Bill short, very thick at base; culmen advancing on the forehead; wing moderate; fourth and fifth quills longest and nearly equal; tail long, slightly rounded; tarsi rather long; middle toe long, others moderate; general form robust; tail long; and head above with elongated crest-like feathers on all known species. A genus containing five or six species of handsome birds, peculiar to America.
Form. About the size or rather larger than Cardinalis virginianus of North America; not strictly exhibiting the characters of this genus; bill short; lower mandible much thicker than the upper; gonys ascending abruptly; upper mandible curved; wings short; third, fourth and fifth quills nearly equal and longest; tail long; tarsi moderate; head with a conspicuous crest of lengthened erectile feathers.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, about 8 inches; wing, 3¾; tail, 4¼ inches.
Colors. Male.—Plumage encircling the base of the bill; longer feathers of the crest, wide medial longitudinal band on the under parts, tibiæ, and under coverts of the wings, fine crimson; entire upper parts light cinerous, which is the color also of the sides and flanks; quills ashy brown, both webs edged with crimson; tail above and below dark crimson, tinged with brown; abdomen and under tail coverts pale rosy white, the feathers of the latter crimson at their bases; plumage of the breast edged and tipped with pale ashy; bill and tarsi pale yellowish.
Female. Under wing coverts, edges of quills, crest, and tail, pale crimson, the last shaded with brown; entire plumage above cinerous, below yellowish-cinerous; no crimson on the forehead or on the throat or other under parts.
Hab. Texas, Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington city.
Obs. This beautiful species, though in general form and appearance presenting the characters of Cardinalis, is quite different in the form of the bill, and has been placed by the distinguished and accomplished naturalist who first described it (the Prince of Canino) in a subdivision which he names Pyrrhuloxia (Conspectus Avium, p. 500).
It appears to be restricted to Mexico and the southern part of Texas, though its northern range may yet be ascertained to extend farther than at present known. It does not resemble any other species sufficiently to lead to confusion.
Plate 34
The American Stone Chat
Saxicola œnanthoides (Vigors)
The Stone Chats and Wheat Ears, which are the English names of birds of the genus Saxicola, are abundant in the old world, though the greater number of the species appear to be restricted to Africa. The few that are natives of Europe are numerous throughout the greater part of that continent. They are birds of plain but agreeable colors, and inhabit fields and other open grounds or plains covered with shrub-like vegetation, running with facility, and making their nests on the ground, or in holes beneath the surface. These are curiously constructed by some species of this group, and very carefully concealed, though frequently in situations much exposed. There are nearly forty species of this group of birds composing the present and a nearly allied genus.
Though there are so many species of these genera, the bird now before us is the only one that appears to be peculiar to the continent of America. One other, the Saxicola œnanthe, a common European bird, is, however, a visitor to this continent. We have seen undoubted specimens from Greenland, and occasionally it strays so far southwardly as New York, in the vicinity of which city a few specimens have been captured, one of which is in the collection of our friend, Mr. George N. Lawrence.
The present bird was originally described in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Blossom, from specimens obtained on the western coast of North America; but apparently the naturalists attached to the party which performed that voyage, had no opportunities of acquiring any information respecting its history or the district that it inhabits. Nor have others been more successful; no American naturalist or traveller having noticed it again in Western America, notwithstanding the researches which have been carried on in that portion of this continent.
The only specimen that we have ever seen of this bird is in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, to which it was presented by our intimate and valued friend, Thomas M. Brewer, M. D., of the city of Boston, one of the most eminent of American ornithologists, and now particularly devoted to the investigation of the nidification and oology of the birds of this country, the results of which we hope soon to see published. Dr. Brewer obtained the specimen alluded to in Nova Scotia, but could procure no account of it beyond the fact that it was considered as of unusual occurrence in that province.
This bird is very closely allied to the Wheat Ear of Europe (S. œnanthe), and is in all probability of very similar habits. In the absence of positive information we can only suppose it to be an inhabitant of the countries north of the limits of the United States, in which there is a vast extent of territory well adapted to the habits of birds of this group. It is also probably not an abundant species, or it would have been noticed more frequently during its winter migration. But of the ornithology of all the northern portion of the United States from the ninetieth degree of longitude to the Pacific Ocean, or west of the Mississippi river, too little is known to justify any conclusions. Many species of Northern and Western America, of which little or nothing was previously known, have within a few years been demonstrated to be abundant, and such may hereafter prove to be the case with the bird which is the subject of our present article.
The figure in our plate is about two-thirds of the size of life.
The plant represented is Abronia umbellata, a native of western North America.
Bill straight, with the culmen distinct and somewhat ascending into the feathers of the forehead; a few short and weak bristles at the base of the upper mandible, which is rather wide; wing rather long; first quill spurious, third and fourth longest, and nearly equal; tail moderate, wide, truncate; legs long, rather slender. General form adapted to living on the ground.
Form. Rather larger than Saxicola œnanthe, but very similar to that species in form and general characters and appearance; wing long; second primary longest; tail moderate or rather short; legs, especially the tarsi, long; bill moderate, rather wide at base.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, about 6½ inches; wing, 4⅛; tail, 3; tarsus, 1¼ inches.
Colors. Narrow line through the eye, enlarging on the ears, black, which is the color also of the wings; forehead ashy white, fading into the cinerous of the head above; back cinerous; upper coverts of the tail white; under parts white, tinged with pale fulvous, darker on the breast; two middle feathers of the tail white at base; terminal two-thirds of their length black; other feathers of the tail white, tipped with black; bill and legs dark.
Hab. Northern America, Nova Scotia, Oregon. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philadelphia.
Obs. We are not without doubts that the bird now before us is really distinct from Saxicola œnanthe of Europe, but having unfortunately a single specimen only, we cannot make an examination or comparison in all respects satisfactory. Our specimen is uniformly larger than either of the numerous specimens of the European species in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, and is, as an especial character, longer in the tarsi. Its measurements do not, however, correspond with those given in the original description in Voy. Blossom; but it is expressly stated that the specimens described were in bad condition, and may not be entirely reliable. It is, at any rate, very closely allied to the European species that we have just mentioned.
With special reference to the present bird, we shall look with much interest for the results of future zoological investigations in the northwestern territories of the United States. There is at the present time no field more inviting to the American naturalist. While much has been done in California, New Mexico, and Texas, the extensive regions which we have above designated have scarcely been entered upon, and will yet contribute much to the fauna of our country.
Those birds whose homes are the sea-coasts and islands, and whose lives are spent in gleaning a subsistence amongst the billows or by the shores of the ocean, have always been objects of interest both to the naturalist and the general observer. Idly reposing on the rocky crag or the sand-bank, or boldly sweeping the surface of the waters alike in the calm and amidst the fury of the tempest, few having the opportunity have failed to mark the sea-birds as a feature in the wild scenery peculiar to the localities for which they are fitted by nature, and perhaps to associate them with the adventurous character of our useful fellow-men whose profession it is, in the beautiful language of the liturgy, to “go down upon the deep.”
The large majority of the many birds that derive their subsistence from the productions of the Ocean, live habitually on its shores, or venture only short and easily-regainable distances from the land. This is the case with the numerous genera comprising the Ducks, Swans, and Geese, as well as the Pelicans, Cormorants, Penguins, and others. These, for the greater part, frequent the margins of the bays and estuaries, and many of them are almost as much birds of the land as of the sea. The Penguins in fact having but rudiments of wings, and incapable of flight, are necessarily restricted, though performing very remarkable migrations by swimming. These extraordinary birds are peculiar to the southern hemisphere, and have been met with amongst the ice and snow of the highest latitudes which navigators have succeeded in reaching within the Antarctic circle.
The bird which is the subject of our present article, is one of a group of species which, possessing great powers of flight and swimming with facility, do not content themselves with the vicinity of the coast, but venture boldly out to sea. The largest and best known species, the Wandering Albatross, has been observed by voyagers at a distance of two thousand miles or upwards from land; and it is even supposed that it performs a flight across the Atlantic from Cape Horn, or about its latitude, to the Cape of Good Hope. The smaller species, of which the present is one, do not venture on so long flights, but several voyagers have recorded their having been seen at two to five hundred miles out at sea.
On the sea-coast of America, on the Atlantic, the Albatrosses are found inhabiting only a portion of the shores of the southern division of this continent north of Cape Horn, but on the Pacific they are abundant throughout the extent of the continent.
Plate 35
The black-footed Albatross
Diomedes nigripes (Audubon)
The species that we present to the reader in the present plate, was discovered on the coast of California by the late John K. Townsend, M. D., and was first brought to notice by Mr. Audubon, in his Ornithological Biography, V., p. 327, but the specimen appears to have been accompanied by no notice of its history.
Since the period of its discovery, this bird has been again observed only by Dr. Heermann, who has kindly furnished the following note from his Journal:—
“The Black-footed Albatross abounds on the coast of California and southward, as do several other species of this genus. It is commonly to be seen skimming over the waves in its flight, and following in the wake of vessels, to pick up the refuse scraps thrown overboard. With the voracity characteristic of these birds, it seizes with little discrimination on whatever is thrown into the water, and of this propensity advantage may be taken by baiting a hook, by which, when seized, the bird is easily secured. From the stern-ports of our ship, during a voyage by sea to California, I have thus captured eight or ten specimens of this and other species of this genus in a single morning. All the species much resemble each other in habits, so far as my observations extend.
“On the coast of California, I observed a White Albatross much smaller than the large Diomedea exulans, but not having succeeded in procuring it, I cannot designate the species.”
The small white species alluded to by Dr. Heermann, is probably new to the ornithology of North America. Of the species known as inhabitants, we may say of the Pacific ocean, several have not heretofore been noticed by naturalists on the shores of the United States.
Size large; general form short and compact; wings very long; bill straight, much compressed, hooked at the tip; both mandibles usually with lateral grooves; apertures of the nostrils tubular; first primary longest; secondaries short; tail short; legs moderate; feet large.
Form. Medium sized or rather small for a bird of this genus; bill straight, hooked at the tip; upper mandible expanded on the forehead, its basal edge forming a crescent very distinct from the frontal feathers; tubular nostrils prominent; wing long; first quill longest; tail short, nearly square at the tip; tarsi short; feet large; tibia naked above the joint with the tarsus.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, 26 inches; wing, 19; tail, 5 inches.
Colors. Plumage at the base of the bill pale brownish-white, of which color there is also a spot behind and under the eye; entire other plumage above and below sooty brown, darkest on the back and wings, lighter on the under parts, and having a gray tinge on the breast; bill dark; tarsi and feet black.
Hab. Western Coast of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This species much resembles in colors and general appearance the Dusky Albatross (Diomedea fuliginosa, Gm., which is D. fusca, Aud.), but may at once be distinguished by the color of the feet, which in the present bird are black, and in the other yellow. In D. fuliginosa, the tail is much longer and wedge-shaped, and the upper mandible extends in a point into the plumage of the head in front, instead of being as above described in the species now before us.
It is a species apparently peculiar to the western coast of America; but as illustrative of the very extensive range of these birds, we may mention that several species, which are common on the Pacific coast of this continent, are also met with on the shores of Australia. The Great Wandering Albatross, the Dusky Albatross, and the Yellow-nosed Albatross (D. exulans fuliginosa and chlorhynchus), are given as birds of that continent in Mr. Gould’s magnificent work, “The Birds of Australia,” and are now well known to be inhabitants of the western shores of the continent of America.
Plate 36
The Ground Cuckoo
Geococcyx mexicanus (Gmelin)
Of the many birds of Western America, the history of which has been brought to light by the recent researches of our countrymen and fellow-laborers in the great field of zoological science, that now before the reader is one of the most curious and interesting. Its existence has been known to naturalists since the time of Hernandez, who, as early as 1651, in his “New History of the Plants, Animals, and Minerals of Mexico,” gives a short account of it, as one of the most remarkable of the birds that came under his observation. Though partially known for so long a period, and having received various names from European naturalists, who have described specimens met with in museums, there was extant no satisfactory account of this bird previous to the incorporation of countries which it inhabits with the confederacy of the United States, and the consequent facilities afforded to the investigations of American naturalists.
This bird is especially remarkable for great swiftness of foot, and in fact appears to be almost unrivalled in that respect by any other of our North American species, not even excepting the Grouse, Partridges, or any other of the smaller gallinaceous birds. These, though possessing the ability to run short distances very swiftly, are incapable of sustaining a protracted chase like the present bird. In Mexico, and the adjacent portions of the United States, it is not unusual, as a matter of amusement, to try the speed of our bird by pursuing him on horseback, or by chasing him with dogs, under which severe test of his fleetness, he acquits himself very creditably, and makes, as we shall see presently, a longer race than is usually expected by his pursuer. He evidently possesses both speed and bottom, unrivalled by any fair competition in ornithological pedestrianism, so far as its annals are chronicled, or the present writer’s information on that subject extends.
Clothed in plumage of agreeable and unusual colors for a Northern species, and habitually frequenting the ground, walking or running with its long tail carried erect, and assuming a variety of grotesque attitudes, it is not surprising that this bird has attracted the attention of nearly all our naturalists and travellers who have visited its native regions. Through their exertions, it is now to be found in nearly all our museums and private collections, and many facts respecting it have been placed on record.
Though terrestrial in its habits, and exhibiting in some degree the manners and habits of the gallinaceous birds (the Pheasants, Partridges, Grouse, &c.), this bird is by no means to be classed in that division of the ornithological kingdom. It is a Cuckoo, and a relative of the celebrated bird of Europe so long known as to have become classic, and of the unobtrusive and plain-plumaged little birds of the United States, of the genus Coccyzus, popularly known by the name of Cow-birds, or Rain-birds. Our present bird is a representative of the gallinaceous form, in the family of Cuckoos. Throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and in every division or subdivision of whatever character, five primary groups or forms present themselves. In birds and all their groups, these are: the typical, or bird-like form; the predatory, or rapacious; the gallinaceous, or walking; the grallatorial, or wading; and the natatorial, or swimming form. In the group of Cuckoos, which is quite extensive, and species of which are found in nearly all parts of the world, the bird now before us belongs to the subdivision comprising the gallinaceous or walking Cuckoos, and is a striking example of that peculiar form in the great circle of birds, and of the prevalence of a law which is universal, and not difficult to demonstrate.
The first American naturalist who observed the bird now before the reader, was Dr. William Gambel, and a description by him will be found in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. II., p. 263. (1845). Subsequently, it has been noticed by nearly all naturalists who have visited California, New Mexico, or Texas, and interesting contributions to its history are contained in their publications relating to the ornithology of those countries.
Our esteemed friend, Col. George A. McCall, with his usual clearness and scientific accuracy, gave the first satisfactory account of this bird, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, III. p. 234 (July, 1847.):
“Although the toes of this bird are disposed in opposite pairs, as in other species of his family, yet the outer toe being reversible, and of great flexibility, is in either position aptly applied in climbing or perching, as well as on the ground. Thus he at times pitches along the ground in irregular but vigorous hops; and again, when the outer toe is thrown forward, he runs smoothly, and with such velocity, as to be able to elude a dog in the chaparral, without taking wing. He feeds on coleoptera, and almost every description of insects, and near the river Nueces, where the snail (Lynnæus stagnalis) abounds, it is also greedily eaten. These he snatches from the ground, or plucks from the low branch of a bush; and as he rarely wanders far from his abode, the prize is carried to a particular spot, where the shell is broken with his strong bill, and the animal devoured. Piles of these shells are often found that would fill half a hat crown.
“Although dwelling principally on the ground, he is ready and expert in catching his prey in the air, in which act his movements are full of animation,—bounding from the ground with a sudden impulse to the height of eight or ten feet; his wings and tail are seen expanded for a scarcely appreciable instant, and his bill is heard to snap as he takes his prey, when he drops as suddenly to the spot from which he sprang. Here he will stand for a moment, his legs apart, and his tail flirted on one side with a wild and eccentric expression of exultation in his attitude, before he scampers off under cover of the thick chaparral. At first, I thought,—as is the general impression among the Mexicans,—that his powers of flight were extremely limited; but he will, when suddenly alarmed in open ground, rise with a light, quick motion, and continue his flight over the bushes for some hundred yards, apparently with an ease that would argue the ability to sustain a longer flight.
“Though fond of solitude and shade, he will, at an early hour in the morning, climb to the top of a straight leafless branch, there to sit and enjoy the first rays of the sun.
“He is said by the Mexican rancheros to build his nest of loose sticks, either in a low, thick bush, or in close cover on the ground. The eggs are said by them to be two or three in number, and of a whitish color.”
We have again to express our obligations to Col. McCall for the following contribution to our present article:—
“I never was so fortunate as to find the nest of this bird, yet I had frequent opportunities of witnessing its manners and habits in Texas, in New Mexico, and in California, between the years 1846-52.
“Of shy and retiring disposition, the G. viaticus is most often met with singly. I have, however, frequently seen the male and female associated during the later period of the year, as well as in spring and summer; the former, at all seasons, being easily distinguishable by his larger size and more brilliant plumage. Whether the pairs I thus met were mated for life, or for the year, or were merely accidentally living in company, I am unable to say—I simply state the fact; and I well recollect my fruitless efforts, in Texas, for several successive days in autumn, to secure a pair that inhabited a large chaparral near which I happened to be encamped at the time. The male was a remarkably fine bird, but evidently an old and cautious fellow; he would come just without the thicket, followed by the female—and there, with neck outstretched, cast a searching glance around; then, if an enemy appeared, even in the distance, he would instantly retreat to his impenetrable abode trebly fenced with thorns. In a little while, he would re-appear at another point, where, if the coast seemed clear, he would, closely followed by his mate, begin to search for grass-hoppers and other insects, but never venture more than a few paces from the border of the thicket. Thus it was impossible to approach him in open ground; and such was his constant caution and vigilance that, although I more than once lay in wait for the couple, which I regularly saw in the morning hours, I never succeeded in getting within gunshot.
“When suddenly surprised, I have seen this bird rise on wing and fly considerable distances, in order to gain close cover, the flight being effected by regular flappings, and executed, apparently, with ease; though the bird did not rise more than six or eight feet from the ground.
“The individuals that I killed in the fall and winter seasons, invariably were excessively fat, and their crops were usually filled with snails and various coleoptera. I do not recollect that I ever found in their stomachs the remains of lizards or other reptiles.
“The Paisano (countryman), as this bird is called by the Mexicans, or Corre-camino (run-the-road), as the native Californians designate it, is often met in the unfrequented roads that traverse forests of low brushwood, being enticed from its sombre retreats to the openings, in search of its favorite food. And here is often afforded the traveller an opportunity of witnessing its surpassing swiftness of foot. I have several times tested its speed with a good horse under me, and I have in truth been astonished at the almost incredible rate at which it passed over the ground. On one occasion, when approaching Limpia creek (W. Texas), with a small party, on my way to El Paso, I discovered a fine male Paisano in the open road, about one hundred yards in advance. For amusement, I put spurs to my horse and dashed after him, followed by one of my men. For full four hundred yards, I ran him along a road level and smooth as a floor; and over which, with straightened neck and slightly-expanded wings, he swiftly glided, seeming scarcely to touch the ground. And when, at last, he deemed it prudent to seek shelter in the thicket alongside, I had not reduced the distance between us more than fifty yards.
“I was told on the frontier that the Mexican rancheros do sometimes run down and capture the Paisano when they find him wandering on more open ground; and such I think is probable, for the one to which I have just referred was going, even to the moment at which he took cover, at a rate of speed that could not possibly have been much longer sustained; nor could he, I think, when so nearly ‘blown,’ have risen on wing. Such, at least, is the case with the wild turkey, which I have repeatedly captured in the same way, although his power of flight is greater than that of the Paisano.”
Capt. John P. McCown, of the United States Army, also observed the Paisano in Texas; and in his observations on the birds of that State, in the Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, VI. p. 9, we find the following:—
“Often in my wanderings through the chapparel on the Rio Grande, I observed piles of broken snail shells, and always near some hard substance, such as a bone, or hard piece of wood, which had evidently been used in breaking the shells. I made many conjectures as to the probable animal, but never suspected that a bird had left these evidences of its peculiar habits. I heard, also, at times, generally in the morning or evening, a sound very similar to that made by some Woodpeckers, rapidly beating their bills upon an old dry tree. This was also a mystery, as I could find no Woodpeckers near the place where the sound came from. Upon inquiry of a Mexican, I was told that it was the Paisano breaking the snail-shells to get at the snail, which explained at once both the noise and the mutilated shells. I was afterwards so fortunate as to see a bird so occupied. It took the snail in its bill and beat it upon the hard substance, striking faster and faster, until the shell broke.
“A few of these birds are to be found on the Rio Nueces. They run with great speed, seldom taking to wing. I have seen them on trees apparently observing the vicinity. I had a young bird of this species, about half-grown, but it refused to eat, and soon died; and I have seen some in coops, and have been informed that they have been tamed.
“When approached, this bird runs very swiftly until near cover, when it stops and reconnoitres the intruder, gives its tail a flirt, and away it goes again.
“In 1846, on the mountains between Monterey and Saltillo, I saw a pair of birds much like these, but much smaller. I observed them for some time, and feel satisfied that they were another species. The snail that seems to form the principal food of these birds is found sticking to almost every bush, and some are literally covered with them.”
In California, this bird was frequently noticed by Dr. Heermann, from whose manuscripts in our possession we have permission to make the following extract:—
“We found this bird throughout California inhabiting the most arid portions of the country. It often crossed our path, or ran before us for a short distance on the road, dashing, when alarmed, immediately into the chapparel, in which its swiftness of foot enabled it to readily elude pursuit. It may, however, be overtaken when followed on horseback over the vast open plains in which it is found, if no friendly bush offers it a shelter. When closely chased, if on an elevated point, it will sometimes fly, but appears to prefer sailing downwards. I once saw a specimen captured by a couple of dogs, their appetites whetted by recent success in overtaking and bringing down a Prairie wolf, or cayote.
“The stomachs of all the specimens that I examined of this bird were filled with the grass-hoppers and large black beetles found on the plains. The nest, built on the branches of the cactus, is formed of loose sticks, thrown negligently together, in the same manner as that of the yellow-billed Cuckoo of the United States (Coccyzus americanus). It contains two large, nearly spherical, white eggs.
“I have never witnessed the following, but was gravely assured of its truth by several old Californians: It is said that this bird, on perceiving the rattlesnake coiled up asleep, will collect the cactus and hedge him around in a circle, out of which he is prevented from escaping by the prickly points opposing him on every side; and becoming enraged, strikes himself, and dies from the effects of his self-inoculated venom.
“This bird is common in Western Texas and on the Rio Grande.”
This remarkable bird has been found in the vicinity of Fort Webster, New Mexico, by Dr. Henry, and was also noticed in that country and in Texas by Mr. Clark, Mr. Schott, and Dr. Kennerly, and in Mexico by Lieut. Couch.
Though neither of the authors above cited have mentioned that this bird devours reptiles as well as insects and snails, that fact is stated by Dr. Gambel in his paper on the Birds of California, in the first volume of the quarto Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, and it is so represented in some spirited sketches by Mr. Arthur Schott, now attached to the United States and Mexican Boundary Surveying party, whose drawings of this bird made in its native wilds are in the possession of our valued friend, Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution. It is probable that although it may prefer insects, other small animals afford suitable food.
Lieut. D. N. Couch, of the U. S. Army, to whom we have been indebted for other valuable contributions, has, with his usual kindness, added to our present article the following interesting notice of this bird as an inhabitant of Northern Mexico:—
“This bird was first met with in Southwestern Texas, near the Rio Grande, where it is called ‘Prairie Cock’ by the inhabitants. Few or no opportunities occurred for me to observe it carefully, until I found myself in the dreary chapparel districts of Tamaulipas, and next beyond the Sierra Madre.
“The chapparel is its home. Equally avoiding the forests of high trees or the open prairies,—in the former of which its short wings would preclude an easy flight to the branches, and in the latter, for the same reason, it would be unable to escape from the numerous hawks of various species that are ever hovering over the arid wastes of that region. Once only I saw it perched near the top of a stout Mesquite tree, though not many feet from the ground.
“So far as I have observed, this bird rarely takes to wing, but with head lowered and tail nearly horizontal; crouching to the ground, it runs without using its wings, with incredible swiftness; stopping suddenly, its long and beautiful tail is raised and depressed with as much grace as a fan in the hand of an accomplished senorita.
“In one of my excursions, I saw a wolf chase a hare (Lepus texianus), but was distanced in a few seconds, in the short race, a bird of this species was started, and the wolf in turn tried its fleetness, with the same result very distinctly arrived at. Apparently much disappointed, he looked at me for a moment, with an expression that seemed to say, “I have half a mind to try you;” but he turned off sulkily and trotted away, leaving me quite satisfied with his conclusion.
“Pa-i-san-o is the name by which this bird is known to the Mexicans. They hold it in high estimation on account of its enmity to the rattlesnake, which it usually succeeds in killing in fair combat. Notwithstanding that it is by no means deficient in courage, there is scarcely one of the feathered tribe that is so quiet and harmless in its habits. I have never noticed any note except a weak scream, and that very seldom. It is apparently not social, never occurring in flocks, not a wanderer to much extent, and though almost a hermit, is the most pleasing and friendly-looking inhabitant that lives only in the chapparel.”
General form lengthened and rather slender; bill long, straight, strong, compressed, curved at the tip; wings short, rounded; fourth and fifth primaries longest; first short; tail long, graduated; legs long, especially the tibiæ; tarsi covered with wide transverse scales, very distinct in front; toes moderate, covered with scales; claws curved, flattened laterally. An American genus, containing two or three species only, all of which inhabit California, Texas, and Mexico.
Form. Head above with elongated, erectile, crest-like feathers. A large bare space around and behind the eye extending towards the occiput; wings short; tail long; legs long, stout; tarsus with about eight or nine wide and strong scales in front.
Dimensions. Male.—Total length of skin, about 22 inches; wing, 6½; tail, 11 inches. Female, smaller.
Colors. Male.—Space around and behind the eye, in the living bird, yellow, with a large red spot on its most posterior part; plumage of the head above dark blue, with a metallic lustre, every feather edged with reddish fulvous and white; entire other upper parts dark metallic green, darkest on the neck behind and on the back; lightest on the wings and central feathers of the tail; all the upper plumage edged with white, and very narrowly with pale fulvous; primary quills dark brown, with a green metallic lustre, and edged with white on their outer webs; upper coverts of the tail and two central tail feathers green, with metallic lustre, and edged with white; other feathers of the tail deep shining blue, narrowly edged, and widely tipped with white, and having in some lights a green lustre; under parts white, slightly tinged with ashy and very pale yellowish; and on the throat and neck before with longitudinal stripes of dark greenish-brown; bill and feet light bluish. Female similar, but with the colors less vivid.
Hab. California, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and in Nat. Mus., Washington city.
Obs. As the reader will have discovered from our preceding synonymes, an unusual superabundance of names has been proposed for this bird. We have no doubt, however, that it is the Hoitlallotl of Hernandez (Nova, plantarum, animalium et mineralium Mexicanorum, Historia, p. 25. Folio, Rome, 1651), whose description is cited by both Buffon and Latham. On the faith of the notice by the latter (Synopsis of Birds, II. p. 723), Gmelin gave the name Phasianus mexicanus as cited above. The description by Hernandez is short and not very accurate; but we could mention many species of birds, the original descriptions of which are quite as much so, both ancient and modern. Prof. Wagler, in his description of Geococcyx variegatus, above alluded to, expresses the opinion that his bird is the same as that described by Hernandez; and Mr. Strickland, in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., VIII. p. 544 (1842), arrives at the same conclusion.
We regard it as at least possible, too, that this bird is the Upupa mexicana (Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I. p. 467), which is the “Mexican Promerops” (Latham, Syn., II. p. 691). The descriptions are founded on a figure in Seba (pl. 45, fig. 3), that about as accurately represents this species as any other; which can also be said of his description. In Seba’s figure it will be observed that three toes are directed forward, which might appear to be a difficulty; but in reference to that point we ask attention to Col. McCall’s valuable contribution in a preceding page. There is, too, some peculiarity intended or attempted to be represented in the figure to which we allude.
The sexes of this bird differ in size very considerably; and there are, also, variations in size and measurements, such as comparative lengths of their bills and tails between different specimens. We have seen a large number of specimens, from various localities, but of one species only. Though we have been constantly on the watch for it, we have never detected the smaller species alluded to by Captain McCown, which is very probably Geococcyx affinis, described by Dr. George Hartlaub, of the State Museum of Bremen, one of the most learned and accurate of European ornithologists. That species may be more an inhabitant of the mountainous or hilly country than the subject of our present article.
Plate 37
The Whip-Tom-Kelly
Vireosylvia altiloqua (Vieillot)
This little bird is very similar in form and general appearance to the Red-eyed Flycatcher (Vireosylvia olivacea), of the United States, but is larger, and is distinctly characterized by the dark line on the side of the neck. It appears to possess much the same habits as the common species just mentioned, and others that inhabit the northern division of the continent of America. Passing its life, for the greater part, searching for insects amongst the thick foliage of the forest, in which its color favors concealment, it utters its peculiar notes, evidently of the same general character, but much louder and quite different from those of either of its northern brethren.
Though long known as a bird of the West Indies, and represented by Mr. Gosse to be abundant in the Island of Jamaica, it has but recently been discovered within the limits of the United States. Vieillot, it is true, gave it as a North American species, and in his fine work, which is of standard value in the history of our birds, figures it accurately, but from specimens obtained in the West Indies. It was first ascertained to be a summer visitor in Florida, by Dr. A. L. Heermann, who observed it in considerable numbers in that State, at a season when it was certainly engaged in the duties of incubation; but it has as yet never been noticed in any other part of the United States. It is probable, too, that it inhabits Cuba, but the several able naturalists of that Island have not detected it, or at least have not stated it to be different from the common Red-eyed Flycatcher.
For our article on this bird, Dr. Heermann has, with great kindness, furnished the following notice:—
“Charlotte Harbour is situated on the Gulf of Mexico, and is studded with numerous small islands or keys, as they are called, on which grows the cocoa-nut, said to be brought hither from the West Indies by the tides, and being thrown on the shore, takes root and flourishes. Some of these islands, during my visit, I may say almost swarmed with Herons, Cormorants, Snake-birds, Spoonbills, and Pelicans, engaged in attending to their nests, and raising their young. The wild fig, orange, lemon, palmetto, and pine, abound—the first of which is the principal food of several species of birds, while the large numbers of fishes everywhere in the surrounding waters afford ample subsistence to those that I have mentioned. On the sand-bars, various species of Terns were to be found in abundance, also engaged in incubation, while the Fish Crow, ever on the alert to seize the eggs or young, or the captured prey of any of these species when left unguarded, was ever to be seen on the wing, and at a distance, and not to be approached easily, I have frequently seen flocks of Flamingoes dredging perseveringly for shell-fishes, or standing in groups, looking almost like files of soldiers in red uniforms.
“I mention these birds because, like the little Long-billed Flycatcher, and like the cocoa-nut, too, if the prevailing belief is correct, they appear to be visitors only from a more southern clime. They seem to have reached Florida in the course of a northern migration, and although remaining for a season, retire periodically, again to appear in due time.
“In this vicinity, I met with the Long-billed Flycatcher, which, coming with his larger and more conspicuous fellow-travellers, to which I have alluded, appears to be a more transient visitant, performing the duties of incubation on this the northern district of his range, and soon retiring southwardly to the West Indies. This bird much resembles in manners and appearance the Red-eyed Flycatcher of the Northern States, but is not, I think, its equal as a vocalist. His notes, at the season when I heard them, were not as numerous, nor his song so long-continued. They are quite different from those of the Red-eye, but clear and musical, and very distinctly uttered. He is constantly on the search for insects, and appeared to me to be more active than either of the northern species, darting about amongst the foliage, or peering into a crevice or recess in a branch, or a spider’s web, with his back downwards, like the warblers,—or occasionally chasing a flying insect, in the manner of the Pewee Flycatchers. These actions were usually accompanied by his song, as is the case with the Red-eye and the Warbling Flycatchers. This species was not abundant, though I saw it frequently, and obtained several specimens.”
The name, “Whip-tom-kelly,” is applied to this bird in Brown’s Jamaica, one of the standard authorities on that Island (the Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, by Patrick Brown, M. D., London, 1789, folio), as its popular appellation, and has been transferred to the works of various authors. Mr. Gosse, however, in his pleasant volume on the Birds of Jamaica, mentions that he had never heard this designation.
The naturalists of Jamaica and Cuba appear to have considered this bird as identical with the Red-eyed Flycatcher. The latter may be a visitor, most probably, in the winter, to these islands, but the present is undoubtedly the resident summer species, at least in Jamaica. The figure in Edward’s Gleanings of Natural History (V. pl. 253), is particularly stated to have been made from Dr. Brown’s specimen brought from Jamaica, and clearly represents the present bird. Mr. Swainson, in Fauna Boreali Americana, Birds, p. 237, in his description of Vireo longirostris, which is this bird, mentions having received specimens from the Islands of Jamaica and St. Vincent.
As a bird of Jamaica, this little Flycatcher is described in his usually agreeable manner, by Mr. Gosse, in his work above alluded to. Holding ourselves in duty bound, we take the liberty of transcribing from his pages as followeth, premising that he calls this bird the “John-to-whit:”—
“Much oftener heard than seen, though not unfamiliar to either sense, this sober-colored bird is one of those whose notes have such a similarity to articulations as to procure them a common appellation. The Flycatchers, in general, are not very vociferous, but this is pertinacious in its tritonous call, repeating it with energy every two or three seconds. It does not ordinarily sit on a prominent twig, or dart out after insects, though I have seen one in eager but unsuccessful pursuit of a butterfly (Terias); but it seems to love the centre of thick woods, where it sits announcing its presence, or flits from bough to bough as you approach, so that it is not easy to get a sight of it.
“This bird does not winter with us, but leaves with the Grey Petchary (Tyrannus Dominicensis), at the beginning of October. It returns early—and like the bird just named, evidently makes an eastward progress, arriving at the southwest end of the island first. On the 26th of March, on my return to Bluefields, after a visit to Spanishtown, I heard its well-known voice, but my lad had noticed it a week before. From this time, every grove, I might almost say every tree, had its bird, uttering, with incessant iteration and untiring energy, from its umbrageous concealment, ’Sweet-John!—John-to-whit!—Sweet-John-to-whit!—John-t’-whit!—Sweet-John-to—whit!’ I can scarcely understand how the call can be written ‘Whip-tom-kelly,’ as the accent, if I may so say, is most energetic on the last syllable. Nor have I ever heard this appellation given to it in Jamaica. After July, we rarely hear ‘John-to-whit’—but, ‘to-whit—to-whoo,’ and sometimes a soft, simple chirp, or sip, sip, whispered so gently as scarcely to be audible. This, however, I have reason to believe is the note of the young, for I have heard young ones repeatedly utter it, when sitting on a twig, receiving from time to time, with gaping beak and quivering wing, the food contributed by the dam.
“The food of the John-to-whit is both animal and vegetable. In March, I have found in its stomach the seeds of the tropic birch, and in April, the berries of sweet-wood, in an unripe state. In the same month, I observed one hunting insects by the borders of Bluefields rivulet, in which I was bathing, and so intent was it upon its occupation, that it allowed me to approach within a foot of it before it flew. It sought insects successfully among the grass and low herbage, perching on the stalks of the weeds, and jumping out after stationary, as well as vagrant, prey. I observed it eat two spider’s nests, which it masticated as if peculiarly savory. As it sat, it vomited a little white body, which I found to be the globose seed of the misletoe berry.
“Incubation takes place in June and July. The nest is rather a neat structure, though made of coarse materials. It is a deep cup, about as large as an ordinary tea-cup, narrowed at the mouth, composed of dried grass, intermixed with silk-cotton, and sparingly with lichen and spiders’ nests, and lined with thatch-threads. It is usually suspended between two twigs, or in the fork of one, the margin being over-woven so as to embrace the twigs. This is very neatly performed. Specimens vary much in beauty,—one before me is particularly neat and compact, being almost globular in form, except that about one-fourth of the globe is wanting, as it is a cup. Though the walls are not thick, they are very firm and close, the materials being well woven. These are fibres of grass-like plants, moss, a few dry leaves, flat papery spiders’ nests, with a little cotton or down for the over-binding of the edges. It is lined smoothly with fibres, I know not of what plant, as slender as human hair. Another nest, similarly formed, has the cavity almost filled with a mass of white cotton, which looks as if thrust in by man, but that those filaments of the mass that are in contact with the sides, are interwoven with the other materials. As it is picked cotton, it must be a bit stolen from some house or yard, not plucked by the bird from the capsule. The eggs, commonly three in number, are delicately white, with a few small red-brown spots thinly scattered over the surface, sometimes very minute and few. Their form is a somewhat pointed oval, measuring nine-tenths of an inch by rather less than thirteen-twentieths.”
Our figure is about three-fourths of the size of life, and represents the adult male from one of Dr. Heermann’s specimens obtained in Florida.
Size small, but with the general form compact and stout; bill straight, rather long, wide at base; upper mandible slightly notched near the point; gonys slightly ascending; wing long, second quill usually longest; tail rather short, even; legs and toes moderate in length, slender. A genus containing five or six species, all of which are American. Colors in all known species olive green, narrowly shaded and tinged with yellow.
Form. Bill long, strong, wide at base, with a few pairs of short, weak bristles; wing long; second quill longest; tail moderate, truncate; legs rather long, slender.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, 5½ inches; wing, 3½; tail, 2¼ inches.
Colors. A narrow line of black running downward on each side of the neck, from the base of the lower mandible; head above ashy-olive; other upper parts olive-green, tinged with yellowish; quills and tail olive-brown, edged outwardly with greenish-yellow; a line of yellowish-white running from the nostril over the eye; between the eye and the bill dark olive; under parts white, nearly pure on the throat, and on the other parts tinged with ashy and greenish-yellow, especially on the sides; bill light corneous; irides red.
Hab. Florida, West Indies, and South America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. We consider it quite probable that this species is the Turdus hispaniolensis of Gmelin, as above, which is the Hispaniola Thrush of Latham. The figure in Buffon, Pl. Enl. 273, fig. 1, may represent the same.
This bird may readily be distinguished from all other species by the dark lines on the neck, which seem to be present at all ages.