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PEL D
PRNITHOLOGY_
COMPRISING A
MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION
FOR
PROCURING, PREPARING AND PRESERVING BIRDS,
AND A
Check List of North Fates) Birds.
Dr. ELLIOTT COUES, U.S. A.
NAT
JAN 4° 1983
LIBRARIES
» » f sh)
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by
F. W. PUTNAM and ELLIOTT COUES,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
PRINTED AT
THE SALEM PRESS.
F. W. Putnam & Co.,
Proprietors.
CONTENTS.
EZEG Ev OVETEN AUT YG CAUN ID EE Xe Ee VASNVAU ORNs etc eis
CHAPTER I. IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING AND THEIR USE, .
§1. THE DOUBLE-BARRELLED SHOT GUN, 5.—§2. BREECH LOADER, 6.—
§3. OTHER WEAPONS, ETC., 7.—§4. AMMUNITION, 8.—§5. OTHER
EQUIPMENTS. 10.—§6. QUALIFICATIONS FOR SUCCESS, 12. — §7. To
CARRY A GUN, 12.—§8. TO CLEAN A GUN, 13.—§9. To LOAD A GUN,
14.—§10. To SHOOT, 16.
CHAPTER Mle) OCS: vey diciru icine sh) aeamriet ase deni Nal Bigead eens
§11. A Goop Dog, How USEFUL, 19.
CHAPTER III. Various DIRECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR
ISTO DICLDY? \AK CON 4 forename Cun ees eet nara rericeurtyanmey betel
§12. TO BE A GOOD COLLECTOR, 21.—§13, 14, 15, 16. Brrps, How,
WHERE AND WHEN SOUGHT, 21, 22, 25.—§17. HOW MANY OF A KIND
WANTED, AND WHY, 27.—§18. WHAT IS A GOOD DAY’S WORK? 30.
—§19. APPROACHING BIRDS, 30.—§20. RECOVERING BIRDS, 33.—§21.
KILLING WOUNDED BIRDS, 33.—§22. HANDLING BLEEDING BIRDS,
35.—§23. CARRYING BIRDS HOME SAFE, 36.—§24. A SPECIAL CASE,
37.—§25. HYGIENE OF COLLECTORSHIP, 37.
CHAPTER IV. REGISTRATION AND LABELLING, .... .
§26, 27. RECORD OF OBSERVATIONS, 44.—§28. ORNITHOLOGICAL BOOK-
KEEPING, 45.—§29. LABELLING, 46.—§30. DIRECTIONS FOR MEASURE-
MENT, 49.
CHAPTER V. INSTRUMENTS, MATERIALS AND FIXTURES FOR
IM ON RING: IBDN ol 6 ol l6 Oo Ono) of oo 4
§31. INSTRUMENTS, 52.—§32. MATERIALS, 53.—§33. INDEPENDENT PAR-
AGRAPH, 56.—§34. FIXTURES, 56.—§35. QUERY, 57.
(iii)
19
21
44
52
1V CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI. How TO MakE A BIRDSKIN, . . .. ... . O8
A. The Regular Process (§36), 58 —B. Special Processes; Complications
and Accidents (§37), 70. —§38. SIzH, 70.—§39. SHAPE, 73.—§40. THIN
SKIN; LOOSE PLUMAGE, 75.—§41. FATNESS, 75.—§42. BLOOD-STAINS,
ETC., 77.— §43. MUTILATION, 79.— §44. DECOMPOSITION, 80.— §45.
How TO MowunNT BIRDS, 82.
CHAPTER VII. MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS, . .. .. « Qo
§46. DETERMINATION OF SEX, 93.—§47. RECOGNITION OF AGE, 94.—§48. e
EXAMINATION OF STOMACH, 95.—§49. RESTORATION OF POOR SKINS,
96.—§50. MUMMIFICATION, 97.—§51. WET PREPARATIONS, 97.— §52.
OSTEOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS, 98.—§53. NESTS AND EGGS, 100.
GHAPTER VILE, CARE OR VAICOELHCTION; 7-0 ie cee eee OG
§54. WELL PRESERVED SPECIMENS, 106.—§55. INSECT PESTS, 106.—§56.
CASES FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORTATION, 107.—§57. CABINETS, 108.
—§58. To DESTROY BuGs, 110.—§59. Two ITEMS, 111.
APPENDIX, ADDITIONS AND) CORRECTIONS, ©. 3: «sere
CHECK LIST.
List oF Brrps or NorTH AMERICA, og sw a tetd. les ee i
WTINGT: SPECIES; ))scas «sf -6!..+ fe ce) Zod Ve po, | fo ett
APPENDIX, ADDITIONS AND CORRE€TIONS, . . . . - « « « ado
MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION,
AND
CHECK LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA.
PRELIMINARY AND EXPLANATORY.
Boru author and publisher of the ‘‘Key- to North American
Birds” intended that the work should contain instructions for
collecting and preparing birds, and that a Cueck List, accord-
ing with the author’s views, should appear simultaneously with
the volume. This proved impracticable: partly because the
work so far overran the original estimates, that the additional
expense and risk, which the publisher, an accomplished natu-
ralist, generously offered to assume, seemed to the author
unjustifiable ; and partly because the writer’s unexpected call
to another field of official duty suddenly threw such a pressure
of other engagements upon his hands that he could not just
then find time to write out even so slight a treatise as this.
The Cueck List and Manvat or Instruction are therefore
now presented together, as a Supplement to the Key.
The demand for a new Cueck List has become urgent. The
last one published, and only one now in use, expresses a
former state of American ornithology. That great changes—
presumably for the better—have lately been made, is shown
by the fact that, in round numbers, fifty species have been
MANUAL. 1
2 EXPLANATORY.
since ascertained to inhabit North America, while one hundred
and fifty have been removed from the former list as being
extralimital, invalid or otherwise untenable. Of whatever
part the author may have taken in remodelling the list, it
would be obviously indelicate to speak. But he cannot refrain -
from alluding to the signal services of reform rendered by Mr.
Allen, of Cambridge, whose stanch advocacy, under circum-
stances that might have excused flinching, did so much to
precipitate the changes, long while progressing and inevi-
table, for which the time was at length at hand. Nor would
this allusion be entirely just, did he not in the same connection
refer to the thorough revision now making by Prof. Baird him-
self, with the cooperation of Dr. Brewer and Mr. Ridgway, the
results of which are about to appear in what promises to be
one of the greatest monuments ever erected to American
ornithology. ‘The notable concordance of the several writings
in question, an agreement the more gratifying because a short
time since it might have been considered impossible, marks an
important period in the history of the science. The outlook
promises well, when different premises lead up to the same
conclusions, and conflicting views are reconciled.
The present Cueck List, prepared in strict accordance with
the Key, reflects exactly whatever of truth or error that
work represents. The typography and presswork render it
susceptible of use in labelling a collection.* It shows mainly
three points of disagreement with the current Smithsonian
List. The number of genera is reduced though not to the extent
that may be desirable. It is perhaps to be regretted, that so
many needless and burdensome generic names, for which
Bonaparte, Cabanis, Kaup and Reichenbach are largely re-
*For this purpose the List will be issued as a pamphlet by itself as well
as forming part of this little volume. DS)
EXPLANATORY. 3
sponsible, were adopted in Prof. Baird’s great work ;* for,
sanctioned by the usage of such eminent authority, they have
passed current, and are too closely ingrained in our nomen-
elature to be soon eradicated. The writer feels at liberty
to speak plainly, for his own skirts are not clear. Secondly,
not a few species, new to North America, or to science, or
both, have of late years been ascertained to inhabit this country.
The third and principal variance between the present Curck
List and its predecessor results from a large reduction of the
number of admitted species. Part of them are excluded sim-
ply because extralimital ; but most because they are considered
untenable as species. In the present state of our knowledge,
and under a system of nomenclature that is proven inadequate
and may before long become obsolete, recognition of numerous
‘¢ Varieties ”— resultant modifications of species by physical
conditions of environment —is imperative ; and what are these
varieties but the rills that flow into and help to swell the mighty
stream of descent with modification?
The Instructions for Collecting and Taxidermy, herewith
offered, are drawn almost entirely from the writer’s experience,
acquired during several years he has spent, with little interrup-
tion, in the study of our birds. He has collected over a wide
area from Labrador to California, in northwestern territories,
and in several southern states; enjoying opportunities for
field investigations that no one with the least taste or aptitude
for the pursuit could fail to profit by. In the matter of col-
lecting, therefore, he may reasonably venture to speak with
confidence. Since, furthermore, a taxidermal process that has
been repeated several thousand times with fair results is by
this simple circumstance proven satisfactory, he feels no diffi-
*“Birds of North America” by Baird, Cassin and Lawrence.
the absence of a better one. The Instructions will, itis be-
lieved, enable any one to become reasonably proficient in certain ee
of the indispensable qualifications of a good working ornithol- r Ey
Ae
ogist. He intends to take what may or may not be a liberty, Psy
and to presume that the reader is entirely inexperienced in — |
My field-work; and he begs the further privilege of waiving © (
formality, that he may be allowed to address the reader very
familiarly, much as if chatting with a friend’ on a subject of Bik.
mutual interest. | ap RN
Bendire’s Mocking-thrush, Harporhynchus Bendiret Coues.
See American Naturalist for June, 1873, Vol. vii, p. 330.
Manvat OF | NSTRU CTION,
CHAPTER I.
IMPLEMENTS FOR COLLECTING, AND THEIR USE.
§1. THE DOUBLE-BARRELLED SHOT GUN is your main reliance.
Under some circumstances you may trap or snare birds, catch
them with bird-lime, or use other devices; but such cases
are exceptions to the rule that you will shoot birds, and for
this purpose no weapon compares with the one just mentioned.
The soul of good advice respecting the selection of a gun, is,
get the best one you can afford to buy; go the full length of your
purse in the matters of material and workmanship. To say
nothing of the prime requisite, safety, or of the next most
desirable quality, efficiency, the durability of a high-priced
gun makes it cheapest in the end. Style of finish is obviously
of little consequence, except as an index of other qualities ;
for inferior guns rarely, if ever, display the exquisite appoint-
ments that mark a first-rate arm. There is really, so little
choice among good guns that nothing need be said on this
score ; you cannot miss it if you pay enough to any reputable
maker or reliable dealer. But collecting is a specialty, and
some guns are better adapted than others to your particular
purpose, which is the destruction, as a rule, of small birds, at
moderate range, with the least possible injury-to their plumage.
Probably three-fourths or more of the birds of a miscellaneous
collection average under the size of a pigeon, and were shot
within thirty yards. Under these circumstances, a per-
son of fairly good constitution may plunge into the water with
impunity— even with benefit. But if the body be already cool-
ing by sweating, rapid abstraction of heat from the surface
may cause internal congestion, never unattended with danger.
Drinking ice-water offers a somewhat parallel case; even on
stooping to drink at the brook, when flushed with heat, it is well
to bathe the face and hands first, and to taste the water before
a full draught. It is a well known excellent rule, not to bathe
immediately after a full meal; because during digestion the
organs concerned are comparatively engorged, and any sudden
disturbance of the circulation may be disastrous. The imper-
ative necessity of resisting drowsiness under extreme cold re-
not far from a ** sunstroke.’
™“
HUNGER AND FATIGUE. Al
quires no comment. In walking under a hot sun the head
may be sensibly protected by green leaves or grass in the hat;
they may be advantageously moistened, but not enough to drop
about the ears. Under such circumstances the slightest giddi-
ness, dimness of sight, or confusion of ideas, should be taken
as a warning of possible sunstroke, instantly demanding rest,
and shelter if practicable. uncer and Fatigue are more
closely related than they might seem to be; one is a sign that
the fuel is out, and the other asks for it. Extreme fatigue,
indeed, destroys appetite; this simply means, temporary inca-
pacity for digestion. But even far short of this, food is more
easily digested, and better relished after a little preparation
of the furnace. On coming home tired it is much better to
make a leisurely and reasonably nice toilet than to eat at
once, or to lie still thinking how tired you are; after a change
and a wash you will feel like a ‘‘new man,” and go to table
in capital state. Whatever dietetic irregularities a high state
of civilization may demand or render practicable a normally
healthy person is inconvenienced almost as soon as his reg-
ular meal-time passes without food ; and few can work comfort-
ably or profitably fasting over six or eight hours. Eat before
starting ; if for a day’s tramp, take a lunch; the most frugal
meal will appease if it do not satisfy hunger, and so postpone
its urgency. As a small scrap of practical wisdom, I would
add, keep the remnants of the lunch, if there are any; for
you cannot always be sure of getting in to supper. StimuLa-
TION: When cold, fatigued, depressed in mind, and on other
occasions, you may feel inclined to resort to artificial stimulus.
Respecting this many-sided theme I have a few words to offer
of direct bearing on the collector’s case. It should be clearly
understood in the first place that a stimulant confers no
strength whatever; it simply calls the powers that be into
increased action at their own expense. Seeking real strength
in stimulus is as wise as an attempt to lift yourself up by the
boot-straps. You may gather yourself to leap the ditch and
you clear it; but no such muscular energy can be sustained ;
exhaustion speedily renders further expenditure impossible.
42 SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK.
But now suppose a very powerful mental impression be made,
say the circumstance of a succession of ditches in front, and
a mad dog behind; if the stimulus of terror be sufficiently
strong, you may leap on till you drop senseless. Alcoholic
stimulus is a parallel case, and is not seldom pushed to the
same extreme. Under its influence you never can tell when
you are tired; the expenditure goes on, indeed, with unnatural
rapidity, only it is not felt at the time; but the upshot is you
have all the original fatigue to endure and to recover from,
plus the fatigue resulting from over excitation of the system.
Taken as a fortification again&t cold, alcohol is as unsatisfac-
tory as a remedy for fatigue. Insensibility to cold does not
imply protection. The fact is the exposure is greater than
before ; the circulation and respiration being hurried, the waste
is greater, and as sound fuel cannot be immediately supplied,
the temperature of the body is soon lowered. The transient
yarmth and glow over, the system has both cold and depres-
sion to endure; there is no use in borrowing from yourself
and fancying you are richer. Secondly, the value of any
stimulus (except in a few exigencies of disease or injury) is
in proportion, not to the intensity, but to the equableness and
durability of its effect. This is one reason why tea, coffee,
and articles of corresponding qualities, are preferable to al-
coholic drinks ; they work so smoothly that their effect is often
unnoticed, and they “stay by” well; the friction of alcohol is
tremendous in.comparison. A glass of grog may help a vet-
eran over the fence, but no one, young or old, can shoot all
day on whiskey. I have had so much experience in the use of
tobacco as a mild stimulant that I am probably no impartial
judge of its merits: I will simply say I do not use it in the
field, because it indisposes to muscular activity, and favors re-
flection when observation is required; and because temporary
abstinence provokes the morbid appetite and renders the weed
more grateful afterwards. Thirdly, undue excitation of any
physical function is followed by corresponding depression, on
the simple principle that action and reaction are equal; and
the balance of health turns too easily to be wilfully disturbed.
INTEMPERANCE UNSCIENTIFIC. 43
Stimulation is a draft upon vital capital, when interest alone
should suffice ; it may be needed at times to bridge a chasm,
but habitual living beyond vital income infallibly entails bank-
ruptcy in health. The use of alcohol in health seems practi-
cally restricted to purposes of sensuous gratification on the
part of those prepared to pay a round price for this luxury.
The three golden rules here are —never drink before breakfast,
never drink alone, and never drink bad liquor; their observ-
ance may make even the abuse of alcchol tolerable. Serious
objections for a naturalist, at least, are that science, viewed
through a glass, seems distant and uncertain, while the joys of
rum are immediate and unquestionable; and that intemper-
ance, being an attempt to defy certain physical laws, is there-
fore eminently unscientific.
CHAPTER IV.
REGISTRATION AND LABELLING.
§26. A MERE OUTLINE of a field naturalist’s duties would be
inexcusably incomplete without mention of these important
matters ; and, because so much of the business of collecting
must be left to be acquired in the school of experience, I am
the more anxious to give explicit directions whenever, as in
this instance, it is possible to do so.
$27. RECORD YOUR OBSERVATIONS DAILY. In one sense the
specimens themselves are your record—prima facie evidence
of your industry and ability ; and if labelled, as I shall presently
advise, they tell no small part of the whole story. But this is
not enough; indeed, I am not sure that an ably conducted or- .
nithological journal is not the better half of your operations.
Under your editorship of labelling specimens tell what they
know about themselves ; but you can tell much more yourself.
Let us look at a day’s work: —You have shot and skinned so
many birds and laid them away labelled. You have made ob-
servations about them before shooting, and have observed a
number of birds that you did not shoot. You have items of
haunts and habits, abundance or scarcity ; of manners and ac-
tions under special circumstances, as of pairing, nesting, lay-
ing, rearing young; feeding, migrating and what not; various
notes of birds are still ringing in your ears; and finally, you
may have noted the absence of species you saw awhile before,
or had expected to occur in your vicinity. Meteorological and
topographical items, especially when travelling, are often of
great assistance in explaining the occurrences and actions of
birds. Now you know these things, but very likely no one else
does ; and you know them at the time, but you will not recollect
a tithe of them in a few weeks or months, to say nothing of —
years. Don’t trust your memory; it will trip you up; what
(44) :
WRITE OUT YOUR NOTES! 45
is clear now will grow obscure; what is found will be lost.
Write down everything while it is fresh in your mind; write
it out in full—time so spent now will be time saved in the end,
when you offer your researches to the discriminating public.
Don’t be satisfied with a dry-as-dust item; clothe a skeleton
fact, and breathe life into it with thoughts that glow; let the
paper smell of the woods. There’s a pulse in a new fact;
catch the rhythm before it dies. Keep off the quicksands of
mere memorandum—that means something “to be remem-
bered,” which is just what you cannot do. Shun abbrevia-
tions; such keys rust with disuse, and may fail in after times
to unlock the secret that should have been laid bare in the
beginning. Use no signs* intelligible only to yourself; your
note-books may come to be overhauled by others whom you
would not wish to disappoint. Be sparing of sentiment, a
delicate thing, easily degraded to drivel; crude enthusiasm
always hacks instead of hewing. Beware of literary infe-
licities; ‘‘the written word remains,” it may be, after you
have passed away; put down nothing for your friend’s blush,
or your enemy’s sneer; write as if a stranger were looking
over your shoulder.
§28. ORNITHOLOGICAL BOOK-KEEPING may be left to your
discretion and good taste in the details of execution. Each
may consult his preferences for rulings, headings, and blank
forms of all sorts, as well as particular modes of entry. But
my experience has been that the entries it is advisable to
make are too multifarious to be accommodated by the most
ingenious formal ruling; unless, indeed, you make the con-
ventional heading ‘‘ Remarks” disproportionately wide, and
commit to it everything not otherwise provided for. My pref-
erence is decidedly for a plain page. Iuse a strongly bound
blank book, cap size, containing at least six or eight quires of
* This direction does not apply to a regular code of signs, which may be found
extremely convenient. The Messrs. A. & E. Newton have, for example, perfected
a system of symbols that leaves little if anything to be desired. See Am. Nat.
1872, p. 360.
Soh Ae EN tne car a AS CER eH hu HP te a
CT ee ahd eee eae
Pile spanks hi f , ‘ wre, ‘ MA ithe Rein hy
- 4 a a yas atiall LNae
t t \ ce,
46 ‘REGISTRATION AND ,. LABELLING.
good smooth paper; but smaller may be needed for travelling,
even down to a pocket note-book. I would not advise a multi-
plicity of books, splitting up your record into different depart-
ments; let it be journal and register of specimens combined.
(The registry of your own collecting has nothing to do with the
register of your cabinet of birds, which is sure to include a pro-
portion of specimens from other sources, received in exchange,
donated, or purchased. I speak of this beyond.) Ihave found
it convenient to commence a day’s record with a register of the
specimens secured, each entry consisting of a duplicate of the
bird’s label (see beyond), accompanied by any further remarks
I have to offer respecting the particular specimens; then to go
on with the full of my day’s observations, as suggested in the
last paragraph. You thus have a ‘register of collections” in
chronological order, toed off with an unbroken series of num-
bers, checked with the routine label-items, and continually
interspersed with the balance of your ornithological studies.
Since your private field-number is sometimes an indispensable
clew in the authentication of a specimen after it has left your
own hands, never duplicate it. If you are collecting other ob-
jects of natural history besides birds, still have but one series
of numbers; duly enter your mammal, or mineral, or what-
ever it is, in its place, with the number under which it hap-
pens to fall. Be scrupulously accurate with these and all other
Jigures, as of dates and measurements. Always use black ink ;
the ‘‘fancy” writing-fluids, even the useful carmine, fade sooner
than black, while lead pencilling is never safe.
§29. Lapettinc. This should never be neglected. It is
enough to make a sensitive ornithologist shiver to see a speci-
men without the indispensable appendage—a label. I am
sorry to observe that the routine labelling of most collections
is far from being satisfactory. A well-appointed label is some-
thing more than a slip of paper with the bird’s name on it, and
is still defective, if, as is too often the case, only the locality
and collector are added. A complete label records the follow-
ing particulars:—1. Title of the survey, voyage, exploration,
LABELLING. 47
or other expedition (if any), during which the specimen was
collected. 2. Name of the person in charge of the same (and
it may be remarked, that the less he really cares about birds,
and the less he actually interests himself to procure them, the
more particular he will be about this). 38. Title of the insti-
tution or association (if any) under the auspices or patronage
of which the specimen was procured, or for which it is de-
signed. 4. Name of collector; partly to give credit where it
is due, but principally to fix responsibility, and authenticate
the rest of the items. 5. Collector’s number, referring to his
note-book, as just explained ; if the specimen afterwards forms
part of a general collection it usually acquires another num-
ber by new registry ; the collector’s then becoming the ‘ origi-
nal,” as distinguished from the ‘‘ current,” number. 6. ZLocal-
ity, perhaps the most important of all the items. A specimen
of unknown or even uncertain origin is worthless or nearly so ;
while lamentable confusion has only too often arisen in orni-
thological writings from vague or erroneous indications of
locality: I should say that a specimen “not authentic” in this
particular had better have its supposed origin erased and be let
alone. Nor will it do to say simply, for instance, ‘‘ North
America” or even ‘‘United States.” Ornithologists generally
know already the quarter of the globe from which a bird comes ;
the locality should be fixed down to the very spot. If this be
obscure add the name of the nearest place to be found on a
fairly good map, giving distance and direction. 7. Date of
collection — day of the month, and year. Among other reasons
for this may be mentioned the fact that it is often important
to know what season a particular plumage indicates. 8. Sea,
and if possible also age, of the specimen} an item that be-
speaks its own importance. Ornithologists of all countries are
agreed upon certain signs to indicate sex. These are ¢ for
male, 2 for female; the symbols respectively of Mars and
Venus. Immaturity is often denoted by the sign ,; thus, ¢,,
young male. Or, we may write @ ad., 9 yeg., for adult
female, young female, respectively. It is preferable, however,
to use the language of science, not our vernacular, and say ¢
48 - REGISTRATION AND LABELLING.
juv. (juvenis, young). “‘ Nupt.” signifies breeding plumage; Ne
““hornot.” means a bird of the year. 9. Measurements of
length, and of extent of wings; the former can only be ob-
tained approximately, and the latter not at all, from a prepared
specimen. 10. Color of the eyes, and of the bill, feet, or other
naked or soft parts, the tints of which may change in drying.
11. Miscellaneous particulars, such as contents of stomach,
special circumstances of capture, vernacular name, etc. 12.
Scientific name of the bird. ‘This is really the least important
item of all, though generally thought to take precedence. But
a bird labels itself, so to speak; and nature’s label may be
deciphered at any time. In fact, I would enjoin upon the col-
lector not to write out the supposed name of the bird in the
field, unless the species is so well known as to be absolutely
unquestionable. Proper identification, in any case to which
the slightest doubt may attach, can only be made after critical
study in the closet with ample facilities for examination and
comparison. The first eight items, and the twelfth, usually
constitute the face of a label; the rest are commonly written
on the back. Labels should be of light card-board, or very
stiff writing paper; they may be dressed attractively, as fancy
suggests; the general items of a large number of specimens
are best printed; the special ones must of course be written.
Shape is immaterial; small ‘ cards” or ‘tickets ” are preferred
by some, and certainly look very well when neatly appointed ;
but I think on the whole, that a shape answering the idea of a
“slip” rather than a ‘‘ticket” is most eligible. A slip about
three inches long and two-thirds of an inch wide will do very
well for anything, from a hawk toa humming-bird. Something
like the *‘ shipping tags” used by merchants is excellent, par-
ticularly for larger objects. It seems most natural to attach
the string to the left-hand end. The slip should be tied so as
to swing just clear of the bird’s legs, but not loose enough to
dangle several inches, for in that case the labels are continually
tangling with each other when the birds are laid away in
drawers. The following diagrams show the face and back
of the last label I happened to write; they represent the
HOW TO MEASURE A BIRD. 49
size and shape that I find most convenient for general pur-
poses; while the ‘‘legend” illustrates every one of the twelve
items above specified.
Explorations in Dakota. Dr. Elliott Coues, U.S.A.
No. 2655. Butes borealis (Gm.) V. Q juv.
Smithsonian
“MOLJNITSUT
Fort Randall, Mo. R.— Oct. 29, 1872.
Obverse.
23.00 & 53.00 & 17.50.— Eyes yellowish gray; bill horn-blue,
darker at tip; cere wax-yellow; tarsi dull yellowish; claws
| bluish-black. Stomach contained portions of a rabbit; also, a
large tapeworm.
Reverse.
§30. DIRECTIONS FOR MEASUREMENT may be inserted here,
as this matter pertains rightfully to the recording of specimens.
The following instructions are repeated in substance from the
“Key,” p. 55; they apply not only to length and extent, but
to the principal other dimensions, which may be taken at any
time. For large birds a tape-line showing inches and fourths
will do; for smaller ones, a foot-rule graduated for inches and
eighths, or better, decimals to hundredths, must be used; and
for all nice measurements the dividers are indispensable.—
‘‘Length:” Distance between the tip of the bill and end of the
longest tail feather. Lay the bird on its back on the ruler on
a table; take hold of the bill with one hand and of both legs
with the other; pull with reasonable force to get the curve all
out of the neck; hold the bird thus with the tip of the bill
flush with one end of the ruler, and see where the end of the
tail points. Put the tape-line in place of the ruler, in the
same way, for larger birds.— ‘‘Hatent:” Distance between
the tips of the outspread wings. They must be fully out-
stretched, with the bird on its back, crosswise on the ruler, its
bill pointing to your breast. ‘Take hold of right and left meta-
carpus with the thumb and forefinger of your. left and right
MANUAL. 4
30 REGISTRATION AND LABELLING.
hand respectively, stretch with reasonable force, getting one
wing-tip flush with one end of the ruler, and see how much the
other wing-tip reaches. With large birds pull away as hard
as you please, and use the table, floor or side of the room;
mark the points and apply tape-line. — ‘‘ Length of wing:” Dis-
tance from the angle formed at the (carpus) bend of the wing
to the end of the longest primary. Get it with compasses for
small birds. In birds with a convex wing do not lay the tape-
line over the curve, but under the wing in a straight line.
This measurement is the one called, for short, ‘‘ the wing.”—
‘‘Tength of tail:” Distance from the roots of the rectrices to
the end of the longest one. Feel for the pope’s nose; in either
a fresh or dried specimen there is more or less of a palpable
lump into which the tail feathers stick. Guess as near as you
can to the middle of this lump; place the end of the ruler op-
posite the point and see where the tip of the longest tail
feather comes.—‘‘ Length of bill:” Some take the curve of
the upper mandible; others the side of the upper mandible
from the feathers; others the gape, etc. I take the chord of
the culmen. Place one foot of the dividers on the culmen just
where the feathers end; no matter whether the culmen runs
up on the forehead, or the frontal feathers run out on the cul-
men, and no matter whether the culmen is straight or curved.
Then with me the length of the bill is the shortest distance from,
the point just indicated to the tip of the upper mandible;
measure it with the dividers. In a straight bill of course it is
the length of the culmen itself; in a curved bill, however, it
is quite another thing.—‘‘ Length of tarsus:” Distance be-
tween the joint of the tarsus with the leg above, and that with
the first phalanx of the middle toe below. Measure it always
with dividers, and in front of the leg.—‘‘Length of toes:”
Distance in a straight line along the upper surface of a toe
is from the point last indicated to the root of the claw on top.
Length of toe is to be taken without the claw, unless otherwise
specified. —‘*Length of the claws:” Distance in a straight line
from the point last indicated to the tip of the claw.—‘‘Length
of head” is often a convenient dimension for comparison with
‘es Se
g HOW Oe | ee
‘Set one Viobt of ie dividers over the base of the ;
en (determined as above) and allow the other to slip i
posi down over the arch of the occiput; this is the
CHAPTER V.
INSTRUMENTS, MATERIALS AND FIXTURES FOR PREPARING
BIRDSKINS.
§31. Instruments. The only indispensable instrument is a _
pair of scissors or a knife; although practically you want both
of these, a pair of spring forceps and a knitting-needle, or some
~~
WORKING TABLE. Nf}
ceptacle for offal, for this only makes another article to be
cleaned ; lay down a piece of paper for the refuse, and throw
the whole away. A perfectly smooth surface is desirable. I
generally have a large pane of window glass on the table be-
fore me. It will really be found advantageous to have a scale
of inches scratched on the edge of the table; only a small part
of it need be fractionally subdivided ; this replaces the foot-
rule and tape-line, just as the tacks of a dry goods counter
answer for the yardstick. You will find it worth while to rig
some sort of a derrick arrangement, which you can readily
devise, on’one end of the table, to hitch your hook to, if you
hang your birds up to skin them; they should swing clear of
everything. The table should have a large general drawer,
with the little drawer for gypsum and arsenic already men-
tioned, unless these be kept elsewhere. Stuffing may be kept
in a box under the table, and make a nice footstool; or ina
bag slung to the table leg.
§35. Query: Have you cleansed the bird’s plumage? Have
you plugged the mouth, nostrils and vent? Have you meas-
ured the specimen and noted the color of the eyes, bill and
feet, and prepared the labels, and made the entry in the regis-
ter? Have you got all your apparatus within arm’s length?
Then we are ready to proceed.
a
§36. Lay THE BIRD on its back, the bill pointing to your
Take the scalpel like a pen, with edge of blade _
uppermost, and run a straight furrow through the feathers — dan
along the middle line of the belly, from end of the breast bone :
Part the feathers completely, and keep them
right * elbow.
to the anus.
parted. +
Observe a strip of skin either perfectly naked, or only cov-
ered with short down; this is the line for incision. Take
scissors, stick in the pointed blade just over the end of the
breast bone, cut in a straight line thence to and into the anus;
cut extremely shallow. ¢ :
Take the forceps in your left hand, and scalpel in your right,
both held pen-wise, and with the forceps seize and lift up one
of the edges of the cut skin, gently pressing away the belly-
walls with the scalpel-point ; no cutting is required; the skin
may be peeled off without trouble. Skin away till you meet-
an obstacle ; it is the thigh. Lay down the instruments ; with
your left hand take hold of the leg outside at the shank; put
* Reverse this and following directions for position, if you are left-handed.
j The motion is exactly like stroking the right and left sides of a moustache
apart; you would never dress the hairs smoothly away from the middle line, by
poking from ends to root; nor will the feathers stay aside, unless stroked away
from base to tips.
+The skin over the belly is thin as tissue paper in a small bird; the chances are
you will at first cut the walls of the belly too, opening the cavity; this is no great
matter, for a pledget of cotton will keep the bowels in; nevertheless, try to di-
vide skin only. Reason for cutting into anus: this orifice makes a nice natural
termination of the incision, buttonhole-wise, and may keep the end of the cut
from tearing around the root of the tail. Reason for beginning to cut over the
edge of the sternum: the muscular walls of the belly are very thin, and stick so
close to the skin that you may be in danger of attempting to remove them with
the skin, instead of removing the skin from them; whereas, you cannot remove
anything but skin from over the breast bone, so you have a guide at the start.
You can tell skin from belly-walls, by its livid, translucent whitishness instead of
redness. Ff
CHAPTER VI.
HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
A. The regular process.
PROCESS OF SKINNING. 59
your right forefinger under the raised flap of skin, and feel a
bump ; it is the knee; push up the leg till this bump comes into
view; hold it so. Take the scissors in your right hand; tuck
one blade under the concavity of the knee, and sever the joint
at a stroke; then the thigh is left with the rest of the body,
while the rest of the leg is dissevered and hangs only by skin.
Push the leg further up till it has slipped out of its sheath of
skin, like a finger out of a glove, down to the heel-joint. You
have now to clear off the flesh and leave the bone’ there; you
may scrape till this is done, but there is a better way. Stick
the closed points of the scissors in among the muscles just be-
low the head of the bone, then separate the blades just wide
enough to grasp the bone; snip off its head; draw the head to
one side; all the muscles follow, being there attached ; strip
them downward from the bone; the bone is left naked, with
the muscle hanging by a bundle of tendons (‘‘leaders”’) at its
foot; sever these tendons collectively at a stroke.* Draw the
leg bone back into its sheath, and leave it. Repeat all the
foregoing steps on the other side of the bird. If you are
bothered by the skin-flaps settling against the belly-walls, in-
sert a fluff of cotton. Meep the feathers out of the wound ;
cotton and the moustache movement will do it. Next you
must sever the tail from the body, leaving a small ‘‘ pope’s-
nose” for the feathers to stay stuck into. Put the bird in
the hollow of your lightly closed left hand, tail upward, belly
toward you; or, if too large for this, stand it on its breast on
the table in similar position. Throw your left forefinger across
the front of the tail, pressing a little backward; take the scis-
sors, cut the end of the lower bowel free first, than peck away
at bone and muscle with cautious snips, till the tail-stump is
dissevered from the rump, and the tail hangs only by skin.
Now you have the rump-stump protruding naked; the legs
* This whole performance will occupy about three seconds, after practice; and
you may soon discover you can nick off the head of the bone of a small bird with
the thumb-nail.
+ You will soon learn fo do it all at one stroke; but you cannot be too careful at
‘first; you are cutting right down on to the skin over the top of the pope’s-nose,
and if you divide this, the bird will part company with its tail altogether.
60 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. Mee
dangling on either side; the tail hanging loose over the bird’s ~
back between them. Lay down scissors; take up forceps* in —
your left hand; with them seize and hold the stump of the
rump; and with point or handle of scalpel in the other hand,
with finger tips, or with thumb-nail (best), gently press down
on and peel away skin.t No cutting will be required (usually)
till you come to the wings: the skin peels off (usually) as a
easily as an orange rind; as fast as it is loosened, evert it;
that is, make it continually turn itself more and more com- =
pletely inside out. Work thus till you are stopped by the : os
obtruding wings.t You have to sever the wing from the body =
at the shoulder, just as you did the leg at the knee, and leave ‘
it hanging by skin alone. Take your scissors,§ as soon as the
upper arm is exposed, and cut through flesh and bone alike at
one stroke, a little below (outside of) the shoulder-joint. Do
the same with the other wing. As soon as the wings are ~~
severed the body has been skinned to the root of the neck;
the process becomes very easy ; the neck almost slips out of
its sheath of itself; and if you have properly attended to
keeping the feathers out of the wound and to continual ever-
* Or at this stage you may instead stick a hook into a firm part of the rump, and
hang up the bird about the level of your breast; you thus have both hands free to
work with. This is advisable with all birds too large to be readily taken in hand
and will help you at jirst, with any bird. But there is really no use of if with a
small bird,and you may as well learn the best way of working at first as after- Wy
ward. tem
j The idea of the whole movement is exactly like ungloving your hand from the
wrist, by turning the glove inside out to the very finger tips. Some people say,
pull off the skin; I say never pull a bird’s skin under any circumstances: push i
of, always operating at lines of contact of skin with body, never upon areas of
skins already detached.
t The elbows will get in your way before you reach the point of attack, viz., the
shoulder, unless the wings were completely relaxed (as was essential, indeed, if
you measured alar expanse correctly). Think what a difference it would make,
were you skinning a man through a slit in the belly, whether his arms were
stretched above his head, or pinned against his ribs. It is just the same with a —
bird. When properly relaxed the wings are readily pressed away toward the bird’s
head, so that the shoulders are encountered before the elbows.
§ Shears will be required to erash through a large arm-bone. Or, you may with
the scalpel unjoint the shoulder. The joint will be found higher up and deeper
among the breast muscles than you might suppose, unless you are used to carving
fowls at table. With a small bird, you may snap the bone with the thonb aa
tear asunder the muscles in an instant.
PROCESS OF SKINNING. 61
sion of the skin, you now find you have a naked body con-
nected dumb-bell-wise by a naked neck to a cap of reversed
skin into which the head has disappeared, from the inside
of which the legs and wings dangle, and around the edges of
which is a row of plumage and a tail.* Here comes up an im-
portant consideration: the skin, plumage, legs, wings and tail
together weigh something — enough to stretch unduly the skin
of the neck, from the small cylinder of which they are now
suspended; the whole mass must be supported. For small
birds, gather it in the hollow of your left hand, letting the
body swing over the back of your hand out of the way; for
large ones, rest the affair on the table or your lap. To skin
the head, secure the body in the position just indicated, by
confining the neck between your left thumb and forefinger ;
bring the right fingers and thumb to a cone over the head, and
draw it out with gentle force; or, holding the head itself be-
tween the left thumb and forefinger, insert the handle of the
scalpel between the skin and skull, and pry a little, .to enlarge
. the neck-cylinder of skin enough to let the head pass. It will
generally{ slip out of its hood very readily, as far as its
greatest diameter ;§ there it sticks, being in fact pinned by
the ears. Still holding the bird as before, with the point of
the scalpel handled like a nut-picker, or with your thumb-nail,
detach the delicate membrane that lines the ear-opening; do
the same for the other ear. The skull is then shelled out to
the eyes, and will skin no further of its own accord, being
* You find that the little straight cut you made along the belly has somehow be-
come a hole larger than the greatest girth of the bird; be undismayed; it is all
right.
{if you have up to this point properly pushed off the skin instead of pulling it,
there is as yet probably no stretching of any consequence; but in skinning the
head, which comes next, it is almost impossible for a beginner to avoid stretching
to an extent involving great damage to the good looks of askin. Try your utmost,
by delicacy of manipulation at the lines of contact of skin with flesh and only
there, to prevent lengthwise stretching. Crosswise distension is of no conse-
quence—in fact more or less of it is usually required to skin the head, and it tends
to counteract the evils of undue elongation.
{ The special case of head too large for the calibre of the neck is treated beyond.
§ And you will at once find a great apparent increase of amount of free skin in
your hand, owing to release and extension of all that was before shortened in
length by circular distension, in enlargement of the neck-cylinder.
62 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
again attached by a membrane, around the border of the eye-
socket. Holding the scalpel as before, run its edge around an
arc (a semicircle is enough to let you into the orbit) of the
circumference, dissevering the membrane from the bone. Re-
verse the scalpel, and scoop out the eyeball with the end of |
the handle; you bring out the eye betwixt the ball of your
thumb and the handle of the instrument, tearing apart the
optic nerve and conjunctival tissue, but taking care not to open
the eyeball* nor lacerate the eyelids. Do the same with the
other eye. The head isthen skinned far enough; there is no
use of getting quite to the base of the bill. You have now to
get rid of the brain and flesh of the nape and jaws,y and leave
most of the skull in; the cranial dome makes the only perfect
*¢ stuffing” for the skin of the head. This is all done at once
by only four particular cuts. Hold the head between your left
thumb and fingers, the bill pointing towards you, the bird’s
palate facing you; you observe a space bounded behind by the
base of the skull where the neck joins, in front by the floor of
the mouth, on either side by the prongs of the under jaw —
these last especially prominent. Take the scissors; stick one
blade just inside one branch of the lower jaw, thence into the
eye-socket which lies below (the head being upside down)
thence into the brain-box; make a cut parallel with the jaw,
just inside of it, bringing the upper scissor blade perpendicu-
larly downward crashing through the skull just inside of the
angle of the jaw. Duplicate this cut on the other side. Con-
nect the anterior ends of these cuts by a transverse one across
the floor and roof of the mouth. Connect the posterior ends
of the side cuts by one across the back of the skull near its
base —just where the nape-muscle ceases to override the cra-
* An eyeball is much larger than it looks from the outside; if you stick the
instrument straight into the socket, you may punch a hole in the ball t out
the water; a very disagreeable complication. Insinuate the knife-handle close to
the rim of the socket, and hug the wall of the cavity throughout.
t+ You may of course at this stage cut off the neck at the nape, punch a hole in
the base of the skull, dig out the brains, and scrape away at the jaw-muscles till
you are satisfied or tired; an unnecessary job, during which the skin may haye
become dry and shrivelled and hard to turn right side out. The operation de-
scribed in the text may require ten seconds, perhaps.
PROCESS OF SKINNING. 63
nium. You have enclosed and cut out a squarish-shaped mass
of bone and muscle, and on gently pulling the neck (to which
of course it remains attached), the whole affair comes out,
bringing the brain with it, but leaving the entire roof of the
skull supported on a scaffolding of jaw-bone. It only remains
to skin the wings. Seize the arm-stump with fingers or for-
ceps ; the upper arm is readily drawn from its sheath as far as
the elbow; but the wing must be skinned to the wrist (carpus
—‘‘bend of the wing”); yet it will not come out so easily,
because the secondary quills grow to one of the forearm bones
(the ulna) pinning down the skin the whole way along a series
of points. To break up these connections, hold the upper arm
firmly with the left thumb and forefinger, the convexity of the
elbow looking towards you; press the right thumb-nail closely
against the back edge of the ulna, and strip downward, scrap-
ing the bone with the nail the whole way.* If you only hit
the line of adhesion, there is no trouble at all about this. Now
you want to leave in one of the two forearm bones, to preserve
sufficiently the shape of the limb, but to remove the other, with
the upper arm bone and all the flesh. It is done in a moment;
stick the point of the scissors between the heads of the two
forearm bones, and cut the hinder one (ulna) away from the
elbow ; then the other forearm bone (radius), bearing on its
year end the elbow and the whole upper arm, is to be stripped
away from the ulna, taking with it the flesh of the forearm,
and to be cut off at its far end close to the wrist-joint, one
stroke severing the bone and all the tendons that pass over the
wrist to the hand; then the ulna, bare of flesh, is alone left in,
attached at the wrist. Draw gently on the wing from the out-
side till it slips into the natural position whence you everted
it. Do the same for the other wing. This finishes the skin-
ning process. The skin is now to be turned right side out.
Begin any way you please, till you see the point of the bill
reappearing among the feathers; seize it with fingers or for-
ceps as convenient, and use it for gentle traction. But by no
means pull it out by holding on to the rear end of the skin —
* For special case of wing too large to be handled thus, see beyond.
64 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
that would infallibly stretch the skin. Holding the bill, make
a cylinder of your left hand and coax the skin backward with
a sort of milking motion. It will come easily enough, until
the final stage of getting the head back into its skull cap; this
may require some little dexterity; but you cannot fail to get
the head in, if you remember what you did to get it out.
When this is fairly accomplished, you for the first time have
the pleasure of seeing something that looks like a birdskin.
Your next* care is to apply arsenic. Lay the skin on its back,
the opening toward you and wide spread, so the interior is in
view. Run the scalpel-handle into the neck to dilate that cyl-
inder until you can see the skull; find your way to the orifices
of the legs and wings; expose the pope’s-nose; thus you have
not only the general skin surface, but all the points where some
traces of flesh were left, fairly in view. Shovel in arsenic;
dump some down the neck, making sure it reaches and plenti- ~
fully besprinkles the whole skull; drop a little in each wing
hole and leg hole; leave a small pile at the root of the tail;
strew some more over the skin at large. The simple rule is,
put in as much arsenic as will stick anywhere. Then close
the opening, and shake up the skin; move the head about
by the bill; rustle the wings and move the legs; this distrib-
utes the poison thoroughly. If you have got in more than is
necessary, as you may judge by seeing it piled up dry, any-
where, hold the skin with the opening downward over the poi-
son-drawer, and give it a flip and let the superfluous powder fall
out. Now for the ‘‘make up,’ upon which the beauty of the
preparation depends. First get the empty skin into good
shape. Let it lie on its back; draw it straight out to its nat-
ural length. See that the skin of the head fits snugly; that
the eyes, ears and jaws are in place. Expand the wings to
make sure that the bone is in place, and fold them so that the
quills override each other naturally ; set the tail feathers shin-
*Some direct the poisoning to be done while the.skin is still wrong side out;
and it may be very thoroughly effected at that stage. I wait, because the arsenic
generally strews over the table in the operation of reversing the skin, if you use
as much as I think advisable; and it is better to have a cavity to put it into than a
surface to strew it on.
STUFFING. ! 65
glewise also; draw down the legs and leave them straddling
wide apart. Give the plumage a preliminary dressing ; if the
skin is free from kinks and creases, the feathers come naturally
into place; particular ones that may be awry should be set
right, as may be generally done by stroking, or by lifting them.
free repeatedly, and letting them fall; if any (through care-
lessness) remain turned into the opening, they should be care-
fully picked out. Remove all traces of gypsum or arsenic
with the feather duster. The stuffing is to be put in through
the opening in the belly; the art is to get in just enough, in
the right places. It would never do to push in pellets of cot-
ton, as you would stuff a pillew-case, till the skin is filled up ;
no subsequent skill in setting could remove the distortion that
would result. It takes just fowr* pieces of stuffing — one for
each eye, one for the neck, and one for the body; while it re-
quires rather less than half as much stuffing as an inexperienced
person might suppose. ‘Take a shred of cotton that will make a
tight ball as large as the bird’s eye; stick it on the end of your
knitting needle, and by twirling the needle whilst the cotton is
confined in your finger tips, you make a neat ball. Introduce
this through the belly-opening, into the eyesocket ; if you have
cut away skull enough, as already directed, it will go right in;
disengage the needle with ‘a reverse twirl, and withdraw it.
Take hold of the bill with one hand, and with the forceps in
the other, dress the eyelids neatly and naturally over the elas-
tic substance within. Repeat for the other eye. Take next a
shred of cotton that will roll into a firm cylinder rather less
than the size of the bird’s neck. Roll it on the needle much
* For any ordinary bird up to the size of acrow. It is often directed that the
leg bones and wing bones be wrapped with cotton or tow. I should not think of
putting anything around the wing bones of any bird up to the size of an eagle,
swan or pelican. Examination of a skinned wing will show how extremely com-
pact it is, except just at the shoulder. What you remove will never make any dif-
ference from the outside, while you would almost inevitably get in too much, not
of the right shape, and make an awkward bulging no art would remedy; I say,
then, leave the wings of all but the largest birds empty, and put in very little under
any circumstances. As for legs, the whole host of small perching birds need no
wrapping whatever; depend upon it you will make a nicer skin without wrapping.
But large birds and those with very muscular or otherwise prominent legs must
have the removal of flesh compensated for. Itreat of these cases beyond.
MANUAL. 5
66 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
as you did the eyeball, introduce it in the same way, and ram
it firmly into the base of the skull; disengage the needle by
twisting it the other way, and withdraw it, taking care not to
dislodge the cotton neck. If now you peep into the skin you
will see the end of this artificial neck; push it up against the
skin of the breast—it must not lie down on the back between
the shoulders.* The body-wad comes next; you want to imi-
tate the size and shape of the bird’s trunk. Take a mass of
cotton you think will be enough, and take about half of this ;
that will be plenty (cotton is very elastic). It should make a
tolerably firm ball, rather egg-shaped, swelling at the breast,
smaller behind. If you simply squeeze up the cotton, it will
not stay compressed ; it requires a motion something like that
which bakers employ to knead dough into the shape of a loaf.
Keep tucking over the borders of the cotton till the desired
shape and firmness are attained. Insert the ball between the
blades of the forceps in such way that the instruments con-
fine the folded-over edges, and with a wriggling motion insin-
uate it aright into the body. Before relaxing the forceps, put
your thumb and forefinger in the bird’s armpits, and pinch the
shoulders together till they almost touch; this is to make sure
that there is no stuffing between the shoulders—the whole
mass lying. breastwards. Loosen the forceps and withdraw
them. If the ball is rightly made and tucked in, the elasticity
of the cotton will chiefly expend itself in pufting out the breast,
which is just what is wanted. Be careful not to push the body
too far in; if it impacts against the skin of the neck, this will
infallibly stretch, driving the shoulders apart, and no art will
remedy the unsightly gape resulting. You see I dwell on this
* Although a bird’s neck is really, of course, in direct continuation of the back-
bone, yet the natural sigmoid curve of the neck is such that it virtually takes de-
parture rather from the breast, its lower curve being received between the prongs
of the merrythought. This is what we must imitate instead of the true anatomy.
If you let the end of the neck lie between the shoulders, it will infallibly press
them apart, so that the interscapular plumage cannot shingle over the scapular as
it should, and a gaping place, showing down or even naked skin, will result.
Likewise if the neck be made foo large (the chances are that way, at first), the
same result follows. These seemingly trifling points are very important indeed;
I never made a decent birdskin till I learned to get the neck small enough, and to
shove the end of it against the breast. :
SETTING THE SKIN. 67
matter of the shoulders; the whole knack of stuffing correctly
focusses just over the shoulders. If you find you have made
the body too large, pull it out and make a smaller one; if it
fits nicely about the shoulders but is too long to go in, or
too puffy over the belly, let it stay, and pick away shreds at
the open end till the redundancy is remedied. Your bird is
now stuffed. Close the opening by bringing the edges of the
original cut together. There is no use of sewing* up the cut,
for a small bird; if the stuffing is correct, the feathers will
hide the opening, and if they do not, it isno matter. You are
not making an object for a show case, but for a naturalist’s
cabinet. Supposing you to have been so far successful, little
remains to be done; the skin already looks very much like a
dead bird; you have only to give the finishing touches, and
“set” it. Fixing the wings nicely is a great point. Fold
each wing closely; see that the carpal bend is well defined,
that the coverts show their several oblique rows perfectly, that
all the quills override each other like shingles. ‘luck the
folded wings close up to the body —rather on the bird’s back
than along its sides; see that the wing tips meet over the tail
(under the tail as the bird lies on its back); let the carpal
angle nestle in the plumage ; have the shoulders close together,
so-+that the interscapulars shingle over the scapulars. If the
wing be pressed in too tightly, the scapulars will rise up on
end; there must be neither furrow nor ridge about the inser-
tion of the wings ; every thing must lie perfectly smooth. At
this stage of the process, I generally lift up the skin gingerly,
and let it slip head first through one hand after the other, press-
ing here or there to correct a deformity, or uniformly, to make
the whole skin compact. The wings set, next bring the legs
together, so that the bones within the skin lie parallel with
each other; bend the heel-joint a little, to let the tarsi cross
each other about their middle; lay them sidewise on the tail,
* But sew it up, if you please, though you may be perhaps giving the man who
subsequently mounts the bird the trouble of ripping out the stitches. Stitches
however, will not come amiss with alarge bird. I generally, in such cases, pin the
edges of the cut in one or more places.
68 | HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
so that the naturally flexed toes lie flat, all the claws mutually
facing each other. See that the neck is perfectly straight, and,
if anything, shortened rather than outstretched ; have the crown
of the head flat on the table, the bill pointing straight forward,*
the mandibles shut tightly.; Never attempt any ‘“‘ fancy.” atti-
tudes with a birdskin; the simpler and more compactly it is
made up the better.{ Finally, I say, hang over your bird (if
you have time); dress better the feathers that were well
dressed before; perfect every curve; finish caressingly, and
put it away tenderly, as you hope to be shriven yourself
when the time comes.
There are several ways of laying a birdskin. A common,
easy and slovenly way is to thrust it head first into a paper cone ;
but it makes a hollow-chested, pot-bellied object unpleasant to
see, and renders your nice work on the make-up futile. A
paper cylinder, corresponding in calibre to the greatest girth
of the birdskin, binds the wings well, and makes a good ordi-
nary specimen— perhaps better than the average. Remarking
that there are some detestable practices, such as hanging up
a bird by a string through the nose (methods only to be men-
* Exceptions. Woodpeckers, ducks and some other birds treated of in §39, are
best set with the head flat on one side, the bill pointing obliquely to the right or
left; owls, with the bill pointing straight up in the air as the bird lies on its back.
tif the mandibles gape, run a thread through the nostrils and tie it tightly under
the bill. Or, since this injures the nostrils (and we frequently want to examine
their structure) stick a pin in under the bill close to the gonys, drawing it obliquely
into the palate. Sometimes the skin of the throat looks sunken betwixt the sides
of the jaw. A mere shred of cotton introduced with forceps through the mouth
will obviate this.
t Don’t cock up the head, trying to impart a knowing air—it cannot be done, and
only makes the poor bird look ridiculous. Don’t lay the skin on one side, with the
legs in perching position, and don’t spread the wings—the bird will never perch nor
fly again, and the suggestion is unartistic because incongruous. The only permis-
sible departure from the rule of severe simplicity is when some special ornament,
as a fine crest, may be naturally displayed, or some hidden markings are desired to
be brought out, or a shape of tail or wing to be perpetuated; but in all such cases
the “flowery” inclination should be sparingly and judiciously indulged. It is,
however, frequently desirable to give some special set to hide a defect, as loss of
plumage, etc.; this may often be accomplished very cunningly, with excellent re-
sult. No rules for this can be laid down, since the details vary in every case; buf
in general the weak spot may be hidden by contracting the skin of the place and
then setting the bird in an attitude that naturally corresponds, thus making a vir-_
tue of necessity.
a ee
DRYING AND PACKING SKINS. 69
tioned to be condemned), I will tell you the easiest and best
way, by which the most elegant and tasteful results are almost
necessarily secured. The skins are simply laid away in cotton,
just as they come from your hands. Take a considerable wad
of cotton, make a “bed” of it, lay the specimen in, and tuck
it up nicely around the edges. In effect, I generally take a
thin sheet of cotton wadding, the sizing of which confers some
textile consistency, and wrap the bird completely but lightly in
it. By loosening or tightening a trifle here or there, laying
down a‘‘ pillow” or other special slight pressure, the most deli-
cate contour-lines may be preserved with perfect fidelity. Un-
necessary pother is sometimes made about drying skins; the
fact being that under ordinary circumstances they could not be
kept from drying perfectly ; and they dry in exactly the shape
they are set, if not accidentally pressed upon. At sea, how-
ever, or during unusually protracted wet weather, they of
course dry slowly, and may require some attention to prevent
mildew, and even souring, especially in the cases of very large,
thick-skinned or greasy specimens. ‘Thorough poisoning, and
drying by a fire, or placing in the sun, will always answer.
Very close packing retards drying. When travelling or oper-
ating under other circumstances requiring economy of space,
you must not expect to turn out your collection in elegant
order. Perfection of contour-lines can only be secured by put-
ting each specimen away by itself; undue pressure is always
liable to produce unhappily ouwtré configuration of a skin.
Trays in a packing box are of great service in limiting possi-
bilities of pressure; they should be shallow; for one four
inches deep will take a well stuffed hen hawk, for example, or
accommodate 3—6 sparrows a-top of each other. It is well to
sort out your specimens somewhat according to size, to keep
heavy ones off little ones; though the chinks around the
former may usually be economized with advantage by packing
In the less valuable or the less’ neatly prepared of the latter.
When limited to a travelling chest, I generally pass in the
skins as fast as made, packing them ‘‘solid” in one sense, yet
hunting up a nice resting place for each. If each rests in its
70 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
own cotton coffin, it is astonishing how close they may be laid
without harm; and how many will go in a given space —a tray
30X18X4 inches will easily hold three hundred and fifty birds
six inches long. As a tray fills up, the drier ones first put in
may be submitted to more pressure. A skin originally dried
in good shape may subsequently be pressed perfectly flat with-
out material injury ; the only thing to avoid being contortion.
The whole knack of packing birds corresponds to that of filling
a trunk solidly full of clothes—as may easily be done without
damage to an immaculate shirt-front. Finally, I would say,
never put away a bird unlabelled, not even for an hour; you
may forget it, or die. Never tie a label to a bird’s bill, wing
or tail; tie it securely to both legs where they cross, and it will
be just half as liable to become detached as if tied to one leg
only. Never paste a label, or even a number, on a bird’s plu-
mage. Never put in glass eyes before mounting. Never paint
or varnish a bird’s billor feet. Never replace missing plumage
of one bird with the feathers of another—no, not even if the
birds came out of the same nest.
B. Special Processes; Complications and Accidents.
§37. Tue foregoing method of procedure is a routine prac-
tice applicable to three-fourths if not nine-tenths of the ‘‘ gen-
eral run” of birds. But there are several cases requiring a
modification of this programme; while several circumstances
may tend to embarrass your operations. The principal special
conditions may therefore be separately treated to your advan-
tage.
§38. Size. Other things being equal, a large bird is more
difficult to prepare than a small one. In one case, you only
need a certain delicacy of touch, easily acquired and soon be-
coming mechanical; in the other, demand on your strength
may be made, till your muscles ache. It takes longer, too ;*
* The reader may be curious to know something of the statistics on this score
—how long it ought to take him to prepare an ordinary skin. He can scarcely
imagine, from his first tedious operations, how expert he may become, not only in
4
i
q
SPECIAL PROCESSES. all
I could put away a dozen sparrows in the time I should spend
over an eagle, and I would rather undertake a hundred hum-
ming birds than one ostrich. For “large” birds, say anything
from a hen hawk upward, various special manipulations I have
directed may be foregone, while however you observe their gen-
eral drift and intent. You may open the bird as directed, or,
turning it tail to you, cut with a knife.* Forceps are rarely
required —there is not much that is too small to be taken in
hand. As soon as the tail is divided, hang up the bird by the
rump, so you will have both hands free. Let it swing clear of
the wall or table, at any height most convenient. The steel
hooks of a dissecting case are not always large enough; use a
stout fish-hook with the barb filed off. Work with your nails,
assisted by the scalpel if necessary. I know of no bird, and
I think there is none in this country at least, the skin of which
is so internally adherent by fibrous or muscular tissue as to
require actual dissecting throughout; a pelican comes perhaps
as near this as any; but in many cases the knife may be con-
stantly employed with advantage. Use it with long clean
beauty of result, but in rapidity of execution. Ihave seen taxidermists make good
small skins at the rate of ten an hour; but this is extraordinary. The quickest
work Iever did myself was eight an hour, or an average of seven and ahalf minutes
apiece, and fairly good skins. But I picked my birds, all small ones, well shot,
labelled, measured and plugged beforehand, so that the rate of work was excep-
tional besides including only the actual manipulations from first cut to laying away.
No one averages eight birds an hour, even excluding the necessary preliminaries
of cleansing, plugging, etc. Four birds an hour, everything included, is good
work. A very eminent ornithologist of this country, and an expert taxidermist,
once laid a whimsical wager, that he would skin and stuff a bird before a certain
friend of his could pick all the feathers off a specimen of the same kind, I forget
the time, but he won, and his friend supped that night on some very tough game!
* Certain among larger birds are often opened elsewhere than along the belly —
with what advantage I cannot say from my own experience. Various water birds,
such as loons, grebes, auks, gulls and ducks (in fact any swimming bird with
dense under plumage) may be opened along the side by a cut under the wings from
the shoulder over the hip to the rump; the cut is completely hidden by the make-up,
and the plumage is never ruffled. ButI see no necessity for this; for, asa rule,
the belly opening can, if desired, be completely effaced with due care; though a
very greasy bird with white under plumage generally stains where opened, in spite
of every precaution. Such birds as loons, grebes, cormorants and penguins are
often opened by a cut across the fundament from one leg to the other; their con-
formation in fact suggests and favors this operation. I have often seen water
birds slit down the back; but I consider it very poor practice.
42 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
sweeping strokes, hugging the skin rather than the body. The
knee and shoulder commonly require disarticulation, unless
you use bone-nippers or strong shears; the four cuts of the
skull may presuppose avery able-bodied instrument —even a
chisel. ‘The wings will give you the most trouble, and they
require a special process ; for you cannot readily break up the
adhesions of the secondary quills to the ulna, nor is it desi-
rable that very large feathers should be deprived of this natural
‘support. Hammer or nip off the great head of the upper arm-
bone, just below the insertion of the breast muscles; clean
the rest of that bone and leaveitin. Tie a string around it
(what sailors call ‘‘two half hitches” gives a secure hold on
the bony cylinder), and tie it to the other humerus, inside the
skin, so that the two bones shall be rather less than their natu-
ral distance apart. After the skin is brought right side out,
attack the wings thus: spread the wing under side uppermost,
and secure it on the table by driving a tack or brad through
the wrist-joint ; this fixes the far end, while the weight of the
skin steadies the other. Raise a whole layer of the under
wing coverts, and make a cut in the skin thus exposed, from
elbow to wrist, in the middle line between the two forearm
bones. Raise the flaps of skin, and all the muscle is laid bare ;
it is to be removed. ‘This is best done by lifting each muscle
from its bed separately, slipping the handle of the scalpel
under the individual bellies ; there is little if any bony attach-
ment except at each end, and this is readily severed. Strew
in arsenic; a little cotton may be used to fill the bed of mus-
cle removed from a very large bird; bring the flaps of skin
together, and smooth down the coverts ; you need not be par-
ticular to sew up the cut, for the coverts will hide the opening ;
in fact, the operation does not show at all after the make-
up. Stuffing of large birds is not commonly done with only
the four pieces already directed. The eyeballs, and usually
the neck-cylinder, go in as before; the body may be filled any
way you please, provided you do not put in too much stuffing
nor get any between the shoulders. All large birds had better
have the leg bones wrapped to nearly natural size. Observe
. LARGE HEADED BIRDS. 73
that the leg-muscles do not form a cylinder, but a cone; let
the wrapping taper naturally from top to bottom. Attention
to this point is necessary for all large or medium sized birds
with naturally prominent legs. The large finely feathered legs
of a hawk, for example, ought to be well displayed ; with these
birds, and also with rails, etc., moreover, imitate the bulge of
the thigh with a special wad laid inside the skin. Large birds
commonly require also a special wad introduced by the mouth,
to make the swell of the throat; this wad should be rather
fluffy than firm. As a rule do not fill out large birds to their
natural dimensions; they take up too much room. Let the
head, neck and legs be accurately prepared, but leave the main
cavity one-third if not one-half empty; no more is required
than will fairly smooth out creases in the skin. Reduce bulk
rather by flattening out than by general. compression. Use
tow instead of cotton; and if at all short of tow, economize
with paper, hay, etc., at least for the deeper portions of the
main stuffing. Large birds may be “‘set” in a great quantity
of tow; wrapped in paper, much like any other parcel; or
simply left to dry on the table, the wings being only supported
by cushioning or other suitable means.
§39. SHapr. Some special configurations have been noticed
in the last paragraph, prematurely perhaps, but leading di-
rectly up to further considerations respecting shape of certain
birds as-a modifying element in the process of preparation.
As .for skinning, there is one extremely important matter.
Most ducks, many woodpeckers, flamingoes, and doubtless
some others, with which I am not familiar, cannot be skinned
in the usual way, because the head is too large for the calibre
of the neck and cannot be drawn through. In such cases, skin
as usual to the base of the skull, cut off the head there (in-
side the skin of course), and operate upon it, after turning the
skin right side out, as follows:—Part the feathers carefully”
in a straight line down the back of the skull, make a cut
through the skin, just long enough to permit the head to pass,
draw out the skull through this opening, and dress it as already
74 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
directed. Return it, draw the edges of the cut nicely to-
gether, and sew up the opening with a great many fine stitches.
Simple as it may appear, this process is often embarrassing,
for the cut has an unhappy tendency to wander about the neck,
enlarging itself even under the most careful manipulation ;
while the feathers of the parts are usually so short, that it is
difficult to efface all traces of the operation. I consider it
very disagreeable ; but for ducks I know of no alternative. I
have however found out a way to avoid it with woodpeckers,
excepting the very largest: it is this:— Before skinning, part
the eyelids, and plunge the scalpel right into the eyeballs;
seize the cut edge of the ball with the forceps, and pull the
eye right out. It may be dextrously done without spilling the
eye water on the plumage; but, for fear of this. previously put
a little pile of plaster on the spot. Throw arsenic into the
socket, and then fill it with cotton poked in between the lids.
The eyes are thus disposed of. Then, in skinning, when you
come to the head, dissever it from the neck and work the skull
as far out as you can; it may be sufliciently exposed, in all
cases, for you to gouge out the base of the skull with the scis-
sors, and get at the brain to remove it. Apply an extra large
dose of arsenic, and you will never hear from what jaw-muscle
has been left in. In all these cases, as already remarked, the
head is preferably set lying on one side, with the bill pointing
obliquely to the right or left. Certain birds require a special
mode of setting; these are, birds with very long legs or neck,
or both, as swans, geese, pelicans, cormorants, snakebirds,
loons, and especially cranes, herons, ibises and flamingoes.
Long legs should be doubled completely on themselves by
bending at the heel-joint, and either tucked under the wings,
or laid on the under surface; the chief point is to see that
the toes lie flat, so that the claws do not stick up, to catch
in things or get broken off. A long neck should be carefully
folded; not at a sharp angle with a crease in the skin, but
with a short curve, and brought round either to the side of
the- bird or on its breast, as may seem most convenient. The °
object is to make a ‘“‘bale” of the skin as nearly as may be,
THIN SKINS, ETC.—FAT. 75
and when it is properly effected it is surprising what little space
a crane, for instance, occupies. But it is rarely, if ever, admis-
sible to bend a tail back on the body however inconveniently
long it may be. Special dilations of skin, like the pouch of a
pelican, or the air sacs of a prairie-hen, may be moderately
displayed.
§40. Tun skin. Loose prumace. It is astonishing how
much resistance is offered by the thin skin of the smallest bird.
Though no thicker than tissue paper, it is not very liable to tear
if deftly handled; yet a rent once started often enlarges to an
embarrassing extent if the skin be stretched in the least.
Accidental rents, and enlargements of shot-holes, should be
neatly sewn up, if occurring in an exposed place; but in most
cases the plumage may be set to hide the openings. The tro-
gons are said to have remarkably thin and delicate skin; I
have never handled one in the flesh. Among our birds, the
cardinal grosbeak has, I think, about the tenderest skin. The
obvious indication in all such cases is simply a little extra
delicacy of manipulation. In skinning most birds, you should
not loose more than a feather or two, excepting those loos-
ened by the shot. Pigeons are peculiar, among our birds,
for the very loose insertion of their plumage; you will have
to be particularly careful with them and in spite of all your
precautions a good many feathers will probably drop. Strip-
ping down the secondary quills from the forearm, in the manner
already indicated, will so almost invariably set these feathers
free from the skin that I recommend you not to attempt it,
but to dress the wings as prescribed for large birds.
§41. Fatness. Fat is a substance abhorred of all dissec-
tors; always in the way, embarrassing operations and obscur-
ing observations, while it is seldom worth examination after
its structure has once been ascertained. It is particularly
obnoxious to the taxidermist, since it is liable to soil the plu-
mage during skinning, and also to soak into the feathers after-
wards; and greasy birdskins are never pleasing objects. A
76 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
few birds never seem to have any fat; some, like petrels, are
always oily ; at times, especially in the indolent autumn season,
when birds have little to do but feed, the great majority ac-
quire an embonpoint doubtless to their own satisfaction, but to
the taxidermist’s discomfort. In all such cases, gypsum should
be lavishly employed. Strew plaster plentifully from the first
cut, all through the operation ; dip your fingers in it frequently,
as well.as your instruments. The invaluable absorbent will
deal with most of the ‘‘ running” fat. When the skin is com-
pletely reversed remove as much of the solid fat as possible ;
it is generally found occupying the areolar tissue of particular
definite tracts, and most of it may usually be peeled or flaked
off in considerable masses. Since the soft and oozy state of
most birds’ fat at ordinary temperatures may be much im-
proved by cold, it will repay you to leave your birds on ice for
a while before skinning, if you have the means and time to
do so; the fat will become quite firm. There is a device for
preventing or at any rate lessening the soiling of the plumage
so apt to occur along the line of your incision; it is invaluable
in all cases of white plumage. Take a strip of cloth of greater
width than the length of the feathers, long enough to go up
one side of the cut and down the other. Sew this closely to
the skin all around the cut, and it will form an apron to guard
the plumage. You will too frequently find that a bird, pre-
pared without soiling and laid away apparently safe, after-
wards grows greasy; if the plumage is white, it soon becomes
worse than ever by showing dust that ‘the grease catches.
Perhaps the majority of such birds in our museums show the
dirty streak along the belly. The reason is, that the grease
has oozed out along the cut and wherever else the skin has
been broken, and infiltrated the plumage, being drawn up ap-
parently by capillary attraction, just as a lampwick “sucks
up” oil. Sometimes, without obviously soiling the plumage,
the grease will run along the thread that ties the label, and
make a uniformly transparent piece of ‘‘oil-paper.” I have
no remedy to offer for this gradual infiltration of the plumage.
It will not wash out, even with soap and water. Possibly
BLOODSTAINS, ETC. 717
careful and persistent treatment with an ether might be effec-
tive, but I am not prepared to say it would be. Removal of
all fat that can be got off during skinning with a liberal use
of plaster will in a measure prevent a difficulty that remains
incurable.
$42. Broopstains, Etc. In the nature of the case, this com-
plication is of continual occurrence; fortunately it is easier
dealt with than greasiness. Much may be done, in the field,
to prevent bloodying of the plumage, as already said. A little
blood does not show much on a dark plumage; but it is of
course conspicuous on light or white feathers. Dried blood
may often be scraped off, in imitation of the natural process
by which a bird cleanses its plumage with the bill; or be pul-
verized by gently twiddling the feathers between the fingers,
and then blown off. But feathers may by due care be washed
almost as readily as clothing; and we must ordinarily resort
to this to remove all traces of blood, especially from white
surfaces. If properly dried they do not show the operation.
With a soft rag or pledget of cotton dipped in warm water
bathe the place assiduously, pressing down pretty hard, only
taking care to stroke the feathers the right way, so as not to
crumple them, until the red color disappears; then you have
simply a wet place to deal with. Press gypsum on the spot;
it will cake; flake it off and apply more, till it will no longer
stick. Then raise the feathers on a knife blade and sprinkle
gypsum in among them; pat it down and shake it up,
wrestling with the spot till the moisture is entirely absorbed.
Two other fluids of the body will give you occasional annoy-
ance—the juices of the alimentary canal, and the eye-water.
Escape of the former by mouth, nostrils or vent is preventable
by plugging these orifices, and its occurrence is inexcusable.
But shot often lacerates the gullet, crop and bowels, and though
nothing may flow at the time, subsequent jolting or pressure
in the game bag causes the escape of fluids: a seemingly safe
specimen may be unwrapped to show the whole belly plumage
a sodden brown mass. Such accidents should be treated pre-
18 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
cisely like bloodstains; but it is to be remarked that these
stains are not seldom indelible, traces usually persisting in
white plumage at least in spite of our best endeavors. Eye-
water, insignificant as it may appear, is often a great annoy-
ance, this liquor is slightly glairy, or rather glassy, and puts a
sort of sizing on the plumage, difficult to efface —the more so
since the soiling necessarily occurs in a conspicuous place,
where the plumage is too scanty and delicate to bear much
handling. It frequently happens that a lacerated eyeball, by
the elasticity of the coats, or adhesion of the lids, retains its
fluid till this is pressed out in manipulating the parts; and
recollecting how the head lies buried in plumage at that stage
of the process, it will be seen that not only the head, but much
of the neck and eyen the breast may become wetted. If the
parts are extensively soaked, the specimen is almost irrepa-
rably damaged, if not ruined. Plaster will absorb the moist-
ure, but much of the sizing may be retained on the plumage ;
therefore, though the place seems simply wet, it should be thor-
oughly washed with water before the gypsum is applied. I
always endeayor to prevent the accident; if I notice a lacer-
ated eyeball, I extract it before skinning, in the manner de-
scribed for woodpeckers. Miscellaneous stains, from the juices
of plants, etc., may be received; all such are treated on gen-
eral principles. Blood on the beak and feet of rapacious birds,
mud on the bill and legs of waders, etc., etc., may be washed
off without the slightest difficulty. A land bird that has fallen
in the water should be recovered as soon as possible, picked
up by the bill, and shaken; most of the water will run off, un-
less the plumage is completely soaked. It should be allowed
to dry just as it is, without touching the plumage, before being
wrapped and bagged. ‘If a bird fall in soft mud, the dirt
should be scraped or snapped off as far as this can be done
without plastering the feathers down, and the rest allowed to
dry ; it may afterward be rubbed fine and dusted off, when no
harm will ensue, except to white feathers which may require
washing.
MUTILATION. 19
$43. Murmarron. You will often be troubled, early in your
practice, with broken legs and wings, and various lacerations ;
but the injury must be very severe (such as the carrying away
of a limb, or blowing off the whole top of a head) that can-
not be in great measure remedied by care and skill. Sup-
pose a little bird, shot through the neck or small of the back,
comes apart while being skinned ; you have only to remove the
hinder portion, be that much or little, and go on with the rest
as if it were the whole. If the leg bone of a small bird be
broken near the heel, let it come away altogether—it will
make little if any difference. In case of the same accident to
a large bird that ought to have the légs wrapped, whittle out
a peg and stick it in the hollow stump of the bone; if there
is no stump left file a piece of stout wire to a point and stick
it into the heel joint. If the forearm bone that you usually
leave in a small bird is broken, remove it and leave the other
in; if both are broken, do not clean the wings so thoroughly
that they become detached; an extra pinch of arsenic will
condone the omission. In a large bird, if both bones of the
forearm are broken, splint them with a bit of wood laid in
between so that one end hitches at the elbow, the other at the
wrist. A humerus may be replaced like a leg bone, but this is
rarely required. If the skull be smashed, save the pieces, and
leave them if you can; if not, imitate the arch of the head
with a firm cotton-ball. A broken tarsus is readily splinted
with a pin thrust up through the sole of the foot: if too large
for this, use a pointed piece of wire. There is no mending a
bill when part of it is shot away, for I think the replacing of
part by putty, stucco, etc., inadmissible; but if it be only frac-
tured, the pieces may usually be retained in place by winding
with thread, or with a touch of glue or mucilage. It is singu-
lar, by the way, what unsightliness results from a very trifling
injury to the bill—much, I suppose, as a boil on a person’s
nose is peculiarly deplorable. I have already hinted how art-
fully various weak places in a skin, due to mutilation or loss
of plumage, may be hidden.
80 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
§44. Decomeosition. It might seem unnecessary to speak
of what may be smelled out so readily as animal putrescence,
but there are some useful points to be learned in this connec-
tion, besides the important sanitary precautions that are to be
deduced. Immediately after death the various fluids of the
body begin to ‘‘settle” (so to speak) and shortly after, the
muscular system as a rule becomes fixed in what is technically
called rigor mortis. This stiffening usually occurs as the ani-
mal heat dies away; but its onset, and especially its duration,
is very variable, according to circumstances, such as cause of
death ; although in most cases of sudden violent death of an
animal in previous good health, it seems to depend chiefly upon
temperature, being transient and imperfect, or altogether want-
ing in hot weather. As it passes off, the whole system re-
laxes, and the body soon becomes as ‘“‘limp” as at the moment
of death. This is the period immediately preceding decompo-
sition —in-fact, it may be considered as the stage of incipient
putridity ; it is very brief in warm weather; and it should be
seized as the last opportunity of preparing a bird without
inconvenience and even danger. If not skinned at once,
putrescence becomes established ; it is indicated by the efflu-
vim (at the outset “sour,” but rapidly acquiring a variety of
disgusting odors); by the distension of the abdomen with
gaseous products of decomposition; by a loosening of the
cuticle, and consequently of the feathers; and by other signs.
If you part the feathers of a bad-smelling bird’s belly to
find the skin swollen and livid or greenish, while the feathers
come off at a touch, the bird is too far gone to be recovered
without trouble and risk that no ordinary specimen warrants.
It is a singular fact that this early putrescence is more
poisonous than utter rottenness; as physicians are aware, a
post-mortem examination at this stage, or even before it, in-
volves more risk than their ordinary dissecting-room expe-
rience. It seems that both natural and pathological poisons
lose their early virulence by resolution into other products
of decay. The obvious deduction from all this is to skin
your birds soon enough. Some say they are best skinned per-
DECOMPOSITION. 81 -
fectly fresh, but I see no reason for this; when I have time to
choose, I take the period of rigidity as being preferable on the
whole; for the fluids have then “ settled,” and the limbs are
readily relaxed by manipulation. If you have a large bag to
dispose of, and are pressed for time, set them in the coolest
place you can find, preferably on ice; a slight lowerjng of
temperature may make a decided difference. Disembowelling,
which may be accomplished in a moment, will materially retard
decomposition. Injections of creosote or dilute carbolic acid
will arrest decay for a time, for an indefinitely long period if
a large quantity of these antiseptics be employed. When it
becomes desirable (it can never be necessary) to skin a putres-
cent bird, great care must be exercised not only to accomplish
the operation, but to avoid danger. I must not, however, un-
consciously lead you to exaggerate the risk, and will add that
I think it often overrated. I have probably skinned birds as
‘‘ camey” as any one has, and repeatedly, without being con-
scious of any ill effects. J am sure that no poison, ordinarily
generated by decomposition of a body healthy at death, can
compare in virulence with that commonly resulting after death
by many diseases. I also believe that the gaseous products,
however offensive to the smell, are innocuous as arule. The
danger practically narrows down to the absorption of fluids
through an abraded surface; the poison is rarely taken in by
natural pores of healthy skin, if it remain in contact but a
short time. Cuts and scratches may be closed with a film of
collodion, or covered with isinglass or court plaster, or pro-
tected by rubber cots on the fingers. The hands should, of
course, be washed with particular care immediately after the
operation, and the nails scrupulously dressed. Having never
been poisoned (to my knowledge), I cannot give the symptoms
from personal experience ; but I will quote from Mr. Maynard.
‘‘In a few days numerous pimples, which are exceedingly
painful, appear upon the skin of the face and other parts of
the person and, upon those parts where there is chafing or rub-
bing, become large and deep sores. There is a general languor
and, if badly poisoned, complete prostration results ; the slight-
MANUAL. 6F
82 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
est scratch becomes a festering sore. Once poisoned in this
manner (and I speak from experience), one is never afterward
able to skin any animal that has become in the least putrid,
without experiencing some of the symptoms above described.
Even birds that you handled before with impunity, you cannot
now skin without great care. The best remedy in this case is,
as the Hibernian would say, not to get poisoned, . . bathe the
parts frequently in cold water ; and, if chafed, sprinkle the parts
after bathing, with wheat flour. These remedies, if persisted in,
will effect a cure, if not too bad; then, medical advice should
be procured without delay.”* fe
§45. How ro mounT BirpDs. As some may not improbably
procure this volume with a reasonable expectation of being
taught to mount birds, I append the required instructions,
although the work only professes to treat of the preparation
of skins for the cabinet. Asa rule, the purposes of science
are best subserved by not mounting specimens; for display,
the only end attained, is not required. I would strongly advise
you not to mount your rarer or otherwise particularly, valuable
specimens ; select for this purpose nice, pretty birds of no
special scientific value. The principal objections to mounted
birds are, that they take up altogether too much room, require
special arrangements for keeping and transportation, and can-
not be handled for study with impunity. Some might suppose
that a mounted bird would give a better idea of its figure and
general aspect than a skin; but this is only true to a limited
extent. Faultless mounting is an art really difficult, acquired
by few; the average work done in this line shows something
of caricature, ludicrous or repulsive, as the case may be. To:
copy nature faithfully by taxidermy requires not only long
and close study, but an artistic sense; and this last is a rare
* Avoid all mechanical irritation of the inflamed parts; touch the parts that
have ulcerated with a stick of lunar caustic; take a dose of salts; use syrup of
the iodide of iron, or tincture of the chloride of iron, say thirty drops of either, in
a wineglass of water, thrice daily; rest at first, exercise gradually as you can bear
it; and skin no birds till you have completely recovered.
MOUNTING BIRDS. 83
gift. Unless you have at least the germs of the faculty in
your composition your taxidermal success will be incommensu-
rate with the time and trouble you bestow. My own taxider-
mal art is of a low order, decidedly not above average ;
although I have mounted a great many birds that would look
well enough by the side of ordinary museum work, few of them ~
have entirely answered my ideas. A live bird is to me such a
beautiful object that the slightest taxidermal flaw in the effort
to represent it is painfully offensive; perhaps this makes me
' place the standard of excellence too high for practical pur-
poses. I like a good honest birdskin that does not pretend to
be anything else; it is far preferable to the ordinary taxider-
mal abortions of the show-cases. But if, after the warnings
that I mean to convey in this paragraph, you still wish to try
your hand in the higher department of taxidermy, I will ex-
plain the whole process as far as manipulation goes; the art
you must discover in yourself.
The operation of skinning is precisely the same as that
already given in detail; then, instead of stuffing the skin as
directed above, to lie on its back in a drawer, you have to stuff
it so that it will stand up on its feet and look as much like a
live bird as possible. ‘To this end a few additional implements
and materials are required. ‘These are:—a, annealed wire
of various numbers; it may be iron or brass, but must be
perfectly annealed, so as to retain no elasticity or “ spring ;”
6, several files of different sizes; c, some slender, straight’
brad awls; d, cutting pliers; e, setting needles, merely sew-
ing or darning needles stuck in a light wooden handle, for
dressing individual feathers; jf, plenty of pins* and sewing
thread; g, an assortment of glass eyes. (The fixtures and
decorations are noticed, beyond, as occasion for their use
arises.)
There are two principal methods of mounting, which may
_be respectively styled soft stuffing, and hard stuffing. In the
former, a wire framework, consisting of a single anterior
* The long, slender insect pins used by entomologists are the best.
84 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
piece passing in the middle line of the body up through the
neck and out at the top of the head, is immovably joined
behind with two pieces, one passing through each leg: around
this naked forked frame soft stuffing is introduced, bit by bit,
till the proper contour of the skin is secured. I have seen
very pretty work of this kind, particularly on small birds; but
I consider it much more difficult to secure satisfactory results
in this way than by hard stuffing, and I shall therefore con-
fine attention to the latter. This method is applicable to all
birds, is readily practised, facilitates setting of the wings,
arranging of the plumage, and giving of any desired attitude.
In hard stuffing, you make a firm ball of tow rolled upon a
wire of the size and shape of the bird’s body and neck to-
gether; you introduce this whole, afterwards running in the
leg wires and clinching them immovably in the mass of tow.
Having your empty skin in good shape, as already described,
cut three pieces of wire of the right* size; one piece some-
what longer than the whole bird, the other pieces two or three
times as long as the whole leg of the bird. File one end of
each piece to a fine sharp point, try to secure a three-edged
cutting point like that of surgical needles, rather than the
smooth, punching point of a sewing needle, the former perfo-
rates more readily. Have these wires perfectly straight.
Bend a small portion of the unfiled end of the longer wire ir- .
regularly upon itself, as a convenient nucleus for the ball of
tow.{ Take fine clean tow, in loose dossils, and wrap it round
and round the wire nucleus, till you make a firm ball, of the
size and shape of the bird’s body and neck. Study the con-
tour of the skinned body: notice the swelling breast muscles,
the arch of the lower back, the hollow between the furcula into
*The right size is the smallest that will support the whole weight of the stuff-
ing and skin without bending, when a piece is introduced into each leg. If using
too thick wire you may have trouble in thrusting it through the legs, or may burst
the tarsal envelope.
+If accidentally kinky, the finer sizes of wire may be readily straightened by
drawing strongly upon them s0 as to stretch them a little. Heavier wire musf be
hammered out straight.
t Cotton will not do at all; it is too soft and elastic, and moreover will not allow
of the leg wires being thrust into it and there clinched.
STUFFING AND WIRING. 85
which the neck, when naturally curved, sinks. Everything
depends upon correct shaping of the artificial body; if it be
misshapen, no art can properly adjust the skin overit. Firm-
ness of the tow ball and accurate contour may both be secured
by wrapping the mass with sewing thread, loosening here,
tightening there, till the shape is satisfactory. Be particular
to secure a smooth superficies ; the skin in drying will shrink
close to the stuffing, disclosing its irregularities, if there be
any, by the maladjustment of the plumage that will ensue.
Observe especially that the neck, though the direct continua-
tion of the backbone, dips at its lower end into the hollow
of the merrythought, and so virtually begins there instead of
directly between the shoulders. The three mistakes most
likely to be made by a beginner are, getting the body
altogether too large, not firm enough, and irregular. When
properly made it will closely resemble the bird’s body and
neck, with an inch or several inches of sharp-pointed wire pro-
truding from the anterior extremity of the neck of tow. You
have now to introduce the whole affair into the skin. With the
birdskin on its back, the tail pointing to your right elbow, and
the abdominal opening as wide as possible, hold the body
in position relative to the skin; enter the wire, pass it up
through the neck, bring the sharp point exactly against the
middle of the skull, pierce skull and skin, causing the wire to
protrude some distance from the middle of the crown. Then
by gentle means insinuate the body, partly pushing it in,
partly drawing the skin over it, till it rests in its proper
position. This is just like drawing on a tight kid glove, and
no more difficult. See that the body is completely encased ;
you must be able to close the abdominal aperture entirely.
You haye next to wire the legs. Enter the sharp point of
one of the leg wires already prepared, exactly at the centre
of the sole of the foot, thrusting it up inside the tarsal en-
velope the whole length of the ‘“‘shank,” thence across the
heel-joint * and up along the next bone of the leg, still inside
* There is occasionally difficulty in getting the wire across this joint, from the
point sticking into the enlarged end of the shin-bone. In such case, take stout
86 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
the skin. The point of the wire will then be seen within the
skin and may be seized and drawn a little further through,
and you will have passed a wire entirely out of sight all the
way along the leg. The end of the wire is next to be fixed
immovably in the tow ball. Thrust it in at the point where
the knee, in life, rests. against the side of the body.* Bring
the point to view, bend it over and reinsert it till it sticks
fast. There are no special directions to be given here; fasten
the wire in any way that effectually prevents ‘“ wabbling.”
You may find it convenient to wire both legs before fasten-
ing either, and then clinch them by twisting the two ends
together. But remember that the leg wires may be fixed re-
specting each other, yet permit a see-saw motion of the body
upon them. This must not be, the body and legs must be
fixed upon a jointless frame. Having secured the legs, close
the abdominal opening nicely, either by sewing or pinning, you
may stick pins in anywhere, as freely as in a pin cushion; the
feathers hide their heads. Stick a pin through the pope’s
nose, to fix the tail in place.
All this while the bird has been lying on its back, the neck
stretched straight in continuation of the body, wired stiffly,
the legs straddling wide apart, straight and stiff, the wings
lying loosely, half-spread. Now bring the legs together, paral-
lel with each other, and make the sharp bend at the heel joint
that will bring the feet naturally under the belly (over it as
the bird lies on its back). Pick up the bird by the wires that
project from the soles and set it on its stand, by running the
wires through holes bored the proper distance apart, and then
securing the ends by twisting. The temporary stand that you
use for this purpose should have a heavy or otherwise firm sup-
port, so as not easily to overturn during the subsequent manip-
ulations. At this stage the bird is a sorry looking object; but
pliers and pinch the joint till the bone is smashed to fragments. The wire will
then pass and the comminution will not show. If there is any trouble in passing
the wire through the tarsus, bore a hole for it with a brad awl.
*This point is further forward and more belly-ward than you might suppose.
Observe the skinned body again, and see where the lower end of the thigh lies. If
you insert the wire too far back, you cannot by any possibility balance the bird
naturally on its perch; it will look in imminent danger of toppling over.
SETTING THE BIRD. 87
if you have stuffed correctly and wired securely, it will soon
improve. Begin by making it stand properly. The common
fault here is placing the tarsi too nearly perpendicular. Perch-
ing birds, constituting the majority, habitually stand with the
tarsi more nearly horizontal than perpendicular, and generally
keep the tarsi parallel with each other. Wading and most
walking birds stand with the legs more nearly upright and
straight. Many swimming birds straddle a little; others
rarely if ever. See that the toes clasp the perch naturally, or .
are properly spread on the flat surface. Cause the flank feath-
ers to be correctly adjusted over the tibiz (and here I will
remark that with most birds little, if any, of the tibize shows
in life) the heel joint barely, if at all, projecting from the gen-
eral plumage. It is a common fault of stuffing not to draw
the legs closely enough to the body. Above all, look out for
the centre of gravity ; though you have really fastened the bird to
its perch, you must not let it look as if it would fall off if the
wires slipped; it must appear to rest there of its own accord.
Next, give the-head and neck a preliminary setting, according
to the attitude you have determined upon. This will bring the
plumage about the shoulders in proper position for the setting
of the wings, to which you may at once attend. If the body
be correctly fashioned and the skin of the shoulders only ad-
justed over it, the wings will fold into place without the slight-
est difficulty. All that I have said before about setting the
wings in a skin applies here as well; but in this case they will
not stay in place since they fall by their own weight. They
must be pinned up. Holding the wing in place thrust a pin
steadily through, near the wrist joint, into the tow body. '
Sometimes another pin is required to support the weight of the
primaries; it may be stuck into the flank of the bird, the -
outer quill feather resting directly upon it. With large birds -
a sharp pointed wire must replace the pin. When properly set
the wing tips will fall together or symmetrically opposite each
other, the quills and coverts will be smoothly imbricated, the
scapular series of feathers will lie close, and no bare space
will show in front of the shoulder. Much depends upon the
88 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
jinal adjustment of the head. The commonest mistake is get-
ting it too far away from the body. In the ordinary attitudes
of most birds, little neck shows, the head appearing nestled
upon the shoulders. If the neck appears too long, it is not
to be contracted by pushing the head directly down upon it,
but by making an S curve of the neck. No precise direc-
tions can be given for the set of the head but you may be
assured it is a delicate, difficult matter; the slightest turn of
the bill one way or another may alter the whole expression of
the bird. You will of course have determined beforehand
upon your attitude—upon what you wish the bird to appear
to be doing; then, let your meaning be pointed by the bird’s
bill.
On the general subject of striking an attitude, and giving
expression to a stuffed bird, little can be said to good purpose.
If you are to become proficient in this art, it will come from
your own study of birds in the field, your own good taste and
appreciation of bird life. ‘The manual processes are easily
described and practised —it is easy to grind pnint, I suppose,
but not so to be an artist. I shall therefore only follow the
above account of the general processes with some special
practical points. After ‘‘attitudinizing” to your satisfaction, or
to the best of your ability, the plumage is to be carefully
‘‘ dressed.” Feathers awry may be set in place with a light
spring forceps, or needles fixed in a handle—one by one if
necessary. When no individual feather seems out of place, it
often occurs that the general plumage has a loose, slovenly
aspect. This is readily corrected by wrapping with fine thread.
Stick a pin into the middle of the back, another into the breast,
and perhaps others elsewhere. Fasten the end of a spool of
sewing cotton to one of the pins, and carry it to another,
winding the thread about among the pins, till the whole surface
is covered with an irregular network. Tighten to reduce an
undue prominence, loosen over a depression ; but let the wrap-
ping as a whole be light, firm and even. This procedure, nicely
executed, will give a smoothness to the plumage not otherwise
attainable, and may be made to produce the most exquisite
SPREADING TAILS, ETC. 89
curves particularly about the head, neck and breast. The
thread should be left on till the bird is perfectly dry; it
may then be unwound or cut off, and the pins withdrawn.
When a particular patch of skin is out of place, it may often
be pulled into position and pinned there. You need not be
afraid of sticking pins in anywhere; they may be buried in the
plumage and left there, or withdrawn when the skin is dry.
Tn addition to the main stuffing, a little is often required in
particular places. As for the legs, they should be filled out
in all such cases as I indicated earlier in this chapter; small
birds require no such stuffing. It is necessary to fill out the
eyes so that the lids rest naturally ; it may be done as hereto-
fore directed, or by putting in pledgets of cotton from the out-
side. A little nice stuffing is generally required about the
upper throat. To stuff a bird with spread wings requires a
special process, in most cases. The wings are to be wired,
exactly as directed for the legs; they may then be placed in
any shape. But with most small birds, and those with short
wings, simple pinning in the half spread position indicating
fluttering will suffice; it is readily accomplished with a long,
slender insect pin. I have already spoken of fixing the tail by
pinning or wiring the pope’s nose to the tow body; it may be
thus fixed at any desired elevation or depression. There are
two ways of spreading the tail. One is torun a pointed wire
through the quills, near their base, where the wire will be
hidden by the coverts ; each feather may be set at any required
- distance from the next by sliding it along this wire. This
method is applicable to large birds; for small ones the tail
may be fixed with the desired spread by enclosing it near its
base, in a split match, or two slips of card-board, with the ends
tied together. This holds the feathers until they dry in posi-
tion, when it is to be taken off. Crests may be raised, spread
and displayed on similar principles. A small crest, like that
of a cardinal or cherry bird, for instance, may be held up till it
dries in position by sticking in behind it a pin with a little ball
of cotton on its head. It is sometimes necessary to make a
bird’s toes grasp a support by tying them down to it till they
90 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
dry. The toes of waders that do not lie evenly on the surface
of the stand may be tacked down with small brads. The bill
may be pinned open or shut, as desired, by the method already
given. Never paint or varnish a bird’s bill or feet.
Substitution of an artificial eye for the natural one is essen-
tial for the good looks of a specimen. Glass eyes, of all sizes
and colors, may be purchased at a moderate cost. The pupil is
always black; the iris varies. You will, of course, secure the
proper color if it is known, but if not, put in a dark brown or
black eye. It is well understood that this means nothing —it
is purely conventional. Yellow is probably the next most com-
mon color; then come red, white, blue and green, perhaps
approximately in this order of frequency. But do not use these
striking colors at hap-hazard, sacrificing truth perhaps, to
looks. Eyes are generally inserted after the specimen is dry.
Remove a portion of the cotton from the orbit, and moisten
the lids till they are perfectly pliable; fix the eye in with
putty or wet plaster of Paris, making sure that the lids are
naturally adjusted over it. It goes in obliquely, like a button
through a button-hole. Much art may be displayed in this
little matter, making a bird look this way or that, to carry out
the general ‘‘ expression.”
On finishing a specimen, set it away to dry—the time re-
quired varies, of course, with the weather, the size of the bird,
its fatness, etc. The more slowly it dries, the better; there is
less risk of the skin shrinking irregularly. You will often find
that a specimen set away with smooth plumage and satisfac-
tory curves dries more or less out of shape, perhaps with the
feathers raised in places. I know of no remedy; it may, in a
measure, be prevented by scrupulous care in making the body
smooth and firm, and in securing slow, equable drying. When
perfectly dry remove the wrapping, pull out the superfluous
pins or wires, nip off the others so short that the ends are con-
cealed, and insert the eyes. The specimen is then ready to
be transferred to its permanent stand.
Fixtures for the display of the object of course vary inter-
minably. We will take the simplest case, of a large collection
STANDS AND ORNAMENTAL SUPPORTS. 91
of mounted birds for public exhibition. In this instance, uni-
formity and simplicity are desiderata. ‘Spread eagle” styles
of mounting, artificial rocks and flowers, etc., are entirely out
of place in a collection of any scientific pretensions, or de-
signed for popular instruction. Besides, they take up too much
room. Artistic grouping of an extensive collection is usually
out of the question; and when this is unattainable, half-way
efforts in that direction should be abandoned in favor of severe
simplicity. Birds look best on the whole in uniform rows, as-
sorted according to size, as far as a natural classification allows.
They are best set on the plainest stands, with circular base
and a short cylindrical crossbar lightly turned upright. The
stands should be painted dead-white and be no larger than is
necessary for secure support; a neat stiff paper label may
be attached.* A small collection of birds, as an ornament to a
private residence, offers a different case; here, variety of atti-
tude and appropriate imitation of the birds’ natural surround-
ings, are to be secured. A miniature tree, on which a number
of birds may be placed, is readily made. Take stout. wire, and
by bending it, and attaching other pieces, get the framework
of the tree of the desired size, shape and number of perches.
Wrap it closely with tow to a proper calibre, remembering that
the two forks of a stem must be together only about as large
as the stem itself. Gather a basket full of lichens and tree
moss; reduce them to coarse powder by rubbing with the
hands ; besmear the whole tree with mucilage or thin glue, and
sift the lichen powder on it till the tow is completely hidden.
This produces a very natural effect, which may be heightened
by separately affixing larger scraps of lichen, or little bunches
of moss; artificial leaves and flowers may be added at your
taste. The groundwork may be similarly prepared with a bit
of board, made adhesive and bestrewn with the same substance ;
* A very simple and neat way of attaching the label to the stand is that used in
the Peabody Academy of Science and other museums. It consists of narrow
strips of tin bent over at each end so as to hold the label, and fixed to the stand by
a small tack at any desired angle. These tins and neat red-lined labels can be had
at the Naturalists’ Agency, or the printed names can be cut from the *“‘ Check List ”
and used for labels for North American birds.
92 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN.
grasses and moss may be added. If a flat surface is not de_.
sired soak stout pasteboard, till it can be moulded in various
irregular elevations and depressions ; lay it over the board and
decorate it in the same way. Rocks may be thus nicely imi-
tated, with the addition of powdered glass of various colors.
Such a lot of birds is generally enclosed in a cylindrical glass
case with arched top. As it stands on a table to be viewed
from different points, it must be presentable on all sides. A
niche in parlor or study is often fitted with a wall-case, which,
when artistically arranged, has a very pleasing effect. As such
cases may be of considerable size, there is opportunity for the
display of great taste in grouping. A place is not to be found
for a bird, but a bird for the place—waders and swimmers
below on the ground, perchers on projecting rests above. The
surroundings may be prepared by the methods just indicated.
One point deserves attention here—since the birds are only
viewed from the front, they may have a ‘‘show-side ” to which
everything else may be sacrificed. Birds are represented flying
in such eases more readily than under other circumstances —
supported on a concealed wire inserted in the back of the case.
I have seen some very successful attempts to represent a bird
swimming, the duck being let down part way through an oval
hole in a plate of thick glass, underneath which were fixed
stuffed fishes, shells and seaweed. It is hardly necessary to
add that in all ornamental collections, labels or other scien-
tific machinery must be rigorously suppressed.
Transportation of mounted birds offers obvious difficulty.
Unless very small, they are best secured immovably inside a
box by screwing the foot of the stands to the bottom and sides,
so that they stay in place without touching each other. Or,
they may be carefully packed in cotton, with or without re-
moval of the stands. Their preservation from accidental
injury depends ppon the same care that is bestowed upon ordi-
nary fragile ornaments of the parlor. The ravages of insects
are to be prevented upon the principles to be hereafter given
in treating of the preservation of birdskins. :
CHAPTER VII.
MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.
§46. DETERMINATION OF SEX. This is an important matter,
which must never be neglected. For although many birds
show unequivocal sexual distinctions of size, shape and color,
like those of the barnyard cock and hen for instance, yet the
outward characteristics are more frequently obscure, if not
altogether inappreciable on examination of the skin alone.
Young birds, moreover, are usually indistinguishable as to sex,
although the adults of the same species may be easily recog.
nized. The rule results, that the sexual organs should be ex-
amined, as the only infallible indices. The essential organs of
masculinity are the festicles; similarly, the ovaries contain the
essence of the female nature. However similar the accessory
sexual structures may be, the testicles and ovaries are always
distinct. The male organs of birds never leave the cavity of
the belly to fill an external bag of skin (scrotum) as they do
among mammalia, they remain within the abdomen, and lie in
the same position as the ovaries of the female. Both these
organs are situated in the belly opposite what corresponds to
the ‘small of the back,” bound closely to the spine, resting on
the front of the kidneys near their fore end. ‘The testicles are
a pair of subspherical or rather ellipsoidal bodies, usually of
the same size, shape and color; and are commonly of a dull
opaque whitish tint. They always lie close together. A re-
markable fact connected with them is, that they are not always
of the same size in the same bird, being subject to periodical
enlargement during the breeding season, and corresponding
atrophy at other seasons. Thus the testicles of a house spar-
row, no bigger than a pin’s head in winter, swell to the size of
peas in April. The ovary (for although this organ is paired
originally, only one is usually functionally developed in birds)
will be recognized as a flattish mass of irregular contour, and
usually whitish color; when inactive, it simply appears of finely
granular structure which may require a hand lens to be made
(93)
94 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.
out; when producing eggs, its appearance is unmistakable.
Both testis and ovary may further be recognized by a thread |
leading to the end of the lower bowels—in one case the sperm-
duct, in the other the oviduct; the latter is usually much the
more conspicuous, as it at times transmits the perfect egg.
There is no difficulty in reaching the site of these organs. Lay
the bird on the right side, its belly toward you: cut with the )
scissors through the belly-walls diagonally from anus to the a
root of the last rib—or further, snipping across a few of the
lower ribs, if these continue far down, as they do in a loon for —
instance. Press the whole mass of intestines aside collectively, a
and you at once see to the small of the back. ‘There you ob- a
serve the kidneys—large, lobular, dark reddish masses moulded
into the concavity of the sacrum (or back middle bone of the
pelvis) and on their surface, towards their fore end, lie testes
or ovary, as just described. The only precaution required is,
not to mistake for testicles a pair of small bodies capping the
kidneys. These are the adrenals or ‘‘ supra-renal capsules ”—
organs whose function is unknown, but with which at any rate
we have nothing to do in this connection. They occur in both
sexes, and if the testicles are not immediately seen, or the
ovary not at once recognized, they might easily be mistaken
for testicles. Observe that instead of lying in front, they
cap the kidneys; that they are usually yellowish instead of
opaque whitish ; and that they have not the firm, smooth, reg-
ular sphericity of the testicles. The sex determined, use the
sign ¢ or 9 to designate it, as already explained. In the very
rare cases of impotence or sterility among birds, of course no
organs will be observed; but Ishould dislike to become respon-
sible for such labelling without very careful examination. The
organs of a small bird out of the breeding season are never
conspicuous, but may always be found on close scrutiny, unless
the parts are disintegrated by a shot.
$47. RECOGNITION OF AGE is a matter of ornithological ex-
perience requiring in many or most cases great familiarity with
birds for its even approximate accomplishment. There are,
EXAMINATION OF THE STOMACH. 95
however, some unmistakable signs of immaturity, even after a
bird has become full-feathered, that persist for at least one
season. These are, in the first place, a peculiar soft fluffy
“feel” of the plumage—the feathers lack a certain smooth-
ness, density and stiffening which they subsequently acquire.
Secondly, the bill and feet: are softer than those of the adults;
the corners of the mouth are puffy and flabby, the edges and
point of the bill are dull, and the scales, etc., of the legs are
not sharply cut. Thirdly, the flesh itself is tender, and pale
colored. These are some of the points common to all birds,
and are independent of the special markings that belong to the
youth of particular species. Some birds are actually larger for
a while after leaving the nest, than in after years when the
frame seems to shrink somewhat in acquiring the compactness
of senility. On the other hand, the various members, espet
cially the bill and feet, are proportionally smaller at first.
Newly growing quills are usually recognized on sight, the
barrel being dark colored and full of liquid, while the vanes
are incomplete. In studying, for example, the shape of a wing
or tail, there is always reason to suspect that the natural pro-
portions are not yet presented, unless the quill is dry, colorless
and empty, or only occupied with shrunken white pith.
§48. EXAMINATION OF THE STOMACH frequently leads to inter-
esting observations, and is always worth while. In the first
place, we learn most unquestionably the nature of the bird’s
food, which is a highly important item in its natural history.
Secondly, we often secure valuable specimens in other depart-
ments of zoology, particularly entomology. Birds consume
incalculable numbers of insects, the harder kinds of which,
such as beetles, are not seldom found intact in their stomachs ;
and a due percentage of these represent rare and curious spe-
cies. The gizzards of birds of prey, in particular, should
always be inspected, in search of the small mammals, etc.,
they devour; and even if the creatures are unfit for preserva.
tion, we at least learn of their occurrence, perhaps unknown
before in a particular region. Mollusk-feeding and fish-eating
96 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.
birds yield their share of specimens. The alimentary canal is
often the seat of parasites of various kinds, interesting to the
helminthologist ; other species are to be found under the skin,
in the body of muscle, in the brain, etc. Most birds are also
infested -with external parasites of many kinds, so various,
that almost every leading species has its own sort of louse,
tick, ete. Since these creatures are only at home with a live
host, they will be found crawling on the surface of the plu-
mage, preparing for departure, as soon as the body cools after
death. There is in effect much to learn of a bird aside from
what the prepared specimen teaches, and moreover apart from
regular anatomical investigations. Whenever practicable, brief
items should be recorded on the label, as already mentioned.
§49. ResToRATION OF POOR SKINS. If your cabinet be a
‘‘oeneral”? one, comprising specimens from various sources,
you will frequently happen to receive skins so badly prepared
as to be unpleasant objects, besides failing to show their spe-
cific characters. There is of course no supplying of missing
parts or plumage; but if the defect be simply deformity, this
may usually be in a measure remedied. The point is simply
to relax the skin, and then proceed as if it were freshly removed
from the bird; it is what bird stuffers constantly do, in mount-
ing birds from prepared skins. The relaxation is effected by
moisture alone. Remove the stuffing; fill the interior with
cotton or tow saturated with water, yet not dripping: put pads
of the same under the wings; wrap the bill and feet, and set
the specimen in a damp cool place. Small birds soften very
readily and completely ; the process may be facilitated by per-
sistent manipulation. This is the usual method, but there is
another, more thorough and more effective ; it is exposure to a
vapor-bath. The appointments of the kitchen stove furnish all
the apparatus required for an extempore ‘‘ steamer ;” the regu-
lar fixture is a tin vessel much like a wash-boiler, with closed
lid, false bottom and stopcock at lower edge. On the false
bottom is placed a heavy layer of gypsum, completely satu-
rated with water; the birds are laid on a perforated tray above
ALCOHOLIC SPECIMENS. 97
it; and a gentle heat is maintained over a stove. The vapor
penetrates every part of the skin, and completely relaxes it,
without actually wetting the feathers. The time required varies
oreatly of course; observation is the best guide. The chief
precaution is not to let the thing get too hot. Professor Baird
has remarked that crumpled or bent feathers may have much of
their original elasticity restored by dipping in hot water. Im-
mersion for a few seconds suffices, when the feathers will be ob-
served to straighten out. Shaking off superfluous water; they
may be simply left to dry or they may be dried with plaster.
The method is chiefly applicable to the large feathers of the
wings and tail. Soiled plumage of dried skins may be treated
exactly as in the case of fresh skins.
§50. Mummrrication. As before mentioned, decay may be
arrested by injections of carbolic acid and other antiseptics ;
if the tissues be sufficiently permeated with these substances,
the body will keep indefinitely ; it dries and hardens, becoming,
in short, a ‘“‘mummy.” Injection should be done by the mouth
and yent, be thorough, and be repeated several times as the
fluid dries in. It is an improvement on this to disembowel,
and fill the belly with saturated tow or cotton. Due care
should be taken not to soil the feathers in any case, nor should
the carbolic solution come in contact with the hands, for it is a
powerful irritant poison. I mention the process chiefly to con-
demn it as an atrocious one; I cannot imagine what circum-
stances would recommend it, while only an extreme emergency
could justify it. It is further objectionable because it appears
to lend a dingy hue to some plumages, and to dull most of
them perceptibly. Birds prepared—rather unprepared —in
this way, may be relaxed by the method just described, and
then skinned ; but the operation is rather difficult.
§51. Wer preparations. By this term is technically under-
stood an object immersed in some preservative fluid. It is
highly desirable to obtain more information of birds than their
stuffed skins can ever furnish, and their structure cannot be
MANUAL, 7
98 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.
always examined by dissection on the spot. In fact, a certain
small proportion of the birds of any protracted or otherwise
‘‘heavy” collecting may be preferably and very profitably pre-
served in this way. Specimens in too poor plumage to be
worth skinning may be thus utilized; so may the bodies of
skinned birds, which, although necessarily defective, retain all
the viscera, and also afford osteological material. Alcohol is
the liquid usually employed and, of all the various articles
recommended, seems to answer best on the whole. I have
used a very weak solution of chloride of zinc with excellent
results; it should not be strong enough to show the slightest
turbidity. As glass bottles are liable to break when travelling,
do not fit corners, and offer practical annoyance about corkage ;
rectangular metal cans, preferably of copper, with screw-lid
opening, are advisable. They are to be set in small, strong
wooden boxes, made to leave a little room for the lid wrench,
muslin bags for doing up separate parcels, parchment for
labels, ete. Unoccupied space in the cans should be filled with
tow or a similar substance, to prevent the specimens from
swashing about. Labelling should be on parchment: the writ-
ing should be perfectly dry before immersion: india-ink is the
best. Skinned bodies should be numbered to correspond with
the dried skin from which taken; otherwise they may not be
identifiable. Large birds thrown in unskinned should have
the belly opened, to let in the alcohol freely. Birds may be
skinned, after being in alcohol, by simply drying them: they
often make fair specimens. They are best withdrawn by the
bill, that the “‘swash” of the alcohol at the moment of emer-
sion may set the plumage all one way, and hung up to dry,
untouched. Watery moisture that may remain after evapora-
tion of the alcohol may be dried with plaster.
§52. OsTEOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS. While complete skele-
tonizing of a bird is a special art of some difficulty, and one
that does not fall within the scope of this treatise, I may prop-
erly mention two bony preparations very readily made, and
susceptible of rendering ornithology essential service. I refer
SKULLS AND BREAST BONES. 99
to the skull, and to the breast bone with its principal attach-
ments. These parts of the skeleton are, as a rule, so highly
characteristic that they afford in most cases invaluable zoo-
logical items. To save a skull is of course to sacrifice a skin,
to all intents; but you often have mutilated or decayed speci-
mens that are very profitably utilized in this way. The breast
bone, excepting when mutilated, is always preservable with
the skin, and for ‘‘ choice” invoices may form its natural ac-
companiment. You want to remove along with it the cora-
coids (the stout bones connecting the breast bone with the
shoulders), the merrythought intervening between these bones,
and the shoulder-blades, all without detachment from each
other. Slice off the large breast muscles close to the bone;
and divide their insertions with the wing bones, scrape or cut
away the muscles that tie the shoulder-blades to the chest ;
snip off the ribs close to the side of the breast bone; sever a
tough membrane usually found between the prongs of the wish-
bone; then, by taking hold of the shoulders, you can lift out
the whole affair, dividing some slight connections underneath
the bone and behind it. The following points require atten-
tion: the breast bone often has long slender processes behind
and on the sides (the common fowl is one of the extreme illus-
trations of this) liable to be cut by mistake for ribs, or to be
snapped: the shoulder-blades usually taper to a point, easily
broken off; the merrythought is sometimes very delicate, or
defective. When travelling, it is generally not advisable to
make perfect preparations of either skull or sternum: they are
best dried with only superfluous flesh removed, and besprin-
kled with arsenic. The skull, if perfectly cleaned, is particu-
larly liable to lose the odd-shaped pronged bones that hinge
the jaw, and the freely movable pair that push on the palate
from behind. Great care should be exercised respecting the
identification of these bones, particularly the sternum, which
should invariably bear the number of the specimen to which it
belongs. A skull is more likely to be able to speak for itself,
and besides, is not usually accompanied by a skin; neverthe-
less, any record tending to facilitate its recognition should be
100 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.
duly entered on the register. There are methods, with which I
am not familiar, of making elegant bony preparations. You
may secure very good results by simply boiling the bones
or, what is perhaps better, macerating them in water till the
flesh is completely rotted away, and then bleaching them in
the sun. A little potassa or soda hastens the process. With
breast bones, if you can stop the process just when the flesh
is completely dissolved but the tougher ligaments remain, you
secure a ‘‘natural” preparation, as it is called; if the liga-
ments go too, the associate parts of a large specimen may be —
wired together, those of a small one glued. I think it best,
with skulls, to clean them entirely of ligament as well as
muscle; for the underneath parts are usually those conveying
the most desirable information, and they should not be in the
slightest degree obscured. Since in such case the anvil-shaped
bones, the palatal cylinders already mentioned, and sometimes —
other portions come apart, the whole are best kept in a suitable
box. I prefer to see a skull with the sheath of the beak re-
moved, though in some cases, particularly of hard billed birds,
it may profitably be left on. The completed preparations
should be fully labelled, by writing on the bone, in preference
to an accompanying or attached paper slip, which may be lost.
Some object to this, as others do to writing on eggs, thatit —
‘“‘defaces” the specimen; but I confess I see in dry bones no —
beauty but that of utility.* 7
$53. Nests anp EcGs.t A few words upon this subject will
not come amiss. Ornithology and odlogy are twin studies, or
rather one includes the other. s%
iy OT? Cet a
exe? «ene
@EN. 51-53 OF KEY. 25
120. PHASNOPEPLA NITENS (Sw.) Sct.
Black Ptilogonys.
121. MYIADESTES TOWNSENDII (Avup.) Cas.
Townsend’s Fiycatching Thrush.
122. VIREO OLIVACEUS (L.) V.
BRed-eyed Vireo.
123. VIREO ALTILOQUUS (V.) Gr.,
var. BARBATULUS (Cab.) Cs,
Black-whiskered Vireo.
124. VIREO PHILADELPHICUS Cass.
Brotherly-love Vireo.
125. VIREO GILVUS (V.) Br,
Warbling Vireo.
125a.. VIREO GILVUS (V.) Br.
var. SWAINSONI (Bd.) Cs.
Western Warbling Vireo.
126. VIREO FLAVIFRONS V.
Yellow-throated Vireo.
127. VIREO SOLITARIUS (Wus.) V.
Blue-headed Vireo; Solitary Vireo.
1272. VIREO SOLITARIUS V.,
var. PLUMBEUS (Cs.) All.
Plumbeous Vireo.
128? VIREO VICINIOR Covegs.
Gray Vireo.
129. VIREO NOVEBORACENSIS (Gm.) Bp.
White-eyed Vireo.
130? VIREO HUTTONI Cass.
Hutton’s Vireo.
GEN. 53-58 OF KEY.
131. VIREO BELLII Avup.
Bell’s Vireo.
132. VIREO PUSILLUS Cougs.
Least Vireo.
133. VIREO ATRICAPILLUS Woopu.
Biack-headed Vireo.
134. COLLURIO BOREALIS (V.) Bo.
Great Northern Shrike; Butcherbird.
135. COLLURIO LUDOVICIANUS (L.) Bp.
Loggerhead shrike.
135a. COLLURIO LUDOVICIANUS (L.) Bp.,
var. EXCUBITOROIDES (Sw.) Cs.
White-rumped Shrike.
136. HESPERIPHONA VESPERTINA (Coop.) Br.
Evening Grosbeak.
137. PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR (L.) V.
Pine Grosbeak. °
[138.]? PYRRHULA CASSINI (Bp.) Trisrr.
Cassin’s Bullifinech.
1329. CARPODACUS PURPUREUS (Gm.) Gr.
Purple Finch.
140. CARPODACUS CASSINI Bp.
Cassin’s Purple Finch.
141. CARPODACUS FRONTALIS (Say) Gr.
Crimson-fronted Finch; House Finch.
14la.* CARPODACUS FRONTALIS (Say) Caz.,
var. HAMORRHOUS (Wagl.) Ridg.
Mexican Purpie Finch.
*Not in the Key. See Ridgway, Am. Jour. Sci. Art, v, p. 39.
27
.
CET,
tio ef taearMthlions
GEN. 59-62 OF KEY.
142, LOXIA LEUCOPTERA (Wits.).
White-winged Crossbill.
143. LOXTA CURVIROSTRA L.,
var. AMERICANA (Wils.) Cs.
Common Crossbill.
143a. LOXTA CURVIROSTRA L.,
var. MEXICANA (Strickl.) Cs.
Large-billed Crossbill.
144. LEUCOSTICTE TEPHROCOTIS Sw.
Gray-crowned Finch.
144a. LEUCOSTICTE TEPHROCOTIS S&w.,
var. GRISEINUCHA (Brandt) Cs.
Gray-eared Finch.
145. LEUCOSTICTE ARCTOA (Patt.) Bp.
Siberian Finch.
146. ASGIOTHUS LINARIA (L.) Cas.
Bed-poll Linnet.
146a. ASGIOTHUS LINARIA (L.) Cas.
var. FUSCESCENS Cs.
Dusky Red-poll.
146b. ASGIOTHUS LINARIA (L.) Cas.
var. EXILIPES Cs.
American Mealy Red-poll.
[147.] LINOTA FLAVIROSTRIS (L.) Be.
var. BREWSTERI (Ridg.) Cs.
Brewster’s Linnet.
148. CHRYSOMITRIS PINUS (Wus.) Br.
Pine Linnet.
149. CHRYSOMITRIS TRISTIS (2.) Bp.
American Goldfinch; Yellowbird.
29
GEN. 62-65 OF KEY.
150. CHRYSOMITRIS LAWRENCEHEI (Cass.) Br.
Lawrenece’s Goldfinch.
151. CHRYSOMITRIS PSALTRIA (Say) Br.
Arkansas Goidfinch..
15la. CHRYSOMITRIS PSALTRIA (Say) Bpr.,
var. ARIZONZ® Cs.
Arizona Goldfinch.
151b. CHRYSOMITRIS PSALTRIA (Say) Bp.,
var. MEXICANA (Sw.) Cs.
Mexican Goldfinch.
152. PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS (L.) Meyer.
Snow Bunting.
153. PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICUS (L.) Setpy.
Lapland Longspur. ‘
154. PLECTROPHANES PICTUS Sw.
Painted Lark Bunting.
155. PLECTROPHANES ORNATUS Towns.
Chestnut-colored Lark Bunting.
156. PLECTROPHANES MACCOWNII Lawre.
MecCown’s Lark Bunting.
157? CENTRONYX BAIRDII (Avup.) Bp.
Baird’s Bunting.
| 157bis.* CHENTRONYX OCHROCEPHALUS Aiken.
Ochreous-headed Bunting.
158. PASSERCULUS PRINCEPS Maynarp.
Maynard’s Sparrow.
159. PASSERCULUS SAVANNA (Wis.) Br.
Savanna Sparrow.
* Not in the Key. See Aiken, Am. Nat., vii, 237.
31
GEN. 65-69 OF KEY. 33
159a. PASSERCULUS SAVANNA (Wu:s.) Bpr.,
var. ANTHINUS (Bp.) Cs.
Witlark Sparrow.
+ 159b. PASSERCULUS SAVANNA (Wr:s.) Br.,
var. SANDVICENSIS (Gm.) Cs.
Northwestern Sparrow.
160. PASSERCULUS ROSTRATUS (Cass.) Bp.
Beaked Sparrow.
~160a. PASSERCULUS ROSTRATUS (Cass.) Bp.,
var. GUTTATUS (LAawRr.) Cs.
St. Lucas Sparrow.
161. POOECETES GRAMINEUS (Gm.) Bp.
Bay-winged Bunting; Grass Finch.
16la. POOKCETES GRAMINHEUS (Gm.) Bp.,
var. CONFINIS Bd.
Western Grass Finch.
+162. COTURNICULUS PASSERINUS (Wus.) Br.
Wellow-winged Sparrow.
1622. COTURNICULUS PASSERINUS (Wis.) Br.,
var. PERPALLIDUS Ridg.
Bleached Yellow-winged Sparrow.
168. COTURNICULUS HENSLOWI (AuD.) Bp.
Hienslow’s Sparrow.
+ 164. COTURNICULUS LECONTHEI (Avp.) Bp.
LeConte’s Sparrow.
165. AMMODROMUS MARITIMUS (Wits.) Sw.
Seaside Fimcin.
166. AMMODROMUS CAUDACUTUS (Gm.) Sw.
Sharp-tailed Finch.
167. MELOSPIZA LINCOLNI (Avp.) Bp.
Lincoln’s Finch.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 3
. GEN. 69-70 OF KEY. 35
168. MELOSPIZA PALUSTRIS (Wrs.) Bp.
Swamp Sparrow.
169. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wixts.) Bp.
Song Sparrow.
169a. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wits.) Bp.,
var. FALLAX (Bd.) Ridg.
Gray Song Sparrow.
169b. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wits.) Bp.,
var. GUTTATA (Nutt.) Ridg.
Cinereous Song Sparrow.
169c. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wits.) Bp.,
var. RUFINA (Brandt.) Ridg.
Rufous Song Sparrow.
169d. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wus.) Bp.,
var. HEERMANNI (Bd.) Ridg.
Heermanm’s Song Sparrow.
169e. ME LOSPIZA MELODIA (Wits.) Bp.,
var. GOULDI (Bd.) Ridg.
Gould’s Song Sparrow.
169f. MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wus.) Bp.,
var. INSIGNIS (Bd.) Ridg.
Bischoff’s Song Sparrow.
170. PEUCAHA AASTIVALIS (Licut.) Cas.
Bachman’s Finch.
170a. PHEUCASA ZESTIVALIS (Licnt.) Cas.,
var. CASSINI (Woodh.) All.
Cassin’s Finch.
171. PEUCASA RUFICEPS (Cass.) Bp.
Rufous-crowned Finch.
171bis.* PHUCAIA CARPALIS Cougs.
Rufous-winged Sparrow.
*Not in the Key. See Am. Nat., vii, p. 322.
GEN. 71-74 OF KEY.
172. POOSPIZA BILINEATA (Cass.) Sct.
Black-throated Finch.
173. POOSPIZA BELLI (Cass.) Scr.
Bell's Finch.
174. JUNCO HYEMALIS (L.) Sci.
Snowbird.
175? JUNCO OREGONUS (Towns.) Sct.
Oregon Snowbird.
176? JUNCO CINEREUS (Sw.) Cas.,
var. CANICEPS (Woodh.) Cs.
Cinereous Snowbird.
177. SPIZELLA MONTICOLA (Gm.) Bp.
Tree Sparrow.
178. SPIGELLA SOCIALIS (Wits.) Bre.
Chipping Sparrow.
178a. SPIZELLA SOCIALIS (Wus.) Br.,
var. ARIZONSE Cs,
Arizona Chipping Sparrow.
179. SPIZELLA PUSILLA (Wus.) Bp.
Field Sparrow.
180. SPIZELLA PALLIDA (Sw.) Br.
Clay-colored Sparrow.
180a. SPIZELLA PALLIDA (Sw.) Bp.,
var. BREWERI (Cass.) Cs.
Brewer’s Sparrow.
181. SPIZELLA ATRIGULARIS (Cas.) Bp.
Black-chinned Sparrow.
182. ZONOTRICHIA ALBICOLLIS (GM.) Bp.
White-throated Sparrow.
GEN. 74-80 OF KEY. 39
183. ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS (Forst.) Sw.
W ihite-crowned Sparrow.
183a. ZONOTRICHIA LHEUCOPHRYS (Forst.) Sw.,
var. GAMBHLI (Nutt.) All.
Gambel’s Sparrow.
184. ZONOTRICHIA CORONATA (PAaLt.) Bp.
Golden-crowned Sparrow.
185. ZONOTRICHIA QUERULA (Nutr.) Gams.
Hi arris’s Sparrow.
186. CHONDESTES GRAMMACA (Say) Bp. .
Lark Fine.
[187.] PASSER DOMESTICUS Linn.
English Sparrow.
188. PASSERELLA ILIACA (Mrenrem.) Sw.
Hox Sparroew.
189. PASSHERELLA TOWNSENDII (Avup.) Nutr.
PTownsend’s Hox Sparrow.
1892. PASSHRELLA TOWNSENDII (Aup.) Nutt.,
var. SCHISTACEA (Bd.) Cs.
Slate-colored Fox Sparrow.
190. CALAMOSPIZA BICOLOR (Towns.) Bp.
Lark Bunting; Wirtite-winged Buachbird.
191. HUSPIZA AMERICANA (Gm.) Br.
Black-throated Burntimg.
192? HUSPIZA TOWN SHNDII (Avp.) Be.
Towmsend’s Bumtimg.
193. GONIAPHEA LUDOVICIANA (L.) Bownrcu.
Hese-preasted Grosbeak.
194. GONIAPHEA MELANOCEPHALA (Sw.) —.
Bilack-headed Grosbeak.
GEN. 80-85 OF KEY.
195. GONIAPHEA CAHIRULEA (L.).
Blue Grosbeak.
196. CYANOSPIZA CIRIS (L.) Bp.
Painted Finch; Nompareil.
197. CYANOSPIZA VERSICOLOR (Bp.) Bp.
Western Nonpareil.
198. CYANOSPIZA AMCENA (Say) Bp.
Lazuli Fineh.
199. CYANOSPIZA CYANEA (L.) Bp.
Indigo Bird.
[200.] SPERMOPHILA MORELETITI Pucunran.
Morelet’s Finch.
[201.] PHONIPARA BICOLOR (L.) Bp.
Biack-faced Finch.
202. PYRRHULOXIA SINUATA Bp.
Texas Cardinal.
203. CARDINALIS VIRGINIANUS (Brisson) Br.
Cardinal Redbird.
203a. CARDINALIS VIRGINIANUS (Brisson) Bpr.,
var. IGNEUS (Bd.) Cs.
Kiery Redbird.
204. PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS (L.) V.
Towhee Bunting; Chewink.
204a. PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS (L.) V.,
var. ALLENI Cs.
White-eyed Towhee.
205. PIPILO MACULATUS 6&w.,
var. OREGONUS (Bell) Cs.
Oregon Towhee.
4]
GEN. 85-89 OF KEY.
205a. PIPILO MACULATUS 6&w.,
var. ARCTICUS (Sw.) Cs.
Arctic Towhee.
205b. PIPILO MACULATUS &w.,
var. MEGALONYX (Bd.) Cs.
Spurred Towhee.
206. PIPILO FUSCUS Sw.
Brown Towhee; Canon Finch.
206a. PIPILO FUSCUS 6&w.,
var. ALBIGULA (Bd.) Cs.
W hite-throated Towhee,
206b. PIPILO FUSCUS 6&w.,
var. CRISSALIS (Vig.) Cs.
Crissal Towhee.
207. PIPILO ABERTI Bp.
Abert’s Towhee.
208. PIPILO CHLORURUS (Towns.) Bp.
Green-tailed Towhee.
209. EMBERNAGRA RUFIVIRGATA Lawr.
Green Finch.
210. DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS (L.) Sw.
Bobolink; Reedbird; Ricebird.
211.* MOLOTHRUS PECORIS (Gm.) Sw.
Cowbird.
21la. MOLOTHRUS PECORIS (Gm.) Sw.,
var. OBSCURUS (Gm.) Cs.
Dwarf Cowbird,
212. AGELAUS PHGNICEUS (L.) V.
Red-winged Blackbird.
* This should stand as Molothrus ater (Gm.) Gr.
43
GEN. 89-93 OF KEY. 45
2122. AGELAWUS PHCENICHUS (2.) V.,
var. GUBERNATOR (Wagl.) Cs.
Red-shouldered Blackbird.
212b. AGELAIUS PHGOSNICEUS (L.) V.,
var. TRICOLOR (Nutt.) Cs.
Red-and-white-shouldered Blackbird.
213. XANTHOCEPHALUS ICTEROCEPHALUS (Bp.) Bp.
Yellow-headed Biachbird.
214. STURNELLA MAGNA (L.) Sw.
Fieldliark; Weadowlarkh.
2i4a. STURNELLA MAGNA (L.) Sw.,
var. NEGLECTA (Aud.) All.
Western Fieldiark.
215. ICTERUS SPURIUS 2.) Bp.
Orchard Oriole.
215a. ICTERUS SPURIUS (L.) Be.,
var. AFFINIS (Lawr.) Cs.
Texan Orchard Oriole.
216. ICTERUS BALTIMORE (L.) Danp1n.
Baltimore Oriole.
217. ICTERUS BULLOCKII (Sw.) Bp.
Bulloch’s Oriole.
218. ICTERUS CUCULLATUS Sw.
Hooded Oriole.
219. ICTERUS PARISORUM Br.
Scott's Oriole.
220. ICTERUS MELANOCEPHALUS (Wact.) Gr.,
var. AUDUBON (Girand.) Cs.
Audubon’s Oriole.
221. SCOLECOPHAGUS FERRUGINEUS (Gm.) Sw.
Rusty Grackile.
GEN. 93-97 OF KEY. AT
222. SCOLECOPHAGUS CYANOCEPHATLUS (Wact.) Cas.
Blue-headed Grackile.
223. QUISCALUS MACROURUS Sw.
Great-tailed Grackile.
224. QUISCALUS MAJOR Vist.
Eoat-tailed Grackle; Jachf@aw.
225. QUISCALUS PURPUREUS (Bartr.) Licur.
Purpie Grackle; Crow Biachbird.
225a. QUISCALUS PURPUREUS (Bartr.) Licur.,,
var. AGLEUS (Bd.) Cs.
Florida Grackle.
226. CORVUS CORAX Linn.
Baven.
227. CORVUS CRYPTOLEUCUS Coucu.
W hite-necked Raven.
228. CORVUS AMERICANUS Aun.
Common Crow.
228a. CORVUS AMERICANUS Avp.,
var. FLORIDANUS Bd.
Florida Crow.
228b. CORVUS AMERICANUS Avp.,
var. CAURINUS (Bd.) Cs.
Northwestern Fish Crow.
229. CORVUS OSSIFRAGUS Wits.
Fish Crow.
230. PICICORVUS COLUMBIANUS (Wius.) Br.
Clarke’s Crow.
231. GYMNOKITTA CYANOCHEPHALA Maxim.
Biue Crow.
GEN. 98-101 oF KEY. 49
232. PSILORHINUS MORIO (Wact.) Gr.
Brown Jay.
233. PICA MELANOLEUCA V.,
var. HUDSONICA (Sab.) All.
American VWagpie.
233a. PICA MELANOLEUCA V.,
var. NUTTALLI (Aud.) Cs.
Weillow-billed Magpie.
234. CYANURUS CRISTATUS (L.) Sw.
Biue Jay.
235. CYANURUS STELLERI (Gm.) Sw.
Steller’s Jay.
235a. CYANURUS STELLERI (Gm.) Sw.,
var. MACROLOPHA (Bd.) All.
Long-crested Jay.
235b.* CYANURUS STELLERI (Gm.) Sw.,
var. FRONTALIS Ridg.
Blue-fronted Jay.
236. APHELOCOMA FLORIDANA (Bartram) Cas.
Florida Jay.
2362. APHELOCOMA FLORIDANA (Barrr.) Can.,
_ var. WOODHOUSE! (Bd.) All.
W oodhouse’s Jay.
236b. APHELOCOMA FLORIDANA (Bartr.) CaB.,
_ var. CALIFORNICA (Vig.) Cs.
Californian Jay.
237. APHELOCOMA SORDIDA (Sw.) Cas.
Sieber’s Jay.
*Not inthe Key. See Ridgway, Am. Journ., v, p. 43.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 4
GEN. 102-107 oF KEY. 51
238. XANTHOURA YNCAS (Bopp.) Bpe.,
var. LUXUOSA (Less.) Cs.
Rio Grande Jay.
239. PERISOREUS CANADENSIS (L.) Br.
Canada Jay.
[240.] MILVULUS TYRANNUS (L.) Bp.
Fork-tailed Fiycaicher.
241. MILVULUS FORFICATUS (Gm.) Sw.
Swallow-taiied Fiyecatcher. -
242. TYRANNUS CAROLIWNENSIS (L.) Bp.
Kingbird; Bee-martin.
243. TYRANNUS DOMINICENSIS (Gm.) Ricu.
Gray Kingbird.
244 TYRANNUS VERTICALIS Say.
Arkansas Flycatcher.
bo
pes
Or
. TYRANNUS VOCIFERANS Sw.
Cassin’s Fiycateher.
[246.] TYRANNUS MELANCHOLICUS V.,
var. CoucHIt (Bd.) Cs.
Couch’s Piycatcher.
247. MYIARCHUS CRINITUS (L.) Cas.
Great-crested Flycatcher.
248. MYTARCHUS CINERASCENS Lawr.
Ash=-throated Flycatcher.
(249.] MYIARCHUS LAWRENCEI (Giravp.) Bp.
Lawrence’s Flycatcher.
250. SAYORNIS SAYUS (Bp.) Bp.
Say’s Fiycatcher.
251. SAYORNIS NIGRICANS (Sw.) Bp.
Black Flycatcher.
GEN. 107-110 oF xkry.
252. SAYORNIS FUSCUS (Gm.) Bp.
Pewee; Pewit; Phoebe.
253. CONTOPUS BOREALIS (Sw.) Bp.
Olive-sided Flycatcher.
254. CONTOPUS PERTINAX Cas.
Coues’ Flycatcher.
255. CONTOPUS VIREWNS (1.) Cas.
Wood Pewee.
255a. CONTOPUS VIRENS (L.) Cas.,
var. RICHARDSONII (Sw.) Cs.,
Western Wood Pewee.
256. EMPIDONAX ACADICUS (Gm.) Bp.
Acadian Flycatcher.
257. EMPIDONAX TRAILLITI (Avp.) Bp.
Traill’s Flycatcher.
257a. EMPIDONAX TRAILLII (Aup.) Bp.,
var. PUSILLUS (Bd.) Cs.
[Little Western Flycatcher.
258. EMPIDONAX MINIMUS Bp.
Least Fiycatcher.
259. EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS Bp.
Wellow-bellied Fiycatcher.
260. EMPIDONAX HAMMONDII Bp.
Hammond’s Flycatcher.
261. EMPIDONAX OBSCURUS (Sw.) Bp.
Wright’s Ely catcher.
262. MITREPHORUS FULVIFRONS (Giravp.) SCL.,
var. PALLESCENS Cs.
Buff-breasted Fiycatcher.
GEN. 111, 114-120 oF xkry.
263. PYROCEPHALUS RUBINEUS (Bopp.) Gr.,
var. MEXICANUS (Scl.) Cs.
Vermilion Klycatcher.
264. ANTROSTOMUS CAROLINENSIS (Gm.) Gou.p.
Chuch=-will’s-widow.
265. ANTROSTOMUS VOCIFERUS (Wus.) Bp.
Whippoorwill; Night-jar.
266. ANTROSTOMUS NUTTALLII (Avp.) Cass.
Nuttall’s Whippoorwill.
267. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS (Briss.) Br.
Nighthawk.
267a. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS (Bnriss.) Bp.,
var. HENRYI (Cass.) All.
Western Nighthawk.
268. CHORDEILES TEXENSIS Lawre.
Texas Nighthawh.
269. PANYPTILA SAXATILIS (Woopn.) Cs.
White-throated Swift.
270. NEPHGiCETES NIGER (Gm.) Bp.,
var. BOREALIS (Kennerly) Cs.
Black Swift. —
271. CHAATURA PELASGIA (L.) STrpa.
Chimney Swift.
272? CHAATURA VAUXII (Towns.) DreKay.
Vaux’s Swift.
2738. HELIOPADICA XANTUSII Lawre.
KXantus Humming bird.
[274.] LAMPORNIS MANGO (L.) Sw.,
(var. PORPHYRULA?)
Black-throated Hummingbird.
55
CENe 2 oe) L262 TOR Ee
275. TROCHILUS COLUBRIS L. °
Ruby-throated Humming bird.
276. TROCHILUS ALEXANDRI Bovurc.
Bilack-ehinned Hummingbird.
277. SELASPHORUS RUFUS (Gm.) Sw.
Rutfous-backed Hummingbird.
278. SELASPHORUS PLATYCERCUS (Sw.) Gup.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird.
279. SELASPHORUS ANNA (Lgss.)—.
Anna Hummingbird.
280. SELASPHORUS COSTA (Bourc.) Bp.
Costa Hummingbird.
281. SELASPHORUS HELOISA (——) —.
Heloise Hummingbird.
282. STELLULA CALLIOPE (—-) Gip.
Calliope Hummingbird.
[283]. AGYRTRIA LINNZEI (Be.) —.
Linne Hummingbird.
[284]. TROGON MEXICANUS Sw.
Wexican Troezon.
[285]. MOMOTUS CASRULEICEPS Goutp.
Blue-headed Sawbill.
286. CERYLE ALCYON (L.) Bor.
Belted Kingfisher.
237. CERYLE AMERICANA (Gm.) Bor,
var. CABANISI (Reich.) Cs.
Cabanis’ Kingfisher.
288. CROTOPHAGA ANT L.
Ani.
289. GEOCOCCYX CALIFORNIANUS (Lzss.) Bp.
Ground Cuckoo; Chaparral Cock.
57
GEN. 128-131 OF KEY. 58)
290. COCCYZUS ERYTHROPHTHALMUS (Wits.) Bp.
Blach=-billed Cuckoo.
291. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS (L.) Bp.
Wellow=billed Cuckoo.
292. COCCYZUS SENICULUS (Latu.)—.
Mangrove Cuchoo.
293. CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS (L.) Gr.
ivory-billed Woodpecker.
294. HYLOTOMUS PILEATUS (L.) Bp.
Pileated Woodpecker; Logeock.
295. PICUS ALBOLARVATUS (Cass.) Bp.
White-headed Woodpecker.
296. PICUS BOREALIS V.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker.
297. PICUS SCALARIS Wacter.
Wexas Woodpecker.
297a. PICUS SCALARIS Wact.,
var. NUTTALLI (Gamb.) Cs.
Nuttall’s Woodpecker.
297b. PICUS SCALARIS Wact.,
var. LUCASANUS (Xant.) Cs.
St. Lucas Woodpecker.
298. PICUS VILLOSUS L.
Hairy Woodpecker.
298a. PICUS VILLOSUS L.,
var. HARRISI (Aud.) All.
Harris’ Woodpecker.
299. PICUS PUBESCENS L.
Downy Woodpecker.
GEN. 131-134 OF KEY.
299a. PICUS PUBESCENS L.,
var. GAIRDNERI (Aud.) Cs.
Gairdner’s Woodpecker.
300. PICOIDES ARCTICUS (Sw.) Gr.
Bilack-bachked Woodpecker.
301. PICOIDES AMERICANUS Bream.
Banded-backed Woodpecker.
30la. PICOIDES AMERICANUS Breum.,
var. DORSALIS (Bd.) All.
Striped-backed Woodpecker.
302. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS (L.] Bp.
Wellow-bellied Woodpecker.
302a. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS (L.) Bp.,
var. NUCHALIS (Bd.) All.
Ruchal Woodpecker.
303?* SPHYRAPICUS RUBER (Gm.) Bp.
Red-breasted Woodpecker.
304. SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS (Cass.) Bp.
Brown-headed Woodpecker.
305. SPHYRAPICUS WILLIAMSONI (News.) Bp.
Williamson’s Woodpecker.
306. CENTURUS CAROLINUS (L.) Br.
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
307. CENTURUS AURIFRONS (Wact.).
Wellow-faced Woodpecker.
308. CENTURUS UROPYGIALIS Bp.
Gila Woodpecker.
* Apparently a var. of 302.
GEN. 135-140 oF KEY.
309. MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS (2...) Sw.
Red-headed Woodpecker.
310. MELANERPES FORMICIVORUS (Sw.) Bp.
Californian Woodpecker.
310a. MELANERPES FORMICIVORUS (Sw.) BpP.,
var. ANGUSTIFRONS BD.
Narrow-ironted Woodpecker.
311. ASYNDESMUS TORQUATUS (Wus.) Cs.
Lewis’ Woodpecker.
312. COLAPTES AURATUS (L.) Sw.
Golden-winged Weodpecker; Flicker.
313. COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES Mau.
Gilded Woodpecker.
314. COLAPTES MEXICANUS Sw.
BRed-shafted Woodpecker.
315. CONURUS CAROLINENSIS (L.) Eva.
Carclina Parroquet,
316. STRIX FLAMMBEA L.,
var. AMERICANA (Aud.) Cs.
Barn Owl.
317. BUBO VIRGINIANUS (Gm.) Bp.
Great Horned Owl.
3172. BUBO VIRGINIANUS (Gm.) Bp.,
var. ARCTICUS (Sw.) Cass.
Arctic Horned Owl.
317b. BUBO VIRGINIANUS (Gm.) BpP.,
var. PACIFICUS Cass.
Pacific Horned Owl.
318.
GEN. 141-147 oF KEY.
SCOPS ASIO (1.) Br.
Screech Owl; Mottled Owl.
318a. SCOPS ASIO (L.) Br.,
var. KENNICOTTI (Ell.) Cs.
Hennmicott’s Owl.
318b. SCOPS ASIO (..) Bpr.,
324,
327.
var. MACCALLU (Cass.) Cs.
NicCall’s Owl.
- SCOPS FLAMMEOLA Sct.
Fiammuilated @vri.
. OTUS VULGARIS (2.),
var. WILSONIANUS (Less.) All.
Long-eared Owi.
-. BRACHYOTUS PALUSTRIS Auvct.
Short-eared Owl.
. SYRNIUM LAPPONICUM (1.),
var. CINEREUM (Gm.) Ridg.
Great Gray Owl.
3. SYRNIUM NEBULOSUM (Forst.) Gr.
Barred Owl.
SYRNIUM OCCIDENTALE Xant.
Western Barred Owl.
. NYCTEA NIVEA (Davp.) Gr.
Snowy Ovrvl.
. SURNIA ULULA (L.) Br.,
var. HUDSONICA (Gm.) Ridg.
Hawk Owl; Day Owl.
NYCTALE TENGMALMI (Gm.),
var. RICHARDSONII (Bp.) Ridg.
Penzgmalm’s Owl.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 5
65
GEN. 147-157 oF KEY.
328. NYCTALE ACADICA (Gm.) Br.
Acadian Owl; Saw-whet Owl.
329. GLAUCIDIUM PASSERINUM,
var. CALIFORNICUM (Scl.) Ridg.
Pygmy Owl.
330. GLAUCIDIUM FERRUGINEUM.
HRerrugineous Owl.
331. MICRATHENE WHITNEYI (Coop.) Cs.
Whitmey’s @vwi.
332. SPHOTYTO CUNICULARIA (Mot.),
var. HYPOGHA (Bp.) Cs.
Burrowing Owl.
333. CIRCUS CYANEUS (L.) Lacép.,
var. HUDSONIUS (L.) Cs.
Marsh Hawk; Marrier.
334. ROSTRHAMUS SOCIABILIS (V.) D’Ors.
EKvergiade Kite.
335. ICTINIA MISSISSIPPIENSIS (Wizts.) Gr.
Veississip zi Eiite.
336. ELANUS LEUCURUS (V.) Bp.
White-tailed Mite; Biack-shouldered Kite.
337. NAUCLERUS FURCATUS (L.) Vic.
\ Swallow-tailed Kite.
338. ACCIPITER FUSCUS (Gm.) Bp.
Sharp-shinned Mawk; Pigeon Hawk.
339. ACCIPITER COOPERI Bp.
Cooper’s Hawk; Chicken Hawk.
340. ASTUR ATRICAPILLUS (WIts.) Bp.
Goshawkh.
67
GEN. 158-159 oF KEY.
341. FAT.CO SACER Forst.
Gyrfaicen; Jerfalicon.
3d41a. FAT.CO SACER Forst.,
var. CANDICANS (Gm.) Ridg.
Greenland Gyrfalicon.
342. FATLLCO MEXICANUS Licur.
Lanier FKFaicon. |
343. FALCO COMMUNIS Variorvum.
Peregrine Falcon; buck Hawk.
344. FALCO COLUMBARIUS L.
Pigeon Hawk.
345. FALCO RICHARDSONII Ripa.
Bichardson’s Faicon.
346. FALL.CO SPARVERIUS L.
Sparrow Efawik.
346a. FALCO SPARVERIUS L.,
var. ISABELLINUS (Sw.) Ridg.
Esabelia Sparrow Hawk.
347. FALCO FEMORALIS Trem.
Femoral Falcon.
348. BUTEO UNICINCTUS (Temm.) Gr.,
var. HARRISI (Aud.) Ridg.
Harris’ Buzzard.
349? BUTEO COOPERI Cass.
Cooper’s Buzzard.
350? BUTHO HARLANT (Avp.) Bp.
Harlian’s Buzzard.
351. BUTEHO BOREALIS (Gm.) V.
Red-tailed Buzzard; Hen Hawk.
69
GEN. 159-161 oF KEY.
35la. BUTEO BOREALIS (Gm.) V.,
var. CALURUS (Cass.) Ridg.
Western Red-tailed Buzzard.
351b. BUTHO BOREALIS (Gm.) V.,
var. LUCASANUS Ridg.
St. Lucas Buzzard.
351c.* _ BUTEO BOREALIS (Gm.) V.,
var. KRIDERI.
Eierider’s Buzzard.
352. BUTHEO LINEATUS (Gm.) Jarp.
Red-shouldered Buzzard.
52a. BUTHO LINEATUS (Gm.) Jarp.,
var. ELEGANS (Cass.) Ridg.
Western Red-shouldered Buzzard.
353. BUTHO ZONOCERCUS Sct.
Band-tailed Hawk.
354. BUTHO SWAINSONTI Be.
Swainson’s Buzzard.
355. BUTEO PENNSYLVANICUS (Wus.) Bp.
Broad-winged Buzzard.
356. ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS (Brunn.) Gr.,
var. SANCTI-JOHANNIS (Gm.) Ridg.
Rough-legged Buzzard.
357. ARCHIBUTEO FERRUGINEUS (Licnut.) Gr.
Ferrugineous Buzzard.
358. ASTURINA PLAGIATA ScHLecet.
Gray Hawk.
359.t ONYCHOTES GRUBERI kine.
Gruber’s Buzzard.
71
*351c. Not in Key; not published at date of going to press.
+359. Questionably North American.
361.
365.
366.
371,
GEN. 162-171 OF KEY. 73
. PANDION HALIAETUS (L.) Savieny.
Fish Hawk; Osprey.
AQUILA CHRYSAETUS (1.).
Goiden Hagie.
. HALIAETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS ..) Savieny.
WV ihite-headed Hagie; Bald Hagie.
. POLYBORUS THARUS (Mozrt.) Cass.,
var. AUDUBONI (Cass.) Ridg.
Audubon’s Caracara.
- CATHARTES CALIFORNIANUS (Suaw) Cov.
Californian Vulture.
CATHARTES AURA (L.) ILLicER.
Purkey Buzzard.
CATHARTES ATRATUS (Bartr.) Lass.
Biaeck Vulture; Carrion Crow.
. COLUMBA FASCIATA Say.
Band-tailed Pigeon.
- COLUMBA FLAVIROSTRIS Wacrer.
BRed-billed Pigeon.
. COLUMBA LEUCOCEPHALA L.
White-crowned Pigeon.
. ECTOPISTES MIGRATORIUS (L.) Sw.
Wild Pigeon.
ZENADURA CAROLINENSIS (1L.) Bp.
Carolina Dove.
. ZENAADA AMABILIS Br.
Zenaida Dove.
. MELOPELETA LEUCOPTERA (L.) Bp.
White-winged Dove.
GEN. 172-178 OF KEY.
374. CHAMAPELEIA PASSERINA (L.) Sw.
Ground Dove.
374a. CHAMAIPELETIA PASSERINA (L.) Sw.,
var. PALLESCENS (Bd.) Cs.
St. Lucas Ground Dove.
375. SCARDAFELLA SQUAMOSA (TEmm.) Bp.,
var. INCA (Less.) Cs.
Sealed Dove.
376. GHOTRYGON MARTINICA (Gm.) Rercu.
Key West Dove.
377. STARNGENAS CYANOCEPHALA (L.) Bp.
Blue-headed Ground Dove.
378. ORTALIDA VETULA (WactLt.).
Vexamn Guan.
379. MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO L.
Purkey.
3792. MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO L..,
var. AMERICANA (Bartr.) Cs.
Common Wild Turkey.
380. TETRAO CANADENSIS L.
Canada Grouse; Spruce Partridge.
380a. TETRAO CANADENSIS L.,
var. FRANKLINI (Douglas) Cs.
Frankilin’s Grouse.
381. TETRAO OBSCURUS Say.
Dusky Grouse.
38la. TETRAO OBSCURUS Say,
var. RICHARDSON (Dougl.) Cs.
Richardson’s Grouse,
GEN. 179-184 OF KRY. V7
382. CENTROCERCUS UROPHASIANUS (Bp.) Sw.
Sage Cock; Cock-of-the-Pilains.
3838. PEDIGICETES PHASIANELLUS (2...) EL.
Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse.
383a. PEDIGECETES PHASIANELDOUS (1.) ELt.,
. var. COLUMBIANUS (Ord.) Cs.
Common Sharp-tailed Grouse.
384. CUPIDONIA CUPIDO (L.) Bp.
Pinnated Grouse; Prairie Hem.
385. BONASA UMBELMUS (L.) StTrepH.
Ruffed Grouse; Partridge; Pheasant.
385a. BONASA UMBELLUUS (L.) Srepu.,
var. UMBELLOIDES (Dougl.) Bd.
Gray Ruited Grouse.
385b. BONASA UMBELUUS (L.) Strepn.,
var. SABINEI (Dougl.) Cs.
Oregon Bufiied Grouse.
386. LAGOPUS ALBUS (Gm.) Aup.
Willow Ptarmigan.
387. LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS (Gm.) Lracu.
Rock Ptarmigan.
388. LAGOPUS LEUCURUS Sw.
White-tailed Ptarmigan.
389. ORTYX VIRGINIANUS (L1.) Be.
Virginia Partridge; Quail; Bob-white.
389a. ORTYX VIRGINIANUS (L.) Be.,
var. FLORIDANUS Cs.
Florida Partridge. |
GEN. 184-192 OF KEY. 79
389b. ORTYX VIRGINIANUS CL.) Br.,
390.
393.
394.
395.
396.
397.
398.
399.
400.
401.
var. TEXANUS (Lawr.) Cs.
Texan Partridge.
OREORTYX PICTUS (Dovuect.) Bp.
Piumed Partridge.
. LOPHORTYX CALIFORNICUS (Suaw) Bp.
Californian Partridge.
2. LOPHORTYX GAMBELI Notrr.
Gambels Partridge.
CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA (Via.) Gr.
Scaled Partridge.
CYRTONYX MASSENA (Less.) Gxp.
Massena Partridge.
SQUATAROLA HELVETICA (L.) Cuv.
Bilack=-bellied Plover.
CHARADRIUS FULVUS Gm.,
var. VIRGINICUS (Borck.) Cs.
Golden Piover.
AAGIALITIS VOCIFERUS (2.) Cass.
Hiildeer Piover.
fEGIALITIS WILSONIUS (Orp) Cass.
Wilsom’s Plover.
ZEGIALITIS SEMIPALMATUS (Bp.) Cas.
Semipaimated Piover; Ringneck.
fEGIALITIS MELODUS (Orb) Cas.
Piping Plover; Ringneck.
AEGIALITIS CANTIANUS (Lath.).
Smowy Piover.
GEN. 191-202 oF KEY. 81
402.* ABGIALITIS ASIATICUS (Patt.),
var. MONTANUS (Towns.) Cs.
Mountain Plover.
403. APHRIZA VIRGATA (Gm.) Gr.
Surf Bird.
404. HASMATOPUS PALLIATUS TeEmm.
Oyster-catcher.
405. HASMATOPUS NIGER Pattas.
Biack Oyster-catcher.
406. STREPSILAS INTERPRES (..) Itt...
Wurmstome.
406a. STREPSILAS INTERPRES (1.) I1t.,.
var. MELANOCEPHALUS (Vig.) Cs.
Black-headed Turnstone..
407. RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA Gm.
Avocet.
408. HIMANTOPUS NIGRICOLLIS V.
Stilt.
409. STEGANOPUS WILSONI (Sas.) Cs.
Wilson’s Phaiarope.
410. LOBIPES HYPERBOREUS (L.) Cvuv.
Northern Phalarope.
411. PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS (L.) Br.
KRed Phalarope.
412. PHILOHELA MINOR (Gm.) Gr.
American Woodcock.
[413.] SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA L.
Huropean Woodcock.
* May require to stand as Hudromias montanus (Towns.) Harting.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 6
GEN. 203-207 oF KEY.
414. GALLINAGO WILSONI (Temo.) Br.
American Snipe; Wilson’s Snipe.
415. MACRORHAMPHUS GRISEUS (Gm.) Leacu.
Red-breasted Snipe.
415a. MACRORHAMPHUS GRISEUS (Gm.) Leacu,
var. SCOLOPACEUS (Say) Cs.
Long-billied Snipe.
416. MICROPALAMA HIMANTOPUS (Bp.) Bp.
Stilt Sandpiper.
417. EREUNETES PUSILLUS (Z.) Cass.
Semipalilmated Sandpiper.
417a. EREUNETES PUSILLUUS (L.) Cass.,
var. OCCIDENTALIS (Lawr.) Cs.
Western Semipaimated Sandpiper.
418. TRINGA MINUTILLA V.
Least Sandpiper.
419. TRINGA BATRDII Coves.
Baird’s Sandpiper.
420. TRINGA MACULATA V.
Pectoral Sandpiper.
421. TRINGA BONAPARTEI Scut.
White-rumped Sandpiper.
422? TRINGA COOPERI Bp.
Cooper’s Sandpiper.
423. TRINGA MARITIMA Brunnicu.
Purple Sandpiper.
424, TRINGA ALPINA L.,
var. AMERICANA Cass.
American Dunlin.
83
GEN. 207-217 oF KEY.
425. TRINGA SUBARQUATA GuLD.
Curlew Sandpiper.
426. TRINGA CANUTUS L.
BRed-breasted Sandpiper; Knot.
426bis.* TRINGA CRASSIROSTRIS ScuHuece..
Thick-billed Sandpiper.
427. CALIDRIS ARENARIA (1.) ILL.
Sanderling; Ruddy Plover.
428. LIMOSA FEDOA (L.) Orb.
Great Marbled Godwit.
429. LIMOSA HUDSONICA (Latu.) Sw.
Hudsonian Godwit.
430. LIMOSA UROPYGIALIS Gou.p.
White-rumped Godwit.
431. TOTANUS SEMIPALMATUS Gm.
Semipaimated Tattler; Willett.
432. TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS Gm.
Greater Veli-taile.
433. TOTANUS FLAVIPES Gm.
Yellow=-shanks.
[434.] TOTANUS CHLOROPUS Nitsson.
Green-shanks.
435. TOTANUS SOLITARIUS Wus.
Solitary Tattler.
436. TRINGOIDES MACULARIUS (L.) Gr.
Spotted Sandpiper.
*Not in the Key. Obtained at St. Paul’s Island, by H. W. Elliot
J. E. Harting. See DALL, Am. Nat., vii, Oct., 1873, p. 634.
85
. Adentified by
a / tb
art
GEN. 218-222, 224-228 oF KEY. 87
[437.] PHILOMACHUS PUGNAX (L.) Gr.
Ruff; Reeve.
438. ACTITURUS BARTRAMIUS (Wus.) Bp.
Bartramian Sandpiper; Upland Plover.
439. TRYNGITES RUFESCENS (V.) Cas.
Buifi-breasted Sandpiper.
440. HETEROSCELUS INCANUS (Gm.) Cs.
Wandering Tattler.
441. NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS Wis.
Long-=-billed Curlew.
442, NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS Latu.
Hudsonian Curlew.
443, NUMENIUS BOREALIS (Forst.) Latu.
Esquimaux Curlew.
444, TANTATLUS LOCULATOR L.
Wood Ibis.
445. IBIS FALCINELLUS Avcr.,
var. ORDII (Bp.) All.
Glossy Ibis.
446. IBIS ALBA (L.) V.
White Ibis.
[447.] IBIS RUBRA (L.) V.
Scarlet Ibis.
448. PLATALEA AJAJA LI.
Roseate Spoonbill.
449. ARDEA HERODIAS L.
Great Blue Heron.
450? ARDEA WURDEMANNI Bp.
Florida Heron.
GEN. 228-238, 223 oF KEY.
451. ARDEA OCCIDENTALIS Auvup.
Great White Heron.
452. ARDEA EGRETTA Gm.
Great White Hgret.
453. ARDEA CANDIDISSIMA Jacquin.
Little White Egret.
454. ARDEA LEUCOGASTRA Gum.,
var. LEUCOPRYMNA (Licht.) Cs.
Louisiana Heron.
455. ARDEA RUFA Bopp.
Reddish Egret.
456. ARDEA CAIRULEA L.
Little Blue Heron.
457. ARDEA VIRESCENS L.
Green Heron.
458. NYCTIARDEA GRISEA (L.) STepz.,
var. NEVIA (Bodd.) Allen.
Night Heron.
459. NYCTIARDEA VIOLACEA (L.) Sw.
Wellow-crowned Night Heron.
460. BOTAURUS MINOR (Gm.).
Bittern; Indian Hem.
461. ARDETTA EXILIS (Gm.) Gr.
Least Bittern.
462. GRUS AMERICANUS (L.) Orp.
White Crane; Whooping Crane.
463. GRUS CANADENSIS (L.) Tem.
Brown Crane; sandhill Crane.
89
GEN. 239-247 oF KEY.
464. ARAMUS SCOLOPACEUS (Gm.) V.,
var. GIGANTEUS (Bp.) Cs.
Secolopaceous Courian.
465. RALLUS LONGIROSTRIS Bopp.
Clapper Rail; Salt-water Marsh Hen.
466. RALLUS BLEGANS Avp.
Fresh-water Marsh Hien.
467. RALLUS VIRGINIANUS L.
Virginia Rail.
468. PORZANA CAROLINA (L.) V.
Carolina Rail; Sora; Ortolam.
469. PORZANA NOVEBORACENSIS (Gm.) Cass.
Wellow Bail.
470. PORZANA JAMAICENSIS (Gm.) Cass.
Biack Bail.
[471.] CREX PRATEWNSIS Becustern.
Corn Crake.
472. GALLINULA GALEATA (Licurt.) Br.,
(CHLOROPUS var?).
Florida Gallinule.
473. PORPHYRIO MARTINICA (L.) TEM.
Purple Gallinule.
474. FULICA AMERICANA Gm.
Coot.
475. PHOAWICOPTERUS RUBER L.
Miamingo.
476. CYGNUS BUCCINATOR RICHARDSON.
Trumpeter Swan.
91
GEN. 247-250 OF KEY.
477. CYGNUS AMERICANUS SHARPLEss.
Whistling Swan.
478. ANSER ALBIFRONS Gum.,
var. GAMBELI (Hartl.) Cs.
American White-fronted Goose.
479? ANSER CAIRULESCENS L.
Blue Goose.
480. ANSER HYPERBOREUS Patt.
Smow Goose.
480a. ANSER HYPERBOREHUS Patt.,
var. ALBATUS (Cass.) Cs.
Lesser Snow Goose.
481. ANSER ROSSII Bp.
Boss’ Goose.
482. PHILACTE CANAGICA (SeEvast.) Bann.
Painted Goose.
[483.] BRANTA LEUCOPSIS (1.).
Barnacie Goose.
484. BRANTA BERNICLA (1.).
Brant Goose.
485. BRANTA CANADENSIS (1.).
Canada Goose; Wild Goose.
485a. BRANTA CANADENSIS (L.),
var. LEUCOPAREIA (Brandt) Cs.
White-collared Goose.
485b. BRANTA CANADENSIS (1.),
var. HUTCHINSIL (Rich.) Cs.
Hutchins’ Goose.
93
GEN. 251-259 oF KEY. 95
486. DENDROCYGNA FULVA (Gm.) Burn.
Kulvous Tree Duck.
487. DENDROCYGNA AUTUMNALIS (L.) Eyron.
Autumnal Tree Duck.
488. ANAS BOSCHAS L.
Mallard.
489. ANAS OBSCURA Gm.
Dusky Duck.
490. DAFILA ACUTA (L.) JENyYNs.
Pintail; Sprigtail.
491. CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS (L.) Gray.
Gadwall; Gray Duck.
[492.] MARECA PENELOPE (L.) Br.
European Widgeon.
493? MARECA AMERICANA (Gm.) STEPH.
American Widgeon; Baldpate.
[494.] QUERQUEDULA CRECCA (L.) Sreru.
English Teal.
495. QUERQUEDULA CAROLINEWNSIS (Gm.).
Green-winged Teal.
496. QUERQUEDULA DISCORS (L.) Stern.
Bilue-winged Veal. f
497. QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA (V.) Cass.
Cinnamon Teal.
498. SPATULA CLYPEATA (L.) Botz.
Shoveller.
499. AIX SPONSA (L.) Bors.
Summer Duck; Wood Duck.
500.
GEN. 260-268 OF KEY. , 97
FULIGULA MARILA (L.) STEPH.
Greater Biachkhead.
501? FULIGULA AFFINIS Eyton.
502.
503.
504.
506.
507.
508.
509.
510.
511.
512.
Besser Biachhead.
FULIGULA COLLARIS (Donovan) Bp.
Ring-necked Duck.
FULIGULA FERINA (2.) Sw.,
var. AMERICANA (Hyton) Coues.
Bedhead; Pochard.
FULIGULA VALLISNERIA (Wits.) STEpu.
Canvas-back.
. BUCEPHALA CLANGULA (L.) Gr.
Golden-eyed Duckh.
BUCEPHALA ISLANDICA (Gm.) Bp.
Barrow’s Golden-eye.
BUCEPHALA ALBEOLA (1.) Bp.
Bufie-headed Duck.
HARELDA GLACIALIS (L.) Lracu.
Long-tailed Duck.
CAMPTOLAMUS LABRADORIUS (Gm.) Gr.
Labrador Duck.
HISTRIONICUS TORQUATUS (L.) Br.
Hiarlequin Puck.
SOMATERIA STELLERI (Patt.) Jarpine.
Steller’s Duch.
SOMATERIA FISCHERI (Branpr) Cougs.
Spectacied Eider.
. SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA (L.) Luacn.
Hider Buck.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 7
GEN. 268-274 OF KEY. 99
514? SOMATERIA V-NIGRA Gray.
Pacifie Hider.
515. SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS (1.) Lracu.
Kiimg Hider.
516. G2ADEMTA AMERICANA Sw.
Americam Black Seoter.
517. GDEMTA FUSCA (L.) Sw.,
(? var. VELVETINA Cass.)
Velvet Scoter.
518. G@DEMIA PERSPICILLATA (L.) Fire.
Surf Dueck.
518a. G2DEMIA PERSPICILLATA (L.) FLemrme,
var. TROWBRIDGE! (Bd.) Coues.
Long-billed Scoter.
519. ERISMATURA RUBIDA (Wus.) Bp.
Buddy Duck.
[520.] HRISMATURA DOMINICA (L.) Eyton.
St. Domingo Buch.
521. MERGUS MERGANSER L.
Merganser; Goosander.
522. MERGUS SERRATOR L.
Bed-breasted Merganser.
523. MERGUS CUCULLATUS L.
Hooded Mergamser.
524. SULA BASSANA L.
Gannmet; Solan Goose.
525. SULA FIBER L.
Booby Ganmet.
526. PELECANUS TRACHYRHYNCHUS LatuH.
Wiihite Pelican.
GEN. 274-280 oF KEY. 101
527. PELECANUS FUSCUS L.
Brown Pelican.
528. GRACULUS CARBO (L.) Gray.
Common Cormorant; Shag.
529. GRACULUS CINCINNATUS (BranprT) Gray.
W hite-tufted Cormorant.
530. GRACULUS DILOPHUS (Sw.) Gray.
Double-crested Cormorant.
530a. GRACULUS DILOPHUS (Sw.) Gray,
var. FLORIDANUS (Aud.) Coues.
Florida Cormorant.
531. GRACULUS MEXICANUS (Branprt) Be.
Yiexican Cormorant.
532. GRACULUS PENICILLATUS (Branpr) Br.
Brandt’s Cormorant.
533. GRACULUS PEHRSPICILLATUS (Patt.) Lawaz.
Pallas’ Cormorant.
534. GRACULUS BICRISTATUS (Patt.) Bp.
Red-taced Cormorant.
635. GRACULUS VIOLACEUS (Gum.) Gr.
VWiolet-green Cormorant.
536. PLOTUS ANHINGA L.
Anhinga; Darter.
537. TACHYPETES AQUILUS (L.) V.
Frigate.
538. PHAETHON FLAVIROSTRIS Branpr.
Wellow-billed Tropic Bird.
539. STERCORARIUS SKUA (Brunn.) Couszs.
Shua Gull.
GEN. 280-281 oF KEY. 103
540. STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS (Temm.) Lawre.
Pomarime Jaeger.
541. STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS (Brunn.) Gray.
BRichardsom’s Jaeger.
542. STERCORARIUS BUFFONI (Bore) Cougs.
Aretic Jaeger; Long-tailed Jaeger.
543. LARUS GLAUCUS Brunn.
Giaucous Guill.
544. LARUS LEUCOPTERUS Fazer.
W hite-winged Guill.
545. LARUS GLAUCESCENS Licar.
Glaucous-wimged Gull.
546. LARUS MARINUS L.
Great Blach-pPacked Gull.
547. LARUS ARGENTATUS Bruyn.
Herring Guil; Common Gull.
547a. LARUS ARGENTATUS Brunn.,
var. SMITHSONIANUS Coues.
Americam Herring Gull.
547b. LARUS ARGENTATUS Brounn.,
var. OCCIDENTALIS (Aud.) Coues.
Westerm Eerring Gull.
548. LARUS DELAWARENSIS Orp.
Ring-billed Gull.
548a. LARUS DELAWARENSIS Onp,
var. CALIFORNICUS (Lawr.) Coues.
Californian Gull.
549. LARUS CANUS L.,
var. BRACHYRHYNCHUS (Rich.) Coues.
American Mew Guill.
GEN. 281-291 oF KEY.
550. LARUS EBURNEUS Gm.
Evory Guill.
551. LARUS BEHLCHERI Vicors.
W hite-headed Gull
552. LARUS TRIDACTYLUS L.
Kittiwake Guill.
552a. LARUS TRIDACTYLUS L.,
var. KOTZEBUI (Bp.) Coues.
Pacific Mittiwake.
553. LARUS BREVIROSTRIS (Branpr) Covss.
Short-billed Kittiwake.
554. LARUS ATRICILLA L.
Laughing Gull.
555. LARUS FRANKLINI Rica.
Branklin’s Bosy Guill.
556. LARUS PHILADELPHIA (Orp) Cougs.
Bonrnaparte’s Gull.
557. RHODOSTETHIA ROSEA (Maccit.) Bp.
Wedge-tailed Gull.
558. XEMA SABINET (Sas.) Br.
Fork-tailed Gull.
559. XEMA FURCATUM (NeExovx).
Swallow-tailed Guill.
560. STERNA ANGLICA Montacu.
Guli-billed Werm; Marsh Hern.
561. STERNA CASPTA Patuas,
var. IMPERATOR Coues.
Caspian Tern.
562. STERNA REGIA GameBet.
Royal Wernm.
105
GEN. 291-295 OF KEY. 107
563. STERNA GALERICULATA Licat.
Elegant Werm.
564. STERNA CANTIACA Gm.
Sandwich Wern.
565. STERNA HIRUNDO L.
Common Term; Sea Swallow.
566. STHRNA FORSTERI Nort.
Horster’s Ferm.
567. STERNA MACROURA Naumann.
Arctic Term.
568. STERNA LONGIPENNIS Norpmann.
Pike’s Vern.
569. STERNA PARADISAA Brunn.
Boseate Term.
570. STERNA SUPERCILIARIS V.
Least Vern.
[571.] STERNA TRUDEAUL Auvp.
PTiudeaw’s Wern.
572. STHRNA ALEUTICA Barren.
Aleutian Wern.
573. STERNA FULIGINOSA Gm.
Sooty Tern.
[574.] STERNA ANOSTH ATA Scoport.
Bridied Fern.
575. HY DROCHELIDON FISSIPES (L.) Gray.
Biack Wern.
576. ANOUS STOLIDUS (L.) Leaca.
Noddy Tern.
577. RHYNCHOPS NIGRA L.
Black Shimmer.
GEN. 296-305 OF KEY.
578. DIOME DEA BRACHYURA TeEmm.
Short-tailed Albatross.
579. DIOMEDEA NIGRIPES Auvp.
Bliachk-footed Albatross.
580. DIOME DEA FULIGINOSA Gm.
Sooty Albatross.
581. FULMARUS GIGANTEUS (Gm.).
Giant Kulmar.
582. FULMARUS GLACIALIS (1.) StTepx.
Fulmar Petrei.
5822. FULMARUS GLACIALIS (1.) Stepu.,
var. PACIFICUS (Aud.) Coues.
Pacific Fulmar.
582b. FULMARUS GLACIALIS (L ) Srepu.,
var. RODGERSI (Cass.) Coues.
Bodgers’ Fulmar.
[583.] FULMARUS TENUIROSTRIS (Avup.) Cougs.
Slender-billed Kulmar.
[584.] DAPTION CAPEWNSIS (L.) Stepu.
Pintado Petrel; Cape Pigeon.
[585.] AASTRELATA HASSITATA (Kuni) Cougs.
_ Black-capped Petrel.
586. HALOCYPTENA MICROSOMA Cougs.
Wedge-tailed Petrel; Least Petrel.
587. PROCELLARIA PELAGICA L.
Stormy Petrel; Mother Carey’s Chicken.
588. CYMOCHOREA LEUCORRHOA (V.) Cougs.
Leach’s Petrel.
589. CYMOCHOREA MELANTIA (Bp.) Cougs.
Biack Petrel.
109
GEN. 305-310 OF KEY. Wu
590. CYMOCHOREA HOMOCHROA Cougs.
Ashy Petrel.
591. OCEANODROMA FURCATA (Gm.) Bp.
Fork-tailed Petrei.
592. OCHANODROMA HORNBYI (Gray) Bp.
Hornby’s Petrel.
5938. OCHANITES OCEANICA (Kuun_L) Couss.
Wilson’s Petrel.
[594.] FREGETTA GRALLARIA (V.) Be.
White-bellied Petrel.
[595.] PUFFINUS MELANURUS (Bonn.) Cougs.
Bilack-tailed Shearwater.
596. PUFFINUS KUHLII Br.
Cinmereous Shearwater.
597. PUFFINUS MAJOR Faber.
Greater Shearwater.
598? PUFFINUS CREATOPUS Cousrs.
Flesh-footed Snearwater.
599. PUFFINUS ANGLORUM Temm.
Miamhks Shearwater.
600. PUFZINUS OBSCURUS (Gm.) Laru.
Dushy Shearwater.
601? PUFFINUS OPISTHOMELAS Cougs.
Biaech=-vented shearwater.
602? PUFFINUS FULIGINOSUS Srrickt.
Sooty Shearwater.
603? PUFFINUS AMAUROSOMA Cougs.
Darh-bodied Shearwater.
604. PUFFINUS TENUIROSTRIS Temm.
Slender-billed Shearwater.
GEN. 311-314 OF KEY. 113
605. COLYMBUS TORQUATUS Brunn.
Loon; Great Northern Diver.
605a. COLYMBUS TORQUATUS Brunn.,
var. ADAMSII (Gray) Coues.
Wellow-billed Loon.
606. COLYMBUS ARCTICUS L.
Biack-throated Diver.
606a. COLYMBUS ARCTICUS L.,
var. PACIFICUS (Lawr.) Coues.
Pacific Diver.
607. COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS L.
Red-throated Diver.
608. PODICEPS OCCIDENTALIS Lawr.
Western Grebe.
608a. PODICEPS OCCIDENTALIS Lawr.,
var. CLARKIL (Lawr.) Coues.
Clarke’s Grebe.
609. PODICEPS CRISTATUS (L.) Latu.
Crested Grebe.
610. PODICEPS GRISHIGENA (Bopp.) Gray,
var HOLBOLLI (Reinh.) Coues.
Bed-necked Grebe.
611. PODICEPS CORNUTUS (Gm.) Latu.
Hiocrmed &rebe.
612. PODICEPS AURITUS (1.) Lartu.,
var. CALIFORNICUS (Heerm.) Coues.
American Hared Grebe.
613. PODICEPS DOMINICUS (L.)
St. Domingo Grebe.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 8
614.
615.
616.
617.
618.
6184.
619.
620.
621.
624.
625.
GEN. 315-323 OF KEY. is
PODILYMBUS PODICEPS (2...) Lawr.
Pied-billed Dabchick.
ALCA IMPENNIS L.
Great Auk.
[Extinct ?]
UTAMANTA TORDA (L.) Lracu.
Razor-billed Auk.
FRATERCULA CORNICULATA (Navm.) Gray.
Hormed Pufiim.
FRATERCULA ARCTICA (2...) SrEpuH.
Common Pufiim; Sea Parrot.
FRATERCULA ARCTICA (L.) StTepu.,
var. GLACIALIS (Leach) Coues.
Large-billed Pufiim.
FRATERCULA CIRRHATA (PALt.) Srmrn.
Tufted Pufiin.
CERATORHINA MONOCERATA (Patt.) Cass.
Hiorm-billed Awk.
PHALERIS PSITTACULA (Patt.) Tem.
Parroquet Awki.
. SIMORHYNCHUS CRISTATELLUS (Patt.) Merrem.
Crested Awkh.
. SIMORHYNCHUS CAMTSCHATICUS (Lerecn.) Scuu.
Whiskered Auk.
SIMORHYNCHUS PUSILLGLUS (Patt.) Cours.
Knob-billed Auk; Least Auk.
PTYCHORHAMPHUS ALEUTICUS (Patu.) Branprt.
Aleutian Awk.
626.
630.
631.
GEN. 324-328 OF KEY. 117
MERGULUS ALLE (L.) Viet.
Sea Dove; Dovelkie.
. SYNTHLIBORHAMPHUS ANTIQUUS (Gm.) Branpr.
Black-throated Guillemot.
. SYNTHLIBORHAMPHUS
WURMIZUSUME (Temm.) Covuzs.
Wemmineh’s Aula
. BRACHYRHAMPHUS MARMORATUS (Gm.) Branpr.
Miarbled Miurreiet.
BRACHYRHAMPHUS KITTLITZII Branpr.
Hiittlitz’s Viurrelet.
URIA GRYLLE (L.) Brunn.
Black Guillemot; Sea Pigeon.
632.
633.
634.
635.
URIA COLUMBA (Patt.) Cass.
Pigeon Guillemot.
URIA CARBO (Patt.) Branpr.
Sooty Guillemot.
LOMVIA TROILE (L.) Branpt.
Common Guillemot; Wdurre.
LOMVIA ARRA (Patt.) Covzs.
Thick-billed Guillemot.
a
‘i
EXTINCT SPECIES.
UINTORNIS LUCARIS Marsu.
- AQUILA DANAWNA Marszu.
- BUBO LEPTOSTEUS Mars.
MELEAGRIS ANTIQUUS Marsu.
MELEAGRIS ALTUS Marsu.
MELEAGRIS CELER Marsu.
GRUS HAYDENT Marszu.
. GRUS PROAVUS Mars.
ALETORNIS NOBILIS Marsu.
. ALETORNIS PERNIX Marsz.
. ALETORNIS VENUSTUS Marsz.
. ALETORNIS GRACILIS Marsu.
. ALETORNIS BELLUS Marsz.
. TELMATORNIS PRISCUS Marsu.
. TELMATORNIS AFFINIS Mansn.
(119)
EXTINCT SPECIES. WAAL
16. PALMOTRINGA LITTORALIS Marsz.
17. PALHOTRINGA VETUS Marsu.
18. PALMOTRINGA VAGANS Marsu.
19. SULA LOXOSTYLA Copx.
20. GRACULUS IDAHENSIS Marsu.
21. GRACULAVUS VELOX Marsu.
22. GRACULAVUS PUMILUS Marsu.
23. GRACULAVUS ANCEPS Marsu.
23bis.* GRACULAVUS AGILIS Marsu.
24. ICHTHYORNIS DISPAR Marsu.
24bis.f APATORNIS CELER Marsz.
25. PUFFINUS CONRADI Marsu.
26. CATARRACTES ANTIQUUS Marsu.
27. CATARRACTES AFFINIS user,
28. HESPERORNIS REGALIS Mars.
29. LAORNIS EDVARDSIANUS Marsu.
*Not in the Key. (Marsh, Am. Jour., Sci. and Arts, vy, p. 230, March, 1873.)
t+ Not in the Key. This species, with No. 24, represents a new order, Ichthyor-
nithes, of a new subclass, Odontornithes. (Marsh, Am. Jour., Sci. and Arts, v,
p. 161, Feb., 1873.)
Jed JeIN DDS
CONTAINING
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
TO THE CHECK LIST.
PREPARED under circumstances of remote isolation which deprived
the author of the advantage of certain works of reference he desired
to consult, the CHECK LIST contains some names for which no
authority is cited, and in a few instances a change of the authority
given may be required.
One new species has been added to the North American fauna during
the printing of the List; five additional known species have since been
ascertained to occur in this country, and meanwhile several new varie-
ties have been published after the impression had passed the page
where they should respectively appear; these are brought into the
present connection. Most of them appear entitled to varietal recog-
nition; but in printing the names formally, for the convenience of
those who may desire to use such names in labelling, the author must
not necessarily be held to endorse them in every instance.
The body of the List was printed, and some early copies distributed,
in Dec., 1873; but the publication of the volume was held over until
1874, to insert in the Appendix names then about being published.
No. 41? The query indicates a probability that this is a variety of
No. 40, as held by Mr. Allen.
No. 46. The United States form constitutes a variety of true mezt-
canus. See Ridgway, Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 603.
(123)
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 125
46. CATHERPES MEXICANUS (Sw.) Bp.,
var. CONSPERSUS Ridg.
White-throated Wren.
No. 58a. The pale western Eremophila, not the same as the small
bright southwestern var. rufa, may be distinguished as
53b. HREMOPHILA ALPESTRIS (Forst.),
var. LEUCOLZMA Coues.
Prairie Lark.
No. 55bis. The following species, a straggler from Asia, is in the
Smithsonian Institution from St. Michael’s, Alaska, and should take
place in the list.
[55bis.] ANTHUS PRATENSIS Becusr.
WMieadow Pipit.
No. 68. The Pacific form is varietally distinguishable. See Ridg-
way, Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 606. The Floridan form, later distinguished
by Mr. Ridgway as var. obscurus, seems hardly worthy of recognition
_ by name.
68a. HELMINTHOPHAGA CELATA (Say) Bp.,
var. LUTESCENS Ridg.
Golden @range-crowned Warbler.
No. 88. On the Mississippi Valley form, see Ridgway, Am. Nat.,
vii, 1873, 606.
88a. DENDRGiCA DOMINICA (L.) Bp.,
var, ALBILORA Bd.
White-browed Yellow-throated Warbler.
No. 99? The probability mentioned in the text may be regarded as
assured.
No. 102. The Pacific form is varietally distinguishable. See Ridg-
way, Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 608.
102a. MYIODIOCTES PUSILULUS (Wus.) Bpr.,
var. PILEOLATA (Pall.) Ridg.
Pacific Flycatching Warbler.
[No. 106.] According to Baird and Ridgway, Am. Nat., vii, 1873,
612, this should stand as C. bahamensis.
[106.] CERTHIOLA BAHAMENSIS Reich.
' Hiomey Creeper.
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 127
No. 135a. The C. elegans of Baird (not of Swainson) has been re-
named C. ludovicianus var. robustus, a name which, however, it may
not be necessary to adopt. (Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 609.)
[No. 188]? The query indicates that the determination of specific
validity, cited and adopted in the Key, may have been made by Dr.
Tristram on grounds held in the Key to constitute only geographical
varieties; so that we may revert to the view of its original describer
as P. coccinea var. cassini Bd.
[1388.] PYRRHULA COCCINEA,
var. CASSINI Bd.
Cassin’s Bullfinch.
No. 144. The Leucosticte tephrocotis var. australis Allen, lately de-
scribed by Mr. Ridgway (Ess. Inst. Bull., v, 197), I believe to be
merely the midsummer plumage of the ordinary bird, as my Agiothus
var. fuscescens probably is of A. linaria.
No. 155. For chestnut-colored read chestnut-collared.
‘¢ 157. Omit the query, which should have been affixed to the next
species.
No. 157bis. To be cancelled. See Scott, Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 564;
Coues, ibid., p. 696.
No. 165. There is a curious small blackish form of this species from
Florida, which has been distinguished (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 198) as
1654. AMMODROMUS MARITIMUS Sw.,
var. NIGRESCENS Ridgw.
Bushy Seaside Finch.
No. 170a. Mr. Ridgway has lately demonstrated to my satisfaction
that Peucea cassini is a distinct species; the bird which I called ‘‘var.
cassint” is a variety of estivalis which he proposes to call var. arizone.
Am. Nat., vii, 1873, 616. So the species and varieties will stand :—
170a. PEUCZHA ASSTIVALIS (Licut.) Cas.,
var. ARIZONZ Ridg.
Arizona Pine Fimecin.
170bis. PHEUCAZA CASSINI (Woopu.) Bp.
Cassin’s Pine Finch.
No. 173. A very notable variety of Poospiza belli, from Nevada, has
lately been characterized (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 198). It is much larger,
paler and grayer, with streaked interscapulars.
173a. POOSPIZA BELLI (Cass.) Sct.,
var. NEVADENSIS Ridg.
Nevadan Finch.
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 129
No. 174. The form of Junco with white wing-bars, noted in the
Key, p. 141, is named J. hyemalis var. aikent Ridgway, Am. Nat., vii,
1873,616. See also Pr. Bost. Soc., xv, 1872, p. 201.
174a. JUNCO HYEMALIS (1.) Scl.,
var. AIKENI Ridg.
White-winged Snowbird.
Nos. 175? 176? The queries indicate the gradation with No. 174
noted in the Key, p. 141.
No. 183a. The true Z. Jeucophrys var. gambeli is a Pacific coast form,
from which the Middle Coast form has been distinguished (Bull. Ess.
Inst., v, 198) as
188b. LONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS (forst.) Sw.,
var. INTERMEDIA Ridgw.
Ridgway’s Sparrow.
No. 206. For Canon read Canon.
‘+ 210. The prairie form has been characterized as Dolichonyx
oryzivorus var. albinucha Ridg. (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 198), a name it
may not be necessary to adopt.
No. 216. For Dandin read Daudin.
‘¢ 2920. For Girand read Giraud.
‘¢ 226. For Nuttallii read Nuttalli.
‘¢ 2999a. For Gairdnerii read Gairdneri.
“¢ 237. The question of synonymy left open in the Key, p. 166, has
been determined (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 199) as follows: On sordida”’
of the Key is a new variety, arizone of ultramarina, the true sordida
being a Mexican variety of the same species. Accordingly, No. 237
should stand as
237. APHELOCOMA ULTRAMARINA (Bp.) Cas.,.
var. ARIZONZ (Ridg.)
Arizona Ultramarime Jay..
No. 239. Two varieties of Canada jay, one from Alaska, the other
from the Rocky Mountains, have lately been named (Bull. Ess. Inst.,
Weel).
239a. PERISOREUS CANADENSIS (L.) Bpe.,
f ar. OBSCURUS Ridg.
Dusky Canada Jay.
239b. PERISOREUS CANADENSIS (2.) Bpr.,
var. CAPITALIS Bd.
Rocky Mountain Jay.
CHECK LIST BIRDS. 8)
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 131
No. 274bis. A fine species of humming bird has been discovered by
Mr. H. W. Henshaw to inhabit Arizona, and has been determined
by Mr. Lawrence to be Hugenes fulgens. (Am. Nat., viii, 1874, in
press. )
274bis. EUGENES FULGENS (Svw.).
Refulgent Hummingbird.
No. 279. The authority is (Less.) Br.
** 281. The authority is (LEss.) GLb.
“© 292. The authority is (LaruH.) NUTT.
<< 303? This species, queried in the text, and in Key, p. 195, may
be regarded as a variety of 302, the intergradation, through 302a, prov-
ing complete. See Ridgway, Am. Jour., iv, Dec., 1872.
302b. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS (L.) Bp.,
var. RUBER (Gm.) Ridg.
Bed-breasted Woodpecker.
Nos. 304, 305. Observations lately made by Mr. H. W. Henshaw
(Am. Nat., viii, 1874, in press) are to the effect that Sphyrapicus thy-
roideus is the female of S. williamsoni. The opposite sexes of each
of these species have not been satisfactorily recognized, and upon
examination of Mr. Henshaw’s material, I find almost conclusive evi-
dences in favor of his views, substantiating his observations. Such
sexual differences are unique in the family. As the older name, S.
thyroideus will stand for the species, S. williamsoni becoming a syno-
nyme. No. 305 is therefore to be cancelled.
No. 307. The authority is (WaGL.) GRay.
No. 318. A dark Floridan form of Scops has been characterized
under the following name (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 200) :—
318c. SCOPS ASIO (L.) Br.,
var. FLORIDANUS Ridg.
HFioridam Screech Owl.
No. 320. The authority is FLEMING.
“¢ 321. The authority is (BEcHST.) Bp.
‘¢ 322. The term cinereum has priority over lapponicum ; the bird
should stand as
322. SYRNIUM CINEREUM (Gm.) Aup.,
Great Gray Owl.
No. 327. The authority is (Gm.) Bp.
‘¢ 329. The authority is (L.) Be.
** 330. The authority is (Max.) Kaur.
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 133
Nos. 343, 344. The dark northwest coast forms of duck hawk and
pigeon hawk respectively have been named (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 201)
as follows :—
343a. FALCO COMMUNIS Gm.,
var. PEALEI Ridg.
Peale’s Duch Hawk.
344a. FALCO COLUMBARIUS L.,
var. SUCKLEYI Ridg.
Suchiey’s Pigeon Hawkh.
No. 35lc. The authority is Hoopss, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1873, 238, pl.
5 (lowa).
No. 381. A dark form of Tetrao obscurus, from Sitka, has lately been
characterized (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 199): it is more like true obscurus
than like var. richardsoni, having the broad terminal slate bar of the
tail.
381lb. THTRAO OBSCURUS Say,
var. FULIGINOSA (Ridg.).
Sithan Dusky Grouse.
No. 384. A pale form of Cupidonia, from Texas, has lately been
characterized (Bull. Ess. Inst., v, 199) :—
384a. CUPIDONIA CUPIDO (L.) Bp.,
var. PALLIDICINCTA Ridg.
Texas Prairie Hem.
No. 400. A variety of this species is described by Mr. Ridgway,
(Am. Nat., viii, 1874, 109), as A. melodus var. circumcinctus, having
the black pectoral band complete.
_400a. ASGIALITIS MELODUS (Orp) Capz.,
var. CIRCUMCINCTUS Ridg.
Missouri Piping Plover.
No. 400bis. A new species of Mgialitis is described from San Fran-
cisco by Mr. Ridgway (Am. Nat., viii, 1874, 109).
400bis. AIGIALITIS MICRORHYNCHUS Ripa.
Slender-billed Plover.
No. 401. The American form of 4. cantianus may be considered
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 135
varietally distinct from the European (see Ridgway, Am. Nat., viil,
1874, 109).
401. AEGIALITIS CANTIANUS (Lartu.),
var. NIVOSUS (Cass.) Ridgw.
Snowy Plover.
No. 402*. As intimated in the text, the North American mountain
plover is perfectly distinct from the Asiatic. I have only lately seen it
in breeding dress: it has no black pectoral band, but a transverse
black coronal belt and black loral stripe.
402. HUDROMIAS MONTANUS (Towns.) HarTING.
Mountain Plover.
No. 415a. It is not necessary to recognize this even by varietal
name; ‘‘ YM. scolopaceus” being merely longer-billed specimens of M.
griseus, such as may be shot out of almost any flock of the latter.
The range of variation in length of bill is no greater than that occur-
ring in Hreunetes pustllus, as noted in the Key, p. 254.
No. 442bis. A well known Pacific curlew, before overlooked in the
Smithsonian collection, was taken at Fort Renai, Alaska, May 18, 1869,
by F. Bischoff, and should be added to the last as a straggler.
[442bis.] NUMENIUS FEMORALIS Pratt.
Bristie-Dbellied Curlew.
No. 445. According to Mr. Ridgway (Am. Nat., viii, 1874, 110), the
ordinary North American glossy ibis is absolutely identical with that
of the Old World. He, however, finds two other species in western
United States, £. guarauna and J. thalassinus. According to this
determination our species would stand as follows :—
445. IBIS FALCINELBUS Auvcr.
Glossy Ibis.
445bis. IBIS GUARAUNA (Linn.) Ripa.
Wihite-faced Ibis.
445ter. [IBIS THALASSINUS Ripe.
Q
Green Ibis.
No. 448bis. I am informed by Prof. Baird that the Jabiru, of Cen-
tral America, was taken some years since at Austin, Texas. It should
enter the list as a straggler.
[448bis.] MYCTERIA AMERICANA L.
Jabiru.
APPENDIX TO CHECK LIST. 137
No. 450? For occasion of the query see Key, p. 267.
No. 466. A pale form is described from California. See Ridgway
(Am. Nat., viii, 1874, 111).
466a. RALLUS ELEGANS Aovbp.,
var. OBSOLETUS Ridg.
Californian Bail.
No. 470. A peculiar variety of the black rail is described from the
Farallones by Mr. Ridgway (Amer. Nat., viii, 1874, 111).
470a. PORZANA JAMAICENSIS (Gm.) Cass.,
var. COTURNICULUS Bd.
Pacific Blach Rail.
No. 472. The relationships of this form to the European G. chloropus
require further investigation. It will probably stand as
472. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS Larn.,
var. GALEATA (Licht.:) Hartl.
No. 479? Compare Key, p. 282.
No. 489. A lighter colored form of dusky duck, with a buff throat, is
described from Florida (by Mr. Ridgway, J. c.), where it is resident.
4892. ANAS OBSCURA Gm.,
var. FULVIGULA Ridg.
Floridan Dusky Dueck.
No. 493? The query indicates probability of only varietal distinction
from No. 492.
No. 501? The query indicates probability of only varietal distinction
from No. 500.
No. 575bis. A specimen of the European white-winged tern, Hydro-
chelidon leucoptera, was taken in Wisconsin, July 5, 1873, by Th. Kum-
lein, and presented to the Smithsonian by Dr. Brewer. This is the
first instance known of its occurrence in this country.
(575bis.]} HYDROCHELIDON LEUCOPTERA (Mets.) Bor.
White-winged Biack Tern.
CHECK List BIRDS. 9*
en Ye ol ©
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
BY ELLIOTT COUES, M.D.
This work consists of 369 Imperial 8vo pages, and is illustrated by 6 Steel Plates
and 238 Woodcuts. Itis designed as a Manual or Text Book of the
¥ \
BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA,
and is an exponent of the latest views in Ornithology.
The INTRODUCTORY part gives a general account of the
ANATOMY AND CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
and full Explanations of all the Terms Used in ORNITHOLOGY: a KEY to the
Genera amd Subgenera follows in the form of a continuous artificial table, while a
Synopsis of Living and Fossil Birds
contains concise descriptions of every North American Species known at this time,
with characters of the higher groups and remarks relating to forms not found in
North America. s
Price $¢@ a Copy in Hull Cloth Binding.
PUBLISHED BY THE
NATURALISTS’ AGENCY, Salem, Mass.
(Prospectus furnished on application.)
WE GIVE BELOW A FEW NOTICES OF THE PRESS WHICH WILL GIVE A GENERAL
IDEA OF THE VALUE OF THIS WORK.
“The reputation of the author, who is so well known by his works on sea-birds,
and for the anatomy of the loon, cannot but be increased by this production,
which illustrates on every page the extent of his general information and the
soundness of his judgment. The subject is treated in a manner rather different
from that usually adopted by systematic writers; * * * there is a freshness
and boldness in the manner in which facts are handled, which will be extremely
acceptable.”— Nature (London), May 8, 1873, p. 22.
‘““Mr. Coues’ ‘Key to North American Birds,’ somewhat curiously entitled, is a
very large and handsome volume, beautifully printed and profusely illustrated.”
— Saturday Review (London), Feb. 22, 1873.
‘“‘A critical examination of Dr. Coues’ book reveals, it is true, here and there,
slight faults of execution, but they in no way detract essentially from its value as
a reliable hand-book, and one well suited to meet the wants of beginners in ornie
thology, while it affords at the same time a standard and convenient work of ref-
erence for advanced students and even specialists. * * * The reader is made
acquainted, in a general way, with the exotic as well as North American families
of the avian class. In the descriptions of the species, Dr. Coues has shown a
2
happy skill in seizing upon such distinctions as are alone significant. * * * The
geographical distribution of each species is generally fully indicated, and occa-
sionally are added terse characterizations of their habits. * * * One of the
most important features of this portion of the work, and one almost for the first
time introduced into a general work on ornithology, is the critical discrimination
“made between species, and varieties or geographical races. Recent advances in
the science have made these discriminations indispensable, and throughout the
work they are rigidly and judiciously introduced. * * * The volume closes
with a synopsis of all the fossil birds as yet discovered in North America, * * *
being the only general exposition of this department of American ornithology
that has yet been made.”— Ailantic Monthly.
‘Its author, Dr. Elliott Coues, is one of the most prominent writers on orni-
thology in this country, and in this volume gives the public a thorough and reliable
treatise comprehending the entire subject, and so prepared that while it interests
the tyro it also SHEPUES the wants of the most advanced scientist.”— American
Sportsman, Nov. 22, 1873. :
“This book will be welcomed both by the amateur and the professional. orni-
thologist as a valuable contribution to the list of books treating of North American
Birds. While Dr. Coues has modestly called his work a ‘ Key,’ it is in reality much
more than the title indicates. * * * The book will doubtless serve as a manual
to many who find their recreation in observing and studying the habits of birds,
and have not the means to purchase more costly works. * * * he typographi-
eal execution of the work is in every way worthy of it, and the cuts are very clear
and instructive.”—Vhe Nation, April, 1873.
“Tt is what it purports to be, an exponent of the present state of American orni-
thology, and a perfectly reliable guide to the study of our birds. It is especially
adapted to the use of students and amateurs, and is, in fact, the only text buok or
manual of ornithology arranged with a view to educational purposes. The
authows high reputation as a naturalist, and his well known devotion to the de-
partment in question, guarantee the thoroughly scientific character of the work.
While ranking with the best standard authorities in accuracy and completeness,
this treatise presents the science of ornithology in the most attractive form, its ob-
ject being to teach, to clear away the difficulies and explain the technicalities of
the science. * * * Pyrofusely and beautifully illustrated by the author’s own
hand.”— Portsmouth Journal, April 26, 1873.
“Tn the present work we have the crowning result of the study of North Ameri-
can Birds, upon which Dr. Coues has been engaged during many years past; for,
although still a young man, he has long been known as one of the most industrious
of American naturalists. * * * Appears to represent his latest views upon
matters of synonymy, of zoological relationship, of geographical dtstribution, ete.
* * * Perhaps the most original feature in the book is the artificial Key to the
genera of North American Birds. * * * "We have gone more into detail in our
notice of this work than is our custom, from our impression of its scientific and
practical value, and we can cheerfully recommend it to those who wish a reliable
manual of the birds of North America, in a sufficiently portable form for ready
reference.”— The Ind: pend:nt, March 13, 1873.
“This work, to which the author has brought the accumulated experience of
years of ornithological study and the advantages of a thoroughly cultivated mind,
is what it claims to be. * * * With the help of this ‘ Key’ the veriest tyro can,
with very little trouble, identify his specimens, and obtain a knowledge and under-
standing of American birds impossible to be found in any other work. * * *
Such a book has been long wanted, and, as it has been practically tried and found
of great service, it is earnestly recommended to others.”_—Army and Navy Journal,
March 15, 1873.
“Dr. Elliott Coues, one of the most distinguished of our younger naturalists,
a
3
has written a work on ornithology, giving a complete account of the present state
and results of that scienee.”— The Literary Bulletin, Oct., 1872.
“The forthcoming work of Dr. Elliott Coues on ornithology will belong dis-
tinctively to the useful class of manuals, and be especially adapted to the require-
ments of students, amateurs and teachers. No work of this character, profesring
to teach ornithology to the uninitiated, and susceptible of use as a text-book in
educational institutions, has hitherto appeared. Those with a taste for this study,
who have been deterred from its pursuit by the difficulty of mastering the techni-
calities in the absence of a suitable guide, will find the way made perfectly clear
to them.”—The Golden Age, Sept. 7, 1872.
“Dr. Coues has written an admirable book on North American Birds.”— Balté-
more Bulletin, March 8, 1873.
“No expense has been spared in the preparation of this volume. The woodcuts
are So well executed they would easily pass for something better. The index is
complete; so is the glossary.”’— Chicago Times.
‘“Mhe descriptions are exceedingly complete and minute; the large number of
illustrations serve to make the text more clearly understood, and the volume is a
very valuable contribution to ornithology.”— Boston Journal, Jan. 28, 1873.
“The book has been carefully prepared and contains a vast amount of informae
tion. * * * Itis a book of inestimable value to the naturalist, and should be
found im the library of every such person throughout the land.”— Boston Traveller.
“A more clegant scientific publication than the ‘Key to North American Birds,
just issued by this house, is not to be found.’ This work, of which Elliott Coues,
M.D., is the author, forms a very valuable and exhaustive treatise upon the birds
of the continent north of Mexico. The large number of plates and of woodcuts,
renders it especially interesting, and the style of its publication is almost sump-
tuous.”’— Boston Post.
“Some of our distinguished men of science seem to have placed their collections
and their suggestions at the service of Mr. Coues, but he is fundamentally an
original explorer. Nobody can look over the beautiful book without feeling that
the author has added to ornithology as well as furnished its North American ‘ Key.’
We wish we knew enough about the subject to convict him of a few mistakes.
Having, however, great respect for specialists, we never venture to intrude an
opinion we have not earned the right to give by special study. Itis a modest ab-
dication of an insolent tyranny, but we make it wilh satisfaction. It would be
cruel, perhaps, to disturb the useful superstition that notices of books are omnis-
cient and infallible. Still, we reluctantly confess that Mr. Coues is ahead of us in
his particular branch of knowledge, and we have submitted to the intolerable
ignominy of learning something from him with a keen sense of pleasure. Indeed
this ‘* Key to North American Birds” is a volume whica will attract all naturalists
for its accuracy of description and its contributions to the work of intelligent
classification.”— Boston Globe.
“ And the high commendation it has received, from competent authorities in this
country and England, is even more than justified by the accuracy of description,
the fulness of dctail, the convenience of classification, and the admirable arrange-
ment ofthe volume. * * ¥* Dr. Coues, still a young man, and connected with
the United States Army, has spent a long time in obtaining the materials for his
work; but in it industry is subordinate to tact, and art to genius. He is a born
naturalist. Heis a close and fine observer of all natural phenomena, and were
he wrecked on a rock in mid ocean he would commence scientific researches be-
fore his clothes were dry. * * * And he writes as well as he observes, ina
clear, accurate style, colorless in itself, but transmitting the native hues of the
objects he describes. And these qualities appear in the work beiore us. to en-
hance its value. * * * Wehave no hand-book of similar character, and none
that occupies the place it completely fills.”— Golden Age, July 5, 1873. ,