BANCROF7&C
ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
r°
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY
PRIDBAUX JOHN SELBY, ESQ.
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH ; FELLOW OF THE
LINNEAN SOCIETY; AND MEMBER OF THE WERNERIAN
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, C.
VOL. II.
WATER BIRDS.
EDINBURGH :
PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, AND PUBLISHED BY
W. H. LIZARS, EDINBURGH;
LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN AND LONGMAN,
LONDON ; AND W. CURRY JUN. & CO. DUBLIN.
MDCCCXXXIII.
EDINBURGH :
PRINTED BY NEILL & CO. OLD FISHMARKET.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OF
VOLUME II.
Common Crane, . . . Plate I. Page 4
Common Heron, . . .II. 11
Crested Purple Heron, . . . III. 15
Great White Heron, ... 18
Little Egret Heron, . . .V. 21
Buff-backed Heron, ... 24
Squacco Heron, .... VI. 25
Common Bittern, . . . VIII. 30
American Bittern, ... 34
Little Bittern, .... VI.* 36
Common Night-Heron, . . VII. & VII. 39
Cayenne Night-Heron, . . VII.** 43
White or Common Stork, . . XI. 45
Black Stork, . . . XL* 48
White Spoonbill, . . .X. 51
Glossy Ibis, .... XII. 56
Common Curlew, . . . .XIII. 62
Whimbrel Curlew, . . . XIV. 65
Dusky Sandpiper, .... XV. 69
Redshank Sandpiper, . . . XVI. 72
Green Sandpiper, . . . XVI. 75
Wood Sandpiper, . . . XVI. 77
Common Sandpiper, . . . XV. 81
IV
CONTENTS.
Spotted Sandpiper,
Greenshank,
Scooping Avocet, .
Black-tailed Godwit,
Red Godwit,
Brown Longbeak,
Woodcock,
Great Snipe,
Sabine's Snipe,
Common Snipe,
Jack- Snipe,
Ruff,
Knot,
Buff-breasted Tringa,
Temminck's Tringa,
Minute Tringa,
Purple or Rock Tringa
Dunlin or Pnrre,
Curlew Tringa,
Grey Phalarope, .
Red Lobefoot,
Common Rail,
Meadow or Corn Crake, .
Spotted Crake,
Baillon's Crake,
Little Crake,
Common Gallinule,
Common Coot,
Common Oyster-Catcher,
Common Turnstone,
Common Sanderling,
Common Pratincole,
Cream-coloured Swift-foot,
Crested or Green Lapwing,
Bastard or Grey Plover, .
Golden Plover,
Dotterel,
Pkte
XVII.
Page
84
XIX.
86
XX
90
XXI.
94
XXII.
98
XXIV.
103
XXIII.
107
XXIII.
115
XXIV.
118
XXIII.
121
XXIII.
125
XXV.
130
XXVII.
138
XXVII.
142
XXVII*.
144
XXVII*.
147
XXVI.
150
XXVI.
153
XXVI.
157
XXVIII.
162
XXVIII*.
166
XXIX.
172
XXX.
176
XXX*.
179
XXX*.
182
XXX*.
185
XXXI.
188
XXXII.
193
XXXIII.
200
XXXIII*.
204
XXXVI.
208
LXIII.
213
XXXIII**.
217
XXXIV.
221
XXXV.
227
XXXVII.
231
XXXIX.
236
CONTENTS.
Ringed Plover,
Kentish Plover,
Black-winged Stilt,
Common Thick- Knee,
Grey-lag Wild- Goose,
Bean- Goose,
White-fronted Wild- Goose,
Bernicle Goose, or Clackis,
Brent Goose,
Red-breasted Goose,
Whistling Swan, .
Bewick's Swan,
Common Shieldrake,
Ruddy or Casarka Shieldrake,
Common Shoveller,
Common Gad wall,
Common Wild-Duck.
Common Pintail,
Common Teal,
Gargany Teal,
Bi maculated Teal, .
Common Wigeon,
Black Scoter,
Velvet Scoter,
Surf- Scoter,
Common Eider,
King Eider,
Red-headed Pochard,
Red-crested Pochard,
Nyroca Pochard,
Scaup Pochard,
Tufted Pochard,
Western Pochard,
Long-tailed Hareld,
Common Golden-eye Garrot,
Harlequin Garrot,
Goosand.er,
Plate
XXXVIII.
Page
240
XXXVIII.
243
XXXIX.*
247
. XL.
250
. XLI.
261
XLII.
263
XLIII.
266
XLV.
268
XLV.
271
XLVl.
275
XLVII.
278
XLVIL*
288
XLVI1I.
289
. XLVIII.**
293
. XLVIII.*
297
. LI. & LI.*
301
L. & L.
305
XLIX. & LI.*
311
LIV.
315
LIII.
318
. LV. & LV.
321
LII.
324
LXVIII.
329
LXVII.
333
LXIX.
335
LXX. & LXX.*
338
LXXI.
343
LXIII.
347
.
350
LXIII.
352
LXVI. & LXVI.*
354
LXV.
357
LXVI.**
360
LXI.
363
LXII.
367
'
371
LVII.
375
VI CONTENTS.
Plate Page
Red-breasted Merganser, . LVIII. & LVIIL* 379
Hooded Merganser, . . LVIII.** 383
Smew or White Nun, . . LIX. 385
Red-necked Grebe, . . LXXII. 392
Crested Grebe, . . . LXXIII. 394
Horned Grebe, . . . LXXIV. 397
Eared Grebe, . . . LXXIV. 399
Little Grebe, . . . LXXV. 401
Northern Diver, . . . LXXVI. 406
Black-throated Diver, . . LXXVII. 411
Red-throated Diver, LXXVIII. & LXXVIII. 414
Foolish Guillemot, - . . LXXIX. 420
Black Guillemot, . . . LXXX. 426
Common Rotche, . . . LXXXI. 430
Great Auk, . . . LXXXII. 433
Razor Bill Auk, . . . LXXXIII. 435
Common Puffin, . . . LXXXIII. 439
Common Cormorant . . LXXXIV. 446
Crested Cormorant, . . LXXXVI. 450
Solan Gannet, LXXXVIL* & LXXXVII. 455
Caspian Tern, . . . 463
Sandwich Tern, . . . LXXXVIH. 464
Common Tern, . . . XC. 468
Roseate Tern, . . . LXXXIX. 470
Arctic Tern, . . . XC. 473
Lesser Tern, . . . LXXXIX. 475
Black Tern, . . . XCI. 477
Gull-billed Tern, . . . LXXXVIH. 480
Little Gull, . . . XCII. 484
Black-headed Gull, . . XCII. 486
Common Gull, . . . XCIII. 490
Kittiwake, . . . XCIV. 493
Ivory Gull, . . . XCIV.* 497
Glaucous Gull, , . . XCIX. 498
Iceland Gull, . . . XCVIII. 501
Herring-Gull, . . XCVI. & XCVL* 504
Great Black-backed Gull, XCVII. 507
CONTENTS. vii
Plate Page
Lesser Black-backed Gull, . XCV. 509
Common Skua, ... C. 514
Pomarine Skua, . . . CI. 517
Arctic Skua, . . CI. &. CI.* 520
Fulmar Petrel, .... CII. 525
Cinereous Shearwater, . . . CII.* 528
Mank's Shearwater, . . . CII. 529
Common Storm Petrel, . . . CIII. 533
Fork-tail Storm Petrel, . . CIII. 537
SYNOPTICAL TABLE
OF
BRITISH WATER-BIRDS.
ABBREVIATIONS.
I. INDIGENOUS.
P. V. PERIODICAL VISITANT.
O. V. OCCASIONAL VISITANT.
1
1
Subfamily.
<n
1
ENGLISH SPECIFIC NAMES.
LATIN SPECIFIC NAMES.
Abbrevi-
ations.
4
1
1
Common Crane,
Grus cinerea.
O. V.
2
2
Common Heron,
Ardea cinerea.
I.
Crested Purple Heron,
purpurea.
O. V.
Great White Heron,
alba. '
O. V.
Little Egret Heron,
garzetta.
0. V.
Buff-backed Heron,
russata.
O. V.
Squacco Heron,
ralloides.
0. V.
3
Common Bittern,
Botaurus stellaris.
I.
American Bittern,
mokoho.
0. V.
Little Bittern,
minutus.
0. V.
4
Common Night-Heron,
Cayenne Night-Heron,
Nycticorax Europseus.
Cayenensis.
0. V.
0. V.
5
White or Common Stork,
Ciconia alba.
o.v.
Black Stork,
nigra.
0. V.
0
White Spoonbill,
Platalea leucorodia.
O. V.
7
Glossy Ibis,
Ibis Falcinellus.
0. V.
3
8
Common Curlew,
Numenius arquata.
I.
Whimbrel Curlew,
Phaeopus.
I.
9
Dusky Sandpiper,
Totanus fuscus.
0. V.
Redshank Sandpiper,
calidris.
I.
Greenshank Sandpiper,
ochropus.
O. V.
Wood Sandpiper,
Glareola.
0. V.
Common Sandpiper,
Hypoleucos.
P. V.
Spotted Sandpiper,
macularius.
O. V.
Greenshank,
glottis.
P. V.
10
11
Scooping Avocet,
Black-tailed Godwit,
Recurvirostra Avocetta.
Limosa melanura.
I.
I.
Red Godwit,
rufa.
P. V.
SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF
ji
"2
0
>.
.-=
£
| Subfamily. |
|
1
o
ENGLISH SPECIFIC NAMES.
LATIN SPECIFIC NAMES.
Abbrevi-
ations.
12
13
Brown Longbeak,
Woodcock,
Macroramphus griseus.
Scolopax rusticola.
0. V.
P. V.
Great Snipe,
major.
O. V.
Sabine's Snipe,
Sabini.
0. V.
Common Snipe,
gallinago.
I.
Jack Snipe,
gallinula.
P. V.
14
Ruff,
Machetes pugnax.
P. V.
15
Knot,
Tringa Canutus.
P. V.
Buff-breasted Tringa,
rufescens.
O. V.
Temminck's Tringa,
Temminckii.
0. V.
Minute Tringa,
minuta.
O. V.
Purple or Rock Tringa,
maritima.
P. V.
Dunlin or Purre,
variabilis.
I.
Curlew Tringa,
subarquata.
O. V.
16
Grey Phalarope,
Phalaropus lobatus.
0. V.
17
Red Lobefoot,
Lobipes hyperboreus.
P. V.
18
Common Rail,
Rallus aquaticus.
I.
19
Meadow or Corn Crake,
Crex pratensis.
P. V.
Spotted Crake,
Porzana.
P. V.
Baillon's Crake,
Baillonii.
O. V.
Little Crake,
pusilla.
O. V.
20
Common Gallinule,
Gallinula chloropus.
I.
21
Common Coot,
Fulica atra.
I.
5
22
23
24
Common Oyster Catcher,
Common Turnstone,
Common Sanderling,
Hsematopus ostralegus.
Strepsilas interpres.
Arenaria calidris.
I.
P. V.
P. V.
25
Collared Pratincole,
Glareola torquata.
0. V.
26
Cream-coloured Swiftfoot,
Cursorius isabellinus.
0. V.
27
28
Crested or G reen Lapwing,
Bastard or Grey Plover,
Vanellus cristatus.
Squatarola cinerea.
I.
P.V.
29
Golden Plover,
Charadrius pluvialis.
I.
Dotterel,
morinellus.
P.V.
Ringed Plover,
Hiaticula.
I.
Kentish Plover,
Cantianus.
P.V.
30
31
Black-winged Stilt,
Common Thick-Knee,
Himantopus melanopterus.
CEdicnemus crepitans.
0. V.
P.V.
5
1
1
32
Grey-lag Wild Goose,
Anser palustris.
P.V.
Bean Goose,
ferus.
P.V.
White-fronted Wild Goose,
Erythropus.
P.V.
Bernicle or Clake Goose,
Bernicla.
P.V.
Brent Goose,
Brenta.
P.V.
Red-breasted Goose,
ruficollis.
0. V.
2
33
Whistling Swan,
Cygnus ferus.
P. V.
Bewick's Swan,
Bewickii.
P. V.
34
Common Shieldrake,
Tadorna vulpanser.
I.
Ruddy Shieldrake,
rutila.
0. V.
35
Common Shoveller,
Spathulea clypeata.
I.
36
Common Gad wall,
Chauliodus Strepera.
P.V.
37
Common Wild Duck,
Anas Boschas.
I.
38
Common Pintail,
Querqueduk acuta.
P.V.
BRITISH WATER-BIRDS.
XI
j
j
1
Genus.
ENGLISH SPECIFIC NAMES.
LATIN SPECIFIC NAMES.
Abbrevi-
ations.
Common Teal,
Querquedula Crecca.
I.
Garganv Teal,
Bimaculated Teal,
Circia.
Gloscitans.
P. V.
O. V.
4
40
Common Wigeon,
Black Scoter,
Mareca Penelope.
Oidemia nigra.
P. V.
P. V.
Velvet Scoter,
fusca.
P. V.
41
Surf Scoter,
Common Eider,
perspicillata.
Somateria mollissima.
O. V.
I
King Eider,
spectabilis.
O. V.
42
Red-headed Pochard,
Fuligula ferina.
P. V.
Red-crested Pochard,
rufina.
O. V.
Nyroca Pochard,
Nyroca.
0. V.
Scaup Pochard,
marila.
P. V.
Tutted Pochard,
cristata.
P. V.
Western Pochard,
dispar.
0. V.
43
Long-tailed Hareld,
Harelda glacialis.
P. V.
44
Common Golden-eye )
Garrot, J
Clangula vulgaris.
P. V.
Harlequin Garrot,
Histrionica.
O. V.
5
45
Gooseander,
Mergus merganser.
P. V.
Red-breasted Merganser,
serrator.
I.
Hooded Merganser,
cucullatus.
O. V.
Smew or White Nun,
albellus.
P. V.
2
...
46
Red-necked Grebe,
Podiceps rubricollis.
P. V.
Crested Grebe,
cristatus.
I.
Horned Grebe,
cornutus.
I.
Eared Grebe,
auritus.
I.
Little Grebe,
minor.
I.
47
Northern Diver,
Colymbus glacialis.
P. V.
Black-throated Diver,
arcticus.
I.
Red-throated Diver,
septentrionalis.
I.
3
48
Foolish Guillemot,
Uria Troile.
P. V.
Black Guillemot,
Grylle.
I.
49
Common Rotch,
Mergulus melanoleucos.
O. V.
50
Great Auk,
Alca impennis.
O. V.
Razor-bill Auk,
Torda.
P. V.
51
Common Puffin,
Fratercula arctica.
P. V.
4
52
Common Cormorant,
Phalacrocorax Carbo.
I.
Crested Cormorant,
cristatus.
I.
53
Solan Gannet,
Sula Bassana.
P. V.
5
54
Caspian Tern,
Sterna Caspia.
O. V.
Sandwich Tern,
Boysii.
P. V.
Common Tern,
Hirundo.
P. V.
Roseate Tern,
Dougallia.
P. V.
Arctic Tern,
arctica.
P. V.
Lesser Tern,
minuta.
P. V.
Black Tern,
nigra.
P. V.
Gull- billed Tern,
Anglica.
0. V.
55
Little Gull,
Larus minutus.
O. V.
Black-headed Gull,
ridibundus.
I.
Xll
SYNOPTICAL TABLE, &c.
1
j>.
1
3
CO
Genus.
ENGLISH SPECIFIC NAMES.
LATIN SPECIFIC NAMES.
Abbrevi-
ations.
Common Gull,
Larus Canus.
I.
Kittiwake,
Kissa.
P. V.
Ivory Gull,
eburneus.
O. V.
Glaucous Gull,
glaucus.
O. V.
Iceknd Gull,
Islandicus.
O. V.
Herring Gull,
argentatus.
I.
Great Black-backed Gull,
marinus.
I.
Lesser Black-backed Gull,
fuscus.
I.
56
Common Skua,
Cataractes vulgaris.
P. V,
Pomarine Skua,
Pomarinus.
0. V.
Arctic Skua,
parasiticus.
P. V.
57
Fulmar Petrel,
Procellaria glacialis.
P. V.
58
Cinereous Shearwater,
Puffinus cinereus.
O. V.
Mank's Shearwater,
Anglorum.
P. V.
59
Common Storm Petrel,
Thalassidroma Pelagica.
I.
Fork-taU Storm Petrel,
BuUockii.
I.
ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY
ORDER IV.
GRALLATORES— WADERS.
IN the system so ably developed by Mr VIGORS, in his
Treatise on the Affinities which connect the Orders and Fa-
milies of Birds, this constitutes his fourth Order, being ana-
logous to the Gr alias of LATHAM and others, and holding
the intermediate station between the Rasores or Gallinaceous
Birds, and the Natatores or true Aquatics. In addition to
the various genera of the order Grallce of other systems,
which was placed at the head of the second great Division
or Aves Aquatic^ it contains some of the genera arranged
in the Order Pinnatipedes of LATHAM, as Fulica, Phala-
ropus, &c. and also others which, from the development of
the membrane connecting the toes, had been included
amongst the Palmipedes or Swimmers, but whose real affi-
nities clearly point them out as more intimately connected
with the members of this Order ; such are the Genera Phce-
nicopterus, Recurvirostra, &c. The five families into which
it may be divided, according to the quinary system (placing
VOL. H. A
2 GRALLATORES. GRUID^.
those considered most typical in the centre, in accordance
with the views of Mr VIGOHS), are the Gruidce, Ardeadce,
Scolopacida, Rallid^ and Charadriada, of which the Ardea-
da and Scolopatida are the typical or normal groups, as
partaking most equally of the advantages of both elements.
Of the other three or aberrant Divisions, the Gruida and
Charadriadez, placed at the extremes of the Order, are more
attached to the land in their habits, and serve not only to
connect this with the preceding Order of Rasores or Galli-
naceous Birds, but to support that succession of affinities
which prevails within the circle of the order itself ; while the
third,, or Rattida, deviating in form from the other groups,
and exhibiting in many respects a close approach to birds
more decidedly aquatic, serves as a connecting link between
the present order, and the succeeding one of Natatores.
FAMILY I.— GRUID^E.
Many of the birds of this family were formerly comprised
in the genus Ardea of LINNAEUS, but they differ from the re-
mainder of that group not only in the form of the bill and
feet (the first of which is thicker and more obtuse at the end,
and the latter usually much shorter than in the true Ardece),
but a marked and considerable difference exists in their ha-
bits and manners, which are nearer allied to those of the
land birds, and their food, instead of being entirely animal,
and derived from the water, is in a great measure vegetable.
' Their plumage and general carriage also indicate a near al-
liance with some of the StrntMonidce of the preceding order,
through which the chain of affinities connecting the present
order with the more typical gallinaceous birds, is supported.
In addition to the recently instituted genera Anthropoides,
the type of which is the Numidjan Crane (Ardea Virgo of
LINN.) ; Balearica, represented by the Crowned Crane
(Ardea Pavonina of LINN.) ; and Grus> of which the Ardea
CRANE. GRALLATORES. GRUS. 3
Grits of LINN.EUS may be considered typical ; this family al-
so contains the genus Psophia, closely connected with An-
thropoides in the form and shortness of the bill, and which
also, in plumage and other particulars, indicates its affinity
to the Struthion-ida ; and the genus Cariama of BRISSON
( Dicholoplius of ILLIGER) also appears to be in its natural
situation in this family ; and it is through some of the mem-
bers of this group that a more immediate link with the Cha-
radriadce (which meet the present family at the correspond-
ing extreme of the order) is effected.
GENUS GRUS. CRANE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, straight, strong, laterally com-
pressed, the tip convexo-conical, pointed. Mandibles of
equal length and height ; cuhnen, from the base to one-half of
the length of the bill, flat and indistinct, from thence to the
tip rounded ; nasal furrow reaching rather beyond the mid-
dle of the bill, broad and deep. Tomia straight, parallel,
smooth, except near the tip, where they are slightly and fine-
ly serrated. Ascending angle of the lower mandible with a
rounded culmen.
Nostrils placed horizontally in the anterior part of the fur-
row, large, concave, and pervious, posteriorly closed by the
membrane.
Tongue broad, fleshy, and sharp-pointed.
Legs long, with great part of the tibia naked. Feet four-
toed ; toes strong and rather short, the middle one about one-
third the length of the tarsus, and joined to the exterior by a
membrane reaching almost as far as the second phalange ; the
interior one nearly free. Hind toe short, dependent, articu-
lated upon the tarsus, above the plane of the others. Claws
short, strong, sharp, falcated, and entire, Front of the tarsus
and toes scutellated ; under part of the toes roughly reticu-
lated.
4 GRALLATORES. GRUS. CRANE.
Tail rather short, and consisting of twelve feathers.
Wings rounded ; the first quill shorter than the second ;
the third the longest of all. In plumage, the head more or
less naked, or thinly clad with bristles. Upper part of the
neck, with the feathers linear and acuminated. The rest of the
plumage close set. Secondary quills, nearest the back, elongat-
ed, dependent, arched, frequently with webs open and distinct.
The genus Grus, as now restricted, ' contains several spe-
cies, all birds of large size, inhabitants of extensive marshy
plains, where they subsist upon vegetables, grains, seeds,
worms, and reptiles. Their habits are more those of land
birds than any of the succeeding family .Ardeadce, to which,
however, they are nearly allied, forming a connecting link ;
their plumage and appearance at the same time indicating
their connexion with the Struthionida of the rasorial order.
Of the various known species, only one is a native of Eu-
rope, viz. the Grus cinerea, or Common Crane, which at one
time appears to have been common in Britain, but is now on-
ly found as a rare visitant. They are all birds of migra-
tory habits, retiring, from whatever division of the globe they
happen to belong, to more northerly or colder regions du-
ring the summer, or period of reproduction. In most of
the species of this genus, as well as in Anthropoides, the
trachea of the male is of various construction, making seve-
ral convolutions, previous to its entrance within the thorax.
COMMON CRANE.
GRUS CINEREA, Bechst.
PLATE I.
Grus cinerea, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. p. 103 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. v. 2.
p. 557 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. v. 11. 524. pi. 40 — Wagler, Syst. Av. sp. 9.
Ardea Grus, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 234. 4 — Briss. 5. p. 374. 6. t. 33 Rail Syn.
p. 95. A. 1.
La Grue, Buff. Ois. v. 7- p- 287. t. 14.
Grue cendree, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. p. 557-
Aschgrauer Kranick, Meyer, Taschenb. Deut. 2. p. 350.
CRANE. GRALLATORES. GRUS. 5
Common Crane, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. App. 629. t. 6 — Arct. Zool. 2. p. 453. A.
— Will (Angl.) 2J4.—Lath. Syn. 5. p. 50. 5 — Mont. Ornith. Diet — Id.
Sup — Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 298. 2 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 29.— Shaw's
Zool 11. p. 524. pi. 40.
IN earlier times, when the country was not so well peopled,
and vast tracts of land remained uninclosed, this majestic
and elegant bird (if we are to credit the accounts transmit-
ted to us by the ornithologists of those days) appears to
have visited Britain with great regularity during the periods
of its migrations, most probably during its summer or polar
movement (though RAY mentions winter visits), as ALDRO-
VANDUS speaks of their breeding in the fens and marshes of
Cambridgeshire. This fact is corroborated by WILLOUGHBY,
who, in enumerating the statutes for the preservation of wild
fowl, quotes one of them as imposing a penalty of twenty
pence upon any one who shall take away the egg of a Crane
or Bustard. As enclosures became more frequent, and com-
mons and fens, the appropriate haunts of these birds for ni-
dification, were drained, the Crane, with several other spe-
cies (as the Bustard, (Edicneme, &c.) seem rapidly to have
decreased in numbers, and by degrees to have deserted the
island, as no longer affording them either security, or the
peculiarities of soil and situation necessary to their economy.
Accordingly Mr PENNANT, who wrote upwards of fifty years
ago, mentions the Crane as a bird at that time almost un-
known, even in those districts where it had, at an earlier pe-
riod, been represented as quite common ; and he instances a
single individual killed in 1773, as the only one that had
been seen in England during his time. It still continues
equally rare, and appears to have permanently changed the
line of its migrations, for (in addition to the above mention-
ed instance by PENNANT) I can only cite a small flock that
visited Zetland during the harvest of 1807, as recorded by
MONTAGU and the Rev. Dr FLEMING, out of which one was
shot*. These circumstances, therefore, only entitle it to
* Since writing the above, I have received information that a Crane
was killed in Oxfordshire, in December 1830.
6 GRALLATORES. GRUS. CRANE.
Rare visi- rank in our Fauna, at the present day, as a very rare visi-
tant. The Crane, in its contour and gait, bears a consider-
able resemblance to some of the StruthionidcB ; and we are
immediately reminded of the Ostrich, by the long flowing
plumes that overhang the tail, Through this and other fa-
milies its affinity to the Rasores is readily traced. In its
internal conformation it also differs very essentially from the
more typical families of the Grallatores, and its strong and
muscular stomach indicates a different general economy from
that of the members of the succeeding family of Ardeada, in
which it was included by former authors. It is gregarious,
and usually makes its distant aerial voyages in considerable
bodies, which fly at a great elevation, uttering during their
progress loud cries, which may be distinctly heard even when
the birds themselves are far beyond the reach of sight ; and
these flights are very frequently performed in the night
time. Its equatorial migrations extend to India, Egypt,
and other warm climates of Asia and Africa ; but in sum-
mer it retires to the northern and eastern parts of Europe to
Nest, &c. breed. The nest is placed amongst the long herbage of
marshy tracts, and sometimes (according to TEMMINCK) up-
on ruins, or the roofs of houses. Its eggs, two in number,
are of a pale bluish-green colour, blotched with brown. It
frequents extensive plains, particularly open grounds under
Food. cultivation, and feeds much upon newly sown corn and other
seeds ; in this respect indicating a close connexion with
birds of the gallinaceous or rasorial order. It, however,
readily devours both worms and frogs and other reptiles,
the more appropriate food of the Ardeada, to which family
its long slender neck, lengthened tarsi, form of wings, &c.
show a near approach. The Crane, as well as other mem-
bers of the Gruidte (as genus Antliropoides, &c.) exhibits a
remarkable structure of the trachea or windpipe. In this
bird, instead of going directly into the thorax, it enters a
large cavity formed in the keel of the sternum, and is there
doubly reflected ; the first duplicature reaching the full ex-
CRANE. GRALLATORES. GRUS. 7
tent of the excavation, the second about midway. After its
return from this second flexure, it bends upwards, and pass-
ing over the ridge of the sternum by the left clavicle, there
enters the thorax, and is attached to the lungs by its bron-
chial tubes *. The female possesses the same formation as
the male, but the duplicatures are not so considerable, nor do
they extend so far backwards into the cavity of the sternum.
PLATE 1. Represents the Crane of about one-half the size of
nature, from a very fine specimen in the splendid col-
lection of Sir WILLIAM JAKDINE, Bart.
The bill is black, with the tip of a straw-yellow colour ; the General
nostrils pervious and oblong. The forehead and space
between the bill and eyes, bluish black, garnished with
stiff bristly hairs. The crown is naked, with the skin
of a tile-red colour. The occiput, the throat, and fore
part of the neck, deep broccoli-brown ; the hinder part,
and sides of the neck, greyish- white. The upper and
under parts of the body of a deep ash-grey. The pri-
mary quills and greater coverts black ; some of the se-
condaries and the tertials long and arched ; the latter
with decomposed barbs of a blackish-brown colour, and
forming elegant plumes, something similar to those of
the Ostrich, which usually droop over the tail, but can
be erected at pleasure. The legs and feet are black.
The plumage of both sexes is similar, though the colours
of the male bird are perhaps generally of a finer and
brighter tint than those of the female. The young do
not acquire their perfect plumage till after the second
moulting, previous to which the crown of the head is
covered with downy feathers, and they want the deep
chocolate-brown upon the occiput and throat.
* For a further description, see Dr LATHAM'S Essay on the Trachea of
Birds, in the fourth volume of the Linnean Transactions. «
GRALLATORES. ARDEAD.E.
FAMILY IL— ARDEAD^l.
As I have previously observed, those groups which appear
to partake most equally of the advantages to be derived from
both land and water, may properly be considered as the ty-
pical families of the Grallatores. The Ardeadse, then, na-
turally come under that class ; as birds which inhabit the
land, or at least do not possess the essential qualities of wa-
ter-fowl (such as the powers of swimming and diving), but
yet derive their support almost entirely from the watery ele-
ment. The characteristics of the family (at least of the
most typical genera) are legs of great length, enabling them
to wade deep into the water in search of their prey, and for
the capture of which is added a great extension of neck, with
a long sharp-pointed bill-, acting as a spear to transfix it.
Modifications, however, of these characters, of course exist
in the forms which lead to and connect this with the other
families of the order, and with the other orders of the class,
supporting that succession of affinities that prevails, not on-
ly in the feathered race, but throughout the whole system of
animated nature.
The food of the Ardeadae is almost entirely animal, con-
sisting of fish, reptiles, worms, and insects, and sometimes of
the smaller Mammalia, inhabiting the banks of rivers, or
living in marshy districts.
A small portion only of the genera that compose the va-
rious families are to be found in the British Islands, as might
indeed be expected in so confined a part of the globe. Due
allowance must therefore be made for the apparent deficiency
of those links that unite birds with characters deviating con-
siderably from each other ; as such links are beautifully sup-
plied by the interposition of genera or forms belonging to
other climes ; and the natural chain of affinities readily and
satisfactorily traced.
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 9
GENUS ARDEA. HERON.
\
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, higher than broad, straight,
compressed, sharp-pointed, of mean strength. Base of both "
mandibles covered with a delicate cere. Mandibles of near-
ly equal length ; maxilla laterally sulcated for about two-
thirds of its length ; culmen rounded ; tip drawn to a point,
and very slightly inclined, emarginated ; tomia of maxilla
equal, serrated towards the tip. Mandibles of equal depth,
tomia drawn inwards, very sharp, and serrated near the
point. Angle of maxilla with the culmen compressed, more
or less ascending. Lores naked.
Nostrils at a short distance from the base of the bill, and
placed in the lateral furrow ; longitudinal and narrow ; per-
vious, and partly covered with a naked membrane.
Tongue reaching to about half the length of the bill, nar-
row, membranous, and sharp-pointed. Feet with the tarsus
considerably longer than the middle toe ; toes four, rather
long, slender, congruous, all unequal ; the middle one con-
nected, as far as the first phalange, to the exterior by a
membrane ; interior one nearly free. Hind toe about half
the length of the middle one, articulated interiorly upon the
same plane, and resting entirely upon the ground. Tibia
naked for a considerable space above the tarsal joint. Nails
falcate, that of the hind toe the longest of all ; that of the
middle toe pectinated. Front of the tarsus clypeate; hinder
part of the tarsus reticulated. Upper part of the toes scu-
tellated.
Wings ample, rounded ; the second and third quills the
longest. Tail short and even. Neck covered with short
close-set feathers; and, in adults, towards the base of the
fore part of the neck, rise long acuminate pendulous feathers.
Feathers on the back elongated, silky, linear, or laciniated,
with decomposed barbs and barbules.
5
10 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON.
General plumage loose and open, with barbs^slightly ad-
hering.
The genus Ardea of the earlier writers was very compre-
hensive, and contained many birds, which 'as science ad-
vanced, and their natural affinities became better known, it
has been found necessary to transfer to other groups, or to
form into distinct genera. I have accordingly adopted the
views of the first ornithologists of the present day, and re-
stricted the genus to those species which possess all the es-
sential typical characters, as developed in Ardea herodias^
cinerea, purpurea, &c., though a slight modification in the
species that lead to the succeeding and nearest allied genera
is perceptible. The genus, even as now restricted, contains
a great many species, which all inhabit marshes and the
banks of lakes and rivers, and form a very prominent part
of the normal group of the Ardeadge, in the order Gralla-
tores. Their food consists of fish, reptiles, and insects,
which their lengthened tarsi and acute serrated bill enable
them to capture in the shallower parts of the water. Their
habits are solitary, except during the season of reproduction,
when they assemble, and breed in large companies; and,
when they obey the laws of migration, their journeys are per-
formed in extensive flocks.
Some of the species, that dwell in the colder latitudes, are
furnished with a down upon some parts of the body, which
appears to act not only as an additional clothing, but as the
medium for distributing a peculiar powder over the whole
plumage, tending to make it impervious to moisture.
Most of the species are ornamented, in a greater or less
degree, with elongated plumes, which arise from the occiput,
the lower and fore part of the neck, and the back. In some
species, the feathers of the last named part have their barbs
long, silky, and decomposed. The occipital plumes are
short during the autumn and winter, but become fully deve-
loped on the approach of the pairing season. The plumage
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 11
of l>oth sexes is similar, that of the male exhibiting only a
superior lustre, and pureness of tint. The young of many
species differ considerably from the mature birds, which has
led to much confusion, and sometimes an unnecessary multi-
plication of species. Their flight is heavy, with the neck re-
tracted, and resting between the shoulders ; and having the
legs extended behind, to preserve the balance of the body.
Their appetite is voracious, and their digestion powerful and
rapid.
COMMON HERON.
ARDEA CINEREA, Lath.
PLATE II.
Ardea cinerea, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 691. 54.— Shaw's Zool 11. 548 — Wag.
ler, Syst. Av. sp. 3.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 95. 126.
Heron cendre', Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 567-
Ardea major, Linn. Syst. 1. 23C. 12.— Gmel Syst. 1. 627. sp. 12 — Rati
Syn. 98. A. 1.
Ardea cristata, Sriss. 5. 396. 2. t. 35.
Le Heron huppe', Buff. Ois, 7- 342. PL Enl. 755.
Aschgrauer Itheiher, Meyer, Taschenb. Deut. 2. p. 332.
Ardea cinerea, Linn. 1. 236. 11 — Briss. Orn. 5. 392. 1. \ Young of
Le Heron, Buff. Ois. 7. 342. pi. 19. j both sexes.
Crested Heron, Albin. Br. Birds, 1. pi. 67.— Low's Faun. Oread. 77.
Common Heron, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 173. — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 343 —
Lath. Syn. 5. 83. 50 — Mont. Ornith. Diet.— Id. Sup — Bewick's Br.
Birds, 2. 37 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. pi. 118 Shaw's Zool 11. 548 —
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 95.
PROVINCIAL — Heronseugh.
NOTWITHSTANDING the Heron is now so little esteemed,
both by the epicure and the sportsman, there is no bird bet-
ter entitled to claim the protection of the admirers of nature
and picturesque scenery, from the striking effect its presence
can produce in the solitary haunts in which it delights, and Haunts,
where it is most commonly found. Its form, whether at rest
or upon the wing, is interesting, and well adapted to give
effect to the landscape, and for this reason it is frequently
introduced as a prominent feature in the productions of the
pencil. At an earlier period, however, when hawking was
12 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON.
held in great estimation, and was considered the appropriate
pastime of the gentry of the land, the Heron, from the ex-
cellent sport it afforded by its determined resistance to the
Falcon, was regarded as noble game, and penal statutes were
enacted for its protection ; and we find, that to have taken
its eggs alone subjected the offender to a mulct of twenty
shillings. As an article of luxury, its flesh was also in such
repute, as to be deemed little, if at all, inferior to that of the
Peacock, a bird whose rarity and costliness confined it to the
tables of the great. But indeed the low estimation in which
the flesh of the Heron is now held, would seem to be in a
great degree the effect of prejudice, or the fashion of taste,
as, under proper treatment and good cookery, the Heron,
when fat and in fine condition, is but little inferior to some
of our most approved wild fowl. In its habits it is soli-
tary, and being a bird of great timidity and watchfulness, is
not easily approached within gunshot. When seen, it is
usually standing immoveable in the shallows of rivers, or
pools of water, with its neck bent, and drawn between its
Food. shoulders, watching attentively the motions of its finny prey,
upon which, when once within reach 9 it darts with unerring
aim, transfixing it by a single stroke of its sharp bill. Its
favourite food is fish, and its appetite being very voracious,
and the digestive powers exceedingly rapid, it sometimes com-
mits great depredations in fish-ponds, before the evil is dis-
covered. It also devours frogs and other reptiles, and even
young water-rats, mice, and other small Mammalia are swal-
lowed whole, and with great avidity. The geographical
distribution of the species is very extensive, and embraces
the greater part of the old world ; in some countries it is re-
gularly migratory, but it is a permanent resident in Britain.
About the beginning of March, Herons assemble together
previous to resorting to their respective breeding stations, or
Heronries, which are always in the loftiest trees the country
Nest, &c. may happen to afford. Their nests are large and flat, and
many are frequently placed close together upon the same
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 13
tree ; they are built of sticks, and the interior lined with
wool and other soft materials. They lay four or five eggs,
of a bluish-green colour, but without lustre. The young,
when first hatched, are naked and very unsightly ; and it is
generally five or six weeks before they are so far fledged as
to be able to quit the nest, during which period they are
amply supplied with fish and other food by the parent birds,
they having frequently to roam to a great distance for it *.
When taken young, the Heron may be easily reared, and
rendered very tame, and, when domesticated, is a pleasing
addition to the other birds frequently kept in gentlemen's
grounds, though troublesome to maintain, on account of the
peculiarity of its food. But the old birds, when caught,
soon die, from obstinately refusing all nourishment. When
wounded by the sportsman, and not entirely disabled, the
Heron must be approached with caution, as it sets itself in a
menacing attitude, and makes a formidable defence, striking
directly at the eyes of the dog that unwarily attacks it •(•.
PLATE 2. Represents a male bird of about two-thirds of the
natural size.
The forehead, crown, sides of the head, and throat, the General
ridge of the wings, the breast and belly, are pure
white. The sides, and back part of the neck, pale
grey. The front of the neck has a double row of ob-
long spots of greyish-black. The long plumes which
* A curious account of a battle between a colony of Herons and a neigh-
bouring rookery is related by BEWICK, upon the authority of Dr HEY-
SHAM, to which I refer my reader.
f From the following interesting anecdote, communicated by my worthy
friend P. NEILL, Esq. of Canonmills, near Edinburgh, it would seem, that,
under certain circumstances, and where favoured by situation, the Heron
is not disinclined to breed in a state of domestication. " The Common
Heron (a male), which was winged on Coldingham Muir in autumn 1821,
when a young bird, and given to me in 1822 by Mr JOHN WILSON of
the College, has since resided in my garden at Canonmills, and is now so
tame, that he often follows me, expecting a piece of cheese, which he
relishes. Four years ago Mr ALLAN of Lauriston sent me a young fe-
14 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON.
spring from the lower part of the neck are white, or
greyish-white. The streak over the eyes, and the oc-
cipital plumes (which are sometimes six or eight inches
in length) are black, as are also the flanks and feathers
on each side of the breast. The feathers of the back
and the scapulars are pale grey, long, loose, and acu-
minated. The lesser wing-coverts bluish-grey. The
quills greyish-black. The tail deep bluish-grey. The
bill kingVyellow ; the irides gamboge-yellow. The
legs and toes brown, tinged with yellowish-green. The
naked part of the tibia yellowish or orange.
The female resembles the male, except that the tints of
her plumage are not quite so pure.
The young are without the occipital crest ; and the long
scapulary feathers that adorn the old birds, as well as
male, which had been taken during a severe storm. She soon associated
with the older male. In summer 1828 she laid three or four eggs (I am
not sure which), on the top of a wall next to the mill-pond : these all tum-
bled into the water ; for though the birds had carried up a few sticks, they
made no proper nest. She then laid one or two on the flower-border be-
low the wall, and close by the box-edging : here some eggs were broken
by the birds suddenly starting off when alarmed by strangers walking in
the garden. We supplied their place by some bantam eggs, and only
one heron egg at last remained. Alas ! the poor hen, having strayed to
the margin of the mill-pond, was shot by some thoughtless young man
with a fowling-piece. The cock continued to sit for several entire days af-
ter the death of the hen, but at last tired. He used to sit, when she went
off for food. During the whole time of pairing, the cock was very bold,
raising his feathers and snapping his bill whenever any one approached."
To the foregoing Mr NEILL adds the following curious fact with regard
to his male bird, which shews that the Heron is not altogether incapable
of swimming, though in its natural or wild state it is seldom obliged to
have recourse to this unusual mode of obtaining its prey. " A large old
willow tree had fallen down into the pond, and at the extremity, which is
partly sunk in the sludge and continues to vegetate, "Water-Hens breed.
The old cock Heron swims out to the nest and takes the young if he can.
He has to swim ten or twelve feet, where the water is between two and
three feet deep. His motion through the water is slow, but his carriage
stately. I have seen him fell a rat by one blow on the back of the head,
when the rat was munching at his dish of fish."
2
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 15
those that hang down from the lower part of the neck,
are wanting. The forehead, crown, hinder and lateral
parts of the neck, the back, and wing-coverts, are deep
grey. The throat, belly, abdomen, and inner part of
the thighs, are white. The fore part of the neck is
spotted with blackish-grey. The upper mandible is
blackish-brown, and the under one greenish-yellow.
The lores yeUowish-green ; the legs and feet grey, or
brown, tinged with yellow. The bare part of the tibia
greenish-yellow.
CRESTED PURPLE HERON.
ARDEA PURPUREA, Linn.
i
PLATE III.
Ardea purpurea,' Linn. Syst. 1. 236. 10 — Gmel Syst. 1. 626 — Lath. Tnd.^
Orn. 2. 697- 72.
Ardea Botaurus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 636 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 698. 74.
Ardea rufa, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 692. 55.
Botaurus rnajor,\Bms. Orn. 5. 455. 28.
Ardea stellaris major, Rail, Syn. 100. 13 — Will. 208.
Grand Butor, Buff: Ois. 7- 422.
Heron pourpre', Temm. Man. d'Ornith, 2. 570.
Purper Reiher, Meyer., Taschenb. Deut. 4. 27. t. 2.
Crested Purple Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 95. 65 — Shaw's Zool. 11. 556.
Greater Bittern, Lath. Syn. 5. 58. 18.
Greater Speckled or Red Heron, Will (Angl.) p. 283.
Rufous Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 99. 72.
Ardea purpurata, Gmel. Syst. 1. 641.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 698. 75.
Ardea Caspica, Lath. Ind. 2. 698. 73.
Ardea variegata, Lath. Ind. 2. 692. 56.
Heron pourpre, Buff. Ois. 7- 369. Youfl ff.
Purple Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 96. 66.
African Heron, Lath. Syn. Sup. 237 — Mont. Ornith. Diet.
Ardea rubiginosa, Gmel. Syst. 1. 632 — Lath. Ind. 2. 693. 58.
Rusty Crowned Heron, Arct. Zool. 2. No. 358 — Lath. Syn. 5. 87- 53.
THIS beautiful Heron stands in the list of our Fauna as a Rare visi-
tant.
rare visitant ; for it appears that, prior to the publication of
MONTAGU'S Ornithological Dictionary, only two specimens
had been recorded as killed in England. Since that time
Natural History has made rapid advances> and from having,
as a science, been more generally cultivated, has induced a
Adult
16 ORALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON-
closer investigation into the habitats of species ; and conse-
quently, several stragglers have been announced, which
would otherwise have escaped observation. Among others,
I may mention that in the month of May 1830, a fine
male of this species, that was killed in Norfolk, came into
my possession, and its mate into that of Sir WILLIAM JAR-
DINE *. This bird undergoes considerable change, in co-
lours and texture of plumage, in its progress from the young
to the adult and perfect state ; and a want of sufficient in-
formation, arising probably from a neglect of the narrow in-
vestigation which should attend all pursuits in Natural His-
tory, has given rise to the long list of synonyms above
quoted. By LATHAM alone it has been specifically describ-
ed under seven different titles, most of them marking the
particular change now certified as taking place at the differ-
ent moultings, in its progress to maturity. Like the Ardea
cinerea, its geographical distribution extends to the three
quarters of the old world. In Europe, it is most abundant
in the southern countries, becoming scarce as it approaches
to the north. It is, however, well known in Holland, but
not to so great a degree as the Common Heron. In Asia,
it abounds on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and on the bor-
ders of the rivers and lakes of Tartary, and is also an inha-
bitant of the Philippine Isles. In Africa it is met with in
Nest, &c. Nubia, at the Cape of Good Hope, &c. Its habits are simi-
lar to those of Ardea cinerea, but a slight difference exists
in the form of the feet (the toes being very long and slender,
and closely resembling those of the Bittern), which prevents
Food. it from perching with the same ease, and consequently so of-
ten on trees, as the other species, and of course from there
placing its nest. On the contrary, it builds in the thickest
and tallest reeds on the margins of the rivers or lakes it fre-
quents. It is stated to lay three eggs, of a pale bluish-green
colour, and not quite so large as those of the Common Heron.
It feeds upon fish, frogs, and other reptiles and insects, and
* Since writing the above, I have heard of three other specimens, two
killed in Norfolk, and another near to London.
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 17
occasionally upon the smaller Mammalia that come within
its reach.
PLATE 3. Represents the male, in the plumage of maturity,
and about three-fourths of the size of nature.
The bill (except the culmen, which is brown) is of a fine General
gamboge-yellow ; lores the same ; irides pale yellow.
The head, and occipital crest (which is formed of long
acuminated feathers) are ink-black, in some lights tinged
with green. A list of black also runs from the back
part of the neck, for about two-thirds of its length.
From the posterior angle of the mouth, a narrow list of
black proceeds backwards to the nape, and another
down each side of the neck. The front of the neck is
spotted with black, white, and purplish-red. The
plumes towards the bottom of the neck are long and
acuminate, of a pale grey, or greyish-white colour,
tinged with purple. The space behind the eyes, and
the sides of the neck (with the exception of the black
lists) are of a rich reddish-brown. The chin and throat
pure white. The shoulders are adorned with feathers
of a rich reddish-brown, tinged with lavender-purple.
The breast purplish-red. The margins of the wings
are white. The back, wing-coverts, flanks, and tail are
grey, tinged with purple and green. The scapulars
are long, semi-laciniated, and of a deep lavender-purple.
The belly and abdomen are greyish-black. The thighs
reddish-brown. The naked part of the tibia, the hin-
der part of the tarsus, and under parts of the toes, are
yellow. The front of the tarsus, and upper parts of
the toes, are brown, tinged with yellowish-green. The
nails are long, semi-falcate, and black.
The young, until three years old, are without the occipi-
tal crest, as well as the elongated feathers at the base
of the neck, and in the scapulars. The chin is white,
the forehead blackish-grey; the crown and occiput grey,
VOL. II. B
18 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON.
tinged with reddish-brown. The neck is pale reddish-
brown, without the black lists. The front of the neck
is yellowish- white, with longitudinal black spots. The
back, scapulars, wings, and tail deep-grey ; the feathers
margined with reddish-brown. The belly and thighs are
reddish- white. The upper mandible is blackish-brown ;
the under one, the lores, and eyes, are pale yellow.
As the young bird advances towards maturity, the tints
become purer in colour, and it approaches, by degrees,
to the fine plumage that distinguishes the adult.
GREAT WHITE HERON.
ARDEA ALBA, Linn.
PLATE IV.
Ardea alba, Linn. Syst. 1. 239. 24 — Gmel Syst. 1. 639 Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 695. 65.— Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 8.
Ardea Candida, Briss. 5. 428. 15.
Ardea alba major, Rail Syn. p. 99. A. 4.
Ardea Egrettoides, Gmel. Reise, 2. 193. t. 25.
Heron Aigrette, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 672, but not all the synonyms
quoted.
Le Heron blanc, Buff. Ois. 7. 365.
Great White Heron, Br. Zool. 2. 1?5. t. 62.— Will (Angl.) 279. t. 49 —
Lath. Syn. 5. 91. 60 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1 — Id. Sup.
Ardea Egretta, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 543. The American White Heron,
or true Ardea Egretta, and Ardea alba, are here confounded together,
and given as the same species.
THE claim of this Heron to the title of a British bird,
even as a rare visitant, appears doubtful, and to rest upon
vague testimony. WILLOUGHBY, whose description possesses
all the accuracy and minuteness of a personal examination,
does not state how or where the specimen was obtained, nor
does he even speak of it as a bird that he had himself
ever seen in England. Towards the conclusion of his ob-
servations, however, he quotes, upon the authority of AL-
DROVANDUS, that " a certain Englishman affirmed that he
had seen White Herons, though but rarely, which neither, in
bigness of body, nor shape, differed at all from the Common
Heron ;" and then he farther adds, that a Mr JOHNSON, who
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 19
had seen the White Heron in England, considered.it to be
a distinct species, and not an accidental variety of the Com-
mon Heron. This supposition, however, unless it were con-
firmed by actual examination (which does not appear to have
been the case), cannot be considered as at all conclusive,
since white varieties of the Ardea cinerea are known to oc-
cur. PENNANT, in his British Zoology, expressly states
that it had never fallen within his observation, and merely
cites WILLOUGHBY'S authority for placing it among the Bri-
tish birds. Other compilers seem to have included it upon
no better authority ; and no farther evidence appears of its
visiting England, till MONTAGU published his Ornithologi-
cal Dictionary, in which, under the article " Great White
Heron," he says, " One of these birds (we are informed by
Dr LATHAM) was killed in Cumberland not many years
ago." In the Supplement to the same work, he further men-
tions, that a White Heron was observed in Devonshire, in
the autumn of 1805, often in company with three or four of
the common sort, and sometimes alone ; and that the Rev.
Mr VAUGHAN, who had frequent opportunities of observing
it, was of opinion, that, from its size, it must have been
Ardea alba, and not an accidental variety of Ardea cinerea.
I may add, that I have myself never met with it, nor have
I been able to trace an authenticated instance of its capture
in any part of Great Britain since the publication of MON-
TAGU'S work. Upon such inconclusive evidence as above men-
tioned, I dare scarcely venture to insert it even as one of our
rarest visitants; but as the possibility, or even probability, of
its occasionally visiting these islands is not to be questioned,
considering its geographical distribution, I have thought it
the safer course to retain it as such, rather than to dismiss Rarest vi-
it altogether from the list of our Fauna. By many of the sl1
later writers, Ardea alba has been confounded with Ardea
Egretta, an American species, and apparently its representa-
tive in the New World. Even TEMMINCK, whose character
as a descriptive ornithologist stands deservedly in the high-
B 2
20 GRALLATORES. ARDEA, HERON.
est estimation, has failed in pointing out the distinctive cha-
racters of the two species, and considers them in his Manual
as identical, in which he has been followed by STEPHENS
and others, WAGLER, however, whose skill in detecting,
and accuracy in delineating, specific distinctions, merit the
highest praise, has marked, with much precision, the charac-
ters of each ; and WILSON, who describes the Ardea Egretta
in his admirable Ornithology of North America, states his
conviction, from a comparison of the characters of each, that
the European must be a distinct species from that which he
describes. The White Heron inhabits the eastern parts of
Europe, and is found in abundance upon the shores of the
Caspian and Black Seas. It is plentiful in Turkey, Hun-
gary, Russia, and Poland ; and is also met with in Sardinia
and Greece. It does not appear that its geographical distri-
bution extends to Africa, the White Heron of that country,
frequently confounded with it, being a different species, de-
scribed by WAGLER under the title of Ardea Jlavirostris.
In the mature state, the Great White Heron is adorned with
long plumes, which form a train, hanging over and beyond
the tail : the feathers which compose it take their rise on the
back, from behind the shoulders, and consist each of a strong
shaft, with long hair-like laciniated silky webs. These fea-
thers, as well as those of the Lesser Egret {Ardea garzetta),
were formerly in great request as plumes for the head, and
to adorn other parts of dress, and are still much worn by
the Turks, and other eastern nations. The bird, when ir-
ritated or frightened, is in the habit of erecting these long
dorsal feathers. Its manners greatly resemble those of its
Food. congeners, and its food is similar, consisting of fish, reptiles,
Nest, &c. insects5 &c. It is stated to build its nest in the marshes,
among reeds, and other aquatic herbage, and not upon trees,
and to lay four or five large bluish-green eggs.
General pLATE JV. The whole of the body is pure white. A short
tion. crest depends from the occiput. In the adult bird, and
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA.
when in the summer plumage, a course of long plumes
spring from the back, immediately behind the shoul-
ders, and hang over the tail. The webs of these fea-
thers are long, divided, hair-like, and silky, and are si-
milar in their formation and texture to those of the
Lesser Egret (Ardea garzetta) and the American Great
Egret (Ardea egrettd). The bill is of a deep wood-
brown colour, becoming more tinged with yellow about
the nostrils. The culmen is blackish-brown. The lores
and orbits are greyish-green : irides orange-yellow. The
legs and toes are yellowish-brown, tinged with red. The
young, and adults previous to the spring-moulting, are
destitute of the long dorsal plumes ; and the legs of the
former are of a greenish-black colour ; their bill black-
ish-green, tinged with yellow.
The adult bird measures three feet four or five inches in
length; the bill about six inches; the tarsi eight inches;
and the naked part of the tibia four inches and a half
long.
LITTLE EGRET HERON.
ARDEA GARZETTA, Linn.
PLATE V.
Ardea garzetta, Linn. Syst. 1. 937. 13 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 628 — Lath. IncU
Ornith. 2. 694. 64 — Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 10 — ShavSslZool. 11. 545.
— Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 574. but not all his synonyms.
Ardea nivea, Gmel. Reise, 1. 164.
Ardea xanthodactylos, Gmel. Reise, 3. 253. the young.
Ardea alba minor, Will, young.
Egretta, Briss. 5. 431. 16.
Garzetta, Raii Syn. 99. 5 — Will. 206.
L' Aigrette, Buff. Ois. 7. 372. 20.
Heron garzette, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 574.
Lesser White Heron, Will. (Angl.) 280. 5.
Little Egret, Br. Zool. App. t. 7 — Arct. ZooL 2. No. 347 — Lath. Syn. 5.
p. 90. 59 — Mont. Ornith. Diet — Shaw's Zool. 11. 545. pi. 41.
IF the birds mentioned in the bill of fare at the famous
feast of Archbishop NEVILLE, in the reign of HENRY IV,
22 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON-
under the name of Egrets or Egrittes, were of this species,
it must have been extremely abundant at that period, to
have admitted of a thousand being served up at a single en-
tertainment. I am, however, much inclined to favour the
opinion of Dr FLEMING, as advanced in his History of Bri-
tish Animals, and to think that some other bird was there
signified, most probably, as he suggests, the Lapwing or
Pewit (Vanellus cristatus), which also possesses a long occi-
pital crest, and which always has been, and still continues to
be, remarkably plentiful throughout Britain. For other-
wise (as he says), under the supposition that the Ardea gar-
zetta was the bird alluded to, it is very difficult to account
for the silence of our early writers in regard to this species
being native in Britain. WILLOUGHBY, in his description of
the Lesser White Heron (which is without doubt the bird
now under consideration), expressly states, that the speci-
men from which it was taken was obtained in Venice ; and
he never even alludes to this bird as inhabiting or visiting
the British Islands. PENNANT is the only writer who ad-
duces any evidence of the Egret having been killed in Bri-
tain ; and even that evidence is far from being conclusive,
Rarest vi. as it only amounts to his having once received from Angle-
sea the feathers of a bird shot there, which he conjectured
to be those of the Egret. Under these circumstances, its
claim to rank as a British bird stands upon nearly the same
ground as that of the preceding species (Ardea alba), or the
Great White Heron. Its geographical distribution is con-
fined to the Old World ; but it is represented in America
by a closely-allied species (with which by some authors it
has been confounded), viz. Ardea Carolinensis of WILSON'S
North American Ornithology (Ardea candidissima of WAG-
LER).
In Europe it is sometimes found in Germany, where it is
migratory ; as also in France and Italy. It abounds in
Turkey, Hungary, and Poland ; and also occurs in Sicily
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 23
and Sardinia. It inhabits the confines of Asia ; and, in
Africa, is met with in Nubia and Egypt.
In its modes of life, it resembles its congeners, and builds
among the reeds of lakes and marshes, laying from four to Food, &c.
six bluish-white eggs.
PLATE V. The body is entirely white. The occiput is
crested, and has (when in perfect plumage) two or three General
long narrow subulated feathers. The lower part of the tion.
neck is also adorned with long pendant feathers, slight-
ly decomposed towards their tips. From the back, be-
hind the shoulders, arises a course of long plumes, each
composed of a strong elastic shaft, with long, decom-
posed hair-like silky webs, which move with the slight-
est breath of air. The ends of these feathers curl up-
wards, and form (as in Ardea alba) a beautiful train,
which the bird, when suddenly disturbed, generally
erects. The bill is black, as is also the naked part of
the tibia, and upper half of the tarsus ; the remainder
of the tarsus and the toes being yellowish-green. The
lores are greenish-yellow.
The young are without the long subulated feathers of
the occiput, and lower part of the neck, as well as of
those which form the train of the mature bird ; and the
lower mandible is white for more than half its length
from the base.
In maturity, this bird measures from one foot ten inches
to two feet long. The bill, measuring from the corners
of the mouth, is rather more than three inches ; the
tarsi four inches ; and the naked part of the tibia about
two inches and a quarter in length.
24 GRALLATORJ3S. ARDEA. HERON.
BUFF-BACKED HERON.
ARDEA RUSSATA, Wagler.
PLATE V. •
Ardea russata, Wagler, Syst. Av. part i. sp. 12.
Ardea affinis, Horsf. in Linn. Trans. 13. 189. sp. 4.
Ardea minor alia vertice croceo, Aldr&v.
Ardea aequinoctialis, var. B. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 697-
Ardea comata, var. B. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 687. sp. 39.
Le Crabier de la cote de Coromandel, Buff. PL Enl. 910.
Ardea aequinoctialis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 571. pi. 43, but not the syno-
nyms.
Little White Heron, Mont. Orn. Diet. Sup. but only a part of the syno-
nyms.
THE confusion in which the history of this species has
been involved, by the appropriation of synonyms to which
it had no claim, has been removed by the fortunate discri-
mination of WAGLER, in the first part of his " Systema
Avium," under genus Ardea, where those only are quoted
which can strictly be referred to it. The geographical dis-
tribution of this Heron embraces the three divisions of the
ancient world, being found in the warmer parts of Europe,
and also in Asia and Africa. In America it is not known,
the Ardea aqumoctialis, with which it has been confounded,
being a species perfectly distinct, and confined to that conti-
Rarest vi- nent. In Britain, it is a rare visitant ; and the first instance
of its capture is recorded by MONTAGU, in the 9th vol. of
the Transactions of the Linnean Society, under the title of
Ardea cequinoctialis. He afterwards described it more fully
in the Supplement to the Ornithological Dictionary, under
the name of the " Little White Heron? This specimen,
which was a female, and apparently in the plumage of the
first year, was shot in October 1805, near to KingVbridge,
in the southern part of Devonshire, where it was seen for
several days previous in the same field, amongst some cows,
and picking up insects, Of its habits, I am unable to give
any detailed account. The following is MONTAGU'S descrip-
tion of this individual :
HERON.
GRA LLATORES. ARDEA.
25
" The length about twenty inches. The bill two inches long General
to the feathers on the forehead, and of an orange-yellow; tion.
the lore and orbits the same : irides pale yellow. The
whole plumage snowy white, except the crown of the
head, and the upper part of the neck before, which are
buff. Legs three inches and a half long, and one inch
and a half of bare space above the knee : these parts are
nearly black, with a tinge of green ; the toes and claws
are of the same colour ; the middle claw pectinated. "
In the adult, the occiput, nape, and hinder part of the
neck is clothed with rigid open feathers of a saffron-
yellow. Throat, front part of the neck and breast,
white, tinged with sienna-yellow. Long flowing plumes
of the back ochre-yellow. Wings, tail, and under parts
of the body, pure white.
SQUACCO HERON.
ARDEA RALLOIDES.
PLATE VI.
Ardea Ralloides, Scop. Ann/1. No. 121 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 581 —
Shaw's ZooL 11. 573 — Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 27-
Ardea comata, Pall Reise, 2. 715. 31 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 687. 39, but
not his var. B.
Ardea Squaiotta, Gmel. Syst. 1. 634 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 686. 3ft
Ardea Castanea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 633 — Lath. 2. 687. 40.
Le Crabier de Mahon, et Crabier caiot, Buff. Ois. ^. 393. and 389.
Heron Crabier, Temm. 2. 581.
Cancrofagus luteus, Briss. Orn. 5. 472. 37.
Rallen Reiher, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 47.
Squaiotta and Castaneous Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 72. & 75.
Squacco Heron, Lath. Syn. 6. 74. 39 — Sup. 2. 302. 9 — Mont. Ornith.
Diet. Sup — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. sp. 5 — Shaw's ZooL 11. 573.
Ardea erythropus,. var. B. Lath. Ind. 2. 686. 38.
Ardea pumila, Lath. 2. 683. 28.
Ardea Senegalensis, Gmel Syst. 1. 645 — Lath. Ind. 2. 684. 30.
Ardea marsigli, Gmel. Syst. I. 637 — Lath. Ind. 2. 681. 20.
Cancrofagus rufus, Briss. Orn. 5. 469. 35.
Le Petit Butor du Senegal, Buff. Ois. 7- 393.
Le Crabier Marron, Buff. Ois. 7. 390.
Red-legged Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 73. 38.
Dwarf Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 77. 42.
Senegal Bittern, Lath. Syn. 5. 67- 29.
Swabian Bittern, Lath. Syn. 5. 60. 20.
Adult of
both
Sexes.
Young.
26 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON.
As several well authenticated instances of the capture of
this species of Heron have occurred in England, I have not
Occasional the same hesitation in giving it a place in the list of British
Birds, as an occasional visitant, that I have expressed with
regard to the two preceding species. In addition to the spe-
cimen shot at Boy ton in 1797, of which a drawing was pre-
sented to the Linnean Society by Mr LAMBERT, as recorded
in the minutes of the 3d volume of their Transactions, an-
other was killed in Cambridgeshire about twelve years ago,
which, from a drawing sent to me, appears to have been a
fine adult bird, in perfect plumage ; and a third, a female
(of which I likewise obtained a correct drawing, of the na-
tural size), was shot in the summer of 1825, near Bridge-
water in Somersetshire *. The short neck of this species (as
well as of Ardea Agami, Ardea spetiosa, &c.) clothed with
lax and longer feathers than the more typical Herons, and
the decreasing length of the tarsus, indicate an approach to
the succeeding group of Bitterns, which, in accordance with
the views of the first ornithologists of the day, I consider en-
titled to a generic distinction. The economy of this species
is similar to that of the other members of the family, inha-
biting marshes, and the margins of seas, lakes, and rivers,
and subsisting on small fish, reptiles, crustaceous animals,
Food. and insects. It is found in all the three divisions of the old
world. In Europe, its distribution extends to most of the
southern districts, but in the northern it is very rare or quite
unknown. Upon the confines of Asia it is abundant, and
(according to the report of travellers) equally so in Egypt,
Nest. Nubia, and other parts of Africa. It builds in trees ; but
the number, size, and colour of its eggs, are yet unknown.
General PLATE VI. Represents a mature bird, of the natural size.
tion.riP~ ^ne f°renead5 crown, and occiput, are of a sienna-yellow
* Since writing the above, I have been informed that two of these birds
were killed near to Yarmouth, in the month of May 1831.
HERON. GRALLATORES. ARDEA. 27
colour, each feather being bordered with black. From
the nape of the neck proceed eight or ten long, narrow,
subulated feathers, which hang down as low as the
back ; they are white, with a narrow border of black on
each side. The chin and throat are also white; the
rest of the neck and the breast sienna-yellow. From
the upper part of the back, immediately behind the
shoulders, proceed long feathers, with open, hair-like
decomposed barbs ; these cover the whole of the back
and scapulars, equalling the tail in length ; their colour
is a deep sienna-yellow, tinged towards the upper part
of the back with lavender-purple. The wings and sca-
pulars are white, slightly tinged in parts with pale
sienna-yellow. The abdomen, vent, thighs, rump, and
tail are pure white. The bill, for nearly two-thirds from
its base, is pale azure-blue ; the remainder black. The
lores are greenish-yellow. The irides bright sulphur-
yellow. The legs dusky, tinged with red. The under
part of the toes, and about the tarsal joint, greenish-yel-
low. In the mature state, the plumage of both sexes is
alike ; but the crest of the male bird is generally long-
est.
The young have not the occipital crest ; and the entire
plumage of the head and neck and the wing-coverts are
of a wood-brown colour, with longitudinal streaks of a
darker hue. The dorsal plumes are wanting, and the
upper part of the back and the scapulars are brown.
The throat, rump, and tail, are white ; the quills have
their exterior webs ash-grey, and their interior ones
white. The upper mandible is brown, tinged with oil-
green ; the under one yellowish-green. The lores are
greenish-grey. Legs and toes yellowish-green.
28 GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
GENUS BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill of the same length, or rather longer than the head,
strong, higher than broad, the mandibles of equal length,
the upper rather deeper than the under one, sulcated for two-
thirds of its length, and gently curving from the base to the
point. Culmen broad, and flat at the base, but becoming
narrow and rounded from before the nostrils to the tip.
Under mandible strong, tapering to the point, its angle
trifling and indistinctly marked. Tomia of both mandibles
even, bending inwards, very sharp, and finely serrated near
the tip. Chin-angle reaching beyond the middle of the bill.
Lores and orbits naked.
Nostrils basal, linear, and longitudinal, placed in the fur-
row of the maxilla, and partly covered by a naked mem-
brane.
Legs of mean length ; toes long and slender, all unequal ;
the middle toe of equal length with the tarsus ; hind toe
long, articulated with the interior toe, and on the same
plane ; claws long, subfalcate, that of the middle toe pecti-
nated.
Front of the tarsus seutellated ; back part of the tarsus re-
ticulated.
Wings long, rounded ; the three first quills the longest,
and those nearly equal.
In plumage, the hinder part of the neck covered with
down ; the sides and front with long lax feathers, which can
be expanded laterally at pleasure. No elongated feathers on
the hinder part of the head, or on the back.
Till very lately, the Bitterns have formed a section of the
genus Ardea in ornithological systems ; but as they possess
BITTERN. GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. 29
characters distinct from that genus (as now defined), I have
adopted the views of some naturalists of the present day, and
given them a generic title, believing that a determinate name
applicable to the group is better calculated to promote the
ends of science, and facilitate the study of this interesting
branch of natural history, than the adoption of sections and
subsections.
The Bitterns differ from the Herons in having a much
shorter neck, and in the hinder part of it being clothed with
down, and the front and sides with long feathers which they
can occasionally raise; and which peculiar distribution of plu-
mage is essential to their economy, enabling them without
inconvenience to bend and retain the neck in the position ge-
nerally assumed when at rest, or when they move through
the long grass and reeds in search of their prey. In this at-
titude the long side-feathers of the neck meet behind, and
completely cover the downy part, which, upon the extension
of the neck, is left open and exposed. In these birds the
bill also is shorter, stronger, and slightly arched ; the tarsi
we shorter, and the tibiae are covered with feathers as far,
or nearly so, as the tar sal joint. The plumage of most of
the species is spotted or rayed. They are solitary birds, and
inhabit extensive woody marshes where reeds and other thick
aquatic plants abound. Their food consists of worms, in-
sects, frogs, reptiles, and small fish ; and, being nocturnal
feeders, they are seldom seen on wing, except during even-
ing or twilight.
30 GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
COMMON BITTERN.
BOTAURUS STELLARIS, Steph.
PLATE VIII.
Botaurus stellaris, Steph. Shaw's Zool. v. 11. 593. PL 45.
Botaurus, Briss. Orn. 5. 4-44. 24. PL 37. f. 1.
Ardea stellaris, Linn. Syst. 1. 239. 21 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 680. 18, but not
var. B — Rail Syn. 100. A. 11.— Will. 207. 1. 50. 52.—Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 95. 127 — Wagler, Syst. Or. 1. sp. 8.
Le Butor, Buff. Ois. 7. 411. 21.
Heron Grand Butor, Temm. Man. 2. 580.
Grosse Rhordromrnel, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 63.
Bittern, Br. ZooL 2. No. 174 — Will. (Angl.) p. 282 — Lath. Syn. 5. 56. 17.
—Id. Sup. 234 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2.
47 — Shaw's ZooL 11. 593. PL 45, &c,
PROVINCIAL— Miredrum, Bull of the Bog, Butter-bump, Bumpy-
Cop, Bog-jumper, Bog-blutter, Bittour.
THE Bittern has lately become, in most parts of Britain,
a bird of comparatively rare occurrence, and is now, as a per-
manent resident, principally confined to the fens and marshy
districts of some of the eastern counties. This desertion has,
without doubt, been greatly caused by the system of drain-
ing now so prevalent throughout the kingdom ; a natural
consequence of the improvements in agriculture, and the en-
closure of waste lands. Previous to such improvements, it
appears to have been very generally, if not numerously, dis-
persed, if we may judge from the various provincial names
it has acquired, and was the well known and (by the super-
stitious) dreaded inhabitant of all the marshes and extensive
quagmires throughout the country. At the present day, the
capture of a Bittern is, in many parts of England, a subject
of great interest ; and perhaps, with the exception of a few
breeding in the marshes of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire,
and Norfolk, the stragglers that are met with in other parts
5
BITTERN. GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. 31
of the island are not birds permanently resident, but such as
visit us during the course of their migration from other
countries ; as the instances of their being taken now general-
ly occur during the later autumnal or the winter months.
This has been particularly the case in the present winter
(1830-1), during which a more than usual number of Bit-
terns has been killed in various parts of the kingdom ; and
I am credibly informed, that no less than ten were exposed
for sale in one morning at Bath.
The habits of the Bittern are solitary, and, being a night- Habits.
feeding bird, it remains quiet during the day, concealed in
the reeds and long herbage of its marshy haunts. In this
state, it generally sits closely squatted, with the neck bent,
so that the head rests between the shoulders ; and, when thus
dosing, and digesting the meal of the previous night, it will
frequently allow itself to be nearly trodden upon before it
will take wing, or endeavour to escape ; and even when
roused, it seldom flies to any considerable distance. When
wounded or surprised, and unable to escape, it defends itself
with vigour, and as it always aims at the eyes of its enemy
with its strong and sharp-pointed bill, a considerable degree
of caution must be used in capturing it. When attacked by
a dog, it throws itself upon its back, like the Owls and other
raptorial birds, and strikes with its claws as well as with its
bill ; and in this manner it will keep the most resolute dog
at bay, as the infliction of a stroke or two of the latter spear-
like weapon is commonly sufficient to keep him afterwards
at a respectful distance. The Bittern used to afford excel-
lent sport in falconry ; for when flown at, it immediately be-
gins to soar, rising in spiral circles, and endeavouring to
keep above its enemy. Should this manoeuvre fail, it then
prepares for the descent of the Hawk, by setting its sharp
bill perpendicularly upwards, upon which its impetuous an-
tagonist frequently transfixes itself, or is so severely wound-
ed a£ to be obliged to give up a second attack. The bellow-
ing or booming noise of the Bittern is confined to the pair-
32 GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
ing season, which commences in February, or the beginning
of March. At this time, on the approach of twilight, it
leaves its place of resort during the day, and rising in a spi-
ral direction, soars to a very great height, uttering at inter-
vals the peculiar cry, that in former days was heard with su-
perstitious dread. It also makes the bellowing noise when
on the ground, to assist in the production of which extraor-
dinary note, it was supposed to thrust its bill into the hollow
of a reed, — an idea not at all probable, and unsupported by
any confirmatory evidence.
Nest, £c. The nest of the Bittern is generally placed very near^to
the water, among the thickest reeds or long herbage, and is
composed of a large mass of reeds, sticks, &c. containing
four or five eggs of a pale asparagus-green colour, from
which, in the course of twenty-five or twenty-six days, the
young are produced. These, as may be supposed, are at first
very shapeless, being naked, and the neck, head, and legs
appearing quite out of proportion to the other parts of the
body. They are fed by the parents till fully fledged, and
do not quit the nest until nearly able to provide for them-
Food. selves. The food of the Bittern consists of water-insects,
reptiles, fish, and small mammalia, particularly moles, mice,
and shrews. Young birds also are frequently devour-
ed by it, and Sir WILLIAM JARDINE informs me, that he
once took a whole Water-Rail out of the stomach of a Bit-
tern ; — a fact, however, not extraordinary, when we consider
that the gape of this bird is very wide, and will stretch to a
great extent, the commissure of the bill reaching behind the
line of the eyes, and the esophagus being, through its whole
length, capable of much distention. The Bittern, in earlier
times, was greatly esteemed as a luxury for the table, and
even now it brings a good price, when exposed for sale. The
flesh is dark-coloured, but not coarse in texture, and the
flavour partakes of that of the Hare, combined with the pe-
culiar taste of what are usually termed Wild Fowl. Its geo-
graphical distribution seems confined to Europe, extending
BITTERN. GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. 33
nearly to the confines of Asia ; and it is most abundant in
such countries as are intersected by water, or possess extensive
swamps or marshy woods. In the colder countries of Europe
it is regularly migratory, but it is permanently resident in
the warmer parts of the continent. Its internal anatomy
exhibits nothing very particular. The annulary cartilages
of the windpipe are not entire, but semicircular ; the other
part being supplied by a thin soft membrane ; and, like
many other kinds belonging to this family, it has but one cae-
cal appendage, about half an inch in length. From the re-
searches of Dr BARROW on the arterial system of birds, it
appears that Messrs MECHEL and NITZSCH are in error in
describing the two common carotid arteries of this bird as
uniting into a single trunk, as, in fact, they only appear to
do so from the close adhesion that takes place where the one
passes behind the other.
PLATE 8. Represents the Bittern in a position in which it
does not seem to have been previously figured, but one
always assumed when at rest, or when seeking its prey
amongst reeds or long herbage. In this posture the
neck is bent in the form of a flattened letter S, with the
head resting nearly between the shoulders. The long
side-feathers of the neck are thus brought together, and
form a close and compact covering, leaving none of the
bare or downy part exposed, which latter must be the
case, if the bird kept the neck in the state of extension
in which it is usually depicted. This position of the
head is also the most advantageous for the ready cap-
ture of its prey, as it is always prepared to dart its bill
forward, like a javelin from its poise, the moment that
the desired object is within its reach. The present
figure is of the natural size.
The crown of the head is black, glossed with bronzed General
green ; the feathers of the occiput are margined with
cream-yellow, and rayed with black. From the angle
VOL. II. C
34 GRALLATdRES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
of the mouth proceeds a broad streak of black and
dark brown. The whole of the plumage is of a sienna-
yellow, or pale buff colour, rayed and varied with black
and reddish-brown. The sides of the neck are barred
transversely with dark brown ; the front with large lon-
gitudinal streaks of red-brown, intermixed with black-
ish-brown. The feathers of the breast are glossy black,
deeply margined with buff; those of the belly and ab-
domen are buff, with narrow longitudinal streaks of
brownish-black. The quills are brownish-black, barred
with reddish-brown. Tail short, reddish-brown, barred
with black. The bill is yellowish-green ; the culmen
darker ; the orbits and angles of the mouth yellow.
Legs and toes pale grass-green ; the claws (which are
very long, particularly that of the hind toe) of a pale
horn colour ; the middle one pectinated. The tibia is
clothed with feathers to within half an inch of the tar-
sal joint.
AMERICAN BITTERN.
BOTAURUS MOKOHO, Vieill.
Ardea mokoho, Wagler, Syst. Av. part 1. sp. 29.
Botaurus lentiginosus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 596. p. 46.
Ardea lentiginosa, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supp.
Ardea stellaris, var. B. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 680. sp. 18.
Freckled Heron, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supp.
Freckled Bittern, Shaw's Zool. 11. 596. PL 46.
American Bittern, Wils. Orn. 8. 35. t. 65. f. 3.
The Bittern from Hudson's Bay, Edwards, 3. p. t. 136.
IN the supplement to MONTAGU'S Ornithological Diction-
Rare visi- arVj a bird is described under the title of the Freckled Heron
(Ardea leutiginosa) ; as the author was unable at that time
to refer it to any known species, though he suspected it
might be the female of some of the rarest European Herons.
Subsequent investigation has proved it to be identical with
BITTERN. ORALLATORES. BOTAURUS. 35
the American Bittern described by WILSON in his admira-
ble work on the Birds of North America, and the Hudson's
Bay Bittern figured by EDWARDS, and referred to by
LATHAM as a variety of Ardea (Botaurus) stdlaris. This
specimen, which was shot in the parish of Piddleton in Dor-
setshire, in the autumn of 1804, passed into MONTAGU'S pos-
session, and is now, with the rest of his collection, deposited
in the British Museum. No subsequent instance has occurred
of its capture in England. The habits and manners of this
species, according to WILSON *, are similar to those of the
Common Bittern, which, in figure, size, and colour, it nearly
resembles. It inhabits marshes, the banks of lakes, rivers,
Sec. where it remains at rest during the day, concealed in the
thick reeds, &c. ; as it is, like the rest of this group, a noc-
turnal feeder, and only roused into activity by the departure
of daylight. When surprised, or driven from its retreat, it
emits like the Bittern a sound something like the tap on a
drum, — a fact observed by Mr CUNNINGHAM, the gentleman
who shot the individual above mentioned. It is common in
North America, extending from the Carolinas as far as Hud-
son's Bay, where it arrives in May as a summer visitant. — It
breeds in the marshes among the reeds and swampy herbage, Nest, &c.
and the eggs are stated to be of a pale bluish-green colour.
For a minute description of the plumage of this bird, I
must refer my readers to MONTAGU'S work.
* See WILSON'S North American Ornithology, article American Bittern.
36
GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
Old of both
Synonyms
of young,
different
ages.
LITTLE BITTERN.
BOTAURUS MINUTUS.
PLATE VI.* Fig. 1. 2.
Ardea minuta, Linn. Syst. 1. 240. 26. B — Lath. Ind. 2. 683. 27 Steph.
Shaw's ZooL 11. 589. pi. 44.— Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 97. 6.
Ardeola, Briss. Orn. 5. 49?. 46. t. 40. f. 1.
Le Blongios de Suisse, Buff. Ois. 7- 395.
Heron Blongios, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 584.
Kleiner Reiner, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 71.
Little Bittern, Br. Zool. app. 663. pi. 8 — Lath. Syn. Sup. 235.— Mont.
Orn. Diet, and Sup.— Pult. Cat. Dorset BewicWs Br. Birds, 2. pi. 51.
^Little Heron, Shaw's ZooL
Ardea Danubialis, Lath. Ind. 2. 681. 21.
Botaurus striatus, Briss. 5. 454. 27.
Le Butor brun raye', Buffi Ois. 7. 4-24.
Rayed Bittern, Lath. Syn. 5. 61. 21.
Ardea soloniensis, Lath. Ind. 2. 681. 19.
Botaurus rufus, Briss. 5. 458. 29.
Le Butor Roux, Buff. Ois. 7. 425.
^Rufous Bittern, Lath. Syn. 5. 60. 19.
Pao vivc i AL, — Boonk, or Long Neck.
visitant.
THIS is one of the smallest of the Ardeada, scarcely equal-
ling, in bulk of body, the Spotted Crake, or the Water Rail.
Very rare In England it is a very rare visitant ; not more than five or
six having come under the notice of our naturalists. Three
of these MONTAGU mentions, as having been killed in Devon-
shire, in the course of the summer of 1808 ; another is re-
corded by Dr FLEMING, as killed at Sunda, one of the Ork-
ney Islands, in the winter of 1805 ; and PENNANT has intro-
duced this bird into the Appendix to his British Zoology,
in consequence of an adult specimen, which was shot as it
perched upon a tree on the banks of the Severn, at Shrews-
bury. To this list may be added another instance, in which
a Little Bittern was killed at Blagdon, in Northumberland,
the seat of Sir M. W. RIDLEY, Baronet, in May 1810 ; and
figured by BEWICK, in his Supplement to the British Birds.
BITTERN. GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. 37
Though deviating in some respects from the typical form of
Botaurus, particularly in the length and straightness of the
bill, which approaches closely to some of the smaller aber-
rant species of the genus Ardea (and forming the passage, as it
were, from one group to the other), I have thought it better
to be retained in that genus to which its affinity appears the
strongest, and where the proportion and form of its legs and
feet, and the clothing of its neck, indicate the true Bittern.
This bird is an inhabitant of woody marshes, particularly
where reeds and other aquatic herbage grow very thick,
amongst which it passes a solitary life, feeding upon frogs, Food,
the fry of fish, insects, and reptiles ; and seldom taking wing,
unless when suddenly disturbed. Its usual position, when
at rest, is that of sitting upon the whole length of the tar-
sus, with the neck bent, the head thrown back, and the bill
pointing almost perpendicularly upwards. — It breeds among Nest, &c.
rushes, or upon hummocks in the marshes, making a large
nest of broken reeds, grass, and other dry materials, and
lays five or six eggs of a pale asparagus-green colour. It is
found in most of the temperate continental parts of Europe,
and also in Asia and Africa, wherever there are localities
suitable to its habits. It does not exist in America, but is
represented by a very nearly allied species, Ardea ex'ills.
PLATE 6.* Fig. 1. represents the adult bird of the natural
size.
The crown of the head, the back, scapulars, exterior General
webs of the secondary quills, and the tail, are black tion
glossed with green. The cheeks and neck of a pale
sienna-yellow, tinged with lilac-purple. The wing co-
verts sienna-yellow ; with the throat, and under wing
coverts white. The under parts of the body are red-
dish-white, with a few hair-brown streaks upon the
flanks. The greater quills are greyish-black. The bill,
from the forehead, is two inches long, of a gamboge-
yellow colour ; with the culmen and tip brown. The
38 GRALLATORES. BOTAURUS. BITTERN.
legs and toes are wax-yellow, tinged with green. The
tibia? are clothed with feathers to the tarsal joint.
The male and female are alike.
bird. Fig. 2. The young bird after the first moulting.
The crown of the head is blackish-green. The back and
scapulars chesnut - brown, margined with yellowish-
white. On each side of the throat is a spot of white-
Front part of the neck yellowish-brown, mixed with
streaks of white; sides of the neck reddish-brown.
Feathers of the breast deep liver-brown, with a glossy
lustre ; and margined with yellowish- white. Belly and
flanks yellowish-white, with streaks of brown. Tail
, blackish-green. Legs pale olive-green. Bill yellowish-
brown.
GENUS NYCTICORAX. NIGHT-HERON.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill very strong, rather longer than the head, compressed ;
the upper mandible curving towards the point, and_ slightly
bulging towards the base ; maxilla sulcated for three-fourths
of its length, and emarginated ; culmen rounded ; tomia of
both mandibles strait and sharp, that of the under mandible
entering within the upper one. Nostrils basal, longitudinal,
placed in the furrow of the maxilla, and covered above by a
naked membrane; lores and orbits naked. Legs of mean
length, slender ; toes, three anterior and one posterior ; mid-
dle toe not so long as the tarsus ; exterior toe connected by a
membrane to the middle one as far as the first joint. Claws
short, falcated ; that of the middle toe pectinated. Tibiae
naked for a short space above the tarsal joint.
Wings having the first quill-feather shorter than the se-
cond ; the third the longest of all. In plumage the occiput
NIGHT-HERON. GRALLATORES. NYCTICORAX. 39
is furnished with a few narrow subulated feathers ; canalicu-
lated, and fitted one within the other ; and varying in num-
ber from two to six, according to the species. Neck short,
covered with lax feathers; lower part of the neck behind
clothed only with down.
This group of the Ardeadte, which differs from the Bit-
terns in the proportions of the bill, and legs, in having the
neck covered with shorter feathers, and the hinder part of
the head furnished with long canaliculated plumes, has latter-
ly been separated from them, and has also been removed
from the genus Ardea, under the generic name of Nyctico-
rax. Like the Bitterns, these birds are nocturnal feeders ;
but, in other respects, their economy is different, and ap-
proaches nearer to the Herons. Their plumage is not rayed,
or varied like that of the typical Bitterns; but in large
masses of distinct and opposed colours. The young are very
different in appearance from the old birds, and do not attain
the plumage indicative of maturity till after the third moult-
ing.
COMMON NIGHT-HERON.
NYCTICORAX EUROPMUS, Steph.
PLATE VII. AND PLATE VII.»
Nycticorax Europaeus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 609. pL 47.
Ardea Nycticorax, Linn. 1. 235. 9 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 678. 13 Briss. 5.
493. 45. t. 39 — Rail, Syn. 99. 3 Wils. Amer. Orn. 7- 101. 61. £ 2
Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 31.
Le Bihoreau, Buff. 7. 455. t. 22.
Synonvm
of Adult.
Bihoreau, au Manteau Noir, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 577.
Der Nacht-Reiher, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 54.
Ardea Garden!, Gmel. Syst. 1. 645 — Lath. Ind. 2. 685. sp. 32. } Synonym
Butor tachete' ou Pouacre, Buff. 7. 427. I Of the
Spotted and Gardenian Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 70. and 71. sp. 31 and 32. f Young of
Ardea Jamaicensis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 625. — Lath. Ind. 2. 679. 14. { the Vgar
Jamaica Night-Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 54. 14.
Synonym
of Young
after first
moult, and <
before they
acquire
maturity.
40 GRALLATORES. NYCTICORAX. NIGHT-HERON.
( Ardea grisea, Linn. 1. 239. 22 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 625.
Ardea Nycticorax foem. Lath. Ind. 2. 678. 13.
Bihoreau k femelle, Buff. Ois. 7. 435.
Ardea obscura, Lath. Ind. 2. 679. 16.
Ardea Badia, Gmel. Syst. 1. 644.— Lath. Ind. 2. 686. 37.
Le Crabier Roux, Buff. Ois 7. 390.
Chesnut Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 73. 37.
Ardea Cracra, Lath. Ind. 2. 699. 77-
Cracra Heron, £a^. Syn. 5. 96. 68.
Night-Heron, or Qua-Bird, Wils. Amer. Orn. 7. 106. pi. 61. fig. 2. and 3.
Night-Heron, or Night-Raven, Penn* Arct. Zool. 2. 356 — Will. (Angl.)
279. 3. pL 49 — Lath. Syn. 5. 52. Do. Sup. 234.— BewicVs Br. Birds,
2. 145 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Shaw's ZooL 11. 609. pi. 47.—
Ffero. Br. Anim. 1. 96. sp. 4.
PEQVINCIAL, — Lesser Ash-coloured Heron.
THE geographical distribution of this singular bird is very
widely extended, as its appearance has been recognised in
certain localities, in all the four quarters of the globe. In
the southern and eastern parts of Europe it is abundant,
especially in Hungary ; but it becomes of rarer occurrence
as it approaches the north, and, in our own Islands, it is
Occasional only known as an occasional visitant. — The first instance
sitant. Up0n record of its being shot here, was one near London, in
1782. In 1798, a notice of the Gardenian Heron (or young
of this species), shot by Lord Kirk wall, at Thame, in Ox-
fordshire, was communicated to the Linnean Society ; and
since that period several specimens of the adult bird have
been killed ; two of which came under my own observation,
viz. a beautiful male, shot by the Earl of Home, at the Hir-
sel, near Coldstream, in the spring of 1823; and another,
now in the Museum of Sir W. JABDINE, Bart., which was
killed about two years afterwards in the neighbourhood of
Dumfries. Like the Bitterns, these birds feed, and are in
Habits. activity during the night. — In the day they resort to woods,
or to tall trees on the banks of rivers, or in the immediate
neighbourhood of the swamps where they procure their food,
and on which they quietly roost till the decline of the sun,
and the approach of twilight again calls them forth to satisfy
the cravings of appetite. In their flight to the feeding
ground they frequently utter a hoarse and hollow note, ha-
NIGHT-HERON. GRALLATORES. NYCTICORAX. 41
ving the sound of qua, and by some compared to that pro-
duced by the retching of a sick person. They live and
breed together in societies, selecting the highest trees where-
on to build their nests; and seldom breeding upon the
ground among marshy spots and reeds, as stated by TEM-
MINCK. In North America, where the species is very com-
mon, the most solitary and shaded part of a cedar-swamp is
generally chosen *.— The nest is composed entirely of sticks ; Nest) &c>
and the eggs, which are generally four in number, are of a
pale greenish-blue colour, in size nearly equal to those of the
Common Heron. As soon as the young have gained suffi-
cient strength, they climb to the tops of the trees, where they
are fed by the parents, till they are able to fly, and support
themselves. — The food of the Night-Heron consists of fish, Food.
reptiles, and the larger aquatic insects ; to which may occa-
sionally be added some of the smaller mammalia. Their
prey is swallowed whole ; the gullet being very large and
expansive immediately below the bill, from whence it nar-
rows to the stomach, which is a soft membranous oblong
pouch.
PLATE 7. represents the mature bird of the natural size,
taken from the above mentioned specimen killed by the
Earl of Home, and now in the Edinburgh Museum.
The bill is black, inclining to yellow at the base and General
gape ; the lores and orbits pale greenish-blue (accord- d.escnP-
ing to WILSON, bluish-white). The irides deep reddish- Adult
orange. The crown of the head, nape of the neck, up- bird*
per part of the back, and the scapulars, are black, with
green reflections. The lower part of the back, rump,
wings, and tail, of a fine pearl-grey. The sides of the
neck are tinged with grey; the forehead, throat, and
all the under parts, are white. From the nape of the
* See WILSON'S characteristic and interesting account of this species in
his American Ornithology, vol. vii. p. 106, article Night-Heron, or Qua
Bird.
42 GRALLATORES. NYCT1CORAX. NIGHT-HERON.
neck spring three long narrow subulated white feathers,
concave or canaliculated underneath, and fitting one
within the other, so as to appear like a single plume ;
and these the bird can erect at pleasure, when alarmed
or irritated. The legs and toes are pale yellowish-green ;
the claws black, short, and hooked ; with that of the
middle toe pectinated on its inner side.
PLATE 7. * Is a figure of the Gardenian Heron (of
authors), thought to have been a distinct species, but
now fully ascertained to be the young of the Common
Night-Heron, in its first (or nestling) plumage ; drawn
from a British specimen, in the possession of Mr YAR-
RELL, and kindly lent to me for the purpose.
Young In this state it wants the plumes from the nape of the neck.
The culmen and tip of the bill are blackish brown ; the
base and lower mandible yellowish-green. The irides
(according to WILSON) are vivid orange. The head
and back part of the neck are brown, with the centres
of the feathers yellowish-white. The fore part of the
neck and the feathers of the breast are yellowish- white,
deeply margined with wood-brown and yellowish-brown.
The belly and abdomen are the same. The back and
the lesser wing-coverts are deep wood-brown, with sub-
triangular yellowish-white streaks occupying the centres
of the feathers. The greater coverts and quills are deep
wood-brown ; their tips with triangular spots of white.
The tail is broccoli-brown. The legs yellowish-green.
As the bird proceeds to maturity, it acquires, at each suc-
cessive moulting, a plumage approaching nearer to that
of the adult ; and in these intermediate stages has been
described as constituting different species, by various
writers, as may be seen by the list of synonyms above
given.
NIGHT-HERON. GRALLATORES. NYCTICORAX. 43
CAYENNE NIGHT-HERON.
NYCTICORAX CAYENENSIS.
Ardea Cayenensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 680. sp. 17-
Ardea violacea, Linn, Syst. 1. 238. 16 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 690. sp. 50.
Ardea callocephala, Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 34.
Cancrofagus Bahamensis, Briss. 5. 481. 41.
Le Bihoreau de Cayenne, Buff. Ois. 7- 439.
Le Crabier gris de fer, Buff. Ois. 7. 399.
Yellow-crowned Heron, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 352 — Lath. Syn, 5. 80. 46 —
Wils. Amei. Orn. 8. 26. pi. 65. f. 1.
Cayenne Night-Heron, Lath. Syn. 5. 56. 16.
I INSERT this species, as an occasional visitant, in conse- Occasional
quence of a specimen taken near Yarmouth, in May 1824;
and recorded by Mr YOUELL of that place, in the 14th
volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society. It is
an American species, and rather widely disseminated, being
found not only upon the Continent, but throughout the
greater part of the West Indian Islands. For a detailed
account of its habits, I must refer my readers to WILSON'S
" American Ornithology," in which they will find the sub-
ject treated. with the graphic excellence that so remarkably
distinguishes his admirable volumes. — Like the Common
Night-Heron, it breeds in societies, making its nest in the Nest, &c.
lower branches of trees in the neighbourhood of swamps
and marshes ; and lays four eggs, of a greenish-blue colour.
The young birds are said to be in much esteem for the deli-
cacy and flavour of their flesh. This species feeds upon fish
and reptiles, and (like the rest of the group) during the
night; remaining at rest, and concealed, throughout the
day.
In the adult state, the crown of the head is white or yel- General
lo wish-white ; a stripe of the same passing from the nos-
trils, beneath the eyes, towards the occiput ; the rest of
the head is black ; ending in a peak behind, from whence
depends a crest, com posed of two very long white canalicu-
44 GRALLATORES. CICONIA. STORK.
lated feathers, and four black ones. The neck and under
parts of the body pure bluish-grey. Back, wings, and
tail, of the same colour, but darker ; the feathers of the
back having a black streak running down their centres.
Wing-coverts spotted with white. Train bluish-grey.
GENUS CICONIA. STORK.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill long, straight, strong, thick, subconic, pointed, much
higher than broad ; culmen cultrated ; the angle of the un-
der mandible rather ascending ; the upper mandible gently
descending to its end, which is pointed and sharp. Mandi-
bles of equal length ; the upper deeper than the lower ; tomia
straight, entire ; those of the upper mandible bending slightly
inwards. Nostrils linear, egg-shaped, at a short distance
from the base of the bill, pierced in the horny substance.
Tongue very short, narrow, entire, placed in the gape.
Orbits naked.
Legs long ; part of the tibia naked. Feet four-toed ; front
of the tarsi reticulated, or covered with hexagonal scales;
toes of mean length ; middle toe one-third of the length of
the tarsus, and joined to the exterior one by a large mem-
brane, reaching as far as the second, and to the interior as
far as the first joint. First joints of the toes covered with
hexagonal scales ; the remainder imperfectly scutellated.
Hind toe short, incumbent, articulated opposite to the base
of the interior toe. Claws short, blunt, entire. Tail equal,
of mean length, and composed of twelve feathers.
Wings long, with the first quill shorter than the second,
and the third and fourth the longest. In plumage, the up-
per parts of the body are covered with close-set feathers,
truncated at their ends.
My readers will observe that these generic characters are
not applicable to all the species of the genus Ciconia of
STORK. ORALLATORES. CICONIA. 45
BECHSTEIN, CUVIEE, TEMMINCK, and WAGLER, but only
to that group of which Ciconia alba may be considered the
type. The larger species, viz. Ciconia Marabou, Argdla,
Mycteria^ &c. seem to me possessed of characters sufficiently
distinct to warrant such a separation, a fact indeed admitted
by the necessity under which these authors have found them-
selves of subdividing their genus into sections. The Storks
are inhabitants of marshy districts, and are gregarious. In
many countries they are migratory, and their journeys are
performed in immense flocks. Their food is fish, reptiles,
small mammalia, young birds, &c., and their appetite is very
voracious. In most countries where they occur, they are
protected and highly esteemed by the inhabitants for their
utility in the destruction of noxious reptiles and vermin.
WHITE OR COMMON STORK.
CICONIA ALBA, Bellon.
PLATE XI.
Ciconia alba, Briss. Orn. 5. 365, 2. pi. 32 — Rail, Syn. 97. A Shaw's Zool.
11. 617. pi. 48 — Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 8 — Bechst, Naturg. Deut. 4. 82.
Ardea Ciconia, Linn. Syst. 1. 235. 7 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 622 — Lath. Ind. 2.
676. 9.
Cicogne blanche, Buff. Ois. ^. 253. t- 12 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 560.
Weisser Storch, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 345
White Stork, Penn. Art. Zool. 2. 455 — Will (Angl.) 286. pi. 52 Lath.
Syn. 5. 49 — Id. Sup. 234.— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Shaw's Zool.
11. 617. pi- 48 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 32 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 96.
sp. 10.
THE rare occurrence of the Stork in Britain, contrasted JRare visi-
with the abundance in which it is found on the opposite con-
tinental coast, in Holland and France, is a remarkable in-
stance of the laws which direct the migrations of birds, and
confine them within certain limits. And this appears the
more striking, when we know that its polar, or vernal, mi-
gration extends to a higher parallel of northern latitude than
our own, as it regularly visits and breeds in Sweden, and
46 GRALLATORES. CICONIA. STORK.
the northern parts of Russia. Upon the continent of Europe
it is a strict periodical visitant, arriving in spring, and, after
fulfilling the duties imposed on the reproduction of the
species, departing in the autumn with great exactness as to
time, to pass the period of our winter in the warmer climates
of Asia and Africa. In Holland (and indeed in all coun-
tries where it breeds), the Stork is taken under especial pro-
tection by the inhabitants for the service it performs in clear-
ing the country of reptiles and noxious vermin ; and every fa-
cility is afforded to it for securely rearing its young ; and for
this purpose, in Holland, and in some parts of Germany,
boxes or platforms are placed upon the roofs of the houses in
the different towns and villages, or false chimneys with flat
tops, erected upon the out-houses, as sites for the nests. In
consequence of such kind treatment, and the naturally social
disposition of the bird, it is very familiar, and may often be seen
walking quite undaunted along the dikes and margins of the
canals, solely intent on picking up whatever food it may dis-
cover. In some towns, Storks are frequently taken when young
and domesticated, and these are kept in the fish, and other
markets, to devour the offal, and thereby prevent the accumu-
lation of filth, which would otherwise necessarily happen.
Such I met with in Amsterdam, and some other towns in
Holland ; and this office of scavenger they certainly per-
Nest, &c. formed with great efficiency. — The nest of the Stork is formed
of sticks and twigs, arranged in the boxes provided for them,
or placed upon the tops of chimneys or other elevated parts
of buildings, and sometimes upon the top of the decayed
stump of a tree. The eggs are from three to five in num-
ber, nearly equal in size to those of a goose, of a cream-
colour, or a yellowish-white. After a month's incubation the
young are hatched, and, with great care, attended and
watched alternately by the parents until fully fledged and
able to provide for themselves. Previous to the autumnal
migration (which, in Europe, happens in the last week of
August or the beginning of September), these birds congregate
STORK. GRALLATORES. CICONIA. 47
in immense flocks, and, as if to try the strength of pinion of
the recently produced brood, make several short excursions,
and are much in motion among themselves. After these
trials of capability, they suddenly take flight, rise high into
the air, and wing their way with great swiftness to the dis-
tant climes in which they pass our hiemal months ; and where,
it is said, they sometimes produce a second brood. Of the
extent of such flocks, some idea may be formed from Dr
Shaw's account of those which he witnessed leaving Egypt,
and passing over Mount Carmel, each of which was half a
mile in breadth, and occupied a space of three hours in pass-
ing over. When it sleeps, the Stork, like the Cranes, al-
ways stands upon one leg, with the neck bent, and the bill
resting upon the breast. It frequently makes a loud clatter-
ing noise, by bringing the mandibles of the bill into quick and
forcible contact the one within the other ; which peculiarity
also belongs to the other species. — The food of this bird con- Food,
sists of fish, amphibia, moles, mice, insects, and worms, and
frequently the young of ducks and other water-fowl ; indeed
nothing of animal nature seems to come amiss to its appetite,
though Willoughby informs us that one taken in Norfolk,
and kept alive for some time, refused toads.
PLATE 11. Represents the Stork of nearly one-half the size
of nature, taken from a fine specimen in the collection
of Sir WILLIAM JARDIXE, Bart.
The bill and legs are red ; the naked orbits of the eyes Genera!
are black ; the irides brown. The whole of the body is
of a piure unsullied white, with the exception of the
greater wing coverts, scapulars, and quills, which are
black. The young are similar to the old birds, except
that the black of the wings is not so intense, and the
bill is of a reddish-brown colour.
48 GRALLATORES. CICONIA. STORK.
BLACK STORK.
CICONIA NIGRA, Bellon.
PLATE XI*.
Ciconia nigra, Ran Syn. 97. 2 — Will 211. t. 52 — Shaw's Zool. 11. 620.
—Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 9 — Bechst. 4. 96.
Ardea nigra, Linn. Syst. 1. 235. 8 Gmel. Syst. 1. 623.— Lath. Ind. Ornith.
2. 677. 11.
Ciconia fusca, Briss. 5. 362. 1. t. 31. young.
Cicogne noire, Buff. Ois. 7. 271. — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 562.
Schwarzer Storck, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 348.
Black Stork, Perm. Arct. Zool. 11. 456 — Will. (Angl.) 286. t. 52.— Lath.
Syn. 5. 50. 11 Mont. Trans, of Linn. Soc. v. 12. 19 — Shaw's Zool. 11.
620 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 97- 11*
Very rare THIS beautiful species is entitled to a place amongst the
visitant British Fauna, from the capture of one (after being slightly
wounded by shot in the wing), at Westsedgemoor, in So-
mersetshire, in May 1814. This bird was afterwards pre-
sented alive to Montagu, who kept it for some years in con-
finement, and who, availing himself of such an opportu-
nity, has given a very interesting account of its habits in a
paper published in the 12th volume of the Transactions of
the Linnean Society, and to which I refer my readers. From
that account it appears, when captured, to have been a young
bird ; and he had the satisfaction of witnessing the various
changes of plumage it underwent, previous to maturity.
This species is a periodical visitant in many countries of
Europe, but its longitudinal range does not extend so far as
that of Ciconia alba, as it is unknown in Holland. Its lati-
tudinal flight, however, seems to be even greater, as it passes
over Sweden in vast flocks on its passage to Siberia and
the extreme northern continental point. In its natural state,
it is of a much more timid disposition than the preceding
species, never, like it, resorting to the neighbourhood of
towns or villages. Its abode is generally in the marshy parts
3
STORK. GRALLATORES. CICONIA. 49
of remote and extensive forests, where it builds on the tops
of the highest pines, or other trees, forming a considerable
nest of sticks, in which it deposits two or three large green- Nest, &c.
ish-white eggs, which (according to TEMMINCK and WAG-
LEE) are sometimes marked with indistinct dusky spots.
It feeds upon fish, reptiles, insects, small mammalia, &c. Food.
When caught, it is easily domesticated, and soon becomes
very tame ; nor does it, like the White Stork, seem to make
such pugnacious use of the bill as 'characterises many other
groups of the Ardeada, even submitting to be taken up and
handled, without displaying anger. A beautiful specimen of
this bird is now to be seen in the Gardens of the Zoological v
Society ; and I have remarked, that in its quiescent state, it
assumes exactly the attitude described by MONTAGU, viz.
standing on one leg, with the neck much shortened, and the
hinder part of the head resting between the shoulders, whilst
the bill is supported by the forepart of the neck, and nearly
hidden under its loose projecting feathers.
PLATE 11. * Represents the bird in about half the natural
size.
The head, neck, the whole of the upper parts of the body, General
the wings and tail, are black, glossed with tints of the d.escriP-
richest purple and green, varying according to the light
in which the bird is viewed ; the under parts are pure
white. The bill, the naked orbits of the eyes, the gular
pouch, and the legs, are red.
In the young state, the head and neck are brown, speckled
with deeper shades. The back and upper parts are
brownish-black, with paler margins to the feathers, and
slightly glossed with green. The bill is dusky red,
brighter towards the tip ; the orbits are the same. The
legs and toes are orange-brown.
VOL. IT. D
50 GRALLATORES. PLATALEA. SPOONBILL.
GENUS PLATALEA. SPOONBILL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill very long, broad, straight, thin, much flattened, di-
lated towards the tip, which is rounded and spoon-shaped.
Upper mandible sulcated, transversely furrowed and rugose ;
the tip bent downwards, and projecting beyond the lower.
Under mandible smooth, except at the base ; its suture dis-
tinct and well marked. Basal half of both mandibles inte-
riorly furnished with a double row of tubercles ; the anterior
half with fine longitudinal striae. Nostrils basal, egg-shaped,
open, bordered with a membrane, and placed in the line of
the furrows on the surface of the bih1. Tongue very short,
and blunt. Face and head partly, or entirely naked.
Legs long ; feet four-toed ; three before and one behind ;
the front ones united by a membrane or web ; hind toe long,
articulated a little above the plane of the others, and resting,
for the greater part of its length, upon the ground. Tibiae
naked for one-half of their length above the tar sal joint.
Front and back part of the tarsus reticulated. Front of the
toes imperfectly scutellated. Claws short, straight, and
entire.
Wings long, ample; the first quill a little shorter than
the second, which is the longest of all.
In plumage, the neck clothed with short close-set feathers.
IT O -'
In habit and manner of life the Spoonbills approach very
near to other groups of Ardeadce. They form societies, inha-
biting estuaries, banks of rivers, and woody marshes, where
they find their food, viz. small fish, crustaceae, reptiles, and
aquatic insects.
To obtain their prey they sometimes swim, which they are
enabled to do by the extensive development of the mem-
brane uniting the toes ; and which brings the present order
SPOONBILL. GRALLATORES. PLATALEA. 51
near to, and connects it with, that of Natatores. The birds
of this genus breed in high trees, in the vicinity of the rivers
or lakes they frequent ; or, in failure of these, in the reeds
and aquatic herbage of extensive marshes. Their moulting
is simple, and the young do not acquire the adult plumage
before the third year. Three species are known, each pos-
sessing a distinct geographical disposition, viz. the White
Spoonbill (S. Platalea leucorodia), inhabiting Europe and
continental Asia ; S. Platalea ajaja, confined to America ; and
another, which is found in the Philippine and other Asiatic
Islands.
WHITE SPOONBILL.
PLATALEA LEUCORODIA, Linn.
PLATE X.
Platalea leucorodia, Linn. Syst. 1. 231. 1 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 613. — Lath.
Ind. Ornith. 2. 667. 1 — Shaw's Zool. 11. 642. pL 52. in the immature
plumnge — Lesson, Man. 2. 246.
Platea seu Pelecanus, Aldrov., Rail Syn. 102. 1. — Briss.5. 352. 1.
Le Spatule, Buff. Ois. 7- 448.
Spatule blanche, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 595.
Wiesser Loffler, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 4. t. 17-
Platalea nivea, Cuv. Heg. Anim. 1. p. 482.
Spoonbill or Pelican, Will. (Angl.) 288. t. 52.
White Spoonbill, Br. Zool. App. t. 9 — Arct. Zool. 2. 441. A — Id. Sup.
66 — Lath. Syn. 5. 13. 1 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup Shaw's Zool.
11. 642. pi. 52 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 25.
THE visits of this singular bird to our shores are uncer- Rare
tain, and frequently at distant intervals. PENNANT men- vlsltan •
tions a flock that appeared in the marshes near Yarmouth,
in April 1774 ; and MONTAGU states, that it had sometimes
been seen, during winter, on the coast of South Devon.
This indeed is corroborated afterwards (in the Supplement
to his Ornithological Dictionary), by the fact of his receiving
two specimens from that part of England, the first killed in
52 GRALLATORES. PLATALEA. SPOONBILL.
November 1804, and the second in March 1807. Since that
period other individuals have been obtained ; amongst these,
two recorded in the third volume of the Zoological Journal,
as killed in Lincolnshire; and, when in London in May
1830, I obtained a male and female in fine adult plumage
from Norfolk. From the time of year at which these birds
were killed, it is not improbable (and the conjecture may be
hazarded) that they would have remained to breed in the
district they had selected; and, though my collection has
profited by their capture, I must still regret that they were
not allowed to remain in security. This species is pretty
generally dispersed upon the Continent, and in no country is
more plentiful than in Holland, where it comes as a summer
periodical visitant, and retires for warmer climates in Sep-
tember, frequently migrating in company with the stork. —
Nest, &c. If trees occur in the neighbourhood of the haunts of the
Spoonbill, it builds on them like the Heron, and other kinds
of Ardeada ; but if there be none, it then makes its nest in
the rushes or reeds of the marshes or lakes to which it re-
sorts. It lays from two to four eggs, generally pure white,
but sometimes marked with spots of reddish-brown. In the
young state of the bird the bill is soft and flexible, covered
with a thin skin, and shewing none of the rugosity or trans-
verse furrows that distinguish that part in maturity. The
food of the Spoonbill consists of the fry of fish, aquatic
worms, reptiles, insects, and the roots of certain weeds and
grasses. Its flesh is said to be in flavour nearly like that of
the goose, without any fishy or unpleasant taste. In its ana-
tomy it shews an affinity to the Cranes in the form of the
windpipe, which, previous to entering the thorax, undergoes
a double flexure to the extent of about two inches, and forms
a convolution similar to the figure 8. The flexures touch,
but do not cross each other, the points of contact being uni-
ted by fine membranes. This double flexure, according to
WILLOUGHBY and TEMMINCK, was supposed peculiar to the
males ; but MONTAGU disproves that idea, as the specimen
SPOONBILL. GRALLATORES. PLATALEA. 53
he dissected was a female, and yet possessed the flexure to the
extent above described ; and this indiscriminate characteris-
tic was corroborated by the dissection of the specimens I
obtained.
PLATE X. represents the male, of the natural size, as drawn
from the recently killed bird, as above described, from
Norfolk, in May 1830.
Bill eight inches and a half in length, black, except the General
tip, which, for about one inch or upwards, is ochre- descrip-
yellow ; the base and upper surface is rugose, from the Adu'lt bird
depth of the transverse furrows. The naked skin of
the forehead, the space round the eyes, and the throat
are yellow ; the latter passing into reddish-pink, where
it comes in contact with the feathers of the neck. Irides
venous-red. Crown and hind part of the head with a full
crest of narrow, elongated, and canaliculated feathers,
pointing backwards, and which the bird can raise or de-
press at pleasure. Whole of the body pure white, with
the exception of a collar or gorget of ochreous yellow,
which passes round the junction of the neck and breast,
pointing upwards to the shoulders. The legs and toes
are black ; the tibiae naked for four inches above the
tar sal joint. Tibiae and tarsi entirely covered with
hexagonal scales. The middle toe three inches long
(being one-half the length of the tarsus), and joined to
the outer one by a web, as far as the second joint ; and
to the inner one as far as the first joint. Claws short,
and nearly straight. Hind toe rather long, and resting
on the ground for two- thirds of its length.
The plumage of the female is similar to that of the male
bird, but the crest is not so long, and the yellow pecto-
ral band not so bright in colour.
Previous to the acquisition of the mature plumage, the young
Spoonbill is without the crest. The bill also is paler in bird-
colour, and has not the furrows that cause the rough-
54 GRALLATORES. IBIS. IBIS.
ness about its base, and upon its surface, in the old
bird. The iris is pinkish-grey. The outer webs and
tips of the two or three first quill-feathers are black ;
and the yellow gorget is not acquired till the end of the
second, or beginning of the third year.
GENUS IBIS. IBIS.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill very long, slender from the middle to the point,
thickened and subangulate at the base, arched, higher than
broad, compressed, and with the tip obtuse. |The upper
mandible projecting a little beyond the lower one, deeply
furrowed on each side of the culmen for the whole of its
length ; the tomia nearly upright immediately at the base,
from thence to the tip much drawn inwards, and forming a
narrow canal in the centre of the interior of the bill ; culmen
rounded, narrower towards the base. Under mandible with
the same curvature as the upper one ; the anterior part
rounded by the intraction of the tomia ; the basal half with
the sides square and upright. Angle of the chin narrow,
and occupying about one-half the length of the mandible,
filled with a naked skin. Nostrils near the base of the bill,
placed in the commencement of the lateral furrows, oblong,
longitudinal, and protected above by a naked membrane.
Face more or less naked : in some species, the whole of the
head and neck bare of feathers. Tongue short, sharp-
pointed or entire. Legs long, or of mean length, slender ;
the tibia partly naked. Toes three before, and one behind ;
the middle toe joined to the outer by a membrane as far as
the first joint ; the inner one nearly free. Hind toe half the
length of the outer one ; articulated opposite to the inner
toe, and resting, for nearly its whole length, upon the
ground. Front of the tarsus in some species scutellated ; in
IBIS. GRALLATORES. IBIS. 55
others reticulated, or covered with hexagonal scales. Claws
either straight and long, with the middle one imperfectly
serrated or pectinated, or strong, short, and much arched,
and entire.
Tail extending beyond the wings, when closed ; square
and equal, or conico-elongate ; formed of twelve feathers.
Wings long ; the second and third quills being the longest,
In plumage, the species with feathered heads and necks
have the feathers long, adpressed, narrow and acuminate.
The wings and tail of most of the species have a bronzed or
metallic lustre.
In works which treat of the ornithology of a limited dis-
trict, or particular country, where the genera are restricted,
and comparatively few in number, it must be expected that
many forms, which serve to unite the different orders, fami-
lies, and genera together, will necessarily be wanting ; and
that, under such circumstances, many birds must appear (as
it were) isolated ; and that a very imperfect idea can be con-
veyed of that admirable circular succession of affinities that
actually exists throughout the feathered class. Such is the
case with respect to the present genus, which, placed upon
the limits of the family of Ardeadce, and viewed as an iso-
lated group, seems so far removed from the more typical
species, is yet (through the intervention of other genera,
such as Tantalus, &c.) closely and intimately connected with
it. The modification of the form, however, which it has un-
dergone, prepares it as a link of connexion between the Ar-
deadfE and the succeeding family of Scolopacida ; and this is
beautifully effected through the genus Numenius (Curlew).
The genus Ibis, as at present constituted, might perhaps
with propriety admit of still further division, as several
species possess characters, which others seem either totally to
want, or have in a greatly modified degree ; but as I have
not had an opportunity of examining and comparing all the
known species with the requisite care and attention, before
such division could properly be attempted, I have merely
56 GBALLATORES. IBIS. IBIS.
thrown out this hint for the consideration of others who
may enjoy more fortunate means of comparison. Species of
this genus are found in all the four quarters of the globe,
and many of them have a very extensive geographic range ;
none more so than the species included in the list of our
Fauna as an occasional, but rare, visitant, the Glossy or Bay
Ibis. Birds of this genus inhabit the borders of lakes and
rivers, and resort to such countries as are subject to periodi-
cal inundations. They feed on worms, insects, and mollus-
cous animals, and some of the species feed much upon vege-
tables, particularly the roots of bulbous plants. They con-
gregate and live in societies, and in most countries are perio-
dically migratory, performing their journeys in numerous
flocks. Their moulting is simple. The young of many
species differ greatly from the adult birds in colour of plu-
mage, and only acquire the dress of maturity after the third
moulting ; the consequence of which has been considerable
difficulty in discriminating their proper station, and, in some
cases, an unnecessary multiplication of specific synonyms.
A peculiar metallic lustre on the wings and tail distinguishes-
most of the species ; and some have the barbs of the tertiary
and secondary wing feathers long and decomposed.
GLOSSY IBIS.
IBIS FALCINELLUS, Temm.
PLATE XII.
Ibis Falcinellus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith, 2. 598 Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp I.
—Flem* Br. Anim. 1. 102.
Ibis ignea, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 13.
Tantalus Falcinellus, Linn. 1. 241. 2 Gmel. Syst. 1. 648 Lath Ind
Ornith. 2. 707- 14.
Falcinellus, Rail Syn. 103. 3 — Will. 218. 54 Ib. (Angl.) 295. 54.
Numenius viridis, JBriss. 5. 326. 4.
Le Courlis vert, Buff. Ois. 8. 27.
Bay Ibis, Lath. Syn, 5. 113. 12 — Arct. Zool, 2. 460. A.
IBIS. GRALLATORES. IBIS. 57
Tantalus viridis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 848 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. )
707. 15. > Young.
Green Ibis, Lath. Syn. 5. 114. 13. J
Tantalus igneus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 649 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 708. 16.
Glossy Ibis, Lath. Syn. 5. 115. 14 Lewin's Br. Birds, 4. pi. 152.— .Mow*.
Ornith. Diet, and Sup Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 13. — Bewick's Sup. to
the Birds.
Brazilian Curlew, Nat. Miscell. 17- 705.
THIS resplendent bird (for so it may with propriety be call- Occasional
ed, from the metallic lustre which gilds the greater part of its V1S1
plumage) is occasionally driven from its direct course to our
shores, during its periodical autumnal migrations from the
northern part of the European continent, to which great
bodies of them annually resort to breed and pass the summer
months. At the period of the first publication of Dr LA-
THAM'S works, it seems to have been of very rare occurrence
in Britain, or had perhaps escaped observation, from the
small degree of previous attention bestowed on the subject
of natural history. Since the appearance, however, of his
Index Ornithologicus and General Synopsis, many speci-
mens have been noticed, and scarcely a year passes without
mention of one or more of these birds being taken. From
the change undergone in plumage from the young to the ma-
ture state, this Ibis has, by GMELIN, LATHAM, and other
writers, been described under different specific names. Our
countryman MONTAGU (whose attention was particularly di-
rected to this interesting subject), appears to have been the
first to detect and point out the identity of these supposed
species ; and he has, at considerable length, and with great
clearness, elucidated its history in the valuable Supplement
to his Ornithological Dictionary, under our present specific
title. The geographical distribution of this bird is very
wide, and embraces the greater part of the ancient world.
In Europe (where it is periodically visitant, residing during
the summer season), it is found in all the continental parts,
as far north as Sweden, Norway, and (according to WAGLEE),
Iceland ; but its longitudinal flight does not spread so far
to the westward as our islands. In Asia it is very common,
58 GRALLATORES. IBIS. IBIS.
having been traced from Siberia to the isles of Celebes and
Java, and it is equally so in Africa. It seems to have been
held by the Egyptians in the same sacred estimation as Ibis
religlosa (of WAGLEE), or the true sacred Ibis of authors,
as its remains are frequently found with those of the last
mentioned bird, deposited amongst the mummies of the
Egyptian catacombs. Like others of the genus, this species
generally lives in societies, and its migrations are performed
in numerous flocks. It frequents the banks of rivers, the
shores of lakes, and lands that have been recently inun-
Food. dated ; feeding on worms, insects, molluscous animals, and
certain aquatic plants. The nidification, eggs, and other
particulars respecting its propagation, have not been noticed ;
and these points, with more extensive information, tending
to illustrate the individual habits of the bird, are still want-
ing to complete its history.
PLATE.
General jn ^he perfect, or adult plumage, the cheeks and crown of
tion. the head are of a deep greenish-black, glossed with a
Adult bird. rjch metallic purple; the feathers narrow and acumi-
nate. The neck, the uppermost part of the back, the
breast, the upper ridge of the wings, and under parts
of the body, are of a deep reddish (or maroon) brown.
The wings and tail, lower part of the back, wing co-
verts, and scapulars, are blackish-green, with the richest
metallic tints of purple and green, as viewed in different
lights. The naked skin extending from the bill to the
eyes is green. The bill is blackish-green, in some spe-
cimens measuring upwards of six inches in length.
Legs and feet are blackish-green : the naked part of the
tibia is upwards of two inches long.
Young PLATE XII. represents the young bird previous to its first
moulting, taken from a specimen killed near Rothbury,
in Northumberland, and now in my collection.
IBIS. GRALLATORES. IBIS. 59
The bill is greenish-black, fading towards the tip to wood-
brown, and measures five inches in length ; the lores are
green. The head, throat, and back of the upper part
of the neck are pale hair-brown ; the feathers margined
with white, and giving a spotted appearance. On the
forepart of the neck are two narrow transverse bars, and
a large irregular spot of white. Lower part of the
neck, and the whole of the under parts, of a hair-brown
colour, the margins of the feathers having greenish re-
flections. Upper parts of the body, wings, and tail,
glossy olive-green, with faint changeable reflections of
purplish-red upon the scapulars and wing coverts.
Legs and toes blackish-green.
FAMILY III.— SCOLOPACID^E.
THIS family, partaking, in an equal degree with that of
ArdeadcB, of the advantage of both elements of land and wa-
ter, naturally forms the other typical division of the order
Grallatores. In the various members of which it is com-
posed, the bill is long, fully developed, and admirably
adapted for extracting or securing their prey, in the marshes,
or on the shores of the ocean, where they resort ; and this
again is accompanied by a proportionate length of leg, giving
them the power of wading to some depth in search of it. In
tracing the affinities of the family, we find it beautifully con-
nected with the preceding one of Ardeadce, through the in-
terposition of NumeniuSy which approaches very closely to
the genus Ibis of that family in the form of the bill. To the
Rallidce, another but aberrant family of this order, its con-
nexion is readily traced by means of Phalaropus and Lobipes,
which possess the lobated foot of the Coots, and whose ha-
bits (as being more aquatic), place them at the extremity of
the Scolopacidce ; and to the fifth family, or Charadriadce,
60 GRALLATORES. IBIS. IBIS.
which completes the circle of the order, it is linked, through
the medium of Tringa, &c. with the genera Vanellus, Are-
naria, &c. of that aberrant family.
The Scolopacidce are the inhabitants of marshes, and the
shores of lakes, rivers, and the sea. They live entirely on
animal matter, such as worms, insects, mollusca, the roe and
small fry of fishes. Most of the genera procure food by
thrusting the bill into the soft earth, or the mud of shores,
and thence extracting their prey ; and, to facilitate this, an
extraordinary development of the nerve is distributed over,
and to the extreme point of the bill, thus endowing them
with an exquisite sense of feeling ; and, in many species, this
member is further provided with a peculiar muscle, which,
by the closing or contracting of the upper part of the man-
dibles, operates so as to expand them at the point, and enables
the bird, with the bill still buried in the ground, to seize its
prey the moment it is aware of being in contact with it.
From this particular mode of searching for their prey, these
are frequently styled " Birds of Suction." They all possess
a great power of flight, having an ample development of
wing, and are generally subject to the laws of migration.
Species of this family are found in all parts of the world, and
many of the genera have a very wide geographical distri-
bution. Their nidification is on the ground, and they lay
four eggs of a peculiar form, one end being large and round-
ed, the other decreasing to a point. The position of these
in the nest is with the rounded end outwards, the smaller in-
wards, and meeting together in the centre of the nest. Thus
placed, they occupy a small space, and are more easily co-
vered in incubation than they would be if disposed in any
other form. The flesh of these birds is in general succulent
and well-flavoured.
CURLEW. GRALLATORES. NUiMENIUS. 61
GENUS NUMENIUS, LATH. CURLEW.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill very long, slender, incurved, slightly compressed,
rounded through its whole length, with the tip of the under
mandible projecting beyond the lower one; hard, and semi-
obtuse ; laterally furrowed for three-fourths of its length.
Tomia of the upper mandible a little in advance from the
base, bending inwards progressively towards the tip, and
forming a channel in the centre of the interior of the bill ;
those of the under mandible even and straight. Angle of
the chin very narrow, extending about one-half the length of
the bill, and covered with feathers. Nostrils near the base
of the bill, placed in the lateral groove, linear, and covered
above by a naked membrane. Lores (or space between the .
bill and eyes) covered with feathers.
Legs long, slender, naked above the tar sal joint. Feet
four-toed ; three before and one behind ; the front ones
connected at the base by a large membrane. Toes short ;
the outer and inner ones of nearly equal length ; hind toe
short, and articulated above the plane of the others upon the
tarsus, its tip only resting on the ground. Claws short and
blunt. Front of the tarsus partly scutellated ; back of the
tarsus reticulated. Front of the toes scutellated.
The Curlews, from their close affinity to the genus Ibis
of the preceding family, are properly placed at the head of
the Scolopacidce, to the most typical species of which they
directly lead through other nearly allied groups, thus main-
taining that striking succession of affinities which is so uni-
versally found throughout Nature. They are birds of mi-
gratory habits, arid, during the winter season, collect in
flocks, and resort to the sea shores ; generally frequenting
such as offer extensive oozy sands, easily perforated by their
62 GRALLATORES. NUMENIUS. CURLEW.
long cylindrical bills. Early in spring they commence their
polar migration, and retire inland, selecting moors, extensive
waste grounds, and mountainous heaths, abounding in marshes
and pools of water, as appropriate habitats during the breed-
ing season, when they separate into pairs. Their food con-
sists of worms, reptiles, insects, and mollusca. The plumage
of the young is similar to that of the old birds ; and the
former are only to be distinguished by the bill being shorter
and softer. Their flight is strong, and generally at a consi-
derable height in the air, and in disposition they are very
timid and wary.
COMMON CURLEW.
i
NUMENIUS ARauATA, Lath.
PLATE XIII.
Numenius arquata, Lath. Ind. Omith. 2. 710. 1. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 101.
136.
Numenius major, Steph. — Shaw's Zoo\. 12. 26. pi. 4.
Scolopax arquata, Linn. Syst. 1. 242. 3 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 655.
Numenius, Rail Syn. 103. A. 1 — Will. 216. pi. 54 — Briss. Ornith. 5.
311. 1.
Le Courlis, Buff. Ois. 8. 19.
Le Courlis d'Europe, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 485.
Grand Courlis cendre7, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 603.
Grosse Brachvogel, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 121.
Common Curlew, Br. Zool. 2. 176. 63— Arct. Zool. 2. 462. A — Will
(Angl.) 294 pi. 54,.— Lath. Syn. 5. 119 — Id. Sup. 242.— Pult. Cat. Dor-
set. 14 Lewin's Br. Birds, 4. pi. 153.— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.
—Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 54 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 26. pi. <L—Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 101. 136.
PROVINCIAL — Whaap, Stock Whaap, Whitterick.
THIS is a well-known and numerous species, and, though
found in these islands in certain situations throughout the
whole year, is nevertheless subject to regular periodical mi-
grations. During winter these birds are inhabitants of the
sands and muddy shores of the sea, and the mouths of rivers,
Food, then associating in flocks, and feeding upon marine insects,
5
CURLEW. GRALLATORES. NUMENIUS. 63
worms, small crustaceous and molluscous animals, which they
principally obtain by perforating the mud and sand with
their long bills. At this season they are remarkable for
their shy and watchful character, and unless by stratagem
can rarely be approached within gun-shot. During the
flowing of the tide they retire to the fields adjoining the
coast, where they remain quietly until the ebb has com-
menced. No sooner has this taken place, than they are seen
returning to seek, in the lately covered sands, for a new de-
posit of food ; and I have often observed with admiration
by what wonderful instinctive feeling they became imme-
diately acquainted with the fact ; and have watched, when a
certain mark upon the shore has become visible, for their
re-appearance, without being once disappointed in the re-
sult ; so well do they know " their appointed times and
seasons." Towards the end of March, or early in April,
they begin to retire from the coasts, and migrate to the in-
terior heathy and mountainous districts of England and
Scotland; but from the observations I have been able to
make, I feel almost assured that this movement is not so
confined in extent as is supposed by some ; for instance, I
do not think that the Curlews we have upon the coast of
Northumberland, as winter or equatorial visitants, satisfy
the migrative impulse by a flight of a few miles into the in-
terior ; but that these retire to the Highlands, or northern
parts of Scotland, and its isles; giving place, upon our
moors and open grounds, to those bodies which have win-
tered in the southern parts of the kingdom. Unless upon
this idea it would be difficult to account for their presence
in higher latitudes, and would also be at variance with the
ascertained facts relative to the migrations of other birds.
During the pairing and breeding season, their notes are
much varied, consisting of several loud whistling calls, that
suit well with the wild open scenery where they are found.
At this time they are often on the wing, wheeling in widely
64 GRALLATORES. NUMENIUS. CURLEW.
extended circles round the place selected for nidification. —
Nest, &c. The nest is placed on the ground amongst heath, or coarse
herbage, in a shallow part scraped in the ground, and lined
with decayed grass and rushes. The eggs are four in num-
ber, placed with their large ends outwards, and the smaller
meeting to a point in the centre of the nest ; of a pale oil-
green colour, blotched all over with two shades of brown.
The young leave their place of birth as soon as hatched,
and are then covered with a thick yellowish- white down,
varied with spots and masses of brown. By degrees the
feathers develope themselves, but the young birds are not
sufficiently fledged to take wing till they are six or seven
weeks old. During this period they are assiduously at-
tended by their parents, who lead them to appropriate feed-
ing-places, and by brooding over, protect them from the
cold and wet. Under these circumstances Curlews lose the
excessive shyness that characterises them at all other times,
and when the young are approached, will fly close around
the intruder, uttering their cry of courlis in quick repeti-
tion. Notwithstanding their natural wildness, when cap-
tured, either young or adult, they soon become tame, as I
have frequently experienced ; and MONTAGU, in the Supple-
ment to his Ornithological Dictionary, confirms this, and has
given a very interesting account of the habits and manners
of the Curlew (under that head), when in a state of domes-
tication, and to which I must refer my readers. The flesh
of these birds is excellent, being juicy and highly flavoured,
and is in great estimation at the table. The geographical dis-
tribution of the species is very extensive, it being found at
certain periods upon most of the shores of the Old World.
I have received specimens from India and the Delft Islands,
which scarcely differ in any respect from our own. The
Curlew of North America is, however, a distinct kind ; dis-
tinguished by a different disposition of colours, and an ex-
traordinary development of bill.
CURLEW. GRALLATORES. NUMENIUS. 65
PLATE 13. represents the bird in the natural size.
Bill having the upper mandible black, the lower one General
flesh-coloured for one-half its length from the base ; the SMU
remainder, and the tip black. Chin and throat white,
the latter with a few fine striae of brown. The head,
neck and breast of a cream-yellow colour, tinged with
grey, with the shafts or central parts of the feathers
umber-brown. The upper part of the back and scapu-
lars deep hair-brown, with a slight glossy reflection;
each feather being margined and varied with greyish-
white, and cream-yellow. The wing-coverts hair-brown,
margined with skim-milk white. The lower part of the
back white, with narrow deep hair-brown streaks. Tail
barred with deep hair-brown and yellowish -grey. Belly
and abdomen white, streaked with brown. The quills
have the shafts white, the outer webs very dark hair-
brown, and the inner ones light hair-brown, barred half-
across with white. The legs and toes are bluish-grey.
WHIMBREL CURLEW.
NUMENIUS PHMOPUS, Lath.
PLATE XIV.
Numenius Phseopus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 711. 6 — Flem. Brit. Anim. 1.
101. 137.
Numenius Hudsonicus, Lath. Ind. 2. 712. 7.
Scolopax Phseopus, Linn. Syst. 1. 245. 4. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 657.
Phseopus, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 485.
Phseopus arquatus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 36. pL 5.
Numenius minor, Briss. 5. 317. t. 27. f. 1.
Arquata minor, Rail Syn. 103. A. 2 Will. 217.
Corlieu, ou le Petit Courlis, Buff. Ois. 8. 27.
Courlis Corlieu, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 604.
Regen Brachvogel, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 355.
Esquimaux Curlew, Arct. Zool. 2. No. 364. 19.
Hudsonian Curlew, Lath. Syn. Sup. 243.
Whimbrel, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 177- Arct. Zool. 2. 462. R.— Will.
(Angl.) 294 — Lath. Syn. 5. 123 — Mont. Ornith. Diet Lewin's Br.
Birds, 4. pi. 154.— .Bmncfr's Br. Birds, 2. ^.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 101.
137.
VOL. II. E
66 GRALLATORES. NUMENIUS. CURLEW.
Common Whimbrel, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 86. pi. 5.
PROVINCIAL — Curlew -Jack, Half Curlew, Curlew Knot, Stone
Curlew, Tang-Whaap.
THESE birds are found upon most of our shores during
the winter, but not so plentifully as the Common Curlew,
and rarely associated in companies of more than five or six
in number ; which are probably the family of the preceding
year, that, having migrated together, do not separate till
they feel the influence of the vernal or pairing season. Upon
the Northumbrian coast I have observed them most abun-
dant in the early part of spring, when moving towards the
higher latitudes, where they breed ; but their stay at that
time is not prolonged beyond a week or ten days. Their
migration appears to extend farther within the Arctic regions
than the common species ; and Zetland is the only station in
the British dominions where they have been ascertained to
Nest, &c. breed. The nest (according to Dr FLEMING) is made on ex-
posed heaths, like that of the preceding kind, and (upon the
same authority) the eggs are four or Jive ; of which I sus-
pect the first number to be the correct one ; as I consider,
from long continued observation, that none of the members
of the Scolopaceous family habitually lay more than four
eggs at each hatching. M. CUVIER, from a supposed distinc-
tive character in the form of the bill, separated this species
from NumeniuS) under the generic title of Phaeopus; in
which he has been followed by Mr STEPHENS, the continuator
of SHAW'S Zoology ; but as the only character upon which
the separation is attempted to be formed does not actually
exist, it is quite unnecessary for me to offer any apology for
not in this respect adopting the views of so eminent a natu-
ralist.— The Whimbrel is disseminated throughout Europe,
the greater part of Asia, and North America; inhabiting
the sea-shores during the winter season, and retiring more
Food. inland and to higher latitudes to breed. — It feeds upon
worms, insects, and molluscous animals ; usually obtaining
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 67
its prey by probing the sands and softer ground with its
bill. Its flesh is delicate and well-flavoured. In disposition
it is scarcely so shy as the Common Curlew.
PLATE 14. represents the bird in the natural size.
The bill, which is upwards of three inches in length, is General
black ; with the base of the under mandible flesh-red, tion.
Forehead and crown of the head dark hair-brown, di-
vided longitudinally by a narrow mesial white streak.
The eye-brows are white, streaked with brown. Be-
tween the angle of the mouth and the eyes is a patch
of hair-brown. Chin and throat white ; the latter with
fine hair-brown streaks. Neck and breast greyish- white,
with the centres of the feathers hair-brown. Upper
part of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts glossed
with hair-brown, margined with greyish-white. Lower
part of the back white. Upper tail-coverts white, barred
with dark hair-brown. Tail greyish-brown, with darker
bars, and the feathers tipped with white. Abdomen
white. Legs and toes bluish-grey.
GENUS TOTANUS, BECEST. SANDPIPER
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL long, or of mean length: in some species slightly
recurved ; rounded, solid, hard, and drawn to a point. The
upper mandible sulcated ; the furrow seldom extending be-
yond half the length of the bill ; the tip arched, and curving
over that of the lower one. Tomia of both mandibles bend-
ing inwards progressively towards the point. Nostrils basal,
lateral, linear, longitudinally cleft in the furrow of the man-
dible. Legs long, slender, naked above the tar sal joint. Toes
three before, and one behind. Front toes united at the base
by a membrane; that connecting the outer with the middle
68 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
one always the largest. Hind-toe short, and barely touching
the ground with its tip, or nail. Fronts of tarsus and of toes
scutellated. The plumage close and firm. Moulting double,
or subject to a vernal change.
The Sandpipers are distinguished from the more typical
groups of the family, by having the bill hard, with its tip
pointed and sharp ; and being without those particular mus-
cles possessed by the birds with softer bills, or such a devel-
opment of the nerve, as we see exemplified in the genus
Scolopax, &c. This difference of structure in so important
an organ indicates a corresponding one in their economy
and mode of life ; and instead of seeking their food by prob-
ing in the soft sand or mud with their bills, they seize it
upon the surface of the earth, or search for it among the
gravel and stones on the shores of lakes and rivers, or on
those of the ocean. That food consists of insects, worms,
mollusca, and sometimes small fish. Some of the species
live entirely in the interior, and are but accidentally, if ever,
found upon the sea-coast, which is to others the place of ha-
bitual resort, during the period of their equatorial migra-
tion. They are all subject to a change of plumage on the
approach of the breeding season ; but except in one or two
instances, it is not violent, but confined to a more extended
and different distribution of the spots and rays by which
they are generally distinguished. Among the various species
which the genus contains, as at present constituted, there are
some strongly-marked aberrant forms, which, upon further
investigation, will probably be found to be types of genera,
or subordinate groups of the present one. Such appears
to be Totanus semipalmatus of TEMMINCK, with a very
thick and strong bill, and half-webbed feet. The Green-
shank also (Totanus Glottis), showing by the upward curva-
ture of the bill its affinity to Limosa and Recurvirostra, stands
upon the very confines of the genus.
The Sandpipers generally live in pairs, or in small socie-
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 69
ties, and throughout Europe are subject to periodical migra-
tion. Their flight is strong, and they run with considerable
rapidity.
DUSKY SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS FUSCUS, Leisl.
PLATE XV. Fig. 1. 2.
Totanus fuscus, Leister, Nachtr. zu Bechst. Naturg. Deut. Heft. 1. 47.
No. 2 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 639 Shaw's Zool. 12. 132 — Flem.
Br. Anini. I. 102. 138.
Chevalier Noir, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 493.
Chevalier Arlequin, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 630.
Dusky Sandpiper, Shaw's Zool. 12. 132.
Totanus fuscus, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 212.
Scolopax fusca, Linn. Syst. 1. 243. 5 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 724. 35 —
GmeL Syst. 1. 657.
Limosa fusca, Briss. Orn. 5. 276. 4. t. 23. f. 2. Summer
Le Barge brune, Buff. Ois. 5. 508. plumage.
Dusky Snipe, Lath. Syn. 5. 155.
Tringa atra, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 738. 43.
Black-headed Snipe, Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 313.
Scolopax Cantabrigiensis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 688.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 721. 23.^
Cambridge Godwit,Br. Zool. 2. 185.— Lath. Syn. 5. 146. 16.— Mont. Orn. I
Diet — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 84. > Winter
Scolopax Curonica, Gmel. Syst. 1. 669 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 724. 37. I plumage.
Courland Snipe, Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 310. J
Scolopax Totanus, GmeL Syst. 1. 655. 12 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 721.24.
Totanus alter, Ran Syn. 106. 11 — Will. (Angl.) 297 — Barker, Albin.
2. t. 71.
Spotted Snipe, Lath. Syn. 2. 148. 19 — Lewin's Br. Birds, t. 164 — Mont.
Orn. Diet. 2. and Sup. with a fig.
Spotted Redshank, Penn. Brit. Zool. 2. No. 186 Bewick's Br. Birds,
ed. 1826. pL tab. 69.
THE difference of plumage between the young and mature
bird in this species, and the peculiar change annually under-
gone previous to the pairing season, have occasioned great
perplexity in discriminating it under such various garbs, and
given rise to the long list of synonyms above quoted. This
is a rare species in Britain, and the specimens taken are ge-
nerally birds of the year (that is, the young previous to the
first moulting), or old birds in their winter dress. MON-
TAGU describes two, both in the young state, under the title
of the Spotted Snipe, and has given a correct figure of one
Synonyms
of Young.
70 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
of them in the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary.
BEWICK also mentions two, as having been killed in the north
of England. In my collection is one, also a young bird,
which was shot near ^ Yarmouth ; and I may add, to this list,
two in the possession of B. BAKER, Esq. of Hardwicke Court,
in Gloucestershire, one an old bird in the winter plumage,
the other a bird of the year ; and which were presented to
him as the Spotted Redshank, in summer and winter plumage.
The figure given in the present work, of the adult bird in
its nuptial dress, is drawn from a very fine specimen (killed
in Britain) in the collection of W. YARRELL, Esq. In this
species the sulcum (or groove) of the upper mandible is short,
not extending beyond a third part of its length ; in advance
of the furrow, the bill becomes much rounded, by the doub-
ling in of the tomia ; and the tip of the maxilla is suddenly
bent downwards, with a fine sharp point. — This bird inhabits
marshy meadows, and the borders of rivers and lakes ; and
is sometimes found, during its migrations, on the sea-coasts.
— It feeds principally on small univalve and bivalve mollusca,
to which may be added worms and insects. It retires within
the Arctic Circle to breed, but no description of its nest or
eggs has hitherto been obtained. It seems to have a wide
geographical distribution, as the specimens sent from India
appear to be precisely the same ; and no difference exists in
those procured from North America.
PLATE 15. Fig, 1. The adult bird in the summer plumage,
as taken from Mr YARRELI/'S specimen.
General Tne head, neck, and under parts, are brownish-black, with
tion. a tinge of grey ; the feathers upon the breast and belly
Adult bird finely edged with white. The upper parts of the body
plumage. are blackish-brown ; the feathers with triangular white
spots upon their margins and tips. The quills are dusky
black ; the shaft of the first quill white. The lower part
of the back is white. The upper tail-coverts are barred
black and white. The tail-feathers are greyish-black,
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOT ANUS. 71
with narrow transverse white bars. The base of the
lower mandible is brick-red, the other part brownish-
black. The legs are red.
. 2. represents the young of the year (or Spotted Snipe Young
, .« j bird of the
of authors), and is taken from a specimen killed on the year.
coast of Norfolk, and presented to me by H. GIRDLE-
STONE, Esq. of Yarmouth.
The bill is brownish-black ; the base of the under mandible
red. Between the bill and eyes is a patch of white, and
below is another of hair-brown. The chin and throat
are white. The forepart of the neck, the breast, and all
the under parts, are greyish-white, with transverse un-
dulating bars of pale hair-brown. The hindpart of the
neck is hair-brown, the feathers being margined with
greyish-white. The back is clove-brown, the margins
of the feathers having small triangular spots of white.
The wing-coverts, scapulars, and tertials, are deep
clove-brown, with large triangular white bars and spots.
Tail deep hair-brown, barred with greyish-white, and
forming (as observed by MONTAGU) a double fork ; the
middle and outer feathers being the longest. The lower
part of the back is white. The upper tail-coverts are
white, with dark hair-brown bars. Legs and toes
orange-red.
The adult bird in the winter plumage has the eye-brows Adult bird
pure white; and between the bill and the eyes is a
dusky patch or streak. The crown of the head, the
sides and back part of the neck, and upper part of the
back, are of a fine ash-grey. The chin, throat, and
under parts, are of pure white. The scapulars and ter-
tials are ash-grey, having the margins of the feathers
with alternate bars of white and hair -brown. The
wing-coverts are deep ash-grey, barred upon their mar-
gins with white and blackish grey. The lower part of
the back is white. The upper tail-coverts white, barred
72 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
with blackish-grey. The tail has the middle feathers
ash-grey, barred with blackish-grey ; the outer feathers
with alternate bars of white and blackish-grey. Legs
and toes orange-red.
REDSHANK SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS CALIDRIS, Bechst.
PLATE XVI. Fig. 1.
Totanus calidris, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 216.— -Shaw's Zool. J2. 135
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 102. No. 139.
Le Grande Chevalier au pieds rouges, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 493.
/Chevalier Gambette, Temrn. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 643.
Red-legged Sandpiper, Shaw's Zool. 12. 135.
Scolopax calidris, Linn. Syst. 1. 245. 11 — GmeL Syst. 1. 164 Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 722. 25.
Scolopax Totanus, Briss. 5. 188. 3. t. 17. f. 1 Rail Syn. 107. A, 1.
La Gambette, Buff. Ois. 7. 513. t. 28.
Rothfussiger Wasserlaiifer, Meyer Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 368.
Redshank or Pool Snipe, Br. Zool. 2. No. 184. t. 65— Lath. Syn. 5. 150.
Id. Sup. 225.— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup Lewirfs Br. Birds, 4.
pi. 165 — BewicVs Br. Birds, 2. 91.
Tringa Gambetta, Linn. Syst. 1. 248. 3. — GmeL Syst. 1. 671. — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 728. 9
Gambetta, Rail Syn. 107. 2 Will. 222. Id. (Angl.) 300.
Red-legged Horseman, Albni. 2. t. 68.
Gambet Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 167- 9.; but not the Gambet of Penn.
Br. Zool., which is a young Ruff, as is also the Gambet of Mont. Orn.
Diet.
Young j Tringa striata, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 733. 24.
I Striated Sandpiper, Arct. Zool. 2. 383 — Lath. Syn. 5. 176. 21.
PROVINCIAL, — Sandcock.
ALTHOUGH this is a well-known bird, and a permanent
residenter in our country, yet we find it, even in the compi-
lations of our own authors, described under various titles ;
and, what seems more extraordinary, and shows how little
dependence can be placed upon works so composed, we meet
with it arranged as a species in different genera. Thus we
have it classed with the Woodcocks and Snipes under the
name Scolopax calidris; and again, in another genus, as
Tringa Gambetta., and Tringa striata. This discrepancy
Synonyms
pfOld.
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 73
occurring between authors, who must be referred to for con-
sultation, renders the identity of species and the collation of
synonyms a matter of considerable difficulty, and very often
of great uncertainty ; the descriptions appended being in
many instances so short and unsatisfactory, as to make it al-
most impossible to say with decision to what bird they really
belong. Among the synonyms quoted by recent writers as
!__!-„ * il. T» J I 1_ • j.1- . S~1 1-JJ-. _£ T»_. t- ,;
belonging to the Redshank, is the Gambetta of PENNANT^
British Zoology ; but this, I think, belongs more proper]
to the Rujf (Tringa pitgnax of authors) in its young state,
or after it has lost its nuptial dress ; and, as
seems in favour of such an opinion, I have attached it to1*
that bird. The Tringa Eewickii of MONTAGU, and Totanus
Bewickii of STEPHENS, a bird described by BEWICK from
two specimens sent to him from Lincolnshire, also appears
to belong to the Ruff rather than to the Redshank ; indeed,
BEWICK'S description corresponds very closely with speci-
mens of the Reeve in my collection. Tringa striata of LA-
THAM certainly belongs to this species in its young, or nest-
ling, feathers ; but the other synonyms quoted by him refer
to the Purple (or Rock) Tringa (Tringa maritimd). Du-
ring the winter the Redshank is found upon the sea-coast,
and about the mouths of rivers, in small flocks ; but on the
approach of spring it retires inland, to the fenny parts of the
country, where it breeds. Its nest is placed on some large Nest, &c.
tuft of grass in the marshes, or on the ground in moist mea-
dows ; and is there formed by lining a shallow hole or de-
pression with dry grasses and other vegetable remains. The
eggs, four in number, are rather smaller than those of VaneL
lus cristatus (Common Lapwing), in colour a deep oil-green,
blotched with blackish-brown ; with the spots most numerous
at the larger end. — During incubation, when disturbed from
its nest, this bird is very vociferous, flying round the in-
truder, and unceasingly uttering its shrill and piping notes.
Upon the coast it is generally very wild and wary, and, as
it always gives a loud whistle upon first rising, it spreads an
74
GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
alarm amongst all other birds near at hand, and thereby of-
Food. ten disappoints the shooter in his expectation of sport. Its
food is the same as the rest of its immediate tribe.
General
descrip-
tion.
Adult bird
in winter
plumage.
Summer
plumage.
Young of
the year.
PLATE 16. Fig. 1. represents the Redshank in the winter
plumage, and of the natural size.
Head, back part of the neck, back and scapulars, of an
uniform pale hair-brown, tinged with grey, and glossed
with olive- green. Wing-coverts ash-grey, margined with
white. Throat and under part of the neck white, finely
streaked with ash-grey. Breast white, with small ob-
long spots of deep hair-brown. The flanks and under
tail-coverts white, with transverse bars of hair-brown.
Abdomen and vent pure white. Lower part of the
back white. Upper tail-coverts and tail white, barred
with deep hair-brown. The base of the bill brick-red>
with the tip brownish-black. Legs orange-red.
In the summer plumage, or nuptial dress, a white streak
extends from the base of the bill over the eye. The
head, neck, and the whole of the under parts are white,
with oblong spots of dark hair-brown. Chin white, with
a few small specks of hair-brown. Back and scapulars
pale hair-brown, with an olivaceous gloss, and barred
with brownish-black, occupying the centres of the fea-
thers. Lesser wing-coverts plain hair-brown, glossed
with olive. The greater coverts and tertials hair-brown,
margined with white, and transversely barred with black-
ish-brown. Upper tail-coverts and tail barred black and
white. Bill and legs as in the winter dress.
The young of the year, previous to the assumption of the
winter plumage, have a large patch of hair-brown be-
tween the bill and eyes. The eyebrows are white. The
nape and back part of the neck ash-grey. The throat
and under side of the neck white, with fine striae of ash-
grey. The sides of the breast marbled with wood-brown.
The belly, abdomen, and vent, pure white. The back,
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOT ANUS. 75
scapulars, and wing-coverts, hair-brown, with a grey
tinge, and with yellowish- white triangular spots occupy-
ing the margins of the feathers on each side of their
shafts. Legs pale orange-yellow. Bill reddish at the
base, with the tip blackish-brown.
GREEN SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS OCHROPUS) Temm.
PLATE XVI. Fig. 2.
Totanus ochropus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 651.— Shaw's Zool. 21. 127.—
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 103. No. 140.
Tringa ochropus, Linn. Syst. 1. 250. 13 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 676. — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 729. 12.
Tringa Aldrovandi, Rail Syn. 108. A. 7. 8 — Will 222. t. 55 Id. (Angl.)
300.
Becasseau ou Cul bknc, Buff. Ois. 7- 534.
Chevalier Cul blanc, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 651.
Punktierte Strandlaiiter, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 283 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 386.
Green Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. No. 201 Lath. Syn. 5. 170. — Mont. Ornith.
Diet. 2. and Sup. with a Fig — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 100. — Shaw's ZooL
12. 127. pi. 17 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 103. No. 140.
Wood Sandpiper, Linn. Trans. 1. 130. f. 2.
THIS well- shaped and handsome bird is with us an occa- Occasional
sional visitant during its vernal and autumnal migrations, vlsltant-
and at the latter period, from being a bird of solitary habits,
is always seen single, but is sometimes met with in pairs
when happening to visit our islands, in the progress to its
summer residence. It inhabits the edges of small streams,
and pools of fresh water in the interior of the country, and
is rarely, if ever, found upon the sea coast. It runs with
great activity, flirting its tail in the same manner as the
Common Sandpiper (Totanus hypoleucos). When flushed,
it utters a shrill whistle, and generally flies low, skimming
over the surface of the water, and following with precision
all the bends and angles of the stream. I have met with it
76 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
on the moors of Northumberland in August, and have now
in my collection two beautiful specimens, killed by the side
of a small mountain rill. Another, also killed in the same
county, is now in the museum of the Natural History So-
ciety at Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; and JOHN MURRAY, Esq. of
Murraythwaite in Dumfriesshire, possesses a male and fe-
male, shot by him when together, near that place in the
spring of 1829. — This species occurs throughout the great-
est part of continental Europe, frequenting inland rivers and
waters, and is said to retire into the northern central parts
Nest, &c. to breed. The nest is made by the side of some stream, and
the eggs (according to TEMMINCK) are of a greenish- white,
blotched with brown. It is also found in several parts of
Asia. — By many writers this has been confounded with an-
other species, viz. Totanus Glareola, the Wood Sandpiper ;
and LATHAM, in the Supplement to his General Synopsis,
has unaccountably united them, although, in his Index Or-
nithologicus, they stand as distinct species. MONTAGU,
however, in his Ornithological Dictionary and its Supple-
ment, has pointed out the peculiar distinctions of each, and
which are indeed so strongly marked, as to render the dis-
crimination of the two birds a matter of no doubt to those
who have an opportunity of examining them.
PLATE 16. Fig. 2. Represents the Green Sandpiper, from a
specimen killed on the moors near Twizell, as above
mentioned, apparently a bird of the year, as it has the
distinguishing marks of that state, as given by TEM-
MINCK.
General The crown of the head hair-brown. The streaks passing
tion.nP~ above and below the eye white, speckled with hair-
brown ; the intermediate space being dark hair-brown.
Chin and throat white. The sides and back part of
the neck hair-brown, tinged with grey, and varied with
fine striae of greyish-white. Fore part of the neck and
breast white, with lance-shaped spots of hair-brown,
l
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 77
Under parts pure white. The back, scapulars, and
wing-coverts hair-brown, glossed with olive-green ; the
margins of the feathers being finely spotted with yellow-
ish-white. The quills very dark hair-brown, with all
the shafts dark- coloured. The under wing-coverts deep
hair-brown, beautifully varied with marks like the letter
V. Rump white. Tail white; the middle feathers
having three broad dark hair-brown bars, the next with
two, and the two outer feathers almost immaculate. The
legs and toes are greenish-grey, and not nearly so long
in proportion to the size of the bird, as in the Wood
Sandpiper ( Totanus glareold).
The principal difference in the plumage of the adult con-
sists in the upper part of it being more thickly covered
with small white specks, and the fore part of the neck
and breast having longitudinal brown streaks, instead
of the lance-shaped spots of the young bird.
WOOD SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS GLAREOLA, Temm.
PLATE XVI. Fig. 3.
Totanus Glareola, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 654 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 103.
No. 141 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 130.
Totanus Grallatoris, Shaw's Zool. 12. 148.
Tringa Glareola, Linn. Syst. 1. 250. 13. B.— Gmel Syst. 1. 677 Lath, Ind
Orn. 2. 730. 13.
Tringa Grallatoris, Mont. Sup. Orn. Diet.
Chevalier Sylvain, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 654.
Wald Strandlaufer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 291 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
2. 387.
Wood Sandpiper, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 482. 9 — Lath. Syn. 5. 172. 13
Shaw's Zool. 12. 130 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 103. No. 141 Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Sup. with a Fig.
Long-legged Sandpiper, Mont. Ornith. Diet. App. to Supp. — Shaw's Zool.
10 14H
THIS species (which has been frequently confounded with Very rare
the preceding one) is also an occasional but a very rare
78 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
sitant ; a solitary straggler being now and then driven as far
to the westward as the longitude of our islands during the
periodical migration of the species from the northern to the
more southern districts of Europe. The short specific de-
scriptions given by LINNAEUS of these two nearly allied birds,
and their rare occurrence in Britain, without doubt induced
Dr LATHAM and others (as mentioned in the preceding ac-
count of the Green Sandpiper) to think that they might be
identical. His description, however, of the present bird, in
his Index Ornithologicus, ought to have satisfied him that
it could not be the Tringa Aldrovandi of RAY and WIL-
LOUGHBY, quoted as a synonym of Ochropus (and with great
propriety, as it answers exactly to it) ; for he describes Gla-
reola as having " remiges fuscae, rachi nivea, secundariae
apices margine alba,1' characters which are correct, and very
distinctive of the species. MONTAGU, in his Ornithological
Dictionary, has so accurately described each from personal
inspection, as to render mistake, or a confusion of the spe-
cies, almost impossible for any one who is enabled to com-
pare his descriptions with the specimens of these birds. He
has, however, in his Appendix to the Supplement of the
same work, created some unnecessary confusion by rejecting
the Linnean specific appellation of Glareola altogether, and
imposing in its place the new title of Tringa Gr dilator is
(Long-legged Sandpiper) ; which confusion is still further
increased by Mr STEPHENS, in his Continuation of SHAW'S
Zoology, giving both the Glareola of LINN^US, and Gralla-
toris of MONTAGU as distinct species. In size, this bird is
fully one-third less than the Ochropus^ with the legs much
longer in proportion ; the tarsi of the former being one-
eighth of an inch longer than those of the latter, and the
naked part of the tibia is considerably longer. In addition
to the specimens recorded by MONTAGU and others, I can
mention a beautiful one of the young bird, killed at Elling-
ham in the month of September 1828 (now in my collection,
and a description of which is given below) ; a second, killed
5
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 79
at Prestwick Car in 1830, and now in the museum of the
Natural History Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; and a
third, shot at White-mare Pool, in the county of Durham,
and now in the possession of Mr EDWARD BACKHOUSE.
It is a native of the interior of Continental Europe, and
has a wide geographical distribution, being found in India ;
and I have specimens also from the Cape of Good Hope.
Moist woods and swamps producing willows and other brush-
wood are its favourite habitats, where it lives solitary, or, in
the breeding season, in pairs. It retires within the Arctic Nest, &c.
circle to breed, and its nest is made by the side of some rill
or pool. The eggs, four in number, are said to be of a yel-
lowish or oil-green colour, spotted with brown. — It feeds up- Food,
on worms and insects.
PLATE 16. Fig. 3. Represents the Wood Sandpiper of the
natural size.
Between the bill and eyes is a dark hair-brown streak. General
Crown of the head, back, and wings, are hair-brown,
with a tinge of grey, but no gloss of green. Margins
of the dorsal and scapular feathers, and also the wing-
coverts, are marked with small white and greyish-white
spots. The secondaries are margined and tipped with
white. The greater quills are hair-brown, the first one
having a white shaft. Nape of the neck, cheeks, sides
of the breast, and the flanks are greyish- white, with
hair-brown rays. Eyelids, throat, belly, and abdomen
white. The lower part of the back is blackish-grey,
having the feathers finely margined with white. Rump
and upper tail-coverts white ; the latter with a brown
streak down their shafts. Tail white, barred with hair-
brown ; the outer feathers having their inner webs pure
white. The wings, when closed, reach to the end of
the tail. The bill is black, with a green tinge towards
the base. Legs and toes greenish-grey.
In the summer plumage, the spots of white upon the back
80 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
and wing-coverts are larger and purer in colour, and
the scapulars are obscurely barred with a deeper shade
of hair-brown.
The following is a description of the bird of the year,
from a specimen killed at Ellingham in September
1828, and kindly presented to me by the late THOMAS
HAGGERSTONE, Esq.
Between the bill and eyes is a narrow blackish-brown
streak. The temples and eyebrows are white, finely
streaked with hair- brown. Chin and throat pure white.
Crown of the head dark brown, having the feathers
finely margined with yellowish-brown. Nape and sides
of the neck greyish-white, striated with brown. Breast
white ; each feather having a brown streak down the
shaft, and being very finely margined with hair-brown.
The flanks are marked with undulating bars of brown
and yellowish- white. Belly and abdomen white. The
back, scapulars, and wing-coverts deep brown, with a
purplish gloss, and each feather having a large reddish
white spot on each side of the shaft near the tip. The
quills are brownish-black ; the shaft of the first one be-
ing white. The secondaries margined with yellowish-
white. The lower part of the back is greyish-black,
margined with white. The rump and upper tail-coverts
white ; the tips of some of the latter with a hair-brown
spot. Tail barred with deep hair- brown and white ; the
outer feathers having their inner webs nearly pure white.
Legs and toes wax-yellow, tinged with greenish gre y.
Bill black at the tip, and the base tinged with green.
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 81
COMMON SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS HYPOLEUCOS, Temm.
PLATE XV. Fia. 3. 4.
Totanus Hypoleucos, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 657 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 142.
— Flem. Br. Anim. I. 104. No. 143.
Tringa Hypoleucos, Linn. Syst. 1. 250. 14 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 678 — Lath. Ind,
Ornith. 2. 734. 28.
Tringa minor, Rail Syn. 108. A. 6. — Will. 223. t. 55.
Le Guinette. Buff. Ois. 7. 540.
Chevalier Guinette, Temm. Man. 2. 657.
Trillender Strandlaufer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 295. — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 389.
Common Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. No. 204. t. 71 Arct. Zool. 2. No. 388.
— Will. (Angl.) 301. t. 55 — Lath. Syn. 178. 23 Mont. Ornith. Diet —
Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 104 — Ib. 2. 111. the Young Shaw's Zool. 12.
142 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 104. No. 143.
Spotted Sandpiper, Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 111.
PROVINCIAL — Willy-wicket, Water-junket, Summer Snipe.
THIS active little bird is a regular periodical visitant, and Periodical
during summer is the well known inhabitant of the margins
of all our rivers and lakes. It usually makes its first ap-
pearance about the 20th of April, and I have observed that
if suffered to breed unmolested, the same pair (at least so it
may be presumed) will return for many successive seasons to
the locality previously occupied. In this country its migra-
tions extend to the northern parts of the mainland of Scot-
land, as it is known in Caithness, which appears to be its
boundary in this longitude, as it is not noticed by Low in
his Natural History of the Orkneys, and Dr FLEMING, in
his History of British Animals, states it to be wanting in
these islands. It is very abundant upon the shores of the
Scottish fresh-water lakes, and upon Loch Awe in July
(when the young broods begin to fly), I have at one view
seen three or four families on the wing crossing over or skim-
ming along the edges of the lake. The Common Sandpiper
is a bird of most lively habits, having its body in continual
VOL. IT. F
82 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
motion ; for whether running along the shore, or perched
upon a stone, its tail is ever moving up and down ; and it
has also the custom (in common with other species of this
genus) of nodding the head, by suddenly stretching and
contracting the neck. Its flight is graceful, though pecu-
liar, being performed by a rapid motion of the pinions, suc-
ceeded by an interval of rest, the wings at the same time be-
ing considerably bent, and forming an angle with the body;
and in this manner it skims with rapidity over the surface of
the water, not always flying in a straight line, but making
occasional sweeps, uttering at the same time its shrill and
well known whistle, which has been compared to the sound
of the words bestowed upon it as a provincial appellation. —
It breeds upon the banks of rivers or lakes, taking care to
make its nest beyond the reach of the usual floods, and fre-
quently, should a corn-field approach the edge of the water,
Nest, &c. it will retire within it. The immediate site of the nest is ge-
nerally under a projecting tuft of grass or rush, where it
scrapes rather a deep hole in the ground, lining it with dried
grass, leaves, and other materials. The eggs are four in
number, and not Jive, as stated by some authors ; they are
of a cream-yellow colour, with numerous spots of dark brown
upon the surface, and others of a lighter hue appearing, as
it were, underneath the outer shell. If disturbed during the
period of incubation, the female quits the nest as quietly as
possible, and usually flies to a distance, making at this time
no outcry ; as soon, however, as the young are hatched, her
manners completely alter, and the greatest agitation is ex-
pressed on the apprehension of danger, and every stratagem
is tried, such as feigning lameness and inability of flight, to
divert the attention of the intruder from the unfledged brood.
As soon as hatched the young quit the nest, and are then
covered with down of a greyish-brown colour above, with
black streaks upon the head, and a black list down the back,
the under parts being white. This is rapidly succeeded by
the regular plumage, and in the course of three weeks they
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 83
are nearly able to fly. If discovered, and attempted to be
caught before being fully fledged, they boldly take to the
water, repeatedly diving, and to a considerable distance; — a
provision wisely granted, as being so well adapted to insure
their safety in the unfledged state. After the young have
gained sufficient strength, these birds prepare for their au-
tumnal or equatorial migration, and by the end of Septem-
ber the greater part of them have quitted the kingdom.
They retire to the warmer parts of Continental Europe, to
Asia, and to Africa ; but Dr LATHAM appears to be in er-
ror when he states it as a species common to America, for it
is not recognised by WILSON, or by other American orni-
thologists. Its place in that country is supplied by another
closely allied species, viz. Totanus macularius (Spotted
Sandpiper). In BEWICK^S admirable work a description and
figure are given of a bird which he thought was the Tr'mga
macularia of authors, but it approaches, in every respect, so
closely to the young of the Common Sandpiper, that I can-
not help thinking he must have mistaken the species. At
all events, his bird could not have been an adult Spotted
Sandpiper •, as neither the figure nor description give an idea
of the peculiar spotting of the whole of the under parts, so
distinctive of both the male and female of that species. In
Totanus hypoleucos and Totanus macularius the furrow ex-
tends for more than two-thirds of the length of the upper
mandible, and the bill is not quite so much rounded near
the tip, as in the preceding species of this genus ; in these
particulars shewing their affinity to the genus Tringa. The
food of these birds consists of the worms and insects usually
found in the localities they frequent.
PLATE 15. Fig. 3. Represents the Common Sandpiper of
the natural size.
Between the bill and eyes is a dark hair-brown patch, and General
over the eyes is a white streak. Head and upper parts tio^np
of the body of a lightish hair-brown colour, glossed with .d"lfc
84 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
olive-green; the shafts of the feathers being darker,
and being further varied upon the back and scapulars
with fine transverse zigzag lines of dark hair-brown,
giving the bird an elegantly mottled appearance. The
lesser wing-coverts marked with transverse bars of hair-
brown, the greater coverts tipped with white. Two
first quill-feathers hair-brown ; the rest hair-brown, with
a large white spot in the centre of the inner web. The
four middle tail-feathers similar to the back ; the two
next on each side tipped with white ; the outermost
having the tip white, and the outer web pale hair-brown,
with darker bars. Throat and chin white, with a few
small specks of pale hair-brown. Sides of the neck and
breast greyish- white, streaked with hair-brown. Ab-
domen and vent white. Bill of a dusky greenish-grey
colour. Legs and toes yellowish-grey.
Young Fig. 4. Represents the young bird, soon after exclusion,
and covered with a down of the colour previously de-
scribed.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER.
TOTANUS MACULARIUS, Temm.
PLATE XVII.
Totanus macularius, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 656. — Shaw's Zool. 12. 144.
but not the figure which represents the young of the Common Sand-
piper— Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 103. No. 142 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 7. 60. pi. 59.
Tringa macularia, Linn. 1. 249. 7 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 672 Lath. Ind. Ornith.
2. 734. 29.
Turdus aquaticus, Briss. 5. 255. 20.
La Grive d'Eau, Buff. Ois- 8. 140.
Chevalier perle', Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 656.
Geflechte Strandlaufer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 342. — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 385.
Spotted Tringa, Edw. t. 227. f- 2.
Spotted Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. No. 196. ?—Latfi. Syn. 5. 179. 24 — Shaw's
Zool. 12. 144. the synonyms, but not the figure or description. — Mont.
Ornith. Diet.— Flem. JBr. Anim. 1. 103. sp. 142.
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 85
THE authority upon which this bird ranks as a rare Bri- Rare visi.
tish visitant, seems to rest solely on the description given by
Mr EDWARDS of a bird that was shot in Essex, but which
(as I have before remarked with regard to that figured and
described by BEWICK as Totanus macularms) appears to be
nothing more than Totanus hypoleucos ; and the specimens
also from which my figures were taken, though supposed to
have been killed in England, I am afraid cannot be satis-
factorily substantiated as such. According to TEMMINCK,
it is sometimes met with on the coast of the Baltic, and in
parts of Germany, but never in Holland. This distribu-
tion appears singular ; and, as an American species, it is dif-
ficult to account for its appearance so far out of the line of
its migrations. In the United States it is very common, and,
like the Sandpiper of this country, to which it is closely al-
lied, is there known as a summer visitant. During that sea-
son, it is found distributed throughout the interior, inhabit-
ing, in great numbers, the banks of the various rivers and
lakes with which that country abounds. Its manners and
economy appear to be very similar to those of our own spe-
cies ; and in perusing WILSON'S animated and graphic ac-
count of this bird in his excellent American Ornithology *,
we can scarcely divest ourselves of the idea that he is not de-
scribing Totanus hypoleucos. The same continual motion
of the tail equally distinguishes both kinds ; and their mode
of nidification, the colour of the eggs, their food, and other Nest, &c.
particulars, are all much alike. It quits the United States Food*
in October for more southern latitudes, and is supposed to
winter in South America and the West Indian islands.
PLATE 17. Represents the male and female of the natural
size, which is rather less than Totanus hypoleucos.
Under mandible of the bill orange-yellow; the upper and General
tip brown. The eye-streak and orbits white. Head
and the whole of the upper parts pale hair-brown, glossed
* See WILSON'S American Ornithology, vol. vii. p. 64. pi. 59. fig. 1,
86 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
with olive-green, with the shafts and centres of the fea-
thers darker. First quill-feather hair-brown ; the rest
having a white spot in the middle of the inner web.
Greater wing-coverts and bastard wing tipped with
white. Middle tail-feathers like the back; the outer
ones white, barred with hair-brown. Chin, sides of the
neck, breast, and under parts white, beautifully marked
with round spots of a deep hair-brown, closest upon
the back and breast. Legs and toes sienna-yellow.
GREENSHANK.
TOTANUS GLOTTIS.
PLATE XIX.
Tetanus glottis, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 249. No. 10 Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 104. sp. 144.
Scolopax glottis, Linn. Syst. 1. 245. 10 — GmeL Syst. 2. 264.— Lath, Ind.
Orn. 2. 720. 21. *
Scolopax canescens, GmeL Syst. 1. 668 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 721. 22.
Limosa grisea, Briss. 5. 267. 2. t. 23. f. 1.
Limosa glottis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 86. pi. 13.
Pluvialis major, Rait Syn. 106. A. 8 — Will. 220. t. 55 Id. (Angl.) 298.
La Barge varie'e, et La Barge Aboyeuse, Buff. Ois. 5. 503. et 505.
La Barge grise, Buff. Ois. 5. 267.
Le Chevalier Aboyeur, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 659.
Le Chevalier a gros bee, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 2. 493.
Grunfussiger Wasserlaufer, Meyer. Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 371.
Greenshank, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 183 — Lath. Syn. 5. 147. 18 Id. Sup. 249.
— Lewin's Br. Birds, 4. pi. 163 — Mont. Oniith. Diet — Bewick's Br. Birds,
2. 86 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 86. pi. 13 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 104. sp. 144.
Green-legged Horseman, Albin. Br. Birds, 2. 69.
Cinereous Godwit, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 180 Lath. Syn. 5. 145. 15 Mont.
Ornith. Diet, and Sup.
PROVINCIAL — Greater Plover.
THIS bird I shall still retain in the genus Totanus, though
placed upon the confines of the group, and by some authors
" TEMMINCK, in his enumeration of the synonyms of this bird, in a
note, says, " Mais point le Scolopax glottis de GMELIN et de LATHAM,
dont la phrase Latine n'appartient point a la presente e'spece." To the
justice of this remark I cannot assent, as the specific description does an-
swer to the Greenshank, and has by all other authors been quoted as such.
SANDPIPER. GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. 87
already separated from it, having been described by NILSON
in his Ornithologia Suecica as Glottis chloropus, and by STE-
PHENS, in the 12th volume of SHAW'S Zoology, as Limosa
glottis. The only differing point, however, is in the form of
the bill, which is rather stronger, and bent upwards from
the middle to the point, thus leading to and beautifully con-
necting the present genus with the genera Limosa and Re-
curvirostra. It is a scarce bird in Britain, and generally Periodical
only to be met with about the periods of its vernal and au- visltant
tumnal migrations, though I am inclined to think that a few
may breed upon the edges of the Scottish lakes, as Sir WIL-
LIAM JARDINE and myself met with the young upon Loch
Awe in July; and I have an adult specimen that was shot in
Scotland in the month of May. Upon the Continent, it is
rather common during winter in some parts of Holland, and
also upon the shores of the Swiss lakes, and on the larger
rivers of Germany ; but it retires in the summer to more
northern countries to breed. Its geographical distribution
seems to be of wide extent in the ancient world, as the spe-
cimens I have received from different parts of India are pre-
cisely similar to our own. It has also been mentioned by
some authors as occurring in America ; but this does not ap-
pear to be the case, and the mistake has probably arisen
from confounding some nearly allied species with it. It is
seldom found on the sea-coast, but is the constant inhabitant
of the margins of rivers, and the shores of pools and lakes in
the interior of the countries it frequents, feeding upon the
fry of fish, testaceous mollusca, aquatic worms, and insects. Food.
We have no authentic account of its nidification. MONTAGU
mentions an egg that he received from the fens, as belonging
to this bird, and describes it as rather less than that of a
Lapwing, but very similar in shape and colour. This, how-
ever, may have been an egg of one of the Godwits, birds of
nearly the same size, and which have been ascertained to
breed in the fens of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
88 GRALLATORES. TOTANUS. SANDPIPER.
PLATE 19. Represents the Greenshank of the natural size,
just after having assumed the winter plumage, from a
specimen killed in 1824 at Lennoxlove, near Hadding-
ton in Scotland.
fescriS! Forehead, region of the eyes, throat, fore part of the neck,
tion. and all the under parts, pure white. Crown of the
TimTe head, and sides of the neck, streaked with hair-brown.
Sides of the breast with streaks and transverse rays of
pale brown. Upper part of the back, wing-coverts, and
scapulars, deep clove-brown, with a purplish tinge, the
feathers being margined with greyish-white. Tertials
margined with white, and faintly barred with hair-brown
of a deeper shade. Quills brownish-black ; the shafts
of the first being white, very strong, and broad. Lower
part of the back, and the rump, white. Tail white,
with irregular bars of hair-brown. Bill brownish-black,
two inches and two-eighths in length. Legs and feet
greenish-grey.
Summer jn summer, the eye-brows and chin are white ; the face,
pluinaffe.
head, under part of the neck, breast, and sides, with
large drop-like spots of the same colour ; the rest of the
under parts pure white. Upper part of the back is a
mixture of black and grey, many of the feathers being
black, with greyish-white margins, the rest ash-grey,
marbled with pale hair-brown, having the shafts alone
black. Greater and part of the lesser wing-coverts ash-
grey, with darker centres. Tertials, and long feathers
covering the quills, ash-grey, with black shafts, and
barred upon the outer part of the webs with black and
pale ash-grey. Lower part of the back and the rump
white. Upper tail-coverts white, barred with hair-
brown. Tail, having the middle feathers greyish-white,
marked with zig-zag lines and bars of pale hair-brown ;
the outer feathers being wholly white, except a longitu-
dinal streak of hair-brown upon the outer web. Legs
and toes greenish-grey.
AVOCET. GRALLATORES. RECURVIROSTRA. 89
GENUS RECURVIROSTRA, LINN. AVOCET.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL long, slender, subulate, much depressed, thin, bend-
ing considerably upwards toward the tip, which is very flex,
ible, and brought to a fine point. Both mandibles grooved.
Nostrils placed near to the base, and upon the surface of the
bill, long and linear. Legs long, slender ; the greater part
of the tibiae naked. Tarsi thin, laterally compressed, with
both the front and back part reticulated. Feet four-toed,
three before and one behind, the anterior united for nearly
the whole of their length, by a scalloped membrane ; hind
toe very short, articulated upon the tarsus, and not reaching
to the ground. Wings long and sharp-pointed, with the
first quill-feather exceeding the rest in length. Plumage
close, soft, adpressed, and party-coloured.
This small but well-marked group (which, during the pe-
riod of the artificial system of classification, was included
among the Palmipedes, or true swimming birds), now, ac-
cording to the views of Mr VIGORS, so ably exemplified in
his observations on the natural affinities connecting the va-
rious orders and genera of birds, holds a place amongst the
Grallatores, in the family of Scolopacidce^ intermediate be-
tween the genera Totanus and Limosa. To the first group,
it is allied by the intervention of Totanus semipalmata, an
American species, with feet webbed nearly to the same ex-
tent, and also by Totanus glottis, where the upward curving
of the bill appears to commence; and its connection with
Limosa is shewn in the long and turned-up bill of the mem-
bers of that genus, as well as by a considerable similarity in
habits and manners. Amongst the Charadriadoe it is repre-
sented by the genus Himantopus, which, by WILSON (who
90 GRALLATORES. RECURVIROSTRA. AVOCET.
has given an interesting and detailed description of the form
and habits of an American species) was considered so closely
approaching to Recurvirostra, as to induce him to place it
in that genus, rather than in the family of the Charadriadce,
to which, as an aberrant form, it more properly belongs.
This genus, as far as it is at present known, contains four
species, only one of which is European. They are the in-
habitants of the muddy shores of the ocean, and more par-
ticularly of the estuaries of rivers, where they obtain a plen-
tiful supply of food in the sediment brought down from the
interior, and upon which soft substance they are supported
by their palmated feet. Their food consists of minute aqua-
tic insects, the lesser univalve and bivalve mollusca, and the
spawn of fishes. They form their nests upon the ground in
sea-marshes. When feeding, they frequently wade deep in
the pools, or on the edges of rivers, but never swim volun-
tarily ; and, from observations which have been made, they
appear unable to use their legs and feet for this purpose with
much effect. Their flight is strong and rapid. Their moult
appears to be simple ; and the sexes exhibit no difference in
plumage.
SCOOPING AVOCET.
RECURVIROSTRA AVOCETTA, Linn.
PLATE XX.
Recurvirostra Avocetta, Linn. Syst. 1. 256. 1 — Gmel Syst. 1. 693 — Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2. 786. 1 Rail Syn. 117. A. 1 — Will. 240. t. 60 Id (Angl.)
321 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 101. sp. 135. — Shaw's Zool. 12. 170. pi. 22.
L'Avocette, Buff. Ois. 8. 466. t. 38.
Avocette a Nuque noire, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 590.
Der blauf iissige Wasser Sabler, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 450. t. 25. f. 2.
Scooping Avocet, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 504. No. 228 — Arct. Zool. 2. 503.
Albin. Br. Birds, 1. pi. 101 — Lath. Syn. 5. 293. 1 — Id. Sup. 263 Mont.
Ornith. Diet.
Avocet, Lewirfs Br. Birds, 6. 202 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 158.
Common Avocet, Shaw's Zool. 12. 173. pi. 22.
PROVINCIAL — Butterflip, Scooper, Yelper, Picarini, Cobler'-awl,
Crooked-bill.
AVOCET. GRALLATORES. RECURVIROSTRA. 91
THESE elegant, though singular birds are not uncommon
upon the eastern coasts of England south of the Humber,
and breed in certain parts of the fenny districts of Lincoln-
shire and Norfolk; and also in Romney Marsh in Kent.
They are occasionally, but rarely, met with in the north of
England, and in Scotland. During winter, they assemble
in small flocks, and frequent the oozy and muddy shores,
particularly about the mouths of rivers, where they obtain
a plentiful supply of food, consisting of small worms and
marine insects, as well as the young univalve and bivalve
mollusca. Their mode of feeding is by scooping, or, as it Food,
were in appearance, beating the soft mud with their flat and
upturned bill ; and, when thus engaged, they are frequently .
seen wading up to their breasts in the pools left by the re-
ceding tide. They are never seen to swim voluntarily, al-
though furnished with feet so extensively palmated as to
have induced the earlier systematists to place them amongst
the swimming birds ; but this structure is an admirable pro -
vision for enabling them to traverse the soft and yielding
substance in which they find their food. Their legs also are
formed for wading, by being laterally compressed, and thin,
thus offering the least possible resistance to their progress
through the water. They are quick and active birds, and
their flight, from the form and dimensions of their wings, is
powerful and rapid. In spring, they resort to the marine
marshes, which are only occasionally or partially covered by
the tide, and select the driest part for nidification. — The
eggs are of a greenish- white, spotted with black. If dis- Nest, &c.
turbed at this season, particularly when the young are firsi
excluded, these birds fly round in repeated circles, uttering
at the same time, without intermission, their peculiar cry,
which resembles the word twit twice repeated. — The geogra-
phical distribution of this species is very extensive, it being
found throughout the greater part of temperate Europe. In
Asia, it inhabits Siberia, and is very plentiful upon the
shores of the Caspian Sea, and on the salt-lakes of Tartary.
92 GRALLATORES. RECURVIROSTRA. AVOCET.
In Africa, it is met with in Egypt, and other parts ; and the
species sent from the Cape of Good Hope appears also to be
identical.
PLATE 20. Represents this bird of the natural size.
General Head, nape, and two-thirds of the hinder part of the neck,
tion. black. The cheeks, the rest of the neck, and the whole
body white, with the exception of the outer scapulars,
the middle wing-coverts, and the greater quills, which
are black. Bill black. Legs and toes bluish-grey.
The young, previous to the first moulting, have those
parts which are of deep black in the adult birds, more
inclining to brown, and in them, the black on the head
extends but little beyond the occiput. The dark sca-
pular feathers, and intermediate wing-coverts, are also
margined with reddish-grey.
GENUS LIMOSA, BEISS. GODWIT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL very long, rather thick at the base, compressed, more
or less turned upwards, higher than broad, semi-flexible
throughout its whole length ; culmen rounded from the base
for two-thirds of its length, the remainder to the tip flattened ;
both mandibles laterally grooved to within a short distance
from the point, which is somewhat dilated, and blunt ; tip
of the upper mandible projecting beyond the lower one;
angle of the chin very narrow, and extending about one-
third of the length of the bill.
Nostrils near the base ; placed in the lateral groove, nar-
row, and longitudinal.
Wings acuminate, of mean length ; the first quill-feather
the longest.
GODWIT. GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. 93
Legs long and slender ; a great part of the tibiae naked.
Front and back part of the tarsus scutellated. Feet four-
toed, three before and one behind ; the outer toe united to
the middle one by a membrane as far as the first joint ; the
inner one nearly free. Hind toe short, articulated upon the
tarsus, and touching the ground with its tip only. Inner
edge of the middle claw dilated, and in some species ser-
rated.
The Godwits, which shew their affinity to the preceding
genus by retaining the recurved bill, and which prevails to
a greater or less extent in all the species, were formerly in-
cluded by authors among the true Scolopaces. They differ,
however, in many essential points from the Woodcocks and
Snipes, which may be considered as the typical forms of the
extensive group known under that designation. In these latter
birds, the bill is very flexible and soft throughout its whole
length, and furnished with an extraordinary plexus of nerves,
giving an exquisite perception of feeling ; and the tip of the
bill, soon after death, becomes rugose, by the exsiccation of
the nervous fibres distributed over and near its surface. In
the Godwits, this member, although it possesses much of the
general form, is more solid, less flexible, and thicker towards
the base ; and as the nerves are neither so numerous nor so
generally disposed over the surface, it never shews any of
that peculiar roughness after death, so conspicuous in the
other more typical genera, but remains smooth and polished,
shewing it in fact to be an intermediate form between the
hard, horny, and sharp-pointed bill of the Totani, and the
soft and pulpy one of the Snipes and Woodcocks. They also
differ in habits and manners ; and a great dissimilarity pre-
vails in the colour and disposition of the plumage, which
approaches nearer to that of the Totani (Sandpipers). The
birds of the present genus form a small group, are of consi-
derable size, with long necks and legs, which latter are naked
for a considerable space above the tarsal joint, and with feet
Winter
plumage
and young.
94 GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. GODWIT.
formed upon the same model as those of the Totani, the
outer toe being joined to the intermediate one by a mem-
brane. They inhabit marshes., and the banks and mouths
of rivers, where the muddy deposit is deep and soft, and in
which, by probing with their long and semiflexible bills,
they find worms, and aquatic insects and their larva, upon
which they constantly feed. When thus engaged, these
birds are frequently seen with the head entirely under wa-
ter ; and we accordingly find them amply provided with the
peculiar gland, situated immediately above the eye, whose
function appears to be that of lubricating and defending this
delicate organ from the effects of saline and other waters.
They are subject to a double moult, and their nuptial dress
is very different from the plumage they wear during the
other parts of the year. The females exceed the males much
in size, and it has been remarked that they are much later
than the other sex in acquiring the change of feather dis-
tinctive of the breeding season. They perform the same
migratory movements as the rest of the Scolopacida, and
their passage takes place at the same periods.
BLACK-TAILED GODWIT.
LIMOSA MELANURA, Leisler.
PLATE XXI. FIGS. 1. and 2.
Limosa melanura, Leisl Nacht. zu. Bechst. Naturg. Deut. Heft 2. 150
and 157. fig. 21 Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 664 — Horsf. in Trans.
Linn. Soc. 13. 193.
Limosa ^Egocephala, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 107. sp. 150.
Fedoa melanura, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 73. but not the figure, which
appears to be that of the Red or Common Godwit.
Barge a Queu noir, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 264.
Black-tailed Godwit, Shaw's Zool. 15. 73. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 107- sp. 150.
'Scolopax Limosa, Linn. Syst. 1. 245. 12. — Gmel Syst. 1. 666 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 719- 18.
Fedoa nostra secunda, Ran Syn. 105. A. 5 Witt. 216 — Id. (Angl.) 293.
La Barge ou Barge commun, Buff. Ois. 7. 509. t. 27.
Lesser Godwit, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 444. No. 182, male.
Jadreka Snipe, Lath. Syn. 5. 146 — Mont. Orn. Diet. 2. and Sup. with a
plate Lewin's Br. Birds. 4. pi. 162.
I
GODWIT. GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. 95
Scolopax belgica, Gmel. Syst. 1. 663.— Lath. Ind. 2. 716. 9.
Scolopax jEgocephala, Linn. Syst. 1. 246. 16. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 667 Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2. 719. 16.
Limosa rufe major, Briss. 5. 284. 6.
jEgocephalus Bellonii, Rail Syn. 105. A. 4 Will. 2. 215. Id. (Angl.)
294. Summer
Le Grande Barge rousse, Buff. Ois. 7. 505. /plumage.
Godwit, Lath. Syn. 5. 142. 14. A.
Scolopax Hudsonica, Lath —Ind. 2. 720. 20.
Hudsonian Godwit, Lath, Syn. Sup. 246.
Red Godwit, Penn. Br. Zool. 5. No. 181.— Lath. Syn. 5. 142.— Mont.
Ornith. Diet. 1., but the synonyms quoted belong to the Bar-tailed
Godwit.
THE numerous list of synonyms above quoted is an evi-
dent proof of the uncertainty, and consequent confusion, at-
tending the history of this species, arising, it would appear,
from the earlier ornithologists being quite unacquainted with
the peculiar change of plumage to which these, as well as
many other birds, are periodically subject; for, if we ana-
lyze the various specific names now before us, we shall find
that most of them have been given, either when the bird had
actually perfected some considerable change, as that from
the winter to the spring (or nuptial) dress, or else in the in-
termediate state, that is, of progress from one to the other.
Of our naturalists, MONTAGU was among the first to discover
and fix his attention on this important fact, of such value
towards elucidating the history of species, and, by such in-
vestigation, succeeded in clearing away many inaccuracies
and mistakes which had crept into our native ornithology.
With respect to the bird in question, he has, however, fallen
into some error in the two first volumes of his Ornithological
Dictionary, by confounding the synonyms of the two species;
but, in his description and figure of the Jadreka Snipe, in the
supplement to the same work, we at once detect Limosa me-
lanura (Black-tailed Godwit) ; and in his Red-breasted Snipe,
we recognise the summer plumage of the Common Godwit of
many authors, the Red or Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa rufa)
of this work.
This species seems to have been hitherto considered as a
96 GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. GODWIT.
rare visitant, but, from the observations I have been enabled
to make, it appears to be as regular in its visits as the other,
though perhaps not so numerous or so generally dispersed ;
and it has been proved, within these few years past, to be the
present species which breeds in certain parts of our fens, and
not the Common Godwit, as had been previously supposed.
During winter, these birds are sparingly scattered along our
oozy shores, and at the mouths of our larger rivers, as well
as in the fenny districts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk ; but
about the period of their annual movements, they are more
numerous, and also more widely dispersed, and at this time
frequently visit the coasts of Northumberland, and other
northern districts *.
Food. The food of the Black-tailed Godwit consists of insects and
worms, obtained by probing the mud and soft sand with its
long bill ; and it is then frequently seen wading tolerably
deep in the water, immersing the head at intervals, and
searching the deposit beneath. This habit accounts for the
great development of that gland, which, as I have before
observed, appears to secrete a fluid for lubricating and pro-
tecting the eyes of such birds as are accustomed to have the
head frequently submerged ; and it accordingly exists to the
greatest extent in the Order Natatores, or true water birds —
The species is widely distributed throughout Europe and
Asia ; and if the Hudsonian Godwit of Latham be identical
with it, is an inhabitant of North America ; but, as the de-
scription of that species is very concise, I quote it with some
degree of doubt, as it may possibly refer to the Marbled God-
wit (Limosa Fedoa) of the American continent. — The Black-
tailed Godwit, as before stated, breeds annually in some of
Nest, &c. our fens, making its nest in the thick herbage, and always in
the vicinity of water. It lays four eggs, of a deep oil-green
colour, faintly blotched with spots of a darker shade.
* Whilst writing this account (March 1831), four Godwits were brought
to me for sale, three of which were of the black-tailed species, and just be-
ginning to acquire the summer plumage.
GODWIT. GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. 97
PLATE 21. Fig. 1. Represents a female of the natural size.
Bill orange-yellow at the base ; tip black. Head, neck, General
upper part of the breast, back, and scapulars ash-grey, tion.nP
tinged with hair-brown ; deepest upon the latter parts. Female.
Chin, the streak over the eye, the whole of the under
parts of the body, and the upper tail-coverts, white.
Wing-coverts pale hair-brown, deeply margined with
greyish-white. Quills brownish- black, with an angular
white spot at their tips ; the shafts, as well as the basal
parts of the outer webs of the third, fourth, fifth, and
following feathers pure white, and forming a bar across
the wings. In the tail, the middle feathers are almost
wholly black, the base alone being white ; and this in-
creases progressively to the outer feather, which is white
for upwards of half its length. But the tail, when not
expanded, appears wholly black. The tips of the tail-
feathers, in some specimens, are margined with greyish-
white. Legs very long, with the tibiae naked for up-
wards of an inch and three-quarters above the tarsal
joint ; colour blackish-grey.
Fig. 2. Represents the summer (or nuptial) plumage of the Male.
male bird.
Bill a fine orange-colour at the base, with the tip black.
Crown of the head reddish-brown, streaked with black.
Forehead, eye-streak, and chin, reddish-white. Cheeks,
neck, and breast pale reddish-brown ; the latter trans-
versely barred with brownish-black. Belly, abdomen,
thighs, and under tail-coverts, white, barred at distant
intervals with pale reddish-brown and blackish-brown.
Back and scapulars black, having each feather margined
and barred with reddish-brown. Smaller wing coverts,
near the bend of the wing, of a deep hair-brown ; the
greater coverts deeply margined with white. Tail
black, with the bases of the feathers white. Legs black-
ish-grey.
VOL. II. G
98 GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. GODWIT.
Young. The young birds, previous to the first moulting, have the
crown of the head blackish-brown ; each feather being
margined with pale reddish-brown. The neck and
breast are of an ash-grey colour, tinged with reddish-
brown. The eye streak, chin, the bases of the caudal
and quill feathers, the belly, abdomen, upper and under
tail coverts are white. The back and scapulars brown-
ish-black, each feather being margined with reddish-
brown. Wing coverts ash-grey, margined and termi-
nated by reddish-white.
RED GODWIT.
LIMOSA RUFA, Briss.
PLATE XXII. Fig. 1. 2.
Limosa rufa, Briss. Orn. 5. 281. No. 5. t. 25. f. 1 — Leister, Nacht. zu.
Bechst. Naturg. Deut. Heft 2. 162 Flem. Br. Anim. 1.107. sp. 151.
Fedoa rufa, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 77. but the figure that of the Black.
tailed Godwit.
La Barge rousse, Buff. Ois. 7. 504 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 668.
La Barge aboyeuse, ou d Queue raye', Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 488.
Scolopax Lapponica, Linn. Syst. 1. 246. 15 — GmeL Syst. 1. 667 — Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2-718. sp. 15.
Red Godwit, Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 80 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 77. but not
the figure — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 107. sp. 151.
Female as- f Fedoa Meyeri, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 75.
sumingsum- •< Barge Meyer, Temm. Man. 1 ed. 434.
mer plumage. (Meyer's God wit, Shaw's Zool. 12. 75.
f Fedoa pectoralis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 79.
Male. Sum- J Red-breasted Godwit, ib.
mer plumage, "j Red-breasted Snipe, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Sup. with a figure, but not
^ the synonyms — Id. in Trans, of Linn. Soc. 9. 198.
! Scolopax leucophaea, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 719. 17. ,
Limosa grisea major, Briss. Orn. 5. 272. t. 24.
Common Godwit, Br. Zool. 2. 179 — Arct. ZooL 2. 373 — Lath. Syn. 5
144. 15 — Id. Sup. 245.— Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 78 — Mont. Ornith.
Diet. 1. but with many of the synonyms of Limosa melanura.
Grey Godwit, Lewin's Br. Birds, 4. pi. 161.
PROVINCIAL. — Yarwhelp, Yarwhip, Poor Willie, Godwyn.
THIS species, in its general appearance, greatly resembles
the preceding, with which indeed, in some of its changes, it
has frequently been confounded. It may, however, be al-
GODWIT. GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. 99
ways recognised, under every state of plumage, by the com-
parative shortness of its legs, in being without the white up-
on the basal parts of the quills, and in having the tail feathers
invariably and distinctly barred. Its manners are also very
similar, and it inhabits the same localities ; but as its polar Periodical
migration seems to extend to much higher latitudes than
that of Limosa melanura, it is found during winter more
dispersed upon our northern coasts than that species, whose
appearance seldom occurs but at the periods of migratory
flight. This bird, in its summer plumage, is described by
MONTAGU under the title of the Red-breasted Snipe, and he
has quoted the names Scolopax Novoboracensis, and S. Hud-
sonica, as synonymous ; but the first belongs to a very diffe-
rent bird, viz. Macroramphus griseus of LEACH (the Brown
Snipe of authors), and it appears that S. Hudsonica, as I
have before mentioned, may be referred either to Limosa
melanura or L. Fedoa. Still greater perplexity and confu-
sion has been thrown upon the group by Mr STEPHENS, in
his continuation of SHAW'S Zoology, in which two supposed
new species are recorded, viz. Fedoa Meyeri (Meyer's God-
wit, described indeed as such by TEMMINCK in his first edi-
tion of the Manual, but afterwards, in his second edition of
the same work, plainly acknowledged to be Limosa ntfa in
a peculiar state of plumage), and Fedoa pectoralis, an imagi-
nary species, founded upon MONTAGU'S description of his
Red-breasted Snipe, and which he was only led to consider as
distinct, from the supposition that the Red Godwit of authors
was only referable to Limosa melanura (the Jadreka Snipe of
MONTAGU), not being aware at the time that a similar change
of plumage took place in the Common Godwit.
These birds are usually found in small societies, frequent-
ing the mud banks of river-mouths, or inlets of the sea,
abounding in oozy shore, where they readily meet with the
usual food, viz. worms, aquatic insects, and the smaller uni- Food,
valve and bivalve mollusca. They often mingle with other
members of the Scolopacidae. as the Redshanks (Totanus cali-
100 GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. GODWIT.
dris), Knots (Tringa canutus), &c. Their flight is power-
ful, though not very rapid ; and when disturbed and raised on
the wing, they generally send forth a cry, not unlike the
bleat of the goat. Their flesh is juicy, and of excellent
flavour, and on this account they are in great request for
the table. In April, the males have acquired the nuptial
plumage, after which period they entirely desert our shores,
retiring to more northern countries, such as Iceland, Lapland,
Sweden, Sec. to breed.
PLATE 22. Fig. 1. Represents the male bird in the sum-
mer plumage, and of the natural size.
descrip- Crown of the head, nape and back part of the neck, pale
^|*e reddish orange-brown, streaked with blackish-brown ;
Summer chin and eye-streak reddish-white. Fore part of the
neck, breast, and all the under parts pale reddish-
brown ; the feathers of the belly and abdomen finely
margined with white ; the flanks and under tail-coverts
being streaked with dark hair-brown. Upper part of
the back and scapulars blackish-brown, with oval spots
and margins of pale orange. Lower part of the back
and upper tail -coverts white, with the central parts of
the feathers dark hair-brown ; some few of the latter
being margined with orange-brown. Wing coverts ash-
grey, with darker centres, and edged with white. The
quills have their outer webs black, the inner ones hair-
brown, mottled with white on the outer edge, with white
shafts. The tail marked with alternate bars of hair-
brown and reddish-white. Bill flesh-red at the base ;
with the fore-part blackish-brown, and frequently reach-
ing to seven inches in length. Legs having the tibiae
much shorter than those of Limosa melanura ; and of
a blackish-grey colour.
Male. Fig. 2. Represents the winter plumage of the same species ;
Plumage. *n wnicn state tne crown of the head, the space between
the bill and eyes, the neck and breast are greyish- white,
GODWIT. GRALLATORES. LIMOSA. 101
streaked with pale hair -brown. Throat pure white.
The belly and abdomen white, with a tinge of yellow-
ish-grey. The flanks, and some of the under tail-coverts
streaked with hair-brown. Upper part of the back and
scapulars a fine pearl-grey, margined paler; with the
shafts and part immediately contiguous greyish-black.
Wing coverts white, with centres of hair-brown. The
quills are as described in the summer plumage. The
tail is barred with hair-brown and greyish-white.
The young, previous to the first change, have the crown Young,
of the head streaked with dark hair-brown; the eye-
streak and cheeks white, with small pale streaks of
wood-brown. The throat white. The neck and breast
grey, tinged with wood- brown, and faintly streaked with
a darker shade of brown ; under parts white, tinged
with yellowish-grey. Upper part of the back and the
scapulars hair-brown, deeply margined and spotted with
pale sienna or ochreous yellow. Lower part of the back,
and upper tail-coverts white, with a few spots of pale
hair-brown. Tail barred with hair-brown and white.
Legs grey. Bill, in many specimens, not exceeding two
inches and a-half in length ; brown, with a flesh-coloured
base.
GENUS MACRORAMPHUS, LEACH. LONGBEAK.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill very long, nearly straight, rather tumid and wrinkled
at the base ; the tip much dilated, and rugose after death ;
both mandibles furrowed to within a short space of the point.
Nostrils lateral, placed near the base, linear and pervious.
Wings long ; the first quill scarcely exceeding the second,
and the longest in the wing. Legs long, slender ; with the
lower parts of the tibiae naked. Feet four- toed ; three- before
and one behind. The outer toe connected with the inter-
102 GRALLATORES. MACRORAMPHUS. LONGBEAK.
mediate one by a membrane as far as the first joint ; the
inner one not so far ; hind toe articulated upon the tarsus,
and resting on its tip only. Plumage close and adpressed.
This genus, first established by Dr LEACH, upon the cha-
racters presented by the Scolopax grisea of authors (Brown
Snipe of PENNANT'S Arctic Zoology, Red-breasted Snipe of
WILSON'S North American Ornithology), and which, as yet,
remains the only known species, appears to form a link connect-
ing more intimately the Godwits with the Snipes and Wood-
cocks. In it we find the bill approaching closely in form to
that of the latter, and furnished with a nervous apparatus of
nearly equal extent, as shewn by the rugosity apparent after
death ; the tip, however, is proportionally more dilated, and
the base thicker, as in the Godwits. Its feet differ from those
of the Scolopaces by the toes being shorter, and by the outer
toe being joined to the middle one by a membrane, or web,
extending as far as the first joint, as in the genera Limosa
and Totanus. Its habits and manners, as described by those
writers who have had an opportunity of studying them, are
also essentially different from those of the true Snipes ; and
its plumage, as far as regards colour and periodical change,
is equally at variance, but in both respects closely assimilated
to that of the Godwits. With such peculiarities of habits
and form, I concur with Mr STEPHENS in the propriety of
retaining Dr LEACH'S designation, and separating this bird
from the genus Scolopax^ as now restricted, this being in
perfect accordance with its affinities, and the intermediate
station it holds with respect to the Godwits and Snipes. Nor
do I think it less entitled to a generic distinction than many
of the genera established by Mons. TEMMINCK himself, who,
in the second edition of his valuable " Manuel d'Ornitholo-
gie," has, in strong terms, condemned Dr LEACH for sepa-
rating it from Scolopax, although, at the same time, he has
thought it necessary to institute a third sectional division in
that genus for the express reception of this bird, as if such
LONGBEAK. GBALLATORES. MACRORAMPHUS. 103
frequent and arbitrary divisions were less likely to burthen
the memory than the imposition of a generic title.
The only species of the genus hitherto met with is a na-
tive of the northern part of the continent of America ; and
the two specimens killed in Europe can only be regarded as
visitants accidentally driven thither.
BROWN LONGBEAK.
MACRORAMPHUS GRISEUS, Leach.
PLATE XXIV. FIG. 2.
Macroramphus griseus, Leach, Cat. Brit. Mus. p. 31. — Steph. Shaw's Zool.
12. 61. pi. 9.
Becassine ponctue'e, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 679.
Red-breasted Snipe, Wils. Amer. Ornith. 7- 49. pi. 58. f. 1.
Brown Longbeak, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 61, pi. 9.
Scolopax novoboracensis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 658 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 723-1
sp. 32. f Summer
Totanus novoboracensis, Saline, Frank. Journ. Appen. 687. f plumage.
Red-breasted Snipe, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. p. 368. — Lath. Syn. 5. 153. 26. )
Scolopax grisea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 658 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 724. sp. 33. } Winter
Brown Snipe, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 369 — Lath. Syn. 5. 154. 28 — Mont. f Dlumaae.
Ornith. Diet. 2. and plate in Supp. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 106. 1. Strag- f *
gler. J
THE bird now before us belongs to North America, and Very rare
. visitant.
has been hitherto only twice met with in Europe, one speci-
men having been killed in Sweden, and the other in Eng-
land, upon the coast of Devonshire. This latter fortunately
came into the hands of the zealous MONTAGU, and was thus
introduced into the list of British birds, as an occasional,
though very rare visitant. A full description of this species
is given by WILSON, in his North American Ornithology,
bearing all the marks of that graphic and characteristic style,
by which his writings are rendered so generally interesting.
From that account, its habits and manners appear to differ
greatly from those of the true Snipes and Woodcocks, ap-
proaching much nearer to those of the Godwits and Tringas ;
104 GRALLATORES. MACRORAMPHUS. LONGBEAK.
and he adverts in particular terms to the distinctive charac-
ters it possesses. It inhabits the sea coasts that abound in
marine marshes, or display an extent of soft muddy shore,
and is never found in the interior of the country. Upon the
coasts of New Jersey, where WILSON made his observations,
it arrives early in April, on its return from its equatorial or
winter migration, when it has nearly acquired the nuptial
plumage ; and again in the beginning of August, on its way
southward, after having passed the summer in higher lati-
tudes, where it breeds. It flies, he observes, in very large
flocks, and performs many evolutions over the marshes,
sometimes wheeling, coursing, and doubling along their sur-
face ; then shooting high in the air, then separating in va-
rious bodies, uttering at the same time a kind of quivering
whistle. Such evolutions I have myself also frequently seen
performed by the Knots and other species of the Tringas,
when associated in large flocks. Some idea of the numbers
of these birds may be formed, when the above-mentioned
writer tells us, that they occasionally settle so close together,
that eighty-five have been killed by a single discharge from
a musket, and as their flesh is excellent, and highly esteemed
at the table, they are of course eagerly sought after, during
their stay in the country, and mown down in incredible
numbers by the American sportsmen. At low water they
frequent the sand-bars and mud flats, and, from the contents
found by WILSON in the stomach of those he dissected, seem
to feed principally upon small univalve mollusca. They
seldom associate with other species, but keep in flocks by
themselves. The nidification, and colour, &c. of the eggs
remain undescribed.
General PLATE 24. Fig. 2. represents this bird, under the title of
,tion. the Brown Snipe, in the summer plumage, and of the
natural size.
Summer Crown of the head blackish-brown, having the feathers
margined with pale reddish-brown. Between the bill
LONGBEAK. GRALLATORES. MACRORAMPHUS. 105
and eyes is a dark streak. The eye-streak and chin
white, tinged with reddish-brown. Nape and back
part of the neck blackish-brown, margined with yellow-
ish-brown. Upper part of the back and scapulars black,
beautifully margined, and varied with pale reddish-
brown and white. The tertials black, with oblique nar-
row transverse bars of pale brownish-red. Lower part
of the back, rump, and tail white, barred transversely
with black. Fore part of the neck, breast, flanks,
and thighs pale orange-brown, spotted with black.
Belly and abdomen reddish-white. Vent and under
tail-coverts white, tinged with reddish-brown, and bar-
red with black. Legs and toes greenish-grey. Bill
having the point black, and the base wrinkled, and of a
deep greenish-grey colour.
In the winter the plumage of this bird is nearly as fol- Winter
lows : — The eye-streak, cheeks, and chin white. Between PlumaSe-
the bill and eye is a dusky streak. Crown of the head,
neck, and upper part of the breast, deep-grey, tinged
with brown. Upper part of the back and scapulars
clove-brown, the feathers being margined with ash-
grey and reddish-brown. Wing-coverts hair-brown,
with paler margins. The greater coverts, as well as
the secondary quills, margined and tipped with white.
Lower part of the breast and belly white. Under tail-
coverts and vent white, barred with deep hair-brown.
Rump and tail as in the summer plumage. Quills deep
hair-brown, the shaft of the first quill being white.
GENUS SCOLOPAX, LINN.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill long, slender, straight ; the tip obtuse, rounded, and
ending with an internal knob ; both mandibles, in dead
birds, rugose behind the tip ; under mandible shorter than
106 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX.
the upper one, which is sulcated for nearly the whole of its
length.
Nostrils basal, lateral, placed in the commencement of the
furrow, linear and longitudinal, covered with a membrane.
Wings having the first and second quills of nearly equal
length, and the longest in the wing. Legs slender. The
tibia? entirely plumed, or else naked for a short way only
above the tarsal joint. Feet four-toed ; three before and
one behind ; the former cleft to their origin, the latter short,
and resting on the ground only with its tip.
By VIELLOT, and some other recent authors, the Wood-
cocks have been separated from the snipes, and a genus esta-
blished for them under the title of Ruslicola. The charac-
ter upon which this separation is founded rests, however, en-
tirely upon the tibia of one group being feathered down to
the tarsal joint, while in the other it is naked for a short
space above it. It must not be omitted that, in addition to
this peculiarity, the two groups differ also in their habits ;
the Woodcocks being (at least through the day-time), inhabi-
tants of the forests and thickest underwood, whilst the Snipes,
on the contrary, resort to exposed marshy districts and
moist meadow land. The distinctive character, however,
being of so slight a nature, I have determined (although an
advocate for generic division, wherever the difference of form
is such as to indicate a material difference of economy), to
retain them under the same generic title ; at least till some
other better marked character be recognised, upon which to
found the division. The mode of feeding, and quality of
their food, are nearly the same in both groups, consisting of
earth-worms and insects ; and, although the Woodcocks
pass the day in rest, and the retirement of close thickets,
they invariably, during night, repair to open glades and
meadows to seek their subsistence. Both groups are subject
to a double moult, but the change in spring is not different
from the usual plumage in the disposition of the colour and
WOODCOCK. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 107
markings, though more intense and brilliant in tint. They
are solitary birds, and generally live isolated, except during
the season of reproduction, or at the periods of migration.
They are distinguished from the rest of the Scolopacidce by
the square form of the head, and by the eyes being seated so
far backward, a provision which gives them a very free com-
pass of sight, and allows them to plunge the bill deeper in
the soft ground in search of their prey.
WOODCOCK.
SCOLOPAX RVSTICOLA, Linn.
PLATE XXIII. FIG. 1.
Scolopax rusticola, Linn. Syst. 1. 243. 6 Gmel Syst. 1. 660. — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 713. 1 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 44. pi. 7 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 105.
sp. 145.
Scolopax, JBriss. 5. 292. 1 — Ran Syn. 104. A. I.— Will. 213. 53.
La Becasse, Buff. Ois. 7- 462. 25.
Becasse ordinaire, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 673.
Wald-schneppe, Becks t. Naturg. Deut. 4. 158 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 361.
Woodcock, Br. Zool. 2. No. 178. t. 65.— Arct. Zcol. 2. 470. A — Will
(Angl.) 289. t. 53.—Albin. Br. Birds, 1. t. 70.— Lath. Syn. 5. 129. 1.—
Mont. Ornth. Diet. 2 — Id. Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 60—
Shaw's Zool. 12. 44. pi. 7.
THIS well-known bird, so favourite an object of pursuit
with the sportsman, and so highly esteemed by the epicure,
can only be considered as a regular winter visitant ; for al- Periodical
though instances are not wanting of Woodcocks remaining vlsltant*
through the summer, and even breeding in extensive woods
in different parts of the kingdom*, they are still too few, I
think, to warrant its admission as an indigenous species. I
have, however, heard it asserted of late, that such instances
are increasing, and that there are districts in which these
birds may be found at all seasons in the year ; among others?
* See BEWICK'S British Birds, Art. Woodcock; and MONTAGU'S Orni-
thological Dictionary and Supplement, where well-authenticated instances
are given.
108 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. WOODCOCK.
the extensive woody tracts in the neighbourhood of Dunkeld
and Blair-Athol, planted by the late Duke, have been men-
tioned ; a situation, indeed, to all appearance particularly fa-
vourable to their habits, exhibiting a great variety of surface
covered with wood, and at the same time affording such a
profusion of springs, open glades, and moist ground, as to
insure to them a constant and abundant supply of food. In
Northumberland, the Woodcock has been known to breed in
the woods about Netherwitton, and I have now in my collec-
tion eggs taken from a nest in Pigdon Wood, not far from
Morpeth. In this instance the female appeared not to have
had a mate, as the eg^s were found to be all addled after
7 C*O
she had sat upon them with great assiduity for nearly a
month, towards the conclusion of which time she had become
so weak as to be scarcely able to rise from the ground. — The
first autumnal flight of the Woodcock, on its retreat from
the northern countries of Europe, where it breeds and passes
the summer, generally takes place towards the end of Sep-
tember or beginning of October ; but as this consists of birds
whose flight is directed to more southern latitudes than our
islands, a few stragglers only remain; or the flight, after
resting for a day, proceeds on its course to Portugal, and so
onwards to the farthest limit of its equatorial movement.
The direction taken by such a great and successive column
of these birds, under migration from the north to the southern
parts of Europe and Northern Africa, being in a great mea-
sure intersected by the south-western coasts of England and
Ireland, accounts for the abundance of them in Devonshire,
Cornwall, and the countries thus situated, and the still
greater numbers found in the southern and western districts
of Ireland, compared with the other parts of the kingdom.
It is thus also that Woodcocks are generally first observed
in these positions, and sometimes long before they are seen
in the north of England or Scotland. The succeeding
flights, which continue at intervals during October and the
two following months, becoming each more limited in extent^
WOODCOCK. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 109
the whole country gradually receives its accession of winter
visitants, those that take up their haunt in the northern
counties of England and Scotland seldom arriving before
the middle of November or the beginning of December ; the
earlier flights, when they do alight in the country, merely
remaining for a day, and then passing on to the southward.
From this latter circumstance, the search for Woodcocks in
Northumberland, in the beginning of the season, is very un-
certain, and, to insure success, attention must be paid to the
state of the weather and the direction of the wind. I have
found that they always come over in the greatest bodies in
hazy weather with little wind, and that blowing from the
north-east ; and it is probable that they then find the upper
region of the atmosphere (in which they fly) freer from coun-
ter currents of air, than in more open weather. After a
night of this description I have frequently met with great
numbers upon the edges of plantations, in hedges, and even
in turnip fields, and enjoyed excellent sport for the day;
but on seeking, on the following morning, for a renewal of
the like success, I have not found a single bird, the whole
flight having proceeded on their course during the interven-
ing night. It is during this time that Woodcocks, like
most migratory birds, perform their journeys ; and it seems
probable that those which halt upon the eastern coast of
Scotland, and the northern counties of England, have com-
pleted their task from shore to shore, between sunset and
sunrise, as they appear but little fatigued on their arrival,
provided the weather has been calm. The distance of the
coasts of Norway and Sweden, from whence these visitors are
supposed to come, offers no objection to this supposition, as
a continued flight of eight or ten hours, even at a rate infe-
rior to what I conceive they are capable of accomplishing,
would suffice for the transit. Another argument in favour
of this supposition, is the high state of condition in which
the birds generally arrive on our shores, especially at an ad-
vanced period of the season, by no means indicating the
110 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. WOODCOCK.
wasting effects of very long-continued exertions. From the
facts I am about to mention, it appears that they fly at a
considerable altitude (as indeed do most birds when per-
forming their migratory movements), to avoid, it is pre-
sumed, the currents of air so frequent near the surface of
the earth. A respectable person who lived upon the coast,
and who, being a keen pursuer of wildfowl, was in the habit
of frequenting the sea-shore at an early hour in the morning,
assured me that he had more than once noticed the arrival
of a flight of Woodcocks coming from the north-east just at
day-dawn. His notice was first attracted by a peculiar
sound in the air over his head, that, upon attending to, he
found proceeded from birds descending in a direction almost
perpendicular ; and which, upon approaching the shore, se-
parated, and flew towards the interior. Some of them he
observed to alight in the hedges immediately adjoining the
coast ; these he pursued and shot, and which proved, as he
surmised by the view he had of them as they flew past him,
to be Woodcocks. The haunts selected by these birds, for
their residence during the day-time, are usually the closest
brakes of birch and other brushy underwood, and where the
ground, from the deep shade, is nearly free from herbage ;
and, for this reason, thick fir plantations of ten or twelve years'*
growth are a favourite resort. In woods that are very exten-
sive they are generally found, and abound most in thickets by
the sides of open glades, or where roads intersect, as by these
they pass to and from their feeding ground at evening and
in the dawn of the morning. Unless disturbed, they remain
quietly at roost upon the ground during the whole day, but
as soon as the sun is wholly below the horizon, they are in
full activity, and taking flight nearly at the same instant,
leave the woods and cover for the adjoining meadows, or
open land, over which they disperse themselves, and are fully
engaged in search of food during the whole night. Advan-
tage has long been taken of this regular mode of going to
and returning from the feeding grounds, by the fowler, in
WOODCOCK. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. Ill
i
those districts where Woodcocks are abundant, by suspend-
ing nets across the glades, or by the sides of hedges where
they are observed to pass continually ; and, though the
adoption of the fowling-piece has in general superseded the
modes of capture formerly practised, great numbers are still
taken in this manner in Devonshire and Cornwall. Another
method of entrapping Woodcocks (as well as Snipes) is by
the springe, which is set in places where those perforations
made by the bill of the Woodcock in search of food, and tech-
nically called Borings, are observed to be most frequent. It
is formed of an elastic stick, of which one end is thrust into
the ground, the other having affixed to it a noose made of
horse- hair ; the stick being then bent down, this noose is
passed through a hole in a peg fastened to the ground, and
is kept properly expanded by means of a fine trigger, so set
as to be displaced by the slight pressure of the bird^s foot.
To conduct them to this trap, a low fence of twigs, or of
stones placed so closely together as to leave no passage
through the interstices, is extended to some distance on each
side of the springe, and generally in an oblique direction;
over which obstacle, however trifling, it seems the birds never
attempt to hop or fly, but keep moving along it, till they ap-
proach the part occupied by the noose of the springe : upon
attempting to pass through this apparently open space, they
displace the trigger, and are almost invariably caught by the
noose, and retained by the spring of the stick against the
opposing peg. — Day being the Woodcock's time for repose,
it sits very close, and is not easily flushed ; the sportsman
then^requiring the aid of the busy spaniel, or the bush, in
which it is ensconced, to be actually beaten by an attend-
ant, before it will take wing. It rises, however, with much Flight,
quickness, and threads its way through the branches with
great rapidity, until the underwood and trees are fairly
cleared, when its flight becomes measured, and offers an easy
aim to the sportsman. When roused, it seldom flies to any
great distance, but alights in the first thicket that attracts
112 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. WOODCOCK.
its attention, closing its wings, and dropping suddenly down,
and in such cases it is not unusual for it to run a little way
before it squats. Just before rising, upon being disturbed,
or when running, it jerks its tail upwards, partly expanding
it, and fully shewing the white that distinguishes the under
Food. surface of the tips of the tail feathers. — In feeding, the Wood-
cock inserts its bill deep into the earth in search of worms,
which are its favourite and principal food. This instrument
is most admirably calculated for the offices it has to perform
when thus immersed in the soil ; for, in addition to its great
length, it possesses a nervous apparatus distributed over a
great portion of its surface, and especially on such parts as
are likely to come first into contact with its prey, giving it
the sense of touch in the highest perfection ; and to enable
it to secure the object thus detected by the discriminating
sensibility of the bill, it is further provided with peculiar
muscles (common, I believe, to all the members of the genus),
which, by compression of the upper or basal part of the bill,
are brought into action, so as to expand the tips of both
mandibles sufficiently wide, to lay hold of and draw forth
the hidden treasure. The digestion of this bird is rapid,
and the quantity of worms it can devour in the course of a
night is astonishing. I have known one, that consumed at a
meal (that is, within the night), more large earth-worms than
half filled a garden-pot of considerable size. It may, how-
ever, by management, be brought to eat other food ; as MON-
TAGU mentions one that was induced to feed on bread and
milk, by worms cleanly washed being put into a mess of that
kind ; and, by this practice being persisted in, the bird soon
acquired a relish for this new sort of aliment, and, with the
addition of a few worms, throve well upon it. The flesh of
the Woodcock, when in condition, is highly and deservedly
esteemed, being juicy meat, and of delicate flavour ; indeed
so excellent has it been considered by the epicure, that no
portion was suffered to be lost, and we therefore always see
it customarily dressed with the entrails undrawn, and serving
WOODCOCK. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 113
as a savoury addition to the rest of the flesh ; in the same
manner also Snipes are universally treated. Towards the
latter part of February, when the vernal change of plumage
commences, the flesh of these birds loses its fine flavour, and
becomes strong, the skin also turns dry and scurfy, and
they are rarely fit to be presented at the table ; soon after
which time they begin to pair ; and, going off in succession,
by the middle of April the whole have re-migrated to higher
northern latitudes, where they breed and pass the summer
months. During the period of their returning flights, should
the wind, then blowing from the south and south-west, sud-
denly veer round to the north-east, we frequently have an
accumulation of Woodcocks on the eastern coast ; but (as I
have before observed) they are now out of condition, and
therefore never pursued by the sportsman with the same
eagerness as in the early part of the season. — The nest of j^e t &
this bird is generally in thickets, and placed near the root of
a bush or tree, and is formed merely by a slight hole, lined
with a few dead leaves and stems of grass ; and the eggs
(which, as far as I can ascertain, are always four in number),
are of yellowish- white, blotched with a pale chestnut-brown
colour. In Sweden, and other parts of the continent where
it breeds in abundance, the eggs are now considered a deli-
cacy for the table, as those of the Green Lapwing have long
been in England ; and to this destruction of the breed has
been attributed the decrease of Woodcocks so generally com-
plained of by our sportsmen for some years past. Its geo-
graphical distribution embraces a great part of the ancient
continent, as there are few countries within the temperate
and frigid zones in which it is not known either as a winter
or summer visitant. It has not hitherto been met with in
America, but is there represented by a nearly allied species,
the Scolopax minor of authors. Being a nocturnal feeder,
the eyes of the Woodcock are large and prominent, in order
to collect the scattered and indistinct rays of twilight ; their
situation also is peculiar, being placed far back in the head,
VOL. II. H
114 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. WOODCOCK.
and nearly on a level with the crown, which gives its head,
and those of the Snipes, a square compressed form, not seen
to that degree in any other members of the ScolopatidtE.
The above-mentioned peculiarity, however, enables these
birds to probe the ground to a greater depth without incon-
venience, and at the same time considerably extends the
sphere of vision.
The female (contrary to the account given in SHAWLS
Zoology), generally exceeds the male bird in size ; she also
has less^of the white and greyish- white upon the back and
scapulars, and the under parts are of a redder tinge. The
outer web of the first quill-feather is also barred for the
whole of its length, which, in the male, is often entirely
white, or with a few faint bars near to the tip only.
PLATE 23. Fig. 1. Represents the Woodcock of the natural
size.
General Bill flesh-red, tinged with bluish-grey, increasing in inten-
tion!"1 sity of colour towards the point ; in the living bird
smooth, but becoming wrinkled or rough near the tip,
by the desiccation of the nervous fibres, soon after
death. Forehead and crown grey. From the corners
of the bill to the eyes is a streak of deep brown. Hind
part of the head, and nape of the neck, having four
broad brownish -black bars, the intermediate spaces be-
ing reddish-white. Chin white. On each side of the
front of the neck is a patch of brown, more or less dis-
tinct in different individuals. Upper parts of the plu-
mage a mixture of chestnut-brown, pale ochreous yel-
low and grey, with large spots and zigzag transverse
lines and bars of black ; the black most intense upon
the back and scapulars. Rump and tail-coverts pale
chestnut-brown ; some of the latter with pale reddish-
white tips and narrow transverse bars of black. Tail
black, more or less varied with chestnut-brown ; the
tips of the feathers grey above, and pure white below.
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 115
Quills dusky ; the outer webs having triangular bars of
chestnut-brown. First quill-feather in the males im-
perfectly barred near the tip, or immaculate ; in the fe-
males generally barred throughout the whole length.
Under parts greyish-white, tinged more or less with yel-
lowish-brown, and transversely barred with hair-brown.
Vent and under tail-coverts yellowish-white, with trian-
gular centres of black. Legs livid or flesh-red, tinged
with grey. Lower part of the tibia feathered.
GREAT SNIPE.
SCOLOPAX MAJOR, Gmel.
PLATE XXIII. FIG. 2.
Scolopax major, Gmel. Syst. 1. 661. — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 714. 4.— Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 105. sp. 146.
Gallinago major, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 51. pi. 8.
Grande ou Double Becassine, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 675.
Great Snipe, Br. ZooL 2. No. 188 — Arct. Zool. 2. 470. B — Lath. Syn. 5.
1 33. 4 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2. and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 67
Shaw's Zool. 12. 51. pi. 8.
PROVINCIAL — Solitary Snipe.
THE Great, or, as it is frequently called, the Solitary Snipe, Occasion-
is known to us as an occasional visitant, from a few stragglers tant.
being now and then driven upon our coasts during their pe-
riodical migrations, the immediate direction of their latitu-
dinal flight being much to the east of the longitude of the
British Islands. Such instances, as far as I have been able
to ascertain (and all those which have fallen under my own
observation), have occurred during the autumnal or equato-
rial movements of these birds, when, quitting the colder re-
gions of the northern parts of Europe, where they breed and
pass the summer months, they seek more genial climates,
and in which, from the mildness of the winter and absence
of severe frost, they are certain of obtaining a constant sup-
ply of food. MONTAGU mentions birds of this species hav-
116 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
ing been killed in the counties of Kent, Wiltshire, and Lan-
cashire. In Northumberland several instances have come
under my own knowledge within the last eight or ten years,
.and the specimen from which the figure in Plate XXIII. is
taken, was killed in October 1822 on some boggy ground
within a short distance of Twizell. In the year 1826, being
a very dry and warm season, they seem to have visited us
in more than usual numbers, as several individuals were
killed in different marshes ; and I am informed that not less
than five or six were shot on one morass not far from Sedge-
field, in the county of Durham. In general appearance the
Great Snipe bears a strong resemblance to the common spe-
cies (Scolopax Gallinago), and in all probability this resem-
blance has frequently caused the former to have been con-
founded with the latter, or at any rate to have been consi-
dered merely as a large variety of it. Its bulk is always
much greater, and its Weight averages about eight ounces
and a half. The bill being smaller and shorter in propor-
tion to its size, the tarsi thicker and not so long, and the
belly and abdomen always barred with brown and white,
afford never-failing indications of the species. When flushed,
the Great Snipe generally utters a cry in some degree simi-
lar to that of the common species, but shorter and hoarser ;
its flight is not so rapid, nor does it perform the same twist-
ing evolutions when first forced upon wing, but moves in a
direct manner, not unlike the Woodcock. Like the rest of
Food, the genus, it feeds upon worms and insects, obtained by bor-
ing the marshy ground and mud with its bill, which shows
in its post-mortem examination the same roughness near the
tip that distinguishes all the true Snipes and Woodcocks,
and which, as I have before observed, is caused by the dry-
ing and consequent contraction of the nervous papillae dis-
tributed over its surface. This species is spread over a great
part of Continental Europe, particularly towards the east
and over the north of Asia. In most countries it is migra-
tory, retiring during summer to the vast marshes of the
north. TEMMTNCK mentions having received a specimen
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 117
from North America ; but I have never obtained it from
that country, nor does WILSON, or any other American or-
nithologist, include it in the list of birds belonging to that
quarter of the globe. The Snipe common to that country,
long supposed to be Scolopax Gattinago, is now ascertained
to be a distinct species.
The Great Snipe breeds in marshes, selecting a tolerably
dry spot near to some standing water, and the materials of
the nest, which are scanty, are collected from the decayed Nest, &c.
grasses and water-plants immediately around. The four
eggs which it lays are very similar to those of the Common
Snipe, being (according to the authors who have described
them) of a yellowish- white, or very pale oil-green, blotched
with dark brown. As a delicacy, its flesh is in high estima-
tion, being equal, if not superior, to that of the common
species.
PLATE 28. Fig. 2. Represents this bird of the natural size,
from a very perfect specimen killed near Twizell in Oc-
tober 1822, and which weighed nearly nine ounces.
Bill of a pale brown colour, inclining to flesh-red at the General
base, 'with the tip blackish -brown. Between the bill
and eyes is a narrow streak of rich chestnut-brown.
Crown of the head blackish-brown, with a few specks
of reddish-brown, with a central streak of cream-colour-
ed white. Eye streak, cheeks, and throat, cream-yel-
low, finely speckled with brown. Hind part of the
neck pale ochreous yellow, spotted with brown. Fore
part of the neck yellowish-white, with large angular
brown spots. Back brownish-black, varied with pale
chestnut-brown ; the outer webs of the feathers having
a broad yellowish-white margin. Shoulders and sca-
pulars yellowish-brown, and on each feather a large
black bar near the tip, and the outer webs with white
edges. Tertials barred with black, and margined with
a double line of black and yellowish- white. Lesser
wing-coverts marbled with black and yellowish-brown,
118 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
and tipped with white. Greater coverts black, tipped
with white. Quills dusky, or deep hair-brown. Breast,
sides, and flanks white, with triangular transverse bars
of deep hair-brown. Belly the same, with smaller hair-
brown undulations or bars. Thighs barred, hair-brown
and white. Tail consisting of sixteen feathers ; the two
centre ones black for two-thirds of their length ; the re-
maining part of a bright chestnut-brown colour, with a
narrow black bar near the tip, which is itself reddish-
white ; and the outer feathers white, barred with hair-
brown. Upper tail- coverts yellowish-brown, barred
with black. Legs yellowish-grey, tinged with brown.
SABINE'S SNIPE.
SCOLOPAX SABINI, Vigors.
PLATE XXIV. FIG. 1.
Scolopax Sabini, Vigors in Trans, of Linnean Society, vol. xiv. 556.— Jar-
dine and Selby's Illus. of Ornith. vol. i. pi. 27 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 105.
sp. 147.
Sabine's Snipe, Vigors, &c. as above.
THIS recent addition to the list of British birds, was first
recognised by Mr VIGORS, and described by him under its
present title in the fourteenth volume of the Transactions of
the Linnean Society, from an individual killed in Queen's
County, Ireland, in August 18£2, and which, fortunately
for science, was sent to him on the same day that it was shot,
as presenting a remarkable deviation from the usual plumage
of the common species. This specimen now enriches the col-
lection of the Zoological Society in London, having been
presented to it by Mr VIGORS, together with a numerous
and very valuable assortment of other birds. A second in-
stance afterwards occurred, in that of a female (agreeing in
every respect as to plumage and general proportion with the
bird first described) which was shot on the banks of the
SNIPE. GRALLATORES.. SCOLOPAX. 119
Medway, near Rochester, in October 1824, and is now pre-
served in the excellent collection of Mr DUNNING of Maid-
stone. Since that time, no instance of the capture of this
species has come to my knowledge, although I have used all
diligence on the subject, not only in England and Scotland,
but also in Ireland, where it was first discovered, and where
the nature of the soil, and the abundance of marshy tracts,
are peculiarly favourable to birds of this genus. The above
indicates that, as a species, it is very sparingly distributed
throughout the kingdom ; and, from the circumstance of no
skin or specimen having been hitherto obtained from any
other part of the globe, it would appear to be equally rare
in such countries as have been examined with attention, as
far as regards their ornithological productions. I do not,
however, make these remarks, as questioning in any degree
its claim to be considered a distinct species (of which I en-
tertain no doubt, both from the accurate description of Mr
VIGORS, and from personal inspection of the original speci-
mens), but merely as noticing its present apparent rarity. It
is not at all improbable, but that it may be discovered in
abundance in some hitherto unexamined part of the world,
or where ornithology has been little attended to ; and I need
scarcely add, what is well known to most practical natural-
ists, viz. that species, in every department of nature, are fre-
quently very restricted and local in their distribution.
In giving the distinctive characters of this species, I can-
not do better than quote Mr VIGORS'S own words : — " It is
at once distinguished from every other European species of
Scolopax, by the total absence of white from its plumage, or
any of those lighter tints of ferruginous-yellow, which extends
more or less in stripes along the head and back of them all.
In this respect it exhibits a strong resemblance to Scolopax
saturata of Dr HORSFIELD, from which, however, it suffi-
ciently differs in its general proportions ; and I find no de-
scription of any other extra-European species of true Scolo-
pax which at all approaches it in this character of its plu-
mage. In the number of its tail-feathers, again, which
120 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
amount to twelve, it differs from Scolopax major, which has
sixteen, and Scolopax Gallinago, which has fourteen ; it
agrees, however, in this point, with Scolopax Gallmula, which
also has but twelve ; but it can never be confounded with
that bird, from the great disproportion between the essential
characters of both : the bill alone of Scolopax Sabim exceed-
ing that of the latter species by one-third of its length. In
the relative length and strength of the tarsi it equally differs
from all. These members, although stouter than those of
Scolopax Gallinago, fall short of them by /Oths of an inch ;
they are much weaker, on the other hand, than those of Sco-
lopax major, although they nearly equal them in length."
Such are the characters that distinguish it from all the other
species of Snipes, and which, independent of the peculiarity
of plumage, are sufficient to entitle it to rank as specifically
distinct. Of its general economy I can say nothing ; but,
judging from analogy, it may be inferred that in this point
it bears a close r2semblance to the rest of the genus *.
PLATE 24. Fig. 1. Represents the bird of the natural size,
taken from the above mentioned specimen, in the mu-
seum of the Zoological Society.
General Head, throat, and neck brownish-black, speckled with ob-
tion. scure chestnut-brown. Belly and vent brownish-black,
barred with chestnut-brown. Back and scapulars black,
with obscure chestnut-brown bars and spots. Under
wing-coverts brownish-black. The tail consists of twelve
feathers, the basal half of which are black ; the remaining
part chestnut-brown, with black fascia. Bill (which is two
inches and seven-tenths in length) blackish-brown, pass-
ing into yellowish-brown at the base. Legs and feet
blackish-grey. Tarsus an inch and a quarter 1<
* Since the above account was put to press, I have received a fresh spe-
cimen of this rare Snipe from Morpeth, possessing all the characteristics
of Mr VIGORS'S bird. The under parts are perhaps a little darker, having
fewer bars or undulations of the lighter tint.
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 121
COMMON SNIPE.
SCOLOPAX GALLINAGO, Linn.
PLATE XXIII. FIG. 3.
Scolopax Gallinago, Linn. Syst. 1. 244. 7 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 662 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 715. 6 Raii Syn/105. A. 2 — Will. 214. t. 53. — Flem. Br. Aiiim.
1. 106. sp. 148.
Gallinago media, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 54.
Scolopax gallinaria, Gmel. Syst. 1. 662 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 715. 7.
Be'cassine, Buff. pis. 7- 483. 26.
Becassine ordinaire, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 676 — Lesson, Man. 2. 266.
Heerschneppe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 185. — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 363.
Snipe or Snite, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 187. 68 — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 386 —
Will. (Angl.) 290. t. 53 — Albin. 1. t. 71 — White's Hist. Selb. p. 29 —
Lath. Syn. 5. 134. 6 — Pull. Cat. Dorset, p. 14.
Common Snipe, Mmt. Orm'th. Diet — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 106. sp. 148 —
Shaw's Zool. 12. 54 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 68.
PROVINCIAL — Heather Bleater, Whole Snipe.
THE Common Snipe is the only British species that can
properly be considered indigenous, considerable numbers re-
maining with us constantly, and merely changing their places
of resort, according to the state of the weather, or the season
of the year. Early in spring, the great body of these birds
that remain in the country retire to the boggy grounds of
the moors in the northern parts of England and the High-
lands of Scotland, ascending to very high elevations where-
ever the surface is congenial to their habits. Some few,
however, remain and breed in the fens and marshy lands of
the lower and more southern parts of the island. Towards
the end of March, or beginning of April, Snipes having
nearly perfected their summer or nuptial plumage (which
only differs from that of the winter in the clearness and bril-
liancy of its tints), select appropriate places for nidification,
and the male bird commences his calls of invitation for a
mate. These are always uttered upon the wing, and con-
sist of a piping or clicking note often repeated, and accom-
122 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
panied at intervals by a humming or bleating noise, not un-
like that of a goat, apparently produced by a peculiar action
of the wings, as the bird, whenever this sound is emitted, is
observed to descend with great velocity, and with a trem-
bling motion of the pinions. At this season it soars to an im-
mense height, remaining long upon the wing ; and its notes
may frequently be heard when the bird itself is far beyond
the reach of sight. These flights are performed at intervals
during the day, but more commonly towards the evening,
and are continued during the whole time that the female is
Nest, &c. engaged in incubation. — The nest is usually placed under
the shelter of a bush of heath, or a tuft of rushes in the bogs
so common upon all our northern moors, and is formed by
lining a slight depression in the earth with decayed grasses,
pieces of heather, and other dry materials. The eggs, four
in number, are of a yellowish-grey, inclining to oil-green,
blotched with brown of two different shades, and always
placed, like those of other birds of this order, with the smaller
ends inwards. The young, as soon as hatched, quit the nest,
and are then covered with a parti-coloured down of brown,
white, and yellowish-grey, as shewn in Fig. 4, which repre-
sents one about eight days old ; and this is rapidly succeed-
ed by a plumage very similar to that of the adults, but
darker in its shades. The young are attended by the parent
birds till they are almost fully fledged, and capable of pro-
viding for themselves. The bill, upon their exclusion from
the shell, is very short, and does not acquire its full dimen-
sions for two or three months ; and the young birds may be
known by the flexibility and tenderness of this member, after
every other indication of immaturity has disappeared. As
autumn advances, they begin to change their haunts, and
descend to the lower parts of the country, and are then to be
found in all the fenny districts, in moist pastures, wet stub-
bles, and, indeed, in every situation likely to afford the re-
Food, quisite food, viz. worms and insects — obtained in a similar
manner to the rest of this genus, by probing the soft earth
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 123
and mud with their bills. They seldom remain long in one
situation, moving from place to place, under the regulation,
as it would appear, of the state of the weather, and the pre-
valence of particular winds ; so that the sportsman who has
enjoyed excellent snipe-shooting one day, may find the same
spots entirely deserted on the following. In severe frosts,
and when the ground is covered with snow, they are com-
pelled to betake themselves to the heads of springs, that from
their higher temperature remain unfrozen ; in which places
they obtain a partial supply of food, but should the frost be
of long continuance, that source of provision becomes ex-
hausted, and the birds are so emaciated as scarcely to be able
to fly, and many perish from actual want. When living se-
parate, or stationary for a time in any particular haunt, the
Snipe, as the sportsman terms it, lies very close, and is sel-
dom flushed till very nearly approached; but, if moving
about in numbers together, it is more impatient of approach,
and the well known alarm-cry of the first that rises is certain
to call up all the rest upon wing in rapid succession. When
disturbed, it always utters its cry of alarm as it springs up-
on the wing, which cry may be compared to the word chis-
sick lispingly pronounced. At first it flies in a horizontal Flight,
direction near to the ground, moving in a zigzag course
against the wind ; but, after proceeding thus about sixty
or eighty yards, it springs up into the air to a great height,
where it continues flying till attracted by some other appro-
priate spot, upon which it descends almost perpendicularly
with the rapidity of an arrow. In addition to our native
Snipes, great flights come annually from Norway, and other
northern parts of Europe ; and in Northumberland I have
observed that they arrive in the greatest numbers in the be-
ginning of November. The geographical distribution of this
species, I am inclined to think, is not so extensive as has
been hitherto supposed, and which, by many ornithologists,
has been stated as occupying the greater part of the globe ;
but writers appear to have mistaken other species for it, bear-
124 GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
ing a strong resemblance in general appearance, but which 7
upon investigation and comparison, are found to possess cha-
racters essentially distinct ; such is the Snipe of North Ame-
rica (Scolopax delicata of ORD), another belonging to South-
ern Africa, and two or three from Asia. Scolopax Gattinago,
as far as my observation serves, appears confined to Europe,
and the north of Asia. The flesh of the Snipe is delicately
flavoured, and of course in great estimation for the table ;
and in autumn, and the milder parts of winter, when a plen-
tiful supply of food is to be obtained, it becomes very fat
and delicious, and is always dressed, like the Woodcock,
without extracting the entrails, which are considered not the
least savoury part of the bird. In the fens, Snipes are some-
times taken by lark-nets, and the springe (which I have de-
scribed above, under the article Woodcock), is also occasion-
ally used to capture them ; but the favourite mode of pur-
suit is with the gun, as they afford an inviting trial of skill
to the sportsman, from the quickness and oblique movements
of their flight. From the disposition of the colours in its
plumage, assimilating so well with the situations it inhabits,
there is difficulty in discerning this bird upon the ground,
and this is increased by its squatting closely down the mo-
ment an intruder approaches. I have now, for many years,
been in the habit of shooting great numbers of Snipes, and
although well acquainted with the exact spots they are ac-
customed to frequent, very few instances have occurred in
which I have obtained a sight of the bird, previous to its tak-
ing wing. In the bogs of Ireland Snipes are very abun-
dant.
PLATE 23. Fig. 3. Represents this bird of the natural size.
General Bill yellowish-brown, inclining to flesh-red at the base,
tionnP" an^ darker towards the tip. Streak between the bill
and eye dark brown. Crown of the head blackish -
brown, divided down the centre by a line of yellowish-
white. Chin and throat white. On each side of the
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 125
fore part of the neck is a streak composed of umber-
brown spots. Lower part of the neck and breast pale
yellowish-brown, with a grey tinge, spotted and barred
with dusky or blackish-brown. Abdomen and thighs
pure white. Flanks barred with deep hair-brown.
Back and scapulars velvet-black, with a purplish or
bronzed reflection, barred with pale chestnut-brown,
and having the outer webs of the feathers deeply edged
with cream-yellow. Wing-coverts hair-brown, barred
with pale chestnut-brown, and tipped with reddish-
white. Quills black; the first having its outer web
nearly white. Tail consisting of fourteen feathers,
black for two-thirds of their length ; the rest being red-
dish-brown with a black bar, and with reddish-white
tips. Upper tail-coverts yellowish-brown, barred with
hair-brown. Legs and feet deep ash-grey, or lead-co-
loured.
The plumage of both sexes is similar, but the female ge-
nerally exceeds the male bird in size.
JACK SNIPE.
SCOLOPAX GALLINULA.
PLATE XXIII. Fig. 5.
Scolopax Gallinula, Linn. Syst. 1. 244. 8 — Gmel. Syst 1. 662.— Lath. Ind
Orn. 2. 715. sp. 8.—Ftem. Br. Anim. 1. 106. sp. 149.
Gallinaffo minima, Ran Syn. 105. A. 3.— Will. 314 Steph. Shaw's Zool.
12. 57.
Gallinago minor, Briss. Orn. 5. 303. 3. 26. f. 2.
La Petite Be'cassine, Buff. Ois. 7. 490.
Be'cassine sourde, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 678.
Moorschneppe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. p. 196.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 364.
Jack Snipe, Gid, or Judcock, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 189. t. 68 — Arct.
Zool. 2. 367.— Will. (Angl.) 291.— Albinos Br. Birds, 3. t. 81.— Lath.
Syn. 5. 136. 8.— Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2 Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 73. —
Shaw's Zool. 12. M.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 106. sp. 149.
THIS is the smallest species of true Scolopax hitherto dis-
3
126 GRALLATORES, SCOLOPAX. SNIPE.
covered, scarcely equalling by one half the bulk of the
Common Snipe, its length averaging about eight inches, and
its usual weight, when in full condition, seldom exceeding
Periodical two ounces and a quarter. With us it is a periodical winter
visitant, yigjtan^ jts summer retreat being in much higher northern
latitudes, where it nidificates and breeds in the vast swamps
of those desolate regions. The first flights generally arrive
as early as in the second week of September, as I have sel-
dom failed to meet with it in a favourite haunt between the
14th and 20th of that month. Its stay is usually prolonged
to the end of February, or beginning of March, according
to the rigour of the season ; it then quits us for polar lati-
tudes, and the desertion seems, in the case of this bird, to
be very general, I may say universal, for I have not suc-
ceeded hitherto in detecting a single instance of its remain-
ing during the summer, or breeding in any of our fens ; nor
do any of our writers on this branch of natural history men-
tion an authenticated fact of this kind. I have, indeed, been
told at different times of Jack Snipes to be seen in certain
bogs, as well as their nests and eggs, — but these, in every
instance, proved on investigation to be Dunlins or Purres
(Tringa variabilis of TEMMINCK) ; which is a bird nearly
of the same size, and in its summer plumage, and on the
wing, very liable to be mistaken for the Judcock. The re-
sort of this Snipe is always to the softest and most miry
parts of bogs, where vegetation has made but partial ad-
vances ; and in the uncovered places of these it probes for
Food, its food, consisting of small aquatic worms and insects, and
its bill (which measures about one inch and a half in length)
possesses the same delicacy of feeling, being furnished with
the same nervous and muscular apparatus as the other spe-
cies of this genus. This bird sits very close, and will allow
itself to be almost trodden upon before it can be forced upon
wing ; its flight then is more direct, and without the twist-
ing evolutions of the common species, resembling that of the
Woodcock, when flying in open space, the wings being con-
SNIPE. GRALLATORES. SCOLOPAX. 127
siderably bent, and forming an acute angle with the body.
It seldom flies to any distance, but drops in the first miry
spot that presents itself, from whence it is roused with even
more difficulty than at first. It utters no alarm-cry when it
rises, nor have I been able to discover any note belonging
to this species. — Of its nidification I can only speak after Nest, &c.
other writers, who state the site of the nest to be in bogs
and morasses, and TEMMINCK enumerates the eggs as four
or five ; the former of which is, in all probability, the cor-
rect number, as this appears the usual quantity laid by all
the Scolopacida ; and I believe the same holds good with
respect to the Charadriadte. Its geographical distribution
seems confined to Europe and Northern Asia; although
LATHAM, in his Index Ornithologicus, mentions it also as
an American species, in which he is followed by STEPHENS
and other compilers. This, however, requires corroboration,
more particularly as it is not enumerated by WILSON ; or
by any other writer who has treated upon the birds of that
country. In the delicacy and flavour of its flesh it is equal
to its congeners, and, considered in this point of view, is not
too diminutive to attract the aim of the sportsman. In open
and mild weather it soon becomes exceedingly fat, and as
speedily loses its condition in severe frosts, when its feeding-
ground is restricted to the heads of springs and unfrozen
ditches.
PLATE 23. Fig. 5. represents this bird of the natural size.
Bill black at the tip, fading into grey, with a tinge of General
flesh-red, towards the base. From the bill, over the eye tion.
and down to the nape of the neck, is a broad streak of
cream-yellow. Between the bill and eye is a streak of
amber-brown. The ear-coverts have a mixture of white
and brown, each feather being tipped with black.
Crown of the head black ; the feathers being margined
with reddish-brown. Throat white. Lower part of the
neck and the breast pale yellowish-brown, tinged with
128 GRALLATORES. MACHETES. RUFF.
grey, and spotted with blackish-brown. Back and sca-
pulars black, with bronze and purple reflections; the
latter feathers being long and narrow, with their outer
webs of a rich cream-yellow, and forming two conspi-
cuous bands down the back. Wing-coverts black, mar-
gined with pale brown and white. Tail consisting of
twelve feathers, brownish-black, and margined with pale
chestnut-brown. Abdomen white. Legs and toes green-
ish-grey.
GENUS MACHETES, CUVIER. RUFF.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL straight, rather slender, as long as the head, with the
tip dilated and smooth. Upper mandible laterally sulcated
for four-fifths of its length. Culmen rounded. Nostrils basal,
lateral, linear, placed in the commencement of the groove.,
Wings long, and sharp-pointed ; with the first and second
quill- feathers of equal length, and the longest in the wing.
Legs long and slender, having the tibiae naked for a con-
siderable space above the tar sal joint. Feet four- toed ; three
before, and one behind ; the outer toe being united to the
middle one by a membrane as far as the first joint, and the
inner one free. Hind toe short, articulated upon the tarsus,
with the tip 'of the claw barely touching the ground.
In plumage, the head and neck of the male, during the
amatory season, are adorned with long plumose feathers,
springing from the occiput and throat ; which, when raised,
form a large ruff or shield around the head ; and the face of
the male bird, during the same period, is covered with small
fleshy warts or papillae.
In the systems of LINN^US and his immediate followers,
the Ruff was included among the Tringas, a numerous
.genus, containing, besides the species still classed under that
RUFF. GRALLATORES. MACHETES. 129
head, several birds which have since become the types of
new genera in the family of the Scolopacidce. ; as well as
others, now more properly transferred to the Rallida and
Charadriada. The distinguishing characteristics of this cu-
rious bird did not, however, escape the keen and observant
eye of CUVIER ; and, accordingly, in his valuable work the
" Regne Animal," he has removed it from its former station,
and made it the type of a new genus, which he has appro-
priately named Machetes, as expressive of the pugnacious
disposition that so remarkably distinguishes the only species
hitherto discovered. In its affinities it appears to connect the
Tringas (particularly that group to which the Knot belongs)
with the Sandpipers ( Totani) ; the length of the tarsi, and
structure of the feet, as well as its superior size, indicating
a near approach to the latter group ; while the dimensions
and form of the bill assimilate it to the former. The habits
and mode of life of the Ruff strongly resemble, in many re-
spects, the other scolopaceous groups. It differs, however,
from all the rest in that essential point of its economy, the
propagation of the species; for, instead of being monoga-
mous, as they are, and associated with the female in the va-
rious duties attendant upon the rearing of the young, &c.,
the males are polygamous, and their society is courted for a
short time only by different females; a peculiarity which
also distinguishes some of the rasorial Order, along with
certain members of the Anatida, in the Order Natatores.
It is during this period only that the male birds are adorned
with the singular feathers that spring from the hinder part
of the head and the neck (from whence arises the English
designation), as well as the papillae upon the forehead and
round the base of the bill.
VOL. II.
130 GRALLATORES. MACHETES. RUFF.
RUFF.
MACHETES PUGNAX, Cuvier.
PLATE XXV. FIGS. 1. 2. and 3.
Machetes pugnax, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 490 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 110
pi. 16. fern.
Tringa pugnax, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 631 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 110.
sp. 158.
Fighting Ruff, Shaw's Zool. 12. 110. pi. 16.
( Tringa pugnax, Linn. Syst. 1. 247. 1 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 669 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 725. sp. 1 — Rail Syn. 107- A. 3 — Will. 224. t. 56.
Le Combattant ou Paon de Mer, Buff. Ois. 7. 581. pi. 29. and 37.
Summer Be'casseau combattant, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 631.
plumage of j streitshandlaufer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 266 Meyer, Tasschenb.
3. 377.
Ruff and Reeve, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 172. pi. 69 Arct. Zool. 2. 479. A.
— Will. (Angl.) 302. t. 56 — Albin. 1. 1. 72. 73.— Lath. Syn. 5. p. 159. 1.
— Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2. Id. Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. pL 95.
1 Tringa littorea, Linn. Syst. 1. 251. 17 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 731. sp. 15.
Totanus cinereus, Briss. 5. 203, 7. t. 17. f. 2.
Le Chevalier varie, Buff. Ois. 7. 517.
Shore Sandpiper, Arct. Zool, 2. 481. f.—Lath. Syn. 5. 171.
Tringa Grenovicensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 731. sp. 16.
Greenwich Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. Sup. p. 249.
both sexes.
Young and (Tringa equestris, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 730. 14.
Old after J Le Chevalier commun, Buff. Ois. 7. 511.
autumnal ) Equestrian Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 311.
moult. (Yellow-legged Sandpiper, Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2. App.
THIS bird, so remarkable for its combative disposition,
and the extraordinary plumage that distinguishes the male
at a certain period of the year, is among the number of our
Periodical summer visitants ; arriving in the fenny districts of Lincoln-
visitant, shire, the Isle of Ely, and other marshy parts of England,
in the month of April, and departing, on its equatorial mi-
gration, towards the end of September, or early in the fol-
lowing month. In its polygamous nature, this species differs
from the rest of its congeners ; such peculiarity producing,
of course, the difference of habits that so remarkably distin-
guishes it during the season of reproduction ; in this respect
becoming assimilated to the polygamous species of other
RUFF. GRALLATORES. MACHETES. 131
orders. An analogy is thus maintained between individuals
otherwise far removed from each other. Shortly after the
arrival of the males in this country, and as soon as the fea-
thers of the throat, which form the ruff, and the auricular
tufts' (also appendages peculiar to the season) become almost
fully developed), they begin to hill, as it is termed ; that is,
to assemble in companies upon some dry hillock, or rising
spot of ground amidst the marshes ; each individual select-
ing there a particular stand or walk at a small distance from
his neighbour ; any attempt to encroach upon which is in-
stantly resented, and the possession of it most obstinately
defended. Here each bird keeps moving in his respective
circle,1? awaiting the approach of any one of the other sex ;
whose appearance immediately throws the whole assemblage
into excitement, and acts as the signal for a general fight,
her favours Jbeing the prize of victory. Each morning, soon
after daybreak, when the males return to their hill from the
surrounding marshes, where they disperse and feed during
the night, the same species of warfare takes place, and the
theatre of these^ battles and amours soon becomes bare of
grass from the constant traversing of the combatants. This
scene continues during the month of May and great part of
June, until their mutual fervour begins to abate ; indicated
in the male birds by the shedding of the ruff and auricular
plumes, and the commencement of a general moult. The
papillae, or small fleshy tubercles, that cover the face and
the region of the eyes during the height of the season (and
which are ascertained, by experiments on birds kept in con-
finement, to be only consequent on sexual connexion) also
disappear; and in a short time they become clothed in a
plumage so unlike that of the early summer, as to be with
difficulty recognised. With this difference of plumage, a
change is also wrought in their disposition, as they no longer
exhibit the extreme pugnacity that distinguished them during
the time of hilling ; and this fact is in accordance with the
manners of the Pheasant, Black Grouse, and other polyga-
132 GRALLATORES. MACHETES. RUFF;
mous birds of the rasorial Order, all of which take up sepa-
rate stations, and obstinately defend them during the season
of excitement ; but, after that period, again unite in society,
and live amicably together. In fighting, the actions of the
Ruff are not unlike those of the Common Cock ; the head is
lowered, and held in a horizontal direction, and the feathers
of the neck, which form the shield, are distended outwards,
so as to cover and protect the tender parts of the body ; the
auricular feathers are erect, and the tail is partly expanded.
In this attitude the combatants stand opposed to each other,
attempting to lay hold with their bills ; and, if this is effect-
ed, by a leap the wings are then brought into offensive ac-
tion. As might be expected from the nature of the weapons,
their contests are not often attended by fatal consequences.
This, however, sometimes does occur, as MONTAGU mentions
an instance, in which the bird died from an injury in the
throat, got in one of its feuds when in confinement; for
even in this state they are easily excited, and a mess of food
placed before three or four of them is sufficient to rouse the
spirit of contention *. Nothing perhaps is more singular in
Diversity the history of this bird than the diversity of plumage which
individuals exhibit at that period of the year when they are
subject to the feathery appendages of the head and neck ; at
this time it is scarcely possible to find two that are precisely
alike in colour. In some, the frill is of a yellowish or chest-
nut hue, elegantly barred with black ; in others, of a plain
brown ; some have it pure white ; others white intermixed
with black and chestnut ; and others again entirely black, or
black glossed with purple and steel-blue. The upper parts
of the body and breast partake also at this time of the pre-
vailing tints of the elongated neck-feathers ; and the bill and
legs vary from a pale yellow to black and other intermediate
* For a, full and interesting account of the Ruff, the mode of taking
them, &c. I must refer my readers to the Supplement to MONTAGU'S
Ornithological Dictionary, art. Ruff.
RUFF. GRALLATORES. MACHETES. 133
shades, according to the intensity or want of colour in the
ruff. During the remainder of the year, or when divested
of these periodical appendages, they are more uniform in
colour ; though the birds that assume a black or white frill,
may usually be distinguished by the comparative darkness
or paleness of the head and neck. The females, generally
called Reeves, are much inferior in size to the males, — an-
other circumstance in which they differ from their congeners.
They possess no elongated feathers, and the plumage of
summer varies but little from that of autumn and winter ;
*hey live in the marshes, and resort (as I have before ob-
served) to the hills of the male birds at stated periods.
The place selected for nidification is commonly of the most
swampy nature, abounding in tufts of tall grass and other
marshy plants, and upon these the nest is formed, being a Nest, &c.
slight depression only, lined with coarse grass and herbage.
The eggs, four in number, are in colour and markings very
like those of the Common Snipe, but rather larger. The
young are excluded in July, and by the end of August, or
the beginning of September, are fully fledged; soon after
which they congregate, and with the old females leave the
kingdom upon their equatorial migration. The flesh of the
Ruff is much esteemed, and these birds consequently bring
a high price in the market ; on which account, the trade of
catching them is still pursued by fowlers in the fens of
Lincolnshire, and other places where they abound. From
MONTAGU (who made a tour through that county for the
purpose of gaining information respecting this bird), it ap-
pears that they are taken at two different seasons, viz. in
spring, when the old males are captured at the time of hill-
ing ; and in September, after the young are fledged, and
immediately previous to their leaving the kingdom. They
are all caught alive, by means of clap-nets, into which they
are enticed by stuffed skins and other devices, and afterwards
fattened for the table in confinement; it being a peculiar
character of this bird to feel but little alarm, and even to
134 GRALLATORES. MACHETES. RUFF.
Food, feed greedily immediately after being taken. In the wild
state, their food consists of worms, aquatic insects, and their
larva? ; but in confinement they soon eat bread and milk,
boiled wheat, and other farinaceous diet, with avidity, and
upon which they shortly become very fat. In England, this
species, from its habits, is very locally distributed ; .the fens
of Lincolnshire and Cambridge being the chief resort ; they
are, however, found, though in inconsiderable numbers, in
other places. A small flock annually frequents the marsh of
Prestwick Car, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; and this, as far
as I have been able to trace, is the northern limit of resi-
dence in this country. In autumn I have indeed frequently
met with small flocks on the coast, or in the marshes farther
inland, but consisting of birds (viz. young males, with some-
times a few females intermixed) on their migration from the
north of Europe towards their winter-quarters, and whose
stay seldom exceeded a week or ten days. The geographical
distribution of this species is confined to the old Continent,
and its polar migration extends as far as Iceland, and the
northern parts of Russia; but the limit of its equatorial
movement has not been well ascertained.
PLATE 25. Fig. 1. represents a male in the summer plu-
mage.
General Bill and legs pale ochre-yellow. Face naked, and covered
j^np" with small yellow fleshy tubercles. From the hind part
Male bird °^ t^le neac^ or auricles, arise two thick tufts of feathers,
having tips curled backwards, of a yellowish-brown co-
lour, barred with black, and glossed with purple. Ruff
composed of elongated feathers, with strong shafts,
springing from the throat, and under side of the neck,
of a pale sienna-yellow colour, with zigzag black bars.
Upper parts of the body a mixture of hair-brown, yel-
lowish-brown, and black. Sides of the breast and flanks
yellowish-brown, barred with black. Middle of the
belly, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, white. Wings
RUFF. GRALLATORES. MACHETES. 135
hair-brown, having the coverts and scapulars barred
and margined with reddish- white. Tail with the outer
feathers of a uniform pale hair- brown, and the middle
ones with darker bars.
Another specimen in my possession has the ruff and ear-
tufts black, glossed with purple and green, and varied
with yellowish-brown. The sides of the breast and
flanks are also black, glossed with purple. The back
darker, and more varied in colour than in Fig. 1. — A
third has the ruff and breast entirely black, glossed with
steel-blue ; with the back still darker than in the last
described specimen. But as the variety of colour is end-
less in different individuals, it is unnecessary to particu-
larize more.
Fig. 2. is the female bird.
In size much less than the male, and always destitute of Female.
the ruff. In summer, the upper parts of the body, the
neck, and breast, are varied, with black glossed with
steel-blue, and cinereous or brownish-grey. In autumn,
or the winter plumage, the cinereous brown prevails
without any mixture of black feathers. Belly and ab-
domen white. Legs pale yellow, sometimes tinged with
flesh-red. — The young of the year have the neck and
breast deeply tinged with yellowish-brown.
Fig. 3. represents the young male killed in autumn. Young
In this state the cheeks and region of the eyes are of a e'
pale reddish-white, tinged with grey. Throat white,
tinged with reddish-brown. Sides of the neck and breast
yellowish-orange, tinged with grey. Crown of the head
black, the feathers being margined with reddish-brown.
Belly and under tail-coverts greyish-white, tinged with
buff. Back and scapulars brownish-black, glossed with
purple, and the feathers deeply margined with pale
orange-brown. Side coverts of the tail white. Two
136 GRALLATORES. TRINGA, TRINGA.
middle tail-feathers barred with greyish-black and buff;
the outer ones uniform greyish-black ; but with the tips
of the whole pale buff. Legs and toes greenish-grey ;
with the knees thick, indicating a bird of the year. In
this state it answers to the synonyms quoted as belong-
ing to the young. The Yellow-legged Sandpiper of
MONTAGU seems to refer to the winter plumage of the
old Ruff.
GENUS TRINGA, AUCTOR. TRINGA.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BIT.L of the same length as, or longer than, the head,
straight, or slightly arched, compressed at the base, the tip
blunt, smooth, and dilated, semi-flexible throughout its
length, and with both mandibles furrowed as far as the
smooth bulb or tip.
Nostrils lateral, linear-oblong, placed near the base of the
bill in the membrane that covers the groove.
Wings of mean length, acuminate, having the first quill-
feather the longest.
Legs of mean length, slender, more or less naked above
the tarsal joint. Feet four-toed, three before and one behind.
The anterior ones divided, and fringed with a small lateral
membrane. The hind toe small, articulated upon the tar-
sus, and barely touching the ground with its tip.
Plumage soft, close, and adpressed.
Under this generic title I include all the species contained
in the first section of the genus Trmga, as described by
Mons. TEMMINCK in his u Manuel d'Ornithologie," as well
as some others given by different authors, which possess the
essential characters of the group. This arrangement I am
•induced to adopt for the present, from not being satisfied
TRINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 137
that the characters upon which the Baron CUVJER has esta-
blished his new genera Calidris and Pelidna in the " Regne
Animal," are so distinct and well-marked as to warrant a
generic division, being in fact only such slight modifications
of form as might naturally be expected in birds standing at
the extremes of the group to which they belong, and whose
intimate connexion is shewn by the intervention of species
intermediate in form, and leading gradually and almost im-
perceptibly from one to the other. The Tringas are a nu-
merous tribe, chiefly inhabiting the marine marshes and
shores, though some habitually frequent the margins of lakes
and the rivers of the interior. They associate and live in
flocks, and perform their periodical migrations in large bo-
dies. Their moult is double, that is, the plumage is re-
newed twice in the year, and the summer (or, as it has been
appropriately called, the nuptial) livery is very different from
that in which they are clothed during the rest of the year.
The principal variations of colour are from white to reddish-
brown, and from grey to black. These frequent and pecu-
liar changes, as in other genera of the Scolopacida, have
given rise to great confusion in the enumeration of species,
the same bird having been described under three or four dis-
tinct names, according to the existing state of feather. This
error has been strongly exemplified in the Knot (Trmga
Canutus), and the Dunlin (Trmga variabilis)-, and the dif-
ficulty is farther increased by the appearance of the young
birds, possessing, previous to the first moult, a very different
plumage from that of the adults. The colour of feather in
the sexes is nearly alike ; but the females are distinguished
by their superior size. Their food consists of insects, worms,
small bivalve and other molluscous animals, obtained on the
muddy shores of the ocean, and generally sought for at the
recession of the tide, and upon the surface, as they are not
accustomed to bore in the same degree as the true Snipes,
their bills not being furnished with the delicate nervous ap-
paratus that is so highly developed in those last mentioned.
138 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. KNOT.
By the Knot, which stands at one extremity of the group,
the Tringas are allied to the genus Machetes, the bill of that
bird being nearly straight, and resembling that of the Ruff.
It also leads the way to the Plialaropes, the membrane which
borders its toes being more dilated than in most of the other
species. The direct passage to these last mentioned birds is
probably better effected by the intervention of the Tringa
semipalmata of WILSON'S North American Ornithology, in
which, and in the Tringa himantopus of the Prince of Mu-
si gnano, the toes are connected by a considerable membrane
or web. These have been separated by that eminent natu-
ralist from the genus Tringa, under the generic title of
Hemipalama, and, by peculiar modifications of form in which
birds, a union is effected with the genus Numenius, with
which the present family commences. From the Knot to
the Tringa subarquata (Pigmy Curlew), in which the bill
appears to attain its utmost degree of curvature and length,
the passage (by means of the Tringa maritima, Tringa va-
riabilis, and other species) is easy and gradual.
KNOT. .
TRINGA CANUTUS, Linn.
PLATE XXVII. FIGS. 1, 2. & 3.
Tringa canutus, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 109. sp. 156.
Tringa cinerea, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 627. — Saline, Linn. Trans.
v. 12. 533.
Becasseau Canut, Temm. ut supra.
Calidris Islandica, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 90. pL 14.
/ Tringa Islandica, Linn. Syst. 1 — Addend. Gmelin's Syst. 1. 682.— Lath.
Summer lad. Orn. 2. 737- sp. 39.
Plumage ; Tringa rufa, Wils. Amer. Orn. 7- 43. pi. 57- £ 5.
of both ^ Aberdeen Sandpiper, Penn. Br. Zoology, 2. No. 203.
sexes I Red Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 186. 34 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 5. t. 177 —
V Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2.
KNOT.
GRALLATORES. TRINGA.
139
Tringa canutus, Linn. Syst. 1. 251. 15 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 679 — Ran Syn.
108. >A Briss. Orn. 5. 258. 21 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 738. sp. 44.
Le Canut, Buff. Ois. 8. 142.
Knot, Br. Zool. 2. 193.— Will. (Angl.) 302 — Lath. Syn. 5. 187- sp. 36.
Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.
Tringa grisea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 681 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 733. sp. 23.
Manbeche grise', Buff. Ois. 7. 531.
Grisled Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 175. 20.
Tringa cinerea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 673 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 733. sp. 25 —
Wils. Amer. Orn. 7. pi. 57. f. 2.
Ash-coloured Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. No. 194 — Lath. Syn. 5. 177 22..
— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — LewMs Br. Birds, 5. 171 — Bewick's
Br. Birds. 2. 103.
Tringa calidris, Linn. Syst. 1. 252. 19 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 372. sp. 21.
—Briss. 5. 226. 14. pi. 20. f. 1.
.La Maubeche, Buff. Ois. 7- 529. t. 31.
Dusky Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 174. 18.
Tringa njevia, Gmel. Syst. 1. 681 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 732. sp. 22.
Maubeche tachete'e, Buff. Ois. 7. 531.
Freckled Sandpiper, Arct. Zool. 2. 480 — Lath. Syn. 5. 174. 19.
Tringa australis, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 737- sp. 40.
Southern Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5, 187. 35 — Id. Sup. 249.
Winter
Plumage,
Young of
the year
previous to
first moult.
In the
change
from the
Winter to
the Sum-
mer Plum-
age.
THE Knot, which has been described by various writers Periodical
under so many different specific titles, according to the pe- V]
riod of plumage when the specimens were examined, is the
largest of the group hitherto discovered, equalling the Reeve
(or female of the Ruff) in the bulk and weight of body.
Its legs, however, are much shorter in comparison, giving it
a different appearance, and depriving it of the elegance of
carriage which so much distinguishes the other bird. In
Britain, it is known as a winter resident, great numbers ar-
riving from the Polar Regions early in autumn, and spread-
ing themselves along the shores, take up their residence in
localities congenial with their habits, viz. bays, the mouths
of rivers, and other flat parts of the coast, covered with ooze
or soft sand, in which they find an abundance of the minute
bivalve shell-fish that constitute their principal food. In
such situations, collected in immense flocks, whose evolu-
tions, when upon wing, are curious and interesting (not un-
like those described by WILSON as characterizing the Long-
beak (Macroramplms grisea), they reside till the latter part
of April or the beginning of May; when they again depart
to the Arctic Regions, for the purposes of incubation and of
140 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. KNOT.
rearing their young. Previous to such departure, some of
the earlier birds, or those that first feel the influence of the
season, partly or totally acquire the nuptial livery — a plum-
age altogether unlike the winter dress, and in which state
this species has been described as the Aberdeen or Red Sand-
piper (Tringa Islandica). The polar migration of the Knot
extends to very high latitudes, as it is enumerated by Cap-
tain SABINE and others in the list of birds inhabiting the
icy shores of Greenland and Spitzbergen. It is also com-
mon to the continent of North America, and is described by
WILSON under the title of the Ash-coloured Sandpiper, be-
ing the plumage of the young of the year (in which state it
appears upon these coasts in September and October in its
flight southwards), and again as the Red-breasted Sand-
piper, on its return to Hudson's Bay and other breeding-
stations in April and May. By LEWIN, and other subse-
quent compilers, Knots are described as visiting the fens of
Lincolnshire, and being there taken in vast numbers by nets,
in the same manner as the Ruff. This, however, is not the
fact, as it is upon the sea-coast of that county they appear,
and not in the fens of the interior. This plan of taking them
has also been long abandoned, as MONTAGU mentions, in his
Ornithological Dictionary, that the noted Ruff-feeders of that
county assured him upwards of twenty years had elapsed at
that time since any of these birds had been taken by means
of nets. The flesh is tender, delicate, and well-flavoured, per-
haps scarcely inferior to that of the Ruff. In former times,
they were caught alive, kept for a certain time in confinement
upon the same kind of food as the Ruff, and are said to have
thriven equally well. On their arrival in autumn they are
very tame, and admit of a near approach, as I have always
found, upon the extensive sands between the mainland and
Holy Island, subject to the alternate flowing and receding
of the tide. During high-water, they retire in great num-
bers to a small island at the mouth of the harbour, where I
have seen great slaughter made amongst them, the survivors
KNOT. GRALLATORES, TRINGA. 141
after each discharge merely making a short circuitous flight,
and again alighting amidst their dead companions. They
soon, however, grow more wary, and, during the winter
months, it becomes very difficult to approach them, either at
rest or when feeding on the sands, though in their various
evolutions on the wing, they sometimes approach near enough
to be within range of the fowling-piece. In this species, the
bill approaches very closely in form to that of the Ruff, be-
ing nearly straight, and more dilated at the tip than in the
other members ; and the feet, in which the membrane cover-
ing the lower surface of the toes is rather strongly marked,
indicate the passage from this genus to the Phalaropes and
Lobipedes. Of the nidification, colour of the eggs, Sec. we
have no authentic information; and I cannot but suppose
that the egg figured by LEWIN as that of the Knot, belonged
to some other bird, which is rendered more likely by his
adding, that the Knot arrives in the fens in spring, at the
same time as the Ruff and Reeve — an assertion at variance
both with the observations of other naturalists, and with the
ascertained migratory movements of the species.
PLATE 27. FIG. 1. Represents the Old Bird in the winter General
plumage. ^escrip.
In this state, the crown of the head, hind part of the neck, Adult bird,
back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, are of a light brown- plumage,
ish-grey, with the shafts of the feathers darker. The
middle wing-coverts deeply margined and tipped with
white. Throat white, with a few small hair-brown specks.
Sides and lower part of the neck white, streaked with
hair-brown. Belly, abdomen, and under tail-coverts,
pure white. Breast, sides, and flanks, barred with hair-
brown. Lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts
white, with transverse bars of deep hair-brown. Tail
grey, very finely margined with white. Quills deep hair-
brown, with white shafts. Legs and feet blackish-grey.
FIG. 2. Is the young of the year (or Tringa cinerea of au-
thors), killed in September.
142
GRALLATORES. TRINGA.
TRINGA
Young of
the year.
At this age, the breast and belly are white, tinged with
pale buff-yellow ; the markings upon the former not so
distinct or well defined as in the adult bird. Upper
parts grey, each feather near the tip being surrounded
with a double circle of black and yellowish- white. The
quills are also lighter in colour ; and the crown of the
head more varied with streaks of hair-brown.
Adult bird.
Summer
Plumage.
FIG. 3. The summer plumage is very dissimilar to the two
foregoing.
The throat, sides, and fore part of the neck, breast, and
belly of a uniform orange-coloured brown. Crown of
the head, nape, and hind part of the neck, orange-
brown, streaked with black, and interspersed with specks
of white. Back and scapulars black, barred and va-
ried with orange-brown ; the margins and tips of most
of the feathers being white. Upper tail-coverts barred
with black, white, and orange-brown. In this state it
answers to the Tringa Islandica of LATHAM ; and in
its progress towards it, from the winter plumage, is suc-
cessively the Trmga cdlidris, navia, and australis, of
the same author.
BUFF-BREASTED TRINGA.
THING A RUFESCENS, Vieittot.
PLATE XXVII. FIG. 4-
Tringa rufescens, Vieill. Gall, des Ois. pi. 238 — Yarrell, in Trans. Linn.
Soc. 16. 109. pL 11.
Le Tringa roussatre, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. torn. pi. 470.
Hare visi- THIS elegant Tringa^ now inserted in the list of the Bri-
tish Fauna as a rare visitant, was first described by Mr YAR-
RELL in the 1 6th volume of the Transactions of the Linnean
Society, as a species new to Europe, upon the authority of a
specimen shot in the month of September 1826, in the pa-
TRINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 143
rish of Melbourne in Cambridgeshire, being in company
with some of the Common Dottrel (Charadrius Morinellus).
This individual soon after passed into Mr YARRELI/S pos-
session, and now enriches his valuable cabinet of British
birds ; and it is to the kind and liberal attention of this emi-
nent naturalist, in offering me the free use of his collection,
that I am enabled to give a correct delineation of this, as
well as of other rare British birds. This is an American
species, and inhabits Louisiana ; but even on that continent
it appears to be of rare occurrence, or very locally distri-
buted, as it is not mentioned by WILSON in his delightful
work, or in the continuation of the same by M. CHARLES
BUONAPARTE, Prince of Musignano. The only specimen,
indeed, hitherto described, or even noticed, appears to be
that in the Parisian Museum, and which served VIEILLOT
and others to identify it as a species. Of its habits I am
unable to give any account ; but, from the circumstance of
its having been killed at a distance from the coast, it pro-
bably frequents the lakes and rivers of the interior of the
American continent. In the length and form of its bill, as
well as in dimensions and bulk of body, it approaches near
to the species described in the " Illustrations of Ornithology"
by Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, &c. under the 'specific title of
Tringa australis *, which is a native of the coasts of New
Holland, and from whence the specimens were received.
The Buff-breasted Tringa, independent of the prevailing
tint of the lower part of its body (from which arises its tri-
vial appellation), is easily recognised from all the other
known species by the peculiar markings and speckled ap-
pearance of the under surface of the wings. The specimen
in Mr YARRELL'S collection, from the plumage, and state of
ossification of the tarsi, is supposed by him to be the young
of the year ; that at Paris appears to be an adult bird.
* The Tringa auslralis of LATHAM'S Index Ornithologicus has no re-
ference to this bird, being merely a synonym of the Knot (Tringa canutvs).
144 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. TRINGA.
FIG. 4. Of the natural size.
General Chin, throat, front of the neck, and breast, pale ochreous,
tion.nP~ inclining to sienna, yellow. Sides of the neck and nape
spotted with brown. Abdomen, flanks, and under tail-
coverts, white, dashed with yellow. Front part of the
under surface of the wings rufous brown, the other
parts spotted ; under coverts white. Shafts of the pri-
mary quills on their under surface pearl-white ; outer
web dusky ; the inner one pale hair-brown, plain on
the part next to the shaft, but having its other half
elegantly mottled with dark specks. Secondary quills
mottled at their base, and ending in distinct sabre-
shaped points, presenting, as Mr YARRELL observes, a
regular series of lines, formed by alternating shades of
white, black, and dusky bands, well defined, and exhi-
biting a beautifully variegated appearance peculiar to
the species. Back blackish-brown, with the margins of
the feathers paler. Scapulars and tertials blackish-
brown, margined with pale reddish-brown. Tail-co-
verts brown, with paler edges. Tail cuneiform, the
centre feathers black, those on each side hair-brown,
enclosed by a zone of black, and edged with white.
Bill black. Legs brown, and bare for about half an
inch above the tarsal joint.
TEMMINCK'S TRINGA.
TRINGA TEMMINCKII, Leisl.
PLATE XXVII. « FIGS. 1, 2.
Tringa Temminckii, Leisler, Nachr. zu Bechst. Naturg. Deut. Heft 1. 65.
—Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 622.
Tringa pusilla, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 737- but not the Tringa pusilla of Linn.
—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 108. sp. 154.
Pelidna pusilla, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 101.
Pelidna Temminckii, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 103.
Becasseau Temmnia, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 622. ; ejusd. PL Col.
Little Sandpiper, Mont. Ornith. Diet. App — Lath. Syn. 5. 184. 32.
Temminck's Dunlin, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 101.
Temminck's Knot or Sandpiper, Fox, Syn. of Newcastle Mus. p. 14.
TRINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 145
AFTER a careful examination of the descriptions by various
authors, of the two small species of Tringa generally known
under the specific titles of Tringa pusilla and T. minuta, the
above list of synonyms appears to be strictly referable to the
first-mentioned species, which is also known to many as the
T. Temminckii) a name imposed by LEISLER, and adopted by
M. TEMMTNCK, in his excellent work the " Manuel d'Orni-
thologie," as well as in the " Planches Coloriees" of the same
author. In adopting LEISLER'S specific name for this bird,
I agree with that naturalist and M. TEMMINCK in consider-
ing it as distinct from the Tringa pusilla of LINNAEUS, al-
though LATHAM quotes that as synonymous with the Little
Sandpiper of his Synopsis, which latter certainly appears to
be the bird now under examination. Dr FLEMING, in his
History of British Animals, also retains the title of Pusilla
for this bird, stating, as his ground for which, that the cha-
racter of the tail identifies it with the Linnean species. In
this decision, I think he is not borne out by the terms used
by LINNAEUS, which are, " rectricibus extimis scapo albo ;"
whereas, to suit the T. Temminckii, they ought to be " rec-
tricibus extimis albis." The Linnean species is farther de-
scribed as " corpore subtus rufescente;" that is, with the un-
der parts of the body rufous or reddish — a character by no
means applicable to the T. Temminckii at any period, or
change of plumage, but which is so to another exotic species.
The Little Sandpiper of the British Zoology, described as
having the tail dusky, I have ventured to assign to the next
species, as being more applicable to it ; and the same with
regard to the Brown Sandpiper of that work, which is dis-
tinctly stated as having the tail cinereous. The Little Sand-
piper described in the Appendix to MONTAGU'S Ornithologi-
cal Dictionary is retained, as it agrees in every particular
with the Tringa Temminckii of LEISLER, and of the " Ma-
nuel d'Ornithologie ;" but the bird described under the same
title in the Supplement to that work, I have transferred to the
Tringa minuta, of which species it appears to be the young.
VOL. II. K
146 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. TRINGA.
The Pelidna pusilla and Pelidna Temminckii of STEPHENS
seem to be identical.
Occasional This delicate little species is known to us as an occasional
visitant during the seasons of its migration, and several in-
stances of its capture have been given of late years. Among
others, two are mentioned in the second volume of the Zoolo-
gical Journal, by that distinguished naturalist WILLIAM
YARRELL, Esq., which were killed near Chichester in 1826 ;
and I have in my possession a male and female killed in
Norfolk in May 1830. In habits it resembles the rest of
the tribe, but frequents more the interior lakes and rivers
than the shores of the ocean. It feeds on insects, worms,
and molluscous animals ; and though it is supposed to retire
foi the purpose of reproduction to the higher latitudes of
the north-eastern parts of Europe, the nest, colour of the
eggs, &c. remain still unascertained. Upon the continent it
is found in many parts of Germany, in its favourite locali-
ties, during the period of migration ; but its stay is short,
and it is never known to breed there. Similar as it is in
size and general contour to the Tringa minuta, it may al-
ways be recognised from that species by the whiteness of the
outer feathers, and the more perfectly wedge-shaped form of
the tail, as well as by the tarsi of this bird being considera-
bly shorter than those of T. minuta.
PLATE 27.* Fig. 1. Represents the adult bird, acquiring
the summer plumage.
General Forehead white, speckled with pale hair-brown. Between
tion. the bill and eyes is a dusky streak, and over the eyes
an indistinct whitish line. Chin and throat white, with
a few minute brown specks. Crown, nape of the neck,
and breast, ash-grey, spotted with hair-brown, and
tinged with wood-brown. Back, scapulars, and wing-
coverts hair-brown, tinged with olive; several black
feathers with reddish margins being interspersed, indi-
cating the commencement of the vernal change. Quills
TRINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 147
deep hair-brown, glossed with olive-green. Tail cunei-
form ; the middle feathers deep hair-brown, and the
outer ones on each side white. Belly, vent, and under
tail-coverts white. Legs greenish-grey, with the tarsus
about five-eighths of an inch long. Bill nearly the same
length, black. In the perfect nuptial dress, the whole
of the feathers of the upper parts are black in the cen-
tre, deeply margined with reddish-brown, and the mid-
dle tail-feathers also become edged with reddish-white.
Fig. 2. Is the young bird in its first or nestling plumage.
In this state of feather the forehead, throat, belly, vent, Young
and under tail- coverts, are white. Over the eyes is a
streak of white, with specks of ash-grey. The nape,
sides of the neck, and breast, are ash-grey, tinged with
pale wood-brown. Back, scapulars, and wing-coverts
hair-brown, each feather being edged with a double
zone of dark hair-brown and white, similar to the im-
mature Knot. Quills and middle tail-feathers edged
with white. Legs and bill paler than in the adult bird.
MINUTE TRINGA.
TRINGA MINUTA, Ldsler.
PLATE XXVII. « FIGS. 3. and 4.
Tringa minuta, Leisler, Nachtr. zu Bechst. Naturg. Deut. Heft 1. 74.
art. 10 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 109. sp. 155.
Pelidna minuta, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 105.
Tringa fusca ? Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 733. 26 ?
Becasseau echassees, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 624.
Little Sandpiper, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supp. Young.
Little and Brown Sandpiper, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 463. No. 195. and 473.
No. 207 Lath. Syn. Sup. 250.
Minute Dunlin, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 105.
Little Stint, BewicWs Br. Birds, 122 — Fox, Newc. Mus. 114.
THIS appears to be the bird most commonly described by
our writers as the Little Sandpiper ( Tringa pusilla of LIN-
148 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. TRINGA.
»it£us), though the same objections hold good with respect
to its identity, which I have previously stated as prevailing
in the case of T. Temminckn, with which species also I have
no doubt it has been frequently confounded. In size it
rather exceeds that bird ; but its form and general appear-
ance are so similar, as to render a narrow inspection abso-
lutely necessary to ascertain the peculiar characters that dis-
tinguish the one from the other. The first essential differ-
ence observable is in the comparative length of the tarsus,
being in T. minuta fully seven-eighths of an inch long,
whilst in T. Temminckii it does not exceed five-eighths.
The form of the tail also varies from that of the latter bird
(which I have described as wedge-shaped), being doubly
forked ; that is, the two middle feathers and the outer one
on each side are longer than the intermediate ones, thus giv-
ing to each half of the tail a forked appearance ; added to
which, its colour is dissimilar, the whole of the feathers be-
ing of an uniform pale hair-brown, with the exception of the
central ones, which are deep lustrous hair-brown. The legs
and feet also of the present species vary, by being of a
darker colour. Like the T. Temmmckii it can only be con-
Occasional sidered in the light of an occasional visitant, during its au-
tumnal migrations. In addition to the instances recorded
by MONTAGU, BEWICK, and others, Mr YARRELL, in the
Zoological Journal, mentions four of these birds that were
killed in 1826, and I have since met with other specimens,
all killed in the southern parts of England, as it is very rare-
ly met with in the northern districts of the island. Accord-
ing to TEMMINCK, it is not uncommon during its autumnal
passage in the extensive marshes of Holland ; and it is also
frequently found on the margins of lakes and rivers in France
and Germany. It is very common upon the lake of Geneva ;
and I have received specimens in almost perfect summer plu-
mage from Italy, as well as others from India, which appear
Food, to be identical with the European kind. It feeds upon the
smaller water-insects, worms, and mollusca. It has not yet
THINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 149
been ascertained where it retires to breed, but from its line
of migration, the summer retreat will probably be found in
the north-eastern parts of Europe, and in Northern Asia.
Fig. 3. Represents the adult bird in summer plumage.
Forehead, eye-streak, chin, throat, abdomen, vent, under General
and side coverts of the tail, pure white. Crown of the tion.
head blackish-brown, the feathers being margined with Adult
pale reddish-brown. Nape of the neck ash-grey.
Breast-feathers spotted with hair-brown, and margined
with yellowish-brown. Back, scapulars, and tertials
deep hair-brown, the feathers being margined with red-
dish-brown and yellowish-white. Lesser coverts, near
the ridge of the wings, plain hair-brown, the rest edged
with reddish-brown and yellowish-white. Quills deep
hair-brown, with white shafts. Tail doubly forked, the
two middle feathers deep hair-brown, with reddish- white
edges ; the others pale hair-brown, faintly edged with
white. Tarsus seven-eighths of an inch long. Legs
and toes blackish-grey.
Fig. 4. Is the young of this species ; — in which state it Young
very closely resembles the immature bird of the prece-
ding one. The eye-streak is, however, more distinct,
and the breast more inclined to pale yellowish-brown.
The dark zone which encircles each feather in the upper
parts of the body is also more defined and intense in co-
lour, giving a spotted appearance. The comparative
length of the tarsus, as in the adult, is of itself sufficient
to distinguish it from T. Temminckn.
150 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. TRINGA.
PURPLE OR ROCK TRINGA.
TRINGA MARITIMA, Brun.
PLATE XXVI. FIG. 6.
Tringa maritima, Erun. No. 182 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 678 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2.
731. sp. 18 — Markw. Cat. Birds in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 22. Tab. 1.
Tringa nigricans, Mont, in Linn. Trans. 4. 40. Tab. 2.
Tringa striata, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 110. sp. 157., but not the T. striata of
Lath, and Gmel., which refers to Totanus calidris.
Tringa canadensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Sup. 65 — Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 122.
Totanus maritimus, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 146.
Becasseau Violet, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 619.
Selninger Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 173. 15 — Arct. Zool. 2. 480.
Sea Sandpiper, Linn. Trans. 4. 22. Tab. 1.
Quebec Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 313.
Knot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 461. No. 193., but not the synonyms except that
of Brunnick. — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 75.
Phayrelarn Sandpiper, Mont, in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 40. Tab. 2.
Purple Sandpiper, Wall. Syn. 2. 155 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, et Supp. —
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 110. sp. 157 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 146.
THE locality of this species being strictly confined to the
rocky coasts of the ocean, and never found upon the flat and
sandy shores (the usual resort of most of the maritime scolo-
paceous birds), has occasioned its falling less frequently un-
der the notice of ornithologists, and its history has been con-
sequently involved in much obscurity, and there is some dif-
ficulty in collating the synonyms under which it has been
described by different authors. In the above list I have
omitted the Tringa striata of LATHAM and GMELIN, quoted
by MONTAGU and STEPHENS as a synonym of this species,
as I consider it more appropriate, and rather belonging to
Totanus calidris in its immature plumage, than to this bird.
I have also rejected the Black Sandpiper of PENNANT
( Tringa Lincolniensis of LATHAM), which bird MONTAGU
thinks may be a variety of T. maritima ; but, when describ-
ed as having long and slender legs, I cannot reconcile it with
the Purple Tringa, whose legs are short, the tarsus scarcely
TRINGA. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 151
equalling the length of the middle toe. In the fourth volume
of the Linnean Transactions, a correct description of our
bird is given by MONTAGU as a supposed nondescript species,
under the title of the Phayrelarn Sandpiper ( Tringa nigri-
cans) ; but he afterwards corrected his mistake in the Orni-
thological Dictionary and the Supplement to it. It is also
described in the above mentioned volume by Mr MARCH-
WICK, in his Catalogue of the Birds of Sussex, as the Sea
Sandpiper (Tringa maritima of LATHAM). PENNANT, in
his description of the Knot, appears to have mixed up this
bird with the true Knot (Tringa canutus), in which confu-
sion he was followed by BEWICK, whose excellent figure of
the Knot, however, at once identifies it with the Purple Sand-
piper of authors. STEPHENS has, in one instance, described
it as a Tringa, under the title of Tringa canadensis (Que-
bec Sandpiper of LATHAM) ; and, in another place, as a To-
tanus, under the name of Totanus maritimus.
The Purple Tringa is a winter visitant to this country, Periodical
generally arriving early in October, and departing for more
northern latitudes in April. On the Northumbrian coast it
is a common bird, and is met with in numerous flocks where-
ever the beach is bold and rocky. The Fern Islands, which
are composed of trap (or basaltic) rocks, are a favourite re-
sort, and it sometimes happens that a few stragglers are left
at the period of the vernal migration, remaining through the
summer, and breeding on the smaller islets. I have hitherto
been unable to obtain the eggs, but have met with the young
more than once in the month of June. When in flocks,
these birds fly in a compact body, but seldom to any great
distance ; and, when disturbed, after taking a small circuit
seaward, often return to the same exposed rock by the water's
edge, from which they started. They feed on marine in- Food,
sects, such as onisci, small cancri, and on bivalve mollusca?,
&c. which they seek for by turning aside the fronds of the
ulvas, and other maritime plants, that grow on the rocks.
Their cry is feeble, and not unlike the word weef, weet, fre-
152 • GRALLATORES. TRINGA. TRINGA.
quently repeated. In spring, they sometimes associate with
the Turnstones (Strepsilas inter pres), which affect the same
localities. The flesh of this Tringa, from the nature of the
food, is strong and somewhat rank, much inferior to that of
the Knot, Purre, &c. The species is rather widely dissemi-
nated throughout Europe during its equatorial migration,
being found upon the rocky shores of the Baltic and Medi-
terranean, as well as upon those of Holland and the British
Islands. There is no difference between the American and
our own ; there it inhabits Hudson's Bay, and the other
northern coasts of that continent.
FIG. 6. Represents this bird in the winter plumage.
General Head and neck greyish-black, tinged with broccoli-brown.
tioSn.nP" Orbits of the eyes, eye-streak, and chin, greyish- white.
Winter Breast deep ash-grey, inclining to hair-brown, many of
plumage. tne feathers having a darker centre, and being finely
margined with white. Abdomen, flanks, and under
tail-coverts white, spotted and streaked with deep ash
and hair brown. Back and scapulars greyish-black,
glossed with purple, and each feather margined with
ash-grey. Wing-coverts greyish-black, margined and
tipped with white, the tips of the greater ones forming
a bar across the wings. Secondary quills, nearest to
the tertials, almost wholly white, the rest having white
tips only. Lower back and upper tail-coverts black,
glossed with purple. Tail cuneiform, the middle
feathers greyish-black; the outer ones ash-grey, mar-
gined with white. Bill, in adult specimens, one inch
and a quarter long, very slightly deflected at the tip ;
the base reddish-orange, the tip dusky. Legs and toes
ochreous-yellow, having the tibiae feathered to within a
short distance of the tarsal joint ; and the lateral mem-
brane (or web) of the toes not quite so large as in the
Knot.
DUNLIN. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 153
In the summer, the head becomes darker, and the feathers Summer
margined with greyish- white. The back and scapulars
also acquire a greater intensity, and the purple gloss
shines with greater brilliancy ; the ash-grey edging of
the feathers also changes to white, and the spots upon
the breast and flanks acquire a more distinct lanceolated
form.
In the young, or nestling plumage, the head, back, and Young.
scapulars are of a dull greyish-black, the feathers being
margined with dirty yellowish-brown. The sides of the
neck and breast are ash-grey, with darker streaks.
Flanks and under tail-coverts with large longitudinal
streaks of deep ash-grey. Base of the bill ochre-yellow.
D'UNLIN, OR PURRE.
TRINGA VARIABILIS, Meyer.
PLATE XXVI. Figs. 1. 2. 3.
Tringa variabilis, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 397 Temm. Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 612.
Pelidna variabilis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 98. pi. 15. in summer pl\jmage.
Tringa alpina, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 108. sp. 153 — Sabine, Trans. Linn.
, Soc 12. 534.
Becasseau Brunette ou variable, Temm. Man. 2. 612.
L'Alouette de Mer a Collier, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1 490.
Dunlin, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 108. sp. 153 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. App. to
Sup.
Purre Dunlin, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 98. pi. 15.
Tringa Cinclus, Linn. Syst. 1. 251. 18 — Gmel Syst. 1. 680.— Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 735. sp. 35.— Rail, Syn. 100. A. 13.
Cinclus, Briss. Orn. 5. 211. pi. 19. f. 1.
L'Alouette de Mer, Buff. Ois. 7- 548. Winter
Purre or Stint, Will. ( Angl.) 305 — Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 472 — N o. 206 — Id. plumage.
Arct. Zool. 2. 475 — Lath. Syn. 5. 182 Mont. Orn. Diet. 5 Bewick's
Br. Birds, 2. 119 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 7. 39. pi. 59. f. 3— Wall. Syn. 2.
pi. 150.
Tringa ruficollis, Pall. Reis. 3. 700. 31 Lath. Orn. 736. sp. 36.
Red-necked Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. 5. 183. 31. This appears to be young
when it has nearly perfected the winter plumage.
Summer
plumage,
and
changes in
acquiring
and losing
it.
154 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. DUNLIN.
Tringa alpina, Linn. Syst. 1. 249. 11 — Geml Syst. 1. 676 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 736. sp. 37-
Cinclus torquatus, JBriss. Orn. 5. 216. No. 11. t. 19. f. 2.
Gallinago anglicana, Id. 5. 309. 5.
Le Cincle, Buff. Ois. 7. 553.
La Brunette, Id. 7. 493.
Red-backed Sandpiper, Wils. Amer. Orn. 7- 25. pi. 56. f. 2.
Dunlin, Will. Orn. (Angl.) 305.— Kali Syn. 109. A. 11 — Penn. Br.
Zool. 2. 471. No. 205 Arct-Zool. 2. No. 391.— Lath. Syn. 5. 185. 33.
Id. Sup. 249. — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1. Sup. and App. to Sup.— Bewick's
Br. Birds, 2. 117- &c.
PROVINCIAL — Sea-snipe, Ox-bird, Oxeye, Wagtail, Least Snipe.
PREVIOUS to the appearance of MONTAGU'S Supplement
to his Ornithological Dictionary (when the identity of the
Dunlin and Purre of authors was first pointed out), this
bird, in the writings and compilations of earlier naturalists,
had always been considered, under its different states of
plumage, as forming at least two distinct species, as may be
collected from the list of synonyms given above. These
views of our zealous countryman, who was one of the first to
direct the attention of inquirers to the remarkable changes
of plumage that so many species are now ascertained to un-
dergo, were soon afterwards corroborated by the observations
of that discriminating ornithologist Mons. TEMMINCK, in his
" Manuel," where he has traced and attached the various sy-
nonyms, as they appeared applicable to the different states of
this bird, either at the period when the change has been com-
pletely effected (as exhibited in its winter or summer plum-
age), or in the intermediate stages of moulting, in its pro-
gress from one to the other. After the authority of two
such names, it may appear unnecessary to bring forward any
additional proof of this identity ; but as the situation in
which I happen to reside is peculiarly favourable for mak-
ing observations on the tribes of fowl that resort to our
coasts, I may be allowed to remark, that after having ex-
amined specimens at all seasons, and indeed during each
month of the year (when the progressive changes from one
state to another may be traced step by step), I have been
able to verify, most satisfactorily to my own mind, the cor-
DUNLIN. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 155
rectness of that opinion by which these supposed ^different
species have been pronounced identical, under peculiar mo-
difications of plumage. The Dunlin, or (as it is called in
its winter dress) the Purre, is a very well known and nume-
rous species, frequenting in immense flocks the sandy bays
and oozy shores of the whole line of our coast. In the
southern parts of Britain it is a winter visitant, and conse- Periodical
T . , . visitant.
quently oftenest observed in its plain, or ash-grey plumage ;
and it is only in spring, immediately previous to its depar-
ture for more northern latitudes, or early in autumn, on its
first return, that a few are seen clothed in the garb proper
to the Dunlin of earlier authors. In Scotland and its islands,
this bird may be considered indigenous, as great numbers
are known to breed not only upon the sea coast, but in the
marshes of the interior. A few also remain in Northumber-
land, which may be called the southern limit of the perma-
nent residence of the species. It is not to be supposed,
however, that the multitudes that people our northern shores
are the offspring of such only as breed in this latitude; they
are principally composed of migrants from countries farther
northward, to which the great body retires during summer,
as offering peculiar facilities for the reproduction of the
species, but which, upon the approach of frost, and when
food begins to fail, send forth their now increased flocks
southward, in search of warmer winter quarters, where a
more plentiful supply of nourishment may await them.— Like
many of its congeners, the flight of this species is attended
with such regular evolutions, as no one who has enjoyed the
opportunity of visiting the parts of our coast frequented by
Purres, and other scolopaceous birds, can have failed to re-
mark. I allude to the glancing and simultaneous exposure
of the upper or under surface of the body by every indivi-
dual of a flock (be it ever so numerous), as it sweeps along
the surface of the ocean, or across the shining sands. In
Scotland, the Purre breeds upon the shingle at the mouths
of rivers, or on the salt marshes near the coast, as well as in
156 GRALLATORES TRINGA. DUNLIN.
Nest, &c. the bogs of the upland country. — The nest, merely a depres-
sion in the ground, lined with a few straws or dried stems of
grass, and, in appearance, similar to that of the Snipe or Ring
Dotterel. The eggs, as in the rest of the family, are four in
number, of an oil or greenish-grey colour, marked all over
with variously sized spots of hair-brown, and are rather less
than those of the Common Sandpiper (Totanus hypoleucos).
Food. This species feeds on worms, insects, molluscae, and the
smaller crustaceae, which it usually obtains by probing the
sand in following the ebb of the tides. It runs with great
celerity, and has a sprightly carriage and delicate form*
When in action, it is in the constant habit of moving the
tail up and down. Its cry, on wing, is a weak scream, but
when at rest on the ground, or feeding, a softer and more
pleasing note is used. Its flesh, during the autumn, is
tender and well flavoured, but in winter it becomes darker
in colour and fishy, and is always indeed inferior to that of
the Knot.
General Fig. 1. Represents this bird in the perfect winter plumage,
tkm^" Crown of the head, hind part of the neck, back and sea-
Winter pulars ash-grey, with a tinge of hair-brown ; the shaft
of each feather being darker. Between the bill and
eyes is an indistinct line of brown. Eye-streak and
cheeks white, streaked with pale hair-brown. Chin and
throat white. Lower part of neck and breast grey,
the shafts of the feathers being hair-brown. Belly, ab-
domen, vent, and under tail-coverts pure white. Wing-
coverts hair-brown, margined with pale ash-grey, the
larger ones having white tips. Rump and upper-
tail-covers deep hair-brown, margined paler. Tail ap-
proaching to the doubly-forked shape^ the two middle
feathers being the longest, and of a deep hair- brown
colour, the rest, on each side, grey, with white shafts.
Bill black, very slightly inclined at the tip. Legs and
toes blackish-grey.
DUNLIN. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 157
Fig. 2. The same species in the summer or nuptial plum- Summer
age.
Crown of the head black, the feathers being margined
with reddish-brown. Chin white. Cheeks, fore part of
the neck and breast, black, with the feathers deeply
margined with white, giving these parts a beautifully
spotted appearance. Belly and abdomen black. Flanks
and side-coverts of the tail white, streaked with black.
Hind part of the neck, mantle, and scapulars black,
each feather being deeply margined with clear reddish-
brown. Lower part of back, and upper tail-coverts
brownish-black. Wing-coverts as in the winter plum-
age.— This description taken from a specimen killed to-
wards the end of May.
Fig. 3. Is the young of the year, in a state of change from Young
the nestling to the winter plumage.
Head blackish-brown, the feathers being edged with yel-
lowish-brown. Upper parts exhibiting a mixture of
the pale grey feathers that mark the winter plumage,
with the darker (or nestling) feathers. Cheeks and
sides of the neck pale brown mixed with grey. Breast
grey, spotted with black. Belly white, with large black
spots. Vent and under tail-coverts white.
CURLEW TRINGA.
TRINGA SUBARQUATA, Temm.
PLATE XXVI. Figs. 4. 5.
Tringa rsubarquata, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 609. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1,
107. sp. 152.
Becasseau Cocorli, Temm. ut supra.
Pelidna subarquata, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 96.
L'Alouette de Mer ordinaire, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 490.
Red Dunlin, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 96.
Pigmy Sandpiper, Bewick's Br. Birds. 2. Sup. p. and t. 11.
Pigmy Curlew, Mont, Orn. Diet, Sup. the young of the year.
3
158 GRALLATORES. TRINGA. CURLEW.
f Numenius Africanus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 7i2. sp. 10.
Winter J Scolopax Atricana, Gmel. Syst. I. 655.
plumage. 1 L'Alouette de Mer, Buff. Ois. Enl. 851.
(Cape Curlew, Lath. Syn. 5. 126. 9.
! Scolopax subarquata, Gmel. Syst. 1. 658. sp. 25.
Numenius subarquata, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 135. No. 3. t. 6.
Rauthbauchiger Brachvogel, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 356.
Red Sandpiper, Penn. Arct. ZooL 2. 476. No. 392.— Lath. Syn. 5. 186.
Rockmillis, Will. Oin. (Angl.) p. 304. ?
THIS species, in its winter dress, may easily be mistaken
by a cursory observer for Trmga variabilis, to which it
bears a close resemblance in colour and dimensions, particu-
larly as regards the male, which is always much less than
the female bird, and the bill of which is frequently found
very little longer than in adult specimens of the Dunlin.
The greater curvature, however, of this member, the compa-
rative length of the tarsi, and larger naked portion of the tibiae,
as well as the colour of the upper tail-coverts, are always
sufficiently characteristic to point out the difference between
the two species whenever a proper comparative examination
can take place. In its summer plumage, such a mistake can
scarcely occur, as the difference then must be obvious, even
to those unacquainted with the subject. In collating the
synonyms of this species, I have omitted the Numenius
pygmaus of LATHAM, as I concur with Mons. TEMMINCK
and Mr VIGORS in considering it to refer to the Trmga
platyryncha of TEMM., rather than to the present species.
The Cape Curlew (Numenius Africanus), however, appears
to be strictly referable to it ; and specimens that I have re-
ceived from Africa are in every respect similar to those killed
Rare visi- in Europe. — This bird is a rare visitant in Britain, and only
seen during its vernal or autumnal migration. Upon the
continental shores of Europe, and on the margins of the
larger lakes, it is not uncommon ; and, according to TEM-
MINCK, it occasionally breeds in Holland by the sides of the
extensive inland seas that occupy so large a portion of that
Eggs. country. — Its four eggs are stated to be yellowish (jauna-
tres), probably answering to SYME'S oil-green, spotted with
CURLEW. GRALLATORES. TRINGA. 159
brown, the prevailing colour, indeed, of the eggs of most of
the Scolopacidse. Its geographical distribution is very ex-
tensive, as the species appears to be the same in all the four
quarters of the globe. In addition to the specimens hitherto
recorded, a male and female were killed a short time ago
near Hartlepool, in the county of Durham ; and two, in the
collection of Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, were shot upon the
coast in Dumfriesshire. It runs with great quickness, and
feeds upon insects, worms, &c. for which it probes the sand Food.
by the water's edge.
Fig. 4. Represents this bird when beginning to lose the General
summer plumage, taken from a specimen killed on the tion.™^
Norfolk coast, in company with several others which had Summer
. ' plumage.
nearly acquired the winter garb, and presented to me
by H. GIRDLESTONE, Esq. of Yarmouth.
Bill black and deflected near the tip, its length one inch and
three-eighths. Crown of the head blackish-brown, mar-
gined with pale reddish-brown. Hind part of the neck
reddish-brown, streaked with hair-brown. Back and
scapulars black, deeply bordered with reddish- brown,
the tips of the feathers fading into yellowish-grey, and
much worn by the action of the weather, &c. Wing-
coverts pale hair-brown, margined with greyish-white.
Quills hair-brown, with white shafts. Upper tail- coverts
white, barred with black. Forehead, eye-streak, chin,
and throat white, mixed with pale orange-brown. Under
parts orange-brown, with a few white feathers inter-
mixed ; shewing the commencement of the winter plum-
age. Under tail-coverts white, with arrow-shaped black
spots. Legs black, much longer than those of the Ihm-
lin, and naked for half an inch above the tarsal joint.
Wings, when closed, reaching a little beyond the tail.
Fig. 5. Is a young bird of the year, acquiring the winter
plumage.
160 GRALLATORES. PHALAROPUS.
Young. Eye- streak, face, and fore part of the neck, white. Crown of
the head blackish-brown, bordered with greyish-white.
Hind part of neck greyish- white, with streaks of a
deeper tint ; upper parts hair-brown, with a glossy re-
•flection, the feathers being margined with white and
reddish-white. Upon the back are several ash-grey
feathers, indicative of the approaching change. Upper
tail-coverts white. Lower part of neck and breast yel-
lowish-grey. Belly, abdomen, and under tail-coverts
white. Tail grey margined with white.
Winter jn ^ne perfect winter dress, the whole of the upper parts,
plumage. ...
with the exception of the tail-coverts, become of an uni-
form pale hair-brown, with a slight olivaceous gloss, the
shafts of the feathers remaining dark. Lower part of
the neck and breast grey, streaked with hair-brown.
GENUS PHALAROPUS, BRISS. PHALAROPE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill rather longer than the head, somewhat three-cornered
at the base, and depressed throughout its whole length ; both
mandibles laterally grooved, the tip of the upper mandible
dilated, its extremity slightly deflected, and covering that
of the under one, which is brought to a fine point ; culmen
rounded. Tongue short, with a blunt tip.
Nostrils basal, lateral, oblong, rather prominent, and sur-
rounded by a membrane. Legs of mean length, slender,
slightly compressed, naked above the tar sal joint. Feet four-
toed, three before and one behind ; the front toes joined at
the base by a membrane, and from thence to the claws,
bordered with large scalloped membranes. Hind toe small,
with the tip of its claw scarcely reaching to the ground.
In plumage, having the under parts of the body clothed
with thickly set feathers, and very closely adpressed.
GRALLATORES. PHALAROPUS. 161
THE genus Phalaropus of BRISSON contained not only tfye
species to which it is now restricted, but also the Cootfoots,
or birds belonging to the genus Lobipes of CUVIER, repre-
sented by the Phalaropus Hyperboreus of authors, and which
that eminent naturalist judged it expedient to separate from
the present group, in consequence of the distinct character it
displayed in the form of the bill. By LATHAM, TEMMINCK,
and other systematists, these birds were placed in an order
entitled Pinnatipedes, an arrangement completely artificial,
and which embraced groups widely different, and so far re-
moved from each other in point of affinity, as to possess, in
fact, nothing in common except feet imperfectly webbed or
lobated. According to the natural arrangement, or that
grounded upon affinity, they are now more appropriately
classed with the Scolopacida, and the groups which stand at
the extremity of that family, or which, departing from the
central (or more typical) genera, in regard to their habits
(that are more aquatic), and in the lobated form of their
feet (that are not unlike those of the Coots), lead the way
and serve as a link to connect it with the succeeding family
of the Rallidf-e. In the Phalaropes, the formation of the bill
is nearly the same as that of the Knot, but it is more de-
pressed throughout its length, and the tip comes to a sharper
and more determinate point. The general contour of the
body is also similar to that of the Tringas. The extensive
development of the membrane connecting and bordering the
margins of the toes, as well as the thick and closely set plum-
age of the under parts of the body, indicate more aquatic
habits, and a greater power of being supported on the water ;
and we accordingly find, that the Phalaropes are more fre-
quently seen upon the surface of the ocean, where they float
at ease even amidst the roughest waves, than on the land,
where their motions are more confined, and display less of
the activity that distinguishes the Tringas and other birds
that frequent the shores. Their moult is double, and the
changes they undergo are not unlike those of the Tringas.
VOL. II. L
162 GRALLATORES. PHALAROPUS. PHALAKOPE.
They are natives of the Arctic regions, and extend to very
high northern latitudes. Their food consists of marine
insects, mollusca, and worms, which abound in the waters
they frequent, and are seized by them when swimming, as
they float near the surface.
GREY PHALAROPE.
PHALAROPUS LOBATUS, Flem.
PLATE XXVIIT.
Phalaropus platyrynchos, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 712. — Sabine, Linn.
Trans. 12. 536.
Phalaropus griseus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 163. pi. 20.
Phalaropus lobatus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 776. 2.
(Tringa lobata, Linn. 1. 249. $.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 674.
Phalaropus, Briss. 6. 12. 1.
Le Phalarope a festons denteles, Buff. Ois. 8. 226.
Le Phalarope gris, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 492.
Grey Coot-footed Tringa, Edward, t. 308.
Grey Phalarope, Br. Zool. 2. No. 218. t. 76 — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 412 —
Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup. Appendix.
Grey Phalarope, Lath. Syn. 272 __ the young commencing the autumnal
moult
/ Tringa fulicaria, Linn. Syst. 1. 249. 10 — Brun. Orn. Boreal. 51. No. 172.
I Phalaropus rufescens, Briss. Ornith. 6. 20. 4.
Summer I Le Phalarope rouge, Buff. Ois. 8. 225 — Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 492.
plumage. \ Red Coot-footed Tringa, Edward, t. 142.
I Red Phalarope, female, Lath. Syn. 5. 271.
^Rothbauchiger Wassertreter, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 419. sp. 2.
(Phalaropus glacialis, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 776. sp. 3.
Adult in J Tringa glacialis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 675.
change, (plain Phalarope, Arct. Zool. 2. 415 __ Lath. Syn. 5 1?3. 3.
Rare Ouit acquaintance with this species is only as a rare visi-
visitant. a £ew straggiers being accidentally driven upon our
coasts, during their autumnal migrations. These birds are
inhabitants of the north-eastern parts of Europe, and North-
ern Asia, where they are numerous upon the large lakes and
rivers of Siberia : they also abound in North America ; but
their range, even during the equatorial migrations, does not
PHALAROPE. GRALLATORES. PHALAROPUS. 163
seem to extend far beyond the limits of the arctic circle. In
summer, during the breeding season, they retire to very high
latitudes, and are amongst the few kinds met with by navi-
gators in those icy and desolate regions. In their habits
they are much more aquatic than the Tringas, &c. passing
the greater part of their lives on the water, and swimming
with great buoyancy and ease ; upon this element also they
obtain their food, consisting of marine insects and worms Food,
that live in the water, and move near the surface ; for it does
not appear that these birds are enabled to dive, never having
been observed to exercise that faculty, either when feeding,
or in their endeavours to escape from any threatened danger.
In addition to their lobated feet, they possess other peculia-
rities indicative of aquatic habits ; for we find the tarsus
slightly flattened (so as to offer less resistance to the water,
when drawn forwards to make the stroke in swimming), and
the plumage of the lower parts of the body rendered, by its
thick and close-set character, more impervious to the water,
similar to that of the Laridte and Anatida. They fly with
great strength and swiftness, and, when on wing, are not
easily distinguished from the Tringas. The nidification and
colour of the eggs of this species have not yet been de-
scribed.
PLATE 28. represents the Phalarope, as killed in autumn,
when it has nearly acquired the winter or grey plu-
mage; and again in that which it assumes as spring
advances, and called the summer, or nuptial dress.
In the former state, the forehead, crown of the head, General
throat, fore part and sides of the neck, breast, and the ^^^
whole of the under parts are white. Hind part of the Winter
head, ear-coverts, and streak down the nape of the Plumaga
neck, greyish-black. Upper parts of the body fine
bluish-grey, intermixed with a few feathers of a greyish-
black, margined with pale yellowish-brown and white ;
these being the remains of the summer plumage. Wing
164 GRALLATORES. LOBIPES.
coverts greyish-black, edged with white ; the secondary
coverts having their tips white, and forming a bar
across the wings. Tertials black, with the outer web
margined with white. Quills greyish-black, with white
shafts. Tail grey, finely margined with white. Bill
blackish-brown. Legs and toes greenish-grey, with the
tarsus somewhat flattened. In this state of plumage it
appears to be the Phalaropus gladalis of LATHAM,
(Plain Phalarope of PENNANTS Arctic Zoology). The
specimen, as above described, was killed at the Fern
Islands in the autumn of 1820.
Summer In summer, the sides and fore part of the neck, the breast
and under parts, are of an uniform orange-brown. The
streak above the eye sienna-3/ellow. Crown of the head,
nape of the neck, back, and scapulars of a very deep
olive-brown ; each feather being margined with pale red-
dish-brown and yellowish-brown. Wing coverts as in
the winter plumage.
GENUS LOBIPES. LOBEFOOT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, strait, smooth, slightly depressed
at the base ; the point subulate, and rather inclined ; man-
dibles grooved. Tongue slender and pointed. Nostrils ba-
sal, lateral, linear, placed in the commencement of the man-
dibular furrow, and surrounded by a prominent membra-
nous rim.
Wings long, and sharp-pointed ; with the first quill
longest, and the rest decreasing by regular gradation.
In the legs, the lower part of the tibiae is naked ; the tar-
sus slender, and much compressed ; feet four-toed, three be-
fore and one behind. The middle toe connected with the
inner one as far as the first, and with the outer ones as far
GRALLATORES. LOBIPES. 165
as the second joint ; the remaining part of the toes having
lobated membranes, with finely pectinated edges ; nails,
scarcely extending beyond the ends of the toes, small, fal-
cated, and sharp-pointed.
Plumage similar in texture to the genus Phalaropus.
The different characters exhibited in the form of the bill
between the Phalaropus liyperboreus of authors, and the
Phalaropus lobatus, induced CUVIER, in his " Regne Ani-
mal," to separate the former from the latter, and to make
it the type of a genus, which he entitled Lobipes. In this
arrangement he has been followed by most of the ornitholo-
gists of the present day, and the propriety of it is further
evinced by the discovery of several new species, possessing
all the distinct characters of the type. In the Grey Phala-
rope the form of the bill is described as approaching to that
of the Knot ; in the Lobefoots it is similar to that of the
Sandpipers, being slender, very little depressed, and acumi-
nated at the point. In the Lobefoots, the tongue is long,
slender, and sharp-pointed ; whereas in the Phalaropes, it is
short, and blunt at the tip : the legs also- of the former are
considerably longer in proportion to the size of the body.
Their habits, as might be expected from the form of the
feet, and, from their general resemblance, are very similar to
those of the Phalaropes, and they 'swim with equal strength
and ease. They are the inhabitants of sea coasts, as well as
of inland fresh-water lakes and rivers, and are widely distri-
buted, being found in countries differing, to extremes, in
temperature. The Lobipes hyperborea, which sometimes
visits our shores, inhabits the arctic regions of Europe and
North America; the Lobipes incana is a native of South
America ; and another has been found in Africa. Like the
Phalaropes, and other scolopaceous birds, their moult is
double, and the plumage of summer is more varied, and of
brighter tints, than their winter clothing. The feathers of
the under parts of the body are, in texture, like those of the
166 GRALLATORES. LOBIPES. LOBEFOOT.
Phalaropes, and equally well adapted to resist the effects of
the element in which they chiefly move. They breed upon
the margins of lakes, and, like the other birds of this family,
lay four eggs. Aquatic insects, molluscae, &c. compose their
food, which they generally obtain on or very near the sur-
face of the water.
RED LOBEFOOT.
LOBIPES HYPERBOREA, Cuvier.
PLATE XXVIII. FIGS. 1. 2.
Lobipes hyperborea, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 169. pL 21 — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 100. sp. 134.
Le Lobipede a hauss col, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 495.
Phalaropus hyperboreus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 775. 1 — Temm. Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 709 — Sabine, Linn. Trans. 12. 535 — Saline, in Frank.
Jour. Append. 690.
Tringa hyperborea, Linn. Syst. 1. 249. 9 — Gmel Syst. 1. 675. sp. 9.
Phalaropus cinereus, Briss* Ornith. 6. 1-5. 2.
Phalarope cendre' ou Phalarope de Siberie, Buff. Ois, 8. 224.
Rothhalsiger Wassertreter, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 5. 373 — Meyer, Tass-
chenb. Deut. 2. 417.
Cock Coot-footed Tringa, Edward, Glean, pi. 148.
Red Phalarope, Br. Zool. 2. 219. t. 76.— Lath. Syn. 5. 270. 1.— Mont.
Ornith. Diet and Sup. Append — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 109 Will.
Amer. Ornith. 9. 75.
Phalaropus "Williamsii, Simmonds, in Linn. Trans. 8. 264.
f Phalaropus fuscus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 776. sp. 4 — Briss. Ornith. 6.
18.3.
Uringa fusca, Gmel. Syst. 1. 675.
Gemeine Wassertreter, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 2. 217-
Coot-footed Tringa, Edward, pi. 46.
Brown Phalarope, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 414 — Lath. Syn. 5. 274. 4.
PROVINCIAL — Water Snipe.
IN the Orkneys, and the other northern Scottish islands,
the Red Lobefoot is a common species, inhabiting, during the
summer, the numerous small fresh- water lakes, upon the mar-
gins of which it breeds and rears its young. In these places it
goes under the name of the Water Snipe, from its aquatic ha-
bits, for it is more frequently seen swimming or floating upon
the surface of the water, than running or reposing on the
LOBEFOOT. GRALLATORES. LOBIPES. 167
shore ; and in the former element also its food is obtained,
consisting of water insects, vermes, and molluscous animals*. Food.
In England, we only know this bird as a rare visitant during
the period of its migration, and but few instances of its cap-
ture are on record. It is, however, plentiful in the north- Rare visi-
eastern parts of Europe, and in Northern Asia, as well as in Engian(j.
North America, where its polar migration, as in the two
first mentioned quarters of the globe, extends to a very high
latitude. Its nest is made in the grass, and other herbage Nest, &c.
not far removed from the edge of the water, and its four
eggs are of a deep oil-green colour, thickly spotted with
black. On the approach of autumn, and after the young
have attained sufficient strength, these birds leave their
breeding stations in the Orkneys, and the higher northern
regions, and migrate, for the winter season, to the shores of
the Baltic, and other eastern parts of Europe.
PLATE 28*. Fig. 1. represents it in the summer plumage.
Crown of the head, nape and hinder part of the neck, General
sides of the breast, and streak behind the eyes, ash- ^Jnp"
grey. Sides of the neck marked with an irregular patch Summer
of orange-brown. Throat, middle of the breast, and p uma£e'
all the under parts white ; except the flanks, which are
dashed with ash-grey. Back and scapulars black ; the
feathers being deeply margined with ash-grey and red-
dish-brown. Wing coverts blackish-grey ; the greater
ones terminated with white, and forming a bar across
the wings. The two middle tail-feathers black ; the
rest deep ash-grey, margined with white. Bill black ;
legs and toes greenish-grey ; the lobes upon the anterior
joint of the toes extending a little beyond the tip of the
* According to Mr BULLOCK, who had frequent opportunities of observ-
ing this bird, during an excursion to the Scottish Isles, it swims with the
greatest ease, looking on the water like the beautiful miniature of a duck,
and carrying its head close to the back, similar to the Teal. He also found
it very tame, and so little alarmed by the report of a fowling-piece, as to-
permit him to fire repeatedly, without its moving from the spot.
168 GRALLATORES. LOBIPES. LOBEFOOT.
claw. Iris brown. — The above is the male bird. The
plumage of the female is similar to that of the male,
with the exception of the tints not being so pure, and the
red patch on the sides of the neck not so intense in hue*.
Fig. 2. is the winter plumage ; from a bird killed near Aln-
mouth in Northumberland.
Winter Forehead white, tinged with cinereous. Crown of the
head, streak behind the eyes, and the list down to the
back of the neck, blackish-grey. Chin, throat, middle
of the belly, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, white,
with a slight pinkish tinge. Sides of the neck and
breast grey, with a faint blush of purplish-red. Back,
scapulars, and wing-coverts black ; the feathers of the
former being deeply edged with yellowish-brown ; and
the greater coverts having their tips white, forming a
distinct bar across the wings. Middle feathers of the
tail black, margined with yellowish-brown ; the rest
ash-grey, margined with white. Legs and toes green-
ish-grey. In the above state it approaches very closely
to the description of the young of this species, as given
by TEMMINCK ; and also to the Phalaropus fuscus of
LATHAM. It would, therefore, seem, that the plumage
of the young of the year, and that of the adults in win-
ter, bear a strong resemblance.
* The description of the female, as given in MONT. Ornith. Diet, from
Dr LATHAM'S authority, applies to the Phalarope, and not to the species
ofLobefoot
GRALLATORES. RALLID^. 169
FAMILY IV.— RALLID^l.
FROM the typical family of the Scolopatidce we now enter
upon that of the Rallidce, which forms the fourth natural
division of the Order, standing as an aberrant group. The
various members composing it, and which answer to the
Macrodactyles of CUVIER, are distinguished from the birds
of the preceding family, by having the bill considerably
stronger, the tarsi shorter, and the hind toe of greater length.
They are also separated from all the other families of the
order, and more united together, by the particular shape of
the body, which, in the typical or representative species, is
much compressed on the sides, arising from the structure of
the breast-bone, it being found, on dissection, remarkably
narrow. In their habits they are more decidedly aquatic
than the other families, and the greater part of them inhabit
the interior lakes and marshes of their respective countries ;
many of them swim habitually and with facility, in this re-
spect shewing their connexion with the true Natatores ; to
which order, by means of the Coot, they directly lead the
way. The feet of most of the species are divided and with-
out webs, but the toes and claws of many of them are long,
and cover a large disk when expanded ; which formation (as
well as the shape of the body), not only aids them in swim-
ming, but is of great assistance to them in traversing the sur-
face of the water, when covered with aquatic plants and
grasses. In GaUinula, whose habits are decidedly aquatic,
the toes are bordered along their sides with a narrow web,
being an extension, as it were, of the membranous sole of the
foot ; and the same is observable, perhaps to a greater de-
gree, in the nearly allied genus Porphyrio. This, in the
genus Fulica (placed still nearer to the farther extremity of
the family, and serving as a link between it and the Cha-
radriadce, and the Order Natatores), become still more ex-
170 GRALLATORES. RALLUS.
tended, and assumes the form of large scalloped lobes; a
structure that induced former systematists, in their artificial
arrangement, to establish a separate order for its reception,
and that of some other birds, to appearance not intimately
connected, as the Phalaropes and Grebes ; the first of which
belong to the Scolopacidce, the other to the Order Natatores,
and included in the Family of the ColymUdce. In Britain,
the members belonging to this family are few ; consequently
many links of the chain that connect the various groups with
each other are wanting. The plumage of most of the Rallidce
is soft, and loose in texture ; their wings, with few excep-
tions, are short and rounded, generally armed with one or
more spurs near the first flexure of the wing (more or less
developed in the different genera), and they fly in a heavy
and awkward manner ; many of them, indeed, shewing a
great unwillingness to take flight. They feed on aquatic
herbs, grasses, and their seeds, as well as worms, insects,
arid molluscae. They generally make a large nest, and lay
several eggs ; in which character they resemble not only the
gallinaceous birds of the rasorial order, but also the Anatidce
of the Order Natatores.
GENUS RALLUS, AUCT. RAIL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, rather slender, compressed at
the base, with the tip cylindrical and slightly incurved ; up-
per mandible sulcated for two- thirds of its length, the under
one strait, and the angle very small.
Nostrils pierced in a membrane, and situated in the fur-
row of the bill at a short distance from the base ; linear and
pervious.
Tongue narrow, compressed, having a fibrous tip.
Wings short, with the first quill feather much shorter than
GRALLATORES. RALLUS. 171
the second and third, which are the longest in the wing.
The bastard wing armed with a spine or spur.
Forehead plumed ; the shaft of each feather ending in a
sharp horny point.
Tail short, consisting of twelve feathers.
Legs of mean length, with the tibiae naked for a short
space above the tarsal joint. Feet four-toed, three before
and one behind ; toes long, slender, and cleft to their base,
the middle one generally as long as the tarsus. Hind toe as
long as the first joint of the middle one, and touching the
ground. Nails falcate, compressed, and sharp-pointed.
Front of the tarsus and upper part of the toes scutellated.
The members of the genus Rallus, which may be consi-
dered the typical (or representative) form in the family, have
the body remarkably compressed, arising from the structure
of the breast-bone, which is very narrow. Their wings are
short and rounded ; their flight awkward and irregular, and
only by sudden surprise, or close pursuit, can they be com-
pelled to take wing. This partial deficiency, however, is
amply compensated by the swiftness with which they can
pierce through the thickest growth of reeds, or other aquatic
herbage of the situations they chiefly frequent ; and their
progress through which is doubtless much facilitated by the
laterally-compressed form of body they possess, being thus
enabled to squeeze through the narrowest interval. They
also swim with ease, and though not so often seen in the ex-
ercise of this faculty as the nearly allied genus Gallinula,
they shew no unwillingness to pass by this mode the brooks,
or many pools of water, in the marshes they inhabit. They
live on worms, aquatic insects, and shelly molluscae, with a
proportion also of vegetables and seeds. They closely ap-
proach, in many respects, to the genera Crex and Galllnula.,
the passage to which is effected by certain species that stand
at the extremity of the group, and which have the bill rather
shortened and thicker than that of the Common Rail
172 GBALLATORES. RALLUS. RAIL.
COMMON RAIL.
RALLUS AQUATICVS, Linn.
PLATE XXIX.
Rallus aquaticus, Linn. Syst. 1. 262. sp. 2 — Geml Syst. 1. 712 — Rail,
Syn. 113. A. 2 Ibid. 190. 12 — Witt. 234. t. 16 — Lath. Ind. Orn.» 2.
755. 1. but not the var. B Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 192. pi. 25-—Flem.
Br. Anim. 1. 98. sp. 128.
Gallina serica Gesneri, Raii Syn. 114. 4.
La Rale d'Eau, Buff. Ois. 3. 154. t. l3.—Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 683.
La Rale d'Eau d'Europe, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 500.
Wasser Ralle, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 464. — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2.
2. 406.
Velvet Runner, Will. (Angl.) 315.
Water Rail, Bilcock, or Brook Ouzel,— Will. (Angl.) 314 — Penn, Br.
Zool. 2. 484. No. 214. t. 75.— Alton's Br. Birds, 1. pi. 77 — Lath. Syn. 5.
227. I.— Levin's Br. Birds, 5. t. 189 — Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 15— Mont.
Orn. Diet. 1. and Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 13.— Shaw's Zool. 12.
192. pi. 25 Flem. Br. Anim. 1.98. sp. 128.
Bilcock, Rennie's Mont. Ornith. Diet. p. 33.
PROVINCIAL — Runner, Skiddy.cock, Oar-cock, Grey-skit, Brook-runner.
THE shy and solitary habits of this bird, as well as the
peculiar localities it inhabits, and the difficulty with which it
is forced on wing, prevent it being so frequently seen as,
from its general dispersion throughout the kingdom, might
otherwise be expected. It is permanently resident in this
country, and to be found at all seasons of the year. MON-
TAGU, however, (in the Supplement to his Ornithological
Dictionary,) suggests that a part of those annually produced
may probably migrate, and, in favour of this opinion, instances
the great accumulation of Rails in the marshes of Devonshire
in the autumn, being the period when, in this case, they
would naturally leave England for a warmer climate. This
supposition I have not been able to verify, and further ob-
servations are therefore necessary to convert it into a fact.
In the northern continental parts of Europe, this is a regu-
larly migrative species, but in those countries the winter
being always much more severe than it is in England, the
1
RAIL. GRALLATORES. RALLUS. 173
peculiar haunts of this and other members of the Rallidce are
in consequence more completely frozen up, and the supplies
of food more effectually cut off than they ever are in our
island. The haunts of the Rail are marshes, pools, and wa-
ter-courses, particularly such as are covered or bordered with
dense aquatic herbage and reeds, in which it finds shelter
and refuge, being enabled, by the narrow form of its head
and body, to pass through the closest beds of these plants
with great rapidity. To the above property is owing its
principal security, as, when forced upon wing, its flight is
awkward and slow, with the legs hanging down, and offering
an easy aim to the sportsman. Few dogs are able to force
it into view, unless when taken by surprise, or before it has
time to gain its retreat, which I have not unfrequently found
to be the forsaken hole of a water-rat, or amidst the entangled
roots of a stunted willow or alder-bush. When moving
about undisturbed, or in search of food, it often flirts up its
tail, similar to the Water-Hen, exposing the cream-white un-
der-co verts of that part. It occasionally swims, or (as WIL-
LOUGHBY expressively terms it) walks in the water, travers-
ing the pools, or crossing the brooks, upon whose margins it
resides. When disturbed, it will occasionally run along the
surface of the water, supported by the floating herbage, for
which purpose its feet are well adapted, covering, upon ex-
pansion, a large disk. It can also dive with readiness, to
which method of escape it sometimes resorts, as I have ex-
perienced in several instances. — Worms, slugs, and insects, Food,
are its food, to which may be added the leaves and seeds of
particular aquatic plants. One of these birds which I kept
for some time, was fed entirely with earth-worms, upon which
it continued to thrive, till an accident put an end to its life.
It refused bread, and the larger kinds of grain. — In conse-
quence of the retired spots chosen for nidification (being
always amidst the thickest herbage of its haunts), the nest Nest, &c.
is rarely found. MONTAGU mentions having discovered one
in a willow-bed, which was composed of sedge and coarse
174 GRALLATORES. RALLUS. RAIL.
grass, and contained six eggs of an immaculate white ; like
those of its congeners, rounded at both ends. TEMMINCK
and BECHSTEIN, however, make the number of eggs to be
ten or twelve, and their colour a yellowish-white, spotted
with reddish-brown, a description which also answers to those
of the Crex Porzana. This discordance, I regret, it is not
in my power to settle, never having been fortunate enough
to meet with the nest of the Rail. The geographical distr^
bution of this species appears to be confined to Europe, and
perhaps the northern parts of Asia ; permanent in the warm
districts, but migratory as it approaches the north. It is very
abundant throughout Holland, France, and Germany.
PLATE 29- Represents this bird of the natural size.
General ft[\\ reddish-orange at the base, passing into blackish-brown
tion. towards the tip. Irides red. Chin pearl-grey. Cheeks,
sides of the neck, breast, and belly, bluish-grey. Ab-
domen and flanks greyish-black, barred with white and
cream-yellow. Under tail-coverts cream-yellow. Crown
of the head, nape and back part of the neck, and all the
upper parts of the body, yellowish-brown, with the cen-
ters of the feathers velvet-black. A few of the lesser
wing-coverts barred with black and white. Legs and
toes yellowish-brown, tinged with flesh-red. Both sexes
are of similar plumage.
GENUS CREX, BECHST. CRAKE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill shorter than the head, thick at the base, subcultrated,
compressed ; the culmen gradually deflecting from the fore-
head to the point of the bill ; lateral furrow of the upper
mandible broad, and occupying more than half its length ;
angle of the under mandible bending upwards ; both man-
dibles of an equal length.
CRAKE. GRALLATORES. CREX. 175
Nostrils concave, lateral, linear-ovoid, pierced in a mem-
brane occupying the mandibular furrow in the middle of the
bill.
Wings armed with a spine, and having the second and
third quill feathers the longest.
Plumage soft, thick, and open in texture.
Legs strong, of mean length, with the lower part of the
tibiae naked. Feet four-toed, three before and one behind.
Toes long, slender, and cleft to their base, without any lateral
membrane, hind toe resting almost wholly on the ground.
Claws arcuate, compressed, and sharp-pointed.
The Crakes hold an intermediate station between the
Rails on the one hand, and the Gallinules on the other, from
the first of which they are distinguished by a shorter, thicker,
and more angular bill, and from the latter in wanting the
extension of the lateral membrane that borders the soles of
the toes, as well as the naked callous skin (or plate) that oc-
cupies the forehead. By LINN^US, they were included in
his genus Rallus^ but LATHAM afterwards, under his system,
transferred them to the genus Gallimila, in which he has
been followed by TEMMINCK, who places them in his first
sectional division of that genus. BECHSTEIN, however, and
other ornithologists of the present day, have separated them
from both genera, constituting a new one for their reception,
and to which they are fairly entitled, from the distinctive
characters they display. Their habits are similar, in many
respects, to the above mentioned birds, being of a shy and
solitary disposition, living concealed in the thick herbage of
meadows or marshy districts. They have the same thin and
compressed shape of body, and they run with a skulking gait,
and with great quickness, seldom taking wing unless sud-
denly surprised, or when forced to it by persevering pursuit,
of course, with the exception of the times of their annual
migrations. — They feed on worms and insects, as well as ve-
getables and seeds. — Their flight is awkward and heavy, and
176 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE.
they hang their legs when only on wing for a short distance.
All the British species are migratory, and come under the
designation of summer visitants. The plumage of both sexes
is nearly alike, differing only in the colours of the male bird
being purer and brighter in tint. The young, however, are
very different, and do not acquire the matured plumage till
they undergo the second general moulting
MEADOW OR CORN CRAKE.
CREX PRATENSIS, Bechst.
PLATE XXX*.
Crex pratensis, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 470.
Ortygometra Crex, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 218. pi. 26.—Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 98. sp. 129.
Rallus Crex, Linn. Syst. 1. 261. 1.— -Gmel Syst. 1. 71 1-
Gallinula Crex, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 766. sp. \.-Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2.
686.
Porphyrio rufescens, Briss. 5. 533. 5.— Will, 236.
Rale de Genet, ou lioi des Cailles, Buff. Ois. 8. 146. t. 12 — Id. PI. Enl.
750.
Poule d'Eau de Genet, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 686.
Wiesenknarrer, Bechst. 4. 470. — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 1. t. Heft 10.
Land-Hen, Daker-Hen, or Rail, Will (AngL) 1?0. t. 29.
Crake Gallinule, Penn- Br. Zool. 2. 484. No. 21 6. pi .75.— Lath. Syn. 5. 250.
1 — Mcmt. Ornith. Diet. 1. Bewick's Br. Birds. 1. 311.
Corn-crake, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 218. pi. 26 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 98.
sp. 129.
PROVINCIAL — Land-rail, Crek, Bean-crake, Corn-cracker, Corn-drake.
SOME writers have attempted to separate the Meadow- Crake
from the other species, and to make it the type of a genus ;
not, it would appear, from any essential difference in its
characters (which, on the contrary, and particularly with
respect to anatomical structure, agree with the others), but
from a fancied difference in its habits, which are considered
not so much approaching to aquatic as those of any of its
congeners. This modification will, however, be found much
slighter in reality than they who would thus separate the
species are willing to allow, being in fact confined to a trif-
ling difference in the quality and dampness of the soils these
CRAKE. GRALLATORES. CREX. 177
birds respectively frequent ; the Meadow Crake (and, in-
deed some other species), affecting rich meadows, occasionally
inundated by running streams ; the others, the rougher
growth of marshy grounds or stagnant waters. In all other
particulars their manners are very similar, being of an equally
shy and timorous nature, depending for safety more upon
the concealment afforded by the long herbage in which they
habitually reside, and upon swiftness of foot, than on their
power of flight, as they are with difficulty roused to the lat-
ter expedient. — This species is a summer visitant to us, ar- Periodical
riving in the southern and midland parts of the island in the
end of April, but seldom observed in the north before the
beginning of May. The first indication of its presence is
given by its peculiar and well known cry of crek, crek, fre-
quently repeated in a rough broken kind of note, not un-
like the sound produced by drawing a stick along the teeth
of a strong comb, and by which imitation the bird may fre-
quently be enticed within a very short distance. This is the
note of the male, and is continued until a mate be found and
incubation commenced, after which it ceases. Its favourite
resorts are rich meadow grounds, near to rivers, lakes, &c.
particularly such as are subject to occasional inundation.
Upon the banks of the Trent below Newark, the meadows
(which are of this description) are annually visited by great
numbers of Crakes ; and I have, in the course of an hour,
killed eight or ten in a single field. They are very plentiful
throughout Wales, the north of England, and Scotland, in
all such low situations as afford meadows and cultivated land
in the immediate vicinity of water. In the Highlands of
Scotland, and the Hebrides, they also abound, and their mi-
gration extends to the Orkney and Shetland Isles. PENNANT
remarks, that on first arriving in Anglesea they are very
lean ; but, in the midland and northern districts of England,
I have generally found them in high condition, and, I think,
as fat as they usually are previous to their departure in au-
tumn. This may perhaps be accounted for on the supposi-
VOL. II. M
178 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE.
tion (which the observations I have made corroborate), that
the Welsh and Irish shores are the first upon which these
birds land, as being in the direct line of their polar migra-
tion from Northern Africa and the southern parts of Europe,
and that, from the extent of their journey, they arrive ex-
hausted and reduced, but are recruited by a short residence,
or during the time spent in a gradual passage to their dif-
ferent places of resort. The Crake runs very swiftly, thread-
ing through the closest grass with extraordinary ease, and,
unless sorely pressed, or from a failure of cover, is very un-
willing to seek safety in flight. To succeed in flushing it
requires the aid of a dog trained to the sport, and taught
either to follow the Trail with great quickness, or to make
a rapid circuit and get in advance of the bird. It flies low,
and in a heavy wavering manner, with the feet hanging down,
and seldom to any distance at a time. It breeds in meadows,
or in the rough herbage of moist thickets, and sometimes in
Nest, &c. standing corn, if near to water. The nest is composed of
grass and other dried plants, a slight hole being first made
in the ground, and the eggs, in number from ten to fourteen,
are of a yellowish-white, slightly tinged with pink, and
spotted irregularly with reddish-brown, in size nearly equal
to those of the partridge, but of a more oblong shape. The
young, when excluded, quit the nest, and are then covered
with a black hairy down, which gives place by degrees to the
usual plumage, and in less than six weeks they are able to
fly. When uttering its cry, the neck of the Crake is stretched
perpendicularly upwards, and the note is varied, seeming to
a listener to come from different distances, and producing thus
Food, an effect similar to ventriloquism. — It feeds on worms, slugs,
and insects, with vegetables and seeds. I have kept this
bird in confinement in apparent good health, on a diet of
earth-worms, and bread steeped in milk. In this species a
few of the frontal feathers possess the hard and horny tip
that distinguishes the Rails; but this is not found in the
others of the genus.
CRAKE. GRALLATORES CREX. 179
PLATE 30 *. Represent a male and female of the natural
size.
Bill brown. Eyes yellowish-brown. Over the eyes, and General
down the sides of the neck is a streak of ash-grey. Chin
and throat yellowish-white, tinged with ash-grey. Breast
pale yellowish-brown, tinged with ash-grey. Belly red-
dish-white. Flanks and under tail-coverts pale reddish-
brown, barred with reddish- white. Crown of the head
and upper parts of the body deep liver .brown, each
feather having a broad margin of pale-yellowish-brown,
slightly tinged with oil-green. Wing-coverts pale orange-
coloured brown. Quills hair-brown, tinged with reddish-
brown. Legs yellowish-brown, with a tinge of grey.
SPOTTED CRAKE.
CREX PORZANA, Bechst.
PLATE XXX. FIGS. 1. and 2.
Rallus Porzana, Linn. Syst. 1. 262. 3 Gmel Syst. 1. 712.
Gallinula Porzana, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 772. sp. 19 Temm. Man. d'Ornith.
2. 688 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 99. sp. 131.
Ortygometra Porzana, Steph. Shaw's ZooiL 12. 223.
Rallus aquaticus minor, sive Maruetta, Briss. Orn. 5. 155. pi. 13. £ 1.
Gallinula ochra Gesneri, Rail Syn. 115 — Will. (AngL) 316.
Rale d'Eau ou la Maronette, Buff. Ois. 8. 157— 7d pi. EnL 751.
Poule d'Eau Maronette, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 688.
Punkliertes Rhorhuhn, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 478 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 412.
Spotted gallinule, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 486. No. 215 — Arct. Zool. Sup. 69.
—Lalh. Syn. 5. 264. 18 — Wall. Syn. 2. pi. 172 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1.
and Supp — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 99. sp. 131.
Water Crake, BewicWs Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 10.
Spotted Crake, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 223.
Skitty, Rennie's ed. of Mont. p. 462.
PROVINCIAL— Spotted Rail, Spotted Water-Rail, Spotted Water-Hen.
THIS prettily marked small species of Crake (being about Periodical
one-third less than the preceding one) is one of our earliest vlsltant
birds of passage in arrival, and among the latest in taking
its departure, as MONTAGU mentions having met with it in
M 2
189 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE,
Devonshire on the 14th of March, and having seen it in au-
tumn as late as the 23d of October. Though not numerous,
these birds are rather generally disseminated throughout
England, in such localities as accord with their habits ; and
I have also found them in various parts of Scotland, al-
though MONTAGU states, that, in his time, the species had
not been observed farther to the northward than Cumber-
land. Their haunts are the margins of pools and rivulets,
overgrown with reeds, sedges, and other thick herbage, as
well as more extensive marshy grounds ; and, as in habits
strongly resembling their nearly allied congeners, they are
rarely seen unless expressly sought after. By the aid of a
dog accustomed to pursue these birds, I have (in the au-
tumn, just previous to their departure) sometimes^w^d as
many as six in a large morass in my neighbourhood, the ma-
jority of which were generally young birds of the year. The
flight of the Spotted Crake is similar to that of the others,
and of the Rail, — from the latter of which, owing to its dark-
ness of colour, it is difficult to be distinguished when on wing.
Nest, &c. — Its nest is built amongst the thick sedges and reeds of the
marshes, and from the foundation of it being frequently
placed in water, is composed of a large mass of decayed
aquatic plants interlaced, with the hollow neatly formed and
comfortably lined. The eggs are eight or ten, of a yellow-
ish-grey colour, with a tinge of pink, and with round spots
of umber-brown of various sizes, and with others of a lighter
shade, appearing to be (as it were) beneath the exterior shell.
In magnitude the eggs equal those of a Missel Thrush. — It
Food, feeds on worms, aquatic insects, slugs, seeds, &c. ; and its
flesh, like that of the Meadow Crake, is sweet and well-fla-
voured. In autumn it becomes loaded with fat, a layer of
nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness covering the whole
surface of its body. The species is widely distributed
through Europe, particularly in the southern and eastern
parts, and is also found in Northern Asia.
CRAKE. GRALLATORES. CREX. 181
PLATE 30. Figs. 1. and 2. The male and female in summer.
O
Bill red at the base, the other part lemon-yellow. Fore- General
head, eye-streaks, chin, and throat, deep smoke-grey, tionTP
Crown of the head deep brown, the feathers being mar-
gined with yellowish-brown, and speckled with white.
Sides of the neck, breast, and under parts pale oil-green,
tinged with grey ; with transverse bars and spots of
white, surrounded by a narrow list of black. Mantle,
shoulders, and scapulars black, the feathers being deep-
ly edged with oil-green, and marbled with white, sur-
rounded by a narrow list of black. Wing-coverts oil-
green, tinged with yellowish-brown, and with white
spots, surrounded by a line of black. Lower part of
back, and upper tail-coverts black, edged with white
and pale oil-green. Under tail-coverts yellowish- white.
Quills hair-brown, tinged with oil-green, with the outer
web of the first quill-feather white. Legs wax-yellow.
The young have the upper parts of a deeper oil-green, Young
and the white more dispersed in the form of small spots.
Eyebrows deep grey, with numerous white specks.
Cheeks, chin, and throat greyish-white, with a few
darker specks. Lower part of the neck and the breast
oil-green, tinged with grey, and with small spots of
white. Belly and abdomen greyish-white. Quills deep
hair-brown. Legs deep oil-green, tinged with grey.
Bill dirty saffron-yellow at the base, the tip brown.
182 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE.
BAILLON'S CRAKE.
CREX BAILLONII, J. 8$ 8.
PLATE XXX. FIG. 3.
Crex Baillonii, Jardine and Selby's Illus. of Orn. part I. pi. 15.
GaUinula Baillonii, Temm. Man. d'Ornith, 2. 692.
Ortygometra Baillonii, Shaw's Zool. 12. 228. pi. 27.
Gallinula Foljambei ? Mont. Ornith. Diet. App. to Supp. ?
Poule d'Eau Baillon, Temm. Man. 2. 692.
Olivaceous Gallinule ? Mont. Ornith. Diet. App. to Supp. ?
Baillon's Crake, Jardine and Selby's Illus. of Orn. 1. pi. 15. — Shaw's ZooL
12. 228. pi. 27.
AFTER an attentive perusal of MONTAGU'S description of
the Olivaceous Gallinule, given in the Appendix to the Sup-
plement of his Ornithological Dictionary, and comparing it
with TEMMINCK'S account of Gallinula Baillonii, as well as
with several specimens of that bird, I feel considerable doubt
whether it can properly be referred to that species ; and I
have therefore retained TEMMINCK'S specific appellation, in-
stead of that of Foljambei, to which (if they were really iden-
tical) the bird now under consideration would, by priority of
imposition, be entitled. With respect to size, and to the
comparative length of the wings (as far as can be judged
from MONTAGU'S figure) they nearly agree, but in other par-
ticulars the Foljambe bird differs considerably from Crex
Baillonii. The upper parts of the body are described as to-
tally free from any white spots or markings, of which I never
yet found any mature specimens of C. Baillonii entirely des-
titute ; and the bird thus described having been killed in
the month of May, there remains no doubt of its being an
adult. It might, however, be suggested, that this is merely
a sexual difference, being the summer livery of the female,
but such an idea is directly contradicted by TEMMINCK'S
statement, that the females do not differ from the males ; and
I may add, that the various specimens of both sexes that
have come under my notice, always possessed the character-
istic white markings on the upper parts of the body. The
CRAKE. GRALLATORES. CREX. 183
legs are also described as of an olive colour ; whereas those
of C. Baillonii are flesh-coloured, and the bill orange-red at
the base, a particular unnoticed by TEMMINCK in his ac-
count of the latter species, but which nearly agree with the
colour of those parts in Crex pusilla. MONTAGU'S bird is
evidently nearly allied to C. Baillonii ; but as, in ornitho-
logy, specific differences are sometimes found to exist in fea-
tures of as little apparent consequence as those just mention-
ed, it is not improbable but that future investigation will
prove the Gattinula Foljambei of MONTAGU to be a distinct
species from either the C. Baillonii or C. pusilla. For the
present, however, I have inserted it as a doubtful synonym
of the former of these. — This Crake, like the others of the
genus, is an inhabitant of swamps, and the reedy margins of
lakes or smaller pools ; in such retirement its peculiar shy-
ness of disposition screens it from observation, unless, when
suddenly surprised, it is compelled to make a momentary
use of its pinions. At other times, when aware of the ap-
proach of danger, it evades its enemy by the rapidity of its
progress through the entangled aquatic herbage ; or by the
ease with which, from the compressed and wedge-shaped
form of its body, it can pierce through the interstices of the
thickest bed of reeds. It is also said to swim and dive well,
and sometimes to elude pursuit by submerging its body, and
keeping its bill only above the surface of the water, as the
Rail and Common Gallinule frequently do. — In Britain it is Rare visi-
only known as a rare visitant ; and the few specimens which tant*
have occurred have all been taken in the eastern parts of
England ; nor have I hitherto met with any instance of its
capture in the north. Upon the opposite continental coast,
in nearly the same parallel of latitude, it is not uncommon,
being well known in the neighbourhood of Boulogne, where
it annually breeds in the marshes. It is also spread over the
other districts of France during its polar migration ; but is
much more numerous in Italy, and the eastern parts of Eu-
rope.— Its nest is usually placed near to the water's edge, or Nest, &c.
1S4 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE.
fastened to the reeds, and is formed of decayed sedge and
aquatic weeds entwined and matted together. The eggs are
eight or ten in number, of a greyish- white, spotted with yel-
lowish-brown, and rounded at both ends. The food of this
species is similar to that of its congeners, viz. worms, slugs,
insects, and sometimes vegetables and seeds.
PLATE 30. Fig. 3. Represents this bird of the natural size,
from a specimen caught near Melbourne, in Cambridge-
shire, and now in the possession of the Rev. Dr
T HACKERY, Provost of King's College, Cambridge.
General Bill dark olive-green, thicker and shorter than that of
tk>SnriP" Crex pusilla. Crown of the head, and back part of
the neck, wood-brown. Throat and fore part of the
neck, cheeks, breast, and belly, bluish-grey, with a few
undulations of brown upon the breast, indicative of a
young bird. Flanks, vent, and under tail-coverts grey-
ish-black, barred with white. Upper parts yellowish-
brown, tinged with oil-green, and marbled with irregu-
lar spots of white, each being surrounded by a narrow
border of black. Outer web of the first quill-feather
margined with white. Legs and toes yellowish-brown,
tinged with flesh-red. Irides reddish-brown.
An adult male in my possession has the chin and throat
pearl-grey ; the forehead, cheeks, sides, and fore part
of the neck, breast, and belly, plain bluish-grey ;
thighs, abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts greyish-
black, barred with white. Crown of the head, and hind
part of the neck, yellowish-brown, with the shafts of the
feathers darker. Down the centre of the back is a
broad black list, varied with irregular spots of white.
The scapulars, tertials, and wing-coverts yellowish-
brown, tinged with oil-green, and varied with white
spots and streaks, surrounded, or else barred, with
black.
CRAKE. GRALLATORES. CREX. 185
»
LITTLE CRAKE.
CREX PUSILLA) Mihi.
PLATE XXX. FIG. 4.
Rallus pusillus, Lath. Ind. O-rn. 2. 761. sp. 24 — Pall. Reis. 3. 700. No. 30.
Gallinula pusilla, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 484 — Temm. Man. 2. 690.
Gallinula minuta, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supp.
Zapornia pusilla, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 231. pi. 28.
Poule d'Eau Poussin, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 690.
Kleines Rhorhuhn, Meyer •, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 414.
Dwarf Rail, Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 323.
Little Gallinule, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supp.
Little Craker, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 231. pL 28.
THE little Crake rather exceeds in size the preceding spe-
cies, to which it bears a close resemblance in shape and co-
lour. It may, however, always be distinguished from the
other by the comparative slenderness of its bill, the greater
length of its wings (which, when closed, reach nearly to the
tip of the tail), and by the naked portion of the tibia being
longer and more apparent than in Crex Baillonn. In con-
sequence of this slight modification in the form of the bill,
and its greater length of wing, Dr LEACH, in his Catalogue
of the British Museum, separated it from the other Crakes,
and gave it the generic name of Zapornia (an apparent
transmutation of Porzana) ; in which distinction he has been
followed by Mr STEPHENS, the continuator of SHAW'S Zoolo-
gy. I have, nevertheless, ventured to retain it amongst
the Crakes, thinking that the very slight difference it exhi-
bits is not of sufficient importance to warrant a generic divi-
sion.— Like the Crex Baillonii it is of rare occurrence, and Rare visi-
can only be considered as a visitant of that character. Its tant*
first notice, as a British species, is contained in MONTAGU'S
Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, under the name
of the Little Gallinule (Gallinula minuta), where a specimen
he received from Mr TUCKER, and apparently a young bird,
186 GRALLATORES. CREX. CRAKE.
is accurately described : this bird, it appears, was shot near
Ashburton, in Devonshire, in the year 1809. Since that
time, few individuals have, I believe, been noted ; one, how-
ever (an adult), now in the possession of the Rev. T. Gis-
BORNE, of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire, and Prebendary of
Durham, was killed near Derby, and from which the figure
in this work is taken. The habits of the Little Crake are
similar to those of the other species, and it is found in simi-
lar localities, viz. marshes, moist meadows, the reedy banks
of rivulets, &c. In the eastern and warmer parts of Europe
it is very abundant, but becomes more thinly disseminated
towards the north, being of occasional occurrence only in
most of the provinces of France, and also in Holland. Ac-
Nest, &c. cording to TEMMINCK, it makes its nest in rushes and other
thick herbage, constructed chiefly of decayed and broken
reeds ; and lays seven or eight eggs, of a yellowish or green-
ish-white (jaunatres), with longitudinal spots of olive-brown.
Food. It feeds upon insects, worms, slugs, &c.
PLATE 30. Fig. 4. Represents it of the natural size, from
the above mentioned specimen in the possession of the
Rev. Mr GISBORNE.
General Bill five-eighths of an inch long, slender, and of a fine sap-
descrip- green colour. Irides crimson-red. Throat, sides of
Male tne head, and neck, breast, and abdomen, deep bluish-
bird, grey. Crown of the head, back part of the neck, and
upper parts of the body, deep oil-green, tinged with
brown. Down the mesial line of the back is a broad
streak or patch, composed of feathers marbled with
black and white. The scapulars have a longitudinal
bar of white, encircled with black, near the margins of
the feathers. Smaller coverts plain oil-green, the greater
ones having white tips, surrounded by a line of black.
Vent and under tail-coverts blackish-grey, transversely
barred with white. Quills and tail hair-brown, tinged
with oil-green. Legs and toes sap-green. Tarsus one
GRALLATORES. GALLINULA. 187
inch in length. Middle toe, with its claw, one inch and
a half long. Wing-spine small and short.
In the female, the eyebrows and cheeks are pale grey. Female.
The throat greyish- white. Neck and breast of a paler
grey, slightly tinged with yellowish-brown. The dark
mesial line on the back having fewer white spots.
The young have few or no distinct white spots upon the Young.
upper parts of the body ; and the fore part of the neck,
the breast, and belly, are of a yellowish- white. The
flanks, vent, and under tail-coverts brown, barred with
pale yellowish-brown.
For a more detailed account of this bird, I refer my
readers to the Supplement to MONTAGU'S Ornithologi-
cal Dictionary, under the article Gallinule, Little.
GENUS GALLINULA, LATH. GALLINULE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill thick at the base, compressed, slightly swollen to-
wards the tip, subconic, as short as the head. Upper man-
dible convex, with the culmen extended and dilated, forming
a naked frontal plate or shield ; lateral furrow wide. Man-
dibles of nearly equal length ; angle of the lower one as-
cending. Tomia of the under mandible slightly intracted,
and covered by the upper.
Nostrils lateral, pervious, pierced in the membrane of the
furrow in the middle of the bill ; longitudinal, and linear.
Wings (as in Rallus and Creoi) armed with a small sharp
recumbent spine.
Legs strong, of mean length, naked for a short space
above the tarsal joint. Front of the tarsus scutellated ;
hinder part reticulated. Feet four-toed, three before and
one behind ; toes long, divided, and bordered through their
whole length by a narrow entire membrane.
188 GRALLATORES. GALLINULA. GALLINULE
Plumage soft, thick, but loose in texture. Body com-
pressed at the sides.
The Gallinules differ from the preceding genus in having
the culmen of the upper mandible dilated in a plate-like
form upon the forehead, and in having their toes bordered,
for the whole of their length, by a narrow unbroken mem-
brane. Their habits are also more aquatic, being more fre-
quently seen upon the water, where they swim and dive with
facility, and in which element they procure a principal part
of their food. In affinity, they stand nearly allied to the
genus Crex on the one hand, and to those of Porphyrio and
Fullca on the other. With them the body is compressed,
but not to so great a degree as in the Rails and Crakes.
They run swiftly, and, when danger threatens, hide them-
selves in reeds, sedges, holes in river banks, &c. They
breed in the neighbourhood of water, frequently founding
the nest upon floating weeds or drift bushes, and lay several
eggs. Their food consists of insects, worms, slugs, vege-
tables, and seeds.
COMMON GALLINULE.
GALLINULA CHLOROPUS, Lath.
PLATE XXXI.
Gallinula Chloropus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 770. sp. 13 — Steph. Shaw's
Zool. 12. 242. pi. 30 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 99. sp. 130.
Fulica Chloropus, Linn. Syst. 1. 258. ±.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 698.
Gallinula Chloropus major, Raii Syn. p. 113. A. 1. — Briss. Ornith. 6. 3. 1.
t. 1 Will. 233. t. 58.
Poule d'Eau, Buff. Ois. 8. 171. t. 15 — Id. pi. Enl. 877.
Poule d'Eau ordinaire, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 693.
Grunfussiger Rhorhuhn, Btchst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 489.— Meyer, Taschenb.
Deut. 2. 410.
Common Water-Hen, or Moor-Hen, Will (Angl.) 312. 58. — Albin. Birds,
2. pi. 72. 3. pi. 91 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 128.
-Common Gallinule, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. 217. pi. 77.— Arct. Zool. 2. 411 —
Lath. Syn. 5. 258. 12 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 5. pi. 191 Wale. Syn. 2. pi.
169 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1,— Shaw's Zool. 12. 242— Flem. Br. Anim. 1.
99. sp. 130.
GALLINULE. GRALLATORES. GALLINULA. 189
Gallinula fusca, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 771. sp. 15.
Fulica fusca, Linn. Syst. 1. 257. 1 — Gmel Syst. 1. 697.
Gallinula minor, Briss. Ornith. 6. 6. f. 2.
Gallinula alia, Aldrw Will. 234 — Id. (Angl.) 314. and 319. [
La Poulette d'Eau, Buff. Ois. 8. 177-
Brown Gallinule, Lath. Syn. 5. 260. 14.
Gallinula flavipes et fistulans, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 773- sp. 21. et 22 —
Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 702.
Yellow-legged, and Piping Gallinule, Lath. Syn. 5. 260. and 267. sp. 20. et
21. These are taken from GESNER, who appears to have described them
from imperfect drawings.
PROVINCIAL. — Moor-Hen, Marsh-Hen, Stank-Hen, Cuddy, Water-Hen^
Moor-Coot.
THIS well known bird is indigenous, and very generally
dispersed throughout the kingdom, inhabiting old water
courses, and ponds covered with aquatic herbage, as well as
brooks and rivers, particularly such as flow with a deep and
slow current, and are bordered by sedges, willow bushes, &c.
It is also dispersed throughout the European continent,
where it is permanently stationary in the warmer and tem-
perate districts, but migratory as it approaches nearer to the
north. The species is also found in parts of Asia and Africa.
The habits of the Gallinule are decidedly aquatic, as it swims
from choice, and is indeed more frequently seen in the wa-
tery element than upon land ; it also dives with ease, not
only to avoid impending danger, but as it would appear for
the purpose of obtaining food ; as I have several times
known it to have been taken by a line baited with an earth-
worm for catching eels or trout. It is thus in all probability
that the Gallinule obtains the larger coleopterous water in-
sects, aquatic worms, and the larvae of dragon-flies, &c.
When suddenly surprised in a situation at all exposed, it
usually takes wing, skimming along the surface of the water,
but only for a short distance, to the first bush or cover that
offers, where it conceals itself so effectually, either by sub-
merging its body, and keeping only the bill above water, or
in some hole or shelving retreat in the bank, as generally to
defeat any attempts at raising it a second time, even with
the assistance of a dog. Its flight is heavy, and when for a
190 GRALLATORES. GALLINULA. GALLINULE.
short space only, with the legs hanging down ; though it
rises without apparent difficulty, and can occasionally take a
long course on wing. It will sometimes perch upon a bush,
or low tree, and that without effort, its long and slender toes
giving to it a strong power of grasp. On the margins of
ponds or rivers, where the grass is short, it is frequently
seen walking about in search of worms and slugs, flirting up
its tail at intervals, and thus displaying, in a conspicuous
manner, its white under coverts ; and as its motions are
lively, it becomes a desirable ornamental appendage to those
Nest, &c. parts of pleasure grounds. For the site of its nest it selects
a retired spot among the sedges or low brooks by the water-
sides, its foundation frequently resting upon the low floating
branches, or upon the stump of an old willow-tree. It is
formed of an interlaced mass of decayed flags, rushes, &c.
of considerable thickness ; in which are deposited from eight
to ten eggs, larger than those of the Meadow Crake, and of a
yellowish-white, or pale yellowish-brown colour, marbled all
over with a differently-sized spots of reddish-brown, or um-
ber brown of various shades. These birds, when they leave
the nest for the purpose of feeding, cover their eggs ; an in-
stinctive habit possessed by several others, not only of this
but of other families, and which I conceive to be done rather
with a view to concealment from their enemies, than to re-
tain during their absence the warmth generated by incu-
bation, as suggested by Dr RENNIE. After three weeks the
young are excluded, covered with a black hairy down, and
immediately take to the water, where they are assiduously
attended by the parent, who frequently broods over them in
the manner of a hen. This downy covering gradually gives
place to the usual plumage, and in the course of nearly five
weeks they can fly and provide for themselves. In this young
state they are exposed to many dangers, and often become
the prey of rats and other vermin, as well as of the voracious
pike, which, according to MONTAGU, has been known even
to swallow the old bird. — Their nests and eggs are also
GRALLATORES. FULICA. 191
liable to accident, being, from their close situation to the
water's edge in brooks and rivers, often carried away by the
summer floods. — -Slugs, worms, and insects, with various ve- Food,
getables and seeds constitute their food. I have kept these
birds in good health, when in confinement, upon a diet of
grain, earth-worms, and raw meat. Their flesh is of pale
colour and delicate flavour, and is in some parts held in high
estimation.
PLATE 31. represents an adult bird in the breeding season.
Base of the bill, and frontal shield red ; the tip wine- General
yellow. Irides red. Legs and toes fine olive-green, tkm!^"
The naked portion of the tibiae of a fine vermilion-red,
and commonly called the garter. Head, throat, neck,
and under parts blackish-grey, margined upon the belly
and abdomen with greyish- white. Flanks with large
longitudinal streaks of white. Upper parts of the body
of a very deep oil-green. Ridge of the wings, and un-
der tail-coverts white ; the latter being divided by se-
veral black feathers. Quills and tail greyish-black.
The female is rather less than the male ; and in her the
colours of the bill and garter are not so bright ; but in
other respects similar.
The young have the throat and fore part of the neck Young,
white. Front and checks a mixture of brown and
white. Sides of the neck yellowish-brown. Breast and
sides ash-grey, tinged with brown ; the belly paler.
Flanks with yellowish-brown longitudinal streaks. Un-
der tail coverts cream-yellow. Upper parts blackish-
grey, tinged with dark oil-green. Legs dirty olive-
green. Bill olive-green, darker towards the base, and
the frontal shield but slightly apparent, being almost
hidden by converging feathers.
192 GRALLATORES. FULICA.
GENUS FULICA, LINN. COOT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill shorter than the head, strong, strait, subconic, com-
pressed, much higher than broad. Upper mandible slightly
arched ; the culmen dilated into a broad shield-like plate up-
on the forehead ; mandibular furrow broad, and occupying
two-thirds of its length. Mandibles of equal length; the
angle of the lower one ascending.
Nostrils concave, pierced in the membrane of the mandi-
bular furrow near the middle of the bill, pervious, linear,
oblong.
Wings tuberculated ; with the second and third quill fea-
thers the longest. Tail short. Body laterally compressed.
Legs of mean length and strength ; naked for a short
space above the tar sal joint. Feet four-toed, three before
and one behind ; toes long, united at their base, and loba-
ted ; the middle toe with three, the inner one with two, and
the outer with four, distinct rounded membranes. Middle
toe longer than the tarsus. Front of tarsus, upper part of
the toes, and the membranes scutellated. Hind toe as long
as the first joint of the middle one, and resting for half its
length upon the ground. Claws falcate, acute. Plumage
thick, soft, and open in texture.
In the present arrangement the Coots are placed in that
station to which their real affinities (as indicated by their
anatomy and habits), so plainly point, viz. at the extremity
of the Rallidce, and leading the way, by their lobated feet
and aquatic character, to the true swimming birds, in the
succeeding order of Natatores. From the Gallinules they
are chiefly separated by the greater development of the
membrane bordering the toes, which, instead of being nar-
row and entire as in that genus, becomes large and rounded
2
COOT. GRALLATORES. FULICA. 193
distinct lobes, which correspond with the phalanges, or joints
of the toes. This formation gives them more power in the
water, and we accordingly find them more conversant with
that element than the preceding genera. In other respects
there is great similarity of manners, and their narrow form
and general appearance denote their near alliance to the
typical Rallidce. By former systematists, the Coots, toge-
ther with the Phalaropes and Grebes, were made a distinct
order, styled Pinnatipedes ; an arrangement purely artificial,
as the members of which it was composed were not united
together by affinity, but only bore, in the form of their feet,
a distant analogy to each other ; for even here a considerable
difference existed in structure, as will be evident to any one
who compares the foot of the Coot with that of the Grebe.
The members of this genus inhabit lakes and ponds, as
well as the more retired and calmer parts of inland seas.
They live chiefly on the water, where they swim and dive
with equal facility, and are but rarely seen on the land.
They feed on worms, insects, aquatic vegetables, and seeds.
The species are few, and their plumage is dark, and com-
monly without variety of colour. They breed amongst the
close and tali herbage of the waters they inhabit, and lay
several eggs. Their flesh is palatable.
COMMON COOT.
FULICA ATRA, Linn.
PLATE XXXTI.
Fulica atra, Linn. Syst. 1. 257 Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 777. sp. 1. variety
Gmel Syst. 1. 702.— Briss. Ornith. 6. 23. t. 2. f. 2.— Rail Syn. 116. A.—
Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 234. pi. 29 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 100. sp. 132.
Fulica aterrima, Linn. Syst. 1. 258. 8 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 703 Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 778. sp. 2.
Fulica major, Briss. Ornith. 5. 28. 2. t. 2. f. 2.—Raii Syn. 117. 2 Will.
p. 239. t. 51.
Le Foulque ou Morelle, Buff. Ois. 8. 211. t. 18.— Id. PI. Enl. 197.—
Reg. Anim. 1. 503.
Le Grand Foulque ou la Macroule, Buff. Ois. 8. 220.
VOL. II. N
194 GRALLATORES. FULICA. COOT.
Foulque Macroule, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 706.
Schwartzes Wasserhuhn, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 511.
Greater Coot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 221.— Lath. Syn. 5. 277. 2 Will
(Angl.) 320 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1.— Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 137.
Common Coot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 494. No. 220. pi. 77.— Arct. Zool. 2. No.
416.— Albinos Br. Birds, 1. pi. 83 — Lath. Syn. 5. 271 Id, Sup. p. 259.
JFi& (Angl.) 319. t. 59 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. t. 198 —Pult. Cat. Dor-
set.— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 133 Shaw's
Zool. 12. 234. pi. 29.
PROVINCIAL— Bald Coot, Bel-poot.
DURING the summer, the Coot is very generally dispersed
throughout this kingdom, as there is scarcely a large piece
of water (provided it is partially covered with reeds, or other
tall aquatic plants), to be found without a colony of these
birds. MONTAGU states them to be permanent residents in
the southern parts of England, and as never forsaking their
breeding places, even though these may be smaller ponds ;
but, at the same time, he hints the probability that the vast
flocks which are seen in the Southampton River, and other
salt-water inlets, in winter, are bred farther to the north-
ward, and resort to these places only as visitants at that
period. Of the correctness of this supposition I entertain no
doubt, as a long course of observation has shewn that the
Coots in the north of England and in Scotland regularly
quit their breeding stations in autumn ; and that, after the
month of October, not an individual is to be seen in their
summer haunts. Their return in spring, as nearly as I can
ascertain, takes place towards the end of April, or the begin-
ning of May. — The Coot swims with buoyancy and ease,
and is also an excellent diver ; which latter faculty it fre-
quently exerts to obtain food, as well as to escape from dan-
ger. Like the Gallinules, and others of the Raltidce, it is
very timorous and impatient of observation ; and, when dis-
turbed, immediately makes for the reeds or thick sedges (the
necessary appendages to its habitat), where it effectually
conceals itself, and remains so as long as the intruder conti-
nues in sight. Although generally seen in the water, it is
far from being an inactive bird on land, as BEWICK and
COOT. GRALLATORES. FULICA. 195
some other writers have stated, but walks with steadiness,
and can run even swiftly. Like the Gallinule, it often quits
its favourite element in the morning and evening, seeking
on the land for worms, slugs, seeds, &c., which, with aquatic Food.
plants and insects, and the fry of fish, constitute its food ;
though, in a state of confinement, it will greedily devour
grain and other farinaceous diet. The same disinclination
to use its wings is shewn by the Coot, that characterizes the
Crakes and Gallinules, and it seldom flies, unless when sud-
denly disturbed or pursued, and then only to the nearest
place of concealment ; and so low, as to aid its progress by
striking the surface of the water with its feet. That it is
not, however, incapable of long-continued flight is evident
from the migrations it undertakes; and I have more than
once seen this bird flying at a considerable elevation, with a
very unexpected degree of strength and speed. It breeds
amongst the reeds and sedges at the water's edge, and the
nest (composed of a large mass of decayed aquatic plants), Nest, &c.
sometimes rests upon a tuft of rushes, and at others is sup-
ported by the reeds in a floating state, or, where the water
is shallow, may have its foundation on the bottom, as de-
scribed by the Author of the " British Oology," whose inte-
resting account of the nest of the Coot I quote in his own
words : " I have had," says he, " an opportunity of examin-
ing many of their nests. They are large, and apparently
clumsy at first sight, but are amazingly strong and compact :
they are sometimes built on a tuft of rushes, but more com-
monly amongst reeds ; some are supported by those that lie
prostrate on the water, whilst others have their foundations
at the bottom, and are raised till they become from six to
twelve inches above its surface, sometimes in a depth of one
and a half or two feet. So firm are some of them, that,
whilst up to the knees in water, they afforded me a seat suf-
ficiently strong to support my weight." From the nature of
the materials composing the nest, and of the situation in
which it is built, it sometimes happens that it is torn from
196 GRALLATORES. FULICA.
its moorings by floods, and afterwards floated at random on
the surface of the water, without destroying the eggs, or pre-
venting the female from continuing her incubation, as in the
instances recorded by MONTAGU and BEWICK. The eggs
are from seven to ten in number ; their colour a dirty green-
ish-white, thickly covered with minute specks of brown,
and with others, less numerous, but of a larger size and
deeper tint. The young, when excluded, are clothed with a
harsh black down, tipped with grey ; having the base of the
bill and forehead covered with small scarlet appendages, and
the occiput surrounded with a circle of yellow hairy down.
They immediately quit the nest and take to the water;
where they are attended and protected by the parent, till
able to provide for themselves. This species is widely disse-
minated throughout Europe, but is particularly abundant in
Holland and in parts of France, and it is also found in many
parts of Asia. The Greater Coot of authors is now con-
sidered to be the perfect or adult state of the common kind ;
but the Common Coot of WILSON^S American Ornithology is
a distinct species. In the southern parts of England, near
Southampton, in the Isle of Sheppy, &c. great numbers of
Coots are killed during the winter, and brought to market
ready plucked ; their flesh is white and tender, but the fla-
vour, being peculiar, is not relished by many palates.
PLATE 32. represents this bird as seen in summer, and of
the natural size.
General Bill pale rose-red. Irides arterial blood-red. Frontal
tion.nP" plate large, milk-white. Head and neck deep greyish-
black. Under parts of the body greyish-black, tinged
with bluish-grey. Upper parts blackish-grey. Naked
part of the tibiae orange. Legs and toes greenish-grey,
tinged with yellow.
The young of the year are of less size, and have the fron-
tal plate very small. The under parts of the plumage
are pale grey.
GRALLATORESL 197
FAMILY V.— CHARADRIAD^E.
THIS subdivision, constituting the fifth family of the Or-
der, completes the circle ; and, by its alliance with certain
members of the Gruidce (with which that circle commenced),
a regular series of affinities is maintained through the differ-
ent families of the Gr dilator es. It also comes into close con-
tact with the Struthiomdce of the Rasorial Order, by the
affinity subsisting between certain species of the genus Otis
of that family, and the genera Cursorius, (Edicnemus, &c. of
the present one. The passage from the preceding family of
the RallidcB seems to be effected by the genus Hamatopus,
which retains to a certain extent the habits and power of
swimming possessed by the more aquatic groups of that fa-
mily ; and which also exhibits rudiments of the lobated mem-
brane that borders the toes of the genus Fulica. With the
Scolopacidce the connexion is supported by the genus Are-
naria (Sanderling), which, with the three- toed feet of Cha-
radrius, has a bill nearly corresponding in structure with
that of the Tringas. An approach to that family, in the
form of the feet, is also shewn by the genera Strepsilas, Va-
nellus, and Squatarola^ which alone of the Charadriadce are
furnished with a hind toe, or the rudiments of one. On this
account the above genera have frequently been arranged with
or near to the Tringas; but the structure of the bill, and
other anatomical details, as well as their habits, demonstrate
a much closer alliance to the typical members of the family
in which they are now placed, and point out this deviation
in the form of the foot, as one of those beautiful gradations
that compose the great chain of affinity by which the various
orders and families are held together.
The habits of the Charadriadce vary according to the re-
lative situation they hold with the other groups ; the typical
198 GRALLATORES. 1LEMATOPUS.
species, and such as come nearest in structure to the Rasorial
Order, being more attached to the land, than those which
are more immediately connected with the other families of the
Grallatores. These latter live on the sea-coasts, or in places
immediately contiguous to water, obtaining their food in a
great measure from that element ; the others, on the contrary,
reside in the interior of the country, preferring open ground
and plains ; whilst some of them even inhabit the arid sands
of the desert. A great proportion of this family feed at
twilight, or during the night, and have the eyes large, which
is necessarily attended by a corresponding expansion of the
socket, giving the head a bulky appearance ; and this is a
characteristic feature with them. The number of eggs laid
by most of the genera is restricted to four -, as in the Scolopa-
cidte ; in (Edicnemus, however, it is confined to two, thus ex-
hibiting the connexion of this genus with the Bustards.
The flight of the Charadriadte is in general strong and ra-
pid ; the wings being long, and usually brought to a point.
Most of them are subject to the double moult, or that change
of plumage which immediately precedes the season of repro-
duction.
GENUS H^EMATOPUS, LINN. OYSTER-CATCHER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, strait, strong, the point much
compressed and forming a wedge ; culmen of the anterior
part slightly convex. Upper mandible with a broad lateral
groove, extending to one-half the length of the bill. Man-
dibles nearly equal, and having their tips truncated.
Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, pierced in the membrane of
the mandibular groove.
Legs of mean length, naked for a short space above the
tar sal joint. Tarsus strong; feet three-toed; all the toes
GRALLATORES. HJEMATOPUS. 199
directed forwards, and united at their base by a membrane,
that is prolonged, and margins them. Nails strong, broad,
slightly falcate, and semi- acute. Wings of mean length,
with the first quill-feather the longest.
Plumage close, firm, and adpressed. General contour ro-
bust.
The species hitherto described of this well-marked genus,
although not numerous, are distributed over a wide geo-
graphical range, one or more of them being found in almost
every quarter and climate of the globe. They dwell on the
shores of the ocean, subsisting entirely on marine animals,
such as molluscous shell fish, Crustacea, &c., to detach and
obtain which their strong wedge-shaped bill is admirably
adapted. Their habits are more aquatic than the other
groups of the family, indicated indeed by the membranes
that unite and border their toes, and which conformation (as
I have before remarked) preserves the connexion with the
aquatic groups of the other families. They are thus enabled
to swim with ease, and which they occasionally do, when
passing from one feeding spot to another, where the water is
too deep to admit of wading. During the winter, and whilst
performing their migratory movements, they associate in
large flocks ; but on the approach of spring, they separate
and pair. They are subject to a double moult, but not in-
ducing any striking difference of colour. They are birds of
a compact robust form, with a thick and muscular neck,
well adapted to support the bill as a powerful lever in de-
taching patellae, &c. from the rocks, or for wrenching open
the shells of the bivalve molluscae. Their flight is strong
and steady, and can be sustained for a long time. They
breed on the shingle of the sea-coasts, and lay invariably
four eggs.
200 GRALLAT. H^BMATOPUS. OYSTER-CATCHER.
COMMON OYSTER-CATCHER.
HIEMATOPUS OSTRALEGUS, Linn.
PLATE XXXIII. FIGS. 1. 2.
Heematopus ostralegus, Linn. Syst. 1. 257 — Gmel. Sysl. 1. 694 — Lath.
Ind. Ornith. 2. 752. 1 — Ran Syn. 105. A. J.— Will. 220. 55 — Sharis
Zool. 11. 494. pi. 36 — Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 115. sp. 167.
Ostralega seu Pica marina, Briss. Orn. 5. 38. t. 3. f. 2.
L-'Huiterier, Buff. Ois. 8. 119. t. 9 — Id. pi. Enl. 929.
L'Huiterier Pie, Temm. Man. (TOrnith. 2. 531.
Geschackte Austern-Fischer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 439.
Sea Pie, or Pied Oyster-Catcher, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 213. pi. 74. in
Winter Plumage Arct. Zool 2. 406 — Will. (Angl.) 297 AUrin. 1.
t. 78 Lath. Syn. 5. 219. t. 84.— Lewies Br. Birds, 5. t. 188 Mont.
Ornith. Diet. Id. Sup — Wall. Syn. 2. t. 166 — Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 151.
Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 7 — Low's Faun. Oread, p. 91.
Common Oyster-Catcher, Shaw's Zool. 11. 494. pi. 36 — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 115. sp. 169.
PROVINCIAL — Pianet, Sea Piet, Olive, Sea Woodcock, Trillichan,
Chalder, Chaldrick, Skildrake, Scolder.
THE peculiar form of the bill, by which this bird is ena-
bled to wrench open oysters, muscles, &c. (by inserting its
wedge-shaped point between the valves, as these shell-fish
lay partially open in shallow water), has given rise to the
British trivial name, now attached to the genus. In addition
Food, to bivalves, it feeds much upon the limpet (patella), detach-
ing it with equal ease from the rock to which it adheres, and
afterwards scooping out the fish from its shell by means of
the same powerful instrument. This species is indigenous,
and distributed along the whole extent of the British coast,
but seems to be more numerous upon extensive flat shores,
particularly those of Lincolnshire and of the Solway Frith,
where it finds its favourite food, viz. the bivalve shell-fish,
more abundant than where the coast is of a more abrupt and
rocky character. It breeds upon the shore, laying its eggs
on the bare ground amongst the shingle, or in such scanty
herbage as grows immediately above high water-mark. The
OYSTER-CATCHER. GRALLAT. HJ3MATOPUS. 201
eggs are invariably four in number, and not restricted to Nest, &<
two or three, as stated by TEMMINCK ; are of a pale oil-green
colour, blotched with brownish-black ; in that respect very
similar to those of the Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis),
but larger. During incubation the male bird is always on
the watch, and immediately gives the alarm of apprehended
danger to the female, by a loud shrill whistle, upon. hearing
which she silently quits her eggs, and runs to some distance
before taking wing, or joining in the alarm cry with her
mate. The parents are also very clamorous so long as the
young (who quit the nest as soon as hatched) are unable to
fly, and persecute any intruder with their incessant cries, fly-
ing around him in repeated circles, and often advancing very
near, although at other times they are particularly wary and
difficult of approach. After the young have acquired their
full growth, these birds begin to assemble into large flocks,
and continue thus associated during winter, or until the ge-
nial influence of the advancing season again induces them to
separate and pair. The Oyster- Catcher is a bird of hand-
some appearance, of compact and rounded form, and when
upon wing cannot fail to attract attention, from the pure
white of the belly, wing-bars, and rump, contrasting well
with the bright orange of the bill, and the glossy black of
the rest of the body. Though possessing a foot only par-
tially webbed, it swims easily and with much buoyancy, and,
if wounded, immediately betakes itself to the water for
safety. I have also seen it swimming from one feeding-place
to another, where the intervening water was too deep for
wading. Its flesh is of a dark colour, and partakes of the
odour of the food on which it subsists. This is a widely dis-
tributed species, being found upon all the shores of the Eu-
ropean continent, as well as those of Asia and Africa. It is
not very difficult to rear this bird in confinement, and it is
frequently kept so, with other aquatic species, for the neat-
ness of its form, and the well contrasted colours of its plu-
mage.
202 GRALLATORES. STREPSILAS.
PLATE 33. Fig .1. Represents it in the summer plumage.
General Head, neck, upper part of the breast, mantle, scapulars,
tion.nl lesser wing-coverts, and the front half of the tail, glossy
Summer velvet black. Under parts, lower part of the back,
p umage. rump, basal part of the tail, and the transverse wing
bars pure white. Quills black, with an oblong white
spot occupying the centre of each feather near the tip,
and the basal part of the inner web white. Bill, and
circle round the eyes, orange-red. Irides crimson.
Legs deep purplish-red.
"Winter Fig. 2. In the winter plumage. Distinguished by a collar
plumage. of white keneatn the throat ; the dark parts of the plu-
mage not so intense, but more inclining to brownish-
black, and the bill and legs of paler hue.
The young of the year have still more brown in the dark
parts, and the white is not of such unsullied purity as
in the adults. The feet are livid or greyish-white,
tinged with pink. The irides brown. The bill yellow-
ish-brown, tinged with orange.
GENUS STREPSILAS, ILLIGER. TURNSTONE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as short as the head, strong, compressed, forming an
elongated cone : thick at the base, and narrowing gradually
to the point, which is horny and hard. Upper mandible
rather longer than the lower one ; the eulmen flattened at
the base, and rounded from thence to its extremity, which is
subtruncated. Under mandible ascending.
Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, oblong, pervious, partly co-
vered above by a membrane.
Wings long, acuminate, with the first quill-feather the
longest.
GBALLATORES. STREPSILAS. 203
Legs of mean length ; the naked space above the tarsal
joint small. Feet four-toed, three before and one behind ;
the front ones united by a short membrane at the base, and
furnished with narrow lobated margins ; hind toe articulated
upon the tarsus, bending inwards, and touching the ground
with its tip.
Plumage thick, close, and adpressed.
In the systems of LINNAEUS, LATHAM, and others, the
Turnstone was arranged, along with other Scolopaceous
birds, in the genus Tringa, although the form and structures
of the bill presented characters sufficiently distinct to shew
the impropriety of such a classification, without considering
the difference exhibited in their respective habits. BRISSON
first removed it from this situation, under the name of Are-
naria ; but as that title was appropriated to the Sanderling
(Tringa Arenaria of LINN^US, now Arenaria Calidrls of
BECHSTEIN), the generic name of Strepsilas, bestowed by
ILLIGER (and happily descriptive of a peculiar habit pos-
sessed by the only known species), has now been generally
adopted. As the general economy of this bird is much more
closely assimilated to that of a Plover than to any member
of the family of the Scolopacida, I have adopted Mr VIGORS'S
views with respect to it, and have accordingly made it a con-
stituent member of the Charadriada.
Hitherto only one species has been discovered, but which
holds a wide geographical range, being found in all the divi-
sions of the old, as well as in the new world, and subject to
a great variety of climate, during the periods of its migra-
tions,
204 GRALLATORES. STREPSILAS. TURNSTONE
COMMON TURNSTONE.
STREPSILAS INTERPRES, Leach.
PLATE XXXIII. * FIG. 1, 2, and 3.
Strepsilas Interpres, Leach in Cat. Brit. Mus. p. 29 — Steph. Shaw's Zool.
11. 520. pi. 39 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 110. sp. 159.
Strepsilas collaris, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 553.
Tourne-Pierre a collier, Temm. Man. 2. 553.
Common Turnstone, Shaw's Zool. 11. 520. pi. 39 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 110.
sp. 159.
Tringa Interpres, Linn. Syst. 1. 248. 4 — GmeL Syst. 1. 671 — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 738. sp. 45.
Arenaria, Briss. Orn. 5. 132. 1.
Morinellus marinus, Raii Syri. 112. A. 5 — Will. 251. t. 58.
Le Tourne-Pierre, Buff. Ois 8. 130. 10.
Le Coulond Chaud, Buff. PL Enl. 856.
Steindrehende Strandlaufer, BechsL Naturg. Deut. 4. 335 — Meyer, Tass-
chenb. Deut. 2. 382.
Hebridal Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. 467- No. 200 — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 382.
Turnstone or Sea Dotterel, Edw. Glean, t. 141 — Will. (Angl.) 311.— Lath.
Syn. 5. 188. sp. 37 Id. sup. 249 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 5. 179 — Mont.
Ornith. Diet. 1 — Low's Faun. Oread. 87- and 850.— Bewick's Br. Birds,
2. 124. and 126.
/Tringa Morinella, Linn. Syst. 1. 249. 6.— GmeL Syst. 1. 671. 4. B.
I Arenaria cinema, Briss. Orn. 5. 137- No. 2. t. 11. f. 2.
v ) Coulond Chaud de Cayenne, et Coulond Chaud gris de Cayenne, Buff.
g* \ PI. Enl. 340. et 857.
I Turnstone or Sea Dotterel, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 199.— Lath. Syn. 5.
V 190. 37- var. A.
•
PROVINCIAL — Skirlcrake.
Periodical THIS handsome bird (the only species of this genus hi-
visitant. therto discovered) is amongst the number of our winter visi-
tants, making its first appearance on our shores sometimes
as early as the end of August, and continuing till the spring,
when it departs, about March or April, for higher northern
latitudes, there to breed and pass the summer months. Dr
FLEMING, in his " History of British Animals," states it as
a constant resident in Zetland, having met with it at all
seasons of the year. It certainly appears, at first sight, to
be a contradictory circumstance, that a bird, which in Eng-
TURNSTONE. GRALLATORES. STREPSILAS. 205
land and on the mainland of Scotland is only known as a
winter visitant, should be stationary through the year in a
country still farther northward. The peculiarity of climate
thus indicated, is in all probability attributable to the small
extent of the Shetland Isles, and the great body of water
surrounding them, being thus rendered a suitable habitat at
all seasons to the constitution and habits of the bird. It
lives on the rocky or gravelly shores of the ocean, and is
never seen upon the soft and oozy sands, frequented by the
Scolopacida ; and is also met with, but less frequently, up-
on the larger rivers and lakes of the interior of Continental
countries. It is seldom found associated in flocks, being
either a few together (probably the brood of the preceding
year) or single; and this last is generally the case with
adults. It feeds on marine, coleopterous, and other insects, Food,
as well as on small bivalve molluscae and crustacese> which it
finds by turning over the stones with its bill, — an instrument
most beautifully adapted for that purpose, being strong,
very hard, and drawn to a fine point, and forming altogether
a powerful lever. In other respects the manners of the
Turnstone resemble those of the Plovers ; and I have fre-
quently found it in company with the Ring Dotterel (Cha-
radrius Hiaticula), which inhabits similar shores. TEM-
MINCK considers this bird as subject to only one moult with-
in the year, and that the young probably undergo three of
these changes before they acquire the mature plumage. My
observations, however, do not accord with this opinion, as I
have frequently killed it in spring, when undergoing a
change, which I considered as the assumption of what he
has appropriately termed the nuptial livery; and at this time
also, I think the young birds acquire the plumage described
by him as characteristic of their completing the first year.
The Turnstone is found upon most of the European shores,
but is particularly abundant in Norway, and on the coasts
of the Baltic. In Africa it is met with in Senegal, at the
Cape of Good Hope, and several other parts. Its distribu-
206 GRALLATORES. STREPSJLAS. TURNSTONE
tion through Asia is equally extensive ; and the species from
the American continent is in every respect similar to our own.
It thus embraces a geographical range, known to few others,
but which tends to confirm an observation advanced, viz.
that the distribution of species seems to be more or less ex-
tended, in an inverse proportion, to the number each genus
contains. — This bird breeds (as before mentioned) in the
Nest, &c, higher latitudes ; and, for a nest, merely scrapes a small hole
in the gravel, there depositing its eggs, four in number, of
an oil-green or yellowish-grey colour, blotched and spotted
with brown. Captain SABINE mentions it as breeding in
the North Georgian Islands. — Its flight is very similar to
that of the Dotterel and Ring Plover, and it frequently ut-
ters, when on wing, a short whistling note. It runs swiftly,
and is a brisk and lively bird.
PLATE 33.* Fig. 1. Represents the male in mature plu-
mage.
General Forehead, eyebrows, oval space between the bill and eyes,
tionnP~ throat, nape and hind part of the neck white. Crown
Mature of the head black, the feathers being margined with yel-
plumage. lowish-white. From the base of the under mandible,
on each side, proceeds a band of black which surrounds
the eyes, and, passing down the sides of the neck, joins
the large gorget of black that occupies the lower part
of the neck and upper part of the breast. Mantle and
scapulars reddish-brown, irregularly varied with black.
Lower part of the back, and upper tail-coverts, white.
Rump black. Lateral tail-feathers white, the central
ones black. Quills having their outer webs black, the
basal parts of the inner webs and the shafts white. Se-
condaries having broad white tips, forming a distinct
bar across the wings. Belly, abdomen, vent, and under
tail-coverts pure white. Legs and toes orpiment-orange,
with the joints darker. Bill black.
GRALLATORES. ARENAR1A. 207
Fig. 2. Is the female, resembling the male bird, except
that the colours are not so distinct or bright, and the
white on the head and neck less pure.
Fig. 3. The young of the year. Young of
In this state the cheeks and throat are white. Head and the year'
neck hair-brown, with darker variegations. Collar and
gorget black, edged with greyish- white. Back and sca-
pulars hair-brown, glossed with olive-green, each feather
having its tip black, margined with yellowish-white.
Outer tail-feather white, with a large black spot near
the tip, the rest tipped with white. Legs honey-yel-
low. It is frequently met with in an intermediate state,
with more or less of the reddish-brown ; and the collar,
eye-patch, &c. less marked and distinct than in the
adult bird.
GENUS ARENARIA, BECHST. SANDERLING.
GKNERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as the head, strait, slender, semi-flexible,
compressed at the base, with the tip dilated and smooth.
Nostrils lateral, basal, narrow, longitudinally cleft in the
nasal furrow, which extends to the dertrum or nail of the
bill.
Wings of mean length, acuminate, with the first quill-
feather the longest.
Legs slender, of mean length, naked above the tarsal joint.
Feet three-toed, all the toes directed forwards, with a very
small connecting membrane at their base.
By LINNAEUS the Sanderling was at first arranged with the
Tringas, but afterwards transferred to the genus Charad-
rius, in which it was retained by GMELIN and LATHAM,
208
GRALLATORES. ARENARTA. SANDEBLING.
Subsequent authors, however, very properly separated it
from the true Plovers (as the form of its bill was plainly in-
compatible with such an arrangement), and made it the type
of a separate genus, named, by BECHSTEIN and MEYER,
Arenaria, and by ILLIGER Calidris. In the form of its feet
and general habits we trace its affinity to the typical Cha-
radriada, so that its situation in this Family is distinctly
marked. At the same time, the connexion of this bird with
the Scolopacida is supported by the structure of its bill,
which strongly resembles that of the genus Tring-a ; and it
thus becomes one of those essential links, as it were, that so
beautifully unite the groups of the different families through-
out the whole feathered tribe.
The Sanderlirig is as yet the only species of its genus. Its
geographical range is extensive, being found, during its pe-
riodical migrations, in all quarters of the globe. It is sub-
ject to the double moult, and the change from the winter to
the summer plumage is very distinct.
Winter
plumage,
and young.
COMMON SANDERLING.
ARENARIA CALIDRIS, Meyer.
PLATE XXXVI. FIGS. 1 & 2.
Arenaria Calidris, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 7- 68. pi. 59. f. 4.
Arenaria vulgaris, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 490. pi. 35.
Calidris arenaria, Leach's Cat- Br. Mus. p. 28.— -Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 112.
sp. 162.
Sanderling variable, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 524.
Common Sanderling, Shaw's Zool. 11. 490. pi. 35. winter plumage — Flem.
Br. Anim. 1. 112. 162.
Tringa arenaria, Linn. Syst. 1. 255. 9. — Rail Syn. 109. A. 11 — Gmel
Syst. 1. 680.
Charadrius grisea minor, Briss. Ornith. 5. 636. 17. t. 20. f. 2.
Le Sanderling, Buff. Ois. 7- 532.
Charadrius Calidris, Linn. Syst. 1. 255. 9 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 689 — Lath.
Ind. Ornith. 2. 741. sp. 4.
Arenaria vulgaris, Bechst. Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 462.
Sanderling, or Curwillet, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 480. No. 212. pi. 73 — Arct,
Zool. 2. 403.— Will. (Angl.) 303 — Lath. Syn. Sup. 5. 197 — Id. Sup.
253 — Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 315 — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. t. p. 1 — Pult.
Cat. Dorset. 16 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2 — Id. Sup— Wils. Amer. Orn.
7. 68. pi. 59. fig. 4.
SANDERLING. GRALLATORES. ARENARIA. 209
Charadrius rubidus, GmeL Syst. 1. G88 Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 740. sp. 2. \
— mis. Amer. Ornith. 7. 129. pi. 63. fig. 3. / Summer
Ruddy Plover, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 4M.—Lath. Syn. 5. 195. 2.- JFtfe. > Plumage.
Amer. Ornith. 7. 129. pL 63. fig. 3. )
PROVINCIAL, — Curwillet, Towilly.
THIS active little bird is a visitant to our shores during Periodical
the winter season, being one of the various species whose
polar migration extends far within the arctic circle. Its re-
sidence in those dreary northern climes appears, however, to
be confined to little beyond the time necessarily occupied by
the duties attendant on reproduction, as it is seen on our
coast sometimes as early as the month of August, at which
time I have killed several individuals upon the Northum-
brian strand. These have generally been the young of the
year, and are probably stragglers from flocks of the earliest
broods, whose destination is pointed to more southern lati-
tudes ; as the great body, that resorts to our shores, and
those of the opposite continent, seldom arrives before the
middle of September. Upon their first appearance, we find
few of them possessing the complete winter plumage, bearing
still strong indications of their summer clothing, varied, of
course, according to the advance in winter dress of each in-
dividual, and presenting much diversity of appearance. The
change, however, goes rapidly on, and, in October, they are
perfectly clad in the plain garb that distinguishes them till
the approach of spring, when it gives place to a gayer and
more attractive suit, appropriately styled by TEM MINCE,
" Plumage des Noces? This bird lives on the sandy shores
of the ocean, but does not frequent those of an oozy or slimy
nature ; in habits it strongly resembles the smaller species of
Charadrius, and sometimes associates with Charadrius hia-
ticula. It runs very swiftly, and its flight is strong and ra-
pid. It feeds on the smaller marine coleopterous insects and Food,
minute worms and larvae, which it finds on the beach. The
distribution of the species, during its migrations, is widely
spread, as it has been met with throughout the greater part
VOL. II. O
210 GRALLATORES. ARENARIA. SANDERLING.
Nest, &c. of Europe and Asia, and also in North America. — Its nest
and eggs remain yet undescribed, though it is known to re-
tire to the arctic regions during the summer months, for the
purpose of incubation. Dr FLEMING has suggested, that, in
all probability, it may occasionally breed in Great Britain,
as it has been observed in the Mull of Cantyre as late as on
the 2d of June (Linn. Transac. vol. viii. p. £68,) ; no disco-
very of such a fact, however, having come within my know-
ledge, even after diligent inquiry, it may be presumed that
such instances of late appearance have arisen from some in-
jury sustained by the individuals thus seen ; although it
may be remarked, that even after the period above men-
tioned, sufficient time would still remain to enable the birds
to reach the nearest breeding station, and rear their young,
before the close of the polar summer compelled them to re-
migrate to more southern latitudes.
PLATE 36. Fig. 1. represents the Sanderling in the winter
plumage.
General Front, throat, sides of the neck, and the whole of the under
tionnP~ parts, pure white. Crown, nape of the neck, back, and
Winter scapulars, ash-grey, the shafts of the feathers being
plumage. blackish-brown. Secondary quills hair-brown, with
broad white tips, forming a bar across the wings.
Greater quills having their outer webs deep hair-brown,
and their shafts white. Tail cuneated ; the middle fea-
thers hair-brown, margined with white ; the outer ones
greyish- white. Elbow of the wings deep hair-brown.
Bill and legs black.
Fig. 2. In the summer or nuptial dress.
Summer Crown of the head, and forehead, black ; the feathers being
margined with pale reddish-brown and white. Throat,
neck, and breast, a mixture of reddish-brown, ash-
grey, and brownish-black. Back and scapulars red-
dish-brown, with large irregular patches and spots of
black. Greater coverts blackish-brown, margined and
GRALLATORES. GLAREOLA. 211
tipped with white ; and forming a bar across the wings.
Quills brownish-black.
In the first, or nestling plumage, the forehead, eye-streak, Young,
cheeks, and throat, are white. At the lower part of the
neck is a zone of pale cream or yellowish-white, which
passes into light ash-grey upon the upper part of the
breast. Under parts of the body white. Crown of the
head black, margined and spotted with pale buff. Nape
and hind part of the neck pale ash-grey, with darker
streaks. Mantle and scapulars black, margined and
spotted with white. Tertials hair-brown, margined
with greyish-white. Quills and tail as in the winter
plumage of the adult bird. Legs deep grey.
GENUS GLAREOLA. PRATINCOLE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill short, hard, bulging at the base, convex, and curved
for upwards of half its length, compressed towards the point ;
gape wide, the commissure extending as far as the anterior
angle of the eye ; edges of the under mandible bending in-
wards, and covered by those of the upper, whose curvature
they follow. Nostrils basal, lateral, and obliquely cleft.
Legs of mean length, slender ; with part of the tibiae im-
mediately above the tarsal joint naked. Feet four-toed;
three before and one behind ; the outer united at its base to
the middle one by a membrane ; the inner toe free. Claws
rather long, nearly straight, truncated ; that of the middle
toe imperfectly pectinated.
Wings very long ; the first quill-feather being the longest.
Tail more or less forked.
The members of this genus are inhabitants of the tempe-
rate and warmer climates of the ancient world. They fre-
212 GRALLATORES. GLAREOLA.
quent the margins of lakes and rivers, as well as marshes of
the interior of the country, feeding chiefly upon the insects
that such situations abundantly afford, and which they take
both on wing and on the ground, where the birds can run
very swiftly. Their flight, from the great length of wing,
and forked shape of the tail, is also extremely rapid. Their
moult is said to be double, but there is no abrupt or very
marked change of colour between the winter and spring
plumage, the variation principally consists in an additional
brilliancy and depth of tint. By LINNJEUS, who, with re-
spect to this group, appears to have mistaken similitude for
affinity, the Glareoles were placed amongst his Hirudines ;
in which error he has been followed by many subsequent
compilers. In the " Index Ornithologicus" of LATHAM, we
find the genus Glareola standing next to Rallus ; CUVIER,
also, in his " Regne Animal," placed it at the extremity of
his family of Macrodactyles, but as a group which he found
it difficult to reconcile in character with the others. In the
first edition of the " Land Birds" of this work, in which
the systematic arrangement of TEMMINCK was chiefly adopt-
ed, (the publication of it having been previous to the intro-
duction of the natural system, or that founded upon the true
affinities connecting the various orders and families), the
Glareola was given as a member of the Alectorides ; an order
framed by TEMMINCK for the reception of a few genera,
whose affinities he had not accurately traced, or which, upon
investigation, he could not readily arrange with his other
systematic divisions. These are now more appropriately
transferred to the stations they should occupy according to
their affinities ; and it is upon the connexion which may be
traced with the other members of the family of CharadriadtS,
that the genus Glareola now becomes included in that fa-
mily.
PRATINCOLE. GRALLATORES. GLAREOLA.
213
COLLARED PRATINCOLE*.
GLAREOLA TORQUATA.
PLATE LXIII.
Glareola torquata, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 404.
Glareole a Collier, Temm. Man. d'Omith. 2. 500.
Glareola Austriaca, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 753. sp. 1.
Hirundo Pratincola, Linn. Syst. 345. sp. 12 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 695 — Bul-
lock in Trans. Linn. Soc. 11. 177»
Glareola, Briss. 5. 141. t. 12. f. 1.
Hirundo marina, Raii Syn. 72 — Will. 156.
La Perdrix de Mer, Buff. Ois. 7- 544. —Id. PL Enl. 882.
Das Rothfussige Sandhuhn, Bechst, Naturg. Deut. 4. 457. t. 13.
Austrian Pratincole, Lath. Syn. 5. 222. t. 85 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. Sup.
with a figure — Bullock in Trans. Linn. Soc. 11. 177-
Glareola Senegalensis et Nsevia, Gmel. Syst. 1. 695. sp. 1. 2. and 3. — v
Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 753. and 754, sp. 2. 3. and the varieties — Briss. 3.
147 and 148.
Le Perdrix de Mer, La Grise, La Brune, and La Giarole, Buff. Ois. 7-
544 et 245.
Das Braunringige Sandhuhn, und Gefleckte Sandhuhn, Bechst. Naturg.
Deut. 4. 461. var. A. B.
Coromandel, Senegal, Spotted, and other varieties, Lath. Syn. 5. 224 et
225.
Old and
young of
both sex
sexes.
Young
and other
varieties.
THE Collared Pratincole was first added to the British Rare
Fauna by Mr BULLOCK, proprietor of the late London vlsltant*
Museum, who, in May 1807, received a specimen that was
shot near Ormskirk in Lancashire, and which is now in the
celebrated collection of Lord STANLEY. He afterwards, in
an excursion to the northern parts of Scotland in 1812, killed
another in the island of Unst, the northernmost of the Shet-
land group ; and, as the circumstances are interesting, as
" In consequence of the different station in the system now properly as-
signed to this bird, its description has been removed from the letter-press
of the Land Birds, in the second edition of that volume ; at the same time,
it has not been possible to make a similar arrangement in the volumes of
Plates. I must therefore trust to the indulgence of my readers, and hope
they will not find much inconvenience in still referring to Part I. for the
figure of the Pratincole.
214 GRALLATORES. GLAREOLA. PRATINCOLE.
tending to elucidate the manners of the species, I quote them
from the description he has given in the Transactions of the
Linnean Society. " When I first discovered it, it rose within
a few feet, and flew round me in the manner of a Swallow,
and then alighted close to the head of a cow that was tethered
within ten yards distance. After examining it a few minutes,
I returned to the house of T. EDMONDSONE, Esq. for my gun,
and, accompanied by that gentleman's brother, went in
search of it. After a short time, it came out of some grow-
ing corn, and was catching insects at the time I fired, and,
being only wounded in the wing, we had an opportunity of
examining it alive. In the form of its bill, wings, and tail, as
well as its mode of flight, it greatly resembles the genus
Hirundo ; but, contrary to the whole of this family, the legs
were long, and bare above the knee, agreeing with Tringa ;
and, like the Sandpipers, it ran with the greatest rapidity
when on the ground, or in shallow water, in pursuit of its
food, which was wholly of flies, and of which its stomach
was full." In the above description we recognise nothing
that allies this bird to the HirundmidcB, beyond certain pecu-
liarities possessed to an equal extent by some of the Terns
(of the family of the Larid^ and the order Natatores), as
well as by birds of other families and orders, viz. a full de-
velopment of the wings and tail for the purposes of flight,
which mere external resemblances will not imply any real
affinity existing ; on the other hand, its manners and ana-
tomy point out the true situation it holds in the natural
system. — The Pratincole inhabits the borders of lakes, rivers,
and inland seas, particularly such as form extensive marshes
covered with reeds, and other aquatic herbage. In Hungary,
it abounds on the marshy confines of the lakes Neusidel and
Baladon, where it was seen by TEMMINCK in flocks of
hundreds together ; and it is also met with in some provin-
ces of Germany and ^France, as well as in Switzerland and
Italy, but in these latter countries only as a bird of passage,
or rather perhaps as an occasional visitant. In Tartary, and
PRATINCOLE. GRALLATORES. GLAREOLA. 215
the central parts of Asia, it is common, and indeed its geo-
graphical distribution seems to be very extensive, as might
naturally be expected from its great power of flight. It
feeds on flies, beetles, worms, and other aquatic insects, taken Food.
(as before noticed) either on wing or the ground, where it
runs with great swiftness. — Its flight is singularly rapid,
surpassing perhaps even that of any of the Swallow tribe. —
Its nest is formed amongst the rushes, and the thick herbage Nest, &c.
of its above mentioned localities, and it lays several eggs, of
which the colour has not been noticed by any author. This
bird, from the change of plumage it undergoes at different
seasons, and also attendant upon age, has been multiplied by
some writers into three or four species, but which are clearly
referable to the single one now under consideration. Two
species, distinct from the present one, are, however, given by
TEMMINCK, as found on the Asiatic Continent and in New
Holland, but never met with in Europe, viz. Glareola Gral-
laria and Glar. lactea, and which are figured in the " Planches
Coloriees" of the same author.
PART I. PLATE 63. Represents this bird of the natural
size.
Head, nape of the neck, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, General
yellowish-brown, inclining to wood-brown, with a me-
tallic lustre. Throat, and fore part of the neck red-
dish-white, bounded by a narrow list of black, which
proceeds upwards and joins a black streak between the
bill and the eyes. Breast pale wood- brown ; abdomen
and vent white. Upper tail-coverts white. Tail much
forked, having the basal half of its feathers white, the
rest blackish-brown. Under wing-coverts brownish-red.
Quills blackish-brown. Edges of the bill, and base of
the lower mandible bright scarlet-orange. Legs brown-
ish-purple red. Irides light reddish-brown.
216 GRALLATORES. CURSORIUS.
GENUS CURSORIUS, LATH. SWIFTFOOT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill as short or shorter than the head, depressed at the
base, curved towards the end, and pointed. Tomia of the
under mandible covered by those of the upper one, and fol-
lowing its curve.
Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, and surrounded by a small
protuberance.
Wings of mean length, having the first quill-feather nearly
equal to the second, which is the longest.
Legs long, slender, with the tibiae naked for a consider-
able space above the tarsal joint. Feet three-toed ; toes all
directed forwards, short, and united at their base by a mem-
brane. Naked part of the tibiae, front of the tarsus, and up-
per part of the toes scutellated. In nails, that of the middle
toe broad, with its inner margin pectinated.
The genus Cursorius was established by LATHAM, for
the reception of the two species then known, and which had
been included by GMELIN in the genus Charadrius of LIN-
N^US, notwithstanding they exhibited well-marked charac-
ters peculiar to themselves. TEMMINCK adopted LATHAM'S
title, but transferred the genus from its situation, adjoining
to the Plovers, to his order Cursorius ; which nearly answers
to the family of Struthionid^ in the rasorial order of the
present system. This arrangement was also adopted in the
volume of letter-press that accompanied the first series of the
" Illustrations of British Ornithology ;" but as subsequent
investigation into the affinities of the genus seems confirma-
tive of the correctness of the opinion of Mr VIGORS, with re-
spect to the situation it holds in the natural arrangement, I
have again placed it amongst the Charadriada, in the order
SWIFTFOOT. GRALLATORES. CURSORIUS. 217
Grallatores, as being still more closely allied to the typical
members of that family, than to the Bustards, or other ge-
nera of the StruthionidcB. In addition to the two species
above alluded to, three others have been discovered, which
are beautifully displayed in the " Planches Coloriees.1' These
birds are all natives of the ancient continent, inhabiting the
sandy deserts of Asia and Africa. Of their habits and other
peculiarities not much is known, but such information as we
possess tends to confirm the propriety of their position be-
tween the other genera of the present family, and the smaller
members of the Strulhionidce. They run with surprising
speed, and their flight, from the full development of their
wings, is swift and powerful.
CREAM-COLOURED SWIFTFOOTf.
CURSORIUS ISABELLINUS, Meyer.
PLATE XXXIII • «.
Cursorius Isabellinus, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 328 — Ternm. Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 5l3.—Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 500. pi. 37.
Cursorius Europseus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 75 1- 1.
Charadrius Gallicus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 692.
Le Court-vite, Buff. Ois. 8. 128 — Id. PL Enl. 795 — Lesson. 2. 20&
Court-vite Isabella, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 513.
Cream-coloured Plover, Lath. Syn. 5. 217. 25— Id. Sup. 254. t. 116 —
— Lewies Br. Birds, 5. pi. 187 — Wale. Syn. 2. pi. 164.— Mont. Ornith.
Diet. 2 — Id. Sup.
Cream-coloured Courser, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 1 1. 500. pi. 37. an ill-drawn
figure.
SINCE the publication of the First Part of the present
work, an instance has fortunately occurred of the Cream-
coloured Swiftfoot having been killed near Timber wood
Hill, in Charwood Forest, Leicestershire, in October 1827.
•f I have to offer a similar apology to my readers for the transfer of this
bird, from the First to the Second Part of these " Illustrations," that I have
already made in the preceding note (on the Collared Pratincole), with this
fortunate exception, that the representation of the Swiftfoot will be found
in its proper place (in Part Second of the Plates) ; as an accompanying
figure was not given in Part First.
218 GRALLATORES. CURSORIUS. SWIFTFOOT.
This beautiful specimen, now in the possession of the Rev.
T. GISBORNE, of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire, was kindly
lent to ma for the purpose of enriching these " Illustrations ;"
and I have thus been enabled to give a correct figure of this
bird in the Second Series, in the situation that it properly holds
in the systematic arrangement now adopted. It is one of our
Very rare rarest visitants, the above being, as far as I can collect, the
third instance only of its appearance in Britain. Of the two
prior specimens, one was shot in Kent, near the seat of WIL-
LIAM HAMMOND, Esq. and was sent to Dr LATHAM* ; and, as
the following account which accompanied it is particularly in-
teresting, as being descriptive of its manners, I make no apo-
logy for transcribing it : — " It was first met with running upon
some light land, and so little fearful was it, that, after hav-
ing sent for a gun, one was brought to him, which did not
readily go off, having been charged some time, and in. conse-
quence missed his aim. The report frightened the bird
away, but, after making a turn or two, it again settled within
a hundred yards of him, when he was prepared with a second
shot, which dispatched it. It was observed to run with in-
credible swiftness, and at intervals to pick up something
from the ground, and was so bold as to render it difficult to
make it rise from the ground, in order to take a more secure
aim on the wing. The note was not like any kind of Plo-
vers, nor indeed to be compared with that of any known
bird." The other specimen is mentioned by MONTAGU, as
having been killed in Wales, and was afterwards in the col-
lection of the late Professor SIBTHOEP, of Oxford. Africa
is the native region of this species, particularly the northern
and western parts of that secluded country, where it inhabits
the extensive plains of the desert. In Europe, even its ap-
pearance is of the rarest occurrence, as there are only two
• This specimen found its way into the Leverian Museum,, at the sale
of which it was purchased by FICHTEL, who afterwards disposed of it to
DONOVAN for the sum of eighty-three guineas.Jlt is now deposited in the
British Museum.
GRALLATORES. VANELLUS. 219
other instances of its capture in this division of the world,
viz. one in France, and the other in Austria. On this ac-
count the specific name of Isabettinus, given to it by MEYER,
has been preferred to that of Europceus, so inadvertently
imposed by LATHAM. Nothing is yet known respecting its
particular habits, its food, or the propagation of the species.
PLATE 33 **. represents this bird of the natural size, from
the specimen above alluded to.
Bill three quarters of an inch long, black, and arched to- General
wards the tip. Irides pale yellowish-grey. Forehead
and crown of the head pale buff-orange, passing towards
the occiput into ash-grey, below which backwards is a
triangular spot of black. Over each eye, and passing
round the hind part of the head (below the black spot),
is a band of pure white. From the posterior angle of
the eye is a streak of black. Throat and chin pale
reddish-white. The whole of the body sienna-yellow,
tinged with ash-grey, palest beneath. Greater quills
brownish-black ; outer tail-feathers having a small
dusky spot near their tips. Legs long, with the tibiae
naked for an inch above the tarsal joint. Toes short ;
the outer united to the middle toe by a rather broad
membrane, the inner toe by a smaller one. Claw of the
middle toe pectinated ; a peculiarity belonging also to
all the other species.
GENUS VANELLUS, Bziss. LAPWING.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill shorter than the head, strait, slightly compressed;
the points of both mandibles horny and hard, rather swollen
and convex, the edges bent inwards ; nasal groove wide, and
reaching as far as the horny tip. The part of the culmen
that divides the nostrils lower than the tip of the bill. To-
mia of both mandibles, as far as the tip, equal.
220 GRALLATORES. VANELLUS.
Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, pierced in the membrane of
the nasal groove.
Legs slender, with the lower part of the tibiae naked ; feet
four-toed, three before and one behind, united at the base
by a membrane ; that portion of it between the outer and
middle toe being the largest. Hind toe very short, articu-
lated upon the tarsus, and not reaching to the ground.
Tarsi reticulated ; nails falcate ; the inner edge of the mid-
dle one flattened and expanded.
Wings ample, tuberculated or spurred; the three first
quill feathers notched, or suddenly narrowing towards their
tips, and shorter than the fourth and fifth, which are the
longest in each wing. Plumage thick, soft, rather open in
texture, with more or less of a metallic gloss.
The members of this genus, of which the Crested Lap-
wing (Vanellus cristatus) may be considered the type, are
nearly allied in the form of the bill, and in their habits, to
the genera Charadrms and Pluvlanus, but differ from them
in having a small hind toe, which feature brings them into
connexion with other four-toed groups of the order Gral-
latores. By LINNAEUS, LATHAM, and other authors, they
were, on account of this hind toe, placed in the genus
Tringa, to the members of which they only bear a distant
alliance; their true affinity with the other groups of the
Charadriadce being distinctly shewn, both from their ana-
tomy and habits. The Lapwings have the forepart or elbow
of the wing armed with a spur ; in some species short and
blunt, in others long and pointed. The head is also gene-
rally furnished with peculiar appendages ; in the European
species, in the form of a long singularly shaped crest ; in
other species appearing as wattles, or fleshy protuberances,
about the bill and eyes. They are the inhabitants of open
ground and plains, particularly where the soil is of a moist
nature ; feeding on worms, insects, larvae, &c. They are sub-
ject to the double moult ; but their vernal change of plumage
is not attended with any remarkable difference of colour.
LAPWING. GRALLATORES. VANELLUS. 221
CRESTED OR GREEN LAPWING.
VANELLUS CRIST ATUS, Meyer.
PLATE XXXIV.
Vanellus cristatus, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 111. sp. 160.
Vanellus gavia, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 509. pi. 38 — Leach, Cat. Br. Mus.
p. 29.
Tringa Vanellus, Linn. Syst. 1. 248. 2 — Gmel. Syst 1. 670.—Raii Syn. 110.
A. 1 — Will. 228. t. 57 Briss. Orn. 5. 94. 1. t. 8. f. I.— Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 726. sp. 2.
Charadrius Vanellus, Wagler, Syst. Av. 1.
Le Vanneau, Buff. Ois. 8. 48. pi. 4 Id. PI. Enl. 242.
Vanneau huppe', Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 550.
Gehaubte Kiebitz, Bechst. Naturg. Deut 4. 346.
Lapwing, or Bastard Plover, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 453. No. 190 Arct.
Zool. 2. 480. D — Will. 307. pi. 57 Alton's Br. Birds, 1. pi. 74
Lewin's Br. Birds, ft. pi. 167 — Pull. Cat. Dorset, p. 15.— Lath. Syn. 5.
161 — Bewick's Br. Birds, Ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 79 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1.
— Low's Faun. Oread, p. 84.
Crested Lapwing, Shaw's Zool. 11. 509. pi. 38. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 111.
sp. 160.
BY its common appellation of Pewit, this bird is well
known throughout Britain, where it is very abundant during
the summer or breeding season, and is then found in almost
every situation, from the upland dry or marshy moors, to
the pasture and fallow grounds of the lower districts. In
these various localities, after making a slight depression in
the ground, which it lines with a few broken straws or dry
stalks of grass, it deposits four eggs, like most of the vermi- Nest, &c.
vorous Grallatores. They are of a deep oil-green colour,
blotched and irregularly marked with brownish-black, and
are brought in great numbers to the London market, where,
as an article of luxury for the table, they always command
a good price. On this account they are eagerly sought for
in all the districts where these birds are numerous, and the
open and extensive fields, as well as the rabbit warrens of
Norfolk, with the fenny parts of Lincolnshire and Cam-
bridge, furnish a principal part of the supply. The trade
222 GRALLATORES. VANELLUS. LAPWING.
of collecting them continues for about two months, and great
expertness in the discovery of the nests is shewn by those
accustomed to it ; generally judging of their situation by the
conduct of the female birds, who invariably, upon being dis-
turbed, run from the eggs, and then fly near to the ground
for a short distance, without uttering any alarm-cry. The
males, on the contrary, are very clamorous, and fly round
the intruder, endeavouring, by various instinctive arts, to
divert his attention. — The young, when hatched, are covered
with down of an ochreous yellow, mixed with brown : they
are assiduously attended by the parents, who lead them to
the softer parts of the soil, where food is more abundantly
obtained. At this interesting period, when engaged in their
parental duties, these birds must have attracted the attention
of most persons, from the extreme anxiety they display, and
the devices they practise, in order to draw off either man or
dog from the vicinity of their callow brood. After the young
are fully grown, and able to fly, they assemble in large flocks ;
gradually, as autumn approaches, deserting the interior of
the country, and moving nearer to the coast. Here they
chiefly frequent the fallow grounds and turnip fields, re-
maining (with allusion to the northern counties) till Novem-
ber, or even later, should the weather continue mild or open ;
but, in case of severe frost, most of them retire, and pass
the rest of the winter farther to the southward. In Northum-
berland they re-appear, towards the end of February or the
beginning of March, in small flocks ; from which, having se-
parated and paired, they spread themselves over the face of
the country. At this season their flight (particularly that of
the male birds) is very peculiar, being subject to a variety
of evolutions, in the course of which they frequently dart
perpendicularly upwards to a considerable height, then
throwing a summerset, as it would seem, in the air, suddenly
descend almost to the ground, along which they course with
many turnings and great velocity, till the same manoeuvre is
repeated. These movements are attended by a loud hissing
5
LAPWING. GRALLATORES. VANELLUS. 223
noise of the wings, arising from their rapid motion, aided by
the peculiar form of them, which offers a broken resistance
to the air. During these aerial exercises, which are sup-
ported for a long time without intermission, they utter a va-
riety of notes, very different in tone and expression from the
monotonous cry of alarm, that has conferred on them their
provincial appellation of Pewit, or Fees-weep. This species
is very widely dispersed, being found throughout all the di-
visions of the ancient continent. Specimens that I have re-
ceived from China are precisely similar to our own birds ;
they are in the winter plumage, and most of them seem to
be the young of the year. In Holland the Lapwing is re-
markably abundant. Its flesh, in autumn and winter, is
juicy and sweet*, not yielding in flavour to that of the
Golden Plover, or indeed to any of this tribe, but becomes,
in the summer season, dry and unpalatable. — It feeds prin- Food,
cipally on earth-worms, in obtaining which it displays great
ingenuity. " I have seen," says Dr LATHAM, " this bird
approach a worm- cast, turn it aside, and, after walking two
or three times about it, by way of giving motion to the
ground, the worm come out, and the watchful bird, seizing
hold of it, draw it forth.11 It also devours slugs, insects,
larva?, See., on which account it is frequently kept in gar-
dens ; but, when thus domesticated, it requires to be fed and
protected during the severity of winter, as it is, in such situa-
tions, unable to obtain a sufficient supply of its native food.
An interesting anecdote, shewing the degree of domestica-
tion to which this bird may be brought, is related by
.BEWICK, but as the extract would be long, I must refer my
* On this account, as well as from their abundance, and their having so
long a crest, or aigrette, I am led to think that the birds mentioned by LE-
LAND, under the name of Egrets, as having been served up at the famous
feast of Archbishop NEVIL, to the number of one thousand, were Lap.
wings, and not that species of Heron, now known under the title of the
Little Egret, which, from the works of our earlier naturalists, appears to
have been if not an unknown, at least a rare species in Britain.
224 GRALLATORES. VANELLUS. LAPWING.
readers to the original work. The plumage of the Lapwing
is rich, and the colours well contrasted, and it is of very
sprightly appearance. It runs swiftly, during which it has
a singular habit of stopping suddenly at intervals, and put-
ting its bill to the ground, but without picking up any thing,
apparently to bring its body, as it were, to a proper equi-
poise.
PLATE #4. represents the male and female in summer plu-
mage.
General Bill black. Forehead, crown, chin, and gorget, shining
tion. greenish-black. Occipital crest composed of long slen-
der black feathers, turning slightly upwards. From
the corners of the under mandible runs a black streak,
passing under the eyes to the nape of the neck. Region
of the eyes, nape, and sides of the neck, pure white.
Back, scapulars, and tertials, pale glossy olive-green;
the latter being tinged with purplish-red. Wing-coverts
deep olive-green, glossed with blue and purplish red.
Wings much rounded ; the quills black, with the tips of
the first four dirty white. Lower part of the back
clove-brown, glossed with green. Upper tail coverts
orange-brown ; the lower ones paler. Tail having the
basal half of the feathers white ; the rest black, with
white tips ; except the outermost feather, which is en-
tirely white. Belly and abdomen pure white. Legs
brownish-purple red.
In winter the throat and chin are white ; the feathers of
the upper part of the plumage margined with reddish-
white, and with less of the gloss, and reddish-purple
tints. The young have the occipital crest very short ;
the face and neck white, speckled with brown ; and the
feathers of the back and scapulars more deeply mar-
gined with pale .ochreous yellow. Legs and toes grey,
with a pink tinge.
GRALLATORES. SQUATAROLA. 225
GENUS SQUATAROLA, Cur. BASTARD PLOVER*.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill rather strong, cylindrical, strait, nearly as long as the
head ; the tip, or horny part, about half the length of the
whole bill, tumid, and arched, with the tomia bending in-
wards. Nasal groove wide; half the length of the bill.
Mesorhinium depressed below the level of the tip. Nostrils
longitudinally pierced in the membrane of the groove, linear
oblong.
Wings rather long, acuminate ; with the first quill-feather
the longest.
Legs slender, of mean length, naked above the tarsal
joint. Feet four-toed, three before and one behind ; front
toes joined at their base by a membrane, that portion of it
between the outer and middle toe being the longest. Hind
toe very small, or rudimental. Tarsi reticulated.
Plumage thick, close, and adpressed.
The Bastard Plover, like the Lapwings, was placed in the
genus Tringa by some of the earliest systematists-f, on ac-
count of its being furnished with a very minute hind toe.
It was afterwards placed by TEMMFNCK, BECHSTEIN, &c.,
with the Lapwings in the genus Vanellus, but as form-
ing a separate section, on account of the different character
exhibited in the form of the wings. Instead of adopting
* I have considered it most advisable not to let generic distinction (how-
ever necessary) interfere with the English name of Plover, so long attached
to this species ; as my ambition has been, in the letter-press of the present
work, to construct a popular manual of British Ornithology.
•j- RAY and WILLOUGHBY, however, seem to have known its proper si-
tuation, having placed it between the Lapwing and Golden Plover, exactly
where it now stands in the natural arrangement.
VOL. II. P
226 GRALLATORES. SQUATAROLA.
this sectional division, CUVIER and other naturalists made it
the type of a genus, of which it was then supposed to be
the only species ; a second, however, has been since disco-
vered in the southern hemisphere, specimens of which were
brought by Captain P. P. KING, R. N., from the Straits of
Magellan. This latter species has been figured in the
" Illustrations of Ornithology," under the title of Squatarola
cincta. In form and general appearance these birds are very
similar to the true Plovers (or genus Charadrius), and, in-
deed, are only to be distinguished by a stronger bill, and by
the small hind toe, which the Plovers totally want. This
character brings them into direct contiguity with the Lap-
wings, and they thus hold an intermediate station, forming the
connecting link between the genera Vanellus and Charadrius.
Their manners are also very similar, and they subsist on the
same food, viz. earth-worms, slugs, insects, and larvae. They
are subject to the double moult, and that of the European
species, in almost every respect, resembles the analogous
change in Charadrius Pluvialis ; whilst that of the exotic
species is very much like to Charadrius Morinellus. They
inhabit the borders of rivers, plains, and marshy tracts, as
well as the shores of the ocean, where they generally pass the
greater portion of the winter. In Europe they are migra-
tory, retiring in spring from the temperate parts to regions
within the arctic circle to breed.
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. SQUATAROLA. 227
BASTARD OR GREY PLOVER.
SQUATAROLA CINEREA, Cuv.
PLATE XXXV. FIGS. 1, 2.
Squatarola cinerea, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 467. — Leach, Cat. Br. Mus. p. 2
—Shaw's Zool. 11. 505 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 111. sp. 161.
Vanellus melanogaster, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 356.
Charadrius hypomelas, Wagler, Syst. Av. 1. sp. 43.
Vanneau Pluvier, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 547 — Lesson, Man. 2. 308.
Schwartzbauchiger Kiebiz, Meyer, Vog. Deutsch. 2. Heft 22.
Grey Squatarole, Shaw's Zool. 11. 505.— Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 111. sp. 161
Grey Lapwing, Rennie's Ed. Mont. Ornith. Diet.
Tringa Squatarola, Linn. Syst. 1.252.23. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 682— Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2. 729. sp. 1 1.
Vanellus griseus, Briss. 5. 100. 2. t. 9. f. 1.
Pluvialis cinerea, Ran Syn. 111. A. 3 — Will. 22. pi. 57.
Vanneau Pluvier, Buff. Ois. 8. 68. PI. Enl. 854.
Grey Plover, Alton. 1. t. 76 — Will. (Angl.) 309. t. 57 Bewick's Br.
Birds, Ed. 1826, pL t. 83.
Grey Sandpiper, Br. Zool. 2. 456. No. 191 — Arct. Zool. 2. 393.— Lath.
Syn. 5. 168. 11 — Id. Sup. 248 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. pi. 169.— Wale.
Syn. 146. pi. 2 — Pult. Cat. Dorset. 15.— Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2 Id.
Sup.
Tringa Helvetica, Linn. Syst. 1. 250. 12 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 676 Lath-
Ind. Orn. 2. 718. sp. 10.
Vanellus Helveticus, Briss. Orn. 5. 106. 4. t. 10. f. 1.
Charadrius hypomelas, Pall. Reise, 3. 699. No. 28.
Vanneau de Suisse, Buff. Ois. 8. 60 — Id. PI. Enl. 853.
Swiss Sandpiper, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. No. 396 — Lath. Syn. 5. 167 10 —
Id. Sup. 248.
Tringa varia, Linn. Syst. 1. 252. 21 — Gmel Syst. 1. 682.
Vanellus varius, Briss. 5. 103. t. 10. f. 1.
Vanneau varid, Buff. PL Enl. 923. I
THE Grey Plover is not a numerous species in Britain,
and, indeed, in many parts, its appearance seems almost li-
mited to the period of its migrations, that is, when passing
in autumn to its winter quarters, and in spring on its return
to the colder regions of the north. In Northumberland there
are a few stations on the coast, where it is found durino- the
whole winter, but only in families or small flocks. It gene-
rally arrives about the middle of September (sometimes even
earlier), at which time several of the old birds still retain a
Winter
plumage.
Summer
plumage.
Young.
228 GRALLATORES. SQUATAROLA. PLOVER.
part of their summer plumage, and the breast is seen beauti-
fully spotted with black, and in which state it is also found
in spring, when beginning to assume the nuptial dress.
These feathers rapidly give place to others of a different co-
lour, and early in October the winter plumage is completed.
Since the study of natural history became so prevalent, orni-
thological specimens have acquired a proportionate value ;
and, in consequence, a keener look-out is now kept by the
regular shooters of wild-fowl. To this must be attributed
the supply of these birds sent from Norfolk, and other parts
of the eastern coast, in the month of May, while on their
passage to the north. At this season they have all com-
menced the change of plumage, and are killed in various
stages of its progress, some few nearly in the perfect garb,
and answering to the description of the Tringa Helvetica
of authors. In its form and appearance, as well as in the
disposition of its colours (in all its states of plumage), the
present species very closely resembles the Golden Plover
(Charadrius Pluvmlis), and, except upon strict examination,
may be very readily confounded with it. It is, however, ra-
ther superior in size, and in possessing a hind toe (or rather
daw), as well as in the long black under coverts of the wings,
furnishes constant and sufficient marks of distinction. Its
bill, upon comparison, will also be found much stronger than
either that of the Plover or Lapwing, approaching closely in
form to that of the genus (Edicnemus. On our coast it is
found in oozy bays, or at the mouths of rivers, where it
Food, feeds upon worms, marine insects, &c. It runs with agility,
and utters a piping whistle, similar to, but not quite so
shrill as, that of the Golden Plover. Its flesh is tender and
well flavoured, and in high esteem for the table. The species
is widely distributed, being found throughout the temperate
and colder parts of all the northern hemisphere, in Europe,
it is common in Russia; also in France and Switzerland
during the times of its migrations ; upon the coasts of Hol-
land it is a regular periodical visitant, and, according to
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. SQUATAROLA. 229
TEMMINCK, a few annually breed upon the northern islands
of that kingdom*. It is met with in Egypt, and upon the
confines of Asia, in Siberia, &c. The only nest it makes is Nest, &c.
a small depression in the ground, lined with a few straws or
stems of grass ; in which it lays four eggs, of an oil-green
colour, blotched and spotted with black.
PLATE 35. Fig. 1. represents the bird in the summer plu-
mage.
Forehead, eye-streak, and orbits white. Space between General
the bill and eyes, cheeks, sides and fore part of neck, j^1"1^"
breast, flanks, and belly, deep black. Abdomen, vent, Summer
and thighs, white. Lateral under tail-coverts with ob- PlumaSe-
lique black bars. Crown of the head hair-brown, with
the shafts of the feathers black. Hind part of the
neck a mixture of pale hair-brown and white. Back-
scapulars and wing-coverts black ; the feathers being
tipped and barred with white and yellowish-white.
Quills having part of the inner web and the shafts
white. Axillary feathers black. Tail-coverts white,
barred with hair-brown. Tail the same, except the
outer feather on each side, which is nearly white. Bill
black. Legs and toes blackish-grey.
Fig. 2. in the winter plumage.
Chin white. Neck, breast, and flanks white, marbled Winter
with pale ash-grey and hair-brown.' Belly and abdomen p uma£e*
white. Head, back part of the neck, and the whole of
the upper parts of the body hair-brown, having the
shaft of each feather darker, and being margined and
spotted with greyish- white, or pale ash-grey. Under
wing-coverts, or axillary feathers, black.
* I have occasionally met with one or two of these birds upon the Fern
Islands in June, but could never detect any of their young. These indi-
viduals, probably from some accidental cause, had been unequal to the
usual migration.
230 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER.
Young The young of the year differ from the adults in having the
feathers of the upper parts of the body spotted with
yellow and yellowish- white, sometimes approaching very
nearly in colour to Charadrius Pluvialis.
GENUS CHARADRIUS, LIN. PLOVER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill strait, compressed, shorter than the head ; the anterior
portion of each mandible horny and hard ; that of the upper
one slightly arched, and rounded underneath ; of the under
one gently ascending. Lateral furrow extending to two-
thirds of the length of the bill.
Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, longitudinally cleft in the
large membrane of the nasal furrow.
Wings of mean length, narrow, acuminate, with the first
quill-feather the longest.
Legs rather long, or of mean length, slender, naked above
the tarsal joint. Tarsi reticulated. Feet three-toed ; all the
toes directed forwards, rather short ; the outer toe united to
the middle one by a short membrane.
Tail in gradations, from nearly a square end in some
species, to a very wedge-shaped form in others.
Plumage thick, close, and adpressed.
The members of this genus (which may be considered the
typical form of the Charadriadce) are numerous, and pos-
sess a very wide geographical distribution, species being
found in every quarter of the globe. Some of them, during
the greater part of the year, are the inhabitants of open dis-
tricts, and of wild wastes, frequenting both dry and moist
situations, and only retire towards the coast during the seve-
rity of winter. Others are constantly resident upon the
banks or about the mouths of rivers, particularly where the
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 231
shore consists of small gravel or shingle ; such are most of
the smaller species. Except during the season of reproduction,
most of them live in societies, larger or of less amount, ac-
cording to the species. Their migrations are also performed in
numerous bodies, the old birds usually congregating by them-
selves, and preceding the young in their periodical flights.
They run with much swiftness, as might be expected from
the simple structure of their feet ; and from the shape and
dimensions of their wings, they fly with strength and rapi-
dity. They live on worms, insects, and their larvae, Sec., and
most of them are nocturnal feeders, as indicated by their
large and prominent eyes. They are subject to the double
moult, and the change at the different seasons is in many
species very marked. Their nest is on the ground, and their
eggs are always four in number. The flesh of the larger
species, and such as inhabit the plains of the interior, is deli-
cate and high flavoured ; but in many of the smaller kinds
that live on the coast, or on the banks of rivers, it is not so
palatable.
GOLDEN PLOVER.
CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS, Linn.
PLATE XXXVII.
Charadrius Pluvialis, Linn. Syst. 1. 254. 7 Gmel. Syst. 1. C88 Lath, Ind.
Orn. 2. 740. sp. 1. var. B — Briss. Orn. 5. 43. 1. t. 4. f. 1 — Shaw's Zool.
11. 464. pi. 34.— /Yem. Br. Anim. 1. 113. sp. 163.
Pluvialis viridis, Rail Syn. 111. A. 2 — Will. 289. t. 57.
Le Pluvier dore, Buff. Ois. 8. 81.— Id. PL Enl. 904 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith.
2. 535.
Goldregen Pfeifer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 395 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 318.
Golden Plover, Br. Zool. 2. 474. No. 208 Arct. Zool. 2. 399 Will.
(Angl.) 308.— Lath. Syn. 5. 193. 1 Id. Sup. 252 — Mont. Ornth. Diet.
Id. Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, Ed. 1826. p. t. 367 — Pult. Cat. Dorset, 16.
Green Plover, Low's Faun. Oread. 88.— Flem. Br. Anim. 2. 113, sp. 163.
Charadrius Africanus, Linn. Syst. 254. 6 — Gmel.. Syst. 1. 687 — Lath..
Ind. Ornith. 2. 742. sp. 5. but not all the synonyms.* — Shaw's Zool. 11. 1
466, but not Wilson's Synonyms. y Summer
Alwargrim Plover, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 398. — Lath. Syn. 5. 198. 5. — I plumage.
Shaw'sZooL 11. 466. "
PROVINCIAL — Grey Plover, Whistling Plover, Black-bellied Plover.
232 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER.
THE present species has a wide geographical range, though
not, I imagine, to the extent supposed by many naturalists ;
the birds which have been considered by them as belonging
to this species being of a different one, viz. the Charadrius
Marmoratus of WAGLER, which, though nearly allied to,
and greatly resembling, Char. Plumalis in general appearance,
yet possess certain and permanent distinctions in colour of
plumage, size, &c. Among these, I may mention, as a test
of contradistinction, the colour of the under surface of the
wings, and of the long axillary feathers, which, in the exotic
species, are of an uniform cinereous or pale hair-brown co-
lour ; whereas, in all specimens of C. Pluvialis, they are pure
white. Instead, therefore, of extending the range of the
species now before us to America, New Holland, and other
parts of the southern hemisphere, I feel inclined to limit it to
Europe, Northern Asia, and some few districts in the North
of Africa. Although it may be accounted indigenous in
Britain, being found in parts of the kingdom through the
whole year, it is nevertheless subject to the laws of migra-
tion, even within these confines. Thus, as autumn approaches,
and after the young have acquired maturity, large flocks are
formed, which gradually leave the upland and mountainous
districts, and come down to the lower lands and to the coast.
Some of these bodies pass onwards to spend the winter on
the open downs that overlook the sea in the southern coun-
ties, where this bird can only be regarded as a winter visi-
tant, since it does not appear that it breeds much to the south
of a boundary formed by the river Tyne. Towards the end
of March, or the beginning of April, when the impulse of
nature excites them, the flocks, which during the autumn
and winter had remained united, begin to separate into smaller
parties, and retire to the uncultivated grounds of the northern
counties of England, and to the Highlands of Scotland,
where they break into pairs and prepare to breed. At this
period the vernal moult commences, and a remarkable change
of plumage is soon perceptible, the birds being fully clad in
PLOVER. GBALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 233
their nuptial garb by the end of May. In this state, the
Golden Plover has been described as a distinct species, un-
der the title of Charadrius Apricarius, a synonym also ap-
plied by ornithologists, in some instances, to the exotic
species which I have before mentioned as having been con-
founded with the present one. Some of our naturalists
indeed seem, at this day, to be either not aware or not
convinced of the change that annually takes place in the
appearance of our species, for Mr STEPHENS, the continua-
tor of Dr SHAW'S General Zoology, under the head of Cha-
radrius Apricarius (Alwargrim Plover), says, " This, which
TEMMINCK asserts to be the summer plumage of Charadrius
Pluvialis, I am induced to consider distinct, as I have never
seen a specimen that was captured in England, where the
Golden Plover is very common, and has been observed at
all seasons." That Mr STEPHENS should not have met with
it in this state in the south of England, is only what might
be expected, as these birds quit their winter haunts before
the change commences ; but that he should never have seen
a British-killed specimen under this change, is certainly ex-
traordinary, as many collections must at the time have pos-
sessed such ; and I may add, that previous to the publica-
tion of Mr STEPHENS' s eleventh volume, I was in the habit
of sending this bird, in its summer dress, to various friends
and correspondents, having, from my peculiar situation, op-
portunities of obtaining it in all its stages of change. — About
the end of May or beginning of June, the females begin to
lay, making but little artificial nest, a small depression in the Nest, &c.
ground amidst the heath being generally taken advantage of,
and lined with a few dry fibres and steins of grass. The
eggs are four in number, rather larger than those of the
Lapwing, of a cream-yellow, inclining to oil-green, with large
irregular confluent blotches or spots of deep umber-brown.
The young, when excluded, are covered with a beautiful
parti-coloured down of bright kingVyellow and brown : they
quit the nest as soon as hatched, and follow their parents
234 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER.
till able to fly and support themselves, which is in the course
of a month or five weeks. The old birds display great
anxiety in protecting their young brood, using various stra-
tagems to divert the attention of an enemy ; among others,
that of tumbling over, as if unable to fly, or feigning lame-
ness, is the most frequent, and appears indeed to be the in-
stinctive resort of those birds that construct the nest and rear
their young on the ground. When aware of an intruder
near, the female invariably runs to some distance from her
nest before she takes wing, a manoeuvre tending to conceal
its true situation ; and the discovery of it is rendered still
more difficult by the colour and markings of the eggs assimi-
lating so closely to that of the ground and surrounding herb-
age. The usual call-note of the Plover is a plaintive mono-
tonous whistle, by imitating which it may frequently be
enticed within a very short distance. In the breeding season
a more varied call is used, during which it flies at a great
elevation, and continues soaring round for a considerable
time. Towards the end of August these birds begin to leave
the moors (having then congregated in large flocks), and
descend to the fallows and the newly sown wheat-fields, where
an abundance of their favourite food can be readily obtained.
At this season they soon become very fat, and are excellent
at the table, their flesh being not inferior in flavour to that
of the Woodcock, or any of our most esteemed sorts of game.
In these haunts they continue till severe weather approaches,
when they either move nearer to the coast or migrate to the
southern parts of the kingdom. They fly with strength and
swiftness, and if disturbed, when in large flocks, generally
perform many aerial evolutions and rapid wheelings before
they again settle on the ground. The Golden Plover is a
nocturnal feeder, and, during the day, is commonly seen
squatted upon the ground or standing asleep, with the head
Food, drawn down between the shoulders. Its food consists of
earth-worms, slugs, insects, and their larvae, particularly
those of the Lepidopterous tribe, many rare species of which
3
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 235
I have, upon dissection, found in their stomachs and gullet
during the summer season. It runs very fast, and when
wounded is difficult to be caught without the aid of a dog. —
Upon the continent these birds are abundant during the time
of their migrations, as in Holland, parts of France, Germany,
&c. In Sardinia they winter in immense flocks, as well as
in other countries of the south of Europe, retiring in the
summer to high northern latitudes of Asia and Europe to
breed.
PLATE 37. Shows the Golden Plover of the natural size, in
both the winter and summer plumage.
Crown of the head, hind part of the neck, back, wing-coverts, General
and scapulars, brownish- black, or very deep hair-brown, tion.
each feather having triangular marginal spots, and the "^|j||SL
tip of kingVyellow. Tail deep hair -brown, with ob-
lique bars of pale king's yellow. Quills hair-brown,
with the anterior part of the shafts of the first five white.
Forehead, cheeks, and eye-streak yellowish-white, streak-
ed and spotted with pale hair-brown and grey. Chin
and throat white. Fore part of the neck, breast, sides,
and flanks ash-grey, tinged in parts with king's yellow,
and spotted and streaked with darker grey. Belly, ab-
domen, and under tail-coverts, white. Long axillary
feathers beneath the wings pure white. Legs and toes
deep grey.
During the breeding season the cheeks, chin, throat, auricu- Summer
lars, fore part of the neck, list down the centre of the *
breast, belly, and abdomen are of an intense black. Fore-
head, eye-streak, and the marginal line bordering the
black upon the neck and breast, pure white. Sides of
the breast marbled with kingVyellow and black. Sides
and flanks white, marbled with pale hair- brown and
yellow. Under tail-coverts white, the lateral ones being
tinged with yellow and obliquely barred with hair-
brown. Upper parts of the body having the black more
236 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. DOTTEREL.
intense in colour, but similar in markings to the winter
plumage. In the female, the black of the under parts
and about the head, during the breeding season, is ge-
nerally marbled with white, and not so intense as in the
male bird. In spring, when acquiring, and again in
July when loosing, the nuptial dress, it is found with
the black or white predominating according to the ad-
vance it may have made in each respective change.
DOTTEREL.
CHARADRIUS MORINELLUS, Linn.
PLATE XXXIX. FIGS. 1. and 2.
Charadrius Morinellus, Linn. Syst. 1. 254. 5.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 686 — Lath.
Ind. Orn. 3. 746. sp. 17— Shaw's Zool. 11. 468 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1.
113. sp. 164 __ Biiss. 5. 54. 5. t. 4. f. 2 __ Rail Syn. 111. A. 4 — Wagler,
Syst. Av. sp. 38.
Charadriu^ Tataricus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 746. sp. 1 5.
Charadrius Sibiricus, Gmel Syst. 1. 690.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 747- sp. 19.
Le Pluvier Guignard, Buff. Ois. 8. 87 — Id. PI. Enl. 332 — Temm. Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 537,
Der Diimme Regenpfeifer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 406.
Dotterel, Br. Zool. 2. 477. No. 210 — Arct. Zool. 2. 487. A — Will. (Angl.)
309.— Albinos Br. Birds, 2. t. 62 __ Lath. Syn. 5. 208. 14 __ Bewick's Br.
Birds, Ed. 1826. t. p. t. 269 __ Mont. Orn. Diet. 1 — Id. Sup — Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 113. sp. 164 — Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 137.
Dotterel Plover, Shaw's Zool. 11. 468.
Periodical ^HE Dotterel can only be reckoned a cursory visitant at
visitant, the two periods of its migrating flights, viz. in spring, du-
ring the months of April and May, when on its way to higher
latitudes for the breeding season, and again in September
and October, on its return to its winter quarters in the
warmer parts of Europe and Asia. By some writers, how-
ever, it has been supposed, that a part of the birds whicli
visit Britain in spring remain to breed upon the moors of the
northern counties of England, and in the Highlands of Scot-
land. Amongst others, MONTAGU and Dr FLEMING seem
to favour this opinion ; the former of whom, in his Ornitho-
DOTTEREL. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 237
logical Dictionary, after stating the probability of the fact,
observes, that he once saw Dotterels in Scotland sufficiently
late to induce him to entertain such an idea, and further
adds, that Col. THORNTON informed him of his having seen
Dotterels in pairs upon the Grampian Hills ; but, unfortu-
nately, in neither of these cases is the precise time of year
mentioned. Dr FLEMING, in his History of British Animals,
cites a passage from the Statistical Account of the parish of
Carmylie, in favour of the above supposition ; but the para-
graph is too generally worded to establish as a fact, the re-
sidence and breeding of these birds upon the Grampian
Mountains. In Northumberland (where considerable flocks
annually appear in certain haunts near the coast in the month
of May, and where their visit seldom extends beyond a week
or ten days), I have, during summer, examined all the up-
land moors, and the range of the Cheviot Hills, these being
the situations to which they would naturally retire, if any
remained, to breed, but always without success ; nor did the
bird appear to be known to the shepherds or other inhabi-
tants of these districts. The same may be said of the moors
of Cumberland, and the south-western parts of Scotland,
where, indeed, it is of very rare occurrence, even during its pe-
riodical flight ; the line of migration of the passing bodies that
visit us in spring being along the eastern coasts of the island.
I may also add, that in various excursions to the Highlands
of Scotland, I never met with the Dotterel in the summer or
breeding season, though its congener the Golden Plover was
frequently seen ; nor has any instance occurred of the nest,
eggs, or immature young of this bird having been yet found.
It is seen, on its return from its breeding quarters, in parti-
cular haunts during the months of September and October,
generally in families of five or six together, being the old
birds and their brood ; occasionally, however, earlier appear-
ance may happen, as in the case of the bird mentioned by
Col. THORNTON in his Sporting Tour, which he killed in
Scotland on the 1 6th of August ; and a Dotterel, apparently
238 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. DOTTEREL.
a bird of the year, once fell before my own gun when shoot-
ing Grouse on the 20th of August. These, in all probability,
were birds of early hatchings, which appear frequently to
precede the main bodies of their species in the equatorial mi-
gration, as I have previously remarked in the history of the
Sanderling. The Dotterel has always been considered a stupid
bird, but for what reason I cannot conceive. I allow, that
on its first arrival, it shews but little fear of man, but 'this,
I apprehend, arises more from inexperience of persecution in
its native wilds, than from any other cause, and which ap-
pears evident from the birds, when harassed and repeatedly
fired at, soon becoming too cautious to admit of near ap-
proach any longer. Their habits also contribute to render
them unwary, for being nocturnal feeders (like many others
of the Charadriadee), they are at rest and asleep during the
greater part of the day, in which state also the Golden
Plover (a wary bird when roused) will frequently admit of
a close approach. As to the story of the Dotterel mimicking
the actions of the fowler, by stretching out its leg, wing, or
head, when he sets the example, it, without doubt, arose from
the motions that they, as well as other birds, usually and
most naturally make when roused from a state of repose ; and
which every one who attends to the habits of the feathered
race must (in flocks of Gulls, Plovers, Tringas, &c.) have
frequently observed. The Dotterel is particularly abundant
in northern Asia and the eastern parts of Europe. It inha-
bits Siberia, and the vast steppes of Tartary, frequently
living in the vicinity of the salt lakes and marshes of that
open region. It is also found, during its winter migration,
in Italy and Spain. The great body of these birds retires to
the high latitudes of Northern Asia, Russia, and Lapland
Alps to breed ; but the flocks which pass along the eastern
coast of our island are supposed to limit their flight to the
upland districts and mountains of Sweden and Norway. — The
nest and eggs of the Dotterel have hitherto remained unde-
scribed.
DOTTEREL. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 239
During its short abode with us, which is only in particular
districts, it haunts fallow and newly sown corn-fields, as well as
moors and open downs. In the neighbourhood of Cambridge
and Royston, it is killed during its vernal passage in consi-
derable numbers; its flesh, which is sweet and of delicate
flavour, being highly prized for the table. In Northumber-
land, it frequents some few places along the coast, and in
North Durham, about Scrimerston and Unthank (four
miles south of Berwick), it annually appears in large flocks.
Its food, like that of the Golden Plover, consists of worms,
slugs, insects, and their larvae.
PLATE 39- Fig. 1. Represents the male bird in summer plum-
age.
Crown of the head deep clove-brown, each feather being General
finely margined with white. Over each eye is a broad tionT^
streak of white, which meet behind, at the nape of the Summer
neck. Cheeks, chin, and throat white. Lower part of plu
the neck, and upper part of the breast, pale hair-brown,
tinged with grey. Pectoral fascia consisting of a streak
of black and a broader one of white. Lower part of the
breast and belly orange-brown. Abdomen black. Vent
and under tail-coverts reddish-white. Upper parts of
the body pale hair-brown, tinged with ash-grey, the
feathers being margined with pale orange-brown. Tail
slightly wedge-shaped, having the two middle feathers
of a uniform pale hair-brown, the rest on each side with
white tips, and the outmost, with its outer web, also
white. Quills deep hair-brown, the shaft of the first
being white, very thick and strong. Legs and toes yel-
lowish-brown. Bill dusky.
In the female, the pectoral band is not so distinct ; the
orange-brown upon the breast much paler, and tinged
with grey, and the abdomen mixed with white feathers.
Fig. 2. Is taken from a female bird after the autumnal moult.
Forehead white, streaked with brown. Crown of the head
240 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER.
brownish-black, the feathers being edged with pale
reddish-brown. Eye-streak, cheeks, and throat reddish-
white, with a few specks and lines of brown. Neck ash-
grey, tinged with pale orange-brown. Breast ash-grey
marbled and tinged with pale reddish-brown, and shew-
ing an imperfect greyish-white fascia. Belly and abdo-
men white, dashed with pale orange-brown. Under
tail-coverts reddish-white. Upper parts hair-brown,
tinged with grey, each feather being deeply edged with
pale orange-brown. Tail deep hair-brown, the two
middle feathers being margined, near their tips, with
red dish- white, the rest having large white tips, the out-
most feather (as in the summer plumage), with its outer
web white.
RINGED PLOVER.
CHARADRIUS HIATICULA, Linn.
PLATE XXXVIII. FIGS. 1, 2.
Charadrius Hiaticula, Linn. Syst. 1. 253 1 — Gmel Syst. 1. 683 — Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2. 743, sp. 8. but not the PL Enl. 921. of Buffon, and neither of
the varieties B. and Y — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 470 — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 113. sp. 165 — Wagkr's Syst. Av. 1. sp. 21.
Pluvialis torquata minor, Briss. Orn. 5. 63. 8. t. 5. f. 2.
Pluvier a collier, Buff. Ois. 8. 90 — Id. PL Enl. 920.
Grand Pluvier a collier, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 539.
Buntschnubliger regenpfeifer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 414.
Halsband regenpfeifer, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 1. Heft 15.
Sea Lark, Alton's Br. Birds, 1. 1. 80 — Will. (Angl.) 310. t. 37.
Hinged Plover, Br. Zool. 2. No. 211 — Arct. Zool. 2. 401 — Lath. Syn. 5.
201. 8. — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. pi. 184 — PulL Cat. Dorset, p. 16 — Mont.
Ornith. Diet. 2. and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 1. 1. p. 345 Id. ed. 1826,
1. t. p. 371 Shaw's Zool. 11. 470 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 113. sp. 165.
Dul willy, Rennie's ed. Mont. Ornith. Diet. p. 141.
PROVINCIAL — Ring Dotterel, Sand Lark, Sea Lavrock, Sandy Lavrock,
Sandy Loo.
THIS small and prettily marked Plover is an indigenous
species, and is found throughout the year upon all the coasts
of Britain, though BEWICK, in his History of British Birds,
has inadvertently stated it to be migratory in the northern
counties, and only known as a summer resident. This asser-
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 241
tion long experience enables me decidedly to contradict, as
these birds are met with in even greater abundance upon the
Northumbrian coast during the winter, than in the summer
or breeding season, when some of them retire inland to the
banks of rivers, and to the pebbly margins of lakes. They
particularly frequent bays, creeks, and the mouths of rivers,
where the shore is composed of gravel, and during winter
collect in small flocks, which generally keep themselves se-
parate from the Purres and other Tringas, although they may
occasionally be seen joining them in their wheeling flights.
They run with nearly as much swiftness as the Sanderling,
and in this action (as is also seen in the other Plovers and
Cursorial birds) the neck is shortened, and the head thrown
well back between the shoulders. Early in May they begin
to pair, and to look out for an appropriate situation for rear-
ing the forthcoming brood. This situation is usually found
amongst the gravel, near the high- water mark ; sometimes
also on the links or sand-hills that line the coast, or even in
a corn-field, if immediately adjoining the shore. A few, as
I have before observed, retire inland for this purpose, where
they take up their residence on the margins of rivers. Lit-
tle artificial nest is made ; a slight hollow, lined with a few Nest, &c.
stems of dry grass, sufficing to receive the four eggs, which
are of cream-yellow, tinged with grey, covered all over with
variously-sized spots of blackish-brown, with others of a
lighter shade appearing beneath the outer shell, and in size
nearly equal to those of the Common Sandpiper (Totanus
Hypoleucos). The old birds display great anxiety about
their young, and, like the Golden Plover, use various strata-
gems (such as feigning a crippled state, or tumbling over as
if unable to fly), with the view of enticing a dog, or any sus-
pected enemy, from the vicinity of their brood. On wing
these birds are strong, and fly with rapidity, but seldom to
any great distance, unless repeatedly disturbed ; generally,
after a short circuit, alighting upon the sand or gravel not
far from the spot whence they last rose. Upon the sea-coast
VOL. II. Q,
242 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER.
Food, they feed on small marine insects, worms, and Crustacea ;
and, when frequenting the edges of rivers and lakes, on
aquatic insects, both as larvae and in the perfect state. The
Ringed Plover is widely distributed over Europe, inhabiting
the northern parts as far as Iceland. In Holland it abounds;
also upon the coasts of France, Italy, &c. It is met with in
parts of Africa, and the species found in North America
seems to be in every respect similar. Its note is a rather
soft plaintive whistle, frequently repeated when on wing, or
when running on the shore. This bird appears to have been
often confounded by preceding authors with the Charadrius
minor of TEMMINCK, and also with the Charadrius Canti-
anus of LATHAM ; which latter ranks as a British species,
and is occasionally found upon the southern coast. The for-
mer has not yet been met with in Britain. The Ringed
Plover is subject to the double moult, but the change is on-
ly shewn by the greater intensity of the black, and the more
perfect purity of the white parts of the plumage.
PLATE 38. Fig. 1. Represents the adult male in summer
plumage.
General Base of the upper mandible, space between it and the eyes,
lion™1*" and tne ear-coverts, black. Forehead white; behind
which a band of black passes over the crown of the
plumage. nea<^ ^rom eve to eve* Over the eye a streak of white
passes backwards towards the nape of the neck. Chin,
throat, and collar, white. Lower part of the neck, and
upper part of the breast, having a broad gorget of in-
tense black, passing backwards and forming a second
collar. Under parts pure white. Back part of the
head, nape of the neck, and the whole of the upper parts,
pale hair-brown, with a cinereous tinge. Quills deep
hair-brown, with the basal part of the outer webs of the
secondaries white. Greater wing-coverts having white
tips. Tail, with the two middle-feathers, hair-brown,
the rest having white tips, except the outer feather,
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 243
which is white, with a black spot in the centre of the
inner web. Legs and toes gallstone yellow. Bill
orange at the base, with the tip black. Irides brown.
The female is similar to the male bird, except that the
black collar and coronal band are not so intense in co-
lour.
Fig. 2. The young of the year, killed in October.
Upper mandible brown at the base ; under one pale orange- Winter
yellow. From the base of the bill to the eye is a dusky
streak. Forehead dirty white. Crown of the head
hair-brown, and without the black band that distin-
guishes the adult. Throat, and ring round the neck,
white, tinged with yellow. Gorget wood-brown. Back
and wing-coverts pale hair-brown, tinged with grey, the
tips and sides of the feathers finely margined with sul-
lied white. Under parts white. Tail as in the adult
bird. Legs and toes wax-yellow.
KENTISH PLOVER.
CHARADRIUS CANTIANUS, Lath.
PLATE XXXVIII. FIG. 3.
Charadrius cantianus, Lath. Ind. Orn. Sup. 66. 1 Temm. Man. d'Ornith.
2. 544 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 11. 474.
Charadrius Alexandrinus, Hassel H. 255. 30.
Charadrius albifrons, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 323. sp. 5 — Wagler,
• Syst. Av. 1. sp. 32.
Charadrius littoralis, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 430. t. 23. f. 1. and 2.
Pluvier a collier interompu, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 544.
Kentish Plover, Lewin's Br. Birds, t. 185 — Lath. Syn. Sup. 2. 316. 3 —
Mont. Ornith. Diet. Sup — Shaw's Zool 11. 474.
THIS species, which is rather inferior even in size to the
preceding one, was first named by Dr LATHAM, in the Sup-
plement to the " Index Ornithologicus," and was described
by him at greater length in the second supplementary vo-
244 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER-
lume of his " General Synopsis," from three specimens sent
to him by Mr BOYS of Sandwich, of which one was killed in
May 1787, the others in April 1791. Since that time we
have other instances of its capture, amongst which may be
particularly noticed two young birds of the year, killed up-
on the Norfolk coast in 1827, and recorded by WILLIAM
YARRELL, Esq. in the third volume of the Zoological Jour-
nal, where he has, with his accustomed perspicuity, minute-
ly pointed out the characters that distinguish the present
species at this age from the young of Charadrius Hiaticula.
Of this latter MONTAGU was inclined to consider it only a
variety, as may be gathered from the contents of his paper,
published in the seventh volume of the Linnean Transac-
tions, and afterwards transcribed into the Supplement to the
Ornithological Dictionary, under the head of " Ringed
Plover." Such an opinion, however, I feel confident, could
only have arisen from his never having seen a specimen of
the Kentish Plover, as, upon examination and comparison
with C. Hiaticula^ so accurate an observer and intelligent a
naturalist must have been at once convinced that they were,
though nearly allied, yet perfectly distinct species *. As to
the Charadrius Alexandrinus of authors, which was also
considered by him to be C. Hiaticula in its adolescent state,
from being unable to refer it to any other species within his
knowledge, I agree with TEMMINCK and WAGLER, that it
ought to be expunged from the list of birds, being merely a
nominal species, founded upon citations from other authors ;
and referring not only to the present bird, but also to Cha-
radrius minor of TEMMINCK (Char. Curonicus of LATHAM'S
Index, Ornith.), another species of Ringed Plover, very si-
milar in its markings, but inferior in size to C. Hiaticula ;
* On referring to Dr RENNIE'S late edition of MONTAGU'S Dictionary,
I was surprised to find that the Kentish Plover is considered bj him also as
"• a variety of the Ringed Plover." I must therefore suppose that he also
has never seen the former bird, or at least had the opportunity of compa-
ring it with the latter.
PLOVER. GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. 245
common in Germany and the southern parts of Europe, but
hitherto unrecorded as a British species. TEMMINCK states
the Kentish Plover to be very abundant in Holland ; in
England it is comparatively of rare occurrence, and its ap-
pearance has been hitherto confined to the eastern shores of
the island. It is also found in Egypt, Nubia, and Tartary.
Its manners are similar to those of the Ringed Plover, and
it is a constant resident upon sea-coasts. — It breeds upon the Nest, &c.
gravelly beach above the usual reach of high water, using
any small depression as a receptacle for its four eggs, which
are smaller than those of the preceding species, but alike in
colour *. Its food consists of small marine scarabaei, and Food,
other insects, worms, and diminutive bivalve shell-fish.
PLATE 38. Fig. 3. Represents the adult bird, from a speci-
men in the collection of Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart.
Bill and legs black. Forehead and streak over the eyes General
white. Behind the forehead is an angular spot or band ticm^"
of black. Space between the bill and eyes, and the ear. Adult
coverts, black. Crown of the head and nape of the neck bird*
deep yellowish-brown, tinged with ash-grey. On each
side of the breast is a large patch of brownish-black.
Under parts, and imperfect ring round the neck, pure
white. Upper parts pale wood-brown, with a greyish
tinge. Quills hair-brown, with the shafts of the pri-
mary ones white. Tail having the four central feathers
hair-brown, the three outer ones yellowish-white.
« From a notice by Mr GEORGE CLAYTON of .Rochester, in the 23d
Number of the Magazine of Natural History, it appears highly probable
that the Char. Cantianus breeds annually upon the Kentish coast ; for he
says, " I first met with these birds in Pegwell Bay, and on the Sandwich
Flats in May 1830. They were then in pairs, and probably breed in the
banks of shells which abound there." From his having shot seven of them
in one day, they seem to have been rather numerous, and have in all likeli-
hood hitherto escaped detection, from the similarity of their appearance
and habits to the Ringed Plover.
246 GRALLATORES. HIMANTOPUS.
Young. In the young state previous to the moult, there is no black
about the head. Forehead and eyebrow white. Front
of the neck the same. Crown of the head, back part of
the neck, and all the upper parts of the body, light ash-
brown. Patch on each side of the chest light hair-
brown. Under parts white. Bill and legs black.
GENUS HIMANTOPUS, BRISS. STILT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL longer than the head, slender, cylindrical, drawn to
a fine point, slightly inflected towards the middle. Mandi-
bles with a lateral groove, extending through one-half of
their length ; tomia of both mandibles anterior to the fur-
row, intracted ; tip of the upper mandible slightly curving
over that of the under one. Nostrils lateral, long, and
linear.
Wings long, with the first quill-feather much longer than
the rest.
Legs very long and slender. Tibiae naked for the great-
est part of their length above the tarsal joint. Tarsi thin
and laterally compressed, reticulated. Feet three-toed, all
the toes directed forwards ; the outer toe united to the mid-
dle one by a large membrane ; the inner toe by a much
smaller membrane. Claws short, slightly curved, and hav-
ing the inner edges expanded.
Plumage soft, close, and adpressed.
The members of this genus, remarkable for the dispropor-
tionate length and the slenderness of their legs, are not nu-
merous, but possess a very wide geographical range, some one
of the species being found in every quarter of tne globe. By
the earlier authors, when only one species was recognised, it
was placed amongst the typical Plovers. It was very pro-
STILT. GRALLATORES HIMANTOPUS. 247
perly, however, detached by BKISSON, and obtained from
him the generic name of Himantopus, which has been gene-
rally adopted by subsequent ornithologists. Its affinity to
the Plovers is shewn in the form of its feet ; and the passage
to the genus Charadrius is effected through the interposition
of some of the longer-limbed species, and by the members of
the genus Pluvianus. It also connects the present family
with certain groups of the Scolopatida, as it shews an evi-
dent affinity, both in form and manners, to the Avosets (ge-
nus Recurvirostra) ; amongst which, indeed, WILSON was
led to place the North American species, from the great si-
milarity observed by that acute inquirer in their respective
habits. The present birds inhabit the shores of the ocean,
as well as of interior saline and fresh- water lakes, feeding up-
on worms, insects, larvae, &c. which are obtained in the
muddy shallows of the waters they frequent. Their moult
is presumed by TEMMINCK to be double ; for the fact does
not appear to be established by actual observation.
BLACK-WINGED STILT.
HIMANTOPUS MELANOPTERUS, Meyer.
PLATE XXXIX. *
Himantopus melanopterus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 528. — Horsf. Trans.
Linn. Soc. 13. 194 — Shaitfs Zool. 12. 179. — Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet.
p. 496.
Himantopus rufipes, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 446. t. 25. f. 1.
Himantopus atropterus, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. ? 315.
Himantopus, Briss. 5. 33. t. 3. f. 1 — Rail Syn. 106. 9 — Will 219. t. 54.
Charadrius Himantopus, Linn. Syst. 1. 255. 11. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 690 Lath.
Ind. Ornith. 2. 2. 741. sp. 3.
L'Echasse, Buff. Ois. 8. 114. pi. 8 — Id. PL Enl. 878 — Cuv. Reg. Anim.
I. 496.
L'Echasse a Manteau noir, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 528. — Lesson, Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 340.
Schwarzflugelige Strandreuter, Meyer, Vog. Deutsch. 5. 2. Heft 21.
Long-legged Plover, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 209 Arct. ZooL 2. No. 405.
—Lath. Syn. 5. 195. 3 — Id. Sup. 252 — White's Hist. Selb. p. 358
Lewies Br. Birds, 3. pi. 182 — BewicWs Br. Birds, ed. 1826. 1. 1. pi. 365.
— Shaw's Zool. sect. 1. pi. 80.
Black-winged Longshank, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 180.
Stilt, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. p. 496.
248 GRALLATORES. HIMANTOPUS. STILT.
THIS bird, of such singular appearance, from the great
length of its legs, in proportion to the size of its body, is on-
Occasional lj known to us as an occasional visitant, — a few specimens
visitant, having been from time to time killed in different parts of
these islands. It is met with in France, Germany, and the
southern parts of Continental Europe, but only as a bird of
passage, its chief habitats being in Hungary and Russia, up-
on the margins of the widely extended saline lakes of those
countries, where it breeds and rears its young. It is also
common in various parts of Asia, and occurs in Egypt and
other districts of the African continent. Of its habits and
other peculiarities I am unable to give any detailed account,
never having been fortunate enough to see the bird in a liv-
ing state, nor can I supply this deficiency by extracts from
any other author *. Judging, however, that they will, in a
great measure, resemble those of others of this genus, I refer
my readers to WILSON'S graphic account of an American
species closely related to the present one, and which he has
described under the title of Recurvirostra Himantopus.
PLATE 39.* Represents this bird of the natural size.
General Bill black. Irides red. Forehead, region of the eyes,
descrip- ^des and front of the neck, lower part of the back, and
tion.
Male. the under parts white ; the latter tinged with rose-red.
Occiput and nape of the neck greyish-black. Hind part
of the neck white, many of the feathers being tipped
with greyish -black. Mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts,
and quills black, glossed with duck-green. Tail ash-
grey. Legs and toes vermilion- red. Tarsi thin and
reticulated.
Female. The female is inferior in size, and the dark parts of her
plumage incline more to brown, without exhibiting the
glossy green lustre of the male bird.
* I am informed that there is a coloured figure and description of this
bird, under its former title of Long-legged Plover, in Dr SHAW'S " Natural-
ists' Miscellany," (a periodical work of considerable ability, but now diffi-
cult to be met with), taken from a recent specimen transmitted to that
distinguished naturalist by a clergyman in Wales, where the bird was killed.
GRALLATORES. (EDICNEMUS. 249
GEFUS CEDICNEMUS, TJBMM. THICK-KNfiE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL rather longer than the head, strong, strait, depressed
at the base ; the tip horny, hard, and compressed ; culmen
of the upper mandible prominent, with the tip gently de-
flected. Nasal fosse large and wide, covered with a mem-
brane like a cere. Under mandible angulated, and ascend-
ing towards the point. Gape of the bill extending back-
wards as far as the anterior angle of the eye. Nostrils me-
dial, longitudinally cleft as far as the horny tip of the bill,
open in front, and covered in the back part by the membrane
of the fosse.
Wings of mean length, pointed, having the first quill
shorter than the second, which is the longest in the wing.
Tail wedge-shaped.
Legs long, slender, with part of the tibiae naked above
the tarsal joint. Tarsi covered with hexagonal scales. Feet
three-toed, with all the toes directed forwards. Toes short,
united at the base by a membrane, which is continued, and
borders each toe. Nails short, slightly curved, with the
inner edge of the middle one dilated.
This interesting genus, established by TEMMINCK for the
reception of that species known in Europe, and of several
others which late discoveries have produced to us from Af-
rica, Asia, and New Holland, stands at the extremity of the
present family, and serves to connect it with the Rasorial
order, by its evident affinity to the' Bustards, and other ge-
nera of the family of Struthionidce. Its intermediate posi-
tion|between the Plovers and Bustards is clearly pointed out
by the station which earlier systematists have given to the
European species (the only one then known), LATHAM hav-
ing placed it in the genus Otis, LINNAEUS and others in that
250 GRALLATORES. (EDICNEMUS. THICK-KNEE.
of Charadrius. It possesses, however, characters sufficient-
ly prominent and distinct to warrant its separation from
both ; and which necessity is further shewn by the recent
discovery of several other species, all possessing the typical
characters of the Common Thick-knee. To the Plovers it
is allied by the structure of its bill, by its large and rounded
head, and the general contour of the body ; to the Bustards
by the form of its feet, and the shortness of its toes. Its ha-
bits are also more assimilated to the latter group, and, like
them, it lays but two eggs. The species reside on unculti-
vated open countries and dry deserts, feeding upon insects,
worms, small mammalia, and reptiles. Their moult appears
to be simple, and there is but little difference between the
sexes in plumage and general appearance.
COMMON THICK-KNEE.
(EDICNEMUS CREPITANS, Temm.
PLATE XL.
(Edicnemus crepitans, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 521. — Shaw's Zool. 11.
459. pi. 33.
(Edicnemus Bellonii, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 114. sp. 166.
Charadrius (Edicnemus, Linn. Syst. 1. 255. 10 — Gmel Syst. 1. 689 — Wag-
ler, Syst. Av. sp. 1.
Otis (Edicnemus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 661. sp. 11.
Pluvialis major, (Edicnemus vulgo dicta, Rail Syn. 108. A. 6 — Will. 227.
tab. 58 — Brisson, Orn. 5. 76. 12. t. ?. f. I.
Fedoa nostra tertia, Raii Syn. 105. A. 6 — Will. 216.
Le Grand Pluvier, ou Courlis de Terre, Buff. Ois. 8. 105. pi. 7 — Id. PL
Enl. 919.
(Edicneme Criard, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 521 — Lesson, Man. d'Ornith.
2. 336.
Lerchengraue Hegenpfeifer, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 387. — Meyer, Tass-
chenb. Deut. 2. 317.
Stone Curlew, Albinos Br. Birds, 1. pi. 69 — Will. (Angl.) 306 — Rennie's
Mont. Orn. Diet. p. 500.
Thick-kneed Bustard, Penn. Br. Zool. 1. No. 200 — White's Hist. Selb.
4to. 43. 88 — Lath. Syn. 4. 806. 9 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 4. pi. 141 — Mont.
Ornith. Diet. 1.— Id. sup.
Great Plover, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. 1. p. t. 363.
Common Thick-knee, Leach, Cat. Br. Mus. p. 28.— Steph. Shaw's Zool.
11. 459.pl. 33.
PROviNCiAL—Norfolk Plover.
THICK-KNEE. GRALLATOBES. CEDICNEMUS. 251
THE Common Thick-knee, or, as it is frequently called,
the Norfolk Plover, is a migratory bird, and one of our re-
gular summer visitants. It arrives in England generally Periodical
about the end of April or the beginning of May (though
earlier instances of its appearance have been occasionally no-
ticed), and, after performing the duties attendant upon the
reproduction of the species, as autumn advances collects into
flocks, and retires soon afterwards, with the addition of the
new matured young, to Africa and the warmer latitudes of
the European continent, to pass the hiemal months. Its dis-
tribution in this country is principally confined to a few of
the southern and eastern counties, as its peculiar habits di-
rect it to such as afford extensive open tracts ; on which ac-
count it is most abundant in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex.
It is also found in Hampshire, and sometimes, though of
much rarer occurrence, in the wolds of Yorkshire, which
seem to be the highest limit of its migration here ; as I ne-
ver met with it, nor have I heard of any instances of its cap-
ture in the more northern countries, or in any part of Scot-
land. According to MONTAGU and other ornithologists, it
is equally excluded from the western parts of the island.
Wide hilly downs are the situations that suit the economy of
this bird, and where it passes the period of its residence with
us. It makes no nest, but deposits its eggs on the surface Nest, &c.
of the earth, in fallow or other bare ground, especially where
flint stones are abundant ; as their similarity in colour to the
bird and its eggs furnish great means of safety from its ene-
mies. Like the Bustard, its eggs are limited to two, which
are of a light yellowish-brown, with blotches and streaks of
different shades of brown. The young follow their parents
upon immediate exclusion, and are then covered with a par-
ti-coloured grey down, which gradually gives place to the
proper plumage, till in six weeks or two months they are
enabled to fly, and of course to provide for themselves. The
large and prominent eye of this bird indicates it as being a
late and nocturnal feeder, and we accordingly find its prey
252 GRALLATORES. (EDICNEMUS. THICK-KNEE.
Food, to consist of small mammalia, reptiles, worms, and insects,
of such species as are known to be abroad and in activity
under the shades of night. The stomachs of two individuals
sent to me from Norfolk in the spring, soon after their ar-
rival in this country, were filled with the remains of beetles,
chiefly belonging to the genus Carabus. This organ (un-
like that of the Little Bustard, Otis Tetrax) was very mus-
cular, with its inner coats corrugated ; and in addition to the
remains above mentioned, contained several small flint peb-
bles, in all probability intentionally swallowed, to assist the
folds of the stomach in acting upon the hard shelly covering
of its prey. This is a bird of wild and shy disposition, and,
like other night-feeding species, usually is at rest during the
day, sitting closely squatted behind a stone, clod, or any pro-
tecting cover ; and, when disturbed, after flying to a short
distance, runs off with great rapidity. With the advance of
twilight it issues from its retreat in search of food, and may
then be heard frequently uttering its loud and shrill whistle,
which is supposed to be the amorous note-call of the male
bird. It flies with great strength and swiftness, and during
the night (especially in the breeding season) sometimes
mounts high in the air. In its flight the legs are stretched
out behind (as in the Plovers, and indeed in most of the
Grallatores) to preserve the equilibrium of the body. This
species has a wide geographical range in the old world, be-
ing found in Spain, the southern parts of France, in Ger-
many, Italy, Sardinia, and Turkey, and in other southern
parts of Europe, suitable to its habits. It is also to be met
with in parts of Africa and Asia. The young are said to be
good for the table, but the flesh of the old birds is dry, hard,
and strong.
PLATE 40. Represents this bird of the natural size.
General Head and upper parts of the body reddish-white, tinged
W^ ash-grev and yellowish-brown, each feather having
a central streak of umber-brown. Cheeks, throat, belly,
THICK-KNEE. GRALLATORES. (EDICNEMUS. 253
and thighs white. Neck, and upper part of breast, yel-
lowish-white, streaked with brown. Lesser wing-coverts
pale cream-white. Quills black, the first having a large
white bar near the middle, the second with one rather
smaller. Tail wedge-shaped, the three outmost feathers
reddish-white, with arrow-shaped bars and a broad tip
of black, the next two feathers more inclining to wood-
brown, with a few darker zigzag lines and variegations,
and with black tips ; the two middle feathers pale
wood-brown, slightly marbled, but without the black
tips. The horny point of the bill black, the basal part
being primrose-yellow. I rides gamboge-yellow. Be-
hind the eyes is a bare space of a wax-yellow colour.
Legs and toes yellow, with a greyish tinge. Claws
blackish-brown.
The female resembles the male bird ; and the young are
distinguished by the colours being less marked and dis-
tinct, and the tarsus below the joint being thick and
swollen.
ORDER V.
NATATORES.
THIS Order, which constitutes the fifth great division of
the Class, contains (as the title imports) all the various tribes
conspicuous for their aquatic habits ; and whose conforma-
tion, as to the structure of the feet and other anatomical
points, fits them for swimming, diving, &c., and entitles
them to the appropriate name of Water-Fowl. It answers
to the Palmipedes of other systematists, if we except a few
forms, which it has been found necessary (in strict accordance
254 NATATORES.
with their affinities, and with the station they seem naturally
to hold), to remove to families of another order ; as the
genus Phaenicopterus (Flamingo) to the family of Ardeadce,
and Recurvirostra (Avoset) to that of Scolopaddce, in the
order Grallatores ; the feet of these birds betokening more
analogy than affinity to those of the true Natatores. The
present order, like the preceding one, may be divided into
five natural families, which (according to the nomenclature
now adopted), are thus entitled, Anatidce, Colymbidce, Alca-
dcR, PelecanidcB, and Laridce, each taking its designation
from the typical or representative genus. Of these, the Co-
lymbidce and Alcadce, possessing in a superior degree the
structure and qualities that peculiarly fit them for living on
the ocean, and being at the same time deficient in properties
possessed by the others, which are not so directly essential
to that end, may be considered the typical representatives
of the order ; for as the order itself, as Mr VIGORS observes,
is aberrant, inasmuch as it deviates from what he calls the
more perfect structure* of the conterminous tribes or orders,
the normal subdivisions will necessarily consist of such
groups as carry this deviation to the greatest extreme, and
this, upon investigation, will be found to prevail in the dif-
ferent genera of these two families. The other three, which
diverge more or less from the true natatorial form, as exhi-
bited in the Colymbidce and Alcadce, and approximate to
each other, as well as to the families and groups of the pre-
ceding orders, form the aberrant divisions. The same cir-
cular succession of affinities that prevails throughout the
* When the words perfect structure are used, they must mean that pecu-
liar formation which lies equally removed from the two extremes, con-
sidered with respect to systematic arrangement; such, for instance, as
the central (or typical) form of any division or family. This distinction
seems necessary to be made, lest the term should be liable to misconstruc-
tion ; as we know that every creature issued perfect from the hand of
its Creator, that is, with such an adaptation of its parts and their func-
tions to its peculiar habits as Almighty Wisdom alone could produce, —
P. S.
NATATORES. 255
other orders and their subdivisions, may be traced in the pre-
sent one ; and its connexion with them, at various points,
satisfactorily established by the tendency of particular ge-
nera and species. It is also through the connexion of this
order with that of the Raptores (however improbable it may
at first view appear), that the circle of the orders themselves
is completed. This seems, however, to be effected by the in-
tervention of a peculiar form in the family of the Pele-
canidce ; I allude to the genus TacJiypetes of VIEILLOT (the
type of which is the Pelecanus Aquilus of LINN^US), of
which the species, both in form, flight, and predatory ha-
bits, shew a marked and near approach to the true raptorial
birds. As the affinities of each family will be more particu-
larly alluded to under their respective heads, I pass without
further preface to that of the Anatidce, with which the order
commences.
FAMILY I.— ANATID^E.
THE Family of Anatidce, to which we are introduced by
the connexion subsisting between certain of its members and
others of the preceding orders, forms the first aberrant fa-
mily of the Natatores, and is formed of the extensive Lin-
nean genus Anas with that of Mergus. The first it has
been found necessary, by subsequent systematists (from the
difficult task of reconciling and adapting the Linnean gene-
ric characters to the vast variety of species it contains), to
separate, either by sectional division, as adopted by M,
TEMMINCK, in his " Manuel d'Ornithologie" (which division
is in fact equivalent to the subfamilies of the present sys-
tem), or by the institution of distinct genera, the plan of
ILLIGER, as well as other naturalists of the present day, and
in which they do but follow the older ornithologists who pre-
ceded the learned Swede. In conjunction, however, with the
genus Mergus, it appears clearly to admit of being separated
256 NATATORES.
into five subdivisions or Subfamilies* (or, as others may
chuse to call them, Genera), each displaying the same series
of affinities within itself that regulates the more extensive
divisions. The first of them is the subfamily Anserina, con-
taining all the species generally known under the name of
Geese (and answering to TEMMINCK'S section Les Oies),
amongst which I also include the genus Cereopsis of LA-
THAM. These, in their terrene habits, food, facility of walk-
ing, length of neck and of leg (as compared with the other
Anatidce), and bareness of the tibia above the tarsal joint (as
exemplified in Cereopsis ', &c.), shew a near approach to the
Rasores and Grallatores, and serve as a connecting medium
between them and the present order. To the Geese, the sub-
family Cygnina (Swans) seems naturally to succeed, nearly
allied to them in form and other characteristics, but more
aquatic in their habits ; with shorter legs, placed further
backwards and more out of the centre of gravity, being thus
endued with less activity upon land. In the form of the bill
they shew their connexion with the two next subfamilies ;
the first of which, Anatina, answers to TEMMINCK'S first sec-
tion of " Canards proprement aits" This'^appears to form
the typical group of the present family, for in it we find the
lamellated structure of the bill (belonging more or less to all
the AnatidcB), developed in the highest degree ; and habits
mediate between those that approach nearest to the Land
Birds, and those conducting to the more typical Natatores\.
* This arrangement of the Anatidce differs slightly from that of Mr VI-
GORS, as developed in his " Sketches in Ornithology," published in the
third volume of the Zoological Journal ; in which he has made Cereopsis
(without, as I think, sufficient reason, or a due consideration of its struc-
ture and affinities) the type of a subfamily. He has also placed the Mergi
in the subfamily that contains the Ducks with a lobated hind toe, whereas
the peculiar characters of the former seem to entitle them to a distinct
station.
f I refer my readers to an able article, entitled, " On those Birds which
exhibit the Typical Perfection of the Family of the Anatida" by Mr
SWAINSON (one of the most scientific ornithologists of the present day)
NATATORES. 257
From the Anatina we are led by easy gradations of charac-
ter to the fourth subfamily Fuligulina, embracing TEM-
MINCK'S second section of Canards, or Ducks with a lobated
hind toe. These are more pelagic in their habits than the
foregoing groups, and in form also make a more evident ap-
proach to the typical families of the present order ; their
legs, by being thrown far backwards, and much out of the
centre of gravity, render their progress upon land constrained
and awkward, but essentially contribute to their power of
swimming. With them the neck becomes shortened and
thicker, and the gullet more capacious, proportionate to the
larger kind of food upon which they subsist. They swim
remarkably well, rarely quit the water, and are in the con-
stant habit of obtaining their food by diving. Nearly allied
to these last in the backward situation of the legs, the form
of the feet, lobated hind toe, and aquatic habits, are the
members cf the genus Mergus, forming the fifth subfamily
Mergina. They differ, however, in the form of the bill,
which in a great measure loses the breadth and depression
seen in the three immediately preceding groups of the Ana-
tidce, and becomes more like that of the succeeding families
of the order ; at the same time that the connexion with the
first subfamily Anserina is preserved by the Smew (Mergus
albellus)) whose bill is almost of an intermediate form between
that of some of the smaller Geese and the other species of
Mergi.
The AnaiidcB are distinguished from the rest of this or-
der, not only by the broad and depressed form of the bill,
but by its softer consistence, and being entirely clothed by
an epidermis, or skin, with the exception of the dertrum, or
terminating nail. Its structure is also peculiar in another
ssential point, and differs from that of all other birds in the
Iges being furnished with lamellar plates, more or less de-
published in the Fourth Number of the Journal of the Royal Institution
' Great Britain.
VOL. II. R
258 NATATORES.
veloped, according to the proximity of the species to the typi-
cal subfamily Anatina ; in which, as I have before observed,
it is carried to the highest perfection, in beautiful accordance
with the use that so singular a structure is destined to ful-
fil. In the Mergi, which stand at the further extremity of
the family, and whose piscivorous habits differ from those of
the rest of the Anatidce, this disposition of the edges of the
bill becomes much altered, assuming the appearance of dis-
tinct hooks pointing backwards, a modification admirably
adapted, by acting as teeth, to assist these birds in catching
and holding their slippery prey. In this family (and parti-
cularly in the typical species), the tongue is very large and
fleshy, furnished on its margin and other parts with rough
appendages to secure their prey, and probably also to sepa-
rate it from the water and mud by which it is often necessa-
rily accompanied. The trachea, or windpipe, of the male
birds in the three last subfamilies, and in some of the less
typical species of Anserina, is distinguished by a singular en-
largement or capsule near its bifurcation, differing in form
according to the species ; in addition to which a few species
display other enlargements in parts of the trachea, as exem-
plified in Mergus merganser, Oidemia jusca, Clangula vul-
garis, &c. The stomach, or gizzard, of the Anatidce is large
and very muscular, and the caecum is of considerable length.
SUBFAMILY ANSERINA.
GENUS ANSER, Bmss. GOOSE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill as long as, or shorter than, the head ; strait, conical,
thick; much higher than broad at the base, depressed and
flattened towards the tip ; entirely covered with a cere, or
naked skin, with the exception of the nails of the upper and
1
NATATORES. ANSER. 259
lower mandibles, which are distinct and horny, orbiculate
and convex ; that of the upper mandible having the tip de-
flected, and covering the lower one. Lower mandible also
narrower than the upper. Tomia laminato-dentated ; the
lamellae of the upper mandible exposed, those of the lower
mandible covered by the projection of the upper one.
Nostrils lateral, placed rather behind the middle of the
bill, and pierced in the lower and front part of the membrane
that covers the nasal furrow. Tongue broad, fleshy, and
fimbriated.
Wings long, ample, tuberculated.
Legs placed nearly under the centre of the body ; the ti-
bia clothed nearly to the tarsal joint. Feet four- toed ; three
before and one behind ; the front toes palmated, the hind
one free, and articulated upon the tarsus, and scarcely touch-
ing the ground with its tip. Middle toe the longest. Nails
falcate, and having their inner edges dilated.
Although LINN^US combined the whole of the Anatidce,
with the exception of the genus Mergus, under one generic
head, the elder naturalists had always separated the Geese
(or genus Anser) from the true Ducks, as presenting dis-
tinct and peculiar characters, not only in form, but in ha-
bits. The same has also been the prevalent opinion amongst
subsequent authors ; and we find the genus Anser adopted
by ILLIGEU, BECHSTEIN, CUVIER, and other continental or-
nithologists, as well as by FLEMING, VIGORS, and most of
the distinguished writers on this subject in our own coun-
try. The Bermcles have, by Mr STEPHENS, in the twelfth
volume of Shaw's General Zoology, been separated from the
rest, and described under the generic title of Bernicla, an
arrangement that for the present I decline following, as I
cannot, after the most minute investigation into the charac-
ters of the species, fix upon any one of sufficient importance
to warrant a separation from the genus Anser ', as above cha-
racterized. The genus, therefore, as now established, will
260 NATATORES. ANSER.
contain those species which we are accustomed to term Wild
Geese, bearing a great resemblance to each other in form,
colour of plumage, and habits ; and the Bernicles, of inferior
size, with a shorter bill, and generally with black legs.
From the central position of their legs, the moderate size
of their feet, and the length of their tarsi, the Geese walk
readily on land, and are indeed much more frequently seen
there than on the water. They swim, however, with buoy-
ancy and ease, but rarely dive, and only in cases of great
emergency ; when wounded, perhaps, or otherwise unable to
escape. In diet they are graminivorous, as well as granivo-
rous, chiefly the former ; and for cutting such kind of food
the laminated structure of the bill is admirably adapted.
For this purpose they seek the meadows of the interior of the
country, and resort much to fields of young wheat or other
grain. From the great development of wing their flight is
strong, and they make rapid progress during their migratory
journeys, as they can move at the rate of fifty or sixty miles
in an hour. In these flights they advance in a diagonal line,
or in two such lines, meeting in a point like an inverted V.
They breed in the marshy districts of the countries to which
they retire during the summer months, laying several eggs
of a white, or sullied white colour. The flesh of the species
is well flavoured, and highly esteemed for the table ; and in
some countries certain kinds constitute the principal support
of the inhabitants, being killed in immense numbers during
their periodical flights, and prepared as food for the winter.
WILD GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 261
GREY LAG WILD GOOSE.
ANSER PALUSTRIS, Flem.
PLATE XLL
Anser palustris, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 126. sp. 195.
Anas Anser (ferus) Gmel. Syst. 1. 510. sp. 9 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 841.
sp. 26.
L'Oie ceridree ou Premiere, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 818.
L'Oie ordinaire, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 530.
Wilde Gemeine Gans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 842.
Grey Lag Goose, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. 570. No. 266. — Arct. Zool. 2. 473 —
Lath. Syn. 6. 459. 31 Levin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 238 — Mont. Orn. Diet.
1. and Sup Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 282.
Wild Goose, Shaw's Zool. 12. 28. pi. 41.
Common Wild Goose, Will. (Angl.) 358.
FROM the concurrent testimony of our older writers, it ap-
pears that this species was formerly very abundant in Bri- Periodical
tain ; and was also a permanent resident here, breeding an- ^
nually in great numbers in the fens of Lincolnshire, and
some of the adjoining counties. The draining and cultiva-
tion of these marshy tracts, under progressive agricultural
improvement, and the increasing population of the kingdom,
has, however, banished these birds from their ancient haunts ;
and they are now, comparatively speaking, of rare occur-
rence, and, as far as I can ascertain, only met with in small
flocks during the winter. They seem to have given place,
as it were, to the next species (Anser segetum, Bean Goose),
which, as a winter visitant, is very numerous, and widely
spread throughout the country. According to TEMMINCK,
the present species seldom advances much beyond the fifty-
third degree of north latitude ; its geographical distribution
extending over the central and eastern parts of Europe,
Northern Asia, and some parts of Western Africa, where it
inhabits the marshes, and the borders of lakes and inland
seas. It breeds amongst the rushes and other coarse her- Nest, &c
bage, making a large nest of vegetable matter, and laying
262 NATATORES. ANSER. WILD GOOSE.
Food, from six to twelve eggs of a sullied white. Its food consists
principally of the various grasses of the moist and marshy
tracts it affects, though it eats grain with avidity. It is also
very fond of the tender blades of wheat, &c., and often,
during its periodical visits, does considerable damage to corn
fields in an early stage of growth. Being a bird of great
shyness and vigilance, it can only be approached by stealth,
and with the utmost caution ; this is generally effected by
that mode of fowling called stalking, in which a horse is so
trained, as, hiding the person of the fowler, to advance by
degrees, and in an easy and natural manner, upon the flock,
as they are at rest or feeding on the ground. In the latter
state, which only occurs during the day-time, sentinels (oc-
casionally relieved) are always on the watch to give notice of
approaching danger, which they do, on the slightest suspi-
cion, by a cry of alarm ; and immediately the whole flock
take wing, with an alertness and rapidity that could scarcely
be expected in birds of such bulky appearance. At night
they generally retire to the water for repose, but the same
watchful attention to safety is maintained by sentinels, that
distinguishes their conduct during the day. They usually
fly at a great height in the air, moving either in a single dia-
gonal line, or in two lines forming an angle, or inverted V.
In this order the office of leader is taken by turns, the fore-
most, when fatigued, retiring to the rear, and allowing the
next in station to lead the flight. It is generally admitted
that our race of domestic Geese has originally sprung from
this species, and however altered they may now appear in
bulk, colour, or habits, the essential characters remain the
same ; no disinclination to breed with each other is evinced
between them, and the offspring of wild and domesticated
birds are as prolific as their mutual parents. The value of
this species in its present domestic state, not only as food,
but from the various uses to which its covering applies, is too
well known for me to dwell upon ; and as these points, along
with the rearing and management of the bird, have been
BEAN GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 263
fully treated of by PENNANT, MONTAGU, and BEWICK, I re-
fer my readers, without further apology, to the works of these
distinguished authors.
PLATE 41. represents this bird in about four-fifths of the na-
tural size.
Bill orange-red ; nail of the bill greyish-white (which, General
however, is not invariably the case, as TEMMINCK as- tion. P
serts in his description of the distinctive characters of
this and the following species). Head and neck clove-
brown, tinged with grey, the feathers of the latter dis-
posed in rows, and forming lines or furrows. Back,
scapulars, and wing coverts clove-brown, tinged with
ash-grey, and the feathers deeply margined with grey-
ish-white. Lesser wing coverts deep bluish-grey. Up-
per tail coverts white. Breast and belly greyish-white,
undulated with transverse bars of a deeper shade. Vent
and under tail coverts white. Tail clove-brown, with
the margins and tips of the feathers white. Legs and
feet tile-red.
BEAN GOOSE.
ANSER FERUS, Flem.
PLATE XLII.
Anser ferus, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 126. sp. 196.
Anser segetum, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 26.
Anas Anser (ferus) Linn. Syst. 1. 197. 9. — Rail Syn. 136. sp. 2. 4.
Anser sylvestris, Briss. 6. 265. 2.
Anas segetum, Gmel. Syst. 1. 512 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 843. sp. 28.
L'Oie sauvage, Buff. Ois, 9. 30. t. 2 — Id. PL Enl. 985.
Oie vulgarie ou sauvage, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 820.
Saat Gans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 883 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2.
554.
Bean Goose, Br.-Zool. 2. 575. No. 267. PL 94 Arct. Zool. 2. No. 472
Lath. Syn. 6. 464. 23 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 239.— Mont. Ornith.
Diet, and Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. 286 Shaw's ZooL 12.
26.
Wild Goose, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 126. sp. 196.
PROVINCIAL— Common Wild Goose, Small Grey Goose.
264 NATATORES. ANSER. BEAN GOOSE.
THE Bean, or as it is very frequently called, the Wild
Goose, bears in general appearance, and in the colour of its
plumage, a great resemblance to the preceding species, and
with which it is sometimes confounded. It may, however,
be always distinguished from the Grey Lag by the form of
its bill, which is comparatively much smaller, shorter, and
more compressed towards the end. The colour of that mem-
ber also differs, the basal part of the under mandible, and
that of the upper as far as the line of the nostrils, with the
nails of both mandibles, being black, and the intermediate
part flesh-red, inclining to orange. It is also generally less,
though I have had specimens equal in bulk to the smaller
individuals of Anser palustris ; and the wings of the present
species, when closed, reach beyond the end of the tail. — In
Periodical Britain it is well known as a regular winter visitant, arriving
in large bodies from its northern summer haunts, during Sep-
tember or the beginning of October, and seldom taking its
final departure before the end of April or beginning of May.
The various flocks, during their residence in this country,
have each their particular haunts or feeding districts, to
which on each ensuing season they invariably return, as I
have found to be the case in Northumberland and the south-
ern parts of Scotland, where Wild Geese have been known
to frequent certain localities for a continued series of years.
The habits of this and the preceding species are very simi-
lar, and they shew the same vigilance, and use the same
means of guarding against surprise : their capture is there-
fore proportionably difficult, and it is only by stratagem
that, when at rest on the ground or feeding, they can be ap-
proached within gun-shot. In stormy weather, when they
are compelled to fly lower than they usually do, they may
be sometimes intercepted from a hedge or bank, situated in
the route they are observed to take early in the morning, in
passing to their feeding ground. At night they retire to the
water, or else (as I have often remarked in Northumber-
land) to some ridge or bar of sand on the sea coast, suffi-
BEAN GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 265
ciently distant from the main land to afford a secure re-
treat ; and where the approach of an enemy must become
visible, or at least audible to their acute organs, before it
could endanger their safety. The haunts or feeding grounds
of these birds are more frequently in the higher districts
than in the lower and marshy tracts of the country, and they
give the preference to open land, or where the inclosures
are very large. — They feed much upon the tender wheat, Food,
sometimes injuring these fields to a great extent ; and they
frequent also the stubbles, particularly such as are laid down
with clover and other grasses. In the early part of spring
they often alight upon the newly sown bean and pea fields,
picking up greedily such of the pulse as is left on the sur-
face ; and I am inclined to think that their trivial name has
been acquired from their apparent predilection for this kind
of food, rather than from the shape and aspect of the nail of
the upper mandible, to which it has been generally attribu-
ted. They usually fly at a considerable elevation, either in
a diagonal line, or in two such lines, opposed to each other,
and forming a leading acute angle, like the other species ;
and when on wing they maintain a loud cackling, in which
the voices of the two sexes may be easily distinguished.
The rate at which they move, when favoured by a gentle
breeze, is seldom less than from forty to fifty miles an hour,
a velocity which enables them to have their roosting place
far removed from the district they frequent by day. The
principal breeding stations, or summer retreats, of the Bean
Goose are in countries within the arctic circle ;, it is said, how-
ever, that great numbers breed annually in Harris, and some
of the other outermost Western Islands. The nest is made
in the marshy grounds, and formed of grasses and other dry
vegetable materials ; the eggs are white, and from eight to
twelve in number. The trachea of this species increases in
diameter towards the middle, and the bronchiae are short and
tumid. The denticulated lamina of the sides of the bill are
similar in formation to those of Anser palustris, and form
266 NATATORES. ANSER. WILD GOOSE.
thin sharp cutting edges, and the manner in which they lock
within each other, renders the bill an instrument beautifully
adapted for vegetable food.
PLATE 42. represents this bird of the natural size.
General Head and upper part of the neck brown, tinged with
tion. grey ; the feathers of the latter being disposed in lines,
and giving it a furrowed appearance. Lower part of
the neck, breast, belly, and abdomen ash-grey, with
deeper transverse shades of the same colour. Vent and
under tail- coverts white. Back and scapulars clove-
brown, tinged with grey ; each feather being margined
with greyish-white. Wing-coverts ash-grey. Second-
aries clove-brown, with white edges and tips. Primary
quills greyish-black. Rump deep grey. Upper tail-
coverts white. Tail clove-brown, with the feathers
deeply edged and tipped with white. Bill having the
central part and edges of the upper mandible flesh- (or
sometimes tile-) red ; the base and nail black. Legs
and toes inclining to orange-red, but varying in depth of
colour according to the age of the bird. Wings, when
closed, reaching beyond the end of the tail.
WHITE-FRONTED WILD-GOOSE.
ANSER ERYTHROPUS, Flem.
PLATE XLIII.
Anser Erythropus, Flem. Br. An. 1. 127- sp. 197.
Anas Erythropus, Linn. Syst. 1. 197. 11. — Temm. Faun. Suec. 116.
Anser albifrons, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12 25.
Anas albifrons, Gmel. Syst. 1. 509 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 842. 27.
Anser septentrionalis sylvestris, Briss. Orn, 6. 269.
L'Oie rieuse, Buff. Ois. 9. 81 — Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 821.
Blassen Gans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 898 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 555.
Laughing Goose, Edward, Glean, pi. 153. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 127-
sp. 197.
WILD-GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 267
White-fronted Goose, Br. Zool. 2. 576. No. 268. t. 94. fig. 1 — Arct. Zool.
2. No. 476 — Lath. Syn. 6. 463. 22 — Lewies Br. Birds, 6. 240 — Mont.
Orn. Diet. 1.— -BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 294 — Shaw's Zool.
12. 25.
THE White-fronted Goose is one of our regular winter visi- Periodical
tants, and in the southern and midland parts of England v
appears, from the testimony of MONTAGU, to be more abun-
dant than the preceding species ; which is by no means the
case in the northern parts of the island, being there compa-
ratively of rare occurrence, and in small flocks. It varies
from the Bean- Goose, in preferring low and marshy districts,
to the upland and drier haunts of that bird ; and in these
localities subsists on the aquatic grasses, being very seldom Food,
seen to frequent corn or stubble fields. A specimen sent to
me (and which was killed near Alnwick, in Northumber-
land), had its stomach gorged with the tender shoots and
leaves of the common clover (Trifolium pratense), upon
which it was feeding, on the breaking up of a severe snow-
storm. In size the large males nearly equal Anser palustris^
some of them weighing as much as seven pounds ; and in
the market are frequently sold for the common species, but
may at once be distinguished by the white forehead, and the
black patches, which are never totally wanting on the breast
and belly. During its winter or equatorial migration this
species is numerous in Holland, and also in some districts of
France and Germany. Its geographical distribution in-
cludes Europe, Northern Asia, and North America. In
summer it retires within the Arctic Circle, and rears its
young in those sequestered and tranquil regions, the nursery
of such various tribes of the feathered race. In England
these birds disappear on the first approach of spring, and
some time before the departure of the Lag and Bean Geese ;
few being ever seen after the middle of March. As an ar-
ticle of food the White-fronted is equal to any of the others,
its flesh being well-flavoured and tender, provided the sub-
ject be not too far advanced in years.
268 NATATORES. ANSER. WILD GOOSE.
General PLATE 43. represents this species, rather below the natural
descrip. gize
tidn.
Bill flesh-red, tinged with orange; the nail being skim-
milk white. Forehead and margins of the upper man-
dible white. Head and neck brown, tinged with grey.
Breast, belly, and abdomen, black ; varied with patches
of white. Back clove-brown ; with the margins of the
feathers light-grey. Wing-coverts grey, edged with
white. Quills greyish-black. Rump clove-brown. Up-
per and under tail-coverts, and vent, white. Tail having
the middle feathers deep grey, edged with white ; and
the outer ones almost entirely white. Legs and toes red-
dish-orange. Claws white.
BERNICLE GOOSE, OB CLARIS.
ANSER BERNICLA, Flem.
PLATE XLTV.
Anser Beraicla, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 127- sp. 198.
Anser Leucopsis, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 921.
Anas Leucopsis, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 823.
Anas Erythropus (mas), Linn. Syst. 1. 197- 11 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 843.
sp. 31 Gmel. Syst. 1. 512.
Beraicla erythropus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 49.
Bernicla, Will. Orn. 274 — Briss. Orn. 6. 300.
La Bernache, Buff. Ois. 9. 93. f. 5 — Id. PI. Enl. 855.
Oie Bernache, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 823.
Weisswangige Gans, Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 557.
Canada Goose, Alton's Br. Birds, 1. t. 92.
Bemicle, or Clakis, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 577. No. 269 — Arct. Zool. 2.
No. 479.— Will. (Ang.) 359 —Lath. Syn. 6. 466. 26 — Lewies Br. Birds,
7. pi. 242 Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. and Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
p. t. 302 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 127. sp. 198.
PROVINCIAL — Claik-goose, Routherook.
FROM the mistake of LINNAEUS, in describing the true
Bernicle as the male of Anser Erythropus (White-fronted
Goose), and considering A. Brenta and A. Bernicla of the
older naturalists as synonymous, a misapplication of the ap-
BERNICLE GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 269
propriate specific names has arisen amongst succeeding wri-
ters, they having still continued the appellation Erythropus
to the Bernicle, instead of giving it to its proper object.
TEMMINCK and BECHSTEIN, who saw the impropriety of re-
taining a specific name so inapplicable to the species (whose
legs and feet are black), instead of restoring that imposed by
the predecessors of LINN^US, gave it the new one of Leu-
copsis ; and also neglected to transfer that of Erythropus to
its real representative, the Anas albifrons of GMELIN and
LATHAM. Dr FLEMING, however, in his " History of Bri-
tish Animals,"" has now rectified these errors, and the White-
fronted and Bernicle Geese are each described under their
appropriate titles of A. Erythropus and A. Bermcla. — The
Bernicle is amongst the number of our winter visitants, an- a
nually resorting in vast numbers, upon the approach of
autumn, to the western shores of Britain, and to the north
of Ireland. Upon the Lancashire coast, the Solway Frith,
&c. it is very abundant ; frequenting the marshy grounds
that are occasionally covered by the spring-tides, and such
sands as produce the sea-grasses and plants upon which it
feeds. Upon the eastern and southern shores of Britain it Food.
is of rare occurrence, its place being supplied by its nearly-
allied congener, the Brent Goose (Anser Brenta) ; which
again is as rarely seen upon the opposite coast of the island*.
Like the rest of its genus, the Bernicle is a very wary bird,
and can only be approached by the most cautious ma-
noeuvres. It is sometimes shot by moonlight, when it comes
on the sands to feed, by persons crouched on the ground, or
from behind any occasional shelter, in such places as the
flocks are known to frequent. Its flesh is sweet and tender,
" WILLOUGHBY, in his valuable " Ornithology," (page 360, edit. 1678),
mentions having seen the stuffed skin of the Bernicle in Sir W. FORSTER'S
hall at Bamburgh Castle, which I consider indicative of its scarcity on the
Northumbrian coast at that period, being doubtless hung up as a rara avis.
Brent Geese are still to be seen in great numbers in Budle Bay, not more
than a mile to the northward of Bamburgh Castle.
270 NATATORES. ANSER. BERNICLE GOOSE.
and highly esteemed for the table. Upon the approach of
spring it leaves our shores for more northern countries, and
by the middle of March the whole have retired. Its summer
retreats extend to very high latitudes, as it is known to
breed in Iceland, Spitzbergen, Greenland, &c. as well as in
Lapland, the northern parts of Russia, and northern Asia.
It also inhabits Hudson's Bay, and other polar districts of
the American Continent. During its equatorial or winter
migration, besides the shores of our own island, it is abun-
dant in Holland, France, and parts of Germany. I cannot
but notice here, for the lovers of the ridiculous, the wonder-
ful accounts given by GERARD, the celebrated botanist, and
some others, of the origin of this and the next species from
a kind of shell (the Lepas Anatrfera of LINNJEUS); yet are
they curious, as exhibiting the great ignorance and conse-
quent credulity of the age in which they were written. I
refer my readers therefore to GERARD'S Herbal, page 1588,
edit. 1636; or to the extracts from it, and other authors,
contained in the twelfth volume of SHAW'S Zoology, under
the head of the Common Bernicle. In the present species,
and in the Brent Goose, we have a slight modification in the
form of the bill, which is shorter in proportion to the size of
the birds than in the geese already described ; and the lamel-
lae of the upper mandible are in a great measure concealed
by the reflected edges of the bill. These differences, how-
ever, are so trifling, as scarcely to warrant a generic separa-
tion, but they lead the way to other forms where such sepa-
ration appears necessary. The Bernicle is a bird of hand-
some shape, and, from the length of its neck and tarsi, stands
high upon the ground. When caught alive, it soon becomes
very tame, and thrives well upon grain, Sec. ; but no attempts
have been hitherto made to domesticate the breed.
PLATE 44. represents this bird in about three-fourths of the
natural size.
BRENT GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 271
Forehead, cheeks, and throat, white. Between the bill General
and eyes is a narrow black streak. Crown of the head, tion.nP
neck, and breast, black. Back, wing-coverts, and sea- A(*ult.
pulars, fine french-grey> passing into brownish-black
towards the tips of the feathers, which are white.
Greater quills greyish-black, except the lower part of
the outer web in each, which is light grey. Upper tail-
coverts white. Tail black. Under parts silvery- white ;
undulated upon the flanks with ash-grey. Tibiae clothed
with black feathers. Bill black. Legs and toes black.
Tubercle near the bend of the wing prominent.
The female resembles the male bird.
The young of the year have the streak between the bill Young,
and eye much broader than the adults ; and the fore-
head is spotted with black. The under parts are not
of so pure a white ; and the flanks are of a more uni-
form ash-grey. The upper parts of the body are darker,
and the tips of the feathers are margined with reddish-
white. Legs black, tinged with reddish-brown.
BRENT GOOSE.
ANSER BRENTA, Flem.
PLATE XLV.
Anser Brenta, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 127- sp. 199.
Anas Bernicla, Linn. Syst. 1198. 13 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 513 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 844. sp. 32 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 121. pi. T2. f. 1.
Bernicla Brenta, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 46.
Brenta, Bnss. Orn. 6. 304. 16. p. 31.— Ran Syn. 130. 8 — Will. 275. t. 69.
Le Cravant, Buff. Ois. 9. pi. 87.
Oie Cravant, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 824.
Ringel Gans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 911 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 558.
Brent or Brand Goose, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 579, No. 270.— Arct. Zool. 2.
No. 478.— Albin's Birds, 1. pi. 93 Will. Angl. 360.— Lath. Syn. 8. 467.
21.—Lewin's Br. Birds, 7. pi. 243 — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. & Sup.— Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, t. 300 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 145. pi. 92. f. 1. mas.
Brent Bernicle, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 46.
PROVINCIAL — Rat or Road Goose, Clatter Goose, Horra Goose, Juink
Goose, Ware Goose.
272 NATATORES. ANSER. BRENT GOOSE-
Periodical THIS species is, like the preceding one, a winter visitant ;
inhabiting the oozy bays and shores of the eastern and
southern coasts of the kingdom, where a supply of the ma-
rine vegetable food upon which it subsists is principally
produced. Upon the Northumbrian coast a very large body
of these birds annually resorts to the extensive muddy and
sandy flats that lie between the mainland and Holy Island,
and which are covered by every flow of the tide. In this
locality tolerably sized flocks usually make their appearance
in the early part of October, which are increased by the re-
peated arrival of others till the beginning of November, at
which time the equatorial movement of the species in this
latitude seems to be completed. This part of the coast ap-
pears to have been a favourite resort of these birds from
time immemorial, where they have always received the name
of Ware Geese, given to them, without doubt, in consequence
of their food consisting entirely of marine vegetables. This
Food. I have frequently verified by dissection ; finding the gizzard
filled with the leaves and stems of a species of grass that
grows abundantly in the shallow pools left by the tide, and
with the remains of the fronds of different algas, particularly
of one which seems to be the Laver (Ulva latissima). These
were mixed with a considerable quantity of sharp sand, but
without any portion of animal or shelly matter; although
WILSON states that they feed occasionally upon small uni-
valve and bivalve mollusca. In this haunt they remain till
the end of February, when they migrate in successive flocks,
as the individuals happen to be influenced by the season,
and before April the whole have disappeared. When they
depart, the same procedure as that mentioned by WILSON
(in his American Ornithology) takes place ; the flock about
to migrate rises high into the air by an extensive spiral
course, and then moves off seaward in a northerly direction.
When feeding (which they do at the ebb of the tide), or
moving from one place to another, they keep up a continual
hoarse cackling, or, as it is termed, honking noise, which can
GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 273
be heard at a great distance, and has not unaptly been com-
pared (when so heard) to the cry of a pack of hounds.
They are at all times extremely watchful, and can only be
approached within gunshot by the person of the shooter
being concealed. This is effected in the southern parts of
the kingdom by means of a flat-bottomed boat, so built as
to draw very little water, and whose gunwale barely rises
above the surface, armed with a large fowling-piece, that
traverses the half-deck upon a swivel. In this boat the
fowler lies flat, and directs its motion by a paddle or small
oar, till he comes within range of the flock ; when he fires,
either as they float upon the water, or just as they rise.
Great havoc is sometimes made in this way, not only amongst
the Brent Geese, but amongst Widgeon, and other kinds of
wild fowl, as we learn from Colonel HAWKER'S amusing
treatise, to which I refer my readers, and where they will
find every direction necessary for this particular kind of
sporting *. Previous to this mode of shooting being adopt-
ed, all the Brent Geese, and different species of Ducks upon
our northern coast, were killed by moonlight, by the fowlers
placing themselves in various parts of the lake, seated on a
bundle of straw, and patiently waiting for the approach of
the wild fowl, as they flew about in quest of feeding places.
The destruction, however, in this way was very limited ;
the number that fell to the gun of an individual during the
whole season perhaps did not equal the fruits of a single
day's sport with the boat and its swivel gun. Like the rest
of the genus, the Brent Goose never dives in search of food;
but that this does not arise from any incapability of submer-
sion, as has been supposed, is evident from the ease with
which it plunges, and the great distance it can go under wa-
• Upon the Holy Island sandy flats, where the above method was in-
deed, about two years ago, by a man from the Norfolk coast, I am
credibly informed that twenty-two Brent Geese were killed and secured
at one discharge during this season, 1831.
VOL. II. S
274 NATATORES. ANSER. GOOSE.
ter, when winged or otherwise wounded, rendering it in such
case a very difficult bird to secure. Its geographical distri-
bution is confined to the northern parts of Europe and
North America. During the winter, besides the coasts of
our own islands, it is spread along those of Holland, France,
and parts of Germany, as well as of the more northern king-
doms. Occasionally, and under peculiar circumstances, these
birds have appeared in certain parts in unusual numbers.
Thus in the years 1739 and 1765, from the long continuance
of a strong north wind, they became so abundant on the
coast of Picardy, and committed such depredations on the
young corn in that district, that the inhabitants were com-
pelled to rise en masse, in order to destroy them ; and on
the English coast, during the same seasons, where food
failed the congregated numbers, they became so weak as to
be knocked down with sticks and stones. The same thing
occurred in the severe winter of 1803, when they were in-
numerable about Sandwich, and so much reduced in condi-
tion, as frequently not to be able to rise after alighting.
Their polar or summer migration is directed to very high
latitudes, where they breed, and rear their numerous young
Nest, &c. in quiet security. The nest is formed of vegetable materials,
in the swamps of those desolate regions, and they lay ten or
twelve white eggs. The trachea of the male bird is slightly
enlarged a little below the glottis, and again near its en-
trance within the merry-thought (ps furcatorius) ; below
which it becomes contracted, forming a narrow cartilaginous
tube. The bronchi are funnel-shaped, and composed of en-
tire solid rings. When captured alive, this goose may soon
be rendered very tame (as I have found from experience),
and being a bird of handsome figure, and light carriage, is
a considerable acquisition on large pieces of water. No
steady attempts, however, appear to have been yet made to
increase the breed in a domestic state, though as an article
of food it is superior to most of the Anatida, and equally
valuable in the quality of its feathers and down. When
GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 275
tame, it eats readily all kinds of grain, as well as grass, and
other vegetable diet.
PLATE 4>5. represents this bird of the natural size.
Bill black. Irides brown. Legs and feet black, with a General
tinge of reddish-brown. Head, neck, and upper part tion.np
of breast black. On each side of the neck, about half Adult.
way down, is a patch of white. Back, scapulars, and
wing-coverts, clove-brown; the feathers having their
tips and margins paler. Under parts of the body french-
grey ; with the feathers margined paler. Vent, upper
and under tail-coverts, white. Lower part of back, and
rump, black. Quills and tail black.
The female is less than the male bird, but similar in plu-
mage.
The young of the year have not the white patch upon the Young,
neck ; and this part, the head, and upper part of the
breast, are blackish-grey. The back and wing-coverts
are tipped with brown ; and the legs are paler, or more
inclining to brown than in the older birds.
RED-BREASTED GOOSE.
ANSER RUFICOLLIS f Pall.
PLATE XLVI.
Anser ruficollis, Pall. Spic. 6. 21. t. b.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 128.
Anas ruficollis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 511 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 841. sp. 23.
Bernicla ruficollis, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 53. pi. 43.
Anas torquata, Gmel. Syst. 1. 514. sp. 70.
Oie a Cou roux, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 826.
Die rothals Gans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 916 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 561.
Red-breasted Goose, Penn. Arct. ZooL 2. 571. — Lath. Syst. 6. 455. — Lewin's
Br. Birds, 7. pL 241.— Mont. Orn. Diet 1 — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
p. t. 280.
Red-breasted Bernicle, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 53. pi. 43.
IN this beautiful species the bill is very short, being much
less than that of the Bernicle ; but as it seems, as far as I
s2
276 NATATORES. ANSER. GOOSE.
can judge from dried skins (never having had the opportu-
nity of examining a fresh specimen), to possess all the essen-
tial characters, I have accordingly retained it amongst the
other species of the genus Anser. — It is known in Britain
Hare visi- only as a rare visitant, when driven by tempestuous weather
out of the usual course of its migrations. But five or six
instances of its capture are on record : the first occurred
near London in the year 1 776, and the specimen passed into
the hands of Mr TUNSTALL, and from it (now in the Mu-
seum at Newcastle-upon-Tyne) the figure in the present
work has been taken ; — in the second instance, this bird was
caught alive near Wycliffe, and was kept by the above men-
tioned gentleman for some years in confinement ; — a third,
shot near Berwick-upon-Tweed, was sent to Mr BULLOCK,
in whose museum it remained till the dispersion of that cele-
brated collection ; — the others, according to Mr STEPHENS?
were killed in the severe winter of 1813, in Cambridgeshire,
but unfortunately, from the ignorance of the captors, were
lost to the purposes of science. This species is a native of
the Arctic Regions of Northern Asia, and during its polar
migration is said to retire to Siberia and the confines of the
Frozen Ocean, where it breeds and rears its young. Accord-
ing to TEMMINCK, it is abundant about the mouths of the
rivers Ob and Lena at the above season. During the winter
it migrates southward to the warmer districts of Russia, and
to Persia; and is plentiful about the shores of the Caspian
Sea, but of very rare occurrence in any part of Europe. I
am unable to give any detailed account of its habits, but
they may be presumed similar to those of its near allies, the
Bernicle and Brent Geese; and that it feeds on vegetable
diet appears evident from its flesh being pronounced free
from any fishy taste, and in great esteem for the table.
PLATE 46. Figure of the natural size ; from a specimen ori-
ginally in the Wycliffe Museum, but now in that of the
Natural History Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
GOOSE. NATATORES. ANSER. 277
Forehead, crown of the head, list down the back of the General
neck, chin, throat, and band, extending upwards to the tion.
eye, black. Between the bill and eye is a large spot of
white. Behind the eye, and surrounding a large patch
of orange-brown on each side of the neck, is a list of
white ; which is extended farther, and forms a line of
division between the orange-brown and black of the
lower part of the neck. Front of the lower part of
neck and breast fine orange-brown ; the latter margined
by a list of black, and another of white. Immediately
before the shoulders is a second bar of white. Mantle,
belly, wings, and tail, black. Abdomen, vent, thighs,
upper and under tail-coverts, white. Greater wing-
coverts black, margined with white. Bill reddish-brown,
with the nail black. Legs blackish-brown, with a red-
dish tinge.
SUBFAMILY CYGNINA.
GENUS CYGNUS, MEYER. SWAN.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL equally wide throughout its length, much higher
than broad at the base, where it is swollen or tuberculated ;
depressed towards the tip; nail of the upper mandible de-
flected, and covering that of the lower, which is flat. Both
mandibles laminato-dentate, with the lamellae placed trans-
versely, and nearly hidden from view when the bill is closed.
Nostrils oblong, lateral, placed in the middle of the bill.
Neck long. Wings long and ample.
Legs placed behind the equilibrium of the body, short.
Feet four-toed, three before and one behind ; the front ones
entirely webbed, the hinder toe small and free.
Plumage thick, close, and adpressed ; .that upon the neck
soft and downy.
"278 NATATORES. CYGNUS. SWAN.
These birds, so conspicuous amongst the Anatidae by their
superior size and graceful appearance upon the water, are
distinguished from the Geese by the form of the bill, which
is as wide towards the tip as at the base, approaching nearer
in shape to that of the Ducks. The neck is also more elon-
gated, and the backward position and comparative shortness
of the legs, by indicating an increased power of swimming,
with a diminished activity in walking on land, brings them
into closer connexion with the natatorial tribes of the family.
Their food principally consists of the roots, stems, and leaves
of aquatic plants ; the former of which they are enabled to
reach in water of some depth by their great length of neck.
With them the intestines and caeca are very long ; and al-
though the trachea does not possess any labyrinth or am-
pulla, in some species it performs certain convolutions before
it enters the lungs. Their flight, from the full development
f)f wing, is strong and rapid.
WHISTLING SWAN.
CYGNUS FERUS, Ray.
PLATE XLVII.
•Cygnus ferus, Ran Syn. 136. A — Will 272. t. 69 — Briss. Orn. 6. 292.
pi. 28 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 10. pi. 37 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 126.
sp. 194.
Anas Cygnus (ferus), Linn. Syst. 1. 194.
Anas Cygnus, Gmel Syst. 1. 501 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 833. sp. 1.
Cygne sauvage, Buff. Ois. 9. 3 — Id. PL Enl. 913.
Cygne a bee jaune, ou sauvage, Temm. Man. 2. 828.
Le Cygne a bee noir, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 529.
Der Singschwan, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 330 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 498.
"Wild Swan, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 562. No. 264 — Will. (Angl.) 356. t. 69.—
Edw. Glean, t. 150 — Rennie's Mont. Ornith. Diet — Bewick's Br. Birds,
ed. 1826. p. t. 265 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 126. sp. 194.
Whistling Swan, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 469 — Lath. Syn. 6. 433.— Id. Sup.
272.— Id. Sup. 2. 341 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 6. pL 236 Mont. Orn. Diet.
and Sup Shaw's Zool. 12. 10. pi. 37.
PROVINCIAL — Elk, Hooper, Hooping Swan.
SWAN. NATATORES. CYGNUS. 279
THIS handsome and stately bird is known in the Orkneys
and Western Islands of Scotland as a regular winter visi- Periodica.
tant ; but in England its appearance is not so certain, being
governed by the state of the season. Should the winter
prove generally mild, such as we have just experienced
(1831-2), few, if any, Swans are seen ; as, under such cir-
cumstances, they are able to obtain subsistence in higher la-
titudes. It is only, therefore, when the winter sets in with
unusual rigour in the northern parts, and the lakes and rivers
(their source of food) become entirely frozen over, that they
extend their equatorial migration to more temperate climates.
In such seasons they usually appear with us in small flocks,
from five perhaps to thirty together, that take up their abode
upon the lakes, rivers, and inundated meadows ; and where,
if unmolested, they will remain till March, or the approach
of spring, when they again wing their way to the regions of
the north. On referring to the seasons in which Swans have
appeared in more than usual numbers in this country, they
will all be remembered as remarkable for the severity and
long continuance of frost. Thus in 1784—5, and in 1788—9,
these birds were remarkably numerous, and extended their
flight to unwonted southern latitudes, having visited Cham-
paigne and other parts of France, as well as some of the
larger rivers beyond the Alps. In the winters of 1813,
1814, 1819, 1823, 1828, and 1829, all more or less severe,
they were very commonly met with in different parts of
England, and occasionally destroyed in great numbers, as
may be gathered from the statement of Mr COOKE, in his
description of the Whistling Swan, viz. that in 1823, sixty
of these birds were exposed for sale in London in one day *.
It is probable that some of these might belong to the recent-
ly discovered species, Cygnus Bewickii, which there is now
* To this scientific account of the present bird I refer my readers. It
is entitled " A Letter to M. MJLBAKKE, Esq. descriptive of the Whist-
ling Swan, and of the peculiar Structure of its Trachea," and published in
1823.
280 NATATORE8. CYGNUS. S\VAX.
every reason to suppose has visited this country for many
years, although constantly confounded with the present spe-
cies, to which, in outward appearance, it bears a very close
resemblance, being only rather inferior in size. The geo-
graphical distribution of these birds embraces the northern
regions of Europe, Asia, and America, in all of which they
are abundantly found. In summer they retreat to very high
latitudes to breed and rear their young, and those inhabiting
our parallel of latitude are then to be met with scattered over
Norway, Iceland, Lapland, Spitzbergen, &c. In Asia they
are numerous in Kamschatka, Northern Siberia, and other
polar districts of that continent, and they are described as
abounding on the unfrequented borders of the upper lakes of
North America; and are mentioned in Captain FRANKLIN'S
Journal as amongst the first birds of passage that come from
the south upon the breaking up of the long polar winter. In
these dreary regions, where man finds but a precarious sub-
sistence by fishing and the chase, the return of the Swan is
anxiously looked for, on account of the various benefits it
confers ; its flesh and eggs affording wholesome and invigo-
rating food, and its skin, when dressed with the down, sup-
plying V variety of clothing, of remarkable softness and
warmth. A^few pairs, it is said, occasionally remain upon
some of the outer Orkney Islands, and there breed upon the
margins of therfresh water lochs ; but these can only be con-
sidered as stragglers, the great body retiring (as I have
above remarked) to higher latitudes for that purpose. — The
Nest' &c' nest of the Wild Swan is formed of the withered parts of
reeds, rushes, and other aquatic herbage, to a considerable
thickness * ; and the eggs, from five to seven in number, are
of a pale oil-green or greenish-white colour. In six weeks
the young are excluded, but it is upwards of three months
before they become fully fledged. In Iceland, to the inha-
* Captain LYON, in his Private Journal, during the voyage of discovery
under Captain PARRY, mentions the nest of a Swan found upon Winter
Island. He describes it as formed of small pieces of peat, in size five feet
ten inches by four feet ten inches, and two feet in height.
SWAN. NATATORES. CYGNUS. 281
bitants of which the down and feathers are of great value,
not only for domestic comfort, but as an article of barter,
they are hunted down and killed in great numbers in the
month of August, at which time the old birds are unable to
fly, from having cast their quill-feathers. At this season the
natives assemble in bodies, in the places where Swans are
most abundant, attended by dogs, and mounted upon small
but active horses, purposely trained to pass over bogs and
through marshy soil ; the chase then commences, and many
are ridden down ; but the greater number are caught by the
dogs, which always seize by the neck, a mode of attack that
causes the bird to lose its balance and become an easy prey.
The fabulous account of the sweet singing of the Swan be-
fore death, which gave rise to so much beautiful allusion in
the writings of the ancient poets, is now universally explod-
ed * ; and the voice of the present species (oftener heard than
that of any other) is generally allowed, when produced sin-
gly, to be piercing and harsh. It consists of two notes, and
has (not unaptly) been compared to the discordant union of
the modulation of the Cuckoo, with the scream of the Gull,
or the sound of the clarionet in the hand of a beginner.
Some, however, still assert, that when on the wing in large
flocks, or resting on the water, their united cries, becoming
softened by distance, are not unpleasant to the ear. This I
can readily believe, for, under such circumstances, I have
even found the incongruous mixture of sound from Gulls,
Guillemots, and other tribes of sea fowl (when collected
about their breeding stations) mixed with the whistling of
the breeze, and the murmurs of the intervening water, to
reach the ear not very dissimilar to that of a band of martial
music ; and I have before observed, in the account of the
Brent Goose, that the tumultuous cackling of those birds
» See PENNANT'S description of the Tame Swan in his " British Zoolo-
gy," where he has treated the subject with the classical knowledge and
taste for which he was conspicuous, and traced the source from whence this
fable appears to have originated.
282 NATATORES. CYGNUS. SWAN.
(harsh as it may be individually), when heard at a distance,
has been compared to the enlivening cry of a pack of hounds.
To the known effect produced by the association of ideas
must doubtless be attributed the great pleasure which the
Icelanders display upon hearing the cries of the Swan, which
they compare to the notes of a violin ; but as a writer justly
observes, this is not to be wondered at, for they hear them
at the termination of a long and dreary winter, when the re-
turn of this bird to their shores is the earliest harbinger of
spring, foretelling a speedy thaw and release from a tedious
confinement. In dimensions and weight the present species
is commonly less than Cygnus Olor, in its tame or semi-do-
mesticated state, though adult males are sometimes met with
that equal the average size of the latter. It may, however,
always be distinguished from it externally by the different
form and colour of the bill, the position of the legs, differ-
ence of carriage, along with other peculiarities ; and inter-
nally, the conformation of the trachea exhibits a remarkable
difference. This part, instead of being a strait and simple
tube, as in Cyg. Olor, is prolonged, and enters a large cavity
hollowed out of the keel of the sternum, generally to the
depth of three and a-half or four inches, where it is doubled
back upon itself like a trumpet ; and which inflection is al-
ways vertical, never forming a loop or horizontal bend, as in
Cygnus Bewickii. After its egress from this cavity, the
tube is again turned upwards, and then, undergoing a con-
siderable diminution in diameter, terminates exactly upon
the ridge of the sternum in a compressed bony lower larynx,
or bone of divarication, shaped like the mouth-piece of a bas-
soon, and to which the bronchi, measuring upwards of three
inches in length, are attached. The flight of the Swan is
usually at a great elevation, and in a straight line ; and as
its wings are long and ample, its progress, with a favouring
breeze, is astonishingly rapid, and has been reckoned to ex-
ceed sometimes 100 miles in an hour. This velocity renders
it a difficult bird to shoot on wing, where so much allowance
SWAN. NATATORES. CYGNUS. 283
is necessary to be made, according to the supposed distance
of the object. When caught alive, it soon becomes very
tame, as seen in the instance mentioned by MONTAGU ; and
I have also, in several cases, known it survive for a long
time, and thrive well, when provided with plenty of water ;
it refuses, however, to associate with the common or mute
species. — The food of the Swan consists of the roots, leaves, Foo<i'
and stems of aquatic plants, in obtaining the former of which
its length of neck is of essential service, which it has also the
power of keeping submerged for a long time ; but as this is
done by the mute species perhaps in an equal degree, it can-
not be attributed to the peculiar form of the trachea, an idea
that has been suggested by different ornithologists. In the
present species, the elastic process or joint, in the upper man-
dible, which enables it to be opened to a considerable extent,
is very prominent, and more easily distinguished than in
many others of the Anatidae, in whom it is hidden by the
knob, or by the feathers of the brow. When swimming, the
neck is borne erect, at a right angle with the body, and sel-
dom arched, as is the custom of the Common Swan ; but in
walking (which is performed in a heavy and awkward man-
ner), the head is lowered, and the neck reclines over the
back, in order to preserve the equipoise of the body.
PLATE 47. Represents this bird in scarcely one-third of the
natural size.
Average length five feet; breadth from seven to eight. General
Bill four inches long from the tip to the brow, black, tion.
and having the basal part covered with a lemon-yeUow- Adult.
coloured cere, that, extending backwards, encircles the
eyes. Head and nape of the neck generally speckled
with pale orange-yellow; the rest of the plumage in
adults being pure white. Legs black.
The young birds are of an uniform pale grey, with the Young,
cere and naked skin around the eyes pale flesh-red,
Legs reddish-grey.
284 NATATORES. CYGNUS. SWAN
BEWICK'S SWAN.
CYGNUS BEWICKII, Yarrell.
PLATE XLVII. •
Cygnus Bewickii, Yarrell in Trans. Linn. Soc. 12, 445. — Selby in Trans.
Nat. Hist. Soc. of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle, vol. 1. 18.
— Jardine and Selby^s Illust. of Orn. pi. 95.
New Species of Swan, Wing. Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumberland,
Durham, and Newcastle, 1.1.
Bewick's Swan, Jardine and Selby's Illus. of Orn. pL 95.
THIS recently discovered species, in size about one-third
less than the Whistling Swan, is also amongst the number of
our British winter visitants ; and though less numerous as a
visitant, species than the other, is occasionally met with in England
during every severe winter. The merit of the first discovery
of the present species is due to Mr RICHARD WINGATE of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who, in consequence of the observa-
tions he had made upon two specimens of Wild Swans killed
in the neighbourhood, in the winter of 1828-9, read a paper
before the Literary and Philosophical Society of that town,
stating the peculiarities he had noticed in these birds, as well
in outward form, as in internal structure, and also his opi-
nion that the differences exhibited were of sufficient import-
ance to entitle them to rank as a distinct species, both from
the preceding one and also from the tame Swan (Cygnus
Olor). These remarks induced other naturalists to investi-
gate the subject, and Mr YARRELL, whose knowledge as an
ornithologist, and whose discrimination as a comparative
anatomist, stand deservedly high, soon discovered additional
proofs of the correctness of Mr WINGATE'S views, and, at
his suggestion, the appellation of Cygnus Bewickii was con-
ferred upon the species. Since that period, several speci-
mens of the bird have been obtained, and its distinguishing
characters have been illustrated and fully described by Mr
SWAN. NATATORES. CYGNUS. 285
YARRELL in a paper published in the sixteenth volume of
the Linnean Transactions ; and also in another, contained in
the first volume of the Transactions of the Natural History
Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle, to
which I beg to refer my readers. In external appearance
the present bird bears a very close resemblance to the Whis-
tling Swan, and might, upon a cursory view, be easily mis-
taken for a small variety of it, as must have frequently hap-
pened previous to the observations made by Mr WINGATE ;
for the detection of several specimens that Jiave remained for
many years in private collections, under the above designa-
tion, shew that the species is not a new arrival, but may
have been in the habit of visiting this country, in connexion
with the former, for an indefinite period, although not in
such numbers as its companion. The peculiarity of the in-
ternal structure had previously attracted some notice ; for
MONTAGU, in the Supplement to his Ornithological Diction-
ary, under the article Whistling Swan, gives an accurate de-
scription of the trachea and sternum of a bird of this new
species ; and which, from having been observed in a male
specimen, he, without extending his examination, or noticing
its other peculiar features, supposed indicative of, and con-
fined to, the male of the species then under his consideration.
The external characters distinctive of the new species, are, in
the first place, being about one-third less than the usual size
of the preceding (the average length of Cyg. BewicJcii being
three feet ten inches, and the breadth six feet ; whilst that of
C.ferus is five feet, and the breadth upwards of eight) ; se-
condly, in the colour and form of the bill, which differs at its
base from that of the Whistling Swan, and, in old birds, has
at the junction of the upper mandible with the cranium a
considerable tubercle or knob ; and, thirdly, in the number
of the tail-feathers, the present species having only eighteen
and the other twenty. The wings are also shorter, and do
not cover so large a portion of the tail ; the legs are of a
deeper black, and the neck, besides being comparatively
286 NATATORES. CYGNUS. SWAN.
longer, is more slender than in the Whistling Swan. In in-
ternal conformation, particularly as regards the trachea and
sternum, the differences are very striking. In the new spe-
cies, the cavity of the sternum, instead of being restricted to
a depth of three inches, or three and a quarter (as I have be-
fore stated it to be in the Whistling Swan), is frequently
found to extend to five and a half or six inches, and, after
reaching the posterior extremity of the keel, to occupy in ad-
dition a portion of the lateral part of the sternum ; and here
the trachea, instead of making a vertical Jteocure^ as in the
preceding species, is forced to take a horizontal bend, and to
form a loop, as it were, in the excavated part of the sternum.
The keel of C. Bewickii, also, is not so deep as that of the
other, and consequently the two portions of the trachea with-
in the arched cavity are brought closer together. Other
marked differences are observable in the trachea of the new
species after its egress from the cavity of the sternum, as
compared with the corresponding parts of the other. In it
the trachea, after describing the bend, on its egress from the
keel, enters into the cavity of the thorax for upwards of two
inches, and is then attached by the lower larynx (or bone of
divarication) to the bronchial tubes ; in the Whistling Swan,
on the contrary (as I have previously stated), no portion of
the trachea enters within the thorax, but the lower larynx
reaches just as far as the anterior ridge of the sternum, up-
on which it rests obliquely. The dimensions of the trachea
where it joins the lower larynx, and that part itself, are very
dissimilar in the two species, the present one having the dia-
meter as large at that junction as at any other part of the
tube, and the larynx short, broad, and but slightly com-
pressed. In the size and form of the bronchi, also, there is
considerable difference, their length and diameter being
scarcely equal by one-half to those of the Whistling Swan,
and the rings of which the tubes are composed being of a
different shape. In addition, the sternum of C. Bewickii is
much broader in comparison to the size of the bird, and the
SWAN. NATATORES. CYGNUS. 287
ridge of the keel, instead of narrowing downwards as in the
other species, gains breadth as it approaches to the posterior
extremity of the keel, or where the cavity widens and occu-
pies a lateral portion of the sternum. In its habits the pre-
sent bird resembles the Whistling Swan, and is, like it, a na-
tive of the Arctic Regions of Europe, Asia, and America, as it
would appear to be the Lesser Swan mentioned by HEARNE
(in his " Journey to the Northern Ocean") as visiting Hud-
son's Bay in summer. — It feeds upon aquatic vegetables and Food,
seeds. As might be expected from the form of the lower
larynx, and that part of the trachea adjoining it, its voice is
much weaker than that of the preceding species.
PLATE 47.* Represents the Cyg. Bewickn of nearly one-half
the natural size.
Bill, as far as the nostrils, black ; the base orange-yellow ; General
and the upper mandible having a tubercle or knob, tion.
varying in size according to the age of the bird. Fore-
head and region of the eyes with numerous specks of a
pale orange-yellow. In adults, the rest of the body
pure white, and in the young pale-grey. Tail wedge-
shaped, and consisting of eighteen feathers. Legs black.
SUBFAMILY ANATINA.
GENUS TADORNA, FLEM. SHIELDRAKE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill shorter than the head, higher than broad at the base,
depressed or concave in the middle, with the tip flattened and
turning upwards, nearly of the same breadth throughout ;
dertrum, or nail, abruptly hooked. Upper mandible laterally
grooved near the tip ; under mandible much narrower than
the upper one, and, when closed, hidden by the deflected
288 NATATORES. ANATINA.
tomia of the upper. Both mandibles having prominent trans-
verse lamellae. Nasal fosse near the base of the bill ; nostrils
oval, lateral, pervious.
Wings of mean length, acute, tuberculated ; with the se-
cond quill-feather the longest.
Legs of mean length, with the tibiae naked for a short space
above the tarsal joint. Tarsus rather longer than the mid-
dle toe. Toes four, three before and one behind ; the front
ones rather short, and entirely webbed ; hind toe barely
touching the ground with the tip of the nail. Claws slightly
hooked, the inner edge of the middle one being dilated.
The Shieldrakes are distinguished from the other nearly
allied genera by the form and curvature of the bill. From
the length and position of their legs (being placed almost in
the centre of the body), they are active upon land, walking
and running with apparent ease ; and their general contour
is handsome. Their alliance with the Geese seems to be
maintained by the intervention of the Egyptian Goose
(Chenelopex Egyptiaca), which, in many points, both of out-
ward form and internal structure, shews a decided approach
to this genus. They are the inhabitants of the coast, and
also of the rivers and lakes of the interior, feeding on vege-
tables, seeds, insects, and molluscous animals. Their nests
are made in the clefts of rocks, in the deserted burrows of
rabbits, &c., and sometimes in the hollows of decayed trees.
The trachea of the male birds possess a labyrinth (ampulla)
at the divarication, consisting usually of two membranous
bladders of a very delicate texture. The sexes are nearly
similar in plumage.
SHIELDRAKE. NATATORES. TADORNA. 289
COMMON SHIELDRAKE.
TADORNA VULPANSER, Flem.
PLATE XLVIII.
Tadorna Vulpanser, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 122. sp. 185.
Tadorna Bellonii, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 72. pi. 45.
Anas Tadorna, Linn. Syst. 1. 195. 4 Gmel. Syst. 1. 506. 4 — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 854. sp. 56 Rail Syn. 140. A. I.— Will. 278. t. 70— Briss.
Ornith. 6. 344. 9. t. 33. f. 2.
La Tadorne, Buff. Ois. 9. 205. t. 14 Id. PI. Enl. 53.
Canard Tadorne, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 834.
Brandente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 976 Meyer, Taschenb. Deut. 2. 534.
Shieldrake, Br. Zool. 2. 589. No. 278— Arct. Zool. 2. 972. D — Will.
(Angl.) 363. t. 70. 71 — Albin; 1. t. 94 — Lath. Syn. 6. 504. 51 Id. Sup.
275.— Lewirfs Br. Birds, 7- pL 248 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2. and Sup —
Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 341.
Burrow Shieldrake, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 72. pi. 45.
Common Shieldrake, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 122. sp. 45.
PROVINCIAL — Bergander, Shieldrake, Burrow Duck, Pirennet, Sly-goose,
St George's Duck, Stockannet, Skelgoose, Skeeling-goose.
THIS bird, distinguished by its parti-coloured plumage and
graceful shape, is one of the few amongst the Anatidce that
can be called indigenous, being found at all seasons of the
year upon various parts of the British coast. It is strictly
a maritime species, as it is very rarely seen on the rivers or
lakes of the interior of the country, and it has even been
doubted by some, whether it can long exist without having
access to salt water. A sufficient refutation of such an idea
is the well known fact of its thriving well when confined to
fresh water ponds. The Shieldrake continues in its native
haunts through the whole year, and when once paired, seems
to live with the same mate till accident or death dissolves the
connexion. MONTAGU remarks that the males do not appear
to attach themselves to the females till the second year, when
they have acquired the adult plumage ; and I have also ob-
served this to be the case on the Northumbrian coast, where
these birds are common upon such parts as present a barrier
of sand-hills, the chosen breeding resort of this species. In
VOL. ir. T
290 NATATORES. TADORNA. SHIELDRAKE.
addition, however, to those that reside permanently on our
shores, we are visited by considerable numbers during their
periodical flights to and from the more northern countries of
Europe. In the beginning of March I have sometimes seen
hundreds together upon a favourite locality, where they have
continued for a few days, and then departed for higher lati-
tudes^ this being the time of return from their equatorial or
winter migration. The species is distributed throughout the
greater part of Europe, and is found as far to the northward
as Iceland, where it is only a summer visitant. The rabbit-
burrows, with which the sand-hills of the coast are so often
perforated, are the places that the Shieldrake usually selects
Nest, &c. for nidification ; and in such of these as have been deserted
by the original inhabitants, the females form their nests of
bent grass and other dry vegetable materials (sometimes as
far as ten or twelve feet from the entrance), lining them with
fine soft down plucked from their own breasts. They lay
from twelve to sixteen eggs, each pure white, or with a very
faint tinge of green, and of an oval form, being equally
rounded at both ends. These are incubated for thirty days
before the exclusion of the young, this being the period com-
mon to most of the Anatidce. During this time the male
bird keeps an attentive watch in the immediate vicinity of
his mate, and when hunger calls her from her charge, he in-
stantly supplies her place, and covers the eggs till her return.
As soon as the young are hatched, they are conducted, or, as
more frequently happens, carried in the bill by the parents
to the water's edge, and upon this their native element they
immediately launch, seldom quitting it till fully fledged and
well able to fly. BEWICK observes, that if the family in their
progress from the nest to the sea should happen to be inter-
rupted by an intruder, the young ones seek the first shelter,
and squat close down, whilst the parents, directed by the in-
stinctive feeling that so universally prevails throughout the
feathered race at this interesting period, adopt the same kind
of stratagems as the Partridge, Wild Duck, &c. feigning
SHIELDRAKE. NATATOBES. TADORNA. 291
lameness and inability of flight, in order to attract attention
and divert the pursuit to themselves. As the Shieldrake is
much prized as an ornamental appendage to large pieces of
water, for its handsome form and varied plumage, the in-
habitants of the coast are in the practice of watching the old
birds to their nests during the early part of the breeding
season, and digging up the eggs. These are placed under
a hen or tame duck ; but great care and attention is requisite
in rearing the young, and it is seldom that above three or
four survive from a hatching of a dozen eggs. They soon be-
come tolerably tame, and answer to the call of the person who
feeds them ; when fully fledged, however, being very active
birds, they are apt to stray away, and if left with their pinions
unmutilated, generally in time fly entirely off', though I have
known them return, in two or three instances, after an absence
of many months. They are seldom known to breed in a
state of confinement ; one instance, and that in my own
neighbourhood, has come to my knowledge, and MONTAGU
mentions another case, in which the birds, after a lapse of
many years, and in a very favourable situation (having the
range of an extensive canal), produced a brood of nine.
The defect rests, in his opinion, with the female, as she con-
stantly appears coy, although strongly urged by the other
sex, who seem to have all the necessary inclination ; and this,
he adds, appears more likely, as the Shieldrake has been
known to breed with the female of the Common Duck, in
Lord Stanley^ menagerie. Such a cross, however, is rarely
effected, and only takes place under peculiar circumstances,
as I have never been able to obtain a mixed progeny, even
when the species have been kept together for several years.
Upon the approach of spring, the fleshy knot at the base of
the upper mandible of this bird, and which, during the
autumn and winter, is scarcely perceptible, begins to swell,
and acquires a beautiful crimson hue, and when at its full
development, is nearly as large as a marble. At this season,
also, the males pay particular court to the females, erecting
292 NATATORES. TADOBNA. SHIELDKAKE.
themselves, and uttering a shrill whistling note, repeated
with great quickness, and attended with a frequent movement
of the head ; they are also very jealous and irascible at the
Food. approach of any other bird to their mates.— The food of the
Shieldrake, in its wild state, consists of marine vegetables,
molluscous shell-fish, insects, &c. ; but when domesticated, it
thrives well upon grain, and indeed upon the usual fare of
poultry. The trachea of the male bird is furnished, at the
divarication, with a curious labyrinth, composed of two thin
membranous bladders, of which the one on the right side is
the largest ; the surfaces of both are uneven, and their tex-
ture so delicate, as to be indented or broken by a very slight
pressure. In the young drakes, previous to the acquisition
of the mature plumage, it is very small, but after that period
soon attains its full development.
PLATE 48. Represents the adult male of the natural size,
taken in spring, when the fleshy tubercle at the base of
the bill becomes much enlarged.
General Head and upper part of the neck blackish-green, shewing
tktti"1*" glossy reflections as opposed to the light. Lower part
Adult. °f the neck, sides of the body, wing-coverts, lower part
of the back, upper tail-coverts, and basal part of the
tail, pure white. A broad pectoral band of fine orange-
brown extends upwards, and forms a mantle of the
same colour. Scapulars, mesial abdominal list, greater
quills, and end of the tail, black. Secondaries, with
their outer webs, rich bronzed-green, and forming a
speculum ; and the three tertials next to them, with part
of their outer webs, rich orange-brown. Under tail-
coverts sienna-yellow. Bill bright venous blood-red.
Legs and toes crimson-red.
The female is similar to the male bird in markings, but
the colours are not so deep and bright, and she is ahvavs
much less.
Young. The young, previous to the first moult, differ considerably
SHIELDRAKE. NATATORES. TADORNA. 293
from the adults. The bill and legs are of a pale flesh-
red. The forehead, cheeks, fore part of the neck, and
the whole of the under parts are pure white. The crown,
nape, and back part of the neck are blackish-brown.
Wing-coverts having the feathers tipped with deep-
grey, giving them a mottled appearance. Feathers
forming the speculum tipped with white.
RUDDY OR CASARKA SHIELDRAKE.
TADORNA RUTILA, Steph.
PLATE XLVIII»«.
Tadorna rutila, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 71.
Anas Casarka, Linn. Syst. 3. App. 224 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 511 — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 844. sp. 24.
Anas cana, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 840. sp. 22.
Anas rutila, Pall Nov. Com. Petrop. 14. 5?9.
Canard Kasarka, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 832.
Ruddy Goose, Lath. Syn. 6. 456. — Id. Sup. 273.
Greylheaded Goose, Brown, Illus. ZooL 104. t. 41.
Grey-headed or Ruddy Goose, Fox, Syn. Newcas. Mus. 142. No. 328.
Ferruginous Duck, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 313.
THE only British specimen of this rare and handsome Rare visi-
duck, previous to the one from which the present figure and tant*
description are taken, is now in the Newcastle Museum, and
its authenticity has been clearly established by Mr Fox, in
his Synopsis of that part of the collection formerly known as
the Allen or Wy cliffs Museum. This bird was shot, it ap-
pears, at Bryanstone, near Blandford in Dorsetshire, the seat
of Mr PORTMAN, in the severe winter of 1776; the same
frost of which season, as Mr Fox remarks, produced the
Red-breasted Goose (also in that collection), a bird of equal
rarity, and, like the present one, a native of the eastern parts
of Europe. It was supposed by many, that PENNANT'S
Ferruginous Duck referred to this species, and it was figured
as such by BEWICK, in a late edition of his well-known work.
294 NATATORES. TADORNA. SHIELDRAKE.
It is, however, now generally allowed, that the bird described
under that name in the British Zoology must have been
Fuligula (Anas) Nyroca (the Nyroca or White-eyed Po-
chard), the Ferruginous Duck of MONTAGU; the size, weight,
colour of the bill and legs, as well as that of the plumage,
so far as detailed by PENNANT, agreeing exactly with the
female of this species. The specimen from which the pre-
sent figure is taken was killed in the south of England, and
was kindly forwarded to me by Mr GOULD, for the purposes
of this work, and is now in my collection, having been pre-
sented to me by the gentleman into whose possession it
passed from Mr GOULD. In Europe, the Casarka inhabits
Russia and other eastern districts, and is occasionally met
with (during its migrations) in Hungary and Austria. It is
also scattered over a great part of Asia, being found in
Persia and India, from which latter country I have received
specimens of it. The species appears to be the same in
Africa, the specimens from the Cape of Good Hope, and
other parts, in no respect differing, either as to colours or
markings, from the European and Asiatic. In figure, this
bird greatly resembles the Common Shieldrake, but stands
rather higher upon its legs. It does not seem, however, to
have any fleshy tubercle at the base of the bill, like that
bird, so that Mr STEPHENS and others have erred in includ-
ing that specific peculiarity amongst their generic characters.
In habits, it is said to be similar to our native species, and a
reference to the preceding article will point out the places
Nest, &c. that it also chooses for nidification, with this difference only,
that the Casarka is rarely found on the sea-coast, but breeds
upon the borders of the larger rivers of Russia and the other
eastern countries it inhabits, laying from eight to ten white
Food. eggs- — I* feeds upon aquatic plants, insects, and the roe and
small fry of fishes.
PLATE 48 * *. Figure of the natural size. Length about
twenty-three inches.
NATATORES. SPATHULEA. 295
Forehead, cheeks, and chin pale ochreous-yellow. Region General
of the eyes, crown of the head, and nape of the neck tionC.np"
greyish-white. Neck, as far as the collar, ochreous-
yellow, tinged with orange. Collar about half an inch
in width, black, glossed with green. Breast, mantle,
scapulars, and under parts of the body gallstone-yellow,
tinged with orange, being deepest upon the breast. The
feathers upon the upper parts of the body have their
margins paler, and the ends of the long tertials pass into
sienna-yellow. Lesser and middle wing-coverts white ;
secondary quills green, glossed with purple, and form-
ing a large speculum ; greater quills black. Lower
part of the back, upper tail-coverts, and tail, black,
glossed with green. Bill, legs, and feet, black.
The female has not the black collar ; her colours are not
so bright, and the feathers upon the back are finely
speckled with grey.
GENUS SPATHULEA, FLEM. SHOVELLER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL longer than the head, semi-cylindrical at the base,
strait, depressed in front of the nostrils ; the tip much dilated
and spoon-shaped, terminated by a small hooked nail or der-
trum. Mandibles laminated ; the laminae very fine, long,
and like bristles, those of the upper mandible at its posterior
part projecting much beyond its margins. Under mandible
narrower than the upper, and having its front part, when
closed, entirely hid by the projecting and deflected sides of
the upper mandible. Nasal fosse small, and situated near
the base of the bill. Nostrils oval, pervious. Tongue broad,
fleshy, bristly, with the tip triangular.
Wings long, acuminate, with the first and second quills
nearly equal in length.
296 NATATORES. SPATHULEA.
Tail consisting of fourteen feathers, and slightly wedge-
shaped.
Legs slender, short; feet of four toes, three before and
one behind, the front ones webbed, the hind toe small and
free.
In this genus the laminated structure of the bill (which
prevails to a greater or less degree throughout the whole of
the Anatidce), acquires its highest development, and presents
the appearance, in both mandibles, of a fine pectinated or
ciliated appendage, accompanied with a great dilatation and
depression of the front part of the bill, which is spathulate
or spoon-shaped. It thus becomes an instrument beautifully
adapted for detecting and separating the food of the species
from the mud and water in which it is contained. The la-
mellae of the two mandibles, when brought nearly into con-
tact, aided by the fleshy papillous tongue, forming altogether
a perfect sieve or strainer, and enabling the bird to reject
through the interstices the adventitious matter, retaining only
what is fit for sustenance. From possessing this structure
(so essentially necessary to the habits of the family), in such
a superior degree, the present may Jbe considered as the
typical genus, not only of its particular group, but of the
whole of the Anatidce. Another characteristic it displays
(also prevalent in all the typical representatives of the greater
divisions), is the wide extent of its geographical distribution ;
the common species (Spath. clypeatd) being found in all the
quarters and in a variety of climates of the globe. These
birds are the inhabitants of lakes and marshy districts, pro-
curing their food, which principally consists of small worms,
insects, and larvae, by sifting the mud with their curiously
formed bill. Mr STEPHENS, in the twelfth volume of Shaw's
General Zoology, has introduced, amongst the Shovellers,
two species of Ducks which certainly do not appear to belong
to that genus, viz. Anas Rubida of Wilson's American Orni-
thology, and Anas Labrador a (Pied Duck) of the same
author,
SHOVELLER. NATATORES. SPATHULEA. 297
COMMON SHOVELLER.
SPATHULEA CLYPEATA, Flem.
PLATE XLV1II *. MALE and FEMALE.
Spathulea clypeata, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 123. sp. 186.
Rynchapsis clypeata, Shaw's Zool. 12. 115. pi. 48.
Anas clypeata, Linn. Syst. 1. 200. 19.— Gmel. Syst. 1. 518 — Lath^Ind.
Orn. 2. 856. sp. 60 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 87. pi. 67. f. ^. Male.— Sms.
Orn. 6. 329. 6. t. 32. f. 1.
Anas Platyrynchos, Rail Syn. 144. 13.
Anas Platyrynchos altera, ".Ran Syn. 143. A. 9 — Will 283.
Anas rubens, Gmel. Syst 1. 519 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 857. sp. 62.
Canard Souchet, ou le rouge, Buff. Ois. 9. 191 — Id. PL Enl. 971. et 972.
Male et femeUe — Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 842.
Loffle ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1101 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2.
543.
ShoveUer, Br. Zool. 2. 596. No. 280— Arct. Zool. 2. No. 489 — Will. (Angl.)
370. and 371 Albirfs Birds, 1. t. 97. 98 Lath. Syn. 6. 509. 55 —
Mont. Ornith. Diet — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, f. t. 345 Flem. Br.
Anim. 123. sp. 186 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 115. pi. 48 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8.
67. pi. 67. f. 7.
Red-breasted Shoveller, Br. Zool. 2. 597. No. 281 — Lath. Syn. 6. 512. 57-
Young and old males in the Summer change.
PROVINCIAL — Blue- winged Shoveller, Kertlutock, Broad-Bill.
THE Shoveller has generally been considered a winter visi-
tant, but from the remarks of Mr YOUELL (in the thirteenth
volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society), it ap-
pears to breed in the marshes of Norfolk, as he had the
young hatched from a number of eggs obtained from thence.
It has also been known to breed in the neighbourhood of the
Tweed ; and in my collection is a male bird, that was killed
in July, after having undergone the curious change in the
colour of the feathers that assimilates the males of most of
the species of this subfamily to the females, after the sexual
intercourse has taken place. The Shoveller is, however, at
no time plentiful in Britain, and is reckoned amongst the
rarer members of the present family. It is a shy and timo-
rous bird, and not easily domesticated, even under the most
298 NATATORES. SPATHULEA. SHOVELLER.
favourable circumstances, as Mr YOUELL, out of between
twenty and thirty eggs that were hatched, only succeeded in
rearing two birds, both of which even died before they were
twelve months old. He contradicts the assertion repeated by
most of our compilers, that the bill of the young, when first
hatched, is as broad as the body^ and quite out of proportion
to the size of the bird ; stating, that at a few days old, the
bill is not larger than that of a common duckling, though
in three or four weeks it acquires its peculiar form and rela-
tive proportion. — This species inhabits the marshes, lakes,
and rivers of the interior of the country ; is seldom found
on the sea-coast, and then only where the beach is of an oozy
Food, nature. — Its principal food consists of small worms, and the
larvae of insects, which it sifts from the mud, by its singular
spoon-shaped bill, each mandible of which is bordered with
very delicate and close- set lamellae, which WILSON (with his
usual aptness of illustration) has compared to a weaveVs
reed. These fit beautifully into each other, forming a kind
of sieve, by which the bird is capable of separating what is
fit for food, and rejecting through their interstices the mud
Nest, &c. and other superfluous matter. — It breeds in the central parts
of marshes, forming its nest in the tufts of coarse herbage
common to such situations, and laying from ten to twelve
eggs of an oil-green colour. The lower larynx, or bone of
divarication, of the male bird, is slightly enlarged, and fur-
nished on the left side with a small thin and bony bladder,
rather irregular in shape, and not above one-third larger
than that of the Teal. The trachea is nearly of equal dia_
meter throughout its length. The intestines are long, mea-
suring from nine to ten feet. The flesh of the Shoveller is
very delicate and well-flavoured, and, in consequence, highly
esteemed for the table. With respect to its geographical
distribution, this species is widely disseminated on the conti-
nental parts of Europe, being abundant in France, Holland,
Germany, and other states. It is also found throughout a
great part of Asia ; and in America, where it appears in no
SHOVELLER. NATATORES. SPATHULEA. 299
respect different, its range extends over both portions of that
continent.
PLATE 48*. represents the male and female of the natural
size.
Head and upper part of the neck deep hair-brown, glossed General
with duck-green. Lower part of the neck, breast, sea- tion.
pulars, and sides of the rump, white. Back blackish- Male.
brown ; the feathers being margined with grey, and
glossed with green. Lesser wing-coverts, and outer
webs of some of the larger scapulars, bright greyish-
blue. Larger coverts having white tips, and forming
a bar across the wings. Speculum rich duck-green.
Tertials long and acuminate, of a rich purplish-black ;
the central parts of the feathers having a white streak.
Quills hair-brown. Tail, with the middle feathers,
hair-brown, edged with white ; the outer ones entirely
white. Upper and under tail-coverts black, glossed
with duck-green. Belly and abdomen rich orange-
brown, with zigzag lines of black upon the flanks and
vent. Legs orange-red. Bill about three inches long,
brownish-black, large, and dilated at the end.
The whole of the upper parts of the body deep clove- Female.
brown ; the feathers being barred and margined with
reddish- white. Lesser wing-coverts similar to those of
the male. Under parts pale reddish-brown.
The male bird, towards the end of summer, has the
cheeks, sides of the neck, and throat, reddish-white,
speckled with hair-brown. Crown of the head, and
nape of the neck black, with the feathers margined paler,
and slightly glossed with green. Back and scapulars
deep clove-brown, margined with pale yellowish-brown.
Breast a mixture of yellowish-brown and reddish- white ;
the feathers having circular bars and spots of black. Un-
der tail-coverts yellowish- white, with lanceolate streaks
of hair-brown. Belly and abdomen a mixture of yel-
lowish and orange- coloured brown.
300 NATATORES. CHAULIODUS.
GENUS CHAULIODUS, SJTAINSON. GADWALL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill as short as the head, depressed throughout its length,
as broad as high at the base, rather narrowing towards the
tip, which has a small dertrum or nail. Both mandibles la-
minated; the laminae of the upper one projecting beyond
the margins of the bill.
Nostrils lateral, near the base of the bill, oval and per-
vious.
Wings long and acuminate. Tail wedge-shaped.
Feet with four toes ; three before and one behind ; the
front ones webbed ; the hind toe small and free.
The form of the bill, and the great development of its la-
minated structure (as shewn in the proportionate size of the
laminae of the upper mandible), combined with the peculiar
habits, and comparatively sombre plumage of the species,
has induced me to separate the Gadwalls from the succeed-
ing genera, comprising the DucJcs, the Teals, and the
Widgeons. In this, however, I only adopt the views of a
more able ornithologist, for Mr SWAINSON, in the second
volume of the Northern Zoology, and also in a paper upon
the typical perfection of the Anatidce (published in the Jour-
nal of the Royal Institution), has made it a subgenus of his
genus Anas (of which he considers the Shoveller as the type),
and which term is precisely of the same import as that of
genus in the systematic arrangement I have adopted, being
the denomination of the lowest group of species. Although
the form of the bill differs much from that of the Shovellers,
having lost the dilatation of its extremity, so conspicuous in
the other, and assumed in a great measure the proportions
of the next genus (Anas), the Gadwalls still shew a near af-
GADWALL. NATATORES. CHAULIODUS. 301
finity to the Shovellers, in the length and delicacy of the la-
minse of the upper mandible ; which, in the European
species, project upwards the tenth of an inch beyond the
margin. They are also removed in their habits from the
other members of this subfamily, being (if I may so use the
term) more decidedly aquatic. They excel in diving, and
have recourse to it, not only when wounded (as some of the
others do), but as the means of escape whenever disturbed ;
seldom taking wing for that purpose, although in rapidity of
flight they surpass most of the Ducks. In addition to the
species known in Europe, another has been found in Africa,
which Mr SWATNSON has named Chaul. Capensis ; and in
this new one the middle tail-feathers are rather elongated,
shewing a nearer approach to the Teals and Widgeons.
COMMON GADWALL.
CHAULIODUS STREPERA, Swainson.
PLATE LI. & LI «. FIG. 1.
Chauliodus Strepera, Swainson, in Journ. Royal Inst. 2. 19.
Anas Strepera, Linn, Syst. 1. 200. 20 — Gmel Syst. 1. 520 — Briss. Orn,
6. 339. 8. t. 33. f. 1 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 859. sp. 69 — Wils. Amer. Orn.
8. 130. pi. 71. f. 1. Male — Shaw's ZooL 12. 103 — Fk'm. Br. Anim. 1.
124. sp. 188.
Anas Platyrynchos rostro nigro, Ray, 145 — Will. 287.
Le Chipeau ou Ridenne, Buff. Ois. 9. 187. t. 12. fern.— Id. PL EnL 958.
Male.
Canard Chipeau ou Ridenne, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 837.
Schwatterente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1096 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 533.
Gadwall or Grey, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 603. No. 288 — Arct. ZooL 2. 575. I.
— Will. (Angl.) 374. t. 72 — Lath. Syn. 6. 515. 61 — Lath, in Trans. Lin.
Soc. 4. 111. pi. 13. f. 7. and 8. (Trachea) — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 7- pL
258 — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1 — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 348 —
Shaw's Zool. 12. 103 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 124. sp. 188 — Wils. Amer.
Orn. 8. 130. pL 71. £ 1.
THE Gadwall is rather a rare visitant with us, and is sel- Rare visi-
dom seen, except about the period of its vernal migration,
302 NATATORES. CHAULIODUS. GADWALL.
when some few pairs occasionally visit the marshes of Nor-
folk and the adjoining counties, being probably driven to
that coast of our island by adverse winds, out of the usual
line of their flight. This seems to be farther to the east-
ward, as the bird is plentiful upon the continental parts of
Europe, in our parallels of latitude. Thus, according to
TEMMINCK, it abounds in Holland, breeding in the great
marshy tracts of that country, as well as in other northern
districts. The specimens I have been enabled to see in a
fresh state were all met with in the poulterers'* shops in Lon-
don, during the months of April and May, and those now in
my collection were thus obtained. Though other writers
have mentioned it as being a winter visitant to our shores, I
have never seen it except at the period above stated ; and
MONTAGU, who probably, in consequence of this idea, only
looked for it during the winter, never succeeded in obtaining
a recent specimen. The species is widely distributed through-
out the northern and eastern parts of Europe, and is also
found in North America, having been described by AViLsox
as a winter visitant to- various parts of the United States.
These birds frequent the lakes, rivers, and marshes of the
interior, particularly those abounding in reeds and other rank
aquatic herbage, and seldom resort to the sea-coasts. They
are strong on wing, and in rapidity of flight surpass most of
the other nearly allied species, but are more remarkable for
their quickness in diving, and their great propensity to it as
the method of avoiding danger, or even observation. — They
Nest, &c. breed in the most covered parts of the marshes, and lay from
ten to twelve eggs each, of a pale oil-green colour. — Their
Food. food consists of insects and their larvae, aquatic plants, and
seeds. — The voice of the Gadwall is not unlike that of the
Common Wild Duck, only rather hoarser. The trachea of
the male bird is slightly enlarged in its diameter at about
two-thirds of its length, but becomes narrower as it ap-
proaches the lower larynx; this consists of a large bony
arch, with a globular, or rather pyriform, bladder attached
GADWALL. NATATORES. CHAULIODUS. 303
to the left side, being in shape much like that of the Com-
mon Mallard, but smaller. The flesh of this species is held
in high estimation.
PLATE 51. represents the Male Gadwall of the natural size. General
Head and upper part of the neck speckled with hair- t^n^"
brown and white, passing upon the crown of the head Male Bird,
into yellowish-brown. Lower part of the neck, breast,
and mantle black, with concentric semicircles of white.
Scapulars, flanks, and sides beautifully rayed with zig-
zag lines of white and blackish-brown. Lesser wing-
coverts grey, marbled with yellowish-white ; the middle
coverts deep orange-brown, succeeded by others of a
glossy black. Speculum having the lower part black
and the upper white. Tertials grey, tinged with yel-
lowish-brown. Quills hair-brown. Lower part of the
back, rump, upper and under tail-coverts black, glossed
with purplish-blue. Tail wedge-shaped ; the two mid-
dle feathers hair-brown with paler edges, the lateral
ones tinged with yellowish-brown, margined and tipped
with white. Belly and abdomen greyish-white, speck-
led with hair-brown. Bill one inch and three quarters
long, brownish- black. Irides brown. Legs and toes
orange-red.
PLATE 51 *. Fig. 1. The Female.
Crown of the head glossy black, mixed with greyish-white. Female,
Over the eyes is a lightish streak, intermixed with
black. Chin and throat pure white. Cheeks yellowish-
white, streaked with hair-brown. Breast pale buff, with '
the central parts of the feathers deep-brown. Upper
parts deep brown, the feathers being margined with
pale buff ; with the flanks and sides the same. Belly
and abdomen white. Lesser wing coverts hair-brown,
margined paler. Speculum as in the male. Tail mar-
bled with brown, buff and white.
304 NATATORES. ANAS.
GENUS ANAS, LINN. DUCK.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Bill longer than the head, depressed through its whole
length, broad, strait from before the nostrils to the tip, nearly
equally broad throughout. Mandibles deritato-laminate,
with the laminae of the upper mandible scarcely projecting
beyond the margin. Nostrils lateral, oval, situated near the
base of the bill. Wings of mean length, acuminate. Tail
short, slightly wedge-shaped ; with the middle feathers curl-
ing upwards in some species.
Feet with four toes, three before and one behind ; the
front ones webbed, the hind toe small and free.
The birds of this genus, of which the Common Wild
Duck may be considered the representati\e, differ from the
Shovellers in the general form of the bill, which is not ex-
panded near the tip, and in the shortness of the laminae of
the upper mandible, which do not project beyond its mar-
gins. In this latter respect they also differ from the Gad-
walls. They possess a wide range, being met with in most
parts of the globe ; and it is from the common species (Anas
Boschas) that we have obtained our useful domestic Duck,
now expanded into so many varieties.
WILD DUCK. NAT A TORES. ANAS. 305
COMMON WILD DUCK,
ANAS BOSCHAS, Linn.
PLATES L. & L -. MALE AND FEMALE.
Anas Boschas, Linn. Syst. 1. 205. 40 Gmel. Syst. 1. 538 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 850. sp. 49 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 121. pi. 70. f. 1.— Shaw's Zool.
12. 84 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 123. sp. 187.
Anas fera, Briss. Orn. 6. 318. 4.
Le Canard sauvage, Buff. Ois. 9. 115. t. 7- & 8 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2.
835.
Le Canard ordinaire, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 537.
Gemeine Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1046 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 538.
Wild Duck, or MaUard, Perm, Br. Zool. 2. 591. No. 279.— A ret. Zool. 2.
494 — Lath. Syn. 6. 489 — Id. Sup. 2. 351 — Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4.
112. pi. 13. f. 10. (Trachea.)— Albinos Birds, 2. pi. 10.— Lewin's Br. Birds,
7- pi. 240 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
2. p. t. 325 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 84.
Var. a. Anas domestica, Linn. Syst. 1. 206. 40. B Rail Syn. 150. 1.
Boschas major, Briss. Orn. 6. 326. A.
Tame Duck, Albin's Birds, 2. pi. 99. — Lath. Syn. 6. 494.— Bewick's Br.
Birds, ed. 1826. pi. t. 334.
Var. /3. Anas adunca, Linn. Syst. 1. 206 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 528.
Anas rostro incurvo, Briss. Orn. 6. 311 — Raii Syn. 150. 2 — Will. 180.
Hook-billed Duck, Alton's Birds, 2. t. 96. 97 — Will. (Angl.) 381. t. 75 —
Lath. Syn. 6. 497. D Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. ed. 1826, p. 338.
AMONGST the various species of the present beautiful sub-
family of the Anatidce, few display a more chaste and deli-
cately pencilled plumage than the Mallard in his matured
state. This, however, is very apt to escape the degree of
attention it deserves, from our becoming so much accustom-
ed to the appearance of his domesticated brethren; who,
though frequently retaining all the colours and distinctive
markings of the original stock, cannot, with their dull and
heavy appearance, compensate for the sprightly look and
graceful form that will strike the closer observer as distinc-
tive of this bird in a state of nature. This is an indigenous
species, and, although banished by the advance of agricul-
ture from vast tracts of country that formerly provided it
with suitable breeding retreats, still inhabits the shores of
VOL. II. U
306 NATATORES. ANAS. WILD DUCK.
our lakes and rivers, with such upland boggy grounds as
have not yet been submitted to the system of drainage that
has of late years so altered the face of the country. These
changes in the character of the soil, have of course produced
a great, and, I may add, annual decrease of our native breed,
which must progressively happen as long as the causes pro-
ducing it are in operation. It is probable, therefore, that in
a few years the Common Wild Duck will become compara-
tively rare as an indigenous species, except in some few lo-
calities that may bid defiance to agricultural improvement.
In such case, the deficiency will, during the winter months,
be supplied in part by additional arrivals from the more
northern countries, to which this bird will naturally resort
for the purpose of reproduction, under more favourable aus-
pices *. The estimation in which the flesh of the Wild
Duck, both for delicacy and flavour, has ever been held at
the table, has caused various devices to be resorted to for
its capture, of which none appear to be so effectual as the
decoy -f-. It is by this method that the greatest part of the
birds annually sent to the London market are taken, and
its practice is allowed from October till February. In ten
of these decoys in the neighbourhood of Wainfleet, it is re-
corded that 31,200 wild fowl were taken in one season, of
* Some idea of the quantity of Wild Ducks formerly produced in
England, may be formed from PENNANT'S account, viz. that at a single
driving of the fens of Lincolnshire, before the young had taken wing, and
when the old birds were in the moult, one hundred and fifty dozens had
been taken ! The same district at the present time does not produce per-
haps a dozen broods in the year.
•f- For an accurate description of a decoy, I refer my readers to that
by Mr BONFELLOW, given in the second volume of " BEWICK'S British
Birds" (under the article Wild Duck), and also copied into " SHAW'S Ge-
neral Zoology," and " WILSON'S North American Ornithology." WIL-
LOUGHBY and PENNANT also give descriptions of this device, but not so
detailed as that of Mr BONFELLOW. For an illustration and description
of the French mode of shooting from a hut, and for some particulars rela-
tive to decoy-birds, see Colonel HAWKER'S amusing " Instructions to Young
Sportsmen."
WILD DUCK. NATATORES. ANAS. 307
which more than two-thirds were of the present species.
WILSON, in his North American Ornithology, has described
several other modes of taking these birds that are in use in
that country, and mentions also that singular and ingenious
method adopted in India and China, where the sportsman,
covering his head with a calabash or wooden vessel, wades
into the water, and, keeping only his head thus masked above
it, advances towards and mixes with the flock, who feel no
alarm at what they look upon to be a mere floating calabash.
He is thus enabled to select his victims, whom he seizes by
the legs, and pulling them under water, fastens them to a girdle
with which he is equipped, thus carrying off as many as he
can stow away, without exciting distrust and alarm amongst
the survivors. The Wild Duck is widely distributed through
most of the temperate and arctic regions of the globe ; in
the former of which it is only a winter visitant, as the great
body of these birds retire even beyond our parallel of lati-
tude for the purposes of reproduction. In all the coun-
tries where it has been met with, its qualities for domestica-
tion seem to have been recognised and turned to advantage ;
and, though from long continuance of the breed in a state of
confinement, great variety in colour, size, &c. has been pro-
duced, the male bird constantly retains the peculiar specific
distinction of the curled feathers of the tail. In China and
other eastern countries, great numbers of ducks are hatched
by artificial means, by the eggs being placed in tiers in
boxes filled with sand, and subjected to the necessary de-
gree of heat, upon a floor of bricks. The ducklings are
fed at first with a mess composed of boiled craw-fish, or
crabs, cut in small pieces, and mixed with rice. In about a
fortnight they are able to shift for themselves, when they
are placed under the guidance of an old stepmother, who
leads them at stated times to feed, to and from the sampane
(or boat) in which they are kept, and which is moved about
by the owner to places likely to afford a plentiful supply of
food. In a natural state. Wild Ducks always pair, though
308 NATATORES. ANAS. WILD DUCK.
in a state of domestication they are observed to be polyga-
mous. This pairing takes place towards the end of Fe-
bruary or beginning of March, and they continue associated
till the female begins to sit, when the male deserts her, join-
ing others of his own sex similarly situated ; so that it is
usual to see the Mallards, after May, in small flocks by
themselves. About this time also they begin to undergo
the changes of colour that assimilate them in a great degree
to the female, and which is retained till the period of the
autumnal or general moult. The care of the young thus
devolves entirely upon the Duck, and is not partaken by the
male, as WILSON and others appear to think ; and this fact
I have had frequent opportunities of verifying, as many
Wild Ducks annually breed upon the edges of our Northum-
brian moors, and the young broods are of course frequently
under inspection as they descend the rivulets to the lower
Nest, &c. marshy parts of the country, — The nest of the Wild Duck
is generally made in some dry spot of the marshes, and not
far from water, to which she can lead her progeny as soon
as hatched. It is composed of withered grass, and other
dry vegetable matter, and usually concealed from view by a
thick bush, or some very rank herbage; though other and
very dissimilar situations are occasionally chosen, as several
instances have been recorded where they have deposited
their eggs on the fork of a large tree, or in some deserted
nest. Such an instance once occurred within my knowledge,
and near my own residence, where a Wild Duck laid her
eggs in the old nest of a crow, at least thirty feet from the
ground. At this elevation she hatched her young ; and, as
none of them were found dead beneath the tree, it is pre-
sumed she carried them safely to the ground in her bill, a
mode of conveyance known to be frequently adopted by the
Eider Duck. When disturbed with her young brood, the
Wild Duck has recourse to various devices to draw on her-
self the attention of the intruder, such as counterfeiting
lameness, &c. which manoeuvres are generally successful; and
WILD DUCK. NATATORES. ANAS. 309
in the mean time the young ones either dive or secrete them-
selves in the bushes or long herbage, so that it rarely hap-
pens that more than two or three are captured out of a large
brood. The eggs are from ten to fourteen, of a bluish-
white; and the Duck, during incubation, when she quits
the nest for food, is in the habit of covering them with down
and other substances, in all probability from an instinctive
idea of concealing them from observation, and which 'prac-
tice is pursued by many birds as well of this as other fami-
lies. The trachea of the Mallard is furnished at its lower
extremity with a labyrinth * (not unlike that of the Gadwall
in shape and position, but considerably larger), yet the tube
itself is of nearly equal diameter throughout its length. — The Food,
food of the Wild Duck consists of insects, worms, slugs, and
all kinds of grain, &c.
PLATE 50. Represents the Mallard, of the natural size.
Head and neck glossy duck-green, with the lower part General
descrip-
surrounded by a narrow collar of white. Breast deep tion.
chocolate-red. Under parts greyish- white, with fine Male,
zigzag transverse lines of grey. Mantle chestnut-brown,
with the margins of the feathers paler. Scapulars grey-
ish-white, rayed with zigzag brown, those next to the
wing being rich brown, rayed with black. Lower part
of the back, rump, and under tail-coverts velvet-black,
with green reflections. The four middle tail-feathers
black, and curled upwards ; the rest hair-brown, deeply
margined with white. Lesser wing-coverts hair-brown,
tinged with yellowish-brown. Greater coverts having
a bar of white, and being tipped with velvet-black.
Speculum rich glossy Prussian blue, passing into black,
and tipped with white. Quills pale hair-brown. Bill
• For illustrations and descriptions of the different tracheas of the
Duck, &c. I refer my r/eaders to Mr YARRELL'S excellent paper, published
in the 15th. volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society.
310 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA.
honey-yellow, with a greenish tinge. Legs and toes
orange.
PLATE 50 *. The Female, also of the natural size.
Female. Head and neck dirty cream-yellow, with numerous streaks
of brown, which are darkest upon the crown. Chin
and throat pale buff. Upper parts umber-brown, of
different shades, with the feathers margined with cream-
coloured white. Lesser wing-coverts pale hair-brown,
tinged with grey. Speculum purplish-blue, passing in-
to velvet-black, with the tips of the feathers white.
Quills pale hair-brown. Breast and under parts yel-
lowish-brown, spotted and streaked with darker brown.
Legs orange.
The young males resemble the females till after the au-
tumnal moult.
GENUS QUERQUEDULA, RAY. TEAL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as the head, elevated at the base, strait,
semi-cylindrical, nearly of equal breadth throughout; tip
obtuse, with the dertrum or nail small and hooked; man-
dibles laminated, and having the laminae almost entirely con-
cealed by the deflected margins of the upper mandible. Na-
sal fosse small, lateral, near to the culmen of the bill. Nos-
trils oval, pervious.
Wings acute, with the first and second quills of nearly
equal length.
Tail wedge-shape'd, with the two middle feathers more or
less elongated, and acute. ,
Legs having the tarsus rather shorter than the middle toe.
Feet with four toes, three before and one behind ; the front
ones webbed; the hind toe small and free.
PINTAIL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 3il
This genus is distinguished from the two preceding ones
by the form of the bill, which is longer and proportionably
narrower, assuming a semi-cylindrical shape. The laminae
of the bill are also short, being in most species scarcely vi-
sible below the deflected edges of the mandible. By many
recent systematists, the Pintail (Anas acuta of LINNAEUS)
has been separated from the other Teals, on account of the
greater elongation of the two middle-tail feathers, and made
the type of a genus, called Dafila by Dr LEACH. But as
the bill of the only known species displays the same form as
that of the Common Teal, and the structure of its trachea
is also similar, I have ventured, though not without hesita-
tion, to retain it in the present genus. The Teals are, for
the most part, of inferior size to the species of the preceding
groups, some of them being amongst the smallest of the Ana-
tidce. Their form is rather slender, and, from their great
length of wing and development of tail, they fly with strength
and rapidity. They inhabit the interior parts of the
try, and are but seldom found upon the sea-shores.
COMMON PINTAIL.
QUERQUEDULA ACUTA, Mihi.
PLATE XLIX. & PLATE LI. « FIG. 2.
Anas acuta, Linn. Syst. 1. 202. 28 — Gmel Syst. 1. 528 — Lath. Ind. Ornith.
2. 864. sp. 81 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 75. pi. 68. f. 3. male — Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 124. sp. 189.
Anas caudacuta, Rail Syn. 147- A. 5— Will. 289. t. 72.
Anas longicauda, Briss. 6. 639. 16. t. 34. f. 1, 2.
Dafila caudacuta, Stephens, Shaw's Zool. 12. 127. pi- 49.
Canard a longue queue, Buff. Ois. 9. 19?. t. 73. — Id. PI. Enl. 954. — Temm,
Man. d'Orn. 2. 838.
Spiessente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1116.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 536.
Sea Pheasant or Craiker, Will. (Angl.) 376. t. 73 — Albinos Birds, 2. t. 94,
95 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 124. sp. 189.
Pintail, Br. Zool. 2. No. 282 — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 500 — Lath. Syn. 526. 72.
—Id- Sup. 2. 354 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 7- 261 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and
Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826— Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 72. pi. 68. f. 3.
male.
312 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. PINTAIL.
THE slender neck, pheasant-like tail, and superior light-
ness of model in this Duck, have bestowed upon it an ap-
pearance of elegance unknown to most of the other species.
Periodical It is with us a regular winter visitant ; and considerable
numbers are annually taken in the decoys of Lincolnshire,
Norfolk, &c. MONTAGU says that it is most abundant in
the north of England and Scotland, and especially in the
Orkney Islands. This assertion, however, I must in part
contradict, as the result of long observation tells me it is of
rare occurrence in the northern counties of England ; and
the same may be said of the southern districts of Scotland,
which Dr FLEMING confirms in his History of British Ani-
mals. With respect to the Orkneys, I cannot speak so
confidently, although it appears probable, that what had
been 'represented to him as the present species, was in fact
the Long-tailed Duck (Havelda glacialis)^ which is found
in great numbers during the winter in the bays of this
group of isknds. The Pintail has a wide geographical
range, being met with in all the northern parts of Europe,
Asia, and America, and retires in the summer to breed in
high latitudes. Its equatorial migration extends as far as
Italy ; and during its periodical flight to the southward, it
occurs abundantly in Holland, France, Germany, and other
continental states. The marshes of the interior parts of the
country, and fresh- water lakes, are its usual places of resort,
Food, being rarely found upon the sea- coast. — Its food consists of
insects and their larvae, the seeds of aquatic plants, particu-
larly of some species of Epilobium, and vegetables. It is of
a shy and timorous disposition ; and in North America,
where it is plentiful, often disappoints the wild-fowl shooter,
by giving the signal to its numerous associates before he can
advance within gunshot. Upon rising, when alarmed, the
birds of this species cluster confusedly together, and (as
WILSON observes), if within distance, give the sportsman a
fair opportunity of raking them advantageously. They sel-
dom dive, seeming only when wounded to have recourse
PINTAIL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 313
to that manoeuvre, in which case, the bird coming up under
the bow of the boat, frequently endeavours to conceal itself,
by moving round with it. Like many others of the Anatida
(particularly of the species belonging to this group), the
plumage of the male Pintail, towards the end of summer, or
after the sexual intercourse is completed, undergoes a re-
markable change, and becomes very like that of the female.
This appears to me to be an actual change of colour in the
feathers, rather than a renewal of them ; and the same change
is observable in the Mallard, and the males of the Teal,
Wigeon, &c. It also prevails, if not in all, at least in some
species of the genus Mergus, as I have noticed it in Mergus
serrator. The Pintail is easily domesticated, but rarely
breeds in confinement. A hybrid progeny has been produced
between this bird and the Wigeon ; and, to such an extent do
the sexual propensities seem to be affected in this state, by
difference of food, and other causes, that MONTAGU mentions a
male Pintail in his menagerie, which, for want of the other sex,
shewed an inclination to pair with a female Scaup, and even
with a Bernacle Goose. He farther adds, that one of them
did pair with a tame duck, but that none of the eggs (up-
wards of twenty in number) proved to be fecundated. Its
usual notes are soft and subdued, but, according to WILSOX,
it also frequently makes a chattering noise. The season of
courtship is indicated in the male by suddenly raising him-
self upright in the water, and bringing his bill close to his
breast, uttering at the same time a low soft note. This ges-
ticulation is often followed by a jerk of the hinder part of
the body, which is then also thrown above the water. The
labyrinth of this species consists of a round long bladder,
situated on the left side of the arch of the lower larynx ; its
upper surface being nearly even with the top of the arch,
but its lower one reaching much below it. Its texture is
very fine, and in young birds may be indented by slight
pressure ; but becomes brittle in adults. — The nest of this Nest, &c.
species is made in the rushes and strong herbage of marshes,
314 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. PINTAIL.
and the eggs are from eight to ten, of a bluish-white. Its
flesh is sweet and well- flavoured.
General PLATE 49- represents the Male bird of the natural size.
ticn*1^" Head, chin, and throat, dark hair-brown, glossed behind
Male. the ears with auricula-purple. Lower part of the neck,
and two streaks running upwards to the hind part of
the head, white. Nape and back part of the neck deep
brown. Breast, belly, and abdomen, white. Flanks and
thighs with fine transverse black lines. Vent and under
tail-coverts velvet-black. Back beautifully marked with
alternate waving lines of black and greyish- white. Sca-
pulars black. Tertials long and acuminate, velvet-black,
margined with yellowish-white, or sometimes with pearl-
grey. Lesser wing-coverts deep smoke-grey. Larger
coverts tipped with pale reddish-brown. Speculum
blackish -bronzed green, tipped with white. Greater
quills hair-brown. Tail having the two middle feathers
elongated, acuminate, black ; and the lateral ones hair-
brown, margined with white. Bill, from the gape, two
and a quarter inches long, black. Legs and toes black
ish-grey.
PLATE 51.* Fig. 2. The Female, also of the natural size.
Female. Forehead and crown pale chestnut-brown, streaked with
black. Cheeks and neck pale ochreous yellow, speckled
with black. Chin and throat plain cream-yellow. Sides
of the breast hair-brown, barred and tipped with white.
Mantle and scapulars amber-brown, barred and varied
with pale buff-orange and white. Tertials hair-brown,
margined with white. Lesser and greater wing-coverts
pale broccoli-brown, edged and tipped with white. Spe-
culum hair-brown, glossed with green ; the feathers ha-
ving white tips. Quills hair-brown. Tail deep hair-
brown, with imperfect bars of white and pale buff-
orange ; the two middle feathers exceeding the rest in
TEAL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 315
length about half an inch Belly and abdomen yellow-
ish-white, indistinctly marbled with pale broccoli-brown.
Under tail-coverts white, speckled with chestnut-brown
of different shades. Bill greyish-black. Legs and toes
grey, tinged with brown.
COMMON TEAL.
QUERQUEDULA CRECCA, Steph.
PLATE LIV. MALE and FEMALE.
Querquedula Crecca, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 146.
Anas Crecca, Linn. Syst. 1. 204. 33 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 532 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 872 — Linn. Br. Anim. 1. 125. sp. 192 — Wilt. Amer. Orn. 8. 106.
pi. 70. f. 4. male.
Querquedula secunda, Aldrov. Raii Syn. 147. A. 5 — Will. 290. t. 74.
Querquedula minor, Briss. 6. 436. 32. t. 40. f. 1.
Petite SarceUe, Buff. Ois. 9. 265. t. 17. & 18 — Id. PL Enl. 947. male.
Canard Sarcelle d'Hiver, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 846.
Crickente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1143 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. p. 547.
Common Teal, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. No. 290. — Arct. ZooL 2. 577. —'Will.
(Angl.) 337.— Alton's Br. Birds, 1. t. 100 — Lath. Syn. 6. 551. 88 — Id.
Sup. 276 — Id. Sup. 2. 360 — Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 108. pi. 15. f. 1.
(Trachea).— Lewin's Br. Birds, 7. pL 260 — Mont. Orn. Diet. 2. and Sup.
—Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. ed. 1826. pt.
Green-winged Teal, Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 106. pi. 70. f. 40. male.
THE Teal, one of the smallest of the Anatidae, is entitled
to be included in the number of our indigenous birds, as it
is known to breed in the bogs and marshy grounds of the
northern counties of England, as well as on the edges of the
Scottish lakes. It is not, however, to be supposed that the
birds so generally spread over the kingdom during the win-
ter, and taken in such great numbers in the decoys, and by
various other devices, in the southern counties, are the pro-
duce alone of those that remain with us ; they are most of
them natives of more northern latitudes, and who make these
islands the boundary of their equatorial movement. Our
indigenous broods, I am inclined to think, seldom quit the
immediate neighbourhood of the place in which they were
316 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. TEAL.
bred, as I have repeatedly observed them to haunt the same
district from the time of their hatching till they separated
and paired, on the approach of the following spring. — The
Teal breeds in the long rushy herbage about the edges of
Nest, &c. lakes, or in the boggy parts of the upland moors. Its nest
is formed of a large mass of decayed vegetable matter, with
a lining of down and feathers upon which the eggs rest;
these are from eight to ten in number, in size rather exceed-
ing those of the Ring-Dove, and of a cream-white. The
young, when first excluded, are covered with a dark-coloured
down, that, in less than two months, gives place to a plu-
mage similar (in both sexes) to that of the female parent.
The young males do not acquire their peculiar distinctive
garb till about the middle of December. The present is a
night-feeding bird ; commencing the flight from its diurnal
retreat immediately after sun-set. During the day it reposes
upon the water, or sits motionless on its very brink, with the
head couched between the shoulders, or, when actually asleep,
with the bill hidden under the scapulars, the usual reposing
attitude of most of the feathered race. The flight of the
Teal is very rapid, and, when flushed, it darts off so quickly,
as to require great alertness in the sportsman, that he may
Food. gain his shot before the bird is out of distance. — Its food is
composed of the seeds of various aquatic plants, vegetables,
insects, and mollusca. In confinement (which it bears well,
and soon becomes very tame), when fed upon grain, it al-
ways moistens the food before attempting to swallow it ; — a
habit also observed in its congener the Gargany. — The bill
of the Teal is formed exactly on the plan of that of the Pin-
tail, and the two middle tail-feathers, though not elongated
in the same proportion, are longer than the rest, and pointed.
The American Green- winged Teal of WILSON has by some
been considered a distinct species, on account of the white
bar on the shoulders, seen in many of the males ; the author,
however, thinks it identical with the European bird, and I
believe Dr RICHARDSON and Mr SWAINSON are of the same
TEAL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 317
opinion. The distribution of the present species extends
over a great part of Europe and Northern Asia, as well as
the American Continent ; and during winter, the period of
its migratory movements, it is very abundant in France,
Holland, Germany, &c. — The trachea of the male is of small
but equal diameter throughout its length ; the lower larynx
is formed of a large bony arch, on the left of which is a small
globular ampulla, about the size of a pea. The flesh of this
bird is very tender, and highly prized at the table.
PLATE 54. Fig. 1. The Male.
Bill black. Irides brown. Crown of the head, cheeks, Qeneraj
sides and front of the neck, reddish-brown. Enclosing descrip-
the eye, and proceeding as far as the nape of the neck, Maje
is a large patch or band of glossy duck-green, bordered
by a white line. Chin black. Sides of the lower part
of the neck, back, scapulars, and flanks, beautifully
rayed with zigzag lines of black and white. Wing-
coverts hair-brown, tinged with grey ; those covering
the secondaries having yellowish tips, and forming a
bar across the wings. Middle of the speculum glossy
duck-green; with the feathers on either side velvet-
black. Front of the neck and breast cream-white, with
round black spots. Belly and abdomen white. Under
tail-coverts cream-yellow, divided and bordered by a
band of velvet-black. Tail wedge-shaped, consisting of
fourteen feathers, pale hair-brown, margined with white.
Legs clove-brown.
Towards the end of summer the male loses in a great mea-
sure his distinctive markings, acquiring a plumage not
very different from that of the female ; which he retains
till the general moult.
Fig. 2. The Female.
Head and hinder part of the neck pale sienna-yellow^ Female,
streaked with deep hair-brown. Throat and cheeks
318 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. TEAL.
yellowish-white, spotted with hair-brown. All the up-
per parts brownish-black, deeply margined with yellow-
ish-brown and white. Under parts yellowish-white.
Speculum similar to that of the male. Legs tinged with
yellow.
The young of the year, of both sexes, strongly resemble
the female bird ; though usually rather darker in the
tints of their plumage.
GARGANY TEAL.
QUERQUEDULA CIRCIA, Steph.
PLATE LIII. Male and Female.
Querquedula Circia, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 143. pi. 51.
Anas Circia, Linn. Syst. 1. 204. 34 — GmeL Syst. 1. 553.— Raii Syn. 148.—
Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 873. var. B.
Querquedula sestiva, Briss. Orn. 6. 445, 33.
La Sareelle d'e'te', Buff. Ois. 9. 268 — Id. PI. Enl. 946.
Canard Sareelle d'e'te', Temm. Man. 2. 844.
La Sareelle ordinaire, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 539.
Summer Teal, Will. (Angl.) 378. t. 76 — Alton's Birds, 2. 103. 104 — Lath.
Syn. 6. 552. 89.
Anas Querquedula, Linn. Syst. 1. 203. 32 — GmeL Syst. 1. 531 — Briss. 6.
427. 31. t. 39. f. 1. 2 — Raii Syn. 148. 8 — Will. 271. t. 74 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 872. sp. 99 — Flem. Br." Amer. 1. 125. sp. 191.
La Sareelle commune, Buff. Ois. 9. 260.
Knackerite, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1135.
Gargany, Br. Zool. 2. No. 289. pi. 101.— Arct. Zool. 2. 576. O.— Will.
Angl. 377- t. 74.— Lath. Syn. 6. 550. VJ.—Id, Sup. 2. 360 Id. in Trans.
Linn. Soc. 4. 108. pi. 13. f. 2. 3. (Trachea) — Lewirfs Br. Birds, pL 259.
—Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. pt. 372.
—Shaw's Zool. 12. 143. pi. 51 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 125. sp. 191.
PROVINCIAL— Pied Wigeon, Cricket Teal.
THE male of the Gargany, which does but slightly exceed
the Common Teal in dimensions and weight, is distinguished
by a beautifully varied plumage ; not, however, producing
its effect by strong contrast, as the colours are mostly of a
subdued tone, but dependent for its attraction upon a deli-
cacy of pencilling and a pleasing gradation of tint, exceeded
by few even of this handsome group of the Anatidse. In
TEAL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 319
the present species the bill becomes rather broader in pro-
portion to its length than in the Teal and Pintail, and the
points of the lamellae are just visible below the margins of
the upper mandible, shewing an advance towards the Blue-
winged Teal of America, in which species they protrude far-
ther than in any of the genus, connecting it with the Gad-
walls and Ducks. In the form and position of the tracheal
labyrinth it also differs considerably from the Teal ; for, in-
stead of this appearing as a globular appendage on the left
side of the lower larynx, as in that and other species of the
present family, it is placed perpendicular to the tracheal
tube, of which it looks not unlike a continuation. It is also
of considerable size, and divided on its anterior face by a
slight furrow into two unequal portions; and the bronchi
spring from the upper part of its dorsal aspect. The diame-
ter of the tracheal tube is, moreover, much greater through-
out its whole length, being nearly equal to that of the Mal-
lard, and widening to a great degree immediately before its
junction with the ampulla. — This is by no means a common
species in Britain ; and though stated to be a winter visit-
ant, I never met with it, except in the months of April and
May, when it is killed in Norfolk and other eastern parts of
the island, and sent to the London market. The above is
the period of its migratory flight towards its summer, or
breeding, quarters; and the few that visit us are probably
driven out of their direct course, which lies more to the Occasional
eastward. I have not been able to ascertain satisfactorily vlsltant
whether any of these visitants remain and breed here ; nor
do any of our writers expressly state that fact, though
MONTAGU and FLEMING hint at its probability. In the
north of England it is a bird of great rarity, not a single
instance of its capture having come within my experience ;
and this would be a remarkable circumstance, if, as Low
states in his " Fauna Orcadensis? it abounds in the bays
and on the lakes of those islands. But as he confesses that
he was never able to procure a specimen for inspection, and
320 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. TEAL.
only speaks upon the strength of observations made at a
great distance, we may be allowed to doubt the accuracy of
his supposition as to the species. Upon the continental parts
of Europe it is very plentiful, extending its winter migra-
tion farther to the south than the Teal and other Ducks.
It is also widely spread over the northern parts of the Asia-
tic Continent, as far as Kamtschatka ; but is not enumerated
amongst the American birds by WILSON, or any other trans-
atlantic ornithologist, although TEMMINCK (in his Manuel)
states it to belong to the northern part of that Continent. —
Food. Its habits are very similar to those of the Teal, and its food
consists of insects and larva?, seeds of water-plants, &c. which
it obtains by sifting the mud with its bill, — a mode of feed-
ing common to this and the preceding genera. When in
confinement, it has been observed to moisten such food as
grain, before swallowing it. — It breeds amongst the rank
Nest, &c. herbage by the sides of lakes and pools ; and its eggs are
reported as of a cream-white, with indistinct spots of a
deeper shade ; which latter circumstance may be a matter of
doubt, as not being peculiar to the present family. Its usual
cry is a low hoarse croak.
PLATE 53. Represents the Male and Female of the natural
size.
General Crown of the head, occiput, and list down the back part
tion. of the neck, dark umber-brown. Chin black. Band
Male. .over the eye, and which is extended down the neck, pure
white. Cheeks and upper part of the neck chestnut-
brown, finely rayed with white. Lower part of the neck
and breast pale buff, beautifully varied with spots and
semicircular bars of black. Back hair-brown, glossed
with green, and the feathers margined paler. Scapulars
long and acuminate, black, with a central streak of white.
Wing-coverts pale French grey. Speculum glossy leek-
green. Belly white. Flanks rayed with black. Vent,
2
TEAL. NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. 321
upper and under tail-coverts yellowish-white, spotted
with black. Bill blackish-brown. Legs greyish-black.
Throat and chin white. Hind part of neck, and upper Female.
parts of body, hair-brown, the feathers being margined
with white. Wing-coverts dark ash-grey. Lower part
of breast and belly white. Flanks and abdomen spotted
with hair-brown.
BIMACULATED TEAL.
QUERQUEDULA GLOCITANS, Vigors.
PLATE LV. and LV.»
Querquedula glocitans, Vigors in Trans. Linn. Soc. 14. 559.
Anas glocitans, Pall. Act. Stock. 1779. 40. t. 33. f. 1 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 52G.
—Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 862. sp. 75 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 125. sp. 193.
Mareca glocitans, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 140.
Bimaculated Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 602. No. 287. pi. 100 — Lath. Syn.
6. 521 Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1 Bewick's Br. Birds, 2d ed. 1826.
p. t. 362.
I HAVE adopted the views of my friend Mr VIGORS, in as- Very rare
visitant,
signing to this rare and handsome species a station amongst
the Teals, to which it shews a near affinity in the length and
form of its bill, graduated tail, and the general distribution
of colours in its plumage. In these islands, its appearance
seems to be of very rare occurrence, as three specimens only
have been hitherto recorded. The first of these was a male
bird, taken in a decoy in 1771, described and accurately
figured by PENNANT in his " British Zoology;1' and the
next a male and female, also taken in a decoy in 1812, and
from which the figures in the present work were taken.
These last came into the possession of Mr VIGORS, by whom
they were subsequently presented to the Zoological Society,
and now enrich their museum. This species appears to be
an equal stranger on the continental parts of Europe, and is
altogether omitted by TEMMINCK, in his list of European
VOL. ii. x
322 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. TEAL.
birds. Its native country is said to be the northern part of
Asia, being common in Eastern Siberia, upon the Lena and
other rivers, as well as in the vicinity of the Lake Baikal.
Of its habits, and other elucidating points of its history, I
am unable to give any account ; nor does it appear that any
attention was given to the construction of the windpipe and
other anatomical details, in the above mentioned specimens.
PLATE 55. Represents the Male bird of the natural size,
from the specimen in the museum of the Zoological So-
ciety.
General Bill blackish-grey, passing towards the base and edges in-
to orange-yellow. Front, crown, and occiput very deep
reddish-brown, glossed with purplish-black, and passing
upon the hind part of the neck into deep violet-purple.
Between the bill and eyes, and behind the ear-coverts,
are two large irregular patches of chestnut-brown, mar-
gined and varied with white. Sides of the neck and
cheeks glossy duck- green, the rest of the upper part of
the neck and throat being greenish-black. Front of the
lower part of the neck, and sides of the breast, reddish-
brown, with oval black spots. The middle part of the
breast pale reddish-brown, also spotted with black.
Ground colour of the mantle pale sienna-yellow, undu-
lated with black lines. Scapulars the same, tipped with
glossy Scotch blue. Wing-coverts hair-brown, the lower
range having pale wood-brown tips. Speculum dark
green, glossed with purple. Upper and under tail-co-
verts greenish-black, glossed with purple. Tail wedge-
shaped, with the two middle feathers black, narrow,
acuminate, and much longer than the rest, which are
hair-brown, margined with white. Belly and abdomen
yellowish-white, with undulating black lines, most dis-
tinct upon the flanks. Legs and feet pale orange.
NATATORES. MARECA. 323
PLATE 55.* Natural size.
Chin and throat pale buff. Head and neck the same, but Female,
with spots and streaks of black, those upon the crown
of the head being larger and more distinct. Lower part
of the neck, and sides of the breast, pale yellowish-
brown, with blackish-brown spots. Flanks variegated
with yellowish-brown and blackish-brown. Upper parts
blackish- brown, the feathers being deeply margined with
reddish-white and pale yellowish-brown. Lesser wing-
coverts hair-brown, with the lower tier deeply tipped
with pale reddish-brown. The upper half of the spe-
culum green, with purple reflections ; the lower half
velvet-black, with white tips to the feathers. Quills
and tail hair-brown, the latter margined with white and
reddish- white. Legs orange.
GENUS MARECA, STEPH. WIGEON.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head ; higher than broad at the
base ; strait from before the nostrils ; flattened and narrow-
ing towards the tip, which is armed with a middle-sized
hooked nail. Mandibles laminato-dentate, with the points
of the laminae of the upper mandible slightly projecting, in
the centre of the bill, beyond the margins.
Nostrils lateral, placed near the base of the bill, small,
oval, pervious.
Wings acuminate. Tail wedge-shaped, consisting of four-
teen feathers, acute.
Feet of four toes, three before, all united by a membrane ;
hind toe small, having a narrow web, and resting with its tip
on the ground.
324 NATATORES. MARECA. WIGEON.
The Wigeons are distinguished from the Teals by a much
shorter and less cylindrical bill, and from the Ducks, by that
member becoming more contracted and narrow, instead of
widening towards its tip. The laminae of the bill are also
broader and set wider apart, approaching in form nearer to
those of the subfamily Anserina. These birds also vary in
their habits, for instead of searching and sifting the mud
with their bills for insects, seeds, &c., upon which food the
preceding genera chiefly subsist, they live principally on
grasses and vegetable diet, which they pluck in the same
manner as Geese. Their flight is strong and swift, and they
have a peculiar shrill whistling call-note. In the shape of
the tracheal labyrinth they resemble more the Pintail/than
any of the other species ; and the middle feathers of the tail
are also acute, and considerably longer than the rest.
COMMON WIGEON.
MARECA PENELOPE, Mihi.
PLATE LII.
Mareca fistularis, Shaw's Zool. 12. 131. pL 50.
Anas Penelope, Linn. Syst. 1. 202. 27 — Gmel Syst. 1. 527- — Rail Syn. 140.
A. 3 Will. 288. t. 72 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 860. sp. 71 — Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 124. sp. 190.
Anas fistularis, Briss. Orn. 6. 391. 21. t. 35. f. 2.
Le Canard Siffleur, Buff. Ois. 9. 169 t. 10. et 11 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith.
2. 840.
JLe Siffleur, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 538.
Pfeifente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1109 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 541.
Wigeon, Whewer, or Whim, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 601. No. 286 Arct. Zool.
2. 574. K— Will. (Angl.) 375. t. 72 — Albin's Birds, 2. pi- 99.— Lath. Syn.
6. 518. 63 Id. Sup. 2. 354.— Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. pi. 13. f. 9.
(Trachea.)— Mont. Ornith. Diet. 2. — Id. Sup.—Lewiri's Br. Birds, 7.
pi. 251.— Bewick's Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t, 350 — Rennie's Mont. Ornith.
Diet. 542.
Common Wigeon, Shaw's Zool. 12. 131. pi. 50.
PROVINCIAL — Pandle-whew, Yellow Poll, Whew-Duck.
Periodical ^s a wmter visitant to the British Isles, the Wigeon is
visitant. more numerously, and, I may add, more generally distribut-
WIGEON. N ATA TORES. MARECA. 325
ed than any other species ; for its habitats embrace not only
the fresh-water lakes of the interior, but the whole circuit of
our coasts, wherever they are suitable to its economy. Such
are bays and other shores covered with a slimy deposite, the
mouths of rivers, &c., all of which produce abundantly the
particular sorts of vegetable food upon which this species Food,
subsists. Vast numbers of Wigeons are annually taken in
the decoys, the amount, in some of the southern counties (ac-
cording to MONTAGU), surpassing that of all the other wild
fowl taken collectively. In districts where the decoy has
not been introduced, they are obtained by the Punt and its
swivel-mounted duck-gun, or shot during the moonb'ght
nights by fowlers, who station themselves in places where the
birds are accustomed to feed, which they do after night-fall,
like most of the species in this subfamily, During the early
part of the winter their flesh is delicate and well-flavoured,
but after Christmas (I speak of those taken on the coast) it
becomes rather rank, which may be attributed to a failure of
the early vegetable food, and an increased consumption of the
stronger alga?, and perhaps of small molluscous animals. In
Northumberland, where they abound upon several parts of
the coast, they are sold for eighteen-pence the couple, being
half the price of the Mallard and Brent Goose. They usu-
ally make their first appearance in this county about the
20th day of September, in small companies, which are on the
gradual increase till about the beginning of November, when
the migration appears to be completed. Early in March
they again commence their polar movement, or return to
summer quarters, and by the month of April the coast is en-
tirely deserted. The northern countries of Europe, even to
very high latitudes, as well as those of Northern Asia, are
the native regions of these birds; and though TEMMINCK
mentions them as sometimes breeding in Holland, a parallel
as low as our own, I am not aware that they have ever been
ascertained to do so in Britain. At night, their time of ac-,
tivity, they fly in compact bodies, and are easily distinguish-
326 NATATORES. MARECA. WIGEON.
ed, when passing, by their peculiar whistling call-note, and
from the sound of which has arisen their trivial name of
IVhew-Duck. They are easily domesticated, and thrive well
when supplied with plenty of water ; but do not breed in
confinement, at least the female, though she may occasion-
ally lay eggs, will not provide a nest, or go through the pro-
cess of incubation. It is, however, a singular fact, that a
hybrid progeny has been produced between the male Wigeon
and the female Pintail, although females of his own species
were kept on the same piece of water. The mules from this
cross, as might be expected, were barren *. It has also been
known to pair with the Common Duck, in which case the
eggs were also prolific. The form of the tracheal labyrinth
of the Wigeon comes nearer to that of the Pintail than any
other, being nearly globular; its attachment, however, to
the bony arch of the larynx is different, the bottom of that
capsule being nearly on the same line with the arch, whereas
in the Pintail it extends considerably below it. It is also
Eggs, of smaller size. — The eggs of the Wigeon are stated to be
eight or ten in number, and their colour a pale greenish-
white.
PLATE 52. Represents the male and female of the natural
size.
General Fig. 1. the Male. — Bill bluish-grey, with the tip and nail
tion. black. Forehead and crown pale buff-orange. The
Male. rest of the head, and the upper part of the neck,
orange-brown, with small specks upon the cheeks. Chin
and throat black. Lower part of the neck and breast
pale brownish-purple red, tinged with ash-grey. Lower
part of the back of neck beautifully barred with black
and pale reddish-white. Back, scapulars, sides, and
flanks finely rayed with zigzag lines of black and white.
* See MONTAGU'S Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, where
this and other curious facts respecting the Wigeon are narrated at consi-
derable length.
WIGEON. NATATORES. MARECA. 327
Tertials having their inner webs deep grey, the outer
ones velvet-black, margined with pure white. Smaller
wing-coverts, next to the shoulders, grey, finely pow-
dered with white, the others pure white. The greater
coverts with velvet-black tips. Speculum glossy duck-
green in the centre, with the lower part and tips of the
feathers black. Quills pale hair-brown. Belly and ab-
domen white. Under and side tail-coverts black, glossed
with green. Tail brown, tinged with grey; the feathers
sharp-pointed, and the two middle ones longer than the
rest. Legs and toes bluish-grey.
In summer, the head and neck become spotted all over
with black. The breast also, and sides of the body, ac-
quire a reddish-brown colour, with darker bars and lines
upon the latter. Back and scapulars mottled and varied
with reddish-brown and dusky feathers in large bars,
and others with fine black and white zigzag lines. Un-
der tail-coverts white, with reddish-brown bars.
Fig. 2. the Female. — Head and neck yellowish-brown, Female,
thickly covered with blackish-brown spots and specks.
Upper parts of the body greyish-black, the feathers be-
ing margined with greyish- white and yellowish-brown.
Breast, belly, and abdomen white. Flanks yellowish-
brown. Under tail-coverts white, spotted with black-
ish-brown. Legs and bill deep bluish-grey.
The young of both sexes resemble the adult female, but
the tints are darker and not so distinct.
328 NATATORES. OIDEMIA.
SUBFAMILY FULIGUUNA.
HIND toe with a lobated membrane. Legs placed far
backwards. Neck thick and short. Dive in search of food.
GENUS OIDEMIA, FLEU. SCOTER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL swollen or tuberculated at the base, large, elevated,
and strong ; the tip much depressed and flattened, terminat-
ed by a large flat dertrum or nail, which has its extremity
rounded and slightly deflected. Mandibles laminated, with
the plates broad, strong, and widely set.
Nostrils lateral, elevated, oval, placed near the middle of
the bill.
Wings of mean length, concave, acute. — Tail short, gra-
duated, acute.
Legs far behind the centre of gravity ; tarsi short ; feet
large, of four toes, three before and one behind. Outer toe
as long as the middle one, and much longer than the tarsus ;
hind toe with a large lobated membrane.
The members of this genus are distinguished by a prevail-
ing darkness of plumage ; the males being clothed in a garb
of glossy black, the females in one of a brown or sooty com-
plexion. In some species it is uniform and without relief,
but in others, which approach nearer to the succeeding genus
Somateria (Eider), it is relieved by small patches of white.
They are strictly marine birds, inhabiting the ocean or inland
saline seas ; and from adventitious circumstances only are
they ever seen upon fresh water lakes, or on rivers beyond
the influence of the tide. They swim well, and obtain their
food (such as crustaceous and molluscous animals) by div-
SCOTER. NATATORES. OIDEM1A. 329
ing, for which their formation is well adapted ; and they are
able to remain for a long time submerged. They rarely
quit the water, except for incubation ; and their flight, though
usually near the surface, is yet strong and rapid. Upon re-
viewing the species hitherto assigned to this genus, I am in-
clined to think that Oidemia nigra, Old. leucocephala, and
another (said to be new) from North America, will have to
be separated from Oid.fusca, Old. perspicillata, not only on
account of the difference of form shewn in the basal part of
the bill, but also from the relative proportions of the wings.
In Old. nigra, the first quill is shorter than the second, and
its anterior part very narrow in consequence of a deep notch
or emargination at about half its length. In Oid.Jusca and
perspicillata, on the contrary, the first quill is the longest,
and without any emargination whatever. The gradation
from the Velvet Scoter (Old. fusca), through Oid. perspi-
cillata, to the Eiders is gradual, and presents a beautiful in-
stance of the affinities that connect the various genera with
each other.
BLACK SCOTER.
OIDEMIA NIGRA, Flem.
PLATE LXVIII.
Oidemia nigra, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119. sp. 174 Shaw's Zool. 12. 213.
pi. 59.
Anas nigra, Linn. Syst. 1. 196. 7 Gmel Syst. 1. 508 Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 848. sp. 43 — Briss. 6. 420. 28. t. 38. f. 2 Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 135.
pi. 92. £ 2.
Anas nigra minor, Rail Syn. 141. A. 5 — Will. 280. t. 94.
La Macreuse, Buff. Ois. 9. 234. t. 16 — Id. PI. Enl. 978.
Canard Macreuse, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 856.
Die Trauer Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 963.
Scoter or Black Diver, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 584. No. 273 Arct. Zool. 2.
484 — Lath. Syn. 6. 480 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 7. pi. 249 Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. ed. 1826, p. t. 322 — Wils.
Amer. Orn. 8. 135. pi. 92. f. 2.
Black Scoter, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119. sp. 174 Shaw's Zool. 12. 213. pi.
59.
Anas cinerascens, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1025. )
Canard Grisette, Temm. Man. (TOrnith. 1. ed. p. 555. )
330 NATATORES. OIDEMIA. SCOTER.
Periodical DURING the winter, and till the season of spring is tolerably
well advanced, the Scoter is to be found upon our shores,
frequenting more particularly those which are of rocky cha-
racter, and which of course abound most in Crustacea, bivalve,
Food. mollusca, and other small marine animals, upon which it
entirely subsists. To obtain these it is in the constant habit
of diving, and is able to remain submerged for a considerable
time ; but as this can only be efficacious in water of a certain
depth, it approaches at every flow of the tide rather near to
the shore, at least where the depth does not exceed a few
fathoms, swimming with ease amidst the heaviest surf, and
pursuing its diving investigations with unwearied diligence.
In France, where an accommodating creed has allowed the
Scoter, and its congener the Velvet Scoter, to rank as Jish,
and of course to be eaten on fast days, advantage has been
taken of their habits by the fishermen on those coasts, who,
at the ebb, spread their nets horizontally about two or three
feet above the beds of shell-fish, which these birds are ob-
served most to haunt. Upon the return of the tide the
Scoters approach in great numbers, and, diving for their
food, become entangled in the meshes of the floating nets ;
and in this way it is said that twenty or thirty dozens have
been taken in a single tide. In this country they are uni-
versally rejected as food for the very qualities that render
them acceptable to our neighbours, viz. the oiliness and fishy
flavour of the flesh, and consequently no attempts are made
to take them, though there is little doubt but that they might
be caught with equal ease, and in as great numbers on some
parts of our coast. The flight of the Scoter is straight and
tolerably rapid, but near the surface of the water, and sel-
dom to any great distance at a time. Its wings are rather
short and concave (like the typical Natatores), and the first
quill is strongly notched at about half its length, the remain-
ing part to the tip being very narrow. This circumstance,
as well as the proportionate shortness of that to the other
quills, as compared with Old. fusca and Old. persplclllata>
SCOTER. NATATORES. OIDEMIA. 331
unnoticed by naturalists, furnish characteristics of sufficient
apparent value (as I have before stated), to warrant its sepa-
ration from them. The trachea also does not possess the
distinct and well defined enlargements, or bony swellings, so
conspicuous in the other two species, but gradually increases
from the larynx to the middle, where it attains its greatest
diameter, from whence it again decreases to the lower larynx
or bone of divarication, which is slightly swollen, and to
which the bronchi, formed of cartilaginous rings, and of a
greater diameter than any part of the tracheal tube, are at-
tached. Upon land this bird walks with difficulty, and in a
semi-erect position, from the posterior situation of the legs.
It abounds throughout the northern parts of Europe, Asia,
and America, and is found during the summer in very high
latitudes. It breeds near to the coast, or on the banks of
rivers, within the course of the tides, or upon the edges of
such inland seas as it may frequent. The nest is formed of Nest, &c.
grass and other vegetable matter, mixed and lined with a
quantity of its own down ; and the eggs, from six to ten in
number, are white. The gizzard of this species is of great
size and muscular power, well adapted for triturating the
shelly and tough food upon which, as I have before noticed,
it subsists. Dr FLEMING, in his History of British Animals,
has inserted the White-headed Duck (Oidemia leucocephala),
as a rare British species, but his description, both as to size
and plumage, does not accord with those of LATHAM and
TEMMINCK. I am therefore inclined to think that he has
mistaken the young or female of the Black Scoter for the
above species ; or that he has described one hitherto un-
noticed, but nearly allied to our present bird. The latter,
I suspect, to be the case, as I possess a specimen said to have
been killed upon the Scottish coast, which I cannot reconcile
with Oid. nigra. The plumage of this bird (which I take
to be a female or young male) is blackish-brown above ; the
lower parts pale broccoli-brown, with lighter undulations; the
crown of the head, occiput, and nape of the neck, deep black-
332 NATATORES. OIDEMIA. SCOTER.
ish-brown ; the cheeks, throat, and sides of 'the upper part of
neck, greyish- white, tinged with pale hair-brown. Its bill is
longer and narrower than that of the Scoter, with the nail
smaller and suddenly contracting towards its extremity. The
first quill-feather is rather shorter than the second, and
though tapering and small toward the tip, has not the de-
cided notch observable in that of our present species. The
tail consists of sixteen feathers *.
PLATE 68. Represents the adult Male of the natural size.
General Bill black, with the exception of a band between the basal
QGSCrin
tion. tubercle, the nostrils, and a rounded space in front of
Male. them, which parts are orange. Circle round the eye
yellow. Irides brown. Whole of the plumage deep
ink-black, the head and neck being glossed with Prus-
sian blue. Legs and toes reddish-black.
Female. The Female is without the marked tubercle at the base of the
bill, that part being merely elevated. Head and upper
parts of the body blackish-brown, margined paler.
Chin and throat greyish- white. Under parts very pale
broccoli-brown, with a silky lustre.
The young males are very similar to the females, but the
white upon the throat is less tinged with brown and
grey. As they advance in age the tubercle begins to
swell, and the orange on the bill becomes apparent.
* Since writing the above, I have received the second part of that beau-
tiful and scientific work, the " Fauna Borealis Americana," and from the
description there given of Oidemia Americana, I suspect that my bird be-
longs to that species. If so, and I can prove it to be a British killed
specimen, it will certainly be entitled to a place in the list of our Fauna,
SCOTER. NATATORES. OIDEMIA. 333
VELVET SCOTER.
OIDEMIA FUSCA, Flem.
PLATE LXVII.
Oidemia fusca, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119. sp. 173 — Show's Zool. 12. 116.
Anas fusca, Linn. Syst. 1. 196. 6 — Gmel Syst. 1. 507 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2.
848. sp. 44 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 151. pi. 72. f. 3. male.
Anas nigra major, Raii Syn. 141. A. 4 — Will. p. 278. pi. 70 — Briss. Orn.
6. 423. 29.
Grande ou double Macreuse, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 854.
Samme-ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 954 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2.
516.
Great Black Duck, Will. (Angl.) 363. 670.
Velvet Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 583. No. 272. pi. 96 Arct. Zool. 2. 482.
— Lath. Syn. 6. 482. 37 — Id. Sup. 274 — Id. Sup. 2. 350— /rf. in Trans.
Linn. Soc. 4. 119. pi. 15. f. 3. (Trachea.)— Lezmw's Br. Birds, 7. 247—
Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 20 — Mont. Oin. Diet.— Id. Sup — Bewick's Br.
Birds, ed. 1826. 2. p. t. 320.— Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 151. pi. 72. f. 3.
Velvet Scoter, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119.— Id. 173.- Shaw's Zool. 12. 216.
PROVINCIAL. — Black Diver, Double Scoter, Black Duck.
THIS species is much larger than the preceding, and may
always be distinguished from it by the form of the bill, as
well as by the white band upon the wings, and a spot of the
same colour at the posterior angle of the eye. It is a regular Periodical
visitant.
winter visitant upon our coasts, and frequents the same loca-
lities as the Black Scoter, with which it frequently associates,
and to which it bears a close resemblance in its general ha-
bits. Its bill approaches in form nearer to that of Old. per-
spicillata, the tubercle at the base not rising immediately in
front as in Oid. nigra, but being double, and rising on the
sides, where they, however, differ even from those of the
former bird, in being partly covered by small feathers, and
not left entirely exposed. TEMMINCK'S distinctive character
of this species is therefore inapplicable, when he says, " Bee
sans renflemens lateraux." The wings, also, of this and
Oid. perspicillata differ in their proportions from those of
Oid. nigra^ the first quill being longer than the second, and
the longest in the wing. This feather also tapers gradually
334 NATATORES. OIDEMIA. SCOTER.
towards its point, without any notch or sudden decrease ; and
the tail, instead of sixteen, consists of fourteen feathers. The
trachea is distinguished by two bony enlargements, the first
of which is situated immediately below the larynx, of an oval
shape, and in old specimens is nearly an inch in length.
The second is about two-thirds down the trachea, where it
suddenly swells out into a large rounded capsule, flat on one
side, and convex on the other ; the bone of divarication,
where the rings become lost, being, in old birds, slightly
swollen on each side, where the bronchi, which are of
small diameter, are attached to it. The Velvet Scoter is
found in all the northern parts of Europe, and its winter
migration to warmer latitudes is regulated by the severity or
mildness of the season. It is also very abundant in all the
Arctic regions of Asia, where, in Kamtschatka, Siberia, &c.
it is reported to breed upon the banks of the larger rivers,
Nest,&c. within the 'effects of the tide. The nest is formed of grass,
and lined with down, and the eggs, from eight to ten in num-
ber, are white. It is met with also in North America. Its
flesh is as unpalatable as that of the Black Scoter, on which
account it is seldom pursued by the fowler, but is occasion-
ally caught in the stake-nets set for salmon, &c. — In those
Food, which I have dissected, the gizzard, which is large and
strong, was filled with the remains of mytilus, mactra, solen,
and other shelly mollusca, intermixed with the spawn of fish
or crustaceous animals.
PLATE 67. Represents the Male and Female of the natural
size.
General The plumage of the male bird is of an intense velvet-
tion. black, with the exception of the spot at the posterior
Male. angle of the eye, and the secondary quills, which are
white. Upper part of the base of the upper mandible,
nostrils, and margins of both mandibles, black ; the rest
of the bill, including the lateral tubercles, bright orpi-
ment-orange, with the tip of the nail darker. Inner
SCOTEU. NATATORES. OIDEMIA. 335
part of the tarsus carmine-red, the outer part, and toes,
orange-red, with the membranes of the toes black.
The whole of the upper parts of the body of an uniform Female.
pitch (or brownish) black, the under parts much lighter.
Between the bill, the eyes, and the auriculars, is a
patch of greyish-white. Bill blackish-brown. Legs
and toes dull brick-red.
The young males are like the females till after the second
moult.
SURF SCOTER.
OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA^ Flem.
PLATE LXIX.
Oidemia perspicillata, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12.
219.
Anas perspicillata, Linn. Syst. 1. 201. 25.— Gmel. Syst. 1. 524 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 847. sp. 42.— Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8. 49. pi. 67, f. 1. male.
Anas nigra major, freti Hudsonis, 6. 425. 30.
Macreuse a large bee, ou Marchand, Buff. Ois. 9. 244 — Id. PL Enl. 995.
Canard Marchand, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 853.
Black Duck, Edward's Glean, pi. 15. S.—Penn. Arct. Zool/2. 483 — Lath.
Syn. 6. 479.
Surf Duck, Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 49. pi. 67. f. 1. male.
Great-beaked Scoter, Shaw's ZooL 12. 219.
I HAVE admitted this bird into the list of stragglers, or Rare
rare visitants, as it has been occasionally met with about the V1S1 an "
shores of the Orkney and Shetland Isles. In the high lati-
tudes of the North American Continent, such as Hudson's
and Baffin's Bays, it is very abundant, and during winter, or
its equatorial migration, is spread along those coasts, as far
to the southward as Florida. In this species the bill has not
that flatness and expansion in front of the nostrils that are
so conspicuous in Old. nigra and Old. fusca^ but assumes,
in a great degree, the characters of the succeeding genus
Somateria (Eider), by the tip being suddenly contracted,
and the nail (which is also more convex than in the other
336 NATATORES. OIDEMIA. SCOTER.
species), being brought to a narrow rounded point ; the en-
tering angle of the forehead also projects, as in the common
Eider, as far as the nostrils. The lateral parts of the bill
at the base are very tumid, and are particular from the
marking there displayed, these swellings being entirely ex-
posed, and not in part concealed by the feathers, as in the
Velvet Scoter. In the proportions of the wings, and the
number of the tail-feathers, it agrees with that bird. The
anatomy of the trachea also, according to the description
of it by WILSON, in its general character, resembles] that
of Old. fusca, for he says, " there was a singular hard
expansion at the commencement of the windpipe, and an-
other much larger, ab0ut three quarters of an inch above
where it separates into the two lobes of the lungs ; this
last was larger than a Spanish hazle-nut, flat on one side,
Food, and convex on the other. — Like its congeners, this bird
feeds upon the various bivalve shell-fish and Crustacea, for
which it is constantly diving. It is always seen upon the
water, and very frequently amidst the heaviest surf, in which
it appears to delight, and to sport quite at ease ; and on
which account it has obtained in America the trivial name
of the Surf Duck. Their skins, WILSON observes, are^very
strong, and their flesh coarse, tasting of fish ; and they are,
he adds, shy birds, and not easily approached.
General PLATE 69- represents the Male bird of the natural size.
d.escnp- Bill from the angle of the forehead to the tip, only one
Male. mcn and a na^ l°ng » anc^ from the posterior part of the
lateral tubercles, two inches and three quarters in
length. The front part of the bill orpiment-orange ;
the lateral swollen part having a large patch of black,
in front of which is another of a pearl-grey colour.
The lamellae of the bill coarse and widely set. Irides
cream-white. The whole of the plumage glossy ink-
black, with the exception of an angular patch of white-
NATATORES. SOMATERIA. 337
upon the forehead, and another on the back part of the
neck. Legs and toes reddish-orange.
The Female is of a sooty-brown, lightest about the neck
and belly. The prominences on the bill are small, and
of a dusky colour.
GENUS SOMATERIA, LEACH. EIDER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL swollen and elevated at the base, extending high up
the forehead, forked or divided by an acute angle of feathers.
Before the nostrils strait, semi-cylindrical, and narrow ; ter-
minated by a strong vaulted nail, hooked, and rounded at
the extremity. Both mandibles laminato-dentate, with the
plates strong and widely set. Nostrils lateral, oval, small,
placed towards the middle of the bill.
Wings of mean length, acute, with the first quill-feather
the longest. Tail of fourteen feathers.
Legs short ; feet of four toes, three before and one be-
hind ; the front toes webbed, and the outer nearly as long
as the middle one ; hind toe with a long lobated membrane.
The Eiders are distinguished from the preceding genus
by the variegated or piebald plumage of the male birds, and
by the form of the bill, which is more cylindrical and nar-
rowed towards the tip, and armed with a strong hooked nail.
The elevated part at its base (in one species rising into very
large lobes) is divided by a narrow stripe of feathers, form-
ing, as it were, a projecting angle of the forehead. The la-
teral parts of the upper mandible are also without that de-
cided tumescence that is seen in the nearly allied species of
Scoters. These birds inhabit the northern regions of the
globe, and are found to extend to the highest latitudes yet
VOL. n. Y
338 NATATORES. SOMATERIA. EIDER.
explored. They are strictly confined to the ocean, feeding
upon Crustacea, molluscous shell-fish, &c., which they ob-
tain by diving. Their flight is strong and rapid, but seldom
at any great elevation.
COMMON EIDER.
SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA, Leach.
PLATE LXX. AND LXX*.
Somateria mollissima, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 119. sp. 176< — Shaw's Zool. 12.
224. pi. 60.
Anas mollissima, Linn. 1. 178. 15 -Gmel. Syst. 1. 514 Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 845. sp. 35 — Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8, 122. pi. 91. f. 2. and 3.
Anas St Cuthberti, RaU Syn. 141. A. 3 Will. 278. t. 77.
Anser lanuginosus, Briss. Orn. 6. 294. 13. t. 29. 30.
Oie a Duvet, ou Eider, Buff. Ois. 9. 103. t. 6 Id. PL Enl. 289. and 209.
male et femelle.
Canard Eider, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 848.
Die Eidergans, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 926.
Eiterente, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 507.
Great Black and White Duck, Edward's Glean, t. 98. m. and f.
Eider or Cuthbert Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 581. No. 271 Arct. Zool. 2.
No. 480 — Will. (Angl.) 362. 76 Lath. Syn. 6. Heft. 29 Id. Sup. 274.
— Lewirfs Br. Birds, 7« pl« 244 Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826. 2. p. t. 305 Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8. 122. pi. 91. f. 2.
male, f. 3. female. — Shaw's Zool.. 12. 224. pi. 60. male. — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 119. sp. 176.
PROVINCIAL — Eider, Cuthbert Duck, Culbert Duck, Dunter Goose.
IN Britain the range of this valuable species extends to
about the 55th degree of north latitude, to the southward of
which it becomes of very rare occurrence. Its limits, how-
ever, towards the pole are scarcely ascertained, as it has been
found, I believe, in the highest latitudes yet penetrated by
navigators. In Iceland, Spitzbergen, and other arctic re-
gions of Europe, it is very abundant ; and in those cold coun-
tries is highly beneficial to the inhabitants, on account of its
feathers, elastic down, eggs, &c. It is equally common in
parallel latitudes of the North American continent, and, in
fact, may be considered a general inhabitant of the Frigid
EIDER. NATATORES. SOMATERIA. 339
Zone. Upon the Northumbrian coast many Eiders breed
upon the group of Fern Islands*, situated towards the
northern extremity of that county, and from two to eight
miles distant from the shore, and which, with Coquet Island
(about ten miles farther along the coast), may be reckoned
the most southern breeding-stations of these birds. About
April they are seen assembling in small groups along the shores
of the mainland, from whence they cross over to the Islands in
May, soon after which the females begin to prepare their nests,
and they usually commence laying about the twentieth of that
month. The males, as soon as this takes place, and incuba-
tion commences, leave the females, and again spread them-
selves along the shore, in companies of four or five together,
and do not (as far as my observation goes) " continue on
watch near the shore, as long as the females remain sitting,"
and then desert both her and the newly hatched brood, as
mentioned in SHAW'S Zoology. The usual number of eggs
is five, of a pale asparagus-green colour, of an oblong shape,
and not much less than those of a Goose. The nest is com- Nest, &c.
posed of dried grasses, mixed with a quantity of the smaller
algae, and as incubation proceeds (and which lasts for a
month) a lining of down, plucked by the bird from her own
body, is added. This addition is made daily, and at last be-
comes so considerable in mass, as to envelope and entirely
conceal the eggs, contributing, perhaps by its effect, as a non-
conductor of heat, to the perfect development of the foetus,
and serving also as a protection from Gulls and other ene-
mies. The young, as soon as hatched, are conducted to the
water, which in some instances must be effected by the pa-
rent conveying them in her bill, as I have often seen the nest
in such situations as to preclude the possibility of their ar-
* In consequence of having been wantonly molested in this locality
during the breeding season, the Eiders have of late years very much de-
creased ; and the same cause has been equally fatal to the Cormorants,
Guillemots, Gulls, Terns, &c., which were but a short time since astonish-
ingly numerous on these rocky islands.
340 NATATORES. SOMATERIA. EIDER
riving at it in any other way ; and indeed, the keeper of one
of the lighthouses (upon the impending rock close to which
an Eider Duck, for many seasons, had her nest, and hatched
her young) assured me, that he had seen the bird engaged in
this interesting duty. The down of the Eider is remarka-
bly light and elastic, not more so perhaps than that of its
congener the King Eider, the Scoter, and some others of the
oceanic Anatidae ; but as it is procured in greater quantity
from this species, the whole imported from Iceland and other
northern countries (though mixed with that of several others)
is still sold under the denomination of Eider down. From
the nest of two or three of these birds, I have frequently
procured as much down as would fill a middling-sized pil-
low, though the same, when compressed, was not above two
handfuls, and did not weigh above an ounce. As plucked
from the living bird, it is much more elastic than when taken
from the body after death, — a fact confirmative of what I
have formerly advanced, viz. that the plumage is not mere
inert matter, as believed by MONTAGU and others, but is en-
dowed with a kind of living principle, and influenced by the
state and condition of the bird. In Iceland, Greenland, &c.
where the Eider down forms a great branch of their com-
merce, and where the birds breed in great numbers near to
each other, the natives wait anxiously for the event. The
first production of eggs, together with the down, is taken
from them, but the next they are allowed to incubate, and
rear the young, though a part of the down is from time to
time removed, the female continuing to supply it as long as
Food, any remains upon the lower part of her body. — The food of
the Eider consists of various species of shell-fish, crustaceous
animals, and the roes of these and fishes. Such as I have
dissected were generally filled with the triturated remains of
mytili, tellinae, &c. ; and twice I found the subjects gorged
with the spawn of fish. They dive for their food like the
Scoters, remaining for a long time submerged, and often in
water of six or eight fathoms deep. They also fly with great
EIDER. NATATORES. SOMATERIA. 341
strength, and at the rate (as calculated) of more than ninety
miles in the hour. When approached in a boat they gene-
rally take wing whilst beyond gun-shot, and when suddenly
surprized they dive ; but if actively pursued, and compelled
to dive repeatedly, they may be so far tired out as at last to
be incapable of submerging with sufficient quickness to pre-
vent a fatal aim being taken. In this manner I have often
succeeded in procuring specimens ; and the same mode, it
appears, is in use amongst the Greenlanders, who strike them
with their darts as they rise fatigued to the surface after
long- continued pursuit. The trachea of the male bird is of
equal diameter throughout its length, and composed of hard
and perfect rings, lined with a membrane. The lower larynx,
or bone of divarication, is enlarged in front, and furnished
on the left side with an elevated, flatly globose, bony protu-
berance, or labyrinth, about the size of a large nut. The
bronchi are large, swelling much toward their middle, and
composed of imperfect rings, united by a membrane. That
on the left side, which proceeds from the tympanum, is of
much larger diameter than the other, and both suddenly de-
crease when they enter the substance of the lungs. Several
attempts have been made to domesticate the Eider, but
hitherto without much success; that it may be done with
care and attention, I have no doubt, as I have twice suc-
ceeded in rearing these birds from the egg, and preserving
them alive till upwards of twelve months ; but as I had no
appropriate place for them at the time, they fell victims to
accident, being trodden upon by horses or cattle. Indeed,
their sluggish nature, or rather their inactivity upon land,
renders their escape from any sudden danger a matter of
great difficulty. I know also other instances in which they
have been reared from the egg to maturity. The Eider
Drake is long in reaching the adult state, that plumage not
being perfected before the fourth year. This would seem,
analogically reasoning, to indicate a great longevity, as we
find the Eagle and some other birds that do not attain per-
342 NATATORES. SOMATERIA. EIDER.
fection till after two or three years, endowed with singular
length of life. The flesh of this species in the natural state,
from the kind of food they subsist on, is very unpalatable ;
but would probably, under a different diet, lose its rank and
fishy flavour.
PLATE 70. Represents the Adult Male of the natural size.
General jgage Qf tne j^} an(j frontal plates honey-yellow, passing
tion. towards the nostrils and tip into oil-green ; nail of the
Male. bin Jarge? strong, vaulted, and of a yellowish-white.
Frontlets, and upper part of the head, enclosing the eyes,
Scotch-blue, divided from the crown backwards by a
white band. On the nape and sides of the upper part
of the neck is a large patch of pistachio-green, the fea-
thers being fine, truncated, and silky, capable of being
raised to form a ruff. Cheeks, throat, and lower part
of the neck, white. Breast cream-yellow, with a vivaceous
or purple tinge. Back, scapulars, and tertials white,
tinged with straw-yellow, the latter acuminated and
curled over the wings. Wing-coverts white. Rump,
belly, abdomen, and vent black. Tail greyish-black.
Legs honey-yellow, tinged with green.
PLATE 70 *. Represents the Female of the natural size, from
a beautiful specimen killed in February, after the com-
pletion of the autumnal moult, and at which time the
colours are deeper and brighter than at a more advanced
period of the year.
Female. Head and neck yellowish-brown (deepest upon the crown),
and streaked with dusky. Plumage of the upper parts
of the body a mixture of black, rich brown, and grey.
Under parts brown, with darker undulations. Bill and
legs deep greenish-grey.
Young. The young males resemble the female till upwards of a
year old, after which period they acquire a little white
upon the head and cheeks, and the lower part of the
EIDER. NATATORES. SOMATERIA. 343
neck and breast assume the same colour ; the rest of the
body remaining dark. The moult of the third year
gives them a very piebald appearance by the acquisition
of white upon the back and scapulars, and that of the
fourth clothes them in the perfect garb of the adult.
KING EIDER.
SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS, Leach.
PLATE LXXI.
Somateria spectabilis, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 229 — Flenu Br. Anim. 1.
1-20. sp. 177-
Anas spectabilis, Linn. Syst. 1. 195. b.—Gmel Syst. 1. 907. — Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 845. sp. 36. — SaUne in Trans. Linn. Soc. 12. 553. sp. 26.
Anas Freti Hudsonis, Briss. Orn. 6. 365. 15.
Le Canard a tete grise, Buff. Ois. 9. 253 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 851.
Grey-headed Duck, Edw. Glean. pL 154.
King Duck, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. No. 481.— Lath. Syn. 6. 473. 30 — Lewirfs
Br. Birds, 7- pL 245 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and App. to Sup — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 310.
King Eider, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 1200. sp. 177 — Shaw's Zool. 12. 229.
THE limit assigned to this species in Britain is consider-
ably to the north of that of the Common Eider, as it has
not been met with to the southward of the Orkneys, and the
other northerly Scottish Isles. In one of the former (Papa
Westra), Mr BULLOCK, proprietor of the late London Mu-
seum, found it breeding in the month of June ; but as he
appears only to have met with a single nest during his tour,
and the bird is mentioned by PENNANT as only sometimes
visiting the Orkneys, it can scarcely be considered as en-
titled to the phrase used by Mr STEPHENS, in the Continua-
tion of SHAW'S General Zoology, viz. u a bird common in
the Orcades and other parts of Scotland"" In Greenland,
Spitzbergen, and other countries of the Frigid Zone, up to
very high latitudes, it is found in great abundance, in num-
bers equal to the Common Eider ; and with which it fre-
quently associates, as we learn from Captain SABINE, in his
344 NATATORES. SOMATERIA. KING EIDER
Memoir of the Birds of Greenland. Its habits are also akin
Food. to those of the other, and its food is of the same nature.
The down of the King Eider is of equal fineness and elasti-
city, and is collected by the natives indiscriminately with
Nest,&c. that of the preceding kind. — The nest is formed of algae,
grass, moss, &c. according to what the locality may supply,
and the eggs are in number from four to six, very similar in
size and colour to those of its congener; and which, like
them, are covered with the down plucked from the parent
bird as incubation proceeds. From the figure given by
Captain SABINE, of the lower part of the trachea of this
species, it appears of similar formation to that of the Com-
mon Eider ; the tympanum being nearly of the same size,
and of the same flattened globular shape. The bronchi are
also much alike, that proceeding from the enlargement being
of a greater diameter towards its centre, and both suddenly
contracting where they join the lungs. The King Eider is
supposed, and I believe correctly, to be the same length of
time in attaining maturity as the other species. By the
Greenlanders the flesh is much esteemed, and the gibbous
part (or elevated plates) of the bill is considered a great de-
licacy. The skins of these birds, sewed together, are formed
into various comfortable articles of clothing.
PLATE 71. represents the Male and Female, rather below
the natural size.
Bill vermilion-red, with the nail flesh-red. The frontal
General plates of the bill, which are very large and perpendicu-
descrip- lar, deep orange. Legs and toes ochreous-yellow, with
the webs darker. Frontlet line that surrounds the
Male.
frontal plates, under eyelid, and the figure like a V on
the throat, are deep velvet-black. Crown of the head,
and nape of the neck, fine bluish-grey. Cheeks pistachio-
green. The superciliary line and breast pale ochreous-
yellow. Mantle, lesser wing-coverts, and sides of the
rump, white. Scapulars, greater coverts, curved tertials,
NATATORES. FULIGULA. 345
rump and tail-coverts, belly and abdomen, ink-black
The border of the wings, greater quills, and tail, brown-
ish-black.
The female so closely resembles in her colours the female *
of the Common Eider as to render minute description
unnecessary. She may, however, always be distin-
guished from the other by the form of the frontal
plates, which, instead of being horizontal, are nearly
vertical.
The young males resemble the females for the first year,
and the changes seem to occur like those of the Com-
mon Eider.
GENUS FULIGULA, RAY, LEACH. POCHARD.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as the head; slightly elevated at thejbase;
broad, and nearly equally so throughout its length ; de-
pressed towards the tip, which is rounded and armed with a
small deflected nail. Both mandibles laminated ; the plates
broad, and entirely concealed by the deflected margins of
the bill. Nostrils at a short distance from the base, lateral,
oblong, rather small. Wings concave, acute ; the first and
second quill-feathers being nearly equal in length. Tail
generally short, rounded, consisting of sixteen or fourteen
pointed feathers. Legs having the tarsus much shorter than
the middle and outer toes. Feet large, webbed, with the
outer and middle toes of equal length ; hind toe having a
large lobated membrane. General form short and broad;
with the neck rather thick and short; and the legs placed
far backwards.
The members of this genus, which are numerous, have
the bill of similar shape to that of the former subfamily, but
346 NATATORES. FULIGULA.
the laminated plates are larger and coarser, and entirely
concealed by the margins of the mandibles. In general form
they are also much shorter, thicker, and more depressed;
and the backward situation of the legs, with the great size
of their feet, make them move awkwardly and badly on
and . They swim well, though apparently deep in the wa-
ter, from their flattened shape ; and they are excellent divers.
It is in this latter mode, indeed, they obtain the chief part
of their food, consisting of aquatic plants and their roots, as
well as mollusca and worms. They inhabit the rivers and
lakes of the interior of the country, and some of them are
occasionally found on the sea-coasts. The tracheal organi-
zation of the whole genus is upon one uniform plan, and the
differences are only such as might naturally be expected in
distinct species. The lower extremity or labyrinth consists
of a bony box, or, as it is called, Oraz, formed by the en-
largement and ossification of the lower larynx; from the
bottom of which the right bronchial tube issues. On the
left side of the orca, and attached to it, is a large orbicular
compressed chamber, called the Tympanum or Drum, formed
by a bony arch, more or less covered by a thin membrane ;
and to the base of this the left bronchial tube is attached.
The flight of the members of this genus is rapid, and sus-
tained by quick strokes of the wings ; and is often at a great
elevation in the air. Their colours are generally plain, and
not possessing much variety; and none of them have the
metallic lustre on the secondary quills that distinguishes
most of the Anatm^ which in them has been appropriately
termed the Beauty Spot, or Speculum. They are natives of
the Arctic Regions, passing the summer in very high lati-
tudes; and in the winter their equatorial migrations are
more or less extended according to the severity of the season.
Their flesh is tender and palatable ; in some species of fine
flavour, as in Fuligula Vallisneria, from North America.
POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 347
RED-HEADED POCHARD.
FULIGULA FERINA, Steph.
PLATE LXIII. FIG. 1.
Fuligula ferina, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 193.
Anas ferina, Linn. Syst. 1. 203. sp. 31 — GmeL Syst. 1. 530 Lath. Ind.
Ornith. 2. 862. sp. 77 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 119. pi. 70. fig. 6. male.
Anas rufa, GmeL Syst. 515. 1\—Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 863. sp. ?8.
Anas fera fusca, Rail Syn. 143. A.
Nyroca ferina, Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 121. No. 182.
Penelope, Briss. Orn. 6. 384. 19. t. 35. f. 1.
Milouin, Buff. Ois. 9. 216 — Id. PI. Enl. 803. male.
Canard Milouin, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 868.
Die Tafel-Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1028 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 527.
Pochard, or Red-headed "VVigeon, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 600. No. 284 Arct.
ZooL 2. 491 — Albin's Birds, 2. pi. 98 Lath. Syn. 6. 523 Id. Sup.
2. 354 — Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 116. pi. 14. f. 5. 6. (Trachea.)—
LewMs Br. Birds, 7. pi. 253 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup. — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 353.— Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 119. pi. 70. f. 6.—
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 121. sp. 182.
PROVINCIAL — Poker, Dun-Bird, Red-headed Poker, Great -headed
Wigeon, Blue Poker, Vare-headed Wigeon, AttileDuc k, Bun-
Cur.
IN the Fens of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and other eastern, Periodical
as well as some of the southern counties, the Pochard is a ^
common and well-known species during its winter migration,
and is sent in great numbers to the London market (where
it is sold under the name of the Dun Bird) ; but from its
diving propensity, and the alarm it frequently creates, it is
ever an unwelcome visitor to the decoys. In the northern
parts of England and in Scotland it is comparatively of rare
occurrence, either from the deficiency of some particular
aquatic plants and grasses, or from these districts being out
of its migratory line from the north-eastern parts of Europe.
It is almost always seen upon the water, where it swims
very rapidly, but apparently deep, arising from its flattened
form. It dives well, and mostly for its food ; remaining for
a long time under the surface. It has also great swiftness
on wing ; and when in flocks, Pochards always fly in a very
3
348 NATATORES. FULIGULA. POCHARD.
compact body, and not in the triangular shape that we see
in wild ducks, &c. — MONTAGU, in the Supplement to his
Ornithological Dictionary, states, that vast quantities of
these birds were formerly taken by nets, in a way similar to
that in use for catching Woodcocks. Poles were erected at
the avenues of the pools, or of the decoys, to which the birds
resorted ; and when great numbers had collected there, a net
at the darkening was raised by pullies attached to the poles,
beneath which had previously been dug a deep trench or pit.
The Pochards (which, like many of the Anatidae, feed at
night-fall), on quitting the pool, flew into the net, and flut-
tering downwards, were received into the pit, from whence
they were unable to rise. Twenty dozens, it is said, have
thus been taken at one flight. This mode of capture, how-
ever, is not now resorted to, from the decreased numbers of
water-fowl throughout the kingdom, in consequence of the
general system of draining; and the birds sent to market
now are either caught in the common decoy, or killed by the
fowling-piece. The present is a widely-spread species, in-
habiting during summer the north-eastern parts of Europe,
Northern Asia, and North America. In winter its migra-
tions sometimes extend tolerably far to the southward, as it
is reported to have been met with in Egypt ; and in America,
during that period, it is plentiful in South Carolina and
Louisiana. It is usually found in fresh-water lakes, rivers,
and marshes ; but occasionally on the sea-coast, near to the
Nest, &c. mouths of rivers. — It breeds amongst the aquatic herbage?
and is stated to lay twelve or thirteen eggs, of a greenish-
white. The Pochard soon becomes very tame when in con-
finement, and will thrive well upon grain, &c. if supplied
with free access to water ; being unable to exert itself much
on land, from the position of its legs, and the great size of
its feet. The trachea of the male is of nearly an equal dia-
meter for upwards of two-thirds of its length ; from thence
it gradually contracts to its junction with the orca, or box ;
and is composed of entire cylindrical rings. The orca is not
POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 349
much elevated, and forms an oblique line with the trachea
The tympanum, or drum, is about half an inch in diameter
and the membrane of the exterior face is divided by a mesiaj
bony arch. The flesh of this bird is tender and well-flavoured ;
unless killed in the neighbourhood of the sea, when it fre-
quently acquires a rank and fishy taste.
PLATE 63. Fig. 1. represents the Male Pochard, of the na-
tural size.
Bill bluish-grey, with the tip and base black. Tarsi and General
toes bluish-grey, with the membranes darker. Irides ^^n^m
yellow. Head and neck deep orange-brown. Mantle, Male.
breast, and rump, black. Lower part of the back, sca-
pulars, wing-coverts, thighs and flanks, greyish-white,
with numerous zigzag Lines of black. Belly and abdo-
men skim-milk-white, with pale ash-coloured waving
lines. Quills and tail ash-grey.
The following is the description of a variety, kiUed upon Variet
the Northumberland coast, and now in my collec.
tion : —
Head and neck bright reddish-orange, passing into reddish"
white upon the crown. Breast very pale broccoli-brown,
with a silky lustre. All the rest of the body greyish-
white, with numerous very fine zigzag lines of a darker
shade. Quills and tail plain greyish- white. Legs and
toes ash-grey, with the membranes darker.
350 NATATORES. FULIGULA. CRESTED POCHARD.
RED-CRESTED POCHARD.
FULIGULA RUFINA, Steph.
Fuligula rufina, Shaw's Zool. 12. 188. pi. 54.
Anas rufina, Pall. Reis. 2. 713 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 541. 118 Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 870. sp. 94 — Yarrell, in Zool. Journ. 2. 492.
Anas capite rufo major, Rail Syn. 140 — Will Orn. 279.
Anas fistularis cristata, Briss. 6. 398. 22.
Le Canard siffleur huppe, Buff. Ois. 9. 182.— Id. PI. Enl. 928. male Temm.
Man. d'Ornith. 2. 864.
Kolbenente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1021. — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 518.
Great Red-headed Duck, Will. (Angl.) 364.
Red-crested Duck, Lath. Syn. 6. 544. 82.
Red-crested Pochard, Shaw's Zool. 12. 188. pi. 54.
Rare visi- I have admitted this species into the list of our Fauna, as
a rare visitant, on the authority of Mr YARRELL, who (in
the second volume of the Zoological Journal) has described
an immature male, that was shot near Boston in Lincoln-
shire in January 1826, on fresh- water, whilst feeding in com-
pany with some Wigeons. It is a native of the north-east-
ern parts of Europe, and of northern Asia ; and, during its
winter migration, is met with in Turkey, Hungary, and Aus-
tria, as well as on the shores of the Caspian Sea, occasionally
extending its flights as far westward as the lakes of Switzer-
land and Italy. It exceeds the Red-headed Pochard in size,
and is a handsome bird in plumage and general appearance.
In the tracheal organization, the tube (according to TEM-
MINCK) undergoes a sudden contraction a little below the
upper larynx, and again where it is joined to the labyrinth,
which latter part is formed of the orca and tympanum, ap-
proaching in shape and size to those of the preceding species.
The present bird inhabits fresh- water lakes and the rivers of
the interior of its respective countries, and is rarely found
on sea-coasts, living on aquatic plants, seeds, and mollus-
Food. cous animals. Its summer retreats, and the particulars of
its nidification, remain in obscurity.
CRESTED POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 351
In the Adult Male, the bill and irides are vermilion-red ; General
the nail of the former being white. Legs orange-red, ^n^'
with the membranes black. Head, cheeks, and upper Male.
part of the neck, bright chestnut-brown, with the fea-
thers long and silky, forming a rounded kind of crest.
Lower part of the neck, breast, belly, and abdomen,
deep black. Back, wings, and tail, yellowish-brown.
Flanks and sides, bend of the wings, basal part of the
quills, speculum, and semilunar patch over each shoul-
der, white.
The following is the description given by Mr YARRELL Young
of the Young Male above referred to. Irides and bill
bright vermilion, with the nail white. Sides of the
head and neck chestnut, but lighter in colour at the top
of the head, where the feathers are elongated, forming a
crest. The nape and lower part of the neck dark brown.
Upper part of the back and scapulars light brown.
Wing-coverts ash-brown ; over each shoulder is a white
semi-lunar patch; speculum white; the shafts and a
part of each wing primary white, the edges and tip
dusky. Abdomen light brown. Under surface of the
wings, sides, and flanks, white, tinged faintly with pink.
Tail-feathers ash-brown. Upper and under tail-coverts
dark brown. Legs and toes orange, with the webs
black.
The Female has the crown of the head, occiput, and nape Female,
of the neck, deep umber-brown, with the crest less con-
spicuous than in the male. Cheeks, throat, and sides
of the neck, pale broccoli-brown. Back, wings, and
tail, yellowish-brown, tinged with ochreous-yellow. No
patch of white on the shoulders. Speculum greyish-
white. Bill, legs, and toes, brown, tinged with tile-
red.
352 NATATORES. FULIGULA. NYJROCA POCHAKD.
NYROCA POCHARD.
FULIGULA NYROCA, Steph.
PLATE LXIII. FIG. 2.
Puligula Nyroca, Stephens, Shaw's Zool. 12. 201. pi. 55.
Anas Nyroca, Gmel. Syst. 1. 542 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 869. sp. 91.
Anas A'fricana, Gmel. Syst. 1. 522 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 875. sp. 104
Bullock, in Trans. Linn. Soc. 11. 178.
Anas ferruginea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 528 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 866. sp. 84. ?
Nyroca leucophthalmos, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 121. sp. 181.
La Sarcelle d'Egypte, Buff. Ois. 9. 273 — Id. PL Enl. 1000.
Canard a Iris blanc, ou Nyroca, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 876.
Die Weissaugige Ente, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 526.
Tufted Duck, Lath. Syn. 6. 541. 79. var. A.
African Teal, Lath. Syn. 6. 555.
Ferrugineous Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 601. No. 285. ? — Mont. Supp. to
Orn. Diet.
Castaneous Duck, Mont. App. to Sup. Ornith. Diet.
Olive Tufted Duck, Sow. Br. Miscell. 1. pi. 21.
White Eye, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 121. sp. 181.
Nyroca Pochard, Shaw's Zool. 12. 201. pi. 55.
As it still appears doubtful to what species the Ferrugi-
nous Duck of PENNANT'S British Zoology should be referred,
I have quoted the synonym in the present instance, with a
query as to its correctness. MONTAGU, in the Supplement to
his Ornithological Dictionary, conceived PENNANT'S bird to
be the female of the one he described under the title of the
Ferrugineous Duck, but which, according to his description,
seems to have been a young male of the Nyroca. After-
wards, in his Appendix to the Supplement, upon an exami-
nation of the proper female of the Nyroca^ he changed his
opinion, being unable to reconcile it with the short account
in PENNANT ; and the subject of which, he there suggests,
may possibly be the Nyroca in its young state, though he
seems more inclined (from the figure in PENNANT^S work) to
suppose it to be actually a female Wigeon in the autumnal
Hare visi- plumage. In Britain, the Nyroca Pochard is considered a
scarce bird, and indeed, till within a few years past, was
reckoned one of our rarest visitants. Of late, however, it
NYROCA POCHARD. NATATORES FULIGULA. 353
has been more frequently met with amongst the London
poulterers, probably from an increased activity in the regu-
lar shooters of wild fowl, in their search after curious birds ;
and hardly a season now passes without producing speci-
mens of this and other rare species of the Anatidce, &c. It
is a native of the same countries as the Red-breasted Pochard,
inhabiting the eastern parts of Europe and Northern Asia,
our island appearing to be the limit of its winter migration to
the westward. Fresh- water lakes and rivers are its usual ha-
bitats, it being rarely found on the sea-coast. — Its food consists Food,
of insects, aquatic plants, seeds, &c. which are principally ob-
tained by diving. — It breeds in the higher latitudes of nor- Nest> &c-
them Asia, in the reeds, &c. that fringe the edge of their
lakes and rivers, making a nest of dried vegetable matter,
and laying from eight to ten greenish- white eggs. The for-
mation of the trachea, according to the descriptions of MON-
TAGU, TEMMINCK, and others, bears a strong resemblance
to that of the Red-breasted Pochard, the tube being con-
tracted a little below the glottis, and again near to the lower
larynx, and the middle part swelling out to a much larger
diameter. The tympanum differs, however, from that of the
two preceding species, in having the side next to the trachea
almost entirely osseous ; the other side being covered by a
membrane intersected or supported by a bony arch.
PLATE 63. Fig. £. Represents the Adult Male, of the natu-
ral size.
Head, and upper part of the neck, deep orange-coloured General
brown. Collar (about three quarters of an inch broad) tion.
blackish-brown. Lower part of the neck and breast Male.
orange-brown. Belly white. Flanks yellowish-brown,
with a tinge of grey. Abdomen and vent blackish-
grey, finely mottled with yellowish-white. Back and
scapulars blackish-brown, finely powdered with pale
reddish-brown ; the tertials glossed with olive-green.
Speculum and outer webs of the secondary quills white.
VOL. IT. z
354 NATATORES. FULIGULA. SCAUP POCHARD.
Upper tail-coverts black ; the under ones pure white.
Tips of the quills black, glossed with green. Bill and
legs greyish-blue. Irides white.
Female. Head and neck umber-brown, tinged with chestnut-brown,
being brightest upon the cheeks and auriculars. Breast
umber-brown, the feathers being margined with pale
chestnut-brown. Flanks and sides yellowish-brown.
Belly white. Vent brown, tinged with grey. Under
tail-coverts white. Upper parts of the body deep glossy
umber-brown, margined paler. Secondaries white, tip-
ped with greenish-black, and forming a speculum.
Greater quills light towards the base (particularly the
fifth, sixth, and seventh), with their tips greenish-black,
ridge of the wing white. Tail blackish-brown. Bill
and legs blackish-grey. Of less size than the male
bird.
SCAUP POCHARD.
FULIGULA MARILA, Steph.
PLATE LXVI. & LXVI".
Fuligula marila, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 198.
Nyroca marila, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 122. sp. 183.
Anas marila, Linn. Syst. 1. 196. 8 Gmel. Syst. 1 . 509 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 853. sp. 54 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 8?. pl/69, f. 3. male.
Fuligula Gesneri, Rail Syn. 142. A. 6 — Will. Orn. 279.
Glaucium minus striatum, Briss. Orn. 6. 416. 26. A.
Le Milouinan, Buff. Ois. 9. 221 Id. PI. Enl. 1002.
Canard Milouinan, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 865.
Berg-Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1016 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 524.
Scaup Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 275. pi. 100 Arct. Zool. 2. 498 — Lath.
Syn. 6. 500. 49. — Id. Sup. 2. 351 — Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 128.
pi. 14. f. 3. and 4. (trachea) — Lewin's Br. Birds, 7. pi. 250 — Mont. Orn.
Diet. 1, and Sup Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p, t. 339. — Wils. Amer.
Orn. 8. 87- pL 69. f. 3.
Scaup Pochard, Shaw's Zool. 12. 198.
Anas fraenata, Mus. Carls, fas. 2. t. 38. female.
White-faced Duck, Sow. Brit. Miscel. 2. 5. t. 62.
PROVINCIAL — Covy Duck, Spoonbill Duck.
Periodical INSTEAD of the fresh-water lakes and rivers of the inte-
visitant. r-or^ ^jch seem to be tjie appropriate haunts of the species
SCAUP POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 355
of this genus already described, the Scaup prefers the mud-
dy shores of the ocean, or such parts only of rivers as ad-
mit the influence of the tide, where it can obtain a plentiful
supply of its chief food, the smaller univalve and bivalve Food,
shell-fish. It is in this country a regular winter visitant,
and, except in very mild seasons, is numerously distributed
along such of our shores as suit its peculiar economy. It
seldom arrives before the end of October, or the beginning
of the month following, and its influx increases in propor-
tion to the severity of the weather, fresh arrivals constantly
occurring as the northern countries become frozen up. On
the advance of spring, it again migrates towards the pole,
advancing, for the purpose of breeding and passing the sum-
mer, into very high latitudes. It inhabits the arctic regions
of Europe and Asia, and is also an abundant species in
North America, being (according to WILSON) widely distri-
buted along the coasts of the United States, during its win-
ter migration, and frequenting the mouths of the great ri-
vers. Hudson's and Baffin's Bays appear to be its principal
summer retreats in that quarter of the world. The Scaup
is an excellent diver, and obtains its food indeed by search-
ing the mud beneath with its bill. It also swims well and
swiftly, but its flattened shape (like the rest of this subfa-
mily) makes it appear to be deeply immersed in the water.
Its flight is strong, but not rapid ; and the weight of its
body, and concavity of its wings, compel it always to rise
against the wind. It is a very wary bird, and, as WILSON
correctly observes, appears to know the precise distance with-
in which it is safe ; from which cause, and the resistance
given by its plumage, it is not easily killed. The most ef-
fectual way of getting within range, I have found to be by
coming rapidly upon it with the wind, which the bird being
obliged to face, in order to rise on wing, has frequently been
brought so near as to enable me to obtain specimens. The
Scaup is eaten by some people, but its flesh is rather rank
and fishy, from the nature of its food. In confinement, it
356 NATATORES. FULIGULA. SCAUP POCHARD.
soon becomes tame, and, if provided with water, thrives well
upon grain, and other food eaten by poultry, and, under this
regimen, its flesh is said to improve in flavour, and not to be
inferior to that of the Wild Duck. It makes a hoarse grunt-
ing sort of noise, and has a singular habit of tossing up its
head, and opening the bill, which, MONTAGU observes, is par-
ticularly the case during spring, whilst it is swimming and
sporting on the water. The trachea of the adult male is of
considerable diameter for three-fourths of its length, and is
composed of semi-cylindrical rings, united by a membrane,
which makes up the measure of the tube ; and, about an
inch above the lower larynx, where it is greatly contracted,
these rings become entire. The labyrinthian part, as in the
other species, consists of a bulging and strongly-ribbed orca
or box, on the same line as the tracheal tube, and a tympa-
num or drum, rather narrower and higher than that of Fu-
ligula ferina, and having the bony arch, which divides and
supports the membrane on its outer face, somewhat different
in proportions and form.
PLATE 66. represents the Adult Male of the natural size.
General Head and upper part of the neck blackish-green, with
tion. rich glossy reflections. Lower part of neck, breast,
Male. an(j rump deep black. Mantle and scapulars greyish-
• white, with fine distant zigzag black lines. Lesser wing
coverts black, with transverse zigzag white lines. Second-
ary quills white, with black tips, forming a bar or spe-
culum across the wings. Belly and flanks white. Ab-
domen rayed with lines of blackish-grey. Bill clear
greyish-blue, broad and spathulate, with the nail black.
Irides kingVyellow. Legs and toes bluish-grey, the
joints and webs being darker.
PLATE 66*.
Female. In the female (formerly supposed a distinct species, under
the title of Anas frcenata\ the bill is of a deep-grey
TUFTED POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 357
colour, with the nail black. Around the base of the
bill is a broad band of white. The rest of the head and
the upper part of the neck are deep umber-brown,
glossed on the sides with green. Lower part of the
neck and breast having the basal part of the feathers
broccoli-brown ; the tips of the former being deeply mar-
gined with clear yellowish-brown, and those of the
breast with white. Belly and abdomen white. Sides,
flanks, and vent hair-brown, marbled with zigzag lines
of white and darker brown. Mantle and scapulars
brownish-black, finely mottled with zigzag lines of
white. Tertials black, tinged with olive-green. Spe-
culum as in the male bird. Quills and tail blackish-
brown, with a glossy lustre. The young males re- Young,
semble the adult females till after the first general
moult. In the young females the colours are less dis-
tinct, and the back is nearly destitute of the zigzag
black and white lines.
TUFTED POCHARD.
FULIGULA CRIST AT A, Stepk.
PLATE LXV.
Fuligula cristata, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 190.
Anas Fuligula, Linn. Syst. 1. 207- 4>5.—GmeL Syst. 1. 543 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 869. sp. 90.
Anas cristata, Rail Syn. 142. A.
Nyroca Fuligula, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 122. sp. 184.
Glaucium minus, Briss. Orn. 6. 411. pi. 37- f. 1.
Le Morillon et le Petit Morillon, Buff. Ois. 9. 227. and 231 — Id. PI.
Enl. 1001.
Canard Morillon, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 873.
Bheiher-ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 997.— M<?^r,Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 519.
Tufted Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 585. No. 274 Arct. Zool. 2. 573. 9
Alton's Birds, 1. t. 95 — Will. (Angl.) 365. 73 — Lath. Syn. 6. 540. 79
Id. Sup. 2. 355 — Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4. 117 Lewin's Br. Birds, 7.
257 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1. and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
p. t. 370.
Anas Scandiaca, Gmel Syst. 1. 520 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 859. sp. 68. )
Morillon, Briss. Orn. 406. i. 36. £ 1. and 2 ? V Young
Lapmark Duck, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 576. M — Lath. Syn, 6. 515. 60. J
358 NATATORES. FULIGULA. TUFTED POCHARD.
Periodical THIS short compact bird is a regular winter visitant, and
although not numerously, is very generally distributed
throughout the British Islands, frequenting not only the
lakes and rivers far inland, but also the sea-coasts ; and in
the latter case, more particularly inlets formed at the mouths
of rivulets, where the sands are not only flat, but indented
with pools left by the receding tide. It is generally seen in
pairs, and rarely more than three or four couple associate to-
gether. It is so prompt in diving, as to be difficult to shoot
on the water ; and the same propensity facilitates its escape
from the decoy, as, instead of rising and flying forwards
when within the tunnel, it immediately, by diving, returns
to the open pool. Its flesh is tender and well flavoured, and
in some paits is sold in the market under the name of the
Black Wigeon. Its form is typical ; the bill displaying the
breadth and shape of that of the Scaup, which bird it also
resembles in peculiarity of figure. It is a native of the arc-
tic regions of Europe and Asia, but does not appear to in-
habit North America, the species described as such by WIL-
SON (and quoted from him by TEMMINCK, STEPHENS, and
others), being perfectly distinct and intermediate in size be-
tween this bird and the Scaup. The error was first disco-
vered by Monsieur CHARLES BUONAPARTE, Prince of Mu-
signano, who has given to the American species the name of
Fullgula rufitorques. The Tufted Pochard breeds in high
latitudes, though TEMMINCK assures us that a few occasion-
ally remain through that season in more temperate climates ;
but I have never been able to discover that it breeds in this
country. On continental Europe it is widely and abun-
dantly spread during its winter migration, being found
throughout Holland, France, Germany, Italy, and other
southern states. The labyrinthian portion of the trachea
partakes of those both of the Scaup and Red-headed Po-
chards ; the tympanum being very similar in shape and detail
to that of the latter, whilst the orca (though smaller) very
closely resembles in form that of the Scaup. The tracheal
TUFTED POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 359
tube is of considerable and equal diameter throughout its '
length ; in which respect it differs from both of them. — The
food of the present species consists of water insects, vermes, Food*
and mollusca, obtained by diving ; and MONTAGU mentions
having found the craws of some specimens filled with the
Helix pntris in the month of December, at which period
these and other testaceous animals have retreated to their
hybernacula beneath the mud, in the deeper parts of the wa-
ter. These birds begin to leave us early in March, and by
the middle of April the whole have departed for more north-
ern latitudes. According to Dr FLEMING, they only appear
in the Orkney and Shetland Islands after stormy weather;
their proper line of migration seeming to be more to the
eastward.
PLATE 65. represents the Adult Male of the natural size.
Head and upper part of the neck black, glossed with rich General
purple. Crest the same, composed of long silky nar- tjon>
row decumbent feathers. Lower part of the neck and Male,
breast black. Belly, abdomen, sides, and flanks pure
white. Mantle and scapulars brownish-black, with very
minute specks of reddish- white. Tertials glossy green-
ish-black. Secondaries white, tipped with greenish- *'*'
black, forming a bar or speculum across the wings
when closed. Quills pale hair-brown, with the outer
webs and tips black. Lower part of the back, under tail-
coverts, and tail, black. Bill, from the angle of the fore-
head to the tip, one inch and a-half in length ; breadth
seven -eighths of an inch ; deep bluish-grey, with a
small part of the tip and the nail black. Legs and toes
greyish-black, with the membranes still darker.
Head and neck deep umber-brown ; with a crest of the Female,
same colour, about an inch long. Breast and flanks va-
ried with umber-brown and. yellowish-brown. Belly
and abdomen white, with faint undulations of pale
brown. Vent and under tail-coverts barred with white
and pale umber brown. Upper parts of the body
360 NATATORES. FULIGULA. WESTERN POCHARD.
blackish-brown ; the tips of the feathers upon the man-
tle and scapulars being paler. Speculum as in the male
bird. Bill and legs blackish-grey.
Young. The Young, previous to the first moult, have no appear-
ance of the crest ; and the base of the bill and region
of the eyes are varied with white feathers. The upper
part of the plumage is more deeply bordered with pale
brown. The speculum is less distinct, and of a grey-
ish-white. After the moult the males become much
darker, lose the white feathers about the base of the
bill, and display the crest, in which state the bird ap-
proaches very closely in appearance to the Anas Scan-
diaca of LATHAM.
WESTERN POCHARD.
FULIGULA DISPAR, Steph.
PLATE LXVI*".
Fuligula Dispar, Steph. Shaw's ZooL 12. 206 — Jardine and Selby's Illus.
Orn.
Anas Dispur, Gmel. Syst. 1. 535 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 866. spt 83.
Anas Stelleri, Pall. Spic. 6. 35. t. 5 Gmel. Syst. 1. 518.
Western Duck, Penn. Arct. ZooL 2. 497. pi. 23. — Lath. Syn. 6. 532.— Id.
Sup. 275.
Western Pochard, Shaw's Zool. 12. 206.
A SPECIMEN of this very rare Duck was obtained in Fe-
Very rare bruary 1830, at Caisted, near Yarmouth, in Norfolk ; and,
visitant. as a curious coincidence, another was taken about the same
time in Denmark. These two are the only instances on re-
cord of the capture of this species in Europe, as it remains
unnoticed by all our own writers as a British visitant, and is
not enumerated by TEMMINCK, or other continental authors,
in the list of European birds. The first mentioned specimen
is now in the possession of the Rev. GEORGE STEWARD, Rec-
tor of Caisted, and it is through the kind attention of Mr
DAWSON TURNER of Yarmouth (who procured for me the
loan of a correct drawing), that I have been enabled to pre-
WESTERN POCHARD. NATATORES. FULIGULA. 361
sent to the public the figure of so great a rarity. As I have
never seen the bird myself, I can only judge of the station it
holds among the Anatidce, from the characters displayed in
the drawing, being at the same time convinced of its faith-
fulness to the original ; and I have little hesitation in pla-
cing this bird in the subfamily Fuligulina, and (for the pre-
sent) in the genus Fuligula, to which it has also been pre-
viously assigned by Mr STEPHENS. From the disposition of
the colours of its plumage, and the curved shape of the ter-
tials, I should suppose it, however, to be an aberrant form in
this genus, connecting it probably with the genus Somateria,
or with that immediately ensuing (Hareldd). But as a nar-
row inspection of the bird itself, and a correct knowledge of
its general economy, are necessary to establish its true affini-
ties, I only venture the above as a conjecture founded upon
the drawing sent to me. This bird is a native of Northern
Asia, inhabiting Siberia and the shores of Kamtschatka, and
is also said to be found upon the north-western coasts of
America. It breeds (according to the authors who have de-
scribed it) among rocks and precipices, which, if correct, im-
plies a departure from the habits of the more typical Po-
chards, and it is further mentioned as associating in large
flocks.
The following is the description of its plumage, as taken
from the original drawing, and compared with the accounts
of other authors : —
Bill and legs black. Irides pale brown. Upon the fore- General
head is a band of pistachio-green, and upon the nape of
the neck is another of the same colour, passing back-
wards into black, and forming a short occipital crest
Crown of the head, cheeks, and upper part of the neck
white. Chin, throat, and an irregular spot behind the
eyes, black. Middle part of the neck surrounded by
a collar of black, which is continued down the back to
the tail. Lower portion of the neck, part of the sca-
pulars, and the lesser wing-coverts white. Breast, belly,
362 NATATORES. HARELDA.
and abdomen chestnut-brown, becoming darker as it ap-
proaches to the vent, which latter, and the under tail-
coverts, are black. Tertials long and curved ; the inner
web narrow, and, with the shaft, white ; the outer web
broad and black. Quills and tail brownish-black ; the
latter more elongated and pointed than in the rest of this
genus.
GENUS HARELDA, RAY. HARELD.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL much shorter than the head, high at the base, narrow,
suddenly contracted towards the tip ; nail of the upper man-
dible arched ; both mandibles laminato-dentato, with the
laminae prominent, tooth-like, and widely set. Nostrils near
the base of the bill, lateral, linear, oblong.
Wings of mean length, with the first and second quill
feathers equal.
Tail wedge-shaped, the feathers sharp pointed. In the
male bird the two middle feathers elongated, narrow, and
canaliculated.
Legs short. Feet four-toed, webbed; the outer toe nearly
as long as the middle one. Hind toe with a large lobated
membrane.
Of this genus only one species has hitherto been discovered,
viz. the Long-tailed Duck of British authors. In its affinities
it seems nearly allied to the Garrots (genus Clangula), but is
still separated from them by characters of much importance,
the bill being more contracted towards the tip, and not being
so high at the base, near which also the nostrils are situated.
The tail is also more graduated and acute, and remarkable
in the males for the elongation of the two central feathers.
The anatomy of the tracheae separates it, too, from both the
Garrots and the Pochards, This species lives on sea-shores,
and is a native of the Arctic regions.
Winter
plumage.
HAHELD. NATATORES. HABELDA. 363
LONG-TAILED HARELD.
HABELDA GLACIALIS, Leach.
PLATE LXI.
Harelda glacialis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 175. pi. 58.
Anas glacialis, Linn. Syst. 1. 203. 20 — Gmel Syst. 1. 529 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 864. sp. 82.— Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 98. pi. 70. £ 1. and 2.
Anas longicauda, ex Insula novae terrse, Briss. Orn. 6. 382.
Canard a longue queue, Buff. Ois. 9. 202.
Canard de Miclon, Buff. PL Enl. 1008.— Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 860.
Eisente Winter Ente — Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1124 — Meyer. Tass-
chenb. Deut. 2. 511.
Swallow-tailed Shieldrake, Will. (Angl.) 364.
Long-tailed Duck, Perm. Br. Zool. 2. 599. No. 283 — Edward's Glean.
t. 288 Lath. Syn. 6. 528. — Lewin's Br. Birds, 7- 262 — Mont. Ornith.
Diet, and Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 359.
Anas hyemalis, Linn. Syst. 202. 29 — Gmel. Syst. 529. sp, 29. ^|
Anas caudacuta Harelda, Rail, Syn. 145. 14 — Will. 290. f Summer
Anas longicauda Islandica, Briss. Orn. 7. 399 No. 17. | Pluma«e.
Long-tailed Duck, Edward, t. 156 Lath. Syn. 6. 529. 73.
Anas glacialis, var. y. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 865 Penn. Arct. ZooL 2. \
App. 76. (
Querquedula ferroensis, Briss. Orn. 6. 466. t. 40. f. 2. f Young'
La SarceUe de Feroe', Buff. Ois. 9. 278f.— Id. PL Enl. 999.
PROVINCIAL. — Calvo, Coal-and -candle-light, Sharp. tailed Duck, Long-
tailed Shieldrake,
LIKE most of the present subfamily, the Long-tailed
Hareld is an inhabitant of the Arctic Seas, and is one of the
few species whose summer migration extends to the highest
latitudes yet visited, as we find it mentioned in all lists of
birds furnished by the recent voyages of discovery to those
desolate and ice-bound regions, where it abides whilst any
portion of the sea remains unfrozen, and only migrates to the Periodical
southward when compelled by the consequent failure of food V1S1
in its favourite resort. Hence, it is amongst the number of
our winter visitants, and, as might naturally be expected, is
most numerous and best known towards the northern extre-
mity of the kingdom. In the Orkney and Shetland Isles it
generally appears in considerable flocks late in October or
about the beginning of November, and continues to haunt
364 NATATOBES. HARELDA. HARELD.
the bays and immediate vicinity of these islands till the
month of April. A few may occasionally extend their flight,
stretching as far even as the coast of Northumberland, but
this would seem to be the extreme limit of their equatorial
movement, as the capture of an individual to the south of
this line is of very rare occurrence. This is a pelagic species,
and is seldom seen in fresh water ; its habits in many respects
resembling those of the Eiders and Scoters. It dives well,
Food. an(J thus obtains on our shores the greater part of its food,
viz. testaceous mollusca and Crustacea. Its flight is strong
and rapid, though seldom at any height, or to any great dis-
tance at once. The singularity of its cry has caused it, in
the countries it frequents, to receive some peculiar names, in-
dicative of the sounds emitted ; thus, in the north of Eng-
land and Scotland, it is known by the whimsical appellative
Coal-and-candle-light ; in the United States, WILSON informs
us, that it goes by the title of South Southerly ; in Kamt-
schatka, the natives call it A-an-gticJie; and the North
American Indians Caccawee, and Ha-ha-way ; all which con-
junctive terms are, to a certain degree, expressive of its note.
When congregated together, this cry is often uttered, and
particularly towards the evening, at which time it may be
heard to a very great distance. This bird inhabits the whole
of the Arctic regions, being equally abundant both in the
parts belonging to North America, and in those situated on
Nest, &c. the Asiatic and European continents. — It breeds on the sea-
coasts, and adjoining islands, making a nest of grass, or such
other soft materials, as the situation supplies ; and this,, as
incubation proceeds, it lines with the down plucked from its
own body, which, for fineness and elasticity, is not inferior
to that of the Eiders. Its eggs are from six to ten, of a
bluish or skim-milk white, and nearly equal in size to those
of the Common Wild Duck. The formation of the trachea
of this species is very curious, and differs in some points from
that of any of the nearly allied genera. Immediately beneath
the upper larynx it is slightly dilated, and the rings rather
HARELD. NATATORES. HARELDA. 365
flattened, but it soon becomes narrower, and from thence to
about an inch above the labyrinth, is round and of equal
diameter. Its rings, then, are suddenly enlarged, but do not
again retain their perfect form ; the side next to the breast
being flattened and covered with a thin semi-transparent
membrane, divided into window-like portions by four fine
bony septa, or bars. The labyrinth consists of a large solid
bony orca, and a tympanum, whose transverse diameter is
much the longest. The above conformation was supposed to
produce the peculiar cry of this species, but without founda-
tion, it being well ascertained that the females, which are
without the tracheal enlargements, are as loud and singular
in tone as the male birds. The flesh of the Hareld is hard
and unpalatable, having a rank and fishy flavour from the
nature of its food.
PLATE 61. Fig. 1. Represents the Male in the winter plum-
age and of the natural size.
Bill black, with a transverse mesial band of deep lake-red, General
and measuring nearly one inch and one-eighth from the ^n"13"
angle of the forehead to the tip. Legs and toes yellow- Male,
ish-grey, with the membranes darker. Irides kingV
yellow. Crown of the head cream-white, the feathers
being long, with open hair-like barbules. The nape,
lower and fore part of the neck, white. Cheeks ash-
grey. Upon each side of the neck is a large oval patch,
the upper part of which is blackish-brown, and the lower
part yellowish-brown. Breast, belly, mantle, lower
part of the back, wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts
pitch-black. Scapulars skim-milk white, long, and acu-
minate. Abdomen and vent greyish-white. The two
middle tail-feathers upwards of nine inches in length,
narrow, and canaliculated beneath ; these, and the next
feather on each side, pitch-black, the next being hair-
brown, deeply margined with white, and the outermost
feathers entirely white.
366 NATATORES. CLANGULA.
In the summer the greater part of the head and neck, and
the whole of the upper and under plumage, as far as the
abdomen, are brownish-black. The scapulars are black-
ish-brown, bordered with orange-coloured brown. Cheeks
ash-grey. Abdomen and vent white.
Fig. 2. The Female.
Female. Crown of the head, patch behind the ears, chin, and throat,
blackish (inclining to broccoli-)brown. Face, neck, and
collar, greyish-white. Breast pale liver-brown, with the
centers of the feathers darker. Upper parts blackish-
brown, with the scapulars and wing-coverts margined
with yellowish-brown and greyish-white. Tail broccoli-
brown, margined with white. Lower parts white. Bill
grey, with an indistinct yellow band. Legs and toes
grey, with the membranes darker.
GENUS CLANGULA, FLEM. GARROT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head, elevated at the base, tapering
towards the point ; nail of mean size, and scarcely projecting
beyond the edge of the mandible. Both mandibles laminato-
dentate, with the laminae tooth-like and widely set, and con-
cealed by the projecting margins of the bill.
Nostrils lateral, oval, pierced in the anterior and lower part
of the membrane. Head large and high.
Wings of mean length, acute. Tail rather long, gra-
duated, with the feathers semi-acute. Legs short. Toes
long, webbed, the middle and outer ones nearly equal in
length. Hind toe lobated.
In this genus an evident approach to the succeeding sub-
family Mergina, is perceptible, not only in the tapering, and
GARROT. NATATORES. CLANGULA. 367
indeed general modification of the bill, but in the external
bodily contour, in the prevailing colours and disposition of
the plumage, and in the length and form of the tail. In the
structure of the trachea also (which differs from that of any
of the preceding genera), an approximation is made towards
the corresponding parts of some of the Mergansers. The
Garrots are natives of the Arctic Regions, and are more com-
monly seen upon rivers and fresh water lakes, than on the
shores of the ocean. Their food consists of aquatic insects,
the fry of fish, mollusca, Crustacea, &c. They fly both with
much strength and swiftness, and often at a considerable
height ; and a loud whistling sound is produced by the rapid
motion of their wings.
COMMON GOLDEN-EYE GARROT.
CLANGULA VULGARIS, Leach.
PLATE LXII.
Clanguk vulgaris, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 120. sp. 178 — Faun. Amer. Boreal.
2. 456. No. 215.
Clangula chrysophthalmos, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 182. pi. 56.
Anas Clangula, Linn. Syst. 1. 201. 23 — Gmel. Syst 1. 523 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 867- sp. 87 — Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8. 64. pi. 67- fig. 6.
Le Garrot, Buff. Ois. 9. 222 Id. PI. Enl. 802 Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 534.
Canard Garrot, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 870.
Die Schelle-Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 985 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 521.
Golden-Eye Duck, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 58?. No. 276 — Arct. Zool. 2. No.
486 Alton's Birds, 1. t. 96 — Will. (Angl.) 368. t. 73 — Lenin's Br.
Birds, 7. pL 255 — Lath. Syn. 6. 535. 76— Id. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 4.
118. pi. 15. fig. 1. 2. (trachea.)— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.— Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 365.
Anas Glaucion, Linn. Syst. 1. 401. 26. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 525. — Lath. Ind.l
Ornith. 2. 868. sp. 88. [ Female and
Morillon, Lath. Syn. 6. 537- 77 — Witt. (Angl.) 367 — Bewick's Br. Birds, C Young Males
ed. 1826, p. 369, &c. J
PROVINCIAL — Pied Wigeon, Gowdy-Duck.
WHEN at maturity, and in perfect plumage, the male of Periodical
the Golden-Eye is a handsome bird, and conspicuous from Vlsltant*
368 NATATORES. CLANGULA. GARROT.
the piebald disposition of his colours. In this state, how-
ever, he is in this country rather of rare occurrence ; the
great body of those that visit our coasts being either females
or young males in different stages of advancement, both of
which are generally known and distinguished by the name
of Mor'dlons. The Golden-Eye is a winter visitant, but its
numbers are regulated by the severity or mildness of the sea-
son, being always most abundant under the former state of
weather. This remark may be applied to all the arctic Ana-
tid<z, their migration southward being gradually extended in
consequence of their being frozen out of food in the districts
they habitually frequent. This species is usually seen in
small flocks or societies upon our lakes and larger rivers,
and occasionally upon the coast, near to the mouths of
streams. It flies with great strength and rapidity, giving in-
timation of its approach by the whistling noise of its wings,
as it passes through the air. It is remarkably active on the
water, swimming and diving with equal facility ; by the lat-
ter mode, indeed, it obtains a great proportion of its food,
Food. vjz aquatic insects, worms, molluscous animals, fry of fish,
Sec. From the quickness with which it plunges, and the
distance to which it dives, it is very difficult to kill when
afloat, and the introduction of the detonating lock has alone
given the water-fowl shooter any chance against it, as it con-
stantly dived at the flash of the pan, and was fairly beneath
the surface, before the shot could reach the place of aim.
On this account the present and other species of Clangula
have obtained among the natives in America the name of
Conjuring or Spirit Ducks. Upon the land it proceeds in
a shuffling ungainly manner, from the backward position of
the legs, and the great size of its feet. It is a native of the
Arctic Regions, and is widely spread over those of the new,
as well as of the old continent. In summer it retires to
high northern latitudes, and breeds upon the banks of the
Nest, &c. iakes an(j rivers of the interior. Its nest is made in the
rushes or other coarse herbage, or sometimes (where suitable
GARROT. NATATORES. CLANGULA. 369
in point of locality) in the hollow of a tree, in the manner of
the Wood Duck (Dendronessa sponsa.) The eggs are sta-
ted to be from twelve to fourteen, and of a pure white. The
flesh of the Golden-Eye, although inferior in flavour to that
of many other Ducks, is tender and palatable, especially
when deprived of its thick and oily skin ; and in the market
is indiscriminately sold for Wigeon. The trachea of the
male bird is of singular conformation *, and differs from that
of all the preceding species. In addition to the labyrinthic
part (which is very large, consisting of an orca and tympa-
num, placed transversely to the trachea, but of which it is
impossible to convey an accurate idea by words), an extra-
ordinary enlargement takes place about the middle of the
tube itself. This ventricose part, observes MONTAGU, con-
sists of the same cartilaginous rings as the rest of the wind-
pipe, and is, in fact, only a great enlargement of the same
structure, being at least four times the diameter of any other
part, and upwards of three inches in length, when fully ex-
tended. It is so formed, by the inequality of its cartilagi-
nous annulations, and the intermediate membranes, as to be
not only capable of contracting to little more than an inch in
length, but also of compression, its under part being, when
in the contracted state, considerably flattened.
PLATE 62. Represents the adult Male (the Golden-Eye) and
the Female (being the Morillon of some authors.)
Spot behind the base of the upper mandible pure white. General
Forehead and chin brownish-black. The rest of the ^n *
head, and the upper part of the neck, glossy duck- Male,
green, in some lights shewing a rich purple reflection.
Lower part of the neck, breast, intermediate wing-co-
verts, the seven posterior secondaries, belly, and abdo-
* For accurate figures of the tracheae of the Anatidae, &c. I refer my
readers to Dr LATHAM'S Essay, in the fourth volume of the Linnean
Transactions, and to the admirable one of Mr YARRELL upon the same
subject, published in the fifteenth volume of that work.
VOL. II. A a
370 NATATORES. CLANGULA. GARROT.
men, pure white (but in some the breast is tinged with
sienna-yellow.) The long flank feathers having the
outer part of their inner webs velvet-black. The vent,
and behind the thighs, broccoli-brown. Exterior scapu-
lars white, and having their outer webs margined with
black. The rest of the scapulars, the long tertials, the
mantle, and back, deep glossy black. Tail rather long,
formed of sixteen feathers, broccoli-brown. Bill black,
one inch and three-eighths long, from the angle of the
forehead to the tip, with the nostrils placed nearer to
the tip than the base. Legs and toes orange. Irides
golden or gamboge yellow.
Female. Head, and upper part of the neck, umber-brown. Lower
part of the neck or collar greyish- white. Upper part of
the breast deep ash-grey, the feathers being margined
with greyish-white. Dorsal plumage pitch- (or brown-
ish-) black, the feathers of the mantle and outer scapu-
lars being deeply margined with ash-grey. The inter-
mediate wing-coverts brownish-black, blotched with
greyish-white. Secondaries as in the male bird. Flanks,
and behind the thighs, clove-brown, margined paler.
The rest of the lower parts white. Bill having the tip
saffron-yellow. Legs dirty orange, with the webs
darker.
Young. The young males strongly resemble the females for the first
year, but are larger, and may always be ascertained by
the trachea. After the second moult the spot behind
the bill appears, composed of black and white feathers,
and the head and neck acquire the glossy green colour.
The back also becomes darker, and there are indications
of the exterior black and white scapulars, After the
third moult the bird is matured.
Male.
GARROT. NATATORES. CLANGULA. 371
HARLEQUIN GARROT.
CLANGULA HISTRIONICA, Leach.
PLATE LX.
Clangula histrionica, Fkm. Br. Anim. 1. 120. sp. 179 — Shaw's ZooL 12
180. pi. 57 — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 459. No. 218.
Canard a Collier, ou Histrion, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 878.
Canard Arlequin, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 533.
Anas histrionica, Linn. Syst. 1. 204. 35.— Gmel. Syst. 1. 534. — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 849. sp. 45.
Anas torquata, Briss. Orn. 6. 362. 14.
Le Canard a Collier de Terre Neuve, Buff. Ois. 9. 250.— Id. PL Enl. 798.
Die Kragen-Ente, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 1037.— Meyer, Tasschenb.
530.
Dusky and Spotted Duck, Edward, pi. 99.
Harlequin Duck, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 490.— Lath. Syn. 6. 485. 38 —
Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8. 153. pi. 72. fig. 4 — Mmt. Ornith. Diet 1 —
Sowerby, Br. Misc. pi. 6.
Anas minuta, Linn. Syst. 1. 204. 36 Gmel Syst. I. 534.
Querquedula freti Hudsonis, Briss. Orn. 6. 469. 41.
La Sarcelle brune et blanche, Buff. Ois. 9. 287 — Id. PL Enl. 799.
Little Brown and White Duck, Edward, t. 157.
THE Harlequin Garrot (so named from the singular Very rare
marking of the male bird's plumage) is one of our rarest vlsltant-
winter visitants, the instances of its capture being confined
to three or four, all of which occurred in the northern parts
of Scotland. It inhabits the northern regions of both the
old and new continents, and is a well-known species in the
north-eastern parts of Europe. In Siberia, Kamtschatka,
and other countries of Asia it is equally abundant. In Ame-
rica, during its summer migration, it is met with in the inte-
rior of the country round Hudson's Bay, and also in the vi-
cinity of the Rocky Mountains, where Dr RICHARDSON de-
scribes it as haunting the eddies under cascades, and amongst
rapid streams. It is a bird of shy disposition and very vigi-
lant ; and (contrary to the habit of the other Garrots) takes
wing at once when disturbed, flying swiftly, and at a great
372 NATATORES. CLANGULA. GARROT.
elevation, and, like the Golden-Eye, producing a loud
whistling sound by the action of its wings. — It obtains its
Food. food principally by diving, searching the bottoms of the
streams for the larvae of insects, the roe of fish, and testace-
Nest, &c. ous molluscae. Its nest is said to be made upon the banks
of rivulets, under the cover of low bushes or tall herbage,
and its eggs, from ten to twelve in number, are stated to be
of a pure white, and not much larger than those of a pigeon.
During its summer migration it is found upon the coast, and
frequently in deep water, at a considerable distance from
land. It is to be regretted, that no author has described the
anatomy of the trachea, as it so essentially contributes to es-
tablish the affinities of the species. In the form of the bill
a slight difference is observable, as compared with that of the
Golden-Eye, and the nostrils are placed nearer to the base,
shewing its connexion with the genus ffavelda,
PLATE 60. Represents the Male and Female of the natural
size.
General Bill bluish-black. Legs blackish-brown. From the base
tiori.ri* °^ the bill? reaching nearly to the eye, is a patch of
Male. white, which forms a streak from thence to the nape of
the neck, terminating in pale reddish-brown. Medial
band from the bill, to the hind part of the head, velvet-
black. Nape of the neck, and sides of the throat, rich
lavender-purple. Auricular patch, streak on the sides
of the neck, lower neck-collar, crescent-shaped band on
the shoulder, and longitudinal streaks upon the scapu-
lars and tertials, pure white. Mantle, wings, and tail,
liver-brown, tinged with lavender-purple. Lower part
of the back and tail-coverts velvet-black. Breast and
belly liver-brown. Sides and flanks orange-brown.
Vent brownish -black. Speculum black, glossed with
indigo-blue.
Female. Upper parts of the body liver-brown, with the margins of
the feathers paler. Upper part of the breast, and the
GARROT. NATATORES. CLANGULA. 373
sides yellowish-brown, margined with brownish-grey.
Flanks umber-brown. Abdomen and belly greyish-
white, undulated with clove-brown. Spot between the
bill and eye, and upon the ear-coverts, white. Chin
and throat greyish-white.
The young males resemble in a great measure the females
for the first year, and do not acquire the white collar
till after the second moult.
SUBFAMILY MERGINA.
BILL narrow, cylindrical, with the margins toothed ; and
the tip armed with a hooked nail.
GENUS MERGUS, LINN. MERGANSER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as, or longer than, the head, narrow, and al-
most cylindrical ; high at the base ; tapering towards the
point, which is armed with a strong hooked dertrum, or nail ;
edges of both mandibles toothed or serrated, with the serra-
tures generally pointing backwards. Chin-angle very long,
reaching nearly to the nail of the under mandible. Nostrils
near the middle of the bill lateral, pervious, oblong, longitu-
dinally cleft in the membrane. Tongue long, pointed, ci-
liated.
Wings of mean length, acute ; the first and second quills
nearly equal in length. Tail graduated or rounded ; rather
long.
Legs placed far backward, short. Feet large ; of four
toes, three before and one behind ; the front toes webbed.
Outer and middle toes of equal length, and longer than the
374 NATATORES. MERGUS.
tarsus. Hind toe reaching to the ground, and furnished
with a large lobated membrane. '
General form rather long, much depressed or flattened.
Head more or less crested.
The members of this genus are distinguished from the
preceding subfamilies of the Anatidce, by the narrowness of
the bill, as compared with its length, and by the structure
of its laminated edges, which assume the form of distinct co-
nical teeth, generally pointing backwards, instead of the
broad transverse plates or laminae of the other groups. The
food of the typical species principally consists of fish, for se-
curing which this modification of bill is admirably adapted.
The members of this genus swim well, but, from the weight
and flattened form of their bodies, appear deeply immersed
in the water ; the head, neck, and back being only visible.
They are also excellent divers, moving or rather flying be-
neath the surface with great rapidity, and to a great dis-
tance at a time, and by these submarine flights they capture
their finny prey. Their flight is strong and swift, and they
have great endurance on wing ; but, from the shortness and
backward position of the legs, are awkward upon land. They
are natives of the colder climates, and are found, during the
summer (or breeding season), in very high latitudes. The
males, after the sexual connexion, are subject to a partial
change in the colours of their plumage, similar to that which
takes place in many species of the subfamily Anatina. The
labyrinthic part of the trachea (only in the male bird) is
very large and complicated, and the tube itself varies in
form and in the number of its enlargements, according to the
species. The young males bear a strong resemblance to the
females, till after the second moult.
GOOSANDER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 375
GOOSANDER.
MERGUS MERGANSER, Linn.
PLATE LVII.
Mergus Merganser, Linn. Syst. 1. 208. 2 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 544 — Rail Syn.
134. A. 1 — Will. 253. t. 64.— Briss. Orn. 6. 231. t. 32 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 828. sp. l.— Wils. Amer. Ornith. 8. 70. pi. 68. f. 1. and 2 — Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 128. sp. 200 — Faun. Amer. Boreal, 2. 460. No. 220.
Merganser Rail, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 161. pi. 53.
Le Harle, Buff. Ois. 8. 267. sp. 23 Id. PL Enl. 951.
Grand Harle, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 881.
Taucher-gans, Bech&t. Naturg. Deut. 4. 781 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 565.
Goosander, or Merganser, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 556. No. 260 — Arct. Zool.
2. No. 465 Will (Ang.) 335. t. 64.-Lath. Syn. 6. 418. I.— Id. Sup. 2.
336.— Lewirfs Birds, 6. pi. 2. 31 — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. and Sup — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 250 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 70. pi. 68. f. 1. and
2. — Low's Faun. Oread, p. 131. — Retime1 s Mont. Orn. Diet. 217-
Mergus castor, Linn. Syst. 1. 209. 4 Gmel Syst. 1. 545. B— Lath. Ind."
Orn. 2. 829. sp. 2.
Mergus rubricapillus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 545.
Mergus serratus longiroster, Raii Syn. 134. A. 2.— Will. 253. t. 64.
Merganser cinereus, Briss. Orn. 6. 254. 7- t. 25. Female and
Le Harle Femelle, Buff. Ois. 8. 236 — Id. PL Enl. 953. Young Males.
Dundiver, or Sparling Fowl, 2. 557. No. 260. pi. 92. f. 2 — Arct. Zool.
2. 465.—Albin, 1. t. 87 Lath. Syn. 6. 240. 221. 4 Id. Sup. 270
Lewirfs Br. Birds, pi. 232. — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br.
Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 253.
PROVINCIAL — Saw-Bill, Harle, Earl-Duck, Jack-Saw,
THIS large and handsome species is one of our rarer Eng-
lish visitants, and seldom makes its appearance in the more
southern districts of the country, except in winters attended
by long continued frost ; but in the northern parts of Scot-
land, and in the Orkneys and other Scottish islands, it is a
permanent resident ; finding subsistence throughout the
year either in the fresh- water lakes of the interior, or (when
these are frozen) in the deep indentations of the coast, form-
ed by the saline lochs, so numerous in that part of the king-
dom. It is widely distributed throughout the arctic regions
of both the ancient and new worlds. In Europe, during its
equatorial migration, it visits France, Holland, Germany,
376 NATATORES. MERGUS. GOOSANDER
and even more southern countries ; and WILSON mentions it
as a well known winter visitant upon the coasts, lakes, and
rivers of the United States. During the summer the great
body of these birds retires to high latitudes, for the purpose
of reproduction ; and at that time they are found in Iceland,
Greenland, and other northern parts of Europe. In Asia,
they visit Siberia, Kamtschatka, &c., and in America, during
the above period, they are distributed through the fur coun-
Nest, &c. tries of that vast continent. — The nest is constructed (near
to the edge of the water) of a mass of grass, roots, and other
materials, mixed and lined with down. It is placed some-
times among stones or other debris, and sometimes in the
long grass, or under the cover of bushes, and (when the lo-
cality affords them) in the stumps or hollows of decayed
trees. The eggs are from twelve to fourteen in number, of
a cream-yellow colour ; and their form is a long oval, both
ends being equally obtuse.
The Goosander, except when on wing, is almost always
seen upon the water, being unable to make any great pro-
gress on land, in consequence of the backward position of the
legs, and the slight degree of freedom that the tibiae possess
from their situation within the integuments of the abdomen.
Its activity, however, in the former element, makes ample
amends for this deficiency. In swimming, the body, from
its broad and flattened shape, is deeply sunk in the water,
having the head, neck, and back only visible. It is an ex-
cellent diver, with the power of remaining for a long time
submerged, and making its way with great rapidity beneath
Food, the surface. — In this manner its food is obtained, consisting
entirely of fish ; and which, when once seized, are securely
held in its serrated bill. It rises with difficulty, or at least
with much apparent exertion, from the surface of the water,
but when once fairly on wing, its flight is not only swift,
but can be sustained for a considerable time. By earlier
writers, the females and young males (which resemble that
sex for upwards of a year) were considered and described as
GOOSANDER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 377
a distinct species, under the title of Mergus castor ; even
our acute countryman MONTAGU seems to have adhered to
this opinion, and was unwilling to admit the conclusive de-
ductions of Mr SIMMONDS, drawn from minute anatomical
examination, which clearly proved their identity. This is
now, however, well established, and supported by the con-
current authority of TEMMINCK, WILSON, FLEMING, &c. ;
in addition to which I may be allowed to add, that I have
dissected several specimens in the plumage of M. castor ',
which proved to be males, possessing, in the form of the la-
byrinth and the two tracheal enlargements, the precise orga-
nization of the Goosander. I have also obtained individuals
in the intermediate state of plumage, or when they had be-
gun to acquire the characteristic markings of the adult
bird. The trachea, which measures nearly a foot in length,
becomes greatly enlarged about two inches below the larynx ;
and this dilatation (which is composed of alternating rings,
and much flattened) is upwards of two inches and a half
long. Below this, the tube is very much contracted, and
nearly circular for more than an inch, when it again becomes
enlarged, but not to the former extent ; after which it gra-
dually contracts, till its entrance into the lower larynx or la-
byrinth. This part consists of an orca, or enlargement of
the bony rings, and a large ear-shaped tympanum, exhibiting
three flattened surfaces, each covered with a fine parchment-
like membrane. The bronchi are distant from each other, the
one proceeding from the outer and lower part of the orca, the
other from the lower and central portion of the tympanum.
The Goosander is a bird of wild disposition, and very wary
habits, and from its dexterity and quickness in diving very
difficult to be shot. The flesh, from the fishy character of
its food, is ill-flavoured and oily.
PLATE 57. represents the adult Male and the Female of the
natural size.
378
NATATORES. MERGUS.
GOOSANDER.
General
descrip.
tion.
Male.
Female.
Young.
Bill, from the angle of the forehead, two inches and three-
eighths long; black above and below, with the sides
vermilion-red ; the edges armed with sharp conical
teeth, pointing backwards, and the palate with two
acute serrated ridges. Legs and feet rich orpiment-
orange, changing after death into red. Irides arterial
blood-red. Head and upper part of neck glossy black-
ish-green; the feathers on the crown and nape being
long, silky, and tumid. Lower part of the neck, breast,
under parts, lesser and medial wing-coverts (except
those nearest to the shoulder), tips of the greater co-
verts, secondary quills, and outer scapulars, rich buff-
orange. Mantle, inner scapulars, humeral wing-coverts,
bastard wing, greater quills, and narrow margins of the
long tertials, velvet black. Back and tail deep grey,
inclining upon the latter to clove-brown. Behind the
thighs, and on the sides of the rump, white, undulated
with fine zigzag curved lines of blackish-brown.
Head and upper part of the neck pale reddish-brown ; in-
clining upon the crown to liver-brown ; the crest long
and pendant, formed of slender feathers. Chin and throat
white. Lower part of the neck, breast, and sides grey-
ish-white, undulated with pale clove-brown. Belly and
abdomen white, with a tinge of buff. Upper parts deep
bluish-grey, tinged with clove-brown. Tips of the
greater coverts, and anterior half of the secondaries,
white, forming a speculum of that colour upon the
wings. Lesser coverts bluish-grey. Bill black above
and below, with the sides dingy vermilion-red. Legs
and feet orange.
The young males, until after the second moult, are simi-
lar to the old female bird, and can only be distinguished
by dissection. In assuming the adult garb, they begin
by shewing the blackish-green feathers upon the head
and upper part of the neck.
MERGANSER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 379
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER.
MERGUS SERRATOR, Linn.
PLATE LVIII. AND LVIII*.
Mergus serrator, Linn. Syst. 1. 208. 3.— Gmel. Syst. 1. 545. B — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 829. sp. 4 __ Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 129. sp. 201 — Faun. Amer.'JBo-
real. 2. 462. No. 221—FFto. Amer. Orn. 8. 84. pl/69. f. 2. male.
Merganser serrata, Shaw's Zool. 12. 165.
Mergus serrator leucomelas, Gmel. Syst. 1. 546. D.
Mergus cirrhatus fuscus, Raii Syn. 135. A — Will. 255. t. 64.
Mergus cristatus, Briss. Orn. 6. 237. 2. t. 23.
Le Harle huppe', Buff. Ois, 8. 273.— Id. PL Enl. 207 — Temm. Man.
d'Ornith. 2. 884 — Cwu. Reg. Anim. 1. 540. — Lesson. Man d'Ornith. 2.
420.
Harle a Manteau noir, Buff. Ois, 8. 277.
L,angschnabliger Sager, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 795 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 568.
Red-breasted Merganser, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 558. pL 93. No. 261 — Arct.
Zool. 2. 466 __ Edw. Glean, pi. 95 __ Albin's Birds, 2. pi. 101 — Lewirfs
Br. Birds, 6. 233 — Lath. Syn. 6. 423— Id. Sup. 2. 337 — /d. in Trans.
Linn. Soc. 4. 121. pi. 16. f. 1. 2.— (Trachea.) Mont. Ornith. Diet, and
Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. 2. p. t. 257-
Mergus serratus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 546. sp. 3. var. A.
Mergus niger, Gmel. Syst. 546. B.
Merganser niger, Briss. Orn. 6. 251. 5.
PROVINCIAL — Earl-Duck, Harle.
UPON the Northumbrian and other coasts on the north of
England, this species is a regular winter visitant, but always
more abundantly in severe than in mild seasons. It haunts the
bays and inlets where small streams discharge themselves, as
well as the estuaries of rivers, but seldom advances far beyond
the influence of the tide. The greater part of those that visit us
are females, and young males in the immature plumage ; in
which state, except as to size, they strongly resemble the for-
mer. In the Highlands and Isles of Scotland these birds are
found at all seasons of the year, making the fresh- water lakes
of the interior their residence during the summer, and in win-
ter, should these become frozen, resorting to the salt-water in-
Ms. They breed upon the margins of the lakes, or, in prefer-
•c, upon the islets with which many of them are diversified.
"I
I
)
380 NATATORES. MERGUS. MERGANSER.
Upon Loch Awe, in the Western Highlands, they are com-
mon, and their nests have been repeatedly found by Sir
WILLIAM JARDINE and myself upon the several islands that
Nest, &c. beautify its western extremity. — The nest is always situated
a few yards beyond the highest water-line, frequently beside
a large stone covered with brambles, and coarse herbage, or
under the shelter of some thick bush. It is composed of
dried grass, small roots, &c., intermixed with feathers and a
quantity of the down of the bird, which (as in the case of the
Eider, and some other ducks), appears to be added to as in-
cubation advances. The eggs are from seven to eleven in
number, of a colour intermediate between cream-yellow and
wood-brown, and in size and shape like those of the Com-
mon Duck. The bird sits remarkably close, and will some-
times allow itself to be almost trodden upon, before it will
quit the nest. As soon as incubation commences, the old
males desert the females (a habit, indeed, which may be ob-
served in many species of the Anatidce), and assemble in
companies of three or four together. About this time, also,
their plumage undergoes a considerable change, losing the
deep colouring of the head and back, which parts become of
a dingy cinereous grey, that is retained till the general (or
autumnal) moult commences. This Merganser is an excel-
lent diver, remaining for a long time submerged, during which
it makes rapid progress. In this way it frequently escapes
when wounded, merely raising its bill above water to take
breath, and again dipping down, without causing any per-
Food. ceptible disturbance of the surface. — It feeds principally up-
on fish ; and in two individuals that I dissected, and which
were killed at the mouth of a small rivulet, flowing into
Budle Bay, on the Northumbrian shore, I found the oeso-
phagus and stomach gorged with a quantity of small eels,
not exceeding two or three inches in length, and, as far as I
could judge, of the common species. This bird is widely
distributed throughout the northern parts of Europe, North-
ern Asia, and North America, retiring to high latitudes
MERGANSER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 381
during the summer, and in winter regulating its advances to-
wards the equator by the state of the season. The trachea
of the male bird differs from that of the Goosander, in having
but one enlargement, which commences about two inches and
a half below the glottis, and which, when extended, is up-
wards of three inches long, and is more than four times the
diameter of the parts immediately above and below. About
three inches above the lower larynx the tube becomes much
flattened, and is formed of eighteen or twenty rings (broad
and large on the back, but fine and narrow on the front
view), the spaces between them being covered by a fine mem-
brane ; and this part much resembles the corresponding por-
tion of the trachea of the Long-tailed Haveld (Havelda gla~
cialis). The tympanum is very large, and of an irregular
heart-shape, being formed of two large bony protuberances,
which, taken together, measure two inches in length by one
inch and a half in width, and both of which are furnished
with a lateral drum-like membrane.
PLATE 58. represents the Adult Male of the natural size. General
Bill, from the nape of the forehead to the tip, two inches ti^n.
and a quarter long. The sides of the upper, and the Male,
whole of the under mandible orange ; the culmen black ;
teeth numerous, conical, acute ; those of the upper man-
dible largest, and pointing backwards. Legs and feet
orange, inclining to tile-red. Irides arterial blood-red.
Head, crest, and upper part of the neck glossy green-
ish-black ; crest composed of long, narrow, loose-web-
bed feathers, pointing backwards. List on the back
part of the neck, mantle, part of the shoulders, interior
scapulars, basal half of the greater wing-coverts, se-
condary quills, bastard wing, greater quills, and narrow
border of the long tertials, glossy black. Collar, mid-
dle part of the feathers forming the shoulder tuft, exte-
rior scapulars, middle wing-coverts, anterior half of the
greater coverts, and secondaries, long tertials, belly, and
382 NATATORES. MERGUS. MERGANSER.
abdomen, white. Upper part of the breast, and sides
of the lower part of the neck pale reddish-brown, each
side-edge of the feathers having a black streak. Sides,
flanks, and behind the thighs, white, undulated with
distinct zigzag bars of black. Lower part of the back
and the rump deep clove-brown, undulated with white.
Tail composed of sixteen feathers, deep broccoli-brown.
Lesser wing-coverts, upon the ridge, and near to the
shoulders, deep clove-brown.
Female. PLATE 58*. The Female, which bears a strong resemblance
to that of the preceding species, but of inferior size, and
having the speculum, or white part upon the wing, di-
vided by a black bar, formed by a part of the basal
half of the secondaries being exposed to view.
Crown of the head, and occipital crest liver-brown. Sides
of the head and neck pale reddish-brown. Chin and
throat white. Upper plumage (in winter) deep broccoli-
brown ; the feathers upon the mantle and sides of the
breast being margined with greyish- white. Under plu-
mage white. Flanks broccoli-brown, margined paler.
Bill and legs dingy orange. Irides red.
Young. The young males resemble the females till after the second
moult, when they begin to show about the head and
back the characters of the adult bird.
MERGANSER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 383
HOODED MERGANSER.
MERGUS CUCULLATUS^ Linn.
PLATE LVIII.*»
Mergus cucullatus, Linn. Syst. 1. 207- 1. — Gmel Syst. 1. 544 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 830. sp. 5 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 82. pi. 69. f. 1 — Faun. Amer.
Boreal. 2. 463. No. 222.
Merganser Virginianus cristatus, Briss. Orn. 6. 258. 8.
Merganser cucullatus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 168.
Le Harle couronne', Buff. Ois. 8. 280 — Id. PL Enl. 935. 36.
Round-crested Duck, Edward's Glean, pi. 360.
Wind Bird, Will. (Angl.) 389.
Hooded Merganser, Penn. Arc. Zool. 2. No. 467 — Lath. Syn. 6. 426. 101.
— Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 82. pi. 69. f. 1. male.— Selby in Trans. Nat. Hist
Soc. Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle, 1. 291.
Mergus fuscus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 832. sp. 9. ? ) you
Brown Merganser, Arct. Zool. 2. Sup. p. 74. ?/
I AM enabled to add this beautiful species to the list of Rare
the British Fauna as a rare visitant, upon the authority of V18ltant-
a specimen that was killed at Yarmouth, in Norfolk, in the
winter of 1829 ; the skin of which, through the kind atten-
tion of an esteemed correspondent, is now in my possession.
It appears to be a young female, as the crest is not so fully
developed, or the white upon the secondary quills so large,
as in the skin of an adult bird of that sex, with which it has
been compared. Since this capture, I have been informed
that more instances have occurred, all apparently females, or
young males in the garb of that sex ; the adult male, in his
elegant piebald plumage, never having yet been seen in Eu-
rope. This bird is a native of North America, and during
the summer is found in the higher latitudes, or fur-countries
of that continent, where it breeds upon the margins of the
lakes and rivers. The nest is formed of grass and other
herbage, intermixed and lined with down and feathers. Its Nest, &c.
eggs are stated to' be eight or ten, and white ; it is probable,
however, that, when fresh laid, they will be like those of all
its congeners, tinged with pale brown or buff. During the
384 NATATORES. MERGUS. MERGANSER.
winter it migrates southwards, and is then dispersed along
the coasts, and upon the lakes and rivers of the United
States, where WILSON describes it as of frequent occurrence,
and as possessing similar habits to those of the Red-breasted
Merganser. In this species the bill is short, and intermediate
in form between that of the Smew and of the two foregoing
birds. The teeth are also different, for, instead of being
conical and sharp-pointed, they are broad and even at the
top, with sharp edges, and are obliquely set in the mandibles.
The palate, also, in the place of acute longitudinal ridges,
has several transverse furrows. With its tracheal anatomy
we have but little acquaintance, as WILSON merely states
that it has a small labyrinth ; and the part is not adverted to
by Dr RICHARDSON, or Mr SWAINSON.
PLATE 58** represents the above-mentioned specimen, of
which the description is as follows.
General Length nearly eighteen inches. Bill, from the forehead to
descrip. the tip, about one inch and a half long ; rather slender,
•p je and not so thick at the base as in the Smew ; the serra-
tures broad, with sharp edges. The colour of the bill
appears to have been orange at the base, and darker
towards the tip. Chin greyish-white, speckled with pale
broccoli-brown. Crown of the head inclining to liver-
brown ; the occipital crest (which is large and semicir-
cular) passing into pale reddish-brown. Face, cheeks,
and neck, pale broccoli-brown, or mouse colour. Breast
and sides of the lower part of neck broccoli-brown, deep-
ly margined with pearl-grey. Upper parts of the body
brownish-black ; the feathers upon the mantle and sca-
pulars being margined with obscure greyish -brown.
Outer edges of the exterior webs of the secondaries
white, forming a small speculum in the middle of the
wing. Under plumage white. The sides and flanks
broccoli-brown, with paler margins. Tail composed of
fourteen feathers, deep clove-brown, and reaching near-
5
MERGANSER. NATATORES. MERGUS. 385
ly three inches beyond the closed wings. Legs and feet
brown, tinged with red. Tarsus one inch in length.
The following is a description of the adult male, as given
by Dr RICHARDSON, in the Fauna Americ. Boreal., and
which agrees with that of WILSON in every essential
particular.
Top of the head, dorsal plumage, upper small wing-coverts, Male,
quills and tail, blackish-brown. Sides of the head, neck,
bars upon the shoulders, scapulars, tertiaries, and bases
of the secondaries and greater coverts, glossy greenish-
black. Broad bar behind the eye, through the middle
of the crest, alternate bars upon the shoulder, tips of
the greater coverts, exterior borders of the secondaries,
central stripes on the tertiaries, and under plumage,
white. Flanks finely undulated with yellowish-brown
and black. The crest, according to WILSON, is com-
posed of two separate rows of feathers radiating from
each side of the head, and which can be easily divided
by the hand. Irides golden or kingVyellow.
SMEW, OR WHITE NUN.
MERGUS ALBELLUS, Linn.
PLATE LIX.
Mergus albellus, Linn. Syst. 1. 209. 5. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 547 — Briss. Orn.
6. 245. 3. t. 24. f. l.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 831. sp. C-— Shavfs Zool. 12. 157.
pi. 52 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 136. pi. 71. f. 4 Flem. Br. Anira. 1. 129.
sp. 202.
Mergus major cirrhatus, Rail Syn. 135. A — Will. 254. t. 64.
Le Petit Harle huppe, ou la Piette, Buff. Ois. 8. 275 Id. PI. Enl. 449 —
Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 887.
Weisser-sager, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 804 — Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 571.
Smew, or White Nun, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 559. No. 262 Levin's Br. Birds,
6. pi. 234 — Lath. Syn. 6. 428 Id. Sup. 271 Id. Sup. 2. 338 Id. in
Trans, Linn. Soc. 4. 234. pi. 16. f. 3. and 4. (trachea) Mont. Orn. Diet.
and Sup.— Pult. Cat. Dorset. 19 — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 260.
—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 129. sp. 202, &c.
VOL. II. B b
'336 NATATORES. MERGUS. SMEW.
Mergus minutus, Linn. Syst. 1. 209. 6 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2.'' 832. sp. T.
Mergus Asiaticus, Gmel Syst. 1. 548. 6. B.
Merganser stellatus, Briss. Orn. 6. 252. 6.
Merganser cristatus minor, Briss. Orn. 6. 243. 3.
La Piette Femelle, Buff. PL Enl. 450.
Female and Le Harle etoile, Buff. Ois. 8. 278.
Young Males. { Weasel Cooti Albin's Birds, 1. t. 88.
Red-headed Smew, Br. Zool. 2. 263. — Bewick's Br. Birds, 2. 666.
Lough Diver, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 560 Arct. ZooL 2. 540 — Bewick's Br.
Birds, ed. 1826, p. 262.
Minute Merganser, Lath. Syn. 6. 429. 6 Levin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 235.
— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.
PROVINCIAL — Vare Wigeon, Magpie Diver.
Periodical IN severe winters the Smew is not uncommon in the east-
ern and southern parts of England, where it is found on the
coast, as well as upon the rivers farther inland, and pools of
fresh- water in the fenny districts. In the northern counties
it is always of rare occurrence, arising in all probability from
the line of its migration from the northern parts of Europe
and Asia being in parallels more to the eastward, as it is
abundant in Germany, Holland, France, &c. The majority
of such as visit our shores are females, or immature males in
the similar plumage, and known by the name of the Lough
Diver, or Red-headed Smew ; the male, in his mature garb,
being comparatively seldom met with. In New England,
and some other districts of the United States, according to
WILSON, it is a common species during its winter migration ;
and is then found, as with us, both upon the sea-coast, and
the lakes and rivers of the interior. He does not, however,
mention the parts of that continent to which it retires during
the summer, nor did the bird come under the notice of Dr
RICHARDSON in the course of his northern expeditions. In
Europe it retires to high latitudes for the purpose of repro-
duction ; Iceland and Greenland being among the number ;
and in Asia it is found in Siberia, Kamtschatka, &c. — It
Nest, &c. breeds upon the banks of lakes and rivers, and its eggs are
stated to be of a yellowish-white, from eight to twelve in
number. Like the others of its genus, it is an admirable
diver, and has the power of remaining long beneath the sur-
SM.:U. NATATORES. MERGUS. :)87
face without rising to breathe. — It feeds on fish (which it Food.
pursues under water), as also on small crustaceae, and insects.
It is a very shy and vigilant bird, and takes wing with great
readiness when apprehensive of danger ; flying rapidly, and
supporting it for a long time. The trachea of the male is
narrow immediately below the glottis, but becomes gradual-
ly enlarged as it approaches the middle of its course, from
whence to the lower larynx it is of nearly an equal diameter,
formed of bony rings, with very little intervening cartilage.
The labyrinth is not so large in proportion to the size of the
bird as that of the Goosander, or of the Red-breasted Mer-
ganser, and differs also in form ; its greatest diameter being
the horizontal one, instead of the perpendicular. The exte-
rior face of the tympanum has a large rounded orifice, co-
vered by a thin membrane, as in the Goosander. The fe-
males and young males of this bird were long considered to
be a distinct species ; the discovery, however, by Dr LATHAM
and others, of the males of this supposed species possessing
the precise tracheal organization of the adult male Smew,
has enabled later writers to correct the error. Mr STEPHENS
has separated the Smew from the other Mergansers, on ac-
count of the comparative shortness of its bill, and the modi-
fication of the teeth or serratures, which do not point so dis-
tinctly backward, and are closer set than in the larger spe-
cies. At the same time, he has retained the Hooded Mer-
ganser among them, although its bill (taking the size of the
respective birds into consideration) is nearly as short as that
of the Smew, and the teeth, in their form and arrangement,
differ even more from those of the Goosander, &c. than those
of the latter bird. This arrangement has not, however, been
adopted by any other ornithologist.
PLATE 59. represents the Male and Female, of the natural
size.
Bill and legs deep bluish-grey. On each side of the face, General
and surrounding the eye, is a large patch of greenish- ti^n"1*'
388 NATATORES. MERGUS. SMEW.
Male. black ; the occiput, and part of the occipital crest, being
of the same colour. Head, neck, breast, and under
plumage, pure white. The back, and the two crescents,
which advancing, partly encircle the lower neck and
breast, black. Shoulders, and part of the lesser wing-
coverts, white. Scapulars white, and greyish -white,
margined on the outer webs with black. Secondaries
and middle wing-coverts deep glossy black, with a nar-
row fringe of white. Sides and flanks with transverse
zigzag lines of black. Upper tail-coverts bluish-grey.
Tail the same, and graduated. Quills brownish-black.
Female. Much less than the male bird. Head, crested occiput, and
hinder part of the neck, reddish-brown. Throat and
sides of the upper part of the neck, white. Lower part
of neck, breast, sides and flanks, ash-grey. Back, sca-
pulars, upper tail-coverts, and tail, deep grey, inclining
to clove-brown. Middle part of the lesser wing coverts
greyish-white. The rest of the wings (with the excep-
tion of the secondaries and greater coverts, which are
bordered with white) deep greyish-black. Legs and bill
deep grey.
Young. The young of both sexes are similar to the adult female.
At the second moult the males indicate, by a few black
feathers, the commencement of the patch on the side of
the face ; the back also becomes varied with black ; and
appearances of the two crescents are discernible.
( 389 )
FAMILY II.— COLYMBID^E.
FROM the natatorial groups of the Anatida, distinguished,
as we have seen, from the rest of that family by the flattened
form of the body, the backward position of the legs, the
shortened and concave wings, and by habits more decidedly
accordant with a life on the ocean, we now pass on to the
family of the Colymbida,. Here we shall find the above cha-
racteristics displayed in a still greater degree, and which, as
contributing so essentially to the perfection of this mode of
existence, render this family one of the typical divisions of
the Order. In the birds which compose it, the legs are
placed at the extremity of the body, with which they form
an acute angle, acting, as it were, as propelling oars from
the stern. The tarsi and feet alone are exposed and free ;
the tibia and femur being inclosed within the integuments
of the abdomen. The tarsus is remarkably thin, or laterally
compressed ; and the feet (although large, and furnished with
membranes) have the toes so articulated, as to fold into a
very small compass when drawn towards the body after ma-
king the necessary stroke, thus offering the least possible re-
sistance in the water. The lobated hind toe possessed by the
more aquatic ducks is still retained in this family, and, in
some members of it, is joined to the inner toe by a small
uniting membrane, shewing thus a connexion also with the
Pelecamda. The contour of the body is oval, broad, and
depressed, narrowing towards the neck, which is long and
tapering. The wings are short and concave, as well, or per-
haps even better, adapted for aiding progression beneath the
surface of the water, as through the air. The bill is strait
and compressed, ending in a sharp point, and destitute of
the cuticular membrane that envelopes it in the Anatida.
From the backward position of the legs the individuals of
3!)0 NATATORES. PODICEPS.
this family are unable to walk upon land, and they rarely of
their own accord come to shore, unless for the purpose of
reproduction ; and this is almost always effected on the im-
mediate margin of the water, or amidst the floating herbage
that covers many of the situations they inhabit. They swim
and dive with equal ease, and can remain for a long time
submerged. The genera at present assigned to this family
are two, viz. the Grebe (Podiceps), and Diver (Colymbus).
GENUS PODICEPS, LATHAM. GREBE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as, or longer than, the head, strong, slightly
compressed, strait, entire, hard, and pointed; the upper
mandible inclining slightly towards the tip ; the lower one
turning upwards from the -gonys, or angle ; tomia of both
mandibles bending inwards. Nostrils lateral, basal, linear,
pierced in the middle of the nasal fosse. Lorum, or space
between the corner of the bill and the eye, naked.
Wings short, and concave. No tail.
Legs placed at the posterior extremity of the body ; the
tibiae enclosed within the integuments of the abdomen. Tarsi
much compressed ; feet of four toes, three before, and one
behind ; the front toes much flattened, and each furnished
with a broad membrane ; which membranes become united
near the base ; outer toe longer than the middle one ; hind
toe articulated on the tarsus, and provided with a lobated
membrane. Nails large, flat, and broad. Plumage soft,
downy, thick ; with a silky lustre.
In former systems, when the natural affinities which con-
nect the various Orders, Families, &c. together were neglect-
ed, or at least but imperfectly investigated, the Grebes, from
a fancied resemblance (for such it may properly be termed)
NATATORES. PODICEPS. 391
in the form of their feet, were arranged with the Coots and
Phalaropes (birds also belonging to different families), and
formed a truly artificial division, under the title of Pmnati-
pedes. Instead of the free tibia, and the gressorial foot, cal-
culated for progress upon land, and at the same time fur-
nished with distinct membranes to assist in swimming, as we
see exemplified in the Coot, the feet of the Grebes are
formed upon a very different plan, and expressly adapted
for the watery element, as the position of the tarsus and the
articulation of the toes are such as to give no stability to the
body upon land, and progression there is effectually prevent-
ed by the restrained action of the tibiae. Except in the toes
being separated towards their extremities, and each furnished
with a distinct web, the form of the legs and feet approaches
closely to that seen in the genus Colymbus ; the tarsus suffer-
ing an equal lateral compression, and the outer toe exceeding
the other two in length. The Grebes are remarkably active
in the water, which they never quit, as they even breed there ;
making their nests amidst the reeds and other strong aquatic
herbage that is found in the localities they inhabit. From
their shortness of wing, and want of tail, they rise with dif-
ficulty, and scarcely ever have recourse to flight, except for
change of abode, or migration ; as, when pursued, they al-
ways endeavour to escape by diving. They feed on fish,
aquatic insects, and vegetables. The genus has a wide geo-
graphical distribution, some species being found in every
quarter of the globe.
392 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GREBE.
RED-NECKED GREBE.
PODICEPS KUBRICOLLIS, Lath.
PLATE LXXII.
Podiceps rubricollis, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 783. sp. f> — Steph. Shaw's Zool.
13. 8 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 131. sp. 207 — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 411.
No. 175.
Colymbus rubricollis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 592
Colymbus subcristatus, Gmel, Syst. 1. 590.
Le Grebe a Joues grises, Buff. Ois. 8. 241 — Id. PI. Enl. 931.
Grebe Jou-gris, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 720.
Graukehliger Steissfuss, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 429.
Red-necked Grebe, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 499. C — Lath. Syn. 5. 288.— Id.
Sup. 260. pi. 118 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. pi. 199. — Mont. Orn. Diet, and
Sup Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 161 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 8 —
Rennie's Mont. Orn. p. 408.
Colymbus Parotis, Gmel. Syst. 1. 592 — Young.
MOST of our authors speak of the Red-necked Grebe as a
very rare British species, but more, I am inclined to think,
from a want of knowledge of its habits during its sojourn
with us, than from the real scarcity of the bird, as in Nor-
thumberland I have met with it at least as frequently as any
of the other species. It differs, however, from them in being
much oftener seen in the salt than in fresh water ; and from
the facility with which it can escape in the open sea, and
the little attention paid to so nimble a diver by the wildfowl
shooter, it is seldom procured, unless expressly sought for.
Periodical ^he several specimens I have obtained were all killed during
visitant.
the winter and early spring months, therefore I conceive it
to be only a visitant to us during that period ; and this opi-
nion seems strengthened by the silence of all our own writers
as to its breeding in the British Islands. In size it is inter-
mediate between the Horned and the Crested Grebes, of
which latter species PENNANT supposed it might be a variety.
A comparison, however, between these two must at once
convince any one of that not being the case, the distinctive
characters of the red-necked species being decidedly promi-
GREBE. NATATORES PODICEPS. 393
nent. Like the others of its genus, it is a very expert diver,
remaining long under water; and, when pursued, merely
raises its bill above the surface for respiration. — It feeds up- Food,
on small fish, insects, &c. ; and the stomach, upon dissection,
is always found to contain a mass, greater or less, of its own
feathers, — a peculiarity which has been observed in all the
species, but whether swallowed accidentally in dressing the
plumage, or purposely to aid the digestive process, has not
yet been satisfactorily ascertained. I should rather favour
the latter supposition, as the feathers which have been for
some time in the stomach are much comminuted, and in a
fit state for passing into the intestines ; a fact also observed
by MONTAGU. This species is widely diffused, being abun-
dant in the eastern parts of Europe, where it is found upon
the lakes and larger rivers, but it becomes gradually rarer
to the westward. It is also an inhabitant of the Arctic Re-
gions of America, and was met with upon the Great Slave
Lake during FRANKLIN'S Expedition in 1822. — Its nest is
built amidst the aquatic herbage, or reeds, composed of simi- ^est> &
lar decayed materials, and rises and falls with the water.
The eggs are stated by TEMMINCK to be three or four, of a
greenish- white, clouded with deep brown.
PLATE 72. Represents this bird of the natural size, from a
specimen killed in 1826 at the Fern Islands, on the Nor-
thumbrian coast.
Bill one inch and a half in length from the forehead to the General
tip, black, with the base of the under mandible, and the tion.
lower part of the upper one, lemon-yellow. Crown of
the head, and occipital tufts, deep glossy greyish-black.
Cheeks, chin, and throat, grey, palest towards the junc-
tion with the feathers of the head. Back part of the
neck and upper plumage deep blackish-grey, with the
edges of the feathers paler. Throat and breast orange-
coloured brown, the latter being clouded with greyish-
white. Belly and abdomen greyish-white, with a silky
394 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GREBE.
lustre, and faintly spotted with darker grey. Sides and
flanks grey, the feathers open in texture. Five or six
of the secondary quills white, forming a patch or specu-
lum. Quills hair-brown. Legs and toes greyish-black,
with a greenish tinge.
CRESTED GREBE.
PODICEPS CRISTATUS, Lath.
PLATE LXXIII. FIGS. 1. AND 2.
Podiceps cristatus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 780. 1 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 3 —
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 131. sp. 206 — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 410. No. 174.
Colymbus cristatus, Linn. Sjst. 1. 222. 7 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 589.
Colymbus major cristatus et cornutus, Raii Syn. 124. A. 2 — Will 257.
t. 61.
Colymbus cornutus, Briss. Orn. 6. 45. No. 4. t. 5. f. 1.
Le Grebe cornu, Buff. Ois. 8. 235. t. 19 Id. PL Enl. 400.
Grebe huppe', Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 717 — Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 509 —
Lesson, Man. d'Ornith. 2. 356.
Gehaubter Steissfuss, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 533 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 2. 426.
Greater Crested and Horned Douker, AlbWs Birds, 1. 1. 81 — Will (Angl.)
340. t. 61.
Crested Grebe, Br. Zool. 2. 497- No. 223 — Arct. Zool. 2. 498. A Lath.
Syn. 5. 281. 1 — Lewies Br. Birds, 5. pi. 106 — Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1
Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 153 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 3.
Colymbus urinator, Linn. Syst. 1. 223. 9 — .Gmel. Syst. 1. 593.
Colymbus, Briss. Orn. 6. 34. 1. t. 3. f. 1.
Colymbus cinereus major, Raii Syn. 124. A. 1.
Colymbus major Aldrov. Raii Syn. 125. 6 Will. 256.
Le Grebe, et le Grebe huppe', Buff: Ois. 8. 233. et 237 — Id- PL Enl. 944.
et 941.
Greater Loon or Arsefoot, Will. (Angl.) 339. 51 — Edw. t. 360.
Tippet Grebe, Br. Zool. 2. 496. No. 222. t. 78 Lath. Syn. 5. 283. 2
Bewicks Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 155.
PROVINCIAL. — Gaunt, Cargoose, Loon.
THE Crested Grebe is one of the largest of the genus, and
is an indigenous species, breeding annually on the pools
amidst the fens, on the moors of Shropshire and Cheshire,
and on a few of the northern Scottish lakes. During the
winter, when the waters of the interior of the country are
frozen, it retires to the mouths of rivers, and to the line of
sea-coast, where it obtains the necessary supply of fish and
2
GKKBF, NATATORES. PODICEPS. 395
small crustaceous animals, which constitute its principal
food, as I have repeatedly found upon opening the stomachs Food,
of those obtained during the above season. Being upwards
of three years in acquiring maturity, or at least the full de-
velopment of the frieze that surrounds the neck and the oc-
cipital tufts, it is much more frequently met with in the
young or imperfect state of plumage, than in that of the
adult ; and out of more than a dozen specimens, which have
at different times come under my observation, not one had
attained the distinguishing characters of the Crested Grebe.
In this immature state it was long supposed to be a distinct
species, and as such was known by the name of the Tippet
Grebe, adopted from the use to which the soft and silky
plumage of the lower parts of the body was often applied.
When swimming, it moves very rapidly, and, from the flat-
ness of its body, exhibits little more than the head and neck
above the water. It dives with remarkable quickness, and
is able to avoid the shot from a fowling-piece fired by flint
and steel, though it cannot so easily escape from the sudden
inflammation of the percussion-lock. Its progress when be-
low the surface, which (as in other diving birds) is perform-
ed by an action of the wings somewhat similar to that of fly-
ing, is so speedy, as frequently to baffle the pursuit of a well-
managed boat, and a stretch of 200 yards is sometimes made,
before it rises again to breathe ; and this act of respiration,
before the bird becomes fatigued by continued pursuit, is
commonly effected by merely raising the head above water *.
It rarely flies, according to TEMMINCK, even making its mi-
grations by swimming, which, however, cannot always be
the case, as it is sometimes found on isolated pieces of water,
where it could not arrive unless by the use of its wings ; and
* When making a tour through Holland, in company with Sir WILLIAM
JARDINE, we one day, in looking after wild fowl upon the lakes in the
neighbourhood of Rotterdam, gave chace to a bird of this species, and
though in a boat conducted by those accustomed to the business, it cost us
upwards of an hour and a'half 's severe exertion, to get within range, and
secure it by a shot through the neck.
396 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GREBE.
\
these, though short, are not comparatively smaller than in
some other species that are known to fly occasionally. Up-
on the continental parts of Europe it is abundant, particular-
ly in Holland and certain districts of Germany. It is also
known in America, and is mentioned in the Fauna America?
Borealis, as having been killed by Dr RICHARDSON upon the
Saskatshewan. — It breeds in the fresh water, amidst reeds
Nost, &.c. and other rank herbage, and the nest, which is very large
and floats on the surface, is composed of a mass of decayed
vegetable roots, flags, stems of water-lily, &c. The eggs,
three or four in number, are of a greenish-white, in size
rather bigger than those of a Teal. The young, when first
excluded, are clothed in a parti- coloured down of reddish-
brown and greyish-white, and are assiduously attended by
the parent, who procures food for them, and, according to
PENNANT, has often been observed to feed them with small
eels.
PLATE 73. Fig. 1. Represents the adult bird in perfect plu-
mage.
General Bill longer than the head, measuring two inches in length
Uon^nP" from the forehead to the tip ; the base dull brick-red,
Adult bird tne **P grejisn-wnite- Lores red. Irides crimson-red.
Eyestreak, cheeks, and throat, white. Crown of the
head, long occipital tufts, and bottom part of the neck-
frieze, lustrous greyish-black. The upper part of the
neck-frieze pale reddish-brown. Fore part of the neck
and under parts white, with a silky or silvery lustre.
Hind part of the neck, back, scapulars, middle wing-
coverts and flanks, deep clove-brown, with a blackish-
green lustre. Wing-coverts next to the shoulders, and
the secondary quills, white. Greater quills hair-brown.
Legs on the outside grey, or deep lead-colour ; on the
inside yellowish-white. Hind ridge of the tarsus hav-
ing a double row of serratures, formed by the projec-
tion of the scales that run down each side.
1
GREBE.
NATATORES. PODICEPS.
397
Fig. 2. Represents a bird of the second year.
Cheeks and throat white. Occipital tufts short, blackish-
grey. Sides and flanks dashed with yellowish-brown.
During the first year, the occipital tufts are scarcely
discernible. As the bird approaches to maturity, the
tufts increase in size, and the neck-frieze becomes gra-
dually developed.
Young
bird.
HORNED GREBE.
PODICEPS CORNUTUS) Lath.
PLATE LXXIV. FIGS. 1. AND 2.
Podiceps cornutus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 782. sp. 5 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 9. pi. 1. —
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 131. sp. 208 — Fauna Amer. Boreal. 2. 411. No. 176.
Colymbus cornutus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 591. sp- 19.
Colymbus cornutus minor, Briss. 6. 50. 5.
Colymbus seu Podiceps minor, Ran Syn. 190. 14.
Le Petit Grebe cornu, Buff. Ois. 8. 237. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 508 — Les-
son, Man. d'Ornith. 2. 356.
Grebe d'Esclavonie, Buff. PL Enl. 404.
Grebe cornu, ou Esclavon, Temm< Man. d'Ornith. 2. 721.
Gehornter Steissfuss, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. t. Heft. 18.
Eared or Horned Dobchick, Edwards'1 Glean, t. 145.
Horned Grebe, Penn. Arct. Zqpl. 2. 417 Lath. Syn. 5. 287. 6. t. 91
Shaw's ZooL 13. 9. pi. 1. — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 131. sp. 208 — Rennie's
Mont. Ornith. Diet. 261.
Sclavonian Grebe, Mont. Ornith. Diet. 1. et Sup.
Podiceps obscurus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 782. sp. 4.
Podiceps caspicus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 784. sp. 7.
Colymbus obscurus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 592.
Colymbus caspicus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 593.
Le Petit Grebe, Buff. Ois. 8. 232 — Id. PL Enl. 942.
Black and White Dobchick, Edwards' Glean, pi. 96. f. 1.
Dusky Grebe, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 49fi. No. 225. pi. 78 Arct. Zool. 2. 420.
—Lath. Syn. 5. 286 — Lenin's Br. Birds, 5. pL 198.— Mont. Ornith. Diet.
—Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 159. •
IN the adult plumage the Horned Grebe may be reckoned
a rare British bird, particularly in the northern counties of
• There is no doubt but that the above synonymes attached to the young
«f this species are equally liable of application to the Eared Grebe in the
immature state, which is only to be distinguished by a difference in the
form of the bill.
The
Adult.
Young.
398 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GKKIJK.
England, where a fresh specimen in this state never fell un-
der my observation. It does, however, breed (though in
small numbers) in the fenny districts of the eastern coun-
ties, but not, as far as I can ascertain, in Scotland, although
Dr FLEMING, in his History of British Animals, has given
it as resident there, and common. In the young state, or as
the Dusky Grebe of authors, it is by no means uncommon
upon our coasts during the winter months, where it inhabits
inlets and the mouths of rivers, and scarcely a season passes
without several of these and the young of the next species
being brought for my inspection. Its habits are similar to
those of the two preceding species, and it is equally active in
the water, whether in swimming or diving. It feeds on
Food. shell-fish, crustacese, and insects ; and in its stomach, on dis-
section, is found the same sort of concreted mass of feathers
that has been before mentioned in the account of the Red-
necked Grebe, and which appear to be mostly taken from
Nest, &c. the under parts of the body. — It breeds among the reeds and
sedges, constructing a large nest of decayed vegetables, roots,
Sec., and which is calculated to rise and fall under the influ-
ence of the tide. In this it lays four or five eggs of a sul-
lied white, but according to TEMMINCK, spotted with brown.
In Europe, it is most plentiful towards the north-east, and is
also found in Northern Asia. It is a common species in
North America, and is described by Dr RICHARDSON as fre-
quenting every lake with grassy borders throughout the fur
countries.
PLATE 74. Fig. 1. Represents the Adult Male, from a beau-
tiful British specimen kindly lent to me for the present
purpose by WILLIAM YARRELL, Esq.
General Bill shorter than the head, compressed ; both mandibles
tion.nP~ equally sloping to its point, black ; the base of the un-
Adult bird. der mandible flesh-coloured, the extreme point greyish -
white. Lore lake-red. Irides crimson, with an inte-
rior ring of white. Forehead, crown, and large ruff
GHKBE. NATATORES. PODICEPS. 399
encircling the neck, glossy greenish-black. Between
the bill and eyes is a patch of reddish-brown. Streak
behind the eyes, and the occipital tufts (or horns) buff-
orange. Hind part of the neck, back, scapulars and
wings, blackish-grey, the feathers having paler margins.
Secondaries white. Fore part and sides of neck, and
sides of the breast, rich reddish-orange. The rest of
the under plumage shining silky white. In the legs,
the outside of the tarsus is deep grey, and the inside
pale yellowish-grey.
Fig, Q. Represents the same bird in the state in which it is Young
commonly known by the name of the Dusky Grebe,
that is, in its first year.
Bill bluish-grey, towards the base flesh-red. Lore red.
Crown of the head, nape and back part of the neck, and
the whole of the upper plumage, greyish-black, with a
tinge of clove-brown, the dorsal feathers having paler
margins. Chin, cheeks, and throat, pure white. Fore
part and sides of the neck greyish. Sides and flanks
grey. The rest of the under plumage silky white.
Legs nearly the same as in the adult bird.
EARED GREBE.
PODICEPS AURITUS, Lath.
PLATE LXXIV. FIG. 3.
Podiceps auritus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 781. sp. 3 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 12, —
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 132. sp. 209.
Colymbus auritus, Linn. Syst. 1. 222. 7 — Gmel Syst. 1. 590 Briss. Orn.
6. 54. 6.
Le Petit Grebe hupp^, Buff. Ois. 8. 235.
Grebe Oreillard, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 725 — Lesson, Man. d'Ornith.
2. 356.
Gchorter oder Ohren Steissfuss, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 552 — Meyer,
Tasschenb. 2. 435.
Eared Dobchick, Edwards' Glean, pi. 96. f. 2.
Eared Grebe, Br. ZooL 2. 500. No. 227. pL 79. fig. 1 Arct. Zool. 2. 499.
B — Lath. Syn. 5. 285. 4 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 5. pL 107 — Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Sup. with fig Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 157.
400 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GREBE.
THIS species, so nearly resembling the preceding one in
its various states of plumage, is also in its adult and perfect
garb a rare British bird, the few that occasionally breed here
being confined to the fenny districts and to the grassy pools
of the eastern counties of England. In winter I have fre-
quently met with it in the young state on the Northumbrian
coast, where it is confounded with the young of the preced-
ing species, and both are indiscriminately called the Dusky
Grebe. In the disposition and colours of the plumage,
scarcely any difference exists between them, but the white
of the cheeks and throat of the present bird does not extend
quite so far backward towards the occiput, as in the other.
The form of the bill, however, is always a sufficient point of
distinction between the two, being depressed at the base,
and rather turning upwards in Podiceps auritus, whilst in
P. cornutus it is compressed and strait throughout its
length, both mandibles being equally and gradually inclined
towards the tip, and forming a cone. In the adult plumage
the disposition and colours of the auricular tufts and ruff,
render the difference between the two birds rather more
marked. In point of size it is also rather less than P. cor-
nutus, more particularly in individuals arrived at maturity.
Its habits, food, and nidification, are so similar to the prece-
ding species, as to render further description unnecessary.
It lays four or five eggs, of a tarnished or greenish-white,
and nearly equal in size to those of the Land Rail. The
Eared Grebe is a common species in the northern parts of
Europe, inhabiting the lakes, rivers, and pools, wherever
aquatic herbage is abundant.
PLATE 74. Fig. 3. Represents the adult bird, from a speci-
men in the Museum of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
General Bill black, about an inch in length, measured from the
forehead ; depressed at the base, and having the tip
slightly reflected. Lore blackish-red. Irides vermi-
lion-red. Crown of the head, and short ruff round the
GREBE. NATATORES. PODICEPS. 401
neck, shining black. From behind and below the eyes
on each side, is a tuft of long slender shining orange-
buff feathers which cover the ears, and nearly meet be-
hind. Throat, neck, sides of the breast and upper plu-
mage, deep shining greyish-black. Flanks and sides
reddish-brown, mixed with greyish-black. Secondaries
white. Under plumage white, with a silky lustre.
Tarsi clove-brown, on the inside paler.
The description of the young of the preceding species may
serve for that of the present one, the only points of dif-
ference having been noted in the above account of the
Eared Grebe.
LITTLE GREBE.
PODICEPS MINOR, Lath.
PLATE LXXV.
Podiceps minor, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 13. pi. 2.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 132.
sp 210.
Grebe castagneux, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 727-
Kleiner Steissfuss, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 565 — Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 436.
Little Grebe, Steph. Zool. 13. 13. pi. 2 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 132. No. 210.
Dabchick, Rennie'>s Mont. Ornith. Diet. 126.
Podiceps Hebridicus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 785. sp. 11. \
Colymbus Hebridicus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 594.
Black Chin Grebe, Br. Zool 2. 503. No. 227.— Lath. Syn. 5. 292 Levin's > Old.
Br. Birds, 5. pi. 201 — Mont. Om. Diet, and Sup.— Sowerbtfs Br. Mis. I
pi. 70 — BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1 826, 2. 164. )
Podiceps minor, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 784. sp. 9. — Rail Syn. 125. A. 3.
Colymbus minor, Gmel. Syst. 1. 591.
Colymbus fluviatilis, Briss. Orn. 6. 59. 9.
Le Grebe de Riviere, ou le Castagneux, Buff. Ois. 8. 224. t. 20 — Id. PL
Enl. 905.
Little Grebe, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 501. No. 226 — Lath. Syn. 5. 289 Le-
win's Br. Birds, 5. pi. 200. — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup. — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 163.
PROVINCIAL — Dabchick, Dobchick, Didapper, Dipper, Small Doucker,
Loon.
THIS well known little species, in many parts recognised
by the name of Dabchick.) is indigenous, and very generally
VOL. ii. c c
Young.
402 NATATORES. PODICEPS. GREBE.
met with throughout the kingdom, in all such places as suit
its particular economy. In the southern counties of Eng-
land, where ponds are often fringed with aquatic plants, and
the rivers and brooks run deep and slow, the Dabchick is
much more plentiful than in the northern districts, where
the streams being generally shallower, and the current ra-
pid, there is not a sufficient growth of aquatic herbage upon
their borders, to afford this and birds of a similar nature
concealment during the period of nidification. Like most of
its congeners, the present species, in its progress to maturity,
is subject to a considerable change in the colours of the plu-
mage, more particularly about the head and neck, and has,
in the different states, been described by authors as two dis-
tinct species, viz. as the Little Grebe and the Black-Chin
Grebe, the first denoting the young bird, the other after it
has acquired the characteristic markings of maturity. It
leads a truly aquatic life, being seldom seen on shore, where,
indeed, it is unable to make much progress, from the confor-
mation and position of its feet ; but this deficiency is com-
pensated by powers more adapted to its peculiar habits, those
of swimming and diving, which it possesses in as great per-
fection as any of its tribe. When disturbed, it immediately
dives, and remains for some time submerged ; and should the
cause of its apprehension still continue in sight, after a first
survey, it retires to the weeds, where it remains with the
body immersed, and with the bill and part of the head only
Food, above the water.— -Its food consists of aquatic insects, small
fish, grasses, See., and in its stomach, when opened, is gene-
rally found a small mass of its abdominal feathers. During
winter, when the ponds and brooks become frozen, Dabchicks
betake themselves to the mouths of rivers and small retired
bays, where they feed upon shrimps, fry of fish, and marine
insects. At this season I have several times caught them in
BucUe Bay on the coast of Northumberland, when they hap-
pened to be left in small pools after the recess of the tide.
Having first dived, they afterwards invariably endeavoured
GREBE. NATATORES. PODICEPS. 403
to conceal themselves among the fronds of the algae, rarely
attempting to escape by flight. They are, however, by no
means destitute of this power, but can skim near to the sur-
face of the water by a rapid action of the wings, and, as
MONTAGU observes, are frequently seen to do so during the
pairing season, when the males are in pursuit of the other
sex. This, like the others of its genus, breeds among the
reeds and coarse herbage of the waters it inhabits, and (ac-
cording to Dr RENNIE, who appears to have inspected many
of them) generally so fixes its nest to the surrounding tufts, Nest, &c.
or upon the vegetable debris of former years, as to render it
secure, and not liable to be moved or acted on by the water.
TEMMINCK, however, says, that it makes a floating nest ; his
words are — " Nid flottant dans les roseaux," and other au-
thors have asserted the same. Both modes, I believe, are
occasionally adopted, and are dependent upon the nature of
the site that the bird happens to select. It is formed of a
large mass of decayed roots, flags, and other herbage ; and
contains usually five or six eggs of a greenish- white, in size
nearly equalling those of the Spotted Crake (Crex Porzand),
but different in form, each end being similarly rounded.
These the female, when she quits her nest to obtain food,
covers over with loose materials, a habit possessed by many
other birds, and probably by all the species of the present
genus, apparently for the concealment and protection of the
eggs, and not for the purpose of retaining the warmth of in-
cubation, as suggested by Dr RENNIE, in his plan of study
appended to his edition of MONTAGU'S Ornithological Dic-
tionary.
PLATE 75. Fig. 1. Represents the Adult bird, or in the state
of the Black-Chin Grebe of PENNANT and other au-
thors.
Bill five-eighths of an inch in length from the forehead to General
the tip, black, with the basal part and the lore greyish-
white. Irides deep reddish-brown. Outside of the legs
c c 2
404 NATATORES. COLYMBUS.
greenish-black, inside livid, and tinged with flesh-red.
Asperities on the hinder edge of the tarsus prominent,
and sharp-pointed. Head, chin and throat, nape and
back part of the neck, glossy black, with a slight tinge
of green. Auriculars, sides of the neck, and middle of
the fore part of the neck, rich orange-brown. Breast,
sides and flanks, glossy blackish-grey, the latter having
the lower parts of the feathers and the down pale red-
dish-brown. The rest of the under plumage silky
white, intermixed with blackish-grey. Upper plumage
glossy black, tinged with oil-green. Secondary quills
having their bases, and the greater part of the webs,
white.
Fig. 2. Represents the immature bird, destitute of the
orange-brown upon the neck, and having the chin white.
The upper plumage is also lighter in colour, and the
belly and abdomen are pure white.
GENUS COLYMBUS, LATH. DIVER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL rather longer than the head, strong, strait, com-
pressed, and sharp pointed ; the upper mandible slightly ex-
ceeding the lower one in length. Tomia of both mandibles
bent inwards and sharp. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, ob-
long, pervious, half closed by a membrane.
Wings short, acuminate, having the first quill-feather the
longest. Tail short and rounded.
Legs abdominal, or placed at the further extremity of the
body, with the tibiae concealed within the integument. Tarsi
thin, very much compressed. Feet large, of four toes, three
before and one behind ; outer toe exceeding the middle one
NATA TORES. COLYMBUS. 405
in length. Front toes entirely webbed, hind toe furnished
with a lobe, and partly connected with the exterior membrane
of the inner toe. Nails flat and broad.
General contour broad and flat. Plumage thick, close, ad-
pressed, and glossy.
In their aquatic habits and mode of life, the Divers strongly
resemble the preceding genus, being the constant inhabitants
of the watery element, to which, indeed, we may consider
them as equally confined by the similar conformation and
position of their legs. They differ, however, from the Grebes
in having the toes connected throughout their length, as in
the Alcadce and Anatidce ; but their form and articulation
are like those of Grebes, and the tarsus is of the same com-
pressed shape. In this genus the hind toe, in addition to its
lobe, is connected towards its base with the membrane skirt-
ing the exterior edge of the inner toe, shewing in this re-
spect an apparent approach to the Pellcanidce. They pos-
sess a true tail> but it is very short, and concealed by the
upper coverts, which are as long as the rectrices. Their
wings are short and sharp pointed ; and though they rarely
fly, yet they can do so occasionally, both with swiftness and
for a considerable time. In swimming, their broad and
flattened body is immersed in the water, the head and neck
only appearing above the surface. They dive continually,
and with little apparent exertion ; their progress beneath is
very rapid, and they can stretch to a great distance without
rising to breathe. They live upon fish, aquatic insects, and
sometimes vegetables, but the first form the principal part of
their support. During their Polar migration they retire to
the fresh water lakes of the interior, where they breed close
to the brink of the water, upon islets, or other suitable sta-
tions; but on the approach of winter repair again to the
ocean. They lay but two eggs, and the young differ greatly
from the adults in plumage, not acquiring maturity until
after the third general moult. They are birds of a wild dis-
406
NATATORES. COLYMBUS.
DIVER
position, and their notes, or rather screams, are loud and
melancholy in tone. The species hitherto discovered are
three, all belonging to the Northern Hemisphere, and inha-
biting the arctic regions of both worlds. Their flesh is (as
might be expected) very fishy, as well as hard and coarse-
grained, and their skins thick and tough. With respect to
tracheal organization, neither the Divers nor the Grebes pos-
sess any peculiar enlargement or labyrinth.
NORTHERN DIVER.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, Linn.
Young.
Periodical
visitant.
PLATE LXXVI.
Colymbus glacialis, Linn. Syst. 1. 221. b.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 588.— Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 799. sp. 1 — Sabine, Frank. Jour. Ap. 703.— Shaw's Zool. 12.
233. pi. 61. young Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 132. sp. 211 — Faun. Amer.
Boreal. 2. 474. No. 232.
Mergus major naevius, Sriss. Orn. 6. 120. 6. t. 11. f. 2.
Colymbus maximus caudatus, Rail Syn 125. A. 4 — Will. 259.
L'Imbrim ou Grand Plongeon, Buff. Ois. 8. 258. t. 22. -Id. PL Enl. 952.
Plongeon Imbrim, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 910 — Lesson, Orn. Diet. 2.
359.
Eis Taucher, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 595.
Greatest Speckled Diver or Loon, Albinos Br. Birds, 3. pi. 93.
Northern Diver, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 523. No. 237- pL 84. f. 2.— Arct,
ZooL 2. 439.— Lath, 6. 337 Lewlrfs^r. Birds, 6. pi. 226 — Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Ap. to Sup.— Pult. Cat. Dorset, 17 — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed.
1826, p. t. 174— Wils. Amer. Orn. 9. 84 pi. 74. f. 3.— Low's Faun.
Oread. 108.
Loon, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 307.
Colymbus Immer, Linn. Syst. 1. 222. Q.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 588 — Lath.
Ind. Orn. 800. sp. 2.
Mergus major, Briss. 6. 105. 1. t. 10. f. 1.
Colymbus maximus Gesneri, Rail Syn. 126. 8 — Will. 260.
Le Grand Plongeon, Buff. Ois. 8. 251.
Imber Diver, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 524. No. 238. pi. 84. f.— Arct. Zool. 2.
440.— Lath. Syn. 6. 340 Lewiris Br. Birds. 6. pi. 227-— Mont. Orn.
Diet. 1. and Sup.
The Immer, Low's Faun. Oread. 110.
PROVINCIAL— Great Doucker, Herdsman of the Sea, Ember Goose,
Gunner, Loon, Naak.
UPON the Northumbrian and other northern coasts of
England, and in the friths and bays of Scotland, and its isles,
the Northern Diver, under its stages of immaturity, is a
DIVER. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 407
common winter visitant. The state in which it is most fre-
quently met with (speaking of the district in which I reside),
is as the bird of the year ; at this age answering to the Im-
ber Diver of our authors (Colymbus limner), and long sup-
posed to be a distinct species. The next in number are birds
of more than one year old, which have undergone, or are
then undergoing, a second general moult, at which time the
white spots upon the upper plumage begin to appear, and
the head and neck to grow darker. The adult bird (Colym-
bus glacialis of authors), is comparatively but rarely met
with, and out of more than twenty specimens which have at
different times come under my observation, not more than
two had attained maturity. Dr FLEMING also states, that in
Shetland, where the young are numerous, few old birds oc-
cur, but that in the Orkneys both old and young abound
during the winter. The Frith of Forth is also a favourite
resort, to which they are attracted by the shoals of herring
that reside there, and are even caught throughout the winter;
and in this gulf some of the finest specimens I have seen of
the adult bird have been obtained. It has not yet been as-
certained whether any remain to breed here, as its congener
the Red-throated species is known to do, the old birds all
apparently retiring on the approach of spring to higher lati-
tudes for this purpose. During summer they quit the ocean
and inhabit the fresh-water lakes of the countries to which
they migrate, and upon the shores of these lakes, and on the
islets by which they are often studded over, the Divers form
their nests and hatch their young. The nest is always close Nest, &c.
to the water's edge, so as to afford every facility to a bird
whose motions on land are necessarily very constrained. The
eggs, which never exceed two in number, are large, and of a
deep oil-green colour, with variously sized spots of purplish-
red. This species is widely distributed throughout the
arctic regions of Europe and Asia, and is equally common
in the corresponding latitudes of North America. Dr RICH-
ARDSON, in the Fauna America? Borealis, describes it as
408 NATATORES. COLYMBUS. DIVER,
abounding on all the interior lakes of the Fur Countries,
but not often seen either in the Arctic Seas or in Hudson's
Food. Bay. — Its principal food consists of fish, though it also de-
vours aquatic insects, and TEMMINCK adds marine vegetables;
but I never found any remains of the latter in the stomachs
of those I have dissected. When inhabiting the ocean, the
different species of herring (as I have before remarked), are
a favourite food ; other small fish, however, are not refused,
and MONTAGU mentions one that was gorged with the spotted
goby (Gobius minutus.) Its powers in swimming and div-
ing are very great, particularly the latter, which it is con-
stantly exercising, either in pursuit of prey or to escape ob-
servation ; and its progress in this manner, from my own
observations (corroborated by MONTAGUES statement respect-
ing the Red-throated Diver), may be calculated at more
than seven miles in the hour. It generally proceeds for a
hundred or a hundred and fifty yards at a time without ris-
ing for respiration, which is then almost instantaneously ac-
complished by the mere exposure of the head and bill. In
swimming, the body is not visible, being under water from
its weight and flatness, and this situation enables it to dive
with little apparent exertion, the depression of the head, and
a slight propulsive effort with the feet, being sufficient for
that purpose. The construction of the legs of this genus,
and that of Podiceps (as I have before observed), is such as
to disable them from walking ; the backward position and
confined action imposed by the close connexion of the tibia
and femur with the body, caused by the covering of the in-
teguments, and the attachment of a long process at the head
of the tibial joint, necessarily producing this effect. In ad-
dition to this, the femoral or thigh-bone is remarkably short,
and stands at a right angle with the body, thus giving an
outward direction to the feet, and only allowing a sub- rota-
tory motion to the tibia, a mode of structure that, however
beautifully adapted for the watery element, can be of little
use upon land. The only method of progression, therefore,
DIVER. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 409
which this bird possesses, when so situated, is that of shov-
ing itself forward by striking the ground with its feet whilst
the breast is resting upon it. This I have observed to be
done by several that have been brought to me alive; and
MONTAGU mentions the same in his account of an individual
that was kept alive by him for some time, and which, con-
trary to the generally received opinion respecting this bird,
soon grew very tame, and would come at the call for food.
The Northern Diver rarely flies, as it rises with difficulty
from the surface of the water, but when once upon wing, its
flight is swift, and, Dr RICHARDSON observes, frequently in
a circle round those who intrude upon its haunts. Its cries
are frequently loud and melancholy in tone, and have been
compared to the screams of a man in distress, but it also oc-
casionally utters a low hoarse croak. Its plumage is very
thick and close, with a tough skin, on which account it is
much used by the natives of the northern countries to form
comfortable articles of clothing. The flesh is hard, very
dark coloured, and of a rank fishy flavour.
PLATE 76. Represents an Adult bird from a beautiful spe-
cimen in the collection of Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart,
that was killed in the Firth of Forth.
Bill black, paler towards the tip, nearly three inches long, General
much compressed, tapering, the upper mandible gently 5?^np"
arched, the lower one channelled beneath, and deepest Adult,
in the middle, the angle sloping gradually upwards to
the point ; tomia of both mandibles inflected. Head
and neck black, glossed with purplish-green. Trans-
verse bar upon the throat, middle neck collar, and sides
of the upper part of breast, black, the feathers having
raised white margins, which give those parts a striated
appearance. The whole of the upper plumage glossy-
black, each feather having two pure white spots, one on
each side of the shaft near the tip, forming rows ; those
upon the scapulars and tertials large and quadrangular,
410
NATATORES. COLYMBUS.
DIVER.
Young.
First year.
Second
year.
Third
year.
but becoming small and nearly round upon the lower
part of the back and rump. Flanks and sides black,
spotted with white. The rest of the under plumage
white ; the long axillary feathers the same, with a black
stripe down their centres. Tail short and rounded,
black, consisting of twenty feathers. Legs greyish-
black, paler on the inside. Irides reddish-brown.
The young of the year (Colyrnbus Immer, Auctor.) differ
strongly from the adults, as follows : — Head, and back
part of the neck, deep-grey, tinged with clove-brown.
Fore part of the neck, and the under plumage, pure
white, except the flanks, which are clove-brown. Up-
per plumage deep clove-brown, the feathers being mar-
gined with ash-grey. Upper mandible of the bill deep-
grey, the under one much paler.
After the second general moult, a darkish band appears
on the middle of the neck, and the upper plumage be-
comes darker, losing the pale grey edges that distinguish
the young of the year, and a few white spots begin to
shew themselves. — The succeeding moult developes still
more the bar and neck collar ; and the head and neck
become darker, or of a blackish-green, speckled upon
the chin and throat with white. The upper plumage
also acquires its glossy black lustre, with the accompany-
ing quadrangular white spots. In the next change, or
when the bird has passed its third year, the plumage is
perfected.
DIVER. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 411
BLACK-THROATED DIVER.
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS, Linn.
PLATE LXXVII.
Colymbus arcticus, Linn. Syst. 1. 221. 4 Gmel. Syst. 1. 587 — Raii Syn.
125. 7 — Will. 259. t. 62 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 800. sp. 4 — Shaw's ZooL
12. 236.— Flem. Br. Anira. 1. 133. sp. 212.— Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 475.
No. 233.
Mergus guttere nigro, Briss. 6. 115. 4.
Le Lumme ou Petit Plongeon de k Mer du Nord, Buff. Ois. 8. 261.
Plongeon Lumme, ou a Gorge noir, Temm. Man. d'Omith. 2. 913. —
Lesson, Man. d'Orn. 2. 359.
Der Polar Taucher, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 600.
Black-throated Diver, Penn. Br. ZooL 527. No. 251. pi. 85 Arct. ZooL
2. 466 — Edward's Glean, t. 146 — Lath. Syn. 6. 343. 4 Lewin's Br.
Birds, 6. pi. 229. — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
p. t. 181 — Shaw's ZooL 12. 336., &c.
Lumme, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 310.
Lesser Imber, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 176, the young.
PROVINCIAL — Northern Doucker, Speckled Loon.
THE Black-throated Diver, in all its states of plumage, is Periodical
of much less frequent occurrence than either the preceding
or the following species, nor does it extend its migration so
far to the south as they occasionally do, the instances of its
capturejbeyond the Scottish boundary being extremely rare.
It would appear, however, that individuals sometimes remain
over the summer, and probably even breed, on the lakes of
the Western and Northern Highlands, as I have seen a pair
upon Loch Awe towards the end of June, but did not suc-
ceed in detecting their place of nidification. By some natu-
ralists the Black and Red-throated Divers have been consi-
dered as one species, the former being the male, and the
latter the female bird; and even Dr FLEMING, in his History
of British Animals, seems to entertain a doubt on the sub-
ject, stating, in favour of such an opinion, that he once saw
a bird of each species together (or at least what he imagined
at a distance to be such), with a young one. The Red-
throated bird it appears was secured, and proved to be a
412 NATATORES. COLYMBUS. DIVER.
female, but the supposed black one unfortunately escaped.
A minute examination, notwithstanding, of the old and young
of both species, can scarcely fail to convince any unpre-
judiced person of there being ground for a real specific dis-
tinction, as the difference in the form of their bills, their
relative size, and the disposition of their colours, are well
marked and sufficiently obvious. That both sexes of the
present species possess the black mark upon the throat, I
have had convincing proof, by the dissection of one of these
birds in the matured plumage, that was killed upon the
Tweed, and which was a female ; and I may also add, that
Red-throated Divers of both sexes are frequently taken.
Like the others, it is a native of the Arctic Regions of both
the new and ancient world, and during the summer is found
in very high latitudes ; Dr RICHARDSON says that it is com-
mon in Hudson's Bay, but is rarely seen upon the lakes in
the interior. Its equatorial or winter migration in Europe
extends as far as Switzerland, where it is sometimes seen upon
Nest, &c. the larger lakes. — It breeds upon the brink of the water, and,
like the Northern Diver, lays but two eggs, which are stated
to be of a yellowish-brown, or isabella colour, blotched with
black. It dives with the same ease, and as perseveringly as
the other species, and can remain long submerged, making
very great progress during its submarine flight, as was ex-
perienced by Sir WILLIAM JARDINE and myself, when in
chace of this bird in a light and handy boat upon Loch Awe.
Our utmost exertion could never bring us within range, and
we were often foiled by its returning on its former track, and
re-appearing in a direction contrary to that in which it seemed
to have dived. During this pursuit it was frequently lost
for several minutes together, and came up nearly a quarter
of a mile a-head, and its progress could not, I should think,
have been much under the rate of eight miles in the hour. —
Food. The Black- throated Diver lives upon fish, aquatic insects,
and such other food as it procures under water. Its skin is
highly prized by the Eskimaux and Indians for its warmth
DIVER. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 413
and beauty, and numbers of them are dressed and made into
garments. That the Lesser Imber of BEWTCK is the young
of the year of this species, I have no doubt, the original spe-
cimen from which his figure was taken having been sent to
me for inspection.
PLATE 77. Represents the Adult bird in about two-thirds
of the natural size, taken from a very perfect specimen
that was killed on the river Tay.
Bill brownish-black, strait, strong, and tapering, with the General
upper mandible arched. Irides reddish-brown. Head tion.nP
and neck deep smoke-grey, darkest upon the forehead Adult
and region of the eyes. Throat and fore part of the
neck black, glossed with rich auricula purple and green.
Below the throat a narrow transverse band of black and
white. From the ears, and on each side of the neck, ex-
tends a broad band, rayed longitudinally with black and
white, of the same raised appearance as in Cotymb.
glacialis. Upper plumage deep glossy black, the side
feathers of the mantle, and the greater part of the sca-
pulars, with large quadrangular white spots, forming
upon the latter about fifteen transverse bars. Wing-
coverts spotted with white. Sides and flanks black.
The rest of the under plumage pure white. Legs deep
clove-brown outwardly, paler within. Both sexes alike.
The young of the year, or BEWICK'S Lesser Imber, is Young
very similar to C. glacialis at the same age. — Head and
back part of the neck grey. Throat and under parts
white. Back deep grey, or clove-brown, margined with
ash-grey. At the next moult, the head and nape of the
neck become a purer grey, and some black feathers ap-
pear on the under part of the neck. The feathers of
the back also become darker, and a few black ones are
seen interspersed. The two succeeding moults gra-
dually develope the distinctive markings, and the plum-
age is perfected at the conclusion of the third year.
414 NATATORES. COLYMBUS. DIVER.
RED-THROATED DIVER.
COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS, Linn.
PLATE LXXVIII. AND LXXVIII «.
Colymbus septentrionalis, Linn. Syst. 1. 220. — Gmel Syst. 1. 586. sp. 3.
— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 801. sp. 5. — Sabine, Frank. Jour. Ap. 703 — Shaw's
Zool 12. 238 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 133. No. 213 — Faun. Amer.
Boreal. 2. 476. No. 234.
Mergus guttere rubro, Briss. Orn. 6. 111. 3. t. 1 1. f. 1.
Le 1'longeon a Gorge rouge, Buff. Ois. 8. 264 — Id. PL Enl. 308.
Plongeon Cat-Marin, ou a Gorge rouge, Temm. Man. d'Ornith, 2. 916.
—Lesson Man. d'Orn. 2. 359.
Petit Plongeon, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 509.
Rothkehliger Taucher, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 609 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
2. 453.— Red-throated Diver, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 526. No. 240. pi. 85 —
Arct. Zool. 2. 443. — Edwards' Glean, t. 97 Lath. Syn. 6. 344. 5. —
Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi, 230. — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup. — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 1 77— Shaw's Zool. 12. 238.— Low's Faun.
Oread. 112.
Cobble, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 94.
/'Colymbus borealis, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 801. sp. 6.
Young after! Colymbus striatus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 586 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 802. sp. 9.
moult. S Striped Diver, Arct. Zool. 2. 442 Lath. Syn. 6. 345. 6.
( First Speckled Diver, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 179.
Colymbus stellatus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 587 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 800. sp. 3.
Mergus minor, Briss. Orn. 6. 108. 2. t. 10. £ 2.
Le Plongeon Cat-Marin, Buff. Ois. 8. 256.
Le Petit Plongeon, Buff. Ois, 8. 254. t. 21.— Id. PI. Enl. 992.
Speckled Diver or Loon, Br. Zool. 2. 525. No. 239 — Arct. Zool. 2. 441.
—Lath. Syn. 6. 341 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 228 — Mont. Orn. Diet,
and Sup.
Second Speckled Diver, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 180.
Grey Speckled Diver, Low's Faun. Oread. 111.
PROVINCIAL — Sprat Loon, Cobble, Rain Goose, Little Naak.
Periodical THE apparent recurvation of the bill of this species, oc-
visitant. casiOned by the straitness of the upper mandible, and the
ascending angle of the lower one and its comparative slender-
ness and cylindrical shape, are characters of themselves suf-
ficient to distinguish it all times from the preceding one.
Others, however, of not less importance as regards specific dis-
tinction, are found in the colours and disposition of the
plumage, which, at all ages and seasons, is essentially diffe-
rent from that of the Black- throated Diver in its whole pro-
5
DIVER. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 415
gress from the nest to maturity ; and we may further add,
that the present species is always inferior in size. It is much
more numerously and generally dispersed throughout the
British Islands than either of its congeners, its winter mi-
grations extending to the southern districts of England. It
inhabits bays and inlets upon the coast, and the mouths of
large rivers, ascending these latter through the course of the
tide in pursuit of its prey, which consists of the fry and
smaller species of fish. In the Thames it is a great devourer
of the sprat, from its partiality to which, it has, amongst the
fishermen there, obtained the name of Sprat-loon. It is also
occasionally found more inland, residing upon our lakes and
rivers till driven by the severity of the season to the unfrozen
waters of the ocean. The greater part of those that visit us
are (as might be expected from the time required to attain
maturity), in their adolescent plumage, and of these the birds
of the year form the larger proportion. Adult specimens
are therefore comparatively rare, and might perhaps be es-
timated at not more than one in fifty. This species is widely
spread throughout the Arctic Regions of Europe, Asia, and
America ; and in the latter, according to Dr RICHAEDSON,
it is abundant upon the coasts of Hudson's Bay, and on the
lakes of the interior, its haunts reaching even to the extre-
mity of Melville peninsula. In Europe it retires during
summer (if we except the few that breed on the northern
Scottish lakes) to high latitudes ; but during its winter or
equatorial migration, is spread along the different continental
coasts, and through the various lakes and rivers as far to the
northward as Italy. In the Orkneys, as stated by Low, it
breeds annually in a lake amongst the hills of the Isle of Hoy,
and the nest is so situated that the bird can step from it with
ease into the water. It forms it of moss, and a few stems of
grass or aquatic plants mixed with a quantity of its own
down. The eggs are two in number, rather long, and equally
rounded at each end ; their colour is not mentioned by Low ;
but Dr RICHARDSON describes those from North America as
416 NATATORES. COLYMBUS. DIVER.
of a plain oil-green, to which TEMMINCK, in his account,
adds a few brown spots. It is, therefore, probable, that they
are subject to some variation, from an immaculate to a spot-
ted appearance. When fairly on wing, the Red-throated
Diver flies with great strength and swiftness, and often at a
considerable height ; but, except to descend from the lakes
to the sea, or to perform its migrations, it seldom thus exerts
its pinions, trusting, in avoidance of danger, more to its
powers in diving ; and this it performs with as much ease as
its congeners, remaining nearly as long submerged. MON-
TAGU, in the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary,
under the article Speckled Diver (the young of this species),
says that the distance between the place of immersion and
emersion, in a bird which he pursued upon a canal, averaged
from eighty to ninety yards ; and that the rate of progress
beneath the surface was between six and seven miles in the
hour, whilst by swimming it did not exceed four and a-half.
This species utters at times loud cries, and also hoarse croak-
ings, which, having been observed by the natives to precede
foul weather, have obtained for it the name of the Rain Goose
in the Orkneys, where all the larger sea-fowl receive the ap-
pellation of Goose, and the smaller ones that of Duck*.
General PLATE 78*. represents the Adult Bird, killed in the spring.
tion.nP Bill blackish-grey, two inches and two-eighths in length
Adult bird. from the forehead to the tip ; the upper mandible strait,
the lower one with a long ascending angle, giving to the
bill the appearance of being slightly recurved ; tomia
of both mandibles much inflected and very sharp. Sides
of the head, chin, and sides of the neck deep smoke-
grey. Crown of the head blackish-grey ; the feathers
being margined with smoke-grey. Nape and hind part
of the neck glossy blackish-grey, margined with white.
* Sir WILLIAM JARDINE had a specimen of the Roller sent to him from
Shetland, where it was killed, as a rare and curious Duck.
NATATORES. ALCAD^E. 417
Fore part of the neck having a large patch of deep
orange-brown. Lower part of the neck, and sides of
the breast, white, with the central parts of the feathers
blackish-grey.
Under plumage silvery white, except the flanks, which are
deep clove- brown. Upper plumage deep clove-brown,
with a slight glossy green reflection. Irides red. Out-
side of the legs greenish-grey ; inside livid, or purplish-
white, tinged with blue. Membrane of the toes the
same.
PLATE 78. represents a Young Bird, of the natural size. Young
Forehead, crown, nape, and back part of the neck deep
grey, finely streaked with greyish- white. Chin, throat,
and under plumage, white. Flanks with large arrow-
shaped dark grey spots. Upper plumage blackish-grey,
inclining to clove-brown ; the margins of the feathers
being deeply bordered near their tips with white and
smoke-grey. Quills deep clove-brown. Bill ash-grey,
tinged with flesh-red. Outsides of the legs dark green-
ish-grey ; inside surface and webs greenish- white. Irides
reddish-brown.
After the second moult, the grey upon the head, cheeks,
See. acquires the tint of the adult ; and a few red fea-
thers are often found mixed with the white upon the
fore part of the neck. The upper parts assume a deeper
tint ; the spots of white grow less, frequently changing
to a yellowish-white ; and as the bird advances to ma-
turity entirely disappear.
FAMILY III.— ALCAftffi.
APPROACHING closely in form, and possessing natatorial
powers fully equal to the Cohjmbidce, the present family,
voi i. D d
418 NATATORES. ALCADM.
comprising the Guillemots (Genus Uria), Auks (Genus AL
r«), Penguins (Genus Aptenodytes}, and other nearly allied
groups, forms a second typical division of the Order Nata-
torcs. The greater part of the Alcadce are distinguished by
having only three palmated toes, and where a fourth or hind
toe does exist, it is very small, and without a membrane ;
and also directed forwards, as in Pelecanidce, thus leading the
way to the connexion of the present with that aberrant fa-
mily. We also find in them the shortness of wing, and con-
sequent deficiency in power of flight (which seems in general
most prevalent as aquatic habits become most decided), car-
ried to the greatest extreme ; the wings of the Penguins, and
other nearly allied genera, being so short and imperfectly de-
veloped, as to be totally unfit for the purpose of flight, and
adapted to act merely as fins, in aiding their progress be-
neath the water. As in the Cotymbida, the legs of the birds
of this family are placed far backwards, but at scarcely so
great an angle with the body as in the former, in consequence
of which they are enabled to sit in an upright attitude, rest-
ing equally on the foot and the whole length of the tarsus.
They are all attached to the ocean, never resorting to fresh
water, like the Cotymbi. Many of the species that are able
to fly, nestle on rocks and precipices, where they lay a single
egg, of a conical form, a shape which prevents it from rolling
away or moving (except within a circle of the diameter of its
own length), on the bare rock where it is deposited. Some
burrow in the light sandy soils of the small islands they fre-
quent ; and the Penguins, and other species, that have not
the power of flight, incubate upon the shore immediately
above high-water mark. The bill has a variety of form in
the different genera, but commonly much compressed, and
often grooved on its sides ; exhibiting through all its modi-
fications a beautiful illustration of the progressive series of
affinities that unite the members with each other. The food
of this family consists of fish, crustaceae, and other marine
animal productions.
NATATORES. URIA. 419
GENUS URIA, BRISS. GUILLEMOT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL of mean length, strait, strong, compressed, pointed,
and cultrated. Upper mandible slightly arched towards the
tip. Tomia intracted. Angle of the lower mandible gently
ascending. Commissure nearly strait. Nostrils basal, late-
ral, concave, longitudinally cleft, and half covered by the
feathers of the antia, or projecting side angles of the cra-
nium.
Wings short, narrow, and acute. Tail of twelve or four-
teen feathers ; very short.
Legs situated at the back part of the abdomen ; the tibiae
concealed within the integuments. Tarsi short and com-
pressed. Feet of three toes, all directed forwards, and pal-
mated ; outer and middle toes of equal length, the inner one
much shorter. Claws falcate, and sharp-pointed ; the mid-
dle one the longest.
In the form of the bill, in the birds of this genus, we
trace a strong resemblance to that of the Divers, with which
they were systematically associated by the earlier writers.
They have, however, since been judiciously separated from
the Colymbid<E) not only on account of the different form of
the foot, but for the greater affinity they bear to the rest of
the Alcad(£, in many other essential particulars. They are
oceanic birds, and, unless from fortuitous circumstances, are
never seen upon fresh water. They swim well, and dive
with great ease ; are able to remain long beneath the surface,
and reach to a great distance. In this way, indeed, they ob-
tain their prey, which consists of fish and marine insects.
From the shortness of their wings, their flight is confined to
small distances, and near to the surface of the water ; it is,
420
NATATORES. URIA.
GUILLEMOT.
however, tolerably rapid, being sustained by quickly repeated
strokes of the pinions. They breed upon the ledges and pre-
cipitous summits of rocks overhanging the sea, laying one
large conical egg, broad at one end, and very narrow at the
other, it being prevented by this form from rolling off the
shelving place of its deposit. From the backward position
and confined movement of the legs, their progress on land is
very limited ; and they sit, in an upright position, upon the
foot and whole length of the tarsus. Their plumage is very
thick, close-set, and, in the living state, impervious to the ac-
tion of the water. They are subject to a double moult, and
their summer (or nuptial) dress differs in many respects from
that of the winter.
FOOLISH GUILLEMOT.
URIA TROILE, Lath.
PLATE LXXIX.
Young and
Old in winter
plumage.
Una Troile, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 796. sp. 1 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12.
244. pi, 62. f. 1 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 134. sp. 214. — Faun. Amer. Bo-
real. 2. 477. No. 235.
Colymbus Troile, Linn. Syst. 1. 220. 2.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 585.
Uria, Briss. 6. 70. 1. t. 6. f. 1.
Lomwia Hoieri, Raii Syn. 120. A. 4 Will. 244. 5.
Le Guillemot, Buff: Ois, 9. 350 Id. PL Enl. 903.
Guillemot a Capuchon, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 921. — Lesson, Man. d'Orn.
2. 361.
Grand Guillemot, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 509.
Foolish Guillemot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 519. No. 234 — Arct. Zool. 2.
436 — Albin's Birds, 1. pL 84 — Edwards' Glean. 359. f. 1 — Will.
(And.) 324 — Lath. Syn. 6. 329. 1 — Id. Sup. 265 — Lewin's Br. Birds,
6. pi. 220 Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup Bewick's Br. Birds, ed.
1826, 2. p. t. 168.— Shaw's Zool. 12. 246. pi. 63.
Uria minor, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 246. pL 63.
Colymbus minor, Gmel. Syst. 1. 585.
Der Dumme Lumme, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 574.
Troilumme, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 445.
Lesser Guillemot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 520. No. 235. pi. 83 — Arct-SZool
Sup. 69 — Lath. Syn. 6. 332. 2 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup
Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 168 — Shaw's Zool. 12, 246. pi. 63.
PROVINCIAL— Guillem, Sea-Hen, Scout, Willock, Skiddaw, Murre, Lary,
Strany, Tinkershire, Marrot, Scultock, Murse, Lungy.
GIILLEMOT. NATATORES. URIA. 421
THE above list of provincial appellations, bestowed upon Periodical
the Guillemot in different parts of Britain, is a sufficient visitant
proof of its general distribution and frequent occurrence.
It is in fact (at least during the summer or breeding season),
to be found throughout the whole extent of our coasts, con-
gregated in large bodies, wherever the shores offer a precipi-
tous rocky barrier, or islands occur, affording fit places for ,
its reproduction. Such are the ledges and clefts of rocks,
where these birds incubate close to each other ; making no
nest, but each depositing its large solitary egg upon the bare incubation,
and often sloping surface, along which it is secured from roll- &c*
ing by its conical shape, being very large at one end, and ta-
pering rapidly towards the other ; thus, when disturbed,
merely describing a circle within its own length. The egg
varies in colour and markings, but the prevailing tint is a
fine verdigris-green, blotched with brownish-black. White
varieties, without or with few spots, also frequently occur.
Incubation lasts for a month, and when the young are first
excluded, they are covered with a thick down, of a blackish-
grey colour above, and white beneath. This gradually gives
place to the regular plumage, and in the course of five or
six weeks from the time of hatching, they are capable of
taking to the water. During the time they remain upon the
rock, the parents supply them plentifully with the young of .
the herring, and herring-sprats, which form the principal
food of this and other species belonging to the Alcadee. Up- Food.
on the Northumbrian coast these Guillemots breed in great
numbers on the Fern Islands, a locality that has afforded me
ample opportunities of attending to their economy, and watch-
ing the changes they undergo. They have here selected the
summits of three fine isolated pillars, or masses of whinstane
(trap-rock), that rise upwards of thirty feet above the level
of the sea. Upon these the eggs are laid as close as possible,
merely allowing room for the birds to sit upon them, which
they do in an upright position. The appearance they make
when thus seated in a dense mass, is curious, and the interest
1
422 NATATORES. URIA. GUILLEMOT.
is increased by the number of Kittiwakes (Larus tridactylus),
which hover around, and which breed in the small side clefts,
or on the projecting angles of the rock ; and by the nests of
two or three Crested or Green Cormorants, which, from the
unusual confidence they display in continuing to sit upon
their eggs, even when overlooked from the opposite preci-
pice at only a few yards distance, seem to be well aware of
the security of the station they have chosen. The great
body of the breeding birds arrives towards the end of March
or the beginning of April, at which time most of them have
acquired the perfect nuptial plumage. I have, however, ob-
tained them much earlier, and when the white upon the
throat was only giving place to the pitch -coloured black that
distinguishes them till after the sexual intercourse. After
the period of reproduction they leave the rocks, and betake
themselves entirely to the ocean, when the old birds undergo
the moult that assimilates them to the young, or Lesser Guil-
lemot of authors. At this time they often lose so many of
their quill-feathers, as to be totally incapable of flight ; but
these are soon reproduced, and the colonies which had made
the English coasts their summer quarters, retire to more
southern latitudes to pass the winter months. Their place
in this country is but sparingly supplied by a few stragglers
from the great bodies that, being bred in still higher lati-
tudes, make the friths of Scotland and its isles the limit of
their equatorial migration. Much difference of opinion pre-
vailed amongst ornithologists a few years ago, as to whether
this bird in the summer plumage was not specifically distinct
from that state of it in which, together with the young, it
has been called the Lesser Guillemot. But the question seems
now to be satisfactorily determined by the investigations that
have been instituted, and the increased attention latterly be-
stowed upon the changes, that so many birds periodically
undergo, and which prove their identity beyond a doubt. It
may not, nevertheless, be amiss to glance at the reasons ad-
vanced by MONTAGU, in favour of this distinction, as how-
GUILLEMOT. NATATORES. URIA. 42*
ever plausible they may at first sight appear, and (as pro-
ceeding from a practical ornithologist and keen observer) en-
titled to attention, I cannot consider them to be of the
weight that many feel inclined to allow. In his observations
upon the Foolish Guillemot, in the Appendix to his Orni-
thological Dictionary, he considers the eld bird as never
changing its plumage, but always retaining the pitch-brown
head and neck ; an opinion that led him into his subsequent
error, and adopted from having once obtained specimens of
the Guillemot in this state of plumage, in the latter part of
January, upon the southern coast of England. That such a
specimen should have been met with at this season, is no
more than might naturally be expected, and what has also
occurred to myself ; as the assumption of the nuptial dress
must always be dependent upon the time at which the bird
had completed the duties of reproduction in the preceding
season, and undergone the moult that immediately follows.
This, from my own observations, frequently takes place as
early as the end of June, or the beginning of July, and in
such cases the other change will of course be comparatively
early. I am, therefore, inclined to think, that what MON-
TAGU has described as the young of the Foolish Guillemot,
was in fact an old bird, having acquired at an early period
the white throat or winter plumage; as I possess at present
a specimen (certainly an adult), that agrees with his in al-
most every respect, and the wings of which are nearly per-
fect, having only lost one or two of the quill-feathers. That
a great proportion of the birds met with in the state of the
supposed Lesser Guillemot, should be of inferior size, and
deficient as to the perfect development of the bill and its ter-
minal notches, is not extraordinary, and only in accordance
with our observations on other species ; but at the same time
many individuals are also found in this plumage, with all the
characteristics of the old Guillemot, both as to size, form,
and length of bill, &c., particularly amongst that body that
winters in the friths and sheltered bays of Scotland ; and I
have now in my collection specimens of the adult bird, in the
424 NATATORES. URIA. GUILLEMOT.
garb of MONTAGU'S lesser species, that were taken upon our
own coast. Another reason advanced by him for consider-
ing them distinct, is the abundance in which they are found
in the white-throated state upon the coast of Scotland, during
the winter, compared with their rarity upon the English
coast ; observing, at the same time, that the numerous colo-
nies which make the English shores their summer or polar
retreat, depart, after obeying the dictates of nature, to more
southern climates. Now, this in fact is only consistent with
the laws of migration, the birds that winter in Scotland
being the summer inhabitants of much higher latitudes, to
which they again retire upon the approach of spring, when
they are succeeded by those which had migrated farther to
the southward in the autumn of the preceding year. It may,
indeed, appear striking, that they should not extend their
migration in equal numbers along the English coast, but suf-
ficient inducement for limiting their flight, will, I think, be
found in a comparative view of the two countries. Scotland is
deeply indented by its friths, salt-water lochs and bays, all
of which abound with the herring species, the principal food
of the Guillemot, and to be met with even in the depth of
winter ; and these are the situations it inhabits. The Eng-
lish coast, on the contrary, possesses no such attractions
during winter for this piscivorous 'bird, as the herrings and
sprats, which through the spring and summer approached
the coast, then retire to the deeper parts of the ocean, where,
in all probability, they are almost beyond the reach of these
and other diving birds. Our English summer visitants re-
tire to the Mediterranean, to the coasts of Italy, Sicily, &c.
where they find an ample supply of even richer species of
their favourite fish, as the Anchovy and Sardine. It may
also be observed, that among the myriads that breed in the
northern isles of Scotland, and still higher latitudes, none
have been found during the period of incubation, or imme-
diately preceding it, in the plumage assigned to the Lesser
Guillemot ; but all are distinguished by the pitch-coloured
head and neck, the appropriate livery of the Foolish Guil-
GUILLEMOT. NATATORES. URIA. 425
lemot of our more southern coasts, and of which they dis-
play all the essential characters. MONTAGUES error, there-
fore, with respect to this bird, and also the Razor Bill, is to
be entirely attributed to his want of information regarding
the change that takes place in the adults immediately after
incubation. The Guillemot is of a squat and thick shape,
and of great weight, in proportion to its dimensions. It
swims with much buoyancy, and is an excellent diver, in
which occupation the greater part of its existence is passed.
It shews but little apprehension of danger, frequently admit-
ting the approach of a boat within oar's length, from whence
it has evidently obtained its trivial name. On account of the
shortness of its wings, it rises with difficulty from the surface
of the water, along which it skims for a short distance, but
at a rapid rate, in consequence of the quickly-repeated strokes
of its pinions. During the breeding season it is generally
compelled to make a circuitous flight before it can attain a
sufficient elevation to reach the ledge of the rock selected
for that purpose.
PLATE 79. represents the Adult Bird, in the summer or
breeding plumage.
Head, throat, and upper part of the neck, pitchy black ; General
the feathers being small and very close set. From the ^^"
posterior angle of the eye is a streak or line formed by Adult bird,
the division of the feathers. Dorsal plumage greyish-
black; in some tinged with brown. Tips of the se-
condaries, and the under plumage, white. Flanks streak-
ed with blackish-grey. Legs brownish-black. Bill
black ; in length from the forehead to its tip one inch
and three quarters. Inside of the mouth fine saffron-
yellow.
Throat, and sides of the neck, white ; with a dark streak Winter
behind the eye. Crown of the head, nape and back Pluma£e-
part of the neck, greyish-black. In other respects the
same as in summer.
Young.
426
NATATORES. URIA. BLACK GUILLEMOT.
The bill of the younger birds is shorter, and the notch at
the tip not so well defined. They are also generally
inferior in size.
Fig. 2. represents the young when about a week old.
BLACK GUILLEMOT.
URIA GRYLLE, Lath.
PLATE LXXX.
Young and
Old, in
Winter
plumage.
Uria Grylle, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 707- sp. 2.— Faun. Amer. Boreal 2. 478.
No. 237-
Colymbus Grylle, Linn. Syst. 1. 220. \.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 584.
Uria scapularis, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 250. pi. 64.
Cephus Grylle, Flem. Br. Anim. 134. No. 215.
Uria minor nigra, Columba Grcenlandica, Briss. Orn. 6. 76. 3 — Raii Syn.
121. 6 — Will 245.
Le Petit Guillemot noir, Buff. Ois. 9. 354-
Guillemot a miroir blanc, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 925. — Lesson, Man.
d'Orn. 2. 361.
Der Schwarze Lumme, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 586. — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut, 2. 446.
Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle, Alain's Birds, 2. t. 80 — Will. (AngL)
326. t. 98.
Black Guillemot,'P*nn. Br. Zool. 2. 521. No. 236 — Arct. Zool. 2. 437 —
Lath. Syn. 6. 332. 3 — Id. Sup. 2. 265 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 221 —
Mont. Oraith. Diet, and Sup.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. pt. 170.
—Steph. Shaw's Zool. 12. 250. pi. 64 — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 498.
No. 237 Low's Faun. Oread. 104.
Black Scraber, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 134. No. 215.
Guillemot, Rennie's Mont. Ornith. Diet. 233.
!Uria minor striata, Briss. 6. 78. 4.
Uria Balthica, et Grylloides, Brunn. Nos. 114. 115. et 116.
Uria lacteola, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 7«8. sp. 3.
Colymbus laeteolus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 583.
Spotted Greenland Dove, Edwards' Glean, pi. 50.
Spotted Guillemot, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. pi. 83. No. 236 — Lath. Syn. 6. 334.
Mont. Orn. Diet.— Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 172.
White Guillemot, Lath. Syn. 6. 335.
PROVINCIAL — Greenland Dove, Sea Turtle, Scraber, Toist, Taiste,
Puffinet.
FROM the short description given by CUVIER of his genus
) in the "Regne Animal," it is evident that the Rotche,
or Little Auk of some of our writers (Alcadlle9Lath(.)9 is there
considered to be its typical representative, and not the Black
BLACK GUILLEMOT. NATATORES. URIA. 427
Guillemot. And this appears still more evident from the
note at the bottom of the same page, in which (after advert-
ing to the figures of the Lesser and Spotted Guillemots in
the second volume of PENNANT'S British Zoology, Plate 88.)
he observes, " Ces sont des Guillemots proprement dits; au
contraire TAlca Alle, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. pi. 82. f. 1, et Al-
bin 1. pi. 85, oppartient aux Cephus? Dr FLEMING, how-
ever, has appropriated this generic term to the Black Guille-
mot, making the distinction between it and Uria to consist
in the want of a terminal notch in the upper mandible ; but
as this character does not appear to be constant, having seen
some specimens of the present bird with the notch, though
not so fully developed as in the Foolish Guillemot, I have
retained it in the situation where it was originally placed by
Dr LATHAM. In the northern parts of Scotland and its
Isles this is a numerous species, but becomes of rarer occur-
rence as we approach the English coast, where indeed it is
but occasionally met with ; and although MONTAGU has men-
tioned it as resorting to the Farn Islands, and Mr STEPHENS
has repeated the same, I can safely assert that this has not
been the case for the last twenty -five or thirty years, having
been in the habit of visiting this group of islands almost an-
nually during that period ; and, had it been a visitant, I feel
confident it could not have escaped my observation, or that
of the keepers of the light-house who reside there. It cer-
tainly breeds, though in a very small proportion, upon the
Isle of May, at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, but is not
found in large congregated numbers till we reach the vicinity
of the Orkney and Shetland Isles. In these parts it is resi-
dent throughout the year, never migrating to the same ex-
tent as the preceding species and the Razor-bill Auk. Its
habits are very similar to those of its congeners, and it is
rarely seen upon land, except for the purposes of incubation.
It breeds in the crevices or on the ledges of rocks, from Incuba-
whence it can readily drop into the water or get upon wing,
and lays a single egg, of a greyish white, speckled with
2
426
NATATORES. URIA. BLACK GUILLEMOT.
General
descrip-
tion.
Summer
Plumage.
Winter
Plumage,
black and ash-grey. Its food consists of fish, crustacese, &c.
but authors have not mentioned any particular kind that it
prefers. The Black Guillemot is widely distributed in the
Arctic Circle, and is met with in very high latitudes, inha-
biting all the icy regions of Europe and North America.
In the latter Continent, Dr RICHARDSON says, " it abounds
in the Arctic seas and straits from Melville Island down to
Hudson's Bay, and remains, though in diminished numbers,
during winter in the pools of open water, which occur even
in high latitudes among the floes of ice." I may here re-
mark, that Dr RENNIE has inadvertently quoted the Uria
minor of STEPHENS for this species, but which synonyme
the General Zoology refers to the young and winter plumage
of the Foolish Guillemot. In that work the Black Guillemot
is described by the name of Uria scapularis.
PLATE 80. Fig. 1. represents this bird of the natural size,
and in the summer plumage.
Head, neck, dorsal and under plumage, of a sooty or
brownish- black ; the mantle and lower part of the back
having a greenish gloss. Lesser wing-coverts next to
the ridge of the wings, and the quill-feathers, velvet-
black. Middle and greater coverts pure white. Bill
black ; one inch and a quarter long from the forehead
to the tip. Inside of the gape vermilion-red. Legs and
toes scarlet-red.
Fig. 2. is a bird of the former season, just commencing
the vernal moult, from a specimen killed on the Nor-
thumbrian coast, towards the close of winter.
Crown of the head and nape of the neck black, the fea-
thers being bordered with white. Neck, chin, and un-
der plumage, white ; intermixed with black, thus indi-
cating the change that has commenced. Back and sca-
pulars black, with the tips of the feathers white. Lower
part of the rump white. Speculum, or white space up-
NATATORES. MERGULUS. 429
on the wing, spotted with brownish-black. Bill black.
Legs and toes red.
In winter, the old birds have the cheeks, throat, and all
the under plumage, pure white. The crown of the head
and the dorsal plumage black.
GENUS MERGULUS, RAY $• VIEILL. ROTCHE.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head, thick, broader than high
at the base; culmen arched; upper mandible indistinctly
grooved; under one with the symphasis very short and
oblique ; tips of both mandibles notched. Commissure arched.
Nostrils lateral, round, situated at the base of the bill, and
partly covered by the small feathers of the antise.
Wings and tail short.
Legs abdominal, short ; feet of three toes, all directed for-
wards, and united by a membrane.
tn consequence of the distinct character exhibited in the
form of the bill of the only known species of this genus
(intermediate between the genera Guillemot and Auk, and
with both of which it has been at different times classed, ac-
cording to the views taken of its prevailing affinities by dif-
ferent systematists), it has latterly been established by VIEIL-
LOT as a type, and he has given to the genus the title of
Mergulus, the name it before had from our countryman
RAY, and which has also been adopted by Dr FLEMING, Mr
STEPHENS, and others. It is a bird of the ocean, and a na-
tive of the Arctic Regions ; and its habits in many respects
resemble those of the Guillemots, Auks, and Starikis.
430 NATATORES. MERGULUS. ROTCHIS,
COMMON ROTCHE.
MERGULUS MELANOLEUCOS, Ray.
PLATE LXXXI.
Mergulus melanoleucos, Ran Syn. 125. A — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 34.
pi. 3 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 135. No. 2 16.
Alca Alle, Linn. Syst. 1. 211. 5 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 554.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2.
795. sp. 10.
Uria minor, Briss. Orn. 6. 73. 2.
Uria Alle, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 928.— Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 497.
No. 238.
Le Petit Guillemot femelle, Buff. PI. Enl. 917, but not his description.
Guillemot nain, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 928. — Lesson, Man. d'Orn. 2. 360.
Der Kleine Alk, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 732 Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 44:i
Small Black and White Diver, Will (Angl.)343.— Edwards' Glean, t. 91.
Little Auk, Br. Zool. 2- 517. No. 233 — Arct. Zool. 2. 429 Lath. Syn. 5.
327. 11. — L«ein'*Br. Birds, 6. 223 — JV/onJ. Orn. Diet. & Sup Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826. pt. 408 — Wils. Amer. Orn. 9. 94. pi. 74. f.5 Low's
Faun. Oread. 103.
Little Guillemot, Faun. Amer. Boreal. 4. 479 No. 238.
Common Sea Dove, Shaw's Zool. 13. 34 pi. 3.
Common Eotehe, Flem. Br. Anhn. 1. 135. No. 216.
IN the various accounts of voyages in the northern seas,
this bird is mentioned as of very frequent occurrence, under
the name of the Rotche ; which appellative I have therefore
adopted, in imitation of Dr FLEMING, as the one by which
it is most generally known. It extends to very high lati-
Periodical tudes, and abounds during summer in all the open spots of
visitant. waf-er amongst the floes and ice-fields of those desolate re-
gions; where, however, it meets with a never- failing supply
Food. of the crustaceous and other small marine animals on which
it subsists. Around the coasts of Greenland and Spitzber-
gen it is very numerous during the breeding season, deposit-
Incuba- ing its solitary egg, of a pale bluish-green colour, upon the
tion, &c. jec|ges of precipitous rocks, from whence it can easily either
throw itself into the water, or take wing. It is also to be
found very plentifully during the summer in the arctic seas
of the American Continent, but migrates in winter to the
ROTCHE. NATATORES. MERGULUS. 431
coasts of the United States. With us it is only recognised
as a winter visitant, although a few may probably breed
upon the extreme rocky islands of the north of Scotland.
Its occurrence in England is rare, and the greater number
of specimens hitherto obtained have been found after severe
storms, in a dead or dying state. It scarcely ever quits the
ocean, except for the purpose of reproduction; swimming
and diving there with as much facility as the rest of the Al-
cadte. Its flight is rapid, but at a low elevation ; its wings
being small and narrow in proportion to the weight of the
body. In its affinities it stands nearly intermediate between
the Auks and the Guillemots; the bill being much shorter,
stronger, and more convex than that of the latter, and not
having the compressed shape, and distinct transverse lateral
furrows which particularize that of the Auks. Like the last
mentioned genera, it is subject to a double moult, and that
indicative of the breeding season is analogous to the change
ascertained to take place in the Foolish Guillemot and the
Razor-Bill.
PLATE 81. Fig. 1. represents this bird of the natural size,
in the summer plumage.
Crown of the head, nape of the neck, dorsal plumage, General
wings and tail, glossy velvet-black. Sides of the head, tion>
throat, neck, and upper part of the breast, pitch-black. Summer
Side-edges of the long scapulars and tips of the second-
aries white. Under plumage white. The flanks having
the inner webs of the feathers black. Legs and toes
blackish-brown, with a tinge of red. Bill black ; from
the forehead to the tip five-eighths of an inch long, thick,,
and convex ; with both the mandibles notched, and with
two faint transverse furrows upon the upper one.
Fig. 2. The bird in winter plumage ; which is common to Winter
both old and young, and differs from that of the summer
in having the throat, the fore part and sides of the neck,
432 NATATORES. ALCA.
white, mixed more or less with black. In other respects
there is little or no difference.
GENUS ALCA, LINN. AUK.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head, nearly as deep as long, much
compressed, cultrated; with both mandibles laterally sul-
cated; tip of the mandible strongly arched, and hooked;
that of the under one obliquely truncated ; angle deep, and
ascending. Nostrils near the lower edge, and immediately
behind the horny part of the bill ; nearly hidden by the fea-
thers of the antia, or projecting side-angles of the forehead.
Head narrow, and attenuated in front ; with the antiae reach-
ing as far as the nostrils.
Wings short and narrow ; and in one species unequal to
the purpose of flight. Tail short ; of twelve or sixteen fea-
thers.
Legs short, situated at the posterior part of the body, and
having the tibiae hidden within the integuments of the abdo-
men. Feet with three toes, all directed forwards, and web-
bed ; outer toe longer than the inner, and nearly equal to the
middle one. Claws hooked, and sharp ; the middle one the
largest and longest. Front of the tarsus and the toes scutel-
lated.
In this genus the bill becomes strongly compressed and
hooked, losing that character of breadth at the base pos-
sessed by Mergulus, and by TEMM INCH'S genus Phaleris.
The lateral furrows of the bill are also more distinct, in
which respect these birds approach to the succeeding genus
Prater cula (Puffin). Their wings are very short and nar-
row ; in one species, indeed, the Great Auk (Alca impennis)^
they are so imperfectly developed as to be totally unfit for
GREAT AUK. NATATORES. ALCA. 433
flight, — a character which indicates a close connexion with
the true Penguins. They are strictly oceanic birds, and
never leave the water, but for reproduction ; and in powers
of swimming and diving they are not inferior to any of the
present family. They are (like the Guillemots) subject to a
double moult, and the change is perfectly of a similar cha-
racter to that which takes place in the last described bird.
GREAT AUK.
ALCA IMPENNIS, Linn.
PLATE LXXXII.
Alca impennis, Linn. Syst. 1. 210. 3 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 550 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 791. sp. 1 — Shaw's ZooL 13. 51. pL 6 — Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 129.
No. 203.
Alca major, Briss. Orn. 6. 85. pi. 7-
Penguin, Raii Syn. 118— Will. 242. t. 65.
Le Grand Pingouin, Buff. Ois. 9. 393. t. 29 — Id. PL EnL 367-
Pingouin Brachiptere, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 939.
Great Auk, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 507- No. 229. pi. 81 — Arct. Zool. 2. 424.
Lath. Syn. 5. 311. 1 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 222 — Mont. Orn. Diet.
—Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. pt. 397 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 51. pi. 6
Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 127. No. 203.
THE visits of this curious species to the northern islands Very rare
of Scotland appear to be very rare, many years frequently V1
elapsing without a single individual being seen. Since the
account given by Dr FLEMING of a bird taken alive at
St Kilda, in 1822, and the one chased by Mr BULLOCK, du-
ring his tour to the northern isles, I am not aware of its
having been met with, although many excursions connected
with ornithological pursuits have been at different times
made into those remote districts of the kingdom. It is found
throughout the Arctic Seas in very high latitudes, although
not in any considerable numbers, or congregated like the
Razor-bill, Guillemot, and some others. It is frequent about
the coasts of Norway and Iceland, and still more so around
the icy shores of Greenland and Spitzbergen; where it breeds
VOL. n. E e
434 NATATORES. ALCA. GREAT AUK.
upon the rocks above the reach of the highest tides, or of-
Incuba- tener in deep clefts, as more secure from observation. Its
tion, &c. egg |g descrikecl as being equal in size to that of the Swan,
and of a yellowish- white, blotched and lined with brownish-
black. The wings of this species (though possessing the
usual number of quill-feathers, and being in other respects
of perfect formation) are so short as to leave it totally in-
capable of flight : this inability seems, however, to be amply
compensated by their power, as fins, to aid its progress be-
neath the surface, which, according to Mr BULLOCK, who
ineffectually chased one of these birds in a six-oared boat, is
of almost incredible swiftness. PENNANT remarks, that the
Great Auk has been observed by seamen seldom to wander
beyond soundings, and they are in the habit of taking their
measures accordingly, conjecturing from its presence that
land is not far distant. We might thus account for its occa-
sional appearance only on the north of Scotland, as any mi-
gration from its nearest known haunt must necessarily be
effected by swimming, and part of the channel between these
points may be of a depth beyond what it likes to pass over.
It undergoes a double moult, similar to that of theRazor-bill ;
and this interesting change was witnessed by Dr FLEMING
in the individual before mentioned, which in the course of a
few days lost the brownish-black that clothed the throat and
sides of the neck when first caught, and acquired a set of
white feathers in their place. Its powers .of swimming and
diving have been shewn to be very great, and Dr FLEMING
further relates, that his bird, even with a long and heavy
cord attached to its leg, swam under water with extraordinary
Food, speed. — It feeds principally on fish (though other writers add
marine vegetables as forming part of its diet), and is said to
be particularly fond of the Lump-fish (Cyclopterus lumpus),
which is found in the vicinity of rocky coasts and islands
throughout the southern seas.
PLATE 82. represents this bird, of a reduced size, and in the
RAZOR-BILL AUK. NATATORES. ALCA. 435
summer plumage, from a specimen in the British Mu-
seum.
Length about three feet. Bill black ; four inches and a General
quarter long; the mandibles having transverse oblique ^np~
furrows. In front and around the eyes is a large patch Summer
of white. The rest of the head, the neck, and upper PlumaSe-
plumage, deep pitch-black. Tips of the secondaries
white. Greater quills black ; the longest not exceeding
four inches. Under plumage white. Legs having the
tarsi very short ; and the feet blackish-brown.
In autumn, the cheeks, throat, fore part and sides of the winter
neck, become white ; and this plumage is retained till Plumage-
the advance of the following spring.
RAZOR-BILL AUK.
ALCA TORDA, Linn.
PLATE LXXXIII.
AlcaTorda,Lmn. 1. 210. l.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 551 — Briss.Orn. 6. 892. t. 8.f. 1.
—Lath Ind. Orn. 2. 793. sp. 5 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 130. No. 202.
Utamania Torda, Leach in Cat. Br. Mus. 42.— Steph. Shaw's ZooL 13. 27.
Alca Hoieri, Raii Syn. 119. A. 3 — Will. 243. t. 64. 65.
Le Pingouin macroptere, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 936 — Lesson's Man. d'Orn.
2. 365.
Tord Alk, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 111.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 34-9.
Razor-bill Auk, or Murre, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 509. No. 230. pi. 82 Ed-
ward, Glean, pi. 358. f. 2—Lath. Syn. 5. 319 — Id. Sup. 264 Levin's
Br. Birds, 6. pi. 224 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds,
ed. 1826, 2. pt. 399 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 130. No. 204.
Common Razor-bill, Shaw's Zool. 13. 27.
Alca Picu, Linn. Syst. 1. 210. 2 — Gmel Syst. 1. 551.
Utamania Pica, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 30 — Leach, Cat. Br. Mus. 42.
Alca minor, Briss 6. 923, t. 8. f. 2.
Mergus Bellonii, Utamania, Raii Syn. 119. 2 Will. 243. t. 64.
Le 1'etit Pingouin, Buff. Ois. 9. 396.
Black-billed Auk, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 511. No. 231.— Arct. Zool. 2. 426
Lath. Syn. 5. 320. 6 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup Bewick's Br. Birds,
ed. 1826, 2. pt. 402.
White-throated Razor-bill, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 30.
PROVINCIAL — Auk, Murre, Marrot, GurfeL
IN this species the wings are sufficiently developed for the
purpose of flight, being nearly of the same proportionate
E e 2
Young and
Old in
Winter
plumage.
436 NATATORES. ALCA. RAZOR-BILL AUK.
Periodical length as those of the Guillemot, and reaching, when closed,
as far as the rump. Like that bird, its flight is rapid, and
sustained by very quickly repeated strokes of the pinions,
but (unless when making an effort to reach the ledge of rock
on which it breeds) always at a low elevation, just clearing
even the surface of the water. It is common upon the Eng-
lish coast during the summer in its black-headed or nuptial
dress, congregating in the same localities, and frequently
breeding in company with the Guillemot, which it resembles
in general appearance, and also in the change of plumage it
undergoes. By many writers, the young as well as the old
birds, in the winter clothing, have been described as a dis-
tinct species, under the title of Alca Pica; and as MONTAGU
decidedly favours this opinion in his Ornithological Diction-
ary, doubts are still entertained on the subject, although the
subsequent investigations of TEMMINCK, FLEMING, and
other distinguished practical ornithologists, have decidedly
proved the fallacy of the opinion. The same suppositions
that led MONTAGU astray with regard to the Guillemot, ap-
pear to have operated in the case of the Razor-bill, viz. that
the old birds of both species always retained the black head
and neck, and that the English and the southern part of the
Scottish coast were the limit of the polar migration of these
distinct species; for it is upon these assumptions that his
arguments in favour of the separation of each species into
two are founded. In the article " Auk, razor-billed," in the
Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, he also seems
to have repeated the mistake that I have previously adverted
to under the Guillemot, viz. of describing as a young bird
what appears to have been in reality an adult in a state of
moult; his description exactly agreeing with specimens I
have seen in that state ; and at which period they are some-
times unable to fly, from casting their quill-feathers. But it
generally happens that, before this change takes place, they
have left our shores for more open parts of the ocean, or
gone to more southern districts. In winter their place is
RAZOR-BILL AUK. NATATORES. ALCA. 437
supplied in Scotland, and sparingly also along the English
coast, from the colonies that breed in higher latitudes ; and
which birds, during the months of November, December,
and January, are met with in the plumage of the supposed
Alca Pica. Upon the approach of spring these return to the
north, where they renew the black upon the head and neck,
in which state all the breeding birds are found, and are then
perfectly similar to those which, also returning from the
south, make our shores their summer quarters. In disposi-
tion they are rather more wary than the Guillemots, and do
not always admit of so near an approach. They dive and
swim equally well with the latter, and their food is of the
same nature, consisting principally of sprats, and other spe-
cies of the genus Clupea. A few breed every year on the
Fern Islands in company with the Guillemots, and, as the Food,
egg is very similar in size, shape and colour, it is not easily Incuba-
to be distinguished. The bill of the young bird when it lon'
first quits the rock is narrow, and shews scarcely any ap-
pearance of the transverse furrows which are so strongly
marked in the old one. The white streaks that pass from
the base of the bill to each eye are also faintly indicated,
and do not acquire their purity of colour and well-defined
form until after it has attained the spring or black-head
plumage.
PLATE 83. Fig. 1. Represents the bird of the natural size,
and in the black-headed plumage.
Bill very hooked at the tip ; the sides transversely furrow-
ed ; the middle furrow white. Streaks from the base
of the upper mandible to the eyes pure white. Head, General
and upper part of the neck, brownish-black, becoming tion>
browner in tint as the summer advances. Upper plu- Summer
mage black. The secondary quills tipped with white, Plumage-
and forming a bar across the wings. Under plumage
pure white. Tail black, wedge-shaped and pointed.
Legs and toes black.
438 XATATORKS. FRATERCULA.
Fig. 2. In the winter plumage.
Winter The space between the bill and eyes, crown of the head,
plumage. an(j nape of ^ nec]^ brownish-black, with a slight ci-
nereous tinge. The white streak on each side from bill
to eye, not so distinct as in the summer plumage, and
in young birds scarcely visible. Ear- coverts, cheeks,
sides of the neck and under plumage, white. Upper
plumage black. Wings as in the summer.
Young. In the young of the year the bill is black, and the fur-
rows very slight, acquiring their marked character on-
ly as the bird gains age.
GENUS FRATERCULA, BRISS. PUFFIN.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head, arched, deeper than long, the
base of it occupying the whole length of the face, very much
compressed, having both mandibles transversely furrowed,
and with their tips notched. Lower mandible entire, with-
out Gnathidia; the keel projecting beyond the line of the
chin ; angle ascending. Corners of the mouth having a star-
shaped dilatable skin. Margin of the base of the upper
mandible thickened or swollen. Nostrils basal, placed close
to the lower edge of the upper mandible in the form of a
narrow slit.
Wings short, narrow, and acuminate. Tail very short,
consisting of sixteen feathers.
Legs abdominal, short ; the tarsi only free. Feet of three
toes, palmated ; outer toe nearly as long as the middle, and
longer than the inner one. Claws hooked ; that of the inner
toe the most so, and very sharp ; middle claw the longest.
In this genus the depth and lateral compression of the bill
is carried to a still greater extent than in the genus Alca,
with which its members were associated by many of the ear-
lier systematists. Its construction is very different, the lower
PHFJN. NATATO11ES. FRATERCULA. 4:39
mandible being without Gnathidia, and formed, as it were,
of a single plate doubled together, the ridge or culmen, in
the adults, presenting no appearance of suture. The base
of the upper mandible is also on the same line with the fore-
head, the latter having no antiae ; and the nostrils are situat-
ed on the lower part of the smooth space of the beak, imme-
diately in front of the basilar ridge. These birds are inha-
bitants of the arctic circle, penetrating to rather high lati-
tudes ; and in their habits and mode of life, bearing a strong
resemblance to the preceding genera. They breed in bur-
rows, or under hollow stones, and lay one egg. Nearly al-
lied to this genus, and intermediate between it and the Auks,
is the genus Phalaris of TEMMINCK. containing several spe-
cies which were also formerly included in the Linnean genus
Alca.
COMMON PUFFIN.
FRATERCULA ARCTIC 'A, Steph.
PLATE LXXXIIL*
Fratercula arctica, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 37- pL 4. fig. 1 — Flem. Br.
Anim. 1. 130. No. 205.
Alca arctica, Linn. Syst. 1. 211 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 549 — Lath. Ind. Ornith.
2. 792. sp. 3.
Alca labradora, Gmel. Syst. 1. 550 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 793. sp. 4.
Mormon Fratercula, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 933.
Fratercula, Briss. 6. 81. t. 6. f. 2.
Le Macareux, Buff. Ois. 9. 358. 26.
Macareux moine, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 933. — Lesson, Man. d'Ornith.
2. 364.
Der arktische Alk, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 723.
Graukehliger Alk, Meyer, Tasschenb. 2. 442.
Labrador Auk, Lath. Syn. 5. 318 — Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 428.
Puffin, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. 512. No. 232.— Arct. Zool. 2. 427.— Albinos
Birds, 2. pL 78. 79 — Edwards' Glean, pi. 358. f. 1 — Lath. Syn. 5. 314.
— Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 225.— Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 404 — Pult. Cat. Dorset. 17-— Low's Faun.
Oread. 101.
Common Coulter-neb, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 130. No. 205.—Jtennie''s Mont.
Orn. Diet. 103.
Arctic Puffin, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 39.
PROVINCIAL — Pope, Mullet, Coulterneb, Gulder-head, Bottle-nose,
Marrot, Sea Parrot, Tammie None, Tommy-nody, Tommey,
Bass Cock, Ailsa Cock, Cockandy.
440 NATATORE& FRATERCULA, PUFFIN.
Periodical ALTHOUGH the Puffin is found in very high latitudes, and
visitant. jts distribution through the arctic circle is extensive, it is on-
ly known to us as a summer visitant, and that from the
south, making its first appearance, in the vicinity of its
breeding stations, about the middle of April, and regularly
departing between the 10th and 20th of August for the
southern coasts of France, Spain, and other parts of Europe,
where it passes the remainder of the year. It breeds in great
numbers upon Priestholm Island, off the coast of Anglesea,
on the Isle of Man, and most of the islands, indeed, of the
English and Scottish coasts. Many resort to the Fern Is-
lands, selecting such as are covered with a stratum of vege-
table mould ; and here they dig their own burrows, from
there not being any rabbits to dispossess upon the particular
islets they frequent. They commence this operation about
the first week in May, and the hole is generally excavated to
the depth of three feet, often in a curving direction, and oc-
casionally with two entrances. When engaged in digging,
which is principally performed by the males, they are some-
times so intent upon their work, as to admit of being taken
by hand, and the same may also be done during incubation.
At this period I have frequently obtained specimens, by
thrusting my arm into the burrow, though at the risk of re-
ceiving a severe bite from the powerful and sharp-edged bill
Tncuba- of the old bird. At the farther end of this hole the single
tion, &c. egg js deposited, which in size nearly equals that of a Pullet,
and, as PENNANT observes, varying in form ; in some in-
stances one end being acute, and in others both equally ob-
tuse. Its colour, when first laid, is white (MONTAGU adds,
sometimes spotted with pale cinereous, though I do not re-
collect having met with such), but it soon becomes soiled and
dirty from its immediate contact with the earth, no materials
being collected for a nest at the end of the burrow. The
young are hatched after a month^s incubation, and are then
covered with a long blackish down above, which gradually
gives place to the feathered plumage, so that, at the end of
PUFFIN. NATATORES. FRATERCULA. 441
a month or five weeks, they are able to quit the burrow, and
follow their parents to the open sea. Soon after this time,
or about the second week in August, the whole leave our
coasts, commencing their equatorial migration. At an early
age, the bill of this bird is small and narrow, scarcely ex-
ceeding that of the young Razor-bill at the same period of
life ; and not till after the second year does this member ac-
quire its full development, both as to depth, colour, and its
transverse furrows. In SHAW'S General Zoology, Mr STE-
PHENS has given a figure, entitled the Northern Puffin, from
a specimen ticketed Fratercula gladalis by Dr LEACH, in
the collection of the British Museum, that was obtained du-
ring Captain Ross's expedition to the northern regions, and
which TEMMINCK also seems to think may be a distinct spe-
cies. Now, as the difference between this and our own is
stated to be in the superior size of the bill (the plumage be-
ing precisely similar), I feel some hesitation in allowing it
this rank, as I have found the bills of different individuals
on our coasts to vary much in depth and curvature, which
circumstance may be observed in the present plate, contain-
ing the figures of two birds killed off the Fern Islands ; in
the one, which was taken in its burrow, the bill measures one
inch and a-half in depth, in the other scarcely one inch. In
length they are nearly equal, by which the mandibles of the
larger-billed bird are made to appear much more convex
than the other ; and in the former, the keel of the lower
mandible is also very strong and arched ; in fact, this speci-
men seems to possess the precise characters and relative pro-
portion of bill of the Northern Puffin, figured by Mr STE-
PHENS. I may here add, that I have often obtained speci-
mens with the bill of an intermediate size, which leads me to
conclude, that this member does not obtain its full strength
and dimensions till after the second or third year. On the
water the Puffin is a more wary bird than the Guillemot, ge-
nerally taking wing or diving before a boat can approach
within range of gun-shot. It flies rapidly, but not to any
442
NATATORES. FRATERCULA. PIFFIX.
Food.
General
descrip-
tion.
Male Bird.
great distance at once, being obliged to exert its short and
narrow wings to their utmost power for the support of its
body, which is heavy in proportion to its dimensions. It
feeds principally upon young sprats, though other small fish
and crustacean are occasionally devoured. In diving it dis-
plays equal expertness with the others of the present family.
It is a bird of neat appearance, and its bill, though large, is
richly coloured, and contrasts well with the black and white
of its plumage *. From the shape of the bill, and correspond-
ing bulk of the head, it seems to have obtained the greater
part of the provincial synonyms above quoted.
PLATE 83. * Fig. 1. Represents an old male bird of the na-
tural size.
Crown of the head, upper parts of the body, and collar
round the neck, glossy black. Cheeks and throat pearl-
grey, darkest towards the base of the lower mandible.
Under plumage pure white. Legs orange-red. Bill
one inch and a half in depth, bluish-grey at the base,
the middle part orange-red, and the tip bright red ; the
upper mandible having three, and the lower one two,
distinct furrows. The horny appendages to the eyelids
pearl-grey ; that upon the upper lid triangular, on the
lower lid oblong.
Fig. 2. Is supposed to be a bird of a year old.
Bill scarcely one inch in depth, and with the furrows not
so distinctly marked as in Fig. 1. Two in this state,
exactly alike as to their bills and legs, were killed near
the Fern Islands in June 1827.
Young. Fig. 3. Is the young bird of a week old,fcovered with a long
sooty black down.
* White varieties occasionally occur. Mr NEILL informs me, that he
lately saw one alive in the possession of a gentleman who had obtained it
when young the preceding year, with only two or three black feathers up-
on the back, the rest of the plumage being pure white.
NATATORES. 44;3
FAMILY IV.— PELECANID^E.
THE Pelecanidae, which form the fourth and an aberrant
division of the Natatores, are distinguished from the preced-
ing and other families, by the peculiar form of their feet,
which consist of four toes, all united by a continuous mem-
brane, the hind toe being articulated upon the inner part of
the tarsus, and standing at an angle with it, or rather direct-
ed to the front. The bill, in the various genera, is strong in
form, and commonly longer than the head :^in many the tip
is bent downwards, and armed with a strong hook ; in others
(where a nearer approach is made to the members of neigh-
bouring families) it is strait and sharp-pointed, as^exempli-
fied in the genus Phaeton, which closely connects the present
with the succeeding family of the Laridee, through the inter-
vention of the Terns. In an aberrant group of this family,
we find also an obvious approximation, both in external ap-
pearance and habits, to the Vulturida and Falconidce, thus
forming the link between the raptorial and natatorial orders.
Such are the birds belonging to the genus Tachypetes, re-
presented by the Frigate Birds, whose form and habits assi-
milate them so much to the larger rapacious kind, as to have
induced LTNN^US to bestow the specific title of Aquilus on
the only species known by him. In this genus the wings
are extraordinarily developed, and are equal to the most dis-
tant and protracted flights ; the tail is also long and forked,
and their legs are very short, with the tarsi feathered, like
many of the raptorial order. Their feet are small, in com-
parison with others of the family, and the membranes con-
necting the toes are so much curtailed, as to be inadequate
to the task of swimming. They live almost entirely in the
air, and take their prey upon the wing, not by precipitating
themselves upon it in the water, like the Gannets, Terns,
444 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT.
&c., but by pouncing upon the flying fish as they spring
from the sea, or by harassing other aquatic birds till they
disgorge their prey, which is caught by these ere it reaches
the surface of the water. In the genera that approach nearer
in their habits to the typical swimmers, we find a corres-
ponding modification of form ; thus the members of the ge-
nus Cormorant (well known for their aquatic powers) have
the body long and flattened, and the wings, although equal
to vigorous flight, much shorter than the genera above men-
tioned, or those which connect the Pelecanidae with the suc-
ceeding family of the Laridoe. Their legs, also, are placed
nearer to the extremity of the body, and the tibiae have not
the same freedom of action, in consequence of which, they
are compelled both to sit and walk almost in a perpendicular
position. All these prey beneath the surface of the water,
being endowed with the power of diving to an extent little
short of the typical Alcada and Colyiiibida. In Britain we
possess two forms of this family, viz. genus Phalacrocorax
and genus Sula.
GENUS PHALACROCORAX, BRISS. CORMORANT.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL generally longer than the head, strait, strong, hard,
slightly compressed; having the upper mandible rounded
above, terminating in a powerful hook, and furrowed later-
ally from the base, as far as the dertrum or tip. Lower
mandible with the terminating nail distinct, its tip com-
pressed and truncated. Tomia of the lower mandible in-
tracted, and covered by those of the upper one. Nostrils
basal, concealed. Face naked. Swallow and throat dila-
table.
Wings of mean length, having the first quill-feather shorter
CORMORANT. NAT AT. PHALACROCORAX. 445
than the second, which is the longest in the wing. Tail
rounded, of mean length, stiff and elastic.
Legs abdominal, short, strong. Feet of four toes, all con-
nected by a membrane. Outer toe the longest, the others
gradually shortening to the hinder one. Tarsi reticulated.
The upper part of the toes scutellated.
In no genus of the earlier writers has the necessity of di-
vision been more apparent than in Pelecanus, which, in ad-
dition to its typical representatives, contained the Gannets
and Cormorants, both of them groups distinguished by pro-
minent characters, in habits as well as in form. This sepa-
ration has been effected by CUVIER, TEMMINCK, MEYER,
and other eminent ornithologists, under various generic titles;
but as priority of application is entitled to the preference, I
have retained that of Phalacrocoraoc, originally given to the
present genus by BRISSON, and adopted by Dr FLEMING
and some others. In form the Cormorants approach nearer
to the natatorial groups already described, than the rest of
this family, and (like the Alcada and Colymbida) their legs
are placed far backwards, having the tibiae only partially
free. Their wings are also much shorter than in the suc-
ceeding genera, indicating a difference in habits and mode of
living. They are excellent divers, pursuing their course be-
neath the surface with great celerity, and thus securing their
prey, which consists entirely of fish. In swimming, the body
is deeply immersed, scarcely more than the head and upper
part of the neck being visible. Upon land they sit in an
erect posture, and from the partial freedom of the tibial joint,
are able to walk with less difficulty than the diving birds of
the preceding two families ; and in which action they are al-
so materially assisted by the support they obtain from the
stiff, though elastic, feathers of the tail. They possess an
unexpected power of grasping with the toes, and, in common
with other members of the family, frequently not only perch,
but build their nests upon trees, in which respect an affinity
446 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT.
to different tribes of the terrestrial orders is observable.
Their flight, though heavy, is direct and strong. They are
subject to a double moult, but the nuptial change is general-
ly confined to the regions of the head and thighs. The plu-
mage of both sexes is alike.
COMMON CORMORANT.
PHALACBOCOBAX CABBO, Sleph. Flem.
PLATE LXXXIV.
Phalacrocorax Carbo, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 76. pL 10. — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 117. No. 169.
Pelecanus Carbo, Linn. Syst. 1. 216. 3 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 573 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 886. sp. 14.
Carbo cormoranus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 894.
Corvus aquaticus, Raii Syn. 122. A Will. 240. pi. 63.
Phalacrocorax, Briss. 6. 511. t. 45.
Le Cormoran, Buff. Ois. 8. 310. t. 26 Id. PI. Enl. 927.
Grand Cormoran, Temm. Man. 2. 894 Lesson, Man. 2. 373.
Der Schwarze Pelikan, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 750.
Cormorant or Corvorant, Will. (Angl.) 329. t. 63.— Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 608.
No. 291 — Alton's Birds, 2. t. 81 Lath. Syn. 6. 593.— Lewin's Br. Birds,
6. 263. — Mont Ornith. Diet, and Sup Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p.
t. 379 — Low's Faun. Oread. 146.
Common Cormorant, Shaw's Zool. 13. pi. 76. pi. 10 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1.
117- No. 169.
Crested Corvorant, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 385.
PROVINCIAL — Great. Black Cormorant, Cole Goose, Start, Brongie.
ALTHOUGH the Cormorant appears to have been always
common upon our coasts, and of known extensive distribu-
tion throughout the maritime districts of the north of Eu-
rope, it is only within the last few years that the changes of
plumage to which it is subject, have been perfectly investi-
gated, and that the mistakes of earlier writers have been
corrected by the observations of MONTAGU, TEMMINCK, and
other eminent ornithologists. It has been described by se-
veral as a distinct species when in its summer or nuptial plu-
mage. Some have considered this state as indicative only of
the male bird, whilst others have regarded it as a common or
CORMORANT. NATAT. PHALAi ROCOKAX. 447
an accidental variety. It is now, however, well ascertained,
that, on the approach of spring, both sexes invariably under-
go the change that assimilates them to the Crested Cormorant
of BEWICK and others, and which garb they retain till after
reproduction has been effected. This I have had repeated
opportunities of verifying from my own observation, and by
the dissection of many specimens from a colony that annual-
ly breed at the Fern Islands on the Northumbrian coast.
This bird is perhaps generally looked on with dislike, from
an association of ideas produced by the extravagant descrip-
tions of different authors, and from the prominent part it is
made to perform in the sublime poem of " Paradise Lost.1*1
As naturalists, however, and believers in the unerring wis-
dom so greatly and wonderfully displayed throughout the
animated creation, we are not to judge of its qualities from
the exaggerations of fancy, but to consider whether its powers
are not fitly and beautifully adapted to the place it is destin-
ed to fill in the great chain of the universe. Viewed in this,
the only true light, we shall find much to admire, since its
instincts and habits are in such perfect accordance with, and
so ably support, the economy of its being. So far, indeed,
from possessing the bad qualities attributed to it, it seems,
from the testimony of MONTAGU *, to be endowed with a na-
ture directly the reverse ; for he states, that he found it ex-
tremely docile, of a grateful disposition, and without the
smallest tincture of a savage or vindictive spirit. This cha-
racter I can confirm, from having kept it in a domesticated
state ; and the very fact, indeed, of these birds having been
trained to fish, as many of the Falconidce are to fowl, is a
further proof of its docility and tractable nature. Like other
piscivorous birds, its digestion is rapid, and its consumption
of food consequently great, but the epithet of glutton, and
the accusation of unrelenting cruelty, are no more applicable
to it, than to any other bird destined by its Creator to prey
* See Supplement to the Ornith. Diet., article Cormorant., where an in-
teresting account of its manners is given.
448 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT.
on living matter. In Britain, where it is numerous and
widely dispersed, the Cormorant breeds upon rocky shores
and islands, selecting the summits of the rocks for the situa-
tion of the nest, and not (like the Green Cormorant) the
clefts or ledges. In some countries it breeds upon trees, pos-
sessing, as I have before observed, the power of grasping
Nest, &c. flrmly with its feet. Upon the Fern Islands, its nest is com-
posed entirely of a mass of sea-weed, frequently heaped up
to the height of two feet, in which are deposited from three
to five eggs, of a pale bluish-white, with a rough surface,
from the unequal deposition of the calcareous matter. The
young, when first hatched, are quite naked and very ugly,
the skin being of a purplish-black ; this in six or seven days
becomes clothed with a thick black down, but the feathered
plumage is not perfected in less than five or six weeks. In-
stinct, that powerful substitute for reason, is nowhere more
beautifully exemplified than in the young of this bird ; for
I have repeatedly found, that, upon being thrown into the
sea, even when scarcely half-fledged, they immediately plunge
beneath the surface, and endeavour to escape by diving.
This they will do to a great distance, using their imperfect
wings, and pursuing their submarine flight in the same man-
ner, and with almost as much effect, as their parents. When
unfledged in the nest, the young of this and the following
species, if alarmed by an approach, raise the head and neck
to the full stretch, at the same time gaping wide, and vibrat-
ing in a curious manner the loose skin of the neck and throat,
accompanied by a constant and querulous cry. In winter,
Cormorants are frequently seen in our rivers and lakes at a
considerable distance from the sea, where they occasionally
perch and roost in such trees as grow upon the immediate
Food, banks. They feed entirely on fish, which they obtain by ac-
tive pursuit beneath the surface of the water, and having the
gullet very large and dilatable, they are enabled to swallow
those of considerable size. The prey is killed by being squeez-
ed in their powerful and hooked bill, and always swallowed
CORMORANT. NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. 449
head foremost ; and should the fish happen to have been awk-
wardly captured for this operation, it is tossed into the air,
and in descending caught in a more favourable position. In
swimming, the body of this bird is almost entirely submerged,
the head and part of the neck only being visible. MONTAGU
also observes, that when in the act of looking for its prey,
it always carries the head under water, being able thus to
discover it at a greater distance than if the eyes were kept
above the surface, which is generally in some degree agitated.
It may frequently be observed standing upon the shore or
rocks, with the wings expanded, for several minutes at a
time, in order to dry the feathers and bring them to the pro-
per state for preening, as they are apt to become wet from
long continued diving, causing the gradual loss of the oily
matter that partly defends them from the action of the water.
This species is a native of the new as well as of the ancient
continent, being found in various parts of North America ; it
is also met with in Northern Asia, and in Europe its distri-
bution is wide, extending to high latitudes. The bronchi
in this bird are of great length, and of equal diameter, issu-
ing from the lower larynx, which is formed of a single car-
tilaginous ring. Immediately below the glottis, the tube is
enlarged, but soon contracts, and remains of the same dia-
meter through the rest of its course *.
PLATE 84. Represents the Adult bird in summer plumage,
rather less than the natural size.
Upon the head and upper part of the neck are silky hair- General
like white feathers. The gorget and the patch upon the tion.
thighs pure white. Semi-erect occipital crest; lower
» It appears probable that, under favourable circumstances, the Cormo-
rant would breed in a reclaimed or domesticated state, as Mr NEILL in-
forms me, that one in his possession laid two eggs in April last (1832), and
shewed an inclination to incubate. The eggs having been accidentally
broken, the fact of their impregnation remains doubtful. He adds, that
they roost with the poultry when they find the hen-house door open,
keeping the cocks and hens at a respectful distance. The Solan never
aspires in that way.
VOL. II. F f
450 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT.
Summer part of the neck, breast, mesial line, and lower part of
the back, and the whole of the under plumage glossy
bluish-black ; in some lights shewing a green reflection.
Shoulders, scapulars, and greater part of the wing-
coverts bronzed hair-brown, each feather surrounded by
a zone of glossy velvet-black. Quills and tail black ;
the feathers of the latter having their shafts stiff and
elastic, and the webs coarse and harsh. The end of the
tail frequently worn by its use as a prop to support the
body. Bill three inches long from the forehead to the tip ;
the upper mandible blackish-grey ; the base of the lower
one yellowish. Guttural dilatable skin black, with minute
specks of kingVyellow. Naked skin around the eyes
greenish-yellow. Irides bright green. Legs and toesblack;
the outer toe, including its nail, four inches in length.
In winter, or after the autumnal moult, the occipital crest
Winter is wanting, and the head and upper part of the neck
have only a few minute specks of white, almost imper-
ceptible. Throat-collar greyish-white, In other re-
spects as in the plumage of summer. — The young of the
Young. year have the head and neck brownish-black, slightly
glossed with purplish-green. Throat-collar faintly indi-
cated by a lighter tint. Under plum age inclining to broc-
coli-brown, mixed with greyish- white. Mantle, scapulars,
and wing-coverts greyish-black, having the feathers bor-
dered with blackish-brown. Bill pale hair-brown.
CRESTED SHAG, OR GREEN CORMORANT.
PHALACROCORAX CRISTATUS, Steph., Flem.
PLATE LXXXVI.
Phalacrocorax cristatus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13.83 Flem. Br. Anim. 118.
No. 171.
Phalacrocorax Graculus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 2. 887. sp. 15.
Pelecanus Graculus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 887- sp. 15.
Corvus aquaticus minor, Raii Syn. 123. A.
Carbo cristatus, Temih. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 900.
Cormoran .Largup, Temm. Man. 2. 900.
CORMORANT. NAT AT. PHALACROCORAX. 451
Shag or Crane, Will. (Angl.) 330. pi. 6? — Penn. Br. Zool, 2. 610. No. 292.
pi. 182 — Arct. Zool. 2. 508 Lath. Syn. 6. 598.— Levin's Br. Birds, 7.
264 — Mont. Orn. Diet. £ Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 337-
Crested Shag, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 5ti5.--Lath. Syn. 6. 600 — Tkte. Orn.
Diet, and Sup — Flem. Br. Anim. 118. No. 117-
Shag Cormorant, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 82.
Crested Cormorant, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 83.
PROVINCIAL — Green Scout, Green Gormer.
AFTER an examination of a great number of specimens,
and diligent inquiries upon various parts of the coasts of
England and Scotland, I have not been able either to meet with
or hear of a single bird that can satisfactorily be referred to
TEMMINCK'S Carbo Graculus. This he considers identical
with the Pelecanus Graculus of LINN^US and LATHAM, al-
though his description does not coincide with that of the lat-
ter, nor with the Shag of our British ornithologists, which
has always been supposed to represent the Graculus of the
different systems, but which, from the descriptions given of
it in its various states of age and plumage, undoubtedly be-
longs to TEMMINCK'S other species, the Carbo cristatus, or
" Cormoran Largup." This is evident from the stated di-
mensions of the bill, as well as colour of the adults during the
summer plumage ; for all our writers agree in describing the
head and neck of the British Shag as being of a deep glossy
black-green, without any intermixture of white feathers, or
any patch of the same colour upon the thighs. Now, both
of these are given by TEMMINCK as distinctive charac-
ters of his Carbo Graculus, which bird appears to resemble
the Common Cormorant in every respect, but that of inferioi
size, shorter bill, and twelve instead of fourteen tail-feathers,
in which latter point it agrees with the Crested species.
Presuming upon TEMMINCK'S usual correctness, and that
his Graculus is an actually existing species, I have adopted
his specific name of Cristatus for the bird now under consi-
deration, and well known as the Shag and Crested Shag of
our native authors. Dr FLEMING, it ought to be observed,
retains both the Graculus and Cristatus in his History of
British Animals, and even adds the epithet of " Common"
to the former ; but upon what authority he does so, I am at
F f 2
452 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT.
a loss to conjecture. I cannot but think he has been led into
some mistake with regard to the species, especially as he
has quoted the Corvus aquaticus minor of WILLOUGHBY and
RAY as a synonym, the description of which clearly refers to
the Crested or Green Cormorant. I may also add, that the
Pelecanus cristatus of LATHAM'S Index Ornithologicus,
quoted by TEMMINCK as a synonym of his " Cormoran
Largup," seems to refer to some other species, probably the
Carbo Dilophus of RICHARDSON and SWAINSON, mentioned
in the Fauna Americana Borealis, as the crest is thus de-
scribed ; " Pennae ad latera capitis utrinque elongatoe, cristam
efformantes," a form and position totally unlike that of the
Crested Shag. In the descriptions of this species given by
our writers, much difference will be found in the details,
but these may all be traced to the age, or particular state of
plumage of the individual when described. In its perfect or
crested state, that is, with the frontal tuft curving forwards,
it seems to have come but rarely under observation, which
will not appear extraordinary, when we consider the short
time that the bird possesses it, viz. from about the month of
February till nearly the middle of May. Upon the rocky
shores and islands of England and Scotland, the Crested
Shag is a common species, breeding in the clefts and on the
Nest, &c. ledges of perpendicular cliffs. — Its nest is composed of a mass
of sea-weed, chiefly of the Fucus vesiculosus, and the eggs,
four or five in number, are smaller, but similar in outward
appearance to those of the preceding species. The young
are also excluded in a naked state, but soon become covered
with a thick black down, that is gradually hidden by the re-
gular plumage. As nestlings, they have the same habit,
when alarmed, of gaping with outstretched necks, and
violently shaking the loose dilatable skin of the throat.
This bird differs from the larger species in never frequenting
fresh water lakes or rivers ; residing constantly upon the
Food, sea-coast. — It preys upon various kinds of fish, which are
obtained by diving, in which faculty it is equally quick and
expert with the Common Cormorant.
NATATORES. SULA. 453
PLATE 86. Represents a Male of this species (killed near the
Fern Islands) in the nuptial plumage, or with the fron-
tal crest fully developed. Natural size.
Head, neck, lower part of the back, and under plumage, General
fine silky blackish-green. Upon the forehead is a tuft tkm. P
of blackish-green elongated feathers, upwards of two Summer
inches long, and curving forwards. Mantle, scapulars, *
and wing-coverts deep-black, bronzed green, each fea-
ther being surrounded by a band of velvet-black. Tail
consisting of twelve feathers, scarcely six inches long,
black, with the shafts strong and elastic; the webs
coarse, and generally much worn at their tips. Legs
and toes black. Guttural skin and corners of the mouth
gamboge-yellow, the former having black specks. Bill
black ; two inches and three-eighths in length from the
forehead to the tip.
In autumn, and the early part of winter, it is destitute of
the frontal elongated feathers, but in other respects the
plumage is the same as in summer. Both sexes are
nearly alike. — The young of the year have the head and Young.
neck of a greyish-black, tinged with green, and the un-
der parts are more or less mixed with greyish-white.
The upper plumage inclines to greenish-brown, and the
zone that margins each feather is broader than in the
adults.
GENUS SULA, Burss. GANNET.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL longer than the head, thick, strong, strait, acumi-
nate, compressed towards the point, with the dertrum slightly
convex. Mandibles equal ; the upper one laterally sulcated
from the base to the tip, and with a hinge near the posterior
part, making it to appear as if composed of five separate
pieces. Culmen rounded. Lower mandible having the
454 NATATORES. SULA.
angle rather prominent, gently ascending to the tip. Chin
angle narrow and long, filled with a naked dilatable skin.
Face naked. Tomia intracted, obliquely and unequally
serrated. Nostrils basal; concealed from view. Tongue
very small.
Wings long and acuminate. Tail graduated.
Legs abdominal; tarsi short; feet of four toes, all con-
nected by a membrane ; the middle and outer toes of nearly
equal length. Middle claw having its inner edge dilated
and toothed.
The Gannets are strongly distinguishable from the Cor-
morants by the shape of the bill, by their lengthened wings
and lighter form of body, and not less so by the dissimilarity
of their faculties and habits. For, instead of the natatorial
and diving qualities possessed by the latter in such perfec-
tion, and on the constant exercise of which they depend for
subsistence, the former are never known to dive, and are but
seldom observed upon the water, where, when they happen
to alight, they seem rather to float than to use any exertion in
swimming. They have, on .he contrary, a great and un-
wearied power of flight, and are almost continually upon
wing. They prey upon such fish as occasionally swim near
to the surface of the water, chiefly of the herring genus, and
upon which they precipitate themselves as they soar in the
air. During the season of reproduction they collect in large
bodies, and inhabit the most precipitous rocks that overhang
the ocean. They lay but one egg, and the young are nearly
four years in acquiring maturity, undergoing during that
period a great annual variation in the colours of the plumage.
The legs, in this genus, are not placed so far backwards as
in the preceding one ; they walk, consequently, with the body
in a horizontal and not in an upright position. The mem-
bers of the genus are not numerous, and only one inhabits
Europe, the Solan Gannet (Sula bassana), well known in
the northern parts of this kingdom as a regular summer
visitant.
SOLAN GANNET. NATATORES. SULA. 455
SOLAN GANNET.
SULA BASS AN A, Briss.
PLATES LXXXVI «. LXXXVII.
Sula bassana, Briss. Orn. 6. 503. pi. 44 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 100.
pi. 11 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 118. No. 192.
Suk Hoieri, Rail Syn. 123.
Anser bassanus, Rail Syn. 122. A — Will. 247. t. 63.
Pelecanus bassanus, Linn. Syst. 1. 219 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 57].— Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 891. sp. 26.
Fou de Bassan, Buff. Ois. 8. 376 — Id. PI. Enl. 278.
Fou blanc ou de Bassan, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 905.
Der Bassanische Pelikan, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 765.
The Gannet, Br. Zool. 2. 612. No. 293. pi. 103.— Arct. Zool. 2. No. 510.
— Lath. Syn. 6. 608. 25 Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 265 — Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Sup — Mont, in Wern. Trans. 1. 176 — BewicVs Br. Birds.
ed. 1826, 2. p. t. 390 — Pult. Cat. Dorset. 22 — Low's Faun. Oread. 148.
Solan Goose, Albin's Birds, 1. pi. 86.
Sula major, Briss. 6. 497. 2. ^
Grand Fou, Buff. Ois. 8. 372.
Great Booby, Lath. Syn. 6. 610. 25. A. \ Youn
Pelecanus maculatus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 579.
Fou tachete, Buff. Ois. 8. 375.— -Id. PI. Enl. 986. I
Spotted Booby, Lath. Syn. 6. 614. 30.
ALTHOUGH the Gannet (or, as it is more frequently called periodical
in Scotland, the Solan Goose) deserts its breeding stations visitant.
and the northern coasts of the kingdom upon the approach
of autumn, it is occasionally found throughout the winter in
the English Channel, where it keeps at a distance from the
land, feeding upon the pilchards and herrings, which at that
season retire to the deeper parts of the ocean. The main body
of these birds, however, appears to seek more southern lati-
tudes, as they are met with in great numbers during winter
in the Bay of Biscay, on the coasts of Spain and Portugal,
and in the Mediterranean ; and here they find an abundant
supply of the Anchovy and Sardine, both species of Clupea
(herring). They generally make their appearance about the
end of March or beginning of April, in the vicinity of their
breeding stations : these are the Isle of Ailsa, at the mouth
456 NATATORES. SULA. SOLAN GANNET.
of the Frith of Clyde ; St Kilda ; Souliskerry near the Ork-
neys ; the Skelig Isles upon the Irish coast, and the Bass
Rock at the entrance of the Frith of Forth. Upon the preci-
pitous rocks of these islands they breed in innumerable mul-
titudes, occupying all the ledges and summits wherever they
Nest, &c. find sufficient space for the nest, which is formed of a mass
of sea-weed, and other materials, which they either find on
the rocky cliffs, or gather from the surface of the sea as they
pass on the wing. They lay but one egg each (not two, as
stated by TEMMINCK), exceeding in size that of the Cormo-
rant, but much less than the egg of the Common Goose,
with which it has been compared, Its colour, when first
laid, is white, but it soon becomes soiled, and as incubation
proceeds, acquires a yellowish or clay-coloured appearance.
The young, when hatched, are naked, their skin smooth and
of bluish-black, but covered in a few days with a white
down, which, growing rapidly, soon becomes very thick, giv-
ing them in this state the appearance of large powder-puffs,
or masses of cotton. Over this warm clothing, the regular
plumage gradually extends ; and after about two months
they are fully fledged and able to take wing. Great num-
bers of the young birds are annually taken upon the Bass
Rock, not merely on account of the feathers and down, for the
bodies are also sold in the neighbouring towns, and in the
Edinburgh market, at the rate of Is. 8d. each, being much
esteemed, when roasted, as a relish a short time before the
hour of dinner. Their flesh is very oily and rank, and
though habit has reconciled the Scotch to such an unusual
whet, few strangers would find their appetites increased, after
partaking of such a dish. This precipitous rock (the Bass)
is rented from the proprietor at L.60 or L.70 per annum,
and as the proceeds chiefly depend upon the produce of the
Gannets, great care is taken to protect the old birds, which
the tenant is enabled to do from the privilege possessed by
the proprietor, of preventing any person from shooting or
otherwise destroying them within a certain limited distance
SOLAN GANNET. NATATORES. SULA. 457
of the island. From the accounts I have received from the
resident there, it appears that the Gannet is a very long-lived
bird, as he has recognised, from particular and well-known
marks, certain individuals for upwards of forty years, that
invariably returned to the same spot to breed. He also con-
firmed to me the time required for this bird to attain matu-
rity, viz. four years ; and pointed out several in the different
garbs they assume during that period, stating also, that un-
til fully matured, they have never been known to breed.
During incubation, in consequence of being unmolested, they
become very tame ; and, where the nests are easily accessi-
ble upon the flat surface of the rock on the south-west side of
the island, will allow themselves to be stroked by the hand
without resistance, or any shew even of impatience, except
the low guttural cry of grog, grog. Upon the other breed-
ing stations above mentioned, the produce of the Gannet is
equally prized, and immense numbers, both of the eggs and
young, are annually taken, and preserved by the inhabitants
for winter's consumption. From the great development of
the wings, and the peculiar apparatus of air-cells distributed
over different parts of the body *, the flight of this bird is
powerful and buoyant, and can be supported for any length
of time. When in search of prey, it soars usually at a con-
siderable elevation, as it thus obtains a sufficient impetus in
its fall to reach the fish beneath the surface ; at other times,
when making its way to any distant point, or in dark and
stormy weather, it flies comparatively low. — Its food consists
almost entirely of the different species of herring, which it
always takes by plunging vertically upon them as they rise
within a certain distance of the top of the water. The force
* For a detailed and interesting account of the anatomical structure of
this bird, I must (on account of its length) refer my readers to MONTAGU'S
Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, under the article " Gannet ;"
or to a paper in the first volume of the Memoirs of the Wernerian Natu-
ral History Society, p. 176, entitled " Observations on some Peculiarities
observable in the Structure of the Gannet," &c.
458 NATATORES. SULA. SOLAN GANNET.
with which it descends in this operation, may be conceived
from the fact of Gannets having been taken by a fish fastened
to a board sunk to the depth of two fathoms, in which cases
the neck has either been found dislocated, or the bill firmly
fixed in the wood. PENNANT, and some other writers, de-
scribe this bird as having a gular pouch similar to that of
the Pelican, and capable of containing five or six herrings ;
this, however, is not correct, as that part is not more dilat-
able than the rest of the gullet, which, as well as the skin of
the neck, can occasionally stretch to much extent, readily
allowing a passage to the largest herring, or even to a fish of
still greater dimensions. MONTAGU observes, that he was
not able to keep the Gannet alive in confinement ; but this
probably arose from the want of a due supply of fish, as I
have known them to live for a long time in a domesticated
state, and my friend Mr NEILL of Canonmills, near Edin-
burgh, (well known to the scientific world as a botanist and
a lover of natural history), has at present, or at least within
a very late period had, one in the full enjoyment of health
for many years past. This bird, when herrings could not be
procured, was fed with flounders, which it swallowed with
the greatest apparent ease, the gape readily accommodating it-
self to their greater breadth. It is almost unnecessary to
add, that all fish are swallowed with the head foremost.
Sometimes the Gannet becomes so gorged with food, as to
be compelled to alight on the water, and to repose there in a
lethargic state; and when thus situated, it may, by being
advanced upon in a boat from the windward, be easily run
down and captured. This arises from its being unable to
leave the water except when breasting the wind, and it never
makes any attempt to dive, of which power it seems to be
totally divested. — This species is widely distributed through-
out the northern parts of Europe, and is also common to
North America. The body of this bird is long and much
flattened, with the neck elongated, and thick and muscular,
in order to support its powerful bill ; the wings are of great
SOLAN GANNET. NATATORES. SULA. 459
length, the radius (or second joint) measuring fully eight
inches; and the legs are not placed so far behind as in the
Cormorants, so that the horizontal position is preserved in
walking. In its affinities it seems to connect the true Peli-
cans with the genera Tacliypetes and Phaeton.
PLATE 86 *. Represents the Adult bird in about three-fifths
of the natural size.
Bill bluish-grey, with the tip fading into white. Naked General
skin surrounding the eyes greyish- blue. The membrane tjon
forming the prolongation of the opening of the bill, and Adult
that which extends beneath to the middle of the throat,
black. Irides pale-yellow. Crown of the head, occiput,
and upper part of the neck, pale sienna-yellow. The
rest of the plumage pure white, except the quills and
bastard wing, which are black. Streak down the front
of the tarsus, and along the upper part of the toes,
bluish-green. Membranes of the toes blackish-grey.
Claws greyish- white, the inner edge of the middle one
being dilated and toothed.
PLATE 87. The young of the year, about three-fourths of
the natural size •(•.
Bill blackish-grey, tinged with brown. Irides pale clove- Young.
brown. Ground colour of the head, neck, and whole First year-
of the upper plumage blackish-grey, inclining to clove-
brown, each feather being tipped with a triangular spot
of white. Breast and abdomen white ; the feathers being
edged with greyish-black. Quills and tail greyish-black,
with the shafts of the tail-feathers white. Legs and
toes deep-grey.
Head, and greater part of the neck, white, more or less Second
vear.
•j- TEMMINCK has committed an error in describing the plumage of the
first as that belonging to the bird of the second year, and vice versa, in which
he has been copied by Mr STEPHENS and Dr FLEMING.
460 NATATORES.
spotted with blackish -grey. Upper plumage of nearly
a uniform clove-brown, the triangular spots upon the
tips of the feathers becoming less distinct, or entirely
disappearing. Under plumage becoming whiter.
Third year. The white increasing over all the body. The long scapu-
lars and tertials remaining black, or spotted with black-
ish-grey. The head beginning to acquire the sienna-
yellow tinge.
The plumage of the fourth year is described above as the
adult Bird.
FAMILY V.— LARID^l.
THE Laridae, which form the fifth family of the Order,
and thus complete the circle of the Natatores, are dis-
tinguished from the preceding division by the form of the feet,
which are never syndactyle, that is, with all the four toes
connected by a continuous membrane. The hind toe, in such
species as have one, is free and articulated on the back part
of the tarsus ; but in some it is either totally wanting or re-
presented by a nail or short claw. The wings of all the
members of this family are of great length, and they conse-
quently possess a power of long-continued flight, surpassed
perhaps by none of the feathered race. In them the bill is
either strait and pointed, as that of the Terns (genus Sterna),
or with a hooked tip, as in the gulls (genus Larus), Petrels
(G. procellaria), and other nearly allied genera. Most of
them subsist upon fish, and other marine matter, either in a
living state, or when cast ashore, or floating upon the sur-
face of the sea. Some are, however, in the habit of daily
frequenting the interior of the country, and feeding upon
earth-worms, slugs, insects, and other animal matter. They
are all birds of rapid digestion, and consequently of vora-
cious appetite. Many species are accustomed to repose upon
the water, where, from the bulk and closeness of their plum-
NATATORES. STERNA. 461
age, they float with much buoyancy ; but they make little
use of their power of swimming, and are altogether incapa-
ble of diving. Others, as the Petrels, never actually alight
on the water, but use their webbed feet to run, as it were,
upon the surface of the waves ; and in this action they are
assisted by their wings, which are kept partly open. The
passage from the Pelecanidce to these birds is effected by the
near affinity existing between the genus Phaeton of that di-
vision and the larger Terns which commence the present
one. In this family also, according to the arrangement of
Mr VIGORS, a form is found connecting it with the Anatidoe,
thus completing the circular succession of the Order ; and
this he thinks is performed by Pachyptila, a genus nearly
allied to the Petrels. The affinity thus endeavoured to be
established, seems, I must confess, distant, and stands in
need of the interposition of other forms to render it satisfac-
tory and complete.
GENUS STERNA, LINN. TERN.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as, or longer than, the head, almost strait,
compressed, drawn to a fine point, with both mandibles of
equal length, and the upper slightly convex. Tomia rather
intracted and sharp-edged. Lower mandible having a pro-
minent angle near its middle part. Nostrils basal, lateral,
linear oblong, pervious.
Wings very long, acuminate, with the first quill-feather
the longest. Tail more or less forked. Legs having the
tibiae naked for a short space above the tarsal joint. Tarsi
short. Feet of four toes, three before and one behind ; the
three front toes united by a membrane more or less scalloped,
the hind toe small and free. Claws arched and sharp.
The Terns, which, in the present family, appear to repre-
462 NATATORES. STERNA.
sent the fisirostral tribe of the Insessores, have a form and
organization admirably suited to their particular economy.
Being destined to pass the greater part of their existence in
the air, their wings are of great extent, the tail long, and in
general deeply forked (a shape possessed by most birds
gifted with extraordinary power of flight), the body small
and compact, the legs short, and with small feet, not calcu-
lated to advance their progress in swimming, but sufficient
for their support when occasionally reposing on the water.
Such of the species as frequent the ocean subsist upon the
fry and the smaller kinds of fish, which they take from the
wing, by precipitating themselves upon such as rise within
a certain distance of the surface of the water. In this act
they descend with astonishing rapidity and force, and are
often buried beneath the waves for several seconds. Others,
more frequently found upon rivers and fresh- water lakes, in
addition to fish, prey upon libellulae, and other aquatic in-
sects. The distribution of the different species is very ex-
tensive, as they are found in all quarters and climates of the
world. They are subject to a double moult, but the vernal
change is confined to the region of the head, and the plu-
mage of both sexes is precisely similar. The young, until
after the first or second general moult, differ from the old
birds. During the season of reproduction they congregate
in large bodies, nestling closely together, generally upon the
shingle, or lower parts of the islets they frequent. Their
eggs are three or four in number. By the near affinity of
the Gull-billed Tern (Sterna Anglica) to some of the lesser
species of dark-headed gulls, their connection with the genus
Larus is evidently traced.
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 463
CASPIAN TERN,
STERNA CASPIA, Pall.
Sterna Caspia, Pall Nov. Com. Petrov. 14. 582. No. 52 — Gmel. Syst. 1
603 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 803. sp. 1 — Steph. Shaw's ZooL 13, 145.
Sterna Tschegrava, Nov. Com. Petrov. 14. 500. t. 132.
Hirondelle-de-Mer Tschegrava, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 733.
Grosse oder Caspischc Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 675.
Grosse schnabliger Meerschwalbe, Meyer, Vog. 2. Heft. 28. t. 6.
Caspian Tern, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 526. B — Id. Sup. p. 76 — Lath. Syn.
350. 1.— Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 145.
THE capture of two or three individuals of this species in Very rare
the south-eastern parts of England, entitles it to rank in the Vlsltant-
list of our Fauna as a very rare visitant ; in consequence of
which rarity its habits have been exposed to very little obser-
vation, and the details of the various authors who notice it
scarcely extend beyond a description of its plumage. I must
therefore request the indulgence of my readers to a meagre
and unsatisfactory account. This bird is one of the largest
of its genus, some specimens measuring as much as twenty-
two inches in length. In Europe it inhabits the coasts of the
Baltic, the Caspian Sea, and the Archipelago. It also occurs
in Africa, being met with at Senegal and the Cape of Good
Hope ; and, according to LATHAM, is known in India and
in the Chinese seas, though under rather a different aspect,
which renders it not improbable that the bird he has imagined
to be a variety of the Caspian Tern, may actually be a dis-
tinct species, since so many of them nearly resemble each
other in plumage. The habits of the bird now before us are
presumed to be similar to those of the other oceanic Terns ;
and we are informed that it precipitates itself, like them, from
a considerable height in the air upon its food, which consists FOO(}.
of living fish. Mr STEPHENS, in Shaw's General Zoology,
says that its manners rather resemble those of the Gulls,
adding that its voice is like the noise made by a man in
i
464 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN.
laughing. This author has fallen into an essential mistake
in describing the whole of the upper plumage as of pure
white ; the mantle and scapulars being, on the contrary, of a
pale pearl-grey, a colour that prevails on those parts through
Incuba- all the members of the Laridse. — It breeds upon the lower
parts of small islands, merely scraping a shallow hole in the
sand or shingle, and lays two or three eggs of an olive-green
colour, dashed and spotted with deep brown or black.
General In the adult summer or nuptial plumage, the bill is of a rich
descrip- vermilion, and the legs and feet black. The forehead,
Summer crown of the head, and lengthened occipital feathers
plumage. velvet-black. Back, scapulars, and wing-coverts pearl-
grey. Sides of the head, fore part of the neck, and the
whole of the under plumage pure white. Quills brown,
tinged with grey. Tail pearl-grey.
Winter In winter the forehead and crown of the head are white,
and the occiput is varied with black and white. In
other respects as above described.
Young. The young of the year have the upper parts of a pale
wood-brown, tinged with grey, and varied by the trans-
verse blackish bars and spots. Quills blackish-brown,
and the end of the tail of the same colour. The under
plumage white.
SANDWICH TERN.
STERNA BOYSII, Lath.
PLATE LXXXVIII. FIG. 2.
Sterna Boysii, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 806. sp. 10. but not the varieties,—
A. B Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 142. No. 232.
Sterna cantiaca, Gmel Syst. 1. 606. sp. 15 — Sleph. Shaw's Zool 13. 14-7-
Hirondelle de Mer Caugek, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 735,
Sandwich Tern, Lath Syn. 6. 356. 9 — Id. Sup. 266 — Lewirfs Br. Birds,
6. pi. 203— Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup.— BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
2. p. t. \%S.— Shaw's Zool. 13. 149 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 142. No. 132.
— Rennie's Mont. Ornith. Diet. 449 — Selby in Zool. Journ. 2. 463.
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 465
Sterna Africana, Gmel Syst. 1. 605 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 805. sp. 5. \ Bird not quite
African Tern, Lath. Syn. 6. 354. 5 — Id. Gen. Hist. 10. 108. j matured.
Sterna striata? Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 807- sp. 11 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 609. \ Young before
Striated Tern, Lath. Syn. 6. 358. 10. t. 98. J the moult.
THIS bird appears to have escaped the notice of the ear- Periodical
lier British writers, as we do not find any description appli- vlsltant-
cable to it previous to that of Dr LATHAM, in his General
Synopsis, to whom it was communicated as a new species by
Dr BOYS of Sandwich in Kent. In size it equals, or is in a
very slight degree larger than, the Gull-billed Tern, with
which it has sometimes been confounded, but is smaller than
the Caspian Tern, as it seldom exceeds eighteen inches in
length, and about two feet nine inches in extent of wing.
Upon the southern coast, where it was first discovered, it is
far from being numerous, even during the breeding season,
as MONTAGU observes, that during a summer's residence on
the coasts of Kent and Sussex, where the other species were
plentiful, he was only able to procure two specimens, and
never could discover their breeding station. It annually re-
sorts in great numbers to the Fern Islands, on the coast of
Northumberland, as well as to the Isle of Coquet, a few miles
to the southward. Here a station is selected apart from the
other species, generally on a higher site, and the nests are so
close to each other as to render it difficult to cross the ground
without breaking the eggs, or injuring the unfledged young.
Upon this coast it is called, par excellence, " the Tern*" all
the other species passing under tfye general name of " Sea
Swallows." Its habits strongly resemble those of its genus,
and it subsists upon similar kinds of fish, the sand-launce and Food,
young gar-fish forming the principal supply, and upon which
it precipitates itself as they rise near to the surface of the
ocean. Its flight is strong and rapid, making a great ad-
vance at each stroke of the pinions, and, except when engaged
in incubation, it is almost constantly on the wing, utter-
ing at intervals a hoarse and grating cry, which can be heard
at a very great distance, and gives notice of its approach long
VOL. ii. G g
466 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN.
before it is discoverable by the eye. If much disturbed by
being fired at, or if the eggs be repeatedly taken at the com-
mencement of the season, it deserts the station first selected,
and retires to some other place, less liable to molestation.
Such a migration took place about three years ago in the
colony which had long frequented a particular islet of the
Fern group, for, in consequence of some misunderstanding
between the proprietor and the person who had the care of
these islands, the fishermen on the coast, and boats from pass-
ing vessels, made, for one or two seasons, unrestrained irrup-
tions upon the feathered inhabitants ; and although many of
the other species adhered tp their usual haunts, the Sandwich
Terns entirely deserted theirs, and fled to Coquet Island,
where, from being better protected, they reared their young
without farther molestation. Within the last two years, un-
der another tenant of the islands, a considerable body of
these birds has returned, but to a site upwards of a mile distant
from the one formerly occupied. As soon as the young birds
become tolerably fledged, but before they are altogether able
to fly, they frequently take to the water, swimming off to
the smaller rocks, where they continue to be fed by the pa-
rents until capable of joining them in their fishing excursions.
With the exception of the Caspian and Gull-billed Terns,
which can only be considered as occasional stragglers to our
coasts, all the other British species are regular summer visi-
tants. The time of their arrival is about the middle of
Incuba- May ; incubation commences in the first week in June, and
nearly the whole have again taken their departure for more
southern latitudes by the end of September. — The eggs
of this bird are three or four in number, for the reception of
which a shallow hole is scratched amongst the sea-campion
(Silene maritima), or other plants that may happen to grow
on the selected place. In size they are about equal to those
of the Golden Plover, and are usually of a cream or wood-
brown colour, blotched with dark brown and black, and with
other spots of a lighter shade appearing as it were beneath
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 467
the shell. The common varieties of them are either with
fewer spots and blotches upon a white ground, or of a deep
oil-green, with spots of a darker shade *.
PLATE 88. Fig. 2. Represents this bird of the natural size,
and in the summer plumage.
Forehead, crown, and long pendent occipital feathers deep General
black, but in the beginning of the season the feathers of tion.
the forehead are frequently spotted with white, being Summer
the remains of the winter % plumage. Fore part of the
neck, breast, and under plumage rosy or reddish-white.
Quills deep hoary ash-grey, having a velvety appear-
ance with the interior half of their inner webs white.
Bill black, with the tip straw-yellow. Legs black, the
under surface of the toes and webs yellow. Claws
black, and very hooked.
In winter the forehead and crown are white. The occiput Winter
black, with the edges of the feathers white. At the plumaSe'
anterior angle of the eye is a patch of black. Under
plumage glossy white, and without the rosy tint. In
other respects as in the summer.
The young of the year are, above, of a pale wood-brown, Young,
transversely barred with broccoli-brown. The quills are
of a deep blackish-grey, bordered and terminated by
white. Under plumage white. Bill blackish, tinged
with flesh-red, with a yellowish tip. Tail greyish-black
in the middle, with the tips of the feathers white.
* For correct figures of the Eggs of British Birds, I refer my readers to
Mr HEWJTSOK'S beautiful work entitled " British Oology," now in the
course of publication.
468 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN-
COMMON TERN.
STERNA HIRUNDO, Linn.
PLATE XC. FIG. 1.
Sterna Hirundo, Linn. Syst. 1. 227. 2 — Gmel. Syst, 1. 606 — Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 807. sp. 15.
Hirundo marina, Rail Syn. 131. A — Will. 268. t. 68.
Sterna major, Briss. Orn. 6. 203. 1. t. 19. f. 1.
HirondeUe-de-Mer Pierre Garin, Buff.Ois. 8. 331. 27 — Id. PL Enl. 987 —
Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 740.
Gemeine Meerschwalbe, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 459.
Sea Swallow, Alton, 2. t. 88 — Will. (AngL) 352.
Greater Tern, Br. ZooL 2. 545. No. 254. t. 90 Lath. Syn. 6. 261. 14 —
Lewiris Br. Birds, 6. pi. 204 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br.
Birds, ed. 1826, 2. pt. 185 — Pult. Cat. Dorset. 18.— Low's Faun. Oread.
125.
Common Tern, Shaw's Zool. 13. 150. pi. 18 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 143.
No. 235.
PROVINCIAL— Kirmew, Picket, Tarney, Pictarne, Rittock, Tarret,
Spurre, Scraye, Gull Teaser.
visitant*1 FROM tne trivial name attached to this species the suppo-
sition naturally arises that its distribution must be more ge-
neral throughout our coasts than any of the other Terns.
This, however, is not the case, as it is of rare occurrence
upon the whole extent of the eastern shores of the north of
England and Scotland ; where its place seems to be supplied
by the Arctic and Roseate species. Upon the Fern Islands
I have never seen more than two or three pairs in a season ;
and at the Isle of May in the Frith of Forth, and other
northern resorts of various kinds of sea-fowl, its numbers
are equally restricted. On the contrary, it visits the oppo-
site parts of the western coast in large bodies, breeding
abundantly on certain situations in the Solway, and the
Frith of Clyde ; and is moreover the prevailing species upon
all the southern coast of England. Its flight rather re-
sembles that of the Roseate Tern, but it is scarcely so
buoyant, and has a quicker motion of the wings. Its voice
is harsh, but easily to be distinguished from those of the
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 469
other species, when flying in company with them. — It feeds Food,
upon small fish, which are taken in the same way as by the
others of this genus ; but, according to MONTAGU, it pos-
sesses a habit which I have not observed in the rest, that of
pursuing and persecuting the lesser gulls till they disgorge
their recent prey, which is caught and swallowed by it ere
it reaches the water. In the Supplement to the Ornitholo-
gical Dictionary, MONTAGU has attached the Sterna Ncevui
of LINNAEUS and GMELIN, and also the Guifette of BUFFON,
as synonyms to this species; but I feel more inclined to
adopt TEMMINCKS opinion, viz. that they are more imme-
diately referable to the Sterna nigra, than to the present
species. The Common Tern is widely distributed through-
out the ancient continents and islands, and during the breed-
ing season is found as far to the northward as Greenland
and Spitzbergen. The species described by WILSON, in the
American Ornithology, as Sterna Hirundo, is clearly dis-
tinct, and has by the Prince of Musignano been appro-
priately named Sterna Wilsonii. — The Tern breeds upon Incuba-
the sand or shingle beyond high- water-mark, making no ar- tlon' &c<
tificial nest, but scraping a slight concavity for the reception
of two or three eggs, which vary very much in colour ; the
ground in some being of a deep oil-green, in others of a
cream-white, or pale wood-brown, but all blotched with
blackish-brown and ash-grey. In warm and clear weather
this bird incubates little during the day, in such situation
the influence of the sun upon the eggs being sufficient ; but
it sits upon them in the night, and also through the day
under a less favourable state of weather. The young when
excluded are covered with a mottled grey and white down,
and are assiduously attended by the parents, and well sup-
plied with food, until able to fly, and accompany them to
sea. During the time of incubation the old birds display
great anxiety, and are very clamorous when any one ap-
proaches their station, in flying round and frequently de-
scending so near as to strike the hat of the intruder.
470
NATATORES. STERNA.
TERN.
General
descrip-
tion
Summer
plumage.
Winter
plumage.
PLATE 90. Fig. 1. represents it of the natural size, in the
summer plumage.
Bill one inch and a half in length, from the forehead to
the tip ; red for two-thirds of its length, with the point
black. Forehead, crown, and long occipital feathers
intense black ; the rest of the face, cheeks, and throat,
white. Breast having a slight tinge of pearl-grey ; the
rest of the under plumage white, frequently with a
very faint rosy tinge. Head, neck, mantle, and wings,
pearl-grey. Lower part of the back and upper tail-
coverts white. Tail having the exterior webs of the
feathers grey, increasing in depth of colour to the out-
ermost one, in which it is greyish-black. Quills, with
the outer web of the first feather black for the greater
part of its length ; the rest hoary grey ; the white up-
on their inner webs ending at about an inch and a half
from the tips. Legs and feet bright tile-red ; the tarsus
seven-eighths of an inch long.
In winter the black upon the forehead and crown loses its
intensity; in other respects there is no difference be-
tween that and the summer plumage.
ROSEATE TERN.
STERNA DOUGALLII, Mont.
PLATE LXXXIX. FIGS. 1. & 2.
Sterna Dougallii, Mont. Orn. Diet. Sup. with fig — Selby in Zool. Jour.
2. 462.— Shaw's ZooL 13. 152 — Flem. Brit. Anim. 1. 143. No. 234.
Hirondelle-de-Mer Dougall, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 738.
Roseate Tern, Mont. Orn. Diet. Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, pt. 192.
—Shaw's ZooL 13. 153 — Flem. Br. Ariim. 1. 143. 234 — Rennie's Mont.
Orn. Diet. 432.
Periodical THIS species of Tern was first discovered by Dr MAC-
visitant. DOUGALL of Glasgow, on the Cumbray Islands in the Frith
of Clyde, the breeding resort of great numbers of the com-
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 471
mon species ; but has since been found to inhabit many other
stations during the summer, both upon the eastern and
western coasts of Scotland. Upon the Fern Islands, on the
Northumbrian coast, I have also met with it plentifully for
the last fifteen years ; but here it had only been noticed for
a year or two previous to that period as a distinct species,
by the keeper of the Lighthouse, from whom I received the
first intimation of the fact. According to TEMMINCK, the
shores of Norway also afford it a summer retreat, and it has
been found to breed, though in small numbers, upon the
coast of Picardy in France. It is of light and elegant form,
rather inferior in bulk to the Common Tern, though of
greater length, from the extreme development of the outer
tail-feathers, which in many specimens reach nearly three
inches beyond the closed wings. Its bill is also more subu-
late and not so deep as in the other, and entirely black, with
the exception of the part immediately behind the nostrils,
which is of a deep red. It is easily to be distinguished when
on wing from all the other species, its flight being peculiarly
buoyant, and sustained by a slower stroke of the pinions.
The length of the tail is also characteristic, and its cry is
different in expression, resembling the word crake, in a key incuba-
not unlike that of the Land Crake.— Upon the Fern Islands tion> &c<
it breeds on the outskirts of the station occupied by the
Arctic Tern (the prevailing species there) ; and its eggs
much resemble those of that bird, but are a little larger,
and with the ground-colour usually more inclining to cream-
white or pale wood-brown. In habits it scarcely differs from food.
its nearly allied congeners, preying on the same kinds of
fish, which are obtained in a similar manner as they rise to-
wards the surface of the water. Its arrival may be stated
as at the same time with the Sandwich and Arctic Terns ;
and by the end of September nearly the whole of them will
have departed for warmer latitudes.
472 NAT A TORES. STERNA. TERN.
PLATE 89. Fig. 1. represents the Adult bird in summer
plumage.
General Bill, from the forehead to the tip, one inch and a half
lion™**" long ; the upper mandible gently arched ; and both the
Adult mandibles more slender than in the Common and Arctic
species. Forehead, crown, and long feathers of the oc-
ciput, intense black. Line from the base of the upper
mandible, cheeks, neck, and the whole of the under
plumage, of a glossy white, deeply tinged with rosy red
(which fades in museum specimens when exposed to the
light). Back and wing coverts pale pearl-grey. Outer
web of the first quill-feather black ; of the rest, hoary
grey ; inner web of the whole having a streak of hoary
grey next the shaft, and the other part pure white.
Tail pure white ; with the outer feather on each side
much produced, and reaching from two and a half to
three inches beyond the tips of the wings. Legs and
toes bright red; the tarsi six-eighths and a half of an
inch in length ; membranes much scalloped ; claws
black.
Young. Fig. 2. is the Young of the year, immediately previous to
its departure in autumn.
Bill brownish-black, with the base orange-yellow. Fore-
head and crown cream-yellow, tinged with grey. Region
of the eyes, ear-coverts, and nape of the neck, greyish-
black, mixed with yellowish- white. Throat, sides of the
neck, and under parts, white. Ridge of wing blackish-
grey, with the edges of the feathers paler. Back and
wing-coverts bluish-grey, marbled with greyish-black
and yellowish-white. Tail having the outer webs of the
feathers grey ; the inner, and tips, white. Quills grey,
margined with white. Legs pale gallstone-yellow.
The winter plumage of this species has not yet been ascer-
tained.
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 473
ARCTIC TERN.
STERNA ARCTICA, Temm.
PLATE XC. FIG. 2.
Sterna arctica, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 742 — Selby in Zool. Jour. 2. 461.
— Sttph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 152 — Sabine in Frank. Jour. App. 694.
Hirondelle-de-Mer Arctique, Temm. Man. 2. 742.
Arctic Tern, Selby in Zool. Jour. 2. 461 — Lath. Gen. Hist. 10. 116 —
Shaw's Zool. 13. 152.
THIS bird, which was first described and confirmed as a Periodical
. . visitant,
distinct species by M. TEMMIXCK, has long been a summer
visitant to the coasts of the north of England and Scotland.
Here it is met with in greater numbers than even the Ro-
seate and Sandwich Terns, but until the distinguishing cha-
racters which separate it from the common species (of which
Dr FLEMING still seems to consider it as only a variety)
were pointed out, it had always, as the prevailing species in
the parts it frequents, been mistaken for that bird ; which
latter, as I have previously noticed, is comparatively of rare
occurrence on the north-eastern coast of the kingdom. Upon
close examination and comparison of their characteristics, as
great a distinction will be found to exist between the bird
now before us and Sterna Hirundo, as between the latter
and Sterna Dougallil ; which last is generally admitted to
be a separate species. The bill is different in form, being
shorter, and with the upper mandible more arched through-
out its length ; its colour is also of a deeper coral red, and,
when some few exceptions occur to its being entirely of that
colour, it is the extreme tip alone that is darker. Again,
the tarsi of Sterna arctica are nearly two-eighths of an inch
shorter than those of S. Hirundo, — a fact of itself sufficient
to establish its rank as a species. It also differs materially
in the colour of its plumage ; the whole of the breast, neck,
and under parts being of as deep a grey as the back and
474 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN.
wings, during the breeding season, — whereas, in the Common
species, the forepart of the neck, the belly, and abdomen, are
nearly white, and in the breeding season frequently tinged with
rosy red, as in S. Boysii and Dougalln. The grey colour in the
present species is also of a deeper tint. When in company with
the others, it is easily recognised by its voice, mode of flight,
and other traits, which, though they might pass unheeded by
a common observer, are quickly seized upon by the practical
ornithologist. Upon the Northumbrian coast it breeds in
great numbers on the Fern Islands, where I corrected my
mistake respecting it, having at first conceived it to be the
Incuba- Common Tern. — The colony occupies a large space on the
ion, &c. jgjet seiecf-e(J5 antj the 6ggS are place(i so near to each other
as to render it difficult to traverse the site without crushing
some of them. They are deposited on the bare sand or gra-
vel, to the number of two or three each, rarely four, and
differ much in colour and markings. The prevailing tint
may be stated as a deep oil-green, with darker spots and
blotches. The young, upon exclusion, are covered with a
parti-coloured down, usually a yellowish-grey, with darker
variegations, but they fledge very rapidly, and within a
month from the time of hatching are able to fly. Until they
are so far advanced, they continue to be assiduously visited
by the parents, and are fed with the fry of the sand-launce
(Ammodytes Tobianus), which is taken in the manner com-
mon to the genus, by plunging from some height in the air.
PLATE 90. Fig. 2. represents the Arctic Tern of the natural
size, and in the summer plumage.
General Bill, from the forehead to the tip, one inch and two-eighths
tion.ni I°ng5 with the upper mandible arched ; colour arterial
Adult blood-red ; (in some specimens the extreme tip is black-
J1 " ish-red). Forehead, crown, and long occipital feathers,
plumage. intense black. Chin, and line bordering the black cap,
white. Neck, breast, and the whole of the upper and
under plumage, deep pearl-grey. Outer web of the
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 475
first quill black, except about an inch near to the tip,
which is grey ; those of the other quills having pearl-
grey tips, and exhibiting a silky lustre. Tail white,
and much forked ; the exterior feather on each side ha-
ving its outer web blackish-grey ; those of the rest being
pale pearl-grey. Wings, when closed, reaching to the
end of the tail. Legs and feet deep arterial blood-red.
Tarsi five-eighths of an inch in length. Claws black.
The winter plumage of this bird has not yet been ascer-
tained.
The Young, when fully fledged, have the auriculars and Young.
occiput greyish-black. The upper parts pearl- grey, with
the tips of the feathers pale yellowish-grey. The under
parts white.
LESSER TERN.
STERNA MINUTA, Linn.
PLATE LXXXIX. FIGS. 3. 4.
Sterna minuta, Linn. Syst. 1. 228. 4 — Gmel Syst. 1. 608.— Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 809. sp. l9.—Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 163 Flem* Br. Anim. 1. 144.
No. 237.
Sterna minor, Briss. Orn. 2. 206. pL 19. fig. 2.
Sterna Metopoleucos, Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 608 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 809.
sp. 22.
Larus piscator, Aldrov. Rail Syn. 131. A. 2 — Will. 2. 69.
La Petite Hirondelle-de-Mer, Buff. Ois, 8. 337 — Id. PL EnL 996.— Temm.
Man. d'Orn. 2. 752.
Die Kleine Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 699 — Meyer, Tass-
chenb. Deut. 2. 463.
Hooded Tern, Lath. Syn. 6. 365. 21.
Lesser Tern, Penn, Br. ZooL 2. 546. No. 255. pi. 90 — Arct. ZooL 2. No.
449 — Lath. Syn. 6. 364. 18. — Lewies Br. Birds, 6. pi. 205. — Mmt. Orn.
Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 187— Flem.'Br. Anim.
2. 144. No. 237.
Little Tern, Shaw's Zool. 13. 163.
Richel Bird, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 419.
Lesser Sea Swallow, Albinos Birds, 2. pL 90 — Will. (Angl.) 353. t. 68.
OF the several species of Tern that annually resort to our Periodical
coasts for the purpose of reproduction, this is much the ™*anfc
476
NATATORES. STERNA.
TERN.
smallest, not exceeding nine inches in extreme length, and
measuring in extent of wing about twenty inches. The
communities in which it breeds are seldom so numerous as
those of the preceding and other species, and it is rarely
found in company with them. Thus, upon the coast of
Northumberland, the Lesser Tern is not an inhabitant of the
Fern Islands, the great resort of those already described ;
but this bird annually breeds in a small colony, about eight
or nine miles distant, upon the beach of the mainland, near
to Holy Island It is plentiful in the Frith of Forth, where
it occupies stations on both sides of the arm of the sea ; and
is met with in various parts upon the western shores of the
island, and also on the Lincolnshire coast, in which latter
place, according to MONTAGU, it is very abundant. In this
species the bill is large, strong, and almost strait, the upper
mandible being very little arched. It is an oceanic bird,
being only accidentally met with inland, or upon fresh-water
lakes and rivers. — Its food consists of marine insects and the
fry of different fish. Its habits are so similar to those of the
otner species, as to require no particular detail. — Its eggs
are generally two in number, sometimes three, which are de-
posited on the bare gravel or sand, just beyond the reach of
the highest tides. Their colour is a pale wood-brown, or
oil-green, blotched with brown of different shades. The
Lesser Tern arrives on our coasts, and departs nearly at the
same periods as the other species.
General PLATE 89. Fig. 3. represents the Adult Bird of the natural
Food,
Incuba-
tion, &c.
descrip-
tion.
Adult bird.
Summer
plumage.
size, and in the summer plumage.
Bill yellow, with the tip black ; one inch three-eighths and
a-half in length. Streak from the bill to the eyes,
crown, and long occipital feathers, black, Forehead,
cheeks, forepart and sides of the neck, and the whole of
the under plumage, pure white. Back and wing-co-
verts pearl-grey. The three first quill-feathers blackish-
grey, with their inner webs deeply edged with white ;
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 477
the rest pearl-grey. Tail white, and forked. Wings,
when closed, extending beyond the tail. Legs and toes
yellow ; the tarsi about five-eighths of an inch in length.
Fig. 4. is the Young Bird, when fledged. Young.
Forehead, crown, and occiput, cream-yellow, varied with
blackish-grey on the latter part. Back, scapulars,
and part of the wing-coverts cream-yellow, each feather
having an angular bar near the tip. Chin, throat, and
under plumage, white. Tail white at the base, passing
into cream-yellow at the tip. Bill pale yellow, with its
tip blackish-brown. Legs and toes pale sienna-yellow.
The winter plumage of the adult differs from that of the
summer only, in having the black upon the head less
intense, and the white of the forehead extending farther
backwards.
BLACK TERN.
STERNA NIGRA, Linn.
PLATE XCI.
Sterna nigra, Linn. Syst. 1. 227- 3 — GmeL Sjst. 1. 608 Lath. Ind. Orn-
2. 810. sp. 24 — Briss. Orn. 6. 211. 4 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 144. No. 236-
Sterna fissipes, Linn. Syst. 1. 228. 7 — GmeL Syst. 1. 610 Lath. Ind. dm-
2. 810. sp. 23.
Sterna atricapilla, Briss. Orn. 6. 214. 5.
Larus niger Gesneri, Raii Syn. 131. A. 3 — Will. 269.
Larus minor fidipes nostras, Raii Syn. 132. A. 6 Will. 270.
Larus niger fissipes alis longioribus, Aldrov. Raii Syn. 131. 4 Will. 270
t. 68.
Viralva nigra, Leach in Cat. Br. Mus — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 167.
pL 19.
Hirondelle-de-Mer noir ou 1'Epouvantail, Buff. Ois, 8. 341 Id. PI. Enl.
333 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 749.
Hirondelle-de-Mer a Tete noir, ou le Cachet, Buff. Ois. 8. 342.
Schwarze und Schwarzkehliger Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Nature. Deut. 4
692. and 697-
Schwarzgraue Meerschwalbe, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 461.
Lesser Sea Swallow, Albirfs Birds, 2. t. 89 Lath. Syn. 6. 367. 22. A.
Black Tern, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 547. No. 256 — Arct. Zool. 2. 450 Lath.
Syn. 6. 366. 22.— Id. Sup. 267 — Levin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 206.— Mont.
478 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN.
\
Ornith. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 195. — Flem.
Br. Anim. 1. 144. No. 236.
Black Viralve, Shaw's Zool. 13. 167- pi. 19.
Stern, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 495.
Sterna nsevia, Linn. Syst. 1. 228. 5 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 609 — JBriss. Orn. 6.
216. 6. t. 20. f. 2.
Sterna Boysii, var. B. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 806. sp. 10.
La Guifette, Buff. Ois. 8. 339— Id. PI. Enl. 924.
Die Gefleckte Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 688.
Kamtschatkan Tern, Arct. ZooL 2. 525, A — Lath. Syn. 6. 358. 9. var. A.
PROVINCIAL— Clovenfoot Gull, Scarecrow, Car Swallow.
Periodical THE Black Tern differs from the species already described
visitant. -n preferrjng the lakes and pools of the interior of the
country to the waters of the ocean, and in subsisting upon
Libellulce, and other aquatic insects, in preference to fish.
For these reasons, and from a slight difference of form in the
tail, which is rather less forked, Mr STEPHENS has separated
this and some other species, under the generic title of Vi-
ralva, from the Terns already described ; but as no marked
characters of distinction are displayed in those essential mem-
bers, the bill and legs ; and as the habits of the present (ex-
cept in the points above stated) are very similar to those of
the before described species, I have retained the whole under
the Linnean genus Sterna. Like the foregoing, the present
bird is migratory, being a regular summer visitant ; its arri-
val in the fenny parts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire,
and in the pools of Romney Marsh, in Kent, taking place
towards the end of April, or the beginning of May, and in-
Nest, &c. cubation commences soon afterwards. — It breeds among
sedges or other aquatic herbage, making, according to MON-
TAGU, a nest of similar vegetable matter on a grassy tuft, just
above the surface of the water ; and TEMMINCK further
states that the site is frequently the expansive floating leaf of
the Water Lily (Nympli&a alba). The eggs, from two to
four in number, are of an oil-green colour, tinged with wood-
brown, and blotched all over with deep umber-brown, in
size one-third less than those of the Common and Arctic
Terns. The appearance of the Black Tern in this country
is principally confined to the districts above mentioned, and
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 479
it is rarely met with in the north of England or in Scotland.
On continental Europe, it is ver,y abundant throughout the
whole of Holland, in many parts of France, and in that por-
tion of Hungary which is intersected by lakes and morasses.
Its food chiefly consists of the larger sorts of water-fly, as Food.
LibellulcR) Pliryganece^ &c., but it also eats the fry of fish,
and aquatic worms. Its flight is peculiarly buoyant, and has
been compared to that of Night Jar ; the evolutions being
very rapid, and the turns very abrupt, particularly when
hawking after its food. MONTAGU, in the Supplement to his
Ornithological Dictionary, mentions a chace of this bird by
a Peregrine Falcon, whose repeated pounces it foiled, and
from whom it ultimately escaped, by the dexterity and singu-
lar quickness of its manoeuvres.
PLATE 91. represents this species in both the Summer and
Winter Plumage.
Head and neck entirely black. Breast, belly, and abdo- ^^ral
men, deep blackish-grey. Under tail-coverts white, tion.
Upper plumage and tail deep bluish-grey. Two first Summer
primary quills having the extremity of the inner web
edged with white. Bill about the length of the head,
black. Legs and feet black, with a tinge of red ; and
with the membranes that connect the toes deeply scal-
loped.
Crown of the head, and back part of the neck, white. ^J^
The forehead, cheeks, throat, and fore-part of neck,
pure white. The rest of the plumage as in summer.
During the time of change, the forehead and throat are
more or less spotted with black.
The Young, in addition to the white forehead and throat, Young,
have all the under plumage of a pure white ; and on
each side of the breast is a patch of blackish-grey. The
crown of the head, nape of neck, and mark in front of
the eyes, are black. Back and scapulars brown, tinged
480 NATATORES. STERNA. TERN.
with grey ; the edges of the feathers being yellowish-
white. Wing-coverts, rump, and tail, deep grey. Base
of the bill reddish-brown. Feet and toes bluish-grey,
tinged with flesh-red. In this state the present species
appears to be Variety A. of the Sandwich Tern, in LA-
THAM^S Index Ornithologicus, the Sterna Ncevia of
GMELIN, and the Guifette of BUFFON.
GULL-BILLED TERN.
STERNA ANGLICA, Mont.
PLATE LXXXVIII. FIG. 1.
Sterna Anglica, Mont. Ornith. Diet. Sup. et Tab — Flem. Br. Anira. 1. 143.
No. 233.
Viralva Anglica, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 174.
Sterna Aranea ? Wils. Amer. Orn. 8. 158. pi. 72. f. C.
Hirondelle de Mer Hansel, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 744.
Marsh Tern, Wils. Amer. Orn. as above.
Gull-billed Tern, Mont. Orn. Diet. Sup. and Figure. — Flem. Br. Anhn.
1. 143. No. 233.
Gull-billed Viralve, Shaw's Zool. 13. 174.
THE discovery of this species (which it seems, from re-
Rarevisi- / .
tant. semblance in size and general appearance, had previously
been confounded with the Sterna Boysii of Dr LATHAM), we
owe to the discrimination of MONTAGU, who has pointed out
its distinguishing characters, and given a figure of it in the
Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary. From the
specific name of Anglica (rather inappropriately imposed by
this author), it might be supposed a common and generally
distributed bird throughout this country ; but it is, on the
contrary, one of our rarest species, and has hitherto been
only occasionally met with on the southern coast of the king-
dom, and never in any number together. In its habits it
approaches nearer to the Black Tern than to the oceanic
species previously described, preferring the lakes and rivers
TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 481
of the interior to the open sea, and feeding on insects rather Food.
than on fish. On the European continent, it is abundant in
Hungary (where it frequents the marshes, and the Lakes
Neusidel and Flatten), and on the confines of Turkey. Upon
investigating specimens from North America, I feel no hesi-
tation in considering the Marsh Tern of WILSON'S North
American Ornithology to be the same bird, although Mr
OIID (in the eighth volume of that work), is inclined to re-
gard it as distinct, in consequence of some difference between
the length of the bill and tarsi, as expressed in a drawing of
the Sterna Aranea that he examined, and the proportions of
those parts in the first species, as given by MONTAGU and
TEMMINCK. Tn this Tern the bill is thicker and stronger
than in all the preceding ones, and the angle at the sympha-
sis of the lower mandible more prominent, the tarsi are also
longer ; in all which particulars it shews a striking approach
to the smaller species of the genus Larus, and thus forms a
connecting link between the two genera. It breeds in the
marshes, and on the edges^of the lakes it inhabits, making no
nest, but depositing on the bare ground three or four eggs
of an oil-green colour, spotted with dark brown. It has not Incuba-
been known to breed in England, although most of the spe-
cimens hitherto obtained, as well as that described and
figured by MONTAGU} Were in the summer or nuptial plu-
mage.
PLATE 88. Fig. 1. represents this bird of the natural size, in
the winter plumage.
Forehead and crown white, with the shafts of the feathers General
grey. Anterior angle of the eyes, and spot upon the t^np"
auriculars, greyish-black. Upper parts deep pearl- Winter
grey. Quills grey, having a hoary appearance; the Plumage-
tips of the first five being blackish-grey. Under plu-
mage white. Wings, when closed, extending upwards
of two inches beyond the tail. Bill not quite one inch
and a-half in length, and entirely black. J^egs and toes
VOL. II. H h
482 NATATORES. LARUS.
black, with a slight tinge of red. Tarsi one inch and
three quarters long.
Summer In summer, the forehead, crown, and back part of the
neck are deep black. In other respects there is no
striking difference between that and the winter plumage.
GENUS LARUS, LINN. GULL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL of mean length, strong, strait, cultrated ; the upper
mandible having the tip incurved ; symphasis of the lower
mandible strongly angulated, and ascending from thence to
the point. Nostrils placed in the middle of the bill, lateral,
oblong, narrow, and pervious. Tongue pointed, with the
extreme tip cloven. Wings long, acuminate. Tail even, or
slightly forked.
Legs placed near the centre or equilibrium of the body, of
mean length and strength, with the lower part of the tibiae
naked. Feet of four toes, three before and one behind ; the
three front toes united by a membrane ; the hind one short
and free, articulated upon the back part of the tarsus. Nails
slightly falcate. Tarsi and upper part of the toes scutel-
lated.
The passage from the Terns to the larger and more typi-
cal Gulls, is effected by certain small species of the latter
genus, possessing a less robust bill, and slightly forked tail.
In their changes of plumage also, they shew their connexion
with the former birds, by the head becoming entirely or partly
of a dark colour, as the season of reproduction approaches, and
being more or less white during the rest of the year. In the
larger Gulls the reverse takes place, the head and neck being
of an unsullied white during the summer, and in winter being
NATATORES. LARUS. 483
streaked and varied with blackish-grey. The young of all
the species are long in acquiring maturity, being one or two
years in the smaller, and in the larger extending to the end
of the third, before the plumage is fully perfected. During
these periods the birds of the same year generally associate
together, and the immature are but occasionally seen mixed
with the adults. The Gulls have a very wide geographical
distribution (as might be expected in a typical genus), and
species are found in every division of the globe, and under a
great variety of climate, although the larger ones are mostly
inhabitants of the higher latitudes. Their apparent bulk
greatly exceeds their actual weight, from the head being
large, the wings long, and the body clothed with an abun-
dance of down and feathers. They are endued with great
power of flight, but more remarkably so for the length of
time it can be sustained with little exertion of the pinions
than for swiftness ; and in this state, by keeping the head
opposed to the current of air, they brave the severest storms
with impunity. When in need of repose, they alight upon
the surface of the ocean, where they float with much buoy-
ancy, or, retiring to the beach, stand quietly, till again im-
pelled by hunger to resume their circling flight. They are
birds of voracious appetite, and devour greedily all kinds of
animal matter ; the larger Gulls subsisting upon the dead
carcasses of whales, and other fish, crustaceae, &c. ; and the
smaller upon marine worms, insects, and any refuse of the
ocean, or production of the waters they frequent. Some of
the species are accustomed to fly inland, feeding upon earth-
worms, grubs, and slugs, as exemplified in the Common
Mew (Larus canus). They breed together in large compa-
nies, and in various situations, according to the habits of the
species ; some, as the Kittiwake (Larus rissa), selecting the
small ledges of perpendicular cliffs of rocks overhanging the
ocean ; others, as Larus fuscus and L. argentatus, choosing
flat and exposed rocky islands ; whilst others again, as
Larus ridibundus, &c. retire to the marshes and pools of the
484 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
interior of the country, where they form their nests in the
reeds and other aquatic herbage. In the Kittiwake an ap-
proach to the Petrils is perceptible in the imperfect develop-
ment of the hind toe, and in the decidedly oceanic habits of
the bird.
LITTLE GULL.
LARUS MINUTUS, Pall.
PLATE XCII.
Lams minutus, Pall. Reise, 3. 702. No. 35 — Gmel. Sysl. 1. 595 — Steph.
Shaw's Zool. 13. 206 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 142. No. 2. Straggler.
Larus atricilloides, Gmel. Syst. 1. 601 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 813.
Mouette Pygme'e, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 787.
Die Kleine Meve, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 488.
Little Gull, Lath. Syn. 6. 391. 17 — Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup. App. to
Sup.-— Shaw's Zool. 13. 206 — BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. 226.
Occasional THE Little Gull, as its trivial name leads us to conclude,
visitant. -g one of faQ smanest of the genus, and was first noticed as
an occasional visitant to the British coasts by MONTAGU,
who, in the Appendix to the Supplement of his Ornithologi-
cal Dictionary, has accurately described and given a figure
of an individual that was killed upon the Thames near to
Chelsea, but in an immature state of plumage, being that ac-
quired at the first autumnal moult. Since that time other
instances have occurred at different seasons, so as to exhibit
it when arrived at maturity, both in the winter and summer
plumage ; and, to put us in possession of all the changes it
undergoes, a bird of the year in its first plumage, and pre-
vious to the autumnal moult, was killed upon the Frith of
Clyde, of which the second figure on the plate is a represen-
tation. This specimen, now in the Edinburgh College Mu-
seum, was at first ticketed as the Gull-billed Tern, but the
error was subsequently discovered, and the nomenclature
corrected.
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 485
The Little Gull is a native of the eastern parts of Europe,
being a common and abundant species in Russia, Finland,
the shores of the Caspian Sea, &c., and extends its range to
Siberia, where it breeds. It frequents the lakes and rivers
of the interior, as well as the sea-coast, and subsists upon
worms, insects, and the fry of fish, in habits strongly resem- Food,
bling the other dark headed Gulls. It would also appear to
be a native of America, a specimen having been obtained on
Sir JOHN FRANKLIN'S first expedition, which agreed in every
respect with TEMMINCK'S description of the young of this
species.
PLATE 92. Represents the Adult Bird in the winter plu-
mage, from a beautiful specimen kindly lent to' me for
the purpose by Mr JOHN GOULD, and which was killed
upon the Thames in January 1828. Figure of the na-
tural size.
Forehead, face, throat, tail, and under plumage, pure Genera
white. Anterior angle of the eye, ear-coverts, nape and t^^
back part of the neck, deep blackish-grey. Upper plu- Winter
mage fine pearl-grey, the quills and secondaries tipped F
with white. Interior of the wings or under-coverts deep
grey. Bill brownish-black, tinged with red. Legs and
toes bright tile-red.
In summer the whole of the head and upper part of the Summer
neck become black, as in the next species (Larus ridi-
bundus.) The white of the lower part of the neck, and
of the under plumage, assumes a slight rosy tint ; but
the lower part of the back and the tail remain of a pure
white. The bill also loses its brown tinge, becoming of
an arterial blood-red colour, and the legs and toes ac-
quire an additional intensity of hue.
Fig. £. Is the young of the year, immediately previous to
the autumnal moult.
NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
Forehead and crown white, tinged with grey. Nape, and
back part of the neck, and upper parts of the body,
blackish-grey, tinged with clove-brown, the edges of the
feathers being fringed with greyish-white. Scapulars
edged with white. Greater coverts grey, deeply mar-
gined with white. First four primary quills having
their outer webs and tips black, and the inner webs
greyish- white. Under plumage white. Tail white for
two- thirds of its length, terminated by a broad black
bar, slightly concave or forked. Legs and toes livid or
pale flesh-red. Two or three light grey feathers indi-
cating the approaching change of plumage are seen up-
on the back ; and this change, when perfected, brings
the bird to the state of the Little Gull of MONTAGU, de-
scribed as above mentioned, where the whole of the
mantle and scapulars are stated to be of a "Jine cine-
reous grey? like that of the Herring and most of the
lighter-coloured Gulls.
BLACK-HEADED GULL.
LARUS RIDISUNDUS, Linn.
PLATE XCII.
Larus ridibundus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 811. 2 — Shaw's ZooL 13. 201. pi. 22.
—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 141. No. 230.
La Mouette rieuse, ou a Capuchon brun. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 780.
Schwarzkbpfige Meve, Bechst, Naturg. Deut. 4. 635 — Meyer, Tasschenb.
Deut. 482.
Black-headed Gull, Mont, in Linn. Trans. 7- 284 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and
Sup. and App. to Sup.
Red-legged Gull, Shaw's ZooL 13. 201. pi. 22.
Laughing Gull, Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 291.
'Larus ridibundus, Linn. Syst. 1. 225. 9 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 601.
Gavia ridibunda Phcenicopos, Briss. 6. 197' 14.
Larus cinereus, Raii Syn. 128. A. 5 — Will 264.
Summer La Mouette rieuse, Buff. Ois. 8. 433 — Id. PL Enl. 970.
Plumage. \ Brown-headed Gull, Albin. 2. tab. 86.
Black-headed Gull, Br. ZooL 2. 541. No. 252 — Arct. ZooL 2. No. 455.
Will. (Angl.) 347 Lath. Syn. 6. 380. 9 — BewicWs Br. Birds, ed. 1820,
p. t. 222.
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 487
Larus cinerarius, Linn. Syst. 1. 224. 4 — Gmel Syst. 1. 597.
Larus albus major, Rail Syn. 129 — Will. 264.
La Petite Mouette cendre'e, Buff. Ois. 8. 430 — Id. Fl. Enl. 969.
Greater White Gull of Belon, Will. (Angl.) 348 — Br. ZooL 542. No.
252 var. A.
Red-legged Gull, Lath. Syn. 6. 381. 10 BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826,
p. t. 225.
Larus erythropus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 597- ^
Red-legged Gull, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 533. V
Brown-headed Gull, Lath. Syn. 6. 383. J
PROVINCIAL — Pewit-Gull, Blackcap Gull, Black-head, Pick-mire,
Sea Crow, Mire Crow, Crocker.
Winter
Plumage.
THE changes that this Gull undergoes in attaining ma-
turity, and those incidental to certain periods of the year,
have been so clearly elucidated, and the synonyms of other
authors who have described it so correctly collated by MON-
TAGU (in the Supplement to his Ornith. Diet, and the Ap-
pendix to the same), as to render it quite unnecessary for
me to enter into any discussion respecting its identity under
these different titles, except so far as to remark, that the
Sterna obscura of GMELIN and others, which he thinks ap-
plicable to the present species, I consider as more so to the
young of the Black Tern (Sterna nigra), an opinion I ob-
serve to be also adopted by TEMMINCK. The Black-headed
Gull is one of our commonest species, and during the months
of spring and summer leaves the sea-shore, its winter resi-
dence, and retires to the interior parts of the country, con-
gregating in large bodies, which take up their abode amidst
the pools and wet places of fenny districts, as well as on low
islands, and on the margins of lakes or artificial ponds, In
such situations, upon the tufts of rushes and other aquatic
herbage, this bird makes its nest of decayed grass and other Nest, &c.
similar materials, and lays three or four eggs of a pale oil-
green or wood-brown colour, blotched with black and grey.
These are hatched early in June, or sometimes (in cases of
a remarkably fine season) before the expiration of May. The
young, when first excluded, are covered with a parti-colour-
ed down of white, grey, and brown, and soon |become
fledged ; insomuch, that I have seen flocks as early as on
488 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL
the 22d day of June at a considerable distance from the
nearest breeding-station, on their way to the coast or to other
districts. During the breeding season, this Gull subsists up-
Food. on earth-worms, slugs, and winged aquatic insects, which
latter it is frequently seen pursuing and catching in its flight
along the course of any river or smaller stream. When on
the coast, it feeds more upon small fish, crustaceae, &c., but
even at this period is frequently observed in company with
the Common Gull in fields adjoining the shore, and watch-
ing the upturning of the land by the ploughs, where it
greedily devours the larva? of the Cockchaffer, and other co-
leopterous insects. The eggs of this bird are well-flavoured,
having no fishy taste, and, when boiled hard, cannot easily
be distinguished from those of the Lapwing, for which they
are sometimes substituted. The young are also eaten, al-
though not held in such estimation as we are told they for-
merly were, when great numbers were annually taken and
fattened for the table, and when the Gullery (or summer re-
sort of this species) produced a revenue of from L. 50 to
L. 80 per annum to the proprietor. These birds are very
regular in their migratory movements (for such their depar-
ture to and from the sea-coast may properly be termed), and
I am informed by a gentleman, upon whose property is a piece
of water annually visited by a considerable colony, that their
return in spring may almost be calculated upon to a day.
In Northumberland they have for many years past enlivened
the precincts of a large pond at Pallinsburn, the seat of A.
ASKEW, Esq., from whence flocks (in consequence of the in-
crease produced by the protection afforded during the breed-
ing season) have at different times detached themselves to
such other situations in the neighbourhood as possessed suit-
able facilities for reproduction. The note of the Black-
headed Gull is a hoarse cackle, which, from its effect when
quickly repeated, has been compared to a laugh, and has
given rise to its specific appellation. Its flight is easy and
buoyant, and when on wing it is readily distinguished from
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 489
any of the other species by the whiteness of the middle part
of its primary quills.
PLATE 92. Represents this bird of the natural size, and in
the summer or nuptial plumage.
Head, chin, and throat, dark hair-brown. At the poste- General
rior angle of the eye is a spot of white. Eyelids and t^^
bill deep crimson-red, the latter measuring one inch and Summer
two-eighths from the forehead to the tip. Mantle, sea- Plumage-
pulars, and lesser wing-coverts pale pearl-grey. Outer
border of the wings, greater coverts, rump, and tail,
pure white. First quill-feather having the lower part
of the outer web, the tip, and outer margin of the inner
web, black ; the rest of it white. The three next quills
have the greater part of their outer webs white ; their
ends (except the extreme point, which is white) and
half their inner webs, black, passing into blackish-grey
near the bases of the feathers. The remainder of the
quills are pearl-grey, marked with black, as in the pre-
ceding. Under plumage white, having, in some speci-
mens, a slight rosy tint. Legs and toes deep arterial
blood- red.
In winter, or after casting the hair-brown hood, the head Winter
and throat are of a pure white, except a small spot of
blackish-grey at the anterior angle of each eye, and an-
other of the same colour upon the auriculars. The bill
and legs also lose a little of the intensity of hue that
distinguishes them in summer.
The young of the year, previous to the autumnal moult, Young,
have the head and occiput of a yellowish-brown, and the
auriculars and space behind the eyes white. Lower
part of the neck and under plumage white, with a faint
blush of pink. Mantle, scapulars, and lesser wing-co-
verts broccoli-brown, the feathers being edged with pale
yellowish-brown. Lower part of the back, and basal
part of the tail, white, with a broad bar of clove-brown
490
NATATORES. LARUS.
GULL.
occupying the tips of the feathers. Greater wing-co-
verts grey. Quills having their outer webs and tips
black, their inner ones white. Outer ridge of the wings
white. Base of the bill grey, tinged with flesh-red, the
point darker. Feet and toes yellowish-grey.
After the autumnal moult the head becomes white, streak-
ed with grey, and the spots before each eye, and upon
the ear-coverts a deep clove-brown. The mantle ac-
quires the pearl-grey tint ; but the wing-coverts conti-
nue to be varied with brown and yellowish-white. The
tail also retains the dark bar at its tip.
COMMON GULL.
LARUS CANUS, Linn.
PLATE XCIII.
Larus canus, Linn. Syst. 1. 224. 3 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 596.— Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 815. sp. 9 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 198 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 140.
No. 228.— Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 420. No. 185.
Larus cinereus minor, Rail Syn. 127. A. 3.— Will. 262. t. 76.
Gavia cinerea, Briss. Orn. 6. 175. 8. t. 16. f. 1.
Mouette a pieds bleus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 771. — Cuv. Reg. Anim.
1. 519.
Sturm-meve, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 475.
Common Gull, Br. Zool. 2. 538. No. 249 — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 458 —
Wilt. (Angl.) 345. t. 76 __ Lath. Syn. 6. 378. 8 — Lewies Br. Birds, 6.
pi. 215 __ Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.— Shaw's Zool 13. 198.
Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet. 234.
Adult in
Summer
plumage.
( Common Gull, Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 216.
Tumfe 1 Mouette ^ Pieds bleus> ou Grand Mouette cendre'e, Buff. Ois. 8. 428 —
Larus hybernus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 596.
Gavia hyberna, Briss. 6. 189. 12.
Larus fuscus, seu hybernus, Rail Syn. 130. A. 14 — Will 266. t. 66.
La Mouette d'Hiver, Buff. Ois. 8. 437.
Winter Mew, or Coddy-moddy, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 537. No. 248 — Will.
(Angl.) 350. t. QQ.— Albinos Birds, 2. pi. 87 — Lath. Syn. 6. 384. 13.—
Lewirfs Br. Birds, 6. pi, 210 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup.
Young after
first Moult.
PROVINCIAL — Sea-Mall, Sea-Mew.
IN dimensions, the Common Gull rather exceeds the pre-
ceding species, being about sixteen inches long, whereas the
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 491
other measures scarcely more than fourteen. The tarsi and
the naked part of the tibia? are also longer, and the bill,
which is deeper and more compressed, has the angle of the
lower mandible more conspicuously prominent, in which
points it shews a closer affinity to the larger species of Gulls.
It is very generally distributed throughout the kingdom,
and is perhaps more numerous than the Black-headed Gull,
though the supposition may in part arise from its habit of
frequenting the interior of the country almost through the
whole year in search of worms, the larvae of coleopterous in-
sects, and other similar food, by which it is brought oftener Food,
under observation, and in districts but seldom visited by the
other species. Besides this mode of subsistence, it preys
(when residing upon the coast) upon fish, crustacese, and
molluscous shell-fish ; and, to prove its omnivorous appetite,
it will (when in a confined state, which it bears without im-
patience) eat bread, and MONTAGU mentions that one which
he kept for some years, in defect of fish or worms, would
pick up dry grain. It breeds upon the coast on rocks over-
hanging the sea, and sometimes on islands, or on the shores
of lakes, as I have found, in two or three instances, in the
Western Highlands of Scotland. At St Abb's Head, a bold
and rocky headland of Berwickshire, these birds are very nu-
merous during the breeding-season, and occupy the whole
face of the cliff. This is at no great distance from the Fern
Islands, yet they are never known to haunt that locality, the
resort of their congener the Lesser Black-backed Gull, and
of several species of Terns. — The nest is formed of sea- weed, Nest, &c.
dry sea-grass, &c., and the eggs, two or sometimes three in
number, are of a pale oil-green or a yellowish-white colour,
blotched irregularly with blackish-brown and grey. This
species requires two years to attain maturity, the plumage of
the first year resembling that of some of the larger Gulls,
viz. clove-brown, having the feathers edged with yellowish or
greyish- white, and the tail terminated by a broad black bar.
This livery at each moult gradually gives place to the pure
492
NATATORES. LARUS.
GULL.
General
descrip-
tion.
Winter
Plumage.
Summer
Plumage.
Young.
white and pearl-grey, the characteristic colours of the adult
bird, and the change is completed as soon as the caudal band
is entirely obliterated. The Common Gull has a wide geo-
graphical distribution, and during the summer is met with
in most of the arctic regions, inhabiting, according to Dr
RICHARDSON, those of North America, as well as of the Eu-
ropean and Asiatic continents. In winter it quits the higher
latitudes, and migrates southward, spreading its numbers
along the coasts of a large proportion of the temperate parts
of Europe.
PLATE 93. Represents this bird in the adult state, and in its
winter plumage.
Bill about one inch and a half long, bluish-green at the
base, passing into ochre-yellow towards the point, with
the gape orange-red, and the naked circle round each
eye reddish-brown. Head, occiput, nape, and sides of
the neck, white, streaked with broccoli-brown. Under
plumage, rump, and tail, pure white. Mantle, scapu-
lars, and wing-coverts, fine pearl-grey. Greater quills
black towards their tips, which are white, the two first
having also a large white spot within the black. Legs
and feet greenish-grey, with a tinge of flesh-red.
In the spring the head and neck lose the streaks of brown,
and become of an immaculate white. The bill changes
to a deeper yellow, and the eyelids assume a bright ver-
milion-red colour. In other respects the plumage re-
mains as in winter.
The young, when they first take wing, have the chin
white, and the head, neck, and under plumage, greyish-
white, marbled with pale clove-brown. In front of the
eyes is a patch of deep clove-brown. Upper plumage
clove-brown, each feather being edged with greyish-
white, and upon the wing-coverts with yellowish- white.
Greater wing-coverts and quills blackish-grey. Rump
arid basal part of the tail, white, the other part black,
KITTIWAKE. NATATORES. LARUS. 493
with a greyish-white termination. Legs and toes grey-
ish-white, tinged with flesh-red. Base of the bill livid,
or flesh-red ; the tip blackish-brown.
After the first autumnal moult, a few grey feathers appear
upon the mantle, and the greater wing-coverts acquire
the same tint. The head and under parts become
whiter, the crown, the back part of the neck, the breast,
and flanks remaining streaked with pale clove-brown.
After the second autumnal moult, the mantle acquires
its permanent pearl-grey colour, and the quills their
characteristic markings ; but some clove-brown spots re-
main upon the wing- coverts, and the caudal bar is still
distinguishable. These signs of immaturity disappear
at the next vernal moult, after which the bird merely
undergoes the mature changes incident to the seasons of
the year.
KITTIWAKE.
LARUS RISSA, Linn.
PLATE XCIV.
Lams Rissa,Lmn. Syst. 1. 224. 1 — Gmel Syst. 1. 594 — Flem. Br. Anim.N
1. 141. No. 229.
Larus tridactylus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. 2. 81 7. 1 1 — Faun. Amer. Boreal.
2. 423. No. 188.
Rissa Brunnichii, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 181. pi. 21.
Mouette Tridactyle, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 774.
Kittiwake, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 539. "No. 250.— Arct. Zool. 2. No. 456
Lath. Syn. 6. 393. 19 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds,
ed. 1826, p. 3. 218.
Brunnich's Kittiwake, Shaw's Zool. 13. 181. pi. 21.
Larus Tridactylus, Linn. Syst. 1. 224. 2. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 595.
Gavia cinerea, Briss. Orn. 6. 185. 11. t. 17. f. 2.
La Mouette cendree tachete'e, Buff. Ois. 8. 424 Id. PL EnL 387.
Tarrock, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 540. No. 251 — Arct. Zool. 2, 533 Lath. Syn.
6. 392— Id. Sup. 208 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 6. pi. 213 — Mont. Ornith.
Diet.
Young Kittiwake, Bewick's Br. Birds, p. t. 220.
PROVINCIAL — Annet, Kishifaik.
Old in all
states of
plumage.
494 NATATORES. LARUS. KITTIWAKE.
Periodical Dr FLEMING, in his History of British Animals, has given
the Kittiwake as a resident species, but has not mentioned
any authority for the statement. My own observations, I
must confess, are at variance with this assertion, nor do I find
that it has been admitted a£ such by any other of our orni-
thological writers. It appears, on the contrary, to be a sum-
mer visitant, making its first appearance upon our coasts
about the end of April, and departing soon after the duties
of reproduction have been effected, that is, in the early au-
tumnal months. Its distribution, during its sojourn with us,
is confined to the coast of Scotland and some of the northern
English counties, and, from the facts I have been able to col-
lect, it seems to be more abundant upon the eastern than on
the opposite side of the kingdom, which may perhaps be at-
tributed to the line of its migrative flight from the eastern
parts of Europe, to which shores the great body of those that
breed here seem to retire in winter. In the south of Eng-
land it is of very rare occurrence, and MONTAGU mentions
only two instances in which it had come under his observa-
tion. It is a bird of wide distribution, extending over the
greater part of Europe up to very high latitudes, over the
northern regions of Asia, a great portion of the North Ame-
rican continent (where RICHARDSON says it abounds on the
lakes in the interior of the fur countries), and the coasts of
the Pacific, as well as the shores of the Arctic Seas, to which
latter it annually retires to breed. It differs from the more
typical Gulls in the imperfect development of its hind toe,
which is small, and without any claw, on which account it
has been made the type of a genus called Rissa by Mr STE-
PHENS. The tarsi are also shorter and weaker in proportion
to its bulk, and the legs are placed further behind the centre
of the body, in which points it approaches to the Petrels,
and connects the Gulls more immediately with that group.
Its habits are also rather similar to the former, for unlike to
Larus canus, L. ridibundus, and some others, it never ad-
vances inland in search of worms, grubs, &c., but procures
KITTIWAKE. NATATORES. LARUS. 495
the whole of its subsistence, being fish, crustaceae, and other Food,
aquatic animal food, from the element over which it is seen
almost constantly sporting. From the shortness and posi-
tion of its legs it is unable to walk or run upon land with
the same ease as its congeners, on which account, added to
the necessity of supplying it with a fish diet, I have found
it more difficult to be kept in a state of confinement than any
of the others. Great numbers of this species breed upon the
Bass Rock in the Frith of Forth, on Fowls-Heugh near
Stonehaven, and other precipitous rocks on the eastern coast
of Scotland. In England they breed at Flamborough Head
in Yorkshire, and at the Fern Islands on the Northumbrian
coasts, where they select the small clefts and narrow ledges
of the perpendicular and detached basaltic rocks, called The
Pinnacles, whose summits are occupied by the Guillemot and
Razor-Bill. Upon these, although in many instances not
above a handVbreadth wide, they build their nests (of sea- Nest, &e.
grass and other dry materials), and rear their young in se-
curity. The latter seem to be instinctively aware of their
perilous situation, where sometimes the least movement would
precipitate them into the waves beneath, and are observed
seldom to change their attitude in the nest till sufficiently
fledged to be enabled to provide for their own safety, The
eggs, usually two in number, are of a greyish- white, slightly
tinged with wood-brown, and blotched with dark or blackish
brown and purplish-grey. During incubation the females
are very tame, and will sit upon their eggs or callow young,
though closely approached ; at the same time the males con-
tijiue to fly round in circles, uttering the frequently repeated
cry, from the sound of which they have obtained their com-
mon English name Kittiwdke. In the young state this bird
was formerly called the Tarrock, which was considered to
be a distinct species ; but its history is now better known,
and the changes it undergoes from its earliest age to matu-
rity (which is not attained till after the second autumnal
moult) have been correctly ascertained.
496
NATATORES. LARUS.
KlTTIWAKE.
General
descrip-
tion.
Adult
Bird.
Summer
Plumage.
PLATE 94. Fig. 1. Represents the Adult Bird in summer
plumage.
Bill one inch and a half long from the forehead to the tip,
to which latter it arches gradually ; of an intermediate
colour between lemon and wax-yellow. Gape reddish-
orange. Orbits of the eyes the same. Head, neck,
under plumage, and tail, pure white. Mantle, scapu-
lars, back, and wing-coverts, fine pearl-grey. Exterior
quill, having the whole of its outer web and the end,
black, the second with the end and greater part of the
outer web the same ; the third with its end and but a
small part of its outer web the same ; the fourth and
fifth having the ends only black, and being terminated
by a small spot of white. Legs and toes greenish-
black.
Yearling
Bird.
Young.
Fig. 2. Represents this Gull after the first autumnal moult.
Auriculars, hind part of the head, and spot in front of the
eyes, blackish-grey. Chin and under parts white.
Mantle deep pearl-grey. Wing-coverts (particularly
near the ridge of the wing and the shoulders) spotted
with clove-brown. The three first quill-feathers black,
except where a band of white margins the inner webs.
Tail having the outmost feathers on each side white,
the rest with a blackish-brown bar at the tip, about
three quarters of an inch in width. Bill tinged with
blackish-green. Legs and toes deep oil-green.
The young of the year, that is, before the first general
moult, have the spot in front of the eyes, the auriculars,
and the nuchal crescent, deep blackish- grey. The back
deep pearl-grey. The upper ridge of the wing greyish-
black. The scapulars and tertials, with part of their
outer webs, black. Tail, with the exception of the out-
most feather on each side, having a broad black bar
along its end. Bill black. In this state, or a little
farther advanced in age, it is figured in the later edi-
tions of BEWICK'S British Birds.
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 497
IVORY GULL.
LARUS EBURNEUS, Gmel.
PLATE XCIV."
Larus eburneus, Gmel Syst. 1. 59G.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 81C. sp. 10 — Ed-
monst. in Mem. of Wern. Soc. 4. 5G1. — SaUne in Trans. Linn. Soc. 12.
548 — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. lf)5.
Larus candidus, Flcm. Br. Anim. 1. 142. No. 3.
La Mouette Blanche, Buff. Ois. 8. 422 Id. PI. EnL 994.
Mouette Blanche, ou Senateur, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 769.
Senator, Ray's Syn. 126. 1.
Ivory Gull, Pen'n. Arct. Zool. 2. 457 — Lath. Svn. 6. 377 — Shaw's Zool-
13. 195 Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 214.
THE immaculate white which distinguishes the adult plu- Rare visi-
mage of the Ivory Gull, renders it one of the most beautiful
of the genus. In this country it is only known as a rare vi-
sitant, and the first authenticated instance of its capture is
that mentioned by LAURENCE EDMONSTON, Esq. as publish-
ed in the fourth volume of the Memoirs of the Wernerian
Society, where the bird (which appears to have been one of
the second year) is stated to have been shot in Balta Sound,
Shetland, in December 1822. Since that time it has been
killed, also in an immature state, in the Frith of Clyde. It
is a native of the northern Arctic Regions, and is found in
very high latitudes, being common in Greenland and Spitz-
bergen, where it breeds upon the rocks and cliffs that over-
hang the sea. Captain SABINE states it to be abundant in
Baffin's Bay, and Dr RICHARDSON also mentions it as fre-
quenting Davis^s Straits, and that it was discovered breeding
in great numbers on the high perforated cliffs that form the
extremity of Cape Parry in latitude 70°. Except during the
breeding season, it is generally seen out at sea, often in com-
pany with the Fulmar, and is observed to be, like it, a con-
stant attendant upon the whale-fishery, greedily feeding up- Food.
on the blubber, which, with other carrion and animal matter,
constitutes its food. It is stated to possess little of that shy
VOL. ii. i i
498 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
disposition for which so many of the tribe are remarkable,
admitting of a near approach, particularly when engaged in
feeding, and is therefore easily killed. Its voice is strong
and harsh. The colour of its eggs remain undescribed,
PLATE 94 *. Represents an adult bird of the natural size.
General Bill stout, measuring from the forehead to the tip one inch
descrip- anc[ three quarters ; wax-yellow at the base, passing to-
Adult wards the point into ochre-yellow. Orbits of the eyes
Bird. red. Legs black, with the tibiae feathered nearly to the
tar sal joint. Hind part of the tarsi covered with rough
scales. Membranes of the toes deeply scalloped. Hind
toe short, with a strong nail. Entire plumage pure
snow-white. Wings, when closed, extending beyond
the tip of the tail.
Young. In the young state, the forehead, region of the eyes, and
chin, are blackish-grey. Back, scapulars, and wing-co-
verts, white, spotted and barred with brown. The ends
of the primary quills, and tip of the tail, are barred with
the same. As the bird advances in age, the brown spots
and bars gradually decrease at each moult, and it is
supposed to be perfectly matured in two years and a
half.
GLAUCOUS GULL.
LARUS GLAUCUS, Brunn.
PLATE XCIX.
Larus glaucus, Brunn. Orn. Boreal. No. 148.— Gmel. Syst. 1. 600.— Lath.
Ind. Orn. 2. 814. sp. 7 — Sabine in Linn. Trans. 12. 543. No. 19 — Steph.
Shaw's Zool. 13. 189 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 139. No. 223.— Faun. Amer.
Boreal. 2. 416. No. 181.
Le Burgermeister, Buff. Ois. 8. 418.
Goeland Burgermeister, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 757.
Weisschwingige Meve, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4, 662.
Glaucous GuE, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 532. 13 — Id. Sup. 70 — Lath. Syn. 6.
374. 4 — Beivick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 209. and Young, p. t. 212 —
Shaw's Zool. 13. 189.
Burgermeister GuU, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 139. No. 223.
Iceland Gull, Edmmston in Mem. of Wern. Soc. 4. 176. and 503.
GrLL. NATATORES. LARUS. 499
THIS large and powerful species was first noticed as a Periodical
winter visitant in Shetland in 1809, by LAURENCE EDMON- visltant-
STON, Esq., who afterwards published an interesting account
of its habits and distinguishing characters in the fourth vo-
lume of the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, to which pa-
per, from its length, I beg to refer my readers. Subsequent
observation has proved it to be not uncommon in that re-
mote district, both in the immature and perfect state, during
the winter ; but it regularly migrates on the advance of
spring to higher northern latitudes, for the purpose of re-
production. It occasionally extends its equatorial flight as
far to the southward as the Northumbrian coast, where seve-
ral have at different times come under my inspection in a
recent state. These, with the exception of one in the adult
winter plumage (now in my collection), have all been young
birds ; some, from their spotted and brown appearance, the
young of the year ; others, where the markings had become
fainter, and the ground of a purer white ; such as had un-
dergone one or perhaps two autumnal moultings. The
Glaucous Gull is pronounced by TEMMINCK to be the largest
of the tribe, but my own measurements of several indivi-
duals, with the testimony of Captain SABINE and other
writers who have described the species, shew that its average
dimensions in length and extent of wing are inferior to those
of the Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). Its form
is perhaps thicker and more compact, and its weight may
sometimes exceed that of the other ; though I possess a spe-
cimen of the latter bird which weighed two ounces more than
any of the Glaucous Gulls that have come under my obser-
vation. By Dr RICHARDSON it is described as a common
species during the summer, in Greenland, Baffin's Bay, and
the Polar Seas, where it breeds upon the precipitous rocks
which line those coasts. Its eggs are stated to be of a pale Eggs.
purplish-grey, with scattered spots of umber-brown and sub-
dued lavender-purple. It is a bird of voracious appetite,
and preys not only upon fish and the smaller water-fowl, but
580
NATATORES. LARUS.
GULL.
Food. devours carrion and offal of every kind. A young bird, now
in my collection, was killed upwards of a mile inland, feed-
ing upon the carcass of a dead horse. Its swallow is also
very capacious, as appears from the fact, that an individual
of this species, killed during Captain Ross's expedition, dis-
gorged a Little Auk when it was struck, and, on dissection,
another was found in its stomach. When at rest, and not
excited by the cravings of hunger, its manner is grave and
silent, not exhibiting the vivacity and clamorousness that
distinguish many of the other species ; but though apparent-
ly inactive, it is still wary in permitting a near approach, in
general keeping carefully out of the range of gunshot. Its
flight is easy and graceful, appearing even more buoyant
than that of other Gulls, which Mr EDMONSTON is inclined
to attribute to the position in which the wings are kept, as
they seem, when in action, to be more extended than in the
other species. When roused, it soars at a respectful distance
round the object of its alarm, uttering at intervals a loud
and hoarse scream, easily distinguishable from that of the
Black-backed Gull, or of its other nearly allied congeners.
In Shetland the young of this, as well as of the next species,
are indiscriminately called Iceland Scorie (that is, young
Iceland Gull).
PLATE 99. represents the mature Bird in winter plumage,
and of the natural size, from a specimen killed on the
coast near Holy Island, in February 1830.
General Bill, from the forehead to the tip, two inches and a half
loug ; wine-yellow, with the angular projection of the
lower mandible arterial blood-red. Head and neck
white, streaked with pale clove-brown, but having the
chin immaculate. Under plumage, rump, tail, tips of
the secondaries, tertials, and greater quills, pure white,
with a silky lustre. Mantle, wing-coverts, and basal
part of the quills fine pearl-grey. Legs and toes livid
flesh-red. Wings, when closed, not reachirg to the end
of the tail.
Adult bird.
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 501
In summer the head and neck are pure white ; the grey Summer
streaks disappearing on the approach of spring. p umaSe-
In the young state the ground colour of the plumage is a Young.
greyish-white, with a slight tinge of wood-brown, barred
and spotted all over with grey or broccoli-brown. Tail
irregularly spotted with pale brown. The shafts of the
primaries white, and the whole of the webs greyish-
white. Bill livid at the base, and the tip blackish-
brown. Legs and feet pale flesh-coloured red.
After the second moult the ground of the plumage becomes
whiter, and the spots and bars decrease in size and hue.
The next change produces some of the pearl-grey fea-
thers upon the mantle, and the under plumage and tail
become white. At the succeeding moult, that is, at the
age of three years, the bird is matured, and undergoes
no further change, except the periodical one, upon the
head and neck.
ICELAND GULL.
LARUS ISLANDICUS, Edmonston.
PLATE XCVIII.
Larus islandicus, Edmonston, in Mem. of Wern. Nat. Hist. Soc. 4. 506.
—Flem. Br. Anim. i. 139. No. 224.
Larus argentatus, an Arctic var. Sabine, in Trans. Linn. Soc. J2. 546. No.
20 — Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 764. " un variete' qui parait propre aux
contrees polaires."
Larus leucopterus, Buonap. Sjn. No. 301. — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 418.
No. 183.
Larus arcticus, Macgillivray, Trans. Wern. Soc. 5. 268.
Larus glaucoides, Temm. Man.
White- winged Silvery Gull, Richardson and Swainson.
Iceland Gull, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 139. No. 224.
IN Mr EDMONSTO^S first notice of the Glaucous Gull, under Periodical
the name Larus islandicus, a suspicion is started, from the dif- visitant-
ference of size existing between individuals of the newly obser-
ved kind, that there might be two species, having such a rela-
502 NATATORES. LARUS. GUM,.
tion to each other as that between the Greater and Lesser
Black-backed Gulls (L. marinus and L.fuscus). This, upon
further investigation, was found to be actually the case ; and
some interesting remarks upon the new species, by the same
gentleman, were afterwards published in the latter part of
the fourth volume of the Wernerian Society's Memoirs,
where he has appropriated to it the specific title of Islandi.
cus, having then ascertained that the larger species previously
noticed, and to which he had applied the term, was already
recorded, and generally known by the name of Larus glau-
cus. In point of priority, therefore, this name ought to be
adopted for the present species, in preference to that of La-
rus arcticus given to it by Mr MACGILLIVRAY, or that of
L. leucopterus, under which it is described by RICHARDSON
and SWAINSON, in the Fauna Americana Borealis, and by
the Prince of Musignano, in his Synopsis. Captain SABINE,
in his Memoir on the Birds of Greenland, in the twelfth vo-
lume of the Linnean Transactions, has described the same
bird under the title of Larus argentatus, and this in deference
to the opinion of Monsieur TEMMTNCK, who at that time
considered it as a variety of the Herring Gull, occasioned
by the rigours of a polar climate. The fact, however, of the
true L. argentatus having been found with its characteristic
markings unchanged in those regions, together with the per-
fect and undeviating whiteness of the wings of the other
bird, and the difference of proportions observable in the bills
of the two species, might justly have made the former author
hesitate before yielding even to the authority of a naturalist
so deservedly eminent. The present species, in all its states
of plumage from adolescence to maturity, bears the closest
resemblance to the Glaucous Gull, and can only be distin-
guished by its striking inferiority of size, and by the greater
length of its wings, which reach, when closed, upwards of an
inch beyond the end of the tail ; whereas in the other bird
they scarcely reach that part. Like its prototype it is a
winter visitant to the Shetland Isles and the northern parts
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 503
of Scotland, and a few occasionally stray as far southward as
the Northumbrian coast, where I have obtained three or
four specimens, but all in the immature plumage. Its habits
are stated by Mr EDMONSTON to be more lively and active
than those of the Glaucous Gull, and it displays more ele-
gance of form. It is a common species in the Arctic Regions,
and is mentioned by SABINE and RICHARDSON as being plen-
tiful in Baffin's Bay, Davis Straits, and Melville Island. It
is also common upon the Iceland coast, to which it is pro-
bable many of those that winter with us, and in similar lati-
tudes, retire to breed. It feeds upon fish, the flesh of whales, Food-
and other carrion, and when upon our shores, is sometimes
seen in company with the Black-backed Gull.
PLATE 98. represents the immature Bird of the natural size,
from a specimen obtained on the Northumbrian coast.
Bill, from the division of the feathers upon the forehead General
to the tip, two inches long ; pale flesh-red, or livid, at tion.nP"
the base, with the tip blackish, or dark horn colour. Immature
• . i
Ground colour of the entire plumage pale yellowish-
grey ; the feathers being barred and mottled with pale
broccoli-brown. Quills greyish-white, with a slight tinge
of broccoli-brown. Tail pale broccoli-brown, marbled
with white. Legs and toes pale livid flesh-red. Tarsi
two inches and a quarter long. Irides pale yellowish-
grey.
Another specimen in my collection, that was killed in Fe-
bruary 1832, has the ground colour of the plumage
nearly white. Head and neck faintly rayed with very
pale broccoli-brown. Wing-coverts and back varied with
broccoli-brown,but with the bars narrower, and at greater
distances than in the bird described above. Quills nearly
pure white. Tail white, varied with irregular streaks
and bars of broccoli-brown. The under plumage mar-
bled with pale broccoli-brown and white. Bill, legs, and
504 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
feet as in the former. This appears to be a bird that
has undergone two general autumnal moultings.
Adult. The mature plumage resembles that of the Glaucous Gull ;
the head, neck, tail, and under parts being of a pure
white. Mantle and wing-coverts pale pearl-grey. Quills
with their shafts and tips pure white, passing into pale
pearl-grey towards the base. In winter the head and
neck become streaked with grey.
HERRING GULL.
LARUS ARGENTATUS, Brunn.
PLATES XCVI. AXD XCVI ".
Larus argentatus, Brunn. Orn. Boreal. No. 149 — GmeL Syst. 1. 600. sp.
18 Flem. Br. A mm. 1. 140. No. 227 Shaw's Zool. 13. 148, but not all
the synonyms, some of them belonging to the Iceland Gull.
Larus glaucus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 1st ed. 493.
Larus marinus, var. B. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 814. sp. 6.
Le Goeland a Manteau gris et blanc, Bvff. Ois, 8. 421.
Goeland a Manteau Bleu, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 764.
Weissgraue Meve, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 471.
Herring Gull, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 535. No. 246. pi. 80, but not the syno-
nyms.— Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup. but not the synonyms, which belong
to the Lesser Black-backed Gull.— Bewick^ Br. Birds, ed. 1826, pt. 207.
— Rennie's Mont. Orn. Diet, but not the synonyms. — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 140. No. 227.
Silvery Gull, Penn. Arct. ZooL 2. 533. 6 — Lath. Svn. 6. 375.
Wagel Gull, Br. Zool. 2. 536. No. 247. A. pi. 88 Will. (Angl.) 349.
t. 66 «.
ALTHOUGH the Herring Gull is an indigenous, and, upon
many parts of our coast, a common species, its history has
been involved in much confusion, by PENNANT, MONTAGU,
and others, having mistaken for it (and quoted as a syno-
nym) the Larus fuscus of LINNAEUS, which, from the specific
character of " pedibus flams? clearly refers to the Lesser
• This name is also applied to the young of the Greater and
Black-backed Gulls ; all of them bearing a near resemblance to each other
in the immature plumage.
GULL. NATA TORES. LARUS. 505
Black-backed Gull. LATHAM, in his Index Ornithologicus,
has unfortunately added to this confusion, by adopting the
Herring Gull of the British Zoology as a synonym of L.
fuscus, and describing the L. argentatus of BRUNNICH (the
true Herring Gull), as merely a variety of the Greater Black-
backed Gull (Larus marinus). This misapplication of terms
has been rectified by TEMMIKCK, in the second edition of his
" Manuel d'Ornithologie," and by Dr FLEMING, in his His-
tory of British Animals, where the distinctive characters of
each are satisfactorily pointed out. — The partial distribution
of the various species of Gulls, especially during the breed-
ing season, cannot have escaped the notice of those inte-
rested in ornithological pursuits ; and to this must be attri-
buted the comparative rarity of the present species upon the
Northumbrian coast, where, however, its place is amply sup-
plied by the Lesser Black-backed Gull. On the western
side of the island, particularly on the coast of Wales, and
along the Bristol Channel, the Herring Gull is, on the con-
trary (as we learn from MONTAGU), the predominant species,
being to L. fuscus in the proportion of fifty to one. It there Nest &c<
breeds in immense numbers, in an island off St David's
Headland, placing its nest, which is composed of dried
grasses, among the herbage and loose stones. The eggs,
two or three in number, are of a deep oil-green, blotched and
spotted with blackish-brown. Like the other large Gulls, it
feeds upon fish, and other marine produce, such as star-fish, Food
crabs, and various crustaceae ; and is observed to trample the
soft sand, by moving its feet alternately on the same spot, in
order to bring to the surface the shrimps and worms from
beneath It also devours the eggs of the other sea-fowl ; and
upon the Fern Islands I have almost annually observed two
or three of these birds, apparently barren, that subsisted by
plundering the nests of its congeners, and the Terns, Guil-
lemots, &c., 011 which account the name of the Egg-Gull has
been there bestowed. Dr FLEMING mentions having found
a quantity of wheat in the stomach of a bird of this species.
506 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
When arrived at maturity, which is not till after the third
year, the cry of the Herring Gull, particularly during the
breeding season, is very loud and piercing, and very unlike
that of L.fuscus ; is readily uttered upon any alarm, and
promptly attended to as a signal by all other birds within
hearing. If taken when young, or even afterwards, it soon
becomes reconciled to confinement, and will grow tame ; in
which state it can accommodate itself to a diet of worms,
raw flesh, or any other animal matter. It is numerously
scattered throughout a great part of Europe, especially on
the coasts of our own island, Holland, and France ; but in
the high northern latitudes is of rarer occurrence than many
of the other Gulls.
PLATE 96*. represents this species of the natural size, and
in the summer plumage.
General Bill, from the division of the feathers on the forehead to
descnp. ^ ^^ twQ incnes an(j one-eighth long ; colour ochre-
Adult bird. yellow. The angle of the lower mandible orange-red.
Orbits of the eyes orange. Head, neck, whole of under
plumage, tail, and ridge of each wing, pure white. The
six greater quills crossed by a black bar, which in the
first occupies three-fourths of the quill, but becomes ra-
pidly narrower through the rest, and is scarcely an inch
broad upon the sixth. First quill having a white tip
(for two inches in some specimens), marked with a small
black spot on each web near the extreme point ; the
second with two spots on each side of the shaft, its tips
and those of the next four quills being white* Tertials
and secondaries tipped with white. Irides pale gam-
boge-yellow. Legs and feet pale ash-grey, tinged with
flesh-red. Tarsus about two inches and a-half in length.
PLATE 96. represents the immature Bird.
Young. Bill blackish-grey. Irides dark. Head, neck, and under
First year. plumage greyish-white, streaked and marbled with pale
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 507
broccoli-brown ; the chin almost immaculate, and of a
purer white. Upper plumage a mixture of grey, clove-
brown, and pale wood-brown. Quills uniform greyish-
Uack. Tail having its base marbled with white and
clove-brown, the remainder plain clove-brown, with the
exception of the extreme tip, which is white. Legs and
toes pale flesh-red.
After the second general moult the markings are the same. Second
but paler ; and the basal part of the tail whiter.
At the succeeding moult, the pale grey or mature feathers Third
begin to shew themselves upon the mantle, and the tail
feathers nearly lose the black bar. The bill and irides
also gradually change colour to those of the adult bird.
During the first and second years it is very difficult to
distinguish this and the young of the Lesser Black-
backed species from each other.
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.
LARUS MARINUS, Linn.
PLATE XCVII.
Larus marinus, Linn. Syst. 1. 225. 6 — Gmel. Syst. 1. 598,— Brunn. No.
145.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 843. sp. 5.—Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 140. No. 225.
Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 186.
Larus niger, Briss. 6. 158. 1.
Larus maximus ex albo et nigro varius, Raii Syn. 127. A. 1. — Will. 261.
Le Goeland noir Manteau, Buff. Ois. 8. 405. t. 31 — Id. PL Enl. 990 —
Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 760.
Mantel Meve, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. 4. 653.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut.
2. 465.
Great Black and White Gull, Will. (Angl.) 334. t. 67 — Alton's Birds,
3. t. 94.— Low's Faun. Oread. 116.
Black-backed Gull, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 528. No. 242 Arct. Zool. 2.
No. 451 — Lath. Syn. 6. 371. 2.— Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 208.—
Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826. p. t. 201 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 140. No. 225.
Great Black-backed Gull, Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Shaw's Zool. 13.
186.
Cobb, Rennie's Mont. Ornith. Diet. 92.
Larus nsevius, Gmel. Syst. 1. 598.
Larus marinus junior, var. y. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 314. \- Young.
Le Goeland varie'e ou Grissard, Buff Ois, 8. 413. t. 31— Id. PI, Enl. 266.
508 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
THE average size of this species exceeds that of the Glau-
cous Gull, although TEMMINCK has stated the latter to be
the largest of the genus. It is met with, but by no means
plentifully, upon most of our coasts ; usually alone, or in
pairs, and rarely in a flock of more than eight or ten toge-
Breeding ther. Its breeding stations are on the . Steep-holmes and
places, and Luncly islands in the Bristol Channel, Souliskerry in the
Orkneys, the Bass Island in the Frith of Forth, and one or
two other stations upon the Scottish coast. Its eggs, three
or four in number, resemble those of the Herring and Lesser
Black-backed Gulls in colour and markings, but are larger.
This bird, like its congeners, is of a wary disposition, and
must be taken by surprise, as it rarely admits of a sufficiently
Food, near approach. It is of very voracious appetite, and preys
upon all kinds of animal substance that may happen to be
cast on shore. It also keeps a close watch upon the Lesser
Gulls, whom it drives from any food they may have disco-
vered, appropriating the whole to itself ; and MONTAGU men-
tions it as being a great enemy to the fishermen, as it will
sever and devour the largest fish from their hooks, if left dry
by the ebbing of the tide. Its flight is slow, but buoyant,
without much exertion of the pinions, and, like other species,
always opposed to the wind. Its voice is a strong and hoarse
cackle, that may be heard at a great distance, when the bird
is sailing in the air, and this is more frequently repeated
during the spring and breeding season than at any other
time. The young of this, and of the Herring and Lesser
Black-backed species, have all been confounded together un-
der the name of Wagel (or Grey) Gull ; the plumage of all
three being very much alike till they attain maturity. The
present species is common in many parts of the north of Eu-
rope, but does not appear to extend, at least in any consi-
derable numbers, to very high latitudes ; as Captain SABIXE,
in his Memoir of the Greenland Birds, states that it was only
once seen in Baffin's Bay, and Dr RICHARDSON never men-
tions it.
5
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 509
PLATE 97. represents this Bird of the natural size, from
a specimen that was killed upon the Northumbrian
coast, in April 1828, when it still exhibited a few dark
streaks upon the crown, and hind part of the neck, in-
dicative of the winter plumage.
Bill, from the division of the feathers on the forehead to General
the tip, two inches and a half long ; of a pale gamboge tion.nP
or primrose-yellow ; the angular projection of the lower Adult.
mandible orange-red, with a dusky spot in the centre,
Head, hind part of neck, whole of the under plumage
and tail, pure white. Mantle and wing-coverts grey-
ish-black. Greater quills black ; the first one tipped
with white for upwards of two inches, the next having
a white spot about an inch from the end, and the ex-
treme tip white ; the rest white only at their very points.
Tertials and secondaries deeply tipped with white.
Legs pale flesh-red, with a livid hue.
In the young state, the colours of the plumage, and their Young.
disposition, are very nearly the same as in the young of
the Herring Gull, and the changes annually undergone
are also similar.
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.
LARUS FUSCUS, Linn.
PLATE XCV.
Lams fuscus, Linn. Syst. 1. 225. 9 — Gmel. Sysi. 1. 599 Lath. Ind. Orn.
2. 815. sp. 8. but not the English synonym, — Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13.
194 Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 140. No. 226.
Goeland a pieds jaunes, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 767.
Herrings-meve, Bechst. Naturg. Deut 4. 658.
Gelbfussige Meve, Meyer, Vog. Deut. 2. Heft. 18.
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup., but not the syno-
nyms which belong to the Herring Gull — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826.
p. t. 205 — Sliaw's Zool. 13. 194.
\rellow-legged Gull, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 140. No. 226.
510 NATATORES. LARUS. GULL.
PENNANT seems to have been the first of our authors who
noticed this species as British ; for the bird he has described,
as seen on the coast of Anglesea, and which he felt uncertain
whether to rank as a distinct species, or only as a variety of
Larus marinus, possesses the essential characteristic of the
bright yellow legs, which distinguish it from its larger con-
gener, as well as from the Herring Gull. Its characters
were afterwards more fully detailed and established by MON-
TAGU (in his Ornithological Dictionary and the Supplement),
under the English title it now bears, though the Latin sy-
nonyms attached to it, and to his Herring Gull, are mis-
quoted, and ought in fact to be reversed. This error he was
led into by PENNANT and LATHAM, both of whom have con-
founded the Herring Gull with the Larus fuscus of LIN-
N^US ; though the specific characters of " dorso fusco, pedi-
bus flavis," manifestly pointed out the bird to which the ap-
pellation belonged. The present is a common species on
many parts of our coast, abounding where the Herring Gull
is only met with occasionally, or in small numbers. Thus
upon the Northumbrian shore, and in several districts of
Scotland, it is the prevalent kind, and may be found at all
seasons of the year. It breeds abundantly on the Fern
Islands, colonizing two of the largest and flattest, and never
(as far as my observation goes), tenanting the tops or ledges
Nest, &c. of the precipitous rocks. — The nests are composed of a quan-
tity of dried grass, and the three or four eggs are of a deep
oil-green, blotched irregularly with brownish-black. The
young, upon exclusion, are covered with a parti -coloured down
of grey and brown, but this is rapidly hidden by the growth
of the regular feathers, and in a month or five weeks they
are able to take wing. These breeding places, or galleries,
are sometimes at a considerable distance from the sea, a large
one being in a morass on the moors, near the boundary be-
tween Northumberland and Cumberland. They are met
with also on some of the islands in the fresh-water lakes of
GULL. NATATORES. LARUS. 511
Scotland ; where Sir WILLIAM JARDINE and myself have ob-
tained the eggs and young upon one of the islands of Loch
Awe. In spring, towards the middle of April, when they
begin to pair, the birds that breed upon the Fern Islands
assemble every afternoon in large flocks upon the opposite
mainland, and advance inland for four or five miles, aligh ting-
occasionally upon the pastures and newly sown corn-fields.
At this time they are very clamorous, keeping up a conti-
nual concert, by uniting in their calls peculiar to the season,
and which, when heard at a distance in a calm evening, have
a wildness of sound that is far from being disagreeable. This
Gull subsists on fish, and other marine animal food, and is Food,
often seen in pastures, or newly ploughed fields near the
coast, in search of worms, larva?, and insects. It readily
submits to confinement, and may be reared from a tender
age, as it thrives upon worms, or any kind of offal ; and I
have frequently kept it for the sake of witnessing the changes
in its progress to maturity, which, as in the other large
species, occupy three years. Its digestion is rapid, and its
voracity very great, as the following circumstance will shew :
An individual, that I kept in a garden, made no difficulty
of swallowing whole young Plovers of both kinds, when fully
half grown. In size this species equals the Herring Gull,
but its bill is shorter and thicker in proportion. The young
of both (as has already been observed) are so similar as to
make it very difficult to distinguish them, particularly during
the first or nestling plumage.
PLATE 95. Adult Bird of the natural size, and in summer
plumage.
Bill ochre-yellow ; angle of the lower mandible fine aurora- General
red. Irides gamboge- yellow ; orbits of the eyes vermi- 5^np"
lion-red. Legs and feet clear saffron-yellow. Head, Adult.
neck, under plumage, lower part of the back, and tail, s"mmer
pure white. Mantle and wing-coverts deep blackish-
grey. The six greater quills black ; the first with a
512 NATATORES. CATABACTES.
broad bar and the extreme tip white ; the rest having
only triangular white tips. Secondaries and tertials
Winter with white ends. In winter the head and neck are
streaked with grey or pale broccoli-brown ; the rest of
the plumage remaining a§ in summer.
Young. The young have been mentioned above ; but may be known
from those of L. marinus and L. argentatus, by the
shorter bill, and the less livid hue of their feet and legs.
GENUS CATARACTES, RAY. SKUA.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL of mean length, strong, thick, compressed at the
point ; having the base of the upper mandible covered as far
as the horny tip, with a cere ; culmen rounded. Dertrum
hard, convex, and hooked. Under mandible forming a sa-
lient angle from the symphasis, and fitting into the upper
one. Tomia bending slightly inwards, sharp, and cutting.
Nostrils lateral, placed immediately behind the dertrum, in
the front of the cere, or soft corneous part of the bill, diago-
nal, narrow, anteriorly widest, and pervious.
Wings elongate, with the first quill-feather exceeding the
others in length. Tail rounded, with the intermediate fea-
thers more or less produced.
Legs having the lower part of the tibiae naked, covered in
the back part with rough scales. Feet of four toes, three
before and one behind. The front toes webbed ; the hind
toe very small, and articulated nearly on the same place with
the front ones. Nails falcated, and sharp; the inner one
being the strongest and most hooked.
By many of the earlier systematists, the Skuas were in-
cluded in the Gulls, but as essential characteristics (not pos-
NATATORES. CATARACTES. 513
sessed by the former), are developed in their structure, par-
ticularly in the bill, feet, and tail, and as a marked differ-
ence also exists in their habits, it has been considered neces-
sary to establish a distinct genus for their reception. This
has been done by ILLIGER, in his Prodromus, under the ge-
neric name of Lestris, in which he has been followed by TEM-
MINCK, and several other writers; but as our countrymen?
WILLOUGHBY and RAY, had previously separated them from
the genus Larus, under the appellation of Cataractes, I have
followed the rule so generally adopted by naturalists, that of
acceding to priority of imposition. In the cereous or soft
horny covering of the basal part of the bill, the acuminate
feathers of the neck, and their strong hooked talons, the
Skuas exhibit a distant affinity to birds of the raptorial or-
der, and their bold disposition and daring habits are also in
apparent accordance with this connexion. They are the de-
termined enemies of the Gulls, whom they unceasingly per-
secute on the wing, in order to make them disgorge their
half digested or recently swallowed food, and which is then
adroitly caught by the former before it can reach the water.
They also feed upon the flesh of the whale and other marine
animal substances. An approach to the Petrels is seen in their
general contour, and in the structure of their feet, the hind
toe in some species consisting of little more than a nail.
Their wings are long and pointed, and their flight, which is
strong, and at times astonishingly rapid, is performed by
successive jerks (in each of which a considerable curve is de-
scribed), bearing but little resemblance to that of the true
Gulls. They are natives of the Arctic Regions, and are found,
particularly during the season of reproduction, in very high
latitudes. The plumage of both sexes is alike, but some
species undergo great changes in their progress to maturity.
VOL. n. x k
514 NATATORES. CATARACTES.
COMMON SKUA.
CATARACTES VULGARIS, Flem.
PLATE C.
Cataractes vulgaris, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 137- No. 221.
Cataractes Skua, Stephens, Shaw's Zool. 13. 215.
Larus Cataractes, Ztnn.Syst. 1. 226. 11 — Gmel Syst. 1. €03 Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 818. sp. 12.
Catharacta Skua, Brunn. No. 125.
Lestris Cataractes, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 792.
Cataractes et Catharacta, Raii Syn. 128. A. C — Will. 265.
Le Goeland Brun, Buff. Ois. 8. 408.
Stercoraire Cataracte, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 792.
Brown Gull, Alton's Br. Birds, 2. t. 85.
Skua Gull, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. 529. No. 243 — Arct. ZooL 2. No. 531. A.
—Lath. Syn. 6. 385. 14 — Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 211 — Mont. Orn.
Diet, and Sup — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 229 — Rennie's Mont.
Orn. Diet. 463.
Common Skua, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 137. No. 221 — Shaw's Zool. 13. 215.
Port Egmont Hen, Cook's Voy. 1. pp. 44, 272.
PROVINCIAL— Sea-Eagle, Bonxie, Skui.
THIS bird, which appears to be the largest of its genus,
is of compact form, and bold disposition ; which latter qua-
lity is more especially seen during the season of reproduction,
a period when the instinctive passions of the feathered race
are called into unwonted activity. It will at that time at-
tack even man without hesitation, should he happen to ap-
proach the site of its nest ; and so impetuous is its attack,
that the natives of the Shetland Isles (its peculiar habitat in
this kingdom) are compelled on such occasions to defend
themselves by holding up a knife, or sharp stick; upon
which the assailant has frequently been known to transfix
and kill itself, whilst making its pounces upon the head
of the intruder. Dogs, foxes, and other animals, are in-
stantly attacked, and so severely dealt with by the wings
and beak of the strong and pugnacious Skua, as to be soon
driven to a hasty retreat, and no bird is permitted to ap-
proach with impunity; the Eagle itself being beaten off
SKUA. NATATORES. CATARACTES. 515
with the utmost fury, should it happen to venture within
the limits of the breeding territory. As above observed, it
inhabits the Shetland Isles, breeding in communities upon
Foulah, Unst, and Rona's Hill in Mainland. It selects the
wild and unfrequented heaths for the site of its nest, which Nest, &c.
is formed of a few dried weeds and grasses ; and its eggs,
two in number, are of a dark oil-green colour, blotched with
irregular brown spots, with smaller whitish ones intermixed.
After performing the duties of incubation, it retires to the
adjacent seas, where it leads a solitary life, rarely approach-
ing the land till the advance of spring again urges it to seek
its summer retreat. It is but seldom found in the southern
parts of Scotland, and the instances of its capture upon the
English coast are of still rarer occurrence, MONTAGU only
mentioning one, of a bird that was shot at Sandwich, in
Kent. — The food of the Skua consists of fish, the carcasses Food.
of cetacea?, and other marine animal matter ; a great part of
which is obtained from the larger Gulls, whom it attentively
watches, and pursues with unceasing hostility, till they are
compelled to disgorge the fish or other substance that they
had previously swallowed, and which, from its rapid evolu-
tions on the wing, it generally catches before reaching the
surface of the water. In this, as well as in the other species,
the claws are strong and much hooked, particularly that of
the inner toe ; and it is said to make use of them in hplding
fast its prey, which is torn in pieces after the manner of
raptorial birds. The Skua inhabits also various parts of the
Arctic Regions, and is well known in the Feroe Islands, in
Norway, and Iceland. It is, moreover, a native of the high
latitudes of the southern hemisphere, and is mentioned by
COOK, and other circumnavigators, under the name of the
Port Egmont Hen. Dr FLEMING * observes, that the fea-
* For some interesting observations upon the Skuas, I refer my readers
to a paper by Dr FLEMING, published in the first volume of the Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal.
xk 2
516
NATATORES, CATARACTES.
SKUA.
General
descrip-
tion.
Male bird.
Female.
thers of these birds have a very strong smell, not unlike that
peculiar to the Petrels, to which genus, as I have before re-
marked, they shew much affinity *.
PLATE 100. represents the Common Skua in about four-
fifths of the natural size.
Head, cheeks, and region of the eyes, deep yellowish-
brown. Neck having the feathers wiry and pointed;
and, together with the under plumage, of a deep
brownish-grey, or clove-brown, marbled and tinged
with reddish-brown. The first quill having its outer
web and tip blackish-brown ; the rest the same, on the
tips only, the basal part being white ; shafts of all of
them white, and strong. Upper plumage dark reddish-
brown, with lighter -coloured oblong spots. Tail of
twelve feathers; its basal half white, the remainder
deep brown ; rounded, with the two middle feathers a
little exceeding the rest in length. Bill brownish-black,
with the soft corneous part slightly elevated above the
hooked tip. Lower mandible grooved, and forming an
angle at the symphasis. Orbits black; irides deep
hazel-brown. Legs rather strong, and covered with
large prominent black scales. Claws black, strong,
hooked, and grooved beneath.
The Female resembles the Male bird both in colour and
size ; and there appears to be but little variation in the
changes of plumage from the Young to the Adult
state.
* Mr NEILL has now (1832) in his possession a Skua, that was brought
to him as a nestling from Rona's Hill in summer 1820, when the gentle-
men engaged in the Government Trigonometrical Survey were encamped
on that mountain. It likes herring, which it swallows whole, but prefers
a piece of very fat boiled mutton ; it is also fond of soft cheese. When it
cries, it opens its mouth to the full gape, and the scream it utters sounds
somewhat like skuL It moults but once a-year. When irritated, or pre.
paring to attack, it raises the neck-feathers in the manner of a game-ccck.
SKUA. NATATORES. CATARACTES. 517
POMARINE SKUA.
CATARACTES POMARINUS, Steph.
PLATE CI.« *
Cataractes Pomarinus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 216. pi. 24.
Lestris Pomarinus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 793.— Faun. Amer. Boreal.
2. 429. No. 194.— Sabine, Sup. Parry's 1st Voy. 206. 22.
Stercoraire Pomarin, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 793.
Stercoraire raye', Orn. 6. 152. No. 2. t. 13. f. 2.
Felsen Meve, Meyer, Vog. Deut. 2. Heft 20.
Pomarine Skua, Shaw's Zool. 13. 216. pi. 24.
Pomarine Jager, Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 429. No. 1 94.
THIS species, intermediate in size between the Common Occasional
and Arctic Skuas, was first specifically described by TEM-
MINCK in his " Manuel d'Ornithologie," appearing, when
previously met with, to have been confounded with the lat-
ter of these birds. Since its distinctive characters have been
made known, and a greater degree of attention has been be-
stowed on ornithological pursuits, we find it more frequently
recognised , and within the last two or three years several
specimens have been obtained on the English coast, particu-
larly in Yorkshire and Durham, during the autumnal months.
In November 1831, a letter from RQDSTON READ, Esq. of
Frickly Hall, near Doncaster, informed me of his having
killed three of these birds off Scarborough, in the month
preceding ; and a subsequent communication from Mr WIL-
LIAMSON of the latter place, contained an account of others
which had come under his examination, all of them killed
upon the same part of the coast. He also gives an interest-
ing account of their manners, to observe which Mr READ
and himself had proceeded to sea in an open boat ; and he
goes on to say, " we were not disappointed, for, after rowing
out to sea about four or five miles, we had the pleasure of
seeing two in full chase after the other Gulls, in the manner
of the Lestris (Cataractes) Parasiticus, only appearing more
518 NATATORES. CATARACTES. SKUA.
bold, striking them with great force and power, and pursu-
ing them to a great distance ; the Gulls making a loud and
screaming noise every time they were struck at. I got an
Arctic Gull (Skua) in company with them, but saw no
more ; nor have any of the Skua Gulls been seen or heard
this year." All these specimens appear to have been birds
of the first year, the description of their plumage answering
to that age as given in TEMMINCK'S " Manuel d'Ornitho-
logie ;" nor have I yet learned that an adult bird has been
killed in Britain. In Europe, the present species is found
upon the coasts of Sweden and Norway, where it breeds,
but has not hitherto been met with in Shetland (the resort
of the other species), or any of the northern Scottish Islands.
According to Dr RICHARDSON, it is common in North Ame-
rica, inhabiting the northern outlets of Hudson^s Bay and
Food, other Arctic seas, where it subsists upon fish, and other ani-
mal substances cast on shore, as well as on the disgorge-
ments of the Gulls, when pursued and attacked by it. He
adds, " that it retires from the north in the winter, and
makes its first appearance at Hudson's Bay in May, coming
in from seaward." It breeds in situations similar to those
selected by the Common and Arctic Skuas, constructing its
Nest, &c. nest of moss, dried grass, &c. TEMMINCK mentions the
eggs as two or three in number, of a yellowish-grey colour,
thinly spotted with blackish-brown. This species is readily
distinguished at all ages from the Arctic Skua by its supe-
rior size, by the greater length of its wings, and the rounded
ends of the two projecting tail-feathers ; as well as by other
distinctive tokens in colour and disposition of plumage.
PLATE 101. represents the matured bird, from a specimen in
the collection of Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, Baronet.
General Bill, from the forehead to the tip, one inch and three-
tion. eighths long ; the soft corneous part greenish-grey, the
Adult bird. tip black. Irides dark- brown. Face, crown of the head,
occiput, back, scapulars, wings, and tail, deep blackish-
SKI A. NATATORES. CATARACTES. 519
brown, with a slight tinge of grey. Sides and nape of
the neck clothed with long subulated feathers of a glis-
tening sienna-yellow. Throat, forepart of the neck,
belly and abdomen, white. Breast having a collar or
gorget of greyish or broccoli brown spots. Flanks and
lower tail-coverts dashed with greyish-brown. The two
middle tail-feathers elongated, but preserving their
breadth throughout. Shafts of the quills and tail-fea-
thers white. Legs and toes black ; the hind toe very
short, and armed with a stout nail.
The following description answers to one of the indivi-
duals examined by Mr WILLIAMSON, and agrees with
one in my possession; being the plumage of the first
year.
Length twenty inches; breadth of the extended wings Young.
forty-six inches. Bill one inch and a half long, of a
bluish colour ; the upper mandible having the culmen
rounded, as far as the dertrum, which is bent down
like that of the Common Skua, and is black. A groove
from the top and bottom of the nostrils extends to the
base of the bill, making the cereous part of the upper
mandible appear as if in three longitudinal divisions.
The lower mandible has its tomia bending inwards, and
a longitudinal groove extends from the base for upwards
of half its length. Irides hazel. Legs and feet bluish-
black, with the claws black and much hooked. Head
and neck clove-brown, tinged with grey, and the fea-
thers very finely margined with pale brown. Upper
plumage deep clove-brown, with the tips of the feathers
yellowish-brown ; broadest on each side of the shaft,
and looking like two spots. Under plumage having the
basal part of the feathers white, the rest marbled with
yellowish-brown and clove-brown. Upper and under
tail-coverts transversely barred with pale clove-brown
and reddish- white. Shafts and basal part of the inner
Young.
520 NATATORES. CATARACTES. SKUA.
webs of the quill-feathers white ; the tips and outer
webs black. Wings, when closed, reaching upwards of
an inch beyond the tail. Tail-feathers having part of
their shafts and the basal half of their inner webs white ;
the rest black ; and the two middle ones exceeding the
rest about three-quarters of an inch in length, but pre-
serving their full breadth, and rounded at the ends. As
the bird advances in age the under parts become whiter,
and the subulated feathers upon the head and neck make
their appearance.
ARCTIC SKUA.
CATARACTES PARASITICUS, Flem*
PLATE CI. AND CI *.
Cataractes parasiticus, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 138. No. 222.
Lestris parasiticus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 796. — Faun. Amer. Boreal.
2. 430. No. 195 Sabine, Mem. Birds of Greenland, 551. No. 24.
Stercorarius Cepphus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 211. pi. 23.
Stercorarius longicaudus, Briss. Orn. 6. 155.
Larus parasiticus, Linn. Syst. 1. 226. 10. — Gmel. Syst. 1. 601.— Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 819. sp. 15.
Le Labbe a longue queue, Buff. Ois. 8. 445 — Id. PL Enl. 962.
Stercoraire parasite, ou Labbe, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 796.
Arctic Bird, Edward's Glean. 148 and 149.
Arctic Gull, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 533. No. 245. pi. 87.— Arct. Zool. No. 459.
—Lath. Syn. 6. 389. 10. t. 99 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup.— Lewirfs
Br. Birds, 6. pi. 20T — Bewick's Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 232 — Flem.
Br. Anim. 1. 138. No. 222.
Arctic Jager, Shaw's Zool. 13. 211. pi. 23 — Faun. Amer. Boreal. 2. 430.
No. 195.
Larus crepidatus, Gmel. Syst. 1. 612 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 819. sp. 14.
Lestris crepidatus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. ed. 515.
Cataracta Cepphus, Brunn. 36. No. 126 — Rail Syn. 129. 11.
Cepphus, Dr Lyons in Trans. Phil. Soc. 42. 137.
Le Labbe, ou Stercoraire, Buff. Ois. 8. 441. t. 34 — Id. PL Enl. 991.
Labbe a courte queue, Cuv. Ileg. Anim. 1. 520.
Bkck-toed Gull, Penn. Br. ZooL 2. 532. No. 224. pi. 86 Arct. Zool.
2. No. 460.— Lath. Syn. 6. 387. 15 — Id. Sup. 268.— Bewick's Br. Birds.
ed. 1826, p. t. 235 — Mont. Orn. Diet, and Sup.
PROVINCIAL — Teazer, Dung Hunter, Scull, Boatswain, Dung
Bird, Faskiddar, Dirten - Allen, Scoute-Allen, Badock, Allan,
Skui.
SKUA. NATATORES. CATARACTES. 521
IN its young state, as the Black-toed Gull (Larus crepi- Periodical
datus) of authors, this species is not of unfrequent occur-
rence, during the autumnal months, upon the northern coast
of England ; to which it is attracted by the Gulls that fol-
low the shoals of herring on their approach to the shallows,
for the purpose of depositing their spawn. Like the other
Skuas, it obtains the greater part of its subsistence by con-
tinual warfare on the above-mentioned birds ; vigorously Food,
pursuing and harassing them till they are compelled to dis-
gorge the food previously swallowed. In this occupation its
dark plumage and rapid flight are certain to attract the at-
tention of the spectator ; and there are few probably who
have visited the coasts of Scotland, and the northern districts
of England, who have not witnessed and admired the aerial
evolutions of the Teazer, and the distress of its unfortunate
object of attack. It is but very rarely met with beyond the
precincts of the Shetland and Orkney Isles in its adult state,
and only one instance has occurred within my own observa-
tion, viz. on an excursion to the Fern Islands in the month
of May, when two of these birds flew ahead ofrthe boat in a
northerly direction; and which were perfectly distinguish-
able by their lengthened and slender middle tail-feathers,
and the black and white of their plumage. This Skua does
not appear to be a permanent resident in any part of the
British dominions, for Low, in his " Fauna Orcadensis," de-
scribes it as a migratory bird, arriving there and in Shetland
in May, and departing in autumn, or as soon as the duties
of reproduction have been effected. From its absence, in
the adult state, from our southern coast, it would seem that
the line of its winter migration is more to the eastward ; and
this agrees with the statement of TEMMINCK, who gives as
its habitats the shores of the Baltic, of Norway and Sweden.
— It breeds upon several of the Orkney and Shetland Isles,
and is gregarious during that period ; and the situations se-
lected for nidification are the unfrequented heaths at some
distance from the shore. The nest is composed of dry grass Nest, &c,
522
NATATORES. CATARACTES.
SKUA.
and mosses, and its two eggs are of a dark oil-green, with
irregular blotches of liver-brown. At this season the bird is
very courageous, and, like the Common Skua, attacks every
intruder upon the limits of its territory, by pouncing and
striking at the head with its bill and wings. It also occa-
sionally endeavours to divert attention by feigning accidental
lameness, in the same manner as the Partridge and Lapwing.
Its flight is rapid and peculiar, being performed by succes-
sive jerks, which render it easily distinguishable from the
Gulls, amongst whom it is so often seen mingled, in watch-
fulness of their movements. This species is widely distri-
buted throughout the higher Arctic Regions, and was met with
in all the late Expeditions to the polar seas, both in Europe
and North America.
General
descrip-
tion.
Adult bird.
PLATE 101.* represents the Arctic Skua of the natural size,
and in the matured plumage.
Bill having the cereous part greyish-black, with the tip
darker ; depressed, and broad at the base ; grooved as
in the Cat. Pomarimts, and forming three plates ; lower
mandible laterally grooved for two-thirds of its length ;
the symphasis forming a slight angle ; commissure
straight to a little beyond the line of the nostrils, when
it becomes curved in both mandibles. Irides chesnut-
brown. Forehead, chin, cheeks, sides of the neck, and
breast, pale straw-yellow. Belly yellowish- white, pass-
ing towards the abdomen and upon the flanks into
greyish-brown. Feathers of the upper part of the neck
wiry and acuminate, forming a kind of collar. Crown
of the head, nape of the neck, back, quills, tail, and
under tail-coverts, brownish-black, tinged with grey,
deepest upon the head and the extremities of the wings
and tail. Shafts of the quills and tail-feathers whitish
to near their points. The two middle tail-feathers much
produced, and tapering to a fine point. Wings, when
closed, very little longer than the lateral feathers of the
SKUA. NATATORES. CATARACTES. 523
tail. Legs blotched with yellow; front of the tarsus
scutellated, the back part reticulated with small pointed
conical scales, giving it a roughness to the feel. — Both
sexes are alike.
PLATE 101. The bird of the year, in the natural size; from
a specimen obtained on the coast of Northumberland.
Head and neck clove-brown, with striae of pale yellowish- Young,
brown ; most conspicuous upon the ear-coverts and hind
part of the neck. Back, wing-coverts, and scapulars,
deep clove-brown ; the feathers being tipped with yel-
lowish-white, inclining upon the ridges of the wings to
yellowish-brown. Quills brownish-black, with the lower
part of the inner webs and shafts white. Tail the
same ; the two middle feathers about half an inch longer
than the rest, and sharp pointed. Under plumage pale
clove-brown, undulated with yellowish- white and pale
wood-brown. Legs having the posterior part of the
webs and toes yellowish-white, the front part and claws
black.
In this, and a still farther advanced state, it answers to
the Black-toed Gull of our authors.
GENUS PROCELLARIA, LINN. PETREL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL strong, straight, thick, subcylindrical ; the upper
mandible broader than deep at the base ; tip distinct, com-
pressed, arched, and hooked ; lower mandible laterally fur-
rowed, with a distinct, semi-truncate, and angulated tip,
much compressed, and fitting into the hooked dertrum of
the upper mandible. Tomia of both mandibles sharp ; those
of the upper slightly overlapping the under ones. Nostrils
524 NATATORES. PROCELLARIA.
tubular, contained in an elevated convex sheath reaching as
far as the arch of the dertrum, opening outwardly by a single
orifice. Wings long and acuminate ; the first quill-feather
exceeding the rest in length. Tail slightly rounded. Legs
of mean length and strength ; tarsi reticulated ; feet of three
toes, webbed ; toes long and slender ; the outer and middle
ones being of nearly equal length, and longer than the inner
one ; hind toe represented by a strong and slightly recurved
nail. Claws long, and rather falcate.
The present genus, of which the Fulmar may be con-
sidered the type, has been separated from the rest of the
Petrels (genus Procellaria of authors) by some of the most
eminent systematists of our age, on account of the different
character displayed in the form of the bill. In the members
of this genus it is of great power, being much dilated at the
base, and armed with a very strong and hooked dertrum.
The nostrils, though divided by a septum within the nasal
sheath, exhibit externally only one large rounded aperture.
Their habits are more diurnal than those of the Shearwaters
and Storm Petrels. Their flight is easy and buoyant, and
they are almost constantly on wing, only alighting on the
ocean to take a short repose, and rarely coming to land, ex-
cept during the period of incubation. They feed upon the
blubber of whales and other cetaceous animals, as well as
fish, and possess (like most of the nearly allied groups) the
property of squirting a clear liquid oil from their tubular
nostrils with much force, and as a method of defence. The
sexes are of similar plumage, and the changes from the young
to the adult state, although not violent, are supposed to oc-
cupy two years. They are inhabitants of the higher latitudes
of both Hemispheres, and breed in the holes and on the ledges
of precipitous rocks ; laying but one egg, which is of a large
size, and white.
PETREL. NATATORES. PROCELLARIA. 525
FULMAR PETREL.
PROCELLARIA GLACIALIS^ Linn.
PLATE CII."
Procellaria glacialis, Linn. Syst. 1. 213. 3.—Gmel. Syst. 1. 562 — Lath. Ind.
Orn. 2. 823. sp. 9.— Sabine, in Linn. Trans. 12. 553 — Flem. Br. Anim.
1. 135. No. 217-
Procellaria cinerea, Briss. 6. 143. 2. t. 12. f. 2.
Fulmarus glacialis, Steph. Zool. 13. 234. pi. 27.
Fulmar, ou Petrel puffin-gris blanc, Buff. Ois. 9. 325. t. 22.
Petrel de 1'Isle de St Kilda, Buff. PI. Enl. 59.
Petrel Fulmar, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 802.
Fulmar Petrel, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 549. No. 257. pi- 91 — Arct. Zool. 2.
No. 461 — Lath. Syn. 6. 403. 9 — Lewirfs Br. Birds, 6. pi. 217 — Mont.
Orn. Diet, and Sup.— BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 259.
Northern Fulmar, Shaw's Zool. 13. 234. pi. 27-
PROVINCIAL — Mallemuck, Malmoke, Mallduck.
THE steep and rocky St Kilda, one of the western islands
of Scotland, is the only locality within the British dominions
annually resorted to by the Fulmar, the rest of the Scottish?
and our more southern coasts, being rarely visited even by
stragglers. Upon St Kilda these birds are found in vast
numbers during the spring and summer months, breeding in
the caverns and holes of the rocks ; and, from the various
uses to which the down, feathers, and oil of the young are
applied, contribute essentially to the comfort of the inhabit-
ants.— They lay but one egg each, white, and of a large size, Incuba-
with a shell of very brittle texture. The young are hatched tlon' &c-
about the middle of June, and are fed with oil thrown up
by the parents (the produce of the food upon which they
subsist), and, as soon as fledged, are eagerly sought for by
the natives, although often at the risk of life, in scaling the
tremendous and overhanging cliffs in which they nestle.
Like most of the group, these birds have the power of eject-
ing oil with much force through their tubular nostrils, which
is used as the principal mode of defence ; it becomes an es-
526 NATATORES. PROCELLARIA. PETREL,
sential point, therefore, that they should be taken and killed
by surprise, in order to prevent the loss of a liquid so requi-
site for the comfort of the inhabitants, by supplying them
with the necessary fuel for their lamps. The Fulmar is of
Food, voracious appetite, feeding upon all sorts of animal substance,
particularly of an oily nature, such as the blubber of whales,
seals, &c. ; and for this purpose, it follows in great numbers
the track of the whale vessels, and is so greedy of its favour-
ite food, as to be often seen alighting upon the wounded
animal, when not quite dead, and immediately proceeding to
break the skin with its strong hooked bill, and gorging itself
with the blubber to repletion. Upon the banks of New-
foundland it is also a constant attendant upon the fishing-
vessels. Here it is known by the appellation of John Down,
living luxuriously upon the liver and offal of the cod-fish ;
and is often taken alive by a hook baited with a piece of the
liver or flesh. During the summer its polar migration ex-
tends to very high latitudes. Captain SABINE states it to
be abundant at all times in Davis1 Straits and Baffin's Bay ;
and the same author, in his Memoirs of the Birds of Green-
land, observes, that whilst the ships were detained by ice in
Jacob's Bay, latitude 71°, from the 24th of June to the 3d
of July, Fulmars were passing in a continual stream to the
northward, in numbers inferior only to the flight of the pas-
senger pigeon in North America. From the extent of its
wings the Fulmar flies with great buoyancy, and is seldom
seen near the shore, except during the period of reproduc-
tion ; at other times remaining out at sea, and seeking its
repose by floating upon the surface of the water.
PLATE 102. Fig. 1. Represents the Adult bird of the natu-
ral size.
General Bill bright gamboge-yellow, with the nasal tube inclining
tion to saffron-yellow, very strong and powerful. Irides
Adult bird. pale king's-yellow. Head, neck, rump, tail, and under
parts of the body pure white. Mantle, scapulars, wing-
NATATORES. PUFFIN US. 527
coverts, and secondary quills fine bluish-grey. Quill
feathers blackish-grey. Legs yellow, tinged with grey.
Tail rounded.
Fig. 2. The bird before having acquired maturity.
Head, neck, rump, tail, and under plumage ash-grey. A Young,
spot of blackish-grey at the anterior angle of the eye.
Upper plumage deep ash-grey, with a slight tinge of
brown. Bill and legs yellow, tinged^with grey.
GENUS PUFFINUS, RAY. SHEARWATER.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL as long as, or longer than, the head, straight, slender,
subcylindrical, with the tip of the upper mandible arched
and hooked, that of the lower one bent downwards, and fit-
ting into the upper without any angle at the symphasis.
Nostrils basal, tubular, with two distinct truncated openings
in front.
Wings long, acuminate, with the first quill-feather the
longest. Tail rounded. Legs having the tarsi of mean
length, laterally compressed. Feet of three toes, entirely
webbed; hind toe represented by a straight nail or claw.
General contour rather long.
The Shearwaters are distinguished from the birds of the
preceding genus by the comparative slenderness and weak-
ness of the bill, and the peculiar modification of its tip, both
mandibles being bent downwards. As also in the nostrils,
which are formed (as it were) of two tubes cemented sideways
together, and opening outwardly by two separate truncated
apertures instead of one, as in the Fulmar. Their legs are
placed farther backwards, and the tarsi are longer in propor-
tion and very much compressed, a formation which, without
528 NATATORES. PUFFINUS. SHEARWATER.
doubt, greatly facilitates that singular practice of running
along the surface of the waves, which they are so frequently
seen to exhibit when in search of their food. In habits they
approach the succeeding genus Thalassidroma (Storm Pe-
trels), feeding by night rather than by day. They breed in
the holes of rocks, rabbit-burrows, &c. and lay a single white
egg of a large size. Their food consists of putrescent fish,
cetacese, marine worms, and other floating animal matter.
Their flight is rapid, and they are observed to be particularly
alert during dark and tempestuous weather.
CINEREOUS SHEARWATER.
PUFFINUS CINEREUS, Steph.
PLATE CII».
Puffinus cinereus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 227.
Procellaria cinerea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 563 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 824. sp. 10.
Procellaria Puffinus, Linn. Syst. 1. 513. 6 Gmel. Syst. 1. 566.
Le Puffin, Buff. Ois. 9. 321 Id. PL Enl. 962.
Petrel Puffin, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 805.
Cinereous Petrel, Lath. Syn. 8. 405. 10.
Cinereous Shearwater, Shaw's ZooL 13. 227.
Very rare I AM induced to add this species of Shearwater to the
list of our Fauna, in consequence of a specimen that lately
came into my possession, obtained upon the coast of Nor-
thumberland. Its size is about a third larger than that of
the succeeding species, which it resembles in general form ;
and its bill, as in TEM MINCE'S description, is turned slightly
upwards in front of the nostrils, which latter are formed of
two tubes, rather depressed anteriorly, and opening by sepa-
rate truncated apertures. This appears to be a common
bird in the Mediterranean, and on the coast of Spain, but
does not seem to have been hitherto recognised as a British
visitant, though in all probability it may occasionally have
been killed here, but always confounded with the other one
SHEARWATER. NATATORES. PUFFINUS. 529
so common upon the southern and western coasts of England.
Its habits are presumed to be similar, but as they have not
been noticed by TEMMINCK, or any other writer, I must
confine myself to a mere description of the plumage of the
individual above mentioned, which appears to be a bird of
the year.
PLATE 102 *. Natural size.
Bill, from the forehead to the tip, one inch and three quar- General
ters long, slightly recurved, with the dertrum arched, ^^^
and strongly hooked ; nasal tubes obliquely truncated
and open in front. Tip of the lower mandible bent
down, and following the curve of the upper one. Head,
back part of the neck, and the upper plumage, blackish-
brown, with the margins and tips of the feathers of the
scapulars lighter. Throat, lower part of the neck, and
the whole of the under plumage deep ash-grey, with a
tinge of broccoli-brown. Quills and tail brownish-black.
Legs having the outer part of the tarsus deep grey ; the
inner part and webbs yellowish. Tarsus two inches and
one-eighth long. Middle and outer toes two inches and
a half in length.
MANKS SHEARWATER.
PUFFINUS ANGLORUM, Ray.
PLATE CII.
Puffinus Anglorum, Raii Syn. 134. A. 4 — Will. 252 — Steph. Shaw's Zool.
13. 226. pL 26 — Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 137-
Procellaria Puffinus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 824. sp. 11 — Brigs. Orn. 6. 131.
Le Puffin cendre, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 1. 516.
Pe'trel M anks, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 806.
Manks Puffin, Edwards' Glean, pi. 379 Will. Angl. 333.
Shearwater Petrel, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 551. No. 258 Arct. Zool. 2. 462.
— Lath. Syn. 6. 406. 11 — Id. Sup. 269.-— Mont. Ornith. Diet, and Sup.
—BewicVs Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 241.
Manks Shearwater, Shaw's Zool. 13. 226. pi. 26.
PROVINCIAL — Lvre, Shearwater, Scrabe.
VOL. II. L 1
530 NATATORES. PUFFINUS. SHEARWATER.
FROM the accounts transmitted to us by WILLOUGHBY and
PENNANT, this species appears, at the time they wrote, to
have resorted in great numbers to the Calf of Man, a small
islet at the south end of the main island, and only di-
vided from it by a narrow channel. But, from the informa-
tion I have been able to obtain, confirmed by the testimony
of Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, (who visited the Isle of Man a
few years ago with the express view of ascertaining this and
some other points connected with Ornithology), it seems now
to be entirely deserted by these birds, a circumstance in all
probability occasioned by the wanton and greedy destruction
of their eggs and young, for PENNANT tells us, that in his
day great numbers were annually killed by the person who
then farmed this islet, as the birds were in high estimation,
both in a fresh and salted state. This Shearwater was also
said to breed upon Scilly Islands, but not having extended
my inquiries to that group, I am unable to say whether it is
now to be found there. It is still, however, abundant in the
Orkneys, where it breed in holes scratched in the earth that
fill up the interstices of the rocks and bold headlands, and is
stated by Low to be the main object of pursuit to the rock-
men^ who endanger their lives in climbing the most awful
precipices for the eggs and young of the various waterfowl
Incuba- that make their nests in such situations. Like the rest of the
genus, this bird lays but one white egg, of a rounded form,
being equally obtuse at each end, and not inferior in size to
that of a domestic fowl. It arrives at its breeding station in
February or March; and soon after August, when its young
is able to fly, deserts it for the open sea, migrating, as the
winter approaches, in a southerly direction towards the coast
of Spain, the Mediterranean, &c. In Britain it is almost
entirely confined to the western coast, being of very rare
occurrence on the eastern, where I have only met with one
individual, which was shot upon an excursion to the Fern
Islands. WILLOUGHBY (in his Ornithology, so admirably
correct for the time at which he wrote), has described this
SHEARWATER. NAT A TORES. PUFFINUS. 531
species as feeding by day and not by night, for he says,
" the old ones, early in the morning at break of day, leave
the nests and young, and the island itself, and spend the
whole day in fishing in the sea, never returning or setting
foot on the island before evening twilight, so that all the day
the island is so quiet and still from all noise, as if there were
not a bird about it." This is repeated by PENNANT, and by
subsequent compilers ; but I am inclined to think, that from
ignorance of the real habits of the bird, he has taken up a
wrong impression, and that the stillness observed upon the
island during the day did not arise from the absence of the
birds at sea, but from their remaining in their burrows, tak-
ing their natural repose, and which is, I think, borne out by
the fact of their acknowledged activity at evening twilight
and morning dawn. — This Shearwater feeds upon all kinds Food.
of marine animal substance, particularly such as is in a state
of decomposition, and easily reducible to oil, into which it is
soon converted by the action of the stomach. With this
liquid it feeds its young, and also defends itself from its ene-
mies by squirting it in their faces from its tubular nostrils.
It flies very rapidly, skimming along the surface of the waves,
and using its palmated feet to support itself whilst picking
up its floating food, or to aid its impetuosity when cutting
through the curling crests of the waves. For this purpose
its feet are placed far backwards, so that on land it is com-
pelled to sit nearly in an erect position.
PLATE 102. Represents the bird of the natural size, from
the specimen above mentioned.
Head, nape, back part of the neck, and upper plumage, General
deep greyish-black, with a glossy lustre. Sides of the
neck and breast transversely rayed with grey and white.
Chin, throat, fore part of the neck, and under plumage
pure white. Behind the thighs is a patch of black.
Quills and tail black, the wings, when closed, reaching
nearly to the end of the tail. Bill yellowish-brown at
532 NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA.
the base, darker towards the tip, slender, one inch and
three-eighths in length from the forehead to the tip.
Legs having the tarsi much compressed ; front of the
tarsi, and part of the webs and toes yellowish, tinged
with flesh-red.
GENUS THALASSIDROMA, VIGORS. STORM-
PETREL.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
BILL shorter than the head, much compressed in front of
the nasal sheath, with the tip of the upper mandible sud-
denly curving and hooking downwards, and that of the lower
one slightly angulated and following the curve of the upper.
Nostrils contained in one tube or sheath, but shewing two
distinct orifices in front.
Wings long, acuminate, with the first quill-feather shorter
than the third, and the second the longest in the wing. Tail
square, or slightly forked.
Legs having the tarsi rather long and slender, reticulated.
Feet of three toes, united by a membrane. The outer and
middle toes nearly equal in length, and longer than the
inner ; hind toe represented by a small strait dependant nail.
The members of this genus, which are all of small size,
have been very properly separated by Mr VIGORS from the
rest of the Petrel group, as they exhibit a decided difference
jn the form of the bill from that of the Shearwaters and the
other nearly allied species, the lateral compression towards
the tip being much greater ; and the nostrils, instead of being
separate tubes, contained in a common sheath, and merely
divided by an internal septum. The proportions of the wing
are also different, and their legs are longer and placed more
in the centre of the body. In TEMMINCK'S " Manuel," they
PETREL. NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. 533
form the third section of his genus Procellaria^ under the
title of " Petrel Hirondelle" which sections, as I have be-
fore observed, are correspondent to generic divisions. They
are birds of nocturnal or crepuscular habits, and are seldom
seen except in lowering weather, or during storms, when they
frequently fly in the track of ships. At other times, and
in clear weather, they remain concealed during the day in
the holes of rocks, rat burrows, &c. and only come forth at
nightfall in search of food, consisting of marine insects, small
molluscae, and other oily animal matter, which they find
floating on the surface of the ocean. Their flight is peculiarly
swift, equalling that of any of the Swallow tribe, which birds,
indeed, they resemble both in size, colour, and general ap-
pearance. The known species are all of a dark hue, more or
less relieved with white, are widely distributed, some being
found in both hemispheres, and in a variety of climate.
They breed in the crevices of rocks, caverns, &c. and, like
the members of the two preceding genera, lay but one egg,
which is white, and comparatively of a large size.
COMMON STORM-PETREL.
THALASSIDROMA PEL AGIO A, Mihi.
PLATE CIII. FIG. 2.
Procellaria pelagica, Linn. Syst. 1. 212. 1 — Gmel Syst. 1. 561 — Briss. Orn.
6. 140. pi. 13. f. 1 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 826. sp. 19.— Shaw's Zool. 13.
220— F/m. Br. Anim. 1. 135. No. 218.
Oiseau de Tempete, Buff. Ois. 9. 327.
Petrel Tempete, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 810.
Kleinster Sturmvogel, Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 2. 495.
Storm-finch, Will. (Angl.) 395.
Stormy Petrel, Penn. Br. Zool. 2. 553. No. 259. pi. 91 Arct. Zool. 2.
464.-— Edward's Glean, pi. 90 — Atom's Birds, 3. pL 92 Lath. Syn. Sup.
269 Lewin's Br. Birds, 6. pi. 219 — Mvnt. Orn. Diet, and Sup — Bewick's
Br. Birds, ed. 1826, p. t. 246.
PROViNCiAL—Little Petrel, Witch, Mother Carey's Chicken, Mitty,
Assilag, Spency, Sea-swallow, AUamouty.
534 NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. PETREL.
THESE birds, well known to mariners by the name of
" Mother Carey's Chickens *," and dreaded by them as the
forerunners of tempestuous weather, are indigenous in Bri-
tain, being found upon the surrounding seas at all seasons of
the year, and have been ascertained to breed, not only upon
the Shetland and other northern islands of Scotland, but
upon the rocky coast of the north-west of Cornwall, at the op-
posite extremity of the kingdom. The geographical distri-
bution of .this species has been supposed to be very extensive;
but the discovery of other species very closely allied to it
both in size and colour (and only to be distinguished by nar-
row inspection and comparison), in various parts of the At-
lantic and Pacific Oceans, makes it more than probable that
these latter have been mistaken for it, and that its distribu-
tion is in fact much more limited, being in all likelihood con-
fined to the European seas. That it should be oftener seen
by sailors during tempests or in the lowering weather imme-
diately preceding a storm, is only what might be expected
from the habits of the members of this genus, which, as I have
previously remarked, display more activity during the night
than the day. Its presence, then, is to be attributed to the
gloomy state of the atmosphere that attends such convulsions,
and it thus becomes generally what mariners consider it, the
natural harbinger of the storm. At such times, also, it ap-
proaches nearer to vessels, frequently flying round them like
a Swallow, or following in their wake, to all appearance more
for the purpose of picking up any food that may occasionally
Food, be thrown overboard, or from its natural food, the smaller
marine insects, molluscse, &c. being brought within its reach
by the action of the vessel, than for shelter and protection,
as it is observed to brave the roughest seas, and even to
amuse itself by skimming along the hollows of the waves, or
dashing over their summits with amazing velocity. It breeds
* This title is not, however, restricted to the present species, but is
equally applied to Thalass. Bulloclcii, T. Wilsonii, T. oceanica, &c. which
closely resemble each other in appearance, and whose habits are similar.
PETREL. NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. 535
in the holes of rocks, or, in default of these, in the burrows Incuba-
of rabbits and rats, and under large stones. Most authors
have stated it to lay but one egg, and such I believe to be
the general law ; but Mr SCARTH *, who found a nest in
passing over a track of peat moss near the shore upon an
uninhabited islet in Orkney (and to which he was directed
by the low purring noise of the female), reports that it con-
tained two pure white eggs, of a very large size as compared
with the bird •)•. Upon seizing the old one, he adds, she
squirted out of her mouth (nostrils, I presume), an oily sub-
stance of a very rancid smell. He took her home, and hav-
ing put her into a cage, he offered her worms of various
kinds to eat, all of which she refused. After the expiration
of four days, he happened to observe that she occasionally
drew the feathers of her breast singly across, or rather
through, her bill, and appeared to suck an oily substance
from them, which induced him to smear her breast with*
train oil; and, observing that she greedily sucked the
feathers, he repeated the smearing two or three times each
day for about a week. He then placed a saucer containing
oil in the cage, in which she regularly dipped her breast and
then sucked her feathers as before ; and in this way he kept
her alive for three months. Some authors have stated that
the young, as soon as hatched, are conducted to the water ;
but this is a mistake, as they remain in the holes till fully
fledged and able to fly, which does not take place for some
weeks, and during which time they are fed by the parent
birds with oily matter ejected from their stomachs. In the
evening, when about to sally forth to procure food, the old
ones are very clamorous, making a shrill whistling noise as
well as the purring before mentioned ; but during the day
they remain silent and quiet in their retreats. From the
nature of its food and peculiar economy, this bird is gene-
* See Volume Thirteenth of the Linnean Transactions, page 617.
f They are about equal to those of a Blackbird, although this Petrel but
little exceeds a Swallow in dimensions.
536 NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. PETREL.
rally very fat and oily, and by the inhabitants of Ferroe and
other islands it frequents is sometimes converted into a lamp.
For this purpose a wick of cotton, or other material, is drawn
through the body, and which continues to burn till the oil
becomes exhausted. Instances frequently occur of its being
found rather far inland, either dead or in an exhausted and
dying stated, but the cause of such mortality has not hitherto
been satisfactorily accounted for ; it may, however, arise
from weakness, occasioned either by old age or accidental
illness, rendering it unable to contend with the autumnal
and wintry blasts, during which period such instances are
most frequent ; and this is rendered more probable by its
being commonly in an emaciated condition. The flight of
the Storm-Petrel is remarkably swift, and is equalled by few
of the feathered race. It is often seen darting from wave to
wave, at intervals dipping its bill into the water as if in
search of insects, or picking up food, during which it will
stand (as it were) upon the summit of the billow with wings
expanded and raised, but is very rarely seen to alight for
swimming, and is totally unable to dive, a faculty attributed
to it in an eminent degree by some of the earlier writers.
PLATE 103. Fig. 2. Natural size.
General Bill, from the forehead to the tip, three-eighths of an inch
descrip- long ; black, with the tip much compressed. Head,
back, quills, and tail, glossy black. The lower range
of wing-coverts brownish-black. Under plumage pitch
or brownish-black. Patch behind the thighs, and bar
across the upper-tail coverts, white. Legs and feet
black, with the tarsus seven-eighths of an inch in length.
PETREL. NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. 537
FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL.
THALASSIDROMA BULLOCKII, Mihi.
PLATE GUI. FIG. 1.
Procellaria BuUockii, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 136. No. 219.
Procellaria Leachii, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 219. pL 25.
Petrel de Leach, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. 812.
THIS Petrel, which is about one-third larger than the pre-
ceding, was first discovered at St Kilda, and ascertained to
be a distinct species by Mr BULLOCK in 1818, during a tour
round the coast of Scotland, principally undertaken with a
view to investigate its ornithology. I have, therefore, in
imitation of Dr FLEMING, and in justice to the original dis-
coverer, adopted the trivial name of Bullockii, instead of
that of Leachii, bestowed upon it by TEMMINCK in his
" Manuel d'Ornithologie." Several of these birds were found
by Mr BULLOCK at St Kilda, it being the season of incuba-
tion ; and subsequent observation has shewn that they an-
nually resort to the island for this particular purpose. They
have also been repeatedly found, within a few years past, in
various places inland (like the preceding species) in a dead
or exhausted state, among which I may mention two in the
possession of the Rev. R. HAMMOND of Swaff ham in Nor-
folk, one of which was taken in Gloucestershire, and the
other found dead upon a warren in the former county. Sir
WILLIAM JARDINE also possesses one, taken in a dying state
in Dumfriesshire ; and Mr ELTON of Redland, near Bristol,
informs me that four or five were picked up last winter in
that neighbourhood, all in a helpless condition. The habits of
this bird are similar to those of the Common Storm-Petrel,
with which, notwithstanding its superior size, it has in all
probability been often confounded when seen upon wing.
It breeds in similar situations, laying a single egg of a large Incuba.
size, rounded shape, and entirely white. It feeds upon ma- -p0^t
VOL. II. M m
538 NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. PETREL.
rine insects, floating mollusca, and other animal matter
picked up on the surface of the water, upon which it is never
seen actually to alight for repose, but frequently, as it were,
stands and runs upon it by the action of its palmated feet
and outstretched wings.
PLATE 103. Fig. 1. Represents this bird of the natural size,
from a specimen belonging to WILLIAM YARRELL,
Esq.
General Bill black, upwards of half an inch long from the forehead
tion. to tne tip; much compressed, and shewing an angle
upon the lower mandible. Head, neck, and under parts
greyish-black, with a tinge of brown upon the abdomen.
Back and scapulars deep greyish-black. The lower
tier of wing-coverts greyish-white, forming a bar across
the closed wings. Quills and tail black, the latter
forked. Upper tail-coverts, and patch behind the thighs,
white. Wings, when closed, reaching a little beyond
the tail. Legs and feet black, with the tarsus nearly
one inch in length.
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