether the object be to study birds in the fields and woods, or only to procure choice specimens for the cabinet. In either case, the observer or collector will find himself greatly tempted by these attractive little birds, to the exclusion, probably, of others, not so gay, perhaps, in plumage, but equally interesting in other respects.

Bird-collecting is the ultimate refinement,—the ne plus ultra of all the sports of the field. It is attended with all the excitement, and requires all the skill, of other shooting, with a much higher degree of theoretical information and consequent gratification in its exercise. Personal activity, not necessarily to be exerted over so great a space as in game-bird shooting, but in a much greater diversity of locality, coolness, steadiness of hand, quickness of eye and of ear, especially the latter;—in fact, all the accomplishments of a first-rate shot, will be of service; and some of them are indispensable to successful collecting. The main reliance is, however, on the ear, for the detection of birds by their notes, and involves a knowledge, the more accurate and discriminating the better, which can only be acquired by experience, and always characterizes the true woodsman, whether naturalist or hunter.

This ability is of incomparable value to the collector. Whether in the tangled forest, the deep recesses of the swamp, on the sea-coast or in the clear woodlands, on the mountain or in the prairie, it advises him of whatever birds may be there, or affords him a higher gratification, announcing the presence of a bird that he does not know. We recognise no more exquisite pleasure than to hear a note that we are not acquainted with in the woods. It is in the latter case, too, that the cultivated quickness of eye of the experienced collector is especially important, and his coolness and steadiness of nerve is fully tested. It will not do to be flustered. But in fact all these qualities must be possessed for the acquirement of the smaller species of birds found in the woodlands. Some species of Warblers, for instance, are constantly in motion in the pursuit of insects, and are most frequently met with in the tops of trees, and are, moreover, only to be killed with the finest shot, or they are spoiled for specimens. The obtaining of these little birds often requires the most accurate and skilful shooting.

There are comparatively few superior ornithological woodsmen, though we are inclined to believe more amongst the naturalists of this country, than of any other. There are some who never learn, though shooting for years; and passages constantly occur in the works of authors, notwithstanding their professions, and however honestly such may have been made, exciting immediate suspicion that they were really little skilled in woodcraft. We know men who have long been bird-collectors, but who have never acquired the ability to distinguish species by their notes, nor in fact otherwise to any considerable extent. On the other hand, we have gone repeatedly on excursions of several miles, in company with naturalists and accomplished woodsmen, for the sole purpose of hearing the note of a single species with which they had not before had an opportunity of becoming acquainted. This has been especially the case with reference to the Prairie Warbler (Sylvicola discolor), which is always to be met with in the summer, in the sandy thickets and in neglected fields in New Jersey, and has several notes very peculiar and characteristic.

It is by no means desirable, however, to be exclusively a naturalist of the woods, and in fact the greatest degree of accomplishment that can be acquired in this line, entitles one to but a very humble rank as a cultivator of Zoology. There must be a combination of theoretical and practical acquirements, and the gratification of the practical naturalist or the collector will be exactly in proportion to his scientific or systematic information, to be obtained only in the museum and the library. There is an indescribably pitiful display of ignorance and meanness of idea in arrogating, as some writers have done, a superior position for the “field-naturalist” over the “closet-naturalist.” As well might he who navigates a ship presume on being the greatest of astronomers, or the practical gauger pretend to be the only mathematician. Great is life in the woods, say we, and the greatest of all sports is bird-collecting; but, to become a scientific ornithologist, is quite another business, and a very much more considerable consummation. But we have digressed from the Warblers.

In the neighborhood of the cities, and in fact throughout the Middle and Northern States, during the last of April and the whole of May of every year, numerous species of Warblers are to be found in abundance. It happens occasionally though, that a species, usually common, is scarcely to be seen in the whole season, and sometimes is rare for several seasons in succession. The Black-throated blue Warbler (Sylvicola canadensis), for instance, is generally very abundant in Pennsylvania in May, and so is the Chestnut-sided (S. icterocephala); but we have noticed seasons in which all the collectors of Philadelphia would scarcely obtain a specimen of either. It sometimes happens, too, that a species makes its appearance in considerable numbers, and then is of much less common occurrence for years. This was the case with the Blackburnian Warbler in May, 1840. That beautiful little bird was so abundant, that our early and intimate friend, the late Mr. William R. Spackman, then anxious to collect for the purposes of general study and for exchanges, shot upwards of twenty specimens during a morning’s excursion in company with us near Kaighn’s Point, New Jersey; and had they been wanted, could readily have obtained a much larger number in the afternoon, or, as termed by bird-collectors in common with sportsmen, during “the evening fly.” It continued very plentiful through the entire spring migration, but we have not seen it so abundant more than once since, though fifteen years have elapsed.

Very erroneous impressions relative to the rarity of several species of Warblers, have been created by statements which have found their way into the works of both Wilson and Audubon. For instance, the former of these celebrated authors says of the Chestnut-sided Warbler:—“In a whole day’s excursion it is rare to meet with more than one or two of these birds;”—the latter, at the time of the publication of the first volume of his Ornithological Biography (1831), had met with this bird once only (Orn. Biog. I., p. 306), and so it stands printed in his octavo edition of “The Birds of America,” (II., p. 35, 1840.) These rather extraordinary statements have caused the useless destruction of very many specimens of this little bird, particularly by young collectors, under a false estimate of its scarcity in collections, or value for the purposes of science. There have been few months of May in the last twenty years, in which any person of moderate skill as a collector of birds, could not have obtained, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, as many specimens of the Chestnut-sided Warbler as would have supplied all the Museums in the world.

Again, in the months of September and October, Warblers are abundant in our woods, but the plumage of many species is materially altered from that of Spring. The student of ornithology must by no means, however, neglect to become acquainted with it, and will find this knowledge exceedingly valuable and interesting, as he advances in this branch of science.

The bird represented in the plate now before the reader, is one of the rarest as yet of the North American species of Warblers. Like several others that are well established as species, it has been obtained once only, which was in the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio, by Professor J. P. Kirtland, of that city, who presented it to Professor Baird, by whom its discovery was first announced in the Annals of the New York Lyceum, as cited below.

This species is related to the Yellow-crowned Warbler, or Myrtle Bird, as it is sometimes called (Sylvicola coronata), a common species of the United States, and to Audubon’s Warbler (S. Auduboni), a Western species, but differs from them in strong and unmistakable characters. It is probably a species inhabiting the more Western regions of the continent of North America.

We are informed by Prof. Kirtland, that the specimen alluded to was shot in the woods near Cleveland, and, so far as observed, was not noticed to differ in habits essentially from S. coronata, or other of our species of Warblers usually found migrating in the Spring. Though it was captured in the Spring of 1852, and the species has been carefully looked for ever since at the same season, it has never again been observed.

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

The plant represented is a species of Penstemon from Texas, raised in the Horticultural establishment of Mr. Robert Kilvington, of this city.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Sylvicola. Swainson. Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 204. (1831.)

Size small; bill moderate, slightly curved, tapering gradually to the tip, slightly notched; wings rather long; second and third quills usually longest; tail moderate, or rather long, usually emarginate; legs rather long, slender. An American genus, embracing a large number of species, nearly all of which are of bright or gay colors.

Sylvicola Kirtlandii. Baird. Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist., N. Y., V., p. 218. (1852.)

Form. About the size of S. coronata. Rather large for this genus; bill straight; wing moderate; third quill slightly longer than the second; tail rather long, emarginate; legs slender.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin) male, 5½ inches; wing 2¾; tail 2½ inches.

Colors. Entire upper part, bluish-ashy; on the head and back nearly every feather having a longitudinal line of black; front and space before and under the eye, black; quills dark-brown, paler on their outer edges; tail brownish-black, several of the outer feathers having a white spot each on their inner webs; entire under parts pale-yellow, with small spots of black most numerous on the breast and sides, and obsolete on the throat and middle of the abdomen; under tail coverts nearly white; bill and feet dark.

Hab. Northern Ohio.

This bird bears an evident relationship to Sylvicola coronata, and to S. Auduboni, from either of which it may at once be distinguished by the entire absence of the yellow rump which characterises both the species mentioned. It does not, however, resemble either of them to such extent as to render a minute statement of comparative characters necessary. The specimen above described is not in entirely mature plumage.

We most cordially concur in the justice of naming this handsome little bird in honor of our friend, Professor Jared P. Kirtland, M. D., of Cleveland, Ohio; a gentleman who, to a reputation in private life most exemplary and unexceptionable, adds high distinction as a naturalist and pioneer of the Zoological Sciences in the Western United States.

To our friend, Thomas M. Brewer, M. D., of Boston, we are indebted for much valuable information on the incubation and breeding places of many of the Warblers of the United States. This interesting department of Ornithology has been a special matter of research with Dr. Brewer for many years; and we are happy to learn that his great work on the Oology of North America is shortly to appear under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. We venture to say that no more valuable contribution to American Zoology has ever appeared.

SYLVICOLA OLIVACEA.—(Giraud.)
The Orange-breasted Warbler.
PLATE XLVIII. Adult.

Of this handsome and peculiar-looking Warbler, unfortunately we can say very little. It is known as a bird of Mexico, but has been noticed within the limits of the United States, as yet, in one instance only, having been received from Texas by our friend, Mr. Jacob P. Giraud, Jun., of New York. At the period of its receipt it was unknown to ornithologists, and it was accordingly described by Mr. Giraud, with other new and interesting species, in his “New Species of Birds of North America.”

Since the time of the discovery of this bird, we have looked for it, with constant interest, amongst the many new and little-known birds collected by American naturalists in Texas, but in vain. It has not yet appeared again, and is to be regarded as one of the now numerous birds of our country, of which the history remains to be written by the future naturalist.

The Baron Du Bus, an ornithologist of Belgium, has received this bird from Mexico; and specimens, also from that country, are in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy. The short notice of it by the author just mentioned in the Bulletin of the Royal Academy of Brussels, contains no account of its history or of its habits; nor have we any information from other sources. From the fact of its visiting Texas in the summer, however, we infer that it is a species of which the Southern range probably extends into Central or perhaps South America.

In general appearance, this bird somewhat resembles the Prothonotary Warbler (Helinaia protonotaria), of the United States, but is much darker colored, and it does not belong to the same group or sub-genus.

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

The plant represented is a species of Asclepias from Texas, raised from the seed by our friend, Mr. Kilvington.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Sylvicola. Swainson. Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 204. (1831.)

Sylvicola olivacea. (Giraud.)

Sylvia olivacea. Giraud. New species of N. A. Birds, p. 14, pl. 7, fig. 2. (1841.)

Sylvia tæniata. Du Bus. Bull. Acad., Brussels, XIV., p. 104. (1847.)

Form. About the size of Sylvicola æstiva. Bill slender; wing rather long, pointed; second and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail moderate, emarginate; tarsi long, slender.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin) about 4¾ inches; wing 3¼; tail 2¼ inches.

Colors. Entire head, neck, and breast, dark orange, inclining to rufous, lighter on the throat; through the eye to the ear, a band of black; back and rump ashy-olive; quills brownish-black, edged on their outer webs with yellowish-olive, and on their inner webs with white; tail brownish-black, the outer feathers with a spot of white on their inner webs near the end; wing coverts brownish-black tipped with white, forming two conspicuous bars on the wing; abdomen and under tail coverts, pale greenish-ashy, nearly white in the middle of the former; under wing coverts white, tinged with ashy; bill dark, lighter at base of under mandible; tarsi dark.

Hab. Texas. Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

This bird presents some affinities and resemblance to the Sylvicola protonotarius of the Southern United States, but is much darker colored, and may readily be distinguished from that or any other species with which we are acquainted.

DRYOTOMUS IMPERIALIS.—(Gould.)
The Great-crested Woodpecker.
PLATE XLIX. Adult Male.

Though not clearly made out as a bird entitled to a place in the ornithological fauna of the United States, we have given the plate now before the reader on grounds regarded as sufficient for the introduction of descriptions of this magnificent species into the works of other American authors, though it has never before been figured.

This is the largest of all known Woodpeckers, and is one of the most beautiful in plumage. It belongs strictly to the same group or genus as other large American species.

Though originally described by Mr. Gould as from California, and subsequently supposed by Dr. Townsend and Mr. Audubon to have been seen by the former in the Rocky Mountains, it has escaped the attention of all recent American travellers and naturalists. The specimens in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy are labelled as having been collected in Mexico. It is probable that this fine bird is an inhabitant of the dense forests, the trees of which attain such enormous dimensions in the western regions of North America, a supposition coinciding with Dr. Townsend’s observations on the species seen by him, from which we shall present an extract in the course of the present article.

In the immense forests which skirt the slopes of the Rocky Mountains in the possessions of the United States, and of the Sierra Madre in Mexico, we find a congenial locality for this giant of his tribe. In those regions the trees are not less gigantic, travellers of unquestioned veracity having given two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty feet as a heighth frequently to be observed.

The first notice of this bird by an American naturalist is in Mr. Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, V., p. 313, who merely publishes a note from Dr. Townsend, which was his only information respecting it, except Mr. Gould’s description. It will be seen that Dr. Townsend did not succeed in obtaining specimens, though it is in all respects probable that the species now before us is alluded to by him in the following, which we take the liberty of copying from Mr. Audubon, as above:

“On the 14th of August, 1834, I saw several specimens of a large black Woodpecker, about the size of Picus principalis. A broad band of white appeared to extend transversely across the wings and back. It inhabited the tall pine trees, and was very shy. The note was almost exactly that of the Red-headed Woodpecker; so nearly, that at first Mr. Nuttall and myself were both deceived by it.

“I lingered behind the party, which at that time was travelling rapidly, and at last got a shot at one of them with slugs, my large shot having been entirely expended. The bird fell wounded in a thicket at a considerable distance. I searched for an hour without finding it, and was at last compelled to relinquish it and follow the party, which had been leaving me at a rapid trot, to find my way as I best could, and keep out of the reach of Indians, who were dogging us continually.”

On reference to Dr. Townsend’s Narrative, (p. 123,) it will be seen that this incident occurred on the Mallade River, in the Rocky Mountains. Though he states that the bird mentioned by him was “about the size of Picus principalis,” which is the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the Southern States, it must be borne in mind that he saw it at a distance only, and was therefore readily mistaken. The present bird is very considerably larger than that species.

In Dr. Pickering’s notes we find one allusion which is very probably to this bird:—“A very large Ivory-billed species of Picus was spoken of by Dr. Marsh as having been occasionally seen by him. It is larger, he says, than any other Woodpecker of the United States, and is very difficult to approach. It is probably the new California species described by Mr. Gould a few years since.”

This memorandum occurs in that portion of Dr. Pickering’s journal kept in California, and we have no doubt relates to the bird now before us. To the gentleman mentioned, Dr. Marsh of San Joaquim, California, Dr. Pickering frequently acknowledges his obligations for information, which is often of high value, and is of evident reliability.

We have now given the only two instances, mere glimpses as it were, in which this large Woodpecker has come under the notice of American travellers or naturalists in its native localities. It is to be regretted that such is the case, and perhaps somewhat extraordinary, on account of its conspicuous size and colors; but it is expressly stated to be of a shy disposition, and difficult to obtain. Its well known existence in California, and the fact that so few of our naturalists have observed or heard of it, is additional evidence of the yet partial character of our knowledge of the ornithology of that country.

Mr. Gould’s description of this bird is in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1832, p. 140; and, with the statement accompanying it, is the only notice of this species that has yet appeared in Europe. The latter is as follows:—

“Specimens were exhibited of a species of Woodpecker hitherto undescribed, which has recently been obtained by Mr. Gould, from that little explored district of California which borders the territory of Mexico. The exhibition was accompanied by a communication from Mr. Gould, in which, after some general remarks on the Picidæ and their geographical distribution, he referred to the species before the Committee as possessing the characters of the genus Picus in their most marked development, together with the greatest size hitherto observed in that group. In this respect it as far exceeds the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the United States Picus principalis, as the latter does the Picus martius of Europe.

“This species is readily distinguishable from the P. principalis, by its much larger size, by the length of its occipital crest, the pendent silky feathers of which measure nearly four inches, by the absence of the white stripe which ornaments the neck of that bird, and by the bristles which cover its nostrils being black, whereas those of the Picus principalis are white.”

These notices comprise, at present, all that is known of the largest and one of the handsomest of Woodpeckers. Its history, yet to be written, will be a highly interesting contribution to the ornithology of the United States.

Several specimens of this bird, in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, are stated on their labels to be from Mexico, without other note or indication. All of them were obtained in Europe by our distinguished patrons, Messrs. Thomas B. and Edward Wilson.

The adult male is represented in the present plate. The female differs essentially only in having the crest black instead of scarlet.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Dryotomus. Swainson. Lardner’s Cyclopedia, Birds, II., p. 308. (1837.)

Size large; bill straight, long, wide at base, very strong; wings long, third and fourth quills usually longest; tail long, graduated, rigid; legs short; tarsi distinctly scaled; toes rather long, outer hind toe longest, claws strong, compressed; feathers of the head behind elongated and crest-like; colors generally black, white, and scarlet; contains species of both the old and new world, amongst which are the largest of the Picidæ.

Dryotomus imperialis. (Gould.)

Picus imperialis. Gould. Proc. Zool. Soc., London, 1832, p. 140.

Form. The largest of Woodpeckers; bill long, wide at base, three distinct ridges on the upper mandible; wing long, primaries narrow, third and fourth longest; tail rather long, graduated, middle feathers longest; all the feathers of the tail narrow, rigid; tarsi moderate, strong, scales in front very distinct; toes long, claws strong, curved, compressed; general organization very strong; crest-like feathers long.

Dimensions. Male. Total length (of skin) about 23 inches; wing 12½; tail 9½; bill to the corner of the mouth 4; tarsus 2 inches.

Colors. Male. Elongated feathers of the head or crest, bright scarlet; interscapular feathers, outer two-thirds of secondaries, and inner edges of shorter primaries, white; under wing coverts white; all other parts of the plumage deep black, with a greenish lustre; bill yellowish-white; tarsi and toes dark; secondaries at their bases black; bristle-like feathers at the base of upper mandible black. Female similar to the male, but rather smaller, and with the crest black.

Hab. Oregon. California. Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

This gigantic Woodpecker is strictly of the same generic group as the well known Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the forests of the Southern States of this Union, and in some measure resembles it, but not in such degree as to be readily confounded. The present bird is considerably the larger, and is without the white stripes on the neck which are to be found in the Ivory-billed. In both species, the females have the elongated or crest-like feathers black.

It is quite remarkable that this fine species has not been brought by any of the naturalists or travellers who have visited, or at least passed through its native forests. This fact tends to demonstrate the truth of our views, occasionally expressed in the present volume, that we have much yet to learn of the Ornithology of Western America.

DIOMEDEA BRACHYURA.—Temminck.
The Short-tailed Albatross.
PLATE L. Adult Male.

This Albatross is the adult of the bird represented in plate 35, (the Black-footed Albatross, Diomedea nigripes, Aud.) of the present volume. At the time of the publication of the plate alluded to, and our article accompanying it, we were not aware of this identity; but having had our attention called to it by a distinguished European ornithologist, we have, on careful re-examination and comparison, fully confirmed its truth. So great a change taking place, however, in this bird, from early age to maturity, the two figures only fairly represent the species, of which that formerly given, as above, is the young bird.

The common occurrence of this species on the coasts of California and Oregon, was ascertained by the naturalists of the Exploring Expedition in the Vincennes and Peacock, under command of Captain Charles Wilkes, of the United States’ Navy; and its addition to the ornithology of North America is one of many services to Zoology performed by that celebrated and most important Expedition. In fact, of the many similar undertakings of governments for the purposes of exploration and scientific research within the present century, the expedition alluded to stands pre-eminent in its contributions to Geographical and Zoological Science, a result to be attributed to the enlightened and judicious exertions of its distinguished Commander, and to the fact that it numbered amongst its naturalists several of the most accomplished Zoologists of America.

This Albatross probably inhabits the entire extent of the Pacific Ocean, from the northern coasts of America and Asia to Australia. It is given by Mr. Gould as a bird of the coast of Australia, though somewhat doubtfully, and is very probably the species sometimes mistaken for the Great Wandering Albatross (D. exulans), and found abundantly in the vicinity of the Kurile Islands and the coast of Kamtschatka, and other more southern coasts of Asia. It is smaller than the species just mentioned, but otherwise much resembles it. That species, though abundant in the southern hemisphere, does not apparently venture so far north as the present bird.

In a volume on Quadrupeds and Birds, by Mr. Titian R. Peale, which was printed and partially distributed as one of the valuable series of works on the scientific results of the Exploring Expedition of the Vincennes and Peacock, we find the following in relation to the bird now before us:—

“Numbers of the Short-tailed Albatross were observed by the Expedition on the Northwest coast of America, and this species is believed to be a common inhabitant of all the Pacific Ocean, north of the Tropic of Cancer. Specimens vary as much, or perhaps more, from each other, than in the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), of the Southern Ocean, and require several years to attain to their perfect dress. The changes are regularly progressive. Until the second year the plumage remains of a dark sooty-brown color, with black feet, and dirty flesh-colored bills (which become black when the skins are dried), and in this state this bird pairs and raises its first young; after this, cloudy-white spots appear about the base of the bill, and white spots over and under the eyes; the rump begins to show a conspicuous spot of the same; and the bill turns yellow, with a tinge of carmine; the tip bluish; the legs are then flesh-colored; and, finally, the back, wings, and tail, become cinereous-brown; rump, head, and all the under parts pure white; a white margin shows along the back-edge of the wing in flight; and a cloudy-black spot generally remains in front of the eye. Thus, in some years, the plumage of the body is changed from nearly black to a pure snow-like white.

“On the 20th of December we found this species breeding on Wake’s Island. The single egg of each pair was laid on the ground, in a slight concavity, without any lining material; both sexes take turns in the duties of incubation, and neither the male nor the female abandoned the nest on our approach, but walked around us in a very dignified manner, and made but a few demonstrations of defence with their beaks, when taken up in our arms. The eggs are white, of an oblong figure, nearly alike at both ends, and measure four and two-tenths inches long, and two and six-tenths inches in diameter.

“The two sexes are alike in plumage, and do not vary much in size, though the male is rather the larger.

“This bird is usually silent, but sometimes quarrels with its fellows over the offal thrown from ships, when it “brays” in much the same tone as a jackass. It is easily caught with a hook and line, but owing to its thick plumage and tenacity of life, it is difficult to kill it with shot.

“It was not our fortune to observe more than this one species of Albatross in the North Pacific. It is subject to great variations of plumage, as stated above, but is very distinct from the species of the Southern Hemisphere. The Wandering Albatross (D. exulans), and the Yellow-nosed (D. chlororhynchus), both of which, it has been asserted, have been sometimes found in the Northern Oceans, we believe, on the contrary, to be entirely restricted to the Southern hemisphere, or else they would sometimes be seen in crossing the intermediate tropical region. We saw both of those species, and also the Sooty Albatross (D. fusca), as far south as latitude 57° 41′, which appeared to be nearly their southern limit. Their northern limit of migration on the Atlantic shores of South America is somewhere about the River La Plata, and on the Pacific coasts about the southern parts of Peru.”

In Dr. Pickering’s Journal this bird is alluded to frequently, and especially as occurring at sea north of the Hawaiian Islands, and on the coast of Oregon. His observations agree with those by Mr. Peale, above quoted.

This species is given by Messrs. Temminck and Schlegel, as a bird of Japan, in their Fauna Japonica, and is well figured in its young plumage, but they give no account of its manners or history.

The figure in our plate represents the adult male, and was made from a specimen obtained on the coast of Kamtschatka, now in the Museum of the Philadelphia Academy, but precisely similar to others in the collection of the Exploring Expedition in the National Museum, Washington city.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

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

Diomedea brachyura. Temm. Pl. col., V., p. (liv. 75, about 1828.)

Diomedea nigripes. Aud. Orn. Biog., V., p. 327. (1839.)

Form. Very similar to Diomedea exulans, but much smaller; bill rather long, strong, abruptly hooked at the end; wings long, pointed, first quill longest; tail short; legs strong; toes long, fully webbed.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin) about 28 inches; wing 20; tail 6 inches.

Colors. Adult. Primaries, greater wing coverts, tips of secondaries and tertiaries, and upper edge of the wing brownish-black; tail white, tipped with dark brown. All other parts, including the head and entire body, white, usually in adult specimens tinged with pale yellow on the head and neck. Under wing coverts white; bill pale reddish-yellow (in prepared and dried specimen pale, dull yellow); legs pale flesh-color.

Young. Entirely sooty-brown; lighter on the inferior parts of the body; bill and feet dark; in more advanced plumage, variously spotted with white, generally most observable around the base of the bill and on the rump.

Hab. Western coast of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Of the smaller species of the Albatrosses, this is the largest and next in size to the large D. exulans, which it much resembles in general appearance. It may always, however, be readily distinguished from any other species by the characters given above. Specimens occur in which the pale yellow tinge of the head and neck is not distinguishable, but usually it is a strongly marked character.

It was by our friend, that distinguished ornithologist, Gustav Hartlaub, M. D., Director of the Museum of the city of Bremen, that our attention was first called to the fact of this bird and the Black-footed Albatross being identical, and a re-examination suggested. Not for this only are we indebted to the same gentleman, but for much advice and instruction most encouraging and valuable, and a constant assurance of good feeling, uninterrupted for years. Naturalists of all climes should work out their mission in harmony and fellowship. It is often not so,—would that all like Hartlaub cultivated and understood, as well as Science, kindness, friendship, justice.

* * * * * * *

But we are at the close of our volume. Like the traveller at the end of his day’s journey, or the husbandman when the sun has sunk behind the hills, we willingly stop for repose, not without thoughts mainly, and perhaps necessarily, retrospective, but agreeable.

Reader! our barks have glided together for a period on the great stream which carries us alike to our future destiny. Thou hast been to me as a companion most pleasant, and an encourager. We have chatted, not always, perhaps, with sufficient reverence, or possibly sometimes frivolously, of the magnificence of our pathway,—of the mountain and the forest,—even of the birds that sing in the branches. By no means without dignity of subject,—the highest dignity attaches to all created things as the realized ideas of Omnipotence.

We could wish that some passages in our book were more clearly stated; but there is little that we would erase. We aspire to no perfection, much less have we accomplished any. Imperfection is a characteristic of mankind. Man exists in this world as an intellectual being, in a rudimental condition only.

Trust not too implicitly in the delights of the wilds, nor of solitude. They are temporary, and only to be as a teacher,—we must return ever to social life as the ark of safety, bringing, we may hope, the olive-branch of peace with knowledge. For all that I have said, or that any one else has said, our greatest and truest interests are in society. There only we acquire true cultivation and elevation. Science, Literature, Art, the great civilizers, there only flourish. Betake thyself not to the wilderness, or for a period only, and never longer than forty days,—never!—if there is any help for it.

We part now,—I would that it may be lover-like, oft promising to meet again, and hoping ever,—parted already, as it were, and distant, perhaps, by the length and breadth of our native land, or by the wide waters of the Atlantic,—from my heart I waft to thee a blessing and a farewell.

FOOTNOTES

Transcriber’s Notes

• Silently corrected a few typos.
• Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
• In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.
• Left, unresolved, the confusion between “Brown-headed Finch” and “Western Swamp Sparrow”.
• This attribution, with minor orthographic variations, appears on all plates:

Drawn on Stone by W^m. E. Hitchcock
Geo. L. White, del. Lith^d. printed and Col^d. by J. T. Bowen, Philad^a.