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(.'.- -...I-'' wirji €^'mmiw>im> mmummiq mt^^Jmm^ ( 'V. il . -V- NK'VVYOFIK CHARLES b. CORNISH .'ilO 1} road way. ^^ '^' ^ ^5!&« X'M. .o Wne Javs seldom associate in any cons deraMe numbers, except in^eSiTsepteirer and October, when they hover about, m m ine raomiw w "^^ „ -,« visitinff the oaks, m search of one range «[ -X^lm^rkas ?een%"pld into^m^^ respectable Latham, - ^n4^^;^„'^^!^^atthe Blue Jays of North America " often SX^tTtie-i^^tt-^^^ i^J jSS^^^rerS fi!.UnftPn or twelve acres, soon lay waste the whole. iiiniswens SlylrthesrbTrS would justly ^e-^the character he^^^^^^^ of beine the most destructive species in America, _Bf fT„^/®"™P Se Ssfrtion, that the tribe Oiiolwf phanmvs, or Red-wmged Black- SrdTin the environs of the River Delaware alone, devour and dest^y more IndSn com than the whole Blue Jaysof North Americ^ As to nipa nr Hiipkoos would be in Britain. „ , . , _ ♦«, '^ It has been frequently said, that numbers of birds are common to the UnTted States and Efurope ; at present, however, I am not certain ?f Jinv romDarinff the ^st descriptions and delineations of the Ir™ ea'n oSrS^Ke of our nativ'e b^s, said to be o^ the s^^^^ r '^' ^!S?hStfT UieTattor^S^^^^^^ plumage and ^a^^^^^^^j^^^^^^^^^ ^ jes. Be this, however, as r^mCS^CeTay ap;ea«\rbelong exclusively to Nortli Amerjcau Urnorfind it me'ntiSLd H any writer or trave^^^^^^ of Guiana, BrazU, or any other part o^^ouUi A.^"- ^o^^l rttrersfen"n%ts'wiW^^^^^ SfS^n^rbot^^^^^^^ S=^ti?no?r^^^^^^ Se S Ky in^AsT sW,'who, in 1741, accomnamed cSin Behring in his expedition for the discovery of the north-west Sof'XSa, and wh^ wroto the Jou"-! ofjhe^vgrage, rdato^ that he himself went on shore near Cape St Ebas, in IN. lat. DO" ^, * S.jnnr,sU of Birds, vol. i. p. 387. See also Encyclopaedia BrUarmica, art - "vus. { Sunorsis. vol. i. p. 387. ... „ t History of New Hampulure, vol. ill. R- *°^,- „ . „ ,««, \ Voyages from Montreal, ^-c. p. 216, 4to., London, 1801. J YELLOW-BIRD, OR GOLDFINCH. 7 W. ion. 141" 46', aopording to his estimation, where he obseired several species of birds not knoum in Siheria ; and one, in particular, described by Catesby, under the name of the Blue Jay.* Mr. William Bartram inrorms me, that they are numerous in the peninsula of Flor- ida, and that he also found them at Natchez, on the Mississippi. Captains Lewis and Clark, and their intrepid companions, in their memorable expedition across the continent of North America to the Pacific Ocean, continued to see Blue Jays for six hundred miles up the Mi8Souri.t From these accounts it follows, that this species occupies, generally or partially, an extent of country stretching upwards of seventy degrees from east to west, and more than thirty degrees from north to south; though, from local circumstances, there may be inter- mediate tracts, in this immense range, which they seldom visit. TELLOW-BIRD, OR GOLDFINCH. Fio. 2. • FRINGILLA TRISTIS. Liim. 9ytt. i. p. 320. — Carduelis Americana, Briss. iii. p. 6, 3. — Le Chare 'lonerat iaone, Buf. iv. p. 112. PL ad. 202, fo. 2. — American Goldfinch, Arct. Zool. ii. lo. 242. — Edw. n4,. — Lath. 8m. iii. p. 288, 67. Id. Sup. p. 166. — Bartrtm, p. 290. — Peak's Museum, No. 6344. CARDUELIS .^JlfEfi/OJJVA — Edwaedi. New York Siskin, Perm. Arct. Zool. p. 372. (Male changing his plumage, and the male in liis winter dress taken for female, auct. Stoains.) — Fringilla tristis, Bonap. 8yn. p. Ill, No. 181. — Carduelis AmericBna, North, Zool. ii. p. 268. This bird is four inches and a half in length, and eight inches in extent, of a rich lemon yellow, fading into white towards the rump and vent The wings and tail are black, the former tipped and edged with white ; the interior webs of the latter are also white ; the fore part of the head is black, the bill and legs of a reddish cinnamon color. This is the summer dress of the male ; but in the month of September the yellow gradually changes to a brown olive, and the male and female are then nearly alike. They build a very neat and delicately-formed little nest, which they fasten to the twigs of an apple-tree, or to the strong, branching stalks of hemp, covering it on the outside with pieces of lichen, which tliey find on the trees and fences ; these they glue together with their saliva, and afterwards line the inside with the softest downy substances they can procure. The female lays five eggs, of a dull white, thickly marked at the greater end ; and they generally raise two broods in a season. The males do not arrive at their perfect plumage until the succeeding spniig ; want- ing, during that time, the black on the head, and the white on the wings being of a :ream color. In the month of April, they begin to ' See Stem.ek's Journal, apud Pallas. t This fact I had froni Captain Lewis. 11^ 8 "SELLOW-BIRD, OR GOLDFINCH. chuure their winter dress, and, before the middle of May, appear in brilliant yellow: the whole pliunage towards ita roots is of a dusky bluish black. . „ , /-, , ,/. i i? The sonjr of the Yellow-Bird resembles that of the Goldfinch of Britain: but is in general so weak as to appear to proceed from a considerable distance, when perhaps the bird is perched on the tree over your head. I have, however, heard some sing m cages wiUi great energy and animation. On their first arrival in Pennsylvania, m February, and until early in April, they associate in flocks, Ire- quenUy assembling in great numbers on the same tree to bask and dress themselves in the morning sun, singing m concert for halt ar hour together; the confused mingling of tlieir notes forming a kinc of harmony not at all unpleasant* About the last of November, and someUmes sooner, they generally leave Pennsylvania, and proceed to the south ; some, however, are seen even in the midst of the severest winters. Their flight is not direct, but in alternate risings and sinkii.gs ; twittering as tliey fly, at each successive impulse of tlie wings.t During the latter part ot summer they are almost constant visitants in our gardens, in search • Carduelis of Brisson, having types in the common Goldfinch and Siskin of this eounuy, is now generally used as the generic appellation for Uie group to which our present spe.Tcs bcl ngs. It contains several American and European speaes. They are cloSely allied to the true Linnets ; and he lesser Red-Poll (the FmneiUa lifJia auctorum) has even by some been ranked with U.em. They also much re- semble the latte. group in their manners, their haunts, their breeding, and feeding. Every one who his lived much in the country, must have often remarked the com- mon European Gray Linnets, in the manner above descnbed of Uie American Uold- finch, coneregatiug towards the close of a tine wmter's evening, perched on the summit of some bire tree, pluming themselves in the last rays of the sun, cheruping the commencement of their evening song, and then bursting simultaneously into one general chorus; again resuming their single strains, and again loinmg, as if happy, End rejoicing at thS termination of their dav's employment. Mr. Audubon has re- marked the same trait in their manners, aiuf confirms the resemblance of their notes . " So much does the song of our Goldfinch resemble that of the European soecies, that, whilst in France aid England, 1 have frenuently thought and with pleasure thouffht. that they were the notes of our own bird winch I heard. — l^D. i The fliffht of the American Goldfinch, and its manners dunng it, are descnbed by Mr. Audubon with greater minuteness : it is exactly similar to the European bird of the same name, being performed in deep curvedlines. alternately rising and falline, after each propelling motion of Uie wings. It scarcely ever describes one ofthose curves, without uttering two or three notes whilst ascending, such as it? European relative uses on similar occasions. In this manner its flight is proloneea to considerable distances, and it frequently moves in a cirehug direction betore aliehtinff. Their migration is performed during the day. They seldom alight on the ground, unless to procure water, in which they wash with great liveliness and pleMUre ; after which they pick up some particles of gravel and sand. So lend ot each other's company are they, that a party of them soaring on the wing wil alter their course at the calling of a single one perched on a tree. This call is uttered with much emphasis: the bird prolongs its usual note, without much alteration ; and. as Uie party approaches, erects its body, and moves to Uie right and lett, as it turning on a pivot, apparently pleased at showing the beauty of lU plumage and eleeance of its manners. ....... j • . This natural group has been long celebrated for their docility, and easy instroc- Uon, whether in music, or to perform a variety of tricks. They are, conaequentW, favorites with bird-fanciers, ahd often doomed to undergo a severe and cruel dis- cipline. The Goldfinch, Canary, the various Linnets, Uie Siskin, and Chaffinch, we pnncipally used for this purpose j and it is often astonishing, and almost incredible, with viiiai corrccurcas uicT mii uw^v iiro »«ii»- •!• ••• VELLOW-BIRD. OR GOLDFINCH. 9- ot 8eed8, which they dislodge from the husk with great address, while hanginff, frequently head downwards, in the manner of the Titmouse, from these circumstances, as well as from their color, they are very generally known, and pass by various names expressive of their food, color, &c., such as Thistle-Bird, Lettuce-Bird, Sulad-3ird, Yellow-Bird. ui* ^ gardeners, who supply the city of Philadelphia with veffe- tables, often take thorn m trap-cages, and expose them for sale in market. 1 hey are easily familiarized to confinement, and feed with seeming indifference a few hours after being taken. The great resemblance which the Yellow-Bird bears to the Canary has miado many persons attempt to pair individuals of tlie two species together. An ingenious French gentleman, who resides in Pottsgrove. Pennsylvania, assured me, that he had tried the male Yellow-Bird with the lernale Canary, and the female Yellow-Bird with the male Canary but without effect, though he kept them for several years togethw* and supplied tliem with propor materials for building. Mr. flassey of New York, however, who keeps a great number of native as weU as foreign birds, informed me,t}iat a Yellow-Bird paired with a Canary m his possession, and laid eggs, but did not hatch, which he attributed to tfie lateness of the season. These birds were seen by Mr. M'Kenzie, in his route across the continent ot North America, as far north as lat 54° ; they are numer- ous m all the Atlantic states north of the Carolinas ; abound in Mexico, and are also found in great numbers in the savannahs of Guiana. The seeds of tlie lettuce, thistle, hemp, fee, are their fkvorite food; and it 18 pleasant to observe a few of them at work in a calm day detaching i. e thistle-down, in search of the seeds, makinff it tlv m clouds around them. * •' The American Goldfinch has been figured and described by Mr Catesby,* who says, that the back part of the head is a dirty green, &c. This description must have been taken while the bird waa Syme, in his History of British Son^ Birds, when speaking of the Sieur Roman wlio some years since exhibited Goldfinches, Linnets^ anf Canaries, ZndeS trained re atos, that "one appeared dead, and was held up by the 't^ or c"aw without exhibiting any s.ffns of life; a second stood on its iJea/with it " daws i^ the air; a third imitated a Dutch milkmaid going to market with pails on iu shoulders ; a fourth mimicked a Venetian girl looking out at a window j a fiAh an- peared as a soldier, and mounted guard as a sentinel; and the sixth acted as a caiinonier, with a cap on Us head, a firelock on its shoulder, and a match in its claw and discharged a small cannon. The same bird also acted as if it had been wounded. It was wheeled m a barrow, to convey it, as it were, to the hospital" after which it flew away before the company: the seventh turned a kind of Wind- mill ; and the last bird stood in the midst of some fireworks which were dischareed all round it, and this without exhibiting the least symptom of fear." The American Goldhnch 13 no less docile than its congeners. Mr. Audubon re.ates, that thev are often caught in trap-cages ; and that lie knew one, which had unJergone sevem raminff, araw water for Us drink from a glass, by means of a little chlin fa^S to a soft, leathern belt round its body, and another, equally liffht, fastened toalUtte Seff with'fk'o^T h'P' '^1^' ^fA'" '^' "^^' = '' "«^ afso'Siged to s^«W»5 weds ^'"^ " ^ '° towards its bill a littie ch^ot fiUed \ni Female is represented in Bonaparte's continuation. —.Ed • Nat. Hist. Car. vol. i. o. 43 1 f^ ' ■ ■ ' ! Su,, 10 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. Hii ' iHi Se Sieid; tins it does not receive until the succeeding spnnj?.* The ficure in Edwards is considerably .o large ; and that by Catosby Ke wtngsaSd tail much longer Umn in nature and tho body too Blender - vc-v different from the true form of the living bird. Mr. Pe=t also'tllls us, that the legs of this ^f^f "^^^^ij^Sno however of a bright cinnamon color; but the worthy naturalist, no Soubrdescribed tfiem as he found them in the dried and « "f d fk'"^ Zivelled up and blackened with decay, and thus too much of our natural history has been delineated. BALTIMORE ORIOLE -ORIOLUS BALTIMORE. -Fio. 3. tJnn Suit i D. 162, 10. — lolcnis Minor, Bm». ii. p. 109, 19,^12, fig. l. — Le D.,U •> lUtittiim Nn. ir>0(j. PmUs Museum, No. IjOC ICTERUS BALTIMORK. — liKVwn. This is a bird of passage, arriving in Pennsylvania, from the south about Sie beginning of May, and departing towards the latter end of August, or feginning of sLptembcr.f 1 rom the singularity of its cS! the construction of its nest, and its preferring the apple-trees, weejdng willows, walnut and tulip-trees, adjoining the farm-house, to biSS of, it is generally known, and. as usual, honored with a variety • These chanRCS take place in the Common Siskin of -iis coimtry : indeed changes. Mid nmLy cases, simi ar to those alluded to, are ro.«n,on, acrordmg to .easo,,, Zinff M^'FrivgiUidm ; the Common Chaffinch loses the pale gray of ns fore K which becoml^ deep blnish purple ; the heml and ba.k of the iWmbhng or heao, wnicii O..OU K ^io,sv black : and the forehead and bniasts ol the £" JlS Jrrrru^scTKr&ssumc'a rich and beautiful cn-son J, are chefly produced bv the falling off of the ends of tho plumules of each feather which before concealeci the richer tints of its lower parts ; at other <™«.»'y^« S chanee of color. The tint itself, liowcver, is alwa^rs much mcrease.t i.. oeaMly ^d doss If these Jon for its display advances ; at ([s termmal.on , ,,piu, ball, tu nearly every bottle-shaped gradation of form, until they exceed three or lour feet in length. Many species being gregarious, they breed numerously on the same trrfi. and thfiir nests, suspended from the pensile branches, and wavinff in the wind, rei.clT ihe landscape and woods singular to an unaccustomed eye, an* present ajj- psr. 1 .es which those only who have hart the good fortune to witness them in their mUiv.. \\\i cDi aporeciate. Tht. . t? jives-by Wilson, in fig. 212. — Ed. BALTIMt K cmiOT^E. 13 others ; am probably age may ii provo them in this, aa it doe* in their colors. I liavo a numbtir of their lurtts now before me, all completed, and with egga. One of tiivt^e, the neatcHr, is in tlie form of a cylin- . tow, hair, ond wool, woven into a complete clc^-'i; the whole titjrhtly scivcd through and through with long horse hairw, sevorril of which niea*iure two feet in length. The bottom is composed of thick tufts of cow hair, sowed also with stronw horse hair. This nest was hung on the ex- tremity of the horizontal branch of an anplo-tree, fronting the south- oast ; was visible a hundred yards off, though shadcsd from tlie sun ; tind was the work of a very beautiful and perfect bird. The eggs are hve, white, slightly tinged witli flesh color, marked on tlie greater end with purple dots, and on the other parts witli long hair-like linos, in- tersecting each otlier in a variety of directions. I am thus minute in these particulars, from a wish to point out the specific differen<'0 bces, Her partner's mellow song, the brook, the breeze } These day by dav the lonely hours deceive, From dewy morn' to slow descending eve. Two weeks elapsed, behold ! a helpless crew Claim all her care, and her afl'ectioa too ; On wings of love the assiduous nurses fly. Flowers, leaves, and boughs, abundant food supply ; Glad chants the.r guardian, us abroad he goes, And waving breezes rock tliem to repose. The Baltimore inhubits North America from Canada to Mexico, luid is even found as far sotitli as Brazil. Since the streets of our cities have been planted with that beautiful and stately tree, the Lom- bardy poplar, tliesc birds are our constant vi'^itors durmg the early part of summer; and, amid the noise and tumult of coaches, drays, wheelbarrows, and tlie din of the multitude, they are heard chantuig "their native wood notes wild;" sometimes, too, withm a few yards of an oysterman, who stands bellowini winter, spring, and autumn, I kept a little cage lined with cotton batting lor the bird lo pass the nigiit in, and, towards evening, it would leave Us large cage, and flv to tins- Al\er enlering, if I did not dose up the aperture with eoltoii, it would do so itself by pulling the cotton from the sides of the cage, iinlil it had shut up all openings for the cold lo enter. I icd it with sponge cake ; and when this became dry and hard, and it wanU^d some softer, it would make its wants known to me by its' look and note, and if I did not very soon attend to it, it would take up a piece of the hard cake, carry it lo the saucer of water, and drop it in, and move it about, until it was siiilicienlly soil lo W eaten. " 111 \ ble.'' Sv arc easily reared from the nest, and sing nearly as wefl u» conl(n.-mcnt as ^b. L-^onapar^ in^his A^^-^^ T^:^\^^J^ ifepS JnS Amertt°TS,^t j^^; decided cha|.e..^b^^^^^^^^ IXh is not modelled a-'reeal.ly to nnv lan-uagc, must be rejected." . . , . , ■ titlefoou present species, allowing """"P'i^'" J'^ r"T'\;^-i°„ T^fr there appears little^otibt, will therefore now stand, \\'ood Tlinish, Wihon TVr- /,r,ZE. GuK-lin ; and T. melodm will come m as f ,''y"«''yr['« ;/),l"'« ^ 'l in'sTSi J being without a nnn.e has been tnost deservedly dedicated to ,},g „-,Pf„orv nf the great Americ r-, ornithjlogist himselt. — t-D. WOOD THRUSH. 17 part of the woods, he pipes his few, but clear and musical notes, m a kind of ecstasy ; the prelude, or symphony to which, strongly resem- bles the double -tonguing of a German flute, and sometimes the tin- kling of a small bell ; the whole song consists of five or six pai-ts, the last note of each of which is in such a tone as to leave the conclusion evidently suspended ; the final6 is finely managed, and with such charming effect as to soothe and tranquillize the mind, and to seem sweeter and mellower at each successive repetition. Rival songsters, of the same species, challenge each otlier from different parts of the wood, seeming to vie for sofler tones and more exquisite responses. During the burning heat of the day, thoy arc comparatively mute ; but in the evening tlie same melody is renewed, and continued long after sunset. Those Avho visit our woods, or ride out into the country at these hours, during the months of May and June, will be at no loss to recognize, from the above description, this pleasing musician. Even in dark, wet, and gloomy weatlicr, wlien scarce a single chirp is heard from any other bird, the clear notes of the Wood Tlirush thrill through the dropping woods, from morning to night ; and it may truly be said that the sadder the day the sweeter is his song. The favorite haunts of the Wood Tlirush are low, thick-shaded hol- lows, tlirough which a small orook or rill meanders, overhung with alder bushes, that are mantled with wild vines. Near such a scene he generally builds his nest, in a laurel or alder bush. Outwardly it is composed of withered beech leaves of tlie preceding year, laid at bottom in considerable quantities, no doubt to prevent damp and moisture from ascending through, being generally built in low, wet situations ; above these are layers of knotty stalks of withered grass, mixed with mud, and smoothly plastered, above which is laid a slight lining of fine, black, fibrous roots of plants. The eggs are four, some- times five, of a uniform light blue, without any spots. The Wood Thrush appears always singly or in pairs, and is of a shy, retired, unobtrusive disposition. With the modesty of true merit, he charms you wiih his song, but is content, and even solicitous, to be concealed. He delights to trace the irregular windings of the brook, where, by the luxuriance of foliage, the sun is completely shut out, or only plays in a few interrupted beams on the glittering surface of the water. He is also fond of a particular species of lichen which grows in such situations, and which, towards tlie fall, 1 have uniformly found in their stomachs : berries, liowever, of various kinds, are liis principal food, as well as beetles and caterpillars. The feathers on the hind head are longer than is usual with birds which have no crest ; these he sometimes erects ; but this particular cannot be observed but on a close examination.* Those who have paid minute attention to the singing of birds, know well, that the voice, energy, and expression, in the same tribe, differ " In ailclition to the above picture of the manners of this Tlirush, Mr. Audubon remarks, that it performs its migrations during tlie day, gliding swiftly through the woods, without appearing in the open country ; that, on alighting upon a branch, it gives its tail a few Jets, uttering at each motion a low, chuckling note, peculiar to Itself; it then stands still for a while, with the feathers of the hin « P 26!-^«rtram, p. ^m.- Peak's Museum, No. 6278. TURDUS MIGRATORIUS.* -Li^f'Vt Tardus migratorius, Bonap. Synop, p. 75 -Merula mignUoria. Morth. Zool. 11. p. 177. This well-known bird, being familiar to almost every body, will re- ouJeburashor? description. ^It measures nine inches and a half in ilT^i ; the Sis strong, an inch long, and of a full yellow, though i^rSe rSSliof a;::;^^ - IhHr t S^^lrd^; The first, i.W oountnes even ^vhere tne ilimme ocs i (p„ane„ jg sought for upon the strains of more interest ^^^'^Pf'^'%f^^'[^ ™^,; ^v "re universal favorites ; ROBIN. 31 aometiraes black, or dusky near the tip of the upper mandible ; the head, back of the neck, and tail, ia black ; the back and rump, an ash color ; tlie wings are black, edged with light ash ; the inner tips of tlie two exterior tail-feathers, are white ; three small spots of white border the eye ; the tliroat and upper part of tlie breast is black, the former streaked witli white ; the whole of tlie rest of the breast, down us far ns the thighs, is of a dark orange ; belly and vent, white, slightly waved witli dusky ash ; legs, dark brown ; claws, black and strong. The colors of the female are more of the light ash, less deepened Avith black ; and tlie orange on the breast is much paler, and more broadly skirted with white. The name of this bird bespeaks him a bird of passage, as are all the different spec-es of Thrushes we have ; but tlio one we are now describing, being more unsettled, and contin- ually roving about from one region to another, during fall and winter, seems particularly entitled to tlie appellation. Scarce a winter passes but innumerable thousands of them are seen in the lower parts of tlie whole Atlantic states, from New Hampshire to Carolina, particularly in tlie neighborhood of our towns ; and, from the circiunstance of tlieir leaving, during that season, the country to the north-west of the great range of the Alleghany, from Maryland northward, it would ap- pear that they not only migrate from north to south, but from west to east, to avoid the deep snows that generally prevail on these high regions for at least four months in the year. The Robin builds a large nest, often on an apple-tree, plasters it in the inside with mud, and lines it with hay or fine grass. The female lays five eggs, of a beautiful sea-green. Their principal food is ber- ries, worms, and caterpillars. Of the first he prefers those of the sour gum, UVyssa sylvatica.) So fond are tliey of gum-berries, that, wher- ever tliere is one of these trees covered with fruit, and flocks of Rob- ins in the neighborhood, the sportsman need only take his stand near it, load, take aim, and fire ; one flock succeeding another, with •little interruption, almost the whole day : by this method, prodigioas table; in Spain and Italy, great numbers are taken for the same purpose, with nets and various kinds of snares. With the severity of tlic season, however, and the dif- ference of food, the flesh acquires a bitter flavor, which renders lliem unfit for culi- nary' purposes, and aflbrds a temporary respite from their merciless persecutions. The title Mcrula, which Mr. Swainson and several of our modern ornitholoffists have adopted, was used by Ray only as a sub-genus among his " Turdinnm genus," and contained that division to which the Blackbird and Ringousel would belong : 'Ptirdus being confined to those with spotted breasts. I do not consider the very trifling diflerence in form between the plain and spotted species to be of sufficient importance, and prefer retaining the generic name of Tardus, as one well knovwi and long accepted. Robin seems to be applied in America generally to several of the Thrushes ; some expletive going before to designate the species by its habits, as " Wood Robin," "Swamp Robin," "Ground Robin," &c. Our present species is the Robin ; and, as the preceding was a favorite on account of its song, this is no less so from the unassuming and dependent familiarity of its manners: it was most probably this Joined with the color of the breast, which first suggested the name of our own homely bird to the earlier British settlers, and along with it part of the respect with which its namesake is treated in this country. An African species, Turdus olioaceus, (te Griveron, Vieill.) is nearly allied in the distribution of the markings. I have tu .Uhcr, 1 believe, from South America, which approaches both nearly. — Ed. n Il !1 I 23 ROBIN. slaujrhter has been made among them witii little fatigue. When ber- ries fail, they disperse thomselves over the fields, and along the fences, in search of worms and other insects. Sometimes they will disappear for a week or two, and return again in greater numbers than before ; at which time the cities pour out their sportsmen by scores, and the markets arc plontifuUy supplied with them at a cheap rate. In Janu- iirv, lrf07, two young men, in one excursion after them, shot thirty dozen. In the midst of such devastation, which continued many weeks, and, by accounts, extended from Massachusetts to Maryland, Koine humane person took advantage of a circumstance common to these birds in winter, to stop the general slaughter. The fruit called pokc-borries (Phytolacca decandra, Linn.) is a favorite repast with the Robin, uf>.er tliey are mellowed by the frost The juice of the berries is of a beautiful crimson, and they are eaten in such quantities by these birds, that their whole stomachs are strongly tinged with tlie same red color. A paragraph appeared in the public papers, intima- ting, that, from tlie great tiuantities of these berries which the Robins had fed on, tliey had become unwholesome, and even dan^rous food ; and that several persons had suffered by eating of them. The strange appearance of tlie bowels of the birds seemed to corroborate this ac- count The demand for, and use of them, ceased almost instantly; and motives of self-preservation produced at once what all the plead- inrrs of humanity could not effect* When fat, they are in consider- able esteem for "the table, and probably not inferior to the lurdi of the ancients, which they bestowed so much pains on in feeding and fattening. The young birds are frequently and easily raised, bear the confinement of the cage, feed on bread, fruits, &c., sing well, readily learn to imitate parts of tunes, and are very pleasant and cheerful domestics. In these I have always observed that the orange on the breast is of a much deeper tint, often a dark mahogany or chestnut color, owing, no doubt, to their food and confinement The Robin is one of our earliest songsters ; even in March, while snow yet dapples the fields, and flocks of them are dispersed abou*^ some few will mount a post or stake of the fence, and make short and frequent attempts at their song.f Karly in April, they are only to be » Governor Drayton, in his Vmo of South Carolina, p. 8G, observes, that " the Robins in winter devour the berries of the head-iroo [Melia azedarach) in such Inr™ quantities, that, after eating: of them, they arc observcil to fall down, and are rcn.iily taken This is ascribed more to distention frc m abniulnnt ealmjr, than from .iiy deleterious qualities of the plant." The Cnri howc.ver, is, that they are hlrrnlly choked, many of the berries bcinjr too larfrc U. -c swallowed. t " The male is one of the loudest and most assiduous of the songsters that Ire- nuent the fur countries, bearinninff his chant immediately on his arrival. \V ilhin Ihc arctic circle, the woods'are .silent in the brisilil li^ht of noon-day ; but towards midniffhi, when the s« 'allc'l 'he real heel, and never 0^^^ I heir bills are comparatively strong, and the power tliev Dossps^nfiwm!,.^ great equal apparently ,0 th^t of a fvoodpecke?of HkS Ttey brred^i„'tT low trees, and produce a rather numerous brood. The male atto.dscarefuHv" dar...g he t.me. Acconl.ng ,0 Montagu, our British species chooses the deseS lab.tat.on of some Woodpecker. " The hole is first contracted by a plaster of cav eav.ng only suffic.eni room for itself to pass out and in ; the nest is made of Tli eaves chiefly those of ,he oak, which are heaped together whho ut much oJde If the barrier of plaster at the entrance is de.stToyed''when d^cy avreg^rit U r W^^i'P'l'"'''-/ Pr"'r,"'«'""^' '° prevent\heir nest bcW lestZcd by ^JT, as Mr. Kenn.e, in h.s late ed.tion of the sa.ne work, thinks probable the wall may be to prevent the unfledged young from tumblinir out of lI.eTft whn , h^l begm to stir about. It is prol?able^hat"the Nuthatch cfoe° not look forwanl to "an^ £coTsenTnceT,"'M'"'' ''"^""gh d^e circcts above mentioned may be „ reality the consequence, I should conce.ve the hole contracted as being really too larae aJid as .ncreasmg the heat and apparent comfort within. Whe.i roosl^?.ff llfev •leep with the head and back downwards, in die m.-mncr of several Titmieel^lE^f o 86 vvHiTE.r.Rr..vsTnn, ^lack-capped nuthatch. I >„ TliP FuroDcan has a line of black pafising the latter are pure ^^• ate. rhc European ^^^^^^ species has through the eye Imlf way do.^^^ innc^vebs of tl.e tl.ree nothing of tlie kind, ^ut J eai^ ™^ ^^^^^ the latter tipped shortest secondaries and ^« P^J'J^^ 1} ^,^ tliighs of a rust co or : ^£^^£^,^^^-^ -"^^""^ "^ '^"'"" -^SS Sri ne. e^i^^S - t£li^^^^^ LoUow rail m the ience, ^n Uoni«tiines ^^.^^^ ^^^^^ the eaves ; and l^yf. J;« ^^f^^V^^S attentive to the female whi e U,e greater end. 1 he "'^ « '^ j*^ J^ sustenance, stopping Irequently sitting; supplying her '^<^S"*"f;7„,,,,' fferint^ her wliat he has brouglit, at the' mouth of the hole,callin| ^nd oh^rin ^^ ^ j in the most endearing ™'^™"„'vXtSiX t'^dious moments witli his to inquire how she is, and to J^en the te ^^^ ^^^^^^ soothing chatter. He bo dom rambles tar^^^^^^^ ^.P^ .^^^^^^ ^^ danger appears, regardless "^^jf^'^^^^jfe trunk of Uie same tree, or alarSi her. When both are fcedi^^^^ ,^„. „„], from the iS^yl^^hr^kSri^tpLnthatlie l^els pleased to hear •^^S^fee-breasted Nuthatch is conunon^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ woods of North America, '^"^'"f^^^f.j^",^ he moves, upward and notes, qiutnk, quank, ^'^'^^1"'^"^]^ [^Sv and larger branches of the down, in spiral f>>--;«,^'/5"^^^^^^^ oak, and shelling tree, probing behind the th n ^caly "arK insects, anl off considerable pieces « f ' J^^f ^^ /' f^^ head dmvnwards, and ap- their larvae. He rcste and ™?f^ ^J^VtVnot common to many birds; pears to possess a degree «!, '^"""'^Ythin a few feet of the root of Lquentl/ descending, ^;:;;^.^^a'stopp g>^d downward, stretch- the tree where you h»Plf " f° ,^;;f ''iSin as if to reconnoitre your ingout his nock ^'J eTrH uESfoTsit appearance; and, after several ii j ^ j ;„„ his unisons as be- roiW, he again inounts,wth fresh actm f^ ^^^^^^ ^.^^^j^^^ fore. Strongly attached to 1"^ "^^^^^.^J^^'t wintor weatlier, his note them ; and, amidst the rigors «( *« f' ^JJ J ^^q ^mong the howling is still heard in the ^^ak and leafles^ vood^, a J^^^^^^ ^^^^^ . branches ^^^^^^^'Ji'^JZl^e^^ twig,andeven the trunk ottne^^^ , ^^^^^^^ his anxiety and shell of ico. On these «^'^^J^ ?"' [j^J ^.hle to make his way along ;to,vVrehem«pick«pa.»ta.ten^^^^^ f^Uy of bird,, The nonie NuUiatch ™ 'f " akiiTmts by ropeaWdUchinss, SaS;S5«i*cs' "Stew -^ -•" - '"— ■ bv Vwillol as Sa<« mdanoetphata. — EO- Hi! RErX.BE.LlRD. ni.ACK-CAPPED NUTHATCH. 27 chinkopins, and hazel-nuts, they may, probably, be able to demolish, though I have never yet seen tliem so engaged but it must be raE m search of maggots tliat sometimes breed^there, than for the kS?eT It IS, however, said, that tliey lay up a large store of nute for wiX • but, as I have never either found^ny of tJ.eir ma^zines, ^r seen' them collecting them, I am inclined to doubt the Set From the great numbers! have opened at all seasons of the yearri have ^ei? reason to bohevo that ants, bugs, small seeds, insecte, and E lSv2^ form their chief subsistence, such matters alone beinc; uniformlv S n tlieir stomachs. Neither can I see what necessity" they could have to circumambulate the trunks of trees with such indefLSle and Sb''\s if^'' "^'"'^ ^"''''^' "*■ ""^ '^y scattered rotund tl^t roots. As to the circumstance, mentioned by Dr. Plott, of the Euro pean Nutliatch "putting its bill into a crack in the bough of a tree i:nd making such a violent sound, as if it was rending asfinder," Ss' f true, would be sufficient to distinguish it from the ipecies we liaie been just describing, which possesse^s no such faculty.* The female differs httie trom the mnle in color, chiefly in the black beinHess deep on the head and wings. " RED-BELLIED, BLACK-CAPPED NUTHATCH - SITTA VARIA. — Fio - Sitta varia, Bar^ p. 289. -Siu. Canadensis. TV.rton. _ Sm«, Ptai.atm /.«/, Silla Canadensis, Bonap. Synop. p. 96. / uJ t t''- '? '""';'' ^'"?"" *^^" *« I'l^t' measuringronly four inches bill, tongue, nostn s, and in the color of the back and tail-feathers it e^xac^ly agrees with the former; the secondaries are not elieved wiU «ie deep black of the other species ; and the legs, feet, and claws, are Sounded b'^fSnp V^^Z' '^' "PP^^ P'^^ of'the\ead is bkc^ hounded by a stripe of white parsing round the frontlet; a line of alone^iru'!!!'".-!?"*"'*' "'"'^^ "' 'P'"^ ""'"' "^ ^'°"*''' "f" f""'- i» i« '"r li.e kernels Th. v'JL • ' "• ""' y**"""'' accounts, to bo both a seed and erahi eater Svedrs™lXT;er^."S''.°"' T" Nuthatch splits „uts""see^;7crtoly in;=a4n:^^^rtsrc\izrhS^^^^ vhi n oreaKs a nii>6ri with ease. Ed. ' " " " ~" ~ "' ' '4l h 28 RED-BELLIED, BLACK-CAPPED NUTHATCH. bl.k passes through U. eye -t^ Une o/^ white ; the chin « ^ f Jj^J^^^^dusky lead color. The breast ae^;S?rS':'etf Tsodeep'a brown, and U.e top of the head is less m^^P'^l^ ^ mssine from Uie north, where they breed, This species %^\f^^'^^Al^^Z\TrS.mmng in April. Its voice to the Southern States i" ^,'^*°/'^^T^^^^^^ is sharper, and its motions "uch Q^'^e it a difficult point to shoot so rapi^, restless and «'"f 1' ^ ^^i^f^re n the woods together, they one of theni. When the two species are ^^. ^^^^ ^^^^^ are easily distinguished by tiieir voices, m ^^^ .^peated nearly an octave /harper than that o^^ /^^ ^like unmusical more'huniedly. In o^l^^J ,3'' jieaTto each other in their colors SSrh^bitsTir^i: S^ -de of building, &c., HuteS?;^ de la C«— f an^^^uthatcl; of other Euro- pean writers) is either ^ /«""§, *^"i that raWv visit^ the United Lperfect plimage, or a f ^f--^ -^,' ^o^Sy L'ored, it must be States. If the figje (^^;j«;^^^^^ the same bluish gray or lead the latter, as the tail and head app ^^.^ species, it maybe ob- color as the back. The yo""? "^'^" , color during the first season; served, have also the crown o V^^nrlv ns t lose of the old ones. ' but the Uil-feathers are marked nea^^^^^^^^^ these authors Want of precision in the ngures aim k probable, that Takes it Sifficult to J^S'oeL alt SgyrheadV Brown. Siita Sitta J<'rm^'^'^J^lf''{:^^'''Ss^^^^^ of Linn.BUB, Gmelin, SSTrVille^s"^ have been originally applied to different nwSYthe species - -/- ^f ^phie^re^ You may This bird is particularly fond of the sg o^ P ^^^^^^ ^o^as, traverse many thousand acres of oak, hicko^, ^^^^ ^^^ „„ during winter, wiUiout ^ef "g^itha^"g^ j^ ^,3 ^tjil, you have soone? do you enter among tje f nes toi^' '^J^\.^^ ^-^^^^ ^^ ^here only to listen for a few ^^^"^/"f ^f^^' "iSibing about in all di- to find them. They "^^^^^^t/bv the fo'rmr species, as well as by rections, generally accompanied by the tormerp ^ p^^ the Titmouse, Pan« '^"<^«F«"'«| ^"^ ^he C^^^^^^^^ 6icoZor,andnotunfrequently by Aeb^^^^ P^^^ tVee to pubmens ; Uie whole 5:0™P^"y J^f^^Sre ; while, in a calm day, t^ethroughthewoods ikeacorp of pioye^^^^ ,^ ^^^^ the rattling ot t'leir bills, and tlie rapm . numberiess thrown, like so many tumblers and J«P^;^^^^^^^^^^ altogether positions, together -^th ^'e P^euli" f att^^^^^ ^^^^g ^^^ rcK*"'l>ihX7/atrtLm t |2at quantity of destruc . ,t is curious 10 remark the -|la"ty. - J^-,^^^^^^^ of some species. In this «^"""i7>""b|:S mtercourse, nothing is more com- aside those ties wh.ch ^""f .^'^^^''^^he S- Ma sh, Cole, and Long-tailed Titmice, mon than to see a whole 'f-^ ,'''J,'^^,^J^^^ wrens, and perhaps a solitary Creeper 3.»».><,.<>nian with a host Ol UOiaen-crcsit.li »_. ■>-• , f-n-ii- "-rh o«hpr- as if II pr;«:;^d1n"the manner here menUoued, ana repibrijr f^llw ...ch o_-., . . GOLD-WINbi!.l) NVOOJU'EOKER. '29 tive insects and larvae they destroy, both uncfer the bark and among the tender buds of our fruit and forest trees, are entitled to, and truly deserving of, our esteem and protection. GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER. — PICUS AURATUS. — Fio. 8. Le pic aux ailes dorees, Dc Buffon, vii. 39, PL enl. G93. — Picus auratus, Liim. Syit. 174. Cuculus alls de auratis, Klein, p. 30. — Catesby, i. 18. — Latluxm, ii. 597. —Bartram, p. 289. — Peak's Museum, No. 1938. COUiPTES ^URATVS. — Bviwmov.* Picus auratus, Perm. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 270. — Waaler. No. 84. -- Bonap. S-mop. p. 44. — Golden-winged Woodpecker, And. i. p. 191. — Colaptes auratus, North. Zool. ii. 314. This elegant bird is well known to our farmers and junior sports- men, who take every opportunity of destroying him ; the former, for tJie supposed trespasses he commits on their Indian corn, or the trifle a laid-out palli. An alarm may cause a temporary digression of some of the troop ; but these are soon perceived making up their way to the main body. The whole may be found out, and traced by tlieir various and constantly reiterated cries. — Ed. „ „ , ,>• • j i * This beautiful species is typical of one form among the Picianm, ana lias been designated under the above title by Mr. Swainson. The form appears to range in North and South America, the West Indian Islands, and m Africa ; our present species is confined to North America alone. They are at once distinguished from the true Woodpeckers and the other groups, by the curved and compressed bill, the broad and strong shafts of the (juills, which are also generally brightly colored, and appear very conspicuous during flight when the wings are expanded. In the typical species they are of a bright golden yellow, whence the common name; and in one closely allied, the C. Mp,riCon«s, Sw., of a bnght reddish orange; in a third, C. Bra.iiliensis, they are of a pale straw yellow. The upper parts of the plumage are, in general, barred, and the feathers on the hind head are of a uniform length, never crested. A difference in form will always produce a difter- ence in halnt; and we accordingly find that these birds more frequently perch on the branches, and feed a great deal upon the ground ; they seem also to possess more of the activity of the Nuthatch and Titmice than the regular chmJ) ol the ty|)ica Woodpeckers. 1'he Golden-winged Woodpecker is known to feed a great deal upon ants, seeking them about the hills, and, according to !\Ir. Audubon, also picks up grains and seed from the ground. In a Brazilian species, Picus campestnsoi Spix and Marlius, wc have analogous habits ; and, as the name implies, it is olleii seen uoon the ground, frequenting the ordure of cattle, and turning it over in search ofinseci. ; or in the neighborhood of ant hills, whore they find an abundant and very favorite food. We find also the general development of form joined GED WOODPECKER. 81 regard from the husbandman, were lie not accused, and perhaps not without just cause, of being too partial to the Indian corn, when in that state which is usually called roasting-ears. His visits are indeed rather frequent about this time ; and the farmer, suspecting what is going on, steals through among the rows with his gun, bent on ven- geance, and forgetful of tlie benevolent sentiment of the poet, that Just ;is wide of justire he must fnll, VV^io thinks all iiiadu iur one, not one for all. But farmers, in general, are not much versed in poetry, and pretty well acquainted with the value of corn, from the hard labor requisite in raising it In rambling through the woods one day, I happened to shoot one of these birds, and wounded him slightly in the wing. Finding him in full feather, and seemingly but little hurt, I took him home, and put him into a large cage, made of willo\v's, intending to keep him in my o^vn room, tliat we iriiffht become bettor acquainted. As soon as he found himself enclosed on all sides, he lost no time in idle fluttering, but, throwing himself against the bars of the cage, began instantly to demolish the \/illows, battering them with great vehemence, and ut- tering a loud, piteous kind of cackling, similar to that of a hen when she is alarmed and takes to wing. Poor Baron Trenck never labored with more earer diligence at the walls of his prison, than this son of the forest in Ins exertions for liberty ; and he exercised his powerful bill witli such force, digging into the sticks, seizing and shaking tliem so from side to side, tliat he soon opened for himself a passage ; and, though I repeatedly repaired the breach, and barricadoed every open- ing, in the best manner 1 could, yet, on my return into the room, I always found him at large, climbing up the chairs, or running about tht. rioor, where, from the dexterity of his motions, moving backward, forward, and sidewise, with the same facility, it became difficult to get hold of him again. Having placed him in a strong wire cage, he seemed to give up all hopes of making his escape, and soon became very tame ; fed on young ears of Indian corn ; refused apples, but ate the berries of the sour gum greedily, small winter grapes, and several other kinds of berries ; exercised himself frequently in climbing, or rather hopping perpendicularly along the sides of the cage ; and, as evening drew on, fixed himself in a high hanging, or perpendicular position, and slept with his head in his wing. As soon as dawn appeared, even before it was light enough to perceive him distinctly across the room, he descended to the bottom of the cage, and began his attack on the ears of Indian corn, rapping so loud, as to be heard from every room in tlie house. After this, he would sometimes resume his former position, and take another nap. He was beginning to become very amusing, and even sociable, when, after a lapse of several weeks, he became drooping, and died, as I conceived, from the effects of his wound.* \ i II '-> i > 8 f * Mr. Audubon says they live well in confinement. "The Golden-winged Woodpecker never suffers its naturally lively spirit to droop. It feeds well ; and by way of amusement will continue to destroy as much furniture in a day, as can well be mended by a different kind of workman in a week." The same gentleman, p" 35^ golt)-v»in(;ed woodpecker. Some European naturalists (and, among the rest, Linnffius himself in hrten i; Sn of ^.y.ima V«/nr.) have classed Jis Im-d with ti^a rrpniis Cuculus 01- Cuckoo, informing their readers, that it possesses Sw of the 'mbits of the Cuckoo ; that it is almost always on the Zind is never e'en to^c trees like the other Woodpeckers, and a" t^ bill is altogether unlike theirs ; every one of which assertions must say, is incoLct,and could have only Foceedcd from an e^Ure unacquaintance with the manners of the bird. Except in the .rt^c e of the bill — and that, as has been before observed, is still a iiuc tdte-formed at the l>oint-it differs in "O one chara^^^^^^^ tlie rest of its genus. Its nostrils are covered with tufts ot rccum bent hairs Ismail feathers; its tongue is round, worm-shaped flat- tened towards the tip, pointed, and furnished -^^h mmute b^^^^^^^ also long, missile, and can be instantaneously P'^truded to an uncom mon distance. The os hyoides, or internal parts of tlie tongue, like migrations, although part.al, (^^ 3' '°7=^.l *'^', ' utJ bj thei note and ih^e the severest vvmters,) are IV'^""";,'^ "'' '",.";f ^^ ff oim^^^^ Of its movement he whistling of their wipp, whirh c ro heard 'fo™j^^ ,8'°";;- Wpii.e itself as erect compared with those we have .yet to describe. ccmceivo il iiccesmry for mo lo Mic, iliat it may enable l"™^ ~""J!° , m, ihan m,,.elf ,o decide as lo ihe -ea.on. <■! '"'I; "'"STid "l. ?e" Iwi ." shot dozens of young M'oodpeckers m I us peculiar ^'z^*'' "' .K"p^^^^^ from being shown to other persons, were thought by them to be "^J'^f^"'/?^^'^^* ;" ;, whar thn hirf 9»"^ <''° "''"'- Sv the capriio of a ■ria pits "i"..Er"^iti r as 4 a., a„a ougiit to be so! Rurouean who has misrepresented =i;:'^:ithL*";Srfo^n;icS^^^^^^^^ window-glass, througli whose crooked F^^^f^^^J^^^;,,^ „,„st, appears so strangely distorted, that one scarcely ni intimate neighbors fn^/cquamtances. ^j. .^ The Gold-winged Woodpecker »>•»« the back ami wmg dark umber, transversely marked ^.th equidisU^^^ S surrounding upper part of the head, an iron gray ; 'J^^^^^^Sb " a strip of the ev.'s. a fine cinnamon color ; from ^"^^ ^°?*,®'^ ^ ,V « \>,rniit and a fJi an inch in >engU., p..- do»„ each «de °f *'£ ^J'f„S '™S'Vaffin?4SrU[°.1 Sc\ 7ZL,.: .he ,id. of the n- + Latham i Klein. • SecErwyc. Brit. art. i""^- .|.„us__L-truBcos arborum nou scandit.— InU. O^.. vol. i. p. '^-- GOLD-WIxVGED WOODPECKER. 86 neck, below this, incline to a bluish gray; throat and chin, a very ligti?, cinnamon or fawn color ; the breaat is ornamented with a broad crescent of deep black ; the belly and vent, white, tinged with yellow and scattered with innumerable round spots of black, every feather having a distinct central spot, tiiose on the thighs and vent beinrr hsun-shaped and largest ; tlie lower or inner side of the wing an3 tail, shafts of all the larger feathers, and indeed of almost every feather, are of a beautiful golden yellow; that on the shafts of the pnmaries being very distinguisliable, even when the wings are shut ; i!ie rump is white, and remarkably prominent; the tail-coverts white and curiously serrated with black ; upper side of tlie tail, and the tip b.-low, black, edged with light, loose filaments of a cream color, the two exterior feathers serrated with whitish ; shafts, black towards the tips, the two middle ones, nearly wholly so; bill, an inch and a half long, of a dusky horn color, somewhat bent, ridged only on the top tapering, but not to a point, that being a little wedge-formed ; legs and feet, hght blue; iris of the eye, hazel; length, twelve inches; extent, twenty. The female differs from the male chiefly in the greater obscurity of tlie fine colors, and in wanting the black mus- taches on each side of the throat. This description, as well as the drawing, was taken fro.n a very beautiful and perfect specimen. Though this species, generally speaking, is migratory, yet they often remain with us in Pennsylvania during the whole winter. They also inhabit the continent of North America, from Hudson's Bay to Georgia ; and have been found by voyagers on the north-west coast of America. They arrive at Hudson's Bay in April, and leave it in Sep- tember. Mr. Hearne, however, informs us, that " the Gold-winged Woodpecker is almost the only species of Woodpecker that winters near Hudson's Bay." The natives there call it Ou-thee-quan-nor-ow, from the golden color of the shafts and lower side of the winffs. It has numerous provincial appellations in the ditferent states 'of the Union, such as " High-hole," from the situation of its nest, and "Hit- tock," " Yucker," " Pint," " Flicker," by which last it is usually known in Pennsylvania. These names have probably originated from a fancied resemblance of its notes to the sound of the words ; for one of its most common cries consists of two notes, or syllables, frequently re- peated, which, by the help of the hearer's imagination, may easily be made to resemble any or all of them. 99 BLACK-THKOAT El> BUN UNO. BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. -EMBERIZA AMERICANA. — Fio. 9. • .u iM»«Kir,l Rrtr No. 6952, — KMBERIZJt jIMERlCJiJVJI.-Ui'nxv:* Fringilla Americana, Bonap. St/nop. 107. of Phil;vdelplua am Hce„^ o p^^^^^^^ le ^^^ ^^^^.^ ^ ^_^.^ ^^ ^ l^^ grass, timothy, or clover, wiiLn^ ui 7 female lays five Iround, and ^^--J,; ^if^ ec^ n^li"^^^^^ btack Like mo^st part tttirl?nur ey arrnoSfcoleEra^^ f.r «.usical powers. Theu of their genus, iiiey an. n ,,roper v, of two notes whole song «^<;"^;« ^f/^^'j' Sv' U^^^^^ rapidly, the first repeated twice, "^"^ 5'"'^'>y,.\^^^^ ,,4^^ aucii as it is, they are resembling chp, <^.'"/^„t,f J,f i.;„^^ ,S fi t^a;rLl for the space of 1 In nnd t .ere che upin- for half an hour at a time. In travelling ^ ' h ,1 ftWpnt mirts of New York and Pennsylvania in spring and through d.fterent P'^rts 01 m j ,^^^^ ^^^^ ^ZS'v^hetSe^ dTa o^uKo in A^gust'tfey beeome mute; Ssoon'a" cm"^ is, towards the beginning of September, leave us '"'X^^Slack-lhroated Btmting \^ six inches and a half in length; The ""i'='V"f thV. .pad is of a dusky green sh yellow ; neck, dark theupperpartc^f thobejd «o^ a^^^^ J^^ ^^^ eye, and at ftsh ; breast, inside f °"';?,«^'^! j",^; chin: and space between the bill the lower angle of tl^ ' Vred^i^t 1 a broad, oblong, somewhat heart- stp^rVlrif'Kr^^^^^^^^^ each'side ^ith white; back. u i,-,«i<. nprfpctlv tvDical wilh \hc Eviherizm of Europe; iho • America has no birds P^i^^^^^'J 'T. ,' difjcalions, Ihat of E. viiliaria, with crnup appears to assume iwo fP""'''.""''f„i7hJ weS make of E. scha-iiicvhis. fhe bill of considerable strength, and th ^f«h«,Y^Jf,^„X ',,»«, , HI rank the To the former will be ^H'^d our _j.rese.U _species^, ^^^ .^ ^_^^^^^^ renrescutcd in uy mca..:> V,. ...- -- , II of I ,c pa atial Knot), ana me wiuencna u. .. v, variations arc the want, or smallne^^^ .^ ,j,^ ^^^ upper mandible, which exceeds '1^^^^^ p„,,,riva for some birds, but ni- the true birds /.eillot 1 be^icN c p opo^« ^^^ ^^ . ^^ eluded many that were not so f^;'> ""'^'^'^'f X»-W^^^ Wc think t\ie form, color receive them,jd to sand^^^^^^^ -d habit, associates them much closer to .r^and niark.ngs-jo'^^.d w''^"^ ^^^^^^ g ^^.^^^ them. -Ed. BLUE-filRU. CT rump, and tail, t'erruginoua, the first streaked with black; wings, deep duHky, etifjod with a light clay color ; lesser coverts and whole Hhf.ulder of the wing, bright bay; bully and vent, dull white; bill, light blue, dusky ubovc, strong and powerful for breaking seeds; legs and feet, brown ; iris of the eye, hazel. The female dill'ers from the male in having little or no black on the breast, nor streak of yellow over the oyu ; bcncatli the eye she has a dusky etrcak, running in the direction of the jaw. In all those I opened, the stomach was tilled with various seeds, gravel, eggs of insects, and sometimea a slimy kind of earth or clay. Tiiis bird has been figured by Latham, Pennant, and several otliers. The former speaks of a bird which ho thinks is eitlior the same, or nearly resembling it, tliat resides in summer in tlio country about Hudson's Bay, and is often seen associating in flights with tlio Geese.* This habit, however, makes me suspect that it must bo a different spe- cies ; for, while with us here, the Black-throated Bunting is never gregarious, but is almost always seen singly, or in pairs, or, at most, the individuals of one family together. BLUE-BIRD —SYLVIA SIALIS.— Fio. 10. Le roure fforge bleu, De Buffon, v. 212. PI. enl. 390, ■ Ci ■ ' - " •■• "• •■ Blue Warbler, Lath. ii. 446. - - datesb. i. 47. — MoUicilir. Sialis, Linn. Syst. 336. — Bartram, p. 291.— Peak's Museum, No. 7108. S/ILIjI IfyLSOJV//. — Sw4i!f»or«.t The Blue Redbreast. Ediv. pi. 24. — Saxicola sialis, Bonap. Synop. p. 89. — Ery- thaca (Sialia) Wilsonii, North. Zool. ii. p. 210. The pleasing manners and sociable disposition of this little bird entitle him to particular notice. As one of the first messengers of spring, bringing the charming tidings to our very doors, he bears his * Latham, Synopsis, Supplement, p. 1.58. t This beautiful species, interesting both as regards its domestic economy and the intimate link which it fills up in the natural system, has been dedicated, by Mr. Swainson, to our author. It remained a solitary individual, until the discovery of a Mexican species by that goiitleman, described under the title of S, Mexicana ; and llie return of the last over-land Arctic expedition brought forward a third, con- firming the views that were before held regarding it. According to these, it will range among the Saxicolinae, whence it had been previously removed from Sylvia hy Vieillot and Bonaparte, and it will hold the place, in North and South America, of the Robin of Europe, and the Stoncchats of that country and Africa ; while, in New Holland, the Muscicapa multicolor, now bearing the generic title of Petroica, with some allied species, will represent it. The old sp>ecies ranges extensively over North America and the northern parts of the south continent, extending also to some of the islands : the newly-discovered one appears confined to a more northern latitude. It has been described in the second volume of the Northern Zoology, under the name of 8. Arctica, and 1 now add the information contained in tbat valuable work : — " Color of the dorsal aspect, ultramarine blue ; the webs of the tertiaries and the I 1 II ' !. m as BLUE-BIRD, own recommendation alwayi. alonff with him, and meeta with a hearty welcome from every body. , . , .. » ,„ „„ »k. Tlioueh uenorally accounted a bird of paflsage, yet, bo early ob the middle of Febn.ary, if Uie weather be oi)en, he UH.mlly makes hia ap- pearance about his old haunts, the barn, orchard, and fence posts. Storms and deep snows sometimes succendrng, ho disappears tor a time : but about the middle of March is again seen, accompanied by his mate, visitini? the box in tl.e garden, or tlie hole •" /he "''I'^PP'''; tree the cradle of s(,me jrenerations of his aiicestDrs. « When he hrst beginH his anu.urH," suys a n.rieus an.l correct observer, " it is pleading to behold his courtship, .-s solicitude to please and to secure the favor of his beloved female. He uses the tenderest expressions, sits close by her, caresses and sings to her his most endeanng warblings. When seated together, if ho espies an insect delicious to her tjiste, ho takes it up, flies with it to her, spreads his wing over her, and put^ it in her mouth."* If a rival makes his appearance, — for they are ardent in tlioir loves, -he quits her in a moment, attacks and pursues fho intruder as he shifts from place to place in tones tho bespeak the iealousy of his riifection, conducts him, with manvrcprooH, beyond die pxtremitiea of his territory, and returns to warb e ouc his trans- portaof triumph beside his beloved mate. Tho pre immaries being [hus settled, and the sp.3t fixed on. they begin to clean out the old nest and the rubbish of the former year, and to prepare for the re- ception of their future offspring. Soon after this, another sociable little pilgrim {JV/o/«d//« donustira House Wren) also arrives from the south, and, finding such a snug birth precKJCupied shows 1»« «P'te, by watchincr a convcmient opportunity, and, in the absence of the owner, poppingln and pulling out sticks, but takes special care to make oft aa fast as possible. ^,11 1 The female lays five, and sometimes six eggs, of a pale blue color, and raises two, and sometimes Uiree broods in a season; the male taking tlie youngest under his particular care w lulcthe female is again sitting. Their principal food are insects, particularly large beetles, and others of the coleopterous kinds that lurk among old, dead, and docav- inff trees. Spiders are also a favorite repast wit/i them. In the tall, thiy occasionally regale themselv.- on the berries of tho «our gum ; and, as winter approaches, on thos. of the red cedar, niu on the fruit of a rough, hairy vine, that runs up mid cleaves fast to the trunks of trees. Ripe pereimmons is another of their favorite dishes, and many (ins of the inner margins oi tlic quill nnae ; tail beneath, and nts.de of the qu.ll-feathers, oTv'e br^wn w"lh a strong tinge of blue : hill r.nd feel, pitch bhck ; form, m^nera , taiof SWilsonii. but il.e?.ill is considerably narrower at the base, and propor- ionablv larrer, slralghter. an-l less notched, and bent at the l.p of the ."PPer mBn- rho-^trbrendlhisequaltoiiH depth; «...«, three quarters of an inch shorter thantCtail the 'coT^^^^^^^ >he fondest; tlie first and third are equal, and about a inc shorter ; the tenth is an inch and a half shorter than the se. .md5 fail forkod, or deeply eiJiarpnated, the central feathers being more than half M IS shor'ie; than the cxterio7 ones •, legs and f^t, similarly formed wlh those of & Wilsnmi: length, seven inches nine lines — hD. • I ...u., froSi Mr. Willinni Bartro.Jf. to the author BIJITv niRD. 89 other fruits and seeds which I have found in their Btom.ich3 at that, Hoiwoii, whicli, bcinjj no botunist, I am unable to particularize. They are frocinently poHtered witli a Hpecies of tape worni, Hume of which I have tnken from tlioir inteHtinen of an extraordinary size, and, in Home cases, in jfroat numbers. Most other birds are also plaptied with tiieso vermin ; but the Blue-Bird seems more subject to them tiiun any I know, except tlie Woodcock. An account of the different species of vermin, many of winch, I doubt not, are nondescripts, tliat infest tlio plinnajre and intestines of our birds, would of itself form an interestinff p>iiilic(ition ; but, as this belon/fs more properly to tho entomologist, I riluill onlj', in the course of this work, take notice of some of the most remarkable. The usual spring and summer song of the Blue-Bird is a soft, agreeable, and oft-repeated warble, uttered with open, quivering wings, and is extremely pleasing. In his motions and general character, ho has great resemblance to the Robin Redbreast of Britain ; and, had he the brown olive of tliat bird, instead of his own blue, could scarcely be distinguished from him. Like him, he is known to almost every child ; and shows as much confidence in man by associating with him in summer, as the other by his familiarity in winter. lie is also of a mild and peaceful disposition, seldom fighting or quarreling with other birds. His society is courted by the inhabitants of the country, and few farmers neglect to provide for him, in some suitable place, a snug little summer-house, ready fitted and rent free. For tliis he more than sufficiently repays them by the cheerfulness of his song, and the mul- titude of injurious insects which he daily destroys. Towards fall, that is, in the month of October, his song changes to a single plaintive note, as ho passes over the yellow many-colored woods ; a» its melancholy air recalls to our minds the approaching decay of t jn;e of nature. Even nflerthe trees are stripped ofiiuir leaves, he stj-i .ingers over his native lields, as if loath to leave them. About the middlt> or end of November, few or none of thfin are seen; but, with evny return of mild and open weather, ■ huai ids plaintive note amidst tlie fields, or in the air, seeming to deplore the devastations of winter. Indeed, he appears scarcely ever totally to forsake us; but to follow fair weather through all its joumeyings till the return of spring. Such are the mild and pleasing manner of the Blue-Bird, and so universally is he esteemed, ; tat I have often regretted that no pastoral muse has yet arisen in this western, woody world, to do justice to his name, and endear him to us still more by the tenderness of verso, as has been dime to his representative in Britain, the Robin Redbreast A smHll acknowledgment of this kind I have to offer, r.hichthe reader, I hopi', will excuse as a tribute to rural innocence. n When winter's oold tempests and snows arc n Green meadows and brown furrow'd field.' ; The fishermen hauling their shad to the short:, And cloud-cleaving Geese to the lakes :'.ie : When first the lone butterfly flits on the ving, When red glow the maples, so fresh and so pleasing, - O then comes the Hluc-Hird, the herald of spring I Ard hails with his warblings the uhurms of the season. more, •ppearing, steeriug ; 'ti! 40 BLUE-BIRD. Then loud-piping frogs make ihe marshes to ring ; Then warm glows the sunshine, and hne is the weather 5 The blue woond Guiana. L ) wards mentions, that the specimen of this bird which he was frvc o . with, was sent from the Bermudas ; and, as these islands abound witli the cedar, it is highly probable that many of those birds pass from our continent thence, at the commencement of winter, tc enjoy the mildness of that climate as well as their favorite food. As the Blue-Bird is so regularly seen in winter, after the contin- uance of a few days of mild and open weather, it has given rise to various conjectures as to the place of his retreat ; some supposing it to be in close, sheltered thickets, lying to the sun ; others, the neigh- borhood of the sea, where the air is supposed to be more temperate, and where tlio matters thrown up by the waves furnish him with a constant and plentiful supply of food. Others trace him to the dark recesses of hollow trees, and subterraneous caverns, where they sup- pose he dozes away the winter, making, like Robinson Crusoe, oc- casional reconnoitring excursions from his castle, whenever the weather happens to be favorable. But amid* the snows and severities of win- ter, I have sought for him in vain in the most favorable sheltered sit- uations of the Middle States ; and not only in the neighborhood of the sea, but on both sides of the mountains.t I have never, indeed, ex- plored the depths of caverns m searcli of him, because I would as down, and retumini? immediately with the prey in their bill, where it is retained for a few minutes, while Ihoy repeat their imiform note. The young, as soon as tifey are able to fly, have the same manners with their parents, and at the season when these are first on the wing, some extensive commons have appeared almost entirely ill motion with our common species. — Ed. * Synopsis, vol. ii. p. 446—40. t I speak of the species here generally. Solitary individuals are found, particu- larly among our cedar-trees, sometimes in the very depth of winter. 4# . I 0 \ ill, 4& BLUE-BIRD. soon expect J> ^ct with ^P^^rS^rcS^K S^^^l bird.: bein;T found ^"''"^''•JiVjre-eno observation seems t.. Middle and Eastern States, the same gentr j^ ,vintcr prevail, that the Blue-B rd a -«y« n;Jes '"s m>e"'-»n ^^^^^^^^ ^ ?ftcr a few days of m.ld a"*^^" ^"ii^le ^^;„as ^ North and Sonth have myself found tl'^m n"mcr"«9 i^ j^^^^^^^^^^^^ assured by Carolina, in the depth of ^^'^ !^ ,.ff ^Jo have resided in the islands different gentlemen ^^S Bahamarar^TenTuuk^^ that this very of Jamaica, Cuba, and the «ah«m^a" ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^, bird is common ^'>«;%'" ;;" f^ j, IJ ^el Low Hernandez, Piso, and others, that it is ^ c .j ^g^^^. and Brazil; and, if so, the pl'^^«//^^*^j ^.f™ y of holes and tained, without having '"e^o^^^ |« ^^fj^ ri^cuSrimprobabilities. caverns, torpidity, l^y^""'*^""' "^^'^j;^^^^^ than to see large flocks Nothing IS "'"^«^""""r fdl r^Ssin' at considerable heights m of these birds, m spnng am^ [; J; F^^^^" j..,^,^ t,,^ north in th-.- latter the air ; from the south in li < ;™ /'^f ^.tobor, about an hour after season. I have seen, in '« T" 'j J ^^^^1^^ eat height, and settle sunrise, ten or fifteen of tie.nde»cen(i iron ^^^_^^^ ^^^ on the top of a tall, detaeh.d ^'^^-ZT A\^r a pause of a few sedateness^tobe stxan^goj^J-d f^^^^^^^ Atl^ ^P^^^^ ^^^ minutes, they began to ^l'-^''^/";' ^r ^^^^ t,jen, on a few tinued so employed for ten "^ h^^c" n ^^ ^^ ^^^ warning notes being given, F ^ « %;i';°„ j^ ^ ji^ect line for the whole remounted t".;^/^V.rtfie ch vin J'tle Bahamas towards the south-west. In passing '^j?:"-,p^n occur from the frequency of West Indies, no ^rea ^lifficulty^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^\^ ,^, ,i, these islands; nor even to tl'C «e™"«y continent. This may hundred miles from the "^^jf ^'^ ^^.^^ , bird ; but it is, neverthe- seem an extraordinary fl.ght or ^ ^"^"^ "^^ ; ^^^ Blue-Bird in this less, a fact that it i« P«^to™7 ' Jepemnuto which is less than I case to fly only at the rate of V™, /over land, ten or eleven hours have actually ascertained him to do oj^; l^^''^^^,, ^j^e chances he would be sufficient to «c^«"^Pl'^K™^ -[""J^^J^ "he number of vessels would have of resting-p aces ^^^^^"^ ^^^^^.^^^^^^^^^^ at most, that generally navigate those sea^. In ^'_^^^^''^J^^^ ^im from the allovvmg for numerous stages for [^^y^iJThe Atlantic States. Seisuppcilion. will be fully corroborated. ORCHARD ORIOLE. 43 ORCHARD ORIOLE. — ORIOLUS MUTATUS.— Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14. Pcalf 1 IUuseitm,No. 1508. — Bastard Baltimore, CaicsAj/, i. 49. — Le Baltimore Batird, De Buffon, iii. i!33. PL enl. 506. — Oriolus Spurius, Gmelin, Syst. i. p. 389.— Lath. fiyn. ii. p. 433, 20, p. 4'?7, li. — Bartram, p. 290. ICTERUS SF ft/t/S. — Bonaparte. Icterus Spurius, Bonap. Synop. p. 5 . — The Orchard Oriole, Aud. i. 221, pl.xlii. There are no circuinstatices, relating to birds, which tend so much to render their history obscure and perplexing, as the various changes of color winch many of tliem undergo. These changes are in some cases periodical ; in others progressive ; and are irequently so extra- ordinary, that, unless tlio naturalist has resided for years in the country which the birds inhabit, and has examined them at almost every season, ho is extremely liable to be mistaken and imposed on by their novel appearance. Numerous instances of this kind mi^ht be cited, from the pages of European writers, in which the same bird has been described two, three, and even four dift'orent times, by the same poison, and each time as a different kind. Tiic species we are now about to examine is a remarkable example of this ; and as it has never, to my knowledge, been either accurately figured or described, I have devoted one plate to the elucidation of its history. The Count de Buffon, in introducing what ho supposed to be the male of this bird, but which appears evidently to have been the female of the Baltimore Oriole, makes Iho following observations, which I give in tlie words of his translator: — "This bird is so called, (Spuri- ous Baltimore,) because the colors of its plumage are not so lively as in the preceding, [Baltimore O.) In fact, when we cornpaie these birds, and find an exact correspondence in every thing except the colors, and not even in the distribution of tliese, but only in the different tints tliey assume, we cannot hesitate to infer that the Spurious Baltimore is a variety of a more generous race, degenerated by the influence of climate, or some other accidental cause." How the influence of climato could affect one portion of a species and not the other, when both reside in the same climate, and feed nearly on the same food ; or what accidental cause could produce a difforonce s : striking, and also so regular, as exists between the two, are, I confess, matters beyond my comprehension. But if it be rec- ollected that the bird which the Count was thus philosophizing upon, was nothing more than the female Baltimore Oriole, whicli exactly corresponds to the description of his male Bastard Baltimore, the difficulties at once vanish, aud with them the whole superstructure of theory founded on this mistake. jDr. Latham, also, while lie confesses the great confusion and uncertainty that prevail between the True and Bastard Baltin;?re, and their females, considers it highly probable that the whole wir. ;e found to belong to one and the same species, in I !i I' 44 ORCHARD ORIOLE. thPir npciiliarities of form, manners, color, &c., trom me commoii source^ of a^^^^^^^^^ beings, and perpetuating them, by the usual nsofeenerSon, as unmixed and independent as any other, iMo Sitbfnoworse'name,a gross absurdity Should the read^^^^^^^^ ^iRnleased at this, I beg leave to remind him, that, as the taitmui SS oflr feaAered tribes, I must be allowed the If Jty of v n- S n^Aem from every "misrepresentation .vhatever^^^^^^^^ -t^^^rr^^S^terica^ subject) that the present is a distinct species f'o™^? ^.^f"'"?"'!,' " m"ght bllufficient^o refer to Uie representation of the la ter in Fig. Q o!!^ tn Fitr 14 of this work. I will, however, add, that 1 con- Itth s SS^i'be^ecffically different from ^^e Baltimor^^^^^^^^^^ following circumstances: its size -it is less, and m°'f, f'^T'''^^^ coE. which are different, and ve^y differently deposed ;ih^ form ofj hill whirh is sharoer po nted, and more bent ; the lorm oi lis lau, w£ch'f n^t tTbut^e^erf; its no.es, -^ich are ne.her so ful nor so mellow, and uttered with much more rapidity , its moae oi TuldTngTand the materials it uses, both f jh-f -^^^-^^^^^^^^^^^^ lastlv uie shape and color of the eggs of each, (see J^igs. o ana o, i S are evidently unlike. If all these -SnlrfesT^nafe this s enumerate a great many n. .re -be not sufficient ^« f ^'f ^^'j^'^J^^ a distinct species, by what criterion, 1 would ask, are we to discr m a Qibiiiiui, apt,v.ic:o, J „^'™'„„/ anpr PS or to assurc ourselves, inate between a variety and tmor^ml species, ""^o "^ ^^ that the Great Horned Owl is not in tact, a Ba^tod l.oose, or tne Carrion Crow a mere variety of the Humming Bird .-' These mistakes have been occasioned by several causes; pnnci- pal ly by tlTechanges of color to which the birds are subjec, and he distance of Europeans from the country tliey inhabit. Catesby, it is teue whiS here, described and figured the Baltimore, and pe haps w^'thc first who published figures of either species; but he entirely Ztted saying any thing of L female, and, instead of the male and Sale of the present species, as he thought, he has only figged the mSe in tw" of \i8 different d;esses; andsuccecdmg compaers have • Keferring to Wilson's original editwn. m. ■?J--i ORCHAllD ORIOLE. 46 followed and repeated the same orior. Another cause may be as- signed, viz. the extreme shyness of the female Orchard Oriole, repre- sented at Fijsf. 11. This bird has hitherto escaped the notice of Euro- pean naturalists, or has been mistaken for another species, or perhaps for a young bird of the first season, which it almost exactly resembles. In none of the numerous works on ornithology has it ever before ap- peared in its proper character ; though tlie male has been known to fiuropeans for more than a century, and has usually been figured in one of his dresses as male, and in anotlier as female; tliesc varying according to the fluctuating opinions of different writers. It is amus- ing to see how gentlemen liavc groped in the dark in pairing tJiese two species of Orioles, of which the following examples may be given : BufToii's and Latlmin's Bal- timore Oriole. Spurious Balliinore of diUo, Penimnl's Balliiuoru Oriole. Spurious Oriole of ditto. Catesby's Baltimore Oriole. Spurious Baltimore of ditto. , Male. . . . Male naltiniorc. Femde. . . Male Orchard Oriole, Fig. 14. , Male. . . . I'\ Female. . Ditto ditto, Fig. 14. Among all tliese authors Catesby is doubtless the most inexcusable, having lived for several years in America, where he had an opportunity of being more coirect : yet, when it is considered, that the female of this bird is so much shyer than the male ; that it is seldom seen ; and that, while the males are flying around and bewailing tin approach to their nest, the females keep aloof, watching every movement of the enemy in restless but silent anxiety ; it is less to be wondered at, I say, that t^v■o birds of the same kind, but different in plumage, making their appearance together at such times, should be taken for male and female of the same nest, without doubt or examination, as, from that strong sympathy for each other's distress which prevails so uni- versally among them at this season, it is difficult sometimes to distin- guish between the sufferer and the sympathizing neighbor. The fonialo of the Orchard Oriole, Fig. 11, is six inches and a half in length, and eleven inches in extent ; the color above is a yellow olive, inclining to a brownish tint on the back ; tlie wings are dusky brown, lesser wing-coverts tipped with yellowish white, greater coverts and secondaries exteriorly edged with the same, primaries slightly so ; tail, rounded at the extremity, the two exterior feathers three quarters of an inch shorter than the middle ones ; whole lower parts, yellow ; bill and legs, light blue ; tlie former bent a li<-tle, very sharp pointed, and black towards the extremity ; iris of tiie eye, hazel -, pupil, black. The young male of the first season corresponds nearly with the above description. But in the succeeding spring he makes his appearance witli a large patch of black marking the front, lores, and tliroat, as represented in Fig. 12. In this stage, loo, the black sometimes makej its appearance on the two middle feathera l> >l 4g ORCHARD ORIOLE. e ^u ♦„,! . „n^ sliirht Stains of reddish arc seen coinmencinff on the ''•^-,*^ nnrl hpflv S rest Of the plunm|re as in the foumle; tTus con- sides and belly. A"^^*^''^"'.\ ' ,,,„ Cira aurinjr the reniniiidcr ot tinuing nearly ^le same on h , b.nl clu^r^^^^ ^^^^^ ^.^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^_ the season. At the ^^me tnnc o ^^. ^^^^ ^j^.^,^ ^^^^^^^^^^_ resented by Fig- U^ '^'"i'^^^ ^y£^ „„ tl>e uppor parts of tlie rr„rAvSre^l^fbay and yell"- on tl>e belly, sides, and vent, orcnara, aim ui ^ ,„ •.„ i t,. ihoir resonct vo plani-colored inatcs. 'T' Tthe'seTo' n at .^ ,X of buildin., food, and notes are, goner^ y ak^" tre"ln;,ditferin, no nu.ro than tl.se oMujy Srcr individuals bolon.nnrr to one common species. The female 'T.'n'^p'laiYXtlhet'Srcon.struct thc.r nests very differently knit, or sewea uiiu ^ t acquaintance, to actu-,aiy done -« ;,,^,*^^,t; tli c^.rious tlbricatton, after admiring a3f\h7!Zc^V:ct;;y two in hes deepby ^vo IhadUi;cunos.ytod.t.ch..^^^^ HLS' dSJance s" 1.1 -£.rttmos hooked through and returned wind n™^^^^ Uie nost! Tiie inside is usually composed windin^r ro""" 'I'" anpondaffes attached to tJie seeds ot the ^itoc^dM^^^^ -1-1^ form a very sott and fuaanus ""^"'^""' ' ^ thore the outward work is extended to «t^bn V to the whole, and prevent it from beingr overset by the wind. ^Vhen the 1^^^^^ the Ion., pendent branches of the -eepinj wU^w "o Imild in, as they frequently do, ^I'e nest thoujj lonned ^^^ thP same materials, is made mucii deeper, and ot bligliter texture. The c'mind-e ence s marked out by a number of these pensile tw gs S?dercond on each side like ribs, supporting the whole ; their tbj foliage at the same time, completely concealing the nest Irom view Te depth n this case is incveaso.l to four or five inches, and tiie 1 m\ ORCHARD ORIOLE. 47 whole ia made much slighter. Those lon^, pendent brandies, being sometimoH twelve and even fifteen feet in length, have a large sweep in the wind, and render the first of tiioao precautions necessary, to prevent the eggs or young from beinij thrown out; and the close shelter afforded by the remarkable thickness of the foliage is, no doubt, tlie cause of the latter. Two of these nests, such as I have here described, are now lying before nie, and exhibit not only art in the construction, but judgment in adapting their fabrication so judi- cioii-iiy to their particular situations. If the actions of birds pro- ceeded, as some would have ua believe, from tlio mere impulses of tliat thing called itistincl, individuals of tlio same species would uniformly build their nest in tlie same manner, wliorevcr they might happen to fix it ; but it is evident from those just mentioned, and a thousand such circumstances, that tlicy reason a priori, from cause to consequence; providently managing with a constant eye to future necessity and convenience. Tho eggs, one of which is represented on the same plate, (Fig. a,) are usually four, of a very pale bluish tint, witii a few small specks of brown, and spots of dark purple. An egg of the Baltimore Oriole is e>whibited beside it, (Fig. b ;*) both of tliese were minutely copied from nature, and are suliicient of themselves to determine, beyond all possibility of doubt, the identity of the two species. I may add, that air. Charles W. Peale, proprietor of tlie museum in Pliiladelphia, who, as a practical naturalist, stands deservedly first in the liret rank of American connoisseurs, and who has done more for the promotion of that sublime science tlian all our speculative theorists together, has expressed to me his perfect conviction of the changes which tliese binls pass through; having hniwolf examined tliein both in spring and towards the latter part of summer, and having at the present time in his possession thirty or forty individuals of tliis species, in almost every gradation of change. Th') Orchard Oriole, though pjirtly a dependant on the industry of the farmer, is no sneaking pilferer, but an open and truly beneficent friend. To all tliose countless multitudes of destructive bugs and caterjiillars that infest the fruit-ti-cos in spring and summer, preying on the leaves, blossoms, and embryo of tho fruit, he is a deadly ene- my ; d(Wouring them wherever he can find them, and destroying, on an average, some hundreds of them every day, without offering the sliirhtest injury to the fruit, however much it may stand in his way. I liave witnessed instances where the entrance to liis nest was more than half closed up by a cluster of apples, which lie could have easily demolished in half a minute ; but, as if holding the property of Jiis patron sacred, or considering it as a natural bulwark to his own, he slid out and in with the greatest gentleness and caution. I am not sufficiently conversant in entomology to particularize the different species of insects on which he feeds, but I have good reason for be- lieving that they are almost altogether such as commit the greatest depredations on the fruits of the orchard ; and, as he visits us at a time when his services are of the greatest value, and, like a faithful guardian, takes up his station wjiere the enemy is most to be expected, * The references here are to Wilson's nrigiual edition. 'i i li' ' m < i Ill ORCHARD ORIOI.E. \L bird, be is on thp «vound - " the tree b ^^^^y .^.^^^^ jj,^ hiB hurried manner, m uln.ost o' , ""JJ,j J^^^^\\u and Bccmnie: con- J e Im and lively, but «^«\^\V\' ,Cv them afstincay, BotwecMi fusion, that the ear is unabh. to '^""^ agreeable and mtcrestmg. nmrder^ous gun ^'^"f °/\" '"„'f uomSic tlowor. and blo.^om., and out roi^traint through thickets o* ""'"JJ'^,., below, bangs his nest, in heedless of the busy gardener that laooi perfect security, on the branches u.r l'';';^'^^^-^,,^,^^ ,„ the n.st ten The female sits fourteen days , tl>« y« "- , . , j^ generally about dajs aaenvards, before they 7>- IJ^,;,'; :.t^^ ■" «^V->^'' ''""'''^7 the^niddlo of June. ^^,f ^'7* , ^ Xch u ust either belong to birds found so late a. the 20th oi July, -" f ^ablo that many of hem %e orchard Orioles a.i.; hi IVimsylva^ Bultimores, conimordy about in h^t v ck j^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^,^^^^ , as the Province of Maine. They ''^' '^'"^ ,; , ,he country near the J^ountains than the latter ^^'^^^J^^^^e^^n at least five of this Blue Ridge, in the »'""thot August, in v g ^er, they take species for'one of the Baltimon . K^dy in ^J^^^^^ j,^,^^ their departure for the f,;f '';,;;'; ^.^totl.eir departure, the young little more than four months. 1 >•'; "J ^e rich extensive meadows of birds bocome g'-^Sanous, and h«iu.nt^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^,^.^^y ^^ ^ the Schuylkill, below Phi '^'^Sd flom the nest, and soon become upwards.' They are «'^!ly/^;f4Vl reared and' kept through the agreeable domestics, ^"f X„r„esg and vivacity at two months old. w'inter, whistled with gy^^^^c carness ana j ^^^^^^ ^^^ It had an odd manner of moving "^ "«°^" . observing any thing, irly, and in various directions wh^yntcnt^^on^ ^^^^ ^^^. „^ without stirring ^^J^\. ^^ht Tcandle was brought into the room tliit of a snake. When at night a <^f "" j.^ fluttering about the ft became restless, and evidently ^^'^^^ Jag^ "'^^ P^^^^^'^ T ^l cage, as if seeking to g«t «f ' ^"''^med e^tremlly well pleased, fed ^amo table with the candle, '^ „*'*'J'". i^g i„age>at as close to In drank, dressed, shook and '^"Xnld a few bUon, inegular notes u" tt as possible, and sometimes chanted ^^^^^ . - j ^ , ^ in that situation as 1 ^^^ ^"^^ S„ 'thi greatest part of winter, r: c£S oti^^vVrr^aS^Vchan/e in its plumage.* ^ •m GREAT AMEUICAN HIIRIKi;, OH BUTCHER BIRD. 49 GREAT AMERICAN SHRIKE, OR BUTCHER BIRD. LANIUS EXCUIUTOR/ — Fio. 15. La (id I pio ffrisclic-grtio, De Buffon, i. 29(5. PL etil. : !;(fl._Wliiio NVhisky Joliii, IViU. Tram. \\\\. 3550. >)^\5. — Peale'i Museum, No. Arct. Zool. ii. No. li7. Lanius borcalin, Vi-tUl. — SoHh. Zool. ii. 3. The form and countenance of this bird bespeak hun full of courage and ener{,'y ; and hid true character does not bolie hi.s appearance, for ho possesses those qualities in a very eminent drjrree. Ho is repre- sented on tli(^ plate rather Ica thiiu his true size,; but in just propor- tion, and with a fidelity that will enable thi; lOuropean naturalist to determine, whether this ho really the aiie -.vitii tlie jj^reat cinereous Shrike (Lunius exnibitoi; Linn.) ui" the eastern continent, or not; thoujfh the progrcs.sive variableness ol" the plumage, p;iiriing, accord- ing,' to aire, and sometimes to climate, from ien-uginous to pale ash, and even to a bluish white, renders it impo;;Hible that tliis should bo an exact rcfirosentation of every individual. This species is by no means numerous in the lower p;u-ts of Penn- sylvania; though most so during the montlis of November, December, and March. Soon after this, it retires to tJie north, and to the higher inland parts of the country to breed. It frequents tlie deepest forests ; builds a large and cnnpact nest in the upright fork of a small tree ; composed outwardl", of dry grass, and whitish moss, and warmly lined within with featliers. The female ' lys six q^^a, of a pale cinereous color, tliickly marked at the greatt . end with sjxjts and streaks of rufous. She sits fifteen day.^. The young are produced early in June, sometimes towards the latter end of May; and during the greater part of the first season are of a brown ferruginous color on the back. . , , . , , , When we compare the beak of this species with his legs and claws, tiplicalion of spnriea. It will ranlc with the Baltimore Bird in the Icterus of Brlsson, ami they will form the only individuals l)el^>ll^^^•Jr to Ihn )\orthcrii ooiilinciit of America. Accordini? to Audubon, the flesh of the Or hard Oriole is cstecmeil by tlie Creoles of Lou -uma, and at the season when tin broods have collecteil, and feed most upon insccis in the moist meadows, they arc jirocured for die table in considorablo abundance. — En. * Wilson has marked this species with a nolo of doubt, showme; the accuracy of his observation whore he had such slender means of making out species ; a mistake also into which C. L. Bonaparte, with greater opportunities, has also fallen. Vieil- lot seems to have been the first to distinguish it, an 1 Mr. Swainson has satisfactorily pointed out the differences, in the Northern '/.•■>logy. Laniiis excubitor is not rounn.l ennnent n a uliH c laH infT thu. ^ennn of bin!, u i,h the Aceipitrme, oth-r. w h the Vic .. Like the former, lie prey, occanonally on otJur birdH ; and like tli" latter, oti insects, particularly frnisshopiHTH, whicli I believe to bo his principal food; having at almost all times, even ui win cr! t bund them in his stomacti. In the month ot December a„d vhi 0 to country «ns deeply covered with snow, I shot one ot these birds near te lead wate^ol the Mohawk River, in the state of New York, the stomach of which was entirely filled with large black snidcre 1 le wmh of a much purer white above, than ni.v 1 have since met witlK though evidently of the saiu- species with the present ; ami I think it probable that tl..- male, become lighter .•ol red as tliey advaiice in age, till the n.inute transv.-ree lines ot browr .n the lower ''Th^r;nniS';::;^has more resemblance to tUe Pies than to birds of prey, particularly in the habit of carrying off Ins s.irp us loud, as i- to lim r who have kept theui in cages m this country, and mused th."mselves with their manceuvres. If so, we migh as w.l B kL the farmer to be inviting Crows to h.s corn when he i.augs no their carcasses around it, as the Butcher Bird to be decoying small b rds by n displav of the dead bodies ot their comrades! In tiic Tmmndions of tht .fimncan PlaloHophcal Smety, vol. iv p. l'>4 the reader may tind a long letter on tins subj.;ct Irom Mr. Joiin Heckewelder, of Bethlehem, to Dr. Barton; the substance ot which 3 a' lbllows:-That on the 17th of December, IT'J.'i, he Mr. Ilecke- welde- went to visit a young orchard which had been plunttnl a few weeks before, and was surprised to observe on every one "» he trees one, and on some two and three grasshoppers, stuck down on the ^Im P, thorny branches ; that, on in<,uiring of h.s tenant the reason of this, ne "formed him that they were stuck there by a small bird of prey, I '"' GREAT AMKRICAN HHRfKE, OR HUTCHER BIRD. 61 callt'il by the (ii'rinaim, A1un/oc the a' ention which Mr. lleckewelder profesHcs to have paid to dii- bird, hv appears not only to have been ignorant that grussboppei -tue, in lact, the favorite food of tiiis Nine-killer, but never once ''^ J J. ^"J'^f '^^k k recumbent hairs; tiie iris of tiie eye is a light hazel; pupil, black. Fi?15wll iivea perfect idea of the bird. The feinale is easily di^ii:^ s edSv bei'ng ferruginous on the back and head "f having e band of black extending only behind the eye, and ot a dirty owli or burnt color ; the under parts are also --«thing ruh.,^ a id the curvin- lines more strongly marked; she is rather ess tlian tlic male, wlii,di is different froni birds of prey m general, the females of wiiich are usually the larger of the two. . ■ ^ .. • n liJwrdr-cZo«/oCT,weare told that this species is frequen ui Ru^stbut does iiot'^extendto Siberia; yet -« -- Z'^'^- ^fj^ it-l.rinr's Strait, on the As atic side, in lat M)°; and the species notify ex enS^^^ -hole continent of Nortli America, from tl e Wcstein ()cean. Mr. Bell, while on his travels through Russia, mdo"' of" these birds given him, which he kept m a room, having fked up a sharpened stick for him in the wall ; and on turning small S iLe in the room, the Butcher Bird instant y caug i them by the throat in such a manner ns soon to suftocatc them, and tlien PINE GROSBEAK. 68 stuck tliem on the stick, pulling them on with bill and claws ; and so served as many as were turned loose, one after another, on the same sticL* PINE GROSBEAK. — LOXI A. ENUCLEATOR. — Fio. 16. I.oxia enuclcator, Linn. St/st. i. p. 299, 3. — l.e dur bee, on gros bee do Canada, Biiffon, iii. p. 457. I'l. ml. 136, l. — Edw. 12^ lU. — Lath. Syn. iii. p. HI, 5. — Peak's Museum, No. 5652. CORYTIIUS FJ^UCr.BiaTOR. — CvviEt: [ liOxia onucleator, Penn. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 348. — Corylhus enur.lcator, Ciw. Regn. Anim. i. p. 391. — Fhem. Br. Zool. p. 76. — Bouvreuil ilur l)ec, Pyrrhiila enu- clcator, Temm.. i. 333. — Pino (Jroshcak, Pyrrliula cnucleator, Sclhij, Orii. 111. i. 256, pi. 53. — Pyrrhula cnucleator, lionap. Sijn. 114. This is perhaps one of the gayest plumagil land birds that fre- quent the inhospitable regions of the north, whence they are driven, as if with reluctance, by the rigors of winter, to visit Canada and some of the Northern and Middle States ; returning to Hudson's Bay so early as April. The specimen from which our drawing was taken v/as shot on a cedar-tree, a fcAv miles to the north of Philadelpliia, in the month of December ; and a faithful resemblance of the original, as it then appeared, is exhibited in Fig. 10. A few days afterwards, another bird of tlie same species was killed not far from Gray's Ferry, * En WARDS, vii. 231. t This intcreslinjr species seems nowhere of common occurrence ; it is very seldom seen in collections ; and boxes of skins, either from diflcrent parts of Europe, or America, can seldom rank the Pine Grosbeak among their number ; the testimony of all travellers in .\merica, who have attended to nature, correspond in their nc counts ; rnd one of the latest, jMr. Audubon, has mentioned it to mo as of extreme scarcity. In this country, they seem to be of equal rarity, tliough they are gener- ally placed in our list of British birds without any remark. Pennant observes, Uiirt. Zool. ii. 348,) that he has seen them in the forests of Invercaukl ; and Mr. Selbv says, (Br. Om. 257,) that, from the testimony of the gamekeepers, whom he had "an opportunity of speaking with in the Highlands, they may be ranked only as occasional visitants. I am aware, however, of no instance of their being killed in this country. Pennant infers, from those which he saw in the month of August, that they breed here. "Such a conclusion," Mr. Selby justly remarks, "ought scarcely to be inferred from this fact, as a snflicicnl interval of time had elapsed for thes'e individuals to have emigrated from Norway, or other northern countries, to Scotland, after incubation, as they are known to breed as early as May in their natural haunts." I have been unable to find any trace whatever of their ever breeding in this country ; most of the migrating species breed very early, and those that change their station for the sake of finding a breeding place, commence the office of building, &c. immediately on their arrival, a necessary circumstance to enable the young to perform their migration before the change of season. Cuvier has formed his genus CorytliuJ! of this individual, which still remains the only one that has vet been placed in it ; but I am of opinion, that the Crimson-necked Bullfinch {Pyrrhula frontiui.^, Say) sho\ild stand very near, or with it. Their alliance to the true Bullfinches is very great, and Mr. Swainson's genus, Crithagra, may form another near ally. — Eb. 54 PINE (iROSHEAK. ii • i' i i . 4 I: four miles south from Philadelphia, which proved t ) be a f^niale. In Ep^rt of the state of Pemisylvania, they are rare birds, and seldom seen "s thevdo not, to ,uy knowledge, breed m any part of this 4te I am unable, from personal observation, to speak ot their man- nor. or musical talents. Mr. Pennant says, they sing on their first nS^alinTe country round Hudson's Bay but soon become s.len ; mile tl^ir nest on trees, at a small height from the ground, ^Mth s"Sfs anT Une it with feathers. The female lays four white eggs which aie hatched in June. Forster observes, that they visi Hudson s Rnl on V in Mav on their wav to the north ; and are not obsen-ed to f^tL'i'n "he'arininTand tLt their food consists of birchwillow buds, and others of the same nature.'^ fourteen The Pine Grosbeak measures nine inches in length, and to"rtcen inches in extent; the head, neck, breast, and rump, arc of a rich cri-i^'n palest on the breast ; the feathers on the middle of the bock ^e'Sre'd^^h arrow-shaped spot, of black and f ^ted wi h crim^ son which oivcs the plumage a considerable flush of ''ed there , those orthe Shoulders are of a deep slate color, partially skirted with red and Ml ash. The greater wing-coverts and next superiov ro^^ are bntdf iwel with thite,and slightly tinged with reddi.li ; wings and ?il Xck,ed^.odwit^^^ liiiht brown; tail, considerably lorked ; fewer arot- he belly, ash color ; vent-feathers, skirted with w nte, and slieaked Suh black; legs, glossy black; bill a browmsh horn color! very thick, short, and hooked at the point ; the upper maml be overlanrring the lower considerably, approaching in its fonn to that Tf the Parfot ; base of the bill, covered with recumbent hairs ot a dark brown color. Tlie whole pluinage, near the roots, as m most other bTrds" is of a deep bluish ash color. The female was half an inch shorteV, and ans.^red nearly to the above description on^y those rnrts that in the male were crimson, were m her of a dirt, j yellow Ih color. The female, according to Forster, referred to above fias those parts which in the male are red, more of an orange tmt; and he censures Edwards for having represented the feniae of too brgl a red. It is possible, that "l^ specimen of the female might have been a bird of the first season, not come to its full colors 1 hose f^^ired bv Mr. Edwards t were both brought fVon> Hudson's Bay, and appear to be the same wiUi the one now before us, though his coloring of the female differs materially from his description. If this, as Mr. Pennant asserts, l.e tl.e same species with tha of .he eastern continent, it would sc-en. to inhabit alnjo^^h'^ wl>o le extent of the arctic regions. It is Ibmul in the north of Scotand who e Penn.nt suspects" it breeds. It inhabits Europe as far north as Dn^leim; coilon in "1' ^^e .pme forests o A su^^^^^^^^^^^^ and the north of Russia; is t»ken in autumn ''^^^f J,fJ'.""'^'.""^. brought to market in great nmnbers. It returns o Lapland m simng, is found in Newfoundland, and subject to like changes ot '°sTnce writing the above, I have kept one of these Pine Grosbeaks a male, for more than half a year. In the montli ot August t^^tose parts of the plumage which were red became of a greenish yellow Snd continue so still. In May and June its song, iiough not so loud as some birds of its size, was extremely clear, mellow, and sweet. I would^warble out this for a wiiole morning together, and acquired Teveral of the notes of a Red-Bird (L. cardmalis) that hung near it. Itls exceedingly tame and familiar, and when it wants food or water, utters a conSnull melancholy and anxious note. It was caught in winter near the North River, thirty or forty miles above New York. RUBY-CROWNED WREN.- SYLVIA CALENDVi. -Fig. 17. Le Roitelet rubis, De Buff. v. 373. -.^^'«\^--/-'^''- ®^;i^"^/l''pS 320. — Reguluscrislalus alter verlice rubim colons, Bartram, p. ^JZ.— I'eales Museum, No. 72-14. REOULUS C^LEJ^nULUS.—STEVHEm.* Regulus calendulas, Stcph. Coni. Sh. ZooL vol. x. p. I60.-Bonap. Synop. 91. This little bird visits us early in the spring, from the south, and is generally first found among the maple blosson>s, about the beguining of Aprih These failing, it has recourse to those of tlr: poach, apple, ami other fruit-trees, partly for the tops of th(^ swe t and slender s"ami" a of Se fiowe'rs" anfl partly for the winged insect, that hover am mg them. In the middle of summer, I have rarely met with these birds in Pennsylvania; and as thoy penetrate as tar north as t^^.e countrv round Hudson's Bay, and also breed there, it accounts tor tS lite arrival here, in falh They then associate with tne different species of Titmouse, and the Golden-crested Wren ; and are particu- a?ly numerous in th^ month of October, and beginning f November in orchards, among the decaying leaves of the apple-trees, that at * Sec note to ReguLus cristaim. ! -l}' 56 RUBY-CROWNED WREN. ;:i that season aro infested with great nun. ers o - 1> -^ -"g^ insect., among which tl^yrnuk.groaha^^c^^^ .iyihe ^0^ o'f Buch the painful necessity onois^^^^a^^^ ^^l^ ^ n,,rc perfect jnoflensivo, ,u.eM "^"^^/f g'.l^, p^r so husy, so active, and knowledge ot the^^P''^^'^'',earchin^ about the same twig, even unsuspecting, as to ,,^"" ;"' ^.'^j^^Xuawn beside them. They are after their couipanion: have '^^"\!^^°\"'; ^e owin" ^^ ^^ tl.e same tint; legs, ringof yellowish ulate,^. ok un er^l ^,, ^^^^^^^^^^ straight, not dark brown; leel and f^^';.^^^-'J'';; , ■' ... the base ; ins de of the notched, furnished with a cw bkcl. hair. ^t ^e .a ,^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ mouth, orange, ^l'" ^^'''-^^f. if^'^, J^^.e fod somJwhattess. Not- male, the colors being Ic.s '^ely, a m th. i^a ^ discover withstandmg my utmost <^"J-'^" I' , /;\',^,/e'e «f having founc. them their nest; th<.ugl^ frem the f^ •• '^J^^^f^^^^^ ^,,,t tlu:- occasionally Eometimcs liere m .ummcr ''"' P",^'' T^ds no larger than this, breed in Pennsylvania; but I k''";^J«\.*^. ;^^ td es't tre4 in the woo.ls that usually build on the c^trem. -es « .^h^ f^^^^^f,^- J leaves are .vhich I '^--.trrl re o" e' iSr"!ituations^ and .should out; many others, no clouui, *-"""" ..-kj ^vith lonven, it s no the; delay building ""td the woods are t^»-k.^"U -' l^^^^,,,,^, . ^.^, „, easy niatter to discover them I" ^^ 'j ^«J „^„^ ,he,„; owing to r^eal IStc^TtTei? favSe W^ at tlfat time. SHORE^LAUK. 67 SHORE-LARK. — ALAUD A ALPESTRIS. — Fio. 18. Alauda alpesiris, Linn. Syst. 289. — Lath. Synop. ii. 386. — Peale's Museum, No. 6190. — Alauda catnpestris, giitture flavo, Bartram, p. 290. — L'Alouette de Virginia, De Buff. v. 65. — Catesb. i. 32. ALAUDA ALFESTRIS. — UnjfjEvs, Alauda alpestris alouette k Hause col noir, Temm. i. 279. — Bonap. Synop. 102. — Vieill. Gal. des Ois. jt\. 155, p. 256. — Alauda cornuta, Sworin. Synop. — Birds o/Me.vico, Phil. Mag. ^ Ami. 1827, p. 'iM. — North. Zool. ii. p. 24.5. This is the most beautiful of its genus, at least in this part of the world. It is one of our winter birds of passage, arriving from tiie north in the fall ; usually staying with us the whole winter, frequent- ing sandy plains and open downs, and is numerous in the Southern States, as iar as Georgia, during that season. They fly high, in loose, scattered flocks ; and at these times have a single cry, almost exactly like the Sky-Lark of* Britain. They are very numerous in many tracts of New Jersey, and are frequently brought to Philadelphia market They are then generally very fat, and are considered excel- lent eating. Their food seems principally to consist of small, round, compressed, black seeds, buckwheat, oats, &c., with a large proportion of gravel. On the flat commons, within the boundaries of the city of Philadelphia, flocks of them are regularly seen during the whole wintrr. In the stomach of these I have found, in numerous instances, quantities of the eggs or larvse of certain insects, mixed with a kind of slimy earth. About the middle of March they generally disappear, on their route to the north.* Forster informs us that they visit the environs of Albany Fort in the beginning of May, but go farther north to breed ; that they feed on grass seeds and buds of the sprig birch, and run into small holes, keeping close to the ground, from whence the natives call them Chi-chtw-pi-sue.] This same species appears also to ba found in Poland, Russia, and Siberia, iii winter, from whence they also retire farther north on the approach of spring ; except in the north-east parts, and near the high mountains.| The length of this bird is seven inches, the extent twelve inches ; the forehead, throat, sides of the neck, and hne over the eye, are of a delicate straw, or Naples yellow, elegantly relieved by a bar of black, ** In winter, s&ys Pennant, they retire to the southern provinces iii great flights ; but it is only by severe weatner tnat they reach Virginia and Carolina. Tliey fre quent sand hills on the sea shore, and feed on the sea-side oats, or Uniola paniculata. 'rhcy have a single note, like the Sky-I,ark in winter. — Teinminck mentions them as birds of passage in Germany, and that they breed also in Asia. One or two specimens have lately been killed in England, so that their geographic range is pretty considerable. The Alauda calandra of Linnseus is introduced into the Northern Zoology, as an inhabitant of the Fur countries, on ihe authority of a e Briti ' "" country. — Ed. specimen in the' British Museum, and will stand as the second Lark found in that t Philosophical Transactions, vol. Ixii. p. 398. { Arctic Zoology. 66 SUOKE-LARK. that passes fVo. the nostril^ thc3 0,e^bdoww,nch^ »o thi depth of three quare^ «* ^» '"^J ! f ^,^1 ^ length, -ilh black, and over the eye >« ^.^adod w.thu, for^its^ ^^^^^^J. ^^,.^,, ^^ , which covers part ot tk crown , m ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^ ^^^.^ j ^lack, fan-shaped patch otblaK,Uus as we^i ^^^^^ ^^ ^j , ^^^^j^^ are marked ^'* """"l'^'^" h^L drab tm.red with lake ; l-sser wine- au.l towards the ^^ou^e ;.'. •^''f^^^^^'^j^^^^^^^ the san.e, intmorTy coverts, bri-ht «Jn".T°^^fil!.hLk ami win^. drab co'ored, tinged dusky, and tipped w'th^v iut^sh; back ana ^^^^^^ ^^ I,, k with reddish, each feather ^f J^^/X t S and odg.d with whitish ; down its centre ; primaries, ^'^K^^^J , t ea ^ , ^^.^ ^. ^^^^ exterior feaUiers, most so 5 /- ^ • ™"f V,,*^^^^^ ftie two middle leathers, and scolloped at the tips; ''"^.^n .'or t'.^co • rts. av-: reddish drub, which by some have beea ""^^"^ f <*;\,V,. oros ov each side, exte- centrod witii br< ■nish black he two oule.o ^^^^ _^^^ ^ ^^ riorly edged wit. ^v^nte; f^r^'^:^;J.;ot"ay and vent, whit.; suies, wiM. -:pt£ or stn'uksot the bame, I J miKlJike, sii;= seven inch.v8,^^ of . /^"l^LlHd vorvlon", and almost straight; ins of and cUv-.sbuu:1«'Juudhcel,voTy ioi.„, ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^han a dirty tinge. . ., ; , u;_,i which i Imve never seen Sre ila singular, appearance m thu. bird,JJ^^iJ;^^^^^ feathers, t«ken notice ot- by *7>,7j;;^r^e7o;d eSoth^ the eye- which extend, by equal ^'^^^""^^JJl^^ ^f a diiferent texture from brow; these are longer, more pomted,dnuoi ^^ of erecting the r^st around them; and the bid posstBscs n p ^^.^^^ ^^^.^^ them,soastoappearasifmrnod Ike some ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ kept 'one of these ^'''^'^l^llV^^^i^Xr^Ssh a very suitable spe- this odd appearance, and tl""!;^ it ^i^ht i ^^^^^^ ^ ^ L/A^^^^TS^S^^Uy of the united States. MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. 60 MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. — SYLVIA MARILANDICA. — Fig, 19. Tardus trichas, Linn. Syst. i. 293. — Erfio. 237. — Yellow-breasled Warbler, Aret. Zool. ii. No. 283. Id. 284. — Le Figuior aux joucs iioire.s, De Buff. v. 292. — La Fauvetle a poilrine jauiie de la Louisiane, livff. v. 162. PL eid. 709, fig. 2.— Lath. Syn. iv. 433, 32. — Pco/e's Museum, No. G902. TRICIIUS PEiJSOJWjrt/S. — SwAiNsoN.* Trichas personatus, Swain. Zool. Joum. No. 10, p. 167. — The Yellow-breasted Warbler, or Maryland Yellow-Throat, Aud. i. pi. 2:5, p. 121. This is one of the humble inhabitants of briers, brambles, alder bushes, and such shrubbery us grows most luxuriantly in low, watery situations; and might with propriety be denominated Humility, its business or ambition seldom loading it higher than the tops o'" the un- derwood. Insects and their larvce are its usual food. It dives inio the deepest of the thicket, rambles among the roots, searches round the stems, examines both sides of the leatf raising itself on its legs, so as to peep into every crevice ; amusing itself at times with a very siniple, and not disagreeable, song or twitter, ichUilitee, whltititee, ivhUititee ; pausing for h;ilf a minute or so, and then repeating its notes as before. It inhabits the whole United States from Maine to Florida, and also Louisiana ; and is particularly numerous in the low, swampy thickets of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It is by no means shy; but seems deliberate and unsuspicious, as if the places it frequented, or its own diminutiveness, were its sufficient security. It otlen visits tlie fields of growing rye, wheat, barley, &c., and no doubt performs the part of a friend to the farmer, in ridding the stalks of vermin, that might otherwise lay waste his fields. It seldom approaches the farm- house, or city ; but lives in obscurity and peace, amidst its favorite * Mr. Swainson has formed from this species his gcims Trichas, and bestowed upon it the new and appropriate name of personatus, or tnasked ; Alarilandica of Hrisson and Wilson could scarcely be retained, Trichas of Linnffius haying the priority. The latter is now converted into a generic term ; and as the species does not seem entirely confined to Maryland, another and more appropriate than either will perhaps make less confusion than the attempts to restore some old one. Mr. Swainson makes the following remarks upon the genus ; — " This t'orm is intimately comiected with Si/nalaxis, and two or three other groups peculiar to Africa and Australia. Feebleness of flight and strength of foot separate lliose birds from the typical genera; while the strength and curvature of the hind claw forbid us to as- sociate tliem with the true Motacillw." The female is figured on No. 86, of this volume, where it is mnUioned as one of the birds whose nest the Cow Bunting selects to deposit her eggs in. "The nest," acconUng to Mr. Audubon, " is placed on the ground, ang- 396. -!. Chattering Flycatcher, Arct. Zool. n. No 266. — Laih.Synop. m. JOU, «. — Garrulus australis, Bartram, Z90. — Peak's Museum, No. 6661. ICTF.RIA VIRlDIi. — hotikrkKTK. Icleria dumicola, VieiU. Oal. des Ois. pi. 86, p. I19.-Icteria riridig, Bomp. 8ynop. p. 69. This is a very singular bird. In its voice and manners, and the habit it has of keeping concealed, while shifting and vociferating around • Tl c Prince of Musignano remarks, when speaking of this bird, in h:s excellent ubscr j3^ons on the irvmcnetaiurz vj rr,t~,v,. , •-. — "..-ay, -- i= - - YELLOW-tREASTED CHAT. 9k Jrou, it differs from most other birds with which I am acquainted, and las considerable claims to originality of character. It arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in May, and returns to the south again as soon as its young are able for the journey, which is usually about the middle of August; its term of residence here being scarcely four months. The males generally arrive several days before the females — a circumstance common with many other of our birds of passaife. When lie has once taken up his residence in a favorite situation, which is almost always in close thickets of hazel, brambles, vines, and thick underwood, he becomes very jealous of his possessions, and seems offended at the least intrusion ; scolding every passenger as soon as they come within view, in a great variety of odd and un- coutli monosyllables, which it is difficult to describe, but which may be readily imitated, so as to deceive the bird himself, and draw him after you for half a quarter of a mile at a time, as I have sometimes amused myself in doing, and frequently without once seeing him. On these occasions, his responses are constant and rapid, strongly expressive of anger and anxiety ; and while the bird itself remains unseen, the voice shifts from place to place, among tlie bushes, as if it proceeded from a spirit First is heard a repetition of short notes, resembling the whistling of the wings of a Duck or Teal, beginning loud and rapid, and falling lower and slower, till they end in detached notes ; then a succession of otliers, something like the barking of young puppies, is followed by a variety of hollow, guttural sounds, each eight or ten times repeated, more like those proceeding from the throat of a quadruped than that of a bird ; which are succeeded by others not unlike the mewing of a cat, but considerably hoarser. All these are uttered with great vehemence, in such different keys, and witli such peculiar modulations of voice, as sometimes to seem at a considerable distance, and instantly as if just beside you ; now on this hand, now on that ; so that, from these manoeuvres of ventrilo- quism, you are utterly at a loss to ascertain from what particular spot or quarter they proceed. If the weather be mild and serene, with clear moonlight, he continues gabbling in the same strange dialect, with very little intermission, during the whole night, as if disputing with liis own echoes; but probably with a design of inviting the passing females to his retreat; for, when the season is further ad- vanced, tliey are seldom heard during the night. About the middle of May they begin to build. Their nest ia usually fixed in the upper part of a bramble bush, in an almost im- penetrable tliicket ; sometimes in a tliick vine or small cedar; seldom more than four or five feet from the ground. It is composed out- inarkal)ln, tliiii Wilson should liavo introduced this m-nus in his Oitiithology. bird lie placed in it has certainly no relation to the Manakins, lor has any oi The one of that genus been found within tho Unitcil States. This bird nas been placed by authors in half a dozen difToront goncra. It was arranged in Muscicapa, by Gmelin, Latham, and Pennant ; in Tardus, by Brisson and ifutron ; in Ampelis, by Sparr- inan ; and in Tunagni, by Desmarest. I was at first inclined to consider it as a Vireo ; but, after having dwelt more upon the characters and habits of this remark- able species, 1 iiave concluded to adopt Icteria as an indepeudciit genus, agreeably to Vieillot." — Ed. 6 )! 1 1 ;"!*^> I , I .1 ' . Ill < i ,11 02 YELI.OW-BREASTEI> CHAT. grape-vinoB and ho inside " ™^,% Heah colored, and gne,drygra8«. Ihe^, M 'Tj;own or dullrei Tho ynung are speckled all ov( „,>ke their first .-xcursion from the noBt hatched in (v- • -"^ , ^. j ^^ anmtcMir in about tlie 8.H.n.i ■ •■ •: % f "fp. ^^ ;^^"«^ ndcr a hen O^^^^^^ his passions. „ fl,^f f,m,rpd the Ycllow-breasted Chat; Mr flatpsbv seems to have hrst tiijurcu uit- iiuu peatod attenipta to shoot olio of ''""•;;\'°' , ',„ ^ cn.p oy an his iiiTPnuity. Catesby also observed its dancii ? mana s^;ii:r^;-Se"-t'i2;y'srri^LrJ'. -'ji- ticularly observed. „ , , ■ ^^ beeth;H, and in their stoiniM-h, in ?reat quantities as wu as pi„i,:,lcl- will be perceived how mu' hii an naiurmieto • Vi,-;!Ua n,o.iit,.c ,i,o fruit of ilic Svlanum CaroUnense as . , ticular luvori.. ofUiis bird. — El). SUMMER -BIRD. 63 classing this bird. That the judicious Mr. Pennant, Gmelin, and even Dr. LaUiam, however, Hhould have; arrantrod it witii the Flycatchcru, is certainly very oxtraordinary ; aw muther in tlie particular structure of its bill, icjiigue, feet, nor in its food or manners, has it any affinity whatever to that genus. Some other ornithologists have removed it to tho Tanagcrs ; but tlio bill of tlio Chut, when compared witli tliut of the Summer Red-Bird, (Fig. '21,) bosi^aks it at once to bo of a dit- feront tribe. Uesidos, the Tanagcrs seldom lay more than two or three eggs ; the Chat usually four : tin- former build on trees ; tlie latter in low thickets. In short, though this bird will not exactly correspond with any known genus, yet tho form of its bill, ita food, and many of its habits, would almost justify us in classing it with tlie genus Ptpra, (Manakin,) to which family it seems most nearly related. The Yellow-breasted Chat is seven inches long, and nine inches in extent ; the whole upper parts are of a ricii and deep olive green, except the tips of the wings and interior vanes of the wing and tail- feathers, whicli are dusky brown ; the whole throat and breast is of a most brilliant yellow, which also lines the inside of the wings, and spreads on tlio sides i nnediat-ely below ; the belly and vent are white ; tho front, slate colored, or dull cinereous ; lores, black ; from the nostril, a line of white exti to tlie upper part oi" tlie eye, which it nearly encircles ; another spot of white is placed at tlie base of the lower mandible ; the bill is strong, slightly curved, sharply ridged on the t"P, compressed, overhanging a Tittle at the tip, not notched, pointed, and altogether black ; the tongue is tapering, more fleshy than those of tlie Muscicaua tribe, and a little lacerated at the tip ; the nostril is o\ .il, and halt covered with an arching membrane ; legs and feet, light blue, hind claw ratlier the strongest, the two exterior toes united to the second joint. Tl 0 female may be distinguished from tlie male by tlie black and liii adjoining the eye being less intense or pure tJian in tlie male, ui' lii having the inside of the moutli of a dirty flesh-color, which, in the male, is black ; in other respects, tlieir plumage is nearly alike. SUM3 RED-BIRD. — TANAGRA ESTIVA. — Fioa. 21, 22. Tanagra Mississippensis, Lath. Ind. Om. i. 421, 5. — Mexican Tanager, Lath. SijHop. iii. 219,6. B. — Tanagra variegala, /nrf. Om.i.421,6. — Taiiagran-stiva, Jnd. Om. i. 422, 7. — Muscicapa rubra, Linn. Syst. i. 326, S. — BuJ. -'^ ')2. PI. eiil 741. — Catesby. ^^"r. i. 6(5. — Merula flammula, Saiiflhill Reti-liiru, BaHram, 299. — Peale's '^eum, No. 6134. prRji\< 1 .«:sr/K.«.— ViKiLLOT. Subgenus Pyrang;. ' I'anagra estiva, Bon<'\ Synop. p. 106. The change <'c<'X." which nis bird is subject to during the first year, and the imperfect figur first given of i* 'ly Catesby, ha> de- * Pyruvn has been used li) . .ciliot to designate a gi-up among the Tanage^-s, having til' i of considerable strength, and furnished on ihe upper man''ibje with I W Bird. A« the female .l.tlcrs b u r m col ^.^__^^^^ ^^^.^^^^ been thouRht proper to r^'*' ^^^''^^^^^^ publication ; and all the to my knowlcdKCNappcared m any tor. _ ^^^^^^^ -e^male of the S— r ^f^^^l^^^f^:^ milion color, most bnlliant on ^"^^^"^ , '^ " own ; the bill i8 dmpro- SdtipBofthewing«,whichareofa.lu.ky b^^^ ^.^^^.^^^^^ ^,^,^ p,>rtu>irably large, and .nflued,1^ej'P^^^^^^^^^ ^^,^^ . ^ , a pro. rts, and tiie whole bill ot a ye no ^^ ^j^^ ^^.^^ ^f ^ ?eet ar^ 1'?''^ /lue, mclmmg to ^^j^jf^ J, ^evon inches and a light hazel color ; the Icn^nh ot th^ wn , ^^^^^^^ ^ j^^^^ qSarter ; and between the t.p« of ^^"^^^^^^^ the male ; bvit i«, above, ^he female (Fig. y^^) ^^ ^^^J^^ Zlrle eye ; throat, breast, and ofabrowniH^. yellow ""^ y-^' ^'f ^J^ ^ ..range yellow; tips and in- whole lower part ot the body, ot an ^, j .^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ Terior vanes of the -uigs brown ^^^J^^^^ ;;;;ltl, 'branch of a half- The nest is built in the ^oods, on in ^^ ^^^^j^^ ^^^^ irown tree, ot^on an ^^f ;;; ^^ « ^ «ken stalks of dry flax. Prom Uie ground; ^oinposed, ontwarU y, Hj^i.t.blue eggs ; he and lined witiihne grass t le funa e ia> „„|i suspect tliat Uie young are produced about the mul.Uo o^ J u , ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Lne V ra.Be no ^ore han one In ..dm a ^^^^^ , . ^^^^ ^^. tints till tJie succeeding ^F'^f "'^."X'first season before their de- Thechange however CO. mencest^^^^^^ ^^^ distinguished parture. In the m«"th °f Aug sMUc y K ^^^ ^^^ from the females by their '"^^^.S^ b^eoming stained with spot^ oi as well as tlie olive S'^f " f^^^^^^'l^l red ; these being irreg.ilar y a bnft- color, -^ich gradually brighten u^o red , ^^^ tail,>articularly scattered over the whole body, except tn ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ the former, which I have otlen iound t^ ^^ ^^^^ ^.^^^ ^ ^^ot quills in the succeeding J"";- .^^^^^ ^^ that time to be a nondescript, 'X'^eti'fS:^^^^ S? l:i This was about the middle L- u K... hpm. taken by Dosmarest to deno e his seedB. — • Ed. SUMMER REI>-HmD. 65 of May. In tlio iiionth of August, of the saino year, being in the woods with tho jjiin, I perceived a bird of very singular plumage, and hiiviug never before met with such an oddity, instantly gave chaao to it It appeared to uie, at u sinull distance, to be sprinkled all over with rod, green, and yellow. After a great deal of ditiiculty — for the bird had taken notice of my eagerness, and had become extremely shy — I succeeded in brin^'ing it down ; and found it to be a youi.g bird of the sauio species with the one I had killed in the preceding May, but less advanced to its tixed colors ; the wings entirely of a greenish yellow, and the rest of the plnmage spotted, in the most irregular manner, with red, yellow, brown, and greenish. This is the f^arie- pali'l Til linger, referred to in the synonymes preiixed to this article. Having, since that time, seen them in all their stiiues of color, during their residence here, I have tho more satisfaction in assuring the reader that tlio whole four species mentioned by Dr. Latham are one and tho same. The two figures in our platt; repr( cut the male and female in their complete plumige. The food of these birds consists of various kinds of bugs, and largo black beetles. In several instaucen, I have foiuid tho stomach en- tirely filled with the broken remains of humble-bees. During the season of whortleberries, tiiey seem to subsist almost entirely on these berries ; but, in the early part of the season, on inscjcts of the above description. In Pennsylvania, they are a rare species, having myself sometimes passed a whole sununer without seeing one of them ; while in New Jersey, even within half a mile of the siiore opposite the city of Piiiladelphia, they may generally be found during the t son. The note of the male is a strong and sonorous whistle, resembling a loose trill or shake on the notes of a life, frequently repeated; that of tlio female is rather a kind of chattering, approaching nearly to the rapid pronunciation of clikky-tucky-tuck, chichf-tuckif-tuck, when she sees any pt-rson approaching the neighborhoocl of her nest She is, however, rarely seen, and usually mute, and scarcely to be distin- guished from the color of tho foliage at a distance ; while the loqua- city and brilliant red of the male make him very conspicuous; and when seen among the green loaves, particularly if the light falls strongly on his plumage, he ha;^ a most beautiful and elegant appear- ance. It is worthy of remark, tint the i'emales of almost all our splendid feiitliered birmij). Sifnop.f p. 107. THIS is another cj .uo»e rich pl-ng^d .ibes «^t vis. us in jring from the regions ot the south. It arrives ^-^;^j^f ^,4. g Member, second week in May, and ^f W^ars Oimrt Uic 'm It is numerous in all the settled parts ot the Middle anu 1. t By a loi.or from my IrK'n-l. Mr. ^"'"''^" V V?'", !"",l, orof..ro provisionally M«si,.^nno inlen.ls to for.n a t.-}^^ ^ ^^f^^.^'W,,, a,,,naiu'.od with the «ar!,.7! ilH pr-n,,i ,>H,n.>. not wi.lu- R to nitutcr. «mr j_ mienlioMS o( anoll.er. It appears « range w ith ir.c. i ./« « INDIGO BIRD. 67 in the Carolinas ana Georgia it is also abundant Though Catesby sttys that it is only found at a grtint distance from the sea, yet round the city of New York, and in many places along the shores of New- Jersey, I have mei; with them in plenty. I may also add, on tiie authority of Mr. WiHiam Bartrani, tiiat "they inhabit the continent and sea-coast islands, from Mexico to Nova Scotia, from the seacoast west beyond the Apalachian and Cherokee mountains," * They are also Icnown in Mexico, whore tlicy probably winter. Its favorite haunts, while with us, are about gardens, fields of deep clover, the borders of woods, and road sides, where it is frequently seen perched on the fences. In its manners, it is extremely active and neat, and a vigorous and pretty good songster. It mounts to the highest tops of a large tree, and chants for half an hour at a time. Its song is not one continued strain, but a repetition of short notes, commencing loud and rapid, and falling, by almost imperceptible gradations, for six or eight seconds, till they seem hardly articulate, as if the little minstrel were quite exhausted ; and, after a pause of half a minute, or less, com- mences again as before. Some of our birds sing only in spring, and tlien chielly in the morning, being comparatively "nmte during the heat of noon ; but tlic Indigo Bird chants with as nmch animation under the meridian sun, in the month of July, as in the month of May ; and continues his song, occasionally, to the middle or end of August His usual note, wlien alarmed by iin approacli to his nest, is a sharp chip, like tliat of strildng two hard pebbles smartly together. Notwithstanding the beauty of his plumage, the vivacity with which he sings, and the ease with which he can bo reared and kept, the In- digo Bird is seldom seen domesticated. The few I have met with were talcen in trap cages ; and such of any species rarely sing equal to those which have been reared by hand from the nest. There is one singularity which, as it cannot be well represented in the figure, may be mentioned kere, viz. that, in some certain lights, his plumage ap- pears of a rich sky blue, and in others of a vivid verdigris green ; so that the same bird, in passing from one place to anotlier before your eyes, seems to undergo a total change of color. When the angle of incidence of the rays of light, reflected from his plumage, is acute, the color is green ; when obtuse, blue. Such, I think, I have observed to be uniformly tlie case, without being optician enough to explain why it is so. From tliis, however, must be excepted tlie color of the head, which, being of a very deep blue, is not affected by a change of position. Tlie nost of this bird is usually built in a low bush, among rank grass, grain, or clov(!r, suspended by two twigs, one passing up each side; and is couiposed outwardly of Hax, and lined witii fine dry grass. I have also known it to build in the hollow of an apple-tree. The eggs, generally five, are blue, with a blotch of purple at tlie great end. The Indigo Bird is five inches long, and seven inc^hos in extent ; tlie wliole body is of a ricfi sky blue, deepening on the head to an ul- tramarine, witli a tinge of purple : the blue on the body, tail, and wings, varies in particular liglits to a light green, or verdigris color, similar to tliat on the breast of a Peacock ; wings, black, edged with • TVmWs, p. 299. n W' i ' f '#■ 3 I 5 J I I ll I t gg ARTERICAN REDSTART. light blue, and beconjin. ^X'^Sf ^iU^te^^^^^^^^^^^^ lilht blue; g'-eater' black, broadly skirted ^ ,^,^^,1, below, black, exteriorly edged ^3^^* blue , bUl, biacK ^^,^^ ^j^e usually Bome;hat larger i" P^P^^X ^ J^ £'^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^'"'^ ^*'- ^'".' are, but less than those of \\^, g'^'^,,^^^^^^^ bird has much mi t has classed it, though, I ^^V ,ho aS Knffi«a, where I must be more of the form and ^ ""T„f feel bSisl^^^ The female is permitted to place if, l«g«.^"twWs dusky black, and the cheeks, ^alight flaxen color, ^^i* jj\'' "feoioV ^ifch streaks of a darker breast,\nd whole lower P^^'^, "^yeTem places with bluish To- color under tlie wnigs, and ^'""^fl^^^lZL^^^^^^ of the color ofthe wards fall, the niale, while muu^^^^^^^^ ,i,h plumage Ss3d^£tS T'J^^i^n^ The usual food of this species isiusects and various kinds of seeds. AMERICAN REDSTART -MUSCICAPA RUTICILLA.- Fio. 24. r in f"" I Siist i 935- — Motacilla fla- vicauJa. (.'met. i^>lf '•,''• I' ^t'^fa-SmJl American Redstart, £c(t«. 80. Mtiseum, No. ()t)o8. THOCon this bird has ^- f Xl^X" ^"^^ - t^ table ornitholog.sts among ^^^J^^J^^^.^J decisively V.u.rkod ; and, characteristics ot the genus •^^"^^'^TV-it/hcrs of its tribe. It is al- in fact, it is otie of the most ^^f^Ay- f,^^^^ party offlies most pcTpetunlly in >''" '»"' ""^ HY^ ^i^^^t perpendicular, but zig- from Ihc tops ot the tallest '<^Jf'"\ J^ dS^ing of its bill is distmctly /.ag direction, to the g'•«i»"l^;^ ^ *,^,f ' p, "en or twelve of these m oLl ; and I doubt not but '^ oft^^/^'^j^jf^^^^ijhts on an adjoining a descent of tliree o^^'S fort few moment!, flirting its expand- braiich, traverses It ^^nf ^;;j"' 'Ji^.^^y .hoots off, in a direction quite . This l>ir.. for.ns the '/jr^.f ^I^^AS -l^^T i J.in,S; c|^ '^^ The youug bird w hgurca in i-iu. '■— AMERICAN REDSTART. 69 Its notes, or twitter, though animated and sprightly, are not deserving the name of song ; sometimes they are wise, toeese, wehe, repeated every quarter of a minute, as it skips among tlie branches ; at other times this twitter varies to several other chants, which I can instantly distinguish in the woods, but cannot find words to imitate. The in- terior of tlie forest, the borders of swamps and meadows, deep glens covered with wood, and wherever flying insects abound, there this little bird is sure to be seen. It makes its appearance in Pennsylvania, fiom the south, late in April ; and leaves us again about the beginning of September. It is very generally found over the whole United States, and lias been taken at sea, in the fall, on its way to St. Domingo,* and other of the West India islands, where it winters, along with many }iiore of our summer visitants. It is also found in Jamaica, where it remains all winter.f The name Redstart, evidently derived from the German rothatetis, (red tail,) has been given this bird from its supposed resemblance to the Redstart of Europe, [Motadlla phanicurus ;) but besides beinji' decisively of a different genus, it is very different both in size and in the tints and disposition of the colors of its plumage. Buffon goes even so far as to question whether the differences between the two be more than what might be naturally expected from change of climate. This eternal reference of every animal of the New World to that of the Old, if adopted to the extent of this writer, with all the transmu- tations it fs supposed to have produced, would leave us in doubt whether even the Ka-te-dids \ of America were not originally Night- ingales of the Old World, degenerated by the inferiority of the food and climate of this upstart continent. We have in America many different species of birds that approacii so near in resemblance to one another, as not to be distinguished but by the eye of a naturalist, and on a close comparison ; these live in the same climate, feed on the same food, and aru, I doubt not, the same now as they were five thousand years ago ; and, ten thousand years hencf tlie species then exist, will be found marked with the same nice (., .liminations as at present It is therefore surprising, that two different species, placed in different quarters of the world, sho'ild have certain neai resemblances to one another, witliout being ba.-tards, or degenerated descendants, tlic one of tlie other, when the whole chain of created beings seems united to each other by such amazing gradations, that bespeak, not random chance and accidental degeneracy, but the magnificent design of :iu incomprehensibly wise and omnipotent Creator. The American Redstart builds frequently in low bushes, in tho fork of a small sapling, or on the drooping branches of the elm, within a few feet of the ground ; outwardly it is formed of flax, well wound togetlier, and moistened with its saliva, interspersed here and tii'jre with pieces of lichen, and lined with a very sofl, downy substance The female lays five white eggs, sprinkled with gray, and specks of blackish. The male is extremely anxious for its preservation ; and, * Edwards. t Sloane. X A species of Chnjllus, well known for its lively chaUer during the evenings and nighta or September and October. W I I 1 ;i.:i • "1' 1 _ 70 CEDAR BIRD. „„ . pe.o„'. «pproach.„« 4e place, will m about wito . few feel, the creneral color above is black, which covers u ^ neck: and spreads on the ^3 nerk'^t is glossed -ith stee! blue ; where, as well as on the ^^^d and ne«^ ^J'j^^.iae of the wings, and si.lcs of tlie breast below tns, black , me ^^^ ^j^^ upper half of the ^^'«"11^J ^^ °l„^,teincr black, conceal this; greater and lesser ^"^ert^ ot tJie wingj D^^^^^ a broad, transverse and the orange or J^yxrom/^^^ovj^pv^^'l^ Sip, they are brownish ; hand across the wings ; ^^l^'^^^'J^Zi?^, oJher eight of the the four middle leathers otuie «i" J^' . ' , ^j ^, ^ent, white, san.e aurora color, and black towards tl^e ^ips , be ly an ^^ w^ ^^^^ .Uolitly streaked with pale °™>5'^, ' J^'^u';^^^^; long bristk AU,.cicapa fonn, triangular at ^^^^ base ^esa ^^^^J ^^^^ .^^^^^,, the wing; her back and ^rown ari, ^ 'j. j ^ -^ ^^^^ gides of white below is not so pure ; I'^tf ,^ ^f T^^^^ ^usky brown. The the breast, greenish Y'^l 7;; j\£^,^S^^ fLale, differing young males ot a year o d a^ almost exac y ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ,n these particulars, *at tliey have a yt. ^^^^^^^^ which the' female has ""^^ '"^^ ^^wni^dronesfbrownish black ; the lateral tail-feaUiers are also yenojv,mu.d^^^^^^^ , ^^^^.^^ inside of tlie wings, yellow Un tne uur , ,; ^^ ^^^^^ complete colors ; and as males ot *»'« ^econd j^ear, i J^^ ^^^^^ ^^ of the female, are often seen - \^ ^^^^^^XZ'^ people to assert the full-plumaged male, it has g. f "^J^^esV and others have taken that the femaes smg as -jj J^J^^^^^^^^^^^^^ as I have stated. it. S if^d LtrUtSown t^pSe in gene'ral to have any provm- cial name CEDAR BIRD.-AMPELIS AMERICANA. -Fio. 25. A.oeU. «.rrulas, Linn. Syst .2.7, ^Z^.- Ur^S^'^t"!^^^! 357, 1.1c/. 8v< i-f ■-^''f"''; "^S n2.-%o/fc'* Last VoyageA.5\8. Le ia-seur du c^dre, BombycUla cedorum ;;^f- I'tS^I^S^i tne'^.can'a, trZ l5on.bycilla (^arolinensis, Bonap. t^ip'op- V- ^J- •»"■ •> Zool. ii. p. 239. —Ed. i^^ CEDAR BIRD. 71 its crest when erected, which gives it so gay and elegant an appear- ance. At pleasure it can lower and contract this so closely to its head and neck as not to be observed. The plumage of these birds is of an exquisitely fine and silky texture, lying extremely smooth and glossy. Notwithstanding the name Chatterers given to them, they are perhaps the most silent species we have ; making only a feeble, lisping sound, chiefly as they rise or alight They fly in compact bodies, of from twenty to fifty ; and usuuUy alight so close together on the same tree, tliat one half are frequently shot down at a time. In the montlis of July and August, they collect together in flocks, and retire to tho hilly parts of the state, the Blue Mountains, and other collateral ridges of the Alleghany, to enjoy the fruit of the Vacdniu^ idiginc- sum, whortleberries, which grow there in great abundance ; whole mountains, for many miles, being almost entirely covered with them ; and where, in the month of August, I have myself found the Cedar Birds numerous. In October they descend to tJie lower, cultivated parts of the country, to feed on the berries of the sour gum and red cedar, of which, last they are immoderately fond ; and thirty or forty may sometimes be seen fluttering among the brr.nches of one small cedar-tree, plucking oflT the berries.* They are also found us far south as Mexico, as appears from the accounts of Fernandez, Seba,t and others. Fernandez saw them near Tetzeuco, and calls them CoquantoU ; says they delight to dwell in the mountainous parts of the country; and that their flesh and song are both indifterent,| Most of our epicures here are, however, of a different opinion, a« to their palatableness ; for, in the fall and beginning of summer, when they become very fat, they are in considerable esteem for the tsble ; and g^eat numbers are brought to the market of Pliiladelphia, where they are sold from twelve to twenty-five cents per dozen. During the whole winter and spring they are occasionally seen ; and, about the 25th of May, appear in numerous parties, making ^reat havock airiong the early cherries, selecting the best and ripest c f tlie fruit 9 I i ; i * They appear all to be berry-oatcrs. at least duriiio winter. Those of Europe have fferierally been observed to Iced on the fruit of the mountain ash, and one or two killed near Carlisle, which I had an opportunity of examining, were literally crammed with hollyberries. " The appetite of the Cedar Uird," Auduboi: remarks, " is of so extraordinary a nature as to prompt it lo devour every fruit or berry that comes in its way. In this manner they {lor^e themselves to such exces.; as some- times (o be unable to fly, and suffer themselves lo be taken by tlu? hand ; and I have seen some, which, thoug'h wounded and confined to a viiiu'. lia%>' ''nten apples until suffocation deprived them of life." — P. 2i7. ■■ IliU they are also excellent lly- catchers, spending much of their time in the pursuit of wina;eeir usuaT fafe In May, before the cherries are ripe, they are lean, and renemllv effing fhe orchard fo^ tliat purpose. The nest is large for the ize of tl Jbird, fixed in the forked or horizontal branch of an lor ine si/;t. ui u ,. ^j^ oTound ; outward! v, and at ToK: • S a"™ro. ™»rL Xj .ml of Brai. an.1 tl,e taide „ li^,.nhollv mth very line Btolks of the same inMcnal. The eggs nnrent nor are they even seen, notwithstanding you are in tne tree parent, nor are uiey ev , ^^^ j^^^ frequently m!»icXi"«" "" """hoffcct on the.n ; fcr the, con.mno, .t that ,nter- "'ffi,''llrSo tadTn Canada, -here it i. colled «.»«, iurtice or propriety a mere ^mparison of llie^^wo wil) a.iermi. 'rati GKiiAT HORNLD OWL CEDAR BIRD. 73 The European species is very nearly twice the cubic bulk of ours ; has tlio whole lower parts of a uniform dark vinous bay ; the tips of tlie wings streaked ^yith lateral bars of yellow ; the nostrils, covered with bristles ; * the feathers on the chin, loose and tufted ; the wings, black; and the markings of white and black on the sides of the head different from the A'- can, which is as follows: — Length, seven inches, extent eleven ...raes; head, neck, breast, upper part rf the back and wing-coverts, a dark fawn color, darkest on the back, and brightest on tlie front ; head, ornamented with a high, pointed, almost upright, crest; line from the nostril over the eye to the hind head, velvety black, bordered above with a fine line of white, and another line of white passes from the lower mandible ; chin, black, gradually brightening into fawn color, the feathers there lying extremely close ; bill, black; upper mandible nearly triangular at the base, without bristles, short, rounding at the point, where it is deeply notched ; the lower, scolloped at the tip, and turning up ; tongue, as in the rest of the genus, broad, tliin, cartilaginous, and lacerated at the end ; belly, yellow ; vent, white ; wings, deep slate, except the two secondaries next the body, whose exterior vanes are of a fawn color, and interior ones, white ; forming two whitish stripes there, which are very con- spicuous ; rump and tail-coverts, pale light blue ; tail, the same, grad- ually deepening into black, and tipped for half an inch witli rich yel- low. Six or seven, and sometimes the whole nine, secondary feathers of the wings are ornamented at the tips with small, red, oblong appen- dages, resembling red sealin J-wax ; tliese appear to be a prolongation of the shafts, and to be intended for preserving the ends, and conse- quently the vanes, of the quills, from being broken and worn away by the almost continual fluttering of the bird among thick branches of the cedar. The feathers of those birds, which are without these ap- pendages, are uniformly found ragged on the edges, but smootli and perfect in those on whom the marks are full and numerous. These singular marks have been usually considered as belonging to the nmle alone, from the circumstance, perhaps, of finding female birds without them. They are, however, common to both male and female. Six of the latter are now lying before me, each with large and numerous clusters of eggs, and having the waxen appendages in full perfection. Tlie young birds do not receive them until the second fall, when, in moulting time, they may be seen fully formed, as the feather \s devel- oped from its sheath. I have once or twice found a solitary one on tlie extremity of one of the tail-feathers. The eye is of a dark blood color ; tlie legs and claws, black ; tlie inside of the moutli, orange ; Asia alone. The fallacy of this opinion was decided by the researches of several oriiitholoKisls, and latterly confirmed, by the discovery in America of the B. gar- niliis itself, the description of which will form a part of Vol. III. (of the London edilion.) The genus Bombycilla of Brisson is generally adopted for these two birds, and will now also contain a third very beautiful and nearly allied species, discovered in Japan by the entcrprisinff, but unfortunate, naturalist Scibold, and fi^ircd in the Planches Colonies of M. Temminck, under the name of B. phcenicoptera. It may be remarked, that the last wants the waxlike appendages to the wings and tail ; at Icist so they are represented in M. Tcmminck's plate ; but our own species some- liHies wants them aJ.so. — Ed. * TURTON. "^"^^p^^pp^^- 74 CEDAR BIRD. ! ii E gap. wide; and the ^llet ^^^^f-^J:^:^^:^^^ S^welvo or ^^^ ''?,"o' womler Senf that this gluttonous want both the inclmation and powe^^^^^^^^ ^^^ The Heem to belong to those only o !««« f^e and female codbihis in th. chief difference m the Pi^XS'r the iSor appearance of the crest, dulnes. of the tints of he latter the '"^^ PP ^ ^^ t^,,. and the narrowness ot the yellow bar on ui v ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^_ Though I do not flatter mv^^^^^^^^^ ^^em look on jndice from the minds ot f^J^>S^f7« '^"^ ^-^^.^^^ species from their tkis bird, also, aH a X'S t cMnge has beeS vcy .reat, very own, yet they must a lo^^ tnai .iie | jc„ where I Uave never „nif;)rm, and univei^al, ^^ J';^ ^^rth Ame„^^^^^ n ^^^^ ^ .^ ^^^^^ heard tliat the Luropean species f «^ ^een loun ^ ' ^_,. ^,,. ^^ this would only show more clearly the spex^^^^^ ^^^^ ^.^, S^JreCiTnaf rn b^S^^^^ -hned to the same ^"K il is not only in theco^;.;;^Sln;f:r ^ :i;^;M hS difl-er, but in several JP^f^^^PJ^rsp^^^^^^^^^ ""'^f'^^" '' The breeding-place of he ^^"^»I^J7. ^^ ,^r resions; from wlienco. supposed to be -"^^-^.^J^ f,°,^f .l^" Euff excursions to variou. in winter they niakediffentand^v^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ „t r^l "/inZ' H4" N an so^^^^^ ^hat mauy years son. times England, in lat. . '14 >^-'a""«"' b rpRnnearance : which, in uu elapse between their '^/'Parture a";' ^^^ ,ome great national superstitious ages, has bo3n supposed ^^ P"™J jes^ inhabits tl.o cX'.i',. On the other hand, the Vmencansp ^^^ wb..le ^aensive range ^^tween M, mco a'^^'^J' J ^^^,i,| u.eir mn-h.ruiherbotJi northerly and sc^uthorly^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^. ^oung li all the mtennediate rcf^^^ons^^^ k f^^j^^.,iti,ens ^bavvi;, vithin a few yards ot our houses. 1 m je 0 ^^^^^^^^^ ^ who h.-. e still any doubts ""j./^f ^^ Srsuperb collection of Mr. see beautiful ^P'-f^^'^^jJ.^^lU ' '^"u.se magnificent rr.useum is Charles W. Peale ot .I'hiladelph a, ^^h o^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ indeed a national blessmg and -'^^ h« jv ^J^f ,,, Birds •, in others In some parts ot the country im y a ^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Cherry Birds, from their ^ndness tor tbat ku t ^ ^ ^ ^^i^ty ripe persimuK>ns, small winter g ape ,bi^^ ^^f.^^^^^^ ^^^^ of other fruits and berries, flu ac o^x ot tn ^^^,^^ i^^^ and berries does not scm U^ J ur^^ and rather to promote thn^i,%nnbedhngt^^^ ^^^ ^^.^^^^^^ ^^^^^ they are t'hus trausportod to and l^an^^d 1 n v ^^eiulness to by these little birds. In other respect, no , ^^ ^^^ the farmer may h« q«estioned , and m the gen ^ ^^ feathered songsters they ^^n scarcely be^^^ ^^^^^^ ^„a „,inute mU8t,therefore,rank them far below^^^^^^^^ ^^ J^^^.^ ^^^^^^^ warblers, their neighbors ^hom Providence ^^^.^^^_ bothasallicstoprotectthe property of «^^^^^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^e ing insects, and^ af^^r^^T^I^ienfand deUghtful meTod?. REI>-BELLTEn WOODPECKER M RED- BEL LIED WU«^ JPECKER. - 1 le. 96. PICUS CA! UNUS — Pieu* Cuolinus, Linn, fiyst. i. 174, 10. — Pie varie do la Janialque, jBujfon, vii. 7X. PI «f^. -WT. — Picuii viirius medius Jamaicensis, Sloan. Jam 299, 16. — Jamaica Wo<)ilj> ker, AVr. ail. — C'otM.i. 19, fiff. 'i. Arct. Zool. li. No. 161. — Latt. Sun, ii. J70, 17. Id. oil, 17, a. Id. /'. — 1, I'peicho raye fie la Louisiane, Buff, vii. 73. PI. tnl. 692, — Peak's Museum, No. 1944. COLAPTES CjIROLIJVUS.— Svi union. Picuk Carolimw, Bonap. Sijnop. p. 45. — Picus eryihrauehen, tVagl. Syit. Ao No. 35J. .' habits so charac- Mc than the Red- )thor spotted Wood- largest, high-timbered eldom appearing near Tmib species posBesses all the restlf .s teristi' of \\< tribe. It is more shy and li headed one, (P. enfthrocephnlus,) or any ot peckers. It is also more solitary. It prefer woods, and tallest decayed trees of the fori the ground, on the feii. os, or in orchards, or open fi'dds ; yet wliere thn trf^PH have been deadened, and stand pretty thick, in fields of Indii' orn, as is common in new settlements, I have observed it to be ve iniroua, and have fonnd its stomach sometimes completely filled with that frrain.* Its voice is liourser than any of the others ; and its usual note, " cliow," h often reminded me of the barkinp^ of •'i little lapdog. It is a most< . Tt climber, pos essing extraordinary .4rength in the luuscles of its feet and clau - u\ 'noves about the body and horizontal limbs of the trees with equt. I ciiity in all direc- tions. It rattles, like the rest of the tribe, on the dead limbs, and with such violence as to be lieard, in still wt-ather, more than half a mile off, and listens to hear the insects it ha.s alarmed. In the lower side of some lofty branch that makes a considerable angle with the horizon, the male and female, in conjunction, dig out a circular cavity for their nest, sometimes out of the solid wood, but more ffenerally into a liollow limb, twelve or fifteen inches above where it becomes solid. This is usually performed early in April. The female lays five eggs, of a pure white,' or almost semi-transparent; and the young generally make their appearance towards the latter end of May, or beginning of * This species will also range \r he gen Colaptes, but will present a more aberrant form. In it wo have ttir . v,iiipres' I and slightly bent shape of the bill, licromins'' stronfjer and more angular; wc ave the barred plnmaa;e of iho upper parts, hut that of the head is uniform an ' .alysliginly elongated behind ; and in the wings and tail the shafts of the qui!' ojie their strength and beautiful color. _ In Wilson's description of the habits, we ,iiso lind them agreeing with the modifications of form. It prefers the more solitary recesses of lofty forests ; and, though capable of tii-iiing and twisting, and possessing a great part "of the activity of the Nuthatch and itmice, it seldom appears about orchards or upon the ground ; yet it occa- sionally %Msits the corn-fielas, and feeds on the grain, and, as remarked above, is " capable of suiisisting on coarser and more various fare," The.se modifications of habit we shall always ind it unison with the structure ; and we cannot too much admire the wisdon that has t^>^4 mutually adapted them to the various oflSces ibey are destined to iil . — Ed. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / // /- / ^\#^ < ^/^ 5ft 1.0 I.I y^ 128 12.5 1^ 1^ III 2.2 1^ I^ " IAS ilO L25 liiu ill 1.6 V] 0^^ ^^ 7] '^1^^' ^ >> :^ > '^J^J> /^, /A Photographic Sdences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MS80 (716) 672-4503 iV f^.. \ \\ ?v ^4!$^^. o^ '%%^ 0 / i^ //.Si u.. r A \ 76 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. June climbing up to the higher parts of the tree, being as yet unable to fly In Situation they are fed for several days, and often become Se nrev ofthe Hawks. From seeing the old ones continumg their S^S after Sis period, I believe^ that they often, and petbaps always, produce two broods in a season. Dunng the greatest part of thi summer, the young have the ridge of the neck and head of fl dvdl rownish asL and a male of the 'jiird year has received his ^'TheRed-bSied Woodpecker is ten inches in length, and seven- teen in extent ti^e bUl is nearly an inch and a half in length, wedged at Se point, bit not quite so much grooved as some others strong, and of a bluish black color; the nostrils are placed m one of these Sooves'and covered with curving tufts of light brown hair«, ending S black points; the feathers on the front stand more erect Uian ^ual and are of a dull yellowish red ; from thence, along the whole 7per' p^rt of the head an'd neck, down the back and BF^drng/ound to^ the shoulders, is of the most brilliant, go^^^^f °f /Jj^^j *^ whole cheeks, liAe over the eye, and under side ot the neck, are a Se buff colo;, which, on the breast and belly, deepens ^to a jeUow- Ish ash, stained on the belly with a blood red ; the vent and thigh feather^ are dull white, marked down their centres with heart-formed and long a^ow-pointed spots of black. The back is black, crossed w°Si transverse Eurving lines of white; the wings are also black; the Sser wing-coverts circularly tipped, and the whole Pnm^"«f. «;^d secondarief beautifully crossed w di bars of ^vhjte „^f ^ also t^ed with the same ; the rump is white, interspersed with touches of black , the tail-covert^, white near their extremities ; the tail consists of ten feathere tlie two middle ones black, their interior webs or vanes wS;fe,'^'rJ;sed with diagonal spots of black ; these, when the edg^^ of the two feathers just touch, coincide and form heart-shaped spots , a narrow sword-shaped line of white runs up tlie exterior side of ^e shafts of the same leathers ; the next four feathers on each «id^ are black- the outer edges of the exterior ones, barred with black and ttte;whlho;the^lower side, seems to cross the -hole vane, as in the figure; the extremities of the whole tail, except the outer fealhei^ are bfack,'sometimes touched with yellowish or cream co^or; the ^gs and feet are of a bluish green, and the iris of tlie eye red. The tonVie or 03 hyoides, passes up over the hind head, and is attached, rfvei? elastic, retr^Stile membrane to the base of the right nos- Sl • the extrein ty of the tongue is long, homy, very pointed, and Sickly edged with barbs; Uie other part of the tongue is worm- ?naped. if several specimens, I found the stomach "early fiUedwiU^ pieces of a species of fungus that grows on decayed wood,^ and, m all, with great numbers of insects, seeds, gravel, &c. Jhe fema»« differs from the male, in having the crown, for an inch, of a fine ash 2nd the b ack not so intense; the front is reddish, as m the male, and ftelole hind head, down to the back, likewise of the same rich red MhTs In the bird, from which this latter description was taken, I • Most probably swallowed wiO. Ihe insects which n,fe^^^^^^ ~hed in the ■nrious iBo.« poiypori, »c., Dut lonnmg im part ol wcir re :Ai YELLOW-THROATED FLYCATCHER. 77 found a large cluster of minute eggs, to the number of fifty, or up- wards, in the beginniu,^ of the month of March. This species inhabits a large extent of country', in all of which it seems to be resident, or nearly so. I ibund them abundant in Upper Canada, and in the northern parts of the state of New York, in the month of November ; they also inhabit tlie whole Atlantic states as far as Georgia, and tlie southern extremity of Florida, as well as tlie interior parts of the United States, as far west as Chilicothe, in tlie state of Ohio, and, according to Buffon, Louisiana. They are said to be the only Woodpeckers found in Jamaica, though I question whether this be correct, and to be extremely fond of the capsicum, or Indian pepper.* They are certainly much hardier birds, and capable of subsistmg on coarser and more various fare, and of sustaining a greater degree of cold, than several other of our Woodpeckers. They are active and vigorous ; and, being almost continually in search of insects that injure our forest-trees, do not seem to deserve the injurious epithets that almost all writers have given them. It is true, they fre- quently perfora,te the timber, in pursuit of these vermin ; but this is almost always in dead and decaying parts of the tree, which are the nests and nurseries of millions of destructive insects. Considering matters in this light, I do not think their services overpaid by all the ears of Indian com they consume, and would protect them, within my own premises, as being more useful than injurious. FELLOW-THROATED FLYCATCHER. SYLVICOLA. — Fio.StT. MUSCICAPA Peale's Museum, No. 6827. yiREO^ FUlFIFROJirS—ViiiLLOT. Vireo flavifrons, Bonap. Synop. p. 70. This summer species is found chiefly in the woods, hunting among the high branches ; and has an indolent and plaintive note, which it repeats with some little variation, every ten or twelve seconds, like * .Sl.OANE. t Vireo is £i genus originally formsd by Vieillot to contain an American grouj) of birds, since the formation of which several additions have been made by Bona- parte and Swainson of species which were not at first contemplated as belonging to it. The group is peculiar to botli continenU of America, — they inhabit woods, feed on insects and berries, and in their manner have considerable alliance to the War- blers and Flycatchers. By Mr. Swainson they are placed among the Ampelidce, or berry-eaters, but with a mark of uncertainty whether they should stand here or at the extremity of some other family. The arctic expedition has added a new soecies much allied to V. olimceus. "Sfr. Swainson has dedicated it to the venera- i>.e naturalist Banram. tnu mtimaie fricno n V\ i.soa ana mentions. tnaL on coni- Dannj; se\'enteen soecies. Vxreo Banrimx. was m-ica siK3a.es 59 coim 78 YELLOW-THROATED FLYCATCHER. preeb,m-eeh,&LC. It is often heard in company with the Red-eyed tVcLteher (Jtfiwcicopa oKrocea) or Whip-tom-kelly of Jamaica; the loud, energetic notes of the latter, mingling with the soft, languid war- ble of the former, producing an agreeable effect, particularly durng the burning heat of noon, when almost every other songster bu th^se two IS silent Those who loiter through the shaoes of our ma^rnificent forests at that hour, will easily recogmze both species. It arrives from the south early in May; and returns again witli its young about tlie middle of September. Its nest, which is sometimes fixed on the upper side of a limb, sometimes on a horizontal branch among the twigs, generally on a tree, is compos.^d outwardly of thin strips of the bark of grape vines, moss, lichens, &c., and lined with fine fibres of such like substances; the eggs, usually four, are white, thinly dotted with black, chiefly near the great end. Wmged insects are its principal food. ., , t_ r. .. > ^„of Whether this species has been described before or not, 1 must leave to tlie sagacity of tlie reader, who lias tlie opportunity ot exam- ining European works of this kind, to discover.* 1 have met with no description in Pennant, Buffon, or Latham, that will properly apply to this bird, which may perhaps be owing to the imperfection ot the account, rather than ignorance of the species, which is by no means The Yellow-throated Flycatcher is five inches aflA a half long, and nine inches from tip to tip of the expanded wings ; the upper part ot the head, sides of the neck, and the back, are of a fine yelk w olive; throat breast, and line over the eye, which it nearly encircles, a deli- cate lemon yellow, which, in a lighter tinge, lines the wings; belly and vent, pure silky white ; lesser wing-coverts, lower part ol the back, and rump, ash; wings, deep brown, almost black, crossed with two white bars; primaries, edged with light ash, secondaries, witli white; tail, a little forked, of the same brownish black with the wings, the three exterior feathers edged on each vane wiUi white ; legs and claws, light blue ; the two exterior toes united to the middle one, as far as the second joint; bill, broad at the base, with three or four slight bristles, the upper mandible overhanging the lower at the point, near which it is deeply notched ; tongue, thin, broad, tapering near the end, and bifid; the eye is of a dark hazel; and the whole bUl of a dusky light blue. The female differs very little m color from the male ; the yellow on the breast, and round the eye, is duller, and the white on tlie wings less pure. brigliter. the wings considerably shorter and more rounded, and the first quill al- ways siiorter than the fifth, — that V. olivaceus is confined to North Amenca, wliile V.Bartramii extends to Brazil. The species of the arctic expediUon were pro- cured by Mr. David Douglas on the banks of the Columbia. Mr. Swainson also met wuh the species in the Brazils ; and, from specimens sent to us by that gentle- man, 1 have no hesitation in considering them distinct, and of at once recognizing the differences he has pointed out. Mr. Audubon has figured another species which will rank as an addition to this genus, and, if proved new, will stand as Vireo Vigorsii; he has only met with a single individual in Pennsylvania, and enters into no description of lU history, or distinctions from other allied birds. — Ed. ♦ Wee Orange-throated Warbler, Latham, Syn. ii. t31, 103. PURPLE FINCH. 79 PURPLE FINCH. — FRINGILLA PURPUREA. — Fig. 28. Fringilla purpurea Gmel. Syst. i. 923. — Kouvreuil viol t de la Caroline, Bujf. iv. 393. — Purple F'nch, Arct. Zool. ii. No. 958. — Catesb. i. 41. — Lath. Synop. iii. 275, 39. — Crimson-headed Finch, Arct. Znol. ii. No. 257. — Lath. Syrum. ii\. 275, 39. — Gmel. Sysi. i. 864. — Fringilla rosea Pallas, iii. «99, 26. — Hemp Bird, Bartram, 291. — Fringilla Purpurea, Id. 291. — Peale'a Museum, No. 650i ERYTimOSPIZ.^ PUKPUREjl. — UosAiARtr.. Fringilla purpurea, iionap. Synop. p. 114. — Purple Finch, Fnngilla purpurea. Crested Purple Fin^h, North. Zool. ii. /l«rf. I. p. 24. PI. iv.— , purpurea. Urestecl Purpfe Fin^h, North. Zool. ii. p. 264. — Erytlirospiza purpurea, Osserv. di C L. Bonap. Sulla Sec. Ed. del. Ciw. lleg. Aiiiin. \>. (iO. This is a winter bird of passage, coming to us in large flocks from the north, in September and October; great numbers remaining with us in Pennsylvania during the wliole winter, feeding on the seeds of tlie poplar, button-wood, juniper, cedar, and on those of many rank weeds that flourish in rich bottoms, and along the margin of creeks. When the season is very severe, tliey proceed to the soutli, as far at least as Georgia, returning north early in April. They now frequent the elm-trees, feeding on the slender but sweet covering of the flowers; and as soon as the cherries put out their blossoms, feed almost exclusively on the stamina of the flowers ; afterwards the apple blossoms are attacked in the same manner ; and their depreda- tions on these continue till they disappear, which is usually about the 10th or middle of ]\Iay. I have been told that they sometimes breed in the northern parts of New York, but have never met with their nests. About the middle of September, I found these birds numerous on Long Island, and round Newark in New Jersey. They fly at a considerable height in the air, and their note is a single ckink, like that of tlie Rice Bird. They possess great boldncs'' and spirit, and, when caught, bite violently, and hang by the bill i'rom your hand, striking witli great fury ; but they are soon reconciled to confine- ment, and in a day or two are quite at liome. I have kept a pair of these birds upwards of nine months to observe their manners. One was caught in a trap, the other was winged with the gun ; both are now as familiar as if brought up from the nest by the hand, and seem to prefer hemp seed and cherry blossoms to all other kinds of food. Botli male and female, thougli not crested, are almost constantly in the habit of erecting the feathers of the crown ; they appear to be of a tyrannical and domineering disposition, for they nearly killed an Indigo Bird, and two or three others, that were occasionally placed witfi them, driving them into a corner of tlie cage, standing on them, and tearing out their feathers, striking them on me head, munching their wings, &c., till I was obliged to interfere ; and, even if called to, the aggressor would only turn up a malicious eye to me for a moment, and renew his outrage as before. They are a hardy, vigorous bird. In the month of October, about the time of their first arrival, I shot a male, rich in plumage, and plump in flesh, but which wanted one leg, that had been taken ofi' a little above the knee ; the I ! 80 PURIM-F, FINCH. n ., ■,\-' .ound had healed so ^^f^^l'^^'^^lZnZZ'y'lt "w^heter skin, that it seemed as tliough it had been so lor y« repeated in this work, ?»f^" J^l^^^^ jgon as a different species; fori t a ?r wtcT'ti wm%rbXrat the Crimson-headed ^rPurrfSch is six inches in length, and nine in extent; head Tdi^y Uli.h flesh color ; ^ Sr^SSgl °"a^ mf^ homcolor; iris, dark ha^U tte leauiera covctu b ,„,ie when dusky i.d .tha? the ojher p.r« of *e teji- JJ -» f^^^ „f . sr„'osrort;efi,s:.|"d**dus^^^^^^ with ktomi lines of f *f ^ wlte""! bi^lfte wSftisC «aked his shown thai Wi son is wrong "} .""^kms Je "S/ g^Vnson e.narka, " We are erythrina of Gmelu,, the same ^^'^h^.^^-'^teciesoni^urple Finches, ^ alniosl persuaded thai there are 7" ^'^ HJ^^P^^f^ "f America; have con/ounded not only Wilson but all ^-^^^^ Va ^b^^^^^^^^^ ^^al another allied splTes mayTe't beTseove^d. ^^ thTt perhaps Wilson was wrong regarding birds which he took for a.e F. ^f • .. . ^ a„d Bonaparte will rank as a sub- gefusWv^^/i Sr^J^^i^^o:if\^^ habi^U, approach very near to Both the Crossbills and Pine ^^rosbeaks, received his review of Cuvier's By the attention of the !'""«'« °f^"?SeVJoSt the opinion of that ornithologist R^gfU' Animal, and am now enabled iJ/t^'^i'^^/hVsubordinate rank of the group, Lath. According to the list of ^l^^^'^s which "« '^«^ p^^^XTo will have a very no present opportunity of comparing wi h the tnae tj pe ine^^ J cxi-»R9ivfi distribution over Amcnca, Europe, Asia, anci Ainc«. ^u. BROWN CREEPER. 81 second season, when the males begin to become lighter yellowish, which gradually brightens to crimson; the female always retains nearly uie same appearance. The young male bird of the first year may be distinguished from the female by the tail of the former being edged with ohve green, that of the latter with brown. A male of one of these birds, which I kept for some time, changed in the month of October from red to greenish yellow, but died before it recovered its former color. BROWN CREEPER. — CERTHIA FAMILIARIS.— Fio. 29. Little Brown Variegated Creeper, Bartram, 289. — Peale's Museum, No. 2434. CERTHIA FJiMILlJiRlS. — Uan xui. Certhia familiaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 4<59. lionap. Sy.Mp. p. 93. — The Creeper, Bewick, Brit. Birds, i. p. 148. — Le Griinpcreau, Temm. Man. i. p. 410. — Common Creeper, Selby 111. plate 39, vol. i. p. 116. This bird agrees so nearly with the Common European Creeper, {Certhia familiaris,) that I have little doubt of their being one and the same species.* I have examined, at different times, great numbers of tliese birds, and have endeavored to make a correct drawing of the male, that jSuropeans and others may judge for themselves; and the excellent artist to whom the plate was intrusted has done his part so well in the engraving, as to render the figure a perfect resemblance of the living original. The Brown Creeper is an extremely active and restless little bird. In winter it associates a ith the small Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Titmouse, &c.; and often follows in their rear, gleaning up those * I have compared numerous IJrilish specimens with skins from Nortli Americn, and can find no differences tlial will cutille a Fcparation of species. In this country they are very abundant, more so apparently in winter, so llial wo either receive a great accession from tlie more iiorlliern parts of Europe, or the colder season and diminished supply of food draws them from u.v^ir woody solitudes nearer to the habitations of man. It is often said to bo rare — an opinion no doubt arising from the difficulty of seeing it, and from its solitary and un;;ssumin^ manners. A short quotation from a late author will best explain our meaning, and confirm the account of its manners, so correctly described above. " A retired inhabitant of the woods and groves, and not in any way conspicuous for voice or plumage, it passes its days with us. creating scarcely any notice or attention. Its small size, and the mjmner in which it procures its food, both tend to secrete him from sight. In these pursuits its actions are more like those of a mouse than of a bird, darting like a great moth from tree to tree, uttering a faint, trilling sound as it fixes on tneir boles, running round them in a spiral direction, when, with repeated wriggles, having gained the summit, it darts to the base of another, and commences agam." The present species will form the type and only individual yet discovered of the genus Certhia. The other birds described by our author as Certhice, will all rank elsewhere; and the groups now known under the titles Cinyris, Neclarinia, &c., which were formerly included, making it of great extent, and certainly of very varied forms, will also with propriety hold their separate stations. The solitary tjyje ranges in Europe, according to Pennant, as far north as Russia and Siberia, and Sandmore in Sweden. In North America, it will extend nearly over the whole continent. — Ed. 82 BROWN CREEPER. insects which their more powerful bills had alarmed and exposed; foJlS^owrBlenEi^urvatedbill^ unequal to the task of pen- SmtinHnto even the decayed wood; though it may iPto holes, and behhid scales of the bark. Of the Titmouse, there are, generally, Dresei the individuals of a whole family, and seldom more than one ^twf of Uie oS As the party advances tlirough the woods from toee toSerour UtS gleaner seems to observe a good deal o regu- UrftfinhSZceedings; for I have almost always observed that he affionKdy S\ the tree, anS directs his course Si VeatniSness, upwards, to .the higher branches --;^-- BDirallv often in R direct line, moving rapidly and unifo....ly along, w^th his tail bent to the tree, and not in the liopping manner of the Woodpecker whom he far surpasses in dexterity of climbing, rumiing aJontr the loweTsWe of the horizontal branches with surprising ease. iSl^rson be near when he alights, he is «-« to keep the o P^^^ Bide Jfthe tree, moving round as ^e moves so as to Pr^vent^^^^^^^^^^ getting more than a transient glimpse of him. Jhe best "^^^Jhod ol niitwininir him if vou are a one, is, as soon as he alights, and ttisap psTS the tJunk, take yo- sUnd »,ehind an ad,oim^^^^^ kPPD " sharp look-out twenty or thirty feet up the body ot the tree ne is u^n-fo he generally mounts very regularly to a considerable heiXt, examTning Sie whole way as he advances. In a minute or two, heSnVainill, he will make his appe^ance on one side or other of f},P trPP and ffive you an opportunity of observing him. tE bKreTstributed over the whole United States, but are most rmerousTn the Western and Northern States, and particularly so SAe Tpth of the forests, and in tracts of large timbered woods, where Sey usuaCyVreed, visiting the thicker settled parts of the country^n fill and winter. They are more abundant in the flat woods ot me o ver diste"ct of New^Jersey than in Pennsylvania and are frequently S nmonathe Dines Though their customary food appears to con- "f Sf SseSSof the coLpterous class, yet I have frequently found in Lir stomachs the seeds of the P--f ^J^J"^ ^S^.f ^^ species of fungus ^at vegetates m old -o<^ -th gene^^^^^^^^^^ ETthe cir ;nd Sinrof the male and'femlle. In the Hio^rof MarchTopened eleven of these birds, among whom were rvemlfeSes, L appeared by the clusters of minute eggs with whfch tSovaries were filled, and also several well-marked males 3 on the most careful comparison of their plumage, I could find and these I uniformly found to be males. I also received two of these bids from the country bordering on the Cayuga Lake, in New York s ate from a^pereon wlo killed them from the tree in which they had E'neT Themaleof this pair had the bill of the same extraordmajy dzewfth several others I had examined before ; the plumage m rve^ '^npot the same. Other males, indeed, were found at the same time, BROWN CREEPER. 88 of the usual size. Whether this be only an accidental variety, or whether the male, when full grown, be naturally so much larger than the female, (as is the cose with many birds,) and takes several years in arrivin? at his full size, I cannot positively determine, though I think the Tatter most probable. The Brown Creeper builds his nest in the hollow trunk or branch of a tree, where the trer has been shivered, or a limb broken off, or where Squirrels or Woodpeckers have wrought out an entrance ; foi nature has not provided him with the means of excavating one for him- self. 1 have known the female begin to lay by the 17th of April. The eggs are usually seven, of a dull cmereous, marked with small dots of reddish yellow, and streaks of daik brown. The young come forth with great caution, creeping about long before they venture on wing. Prom the early season at which they begin to builti, I have no doubts of their raising two broods during summer, as I have seen the old ones entering holes late in July. The length of this bird is five inches, and nearly seven from the extremity of one wing to that of the other ; tiie upper part of the head is of a deep brownish black ; the back brown, and both streaked with white, the plumage of the latter being of a loose texture, with its fil- aments not adhenng ; the white is in the centre of every feather, and is skirted with brown ; lower part of the back, nrnip, and tail-coverts, rusty brown, the last minutely tipped with whitish ; the tail is as long as the body, of a light drab color, with the inner web dusky, and con- sists of twelve quills, each sloping off and tapering to a point in the manner of the Woodpeckers, but proportionably weaker in the shafts ; in many specimens the tail was very slightly marked with transverse, undulating waves of dusky, scarce observable ; the two middle feathers the longest, the others on each side shortening, by one sixth of an inch, to the outer one ; the wing consists of nineteen feathers, the first an incli long, the fourth and fifth the longest, of a deep brownish black, and crossed about its middle with a curving band or rufous white, a quarter of an inch in breadth, marking ten of the quills ; below this the quills are exteriorly edged, to within a little of their tips, with rufous white, and tipped with white ; the three secon- daries next the body are dusky white on their inner webs, tipped on the exterior margin with white, and above that, alternately streaked laterally with black and dull white ; the greater and lesser wing-coverts are exteriorly tipped with white ; the upper part of the exterior edges of the former, rufous white ; the line over the eye, and whole lower parts, are white, a little brownish towards the vent, but, on the chin and throat, pure, silky, and glistening; the white curves inwards about the middle of the neck ; the hill is half an inch long, slnnder, compressed sidewise, bending downwards, tapering to a point, dusky above, and white below ; the r strils are oblong, half covered with a convex membrane, and without hairs or small featherc ; the inside of the mouth is reddish ; the tongue tapering gradually to a point, and horny towards the tip ; the eye is dark hazel ; the legs and feet, a dirty clay color ; the toes, placed three before and one behind, the two outer ones connected with the middle one to the first joint ; the claws rather paler, large, almost semicircular, and extremely sharp pointed • the hind claw tlie largest. . i f .' ' u GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. QOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.- SYLVIA REGULUS.-F.o. 30. „ , r • «■«/ i 338 48 — Lath. 8yn. iv. 508, 146. — Edw. 264 REOULUS il£OW0/W£S.* -Jaiidirb. o «.».«« n 01 — Female Golden-crowned Gold-Crest, '**^"Vr.'TiV.^'X..i72,'^.i' -Sylvia rcguloides, 8w. MSS. TnrH diminutuo species is a freju-f^^^^f^jj: 1^ TlJ^ described, and seems to be almost a ^^^^"jj^^^^e^etth^ wIst * The GoUl-CrcsU, the Common Wrens, -) J -;X^^^^^^^^ cies,lere associated tog^'- '» iJ^^c"- ^^^^^^^^ with .ho not to the external character!, in a inn ten > •" ^ Then many d.vis- habits and atliniiies which invariably f °" ,'^^' 'P^^^^'^ ^.^^ of Hay was pro- ions were formed and «;"°"f. ''«^,^.,'^f °""^*^^ S' bV sftens, the ^ontiimator posed for this small but beautiful tribe. . »\7/^. "%,i, V £rtli American Birds, of Shaw's Zoology, and by '°"«P^^'«„;"J'l„=^f'^wilsm^ Mr. Swainson makes and the first volume of his clcpant ^^'''iXflL but desigiiates it on that account this eenus the typical form of the whole .^!''"'«'^'^" „f p^/^, „„ account of its undir the title .s4.a. I '--t;,-|;^J 'l%fen Xpi^'Vorm by Stephens former use by Uay ?'^" ^"'"Kable to cToate less confusion than the brmffing for- and Bonaparte, and lastly, as l.aDie to "^"^""^ . , „rt;„iiv of the typical group) ward of an old name (though denoting the »yP";« "^^ Y,,"' fe^;,/*^ which has been applied to ^'>,)^«';y j^X-^.V^heTe figired^d the Common Gold- Wilson was in error reprd.ng J f .^A'^^.'^*^* ^fJU '^"«n '"'" ^^'^ '"""' " ' Crest of Europe being .cTentical, and »^"fP"^**'i,"„cK,sively European. Regidu3 v^en fieuriug the female. K-^^tNorA American Upon comparing the two reguloils appears yet eY'fi'rL.foLh.e "aria ions --Length oF R.regu- sr^cies minutely together, I find '''•;/'7r^' f.^,"^^ ft„m three inches and a halT to iLes, three inches seven «'g'}^'';- .f,„f ,'he ffi^oS and more dilated at the three inches six ciehlhs. In f- "f'Z are more tngfd with olive, -in R. regu- wanting entirely in the. British specie^ ii(,„ inhabits the temperate and This very hardy and active '''^^^'^''^"XreTof the arctic circle. They are norUiern climates, reaching even to l*'« ^f *3'^^„uU some species are able to migratory in the more northern '^°""'"f / and t^^^^^ and a lower brave our severest winters, others are no doub^^^^^^ ''^rspeeies of our author degree of cold, to quit the rigors '>l«^^^''^^''l^Q^^^^ Britain, at the commence- performs migrations ""''^ward to breed .and he numbers of our own Gold-Crest. ^enlofwiiitcr,wehavearegi.laraccessm^loth^ ^^^^ ^.^^ ^^^ S^^^n:yJ:ith^;^:^i??^£^^^ ?aSar T^^J^t^^^'^ m&rr:iated by^Mr. Selby, as t Thcr. i, acurious structure '(^J'^^ -^rl-^lS^iel^^^-f'^-^"'^^ piomo'ioi on encn siu^ me w-i» -' s = OOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 8B from Europe, in Mr. Peale's coUtction, appears to be in nothing specifically different from the American; and the very accurate description given of this bird, by the Count de Buffon, agrees in every respect with ours. Here, as in Europe, it is a bird of passage, maKing iW first appearance in Pennsylvania early in April, among the blossoms of the maple, often accompanied by the Ruby-crowned Wren, which, except in the markings of the head, it very much ro- semblca. It is very frequent among evergreens, such as the pine, spruce, cedar, juniper, &c., and in the fall is generally found in com- pany with the two species of Titmouse, Brown Creeper, and small Spotted Woodpecker. It is an active, unsuspicious, and diligent little creature, climbing and hanging, occasionally, among the branches, and sometimes even on the body of the tree, in ,;earch of the larvai of insects attached to the leaves and stems, and various occurring on tho coast of Northumberland in 1822, when the sandhills and links were perfectly cov^jred with them. " On the 2Uh and 25th of October, 1822, after a very severe gale, with thick fog, from the north-east, (but veering, towards its conclusion, to the east and south of east,) thousands of these birds were seen to arrive upon the sea-shore and sand- banks of the Northumbrian coast; many of them so fatigued by the length of their flight, or perhaps by the unfavorable shii't of wind, as to be unable to rise agam from the ground, and groat numbers were in consequence caught or destroyed. This flight must have been immense in quantity, as its extent was traced through the whole length of the coasts of Northumberland and Durham. There appears liulc doubt of this having been a migration from the more northern provinces of Europe, (probably furnished by the pmo forests of Norway, Sweden, &c.,) from the circumstance of its arrival being simultaneous with that of largo flights of the Woodcock, Fieldfare, and Rcdwnig. Although 1 had never before witnessed the actual arrival of the Gold-crested Regulus, I had long felt convinced, from the great and sudden increase of the species during the autumnal and hyemal months, that our indigenous birds must be augmented by a body of strangers, making these shores their winter's resort. " A nore extraordinary circumstance in the economy of this bird took place during ihe same winter, [Memoirs o/^ VVernerian Societtj, vol. v. p. 397,) viz., the total disappearance of the whole tribe, mtives as well as strangers, throughout Scotland and the north of England. This happened towards the conclusion of the month of January, 1823, and a few days previous to the long-continued snow-storm so severely felt through the northern counties of Ei.gland, and along the eastern parts of Scotland. The range and point of this migration arc unascertained, but it must probably have been a distant one, from the fact of not a single pair having returned to breed, or pass the succeeding sjmmer, in the situations they had been known always to frequent. Nor was one of the species to be seen till the followirtg October, or about the usual time, as I have above stated, for our receiving an an- nual accession of strangers to our own indigenous birds.'' They are chiefly, if not entirely, insectivorous, and very nimble 'ind agile m search after their prey. They build their nesU with great art, — that . i coimtrv has it usually suspended near the extremity of a branch, and the ou' ii beautifully cov- ered with difi'erent mosses, generally similar to those growing upon the tree on which they build. In colors and the distribution of them, they closely agree, and all possess the beautiful golden crown, the well-known and admired mark of their common name. Our own island possesses only one, and thougl: strong hopes have lately been raised of finding the second European species, R. ignicapUlus, our en- deavors have hitherto been unsuccessful. But I do not yet despair ; they are so closely allied that a very near inspection is necessary to determine the individuals. Mr. Audubon has described and figured a bird under tha name of 14. Cuvierii. which may prove an addition to this genus. Only a single specimen was procured in Pennsylvania, and the species will rest on Mr. Audubon's plate alone, until some others are obtained. The centre of the crest is described and represented of a neh vermilion. — Pwer hung up his coat under a shed, near a barn; two or three days elapsed before he had occasion to put it on again; thrusting Ins arm up tho sleeve, he found it completely filled with some rubbish, as he expressed it, and, on extracting tlie whole mass, found it to be Uie neat of a wren completely finished, and lined with a large quantity of feathers. In his retreat, be was followed by the little forlorn pro- prietors, who scolded him with great vehemence for thus ruining the whole economy of their houseliold affairs. The twigs with which the outward parts of the nest are constructed are short and crooked, that they may tlie better hook in witli one another, and the hole or entrance is so much shut up, to prevent the intrusion of snakes or cats, that it appears almost impossible tlie body of the bird could be admitted ; within this is a layer of fine dried stalks of grass, and lastly feathers. The eggs are six or seven, and sometimes nine, ot a red purplish flesh color, innumerable fine grains of that tint being thickly sprinkled over the whole egg. They generally raiae two broods in a season ; tho first about the beginning of June, the second in July.* • The Wrens fiffurcd on this plate, and, indeed, all those of this northern con- tinent, seem to be great favorites with the country people, to wh.xh distinction, their utility in gardens in destroying caterpUlars and noxious insects^ their «pngMiy, their utility in gardens m destroying caierpuiara auu iio*>"u» m.»-». -~- -r-orvj social m^ner, with their ■*»« and neat appearance, fully enUUe them, raey 88 HOUSE WKEN. Thi3 littte bird has a sUong antipathy to cata ; ^J? ^^^^^ f^^^^^ ™; buUt, and two egga '"^ "i °^^;'' "turins too far into the u well u the room door, the f™''= ^'^gSlS ,ho had planted room to reeonnoilre, wa. "P""? "I^VJl^Xf cMld be given, was SJercStr^rhr&''.«Sof :^M de.e.S hin.,el,; I each other ; and both those now 'g^'e^ have ocen doubtful. The colors Try, from wU, however. Uk, h"Vt?^!*'r,ms,^^^^^ shades, intermingled ofthe plumage are brown, ;f't^^^?f"Jlotche8ff yellowish white. They make occasio'nally with spots, and fXlP^ni°auce; all those wi^ »'''«'- very comraotlious nesU, with a S'»g'« «°'f^^'^^'j_ jL ,," . and lay at a time from Suited are very pK.lific. breed mc.eha^ ^„,, p,„,, ; twelve to sixteen eggs ; *ey are always to oe me , ^^ maturity. That as their numerous broods would ead us to inter ii a. ^ ^^^^^ convenient of this country, though not so tame f^ '° '^f ^^^d'^i^^e by a window, or above a breeding-place, is extremely fan^'l'^'- Xr'" jf ,o^s?s du"«'g ^''^ "'g*"' '" ''°'^' '^.^^^^^Zl^:::^^'^^^-^^-^-' .»ni.r.vsev^en or eight should enter first These *'« l'^"' r^^^^;^^! ^ bulk. Another curious portion of animal heat P°«^f «^ "^f^'l'^^yi; ^eT^^^ n««l^ which arc particiJar in the economy of ^''eso hUle birds, is we manj, ^^^ ^^^^^ j^^^^ Lilt, or. as they are sometimes '='^'«^'^^f,^Xa£sTs those intended for incuba- 80 cirefilly, or in such pivate ^^^-^^ "*^Sed hXbuilt state. 1 have never tion, and are even someumes Icll m »" »"fi~J Zk of the male bird only, or beei able to satisfy myself ^»'f'l^'^^fy'!|'Vhetire? really commenced with the of both conjointly j or to as^.^'a " J.«'^ Xces THie r.nerally-exposed situation view of breeding in them, ?fjf/ ™°'''"f, JS*,'" chosen lor those that have young, in which they are placed, with the concealeaspol en ,^ j,c a greater would argue against the ^'-^^V ^Iw £ w lire o «^^^^^^^ They reasoning power than most people ^°"'^ )f „77e^ voung Notwithstanding thefr may. perTiaps, be the first instinctive efforts ot «ne youiiK ^^^.^^^^^ 3 rulk,^and tender-looking frame J^y^'^J^^/ffJ^ he necessity of food, they winters of this country 5 driven nearer to our house^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^ f seem to reioice in "hard, clear fros.s.n^ng mej-'J »» '^ ,^1^ ^^en disturbed brushwooJ, or sounding, m ^P'd "ecess «„ the r n^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ by any unwelcome visitor. A «'"y f"" ' '" * ^ ;„ ii,e unseen ruggedncss of Jnusement with boys; and ""^jy ^^^^Pj^'^J^^^ f^^J" d, a hole, or tEfck heap of the ground when in pursuit. At »"y,^""^Xwrd where it will either remain quiet .ticfs, will form a refuge f"'',,^';!*/" 7 ''^d^ 'Jay^^ll creep and run, escaping ktTS^;a\^;;^sr^"ho7r^^ possassion. . „,.;,-_ .„ ,i,» already-described North American •^We must here mention, m f '1'*'°" *« ^^^^^^^^ be long ,necies one figured by Mr. Ai^lubon, an(yie.licaiea w w y^.^^ubon has , rCl^redb'y the British ornilholop^^^^ sh/oe, form color killed three specimens of it 'n|l"X"re^Carolina Wren, and forms a kind of r IJM iiveiintsiH oi ciUicr „- u:^ II __ gn. w f 1 1 '^''"^^Oi-'u'hniAiri THE GYR FALCON HOUSE WREN. 89 watched him carefully for several days. A rii-st he sung with great vivacity for an hour or so, but, becoming un«asy, went off for half an hour ; on his return, he chanted again as before, went to the top of the house, stable, and weeping-willow, that she might hear him; but, seeing no appearance of her, he returned once more, visited the nest, ventured cautiously into the window, gazed about wiUi suspicious looks, his voice sinking to a low, melancholy note, as he stretched his little neck about in every direction. Returning to the box, he seemed for some minutes at a loss what to do, and soon after went off, as I thought, altogetlier, for I saw him no more that day. Towards the afternoon of the second day, he again made his appearance, accom- panied with a new female, who seemed exceedingly timorous and shy, and who, after great hesitation, entered the box ; at this moment the little widower or bridegroom seemed as if he would warble out his very life with ecstasy of joy. After remaining about half a minute in, they both flew off, but returned in a few minutes, and instantly began to carry out the eggs, feathere, and some of the sticks, supplying the place of the two latter with materials of the same sort, and ultimately succeeded in raising a brood of seven young, all of which escaped in safety. The immense number of insects which this sociable little bird removes from the garden and fruit-trees, ought to endear him to every cultivator, even if he had nothing else to recommend him ; but his notes, loud, sprightly, tremulous, and repeated every few seconds with great animation, are extremely agreeable. In tiie heat of sum- mer, families in the country often dine under the piazza adjoining green canopies of mantling grape vines, gourds, &c., while overhead the trilling vivacity of the Wren, mingled with the warbling mimicry of the Mocking Bird, and the distant, softened sounds of numerous other songsters, that we shall hereafter introduce to the reader's acquaintance, form a soul-soothing and almost heavenly music, breathing peace, innocence, and rural repose. The European who judges of the song of this species by that of his own Wren, (M. trog- lodytes,) will do injustice to the former, as, in strength of tone and execution, it is far superior, as well as the bird is in size, figure, and elegance of markings, to the European one. Its manners are also different; its sociability greater. It is no underground inhabitant; its nest is differently constructed, the number of its eggs fewer ; it is also migratory, and has the tail and bill much longer. Its food is insects and caterpillars, and, while supplying tlie wants of its young, it destroys, on a moderate calculation, many hundreds a day, and greatly circumscribes the ravages of these vermin. It is a bold and insolent bird against those of th.e Titmouse and Woodpecker kind tliat venture to build within its jurisdiction ; attacking them witliout hesitation, though twice its size, and generally forcing them to de- camp. I have known him drive a pair of Swallows from their newly- formed nest, and take immediate possession of the premises, in which his female also laid her eggs, and reared her young. Even the Blue- Bird, who claims an equal and sort of hereditary right to tlie box in the garden, when attacked by this little impertinent, soon relinquishes the contest^ the mild placidness of his disposition not being a match .if 'I' i w t * 90 IK USE WREN. for the fiery impetuosUy of Ju. little a^^^^^^ fS^llfrqu^bJlSf, own species who settle and build near him, ne n i ji.^ ^^^^^ and wLn their re^Pe^t^J^Sl; When the young are hatched, the powers of song to excel the other. WMn me ^ B j^ jg Krry and press oft.usiness leave no time for d^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ tJiat idleness is Uie mother of m^scm;*;^ in ^^^ ^^^^^^ -^ ^j^^ to the country ; they are to be heard 9" "'^^..'r*' . enerev- Scarce 1st central Vrt« of our ^^^J-J^-^^-l wf ^fi^ of them a house or cottage m the "^ountiy is witiioui ai ^Hen, orchard, aiid sometimes two; but unless where th^re IS a la^^^^ ,^^^ ^^^ and numerous ouUiouses, it is not often the c-^e "i ^ ^^^ pair reside near the ^^^^.f °^„7?"^a to Siis little^ird, that "the [ealousie.. It has been said by a triend to mis im ' ^^ isculent vegetables of/ who^e garden may^^erh^^^^^^^ from the depredations of df ere t speoes o^ in«^«J^ ^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^. pairof these smd birds;- and pro^^^^^^^^ ^, ,„, "Z^rJT^l^e^onZt be>ftld but from a total change fnte very nature and disposition of Aes^^^^^^^ ^ Havingseennoaccurate description 01^^^^^ Bartram and Mr. publication, I have confined "^l/f^lf^^ZZtof the existence of feale; but though Europeans are not ignorant ^^ this bird, they have considered ^t, as usual, mereiy^as g ^^^^^ from the original stock (JV/. g^^l^d benTJonn of the bill,.h8 they axe, as usual, mjstake" , the lenjtn an ^^^^.^^^ ^ ^^^^ notes, migratory habits, long tail, ana rea ^^{,8, difierences. . . , ^ ^j^ United States, in all The House Wrea ^"^^^^^"pe^sXonia in September ; I of which It IS migratory. It leaves J-ennjy ^^ j ;„„ of October. have sometimes, though rarely, seen ^^^^^^^^J^^-'^lrters in extent, It is four inches and a half long, and hve ana inren ^.^j^ the whole upper parts of a deep bry transv^^^^^^^^ black, except the head '^"d neck, whi^h is pjam W ^^ cheeks, light clay color; ^elly «^nd v^^d wtS blaTk ; legs and feet, and white; tail, Ipng'^rt w Xhtlv Timred, sharp pointed, and The female differs very littie in plumage from the male. * Bakton's Fragments, part i. S2. It iim BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE. 91 BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE. — PARUS ATRICAPILLUS. - Fio. 32. Parus atricapillus, Linn. Syst. i. 341, 6.— Gmel. Syst. i. 1008. — La Mesange k tCte noire de Canada, Buffon, v. 408. — Canada Titmouse, A ret. Zool. ii. No. 3W. — Lath. Syn. iv. 542, 9. — PeaZe's Museum, No. 7380. PARVS ATRICAPILLUS. — Umnsvi.* Parus atricapillus, Bonap. Synop. p. 100, — North. Zool. p. 226. Tins is one of our resident birds, active, noisy, and restless ; hardy beyond any of his size, braving the severest cold of our continent as far north as the country round Hudson's Bay, and always appearing most lively in the coldest weather. The males have a variety of very BprightJy notes, which cannot, indeed, be called a son^ but rather a lively, frequently repeated, and often varied twitter. They are most usually seen during tlie fall and winter, when they leave the depths of the woods, and approach nearer to the scenes of cultivation. At such seasons, they abound amons: evergreens, feeding on the seeds of the pine-tree ; they are also fond of sunflower seeds, and associate in parties of six, eight, or more, attended by the two species of Nuthatch already described, the Crested Titmouse, Brown Creeper, and small Spotted Woodpecker ; the whole forming a very nimble and restless company, whose food, manners, and dispositions are pretty much alike. About the middle of April they begin to build, choosing the deserted hole of a Squirrel or Woodpecker, and sometimes, with incredible la- bor, digging out one for themselves. The female lays six white eggs, marked witli minute specks of red ; the first brood appear about flie beginning of June, and the second towards the end of July ; the whole of the family continue to associate together during winter. They traverse the woods in regular progression, from tree to tree, tumbling, chattering, and hanging from tlie extremities of the branches, examin- ing about the roots of the leaves, buds, and crevices of the bark, for insects and their larvsE-. They also frequently visit the orchards, particularly in fall, the sides of the barn and barn yard, in the same pursuit, trees in such situations being generally much infested witii insects. We, therefore, with pleasure, rank this little bird among the farmer's friends, and trust our rural citizens will always recognize him as such. This species has a very extensive range ; it has been found on the western coast of America, as far north as lat G2° ; it is common at Hudson's Bay, and most plentiful there during winter, as it then ap- proaches tlie settlements in quest of food. Protected by a remarkably thick covering of long, soft, downy plumage, it braves the severest cold of those northern regions. • This is very closely allied to the Parus palustris, the Marsh Titmouse of Eu- rope; but it is exclusik^ely American, and ranges extensively to the north. Th« authors of the Northern Zooloey mention them as one of the most common birds in the Fur countries ; a family inliabits almost every thicket. —Eo. I' 5 . Ml 02 CRESTED TITMOUSE. and a half in e^tenV, throat, and whole uppe^^ fSiMigular patch of ridge of the neck, black ; between tiieseunes a ^ ^^^^^ white, ending at the ""f 'VVnWd or cinereo^^^^ slic^htfy t nged with rest of the upper parte, lead "ijL'^Teasrbelly and vent, yellowish brown; wings, edged ^^VSaA hzel The male and female are S^'S ^r'Sr&X te plS rJn'ders any further descrip- ^Tu^^Ss of ^^^^i^^^^y^^i-:. jjerti^^tht: for suspecting them to be the same- , ^ ^^^ ^^^ These birds sometimes fight vioentiy with eacn, known to attack young and «^;^^kly birds tha^^^^^^^ .^ ^^ ance always direcwtf^evr blows agamBt^f^^ ^t^ ^. g ^ ^^ woods one day, I foU^^'' Havin? shot him from off the top of a very whose notes surprised me. having snoiii -^j^ i^^g ^nd tall tree, I found it to be ^^^ B^,^^^'^^^^^^^^^^ evidently, at deep indentation in ^«. «™™i^ed but was now perfecti rhettTrthrcrge^^^^^^ be owmg^to ttiis circum. stance, I cannot pretend to decide. CRESTED TITMOUSE. -PARUS BICOLOR—Fio. 33. Pan.s bicoK Lin^, Byst. i. ^^/-^.^^^rr^^-ifct^ ^.^if "^^lf:- 461._Toupet Titmouse, Arct. /'OOl. \. i^o. ^jt Peaie» Museum, No. 7364. PARVS BICOLOR. — Utf^xvi. P.™, W.olo„ B»ap. ^. p. '»»;^-^',S""' ■'""•'"■" ''"'■ ■"■ "'^ ""■ more mwiciJ, and more •X"'^^J,,'^°"f „'SSble variety in the neverU.ele»s, a sprightly bir^ P°f =3„'jaer tlian the squeaking of « Hudson Bay Tilinous^ ^rS/'reSrdmg the British Titmice, particularly t I have frequently heard ^^''Y l^.hXx^ce it to any authentic source; it hJ Greater, bilt 1 have never been able to trace u ? also been repre- the Greater, but 1 have "ejer oceu «ble to ir^cc , ^^^^ ^^^^ ^,^. is perhaps. exag_6erated Feed-n. o carr. wh „ y. __ „„_, ,. ^ . Mr Audubon asserts it as a ien^ted to'do,''^ in.a wild state Y. ir^X'^l^seen P:^^/<;;-"eV^^^^^ fact, with reg.^jrU to ine r. mcvlw. ^.r. .-es-.. - .—ED. U ■ CRESTED TITMOUSE. 93 gives It a smart and not inelegant appearance. Its focid corresponds with that of the foregoing ; it possesses considerable strength in the muscles of its neck, and is almost perpetually digging into acorns, nuts, crevices, and rotten parts of the bark, after the TarvBB of insects. It is also a constant resident here. When shot at and wounded, it fights with great spirit When confined to a cage, it soon becomes familiar, and will subsist on hemp seed, cherry stones, apple seeds, and hickory nuts, broken and thrown into it However, if the cage be made of willows, and the bird not much hurt, he will soon make his way through them. The great concavity of the lower side of the wings and tail of tliis genus of birds, is a strong characteristic, and well suited to their short, irregular flight This species is also found over the whole United States, but is most numerous towards the north. It extends also to Hudson's Bay, and, according to Latham, is found in Denmark, and in the southern parts of Greenland, where it is called Avhigursak. If so, it probably inhabits the continent of NortJi America, from sea to sea. The Crested Titmouse is six inches long, and seven inches and a half m extent The whole upper parts, a dull cinereous or lead color, except tlie front, which is black, tinged with reddish; whole lower parts, dirty white, except the sides under the wings, which are reddish orange ; legs and feet, light blue ; bill, black, short, and pretty strong ; wing-feathers, relieved with dusky on tlieir inner vanes ; eye, dark hazel; lores, white; the head, elegantly ornamented with a high, pointed, almost upright crest ; tail, a little forked, considerably con- cave below, and of the same color above as the back; tips of the wings, dusky ; tongue, very short, truncate, and ending in three or four sharp points. The female cannot be distinguished from the male by her plumage, unless in its being something duller, for both are equally marked with reddish orange on the sides under the wings, which some foreigners have made the distinguishing mark of tlie male alone. The nest is built in a hollow tree, Sie cavity often dug by itself; the female begins to lay early in May ; the eggs are usually six, pure white, with a few very small specks of red near the great end. The whole family, in the month of July, hunt together, the parents keeping up a continual chatter, as if haranguing and directing their inexpe- rienced brood.* I * This beautiful and aUractive race of birds, tho genuine Titmice, have a geo- ijrapiiical distribution over the whole world, — South America, New Holland, and the islands in the South Pacific Ocean, cxcepte> g^ WINTER WREN. WINTER WREN.-SYLVIA TROGLDDYTES.-F.o. 34. Motacilla troglodytes ( Linn. - Peak's Museum. No. 7284 TROOLODrTKS HYFMALia 1 - Vi.illot sometimes remammg witli lis all Uie ';'"^A™"„„ piai„. I„ size, :ss.ir«iti'"i.Te%'p-''«"-^^^ \. ,, .1 vvrnn lo ilu- striniTV succcssive line of the Long-tailed Titmouse, or C,oUl.crcs ed Wren o t ^^ S Inh the notice of the ornithologist one, - are objeots wh.c i have, ''";7;'^;'.' ^''^jhe^ i„ their natural abode.. The who has svmetin.es allowed l.unsclf I exd n mc ^^^^^^ ^,„i ,hort, the legs form of the diflerenl ^f ^'^^^'f '^"^^at^n'cl ve inotio.,, mul uniting strength for comparatively strong, the «'"'« 'f",\^"'",e„ wood, in search of their favor, e the removal of loose bark, moss, "f^^*^"J°'7/i,,is 'country, (one of which will food, insecu ; it, however, -.-"^* '" 'r'^Xu^dl" ^^^ fitmice, (P. rnudatus form a separate subdivision,) the 1-°"?; "'^" J, ^^..^.j ^hape of the tail ; and it and bia,-Jiic,is,) in the weaker frame "".^^'""^ '^^^^^^ one in woods, of a may be remarked, that >>'>?h'''<^«':,'"^^*',,f "to eralK hung near the extremity of loi.:nhe..ed form wid '><'='""f" J"'H 7;;t,^^f ""'o^^'^ .<^^^ the other balanced a branch belong.ng to some thick ^'^y'.fP"'';-,-^ ^Varblers ; while all the other and waving among -e.K -ke some «;' J- «J>''^^ifi7;,f„„ x^m acquainted, choose figured by Temminck, the tail ^^^;;,'",'^^\ "J^^*' ,hc „iost natural. When the sea- insects are not their only food. Iwigh perhaps the m^^^^^^ ^anivorous, and will son becomes too in^l'^'n™\'^"'j'r.n7nSaloes with trpoSltry and pigs. Some plunder the farm yards, or ««\f'«'" f^^.f'.f^ "^\^d Titmice,) as to come f have scenic do-nesl.ca.ed t he c m..,on W^ ^,;J,^ ^.^„g„,d^ regularly during the storm to "'c w'"^"^^' 'Xros of lleah or fat. During winter, thfy bec^ome v?ry do- e, and wjl also cat P---^^f^;^,«';,„J,,,_ „, hay a^d corn they roost in holes o( trees or walls, ^^ves "i ui. downwards or ricks. When not in holes, they \';"7'" ^"''C^,''.?^ do ,bt, he same individual) has outwards. A common Blue Tomtit (and. I |,'a^^ '" 7"°'' „,oieciinK capitals of a boosted for throe years in the same spo , unde one ol '}« P^^J^^^'je^ P^^^e a„d pillar, by the si.le of my own fr°n\''r.^- ,J ^'X ribution There are, however, Eleas(ng!as might^ave bee., exge^^^^^^^^ '.p, ,„. one or two except.o..s .n those "S"'''" "y "'■ . different tints of olive, sometimes eral shades are black, gray, ^^.te, blue and ^meren^ t n ^^^^^ ^^^^ reddish brown ; and m these, when the brightes^ colors oc^ ^^^ ^^^^ they are so blended, as no to be ha d or f^^ ^^ ^^^ ^ thick and ""^AiiiiSSr^. that this ^pf^f^^z^z^;^:^^^ for the purpose in tlie hardest wood ^l\&;f/Vf the Ky Woodpecker, or some it is more iVequentlv contc.tcd wUh the ''"'^ "' ^^J^t the Crested Titmouse, other small bird of that genus ^e can hardly conceive tt,a ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ or indeed any of the race. h^^J"™^\*"iif,fthf individual's bulk, is not formed on though very powerful, when ^"-^pared w th tl.c ma. ,^.^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ X,'j|^.ed of L scales and cast-off exuvia o« snakes. -Ed. WINTER WREN. OS '.M. troglodytes) than any other spccieg wo liave. During hia residence here, ho fre]ucnt8 the projecting banks of crooks, old roots, decayed logs, small bushes, and rushes near watery places ; he even approaches the farm-house, rambles obout the wood pile, crccpinir among the in- terstices like a mouse. With tail erect, which is his constant habit, mounted on some projecting point or pinnacle, he sings witli great animation. Even in the yards, gardens, and outliouses of the city, ho appears familiar and quite at liorne. Tn short, he possesses almost all the habits of the European species. He i-:, however, migratory, which may be owing to the superior coldness of our continent Never having mot with the nest and eggs, I am unable to say how nearly they approximate to those of the former. I can find no precise description of this bird, as an American species, in any Piuropcan publication. Even some of our own naturalists seem to have confounded it with another very different bird, tlie Marsh Wren,* %v]iich arrives in Pennsylvania from the south in May, builds a globular or pitcher-shaped nest, which it suspends among the rushes and bushes by the river side, lays five or six eggs of a dark fawn color, and dcpails again in September. But the colors and markings of that bird are very unlike those of the Winter Wren, and its song altogether different The circumstance of the one arriving from tlie nortJi as the other returns to the south, and vice versa, with some gen- eral resemblance between the two, may have occasioned this mistake. They, however, not only breed in different regions, but belong to different genera, the Marsh W^ren being decisively a species of Cer- tkia, and the Winter Wren a true MolacUla. Indeed, we iiave no less than five species of tlicse birds in Pennsylvania, tiiat, by a super- ficial observer, would be taken for one and the same, but between each of which nature has drawn strong, 'iscriminating, and indelible lines of separation. These will be j)ointod out in their proper places. If this bird, as some suppose, retires only to the upper regions of the country and mountainous forests to breed, as is the case with some others, it will account for his early and frequent residence along the Atlantic coast during the severest winters ; though I rather suspect that he proceeds considerably to the northward ; as the Snow Bird, (F. Hudsonia,) which arrives about the same time with the Winter Wren, does not even breed at Hudson's Bay, but passes that settle- ment in June, on his way to the northward ; how much farther is un- known. The length of the Winter Wren is three inches and a half, breadth, five inches ; the upper parts are of a general dark brown, crossed with transverse touches of black, except the upper parts of the head and neck, which are plain ; the black spots on the back terminate in minute points of dull white ; the first row of wing-coverts is also marked with specks of white at the extremities of the back, and tipped minutely with black ; the next row is tipped with points of white ; the primaries are crossed with alternate rows of black and cream color ; inner vanes of all the quills, dusky, except the three sec- ondaries next the body ; tips of the wings, dusky; throat, line over the * See Professor Barton's observations on this subjec i, inder the article Motaeilla troglodytes? Fragments, &c. p. 18 j Ibid. p. 12, gQ Rr.l)-III'.AnKl> WOODPECKER. eye, -ide. of tl. nock ear-feath- J^ ^J-^l.^fi^^^^ minute, tranaverne touches «>» '^ •^'^'^^^^ '^JJ "jjrty 'white ; belly and vent, thickly mottled w tli «°"*y ° f ^^' 3n„ of twelve fealliers, tho transverse touches • ^.vH, very B»>ort^^^^^^ ^j^^ ^,,, k >th- cxterior one on each side a ,r'^'^J^?\^";" nd feet, a light clay color, onins gradually to the ""^If^^ °"^^^^^^^^ an inch long, and not and pretty Btout; b'l'fJ'S^^.Vwn'o black above, and whitish notched at the point, of a ^"l^. r''^" °i The female wants the below, nostril, obh>ng ; eye, bght hf Jf ^ J ^^ ^i« bird is derived IKMnts of white on the ^'"g-f °;_f'^' „? the feathered race, insects S£irrf.,7aSuTar?y^ucras"Uabit watery places, roots of «' KKD-HEADEU WOODPECKER^- HCUS ERYTHROCE- PHALUS. — Fio.35. Picus erj-throccphalus, Linn. ^JsU- m, ''■-^J;X, ^- S'li^crM^ i;J,'^. erJOi^cpb*., I^.A Hod. ... p. 316. uncertainly. Wilson evulcnlly had a doubt boin ir ^ieiUot had doubls, and markinK tie species and his syn""y'^^,«'.^''^* Ss out no difference between Bonaparte goes a good deal on ^'^ "'h°"»y > ^ P"''i*3Vdescrib^ a bird, as that the W^ds. %lr. Swainson, in /^^ f^f S/S'a^'d proves distinctly that the nf Vieillot's. kil ed on the shores ol l^aKC nmou, « i ^^^ ^^^^ i.Xc%A some of the re'a. ve prc^port.on , - y^^ ,^ ^„„,, 5^merican species concerned ni tins -one^ , ^ eerla.nly seems and that one perhaps may ''*', "^"^ "^' ^ '^ mark of doubrit being impossible to e;\ne\C srr.;SS::itut?n examination of numerous spec.es. -^?Vs wih point cut anolher «/ ^r Sw^i^s g.«^^^^^^ peckers, equally distinct -'^h CV«p/«. The formjs lon|^^ ^^ ,^^g II )! rei>-hi:aded v jodpccker. 97 Bteol blue, is ho striking and cliiiractoristic, and his predatory habits in tiio orchards and corn-fields, added to his nainbors, and IbndneM for hoverinj,' along the fences, so very notorious, that ahnost every child is ttcmuiinted witli the Red-headed Woodpecker. In tlie iimncdiate neighborhood of t)ur large cities, wliere tlie old timber is chiefly cut down, he is not so frequently found ; and yet, at tins present time, (Jiuie, 1H08,) I know of several of their nests within tiio boundaries of tiie city of Piuladolphia. Two of tliese are in button wood-trees iPlatnnua occidentalis,) and another in the decayed liinb of an ehn. The old ones, I observe, make their excursions regularly to the woods b(;yond the Schuylkill, about a uiile distant ; preserving great silence and circumspection in visiting thoir nests, — precautions not much attonilod to by tlieni in the dcuUi of tlie woods, because there the pryin;.' eye oi man is less to oe dreaded. Towards tiio mountains, particularly in tlio vicinity of croaks and rivers, these birds are ex- tremely abundant, especially in tlio latter end of summer. Wherever you travel in tlie interior at that season, you hear them screaming from tlio adjoining woods, rattling on tlio dead limbs of trees, or on tlie fences, where tliey are perpetually soi-u flitting from stake to stake, on the roadside, before you. Wlicrcver there is a tree, or trees, of the wild cherry, covered with ripe fruit, there you see tliem busy amoni!- the branches; and, in passing orchards, you may easily know where to find the earliest, sweetest apples, by observing those trees, on or near which the Red-headed Wood|)ecker is skulking ; for he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, tliat wherever an apple or pear ia found broached by him, it is sure to be among tlie ripest and best flavored : when alarmed, he seizes a capital one by striking his open bill deep into it, and bears it oft* to the woods. When the Indian corn is in its rich, succulent, milky state, he attacks it with great eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity. The girdled, or deadened timber, so common among corn-fields in the bacic n-ettlements, are his favorite retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is fond of the ripe berries of tlie sour gum, and i)ays pretty regular visits to the cherry-trees, when loaded with fruit. Towards fall he often ap- E roaches tlie barn or farm-house, and raps on the shingles and weather oards : ho is of a gay and frolicsome disposition ; and half a dozen of the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating around the high, dead limbs of some large tree, pursuing and jdaying with each other, and amusing the passenger witli ttieir gambols. Their note, or cry, is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree-frog which frequents tlio same tree, that it is some- times difficult to distinguish tlie one from tlie other. Such are the vicious traits, if I may so speak, in the character of the Red-headed Woodpecker ; and I doubt not but, from what has been said on this subject, that some readers would consider it merito- rious to exterminate the whole tribe as a nuisance ; and, in fact, the legislatures of some of our provinces, in former times, offered pre- fecd almost entirely on the rich fruits and ripe grains of the country. The chaste and simple-colored Picus bicolur, from tlie Minus Geraies, I believe, will be another renresentaUve of this form. — Ed. 9 :i;:j' 96 Hr-VMI ' .,t., WfiOI)PECK«», miunrw to tlie anxMtat of twopent But, let uw fif»f 'HVirAc '' „iir Uead for their deBtfMrtion.* tl.crcforn U, nece««ry.t If tkeir merits, ^^^--^'}^:,}!^ ^,lZ of tho form.>r, • ,1.11.^ wo guurd ^;^^" ^J\ .,f „„ fniit, yet his 1 houjrii ua« I, - i„«,,rti« oarticu ar V »'">»« I'un ■•r' >« n>'U natural uud moHt vi^. " "w^' ^*' P, , „,' V ,„„.„ ,,<• . ...o to destructive Hi>ecie. uuA , "''*7^^^i\•' *'%\riJh ro ill ' K.< wu to deposit tl.eir eggs ar>d larv« ^^^^^ .^"^J^i jj^ ^';;;iaent na wpll as from his ustial nabiw. in laci, iu«ti.ia lunu „,„•.. Ce^iL . wS trfate deHtruction of many hundred acres ot puio- ; ¥^-Lnc.a.ce of this speci. ..t J. ^y^n^at an., f^ they com.nit, must be more felt ,^' ; ^7'"'' ."^i^"^^^^^^^^ „,l,cr bad l.nbits, tl.cy i„ one clay, from a single cherry- rce^ /'^^'"^'"", ^e a„d ll.us supporting ll.om. carry off apples by thrusUng '" the.r '. as "^^ M"««'^' ^^^■^ „„[ Very ronuuon They also frequent pigeon-houses, and suck "«- ^^Bf^', % prepared for llio Mar- amoiig .h^ t'i'^.; -d-;- J:/rrhoP"7:dS "to Tl^^^^^^^^^^^^ i.. Kentucky ^lla r'a;;:;;ta.^;f Ktfing ma^^r^re^^ Au jjjn. .- ^^ .' As soon as the Ked-heads have I'^P.^nj" ^''''' "J,^^, 7hc cS branches, and placo-Ulong the trunk of the '^f A J'^S^jT^r^r |te Woo^^^^^^ ^'Ughl l-y produced in the upper part, the bird ,. ^'[";'»/, ^^='^;rf.,„„,/, (a name bv >vhich ^ Acconiing to iL same f n''*'^^^".' "".^"y^^^n distr c"s o} the United States thevar.. ""■v'^^^al'y •'""^TJ/'''"'''" i^ '"^^.C l.o^^^^^ to countries farther dunng the whole winter. ^ ''-■ f ^^'^.^""^'Xh ' ircor^^^^^^^ " «"'"'>"'• "^ south? Their migrat on takes P''»«'« f ""''^ "^J^j, ' 'They Xn fly high above the September, anil continues for a mond. or ^'^J^ecks^ ,hemselves by reiterate.! flaps ,reL,far apart, like -/''f ^"KuccT'siVrc rv^^^^^^^ of their win-s at the ^■■''' .f „f .^.^^'^ "ft'diffe enl fr^^^^ d,e usual one. sharp and The note vvhioh they e.r.it '^V 'm!^?^^h the Ir.ls may 1^ out of sight. At the dawn easily heard from the F[°";: ''''•'"'«,? J^! i"^Te^ the plantations, and re- iS;; raih'VKi:: .i:;!'l? : a^o!suns.^when tl£y again, one aAer Se". moiuu die air, and c. <- ;t;..r jo-.m-y. - Ed . REIX-HEADED WOODPECKER. gf treen, in tho norUi-«astem parts of Soul Carolina,* and Ui< " ^'^X™"3risgon, it inhabits seldom met with it in that season Acc^^^^^^^^ ^ ,„ the continent from Cayenne to J ^gJJ»^ ', f "" J^ ^re called Meb,ewe Hudson's Bay, where, accordmg to UutcUins, inty ar . m ihis species, and the two fo"" j|,^^e ]U.1« ^^^^^^^^^^ and many olKcrs, we have .he lypes "^^J.^J ,^f„""„Vopth,K, as containing a very the Woodpeckers wlncli I have "" «^'3^' ^l^^^ ,i contusion uiih each other, marked group of black and wh.te «|o»ed^b 'ds, allK>^.^.^^ i,,ieatio.., the NoHha-n The genus is made use ot, for the "'?; ''";P' " ^f pic^. He thus remarks : — Zoolofry, hy Mr. Swauison, as the t^nrd sub-g nus 01 7^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^^ ^p^^.^^ ufhi third sub-genns comprehends «" J^^^'^^^^^^^^^^ mountainous parts Woodpeckers of Europe and Amenta. Some lew occu ^^^^^^^ seems 10 „f India ; but, with these exceptions, ^ « F[""P'" belong more particularly to '^'"Pf ^^f '"'''2^'^^ ;„ flocks, on the banks of the Sas- " ifwas met with bv the over-land f/P*'"^ .^ ^ere strikingly con- katchowo,., in May tts '"?"%'^\j; £E for, instead 'of flitting in a solitary trastcd with those of the f^f ''«".' ^.X'^^" if'' ^oHnsects, it flew about in crowded way, from tree to tree, and ^^'^tr'TlTr, rcontinua" chat ering. Its geographical flocis, in a restless manner, and kept^ "'' 'i.rTonal tude, to Mexico." , ^ range is extensive, from the sixty-first.painUe ol lamu ^ of a Woodpecker from l«r.Swainson mentions haying received a smge «P«~d,,„ibed ; and in the S::?i:i^S^.SS.t^SpiB^ot=HtrMr.Audubon.-.Pen.roc«^ Audubomi, Sw. — Ed. YE!, LOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 101 PaupaMaow;^ they are also common in ttie states of Kentucky and Ohio, and nave been seen in the neighborhood of St. Louis. They are reck- oned by Georgi among the birds tliat frequent tlie Lake Baikal, in Asia ; f but their existence there has not been satisfactorily ascertained. The habits of this species are similar to those of the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, with which it generally associates. The only nest of this bird which I have met with, was in the body of an old pear-tree, about ten or eleven feet from the ground. The hole was almost exactly circular, small for the size of the bird, so that it crept in ani out with difficulty ; but suddenly widened, descending by a small angle, and then running downward about fifteen inclies. On the smooth, solid wood lay four white eggs. This was about the twenty-fiftli of May. Having no opportunity of visiting it afterwards, I cannot say whether it added any more eggs to the number ; I rather think it did not, as it appeared at that time to be sitting. The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker is eight inches and a half long, and in extent fifteen inclies ; whole crown, a rich and deep scarlet, bordered with black on each side, and behind forming a slight crest, which it frequently erects ; \ from the nostrils, which are thickly covered with recumbent hairs, a narrow strip of white runs downward, curving round the breast ; mixing with the yellowish white on the lower part of the breast ; throat, the same deep scarlet as tJie crown, bordered with black, proceeding from the lower mandible on each side, and spreading into a broad, rounding patch on tlie breast ; this black, in birds of the first and second year, is dusky gray, the feathers being only crossed with circular touches of black ; a line of white, and below it another of black, proceed, the first from the upper part of the eye, the other from the posterior half of the eye, and both lose themselves on the neck and back ; back, dusky yellow, sprinkled and elegantly waved with black ; wings, black, with a large, oblong spot of white ; the primaries, tipped and spotted with wliito : the three secondaries next the body are also variegated with white ; rump, white, bordered with black ; belly, yellow; sides under tlie wings, more dusky yellow, marked with long arrow-heads of black ; legs and feet, greenish blue ; tail, black, consisting of ten feathers, the two outward feathers on each side tipped with white, the next totally black, the fourth edged on its inner vane half way down with white, the middle one white on its interior vane, and spotted with black ; tongue, flat, homy for half an inch at the tip, pointed, and armed along its sides with reflected barbs; the other extremities of the tongue pass up behind the skull in a groove, and end near the right nostril ; in birds of the first and second year they reach only to the crown ; bill, an inch long, channeled, wedge- formed at the tip, and of a dusky horn color. The female is marked nearly as the male, but wants the scarlet on the throat, which is whitish ; she is also darker under the wings and on the sides of the breast The young of the first season, of both sexes, in October, have the crown sprinkled with black and deep scarlet ; the scarlet on the throat may be also observed in the young males. The principal food of these birds is insects ; and tliey seem particularly fond of frequent- * Latham. t Ibid. t This circumstRiirp si>pins to hnvn iionn nyprlnnke'l by naturalists. 9* k « r^B*' 102 HAIRY WOODPECKER. insr orchards borin? the trunks of the apple-trees in then- eager Sch aaer them On opening them, the liver apoears very larg^ rn7of a dirty gamboge color fthe stomach strongly muscuW, and eenerally filled SS fragments k beeUes and gravel. In the niornmg, £y arSremely actife in the orchards, ^"^^^^^^^^^ rest of their associates. Their cry is also different, but, though it la easily dSguishable in the woods, cannot be described by words. HAIRY WOODPECKER -PICUS VILLOSUS -Fio. 37. Picas villc^us, LV„n.^. 175, ^^^^^^J^^^^lJ^^^^ E£::i9^ |;i7;c."tof i. r^ ^ef-^^^ ^^2, 18. 'id. Sup. m.-Peale% Museum, No. 1988. DEJfDROCOPOS r/LtOSrS. — SwAiNsow. Pieus villosus. B^p. Synop. p. 46 " ^filr'n IS^'^'""' ^- ^"''"'^°'"" villosus, North. £001. ii. p. MO. This is another of onr resident birds, and, iike the former, a haunter of orchards and borer of rvpple-trees, an eager hunter of insects, their e^esand la^aB, in old stumps and old rails, in rotten branches and S'lnhebark,liavi£^ Stter Kigs fiSt horiS^^^ if i« the body of the tree, six or eight nches and tiien downward, obtusely, for twice that distance ; carmng UD the ci with his bill, and scraping them out witli his feet They lo^'nof'Seqltly choose the orchard ^^^ breeding in and even an old stake of the fence, which they excavate ^^^^t^^^^P'^P^/'j^i,^'^^ female lays five white eggs, and hatches in Tune, ihis species s nTre nSrous than tl A.t in Pennsylvania, and more dom st. ^ freauentlv approaching the farm-house and skirts of the tow„. in PWlade phiaThavc many times observed them examining old ragged Ss of he willow and poplar while people were passing imme- Selv below. Their cry is strong, shrill, and tremulous ; tliey have ITa sSe note, or clmk which they often repeat, in an eager man- ner L nfyhop about, and dig into tlie crevices ot tlie tree. They £bl theVon?inent from HuLn's Bay to Carolina and Georgia The Hairy Woodpecker is nine inches long, and fifteen m extent, crown black; line over and under the eye, white ; tlie eye is placed in a black line, that widens as it descends to the back; hind head, scarier somethnes intermixed with black ; nostrils, hid under re- S«hlv tS bushy, recumbent hairs, or bristles; under the bill r'^HlinS Safi;'ihrown forward and up.^ard, as represented m Fig."37rbill,^a bluish horn color, grooved, weaged ai wc cuu, %i HAIRY WOODPECKER. 103 straight, and about an inch and a quarter long ; touches of black, proceeding from the lower mandible, end in a broad black strip that joins the black on the shoulder; back, black, divided by a broad, lateral strip of white, the feathers composing which are loose and unwebbed, resembling hairs, — whence its name ; rump and shoulders of tiie wing, black ; wings, black, tipped and spotted with white, three rows of spots being visible on the secondaries, and five on the prima- ries ; greater wing-coverts, also spotted with white ; tail, as in the others, cuneiform, consisting of ten strong-shafted and pointed feathers, the four middle ones black, the next partially white, tJie two exterior ones white, tinged at the tip with a brownish burnt color ; tail-coverts, black ; whole lower side, pure white ; legs, feet, and claws, light blue, the latter remarkably large and strong ; inside of the mouth, flesh colored ; tongue, pointed, beset with barbs, anc'. capable of being protruded more than an inch and a half; the os hyoides, in this species, passes on each side of the neck, ascends the skull, passes down towards the nostril, and is wound round the bone of the right eye, which projects considerably more than the left for its accommoda- tion. The great mass of hairs, that cover the nostril, appears to be designed as a protection to the front of the head, when the bird is engaged in digging holes into the wood. The membrane which encloss^s he brain in this, as in all the other species of Woodpeckers, is also of extraordinary strength, no doubt to prevent any bad eflTects fiom violent concussion while the bird is employed in digging for food. The female wants the red on the hind head ; and the white below is tinged with brownish. The manner of flight of these birds haa been already described under a former species, as consisting of alternate risings and sinkings. The Hairy Woodpeckers generally utter a loud, tremulous scream as they set off, and when they alight. They are hard to kill ; and, like tlie Red-headed Woodpecker, hang by the claws, even of a single foot, as long as a spark of life remains, before they drop. This species is common at Hudson's Bay, and has lately been found in England.* Dr. Latham examined a pair which were shot near Halifax, in Yorkshire ; and, on comparing the male with one brought from North America, could perceive no difference, but in a slight interruption of the red that marked the hind head of the former; a circumstance which I have frequently observed in our own. The two females corresponded exactly. * This, I believe, is a mistake ; and allhough this bird is beginning- to creep into our fauna in the rank of an occasional vjsitaut, I can find no autlientic trace of the Hairy Woodpecker being ever killed in Great Britain. It is a bird belonging to a nortncrn climate j and although it closely resembles a native speoies, it can never be mistaken, with any ordinary examination or comparison. The Halifax in Yorkshire will turn out in reality the Halifax of the New World. — Ed. 104 DOWNY WOODPECKER. DOWNY WOODPECKER. -PICUS PUBESCENS.-Fio. 38. Picuspubesccns, Linn. Syst i- P 15.-G„^/. S^*'" ^^7 ff 'li'irZoJ VirKinic. Buffon, vii. 76. - Smallest Woodpncker, Cc^esA... 21.- ^r^^^ ii. No. ^3.-T.Utle Woodpecker, Lath. Synop. n. 673, 19. Id. Sup. lOfa.- Peale's Museuvi, No. 1986. DEJVDROCOPUS Pf/BESCf-VS. — SwAimon. Picas pubescens, Banap. Synop p. ^-^^^'f '#:i^"-£^"'*' ^" ^•""''"' •^ drocopus pubescens, North. Zool. n. p. Ml- This is the smallest of our Woodpeckers,* and so exactly resembles the former in its tints and markings, and. in almost every thing except uL dSutive size, that 1 wonder how it passed through the Count de Buffon's hands without being branded as a « spurious race, degenerated bv the influence of food, climate, or some unknown cause. But, S^uSiit has escaped this infemy, charges of a much more heinous natme have been brought against it, not only by the wnter above menuoned but by the Ihole venerable body of zoologists ,n Europe, "So have' reated^of its history, viz., that it is almost constantly bonng Td digging into apple-trees, and that it is the most destructive of its whole gen?s to the orchards. The first part of this charge I shall not pre?enf to deny ; how far the other is founded in truth will appear n Se sequel. Lilce the two former species, it remains with us the whole fear About the middle of May, the male and female look out for a suitable place for tlie reception of their eggs and young. An ap^e, new or cherry-tree, often in the near neighborhood of the farm-house, L generally fixed upon for this purpose. The tree is minutely recon- noitred for several days previous to the operation, and the work is SSi begun by the male, who cuts out a hole in the solid wood as cir- cJlar as if described with a pair of compasses. He is occasional y rXevcd by the female, both parties working with the most indefatigable dU fflnce The direction of the hole, if made m the body of the tree, is Snera ly downwards, by an angl» of thirty or forty degrees, for the distance of six or eight inches, and then straight down for ten or twelve mo e; within, ?bomy, capacious, and as smooth as it polished by the cXet-maker ; but the entrance is judiciously left just so large as ■> This species, as Wilson observes, is the smallest of the American Woodpcokers, '''sfs':^iii^Jratt^"oi^^^ ^'i^ss^£^od;ss^::^s:i^tS^^^ SisTftthAme^ricachrJfly -Afferent {toTd. nube..cens' in the greater porfon Sf rid cn^O^LhinKd relative length of the quill^ and shape of the ta.l-fea hers: ZidoZi^is meridionalis, inhJiting Georgia, less than D. pubescens,^ud with the uaucr pmmBgv >!• H'cwn.""* EP; ^-^^^^ ^^^H^- ,jm^- -fSiSMfJ^iiSfe.,:. ■'«■./;. ofBifji-JHt^itrnei ' THE SWAN / i DOWNY WOODPECKER, 105 to admit the bodies of the owners. During this labor, they reffularlv nS" 1^' chips often stroking them afa distance, to pUve^nt suZ ^nl : ^ his operation sometimes occupies the chief part of a week. Before she begins to lay, the female often visits the plEcc, passes ou ^;i ;ttSr' "'""^ P"S ''"''» °^ ^' ''•^terior and interior, wUh fnH Hp^^ w'lf' «very prudent tenant of a new house ought to do, and at ength takes complete possession. The e without in the least em- barrassing him; the strokes of his bill are distinctly heard several hundred yards off ; and I have known him to be at work for two hom's together on the same tree. Buffon calls this "incessant toil and slavery ; 'their attitude " a painful posture;" and their life, "a dull and insipid existence ;" expressions improper, because untrue; and absurd, because contradictory. The posture 'is that for which the whole organization of his frame is particularly adapted; and thouHi, to a Wren or a Humming Bird, the labor would be both toil and slavery InJ^ T,u '"'. ^'" ^T'"?''''' ''' P^^'^'^"* ^"d as amusing, as the sports of the chase to the hunter, or the sucking of flowers to the fndTwp? ,^''''^- Z^'^'^'^r'' V'^ "^*^h he Lverses the upper and lower sides of the branches ; the cheerfulness of his cry, and the hvelmess of his motions while digging into the tree and dislodging the vernun justify this belief. He has a'single note, or chink, S,^l ke the former species, he frequently repeats ; and when he flies off, or npSh^^ ''"°*¥'" i'^^ ^^ "*^^''' " '•^ther shriller cry, composed of nearly the same kind of note, quicldy reiterated. In fill and winter, he associates with the Titmouse, Creeper, &c., both in their wood and orchard excursions, and usually leads the van. Of all our Wood- i J f ,Qg DOWNV WOODPECKER. pecker, none ri.l the apple-trees of so --y v« Tff the moss which ^he neghgcnc^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^j -^ ^is accuiiu.late, and probing every crevice in ^ unequalled, and favorite resort in ^J'^^-^^""^ ^•^"^JUeSyof any other speciea almost incessant, whu-ii is ']^»;;,'^„^ ;" ^, j^f^',' fng the ap^^ for we have. In fall, he '« P'^'-^'^'^^'y , Xth, Zm snlRcient to ad- in^ects, digging a circular hole J Jf?h the barK j ,^,,^.,^,„tal mit his bill, after that a «;^'^;^"'J' ^^^y^*^^^^^ iara lei circles of holes are circles round the body of the tree ,t use pa^ ^^^^ ^^^^^_ often not more than an ^^h or an ">^h JJ*^ ^,^, or ten of them at times so close together, ^I'^^t I ave coven^a e ._ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ once with a dollar. From "9,'^;]^ * 'f '",f;';Uic bark of many apple- first fork, and ««"l'''"'tl , " m umer t at o appear as if made by trees is perforated in thi^ n^; ""e^^' '« ^; ;°, j tie Woodpecker, the successive discharges oi ^"ck-shot and our 1. 1 l^^ ^^ ^^^.^ subject of the prosent acco^^^^^^^ perforations supposed mi-.^chief,-I ^^y si pposca,' r harmless, but, I have of the bark being rumous they are not on y ^^ ^^. good reason to believe, really .^«"'^' .'^\*bVtanist to account for this ; the tree. I leave it to the Pl^J^^^'^'^^^^Xn fifty orchards which 1 but the fact I am confident of. . J" "'"/.^i'^'Jiach were marked by have myself carefully exanuned, tho.e trees w" ^^^^^^^^ the Woodpecker (for some trees ^^-.^^^^ e most thriving, and not penetrated by ^"^'l^ts were nmto ni y i ^^^^^^ ^^^^ seemingly the most productive _; many ot these v ^^^^^ ^,^^ years old, their trunks «""?Pf ^'y/i^3,vith fruit. Of decayed tranches were broad, luxurian, and loa^c^^^^^^^ Woodpecker, trees, more than three fourths were untoucuei y ^ ^^^^-^^ several intelligent far..ersjn 1 whom I^ have ^^^ ^^.^^^ ,^^^ acknowledge the trutn oi V'^^'^ , . common oi)mion is, that upon these birds as benefi"'^!^ ^ut tl.e most ^ .1^ vegetation; they bore the trees to suck the J^ap, "^n" . ^^^^.^^ ^^ -^ ^^^ though pine and other '•^^'X^-rmlequX perforated. Were the pretended they teed, "^."^^"i^'^^tiSuice of tlie birch, the sugar sap of the tree their object,the si^« anne ju inviting, because more Jple,andseveral others would b^^^^^^ ^-j^_^^^^ . ^ut I sweet and nourishing, than hat ot ^ »"^^^ ^ j.^ ^^^ ^i.^usand that may have not observed one mark on the lo™«'' ;"' . ■ jg the season be seen on the latter. B<^f »^f J ^^^Tv ^X^^^^^ i -mly during the when the s.p flows '""^t abundantly ,^^J^^ert"^ months of September, October «f ^f "^Xpig every crack and seen so indefatigably ['X^ll and S t 'irwortl^remarkiiig, chief- crevice, boring through e bark an^^^ tree, for the eggs and -- S: i^Sirtl-^KK^ sumir give birth to Providence seems to have f°™™J°^„„£ every d'y ^'•"'y """■ foKSfttees froinJ.e .ravage. fj'^'^Sdlta.rs^^l.-Ul.e hep'e. of iiUUB VI . ..„. „„4^Lt:s°^:irix;'.i;i'iis«,e -ope, of i ■ f MOCKING BIRD. ffff the husbandman, ana which even promote the fertility of the tree and, m return, are proscribed by those who ought to hava been their protectors, and incitemnnti nnd rewards hehl out for tlicir destruction! Let u8 exumme better into the operations of nature, and many of our mistaken opimons and groundless prejudices will be abandoned for more just, enlarged, and humane modes of thinking. Ihe length of the Downy Woodpecker is six inches nnd three quarters, and its extent twelvu inches: crown, black: hind head, deeo scarlet ; stripe over the eye, white; nostrils, thickly covered with re- cumbent hairs, or small feathers, of a cream color: these, as in the preceding species, are thick and bushy, as if designed to preserve the forehead Irom injury during the violent action of digging; the back is black, and divided By a lateral strip of white, loose, ^ownv, unwebbed feathers; wings, black, spotted with white; tail-coverts; rump, and four middle feathers of the tail, black ; the other three on each side white crossed with touches of black ; whole under parts, as well as the sides of the neck, white; the ktter marked with a streak of black, proceeding from the lower mandible, exactly as in the Hairy Wood- pecker; legs and feet, bluish green; claws, light blue, tipped with black; tongue formed like that of the precedfnjr species, horny to- wards the tip, where, for one eighth of an inch, it is barbed ; bill, of a bluish horn co or, grooved, and wodgc-formed, like most of the genus ; eye, dark hazef. The female wants the red on the hind head, having that part white; and the breast and belly are of a dirty white Ihis, and the two former species, are generally denominated Sap- suckers. They have also several other provincial appellations, equafly absurd, which it may, perhaps, be more proper to si ppress than to sanction by repeating. II MOCKING BIRD.-TURDUS POLYGLOTTUS.-Fio. 39. »Iimic TluMsh Lath 8yn. iii. n. 40, No. i^.-Arct. Zool. ii. No. 194 -Turdu. P°'/j;'°^'r' ^^-.^^f- !:.P- %, No 10 -Le grand .noquenr, /W ZZt ORPHEUS POLraL0TTUS.-Sv,A,«»o^. rurdus poK-loltus, Bonap. Synop.p. 74. -The Mocking Bird. Aud. p) x.i Om Biog. 108. This celebrated and very extraordinary bird, in extent and variety of vocal powers, stands unrivalled by the whole feathered songS ,fSyS:ied to '' '"*'°" '"^ '''^''' "'^''^^ ^"P^™^ "^^rit i« Among the many novelties which the discovery of this part of the western continent U brought into notice, we m7y reckon that of fte IH i 'I 106 MOCKING BIRD. Mocking Bird, which « "?,"»Ji^ !;rbSNo°rtfrnfsru^^^^^^ inhabits a very c^^fJ^-^^S^^B of New England to Brazil, anJ having been traced from the «^f " "/ J^^ They are, l)owever, much alBo among many of ?« ^'^if^in^^^^^^^ no'rth, of the River more numerous m those «tfte8 south, Uia i ^^^ ^^^.^^^^ ^^ Delaware; ^f-l^';^^l^\J^^^^^ low countrv, least many of them) m the tormc J^ ^^-^^ ^^ture; accord- not far from Uie sea, «««»'« '"fi,,^™^!" tlie west than east of Uie ingly, wo find the X'l"' I ,nX same pam lels of latitude. In the greatran^eof the Al^g mny, m^^^^^^^ occasionally, from Fred- severe winter of IHUo-.', i i'"'"" Vi, ' „ ^rtH of (Jporcia ; becommg ericksburg, in V.rg ma to^^ HSnce^^o the sou2 The berries still more numerous tlie tart^ «| ^ Ssiiio shrub, many species ot „f the red cedar, myrtle, holly, ^^^s^ n° »^"; ' ^ J p^fusion of smilax, together -^th gum hemes gal b^^^^^^^ others with which Uie l"''""";''^^^^! Tast Winged insects, also, abound, furnish them >"^V n r.?rrmmrkably expert at catching, of which they are very fond, i^f J^"™ad^UonSl inducement to abound there even 1"^"'^^'',^:'/^ he Northern States, here he residency. Though rather a sliy ^'"^.^ " ;f^;;Xe cedars, and among appeared almost half 'l«"f f ^^^t- roal wSe^ P^^^^^ within a few Uie tliicketfl of ^""•I'^f "'-^Vw^i^or^^^^^^^^ along the shin- feet, playing around the Plj"Jli^j,;f^7\%l,^^^^^^^ solitary gles. During the nionUi of JfrS in the neighborhood of Savan- one singing; but, on the 2d of M"^f 'J" ';. ^aTd^^^^ in song with „ah, numbers of Uiem were heard on every ham^ ^le f ^^^^^ „^^^^ each other, and. wiUi the B™-" T' ";,\^Ulat^in^ considerably vocal with their melody. yP""^ ^^f between 70 and 78 degrees, advanced, and the thermometer ranging between ^^^^^ ,nonth, I found On arriving at New York, on U^Jid o^ th« ^^^ ^^ ,,,,etfl many parts of the ^"untry still covereuwii , ^^ ^^^^^ piled with ice to the height of two teet , wni e ^^ Thrush nor Mocking Bird were observed, even in me f Pennsylvania, until the 20th of Apnl. ^ ^^^^ ^i* The precise time at which the flocK n^ i^ he resides. In the nest, varies according to the l-^Wud^ ^n ^S heje« j ^ut lower parts of Georgia, he commence ^f^l^ZIin New York, in Permsylvania rarely before tlie 10th ot May, ^^,j^^. ^.^„. and the states of New E^g^^'^'/^'^^^*^^^^^^ ifoUtary Uiorn bush; an ations to which he gives tlie preterencc ^ j ^^^ almost impenetrable thicket; »" "'^"g^" fs'iio g eat obje^ction with favorite spots, and frequently selected. It ib no g j ,„ansion- himthat these happen, sometimes to be near the m, ^^^^^^^^ house: always ready to defend, but nejerove^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^. his nest, he very often builds within »; «n«^" "'. j ^t a greater and not unfrequently m a pear or ^PP^«_Si The nest viries a height Oian six ^'/f^Ss a'cSdin^to the conveniency of little with dif^rent '"f^^^'/'^e/v complete one is now lym^ S4^^r KSi^^^^e 'S^,x:;i:^ of wool ^na MOCKING BIRD. 100 tow ; and, loatly, a thick layer of fine fibrouH rocs, of a light brown color, lines the whole. The egps, one of which i^ represented on the Elate, are four, Boinetiinos five, of a cinorooiiH blue, marked with lurfjo lotches of brown. The female sits fourteen days, and generally pro- duces two broods in the season, unless robbed of her eggs, in which case she will even build and hiy the third tunc. She is, however, extreinely jealous of her nest, and very apt to forsake it if nuich dis- turbed, ft is even asserted by some of our bird-dealers tluit the old onert will actually destroy the eggs, and poison the young, if either tlie one or the other havo been handled. Hut I cannot give credit to this unnatural report. I know, from niy own experience, at least, that it is not always their practice ; neitlicr have I ever witnessed a case of the kind above mentioned. During the period of incubation, neither cat, dog, animal, nor man, can approach the nest witliout being attacked. The cats, in particular, are persecuted whenever they make their appearance, till obliged to retreat. But his whole vengeance is most particularly directed against that mortal enemy of his eggs and young, tlie black snake. Whenever tiie insidious approaches of tliis reptile are discovered, the m^ie darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, dexterously eluding its bite, and striking it violently and incassantly tbout the head, where it is very vulnerable. The snake soon becomes sensible of its danger, and seeks to escape ; but the intrepid defender of his young redoubles his exertions, and, unless his antagonist be of great magnitude, often succeeds in destroying him. All its pretended powers of fascination avail it nothing against the vengeance of this nobla bird. As the snake's strength begins to flag, the Mocking Bird seizes and lifts it up, partly, from the ground, beating it with his wings ; ind, when the business is completed, he returns to the repository of his young, mounts the summit of the hush, and pours out a torrent of song in token of victory. As it is of some consequence to be able to distinguish a young male bird from a female, the following marks may be attended to ; by which some pretend to be able to distinguish them in less than a week after they are hatched. Tlieso are, tlie breadth and purity of the white on the wings, for tliat on the tail is not so much to be depended on. This white, in a full-growi. male bird, spreads over the? whole nine primaries, down to, and considerably below, their covorts, which are also white, sometimes slightly tipped with brown. Tlie white of the primaries also extends equally far on botli vanes of the feathers. In tiie female, the white is less pure, spreads over only seven or eight of the primaries, does not descend so far, and extends considerably fartiier down on the broad, than on the narrow, side of the feathers. The black is also more of a brownish cast. The young birds, if intended for the cage, ought not to be left till they are nearly ready to fly, but should be taken rather young tian otliorwise ; ami may be fed, every half hour, with milk, tliickened with Indian meal ; mixing occasionally with it a little fresh meat, cut or minced very fine. After they begin to eat of their own accord, they ought still to be fed by hand, though at longer intervals, and a few cherries, strawberries, fee, now and then tiirown in to them. The same sort of food, adding grasslioppers and fruit, particularly the various kinds of berries in which they' delight, and plentv of clear, fine ill no MOCKING BIRD. beside Imn. Or, > ''y""' "'," ± Ha.nn pereoii, " tII;: ZLSinie Mc,ckin« Bml, thougl. none of tho Lonu^lie^t, „,o«t every modulation, '^'^ > 'i'V ,*^ f "' J'^,; i^,, !„ ...eaBuro and K'Se Jitin/a mere accompaniment. Neit or is ^s b ruin a to- aother imitative. Ilirt own native notes, winch are easily (n8nnt,ui8ii S "by rhas-arJ well ac.,uainted with f-- «f "^ S"^ Sv birds, are bold and full, and varied .een.in«- y bey nd all im^. i bey consist of short expressions ol two, three, or, at the "'7^' r^f .Vipm «v Kbles- eeiSrallv iiitcrsnorscd with imitations, and all of them SS^^ifh^^o^teinphass and rapidity ;am^^^^^^^^^ imposed on by tliis admirable immic, and are decoyed, by Uie tanciea » Travels, p. 32. lulrod I MOCKING IIIRI), 111 callB of thoir mates, or divo, witli paMJp.Uition, into the tnpth of S"„V f '" "TT '•' ^I'V^'l ""f''"'^^' '" •- tl." Sparrow ilawll 11.0 Mocking Bird lo.si,H httlo of tli.-powm- and energy of hi. H<„.tf cLonri?r"'"\ ■'" '"' ''*'"!^'«^''^'^^'-^l "tat.-, when ho cuLnonoerS career of sonjf, it is .n.po.sH.ble to stand by miintorcBtcd. Ho uluHtlen fur the do|(,_Ca.sar Hturti, up, wa^-.s jifs tail, a„d runs to moot his n antor. fo H.pioaks out like a hurt (Jhu ^.on.-und the Hen hurrio. about with hani,M„^,w.ngH,and briHtird feathorn, cluckinfr to prut.-ct U. injured brood. The barkin- of the dojr, the u.ewiniF of the cat, the creakinff of a pasHinj,' wJie.'lbam.w, follo^v, wiUi fr'-'-^it truth and rapuiity. fo repoata tho tunc tuu;:ht hin. by his nm.tor, though of conH.derable lenj^th, fully and laitiilully. J lo runs over the (.uivdriuLrs 0 tho Canary, and the clear whistling of the Virginia NStinll or Red-Bird, with ai.ch Buperior execution and ellCct, that The „rorti- fie Hongstors feel their own a.fenority, an.l become aito^rether silent ; wlulo ho seems to riumpli in their defeat by redoubliuir'FuH exertions Thi8 excessive fondness for variety, however, in tiie o.jinion of some, injures his sonfr. IIis elevatod imitations of the Brown Thrush of the Blue-B.rd, which he ex.pusitoly manages, are mingled with the screamniLMd Swal ows, or the cackling of liens; amidst the simple melody of tho Robin, wo are suddenly surprised b^ the shrill reitera- JaTMartn rr'^""-"'!'' "'"'^ ^!" ""^^^ °' ^'^ Killdeer Blue Jay, Martin BaltUi.ore, and twenty others, succeed, wiUi such impos- ing reality, hat wo look round for the originals, and discover with nstomshment, hat the sole performer in thTs singular concert s the admirable bird now before us. During this exhibition of his powe^! ho spreads lus wu.gs, expands his tail, and throws himself around the ouge ,n a 1 the ecstasy of enthusiasni, seeming not only to sin.r, bit to dance, keeping tune to the measure of his own music. Both lA his native and domesticated state, during the solemn stillness of nio-ht as soon as the moon rises i„ silent majesty, he begins his delightful solo, and serenades us the livelong night with a lull display of his So ''**''""""' "' "^ neighborhood ring with his inimitable Were it not to seem invidious in the eyes of foreigners, 1 might, in this place make a co,nparativ.< statement between the powers of Uie Mocking Bird, and the only bird, I believe, in the world, worthy of being compared wrtli him,_t!ie European Nightingale. This, how- ever, I am unable to do from my own observation, havin.r never myself heard the song of tlie latter; and, even if 1 had, peSiaps • Tlie hunters in llie Southern Stales, when sctline oui upon an excursion bv gn, as soon as they hear the Mocking Bird l,egi„ tS sing, ifnow that the moon i^ A certain nnonymous author, speakins of the Mookins Birds in the island of Jamaica and the.r practice ofsinginff l.yn.oonhght, thus gravely philosopS and attempts to account or the habit. " It "is not certain," says h?' X her They are kep so wakeful by the clearness of tho light, or by any extraordinary atte.aoYand vigilance at such times for the proiectiou .,f ,h„fr nursery f°"nZ Sea «- saults of the Owl and the Night kawk. It is possible that fea may opem^ u^a Aem, much m the same manner as it has been observed to affect somn cowar^v persons, who wh.stle stoutly ,n a lonesome place, while their mind is L tafed w X the Urror of tlaeves or hohgobVnn." - History of Jamaica, vol. iu. p. S quarto JJ2 MOCKING BIKD. something might .0 lai.l to the score of V^;^ ^^.^^ biographer, I am ^"'^^""'^^""SLui^ed English naturalist and reader with the opm^ jL^riTlIonorablc Raines Barrington XTt £r.e' h-e rdo^t^ci^n^^ was vice-pres.dent of tlie Royal Society, to which ^^ was addressed. ^^^^.^^^ "It may not be impropor here ays ^^^f^^^^^^ ,„„,petitor whether the NighUngale may jt h^^^^^^ ^^^, ^^^^,^„^^^ in the American Mocking ^j^'^^^'g superior to that of the other that the concert m tlie ^-^^P^"" ™ ^^'Sver, to hear tlie Ameri- partB of the globe." "I have l^P^^^'^' ^'517/^8 Vo-els and Scotta, Ln Mocking Bird >" great^)ertection ^^Jf^^J J,«»,,in living, and in Love Lane, Eastcheap. 1 his Dira is u^i minute, hath been in Kn^'^"^ these six yea b Du^^^^^ the Bpac ^ he imitated Uie Woodlark,Chaffinch Blac bird, ii , ^.J ^^^^^ I was told also that h«^:^«"]J,,^,^^^,^thou.^h his^^^ comes nearest to to have no choice in his imitationb, thou n m 1 p ^^ ^^ our Nightingale «f any bird I hu^^ ycUntt wi • wim ^ ^.^ ^^^ original notes, however, ot this bird, e are suu ai a , only be known by those who are ac_c ."^^^^^^^^^ „s, that thi of 'the other American birds ^^f ^ J^^^^^^^^ „ot to have been natural song is excellent ;t ""^^^^^.J"',,:'^^^ ^-hat were the gemiine long enough in America ^o ^^.t Se b^ ^ ^^^^" notes: wiUi us, mimics do not often bUcceeaD^^^^ fully equal to the gale, and, as I can with ;;«5^J?"f ^,3j^°\,e^S capable of exactly long of almost e^ ry other bird, ^'/^^^f^f^ J""' ' ^„„: jTais. _ his vocal imiUting various "ther sounds and vmc^Bytan™^^^^^^^ k^l££'i:S^r:S:iSli in .. I^^ ana if we believe, with Shakspear^, that The Niditineale, if she should sing by Hay, When every^Go^se is oacklinK would be ihough. No belter a musician than a Wren, „h., n,™iwe «.ink of that ^"!^^^i:^X^^X\!ZyX,- - „!■• I.;--/ T-^«on/-*V/)n.«. vol. Ixii. part ii. p. 284. t Travels, vol. i. p. 219. '^1 MOCKING I3IRD. 113 foreiffn country, he is declared, by the best judges in that country, to be fully equal to the song of their sweetest bird in its whole compass? Tiio supposed degradation of his song by the introduction of extra- neous sounds and unexpected iniitations, is, in fact, one of the chief excellences of this bird ; as these changes give a perpetual novelty to his strain, keep attention constantly awake, and impress every hearer with a deeper interest in what is to follow. In short, if we believe in the truth of that mathematical axiom, that the whole is greater than a part, all that is excellent or delightful, amusing or striking, in the music of birds, must belong to that adnurable songster, whose vocal powers are equal to the whole compass of their whole strains. The native notes of the Mocking Bird have a considerable resem- blance to those of the Brown Thrush, but may easilv be distinguished by their greater rapidity, swentness, energy of expre'ssion, and variety. Both, however, have, in many parts of the United States, particularly in those to the south, obtained the name of Mocking Bird : the first, or Brown Thrush, from its inferiority of song, being cnllcd the French, and the otiier the English Mocking Bird, — a mode of expression probably originating in the prejudices of our forefathers, witli whom every thing French was inferior to every tiling English.* The Mocking Bird is frequently taken in trap-cages, and, by proper management, may be made sufficiently tame to sing. The upper parts of the cage (which ought to be of wood) should be kept covered, until the bird becomes a little more reconciled to confinement. If placed in a wire cage, uncovered, he will soon destroy himself in at- tempting to get out. These birds, however, by proper treatment, may be brought to sing perhaps snporior to those raised by hand, and cos't less trouble. The opinion which the naturalists of Europe entertain of the great difficulty of raising the Mocking Bird, and that not one in ten survives, is very incorrect. A person called on me a few days ago, with twenty-nine of these birds, old and young, which he had carrfed about the fields with him for s.veral days, for the convenience of feed- ing tiiem while engaged in trapping others. lie had carried them tiiirty miles, and intended carrying thoni ninety-six miles farther, viz., to New York, and told me that he did not expect to lose one out of ten of them. Cleanliness, and regularity in fe-ding, are the two principal things to be attended to; and these rarely fiil to succeed. Tlie eagerness with which the nest of the Mocking Bird is souHit after in the neighborhood if Philadelphia, has rendered this bird ex- tremely scarce for an extent of several miles round the city. In the country round Wilmington and Newcastle, they are very numerous, from whence they aie frequently brought here for sale. The usual price of a singing bird is from seven to fifteen, and even twenty dollars. I have known fifty dollars paid for a remarkably fine singer, and one instance where one hundred dollars were refused for a still more extra- ordinarv one. The observations of Mr. Barrington, m the paper above referred to, make thi« supposilion still more probable. "Some Nightingales," says he, "arc so vasUy iiilerior, that the birc-calchers will not keep them, branding them with the name of rrciicnmcn." F. soo. 10* 114 MOCKING BIRD. Attempts have been made to induce these charming birds to pair, and rear their younfr, in a state of confinement, and the result has been sucli aa to prove it, by proper management, perfectly practicable. In the sprino- of 1808, a Mr. Klein, living in North feeventh Street, Phikdelphiu, partitioned off about twelve feet square in the third story of his house. This was lighted by a pretty large wjre-gnited window. In the centre of this small room he planted a cedar bush, five or six feet iiiffh, in a box of eartli, and scattered about a sufficient quan- tity of materials suitable for building. Into this place a male and female Mocking Bird were put, and soon began to build. The female laid five eo- sorts, the lar^c and the small Mockins"nir „„„„. t A i>ir.l is > HUMMING BlRD.t -TROCHILUS COLUBRIS. - Fios. 40, 41. Trochilus Mtis Linn Systi. p. 191, No. 12. _ L'Oiseau mouche i gorge rouge de la Carolme, Bnss. Orn. "i. P. 716, No. 13, t. 36, Fig. 6. -Lc fiubis, Bu% Ots VI J. 13.- Humming Bird, Catesb. Car. i. 63. _ fied-throated Humming Museum%oA female.- Lath. Syn. ii. 769, No. 35. -Pea/A TROCHILUS COLUBRTS. — Utinmos. Trochilus colubris, Bonap. Synop. p. 98. — The Ruby-throated Humming Bird.^urf ^NoHr'ZodT 3l' '■ ^^— '^'°'=''''"« «'°'"^'ris, Northern Hamming Bird, Nature, in every department of her work, seems to delight in vari- ety ; and the present subject of our history is almost as sino'ular for Its mmuteness, beauty, want of song, and manner of feeding, as the prenf ding is for unrivalled excellence of notes, and plainness of plu- ardson, it was discovered by Captain Cook at Nootka Sound, and described by Latham from tiiose specimens. — Ed. '' * Letter from Mr. Bartram to tiie author. t The " Fairy Humming Birds," " The Jewels of Ornithology," " Least of the wlngod vagrants of the sky," Uiough amply dispersed over the southern continent of the New World from their delicate and s ender sUncture, being unable to bear the severities of a hardier cli- mate, are, with two exceptions, withdrawn from its northern parts ; and it is with wonder that we see creatures of such tiny dimensions occasionally darinff to brave even the snows and frosts of a northern latitude. Tlie present species, thouffh sometimes exceeding its appointet' Ime, is obliged to seek warmer abodes during winter; and it is another subject for astonishment and reflection, how they are enabled to perform a lengthened migration, where the slightest gale would waft them far f.om their proper course. Mr. Audubon is ol opinion, that they mi- grate during the night, passing through the air in long undulations, raising them- selves for some distance at an angle of about 40°. and then falling in a curve ; but he adds tiiat the smallness of rheir size prpckidcs the possibility h{ following *em farther than fifty or sixty yards, even with > good glass. The Humming Birds, or what are generally known l)v the genus Trochilus of liinnoeus have been, through the researches of late travellers and natiiriUists vasti- 116 HUMMING BIRD. r h's^ mage. Though this interesting -^^,^T'^'}^.S'^2"l''^e^l t7lt henda upwards of seventy species, all of which, ^.^^"^a ver^ lew ex coptions! are natives of A merica and its a. Jf «" jf "f ' '^^ '' g\X gular Umt Uie species now before us should be the only one of its tribe that ever visits the territory of the United b ates. s^,a„„„ii, 'Vrroidinrr to the observations of my friend Mr. Abbot, ol Havannan in Geor a iho has been engaged these thirty years m collecting a.ul LwiSu'b ects of natural hi'story in that l>^^omilX:i^nS^M mine Bird makes its first appearance there, from the south, a^mne^oa of Mnrch two weeks earlier than it does in the county of Burke, Mxty on to tlie northward, as far as the interior f Canada where lUs seen in jrroat numbers,* the wonder is excited how so feebly conbiruciea "if SicTaUttle creature can make its way over -ch extensive rejrions of lakes and forests, among so many enemies, all its superiors in?trenrth and magnitude. But its very minuteness the rapidity o iteSfwhkh almost eludes the eye, and that admirable instinc reaZ or wTatever else it may be called, and daring courage w liic He ven has implanted in its bosom, are >^ S^'Jf^^^P™ S^ In these we may also perceive the reason why an all-wise iToviaence has ira' "tluT ittle hero an exception to a rule w uch prevails almost nivSaUv through nature, viz., that the smallest species of a tr be a nrinL proUfic. The Eagle lays «f .--;:-- ^'^^^/e^ Trow nv ^ • the Titmouse, seven or eight; the small buropeau wren, SejA the Humming "-d h.o : aiid yet this hiUer is abundantly more numerous in America than the Wren is i" Eu ope About th.^ yoth of April, the Humming Bird usually arrives lu PenSan a, and, about the 10th of May, begins to build its nest. Th r s' 'ener'ally fixed on the upper side of a horizontal brand, not innon.- the t-vicrs, but on the body of Uie branch itself. Yet 1 Jiave kncTvn ustanccs where it was attached by the side to an old moss- ^o;" S and others whereit was fastened on -fr^^ng rank sU^ OT w-e1 in the garden; but these cases are rare. In the woods, it Jeiy 5 ;« clioos^es a white oak sapling to build on ; and ^ th« " f ar^^^ or garden, selects a pear-tree for that purpose. The branch i& sel- inc show .easel in .heir ,.un.bers ; Ihev f^™ »,'^[«^--; tf j^^rbc^lr'^^Mef;' iS ,w a .onsi.lcrable var>e.y of lorm ""d cha . c r , a"^ '>» ^,^«'^. ^^^ „.„^, . show a considerable varie.y "' '°'T, »"". ^''' ' ^ '' ;;„fi;-; ,„- i|,c New World, sesscs no tlirecl prototype. „„„ j„,i ,„ „-< rfiscovered by Captain Cook in HUMMING BIRD. 117 (lom more than ten feet from the giound. The nest is about an inch in diameter, and as nmch in deptii. A very complete one is now lying before me, and the materials of which it is comi)oscd are as tollows :— J he outward coat is formed of small pieces of a species of bluish gray lichen that vegetates on old trees and fences, thickly glued on vyith the saliva of the bird, giving firmness and consistency to the whole, as well as keeping out moisture. Within this are thick, matted layers of the fine wings of certain flying seeds, closely laid together; and, lastly, tlie downy substance from the great mullein, and Irom the stalks of the common fern, lines the whole. The base ot the nest is continued round the stem of the branch, to which it closely adheres ; and, when viewed from below, appears a mere mossy knot or accidental protuberance. The eggs are two, pure white, and of equal thickness at both ends. The nest and eggs in the plate were copied with great precision, and by actual measurement, from one just taken in from the woods. On a person's approaching their nest, the little proprietors dart around with a humming sound, passing fre- quently witiiin a few inches of one's head; and, should the youn«r be newly hatched, the female will resume her place on the nest even wlule you stand within a yard or two of the spot. The precise period ot incubation I am unable to give ; but the young are in the habit a short time before they leave the nest, of thrustiu'r their bills into tha mouths of their parents, and sucking what they ha've broucrln them. I never coi'.Ll perceive ti».it they carried them any animal food- though, fiom circumstances Uiat will presently be mentioned, I think It higlily probable they do. As- 1 iiavc found their nests with eix^H so late as the 12th of July, I dc not doubt but that they frequently, and perhaps usually, raise two broods in the same season. The Humming Bird is extremely fond of tubular flowers, and I have often stopped, with pleasure, to observe his manoeuvres amona the blossoms of the trumpet flower. When arrived before a thickel of these, that are full blown, ho poises, or suspends, himself on win"- for the space of two or three seconds, so steadily, that his wings become invisible, or only like a mist; and you can plainly distinguish the pupil of his eye looking round with great quickness and circum- spection ; the glossy, golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat, duzzling in the sun, form altogether a most interesting appear- ance. The position into which his body is usually thrown while in the act of thrusting his slender tubular tongue into tho flower, to ex- tract Its sweets, is exhibited in the figure on the plate. When he alights, which is frequently, he always prefers the small, dead twigs of a tree or bush, where he dresses and arranges his pluman-e with great dexterity. His only note is a single chirp, not louder than that of a small cricket or grasshopper, generally uttered while passing from flower to flower, or when engaged in fight with his fellows ; for, when two males meet at the same bush or flower, a battle instantly takes place ; and the combatants ascend in the air, chirping, darting and circling around each other, till the eye is no longer able to follow them. The conqueror, however, generally returns to the place to reap the fruits of his victory. I have seen him attack, and for a few moments tease the King Bird ; and have also seen him, in his turn, assaulted by a humble-bee, which he soon put to flitrht He is one i* 118 HUMMING BIRD. of those few birds that are universally beloved; and amidst the sweet, dewv serenity of a sumtner's morning, his appearance among the arbo?8 of honeysuckles, and beds of flowers, is truly mteresting When the moniiug dawns, and the blest sun again Lifts his red glories from the eastern mam, _ Then through our woodbines, wet with ghttcnng dewi, The flower-led Humming Bird his round pursues; Sips, with inserted tube, the honey'd blooms. And chirps his gratitude as round he roams ; While richest roses, though in crimson drest. Shrink from the splendor of his gorgeous breast. What heavenly lints in mingling radiancjj tly . liuch rapid movement gives a different dye ; Like scales of burnish'd gold they dazzhng show, Now sink to shade — now like a furnace glow '. The sin-rularity of this litUe bird has induced many Persons to atletnpt to raise them from tlio nest, and accustom them to the cage. Mr Coffer of Fairfax county, Virginia, a gentleman who has pad great attention to the n.anners and peculiarities of our native birds told fne t mt hfraisedand kept two, for some months, in a cage ; supply ng them with honey dissolved in water, on whichthey readily fed. As the 8 weetn'^ s of the liquid frequently brought small flies and gnats about U^ ca"re and cup, the birds amused themselves by snapping at them 0^1 win^ and swallowing them with eagerness, so tha these msecte forS'no inconsiderable piirt of tJio.r food. Mr. Charles W. Ion Pea e, proprietor of the museum, tells me that he had two young Hummincr Birds, which he raised from the nest. Thev used to fj^ about he room, and would frequently perch on Mrs. Pcale's shoulder to be fed When the sun shone Strongly in the chamber he has observed them darting after the motes that A-ted 'n the lig t, a Flycatchers would after flies. In the summer of 1803, a nest ot voW Humming Birds was brought mc, that were nearly f^t to fly. S ^f^^mTc^ually flew out by^the window the same eve^'ng and Sififf against a wall, was killed. The other refused food, and the next morS I could but just perceive that it had life A lady m the house undertook to be its nurse, placed it m her bosom, and as it SSan to revXdi^solved a little sugar in her mouth, into which she tlmistits bill, and it sucked with great avidity. I" this manner it vabrS..r up until fit for the cage. I kept it upwards of] three monthTsGpplieditwith loaf sugar dissolved in water, which ,t pre- ferred to honey and water, ^ivo it fresh flowers every morning snrnklcdwithUie liquid, and surrounded the space m which I kept it^wS iuze:ihat it might not injure itself. It nppearcd gay, active, anTfull of spiXhovering from flower to flower, as ,f in its native w"ld and aUvays expressed, by its motions and chirping, great nCure at seein^ fresh flowers introduced to ,ts cage. Numbers of SeXviBUed it tVom motives of curiosity; and I took every precatj- Son to ireserve it, if possible, through the wmter. Unfortunately, Keverrby some means it got'at. large, and, .^ying about the room, so injured itself that it soon after died. This little bird is extremelv susceptible of cold, and, it long ae prived of the animating influence of the sunbeams, droops, and 8^n E A very beautiful male was brought me this seaaon, [1809,] HUMMING BIRD. 119 which I put into a wire cage, and placed in a retired, Bliaded part of the rooni. After fluttering about for some time, the weather bcm(r un- commonly cool, It clung by tlie wires, and liung in a seemiinrly torpid state for a whole forenoon. No motion wliatever of the lungs could be perceived, on the closest inspection, tliough, at other times, tliis is remarkably observable ; the eyes were shut; and, when touched by tlie finger, it gave no signs of life or motion. I carried it out to the open air, and placed it directly in the rays of the sun, in a sheltered situation. In a few seconds, respiration became very apparent ; the bird breathed faster and faster, opened its eyes, and began to look ai)out, with as much seeming vivacity as ever. After it had complete- ly recovered, I restored it to liberty ; and it flew off to the withered top of a pear-tree, where it sat for some time dressing its disordered plumage, and tlien shot off" like a meteor. The flight of the Humming Bird, from flower to flower, greatly re- sembles that of a bee, but is so much more rapid, thai; the latter ap- pears a mere loiterer to him. He poises himself on wing, wJiile he thrusts his long, slender, tubular tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes out by the opposite door or window. He has been known to take refuge in a hot-house during tiio cool nights of autumn, to go regularly out in tlie morning, and to return as regularly in the evening, for several days together. The Humming Bird has, hitherto, been supposed to subsist alto- gether on the honey, or liquid sweets, which it extracts from flowers. One or two curious observers have, indeed, remarked, that they have found evident fragments of insects in the stomach of this species; but these have been generally believed to have been taken in by accident. The few opportunities which Europeans have to determine this point by observations made on the living bird, or by dissection of the newly- killed one, have rendered this mistaken opinion almost general in Eu- rope. For myself, I can speak decisively on this subject: I have seen the Humming Bird, for half an hour at a time, darting at those little groups of insects that dance in the air in a fine summer evening, retiring to an adjoining twig to rest, and renewing the attack with a dexterity that sets all our other Flycatchers at defiance. I iiave op^ed, from time to time, great numbers of these birds ; have exam- ined the contents of the stoniacli with suitable glasses, and, in three cases out of four, have found these to consist of broken fragments of .nsects. In many subjects, entire insects of the coleopterous class, but very small, were found unbroken. The observations of Mr. Coffer, as detailed above, and the remarks of my worthy friend Mr. Peale, are corroborative of these facts. It is well known tiiat the Humi'iino- Bird is particularly fond of tubular flowers, where numerous small in^ sects of tliis kind resort to feed on tiie farina, &c. ; and there is every reason for believing that he is as often in search of these insects as of honey, and that the former compose at least aa ^reat a portion of his usual sustenance as the latter. If this food be so necessary for the parents, ♦here is no doubt but the young also occasionally partake of it To enumerate all the flowers of which this little bird is fond, would be to repeat the names of half our American Flora. From tlie bloa- «om3 of the towering poplar or tulip-tree, tlirough a thousand inter- 190 HUMMING BIRD. mediate flowere, to those of the humble larkspur, he ranges at will, Sid atost incessantiy. Evejy period of the season produces a fres^ mulUtude of new favorites. Towards the month of September, Uiore S a vellow flower which grows in great luxuriance along tlie sides S- creeks and rivers, ani in low, moist situations; it grows to the heiffht of uvo or three feet, and the flower, which is about the mze of a Sble han"s in Uic shape of a cap of liberty above a luxuriant Jrowtof g^en loaves. It 'is the Bahannm ru>li me tangcreothot. Sistfl and is the greatest favorite with the Humming Bird of all our Ter'loweiS In some places, where Uiese plants abound, you n,ay 8^ a one time, ten or twelve Humming Birds darling about, and StL^ithTnd pursuincr each other. Al.out Uie 20Ui of September S efnerally retire to tlie south. I have, indeed, sometimes seen a so?ftaK individual on the 28th and 30th of that month, and sometimes lve?hi October: but these cases are rare. About the beginning of SSierfttiey pass the southern boundary of the United States into The^Humming Bird is three inches and a half in length, and four and a quarter in extent; tlie whole back, upper part of Uie neck sides under the wings, tail-coverts, and two middle featliers of the tail, are IL of a rich, golden green ; the tail is forked, and, as well as the wings ^- of a deep brownish purple ; the bill and eyes are black ; the legs and feet, both of which are extremely small, are also blt-.k; tl.e bill is straight, very slender, a little inflated at the tip, and very m^orapetent to the exploit of penetrating tlie tough, sinewy side of a Crow, and precipitating it from tJie clouds to the earth, as Charlevoix would per- suade his readers to believe.* The nostrils are two small, oblong s its, situated at tJie base of the upper mandible, scarcely perceivable when the bird is dead, though very distinguishable and prominent when living; the sides of the belly, and belly itself, dusky white, mixed with ereen; but what constitutes the chief ornament ot this little bird is the splendor of tlie featliers of his tiiroat, which, when gaced in a proper position, glow witli all tlie brilliancy of the ruby. These feathers are of singular strengtli and texture, lying close together ike scales, and vary, -wTien moved before the eye, from a deep black to a fiery crimson and burning orange. The female is destitute of this ornament, but differs little in other appearance from the male ; her ; tail is tipped with white, and the whole lower parts are of the same I tint The young birds of the first season, both male and female, have ■ the tail tipped with white, and the whole lower parts nearly white; in , the month of September, the ornamental feathers on the throat ot the YOung males begin to appear. , , , , i ! On dissection, the heart was found to be remarkably large, nearly as bis as the cranium ; and the stomach, though distended with tood, unco^only small, not exceeding the globe of tiie eye, and scarcely more than one sixth part as large as tlie heart; the fibres of die last were also exceedingly strong. The brain was in large quantity, and very thin ; the tongue, from the tip to an extent equal with the length of the bill, was perforated, forming two closely-attached parallel and cylindrical tubes; the other extremities of the tongue corresponded » Uistoire de la Notwelle France, iii. p 186. m 'I'M Pll t lahofSitroA^tfrner 90 Fn^^" THE WHITE PELICAN 9. M TOWIIE BUNTING. 121 exactly to those of the Woodpecker, pasaing up the hmd head, and reaching to the base of the upper mandiblo. Theuo observationa were verified in five diibrint subjects, all of whoso stomacJoi con- tained frajpiienta of insects, and some of them whole ones. TOWHE BUNTING. — EMBERIZA ERYTHROPTHALMA. — Fio. 42. Fringilla crythropthalma, Lirm. Syst. p. 318, 6. — LePinson de la Caroline, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 169, 44. — Buff. Ois. iv. p. Hl. — Latk. ii. p. 199,No. 43.— Catai. Ctr, I. plate 31. -- PeaU^s Museum, No. 6970. PIPILO ERYTHROPTHJ'UilA. — VitiiAMr. Pipilo crythropthalma, VieiU. Gal. des Ois. plate 80. — Fringilla crythropthalma, Bonap. Stftiop. p. 112. — The Towhe Bunting, And. plate ®, male and female : Orn. Biog. i. p. 160. s' i- , , This is a very common, but humble and inoffensive species, fre- quenting close-sheltered thickets, where it spends most of its time in scratching up the leaves for worms, and for the larvoe and eggs of insects. It is Tar from being shy, frequently suffering a person to walk round the bush or thicket, where it is at work, witnout betraying any marks of alarm, and when disturbed, uttering tho notes tow-1^, repeatedly. At times the male mounts to the top of a small tree, and chants his few, simple notes for an hour at a time. These are loud, not unmusical, something resembling those of the Yellow Hammer of Britain, but more mellow and more varied. He is fond of thickets with a southern exposure, near streams of water, and where there is plenty of dry leaves ; and is found, generally, over the whole United States. He is not gregarious, and you seldom see more than two together. About the middle or 20th of April, they arrive in Penn- sylvania, and begin building about the first week in May. The nest is fixed on the ground among the dry leaves, near, and sometimes under, a thicket of briers, and is large and substantial. The outside is formed of leaves and dry pieces of grape-vine bark, and the inside, of fine stalks of dried grass, the cavity completely sunk beneath the surface of the OTound, and sometimes half covered above with dry grass or hay. The eggs are usually five, of a pale flesh color, thickly marked with specks of rufous, most numerous near the great end. The young are produced about the beginning of June, and a second brood commonly succeeds in the same season. This bird rarely winters north of the state of Maryland, retiring from Pennsylvania to the south about the 12th of October. Yet in the middle districts of Virginia, and thence south to Florida, I found it abundant during the months of January, February, and March. Its usual food is obtained by scratching up the leaves ; it also feeds, like the rest of its tribe, on various hiard seeds and gravel, but rarely commits any depredations on the harvest of the husbandman, erener- 11 TOWIfK HUNTING, fillv Droferrine the woods, and traversing tho bottom of fences shel- th." Bullfinch -in many nl-iccH, the Towho Bird ; in I'ennsylvama, the &Sib;oU.orVthcS;a,np Robin. "« -"^"^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the harmony ot^urwoodH in s-prmg ani Buminer "^n/ ™;™ for the cunninc with wh d* .w conceals his nost. He showH greai lffec?ionrhrB'young,and the deepest marks of distress on the ap- P^^rLfcit'^LTlhTcni^n;^^^^^^^^^^^ on this bird, is tlie iris white, while at other times it was red ; and Mr. l!.llioi, oi Beaufort, a ndicious naUiralist, inforiTied me, tliat '" the X""' f Febman^ he killed a Towho Buntini? ^vHh one eye red and the other whitT'lt shou d be observed that tiie iris of the young bird's eye is of a chocolate color during its rcBidence m PenrjyWama gr m^ thiR mnv briffhten into a wh te during winter, and these may nave ^eenTbS o? tlio preceding year, which had not yet received the ^"^tS CltSVunting is eight inches and a half lon^, and eleven brold ; Ibov" black, ^hich afso descend., -""^"fer "the S • t Bides if which are bright bay, spreading along imaer tf"' J>"f ;^^ belly is white ; the vent, pale rufous; a spot ot ^h']?^ ^''^^ "'^t"!'".! iust below tJie coverts, and another a little below diat extends obliqnevT across the primaries; tho t^iil is 1°"?' "^^'^^ Vnrthe tit endl the three exterior feathers, white for an inch or so frj th^ t p,, fhP miter one wholly white, the middle ones black ; tlie bil is oiacK , Se fetrardVelTdirtv flesh color, and f-g. for scratching up tlie irround The female d ffers ir. being of a light reddish »rown in Sose parts where the male is black, and in having the bill more of a light horn color.* . Mr. Swainson makes PipUo a sub-genus among the Spar«.ws. *« jries have been described, and the above-menl.oned gentleman has 't7t fe spedr of in addition. They are confined to both continents 9^ A^^nca wid the spec our author was considered as the only one belonfting to he ""[f t,\" .^"^^^',,.,.,^ Noriheru Zoolog^j will give '-^'^'^.P^^^^^^^^ ''*S^::dSrs|:;-< The haunt, of the^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ of ,his,and ProvH.cKd names^are^generallj^t^e^^^^^^^^ Ij^ , ^ ^^^^ ferent habiu may )s be S"uerit ai ainerem scuauuo. » - — -- KVntucky U,ey.are>„din the r|a.est ab^-^-^ Jl^SfrrbS f'lray ai night, 'lluui m>g"aUOns src pt:r:--rri:i^ • •-; — v; " nA CARDINAL GROSBEAK 123 CARDINAL GROSBEAK. -LOXIA CARDINALIS.- Fio*. 43, 44. i.im. Sysl. i. p. 300, No. ft. — Le Oro«-boc de Virjfinie, BritM. Om. :ii. p. 2ii6. No. Vf.— Jiuff. iii. p. 4fi!J, pi. 28. PL erd. 37. — Lath. Syn. ii. p. 118, No. 13 Cardinal, Brown'i Jam. p. f!'i7. — PeiUe'i lUuseimi, No. 66t>8. OUARICa CJiRDWAUS. — SiyiAiition. Fringilla cardinalis, Bonap. St/nop. p. 1 13. This is one of our most common cage birds ; and is very generally known, not only in North America, but oven in Europe, numbers of them having been carried over both to France and England, in which last country they are usuallycalled Virginia Nightingales. To this name, Dr. Latham observes, "they are fully ontiticd,"'troin the clear- ness and variety of their notes, whicii, both in a wild and domestic state, are very varioua and musical : many of them resemble tlie high notes of a fife, and are nearly as loud. They are in song fioin March to Septem'jer, beginning at the first appearance of dawn, and repeat- ing a favorite stanza, or passage, twenty or thirty times successively ; sometniies, witli little intermission, for a whole morning together, which, like a good story too often repeated, becomes at length tire- Home and insipid. But the sprightly figure and gaudy plumage of the Red-Bird, his vivacity, strength of voice, and actual variety of note, and the little expense witli which he is kept, will always make him a favorite. This species, like the Mocking Bird, is more numerous to the east of tJie great range of tlie Allc lany Mountains, and in.iabits from New England to Carthagena, Michaux the younger, son to >ho celebrated botanist, informed me, that he found this bird nu"- uus i , the Bermu- das. In Pennsylvania and tlie Northern Stat' is mther a scarce Bpecies ; but through the whole lower partn of tin; Southern States, in Ihe neighborhood of HOttlements, J found them imich more numerous ; their clear and lively notes, in the months of January and Februnr', being, at that time, almost the only music of the season. Along tlie road sides and fences I found them hovering in half dozens together, ossociated with Snow Birds, and vanms kinds of Sparrows. In the Northern States, they are migratory; but in the lower parts of Pennsylvania, they reside during the whole year, frequenting tlie bor- ders of creeks and rivulets, in ,-iheltered hollows, covered witli lioUy, laurel, and other evergreens. Tliey love also to reside in tlie vicinity of fields of Indian corn, a grain that constitutes their chief and favor- ite food. The seeds of apples, cherries, and of many other sorts of fruit, are also eaten by them ; and they are accused of destroying beet:. seem to be much at a loss when a lar^e extent of forest is to be traversed by thea. 1 hey perform these journeys almost singly. The females set out before tho males m autumn, the males befoie the females in spring ; the latter not appflaring in the midd.^disU'icts until the end of April, a forUiight aAer the males had arrivtd." 0 ' 1 W Ik I i- 184 CARDINAL GROSBEAK. In the months of March and April, the males have many violent engagements for their favorite females. Early in May, in Pennsylva- nia, toey begin to prepare their nest, which is very often fixed in a holly, cedar, or laurel bush. Outwardly, it is constructed of small twigs, tops of dry weeds, and slips of vine bark, and lined with stalkfl of fine grass. The female lays four eggB, thickly marked all over with touches ofbrownish olive, on a dull white ground, as represented in tlie figure ; and they usually raise two broods in the seaaon. These birds are rarely raised from tlie nest for singing, being so easily taken in trap- cages, and soon domesticated. By long confinement, and per- haps unnatural food, the/ are found to fade in color, becoming of a pale whitish red. If well taken care of, however, they will live to a considerable age. There is at present in Mr. Peale's museum, the stuffed skin of one of tliese birds, which is there said to have lived in a cage upwards of twenty-one years. The opinion whicii so generally prevails in England, that the music of the groves and woods of America ia far inferior to that of Europe, I, who have a thousand times listened to both, cannot admit to be cor- rect We cannot with fairness draw a comparison between the depth of the forest in America, and the cultivated fields of England ; because it is a well-known fact, that singing birds seldom frequent the former in any country. But let the latter places be compared witli the like situations in the United States, and tlie superiority of song, 1 am fully persuaded, would justly belong to tlie western continent The few of our song birds that have visited Europe extort admiration from the best judges. " The notes of the Cardinal Grosbeak," says Latham, "are almost equal to those of the Nightingale." Yet these notes, clear and excellent as they are, are far inferior to those of the Wood Thrash, and even to those of the Brown Thrush, or Thrasher. Our inimitable Mocking Bird is also acknowledged, by tliemselves, to be fully equal to the song of the Nightingale, « in its whole compass. Yet these are not one tenth of the number of our singing burds. Could tliese people be transported to tlie borders of our woods and set- tlements, in the montli of May, about half an hour before sunrise, such a ravishing concert would greet their ear as they have no concep- tion of. „ , . • The males of the Cardinal Grosbeak, when confined^ together m a cage, fight violently. On placing a looking-glass before the cage, the gesticulations of the tenant are truly laughable ; yet with this he soon becomes so well acqiiainted, that, in a short time, he takes no notice whatever of it; a pretty good proof that he has discovered the true cause of the appearance to proceed from himself. They are hardy birds, easily kept, sing six or eight months in the year, and are most lively in wet weather. They are generally known by the names, Red-Bird, Virginia Red-Bird, Virginia Nightingale, and Crested Red- Bird, to distinguish them from another beautiful species, the Scarlet Tanager, Figs. 45 and 46. I do not know that any successful attempts have been made to in- duce these birds to pair and breed in confinement ; but I have no doubt of its practicability, by proper management Some months airo. I Dlaced a vounff. unfledffed Cow-Bird, (the Frir^la pecoris of Tiirtoii,) whode' mother, like^the Cuckoo of Europe, abandons iief SCARLET TANAGER 135 egres and progeny to the mercy and management of other smaller birds, m the same cage with a Red-Bird, which fed and reared it with great tenderness. They both continue to inhabit the same cage, and I have hopes that the Red-Bird will finish his pupil's education by teaching him his song. I must here remarl^ for the information of foreigners, that the story told by Le Page du Pratz, in his History o/Loumana, and which has been so often repeated by other writers, that the Cardinal Grosbeak " collects together great hoards of maize and buck- wheat, often as much as a bushel, which it artfully covers with leaves and small twigs, leaving only a small hole for entrance into the magazine," is entirely fabulous. •' This species is eight inches long, and eleven in extent ; tlie whole upper parts are a dull, dusky red, except the sides of the neck and head, which, as well as the whole lower parts, are bright vermilion ; chin, front, and lores, black ; the head is ornamented with a high, pointed crest, which it frequently erectd in an almost perpendicular position, and can also flntten at pleasure, so as to be scarcely percep- tible ; the tail extends three inches beyond the wings, and is nearly even at the end ; the bill is of a brilliant coralline color, very thick and powerful, for breaking hard grain and seeds ; the legs and feet, a light clay color, (not blood red, as BiifTon describes them ;) iris of the eye, dark hazel. The female (Fig. 44) is less than the male, has the upper parts of a brownish olive, or drab color, the tail, wings, and tip of the crest excepted, which arc nearly as red as those of the male; the lores, front, and chin, are liglit ash ; breast, and lower pans, a reddish drab ; bill, legs, and eyes, as those of the male ; the crest is snorter, and less frequently raised. One peculiarity in the female of this species is, that she often sings nearly as well as the male. I do not know whether it be owing to some little jealousy on this score or not, that the male, when both occupy the same cage, very often destroys the female. SCARLET TANAGER. -TANACIIA RUBRA. -Figs. 45, 46. Tanagra rubra, Lynn. Syst. i. p. 314, 3.— Cardinal de Canada, Briss. Om. iii. p. 48,pl 2,fig-.6. — Z,ar the sport The report of musketry along the reedy shores ot SschuylkXand Delaware is almost incessant, resembling a runmng fire The markets of Philadelphia, at this season, exhibit proofs of ule'prodigious havock made among these birds ; for almost every sta 1 is ornamented with strings of Reed Birds. This spor^, however, is IZZtfMenTio that^f Rail footing which is carried on a^ the same season and places, with equal slaughter, p.^ *ts, as well as ot the Rail itself, we shall give a particular accomit ^"f^FoPpJn'^ States Whatever apology the people of the Eastern and feouthem btates niaTtSrrdfv'astatirnSiey spread among ^^^^^ J^ ^^/^ Birds, the Pennsylvanians - at least those living ^^this Part of it - have little to plead in justification but the pleasure of destruction, or the savorf dish they furnish Uieir tables witli ; for the oat harvest is gen- emllV secured feefore the gieat body of these birds ^^ve, the Indian cwn too ripe and hard, and the reeds seem to engross all the r atten- tTon. But'in the states south of Maryland, the harvest of early wheat and barley in spring, and the numerous plantations of "ce in fa 1, aim uu.ii.y 1 ^„ 51- :_ r»_*_U^. fx, o.. aAnn na the nicrhtfl begin to 8uii^i severely. i:„,1 into this matter with his usual accuracy, he would £vefoundThattiie'itft«cicajwoKt;acea,and^^ and tender «ong- MARSH WREN. la'* Bter he mentions, are two very distinct speciea ; and that botli the one nnd the other actually build very curious, pendulous nests. Tliis species is five inches and a half long, and seven inches in ex tent; crown, ash, slightly tinged witli olive, bordered on each side with a line of black, below which is a line of white passing from the nostril over and a little beyond the eye ; tlie bill is longer than usual with birds of its tribe, the upper mandible overhanging tlie lower consid erably, and notched, dusky above, and light blue below ; all the rest of the plumage above is of a yellow olive, relieved on the tail, and at the tips of the wings, with brown ; chin, throat, breast, and belly, pure white ; inside of the wings and vent-featliers, greenish yellow ; the tail IS very slightly forked; legs and feet, light blue ; iris of the eye, red. The female is marked nearly in the same manner, and is distin- guisliable only by the greater obscurity of tlie colors MARSH WREN. — CERTHIA PALUSTRIS — Fio. 50. Lath. Byn. Suvpl. p. 344.— Motacilla paluslris, (regulus minor.) Bartram, p. 291. — Peale's Museum, No. 7282. TROGLODYTES PJlLUSTRlS. — Boixkrkurg. Troglodyte* paluslris, .Bonap. Synop. p. 93. — The Marsh Wren, Aud. pi, 100. On. Biog. I. p. 600. — North. Zool. ii. p. 319. This obscure but spirited little species has been almost overlooked b^ the naturalists of Europe, as well as by those of its own ountry. The singular attitude in which it is represented will be recogn,/,ed, by those acquainted with its manners, as one of ita most common and favorite ores, while skipping tlirough among the reeds and rushes. The Marsh Wren arrives in Pennsylvania about the middle of May, or da soon as the reeds and a species of nymphea, usually called splatter- docks, which grow in great luxuriance along the tide water of our rivers, are sufficiently high to shelter it To such places it almost wholly limits its excursions, seldom venturing far from the river. Its food consists of flying msects, and their larvro, and a species of green grasshoppers that inhabit the reeds. As to its notes, it would be mere burlesque to call them by the name of son. About the middle of August, they begin to go olT: and, on the Ist of SeptembiT, very few ot them are to bo seen. How far north the migrations of this species extend, 1 am unable to say ; none of them, to my knowledge, winter in Georgia, or any ot the Southern States. , ■ • i. * *k„ «,i,«i« The Marsh Wren is live inches long, and six in extent; the whole upper^ parts are dark brown, except tlio upper part ot the head, back of the neck, and middle of the back, which are black, tjliot^vo last streaked with whito ; Uic tail is short, rounded, and barred with black, wines, slightly barred ; a broad strip of white passes oyer the eye ha f way down the neck; Uie sides of the neck are also mottled wiUi touch- es of a light clay color on a whitish ground ; whole under parts, pure Bilverv white, except the vent, which is tinged with brown; the legs are light brown; tlie hind claw, large, semicircular, and vory sharp; bill, slender, slightly bent; nostrils, prominent ; tongue, narrow, y^ery tap4ring, sharp pointed, and homy at the extremity ; eye, hazel. The femf ,ie almost exactly resembles the male in plumage. , ,. * From the above description, and a view of Fig. 50, the naturahst will perceive that this species is truly a Certhia, or Creeper; and in- deed its habits confirm this, as it is continually climbing along Uie stalks of reeds, and other aquatic plants, in search of insects. i n 5 ^ r ■v .s< pf'nt OltEAT CAROLINA WREN. 137 GREAT CAROLINA WREN.-CERTHIA CAROLINIANA. - Fio. 51. Le Roitelet de la Louisiana, PL enl. 730, fig. L — Lath. Syn. vii. p. 607, var. b. — Le Troglodytes de la Louisiana, £«/. Ois. v. p. 36L — Motacilla Caroliniaaa, (regulus magnus,) Bartram, p. 291. — fea/e's Musmm, No. 7248. TROOLODYTES LUDOVICMJVUS. — Bonaparte. Troglodytes Ludovicianus, Bonap. Sifnop. p. 93. — The Great Carolina Wren, Aud. pi. 78, male and female. Om. Biog. i. p. 399. This is another of those equivocal species that so often occur to puzzle the naturalist The general appearance of this bird is such, that tJie most illiterate would at iirst sight call it a Wren ; but the Common Wren of Europe, and tlie Winter Wren of the United States, are both Warblers, judging tliem according to tlie simple principle of Linnreus. The present species, however, and the preceding, ( the Marsh Wren, ) though possessing great family likeness to those above mentioned, are decisively Creepers, if the bill, the tongue, nostrils, and claws, are to be the criteria by which we are to class them. The color of the plumage of birds is but an uncertain and inconstant guide ; and though in some'cases it serves to furnish a trivial or specific appellation, yet can never lead us to the generic one. I have, there- fore, notwitlistanding the general appearance of these birds, and the practice of former ornithologists, removed them to the genus CeHUa, from that of Motacilla, where they have hitherto been placed.* This bird is frequently seen, early in May, along the shores of the Delaware, and other streams that fall into it on both sides, thirty or forty miles below Philadelphia ; but is ratiicr rare in Pennsylvania. This circumstance is a little extraordinary ; since, from its size and stout make, it would seem more capable of braving the rigors of a northern climate than any of the others. It can, however, scarcely be called migratory. In the depth of winter I found it numerous in Vir- ginia, along the shores and banks of the James River, and its tributary streams, and thence as far south as Savannah. I also observed it on * Of this bird, and some others, Vieillot formed his genus Tryothorm, containinff the larger Wrens, with long, and somewhat curved bills, and possessing, if possi- ble, more of the habits of the Creepers. This has, with almost universal consent, been laid aside oven aa a sub-genus, and they are all included in Troslodyles. Kead the descnptions of our author, or of Audubon, and the habits of the Wren will lie at once perceived. " Its tail," says the latter ornithologist, " is almost con- stant y erect ; and before it starts to make the least flight, it uses a quick motion which brings its body almost in contact with the object on which it stands. The quickness ol the motions of this little bird is fully equal to that of a mouse : it ap- pears and IS out of sight m a moment; peeps into a crevice, passes rapidly ihrouffh It, and shows itself at a different place the next instant. These Wrens often sing from the roof of an abandoned flat-boal. When the song is finished, they creep from one board to another, thrust themselves through an auger hole, enterW the boat 8 side at one place, and peeping out at another." In then, we have exactly portrayed the manners of our British Wren, when engaged about a heap of rubbish old stones, or barrels in a farm yard. — Ed. 1Q# 138 GREAT CAROLINA WREN. the banks of the 0 » c. " Tropical America," Mr. Swuinson remarks, " swarms with the Tyranninm, so much so, that several indivKiuals, of three or four species, may be seen in the sur- rounding trees at the same moment, watching for passing insects ; each, however, looks out for Its own particular prey, and does not interfere with such as appear destined by Nature for its stionger and less feeble associates. It is only towards the termination of the rainy season, when myriads of the Termites mA Formicce emerge from the earth m their winged state, that the whole family of Tyrants, of all sizes and species, commence a regular and simultaneous attack upon the thou- sands which then spring from the ground." From their long-accepted name we have some idea of their manners. They possess extensive powers of locomotion, to enable them to secure a prey at once active and vigilant ; and their long and sharp wings are beautifully formed for quick and rapid flight.*^ The tail, next in importance as a locomotive organ, is also generally of a term joining the greatest advantages, — that of a forked shape : m some with the exterior feathers extending to a considerable length, whilef in others certanily only shg'itlv divaricatiiig, or nearly square; but never, as among the Tliamnophihme, or Rush Shrikes, ofa graduated or rounded form, where the individuals seek their prey by stealth and prowling, and require no great extent of «!ght; on the other hand, those organs of less utility for securing the means of sus- tenance, are of much inferior strength and power. The accessory members for seizing their insect prey arc, in like manner, adapted to their other powers ; the bill, though of considerable strength, is flattened ; the rictus being ample, and fur- nished with bristles. The genus Tiirannus, however, does not entirely feed on insects when on wmg, like the smaller Tyrannulm, but, as shown by Mr.Swainson, will also feed on small fish and aquatic insects ; and, if this fact be united with the weak lormation of the tarsi, and, in several species, having the toes united at the base, there will be an evident connection between this group and the Fissirostres 1 hat gentleman, m the second volume of the Northern Zoolomi, relates a fact from his journal when resident in Brazil, most beautifully illustrative of this affinity and shows the value of attending to all circumstances relative to the habits of in- dividuals, which, thougii, like the present, of no importance alone, will, when taken m connection with other views, be of the very utmost consequence. " Aoril 7 1817 Sitting in the house this morning, I suddenly' heard a splash in the lake close'to the window ; on looking out, I saw a common Gray-breasted Tyrant ( Tyrannus cm- (Mis) perched upon a dead branch hanging over the w^ter, plunging and drying Itself. Intent upon watching this bird, I saw it, within a quarter of an hour, 'dive into the lake two successive times, after some small fish or aquatic in.-ecls, precisely like a Kingfisher; this action was done with amazing celerity, and it then took its former station to plume and dry its feathers." Hero we have exactly the habits of the Kingfisher ; and I believe a contrariety of manner, equally worthy of remark IS observed among some of the Dacehnes, frequenting woods, and dartiii"^ by sur- prise on the larger insects. Both tribes have another similarity in their economy and delight to sit motionless, either watching their prey, or pLi'ming and resting oii the extremity or top of some dead branch, pale, or peaked rock. With ren-ard to the Tyrant's being not only carnivorous, but preying also on the weaker rqitiles, we h,.,t me authority of Azara, who mentions the common Ttjranmis snlphuratus, (jr Hentivo of Brazil, as " S'approchcnt dcs animaux morts pour I'emporter des debris ct des petits morceaux de chair que laissent les Caraijaras." And Mr f^wainson (North. Zool. ii. 133) has him'' J- °' g.^Uv comes off ron- broils and battles ; in which however, he gene ally c^ ^^^^^ queror. Hawks and Crows, the Bi'^A ^'^fjfj' ^^uXss little cham- Lgle, all equally dread a ,enc.un er wi h ^iB^^.untle^ appiouching p on, who, as soon as he perceives o e- co^i iderab e lu itht launches into '.he air to meet h™' J"°""^Jj„^e fl it there !o ihe above him, and darts down on his back, somet me n.n ^^ great annoyance of hi« fovereign, who, f no c^^^^ ^^^^,j. resting-place be near, e'^dedvors by mmns ev^oMions r^ .^^_ of his merciless .aversary. J^,'^%^,";J'," .f ^teeprupon him'from mounted. He leases thj' 1; -r^ UKeBsai l^^^^^^ ^.^ ^^ right to leMemmintj^ lia^ -■ -y,f ^ it^U and rapid twitter- greater violence ; all me wni.i ',''•''».'_ r„ ^oje than a mile, fng; and continuing the attaclr '^f^f;'''^'f^J'-"'3y eager for tlie till he is relieved by some otac^ 'Xhx.. tnbe tquauy « „ contest ,. , , . • ., Nv ite f-unerior rapidity of flight. There is -ne bird, however, vu>. . , ^7 '^ J/^^ve several times is sometimes more than a m^'tch ic. Jini , ana i nav ^^^.^ witnessed his precipitate retreat b<^f „^„*^? ^.^on aS& similar is the Purple Martin, one ^bosef.od and disposition ar p y .^ ■3 his own, but who has greatly the rulvantageotmni o S.^^^ ,ould have IXicn .wUowclby il.» 1 J ' " "J'^J^ ,. oi .he olher exlremil, a. Turarmus borealts, Sw. . Swainson considers undescribed, 0..1y one specimen of tins s.icc.es ^h'^h Mr S^ams„n ^ .^.^ ^^^^ was procurcd'^ It was shot on the ^anks of ihe Wasl^^a c^^^^^^^^^^ considerably King Bird, it is found in the Far ^°"" ""^ ""'^ ",ce C d linsuished from it by smaVlcr than the Tyrannns 'f'-'-/;'l^'f'"X3/,horteV tarsi, as well as by very the forked tail not tipped w> h wh. <;, and much snoric a ^ depressed airtariSi;rtrzsrJr42st,.t..o»,;. T. intrepidus. — En. * TlK-y uro .l,o bacci. .rou-, «» .h..wn by our author in the description of thi. -cie. and T. erinitiu. TYRANT FLYCATCHER, OR KING BIRD. 143 and he is liien as mild and peaceable as any shift for themselves other bird. But he has a wore 3 habit tlian all those,— one much more obnoxious h, the h'labandman, and often fatal to liimself. He loves, not tJie honey, U\it the bees; and, it muat bo confessed, is frequently on tlie look-out, t(.- these little industrious insectd. He plants liimself on a post of rliv ;hnce, or on a small tree in the garden, !iot far from the liives, i i'.d fror-i ;honce sallies on them iia tliey pass and repays, making great havock anv.mg their numbers. His shrill twitter, so near to the house, gives intimation to the firmer of what is going on, and the gun soon closes his career Ibrrjver. Man arrogates to himself, in this case, the exclusive privilege ol" murder ; and, after putting tliousands of these same little insects to death, seizes on the fruits of their labor. The King Birds arrive in Pennsylvania about the ^Otli of April, Bomotimes in small bodies of five and six together, and are at first very silent, until they begin to pair, and build their nest This gener- Blly tiikes place about the first week in May. The nest is very often built in l.he orchard, on the horizontal branch of an apple-tree ; fre- quently also, at Catesby observes, on a sassafras-tree, at no i-reat height from the ground. The outside consists of small slender twigs, tops of withered flowers of tlio plant yarrow, and others, well wove together with tow and wool ; and is made large, and remarkably firm and compact. It is usually lined with fine, dry, fibrous grass, and horse hair. The eggs are five, of a very pale cream color, or dull white, marked witli a few, large spots of deep purple, and other smaller ones of light brown, chiefly, though not altogether, towards the great end. They generally build twice in the season. The King Bird is altogether destitute of song, having only the shrill twitter above mentioned. His usual mode of flight is singular. The vibrations of his broad wings, as lie moves slowly over the fields, resemble those of a Hawk hovering and settling in the air to recon- noitre the ground below ; and the object of the King Bird is no doubt something similar, viz., to look out for passing insects, either in the air, or among the flowers ind blossoms below him. In fields of pasture he often takes his stand on the tops of the mullein, and other rark weeds, near the cattle, and makes occasional sweeps after passing insects, particularly the large, black gadfly, so tenufying to iiorses and cattle. His eye moves restlessly around him, traces the flight of an insect for a moment or two, then that of a second, and even a third, until he perceives one to his liking, wlien, Avith a shrill sweep, he pursues, seizes it, and returns to the same spot again, to look out for more. This habit is so conspicuous when he is watching tlie bee-hive, that several intelligent farmers of my acquaintance are of opinion that he picks out only the drones, !ind never injures the working bees. Be this as it may, he certainly gives a preference to one bee, and one species of insect, over another. He hovers ovor the river, sometimes for a considerable time, darting after insects that frequent such places, snatching them from the surface of the water, and diving about in the air like a Swallow ; for he possesses at will great powers of wing. Numbers of them are frequently seen thus engaged, for hours together, over the Rivers Delaware and Schuylkill, in a calm day, particularly towards e-ening. He bathes himself by diving repeatedly into the ^Wjr 4 % UA TYKANT FLYCATC iER, OR KING BIRD. .ate. fro. the ove..n,in. branches of so.e tre. where he s.t« to t^« '^-f':.-'iLr S^at in destroW -lUt^des of .nse^^^^^^^ S or, if you will, on ^« "'^^^^'/t^-^r multitudes of insects, This bird is greatly hifl friend in d^B^ oyin| i,„i„iy his corn, whose larv-B prey on ^^J^'^'^f.^pk^L These "oxious insecte are fruit-trees, cucumbers, and P"'"P"^''7-_4v8 upon a very moderate £ daily food f^\''r'jZV^Jy &^^-^ ofivery King average, some l^^n^reds of them daiij^ farmer, by multiplying tlie Bird Is therefore an ac ual l^^lJ^J^^'^J the depredations of numbers of destrucUve insecte, and encoumg^ g^ possible his imme- Crowa, Hawks, and Eagles who avoid OB Bird possesses diate vicinity. For myself, I «»"f , ""J'Jthis little bird for his extreme no commonshareof my regard. I honor tm ^^^ unexampled dfectionfor his young; for hiB 23^ are no calls on KS^ a^XSetntthe human race, is 3ustly consid- Bui when the blast ol war, &c., J *«„m fhiq bird for the millions of ruin- but, above all, I honor and esteenitJiis bird tor .^ ^^^^^ ous vermin which he rids^ us of , ;^^l^^^^ birds, would far over- ^^^^^^^^^^ P^e^^dices of somewhat clearer and stronger hgli^DyP poetical epitome of the King Bird s history Whe5e eKxtreme alternalely preva> s, Zd Nature sad their r^^^\}^^^^ '^,,,,,, Lo ! high '» '''^.«''°re;te„VBird hTthIr hastes; With sprin|'s retumhe Kmg B.rd^ ._^ ^^^^^^ Coasts the Tamed Gult, an°;_ , t^d shores, Its thousand streams. Us '"ng-'." „ "„ "v.. jav There cod hi. wandmnf. md hi« ™J • . « of Mexico. TYRANT FLYCATCHER, OR KINO BIRD. Come now, ye cowards ! ye whom Heaven diHdaina, Who boast the happiest home — the richest plains ; On whom, perchance, a wile, an infant's eye Hang as their hope, and on your arm rely ; Yet, when the hour of danger and dismay Comes on your country, sneak in holes away, Shrink from the perils yo were bound to face, And leave those babes and country to disgrace 5 Come here, (if such we have,) ye dastard herd! And kneel in dust before this noble bird. When the specked eggs within his nest appear, Then glows affection, ardent and sincere ; No discord sours him when his mate he meets ; But each warm heart with mutual kindness beats. For her repast he bears along the lea The bloated gadfly, and the balmy bee ; For her repose scours o'er th' ntljacent farm. Whence Hawks might dart, or lurking foes alarm} For now abroad a band of rutiians prey. The Crow, the Cuckoo, and Ih' insidious Jay; These, in the owner's absence, all destroy. And murder every hope and every joy. SoA sits his brooding mate, her guardian he. Perched on the top of some tall, neighboring tree; Thence, from the thicket to the concave skies. His watchful eye around unceasing flies. Wrens, Thrushes, Warblers, startled at his note, Fly in aflVight the consecrated spot. He drives tlie plundering Jay, with honest scorn, Back to his woods ; the Mocker, to his thorn ; Sweeps round the Cuckoo, as the thief retreats ; AttacKs the Crow ; the diving Hawk defeats ; Darts on the Eagle downwards from afar. And, 'midst the clouds, prolongs the whirling war. All danger o'er, he hastens back elate, To guard his post, and leed his faithful mate. Behold him now, his little family flown. Meek, unassuming, silent, and alone ; Lured by the well-known hum of favorite bees, As slowhe hovers o'er the garden trees ; (For all have failings, passions, whims that lead. Some favorite wish, some appetite to feed ;) Straight he alights, and, from the pear-tree, spici* The circling stream of humming insects rise; Selects his prey ; darts on the busy brood, And shrilly twitters o'er his savory food. Ah! ill-limed triumph ! direful note to thee, That guides thy murderer to the fatal tree ; See wliere he skulks ! and takes his gloomy stand. The deep-charged musket hanging in his hand ; And, gaunt for blood, he leans it on a rest, Prepared, and pointed at thy snow-white breast. Ah, friend ! good friend ! forbear that barbarous deed Against it valor, goodness, pity, plead; If e'er a family's griefs, a widow's woe. Have reached thy soul, in mercy let him go ! Yet, should the tear of pity nought avail, Let interest speak, let gratitude prevail ; Kill not thy friend, who thy whole harvest shields, And sweeps ten thousand vermin from thy fields ; Think how this dauntless bird, thy poultry's guara, Drove every Hawk and Eagle from thy yard; 13 45 ! 14 116 TYRANT FLYCATCHER, OR KING BIRD Watched round tliy o atllc as ihey fed, aud slew TIk! hungry, blackening; swarms thai round them flew Some small return — some little ri:j,ht ""'•■ And spare his life whoso services .ire 1 plead in vain ! Amid the hii, . The poor, lost King Bird welter u, bu gore ! Tliis spocies is eight inches long, a..(i fourteen in extent ; tlie gen. eral color above is a darit slaty b.h'' ; the head and tail uro nearly black ; the latter even at the end, and tipped witli white ; tlie wings are more of a brownii-li cast; tho qm Is and wing-coverts are also edged with dull wiiite ; the uppor part K>f the breast is tinprpd '-it>' ash; tho throat, and all the rest of thn lower parts, are r ' ■ ^ . the plumage on the crown, tiiough not forming a crest, w frequently erected, as represented in the plate, and discovers a rich bed of bril- liant orange, or Jlame color, railed by the country people his crown: when the featlicrH lie clurfi;, this is altogetlier concealed. The bill is very broad at the base, c'lionging at the point, and notched, of a glossy black color, and furnished with bristles at the base ; the legs and feet arc black, se inied with gray ; the eye, hazel. The female differs in being more : . unish on the upper parts, has a smaller streak of paler orange on the crown, and a narrower border of duller white on the tail. The yountf bs ds do not receive the orange on the head during their residence here the first season. This bird is very generally known from the Lakes to Florida. Be- sides insect- they feed, like every other species of their tribe with which I am acquainted, on various" sorts of berries, particular'/ black- berries, of which they are extremely fond. Early in September ttiey leave Pennsylvania, on their way to the south. A few days ago, I shot one of these birds, the whole plumage (if which was nearly white, or a little inclining to a cream color ; it was a bird of the present year, and could not be more than a month old. This appeared also to have been its original color, as it issued from tlie "srg. The skin was yellowish white ; the eye, much lighter than usual ;°the legs and bill, blue. It was ]r imp, and seemingly in good order. I presented it to- Mr. Pcale. Wliatever may be i.he cause of this loss of color, if I may so call it, in birds, it is by no mean? uncom- mon among the various tribes that inhabit the United Stati The Sparrow Hawk, Sparrow, Robin, Red-.^ 'ed B' okbird, ' many others, arc occasionally found in white p urnage ; and I belie vo that such birds do not become so by climate, age, or disease, but that tliey are miiversally hatched so. The same phenomena are observable not only among various sorts of animals, hV. ov. a among the ')uman race; and a white negro is no less common, in proportion i,u their numbers, tlian a white Blackbird ; though the precise dause of tliis in eitlier is but little understood. GREAT CHESTED FLYCATCHER. 147 GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. - MUSCICAPA CRINITA. — Fia.54. Linn. Syst 325. -Lath. ii. 357 - Arct. Zool. p. 386, No. 267. -Le Mouche- TYRjtJVJVUS CRIJTITUii.-S WAINSOH, Tyrannus ennitus, Stcain. Monog. Joum. of Science, vol. xx. p. 271. — Muscicaoa crinitu, Bonap. Synop. p. 67. Bv glancing at the physiognomy of thid bird, and the rest of the hgures oi tJie same gonus, it will roadily be observed that they all be- lon^ to one particular family of the same genus. They possess strong traits of their particular cnd magnanimity of the King Bird. He arrives in Pennsylvn.ua early ,n May, and builds his nest in a hollow tree, deserted by Uie Blue-Bird or Woodpecker. The materials of which iJus is forrned are scanty, and rnther novel. One of these nests, now beforf me, is formed of a little loose hay, featliers of the Guinea fowl, hogs histles, pieces of cast snake skins, and dogs' hair. Snake skins with tiiH bird appear t be an indispensable article, for I have "rf#^»S"" • °u® °*' ''' ' '^ '^"•^o"* ^""^ material forming a part " It* Wheti..;, he sun ., in i his nest with this by way of tenonm, lu ,.revent other birds or unimals from entering, or whether it be that he hnds Its silky ■ .ness suitable for his young, is uncertain ; the fact, however, is not. ouo. T n femnle lays four eggs, of a dull cream color, thickly itched purj lines of various tints as if done with a pen. This species is eight incu. .s an- a halllong, and thirteen inches in extent; the upper parts are of a u '< greenish olive; the feathers on the head are pom 'd, centred with dark brown, ragged at the sides, nd form a nd of blowzy crest; the tliroat, and upper parts of the tjreast, delicate ash ; rest of the lower parts, i sulphur yellow • the wing-coverts are palo drab, cross r,d with two h of dull white ' the prinianes are .,f a bright ferruginous, or sonui color; the tail is shirhtly forked, its interior vanes of the same briufit ferruginous as the primaries; the bill is blackish, very much liko that of the King Bird furnished also with bristles ; the eyr is ha/nl ; logs and feet bluish black The femalecan scarcely be d.^tinguishe.!. by its colors^ irom the male. ■' ^ * As I have mentioned at p.-.-e 9'f. O.is fonns tlie li.m.o , , die nests of other birds als- ; and, as the number of snak. h considerable in those unruitivated nnd Woody I'rilliilr ally supposed , t!;t -r i-aslisgg may Eo. ~i a more ^quu:;- riubstitutc ;han is I gen •l •* I ii 148 SMALL i REEN-CRK8TED FLYCATCHER. This bird also foods on berries towards the t-nd of sununor, partJCii- larly on hucklo-berrioM, whicb, during the time tliey hist, scorn to form Uio chief Bustonancc of the youni( birds. I have observed tins speciea nere as late as the lOth of September ; rarely later. They do not, to my knowledge, winter in any of tl»e Southern SUteu. SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER" - MUSCICAPA QUERULA. — Fio. 55. Mu«cicapa subviridin, Bartram, p. -Z»X — Arct. Zool. p. 386, No. 268. — PtaU't Mus' 'n, No. 68^. TYRJiJ^M'UlJi ACADJCA. — &1I hiKton. Muscioapa acadica, Jionap. 8ynop. p. 68. This bird is but little known. It inhabits the deepest, tliick-shaded, Bolitary parts of the woods, sits generally on the lownr branches, otters, every half minute or so, a sudden, shari) squeak, which is heard * This ipeiies, with tlio iwo following of our iimlior, have been scparnlcil from the 'r-vrants, mid placed in a sub-genus, Tyr,.,mula. They ure however, ni reiihi> little 'Piirants.mM agree in their habils, us tur as Ihcir smaller m/o an.! weaker powers enable llicm. Their food is nearly the same, more conhn. I, how- ever, to insects, sufticicnl power being wunling lo overcome any slrongii I'rey. Tvrannula will contain a great many species moat closely allied to each other lu form, size, and color ; so much so, that it is nearly impossible to distiiisn.sh them, wiUioul a comparison of many together. When they are carefully aiial^ d, they seem disUnct, and, the characters being constant, are also ol sufticient spec. he im- Dortance. 'I'hey are natives of both North and South Amenca aiid the adjacent islands: the North American known species are,— those descnbcd by our author, which will be found in another part of ihis volume, one or two figured by iSona- parte, with two new species discoverc.l in the course of the last over-land arctic expedition, and describetl by Mr. Swaiiison in the second volume of the Northern Zooloiry. South America, however, possesses the great host of species, where we may yet expect many novelties. The extent and the closely-allied features of the eroup render diem mosidilViciilt of distinction.* j ,i,„ u„„. Both this form and the Tvrauts are confined to the New World, and the latter mavbesaid to represent the gi.«r some insect, and return to the same spot — aro all close resemblances lo the manners delineated by our aiihor ; and the. resort by streams, bridges, or caves, with the manner and place of building — even the color of the eggs —are not to l.o mistaken. In one instance our Hy- calclier and the Tyrannuhv .lisagrce ; the former posses., no pleasir.g notes; lU only cries are a single, rather harsh and monotonous click -tid a shnll peep I!M •ong of the TyranmdcB u " simple," but " lively." — Ed. WOOD PEWEE FLYCATCHER. ?m head, like that of the two preceding, is loose, subcrested, and of a deep brownish black ; wings and tail, deep dusky ; tlie former edjred, on every feather, with yellowish white, the latter forked, and widening remurkably towards the end ; bill, formed exactly like that of the King Bird ; whole lower parts, a pale, delicate yellow ; legs and bill, wholly black ; iris, hazel. The female is almost exactly like the male, except in having the crest somewhat more brown. This species inhabits from Canada to Florida ; great numbers of them usually wintering in the two Caroiinas and Georgia. In New York they are called "the Phoeby Bird, and are accused of destroying bees. With many people in the country, the arrival of the Pewee serves as a sort of almanac, reminding them that now it is time such and such work should be done. " Whenever the Pewit appears," says Mr. Bartram, " we may plant peas and beans in the open grounds, French beans, sow radishes, onions, and almost every kind of esculent garden seeds, without fear or danger from frosts ; for, although we have sometimes frosts after their first appearance for a night or two, yet not so severe a« to injure the young plants." • WOOD PEWEE FLYCATCHER. - Fig. 57. MUSCICAPA RAPAX.— Muscicapa virens, Linn. Syst. 3^. — Lath. Stm li. 350. Id. Sup. p. 174, No. 82, — Caiesi. i. 54, fig. 1. — Le Gobe-mouche brun de la Caroliiic, Bu'/F. iv. 643. — Muscicapa acadica, Gmel. Syst. i. p. 947. — Arct. Zool. 387 No 270. -Pe«/e's irtweam, No. 6660. oo/, «o. TTRJlJVXUT^ F/BEJVS. — Jardihb. Muscicapa virens, Linn. Syst.'—Bonap. Synop. p. 68. I HAVE given the name Wood Pew^e to this species, lo discrim- inate it from the preceding, wliich it resembles so much in form and plumage as scarcely to be distinguished from it, but by an accurate examination of both. Yet in manners, mode of building, period of migration, and notes, the two species differ ji^reatly. The Pew^e is among the first birds that visit us in spring, frequenting creeks, b"ild- ing in caves, and under arches of bridges ; the Wood Pewe.e, the subject of our present account, is among the latest of our summer birds, seldom arriving before the 12th or IStli of May ; frequenting the shadiest high-timbered woods, where there is little underwood, and abundance of dead twigs and branches shooting across the gloom ; generally in low situations ; builds its nest on theuppcr side of a limb or branch, forming it outwardly of moss, but using no mud, and lining it with various soft materials. The female lays five white eggs ; and the first brood leave the nest about the middle of June. This species is an exceeding expert fly-catcher. It 'oves to ait on • TraveU, p. 28« Il 163 FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. (he high dead branches, amid the gloom of the woods, calhng out in a fe.^fle, plaintive tone, peto way, peto way, pee way; occasionally darting after insects ; sometimes making a circular sweep of thirty or forty yards, snapping up numbers in its way with great adroitness ; and Xrning o itT petition and chant as before. In the latter part of Aurrust, its notes are almost the only ones to be heard in the woods ; about ;hich time, also, it even approaches the «ity, where I have frequently observed it busily engaged under trees, in solitary courts gardens, &c., feedi ug and training its young to their profession About 3ie middle of September, it retires to the south, a full month before *^Lenath, six inches; breadth, ten; back dusky olive inclining tc greenish; head, subcrestcd, and brownish black; tail, forked, and wideninus rufus, Fox-colored Mo.k Bird, North. Zool. II. p. 190. This is the Brown Thrush, or Thrasher, of the Middle and Eastern States, and the French Mocking Bird of Maryland, Virginia, and the • This spocirs, with O. polyghtlos, is the typical form of Mr. Swainson's geiiiis Ort,luZ^ffenU from WrTlus in its longer form, chiefly apparent from the SerTonJh o .1 tail, its rounded and sho'rter win^s, its lone? and hcndmg m.d rproporlim, more slender i.ill. The form is^confincJ to the .^^^^ ^o d mu. v I bP VcDresenled in Africa i)y rroU.-,opus and DomcotniLS. Swam. ; and in Asia aiul AusXlirby /W r^^^^^^^ Horsf."^ They appear to live nearer the ground than S^tmc &she^" frequenting the lower' brushwood ; and U is only during the .pring and breedh'tg season that they mount aloft, to serenade dieir mates Fhe Sm or notes are eeneraliy loud ; some iK.ssess considerable melody, wh.ch, how- ev^ is only exercf^d L a^bove menlione'd ; ..,„ mar.y of the aberrant sproics pos- Ls» only harsh and grating notes, inressfvnlty kept up ; m which respect they ^Sl the more typical Xfrican form and many of the aoualic Warblers ^n the account given by our author of the minncrs of O m/us,yfe perceive a Jjlse resembCe lo^u: Common WackW d The Blackbird ts seldom .een •JSBBBS*^.;- fi*iiri ^&^:- FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. 153 arrives in Pennsylvania anH fi-nm fi^P r »■ ^'^^ blossom, he fras, apple or chSry-tre^^^^^^^ °^ our hed-re-rows, sassa- char.r„^son,,wJK7o'utX^^^^^^^^^^^^ serene hour, you may plainly distinguish his vo 4 fuHv h;ift\ mi resemblance to the \'otes oTthe S I^tT" I ?^ considerable Britain. Early in Mav he h ni M^ IW^" T 'u^^ (Tvrdus musicus) of cedar, thicket ^bS cLwooH 1?''*' ''''"'f "^ '' *^°^" ^"^f>' '«^ situation, .-nerillyTwt|.i^S'fe7 f a "^^^^^^^^ O r^^^*""''- ''' constructed of small sticks • then hvLl %^i , ^"^^^"'^ly. it is lined with fine, fibrou. roots but wZf '^T '''^^^'' ""''' ^«^tly, five, thickly sprinK,r.rhVruli2 1T„{ ^^'^'''' '^'^^ "^^^""^ ^'« ground. They generally Lve tin h'nF' "" '^ """"'y P^'° ""^^^ that build near the Sd ho «h^ '" f '''^'""- ^"^^ ^" ^^'^'^^ with them, are sure to suffer He s .Vpn^.T I "" '"''' '"*^^t scratchincr up the hills nf rnWinn„ '^-^ccised, by some people, of partly true : but for evly Vr^?'^"/"™' '" P'^^"!''"^ t"«e ; this ma^ be Ltr^oys five il?redTnJo?™7art?cXlv?l'''"' r^ persuaded'he with / black head, which S £e pe'mVou Tth '''^""'°''^^ ^™'^' gi^m and vegetables, than nine "LSis o ' ," Ihob S^^ '^''' He IS an active, vigorous bird, flies jr^neml v In^v f ^^'^thered race, another, with his Ion.., broad tail sDrf;dlik?. f ' ^'^°™ ""^ thicket to brier and bramble busheTaTonrw^^^^^^^^ chuck, when you approach h? ner Tnll ? ''"^"'^ "'^^e or numerous, but never flyin flocks AbouJ fhl ""2^*"?' '^^> "^'^ or as soon as they hav^ we 1 recovere 1 fr "'^'^^le of September, they suffer severely, the/disappe.rrrthpil«" T"'"""' ^" ^^^ch the southern parts^'of VirSr;nd ^ot?h «Tf ^" P«^^«'"? through depth of winter, I found tC 1 n.erin" in ll !h ''' P^.''S^^> in the ticu,ar,y on the border of swa^m;^3"iJ^.'^''^[h1 fiSTK; a rife^Tr it'a^rirrLtsin^^ 'v -->■ or season, lis only note is that of alarm shHnrd m„lV t' 'T'; ""'''^'^ «' "»« manner ofaUt, wl.en raised from ooicr a on^ a & ""' " •""'' " '"''"'•'■• '''<•« ln,l cxpande.?, is also similar ; we have^ms tv (f u3 f °' """""^ ^"*''«'*' *'"' '^e varyin,^ deodedly i„ form, ,/ut agrcdng Im^; c^.fircl v i:':'?al'':r ^rf''''''' ^'""'^"• 111". lies, apm, possess nucii more acHvi v " h^^l^f, /'"' ff'f S:arious con:|try, and protect themselves i,v viei'a.K • „ 'l . ? ' u""1"' "' ""-• "P*"" This species v.-as met bv Dr. Ricba d o ' ■ ' m'"' »'='' '•""'•-■almcnt Pennsylvania to the Saskatchewan but Dr ^V., .** J^" ""''••■. " "^^"''•"^^ ^om ^"'aiS S th. sweet sLr-tions of r rhoa eXabundince is, as it were, .ho.^ring --ou..;- us Sl^|;kS/Lrthea.inun.on^ this excel out .rd-^; e Me.. ' J^s "f ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^ nlT ?h" n n b SiVX, amids't . .ch scenes, and in such^.ea.ons *:" Surt "e fe in "s a'rde'^^^^^ thatUte, which neither the charms or„!:;u;Vnor the 'melody of innocence, nor the voice of grat- ''th^"!^'mh:;bS;'^o"h'Amorica,irom Canada to the pdntof Flor- idZ 'IM ey a ' ea'ly reared, and become very familiar when kept in Ida. i ney ^r j. j ^ j^^^^ ^^^^,^ ^ few in- S"; wll.?tfy s n^nconLm as nnich energy as in tfeir na We vo iT Thny ou.ht frequently to have earth and gravel Sr^n in to them, and have plenty of water to bathe n The Ferrugmous T^-^ ,. c evx.^^^^^^^^^^ S'crse \ ith bafs':;- !S, relieved wfth bjack ; tips and ^nlr vanes of the win-., dusky ; tail, very long, rounded at the end, S-^d and of tl e same^reddiBirUown as the back; whole lojver parte, veHowiTh white • the breast, and sides under the wmgs beautiMly marS wilh Ion-, pointed spots of black, running in chains; dun, white bTllverylong and stout, not notched, the upper mandible over- h^n'n-e lower a^'little, and besot with strong bristles at tl>e ba^e, hffi^if,ove and whitish bdo w, near the base ; legs, remarkably strong, r>cLic very "v ne and docile. I irequently let Inm out o his cage to tod it Re ro.o,vo,fof pii^on ];*«/,? '7;;w,»;;j*-^^ v.rpv When in his cag*-, being very fond of dry crusts nt nreau, ii, S Jn 'rS tTe CO n--rs Sf the crumbs were too hard and sharp for his Toat^^he would throw thorn up, carry, and put them in his ^vater d sh Tl^:-, then take them out^..d^swdU>wU^^^^^^^^^ markttUie eircuiDsiaiiuca nugnwv ..^ G(.). DEN-CROWNED THRUSH 155 Btrate faculties of mind; not only innate, but acquired ideas rdpriv«^ arrange and apply them in a rational mar.ner, accoS to cire^' llflV f fr' ""'''• ^''\^ ^^"^'^t hhn! Here the SraTrce Jed hr" the effect, the cause and then took tlie quickest, the m^ost effectuaf and agreeable method to remove that cause. What coTd the wtS .nan have done better? Call it reason, or instinct, it is he same th2 ' ^^f^^"" T"" '"""''^ ''^^« •^one in this case. ^"^ wasifs He founTh!"'""""""' ''^"! ^"^^^""^'l ^^'^h respect to the wasps, tie tound, by experience and observation th-.t /ha flrcf k attempted to swallow iart his throat, and gS^exre^^ upon examination, observed that the extremity of the abdomen ll' armed with a poisonous sting ; and, after this dLovery, neverTenT ed to swallow a wasp until he first pinched his .bdomen S the ex tremity, forcing out the sting, with the receptacle of po™son." It IS certainly a circumstance highly honorable to tlie character of Ke\aidthrn.''r'''' ?^'^' ^''•^^°'"° ^^"timents, that those ^h^ fhJir^^ f niost minute attention to their manned, are uniformly their advocates and admirers. "He must," said a gentleman to me Je other day when speaking of another person, "" he must be a good man ; for those who have long known him, and are moS intimate witli him, respect h.m greatly, and always speak well of E " *^ GOLDEN-CttOWNED THRUSH.* _TURL»US A UROCAPILI.US. — Fig . 59. de S . Domingue, Buff. ,ii. 317. PI. enl. m.-Arct. Zool p. o3^\^ m -t 3EIURUS AVROCJiPILLUS. - Swains,.:, Sylvia aurocapilla, Bonap. Synop. p. 77. - SeiOrus aurooapillus. North. Zoo/, ii. 227. Thocgh the epithet Golden-crotvned is not very suitable for this bird, that part of the head being rather of a brownish range, yet, to avoid confusion, I have retained it ^ ^^ * TW'S curiou.s specie*, with the «. aquaticus. No. 109, and some others Hit' reus and in form and structure to some of the Wartilers The mannprs of « atiuattcus. asrain. res«mhl<. m«« .i^=« „<• .u. «.-"? > "^'?- . ■"? manners o» ». -~~^ •■' ""^ "• 3s;tni:3 ; oui It nas soiiiew&ai of r ii 156 GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH. This 18 also a migratory species, arriving m Pennsylvania late in April, and leaving ua again late in September. It is altogether an inhabitant of the woods, runs along the ground like a lark, and even along the horizontal branches, frequently moving its tail in the man- ner of the Wagtails. It has no song, but a shrill, energetic twitter, formed by the rapid reiteration of two notes, pech£, ptcU, peche, for a quarter of a minute at a time. It builds a snug, somewhat singular nest, on the ground, in tlie woods, generally on a declivity facing the south. This is formed of leaves and dry grass, and lined with hair. Though sunk below tiie surface, it is arched over, and only a small liole left for entrance: the eggs are four, sometimes five, white, irregularly spotted with reddish brown, chiefly near the great ond When alarmed, it escapes from the nest with great silence and rapidity, running along the ground like a mouse, as if afraid to tread too heavily on the leaves ; if you stop to examine its nest, it also stops, droops its wings, flutters, and tumbles along, as if hardly able to crawl, looking back now and then to see whether you are taking notice of it. If you slowlv follow, it leads you fifty or sixty yards off, in a direct line from its nest, seeming at every advance to be gaining fresh strength ; and when it thinks it has decoyed you to a sufiicieiit distance, it suddenly wlieels off and disappears. This kind of decep- tion is practised by many other species of birds that build on the ground ; and is sometimes so adroitly performed, as actually to have the desired eflfect of securing the safety of its nest and young. This is one of those birds frequently selected by the Cow-Pen Bunting to be the foster parent of its young. Into the nest of this bird the Cow Bird deposits its egg, and leaves the result to the meroy and management of the Tlirush, who generally performs tlie part of a faithful and affectionate nurse to the foundling. The Golden-crowned Thrush is six inches long, and nine in extent ; tlie whole upper parts, except tlic crown and hind head, are a rich yellow olive ; the tips of tlie wings, and inner vanes of the quills, are dusky brown ; from the nostrils, a black strip pusses to the hind head on each side, between which lies a bed -.^f brownish orange ; the sides of the neck are whitish ; the whole lower parts, white, except the breast, which is handsomely marked with pointed spots of black, oi deep brown, as in thu figure ; round the t-ye is a narrow nng of yel- lowish white; legs, pale flesh color ; bill, dusky above, whjaish below. The female has the orange uii Uie crown consuierabiy paler. This uird might witii propriety be ram^^ed w ah the WitntaiLs, its notes, manners, arod hahit ol buihiing im the grouEd being rtinular to these. It usually hatcbes twice in the reason ; reeds on smaJi bugs and the larvce of insects, which it chiefly gathers from the ground. It is verv generally diffused over the United Slates, and winters in Jamaica, Hispani'ola, and other islands of tue West Indies. the true Thrusli in percning high, and in po»!ie*.«-nc a sweei and pensive sonp. Wp have, therefore, in shape, rotor, and some t« the teaits. an allianee lo the "nTrushes, while the ctilors and tbeir distribution aefree i>mi\ with MenUa and An- tha, and in their primipal f^conom-v a combiii— ii»i of th» Sylvian-", anci Motanl- Zona, — altogether a most mierea^ form; whib in the orwctwe of their nest, and the coU)r of the ejrgs, they agree «tih the Wre» Mr. "^wataion has made fiOM U hU imnus Sa&fUS. — ^D. CAT BIRD. J57 CAT B1RD/-TURDUS LIVIDUS.-Fig. 60. de Virgn.e, Buff: iv^2. _ Lucar liviilus, apice i.i-fra, The Cat Brrd, or Chicken Bird, Bartram, p. 290. — Peak's Museum, Is. nlarm.n? o r feathered tenantn of the bn.hes than the cry of firo o, .m.r or n fL lfrPPt« \h to the inlmbitaiil^ of a largo and populous cit:^. On su Ui tSns7alaS.'a"d constornation, L Cat B.rd is tho r.t to .na o his appearance, not sinfrly, h"t Hometmies half a dozen. ^^ ^ flvinff from diflorcnt quarters to the spot. At this time, those wiio are dfsDoscd tT> play with his feelin-. n.ay almost throw him into hts his Son and alatioii are bo -^rcat, at the distressful cr.es ,,f what he TppZ to be\iH suffering yf n,. Other birds -o v«nous y affe to^^ but n..ne show symptoms of such extreme suttering. 1 1- humcs backwards and forwards, with hansring wings and open mouln, cal mg mit louder and faster, and actually scream-ng witli distress, till he aopears hoarse with his e.Kertion9. He attempts no offensive means but he bewaTls-he in,plores-in the most pathetic terms with winch nature hL supplied him, and with an agony of feeling which is truly uffectinr EvJry feathered neighbor within hearing hastens to th ■ pkce to learn the cause of the alarm, peeping about «»thb"kso^^ Consternation and sympathy. But their own powerful P^rc"^ /u^ - and domestic concerns soon oblige each to withdrew. At any otlK r season the most perfect imitations have no effect whatever on him. The Cat Bird will not easily desert its nest. I took two eggs from one which was sitting, and in their place put two of the Brown Thru^ or Thrasher, arid took my o.and at a convenient distance, o see how she would behave. In a minute or two, the male made his anoroaches, stooped down, and looked earnestly at the strange eggs, SeTflew ^ff to^ his mate', who was npt__fardisUnt with whom 1^^^^^ seemed to have some ctmversati greatest gentleness took out bot': then tiie otlier, carried them - them among the bushes. I then and, soon after, the femulo resici; From the nest >f another Cat .d instantly returning, with ^he ;^. Tiirasher's eggs, first one and ..,'■ -bout thirty yards, and dropped retu:- led the two eggs I had taken, ■i' ; iT place on the nest as before, rrom me ne«, m .u,uu... ..... bi^., I took two half-fledged young, and placed them m that of another, which was s.ttmg on live eggs She soon turned them both ..ut. The place where f ^ "f J-^^^"/^ beincr far from the ground, they were little injured, and the male, observing tShelpkJs situ'alion; began to feed them with great ossi- 'IVmlJ^UheS of a Cat Bird, which co.Uained four egg«, neari, hatched, from a fox grape vine, and fixed it firmly and carefu y ml thicket of briers close by, without injuring its contents, \nle.s than half an hour I returned, and found it again occupied by the temale. Tlte Ca Bird is one of our earliest morniug songsters, begmini^ eenerallv before break of day, and hovenng from bush to bush, with lr.Tsp?ightli.>css, when there ,s scarce light sufficient to distinguish L flis^notes are more remarkable for singularity than for melody. Thev consist of sb .rt imitations of other birds, and other stumds; but, his pipe being rather deficient in clearness and strength of tone, lus imitat ons faFl where these arc requisite. Yet he is not easily dis- c™ 1, but seems to study certain passages with great persever- anccfut oring them at fir.t low, and, as he succeeds, higher and more CAT niRD, 159 i free, nowiHi- embarrassed uy tK .scnce d'" a spectator even within a few yards of him. On nttciitivt .y listeiiii, 1)r Momi- time to him, one can perceive considerablu v.iioty in his (h iorrn ice, in which he seems to introduce all tin- odd iinndn iind qiMiut pussagt's he has been able to coll. t. Upon the whD'o, thoii',t in the ronntry is with- out its '"at Bird-t; and w<>re tlioy't) lly in lloclcs. like miiiv ot.h. .■ birds, tlioy would darken the air with their ninnbcrs, Utit thfirL.ijr'a- tions arc seldom obs i ,nd, owiii^r to their ^Tadiial pioirress and re", .s sion, in Hprinjr and autumn, to and from tiieir brcodin.^ places. They enter Goonna ' w in February, and re;ich New Kjurlaiid about ' .- beginning of May. [n their miirrations, they kcp^pace «i[i progress of agriculture; "1 the first settlei-a in many jjarls oi Gcnnesee country, have lui me. Miat it was several years after removed there, before the Cat Bird made iii^ apix'arancc among th With all these amiable qualities to recommend him, ['aw people ir : country respect the ("at Bird; vn the contrary, it is generally the object ■ dislike ; and the boys of the United States ent'rtain the me judice and c .iteim.t for tlii^ bird, its n.'st and young, as H of Britain do for th Vello'v Hammer, and its nest, eggs, and y i\g, I am ut a loss h •m\\ lor tln-< cnirl prejudice!'' Even by whom - • ■ ... Cat Bird liate Dutchmen, i.Vc., ■ thune by whom it is ontert : an tirarcoly tell \o\\ why ; only thoy "hr'te Cat Birds;" a.s soinu |nraons tell yon they " th ■expression- that besp.. te Frenchmen, their own nar rowiuss of understanding, and « uit ot liberality. Yet, after ruim nating over in my own mind all t;e> probable caiis'.s, I think I have at last hit on some of them ; the principal of which seems to me to be a certain similarity of taste, and clashing of interest, between the Cat Bird and the fanner. The Cat Bird is fond of larue, ripe garden strawberries ; so is tlio tanner, for the good price"^ they brim" in market : the Cut Bird loves the best and richest early cherries 1, so does the farmer, for they are sometimes the most profitable of his early fruit: the Cat Bird lias a particular partiality for the finest, ripe, mellow pears ; and these are also particular favorites with the farmer. But tin; Cat Bird lias frequently the advantage of the farmer, by snatching off the first fruits of these delicious productions ; ;>nd the farmer takes revenge, by shooting him down with his -run, as ; finds old hats, windmills, ami scarecrows, are no impedim ls in li,-, way to tliese forbidden fruits ; and nothing but this resource — thf altirnatum of farmers as well as kings — can restrain his visits, ' .e boys are now set to watch the cherry-trees with the gun : and , commences a train of prejudices and antipathies, that commonly cuutinue tlirouirh life. Perhaps, too, the common note of the Cat Bird, so like the mewing of the animal wh ' name it bears, and who itself sustains no small share of prejudice, t,ie Homeliness of his plumage, and even his familiarity, so proverbially known to beget contempt, may also con- tribute to this mean, illiberal, and persecuting prejudice ; but, with tlie generous and the good, the lovers of nature and of rural charms, the confidence which tliis familiar bird places in man by building in ^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. /ML// i'^^ M 1.0 I.I l^|2B 12.5 Ko mil 2.0 - 6" 22 1.8 L25 il.4 IIIIII.6 ^> .%^.#/ Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTEU.N.Y. MiBO (716) 872-4503 0 % 'u9 \ 160 CAT BIRD. bis ffarden, under hh eye, the music of his song, and the interesting playfulness of his manners, will always be more than a recompense for all the little stolen morsels he snatchr^s. The Cat Bird measures nino inches in length ; at a small distance he appears nearly black; but, on a closer examination, is ot a deep slate color above, lightest on tlie edges of the primaries, and of a considerably lighter slate color below, except the under tail-covcrts which are very dark red ; the tail, which is rounded, and upper part of the head, as well as the legs and bill, are black. The female differs little in color from the male. Latham takes notice of a bird, exactly resembling this, being found at Kamtschatka, only it wanted tiie red under the tail. Probably it might have been a young bird, m which the red is scarcely observable. ., m . u This bird has been very improperly classed among tiie 1- lycatchers. As he never seizes his prey on wing, has none of their manners, feeds priPcipally on fruit, and seems to differ so little from the Thrushes, 1 think he more properly belongs to the latter tribe, than to anjr other oenus we have. His "bill, legs, and feet, place and mode of building, tiie color of the eggs, his imitative notes, food, and general manners, all iustifv me in removing him to this genus. , • , wu The Cat Bird is one of those unfortunate victims, and mdeec the principal, against which credulity and ignorance have so otlen directed the fascinating quality of the black snak<^ A multitude of marvellous stories have b.;en told me by people who have themselves seen the poor Cat Birds drawn, or sucked, as they sometimes express it, from the tops of the trees, (which, by the by, the Cat Bird rarely visits,) one by one into the yawning mouth of tiie immovable snake. It has so happened with me that, in all the adventures of this kind that I have personally witnessed, the Cat Bird was actually the assailant, and always the successful one. These rencounters never take place but during the breeding time of birds ; for whose e^gs and youn^ the snake lia.s a particular partiality. It is no wonder that those^spccies, whose nests are usually built near the ground, should be the greatest sufferers, and the most solicitous for their safety : hence the cause why the Cat Bird makes such a distinguished figure in most of these marvellous narrations. That a poisonous snake will strike a bird or mouse, and allow it to remain till nearly expiring before he begins to devour it, our observations on the living rattle- snake, at present [1811] kept by Mr. Peale, satisfy us is a fact ; but that the sime snake, with eyes, breath, or any other known quality he possesses, should be capable of drawmg a bird, reluctantly, f^rom the tree tops to its mouth, is an absurdity too great for me to swallow. I am led to these observations by a note which I received tins morning from my worthy friend Mr. Bartram: « Yesterday, says this gentleman, " I observed a conflict, or contest, between a Cat Bird and I snake. It took place in a gravel walk in the garden near a dry wall of stone. I was within a few yards of the combatants. 1 he bird pounced or darted upon the snake, snapping his bill ; the snake would then draw himself quickly into a coil, ready for a blow ; but the bird would cautiously circumvent him at a little distance, nmv and then running up to, and snapping at him ; but keeping at a sufficient distance to avoid a blow. After some minutes, it became a runmng -4 BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. 161 SVJrZJ'L?"''^^'"^' ^"^' f {^'^ ^'' took shelter in the wall. «%hl k'' y'T" °"^.l!" t'^^ ''"^^'^^ "«" th' field of battle. "This may show the possibility of poisonous snakes bitin breadth of red in both, and is less than either. A preserved specimen lias been deposited in the Museum of Phila- delphia. This Woodpecker is seven inches and a half long, and thirteen broad ; the upper part of the head is black ; the back barred with twelve white transversely semicircular lines, and as many of black, alternately ; the cheeks and sides of the nock are white ; whole lower parts, the eamo ; from the lower mandible, a list of black passes towards the shoulder of the wintr, where it is lost in small black spots on each side of the breast; the wings are black, spotted with white; the four middle tail-foathcrs, black; the rest white, spotted with black; rump, black, variegated with white; the vent, white, spotted with black ; the hairs that cover the nostrils are of a pale cream color; the bill, deep slate. But what forms the most distinguishing peculiarity of tills bird, is a fine line of vermilion on each side of the head, sel- dom occupying more than the edge of a single feather. The female is destitute of this ornament; but, in the rest of her plumage, differs in nothing from the male. The iris of the eye, in both, was hazel. The stomachs of all those I opened were filled with small black insects and fragments o*" large beetles. The posterior extremities of the tongue reached near y to the base of the upper mandible. BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. 165 BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. _ SITTA PUSILLA.-Fio. 65 /<«#. V. 4n4,. — PeaU's Museum, No. 2040. — flns*. iii. ^Xiii.— Latli. i. 051,0' S/7'7-.a PUSIU^. _ Latham. Silta pusilla, Bonap. Stjnop. p. 97. This bird is chiefly an inhabitant of Virginia and the Southern States, and seems particularly fond of pine-trees. I l,ave never m discovered it either m Pennsylvania or any of the regions north^of this Its manners are very similar to those of tlie Red-bellied Nut- hatch represented in No. 7; but its notes are more shrill and chirp- ing. In the countries it inhabits it is a constant resideir andfn Tnn T "^f^tes with parties, of eight or ten, of its ov. u species, tl^ hunt busily from tree to tree, keeping up a perpetual ^creepinu-. ' K f'equen companion of the Woodpecker figured beside it: and you rarely find the one in the woods without observing or hearino-'the other not far off It climbs equally in every direction, on tlie smaller brancSs fnJ'f '' «n the body of the tree, in search of its favorite fooTsn all insects and their larvE. It also feeds on the seeds of the Dine-tree I have never met with its nest. ^ This species is four inches and a quarter long, and ei-rht broad • the ^^■hole upper part of the head and neck, from the bill to the back,' and as far down as the eyes, is light brown, or pale ferruginous, shaded with darker touches with the exception 'of a spot of white Aear the back; from the nostril through ti.e eyes, the brown is deepest, mi n^ a very observable line there; the chin, and sides of the neck 3 i«^f ; "T 'i'f ' ^^^ '''"^'' '^"'^i^ 5 ^^ '^"v^rts and three seconda- £ rp?lS ''^^' " '^^*' "r lead color, which is also the color of the rest of the upper parts ; the tail is nearly even at the end, the two middle feathers slate color, the others black, tipped with slate' and crossed diagoimlly with a streak of white; legs and feet, dull blue upper mandible, black; lower, blue at the base; iris, haze ThJ female differs in having the brown on the head rather darker, and the hne through the eye less conspicuous. ' beJrI'iill'nfTiyj p''*^ '' ^'"'? ""^'•''''^ ^" '^''^^''y' ^"'l ^f'^t little has been said of it by Europeans is not much to its credit It is charac- terized as "a very stupid bird," which may easily be knockerdown from the sides of the tree, with one's cane.' I confess I foundTt a v Jry S^Trffi^^f' ^"V^-^Nand restless in its motions as to be nP In L^'"^*^- ^'T* 1" ^"^y ^'"'^'1 ^''^^ '^^"^ 1«^«« suspicious of man than large ones ; but that activity and restless diligence should constitute stupidity, ,s rather a new doctrine. Upon the whole, I am of opinion, that a person who should undertake the destruction of these birds at even a dollar a head for all he knocked down with his cane, would run a fair chance of starving by his profession.* • In our note at page 24, wo mentioned that the American Xulhatcdes and that of Europe were the onlyspec.es known. M. Vigors has since described,! ^e I : lit ,1 JG6 PIGEON HAWK. PIGION HAWK — FALCO COLUMBARIUS — Fio. 66. — Malk. Linn. Syst. p. 128, No. ^.— Lath. 8m. i. p. 101, No. 86.— L'Epervier do la Caroline, Briss. Om. i. p. 238. — Ca/cs6 i. p. 3, t. 3.— Bartram, p. 290.— Turton, Sysl. i. p. 16± — Prate's Museum, No. 362. FJiLCO COLUMBARIOS. — Lii»njid». Pieeon Hawk, Penn. Arct. Zool. ii. 222. — Falco Columbarius, Borwp. Synop. p. 28. — North. Zool. ii. p. 35. This small Hawk possesses ^eat spirit and rapidity of flight. He is generally migratory in the Middle and Northern States, arriving in Pennsylvania early in spring, and extending his migrations as far north as Hudson's Bay. After building, and rearing his young, he retires to the south early in November. Small birds and mice are his principal food. When the Reed Birds, Graklea, and Red-winged Blackbirds congrogute in large flights, he is often observed hovering in their rear, or on their flanks, picking up the weak, the wounded, or stragglers, and frequently making a sudden and fatal sweep into the very midst of their multitudes. The flocks of Robins and Pigeons are honored with the same attentions from this marauder, whose daily excursions are entirely regulated by the movements of the great body on whose unfortunate members he fattens. The individual from which the drawing on the plate was taken, was shot in the meadows below Phil- adelphia in the month of August He was carrying off" a Blackbird (Oriolus phaniceus) from the flock, and, though mortally wounded and dying, held his prey fast till his last expiring breath, having struck his claws into its very heart This was found to be a male. Sometimes when shot at, and not hurt, he will fly in circles over the sportsman's head, shrieking out with great violence, as if highly irritated. He fre- quently flies low, skimming a little above the field. I have never seen his nest* The Pigeon Hawk is eleven inches long, and twenty-three broad ; the whole upper parts are of a deep dark brown, except the tail, which is crossed with bars of white ; the inner vanes of the quill-feathers are marked with round spots of reddish brown : the bill is short, strongly toothed, of a light blue color, and tipped with black ; the skin surround- ing the eye, greenish ; cere, the same ; temples and line over the eye, proceedings of the Comniillcc of Science of tlic Zoological Society, one under the name of Sitta caslaneoventn.i, from India, which, if Irnc to the type, may prove an addition. In the same place, that gentleman also describes a second species of Certhia, (C. spilomita,) but adds, '' the tail of this bird is soft and ncxible." We have noticed, in a former note, the C. familiaris as the oirly known species, and we doubt if that now mentioned can ranlc with it. — En. * Mr. Hutchins, in his notes on the Hudson's Bay birds, informs us thai this spe- cies makes its nest in hollow rocks and trees, of .sticks and grass, lined with feathert, laying from two to four white eggs, thinly marked with red spots. "This species has the form oi the Falcons, with the bill strongly toothed, bM •omewhat of the plumage of the Sparrow Hawks. The color of the eggs is alw (hat of Ike lauer. — Ed. BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER. 167 lighter brown ; the lower parts, brownish white, streaked latorallv with dark brown ; legs, yellow ; claws, black. The female is an inch and a half longer, of a still deeper color, though marked nearly in the same manner, with the exception of some white on the hind head The femoral, or thigh feathers, in hoth are of a remarkable lenrrth reaching nearly to the feet, ard are also streaked longitudinally with dark brown. The iridcs of the eyes of this bird have been hitherto described as being of a brilliant yellow ; but every specimen I have yet mot with had the iris of a deep hazel. I must therefore follow nature, in opposition to very numerous and respectable autliorities. I cannot, in imitation of European naturalists, embellish the hi-story of this species with anecdotes of its exploits in falconry. This science, if it may be so called, is among the few that have never yet travelled across the Atlantic; neither does it appear that the idea of training our Hawks or Eagles to the chase, ever sugjrested itself to any of the Indian nations of North America. The Tartars, however from whom, according to certain writers, many of these nations originated, have long excelled in the practice of this sport, which is indeed better suited to an open country than to one covered with forest Though once so honorable and so universal, it is now much disused in Europe, and in Britain is nearly extinct. Ytt I cannot but consider it as a much more noble and princely amusement than horse-racing and cock-fighting, cultivated in certain states with so much care; or even than pugilism, which is still so highly patronized 18 some of those enlightened countries. BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER. — Fio.67. -SYLVIA SOLITARIA. Panis aureus alis coeruleis, Bartram, p. "in. — Edw. pi. 2T7, upper firare —1 ne Warbler, Arct. Zool. p. 412. No. 318. — Pealed Museum, iSo.l307. VERMIVORA SOLITARIA Swainsow. Sylvia solitaria, Bomp. Synop. p. 87. — The Blue-winged Yellow Warbler Aud. pi. 20, Orn. Biog. i. 102. ' This bird has been mistaken for the Pine Creeper of Catesby. It is a very different species. It comes to us early in May from the south ; haunts thickets and shrubber 3s, searchinjr the branches for insects ; is fond of visiting gardens, orchards, and willow-trees, of gleaning among blossoms and currant bushes ; and is frequently found in very sequestered woods, where it generally builds its nest. This is fixed in a thick bunch or tussock of long grass, sometimes sheltered by a brier bush. It is built in the form of an inverted cone, or funnel, the bottom thickly bedded with dry beech leaves, the sides formed of the dry bark of strong weeds, lined within with fine, dry grass. These "^^^IWI 168 BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER. materials arc not placed in the usual manner, circularly, b it shelvinjf downwards on all sides from tJie top ; tiio mouth beinjy wide, the bot- tom very narrow, filled with leaves, and the eggs or young occupying the middle. The female lays five eggs, pure white, with a few very faint dots of reddish near the great end ; the young appear the first week in June I am not certain whether they raise a second brood in tlic same season. I have met witli Heveral of tliose ncats, always in a retired, though open, part of the woods, nnd very similar to each other. The first specimen of this bird taken notice of by European writers was transmitted, with many others, by Mr. William fiartram to Mr. Edwards, by whom it w&^ drawn and etched in the 277th plate of his Ornithology. In hi remarks on this bird, he seems at a loss to deter- mine whether it is not tlie Fine Creeper of Catesby ;* a difficulty occasioned by the very imperfect coloring and figure of Catesby'a bird. The Pme Creeper, however, is a much larger bird ; is of a dark yellow olive above, and orange yellow below ; has all the habits of a Creeper, alighting on the trunks of the pine-trees, running nimbly round them, and, according to Mr. Abbot, builds a pensile nest I observed thousands of them in the pine woods of Carolina and Georgia, where they are resident, but have never met with them in any part of Pennsylvania. This species is five inches and a half long, and seven and a half broad; hind head, and whole back, a rich green olive; crown and front, orange yellow; whole lower parts, yellow, except the vent- feathers, which are white ; bill, black above, lighter below ; lores, black ; the form of the bill approximates a little to that of the Finch ; wings and tail, deep brown, broadly edged with pale slate, which makes them appear wholly of that tint, except at the tips ; first and second row of coverts, tipped with white slightly stained with yellow ; the three exterior tail-feathers have their inner vanes nearly all white ; legs, pale bluish; feet, dirty yellow; the two middle tail-feathers are pale slate. The female differ? very little in color from the male. Tliis species vi^ry much resembles the Prothonotary Warbler of Pennant and Buffon ; the only diflTerence I can perceive, on comparing specimens of each, is, tliat the yellow of the Prothonotary is more of an orange tint, a>i:d the bird somewhat larger. * Catesbt, Car. vol. i. pi. 6L ^1 •t I ■** w ir fo m ar of BLUB-EYED YELLOW WARBLER. 1« I BLUE-EYED YELLOW WARBLER. -SYLVIA CITRINELLA — Fio. 68. Vellow-Poll Warbler, ^i^Sf ^°' "■ N»- I'ia.-Arct. Zool p 402 No SM Lo Figuier ••'c leU;. Buff, bit v n fiUi m„.» ii /■ P"^' ^^'*' *^'~~' aYLVlCOLA JESTiyjl. -^MfiHton. Sylvia «.tiva, Bon,^p. Synop. p. 83. - Sylvicola ««iva. Norlh. Zool. ii. p. 212. This ia a very common summer species, and appears almost alwava Bnow-ba!l shrul), and poplara, searcliing atler small croen cateSL™' which are ita principal food. It has a few shrill noto8%tte3wUh emphasis, but not deserving the name of song. iraSvesTn pln ;£H '''°S.''*%^«'^''"'""u« "'' ^^'y' "^"d dep^arts aga^n fo the sS about the middle of September. According to Latham, it is numeZiJ in Guiana, and is also f^und in Canada. Itis a very sSiih ?v ^9^80? c.ous,and familiar little bird; is often seen in aTXut^' ZdeS* among the blossoms of fruit-trees and shrubberies ; and? on fccoum of Its color, 18 very noticeable. lu. nest is built with grearneatness generally in the triangular fork of a small shrub, near ?r among bS bushes. Outwardly it is composed of flax or ow, in thidt c1rc„W layers, strong y twisted round'^the twigs that rise 'through its 5Si" stetk of f^rnThf .*'"'■ ^""^ }^' ^°^«*^"""y ^"''^tanfe from S stalks of fern. The egga are four or five, of a dull white thicklv sprinkled near tlie great end with specks of pale brown They raS wo broods in the season. This littfo bird, likE many others wilfS lameness to draw you away from its nest, stretchfnrouJ'Ws 3 ?nA^ -^"d bendfing down his tail, until it trails aW the branch and flittenno, feebly along, to draw you after him ; someSraee loSff back, to see if you are folFowing him, and returning back to repeat the same mancBuvres, in order to attract your attenUon The rnJL i« most remarkable for this practice. "^ «nenuon. 1 he male is The Blue-eyed Warbler is five inches long, and seven broad- hind head and back greenish yellow ; crown, front and whole lower 'pSte rich golden yellow ; breas' and sides, streaked laterally with dark red ' wings and ta,^ deep brown, except the edges of the &, and the inner vanes of the fatter, which are yellow ; the tail s also sShdv forked ; legs a pale clay color; bill and eyelids, 1 ght blue The fe^ ;;; 1'!°*^ " ^r ^""r * y^""'^' ''"^^ ^« ^^^^-^^s ofred "n the bre^ are fewer and more obscure. Buffon is mistaken in supposing No 1 of PI. enl. plate Ivm. to be the female of this species. ^^^'°^ ^^''' ' 15 170 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. - SYLVIA CHRYSOPTERA. — Fia. 69. Edm 299 -Le Figuier aux ailes dorees, Buff. v. 311.- LaOi. f-J^-rZ^^^ rw 401 No 296 lb. No. 296. — Motacilla chrysoptera, Turt. St^st. «• 897. — Mot flSS'frons- YeTlow-fronted Warbler, Id. 601. - Krus al.s aure.s, Bartram. D. 292. — Peale's Museum, No. 7010. VERMlVORJi CIIRYSOPTEll/i.Swiiition. Sylvia chrysoptera, Bomp. Syrurp. p. 87. This is another spring passenger through the United States to Uje north Tins bird, as well as Fig. 67, from the particular form of its bill. ;S raSr o be separated from the Warblers ; or, along with several o5fe^ of the same kind, might be arranged as a sub-genera, or partic- ular femily of that t.-ibe which might wiUi propriety be ca led Worm- e^eS^l MotacUla va-mivora of^Turton having th. bill exactly o Suform The habits of these birds partake a good deal of those of Se Souse -and, in their language and action, they very .much re- Smblethem. All that can be said of this species is, that it appears ir Pennsvlvania for a few days, about the last of April or beginning of M^r^aS actively among the young leaves and opemng buds, '^"ThyGS^en^S' wSer is five inches long, and seven broad ; • the crown SS^ ; the first and .econd row of w.ng-coverta, of theTamo rich yellow ; the rest of the upper parts, a deep ash, or tfsircobr ; tSslightly forked and, u. well as the wmg edged with whitish ; a black band passes through the eye, and is sepamea from rheVellow of the crown, by a fine line of white •, chm and throa^ Sack between which and that passing through the eye /"ns ast p Sf'white, ^s in the figure •, belly ^nd vent, white ; biMlack, gradually taperineto a sharp point; legs, dark ash ; indes, hazel. Pennant has described Uiis species twice, first, aa the Golden- wiS wSfler, and, immef.ately after, aB the YeUow-fronted wSler. See the synonymes at the beginnmg of this article. BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. -SYLVIA CANADENSIS. - Fio. 70. No.' si. -Pealt's Mitseum, No. 7222. STLyiCOL.a CAJVJlDK^SIS. -By, Axntoti. Sylvia Canadensis, Bonap. Synop. p. 84. , „„ IMS of .«.» birf. u » - i?rjri:°ii:'^r»*s in the monlh or Apni, pasa uum-.g. -.- 1^ AMEHTCAIV SPARROW IIAVVK j'^J hJbto?t?ebPar fhfT"'"*Tj'"»« '^"°^" or attended to! TbJ thie peoSe and'f^ „ '^':,'"l''^''''?'"' "« ™"'='^ '»°'« interesting tJ Se^^Tnd unll« th J°°1' '"^«tantial reason too, because more^lu^ Sirs: r"?h 17'"^ r r °^ ^'"^« irnmedilt'ly bektSlr cov^rto* £i. hfl M 'l*" ^'T^ ''^"i' ''"'' ^™t, white: legs and feet dfrTJel-* i o?'„ i^'t' '^^. ''^^^t with bristles at tlie Sase. The fer ^ifL more of a dusky ash on the breast, and, in some specimei^ !rl? AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. -FALCO SPARVERIUS - Fio. 71. — Female. ^MCO SPjlRFERms.~U„„Mvt. feS Jf^ra„dlS.^'^"''^P'^^^^^^^ '^'^''^^'^"^ ^'°th male and Son A«/ A- P®5^<5t 8P®"™^»« o^ each may coino into my dos- — J— i-^v, uic aoiiur oi procedence, i;i 178 AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. in the present instance, is given to the female of this upecies ; both because she is the most courageous, the largest and handsomest of the two, best ascertained, and less subject to change of color than the male, who will require some further examination, and more observa- tion, before we can venture to introduce him. This bird is a constant resident in almost every part of the Umted States, particularly in the states north of Maryland. In the Southern States there is a smaller species found, which is destitute of the black spots on the head ; the legs are long and very slender, and the wings liffht blue. This has been supposed, by some, to be the male ot the present species ; but this is an error. The eye of the present species IS dusky; that of the smaller species a brilliant crange; Uie former las the tail rounded at the end, the latter slightly /orW. Such essen- tial differences never take place between two individuals of the same species. It ought, however, to be remarked, that in all the figures and descriptions I have hitherto met with of the bird now before us, the iris is represented of a bright golden color ; but, in all the specimens 1 have shot, I uniformly found the eye very dark, almost black, resem- bling a globe of black glass. No doubt the golden color of the iris would give the figure of the bird a more striking appearance ; bu^ in works of natural history, to sacrifice truth to mere picturesque effect is detestable, though, I fear, but too often put in practice. The nest of this species is usually built in a hollow tree ; generally pretty high up, where the top, or a large limb, has been broken off. 1 have never seen its eggs ; but have been told that tlie female gener- ally lays four or five, which are of a light brownish yellow color, spot- ted with a darker tint ; the young are fed on grasshoppers, mice, and small birds, the usual food of the parents. The habits and manners of this bird are well known. It flies rather irregularly, occasionally suspending itself in the air, hovering over a particular spot for a minute or two, and then shooting off in anoUier direction. It perches on tlie top of a dead tree or pole, in the middle of R field or meadow, and, as it alights, shuts its long wmgs so sud- denly, tliat they seem instantly to disappear ; it sits here m an almost perpendicular position, sometimes for an hour at a time, frequently jerking its tail, and reconnoitring the ground below, in every direc- tion, for mice, lizards, &c. It approaches the far'^-house, particularly in the morning, skulking about the barn-yard for mice or young chick- ens. It frequently plunges into a thicket after small birds, as if by random, but always with a particular, and generally a fatal, aim. One day I observed a bird of this species perched on the highest top of a large poplar, on the skirts of the wood, and was m the act of raising the pped with pure white ; tail, black, forked, and exteriorly edged with dull white ; belly and vent, brownish white ; bill, black "^bove, yellow below ; logs, a brownish clay color ; feet, black. The female is about J^lf an "ich shorter; the chestnut or bright bay on tl e wings, back, and crown, is less brilliant ; and the white on the coverts narrower, and not so pure. These are all the differences I can perceive.* SONG SPARROW. — FRINGILLA MELODIA.— Fio. 74. Fasciated Finch ? Arct. Zool. p. 37.5. No. 252. - Ptale^s Museum, No. 6673. EMBERIZ^I^ JtfEiOD/j*.— Jari'inb. Bonap. 8yiu>r- P- 108. -The Song Sparrow, Aud. pi. 25, Om. Biog. i. p. 126. So nearly do many species of our Sparrows approximate to each other in plumage, and so imperfectly have they been taken notice o^ that it is absolutely impssible to say, witli certainty, whether the present species has ever been described or not And yet, ot all our Sparrows, this is the most numerous, the most generally diffused over the United State's, and by far the earliest, sweetest, and most lasting songster. It m ly be said to be partially migratoiy, many passing to the south in the month of November ; and many of them still remam- ine with us, in low, close, sheltered meadows rnd swamps, during the whole of winter. It is the first singing bird in spring, taking prece- dence even of the Pewee and Blue-Bird. Its song continues occa- bionally during the whole summer and fall, and is sonietimes heard even in the depth of winter. The notes, or chant, are short, but very sweet, resembling the beginning of the Canary's song, and frequently repeated, generally from the branches of a bush or small tree, where itSts chanting for an hour together. It is fond of frequenting the borders of rivers, meadows, swamps, and such like watery places ; and, if wounded, and unable to fly, will readily take to the water, and swim with considerable rapidity. In the great cypress swamps ot fte Southern States, in the depth of winter, I observed multitudes of these birds mixed with several other species ; for these places appear to be the grand winter rendezvous of almost all our Sparrows. I have tound • Peculiar to America, and wc should say, goinr more off from the group than F nocialis VViis as mentioned by Swainsoii in llie Northern Zoology. — t^D. t Thavc bee puzzTeTwhere lo^Mce .his bird -in Emhenza, or as a sub-genu, of t There seems much difference in the form of the bill, though . I has " a rud.- mentof the knob." I have been unable to oblam " .r/=.''»>^^i"^^?!"P!:'ED Mr. Swainson thinks it connects the American Bunting with his Zonotnclua. — bD. CHIPPING SPARROW. m this bird in every distnct of the United States, from Canada to the kni "r T^''"'"°^^"°'"^*'^5 ^"t Mr. Abbot infonns me that he 5nH^^?L""^^ °"° °' ^^° 'P'"''"^ ^"t '^™'^*" >" that part of Georgia auniTg the summer. "igm nnl^ k Sr^nfPf^'^ ^""''' '" **''' i?"^""^' ""'^'^'- ^ t"ft of grass ; the nro fnnl fl ""^ S."^', f^^ ^f^' ^"^ """^^ ^'^^ ^orse hair ; the eggs whil J"^^' S'^^u^ I?!"^^*^ ^^th spots of reddish brown, on a hrn,S, i?"^?'""'' '''"''^r Z^'^\^^^^^ ? ^^""01 interrupted, raises three fl^S^h i^^/^?;^""- , ^ have found his nest with young as early as J, #4"^ ^^''h T^^^ ^'■^^'^ ''" ^^"^ ^2th of August What is sin- SS' «^rne bird often fixes his nest in n cccLu-tree, five or six fiet fiom the gi-ound. Supposing this to hnve been a variety, or different species, I have examined the bird, nest, and egcjs, with particular ca^e several times but found no difference. I irave oEed Se same amon'"tS '^'^'^ '" ^' Red-winged Blackbird, which sometimes buSs among tlie grass, as well as on alder bushes. This species is six inches and a half long, and cicrht and a half in lfnPof'nT^-J"^.°^/^' ^^^^^^'^'^ chestimt, divided lateral by ; ine of pale dirty white ; spot at each nostril, yellow ochre ; line ovei SeTt'o?fr:!f ^h'^^'/'^^"'"^^**'' Btreak'from the lowr mandi! ble, slit of the mouth, and posterior angle of the eye, dark chestnut • breast, and sides under the wings, thickly marked VitliTong-pSed spoteof dark chestnut, centred with black, and runnin- in cEs be ly white ; vent, vellow ochre, streaked with brown ; back" sSeJ tw?midl^S'^'^P'/'T^'^i *"'''1'°""' ^^""'l^d'at the end, the two middle feathers streaked down tlieir centres with black; iejrs flesh colored ; wing-coverts, black, broadly edged withbav and tinned' wij yellowish white; wings, da^k Vo/n. ^The femaS' is scarS CHIPPING SPARROW. -FRINGILLA SOCIALIS.-Fic. 75. l.ittle House Sparrow, or Chi — Feeders Museum, No. 657 Passer domeslicus, The Little House Sparrow, or Chipping Bird, Bartram, p. 291 . Fringilia socialis, Bonap. Syrwp. p. 109. This species, though destitute of the musical talents of the former, SrS^P"'!?"'''^ #l"f'^Hy i"""^"' ''^'^^"^^ ™o^« fa"''li^r, and even domestic. He inhabits, dunng summer, the city, in common with man building m the branches of tlie tree's with wticn our stTeetsTnd fvnn n-l^i! °™^'"f t^l? ^^^ gleaning up crumbs from our yards, and even our doors, to feed his more advanced young with. I have known Zip f£f ft -1 ''"^"^* "■l^^'^'^y ^''^'•y '^'^y- • 5C8. — Emberiza hyemalis, Id. US}. — Lath. i. 6^.-Catesh.\.k.-Arct.Zoot. p. 359, No. 223. - Passer mval.s, Bartram, p. idl. — Peale's Museum, No. 6532. FRIJfaiLLA HYEMALIS. — Urnfs.vi. Fringilla hyemalis, Bonav- Symp. p. 109. - ^bw/.. ZooZ. ii. p. 269. - The Snow ^ ' Bird, A»/JVt/S. — SwAimow. Fringilla pinus, (sub-genus Carduelis,) Bonap. Synop. p. 111. This little northern stranger visits ub in the month of November, and seeks the seeds of the black alder on the borders of swamps creeks and rivulets. As the weather becomes more severe, and the seeds k the Pinus Canadensis are fully ripe, these birds collect m Wer flocks and take up their residence almost exclusively among StreSlSe gardens of Bush Hill, in the neighborhood of Phila- delphia, a flock of two or three hundred of these birds have regularly wintered many years ; where a noble avenue of i-me-trees, and walks Covered wTfine, white gravel, furnish them with abundance through ^Iwinter. Early in M^ch. they disappear, either to the north or to PINE FINCH. 181 the pme woods that cover many lesser anges of the Alleehanv Wlulo hero Uioy are often so tame as to alio/ you *o walk liW" lew yards of the spot where a whole flock of them are sitt ng They fl tter among Uio branches, frequently hanging by the cfncs and uttermg a note almost exactly like that of Uie Goldfinch fFjSTl nave i,ot a doubt but this bird appears in a richer dress '.h summer in Uiose p aces where ho breodB, as ho has so very great a resemWancS The lengtli of this species is four inches; breadth, eight inches- stEeKith btcJ"'^' '^'\r'l^' '^"^ '"^^'^''^ ''"k flLen c lor; streaked with black; wings black, marked with two rows of dul ow nnnn"""'" «olor J whoFo wiug-quiUs, Under the coverts, rich y" low, appearing even when the wings are shut : rumo and tilunnJrtl yellowish streaked with dark bro^n; tail-fierrWc f yd 1^^^^^^^ the roots half way to the tips, except the two middle ones whkh are blackish brown, slightly edged witll yellow; sides, umler' the winJs of a cream color, with long streaks of black; breas^ a light flaxen col- 0 , with small streaks or pointed spots of black ; legs, pu plish brovvn • bill, a dull horn color ; eyes, hazof. The female w\J scarcely dTstin- guishab e by its plumage from the male. The New York Kin of wrer"dresT'" *" '' ""^^ "^^ Yellow-Bird (/ViV.^V/a /"^t his This bird has a still greater resemblance to the Siskin of Eurone ir '^'y "'^ ".''"f"^. "^"""&- 1'he plate of ou author U mi^il? • h A^ '■" "'.,,^'"'" '"'■«««• . As he justly observes, L plumage becomes Td /Jno"'„''"."."t.^ "I- '•'"f " °(, '""^"bation. The black' parts'^bec^me briK wd deeper, and the ohve of a yellower green. — En "^ unguicr 16 // in IU)8&-«»fc< WE iKoaMISAK. ROSE-flRBABTKH OROBBEAK' - LOXIA ROSEA. -Fio ». Su»<. — Red-breantfid Orosbeak, Arct. Zool.p.Ss^ Loxia Ludovl«M No. 21 460.— AfiMetim, No. 6806, f\trtml i-b««i»iiia««. D. 6806,aMll»l' H.'TO, No. S-W I-« rose goreo, ^«/. iii. -jUi^e, n '«•/.' 163, fig. SJ.- lath I M07, female ; 680(i, a, raalo oi )ii« year oM OUIRJICJt LU DO ^KIMtf A.— 6m hinton. 113. — Coc- * cotlirauste* (Guiraca) Ludoviciaiia, Nortit. Zool. i. p. .f7l. This plneant species is rarely found in the lower parte of Pennsyl- vania in the «tato of New York, and those of New Kngland it .s moro recuKM.tly observed, particularly in fall, when the berries of the Tur sun. oro r.pe, on the kornoU of which it eagerly feeds. Some of itetrivk names would i.nport that it is also an inhabitant of Loum.ana; l^t have not hoard of itis ^oing seen, in any of the Southern States A Vcntleman of Middletow... ConnccUcut, informed me Uiat ho kept one^of these birds for some considerable time in a cage, and observed Ztli frequently sanfj at night, and all night; that its notes were extremciy clear and mellow, and the sweetest of any bird with which "'-rirbTrd from which the figure on the plate was taken, was shot, 1 m Ar . on the borders of a swamp, a few miles from Philadel- Dhia aL i.er male of the same species was killed at the same Ume, ?oisideral.iv different in its markings; a proof that they do not ac- quire the iull colors u.itil at least the second spring or summer The Roso-breasted Grosbeak is eight inches and a half lonjr and thirteen inches in extent; the whole upper parts are back, except the Scond row of wing-coverts, which are broadly tipped with white ; a spot of Uie same extends over tlio primaries, immed.ately below *hon coverte ; chin, neck, and upper part of the breast, black ; lower part of fhobVel"t middle of the belly, and lininff of the wings, a fine light cariiinttoV rose color; tail, fSked, black, the three exterior feathers, onTaS^dde, white on their inner vanes for an inch or more from the Ups Si like those of its tribe, very thick and strong, and puro white ; ei' an feet, light blue ; eyes, hazel. The young male of the nrst spring has tSe plumag. '.fthe back variegated with light brown, white • This sueoios seem» to have been described, under various specific names by Blue Groslieaks of our autho' — "^ BLACK-THROATRD ORERN WARBLER. 183 and black ; a hno of white oitonds over Uio oyo ; tho rose color a|,o reaches to th. bane of the bill, where it Ih pccklod with hluck and aIT'u *^""1'".."! •'^f H^*- y«»owi»h, h ixen color, Htr.mke.l wUli dark « lyc, and wh.tinh; the breast ia streaked with olive, m\n flaxen, and white ; the luung of the wings is palo yellow ; the bill, Inon Lasky loan ui f ho malp, and the white on the wing less. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. -SYLVIA VIRENS.— Fio. 7;i. '^298'"*niri;'''.h?"l'-.^>'- '• R- -'S^- -Le Fipiior h cravato noire, Hulf. v. p. ^^ol. II. No. 297 -/,a, they were induced to secure suitable places tor their progeny; and that in tiie regions where they more generally pass the suuuner, they might perhaps build nests for themselves, and * See Philosopliicxl Transxclions for 1788, part h. I J ) 1 cow BUNTING. 191 rear their own young, like every other species around tliem. On the other hand, when I consider tliat miiny of them tarry here so late as the middle of June, dropping their eggs, from time to time, into every convenient receptacle— that in the states of Virginia, Maryland, Del- aware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, they uniformly retain the same habits — and, in short, that in all these places I have never yet seen or heard of their nest,- reasoning from these facts, I think I may safely conclude that they never build one ; and that in those remotu northern regions their manners are the same as we find them here. What reason Nature may have for tliis extraordinary deviation from her general practice is, I confess, altogether beyond my compre- hension. There is nothing singular to be observed in the anatomicul structure of the bird that would seem to prevent or render it incapa- ble of incubation. The extreme heat of our climate is nrobably one reason why, in the months of July and August, they are rarely to be seen here. Yet we have many other migratory birds that regularly priss through Pennsylvania to the north, leaving a few residents be- hind them, who, without exception, build their own nests and rear their own young. This part of tiie country also abounds with suita- ble food, such as they usually subsist on. Many conjectures indeed might be formed as to the probable cause ; but all of them that have occurred to me are unsatisfactory and inconsistent Future and more numerous observations, made with care, particularly in those coun- tries where they most usually pass the summer, may tlirow more liirht on this matter ; till then, we can only rest satisfied with the reality^of the fact. This species winters regularly in the lower parts of North and South Carolina and Georgia ; I have also met with them near Wil- liamsburg, and in several other }mrts of Virginia. In January, 1809, I observed strings of them for sale in the market of Charleston, South Carolina. They often frequent corn and rice fields, in company with their cousins, as Mr. Bartram calls them, the Red-winged Blackbirds ; but are more commonly found accompanying the cattle, feeding on the seeds, worms, &c., which they pick up amongst the fodder, and from the excrements of the cattle, which they scratch up for this pur- pose. Hence they have pretty generally obtained the name of Cow- Pen Birds, Cow Birds, or Cow Blackbirds. By the naturalists of Eu- rope they have hitherto been classed with the Finches, though im- properly, as they have no family resemblance to that tribe, sufficient to justify that arrangement If we are to be directed by the conforma- tion of their bill, nostrilts, tongue, and claws, we cannot hesitate a moment in classing them with the Red-winged Blackbirds, Oriolua phaniceus ; not, however, as Orioles, but as Buntings, or some new intermediate genus ; the notes or dialect of the Cow Bunting and those of the Redwings, as well as some ot her peculiarities of voice and gesticulation, being strikingly similar. Respecting this extraordinary bird, I have received communications from various quarters, all corroborative of tlie foregoing particulars. Among these is a letter from Dr. Potter, of Baltimore, which, as it contains some new and interesting facts, and several amusing inci- dents, illustrative of the character of the bird, I shall with pleasure lay before the reader, apologizing to the obliging writer for a few 108 cow BUNTING. ,if, unimportant omissiona which have been anticipated in the preceding pages. «I regret exceedingly that professional avocations have put it out of my power to have replied earlier to your favor of he 19th of Hep- tembf.r ; and although I shall not now reflect all the light you desire, a faithful transcript from memoranda, noted at tlie moment of observa- tion, may not be altogether uninteresting. "The lYivgiUa pecoris is generally known in Maryland by tl.c namo of the Cow Blackbird; and none but the naturalist view it as a distinct species. It appears about the last of March, or first week in April, though someflmes n little earlier, when the spnng is unusually for- ward. It is less punctual in its appearance than many other ot our """ifcommomy remains wiUius till about the last of October, though unusually cold weather sometimes banishes it much earlier. It, how- ever, sometimes happens that a few of them remam with us all winter, and iire seen hovering about our barns and farm-yards when straitened for sustenance by snow or hard frost. It is remarkable that in some years I have not been able to discover one of them during the months of July and August; when they have suddenly appeared in Septem- ber in great numbers. I have noticed this fact always immediately after a series of very hot weatlier, and then only. The general opin- ion is, that they then retire to the deep recesses ot the shady torest ; but, if this had been the fact, I should probably have discovered them in my rambles in every part of tiie woods. I think it more likely Uia they migrate farther north, till they find a temperature more congenial to their feelings, or find a richer repast in following the cattle in a better pasture.* , . , , ,, , „, , " In autumn, we oflen find them congregated with the Marsh Black- birds, committing their common depredations upon the ears of the In- dian corn; and at other seasons, the similarity of their pursuits in feeding introduces them into the same company. I could never ob- serve that they would keep the company of any otiier bird. « The Cow-Pen Finch differs, moreover, in another respect, from all the birds with which I am acquainted. After an observance of many years, I could never discover any Uiing like ^jarrai^, or a mutual at- tachment between the sexes. Even in the season of love, when other birds are separated into pairs, and occupied in the endearing othce ot providing a receptacle for their offspring, the Fringill^he» . green and the cauio are M as fodr associates, assumes a drooping, sickly as- pect, and perches upon some eminence where she can reconnoitre the operations of other birds in the process of nidification. If a discovery suitable to her purpose cannot be made from her stand, she becomes more restless, and is seen flitting from tree to tree, till a place of de- posit can be found. I onco had an opportunity of witnessing a scene of this sort, which I cannot forbear to relate. Seeing a female prying into a bunch of bushes in search of a nest, I determined to see the result, if practicable ; and, Icnowing hoM- easily they are disconcerted by the near approach of man, I inonnted my horse, and proceeded slowly, sometimes seeing and snmetinies losing sight of her, till I had travelled nearly two miles along tiie margin of a creek. She entered every thick place, prying with the strictest scrutiny into places where the small birds usually build, and at last darted suddenly into a thick copse of alders and briers, where she remained five or six minutes, when she returned, soaring above the underwood, and re- turned to the company she had left feeding in the field. Upon enter- ing the covert, I found tlie nest of a Yellow-Throat, with an egg of each. Knowing the precise time of deposit, I noted the spot and date, with a view of determining a question of importance — the time re- quired to hatch the egg of the Cow Bird, which I supposed to com- mence from the time of the Yellow-Throat's laying the last egg. A few days after, the nest was removed, I knew not how, and I was dis- appointed. In the progress of the Cow Bird along the creek's side, she entered tlie thick boughs of a small cedar, and returned several 17 11 -■f: :. -. -.. -^'^^S ■y'M'^^M' m 194 cow BUNTING. times before she could prevail on hereelf to quit the Pl*^" ? «"^? »?«" extt.nination, I found a Sparrow flitting on its ne«^ «« ^'^'^'j JJ^' "" doubt, would have stolen in the absence of the owner. I '«' ^ °«1 «3f ' certain that the Cow-Pen Finch never makes a forcible entry uF).n the prenii^. by attacking other birds, and ejecting them from their riffhtM termentfl, altJiough they are all, perhaps, inferior in strength, exceTtlieBlue-Brd, which, although of a mild as well as afiectioimte SSiSi, mUes a^ resistance when assaulted. L^ko .nont ffi tymnts and thieves, they are cowardly, and accomplish by stealth what tlicy cannot obtain by force. « The deportment of the Yellow-Throat, on Uiis occasion, is not to be omitted. She returned while I waited near the spot, and darted TntoC nest, but returned immediately, and perched "I|onj^ ^""fh near the place ; remained a minute oj two, and entered it ag^in, re- turnedVand disappeared. In ten minites, she returned witli the male. Thev chattered with great agitation for half an hour, seeming to par- JcVate X" aflront,'and tlfen left the place. ^^veauSie birds Uius intruded on manifest more or less concern at finding the egg ot a stranger in their own nqsts. Among these the Sparrow is particu- larly punctilious ; for she sometimes chirps her complaints for a day or two, and often deserts tlie premises altogether, even after she has deposited one or more e.?s. ^The following anecdote will show not onlv tlmt the Cow-Pen Pinch insinuates herself slyly into the nests of S birds, but tliat even the most pacific of them will resent Uie insult A Blue-Bird had built, for three successive seasons, m the cav" y of a mulberry-tree near my dwelling. One day, when the nest was nearly finishe^I discovered a female Cow Bird Pfrched upon a fence-stake near it, with her eyes apparentiy fixed upon the spot, wliile the builder was busy in adjusting her nest The moment she eftit,tlie intruder darted'into it! and in five minutes returned^"/ sailed off to her companions with seeming de ight, which she ex- pressed by her gestures and notes. The Blue-Bird soon returned, and Entered the nes| but instantaneously fluttered back ^f^^^ff^ WJJ- ent hesitation, and perched upon the highest branch of the tree, utter- ing a rapidly-repeated note of complaint and resentment, ^'"ch soon brought the male, who reciprocated her feelings by every 'lemonst m- tion of the most Vindictive resentment They entered Uie ne^ '^^^^^^^^^ cr and returned several times, uttering tlieir uninterrupted complaints fo ten ^r fifteen minutes. The male then darted away to tlie neigh- boring trees, as if in ((uest of the offender, and fell upon a Cat Bud, which he chastised severely, and then turned to an innocent Sario^ that was chanting its ditty in a peach-tree. Notwithstanding the nt- froiit was s<, passionately resented, I found the Blue-Bird had laid an ega the next day. Perhaps a tenant less attached to a favorite s ot would have acted more fastidious-sly, by deserting the premises alto- gether. In this instance, also, I determined to watch the occurrences that were to follow ; but, on one of my morning visits I found the commmi enemy of tli; egjs and young of all the small birds had de- spoiled the nest, — a Coluber was found coiled in the hollow, and the ^^" ATeeably to my observation, all the young birds ciestined to cher- ish tlie young Cow Bird art of a mild and affectionate disposition ; and cow BUNTLNO. IW !W n^^'*'T''"'^^® ^** they aro all air.allor tlm. the intruder; the Bluo-Bird is the only one nearly aa large. This is a ffood-natured mild creature although it makes a vigorous defence when assaulted! I he Yellow-Throat, the Sparrow, the Goldfinch, the Indigo Bird, and tlie Blue-Bird, are the onW birds in whose nests I have found the eggs oth?™/"*""^ Cow-Pen Finch, though, doubtless, there are some " What becomes of the eggs or young of the proprietor? This is the most interesting question that appertains to this subject There must be some special law of nature wkch determines that the younjr of the proprietors are never to be found tenants in common with the young Cow Bird. I shall offer the result of my own experience on this point, and leave it to you and others better versed in the mysteries ot nature than I am, to draw your own conclusions. Whatever theory m^ oe adopted, the facts must remain the same. Having discovered a i^parrow's nest with five egg^, four and one, and Uie Sparrow sitting. I watched the nest daily, the egg of the Cow Bird occupied the centre, and those of the Sparrow were pushed a little up the sides of the nest Five days afte ^he discovery, I perceived the shell of the h IV h d egg broken, and the next, the bird was hatched. The Sparrow returned, while I was near the nest, with her mouth full of food, witli yh;ch she fed the young Cow Bird, with every possible mark of affec- tioii and discovered the usual concern at my approach. On the suc- ceeding day, only two of the Sparrow's eggs remained, and the next day there were none. I sought in vain for them on the ground, and m every direction. ^ ' "Having found the eggs of the Cow Bird in the nest of a Yellow- Ihroat, 1 repeated my observations. The process of incubation had commenced, and on the seventli day from the discovery, I found a young Cow Bird that had been hatched during my absence of twenty- lour hours, all tJie eggs of the proprietor remaining. I had not an op- portunity of visiting the nest for three days, and, on my return, there was only one egg remaining, and that rotten. The Yellow-Throat attended the young interloper with the same apparent care and affec- tion as it it had been its own offspring. • "T*^f, ^^^^ ^^"■^•' "^ ^'■^* discovery" was in a Blue-Bird's nest built m a hollow stump. The nest contained six eggs, and the process of incubation was' going on. Three or four days aRer my first visit, I tound a young Cow Bird, and three eggs remaining. I took the etrgs out ; two contained young birds, apparently come to their full time, and the other was rotten. I found one of the other egedinjr sprinff. I observed this bird near Savannah, in Georqia, early in March ; but it does not winter even in the southern parts of that state. The length of this species is four inches and a half; extent, six aud a half; front, and line over the eye, black ; bill, black, very slender, * This species will represent another lately-formed (feiuis, of which the Miisci- capa stenurajtf 1 cmminck'a PL colorizes forms the type. It is a curious eronn connecting lyranmda, Setophuga, Uie Flycatchers, tind the Sylviadm En. 200 WHITE-EYED FLYC ETCHER. overhanging at the tip, notched, broad, and furnished with hnsties at the base; the color of tlie plumage above is a light bluish gray, bluest on tlie head, below bluish white ; tail, longer than the body, a littie rounded, a-^d black, except the exterior fathere, which are al- most all white and the next two also tipped with white ; tail-coverte, black : wings, brownish black, some of the secondaries next the body edged witli white ; legs, extremely slender, about three fourtlis of an 3 long, and of a bluish black color. The female is distinguished bv wanting the black line round the front . ., • , u„t The food of this bird is small winged insects, and their larvse, but particularly the former, which it seems ahnost always m pursuit ot. WHITE-EYED FLYCATCHER. -MUSCICAPA CANTATRIX.— Fig. 88. Muscicapa Noveboracensis, Gmel. Svs^ i. p. W.- Hanging Flycatcher, I,a the upper edge of the two sides, on the circular bend of a prickly vine, — a species of smilax that gener- ally grows in low thickets. Outwardly, it is constructed ot va- rious light materials, bits of rotten wood, fibres of dry stalks of weeds, pieces of paper, commonly newspapers, an article almost always tound about its nest, so that some of my friends have given it the noine ot the Politician; all these substances are interwoven with the silk ot caterpillars, and the inside is lined with fine, dry grass and hair. Ihe female lays five eggs, pure white, marked near the great end witft a very few small dots of deep black or purple. They generally raise two iwoods in a seaaon. riusy aeem particuiariy atiaciieu to uiiO«»,s MOTTLED OWL. 301 of this species of smilax, and make a great ado when any one cornea near their nest ; approaching within a few feot, looking down, and scolding with great vehemence. In Pennsylvania they are a numer- ous species. The White-eyed Flycatcher is five inches and a quarter long, and seven in extent ; the upper parts are a fine yellow olive, those below, white, except the sides of the breast, and under the wings, which are yellow ; line round the eye, and spot near the nostril, also rich yel- low ; win^s, deep dusky black, edged with olive green, and crossed with two bars of pale yellow ; tail, forked, brownish black, edged with green olive ; bill, legs, and feet, light blue ; the sides of the neck in- cline to a grayish ash. The female and young of the first season ore scarcely distinguishable in plumage from the male. MOTTLED OWL. — STRIX N^VIA. — Fio. 89. Ant. Zool. 231, No. W^. — Lath. i. \2G.— Turton, i. IGl.— Peak's Museum, No. 44/1. ^ STRIX ^SrO — LiNN-KUH.* Strix asio, Bomp. Synop. p. 3G.— Hibou asio, Temm. PL col. pi. 80. — The Little Screech Owl, Aiid. pi. 97, adult aii9ignc^l to «"« ^'^J^^^^^^^ disposition, by .issimik- less noble, thoug.i, P^'^-h^P^' ^^^ f '" Zc" but in voice, manners, and tingthom not only mf^^rmof^oim^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ appetite, to some particAilar licasis oi pr y , ^ ^.^^^^ ^^^^ enjVentof the gay sunshine ot day, an gwm ^ ^^ thin tiie few solitary hours of m^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^.J, t,i^ cure their food and pursue their amours , jn^i ^,,^^ ^^j, ^^^^ a few excepted, are wrapt >» f'^^^^J^T^'f^P^, those weaker ani- character, however should not^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ■ , mals on whom they teed, l^' "^^\^^, -..o„^ traits of their murde^- arriving here, "'* »f,?"' f^' atrt luBfinmiB distrtcts, in pr»f. hinl., beetle,, .m cnclj*. It .3 rater a »^^^^^^^ Z:.i,n« ob"S Suing rSe-SSce. dufing day, »he„ i. i. e..,ly :3, i» vision at .hat t me be,„, very ™Frf»t. _^^^ The bird represented .n Fp f' ""if^^e roon, beside me for pre.en ed to mo W ; . "™ ; ^ ,„„,, ^ , h„e given !" '"".Ttf h^e*"'S r,lner of": S-ln "p^^":^ to fight, with great sharpness. In Ayi"? through the ™. allowed the sCaS-bS;bM:|^3^1x^^^^^ When anfrry, it snapped its bill repeateaiy "iui v , The Mot ed Owl is ten inches long, and twenty-two m extent ; the MEADOW LARK. 203 pted with raeged streaks of black, and small transverse touches of brown ; lege, feathered nearly to the claws, with a kind of hairy dowl ot a uale brown color; vent and under tail-coverts white, the latter shphtly marked with brown; iris of the eye, a brilliant golden yebw; bill and clavra, bluish horn color. '^"j'ciiuw, This was a female. The male is considerably less in size ; the SerrablT """^ ^^ '''^'^^ °" ^^"^ win^r-coverts not so Hollow trees, either in the woods or orchard, or close overffreens in retired situations^ are the usual roostinp-places of this and most of our S« M^J^'^f f* rJ}^^^ '■^^''^^' ^^''•^^^'•' "'^ frequently discovered by tlie Nuthatch, Titmouse, or Blue Jay, who instantly raise the alarm ; a promiscuous group of feathered neighbors soon collect round the spot, Ike crowds m the streets of a large city, when a thief or murdere? is detected ; and, by their insults and vociferation, oblige the recluse to seek for another lodging elsen'here. This may account for the cir- cumstance of someUmes finding them abroad during the day, on fences and other exposed situations. MEADOW LARK.-ALAUDA MAGNA. -Fig. .. Lim. Syst.m-CTCscenl Stare, Arct. Zool. 330, No. 192, Lath. iii. 6, var. A.- Le fer-fV-chcval, ou .Merle a Collier d'Amerique, B„ff. iii. p. 371. _ datesb Car I. pi. 33. - BaHram, p. 290. _ Peak's Mtiseum, ^o.dm STUHN'F.Lt^ /,tl/)Of'/CMJVW.-Sw.u!t.oi« * Slurnus Lmlovicianus (sub-genus Sturnella,) Bonap. Stpiop. p. 49. -Slun.elfe coHans, VinU. Gal. des Ois. pi- 80. -Sturnella Lud'viciai.a, .V„r ot the Hlun ^^^^ . J^i„„^ t,,,. ,„„Ht perlect Uiese, which were put into my hanosT ,„„,kings ^u>re as tol- was selected tor ^hc dra« ng It. J« ^ .^j „d wmgn, black; lows -.-Length, SIX '"f.^^'^J^^h yellow; the next superior row the greater wing-covcrtfl, tipped wiiny ^ ^^^^^^ j^^^^^ rt whofly y.-llow; •f'^^^^.'eeadU^ and beyond the eyes, ight greenish yellow; torcpart ot "'« '"'.'''^' j „f the upper niandible, Lrlet; bill, y^""^'^ l"^\o legs, iS tail, slightly forked raggcd,asintlu3 rest of Its tribe, ic^n^ figure about the size, and and edged with dull ^ ''^'«'' , ^'L^X^ranager, (Figs. 4 and 4b;) much resembling m «''';?«' J''? ^'^S' the b!ack back and yellow but evidently a ' 'ff'^'-^."\,XTo„ \h~ coverts. Some of the t^^^J^"^^ /^^, J^" I sSppos.nl to be the female, or a %Snn;:^; .onus, to ttj:^^^^:^'.^^:^ Hubject to changes o '^"/"J? ^^t- rS-ircL Some of those that second seasons, and also periodicity, an ^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^ mhabit Pennsylvania, ^'\^"f,^J[Tcar'et ra"d, I confess, when the yellow, and, laistly, to a ^^^1'^"^ ''^JJ^'^j'^^ ..a^first shown me, I sus- Jreserved specimen of ^'^^ P"^^^^"*,;^ ,innlar change at the time it nected it to have been passing tnroi^" j^j gof the same species, ^i taken. But,havingexanjiined two more sk^^ .^ seldom the and finding theiri a 1 XfS wh e moulting, I began to Ui.nk prairies are said to abou id. CLARK'S CROW. CLARK'S CROW— CORVUS COLUMHIANUS.— Kio. 94. Prale't Afusmm, No. 1371. COHVVS COLUMBMJfUS. -Wtiioft. Corvui ColumbiaiuiN, Hmtap. Hijnop. p. 66. This spocjes rcHombloH, a littlo, the .Iiickdaw of Etiropo, (Corvua mnnvdufn,) but ia reiriarkablo for its lormidublo claws, whicli approach to tliosn of tho Falco gonuM, and would Ht-oui to intiuiato that its food conniHti* of living animalH, for whoso doHtructiou thoHo woajmnh iinist be nnc(!H,sary. In converHation with different inilividuabi of tJin party, 1 underntood that this bird inhabits the slioren of the ('ohuubia, and tile adjacent country, in {rroat niuuborH.fretiuentinjr the rivers and sea- Hliore, probably fpedinirah8l«, rath«'r larger than the present species, hut much re.semblitiii it in the form and length of its wings, in it-s tail, and particulnrh' its daws. This bird is a constant attendant along the bordern ol" caiii- and stagnating ponds, feeding on small fish and lizards, whicii i have many tinfes seen him seize as he swept along the surface. A well-preserved specimen of this bird was presented to Mf Peale, ami is now in his museum. It is highly probable that, with tlieae external resemblances, tlie liabita of both may be nearly alike. 18* 'o, and hooked, particrlarly the k; bill, a. dark horn color; iris ^uscov- ' flif ']4u 310 LEWIS'S WOODPECKER LEWIS'S WOODPECKER. -PICUS TORQUATUS.- Fio. 95. PeaU's Museum, No. 2020. MEL^M-KHPESI T0RClUJlTOS.-HnDi«t.* Picus torquatus, Bonap. Synop. p. 46. Of this verv beautiful and singularly-marked species, I am unable to gfve any fuXr account than % relates foj^ externa appearance Spveral skins of this species were preserved, all of which 1 examinea ^UiTare' and found little or no difference among them, either m the tints or dispositipn of the colors. . The lenirth of tiiis was eleven mches and a half, the back, wings, and tai were black, witli a strong gloss of green; upper part of tiie head iie "me front, chin, and cheeks beyond tiie eyes a dark, rich red \oundtire neck passcL a broad collar of white, which spreads ^vlv r breast and looks us if tiie fibres of the featiiers had been sil- ;Sd these feathers are also of a particular structure, the fibres being verea. incse ibauiers I f „ ^ vermilion, and of tiie separate, and of a hair-like texture , "*^!*>' "^3, •,„„.„ ' „. vont same strong, hair-like feathers, intermixed witii .silvery ones , vent^ bE; legs and foet, dusky, inclining to greenish blue; bill, dark ^'°For a more particular, and doubtiess a more correct account of tiiis ,n,UlWtierbY those two enterprising travellers, whose intrepidity ■ s 0 arequalied^y tl'cir discretion, and by tiieir active and laborious mru° of whatever niight tend to render their journey useful to sci- puu.uit 01 ^'''}"^r'^' ^ T. ^1 g request and particular wish of r'^uLin Lt in^ n iorLn, tiiat^ I should Ue drawings of Md^ of TirfoaSod tribes as had been preserved, and were new. That 4vve soldier, that amiable and excellent man, over whose soh- inai oravc buiu j j ■ ^ jgj tears ot affliction, liav- cLeSathS tins luaalllo note to liis memory, until a more able pen shall do bettor justice to tiie subject e;:li ;vil?s;p;o;o;tnof toes,'and AM.d.oi-^^e colors, seen, however, .0 bree-liug on the Rocky Mounla.us, to resemble the male closclj.- l.u. CANADA JAY. 211 CANADA JAY.-CORVUS CAJVADENSIS. — Fig. 96. Linn. Sijst. 158. — Cinereous Crow, Arct. Zool. p. 248, No. 137. — I^* i 389 _ Le Geay brun de Canada, flm«. ii. 64. —B«<^. iii. 117. GARRULVS CAJVjlDEJf SIS. — Syr jititton. Corvus Canadensis, Bonap. Synop. p. 68. — Garrulus Canadensis, North. Zool. ii p. 295. Were I to adopt the theoretical reasoning ef a celebrated French naturalist, I might pronounce this bird to be a debased descendant from the Common Blue Jay of the United States, degenerated by the influence of the bleak and chilling regions of Canada, or perhaps a sptinous production between the Blue Jay and tlie Cat Bird- or what would be more congenial to the count's ideas, trace its degradation to the circumstance of migrating, some thousand years ago, from the genial shores of Europe, — where notliing like degeneracy or decrra- dation ever takes place among any of God's creatures. I shall, how- ever, on the present occasion, content myself with stating a few partic ulars better supported by facts, and more consonant to the plain homespun of common sense. This species inhabits the country extending from Hudson's Bay and probably farther north, to the River St Lawrence; also, in win-' ter, the inland parts of the District of Maine and northern tracts of the btates ot Vermont and New York. When the season is very severe with deep snow, they sometimes advance farther south, but generally return northward as the weather becomes more mild. The character given of this bird by the people of 'those parts of the country where it inliabits, is, tliat it feeds on black moss, worms, and even flesh ; when near habitations or tents, pilfers every tiling it can come at ; is bold, and comes even into tlie tent to eat meat out of tlie dishes ; watches tlie hunters while baiting their traps for martens, and devours the bait as soon as tlieir backs are turned; that they breed early m spring, building tlieir nests on pine-trees, forming them of sticks and grass, and lay blue eggs ; that they have two, rarely three young at a time, which are at first quite black, and continue so for some time ; that they fly in pairs ; lay up hoards of berries in liollow trees ; are seldom seen m January, unless near houses ; are a kind of Mock Bird ; and, when caught, pine away, though their appetite ri?\cr fails them ; notwithstanding all which ingenuity and good qualities they are, us we are informed, detested by the natives.* ' The only individuals of this species 'that I ever met witli in the United States wore on tlie shores of tlie Moliawk, a sliort way above the Little Falls. It was about the last of November, when ttie ground was deeply covered witli snow. There were tiiree or four in company or witiun a small distance of eacli oliier. flitting leisurely along the' road-side, keeping up a kind of low ciiattoiing ^vitll one anotlie^ and • IIeakne's Jo, iwy, p. m. ■4. i^t *-..! „,„ SNOW BUNTING. seemed nowise apprehensive at my approac^. soon ^^^^^^^^^^ iped svitli dirty white ; interior vanes of «^e 7\"f;^ ^^^ prominent ; partly tipped with white; P^«""^?^ °^^rnoS as well as the whole &oreh?ad,and fathers cover ng ^£0^0 passes round the hot- lower parts, a dirty brownish 3«' ™;,^wn and hind head, black -, 1,0 that he has particularly observed th^s Dim .^ ,^^^^^ commencement «f/«W weather He to o^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^3^ habits. It seemed to ^^^'^^Xj^^Uaf ye" would sometimes, tow- keeping aunost -^^^^af V oi^Uie grouna^^^y^ ^^^ .^ ards evening, mount to th« top ot a^ . ^^^^ fo, a quarter ot an iSogeili^n St: 1^-1% did immediately before snow or falling weatlier. SNOW BUNTING. -EMBERIZA NIVALIS. -Fio. 97. ^r , iv. No 222 —Tawny Bunline, Br. Zool. No. No. 3900. PLECTROPIMJ^RS myJlUS.-m.^^* . ■ "Hi Snow Burning, Mont. Om. Diet. i. tropliaiu-s) nNalis, Aor(/i. Zo\,,^,'S^\\' ■ i shown, by the fonn of ti,e feet, an/prortion'rf^U.e 1 nt clal^' this tTi n,ca, ,s nearKr sl.a:«^«hoppers are plenty , but ina that season, seems to be ^^J^J^^^^^^^iJj We se^ them occal having only now and Uien "^ f f S^'^ "°*„®'f^,'„ ^^ move off to sionally until about the middle »< November, >v^^^^^^ the south. On the 12th ot January I overtook gr^^^ continued to see birds in the woods "X^C' t fv'ery fay as I advanced southerly, occasiona parties of then^ almost every a j ^^^^^^^^^^^ ,vhere particularly m South Carolmn. a'^o miu mc r , ^vhevcver 8,ey were numerous, feeding ^^out ^he^ j^^^^^^^^ a considerable Indian corn was to be procured JSch b^^ron the banks of tlie distance westward. ^ ^^ ^he .Jtti ot Marcn. °^ " - ^ River, in the Ohio, a few miles below th« '^l^ °f t*'/bSallrhted near the midst of a heavy snow «torm a flock oj the^e ^jnl^ ^^r^^, .^,^ ^ ,,,^,^^ door of tho cabin where I hj^^^^^f ^".^^^^^^ Indian corn. Early ^^^S^'P^ rrgteSvania, on their return to the 'tZ thraccount. of persons ^vho h- ^^^t^^^^^^ --nsirS ^r- 9S^ wihs^ - SfSbrk^lus-iE'tSeJ^ffin^^ea^ flocks, and retire ■outherly in September.* • Arctic S^otogy, p. 259. PURPLE GRAKLE. 217 The male of this species, when in perfect plumage, is nine inches hwrt r*^ ^°"'^"'" '" ^^*«"t5 "^t '^ «™^" distanc'-e appear wholly black; but, on a near examination, is of a glossy dark green -the irides of the eye are silvery, as in those of thel>urple GrakfeTthe S Is i"?:;^^ °^ '^^^r ^°r,"'^ *^^ °^ ^^^ fast-mentioneLpe cies; the lower mandible a little rounded, with the edges turned mward, and the upper one furnished with a sharp, bony pro!e s on the ins de, exactly like that of the purple species. The tongue is slender and acera ed at the tip ; legs and feet, black and 8trong,^tho hind Sai' llp Zf ' I^V^'^ " 'l^^'^y. '■°""'^«^- This is the coior of ie mS wHh • hL I ""'k' ?"* ?>'■"' ^""-^^ °^ ^^«« I'i^ds which we meet with, have the whole plumage of the breast, head, neck, and back, tinctured with brown, every feather being skirted with ferruol. nous; overthe eyeisa light line of pale brown, below ti^S oTeTf black passing through the eye. This brownness gradually goes off ^wards spring, for almost^all those I shot in the Southern StltS were Sr^ir^. l'^ marked with ferruginous. The female is nearly an inch shorter; head, neck, and breast, almost wholly brown; a fight line over the eye ; lores, black ; belly and nimp, ash ;' upper and under S coverts, skirted with brown; wings, black, edged with rust color;Su, black, glossed nth pen ; legs, feet, and bill, as in the male. ' Ihese birds might easily be domesticated. Several that I had winged and kept for some time, became, in a few days, quite familiar seeming to be very easily reconciled to confinement »»mjiiar, ! f\ PURPLE GRAKLE. -GRACULA QUISCALA.-Fio. 99. '''?oo ^i'*'' '£*• — La pie de la Jamaique, 5m*. ii. il. — BufF iii m P) ^ daw, or Crow Blackbird. Bartram. p. 289. — Peale'p Museum, No. ml qvrSCJlLUS VERSICOLOR Vieillot.* Quiscalus versicolor, Vieill. Gall, des Ois.ul 108. - Bomp. Synop. p. 54. - Purple Grakle, or Common Crow Blackbird, Aud. pi. 7 ; Om. Bios \ d 35 a»U calus versicolor, Common Purple Boat-Tail, North. Zool. ii. p! i£. — ^ This noted depredator is well known to every careful farmer of the Northern and Middle States. About the 2Cth of March, the Purple Grakles visrt Pennsylvania from the south, fly in loose flocks, frequent swamps and meadows, and follow in the furrows after the plouffli • their food at this season consisting of worms, grubs, and caterpillars,' * Gracula will be given exclusively to a form inhabiting India, of which, though one spec.es only .s descr.bed, I have every reason to belilve that at least two afe confounded under it Qutscalu. has been, on this account, taken, by Viei bt for cur present bird, and some others confined to America. There has been cons [ler' able confusion among the species, which has been satisfactorily cleared up by Bonaparte and will be seen m the sequel of the work. The femafo is figured tlati V of the Continuation by tne Prince of Musignano. — Ed 218 PUKPLE GRAKLE. Of which they destroy Prodigi..—^^^^^^ husbandman beforehand f%„^J^ 'If °J .ni^j^^ retire to tho near- rys crops of Indian corn Toward, cv^^mng y^.^^^^ elmttering as est cedars and P'"«T? iwrfthc^c trees they generally build their t,hey fly along. «" ^« \t belning or miWlo If April^ sometimes nests in company, nbout the '«S'"!""S j. ^^.^^ ^^sts, taken ten or fifteen nests bemg ""f/'^.J"^^^ f ''^ u measures full five inches from a high Pin«:t'-«'-\'^ "'f:,^ S^^ composed outwardly of mud, in diameter withm,and four "^ ''«Py ' ^^-.^ttv kind of grass, and lined mixed with long stalks -nd roots of a knotty kindo g ^^ ^^^^^ ^^_^^ with fine bent and horse bar The eggs we n , ^^. ^^^^^^ ^^^^ 5£b;:;:t^s:'::itSr ;S2r?S;^ They rarely produce from the farm-house, and overlook the planta^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^.^ issue, in all directions, and ^^'^'' ^,^ J"°„ ^3 as if the whole w re daily depredations among the ^^^^^/'^^fXm on, however, is di- intended for their use alone Their chieattnt^ . ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ rected to the Indian corn in all ^f l^rf^'^ppearance above ground, , infant blade of tiiis grain ^"^^^"^^^^r^^^hlcSs of peculiar sttisfac the Grakles hail the >^?l««"lVJ"f";mri invitTrn from the proprietor, tSe disasters are soon forgotten, and those .who live to get away, Return to steal, another day. About the be/mnmg of August^^^^^^^^^^ SXdth4':^.n^?ordtirrdt^^^^ bo^die. They descend . Auduboa's accoum^of thdr^annc. of htalch..^ is at^^^^^^ 3 by Woodpeckers, and oJ^r.^cm.sed >;y -^'^ ^^^ fe,. j weeds and and examined a, ^""•'f;'''""' " i,'^,f^',' ege , wl>ich are from four to s.x .n number, re,ah.Ts rollerled, f^c fcm' « ;'2?^'. f f/^^f /- ^uch is the manner of l.uiU n,g in blotche.l and streaked ^f^^"''^^Xl tWrnesls are differently eonstmcted, and Luuisiana, hut, m tl'e ^°;''f"''!'",tu"r circumstance thai a comparatively short as mentioned bv our author .t '^ J^ "' R'^'",?!,, n.c Northern Slates, the.r nests are distance should so vary /» ' J^" ^^^^ '""^ pi, e-tree, whenever it occurs ,n a conve- ronslructed n a |n°«\P«f "l^^"'';;- Therrthe cirakle forms a nest, whu-h from nient place, is selected by prctercnce. »"^ri ^^. ^^^^ ^^ \^^ i,„iky. hcground, might easily be •^'«;fX''^,,''^ hers often to the number of a dozen IkilTt is much larger, a>"l 'j* a'^«°^'f ^j if „•„' frrn ing tier above tier, from the or more, on the horizontal branche of the p.nc,t^^^^^ ^,^^ „ . lowest to the highest branches It « ';°'^P°;'^,,„„ ,,^^, ^Iso once or twice observeil pot-ptt. The eggs, on the cuutiaf,, are ve /■If. PURPLE GRAKl.R. ^IQ .ike a blackening, swtoping tempest on the corn, dig off the external oovermg of twelve or fifteen coats of leaves, as dexterously asTdonJ by the hn,id of man, and, having laid bare the ear, leave Itt?e behiSd ^thc farmer but the cobs, and shrivelled skins, that coSned thSr avorita fare [ have seen fields of corn of many acres, where more thun one half w^is thus ruined. Indeed the farm/rs, in the immeSfp vicmity 0 the Rive™ Delaware and Schuylkill, generally aZv one HHirth of this crop to the Blackbirds, among whom our Grak le Jom^ mforfus lull shnre. During the8e\lepredntionsX .ur £ m„r^^ groat havock among their numbers, which has no other effect on hf Hurvivors than to send then, to another field, or to anotl^r par of the sime fiehl. This system of plunder and retaliation contiWs uitH November, when, towards the middle of that month, they b?gin to .«heer off towards the south. The lower parts of Vir^nia, North and South Carohna, and Georgia, are the wintir residence! oTthese flocks Here numerous bodies, collecting together from all quarters of tffe mtorior nnd northern districts, and dark^ening th. air with the r number sometime, form one congn;.:at.d multitude Sf many hundred thournff A few mi es from the bnnks of the Roanok., on th. 20th of January' I met witli one of those prodigious armies of Grakles. They rose from the surrounding fields with a noise like thunder, and, descendTS with k/'"/'^ "f ''f ^'^r '""' ''''"''^ '' ^"'^ t''« fence coripS with black; and wh.n they again rose, and, after a few evolutions descended on the .kirts of the high-timbered woods, at thartJme destitute of leaves, they produced a most singular and striking effe™ the whole trees fbr a considerable extent, from the top to the lowest branches, seemed as if hung in mourning; their notes '^^nd crear^iS the mean while resemblmgthe distant sound of a great cataract buUn more musical cadence, swelling and dying away on the ear accorHin^ to the fluctuation of t!,e breeze' In Kentncky,^and a 1 alongT mS SHsipp., from Its juncture with the Ohio to the Balize, I fonnd numbera ot these b.rds so that the Purple Grakle may be considered 8^™ g^meral inhabitant of the territory of the United States ^ Every industrhius farmer complains of the mischief committed on nis con, by the Crow Blackbird,, as they are usually calleTt! ouffh wen. th. same moans used, as with Pigeons, to take them in clap nete' multitudes of them might thus be destroyed, and the products of them in market, in some m.aHure. indemnify him for thLir depredation^ But they are most numerous and most destructive at a time when the various harvests of the husbandman demand all his attention, and all his hands, o cut, cure, and take in; and so they escape ^W h " few sw.eps made among them by some of the younger boys with th- Ju^ and by the gunners from the neighboring towns ami villages ; and retiS from tiien- winter quarters, sometimes early in March" to renew the ike scenes over again. As some consolation, however to the'indus nous cultivator, I can assure him, that were I placed in his situ tion I should hesitate whether to consider these birds most s f^^ie ds "; enemies, as they are particularly destructive to almost all the noxious worms grubs and caterpillars, that infest his field., which, were they a owed to multiply unmolested, would soon consume nine tenths of ^^t.^H!'^^-,''''\'f}^-^' ^n? desolate the country wiS%fe misenan o, msiiuc : U „ot tnis anoUier striking proof that the Deity 320 SWAMP SPARROW. hu created nothing in vain? and that it is the duty of man, the lord Ke creation, to avail himnelf of their u«e fulness and K^ard a^nnt their bad effects as securely as ponsible, without indulging in the h7rharous and even impious wish tor their utter extermination? ThrPu^le Se^s twelve inches long, and eighteen in extent ; on a slight Jiew, seems wholly black, but placed near, in a good light, 5^e whole head, neck, and br/ast, appenr of a rich glossy steel blue dSk vio et, and silky green ; the violet prevails most on the h.Mid and breosrand the green on the hind part of the neck. The back, rump, and whole lowef parts, the breast excepted, reflect a strong coppery doss wing.covert«, m .-ondaries, and coverts of Uie tail, rich Tight Set! in wich the red prevails ; tlie rest of the wings, and rounJed an are black, glossed with steel blue. All the above colors are ex- remoly shining, varying as differently exposed to the light; iris of STeye, sTery ; bill, more than an inch long, strong, anS furnished on Se inside of the upper mandible with a sharp process like the stump of the broken blade of a penknife, intended tc assist the bini in malTemting its food ; tongue, thin, bifid at the end, and lacerated along . *Thf female is rather less, has the upper part of the head, neck, and the back, of a dark sooty brown; cHin, breast, and belly, dull pale brown hght^st on the former; wings, tail, lower parts o t^e back and vent,1)lack, with a few reflections of dark green; legs, feet, bill, and eyes, as in the male. , . . r, . rpi,-,. The Purple Grakle is easily tamed, and sings in confinement. They have also, in several instances, been taught to articulate some few "°A 'siSrSnlnt frequently takes place between this bird and the Fish Hawk. The nest of this latter is of very large dimensions, often from three to four feet in breadth, and from four to five feet high; composed, externally, of large sticks, or fagots among Uie in- teretices of which sometimes three or four pairs of Crow Blackbirds wUl construct their nests, while the Hawk is sitting or hatching above. Here each pursues the duties of incubation and of rearing their young ; living in the greatest harmonv, and mutually watching and protecting each other's property from depredators. SWAMP SPARROW. -FRINGILLA PALUSTRIS.-Fio. 100. Passer paluslris, Bartram, p. 291. - Pw/e'* Museum, No. 6569. y.OXUTRICHI.a PALUSTRIS- J ^^otnK.* . Fringilla palu.tris, «m,«p. Synop p. Ill — The Swamp Sparrow, And. pi. 64, * ' male; Orv. Bwg. i. p. 3J1. The history of this obscure and humble species is short and unin- teresting. Unknown or overlooked by the naturalists of Europe, it is . „., r ,. -_-:.. (-.jr-.-o,! .« No« 100. mi. 102, and 103. will point out the form which Mr'K'nson has designated as above. Of these, the present and 1 PWAMP SP ARROW. 221 nnr'nf o„^ "* ^'?'*'' '"^"''"<'«d to tho notice of the world. It in SuenHn/r""'"" '''.'^"^.' •^"•'"•"f? *" Penm-ylvania early in Apr f |requentinp ow prou„,|.s uad rivor c.ursoH ; roiirinjr two und somo wS ?"?,'„ r" ^?hr" ' '^"•' '•«^""""^' ^" ^--^ -'he's ffr3 flnt^ f fhf« i*"" immense cypress swamps and extensive fn!l tK K the Southern States, that border their numerous rivers and the rich nco plantations, abounding witli their favorite seeds ■?,. I sustenance, appear to be the general winter resort, and Indanri J rendezvous, ot this and all the other species of Sparrow th" rr ma wi h us durmg summer. From the R.'ver Trent in S Ca oUna h It ot Savannah, and still farther south, I found thirspedes venr umerous ; not flying in flocks, but skulking among U e canes re3^ and frrass, see.mng sTiy and timorous, and more attache,! to the watt- than any other of their tribe. In the month of April, n mbers naSi through Pennsylvania to the northward, which I con iecti^^^e fro JTh« circumstance of .Inding them at that season n p: rtTcXrTrtl of tt woods, where, during tli.. rest of the year, they are nof 1.71,0 eon crSkr:nd'rve'r;''"Tht^r"'?;f "^'^'"P^ "^"'^ '-'Jy borders of o"; a tussock of rS It^ '" *^''"; f '* "' ^« ^'•°""''' sometimes in a lussock ot rank grass, surrounded by water, and lav four effffs nC -. dirty white, spotted with rufous. So late as tlie 15th S* A^t Their nri" ^^Tr ^T'""^ '^"^ y"""^' ^''^^ ^^^e sircely ^^10^/ Their principal food is grass seeds, wild oats, and insects. Thev have The Swamp Sparrow is five inches and a half long and seven inches and a half in extent; tlie back of the neck andSt ii^e b ack" crown, bri^V .ay, bordered with black; a spot of yXw sh whiL' between the eye and nostril; sides of the icck and whole breast, dark Sl'„n5'"' ".h''V' '""f^ ""^^^^'^ proceeds frou.tJielowTman'i^ ble,and another from the posterior angle of the eye; back^k ■ w!£^„ST- ""f- •'Y ' ^''^''' '^"^^^ '^'^^ black, SgedSh bay • wings and tail, pain brown ; belly and vent, brownish whi e bm' dusky above, bluish below; eyes,'hazle ; le^, brown ckwss'troni and sharp for c imbing the reeds. The femS wante 'the bTty on thf crown, or has ,t lud.stmctly ; over the eye is a line of dull Se. assimilation with tho Hun i./" .Wow a.icl I?rU^/ '^^'\ ""r =• '"'»"- ' n WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. ¥ > * ■ WHITE-THROATED SPARROW -FRINGILLA ALBICOL LIB. — Fia. 101. * p. 37a, rfo. iJ48. — /Voie'i ^/wrnrn, No. 64«6. XOJVOTRICIITA /'£JVJVSK/>• This is the larf^est as well us ImndaonieBt of all our Sparrows. It winters with the precediiiL-- species and several others m most ot the states south of New Ei.^^land. Fro... Connecticut to Savannah I found those hirds nuineious, particularly m Uie neighborhood ot tue Roanoke River, and u.nonfr the ri.-o plmitiitions. In sunmier they re- tire to the higher inland parts of the country, and also larther north, to breed Accord. I'jr to Penimut, tiiey are also found at that season in Newfoundland. During thoir residence he^e m winter, they col- lect together in flocks, always preferring the borders of swampy thickets, creeks, aud null-ponds, skirted wiUi alder bushes and long, raid; voedtf, tlie see.ls of which for... their principal food, harly in snriu'N a little bolbre they leave us, they have a few remarkably sweet and clear notes, generally in the morning a little after sunrise. About the ''0th of April they disappear, and we sec no more ot them till the beirrnning or second week of October, when they again return; part to pass the winter with ua, and part on tlieir route farUier south. The lengtli of the Whito-tiiroated Sparrow is six inches and a halt, breadUi, nine inches ; the upper part r,f the b.ick and Uie lesser wing- coverts are beautifully variegated w.th black, bay, ash, and light brown • a stripe (>f wliite passes from the base of the upper mandiblo to tlie hind head ; this is bordered on each side with a stripe of black; below tins .''uiu is another of white passing over each eye, and deep- ening into orange yellow between that and the nostril ; this is again boidered by a stripe of black proceeding from the hiiid part ot the eve; breast, ash; chin, belly, and vent, white; tail, somewhat wedc'ed ; legs, flesh colored ; biU, a blui.sh horn color ; eye, hazel. In tTie female, the white stripe on tlie crown is a light drab ; Uie breast not so dark ; tiie chin less pure ; and the line of yellow before the eye scarcely half .is long as in the male. All tlie parts that are white in the male are i; tlie female of a light drab color. KWt-COLORED SPAIU'.OW. 923 FOX-COLORED SPARROW. -FRINGILLA RUFA.-Fio. 103. Runty Hunting, Arct. Zool. p. .Kit \„ '>ii n,,-,/ ,.-,., ^ mi ^••-»'""S'lla rula, Bartram, p. ^\.-Pe,.U'hi Finch Muitum, Sio ZOM-OTRlCIfM MMCA-SWA...ON. Fringilla iliaca, /Icmap. Sy»^^,.. 1 II- Fnngilla (zonotriehia) iliaca, Ar<,r^^^ no2i?abounfo 2"c;Jh''o'?;it'r'''''."""'' 'V Pomusylvar.ia from the Lsm ii^rr n littl fl «f October; fre,,uent8 I(.w, sheltered thickota ; B^anmrt." ^m^ ten or twelve •, and in almoHt coi.tinuali; fhfT ? ffround,an(l rustlittir ainonff the fallen leaves I f,„,nfl thi8 bird nu, .;ronH ,n November, atnon^r tf.e rich, cultiv t -d fl ts Zt border the R.ver Connecticnt; and waUt.fornu.l thu t je^^^^^^^^^^^ peaces in .spri-t-. 1 also found it in the nortliern parts of hntate of Vennont Alonjr the bordern of the frroat reed ind cyLL bw .>n^ of Virffinta and North and Sotitli Carolina, as well as arour ' I T plantationu, I observed this bird very frenicutlv ThoJ »'. i ' " Lwfoundland.* Thc^ are rather'Jif a ^oltul^-nl^s o. IS mg in the open fields, b„t ironerally nnder thickets, or a.noi rr , ' nu - weeds on the edcjen of fieldn. They sometimes associotix^iH.; Snow Bird, but ...ore Generally keep by themselves. The - /'" j^ very much resemble those of the Ked-eyod Bunting ; thev are .i lent tome and unsuspicious. They have genorally no other" note wh.Io here than a .Ae;,, ,Je;, ; yet I suspect^hey iLe so, e sorbin the places where hey breed ; for I once heard a sinplo one, a lit Te before the^^me they leave us, warble out a few very sw^eet, lo^'v notes! bZ5 Fo^-^'ored Span;ow ,s six inches lonjr, and nine nnd'a q.mrter broad ; the tapper part oi the head and neck fs cinereous, edped wiUi ereoua; wmgs and tail, bright ferrufrinous ; the primaries uskv withm and .it the tips, the first and second row of coveS' m>ed wiUi white ; breast and belly, white; the fornier, as wX^'uicTa' feathers, marked with large blotches of bright bay, or reddish brown Swk iho^-r^^J'^'^f ^.fy^'^^^^ little arr^-shaM spoteof' W 'ii^K^"'"''-^!:^^"'^^''"'"'^ "■ ''"f?''t fox-color; he leVand teet, a dirty brownish white, or clay color, and very strong ; the biH is 'l^'J.^vi'^'^'^y '^^"V« •^"'1 y«llo^v below ; iris of the ev." hazel The chiet difference in the fen^ale is, .Jia. th^ wings are not of so tiJt a bay, inclining more to a drab ; yet this is scarcely observable unless by a comparison of tlie two together. They are genert lly ve^ fat live on grass seeds, eggs of insects, and gravel. ^ ^ ^ * Pennant. I ^l'' 234 SAVAl-NAH SPARROW. Fio. 102.-- SAVANNAH SPARROW. -FRIN GILL A SAVANNA.- Female.* Pealt^s Museum, No. 6684.. ■/.ON-OTRICHIJi SAVAKJf^. - Jardinb. Fringilla Savanna, Bonap. Synop. p. 108. figure of which ^»" ^'^K^eSe'' '''"'• With a representation of ?rSi; wr'so'be i" ^aSlarsoVtheir nest ejg;, -d man- Uie male will also DC «>^e ' Enncimens 1 had the oppor- ners, which, Iroin tho_ soahon, a u J «; '*^ ', jj ^^ j have since SfuSnSo" "L'^JSll.frvhoBC „0M, ^nection U,e, now inside of the shoulders, and Iming «» t^iy^ P,,itish; secondaries hind claw, pretty long. „hirh Nature has drawn lar species may be precisely discriminated. • The Male is figured, No. 1S3. LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. 225 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.-LANIUS CAROL1NENSIS._F,g.104. Peale's Museum, No. 5j7. /vJJV/f/S LUDOnCM.VUS. - l!,)r»APAHT£. J-anii.s Lmlovicianus, Bmap. S„„op p. 72. - The Loggerhead Shrike, A,td. pi. ff7 male and female ; Orn. liioff. j, p. 300. ^ ' m,ST#'P?f 'r^^"^ u *=°"«i^«™ble resemblance to the Great AmtHcan Shrike.'* It differs, however, from tliat bird in size, bein? a full inch shorter; and in color bemg much darker on the upper ptrts ; and in I r^ o1 4t' /'•«"tl?.,'^ltf • n^' ^^T '"'•'^^'i^ t***^ warmer parte of tl e Untod btates; while the Groat American Slirike is cliiofly confined to the northern regions, and seldom extends to the soutii of Virginia 1 his species inhabits the rice plantations of Carolina and Gcoraia, wliore It is protected for its usefulness in dpstroyinjr ,r,ice. It sits "far hours together, on the fence, beside the stacks of rice, watching like°[ cat ; and as soon as it perceives a mouse, darts on it like a Hawk It also feeds on crickets and grasshoppers. Its note, in March, resiMnbled the clear creaking ot a sign-board in windy weather. It builds its nest, !is I wa5 informed, generally in a detached bush, much like that ot tlie Mocking Bird; but, as the spring was not then sufficienUv advanced, I had no opportunity of seeing its eggs. It is generally known by the name of the Loggerhead, f {,«»«rai]y * See FiR. 15. t In the remarks on the Tyramiimr, I observed thai only two of the sub-fam- lies ot he grea er division Lmiadce existed in North America, -that now Eluded to and thelam<.«.r, of which our present species, with the l/. horeali {l/orZ, plate, and that ol Kurope, will form typical examples. Ornithologists have Xavs te 'tTT'^ """'• '■'''^''V^'" ""^ P"?'''?"' "'■ "''-^^' •'■'^'l'^' »•'«' '"'"'« placed them alike with he rapacious Falcons and timid Tlirnshcs. Thev arc, hmvever th^ of tha°gro°lp ""''' ""'' ' "'"' "'"°"^ ""• '"■"•"'"•''* ^^■'" ^' "'« re,\rISatives Ainerica was seen to be the .rrcat country of the T„ranninm ; in like manner may the Shrikes claim Africa for their grout birth-place. Tlu-v there wage in" es "n war on the numerous insect hosts, the larger pecies occasmn.lly cxe^cisin- their greater strength on soine ol the weaker iixlividn.is of llu- fealhere.l race : and I v some gamekeepers, that of this country is killed as a bir.l of p,ev. being fonid to ,ks"ov voui.g birds, an.l even to , Irag tlie weak young pheasants throngli the bars of thi l.ree,' "'t habitsTre '^ihus described by Le Vaillnni •. - colans ot Southern Airica. ii.-> » cnriiifrs uDon it, and imniedi- « When it sees a locust, a '»-».''^' "^-.^'^f ,^ £'^ X f it Soes .iith great dcx- ately carries il ofl, n. ordcrto '•"P^'^ '\°'\%Tjf" J" ctini^ Every animal which terity, always passing the thorn ih ough thehe=.^ '' '.'^Jj ^.u™" ^i, d„^^ long its nmr- il seVzes is subjected to the sar^ejatean^^^^ (lerous career, apparenllj insligaiea rainer "y ""^ , . j branch of a tree, from „, food. Its dirone of lyrannv .s "f'^^l'y ''J^y. ^"J.^^and ^^^^ troublesome, which it pounces on all mlrucTers, driving "«j'^^„^'J°"^f/^"ft,™nhambles, and and impiling the i»expc-nei.ced a^ive^ wto hung y,^ U ^ y\,,,iUoes helps itself to a savory meal. 1 T." ' ;!" nrtv on the eibbet till it becomes not'^love fresh food, atul therefore 'eaves its prey "^'"^"f'^^^^-^f decomposition putrescent; but >-'-J' ' ^ -"'j^i:':^,;,!'' ^/ufS^^^^^ animal flu'^ds in a .sometimes does not taKc pl.n t . irom '"^ 3'"^, . gpipv ^htah may have been warm and arid atmosphere and consequcidywhatever^^ y ^^^ chosen by the Butcher Mud as the place o ^^^^^^I'l^J'^^^i^l^ carcasses' not with swect-smelln.ir ai.d ;•''">' V^'f^'^^^^ of the larger size. tieman mentio,^ T'^ "'' "f '\^JT-^^^^^^^^ this'histance, after Shrike upon a Hedge '^'\'»^''l'7v"'''*''/'f'',;u'Vo"a short time over the hedge, notes, as might be expected, are hoarse 7"X"/'"|' ^"L "^ are very attentive bation become verv garrulous l-nr.;;-;' ar v ^^^.^^ .Hhem affer ihev are able to to their voung, and conluu..- I..iif; to '«"' »'''' rTj the Falcomdm, which our shift for themselves. t .nav be here remarked ^f^^l^\]' ,,,k,. ,l,cir present knowledge leads us u, Hunk .s r<"Pf«cited . ^^^^'^^ ^'.^ >^ ^^ ^^^,, ■„, ,rev to some eminence belon. '■o'"n'7<;2, ' ' ,? ike ;; if ii a w„od. some .le- ^;:.:>r s,r;'^v JV'ii:;:^ ^r:!::.e':;rf 45-:^ '—.0 by the s^ne '•''Ktn:;^::rs:r^:';'rr';^^ios':^::c;rt; know„to belong to North ^Tt' W„fe. Viell!.-/.. rrcMtor. Wils. Vol. i. p. 74. L. bor.alis, Honap. "^T'l tHuin,,.,.. ['cap. - /,. r.roliur„sis^ Wils. ^^Jl. i.i..p. ^7 i ''^'' \^;,,"' ^ "'.^ the Saskatchewan. of ,|„- mivtiikc mcntionn.l thcrv m his Appcnrtix to mo .ym-is. BIrl" —V-D. liELTLD KINGSFlyilEIl 227 whitish; winffs black, with a small spot of white at tlio bnsp nf tK primaries, and tipped with white • a sfrinp nf hi., i ? "* "*® BELTED KINGSFISHER.-ALCEDO ALCYON. Fkmale. ■ Fig. 105. — Bartram, p. 289. - Tnrton, p. 278. _ P.a/e'. Museum, No. 2145. Alcedo alcyon, 5onap. S;,;^. P- ^- - The Bdted Kingsfi^er, ^W. pi. 77; Om. This is a general inJiabitant of the banks and shores of all r..,r fresh water rivers, from Hudson's Bay to Mexico and iffl,..^? species of its tribe found within the United sTates This list circuS The merit of unravelling this species from several verv closelv -illir,! tn i. ;.. . upper margiu of the' eyelid lateral scalefot- the tarsus tit Jfvilrr;,'''"'^ "'1 pieces, the shorter length of the wing when closed and ii^^.iri^nK '"''"''' graduated; the totallength is nine inches, six lines ' ' ''"' ^"'"8^ "^"'•-' 4, Lamns elegam, Sw. — White-crowned Shrike. Ucscribed by Mr. Swainson, from a specimen in the British M,wo„m . w i. > _, .... ..,.. ^.,...,, , ,„„ ,, „gi,i IS iiDoui nine inciie 3 Lamus (/) ?Mtka, Peiui. — Nalka Shrike. Ihis species, the Nootka Shrike of Dr. I,ai 228 BELTED KINGSFISI.EK. Stance, and its characteristic appearance, make it ns umversally known here a^ its elegant little brother, tlie Coininon Kingsfisher o i^urope, is in Britain. Like the lovelorn swains, of whom poets tell us, he delights n murmuring streams and falling waters; not, however. ,• .1 •. ..,■•;,. IB irmuDs bv almost all orailhologists; llmllo which our present species uuuiiri , a„sular aiid leiielhened bills; they leed entirely on s,zc w. h '»" , °«? ^"?.;''^,^ ^;f „; ihc banfs of rivers, lakes, and creeks, and hsh and aquai.c "'^^-'^^^'XJ They are distributed oier the world, but the occaMonally on the ea-^o e ^ney ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ S Au':cla m>d"lt'opo po^^^^^ only one each, i'he colors o, the plun.a.e, w t a It V excep io,.s, particularly the upper parts, are very bright and slnn.njj, il.e webs oImL foXers unconnected and loose ; the under parts generally wh.te w„h shades oredS brown and orange ; the division nearest to tins, coniannng but a £ s.cc es of ery small size, but similar in form and coloring has been senara ed SraTouU of having three toes, and. 1 believe, is exclus.vely Indian Another andt well marked group is the Halcyon of Mr. Swainson ; it dillers materially in d"e formal" manners o living, and ranges every where, except >n North America a„d?™ope The birds are "all above the miJdle size with a stouter and more ?"bus form ; the colors sometimes very gaudy. ... others ol rich a..d pleas...g shades fb own. The bill, a chief organ of d.st.nction, .s large much d.lated at lebasc am n one or two instances, very strong. They n.hab.t moist woods ml riclv 'reams or creeks, where they watch on a mot.o.iless nercli (or the larger ; it as lu rnimon European species does for fish, and tf.ey dart upon them when .;assin' or when seen ol. the grou..d, a..d retur.. aga... to the same bra..ch or Tock 'tC as chase their pre v in the ma....er of the Flycatchers Notwi.l.stand- .°rthes^;reth^-irco.nn.<...tood, f.sh, water insects, ,n a lew ...stances crabs, are r^or ed to m. i.i all cases the vici.iity of water seems requ.s.le lor he. healthy sunCr T ere is a., individual (AlceJo dea) wh.ch has been separated trom his Zle the .an -of Tamisipt.ra : the only distinction, now, lor it l.as four toes, is Z e < nca i^of two lail-fc.ather, , which exceed the le..gth of the body consider- ablv Tt w s orHnallv discovered in the Isleof Ternate,a..d, according to Lesso.j^ ho e CO. ....'• o this cou..trv, bei.ig impaled on reeds, are co.iseque.jtly much .nut,- med A. oa.er divisio.. will comprise' the very large New Holland species, uud.r thelldeof D.c./<.;* this co.itains yet o>.ly two species, commonly k..own by the name of ■' U glink Ja-^kasses ; " by the ..atives they are called Cuck ..iida ; they ar.ma ly as Se as a Comnu... Pigeon. a..d have all the members very powerful ; ^h^X . .chlilated.a..dbe.Uat''tl.clip; according to Lesson, ihe.r ch.e fond ,hi <^e iiiscc t, which Ihev seize on the ground; iKat orn.tl.olog.st extonds the ^e us to several of the arger-billcd small soccies ; we would now restrict .t as Be"ri.'bc»er marks .., ilmsc of New Holland only, D. pganl.a a..< Leaclm. WlerdUis.,."hasbee.,l<.r.ne.l among these curious b.rds also by M Lessoij, of tl^^4/c/o •«»..» of Cuvier. under the ..a.ne of .S>w, and, as a sprchc appcl- Tat on Vl a of 7v'•o^,ra, bv ^^hich it is known to the fapous, in ,1s ..ative coun ry, New U i nea. It freouenls rivers and the sea-shores, and fee.ls on hsh ; the prii- "^1 ,Hs c on for which it has been separated is a serrature of the ma,.d,blcs of d.rbil MI esse.., however, (li'."'' fi^'' ;>"-'P^"- grap ical distribution, .he k.iown world, except very northern '^t-tudes ; he „„m- Bcr of species an.l indivUU.als h.creasmff from the exlrenries. 2 IMnjon . the forr. ofTCcL, cimmomn,.. omnicolor. Ic. ; co,.ta.n...g Lesson's TWyrflmpu. aUo, Jertiaps, hi« Svma,mn\ the Tnnysiptera of Vigors ; the two latter groups, as ♦ M 1 P„on nronofie* a BcnuH ( 7V,rfvram™./.v) f-r all ll.c mnnllcr Now Ilollaml Bpecies. ,»kin^J .Tm as I e typ.., on ..Vcunt. priruipully, of the .More ,lil„.c.l l.ill. '1 ho «an,e ^fntlLan ,™/e, ll,c'?it'lc« ^^elidora Ld CAoucafcjon, to designate forn,. among th. Kine»fiihor« which I have not lucortaino . i 1 BELTED KINGSFISHER. 229 merely that they may soothe his ear, but for a gratification somewhat a" W he" j; ; nti'l ^^ "" of the cataraft, or overTeTam o/ a torrent, he sits perched upon an overhanging bough, glancing his piercing eye m every direction below for his%cdy prey, wWcKh a sudden, circular plunge, ho sweeps from their native'element, and swallows in an mstant His voice which is not unlike tlie twirW if^,rrh""r''^"^l''r/^*"'^"y ^«"d, harsh, and sudden ; but ! vlnch he generally rambles. He courses along the windings of th« rdin^'hiSf? ^,«'"'^» height above the surface, someimelut wl/ro,^! ^ *^^ "'P''' 1"^'°^' °^' '"^ '"'^Ss, like certain species of nodCLpT^^^^ T ?' fry below: now and then settling on "iv iislted'bv tb^fff H^ ^"? ^o raconnoitre.* Mill-dams are particu- iry visited by this feathered fisher ; and the sound of his nije is as ^ ell known to the miller as the rattling of his ow^ hopper! ^ Rapid trc^1ms, with high perpendicular banksf particularl , if they bf of a hard clayey or sandy nature, are also favorite places'of resort for this bird ; not only because in such places the small fish are iilre exposed 0 view, but because those steep and dry banks are the chosen shua- uons for his nest. Into these he digs wi4 bill and clavJs horTzontanv ornetimes to the extent of four or five feet, at the distance of a foot „; ,Zn?V)l '"'^f ^- • ^H ^^'' "i^terials he takes in are no? always placed at the extremity of the hole, that he and his mate may have rooin Lo turn with convenience. The eggs are five, pure white S the first brood usually comes out about Ihe begbn n^g of June' an Honictimes sooner, according to the part of the countfy where thev reside. On the shores of Kentucky River, near tlie town^of Frankfort lound the female sitting early in April. They are verv tenacfous of their haunts, breeding for several successive years in the same ho^e and do not readny forsake it, even though it be visited. An melligent young gentleman informed me, that having found where a WsSeJ niilt, he took away its eggs from time to time, leavin^alwavs one behmd, until he had taken no less than eighteen from the same nest At some of these visits, the fomale, being within retired to fLpv tremity of the hole, while he withdrew thf ej^lrannexUay^^^^^^^^^ lie returned, he found she had laid again as usual. ^' The fabulous stories related by the ancients of the nest, manner of h m 1!^ M I 030 BELTED KINGSFISHER J f„u;«n. Xjr> r^f thp Kinpsfip'ia. are too trifling to b^ repeated here. least, the species now before us — 1 ave no control. Its nest is ncitner SSructed of slue nor fish-bones, 3ut of loose grass and a few feath- r:1;tlt uLwnon the sur^ ^Z^ll. r^StTe^ofthrefl Neither is its uead or its foath- rsbelicvereven by the most illiterate of our clown, or seamen to boac arm for lovefa protection against witchcraft, or a security for fair weXr It is neither venerated, like tiiose ot tlio Society sles nor dreaded, like those of some other countries; but is coasid^rod nJro ™ bird that feeds on fish ; is generally fat ; relished hy soma as good eating; and is now and then seen exposed .or sale m our '"ThcS'h the Kii:=,sfiHher generally remains wiUi us in i^ennsylvu nia, un il the commencement of cold weather it is .eldon. seen here in winter; but rtnirns to us early in April. In North and South CaroWI observe,] numbers of these birds ,» the montlis of Feb- niarv and March. ) ..Iso frequc.tlr noticed them on the shores of roil^n February, as high u. ■■ ^.e mouth of the Muskingum. I suspect this bird to be a native oi" , h- Baharn. Islands as ^^ ell as of our contfnent In passing between ih. ne ilc. and th. Florida shore,' in the monul of .Tuly, - TGngsfish.r flew .e, r.l times round our ship, and afterwards shot olV to the south,. „^ „ i,.,if. pytpnt The length of this species v.-- t^N^lv-- inches and a hajf, exten^ twenty back and wliole ui-ocr ,>".vts., a light blui.li slate color; round 1 nJck is a collar of puri 'white, which reaches before to the chm; head, large, crested; the feathers, long and narrow, black m the cen- tre ."d lei^rally erect ; the shafts of all the feathers, excep the wlnte pluma'efaTe black; b'elly and vent, v.hite ; sides under, the wings vSo-St d with blue; round the upper partofthebreast passes a band of blue ai.erspersed with son 0 light brown feathers ; bc-fore the eye S a sm;il ..ot of white, and another immediately below it; Uie bill is hreeTnche . long fro.n the point to the slit of Uie month, strong, sharp- Sed, and block, except Aear the ba^e cf the lower mandible, and at rip, where il .-: of a horn color; primaries and interior webs of the secondaries, black, spotted with white; the interior vanes of the tail- feathers, elegantly s lotted with white ou a jet-black ground ; lower side, light cSlored; exterior vanes, blue; wmg-covcrts and seconda- ries marked with small specks of white ; leg., cxtreincly short ; v, aeu he bnd perches, it generally rests on the lower side of the second icint ^ inch is thrre1,v thick and cnllo... ; claws, stout and black : i lio e leg, of a dirty ydlowish color ; above the knee, bare of feathers for half an inch ; the two exterior toes united together for nearly then "^ The'fSle is sprinkled all over with specks of white ; the band of blue around the upper part of the breast is nearly half reddish bro^vn; and a Uttle below this pass.s a band of bright reddish bay spreading on each side nndor the wings. The blue and rufous leathers on the breast are strong, like scales. The head is also of a much darker blue than the back, and the white feathers on the cliin and tiiroat ot an ex- quisite fine, glossy texture, like the most beautiful satUL W^- BLACK AND YELLOW WARtLER. 231 BLACK AND YELLOW WARBLER. Fio. 106. -SYLVIA MAGNOLIA.— Peak's Museum, No. 7783. SYLVICOLA M^CULOSJl. — SwAiKson. SyMa mfciilosfi , '\alh. Ind. Om. ii. p.53C. — Bonap. Synop. p. •.lump Warblo;, f'cnn. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 400. — Tlic J51ack and Yc ,78. — Yellow- I'^cilow Warbler, (the young is frjrined only,) ^m attempt to V oach t .u,d 'S S^^ '^ > '^'^^^l'??? '^^''y on the lou^t land forests to breed. ^° "'® mountains and in- But Pennsylvania is not the favorite resort of this snerip« Ti on the UHdd. brLcLs of a ;-f over tlH hro ?' ""''^r f P^^'^'''^'^ out his cl arming melodjv u>ay ?n' LtS; 13 f ^'"''' T^^ 1 mile. The voice of t ' attle b an^ S t ' "^^""'^ '"''* sw.et and expressive, th.. [ as ?Fr , nf ."^- '° '^^9"»«''^ly traveling the' deep-shaded 1 X. h^t 1 " brTlfo'° '^. ^"^"^ tJf f^ l',^'"'^^'^ '"^ '"*^''«" ''^"?' ""i "i"e and a half in ex iTin; nf " . "Pr"" ^"'^ ^^'■^ "^'^ uniform and very dark olve with rcsembli ^ it in manners. Male and fe.aal.. nearly al; e 984 PAINTED BUNTING PAINTED BUNTINO.-EMBERIZA CIRIB -F.o. UO. M.»; rAiniCi^ t'lo. Ill, Female. and r«063. sj'/Zj* C/H/S. — BoNAr»«Tr.* . r. «.«„« n 107 - .a penser'mc noiipBfcil And. pi. 3.i, malp ami lemale , urv. i>n„ Am. p>. i*'i ■""■■ ' , . .„ „<• T„.s is one of the .ost "-^VkUw^"-^^^^^^^^ I.L Louisiana whero.t;H-^^^^^^^^ hnbitantB, and called by ""_"' ^ ^ ' f mannern have procured it ,VonpnreU. ItB pay ^i^^^^-^^f. J,^ „' ,! ^t „nffly attractive, and carry many admirers ; tor h^^ J"J^' ^^'JJ Jw witl' tl'em. The low cc.un- their own '•«««"^7;^"^^; ""V n the v cinity of the sea, and a ong the tries of th(' Southern States, '"J^^J^'^'" ' the rice plantations, are borders of our lar.e f'V-«, f^Uc • Jy J J .North the favorite haunts of thi^^ el' gam iiu numerous, and still more Carolina-, in So"th Carolina they are ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^rst met them HO in the lower parts "» .^' "f'".- ^\^^^ they seemed rather scarce. at Natchez, on ^'^^ .^^jCTXo' o^mJ Below n.ton ^^""Se, along the lye^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ j.,„ ^^on appear, .. in great ""'"^'^J^ ' ^^^^here they were warbling from almost as 1 approached New O^^^'^";' ™j before me every few minutes, .very 'fence, and ""f "^^^^JieoT the Indigo Vd, (Fig. 'A) more concise. „ .^.,1 It l« rpnnisile thai ronsiderable "" ^hu"sr-.» run pu..».., ;.„t;. = ^'S » "Jrir ;i~S' rS,«lta, itat il ™*l '» '''"'"'" f" ; SeV» uoaVin;!, ™»e., pom™ «■ t !l PAHTED lUJNTINO. thJ ivet? hhaSuf"n,rn']^ T""!^^^ domesticated in the ho,«es of wi« rrencti inhabitants of New OrlennH, appearintr tn be t\m m.^mt oommor, c.^n bin! they havo. The no^e, often bnnl tf.en^ o Z> ket. from the ne.frhborinjr plantations, for Hale ; either i^ cuTes tTen banks ot the Mis.iHs.ppi, a few miles below Bayou Fourche took me •no h.H garden, which is spacious and majrnih\,ent, to S?;. me Ms nviary ; whrro, ,t,n ...many of onr common^b.rrls, I obscrvnd severS Normare.ls, two o! ..Inch had nests, ana wore tl..., hntrhinc \V.;ro th.; same attf-ntjori be8town and slow in arriving at their full variety of colors, In the second 8ea8ou,ine blue on tfie head begins to make its appearance, intermixed with the olive uTeen: the npvt woo» fk«n»ii i.i_ .__!* 336 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. on the back and ^^^ Jjf £ SoS'aJe tZ^LT^el^tl throatandlowerpartsAl these coio^ continues on the tail. season, except, ^T^^^^SoLh-biK attained his complete colors, On the fourth and fifth season, th ?^"^" ""^, ,pj uy ^ "^ Nq depen- and apoears then as FfP^^^^^^^^'Jh^'eSS^^^^^^ i" birds dence,Uwever, can ^/ P^;^*=,jJ J^rprop?^^^ fo^^^ sunshine, and variety confined m a cage, as the want ot proper » ^^ ^^^^^^_ '^'^IrK STfiVeCtfar^^^^^^^^^^ 'quane. long, and eight Ihe JNonpareii '» "' pvtpnf head, neck above, and sides ot inches and Uiree q'mrtej 'J^^ lower parts, tlie same, ^•^/'^'jK^^^^^^^ ^T'^'Ti^irlvSreTSer wing-coverts, purple; larger, green; ?SS^»U?a SUer'f l-T .%, »hony 1 pale « co,„„ "«£VSVS« f?:;-'!r;:rrico, in.oc,», a„d v^iou, kind, being extremely susceptible ol cold. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. -SYLVIA PROTONOTARIUS. — Fio. 112. Arct. 31G.-La//.. ii. 41)4. /'/. enl. m.-PeaW, VERMIVORJil pROT(X\'OT^RIUS.-i^ni>it W'^ '^ *° ^ «„„a»fu.ro.ih whichlt then a few screaking lu-les, Bcarcoiy ruiJij vt n... -i-, - WORM-EATING M'ARRLER. 337 abundant in the Mississippi and New Orleans Territories, near the river, but are rarely found on the high ridges inland. from the peculiar form of it^ bill, being roundish and remarkablv pointed, this bird niight, with propriety, be classed as a si geSeS separate family ir:ci,iding several others, viz., the Blue-wingfd Sow Warbler the Gold-crowned Warbler, and Goldon-wincred Warb lor represented >n No. 08, and the Worm-eating Warbler, No. 113, an 1 a fe^v more. Thn bills of all these correspond nearly in form and point IvIlftLl''^ .^^'"''■'"-\^^r•"^'■' ^•"^^^^^ '^t the base, and mom roTnd than thoHo of the genus .yma, generally. Tiie first-mentioned speci". lu particular, greatly resembles tliis in its general appearance ; but So bill of the Prothonotary is rather stouter, and the yellow much deoner vlntX; 1 1.r' ""' f""-"t yf"«-. ^y^sMy incli'ning to oraige; vent, white; back, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts, yellow olive' w,ngs,ruinp,and tail-coverts,a lead blue; interior vanJs of the fom^er' black ; tail, near v oven, and black, broadly edged with blue ; aTtS featliers, except the two middle ones, are marked on their inner vanes Sllv hl„'\"'''' ' TJ' "'r^V ^'"' '""-^' ^^""^ «harp-pointed ami wholy black; eyes, dark hazel; legs and feet, a leaden gray. The female differs in having the yellow and blue rather of a duller tint- the inferiority, however, is scarcely noticeable. ' WORM-EATING WARBLER. -SYLVIA VERMIVORA - Fig. 113. Arct. Zool. p. m, No. .■>";r ,; '^ :^,SansS^could take advantage Ducks and Goose ; "n 1 K'' t'" ;\V; ?i^^ " ' „, float down to the south- of tiie current of the Ohio and ^\!=^'^ f f "'" "Xorv all our vernal .ard. Unfortunately ^I^^XiJ^'l^tZ^S^o^ home .by r:;mL/;L^i:nriU"ghw^^^^^^^^^^^ -t even excepUng the Geese, • ArcHc Zoology, p 406. YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW. 239 YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW.- FRINGILLA PASSERINA.- Fio. 114. Peak's AtuseMti, No. 6535. EMBERIZ^ ! l'^SSKRr.V.9.~J.KHn,:iE.* Fringilla (sub-geims Spiza) passerina, Bomp. Sifnop. p. 109. Of 'Sfo nn£^ 'T'^' i' "°'' ^''^ ^^^'^^ t""« introduced to the notice torv wMcl ]kp th '!' T''''' ''^r''"^^^ '"^^^'•'^^ Illustrating its his- bo^b'ut a dull lt.n f f "'n y individuals of the human race, would of New Yn Its P "T^''^ °'''"''"^y- ^^ ^"^^^^'^s the lower parts ^vhoreT Wnh Tf^^^T^' '« ^^^-y numerous on Staten Is and, Jersey R t S ^f -f,' ''"'i «'^'^»'--\'^'^o ^'«nj? the sea-coast of New Jersey. But, thoufrh it breeds in each of these places, it does not ro- raaminany of them durinsr tlie winter. It haLi short weak Tntei- rupted cherup, which it occa.sionully utters from tlie fencJsand tot of low bushes. Its nest is fixed on the .round among the gmss ; h nhntf Th'rr'''''^ r'^-r^ ''"'^^' ^^'^'' hairand-fibrous^mos'of On tt fiS f ¥' '"■'.'J'^' °f^,\^''-'"y'^^h ^^'hite, sprinkled with brown. On tlie first of August 1 tound the iemale sittin%«P;;^;^^^ ""'^f * JlT shin of some of the old European professors of falconry, 1 know not, but if e'tent of wing, and energy of character, and ease and rapidity of fli-lit\vould have been any recommendations to royal patronage, this species possesses all these in a very eminent degree. The long-pointed winffs and forked tail point out the affinity of this bird to liat familv or subdivision of the Falco genus, distinguished by tJ.p uilmeof Kites, which sail witliout flapping the wings, and eat fniin their talons at. they glide along. . , • , ^i i Tk Mississippi Kite^nea.sures fourteen inches in length, and thirt-ix inches, or three feet in extent ! The head, neck, and exte- rior vo£ of the secondaries, are of a hoary white ; tJ.e lower parts, a Xshash: bill, cere, lores, and narrow ine round the eye, black ; back nnp scapulars, and wing-covorts, dark blackish ash ; wing.s verflorL pointed, the third quill the longest; tho primaries are Lck min;e.ldowne.ch side of the shaft with reddish sorcl ; pri- na y ovort.s also slightly touche.l .ith the s:..me ; all the upper n im-i^e at the roots is white; tJie scapulars are also spot.e, with J ite -but this cannot be perceived unless tJ.e feathers be blown Is de • ta sli-htlv forked, and, as ^^ell as the rump jet black ; legs vermiiion. tinged ^vith oninge, and be > This plain, little bird has nitherto remained unknown, i first found it on the banks ol' Cumberland River, in the state of Tennessee, and suppose it to be rare, having since met with only two individuals of the same species. It was hunting nimbly among the young leaves, and, like all the rest of the family of worm-eaters, to which, by its bill, it evidently belongs, seemed to partake a good deal of tlie habits of the Titmouse. Its notes were few and weak ; and its stomach, on dissection, contained small green caterpillars, and a few winged insects. As this species is so very rare in the United States, it is most probably a native of a more southerly climate, where it may be equally numerous with any of the rest of its genus. The small Ceru- lean Warbler, (Fig. 81,) which, in Pennsylvania, and almost all over the Atlantic states, is extremely rare, I found the most numerous of Its tribe in Tennessee and West Florida ; and the Carolina Wren, (Fig. 51,) which is also scarce to the northward of ?.iary]and, is abun- dant tlirougii the whole extent of country from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. Particular species of birds, like different nations of men, have their congenial climes and favorite countries ; but wanderers are common to both ; some in search of better fare, some of adventures, others led by curiosity, and many driven by storms and u'^cidcnt The 'i'cnnesseo Warbler is four inches am. th^-o (v wrters long, and eight inches in extent; the back, ruinp, and tail ..'uvf rts are of a rich yellow olive; lesser wing-covorts, the same; wi.igs, deep dusky, edged broadly with yellow olive; tail, forked, olive, relieved with dusky ; checks and upper part of the liead, inclining to lioht bluish, and tinged with olive ; line from tlie nostrils over the eye, pale yellow, fading into white ; throat and breast, pale cream color ; beIJ7 .\J vent, white ; legs, purplish brown ; bill, pointed, and thicker at ^he base tlian those of the Siflvia genus generally are ; upper mandible, dark dusky ; lower, somewhat paler ; eye, hazel. The female differs little, in the color of her plumage, from the male; the yellow line over the eye is more obscure, and the olive not of ao rich a tint. 344 KENTUCKY WARBLER. KENTUCKY WARBLKR— SYLVIA FORMOSA. -Fio. 116 Peak's Museum, No. 7786. SYLVICOI^I FORAlOSji.— J AKDim. Sylvia formosa, Bonap. Synop. p. 84. - The Kontucky Warbler, And. pi. 38, male ami iciiiale ; Orn. lho«;. i. p. 19C. This new and beautiful species inhabits tlie country whose name it bears. It is also found generally in all the intermediate tracts between Nashville and New Orleans, and below that as far as the Balize, or mouths of the Mississippi ; where I heard it several times t«itterinrhtlv crested, tlie crown, deep bl« k, towards the hind part spotted with light ash; lores, and spot cinring down tlie neck, also black; tail, nearly rven nt the end. and ot a r.rh ohw green ; interior vanes of that and tlie >»ings, dusiy : legs, an almost trans- parent, pal(^ flesh color. . ^ *• The female wants lAe bbck under the «?ye, and 1»° greater part of tJiat on the crown, fcaviBf those parts ypJ.lowish. This bird is yerv abundant in the moist woods along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers PRAIRIE WARBLER. 345 I PRAIRIE WARBLER -SYLVIA MINUTA.-Fio. 119. Peak's Museum, No. 7784. SYLVrCOl^l DISCOLOR.- J ARDitt*.* Sylvia discolor, Vieill. pi. 98, (auct. Bonap.) - Bonap. Syrwp. p. 02. This pretty little species I first discovered in that singular tract o country in Kentucky, commonly called the Barrens. I sTiot several afterwards in the open woods of the Chactaw nation, where they were more numerous. They seem to prefer these open plains and thinly- wooded tracts ; and have this singularity in tiieir manners, that they are not easily alarmed ; and search among the leaves the most leisurely 0 any of the trihe I have yet met with; seeming to examine everj hlade of grass and every leaf; uttering at short intervals a feehlc chirr, [have observed one of these birds to sit on tlie lower branch of a tree for half an hour at a time, and allow me to come up nearly to the f.)Ot of the tree, without seeming to be intlie least disturbed, or to dis- continue the regularity of its occasional note. In activity it is the ro- vers- of the preceding species ; and is rather a scarce bird in the countries where I found it. Its food consists principally of s.,.p,11 caterpillars and winged insects. The Prairie Warbler is four inches and a half long, and six inches and a lialt m extent; the upper parts are olive, spotted on the back with reddish chestnut ; from the nostril over and under the eve, yellow • lores, black ; a broad streak of black also pusses beneath' the yellow under the eye ; smr.ll pointed spots of black reach from a little below that along the side of the neck and under the wings; throat, breast, and belly, rich yellow ; vent, cream colored, tinged with yellow ; win^s dark dusky olive ; primaries and greater coverts, edged and tipped with pale yellow ; second row of coverts, wholly yellow ; lesser, olive • tail, deep brownish black, ligher on the edges ; the three exterior leathers, broadly spotted with wiiite. The female is destitute of the black mark under the eye ; has a few slight touches of blackish alonir the sides of the neck ; and some faint shades of brownish red on the back. The nest of this species is of very neat and delicate workman- ship, being pensile, and generally hung on the fork of a low bush or thicket; it is formed outwardly of green moss, intermixed with rotten bits of wood and caterpillar's silk ; the inside is lined with e.xlremely hne fibres of grape-vine bark ; and the whole would scarcely weigh a quarter of an ounce. The eggs are white, with a few brown spots at the sreat end. These birds are migratory, departing ^ot the south in October. • Bonaparto i> ,>f opinion that this is the same with Vieillot's Sylvia discolor. I nave not had an opportunity of examining it. — Ed. 21* m 346 CAKv UNA PARROT i^ 1 1 .f- CAROLINA PARROT— P81TTACUK CAROLINENSIS- Fia. 120. Linn S. lU.-Catesb..U.--I^hA.m.--ArctZo,ident in all these places. Last- wa d hoover, ot" the oroat range of the Alleghany, it is seldom seen •artt north han the .state of Mary'-u, though straggling part es S^e!^ occasionally observed an..,: u 3 valleys ot the Juniata; . In -.ll eountrics Parrots havr been favoiir.. r.n.ing from their playful and do- .otlieirnusr.^ a> UU o .m m \ ^v-o.-ation of conv.yinfr pra,se ;:;;;r,^u:;v^'";ES'.rr"Ar;ho prise,.! ,..1.,^ ....v are n>«ch scght after, an,, a .. .00,1 PaVrol- will still l.rins a |;'.|;'' P;"--,,j^.^ .„. ,h, p^utaddct, wher^ ttov are laiu.n. I I .n.|.<.-Ml.lo f<.r 'i'> """"'' , -;o,ffeous appearance of a flock, Srtinp amon^he s.tperb foliage ol a (rop.oal forest In <'Vh\y robcn iif mnny colored piilcliea, Tlw I'urrots swung liko blosPOiiiH from tlin trees, While thvM h»Mh voices unduceived Ihc ear. tat. \ \UOLINA PARUOr. 247 and, according to Momo even twenty-five niilos to tho north-west of Albany, in the state of New York.* But sn i accidontal visits fur- nifili no certain criterion by which to judgw " their n ••! oxtont of range,— -those aerial voyagers, ih well us dthers who vigate the deej), being Hubjfct to be castaway, by the v^ lenco of theeieioei!ta,on li.stantsliores and unltnown countries, F'Vom these circumstances tfthe northern ronnlence u, this species, w.' might be justified in < n.,( ludin;' it to be a very hardy bird, more pablo of anstiiining cold than niiio teuMis of it : tri! •■ ; and so I be- lli vo it is. -iiaving myself seen them, m tiic month of Fobrunry, along the banks of tho Ohio, in a snow storm, tlying about like PI'tlohs, and in full cry. Thn preference, however, which this bird <'ives to thr; western coun- tries, lying in the same parallel m latitude with those eastward of the \lleghaiiy Mountains, wliirh it rarely or never visits, i.s worthy of re- 'lark; aid has been adduced, by ditferent writers, as a proof of the aupcrior mildness of climote in the former t) that of the latter. But tiicre are other reasons for this pur '\ty efiually powerful, though liitherto overlooked; namely, certain pcculi features of country "to which these birds are particularly and strongly attaclied ; thuso are, low, rich, alluvial bottoms, aloiijj; Ifin borders of creeks, covered with a gigantic growth of sycamore-tress, or button wood; deep, and al- most iinpeti trablc wiunps, where the vast and towering cypress lills its still mo! mil, siic head ; and those ingular salines, or, as thoy are usually cal .1 /tc<», so generally inti f'-sed over that country, and which are c ularly and eagerly visi' , ny tiie Paroquets. A still greatfr inducement is tho superior abundam'e of their favorite fruits. That fooi vvli' h the Paroquet pret'ers to all others, is the seedf the cockle bur, a piant rarely foimd i' the lower parts f Pennsylvania or New York; but which unfortunately grow in too groat abundance along the shores of the Ohio and Mississippi ; so much so as to render the wool of those sheep that pasture where it most abounds, scarcely Avorth the cleaning, covering them with one solid mass of burs, wrought up and embedded into the fleece, to the great annoyance of this valuable animal. The seeds of tlie cypress-tree and hackberry, as well as beech nuts, are also great favorites with these birds ; the two former of which are not commonly found in Pennsylvania, and the latter by no means so general or so productive. Here, then, are several powerful reasons, more dependent on soil than climate, for the preference given by these birds to tlie luxuriant regions of the west. Pennsylvpnia, indeed, and also Maryland, abound with excel- lent apple orchards, on the ripe fruit of which the Paroquets occision- ally feed. But I have my doubts whether t'lcir depredation^ ui the orchard be not as much the result of wanton play and mischief, as re- gard for tho seeds of tiie fruit, which they are supposed to be in pur *it of. I have known a flock of these birds alight on an apple-tre( aid have myself seen them twist ofl'the fruit, one by one, strowing it in every direction around the tree, without observing that any of the depreda- tors descended to pick them up. " .■> a Paroquet, which I wounded and kept for some considerable time, I very often offered apples, which * Barton's Fragments, &c. p. 6. Introduc lion. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) Z S 1.0 I.I 11.25 l^|2£ 125 |5o ~^^ B^B 140 12.0 1.8 1.4 IIIIII.6 ^% (?> ^ V] A ^^ 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation ,-\ ^^ \\ [v c> ^c^ V '^--er the time Aat Uiey breed in ho^w Le f S seT^fl ?ffl ' "j^'^^- ^^ ^^^d had seen their nests. Some s lirl thl * Z'^™^'' *« "e that they that they did. 8,me made ^e e^^J '^^if '" "« "^^terials ; otheS^ man assured me that he cut down Sr^. ' £ '?f ™' ^P^^Wed. One lo^v, and in which he found the brnW^ beech-tree, which was hol- Paroquets' eggs, which wprfnf" ^'"^f™^"^ «^ "P^ards of twenty though destr?fed inte^tSture b^Thetl^'"'^ f'°^' ^he nest^ he said, to be formed of smdl twi^s ll wrS 1"^ °^u^^ ^^'' geared side of the tree, in the mannor nf?v. ^nu-^ *" ^^'^^ °ther, and to the' that if it were the prope^LTo„ Ve eo^ilfr^^^^^ «« ^^dS' from which they prl,cured thTgluey matter^ p""' ^ ^ ^'^ ""'^^ dictory accounts nothing certain can trl/T "^^ these contra- build ;n companies, in hfllou tries Thnt If "''^' '^'^P* ^^at they ate in summer, or very early in sDrinP T fhl^T commence intubation the nnn,«,..., dissectioL I Ih" Kf'- ~ '"^ P^-^y P'^'^'ble, from R tne uiutiuis of iHarcii, AprU, May, ./, »,'' I 1 ihe numerous f250 CAROLINA PAUROT. and June ; and the great variety wh.cli I found m the color of the plumage of the head and neck f both sexes, during the two former rihefe months, convinces me Jiat the young birds do not receive their full colors until the early part, of the succeeding summer While Parrots and Paroquets, from foreign countries, abound m almost every street of our large cities, and become such great favor- £, no attention seems to have been paid to our own, which, n elegance of figure, and beauty of plumage is certainly superior to many of them. It wants, indeed, that disposition for perpetua Sming and chattering tliat renders some of the fornier peste, not only to Er keepers, but to the whole neighborhood m which they reside It is alike docile and sociable; soon becomes perfectly familiar: and, until equal pains be taken in its instruction, it is untair to conclude it incapable of equal improvement m the language of man. As so little has hitherto been known of the disposition and manners of this species, the reader will not, I hope, be displeased at my detail- ing some of these, in the history of a particular favorite, my sole companion in many a lonesome day's march, and of which the figure in the plate is a faithful resemblance. v- u * Anxious to try the effects of education on one of those which I procured at Big Bone Lick, and which was but slightly wounded in the win?, I fixed up a place for it in the stem of my boat, and presented h with fome cockle burs, which it freely fed on in less than an hour after being on board. The intennediate time between catmg and sleeping was occupied in gnawing the sticks tliat formed its place ot confinement, in order to make a practicable breach ; which it repeatedly effected When I abandoned the river, and travelled by land, 1 wrapped it up closely in a silk handkerchief, tyiiig it tightly around, and carried it in my pocket When I stopped for refreshment, I unbound my prisoner, and gave it its allowance, which it general y despatched with great dexterity, unhuskmg the seeds froni the bur in a twinkling; in doing which, it always employed ite left toot to hold the bur, as did several others that I kept for some time. 1 began to think that this might be peculiar to the whole tribe, and that the whole were, if I may use the expression, left-footed ; but, by shooting a number afterwards while engaged in eating mulberries, 1 found sometimes the left, sometimes tlie right, toot stained with the truit, the other always clean; from which, and the constant practice ot those 1 kept, it appears, that, like the human species m the use of their hands, thevdo not prefer one or the other indiscriminately, but are either left or right-footed. But to return to my prisoner : In recommitting it * Mr Audubon's informalioii on iheir manner of breeding is as fo""W8:--- " Their' nest, or the place in which ihcy deposit their eggs, is simply the bottom of such caWlies in trees as those to which they usually retire at n.ghl. Many fen.alos depo irthelr eLs Together. I am of opinion that the number of eggs which each ncfivdual ayf Ts twi, although I have^o. been able absolutely to assure myself of this They are nearly round, of a rich greenish while. The young are at first covered 'vith soft down, such as is seen on young Owls. . ,.^ . Tmay be remarked that most of the Parrots, whose mdifical.on we are acauainted with, build in hollow trees, or holed banks. Few make a nest for themselves b. lay the eggs on the bare wood or earth; and when the nest is buiUouJ^ard as b^ other SSds, it is of a slight and loose structure. The eggs are always whits — £d. Ti CAROLINA PARROT. g-- depriving it of liberty, by cuttini^' TT*^ ^ ^'^'^ '"^«ted, and ^ fingers ^ith its sharp^^n/^'Jerll bt "^rf ^T^L'"^ ^^^^'^l «f m/ ness between Nashville aS Natchez ,« " ^^^ through the wilder- description. There are dZrprn..; f '" ^''"'^ Prices bad beyond struggle through, , ^ndered aCtan^ *" '"™' '""^^ ^^ '"«^« tS growth of timber, and an uSm!,^ "^ '^^ "'^''* ^y "^ Prodigious while the descent into these «hl. °' '^''"^^ '^"d other evergreens^ feet perpendicular, into a ^edfc^^^^^^^^^^^^ often ten or^Z' of these places, where I had L TtL^: i" ^o^e of the worst the Paroquet frequently escaped fmm' *^^^^* "ly way through mount and pursJe it ^through thTwoZ^'f^l^ ^ could regain It. On these occasion^ 7 °^ *^^ "»o''^«« before I abandon it; but 1 persisted LbS„VT f ""''"' *""«« tempted to encamped ,„ the woods, I pkced i?^on^tli i''^''"^- ^^^^ ^^ night I It usually sat with grea composure I "'^f'^^^ ''^''''^^ '"«. ^^I«ere mormng. In this inanner I caSdif ,?n " T^/^"*"^ ^^ the fire tiU my pocket, where it was exposed a 7'^'f'\''^!' thousand miles, in bat regularly liberated at Sal times an J n H' ^'^'"'? ^^" '^' ^«^e" always expressed great satisfacK fn n ^'^ ^J^^n'ng, at which it asaw and Chactaw nations, iel„dian^^^ *^'■°"•'?^ the Chick- 3ollected around me, ui,, .women m. I'lJ^'"''?'"''' ^ stopped to feed, 'vonderfully amused with the no^eUv S '^'■'"' '^"^'""^' ^"^ «««niinj a^aws called it in their langua ' ^ t/^l ^Tf "'«»• The Chick- rae call ,t Poll, they soon repe^atpf tl.P^f "*^ ' . ^"* ^"^'«" they heard to stop among these people! wfsooibp,'"" ' ^Z''-^"'"^"'- ^ ^^^n^^ed through the medium of' Poll fT '^™'' ^^'''^f ^^ith each other N^chez, I procured a cagrkud^lu'Tr ""'. ^r- Dunbar's, beirw by Its call, it soon attracteTthe pa siW LT^'"' "^k" F^^'^^ -here, ment they have for each other iVmn 5 ^'' '"'''' '« the attach- on the trees immediately Se teZTir'''' *^«*l"«"tly alighted with the prisoner. One of tZm l7oZZ^ r Tf *""* conversation the pleasure Poll expressed on meeS S f^ ^ '" *" ^"^"^' ^"^ really amusing. She crept close up to it n^l/^ "^"^ comP'^"'"" ^«« cage; chattered to it in a lowtono nls '^ '""?" ™ the side of the misfortune; scratched about iL Lad S "" '! W^^^^^mn^ in ite bo ha night nestled a^ close as pL^ "^^^^ ,^'th her bill; and Poll's head being thrust amon^ fi.o T *" ^"^'' ^tJier, sometimes death of this compankm she fnni ^ """^^^ ""^ ^^^ «the . ()„ Xe brr.Jr- O" Sing^NeTSrilS^^^^^ '"1 ^"?"-'able t beside the place where she uswSw .Jf a' iP^^^'cd a looking-glass ber image, all her former fondneJseempU ^^ ^"^tant she perceived scarcely absent herself from it a molnt Tf'"™' '° ^'^^^ ^'^^ ^°»Jd was completely deceived. Alwavs Sn » ^t was nvident that sh- during the day, she laid her heaTcTose to fh'f ^ AT ""' '"^"^ "^^^^ glass, and began to doze with Z„f ^^'^t of the image in the tJus short spa?e she had Teamfd t* IT'^T'' ""^ ^^^tisfaction. In come when called on; to cS 1 !.„ "f Ti, ''*''" "'^'"^^ to answer, and eat from my mouth, i fookTer w^rm'J?''' ''' ^ ""^ ^''«»''^^^' «"d ve^m her education; but, de^SJt'^nSh"! -*r "p^^P^"" one morning about day break, wroughr\t' ^a^^rgft'^^^^^ I ' m 252 CAROLINA PARROT. while I was asleep, instantly flew overboard, and perished in the Gulf of Mexico. The Carolina or Dlinois Parrot (for it has been described under both tiiese appellations) is Uiirteen inches long, and twenty-one in extent ; forehead and clieeks, orange red ; beyond this, for an inch and a half, down and round the neck, a rich and pure yellow ; shoulder and bend of the wing, also edged with rich orange red. The general color of the rest of the phimage is a bright yellowish, silky green, witli light blue reflections, lightest and most diluted with yellow below ; greater wing-coverts and roots of the primaries, yellow, slightly tinged with green; interior webs of the primaries, deep dusky purple, almost black ; exterior ones, bluish green ; tail, long, cuneiform, consisting of twelve feathers, the exterior one only half the length, the others increasing to the middle ones, which are streaked along the middle with light blue ; shafts of all the larger feathers, and of most part of the green plumage, black ; knees and vent, orange yellow ; feet, a pale, whitish flesh color ; claws, black ; bill, white, or slightly tinged witli pale cream ; iris of the eye, liazel ; round the eye is a small space without feathers, covered witli a whitish skin ; nostrils placed in an elevated membrane at the base of the bill, and covered with feathers ; chin, wholly bare of feathers, but concealed by those descending on each side ; from each side of the palate hangs a lobe or skin of a blackish color; tongue, thick and fleshy; inside of the upper mandible near the point, grooved exactly like a file, that it may' hold with more security. The femali differs very little in her colors and markings from the male. After examining numerous specimens, the following appear to be the principal differences : — The yellow on tlie neck of the female does not descend quite so far ; the interior vanes of the primaries are brownish, instead of black, and tlie orange red on the bend and edges of the wing is considerably narrower ; in other respects, the colors and markings are nearly the same. The young birds of the preceding year, of both sexes, are generally destitute of the yellow on the head and neck, until about the begin- ning or middle of March, having those parts wholly green, except the front and cheeks, which are orange red in them, as in tlie full-grown birds. Towards the middle of March, the yellow begins to appear, in detached feathers, interspersed among the green, varying in different individuals. In some which I killed about me last of that month, only a few green feathers remained among the yellow, and these were fast assuming the yellow tint ; for the color changes without change of plumage. A number of these birds, in all their grades of progressive change from green to yellow, have been deposited i n Mr. Peale's museum. What is calleu by Europeans the Illinois Fanot,(Psittacu8 pertinax,) IS evidently the young bird in its imperfect colors. Whether the pres- ent species be found as far south as Brazil, as these writers pretend, I am unable to say ; but, from the great exi nt of country in which I have myself killed and examined these birds, I am satiafipd that tlie present species, now described, is the only one inliabiting the United StP.tes, Since the foregoing was written, I have had an opportur ity, by the m the Gulf s, the colors CANADA FLYCATCHER. head, neck, and whole intestines of fffp ^ °^\^" * ^°^m with the morningr, the Tvhole eaten, excpntf 1 Parquet, I found, on the^next exhibited no svmntom nf !f i ^ * ^'"'^" P''^ of the bi 1 Th„ ! ! after iJie oxperCtT/bSSJ 2'' ^V'J^ -«'-nt thrle^l usual health. Still, however the pffi-.t ^"u. ^^' ^'^^^"^ '^'^ in Uadr the daUy food or th; bird bSnte^ttu^^fJ^^J o^l£~ CANADA rLVCATCHBK.-.M.SCICAPA CaWnsIS. ^ Sylvia pardalina, Bonap. Synop. p. 79. among; the bmiclJVr Lmb "fc^Vr" ■""= ""'"y daSg them, It is probable that fh J .„ T ""^ 'P^ific naiie oivm United State., wSth7oZf,T7 P'™'? '" Canada thrift ge™ in spring 'a„d J^'^ "'"■"''M 'Aether they be not mere p^,e„! fmn^'Kr^^nXpIenS' ° If'V""?- "" -^ht in extent- 254 HOODED FLYCATCHER. being marked with a broad, rounding band of bla^ k, composed of large, irregular streaks ; back, wings, and tail, cinereous brown ; vent, white ; upper mandible, dusky ; lower, flesh colored ; legs and feet, the same ; eye, hazel. Never having met witli the fen ale of this bird, I am unable, pt present, to say in what its colors differ from those of the male. ^i:|■ HOODED FLYCATCHER —MUSCICAPA CUCULLATA.- FiG. 122. Le eobe-mouche cilrin. Buf. iv. 638, PI. ml. 666. — Hooded Warbler, Arct. Zool. p 400, No. 287. — Lath. ii. WL—Catesb. i. 60. — Mitred Warbler, Turton, \. 601. — Hooded Warbler, ibid. — Peak's Miiseum, No. 7062. SETOPIIAOA MITRjlTA.—SyiikitooK. Sylvia mitrata, Bonap. Stjnop. p. 79. \ Why those two judicious naturalists. Pennant and Latham, should have arranged this bird with the Warblers, is to yne unaccountable, as few of the JMk«cicao• d'AmWque, /Jm». f^fvV.PicVr^'^mTDiT- Tctrao lagogus, tlic Mountain Pea/e'j Jtfweum, No. 4700, male ; 4701, female. TKTRAO CUPIDO.—Uitnxvt. Attaffan Americana, Bnsson, i. p. 69. -Pinnated Healhcock, Bonasa cupido, ^ateph. Sh. Com. xi. p. 299. -Tctrao cupido, Bonap. Synop. p. 126. Before 1 enter on a detail of the observations which I hav« myself personally made on this singular spectes I shall lay before the reader I compro'hensive and very circumstantial memoir oij the «»b^««t, «""?- municated to me by the writer, Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill,of New York whose exertions, both in hi. public «n 'vho botweoi, the iBt (larorAnri n. f» r?J'? of Suffolk or dnorns, cvory 8„cl. off.lo forfeit in n? .h^" ^^^ ''.'^ °*" ^''-^"*'«'-' ^l-aH, «> for the same, before Z just c .\5^.ho^, '""'"" "^'V'"^" ''^"^'^'^"^'^ tl.e overn'ocrs of tho poo^ a„' f 'll*'"Tr";''l^' "^'^ "l^ "'''^''- '""If to foundin the possosi oV' ny mZ, l^^^^^^^^^^ kiHod, nhall be the offence, and suffer thcM.e mlty Zt t is ^ ,' '^^'T'"^ ^f'y °*' ant shall bo convicted, unless he "ac-fin 1 , liT"'."''''' ''"* "" '^^*"'^"'^- nionths after the violation of the law * ' ''"" '" '^'""-^'''^ ^''''■" three " rhe country selected by those oxnni^itn k; -i, particular description. You aJr.'ndV.f,? . > '"ri"""^^ "■ "'°'-« and interior district of tl.,i^]'nr^^Moir^^^^^^^ ^- -'''^ '"'•"''^"'' speakinff, a sandy or gravelly oTm I h, i-i i " '"^T ''\ ^''""""y it is more of arWinmixed Ln.r'T. 1 '^ '*' 'T 'J'^^l'^*'*''" ^'''''ff'N shore of the beacC beatT y Je o'eu;' T '/'"' '^T' -^''^ "'« which glass has been Drerirpd ku, '"^^ "^ material Irom clominat in the regbn Sen by th / l^'alrTl""' ""'' •"^«"=1'^« r" there are no rocks and vorv fL ""^^''-"cns or Grouse. }fere tractappea^tobeaSi 7onof ttT' "* k"^^""^- '^^''*'' «'^"''y doomed to total sterUitv MnnVth f"' ''"V'' "^vertheless, not from the wild state inLeS^^^ .''"■'' ''"'" ^"^" ^"^^^'"^•-^'' the towns freqSd by thet b rd/'h'e;: "are ^ '' -an ; and within barrens, kst quS": . e ;:r ••^'•'? """""•1% ^xpurted fronuhese through careleTe"fra i^nr w ^ tr'lf ''^^^''^,?'"^ T'"^''' woods. The citv of IVn^v i -^P"'^*' far and wioe through the growth of timLr wHl be^fi "fortKxe fZr' -f^^ ^^'^ '^'' '''"^ that the reproduction of tre^eirL^thrpU^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ iC o''rt^S':t^t p^it^^^^^^^^ °^ -",- - '-'icroi-s kind, me by my friend Mr. Gardfner of GarLpr ! Y'',"^''/?''' "°\ ""ff ag:o, related to entiiled. "An Art for AepreSr^^^rofU^^^^^ ''"'>« ''!" was honest Chairman of the Assembly - n««J« Heath-Hcn, and ollicr game." The Act for llie preservation of S^ nnH'^rh""""' ^ 'W'"' " '•'^'» 'he title, " An the Dorthera membJ °, who cS^^rl hr ^""^ " "f'"^ ''""""'^ t" ""'"nish any other heathen. ' ^ "**' "^^ ""« propnety of preserving /«/,„«,, or QQ« • s II ,<■ '' * ii PINNATED GROUSE. HenH would bo pcrpotiml, or, it. other wordn, not :ircum8cribc.l by "nycarcrillntiL.! provided the persecuton, of t'« latter would bo "*'« Beneath these trees grow more dwarfl«h oaks, overHproadinfr the .nrfaco sometrmcs with^ero and there p shrub, and somotunrH a Siirkei' These latter are from about two to ten feet in ho.,jl.l. W hoTO thev are the principal product, they are culled, m comnmn conv^-isa- tney are in« P" «„.« tn which thev ffrow are tenna<' bnuhij plunis. A°"'nrtL hidv HtuSberrmay7re?ue«t]y be see.. U.e cre.pinjr 4Xi naSfho^rSd/eberrLovering^^^ sand with itH astmg vegetable "'»'"';""' V ^ J ^.^ produces hurtloberneH :Sris up mongtLffir natives of the soil' The.e are the more inrrtaJ tho»Jh I ought to inform you, that the lulls reach.ng from easT^o wosrand forrmng the spine of the island, support kaluuas hickoriinetrable cover, they escape the pursu t of dogs ;nd men Water is so seldom met with on the true Grouse ground, thatTk necessary to carry it along for tlie pointers to drink. ^The fl ghL of /; 260 PINNATED GROUSE. Grouse are short, but sudden, rapid, and whirring. I have not heard of any success .^ taming them, ^hey seem to resist all attempts at domestication In tliis, as well as in many other respects, they re- sSle the Suai of NeV York, or the Partridge of Pennsylvania. »M,™- During the period of mating, and while the females are occup ed in incubation, the males have a practice of assembhng, Sipa lybytheniselves. To some select and central spot, ^v-llero there ?s very little underwood, they repair from the adjo.mng district From the exercises performed there, this is called a scratchtng-place. The time of meeting is the break of day. As soon as tlie ghl ap- nears, the company Assembles from every side, sometimes to the num- Eer of forty or fifty. When the dawn is past, the ceremony begins by a low tooting from one of tlie cocks. This is '^"^-'^^^'l J^, H^ Thevthen come forth one by one from the bushes, and strut about w^all the prTde and ostentaLn tliey can display. Their necks are incurvated ; the featlicrs on them are erected into a sort of rutt , the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans ; they strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as slnall may be illustrated by great, the pomp ofZ T "l oy cock. They seem to vie with each other in stateliness ; and, as tlW pass each othJr, frequently ca^. looks of msult, and utter notes of defiance. These are tlie signals for battles. They engage "?th wonderful spirit and fierceness. During these contests, they leap a foot or two from tlie ground, and utter a cackhng, screaming, '""Stve Kn found in these places of resort even earlier than the appearance of light in tlie east This fact has led to the bcl et that fpit of them asse.ubln over night The rest join them in ^le nornhiJ Tiiis leads to the further belief tliat they roost on tlie groun r And the opinion i. confinued by the discovery of little rmgs of dun^r, apparonlly 'deposited by a tlock which had passed tlie mght toseUieil After the appearance ofthe sun they disperse. "Thp^e placc-s of exhibition have been often discovered by the hunters^ and a fatal discovery it has been for the poor Grouse f^ir destroyers construct for themselves lurking holes made oijnne branches, called bough houses, within a fow yards of the parade HiTe they repair witli their fowling-pieces, in the latter part ot the nit and wait the appearance of the birds. Watching the moment when two are proudly eyeing each otlier,or engaged in battle, or when r greater number can be seen in a range, they pour on them a de- structive charge of shot This annoyance has been given m so many p aces and to such extent, that the Grouse, after having been repeat- EdW disturbed, are afraid to assemble. On approaching tlie spot to which their instinct prompts them, they percfi on the neighbormg ^ees instead of alighting lit the scratching-place. And it remains to be obse^ed how far the restless and tormenting spirit ot the mark - men may alter the native habits of the Grouse, and oblige them to betake tliemselves to new ways of life. "They commonly keep together in coveys, or packs, as the phrase is ui il the pairing season. A full pack consists, of course, of ten or a dozen. Two pa"cks have been known to associate. I lately heard of one^vhose n.mber amounted to twenty-two Jhey are s^o unapUo be startled, tlias a hunter, asaisted uy a dog, .las ..een __ - PINNATED GROUSE. 261 seam and sDeni« wfjf. ?*' ' """'"md an opinion as to tV earnest hope . you may be favored wiU. 2^! ^^nX cSpletel "Samuel L. Mitchill." [o .hi. circ„....nce „« be^ardte t,:Lt,':nd"Se"cL'S large Ae,.d™»„*S gJoli'cSUnf t Z yrf^t'of SrS elogant .pecimens shot in the Barrens of KentScC He L ™Z sented m the act of *^«^, as it is called, ,vhiIeS Xm ES • CATtSBy, Car. p. 101. App. P m ?' '' J 'i •262 PINNATED GROUSE. he produces that extraordinary sound so familiar to every one who resides in his vicinity, and which has been descnbed m «!« foregoing account So very novel and characteristic did the action of these Sirds appear to me at first si^it, that, instead of f ««ting Uiem dow^^^ I sketched their attitude hastily on the spot, whde concealed among a Si-heap, with seven or eight of them within a short diBtance. Three of these I afterwards carried home with me. ,. ^ * TMs rare bird, though an inhabitant of different and very distant districts of North Amirica, is extremely particular in selecting his ace (^residence : pitching only upon those tracts whose features and !: Sclnrco^espo'nd wit? his'moVof life, and avoiding J--e; lutennediate regions that he never visits. Open dry plains, thinly in orspersed witi trees, or partially overgrown with shrub oak, are his favorite haunts. Accordingly we find these birds on the Grouse p ams f New Jersey, in Burlington county, as well as on the brusliy plains of Lone Island ; among the pines and shrub oaks of Pocano in North- anpton%ounty,'Penns;ivania; over the whole extent of the Barrens ,,f Kentucky; on the luxuriant plains and prairies of the Indiana Territory, aid Upper Louisiana ; and, according to the information d Uie late Governor Lewis, on the vast and remote plains of the Colum- bia River; in all these places preserving the same singular habite. Their predilection for such situations will be best accounted for by considering tlie following facts and circumstances :- Firet, their mode of flight is generally direct, and laborious, and i" cd^l^ted for the labyrinth of a high and thick forest, crowded and intersected with trunks and arms of trees, that require continual angular evolution ot wing, or sudden turnings, to which they are by no nieans accustomed I have always observed them to avoid the high-timbered groves Uiat occur here and there in the Barrens. Connected with this fact, is a circumstance related to me by a very respectable inhabuant of that country, viz., tliat one forenoonu cock Grouse struck the stone chimney of his house with such force as instontly to fall dead to the ground. Secondly, their known dislike of pt.nds, marshes, or watery places, which they avoid on all occasions, drinking but seldom, and, it is believed, never from such places. Even in confinement this peculiarity hu been taken notice ot: While I was in Uie state of Temiessee a person living within a few miles of Nashville had caught an old hen Grouse in a trap ; and, being obliged to keep her in a large cage, as she struck and abused the rest of tl.e poultry, he remarked that she never drank, and that she even avoided Uiat quarter of the cage wiiere the cup containing the water was placed. Happening, one day, to let some water fall on the cage, it trickled down m drops along the bars, which the bird no sooner observed, than she eagerly picked hem off, drop by drop, with a dexterity that showed she had been habituated to Smode of quenching her thirst; and, probably, to this mode only n those drv and barren tracts, where, except the drops of dew and drops of rain, water is very rarely to be met with. F^-^ the space of ^ week he watehed her closely, to discover whether she «t'lljef"f ^ !° drink • but thouffh she was constantly fed on Indian Corn, the cup and w'aS stTSained untouched and untasted. Yet no sooner ^S he again sprinkle water on the bars of the cage, than she eagerly and rapidly oickc? them off as before //•!: I PINNATED GR018E. 3^3 towj of YoT K" '°'r "^ -^'^ *"^^*^^t- A few miles 3TZ town of York, m Pennsylvania, commences an extent of countrv formerly of the character described, now chiefly covered withTS' but still retaining the name of Barrens. In the r^ecollSn if an old man born m that part of the country, this tract abounded S Grouse The timber growing up, m progress of years, tliese birds totallvdi^ appeared; and, for a long period of time, he had seenlne S^ the^ until, migrating with his family to Kentucky, on entmng the Ln!ns he, one morning recognized the well-known music of hfsoHar' quaintance the Grouse; which, he assures me^are Se ver? sarn^ with those he had laiown in Pennsylvania. ^ But what appears to me the most remarkable circumstance relativP to this bird IS, that not one of all those writers who havrattemnted n^voT'^'i'^'^" ?\'° "^^ ^T' "«tice of those two extraordinl^^^^^^ of yellow skin which mark the neck of the male, and which coStitute so staking a peculiarity. These appear to be formed by an expansTon tl h /""^> ^/u " ^' «^ ^"^^ ^-^t^rior skin of the neck, whkh when the bird IS at rest, hangs m loose, pendulous, wrinkled folds alonrthn side of the n«;k, the supplemental wings, at the same t me a^ wfll^ when the bird is flying, lying along die neck, in tiieTa^ner repr? «rf fnV? T -f.*^^- '^•'•^"^ ^^"^•'^ «» the plate. But when these7ags are inflated with, air, m breeding time, they are equal in sfzeS very much resemble in color, a middle-sized, fully ripe oL?e' Bv ZnZf ^^' -^inous apparatus, which is ^ery ^observaMe^Svef^ hundred yards off; he is enabled to produce tiie extraordinary so3 mentioned above, which, though it may easily be imitated is vet dffi cult to describe by words. It consists of VeeTott, of the sam^ tone, resembling those produced by the Night Hawks in their rS fr'"*'w.?**'*™"^^^ ^'"^''^'^^ the last bling twice as long as the others When several are thus engaged, the ear is unable to dis^n guish the regularity of these triple notes there beincr" at such imes" one continued bumming, which is disagreeable and perplexing fTom Uio impossibiMy of ascertaining from ^hat distance,^orteTfuart^^^ geSS ils'^f'a'T^^^^^^^^^ ""'l' "^^ '"'? ''^'l' ^" *« -tents £;f„t I r '^^^"rkey cock; erecting and fluttering his neck w ngs, wheeling and passing before the female, and close before £s fel ows, as m defia^ice. Now and then are heard some rapid cacklmff notes, not unlike that of a person tickled to excessive lafiter a I m short, one can scarcely listen to them without foeling disponed to augh from sympathy, hese are uttered by the males 4iKncmge1 in fight, on which occasion the/ iPnn .,,. o^ajno* — u -.^u " ._ °, ^ • if- \m 264 PINNATED CROL3E. the manner of Turkeys, seemingly with more raa..ce than effect This bumming continues from a little before daybreak to eight or nine o'clock in the morning, when the parties separate to seek for food- . n , ■ ^ i U Fresh ploughed fielda, in the vicimty of their resorts, are sure to be visited by th'ese birds evenr morning, and frequently also in the evening. On one oi these I counted, at one time, seventeen males, most of whom were in the attitude represented in the plate ; making such a continued sound, as, I am persuaded, might have been heard for more than a milo off. The people of the Barrens informed me, that, when the weather becomes severe, with snow, they approach the barn and farm-house, are sometimes seen sitting on the fences in dozens, mix with the poultry, and glean up the scattered grains of Indian com, seeming almost half domesticated. At such times, great numbers are taken in traps. No pains, however, or regular plan, has ever been persisted in, as far as I was informed, to domesticate these delicious birds, A Mr. Reed, who lives between the Pilot Knobs and Bairdstown, told me, that, a few years ago, one of his sons found a Grouse's nest with fifteen eggs, which he brought home, and immedi- ately placed below a Hen then sitting, taking away her own. The nest of the Grouse was on the ground, under a tussock of long grass, i formed with very little art, and few materials ; tJie eggs were brown- ish white, and about the size of a pullet's. In three or four days, the whole were hatched. Instead of following the Hen, they compelled her to run after them, distracting her with the extent and diversity of their wanderings ; and it was a day or two before they seemed to understand her language, or consent to be guided by her. They were let out to the fields, where they paid little regard to their nurse ; and, in a few days, only tliree of them remained. These became extremely tame and familiar; were most expert flycatchers; but, soon after, they also disappeared. The Pinnated Grouse is nineteen inches long, twenty-seven inches in extent, and, when in good order, weighs about three pounds and a half; the neck is furnished with supplemental wings, each composed of eio-hteen feathers, five of which are black, and about three inches loncrf the rest shorter, also black streaked laterally with brown, and of unequal lengths ; tlie head is ^.iightly crested ; over the eye is an ele-rant, semicircular comb of rich orange, which the bird has the power of raising or relaxing ; under the neck wings are two loose, pendulous, and wrinkled skins, extending along the side of the neck for two thirds of its length ; each of which, when inflated with air, resembles, in bulk, color, and surface, a middle-sized orange ; chin, cream colored ; under the eye runs a dark streak of brown ; ,whole upper parts, mottled transversely with black, reddish brown, and white ; tail short, very much rounded, and of a plain brownish soot color ; throat, elegantly marked with touches of reddish brown, white, and black ; lower part of the breast and belly, pale bro^vn, marked transversely with white ; legs, covered to the toes with hairy down of a dirty drab color ; feet, dull yellow ; toes, pectinated ; vent, whitish ; bill, brownish horn color ; eye, reddish hazel. The female is con- Biderably less ; of a lighter color, destitute of the neck wings, the naked, yellc- skin on the neck, and the Bemicircular comb of yellow over the eye. // ban effect. 0 eight or to seek for sure to be ilso in the teen males, ;e; making been heard formed nie, )proach the ! fences in (1 grains of imes, great ir plan, has icate tiiese Knobs and )n3 found a nd immedi- own. The long grass, I .fere brown- ur days, the ' compelled diversity of r seemed to They were nurse ; and, e extremely soon after, leven inches }unds and a !h composed three inches brown, and fie eye is an lird has tlie re two loose, of the neck led with air, ange; chin, own ; jwhole brown, and rownish soot irown, white, o^vn, marked airy down of 3nt, whitish; male is con- k wings, the nb of yellow I I BLUiMiREEN WARBLER. 265 l„r h„J . ^ these birds, the gizzard was found extremely muscu- ar, having ahnost tlie hardness of a stone ; the heart remarkably large ; the crop waa filled with brier knots, containing the larvro of some insect, quantities of a species of green lichen, small, hard seeds, and some grains of Indian com. "'u-, auu BLUE-GREEN WARBLER. - SYLVIA RARA. _ Fio. 125. Peale's Museum, No. 7788. VERMIVOIUI RjiRj}. -JtKDitiii.* Sylvia rara, Bomp. Synop. p. SSl.~Aud. pi. 49, malej Om. Biog. i. p. 268. «h^"" ?^\^'^T"'^^^^ T\ ™^ °^ "-^ «ort I have yet met with, was shot on the banks of Cumberland River, about the beginning of April, and the drawing made with care immediately after. Whither male or female, I ani uncertain. It is one of those birds that usually glean among the high branches of the tallest trees, which renders it difficult to be procured. It was darting about with great nimbleness among «ie leaves, and appeared to have many oi die habits of the Flycatcher. After several ineffectual excursions m search of another of the same kind, with which I might compare the present, I am obliged to intro- duce it with this brief account -r -1 I, ""- The specimen has been deposited in Mr. Peale's museum. The Blue-green Warbler is fear inches and a half long, and seven and a half in extent; the uppe- parts are verditer, tinged with pale green, brightest on the front and forehead ; lores, Uile over the eye, throat, and whole lower parts, very pale cream ; chcoks, slightly tinned with greenish ; bill and legs, bright light blue, except the upper man- dible, which is dusky ; tail, forked, and, as well as the wings, brownish black ; the former marked on the three exterior vane^ with white, and edged with greenish; the latter having the first and second row of coverts tipped with white. Note, a feeble chirp. * Tl'lf species was discovered by \Viison, and does not seem to have been again met with by any ornithologist except Mr. Audubon, who has figured it, and aided somewhat to our knowledge of its manners. . " It is rare in the middle districts, and is only found in the dark recesses of the pmo swamp. On its passage through the states, it appears in Louisiana, in April. They are met with .n Kentucky, in Ohio, upon the Missouri, and along Lake Erie » „„,'i li^!!" A Tu"!.' f *" ^^%»^f- In spring the song is soft and mellow, and not heard l>eyond the distance of a few paces j it is performed at intervals, between the times at which the bird sectnres an insect, which it does with great expertness either on the wing, or among the leaves of the trees and bushes. While catchine It on iJie wing, it produces a slight, clicking sound with its bill, like Vireo. It also ■ M "^^' ^^'* *'"^! '',e'""es, particularly towards autumn, when insects begin to (ail. 1 here seems httle difference between the sexes. Such is the most important information given byMr. Audubon. — En. ■ .jh aao NASHVILLE WARBLER. NASHVILLE WARBLER -SYLVIA RUFICAPILLA.-F.0. 126 Peale's Museum, No. T789. Om. Biog. I. p 460. ««toa nf this little bird were familiar to me much resembled the breaking ot «nm U dry twig ^ ^.^ ^^ «-" pebbles of fjff-i-VbTheU^^^^^^ of Uiirty or seven times, and ^oud enouLn v ascertain whether the forty yards. It was some time betore ^ discovered the sound proceeded fjom a bird or an msect^^A^ ^^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^ bird, and was not a little gratified at hncimg ^ ^^^^ Kr&«Sk^rLrs r ^nS," s -.o ha^. or ., family, the Worm-eaters. j^ jj. breadth, seven The length of this species is *^?"^,f ^J^' S, ii„ht ash, a little in- inches; the upper P-'^ of the hea^^^^^^^^ dining to olive ; crown, spotted with d^eP ^n ^..^.^ ^^^^^ a pale ye^owish ring ™^^^^^^^^ ^ck, yellow olive, except the middle ol the bcuy, ^" 1^" ., „^^^^ rich yellow olive ; eligh?l, ''•f *jf ,t^,rr4e" .S'Seflaii .ifghtl,, forked, wings, nearly black, »™adiy eageu tapering to a rnt;7n.rdrk}an^w^S\S"^^^^^ .Wilson discovered 0,1. ^pecics^^^^^^^ ihe United Slates, changed ^^e JPec.fic name a a^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^ ^/ ,^^^5. very rare ; Wilson saw ""b three '. Audubon in ^^ ^^^^^^^^^ kiUedTioppmg vidual was shot by the overhand a^ct>c^exped,i,o ^^.^^ ,,^^ ^^ Sntof -a5 " xWae^i SlS yef seem to be^nown. -En. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 267 ) last, it seems YELLOW-BILIED CUCKOO. _ CUCULUS CAROUNENSW- Fio. 127. COCCrZVS JIMRRlCJiWS. - Bo»A,,HT... Co.,.s --'--S^'y^^^g-m Ven„w-.„ea Cue.., exat!„?„rS„:tar;rod^^^^^^^^^^ ^« P"n«se of the month of May or June w^il snl^^l^T^ ^''^'i^'' ""^ ^"o^s in borders of deepfrJtired LTtLhpST ii''^^'"' "^ '^^ ^^^^^^^^ the 80,mdornote,rrembHnj;thf;v£ T ""?°»t'', guttural ginning Blowly, but eSfeoSlv ^^t!^'"'^''' *"'"' *""'«' he- each other ; and viveZTa- he wS £'„ tl f »«*«« f e«m to n,n into able to discover the bXr-a^nillV^'^feS^^^^^^^^^^ Pro. the imitative sound of i^^ttittCwt inTnyTa^b^S and the same division wa adoj ed by vfoiHo undPMho' "'" ^'■':-";!' ""•"" C""*. |s now retained. They differ Cn Z So^s" htflJ i"„ habi? "^ ^"ir "^' "'"*''' lar nest, and rparin? their vountr iVnpth a^„.-, ^ nabit, — building a reeu- presentandthe folfowing,'whioL.re bo in^^rat only two species, SSr met with in different partTof the southern eoSt^- ^"""^ ''^^"^f"' «P«-«« "« of Wilfof ^^t r.n?;;Lion: ^rthivST '■"■'''" ^han confirming the account, again to a warmerfatitudf °hev aoSa? ,^'h^^^ '"°'*' ""f'^ ' **"' ^^*'" '^•""vinff in loose flocks. ' *^ ''PP*'''' '" ^'^ gregarious, flymg high in the air, ani thoTe'XTapVroalfll'feLrrt^'thcl^^^^^^^ 'f^""' "•"" '»'« '™« '^-"oos, or though oAenlSCndnearS^and „7id,vc|oS'^^^^^ They, agiin, , and extensive heaths or commonr stuc'ded n; f nt /^ w^^^^^^^^ f"'"' "'"»?«'> they may expect an abundant sunnlv of .ho f . ^"^ """" ^""''' ""^^ '""'est : hVre gliding and turning motion XnXm. in a tlii/k^rr''"''"' '"• t^«'^ .V«"ng. The lie American Coccyz,is. LTke them ^also S^v n'ri'""'^"' " ''?"*' •'*"'«' °f when obliged to be near it S o^inrll h" "l ^. '•''^""i "" "'«' ^^^''-'d i but, for a con^derable t"me swr„ggou^d their bodv T'' ""^'^ ."^S^ "'" '•°»"'">« with lowered wings and e xSedTi p„ 1 ,,?. ^- " ^ fa"»;r ludicrous manner. «ound,resemblingL*2«eo7ou?Ame;icarbird;-"^ ' '''••'" '"-' ™"'«>to»ou,' Turning round and round with culty-eno. t?m'u"o"t,a;^re1r°fou?tSe '^"V' '^'^'i'' '"^^ """ ^ '"•or., ing the early part oflncubntL ^^1.?^ ^^^ 'u" i' ""'-^ "" '^^'^ ^^^ a^ival, dur- an^d welcom^e'^otel hiXS firr„Ml°'^.f^ ""''' well-k'nown Common Cuckoo destroys eg^^Jd 5o^^ bS "-lu^t^f ^'"' '"^^'^ "'^' *• also entertalnoH = T h-"- """- -^- ??""S^,'"'d«'''''e he American Coccvztu. i. 268 YELLOW-BILLED CUCivOO. c u ^. uird- it is also called in Virginia the Rain CVw, of the Cow Ihrd, it «^'" immediately before rain. Bo-g observed to be mos ^l^^^^^^;' "from the south, about the ll^iB species arrives »» P^"^^^^"^^^^^ twenty-second of AP"!.;"^^ ChTckSaw and'chactaw nations; Lake Ontario; u ""'"^^"VnartB of Georgia ; preferring, in all these and also breeds in the XW^^wamps anl apple orch A It leaves places, the borders of «o''J'7h^,7Srmiddle of September. Sb, on its return ««"^Tn ' nav uniatu^ - condu^^ of the European The singular-I will ""J ^^XV^V constructs a nest for itself, CncVoo,(ducvlu, f«"?2lf oTher Sb, an^ abandons them to their but drops its eggs in ^f ^^''^ °^„^_YverBall^ known, and so proverbial, mercy and management, is f ""'^"' bj'gon.e inconsiderate people, Sat the whole tnbe of Cuckoos have by s^^^^^^ ^^^^ J ^e- '*^g-l\^±r.otCS for tWs r'emarkable habit of the Eur- mitt me w""'^ ". , ".;,„j. nf oU parental care *"" »•"•— — l«en rtigmaUJ"! a. ''=""'»'! ."^hij^markable habit of the Eunj Without attomptine to account lor tw. ^^^^^ ^^ »„dom of Min species fflr leffl to ^ornidei m aner ^ ^.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^,, r-:^sXSq?r'f e!|hJ/me_^P-^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^,.„, a„r.L"t«s»ro?irfJX="S building. The nest 18 ^'^^^y^^^Z^^^^ crab, or cedar, in some an apple-tree ; sometimes m -^ ^"^^''^^i^^^ with little art, and retired part of the woods. ^ " /' -X '^^a twigs, intermixed with scarcely any concavity, "^ «X common maple. On this almost fl^^ green weeds, and blossom"^ °*^*^^,.r ^J nuXr, are placed; those are E, the eggs, usually three ojtourji j^^^^^^^ J,oFrtior»able to that of a uniform gf««f ^^^Li^ 'sSing, the male is generally not far of the bird. While the f"^?Jj ^"/^^^ef \vhen any person is approach- distant, and gives the „^\"'"| Jj, ^^^^ yo^^ ^ ^^l^,, .each >er with ing. The female sits so c\os^^' tnai yo j feigmng lame- your hand, and then Precipitates hereelf to the g .^.^ ^j^^^ ^. Lss,to draw you ^^^y ^^""^^J^'^fTe V^rinA^^: y^ff^^^^^ and tumbling over, m the inanne^ oi i„ ovidTng food for the and many other species. Both P^r«jW "" caterpillars, particularly • young. This consists, for *« "^^^/f^'^e^.tfl constitute the chief part Lch^as infest apple-trees. Th«^a«^e ^^^^^^ ^^ .^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^f of their own sustenance, ^hey are a^c^u , ^^ ^^^^ j ^ sucking the eggs of other birds lik^^^^^^^^ ^f berries. other pillagers. They °J«« °","/, ^^^^^^^^ ,„ch numbers of %very noxious fa^WFO^errel^ef ttr^^^ of the farmer, and are highly deserving of his protection. j^ ^^ ^nd sixteen The fellow-b.lled C«ckoo i^ ^^jj^^^^^ ^ ^^k glo^ inches in extent; ^^ ^^ole upper parte are reflections; what is usually called a Quaker ^^^^^^^^^ gner vanes of thewmgs, from this must, however, be e^cepwu composed of ten wh'ch are bright redd-h cinna^o" '^^^e same color as tEe back ; Uie feathers, the^twomiddl^eo^^^^^^^^ exterior ones, are black larg^J SP' S wSiteT"tiie two outer ones are scarcely hau Ji. .ength -J| DLACK-ltlLLEU CUCKCK). 269 the middle ones. The whole lower parts are pure whito ; the Fcathen coverinff the thiffhs being large, liki? those of tlie Hawk tribe ; the legs and feet are 11 rht blue, the toes placed two before and two behind, as in th;! rest of the genus. The bill is long, a littlo bent, very broad at the base, dusky black above, and yellow below; the eye hazel, leathered close to the eyelid, which is yellow. The female dittbra little from the male ; the four middle tail-feathers in her are of the same uniform drab ; and the white, with which the otliers are tipped, not so pun; as in the male. In examining tJiis bird by dissection, the inner membrane of tho gizzard, which m many other species is so hard and muscular, in this in extremely lax and Hoft, capable of great distention; and, what is remarkable, is covered with a growth of fine down, or hair, of a light fawn color. It is difficult to ascertain the particular purpose which nature intends by tliis excrescence ; perhaps it may serve to shield tlie tender parts from the irritating effects produced by the hairs of certain caterpillars, some of which are said to be almost equal to the sting of a nettle. m BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. —CUCULUS ERYTHROPTHALMA. — Fio. 128. PeaU's Muieim, No. 18fi4. COCCrzUS ERYTlIROPriIALMUS. — BotiArA».Tm.* Coccyzus erythropthalmus, Bonap. Synop. p. 42. — The Black-billed Cuckoo, Aua. pi. 32, male and feiiiale ; Orn. Biog. i. p. 170. This Cuckoo is nearly as numerous as the former, but has hitherto escaped tlie notice of European naturalists; or, from its general resemblance, has been confounded with the preceding. Its par- ticular markings, however, and some of its habits, sufficiently cliar- acterize it as a distinct species. Its general color above is nearly that of the former, inclining more to a pale ash on the cheeks and front ; it is about nn inch less in length ; the tail is of a uniform dark silky drab, except at the tip, where each feather is marked with a spot of white, bordered above with a slight touch of dull black; the bill is wholly black, and much smaller than that of the preceding; and it wants the briglit cinnamon on thi; wings. But what constitutes its most distinguishing trait is, a bare, wrinkled skin, of a deep red color, that wurrounds tlie eye. The female differs little in external appearance from the male. The Black-billed Cuckoo is particularly fond of the sides of creeks, * Wilson, I believe, deserves liii; creilil of distinguishing this species. It is riosely allied to, hut differs widely, both in its habils ami feeding, from its conge- ners and the true ( 'uckoos. In addjiiou to shells and water insects, Audubon men- tions having fiHind in their stomachs a small black frog, which appears after a aununer shower. - Eo. 23* m^'^1 370 BLUE YELLOW-BACK WARBLER. {MIM on wnall Bholl-fish, smWn, Slc. I havo alno often found bSSpiice. .f oyHlnr 8liell8 u iu. g.zzard, winch, Uko that of tho ^%^rsr:ru:''-i^^St'^^^^^^ bum in a cedar njuch m IhenZe mannor. ...1 of nearly tho Hanie .natcrialH, aa that of tl.c rther ; but thoepgB ur. nnmller, uaually four or fivo . : numbrr, and ot ^ '^^i^ fiKSS in the Bta^ of Ooc^a^ a^ ^^ nc. eBcaped the -ticu of Mr. Abbot, who la aatiBhod of its being a distinct apecie^ from the preceding. BLUE YELLOW-BACK W MIDLER. -SYLVIA PUSILLA.- Fio. 129. Pan.. Americans, Unn. 8y^. ^Jl^-^'^.'S'^'lS^SaS Va,l;;;i:ciiJS SYIVICQI^ ^.UEfl/Cj«A0».-8w»iRioN.» Sylvia Americana /.«y«^.;Vj..,i.^^^.^^^^^^^^ r£.-Ti.e'K Y±w4S.^^ Aud. pi. 15, male and female; 6m. Biog. i. p. 78. NoTwiTHHTANDmo the re.pectubility "^ ^ho above authorities. I must continue to consider thJB bird as a species of Warbler, its rbits indeuL partake sometliinfr of the Titmouse ; but Uie form of hf Mil is decidedly thnt of tho %,lvia genus. It is remarkable for fKHiuentincr Uie tops of the tallest tree., where it teeds on the Bmall Sd insects aid caterpillars that infest the young leaves and blolom^ Tthas a few, feeble, cherupin? note., scarcely loud enough to be T^eard at the fo< t of the tree. It visits PennBylvania from Ses^uth early in May ;, is verv abundant in ^e -f « f Kcnti^cky ; and is al>«o found m the northern parts of the state ot JNew YorK. It« iipat 1 have never yet met with, t , . . ■ j ThS little species is four inches and a half lone, and six inches and a haSn b ead^th ; the front, and between the bilf and eyes, is black ; Sie upier part of the head and neck, a fine Prussian blue ; upper part of the Tack, brownish yellow ; lower, and rump, pale blue ; wings and j{ of names. That of Avteri- I'KjIlalion firs \p '.ed; and thinks'lwo broods are raised m the year. — Ed. •There is ii.>iliing more annoying than the i >'. rami without doubt, seems to liavu been 'M ."j.t ' ' if w<-'nre to adhere to any given rule in n.., lu ntum YELLOW REIV-PO' n \ RULER. 971 toll, black ; ll fomicr crossed witl; two bam of white, and od^^lh' e™";irvvhi'. ' Th*^ ""/'•" '""''' "'■'''' "*' ^''•' *'»'«« «tnSfeS ere wiux while tt ojTcuinatanco coniinon to u i/nuit nun btr of tha gunua; Hmm.diately..l»,.vn nnd below tho oyo Ih a ..nua bjJh of throat and hu^sU rich yellow, .k-eponing about its nu.ldle U> oranire rod, and inarkod on tl.o tl.roat with a suiall (To.cent of black on tKe odjfo of tho broa«t .s a 'ight touch of rufous ; bolly and vent, whi o^ leg., dark brown; feet, (firty voUow. The female w.uy both Uio black and orange on the tlirout and breast; t'ie blue on the uuD«r parts 18 also of a duller tint *^***" YELLOW HED-POLL WARBLER. -SYLVIA PETECHIA- Fio. 130. Red-hca.led Warbler, Turton, i. G05. - Peaie;, Museum, No. 7|24. SYLyiCOrJI PKTt:CHM.-BwA,„„H: Warbler, Pern. Arct. Zool. ... p. 401. _ Sylvicola ff rh"a, NortLZ^f This delicate little bird arrives in Pennsylvani early in April while the maples are yet in blossom, among the bran les of whicK it may generally be found at that season, feeding on the tamina of the flowers, and .m s.nall w.ngod insects. Low, swampy t, ickets are it^ favorite places of resort It i. not numerous, and its n- res are undo- rr'l^li^'' """'*' "^i'""^'- J^'•emains with us all summ.r, but its nest has huTierto escaped me. It leaves us late in Septemb. ;. Some of them probably winter in Georgia, having myself shot 8e^ ral, late in February, on the borders of the Savannah River. Length of the Yellow Red-Poll, five inches; extent, iight: line Zf^! ^^''' ""'^ "tJ^l" u '^ 'J ^f^' ""*^ y^"°^ 5 breast, St rolked with dull red upper part of the head, reddish chestnut, which t loses in wmter; back, yellow olive, streaked with dusky; rump and tail- coverts, greenish yellow; wings, deep blackish brown, exteriorly edged with ohve ; tail, slightly forked, and of the same co >r as the win^B, 1. "^f .J!^'""'" ^^°^ the red cap, and the yellow of the low. part is Sinct ' ^^^ ^ ^^'^ °" ^® ^^^'^^ '"^ ^^^" ^^^^' '^'^ ^^^ Hi •i ? 272 lVOUY-niIJ.Ei: .VOODPECKER. XVOaV-BILLED WOCOPE^CKER^-PICUS PRINCIPALIS.- P.eus principalis. L,,,n. ^V-;,-^' S^^^J^^^.S^'^^P^ biluAl Woodpecker, Cai'V<--'^« ° '""'^i^.^o i ho ojll have divided them nUo that nevertheless cxiste.l among them. , >; "^^.^'^yoodpeckers for the type, making Kree groups only, laking.the ':"»'r»„5 ^'^1,"^ ^>^^"a l.ird the very n>in"t« /P«J'^* nodicr of the Coldcn-wmged, ami '""^ ^'"f, /"..id, i believe, will be found to il^eh form Temminck's .K'^""^/''-T'";Vr sUiS in following out the ^a l< in a family s"'''ew'>at d'A^-r^' • J :i'^,^°„f,K'h,i,%eings, has formed five vtews which he holds regarding the ^'f' "^^ "J,,^'^,^ the title i't'c"^ / H'^tol the r^:;s,_takingourprese.U ormastjpu^^^ ^,reen Woodpecker, iinder (7 My.opW«s^^^u^ Ma/aeoW-w^, as the SoR- Melam-n,cs ; the Go den-W n,gs, as ^"^^f^^ . ii,„ no„fcrn parts ot Amor pecker developed to the utmost. distributed over the whole world, New The Pici are very numerous, and ar. iisu "i continents, may be termed Holland excepted-, Anterica howevc , h. 1^^^^^^^ afford abundance to sal- the land of vVoodpcckers. "«; J^^f^' '^Xjed retirement from the inroads of c. It^ isfv their various wants, and "" ''''//X and her islands are best stored ; then, valion. Next in n.unher, 1 '',<,"! :'f'X^, "however, are always greatest between Africa-, and lastly, Europe. .1 h< '"""''"^Q^ f^^^ and approach temperate or d.e tropics, and generally <''7;"'^'' ^ i.^^'.^'^^'fa few species only feed occasionally cold regions. They are mostly ^ ' °irs^o,,w.ra, that form their abodes u on different fruits and berr.es. ,|''^,.^;*,'°,'^ir bark and moss, with their eggs and dead and decaying ''">''«^.«f '™n lei sXstence. For securing this prey laifre larvw, form an essential part ot "*'V", ,i,„nectiiiar mode of Wo incident hjjng out from their burrows in ^ '« «^""J; ;\'^J "'X bill is strong and wedge- Self pursuits, they are most '^I^.^^S^J.^' 'he tongue. -fitted by the cun- shaped the neck t.ossesses g ea m adar ty » ^^^^^^ l,^,n,^,oA with a viscous ons construction of its '""^'•,'^^ j^' j^^'t/Th. weaker prey, or with l?reat force s-diva cither gently to seci rt diKl fence-posts, and old, proatrato logs, are alike interesting to those, in their humble and indeiati!:a!)le search for prey : but the royal hunter now before i-s scorns the hinnility of such situa- tions, and seeks the most towering trees of the forests ; seemino- par- ticularly attached to tliose prodigious cypress swaiaps, whoso crowded giant sons stretch tlieir bare and bku^ted or inoss-Jiung arms midway to the skies. In these almost inaccessible recesses, amid ruinous piles ot iinponding timber, his truinpet-like note and loud strokes resound tlii-oiigh tiie solitary, savage wilds, of which he socais the sole lord and inhabitant. WTierever he frequents, he leaves numerous monumenta ot ins industry behind him. We there see enormous pine-trees, with cartloads of bark lying around their roots, and chijjs of the trunk itself m sucii quantities as to suggest the idea that half a dozen of ax(>-men had been at work there for the whole morning. The body of tlie tree IS tilso disfigured with such numerous and so large excavations, that one can hardly conceive it possible for the wiiole to be tlie work of a Woodpecker. Witli such strength, and an apjiaratus so ijowerful, what havock might he not commit, if numerous, on the most useful of our forest-trees ! And yet, with all tlieso appearances, and much of gloomy and retired, has given rise to the opinion, cnlertaineil l.v many, thai tlie life ot the Woodpecker was hard and laborious, dragged on in the same unvaric.i tract for one purpose, — the supply of food. It lias been painted in vivi.l and inii.ginary CO onng, and its existence 1ms been described to be painful and burdensome in the extreme; its cries have been convened into cr.n.plaiiUs,and its search for food into exertions of no use We cainn.l agree to iliis. The cry of the Woo.lpecker is wild, and no douln the mcessanl hewing of holes, without an adequate object ,vould be suiricienlly miserable. These, however, are the pleasures of the bird The knowledge to search after food is implanted in it. and organs most a.lmirably lonned to nrcvent exhaustion and insure success, have been .^ranted to it Its cries, though melancholy lo us, are so from association willi the di.il; forests and the stillness which surrounds their haunts, but perhaps, ai the lime >\lien we iiid«. are exnressiye of the greatest enjoyment. An answer of kin.lness in reply to a mate, the calling together of the newly-fledged brood, or oxiiltaiion over the dis- covery ot some favorite hoard of food, are what are set down as painful and discontented. "^ Mr Audubon's remarks on this splendid species, " the King of tlie Woodpeck- ers, I have transcribed at some length, as indicating the particular manner of the typical family of this great group : — "The Ivory-billcd Woodpecker confines its rambles lo a comparativelyverv small portion of the United States, it never having been observe.! in the Middle Stat.s Within the inc::iorvof any person now living there. In fact, in no portion habilT'^ ""'"'** °'" ^'"' *^°"^^ "PP^'""" '*'"''''''<' I" ■'» remilrkable " De.fccnding the Ohio, we meet with this splendid bird for the first time near the coniliieiice of that beautiful river and the Mississippi ; ai.er which, following the wind- ings of the latter, either downwards toward the sea, or upwards in the direction of the Missouri, we frequently observe it. On the Atlantic coast. North Carolina may be taken as the limit of its distributio.-j, altUojgh now and then aii mdividua! of the spe- 9l 274 IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. vulgar prejudice against him, it may fairly be questioned whether he is at all injurious ; or, at least, whether his exertions do not contribute most powerfully to the protection of our timber. Examme closely the tree where he has been at work, and you will soon perceive that it is neither from motives of mischief nor amusement that he slices off the bark, or digs his way into the trunk; for the sound and healthy tree is the least object of his attention. The diseased, infested with in- sects, and hastening to putrefaction, are his favorites ; there the deadly, crawling enemy have formed a lodgment between the bark and ten- der wood, to drink up the very vital part of the tree. It is the ravages of these vermin, which the intelligent proprietor ol^the forest deplores as the sole perpetrators of the destruction of his timber. Would it be believed tliat the larvE of au insect, or fly, no larger than a grain of rice, should silently, and in one season, destroy some thousand acres of pine-trees, many of them from two to three feet in diameter, and a hundred and fifty feet high ? Yet whoever passes along the high road from Georgetown to Charleston, in South Carolina, al^ut twenty miles from the former place, can have striking and melancholy proofs of this fact In some places, the whole woods, as far as you can see around you, are dead, stripped of the bark, their wintry-looking arms and bare trunks bleaching in the sun, and tumbling in ruins before every blast, presenting a frightful picture of desolation. And yet ignorance and preiudice°stubbornly persist in directing their indignalioi: against the bird now before us, the constant and mortal enemy of tliese very ver- min ; as if the hand that probed the wound to ext;a(;t its cause, should be equally detested with that which mflicted it ; or as if the thief- cies may l)e accidentally seen in Maryland. To the westward of the Mississippi, it is found in all the dense forejts bordering the streams which empty then waters into that majestic river, from the very declivities of the Rocky Mountains. The lower pitrts of the Carolinas. Georgia. Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, are, however, the most favorite resorts of this bird, and in those states it constantly resides, breeds, and passes a life of peaceful enjoyment, finding a profusion of food in all the deep, dark, and gloomy swamps dispersed throughout them. " The (light of this bird is graceful in the extreme, although seldom prolonged to more than a few liundred yards at a time, unless when it has to cross a large river, which it does in deep undulations, opening its wings at first to their lull exienl. and nearly ciosiii'; thoin to rcMiew the propelling impulse. The transit from oni" tree to another, even should the distance be as much as a hundred yards, is perlornied by a siu'de sweep, and the bird appears as if merely swinging itself from ilio top of the one tree to tiiat of the other, forming an elegantly curved line. At this inomcnl, all the beauly of the plumage is exhibited, and strikes the beholder willi picnsiiro. It never utters aiiv sound wiiilst on wing, unless during the love season; but, at a I oth<'r times, no' sooner has this bird alighted than its remarkable voice is heard, at almo^l everv leap wliicli it makes, whilst ascending against the upper jjarls of the trim!; of a tree or its highest branches. Its notes are clear, loud, and yet very plaintive ; tliey are heard at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile, and re- semble the false high note of a clarionet. They are usually repeated three linics in succession, and may lie represented by the monosyllable pail, pait. pait. 1 licsc are heard so frequently as to induce me to say that the bird spends few minutes of the (lay without uttering them ; and this circumstance leads to Us destruction, which IS aimed at, not because (as is supposed by some) this species is a destroyer of trees, but more because it is a beautiful bird, and its rich scalp attached to the upper inaiidil)le forms an ornament for the war-dress of most of our rndiniis, or for the shot-pouch of our squatters and hunters, by all of whom the bird is shot merely for that purpose." — Ed. IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 275 catcher should be confounded with the thief. Until some effectual f^nlf/T '"'•"'"'"^ ""•"P'^^^ ™°de of destruction, can be devLed against th'|«e insects and their larv^, I would humbly suLest the p opnety ot protecting, and receiving, 'with proper feelings ^ftaU^ tude, the services of Siis and the whole tribe of WoodpeclersleS the odium of guilt fall upon its proper owners. "P'^^'^^rs, letting i„/h,o r^r^'f *]}e accounts given of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker &ev TMe:Sf ?rP°' ^ ^f '' ""'"'''^ *hat it inhabits froiSS seen to he Sh" / v'^'^'^' ^"T^^*-' ^^at few of them are ever JZ T. fi ^^ ""^ Virginia, and very few of them even in that state The first place I observed this bird at, when on my way to the south was about twelve miles north of Wilmington in N^th CaroUna! It Tr "?• ?^ ^'"^ /'■°'" ''^^^ the draling of Fig. 131 was taken. This bird was only wounded slightly in the wing, f nd on be ing caught, uttered a loudly reiterated and most piteous^iote exactly resembling the violent crying of a young child" which terrfied my ho so so, as nearly to have cost me mytife. l[ was distressing tJ hear ,t I carried ,t with me in the chair, under cover, to Wilmhig! In J" P^f"? through the streets, its affecting cries surprised eve^ one within hearing particularly the females, who hurried to the S and windows with looks of alarm and anxiety. I drove onVand? on arriving at the piazza of the hotel, where I intended to pu up, the andlord came forward, and a number of other pereons who happened 0 be 'here all equally alarmed at what they heard ; this was gfeatly increased by my asking, whether he could furnish me with accommo- dations for myself and my babv. The man looked blank and foolish while the others stared with stilf greater astonishment. After diverting myself for a minute or two at their expense, I drew my Woodpecker f om under the cover, and a general laugh took place. I took him up stairb, and locked him up in my room, while I went to see my horse taken care of. In less than an hour, I returned, and, on opening the door, he set up the same distressing shout, which now appeared to proceed from grief that he had been discovered in his attempts at escape. He had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break through 1 he bed was covered with large pieces of plaster; the lath was Ex- posed tor at least fifteen inches square, and a hole, large enough to admit the fist, opened to the weather-boards ; so that, in less than an- other hour, he would certainly have succeeded in makino- his wav through. I now tied a string round his leg, and, fastening it to the ta- ble, again left him I wi.hed to preserve his life, and had gone off in search of suitable f;)od for him. As I reascended the stafrs, I heard Jiim aio "-iven by Audubon. Wilson of its tribe. I Lave observe.! .t bormg a o c K,r n pj^^ ^ ^.^.^ ^^^^_ „^ March. The hole .s, 1 bcheve al«ay. w d " ^.^^^ ..^d to the an ash or a^agberry , and at a great he .^^ ^^J^^ first, because they particular situation of the !"'™,,7,,^V":'e anxious to secure the aperture agau.si prefer retirement, and again, bcodusttiity •"^'''' ^ a calamity, the hole is The access of water during ''«« ">& '^", j, ,7on 71 la ge branch with tL trunk.. It generally dug immed.aely under ''« .'"^f ^"^ l^J^\y downwards, and not ...a fs first bored horizontally for a few '"'•'■^"i^ncn ""'^ {,- j„ circumstances, this spiral manner, as 'T"^ ^^^^^^^^ ^'^^^'^^ ten inches w^hilst at cavity is more or bss deep, '^f'';S «''"•=' j, i,„o the core of the tree. I other limes it rca- hes "«"[>' .^^'^^^i'^r'^'^ees^r^^^^^^ l.-.s immedu.lo have been led to think that these '''^Terences resui _ _^^j ^ ,^^^^. necessity under which tl'o U-na e ..ay be of ^cpos I n^^l .^ ^^^ |^^ j_^,^ - ^,^ ,. thougli. that the older .he W"' 'Packer; - ^e'l^^^^ ^„s about seven mclics '^j^i^inr a work most -i''-»^y -'li^-^-r Xt^s^i^ft^r courage tlie other, whilst it .s engaged " JgK^^^ j"^,,^,^ Woodpeckers were thus taking its place. I have approached trees whilst tnc J -..^t jho bark, biisilv emnloyed in forming ''"V' "*■^^' ",^ X "j- 1 observed that in. two m- coukl easily distinguish every bow gwen by U e « ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ .^ ^,_^y glances, when the Woodpecker saw .rictus^at ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^j ^^^ were digging their nest, they ^ 'a^'l' '«d 't '°f«^';, • ^, „,^ ,,oUom of the hole, generalfy six ess- They are