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ial 


GENERAL HISTORY 


OF 


BIRDS. 


BY JOHN LATHAM, M.D. 


F.R.S. A.S. ano LS. 


Acabp. Cas. Nat. Curios. Rec. Hotm. gr Soc. Nat. Scrut. Beroxin. &e. &e. 


VOL. X. 


WINCHESTER : 
PRINTED BY JACOB AND JOHNSON, FOR THE AUTHOR :—SOLD IN LONDON BY 


G. AND W.B. WHITTAKER, AVE-MARIA-LANE; JOHN WARREN, BOND-STREET ; 
W. WOOD, 428, STRAND; AND J. MAWMAN, 39, LUDGATE-STREET. 


1824. 


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GENUS XCI.—PHALAROPE. 


* With slender Bills. C Var. 4 Flat-billed 
1 Red 2 American 5 Plain 

A Var. ** With flat Bills. 6 Ferruginous 

B Var. 3 Grey 7 Barred 


BrILu straight. Nostrils minute. 
Body and legs as in the Sandpiper, but rather compressed on 


the sides. 
Toes furnished with a broad, and generally scolloped, membrane. 


* WITH SLENDER BILLS. 


1—RED PHALAROPE. 


Phalaropus hyperboreus, Ind. Orn. ii. 775. Muller, No. 196. Lin. Trans. xii, 535. 
Tem. Man. 457. Id. Ed. 2d. 709. Frankl. Narr. App. 690. 

Tringa hyperborea, Lin. i. 249. Gm. Lin. 1. 675. 

Tringa lobata, Fn. Groenl. No.75. Fn. suec. No. 179. first parag. Id. Retz. No. 152. 

Phalaropus cinereus, Bris. vii. p.15. Id. 8vo. ii. 362. 

Phalaropus Williamsii, Lin. Trans. viii. p.264. 

Larus fidipes alter nostras, Rati, 132. A. 7. Will. 270. 

Der Wassertretter, Schmid, Vog. 128. t.111. 

Johnson’s Small cloven-footed Gull, Will. Engl. 355. §. vii. 

Phalarope de Siberie, Pl. enl. 766. Buf. vin. p. 224. Ph. cendre. 

Cock Coot-footed Tringa, Edw. pl. 143. 

Red Phalarope, Gen. Syn. v. 270. Br. Zool. ii. No.219. pl.76. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 125. 
pl.21. Bewick, 11. 139. Lewin, v. pl. 193. Wale. ii. pl. 127. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


LENGTH about seven inches. Bill one inch long, slender, and 


black; the general colour of the plumage above ash-colour, coming 
VOL. x. B 


2 PHALAROPE. 


forwards on the lower part of the neck; through the eyes, from the 
bill, a dusky stripe to the hindhead ; behind the eyes a rufous one, 
reaching on the sides of the neck, and joining the other at the back 
part; rump, and upper tail coverts banded dusky and white; all the 
under parts of the body dusky white, but the sides marked with ash- 
coloured spots; under wing coverts crossed with lines of black, the 
upper ash-colour, the greater brown, tipped white, forming a band 
on the wing; scapularsimargined with rufous; quills dusky, some of 
the secondaries tipped with white; tail dusky ; legs dusky Jead-colour. 

The female has a mixture of rufous about the eyes; the rufous on 
the neck less extended, and mixing with the cinereous; the spots on 
the sides fewer, with some longitudinal streaks on the upper parts. 
The above seems to be descriptive of the two sexes in a complete 
state of plumage. 

The Red Phalarope is very rare in England; one is mentioned, 
shot in Yorkshire, near Brignal; another on the banks of a fresh 
water pool, in the Isle of Stronsa, in May, 1769; and a specimen in 
the Leverian Museum, killed:in England : is said to be more common 
on the Continent, being found in Siberia, and in the neighbourhood 
of the Caspian Sea; also in Scandinavia; comes into Greenland in 
April, and‘ departs in September; generally found in pairs, and 
whilst swimming, frequently dips the bill inte the water, after insects; 
for it is said not to be able to. dive, or does so with difficulty: that 
described by Mr. Johnson was much on: the wing; the wings sharp, 
and the cry like that of the Greater Tern. 

Inhabits also America; comes into Hudson’s Bay the beginning 
of June, and lays four eggs about the middle of the month, on a dry 
spot: the young fly in August, and they wholly depart in September; 
known there by the name of Occumushishisk, or A-coom-oo-shish. 

That described by Mr. Simmonds, under the name of Phalaropus 
Williamsn, answered. to the description above. He met with them 
in plenty at the edges of twoor three fresh water lakes, in. Sanda, 
and North Ronaldsha, the two most northerly of the Orkney Islands ; 


Jet (CILAABIe, 


Peres 


ily, / Z Vf, 
: af. Be) Mit P Li lA??? Spe Z 


PHALAROPE. 3 


in their stomachs were found the remains of Monoculi and Onisci; but 
what appeared singular, the male had a great deficiency of feathers 
on the belly, and from the great difficulty of driving them from the 
tufts where the nests were supposed to be, it would seem probable, 
that the males principally perform the business of incubation. 


PL. CLXIIl. 


A.—Phalaropus hyperboreus, Jnd. Orn. ii. 775. B. 
Red Phalarope, Gen. Syn. vy. 272. Var. A.—PI. in frontispiece. Orn. Dict. Supp. 


Length eight inches and a half. Bill black, slender; plumage 
on all the upper parts clouded brown, surrounding the breast, which 
is paler; chin white; belly and vent the same; on each side of the 
neck a large, irregular, deep ferruginous red spot ; the greater wing 
coverts tipped with white, forming a bar; quills black ; tail cine- 
reous, but the two middle feathers dark, nearly black; legs dusky ; 
toes furnished with a lobated membrane on the sides, as in the first 
described.—In the collection of Sir Joseph Banks. Found between 
Asia and America, from lat. 66. to 69. 

One in Mr. Donovan’s colléction had the head nearly black ; the 
chin white; the whole neck and sides of the breast red, but the 
middle of the last cimereous; belly white; upper part of the body 
dusky: an egg, exhibited with the bird, was much in colour hike 
that of the Common Plover, but smaller. 


B.—Phalaropus fuscus, Ind. Orn. ii. p.776. Bris. vi. p. 18. Id. 8vo. ii. 868. Lin. 
Trans. xii. 530. 

Tringa fusca rostro tenui, Klein, Av. 151. 3. 

Tringa lobata, Brun. Orn. p. 51. N. 171. 

Coot-footed Tringa, Edw. pl. 46. 

Brown Phalarope, Gen. Syn. y. 274. Arct. Zool. ii. 214. 


Size of the others. Crown of the head black: plumage greatly 


similar, but most of the feathers, on the upper parts, fringed with 
B2 


4 PHALAROPE. 


light rufous; fore part of the neck cinereous, with a slight tinge of 
blossom-colour; wing coverts and quills dusky, edged and tipped 
with white; across the wing a bar of white, but not so broad as in 
the first described; breast and under parts white, but the sides of 
the-breast, and flanks are light ash, and on the sides of the neck a 
tinge of yellow; legs black. 

Inhabits America ; one of these flew on board a ship on the Coast 
of Maryland. It may appear to be a Variety only, if not a female; 
but Captain Sabine, who met with a small flock on the west Coast 
of Greenland, considers it as an immature bird. 


C.—Phalaropus hyperboreus, Amer. Orn. ix. 75. pl. 73. f. 4. 


The one figured in the Amer. Ornith. although bearing the same 
name, does not answer as to colour; it is said to be nine inches long, 
and fifteen broad. Bill orange, one inch long; throat, sides, neck, 
and lower parts white, thickly and irregularly barred with curving 
dashes of chocolate; the upper parts deep slate, streaked brownish 
yellow and black ; the black scapulars broadly edged with brownish 
yellow; rump and wings dark slate; the primaries nearly black, crossed 
with white below the coverts; greater wing coverts broadly tipped 
with white, forming a large band; vent white; the feathers imme- 
diately next the tail reddish chocolate; legs black on the outside, 
yellowish within ; middle toe small, and partly pinnate. 

Inhabits America; found in Pennsylvania, but very rare. 


2.—AMERICAN PHALAROPE. 


Phalaropus Wilsoni, American Phalarope, Frankl. Nar. App. p. 691. 


LENGTH ten inches and a half. Bill one inch and a quarter, 
black, narrow at the base, and slender, with a very slight general 
incurvation ; forehead and crown clear, pale ash-colour; through 


PHALAROPE. 5 


the eyes a narrow line to the side of the neck, where it widens con- 
siderably, and continues in a broad patch to the back; this mark is 
at first black, but half an inch beyond the eye deep chestnut; chin 
and sides of the head, between the above line, white; neck dingy 
white, slightly tinged with chestnut; belly and all beneath white; 
at the back of the neck, between the two dark markings, a white 
line; back and scapulars dark ash, with a little mixture of chestnut ; 
wings dark ash, larger coverts and secondaries slightly edged with 
white; the two middle tail feathers ash-colour, the others the same 
on the outer web; mottled ash-colour and white on the inner ; upper 
tail coverts ash-colour, under white; legs black, bare near an inch 
above the knee; toes lobed, the outer united to the middle one, at 
a short distance from the base, claws small, curved, black. 

Inhabits North America. Received in a collection dispatched 
from Cumberland House, in the spring, 1820. 


** WITH FLAT BILLS. 


3.—GREY PHALAROPE. 


Phalaropus lobatus, Ind. Orn. il. 776. Amer. Orn. ix. 92. pl. 73. f. 3. 

Tringa lobata, Lin. i. 249. Gm. Lin. i. 674. Muller, No. 195. 

Phalaropus, Bris. vi. p. 12. Id. 8vo.ii. 361. Fn. swec. No. 179. 

Phalaropus platyrhynchos, Tem. Man. 459. Jd. Ed. 2d. 712. Parry’s App. p. cei. 

Tringa cinerea gutture albo, White-throated Coot-footed Tringa, Bartr. Trav. p. 302. 

Le Phalarope a festons dentelés, Buf. viii. 226. 

Grey Coot-footed Tringa, Edw. pl. 308. Phil. Trans. L. p. 255. pl. 6. 

Grey Phalarope, Gen. Syn. v. 272. Br. Zool. No. 218. pl. 76. Jd. fol. 126. pl. E. 
1. £8. Id. 1812. 11. p. 123. pl. 21. Arct. Zool. 1. No. 218. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 
140. Lewin, v. pl. 194. Orn. Dict. 


LENGTH seven inches and a half, extent sixteen; weight one 
ounce and three quarters. Bill black, flattened near the point, about 


6 PHALAROPE. 


one inch long; irides dark; hind part of the head and neck dusky 
brown, dashed with ash-colour; upper parts of the body, scapulars, 
and wing coverts, cinereous grey, the feathers of the last darkest, 
and edged with white; forehead, crown, chin, and all the under 
parts, pure white, except the bend of the wing, and the sides of the 
breast, which are cinereous; on the cheek a dusky spot; quills 
black ; tail dusky, edged with ash; legs compressed like those of the 
Diver, and pale; toes scolloped, membranes serrated on their mar- 
gins. This description is taken from a specimen killed in a pond at 
Alderton, in Wiltshire, in the collection of the late Col. Montagu ; 
that of the Br. Zool. had the forehead white; crown dusky, hind 
part of the neck light grey; the rest of the parts above deep dove- 
colour, marked with dusky spots ; scapulars edged with white; breast 
and belly white; tail dusky, the feathers edged with ash-colour. 
This was shot in Yorkshire, and communicated by Mr. Edwards. 
Another, in my own collection, had the whole of the top of the 
head, sides, chin, and neck white; hindhead and neck dusky; prime 
quills plain; the secondaries margined with white; the scolloped 
membranes yellowish. I have likewise met with another, with the 
whole head and neck brown ; the chin alone being white. 

The above mostly inhabits the northern parts of Europe, Iceland, 
and Greenland; is frequent throughout Siberia, about lakes and 
rivers, especially in autumn; has also been met with among the ice 
between Asia and America, and, if the same as that in the Phil. 
Trans. is found in the salt marshes, and in flocks about the borders 
of the Caspian Sea: as to England, it is a rare species. 


4.—FLAT-BILLED PHALAROPE. 


Tringa fulicaria, Lin.i. 249. Fn. Groenl. No.76. Brun. No. 172. Muller, No.195. 
Tringa hyperborea, Gm. Lin. i. p. 676. Var. B. 

Phalaropus Platyrhynchos, Flat-billed Phalarope, Lin. Trans. xii. p.536. 

Phalaropus rufescens, Bris. vi. 20. Id. 8vo. il. 363. 


PHALAROPE. #7) 


Tringa rufa, Red Coot-footed Tringa, Bartr. Trav.292. Edw. pl. 142. 
Red Phalarope (female), Gen. Syn. v. p. 271, Br. Mise. i. t. 10. 


SIZE of the former. Bill the same; head, throat, hind part of 
the neck, back, scapulars, and upper tail coverts black, margined 
with rufous; over the eye a pale rufous streak ; ramp white, spotted 
with dusky; beneath, from the throat, dusky red, with a mixture of 
white; wings and tail as before. 

‘The above was killed on the 10th of June, out of a flock of four, 
on the west Coast of Greenland, in lat.68°; they were swimming 
in the sea, amongst icebergs, three or four miles from shore. This 
appears to be in the summer plumage, at which time it is probably 
in its most perfect state: this and the last appear to be related. 


5.—PLAIN PHALAROPE. 


Phalaropus glacialis, Ind. Orn. ii. 776. Lin. Trans. xii. p.536. 
Tringa glacialis, Gm. Lin. i. 675. 
Plain Phalarope, Gen. Syn. v. 273. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 415. 


BILL black, slender, dilated at the end; crown dusky and dull 
yellow ; across each eye a black line; cheeks, and neck before, clay- 
colour; breast and belly white; back and tertials dusky, edged with 
dull yellow; wing coverts, primaries, and tail cimereous; the last 
edged like the tertials; legs yellowish; the toes bordered with a 
plain, or unscolloped membrane. 

This was taken in the Frozen Sea, in Jat. 693° long: 191° and 
supposed to be in incomplete plumage. In Capt: Sabine’s Memorr, 
it is set down as belonging to his Flat-billed Species, in change of 
feather; on which we have only to observe, that if birds, in such a 
dress, should be found hereafter, and the whole of them wanting the 
serratures on the lobated toes, it is possible that the bird here described 
may prove distinct: but Colonel Montagu mentions the probability 


8 PHALAROPE. 


of the toes having been so much contracted in drying, at to make 
the matter undetermined, though he gives his opinion of the bird 
being only the young of the Grey Species. 


6.—FERRUGINOUS PHALAROPE. 


LENGTH seven inches and a half. Bill nearly one inch, brown, 
with a blackish tip, and broader towards that part; plumage above 
brown, the edges of the feathers ferruginous, appearing in streaks ; 
behind the eye a patch of white ; chin dusky ; under parts from chin 
to vent ferruginous, mottled under the wings with dusky ; wings fine 
ash-colour; shafts of the quills white; ends of the greater wing 
coverts white, forming an obhgque band on the wing; scapulars as 
the back, and nearly as long as the quills; as are the under tail 
coverts, in respect to the tail; middle of the belly whitish ; tail two 
inches long, rounded, brown; the wings, when closed, nearly reach 
to the end of it; legs dusky, toes furnished: with a finely scolloped, 
brown membrane; claws black. 

A fine, and perfect specimen of this was in the collection of Mr. 
Bullock, shot near London, but the time of the year not ascertained ; 
nor are we assured that it is distinct as a species; we have, however, 
thought right to repeat the various descriptions before detailed in the 
Synopsis, as well as recorded by other authors, to give the reader a 
clearer view ; yet we are by no means averse to join in opinion of 
compressing them into two Species only, according to the sentiments 
of Col. Montagu and Mr Sabine,* and, indeed, from so few having 
fallen under our own observation, we do not feel ourselves competent 
to decide. 


* M. Temminck is of the same opinion, see Man. d’Orn. 456. 459. 


PHALAROPE. 9 


7.—BARRED PHALAROPE. 


Phalaropus cancellatus, Ind. Orn. i. 777. 
Tringa cancellata, Gm. Lin. i. 675. 
Barred Phalarope, Gen. Syn y. 274. 


LENGTH seven inches and a half. Bill one inch, black, shape 
uncertain ; feathers on the upper parts of the body brown, edged 
with white; under parts white, transversely barred with dusky ; 
quills dusky, with brown ends, the margins and tips very pale: tail 
the same, spotted on both webs with white; legs dusky. 

Inhabits Christmas Island.—Sir Joseph Banks. 


VOL, x. C 


10 FINFOOT. 


GENUS XCII.—FINFOOT. 


1 African Finfoot \| 2 American Finfoot 


BILe moderately curved, pointed, and elongated. 

Nostrils linear. 

Body depressed. 

Tail somewhat cuneiform. 

Legs short. Toes four in number, three placed before, and one 
behind ; and furnished with an indented, or scolloped membrane ; 
claws sharp, and bent. 


1.—AFRICAN FINFOOT.—PL. cixiv. 


SIZE of a Coot; length eighteen inches. Bill one inch and 
three quarters in length, brown, formed like that of a Diver, some- 
what bent, especially towards the point; the under mandible pale ; 
nostrils in a depression, half the length of the bill, being a pervious 
slit on the fore part; tongue three-fourths of the length of the bill; 
plumage in general above brown, with several spots of the size of 
peas, on the lower part of the neck, and beginning of the back, but 
more numerous on the former; these are buff-coloured, and margined 
with black; over the eye sparingly beset with feathers, or rather 
down ; from behind the eye a slender streak of white, passing down 
on each side of the neck; chin and throat white; the rest of the 
under parts dirty rafous white, inclining most to white on the breast ; 
vent pale rufous brown ; side feathers under the wings, marked with 
two or more obsolete spots on each side of the shaft; under wing 
coverts brown, spotted with white ; tail cuneiform, stout, nearly six 
inches long, the outer feathers about three; the whole of a dark 
colour, with tawny yellow, stiff webs; thighs bare a little way above 
the joint; legs strong, four inches in length from the joint to the 
foot, the toes all disunited, but furnished on each side with a triple, 


PL.CLXTV 


FINFOOT. 1] 


scolloped membrane, in the manner of the Phalarope, or Coot; the 
colour orange ; claws pretty long, and hooked, the middle one ser- 
rated on the inner edge; the wings reach to about one-third on the 
tail.—Inhabits Africa. The above description taken from a speci- 
men in the collection of Mr. H. Brogden. I observe a second also 
in that of Mr. Bullock; and a third in the possessiou of Mr. Lead- 
beater ; but the last is smaller, the colour and spots less defined, 
and most probably differs in sex, or may not have arrived at perfect 


maturity. 


2.—AMERICAN FINFOOT. 


Plotus Surinamensis, Jrd. Orn. 11. 896. Gm. Lin. i. 581. 

Le Grebe-foulque, Buf. vii. 248. Pl. enl.893. Tem. Man. Ed.ii. Anal. p.cvi. Podoa. 

Oiseau de Soleil, Descr. Surin. ii. 192. 

Le Macas a doigtier, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No, 446. 

Surinam Tern, Brown, Ill. p. 90. pl. 39. 

Surinam Darter, Gen. Syn. vi. 626. 

SIZE of a Teal; length thirteen inches, Bill one inch and one- 
eighth long, pale, and sharp at the point; irides red; crown of the 
head black, and the feathers elongated into a small crest; the head 
small; the neck slender, and long in proportion to the body; cheeks 
bright bay; from the corners of each eye a line of white; sides, and 
hind part of the neck, longitudinally marked with lines of black and 
white; back, wings, and tail dusky brown; the last wedge-shaped, 
and tipped with white; the upper coverts very long, giving the 
appearance of two tails, one above the other; breast and belly white; 
legs short, pale dusky; toes four in number, three before and one 
behind; the forward ones furnished on each side with a lobated 
membrane, and crossed with several bars of black, four on the outer 
toe, three on the middle, and two on the inner; claws rather bent, 
and sharp; the hind toe free, but with a single plain membrane; 
the quills reach to within an inch of the length of the tail, which, 


towards the end, is crossed with a bar of dusky black. 
C2 


12 FINFOOT. 


Inhabits Surinam, chiefly on the sides of rivers and creeks; feeds: 
on small fish and insects, more particularly flies, and in catching 
them is so dexterous, as never to miss striking one with the bill; it 
is often domesticated by the inhabitants, and known to them by the 
name of Sun-Bird: said to be very active, with the head and body 
continually in motion: from its very frequently expanding the tail 
and wings at the same time, it has been thought to resemble the sun, 
and from thence has obtained the above name. 

We may observe how different the conceptions of authors are, 
who have described this bird, which, to say the truth, does not 
entirely correspond with any Genus yet known. Dr. Forster ranks 
it with the Darters, from the connexion of the webs of all the four 
toes, which, in the complete bird, he says, is sufficiently conspicuous. 
In the specimens, however, which have come under our inspection, 
such connexion has not been to us at all clear: one circumstance, 
indeed, seems to shew the vicinity to the Darters, which is the 
suddenly darting of the bill on the object of its prey; yet it differs 
from them in not being bare on the sides of the head. Brown likens 
this bird to the Tern, to which it approaches by the bill. Button 
seems to come nearest to our ideas, by placing it between the Coot 
and Grebe, though it does not entirely correspond with either. We 
have therefore ranked it with our African Species, forming therewith 
a distinct Genus —leaving to futurity the propriety of so doing, and 
well knowing that Nature will not, in many instances, submit to the 
confinement of system, however useful such method may be, in 
assisting to arrange her works. 


coor. 13 


GENUS XCIII.—COOT. 


1 Common Coot D Var. 3 Crested 
A Var. 2 Greater 4 Mexican 
B Var. A Var. 5 Cinereous 
C Var. 


BILu strong, thick, sloping to the point; the base of the upper 
mandible rising far up into the forehead ; both mandibles of equal 
length. 

Nostrils inclining to oval, narrow, short. 

Body compressed ; wings short. Tail short. 

Toes long, furnished with broad, scolloped membranes. 


1.—COMMON COOT. 


Fulica atra, Ind. Orn. 11. 777. Lin. 1. 257. Fn. suec. No. 193. Gm. Lin. i. 702. 
Scop. i. No. 149. Brun. No. 190. Muller, No. 216. Kramer, 357.1. Frisch, 
pl. 208. Georgi, p. 172. Hasselgq. Voy. 200. 34. Sepp, t. p. 61. Bris. vi. 23. 
t.2. f.2. Id. 8vo. 1. 365. Rati, 116. A. 1. Will. 239. t.59. Brown, Jam. 
479. Schef. t.34. Klein, 150. 1. Id. Stem. 40. t. 40. f. 1. ab. Id. Ov. 
36. t. 12. f. 3. Borowsk. ii. 97. 2. Fn. Helv. Amer. Orn. ix. 61. pl. 73. 1. 
Tem. Man. 454. Id. Ed. 2d. 706. Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 197. 

Fulica vulgaris, Geran. v. t. 425. 

Le Foulque, ou Morelle, Buf. vin. 211. pl. 18. Pl. end. 197. Hist. Prov. 352. 
Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 447. 

Folaga, 6 Polon, Zinnan. Uov. 108. t. 19. f. 96. Cet. Uc. Sard, 282. 

Kleiner Bloessling, Gunth. Nest. u. Ey. t. 29. 

Das russfarbige Wasserhuhn, Waturf. xiii. 218, 

Das gemeine Wasserhuhn, Bechst. Deuts. iii. 251, Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 511. Schmid, 136. 
t. 119. 

Common Coot, Gen. Syn. v. 275. Id. Sup. 259. Id. Sup. ii. 328. Br. Zool. ii. No. 
220. pl.77. Id. fol. 132. pl. F. Jd. 1812. ii. 127. pl. 22. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. 
No. 416. Will. Engl. 319. pl. 59. Alb.i. pl. 83. Bewick, ii. pl. 183. Lewin, v. 
pl. 195. Id. Eggs, pl.xxxvu. f. I. Walcot, 11. 167. Donov. pl. 106. Puilt. 
Dors. p.16,. Graves, Orn. vol. 1. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


SIZE of a small Fowl; length eighteen inches; weight thirty 
ounces. Bill one inch and one-third, greenish white; on the roof 


14 CcooT. 


of the mouth several fringed appendages; the forehead bare as far 
as the crown, and covered with a white skin;* the head, neck, and 
back, are black ; the last inclining to ash-colour; breast, belly, and 
vent ash; outer edge of the wing white; just above the knee a 
circle, or garter of yellow; the colour of the legs, and bare parts 
yellowish green. Male and female nearly alike. 

The Coot is pretty common throughout England, at all seasons ; 
sometimes met with, many together, in winter, but in breeding time 
chiefly seen in pairs, about the borders of ponds, well covered with 
weeds, rushes, &c. and both swims and dives well. The nest is large, 
composed of weeds, well matted together, lined with grass, and the 
eggs six or seven in number;+ these are two inches and a quarter 
long, of a pale brownish white, sprinkled all over with chocolate 
spots, some very minute, most at the larger end. The young take 
to the water very soon after hatching, but numbers fall a prey to 
the Buzzards, which frequent the marshes. The food small fish, and 
water insects, and sometimes the roots of the bulrush, with which it 
has been observed to feed its young; it will also eat grain: is fre- 
quently brought to market in the winter season. 

The Coot is in great abundance in the Isle of Sheppey, and the 
inhabitants do not suffer the eges to be destroyed, as the birds are an 
esteemed article of food; they are shot, or otherwise taken, from 
August, throughout the winter; are eaten by most people, and 
thought very good; are first skinned, and then dressed in various 
ways, like Pigeons. In the same place may be seen 400 or 500 in a 
flock ; they are often salted, and supposed best in season in August 
and September: are also observed in vast numbers on Jarge pieces of 
water, in various other parts of England. We find them recorded by 
authors as inhabiting Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Siberia, 


* In the Leverian Museum was one, having in the middle of the bald front a small pro- 
minence, or kind of comb, of a dark red colour: this we believe was sent from Gibraltar, 
in which neighbourhood they abound all the winter. 

+ Others say fifteen or sixteen, and even as many as eighteen and twenty. 


CooT. 15 


Persia, and China, as well as several parts of India; also the Isle 
of Java: we believe very few places of the Old Continent, and its 
Isles, are without them; are not unfrequent in Jamaica, Carolina, 
and other parts of North America. The Indians, about Niagara, 
dress the skins, and use them for pouches; are called in Carolina, 
Flusterers: common in the ponds of Georgia, most so in the winter 
season; extend also to South America, being met with in small 
numbers in Paraguay. 


A.—Fulica leucoryx, Mus. Carls. i, pl. 12 Gm. Lin. i. 703. Gen. Syn. Sup. 259. 


This Variety has the eyelids pale; the whole of the wing white, 
but the shafts of the prime quills black ; in other respects like the 
Common Species. 

This was found dead in the park-at Stockholm, m Sweden. 


B.—Fulica Athiops, Mus. Carls. fase. i. pl.13. Gm. Lin.i. 704. Gen. Syn. Sup. 259. 


This differs from the Common One, in having the feathers of the 
breast and belly ferruginous, undulated with brown. 


C.—White Coot, Br. Zool. ii. No. 220. Var. Gen. Syn. v. 277. 


This Variety was wholly white, except a few feathers on the 
wings, and about the head, and was shot at Spalding, Lincolnshire. 


D.—Length sixteen inches. Bill as in the Common, with the 
forehead bare but a very little way, scarcely half so much as usual ; 
the head and neck black ; the back very dark ash-colour; belly the 
same, but paler; outer web of the first quill white, and shorter by 
three quarters of an inch than the second; under tail coverts white ; 
tail one inch and three quarters long. 

Inhabits Georgia.— Mr. Abbot. 


16 Coot. 


2.—GREATER COOT. 


Fulica aterrima, Ind. Orn. ii 778. Lin. i. 258. Gm. Lin.i. 703. Borowsk. iii. 98. 

Fulica major, Bris. vy. 28. t.2. f.2. Id. 8vo.1i. 366. Faun. Helvet. Rati, 117. 2. 
Will. 239. t.15. Klein, p.151. Id. Stem. 40. t.40. f.2. Id. Ov. 36. t. 12. £.3? 
Gerin.iv. t. 524. 

Fulica fuliginosa, Scop.i. No. 150. 

Grosser Bloessling met der Weissen Blaze, Gunth. Nest. u. Ey. t. 36. 

Das swarze Wasserhuhn, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 259. 

La Foulque 4 jarretiéres rouge, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 448. 

Greater Coot, Gen. Syn. v. p.277. Br. Zool. ii. No. 221. Jd. 1812.11. p.129. Will. 
Engl. 320. Bewick, ii. p. 137. Walcot, ii. pi. 168. 


THIS is larger than the Common Sort, with a similar plumage, 
but blacker; it is distinguished, too, by the bare part of the forehead 
being white, and the garter of a deep red. 

This is found im Lancashire and Scotland, and recorded by authors 
as a distinct Species; said to be more plentiful on the Continent, and 
very common in Russia, and the western part of Siberia; also about 
Sologne, in France, where it is called Judelle, and allowed to be 
eaten on Maigre Days; the flesh much esteemed. 


A.—Size uncertain. Bill flesh-colour ; irides red ; head, neck, and 
body bluish black ; back, wings, and tail deep brown ; a large square 
patch of white, near the edge, about the middle of the wing; legs 
pale olive green. 

Inhabits India, and called Khuskull.—Sir J. Anstruther. 

M. Azara, in his work above quoted, mentions this as frequenting 
the Rivers of Paraguay, having seen three or four pairs; that they 
swam with great ease, though perhaps less so than a Duck; and 
he thinks it to be distinct from the Common Coot. 


PL.CLXV. 


(C HD, 
Wey (Ga 


cooT. 17 


3.—CRESTED COOT.--PL. cixy. 


Fulica cristata, Ind. Orn. 1. 779. Gm. Lin. i. 704. 

Grande Foulque 4 Crete de Madagascar, Buf vii. 222. Pl. enl. 797. 

Crested Coot, Gen. Syn. v. 278. 3. pl. 90. 

LENGTH eighteen inches. Baill whitish, with the base red; the 
whole crown bare, and of a deep red, rising upwards into a bifid, 
detached membrane, like a crest, as in some of the Jacana Species ; 
the whole plumage blue black ; legs dusky, and formed as in the 
Common Sort. 

Inhabits Madagascar, and probably China also, as such an one 
may be seen painted in Chinese drawings. The garter above the 
knee of three colours—red, green, and yellow; the name of the bird 


Tzing Kye. 


4.—MEXICAN COOT. 


Fulica Mexicana, Ind. Orn. ii. 779. Bris. vi. 31. Jd. 8vo. ii. 367. Gm. Lin. i. 704. 
Fulicee Mexicane altera Species, Yohoalcoachillin, Razz, 117. : 
Mexican Coot, Gen. Syn. v. 278. 


SIZE of the Greater Coot. Bill red, with a yellow tip; forehead 
bare, and red; head, neck, breast, belly, thighs, under wing and 
tail coverts purple; back, rump, and wing coverts pale green, varied 
with blue and fulvous; quills pale green.—Inhabits Mexico. 


5.—CINEREOUS COOT. 


Fulica Americana, Ind. Orn. ii. 779. Gm. Lin. i. 704. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 690. 
Fulica Floridana, Great Blue, or Slate-coloured Coot of Florida, Bartr. Trav. 294. 
Cinereous Coot, Gen. Syn. v. 279. 

SMALLER than the Common Coot. Bill pale green; bare 


space over the forehead smaller than in that Species, and chestnut ; 
VOL. X, D 


18 coor. 


plumage above dusky ash-colour; beneath the same, but paler; 
chin dusky white; down the middle of the belly the same; legs 
blue black ; membranes on each side of the toes much narrower than 
in any other of the Genus. 

A specimen of this was in the Museum of the late Sir A. Lever; 
supposed to have come from North America. Mr. Abbot says, it is 
met with in some ponds in winter, but is not frequent. From the 
great similarity of the plumage in some of the above, it may be 
suspected that they are greatly allied, rather than distinct as to 
species. 


GREBE. 19 


GENUS XCIV.—GREBE. 


1 Crested Grebe A Var. 11 Rufous-breasted 
2 Eared 6 Indian 12 Cayenne 

A Var. 7 Little 13 Black-breasted 
8 Horned / 8 Black-chin 14 Pied-bill 
4 Dusky 9 White-winged 15 Louisiane 
5 Red-necked 10 New-Holland ~ 


THE bill in this Genus is strong, and sharp-pointed. 

Nostrils linear. 

Tongue slightly cloven at the end. 

Space between the bill and eyes, or lore, bare of feathers. 

Body depressed ; feathers thick set, compact, very smooth, and 
glossy. 

Wings short. No tail. 

Legs placed far behind, almost at the vent; much compressed, 
and doubly serrated at the back part. 

Toes furnished on each side with a broad, plain, membrane, and 
the toes with nails not unlike those of the human species. 

This Genus is placed by Linnzus, with the Guillemots, and 
Divers, under the general name of Colymbus, without even a 
division ; but they differ materially from one another, more especially 
in the legs; in the Grebes they are not webbed. The Guillemots, 
though web-footed, have only three toes, all placed forwards; and 
the true Divers are web-footed, and have three toes before, and 
one behind. 


20 GREBE. 


1.—CRESTED GREBE. 


IN COMPLETE PLUMAGE. 


Podiceps cristatus, Ind. Orn. ii. 780. Lin. i. 222. Fn. suec. No. 151. Scop.i. No. 
99. Brun. No. 135. Muller, No.97, Frisch, t. 183. Sepp, t. p. 169. Bor. iii. 
56. t. 43. Fn. Helv. Tem. Man. 462. Id. Fd. 2d. 717. Daud.i. p. 96. pl. 8. 
sceleton. 

Colymbus major cristatus, et cornutus, Rati, 124. A.2. Will. 257. t.61. Klein, 149. 
1. Gerin, v. t. 521. 

Colymbus cornutus, Bris. vi. 45. t.5. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 370. 

Ardea exotica aurita, Pet. Gaz. t. 40. f. 12. 

Le Grebe cornu, Buf. viii. 235. pl. 19. Pl. enl. 400. 

Smergo, Fisolo marino, Zinnan. Uov. 107, t. 19. f. 95. 

Der Gehaubte Steissfuss, Schmid, 137. t. 120. 

Der grosse Haubentaucher, Bechst. Deuts. 11. 783. 

Le Macas cornu, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 443. 

Greater crested, and Horned Ducker, Will. Engl. 340. § 5. pl. 61. f. 1. Plot's Staff. 
229. pl. 22. Alb. i. pl. 81. 

Crested Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 281. Br. Zool. ii. 498. No. 223. Id. fol. 132. pl. K. 
Id. 1812. ii. 130. Arct. Zool. ii. 498. A. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 145. Lewin, v. pl. 
106. Walcot, i. pl. 102. Donov. iii. pl. 68. Orn. Dict. Graves, Orn. V. iii. 


IN THE SECOND YEAR’S PLUMAGE. 


Colymbus cristatus, Bris. vi. 38.2. t. 4. Id. 8vo. ii. 368. 

major cristatus, Klein, 149, 2. 

cinereus major, Rati, 124. A. 1. Will. 257. Albin, ii. pl. 75. Gerin. v. 
t. 518. 

Le Grebe huppe, Buf. viii. 233. PI. enl. 944. 

Grey, or Ash-coloured Loon, Will. Engl. 340.§ 4. pl. 61. f. 4. 


IN THE PLUMAGE OF THE FIRST YEAR. 


Podiceps urinator, Lin. i. 223. Gm. Lin. i. 593. Scop, i. No. 102. Bor. iii. 61. 7. 
Fn. Helvet. Tem. Man. Ed. ii. 719. 

Colymbus, Bris. vi. 34. t. 3. f.1. Id. 8vo. ii. 368. 

cristatus major, femina, Gerin, v. t. 522. 

major Aldrovandi, Ratz, 125. 6. Will. 256. t. 51. Klein, 150. 3. 

Le Grebe, Buf. viii. 227. Pl. en. 941. 

Der Erztaucher, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 792. 


GREBE. 21 


Greater Loon, or Arsefoot, Will. Engl. 339. pl. 51. Edw. 360. f. 2. 
Tippet Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. p.283. Br. Zool. ii. No. 222. pl.78. Id. fol. 133. Id. 
1812. ii. 134. A. pl. 23. f. 2. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 147. 

THE above three sets of quotations are meant to discriminate 
the three different stages of the Crested Grebe, and of which have 
been made as many species, when in fact they are only one and the 
same. The complete, and full aged, bird is nearly the size of a 
Duck; length about two feet, and in breadth very little more; the 
weight from two to three pounds. Bill two inches and three quarters 
long, reddish flesh-colour, with a brown tip; lore and irides crimson; 
the head greatly enlarged with feathers, so as to make it appear 
unnatural; the feathers are much elongated on each side of the 
hindhead, appearing like ears, and from thence rounded like a ruff 
to the under jaw; colour black, except the middle, which is bright 
ferruginous; the neck behind, upper parts of the body, and wings 
brown; sides of the head, round the eyes, and under parts, from 
chin to vent, silvery white, and in many a mixture of pale ferruginous 
across the breast; on the wings an oblique white bar; the inner ridge 
of the wing is also white; legs dusky. 

A bird in the second year has the feathers of the head greatly 
enlarged, dusky, or black, with a mixture of red, chiefly in streaks, 
the division into two beginning to appear, though incomplete; in 
other parts of the plumage similar to the fully adult, but the colours 
less brilliant. The young bird, of the first season, is somewhat less 
than when full grown, and wants both crest and ruff; the sides of 
the neck striped downwards from the head, with a narrow line of 
black and white; in other respects the colours and marks agree. 

The female resembles most the male of the second year, weighing 
less than two pounds, and about twenty inches in length. Bill light 
flesh-colour; irides rufous brown; feathers about the head scarcely 
elongated; plumage above dusky, dashed with ash-colour; the lore 
brown; beneath it a stroke of small brown feathers, from mouth to 
eye; the cheeks white, with a few black spots near the sides of the 


99 GREBE. 


throat; the under parts fine satiny white; shoulders and lesser wing 
coverts white; eleven first quill feathers dusky, the four last of them 
tipped with white, the rest white; legs dusky without, inside pale 
flesh-colour, edges yellowish; nails bluish. 

The above are, we believe, the principal differences arising from 
sex or age, but to describe every Variety that actually occurs, would 
be difficult, for they vary exceedingly. We have had this matter 
more fully ascertained, from the circumstance of a large flock of 
them, which appeared, some years since, on various parts of the shores 
of the Thames, from Gravesend to Greenwich, in the winter season, 
many of which came under my inspection; and among them were 
found the greatest Variety about the head, from being perfectly 
without a crest, to the most complete one, with all intermediate 
stages. 

These birds are sufficiently common in some parts of England, 
breeding in the Meres of Shropshire, and Cheshire, and in the East 
Fen of Lincolnshire, where they are called Gaunts; and in some 
parts are known by the name of Cargoose. The female lays four 
white eggs, like those of the Pigeon; and makes a nest of a large 
size, formed of bogbean, stalks of water lily, pond weed, and water 
violet, floating independent among the reeds and flags. It is pene- 
trated by the water, and the bird sits on, and hatches the eggs in 
that condition. The food chiefly consists of small fish, obtained by 
diving, and sometimes vegetables ;* feeds the young with small eels, 
and the old bird will sometimes carry them, when tired, on its back; 
rarely seen on land; is a quick diver, difficult to be shot, darting 
down on the Jeast appearance of danger, and seldom flies farther 
than the end of the lake which it frequents. + 

These birds are well known on various parts of the Continent 
of Europe; common in the winter time on the Lake of Geneva, 


* Dr. Heysham mentions one of the Tippet Grebe, having been shot near Carlisle, 
which had half-digested vegetables, and a great number of feathers, in its stomach. 
+ Br. Zool. 


GREBE. 23 


appearing in flocks of ten or twelve, and are killed chiefly on account 
of their beautiful skins; those of the breast, from their delicately 
white and glossy appearance, being greatly esteemed, and dressed 
with the feathers on, are made into muffsiand tippets, and each valued 
at fourteen shillings ;** is said also to be common on the Lakes of 
Siberia, but not seen in Russia.+ 


2.—EARED GREBE. 


Podiceps auritus, Ind. Orn. ii. 781. Tem. Man. 469. Id. Ed. 2d. 726. 

Colymbus auritus, Lin. i. 222. Fn. suec. No. 152. Scop.i. No. 106. Brun. No. 
136, 137. Muller, p.20. Bris. vi. p. 54. 6. Id. 8vo.ii. 372. Borowsk. iii. 61. 
Fn. Helv. Gerin. vy. t. 520. 

Le petit Grebe huppé, Buf. viii. 235. 

Der Ohrentaucher, Bechst. Deuts. i1. 796. 

Eared Dobchick, Edw. pl. 96. f. 2. 

Eared Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 285. Br. Zool. ii. No. 224. pl. 79. Id. fol. 133. Id. 1812. 
i. 135. pl. 24. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. 499. B. Boug. Voy. p.61? Bewick, ii. p. 
149. Lewin, v. pl. 107. Donov. ii. pl. 29. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


SIZE of a Teal; length twelve inches. Bill one inch, black, 
bending a little upwards at the point, the base reddish; lore and 
jtides crimson ; the head full of feathers, dusky black; the neck and 
under parts of the body the same; from behind each eye arises a tuft 
of orange-coloured feathers, growing broader, and almost meeting 
behind; breast and under parts silvery white; sides of the body 
ferruginous chestnut; legs black. The female is in all things like 
the male, but the head less full of feathers. 

This species is not unfrequent in England, but, we believe, less 
numerous than the Greater ; most common in the fens of Lincolnshire, 
where it breeds, but by no means the chief place of its residence, for 
a pair of them were found many years since, in Sandwich Haven, 
in the month of August; and Mr. Markwick received one, killed 


* Br. Zool. + Mr. Pennant. 


24 GREBE. 


near Battle, in Sussex, in May. Is found also in the northern parts 
of Europe, and in most is migratory; in Germany, seen the whole 
year through; met with also in the temperate and hotter parts of 
Siberia, and even in Iceland; and the breast, with the feathers 
attached, as well as that of the Greater crested Species, held in great 
estimation. M. Bechstein informs us, that the female lays, in May, 
three or four, and sometimes five, eggs, the size of those of a Dove, 
of a pale smutty yellow, spotted with dull brown ;* the nest made 
of water plants, among the reeds, and close to the surface of the 
water, as in the first described, and the time of sitting is three weeks : 
the young take to the water as soon as hatched, and are sometimes 
seen with part of the shell sticking upon their heads. The flesh of 
this, as well as others of the Genus, although it is sometimes eaten, 
isrank and unsavoury. We believe this bird to be the same, met with 
by Bougainville, in Falkland Islands, under the name of the Diver 
with Spectacles.t+ 


A.—Colymbus cristatus minor, Bris. vi. 42. t.3. f£.2. Id. 8yvo. ii. 369. Ind. Orn. ii. 
p. 781. £6. 

Colymbus nigricans, Scop. i. No. 101. 

Ash-coloured Loon, Rati, 124? Will. Engl. 340. pl. 61. f. 4. 

Eared Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 286. 4. War. A. 


In this bird the head is not so full of feathers, but has two short 
tufts, one on each side of the hindhead; plumage above fine brown, 
beneath white, which passes back below the hindhead, where the 
brown advances forwards; the sides of the head, and fore part of the 
neck spotted with chestnut, and the sides with brown; on the wings 
a patch of white; legs olive brown. 

This is probably a mere Variety of the other, if not in some 
progressive stage of perfection, as, like the Greater crested Species, 
it varies much at different periods of age. 


* The Orn. Dict. says, quite white. + Voy. p. 61. 


GREBE. DA 


3.—HORNED GREBE. 


Podiceps cornutus, Ind. Orn.ii. 782. Tem. Man. 467. Id. Ed.ii. 722. Frankl. Nar. 


App. p. 693. 
Podiceps Caspicus, Ind. Orn. ii. p. 784. Gm. Lin.i. 593.  S. G. Gmel. It. iv. 137. 


NN. Nord. Beytr.iv. p. 9. 

Colymbus cornutus, Gm. Lin.i. 591. Bart. Trav. p. 293. 

Colymbus cornutus minor, Bris. vi. 50. Id. 8vo. ii. 371. 

Colymbus, sive Podiceps minor, Faiz, 190. 14. Sloan. Jam. 322. t. 271. f.1. Klein, 
p. 150. 4? 

Ardea exotica aurita, Petiv. Gaz. t.43. f. 12. 

Le petit Grebe cornu, Buf. viii. 237. 

Grebe d’Esclavonie, P/. enl. 404. 2. 

Caspian Grebe, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 329. 

Eared Grebe, or Horned Dobchick, Edw. pl. 145. 

_ Sclavonian Grebe, Orn. Dict. § Supp. Gen. Syn.v. 288. 6. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. p. 

141. Graves, v. in. 

Horned Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 287. 6. pl. 91. 


LARGER than the Dusky Grebe; length thirteen inches and a 
half; breadth twenty-two. The bill nearly one inch, dusky; base 
of the under mandible paler, inclining to pink, tip horn-colour ; the 
lore crimson ; irides the same, with a circle of white round the pupil; 
head enlarged with feathers, those on the top greenish black; the 
cheeks and throat the same, the feathers very long, forming a sort of 
ruff; from the base of the upper mandible originates a broad bar of 
dull orange yellow, passing through the eye to the hindhead, growing 
broader, and forming a tuft on each side, and capable of being erected 
like ears; the forehead dusky ferruginous; the back of the neck 
and upper part of the back dark brown, dashed with ferruginous ; 
from thence to the ramp dusky, faintly edged with cinereous; wing 
coverts, and first twelve quills brown; the thirteenth white on the 
inner web; the eleven next all white, except the last, which is brown 
on the outer web; chin black, a little mottled with white, the under 
part of the neck and upper breast bright ferruginous, running far 


VOL. X. 


26 GREBE. 


behind and down under the wings; the rest beneath glossy white, 
like satin; the back part of the thighs ferruginous brown; legs 
dusky on the outside, pale within; toes pale down the middle, dusky 
at the edges. 

The above was killed near Truro, the beginning of May, and 

proved a male; it seems to be no other than the Sclavonian Variety 
of the Horned Grebe, which is found in North America; it first 
appears there in May, about fresh waters, and lays from two to four 
white eggs, in June, among the aquatic plants; and said to cover 
them when absent from the nest; retires south in autumn; when it 
appears at New York, staying there till spring, and then returns to 
the north. For its vast quickness in diving, it is called the Water 
Witch ; known at Hudson’s Bay by the name Seekeep. There seems 
to be some Variety among individuals of this species, which has 
given rise to authors to mention them apart; but we believe on our 
further acquaintance with the subjects themselves, it will be found 
that they have one and the same origin. It may be observed, that the 
bill in the Eared Grebe is different from that of the Horned, or 
Sclavonian ; for in the latter both mandibles meet in a conic point, 
and both equally sloping; but the former has the upper mandible 
straight, and the lower only slopes at the point, giving the bill a 
reflected appearance; besides, the plumage is very different; the 
situation of the ears, or horns, as well as other particulars, equally 
satisfactory. 


4.—DUSKY GREBE. 


Podiceps obscurus, Ind. Orn. il. 782. 

Colymbus obscurus, Gm. Lin. i. 592. 

-— minor, Bris. vi. 56. Id. 8vo.ii. 373. Klein, 150.4. Fn, Helv. 
Le petit Grebe, Buf. viii. 232. PI. enl. 942. 

Der Dunkelbraune Taucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 794. t. 26.—female. 

Black and white Dobchick, Edw. pl. 96. f. 1. 


WORE | 
Rr ny oe 


ih 2 Oy 
hi 3 


edb ( CAL. OWA 


GREBE. 27 


Dusky Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 286. Br. Zool. ii. No. 225. pl. 78.1. Id. fol. 133. pl. 
K.1. Id. 1812. ii. p. 186. pl. 23. f. 1. Aret. Zool. ii. No. 420. Bewick, ii. pl. 
p- 150. Lewin, v. pl. 98. Walcot, i. p. 106. Donov. ii. pl. 44. Orn. Dict. 


SIZE of a small Teal; length eleven inches, Bill thirteen lines 
long, black, with the sides red; lore and irides red; the upper 
parts of the head, neck, and body, are dusky brown; ridge of the 
wing white; secondaries tipped with white; forehead, and all be- 
neath, white; breast very glossy; at the throat the white passes 
backwards almost to the hindhead; and the brown comes forwards 
on each side to the middle of the neck ; on the thighs a few black 
spots; legs flesh-colour, tinged with purple; in some the whole 
neck is ash-coloured, and ethers are spotted between the legs with 
black.—Inhabits the Fens of Lincoinshire, where it breeds, makes 
the-same kind of floating nest as other Grebes, and Jays four or five 
white eggs. It is occasionally offered for sale, and Mr. Edwards 
mentions his having had several out of the London markets, from 
whence we have likewise received a specimen. Is found in the winter 
in our inlets on the coast, particularly in Devonshire, where it is by 
no means uncommon; how it may belong to the Horned Grebe, we 
are not prepared to determine. 

M. Temminck says, it is the young of that bird, in its first 
year’s feathers. 


5.—RED-NECKED GREBE.—PL. cixiv. 


Podiceps rubricollis, Ind, Orn. ii. 783. Tem. Man, 465, Id. Ed. 2d. 726. Frank. 
Narr. App. p. 692. 

Colymbus rubricollis, Gm. Lin. i. 592. 

-—subcristatus, Gm. Lin.i. 590. Fn. suec. No. 152.—alia. Brun. No. 138. 
Jacq. Vog. 37. t. 18, Schr. d. Berl. Gesell. vii. s. 460. Besek. Kurl. s. 54. 
No. 104. 

Colymbus minor ex nigro et rubro refectus, Gerin. y. t. 519, 

Unrinator, Tt. Poseg. p. 25? 

—-— griseus, Schaef. el; Orn. t. 29. Fn. Helv: 

E 2 


———— 


28 GREBE. 


Le Grebe 4 Joues grises, Jougris, Buf. viii. 241. Pl. enl. 981. 

Der Graukehlige Haubentaucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 790. t. 35. 

Red-necked Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 288. Id. Sup. 26(). pl. 118. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. p. 
239. Arct. Zool. ii. 499. C. Id. Sup. p. 69. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 152. Lewin, vy. 
pl. 199. Walcot, i. pl. 103. Donov.i. pl.6. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH eighteen inches, to the end of the toes twenty-four ; 
weight seventeen ounces. Bill black, almost two inches long, the 
sides for three quarters of an inch, fine orange yellow; lore dusky; 
irides orange; the crown and sides of the head, above the eyes, 
nearly black, and the feathers a little elongated; neck behind, back, 
and wings, dark brown; six of the middle secondaries white, a little 
mottled with dusky at the tips; the two or three next outward more 
or less white near the ends, and inner webs; chin, sides under the 
eyes, and neck before, for more than an inch, pale ash-colour; the 
rest of the neck ferrugimous chestnut, mottled on the breast with 
dusky ; from thence to the vent white, with a gloss of satin, mottled 
on the sides with dusky, irregular spots; legs black. Male and 
female much alike. In the young bird the colours are less bright, 
and the ferruginous colour of the neck broken and indistinct. 


A.—Colymbus Parotis, Gm. Lin. i. 592. Mus. Carls.i. t.9. Brun. 139. Ind. 
Orn. ii. 783. Gerin. v. t. 523 ? 
Colymbus vulgaris, Scop.i. No. 102. Gen. Syn. v. 283.—Note t+ 


In this bird the whole top of the head, including the eye, is 
black, but smooth; sides under the eyes, jaws, and throat, white, 
marked with three or four irregular black streaks, pomting down- 
wards ; irides yellow; plumage in general brown above; sides of 
the neck and throat ferruginous ; across the lower part of the neck 
a white band; breast and belly glossy white; on the wing a large 
white patch ; sides and vent soot-coloured ; legs dusky. 


* Colonel Montagu informed me, that five of these birds were shot on a lake near 
Kingsbridge, Devon, in 1808; and that one of them, although a male, had no red on the 
neck ; hence it appears, that this characteristic mark does not appear till adult age. 


GREBE. 29 


This is probably only a young bird. We believe the Red-necked 
Species to be more common in England than is usually supposed, 
and that it certainly breeds with us. Dr. Lamb, of Newbury, 
mentioned his having seen one on a pond opposite Burges Burgh- 
field, in Berkshire, in May: it is probably widely extended on the 
Continent; supposed to inhabit Denmark and Norway, as Mr. Pen- 
nant received one from Copenhagen ; and it is found, though very 
rarely, towards the Caspian Sea. We find it not to be uncommon 
in Carinthia, and other parts of the German Dominions, having the 
same manners as the rest of the tribe, in respect to the nest and eggs; 
and that it lays four or five of the latter, which are of a smutty 
white ; it feeds on small fish, and water insects, as well as water 
plants, and the flesh like that of others, oily and unsavoury. We 
have observed this bird in drawings done in India, so may of course 
suppose it to habit that part of the world. 


6.—INDIAN GREBE. 


SIZE uncertain. Bill thick and short, black, with a white tip; 
at the base, on each side, a white mark, occupying all the lower, 
and part of the upper mandible; irides yellow; head and neck black; 
at the back of the low jaw, and round the neck before, for half way, 
fine rnfous; back dusky; breast and all beneath grey and white 
mixed ; legs greenish black. 

Inhabits India.—Sir John Anstruther’s drawings. It bears some 
resemblance to the Red-necked, but appears to be a distinct species. 


7.—LITTLE GREBE. 


Podiceps minor, Ind. Orn. ii. 784. Rati, 125. A.3. Will, 258. t. G1. Tem. Man. 
Ed. ii. 727. 

Colymbus minor, Gm. Lin. i, 223. y. Fn. suec. No. 152? Frisch, t. 184. Sepp, ii. 
t. 119. Gerin. v. t. 517. Klein, Stem. 89. t. 39. f. 1. 


30 GREBE. 


Colymbus fluviatilis, Bris. vi. 59. Id. 8vo. ii. 874. Fn. Helv. 

Yacapitzahoac, Rati, 177. 

Der kleine Taucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 798. 

Le Grebe de la riviere, ou le Castagneux, Buf. viii. 244. pl.20. Pl. enl. 905. 

Didapper, Dipper, or Dobchick, Will. Engl. 340. pl. 61. 

Little Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 289. Br. Zool.ii. No. 226. Id. fol. 184. pl. F. Id. 1812. 
u. p. 137. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 154. Lewin, y. pl.100. Id. xxxvii. 2.—the egg. 
Walcot, i. pl. 105. Donov. ii. pl. 56. Graves, Orn. v.i. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH ten inches, breadth sixteen; weight seven ounces. 
Bill reddish brown, almost an inch long ; irides reddish hazel ; 
plumage on the upper parts of the head, neck, and body, reddish 
brown, very pale on the rump; sides of the head and fore part of the 
neck and chin yellowish grey; in old birds the cheeks are light fer- 
ruginous ; breast and belly white, mottled with ash-colour and red ; 
thighs and vent grey; legs dirty green. The male and female are 
much alike, and both vary according to age, as in other species. 

In some adult birds the general colour is cinereous, beneath paler, 
mottled and waved with glossy white; on the wing a white patch ; 
chin mottled dusky and white. One of this description was shot near 
Putney, and in the collection of Mr. Plasted, of Chelsea. In the 
same place is a younger specimen, brownish ash-colour above, 
beneath paler, glossed like satin; sides of the neck and the chin 
striped with dusky ; chin white ; bill dirty red, with a black tip; 
legs greenish black. Shot near Battersea. . 

This is the most common of all the Genus in this kingdom, few 
fresh waters being without it. It makes a large nest, in the water, 
composed of grass, and other water plants, and lays five or six 
cinereous white eggs, and the nest so placed is constantly wet; how 
far this is essential to the hatching of the young brood, does not 
seem manifest; it might be supposed, that the natural warmth of the 
bird, bringing on a fermentation in the vegetables, produces a hot 
bed fit for the purpose ; but Colonel Montagu assures us, that he 
never could discover the least warmth in the nest. It lives on the 
same food as others of the Genus; is an admirable diver, and seems 


GREBE. 31 


to make way under the water at a very great rate, often arising at 
an inconceivable distance from the place it plunges in, and for the 
most part, considerably beyond the length of gunshot. By some it 
is said to be capable of staying under water for a quarter of an hour; 
but it may be supposed, that ii must take breath during that space, 
as it is known to remain under water amongst the reeds, or other 
water plants, with only its bill above the surface. 

Inhabits also various parts of the Continent of Europe, France, 
Italy, Germany, and Spain; is met with in the swampy parts of the 
Isthmus of Gibraltar, and a few of them take up their abode in the 
inundation in the winter. 

The Little Grebe is common also at Hudson’s Bay, in America, 
where it is called Dishishet Seekeep. 


A.—Le Castagneux des Philippines, Buf. viii. 246. Pl. enl. 945. Ind. Orn. ii. 784. 
Gen. Syn. v. 290.10. A. Lin. Trans. viii. p. 198. 

This is rather larger than the last described, and differs from it in 
a few particulars. It is purplish brown above; the cheeks and sides 
of the neck incline to rufous ; in other things it resembles the former, 
and appears to be merely a Variety. 

Inhabits the Philippine Islands. I have also observed one similar 
in some drawings done in India; it is likewise found in Java, and 
called there Titihan. 


8.—BLACK-CHIN GREBE. 


Podiceps Hebridicus, Ind. Orn. ii. 789. 

Colymbus Hebridicus, Gm. Lin. i. 594. 

Colimbo minore, Gerin. v. t. 519. 

Black-chin Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 292, Br. Zool. ii. No. 227. pl. 79. Id. 1812. ii. 138. 
pl. 24. f.1. Bewick, ii. p. 156. Lewin, v. pl. 201. Walcot, i. pl. 207. Orn. 
Dict. & Supp. Br. Misc. p. 19. pl. 70. 


THIS is scarcely larger than the Little Grebe; chin black; fore 
part of the neck ferraginous; hind part mixed with dusky; belly 
cinereous and silver intermixed. 


32 GREBE. 


Inhabits Tiree, one of the Hebrides. One, corresponding with 
this description, was shot near Kingsbridge, Devon, and appeared 
to Colonel Montagu a further Variety of the Little Grebe. 

According to the British Miscellany, a male and female with 
the nest and eggs were taken in a pond, on Chelsea Common, in 
June, 1805, and we are informed by Mr. Bullock, that they are not 
unfrequent about Brompton, near London; the egg of the Black- 
chin Grebe is white. 

M. Temminck thinks it is the Little Grebe, in its complete adult 
state. 


9.—W HITE-WINGED GREBE. 


Podiceps Dominicus, Ind. Orn. ii. 785. 

Colymbus Dominicus, Lin. i. 223. Gm. Lin. i. 593. Bris. vi. 64. t.5. £.2. Td. 
8vo. ii. 376. 

Le Castagneux de St. Domingue, Buf. viii. 248. 

Le Plongeon, Deser. Surin. i1. 155. 

Twopenny Chick, Hughes, Barb. 72. 

White-winged Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 291. 


LENGTH from eight to nine inches. — Bill pale, or dusky ; 
head, neck, and upper parts of the body, chocolate brown ; beneath 
brownish white; wings deeper brown; quills white for three-fourths 
of the length from the base, ends dusky; legs greenish. Individuals 
vary; some have a black bill, upper parts of the body dusky ; 
cheeks, chin, and neck before, dusky grey; breast, belly, sides, and 
thighs, silvery grey, marked with small brown spots; quills greyish 
white, more or less marked with greyish brown on the outer webs and 
tips; legs brown. 

The first described of these came from Berbice. I have seen also 
a specimen from the Island of Trinidad ; another from the Island of 
St. Domingo. I have received it too, from Jamaica, ef an uniform 
dusky lead-colour, except the middle of the belly, which had a large 
patch of white; the quills were also as above described; this probably 


GREBE. 33 


differs only in sex ; it is called at the last named place, as well as at 
Barbadoes, the ‘'Twopenny Chick. We have seen others from 
Cayenne, with the belly wholly brown, and called there Soccoyé ; 
it inhabits likewise Surinam and Guiana; also as far south as Para- 
guay, but very rarely. Mr. Fermin adds another, which he says is 
smaller, wholly covered with cottony white feathers ; the bill yellow, 
and legs short: this, he says, is only seen in the savannas, near 
small ponds, and feeds on the lesser fish. Probably his may be a 
young bird, and not distinct as to species. 

Inhabits also India, or at least one in appearance so similar as not 
to merit description. One mentioned by Sonnini,* found in Egypt, 
varies somewhat; the first and last of the quills are blackish, the rest 
white: probably allied to the White-winged Species. 


10.—NEW-HOLLAND GREBE. 


LENGTH from the bill to the end of the toes, eighteen inches. 
Bill black ; head and part of the neck dusky black; the rest of the 
parts above waved dusky and pale grey; beneath pale grey; the 
larger wing coverts and base half of the quills white, taking up a 
large portion of the wing; the outer ridge is also white; on each 
side of the neck a long streak of rufous, beginning just under the 
eyes; legs black, formed as in others of the Genus. 

Inhabits New-Holland, and there called Magaga, or Magager ; 
is said to be rare. 


11.—RUFOUS-BREASTED GREBE. 


LENGTH from the tip of the bill to the end of the vent sixteen 
inches. Bill one inch, black, with a white tip; from the nostrils 
on each side a brownish bar, passing over the eye, and growing 


* See Travels, ii. p. 237. 
VOL, X. F 


34 GREBE. 


broader, meets under the nape; head, chin, throat, neck behind, 
back, and rump, black; fore part of the neck, breast, and sides, 
bright rufous brown; belly and vent silvery white; wing coverts in 
general brown; greater quills black; secondaries white, forming a 
bar, an inch broad, on the wing. 


Found in the neighbourhood of Detroit, in North Ameriea.— 
General Davies. 


12.—CAYENNE GREBE. 


Podiceps Cayanus, Ind. Orn. ii. 781. 

Colymbus Cayanensis, Gm. Lin. 1. 593. 

Le grand Grebe, Buf. viii. 242. Pl. enl. 404. f.1. 
Cayenne Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 254. 


LENGTH nineteen inches and a half. The bill dusky, beneath 
yellow at the base; the head, and upper parts of the neck and body 
dusky brown; fore parts, as far as the breast and sides, rafous, the 
last mixed with brown; breast and upper part of the belly white; the 
lower and vent brown; legs dusky.—Inhabits Cayenne. 


13.--BLACK-BREASTED GREBE. 


Podiceps Thomensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 784. 

Colymbus Thomensis, Gm. Lin. i. 592. 

Colymbus Insule S. Thome, Bris. vi. 58. Id. 8vo. ii. 374. 
Le Grebe Duc-laart, Buf. viii. 240. 

Black-breasted Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 289. 


SIZE of a small Fowl. Bill black, one inch long, tip pale; the 
irides white; head, and upper parts dull brown; between the bill 
and eye a white spot; the under parts white, except a large spot of 
black on the breast; belly and sides spotted with grey; wing coverts 
pale rufous; legs dusky. 

Inhabits the Isle of St. Thomas, and is called Duc-laart. 


GREBE 


14.—PIED-BILLED GREBE. 


Podiceps Carolinensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 785. 

Colymbus Podiceps, Lin. i. 223. Gm. Lin. i. 594, 

Colymbus fluviatilis Carolinensis, Bris. vi. 63. Id. 8vo. ii. 375. 

Colymbus fuscus, Klein, 150. 5. Bartr. Trav. p. 293. 

Le Castagneux a bec cerclé, Buf. viii. 247. 

Pied-bill Grebe, Gen. Syn. v. 292. Arct. Zool, ii. 418, pl. 22. Cates, Car.i. pl. 91. 


LENGTH fourteen inches. Bill strong, a little bent, somewhat 
in the manner of Common Poultry; colour olive, with a dusky base, 
and crossed in the middle of both mandibles with a bar of black; 
nostrils very wide; irides white; the chin and throat glossy black, 
bounded with white; neck above, and back dusky; cheeks and fore 
part of the neck pale brown; the breast and belly silvery, the first 
mottled with ash-colour; the wings brown, ends of the second quills 
white; toes furnished with a broad membrane. 

The female wants the black bar across the bill, and has the chin 
and throat of the same colour as the rest of the neck; it appears also 
to be smaller than the other sex, being only twelve inches long to the 
end of the rump, sixteen inches and a half to the end of the toes, 
and twenty inches broad. 

Mr. Abbot, who gives me this account, observes, that it is common 
in the rivers and ponds about Savannah, in Georgia; makes the nest 
in the water, like other Grebes; the egg of a dusky white, with 
scarcely any perceivable markings of darker colour; called Didapper, 
or Water Witch. Found as far north as New York; arrives there 
late in autumn, and goes away in April; is called there the Hen- 
beaked Wigeon. This is in the complete plumage, and the Louisiane 
probably a young bird. 


36 GREBE 


15.—LOUISIANE GREBE. 


Podiceps Ludovicianus, Izd. Orn. ii. 785. 

Colymbus Ludovicianus, Gm. Lin. i. 592. 

Le Grebe de la Louisiane, Buf. viii. 240. Pl. enl. 9438. 
Le Macas 4 bec crochu, Voy. d’ Azara,iv. No. 444. 
Louisiane Grebe, Gen. Syn v. 289. Arct. Zool. ii. 419. 


BILL slightly bent at the point; plumage above deep brown ; 
sides of the head and body, quite to the rump, rust-colour; about 
the middle of the wing, outwardly, a small patch of white; middle 
of the breast dusky white; from the base of the neck to the thighs 
marked with transverse black spots; legs dusky. In some the chin 
is mottled with black. 

Inhabits Louisiana; also Paraguay. Is probably the last in 
incomplete plumage. 


ORDER IX. WEB-FOOTED. 


* WITH LONG LEGS. 


GENUS XCV.—AVOSET. 


. 1 Scooping \| 2 American \| 3 Red-necked \| 4 Oriental 


Br long, slender, very thin, and bending considerably upwards. 
Nostrils narrow, and pervious. 
Tongue short. 
Feet palmated ; the webs deeply semilunated between each toe; 
back toe very small, at a distance from the ground. 


1.—SCOOPING AVOSET. 


Recurvirostra Avocetta, Ind. Orn. ii 786. Lin. 1. 256. Faun. suec. No. 191. Amen. 
ac.iv. 591, Jt. Oeland. 89. Gm. Lin.i. 693. Scop. i. No. 129. Brun. No. 188. 
Muller, No. 214. Kram. 348. Georgi, 172. Sepp, t. p.69. Bris. yi. 538. t. 57. 
f,2. Id. 8vo. 1. 504. Rati, 17. A.1. Will. 240. t.60. Id. Engl. 321. Bor. 
il. 85. t.50. Fn. Helvet. Gerin. y. t.495. Tem. Man.879. Id. Ed. ii. p. 591. 

Pico Corbo, Gabin. de Madrid, i. p. 19. lam. 45. 

Plotus Recurviroster, Klein, 142. ii. p. 19. 

Der gemeine Wassersabler, Bechst. Deutsch. iii. p. 223. Id, Ed. ii. iv. 450. t. 25. 2. 
Schmid, 131. t. 115. 

L’Avocette, Buf. viii. 466. pl. 38. Pl. enl. 353. Voy. en Barb. i. 280. Salern. Orn. 
399. Cett. uc. Sard. 287. 


38 AVOSET. 


Scooping Avoset, Gen. Syn.v. 293. Id. Sup. 263. Br. Zool. ii. No. 228. pl. 80. Jd. 
fol. 134. pl. C. Id. Ed. 1812. ii. 143, pl. 25. Arct. Zool. ii. 503. B. Albin, i. 
pl.101. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 158. Lewin, vi. pl. 202. Id. pl. xxxviii. i. the ege. 
Walc.ii. pl. 165. Don. pl. 66. Pult. Dors. p.16. Orn. Dict. Graves, Br. Orn. 

SIZE of a Lapwing; length from eighteen to twenty inches to 
the end of the tail, but to that of the claws about three more; the 
breadth thirty ; weight fourteen ounces and a half troy. Bill three 
inches and a half long, slender, very flat, and turns up towards the 
end, finishing in a sharp point; nostrils narrow, and pervious; the 
irides hazel; top of the head, including the eyes, black, passing 
some way down on the neck, and ending in a point; above and 
beneath the eye a spot of white; the rest of the head and neck, and 
all beneath white; back, greater part of the scapulars, outer part of 
the wing, lesser quills, and tail the same; inner scapulars, middle 
wing coverts, the outer webs, and ends of the greater quills, black, 
appearing as two black bars, three quarters of an inch broad ; wider 
as they approach the rump; legs very long, pale blue, and the thighs 
naked for two inches; whole of the naked parts between six and 
seven inches. The male and female much alike. 

The Avoset inhabits this kingdom at allseasons ; is frequent in the 
winter on the sea shores; in Gloucestershire, at the Severn’s Mouth ; 
the eastern coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk, and sometimes on the 
shores of Sussex and those of Shropshire,** as well as those of Kent: + 
in the breeding season found in vast numbers near Fossdike, in Lin- 
colnshire, in the fens of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, and other similar 
places; the female generally lays two eggs, among the weeds, on 
the edges of ponds or pools, about. the size of those of the Pigeon, 
one inch and three quarters in length, cinereous grey, whimsically 
marked with deep, brownish, oblique black dashes, and some smaller 
ones intermixed ; the food is said to be worms and insects, + collected 
from the mud; often seen to wade far into the water; they wvill also 

* Lin. Trans. + Mr. Boys twice met with them in October. 


+ Chiefly the Cancer pulex and. locusta—the sea-flea and locust ; and in the stomach of 
one was found some small stones, and short hairs.—Dr. Lamb. 


IPAL, (CALYOWAOL 


e : 
OVAL erp 


AVOSET. 39 


occasionally swim, but always close to the shore;* are very bold in 
defence of their young; and when disturbed in the breeding season, 
hover over the sportsman’s head like the Lapwing; and fly with their 
necks and legs extended, having a sharp note like the word Twit, 
twice, or oftener repeated; hence have been called Yelpers; known 
known also in some counties by the names of Butter-flip, Scooper, 
Picarini, Crooked-Bill, and Cobler’s-awl. 

This bird is found also on various parts of the Continent: to 
the north, in Russia, Sweden,t and Denmark, but not in plenty ; 
also in Siberia, but more frequent about the salt Jakes of the Tar- 
tarian Desert, and about the Caspian sea.t Met with on the Coasts 
of Picardy, in France, in April and November, but rarely at 
Orleans. In breeding time they are in such plenty on the Coasts of 
Bas Poictou, that the peasants take the eggs by thousands in order 
to feast on them.§ ‘They also inhabit both Italy and Spain, but in 
what numbers is uncertain. They likewise occur in drawings done 
in India, by the name of Hun Sowry. Dr. Buchanan mentions, 
that two of these were seen upon an Island in the River Hooghly, 
January 1806, they were shot and wounded, one of them lived a 
week, the other much longer; they were fed with the small fry of 


fish put into a pan of water, which they scooped up very readily 
with their bills. 


2.—AMERICAN AVOSET.—PL. cixvit. 


Recurvirostra Americana, Ind. Orn. ii. 787. Gm. Lin. i. 693. 

Avosetta, Damp. Voy. iii. pl. in p. 123. f.3. Tem. Man. Ed. ii. 592. 

American Avoset, Gen. Syn. v. 295. pl. 92. Arct. Zool. ii. 241. pl. 21. Amer. Orn. 
vii. 126. pl. 63. f. 2, 


THIS is larger than the last, and somewhat longer, being in 
height as it stands, fourteen inches. The bill black ; 


irides reddish ; 
* One shot, swimming with others, in Sunning-Bye Lake, in Berkshire ; at another time 
four were seen swimming among the Ducks in the month of April.—Dr. Lamb. 
+ Chiefly in the Isle of Oeland. + Arct. Zool. § Salern. 


|| That in Amer. Orn. bends a trifle downwards at the ends, and finishes in an extremely 
fine point, 


40 AVOSET. 


forehead dusky white; the head, neck, and upper part of the breast, 
of a deep cream-colour, in some inclining to ferruginous, under the 
chin palest; lower part of the neck behind white; back black; the 
under parts from the breast white; the first and third order of wing 
coverts, with the outer part of the wing between, and the greater 
quills, black ; the middle coverts and some of the secondaries white; 
some of the last tinged with ash-colour; the legs and thighs together 
measure about eight inches, the bare part above the knees two, 
colour dusky; in some pale blue ; some have the whole of the back 
and rump white. 

Inhabits North America, and was found by Dampier in Shark’s 
Bay, on the Coast of New-Holland; it is there scarce, but occurs 
in drawings brought from thence; it has only been seen on some 
Lagoons between Port Jackson and Broken Bay; the native name 
Antiquatish. It varies in having more or less white; and in young 
birds, the white is mottled, or freckled with dusky. 

The American Avoset is first seen on the coast of Cape May late 
in April, rears its young, and departs again to the south in October; 
is there called The Lawyer; it breeds in the shallow pools of New 
Jersey, associated with the Common Sort; the nest built among thick 
tufts of grass, composed of small twigs, dry grass, sea weed, &c. 
raised to the height of several inches; the eggs four, of a dull olive, 
with irregular blotches of black, and others of a fainter tint. 

The female differs in being two inches shorter than the male. 


3.—RED-NECKED AVOSET. 


Recurvirostra rubricollis, Avocette 4 Cou marron, Tem. Man. Ed. ii. 592. 


LENGTH fifteen inches and a half. Face, head, and upper part 
of the back rufous chestnut; lower part of the neck, back, scapulars, 
al] the under parts, with the tail, pure white; on the scapulars a 
broad band of black, which extends on each side, the length of the 
back; the quills next the body black.—Inhabits the shores of the south 
of Asia, and is to be met with in various ornithological collections. 


AVOSET. 


4.—ORIENTAL AVOSET. 


Recurvirostra orientalis, Avocette orientale, Tem. Man. Ed. ii. 593. Cuvier Regn. 
Anim. i. p. 464. 


SIZE of the first Species. Bill black; plumage wholly pure 
white, except the wings and scapulars, which are black; and the 
tail ash-colour; legs yellow. 

Native place unknown. The description taken from a specimen 
in the Jardin du Roi, at Paris. 


VOL ek. © G 


42 COURIER. 


GENUS XCVI.—COURIER. 


THe bill, in this Genus, is short, straight, with the gape very wide. 
Legs long, thighs short. 
Feet palmated, three toes before and one behind; the last short. 


Corrira Italica, Ind. Orn. ii. 787. Gm. Lin. i. 653. 

Corrira, Bris. vi. 542. Id. 8vo.ii. 505. Johnst. Av. pl. 48. f.3. 

Trochilus, vel Corrira, Aldrov. iii. 288. t.p.289. Ratz, 128. 3. Will. 240, t. 60. 
Id. Engl. 321. pl.60. Charlet. Ex. p. 102. ix. Id. Onom. 97. 

Italian Courier, Gen. Syn. v. 298. 


THIS is less than the Avoset, and the legs shorter in proportion. 
The bill shorter, straight, yellow, with a black tip; irides of two 
colours, first white, surrounded with chestnut; the head, and all the 
upper parts of the body, and wings rusty iron-colour; under parts 
white; the two middle tail feathers are white, tipped with black; 
the others black ; toes webbed as in the Avoset. 

This bird is said to inhabit Italy, and to run very fast, whence 
the name given to it. Aldrovandus is the only one who has seen the 
bird, and from bim alone all succeedimg authors have copied the 
description and figure. It swims occasionally, but generally wades 
five or six inches deep in the water. Some have supposed this bird 
to be no other than the Avoset, with a mutilated bill; a circumstance 
which I once saw, from beth mandibles having been shot away within 
two inches of the gape, and might have passed for quite a different 
bird; yet the colours described by Aldrovandus by no- means 
correspond with those of the Avoset. Charleton calls it the Fin- 
footed Runner. Johnston gives much the same account as Aldro- 
vandus, from whom he has no doubt taken the description; and 
Willughby’s description and figure have originated from the same 
source. 


PL.CLX VIL. 


2S 
\ 
SP 

ANS 
~ 
~ 
~ 
N 
N 
N 

WS 


Red F 


. 


c 


FLAMINGO. 43 


GENUS XCVII.—FLAMINGO. 


1 Red Flamingo || 2 Chili Flamingo 


BILL thick, large, bending in the middle, forming a sharp angle; 
the higher part of the upper mandible carinated; the lower com- 
pressed ; the edges of the upper sharply denticulated ; of the lower 
transversely sulcated. 

Nostrils covered above with a thin plate, pervious, linearly lon- 
gitudinal. 

Tongue cartilaginous, and pointed at the end; in the middle 
muscular; base glandular; on the upper part aculeated. 

Neck very long. 

Legs and thighs of a vast Jength. 

Feet webbed ; the webs extending as far as the claws, but deeply 
semilunated. Back toe very small. 


1.—RED FLAMINGO.—PL. cixvitt. 


Pheenicopterus ruber, Znd. Orn. 11. 788. Lin. i. 230. Gm. Lin. i. 612. Scop.i. No. 
214. Bris. vi. 532. t.47. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 502. Rati, 117.2. Id. 190.1. Will. 
240. t.60. Sloan. Jam. 321. 17. Brown, Jam. 480. Seb. Mus. i. 123. t. 67- 
f. 1. Phil. Trans. xxix. t. 2. p. 523. Grew, Mus. p. 67. pl..5.—thebill. Klein, 
126. B. Borowsk. iii. 66. t. 44. Spalowsk. i. t.26. Mus. Lev. t.8. Gerin. v. 
t. 496. Bartr. Trav. 294. Gesn. Av. 623. pl. in 624. Amer. Orn. V. 8. p. 45. 
pl. 66. f.4. Tem. Man. 378. Id. Ed. 2d. 587. Robert, Ic. pl. 8. 

Le Flammant, Buf. vii. 475. pl. 39. Pl. ent. 63. Hist. Prov. i. 345. Voy. en Barb. 
i. 288. Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 366. Schmid, 132. t. 116. 

El Flamenco, Paxaro de Agua, Gabin. de Madrid, i. p. 45. lam. 20. 

Red Flamingo, Gen. Syn. v. 299. pl. 22... Id. Sup. 263. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 422. Cat. 
Car... pl. 73, 74. Alb. ii. 77. Kolb. Cap. ii. 137. Russ. Alep. 69. Gent. Mag. 
xx. pl. 264. Sparrm. Voy.i. p. 30. Dillon, Trav. 374. Penn. Hind. ii. 159. 


THIS singular bird is less than a Goose in the body, but the 


neck and legs are in the greatest disproportion; the length from bill 
G2 


7 


44 FLAMINGO. 


to tail four feet two or three inches, and to the end of the claws more 
than six feet. Bill four inches and a quarter long, and in construc- 
tion different from that of any other bird; the upper mandible thin 
and flat, and somewhat movable, the under thick; both of them 
bending downwards from the middle; the nostrils placed in a blackish 
membrane; from the base to the middle reddish yellow, the rest 
black; the base, and quite to the eye on each side, covered with a 
flesh-coloured cere, or skin; the neck slender, and of a great length; 
the tongue large, fleshy, filling the cavity of the bill, having twelve 
or more, hooked papillae on each side, turning backwards, and cartila- 
ginous at the tips; the plumage deep scarlet, except the quills, which 
are black ; from the base of the thighs to the claws thirty-two inches, 
but the part which is covered with feathers is only three; the bare 
part above the joint thirteen inches; and from thence to the claws 
sixteen ; the colour of the bare parts is red ; and the toes are furnished 
with a web, as in the Duck tribe, but deeply indented. 

This bird does not gain the full plumage till the third year: in 
the first it is mostly greyish white, in the second the white is clearer, 
tinged with red, or rather rose-colour, and the wings and scapulars are 
red ; but it is not till the third, that a general glowing scarlet mani- 
fests itself throughout ; the bill and legs, too, keep pace with the 
plumage, obtaining colour by degrees, as the bird approaches to an 
adult state. 

The Flamingo prefers a warm climate; it is seen in various parts 
of Europe, not often beyond 40 degrees north; known on the Coasts 
of Spain,* Italy, and France, lying in the Mediterranean Sea; now 
and then being seen at Marseilles, and for some way up the Rhone: 
comes to Gibraltar annually in spring, from Barbary, generally about 
the beginning of May, and remains all the summer; sometimes as 
early as April, when from six to twelve or fourteen haunt the rivers 
which run into the Bay, and marshy grounds of the neighbourhood, 


* About Valencia, in the Lake Albufere.—Dillon’s Trav. 374. 


FLAMINGO. 45 


and are sometimes seen swimming in the Bay, near the river. Are 
every where to be met with on the African Coast, and adjacent Isles, 
quite to the Cape of Good Hope ;* they breed in the Cape de Verd 
Islands, particularly in that of Sal;+ in some seasons they frequent 
Aleppo,t and parts adjacent; also the Persian side of the Caspian 
Sea, and from thence, along the Western Coast, as far as the Wolga, 
though at uncertain times, and chiefly in considerable flocks, coming 
from the north-east, mostly in October and November; but on the 
wind changing, they totally disappear.§ 

The nest of the Flamingo is of a very curious constraction, and 
singularly placed; it is made of mud, in shape of a hillock, with a 
cavity at the top; in this the female lays two white eggs,|| the size 
of those of a Goose, but more elongated : the elevation of the nest 
is such, as to admit of the bird’s sitting on it conveniently, or rather 
standing, as the legs are placed one on each side at full Jength. The 
young cannot fly till full grown, but run very fast: they are very 
shy, by no means suffering any one to approach near enough to 
shoot them, yet Dampier, with two or more in company, killed 
fourteen at once, which was effected by secreting themselves ;** and 
we learn from Catesby, that a person who can stand concealed, may 
shoot as many as he pleases, for they will not rise at the report of a 
gun, but the survivors will stand, as if astonished, and continue on the 
spot, till most of them are killed. They are common in the warmer 
situations of America, frequenting the same latitudes as in other 
parts of the globe. Are met with in Peru and Chili, as well as at 

* In Zee-Coow River.—Phil. Trans. Doctor Sparrman met with large flocks between 

Table and Simon’s Bay, near Alphen, in April, seeking their food in pools and puddles that 
were drying up. These, he says, were of a snow white, and the wings of a flaming rosy 
hue.—Voy.i. p. 30. Once plentiful in the Isle of France.—Voy. to Mauritius, p. 66. 

+ Damp. Voy.i. p. 70. + Russ. Alep. p. 69. § Decour. russ. ii. 248 

|| Said to never lay more than three, and seldom fewer.—PAil. Trans. 

G They will sometimes lay four eggs, on a projecting part of a low rock, if sufficiently 

convenient to admit of the legs being placed one on each side.—Lin. 


** Davies talks of the gunner disguising himself in an ox’s hide, and by this means 
getting within gun-shot.—Hist. Barb. p. 88. 


46 FLAMINGO. 


Cayenne,* on the Coast of Brazil, and the various Islands of the West 
Indies. Sloane found them in Jamaica; but they more particularly 
frequent the Bahama Islands, and that of Cuba, and breed there. 
Their food chiefly consists of small fish,t or their eggs; also water 
insects, which they search after by plunging in the bill, and part of 
head ; from time to time trampling with their feet to make the water 
muddy, and to raise their prey from the bottom. In feeding they 
are said to apply the upper part of the bill to the ground ;+ whilst 
feeding one of them stands sentinel, and when he sounds an alarm, 
the whole flock take wing. The Flamingo is said to sleep on one 
leg, the other being drawn up close to the body, with the head 
placed beneath the wing. 

The flesh is by some much esteemed, and thought to equal that 
of the Partridge. The late Mr. White mentions the extreme softness 
of the flesh on the breast, which may be taken out by the fingers, 
and separated from the skin without a knife, and that the fat, as in 
the Stork, is red. Davies§ observes, that they are commonly fat, 
and accounted delicate; yet the inhabitants of Provence always throw 
away the flesh, as it has a fishy taste, and only use the feathers as 
ornaments to other birds, at particular entertainments ;|| but the 
greatest dainty is the tongue, which was esteemed by the ancients 
as an exquisite morsel. 


* Called there Tococo. + Also small shell fishh—Gesner. + Linneus. Gesner. 
§ Hist. Barb. p. 88. || Dillon. Trav. p. 374. extr. 
@ See Plin. N. H. 1. x. cap. 48. Martial says thus of it in one of his Epigrams— 


“© Dat mihi Penna rubens nomen, sed Lingua gulosis 
‘* Nostra sapit : quid si garrula lingua foret ?””—Libd. xiii. ep. 71. 


Apicius, the celebrated Roman glutton, in his book de arte coquinaria, ‘gives directions 
for dressing the Flamingo, but says nothing about the tongue; and whoever reads the re- 
ceipt must allow, that whatever genuine taste the bird might have, the high rank nature 
of the seasoning would effectually cover it, even if it were more ill flavoured than some sup- 
pose it. See Apic. de Opsoniis, a Lister. p. 178. 


FLAMINGO. 47 


I observe this bird in several drawings from India, and it certainly 
is there sufficiently common ; its name in the Bengalese is Khonegil ; 
it is also called Hanse, and Hanse Taulkau. 

It has been observed to us, that the Flamingo of the Old Con- 
tinent, and that of America, are distinct as to species; but if so, we 
have not hitherto received suflicient information, for distinguishing 
the one from the other. Mr. 'Temminck mentions a smaller sort as 
distinct, which inhabits India. * 


2.—CHILI FLAMINGO. 


Phenicopterus Chilensis, Ind. Orn. 1. 789. Gm. Lin. i. 613. Molin. Chil. 214. 
Id. Fr. ed. 222. 

Chili Flamingo, Gen. Syn. Sup. 330. 

THE height of this bird from the bill to the end of the claws is 
five feet, and the body itself one foot; the back and wings of a 
fiery red, the rest of the plumage of a beautiful white. The bill is 
five inches long; the head small, oblong, crowned with a sort of 
crest; the eyes small, but brilliant; the tail is short, and rounded ; 
and the wings of a proper size; but in one particular the bird differs 
from the common sort; for the quills are of a pure white, which in 
the others are quite black. The young said to diifer from the adult, 
in being of a grey colour. 

This is-probably one of the finest birds in Chili, and frequents only 
the fresh waters. The mhabitants value it much on account of the 
beautiful feathers, with which they adorn their helmets and spears; 
the wings are also converted into fans, and other purposes. The 
manners, as to incubation, &c. are the the same as in the more 
common sort. 


* Manuel, p. cii. 


48 ALBATROSS. 


** WITH SHORT LEGS. 


GENUS XCVIII.—ALBATROSS. 


1 Wandering Albatross 


2 Chocolate 3 Yellow-nosed 
A Var. A Var. 4 Sooty 
B Var.’ 


BILL strong, bending in the middle, and hooked at the end of the 


upper mandible; that of the lower abrupt; the lower part inclining 
downwards. 


Nostrils opening forwards, and covered with a large, convex guard. 
Tongue scarcely perceptible, only the rudiment of one. 
Toes three in number, all placed forwards. 


1.—WANDERING ALBATROSS. 


Diomedea exulans, Ind. Orn. 11. 789. Lin.i. 214. Gm. Lin. i. 566. Borowsk. i. 27. 
t.27. Gerin. v. t. 552. Lin. Trans. xiii. 489. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. cx. 

Plautus Albatrus, Klein, 140. t.13. Bris. vi. 126. Jd. 8vo. ii. 394. Buf. ix. 339. 
pl. 24. Pl. enl. 237. 

Tchaiki, Pall. Spic. fasc. v. p. 28. Hist. Kamtsch. 154. 

Der Wandernde Schiffsvogel, Schmid, Vog. p. 144. t. 120. 

Man of War Bird, Albin, iii. pl. 81.—the head. Grew’s Mus. t. 6. f. 1.—the head. 


Wandering Albatross, Gen. Syn. vy. 304. Arct. Zool. ii. No.423. Edw. pl.88. Staunt. 
Chin. i, 222. 


THIS is bigger than the Swan; and the length from three to 
four feet; the extent of wing at least ten feet ;** but many of our 


* Above ten feet,—Forst. Voy. i. 87. Ten feet two inches, called an enormous size,— 
Hawkesw. Voy. iii. 627. | Eleven feet seven inches,—Parkins. Voy. 82. Eleven feet,— 
Cook’s Journ. 77. Twelve feet, MS at Sir Joseph Banks’s. One in the Leverian Museum 
expanded thirteen feet ; and Ives even mentions one, shot off the Cape of Good Hope, 
measuring seventeen feet and a half from wing to wing. See Voy. p. 5. 


ALBATROSS. 49 


voyagers mention them as greatly exceeding these dimensions: weight 
from twelve to twenty-eight pounds. Bill dirty yellow; crown of 
the head pale cinereous brown ; the rest of the body in general white, 
crossed with blackish lines on the back and wings, and with spots in 
the same direction towards the rump; greater quills black ; the tail 
dusky lead-colour, and rounded in shape; legs flesh-colour. The 
young birds are brown, more or less mixed with white; but do not 
acquire the complete plumage till mature age. 

These birds are frequent in many parts without the Tropics, both 
to the north and south ; not being confined to the latter, as has been 
by some imagined ;* indeed they are in great plenty about the Cape 
of Good Hope; and not only these, but other sorts also, as well as 
in every temperate southern latitude} as far towards the Pole as has 
been hitherto explored. Are seen in vast flocks in Kamtschatka, and 
adjacent Islands, about the end of June, and there called Great 
Gulls, but chiefly in the Bay of Penschinensi, the whole inner Sea 
of Kamtschatka, the Kurile Isles, and that of Bering; for on the 
east coasts of the first they are scarce, a single straggler only ap- 
pearing now and then. Their chief motive for frequenting these 
places seems to be the plenty of food ; and their arrival a sure presage 
of shoals of fish following. At their first coming they are very lean, 
but soon grow immensely fat, for they are very voracious birds, and 
will often swallow a salmon, of four or five pounds weight; but as 
they cannot take the whole of it into their stomach at once, part of 
the tail will often remain out of the mouth; and the natives, finding 
the bird in this situation, knock it down without difficulty. Before 
the middle of August they migrate elsewhere. They are also taken 
by means of a hook, baited with a fish,t though it is not for their 


* Buf. ix. 339. + Seldom below 30 degrees ; never in the Torrid Zone.— 
Forst. Voy. i. 482. 

~ Forster mentions their being caught with a line and hook, baited with a bit of sheep’s 
skin.—Voy. i. 87. Cook’s Voy. i. 84. 

VOL. X. H 


00 ALBATROSS. 


flesh that they are valued, it bemg hard and unsavoury,* but on 
account of the intestines, particular parts of which they blow up 
like bladders, and use as floats to buoy up their nets in fishing : of 
the bones are formed many useful things.+ The breeding places, if 
at all in the northern atmosphere, are not ascertained ; but we are 
certain of their multiplying in the southern, as Patagonia,t and Falk- 
land Islands.§ To the last they come about the end of September, 
or beginning of October, among other birds, in great abundance.|| 
The nests are made on the ground with earth,{{ of a round shape, a 
foot in height, and indented at top; the egg is larger than that 
of a Goose, white, marked with dull spots at the large end, and is 
thought to be good food, the white never growing hard with boiling. 
While the female is sitting, the male is constantly on the wing, to 
supply her with food; and during this period they are so tame as to 
sufier themselves to be shoved from the nest, while the eggs are taken 
from them ; but at other times, when caught, they will defend them- 
selves stoutly with the bill; and not only in this case, but in general, 
the cry is harsh and disagreeable, not unlike the braying of an ass. 
The chief destruction of the eggs is from the Hawk,** which darts 
on'the nest, the moment the female leaves it, and flies away with the 
egg. The Albatross is also greatly persecuted while on the wing, 
by the Skua Gull, which attacks it on all sides, and particularly 
endeavours to get beneath, which is only prevented by the former 


* Yet they were eaten by our voyagers. As soon as caught they were skinned, and 
soaked in salt water till next morning, then parboiled, and the liquor being thrown away, 
stewed in fresh water till tender; and being served up with savoury sauce, they were much 
commended.—Hawkesw. Voy. i. 84. 

+ The New Zealand women wear pieces of the down in the holes of their ears, by way 
of ornament.—Forst. Voy. i. 841. Id. Obs. 310. Hawkesw. Voy. iii. 66. 

+ Arct. Zool. § Clayton. || A part of New Zealand called Albatross 
Point, from this circumstance.—Parkins. Voy. 113. 

@ With sedges in form of a haycock, three feet in height.—Arcé. Zool. 

** Of two sorts—Penrose. One of them the New Zealand Eagle, Vol. i. p. 160. 
pl. ix. 


ALBATROSS. ay | 


settling on the water;* but indeed, the Albatross rarely flies at a 
great distance from the surface, except obliged so to do by high 
winds, t+ or other causes. As soon as the young are able to remove 
from the nest, the Penguins take possession, and hatch their young 
in turn. It is probable, that they pass from one part of the globe to 
another, according to the season; being occasionally met with, in 
intermediate places.t ‘The food is supposed to be chiefly small 
marine animals, especially of the mollusca, or blubber class,§ also 


flying fish. || 


A.—The general colour of the plumage in this bird is brown, 
inclining to black above, with cinereous down, and whitish towards 
the head; a red bill, with a dusky tip. 


B.—In this the upper mandible is white, or reddish, the under 
red, with the edges white ; plumage white; top of the head and 
neck behind deep straw-colour; between the shoulders, the quills, 
and tail feathers, dusky brown. 

These two Varieties are mentioned by Gmelin without any refe- 
rence. A Variety from New-Holland was among the drawings of 
Mr. Francillon: im this the head, neck, and beneath, were white; 
back, wings, and tail, black; bill and legs, which are long, yellow. 


* Forst. Voy. i. 118. Hist. des Ois. 

+ Sometimes appear to soar above the clouds.—Amen. Ac. vy. 75. 

+ Seen between six and seven hundred leagues from land, in the middle of the Southern 
Ocean.—Forst. Obs. 211. Met with in Sandwich Isles.—E/Jl. Narr. ii. 149. Also, in lat. 
26. 31. north, on the 4th of April.—TZd. p. 193. Off Japan and Jesso, October, 1771.— 

_ Cook’s last Voy. iii. 391. Lat. 33. south, May. 5.—Osb. Voy. i. 109. 

§ Forst. Voy.i. 118. 

|| Trigla volitans.—Amen. ac. vy. p. 75. Arct. Zool. No. 505. 

H 2 


o2 ALBATROSS. 


2.—CHOCOLATE ALBATROSS. 


Diomedea spadicea, Ind. Orn. ii. 790. Gm. Lin. i. 568. Lin. Trans. xii. 489, 


Chocolate Albatross, Gen. Syn. v. 308. Cook’s Voy. ii. 116. 150.* Forst. Voy. i. 258. 
Park, Voy. 83, 84? . 


THIS is larger than a Goose. Bill yellowish white; irides 
brown ; fore part of the head, round the eye, chin, and throat, white ; 
the general colour of the plumage fine deep choéolate; the neck and 
under parts palest; inner ridge of the wing, and under wing coverts, 
white; and the belly inclines much to white; tail short, rounded ; 
and the wings equal it in length; legs bluish white; claws white. 
It varies in having more or less white about the head, and in a 
greater or less degree of purity; a specimen of this was seen in the 
South Seas, in lat. 37. the end of December. 


A.—Albatros de la Chine, Pl. enl. 963. 


This bird is wholly greyish brown; bill and legs pale straw- 
colour.—Inhabits China, and is about two feet and a half-in length. 


3.—YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS.—PL. cixix. 


Diomedea Chlororhynchos, Ind. Orn. ii. 790. Gm. Lin. i. 568. Lin. Trans. xii. es 
Yellow-nosed Albatross, Gen. Syn. v. 309. pl. Xciv. 


LENGTH three feet, breadth seven. The bill about four inches 
long, black, moderately stout, and hooked at the end, the upper 
ridge yellow the whole length, quite to the tip; the base of the 


* As few of the Voyagers have described the birds to which they have given names, we 
cannot always be clear in respect to the Species meant; and therefore not quite certain it 
was the one here described. Chocolate Albatrosses were mentioned by’ Forster; but not 
observed by him, except among the ice.—Voy. i. 258. Perhaps the Albatross with a white 
beak.—Park. Voy. 83, 84? 


fi Tey sf 7 1h WWE LAT 


gate DADC) Hal 


ALBATROSS. 53 


under mandible is also yellow; irides brown ; the head grey; between 
the bill and eye an obscure black spot; just over the eye a dusky 
one; hind part of the neck dusky, the lower white; back, scapulars 
and wings, dusky blue black; rump and under parts of the body 
white; tail dusky; legs yellowish white; the fore part of them and 
the webs dusky. We believe that the plumage in this species varies 
as in the Gulls; for in a drawing of one, the whole head, neck, and 
under parts were pure white. This is met with in the southern 
atmosphere, from 30 to 60 degrees, all round the Pole.t One, taken 
off the Cape of Good Hope, furnished the above description. 

Inhabits the South Seas without the Tropics, and like the 
Wandering Species, rarely flies above five or six feet above the 
surface of the water. ; 

At least four Species of Albatrosses breed on the Islands of Tris- 
tan da Cunha. Among others the Yellow-nosed builds its solitary 
nest in some sheltered corner; selecting in particular the small drains 
that draw the water off the land into the ravines: the nest is of the 
height of ten or twelve inches, of a cylindrical form, with a small 
ditch round the base, and there is only one egg.¢ All of this tribe 
nourish their young by disgorging the contents of the stomach; for 
as they feed on the blubber of dead whales, seals, &c. this would 
melt away if carried in the bill to any distance. During the time of 
incubation, no alarm is displayed on the approach of any man, as 
the birds suffer themselves to be kicked, or pulled off their nests, 
without the smallest resistance, and soon return again to their post. 
Captain Carmichael, who furnishes this description, observes, that 
‘when irritated, the feathers of the cheeks are separated, so as to 
display a beautiful stripe of naked orange skin, running from the 
corners of the mouth towards the back of the head. 


* Lin. Trans. xii. 489. + One caught in lat. 57, 30. south, in February. 

~ They frequently merely chuse a dry spot, and making a slight concavity to prevent 
the egg from rolling away : the egg is white, very large, and peculiar in shape, being long 
in proportion, equally thick at both ends. 


54. ALBATROSS. 


4.—SOOTY ALBATROSS. 


Diomedea fuliginosa, Ind. Orn. ii. 791. Gm. Lin. i. 568. 
Black Albatross, Lin. Trans. xii. 489. 

Albatross with a white eye-brow, Cook’s Voy. i. p. 38? 
Black-billed Albatross, Parkins. Voy. p. 84? 

Sooty Albatross, Gen. Syn. v. 309. Forst. Voy. i. 91. 


SIZE of a Goose; length nearly three feet. _ Bill black; irides 
pale yellow; at each angle of the eye a nictitating membrane; 
general colour of the plumage brown; the head and tail inclining 
to black or seot-colour ; for a smal] space above, behind, and beneath 
the eye white, but not on the fore part; quills and tail dark brown, 
almost black, the shafts of the feathers of both white, the last pointed 
in shape; legs pale brownish lead-colour ; claws black. 

“This is a general inhabitant throughout the Southern Ocean, 
within the Antarctic Circle; first met with in lat. 47. south;* was 
called by our sailors the Quaker, from its brown plumage: is pro- 
bably the same which Forster calls the Least of the Albatrosses,+ 
met with off Kerguelen’s Land, inthe month of December.t 

This is also found te breed in the Islands of Tristan da Cunha ; 
is gregarious, many of them building their nests close to each other: 
in the area of half an acre were reckoned upwards of a hundred. 
The nest is of mud, raised five or six inches, and slightly depressed 
at the top: when the young birds are:more than half grown, they 
are covered with a whitish down: they stand on: their respective 
hillocks like statues, till approached close, when they make a strange 
clattering with their beaks, and if touched, squirt.a deluge of foetid.. 
oily fluid from the stomach.§ 


* First met with about the time of first falling in with the ice.—Cook’s Voy. 1.38. 
+ Voy. i. p. 91. + Cook’s Last Voy. i. 87. § Captain Carmichael. 


wo 
Qn 


AUK. 


GENUS XCIX.—AUK. 


* With a compressed Bill. 5 Razor-billed 10 Ancient 
1 Great Auk 6 Black-billed 11 Little 
2 Tufted 7 Crested 12 Minute 
3 Puffin 8 Dusky ** With a depressed Bill. 
A Var. 9 Perroquet 13 Flat-billed 
4 Labrador 


BILL smooth-edged, short, compressed,* convex, frequently trans- 
versely furrowed. 

Nostrils linear, parallel to the edge. 

Tongue almost as long as the bill. 

Toes three in number, placed forwards. 


* WITH A COMPRESSED BILL. 


1.—GREAT AUK. 


Alca impennis, Ind. Orn. ii. 791. Lin.i. 210. 3. Fn. suec. No. 140. Gm. Lin. i. 550. 
Brun. No. 105. Muller, p.17. Fn. groenl. No.52.  Borowsk, iii. 32. Gerin. 
iv. t. 497. 

Alca major, Bris. vi. 85.1. t. 7. Id. 8vo. ii. 382. 

Pingouin brachiptere, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 939. 

Penguin, Ratz, 118. Will. 242. t.65. Id. Engl. 322. t.65. Edw. pl. 147. Nat. 
Misc. pl. 417. 

Le grand Pingouin, Buf. ix. 393. pl. 29. PI. enl. 367. 

Great Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 311. Br. Zool. ii. No. 229. pl. 81. Id. fol. 136. Id. 1812. 
ii. 146. pl. 26. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 424. Edw. pl. 147. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 162. 
Lewin, vi; 21. pl. 222. Walcot, i. pl. 86. Orn. Dict. § App. 


SIZE of a Goose; length three feet. Bill four inches and a 
quarter, covered in great part with short downy feathers, the colour 


* The last excepted, in which it is depressed. 


36 AUK. 


black, crossed with several furrows. The plumage of the head, 
neck, and upper part of the body, the wings, and tail, black, the 
rest white; also a large oval spot of the same, occupying most of 
the space between the bill and eye; the second quills are tipped 
with white, forming an oblong stripe on the wings; which are so 
small as to be useless for flight, the longest quill feather being little 
more than four inches; legs black. 

One of these, in the Museum of the late Mr. Tunstall, had only 
two or three furrows on the bill, and the oval white patch between 
the bill and eye spotted black and white: probably a young bird. 

This, as far as we can learn, is by no means a common species; 
it appears on the Isle of St. Kilda the beginning of May, and retires 
in June, and probably breeds there; it lays one large egg, close to 
the sea mark, about six inches long, white, irregularly marked with 
purplish lines, and blotched at the larger end with black, or ferru- 
ginous spots; and it is said, that if the egg is taken away, the bird 
will not lay a second; is supposed to hatch late, as in August the 
young are only covered with grey down; it never ventures far out to 
sea, rarely beyond soundings. Sometimes frequents the Coast of 
Norway, the Ferroe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland; feeds much on 
the Lump fish, Father lasher, and others of that size, but the young 
birds will frequently eat Rose root,* and other plants; the old ones 
are rarely seen on shore, though the young are often met with; it is 
a shy bird, and from the situation of the legs, being placed far 
behind, walks badly, but dives well, and is taken in the manner used 
for the Razor-bill and Puffin; the skin between the jaws is blown 
into a bladder, and in this state used, attached to the darts of the 
Greenlanders: + it inhabits also Newfoundland,+ and it is said, that 
the skin of the body is used by the Eskimaux Indians for garments. || 

This bird was found by Mr. Bullock, during his summer excursion 
in 1813, in Papa Vestray, one of the Orkney Islands; it was suffi- 
ciently familiar with the beatmen about those parts, but would not 


* Rhodiola rosea. —Lin. + Faun. Groenl. + Arct. Zool. Br. Zool. || Arct. Zool. 


LCV 


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= 7 lle. SS tediUf eshnle 7¢ il, 


AUK. D7 


admit of his coming, as a stranger, within gun shot, though in their 
company; but afterwards suffering the boatmen, by themselves, to 
approach so near, as to knock it down with an oar. This specimen 
was in good preservation in Mr. Bullock’s Museum. ‘The sexes of 
this. species are called King and Queen of Auks; and by some 
Gair-Fowls. 


2.—TUFTED AUK.—PL. cixx. f. 1. 


Alca cirrhata, Ind. Orn. ii. 791. Gm. Lin. i. 553. Pall. Spic.v. p.7 t. 1. & 5. 
Borowsk. iu. t. 38. 

Le Macareux de Kamtschatka, Buf. ix. 368. PJ. enl. 761. 

Igilma, Hist. Kamtsch. 183. 

Tufted Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 313. pl. 95. f. 1.—the head. Arct. Zool. 11. No. 432. 
Cook’s Last Voy. ii. 411. 


THIS exceeds the Common Puffin in size, and is nineteen 
inches in length. The bill nearly two inches long, crossed with 
three furrows ; similar in colour and shape to that of the Common 
Puffin, and like that, compressed and furrowed on the sides; irides 
yellowish brown; the sides of the head and chin are white; over 
each eye arises a tuft of feathers, four inches, or more, in length, 
falling elegantly on each side of the neck, and in some specimens 
reaching almost to the back; these are white as far as they are 
attached to the head, but beyond it fine buff-yellow ; the rest of the 
plumage is black, beneath paler, and inclining to ash-colour, the 
shafts of the quills white; tail very short, and consists of sixteen 
feathers ; legs brownish orange; claws black. 

The female is smaller,* but scarcely differs in plumage from the 
male; the bill crossed with two furrows instead of three; and the tufts 
smaller.—This species inhabits Kamtschatka, and the neighbouring 
Islands. 


* Some of these, which we have seen, measured only fourteen inches and a half. 
VOL. X. I 


58 AUK. 


It was first met with a little to the south of Cape Hermogenes, 
and after that daily, sometimes in large flocks.* Pallas remarkst 
that the Kamtschatkan girls imitate the tufts of these birds, by 
placing a similar strip of the white skin of the Glutton + behind each 
ear, hangmg down behind, by way of ornament, and is a well 
received present from a lover to his mistress. The bills of) these, as 
well as of the Common Puflin, were formerly held by the natives as 
charms, and worn by the priests as amulets ; they are yet seen round 
their head dresses, but’supposed at this time to be only by way of 
ornament: the skins are made use of for clothing, and sewed 
together for that purpose. The bird is called in Kamtschatka, 
Muechagatka;§ and in Ochotka, Igilma,|| In manners it coincides 
with the last Species, and like it burrows under ground, lining the 
nest with feathers, and sea plants; lays a single egg, the end of May, 
or beginning of June, which is eaten, but the flesh of the bird is 
hard and insipid. It feeds on crabs, shrimps, and shell fish, which 
Jast it forces from the rocks with the bill.4] 


3.—PUFFIN AUK. 


Alca arctica, Ind. Orn. ii. 792. Lin. i. 211. Fn. suec. No. 141. Gm. Lin.i. 549. 
Brun. No. 103. Muller, No. 140. Frisch; t. 192. Borowsk. iii. 312. Sibb. Scot. 
il. 20. pl. 16. f: 1; Olear. Mus. t. 15. £5. Pall. Spic. vs p» 1. Fn. Groenl. 53. 

Fratercula, Bris. vi. 81, t.6. f.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 380. Gerin. t. 551. 

Mormon Fratercula, Macareux Moine, Tem. Man. 614. Id. Ed. 2d. 934. 

Alca deleta, Brun. No. 104.—a bird of the first year. 

Anas arctica, Rati, 120) A. 5. Will, 244, t. 65. 

Plautus arcticus, Klein, Av. 146. 3. 

Le Macareux, Buf. ix. 358. pl. 26. Pl. enl. 275. 

Papagaay Duiker, Sepp, Vog. 4. t. p. 359. 

Lunda, Seligm. Mus. ii. s. 11. t. 11. f. 21. 

Ipatka, Hist. Kamtsch. p. 153. 


* Cook’s last Voy. ii. 411. + Spicil. Zoolog. + Mustela Gulo.—Lin. 

§ Mitchagatka—Alca monochroa sulcis tribus, circo duplici utrinque dependente—Alca 
Arctica Cirrhata.—Phil. Trans. li. p.482. Found in America, opposite Kamtschatka, as 
also the Urili, and Kaiover, or Kaiour. || Hist. Kamts. p. 183. G Arct. Zool. 


AUK. 59 


Arktische Alk, Schmid, Vog. p. 162. t. 139. Bechst. Deuts. iv. 723. 

Puffin, Gen. Syn. v. 314. Br. Zool. ii. No, 232. Id. fol. 135. pl. H. Jd. 1812. ii. 
152. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 427. Tour in Wales, ii. pl, 20. Will. Engl. p. 235. pl. 
65. f. Hist. Groenl. ii. pl. 1. Albin, ii. pl. 78, 79. Edw. pl. 358. f.1. Bewick, 
i. pl. p. 168. Lewin, vi. pl. 225. Jd. pl. xlvii. f.2.—the egg. Donov. i. pl. 8. 
Walc.i. pl. 87. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn, Dict. & Supp. Graves, Orn. ii. 


SIZE of a Teal; length twelve inches or more; weight twelve or 
thirteen ounces. The bill of a singular shape, one inch and a quarter 
long, much compressed, and near one inch and a half deep at the 
base, from whence both mandibles tend in an arched manner to the 
point, where it is a little curved ; across the upper are four oblique 
furrows, on the under three; half of the bill, from the point, is red, 
the base half blue grey, and at the base a sort of elevated cere, full 
of minute holes; the nostrils are a long, and narrow slit on each side, 
near the edge of the upper mandible, and parallel to it; the irides 
greyish hazel; edges of the eyelids crimson; on the upper a callous, 
triangular protuberance, on the under an oblong one of the same 
texture; the top of the head, neck behind, and all the upper parts 
of the plumage are black, passing round the throat in a collar; the 
sides of the head, chin, and all beneath pure white; quills dusky; 
tail short, composed of sixteen feathers; legs placed very backward,* 
orange; the claws back. 

The male and female are much alike, but in some birds there is 
a great portion of a dusky mixture on the cheeks, and a patch of the 
same on each side of the under jaw. The Puffin is observed to vary 
exceedingly in the bill, owing to different periods of age; in the first 
year it is small, weak, without any furrow, and of a dusky colour; 
in the second larger, stronger, pale, with a faint appearance of a 

* Among the various authors who have figured this bird, some have represented it swim- 

ming, and others as resting not only on’ the feet, but on the back part of the shins also, 
“propped up behind with the tail.. ‘We have never seen this bird ina living state, but the late 
Rev. Hugh Davies, of Beaumaris, assured me, that the bird, though sufficiently awkward 
in its gait as to walking, can do so, by means of the feet only, as inthe Duck ; though 


most certainly may be called an upright posture, in comparison with the last named. 


12 


60 AUK. 


furrow at the base; but as the bird advances in years the bill is more 
vivid, and increases in strength; it is therefore supposed not to be 
perfect, till the third year; especially, as not a single one has been 
observed at Priestholm, which had not the bill of full growth.* 
These birds frequent several parts of the Coasts of England, 
appearing about their breeding places the first week in April, but 
do not settle there immediately, as they go away, and return twice 
or thrice, before the first week in May, when they burrow; but 
many of them dislodge the rabbits from their holes, and save the 
trouble of forming one of their own; in the last case, they are so 
itent on what they are about, as to be caught by the hand; they 
are also taken by ferrets, in the manner of rabbits;+ but where the 
soil is scanty on the rocks, they are content to deposit a single white 
egg, sometimes marked with a little cinereous, in a hole or crevice. 
It has been remarked, that the male performs the greater part of the 
task of forming burrows where necessary, and likewise assists in 
incubation, which has been proved by observation; the young are 
hatched the beginning of July. About the 11th of August they 
depart, but not completely ; for the young ones, which have been late 
hatched, are deserted, and left a prey to the Peregrine Falcon, who 
watches at the mouth of the holes, till they, through hunger, are 
compelled to come out. Notwithstanding this appearance of neglect, 
no bird is more attentive in general, the female suffering herself to 
be taken, in defence of the young; biting, with savage fierceness, the 
hands, or any other part of the person who seizes it, as if actuated 
by despair; and if released, instead of flying away, will often hurry 
again into the burrows, to the young: about two years since, one 
was caught alive in the middle of the town of Newbury.t The food 
chiefly consists of sprats, and the smaller kind of crabs, shrimps, 
and sea weeds; the flesh is excessively rank, yet the young ones are 


* See Tour in Wales, ii. p. 252. pl. 20. for figure of the bill in the different stages. 
+ Breed in vast numbers in Iceland.—Hooker’s Tour, p. 36. + Dr. Lamb. 


AUK. 61 


preserved with spices, and pickled, being by some much relished.#*— 
A few of these birds frequent the rocks of Dover, and the neighbour- 
hood; and great numbers about the Needle Rocks, adjoining the 
Isle of Wight; also at Beachy Head, and other parts, but no where 
in such plenty as at Priestholme Isle, where they are in flocks 
innumerable, and sometimes seen in winter, on the south coast of 
Devonshire; are common also in Ireland, on the Island Sherries, 
three leagues N.N.W. of Holyhead, and in the south stack, near 
the latter, breed in plenty.t Inhabit also Iceland, and Greenland, 
breeding in the extreme parts, especially on the west of Disco, 
aud the Island Orpiksauk. Found in the Ferroe Isles, and called 
there Lunda. In the Farn Isles, Coulterneb, from the shape of the 
bill; also Tom-Noddy, and Skout: it is known also by various 
other names, as Guldenhead, Bottle-nose, and Helegug, in Wales; 
at Scarborough Mullet, and in Cornwall Pope.| 

We believe that in the warmer parts of the Continent of Europe 
they are less plentiful, but can be traced as far as Gibraltar, where 
they are seen throughout the winter: they first appear there in 
October, and depart in March; are very troublesome to the fisher- 
men, taking their baits under water, on which element they seem 
to live constantly, rarely being observed on the wing. If kept tame, 
they will take no fish, except first thrown into the water, as in a tub, 
when they dive directly after them. Mr. White, who resided long 
on the spot, seems inclined to think, that the migration of this, and 
the Razor-bills may possibly be performed wholly through the water, 
as their diving, and making way in that element exceeds belief, 
except from those who have witnessed it. It appears also, that their 
summer retreat is not confined to the Arctic Regions, as they, in concert 

* They are potted at St. Kilda, and elsewhere, and sent to London, as rarities. The 
bones being taken out, the flesh is wrapped in the skin; they are eaten with vinegar, and are 
said to taste like baked herrings. 

+ Orn. Dict. + « Which come in a surprising manner, in a flock, in the 


‘compass of a night ; and when their season comes, depart in the same manner.’’—Bid/, 
Topog. Brit. No. 10. p. 10. || Will. Orn. 


62 AUK. 


with the Razor-bills, breed on many parts of the rocky coasts of 
Africa, between the Territories of Morocco, and those of Algiers, 
in the neighbourhood of Arzew; and that the eggs are there gathered 
by seamen, “as a valuable article of fresh provisions. 

Inhabits also America, being frequent in Carolina in winter, 
and has been met with in: Sandwich Sound. The natives orna- 
ment the fore parts, and collar of their ‘seal skin jackets, with the 
beaks of them; and those of Aoonalaschka wear gowns of their skins, 
along with those of other birds. On the Coast of Kamtschatka, 
and the Kurilschi Islands, they are common, even on the Penchinski 
Bay, almost as far as Ochotka. The natives of the two first wear 
the bills about their necks, fastened to straps; and according to the 
superstition of these people, their Shaman, or Priest, must put them 
on with a proper ceremony, in order to procure good fortune.* 


A.—Alca arctica, 8. Ind. Orn. ii. 792. Gen. Syn. v. 317. A. 
Alca Indiea, Gerin. v. t. 600. 

Length sixteen inches. Bill nearly similarto the last; crown of 
the head, as far as the nape, ash-colour; sides of the head white; 
throat, neck, and all above, the wings, and tail black ; breast and 
under parts white; legs orange. 

In the female the bill is more slender; crown of the head brown 
black; sides of the head white, passing backwards almost. to the 
nape ; thighs ash-coloured ; the rest as in the male. 

This was met with at Bird Island, between Asia and America; 
and in the collection of Sir Joseph Banks. 


4.— LABRADOR AUK. 


Alca Labradora,: Ind. Orn. v. 793. Gm. Lin. i. 550. - 
Labrador Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 318. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 428, 


SIZE of the Puffin. The bill one inch and a quarter long, much 
carinated at top, a little convex, but more narrow ‘than invany» of 
* Hist. Kamtsch. 


AUK. . 63 


the Genus; the upper mandible dusky red, the lower whitish, marked 
with a black spot, having an angle as in a Gull; the nostrils a slit 
near the edge, and covered with a dusky skin; the plumage on the 
upper parts is black, on the under white; sides of the head dusky 
white; throat dusky; wings and tail the same, the last very short; 
legs red.—A specimen of the above, supposed to have come from the 
Coast of Labrador, is in the British Museum. 


5.--RAZOR-BILLED AUK. 


Alca Torda, Ind. Orn. ii. p. 793. Lin. i. 219. F'n. swec. No. 139. Gm. Lin. 1. 55]. 
Scop.i. No.94. Brun. No. 100. Muller, p.16. Pall. Spic. v. p.3. Bris. vi 
92. t.8. f. 1. Jd. 8vo. ii. 383. Borowsk. ii. p.33. Fn. Groenl. 78. No. 50. 

Pingouin macroptere, Tem. Man. 616. Id. Ed. 11. 937. 

Plautus Tonsor, Klein, 147. Jd. Stem. 37. t. 38. f. 2. 

Alca Hoieri, Rati, 119. A.3. Will. 243. t. 64. 65. 

Scheerschnabel, Shrift. de Berl. Nat.ix. 25. 

Der Alk, Bechst. Deutsch. iii. 744. Id, Ed.ii. iv. p. 711. 

Le Pingoin, Buf. ix. 390, t.27. Pl. enl. 1003. 

Razor-bitl, Auk, Murre, Gen. Syn. v. 319. Id. Sup. 264. Br. Zool. ii. No. 230. pl. 
82. Id. fol. 136. Id. 1812. ii. p. 148. pl. 27. Edw. pl. 358. f.2.  Bewick, ii. 
pl. p. 164. Lewén, vi. pl. 224. Id. pl. xlvii. i. theegg, Donov.iii. pl.64. Wale. 
1. pl. 84. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH eighteen inches; breadth twenty-seven ; the weight 
twenty-seven ounces. Bill two inches long, black, and curved at 
the point, the feathers coming greatly forwards at the base, and 
crossed with four transverse grooves, one of: which is white, forming 
an oblique band on both mandibles; imside: of the mouth. yellow; 
irides hazel; plumage, for the most part, black ; from the base of 
the forehead, to the eyes, a narrow white line; the under parts of the 
body, from the breast, are white; the greater wing coverts tipped 
with white, forming a band on the wings; tail cuneiform, consisting 
of twelve pointed feathers; legs dusky black. 

The Razor-bills first appear the beginning of February, but do 
not settle on their breeding places, with intent to lay, till the early 


64 AUK. 


part of May,* when they are met with on most of the high, craggy 
coasts of England, where our merciless shooters go to try the use of 
the gun, and too frequently leave many hundreds of these, and the 
Guillemots, after maiming them, to die by slow degrees at the bottom 
of the rocks; for they are stupid birds, and suffer themselves to be 
shot at, one after another. They lay one egg, on the rugged sides 
of the bare rock, which adheres thereto, by means of the glutinous 
moisture, which hardens immediately on exposure to the air; and the 
part in contact is so small, as to make the egg appear as if resting 
on its own balance; this will account for the difficulty of restoring 
it again to its place, whenever it is once removed :+ it is said, that 
in case the egg is taken away, the bird will lay again, and even a 
third time, should the second fail; the colour is dusky white, marked 
with many irregular, dusky, or blackish spots, and seems large in 
proportion to the size of the parent, equalling that of a Turkey, 
though somewhat longer in shape. The natives are fond of the eggs, 
and run the greatest hazard in procuring them, being lowered from 
above by ropes; two persons, each having a rope tied to their middle, 
the one takes fast hold, while the other lowers himself as convenience 
may serve; but the weight of the under one sometimes exceeding 
the uncertain hold of his companion, they both fall, and perish. + 

The chief food of this bird is fish, particularly sprats ; observed 
to dive frequently, and having caught several, to range them on each 
side of the bill, with the heads in the mouth, and the tails hanging out; 
and when the mouth can hold no more, the bird retires to the rocks, 
to swallow them at leisure, or carry them to its young. 


* Come every spring, with the Guillemots, to Saint Margaret’s Cliffs, on the Kentish 
Coast, and leave that place in the course of the summer.—Mr. Boys. 

+ Harvey de Generat. Anim. Evxerc.xi. See Arct. Zool. ii. 510. Note +. Col. Montagu 
is of opinion that the eggs are not fastened to the rock, as he has taken them up frequently, 
and laid them again in the same spot; and he has observed a violent gale of wind sometimes 
to sweep away whole ranks of them.—Orn. Dict. 

+ The eggs of this, and the Foolish Guillemot, are an article of trade in several Isles off 
the Coast of Scotland, and are used for refining sugars.—Orn. Dict. 


AUK. 6) 


These birds are found along the White Sea, and on the Arctic 
Asiatic Shores, and from thence to Kamtschatka, and the Gulph of 
Ochotka; is the only one which reaches the inland Baltic, being 
found there in the Carls Ozar Isles, near Gothland, and the Isle of 
Bondon, off Angermania.* 

It appears that this species, as well as the Puffin, extends as far 
as the Isle of Candia, and other parts of the Mediterranean; and is 
equally common in the Bay of Gibraltar, where it is curious to see 
their activity under water, when in pursuit of fish ; for, as the water 
in the Bay is sometimes clear for a great depth from the surface, these 
birds may be often seen as it were flying after their prey, with the 
agility of a bird in the air, turning in every direction after the fish, 
with such wonderful dexterity, as seldom to miss their aim. It is 
known in England, by the name of Aukt and Razor-bill; in Scotland, 
and the Farn Isles is called the Scout; in Cornwall, the Murre and 
Marrot; in St. Kilda, the Falk and Bowkie. The Auk formerly 
mentioned as an article of diet, and in season in July;t but we 
believe, that such kind of food now would be relished by very few. 


6.—BLACK-BILLED AUK. 


Alca Pica, Ind. Orn. 11. 793. Lin. i. 210. Gm. Lin.i. 551. Fn. Groenl. No. 51. 
Tem, Man. 617. Id. Ed. 2d. 937. 

Alca unisuleata, Brun. No. 102. Muller, No. 138. 

minor, Bris. vi. 923. t. 8. f. 2. Id. 8vo. ii. 383. 

Mergus Belloni, Utamania, Razz, 119. Will. 243. t. 64. Id. Engl, 324. 

Der Elster Alk, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 747. Naturf. xiii. 179? 

De jonge Papegaay Duiker, Sepp, p. 406.—young. 

Le petit Pingoin, Buf. ix. 396. PI. enl. 1004. 


* Hist. Kamts. 153. + From birds of the Auk Genus making their way on 
land with difficulty, the saying, that a man walks or performs other actions Wukwardly. is 
probably derived ; and as their gait is wavering and unsteady, a northern proverb has piten 
viz.—* That such a man is as drunk as an Auk.” t See Archeol. xiii. p. 354. 368. 

VOL. x. K 


66 AUK. 


Black-billed Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 320. Br. Zool. ii. No. 231. Id. fol. 137, t. H. 1. 
Td, 1812. ii. 150. Arct. Zool. ii. No.426. Bewick, ii. p. 169. Walcot, i. pl. 85. 
Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


THIS is smaller than the former bird. The bill similar, but 
less curved, perfectly smooth, except a slight indentation at the base ; 
though in some are three distinct furrows, and that nearest the base 
white; irides hazel; plumage in general black; the sides of the 
head and all beneath white; but the black of the neck comes forward 
on each side, and the white on the sides of the head extends back- 
wards towards the hindhead ; the lesser quills are tipped with white; 
the tail composed of twelve feathers as in the last species ; legs brown 
black. Such is the description of one, formerly in my own collection, 
and nearly agreeing with that in the Ornith. Dictionary; but in the 
bird figured by Brisson, the forehead is white, and a dusky streak 
passes from the nostrils under the eye, and ends beyond it in a point, 
and in that too, the white on the sides of the head included the eyes. 

The Black=billed Auk is found in Greenland, at all seasons, and 
appears to be more numerous than the Razor-bill, but breeds on the 
rocks in the same manner. Is exceedingly common in the Greenland 
Sea, and rarely seen on land, except in the breeding season; like the 
rest of the Genus it walks very ill, appearing with the body quite 
erect, but swims, and dives excellently well; it flies strongly and 
swiftly, but always near the surface of the water. The Greenlanders 
use this and the former, not only for food, but to make a warm 
clothing, with the skins sewed together; they often take them by 
throwing darts; and not unfrequently numbers of the natives in boats 
surround a large flock on the water, and drive them on shore, where 
others stand ready to attack them so suddenly, as to leave no time to 
escape; and many, by this means, may be taken by the hand. 

It may be seen by the above, that in Greenland the two last 
birds are accounted distinct ; and Colonel Montagu in his Orn. Dict. 
is of this opinion; yet it must be owned, that, guided by external 
appearance, the two would naturally appear to be one and the same, 


Tod 


AUK. 67 


at different periods of age; and if the change of the colour of the 
head in summer is allowed in both birds, as Fabricius indicates, and 
which we see too in the Little Auk, it is no wonder that the true 
state of things should have remained so long in obscurity.* Said to 
feed on small fish, and in particular on shrimps. 

The Puffin, Razor-billed, and Black-billed Auks, as also the 
Guillemot, are all seen about Gibraltar in October, and remain there 
all the winter, departing in March or April; but in England they 
are seen only in the summer months. 


7.—CRESTED AUK.—PL. crixx. f. 4. 


Alea cristatella, Ind. Orn. ii. 794. Gm. Lin. i. 552. Pall. Spic. v. p. 18, t. 3. & 5. 
Black Stariki, Hist. Kamtsch. 156. 
Crested Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 323. pl. 95. f. 4. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 434. 


SIZE of the Missel Thrush; length twelve inches. The bill 
shaped not unlike that of the Puffin, but the upper mandible more 
hooked at the tip, and the feathers of the chin produced half way 
on the under one: at the angle of the mouth a callous flap, the 
colour, as well as that of the bill crimson, the tip yellow; the head 
rather small; on the forehead an upright crest of long feathers, which 
curve forwards, as in the Crested Grakle.t The eyes are small; beneath 
them a line of white, and behind a streak, composed of four or five 
slender, white feathers; head and neck black; back the same, marked 
with ferruginous brown spots, changing into hoary on the rump; the 
under parts of a dusky brown ; the wings reach to the base of the tail, 
which is black, and has fourteen feathers ; the outmost but one 
ferruginous at the tip; the exterior marked with indistinct, white 
dots; legs livid; webs dusky. 


* Consult Faun. Groenl. and Pall. Spic. Fasc. v. p. 1—24. See Alca Balthica, Brun. 
No. 101. Pall. Spic. v. p. 4. .M. Temminck supposes them one and the same, and that 
the Black-billed is not in full maturity of plumage. t+ See Vol. iii. p. 164. 

K 2 


68 AUK. 


Inhabits the Islands contiguous to Japan. One of these, in the 
collection of Sir Joseph Banks, came from Bird Island, between 
Asia and America. [t sleeps at night in burrows on shore, and 


fissures of rocks, from whence it is often taken by the hand, with 
other birds of this stupid race. 


8.—-DUSKY AUK.-—PL. cixx. f. 3. 


Alca tetracula, Ind. Orn. 11. 794. Gm. Lin. i. 552. Pall. Spic. v. 24. t.4 & 5. 
Dusky Auk, Gen. Syn. y. 324, pl. 95. f.3. Arct. Zool.ii. No.435. Ellis’s Narr. ii. 


p. 252? 

LENGTH eleven inches; breadth eighteen. The bill yellow 
brown, the ridge white, the upper mandible bent at the point; irides 
white, surrounded with black; feathers of the forehead somewhat 
long, downy, reflexed half one way, half the other; behind the eyes 
a white streak; the head and neck are black, marked with a few 
obscure, ferruginous spots on the nape; the upper parts of the body 
black ; beneath cinereous, growing whitish near the vent; the wings 
reach to the base of the tail, which is composed of fourteen feathers, 
all of which, except the two middle ones, are ferruginous at the 
ends; the legs livid, webs black. 

Met with in the Seas between Japan and Kamtschatka, and 
sometimes very far from land; in this case seen single, but on land 
are found in flocks; make the nest in burrows, among the rocks; are 
wonderfully active in the water, but no bird is more clumsy, or stupid 
on land; for itis with the greatest difficulty they get upright on their 
legs, and then cannot stand, except the ramp be propped up ona 
stone, or other elevation; will now and then fly on board ships in 
the evening, and then are easily taken by the hand: the flesh is little 
valued, nor can the down be separated from the skin, so as to be 
useful ; bnt the eggs are thought very good. 


AUK. 69 


9.—PERROQUET AUK.—PL. cixx. f. 2. 


Alca Psittacula, Ind. Orn. ii. 794. Gm. Lin. i. 553, Pall. Spic. v. p. 13. t.2 & 4. 
Stariki, Hest. Kamtsch. 155. 
Perroquet Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 325. pl. 95. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 433. 


THIS is somewhat like the Little Auk, but more bulky in the 
body. The bill is of a deep red, greatly compressed on the sides, 
and convex, both above and beneath; above the nostrils a furrow, 
from the base to the middle; irides pale yellow ;* the visage, next 
the bill, much prolonged; whence the eyes, which are small, appear 
placed far back in the head; in the middle of the upper eyelid a 
white spot ; at the back part of the eye, on each side, a slender tuft 
of white feathers, which hang loosely on the neck ; the head, neck, 
and upper parts are black, inclming to hoary on the neck before, 
and the under parts, from the breast, white; thighs dusky ; wings 
and tail even in length, the last short; legs dirty yellow, webs brown. 

Inhabits Kamtschatka, with the last described ; also the Islands 
towards Japan, and the west shores of America, most frequent in the 
last; is sometimes seen in flocks, but seldom far from land, except 
driven from thence by storms; harbours at night in the crevices of 
rocks: theegg almost the size of that of a Hen, dirty yellowish white, 
spotted with brown; the female deposits this upon the bare rock, or 
sand, about the middle of June, but makes no nest. They are stupid 
birds, as may be seen by the mode of catching them; one of the 
natives places himself under a loose garment of fur, of a particular 
make, with large open sleeves, among the rocks, in the evening; at 
which time the birds, returning to the shore at dusk, run under the 
skirts, and up the arm holes, for shelter during the night; the man, 
concealed beneath, kills them as fast as they enter, and by such 
means as many are taken in one evening as he can carry away. 


* So described in Billings’s Voy. App. [56.] Met with at Oonalashka. 


70 AUK. 


Their stupidity likewise leads them te fly on board a ship at such 
times, mistaking it for a roosting place, whereby navigators have 
been taught to avoid the danger of falling in, too near, with land, 
either in the evening, or on approaching storms. The eggs are 
esteemed. 


10.—ANCIENT AUK. 


Alca antiqua, Ind. Orn. ii. 795. Gm. Lin. i. 554. 
Ancient Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 326, Arct. Zool. ii No. 240. 


THIS isa trifle bigger than the following; length nearly eleven 
inches. Bill one inch and a quarter, the base white, but from the 
nostrils to the end black; the face is somewhat prolonged, and the 
feathers come very forward on the bill; the head, sides, and throat, 
are deep black; the upper parts of the body and wings dusky black ; 
the under pure white; on the ears, just behind the eyes, spring 
several Jong, narrow, white feathers, which lie on each side of the 
neck, meeting at the lower part, and forming a crescent; these are 
somewhat curled at the origin, where they are most numerous, and 
may perhaps be erected at the will of the bird, as a ruff; the legs 
are placed quite in the vent, are one inch and a quarter long, and 
dusky ; the tail short, rounded, and black. 

Inhabits various parts, from the west of North America to Kamt- 
schatka, and the Kurile Islands.* 


11.—LITTLE AUK. 


Alca alle, Ind. Orn. 11 795. Lin. i. 211. Faun. suec. No. 142. Gm. Lin. i. 554. 
Brun. No. 106. Id. 107.—white. Fn. Groenl. No.54. Act. Nidr. 261. t. 6. 
Martin. Spitsb. 61. t. M.C. Pall. Spic. v. p. 4.—Note f. | Amer. Orn. ix. 94. 
pl. 74. 5. Lin. Trans. xi. p. 537. 

Uria minor, Bris. vi. 73. 2. Id. 8vo. ii. 378. Gerin. v. t. 500. 


* Arct. Zool. 


AUK. 71 


Uria alle, Tem. Man. d’Orn. G11. Id. Ld. 2d. 929. Parry’s Voy. App. p. ccx. 

Plautus columbarius, Klein, 146. 1. 

Mergulus melanoleucos rostro acuto brevi, Raii, 125. A.5. Will. 261, t. 59.—lower 
figure. Ross, Voy. App. p.}. 

Le petit Guillemot femelle, Pl. ent. 917. 

Small black and white Diver, &c. Will. Engl. 343. §. iv. pl. 59. Edw. pl. 91. 

Greenland Dove, Albin, i. pl. 85. 

Little Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 327. Br. Zool. ii. No. 233. pl. 82. Id. fol. 137. pl. H. 4. 

f.1. Id. 1812. ii. 158. pl. 27. f. 1. Aret. Zool. iis No. 429. Bewick, ii. pl. p- 
172. Lewin, vi. pl.223. Walcot, i. pl. 88. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. & 


Supp. 


SIZE ofa Blackbird ; length nearly nine inches; breadth about 
thirteeen. Bill short, stout, somewhat rounded and black; general 
colour of the plumage black above, and white beneath; scapulars 
streaked with white; the second quills tipped with white, except 
the four nearest the body, forming a line on the wing; tail of four- 
teen feathers, of which the two middle exceed the others in length ; 
legs yellowish brown; webs black. 

In some the head and neck are wholly black, and a spot of white 
over the eye, but in other things resemble the former. Fabricius 
observes, that these differences do not arise from sex, for the male 
and female are much alike; but that they are only seen with the 
head and part of the neck black during the summer season, at which 
time both sexes appear in this dress, in the same manner as he men- 
tions in respect to Razor-billed, and Black-billed Auks. 

This inhabits the North of Europe, as far as Spitzbergen, but 
probably does not extend to Asia; is common in Greenland, found 
there in company with the Black-billed Species, feeding on the same 
food; lays two bluish white eggs, larger than those of a Pigeon; 
flies quick, and dives well; and while swimming it frequently dips 
the bill into the water; walks better on land than any of the Genus, 
Is very fat in the stormy season, from the waves dislodging numbers 
of crabs and small fish, on which it feeds; it is less sought after than 
any of the tribe, from its size; but as it is equally stupid, is taken by 
the same means. In Greenland it is called the Ice Bird, being the 


72 AUK. 


harbinger of ice ;* in Shetland, called Rochie, or Ratch: seen by 
myriads in August, in lat. 75° 44. west, and long. 61° 20. west. + 

It is now and then met with in England, but is far from common; 
I have received two specimens only, the one shot near Dover, and 
the other not far from Dartford, both of which were in the winter 
dress. Dr. Lamb also mentioned to me a third, shot in November, 
1807, in the Mill Stream, at Newbury: is sometimes seen of a pure 
white.+ 


12.—MINUTE AUK. 


SIZE not much exceeding that of a Bunting; length five inches 
and a half. Bill stout, small, rather compressed ; general colour of 
the plumage brown; next the nostrils some hoary lines; the upper 
mandible covered half way with feathers; under parts of the body 
pale, and mixed with waved lines.—In Mr. Bullock’s Museum. 


** WITH A DEPRESSED BILL. 


13.—FLAT-BILLED AUK. 


Alca pygmea, Ind. Orn. ii. 796. Gm. Lin. i. 555. 
Pygmy Auk, Arct. Zool. ii. No. 431. 
Flat-billed Auk, Gen. Syn. v. 328. 


LENGTH seven inches. Bill three quarters of an inch long, and 
black; the top is ridged, but on the sides of the ridge is considerably 


* Arct. Zool. Met with there in great abundance.—Phipps’s Voy. p. 186. 

+ Called Rotges.—Ross’s Voy. p.13. Used for food. A large Gull is here mentioned, 
which, when killed, disgorged one of these birds entire. So plentiful in Baffin’s Bay, as 
fifteen to be killed at a shot, and used by the sailors for food. 


~ Alca candida, Brun. No. 107. Muller, p. 17. 


AUK. 73 


depressed, asin the Duck ; nostrils parallel to the edge of the upper 
mandible; point of the bill slightly curved; the visage is somewhat 
prolonged, as in the Perroquet Auk; and the sides, between the bill 
and eye, furnished with a few, narrow, pale feathers; the plumage, 
on all the upper parts, sooty black; chin and throat pale; fore part 
of the neck, breast, and belly paler than above, inclining to ash- 
colour; the middle of the belly dirty white; legs dusky. 

Inhabits Bird Island, between Asia and America, where it has 
been met with in considerable numbers; but we have not yet heard 
of its bemg found elsewhere. 


VOL. x. L 


74 GUILLEMOT. 


GENUS C.—GUILLEMOT. 


1 Foolish Guillemot 4 Black E Var. 
A Var. A Var. F Var. 
B Var. B Var. 5 White 

2 Lesser C Var. A Var. 

3 Brunnich’s D Var. 6 Marbled 


Britt straight, slender, pointed, the upper mandible slightly 
bending towards the end, base covered with short feathers. 

Nosirils linear, at the base of the bill. 

Tongue slender, almost the length of the bill. 

Legs furnished with three toes, all placed forwards. 


1.—FOOLISH GUILLEMOT. 


Unia Troile, Ind. Orn. ii. 796. Bris. vi. 1. t.6. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 877. Tem. Man. 
606. Id Ed. 2d. 922. 

Colymbus Troile, Lin. i. 220. Fn. suec. No. 149. Gm. Lin. i. 585. : 

Lomwia Hoieri, aii, 120. A. 4. Will. 244. t. 65. N.C. Petr. iv. 414. Klein, 148. 
8. Id. 168.3. Brun. No. 108. Muller, No. 152. Scop. i. No. 103, 

Unria Major, Gerin. v. t. 549. : 

Das Dumme Taucherhuhn, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 764. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 574. 

Der Dumme Lumme, Schmid, Vog. p. 161. t. 138. 

Le Guillemot, Buf. ix. p. 350. Pl. enl. 903. 

Lumme, Mart. Spitz. 57. t. M. f. A. Frisch, t. 185. 

Foolish Guillemot, Gen. Syn. vi. 329. Id. Sup. 265. Br. Zool. u. No. 234. Id. fol. 
138. pl.H.3. Jd. 1812. 11. 160. = Arct. Zool. ii. No. 436. Phipp’s Voy. 187. 
Cook’s last Voy. i. 352. Will. Engl. 324. pl. 65. Alb.i. pl. 84. Edw. pl. 359, 
1. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 175. Lewin, vi. pl.50. Id. pl. xlv. 2.—the egg. Walcot, 1. 
pl. 96. Donov. pl. 28. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. § Supp. Graves. Br. 


Orn. ii. 


THE length of this bird is seventeen inches, breadth twenty- 
seven; weight twenty-four ounces. The bill three inches, straight, 
pointed, and black ; irides dusky ; inside of the mouth yellow ; base 


ru 


GUILLEMOT. 75 


of the bill above covered with short, downy feathers; from the eye 
to the hindhead they divide in a singular manner, giving the appear- 
ance of a line or channel; the head, neck, back, and wings, are 
mouse-colour ; tips of the lesser quills white; under part of the body 
wholly white; sides under the wings marked with dusky lines; above 
the thighs the feathers are long, and curve downwards; legs dusky. 
Both sexes are alike in plumage. 

The Guillemot is found on many parts of the English coasts 
during the summer, and in some particular spots in vast abundance, 
especially on rocky cliffs; first seen in May, and disappears the end 
of August. The Razor-bills, too, observe the same manners, and 
are found in the same places, though they do not interfere with each 
other. During the breeding season, our sportsmen attend these 
spots, that they may perfect themselves in the art of shooting flying, 
for which purpose no birds are more suitable, for they will see their 
companions killed one after another, without much alarm; as, after 
making a circuit, they alight in the same place, to be shot at in 
turn. These, as well as the Auks, and Puftins,* are indiscriminately 
called Willocks; by the Welch, Guillem; in Northumberland and 
Durham, Guillemot, or Sea Hen; in Yorkshire, Scout; in Cornwall, 
Kiddaw; other names are mentioned which they go by, as, Marrot, 
Strany, Lungy, and Skuttock.+ They lay a single egg, more than 
three inches in length, of a bluish white, or pale sea-green, and so 
irregularly spotted and streaked with black, that no two are alike. 
The places they most resort to in this kmgdom are, the uninhabited 
Isle of Priestholm, near the Isle of Anglesea; a rock called Godreve, 
not far from St. Ives, in Cornwall; the Farn Isles, near the Coast 
of Northumberland, and the Cliffs about Scarborough, in Yorkshire. 
Are also found in most of the northern parts of Europe, as far as 


* Col. Montagu mentions one being shot near him, in January, 1805; it was a female, 
in the usual plumage, and weighed thirty ounces.—Ornith. Dict. Said to be found in the 
Orkney Islands throughout the year.—Br. Zool. t+ Orn. Dict. 

L 2 


76 GUILLEMOT. 


Spitzbergen ;* the Coast of Lapmark; and along the White and Icy 
Seas, quite to Kamtschatka, where they are called Aru and Kara; 
the inhabitants kill them in numbers, for the sake of the flesh, though 
it certainly is tough and il] tasted; but more especially for the skins, 
of which, as well as of other Fowls, they make garments; the eggs, 
too, are accounted a delicacy.t These birds are not uncommon in 
various parts of Germany, France, and Italy, and though in general 
they depart in autumn, a few remain throughout the winter.+ 

The Guillemots are found in the Bay of Gibraltar all the winter : as, 
in the faculty of diving, they are possessed of equal ability, it may be 
supposed that they migrate with the Auks, from the northern shores, 
when they depart from them at the end of the summer. Not only 
this, but the Black Duck, is known by the name of Macreuse, and 
both equally allowed by the Roman Catholics to be eaten in Lent. 
It is well known in Newfoundland, and some other parts of North 
America, but we do not find it very common there; has been met 
with at Nootka Sound.§ 


A.—Uria Suarbag, Brun. No. 110. 


This has the cheeks and under parts white, with a black line 
behind the eyes; tips of the tail feathers white. 


B.—Uria Alga, Brun. No. 112. 


Like the last, but the tail feathers wholly black. 


* Phipp’s Voy. p. 187. Common in Iceland.—Hooker’s Tour, p. 72. 
+ Hist. Kamts. 154. © t Bechstein. Many pass the winter on the Coasts of Italy. 
Arct. Zool. § Cook’s last Voy. 1. 362. 


GUILLEMOT, NT, 


2.—LESSER GUILLEMOT. 


Unia minor, Ind. Orn. ii. 797. Gm. Lin. 585. 

Ringuia, Brun. p. 28. No. 111. 

Lesser Guillemot, Gen. Syn. vi. 332. Br. Zool. ii. No. 235. pl. 83. Td. fol, 138. 
Td. 1812. ii. 162. pl. 28. f. 1.  Arct. Zool. Sup. p. 69. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 177. 
Walcot, ii. pl. 97. Orn. Dict. &§ Supp. 


THIS is rather smaller than the Jast. The bill and irides the 
same; the top of the head, including the eyes, hind part of the neck, 
back, wings, and tail, black, behind the eye continued in a streak ; 
sides of the head, beneath the eye, and all the under parts, white; 
greater wing coverts tipped with white; legs black. In some birds 
the black streak behind the eye is much broader. 

The Lesser Guillemot is not near so common as the Foolish 
Species, and only frequents our coasts in winter; is more rare on 
those of Wales; but in the Firth of Forth in innumerable flocks, 
in pursuit of sprats, and there called Morrot, joining in company 
with the Black-billed Auks, on the Coasts of Devonshire. 

Authors do not seem positive whether to rank this bird as distinct, 
or to esteem it as a Variety, or young bird of the Foolish Species; 
and we must confess, that it has hitherto appeared to us rather in the 
latter hight; unless it were perhaps in the winter dress, for we are 
assured that they are not alike at all seasons; but the late Colonel 
Montagu seems confirmed in its being distinct in species, and in this 
view he also held the Black-billed Auk, which Fabricius says,#* 
undergoes a change according to the season, having the cheeks, 
and all the under parts, white, in the winter: as to ouselves, we are 
not prepared to give a determined opinion on the subject, from 
experience, and recommend to the readers a sensible dissertation by 
Col. Montagu, in the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary. 


* Faun. groenl. p. 7. 


78 GUILLEMOT. 


3.—BRUNNICH’S GUILLEMOT. 


Unia Troille, Brun. No.109. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 538. 
—— Francsii, Lin. Trans. xii. p.588. (Dr. Leach) Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 924. Ross's 
Voy. App. p.lii. Parry's App. p. ccix. 


LENGTH seventeen inches; extent of wing two feet; weight 
two pounds six ounces. Inside of the throat yellow; irides dark ; 
throat and neck sooty brown; head black; hind part of the head 
and neck, back and wings dark sooty brown, the wings being lightest, 
and the secondaries tipped with white; the feathers of the neck have 
a peculiar smoothness and softness; from the eye to the hindhead is: 
a line, occasioned by a division of the feathers; belly and all beneath 
pure white, running up to a point in the neck ; the feathers are very 
thick, and on being removed, a dark down appears between them 
and the skin; legs marbled brown and yellowish ; claws black. 

This is the description of Captain Sabine, who, as well as Dr. 
Leach, thinks it to be a Species distinct from the Foolish Guillemot. 
Brunnich observes, that it is like the last named in every particular, 
except in having a broader and shorter bill, and that even in dried 
specimens the edges of it are yellowish. 

This bird was found in great abundance in Davis’s Straits, and 
occasionally in Baflin’s Bay. A specimen, killed on the 10th June, 
had the feathers of the throat mottled with white, whence it may be 
inferred, that it undergoes the same changes from season as the 
Foolish Species. 


4.—BLACK GUILLEMOT. 


Unia Grylle, Ind. Orn. 1. 797. Brun. No. 1138. 

Colymbus Grylle, Lin. i. 220. Fn. suec. No. 148. Gm. Lin. i. 584. Muller, No. 151. 
Act. Nidr. i. 258. t.4. Frisch, t. 185. N.C. Petr. iv. 418. Mart. Spitz. 56. 
t. L. f. B. Bewick, ii. 57.2. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 540. Tem. Man. 609. Id. 
Ed. 2d. 925. Parry’s App. p. ccix. 


GUILLEMOT. 79 


Columbus Groenlandicus, Klein, Av. 168, 2. 

Uria minor nigra, Columba Groenlandica, Bris. vi. 76.3. Id. 8vo. ii. 379. Raii, 

121.6. Will. 245. Ray’s Trav. 183. 192. N. Act. Stock. 1781. 3. No. 4- p. 224. 

Das Schwarze Taucherhuhn, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 772. 

Le petit Guillemot noir, Buf. ix. 354. 

Kaiaver, or Kaier, Hist. Kamts. 157. Ph. Trans. li. p. 481. 

Greenland Dove, Sea Turtle, Alb. ii. pl. 80. Will. Engl. 326. And. Gr. ii. pl. 1. 

Black Guillemot, Gen. Syn. vi. 332. Br. Zool. ii. No. 236. Id. fol. 138. pl. H. 4. 
Td. 1812. ii. p. 163, Arct. Zool. ii. No. 437. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 179. Lewin, vi. 
pl. 221. Id. xlvii—the egg. Walcot, i. pl. 95. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. 
& Supp. Edin. Ph. Journ. No. xiii. p. 101. 


LENGTH fourteen inches, breadth twenty-two ; weight twenty- 
four ounces. Bill one inch and a half long, straight, slender, black, 
the inside of the mouth red; irides brown; general colour of the 
plumage black, except a large portion of white on the wing coverts, 
and the second quills tipped with white; legs scarlet, claws black. 
This is the colour of the adult in the summer dress. |The male and 
female do not differ in plumage. 

This species inhabits the Bass Island, in Scotland, and the Isle 
of St. Kilda, coming to the latter in March; makes the nest far under 
ground, or in a hole in the rock, the end of May, and lays generally 
two eggs, with blackish spots; breeds in numbers in Zetland, where 
the greater part remain throughout the winter: it frequents also the 
Farn Isles, off the Coast of Northumberland, mostly in pairs; they 
dive well, hence are called by some Diving Pigeons.* A few breed. 
annually on the Coasts of Wales, near Tenby,+ and on the rocks 
of Llandidno, in Caernarvonshire:¢ common in the Bay of Dublin 
throughout the summer, and feeds on small fish ; the eggs are eaten 
by the inhabitants, and the skins, with the feathers attached, used 
for warm garments, in the same manner as those of Auks; and the 
skin of the legs serves as a bait to their fishing lines. Is found also 
at Spitzbergen ;§ well known at Kamtschatka, where it multiplies 
among the high rocks in the sea, and whistles very loud; hence 


* Arct Zool. + Orn. Dict. + Arct. Zool. 
§ Phipp’s Voy.—There called Tyste, or Doveca. 


80 GUILLEMOT. 


called by the Cossacs, Ivoshik, or Post Boy: very numerous in all 
seasons at Hudson’s Bay, called there Sesekesewuck; is found also 


about the North Cape of Lapland; the flesh is sometimes eaten, and 
said to be not unpleasant. 


A.—Ind. Orn. ii. 797. Gen. Syn. vi. 333. 1. A. 


Larger than the last. Bill black; plumage the same; several of 
the middle wing coverts tipped with white, forming a broad, oblong, 
spot across the wing; second quills also marked with white, meeting 
first in an acute angle; legs red. 

Inhabits Aoonalashka.—Sir Joseph Banks. 


B.—Uria minor striata, Bris. vi. 78. Id.8vo.ii. 8379. Klein, 146. 12? Tem. Man. 610. 
Id, Ed. ii. p. 926. 
Uria Balthica, Brun. No. 116? 


Spotted Greenland Dove, Gen. Syn. vi. 333. B. Edw. pl.50. Bewick, ii. p. 181. 
Ornith. Dict. 


In this the upper parts are brownish black, transversely barred 
with a darker colour; sides of the head, and all beneath, from the 
chin, dusky white, barred with pale ash-colour; wing coverts white, 
part of them mixed with black ; legs dirty flesh-colour. 


Found at Greenland. This is the winter plumage of the mature 
bird. 


C.—Uria Balthica, Brun. No.115. Gen. Syn. vi. 384. C, 


This has the head, neck, and breast white, very lightly spotted 
with black ; back black, some of the feathers edged with white; the 
belly pure white; wings and tail black, with a white patch on the 
coverts.— Brought from Christiansoe, called there Sildeperris, and is 
a bird in the change of feathers on the approach of winter. 


GUILLEMOT. 81 


D.—Ind. Orn. ii. 798. & Gen. Syn. vi. 334. D. 


In this the upper parts of the body are dusky black; crown mottled 
with white; hind part of the neck inclining to ash-colour; greater 
wing coverts irregularly marked black and white; quills and tail 
black; the under parts of the bird white, with obscure dusky black 
lines, except the chin, which is pure white; legs pale brown ; webs 
dusky.—Supposed to have come from Kamtschatka.—Sir J. Banks. 


E.—Spotted Guillemot, Br. Zool. ii. pl. 83. f.2. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 162. pl. 28. f. 2. 
Gen. Syn. vi. 334. E. 


In this the plumage is black and white in patches above; all 
beneath white. In Brunnich’s bird the belly was also spotted white 
and black. This author supposes it to be a bird of the first year. 


F,—-Uria grylloides, Brun. No. 114. Act. Nidros.i. 268. 


In this the belly is variegated white and black. M. Gunner 
thinks it to be a young bird of the first year; and Fabricius assures 
us, that the unfledged ones are wholly covered with a black down, 
and even the naked parts are black, except the tip of the bill, which 
alone is white. This is manifest from specimens in Mr. Bullock’s 
Museum, where we may observe the young bird to be wholly black, 
after that much mixed with white, and in some approaching nearly 
to white; and finally black, with the white patch on the wing as 
first described. 


VOL. x. M 


8z GUILLEMOT. 


5.—WHITE GUILLEMOT. 


Uria lacteola, Ind. Orn. ii. 798. 
Colymbus lacteolus, Gm. Lin. i. 583. 
Cepphus lacteolus, Pall. Spic. v. p. 33. 
White Guillemot, Gen. Syn. vi. 335. 


SIZE of the Black Guillemot. Bill and eyelids brownish flesh- 
colour; inside of the mouth white; irides brown; head and body as. 
white as snow; back, wings, and base of the tail, pale grey, the 
rest of the last white, and somewhat pointed in shape; quills whitish, 
the shafts inclining to brown, the outer one longest; all the secon- 
daries nearly equal in length; legs dusky flesh-colour, naked far 
above the knees ; claws dusky. | 

Dr. Pallas mentions this bird as a nondescript, met with by him 
on the Coast of Holland ; cast ashore, between the villages of Cat- 
wick and Scheveningen, in the winter, 1760. 


A.—Colymbus novus, Naturf. xiii. 192. Gm. Lin. i. 584. 


In this bird the upper parts are greyish white; breast and belly 
pure white; between the shoulders black; head and neck white; 
on the sides of the head a blackish spot; on the wing some mixture 
of blackish; second quills white at the tips; the bill is black, base 
beneath yellowish, and near the tip an obsolete tooth. 

This bird is said to be of the size of the Teal, and met with on 
the River Rhine. It is probable, that both the last are Varieties of 
the Black Guillemot. 


hea , . & : 
{ “ee fe ¢ 
Mes ot Oe Vem a ? 
Por MET og SOLE ARID a StBh Phan oh Age 


i 


Deana a 


citi 2 
he eam. 


ieee De tie Dd 


OZ Gullenct. 


GUILLEMOT. 83 


6.—MARBLED GUILLEMOT.—PL. cixxt. 


Uria marmorata, Ind. Orn. ii. 799. 
Marbled Guillemot, Gen. Syn. vi. 336. pl. 96. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 438. pl. 22. 


THIS is larger than the Little Auk, and ten inches in length. 
The bill is black, somewhat compressed on the sides, slender, and one 
inch long; crown of the head dusky; upper part of the body 
transversely barred with tawny, chestnut, and blackish brown ; tail 
short and black ; wing coverts dusky, some of the larger edged with 
white; quills black ; chin and throat dusky, blotched irregularly, or 
marbled with white ; sides of the neck plain dusky ; breast and belly 
barred, or marbled with dusky and white, changing to the last 
between the thighs, and on the vent; legs and toes pale orange; 
webs dusky; claws black. Male and female much alike. 

Inhabits Prince William’s Sound, on the west Coast of America; 
from whence the pair, formerly in the Leverian Museum, was 
brought. I also met with one in the possession of Sir Joseph 
. Banks, brought from Kamtschatka, and another in the Museum of 
Mr. Bullock. © 


Sf 


1 


2 


3 


DIVER. 


GENUS CI.—DIVER. 


Northern Diver 4 Red-throated 7 Newcastle 
Imber 5 Speckled 8 Boreal 

A Var. 6 Striped 9 Chinese 
Black-throated 


Bit strong, straight, pointed ; upper mandible the longest, 
edges of each bending inwards. 


Nostrils linear. 


Tongue long, and pointed, serrated on each side near the base. 
Legs compressed. 


Toes four in number, the exterior the longest; the back one 


small, joined to the interior by a small membrane. 


Tail short, consisting of twenty feathers. 


1—NORTHERN DIVER. 


Colymbus glacialis, Ind. Orn. 11.799. Lin. i. 221. Gm. Lin. i. 588. Muller, No. 155. 
Frisch, t. 185. A. Fn. Groen. No. 62. Fn. Amer. No. 16. Ph. Tr. \xii. 420. 
22. Amer. Orn. ix. 84. pl. 74. 3. Shaw's Zool. pl. 1049. Tem. Man. 597. Id. 
Ed. 2d. p. 911. 

Colymbus torquatus, Brun. No. 134, 

Mergus major nevius, Bris. vi. 120. t. 11. f. 2.—adult. Jd. Svo. 11. 392. 

nevius, Bris. vi. 118.—young. Jd. 8vo. ii. 391. 

marinus tessellatus, Robert. Ic. pl. 28. 

Colymbus maximus caudatus, Raii, 125. A. 4. Will. 259. Klein, 141. |. 

stellatus, $265. Scot. ii. 20. t. 15. f. 1. 

— muticus, Great black and white Pied Diver, Bartr. Trav. 293. 

Mergus major nevius, sive arcticus, Gerin. v. t. 507. 

Der Imber, Bechst. Deutsch. iii. 780. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 595. 

Der Eistaucher, Schmid, Vog. p. 160. t. 137. 

L’Imbrim, Buf. vii. 258. pl. 22. Pl. enl. 952. Ph. Trans. x. p. 460.* 

Immer Goose of Zetland, Wern. Trans. iv. pt. i. p. 207. 

Greatest Speckled Diver, or Loon, Albin, iii. pl. 93. Will. Engl. 341. 


DIVER. 85 


Northern Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. 837. Br. Zool, ii. 327. pl. 84. Id. fol. 139. pl. K. 2. 
Td. 1812. ii. 165. pl. 29. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 439. Bew.ii. pl. p. 183. Lew. 
vi. pl. 226. Wale. pl. 90. Don. pl. 58. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn, Dict. & App. 
Frankl. Narr. App. p. 703. Graves, i. 


THIS Species is the largest of the Genus, sometimes weighing 
sixteen pounds, and three feet six inches in length, extent four feet 
eight.* The bill four inches and a half long, and black ; head and 
neck deep black, appearing like velvet; under the chin a patch of 
white, marked with several parallel lines of black; on each side of 
the neck a large portion of the same, elegantly marked with black 
lines, like the first, almost uniting at the back part; sides of the 
breast much the same, but the lines not so numerous ; hind part of 
the neck, back, wing coverts, and scapulars, black, marked with 
round white spots, which grow larger as they are farther downwards; 
and on the scapulars, and part of the larger coverts, the spots are of 
a square form, placed in rows; quills and tail black; wings short, 
breast and belly white; legs black, and placed too far behind to be 
of use in walking. 

The female is less, and the ring on the neck not so distinct. The 
young bird} does not soon gain the complete plumage, as it arrives to 
the full size without having it; hence we suspect, that the bird does 
not get to perfection till the second year, if not longer. 

This Species inhabits several parts of the North of Europe, but 
is not very frequent on our shores, or ever to the southward, except 
in severe winters; for the most part seen on the open sea, where it 
is continually diving for fish, ‘which it does with great agility, and 
flies both high and well: is now and then seen on land, of which 
several instances may be mentioned; one taken alive among the 


* Col. Montagu thinks this weight and measure to be exaggerated, having never met 
with one weighing more than ten pounds, and an old male measured only two feet eight 
inches. 

+ Young birds are without any white spots. This rule seems to hold good in all the 
Genus.— Faun. Groen. 

+ When pursued on the water, it escapes for the most part by diving. 


86 DIVER. 


heath, in Woolmer Forest, in Hampshire ;* this was two feet long, 
and forty-two inches in breadth, probably a young bird. Another 
sent to me from Teignmouth, in February; a third caught alive on 
the sands of Sandwich Bay; Dr. Heysham also mentioned another, 
taken alive near Keswick, in Cumberland, in July, 1781; and Mr. 
Willughby one, taken in the Island of Jersey: in addition to which, 
Colonel Montagu met with one near Penzance, in Cornwall, at some 
distance from the water, in the spring of 1797; this did not seem to 
have any defect, as it lived six weeks in a pond, being supplied with 
fish; but died, appearing to be starved from the want of a sufficient 
quantity.t Is found in the Ferroe Isles,+ also in Greenland, both 
in the open sea, and in fresh waters, frequenting the latter during 
the breeding season ;§ it lays two large brown eggs in June, and 
though it is not strictly migratory, changes places occasionally. Is 
sufficiently plentiful in Norway, and all along the Arctic Coasts, as 
far as the River Ob, in the Russian Dominions. )*>The Barabinzians, 
a nation situated between that River and the Irtiseh, tan the breasts 
of this and of other Water Fowl, and prepare the skins in such a 
manner, as to preserve the down; and sewing a number of them 
together, use them for pelisses, caps, &c.; these garments prove very 
warm, never imbibing moisture, and are more lasting than can be 
imagined. || Is met with also among the Lakes of Hudson’s Bay, 
where the Indians adorn their heads with circlets of the feathers ;4] is 
known there by the name of Athinue-moqua: is rarely seen on the 
sea coasts, but chiefly among the lakes, and called Inland Loon.*** 
Captain Phipps met with it on the Coast of Spitzbergen. 


* Natur. Calend. p. 71. + A young bird of this Species was taken at Oxford, 
the middle of December, 1822.—Dr Williams. + Debes Ferr. Ins. 

§ Is generally a timorous bird; but having young, will defend them to the utmost, in- 
flicting severe, and dangerous strokes with the bill.— Faun. Groenl. 

|| Russza, ii. 234. the downy sideinwards. Jd. iii. 21. G Arct. Zool. 

** Mr. Hutchins. See Obser. on the Col. Immer, by Dr. Arthur, in the Wern. Trans. 
Vol. ii. pt. 1. 


DIVER. 87 


2.-IMBER DIVER. 


Colymbus Immer, Ind. Orn, ii. 800, Lin. i, 222. Gm, Lin,i. 588. Brun. No. 129. 
Muller, p.29. Borowsk. ii. p.60. Act. Nidr.i. 246. Fn. Helvet. Tem. Man. 
598. Id. Ed.2d. 912. Wern. Trans.ii. pt. 1. p. 232. 

Mergus major, Bris. vi. 105. t.10. f. 1. IJd.8vo.ii. 389. Scharf. El. t.48. Gerin. v. 


t. 505. 506. 

Colymbus maximus Gesneri, Radi, 126. Will. 260. § III. Klein, 150. 6. 

Der Imber, Bechst. Deuts. 11. 780. young. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 621? 

Le grand Plongeon, Buf viii. 251. 

Ember Goose, $ibb. Scot. 21. Wall. Ork.16. Debes Ferr. 138.  Pontop. Norw.ii. 80. 

Imber Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. p. 340. Br. Zool.ii. No. 238. pl.84. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 167. 
pl.29. f.1. Will. Engl. p. 342. Arct. Zool. ii. 440. Bewick, ii. p.185. Lewin, 
vi, pl. 227. Wale. pl.99. Don. pl.99. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


THIS is generally less than the last, but varies exceedingly in 
size; the length mostly above two feet, but in some instances much 
beyond it. Irides brown ; the bill is four inches and a half long, at 
least, and dusky brown; forehead and sides of the head and neck 
speckled with brown; the back and wings black brown, the feathers 
margined with paler brown: on the middle of the neck the brown 
comes very forward, and almost surrounds it; about this spotted 
black and white ; except these markings, all beneath, from chin te 
vent, white, but mottled on the latter with brown, and between the 
thighs a band of black; quills and tail brown, feathers of the last 
edged with white; legs dusky. The female chiefly differs in being 
merely brown on the upper parts. 

The Imber, by some called Cobble, as far as respects this 
kingdom, is scarce, only met with in severe seasons, and rarely in 
the southern parts; only one instance has occurred to me of its being 
shot on the Coasts of Kent; and I learn from Dr. Lamb. that it was 
killed near Newbury, in January, 1795, on a piece of water, but 
was shot with great difficulty, as it dived so continually, as to pre- 
clude all true aim being taken. Is rarely seen to fly, but it certainly 
does so occasionally, though not to any distance. 


88 DIVER. 


Is found in the seas about the Orknies, and Ferroe Islands; also 
in Iceland, and most parts of Europe, likewise in Kamtschatka; but 
not in any part of Siberia, or Russia. 

Inhabits Switzerland, particularly on the Lake Constance, where 
it is called Fluder; dives wonderfully well, rising at an amazing 
distance. Makes the nest among the reeds and flags, in the water, 
so that it is continually wet, in the manner of the Grebe; the eggs 
three in number, of a dark olive, spotted with black: has a loud 
shrill cry; not easily taken, either on the land or water, but has 
been caught under the water, by a hook, baited with a small fish.* 


A.—Der unbekannte Taucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 7822 
Lesser Imber, Bewick, ii. pl. p. 187. Orn. Dict. Supp. 


Length two feet one inch, breadth three feet two inches; weight 
three pounds eight ounces. Bill black, and horn-colour, tinged 
with blue; nostrils very near the base; tongue pointed; irides brown ; 
crown and back of the neck, mouse-colour; scapulars, back, ramp, 
tail, and wings, black, edged with grey; quills black; tail very 
short, rounded; under side of the body silvery white, except a brown 
bar, crossing the vent; inner coverts of the wings white; legs black 
and grey, tinged with blue; webs flesh-colour. This was shot on 
Windermere Lake, in Westmoreland, in December, 1794; and is 
probably the Imber, in imperfect plumage. 

M. Temminck is of opinion, that the Imber itself is merely an 
incomplete Northern Diver; which, it is said, does not get the com- 
plete dress till the third year; yet we think it not unlikely, that it 
may breed before it arrives at full maturity of plumage, as some 
birds are known to do, and hence may have arisen the supposition of 
being distinct species. 


* Sometimes taken twenty yards deep under water, viz. with a net or iron hook, baited 
with a fish ; are commonly sold for two drachms and a half of silver, a piece—Willughby. 


DIVER. 89 


3.—BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 


Colymbus arcticus, Ind. Orn. ii. 800. Lin. i. 221. Fn. suec. No. 150. Gm. Lin. }. 
587. It. Goth. 841. Brun. No. 133. Muller, No. 154. Bes/. Mus. 31. t. 17. 
Ruii, 125. 7. Will. 259. t.62. Frisch, Sup. p. 185. A. Act. Nidr. i. 140. t. 
2. f.1. Jacq. Vog. 22. t.7. Borowsk. iii. p. 59.4. Fn. Helv. Bartr. Tr. p. 
293. Amen. ac. iv. 587. Tem. Man. 600. Id. Ed. 2d. 914. 

Mergus gutture nigro, Bris. vi. 115. Id. 8vo. 11. 391. 

Grand Plongeon, Pl. enl. 914.—young bird. 

Mergus arcticus, Klein, 141, 2. Id. Ov. 35, t. 21. f. 1. 

Der Schwarzkehlige Taucher, Bechst. Deuts. iii 775, Id. Ed. 2d. 914. 

Polarente, Naturf. xii. 140. 

Lumme, Buf. viii. 262. Worm. Mus. 304. t.Q.Q. Mus. Haff.i. t. 1. No. 2. 

Wormius’s Doucher, called Lumme, Will. Engl. 343.§ ILI. p. 62. 2. 

Black-throated Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. 343. Br. Zool. ii. No. 241. pl. 85. f.2. Id. 

1812. ii. 170. pl. 30. f.2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 444, Edw. pl. 146.  Bewick, ii. 
p- 195. Lewin, vi. pl. 229. Orn, Dict. 

THIS is about two feet in length. The bill nearly three inches, 
slender, and black; hind part of the head and neck ash-colour; 
sides of the last white, spotted with black ; on the fore part of the 
neck a large black patch, five inches long, changing to purple and 
green, in different lights; back and upper parts black; scapulars 
marked with square spots of white; wing coverts the same, but with 
round spots; breast and belly white; quills dusky ; tail short, black ; 
legs black, with a tinge of red on the inside. 

This bird is now and then found in England, in hard winters, 
but is not common; is more plentiful in Austria, and other parts of 
Germany; more frequent in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark ; and 
in the inland Lakes of Siberia; especially those of the Arctic 
Regions; also in Iceland, Greenland, and the Ferroe Isles; said to 
make a great noise against rain; hence the Norwegians think it 
impious to destroy this species; but the Swedes, less superstitious, 
dress the skins, which like all of the Genus, are exceedingly tough, 
so as to be used for gun-cases, and facings for winter caps; is seen 
about the Caspian Sea, in March. 


* Amen. ac. iv. 587. + Arct. Zool. + Faun. suec. 
VOL. X. , N 


90 DIVER. 


It is found also in America. Mr. Edwards received it from 
Hudson’s Bay, where it is called Moqua. The egg, according to 
Klein, is white, marked with four or five dusky specks. Mr. 
Ekmarck* observes, that it is every where known in the northern 
Lakes of Sweden; leaving them in autumn for the neighbouring 
Provinces of Germany, but scarcely going farther. 


4.—RED-THROATED DIVER. 


Colymbus septentrionalis, Ind. Orn. ii. 801. Lin. 1. 220. = Borowsk. iii. p. 58. 3. 
Fn. groenl. No. G61. Lan. Trans. xii. p. 542. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 703. 

Colymbus Lumme, Brun. p. 39. No. 182. Muller, No, 153. 

-— arcticus collo rufo, Act. Nidr. i. 244 t. 2. f. 2. 

Mergus gutture rubro, Bras. vi. JIL. t. 11. f. 1. Jd. 8vo.n. 390. Klein, 142.3. 
Tem. Man. 603. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 917. Parr. App. p. ccix. 

Rothhalsiger Taucher, Sch. d. Berl. Nat. vn. 459. Besek. Kurl. 53. No. 53. No. 100. 
Beckst. Deuts. iv. G09. 

Plongeon a gorge rouge, Buf. vii. 264. Pl. enl. 308. 

Red-throated Diver, Gen. Syn. v. 344. Br. Zool. i. No. 240. pl. 85. 1. Id fol. 140. 
Id. Ed. 1812. ii. 169, pl. 30. f. 1. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 443. Hdw. pl. 97. Bew. 
ii. pl. p. 193. Lewin, vi. pl. 230. Wale.i. pl. 100. Don. pl. 78. Pult. Dors. 
p- 17. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH two feet five inches; weight three pounds. Bill three 
inches long, black, and slender; the head and chin cinereous, dotted 
with brown ; the rest of the head, sides of the neck, and throat ash- 
colour; hind part of the neck longitudinally streaked with dusky 
and white; the throat and part of the neck fine chestnut red; from 
thence the under parts are white; upper parts of the body, wings, 
and tail dusky, the two first marked with a few white spets; the tail 
plain; thighs streaked dusky and white; legs dusky, tinged with red 
in some lights. 

This, ike the former, is not met with southward, except in severe 
winters; breeds in the northern parts of Scotland, on the borders, of 


* Amen. ac. 


DIVER. 91 


the lakes: found in Russia, Siberia, and Kamtschatka,* but does not 
haunt the inland lakes; common in Iceland and Greenland, breeds 
in the last in June,t laying two ash-coloured eggs, the size of those 
of the Hen, but more elongated, marked with scattered black spots ; 
observed to breed in separate pairs, no two nests being found at a 
moderate distance of each other, or in the same lake; the nest made 
on the shore, of moss and grass, near the water; it swims and dives 
well, and flies admirably, when it is very noisy, especially in cloudy 
weather; more often met with on fresh waters than those of the sea; 
feeds on small fish, crabs, and sea insects; and the skin is put to the 
same uses as that of the Black-throated Species. 

Inhabits America ; found at Hudson’s Bay in the summer, ap- 
pearing as soon as the rivers are open; lays there in June, and lines 
the nest with down from the breast; the young fly before the end 
of August; depart in September. They are called by the natives 
Assee-moqua. They prey much on the fish entangled in the nets; 
but are often thereby caught themselves. + 


5.—SPECKLED DIVER. 


Colymbus stellatus, Ind. Orn. ii. 800. Gm. Lin. i. 587. Brun. No. 130. Muller, 
No. 159. 

Colymbus cristatus stellatus, Maturf. xxi. 9. 

maximus caudatus, Ratz, 125. A. 4. Var? Jill. 258. t.61. Klein, 141. k. 

Mergus minor, Bris. vi. 108. t. 10. f. 2. Jd. 8vo. ii. 389. Fn. Helv. 

Plotus claudicans, Scop.i. No. 93. Klein, Stem. t. 87. f. 2. a. b. 

Colymbus caudatus stellatus, NV. C. Petr. iv. p. 424. Will. t. 62. 

Der gesprenkelte Taucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii, 778. 

Le petit Plongeon, Buf. viii. 254. pl.21. Pl, enl. 992. 


* Hist. Kamtsch. translated by Dr. Greive, p. 161. The spot on the fore part of the 
neck is here called clay-colour. 

ft Said to breed also on the more unfrequented lakes of Zetland.—Orn. Dict. Supp. 
Mr. Bullock found a nest with two eggs, in the Isle of Hoy. 

¢ Fourteen have been taken out of a single net at one tide.—Mr. Hutchins. Other spe- 
cies are also taken in the same manner, 


N 2 


92 DIVER. 


Speckled Diver, or Loon, Gen. Syn. vi. 841. Br. Zool. ii. No. 239. Id. fol. 139. 
pl. K.*, fd. 1812. ii. 168. Albin, i. pl. 82. Arect. Zool.ii. No. 441. Bewick, ii. 
pl. p. 189. Lew. vi. pl. 228. Wale. i. pl. 101. Pult. Dors. p.17. Orn. Dict. 


SMALLER than the last. The bill three inches long, and tends 
a trifle upwards, pale horn-colour, upper ridge dusky ; irides fine 
red brown; the head dusky, dotted with grey; neck behind plain 
dusky; sides under the eye, the chin, and throat, white; fore part 
of the neck pale ash; back dusky, with oval spots of white ; sides 
of the breast and body the same, but the spots smaller, those on the 
rump and tail minute; breast and under parts white; quills dusky ; 
tail of twenty feathers; legs brown; webs and claws pale. 

This bird varies in size; one brought to me in Kent, weighed 
three pounds six ounces, and every way large in proportion ; irides 
fine red brown; across the vent, between the legs, a bar of black; the 
tail consists of twenty feathers, dark ash-colour, tipped with white ; 
each feather, from the lower part of the neck behind, quite to the 
rump, marked near the end, with two white dots, placed obliquely ; 
the rump itself plain. 

This bird is pretty frequent in England ; common on the River 
Thames, and called by the fishermen, Sprat-Loon ; and in the lower 
part of Kent, Cobble, and Sprat-Barrow ; being often seen in vast 
numbers among the shoals of that fish, diving after them, and fre- 
quentiy approaching very near to the boats, while fishing; is not 
seen here in the warmer months, as it retires then towards the north 
to breed ; said to lay generally two dusky brown eggs, in the grass, 
about the size of those of the Goose, and marked with some spots of 
black ; it breeds, among others, between Loch Lomond and Caithness, 
makes a great noise before storms, and called Fur-bhuachaille.* 

It is common about the Baltic and White Seas, but not observed 
in other parts of Russia, yet is a native of Kamtschatka. They are 
frequent about fish ponds, in France; and we have twice had them 
brought to us, shot at some distance from any large river; once in 
January, and another time in February. 


* Tour in Scotland, p. 107. 


DIVER. 93 


Inhabits North America; seen at New York in the winter, depart- 
ing northward in the spring to breed. The circumstance of the 
Puffin being able to make its way under water, with a rapidity not 
easily to be imagined, has been already mentioned ; and we are 
informed by Col. Montagu, that the same thing occurs in respect to 
the Speckled Diver, which he had an opportunity of noticing ; and 
proved, that by walking and running in a straight line by the side 
of a canal, the bird proceeded by swimming on the surface, at the 
rate of four miles and a half in an hour, and under the surface 
between six and seven.* 


6.—STRIPED DIVER. 


Colymbus striatus, Ind. Orn. 11. 802. Gm. Lin. 1, 586. 
Striped Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. 345. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 442. 


WEIGHT from two to three pounds. Bill three mches long, 
black ; head and neck light grey, striped longitudinally with narrow 
black lines; back and scapulars plain dusky; primaries, tail, and 
legs the same ; cheeks, and all beneath the body, dusky white. 

Inhabits the inland lakes of Hudson’s Bay, about 100 miles south 
of York Fort ; lays two eggs in June; flies high, and during flight 
makes a great noise, which is thought to portend rain; is detested 
by the natives, who think this cry to be supernatural ;+ called at 
Hudson’s Bay, Mathe moqua.t 

M. Temminck, in his Manuel, considers the Speckled Diver to 
be a bird of the first, and the Striped One of the second year, and 
both incompletely plamaged individuals of the Red-throated Species. 
Mr. Edmondston is disposed to consider the Black-throated and Red- 
throated Divers as one and the same, and that the Speckled One 
is the young of the latter: hence he would infer, that the whole 
of the above described constitute only two Species—the Colymbus 


* Orn. Dict. Supp. t+ Arct. Zool. + Mr. Hutchins. 


94 DIVER. 


Glacialis, and Septentrionalis :* be it so or not, we have thought right 
to detail the descriptions of authors, to point out to the reader the 
variety of dresses in which these birds appear in their progress to 
-perfection. 


7.—NEWCASTLE DIVER. 
Second Speckled Diver, Bewick, ii. pl. p. 191. 


THE length of this bird is two feet four inches; weight full 
three pounds;+ extent of wing three feet four inches. The bill to 
the gape more than three inches, colour purplish white; irides 
brown ; head and neck behind, hoary, dark ash-colour; but on a 
nearer view the feathers of the crown and brow are dark in the 
middle, edged with light grey; from the nape larger, and the grey 
edges less defined ; cheeks and throat white, freckled with numerous, 
brownish, ash-coloured spots, but on the fore part of the neck inclin- 
ing more to brown ; upper parts of the body black brown; greater 
coverts and quills marked with oblong, oval, white spots; under 
parts of the body white; tail brown.—A pair of these were shot on 
the Tyne, at Newcastle, in January. 


8.—BOREAL DIVER. 


Colymbus borealis, Ind. Orn. ii. 801. Brun. Na. 13). 


THE general colour of this bird is dusky above, marked with 
numerous white spots; the under parts white; fore part of the neck 
sparingly marked with rufous. 

This was killed near Copenhagen, but is probably not a distinct 
species; and is most likely, as well as the last described, belonging 
to the Red-throated Species. 


* Wern. Trans, V. iv. pt. 1. p. 212. + One of them weighed only two 
pounds and a half, 


OG LY, 


SHEXOGE Dall 


DIVER. 95 


9,.—CHINESE DIVER.—PL. cixxi. 


Colymbus Sinensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 802. Gm. Lin. i. 586, 

Chinese Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. 345. pl. 97. 

SIZE uncertain. Bill dusky ; irides ash-colour ; upper parts of 
the head, neck, body, wings, and tail dusky greenish brown ; the 
middle of the feathers much darker; fore part of the neck the same, 
but paler; chin pale rufous; the breast and under parts pale rufous 
white, marked with dusky rufous spots; quills and tail plain brown, 
the last short; legs ash-colour. 

Supposed to inhabit China, as I saw it among some other well 
painted drawings at Sir J. Banks’s; it was in the attitude of fishing, 
with a brass ring round the neck like the annexed figure. 

From the various and uncertain accounts of authors, we are not 
clear how many birds the Chinese use for catching fish: the custom, 
however, of doing so, is manifest, from the relations of many 
travellers: when used for this purpose it has a ring fastened round 
the neck, to prevent its swallowing, and to this a slender, long 
string is fastened ; and, thus accoutred, is taken by its master into his 
fishing boat, from the edge of which it is tanght to plunge after 
the fish, as they swim by; and as the ring prevents their passing 
further downwards, they are taken from the mouth of the bird as fast 
as they are caught; in this manner, sometimes, a great many are 
procured in a few hours: when the keeper of the bird has taken a 
sufficient quantity for himself, the ring is removed, and the poor 
slave suffered to satisfy its own hunger.* 

We do not assert that this bird is the one most commonly used 
for the above purpose, but have thought proper to figure it, as a 
species, if not new, at least as not generally known; and probably, 
from the circumstance of its situation in the drawing, may prove one 
of the birds employed on this occasion. 


* See an account of this method of fishing-in Du Halde’s History of China. Osbeck's 
Voy. ii. p. 35. Salmon. Mod. Hist. i. p. 18. Will. Orn. p. 329. and many other authors. 
For a further account, see Article Corvorant. 


96 SKIMMER. 


GENUS CII.—SKIMMER. 


Black Skimmer \| A Var. 


THE bill in this Genus is greatly compressed, the lower mandible 
much longer than the upper, and truncated at the end. 
Nostrils linear, near the edge, pervious. 


Feet with four toes, palmated, slender, the hind toe very small. 
Vail forked. 


BLACK SKIMMER.—PL. cixxitt. 


Rhynchops nigra, Ind. Orn. 11. 802. Lin. i. 228. Gm. Lin.i. 611. Borowsk. iii. 26. 
t. 36. Bartr. Tr. 293. Nat. Misc. pl. 325. 

Rygchopsalia, Bris. vi. 223. t. 21,2. Jd.8vo.ii. 421. Gerin. v. t. 548. 

Avis Maderaspatana major Novacule facie, Raii, 194, 5. t. 1. f. 5. 

Carolinensis rostro cultriformi, Petiv. Gaz. t. 76. f. 2.—the bill. Edw. pi. 281. 

Plotus rostro conico inequali, Klein, Av. 142. 2. 

Le Bec en Ciseaus, Buf. vi. 454. pl. 36. Pl. enl. 357. 

Coupeur d’Eau, Deser. Surin. 11. 291. Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 408. 

Bee de hache, ou Pied rouge, Hist. Louis. 11. 117. 

Der Scheerenschnabel, Schmid, Vog. p. 138. t. 121. 

Cutwater, Catesb. Car. i. pl. 90. 

Black Skimmer, Gen. Syn. vi. 347. pl. in frontisp. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 445. View of 
Hindoost. ii. p. 42. Amer. Orn. vii. 85. pl. 60. f. 4. 


SIZE of the Black Guillemot ; length eighteen inches, breadth 
three feet. The bill is of a singular structure, the upper mandible 
being above an inch shorter than the under, which is four inches 
and a half long; both are greatly compressed on the sides, and both 
sharp on the edges, but the upper is bifid beneath, so as to admit of 
the under one entering the shallow groove, like a razor shutting inte 
its handle; the base of the bill is red, the rest black, and on the 
sides are several furrows; the forehead, chin, and all the under parts 
are white; the rest of the head, and upper parts of the body and 
wings dusky black; across the latter a bar of white; the tail forked, 


A 


b 


S 


PL.CLXXUE. 


pe 


é ga 122 222 772 
. TEM PPE PREL F. 


SKIMMER. 97 


two middle feathers black ; the next on each side the same, margined 
outwardly with white; the four outer white, dashed with dusky 
down the shafts, but least so on the outmost feathers; legs weak, 
red, claws crooked, black ; the greater quills exceed the secondaries 
by eight inches at least; and the wings, when at rest, are longer than 
the tail by three inches. 

Both sexes are nearly alike; but some birds are brown instead of 
black, and the white less pure. These are probably young. 

This singular bird inhabits America, from New York to Guiana, 
Cayenne, and Surinam; and extends to Paraguay, Buenos Ayres, 
and Brazil. The Guaranis call it Hati-guazu, from its having a 
forked tail, like Hatis or Tern; the Spaniards Rayador, Breaker, or 
Cutter, from its dividing or cutting the water with the bill ;* known 
in:Guiana by the name of Taya-Taya; and at New York, Skippog; 
and by some the Razor-bill. It flies generally close to the surface 
of the water, with the under mandible in the water, and the gape 
wide open, so that on meeting with any prey the mouth is immedi- 
ately closed; the food supposed to be small fish principally, and it 
is rarely seen otherwise than on the wing, though in stormy weather 
it is said to seek the shores: mostly found single, or in pairs, except 
in breeding time; it can swim well, but walks ungracefully. 

They breed along the shores of Cape May, in New Jersey, and 
form themselves, early in June, into small societies, 15 or 20 pairs, 
frequently breeding within a few yards of each other; the nest a 
mere hollow in the sand; the female lays three eggs, nearly oval, of 
a clear white, with large, round, brownish black spots, and others 
like pale Indian ink; half a bushel, or more, has sometimes been 
collected from one sand bar, within the compass of half an acre. 
They have somewhat of a fishy taste, but are eaten by many people; 


the voice is harsh and screaming, resembling that of a Tern, but 


* The report of these birds frequenting the oyster beds, and feeding on them, is said to 
be without foundation. 
VOL. X. O 


98 SKIMMER. 


stronger. After the young are able to leave the country, the Skimmers 
take their departure. 

It is not uncommon in the East Indies, both on the Malabar 
Coast, and that of Coromandel ; called at Madras, Coddal Cauka, or 
Summoodra Cauky: we learn this from various Indian drawings. It 
is also found on the African Coast ; a specimen, in the collection of 
Mr. H. Brogden, having been brought from Senegal ; but I observe 
in this, that the bill is wholly orange, except towards the end, which 
is horn-coloured. 


A.—Rhynchops fulva, Ind. Orn.ii. 803. Lin.i. 229. Gm. Lin.i. 611. Bor. iii, 262. 
Rygchopsalia fulva, Bris. vi. 227. A. Id. 8vo. ii. 422. Gen. Syn. vi. 348. A. 


This differs from the other, in having those parts of a fulvous 
colour which in that are black brown; otherwise it entirely agrees. 
Inhabits Guiana, and is probably a mere Variety. 


TERN. 


GENUS CIII.—TERN. 


99 


1 Caspian Tern 14 Egy ptian 29 Minute 
A Var. 15 Mustachoe 30 Black 
B Var. 16 Simple 31 Kamtscatchan 
C Var. 17 Marsh 32 Black-headed 
2 Crested 18 Gull-billed 33 Cinereous 
3 Sooty A Var. 34 Surinam 
4 New-Holland 19 Roseate 85 Chinese 
5 Tehary 20 Common 36 Javan 
6 Brown-bellied 21 Arctic 37 Black-naped 
7 Noddy 22 Wreathed 38 Hoary 
8 Philippine A Var. 39 Southern 
9 Sandwich 23 Crimson-billed 40 White-winged 
A Var. 24 Black-eyed 41 Cayenne 
B Var. 25 Waved 42 Dove-coloured 
10 African 26 Sumatran 43 Georgian 
11 White-browed 27 Grey 44 Brown 
12 Striated 28 Panayan 45 Dusky 
13 White A Var. 46 Short-tailed 


BIRDS of this Genus have a straight, slender, 


and pointed bill. 


Tongue slender, sharp. 
Wings long. ‘Tail forked. 
Feet webbed, weak, back toe small. 


1.—CASPIAN TERN. 


Sterna Caspia, Ind. Orn. ii. 803. Gm. Lin.i. 603. NW. C. Petr. xiv. 582. t.22. Act. 
Holm. 1782. iii. 221. Fn. suec. Retz. p. 126. 

Sterna Tschegrava, N. C. Petr. xiv. 500. t.13. 2. Sonn. Buf. xxiv. p. 117. 

Sterna maggiore, Gerin. v. 540. 

Larus atricilla, N. C. Petr. xv. 478, t. 22. f. 2. 

Caspische Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 825. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 675. 

Caspian Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. p.350.  Arct. Zool. ii. 526. B. Id. Sup. p.70. Phil. 
Voy. 160. pl. p. 77. 


LENGTH twenty-two inches; breadth three feet or more. Bill 


crimson ; irides dusky; forehead, crown, hindhead, and round the 


O02 


100 TERN. 


eyes deep black, here and there dotted with white; on the lower 
eyelid a small whitish crescent; the hind part of the neck and all 
the upper parts of the body are hoary ; fore part and sides of the 
neck, all beneath the body, the ramp, and tail pure white, the last 
forked; the first six quills deep ash-colour, the margins and_ tips 
blackish ; the others like the back; legs black. Pallas’s bird had 
the bastard wing marked with sagittal black spots; legs reddish 
brown.—This is very frequent in the Caspian Sea, and neighbouring 
parts, about the mouth of the Jaick; wandering at times up the 
great River Ob, even towards the Frozen Ocean ; frequents also the 
rivers, fishing much in the same manner as the Black-headed Gull; 
sometimes seen suspended in the air, and then all at once darting 
into the water after a fish; at others skimming the surface, like a 
Swallow. Mixes with the Gulls on the rocks; lays two pretty large 
eggs, spotted with. brown; the note like, a person laughing... The 
Rassians call it Tschegrava. 


A.—=Gen, Syn. vi. 851. Var. A. Ind: Orn. ii.- 804i 1. By 


This is a trifle smaller. Bill stout, three inclies and a half long, 
and deep red; top of the head and sides, taking in the eyes, black, 
spotted with white; the rest of the head, neck, and under parts, 
white; back hoary; quills pale grey, with white shafts; on the 
scapulars a few dusky spots; tail short, forked, crossed with a few 
dusky bars, near the end; the wings exceed it in length by three 
inches; legs black.—Inhabits Bombay, and called Talla; is found 
also in New-Holland, . 


A.—Sterna Caspica Var. Mus. Carls. fase. iii. No.62. Ind. Orn. ii, 804. 


In thisithe-bill is crimson; the plumage chiefly differs in having 
the crown of the head plain black; back and wing coverts inclining 
to lead-colour, hoary, or silvery white; the quills reach much 
beyond the end of the tail. 


TERN. 101 


Found frequently on the sea shores of Sodermanland; called by 
the Swedes, Skranmase. In the Carlsonian Museum is a Variety, 
with a white bill; crown of the head mixed black and white; the 
region of the ears black ; the back and wings are cinereous; tips of 
the prime quills black. This probably is a young bird, but whether 
of the Caspian or Cayenne Species does not seem quite clear. 


C.—Bill orange ; crown black ; the plumage much as in the last 
described ; the outer tail feather reaches three inches, or more, beyond 
the adjoining one, but the others are moderately forked ; the outmost: 
as far as it exceeds the other pure white; legs red. 

This is found in India, about Lucknow. In the drawings of Lord 
Mountnorris is a further Variety, with the crown mottled white and 
ash-colour, and a dusky mark about the ear. 


2.—CRESTED TERN. 
Caspian Tern, Phill. Voy. 160. pl. p. 177. Gen. Syn. vi. 351. 1. Var. B. 


LENGTH nineteen or twenty inches. Bill three, stout, pale 
yellow ; nostrils pervious; the crown of the head black, the feathers 
longish, forming a kind of pensile crest at the nape; the rest of the 
head, neck, and under parts of the body white; back and wings 
pale cinereous grey; quills grey, with the ends dusky; inner webs, 
half way from the base, white; tail grey, forked, the end half of 
the feathers white; the shafts of the quills and tail white, the last 
shortest by an inch; legs black. The supposed female has the 
crown somewhat mottled with grey, and. the wings darker coloured. 

Inhabits China: we have seen one,. greatly resembling, from 
the Friendly Isles, in the South Seas; it is also found at. Hapaee, one 
of the Sandwich Islands; it appears to be not unfrequent in New- 
Holland, and there called Gerra-gerra. Is probably allied to the 
Caspian Tern. 


102 TERN. 


3.—SOOTY TERN.—PL. cixxiv. 


Sterna fuliginosa, Ind. Orn. ii. 804. Gm. Lin. i. 605. 

Hirondelle de Mer a grand envergure, Buf. viii. 345. Am. Orn. viii. 145. pl. 72. f. 7. 

Egg Bird, Forst. Voy.i. 115. Cook’s Voy.i. 66. 275. 

Noddy, Damp. Voy. iii. pt.i. p. 142. pl. p. 123. f.5. Hawkesw. Voy. iii. 652. 

Sooty Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 352. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 447. 

SIZE of the Noddy; length sixteen inches. Bill two inches and 
a half, black ; the forehead white, passing on each side to the upper 
part of the eye, and ending in a point; through the eye a streak of 
black, passing to the hindhead; the crown, neck behind, and all 
the upper parts, wings, and tail black; the under, from the chin, 
white, passing a little backward at the lower part of the neck; the 
under wing coverts and inner ridge of the wing white; quills dark 
greyish black ; tail forked; outer web of the exterior feather white, 
except just at the tip; the shafts of both quills and tail are white. 
beneath; legs black. Both sexes are nearly alike. 

This species has been met with in various parts, by our voyagers. 
In the Island of Ascension are seen in prodigious numbers, so as 
to darken the air. Dampier observed them near the Coast of New- 
Holland, and in great plenty off the Roca Islands, near Tortuga, * 
where he has found the nests; and between New Soutii Wales and 
New Guinea one of them settled on the rigging of a ship:t+ it also 
sometimes strays farther south, having been seen in latitude 48. 38. ¢ 
Most sailors agree, that this, and others of the Noddy Tribe, seldom 
go above 70 or 80 leagues from land; but Captain Cook says, this 
is not always to be relied on. The specimen in my collection came 
from Christmas Island, where it is gregarious; it Jays a single egg 
on the bare ground, in the month of December, making no nest. 

It is also found in North America: Sir Ashton Lever received it 
from New York, from whence General Davies also had a specimen. 
T have likewise seen a third from Cayenne. 

* Damp. Voy.ii. pt. 1. p. 143. Vol. i. p. 53. + Hawkesw. Voy. iti. 652. 

+ Forst. Voy.i. 113. Cook’s Voy.i. p. 66. 


PIL. C LXGXaiv; 


TERN. 103 


4.—NEW-HOLLAND TERN. 


LENGTH fourteen or fifteen inches. Bill one inch and a half, 
black, curved at the tip; irides blue; tongue longish, and pointed ; 
top of the head and behind the neck brown; back the same, but 
darker, and mottled ; forehead and all beneath white; quills brown, 
reaching much beyond the end of the tail; legs brown, bare greatly 
above the knee.—Inhabits New-Holland. Mr. Lambert. 


5.—TEHARY TERN. 


SIZE uncertain.* Bill stout and black; irides dusky; head, 
neck, and under parts, white ; from the middle of the crown to the 
nape black; back, wings, and tail, pale cinereous blue, the last 
moderately forked, the wings exceed it by about two inches; legs 
deep, dull red, the webs between the toes reach about half way. 

Inhabits India, in some parts called Kohurry, or Gohurry. 

In General Hardwicke’s drawings is one, probably differing in 
sex. The bill black; forehead white, the rest of the crown tinged 
with blue; with dusky streaks before, and dusky black behind the 
eye; communicating with the nape and neck adjoining, which are 
of the same colour; under parts from the chin white; wings and tail 
fine pale grey; the second quills marked with brown at the ends 
and middle; back greyish ash-colour, marked with large spots of 
dusky, pointed at the back part; tail moderately forked; the quills 
exceed it by three inches; legs dusky red; the toes webbed only 
one-third from the base. 

Inhabits India, known by the name of Peteysee Tehary. 


6.—BROWN-BELLIED TERN. 


LENGTH nearly twelve inches. Bill two inches, fine orange, 
near the base red; crown, even with the eye, black ; back and wings 


* In the Drawing, nine inches. 


104 TERN. 


brownish, or bluish lead-colour; quills dusky ; forehead, jaws, chin, 
and throat, white; from thence to the vent fine chocolate brown; 
thighs the same, but the lower half to near the joint is white; 
rump dusky; upper tail coverts chocolate, and end in a point, 
reaching to three-fourths of the length of the tail, which is white, 
and forked; the quills somewhat exceed it in length; legs red. 

Inhabits India, called in the Province of Oude, Bugheeah. 
From the drawings of Lord Mountnorris, and General Hardwicke. 
Said to be found at Cawnpore, in May and June. In one drawing 
the under parts are dusky black, not chocolate brown; the black on 
the crown spotted with white; and the quills exceed the length of 
the tail by more than one inch. 

The female has the crown purplish brown, with a darker mixture, 
and the markings in general are much the same; but the belly is not 
black, and the upper parts of the body, wings, and tail, are pale 
ash-coloer. 


7.—NODDY TERN. 


Sterna stolida, Ind. Orn. 11. 805. Lin. 1. 227. Ameen. ac. iv. 420. Gm. Lin.i. 605. 
Borowsk. iii. 51. t. 42. Bartr. Tr. 293. Spalowsk. in. t. 25. 

Passer stultus, Ratz, 154. Will..297. Id. Engl. 38. 

Gavia fusca, Bris. vi. 199. 15. t.. 18. f.2. Id.S8yo. i. 414. Klein, 139. 15. 

Le Fou, Hist. de la Louis. ii. 119. 

La Mouette brune, Pl. enl. 997. 

Noddy, Gen. Syn. vi. 354.  Arct. Zool. ii. No. 446. Buf. vii. 461. pl. 37. Sloan. 
Jam. i. p. 31. pl. 6. f.2. Brown, Jam. 481. | Cat. Car.i.. pl. 88... Damp. iii. 
pt. 1. pl. p. 123. f. 6. 


LENGTH fifteen inches; weight four ounces. Bill.two- inches, 
slender, and black ; the whole plumage sooty brown, except: the top 
of the head, which is white, changing at the hind part to ash-colour; 
quills and tail darker than the rest; legs black. 

This bird is seen very frequently at sea; but chiefly within the’ 
Tropics, and frequently flies on board the ships, so as to be easily 
taken ; but, though seemingly thus stupid, will often bite severely 


TERN. 105 


with the bill, and scratch with the claws, so as to make it unsafe to 
be held by an unguarded hand. When flying about in flocks they 
are very noisy, but particularly in breeding time: they lay the 
eggs in vast numbers on certain small rocky Isles, near St. Helena, 
and the eggs are thought good; some voyagers aftirm, that the sight 
of this bird at sea, as well as of other Terns, shews the vicinity of 
land; but this does not always prove the case. From their stupidity, 
they are called by the sailors, Noddies. At Otaheite, known by the 
name of Oiyo. They breed also in the Bahama Islands, laying the 
eggs on the bare rocks; and on the Roca Islands, and various parts of 
the Coasts of Brazil, and Cayenne, they likewise breed in abundance ; 
and at that season are seen in great flights, near the surface of 
the water, continually dropping on the small fish, which are driven 
‘to the top, to shun the persecution of the greater. Have a variety 
of notes, and the whole air resounds with their noise: when the time 
of incubation is past, they disperse over the ocean. 


8.—PHILIPPINE TERN. 


Sterna Philippina, Ind. Orn. ii. 805. 
Le petit Fouquet des Philippines, Son. Voy. 125. pl. 85. 
Philippine Tern, Gen. Syn. Sup. 267. 


THIS is double the size of the Common Tern. The bill bent, 
black, and pointed at the end; the upper part of the head even with 
the eye, white ; at the base of the bill a narrow stripe of black, which 
surrounds the eye, and finishes in a point; neck, breast, and belly, 
vinaceous grey; above the same, but deeper; quills, tail, and legs, 
black.—Inhabits the Philippine Islands; is often found at a great 
distance from land. 


VOL. X. P 


106 TERN. 


9.—SANDWICH TERN. 


Sterna Boysii, Ind. Orn. ii. 806. 

Cantiaca, Gm. Lin. i. 606. Lin. Trans. xii. 329. 

media, rostro, pedibus, et occipite nigro, Gerin. v. t. 545. 

Cantiaca, Hirondelle de Mer, Caugek, Tem. Man.479. Id. Ed. 2d. 735. 

Petto bianca dicta, Gerin. v. t.'546. 

Greater Sea Swallow, Albin, ii. pl. 88. 

Sandwich Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. p. 356. Id. Sup. p. 266. Boy’s Sandwich, ii. pl. p. 851. 
Lewin, vi. pl. 203. Id. xxxviii. f. 2. theegg. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 204. Walcot, i. 
pl. 120. Donov. t.120. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. p. 200. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


LENGTH eighteen inches; extent of wing thirty-three inches ; 
weight thirteen ounces. Bill two inches Jong, black, with the tip 
yellowish horn-colour; tongue half the length of the bill; irides 
hazel; forehead, crown, hindhead, and sides above the eye, black ; 
the feathers of the nape elongated ; the rest of the head, neck, under 
parts of the body, and tail white; back and wings hoary lead-colour ; 
the first five quills hoary black; the inner webs deeply margined 
with white; the sixth like the others, but much paler; the rest of the 
quills like the back; tail forked; the exterior feathers six inches 
and a quarter long, striped with cinereous on the outer web; the 
wings reach rather beyond it; legs and claws black ; under part 
of the feet red; the fore part of the neck and breast, in some, 
delicately and faintly blushed with red. 

In those approaching to the adult state, the top of the head is 
dotted with white. In young birds, of immature feather, the upper 
parts are much clouded with brown, and the whole top of the head 
greatly mixed with white; but this is not peculiar, as the young of 
some other Terns, with black heads, are so marked. 

This species is pretty common on the Coasts of Kent during the 
summer months, appearing first about Romney, the middle of April, 
and departing the beginning of September ; it has a shorter scream 


TERN. 107 


than the Common Tern, though more like it than the note of any 
other: are said to lay among the rocks in June, and to hatch the 
eggs before the middle of July, as I have received birds, supposed to 
be the young of this species, from Mr. Boys, the end of August. 
About the same time a young specimen, with very nearly the same 
markings, was killed by Dr. Leith, on the banks of the Thaines, 
near Greenwich. Mr. Pennant mentions one having been shot near 
Shrewsbury; and we have been informed, that it is not uncommon 
on the Coast of Suffolk** in summer, and there associates with the 
Common Tern. Mr. Bewick says, it frequents the Coast of Nor- 
thumberland, a pair having been shot on the Fern Islands. An egg 
sent to me by Mr. Lewin, was larger than that of the Common Tern, 
olive brown, with purplish blotches. A bird very similar, with the 
bill and legs dusky red, is found at Sumatra, and called Samarlaut. 


A.—Sterna nubilosa, Mus. Carls. tab. 63. Ind. Orn. ii. 806. 


Bill black, slender, elongated; forehead, and all beneath, from 
chin to vent, white; the crown and hindhead varied with black and 
whitish ; nape partly black, partly pale brown; the back, and wing 
coverts dusky; prime quills black, beneath brown; the shafts black 
above, and white beneath; the outer one sooty brown, inner margin 
whitish, but the shaft white above and beneath; tail forked, dusky, 
beneath brown; the four middle feathers equal in length; legs black. 

Inhabits Finland: this has every appearance of a young bird, 
probably may be the Sandwich Tern; but no size is mentioned, or 
any further guide, to enable us to judge more about it. 


B.—Die Stubbersche Meerschwalbe, Beckst. Deuts. ii. 828. 


Smaller than the Caspian Tern. Top of the head black ; fore- 
head and a streak over the eye white; back and wing coverts ash 
grey; under parts of the body white. 


* Rev. Dr. Wilgress. 
P2 


108 TERN. 


M. Bechstein, who describes this says, it inhabits the Island 
Stubber, and breeds there, laying three white eggs in the sand, with 
brown and black spots, of the size of a pea. 


10.—AFRICAN TERN. 


Sterna Africana, Ind. Orn. ii. 805. Gm. Lin. i. 605. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. p. 737. 
African Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 354. 


SIZE of the Sandwich Tern; length sixteen inches. Bill black; 
plumage in general white; top of the head mottled with black ; 
wings pale bluish white, inclining to lead-colour, and spotted with 
brown; quills pale blue grey, margined with white, except the ends 
of the outer ones; the wings exceed the tail in length, the latter 
forked, the end dusky, mottled with black; legs black. 

Inhabits Africa.—Described from a specimen in the British 
Museum ; it seems to have many markings in common with the 
Sandwich Species: is probably a young bird. 


11.—WHITE-BROWED TERN. 


Le Hatis 4 Sourcil blanc, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 415. 


LLNGTH eight inches. Over the eye a broad band of white, 
and a second of black and white beneath, surrounding the eye; 
sides of the head, and all the under parts, white; top of the head 
marbled black and white; hindhead black ; body above, and wings 

_blue grey, but the outer quills are blackish.— Met with in Paraguay, 
the latter end of April. 

Another is mentioned, varying somewhat in plumage, under the 
name of Hatis tacheté, and supposed to be a young bird. 


TERN. 109 


12._STRIATED TERN. 


Sterna striata, Ind. Orn. 11. 807. Gm. Lin. i. 609. Tem. Man. Ed. ii. 737. 
Striated Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 351. 10. pl. 91. 


SIZE uncertain, supposed about twelve inches. Bill black ; 
irides lead-colour; crown and sides of the head below the eyes white, 
mottled with black ; the back part of the head and nape black ; 
neck behind, back, and scapulars, white, transversely waved with 
black ; many of the feathers being tipped with that colour; wing 
coverts bluish white, some of the lesser mottled with black ; quills 
the same, with the outer margins black; tail white, shorter than 
‘the wings, some of the feathers edged, and others tipped with black ; 
legs lead-colour. 

Inhabits the Sea Shores of New Zealand, found there by Dr. J. 
R. Forster. From the drawings of Sir Joseph Banks: is probably 
a young bird, not in complete plumage. 


13.—WHITE TERN. 


Sterna alba, Ind. Orn. ii. 808. Gm. Lin. i. 607. Mus. Carls. fase. i. t. 11. 
Sterna candida, Gm. Lin. i. 607. 


White Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 363. Id. Sup. 266. Portl. Voy. pl. p. 312. 


LENGTH thirteen inches, breadth thirty. Bill slender, black ; 
eyelids the same; plumage white, but the shafts of the scapulars, 
quills and tail, except the three outer feathers, are black: the last 
forked, and shorter than the wings, by an inch; legs brown, webs 
orange; claws black. Some have a mixture of brown on the head. 

Inhabits Christmas Island, and other parts of the South Seas ; 
seen also off the Island of St. Helena. 


110 TERN. 


14.—EGYPTIAN TERN. 


Sterna Nilotica, Ind. Orn. ii. 806. Gm. Lin. i. 606. Hasselq. It.273. Id. Voy. 202. 41. 
Egyptian Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 356. 


SIZE of a Pigeon. Bill black; the head and upper part of the 

neck ash-colour, marked with small blackish spots; round the eye 
black, dotted with white; back, wings, and tail, ash-colour ; outer 
quills the same, but darker; all the under parts white ; legs flesh-. 
colour; claws black. 
_ Inhabits Egypt; found in flocks in January, especially about 
Cairo; it feeds on insects, small fish, &c.; seen frequently, among 
other birds, on the mud, left by the overflowing of the River Nile: 
the Arabs call it Abumere. 


15.—MUSTACHOE TERN. 
Sterna leucopareia, Hirondelle de Mer Moustache, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 746. 


LENGTH eleven inches. Bill and legs deep red; irides black ; 
top of the head and nape, the neck, and all the under parts white ; 
behind the eyes a spot of black ; the back, wings, quills, and tail 
cinereous grey. Male and female much alike. 

The young have a mixture of brown on the crown, and about the 
eyes and ears dusky ash; upper parts mixed with brown and Isabella; 
bill brown, with the base reddish ; legs flesh-colour. 

Inhabits Germany, in the southern parts of Hungary; found 
also on the Coasts of Istria and Dalmatia, and has once been killed 
on the Coast of Picardy; said to frequent the marshes, and to feed 
on aquatic worms, but not on fish. 


TERN. 111 


16.—SIMPLE TERN. 


Sterna simplex, Ind. Orn. ii. 805. Gm. Lin. i. 606. 
Simple Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 358. 


LENGTH fifteen inches. Bill almost three inches long, stout, 
and reddish ; crown of the head nearly white; upper parts of the 
neck and back pale lead-colour; the under white ; behind each eye 
a spot of black ; the lesser wing coverts, scapulars, and tail like the 
back; the middle of the greater coverts white, and the margins of 
some of the latter brown; quills black ; tail slightly forked, and the 
wings exceed it much in length; legs red. 

Inhabits Cayenne ; it seems to have many markings with the last 
described, but is a Jarger bird. 


17.—MARSH TERN. 
Sterna aranea, Amer. Orn. viii. 143. pl. 72. f. 6. 


LENGTH fourteen inches; breadth twenty-four. Bill thick, 
much rounded above, and glossy black; crown, and neck behind 
black; all beneath pure white, and a line of white between the 
nostrils and the eye; body above, wings, and tail hoary white; the 
last forked, and the wings exceed it in length by two inches; legs 
black. Male and female much alike. The young differ as in others 
of the Genus; the tips and edges of the prime quills blackish, with 
white shafts; legs dull orange, mottled with brown or dusky. 

Inhabits America, breeding in the salt marshes; lays three or 
four eggs on the dry grass, greenish olive, spotted with brown. Is 
common on the shores of Cape May, particularly in the salt marshes, 
darting down after a kind of black spider, which is in plenty in such 
places; this spider, it is said, can travel under water as well as above, 
and during the summer at least, the stomach of the bird is wholly 


112 TERN. 


crammed with them. The bill is shorter than in the Common Tern, 
and thicker; the tail shorter, and much less forked ; and as these 
birds are not found to associate with others, may be considered as a 
new Species. This resembles the Gull-billed so much, as to lead us 
to suppose it is allied ; M. Temminck considers it to be the same. 


18.—-GULL-BILLED TERN. 


Sterna Anglica, Gull-billed Tern, Orn. Dict. Sup. ii. pl. in ditto. 
Hirondelle-de-Mer Hansel, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 744. 


SIZE of the Sandwich Species. Bill half an inch long, thick, 
strong, and angulated on the under mandible, like the bill of a 
Gull, and black ; upper part of the head, including the eyes, black, 
but extends farther down the back of the head, and part of the neck, 
than in the Sandwich Tern, with two or three white feathers mixed 
on the crown; general plumage on the upper part of the body 
cinereous; the quills are hoary, the first five, for an inch or more, 
black ; tail much the same, the outer feather on each side white ; 
legs two inches long, rufous black ; toes longer than in the Sandwich 
Species, especially the middle one; claws straight. 

This has been in general confounded with the Sandwich Tern, 
and at first sight, may be taken for that bird. Colonel Montagu, 
however, who has had opportunity of comparing several specimens, 
assures us, that the two are perfectly distinct. One was formerly 
sent to me for the young of the Sandwich Tern; and others have 
been met with in Sussex, and particularly about Rye: ours, we 
believe, was killed near Sandwich, in Kent. 


A.—Sterna affinis, Lin. Trans. xii. p. 129. 


This is white; the back and wing coverts greyish Jead-colour ; 
quills hoary, within brownish.—Inhabits Java. 


TERN. 113 


19.--ROSEATE TERN. 
Sterna Dougallii, Roseate Tern, Orn. Dict. Supp. pl. in ditto. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 
p- 738. 

LENGTH fifteen inches. Bill one inch and five-eighths, slightly 
curved, and black, the base bright orange; inside of the mouth 
orange; irides black; tongue half the length of the bill, pale red, 
and bifurcated; forehead brown; hind part and sides of the head, 
taking in the eyes, except a small portion of the lower part, jet 
black ; the feathers of the hindhead thinly diffused, and flowing 
over the white, down the back of the neck ; sides of the head under 
the eyes, sides of the neck, and all beneath, white ; but the fore parts 
of the neck, breast, and belly, to beyond the vent, are tinged with a 
most delicate rosy blush colour; back, scapulars, and wing coverts, 
pale cinereous grey; quills narrow, the first has the exterior web 
black, with a hoary tinge; the others hoary on that part, and part 
of the inner web; next the shaft of the first three or four, hoary 
black, paler by degrees in the succeeding feathers; all deeply mar- 
gined with white, quite to the tip, shafts white; tail greatly forked, 
the outer feather seven inches long, the middle ones scarcely three, 
and all of them white; legs of the brightest orange ; claws black, 
and hooked; the wings shorter than the tail by about two inches. 
Both sexes are much alike. 

Inhabits Scotland : several of them shot in the West Highlands ; 
first discriminated by Dr. M‘Dougall, of Glasgow, and one of them 
added by that gentleman, to Colonel Montagu’s collection. We are 
informed, that the places of resort of this species are two, small 
rocky Islands, in the Firth of Clyde, called Cumbrey Islands, in 
Milford Bay. We recommend the perusal of Col. M.’s account of 
this new species, in the Supp. to his Orn. Dict. Said also to be met 
with in Norway, and probably on the shores of the Baltic Sea; and 
M. de Lamotte is said to have found a pair on the Coast of Picardy, 


in France, in company with the Greater Tern. 
VOL, X. Q 


114 TERN. 


20.—COMMON TERN. 


Sterna Hirundo, Ind. Orn. ii. 807. Lin.i. 227. Fn. suec. No. 158. Gm. Lin. i. 606. 
Hasselq. It. 272. Scop.i. No.1. Brun. No.151, 152. Muller, p. 21. Fn. 
groenl, No. 69. Fn. arag. p.76. Kram: 345. Frisch, t.219. Borowsk. ii. 52. 
Fn. Helv. Sepp, t. 105.—male and female. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 542. Bris, vi. 
203. 1. t. 19. f. 1. Jd. 8vo. ii. p. 415. 

Sterna Hirundo, Hirondelle de Mer, Pierre Garin, Tem. Man. 481. Jd. Ed. 2d. 740. 

Hirundo marina, Ratz, 131. A. 1. Will. 268. t. 68. 

Larus albicans, Klein, 138.10. Id. Stem. 32. t.36. f. 3. a—c. Mars. Dan. y. t. 42. 

Die gemeine Meerschwalbe, Beschst. Deuts. ii. 828. Naturf. xii. 143. Schmid, 139. 
t. 122. 

La grande Hirondelle de Mer, Buf. vii. 331, pl. 27. Pl. enl. 987. 

Le Hatis a téte noire, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 413, 

Sea Swallow, Will. Engl. 352. pl. 68. 

Silver Bird, Staunt. Chin. i. 224. 

Greater Tern,* Gen. Syn. vi. 361. Br. Zool. ii, No, 254. pl. 90. Id. fol. 144. pl. L.* 
Td. 1812. 11. 196. pl. 35. Bewick, i. pl. p. 199. Lewin, vi. pl. 204, Id.xxxix.—the 
egg. Walcot,i. pl. 119.  Donov.i. pl. 23.  Pult. Dors. p.18. Orn. Dict. & 
Supp. Amer. Orn. vii. 76. pl. 60. f. 1. 


LENGTH fourteen inches, breadth thirty; weight four ounces 
and a quarter. Bill slender, crimson, two inches and a half long, 
‘and pointed at the end, which is black; top of the head, taking in 
the eyes and nape, black, tapering to a point at the back part of the 
neck ; between the nostrils and eye, sides under it, the neck, and all 
the under parts, pure white; back and wings pale ash-colour ; quills 
grey ; two or three of the outer ones dark, shafts white; tail greatly 
forked, white, except the outer web of the exterior feather, which is 
black; legs eriunson ; claws black. 

The Greater Tern frequents our sea coasts, and banks of lakes 
and rivers, throughout the summer, but more common near the sea; 
found also in various other parts of Europe and Asia; seen about 
the Caspian Sea, in April; in summer met with as far north as 


* Itis known by various other names, as Kirmew, Picket, Tarney, Pitcarne ; Tarrock, 


Rittock, Spurre, and Scraye.—Orn. Dict. 


TERN. 115 


Greenland, and Spitsbergen; approaches the south as winter ad- 
vances, and is plentiful at that season in various parts of Andalusia, 
in Spain: observed with the Auks and Guillemots, in Gibraltar Bay, 
also the Lesser and Black Species, and supposed to proceed still 
farther'south to the Coasts of Africa. In this kingdom is no where 
im greater abundance than on the Sussex and Kentish Coasts; lays 
three or four eggs in June, of a dull olive-colour, spotted irregularly 
with dusky black, except at the smaller end, which is plain; they 
are about the size of those of the Pigeon, placed among the grass, 
on the shore, without the preparation of a nest:* the young are 
hatched in July, quit the nest soon after, and are able to fly in about 
six weeks. It is frequently seen to pursue the Lesser Gulls till they 
disgorge their prey, which it dexterously catches before it reaches 
the water; hence called on the south Coast of Devonshire, the Gull- 
Teazer ; and is probably the one called by the sailors, the Mackarel 
Bird. The Greater Tern is said to have been once seen in Paraguay, 
unless it may be the following Variety; but the colour of the legs is 
not mentioned. 


A.—Sterna Hirundo var. Phil. Trans. xii. 421, Ind. Orn. ii. 808: B. 


The feet in this Variety are black; the tail shorter, and much 
less forked than in the former, the outmost tail feather likewise wants 
the black, in other respects the same. 

Inbabits Hudson’s Bay, and supposed by Dr. Forster to be the 
kind called there the Egg-breaker, but on what account, he is silent. 
It is also called Black-head. The native name is Kenouch ene ou 
keask.t Comes into New England in May, and goes away in 


* Captain Parry, in his 2d Voy. p. 283, says Tern Island was occupied by innumerable 
Terns; the eggs deposited on the bare ground; they are’much coveted by the Eskimaux ; 
and the birds, after due preparation, were made into pies, and thought very good. 

+ In Iceland called the Cree, or Kriia, The eggs boiled. hard, are served up asa 
damty, and eaten with cream.—Hooker’s Iceland, pp. 56. 66. 

Q2 


116 TERN. 


autumn, and is called there Mackarel Gull; observed to lay the 
eggs in small hollows on the shore, sometimes lined with a few 
leaves; often found in great numbers on the islets, in the middle of 
the rivers, and is thought to be good eating. Is a bold bird, and 
like the rest of the Genus, not fearing mankind. In the time of 
incubation will attack any one; frequently darting down, so as to 
touch a person’s hat, without his having given offence. 

I remarked a bird, apparently of this species, in the drawings of 
Sir J. Anstruther, from India, which differs in having the whole of 
the tail feathers grey, like the quills. Said to be common on the 
Banks of the Ganges. Also a similar one in some drawings from 


New-Holland. 


21.—ARCTIC TERN. 


Sterna arctica, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 742. Franklin's Narr. App. p. 694. 


Parry's 
App. p. cci. 


LENGTH thirteen inches and a half. Bull fine red; the irides 
brown ; the crown and nape deep black ; beneath the eye a streak of 
white; the rest of the upper parts of the plumage much as in the 
Common Species, but of a deeper ash-colour; the throat, and neck 
before darker than the back; a small part of the belly and under 
tail coverts white; tail greatly forked, as in the Common One, but 
a trifle longer; legs fine red; the middle claw much longer than the 
others, and curved Jaterally outwards. 

This is found within the Arctic Circle; common in the Orknies, 
and on the Coasts of Scotland and England; likewise on the Baltic 
shores: is easy to be confounded with the Common Tern, but does 
not appear so far southward as that bird. 

I received one of these, shot in August, near Sandwich. In this 
the crown was mottled with white, and some of the feathers, at the 
back of the neck, tipped with brown; the tail white, with the outer 


TERN. 117 


edges of the feathers pale lead-coloured grey; the outer web of the 
exterior, and edge of the adjoining black; legs flesh-colour, with 
the claw of the middle toe longer than the rest, and curved laterally 
outwards. This is probably an immature bird. 


22._WREATHED TERN. 


Sterna vittata, Ind. Orn. ii. 807. Gm. Lin. i. 609. 
Wreathed Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 359. 


LENGTH fifteen inches. Bill slender, near two inches long, 
and blood red; crown of the head, including the eye, and as far as 
the nape black, bounded by a line of white all round; the rest of 
the plumage very pale ash-colour, in some parts nearly white; chin 
palest ; rump, vent, and tail pure white, the exterior feather inclining 
to ash-colour; legs orange. One, supposed to be a younger bird, 
had a shorter bill; the tail ash-colour, with white shafts; and the 
general colour of the plumage every where darker. 

Inhabits Christmas Island, in the Southern Ocean.——In the col- 
fection of Sir Joseph Banks. 


A.—Among the drawings of Sir John Anstruther is one greatly 
similar, but the tail very pale ash-colour, and the outmost feather, 
as far as it exceeds the others, quite white; the bill yellow; and the 
legs crimson.—Inhabits India, and named Tetrarie. 


23.—CRIMSON-BILLED TERN. 


SIZE uncertain. Bill long in proportion, and crimson; irides 
the same; the general colour of the plumage dusky lead-colour, 
approaching to black; beneath pale ash; from the gape a white 
streak passes under the eye, and ends in a long fringe of feathers, 
which curve on each side of the neck, and there lie loose; second 


118 TERN. 


quills-and part of the prime ones tipped. with white, forming, when 
the wing is closed, ‘a: narrow bar ; the tail very much forked, and-is 
greatly exceeded by: the wings in length; legs crimson. — 

From the drawings of Mr. Dent, the country not mentioned: we 
have also seen a similar one in other drawings, done in India, but in 
this the crown was black. 


24.—BLACK-EYED TERN. 


LENGTH above nine inches. Bill one inch and a quarter, deep 
red, or crimson; forehead; sides, and all beneath white; the crown 
black, spotted with white; back of the head and nape black, curving 
behind the eye, which is placed in the posterior part of an oval patch 
of black, giving the appearance of the eye having a black spot before 
it; plumage on the upper. parts, and the wings pale cinereous grey ; 
quills. white, with, dusky) ends, the greater black ; tail even at the 
end, and exceeded. in: length by the quills, by full. one inch and.a 
half; legs the colour of. the bill.—Inhabits. [ndia.—Sir J. Anstruther. 


25.—WAVED. TERN. 


LENGTH twelve inches. Bill stout, dull yellow, tip dusky; 
irides brown, surrounded with dusky before and beneath, and con- 
tinuing behind for one inch; plumage above pale cinereous grey, or 
dove-colour ; the crown marked with short dusky streaks, the feathers 
of the back and wings margined at the ends with pale buff, bounded 
within with dusky, like waves; greater quills and tail darker; inside 
of the quills:white ; tail forked, the outer feather exceeding the middle 
one by one inch: and. a quarter; the quills-do not reach quite to the 
end’ of: the-tail; legs stout, of a moderate length, dusky orange; 
claws: black.-—-Inhabits India. From the drawings: ef General 
Hardwicke: Probably allied to:the Black-eyed Species. 


TERN. 119 


26.—SUMATRAN TERN. 
Sterna Sumatrana, Lin. Trans. xii. 329. 


THIS is a small Species. Plumage mostly white, tinged on the 
back, head, and wing coverts, with light reddish brown, and mixed 
with a few dark spots; a blackish crescent extends from eye to eye, 
round the back of ‘the head; wing coverts lead grey, the first nearl y 
black ; under parts snowy white; tail like the back, rather short; 
that and the wings equal in length.__Inhabits Sumatra. 


27.-—GREY TERN. 


LENGTH fifteen inches. Bill black, length from the gape one 
inch and a half; nostrils pervious ; eyelids and round the eye dusky ; 
top of the head, sides, and nape, nearly white, dashed with small 
dusky specks, longer and more conspicuous at the nape; neck 
behind, back, and wing coverts, very pale, or cinereous white ; 
beneath from chin to vent pure white; tail forked, long, the interior 
feathers shorter by one inch; above it is like the back, beneath white; 
quills pale silvery grey, with white shafts; the second quills like the 
back, with a dusky white spot on each of them, near the tip; and 
they exceed the tail in length by two inches; legs slender, and black. 

Inhabits Georgia, received from Mr. Abbot, it is known there by 


the name of Grey Gull. 


28—PANAYAN TERN. 


Sterna Panaya, Ind. Orn. ii 808. Gm. Lin. i, 697. Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 329. 
L’Hirondelle de Mer de Panay, Son. Voy. 125. pl.84. Buf. viii. 344. 
Panayan Tern, Gen. Syn. vii. 363. 


SIZE of the Common Species. Bill and legs black; top of the 
head spotted with black ; hind part. of the neck greyish black ; wings 


120 TERN. 


the colour of umber, greyish beneath; fore part of the neck, breast, 
and belly, white; tail as the wings. 

Inhabits the Isle of Panay; and much resembles the Common 
Tern, except in the darkness of the upper parts of the plumage. 


A.—-In the Island of Sumatra is one nearly alike, blackish 
brown above, white beneath ; a white stripe from the base of the 
bill to the eyes; crown black, mixed with white; hindhead, back of 
the neck, and wings, black; tail the colour of the body; wings 
about the same length as the tail; bill and legs dusky red. 


299.—MINUTE TERN. 


Sterna minuta, Ind. Orn. ii. 809. Lin. i. 228. Gm. Lin. i. 608. 4. Borowsk. in. p. 
55. Tem. Man. 487. Id. Ed. 2d. 753. 
Sterna metopoleucos, Ind. Orn. 11. 809. Gm. Lin.i. 608. N.C. Petr. xv. 475. t. 22. 
Lin. Trans. xii. p. 198. 
Sterna minor, Bris. vi. 206. t. 19. f.2. fd. 8vo. ii. 416. Klein, 1388. 11. Gerin. v. 
t. 541. 
Sterna argentea, Maxim. Tr. i. p. 67. 
Sterna bicolor, Scop.i. No. 110. 
Larus Piscator, Aldr. Raz, 131. A. 2. Will. 269.§. II. t. 68. 
Die kleine Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Deuts. ii. §37. Naturf. xii. 144, 
‘La petite Hirondelle de Mer, Buf. viii. 337. Pl. enl. 996, 
Lesser Sea Swallow, Will. Engl. 353. pl. 68. 
Hooded Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 365. 
Lesser Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 364. Br. Zool. 11. 255. pl. 90. Id. fol. 144. pl. L. 2. 
Td. 1812.11. 198. pl. 35. Flor. Scot. 1.196. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 449. Bewick, ii. 
pl. p. 241. Lewin, vi. pl. 205. Id. xxxix. f.2. Wale.i. pl. 121. Donov. pl. 96. 
Pult. Dors. p. 18. Orn, Dict. & Supp. Amer. Orn. vii. 80. pl. 60. f, 2. 


LENGTH eight inches and half, breadth nineteen and a half; 
weight about two ounces. Bill yellow, tipped with black ; irides 
dusky ; forehead to the crown white; the rest of the head and nape 
black ; through the eye, from the bill, a streak of the same; except 
this, the side of the head, the neck, all beneath, and tail, are pure 


TERN. 12] 


white; back and wings pale grey; quills the same, but deeper, and 
much longer than the tail; legs yellow; claws black. Male and 
female alike. 

This has much the same manners and haunts as the Common 
Tern, but less numerous. It breeds on many of our shores, lays 
two or three eggs, about one inch and a half in length, dashed al! 
over with dusky, inclining to red, and weighing each from two 
drachms, forty grains, to three drachms, generally placed in a 

‘hollow on the beach, without any nest.* 

On the Continent it is found in the southern parts of Russia, 
about the Black and Caspian Seas; and in Siberia, about the River 
Irtisch ; feeds principally on small fish, and in former times used to 
be caught by tying a fish to a light piece of wood, and letting it float 
on the water, surrounded with birdlime; the bird on taking the prey, 
was entangled, and easily secured. We find this bird on the shores 
of France, Italy, Germany, and Spain; and is sometimes also in the 
latter, the greater part of the winter. It is seen about New York in 
the summer, and is said to change place in America according to the 
season, as it does in Europe. 

One similar, in General Hardwicke’s drawings, differs in having 
the bill shorter, and dul] yellow; the tail but little forked ; the legs 
brownish orange, more dusky about the joint. —Met with at Cawn- 
pore; is found also at Java, and called there Toyang. 


30.—BLACK TERN. 


Sterna fissipes, Ind. Orn. ii. 810. Lin. i. 228. Gm. Lin. i. 610. Brun. No. 153. 
Schef. el. t. 63. Fn. Helv. 

Larus merulinus, Scop. i. No. 108 ? 

Sterna nigra, Bris, vi. 211. Jd. 8vo, ii. 417. Sepp, Vog. t. p. 181. Tem. Man. Ed. 
2d. p. 749. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 694. 

Sterna cinerea atricapilla, Gerin. v. t. 543, 

Larus niger Gesneri, Razz, 131. A. 3. Will. 269.§ II. Klein, dv. 138. 


* One of the names given to it is Richel-Bird.—Orn. Dict. 
VOL, X. R 


122 TERN. 
Larus niger fidipes alis longioribus Aldr. Ratz, 131.4. Will. 270.§. V. t.G8. Robert, 
Ic. pl. 6. 

Larus minor fidipes nostras, Raii, 132. A. 6. Will. 269.§ IV. 

Die schwarze Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 833. Naturf. xii. 144. 

Hirondelle de Mer noir, ou L’Epouventail, Buf. viii. 341. PI. enl. 333. 

Black Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 366. Id. Sup. 267. Br. Zool. ii. No. 256. Id. fol. 145. 

pl. L.¥ 1. f. 1. Id. 1812. ii. 199. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 450. Bewick, ii. p. 203. 
Lewin, vi. pl. 206. pl. xl. f. 1.—the egg. Walcot, i. pl. 121. Donov. pl. 96. 
Pult. Dors. p. 18. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 

THIS is larger than the Minute Species ; length ten inches; the 
breadth twenty-four; and weighs two ounces and a half. Bill black ; 
head, neck, and body sooty black ; back, wings, and tail deep ash- 
colour, the last but little forked ; vent and under tail coverts white; 
the outer feathers of the tail edged with white ; legs dusky red: the 
male has a spot of white under the chin. 

This is found far more inland than the other British Species, often 
in several of our fens, and now and then about reedy places, and 
neglected fish ponds; common about the fenny parts of Lincolnshire 
and Cambridgeshire ; is called about Cambridge the Car-Swallow. 
First appears about Romney Marsh, in Kent, the end of April, a 
few days after the other Terns, and does not associate with them, 
breeding in the sedgy places, among the reeds, &c.: it lays three or 
four eggs, of a light olive brown, blotched and spotted with brown, 
or black, of the size of those of the Magpie. Is not uncommon on 
the Continent, and found pretty far north ; very numerous in Siberia, 
and about the salt lakes of the deserts of Tartary: in Europe, as far 
as Iceland to the north, changing its abode as winter approaches, at 
which time it is seen, with others of the Genus, about the Bay of 
Gibraltar, remaining there through the cold season; the food consists 
not only of fish, but insects, as the remains of both have been found 
in their stomachs. Is supposed to inhabit Hudson’s Bay, and other 
parts of America, and is probably the same which was seen in vast 
fiocks, beyond lat. 41. north, long. 47. W. by Mr. Kalm, somewhat 
south of the Banks of Newfoundland.* 


* Kalm says, it is rather darker than the common Sea Swallow; the flocks consisted of 


some hundreds, and sometimes settled on the ship.—Tvrav. 1. p. 23. 


TERN. 123 


31.—KAMTSCHATEKAN TERN. 


Sterna neevia, Lin. i. 228. Gm. Lin. i. 609. Bris. vi. 216. t. 20. f.2. Td. 8vo. ii. 
418. Borowsk. ii. 54.4. Fn. Helv. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 751. 

Rallus Lariformis, Scop. i. No. 156. Klein, 103. 3. 

Die gefleckte Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Deuts. i. 831. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 688. 

La Guifette, Buf. viii. 339. Pl. enl. 924, 

Cloven-footed Gull, Adbin, 11. pl. 82. Id. pl. 90.—Lesser Sea Swallow. 

Kamtschatkan Tern, Arcé. Zool. ii. 525. A. Gen. Syn. vi. 358.9. A. Bewick, 11. 207. 
Br. Zool. 1812. ii. 201. 


LENGTH eleven inches and a half. Bill dusky; back of the 
head and nape black, the feathers edged with brown; bebind the 
eye a crescent of black ; the rest of the head, neck, and under parts, 
white; back and wings bluish brown, edges of the feathers paler ; 
outer part of the wing blue grey; tail very little forked, and the 
wings exceed it in length; legs dusky brown. 

This inhabits Kamtschatka, and is now and then met with in this 
kingdom : is probably allied to the Black Species. 


32.—BLACK-HEADED TERN. 


Sterna nigra, Ind. Orn. ii. 810. Lin.i. 227. Fn. suec. No.159. Muller,171. Georgi, 
171. Borowsk. iii. p. 52. 2. 

Sterna obscura, Gm. Lin.i. 608. Ind. Orn. ii. 810. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 484. 

atricapilla, Bris. vi. 214. Id. 8vo. 11. 418. 

fusca, Raii, 131. t. 15? 

Die graue Meerschwalbe, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 836. 

Brown Tern, Bewick, ii. 208. Gen. Syn. vi. 368. 

Lesser Sea Swallow, Albin, ii. pl. 89. Gen. Syn, vi. 367. 22. A. 


THIS is a trifle bigger than the last; length nine inches and a 
half. Bill black; head, neck, and breast the same; round the eyes 
a few grey feathers; back, rump, scapulars, and upper wing coverts 
ash-colour; lower part of the breast, the belly, thighs, under wing 


coverts, and vent white; quills deep coloured at the end; tail as the 
R2 


J24 TERN. 


quills, but the exterior feather on each side white on the outer web, 
margined with ash; shape of the tail a little forked ; legs dull red; 
claws black.—Said to inhabit various parts of Europe. 

It is most likely a Variety of the last, as we have observed more 
or less white between the legs of some specimens. Colonel Montagu 
supposes this to be the Black Species, in immature plumage,* and 
that the black on the under parts does not appear till after the first 
moult; also that both sexes are black beneath in the breeding season. 


33.—CINEREOUS TERN. 


Sterna cinerea, Ind. Orn. ii. 808. Gm. Lin.i. 607. Bris. vi. 210. _Id. 8vo. ii. 417. 
Gerin. y. t. 542. 

Larus niger fidipes alter, alis brevioribus, Ratz, 131. Will. 270.§ vi. 

The other Cloven-footed Gull of Aldrovandus, with shorter wings, Well. Engl. 354. 

Cinereous Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 363. 


SIZE of a Blackbird; length thirteen inches. Bill black; head 
and throat the same, in some the forehead and chin mottled with 
white; the upper part of the plumage, and beneath from the breast, 
ash-colour ; but the under tail coverts and ridge of the wing are 
white; legs reddish; claws black. 

Inhabits Italy, and parts adjacent, where these birds are called 
Rondini marini: probably a further Variety of the Black Tern. 


34.—SURINAM TERN. 


Sterna Surinamensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 804. Gm. Lin. i. 604. 
Greater Tern, Hist. Surin. 11. 187, 
Surinam Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 352. 


SIZE uncertain. Bill, head, neck, and breast, black; back; 
wings, and tail, ash-colour; belly and thighs dirty white; legs and 
teet red ; claws black. 

* Orn. Dict, 


TERN. 125 


Inhabits Surinam; often met with 200 leagues from land. Feeds 
on fish, and pursues the lesser birds, till they disgorge what they 
have swallowed. We have seen one of these in a collection from 
Cayenne, in which the vent was rufous. This seems to agree in 
point of colours and distribution of them, with the Black-headed 


Tern. 


35.—CHINESE TERN. 


Sterna Sinensis, Jnd. Orn. ii. 809. Gm. Lin.i. 608. 
Chinese Tern, Gen. Syn. vi, 365. 


LENGTH eight inches. Bill black, one inch and a quarter long, 
and moderately stout; nostrils pervious; head, neck, rump, and 
under parts, white; across the top of the head dusky black, including 
the eye on each side, and passing downwards in a point, at the nape 
of the neck ; back cinereous; some of the feathers edged with pale 
tawny ; wing coverts fine pale ash-colour, dashed down the middle 
of the shaft with dusky ; quills fine cinereous grey ; tail short, very 
little forked, paler than the quills; legs slender, orange; claws 
hooked, and black. 

Inhabits China; has somewhat the appearance of the Lesser Tern, 
but the tail is much less forked, and the distribution of colours do 
not agree. 


36.—JAVAN TERN. 


Sterna Javanica, Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 198.—Horsfield. 


LENGTH eleven inches. Colour glaucous; throat, cheeks, 
neck behind, wings, and tail beneath, white; head above black; 
quills brownish grey, marked within with a whitish patch ; bill and 
legs yellow.—Inhabits Java. 


126 TERN. 


37.—BLACK-NAPED TERN. 
Sterna media, Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 199. 


LENGTH. fifteen inches. Bill long; forehead, neck behind, 
and under parts of the body, white; crown varied with black and 
white; nape black ; wings, back, and rump, glaucous; quills brown, 
powdered with grey. 

Inhabits Java, by the name of Toyang-kacher. 


38.—HOARY TERN. 


Sterna grisea, Lin. Trans. xii. p- 199. 


LENGTH nine inches. Bill black; above grey; forehead, a 
collar round the neck, and the under part of the body, white; outer 
quill dusky. 

Inhabits Java, and called Puter-lahut. 


39.—SOUTHERN TERN. 


Sterna Australis, Ind. Orn. ii. 809. Gm. Lin. i. 608. 
Southern Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 365. 


LENGTH seven inches and a half. Bill one and a half, black ; 
forehead dirty buff; back, wings, and tail, dirty pale ash-colour; 
under parts grey ; quills white; tail forked; legs pretty long, dusky 
black ; webs orange. 

Inhabits Christmas Island. Some specimens are full nine inches 
in length. 


TERN. . 127 


40.—WHITE-WINGED TERN. 


Sterna leucoptera, Tem. Man. d’Orn. p. 483. Id. Ed.2d. p. 747. 
Sterna nera, Gerin, v. pl. 544. 


LENGTH nine inches and a quarter. Bill and legs coral red; 
irides black; the head, neck, upper part of the back, breast, under 
wing coverts, and belly deep black ; the lower part of the back, and 
scapulars ash-colour; lesser and middle wing coverts, ramp, and tail 
white ; the greater wing coverts and second quills bluish ash; inner 
webs of the two first quills striped longitudinally with a white band ; 
tail very little forked. Young birds have the white on the wing less 
pure; the tail cinereous; tip of the bill dusky, and the black of the 
plumage inclining to ash; forehead light ash; and the feathers of 
the upper parts of the body more or less tipped with whitish ash. 

Inhabits the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the marshes and 
rivers beyond the Alps; also the lakes of Lucarno, from Lugano to 
Como; sometimes seen at Geneva, but not met with in Holland. 


41.—CAYENNE TERN. 


Sterna Cayana, Ind. Orn. 11. 804. Gm. Lin. i. 604. 

Le grand Hirondelle de Mer, Buf. vi. 346. Pl. enl. 988. 

Le Hatis a derriere de la téte noire, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 412. 
Cayenne Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 352. 


LENGTH. about sixteen inches. Bill more than two, and pale 
orange; hind part of the neck black, mottled with dusky white; the 
rest of the plumage above blue grey, the feathers edged with rufous ; 
beneath the body white; tail the same; quills dusky, exceeding the 
tail in length, which is much forked; legs reddish brown. 

Inhabits Cayenne. 


128 TERN. 


42.—DOVE-COLOURED TERN. 


LENGTH full nine inches. Bill one inch, slender, black; the 
forehead, to the middle of the crown, before the eye, and all beneath, 
from the chin, white, passing round the neck, below the nape, in a 
slender ring; from the middle of the crown, and the nape dusky 
black, mottled with a paler colour; upper parts of the body, wings, 
and tail dove-colour, or fine bluish ash, the feathers mostly fringed 
with brown; lesser wing coverts within darker than the rest; quills 
and tail blue grey ; under wing coverts nearly white; sides of the 
breast dark ash; of the body beneath and wings like the back; the 
quills pale grey, with white shafts, and exceed the tail by one inch 
and a half; the latter three inches long, moderately forked, the two 
middle feathers being only half an inch shorter than the middle ones ; 
legs dusky brown, or reddish. 

Inbabits Georgia, in America, and said to be rare. One of these, 
in the collection of General Davies, had the top of the head brown ; 
behind the eyes, or rather over the ears, an oblong blackish patch ; 
nape mottled brown and black: in other respects it answered to the 
last description. 


43.—GEORGIAN TERN. 


LENGTH ten inches; breadth twenty-three. The feathers project 
much forwards on the base of the bill, and from thence the bare part 
is one inch more; the head and neck dusky black; forehead, to the 
middle of the crown, and the sides of the gape, to the eye, much 
mottled with white; the rest of the plumage bluish ash ; thighs and 
vent white; the wings, when closed, reach one inch and a half 
beyond the tail ; the shaft of the first quill feather white, of the others 
very pale; the legs red. The female has a greater mixture of white 
about the head and neck. 


TERN. 129 


Inhabits Georgia; sometimes comes in small flocks to the ponds 
in Burke Country : takes its prey on the wing, like the Swallow, 
and frequently, in flying, dips the bill into the water.— Mr. Abbot. 
This seems allied to the last described. 


44.-BROWN TERN. 


Sterna spadicea, Ind. Orn. ii. 807. Gm. Lin. 1. 610. 
Brown Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 359. 


A TRIFLE less than the Noddy; length fifteen inches, breadth 
thirty-four. Bill two inches long, black; the plumage in genera! 
reddish brown, paler beneath: between the legs and the vent white ; 
head, neck, and under parts plain; the feathers of the back, and 
wing coverts fringed at the ends with reddish white; scapulars and 
second quills tipped with white; under wing coverts and ridge of the 
wing white; quills and tail dusky, the last forked, the shafts of both 
white beneath; legs pale reddish brown, the claws black. In some 
specimens the feathers of the neck and breast are margined with 
dusky.—Inhabits Cayenne. — 


45.—DUSKY TERN. 


Sterna fuscata, Ind. Orn. ii. 807. Lin.i. 228. Gm. Lin.i. 610. 
Sterna fusca, Bris. vi. 220. 7. t. 21. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 420. 
Dusky Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 360. 


SIZE of the Black Tern; length eleven inches. Bill one inch 
and a half, greyish brown, with a black tip; the head, throat, and 
neck behind dusky brown; back, rump, scapulars, and upper tail 
coverts the same, but the feathers are margined with rufous; fore 
part of the neck and all beneath brown ; the lesser and middle wing 


coverts above dusky brown, the greater dusky; under wing coverts 
VOL. X. Ss 


130 TERN. 


cinereous white; the quills dusky, the shafts white beneath, the two 
nearest the body tipped with rufous ; tail as the quills, the two middle 
feathers rufous at the tips ; the shape somewhat forked, and the wings 
do not quite reach to the end of it; legs dull red, claws black. 

Inhabits the Island of St. Domingo, and seems allied to the last, 
though much inferior in size. 


46.—SHORT-TAILED TERN. 


Sterna plumbea, Short-tailed Tern, Amer. Orn. vii. 83. pl. 60. f.3. 


LENGTH eight inches and a half; extent twenty-three. The 
bill, crown, auriculars, spot before the eye, and lindhead are black ; 
forehead, eyelids, sides of the neck, passing quite round below the 
hindhead, and the whole lower parts pure white ; back and shoulders 
dark ash, the feathers broadly tipped with brown; wings and tail 
dark lead-colour, the former longest by one inch and:a half; the tail 
slightly forked ; legs tawny. 

Inhabits America, found about the Schuylkill, and father places, 
towards the end of summer; oftener on the mill ponds and fresh 
water marshes, than in the Bays: is considered a different bird from 
the Minute Tern, and never associates with that species; it also has 
an extent of wing wider by three inches than the other, and makes 
its appearance when the Minute is gone off; the stomach, on exami- 
nation, was found to contain grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, &c. but 
no fish. Itis doubted, whether it can be the same with the Little 
Gull, or Brown Tern of Willughby, for the figure in the plate has 
the bill shaped like that of the Tern, and by no means that of a 
Gull, being much longer, and more slender in proportion to the size 


of the bird. 


GULL. 131 


GENUS CIV.—GULL. 


* Nostrils distinct. 9 Italian Tarrock, Young 
1 Great Gull 10 Crimson-billed A Var. 
2 Black-headed 11 Black-backed 21 Pulo Condore 
A Red-legged 12 Iceland F Z 
B Bago enacd 13 Glaucous AB DAS CRT SE OL 
C Brown 14 Herring a Cere. 
3 Laughing 15 Silvery 22 Skua 
4 Georgian A War. 23 Pomarine 
5 Masked 16 Common 24 Arctic 
6 Little 17 Ivory 25 Black-toed 
A Brown Tern 18 Hudsonian 26 Keeask 
7 Forked-tailed 19 Black-tailed 27 Pacific 
8 Adriatic 20 Kittiwake | A Var. 


BILi strong, straight, bending at the point; on the under part 
of the lower mandible an angular prominence. 

Nostrils oblong, pervious, in the middle of the bill, in some 
covered with a cere. 

Tongue a little cloven. 

Legs small, naked above the knees; back toe small. 

Between the Gulls and Terns there seems to be much affinity ; 
and by some authors, they have been considered as one family ; but 
they are perfectly distinguishable, and easily separated into two 
genera. The Gulls are in general. stouter in proportion than the 
‘Ferns; the bills much stronger; and in some crooked at the end, 
in a degree equal to many birds of prey; while that of the Tern is 
for the most part straight and slender; the legs are likewise much 
weaker than in the Gull, and the tail forked at the end**—a circum- 
stance rarely observed in the last Genus. Great variety, however, 
is found in respect to plumage in both, arising from the different 
stages of life, and has occasioned authors to consider many birds a 

* Great latitude should be given in respect to the young of the Tern; as in some species 


the tail, during that stage of life, is nearly even at. the end. 


$2 


132 GULL. 


species, which, from later observations, have proved to be only the 
effect of age or sex: much, therefore, remains to be ascertained on 
this head, as such uncertainties are only to be removed by slow 
degrees, and reiterated observation. 


1.—GREAT GULL. 


Larus icthyetus, Ind. Orn. ii. 811. Gm. Lin.i. 599. Pall. reise, ii. 713. p.27. Act. 
Holm. iv. 119. 7. 

Die grosse Lachmoeue, Gm. reise, i, 152. t. 30, 31, 

Mauve, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal. p. cviii. 

Great Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 370, 1. 


SIZE of the Bernacle Goose, and sometimes larger; weight 
between two and three pounds; bill dusky yellow at the base, 
towards the end crimson; tip yellow, near it crossed with a dusky 
brown spot; inside of the mouth red; irides brown; the head and 
half the neck black; eyelids white; back and rump pale grey; 
second quills darker; greater quills white; the first five tipped with 
black ; tail even at the end, and white; legs reddish brown. 

Inhabits the borders of the Caspian Sea, appears similar to the 
Black-headed Gull, but 1s clearly ditferent, being so many degrees 
larger; lays the eggs on the bare sand, without the preparation of 
a nest, in shape oblong, marked with numerous brown spots, and 
some paler ones intermixed. In flying this bird has a hoarse cry, 
somewhat like that of a Raven. 


2.—BLACK-HEADED GULL. 


Larus ridibundus, Ind. Orn. ii. 811. Lin. i. 225. Gm. Lin.i. 601. Act. Holm. iv. 
120. 9. Gm. reise, iv. 140? Schef. el. Orn. t. 44. Sepp, t. p. 153. male & fem. 
Am. Orn.ix. 89. pl. 74. 4. Tem. Man.304. Id. Ed. 2d. 783. 

Gavia ridibunda pheenicopos, Bris. vi. 197. Id. 8vo. ii. 413. 

Larus albus erythrocephalus, Klein, 138. 8. Id. Stem. 32. t. 36. f.2. a—c. 

Larus atricilloides, Ind. Orn. ii. 813. Gm. Lin. i. 601. Falck. It. ii. 355. t. 24. 


GULL, 133 


Larus cinereus, Radi, 128. A.5. Will. 164. pl.66.. Scop. i. No. 105.  Gerin. y. t. 
527. Id. 526. younger bird. 

Die Schwarzkopfige Lachmeve, Bechst. Deuts.i\. 819. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 636. 

La Mouette rieuse, Buf. viii, 433. Pl. enl. 970. 

Brown-headed Gull, Albin, 1. pl. 86. 

Black-headed Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 380. Id. Sup. 268. Br. Zool. ii. No. 252. Id. fol. 

143. pl. L. 5. Id. 1812.11. p. 189. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 455. Flor. Scot. i. pl. 5. 
fil. Will. Engl. 347. pl. 66. Bewick, i. pl. p.222. Lewin, vi. pl. 212. pl. Ixiii. 
f.1. theegg. Walcot, i. pl. 115. Plot, Staff. 231. Lin. Trans. vii. 284. Orn. 
Dict. & Supp. 

LENGTH fifteen inches; breadth three feet ; weight ten ounces. 
Bill rather slender, blood red; eyelids the same ; irides hazel ; head 
and throat brown black; on each eyelid a small white spot; back 
and wings ash-colour; the neck, all the under parts, and tail white; 
the first ten quills white, margined, and more or less tipped with 
black ; the others ash, with white ends; legs like the bill, and the 
claws black. 


A.—Larus cinerarius, Ind. Orn.ii. 812. B. Lin.i. 224. Gm. Lin.i. 597. Fn. Helv. 

Larus canus, Scop. i. No. 104. 

Gavia cinerea minor, Bris. vi. 178. 9. t. 17. f.1. Id. Svo. ii. 409. 

Die aschgraue Meve, Bechst. Deutsch. i. 812. Naturf. xii. 143. 

Kleine Zee-meeuw, Sepp, Vog. ii. t. p. 281. 

Larus cinereus rostro et pedibus rubris, Gerin. v. t. 526. Jd. 528. Var. 

Larus albus major, Razz, 129. 9. Will. 264. 

La petite Mouette cendree, Buf. viii. 430. 

_Le petit Goiland, Pl. enl. 969. 

Dingla, Forsk. Faun. Arab. p. 8. 17. 

La Mouette blanche, Voy. d’Azara,iv. No. 411? 

Greater White Gull of Belon, Will. Engl. 348. Br. Zool. ii. No. 252. A: Jd. 1812, 
ii. p. 191. 

Red-legged Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 381. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


In this the fore part of the head is white; space round the eyes 
dusky ; from the corner of each eye a broad dusky bar, surrounding 
the hindhead ; behind that another, from ear to ear; ends and outer 
edges of the three first quills black; the ends and interior of the 


134 GULL. 


two next black, but the shafts and middle part white; the tips of 
the two following white, beneath a black bar; the rest, as well as the 
secondaries, ash-colour ; in other things itresembles the first described. 
In this state the feathers of the head are externally white, with here 
and there a dusky shade, but on raising them they appear to be 
white only at the ends, the rest being dusky or blackish. Both this 
and the foregoing appear to be complete in their plumage, and the 
former in the winter dress. 


B.—Larus maculatus, Mars. Dan.v. p.94. t.45. Klein, 138. 14. Gen. Syn. vi. 382. A. 
Larus erythropus, Gm. Lin.i. p.597.. Ind. Orn.ii. 812. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 506. Id. 
Ed. 2d. 783. 

Red-legged Gull, Arct. Zool. ii. 533. E. Br. Zool. Ed. 1812. 192. 

Gavia grisea minor, Buf. vi. p. 173. Id. 8vo. ii. p. 408. 

Brown-headed Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 383. Orn. Dict. 

Length fourteen inches. Bill red; eyelids scarlet; the head and 
throat mouse-colour, spotted with white; neck and belly white; the 
back and scapulars ash ; wing coverts dusky brown, edged with dusky 
white; the exterior sides, and part of the interior of the four first 
quills black ; tail white, the ten middle feathers tipped with black, 
near an inch broad ; the outer one plain; legs red. 

One of these was killed on the banks of the Esk, at Netherby, — 
the seat of Sir J. Graham. Mr. Pennant’s bird was shot in Anglesea. 


C.—Sterna obscura, Ind. Orn. ii. 810. 
Brown Tern, Gen. Syn. vi. 368. 
Brown Gull, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 331. Br. Zool. 1812.11. p. 193. Orn, Dict. & Supp. 


Length fifteen inches. The bill yellow as far as the hook of the 
upper, and to the gibbous part of the lower mandible, from thence 
black; hindhead and nape dusky; at the anterior angle of the orbit 
a black spot, another of the same behind the ear; forehead, throat, 
neck before, belly, vent, and rump white; the back, scapulars, and 


GULL. 135 


upper range of wing coverts, next the body, grey ; the middle series 
brown, edged and tipped with white; the lower grey, with white tips; 
bastard wing black and white; the quills deeply tipped with black, 
fringed with white; middle of the feathers and shafts white; outer 
webs banded with black, inner webs dusky, but deeper ; secondaries 
dusky, tipped with grey ; the two outer tail feathers white ; the rest 
white, with a bar* of dusky; legs dusky; claws black. 

I received this from the late Mr. Boys, of Sandwich ; supposed 
to be the young of the Black-headed ; as in this, as well as the Red- 
legged, the feathers of the head and parts of the neck, which in the 
complete bird are black, are only so for three parts of the length, 
the tips being white; and it is further conjectured, that birds with 
the black heads are only in that state during the breeding season, for 
it is certain, that such are not seen at any other time. 

According to Col. Montagu, in the first plumage the feathers are 
more or less mottled with brown and white, which, in a short time 
after leaving the nest, are displaced by those which are wholly white 
underneath, the head becomes white, with an obscure spot behind 
the ear; but the back, scapulars, and wing coverts continue mottled 
longer. In this state it comes nearest to the description of the 
Brown Gull, our Var. C, or last described. After this it obtains the 
plumage of the Brown-headed, or Var. B, and when more complete 
that of the Red-legged, or Var. A, and finally becomes the full 
plumed bird, called the Black-headed Gull: other markings will 
also be found in individuals in the intermediate states, which of 
course, might give rise to further descriptions ; it is, however, neces- 
sary to say, that the bill and legs only become red gradually, both 
being dark-coloured in proportion as the bird is younger; the tail, 
too, has the black bar at the end till the bird arrives at the state of 
the Red-legged ; after which it becomes, and continues, of a pure 
white. 


* One, shot at Romsey, the last week in December, differed in having only the outer 
tail feather wholly white ; the rest white, with the ends, for three quarters of an inch, black. 


136 GULL. 


The Black-cap, Pewwit, or Puit, Gulls, as by some called, breed 
on the shores of some of our rivers, but full as often in the inland 
fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and other parts of England ; 
likewise in Northumberland, and Scotland; they make the nest on 
the ground, with rushes, dry grass, and such like, and lay three 
greenish brown eggs, marked with red brown blotches; after the 
breeding season disperse again to the sea coasts. Mr. Ray* gives 
this account of them—‘‘ We diverted out of our way to see the Puits, 
‘‘which we judged to be a sort of Lari, ina Meer, at Norbury, 
‘“« belonging to Col. Skrimshaw. They build altogether in an Islet, 
‘in the middle of a Pool; each hen Jayeth three or four eggs, of a 
‘ dirty blue or sea-green, spotted with black ; at the driving every 
year, they take commonly above 100 dozen young, which they 
sell at five shillings the dozen. The colour of the Puit is near 
that of a Sea Mew, 2.e. white and somewhat flecked, only the 
head is perfectly black ; about the bigness ef a Teal or a Widgeon. 
They come to this Meer the beginning of March, and are all gone 
by the latter end of July, or before. They usually drive them 
about the 6th or 8th of June, sooner or later. They have some- 
times divided, and part renoved to another Meer not far off, but 
this is not often.” Dr. Plot, in bis History of Staffordshire,+ 
gives a similar account; and adds, that the young birds are accounted 
good eating, and are kept alive, and fattened on offal. They were 
driven into nets, and three drivings generally made in one season; 
and anciently, as many were taken, as the profit amounted to fifty 
or sixty pounds. 

The young birds about the Thames are called Red-legs, and are 
thought to be good eating, but the old ones, called Blaecx-caps, are 
less esteemed, being rank, Jike other old birds.—Found in Russia, 
and thronghout Siberia, as far as Kamtschatka, but not farther north. 
Are in such numbers at Aleppo in winter, and so tame, that the 
women divert themselves on the terraces of the houses by throwing 


* Select Itemains, p. 217. + p. 231. 


: GULL. 137 


up pieces of bread, which these birds catch in the air ;* not uncom- 
mon on the Caspian Sea; also found in America, coming into New 


England in May, and departing in August.t 


3.—LAUGHING GULL. 


Larus atricilla, Ind. Orn. ii. 813. Lin.i. 225. Gm. Lin. i. 600. Fn. Helv. WN. C. 
Petr. xv. 478. t.22. f. 2.—young bird. Act, Holm. iv. 120. 8. Tem. Man. Ed. 
ii. p. 780. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 695. 

Gavia ridibunda, Bris. vi. 192. B. t. 18. f. 1. Jd. Svo. 11. 413. 

Larus albus, Scop. i. No. 106. 

- major cinereus Baltneri, Raid, 129.8. Wall. 263. t. 67. 

- minor capite nigro, Klein, dv. 139. 16. 

Baltner’s Great Sea Mew, Will. Engl. 346. pl. 67. 

Grande Mouette blanche of Belon, Bewick, ii. pl. p. 228. 

Laughing Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 883. Cat. Car. i. pl. 89. Br. Zool. 1812. 11. 193. Aret. 
Zool. ii. No. 454, Amer. Orn. ix. pl. 74. f.4. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


THIS is rather bigger than the Black-headed Gull; length 
eighteen inches, breadth three feet; weight eight ounces. It appears 
to have much the same markings in respect to plumage, but the bill 
is stronger, and the head larger in proportion ; the tail too, is shorter; 
the colour of the bill is red, but the legs are reddish black ; or, 
according to some, very deep red. That described by Brisson, as the 
female, having a cinereous head, and the forehead and throat spotted 
with white, as well as the one in the Petersburgh Transactions, of 
a less size, and the head spotted black and white, are no doubt young 
birds, or described at a season when the black head was not con- 
spicuous.—This species seems to be most plentiful in Russia, on 
the River Don, particularly about Tschercask ; the note resembles 
a coarse laugh, whence the name of the bird. We have had our 
suspicions of this bird being in England, as our Jate friend, Mr. 
Boys, once mentioned having met with a Gull with black legs, but 
we were unconscious of its being a British Species. I had also g 


* Russ. Alep. + Arct. Zool. 
VOL, X. “ly 


138 GULL. 


skin of one given to me, which was thought. to have been killed in 
England; but Colonel Montagu has determined this matter, by 
assuring us, that he saw five of them together, feeding in a pool, 
upon the Shingly Flats, near Winchelsea, in August, 1774: two only 
were black on the head, the others mottled all over with brown ; one 
of them was shot, the others were too shy to be procured. This 
Gentleman also saw two others, near Hastings, in Sussex ; and 
observes, that. this species may be easily known from the Black- 
headed, even on the wing, the flight being different; the bird 
appears much larger, and the tail shorter in proportion.* It is like- 
wise met with in more places than one on the Continent of America, 
and very numerous in the Bahama Islands; and also found at 
Cayenne.—A Gull with a black head and dusky yellow irides, 
frequents Hudson’s Bay, coming in May; makes the nest on the 
on the pine trees, lays four lead-colour eggs, and departs south in 
September; feeds on fish and worms, and is called by the natives 
Akeese-keeask.+ 

We suspect also that it inhabits India, as we have seen one corres- 
ponding in drawings from thence, but this had only the fore part of 
the head, including the eye, and the chin and throat, dusky black. 


4.—GEORGIAN GULL. 


LENGTH eighteen inches, breadth thirteen... Bill long, blackish, 
point red; irides yellow brown; head for the most part, neck, and 
all beneath, white; from the crown to the nape, and to the eye; 
dusky white, mottled with pale cinereous-brown; on the ears a 
patch of the latter; back and wings pale biuish ash ; rump and tail 
white; the three first quills black, the second and third tipped with 
white; the first wholly black, and shorter by an inch; the fourth and 
fifth dove-colour ; the first of these black for one inch and a half; and 


* Orn. Dict. + Mr. Hutchins. 


GULL. 139 


the last for one inch from the end, with white tips; the rest dove-colour, 
tipped white ; the ends of all the secondaries are also white, but not 
seen unless the wing is expanded; under wing coverts white; the 
quills reach one inch beyond the tail; legs two inches, and black, 
with a tinge of pink-colour. 

Inhabits Savanna, in Georgia, and parts thereabouts. A speci- 
men sent from thence by Mr. Abbot, by the name of Cinereous Gull. 
He observes, that the bird was new to him. 

We have placed this as distinct, not without suspicion of its being 
allied to the Laughing Gull, but be this as it may, the tail being 
wholly white, seems to prove it an adult bird, and probably in its 
change from summer to winter plumage. 

A second of these sent to Mr. Francillon, and shot in October, 
at which time the former was killed, was only sixteen inches long. 
Bill dusky, reddish towards the base ; forehead to the crown white ; 
crown, nape, and hind part of the neck, mottled brownish ash ; back 
dove-colour; wings pale mottled ash; the first quill longest, and 
black ; the first five plain, the others white at the tips; the secon- 
daries sooty, deeply margined at the end, with white; rump and tail 
for three-fourths of the length white ; the end for one inch and a half 
black ; the quills exceeding the end of it by an inch and a half. 


3.—MASKED GULL. 


Larus capistratus, Mouette a masque brun, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 785. 


LENGTH thirteen inches. Bill smaller, and more slender than 
im the Black-headed, but the plumage in general not far different : 
the outer quills with white shafts; the whole front of the head light 
brown, giving the idea of a mask; the legs are shorter than in the 
Black-headed, and reddish brown. 

In the summer the mask. is dirty grey brown; top of the head, 


cheeks, opening of the ears, and throat, light brown; nape and fore 
ang 


140 GULL. 


part of the neck white, and the brown on the throat much deeper 
than on the head; legs reddish. M.Temminck says, this bird has 
not hitherto been discriminated from the Black-headed Gulls; but 
it differs in being smaller; by its bill and legs being both more 
slender; the toes shorter; and the under wing coverts light ash-colour, 
instead of dusky. 

Inhabits chiefly the Arctic Circle; common in the Orknies, in 
Scotland, and on some of the Coasts of England. One, exactly the 
same, has also been met with both in Baftin’s Bay, and Davis's 
Straits. 


6.—LITTLE GULL. 


Larus minutus, Ind. Orn. ii. 813. Gm. Lin. i. 595. Pall. reise, iii. 702.35. N. Act. 
Stockh. 1783. 2. No 1. p.120. Tem. Man. 509. Id. Ed. 2d. 787. Franklin’s 
Narr. App. p. 696. 

Larus atricilloides, Ind. Orn. 11. 813. Gm. Lin. i. 601. Falck. It. iii. 355. t. 24. 

Little Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 391. 17. Orn. Dict. 


SIZE of the Missel Thrush. Bill reddish brown; irides bluish ; 
the head and beginning of the neck black; the rest of the neck and 
bedy white; back and wings grey, but the quills are white at the 
ends; tail even, white; legs red. 

Inhabits the southern parts of Russia and Siberia; found about 
the shores of the Caspian Sea, and the rivers falling into it, migrating 
in summer up the Wolga, in order to breed, but is a rare species. 


A.—Little Gull, Orn. Dict. App. pl. in ditto. 

Sterna fusca, Ratz, 131. A. 15. Wall. 268. 

Brown Tern, Ein Kessler, Well. Engl. 352. 

This is the Brown Tern of Baltner, as quoted by Ray and Wil- 
lughby, and concerning which we have hitherto been under much 
uncertainty; bat through the kindness of the late Earl of Dartmouth, 
in whose possession Leonard Baltner’s drawings were, we have been 


GULL. 141 


favoured with an inspection of them. ‘The one in question, there 
figured, has the appearance and bill of a Gull, with a brownish lead- 
coloured plumage, mottled about the head, and sides under the eyes; 
the quills and tail of even lengths. It is described as being the size 
of an Ouzel, with long wings, short legs, generally black; the guts 
white, close together asa snail, three-quarters of an ell long; that it 
comes in May (on the Rhine), and stays to July; sometimes many 
fly together. On the 20th of April, 1650, four of them were killed, 
which were all hens, and had eggs as big asa radish seed, all of the 
same size; they breed in July. 

This, we have no doubt, is a female, or immature bird of the 
Little Gull, which we may suppose to gain the black about the head 
by degrees, in the same manner as the Black-headed Species. 

The Little Gull has been lately found to inhabit our kingdom, 
for which knowledge we are indebted to Mr. Plasted, of Chelsea, 
who obliged me with a sight of a specimen, preserved in his collec- 
tion, and which was shot on the Thames, not far from his house. 
It answers to Baltner’s short description, but will be better under- 
stood by the fellowimg account. 

The length is about ten inches. Bill three-quarters of an inch 
or more; inside of the mouth orange; forehead and crown white ; 
back of the head and part of the neck contiguous, dark cinereous, with 
a hoary tinge; behind the eye a white streak; on the ears a black 
spot; between the bill and eye white, but forwards the orbit is black; 
from whence to the black spot on the ear is a mixture of dark 
cinereous and white ; body above cinereous grey ; upper tail coverts 
mostly white; beneath from the chin white, but the grey of the 
back tends a little downwards on each side of the breast; tail some- 
what concave at the end, the feathers white, the tips for about an 
inch black, but the outer one wholly white, except a smali dusky 
spot within at the end, the tips ending in dirty white; the wings 
mixed black, white, and cinereous; greater quills white within, the 
outer webs, shafts, and part of the inner webs close to the shafts, the 


142 GULL. 


tips, and part of the inner margins black ; on the three outer a small 
white speck at the tip; the others to the seventh marked also at the 
end, but the white occupies more space; legs dusky yellow; the 
wings exceed the tail in length one inch and a half. 

The above will perhaps be sufficiently descriptive, but as Colonel 
Montagu has in his work been more explicit in his account of the 
bird, we will refer the reader thereto. 


7.—FORKED-TAILED GULL. 


Larus Sabini, Forked-tailed Gull, Lin. Trans. xii. p.520. pl. 29. & 551. Parry’s 
App. p. cev. 
Xeme Sabini, Ross, Voy: App. p. lvi. pl. in ditto. 


THIS species is in length from twelve and a half to fourteen 
inches, and has about thirty-three inches in extent of wing; weight 
from six and a half to seven.and a half ounces. The bill one inch, 
black, with the end yellow; inside of the mouth vermilion ; irides 
dark, surrounded by a naked circle of vermilion, and a small white 
speck beneath the eye, scarcely perceptible; head and upper part of 
the neck dark ash lead-colour; the remainder of the neck, the breast, 
and belly, pure white; a narrow black collar surrounds the neck at 
the meeting of the ash-colour and white; back, scapulars, and wing 
coverts ash, very much lighter than the head, but darker than the 
corresponding parts in the Laughing Gull; the shafts of the first 
prime quills black; outer webs the same; the edges of their upper 
webs white to within one inch and a half of the tips, the white 
sometimes continued to the point; the tips of the first and second quills 
in some white, in others black; those of the third, fourth, and fifth 
white, giving, when the wing is closed, a spotted appearance; the 
sixth prime quill has a white shaft, with the web more or less black, 
but principally white, with sometimes a black spot near the end; the 
other primaries, secondaries, and tertials, white ; the under part of the 
wings wholly white; feathers of the tail white, twelve im number, 


GULL. 143 


the outer ones five inches long; the others gradually shortening, so 
that the whole becomes forked by a diminution of nearly one inch ; 
the wings reach, when closed, an inch or more beyond the longest 
feathers of the tail; legs, feet, and claws, black ; the thighs feathered 
to within three-eighths of an inch of the joint. 

Such is the description of a Gull, which appears to be a new 
species, for the account of which we are indebted to Captain Sabine, 
who accompanied the late Expedition .in search of a North-West 
Passage. The description was taken in the breeding season, and in 
complete plumage; but it is probable, that in its immature and winter 
state, it resembles other Black-headed Gulls, in being divested of the 
dark plumage of the head.* 

These birds were met with in considerable numbers in the month 
of July, on a group of three low rocky islands on the west coast of 
Greenland, twenty miles distant from the main land, associated with 
the Common Tern, breeding there, and the nests of both intermingled. 
This species lays two eggs on the bare ground, one inch and a half 
in length, of a regular shape, not much pointed, colour olive, greatly 
blotched with brown: the manners and habits of this bird are but 
little known, not having been seen in any other instance during the 
voyage through Davis’s Straits and Baflin’s Bay; nor did they seem 
at all to be known to the Esquimaux, who served as an interpreter in 
the Expedition: they were observed to fly with impetuosity towards 
persons approaching their nests and young, and seemed to get their 
food on the sea beach, feeding on the marine insects which are cast 
on shore. Mr. Sabine describes a Gull with similar plumage, but 
differmg in having an even tail, and wanting the dark collar round 
the neck: this was brought from Hudson’s Bay. 

M. 'Vemminck mentions having seen the Forked-tailed Gull in 
the Museum at Vienna. 

* In Capt. Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 449. a Gull is mentioned with a black ring round 


the neck, with a beautiful tint of delicate rose-colour on the breast; no further description 
is given, but that the legs were red. 


144 GULL. 


8.—ADRIATIC GULL. 


Larus melanocephalus, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 777. 


LENGTH fifteen inches and a quarter. Bill strong, rather short, 
and the colour of vermilion; irides, and round the eyes, brown; the 
head, neck, upper parts, tail, and the quills, from the middle to the 
ends, white; back, wings, second quills, and base of the greater, 
light bluish ash; legs light orange. 

The young have the plumage mixed with deep brown; and the 
white of the head and outer edge of all the quills deep black, but 
the inner webs and ends white; at the end of the tail a black band. 

In the summer plumage, the head and upper part of the neck 
deep black ; fore part of the neck and belly rose-colour, which 
disappears soon after the death of the bird. 

Inhabits the Coasts of the Adriatic Sea; very common on those 
of Dalmatia, in the marshes. Communicated by M. Natterer. 


9.--ITALIAN GULL. 


LENGTH eighteen inches. Bill one inch and a half, deep 
blood-red; head fine deep black; back, wings, and rump, pale 
silvery grey; greater quills white; the onter web of the exterior 
black for four inches in the middle of the quill; the rest white; 
neck, breast, belly, and tail, pure white; the wings exceed the tail 
in length by two inches; legs deep red, the colour of the bill. 

Inhabits Italy : this seems to bear much affinity to the Crimson- 
billed or next Species, but the wings are wholly without the black, 
except part of the outer web of the exterior one. In the Museum 


of Mr. Bullock. 


GULL. 145 


10.—CRIMSON-BILLED GULL. 


LENGTH seventeen or eighteen inches. Bill from gape to 
point two inches, colour crimson; irides yellow-hazel ; eyelids dotted 
with crimson; head, neck, and under parts of the body, white; back 
and wings pale silvery grey; outer border of the wings white; some 
of the greater quills chiefly white; but two or three of the outer for 
the greater part black ; all of them are white near the ends, for an 
inch or more, and some of the tips are black: these are so long as 
to reach an inch beyond the end of the tail, which is white; legs 
crimson; webs and toes the same, but the former rather darker; 
claws black; legs bare above the knee for three quarters of an inch. 

Inhabits New-Holland; not unfrequent at New South Wales, 
most so in April. Native name Tanna-rang. Described from the 
collection of Mr. Francillon. 


11.—BLACK-BACKED GULL. 


Larus marinus, Ind. Orn. ii. 813. Lin. i. 225. Fn. suec. No. 155. Gm. Lin. i. 598. 
Act. Holm. iv. 101. Faun. groenl. No. 66. Brun. No. 145. Muller, No. 163. 
Bor. Nat. iii. 48, 4. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 543. Tem. Man. 492. Id. Ed. 2d. 760. 

Great White Gull, Bartr. Trav. 293. 

Larus niger, Bris. vi. 158. Jd. 8vo. ii. 403. 

——- maximus ex albo et nigro varius, Raitt, 127. A.1. Will. 261. Klein, 136. 1. 

Die Mantel meve, Beckst. Deuts. ii. 815. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 763. Schmid, t. 128. 

Le Goeland noir manteau, Buf. viii. 405. t. 31. Pl. enl. 990. 

La grande Mouette, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 409. 

Great black and white Gull, Will. Engl. 344. pl. 67. Albin, iti. pl. 94. 

Black-backed Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 871. Br. Zool. ii. No. 242. Id. fol. 140. pl. L. 
Id. 1812. 1. p. 172. Flor. Scot. i. pl. 5. f.2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 451. Bewick, 
ui. pl. p. 212. Lewin, vi. pl. 208. Id. xli—ege. Pult. Dors. p. 18. Walcot, 
pl. 112. Lin. Trans. viii. 267. Id. xii. 543. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


THE length of this Gull is twenty-nine inches, breadth five feet 


nine inches; weight near five pounds. The bill strong, and thick, 
VOL. X. U 


146 GULL. 


almost four inches long, pale yellow, the lower mandible marked 
with a red spot, having a black one in the middle; edges of the 
ayelids orange ; irides yellow ; the head, neck, all beneath, the lower 
part of the back and the tail, white; the upper part of the back and 
the wings black; quills tipped with white ; legs pale flesh-colour. 

This bird inhabits various parts of England, but we believe is 
less numerous than many of the other species ; it generally keeps in 
small flocks of eight or ten, sometimes in pairs, but never herding 
with the other Gulls. Said to breed on the Steep Holmes, and on 
Lundy Islands, in the British Channel; and is there called a Cobb. 
The young, for the first two or three years, are mottled all over with 
brown and white; the bill light horn-colour, tip black; quills 
dusky; tail mottled, near the end a dusky bar, tip white; irides 
and orbits dusky. These, from associating with the former, and 
their weight and size being but little inferior, may naturally be 
supposed to be young birds, and will accord with the synonyms 
following. 


YOUNG BIRD. 


Larus nevius, Gm. Lin. i. 598, Ind. Orn. ti. 814. Tem. Man. d’?Orn. 492. Fd. Ed. 
2d. 762. 

Larus varius, Bris. vi. 167.5. t. 15. Id. 8yo. i. 406. Brun. No. 150. Diuller, 169. 

—-- griseus maximus, Klein, 137.6. Id. Stem. t. 36. f. 1. a.b. Bart. Tr. p. 293. 

Wagellus Cornubiensium, Ratt, 130. A. 13. Will. 266. t. 66. 

Larus maculis Muscas referentibus variegatus, Gerin. v. t. 534. 

Bunte Sturmmeue, Shr. d. Berl. Nat. viii. 92. 

Die geflechte Meve,- ‘Bechst. Deuts. ii. SHA. 

Le Goeland varié, Grisard, Buf. viti. 413. pl. 33. Pl. enl. 266. 

Wagel Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 375. Br. Zool. ii. No. 247. A. pl. 28. Id. 1812. ii. p. 
182. pl. 33. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 453. Id. Sup. p. 70. Will. Engl. 349. pl. 
66. Bewick, i. pl. p. 216. Lewin, vi. No. 208. pl. xlii.—the egg. Walcot, i. 
pl. 111. Pult. Dors. p. 18. Orn. Dict. Lin. Trans. V. xii. 547. 


THIS is about two feet in length, and in breadth five; weight 
nearly three pounds. Bill black, from two to three imches long ; 
irides dusky; plumage in general ‘mixed brown, ash-colour, and 


GULL. 147 


white; the middle of each feather brown, beneath much the same, 
but paler; quills black ; the lower part of the tail mottled black 
and white, near the end a bar of black, beyond this the end is white; 
legs dirty flesh-colour ; in some white. There is very little doubt of 
this being the immature Black-backed Gull ;* an opinion has beep 
entertained of its being the female of that bird, and accounts given 
of the incubation, and egg considered as such,t but how far to 
reconcile this we know not, otherwise than by supposing it possible 
to breed before it acquires maturity, which it probably does not gain 
till the third year, and we have seen birds in the intermediate state, 
in which the general colour was more uniform, with a considerable 
tinge of deep lead-colour on the scapulars and wing coverts; and 
such were most likely in the second season of plumage. 

The Black-backed Species, or one pretty nearly corresponding, 
also found in New South Wales. 

Mr. Hooker informs us, that these birds breed by thousands, on 
two fine black, insulated rocks,t in the middle of the immense Lake 
of Thingevalle, in Iceland, under the naine of Syvart Bakr. Once 
seen by our late voyagers high up in Baffin’s Bay. 


12.—ICELAND GULL. 
Iceland.Gull, Wern. Trans. iv. pt. 1. p. 176. 


IN Mr. Ballock’s Museum was a Gull about the same size as 
that called the Wagel, yet differing in many particulars. The bill 
is longer, yellow, but without the red patch; general colour of the 
plumage dirty white, irregularly marked with brown spots; the 
under parts of the body darker than the upper; quills wholly white; 
tail even, marked with brown and white irregularly ; quills and tail 
equal in length ; legs bare one inch above the knee, and yellow. 

* Faun. groeni. + Lewin. + Called Sandsey and Nesey. The lake 


said to be fifteen miles long, and from five to twelve wide.— Tour in Iceland. p. Sl. 
U2 


148 GULL. 


Said to have come from Shetland, but it differs in many things 
from the Wagel; for the colours, though not much unlike, are 
differently blended; and again, this bird is darker beneath, but in 
the Wagel the under parts are paler; the bill, too, in this species is 
longer, and wholly yellow, which is in the Wagel dark-coloured, 
if not black. 

Mr. Edmondston, in the Wern. Trans. describes the adult in 
length two feet five inches, breadth five feet two inches, and weight 
five pounds: the back and upper part of the wings pale blue ; irides 
pale yellow; head and neck streaked with grey, the rest of the 
plumage and prime quills white; feet and legs like those of the 
Herring Gull, but larger. Some specimens vary, in having scarcely 
any grey on the head and neck, and supposed to be the most pertect 
birds.-—The above inhabits Iceland and Shetland; in the latter 
about Balta Sound ; seen sometimes by more than 100 in a flock ; 
but more frequent in the Island of Unst. The place of breeding 
unknown. Is called in Iceland Scorie: the plumage very dense, so 
as to render it difficult to be penetrated, unless with large shot: is 
said to have a great partiality for carrion. 


13.—GLAUCOUS GULL. 


Larus glaucus, Ind. Orn. ii. 814. Gm. Lin. i. 600. Brun. No. 148. Muller, No. 
169. Fn. groenl. No. 64. Act. Holm. iv. p. 97.1. Lin. Trans. xi. p. 543. 
Ross’s Voy. Ap. p. liv. Tem. Man. 495. Id. Ed. 2d. 758. Parr. App. p. cciil. 

Larus cinereus, Bris. vi. p. 160.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 404. Gerin. v. pl. 533. 

Goeland a manteau gris, Buf. viii. 406. pl. 32. Pl. enl. 253.* 

Le Bourgmeister Buf. viii. 418. 

Burgmeister, Mart. Spitsb. p. 60. t. L. F.D. Naum. Vog. t. 35. 

Groote Zee-Meeuw, Sepp, Vog. t. p. 195. 

Weisschwingige Meve, Bechst. Deuts. Ed. ii. Vo. iv. 662. 

Glaucous Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 374. Arct. Zool. ii. 532. B. Id. Sup. p. 70. 


* The engraver seems to have omitted the back toe, though it is sufficiently expressed 
in Buffon’s figure. 


GULL. 149 


Herring Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 872. Br. Zool. ii. No. 246. pl. 88. Id. fol. 141. Td. 
1812. ii. p. 181. pl. 33. Will. Engl. 345. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 214. Lewin, vi. p. 
7. Walcot, i. pl. 113. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH twenty-six inches. Bill yellow, with a patch of red 
on the under mandible ; irides yellow; head, neck, and all beneath 
white; the ends of the greater quills are also white, the outmost has 
a black spot within the white at the end; back and wings hoary 
grey; legs pale fulvous. Male and temale much alike. 

Inhabits Norway, Lapmark, Greenland, and Spitzbergen, and 
called by the Dutch, Burgmeister, being master of all other Sea 
Fowls. Is every where on the sea coast and bays of Greenland, at 
all seasons; lays three pale eggs on the crags of the rocks, among 
the grass in May, about the size of those of a Duck, marked with 
numerous brown spots. Its food various—chiefly the young and 
smaller fish ; will prey also on dead whales: often destroys the young 
of the Razor-bills, and will sometimes eat the berries of the black- 
berried heath* in defect of other food; is for the most part seen on 
the wing, making a noise like that of a Raven, or as some think, 
a Turkey. 

The young birds of the first year are pale fulvous, marked with 
dusky spots, which gradually disappear, till the plumage becomes 
perfect ; in this state the bill has no yellow spot, nor is it yellow. 
Whilst young the flesh is esteemed in Denmark, and thought to yield 
very little in flavour to that of a young Fowl. This bird is often 
caught with a hook, baited with a small fish, as the Father Lasher, 
‘or such like, on a pointed stick, tied in the middle and baited with 
a lump of lard, or other fat; and now and then struck with darts, 
whilst sleeping on the water. 

T have received this bird from Hudson’s Bay, twenty-three inches 
in length, and four feet in breadth. In this specimen six of the 
prime quills were black at the ends, near the tip of the outer a large 
spot of white, on the second a smaller one of the same on the inner 


* Faun. Groenl. 


150 GULL. 


‘web, near the tip, and the tip itself white; the four following white 
only at the tips; the second quills white at the ends; legs brownish 
red. Itis as numerous in the Polar Sea as in Baftin’s Bay, and 


Davis’s Strait. 
Dr. J. R. Forster mentioned to me, that he met with this species 
both at Terre del Fuego, and New Zealand. 


14.—HERRING GULL. 


Larus fuscus, Ind. Orn. ii. 815. Lin. i. 225. Fn. suec. No. 154. Gm. Lin. i. 599. 
Scop.i. No. 107. Brun. No. 142. Id. 143. Var. 104. young. Mull. No. 164. 
Georgi, p. 171. Frisch, t. 218. Borowsk. iii. p. 49. Act. Holm. iv. 105. Fn. 
Helvet. Sepp, ii. t. 101, Lim. Trans. viii. p. 267. Id. xii. p. 547. Tem. Man. 
497. Id. Ed. 2d. 767. 

Larus varius, Brun. No. 150. young bird. 

- orisens, Bris. vi. 162. Id. 8vo. ii. 405. Klein, Av. 137. 2. 

Gavia grisea, Bris. vi. 171.6. young. Jd.8vo.i1. 407. 

Larus cinereus maximus, Faiz, 127. A.2. Will. 262. Sloan. Jam. 322. Gerin. v. 
t. 533. 

Gabiano Zafterano mezza more, Gerin. v. 532. 

Die Heeringsmeve, Beschst. Deuts. ii. 818. Z£d. Ed. 2d. iv. 658. 

Goeland 4 manteau gris et blanc, Buf. viii. 421. in the third ‘year’s feathers. 

Herring Gull, Arct. Zool. ii. No. 402. Br. Zool. ii. No, 246. pl. 88. Id. fol. 141. 
Id. 1812. ii, 181. pl. 33. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


LENGTH twenty inches; weight thirty ounces. Bill yellow, 
with an orange spot on the under mandible; irides straw-colour; the 
edges of the eyelids red; the head and neck are white, with a pale 
dusky dash down the middle of each feather; front, throat, breast, 
and belly, the lower part of the back, and tail white; upper part of 
the back, the scapulars, and wings in general black, or deep ash; 
the quills black, towards the end of the two exterior an oval spot of 
white, the end black; the others white io the end; the secondaries 
and scapulars tipped with white; legs yellowish: the plumage in 
both sexes much the same. 


fo 


GULL. 15] 


Young birds are at first ash-coloured, spotted, or mottled with 
brown and dirty white; but do not arrive at full maturity until the 
third season, and even then in some specimens the wing coverts are 
still mottled with brown, with a mottled bar on the tail feathers: and 
it may be observed, that m the two first years the young of the 
Black-backed are so much alike, as not to be ascertained, till the 
mature feathers begin to appear on the back. 

The Herring Gull is common in this kingdom, and frequents 
the same places with the following species; scrapes together some 
dead grass for a nest, and lays three eggs, pale dirty white, marked 
with pale ferruginous streaks, and blotched with black, oval in shape, 
and two inches and three quarters in length. This species was found 
to breed on an Island off St. David’s, and the nests innumerable ; 
and as there was a mixture of the immature birds, we may be inclined 
to believe, that they breed before their plumage appears in the com- 
plete state. They are also in numbers about a mile south of Troup 
Head, and on the south Ronaldsha, Pentland, Skerrie, and Copinsha, 
and other places similar. 


15..-SILVERY GULL. 


Larus argentatus, Ind. Orn.ii. 814. Gm. Lin. i. 600. Brun. No. 149. Faun. groenl. 
p- 101. (Obs.) Lin. Trans. vin. 267, Tem. Man.494. Id. Ed.2d. 764. Frankl. 
Narr. App. p. 699. 

Goeland 4 manteau gris et blanc, Buf. vin. 421.—three year’s bird. 

Grande Mouette cendrée, Buf. viii. 428. Pl. enl. 977. 

Lesser black-backed Gull, Orn. Dict. § Supp. 

Silvery Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 375. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 533. C. Id. Sup. p. 70. 


THIS is about twenty-two inches in length, and weighs abou; 
thirty-six ounces. Bill yellow, with an orange spot on the under 
mandible ; irides pale yellow; the head, neck, tail, and all beneath, 
white; back, scapulars, and wings, dusky black ; prime quills dusky, 
towards the end black; the point of the first white, with the end 
black; the second the same, with only.a white spot within the black ; 


152 GULL. 


the others very slightly tipped with white; two or three of the 
scapulars are also tipped with white. According to Brunnich, the 
head and neck are marked in lines of ash-colour, but this is only 
seen in incomplete birds. The female is smaller, and the young birds 
at first are blotched, and spotted with brown, as in the Wagel. 

Inhabits Norway and Greenland; in plenty at Lesser Cumbray, 
in the Firth of Clyde; no other Gulls, not even the mottled ones of 
their own species, on the Island.* Breeds in abundance on Ramsay 
Island, in Pembrokeshire, and frequently with the Herring Gull, but 
less plentiful than the Black-backed, with which it never associates.+ 
The eggs like those of the Herring Gull, but larger; the young of 
both much alike: it is by far Jess numerous than the Herring Gull, 
but much more plentiful than the Great Black-backed. 


A.—Larus argentatus, Silvery Gull, Lin. Trans. V. xii. p. 546. Parry’s App. x. p. cciv. 


A bird under this title is mentioned by Capt. Sabine, which he 
describes by comparison with the Herring Gull. In general character 
of plumage they are not unlike, but without any black in the primary 
quills ; the shade of ash-colour on the back, scapulars, and coverts, 
varies in different specimens. The males about twenty-four inches 
long, the females rather less; extent of wing four feet and a half: 
the wings longer in proportion than those of the Herring Species. 

These were abundant in Davis’s Straits, and Baftin’s Bay, sup- 
posed to be specifically the same with the Herring Gull, but from 
the effect of climate the black markings of the prime quills changed 
to white. Mr. Pennant observes, that the Herring Gull inhabits 
Greenland throughout the year; but Mr. Sabine rather thinks that 
it is not so, as not a single one has been seen there with the black 
prime quill feathers; and that it is most probable to be the one he 
here describes. These were seen near Bear Island, with their young, 
the end of August.t 


* Lin. Trans. + Orn. Dict. + Parry’s second Voy. p. 61. 84. 


GULL. 15: 


16.—COMMON GULL. 


Larus canus, Ind. Orn.ii. p. 815. Lin. i. 224. Fn. suec. No. 153. Gm. Lin.i. 596. 
Sepp, pl.56. Brun. No.141. Muller, No.162. Georgi, p.170. Fn. arag. p. 79. 
Borowsk. iii. p.47. 8. Act. Holm. iv. p. 109. Fn. Helv. Tem. Man, 501. Id. 
Ed. 2d. p. 774. 

Larus cinereus rostri extremitate et pedibus croceis, Gerin. y. t. 530. 

Larus canescens, Hasselq. It. 272. 39. Id. Voy, 202. 

Gavia cinerea, Bris. vi. 175. t.16. f.1? Jd. 8vo. ii. 408. 

Gavia cinerea major, Bris. vi. p. 182. t. 16. f,2. Id. 8yo. ii. p. 410. 

Larus rostro nigro, Klein, Av. 137. 5. Id. Ov. 35. t. 20. f. 5. 

Larus cinereus minor, Razz, 127. A.3. Wall. 262. t.'76. 

La grande Mouette cendrée, Buf. viii. 428. Pl. end. 977. 

Gabbiano minore di color cinerizio, Zinnan. Uov. 115. t. 22. f. 104. 

Kleine graue Mewe, Naturf. xii. 143. 

Die gemeine Meve, Bechst. Deuts.ii. 808. Id. Ed. 2d. iv, p. 648. 

La Mouette cendrée, Voy. d’Azara,iv. No. 410. 

White web-footed Gull, Albin, ii. pl. 84. 

Common Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. p.378. Br. Zool. ii. No. 249. pl. 89. f.2. Id. fol. 142. 
Id. 1812. ii; p. 184. pl. 34. f.2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 458. Jd. Sup. p. 70. Will. 
Engl, 345, pl. 76. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 218. Lewin, vi. pl. 215. Id. xliv. f. 1. the 
egg. Donov. ii. pl. 46. Walcot,i. pl. 110. Pult. Dors. p. 18. Graves, Vol. 1. 
Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH eighteen inches, breadth three feet; weight sixteen 
ounces. Bill yellow; irides hazel; eyelids brown; head, neck, under 
parts, and tail white; back and wings pale blue grey; the outer edge 
of the first four quills, and ends of the first five black; but the 
fourth: and. fifth have a white spot at the tips; the rest, except the 
three nearest the body, have the ends white; legs dulb greeenish 
white ; in some spotted with yellowish. 

The young of this, as of all of the Gull Tribe, are more or less 
mottled with brown, which they lose by degrees, as they approach 


to maturity. 
VOL. X. x 


154 GULL. 


A.—Larus hybernus, Gm. Lin.i. 596. Tem. Man. 500. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 773. 

Gavia hyberna, Bris. vi. 189. Id. 8vo. ii. 411. 

Larus fuscus, seu hybernus, Razz, 130. A.14. Will. 266. t. 66. Klein, 138. 9. 

Larus ex cinereo, albo, fusco, et nigric. infectus et maculatus, Gerin. vy. t. 531. 

Larus nostratibus vulgo Guairo, Gerin. v. t.535 ? 

Larus maculatus, Brun. No. 146. 147. 

Guaeu-guacu, Rati, 130. 12. Will. 268. Id. Engl. 352. 

Mouette d’Hyver, Buf. viii. 437. 

Winter Mew, Coddy Moddy, Gen. Syn. vi. p. 384. Br. Zool. ii. No. 248. pl. 86. 1. 
Td. fol. p. 142. pl. L. 2. Id. 1812. ii. 185. pl. 34. f.1. Will. Engl. 350. pl. 66. 
Alb. ii. pl. 87. Bewick, ii. p. 221. Donov. pl. 77. Walcot,i. pl.114.. Lewin, 
vi. pl, 210. 


Size of the last. Bill two inches long, horn-colour, tip black, 
and bent at the end; irides hazel; top of the head, hind part, and 
sides of the neck white, marked with oblong dusky spots; back 
ash-colour; scapulars and wing coverts the same, marked with dusky 
brown; forehead, all the under parts, and rump, white; the first 
quill black, the six following more or less black at the ends; the 
others tipped with white; tail white, with a bar of black near the 
end; legs dirty bluish white. 

This is, without doubt, only an immature bird of the Common 
Gull, probably in the plumage of the second year; and they vary 
too, in respect to size and weight, in their different stages of growth. 

This species seems to be the most common of all the Genus, being 
found in vast numbers on our shores and rivers, contiguous to the sea ; 
sometimes approaching far inland; seen to follow the plough for 
the sake of picking up worms, and in particular are fond of the larve 
of the chafer beetle.* Is seen in flocks of hundreds, on the shores 
of the Thames, and other rivers, in the winter and spring at low 
water, picking up various worms and small fish left by the tide; has 
been also met with sometimes at sea, 200 miles from land. It breeds 


* Scarabeus Melolontha.—Lin. 


GULL. 155 


like others, on the rocks and cliffs, and lays two, or at most three, 
dull, olive-brown eggs, about the size of those of a Hen, marked 
with irregular, dusky red blotches. The nests generally made of 
sea weed, and placed near together, about fourteen feet from the sea 
beach. On the Continent it is a general inhabitant; seen as far 
north as Iceland, and the Russian Lakes ; also in the neighbourhood 
of the Caspian Sea, and various shores of the Mediterranean, as well 
as in Greece, but no where more plentiful than on the shores of 
Andalusia, and about the Bay of Gibraltar, except in the breeding 
season, when they retire to the more rocky, and less frequented 
shores of Spain and Barbary. All the winter they attend the 
fishermen in prodigious flocks, but will suffer no other persons to 
come near them, either on land or water; and it requires much 
patience and dexterity to get an opportunity of shooting them. One 
very similar is found in India, but with yellow bill and legs. It is 
called there Gongcheel ; is also found in America, being frequent on 
the coast of Newfoundland. 

Much has been said about the gelatinous substance called Star 
Shot, or Star Jelly, which is the half-digested remains of worms, 
frogs, &c. first swallowed by Gulls or Herons, and the indigestible 
parts brought up again; for on examination, the limbs of frogs have 
sometimes been found attached, and this lump of matter being further 
enlarged, and swelled by rain and moisture, when found in the 
marshes and low lands, puts on the appearance of a jelly, and in this 
state has been mistaken for the Tremella Nostoc, but the difference 
between the two may be detected by the scientific botanist.* 


* See Br. Zool. Art. Winter Gull. Morton’s Northampt. p. 353. Gent. Mag. 1793. 
p- 1385. Bee, Vol. ii. p. 132. Also Wither. Bot. Ed.ii. Vol. ivy. p. 80. Sowerby’s Botany, 
pl. 461. 


156 GULL. 


17.—IVORY GULL. 


Larus eburneus, Ind. Orn. il. p. 816. Gm. Lin. i. 596. Phipp’s Voy. p. 187. Lin. 
Trans. xii. 548. Tem. Man. 498. Id. Ed.2d. 769. Ross’s Voy. App.liv. Parr. 
App. p. cciv. ; 

Larus niveus, Act. Holm.iv. p. 100. 2. Mart. Spitz. t. L. f. A. 

Larus candidus, Fn. groenl. No. 67. Muller, p. 8. 

Rathsher, 2. e. Senator, Razz, 126. 1. Mart.'Spitz. p. 77. Adel. 359. 41d. t. 13. f. 4. 
Salern. Orn. 382. 

La Monette blanche, Buf. viii. 422. Pl. enl. 994. 

Ivory Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 377. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 457. 


LENGTH. sixteen inches; breadth thirty-seven. Bill two inches 
long, dead-coloured, with .a pale tip; orbits saffron; the irides dark 
brown ; -plumage wholly white; the wings very long, exceeding the 
tail, andieven the. legs, when at length ; the legs lead-colour, claws 
black. In young birds the bill is black; the plumage marked with 
oblong black spots,.especially on the back and wings. 

This species seems to prefer the most northern situations, inhabitin g 
both Coasts of Greenland, and met with far out at sea, very seldom 
approaching the land, except in-breeding time; but is then sufficiently 
tame, so as to be shot without difficulty; whereas at. sea it is very 
shy. Frequent in the Frozen Sea, between Asia and America, and 
off Cape Denbigh, a little to the south of Behring’s Straights; met 
with by our late voyagers at Aoonalaschka, and has a rough and 
loud kind of scream; further than the above, the manners are not 
known; is seen at Spitsbergen, and the most northern coasts; 
abundant in Baffin’s Bay, in company with the Fulmar. 


18.—HUDSONIAN GULL. 


LENGTH twenty-seven inches and a half, breadth five feet. 
Bill and legs flesh-colour; irides straw; the plumage wholly of a 


GULL. 157 


beautiful white, except a few of the tail coverts, which are barred 
with dusky. The young are blackish, and the old ones do not 
become perfectly white under three years. 

Inhabits Hudson’s Bay; is scarce along the coasts, but more 
plentiful in the Islands, and inland lakes, where it makes a slight 
nest on the ground, of dry grass, and lays four white eggs. This 
was described to me by the late Mr. Hutchins, under the name of 
Ivory Gull, but I suspect it to be a distinct species, as it so very 
much exceeds that in size. 


19.—BLACK-TAILED GULL. 


SIZE of the Common Gull. Bill yellow; irides brown; eyelids 
yellow; head deep black ; general colour of the plumage pale silvery 
ash; belly and vent white; wing coverts pale cinereous blue, imclin- 
ing to brown at the bend; quills and tail wholly black; legs yellow. 

Inhabits India. From the drawings of Sir J. Anstruther. 


20.—KITTIWAKE GULL. 
OLD: BIRD. 

Larus tridactylus, Ind. Orn. ii. 817. Tem. Man. 503. Id. Ed. 2d.-774. 

Larus Rissa, Lin. i. 224. Gm. Lin.i. 594, Brun. No. 140. Muller, No. 160. Jsl. 
reise, 390. t.23. Fn. groenl. No. 63. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 549. Ross. Voy. Ap. 
p. lin. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 695. 

Kutiegef, Adel. 361. t. 14. f..6. Gm. reise, ii. 1912 

Gavia.cinerea, Bris. vi. p. 175. t. 16. f. 12 Id. Syo. ii. 408. 

Larus albus minor, Bartr. Trav. 293. 

Islandische Meve, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 804. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 628. 

Le Goiland cendré, Pl. enl.. 253. Bris. vic t. 14,2 Jd: 8vo. ii. 404. 

Kittiwake, Gen. Syn. vi. 393. Br. Zool. ii.. No. 250. pl. 89.. Zd. 1812. ii. 186. pl. 34. 
f. 1. $2bb. Scot. 20. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 456. Tour in Scotland, 1769. (4to. ed.) 
p. 145. Phipps’s Voy. 187. Bewick,ii. pl. p. 229. Lewin, vi. 13. pl. 214. Id. 
xlin. 2—the egg. Lin. Trans. viii. 267. Walcot, i. pl. 108. Pult. Dors. p.AS. 
Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH eighteen inches; weight seven or eight ounces. Bill 
yellowish, length two inches; irides dusky; inside of the mouth and 


158 GULL. 


tongue orange; head, neck, belly, rump, and tail, pure white; back 
and wings dove-colour, or light grey; the outer edge of the first 
quill feather, and the tips of the four or five next black ; legs dusky, 
with a knob instead of a back toe. Some have a dusky spot behind 
the ear, shewing that the bird is not in the most perfect state of 
completion. 


YOUNG BIRD. 


Larus tridactylus, Ind. Orn. ii. 817. 11. 8B. Lin.i. 224.2. Fn. suec. No. 157. Gm. 
Lin.i. 595. Muller, No. 161. Isl. reise, 572. t. 24, 25. Faun. groenl. p. 98. 
No. 63. Faun. Helv. Borowsk. iii. 47. 2. 

Larus nevius, Lin. i. 225. 5. 

Gavia cinerea nevia, Bris. vi. 185. 11. t. 17. 2. Id. Svo. ii, 410. 

Larus vulgo Terragnola, et Goletra dictus, Gerin. v. t, 529, 

- cinereus Bellonii, Rati, 128. A. 4. Will. 263. t. 68. 

—- albo cinereus torque cinereo, Aldr. il. t. p.77. Will. 266. t. 66. 

- cinereus Piscator, Alein, 137. III. 

Kuutge-Gef, Klein, Av. 148, 9—169. 4. 

Die Winter Meve, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 805. Naturf. xii. 142. 

La Mouette cendrée tachetée, Buf. viii. 424.. Pl. enl. 387. 

Tarrock, Gen. Syn. vi. 392. Id. Sup. 268. Br. Zool. ii. No. 251. Id. fol. 142. pl. 
L.3. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 187. Arect. Zool. ii. 533. D. Id. Sup. p. 70. Fi. Scot. i. 
p. 41. 193. Will. Engl. 346. pl. 68. Bewick, 1. 231. Lewin, vi. p. 12. pl. 213. 
Walcot, i. pl. 109. Orn. Dict. 


Length fourteen inches; weight seven or eight ounces. Bill 
black ; head, neck, and under parts, white; near each ear, and under 
the throat, a black spot; at the hind part of the neck a crescent of 
black; back and scapulars bluish grey; wing coverts dusky, edged 
with grey, some of the larger wholly so; the exterior sides and ends 
of the first four quills black; tips of the two next black ; all the rest 
white; the ten middle tail feathers white, tipped with black; the 
two outmost wholly white; legs dusky ash-colour : instead of a back 
toe, there is only a protuberance. This is the plumage of the second 
season, when these birds are found at their breeding places with the 
Kittiwake. During the first they are mottled like other young Gulls, 
and are not complete in feather till the third year. 


TERN. 159 


A.—This is larger than the Tarrock, and differs but little in 
general markings; on the ear a spot of black ; at the lower part of 
the neck behind the feathers marked with a dusky black bar just at 
the tip; from the bend of the wing to the tip of the second quills 
an oblique bar of black ; tail white, all but the outer feathers tipped 
for one inch with black. 

Inhabits Kamtschatka, and seems to be a Variety of the Tarrock, 
but of a larger size. Ina second, from the same place, the markings 
were much less distinct, with the addition of some clouds of black 
below the nape. Both these were in the possession of Sir J. Banks. 

The Kittiwake, in all its stages, inhabits various parts of England, 
though, perhaps, less generally than many other Species: is called, 
about Flamborough Head, the Petrel, and is found in the cliffs 
thereabouts; also in the Bass Isle, the vast rocks near the Castle of 
Slains, in the county of Aberdeen; Priestholme Isle, on the Isle of 
Glass; Troup Head ; in the vicinity of Montrose, and other places ; 
but rarely appearing in the more southern parts ; yet I have received 
specimens shot near Faversham, in Kent, and others killed near 
Teignmouth, Devon, in November, 1785. 

Is found also in Greenland, Spitzbergen, Iceland, and the north 
of Europe, the Arctic Coast of Asia, and Kamtschatka; by the 
Icelanders it is called Ritsa. We are able to trace this bird as far 
south as Gibraltar, where it is seen in the Bay with others of the 
Genus; is likewise met with at Newfoundland : the eggs are two in 
number, greenish white, marked with black and brown spots, and 
deposited in a sort of nest in June, composed of dry confervee ; in 
Greenland it feeds chiefly on a small fish of the salmon genus,* sand 
eels,t and other small fishes: the noise these birds make, while 
hovering over their nests, when in great numbers, is intolerable, and 
they are equally restless at sea. The skins are used for garments by 


* Salmo arcticus.—Lin. + Ammodytes Tobianus.—Lin. 


160 GULL. 


the Greenlanders, and their flesh and eggs both eaten; the young are 
also brought to the markets of Edinburgh with the Gannet, and sold 
as articles of food. 

Multitudes annually arrive in Shetland for the purpose of breed- 
ing: in the Island of Foula, they are so congregated in a kind of 
natural arch, on the north-west side, as completely to whiten the face 
of the rock, and where the fowler, if so disposed, may kill them by 
bushels.* 


B.—A bird is mentioned by Mr. L. Edmonston, which, although 
differing very little in plumage from the Kittiwake, may possibly 
prove distinct. In this the upper part of the neck and head are pale 
blue; on each ear a darker spot; the plumage otherwise like the 
Kittiwake.—Small flocks of this are observed in Zetland towards the 
end of autump, generally frequenting exposed bays: in form they 
seem more elegant, erect, and elongated ; the mode of flight different, 
not unlike that of the Lapwing. This Variety is only to be found for 
about a month, and though at first numerous, it soon almost entirely 
disappears, yet some of the Kittiwakes still remain. Supposed to 
breed in Greenland. 


21.—PULO-CONDOR GULL. 


Larus Pulo-Condor, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. lxviii. Mus. Carls. fase. iv. t. 83. 

Pulo-Condor Gull, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 332. 

SIZE uncertain. Bill black; the forehead ash-colour; crown 
the same, with a mixture of white; plumage on thé upper parts 
rusty ash-colour and brown mixed ; beneath white; hindhead, nape, 
and shoulders, black; legs yellow, claws black. In the coloured 
print of the bird, the legs are without a hind toe, but the cireum- 
stance is not mentioned in the description. ~ 

Inhabits the Island of Pulo-Condor, in the East Indian Sea. 


* Wern. Mem. iv. pt. 2. 249.—Captain Vetch. 


GULL. 161 


* NOSTRILS COVERED WITH A CERE. 


22._SKUA GULL. 


Larus Catarractes, Ind. Orn. ii. 818. Lin.i. 226. Gm. Lin.i. 603. Borowsk. iii. p. 50. 

Lestris Catarractes, Tem. Man. 511. Jd. Ed. 2d. 792. 

Larus fuscus, Bris. vi. 165. Jd. 8vo. ii. 405. Klein, Av. 137. 7. 

Catharacta Skua, Brun. No. 125. Muller, No. 167. En. suec. Retz. No. 123. 

Catarractes et Catarracta, Raii, 128. A.6. Id. 129.7. Will. 265. Id. Engl. 348, 
349. pl. 67. Sibb. Scot. p. 2. 1. iii. p. 20. pl. 14. 2. 

Le Goéland brun, Buf. viii. 408. 

Gabbiano, Cuccale, Zinnan. Uov. 114. pl. 21. f. 102. 

Port Egmont Hen, Hawkesw. Voy. ii. 283. Cook's Voy. i. 44.272,  Forst. Voy. i. 
109. 118. &e. 

Sea Crow, Kolb. Cap. ii. 141? 

Brown Gull, Albin, ii. pl. 85. 

Skua Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 385. Id. Sup. ii. 332. Br. Zool. u. No. 243. Id. fol. 140. 
pl. L.6. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 174. Arcé. Zool. ii. No. 460. A. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 233. 
Lewin, vi. pl. 211. Id. xlii. No. 2.—the ege. Walcot, i. pl. 117. Orn. Dict. § 


Supp. . 


SIZE of a Raven; length two feet, breadth four and a half; 
weight three pounds. Bill nearly two inches long, and _ black, 
much curved at the end, and covered, for three parts of its length, 
with a kind of black cere, at the end of which the nostrils are placed, 
which are pervious; the plumage on the upper parts of the head, 
neck, back, and wings, is deep brown, margins of the feathers fer- 
ruginous brown; but the head and neck incline to ash-colour, 
especially the forehead and chin; the breast, belly, thighs, and vent, 
pale dusky ferruginous; legs black, rough, and warty; claws, 
especially the inner, very hooked, the hind toe very short, but the 
claw crooked and sharp. The young bird is ash-coloured.* 


* Mr. Bullock observed to me, that the bills of all the young of this Genus are pecu- 
harly hard, and therefore adapted to make their way more easily through the shell of the 
ess: 


VOL. X. Y 


162 GULL. 


This is a very voracious aud fierce species, and inhabits, in pre- 
ference, the northern parts of this kingdom, though it occasionally 
visits the south, having been shot near Greenwich, in Kent, and 
likewise at Sandwich, in the year 1800; is no where more frequent 
than in the Schetland Isles, and those of Ferroe; common also in 
Norway, and as far as Iceland. On the rocky Island Foula* is 
much esteemed, as it is said to defend the flocks from the Eagle, 
which it beats and pursues with great fury: the natives denying that 
if ever injures or even attacks poultry. It preys on the lesser Gulls, 
and other birds, in the manner of a Hawk, attacking the first on the 
wing, in order to make them disgorge the fish they may have taken ; 
in the manner of the Bald Eagle. During incubation is courageous 
to an alarming degree, in defence of its young ; as it will then attack 
several persons in company without fear, should they approach the 
haunts.{ Has been seen in many high latitudes of the southern 
atmosphere ; met with in Falkland Isles, particularly about Port 
Egmont, and there called Port Egmont Hen. In this place, and at 
Terra del Fuego, observed to make the nest among the dry grass 5§ 
said to lay three or four olive-brown eggs, and marked with dusky 
clouded spots. After breeding time they disperse over the ocean, 
and for the most part separate into pairs.|| Met with in Kerguelen’s 
Land, and off the Cape of Good Hope, and other parts.q In all 
places noticed for its ferocity : is frequently seen to attack the largest 
Albatross, beating it with great violence while on the wing, at which 
time this giant finds no other resource, than in settling on the water, 
when the Skua flies away. This may probably be the Sea Crow of 
Kolben ; *** said to be in plenty at the Cape, and the flesh delicate, 
and much valued; but the manners of the Skua seem to differ; it 

* Said to breed there on the Snuke, at the height of 1300 feet, and no where else on the 

Island of Foula.—Wern. Mem. iv. pt. 2d. 246. 
+ See Vol. i. p. 45. + Fora fuller account see Brit. Zoology and Dizon’s 
Voy. p. 42. § Forst. Voy.1, 293. || Cook’s Voy.1. p. 44. 
q See Hawkesw. Voy. ii. 283. Cook’s Voy. i. p. 44. 272, Forst. Voy. i. 109. 118. ii. 
493. Cook’s last Voy. i. 88. and elsewhere. ** Kolb. Cap. ii. 241. 


GULL. 163 


is in estimation on account of the feathers, which are very soft, and 
much valued for stuffing of beds and cushions ; and if not this bird, 
at least may be one of the Genus, as the feathers of all the tribe are 
said to be used indiscriminately for that purpose at the Cape, in 
preference to those of the Goose ; many thousands being killed there 
every year. The inhabitants of St. Kilda are accustomed to torture 
a large kind of Gull, called Fuilag; probably the one known there 
by the name of Bonxy. They discover the greatest rage at seeing, 
or hearing of this cruel enemy, and exert their whole address to 
take it, when they pluck out its eyes, sew the wings together, and 
send it adrift. At other times they extract the meat out of the egg, 
on a supposition that the bird may sit till it pines away; and to eat 
the egg would be accounted flagitious, and worthy of a monster 
only.t The Skuas abound in the Island of Tristan da Cunha, 
attracted thereto by the various species of Petrels, which they attack 
as they come out of their holes in the evening, and leave nothing 
but the bones and feathers, to attest the havock made among them. + 


23.—POMARINE GULL. 


Lestris pomarinus, Tem. Man. d’Orn. 514. Id. Ed. ii. 796. Parry’s App. p. ccvi. 
Stercorarius striatus, Bris. vi, 152. t. 18. f.2. Id. Svo. ii. 401. 


_ LENGTH eighteen or nineteen inches. Bill two inches, bluish ; 
irides yellow; all the upper parts of the bird plain brown bay; the 
under the same, but paler; tail white at the base, otherwise dusky 
brown; shafts of the quills white; shins lead-colour; base of the 
toes whitish, the rest black, hind claw white; wings and tail even. 
Both sexes alike in plumage. The young bird has the feathers 
varied with pale brown; a black space before the eye; scapulars 
and wing coverts deep brown, with a rufous bar at the ends; belly 
and upper and under tail coverts banded rufous and dusky. 


* Kolb. Cap. + Buchanan’s Trav. + Lin. Trans. xii. 487. 
Y 2 


164 GULL. 


Inhabits the parts about the Arctic Circle, migrating southward 
occasionally, being found on the sea coasts of Holland and France, 
at such times. This has so many things in common with the Black- 
toed Gull as to be ranked with it, but it isa much larger bird, and 
We are assured that it is a distinct species. 


24.—ARCTIC GULL.—PL. cixxv. 


Larus parasiticus, Ind. Orn. ii. 819. Lin. i. 226. Fn. suec. No..156. Ph. Tr. 1xii. 
p. 421. Gm. Lin. i. 601. Fn. Amer. p.16. Mull. No. 166. Bor. iii. 45. t. 4). 

Lestris parasiticus, Lin. Trans. xii. 551. Tem. Man. 512. Id. Ed. 24.797. Frankl. 
Narr. App. 697. Parry’s App. p. ccvi. 

Catharacta parasitica, Brun. No. 127. Fn. groenl. No. 68. 

-——- Coprotheres, Brun. No. 128.—female. 


Stercorarius longicaudus, avis arctica dictus, Gerin. v. t. 539. Bris. vi. 155. 3.—male. 
Id. 8vo. ii. 402. 

Stercorarius, Bris. vi. 150.—female. Jd. 8vo.ii. 401. Ross, Voy. Ap. p. lvi. 

Sterna rectricibus maximis nigris, Jt. Wgoth. 182. Act. Holm. 1753. 291. 

Strundt-jager, z.e. KompoOjpys, Rati, 127. Adel. 364. t. 34. f.5. Mart. Spitz. 87. 

Der Strunt-jager, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 821. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 375. 

L’ Abbe a longue Queue, Buf. vii. 445. Pl. enl. 762.* 

Arctic Birds, Edw. pl. 148, 149.—male and female. 

Arctic Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 389. 16. pl. 99. Br. Zool. ii. No. 245. pl. 87.—male & fem. 
Id. 1812. ii. 179. pl. 32. Arct. Zool. ii. No.459. Bewick, ii. p. 239. Lewin, vi. 
pl. 207. Jd. pl. xl. f. 2.—the egg. . Walcot, i. pl. 116. Lin. Trans. vin. 267. 
Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH twenty-one inches. Bill one inch and a half long, 
pretty much hooked, and dusky; nostrils in a kind of cere; the 
top of the head is black; the sides of it, forehead, neck, and all 
beneath, white; across the breast pale dusky ; upper parts of the 
body, wings, and tail, black, base of the quills white on the inner 
webs; the two middle tail feathers are nearly four inches longer than 
the rest; legs scaly, not very stout, and black. We have observed 
one, which had the chin and hind part of the neck mottled dusky and 
white; at the lower part of the neck the dusky colour advanced 


* In this plate the tail seems to be one-third of the length of the bird. 


a 


GULL. 1695 


forwards on each side; all the upper parts dusky brown ; breast and 
under parts white, crossed with irregular, transverse dusky streaks ; 
the two middle tail feathers very little longer than the rest ; this was 
probably a young bird. The female is said by authors to be brown, 
palest beneath ; the middle tail feathers only two inches longer than 
the others.* 

This is a northern species; is very common in the Hebrides, and 
breeds among the heath; comes in May, and retires in August; 
when disturbed flies about like the Lapwing, but soon alights. 
Breeds in numbers on the Isle of Foula, where the young birds 
are called Scories. Is found in the Orknies, and on the coasts 
of Yorkshire, where it is called the Feaser; is likewise named Scull, 
Badock, Scoutinallan, or Dirten-allan. It makes an artless nest of 
grass and moss, and Jays two eggs in June, which are ash-coloured, 
marked with black spots, and the size of those of a hen; does not 
often swim, and generally flies in a slow manner, except it be in 
pursuit of other birds; which it often attacks, in order to make them 
disgorge the fish, or other food, which this common plunderer greedily 
catches up; and not the dung of the bird as some authors have 
asserted, and on that account given it the name of Strunt-jager : for 
the most part it dives with difficulty, and is not easy to be taken, 
except when sleeping on the water; when it is secured by throwing 
darts at it. Met with on the northern coasts of Sweden, Denmark, 
and Russia, as far as Kamtschatka. 

Edwards received both his birds from Hudson’s Bay, where he 
informs us, that it is called the Man of War: the natives know it by 
the name of Utay-keeash. 


* This reputed female is probably a young bird; for Fabricius says, that the male and 
female are alike, and that he is certain of it, having brought them up. The Coprotheres 
of the Faun. Groenl. is supposed to be the female in Iceland and Norway ; but Fabricius 
calls it the young. We have only seen the two first described, which were in the Leverian 
Museum. Mr. Simmonds assures us, that there is no external mark of distinction between 
the sexes. See Lin. Trans. viii. p. 367. t Orn. Dict. Supp. 


166 GULL. 


In the Transactions of the Wernerian Society, Dr. Arthur Ed- 
mondston thinks there may probably be two kinds of Arctic Gull, 
which appear in the Shetland Isles; the more common, with the 
breast and belly mouse-colour; and the other with the breast and 
belly pure white: each sort keeps together, but the white is the 
larger and heavier bird, though less bold than the other; the Doctor 
supposes them to be different species. 


25.—BLACK-TOED GULL. 


Larus crepidatus, Ind. Orn.ii. 819. Gm. Lin.i. 602: Hawkesw. Voy. i. p.15. Lin. 
Trans. xii.-551. (Lestris parasiticus, immature.) 

Lestris crepidatus, Tem. Man. 515. Id. Ed. 2d. 799. 

Catarracta Cepphus, Brun. p. 36. No. 126. t.in ditto. . Muller, p.21. Phil. Trans. 
hi. p.185. Raii, 129. 11. Will. 267. Id. Engl. 351. pl. 67. 

L’ Abbe, ow Stercoraire, Buf. viii. 441. pl. 31. Pl. enl. 991. 

Mouette a Pieds noirs, Buf. viii. 439. 8°. ‘ ' 

Black-toed Gull, Gen. Syn. vi. 387. Id. Sup. 268. Br. Zool.ii. No. 244, pl.86. Id. 
1812. ii. 178. pl. 31. f. 2. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 460. Lewin, vi. pl. 216. Bewick, 
i. pl. p. 236. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


THIS bird is fifteen inches long, thirty-nine broad, and weighs 
eleven ounces. The bill is one inch and a half long, not unlike 
that of the Arctic Species, but more slender, and less hooked; head 
and neck dirty white, sides of the last marked with dusky; breast 
and belly white, crossed with numerous dusky and yellowish lines; 
sides and vent barred transversely black and white; back, scapulars, 
wing coverts, and tail, black, edged with white, or pale rust-colour ; 
shafts and tips of the quills white, the exterior web, and upper half 
of the interior, black, but the lower part of the latter white; the tail 
black, tipped with white; the two middle feathers near an inch longer 
than the others, the shafts white; the exterior webs of the outmost 
spotted with rust; the legs bluish lead-colour; lower part of the toes 
and webs black. . 


GULL. 167 


A bird of this kind was taken near Oxford, and another met 
with between the Islands of Teneriffe and Bonavista.* 

In the Leverian Museum was one of this Species, but much 
smaller than the above. General colour brown ; the head and neck 
crossed with numerous, transverse, darker lines; the breast and belly 
mottled with dusky white; sides barred with the same; base of the 
tail white; the rest of the length dusky black, shape rounded; the 
two middle feathers not particularly longer than the others; the legs, 
half the toes, and webs yellowish brown, the end half black. 

One of these birds was sent to me by Mr. Jackson, shot at Field 
Place, near Horsham, in Sussex, the beginning of September. It 
differed from the first described in a few particulars; the whole 
plumage darker coloured, and mixed with ferruginous; the quills 
marked at the tips with the same; breast mottled with white ; shape 
of the tail a trifle rounded at the end, and the wings, when closed, 
reaching an inch beyond the tip of it:+ the feathers of the tail, to about 
one-third from the base, are white within; the rest of the length, 
and the outer webs wholly black; under parts of the body, from the 
breast, dull pale ferruginous, barred with dusky; under tail coverts 
ferruginous, crossed with three or four bars of black ; about the breast 
mottled with white; quills white at the base; legs blue; webs and 
claws black, but the webs are white for one-third from the base. 

We have already supposed this to be the same which Buffon 
describes as the Stercoraire, and quotes the Act. Holm. for it, as given 
by M. Ghister,} and that it lays the eggs on the rocks; that the male 
is darker in colour, and a trifle bigger than the female, and the cry 


* The dung of this bird is red, supposed to be owing to its feeding on the Helix jan- 
thina Zin. the inhabitant of which furnished the purpura of the antient Greeks. Said to 
be found on the Coasts of Somersetshire, and those of South Wales.—PAi/. Trans. Vol. xv. 
p- 1278. 

+ The tail in this bird had only ten feathers, and we may probably think that the bird 
had lost two, as others have twelve. 

+ Tom. xi. p. 51. 


168 GULL. 


being like the words Lab lab, has probably given rise to one of the 
names by which it is known: it principally feeds on herrings, and 
the place where the shoals of these fish are, to be known by the birds 
being in great numbers hovering over the spot. Buffon mentions two 
of them being forced on the Coast of Picardy, in a storm, in the 
month of November, 1779. 

There seems also a further uncertainty in respect to the above 
bird, for we cannot well reconcile the one having the two middle tail 
feathers one inch longer than the rest, when in the other the tail is 
merely rounded at the end, and if we do not comprehend the matter 
amiss, can only arise from difference of sex, unless on future investi- 
gation the whole may turn out no more than that the Black-toed, 
and its varieties, are only in the progressive stages towards perfection 


of the Arctic Gull. 


26.--KEEASK GULL. 


Larus Keeask, Ind. Orn. ii. 818. 
Keeask, Arct. Zool. ii. App. p.71. Gen. Syn. vi. p. 389. 


LENGTH twenty-three inches, breadth four feet; weight two- 
pounds and a half. Bill black; three inches long; head, neck, 
breast, and belly, uniform brown; prime quills black ; wing coverts 
and scapulars brown, marked with white ; tail black, speckled, and 
tipped with white. 

Inhabits Hudson’s Bay, comes there in April, makes a slight 
nest of grass, and lays two pale, ferruginous eggs, spotted with 
black : as the winter comes on, it retreats to open water, and is there 
known by the name of Keeask. It seems nearly to approach to 
the Skua; and Mr. Hutchins, who furnished the above account 
observes, that half the toes and webs are black. 


GULL. 169 


27.—PACIFIC GULL. 


Larus pacificus, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. xviii. 
Pacific Gull, Gen. Syn. Sup. i. 332. 

SIZE uncertain. Bill dirty orange, swelling near the point, 
where it is crossed with dusky or black; general colour of the 
plumage deep brown, but the under parts, the ramp, and tips of the 
lesser wing coverts very pale brown, approaching to white; tail 
rather short, rounded at the end; legs dusky, with the segments of 
the shins paler than the rest. 

Inhabits New-Holland. The base of the bill seems enlarged, 
but whether furnished with a cere as in the last, is uncertain. It is 
known by the name of Troo-gad-dill. 


A.—-Length twenty-four inches. Bull from gape to pomt nearly 
three inches, colour dusky, crossed with black near the point; irides 
yellow ; head dusky white, with a few brownish markings; neck 
and breast yellowish buff-colour; belly, thighs, and vent, white ; 
back brown ; tail short: quills dark, exceeding the tail in length by 
more than an inch ; legs long, brown, with paler segments; thighs 
bare for one inch anda half at least. 

Inhabits New-Holland: probably the Pacific Gull; though the 
drawing not shewing the rump, the colour of that part could not be 
ascertained : called the Large Grey Gull. 


VOL, X. L, 


170 PETREL. 


GENUS CV.—PETREL. 


* True, the Nostrils contained || 10 Fulmar 22 American 
in a Tube. A Var. 23 Stormy 

1 Giant Petrel 11 Shearwater A Var. 
2 Brazilian ; 12 Cinereous 24 Long-legged 
3 Great-black 13 Manks 55 Leach’s 

A Var. 14 White-faced 26 Diving 
4 Gre 15 Black-toed i Ade 
5 hake 16 White-breasted pare oni LS Sch 
6 Fuliginous 17 Snowy trils distinct. 
7 Doubtful 18 Brown-banded 27 Broads-billed 
8 Antarctic 19 Sooty 28 Blue 
9 Pintado 20 Fork-tail 29 Pacific 

A Var. : 21 Frigate 30 Dusky 


IN this Genus the bill is straight, but bent at the end. 

Nostrils for the most part contained in one Tube, but in a few 
they are distinct and separate. 

Legs naked above the knees; toes- palmated—three placed 
forwards, with a spur behind instead of a back toe.* 


* TRUE—WITH THE NOSTRILS CONTAINED IN A TUBE. 


1.—GIANT PETREL.—PL. cixxvu. 


Precellaria gigantea, Ind. Orn. 11. 820. Gm. Lin.i. 563. 
Quebrantahuessos, Boug. Voy. 63. Forst. Voy. 1. 516. Buf. ix. 319. 
Osprey Petrel, Forst. Osb. 202. 

Mouton, Pernet. Voy. i. 15. t. 8. f. 3.—the bill. 

Glupisha, Hist. Kamtsch. 156. 


* One only excepted, No. 26, in which the spur is wanting. 


/ HEY, ) yu) 


a : IADR oO! a 


PETREL. 171 


Ossifraga, or Break-bones, Ullow Voy. 8vo. ii. 214. 

Mother Cary’s Goose, Cook’s Voy. ii. 205. 

Giant Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 396. pl. 100. Arct. Zool. ii. Sup. p.71. Cook's last Voy. 
ii. 258. & 299, 


THIS is the largest of the Petrel Genus, in length forty inches, 
and:expands»seven feet. The bill is four inches and a half long, 
remarkably: stout, and dusky yellow; the upper mandible very 
hooked; at the end; the tube on the top reaches nearly half way 
from the base; at the»gape a naked, wrinkled, yellow skin; the 
crown of the head is dusky; the sides, fore part of the neck, breast, 
and belly, white; neck behind, and upper. parts-of the body, pale 
brown, mottled with dusky white; seapulars, wing coverts, quills, 
and tail, dusky brown; the last six inches long, and the feathers 
darker in the middle; the legs greyish yellow; webs dusky ; the 
spur behind stout, and pointed, but short; claws black. 

We have seen one of these birds in which the general plumage 
was yellow brown, inclining to chocolate, somewhat paler beneath. 

Found at Staaten-land, Terra del Fuego, the Isle of Desolation, 
and other places in the high southern latitudes; often seen sailing. 
with expanded wings, close to the surface of the water, without 
appearing to move them; like others of the Genus, said to be most 
active, and in the greatest numbers, either in storms, or at the 
approach of them; hence their appearance is unwelcome to the 
mariners. Like the Albatross, they also visit the northern hemi- 
sphere; being seen in lat. 44. 10. N. in March;* off the coasts of 
Nootka Sound in April ;+ and again further north on the American 
Coast in May, in, pairs; from which we may not unaptly conclude, 
that they breed in the north; though as yet no one has mentioned 
the circumstance. 

If it be only in the south, they must migrate in the same manner 
as the Albatross, which is not improbable, as they are found frequently 
together, and it must be confessed, that they are met with in the largest 


* Cook’s last Voy. ii. 258. + Id. 299. + Id. 352. 
Z 2 


172 PETREL. 


nuinbers in the southern regions.** Capt. Cook says, that they were 
so common in Christmas Island, Kerguelen’s Land,+ in December, 
and so tame, that the sailors knocked them down with sticks, on the 
beach; they are carnivorous, feeding on the dead carcasses of seals, or 
birds, though their chief food is undoubtedly fish: are called by the 
sailors Albatrosses, but by the more discerning are well known by 
the name of Mother Cary’s Geese, and thought to be very good 
food.t These birds are said to spurt out an oily matter from the 
tubes of the bill, but we apprehend that it can only happen after 
their feeding on whales, seals, or other such food.§ It may be 
observed, that the fullness of plumage is more conspicuous in birds 
of this Genus than in others, nature having suited them to the 
climate wherein they are to live. 


2.—BRAZILIAN PETREL. 


Procellaria Brasiliana, Ind. Orn. ii. 821. Gm. Lin. i. 564. 
Puffinus Brasiliensis, Bris. vi. 138. Jd. 8vo. ii. 397. 

Le Puffin du Bresil, Buf. ix. 337. IV. 

Majague, Rati, 133.5. Will. 252. t. 62. 

Brasilian Maiagué of Piso, Will. Engl. 334. III. pl. 62. f. 4. 
Brasilian Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 398. 2. 


SIZE of a Goose. Bill hooked; head round and thick; neck 
long; the whole bird dusky, or blackish, except the fore part of the 
neck, which is yellow. 


* If we do not mistake, this is one of the sorts called Glupisha, mentioned as so frequent 
in all the Islands between Kamtschatka and America, that they are covered with them— 
Hist. Kamtsch. 156. + Cook’s last Voy.i. 87. < Id. ii. 205. 

§ Birds, supposed to be Albatrosses, were found on more than one part of New-Hol- 
land, and so plentiful in one as to give the name of Albatross Island: the colour of the 
birds more white than black, and in extent of wing from seven to nine feet; the nests not 
more than one foot and a half apart, and made of muddy earth and grass, in diameter about 
five or six inches, in height about four inches, with a concavity of nearly that depth; the 
egg nearly the size of that of a Goose, and dingy white; and it is remarked, that even the 
young in the nest, on being disturbed, spouted plentiful mouthfuls of a hot, inodorous oil 
upon the intruders ; from this latter circumstance we rather suspect these birds to be the 
Giant Petrel. 


PETREL. 173 


Inhabits Brazil, about the mouths of rivers; but builds the nest 
and lays the eggs on shore; is a swift bird, swimming and diving 
well; its flesh is good meat, especially if young. We rank this as 
a Petrel, on some uncertainty, for we have ourselyes never met with 
the bird. 


3.—GREAT BLACK PETREL. 


Procellaria equinoctialis, Ind. Orn. ii. 821. Lin. i. 213. Gm. Lin. i. 564. 

Puffinus Capitis bone Spei, Bris. vi. 137. Id. 8vo. ii. 397. 

Plautus Albatross spurius major, Klein, Av. 148. 14. 

Avis Diomedea, Redi, Opusc. 1626. Amst. 

Le Petrel-Puffin brun, Bufi ix. 326. 

Shearwater, Brown, Jam. 482. 

Great Black Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 398. Id. Sup. ii. 333. Edw. pl. 89. Staunt. 
Chin, i. 223. 


SIZE of a Raven; length twenty-three inches. Bill three, and 
the tubes half an inch; colour yellowish, with the sutures black ; 
body in general blackish brown; legs, toes, and webs brown; claws 
black. It varies in having the upper ridge of the bill black, anda 
large spot of white on the chin.* 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and the neighbouring parts; 
also New Zealand. + 


A.—Kuril Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 399.3. A. Arct. Zool. ii. 256. A. Pall. Spic. v. 
p- 28. 


This is larger by almost half than the other, has a strong yellow 
bill; the whole plumage rusty black; legs the same, dashed with 
red.-—Inhabits the Kurile Islands, and Kamtschatka. 


* In lat. 35. 15. S. long. 7. 45. W. Cook's last Voy. i. 86, but in this the bill and legs 
are black. + Forst. Voy.i. 113. 487. 


174 -PETREL. 


4.—GREY PETREL. 


Procellaria griseay Ind. Orn. ii: 821. » Gm. Lin. i. 564. 
Grey Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 899. Cook’s Voy. i. 258. 


LENGTH fourteen or fifteen inches. Bill two inches, brown; 
the general plumage black or sooty ; under wing coverts white, with 
black shafts; the quills exceed the tail in length: fore part of the 
legs greenish blue. It varies in having the chin and throat whitish. 

Inhabits the Southern Hemisphere, from 35 to 50 degrees: seems 
allied to the last. 


5.—GLACIAL PETREL. 


Procellaria gelida, Ind. Orn. 11, 822. Gm. Lin. i. 564. 
Glacial Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 399. 


LENGTH nineteen inches. Bill one inch and three quarters, 
yellows; the tube over’ the nostrils, ‘top‘of the upper mandible, the 
end of the lower,’and edges of both, black ; top of the head, taking 
in the eyes, the neck behind to the shoulders, pale, bluish ash- 
colour; ‘the rest of the parts above dusky black; chin, fore part of 
the neck and breast, white; from thence to the vent pale ash; wings 
and tail even; legs and webs blue; claws black; sole of the foot 
white. —Inhabits the Antarctic Circle, chiefly among the ice. 


7.—FULIGINOUS, PETREL. 


Procellatia alba: dnd.’ Orn. ii) 822. 6. B. 
Norfolk-Island Petrel,. PAzd/. Voy. pl. p. 161. 
Fuliginous Petrel, White’s Journ. pl. p. 252. Gen. Syn. Sup. 2d. 384. 
‘LENGTH. sixteen inches.» Bill one inch‘and a half long, black, 
and very much hooked at the end; ‘the head as far as the eyes, and 


PETREL. 175 


the chin mottled brown-and white in waves; the, rest of the bird 
above, and tail sooty, brown; beneath deep ash-colour, within next 
the base; nearly white; the wings, when closed, exceed the tail.by 
nearly one inch; this is rounded, and consists of sixteen feathers ; legs 
pale yellow, outer toe, black. the whole length ;.the web the same, 
except just. at the base; inner toe and web black for three quarters of 
an inch ; claws and spur behind black. 

We have observed some slight Varieties, but the, general colour 
of the plumage sooty black; beneath,.cinereous ; between the bill 
and eyes all round, or face, mixed white and brown; quills much 
longer than the tail; legs yellowish ; toes and. webs, half way on the 
fore part, black. That. figured in Mr. White’s. work. has the bill 
yellow, and is white on each side of the under mandible, passing 
backwards in an irregular streak ; with this difference, I am at a loss 
to determine whether this bird really belongs to the Black Petrel, or 
to the last described, but probably to the latter, as the black part of 
the toes corresponds with.it sand further, we could almost suppose, 
that the three last form in reality but one species, differing in age 
or-sex; till, however, this can ‘be ascertained, it is better to keep 
them as distinct species. 

The Black Petrel, so called, inhabits the sea, in the neighbour- 
hood of Port Jackson, in New South Wales, having the same 
manners with its congeners. No one is a greater enemy to the 
Albatross than this bird, whenever it is seen on the wing; but quits 
it as soon as it takes to the water;; sensible, no doubt, that an 
encounter on this element would end to its disadvantage. It is, 
however, a still greater scourge to the Broad-billed Species, for 
although multitudes of these are destroyed by it, the heart and liver 
seem to be the only parts coveted, as the rest of the bird is left 
untouched ; hundreds of them, thus. eviscerated, have been found 
lying on the ground in this situation.* 


* Embassy to China, i. 223. 


176 PETREL. 


Found in Norfolk Island, in great plenty, and burrows in the 
sand like a rabbit. On Mount Pitt, the highest land in the Island; 
the ground was as full of holes as a warren, and an immense number 
of aquatic birds burrowed, and made their nests in them.* These, 
during the day, were at sea, but as night appreached,- they returned 
in vast flocks. The settlers lighted smal] fires every night on this 
mount, about which the birds dropped as fast as the people 
could pick them up, and kill them; for the wings of sea birds are 
generally so long, as to prevent their rising, till they can ascend 
some small eminence ; hence the difficulty in the Abatross: to detach 
itself from the surface of the water, which it can never do without 
the greatest exertion. But, when it is fortunate enough to gain a 
small rock or shelf, it has only to throw itself therefrom, and take 
wing immediately. This we believe is the species called in Norfolk 
Island, Mutton Bird; probably from the flesh having somewhat 
of the flavour of that meat. Among the drawings brought to 
England by Mr. White, was the figure of one, having the breast 
greatly enlarged, and covered with loose brown down, instead of 
feathers, and said to be a young bird, in the second or middle state 
of plumage. 

A bird similar to this in respect to feathers, had all the front 
before the eyes mixed with white; bill and legs black. 


7.—DOUBTFUL PETREL. 


Le Martin-pécheur de Mer aux Ailes longues, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No, 422. 


TOTAL length thirty inches, breadth sixty-seven and a. half. 
Bill bluish white, thirty-eight lines long, hollowed at the base, from 
which it is straight for three-fourths of the length, then bent and 
hooked ; from the opening of the nostrils to the place of curvature a 


* Hunter's History of Port Jackson. 


PETREL. 177 


channel; gape wide; tongue short; irides black; top and sides of 
the head and neck, shoulders and small scapulars, brown; the 
gveater scapulars, back, ramp, tail, greater wing coverts, and quills 
black, glossed with purple; the rest of the coverts light brown, with 
yellowish margins; throat and neck before whitish ; sides of the 
neck brown ; on the top of the neck a deep brown band, taking rise 
from the setting on of one wing to the other; greater part of the 
breast, stomach, and nearly the whole of the belly, white; the rest 
of the under parts quite black ; the nape almost bare of feathers ; 
the tail is much forked, and consists of twelve feathers, the outer one 
six inches longer than the two middle; toes joined by a membrane, 
but not quite to the end of them, being only so as to leave great 
hollows between the toes, which are black. 

A great number of these birds were seen flying generally at a 
middling height, and sometimes even out of sight, near the Isle of 
Ascension, appearing in pairs.-—This bird cannot be a Kingsfisher ; 
nor is it more likely to be a Pratincole, as the annotator on Azara 
seems to think. In our opinion, it probably belongs to the Petrel 
Genus. 


8.—ANTARCTIC PETREL. 


Procellaria antarctica, Ind. Orn. ii. 822. Gm. Lin.1. 565. 

Le Petrel antarctique, ou Damier brun, Buf. ix. 311. 

Brown and White Petrel, Boug. Voy. i. p. 42? 

Antarctic Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 400. Forst. Voy. i. 108. Cook's Voy. i. 257. 


LENGTH sixteen inches. Bill one inch and a half, brown, 
with a black tip; irides brownish hazel; plumage in general above 
deep brown, beneath bluish white; the second quills are white, with 
dark brown tips; the greater dark brown, with the inner webs of 
some next the body white; rump and tail white; tips of all the tail 
feathers black for nearly an inch; legs dusky lead-colour. 

This is found every where within the Antarctic Circle; in smal] 
flights, lat. 61. 36. S. 


VOL. X. AA 


178 PETREL. 


9.—PINTADO PETREL. 


Procellaria Capensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 822. Lin. i. 213. Am. Ac. iv. p. 240. Gm. Lin.i. 
565. Osh. It. p. 76. Id. Voy. 109. Borowsk. iii. p. 37. 

Petrella Pintada, Pintado Bird, Bartr. Trav. 293. 

Procellaria nevia, Bris. vi. 146. Jd. 8vo. ii. 400. Alein, 148. 14. 

Le Petrel tacheté, ou le Damier, Bufi ix. 304. pl. 21. Pl. enl. 964. Pernet. Voy. i. ~ 
p. 72. Forst. Voy. i. 489. 

Pardela, Ulloa’s Voy. 304. 

White and Black Spotted Petrel, Edw. pl. 90. Hawkesw. Voy. i. 556. 

Pintado Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 401. Damp. Voy. iui. pl. p. 96. f. 1. 


LENGTH fourteen inches. Bill one inch and a half long, and. 
black ; the head, hind part of the neck, quills, and tail, black ; sides 
of the head mottled black and white; all the under parts whitish, 
irregalarly marked with spots of black; legs black. Is apt to vary 
much in plumage. 

The Pintado Petre] is, we believe, confined to the Southern 
Hemisphere, being rarely seen much to the north of 30 deg. ; most 
frequent about the Cape of Good Hope,* and adjacent parts, and called 
by our sailors the Cape Pigeon. They fly many together; seldom 
high, but almost sweeping the surface of the water,t and sometimes 
appear in such immense numbers, that 700 have been taken in one 
night;¢ are often caught with a tarred string, or a piece of lard, at 
the end ofa fishing rod.§ Dampier observes, that he met with them 
in greatest plenty from about 200 leagues from the coast of New- 
Holland. Later voyagers trace them to New Zealand,|| Falkland 
Isles, and many other parts; and probably all round the South Pole. 
One of their breeding places is Kerguelen’s Land. The egg of the 
size of a Pallet’s, and laid in December.{[ When caught they make 
2 noise, not unlike a Parrot, at the same time spurting out oil from 


* Dampier and others. Said by sailors to be a sure presage of a near approach to that 
promontory. + Dampier. + At Maso Fuero—Hawkes. Voy. i. 556. 
§ Osb. Voy. i. 109. || Forst. Voy.i. 489. §] Cook's last Voy. i. 86. 


PETREL. 179 


the nostrils into the face of the person who holds them. ‘T'he food is 
fish, but more frequently the dead carcases of whales, &c. about 
which they are often seen in vast numbers.* 


A.—Pintado Petrel Var. Gen. Syn. vi. 402. Ind. Orn. ii. 823. 6. 


Size of the former; and differs in having the white parts bufi- 
colour; tail white, tipped with black ; and the base of the quills 
white ; legs brown; webs black; with the two inner toes orange in 
the middle. 

This was met with in the Isle of Desolation.—Sir Joseph Banks. 


10.—FULMAR PETREL. 


Procellaria glacialis, Ind. Orn. ii. 823. Lin. i. 213. Faun. suec. No. 144. Id. Retz. 
No. 102. Gm. Lin.i. 562. Brun. No. 118. Muller, No. 144. Fn. groenl. No. 
55. Borowsk. iii. 86. Lin. Trans. xii. p. 553. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 518. Id. Ed. 
2d. p. 803. Parry’s App. p. cevi. 

Procellaria cinerea, Bris. vi. t. 12. f.2. Id. 8vo.ii. 399. Act. Nidr. i. 182. t. 1. 

Puffinus, sive Procellaria equinoctialis, Gerin. v. t. 536. 

Wagellus Cornubiensium, Mallemuche, Raz, 130. A. 13. 

Haff’hert, seu Equus marinus, Will. 306. Id. Engl. p. 395. 

Fulmar, ou Petrel-Puffin gris blanc, Buf. ix. 325. p. 22. pl. 59. 

Fulmar Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 403. pl. 91. Br. Zool. ii. No. 257. Id. fol. 145. pl. M. 
2. Id. Ed. 1812. ii. p. 203. pl. 36.  Arcé. Zool. ii. No. 461. Flor. Scot. i. No. 
197.  Martin’s St. Kilda, 30. iv. pl. 82. Martin’s Spits. pl. v. f.C. Phipps’s 
Voy. p. 186.  Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 243. Lewin, vil. pl. 217. Jd. xliv. f. 2.—the 
egg. Walcot, ii. pl. 68. Pult. Dors. p. 21. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH nearly eighteen inches; weight twenty-two ounces. 
Bill two inches long, pale grey, with a yellowish tip; the back and 
wing coverts ash-colour; quills dusky, and somewhat longer than 
the tail; the rest of the plumage white; legs greyish yellow: in 
some the tail is pale ash, the outer feather only white. 

* Ives mentions, that when caught, and brought on board a ship, they cannot rise for 


flight from the deck, but will most readily do so out of a tub of water. See Foy. p.5. 
A a2 


180 PETREL: 


This species is found in the northern parts of Great Britain; is in 
the greatest plenty in the Isle of St. Kilda, where it appears in 
November, and remains the whole year, except September and 
October. It lays one large, white, and very brittle egg, and the young 
is hatched the middle of June; very common in Greenland,* and 
parts adjacent, frequently seen in vast numbers, passing in the 
manner of the Passenger Pigeon of America; and of great use to 
the inhabitants for food, the flesh being eaten boiled or dried, 
although it is very stinking and offensive ; the fat is eaten crude, or 
burned iv lamps instead of oil; and the small pouch of the under 
jaw is formed into a bladder, to buoy up their lesser kind of darts, 
by means of which the natives often kill the bird itself, while sitting 
at rest on the surface of the water; for it is heedless, and will suffer 
any one to approach near; hence is called Mallemucke, or Foolish 
Fly, by the Duatch.t 

The food of this species for the most part is fish ; but they eagerly 
seize every thing that can be converted into food, and every filth 
from the ships, which they frequently follow; though the sailors are 
not pleased with their company, having a notion, that they forbode 
tempests, or at least very stormy weather. Are often seen by 
thousands on the carcase of a dead whale, and pick out the fat, 
which soon becoming liquid in the stomach, enables the old birds 
to eject it into the mouths of their young, for their sustenance, while 
in the nest; and on occasions are known to throw it out with violence, 
both from the mouth and nostrils, into the faces of those who attempt 
to seize them; and is one, if not almost the only, defence that they 
make against an enemy. 

We find these birds common between Kaimtschatka and America, 
where they are blended with others, under the common name of 
Glupisha, and are so stupid, as frequently to fly into the boats of the 


* Breed on the craggy shore on the west of Disco, and other places remote from the 
Continent in great numbers.— Faun. groenI. Phipps’s Voy. 186. 
+ At Newfoundland called John Down, by the Fishermen. See Orn. Dict. Supp. 


PETREL. 181 


natives while fishing. Itis asserted, that they are so fat, that no more 
is required than to squeeze the skins, through which the fat runs like oil, 
and is used for the same purposes. Numbers are caught on the fourth 
and fifth Kurilski Islands, which the inhabitants dry in the sun, and 
use for food. This species is also in sufficient plenty in the Antarctic 
Regions trom the Cape of Good Hope, to as far south as has been 
explored; and indeed in greater or smaller numbers, from 34 to 70 
degrees S. latitude, all round the Pole.* 


A.—Gen. Syn. vi. 405. Var. A. Ind. Orn. ii. 823. B. 


_ Size of the last. Bill black; head, neck, body, and tail, white; 
between the wings pale ash-colour; the whole of the latter dusky 
black; legs dusky.—Inhabits the Antarctic Ocean, met with pretty 


far south. 


B.—-In the British Museum is one, nearly twenty inches in 
length; with a dark streak through the eye; tail dusky, pointed at 
the end; legs pale, almost white. 


11.—SHEARWATER PETREL. 


_ Procellaria Puffinus, Ind. Orn. ii. 824. Lin.i. 213. Gm. Lin. i. 566. Brun. No. 119. 
Muller, p. 18. Fn.groenl, No.56. Bris. vi. 131. Id. 8vo. 11. 395. Klein, 139. 
Br. Jam. 482. Borowsk. iii. 37. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 806. Parry’s App. ccx. 


Le Puffin, Buf. ix. 321. Pl. enl. 962. 

Shearwater Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 406. Id. Sup. 269. Br. Zool. ii. No, 258. Id. 1812. 
il. 206. Fl. Scot.i. No. 198. Bewick, 11. pl. p. 246. Lewin, ii. pl. 218. xlv. 1. 
the egg. Walc.i. pl. 90.. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


_ LENGTH sixteen inches. Bill one inch and three quarters, 
yellow, with a black tip; plumage above ash-colour, the feathers 
with paler margins, chiefly on the back ; the scapulars, wings, and 


® Forst. Voy.i. p. 52. Id. ii. 584. Cook’s Voy. i, p. 202. 


182 PETREL. 


tail, dusky ash, plain; quills black ; middle of the neck and breast, 
and all beneath, white; legs weak, whitish, compressed on the sides, 
and dusky behind. Both sexes are nearly alike; but the young are 
much darker in plumage. 

This is found in the north of England, particularly in the 
Calf of Man, and in the Orknies.* They resort to the first im 
February, take a short possession of the rabbit burrows, and then 
disappear till April, when they return ; lay one white egg, blunt at 
each end: the young are fit to take the beginning of August, when 
great numbers are killed by the person who farms the Isle ; these 
are salted and barrelled, and after being boiled, eaten with potatoes; 
during the day keep at sea, fishing, and towards the evening return 
to their young, which they feed in the same manner as the Fulmar: 
and generally quit the Isle by the end of August, or beginning of 
September. In the Orknies they make the nest in holes in the 
ground, near the shelves of the rocks, and headlands: are called 
there the Lyre, and much valued, as well for the feathers, as for 
their use as food, as in the Calf of Man; the old ones, too, are 
taken in March, but are then poor, and not so well tasted as the 
young. ‘They appear there first in February : are very numerous in 
Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland, and no doubt in other parts far 
north; so plentiful in some years, that the whole surface of the sea 
seems covered with them. It is called at Ferro, Skrabe, or Leeren ; 
and in Norway, Skraap. The flight of this bird is almost close to 
the surface of the water, in an undulating manner; and it arises from 
the water with great difficulty ; in the efforts the head preponderates 
for some distance, the bill cutting the water as if it were for a time, 
and hence probably it has obtained the name of the Shearwater. 


* Multitudes of the Lyre (Shearwater) breed in the cliffs about the lochs of Hemprig 
and Waster.—Tour in Scotland, 1769, 4to. p. 199. 


PETREL. 183 


12._CINEREOUS PETREL. 


' Procellaria cinerea, Ind. Orn. ii. 824. Gm. Lin. i. 563. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 805. 
Forst. Ic. t. 92. 

Cinereous Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 405. Id. Sup.i. 335, 

LENGTH twenty inches. _ Bill yellowish, with black sutures; 
irides ash-colour; all the upper parts of the plumage dusky ash ; 
crown and forehead palest; beneath, from chin to vent, white; tail 
rounded in shape, and black; beneath pale ash; legs bluish, webs 
pale yellow ; toes and claws pale. 

Inhabits the parts within the Antartic Circle ;* many seen in the 
latitude of 48 degrees; food various. Bills of the cuttle fish have 
been found in the stomach. 

We have seen a Variety with a pale blue bill, and the breast and 
belly deep dusky black. 

Another, common about Port Jackson, in New-Holland, and the 
parts adjacent, wholly dusky black; but the sides of the head, the 
neck, and all beneath, ash-colour; bill and legs dull yellow. 

In one specimen we observed the whole of the under parts, from 
breast to vent, occupied by an ash-coloured down, projecting greatly 
more than the feathers which would probably afterwards supply its 
place, shewing that birds in this state are in imperfect plumage. 

It is said that six species of the Petrel Genus are found in the 
island of Tristan da Cunha, viz. the Giant, the Cinereous, and the 
Broad-billed, with three others, smaller, which are night birds; never 
appearing on the wing till after sun-set, and may be caught in any 
number, by kindling a fire; when, attracted by the light, they ap- 
proach, and flutter round it, like so many moths round a candle, till 
at length the greater number of them, dazzled by the glare, plunge 
into the flames and perish.+ 


*M.Temminck considers this the same bird as the Shearwater, and that it is seen on 
the coast of Spain and Provence, and probably Italy, but not in the Adriatic. 
+ Lin. Trans. V. xii. p. 497. 


184 PETREL. 


13.—MANKS PETREL. 


Procellaria Anglorum, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 806. Will. 252. Rati, 134. A. 4. 
Puffinus, Bris. vi. 131. Id. 8vo.ii. p. 396. Brun. No. 119. 

Puffinus minor, Gerin. v. t. 537 ? 

Manks Puffin, Edw. t. 359. Will. Engl. p. 333. 

Shearwater, Br. Zool. fol. 146. t. M. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 462. 


LENGTH. thirteen inches. Bill dusky brown; crown, nape, 
and all the upper parts of the plumage, wings, and tail, with the 
edges of the under coverts and thighs, black ; beneath wholly white, 
the black and white mixing on the sides of the neck; legs brown, 
webs yellowish. 

Inbabits the Isle of Man, Saint Kilda, the Orknies, and all the 
northern coasts of England; also Ireland ; frequent in Norway and 
Denmark. Has been met with on the coasts of France, and Holland, 
but the instances are rare. Said to breed in the holes of rocks, or 
old rabbit burrows, and to lay a single white egg, about the size of 
that of a Duck. 

I have for some time been aware of the probability of the birds 
called Shearwaters forming at least two distinct species, arising 
from my having received two birds of this kind from Mr. Walcot, in 
the year 1792 ; one of which was more than sixteen inches in length, 
and thirty-three in breadth, and weighing seventeen ounces; the bill 
black, with reddish brown sides ; nostrils swelling, but not distinct, 
arising out of an eminence, but not bony; plumage above dusky 
black ; beneath more or less dirty white, clouded with ash-colour ; 
tail of twelve feathers, dusky black. The other only twelve inches 
long, twenty-six broad, and weighed ten ounces and a half; as to 
plumage it chiefly differed, in the under parts being wholly white ; 
tail as in the other, but the outer feather (on one side only) was 
wholly white. 


PETREL. 185 


M. Temminck considers this as totally distinct from the Common 
Shearwater, and I most readily jom him in that opinion. These, as 
well as other Puffins, serve the inhabitants for food. 


14.—WHITE-FACED PETREL. 


Puffinus cinereus, Bris. vi. 134. t. 12. f.1, Jd. 8vo. ii, 396. Ind. Orn. 824. 11. B. 
Le Petrel cendré, Buf. ix. 302. pl. 20. 

Brown Shearwater, Kalm. Trav. i. p. 23? 

Shearwater Petrel, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 407. 11. Var. A. 


SIZE of the Shearwater. Bill one inch and three quarters long | 
black; hind part of the head cinereous white; the rest of the upper 
parts of an elegant ash-colour; fore part of the head, and under part 
of the body, pure white; bastard wing spotted with black; quills 
outwardly black ; tail white; legs grey brown. 

Inhabits the northern regions, and is probably the Brown Shear- 
water, with a white ring round the neck, which Kalm saw every 
where from our channel to the American coast. He says, it has a 
peculiar slow way of flying, and may be plainly seen to feed on fish,* 
and though this bird is thought by many to be peculiar to the 
Notthern Seas, we are assured it abounds no where more perhaps 
than about Cape St. Vincent, which is the most southern point of 
Portugal, and forms the entrance of the Straits mouth; and like the 
Petrel, it also visits the Bay of Gibraltar, and has been found dead 
on the strand; probably from meeting with the same fate with the 
Auks, by swallowing the fishermen’s baits.t 


15.—BLACK-TOED PETREL. 


Procellaria melanopus, Ind. Orn. ii. 824. Gm. Lin. i. 562. 
Black-toed Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 408. 12. Arct. Zool. Sup. p. 73. 


LENGTH thirteen inches. Bill one inch and a half; all round 
the base, the chin, and throat pale, silvery grey, marked with minute 


* Kalm. Trav. i. p. 23. + White. 
VOL. X. Bs 


186 PETREL. 


dusky specks; breast and belly hoary ash-colour; top of the head, 
and al] the upper parts of the plumage, wings, and tail dusky black, 
inclining to hoary on the back; tail rounded at the end ; wings and 
tail even; legs very pale; webs for one-third the same, the rest to 
the end black ; joints of the toes black. 

Said to inhabit North America.—Leverian Museum. One of 
these, supposed to be an adult bird, had the forehead, sides under the 
eyes, and all beneath from chin to vent white, bs the under tail 
coverts were dusky. 


16.—WHITE-BREASTED PETREL. 


Procellaria alba, Ind. Orn. ii. 822. Gm. Lin.i. 565. 
White-breasted Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 400. 


LENGTH sixteen inches. Bill one inch and a half, very hooked 
at the tip, and black on the top; before the nostrils much indented, 
and the tube containing them very prominent; head, neck, and upper — 
parts of the body dusky brown, nearly black ; on the throat a whitish 
patch; breast, belly, and vent, white; under tail coverts cinereous 
and white mixed ; tail rounded at the end, and the wings somewhat 
exceed it in length; legs black brown, fore part of the toes half way 
black, the outside of the exterior the same the whole of its length ; 
webs black; the spur behind blunt. 

Inhabits Turtle and Christmas Isles in the South Seas.—From 
the drawings of Sir Joseph Banks. This and the last seem to be 
allied. 


17.—SNOWY PETREL. 


Procellaria nivea, Ind. Orn. ii. 825. Gm. Lin. i. 562. 

Le Petrel blanc, ou Petrel de neige, Buf. ix. 314. 

Snowy Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 408. Forst. Voy. i. p. 96. Cook’s Voy. i. p. 33. 

LENGTH twelve inches. Bill one inch and a quarter long, 
black, inclining to blue at the base ; the tube containing the nostrils 


PETREL. 187 


comes pretty forward on the upper mandible, which is much curved 
at the end; the whole plumage pure white, the shafts of the feathers 
black; the wings exceed the tail in length; legs dark sea-green, 
or blue, with pale webs; claws long, and crooked. 

Inhabits the colder parts of the southern regions, off the Island 
of Georgia, Terra del Fuego, and other parts; but no where in such 
plenty as in the neighbourhood of ice, or within a few leagues of it, 
and proved to be the forerunner of falling in with the same: on the 
icy masses also, these birds are often in considerable flocks. 


18.—BROWN-BANDED PETREL. 


Procellaria desolata, Ind. Orn. ii. 825. Gm. Lin. i. 562. 
Brown-banded Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 409. 


_ LENGTH eleven inches. Bill one inch, black, tip yellowish ; 
plumage on the upper parts of the body greenish ash-colour, deepest 
on the crown; sides of the head, including the eyes, and all the 
under parts of the body, white; ridge of the wing almost black ; 
quills and tail dusky; the last rounded at the end, and tipped with 
dark brown; when the wing is extended, there appears a dark band 
from tip to tip, quite across the body; legs brown, webs yellow, 
claws black. 

Inhabits the Isle of Desolation.—Sir Joseph Banks. 


18.—SOOTY PETREL. 


Procellaria fuliginosa, Ind. Orn.ii. 825. Gm. Lin. i. 562. 
Sooty Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 409. 


LENGTH eleven inches. — Bill black, one inch long, and hooked 
at the tip; irides pale ash-colour; head and neck sooty black ; body 
above the same, but inclining to brown, not unlike the colour of 
the Swift; beneath paler; rump brown; the ridge of the wing 


mixed with ash; the tail somewhat forked at the end, but each 
Bsp2 


188 PETREL. 


feather is square at the tip; the colour of them and the quills deep 
black ; and the latter exceed the tail a trifle in length; legs slender, 
one inch long, and black. 

Inhabits Otaheite.—Sir Joseph Banks. One, in a drawing in 
possession of this gentleman, had each web of the toes marked with 
a yellow spot. Observed too, in various parts of New-Holland, 
and Van Diemen’s Land; but no where in greater plenty than in 
Bass’s Straits; as about three Hummock Island, a stream of these 
birds was seen early in the morning, passing the vessel on the 
way to the windward ; probably composed of some millions; and 
supposed to have taken flight from some other Island not explored ;¥* 
it is said also, that in Preservation Island, the crew of the Sydney 
Cove ship subsisted for the most part on these birds, for more than 
a year; yet at the end of that time, the returning flights in the evening 
were as numerous as they had been observed to be on their first 
arrival. 


20.—FORK-TAILED PETREL. 


Procellaria furcata, Ind. Orn. ii. 825. Gm. Lin. i. 561. 
Fork-tailed Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 410. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 463. 


LENGTH ten inches. _ Bill three quarters of an inch long, and 
black ; the upper mandible very hooked at the end, and the tube of 
the nostrils reaching some way on the top of it; general colour of 
the plumage dark silvery grey, paler beneath ; chin very pale grey; 
vent white; on the forehead and crown a mixture of brown; the 
inner ridge of the wing dusky, black; quills blackish grey; the 
secondaries paler grey on the edges ; tail coverts. pretty long; the 
tail itself the colour of the quills, and forked in shape; the outer 
feather white on the outer web ; the wings, when closed, equal the 
tail in Jength ; legs black. 

Found among the ice, between. Asia and America. 


* See Collin, Bot. Bay. Vol. ii. pp. 151. 172. 


PETREL. 189 


21.—FRIGATE PETREL. 


Procellaria marina, Ind. Orn. ii. 826. 
Frigate Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 410. 


LENGTH eight inches and a half. Bill one inch, slender, and 
not greatly hooked ; top of the head and neck behind, as far as the 
shoulders, bluish ash-colour; back and wing coverts brown; rump 
hoary blue; sides of the head above the eye, and all the under parts, 
white ; under the eye a trace of bluish ash; back and wing coverts 
brown ; the tail, when spread, seems hollowed out in the middle, but 
scarcely what may be called forked; legs black, on the middle of 
each web a yellowish mark. 

Such is the description of a bird among the drawings of Sir Jos. 
Banks. | Said to have been met with in lat. 37. south. In a second 
drawing I observe the rump to be very pale, nearly approaching 
to white. 


22.—AMERICAN PETREL. 


Procellaria Fregata, Ind. Orn. ii. 826. Lin. i. 212. Gm. Lin. i. 561: 
Hirundo Americana, Rochef. It. 134. t. 135. 


THIS is a trifle smaller than the Stormy Petrel; the plumage 
dusky black above, beneath to the breast the same, but paler; belly, 
vent, and rump, white; legs black.—Met with at sea. Allied to 
the last. 


23.—STORMY PETREL. 


Procellaria pelagica, Ind. Orn. ii. 826. Lin. i. 212,. Fn. suec. No. 148; Am. Ac. iv. 
087. Act. Stock. 1745. 93. Gm. Lin. i. 561. Scop. i. No. 95. Brun. No. 117. 
Muller, No, 143... Anders. Isl. ii. p. 54, pl. Ll. | Bris. vi..140.:t. 18. f. 1. Td. 
Svo.11. 398.; Bors iii, 85. t. 39. Gerins ye t..538. . Tem: Man. d?Orn. 319. Ta. 
Ed. 2d. p. 810. 


196 PETREL. 


Der Sturmvogel, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 176. Schmid, Vog. p. 142. t. 124. 
Storm-zwalluw, Sepp. Vog. t. p. 245. 
Stormfinch, Will. 306. Jd. Engl. 395. 


Stormy Petrel, Gen. Syn. Sup. 269. Br. Zool. ii. No. 259, pl. 91. Id. fol. 146 pl. 
L.5. Jd. 1812. 11. 208. pl. 36. Fl. Scot.i. No. 199. Cat. Car. App. pl. 14. 
Edw. pl. 90. upper fig. Bor. Corn. 247. pl. 29. Alb. iii. pl. 92. Damp. Voy. iii. 
p.97. Hasselq. Voy. p. 174. Staunt. Chin. i. 224. Bew.ii. pl. p. 249. Lew. vi. 


pl. 219. Wale.i. pl. 91. Pult. Dors. p.19. Orn. Dict. & Suppl. Am. Orn. vii. 
90. pl. 60. f. 6. 


SIZE of a Swallow; length six inches, breadth thirteen ; weight 
at least an ounce. Bill black ; general colour of the plumage black, 
paler beneath, where it inclines to soot-colour; the ends of the 
second quills, the ramp, and vent, white; the four outer tail feathers 
white at the base on the inner webs ; the wings, when closed, half 
an inch Jonger than the tail; legs long and black. Young birds 
both of this and other Petrels, have a singular appearance, from the 
immense long and floating down, which occupies the whole under 
parts trom the chin, and supplies the parts with complete warmth, 
till the true feathers appear. 

This bird is sufficiently common, though rarely met with but at 
sea, except during the time of its breeding, and seems to be dispersed 
all over the Atlantic Ocean ; flocks of them are for the most part 
seen about ships in full sail, but particularly in stormy weather, in 
the wake of the vessels, to which they seem to resort for shelter, 
froin the violence of the waves; however, the sight of them at any 
time is not pleasant to the sailors, as they suppose them to forebode 
bad weather; when following the ships they are silent during the 
day, but very clamorous in the night, and are called by the sailors 
Mother Cary’s Chickens, and Witches. Are said by some to be 
excellent divers, appearing to stay under water half an hour without 
rising to the surface :* they fly wonderfully swift, and hke Swallows, 
they skim the surface of the water ; at other times appear to run on 

* The circumstance of their diving is doubted in the Ornithological Dictionary, for as 


they are feathered like a Gull, added to their form and levity, they should thereby be not 
capable of immersion. 


PETREL. 19] 


the top of it.* Their chief food supposed to be small fishes, but 
they will pick up, or at least examine, every scrap which falls from 
the ships;+ are pretty common in the north, being found in Kamt- 
schatka;t but do not extend to the Arctic Circle, though met with 
at all distances from land, from Great Britain to the Coast of North 
America; common on the Coasts of Brazil ; and are said to breed in 
great numbers on the shores of the Bahama and Bermuda Islands ; 
are not unfrequent in the southern regions. Forster§ saw them in 
lat. 25 deg. Dampier || in 31 deg. and Osbeck 4, in 34 deg. south. 
In the Ferroe Isles the inhabitants draw a wick through the body, 
from the mouth to the vent, which, when lighted, serves them for 
some time, burning like a lamp, being fed by the vast quantity of oil 
contained in the body of it, as well as in other birds of this Genus.** 

It is true that these birds are seen every where throughout the 
northern and Atlantic Oceans; but they also inhabit the Mediterra- 
nean Seas, being not unfrequent in the neighbourhood of Minorca, 
and no strangers in the Bay of Gibraltar. | Petrels are seen pretty 
often along the western coasts of Europe and Africa. The open sea 
seems to be their favourite residence, though sometimes are in the 
Bay, and one was picked up on the strand, within half a mile of 
the Town of Gibraltar the end of March; but we are by no meanse 
certain of their breeding any where on those shores. — It is probable, 
that they do so in the holes of the rocks like many of the Genus, as 
Mr. Pennant observed them in August off the Isle of Skie, lurking 
among the loose stones, and betraying themselves by their twittering 
noise ;f{ they breed also about Gordon Castle, in Scotland, and 


* Damp. Voy. ii. p. 97. + ** Feast along with other sea birds; when we threw 
“the guts of pigs overboard, they generally were the first and last on such occasions.’’— 
Osb. Voy.i. p. 115. 

4 Hist. Kamtsch. 155. Those found here said to be larger than have been observed 
elsewhere.—Arct. Zool. 

§ Voy.1i. 50. 110. || Voy. mm. p. 97. gq Voy.i. 113. ** Brun. Orn. p. 29. 

tt Br. Zool. This is mentioned as an article of food, in June, by the name of Petterell. 
See MS on the order and Government of a Nobleman’s House.—Archeol. xiii. 352. 


192 PETREL. 


were observed in a small uninhabited Island in Orkney, by Mr. 
Scarth, in passing over a tract of peat moss, in the month of August; 
being first led to the enquiry, by hearing a sound somewhat resem- 
bling that of a spinning wheel, commonly emitted by these birds 
when hatching. The nest was found in a small hole in the ground, 
of very simple construction, being little more than a few fragments 
of shells, laid on the bare turf; the eggs, two in number, round, 
and white, and large in proportion; on its first seizure the bird 
squirted out of her mouth an oily substance, of a very rancid smell. 
During four days confinement of the bird in a cage, she would eat 
nothing, but having observed that she drew the the feathers of the 
breast through the bill frequently, Mr. S. was induced to smear her 
breast with oil; he afterwards placed a saucer of oil in the cage, and he 
found that she regularly extracted the oil, by dipping her breast in 
the vessel, and then sucking the feathers as before. In this way he 
kept the bird for three months. It sometimes made the same purring 
noise which first attracted notice, and sometimes whistled very shrilly.* 
In the Orknies it is known by the name of Alimonty. 

This bird visits the Isle of Thanet early im the winter ; sometimes 
in the month of October. Mr. Boys-inentioned having one sent to 
him-from thence in January 1782, and another shot at Margate, in 
Kent, in a storm of wind, among a flock of Hoopoes, in the January 
following. One in the Leverian Museum was killed at Walthamstow, 
in Essex. We have also heard of one being shot at Oxford; and 
Colonel Montagu mentions having seen one, taken near Marazion, 
in Cornwall ;+ and in the middle of October 1786, one was seen on 
the banks of the Thames, near Northfleet, when a boy threw a stone 
at it, but it appeared only to have been stunned, for it was brought 
to me, seemingly unhurt; I endeavoured to keep it alive in a large 


* Lin. Trans. xii. 618. + Breeds on the rocky coast of the north of Cornwall ; 
lays one egg, the size of that of the Blackbird, white, with an obscure zone of purplish 
brown, formed by minute specks at the larger end.—Orn. Dict. Sup. Breeds in all the 
Isles of Zetland.—Td.:-- 


PETREL. 193 


cage, but it would not take any food, and died the 3d day after 
I received it: it frequently dipped the bill into a cup of water, placed 
in the cage; it seemed to walk in a tripping manner, and with some 
difficulty, and would frequently sit down, resting the body on the 
whole length of the legs: from the above instances, it should seem 
that they are more often on land than is generally suspected. 


A.—Stormy Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 413.18. A. Salern. Orn. 383. Ind. Orn. ii. 826. 


Salerne mentions one of the same size, but differing in colour. 
Bill black; back the same, waved with bluish purple; head, crop, 
and sides of the body, nearly blue, reflecting black and violet in 
different lights ; hind part of the neck changeable green and purple ; 
the upper parts of the wings and rump spotted with white; the rest 
of the body black ; legs short, and black.—This is said to be found 
in the sea, about Italy, and always in flocks: has never been seen 
on land. 

The reader cannot fail to observe the great likeness which some 
of the last described bear to each other. It may, therefore, be sus- 
pected that the species have been unnecessarily multiplied; and that 
probably we may long remain in the dark concerning them, as the 
manners are so little Known. There can be no doubt of several 
changes of plumage taking place at different periods of life, but as 
no one has yet ventured to point them out, we must wait longer for 
a complete elucidation. 


24.—LONG-LEGGED PETREL. 
Petrel échasse, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 812. 
Petrel, ou L’Oiseau de tempéte, Buf. ix. p. 327 t. 23. Pl. enl. 993. 
Stormy Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 411. 
THIS, in every respect as to colour of plumage, is like the 
Common Stormy Petrel, but larger, the legs considerably longer, 


and the wings, when closed, reach full an inch beyond the tail. 
VOL. xX. Cc 


194 PETREL. 


Inhabits the Southern Ocean, as well as the Pacific; and M. 
Temminck esteems it as a distinct species. 


25.—LEACH’S PETREL. 
Procellaria Leachii, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 812. 


LENGTH seven inches and a quarter. Bill and legs black ; 
head and body dull black; sides of the belly and upper tail coverts 
white, with brown shafts; wing coverts dusky brown; quills and 
tail black; the tail forked as in the Martin Swallew. 

A bird of this description was met with, not long since, in the 
Orknies. One of them was killed by Mr. Bullock, in the Isle of 
St. Kilda; another on the Coast of Picardy, in the cabinet of M. 
Baillon, at Abbeville. 

This species is said to be not uncommon in the Isle of St. Kilda; 
that it is rarely seen in the day, but appears after dusk ; at which 
time it is supposed to feed. It Jays a single white egg, in the hole 
of arock, or other cavity, in the same manner as the common sort. 


26.—DIVING PETREL. 


Procellaria Urinatrix, Ind. Orn. ii. 827. Gm. Lin. i. 560. 
Haladroma, Pélécanoide, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal. p. cix. 
Diving Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 413. Forst. Voy. i. 189. 483. 503. 


SIZE of the Little Auk, and of a stout make, not unlike that 
bird; length eight inches and a quarter. Bill nearly one inch long, 
stout and black, the middle of the under mandible white on the 
sides ; nostrils partly inclosed in a tube; irides dusky blue; plumage 
on the upper parts of the body black brown ; beneath white, except 
the chin, which is black ; the skin of that part, and of the throat, 
loose, serving as a pouch, as in the Frigate Pelican; the wings rather 
shorter than the tail; legs bluish green; webs black ; spur at the 
back part wanting. 


PETREL. 195 


These were met with in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, and other parts 
adjacent to New Zealand, in vast flocks ; fluttering on the surface of 
the water, or sitting upon it, and dive well; arising often at con- 
siderable distances, with amazing agility. They croak like frogs, 
and sometimes make a noise like the cackling of a Hen; known by 
the name of Tee-tee. This alone, according to M. Temminck, forms 
a Genus as above mentioned; probably discriminated from the others 
jn having the skin of the under mandible dilatable, as in the Pelican 
Tribe, and seen in no other species; independent of the want of a 
spur on the leg. 


** SPURIOUS—WITH THE NOSTRILS DISTINCT. 


27.—BROAD-BILLED PEDREL. 


Procellaria Forsteri, Ind. Orn. 11. 827. 

Procellaria vittata, Gm. Lin.i. 560. 

Pachyptila, Prion, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal. p. cix- 
Le Petrel bleu, Buf. ix. 316. 

Vittated Petrel, Forst. Voy. i. 153. Id. Obs. p. 199. 
Blue Petrel, Cook’s Voy. i. p. 29. 

Broad-billed Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 414. 


LENGTH twelve inches. Bill blue grey, one inch and a quarter 
Jong, and almost an inch broad at the base, both mandibles bending 
at the point, the edges finely serrated ; each nostril ending in a 
distinct, very short, tube; tongue very large, fleshy, and fills up the 
whole of the bill, conforming to the shape of it ; plumage bluish 
ash on the upper parts, and some of the feathers are brown in the 
middle; sides of the head and under parts of the body white; 
beneath the eye a dusky black streak ; quills and ends of the six 
middle tail feathers dusky, almost black: when the wings are ex- 
panded, a dark, oblique band appears from the bend of the wing 


on each side, passing to the lower part of the back ; legs black. 
Cc2 : 


196 PETREL. 


The female has the same plumage; but the bill, though exceed- 
ing that of any other Petrel, is scarcely more than half the breadth 
of that of the male.—These birds were seen all over the southern. 
hemisphere, from 28 deg. upwards; met with in Dusky Bay, and 
other parts of New Zealand. On the N W. of Anchor Isle found in 
immense numbers, among other species; some on the wing, and 
others in woods, in holes in the ground, close to each other; or under 
roots of trees, or crevices of rocks; make a noise like the croaking 
of frogs, and fly much by might, so as to be taken for bats. These 
were not seen in the day time, but at three o’clock in the morning 
were very active, diving throughout the day, at sea, in quest of 
food.—Dr. Forster observes, that these birds are exceedingly well 
furnished with cloathing, equal to the Penguin; for ‘ their plumage 
‘““ was amazingly abundant, and increased their bulk in a great pro- 
‘‘ portion ; and two feathers, instead of one, proceeded out of every 
“ root, lying one within another, and formed a very warm covering. + 


28.—BLUE PETREL. 


Procellaria ceerulea, Ind. Orn. ii. 827. Gm. Lin.i. 560. 
Another blue Peteril, Cook’s Voy. i. 32. 
Blue Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 415. Forst. Voy. i. p. 91. 


LENGTH twelve inches. Bill one inch and a quarter, blue, 
with a black tip, middle of the bend yellow; upper parts of the 
plumage blue grey, but paler than in the last; beneath white ; 
under the eye a patch of dusky; on the breast a dusky band; the 
greater quills are somewhat darker than the rest ; and the inner webs 
of some of them nearly white; the tail like the back, with a dusky 
band near the end ; but the outer feather is white; the next white 
within, the rest tipped with white; across the body and wings when 
expanded, a dark band, as in the last species; the wings, when 
closed, somewhat longer than the tail; legs blue, webs pale. 


* Forst. Voy.i. p. 103. Obs. p.199. Cook's last Voy.i. p. 86. + Forst. Voy.1. p. 103. 


PETREL. 197 


These inhabit the Southern Ocan, from 47 to 58 deg. of latitude. 
and fly in flocks. Capt. Cook supposed them to be the females of 
the Broad-billed, but the bill has no degree of breadth to justify it ; 
and the colours of the plumage, on comparison, immediately detect 
the difference. 


29.—PACIFIC PETREL. 


Procellaria pacifica, Ind. Orn. ii. 827. Gm. Lin.1. 660. 
Pacific Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 416. : 


LENGTH. twenty-two inches, breadth forty. Bill two inches 
long, lead-coloured, and much hooked at the tip; in the place of 
the tube the nostrils only appear, they are situated obliquely, of an 
oval shape, a little elevated, and placed one inch and a quarter from 
the base; plumage on all the upper parts black, on the under dusky ; 
legs pale on the insteps, marked with some black spots, and a few 
others on the toes and webs. 

Inhabits Euopoa, and other Islands of the Pacific Ocean. Said 
to fly in flocks innumerable ; disappear all at once, dipping under 
water all together, and then rising as suddenly. 


30.—DUSKY PETREL. 


Procellaria obscura, Ind. Orn. ii. 828. Gm. Lin. i. 559. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. p. 808. 
Gerin. v. pl. 538. 
Dusky Petrel, Gen. Syn. vi. 416. Arct. Zool. ii. Sup. p. 73. 


LENGTH thirteen inches. Bill one inch and a half, colour 
black, with horn-coloured sides, point hooked; in the usual place 
only two small holes, serving for nostrils; the upper parts of the 
body dusky black, the under white; on the sides of the neck brown 
and white mixed ; the edges of the middle wing coverts are whitish ; 


198 PETREL. 


the legs placed quite in the vent, black, but the inside pale the 
whole length, and the two inner toes yellowish; the webs orange ; 
claws black. 

Inhabits Christmas Island. One of these, two inches shorter, in 
the Leverian Museum, was said to have come from King George's 
Sound, on the American Coast. M.Temminck assures us, that this 
species has been met with in the Mediterranean, though very rarely : 
it inhabits also the Archipelago throughout ; and very common on 
the Coasts of Africa, and the Cape of Good Hope; but never seen 
in the Northern Seas. i 


MERGANSER. 199 


GENUS CVI.—MERGANSER. 


1 Goosander B Var. A Var. 
2 Imperial 4 Hooded 7 Fork-tailed 
3 Red-breasted RnB over 8 Blue 

A Var. 6 Smew 


BILL slender, cylindrical, somewhat depressed at the base, den- 
tated, or sawed on the sides; at the end a crooked nail. 

Nostrils small, oval, in the middle of the bill. 

Feet furnished with four toes, palmated, three forwards, and 
one behind ; the outer one before longer than that of the middle. 


1.—GOOSANDER MERGANSER. 
MALE. 

Mergus Merganser, Ind. Orn. ii. 828. Lin. i. 208. Faun. swec. No. 135. Gm. Lin. 1. 
544, Besch. Berl. Nat. ii. 551. Id. iii. 457. N. Act. Stock. 1785. iv. 287. No. 
5. Brun. No. 92. Mull. No. 133. Kram. 343.1. Sepp, iv. t. p. 325. Georgi, 
169. Gm. reise, ii. 188. t.20. Bor. iii. 21. t.33. Fn. groenl. No.49. Bris. vi. 
231. t. 22. Id. 8vo.ii. 423. Raitt, 184. A.1. Will. 253. t. 64. Faun. Helvet. 
Schaef. el. t. 47. Gerin. v. t.508. Nat. Misc. pl. 445. Amer. Orn. viii. 68. pl. 
G8. 1.—male and female. Tem. Man. 577. Jd. Ed. 2d. 882. 

Serrator, Klein, 140. Besch. Berl. Nat. i. 170. 

Der Gansen Sager, Schmid, 154. t. 132. 

Mergus Aéthiops, Scop.i. No. 90. 

Seerach mit schwartzem Kopfe, Frisch, t. 190. 

Tauchergans, Bes. Berl. Nat. iv. 594. t. 18. f. 3. Schr. Berl. Nat. vii. 119. Bechst. 
Deutsch. ii. 724. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 781. 

Le Harle, Buf. viii. 267. pl. 23. Pl. endl. 951. Rob. Ic. pl. 18. 

Goosander Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 418. Id. Sup. ii. 336. Br. Zool. ii. No. 260. 
pl. 92. f. 1. Jd. fol. 147. t. N.* N. 7d. 1812. ii. 311. pl. 37. Arct. Zool. ii. 
No. 465. Id. Sup. 73. Fl. Scot, i. p. 42. Will. Engl. 335. pl. 64. Bewick, i. 
pl. p. 254. Lewin, vi. pl. 231. Lin. Trans. iv. 122. Jd. viii. 268. Walcot, i. 
pl. 79. Donov. iii. pl. 49. Pult. Dors. p. 19. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


THE weight of this species is about four pounds, length twenty- 
eight inches, breadth forty. The bill is red, three inches long, 


narrow, toothed on the edges of both mandibles, the tip of the upper 
much bent, and of the under a little swelling; irides red; the head 


200 MERGANSER. 


is full of feathers on the top, and back part; colour of that and half 
the neck, fine glossy greenish black; the rest of the neck and under 
parts of the body white, in some of a delicate yellowish rose-colour ; 
sides over the thighs transversely undulated with dusky lines; upper 
part of the back black; scapulars nearest the body the same, the 
others white; lower part of the back, rump, and tail, brownish ash- 
colour, the feathers edged with dusky white towards the rump; 
lesser wing coverts white, the others ash, but in the middle white; 
the twelve first quills are black, some of the inner ones ash on the 
inner webs; the secondaries mostly white, and five or six of them 
fringed with greenish black on the outer margins; the tail consists 
of eighteen or twenty ash-coloured feathers, with dusky shafts; legs 
orange ; the trachea, or windpipe, is enlarged in two places, nearly at 
equal distances between the glottis and labyrinth, which is a large 
bony box, from which the bronchiz pass into the lungs. 


DUN DIVER MERGANSER. 
FEMALE. 


Mergus Castor, Ind. Orn. ii. 829. Lin. i. 209. Gm. Lin. i. 545. B. Fn. Helvet. 
Tem. Man. 577. Id. Ed.2d. p. 883. 

Mergus Merganser, fem. Fn. suec. p. 48. Bris. vi, 231. Id. Svo. ii. 428. 

Gulo, Scop. Ann. ii. No. 88° 

cinereo-albus capite castaneo, Kramer, 343. 2. 

cirratus longiroster, Rati, 134. A. 2. Will. 253. t.64.—the head. 

Merganser cinereus, Bris. vi. 264. 7. t. 25. Jd. 8vo. 11. 428. 

- longirostree fem. Gerin. v. t. 509. 

Anas rubricapilla, Brun. No. 93. 

Der Bibertaucher, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 5.731. Naturf. xv. 158. 

Seerach mit rothem Kopfe, Frisch, t. 191. 

Le Harle femelle, Buf. viii. 236. Pl. ent. 953. 

Der Haubentaucher, Schr. d. Berl. Nat. il. 374. t. 7. f, 5.—the trachea. 

Dun Diver, Sparling-Fowl, Gen. Syn. vi. 420, 421. A. Id. Sup. 270. Br. Zool. lie 
No 230. pl. 92. f.2. Jd. 1812. i. 212. pl. 37. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 465. Albin, 11. 
pl. 87. Fill. Engl. 333. pl. 64. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 257. Lew. vi. pl. 232. Don. ii. 
pl. 65. Wale. i. pl. 80. Pult. Dors. p. 19. Orn. Dict. § Supp. Nat. Misc. pl, 445. 


THE Dun Diver is less than the Goosander; length twenty-seven 
inches, breadth thirty-five; weighing three pounds and a halt. The 


MERGANSER. 201 


bill is much as in the other, but duller in colour; nail at the tip 
blackish ; the upper part of the head and neck ferruginous, paler 
before; the feathers of the crown and nape much longer than in the 
Goosander; chin and throat white; back, wing coverts, tail, and 
sides of the body, ash-colour; lower part of the neck before, breast, 
and middle of the belly, white; greater quills black ; scapulars 
darker than the back; the ends of six of the second quills white for 
two inches; but the last of these has the inner web, and remaining 
parts of the others, pale ash-colour; the tail consists of twenty ash- 
coloured feathers; legs orange, but paler than in the Goosander. 
In this bird the trachea has no enlargement throughout its length. 
This is mostly found at the same season, as the Goosander; but 
appears to be far more common. In respect to the Mergus Castor, 
supposed by Linnzeus and Brisson to be a distinct species, it seems 
not to differ much from the Dun Diver; it is less in size, the length 
about twenty-two inches, breadth twenty-seven ; weight seventeen 
ounces. The bill two inches and a quarter; in colour of plumage 
much the same with that bird, but the neck has a greater mixture of 
ash-colour, with a pale streak between the nostrils and eye; the rest 
as in the Dun Diver; such an one was in my own collection, killed 
on the Coast of Suffolk ; and was probably a bird of the first year ; 
and the Mergus rubricapillus a young male; but it appears that the 
different varieties of plumage in this species may be accounted for, 
as it requires three years before it arrives at complete feather: and 
we learn, that the young of both sexes at first put on the appearance 
of females. That the complete Dun Diver is the female of the 
Goosander, will therefore be admitted ; but as both sexes have the 
same plumage for at least two years, to identify the male, recourse 
must be had to the anatomical structure of the windpipe; when, in 
whatever state of plumage the subject may be, should there be found 
two enlargements of that organ, there is no doubt of it proving a 
male; on the contrary, in the female there is no enlargement 


throughout the whole of its length. As an additional proof of this, 
VOL. X. Dp 


202 MERGANSER. 


from two birds in the plumage of the Dun Diver having been sent 
to me in January 1789, shot in Dartford Marshes, Kent; in one of 
them the ovary was clustered with eggs, and the trachea of equal 
size from beginning to end; the other with a double enlargement, 
as in the complete Goosander, with the other internal marks of the 
sex complete. The first of these was probably a perfect female, 
and weighed more than two pounds and three quarters; the length 
twenty-seven inches; breadth twenty-three. The other weighed only 
fourteen ounces; and the length twenty-three inches ; an incomplete 
male. The complete male Goosander is sometimes seen with a 
yellowish rose-coloured breast; perhaps a mark of extreme comple- 
tion, and only seen in the breeding season. 

The Goosander seems to prefer the more northern situations; not 
being seen southward except in severe seasons; it continues the 
whole year in the Orknies, and has been shot in the Hebrides;* is 
not uncommon on the Continent of Europe, and Asia, but chiefly in 
the north; found also in Iceland, and Greenland, and breeds there. 
It makes a slovenly kind of nest, either in a hollow tree, or under 
a bush, and sometimes among the rocks; lays twelve or fourteen 
whitish eggs, and the young are hatched in a month. It is also 
said to breed upon the Islands of the Shannon, near Killaloe, in 
Ireland. It is frequent in America, found about New York, in 
winter, from whence it retires in April, probably to Hudson’s Bay ;+ 
and, if the same which is called Fisherman’s Duck, is also found in 
Carolina.t 


2—_ IMPERIAL MERGANSER. 


Mergus imperialis, Ind. Orn. ii. 829. Gm. Lin. i. 547. Cet. uc. Sard. 326. 
Imperial Merganser, Gen. Syn. Sup. i. 337. 


SIZE and shape of a Goose. Bill rufous white; tongue ciliated; 
the head not crested; general colour of the plumage varied with 


* Br. Zool.  Arct. Zool. + Arct. Zool. + Lawson’s Carol. p. 150. 


MERGANSER. 203 


black, brown, and grey, no speculum on. the wings; prime quills 
black ; legs rufous white.—Inhabits Sardinia. ‘The above is all we 
can collect concerning the bird. 


3.—RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 


Mergus Serrator, Ind. Orn. ii. 829. Lin. i. 208, Fn. suec. No.136. Gm. Lin. i, 546. 
Tt. Got. 166. 271. It. Oel. 271. Bor. iii. p. 22.2. Mull. No. 134. Georgi, 169. 
Faun. groenl. No, 48. Fn. Helv. Sepp, iii. t. 124, 125. Gerin. y. t.500. Tem. 
Man. 579. Id. Ed. 2d. 884. 

Merganser longiroster cristatus, Gerin. v. t. 509. 

cristatus, Bris. vi. 237. t.23. Id. 8vo. ti. 424. 

Mergus cristatus, Brun. No. 94,95.  Bechst. Deuts. ii. 737.2. Id. Ed. 2d.iv. 795. 

Serrator cirrhatus, Klein, 140. 2. Id. Stem. 33. t.37. 1. a—c. Robert. Ic. pl. 23. 

Mergus pectore rufo, Bartr. Trav. 293. Besch. Berl. Nat.i. 170. Id. ii. 551. 

albellus, Scop. i. No. 89. 

—  cirrhatus fuseus, Rati, 135. A. 4. Will. 255, t. 64. Id. Engl. 336. t. 64. 

Der Meerracken, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 732. t. 24. Id. Var. 736. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 795. 

Der Haubentaucher, Schr. d. Berl. Nat. i. 374. t. 7. f. 5. 

Der Langschnabel, Naturf. xii. 189. 

Le Harle huppé, Buf. vii. 273, Pl. enl. 207. 

Red-breasted Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 423. Id. Sup.271. Jd. Sup. ii, 337. Br. 
Zool. ii. No. 261. pl. 93. Id. fol. 147. Id. 1812. ii. p. 214. pl. 38. Arct. Zool. 
ii. No. 466. Edw. pl. 95. Albin, ii. pl. 101. Bew. ii. pl. p. 261. Lewin, vi. 
pl. 233. Lin. Trans. iv. 121. pl. xvi. f. 1,2. Jd. viii. 268. Wale. pl. 81. Don. 
pl. 38. Pult. Dors. p. 18. Am, Orn. viii. 81. pl. 69. f. 2. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 
Frankl. Nar. Ap. p. 702. 


LENGTH one foot nine inches, breadth two feet seven inches; 
weight two pounds. Bill nearly three inches long, the upper man- 
dible dusky, the lower red; head and part of the neck black, 
glossed with green, the feathers of the first elongated, forming a 
long crest ; the rest of the neck and under parts of the body white; 
upper part of the back glossy black; the lower and rump trans- 
versely striated brown and pale grey; on each side of the breast five 
or six broad white feathers, margined all round with black, and when 
the wing is closed, rest on the bend of it; part of the scapulars black, 


others white; wing coverts also part black part white, but the 
Dvp2 


204 MERGANSER. 


greater number white; bastard wing black; quills dusky; tail 
consisting of twenty feathers, ** brown, bordered with greyish 
white; the shape rounded, ending in a point in the middle; legs 
orange; claws black. The female differs in being smaller, and 
having only the rudiment of a crest; the head and upper ‘part of 
the neck adjoiing, dull ferraginous; chin white; fore part of the 
neck and the breast ferruginous, mottled with black and white; 
neck behind, back, rump, and scapulars, cinereous; Jower part 
of the breast and belly white; on each side of the breast the 
same black and white feathers as in the male; scapulars and wing 
coverts much the same as in that sex, but have less white, and more 
dusky in them; legs orange, but paler than in the male. 

Individuals of both sexes differ from each other in plumage; 
some of the males have twice the proportion of white in the neck, 
as in others, and the white on the wings more pure. The females 
too, differ in being more or less bright in colour. 

We do not find that the sexes of this bird have been mistaken by 
authors, but still the inquisitive naturalist will observe the same in- 
ternal difference to exist, as in the great species. The male hasa single 
enlargement of the trachea about the middle of its length, in the 
manner of the Golden Eye, and nearly in the same place, but differs 
in being bony instead of cartilaginous; and the bony plaits, most 
curiously furrowed, or channelled transversely; besides this, the 
lower part ends in a large, and remarkably bony cavity, of an 
irregular heart-shape, with two openings on one side, and one 
on the other; all of which are covered with fine membranes, in the 
same manner as in the Scaup, Gadwal, and Tufted Ducks; from the 
bottom of this triangular bony box the two bronchi arise, and 
from thence lose themselves in the Jungs. : 

In the female the trachea continues nearly the same the whole 
of its length. 


* Sometimes sixteen, and sometimes eighteen feathers, Pallas, Besch. d. Berl. N. ii. 
s. 004, 


MERGANSER. 205 


The Red-breasted Merganser is found chiefly in the northern 
parts of this kingdom, being met with in the south but rarely. It is 
said to breed on the fresh water lochs, in the Isle of Glass; alson 
Loch Mari, in the County of Ross, and in the Isle of Ilay; is known 
in most parts of the north of Europe, and as high as Iceland,* where 
it is called Vatus ond; is frequent in Greenland in the summer, 
where it breeds on the shores, and is often taken in August, by throw- 
ing darts at it, on the water; also in the Russian dominions, about the 
great rivers of Siberia, and the Lake Baikal. The most southern part 
of Europe in which we hear of it, is Gibraltar, where it sometimes 
appears in small flocks on the strand, below the town walls, in De- 
cember; is well known in Newfoundland ; and often appears at Hud- 
son’s Bay, in large flocks, but is said to exceed the European one in 
size; generally come in pairs, the beginning of June, as soon as the ice 
breaks up, making the nest soon after, chiefly on dry spots of ground 
in the Islands. The eggs from eight to thirteen in number, the size 
of those of a Duck, and white, the nest composed of withered grass, 
lined with the down from the breast: the young are dirty brown, 
like young Goslings. ‘They all depart in October, to the lakes, 
where they may have open water; are called at Hudson’s Bay 
As-sick. 


A.—Merganser leucomelanus, Bris. vi. 250. Id. 8vo. 1i. 427. Ind. Orn. ii. 830. B. 
Merganser superne niger, inferne albus, Gerin. v. t. 512. 

Harle 4 Manteau noir, Buf. viii. 277. Gen. Syn. vi. 425. A. 

Der bunte Meerachen, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 737. 4. 


Size of the last; head, neck behind, back, scapulars, and rump, 
black ; upper tail coverts brown ; all beneath white; also the lesser 
wing coverts and greater ones nearest the body ; the outer and quills 
black ; tail brown ; legs red.—This is a Variety of the male. 


* Hooker’s Tour, p. 72. 


206 MERGANSER. 


B.—Merganser niger, Bris. vi, 251. Id. 8yo. ii. 427. Ind. Orn. ii. 830. y. Gen. Syn. 
vi. 426. Var. B. 


Der Schwarz Meerachen, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 737. 3. 


Bill black ; head, back, and rump, scapulars, and upper tail 
coyerts, black; neck chestnut; breast, belly, and under parts, white ; 
wings black, crossed with a band of white; tail and legs black. 

Found in Germany, and is probably a Variety of the female. 


4.-HOODED MERGANSER,—PL. cixxvit. 


Mergus cucullatus, Ind. Orn.ii. 830. Lin. i. 207. Gm. Lin.i. 544. Bartr. Trav. 
293. Am. Orn. viii. 79. pl. 69. f.1. Frankl. Nar. Ap. p. 702. 

Merganser Virginianus cristatus, Bris. vi. 258. Jd. 8vo. ii. 429. 

Serrator cucullatus, A/ein, Av. 140. 

Ecatototl, Rati, 175. Will. 301. Id. Engl. 389.—Wind Bird. 

Le Harle couronné, Buf. viii. 280. Pl. end. 935, 936. 

Round-crested Duck, Cat. Car.i. pl. 94. Edw. pl. 360. 

Hooded Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 426. 4. pl. CI. Arct. Zool. ii, No. 467. 


LENGTH eighteen inches, breadth twenty-four; weight twenty- 
three ounces. Bill one inch and a half long, black, irides golden ; 
head dark brown; forehead paler; the head furnished with a large 
rounded crest, flat on the sides, of a very soft and silky texture ; 
round the eyes, and the middle of the crest black; the rest white, 
tipped all round with black ; forehead, cheeks, neck, back, and tail, 
black, the last inclined to dusky ; under parts from the breast white ; 
‘sides of the latter and lower part of the neck undulated with black ; 
wing coverts deep brown ; across the lower a bar of white; and on 
the scapulars a mixture of white; sides of the breast fine tawny, 
crossed with black lines; of the vent the same, elegantly barred ; 
legs black. This is the description of the male. The female differs 
so very little as not to merit a separate description. 


MERGANSER. 207 


The young birds of the first winter are generally brown; the 
head with a crest, of a rufous colour, but neither white, nor edged 
with black, as in the adult male. 

The one figured in the Pl. enlum. supposed to be the female, is 
only a bird more advanced in plumage, probably in the second year; 
it has the head and neck dark ash-colour, mottled with dusky black ; 
the crest short, and rust-coloured ; chin and throat whitish; back, 
wings, and tail, dusky, with a white line across the wings; breast 
and belly white. The male of this bird, as in all others of the 
Genus with which we are acquainted, is furnished with a bony 
enlargement at the bottom of the trachea before the two branches 
divaricate to pass into the lungs, but in shape it is not exactly like 
any yet described ; it is oval, at its greatest length one mch and a 
quarter, wholly bony, without any opening, and stands obliquely. 
The trachea itself is about seven inches long from the entrance to 
the divarication ; it passes downwards, of nearly the same diameter 
for three-fifths of its length, when it increases for mere than two 
inches, the greatest diameter full five-eighths of an inch; it contracts 
again to three-fourths of an inch before it enlargesinto the bony cist, 
but not to the same size as the tube above. It may be observed too, 
that the enlargement in the trachea does not change into the texture 
of bone, as in the Red-breasted ; but remains cartilaginous through- 
out the whole of its length.* 

This elegant species mhabits North America; appears at Hudson's 
Bay the end of May, and builds close to the lake. The nest 
composed of grass, lined with feathers from the breast; the female 
lays from four to six white eggs; the young at first are yellow; are 
fit to fly in July, and in autumn all depart southward. They first 
appear at New York, and other parts, as low as Virginia and Caro- 
lina, in November; frequent fresh waters, remaining through the 
winter, and return northward in March : called at Hudson’s Bay, 


* T am indebted to Mr Abbot, of Savannah, in Georgia, for the above; as also for an 
exact drawing of the trachea. 


208 MERGANSER. 


Omiska sheep; in Georgia, Shag Pole, Cotton Head, or Hairy 
Head ; comes there in the winter, and frequents ponds and lakes, in 
pairs, and small companies; is a great diver. 


5.—BROWN MERGANSER. 


Mergus fuscus, Ind. Orn. ii. 832. 
Brown Merganser, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 339. Arct. Zool. ii. Sup. 74. 


LENGTH seventeen inches and a half; weight twenty-three 
ounces. Head dark brown; from the orbits a whitish brown streak, 
extending backwards, and ending in a large pendent crest ; the upper 
part of it brown, the lower black; greater and lesser coverts, scapulars, 
and tail, black ; secondaries the same, but each web broadly mottled 
with white; belly white; vent tawny; beyond the junction of the 
thighs with the body, a few black feathers, marked with red; legs 
dusky yellow. 

Inhabits Hudson’s Bay, arriving there in May, as soon as the 
rivers are open; makes the nest about the lakes with grass, lined 
with feathers from the breast; retires when the rivers become frozen. 
This seems to correspond somewhat with the Hooded Merganser, in 
one of its stages towards perfection. It is now and then eaten, 
but said to have a strong and rancid flavour. I find it among the 
drawings of Mr. Abbot, of Savannah, as distinct. It is said to 
frequent the ponds there in the winter; and that both sexes are alike. 


6.—SMEW MERGANSER. 


Mergus albellus, Ind. Orn. ii. 831. Lin. i. 209. Fn. suec. No. 137. Bris. vi. 245. 
t. 24. f. 1. Jd. 8vo. ii. 425. Klein, 185. 30. Brun. No. 97. Frisch, t. 172. 
Kram, 244.  Johnst. Av. t.47. Fn. Helv. Dec. russ. ii. 145. Besch. d. Berl. 
Nat. iv. 496. t. 18. f.7. Nov. Act. Stock. 1780. iii. p. 224. Naturf. xxv. s. 11. 
Besek. Voy. Kurl. s. 53. Schr. Berl. Ges. vii. 457. Borowsk. iii. s. 22. 3. Am. 
Orn. viii. 126. pl. 71.4. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 581. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 888. 


MERGANSER. 209 


Merganser minor, Monialis alba dictus, Gerin. v. t. 513. 

ne feemina, Gerin. v. 514. 

Mergus major cirrhatus, Rati, 135. A.38. Will. 254. t. 64. 

-— Rheni, Ratz, 135. 5, Will. 255. 

-—albulus, Scop. i. No. 91. 

Der weisse Tauchente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 738. Id. Ed, 2d. iy. 804. Naturf. xii. 139. 

Wjtte-non Duiker, Sepp. iv. t. p. 363. 

Petit Harle huppé, ou La Piette, Buf. viii. 275. Pl. enl. 449. 

White Nun, Rati, 135. A. 3. Will. Engl. 337. pl. 64. 

Smew, Gen. Syn. vi. 428. Id. Sup. 271. Id. Sup. ii. 338. Br. Zool. ii. No. 262. 
Id. fol. 148. pl. N. 1. Id.1812. ii. p. 216. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 264. Lewin, vi. pl. 
234, Alb.i. pl. 89. Wale. i. p. 82. Pult. Dors.p.19. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


Mergus minutus, Lin. i. 209.6. Gm. Lin. i. 548. Fn. suec. No. 138. 

Merganser stellatus, Bris. vi. 262. Id. 8vo. ii. 428. Brun. No. 98. Klein, 135. 29. 
Tem. Man. 582. Id. Ed. 2d. 888. 

Merganser cinereus capite rufescente breviroster, Gerin. v. t. 511. 

Le Harle etoilé, Buf. viii. 278. 

Weesel-Coot, Albin, i. pl. 88. 

Red-headed Smew, Br. Zool. ii. No. 263, Id. fol. 148. pl. N. 2. 


Mergus minutus, Fn. swec. No. 138. Kramer, 344. 

Tinus, Hasselq. It. 269. Id. Voy, 201. 

glacialis, Brun. No. 99. Raii, 135. A. 3. Will, 254, 

Pannnonicus, Scop. i. No. 92. Bechst. Deuts. ii. 743. 

Merganser cristatus minor foem. Bris. vi. 243. t. 24. f.2. Jd. 8vo. ii. 426. 

De kleine Zaagbek, Sepp, iv. t. p. 293. 

Der kleine Tauchente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 742. |. 

Pfeilschwanz, Naturf. xi. 139. 

La Piette femelle, P/. en/. 450. 

Lough-Diver, Will. Engl. 338. Br. Zool. 1. 560. Id. fol. 144. Add. Arct. Zool. ii. 
540. A. Id. Sup. 74. 

Minute Merganser, Gen. Syn. vi. 429. 


LENGTH sixteen or seventeen inches; breadth two feet ; weight 
thirty-four ounces. Bill nearly two inches long, and black; general 
colour of the plumage white; the head crested at the back part; 
beneath the crest black ; on each side of the head an oval black spot, 
beginning at the bill, and taking in the eye; on the Jower part of 
the neck, on each side, two curved black streaks, pointing forwards : 

VOL, X. EE 


210 MERGANSER. 


inner scapulars, back, coverts on the side of the wing, and greater 
quills, black; tail cinereous, consisting of sixteen feathers; legs 
bluish grey. 

The second set of synonyms, supposed to be of the female, refer to 
a bird sixteen inches long, twenty-three broad, and weighing fifteen 
ounces. Bill lead-colour; head ferruginous, and slightly crested ; 
cheeks, chin, and throat, white ; between the bill and eyes the same 
oval black spot as in the other bird: back dusky ash-colour ; wings 
as before described: belly white; legs pale ash-colour. 

The Minute Merganser, meant by the last division of synonyms, 
is rather smaller than the other two; length fourteen inches and a 
half, breadth twenty-three. Bill black ; top of the head and sides, 
including the eyes and hind part of the neck, dusky ferruginous, 
deeper on the head, the feathers of which are somewhat elongated ; 
chin, throat, fore part of the neck, and sides of it for half the length, 
white ; lower part of the neck and breast mottled dusky and white ; 
wings much as in the Smew, dusky black, with a patch of white on 
the coverts, and two bars of the same below; legs dusky. 

It seems now certain, that both sexes, while young, are more or 
less brown, with a reddish, or chestnut head; the under parts white ; 
and as some of these have the oval spot between the eye, and others 
without, it may not be unreasonable to suppose, that the former may, 
when complete, be the males, and the others the females: in such 
case reducing several birds described by authors as distinct, into one 
and the same species; that at first all are without the distinguishing, 
oval black spot, which may break forth more or less distinct in the 
second year, with some change also of plumage, and on the third, 
the plumage may arrive at its mature state. I have been led to this 
supposition, by finding the trachea of a Minute Merganser, which 
proved to be a male, exactly of the same conformation with that of 
the adult Smew, with this difference only—that the parts were less 
ossified. The trachea when complete, may be described thus : —near 
the upper part it is very small in diameter, but enlarges as it descends 


MERGANSER. 211 


as far as the middle, from whence to the bottom it continues of nearly 
equal dimensions; the texture consists of completely bony rings, 
with scarcely any cartilage intervening; at the bottom is a bony 
cavity as in other Mergansers, but smaller in proportion, and differ- 
ing in shape, the greater expanse being from side to side; whereas 
in the others it is almost upwards and downwards; on one side is a 
round hole, covered by a drum-like membrane, and on the opposite, 
an oval, smooth, hollow bone, uniting with it; from the bottom arise 
the two bronchi. 

The Smew is seen in England only in the winter; at which season, 
it is sometimes met with in the southern parts, but only in severe 
seasons; in France, about Picardy, it is called La Piette. Similar 
to this appellation, we have heard it called in Kent the Magpie Diver. 
On the Continent we find it as far southward as Carniola ;+ is com- 
mon in Iceland, at which place, and other Arctic Regions, it passes 
the summer, and where it probably breeds with the other Mergan- 
sers, as it has been observed to migrate in company with those birds, 
several kinds of Ducks, &c. in their course up the Wolga, in 
February. It inhabits also America, having been sent from New 
York,§ where it is migratory, as in Europe. Birds of this Genus 
are occasionally met with in the London markets, but are seldom so 
well flavoured as those of the Duck kind ; and we have there seen in 
particular the Smew, in its several varieties of plumage, but rarely 
the adult bird. The Smew feeds chiefly on shrimps, and we have 
found both these and also the fish called Millers Thumb, || in the 
stomach ; but in one met with in Ireland, the end of August 1786, the 
stomach was distended with shrimps, to the utmost it was capable. 


* Lin. Trans. V. iv. pl. xvi. f.3, 4. There is no enlargement of the trachea in the 
female. 

+ Hasselquist says, as far south as lat. 37. having found it in the Island of Tenos, or 
Tino, in the Archipelago: probably he gave his bird the name of Mergus tinus from this 
circumstance. 

$ Dec. russ. ii. 145. § Arct. Zool. || Cottus Gobio, Lin. 

Er2 


212 MERGANSER. 


A.—Mergus Asiaticus, Gm. Lin. i. 548. Gel. It. ii. 188. t. 20. 


Length fourteen inches and a half. The bill formed as in the 
Smew, and red; the head not crested in either sex, the feathers 
being quite smooth ; upper part and sides of the head dull ferru- 
ginous; throat and breast clouded with white on an obscure ground; 
belly white; back black ; on the wings a white space, with a black 
speculum, bounded with white before and behind; prime quills 
black ; tail ash-colour ; legs dull red. 

Inhabits Astrachan. Gmelin observes, that the trachea of the 
male is exactly like that of the Smew, from which it no doubt 
differs only in age, or sex. ) 


7.—FORK-TAILED MERGANSER. 


Mergus furcifer, Ind. Orn. ii. 832.8. Gm. Lin. i. 548. Schr. d. Berl. Nat. vii. 
458, 32. 
Fork-tailed Merganser, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 339. 


The bill in this bird is black at the tip and base, and reddish in 
the middle; irides pale brown; forehead and back light brown ; 
from the ears, down the sides of the neck, to the breast a black stripe, 
shaded for half the length with chestnut; hindhead and neck white ; 
breast, back, and rump, shaded with black, the feathers appearing 
scaly ; belly and vent white; tail black, forked as in the Swallow ; 
the outer feathers white; wing coverts shaded not unlike the back ; 
lesser quills black, part of them white, making a long spot of that 
colour between the back and wings. 

Inhabits Courland. 


MERGANSER. 213 


8.—BLUE MERGANSER. 


Mereus ceruleus, Ind. Orn. ii. 833. 

Anas discors, Ind. Orn. 11. 854. 55. B. 

White-faced Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 504. 50. A. 

Blue Merganser, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. p. 340. Arct. Zool. ii. Sup. p. 74. 


THIS bird is fourteen inches in length, and weighs fourteen 
ounces. The bill black, long, and slender; irides blue; forehead 
and crown shining black, the feathers long; about the ears some 
dirty white feathers ; throat and belly white; breast aud vent blue; 
the hind part of the neck inclining to brown; primaries, scapulars, 
bastard wing, and lesser coverts, dark blue; greater coverts blue, 
marked with a white spot; secondaries white on the outside, blue on 
the inner; tail black, short, and rounded; legs blue. 

Arrives at Hudson’s Bay in June; makes the nest on the stump 
of a tree, near the side of a pond, and lays ten small white eggs, in 
a cavity formed by scraping away the rotten wood ; hatches in July, 
and immediately conveys its young in her bill to the water ; retires 
in October; feeds on grass at the bottoms of ponds, and is frequently 
seen flying over the surfaces. The natives call it Waw pew ne way 
se pis, or Pied Duck. 

I have been favoured with the description of a similar one by 
General Davies, which he met with in Canada, under the name of 
Betsee, differing in a few, but not essential particulars, probably 
arising from sex. 


214 


Whistling Swan 
Lesser 
Mute 
Black-necked 
Black 
Black and White Goose 
Loggerhead 
Hybrid 
Coscoroba 
10 Antarctic 
11 Bustard 
12, Variegated 
13 Painted 
14 Magellanic 
A Var. 
15 Blue-winged 
A Var. 
16 Snow 
17 Great 
18. Chinese 
A Spontaneous 
B Oriental 
C White 
19 Canada 
20 Black-backed 
21 Spur-winged 
22 Barred-headed 
23 Hindustan 
24 Egyptian 
A Cape 
25 Grey-headed 
26 Mountain 
27 Red-breasted 
28 Ruddy 
29 Grey Lag 
A Tame 
30 White-fronted 
31 Bean 
32 Bering 


H©owmMROA PP WH = 


DUCK. 


GENUS CVII.—DUCK. 


83 Gulaund 
34 Bernacle 
35 Brent 
A Rat or Road 
386 Torrid 
37 Scopoline 
38 Eider 
39 King 
40 Muscovy 
41 Nilotic 
42 Merian 
43 Abha Duck 
44 Solitary 
45 Lobated 
46 Royal 
47 Georgian 
48 Black 
A Var. 
49 Scoter 
50 Cinereous 
51 Velvet 
A Var. 
52 Harlequin 
53 Brown 
54 Spotted-billed 
55 Damietta 
56 Mallard 
A Tame 
B Greater 
C Grey 
D Greater-spotted 
E Hook-billed 
57 Mixed 
58 Curve-billed 
59 Semipalmated 
60 Cream-coloured 
61 Red-billed Whistling 
62 Black-billed ditto 
63 Piping 


64 Fluting 
65 Scaup 

A Var. 
66 White-faced 
67 Shieldrake 

A War. 
68 New-Holland ditte 
69 Ash-headed 
70 Crimson-billed 
71 Wathera 
72 Mareca 
73 Striped 
74 Shoveler 

A Var. 

B Var. 
75 Red-breasted 
76 New-Holland 
77 Jamaica 
78 Ural 
79 Spanish 
80 White-masked 
81 Dominican 
&2 Pied 
83 Rubicund 
84 Gadwal 
85 Falcated 

A Var. 
86 Javan. 

A Var. 
87 Wigeon 

A Var. 
88 Black-tailed 
89 Cape 
90 Supercilious 
91 Canvas-backed 
92 American Wigeon 
93 Bimaculated 
94 Membranaceous 


|| 98 Soft-billed 


96 Pochard 
A Var. 

97 Rufous-necked 

98 Mexican P. 

99 Chestnut-crowned 
100 Varied-billed 
101 Jacquin’s 
102 Pintail 
103 Long-tailed 

A Ferroe 

104 Western 
105 Pink-headed 
106 Spirit 
107 Golden-eye 

A Morillon 

108 Fulvous 

109 Tufted 
A Var. 
B Var. 


DUCK. 


C Var, 
110 Raft 
111 Lapmark 
112 African 
113 Nyroca 
114 New Zealand 
115 Crested 
116 Hawksbury 
117 Dusky-bay 
118 Red-crested 
119 Iceland 
120 Dusky 
121 Summer 
122 Chinese 
123 Summer Teal 
124 Garganey 
125 Common Teal 
A Var. 
126 Sirseir 


127 Chestnut-winged 
128 Grey-shouldered 
129 Bilibi 

130 American 

131 St. Domingo 
132 Spinous-tailed 
133 Siley 

134 Madagascar 

135 Coromandel 

136 Girra 

137 Manilla 

138 Baikal 

139 Hina 

140 Sparrman’s 

141 Gmelin’s 

142 Kekushka 

143 Arabic 

144 Alexandrine 
145 Gattair 


215 


THE bill in the Duck Genus is strong, broad, depressed, and 
commonly furnished at the end with an additional piece, termed a 
nail; the edges of the mandibles marked with sharp lamellz, imi- 


tating teeth. 


Nostrils small, and oval. 


Tongue broad, sometimes irregular in shape and fringed near 
the base. 


Toes, three before and one behind, with webs between, the 
middle toe longest. 


1.—WHISTLING SWAN. 


Anas Cygnus, Ind. Orn. ii. 833. Lin.i. 194. Fn. suec. No. 107. Gm. Lin. i. p. 501. 
Scop. i. No. 66, Brun. No, 44, Muller, No. 106. Kram.338. Georgi, 165. 
Borowsk. iii. 14. Fn. Helv. Gerin. v. t.554. Bartr. Trav. 292. Bes. d. Berl. 
Nat. ii. s. 460. Tem. Man. 522. Id. Ed. 2d. 829, Parr, App. p- ccvii- 

Cygnus ferus, Bris, vi. 292. t,28. Id. 8vo. ii, 439. Raii, 186. A. 2. Will. 272. 
t.69. Klein, 128. Id. Stem. 81. £.33. 


216 DUCK. 


Der Sing Schwan, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 581. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 380. Naturf. xii. 181. 

Cisne, Gabin. de Madrid, ii. p. 65. lam. 66. 

Cygne sauvage, Buf.ix. p.3. Hist. Prov. i. 340. 

Wild, or Whistling Swan, Gen. Syn. vi. 483. Id. Sup. 272. Id. Sup. ii. 841. Br. 
Zool. 11. No. 264. Id. fol. 149. pl. Add. Id. Ed. 1812. ii. 218.  Arct. Zool. ii. 
No. 469. Id. Sup. p. 75. Fl. Scot. i. No. 204, Will. Engl. 356. pl. 69.—head. 
Edw. pl. 150. Phil. Trans. lvi. t. x. 215. f. 1,2. Lin. Trans, iv. 105. pl. xii. 
f.1.2. Bewick, ii. p. 272. Lewin, vii. pl. 236. Id. xlviii.—the egg. Parry’s 
2d Voy. p. 240. pl. of thenest. Walcot, i. pl. 55. Pult. Dors. p.19. Orn. Dict. 
§ Supp. Wood’s Zoogr.i. p. 530. Cooke's Whistling Swan, Monogr. two plates. 


THE Whistling or Wild Swan, formerly called Elk or Hooper, 
is less than the Tame or Mute Species, and about five feet in length ; 
breadth seven ; and weighs from fifteen to twenty pounds. The bill 
between four and five inches long; from the base to the middle 
yellowish white, and from thence to the end black; irides pale 
vellow, in some dusky; round the eyes a small, bare space; eyelids 
yellowish; plumage wholly white ;* at the end of the bastard wing 
a horny spur, about half an inch long, somewhat curved, scarcely 
discernible, till the feathers are removed ; legs black. The female 
does not externally ditfer. 

The Wild Swan inhabits the northern regions, rarely appearing 
in England, except in severe winters, when flocks of five or six are 
now and then seen: said, however, to come into Lingey, one of the 
Western Isles, in October, departing in March; and that a few 
continue in Mainland, one of the Orknies, and breed there. This 
species has also been seen on the eastern side of the Chesil Bank, 
I believe in August;+ but the greater part retire northward as the 
spring advances, and are found in summer in Iceland, + Lapland, 
the Deserts of Tartary and Siberia, as far as Kamtschatka, as well as 

* Tn some birds the head has a yellowish tinge. 

+ Dr. Maton. See Western Tour, i. p. 68. 

+ The people of Iceland find, that the number increases towards winter, hence suppose 
them to come from parts still farther north ; and in spring more than 100 are often seen in 
a flock, which are thought to have come from the south. This is said of migrators, for the 


greater part of the young brood stay the whole year, frequenting the lakes in summer, and 
in the winter remove to the sea shore.—Van. Troil. Icel. 143. 


DUCK. D4 Iv 


about the Caspian and Euxine Seas; seen in Greece, and at times, 
even as low as Egypt, but observed on this side of the Equator only 
between the Tropic and Arctic Circles, to the last of which it 
scarcely ever arrives. In the neighbourhood of Tzaritzin, and the 
lower Wolga, a great number of Swans appear about the 20th of 
February, particularly upon the Sarpa, and towards the lower 
grounds of the Achtuba;* they are of two kinds, but that which 
distinguishes itself by its very sharp scream, and has the lower part 
of the bill yellow, is the most numerous; + among the Kalmucs, the 
Lama Dardsha had for his title, Erdeni Lama Baatur Khan Taidshi, 
signifying Noble Father of Souls, brave Prince of Swans.t 

Are well known in America, especially on the borders of the 
upper lakes, as they breed in the lagoons, and marshy inlets, and 
migrate to the southern provinces with their young, in incredible 
numbers, about the beginning of October ;§ are not uncommon at 
Hudson’s Bay, and there called Wapa-seu. They come there, ac- 
companied by the Geese, about the end of May, but not in great 
numbers ; though sometimes as many as nine in a flock, yet the 
lakes to the southward are said to abound with them; are eaten by 
the natives, and much esteemed. ‘They lay four white eggs, and the 
young are hatched in July ;|| have been seen also in King George's 
Sound,q and from thence to Carolina, and Louisiana, migrating 
in the New, as on the Old Continent. The Indians wear the skins, 
with the down attached, sewed together, by way of covering: the 
larger feathers are made into diadems for their chiefs, and the smaller 
are woven on threads, with which they cover garments, but worn 
only by women of the highest rank. t+ 


* Breeds in Prussia, about Pillau.—Naturf. xii. s. 131. 

+ Meaning, no doubt, the Wild Swan.—Russia, Svo. 1783. iv. p. 283. 

+ Russ. iv. 205. § General Davies. 

|| Mr. Hutchins. A nest was met with in Winter Island, built of peat moss, five feet 
ten inches long, nearly five feet wide, and two feet deep; the hole of entrance eighteen 


inches.—Capt. Parry. {| Cook’s last Voy. i. 235. 
** Said to be of two sorts; the larger called the Trumpeter, the smaller the Hooper.— 
Lawson, p.146. Arct. Zool. +t Hist. Louis. ii. p. 118. 


VOL. X. Fr 


218 DUCK. 


In August they lose their feathers, and not being able to fly, 
the natives of Iceland and Kamtschatka hunt them with dogs, which 
catch them by the neck, and easily secure their prey. In the last 
named place they are also killed with clubs: the eggs are accounted 
good food; and the flesh is much esteemed by the inhabitants, 
especially that of young birds; insomuch that in summer or winter 
no entertainment is made without one.* 

The general use of the feathers is well known, and the skins of 
the body worn for garments; besides which, those of the legs, taken 
off whole, are made into purses, appearing not unlike shagreen. 
The Venetians and Neapolitans turn the feathers of this and the 
Mute Species to another account, by dying those of the belly, for 
the purpose of making artificial flowers. 

However this and the Mute Species may be alike in plumage, 
they differ within most essentially, in respect to the structure of the 
trachea or windpipe. In most birds, as well as in the Mute Swan, 
the keel-shaped process of the breast bone is thin, and sharp, but 
the Whistling one it is very broad and hollow. The windpipe in the 
female, first enters this cavity for about three inches, when it makes 
a turn back, and returns at the place it first entered, after which it 
passes into the chest. In the male, however, it continues the whole 
length of the keel, down to the sternum.t This circumstance has 
been noticed by many authors, but as words are scarcely sufficient to 
convey a just idea without engravings, the reader may be referred to 
the Philos. Trans. where Dr. Parsons has given a good representa- 
tion, or the Lin. Trans. above referred to.¢ It is perhaps from this 
structure that the bird is enabled to produce so strong a voice; 
whereas in the Mute, or Tame Species, the windpipe enters at once 
into the lungs, and the utmost noise the bird can make isa mere hiss. 
I find this Species mentioned under the name of Elk, among the 


* This was not the case when Capt. Cook visited that place. See Last Voy. ii. p. 347. 

+ In the female the trachea is about six inches shorter than in the male. 

= See also the Sceleton of this bird with the trachea in situ, in Blasiz Anat. 4to. 1681. 
pl. 42. 


DUCK. 219 


general table of provisions fit for a nobleman’s house,* but as it is 
not said to be peculiar to any season, no doubt it must be only at 
very uncertain times, that it could be procured. 

Colonel Montagu says, that a Hooper Swan, which he bred up 
from very young, turned out to be a female, and that having put it 
to a small white China Gander, they seem to be much attached, but 
doubts when any connexion will take place. He adds, that “ it is 
‘*a most domestic, sweet-tempered creature; follows me about the 
“« field; eats out of my hand, and expresses great pleasure on my 
‘“‘ approach, by its plaintive notes, and curious gesticulations ; nod- 
“« ding the head, and raising the wings something like the Mute 
«* Species; and is a most elegant bird.” 

A female, full-grown bird, shot near Bridgewater, in 1805, got 
the better of the wound, and became perfectly tame, mixing with 
the other birds, in the poultry yard.+ 


2.—LESSER SWAN. 


THIS is not so large as the Hooping Swan, nearer that of the 
China Goose, but much more slender, and longer in the neck. The 
bill black, flat as in the Swan, with a black knob at the base, as in 
the Mute Swan, but not a projection on the forehead like the China 
Goose ; in fact, it imitates the Wild Swan in miniature. The legs 
are also black, and broader than those of the Goose; the plumage 
perfectly white. 

This was bought out of a collection, called the Bath Museum, 
and is evidently a Swan; but whether distinct as a species, or some 
chance, or mixed breed, cannot be determined. 

A specimen of the above in the collection of the Rey. Mr. 
Vaughan, at Aveton Giffard, Devon. 


* Archeol. xii. p. 368, + Orn. Dict. 
F F2 


220 DUCK. 


3.—MUTE SWAN. 


Anas Olor, Ind. Orn. ii. 834. Gm. Lin.i. 501, Tem. Man. 524. Id. Ed. 2d. 830. 
Cygnus maximus, Gerin. 553. 


Anas Cygnus (mansuetus) Lin.i. 191. Fn. swec. No, 107. 6. Brun. No. 44. Kram. 


338. 2.B. Frisch, t. 152. Bris. vi. 288. Id. 8vo. ii. 438. Rati, 136. A. 1. 
Will, 271. t. 69. Klein, 128, 1. 


Der stumine Schwan, Bechst. Deutsch. ii. 559. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 815. Schmid, p. 145. 
t. 126. 

Le Cygne, Buf. ix. p.3. pl. 1. Pl. end. 913. Cet. Uc. Sard. 316. 

Tame, or Mute Swan, Gen. Syn. vi. 436. Id. Sup.ii. 342. Br. Zool. ii. No. 265. pl. 
60. Jd. fol. 149. pl. Add. Jd. Ed. 1812. ii. 221. pl.infrontisp. Well. Engl. 
355. pl. 69. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 470. Fl. Scot. i. No. 205. Bewick, ii. pl. in. p. 
277. Cheseld. Ost. Ch.5.—Sceleton. Lin. Trans. iv. 106. pl. xii. f.3.—the breast 
bone. 

THIS is bigger than the Whistling Swan; is more than five feet 
in length, about eight feet in breadth; and weighs from twenty to 
thirty pounds, when in good condition. The bill is four inches long, 
red, with the tip and sides black ; at the base, on the forehead, a 
callous black knob; the whole plumage is pure white: the young 
birds are blackish; in the second year ash-coloured; but in the third, 
and ever after white ; the legs are dusky ; but sometimes vary more 
or less to red.* 

This species is found wild in Russia and Siberia, most plentiful 
in the latter; arrives later from the south, and does not spread so far 
north.t ‘Those about the provinces of Ghilan and Masenderan, on 
the south of the Caspian Sea, grow to a vast size, and are esteemed 
great delicacies. The Mahometans hold them in high estimation.t 

The female scarcely differs from the male, except in the black 
knob on the forehead being smaller. Whether it is often met with 
here in a wild state is not said, but probably it is now and then the 
case, as our late friend Mr. Boys, in December 1785, shot two at 
large, the one weighing twenty-one and the other twenty-five pounds. 


* They are said to be red like vermilion.—Bechst. Dr. Plott mentions this Variety, 
found on the Trent, near Rugeley, Ph. Tr. xvi. p. 210. + Arct. Zool. $ Tb. 16. 


DUCK. 22) 


I do not learn that the former species has ever been domesticated, 
but the latter is very common in every gentleman’s grounds, where 
water forms a part, being kept as an ornament; generally begin to 
lay the first egg in February, and continue to do so every other day, 
to about seven or eight; these are placed on a bed of grass near the 
water, and the female commonly sits six weeks; the eggs are white. 
The young ones, called Cygnets, were formerly much esteemed, and 
at this day are fattened about Christmas, at Norwich; they formerly 
were thought worth a guinea each,* now much more, as the mere 
fattening costs from ten shillings to a guinea: it takes two months 
to fit them for the table, and in this time each will consume two 
coombs of oats; added to this, the birds are sometimes sulky, and will 
not eat, unless a companion be allowed: only one or two persons 
undertake the business, and the birds by this treatment will weigh 
twenty-four pounds. ‘The taste of the flesh in this state is compared 
to that of a pigeon.t They are seen on the River Thames in vast 
plenty, and are esteemed as Royal property, it being accounted 
felony+ to steal the eggs; by this means the increase is secured, and 
they prove a delightful ornament to the whole length of that river, 
from the part where the trafic of the metropolis ceases, quite to its 
source: and so tenacious were our ancestors in respect to this, that in 
the reign of Edw. IV. “no one that possessed a freehold of less than 


* The price of a Swan in the reign of King Edward III. was set at four shillings; for 
according to a proclamation in that reign, no poulterer shall sell one of the best Swans for 
more than four shillings—best Porcelle for eight-pence—best Ewe for six-pence—best 
Capon for six-pence—best Hen four-pence—Pullet two-pence half-penny—Powcyn two- 
pence—best Conynge or Peel for four-pence—Teel two-pence—River Mallard five-pence— 
best Mallard of the Fyns three-pence—Snipe one-penny—four Allowes one-penny—W ood- 
cock three-pence—Partridge five-pence—Plover three-pence—Pheasant one shilling and 
four-pence—Curlis ten-pence—thirteen Thrushes six-pence—twelve Eggs one-penny— 
twelve small Birds one-penny.—Strut. View. V. iii. p. 113. 

+ In season from November to March.—Arche@ol. xiii. p. 

+ If lawfully marked, Edw. IV. taking the eggs, or spoiling them in the nest, three 
months imprisonment, or twenty shillings, for every egg to the poor.—l Juc. See other 
Statutes in Burn’s Justice, Vol. ii. 3 


229 DUCK. 


“the clear yearly value of five marks,” was permitted to keep any.* 
These birds sometimes live together in society, with perfect com- 
placency. Two female Swans have, for three or four years each, 
had a brood together, bringing up eleven young: they sat by turns, 
without quarrelling ; and this is not the only instance which has 
come under our observation. We see on the River Trent, and many 
other waters, often great numbers, but the most noble Swannery is, 
we believe, very near Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire; about a quarter 
of a mile to the west of which, in the open part of the Fleet, are to 
be seen six or seven hundred, and formerly more than double that 
number. The Royalty belonged anciently to the Abbot, since to 
the Family of Strangeways, and now to the Earl of Ilchester.t 

The Swan is very pugnacious, and I have known full grown 
boys of fifteen or sixteen, injured by the attack of one, and it must 
‘be a powerful man who is able to withstand an encounter with an 
enraged male; even a horse has been lamed by one of these furious 
birds, when feeding too near the edge of the water, near which a Swan 
was sitting. At Pewsy, in Buckinghamshire, whilst a Swan was on 
the nest, she observed a fox swimming towards her from the opposite 
shore, when she darted into the water, and having kept the fox at 
bay for considerable time with her wings, at last succeeded in 
drowning him, in the sight of several spectators. 


* But to make it felony the Swan must be marked by nicks, made with a red hot iron 
on the bill, and varying in number, direction, and shape, according to the family they be- 
longed to—e. g. three vertical nicks for the King’s Highness; and in one of the libraries 
of Oxford is an old MS shewing the Swan nicks of 304 families, of England. See Gent. 
Mag. Aug. 1808. 669. A Copy of the Ordinances respecting Swans on the River Witham, 
in the County of Lincolnshire, may be seen in Arche@ol. xvi. p. 153, with three plates of 
Swan nicks. It is observed by the Rev. Mr. Weston, that the name of the Swan with two 
Necks, a well-known sign in London, might have originally meant, the Swan with two 
Nicks; and that the Swan hopping, so called, when the Swan companies annually made 
progress up the Thames ; might have meant formerly Swan-upping.—Arceh. xvi. 163. 

+ Multitudes of the Tame Swan, seen by Dr. Maton, within two miles of Abbotsbury, 
West. Tour. i. p. 68. At present much reduced, there not being more than 6 or 700, 
formerly as many thousands.—Orn. Dict. Sup. 


DUCK. 223 


This bird feeds on both fish and herbage, and is long lived, not 
unfrequently arriving at 100 years; no wonder therefore, that the 
flesh of the old ones is hard, and ill tasted, but that of the young birds 
is much esteemed, though more valued by the ancients than at 
present. Nothing can exceed the beauty and elegance with which 
the Swan rows in the water, throwing itself, before the spectators, 
into the proudest attitudes, as if desirous of being viewed; and will 
swim faster than a man can walk; but has a most inelegant and 
awkward gait on land. The use of the feathers, and particularly 
the down of both kinds, is well known, as well as the quills; the 
feathers, too, compose muffs, and other ornaments. 

Although both species are externally alike as to plumage, within 
they differ much in regard to the trachea; as in the tame one, it 
enters the lungs in a straight line without curvature, and the keel of 
the breast bone being narrow as in the Common Goose; but in the 
Whistling Swan the keel is enlarged into a deep cavity to receive the 
curved part as mentioned above. 


4.—BLACK-NECKED SWAN. 
Anas nigricollis, Ind. Orn. ii. 834. Gm. Lin. i. p. 502. 


melanocephala, Gm. Lin. i. p. 502. 

—— melancorypha, Cygne Chilien, Molin. Chil. Fr. ed. p. 213. 

Cygne a téte noire, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 425. 

Black-necked Swan, Gen. Syn. vi. 438. Id. Sup. ii, 344. Boug. Voy. p. 59. Pern. 

Voy. ii. p. 26. ch. 9. 

SIZE of the European Swan. Bill red; head and half the neck 
black, the rest glossy white; legs flesh-coloured.—Inhabits Falk- 
land Isles, Rio del Plata, and Chili. The female, according to 
Molina, has commonly six young, which it never leaves alone in 
the nest, but carries them on its back every time it goes out in search 
of food.-—M. d’Azara says, it is not found in Paraguay, but is very 
common about the River Plata, and the Swamps of Buenos Ayres, 
where it is to be met with the whole year; lives in flocks, and 


294 DUCK. 


numbers of the skins are often sent into Spain. The bill is blood 
red half way from the base, the rest dusky black ; nostrils oval, and 
not covered with a membrane ; eyelids white, reaching in a narrow 
band to the hindhead; rest of the head and half the neck black, &e. © 

A bird is mentioned in Hawkesworth’s Collection of Voyages, 
said to be black and white, much larger than a Pelican, and resem- 
bling that bird: probably it may be the one here described. 


5.—BLACK SWAN. 


Anas atrata, Ind. Orn. ii. 834. 

plutonia, Nat. Mis. pl. 108. 

Black Swan of Van Diemen, D’ Entrecast. Voy. 8vo.i. 140. pl. ix. 
Shawian, or Black Swan, Penn. Outlin. iv. 130. : 

Black Swan, Gen. Syn. Sup. 348. Phil. Voy. p.96. White's Journ. 137. 


THIS is somewhat less than the European Species, but with the 
same elegant shape; extent of wing four feet eight inches. The bill 
is large and red, growing paler towards the end; on the base of the 
upper mandible a bifid protuberance; the under red on the sides, and 
whitish beneath ; irides red; genera] colour of the plumage a fine 
shining black, as remarkable, as the pure white colour of our Swan ; 
but the greater part of the second quills, and all the prime ones are 
white, also two or more white feathers on the coverts; belly and 
thighs ash-colour; legs flesh-coloured brown. 

The female differs no otherwise, than in having only the rudiment 
of the protuberance at the base of the bill: both sexes have a very 
fine down under the feathers of a grey colour, and very thick. 

Inhabits various parts of New-Holland, where it has been long 
noticed. I find it first mentioned in a letter from Mr. Witsen to 
Dr. M. Lister, about the year 1698, which says, here is returned a 
ship which by our East India Company was sent to the South Land 
called Hollandia Nova; and adds, that Black Swans, Parrots, and 
many Sea-Cows, were found there.* In 1726 two of them were 


* Phil. Trans. V. xx. p. 36, 


DUCK. 225 


brought alive to Batavia, as confirmed by Valentyn, several being 
found in New-Holland, near Dirk Hartog’s Bay. Since that time 
our circumnavigators, from Capt. Cook to the present day, have 
found them every where in those parts, eight or nme having been 
met with together, and they are said to fly one after another like 
Wild Geese; but the general manners remain yet to be ascertained. 
The natives of New South Wales call this species Mulgo. Feed 
chiefly on grass. It may be observed, that the Black Swan is smaller 
in the body than either the Wild or Tame Species; the neck very 
long, and at times the bird swells out the feathers, which are very 
long, especially about the middle, so as to give the appearance of 
being much enlarged at that part, though at top and bottom of a 
moderate size. It has also a singular way of carrying the head ; not 
in a position nearly square, or right-angled, as in the Common 
Goose or Swan; but making a sharp angle with the fore part of the 
neck, as if resting thereon, ‘This species is now no longer a rarity, 
as the living bird is to be seen in the possession of many collectors. 

In the Black Swan in Mr. Bullock’s Museum, I observed the 
second quills much curved at the ends. 


6.—BLACK AND WHITE GOOSE. 


Anas mclanelenes Ind. Orn. Sup. p. |xix. 
Black and White Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. p. 344. 


SIZE of a Goose. Bill not unlike that of the Wild Swan. 
extending far backwards at the base, and including the eyes, where 
it is yellow; the middle part red, the pomt and under mandible pale; 


* See Valentyn, Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien, Amst. 1726, where it is observed that two, 
and afterwards more, Black Swans were found in New-Holland. Two of them brought 
alive to Batavia. This account accompanied by an engraving, representing the Lagoon, 
with the Black Swans swimming in it; and the catching of one by the boat’s crew. Mr. 
Bass counted full 300 swimming within the space of a quarter of a mile on one of the 
rivers, in Port Dalrymple, Water-house Isle, in Bass’s Straights, and compares the note to 
the creaking of a rusty sign, on a windy day.—Collins’s Bot. Bay. ii. p. 167. 

VOL. X. Ge 


226 DUCK. 


the head, neck, beginning of the back, greater part of the wing, 
quills, thighs, and tail, black ; the lesser wing coverts and the rest — 
of the plumage white. It stands high on the legs, which are yellow, 
or orange, bare a good way above the joint; and the webs do not 
reach more than half way between the toes. 

Inhabits New South Wales; native name Bur-ra-yen-ne. I ob- 
serve in some drawings that the lesser wing coverts are black, but 
the inner ridge of the wing is white. How far these distinctions 
are incident to difference of sex, or any age, has not come to our 
knowledge. 


7.—LOGGERHEAD GOOSE. 


Anas brachyptera, Ind. Orn. ii. 834. 

cinerea, Gm. Lin. i. 506. 

Oiseau gris, ou Oie de plein, Pernet. Voy. ii. Ch. 19. p. 21. 

Racehorse Duck, Pernet. Journ. 213, 214. Buf-ix. 414. III. 

Loggerhead Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 439. Ph. Trans. \xvi. 104. Penrose Falk. Isl. 35. 
Forst. Voy. 11. 492. 


LENGTH thirty-two inches; weight from twenty to thirty 
pounds.* Bill three inches long, colour orange, the top of the 
upper mandible brown at the base, and black at the tip; irides 
orange, surrounded with black, and again with orange; head and 
neck deep ash-colour; upper parts of the body much the same; the 
outer edge of the secondary quills white, forming a band of the 
same on the wing; under parts of the body dusky down the middle; 
over the thighs cinereous blue; vent white; quills and tail black ; 
the last short, and pointed in shape; the wings are likewise very 
short, not reaching to the rump; on the bend of the wing a double 
yellow knob, half an inch in length; legs brownish orange; webs 
dusky ; claws black. 


* Cook’s Voy. 


DUCK. 227 


This species inhabits Falkland Islands, Staaten Land, &c. mostly 
seen in pairs, though sometimes in large flocks: from the shortness 
of the wings they are unable to fly; but make considerable use of 
them when in the water, on which they seem as it were to run; at 
least they swim, with the assistance of the wings used as oars, at an 
incredible rate, so that it is a most difficult thing to shoot them while 
in this situation ; to remedy this, the sailors used to surround a flock 
with boats, and drive them on shore; where, unable to raise them- 
selves from the ground, they ran very fast, but soon growing tired, 
and squatting down to rest, were easily overtaken, and knocked 
down with sticks. The flesh was sometimes eaten by the sailors, in 
defect of that of the Bustard Goose, but not much relished, being 
rank and fishy, and thought more proper for the hogs; which, after 
it had been boiled in the copper, ate it greedily, and fattened well. 


8.—HYBRID GOOSE. 


Anas hybrida, Ind. Orn. ii. 835. Gm. Lin.i. 502. Molin. Chil. 218. Jd. Fr. ed. 221. 
Hybrid Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 345. 


SIZE of the Domestic Goose, but the neck somewhat shorter, 
and the wings and tail longer. The male has the plumage of a 
pure white throughout, with the bill and legs yellow; the bill is 
semicylindrical, with a red cere. The female is black, except some 
streaks of white, arising from the tips of several of the feathers being 
bordered with white. The bill and legs red; the legs nearly the 
same as in the Common Goose. 

This species inhabits the Archipelago of Chiloé, in South Ame- 
rica, and may be called monogamous, as the male and female are 
never found apart, not uniting in flocks as the other sorts ; during 
the time of incubation they retire to the rivers, where the female 
generally lays about eight white eggs, in a hole, formed out of the 


sand. 
Ge2 


298 DUCK. 


9.—COSCOROBA GOOSE. 


Anas Coscoroba, Ind. Orn. ii. 835. Gm. Lin. i. 503. Molin. Chil. 207. Id. Fr. ed. 213. 
Coscoroba Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 345. 


ACCORDING to Molina, this Goose is of a large size. The bill 
and Jegs red; eyes of a fine black ; the plumage wholly white; but 
he does not mention whether the female differs in colour. 

Inhabits Chih, and is valuable for its extreme docility and 
tameness in confinement, and particularly by attaching itself to the 
person who supplies it with food. 


10.—ANTARCTIC GOOSE. 


Anas antarctica, Ind. Orn. ii. 835. Gm. Lin. 1. 505. 
Antarctic Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 442. Forst. Voy. i. 499.518. Pernet. Voy. ii. 13. 
Cook’s Voy. ii. 186. 

THIS is smaller than a Tame Goose; weight sixteen pounds. 
Bill narrow, short, and black ; the whole plumage of a dazzling 
snowy whiteness. The female has a reddish flesh-coloured bill ; 
head, neck, and body, black, crossed with transverse white lines; 
those of the head and neck very minute, but grow broader as they 
proceed downwards ; the middle of the back plain black; wing 
coverts white; on the bend of the wing a blunt knob; speculum 
green, edged outwardly with white; legs yellow. 

Inhabits Christmas Sound, in Terra del Fuego. 


11.—BUSTARD GOOSE. 


Anas leucoptera, Ind. Orn. ii. 835. Gm. Lin, i. 505. 
L’Oie des Malouines, Buf. ix. 69. 
Outarde, Hist. de la Louis. il. 113? 


DUCK. 229 


White-winged Antarctic Goose, Brown, Ill. pl. 40. 
Sea Goose, Phil. Trans. \xvi. 104, 
Bustard Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 440. Boug. Voy. p. 59. 


LENGTH from thirty to forty inches. _ Bill scarcely two inches 
long, and black; head, neck, lesser wing coverts, and under parts 
of the body, white; lower part of the neck behind, and as far as 
the middle of the back, crossed with numerous dusky black lines ; 
sides over the thighs the same; the greater wing coverts black, 
tipped with white, forming a bar of white on the wing; at the bend 
a blunt knob; second quills part black, part white; prime ones 
dusky black; speculum dark green; the two middle tail feathers 
black, the others white; legs black. 

Another had almost the whole of the neck crossed with dusky 
lines, and the wings without any speculum, otherwise like the 
former : probably a young bird, or differing in sex.* 

Inhabits Falkland Isles, and called Bustard Goose. It stands 
pretty high on its legs, which serve to elevate it above the tall grass; 
and with the addition of its long neck, is able to observe any danger 
approaching. It walks, and flies with great ease, and has not that 
disagreeable cackling cry peculiar to the rest of its kind; it generally 
lays six eggs; the flesh is accounted wholesome, nourishing, and 
palatable ; and it seldom happened there was any scarcity of it. 
Both the above were in the British Museum. 


12.—VARIEGATED GOOSE. 


Anas variegata, Ind. Orn. ii. 836. Gm. Lin. i. 505. 
Variegated Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 441. 


SIZE of a large Duck. Bill black at the base and tip; head, 
and neck above half way, white ; lower part of the neck and breast 


* M. Bougainville calls the female yellow; and says, that the wings are adorned with 
changing colours.—See Voy. p. 59. perhaps he means our Magellanic Species; 


230 DUCK. 


deep red brown, beautifully mottled with black and white; back 
brown black, mottled with white; over the thighs the same; all the 
under parts marked as the lower part of the neck ; rump and vent 
ferruginous; wing coverts white; second quills green, the greater 
and tail black ; legs black. 

Inhabits New Zealand ; found at Dusky Bay in April, called 
there Pooa dugghee dugghee.—Sir Jos. Banks. It probably may 
be that mentioned in Forster's Voyage ; which he says, is the size 
of the Eider Duck; plumage blackish brown, elegantly sprinkled 
with white; rump and vent ferruginous; secondaries green; quills 
and tail black. 

Clayton, in his account of Falkland Islands, mentions a bird 
called Mountain Goose, bigger than the Muscovy Duck: plumage 
on the back speckled brown and greenish black ; towards the neck 
glossy beautiful gold-colour; breast like that of a Pheasant. It is 
said always to feed on the mountains, to be well tasted, and pre- 
ferable to the other sorts, but is scarce. He adds, that like other 
Geese, it is best in autumn, when the cranberries are ripe, on which 
they feed. Mr. Clayton talks of another, as large as a Tame Goose, 
the Gander black and white speckled; the Goose almost like the 
Mountain Goose, but darker, and not so beautiful. These feed in 
the vallies, on wild cranberries and grass; are in general good food, 
but best and fattest in February, Mareh, and April. The first of 
these appears to be our Variegated one, but as to the last, we cannot 
easily determine. 


13.—PAINTED GOOSE. 


Anas picta, Ind. Orn. ii. 836. Gm. Lin.i. 504. 
Painted Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 443. Cook’s Voy. i. p. 96. 
LENGTH twenty-eight inches. Bill small, black ; irides ash- 
colour; head and neck white, inclining to ash-colour at the hind 
head; the feathers of the forehead produced forwards on each side 


DUCK. 231 


of the upper mandible; the lower part of the neck and breast white, 
marked across with numerous, narrow, black bars; the upper part 
of the back pale grey, barred im the same manner with black ; the 
lower part of the back and scapulars dusky ash; wing coverts white; 
at the bend of the wing a blunt knob; below the white the feathers 
have glossy green, or bluish edges, forming a kind of speculum ; 
secondary quills dusky, with pale edges; prime ones and tail black ; 
the middle of the belly, thighs, and vent, white; over the thighs 
barred dusky and white; legs black. 

This was met with at Staaten Land in January; but as the above 
is described only from a painting at Sir Joseph Banks’s, we can only 
say, that it appears to be the Painted Duck, mentioned by Capt. 
Cook, which he says, in the size of the Muscovy Species; the 
plumage most beautifully variegated; the head and neck of the 
female white ; but all the other feathers, as well as those of the head 
and neck of the Drake, are of a dark variegated colour: both male 
and female have a large spot of white on the wing. 

We have been much disappointed in not being able better to 
ascertain the distinction between several of the last described ; some 
of which we suspect to vary from difference of age or sex ; for as it 
is well known, that many of this Genus are not complete in plumage 
till the third year; such Varieties may occur in the intermediate 
stages towards perfection. 


14.—MAGELLANIC GOOSE. 


Anas Magellanica, Ind. Orn. ii. 836. Gm. Lin. i. 505. 
Oie des Terres Magellaniques, Buf. ix. 68. Pl. enl. 1006. 
Magellanic Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 443. 
LENGTH twenty-four inches. Bill short, black, the upper 
mandible a little bent at the end; head and part of the neck ferru- 
ginous brown ; the rest of the neck, beginning of the back, breast, 


* Voy.i. 16. 


232 DUCK. 


and all beneath to the vent, barred ferruginous and black; near the 
vent grey; lower part of the back and tail dusky; wing coverts 
white; quills dusky; the secondaries white, forming a bar on the 
wing.—Inhabits the Straits of Magalhaen. 

I found this in the Museum of the late Dr. Hunter, and from 
information since, it seems to be the female of the Painted Goose; 
for Commodore Byron mentions one by that name found there, but 
without further description. 


A.—Anas Magellanica, Mus. Carls. fase. ii. t. 37. 


In this the bil] and legs are pale yellowish ash-colour ; crown, 
as far as the nape, ash; sides of the head, throat, and greater part of 
the neck, grey brown ; back and rump bronzed brown; feathers of 
the throat, breast, and belly, black, marked with four white bands, 
giving an undulated appearance; wing coverts white; the hindmost 
series green, forming a kind of speculum; second quills white, 
forming a bar; prime quills black; belly, thighs, vent, and tail, 
white. This probably also belongs to the Painted Goose. 


15.—BLUE-WINGED GOOSE. 


Anas cerulescens, Ind. Orn. ii. 836. Lin.i. 198. Gm. Lin. i. 518. 
Anser sylvestris freti Hudsonis, Bris. vi. 275. Id. 8vo. i1. 434. Bartr. Trav. 292. 


L’Oie des Esquimaux, Buf. ix. p. 80. 
Blue-winged Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 469. Id. Sup. ii. 346. Edw. pl. 152. Arct. Zool. ii. 


No. 474. Id. Sup. 75. Phil. Trans. \sii. 414. 


THIS is rather less than the Tame Goose. Bill red; irides deep 
chocolate ; crown of the head yellowish, appearing asif singed; the 
rest of the head and neck white; the last spotted all the way down 
at the back part with black; lower part of the neck, all round the 
breast, sides under the wings, and back dark brown, palest on the 


DUCK. 235 


breast ; wing and tail coverts pale, bluish ash-colour; scapulars and 
tail striped white and grey; greater quills dusky; belly, thighs, and 
vent, white; legs red. The female has the upper mandible black ; 
base of the lower lead-colour, with the tip black; forehead white ; 
between the bill and eye blackish ; the inner half of the tail feathers 
white, the outer black. 

Inhabits America: found about the southern settlements of Hud- 
son’s Bay. In summer most numerous about Albany Fort ; migrates 
according to the season, like many of the Duck kind: known by 
the name of Cath catue we we.* 


A.—Blue-winged Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup.ii. 346. Ind. Orn. ii. 827. B. & y. 


The head in this and a little part of the neck are white behind, 
mixed with black; half the neck before white; the rest of the bird 
before much the same as in common. 


B.—In a third, the head, all the neck, the whole of the body, 
except between the wings, of a pure white; at the lower part of the 
neck behind, and between the wings, dusky black, or deep lead- 
colour; scapulars the same, margined with white; wing coverts as 
generally seen in this species, but paler, and inclined to white; the 
second and third greater quills black ; the second quills black, beau- 
tifully fringed on each side with white, purer than the others, but 
not unlike; tail white; the four first feathers pale lead-colour down 
the middle for half way from the base. 

A label attached to the last described, says, that it is produced 
from a blue anda white Way way, but this is only according to the 
tradition of the Indians. 

The Blue-winged and Snow Species seem to be allied to each 
other. It is probable that the Snow Goose may be the adult bird. 


* Mr. Hutchins. + Or Snow Goose. 
VOL. xX. H u 


934 DUCK. 


16.—SNOW GOOSE. 


Anas hyperborea, Ind. Orn. 11. 837. Gm. Lin.i. 504. Tem. Man. 525. Id. Ed. 2d. 816. 

Anser niveus, Bris. vi. 288. Id. 8vo. ii. 438. Klein, Av. p. 130. 

Anser hyperboreus, Pallas, Spic. vi. p. 26. Borowsk. iii. p. 14. 

Anser Branta, White Brant Goose, Bartr. Trav. 292. Laws. Car. p. 147. Am. Orn. 
vill. 76. pl. 68. f.5.—male. Jd. 69. f. 5.—female. 

Anas nivalis, Phil. Trans. \xi. 413. 443. No. 45. In. Amer. p. 16. 

Die Schnee Gans, Bechst. Deuts. i. 578. 

L’Oie blanche, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 426. 

Snow Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 445. Arct. Zool, 1. No. 477. 


SIZE of a Tame Goose; length two feet eight inches; weight 
five or six pounds; extent three feet and a half. Bill somewhat 
serrated on the edge; the upper mandible scarlet, the lower whitish ; 
irides reddish; forehead very pale yellow ; plumage in general snow 
white, except the ten first quills, which are black, with white 
shafts ; lower order of coverts and bastard wimg cinereous, with the 
shafts black; legs deep red. The young are of a blue colour, till 
they are a year old. 

They are very numerous at Hudson's Bay, and called by the 
natives Way way, and Wapa whe whe. Visit Severn River in May, 
and stay a fortmght; but proceed farther north to breed ;+ they 
returp to Severn Fort the begmning of September, and stay to the 
middle of October, when they: depart southward, with their young, 
in flocks innamerable. At this time many thousands are killed by 
the inhabitants; who pluck them, and taking out the entrails, put 
their bodies into holes dug in the ground, covering them with earth, 
which, freezing above, keeps them perfectly sweet throughout the 
severe season; during which the inhabitants occasionally open one of 
these storehouses, when they find them sweet and good. 


* Mr. Hutchins observes, that, the wing coverts are light blue; perhaps.such birds may 
not have arrived at their state of perfection. 

+ Met with by Capt. Parry, at Cockburn Isle. Mr. Crozier found a nest of one with 
five eggs, Second Voyage, p. 462. 


DUCK. 23.5 


These birds seem to occupy also the western side of America, as 
they were seen at Aoonalashka,* as well as at Kamtschatka,+ but 
not common at either of those places. In the summer months are 
plentiful on the Arctic Coast of Siberia, but never migrate westward 
beyond latitude 130.4 Supposed to pass the winter in more moderate 
climes, as they have been seen flying, at a great height, over Silesia, 
probably on their passage to some other country, as it does not 
appear, that they continue there; in like manner those of America 
pass the winter in Carolina ; are taken by the Siberians in nets, being 
decoyed thereto by a person covered with a white skin, and crawling 
on all fours, at the same time others drive them; when these stupid 
birds follow the first man, mistaking him for their Jeader, into the 
net spread for them; or by the same means are Jed into a pound, or 
enclosed place made on the occasion. § 

‘According to Azara, they reach as far as Paraguay, but do not seem 
to be common there; yet a small flock has been seen towards 28 deg. 
of lat. but they are very common about the River Plata; the cry like 
that of a Common Goose; are very shy, their flesh not thought 
good, and their quills too weak for writing pens, although of suffi- 
cient size. Male and female alike. 

M.Temminck says, they are found chiefly within the Arctic Circle, 
and pass regularly into the eastern parts of Europe; met with now 
and then in Prussia and Austria; not found in Helland. 


17.—GREAT GOOSE. . 


Anas grandis, Ind. Orn. ii. 837. Gm. Lin. i. 504. 
Great Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 446. Arct: Zool. ii. 570. A. 


THIS is a large bird, and weighs twenty-five or thirty Russian 
pounds. The bill is black, gibbous at the base, and tawny; on the 


* £Ellis’s Narrat. ii. .p. 22. + Hist. Kamisch. t Arct. Zool. 
§ Id. The Kamtschatkans use a similar method. See Hist..Kamtsch. p. 158. 
H 12 


236 DUCK. 


throat a large kind of pouch, but covered with feathers as the rest 
of the body; the plumage wholly white, but females and young 
birds are dusky above, and have also a smaller pouch; the legs are 
scarlet. 

This species is found in the East of Siberia, from the River Lena 
to Kamtschatka, and taken in great numbers, together with the 
Red-necked Goose, in glades or avenues in woods, by means of nets 
placed in proper places, in the same way as Woodcocks are in 
England, but upon a larger scale;* is often bred in menageries in 
England. 


18.—CHINESE GOOSE. 


Anas cygnoides, Ind. Orn. ii. 837. Lin.i. 194. 2. a. australis. Fn. suec. No. 108. Gm. 
Lin. i. 502. Frisch, t. 153. 154. Pall. reise, iii. 700. = Naturf. xii. 181. Id. 
xill. 194. & xv. 160. Robert. Ic. pl. 22. 

Cygnus sinensis, Gerin. vy. t. 555, 556, 557. 

Anser Guineensis, Bris. vi, 280. Id. 8vo. ii, 435. Klein, p. 129.4. Razz, 138. 8. 
Will. 375. 

L’Oie de Guinée, Bufiix. 72. pl. 3. Pl. enl. 347. 

Spanish Goose, Swan Goose, Albin, i. t. 91. Bewick, ii. 283. 

Chinese Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 447. Arct. Zool. ii. 571. B. Brown, Jam. 480. Ell. 
Narr. it. 143 ? 


THIS is between a Swan and Goose in size; length more than 
three feet. Bill orange at the base; on the forehead a large pro- 
tuberance of the same colour; irides red brown; under the throat a 
large pouch, scarcely covered with feathers, of a dark colour; round 
the base of the bill a ring of white; the upper parts of the plumage 
pale greyish brown, the feathers sometimes edged with a paler 
colour; down the hind part of the neck to the back a list of black ; 
fore part of the neck and breast yellow brown; belly white; sides 
over the thighs grey-brown and white; legs orange;t claws black. 


* See Arct. Zool. Pall, Trav. ii, 325. + In some the bill, knob at the base 
of it, and legs, are black. 


DUCK. 237 


A.—Anser cygnoides, spontaneus, Pall. reise, in. p. 700. 


Size of the other. Bill black: on the forehead a rugose, bifid, 
elevated excrescence, but not formed into a knob as in the last; 
under the chin no sack, or pouch; the rmg round the base of the 
bill rusty white ; crown testaceous brown, descending in a list of the 
same colour at the back of the neck; the rest of the plumage similar 
to the former; legs crimson. 


B.— Anas cygnoides (orientalis), Lin. i. 124. 2. 8. Ph, Tr. lvii. 347. Dec. russ, i, 466. 

Anser Muscoviticus, Bris. vi. 277. Id. 8vo. ii. 435. 

Anser Russicus, Klein, Av. 129. 5. 

Crop Goose, Kolb. Cap. it. 139. 

Muscovy Gander, Albin, ii. pl. 91,92. Gen. Syn. vi. 447. 12. A. 

Length three feet six inches. Bill orange; irides yellow ; on the 
forehead a large knob the same colour as the bill; and beneath the 
throat a wattle; head and neck brown, deeper at the hind part; 
back, wings, and tail, the same, but deeper, and margined with a 
paler colour; quills, breast, and belly, white. 

The female smaller; head, neck, and breast, fulvous; paler on 
the upper parts; back, wings, and tail, much like the male ; belly 
white; the rest as in the male, but the knob over the bill is smaller. 


C.—This Variety differs in being wholly white ; and both sexes 
were alive in the collection of Colonel Montagu. The person from 
whom he had them said they came from Java. The bill and legs 
orange. They produce more than one brood. ; 

The above, we believe, constitute only one species; the charac- 
teristic marks of which are the knob over the bill, and the loose skin 
under the chin, and we find that the bird often varies in respect to 
the bill, knob, and legs, all of which have been black in the speci- 
mens we haye seen. 


938 DUCK. 


The Chinese Goose inhabits China, and is common at the Cape 
of Good Hope;* is found also wild about the Lake Baikal, in the 
east of Siberia, and in Kamtschatka,+ but is also kept tame in many 
parts of the Russian Empire,t and we believe in most paris of 
Europe. Our late voyagers met with it, or at least one very like, at 
Owhyhee.§ 

In England they are sufficiently common; they freely mix with 
the Common Goose, and continue to produce as certainly as if no 
such mixture had taken place. They are a very noisy race, taking 
alarm at the least noise, and even without disturbance, will often 
scream the whole day through : they walk very erect, with the neck 
much elevated, and as they bear a middle line between the Swan and 
Goose, they have not improperly been called Swan-goose. 


19.—CANADA GOOSE. 


Anas Canadensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 838. Lin. i. 198. Ph. Tr. 1xi. 414. 46. -Faun. Am. 
Sept. p. 16. Gm. Lin. i. 514. Bris. vis 272. t.26. Id. 8vo. 1. 433. Raz, 39. 
10. fd. 191.9. Will. 276. t. 70,71. £..3. Klein, 129.6. Borowsk. iii. p. 10. 
C. Bart. Trav. 292. Am. Orn. viii. p. 60. pl. 67. £.5. Robert, pl. 18. 

L’Oie a cravate, Buf. ix. p. 82. Pl. enl. 346. 

Canada Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 450. Arct. Zool. ii. A471. Will. Engl. 361. t. 70. Cat. 
Car.i. pl. 92. Slan..Jam. ii. 323. Edw. pl.151.  Bewick, ii. p. 283. 


THIS is larger than a Common Goose, and is sometimes three 
feet six inches long; and weighs vine pounds. Bill two inches and 
and a half long, and black; irides hazel; head and neck black ; 
under the throat a broad white band, like a crescent, the horns 


* This is no doubt the species called by Kolben the Crop Goose; he says, that the 
sailors made tobacco pouches, and purses, of the membrane)which hangs beneath the throat, 
as it is sufficiently tough for such purposes, and will hold two pounds of tobacco.—Hist. 
Cap. ii. 139. 

+ Arct. Zool. + Dec. russ. i. 466. Frequent at Astrachan. 


§ A Goose, like the China Goose, at Karaca-kooah Bay, in’ Owhyhee, quite tame, called 
there Na na.—Ellis. Narr. ii. 143. 


DUCK. 2939 


passing on each side upwards to the hindhead ; breast, upper part of 
the belly, back, and wing coverts dusky brown; lower part of the 
neck and belly, vent, and upper tail coverts, white; quills and tail 
black ; legs dark lead-colour. Both sexes alike in plumage. 

Inhabits North America. Found in the summer in Hudson’s 
Bay, and parts beyond; alsoin Greenland. Numbers breed in Hud- 
son’s Bay, and lay six or seven eggs, but the greater part retire still 
farther north; they appear first in the Bay, from about the middle 
of April to the middle of May,** when the inhabitants wait for them 
with expectation, being one of the chief articles of food ; and in some 
years kill three or four thousands, which are salted, and barrelled. 
The Indians, and frequently the servants of the English, form a row 
of huts, made of boughs, at a musquet-shot distance each, across 
the parts they are expected to pass; and as the flocks fly over, they 
mimic their noise so well, as to stop the Geese in their flight; when 
each person, having two guns, fires the first, and directly after the 
second ; by this means a good marksman has killed 100 in a day; 
but in this spot they must be cautious to secrete themselves, for the 
birds,are very shy, and on the least motion, fly off directly. On their 
returm seuth, which is from the middle of August to the middle of 
October, much havoc is again made of them; but these are preserved 
fresh for winter store, by putting them, unplucked, into a large hole 
im the ground, and covering them with mould; and these, during 
the continuance of the frost, are found perfectly sweet and good. 
They are called by the Indians, at Hudson’s Bay, Apistishish. 

They sometimes proceed as far south as Carolina and Georgia; 
come to the latter the end of October and: November, and _ their 
appearance reckoned a sign of cold weather; they frequent ponds 
during the winter, but in much fewer numbers than formerly, being 
too much disturbed, in proportion as the country becomes more 
populous. Mr. Abbot, who resides at Savannah, tells me, that 
they sometimes frequent Flint River, in great abundance. 


* The month in which the Geese appear, is called by the Indians, Goose-month. 


240 DUCK. 


In England they are pretty common ina tame state, as well as on 
the Continent ; on the great canal, at Versailles, hundreds are seen 
mixing with the Swans with the greatest cordiality, and the same at 
Chantilly: m this kingdom they are likewise thought to be a great 
ornament to the pieces of water in many gentlemen’s seats, where 
they become very familar, and breed freely. The flesh of the young 
birds is accounted good; and the feathers equal to those of other 
Geese, so as to prove an article of commerce, much in favour of those 
places where they are numerous. 


20.—BLACK-BACKED GOOSE. 


Anas melanotos, Ind. Orn. 11. 839. Gm. Lin. i. 503. Zool. Indic. (folio) p. 21. t. 11. 
Nat. Mise. pl. 421. 

Ipecati apoa, Mareg. Bras. pl. b. 218. Will. pl. 75. 

L’Oie bronzée de Coromandel, Buf. ix. 71. Pl. enl. 937. 

Le Canard a Créte, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 428. 

Black-backed Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 449. 13. Id. Sup. 272. Ind. Zool. Ato. p. 50. 

pl. 13. 

SIZE of a Goose, but of a more slender make; length two feet 
nine inches. Bill pale, large, curved downwards at the point; im 
the middle, over the nostrils, rather more forward, a large, rounded, 
fleshy, black excrescence, or knob, of the same colour as the bill, 
and occupying the whole of it, almost to the point; the head and 
half the neck white, full of black dots in some, or in others short 
streaks; the feathers of those parts as it were rufiled, or reflected ; 
the rest of the neck and under parts white, tinged with grey on the 
sides; the back, wings, and tail, black, bronzed with green, and 
inclining to blue towards the tail ; legs dusky black. In the female 
the excrescence at the forehead is considerably smaller, and both 
sexes have a long and dangerous spur at the bend of the wing. 

This species is very common in the Island of Ceylon, and also 
inhabits the Coast of Coromandel; chiefly to the north of the Ganges, 
but is not very common. We find it in great numbers at Paraguay, 


DUCK. 241 


though not at Buenos Ayres. Azara says, that females have neither 
crest on their bill, nor frisled feathers, nor yellow tint on the ears, or 
sides of the rump; neck entirely varied white and dusky purple ;. 
back rayed with white ; otherwise like the male. 

I find this bird well represented in various drawings from India. 
The bill black, with a white point, and in the male the excrescence 
of an enormous size; general colour of the plumage much the same, 
but about the usual place of the speculum the wing appears to be glossy 
green ; the white surrounds the neck as a collar; tail short, that and 
the quills dusky black; on the sides of the vent some blue and 
yellow feathers; wings and tail even. In the above drawings it is 
called Nucta ka Hanse; but in some others, it is simply called 
Nuckdah. 

Buffon supposes this may be the Goose found at Madagascar, 
called Rassangue, said to have a red crest on the head ; by this is 
probably meant the knob, or protuberance, which may be of that 
colour during the life of the bird; unless, like the Chinese Goose, it 
may vary in this particular. 


21.—SPUR-WINGED GOOSE. 


Anas Gambensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 839. Lin.i. 195. Gm. Lin. i. 503. Bris. vi. 283. 
Id. 8vo. ii. 436. Rati, 138.9. Will. 275. t.71. Mus. Lever. 231. t. 56. 

Anser Chilensis, an the Gambo, Will? Klein, Av. 129. vii. 

L’Oie armée, Buf. ix. p. 76. 

Gambo Goose, Will. Engl. 360. pl.71 ? 

Spur-winged Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 452. pl. 102. 


SIZE of the Common Goose, but stands higher on its legs. Bill 
two inches long, red, and at the base a red protuberance; cheeks 
and chin white; neck, sides of the breast, back, rump and tail, black, 
inclining to purple on the back ; middle of the breast, and all the 


* Flacourt’s Madag. 165. 
VOL. xX. Ir 


249 DUCK. 


under parts, white; outer wing coverts, the bend, and inner ridge 
the same, but the rest of the wing black; at the bend a strong, 
sharp spur, one inch and a half long, and horn-coloured ; legs red. 
Inhabits Gambia, and other parts of Africa. At Senegal it is 
called Hitt. Buffon’s description (if he really means our bird), is 
delivered in a very obscure, and unintelligible manner, and on com- 
paring the text of the Hist. des Ois. with the plates he refers to in 
the Pl. enlum. we plainly see that they can only be the Egyptian 
Goose, in different stages of life. Ray and Willughby’s concise 
descriptions prove them to have been the only persons who had 
formed a right idea of the bird; and we must own, that our complete 
knowledge of it is solely owing to a specimen in the Leverian 
Museum, and at that time the only one extant in any collection, as 
far as our own observations afforded us, or those of our friends. 
We have since, however, met with a female; and Mr. Thompson, 
through whose hands it passed in preparation, remarked, that the 
carunculated red bare part at the base of the bill occupied less space, 
and the spur at the bend of the wing was much smaller; nor had 
the windpipe in this sex any other conformation than is usually seen. 


22.—_BARRED-HEADED GOOSE. 


Anas Indica, Ind. Orn. ii. 839. 
Barred-headed Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup. p. 277. View of Hind. ii. 159. 


SIZE of a Tame Goose; length twenty-six inches. Bill two, 
of a bright yellow, with a bent, black nail at the tip; head, chin, 
throat, and stripe down the sides of the neck, white; at the back of 
the head a broad black bar, curving in a point to the eye; some way 
below it a second, not quite so broad, curving to a point on the ear ; 
from this the back of the neck, the whole way, is dusky black; back 
fine pale grey, the edges of the feathers lightest; wings pale ash- 
colour; edges of the prime quills dusky; lower part of the’ neck 


DUCK. 243 


before, the breast, and upper part of the belly, of a most elegant, 
pale ash-colour, the feathers edged with white; lower belly deep 
brown, edged with the same; rump and vent snow white; tail short, 
cuneiform, fine light grey, tipped with white; the feathers pointed 
at the ends; Jegs reddish yellow; the wings, when closed, reach to 
the end of the tail. 

Inhabits India. Often met with by hundreds in a flock during 
the winter months, and is very destructive to the corn; supposed to 
come from Thibet, and other parts to the north, departing as the 
summer approaches. Its flesh is much esteemed; it is often kept in 
menageries, but rarely becomes familiar; when in a cage hisses on 
the approach of any person. It is known by the name of Kauze 
and Loll Kauje, at Hindustan. 


23.—HINDUSTAN GOOSE. 


LENGTH two feet and three quarters; breadth near four feet and 
a half. Bill and legs pink colour; head brown; neck and breast the 
same, but paler; back brown; breast waved with grey; behind the 
legs and vent white; quills and secondaries blackish, with very pale, 
or whitish edges; tail brown, the ends of the feathers very pale, 
nearly white. 

Inhabits India, called at Hindustan Loll Kauje, as is the last, 
but differs materially, though blended with it in name; for the bill 
is uniform in colour, without the black nail at the tip; the pink of 
the legs inclines to purple; head and neck of one colour, not diver- 
sified, with. any marks of black ; it therefore may be considered as 
a distinct species. 


244 DUCK. 


24.--EGYPTIAN GOOSE. 


Anas Hgyptiaca, Ind. Orn. ii. 840. Lin.i. 197. Gm. Lin.i. 512. Bris. vi. 284. 
pl. 27. Id. 8vo. ii. 437. 

Anas hyberna foemina, Gerin. v. pl. 578. 

L’Oie d’Egypte, Buf. ix. p. 79. Pl. enl. 379. 

Gambo Goose, Will. t. 71. f. 1? 

The Ganser, Albin, ii. pl. 99. 

Egyptian Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 563. Bewick, ii. p. 287. Nat. Misc. pl. 605. 


SIZE of the Common Goose ; length two feet three inches. Bill 
two inches long, and red; nostrils dusky; tip black; irides yellowish 
white; eyelids reddish; on each side of the head a large rufous 
chestnut spot, in the middle of which the eyes are placed ; the crown, 
and the rest of the head and throat for the most part white; the last 
spotted with chestnut; the neck for about two parts of its length 

‘pale chestnut, growing much deeper in colour at the lower part ; 
the upper parts of the back and scapulars brownish red, crossed with 
numerous, dusky lines ; back and rump black ; the lower part of the 
neck before, the breast, sides, and thighs, very pale rufous, crossed 
with numerous dusky lines; on the breast a large spot of deep 
chestnut; belly white; under tail coverts yellowish; wing coverts 
white, the greater, nearest the body, crossed at the ends with black ; 
those farthest from it black; the greater quills black, and except 
the five first, edged with green gold; the secondaries margined with 
chestnut; on the bend of the wing a blunt spur, half an inch long; 
tail black ; legs red; claws dusky. 

The female has the chestnut patch round the eye smaller; chin 
white; the spot on the breast smaller, and in some wholly wanting ; 
lesser wing coverts white, the others pale ash, with darker margins ; 
the lower order fringed with white, forming a bar on the wing; 
scapulars and second quills much inclined to chestnut; in other 
things like the male. 


DUCK. 245 


This species inhabits Egypt, and other parts of Africa; and is 
sufficiently common at the Cape of Good Hope,* from whence 
numbers have been brought into England; is also in Abyssinia, and 
now not uncommon in gentlemen’s ponds, in many parts of this 
kingdom, being an admired and beautiful species. 

Whether this breeds in a wild state in this kingdom seems uncer- 
tain, but instances are not wanting of being met with at large; 
five or six were shot near Buscot Park, not far from Farringdon, 
Berks, in 1803 or 1804; and in January 1805, one was killed by 
a gentleman’s game-keeper, near Stamford, in Lincolnshire. 


A.—L’Oie sauvage du Cap de B. Esp. Son. Voy. Ind. 11. 220. Pl. enl. 982, 983. 
Gen. Syn. vi. 454. 16. A. Ind. Orn. ii. 840. © 


This is a mere Variety of the former. Bill greyish, with a black 
point; irides yellow; head, neck, belly, and vent, grey; eye sur- 
rounded with a naked skin of a chestnut-colour; on the breast a 
large black spot; back, wings, and rump, chestnut; on the edge of 
the wing some white feathers; tail black; legs red. 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. 


25.—GREY-HEADED GOOSE. 


Anas cana, Ind. Orn. ii. 840. Gm. Lin. i. 510. 

L’Oie sauvage a téte grise de Coromandel, Son. Voy. Ind. ii. 220? 

Grey-headed Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 458. Id. Sup. 273. Brown, Ill. pl. 41. 42. Barr. 
Trav. p. 264. Penn. Hindoost. ii. 160. 


SIZE of a small Goose. Bill dusky, or black; head and neck 
whitish, with a rufous tinge; the rest of the plumage pale tawny; 
the margins of the feathers paler, appearing as waved semicircular 

* The vast numbers of the Egyptian and Mountain Goose, of Teals, and several species 


of Ducks, that harboured in the reeds about Swart-kops River Swamp, were incredible, 
and the damage they did to the corn very considerable.—Barrow’s Trav. 


946 DUCK. 


lines; wing coverts white; below them a broad speculum of green ; 
quills, tail, and legs, black. This description taken from the draw- 
ings of Sir John Anstruther; and in a second drawing, some little 
difference is seen; the general colour rufous; the feathers all over 
margined with brown; quills and tail black; bill and legs dusky; the 
rest as in the first described. That figured by Brown, had the head 
and neck pale grey ; cheeks white; back, breast, and belly, bright 
ferruginous, marked with dark semicircular lines 5 vent orange, crossed 
with a black band; the rest of the plumage as before-mentioned. 
Mr. Brown describes one as a female, without any white on the 
cheeks, and the colours in general less bright. 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and the coast of Coromandel. 

In India it is called Chuchwa; by the inhabitants Bramany 
Duck ; is known to the Dutch, at the Cape of Good Hope, by the 
name of Bergenten. 


26.—MOUNTAIN GOOSE. 


Anas montana, Ind. Orn. 11. 841. Gm. Lin. 1. 510. 
Hill or Mountain Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 458. Kolb. Cap. uu. 139. Barrow, Trav. p. 264. 


THIS is said to be bigger than a Tame Goose. The wing 
feathers, and those of the head, of a bright red shining green. 
Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, chiefly on the hills, and feeds 
on grass and herbs. We may suspect this to*be no other than the 
Grey-headed Goose in one of its stages to perfection, as Mr. Barrow 
says the Mountain Duck answers to the Anas cana, but that there is 
a mistake in giving the white head to-the male which is found only 
in the female. This author adds, that they are seen at. the,Cape in 
great numbers, about Sea Cow River. 


DUCK. 247 


27.—RED-BREASTED GOOSE. 


Anas ruficollis, Ind. Orn. ii. 841. Gm. Lin. i. 511. Pall, Spic. vi, 21. t.4. Id. reise, 
ii. 701. 3. Decouv. russ. 11. 19. Frisch, v. 157. Tem. Man. 533. Id. Ed. 2d. 
p- 827. Gm. reise, i. 181. t. 14. A. torquata. 

Die Rothhals Gans, Bechst. Deuts. Ed. 2d. iv. 916. 

Red-breasted Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 455.  Arct. Zool. ii. 571. C. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. 
p. 241. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 289. Lewin, vii. pl. 241. Orn. Dict. 

SIZE of a Canada Goose; length twenty-one inches, breadth 
three feet ten; weight three pounds troy. Bill small, brown ; nail 
black ; irides yellow brown; round the eyes fringed with brown ; 
fore part of the head and crown black, passing backwards in a 
narrow stripe quite to the back; forehead and cheeks sprinkled with 
white ; between the bill and eye an oval, large spot of white, sepa- 
rated from the white of the forehead by a line of black; chin and 
threat black ; behind the eye white, passing down on each side of 
neck, and ending ina point, the middle of this white is rufous; the 
rest of the neck deep rufous; on the breast a narrow band of white 
feathers with black ends, forming two bands of those colours ; belly 
white ; sides striped with black; back and wings black, the last 
even with the tail; greater wing coverts tipped with grey; upper 
and under tail coverts white; legs black. 

This is a most elegant species, and every where met with on the 
northern Coast of Siberia. In Russia, from the River Ob to the 
Lena, breeding there, and retiring south in autumn; is called by 
the Ostiacs, Tschakwoi, from its voice; and by the Samoids, Tschagu; 
frequents the Caspian Sea, returning north in small flocks as the 
summer approaches; supposed to winter in Persia. 

One of these was shot near London, in the beginning of the 
severe frost of 1766. Another taken alive near Wycliffe, in York- 
shire, about the same time; this latter soon became familiar, and was 
kept among other Ducks in a pond; but though it associated freely 
with them, and seemed partial to. one in particular, never produced 


248 DUCK. 


young; this continued alive for several years, when it lost its life 
by an accident. The late Mr. Tunstall, from whom I had the 
above particulars, mentioned a third, having been killed in this 
kingdom ; and a fourth was exhibited by Mr. Bullock, in 1818, shot 
near Berwick. This species is highly esteemed for the table, bemg 
quite free from any fishy taste. 


28.—RUDDY GOOSE. 


Anas Casarea, Ind. Orn.ii. 841. Gm. Lin. i. 511. Lin. ii. App. p. 224. 

rutila, N.C. Petr. xiv. 579. t. 22. f. 1. Georgi, 167. Gmel. reise, ii. 182. t. 15. 
Lepech. It.i. 180. Dec. russ. i. 417. 464. Tem. Man. 535. Id. Ed. 2d. 822. 
Anas Boschas major, Gerin. v. t. 571. 

Collared Duck, Gent. Mag. xli. pl. p. 161. 

Grey-headed Duck, Brown’s Zool. p. 104. pl. 41, 42. 

Ruddy Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 456. Id. Sup. 273. 


SIZE between a Mallard and Muscovy Duck, though it seems 
Jarger than it really is, from the length of wings, and standing high 
on the legs; length twenty-two inches. The bill black; irides yel- 
lowish brown ; eyelids and just round the eye blackish; top of the 
head and nape white; forehead, cheeks, and throat, yellowish; neck 
before ferruginous, encircled with a collar of black, inclining to 
deep rafous on the throat; breast and sides pale rufous ; belly 
obscure ; vent deep rufous; beginning of the back pale ; lower part 
of the back undulated hoary and brown, not very distinct; rump 
and tail greenish black, the last rounded in shape; prime quills 
black ; secondaries edged with violet green; and some of the inner 
ones with ferruginous; the second wing coverts and whole base of 
the wing white; legs long, black. 

The female is like the male, but wants the black collar round the 
neck.—Inhabits all the southern parts of Russia and Siberia in 
plenty ; but seldom seen farther north than 55 deg. and always in 
the greatest numbers the more southward: in winter migrates into 
India, and returns north in spring; it is blended with the Grey- 


DUCK. 249 


headed Species, under the name of Bramany Duck, but these 
appear to be two distinct species ; nor is it the same as the Egyptian 
Goose, though somewhat resembling it. Makes the nest in the 
craggy banks of the Wolga, and other rivers, or in the hollows of 
the deserted hillocks of the Marmots, after the manner of the Shel- 
drake, and like it is said to form burrows for itself; has been known 
also to lay in a hollow tree, lining the nest with feathers ; is mono- 
gamous; the male and female sitting by turns, the eggs like those 
of a Common Duck. When the young come forth, the mother will 
often carry them from the place of hatching, to the water, in the bill. 

Attempts have been made to doinesticate this bird, by rearing the 
young under tame Ducks, but without success, as they are ever 
wild, and effect their escape the first opportunity; and if the old 
birds are confined, they lay the eggs in a dispersed manner, and never 
sit. The voice isnot unlike the note of a clarionet, whilst flying ; at 
other times cries like a Peacock, especially when kept tame, and now 
and then clucks like a Hen; is very tenacious of its mate, for if the 
male is killed, the female will not leave the place till it has been two 
or three times shot at. The flesh is thought to be good by some, but 
Baron de Tott, in his memoirs, says, ‘‘ I tasted it, and only found it 
exceedingly good-for-nothing.” 

The Ruddy Goose is known at Bengal by the names of Chucua 
and Chucui, and in the Sanscrit Chuccurbaco; common in the four 
months of cool weather, and always in the day time observed in pairs, 
on the sand banks of the river, or in marshes at a distance from 
houses; at night the sexes separate, and go to opposite sides of the 
pond or river, and there call to each other. This bird has a great 
variety of notes, loud when reposing at night; when with its mate, 
clucks like a Hen, and if angry or afraid, hisses like a Goose. In the 
hot weather goes away to the north to breed; lives on grain and 
water plants. 


VOL. X. K « 


250 DUCK. 


29.—GREY LAG GOOSE. 


Anas Anser, Ind. Orn. ii. 841. Lin. i. 197. Fn. suec. No.114, Gm. Lin. i. 510, 
Brun. No. 53. Muller, No.112. Kramer, 338 4. a. Frisch, t.155. Georgi, 
166. Fn. arag. 74. Klein, 274. t.69. Id. stem. 31. t. 34. f. 1. a—c. Id. Ov. 
34, t.19. f.2. N.C. Petr. iv. 418. Schaef. el. t. 20. Rati, 136. A. 4. 138. A 8. 
Will. 274. t. 69. Borowsk. ui. p. 9. 2. a. En. Helv, Sepp, iii. t. 105, Tem. 
Man. 526, Id. Ed. 2d. 818. 

Uees Araka, Fn.arab. p.3. No. 6. 

Oca salvatica, Zinnan. Uov. 104. t. 17. f. 91. 

Die wilde Gans, Bechs. Deut.ii. 586. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 842. Id. Muster. 118. Naturf: 
xii. 134. 74. Schmid, p. 146. t. 127. 

Wild Goose, Albin, i. pl. 90. Will. Engl. 358. pl. 69. 

Grey-lag Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 459. Id. Sup. ii. 346. Br. Zool. ii. No. 266. Id. fol. 
150. Jd. 1812. 1. p.228.  Arct. Zool. ti. No, 473. Id. Sup. p.75. Ph. Tr. 
xv. No. 175. p. 1160. 5. Bewick,ii. pl. p. 292. Lew. vii. pl. 238. Td. pl. xlix. 
the egg. Walc.i. pl. 61.  Pult. Dors. p. 20. Orn. Dict. & Supp. Wood's 
Zoogr. i. p. 935. 


THE Grey Lag, or Wild Goose, weighs ten pounds; the length 
two feet nine inches; extent five feet. The bill is large and elevated, 
yellowish flesh-colour ; nail white; head and neck cinereous, mixed 
with dirty. yellow; neck striated downwards ; back and primaries 
dusky, the latter tipped with black, shafts white; secondaries, black, 
edged with white; lesser coverts dusky, edged also with white ; breast 
and belly whitish, clouded with ash; rnmp and vent white; middle 
tail feathers dusky, tipped and edged with white ; the exterior almost 
wholly white; legs flesh colour; claws black. 

This species inhabits the fens of England, supposed not to migrate, 
as in many parts of the Continent, for they are not only met with in 
Summer, but breed also in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and other 
parts, and generally produce seven or eight young, which are often 
taken, and easily become tame. These unite into flocks in the 
winter, as numbers are then met with together. On the Continent, 
however, they certainly change place in large flocks, often 500, or 


DUCK. 251 


more; in this flight the flock takes a triangular shape, with the 
point foremost, and as the bird which is first becomes soonest tired, 
it has been seen to drop behind, and another to take its place. In 
verysmall flocks are observed to follow one another in a direct line. 
These birds seem to be general inhabitants of the Globe, being met 
with from Lapland to the Cape of Good Hope;* frequent in Arabia,t 
Persia, China, India, and Japan;¢ on the American Continent, 
from Hudson’s Bay to South Carolina.§ They appear ‘first at the 
former in May, alight, and feed on the grassy spots; collect in flocks 
of 20 or 30, and stay about three weeks, then separate into pairs, 
and resort to the coasts to breed; moultin July, at which time they 
are knocked down by the inhabitants, as they cannot fly, though 
some are saved alive, fed on corn, and thrive greatly; about the 
middle of August return to the marshes with their young, and 
continue there till September, when they depart southward. || 

Independent of the above, our voyagers met with them in the 
Straits of Magalhaen,{ Port Egmont in Falkland Isles,*** and Terra 
del Fuego ;+f likewise in New-Holland ; though probably not at 
New Zealand, as we find Capt. Cook making the imhabitants a 
present of a pair, in order to breed. 


A.—Anas Anser, domesticus, Ind. Orn. ii. 842. B. Linsi.197. Fn. suec. No, 114. £. 
Scop. i. No. 69. Brun. No.55. Kramer, 338. 4. 8. Frisch, t. 157. Bris. vi. 
262.1. Jd. 8vo. ii. 432. Rati, 136. A.8. Id. 121.8. Will. 273. t.'75. Klein, 
129. 2. Id. Ov. 34. t. 19. f. 1, Borowsk. iii. p. 8. 

Anser vulgaris, Gerin. v. t. 558, 559, 560. Naturf. xii. 133. 78. 

Die Zahme Gans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 596. 

Oca domestica, Zinnan. Uov. 103. t. 17. £90. Cet. uc. Sard. 317. 


* Kolben. + Forschal, p.3. No.6.—Ues Araki. + Kempfer. § Kalm. Trav. 

|| This is probably the sort called at Hudson’s Bay Mistuhay Nesscock, Grey Goose, said 
to weigh about nine pounds, the same which Kalm mentions the taming of by the Ameri- 
cans, taking the chance of shooting them in the wing; these will often grow tame, though 
old birds, and have been kept for a dozen years, but never familiarize with the tame ones, 
nor lay eggs.—T'rav. i. p. 209. 

| Hawkesw. Voy. ii. p. 31. #% Td. p. 65. tt Cook’s Voy. iv. p. 43. 

K x2 


252 DUCK. 


Tame Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 461. 21. Var. A. Id. Sup. p. 273. Will. Engl. 358. Fl. 
Scot. 1. No. 206. Tour in Scot. 1769. 4to. p.10. Jd. 8vo. p.8 Bew. i. pl. p. 
297. Orn. Dict. 


THIS is the Grey-lag, in a state of domestication, and from 
which it varies in colour; though much less than in the Mallard, or 
Cock, being more or less verging to grey; but in all cases, the 
whiteness of the vent and upper tail coverts is manifest; frequently 
found quite, especially the males ; and doubts have arisen, which of 
the two colours should have the preference in point of eating. 

Tame Geese are no where seen in greater numbers than in the 
Fens of Lincolnshire, many persons keeping no less than one thou- 
sand breeders.* The uses of the quills and feathers are too well 
known throughout Europe + to be here noticed, and for the sake of 
them the birds are stripped whilst alive, once in a year, and some- 
times twice, for the quills, and from three to five times for the 
feathers, not sparing even Goslings of six weeks old, from which 
the feathers of the tail are plucked : the first plucking is about Lady 
Day, for both quills and feathers, the other four times between that 
and Michaelmas, for feathers only;+ in general the birds are not 
considerable sufferers, though if the cold weather comes on suddenly, 
numbers die in consequence. ‘The possessors of these, except in the 
apparently cruel usage of plucking, treat them with sufficient kind- 
ness, lodging them in the same room with themselves; whilst sitting, 
each bird has its allotted space, in rows of wicker pens, placed one 
above another; and it is said that the person who takes charge of 


* The feeding of Geese would appear to bea business of some notice, as we find in the 
London Gazette, Jan. 31, 1793, the name of Thos. B. of Plaistow, in Essex, Goose-feeder, 
among the list of bankrupts. 

+ In the countries bordering on the Levant, and throughout Asia, the use of Goose 
feathers is utterly unknown; we find mattresses stuffed with wool, camels hair, and cotton, 
instead. Pliny, indeed, mentions the use of bolsters of feathers to lay the head upon, in 
his time; but whether put to the same use now, Seems not certain. 

+In Young’s Agriculture of the County of Lincoln, he talks of Geese being plucked for 
the wing feathers four or five times in the year, taking ten feathers from each Goose. 


DUCK. 253 


them, called a Gozzard, or Goose-herd, drives the whole to the water 
twice in a day, and bringing them back to their habitations, places 
every one in its respective nest, without missing one.* Independent 
of the use of the quills for writing, they were in early times in much 
demand for feathering arrows. In 1417 and 1418, King Henry V. 
attributes his victory of Agincourt tothe archers, and directs the 
sherives of many counties to pluck from every Goose six wing 
feathers,+ for the purpose of improving arrows, which are to be paid 
for by the King. It is searcely credible what numbers of Geese are 
driven from the distant counties to London for sale, frequently two 
or three thousand in a drove.t 

Formerly the price of Geese in Wiltshire was regulated by that of 
mutton, both being the same by the pound, without the feathers. 
The usual weight of a fine Goose is 15 or 16 pounds; and we have 
known one to weigh 18 pounds or more without the feathers; but it 
is scarcely to be believed how far this may be increased by cramming 
them with bean meal, and other fattening diet. The victims destined 
for this surfeit are by some nailed to the floor by the webs of the toes, 
which gives little or no pain, and prevents the possibility of action ; 
to which, we are told, the French add the refinement of putting out 
the eyes ;§ but what end this last barbarity can answer is hard to 
conjecture, nor are we informed to what weight they arrive in that 
nation ; but it is said that 28 or even 30 pounds is not an uncommon 
thing in England. The Romans were fond of the livers of Geese, 
which they enlarged to a surprising degree, by means of particular 
fattening food; and we find that at this day the livers both of Geese 

* Tour in Scotland, 8vo. p. 8. Br. Zool. ii. 571. 

+ These feathers should consist of the second, third, and fourth of each wing.—Archeol. 
vile p. 52. [u]. 

+ A drove of above 9,000 Geese passed through Chelmsford, in the way to London, 
from Suffolk.—St. James's Chronicle, Sept. 2, 1783. In the journey from the distant parts 
they walk at the rate of eight or ten miles per day, travelling from three o’clock in the 
morning to nine at night; and when it happens that some are much fatigued, such are fed 


with oats instead of barley, their usual food during the journey. 
§ Salern. Orn. p. 407. 


954 DUCK. 


and Fowls are still enlarged in Sicily, by administering particular 
food, and considered as a great luxury.* 

The Goose generally breeds only once in the year, but if well 
kept, will often have two hatches in a season, seven or eight at each 
hatch: the female sits about 30 days, and will sometimes produce 
eggs sufficient for three broods, if taken away in succession. We 
have once heard of a Goose sitting on eggs the 11th of November, 
but this is a rare occurrence. This bird is very long-lived, and we 
have full authority for its arriving at no less than 100 years.+ 

When we consider the average profit of a Goose, from being 
plucked three times in a year for the feathers, and twice for the quills, 
added to its producing six or seven young for the market, annually ; 
the profit appears to at least equal that of an ewe for the same 
period ; especially if we take in the circumstance of a Goose thriving 
frequently in such places as are unfavourable as pasture for sheep. 

Geese are in the best condition for the table about Michaelmas, 
at which time few families are without one, roasted, to grace the 
board on the feast of that Saint.§ It has been said, that one poul- 
terer, in London, has disposed of 1200 in one day, and that in 
ten days, full 200,000 have come to market, for eating in London 
alone. 


30.—WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 


Anas albifrons, Ind. Orn. ii. 842. Gmel. Lin. i. 509. 

—— Casarca, §. G. Gmel. reise, 11. p. 177. t. 13. 

erythropus, Fn. suec. No. 116.—the female. Brun. No. 53, 54. Muller, No. 
113. Kramer, 339. Georgi, 166. Borowsk. in. p.10.b. Sepp, ii. t. 207. 
Tem. Man. 529. Id. Ed. 2d. §22. 


* Smyth's Mem. of Sicily, p. 39. + Willughby was told by a friend, of one 
that was known to be 80 years old, ‘‘ and might have lived the other 80 years, had he not 
been constrained to kill it, for its mischievousness in beating the younger Geese.’’ A family 
near Fife, kept a Goose for 70 years, and knew it must be still older, but of this there was 
no certainty. t Orn. Dict. 

§ On the Continent Geese are supposed to be most in season about the 11th of Nov. 
the feast of St. Martin, or Martinmas. 


DUCK. 255 


Anser fuscus maculatus, Laughing Goose, Bartr. Trav, 292. 

Anser septentrionalis sylvestris, Bris. vi. 269. Id. 8yvo. il. 433. 

Die Blassengans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 576. Id. Ed. Qd. iv. 898, 

Oca Lombardella, Gerin. v. pl. 560. 

L’Oie rieuse, Buf. ix. p. 8. 

Laughing Goose, Edw. pl. 153. Phil. Trans. \xii. p. 414. 3. 

White-fronted Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 463. Br. Zool. ii. No. 268. t. 94, 1,.—the head. 

Id. fol. 150. Id. 1812. ii. 235. pl. 39. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 476. Bewick, ii. p. 
305. Lewin, vii. pl. 240. Walcot,i. pl. 64. Donov. pl. 102. Pult. Dors. p. 
20. Orn. Dict. 

THIS is smaller than the Grey-lag; length two feet four inches; 
weight five pounds;* breadth about eight feet. The bill is yellosvish 
red, elevated at the base; nail white; irides dusky; head, neck, and 
upper parts in general dark brown, with a little mixture of ash- 
colour on the wings; round the base of the bill, belly, and under 
parts, white, marked on the sides with black spots; rump, vent, and 
under tail coverts, white; tail dusky black, more or less edged with 
white; the outmost feather almost wholly white; legs orange, claws 
pale.—Inhabits the fenny parts of England, in small. flocks, during 
winter; migrating before the end of March, but is not a plentiful 
species in general; though Dr. Lamb, of Newbury, informs me, that 
a flock of twenty-five or thirty appeared in. January, within four 
miles of Reading, out of which eight were killed at one shot. 

In summer it is found in the north of Europe and Asia, frequent 
in Siberia, and the east of Russia, but scarce in the west; breeds 
only, in. the extreme north ; supposed to inhabit Greenland. Is very, 
common in the sammer at. Hudson’s Bay, with other sorts, and, called 
Sasasque pe thesue. 


31.—BEAN. GOOSE. 


Anas Segetum, Ind. Orn. ii. 843. Gm. Lin. i. 512. Tem. Man. 527. Id. Ed. 2d. 820. 
Die Bohnengans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 620. Id. Ed, 2d, iv. 883. Id. Must. 120, 
Anas sylvestris, Bris. vi. 265. Id. 8vo.ii. 432. Gerin. v. t. 561. 


* T have met with several specimens; the lightest weighed four pounds two ounces, the 
heaviest two ounces more. A friend of mine shot one, weighing five pounds; but Colonel 
Montagu says, he has met with them weighing seven pounds. 


256 DUCK. 


Oie sauvage, Buf. ix. p. 30. t.2. Pl. enl. 989. Hist. Prov. i, 343. 

Bean Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 464. Br. Zool. ii. No. 267. pl. 94. f.2. Id. 1812. ii. 233. 
pl. 39. Arct. Zool. i. No. 472. Lewin, vii. pl. 239. Bew. ii. p. 306. Wale. i. 
pl. 65. Pult. Dors. p.20. Orn. Dict. & Snpp. 


SMALLER than the Common Goose; length two feet seven 
inches; breadth nearly five feet; weight six pounds. Bill small, 
much compressed near the end, whitish, and sometimes pale red in 
the middle, and black at the base and nail; irides rufous brown; 
head and neck cinereous brown, tinged with ferruginous; breast and 
belly dirty white, clouded with cinereous; sides and scapulars dark 
ash-colour, edged with white; back plain ash; tail coverts white; 
at the bend of the wing a knob; lesser wing coverts hght grey, nearly 
white; the middle deeper, tipped with white; quills grey, tipped 
with black ; legs and feet saffron-colour; claws black. 

It sometimes varies both in weight and size, as well as in plumage, 
as a specimen sent to me out of Suffolk, was full three feet in length, 
and weighed seven pounds. Bill from the nostrils to the nail deep 
brownish red; wing coverts grey; the greater tipped with white; 
the second quills tipped, and margined with white; the greater 
plain dusky black; legs dull brownish red; claws black; the rest 
like the other. 

Inhabits England in the winter, most frequent in Lincolnshire 
and Yorkshire, where it comes in autumn,* and departs in May: 
they sometimes alight in the corn fields, and do much damage to the 
green wheat; breed in great numbers in Lewis, one of the Hebrides, 
and no doubt also where other wild Geese are found, having been, 
till lately, not distinguished from them. Observed also at Hudson’s 
Bay,t but whether common there we do not Jearn. 


* Among them some have been observed quite white.—Arct. Zool. + Arct. Zool. 


DUCK. 257 


| 32,—BERING’S GOOSE. 


Anas Beringii, Ind. Orn. ii. 843. Gm. Lin. 1. 508. 
Bering’s Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 465. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 475. 


SIZE of a Wild Goose. At the base of the bill a yellow ex- 
crescence, radiated in the middle with bluish black feathers ; round 
the ears a greenish white space; eyes black, encircled with yellow, 
and rayed with black; back, fore part of the neck, and belly, white; 
wings black; hind part of the neck bluish. Observed by Steller in 
July, on the Isle of Bering. The natives pursue these birds in boats, 
and kill them at the time of moulting; also sometimes hunt them on 
land, with dogs; and not unfrequently catch them in pits covered 
with grass.* 


33.—GULAUND GOOSE. 


Anas borealis, Ind. Orn. 11. 843. Gm. Lin.i. 512. 
Gulaund Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 465. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 572. E. 


SIZE between a Goose and a Duck. Bill narrow; head of a 
Mallard green ; breast and belly white. 

Inhabits the morasses of Iceland; lays from seven to nine eggs, 
and is a scarce species. The Icelanders call it Gulaund.t+ 


34.—BERNACLE GOOSE. 


Anas Erythropus, Ind. Orn. ii. 843. Lin. i. 197. 11. Fn. suec. No. 116.—male. 
Frisch, t. 189. Sepp, iis t. p. 197, Gm. Lin. i. 512. Naturf. xxv. s. 9. Schr. 
d. Berl. Nat. viii. 75. 2d part. 

Anas leucopsis, Tem. Man. 531. Id. Ed, 2d. 824.* Parr. App. p. cevii. 

Anser Branta grisea maculata, Bartr. Trav. 292. 

Anas Branta, Sepp, ui. t. 102. Klein, 130. 8. Id. 170, 12. 


* Descr. Kamts. p. 159. + Arct. Zool. 
VOL, X. Lu 


258 DUCK. 


Bernicla, Bris. vi. 300. Jd. 8vo. ii. 411. Rati, 187. A. 5. Will. 274. 

Anas Helsingen, Olaf. Isl. ii. t. 33. 

Die Blassengans, Naturf. xii. 185. 75. Id. xxv. s. 9. 

Die Bernakelgans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 623. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 921. 

La Bernache, Buf. ix. 93. pl. 5. Pl. enl. 855. 

Canada Goose, Albin, i. pl. 92. 

Black Goose, Rural Sports, ii. t. p. 465. 

Bernacle, or Clakis, Gen. Syn. vi. 466. Br. Zool. ii. No. 269, Id. fol. 150. Id. 1812. 
i, 237. Arct. Zool. ii. No.479. Will. Engl. 359. Ph. Tr. ii. p. 853. ‘Id. xii. 
923. Gerard. Herb. p. 1587. Hayes, Birds, pl.24. Bew.ii. pl. p. 307. Lew. vii. 
pl. 242. Walc.i. pl. 62. Pult. Dors. p. 20. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH two feet, breadth four. Bill short, and black, with 
a spot of flesh-colour on each side; irides brown; forehead to the 
middle of the crown, sides of the head, chin, and throat, white; from 
the bill to the eye a black streak ; the rest of the head, neck, and 
beginning of the back, black; breast and under parts, sides of the 
vent, and upper tail coverts, white; thighs mottled dusky and white ; 
round the knee black; back black, the edges of the feathers mar- 
gined with white; at the bend of the wing a hard knob; wing 
coverts and scapulars blue grey, the ends black, fringed with white 
at the tips; rump plain black; quills the same, edged with blue 
grey, except towards the ends; tail five inches and a half long, and 
black ; legs dusky black.* 

This bird frequents many of the northern and western coasts of 
this kingdom, in winter; but in the south only in very inclement 
seasons ;+ departs hence in February, and retires north to breed, at 
which time it is found in the north of Russia, Lapland, Norway, 
and Iceland. In America, is now and then met with in Hudson’s 
Bay.—This is the species which so many authors have handed down 
to us under the name of Tree Goose, and Clakis,t supposing it to 

* The name of Erythropus, given to it by Linnzus, is improper, as the legs are not red. 

+ These birds were in the greatest plenty at Sandwich, in the hard frost of 1739 & 1740, 
but in so starved a condition, as to be knocked down with sticks, and few sold for more 
than six-pence a piece; the same happened in 1803; and we learn from Colonel Montagu, 


that they were not unknown about Christmas, on the Coast of South Devon, in the year 
1800. + See Phil. Trans. Gerard Herb. Camd. Brit. (1695). p. 941. Will, Orn. 359. 


od 


DUCK. 259 


originate from old decayed wood, and to have come out of the shell 
called a Barnacle,* which is found adhering to old wood; and that 
the tail of the young bird, not yet arrived at perfection, may be seen 
protruding from the shell.t But this, like many ancient vulgar 
errors, is now exploded ; for it is well known, that the bird is hatched 
and bred, like all others of the Duck kind. We have had more than 
one instance of its bemg domesticated, and living, seemingly with 
great content, among the poultry. 


35.—BRENT GOOSE. 


Anas Bernicla, Ind. Orn. ii. 844.  Lin.i. 198. Fn. swec. No.115. Gm. Lin, i. 513. 
Scop.i. No. 84. Brun. No. 52. Muller, No. 115. Frisch, t. 156. Fn. groenl. 
No. 41. Borowsk. iii. p. 11.3. Sepp, ii. pl. 98. Amer. Orn. viii. p. 131. pl. 79. 
f. 1. Tem. Man. 531. Id. Ed. 2d. 325. 

Brenta, Bris. vi. 304. 16. t.31. Id. 8vo. 11. 442. Raii, 137. A. 6. Will. 275. t. 69. 
Klein, 130. 

Anas Palumbum torquatum quodammodo referens, Gerin. v. t. 582. 

Rotgans, Sepp. Vog. t. p. 189. 

Die Brent gans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 621. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 911. 

Le Cravant, Buf.ix. 87. Pl. enl. 342. 

Brent, or Brand Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 467. Br. Zool.ii. No. 270. Id. fol. 151. Add. 
pl. Q. Id. 1812. ii. p. 239. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 478. Id. Sup. 75. Albin, i. pl. 
93. Will. Engl. 360. pl. 69. Hayes’s Birds, pl. 24.  Collins’s Anat. ii. pl. 20. 
Bewick, i. pl. p. 311. Lewin, vii. pl. 248. Walcot, i. pl. 63. Pult. Dors. p. 
20. Orn. Dict. 


LESS than the Bernacle. Bill black ; irides hazel; head, neck, 
and upper part of the breast, black; on each side of the neck a 
large patch of black and white mixed; lower part of the breast, the 
scapulars, and wing coverts, ash-colour, clouded with a darker shade; 
vent, and upper and under tail coverts white; tail dusky black, and 
a little rounded in shape; legs reddish black. 

* Lepas anatifera.—Lin. Figures of the shell to be seen in Argen. Conch. t. 30. f. F.G. 
List. Conch. t. 440. f. 283.—Gerard Herb. p. 1587. ch.171. In the last are rude figures 
both of the shell and bird. 

+ Authors also further relate this of a certain tree, the leaves of which, if they fell on 


land, became birds ; if on the water, fishes. —Bauh. Pin. 514. 111. 
L12 


260 DUCK. 


The female is less bright in plumage; and in young birds the 
white on the sides of the neck is small, or wholly deficient; in this 
state is probably the following. 


A.—Bernicla minor, Bris. vi. 302. Id. 8vo. ii. 442. Ind. Orn. ii. 844. 
Brenthus, Raz, Syn. 137, A. 7. Id. 139. 11? Will, 276. t. 76. 
Anser Branta, Klein, Av. 130. 8 

Rat-Goose, or Road Goose, Will. Engl. 361. § viii. 


According to Mr. Johnson, the bill and legs are black ; top of the 
head and part of the neck black, the feathers next the bill, throat, 
and breast, brown; rest of the under side white ; upper side grey, 
but the ends of the feathers darken into a brownish colour, the 
edges changing into white, as is usual also in the Common Tame 
Goose; quills and tail black; the rump is also white. 

“« It is a very heedless fowl (contrary to the nature of other Geese) 
‘so that if a pack of them come into the Tees, it is seldom one 
‘escapes, for they be often shot at, yet they only fly a little, and 
‘ suffer the gunner to come openly upon them.” 

The trachea in the male enlarges a little at its origin, and lessens 
again towards the breast bone, but has no labyrinth. 

These birds, like the Bernacles, frequent our coasts in winter ; 
and particularly so, at times, on those of Holland and Ireland, where 
they are taken in nets placed across the rivers. In some seasons 
resort to the coasts of Picardy, in France, in such prodigious flecks, 
as to prove a pest to the inhabitants, especially in the winter of 1740, 
when they tore up by roots all the corn near the sea coasts. On this 
the inhabitants every where attacked them with clubs, and killed 
great numbers, but the quantity was so great, that it did not avail 
much; nor were they relieved from this scourge till the north wind, 
which had brought them, ceased to blow, when they took leave. 

They easily become tame, and being fatted, thought to be delicate 
food: they breed pretty far north, returning southward in autumn. 
Observed to fly in the shape of a wedge, like Wild Geese, with great 


DUCK. 261 


clamour; called in Shetland, Horra Geese, from being found in that 
Sound ; appear also in the Orknies, but do not continue there. 

The Brent Goose is known in some parts of England by the 
name of Rat or Road Goose; also Clatter Goose. Colonel Montagu 
adds the name of Quink Goose.* Met with also at Oonalashka and 
Shumagin Islands, by Capt. Billings.t 

In America, frequent Hudson’s Bay, and breed in the adjacent 
Islands, but never fly inland ; feed about high water mark, return 
towards the south in vast flocks in autumn; they probably pass the 
winter in Carolina, as Lawson mentions a Grey Brent frequent in 
that season; called at Hudson’s Bay, Wetha may pa wew: they stay 
there for about three months, and are very numerous. Those seen in 
Europe retire to the extreme north to breed; a few, after flying over 
Sweden, stop on the borders of Lapland; but the main body of them 
continue their flight even to the most northern Isles of Greenland+ 
aud to Spitzbergen. Their food chiefly consists of plants, such as 
the small bistort,§ and black-berried heath,|| berries, sea worms, and 
the like. In one we opened, the stomach was full of grass. They 
are in general thought to be good food, though some are apt to have 
a fishy taste. The same fable has been told of this as of the Bernacle, 
in respect to its being bred from trees. 


36.—TORRID DUCK. 


Anas Torrida, Ind. Orn. 1. 845. Gm. Lin. i. 516. Scop. i. No. 86. 
Torrid Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. il. 349. 


SIZE of the Crested Duck. The head white; upper part of 


the neck black ; beneath chestnut. 


* Orn. Dict. In Boys’s Coll. for Sandwich, I. p. 31), it is said, when the Mayor comes 
into the hall, at St. Peter’s, a bell, called Brandegoose Bell, shall ring, and continue for 
half an hour, &e. + See Voy. p. 179. 

+ They frequent the northern parts in summer, migrating in flocks to the south, in 
winter.— Fn. groenl. 

§ Polygonum viviparum.—Lin. || Empetrum nigrum.—Zin. 


262 DUCK. 


37.—SCOPOLINE GOOSE. 


Anas albicans, Ind. Orn. ii. 845. Gm. Lin. i. 516. 
Branta albifrons, Scop. i. No. 87. 
White-fronted Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 349. 


SIZE of a Cock. General colour of the plumage brown ; head 
and neck inclining to rufous; forehead and beneath white; upper 
part of the breast cinereous, the feathers margined with pale fer- 
ruginous, with a rufous band near the tip; quills within and tips 
white. 


38.—EIDER GOOSE. 


Anas mollissima, Ind. Orn. ii. 845. Lin. i. 198. Fn. suec. No. 117. Gm. Lin.i. 514. 
Brun. No. 57—66. Id. Monogr. t.1.2. Muller, No. 116. Borowsk. iii. 5. t. 32. 
Klein, 130. 10. Mus. Carls. i. t. 6. Am. Orn. viii. 122. pl. 71. f. 2.—male. t. 3«— 
female. Lin. Trans. xii. 554. pl. 30. f. 1.2.—the trachea. Tem. Man. 549. Id. Ed. 
2d. 849. Parr. App. p. ccviii. 

Anser septentrionalis, Gerin. y. t. 562. 

Anser lanuginosus, Bris. vi. 294. t. 29. 30. Id. 8vo. ii. 440. 

Anas S. Cutberti, Rati, 141.A. 3. F. Will. 278. t. 77. F. 

Die Eidergans, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 625. t.21.22. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 926. Waullb. Monog. 
Brun. Eder-fuglens. Schmid, Voy. p. 149. t. 121. 

Oie a Duvet, Eider, Buf.ix. 103. t.6. Pl. end. 209.—male. 208.—female. 

Great black and white Duck, Edw. pl. 98.—male and female. 

Eider, or Cuthbert Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 470. Id. Sup.274. Br. Zool. ii. No. 271. pl. 
95. Id. fol. 152. pl. Q. Td. 1812. ii. 242. pl. 40. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 480. Tour 
in Scotland, i. No. 209. Von Troil. Icel. p. 144.146. Will. Engl. 362. pl. 76.§ 
I. &. IL. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 314. Lin. Tr. viii. 268. Lewin, vii. pl. 244. 244.* 
Id. pl. L.—the egg. Walc.i. p!.66. Orn. Dict. 


LESS than a Goose; length twenty-six inches, breadth forty- 
four; weight three pounds and a half. Bill two inches, black; the 
feathers on each side come very forward, almost to the nostrils ; the 
top of the head, taking in the eyes, black, continued in a line of the 
same on each side, where the feathers project on the bill ; below the 


DUCK. 263 


‘nape, on each side of the neck, the colour is pea green ; the rest of 
the head, neck, breast, back, wing coverts, and scapulars, white; 
the last curved at the ends, and hang over the quills, which are 
black ; the under parts from the breast, and the tail, are also black ; 
legs dull green. 

In the female the general colour of the plumage is reddish 
brown, barred across with black ; hind part of the neck marked 
with longitudinal dusky streaks; on the wings two bars of white ; 
belly deep brown, indistinctly marked with black ; tail dusky ; 
legs black. 

These birds do not arrive at complete plumage till the fourth 
year ; the young of both sexes, for the first week, are covered with a 
brown down, throat and breast whitish, with a cinereous line from 
the bill, through the eyes, to the nape, and each downy feather 
ending in a bristly point, so as to give the appearance of the bird 
being covered with hairs. The male, for the first year, has the back 
white ; lower part of the breast, belly, quills, and tail, black ; the 
rest black, varied with white. The second year’s male has a black 
crown ; neck and breast marked with black and white in spots. A 
full grown male, in the third year, much resembles the completely 
plamaged bird, but the colour less vivid, and a few spots of black 
still remaining on the neck ; the crown is black, dividing into two 
parts behind. In the male some variety has been observed ; in 
having the base of the wings and middle of the back black.* 

The female has been found also to vary ; in some the general 
colour is black ; the neck and belly ash colour ; and the white line 
across the wings very little conspicuous ; im others the line entirely 
wanting : and in one specimen a mixture of many white feathers 
throughout the plumage, giving a spotted appearance. All the 
above M. Brunnich gives from his own observations. 

This species frequents the northern regions, even to the highest 
latitudes yet discovered. In the southern part of this Island we only 


* Such an one was formerly in my possession. 


264 DUCK. 


hear of a single instance of its being met with; a male having been 
once shot in the Isle of Thanet, in Kent;* but in the western Isles 
of Scotland,t and on the Farn Isles is not unfrequent, by some called 
Colk ; in these last it breeds, and is generally supposed to lay about 
five eggs,t these are placed on the ground, of a pale green, and 
glossy, about three inches inches in length; and the female secures 
them from cold ina bed of fine down, plucked from the breast: 
this down is of the lightest and warmest nature of any yet known.§ 
The natives, who know its value, plunder the nests, taking away 
both down and eggs; on which the female is said to lay again, 
furnishing a second parcel of down, her last stock; and if again 
robbed, the male must furnish the down for the egg to lie on; and 
if the eggs and down are then taken away, they will totally desert 
the place ;|| for it is supposed to be constant to the same breeding 
places; a pair have been observed to occupy the same nest for twenty 
years together. 


* Col. Montagu mentions one being shot on the Coast of South Devon, in the winter of 
1807.—See Orn. Dict. Supp. 

+ Most plentiful at Papa Westray, one of the Orknies.—Lin Trans. viii. 268. A nest 
found at Pentland Skerrie, very near the lighthouse. 

+ Von Troil observed sixteen eggs in one nest, which belonged to two females, who 
agreed remarkably well together ; hence we may conclude, that one bird may sometimes lay 
eight.—Von Troil’s Iceland, p. 144. 

§ The quantity of down in one nest more than filled the crown of a hat, yet weighed 
only three quarters of an ounce.—Br. Zool. Three pounds of this down may be compressed 
in a space scarcely bigger than the first, yet 1s afterwards so dilatable, as to fill a quilt five 
feet square.—Salern. Orn. p. 416. That found in the nest most valued, and termed Live- 
down, this is greatly more elastic than that plucked from the dead bird, which is little 
esteemed in Iceland: the best is sold for 45 fish per pound, when cleansed, and at 16 when 
not cleansed.* There are generally exported every year, on the Company’s account, 1500 or 
2000 pounds of both sorts, exclusive of what is privately exported by foreigners. In 1750 
the Iceland Company sold as much as amounted to 3745 banco dollars, besides what was 
sent to Gluckstadt.—Von Troil, p. 146. Seealso Bechst. Deuts. ii. 635. 

|| Br. Zool. The whole of the time in which they lay eggs is about six or seven weeks. 


* When cleaned it sells for 20 species for six pounds, while the uncleaned fetches no more than 20 spe- 
cies per bag of 40 pounds.— Brooke’s Sweden, p. 170. 


DUCK. 265 


The Eider Duck is a long-lived bird,* and in the latter years 
becomes quite grey ; the food is principally shells, for which it 
dives to very great depths. In Greenland is called Mittek ; the 
male, Amaulik ; young bird, Amaulicksak ; and the female, Ar- 
nauick, or Siorartak. The natives kill them on the water with darts, 
striking them the moment they appear after diving, and know the 
place, from their being preceded by the rising of bubbles. The flesh 
is much valued, and the eggs not Jess so.t In Iceland the bird is 
called Aédur;§ in Newfoundland, Gam Drake. 

The St. Cuthbert’s Duck, mentioned by Willughby, is no other 
than this; and so he thinks himself; and adds, that it breeds no 
where but in the Farn Isles. This species will by no means submit 
to domestication, as sufficient trials have been made for the purpose. 
This is mentioned as an article of food fit for a nobleman’s house, 
under the name of Cutberduk, and Cudberduce ; but this occurs 
but once. Said to be in season in January. || 

Mr. Hooker observes that the Stiftsamptman, or Governor of the 
Island of Vidoe, four miles from Iceland, and scarcely more than 
two miles in circumference, and very fertile, reaps a considerable 
revenue from the down and eggs; the former sells for three rix 
dollars (twelve shillings) a pound ; immense numbers breed here, 
almost every little hollow place being occupied with the nest, and 
so numerous, that he was obliged to walk with the greatest caution, 
to avoid trampling upon them. 

According to the Amer. Orn. this bird is met with in the United 
States ; was seen at Kamtschatka and the neighbouring Islands by 


* Believed in Iceland to live 100 years. —Bechst. Deuts. ii. 630. + Faun. groeni. 

~ A singular occurrence is mentioned in Naturf. iii. s 221, of five of these eggs being 
put by in a dark closet ; and three out of that number shining in a remarkable manner, 
so as to enable a person to see the shape of the hand. 

§ Birch, Roy. Soc. iii. p. 308. || Arche@ol. xii. p. 341. 368. ; called also 
Dunter Duck. 

4] The Eskimaux catch these birds on the nest, with springes, made of split whalebone ; 
and take the eggs wherever they can find them.—Parry’s Second Voy. p. 823. 

vOL. X. Mm 


266 DUCK. 


Billing.* A Variety is said to be found at Spitzbergen, not so large 
as generally described, exceeding very little in size the Domesticated 
Duck.t+ 


39.—KING DUCK. 


Anas spectabilis, Ind. Orn. ii. 845. Lin. i. 195. Fn. suec. No. 112. Gm. Lin. i. 907. 
Mus. Ad. Fr.ii. p. 25. Muller, No. 108. Mus. Carls. t. 39.—male. 40.—female. 
Fn. Groenl. 63. Tem. man.551. Id. Ed. 2d. 852. Parr. App. p. ccevii. 

Anser Hudsonis, Bris. vi. 365. Id. Svo. ii. 458. 

Canard a téte grise, Buf. ix. 253. 

Grey-headed Duck, Edw. pl. 154. 

King Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 473. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 481. Lewin, vii. pl. 245. Orn. 
Die. § App. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. 246. Lin. Trans. xii, 553. 


SMALLER than the last; Jength near two feet; bill orange- 
colour ; on the base of the upper mandible a semicircular ridged 
protuberance, compressed on the sides, and flat on the top, where it is 
divided into two, the elevated parts velvety black, passing on each 
side in a line to the eyes ; crown of the head and nape of an elegant 
pale ash-colour ; at the base of the upper mandible the feathers are 
pea-green, passing backwards on each side the neck, and including 
half the eye ; beneath this, and round to the chin, dirty white ; but 
these two colours blend themselves by degrees into each other ; under 
the chin two black streaks, meeting at top, and diverging as they 
advance downwards, like the letter V inverted; the rest of the neck 
and breast whitish ; middle of the back, whole of the belly, and 
vent, black ; wings dusky, middle of the coverts white; quills black, 
the secondaries somewhat curving over the greater; the shafts deep 
ferruginous ; on each side of the outer ones a patch of white; legs 
reddish. The female is smaller; the gibbous part of the bill neither 
so large nor so high coloured, but the feathery part on the ridge 
broader ; the colour of both bill and legs more dull, inclining to 
brown ; the plumage is in general brown, the middle of each 


* Voy. p. 225, + Scoresby’s Arctic Reg. vol. i. p. 527. 


DUCK. 267 


feather dusky or black ; head and neck palest; throat, belly, four 
first quills, and the adjoining coverts, brownish ; the six next tipped 
with white, hence appears a line of white on the wing ; tail as the 
quills. Neither the males nor females obtain the compressed 
gibbosity of the bill, nor colours of the plumage, till advanced in 
age. A bird, which appeared to us asa young male, was in the 
Leverian Museum; the bill of a dusky red, the nail black; the 
elevation at the base not very far advanced; head and neck brownish 
ash-colour ; top of the head streaked with a few white lines at the 
back part; body and wings dull black; a patch of white on the 
wing coverts, and another in the middle of the back ; legs reddish 
brown. 

Inhabits Greenland, where it is as common as the Eider, with 
much the same manners, and the down applicable to the same 
purposes ; is found every where in the Islands, and breeds in the 
more northern of them, removing to the south in winter; not 
uncommon in Norway, and on the Arctic Shores of Siberia, ex- 
tending to Kamtschatka ; and has also been killed in the Orknies. 
The flesh is accounted excellent, and the crude, gibbous part of the 
bill a great delicacy. The skins are sewed together, and make 
warm garments. 

The natives kill them with darts, and use the following method : 
a number of them in canoes, on meeting with a flock while swim- 
ming, suddenly shout very loud, making as much noise as possible, 
and the birds being too much frightened to fly away, dive under the 
water, but as the place at which they are again to rise is betrayed by 
the bubbling of the water above, the hunters follow as close as may 
be, and after acting this three or four times, the birds become so 
fatigued as to be easily killed.* 

This beautiful species is found at Hudson’s Bay ; is in plenty at 
Churchill River, in 59 degrees of north latitude, and remains there 
as long as the water is unfrozen; is scarce at York Fort. They build 


* Faun. groeni. 
M m2 


268 DUCK. 


on the sides of the rivers and ponds; the nest made of sticks and 
moss, lined with feathers from the breast, as in the Eider; the eggs 
four or five in number, yellowish white, and as large as those of a 
Goose. ‘The young fly in July: the food is principally worms and 
grass. Known at Hudson’s Bay by the name of Mis se sheep.* 
We are now assured that it breeds in the Orkney Islands, since Mr. 
Ballock found it in Papa Westra, the latter end of June; he adds, 
that the eggs are six in number, yellowish white, rather smaller than 
those of the Eider Species, placed on a rock, hanging over the sea. 
Mr. B. also observed, that the eggs were bedded in a layer of down, 
in the manner of those of the Hider Species. The trachea of the 
King Duck is said to have so close a resemblance to that of the 
Eider Duck, that one description and figure will suffice for both.+ 
Our late voyagers found both of them very numerous on the Coast 
of Greenland, but very shy. 


49.--MUSCOVY DUCK. 


Anas moschata, Ind. Orn. ii. 846. Lin. i. 199. Fr. suec. No. 118. Gm. Lin. i. 515. 
Scop.i. No. 85. Frisch, t.180. Ph. Tr. lvii. 848. Bris. vi. 818, Id. 8vo. 11. 
446. Borowsk. iii. p. 11.4. Cet. uc. Sard. 323. 

Anas Sylvestris Brasiliensis, Ratz, 148. 1—150. 3. MWill. 249. t. 75. 

Indica Gesneri, Will, 295. Klein, 131, 2. Gerin. v. t. 568, 569. 

Libyca, Will. 294, 

Die Turkische Ente, Schr. d. Berl. Nat. iii. 372. t.7. f. 1.—the trachea. 

Die Bisamente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 636. Gunth. Nest. U. Ey. t.90. Naturf. xii. 135. 76. 

Anitra muta, Zinnan. Uov. 105. t. 18. f. 92. 

Le Canard musqué, Buf. ix. 162. pl.9. Pl. enl. 989. 

Le grand Canard, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 427. 

Muscovy, (Cairo, Guinea, India), Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 476. Id. Sup. ii. 348. Will. 
Engl. 381, 312. pl. 75. Albin, iii. pl. 97, 98. Deser. Surin. ii. 156. Bewick, u. 
820. Lin. Trans. iv. 113. pl. xvi. f. 5, 6. 


LARGER than a Wild Duck ; length two feet.¢ Bill two inches 
long, and red, except about the nostrils and tip, where it is brown ; 


* Mr. Hutchins. + It is equal in diameter throughout, with a moderate, 
rounded enlargement at the bottom, from which the two bronchiz proceed to the lungs.— 
See Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 554, pl. 30. f. 1.2. + Ina wild state thirty-four inches. 


DUCK. 269 


eyes surrounded with a naked skin, which is warty, and red ; irides 
yellow; crown of the head black ; sides, throat, and fore part of the 
neck, white, varied with black; lower part of the neck, breast, 
sides, lower belly, and thighs, brown, a little mixed with white; 
back and rump brown, glossed with green gold; the upper part of 
the belly white; the three first quills white, the nine following dusky 
brown, edged without, and tipped with green gold; the tail 
consists of twenty feathers, the outer one on each side white, the others 
green gold; legs red: this is the most common appearance. Ina 
completely wild state the whole plumage is black, glossed with 
violet or green; some have small dots of white at the back of the 
head and wing coverts. The female does not greatly differ. 

The species is sufficiently known, being not uncommon, and do- 
mesticated in almost every nation ; is found ina state of nature about 
Brazil, and sometimes in vast flocks of a large size ; is called there 
Patos ; it is also not uncommon, with the plumage white, in our 
menageries, where it multiplies greatly ; said to be in a wild state 
about the Lake Baikal, in Asia; when at large they make the nest 
on the stumps of old trees, and perch, during the heat of the day, on 

the branches of those which are well clothed ; are naturally very 
wild, though, when kept tame, are sufliciently docile; the male 
will also sometimes associate with the Common Duck, and produce 
a mongrel breed : the eggs are rounder than those of the Common 
Duck, and in young birds frequently incline to green; they are 
esteemed, as they are said to lay more eggs, and sit oftener, than 
other ducks. The name given to them was on supposition of their 
being natives of Muscovy, according to some, but is more probably 
derived from their exhaling a musky odour, which proceeds from 
the glands placed on the rump, in common with other birds. As 
the flesh is good, and of very high flavour, added to the bird being 
of a greater size, the breed ought to be encouraged, especially as it 
is as hardy as any other species: common at Paraguay and vicinity. 
The Guaranis call it Ypeguazo (Great Duck), and the Spaniards 


270 DUCK. 


Pato real 6 grande, Greater Royal Duck ; seen single, or in pairs ; 
sometimes twenty together, or thirty, roost-at night on high trees ; 
lays in September from ten to fourteen eggs, in the hollow of a 
tree, on a bed of feathers from the breast of the male. The 
windpipe of the male is stout, nearly equal in diameter, but a 
trifle smaller towards the bottom; the bony arch, as in others, 
finishes the bottom part, and appears as if furnished with rings, 
but they are not moveable, as in the rest of the trachea; the 
orbicular labyrinth is‘attached to the side of it ; this is not smooth 
on the surface, as in the Pintail and Wigeon, but universally 
rough and irregularly furrowed, with fine indented lines: the 
opposite side of a pear shape, and placed obliquely, with the point 
lowest, but is flattened considerably on ‘the surface; the bony 
arch is on this side smooth, having no appearance of rings, and 
is bent at a small angle from the trachea, though it constitutes 
a continuance of it. In old birds the bony labyrinth is more 
rounded and larger, but still retains the roughness on the surface ; 
in a very old subject, furnished to me by the late Mr. Boys, the 
labyrinth was not only much. larger, but nearly globular, and 
the bony arch quite smooth, yet finely granulated, and faintly 
wrinkled, and the texture more bony ;* that figured by Dr. Bloch, 
in the Berlin Trans.+ appears by much too large, but may not be 
faulty, for in case his figure was taken from a foreign specimen, 
and supposing the Muscovy Duck to arrive at twice the size of 
those in England, and which they are said to do, no doubt but the 
labyrinth and trachea would be in due proportion. 


41.—NILOTIC GOOSE. 


Anas Nilotica, Ind. Orn. ii. 846. Gm. Lin.i. 508. Hasselq. It. 365. 36. Id. Voy. 201. 
Bauk, Baw Goose, Pocock. Trav. i. 210? 
Nilotic Goose, Gen. Syn. vi. 488. Bruce, Trav. App. 154? 


SIZE between the Pintail Duck and Common Goose, but stands 
higher on the legs. Nail of the bill hoary, the margin of it bounded 


* See Lin. Trans. iv. p. 113. pl. xvi. f.5. 6. t+ Schr. d. Berl. Nat. ii. 8. 372. t. 7. f. 6. 


DUCK. 271 


by a callus, or excrescence, a little elevated, equal, and of a purplish 
blood-colour ; a second encompasses the base, somewhat elevated, 
dull purple, with four warts, two on each side; irides yellow ; throat, 
sides of the neck, crown, and a line behind the eyes, whitish, spotted 
with hoary or cinereous; breast, belly, and thighs, whitish brown, 
crossed with dusky, transverse lines; sides of the breast and belly 
marked with oblong and hoary ones; tail longish, rounded in shape; 
legs red ; claws black. 

Inhabits the Nile, in Upper Egypt, but no where else, except 
perhaps on the Bays of the Red Sea. The Arabians call it Bah :* 
itis easily tamed, and lives among other domestic poultry ; and 
seems to approach near to the Muscovy Goose. Bruce observes, 
there are no Geese in Abyssinia, wild or tame, excepting the Golden 
Goose, Goose of the Nile, or Goose of the Cape; these are common 
in all the south of Africa, and build their nests in trees, and when 
not in the water generally sit upon them. 


42.—MERIAN DUCK. 


Anas Meriane, Merian Duck, Nat. Mis. pl. 69. 


SIZE of the Mallard. Bill somewhat hooked at the end, 
red, the base and tip blackish ; irides yellow; the head black, 
subcristated, and very much carunculated with bright red, currant- 
like, tubercles about the forehead, round the cheeks, and eyes, and 
the back of the neck a considerable way down; neck, breast, and 
belly, white ; lesser wing coverts green, the next row ferruginous ; 
second quills blue, with a double row of caruncles along their 
tips, forming a red band across the wings, the remainder of which 
is ferruginous; tail coverts green, and curled as in the Mallard; the 


* No doubt but this is the sort called by Pococke, Bauk; which he says, when sent 
England, are called Baw Geese.— Pocock. Trav. i. p. 210. 


272 DUCK. 


tail itself ferruginous ; legs pale ferruginous, spotted with black, 
round marks, about the size of peas; the feet spotted in the same 
manner: said to inhabit Surinam; from the drawings of Mad. Merian. 
I suspect the above to be a mere Variety of the Muscovy Species, 
as I have observed, even in this kingdom, some birds with a few 
caruncles about the neck. Among some drawings done in India 
I remarked one with the carunculated parts occupying more than the 
usual space ; and in another, with the plumage wholly white, were 
numerous red caruncles of various sizes, quite to the nape, and 
clustered down the middle of the crown ; besides which, a series of 
the same red excrescences continued down behind the neck, to near 
the back, eight in number. 


43.—ABHA DUCK. 


Duck killed at Abha, Salt’s Voyage to Abyssinia, p. xliv. 


The size not mentioned. The upper mandible light grey, edged 
with red; top of the head brownish grey ; irides yellow; round the 
eye and upper parts of the neck rusty iron-colour ; the body speckled 
somewhat like that of a Guinea Fowl, whiter on the lower parts, 
inclining to yellow on the back ; scapulars dark umber brown: in the 
wings twelve long black feathers, twelve glossy blue, and four hinder 
ones of yellowish brown; tertials seventeen, white, with a black 
stripe across them; ramp and upper parts of the body black, the 
under yellowish; legs bright red. 

Inhabits Abyssinia. The above specitnen killed at Abha. 


44.—SOLITARY DUCK. 


Anas Monacha, Ind. Orn. ii. 847. Gm. Lin.i. 516. Scop.i. No. 86. 
Solitary Duck, Gen. Lin. Sup. ii. 350. 


THIS is larger than the Mallard. Bill yellowish, with a 
black tip; lore grey; plumage varied black and white; head, and 


DUCK. 273 


beginning of the breast, spotted with black ; prime quills white, 
tips variegated with brown ; speculum violet green; tail pointed, 
the feathers white, marked with a brown spot at the tip. 


45.-LOBATED DUCK. 


Lobated Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 349. Nat. Misc. pl. 255. 


LENGTH. two feet six inches. Bill to the forehead one inch and 
three quarters, to the gape two and a half; nostrils placed about 
the middle, near the upper ridge; general colour of the plumage 
dusky black, crossed with numerous, transverse, pale, or whitish 
lines, intermixed with minute irregular markings, and spots of the 
same; the chin, fore part of the neck, and belly, white, marked, and 
irregularly spotted with dusky black; wings short, at the bend a 
knob; quills and tail dusky black, the last somewhat pointed in 
shape: but the great singularity of this bird consists in a large flap, 
extending the whole length of the under mandible beneath ; it is 
one inch and a half deep, irregularly rounded, and hangs in folds; 
_the legs are lead-colour. 

Tn the female the head, back of the neck, the back, wings, and 
tail, are black ; sides of the head and all beneath pale grey brown, 
crossed with numerous dusky broken striz, mixed on the breast with 
a few ferruginous ones; the whole of the back and wing coverts are 
also crossed with numerous, fine, undulated white lines; quills and 
and tail as in the male; legs black. 

Inhabits New-Holland. The legs in both sexes are short, and 
placed very far behind, so as to oblige the bird to stand nearly 
upright, in the manner of a Pinguin. In this state it measures from 
the top of the head to the ground about thirty inches. In the 
Museum of the Linnzan Society are two specimens, one of them 
has the flap beneath the under mandible very short, which may 


probably be a young male, as the female is said to be destitute of 
VOL. X. Nw 


274 DUCK. 


any; yet I have been infermed by a person from New-Holland, that 
both sexes, when adult, have the flap; but in the female it is much 
smaller. 


46.—ROYAL DUCK. 


Anas regia, Ind. Orn, il. 847. 
Canard royal, Molin. Chil. p. 206. Id. Fr. Ed. 212. 


THIS is a trifle larger than a Mallard, with a compressed 
caruncle on the forehead, forming a sort of crest or comb; plumage 
on the upper part of the body fine blue, the under grey ; about 
the neck a beautiful white collar.—Inhabits Chili. 


7.—GEORGIAN DUCK. 


Anas Georgica, Ind. Orn. ii. 847. Gm. Lin. i. 516, 
Georgia Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 478. 


LENGTH twenty inches. Bill two, yellow, and turns up a 
little at the end, edges and tip dusky black ; irides reddish brown ; 
head and neck pale reddish ash-colour, marked with dusky spots ; 
scapulars the same, but darker; wing coverts pale ash ; speculum 
of the wings pale verdigris green, edged with dusky, bounded above 
and beneath with a bar of white ; sides pale cinereous, marked with 
spots of a deeper colour ; quills and tail dusky ; legs greenish ash. 

Found in South Georgia the middle of January, and proved a 
male bird; the flesh said to be good eating.—Sir Jos. Banks. 

Another, supposed to be allied, was met with at the Cape of 
Good Hope; the general,colour dusky ash, mottled on the breast 
with white. 


DUCK. Q75 


48.—BLACK DUCK. 


Anas perspicillata, Ind. Orn. ii. 847. Lin. i. 201. Gm. Lin, i. 524. Ph. Tr. \xii- 
417. Fn. Amer, p.16. Am. Orn. viii. p. 49. pl. 67. f.1. Frankl. Narr. App. 
p: 698. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. 853. 

Anas nigra freti Hudsonis, Bris. vi. 425. Id. 8vo. i. 472. 

—— nigra maxima, Great Black Duck, Bartr. Trav. p. 292. 

Die Brillenente, Bechst. Deuts. . 574. 

Macreuse a large Bec, Marchand, Buf. ix. 244. pl. enl. 995. 

Black Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 479. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 483. Edw. pl. 155. Cook’s 
last Voy. i. 378. 


SIZE of the Velvet Duck ; length twenty-one inches; weight 
two pounds or more. The bill compressed on the sides ;_ the base of 
the upper mandible rises into a yellowish knob, with a black spot 
on each side of it, the rest of the bill orange; nail red, the sides of it, 
all round, black ; plumage in general dull black, except a large 
patch of white on the crown of the head, and another of the same, 
but larger, at the back part of the neck ; legs red ; webs dusky. 
There is a singular, hard, expansion at the commencement of the 
windpipe, and another much larger, about three-quarters of an inch, 
near where it separates into the two lobes of the lungs; this last is 
larger than a Spanish hazel nut, flat on one side, and convex on the 
other.** The female is smaller, of a sooty colour, and has no white 
spot at the hind part of the head; but the cheeks are marked with 
two dull white spots;+ the prominence of the bill scarcely observable. 

This is an American Species; breeds along the shores at 
Hudson’s Bay, and feeds on grass; it also makes the nest with the 
same, lined with feathers, and lays from four to six white eggs; 
hatches them in July; called by the natives Misse qua guta vow : 
in winter procéeds as far as South Carolina : is frequently seen at 
New York, where it is by some called the Coot ; this bird has also 
been met with in Prince William’s Sound ;t is a very shy species, 
and but little sought after, as the flesh tastes very fishy, and 


unpleasant. 


* Amer. Orn. + Arct. Zool. + Cook's last Voy. ii. 378. 
Nw 2 


276 DUCK. 


A.—Bill pale lead-colour, near the end of the upper mandible 
a patch of white; head and neek waved with dusky white and 
brown; hindhead rather full of feathers, and brown; hind part of 
the neck and back the same; the feathers of the last margined with 
pale brown ; from the breast to the thighs dusky white,- the margins 
pale ferruginous; thighs and vent like the neck; wing coverts 
cinereous brown, below them a dusky bar, followed by another of 
very pale blue; quills dusky; tail reddish brown, the two middle 
feathers dark ash-colour ; legs pale blue. 

A drawing of this, from Mr. Abbot, of Georgia, had the name 
of the female of the Black Duck. It has hitherto been supposed, 
that this bird was found in America only ; but it is also known in 
the north of Europe, being seen in the winter, on the coasts of the 
Baltic, migrating in different seasons. 


49.—SCOTER DUCK. 


Anas nigra, Ind. Orn. ii. 848. Lin. i. 196. Faun. suec. No. 110. Gm. Lin. i. 508. 
Muller, No. 110. Bris. vi. 420. t. 38. f.2.—male. Jd. 8vo. 11. 471. Am. Orn. 
vill. 135. pl. 92.2. Tem. Man. 554. Id. Ed. 2d. 857. 

Anas niger minor, Razz, 141. A.5. Will. 280. t. 74. 

Die Trauerente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 572. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 963. Naturf. xii. 133. 72. 

Zwarte zee-end, Sepp, Vog. iv. t. p. 335.—male. 

La Macreuse, Buf. ix. 234. pl. 16. Pl. enl. 978. 

Whilk, Phil. Trans. xv. No. 175. p. 1160. 

Scoter, Black Diver, Gen. Syn. vi. 480. Br. Zool. ii. No. 273. Id. fol. 153. Id. 
1812. ii. 248. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 484. Id. Sup. p. 76. Will. Engl. 366. 
pl. 74. Ray’s Letters, p. 160, 161. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 324. Lewin, vii. pl. 249. 
Walcot,i. pl.59. Orn. Dict. § Supp. Graves, vol. is 


THIS is somewhat less than the Velvet Duck; length twenty- 
two inches; weight forty ounces. The bill is yellow above, edged 
with black; beneath wholly black, with a knob at the base, as in 
the Velvet Duck, which is red, and divided down the middle by a 
yellow line; eyelids yellow; eyes black; plumage wholly black ; 


DUCK. py Ws 


head and neck glossy ; under parts dull; legs brown. The female 
weighs twenty-three ounces. Bill black, without any knob; but 
otherwise shaped as in the male; eyes brown; plumage on the body 
above dark dusky brown; sides of the head, under the eyes, and 
half the neck, almost to the back, brownish white ;* lower part of 
the neck and breast like the back, but paler; belly dusky white, 
marked with dusky spots; greater wing coverts and second quills 
tipped with dusky white, forming two whitish bars on the wings, 
and when closed, reach to the beginning of the tail, which is dusky, 
and consists of sixteen feathers; vent the same colour; legs greenish 
brown, webs darkest. The tongue of this bird is of a singular 
structure—from the base to one-fourth of the length it appears 
glandular, with stiff bristles on the sides, the rest of the length 
fleshy; the end angular, with three distinct endings, each smaller, 
and thinner than the other, appearing attached to each other, the 
tip very small. 

This bird is seen on various coasts of England in the winter, but 
most common on those of France, where they are in prodigious 
numbers, from November to March, especially if the wind be in the 
north or north-west. The chief food is said to be shell fish, but 
they will readily feed on corn;+ they are perpetually diving, often 
to the depth of some fathoms; this affords an usual method of 
catching them, by placing nets under water, in such places as the 
shells are most numerous, and by this means 30 or 40 dozen have 
been taken in one tide.t It swallows the food whole, and soon 
digests the shells, which are found quite crumbled to powder among 
the excrements. Has been kept tame forsome time on soaked bread. 


* This seems to be the case with a female sent to Mr. Willughby, which he says, has the 
neck and head, and both sides, as far as the eyes, white-—Will. Orn. 367. 

+ Mr. Youel kept one alive for several months fed with barley.—LZin. Tran, xiii p. 616. 

{Are amazing divers, so as to make the shooting them, whilst swimming, very difficult, 
as they drop under the water the instant they see the flash of the gun, so that twenty shots 
have been fired before one took effect. 


278 DUCK. 


The flesh has an exceedingly rank and fishy taste, and therefore 
allowed by the Roman Catholics to be eaten on fast days, and in 
Lent, and to say the truth, must be a suflicient mortification. 

This is a common species in all the northern parts of the Continent, 
Lapland, Sweden, Norway, and Russia; and very plentiful on the 
~ great Jakes and rivers of the north and east of Siberia, as well as on 
the sea shores. 

Inhabits also Nerth America; not uncommon at New York, and 
in all probability much more to the north on that continent, and that 
of Asia. Osbeck met with them in 30 and 34 degrees south latitude, 
betweeu the Island of Java and St. Paul in the month of June +. 

Authors agree in saying, that there is no enlargement of the 
trachea in either sex, but although it is in some measure true, if 
compared with that of the Velvet Duck, yet this organ deviates not 
a little from the simple structure. In the male it appears somewhat 
enlarged about the middle, growing smaller at the bottom ; attached 
to this are the two divisions of the bronchiz, each larger than the 
end of the tube they spring from, and consist of about eleven or 
twelve rings, which are very firm, and nearly osseous externally, 
but on the inside more tender and cartilaginous, contracting much 
in drying; beyond these the remaining part of the bronchiz is very 
small, and so passes on to the lungs on each side. 


50.—CINEREOUS DUCK. 


Anas cineraseens; Fem. Man. 535. Id. Ed. 2d. 858. 
—— cinerea, S. G. Gmel. reise, 1. 184. t. 18. 


LENGTH sixteen or seventeen inches. Bill long, strong, broad, 
black, with a nail at the end; nostrils and. under mandible flesh- 
colour ; irides brown; the eye, crown, hindhead, nape, and breast, 
deep brown ; space under the eyes, sides, and fore part of the neck, 


* Arct. Zool, + Voy. i. 120. 


DUCK. 279 


white; the rest of the plumage dusky brown. The female is 
smaller, more inclined to ash-colour ; the ends of the feathers paler ; 
the white on the neck less pure ; the breast and belly crossed with 
greyish and brown stripes. 

Inhabits the north-east parts of Europe, migrating into Germany, 
where two only have been met with ; it most resembles the female 
of the Scoter, but whether it is a distinct species seems uncertain. 


51.—VELVET DUCK. 


Anas fusea, Ind. Orn. 11. 848. Lin.i. 196. Fn. suec. No. 109. Gm. Lin. 1. 507. 
Scop. i. No. 68. Brun. No. 48,49. Muller, No. 109. Frisch, t. 165. Georgi, 
p. 166. Jacq. Voy. p. 30.15. t.6. NM. Act. Stockh. 1785, iii. No. 6. p. 188. 
Borowsk. iii. p. 17. 12. Nat. xxv.s.10. Besch. d. Berl. Nat. iii. 374. t. 8. f. 1.— 
the trachea. Amer. Orn. vil. 137. pl. 72. f. 3. Tem. Man. 552. Id. Ed. 2d. 855. 

Anas nigra major, Bris. vi. 423, Id. 8vo. 11. 472. Rati, 141. A. 4. Will, 278. t. 70. 
Klein, 133. 12. Act. Nidr.i. t. 5. 

Turpan, WV. C. Petr. iv. 420. Bufiix. 291. Bell, Trav. p. 42. 

Die Sammetente, Bechst. Deuts. 1. 568. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 954. Nat. xii. 132. 71. 

Bruine Zee-Eend, Sepp, Vog.iv. t. p. 331. 

Grande, ou double Macreuse, Buf. ix. 242. Pl. enl. 956—male. 

Great Black Duck, Will. Engl. 363. pl. 70. 

Velvet Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 482. Id. Sup. 274. Id. Sup. ii. 350. Br. Zool. ii. No. 
272. pl. 96. Id. fol. 152. Add. Jd. 1812. ii. 247. pl. 41.  Arct. Zool. ii. No. 482. 
Id. Sup. p. 75. Hist. Kamts. p. 160. Ell. Narr. ii. p. 43. Bew. ii. pl. in p. 322. 
Lin. Tr. iv. 119. pl. xv. f. 3—7.—the trachea, Lew. vii. pl. 247. Wale. i. pl. 58. 
Pult. Dors. p. 20. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


THIS is a trifle larger than the Mallard ; length twenty-two 
inches, to the toes twenty-four, breadth three feet. Bill broad and 
flat, rising into a flattish black knob, just before the nostrils, 
almost circular ; the sides lemon-colour, nail dull pink ; edges of 
the bill black ; between the bill and nail a whitish space; lower 
mandible straight, dull pink at the end, but black towards the 
throat ; irides greenish yellow ; plumage in general black, imclined 
to brown on the belly and vent; under each eyelid a white mark, 
passing ina streak behind the eye, and across the middle of the 


280 DUCK. 


wing a white band; legs red; claws black. One, supposed to be a 
young bird, had the tips of the greater wing coverts white, the 
secondaries white above, and below ; next series, under the wing, 
white, with the shafts, and a small part of the webs, dusky ; back 
and scapulars edged with light brown ; the webs and claws black. 
The female is brown where the male is black, and the protuberance 
at the base of the bill wanting. 

This species is now and then seen on the coasts of England in 
the winter ; more frequently in Denmark and Russia ; in some parts 
of Siberia very common, and known also at Kamtschatka ; but 
probably neither this nor the last are found in Greenland, as the 
names do not occur in the Fauna. In breeding time goes far 
inland to lay the eggs, which are eight or ten in number, and white. 
After the breeding season the males are said to depart, the females 
staying behind, till the young are able to fly, when the two last go 
likewise away, though to what part is not certain. It appears to be the 
bird called at Kamtschatka, Turpan; though this is in greater plenty 
at Ochotska, especially about the Equinox, when fifty or more of the 
natives, in boats, surround the whole flock, driving them in the flood, 
up that river; as soon as it ebbs, the whole company fall upon 
them at once with clubs, and often kill so many, that each man has 
twenty or thirty for his share. 

TInhabits also North America in the summer, and breeds about 
Hudson’s Bay ; the nest composed of grass, the eggs from four 
to six; hatches in July; feeds on grass; called there Cuscusi qua 
tum. It retires south in winter, at which season is frequently seen 
as far as New York ; has been met with also at Aoonalashka;: re- 
turns to Sweden the latest of any, and stays the longest ; even the 
eggs have been found fresh laid the beginning of July, they are 
generally deposited under the juniper bushes, with a covering of 
elastic feathers ; they live entirely on shells. 

The windpipe of this bird is of a curious construction ; just below 
the larynx is a bony cavity, of almost one inch long ; from this the 


DUCK. 281 


trachea descends for nearly two-thirds of its length, when its swells 
out into a strong bony hollow, about the size of a small walnut, flat 
on one side; at the bottom, where the trachea divides, the parts 
again become bony, but not so much enlarged ; at the under parts 
of this the two bronchiz take rise. Some diversity is found to take 
place in birds of various sizes, but not enough to cause any mistake 
in regard to the Species.* 


A.—One, which appeared to me as a Variety, was sixteen inches 
long, breadth twenty-seven; weight twenty-one ounces; irides dirty 
white; forehead dark brown; crown black ; under each eye a 
large white spot; neck rusty brown; scapulars and upper tail 
coverts black ; breast shaded with black ; belly white ; in young 
birds black. Not uncommon at Hudson’s Bay. 


52.--HARLEQUIN DUCK. 
THE MALE. 


Anas histrionica, Ind. Orn. 11. 849. Lin. i. 204. Gm. Lin. i. 534. Brun. No. 84, 
85. Muller, No.127. Fn. groenl. No. 46. Georgi, 166. Phil. Trans. |xii. 417. 
Frisch, t. 157. Fn. Amer. p. 16. Am. Orn. vil. 139. pl. 72. f. 4. Shaw’s Zool. 
No. 1005. Tem. Man. 573. Id. Ed. 2d. 879. 

Anas torquata ex Insula Terre nove, Gerin. v. t.580. 


principalis maculata, Bartr. Trav. 293.+ 

— torquata, Bris. vi. 362. Id. 8vo. 1. 457. 

— Brimond, Olaff. Isl. ii. t. 34. 

Die Kragenente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 672. Id. Ed. 2d, iv. 1037. 
Le Canard a Collier, Buf. ix. 250, Pl. enl. 798. 

Stone Duck, Hist. Kamts. p. 160. 

Painted Duck, Ell. Narr. i. p. 43. 


* Possibly this may be the bird which Ray calls the Sheldin, of which he says, ‘* If you 
“ steep one of the windpipes of these awhile in warm water, to make it lax, you may observe 
“‘ the pretty motion to be found in the middle protuberance, and pick out a little philosophy 
“ from it.’—Ray’s Letters, p. 21. 
+ The Various-coloured Duck, his neck and breast as though ornamented with chains 
of beads. 
VOL, X. Oo 


282 DUCK. 


Dusky and Spotted Duck, Edw. pl. 99. 
Harlequin Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 485. | Arcé. Zool.ii. No. 490. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. p. 
269. Gent. Mag. xliv. pl.iv. p.464. Orn. Dict. 


SIZE of a Wigeon ; length seventeen inches, breadth twenty- 
six ; weight eighteen ounces. Bill near one inch and a half long, 
and black ; irides hazel ; between the bill and eye white, in some 
yellowish, or saffron-colour, extending a little over the eyes, and 
beyond them; crown of the head black, bounded by a reddish 
streak ; on each side of the neck a perpendicular line of white; and 
above it a white spot; excepting this, the whole of the neck is black ; 
round the breast a white collar, broadest behind, where it is marked 
with black dots, and is bounded by a black one; between this and 
the wings a transverse mark of white; the breast, below the collar, 
bluish ash; back dusky brown, inclined to purple; rump deep blue 
black ; belly and thighs black; sides dull orange; tail pointed at 
the end; on each side of it a spot of white; prime quills dusky ash, 
some of them tipped with white; tail brown; legs bluish black. 

In one specimen were two streaks of black on the nail at the end 
of the bill, diverging like the letter V, the angle towards the tip.* 


THE FEMALE. 


Anas minuta, Lin. i. 204. Gm. Lin. 1. 534. Brun. No. 86. Fn. groenl. No. 46. 
Querquedula freti Hudsonis, Bris. vi. 469. Id. 8vo. ii. 483. 

Die Zwergente, Bechst. Deuts. 11. 673. 

La Sarcelle brune et blanche, Buf. ix. 287. Pl. enl. 799. 

Little brown and white Duck, Edw. pl. 157, Cat. Car. i. pl. 98. 

Harlequin Duck, female, Gen. Syn. vi. 485. 


LENGTH thirteen inches. Bill black ; irides hazel; the fore- 
head and between the bill and eye white; on the eara spot of the 
same; head, neck, and back, brown, palest on the fore part of the 
neck ; upper part of the breast and rump rufous brown; lower part 
of the breast and belly barred with rufous and white, but the lower 
belly and thighs with rufous and brown; scapulars and wing coverts 


* Brunnich, No. 8d. 


DUCK. 283 


rufous brown; the outer greater ones blackish ; quills and tail dusky, 
the last inclined to rufous; legs dusky. 

The Harlequin Duck is found both on the Old and New Continent; 
on the former seen as far south as the Lake Baikal, and from thence 
to Kamtschatka, particularly up the River Ochotska ; in Iceland, 
as low as Sondmor;* also in Greenland: in the last frequents, 
during the summer, the mouths of bays and rivers, but not in great 
plenty, and is a very noisy species. The note sometimes whistling, 
at others not unlike that of the Brent; is fond of shady places, and 
makes the nest among the shrubs; frequents the neighbouring seas 
in winter; swims well, even in the most rapid streams, and dives to 
admiration ;+ from these circumstances is not easily taken. Its food 
small shells, eggs of fishes, and particularly the larvee of gnats. + 

Inhabits America, from Carolina to Newfoundland ;§ pretty 
frequent in small rivulets of Hudson’s Bay, about 90 miles inland ; 
seldom in large rivers; Jays ten or more white eggs, like those of the 
Pigeon, on the grass: the young are spotted in a very pretty manner ; 
migrates south in autumn. It is called in New England, the Lord. 
The name in the Algonquin language, Powistic ou Sheep;||_ has also 
been met with at Aoonalashka.¢] 

This species has certainly been recognized in this kingdom, as 
the Little Brown and White Duck, of Edwards, was in my own 
collection, killed in Kent; and I was assured by Mr. Sowerby, 
that both sexes, in complete dress, were killed on the domain of 
Lord Seaforth, in Scotland ; and where, it is not improbable, others 
may be met with; especially on the northern coasts. 


* Arct. Zool. + The people of Kamtschatka take advantage of this, as they 
~ do not fly off at the sight of mankind, they follow them closely on the water; and when 
tired, without difficulty knock them down with clubs.— Hist. Kamts. 
+ Fn. groenl. § Arct. Zool. || Mr. Hutchins, 
GQ Ellis’s Narr. ii. 43, called the Painted Duck. 


O02 


284 DUCK. 


A.«—Anas torquata, Gm. Lin.1. 514. Ind. Orn. ii. 849. S$. G. Gmel. reise, ii. 180. t. 14, 


This appears to be a mere Variety of the male, and differs only 
in having the rump white. 

Found on the Shores of the Caspian Sea. 

From the various changes that many of the Duck Genus undergo 
before they attain complete plumage, we may infer, that it is the 
same with this species. I have described the above reputed female 
on the authority of writers, but have some doubts of the circum- 
stance, and that it may prove rather an imperfect male. In the first 
place, the white space before the eye, and patch of the same behind 
on the ear, are precisely in the same place as in the adult male; but 
what seems most to oppose this sentiment, if the figure in the Pl. enl. 
be correct, is, that the feathers of the tail are not poimted, but 
rounded ; nor does the tail itself end a point,* as we are taught to 
believe it really does in both sexes. The bill too, is different in 
shape and size in the Pl. enlum. more like that of the Scaup. 

The description of the female in Brunnich and the Fn. groent. 
runs thus—general colour of the plumage a mouse-coloured brown ; 
the belly paler, spotted with white; forehead, chin, region of the 
eyes, and ears, whitish; wing coverts, quills, and tail, like the back ; 
under wing coverts like the belly; tail acuminated. We mention 
the above authors, not knowing any others who have been more 
conversant with the species in question. 


53.—BROWN DUCK. 
Anas fuscescens, Ind. Orn. ii. 849. Gm. Lin. i. 534. 
Brown Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 486. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 499. 

THIS has a large, bluish bill ; head and neck very pale brown; 
lower part of the last and breast the same, the feathers edged with 
rust-colour ; wings cinereous grey; speculum blue, tipped with 
white; tail and legs dusky.—Inhabits Newfoundland. 


* It seems rather to correspond with the female of the Scaup. 


DUCK. 285 


54.—SPOTTED-BILLED DUCK. 


Anas poecilorhyncha, Ind. Orn. ii. 850. Gm. Lin. i. 535. Zool. Indic. 23. t. 13. 
Spotted-billed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 487. Ind. Zool. 4to. 52. pl. 14. 


I FIND in the drawings of Sir J. Anstruther most excellent 
representations of both sexes of this bird. In the male the bill is 
black, with the end for about one-fourth yellow; at the base, on the 
forehead on each side, a rufous bare spot; irides red; through the 
eyes a dusky streak ; head and neck pale dusky grey ; top of the 
head darker, mottled with brown; back and wings deep brown, 
the feathers of the first with pale margins; lower part of the back, 
rump, upper and under tail coverts, black; wing coverts dusky ash ; 
bend of the wing white; on the wing a green speculum, bounded 
above and below with black; besides which is a bar of white above, 
from the ends of the larger coverts; the lower outside scapulars 
white, making a streak along the wing; quills and tail dusky 
brown, all but the two middle feathers of the latter paler on 
the margins, and rather pointed in shape; beneath the breast is 
pale rafous white, more or less spotted with brown; belly white, 
marked with large crescents of black; thighs brown, fringed with 
white ; Jegs rufous brown, with some spots of dusky. 

The general colour of the head, neck, and body in the female 
are cinereous brown, paler about the two first; most of the feathers 
fringed with white; the speculum green as in the other, but only 
bounded below with dusky, without any white bar above asin the 
male, or white on the bend of the wing; but the longitudinal streak 
on the outer scapulars is dusky white; legs deep red. 

Inhabits the Island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, where it is 
very common; likewise found on the Coast of Coromandel, and 
there called Madun. In Lord Mountnorris’s drawings is the male, 
from Oude, where it is named Gorumpoar, or Gerumpa. 


286 DUCK. 


5).—DAMIETTA DUCK. 
Anas Damiatica, Ind. Orn. ii. 850. Gm. Lin. i. 535. Hasselq. It. 264, Id. Voy. 201. 
Black-headed Duck, Shaw’s Trav. 254? 
Damietta Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 417. 41. 


A TRIFLE bigger than the Mallard. Head, half the neck, 
shoulders, and tip of the tail, black; the rest of the neck before, 
breast, back, sides, and tail white; at the lower part of the neck, 
next the back, a ferruginous crescent; end of the wing the same 
colour near the back ; quills greenish black ; hind claw very obtuse. 

Inhabits the Shores of Egypt; most frequent on those near the 
Mediterranean ; chiefly in the Bay of Damietta, and between Alex- 
andria and Rosetta, where they are taken in nets. It is probably 
too an inhabitant of Barbary, as it is not greatly unlike the one 
described by Dr. Shaw, if not the same bird. 


56.—MALLARD DUCK. 


Anas Boschas, Ind. Orn. ii. 850. Lin. i. 205. Fn. suec. No. 131. Gm. Lin.i. 538. 
Phil. Trans. \xii. 419. Scop.i. No. 77. Brun. No. 87. Mull. No. 128. Kram. 
341. 11. Frisch, t. 158, 159. Georgi, p. 166. Fn. groenl. No. 47. Fn. Arab. 
p. 3.9. Fn. Arag. No. 76. Borowsk. iii. p. 18. Fn. Helv. Cet. Uc. Sard. 321. 
Sepp, iii. ts 111.112. Blasti Anat. pl. 41? Phil. Trans. xvii. 711. pl. 15. Am. 
Orn. vii. 112. pl. 70. £.7. Tem. Man. 537. Id. Ed. 2d. 836. 

Anas fera, Gerin. v. t.570. Bartr. Trav, p. 292. Bris. vi. 318. Id. 8vo. ii. 447, 

Boschas major, Ratz, 145, A.1. Will. p. 284. pl. 72. 

Anitra, Zinnan. Uov. 105. t. 18. f. 93. Jd. 106. t. 19. f. 94. 

Die gemeine Ente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 681, 682. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 1046. Id. Must. 123. 
Naturf. xii. 132? Id. 137. 

Wilde Ente, Gunth. Nest. u. Ey. t. 87. Schmid, p. 152. t. 131. 

Canard Sauvage, Buf. ix. 115. pl. 7, 8. Pl. enl. 776. 777. Ferm. Surin. ii. 156. 

Wild Duck, Mallard, Gen. Syn. vi. 489. Id. Sup. ii. 351. Br. Zool. 11. 279. pl. 97. 
Id. fol. 175. Td. 1812. ii. 258. pl. 43. Will. Engl. 308. pl. 72. Albin, ui. pl. 
10. Jd.i. pl. 99. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 494,  Bewick, ii. pl. p. 327. Lin. Tr. iv. 
112, pl. 13. f. 10.—thetrachea. Emb. to China, ii. p. 400. Lewin, vii. pl. 246. 
Id. pl. L. f.2.—theegs. Donov. v. pl. 124. Walcot, i. pl. 77.  Pult. Dors. 
p- 21. Orn. Dict. Graves, Vol. 1. 


THIS species is nearly two feet in length, and weighs from two 
and a half to three pounds. The bill is greenish yellow; head and 


DUCK. 287 


neck glossy, changeable green; at the lower part of the neck a 
collar of white, passing almost round it; scapulars white, barred, 
or rather undulated, with minute lines of brown; back brown; 
rump black, glossed with green; on the wing coyerts a transverse 
white streak, edged with a second of black; and below this the 
speculum, or large violet-green, lucid spot; the lower part of the 
neck and breast chestnut; belly pale grey, crossed with numerous, 
transverse dusky lines; the tail consists of twenty feathers, and is 
pointed in shape; the two middle greenish black, and curve upwards 
in a remarkable manner; and others as usual, of a grey brown, 
margined with white; legs orange. 

The female is very plain. The bill smaller and shorter than m 
the male; the ground colour of the plumage pale reddish brown, 
spotted with black ; the violet-green speculum on the wings as in 
the male, but none of the tail feathers are curved. 

Wild Ducks frequent the marshy places in many parts of this 
kingdom, but no where more numerous than in Lincolnshire, where 
prodigious quantities are annually taken in our decoys.* They pair 
in spring, and lay from ten to sixteen bluish white eggs; the nest is 
formed by collecting a little grass, or other vegetable near at hand, 
and the lining of some down plucked from the breast, with which 
also when the female leaves the nest, she generally covers the eggs. 
In respect to England, although many breed here, it is probably 
but a small proportion of the prodigious numbers seen in the winter, 
which must have emigrated from other parts. It is a very artful 
bird, not always making the nest close to the water, but frequently 
at some distance from it; in which case the Duck will take the young 
in its beak, or between the legs, to the water, into which they will 
enter as soon as hatched ;_ has been known to lay the eggs in a high 
tree, in a deserted Magpie’s or Crow’s nest ; and one has been found 
sitting on nine eggs, on an oak, twenty-five feet from the ground, 


* For the nature of these decoys see below, but for a more particular account consult 
Willughby’s Ornith. p. 372, 373.; also Br. Zool. Art. Mallard. 


288 DUCK. 


at Etchingham, in Sussex; the eggs were supported by some small 
twigs laid crosswise; in addition to which, Col. Montagu mentions 
one which made a nest in Rumford Tower, hatched her young, and 
brought them down in safety to a piece of water at a considerable 
distance. In France rarely seen except in winter; appearing in 
October, and going north in spring; they are caught in various 
manners, but in the greatest numbers by means of a decoy, as in 
England, of which the following may give an idea. It is generally 
formed where there is a large pond surrounded with wood, and 
beyond that a marshy and uninhabited country; producing a quiet 
haunt. There are several pipes or avenues covered at top with 
netting, which lead up a narrow ditch that closes at last in a fannel 
net ;* and to facilitate the entry of the Wild Ducks several tame 
ones, called Decoy Ducks, are used to invite the others, by which 
means multitudes are annually inticed into the various decoys, and 
are taken, and sold in the London markets. Whe full account of 
such modes of capture may be seen in Willughby’s Ornithology, 
p- 372, and the Br. Zoology. The allowed season for catching 
fowl in decoys, is from the end of October till February; not being 
lawful from the Ist of June, to the Ist of October, under penalty 
of five shillings for each bird destroyed within that space.t The 
chief place in France for catching in decoys, is Picardy, where 
prodigious numbers are taken, particularly on the River Soame. In 
Eneland the places are various; but chiefly in Lincolnshire, Somer- 
setshire, &e. It is from the former that London is _ principally 
supplied; and according to the Br. Zoology, in one season, from ten 
‘decoys, in the neighbourhood of Wainfleet, no less than 31,200 were 
produced, but in these were included several other species, and in 
particular Wigeon and Teal are reckoned as one: this quantity 
makes them so cheap on the spot, that the decoy men would be glad 
to contract for years at ten-pence the couple. Another mode was 


* To set up trade it should seem to require no small capital, for in one decoy in Picardy, 
nets are used to the amount of 3000 livres.—Hist. des Ois. + Act. 10. Geo. IF. ch. 32. 


DUCK. 289 


by what is is termed driving,* practised on the young Ducks before 
they took wing ; at other times when the old birds were in moult; in 
this case a number of persons assembled, who beat a vast tract, and 
forced the birds into nets properly placed ; when in this state they 
are unable to take wing, and driven by men in boats, who by splashing 
the water frighten the birds into the places intended; and by such 
means 150 dozen have been taken ; but this practice, being thought 
injurious, has been discontinued; + various other ways are resorted 
to; but the most singular mode is by means of a floating calabash, 
said to be put in practice on the River Ganges, and at Ceylon :+ 
a person wades into the water up tothe chin, having his head 
covered with an empty calabash, by which he is enabled to approach 
the place where the Ducks are, without alarming them, suffering the 
man to mix freely with the flock ; on which he has only to pull them 
by the leg under water one after another till he is satisfied, returning 
as unsuspected by the remainder, as when he first came among them ; 
for this purpose the earthen vessels of the Gentoos, called Kutcharee 
Pots,§ are often used instead of calabashes ; and Sir Geo. Staunton 
affirms, that this, or a similar method, is practised in China to the 
present day;|| and some authors tell us that a hollow wooden vessel 
is used, with holes to see through.4] 


* In the Bibl. Top. Galean. No. ii. part i. p. 359, I find an extract from the Antiqua- 
rian Society of Spalding, concerning the taking of Ducks—* At the Ducking on Thursday 
“Jast, were taken 174 dozen of Mallards or Drakes, moulting ; and on Monday 46 dozen 
‘* and a half, in all 2646 bird.” Also at Crowland in the same county, 3000 are said to 
have been driven into nets by dogs, aided by Decoy Ducks, at one time. 

+ For every Fowl so taken, between the Ist of June and the Ist of October, five shil- 
lings forfeit, and the nets seized and destroyed.—10 Geo. II. c. 32, 

+ MS. in Br. Mus, 3324. 

§ The earthen pots used by the Gentoos for cooking are so called, and after being once 
used, are discarded : a dish for the table, made in them, is called a Kutcharee. 

|| Embassy to China, ii. p. 400. 

4 Symson’s Voyage to the Kast Indies. See Naval Chronicle, ii. 473, with a plate of 
the same. Also Zool. Ind. p.21.; and Indian Zoology, p. 12. Pococke mentions the 
circumstance, but does not credit it.—Trav. i. 210. 

VOL. x, PP 


290 DUCK. 


A.—Anas domestica, Ind. Orn. ii. 851. 8. Lin. i. 206. 8. Bris. vi. 808. Id. 8vo. il. 
431. Brun. No. 88.  Borowsk. iii. 17. Klein, 131. Id. Ov. 34. t. 20. f. 1. 
Raz, 150, 1. Jd. 191. 10. Will. 293. t. 75. Brown, Jam. 480. ‘Sloan. Jam. 
323. 7. Gerin. v. t. 563, 564. 

Die Zahme Ente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 705. 

Tame Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 454. Albin, iii. pl. 99. Bew. ii. pl. 333. 


The above synonyms comprise the authors who have mentioned 
the Mallard and Duck in a domesticated state, the Varieties of which 
are so great, that no regular description can be given; besides, it 
would ‘scarcely be in our power to add to the knowledge of the 
country housewife, as the general manners are so well known; no 
nation makes so great use of Ducks as the Chinese, but they do not 
prefer the wild sort, being in general extremely fond of tame ones. 
It is said, that the greater part of these are hatched by artificial heat; 
the eggs, being laid in boxes of sand, are placed ona brick hearth, 
to which is given a proper heat during the required time for hatching. 
The Ducklings are fed with crawfishes and crabs, boiled and cut 
small, and afterwards mixed with boiled rice; in a fortnight they 
shift for themselves, when the Chinese provide for them a_ step 
mother, who leads them where they may find provender ; being first 
put on board a sampane, or boat, which is destined for their habita- 
tion, and from which the whole flock, often to the amount of three 
or four hundred, go out to feed, and return at command.* This 
method is used nine months out of twelve, (for in the colder it does 
not succeed) and is so far from a novelty, that it may every where 
be seen, more especially about the time of cutting the rice, and 
gleaning the crop ; when the masters of the Duck sampanes row up 
and down the river, according to the opportunity of procuring food, 
which is found in plenty, at the tide of ebb, on the rice plantations, 
as they are overflowed at high water. It is curious to see how the 
Ducks obey their master; ‘for some thousands, belonging to different 
boats, will feed at large on the same spot, and on a signal given 


* This I have heard several affirm. It is likewise mentioned by many authors, among 
which see Osb. Voy. i. 194. Toreen Voy. ii. 255. 


DUCK. 291 


follow their leader to their respective sampanes, without a stranger 
being found among them. ‘This is still more extraordinary, if we 
consider the number of inhabited sampanes* on the River Tigris, 
supposed to be no less than 40,000, which are moored in rows close 
to each other with a narrow passage for boats to pass up and down 
the river. .The Tigris, at Canton, is somewhat wider than the 
Thames, at London, and the whole river is there covered in this 
manner for at Jeast a mile. 

In India, about Cochin, the bird is called Tarava,+ and when 
first caught is almost unfit for food, living chiefly on pilchards; 
therefore on board a ship, the Ducks are kept for a long time on 
different food before they are killed. | An immense trade is carried 
on with them in the maritime towns of India, giving employment 
in particular to the Christians, Mahometans, and black Jews.— 
Osbeck mentions two sorts of Ducks, one called Hina-a; the other, 
Kongo-a. He had not seen the latter, but says, that certain Wild 
Ducks were in such plenty as to greatly disturb the fishermen,. by 
taking the fish out of their nets.t 

The windpipe of the male bird differs from that of the female, 
by having a globular or Jabyrinthic cavity about three quarters of an 
inch in diameter, just before the entrance into the lungs; indepen- 
dent of this, the windpipe is nearly of the same diameter the whole 
of its length. 


* This is a common name for a boat; those inhabited contain each a separate family, 
of which it is the only dwelling; and very many of the Chinese pass almost the whole of 
their lives on the water. 

+ Bartolom. Voy. to the East Indies, 8vo. Engl. ed. 

+ We were (says he) astonished to see the Chinese, who had put their nets into the water, 
shoot constantly without aim; but found, they were forced to watch their fisheries, and to 
frighten away the Ducks, as they would else empty the nets sooner than the men could ; 
never were such fearless, and numerous flights: of Ducks as here, one flight after another 
came, notwithstanding the noise made on all sides, and endeavoured to settle near the nets; 
but were always hindered in the above manner.—Osb. Voy. ii. p. 33. Whether these were 
the Sampane Ducks, is not said; but he precisely determines them not to be the same 


with ours, 
Pee 


292 DUCK. 


As our metropolis requires the earliest broods of young Ducks 
that can be obtained, several piaces within a moderate distance, 
think it worth while to rear them for that purpose ; and none more 
than Aylesbury in Bucks, and its vicinity; almost the whole of 
which are hatched under Hens,* as being more certain in sitting. 
To procure the eggs early, the first broods of the year are selected, 
and being well fed and kept warm, will begin to lay about October, 
and continue so to do during the winter. The eggs are put under the 
Hens, when after sitting a month, the Ducklings are taken away as 
soon as hatched, and fresh eggs put under the Hen for a second 
brood ; and sometimes even a third set, by a few covetous people. 
The young birds are kept in a warm room, with a fire in it when 
the weather is cold, and fed with grains and barley meal, frequently 
boiled into a mess with graves, and other fattening ingredients, on 
which they soon become fit for the London markets; these are weekly 
collected by higglers, and sent alive to London in wicker baskets; 
seventy dozen, or more, are often collected by one higgler, and con- 
veyed in carts to the poulterers. I find that the chosen breed is pure 
white, with pale bill and legs; those with yellow bills are less 
esteemed. We are informed, that more than 10,000 pounds worth 
are sent annually from Aylesbury, and its neighbourhood. 


B.—Boschas major, Bris. vi. 326. B. Id. 8vo. ii. 448. Ind. Orn. ii. 851. Gen. Syn. 
vi. 495. 43. Var. A. 
Anas fera secunda, Klein, Av. 131. 3. 

This differs from the Common one in being larger, and measuring 
two feet six inches in length, and three feet nine inches in breadth. 
It is like the other in plumage, except the back, which is the colour 
of soot. This is probably the Variety, called by some the Roan, or 
Rouen Duck; which is considered by Colonel Montagu+ only as 
a half domesticated species, obliged to leave the canals or pieces of 
water belonging to private persons when frozen. 


* In abundance in Spain, where they are chiefly hatched under Hens. + Orn. Dict. 


DUCK. 293 


I am informed by Mr. Abbot, that about the beginning of 
November, a great plenty of large Ducks frequent the rice fields in 
the lower part of the country about Savannah, and other parts of 
Georgia, in the rivers, lakes, and ponds; but the numbers depend 
on the greater or less plenty of mast, or acorns, in the swamps, on 
which they feed. These are known there by the name of Roan 
Ducks; and seem to differ from ours in many things, chiefly in size, 
being twenty-six inches long, and thirty-eight broad, with the head 
ash-coloured, mixed with numerous dusky dots as far as the middle 
of the neck; from thence brown, the feathers margined with dull 
ferruginous; wing coverts brown, edged with ash; speculum of the 
wing deep purple, nearly as in the Mallard, but not bounded by 
white; legs reddish. This sort is often seen with other Mallards in 
the swamps; and sometimes in great plenty to the southward, 
without any Mallards; it is said to differ too from the Common one, 
as it wants the two curled feathers of the tail. 


C.—Boschas major grisea, Bris. vi. 326. B. Id. Svo. ii. 448. Ind. Orn. ii. 831. 3. 
Gen. Syn. vi. 495. Var. B. 
Size of the last, but the plumage ash-coloured. Bill and legs 
black. 


D.—Boschas major nevia, Bris. vi. 897. C. Id. 8vo. ii. 449. Ind. Orn. ii. S51. «. 
Gen. Syn. vi. 495. Var. C. 


This is like the Common Mallard, but differs in having the back 
black, spotted with yellow. 


E,—Anas adunca, Ind. Orn. ii. 851. % Lin. i. 206. Gm. Lin.i. 538. 

Anas rostro incurvo, Bris. vi. 311. Id. 8vo.ii. 445. Borowsk. iii. p- 19. Raizi, 150. 
Will. 280. t.'75. Klein, 133. Gerin. v. t. 565-6-7. 

Die krummschnablige Ente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 719. 

Hook-billed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 495. D. Alb. ii. pl. 69.97. Id. iii. pl. 100. Will. 
Engl. 381. pl. 75. Bewick, ii. 338. Graves, Vol. iii. 


This differs not from the other Ducks, being seen in every variety 
of plumage incident to the Domesticated one ; excepting in the bill, 


294. DUCK. 


which is rather longer, and bent downwards. This seems a mere 
Variety of the Common Duck, and breeds as well in a tame state. 
It seems to be kept in England from curiosity ; but we are informed, 
that in some parts of Germany it is full as common, and the breed 
encouraged, to the exclusion of those with straight bills. Bancroft, 
in his History of Guiana,* mentions a Wild Duck Jarger than the 
Tame one, and resembling it, except in the bill, which is black, 
and crooked at the end, the feet and legs being of an ash-colour; 
and adds, that they are found in the rainy seasons, on the banks of 
rivers near the sea. 

Other Varieties might be here mentioned, such as those with 
tufted heads ; and a few having some of the second quills distorted 
and turned upwards, called Four-winged Ducks;+ and not unfre- 
quently one or two in a brood, wanting the webs between the toes, 
whilst others of the same hatching have had them: complete. 


57.—MIXED DUCK. 


AMONG the drawings of Mr. Dent is one, of the size of a Goose, 
with the air and habit of the Mallard. The bill pale blue; head to 
the middle of the neck black, with a purple gloss; then a narrow 
ring of white; below this to the breast fine ferraginous; from thence 
beneath white, mottled with dusky on the sides, vent dark; the 
lower part of the neck behind, back, and wings, deep blackish green, 
with a gloss of bronze on the margins of many of the feathers; second 
quills fringed white at the tips; greater quills black, and tail; but 
no recurved feathers as seen in the Mallard; legs orange. 

In a note at the bottom, the above is said to be a mixed breed 
between the Muscovy and Common Duck. 


* p. 170. + See a Goose of this kind in Gent. Mag. vol. xxv. pl. op. p. 24. 
One is likewise mentioned in the Museum of Royal Cabinet of Sweden, having four legs. 
See Anas degener. Mus. Ad. Fr.i. p. 17: 


PL CELAaevitk 


DUCK. 295 


58.—CURVE-BILLED DUCK. 


Anas curvirostra, Ind. Orn. ii. 852. Gm. Lin.i. 537. Pall. Spic. vi. p. 33. 
Curve-billed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 496. 


SIZE of the Mallard, if not bigger. Bill as in that bird, but 
bent downwards; irides fulvous; general colour of the plumage 
black, but more dull on the quills and under parts; the head, neck, 
and rump, tinged with shining grey ; on the throat an oval spot of 
white; the five first quills white; the others black; the exterior 
secondary quill margined with white on the outer edge, at the end ; 
but the outer margins in general have a gloss of blue black, forming 
a speculum of that colour on the wing; tail as in the Mallard, with 
the two middle feathers recurved as in that bird. 

The above was described from a specimen in the late Museum of 
M. Vroeg, now dispersed, and in the Prince of Orange’s Museum. 
The author supposed it not to be a Variety of the Mallard, with 
a hooked bill, but a distinct species. 


59.—SEMIPALMATED GOOSE.—PL. cLixxvitt. 


Anas semipalmata, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. xix. Lin. Trans. iv. p- 103. vi.—the trachea. 
Semipalmated Goose, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 347. pl. 139. Penn. Outlines, iv. 129. 


THIS is nearly the size of the Wild Goose. Bill brown, the 
cere at the base passing on each side to the eye; irides bluish; head, 
neck, and thighs, brownish black ; round the lower part of the neck 
white, extending to the beginning of the back, and all beneath: 
the rump is also white; the rest of the back and wings deep brown; 
quills and tail darker, approaching te black; legs red; toes webbed 
only for about half way from the base. In some birds the white 


surrounds the neck as a collar, in others extends between the 
shoulders to the back. 


296 DUCK. 


Inhabits New-Holland : found in flocks near Hawksbury River, 
and called New South Wales Goose ; its note said to be tuneful, and 
melodious ; and is sometimes observed to perch on trees, in the 
manner of the Whistling Duck. The native name is Newal Gang. 

The trachea of this species, independent of the length, is singu- 
larly situated ; for, after passing down on the fore part of the neck 
in the usual way, it makes several folds on the outside of the muscles 
of the breast, under the skin, before it enters the cavity; which 
circumstance is shewn on the plate, beneath the representation of 
the bird.—For the figure of the bird we are indebted to our friend 
Mr. Lambert; and for that of the trachea to Mr. Heaviside, in whose 
Museum, among very many professional and other subjects, may 
be seen well preserved specimens of this organ. 


60.—CREAM-COLOURED GOOSE. 


SIZE of a Common Goose. — Bill very stout, deep red, with 
a black tip; plumage in general whitish dun, or cream-colour ; 
across the shoulders two or three rows of transverse dusky blotches, 
and a few of the same on the wing coverts; ends of the quills 
chocolate; tail black; legs moderate in size, and red. 

Inhabits New South Wales. 


61.—RED-BILLED WHISTLING DUCK. 


Anas autumnalis, Ind. Orn. ii. 852. Lin. i. 205. Gm. Lin. i. 537. Jacq. Vog. p. 6. 4. 
fistularis Americana, Bris. vi. 400. t.38. f.1. Id. 8vo.1i. 466. Gerin. v. t. 588. 
Bartr. Trav. 293. 

Anas fera mento cinnabarino, Mars. Dan. 108. t.52. Klein, Av. 105. 

Siffleur a bec rouge, et Narinesjaunes, Buf. ix. 183. Pi. enl. 826. 

Red-billed Whistling Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 498. Id. Sup. 274. Edw. pl. 194. 


SIZE of a Wigeon; length twenty-one inches. Bill two inches 
long, red, nail black ; in young birds wholly black ; irides hazel; 


DUCK. 297 


crown of the head chestnut; nape streaked with the same; sides of 
the head and throat dirty white; lower part of the neck rufous chest- 
nut; breast and between the shoulders yellow ash, paler on the 
breast, and the feathers with yellowish margins; back and scapu- 
lars chestnut ; inner wing coverts ash, inclining to rufous; greater 
coverts ash; quills black, but most of them have the base white, 
making an oblique bar on the wing; lower part of the back, the 
rump, tail, belly, and under the wings, black ; under tail coverts 
mottled black and white; legs yellow, claws black ; hind toe pretty 
long.—Inhabits the West Indies, also Cayenne, and other parts of 
the Continent contiguous. 

Is said to be very common at New Granada, in South America, 
and frequently kept tame in the farm yards, between the tropics; but 
is apt to be quarrelsome, and will often fly away. The Spaniards 
call it Pisesic, from its voice ; known to the English by the name of 
Spanish-main Duck ; is now and then seen alive in our menageries, 
in England, and is said to have propagated in an aviary at Schon- 
brun, in Sweden. 


62.—__BLACK-BILLED WHISTLING DUCK. 


Anas arborea, Ind. Orn. ii. 852. Lin. i. 207. Gm. Lin. i. 540. Lawson, Carol. 149. 

fistulans Jamaicensis, Bris. vi. 403. Id. 8vo. ii. 467. Rati, 192. Sloan. Jam. 
324. t. 273. Brown, Jam. p. 480. 

Siffeur a bec noir, Bufiix. 185. Pl. enl. 804. 

Black-billed Whistling Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 499. Edw. pl. 193. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 
492. Cates. Car. App. xxxvii. 


LESS than a Mallard. Bill black ; irides hazel; crown of the 
head dusky, somewhat crested at the back part, and rufous brown; 
neck long and slender, hind part of it brown ; back and scapulars 
the same, but the margins of the feathers rufous; sides of the head 
and throat white; fore part of the neck white; breast pale rufous ; 
both the last spotted with black ; belly, thighs, and vent, like the 


VOL. X. Qe 


298 DUCK. 


neck, but the spots are smaller, and most numerous on the sides ; 
wing coverts rufous, spotted with black ; ramp and upper tail coverts 
dark brown, edged with rufous; quills and tail dusky; legs longer 
than in the Common Duck, and lead-colour; claws black. 

Inhabits Jamaica, where it is remarked for making a whistling 
kind of noise, and is said to build in trees ; in some seasons migrates 
into Guiana, and other neighbouring parts, and is valued for food. 
I once received a living specimen from Jamaica, and kept it for some 
time in my garden, but it was in the highest degree wild, and even 
ferocious; it would by no means become familiar, and rarely would 
take any food, while any one was near to observe it. Is supposed to 
frequent Carolina in the winter; at least one, like it in name, is said, 
by Lawson and Catesby, to be on that coast. One of these in the 
British Museum had the title of Opano Duck, which name, we are 
informed, it bears at Guiana. 


63.—PIPING DUCK. 


LENGTH eighteen inches. Bill two inches long, and black ; 
the crown, and the middle of the nape, to about half of the neck, 
black brown; the rest of the neck pale rufous, but the middle of 
each feather is very dark, almost black, and the margins of the 
feathers pale brown; the lesser wing coverts ferruginous ; the others, 
with the quills, brown; belly pale ferruginous ; sides under the wings 
striped black and white; sides of the rump black and brown; vent 
dull white ; across the thighs mottled with pale ash-colour; legs 
black brown, and fully webbed. In one specimen the belly had 
each feather dashed with brown down the shaft. 

Inhabits New South Wales, where it has obtained the name of 
Whistling Duck, no doubt from the manners corresponding with 
that bird, and probably having a similar whistling kind of note; is 
observed to frequent the shores of the Coal River. 


DUCK. 299 


64.—FLUTING DUCK. 


SIZE of the last. Bill black, and shaped much as in that bird ; 
head and neck dun buff-colour, streaked a little with black; behind 
the neck a narrow list of black ; sides of the neck transversely spotted 
with black; back undulated with rufous dun; breast plain; belly 
and shoulders rufous, the rest of the wing brown; but with no lucid 
speculum; beneath the wings, on the sides, the feathers are long 
and straight; vent and sides of the ramp white, but the white not 
meeting at top; tail brown, short; legs black. 

Inhabits New South Wales, with the last, and is perhaps related 
to it; but whether a Variety, or differing in sex, isnot known. The 
note somewhat like the sound of a flute.* 


65.—SCAUP DUCK. 
THE MALE. 


Anas Marila, Ind. Orn. ii. 853. Lin.i. 196. Faun. suec. No. 111. Phil. Trans. \xii. 
413. Gm. Lin.i. 509. Brun. No. 50,51. Muller, No. 111. Frisch, t. 170? 
Georgi, p. 166. Am. Orn. viii. 84. pl. 69. f.3. Tem. Man. 563. Id. Ed. 2d. 865. 

Anas hyberna mas, Gerin. v. t. 577. 

—— subterranea, Scop. i. No. 83? 

nigra ultima nova, Strém, Sénd. 230. 

Glaucium minus striatum, Bris. vi. 416. 26. A. Id. 8vo. ii. 470. 

Fuligula Gesneri, Rati, 142. A. 6. Will. 279. 

Die Bergente, Besch. d. Berl, Nat. iv. 602. t. 17. f- 38,4.—the trachea Bechst. Deuts. 
ii. 640. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 1016. 

Topper, of Veld-duiker, Sepp, Vog. iii. t. p. 269. 

Scaup Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 500. Id. Sup. ii. 351. Br. Zool. ii. No. 275. pl. 100. 
Id. fol. 153. pl.Q. Id. 1812. ii. 251. pl. 42. Arcé. Zool. ii. No. 498. Bev. ii. 
pl. p. 339. Lin. Trans. iv. 115. pl. xvi. f. 3, 4.—the trachea. Lewin, vii. pl. 250. 
Walcot, i. pl. 60. Pult. Dors. p, 20. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


* The Seety, or Whistler Duck, is said to be common in Bengal; but it is not described. 
See Field Sports, ii. p. 66. 
Qe2 


300 DUCK. 


THE FEMALE. 


Anas freenata, Mus. Carls. fase. ii, t. 38. Ind. Orn. ii. 853. Tem. Man. 570. Id. 
Ed. 2d. 866. Kramer, 342. 17.—female ? 

Le Canard brun, Buf. ix. 252. Pl. enl. 1007. Br. Misc. t. 62. 

Duck with a circle of white feathers round the bill, Ray’s Letters, p. 61. 

Scaup Female, Lewin, vii. pl. 250.* Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 351. 


The male Scaup Duck is about eighteen inches in length, twenty- 
nine in breadth, and weighs twenty-three ounces. The bill two 
inches long, and broader at the end, lead-colour, with a paler base; 
irtdes golden yellow; the head is full of feathers, and, as well as the 
neck, black, glossed with green; lower part of the neck and breast 
black ; back and scapulars pale grey, finely undulated with numerous 
transverse lines of black; lower part of the back, ramp, and vent, 
black ; the wing coverts crossed with fine, alternate dusky and white 
lines, so minute as to appear, at a distance, as powdered with these two 
colours; the ten prime quills are greyish ash, the four outer ones 
dusky black on the outer webs; the other six greyish white, but the 
ends of all black; from the eleventh to the twentieth white, with 
dusky ends, forming a broad white bar on the wing; the five next 
the body, and the tail feathers dusky; the latter consists of fourteen 
feathers; the under parts of the body from the breast white, pow- 
dered with dusky between the legs, and sides over the thighs; legs 
pale lead-colour; webs and claws black. 

In the female the bill is broad, flat, and pale blue, with a black 
knob; irides yellow; head dark brown; at the base of the bill a 
band of white, almost half an inch broad, passing quite round the 
forehead, cheeks, and throat; breast dark brown, the feathers tipped 
with darker brown; back and scapulars light grey, waved with 
irregular dusky lines ; belly dirty white; vent the same, waved with 
narrow dark lines; rump and tail very dark brown; the last very 
short; greater quills as the tail; secondaries white, tipped with 
brown; but the ends of the greater quills are darker than the rest ; 
legs dusky blue, webs black. 


DUCK. 301 


The male is found to vary exceedingly, especially about the 
head and neck,* and has a tracheal labyrinth, which is placed the 
same as in the Mallard; it is rounded on one side, and flat on the 
other; in shape irregular ; the flat surface is for the most part open, 
except round the rim, and an irregular bony arch crosses it from side 
to side; independent of these, the surface is covered with a delicate, 
fine elastic membrane, stretched over in the manner of the head of 
a dram. See the plate above referred to. 

From these birds varying so much in plumage, it is no wonder 
that some of the males have been taken for the other sex, and it 
seems only of late, that this has been determined. I owe the first 
hint of this to the late Mr. Tunstall, but the positive certainty of the 
circumstance to that indefatigable naturalist the late Mr. Boys, who 
was at the pains to procure me several specimens. 

The Scaup Duck is not uncommon in England in the winter, 
but not confined to the sea coast, being frequently met with in fresh 
waters. Is supposed to feed on broken shells, called scaup, whence 
the name. It is amusing to see their great facility in diving when 
kept tame, and which these birds readily submit to. 

Is found in the northern parts of Europe; common on the northern 
shores of Russia and Siberia, most frequent about the great River 
Ob; breeds in the north, migrating southward in winter ; however, 
if the same as Scopoli’s bird, it must breed in the more southern 
parts, as it is very common in Carniola, on the Lake Zirchnichew, 
where it makes the nest in subterraneous hollows in the banks; 
and this author observes, that they are often killed in vast numbers, 
by the countrymen, with clubs: being driven out of their holes in 
the full sunshine, in the middle of the day, which blinds them, so 
as to prevent their being able either to resist, or fly away. 

Inhabits America, as high as Hudson’s Bay ; comes there in 
May, and retires in October. We find it also as far southward as 


* Willughby says, that among the pack of forty or fifty, you shall not find two alike. 


302 DUCK. 


Carolina; is known in Georgia, and called by some the Raft Duck, 
frequenting the ponds in flocks during the winter season ; is com- 
monly fat, and the flesh well flavoured. Drawings of both sexes 
sent from Savannah, in Georgia, by Mr. Abbot, were distinguished 
as such, by the names of Grey Duck and Blue Bill. 


A.—Millouinan, Buf. ix. 221. Pl. enl. 1002. Ind. Orn. ii. 854. Gen. Syn. vi. 
502. 49. A. 


Size of the last; length twenty-one inches. Head, neck, and 
breast, black, bronzed with green, with a hue of copper about the 
eyes; lower part of the breast and belly white; back, scapulars, 
lesser wing coverts, and between the legs striated with fine transverse 
lines of black, and dusky white; lower part of the back, vent, and 
tail, black; greater wing coverts half black, half white; second 
quills much the same; prime quills dusky; legs black. 

This was killed in France, on the coast of Picardy. Button also 
mentions another from Louisiana, but smaller. It is probably only 
a Variety of the Scaup Duck. 


66.—WHITE-FACED DUCK. 
THE MALE. 


Anas Discors, Ind. Orn.ii. 854. Lin. i. 205. Gm. Lin. i. 535. Bartr. Trav. 293. 
Amer. Orn. viii. 74. pl. 68. f. 4. Frankl. Narr. App. p. 701. 

Querquedula Americana, Bris. vi. 452. Id. 8vo. ii. 478. Klein, dv. 134. Brown, 
Jam: 481. 

Sarcelle Soucrourou, Buf. ix. 279. Pl. enl. 966.—male. 

Blue Wing, Burnab. Trav. p. 16. 

White-faced Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 502. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 503. Cates. Car. i. pl. 
100. Brown, Jam. 481. 


* But the Raft Dnek, truly so called, is another species, described by us hereafter. 


DUCK. 303 


THE FEMALE. 


Querquedula Virginiana, Bris. vi. 455, Id, 8vo. 11, 479. 
Anas Quacula, Klein, 134. 23. 

Sarcelle Soucrourette, Buf. ix. 280. Pl. enl. 403. 
Blue-winged Teal, Gen. Syn. vis 503. Cates. Car. i. pl. 99. 


SIZE between a Wigeon and a Teal; length fifteen inches and 
a quarter. Bill black; crown the same; base of the bill surrounded 
with black; between the bill and eye a white stripe, ending on each 
side of the chin; the rest of the head and neck glossy green, chang- 
ing to violet; back brown, transversely waved with lines of grey ; 
lower part of the neck before, breast, and belly, pale rufous, marked 
with dusky spots; vent black; wing coverts blue; below them a 
white band; speculum green; quills and tail brown; legs yellow. 

The female is rather smaller. Head and neck brown, mixed 
with pale grey; back deeper brown, the feathers margined with 
yellowish buff; breast and sides the same, but paler; belly and vent 
pale yellowish brown; scapulars dusky black; wing coverts pale 
blue; speculum green; between the two a narrow bar of white; 
quills and tail dusky; legs dusky yellow. 

This is an American Species,* but is rarely found more north- 
ward than New York. Catesby observes, that they come into 
Carolina in August, and feed on the rice, remaining there till 
October; and when the rice fails, attack the wild oats; chiefly 
frequent the ponds and fresh waters. The flesh is accounted deli- 
cious, and the bird, for the most part, very fat. It is met with also 
at Cayenne and Guiana. Mr. Abbot says, that the adult male is 
very rare in Georgia, and that in general these birds are more fre- 
quent in ponds, late in the spring. I observe in one drawing, sent 
from this Gentleman, that the back and sides of the neck are waved 
with small lines, as in the American Teal. 


* The American Shell-drake and Blue-wing exceed all of the Duck kind, and these 
are in prodigious numbers.—-Burnadb,. Trav. p. 16. 


304 DUCK. 


67.—SHIELDRAKE. 


Anas Tadorna, Ind. Orn.ii. 854. Lin. i. 195. Fn. suec. No. 113. Gm. Lin. i. 506. 
Brun. No. 45, 46, 47. Muller, No. 107. Frisch, t. 166. Georgi, 165. | Gmel. 
reise, ii. 185. t.19. A. cornuta. Schr. der Berl. Nat. iii. 373. t.7. f. 8, 4.—the 
trachea. Bor.iii. p. 16.11. aii, 143. A.1. Will. 278. t. 70,71. Bris. vi. 
344, t.33. f.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 477. Sepp. ii. t. 99,100. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 536. 
Id, Ed. 2d. iv. 834. 

Vulpanser, Klein, Av. 180.9. Gerin. v. t. 576. 

Die Brandente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 570. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 976. Nuturf. xii. 182. 

Tadorne, Buf. ix. 205. pl. 14. Pl. enl. 53.—male. 

Shieldrake, Gen. Syn. vi. 504. Id. Sup. 275. Id. Sup.ii. 353. Br. Zool. ii. No. 278. 
Id. fol. 154. pl. Q. Td. 1812. 11. 256. Aret. Zool. ii. 572. D. Albin, i. pl. 94. 
Will. Engl. 363. pl. 70,71. Hayes’s Birds, p\.28.—male. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 
341. Lin. Trans. iv. 117. pl. xv. f. 8, 9.—the trachea. Lewin, vii. pl. 348. Id. 
li. f. 1.—the egg. Walcot, i. pl.57. Donov. pl. 71. Ost. Menag. Graves, Br. 
Orn. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 

SIZE of the Wild Duck; length two feet; weight two pounds 
two ounces. The bill turns up much at the end, is pretty broad, 
and red; at the base a rising knob; the nostrils and nail at the end 
black; head, throat, and part of the neck, greenish black ; the rest 
of the neck, back, ramp, and upper tail coverts, white ; on the breast 
a broad rufous bay band, which growing narrower, passes above the 
wings, and encircles the upper part of the back; scapulars black ; 
wing coverts white; some of the outer ones, bastard wing, and quills, 
black; some of the quills part white part black; speculum green 
gold, glossed with copper; beneath from the breast white, down the 
middle an irregular list of black ; vent pale rufous; tail white, of 
fourteen feathers, all but the two outmost tipped with black; the 
legs red. The female is smaller, but when adult does not essentially 
differ in plumage, except that the colours are less vivid. 

The young, however, before the first moult, differ much from the 
old birds. The bill pale red ; crown and neck behind dusky brown ; 
forehead, cheeks, and all beneath from the chin, white; quills black ; 
and except the two or three first, as well as the feathers of the 


speculum, tipped with white; wing coverts mixed with dusky. 


DUCK. 305 


This species, called also Scaledrake, or Skeel-goose, is common 
in the neighbourhood of the sea, in many parts of England; where 
it is found throughout the year. Inhabits the Orknies in the winter, 
and returns in spring northward. It frequently breeds in deserted 
rabbit burrows, which it occupies in the absence of their owners, 
who, rather than make an attempt to dislodge the intruders, are at 
the pains to form others, though, in defect of ready-made quarters, 
these birds will frequently dig holes for themselves. The female lays 
as many as sixteen, roundish white eggs;* these are placed at the 
farthest part of the hole, covered with down, supplied from the 
breast of the female, who sits about thirty days. The young, as 
soon as hatched, take to the water, and swim surprisingly well. The 
mother is very careful of her brood, using many stratagems to favour 
their escape when in danger, and will often carry them from place to 
place in the bill. The young birds do not come to complete plumage 
till the second year at least. They may be hatched under a Tame 
Duck, and the young readily brought up, but are apt, after a few 
years, to attempt the mastery over the rest of the poultry, and some- 
times attack every thing that comes in their way ; though it is very 
rarely that they will breed during confinement.t The natural food 
of this bird consists of small fish, marine insects, and shells, with 
a portion of herbage ; in a confined state will eat bread, grain, and 
greens; but it will never thrive so completely, as in the neighbour- 
hood of salt water, which seems essential to its well being ; however, 
as an article of diet, it is not coveted, as the flesh is rank and un- 
savoury, though the eggs have at all times been esteemed. 

The male of this species, however externally similar to the other 
sex, is to be distinguished by means of the trachea, which has the 

* The younger birds lay only as far as twelve.—Hist. des Ois. 

+ One instance is recorded in the the Orn. Dict. | Daubenton talks of a mixed breed 

between this and our domestic poultry ; but adds, that the produce was not fertile. See 
Encyel. Method. i. p. 341. Mr. Lewin has observed beautifully plumaged Ducks, pro- 


duced between the Common Duck and Shieldrake. 
VOL. X. Rr 


306 DUCK. 


addition of a labyrinth at the lowest part, and is unlike that of any 
one hitherto mentioned; it consists of two roundish bladders, one 
bigger than the other, of unequal surface, and most delicate bony 
texture; being of so tender a fabric, as scarely to bear the pressure of 
the finger, without being indented in young subjects, or breaking 
in old ones. See the figure in the Zin. Trans. above referred to. 

This species is found as far as Iceland to the north; visits Sweden 
in the winter, and returns in spring; frequent in Asia, about the 
Caspian Sea, and all the salt lakes of the Tartarian and Siberian 
Deserts,* as well as in Kamtschatka.t Our voyagers, too, if they 
were right ‘in the species, are said to have met with it at Falkland 
Isles,t also at Van Diemen’s Land.§ 


A.—This is nearly the size of the Moscovy Duck. The bill 
shorter than in the Common Wild Duck ; head and neck shining 
black ; the remainder of the neck to the body pure white; wings to 
the quills white, the larger quills black, the second quills black, 
brown, and white; the belly varied in the same manner. 

This bird, which appears to be no other than the Shieldrake, is 
said to be met with in the salt ponds of the Islands of Ivica and 
Formentera, in the Mediterranean, coming and departing with the 
Swan. 


68.—NEW-HOLLAND SHIELDRAKE. 


SIZE of the Shieldrake, with much of the habit of that bird; 
length twenty-four inches. Bill black ; head and neck black, below 


* Between Sysran and Symbyrsk, in the spring, Mr. Lepechin met with the Shieldrake, 
and other sorts of Ducks, im such quantities, as to be obliged to stop his ears on account 
of their noise.—Decouv. nuss. i. 472. + Arct. Zool. 

‘{ The Sheldrakes:swarmed in such ai manner at Falkland Islands, that. in sailing our 
boats under the rocks we have killed hundreds with our oars and boat-hooks.— Penrose, 
p. 34. § Cook's last Voy. i. p..229. ‘I rather suspect this to be the New-Holland, 
or following Species. 


DUCK. 307 


this a ring of white, about half an inch broad; next to this the 
breast is ferruginous for the breadth of five or six inches; back 
brown, marked with numerous, pale, undulated lines, giving a 
powdery appearance; wing coverts white; prime quills black ; the 
secondaries deep shining green ; the lower scapulars. bright chestnut 
as far as the quills; from thence to the upper edge grey ; belly dark 
brown, crossed with fine undulated grey lines like the back; rump 
and tail black; the last glossy, and short; legs black. 
Inhabits New-Holland. 


69.—-ASH-HEADED DUCK. 


LENGTH twenty inches. Bill one inch and three quarters, 
black, with a small nail at the end; head, neck, and breast, cine- 
reous white, clouded a little with brown on the latter; middle of the 
back brown; scapulars ferruginous tawny; wing coverts above and 
beneath greenish black ; in the middle, above, glossed with purple; 
below this a patch of white; from the middle of the second quills 
being so on the outer webs to within one inch and a half of the ends; 
otherwise black; greater quills plain black; belly and sides fine 
tawny chestnut, with a mixture of white down the middle; between 
the legs and behind deep chocolate brown; vent and under tail 
coverts white; tail black; legs stout, long, and red, bare one inch 
above the joint; hind toe long, claws black; at the bend of the 
wing a blunt, stout knob, or spur. 

A second of these, supposed the other sex, was smaller, and not 
greatly different in colour; the beginning of the back, as well as 
the scapulars, tawny, and the belly paler; the deep brown behind 
the legs wanting. . 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. These were formerly alive in 
the possession of the Rev. Mr. Bale, of Withiam, and are now in the 


Rr2 


308 DUCK. 


collection of Lord Stanley. One, greatly corresponding, was formerly 
in the Leverian Museum; and among Sir Joseph Banks’s drawings 
another, brought from the Cape of Good Hope. 


70.—CRIMSON-BILLED DUCK. 


Anas erythrorhyncha, Ind. Orn. ii. 855. Gm. Lin.i. 517. 
Crimson-billed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 507. 


LENGTH fifteen inches. Bill two inches long, turning up a little 
at the end, colour fine deep crimson; irides red; plumage on the 
upper parts dusky brown, palest on the forehead ; the feathers of 
the back very pale on the margins; chin, sides of the head beneath 
the eye, and the rest of the under parts, white; but the sides of the 
breast are irregularly spotted with brown; on the wing a transverse 
narrow bar of white; below it another of buff-colour ; tail and legs 
dusky black.—Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. 


71.—ILATHERA DUCK. 


Anas Bahamensis, Ind. Orn.ii. 855. Lin. i. 199. Gm. Lin. i. 516. Bris. vi. 358. 
Id. 8vo. ii. 456. Klein, Av. 134. 18. 

Mareca prima Aldr. Rati, 149. 4. Will. 292. Id. Engl. 379.§ xi. 

Le Marec, Buf. ix. 256. 

Ilathera Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 507. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 495. Cates. Car. i. pl. 93. 

SIZE of the Common Duck; length seventeen inches. Bill 
lead-colour, marked on each side, near the base, with a triangular 
orange spot; top of the head rufous grey; neck behind, back, 
seapulars, and rump, rufous brown; cheeks, throat, and fore part of 
the neck, white; breast, belly, and thighs, rufous grey, spotted with 
black ;* under tail coverts plain; lesser wing coverts dusky brown, 
the greater green, with black tips; second quills dull yellow, prime 
ones dusky ; legs lead-colour. 


* The whole breast and lower belly hath an obscure resemblance of the colour of oaken 
boards, and is besides variegated with black points. Willughby. 


DUCK. 309 


In the collection of Lord Seaforth was one, with the speculum 
first fine rufous, then green bronze, or copper, with a black line 
below, and again rufous, making in all a large patch; the tail 
greatly cuneiform, tapering in a point, pale buff, or yellowish. 

Inhabits Brazil, also the Bahama Islands, particularly that called 
Ilathera, whence the name, but is not a numerous species. Is said 
to perch, and roost on trees, like the Summer and Whistling Ducks, 
and does not migrate northward to breed. 


72. MARECA DUCK. 


Anas Brasiliensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 856. Gm. Lin. i. 517. Bris. vi. 360, Id. 8vo., ii. 457. 
Raii, 149.5. Will. 293. xvi. 

Le Mareca, Buf. ix. 256. 

Mareca Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 508. Will. Engl. p. 379. § xii. 

THE bill in this bird is glossy black ; top of the head, upper 
part of the neck, and back, umber colour; on each side of the head 
between the bill and eye a round yellowish white spot; chin white ; 
fore part of the neck and under parts dark grey, with a mixture of 
gold; the upper wing coverts light brown, with a greenish gloss ; 
the greater brown, edged outwardly with blue green, and tipped 
with black, forming two bands of these colours ; quills brown, tipped 
with white ; tail black, and cuneiform; legs red. 

Inhabits Brazil, and seems to be a species not greatly differing 
from the former, both of them being called by the name of Mareca 
by the Brazilians. 


73.--STRIATED DUCK. 
Anas virgata, Maxim. Tr. i. 282. 


LENGTH seventeen inches and three quarters. Plumage 
rusty yellowish, the whole internal wing black; first quills with 
white shafts; side feathers of the body with a yellowish white, 
longitudinal stripe. 

Inhabits Brazil in flocks. The flesh is well flavoured. 


d10: DUCK.. 


74.—SHOVELER DUCK. 


Anas.clypeata,. Ind.-Orn. ii. 856.. Lin. i. 200. Fn. suec. No. 119. Gm. Lin. i. 518.. 
It. Gott. 167.. Scop.i. No.70. Brun. No. 67, 68,69. Mull. No. 117.. Kram. 
342. 15. Frisch, t. 161, 162, 163. Bris. vi. 329. t. 32. f. 1.—male. Jd. 8vo. 11. 
450. Georgi, 166. Borowsk. in. p. 12. Fn. Helv. Sepp, t. 130,131. Amer. 
Orn. viii. 65. pl. 67. f.7. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 543. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 843. 

Anas latirostra, Gerin. v. t.572.—male. Jd.573.—female. Klein, Av. 134. Id. 
Stem. 31. t. 35. f. 1. a—c. 

Anas platyrynchos, Rati, 144.13. Will. 283.§ xv. Id. 284. xvi.—female. 

-_ altera, Rati, 143. A.9. Will. 283.—male. 

Anas virescens, Mars. Dan. v. p. 120. t. 58. 

Die Loffelente, Bechst. Deuts.ii. 675.  Naturf. xii, 185. Id. xxv. s. 12. Schr. a. 
Berl. Nat. iii. 373. 17. t.7. f. 2.—the trachea. 

Stockente, Gunth. Nest. u. Ey. No. 92. 

Souchet, Buf.ix. 191. Pl. enl. 971, 972. 

Shoveler, Gen. Syn. vi. 509. Id. Sup. ii. 353. Br. Zool. ii. No. 280. Id. fol. 155. 
pl. Q. 4. Id. 1812. ii. p. 264. Arct. Zool.ii. No. 485. Will. Engl. 370. 15.— 
male. Jd. 371. 16. 17.—female. Albin, i. pl. 97, 98. Cat. Car. i. pl. 96.—fem. 
Hayes’s Birds, p|. 27.—male. Lin. Trans. iv. 109. pl. xiii. f. 4, 5.—the trachea. 
Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 845. Lewin, vii. p. 19. pl. 252. Walcot, i. pl. 67.  Pult. 
Dors. p.21. Ost. Menag. t. p.52.—male. Orn. Dict. § Snpp. 


LENGTH twenty-one inches, breadth thirty ;| weight twenty- 
two ounces. Bill almost three inches long, black, and remarkably 
broad at the end, the edges much pectinated; irides fine deep yellow; 
head and neck glossy green, changing to violet; lower part of the 
neck and breast white, marked with a few spots like crescents ; 
scapulars white ; back brown; belly chestnut; vent black; the first 
and second wing coverts pale blue, the greater brown, tipped with 
white, forming a band on the wing; quills brown; some of the 
middle ones edged with green, forming a spot of that colour; tail 
brown, of fourteen feathers, more or less edged with white, the 
outer ones wholly white, the shape cuneiform; legs orange red. 

The female is a trifle smailer, and differs|in plumage; the wing 
is marked much the same, though less bright; the rest of the 
plumage greatly approaching to that of the Wild Duck ; for the first 


DUCK. 311 


year the wing is like the rest of the body: both sexes vary much in 
colour, before they acquire the adult plumage; and the male differs 
from the other sex inwardly, having, just above the divarication of 
the windpipe, where it passes into the lungs, an enlargement or 
labyrinth, which consists of a roundish bony arch, but very small 
in proportion to the bird, for the shape of which see Lin. Transact. 

This species is now and then met with in England, but not in 
great numbers. Willughby mentions one found at Crowland, in 
Lincolnshire, and we have received the male more than once from 
the London markets. In April 1790, two males and three females 
settled on a pond near Sandwich, in Kent; one of each was shot, 
and forwarded to me by Mr. Boys, who informed me that two were 
killed near the same place a few years before; and the above were 
all he ever met with: and we are informed by Dr. Lamb, that four 
were seen together on the River Kennet, and three of them shot the 
beginning of September, 1814. We believe it does not often breed 
in this kingdom ;* but is said to come into France in February, and 
some of them to stay through the summer. It lays ten or twelve 
rufous eggs, placed on a bed of rushes, or dried grass, in the same 
places as the Summer Teal, and departs in September, at Jeast the 
greater part, for it is rare to see one in the winter. The chief food 
is insects, for which it is continually muddling in the water with its 
bill ; said also to be dextrous in catching flies, which pass in its way 
over the water; shrimps also have been found in its stomach. 

This bird is likewise found in most parts of Germany, throughout 
the Russian dominions, and quite to Kamtschatka; extends south- 
ward as far as Spain, whence, as well as from Barbary, it finds its 
way to the markets at Gibraltar, in great abundance, along with 
Mallards, and others of the Duck Genus; yet, although with us 


* Mr. Youell, of Yarmouth, in Norfolk, procured from the marsh at Winterton, 
upwards of thirty eggs of the Shoveler Duck, which were put under some domestic Fowls, 
and most of them hatched. One of them, a male, lived ten months, and had then obtained, 
in a considerable degree, the adult plumage of the Shoveler.—-See Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 616. 


312 DUCK. 


the flesh is thought pretty good, it is there reckoned coarse and 
unsavoury. It is likewise found in other parts of the Continent, 
for we have observed both sexes represented in various drawings done 
in India. Is known on the Coromandel Coast by the name of 
Lunkoor, and in some parts of India the male is called Lahkato, 
and the female Alpucheto. 

Is met with in North America, about New York and Carolina, 
during the winter season. A bird similar to this, if not the same, 
comes to Hudson’s Bay in the spring, and makes a whistling noise : 
is known there by the name of Mimenewick. Found in the rice _ 
fields near Savannah, in Georgia, but rare. 


A.—Anas muscaria, Lin. i. 200. 6. Fn. suec. No. 120. Raii, Syn. p. 146. Will. 287. 
Frisch, 262. Ind. Orn. ii. 857. B. 

Anas clypeata ventre candido, Bris. vi. 387. A. Id. 8vo. ii. 451. Gen. Syn. vi, 511. 
55. A. 


This differs from the former merely in having the belly white. 


B.—Anas fera, Boschas Mexicana, Bris. vi. 327. Id. 8vo. 11. 449. 

Tempatlahoac, Rati, 176. Will. 299. Id. Engl. 387. Gen. Syn. vi. 511. Ind. Orn. ii. 
857. y. 

Le Canard spatule, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 431. 


Size of a Tame Duck. Bill broad, long, and black ; tongue 
white ; head and neck green, glossed with purple and black ; irides 
pale; breast white; the rest of the body beneath fulvous, with two 
white spots on both sides near the tail ; above beautified with certain 
semicircles, the outer edges of which from white incline to brown; 
the middle, or inner part from black to a shining green; wings at 
the beginning blue, next white, and then shining green ; yet their 
extremes are on one side fulvous, on the other shining green; the 
circumference of the tail above and beneath white ; else black under- 
neath, and of a Peacock-colour above. 

Inhabits Mexico. Its flesh like that of other marsh birds. 


DUCK. 313 


75.—RED-BREASTED SHOVELER. 


Anas rubens, Ind. Orn. ii. 857. Gm. Lin. i. 519. 

Barbary Shoveler, Shaw's Trav. 254 ? 

Red-breasted Shoveler, Gen. Syn. vi. 512. Br. Zool. ii. No. 281. Td. 1812. ii. 265. 
Bewick, ii. p. 349. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


SIZE of the Common Duck. Bill large, serrated on the sides, 
and brownish yellow; throat and breast reddish brown ; back brown, 
growing paler on the sides; tips and pinions of the wings grey: 
quills brown, the rest greyish brown ; speculum of the wings purple, 
edged with white; vent bright brown, spotted with darker; legs 
short, feet small, reddish brown. In the female the colours are 
more faint; speculum of the wings blue. 

This bird has sometimes been taken in the decoys of Lincolnshire. 
Shaw mentions one by the name of Barbary Shoveler, much like 
the above, if not the same; but in that bird the speculam was 
composed of three colours-—white, blue, and green. 

We learn from Colonel Montagu, that having had an opportunity 
of dissecting a specimen of the Red-breasted Shoveler, he found the 
trachea so exactly corresponding with that of the Common Shoveler, 
as to leave no doubt of its belonging to that species, buat in what 
stage of life at present seems uncertain; or whether the colour of 
the breast differs at any particular season of the year, as in several 
other birds. This was shot near Kingsbridge, in Devon, on the 
5th of August.* 


76.~NEW-HOLLAND SHOVELER. 


Anas Rhynchotis, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. lxx. 
New-Holland Shoveler, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 359. 


LENGTH eighteen or nineteen inches. Bill like that of the 
Shoveler, and much pectinated ; tongue pointed, with a membrane 


* See Orn. Dict. One killed at Berwick, in 1810.—Wern. Trans. iii. d. 526. 
VOL, X. Ss 


314 ‘DUCK. 


on each side, near the end; plumage in general as in the Blue- 
winged Shoveler, but darker, and without the white crescent behind 
the eye; wing coverts pale blue; speculum white; below this the 
_ feathers have a gloss of green; vent black, and contiguous thereto 
mottled only with black; legs pale flesh-colour; in some birds the 
chin is bluish white. The female differs in not having the vent 
black ; but in other points both sexes agree. 

Inhabits New-Holland. One shot at Botany Bay, in May, 
appears to agree in so many things with the Common Shoveler, that 
it might easily be taken for a Variety of that bird. 


77.—JAMAICA SHOVELER. 


Anas Jamaicensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 857. Gm. Lin. i. 519. 
Teal of Guiana, Hist. Gutan. p. 170? 
Jamaica Shoveler, Gen. Syn. vi. 513. 


SIZE of the Buffel-headed Duck ; length sixteen inches. Bill one 
inch and three quarters ; in shape very broad, and turns up a little 
at the end; upper mandible blue, but the place of the nostrils, the 
sides, and all the under mandible orange; eyes placed high up in 
the head ; irides brown; top of the head, taking in the eyes, black ; 
sides, beneath the chin, and throat, white, mixed with blackish 
spots; upper part of the neck brown ; the lower all round, breast and 
belly, barred dusky, and deep ferruginous, inclining to saffron-colour; 
lower part of the belly, vent, and ramp, barred dusky and dirty 
rufous white; under tail coverts dirty white; back and scapulars 
brown, a little marked with minute, yellowish dots; wings and tail 
plain dusky brown, the last cuneiform in shape, and rather Jong ; 
legs orange. 

This appears to be a distinct species. I received it with other 
birds from Jamaica, where it first appears in October, or November, 
and staying till March, retires north with several other species. 


DUCK. 815 


Bancroft, in his History of Guiana, mentions a Teal, somewhat 
larger than the Common one; the bill broad and black; feathers of 
the head whitish brown; those of the neck, back, and wings, grey 
brown, variegated with spots and bars of chestnut; breast and belly 
dull white. I suspect this to be the same with my bird, but certainly 
distinct from the European Shoveler. He says, that it frequents the 
rivers, like the Guiana Wild Duck, and at the same seasons. 


78.—URAL DUCK. 


Anas leucocephala, Ind. Orn. ii. 858. Gm. Lin.i. 516. Scop. i. No. 78. Tem. Man. 
557. Id. Ed. 2d. 860. Gunt. Av. t. 28. 

Anas mersa, Pall. reise, ii. 713. 29. t. H. Gm. Lin.i. 520. Falck. It. iii. t. 23. 

Weisskopfige Ente, Bechst. Deuts. Ed. 2d. iv. 1124. 

White-headed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 478. Shaw’s Trav. 254. 

Ural Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 514. 


THIS is a trifle bigger than the Common Teal. Bill large, 
broad, very tumid above the nostrils, and bifid in the adult bird; 
the end marked with diverging stria, colour blue; head and part 
of the neck white; on the crown a large patch of black; eyelids 
black ; middle of the neck the same; fore part of the body 
yellowish brown, undulated with black; back clouded with cine- 
reous and pale yellow, powdered with brown; under parts of the 
body and rump greyish brown, in some lights appearing glossy grey; 
wings small, without any speculum; tail longish, of eighteen feathers, 
cuneiform, and black; legs brown, bluish before, and placed far 
back, as in the Diver Genus. 

The female, and young bird, have the bill less tumid at the 
base, and wholly brown; throat white, expanding towards the 
nape.—This species frequents the greater lakes of the al Moun- 
tains, and the River Ob, and Irtisch; not seen on the ground, for, 
from the situation of the legs, it is little able to walk, but swims 


very well, and quick; at which time the tail is immersed in the 
Ss 2 


316 DUCK. 


water, as far as the rump, serving by way of rudder, contrary to the 
common method of a Duck’s swimming. The nest is formed of 
reeds, and floats on the surface of the water, like that of the Grebe. 


79.—SPANISH DUCK. 


Anas viduata, Ind. Orn. 11. 858. Lin. i. 205. Gm. Lin. i. 536. Jacq. Voy. p. 38. t. 1. 
leucocephala, Bartr. Trav. 292? 

Le Canard a petit bec, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 432. 

Spanish Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 525. Id. Sup. 275. Gen. of Birds, p. 65. pl. 13. 


SIZE a trifle less than the Red-billed Whistling Duck. Bill 
and eyes black ; forehead, cheeks, chin, and back part of the head, 
pure white; crown black ; round the neck a black collar; back and 
breast ferruginous, crossed with narrow, dusky lines; wings pale 
brown, without any speculum; belly whitish brown, spotted with 
black ; tail cuneiform, black ; legs bluish. 

This is a beautiful species, and inhabits the lakes about Cartha- 
gena, in South America; has a whistling note, and called by the 
Spaniards Viudita,* or Little Widow; extends to Buenos Ayres, 
and in large flocks in Brazil. Male and female differ but little, 
in the latter the base of the bill is shorter. 

Mr. Pennant figures this bird in his Genera of Birds,t and says, 
that the Spanish Duck frequents Spain and Barbary. We are told 
also of Ducks, resembling ordinary Wild Ducks, but not so big; 
the colour black, only white on the forehead; which are generated 
in the hollows of the Lake Zirknitz, under the Mountain Javornic; 
these are said to be, when they first appear, blind, and very sparingly 
feathered, but after fourteen days get feathers, recover their sight, 
and afterwards fly away in flocks ; are well tasted, but too luscious, 
having nearly as much fat as lean.+ 


* Misprinted Vindila in the Syst. Nat. + Pl. 13. 
+ See Description of the Lake Zirknits, in Carniola.—Phil. Trans. xvi. p. 425. 


DUCK. 317 


80.—WHITE-MASKED DUCK. 


Canard a Face blanche de Maragnon, Buf. ix. 255. PI. enl. 808. Ind. Orn. ii. 858. 
65. B. Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 435. : 


SIZE of the Mallard. Bill black ; all the fore part of the head 
and face, much beyond the eye, white; nape and hind part of the 
neck black, advancing forwards on the throat, and surrounding 
it as a collar; below this on the fore part white; the lower part of 
the neck and breast fine rufous chestnut; the back rufous, waved 
and blotched with dusky; under parts of the body much the same, 
but paler, beautifully marked with crescents on the sides, and over 
the thighs; the whole of the wings, the middle of the belly, vent, 
and tail, black; thighs and legs black. 

Inhabits Maragnon,* in South America. 

The White-masked has been by many thought to be a Variety 
of the Spanish Duck; but we are assured, that the two are distinct. 
The present one is common in Paraguay, throughout the year; 
sometimes seen in flocks of 200 in each, and so packed together that 
sixteen, or even twenty, have fallen at one shot. These Ducks fly 
well; and the male and female much alike: the length eighteen 
inches, breadth thirty-three. Bill black, with a bar behind the 
nail, of sky blue. 


81.—DOMINICAN DUCK. 


Anas Dominicana, Ind. Orn. ii. 859. Gm. Lin. i. 536. 
-Canard Dominicain du Cap de B. Esp. Son. Voy. Ind. ii. p. 22. 
Dominican Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 525. 
SIZE of the Wild Duck. Bill black; face and throat white ; 
through the eye, from the bill, a streak of black, ending in an angle 


* By this is no doubt meant the River Amazons, in South America, though Buffon 
does not say in what part of the world Maragnon is. 


318 DUCK. 


behind; hind part of the head, neck, and breast, black; back. and 
lesser wing coverts deep cinereous grey, crossed with two bands of 
very pale grey; bill and vent pale grey; legs black. 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. 


82.—PIED DUCK. 


Anas Labradora, Ind. Orn, ii. 859. Gm. Lin. i. 537. Am. Orn. viii. 91. pl. 69. f. 6. 

—— minor picta, called Butterback, Bartr. Trav. 293 > 

Pied Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 497. Lawson’s Carol. 148?  Arct. Zool. ii. 576. M. pl. in 

frontispiece. 

LENGTH nineteen inches. The base of the bill and round the 
nostrils, for about one-third, orange; the under mandible dusky ; 
head and neck rufous white, the feathers of the crown rising in a 
narrow ridge, along the top of which runs a stripe of black to the 
nape; round the middle of the neck a collar of black, passing down 
the middle, at the back part of the neck, quite to the back ; scapu- 
lars white, some of the inner edged with black, and curve downwards 
over the wings; back and tail brown, secondaries white; greater 
quills dusky ; on the breast a black band; belly brown, like the 
back, but paler; legs yellow, webs brown. 

The female has the plumage above dirty mottled brown; on the 
wing a white spot, arising from the tips of the second quills; under 
the body dirty white ; legs black. 

Inhabits the Coast of Labrador, from whence a pair in possession 
of Sir Joseph Banks was brought. That described in the Arctic 
Zoology, came from Connecticut. Mr. Pennant thinks them the 
same with the pretty Pied Ducks, which whistled as they flew, or 
fed; met with by Lawson, in the west branch of Cape Fear Inlet. 

According to the Amer. Ornith. this bird is subject, when young, 
to a progressive change of colour; that it frequents the sand bars; 
its principal food being shell fish, hence called Sand-shoal Duck. 


DUCK. 319 


The windpipe of the male is ten inches long, and has four enlarge- 
ments, viz. one immediately below the mouth, another at the interval 
of an inch, it then bends largely down the breast bone, to which it 
adheres. by two strong muscles, and has at this place a third expan- 
sion: it then becomes flattened, and before it separates into the 
Jungs has a fourth enlargement, much greater than either of the 
former, which is bony and round, puffing out from the left side. 


83.—RUBICUND DUCK. 
Anas rubidus, Ruddy Duck, Am. Orn. 8. 128. pl.76. f. 5.6. Frankl. Narr. App.p.700. 


LENGTH fifteen inches and a half; extent of wings twenty- 
two. Bill broad at the tip, under mandible much narrower, both 
rich blue ; nostrils small, placed in the middle ; cheeks beneath the 
eye, and the chin white; the front, crown, including the eye, and 
back part of the neck, down nearly to the back, black ; the rest of 
the neck, whole of the back, scapulars, flanks, and tail coverts, deep 
reddish brown, like bright mahogany; wings pale buff brown, 
darker at the points ; tail black, greatly tapering, having eighteen 
narrow pointed feathers ; the feathers of the breast, and upper part 
of the neck, very remarkable, being dusky olive at bottom, ending 
in hard, bristly, points, of a silvery grey, very much resembling the 
hair of some kinds of seals ; all these thickly marked with transverse 
curving lines of deep brown; belly and vent silvery grey, thickly 
crossed with dusky olive; under tail coverts white; legs ash-colour. 

In the female the front, lores, and crown, are deep blackish 
brown ; cheeks dull cream ; neck plain dull drab, sprinkled about 
the auriculars with blackish ; lower part of the neck and breast 
variegated with grey, ash, and reddish brown; belly dull white ; 
tail brown ; scapulars dusky brown, sprinkled with whitish, appear- 
ing grey.—Inhabits America, and considered as a new species 
_has been compared with the Jamaica Shoveler, No. 77, but is 
certainly a different species. 


320 DUCK. 


84.—GADWAL DUCK. 


Anas strepera, Ind. Orn. 1. 859. Lin. i. 200. Fn. suec. No.121. Gm. Lin. i. 520. 
Brun. p.21. Muller, No. 118. Frisch, t. 168. Georgi, p. 166. Gmel. reise, ii. 
183. t.17. Borowsk. ii. p. 12. Fn. Helv. Bris. vi. 339. t. 33. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 
452. Klein, 132.6. Cet. Uc. Sard. 325. Gerin. v. t. 574, 575. Amer. Orn. 
viii. 120. pl. 91. f. 1. Tem. Man. 539. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 837. 

Anas platyrhynchos, Rati, 145. A. 2. Will. 287. 

Die Schnatterente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 642. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 1096. Nat. xii. 136. 

Kraak Eend, Sepp, Vog. iv. t. p. 315.—male and female. 

Chipeau, Buf. ix. 187. pl. 12.—female. PJ. enl. 958.—male. 

Gadwall, or Grey, Gen. Syn. vi. 515. Id. Sup. ii. 353. Br. Zool. ii. No. 288. Id. fol. 
157. pl. Q. 3. Id. 1812, ii. p. 275. Arct. Zool. ii. 575. 1. Will. Engl. 374. pl. 
72. Bew. ii. p. 850. Lin. Trans. iv. p. 111. pl. xiii. f. 9.—the Trachea. Lewin, 
vis p. 25. pl. 258. FWalcot, ii. pl. 68.- Pult, Dors. p.21. Orn. Dic. & Supp. 


SIZE of the Wigeon; length nineteen inches. Bill two, black ; 
‘the head and greater part of the neck brown, mixed and _ spotted 
with rufous and black ; sides of the head, throat, and fore part of the 
neck, rufous white, spotted with brown, palest near the head; lower 
part of the neck, beginning of the back, and breast, brown, marked 
with curved or waved white lines; lower part of the back black brown; 
rump, upper, and under tail coverts, black; breast and belly white, 
spotted with grey ; lower belly, sides, and thighs, barred with whitish 
and grey brown lines; vent dark ; on the wings are four distinct 
colours, the lesser coverts pale reddish brown, the following reddish, 
and below this black, and finally on the second quills a patch of 
white ; tail ash-colour, edged with white; legs orange. : 

In the female the colours on the wings are much the same, but 
duller; breast reddish brown, spotted with black; chiefly in the 
shape of crescents; the feathers of the neck and back edged with 
pale red; rump the same, instead of black; and those elegant, 
semicircular lines on the neck and breast wholly wanting. 


DUCK. 321 


The windpipe* of the male is of nearly equal dimensions through- 
out; at the bottom a bony bladder and arch, somewhat like that of 
the Pintail Duck, but the globular part not quite so large: we 
may observe, too, that it adheres to the sides of the arch, quite to 
the bottom, whereas in the Pintail, it is attached to the side of the 
arch by a small portion only. 

This species inhabits England in the winter, but is by no means 
common; is also found at the same season in various parts of France 
and Italy; migrates as far as Sweden in summer, to breed ; is found 
likewise throughout Russia and Siberia, except in the east part of 
the latter, and Kamtschatka. We find it, too, represented in various 
paintings from India, and may therefore conclude it to be a native 
of that part of the world. 

One in General Hardwicke’s collection, probably a female, has 
the head and neck pale ash-colour, with numerous dusky spots; 
breast, as far as the belly, pale rufous brown, with curved spots of 
black; upper half of the back brown, with double curved lines of 
white; the lower part with dark dusky spots; sides over the thighs 
brown, waved with white; tail pale ash, nearly white, but the 
two middle feathers are ash; wings as in the male, but more dull. 
Said to be found also in America, but more rare in the northern 
parts; seen on Seneca Lake, New York, in October; at Louisville, 
in February; also at Bigbone Lick, in Kentucky, but the breeding 
places unknown. 


85.—FALCATED DUCK. 


Anas falearia, Ind. Orn. 11. 860. Lin. Lin. i. 521. Pall. reise, iii. 701. 
falcata, Georgi, 168. 
Falcated Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 516. Arct. Zool. ii. 574. I. pl. 23. 


SIZE of a Wigeon; length eighteen inches; weight twenty-five 
ounces, and more. Bill one inch and a half long, and black; the 
* Lin. Trans. iv. pl. xiii. f. 7, 8. ¢ In Lord Mountnorris’s drawings called 


Aurgaw, also Ynga. 
VOL. X. Tr 


323 DUCK. 


feathers at the back of the head, and a little way down the neck. 
long and crested; forehead and crown dull ferruginous; near the 
base of the bill, in the middle, a white spot; round the eyes, hind- 
head, and crest, shining green, glossed with copper, especially on the 
temples; chin white; beneath this are two collars, the first greenish 
black, springing from the crest ; the lower one white ; the rest of the 
neck and breast cinereous, undulated with brown; back grey, the 
upper part obscurely lineated with a paler colour; belly dotted grey 
and white; vent black, the sides of it white, divided transversely by 
a black band ; shoulders grey, and somewhat undulated ; scapulars 
grey, and curve inwards at the ends; speculum fine blue green, 
above it a white band; wings and tail equal in length; legs 
lead-colour. 

Inhabits the east part of Siberia, from the River Jenisei to the 
Lena, and beyond Lake Baikal, but not in the West ; found also at 
Kamtschatka, but rarely ; probably winters in the Mongolian 
Deserts, and in China, but assuredly found in the last, as a speci- 
men, brought alive from thence, lived for some time among other 
poultry in England, became tolerably familiar, and when it died was 
added to my collection. 


A.—Sarcelle de Java, Buf. ix.275. Pl. enl. 930. Gen. Syn. vi. 517. 62. A. 


This differs in having the head very little crested on the crown ; 
no falciform feathers falling over the wings; no white on the vent, 
or sides of it; instead of which they, as well as the back, are brown ; 
and the thighs white ; in other things it much resembles the former, 
and we suspect it to be the female, or young bird, of this beautiful 
species. TI have also observed one very similar among some Chinese 
drawings ; and as this last is said to be found at Java, it is probably 
no stranger to India likewise.** 


* At Hindustan.—Penn. Hindoost. ii. 190. 


DUCK. 323 


86.—JAVAN DUCK. 


Anas Javanica, Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 199. 


LENGTH seventeen inches. Part of the wings and base of the 
tail are chestnut ; the back, and inferior part of the wings brownish 
black ; neck dull hoary fulvous; chin paler; belly vinaceous 
chestnut ; top of the head, and tip of the tail dusky; vent and 
hypochondres whitish ; feathers of the back with fulvous margins. 


A.—Anas Javanica, Var. B. 


This varies in having the interscapulary feathers, and those of 
the breast and belly, variegated with black fascize ; those of the 
hypochondres white, barred with black ; vent white : it is also near 
two inches longer than the other. 

These birds inhabit Java, the former by the name of Melivis, 
the latter by that of Melivis-Kembang. 


87.—WIGEON. 


Anas Penelope, Ind. Orn. ii. 860. Lin. i. 202. Fn. suec. No. 124, Gm. Lin. i. 527. 
Brun. No. 72, 73. Muller, No. 121. Frisch, t. 164. 169. Kram. 342. Georgi, 
166. Rati, 146. A. 3, Will. 288. pl.'72. Bor. iii. p. 13. Fn. Arag. 75. Fn. 
Helv. Cet. uc. Sard. 326. Sepp, iii. t. 109, 110. Gel. reise, iv. p. 148. Tem. 
Man. 542. Id. Ed. 2d. 841. 

Anas fistularis, Bris. vi. 391. t.35. f.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 464. Klein, Av. 132.7. Id. 
Ov. 35. t. 21. f.2. Gerin. v. t. 585, 586. 

Anas alia, Querquedula major, Gerin. v. t. 596. Id. 597.—young. 

Die Pfeifente, Bechst. Deuts, ii. 648. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 1109: Bes. Vog. Kurl. No. 80, 
81. Schr. de Berl. Nat. vii. 458. Id. Besch. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 601. t. 18. f. 5.— 
the trachea. Waturf. xii. 136. 

Canard Siffeur, Buf. ix. 169. pl. 10, 11. Pi. end. 825.—male. 

———= 4 Queue pointue, Voy. d’Azara, iv. No. 429. 

T 1r2 


324 - DUCK. 


Wigeon, Whewer or Whim, Gen. Syn. vi. 518. Id. Sup. ii. 854. Br. Zool. i. No. 
286. Id. fol. 157. Add. pl.Q. Jd. 1812. ii. 273. Arct. Zool. i. 574. K. Will. 
Engl, 375, pl. 72. Albin, ii. pl. 99.  Bewick, ii. pl. in p.3852. Lewin, vii. pl. 
251. Walcot,i. pl. 71. Pult. Dors. p. 21. Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


LENGTH twenty inches; weight twenty-three ounces. Bill 
narrow, one inch and a half long, and of a bluish lead-colour, tip 
black ; top of the head cream, a little mottled with dusky spots ; 
over the bill almost white; head and neck bright bay, spotted with 
dusky, the lower part of it behind, and the breast vinaceous; the 
jower part and belly white; back and scapulars minutely undulated 
across with black and white lines ; sides of the body the same, but 
paler; wing coverts brown, more or less mixed with white; quills 
dusky, some of them banded with white ; the outer webs of the 
middle ones green, forming a speculum, bounded above and below 
with black ; belly white; vent black; legs dusky lead-colour. 

The temale is only seventeen inches long, brown, the middle 
of the feathers darker; fore part of the neck and breast paler ; 
scapulars dark brown, edged with rufous white ; wings and belly as 
in the male. Both sexes are alike till the following spring after 
hatching, when the male, about March, gains his full plamage, 
but is said to lose it again the end of July, and with it, in some 
measure, the voice, which is thought by some to be very like 
the sound of a flute. The flesh is much esteemed. Whether the 
female ever gets so high a state of plumage, is not said by authors ; 
but on my receiving two birds, with the external appearance 
of being of the male sex, one of them, to my surprise, turned out to 
be a female: these were sent to me from Weymouth, January 1795. 

The males vary exceedingly ; some have the wing coverts 
wholly white, and the scapulars marked with long lines of white 
and black ; in others the coverts have no white, and the lines 
of the scapulars are very obscure. These birds in the various stages 
of plumage are sold in London under the name of Easterlings, and 
the female that of Lady-fowl; they are called also Pandle-whews, 


DUCK. 325 


ym feeding on shrimps. We had once a pair sent from the 
market, and called Easterlings, which proved no other than the 
two sexes of the common Wigeon ; but have been told that birds in 
imperfect plumage, of different species, pass in the poulterer’s shop 
under the same names.** 

The trachea of the male Wigeon does not seem materially to 
differ from that of the Pintail; the bony orb is most perfectly 
elobular, and differs somewhat in respect to the attachment at the 
sides, which may be better noticed by comparison with each other 
than by any verbal description.t 

This species is pretty common in England in the winter months, 
and caught among other Ducks in the decoys; is found on our 
various shores at that time, and is frequently in great numbers on 
the coasts of Kent, but it is not certain that it ever breeds in this 
kingdom, or in France, yet is sufficiently plentiful in most parts of the 
old Continent, migrating as low as Egypt; for it is caught there 
from the middle to the end of November, by nets, in the marshes, 
before the departure of the waters, though it is rarely, if ever, 
observed, to plunge therein; is in plenty at Aleppo in the winter, and 
in most parts of Europe, as far as Sweden ; observed likewise in the 
Caspian Sea, and its neighbourhood, as well as that of Lake Baikal. 
A bird of this kind is said to migrate from Barbary into Spain and 
Gibraltar, differing merely in having no white on the belly.t 

I find a representation of the Wigeon among Gen. Hardwicke’s 
fine drawings of birds, proving that it isa native of India. I have 
also been informed that one very like, if not the same, is found about 


* Ray observes, that the male was called the Widgeon, and the female Whewer ; and 
rather quaintly adds, ‘It is usual to call a silly fellow a wise Widgeon, or tosay, he is as wise 
“‘as a Widgeon :” and again, accordingly to the Drunkard’s Song, 


“* Mahomet was no divine, but a senseless Widgeon, 
‘¢ To forbid the use of wine, unto those of his religion.”"—Letéers, p. 21. 


Rutty thinks the Easterling and the Lady-fowl different from a Wigeon, see Nat. Hist. 
of Dublin, pl. iv. + Lin. Trans. iy. pl. 13. f. 69 + Rey. Mr. White. 


326 DUCK. 


Buenos Ayres, in South America. Although the Wigeon is not 
known to breed in this kingdom at large, we are informed that it 
has in confinement; and not only so, but has paired with the 
opposite sex of a different species.‘ We learn from Lord Stanley, 
that a male Wigeon had connected itself with a female Pintail, and 
produced nine or ten young the first year, and six the second. The 
hybrid birds, on growing up, resembled the female, appearing more 
like the male Wigeon about the head. These birds seemed to be 
endowed with the usual sensations of different sexes, but no produce 
took place. One remarkable circumstance attended the above union, 
which was, that there were female Wigeons in the same pond where 
the male attached itself to the female Pintail ; and further, that a 
male Wigeon has been observed to pair with a female of the common 
Duck, and that the eggs were prolific. 


A.—Anas Kogolka, N.C. Petr.xv. 468. 15. t.21. Sch. d. Berl. Nat. vii. 451. No. 88. 


The bill in this is black ; irides yellow; head ferruginous brown ; 
neck, as far as the breast, and to the back, striped with cinereous 
grey; the back, wings, and tail, blackish, crossed with dull stripes ; 
speculum silver white ; breast and belly white. 


88.—BLACK-TAILED DUCK. 


Anas melanura, Ind. Orn. ii. 861. Gm. Lin. i. 516. Scop. i. No. 82. 


THIS is a little smaller than the Mallard. Bill clay-colour; sides 
of the head cinereous ; crown of the head and the back rufous; rump 
black, spotted with white; breast cinereous, with a tinge of rufous . 
quills and tail black ; legs clay-colour. 


DUCK. 327 


89.—CAPE WIGEON. 


Anas Capensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 861. Gm. Lin. i. 527. 
Cape Wigeon, Gen. Syn. vi. 519. 

SIZE of a Wigeon; length fifteen inches. Bill two, red, round 
the base black ; the head is pale bluish ash, marked with minute 
dusky specks, as in the Wigeon ; lower part of the neck and breast 
bluish ash, the feathers margined with ash; back reddish brown, 
edged cream-colour; quills dusky ash ; speculum of the wings pale 
greenish blue, bounded above and below with white ; legs pale red ; 
webs dusky; claws black. 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope.—Sir Joseph Banks. 


90.—SUPERCILIOUS DUCK. 


Anas superciliosa, Ind. Orn. ii. 852. Gm. Lin. i. 537. 
Supercilious Duck, Gen. Syn. vi, 497. 

THIS is nearly the size of a Mallard: length twenty-one inches. 
Bill lead-coloured, with a black tip; general colour of the plumage 
cinereous brown, the edges of the feathers very pale; over the eye 
a white streak ; beneath a second, broader; chin and fore part of 
the neck dusky white; speculum of the wings pale blue, tinged with 
green, bounded by black, edged with white; legs dusky ash. 

Inhabits New Zealand. Found both in Charlotte’s Sound and 
Dusky Bay; there called He-turrera.—Sir Joseph Banks. I suspect 
that this and the last are allied: probably differ in sex. 


91.—CANVAS-BACKED DUCK. 


Anas valisneria, Canvas-backed Duck, Amer. Orn. vii. 103. pl. 70.5. Frankl. Narr. 
App. p. 699. 

THIS approaches nearest to the Pochard, but is quite distinct; 

it is two feet long, three feet in extent of wing, and weighs three 


328 DUCK. 


pounds. The bill large, rising high in the head, three inches long, 
thick at the base, and glossy black ; irides dark red; cheeks and 
fore part of the head blackish brown; the rest of it, and greater part 
of the neck, bright glossy reddish chestnut, ending in a broad space 
of black, that covers the upper part of the breast, and spreads 
round to the back; the back, scapulars, and tertials white, faintly 
marked with minute, transverse, waving lines or points, as if done 
with a pencil; lower part of the breast and belly white, slightly 
pencilled in the same manner, pretty thick towards the vent; wing 
coverts grey, with numerous blackish specks; primaries and secon- 
daries pale slate ; two or three of them nearest the body finely edged 
with deep velvety black ; the former dusky at the tips; tail very 
short, pointed, with fourteen feathers, hoary brown; vent and tail 
coverts black; lining of the wing white; legs very pale ash; feet 
three inches in width, hence its great power in swimming. 

The female somewhat less; crown blackish brown; cheeks and 
throat pale drab; neck dull brown; breast, as far as the black 
extends on the male, dull brown, skirted in places with pale drab; 
back dusky white, crossed with fine waving lines; belly dull white, 
pencilled as the back ; coverts of the tail dusky; vent white, waved 
with brown. The windpipe of the male has a large, flattish, concave 
labyrinth, the ridge of which is covered with a thin, transparent 
membrane; where the trachea enters this is very narrow, but imme- 
diately above swells to three times of that diameter. Such is the 
description in the Amer. Ornith. by which it appears not to have 
been before described. 


92.—AMERICAN WIGEON. 


Anas Americana, Ind. Orn. 11. 861. Gm. Lin. i. 526. Am. Orn. viii. 86. pl. 69. f. 1. 
Frankl. Narr. App. p. 700. 
Canard Jensen, Buf. ix. 174. Pl. enl. 955, 
American Wigeon, Gen. Syn. vi. 520. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 502. 
THIS isa trifle larger than the Wigeon; length twenty inches. 
Bill lead-colour, tip black; crown and forehead yellowish white, 


DUCK. 329 


the rest of the head and whole of the neck prettily speckled with 
black and white; behind the eye a large black spot, glossed with 
green in different lights, which in some specimens passes to the 
back of the neck ; back and scapulars pale rust, inclining to cin- 
namon, waved with transverse black lines; second quills with black 
shafts, outwardly fringed with white; greater quills brown; in the 
middle of the wing coverts a large bed of white; quills and _ tail 
deep brown, the latter cuneiform; upper tail coverts black and white 
longitudinally, all beneath white; vent black; legs dusky. Called 
by Mr. Abbot, Bald-faced Duck. 

The female has the head and neck spotted thickly with small 
dusky marks; round the breast and back pale ash, with larger 
rufous brown markings; lesser wing coverts plain pale ash; the 
middle ones margined with white; the larger nearly white, forming 
a bed on that part of the wing; quills and tail brown; under parts 
from the breast white, with a ferruginous tinge over the thighs, and 
the vent mixed dusky and white; bill and legs as in the male. 

Inbabits North America, from Carolina to Hudson’s Bay, but 
‘is no where common. Called at New York the Pheasant Duck. 
I find by Mr. Abbot, who furnished the above description, that it 
frequents the ponds about Georgia in the winter, but not common; 
is more plentiful at St. Domingo and Cayenne, where it is called 
Vingeon, or Gingeon. At Martinico great flocks of them often take 
flight from one plantation to another, where they make much havock, 
particularly during the rainy season; said to perch on trees, to feed 
in company, and have a sentinel on the watch, like some other birds. 
This species is seldom seen during the day, lying hid in places shaded 
from the sun, but coming forth in the dusk to feed ; during which 
they make a particular kind of noise, so as to guide the sportsman 
in his researches after them, thereby betraying themselves ; when 
otherwise, under cover of the evening, their silence would protect 
them ; at other times their note is a kind of soft whistle, which is 


often imitated, in order to decoy them within reach of gun. The 
VOL. &. Uv 


330 DUCK. 


female sits in January, and in March the young are seen running 
about; the eggs are sometimes hatched under Hens, and such birds 
are, while young, familiar; though when grown up, exceedingly 
quarrelsome with other Ducks; yet being arrived at maturity they 
feed freely ; and as the flesh is excellent, it is to be wished, that they 
could be fully domesticated. They appear on the coasts of Hudson’s 
Bay in May, as soon as the thaw comes on, and chiefly in pairs ; 
lay from six to eight eggs, and feed on flies and worms in the swamps ; 
depart in flocks in autumn; are there called Atheikimo Asheep.* 

This is a constant attendant on the Canvas-backed Species, so 
abundant in various parts of Chesapeak Bay, and by the aid of 
whose labour he contrives to make a good subsistence. The Wigeon 
is very fond of the tender shoots of that particular species of aquatic 
plant, on which the Canvas-back feeds, and for which that Duck is 
in the habit of diving. The Wigeon, who never dives, watches the 
moment of the former rising, and snatches the delicious morsel from 
his mouth. They are called Bald Pates, and live on this account in 
perpetual contention; are common in the bays of Egg Harbour, 
and Cape May, and those of the Delaware, leaving them in April, 
and seen at Hudson’s Bay in May.+ 


93—BIMACULATED DUCK. 


Anas glocitans, Ind. Orn. ii. 862. Gm. Lin.i. 526. Act. Stock. 1779. xi. t. 33. f.1. 
Bimaculated Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 521. Br. Zool. ii. No. 287. pl. 100. f. 2. Id. 1812. 
i, 274. pl. 42. Bewick, ii. 355. Orn. Dict. 


LENGTH twenty inches. Bill deep lead-colour, nail black ; 
irides brown; crown brown, changing into green, ending in a streak 
of brown at the hind part of the head, in a small crest; between 


the bill and eye, and behind each ear, ferruginous spots, the first 
round, the latter oblong, and large; throat fine deep purple; the 


* Mr. Hutchins. + Amer, Ornjth. 


DUCK. 331 


rest of the head bright green, continued in streaks down the neck ; 
breast light ferruginous brown, spotted with black; hind part of the 
neck and back dark brown, waved with black; wing coverts ash ; 
the lower streaked with rust; scapulars cinereous; quills the same, 
inclining to brown; secondaries fine green, ending in a shade of 
black, edged with white; tail coverts inclining to brown; secon- 
daries fine green, ending in a shade of deep changeable green; 
tail of twelve feathers, the two middle black, the others brown, edged 
with white; belly dusky, finely granulated; legs small, yellow; 
webs dusky. 

Inhabits the eastern parts of Siberia; has been met with along 
the Lena, and about the Lake Baikal; has a singular note, somewhat 
hike clucking. ‘Taken in a decoy near Sir G. Turner’s, at Ambro- 
seden, Bucks, in 1771. 


94.—-MEMBRANACEOUS DUCK. 


Anas membranacea, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. |xix. 
fasciata, Mat. Misc. pl. 697. 
New-Holland Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 359. 


LENGTH twenty inches. Bill almost three, and black, and of 
a singular construction, being greatly enlarged at the end, and 
rounded ; appearing, when viewed above, not unlike that of the 
Spoonbill, and is occasioned by a thin, cartilaginous membrane; the 
sides beneath greatly pectinated, with the addition of a conspicuous 
black nail at the end; the nostrils quite at the base; irides blue; 
the general colour of the plumage rufous brown above, inclining to 
ash on the crown, and the nape nearly black, and a little elongated 
into a crest; the eye placed in a dark space, almost black; behind 
the eye a longitudinal, rose-coloured spot, about half an inch in 
length ; the neck and under parts of the body dusky white, marked 
with numerous, transverse, dusky bands; sides under the wings 
fasciated with black ; towards the vent, and sides under the wings, 
nearly black; legs bluish black. 


Uv2 


332 DUCK. 


The female differs but little, but the bars on the under parts of 
the body are more numerous than in the male; and in both sexes 
the vent is buff-colour. 

Inhabits New South Wales, but is said to be a rare species, 
known to the natives by the name of Yeronge, or Wrongi. We 
have to observe, that the figure of this bird, in the Naturalist’s 
Miscellany, has the bill too much elongated, and not swelling out 
at the end, which is the case in the real bird; the crown, too, in this 
representation is whitish, and not ash-colour. 


95.—SOFT-BILLED DUCK. 


Anas malacorhynchos, Ind. Orn. ii. 862. Gm. Lin. i. 526. 
Blue-grey Duck with a soft bill, Cook’s Voy.i. p. 72.97. Forst. Voy. i. 157. 
Soft-billed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 522. 67. 


LENGTH eighteen inches. Bill one inch and a quarter long, of 
a pale ash, the end of it soft, membranaceous, and black ; the top of 
the head greenish ash; body in general pale bluish lead-colour; 
across the wing a spot of white; on the breast a mixture of fer- 
ruginous; legs dusky blue. 

Inhabits New Zealand: met with in Dusky Bay, in April. It 
is singular on account of the end of the bill being flexible and soft ; 
is supposed to live chiefly by suction, searching out the worms, &c. 
in the mud, when the tide retires from the beaches. Said to whistle 
like the Whistling Duck. Called at New Zealand, He-weego. 


96.—POCHARD DUCK. 


Anas ferina, Ind. Orn. ii. 862. Lin.i. 203. Fn. suec. No. 127. Gm. Lin. i. 530. 
Brun. No. 80. Muller, No. 124. Frisch, t.171. Fn. Helv. Fn. Arab. iv. No. 
13. Batt. Amer. Orn. viii. 110. pl. 70. f.6.2 Tem. Man. 564. Id. Ed. 2d. 869. 

Anas fera fusca, Rati, 143. A.10. Will. 288. t. 72.. Id. 282. 12.—female. Klein, 
Av. 132, 5. 


DUCK. 333 


Anas erythrocephala, N. C. Petr. xv. 465. 14. t. 20. 

Penelope, Bris. vi. 384. t. 35. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 462. Gerin, v. t. 683, 584. 

Die Tafelente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 656. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 1028. 

Rothhals, Bese. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 603. t.17. f.5, 6.—the trachea, WNaturf. xii. 136. 
Schr. d. Berl. Nat. iii. 374. t. 8. f. 1. 

Millouin, Bufi ix. 216. Pl. enl. 803. 

Pochard, Gen. Syn. vi. 523. Id. Sup. 1. 354. Br. Zool. ii, No. 284. Td. fol. 156. 
pl. Q. 5. Id. 1812. ii. p. 271. Will. Engl. 367. pl. 72. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 491. 
Albin, ii. pl. 98. Lin. Trans. iv. 116. pl. xiv. f. 5, 6.—the trachea. Bewick, ii. 
pl. in p. 356. Lewin, vil. pl. 253. Walcot, i. pl. 74.  Pult. Dors. p.20. Orn. 
Dict. & Supp. 


THIS is about the size of the Wigeon, but shorter; length 
nineteen inches, breadth two feet six inches ; weight twenty-eight 
ounces. The bill one inch and three quarters long, broader than in 
the Wigeon, deep blue, with a black tip; irides orange; head and 
neck deep chestnut; lower part of the neck and breast, and upper 
part of the back, dusky black ; scapulars, and wing coverts nearest 
the body, bluish white, minutely barred with dusky black ; exterior 
wing coverts and quills dusky brown; belly dusky white, with 
numerous dusky lines on the sides; tail dusky grey, of fourteen 
feathers, dashed with ash ; legs lead-colour. 

The female has the head pale reddish brown ; breast the same, 
but deeper ; wing coverts and belly cinereous ; back as in the male. 
The trachea of the last is like that of the Scaup, but two inches 
shorter, and of nearly the same diameter throughout ; the drum-like 
labyrinth at the bottom is more round on the upper side, but crossed 
with a small bony partition, as in that bird. The bony box, of 
which the other partition consists, is scarcely elevated on this side, 
and on the other much less so than in the Scaup ;_ it likewise forms 
an obtuse angle with the rest of the trachea ; but in the Scaup it 
does not deviate from straight line, though forming a considerable 
enlargement. 

Pochards are met with in the fens of England in the winter, 
whence they are brought up to the London markets; sometimes in 
considerable numbers, where they are known by the name of Dun 


304 DUCK. 


Birds,** and valued much for the excellent flavour of the flesh ; are 
known also by other names, as Attile Duck, Red-headed Poker, 
Great-headed Wigeon, Blue Poker, and Dun Cur. We believe 
that they rarely breed in this kingdom, but have been ascertained so 
to do by Mr. Youel, who informs us, that several were seen in May 
on Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk, sitting on their nests, and with the 
young nearly excluded.t They come into France the end of October, 
in small flocks, from twenty to forty, and one has been shot there in 
July ; in winter found far to the south. Forschal describes it fully 
among the birds of Cairo, where its Arabian name is Batt.t To the 
North is found as high as Drontheim, and in the great rivers and 
Jakes in all latitudes of the Russian Empire. Is well known in 
America, in winter as low as Carolina,| and is probably the Red- 
headed Duck of Lawson ; sometimes seen in the rivers and ponds 
about Georgia, but is rare; is known there by the name of Brown- 
headed Duck and Sheldrake ; it feeds on small fish and shells, and 
has a hissing voice ; the flight rapid and strong ; the flocks form no 
particular shape in flying, but mix indiscriminate. These birds will 
bear confinement in the menagerie.§ 


A.—Penelope nigra, Bris. vi. 389. A. Id. 8vo. ii. 463. Gen. Syn. vi. 524. 68. A. 
Ind. Orn. ii. 863. 6. 


This Variety differs from the last in a few particulars. The bill 
is black, with a blue base; irides yellow; head and neck chestnut; 
the lower part ash-coloured on the sides, and blackish before; the 
back, rump, and tail, of this last colour; breast and belly brown, 
mixed with dusky and ash; wings mixed black and white; legs 
olive; webs and claws black.—Originally described by Aldrovandus, 
but where found was not mentioned by him. 


*The female of the Wigeon is also so called. + Lin. Trans. xiii. 616. 
{ Faun. Arab. || Cates. § Orn. Dic. Supp. Col. Montagu kept one for 
three years, at the end of which it was tame, and in good health. 


DUCK. 339 


97.—RUFOUS-NECKED DUCK. 


Anas rufa, Ind. Orn. i. 863. Gm. Lin. i. 515. 
—— ruficollis, Scop. i. No. 81. 
Rufous-necked Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 477. 


SIZE of the Mallard. Bill black; head and neck rufous; 
breast black ; back variegated with lines of brown, tending back- 
wards; wings plain cinereous brown; tail short, not longer than 
the wings, when closed; legs black. 

Native place not mentioned: probably a Variety of the last. 


98.---FULVOUS DUCK. 


Anas fulva, Ind. Orn. ii. 863. Gm. Lin. i. 530. 
Quapach canauhtli, Rati, 177. 

Penelope Mexicana, Bris. vi. 390. Id. 8vo. ii. 464. 
Mexican Pochard, Gen. Syn. vi. 524. 


BILL and legs dusky ash-colour; eyes black; head, neck, 
breast, belly, thighs, and under tail coverts, fulvous ; back, scapu- 
lars, wing coverts, and rump, transversely barred fulvous and brown ; 
tail black and white.—Inhabits Mexico. 


99.—CHESTNUT-CROWNED DUCK. 


SIZE of a Mallard; length two feet. Bill two inches long, 
dusky, the under mandible yellow, the upper much serrated on the 
edges, with a bent nail; feathers of the crown rather full, and 
including the eyes, fine brownish chestnut; this continues down the 
back of the neck, but becomes paler, blending with the colour of 
the back, which is pale rufous brown; wings and tail the same; 
speculum dirty white ; quills dusky, the four outer ones nearly alike, 


336 DUCK. 


but those more inward are mostly dirty white, like the speculum, 
with brown ends; the under parts from chin to vent fine pale ash, 
but inclining on the breast and sides to brown; legs brown, claws 
moderate, hind toe placed high up ; wings and tail nearly even, the 
quills reaching almost to the end of it. 

In the collection of Lord Stanley. 


100..-VARIED-BILLED DUCK. 


THE general colour of the bill in this bird is yellow, near the 
base a square patch of red; close to this another of white, and 
adjoining to it a transverse band of black ; the head and neck are 
dusky black; breast and all beneath dusky brown ; beginning of 
the back and scapulars dark green, somewhat glossy; wings brown; 
at the bend a pale mark; on the middle of the wing a large square 
patch of white; middle of the back, the rump, and vent, very dark, 
almost black; quills dark; tail rather long, glossed with green on 
the edges; legs stout, dusky. 

From the drawings in the collection of Mr. Dent. 


101.—JACQUIN’S DUCK. 


Anas Jacquini, Ind. Orn. ii. 863. Gm. Lin. i. 536. Jacq. Vog. p. 5. 3. 


SIZE of the Spanish Duck. General colour of the plumage: 
chestnut ; back dusky black; bill and legs black. 

Inhabits the Island of Dominica, and has a very sharp andi 
loud voice. 


DUCK. 337 


102.—PINTAIL DUCK. 


Anas acuta, Ind. Orn. ii. 864. Lin. i. 202. Fn, suec. No. 126. Gm. Lin. i. 528. 
Scop.i. No. 73. Brun.in App. Muller, No. 122, Kram. 340.9. Georgi, 166. 
Fn. Arag. 75.3. Fn. Helv. Deecouv. russ. i. 162. Sepp. t. 92,93. Tem. Man. 
541, Id. Ed. 2d. 839. 

Anas caudacuta, Raii, 147. A.5. Id. 192. 13. Will. 289. t. 73. Frisch, t. 160— 
168. Klein, 133. 15, Id. 1389. 32. Sloan. Jam. 324, xi. Bartr. Trav. 292. 
Amer. Orn. viii. 72. pl. 68. f. 3. 

Anas longicauda, Bris. vi. 369. t. 34. f. 1,2. Jd, 8vo, ii. 459. Gerin. v. t. 581. 

Canard a longue Queue, Buf. ix, 199. t. 13. Pl. enl. 954—male. 

Der Pfeilschwantz, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 651. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 1116. 

Die Spiessente, Schmid, Vog. p. 152. t. 130. 

Tzitzihoa, Rati, 175. 

Sea Pheasant, or Cracker, Will. Eng. 376. pl. 73. Albin, ii. pl. 94, 95. 

Pintail, Gen. Syn. vi. 526. Id. Sup. ii. 352. Br. Zool. ii. No. 282. Id. fol. 156. 
pl. Q.8.—male, Q.—female. Jd. 1812. ii. p. 266. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 500. 
Bewick, ii. pl. p- 360. Lin. Trans. iv. 110, pl. xiii. f. G—the trachea. Lewin, vii. 
pl. 261. Walcot,i. pl. 72. Pult. Dors. p,21. Orn. Dic. §& Supp» Graves 
Br. Orn. 


LESS than a Wild Duck ; length twenty-eight inches; breadth 
thirty-six ; weight thirty-two ounces. Bill two inches and a half 
long, and black, on the sides bluish ; head, and for an inch of the 
neck before, rusty purplish brown ; nape dusky ; forepart and sides 
of the neck white, a little mottled with dusky, the white rising 
upwards on each side at the back part, in a narrow streak, towards 
the hindhead ; the neck long and slender, hind part of it and back 
greyish white, finely barred with black ; sides of the body the same, 
but paler ; scapulars long, pointed, and margined with very pale 
cream-colour ; wings pale dusky brown ; across them, first, a pale 
rufous bar, then a broad deep copper one, edged with black, and 
below this a narrow one of white; the two middle tail feathers are 
black, and more than three inches longer than the rest, the others 
dusky, edged with white ; the under parts of the body white ; vent 


black, the sides of it white ; legs lead-coloured, 
VOL. x, XX 


338) DUCK: 


The female is smaller; the head and neck dusky, minutely 
streaked with brown ; back brown, margins of the feathers pale 
reddish white; the scapulars margined with pale rufous; wing 
coverts as the back, but with deeper margins; across the. wing a 
cream bar, bounded: above and below with white; tail as in the 
male, but the two middle feathers not elongated, 

The young males remain of greyish brown, not greatly unlike 
the females, till February, when they first gain the proper dress of 
their sex. We learn that they moult twice in the year, throwing off 
the male dress in June, and regaining it the end of October, in the 
intermediate time the male may be easily mistaken for the female.** 

The trachea of the male ends in a bony arch, and attached to it a 
bony bladder, nearly round, about the size of the thumb, . the upper 
part even withethat of the bony arch, but the bottom greatly below 
it ; from one of these the first division arises to pass to the lungs, and 
from the other the second. 

This is a pretty common species, but not so plentiful in England 
as in many parts of the Continent ; and only found on our coasts in 
winter ;+ it is also frequently taken in our decoys, and sold under 
the name of Sea Pheasant; it does not remain here to breed, but is 
supposed to migrate more northward for that purpose. Common in 
the Russian Dominions,{ as far as Kamischatka ; seen in Sweden 
and Denmark in the spring, and breeds about the White Sea.|| In 
the winter is common in France, Germany,§ Italy,4{ Spain, and 
Switzerland. In plenty about the Lake Baikal, in Asia, and extends 
both’ to China and India, where it is caught in snares on the sea 
coasts. Feeds on small fish, which pass within reach while on the 
water, also on reptiles on shore, but is not found to dive under water, 


* See an-account in Sapp. to Orn. Dict. 

+ Visits the Orknies in great- flocks;in winter; in great quantities m: Connaught,” in 
Ireland, in February only.-Br. Zool. 

* In troops of hundreds on the borders of the Don.—Decouv. russ. i. p. 162. 

\| Arct. Zool, § Kramer. @ About Rome, there called Coda lancea.==Will,® 


DUCK. 339 


or perhaps.very rarely. In North America isin equal plenty ; called 
.at New York the Blue Bill ;* from thence as far north at least as 
‘Hudson's Bay, at which it is said to breed; and from whence I 
have received it. The flesh is very finely flavoured, and tender. Is 
seen.as far south.as Georgia, but not common, only met with at the 
end of winter and beginning of the spring, when it departs northward. 


103.—LONG-TATLED DUCK. 


Anas glacialis, Ind. Orn. ii, 864, Lin. i. 203. Gm. Lin. i. 529, Scop. i. No. 74. 
Brun. No.75—79. Mull. No. 122. Phil. Trans. \xii. 418, Besch. d. Berl. Nat. 
i. S656, Lin. Trans. xii. 555. pl. 30. f. 3, 4—the trachea. Tem. Man. 559. 
Id. Ed. 2d. 861. Parry's App. ceviii. 

Anas hyemalis, Lin, i, 202, Fn, suec. No. 125. Fn, groenl. No, 49. 

longicauda Islandica, Bris. vi. 879. Id. 8vo. ii, 46. 

eaudacuta, Havelda, Raz, 145. Will. 290. 

Clangula glacialis, Northern Garrot, Ross’s Voy. App. ii. p. xlviiii. 

Die Winterente, Eisente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 684. Id. Ed. 2d, iv. 1124, 

Canard a longue Queue de Terre neuve, Buf. ix. 202. 

‘Canard de‘Miclon, Pi. enl. 1008. 

‘Swallow-tailed Shieldrake, Will, Engl. 364. 

Long-tailed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi, 528, 529. Br, Zool.ii. No, 283. Jd, fol. 156. pl. 
Q. 7. Jd. 1812, ii. 268, pl. 44, 45, Var. Edw. pl. 280. Jd. pl. 156—young 
male, Arct. Zool, ii. 501. Jd. Sup. p. 76, Will. Engl. 364. § V. Bew. ii. pl. 
p- 363. Lewin, vii. pl. 262, Don. pl. 111. Wale. pl. 70. f.1, 2. Pult. Dors. 
p20, Am. Orn, viii, .93. pl. 70. £.1,2. Lin. Trans. xii. 584. pl. 30. f. 3, 4— 
thetrachea, Orn. Dict, Supp. last Plate, f. 3, 4. 


SIZE of a Wigeon ; length twenty-two inches ; extent of wing 
twenty-nine ; weight twenty-four ounces. The Bill is a litle 
gibbous at the base, black, with:a transverse mark of red in the 
middle, and an ‘oval nail at the end ; irides red ; head white, varied 
with different:coloured spots ; the forehead, cheeks, and round the 
eyes, violet ash-colour, but the front and orbits are white; on the 
temples a large oval dusky spot, ‘and behind that, beneath the ears, 


* Kalm. Trav. i. 137. By some the Sprig-tail. 
Xx2 


340 DUCK. 

an oblong, brown, bronzed one ; neck white ; breast and half the 
belly black, the rest white ; back’ black, marked forwards with a 
cordated, dusky white, large spot; wings black, second quills 
brownish, the feathers greatly acuminated, and some of them hanging 
over the others ; tail cuneiform, long, consisting of twelve feathers, 
the two outer ones white; the third longer, black, with the margins 
and tips white; fourth longer, the same, but not tipped with white ; 
fifth wholly black, much longer, and more narrow than the others ; 
but the two middle are black, very long, pointed, curved at the end: 
the upper coverts black, the lower white; legs lead-colour. 

In the female the bill is rarely marked with a red spot; head 
white, above dirty-coloured ; on the temples a smal! black spot, and 
beneath one of pale grey ; neck white ; on the breast begins a dirty 
circle, which, with the fore part of the belly, is cinereous, the hinder 
part white ; back dusky ; scapulars the same, but not so long as in 
the male; the tail cuneiform, but the four middle feathers only 
exceed in proportion as in other birds, with the wedge-shaped tail ; 
the colour brownish, the outer ones paler, with the middle more 
obscure ; in other things resembling the male. We have reason te 
believe that the male does not gain the elongated tail feathers till a 
certain period of life; for some of this sex, apparently adults, bave 
been met with, having tails no longer than in the female. The 
young birds are in genera! more dull in colour than the adults, and 
the white parts not pure; belly white; back and wings black 
in all; the scapulars ash-colour, with pale margins, but they vary 
exceedingly according to their ages. M. Brunnich* describes five 
birds of this species, but does not pretend to determine how they 
differ from each other in respect to sex or age. Steller, who 
observed them in Kamtschatka, says, that the larynx in the male 
has three openings, covered with a thin (supposed valvular) mem- 
brane, which forms the singularity of its voice;+ but in the female 


* Orn. boreal. No. 73—79. + Descrip. Kamtsch. 498. However this may be, 
the females are uniformly the more noisy. 


DUCK. 341 


the windpipe is of an uniform thickness throughout. Captain Ross 
observes, that the lower portion has six bony ribs on each side, 
uniting posteriorly, forming a convexity ; anteriorly they advance to 
complete the tube, but terminating abruptly; they form on each side 
aridge of small tuberosities, leaving an open space, broader at the 
lower than the upper end, &e. 

This species inhabits the northern regions, and now and then in 
severe weather comes into England, but never in numbers; met 
with in the Orknies, in considerable flocks, from October to April ;* 
on the Continent frequents Sweden, Lapland, and Russia; seen 
often in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburgh, also in Kamtschatka ; 
is found the whole year in Greenland, and adjoining Islands. Feeds 
on various small shells, which it gets by diving, especially the 
Mytilus discors ; it makes the nest in the grass near the water, in 
the manner of the Eider, and lays five bluish white eggs; it flies in 
an undulating manner, and sometimes with the back and sometimes 
with the belly uppermost ; swims and dives well ; the note of the 
male imitates the word A-a-glick. ‘The feathers, could they be had 
in sufficient plenty, are equal in quality to those of the Eider. 

Is met with in India at some seasons, as I have found it 
represented in drawings from that part of the world, where it is 
called Degonja. Is found also in North America, from Hudson’s 
Bay to New York ; remains in the former, as in Greenland, the 
whole year ; called there Hahaway, and sometimes appears numer- 
ous, flying in large flocks;+ the flight short, and near the surface 
of the water. 


* Arct. Zool. A female once met with in Devonshire—.Orn. Dic. Supp. 
+ Seldom fewer than ten, and often as far as fourteen or fifteen.—Mr. Hutchins. 
}$ About Chesapeake Bay called South-Southerly, from the cry imitating these words ;' 


or as some think, when clamorous, it betokens a southerly wind ; at New Jersey known by 
the name of Old Wife.—-Am. Orn. 


342 DUCK. 


_A.—Querquedula Ferroensis, Bris. vi. 466. t.40. f.2. Id.8vo.ii, 482. Ind. Orn. 865. 8. 
Sarcelle de Ferroe, Buf. ix. 278. Pl. enl. 999—young bird. Gen. Syn. vi. 531. 


LENGTH. sixteen inches.and.a half. Bill dusky, at the base of 
the upper. mandible a spot of pale.grey, from thence a black streak 
down the middle of the crown to the. hindhead ; sides of the head 
pale. grey, inclining to yellow ; and just,round the eye white ; hind 
part of the head, and neck, dusky and white mixed ; sides of the 
last dark brown ; throat, and forepart of the neck, white, minutely 
spotted with brown ; back, wings, rump, and upper tail coverts, 
brown ; the last white on the sides; scapulars long, brown, with 
rufous margins ; breast and belly white; tail pointed, the four 
aniddle feathers grey brown, the five on each side pale grey, with 
whitish edges ; legs brownish lead-colour. 

Inhabits the Ferroe Isles, and there called Oedel ; supposed to 
be.a.variety of the female. Further descriptions might be added 
dvom. other authors, but we trust that the above will be sufficient to 
discriminate the species. 


104.—WESTERN DUCK. 

Anas dispar, Ind. Orn. ii. 866. Gm. Lin.i. 535. Mus. Carls. fase. i. t. 7, 8. 
—— occidua, Nat. Mise. pl. 34. 
Stelleri, Pall. Spic. vi. 85.\t.5. Gm. Lin.i. 518. 

Western Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 532. Id. Sup. 275. Art. Zool. ii. No. 497. pl. 23. 

LENGTH = seventeen inches. Bill like that .of the Wigeon, 
black ; irides hoary brown ; top and sides of the head and neck, 
and hind part of the last, for half way, white ; across the forehead, 
from eye to eye, a pea-green band ; at the nape a transverse one of 
the same, but much deeper in colour, beneath which is a round 
black spot, the size of a. pea; at the lower angle of the eye, behind, 
another of the same, but irregular in shape ; ‘the chin, ‘throat, and 
neck before, black, communicating with a collar of the same, which 
surrounds the neck about the middle ; from the hind part of this the 


EO @.G v.& 


DUCK. 343 


black passes down over the back, quite to the tail ; breast and»sides 
pale and ferruginous, deepening into chestnut in the middle, growmg 
still deeper as it passes towards the vent, where it is black ; the 
second quills are six inches long, and curve downwards, partly 
white and partly black, the colour divided obliquely on each 
feather ; the scapulars are also long, pointed, and curve elegantly 
downwards over the greater coverts, as in the Garganey ; each has 
the web next the body very little broader than the shaft itself, and 
both of them white; the other very broad, and black ; legs black. 

In that of Pallas the head is said to be somewhat crested, the: 
green spot before the eye not uniting across the head, and is broader 
than in the above bird; the black spot at the angles of the green 
band not mentioned, otherwise one description might suflice. 

The female has: the whole plumage mixed brown and ferruginous, 
somewhat in the manner of the Woodcock ; the quills all straight 
and dusky ; some of the secondaries have white tips, making a spot 
on the wing; and some of the lower coverts are also tipped with 
white, forming a large spot of white forwards; legs black. 

This is a rare and elegant species. Found about the sea coasts 
of Kamtschatka, and breeds among the inaccessible rocks: flies in 
flocks. A pair of them were shot at one time, on a river in Ostro- 
gothia, in Sweden ; frequents also the western side of America. 
Mr. Pennant observes, that the female has much resemblance to the 
Red Duck, or Ferruginous Duck of the Br. Zool. which, is said to 
have been killed in England, in Lincolnshire, but later observations 
have not furnished us with a similar instance. 


105.—PINK-HEADED DUCK. 


Anas catyophyllacea, Ind. Orn. ii. 866. 
Pink-headed Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. 276. pl. 119. 


SIZE of the Black-billed Whistling Duck; length twenty or 
twenty-one inches. Bill.two inches and a half long, a trifle bent at 


344 DUCK. 


the point, colour pale red, with the base and point pink; and in 
some subjects mottled with black ; head and half the neck pink, the 
feathers short and downy ; irides red, the general colour of the rest 
of the plumage deep chocolate brown, with a tinge of pink through- 
out the whole; wings paler brown, and the outer edges of three or 
four of the quills pale red, giving the appearance of a speculum; 
bend of the wing white, and some of the lower coverts curve down- 
wards at the ends, as in the male of the Western Duck; tail about 
two inches long, and darker than the quills, which reach to about 
two-thirds of the length; legs pale, reddish brewn, or blue grey, 
with dark webs. 

The adult female is said not to differ from the male, except in 
the plumage being less brilliant in colours; and, according to some 
drawings, none of the wing coverts curve downwards. 

Tnhabits various parts of India ; most frequent in the Province 
of Oude ; is rarely seen in flocks, for the most part only two being 
found together; is often kept tame, and becomes tolerably familiar. 


106.—SPIRIT DUCK. 
THE MALE. 
Anas Albeola, Ind. Orn. ii. 866. Lin. i. 199. Gm. Lin. i. 517. Phil. Trans. \sii. 
416. Am. Orn. viii. p. 51. pl. 57. f.2,3. Frankl. Narr. App. p.701. 
Anas bucephala, Lin. i. 200. Gm. Lin. i. 521. Bartr. Trav. 292. 
Querquedula Ludoviciana, Bris. vi. 461. t.41. f. 1. Jd. 8vo. ii. 481. 
Anas hyberna, Bris. vi. 349. Jd. 8vo. ii. 454, 
Der Dickkopf, Schr. d. Berl. Nat. vii. 455. Bes. Vog. Kurl. No.77. Nat. xii. 138, 
Sarcelle blanche et noire, ou la Religieuse, Buf. ix. 284. Pl. enl. 948. 
Petit Canard a grosse téte, Buf. ix. 249. 
Little Black and White Duck, Edw. pli. 100. 
Spirit Duck, Are. Zool. ii. 487. 
Buftel-headed Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 533. Arc. Zool. iis No. 489. Cat. Car. i. pl. 95. 


THE FEMALE. 


Anas rustica, Zin.i. 201. Gm. Lin. i. 524. Bartr. Trav. 292. 
Querquedula Carolinensis, Bris. vi. 464. Id. 8vo. ii. 482. 


DUCK. 345 


Sarcelle de la Caroline, Buf. ix. 286. 
Little Brown Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 534. Cat. Car.i. pl. 98. 

THIS is rather larger than a Teal; length sixteen inches. Bill 
near one inch and a half long, and biack ; head and neck green 
gold, with a violet gloss in some lights; behmd each eye the 
feathers are white, passing in a broad patch to the back of the head ; 
the lower part of the neck all round, the breast, and under parts, 
white; outer scapulars white, forming a longitudinal band on each 
side of the back, which, with the remainder of the scapulars, is 
black ; lesser wing coverts dusky, edged with white; the middle 
ones white ; the greater, down the middle, white, but those on each 
side black ; quills dusky black, some of the inner ones marked with 
white on the inner webs; tail cinereous, the three outer feathers 
edged outwardly with white, the shape cuneiform ; Jegs orange, 
claws black. 

Inhabits North America, found at New York in the winter, 
migrating also as far as Carolina ; called in Georgia the Spirit 
Duck ; frequents the ponds there, but is not common: is a most 
difficult bird to shoot, as it dives in a moment at the flash of a gun; 
and as it frequently does this, and rises again at a great distance, is 
called by some the Spirit Duck :** appears at Hudson’s Bay, about — 
Severn River, in June; and makes the nest in trees, in the woods, 
near ponds. 

The Buffel-headed and Spirit Duck of authors seem to differ 
only in the fullness of the plumage about the head, for in every other 
respect they agree minutely. That figured by Catesby seems the same 
as we usually see specimens of in cabinets, with the head feathers very 
full: but in the British Museum is one with the head smooth, and 
similar to that from which Mr. Edwards made his figure. 

To what extent this species is known on the Continent of Europe 
we do not learn, but according to M. Beseke, it is met with on the 
coasts of Livonia and Courland. 


* This said of the male.—Edwards. 
VOL. X. Yy 


346 DUCK. 


107..-_GOLDEN-EYE DUCK. 
COMPLETE BIRD. 


Anas Clangula, Ind. Orn. ii. 867. Lin. i. 201. Fn. suec. No. 192. Gm. Lin. i. 523. 
Scop.i. No.7]. Brun. No. 70,71. Muller, 119. Klein, 133.13. Jd. 135. 27. 
Kram. 341.13. Frisch, t. 181, 182. Georgi, 166. Fn. groenl. No. 43. _ Bris. vi. 
416. t. 37. f.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 470. Rati, 142. A. 8. Will. 282. t. 73. Ph. Tr. 
Ix. 417. 48. Fn. Helv. Gerin. v. t. 593, 594, Amer. Orn. viii. 62. pl. 67. f. 6. 
Tem. Man. 566. Id. Ed. 2d. 871. 

Die Quacherente, Besch. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 599. t.17. f.1,2.—the trachea. Bechst. 
Deuts. ii. 645. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 985. Naturf. xii. 136. 

Bel-duiker, of Ewaker, Sepp, Vog. iv. t. p. 337. 

Le Garrot, Buf. ix. 222. Pl. enl. 802. 

Golden Eye, Gen. Syn. vi. 535. Id. Sup.ii. 855. Br. Zool. 11. No. 296. Td. fol. 154. 
pl. Addend. Jd. 1812. 11. 253. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 486. Albin, i. pl. 96. Will. 
Engl. 368. pl. 73. Lin. Trans. iv. 118. pl. xv. f 1, 2.—the trachea. Bewick, li. 
pl. p. 367. Lewin, vil. pl. 255. Walcot, i. pl. 69. 


YOUNG BIRD. 


Anas Glaucion, Jnd. Orn. ii. 868. Lin. i. 401. Fn. suec. No. 123. Gm. Lin. 1. 525. 
Scop.i. No. 72. Brun. No. 89. Muller, No.120. Frisch, t. 156. Razz, 145. 
ll. Jd. 144. Will. 282.§ ix. x. xi. xii. Gerin. vy. t. 589, 590. Robert, Ic. pl. 21. 

Anas peregrina, §.G. Gmel. It. i1. 183. t. 16. 

Glaucium, Bris, vi. 406. t. 36. f. 1,2. Id. 8vo. ii. 468. Arcé. Zool. i. 573. E. 

Bruinkop Zee-Duiker, Sepp, iv. t. p. 311. 

Die Spattelente, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 677. 

Brown-headed Duck, Lewin, vii. pl. 256. 

Grey-headed Duck, Br. Zool. Ed. 2d. ii. p. 470. 

Glaucium or Morillon, Gen. Syn. vi. 537. Br. Zool. it. No. 277. Id. 1812. ii. p. 254. 
Arct. Zool. ii. 573, F. Will. Engl. 367. § xi. Bewick, ui. p. 371. 


THE length of this species is nineteen inches, breadth twenty- 
six; weight near two pounds. Bill two inches long, and black ; 
irides gold-colour ; head, and half the neck, black, glossed with 
green and violet; at the angle of the mouth, between the bill and 
eye, a large white spot ;* the lower part of the neck, the breast, and 


* We have seen some in which the rudiment only of the white spot was visible, and 
one specimen entirely without it ; these no doubt were young birds. 


DUCK. 347 


under parts, white ; some of the feathers on the sides tipped with 
black ; back, ramp, and upper tail coverts, black ; scapulars black 
and white ; wing coverts black, marked with two patches of white, 
the first on the lesser ; quills black, except seven of the middle ones, 
which are white ; legs orange. The female is smaller; bill some- 
what more narrow at the base, upper part of it on each side at the 
base yellowish red ; head reddish brown, and full of feathers ; neck 
grey, with a few dusky streaks ; breast and belly dirty white ; wing 
coverts and scapulars dusky and ash-colour; middle quills white, 
the rest, and tail, black ; legs dusky orange, webs black. 

The Morillon, or Grey-headed Duck of authors, has been formerly 
considered as distinct in species, but is now known to be no other 
than the Golden Kye, i imperfect feather. It is true, that the birds 
known under this appellation are to be distinguished, the one sex 
from the other, by the male having the formation of the trachea 
precisely the same with that of the complete male Golden Eye. 

The male of this bird is said to have the head and neck 
black, with a violet gloss; lower part of the neck rufous brown; 
back, scapulars, and rump, glossy blackish brown, tinged with 
violet ; breast brown, edged with white; belly white, near the 
vent mixed with brown; quills nearly corresponding with the 
complete bird ; legs lead-colour. 

The female has the head and neck brown, mixed before with 
dusky ; back and scapulars bright brown, dotted with minute grey 
points; lower part of the back and rump dark greenish brown ; 
under tail coverts white, with black bands. We might proceed yet 
farther in the descriptions of incomplete specimens, but we trust the 
above will be sufficient. 

The conformation of trachea in the male is different from that 
of any other of the Duck kind ; about the middle of its length is an 
enlargement, consisting of divers plaits, or joints placed obliquely, 
not differing in texture from the other parts of it, and folding over 


each other, so as to admit of being contracted into a space of 
Wye 


348 DUCK. 


little more than an inch, or dilated to more than four; and being 
cartilaginous, the joints easily recover their tone; from this part 
downwards the whole is bony, swelling out into a double expanded 
enlargement, covered in part with a skin as in others.* 

This species is not unfrequent on our coasts in winter, appearing 
m small flocks, but passes northward in spring to breed ; inhabits 
Sweden and Norway during the summer; is an excellent diver, and 
feeds on small shells; is rarely seen on land, as it is very awkward 
in walking. Attempts have been made to domesticate this bird, but 
it seems out of its element when on land, and with difficulty can be 
brought to eat any thing but bread ; the feet, too, soon get injured, 
so as finally to prevent it walking at any rate. The flesh is much 
esteemed, and the birds are often brought to the markets under the 
name of Pied Wigeons. Is found in Greenland, but considered there 
as a rare species ; is seen in North America in winter, as low as New 
York ; in summer frequent at Hudson’s Bay, on the fresh water 
lakes ; makes a round nest of grass, lined with feathers from the 
breast s+ lays from seven to ten white eggs; is called there 
Miste pe squa pe wew. 


108.--MEXICAN DUCK. 


Anas nove Hispanie, Ind. Orn. ii. 868. Gm. Lin. 1. 525. 

Querquedula Mexicana, Bris. vi. 458. Id. 8vo. 11. 480. 

Toltecoloctli, Metzcanahachtli, Rati, 175. 

Sarcelle du Mexique, Buf. ix. 285. Descr. Surin. i. 158. 

Mexican Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 539. 

SIZE of our Teal; the upper mandible blue, the under black ; 
irides black ; the head is fulvous, with a mixture of blackish, and 
glossy greenish blue; between the bill and eye a large white spot ; 
neck and body white, speckled with black dots, most numerous on 
the breast ; scapulars and upper tail coverts the same; under tail 


* See the figure in the Linnean Transactions, + In hollow trees. Faun. suec. 


DUCK. 349 


coverts blue; those of the wing blue, crossed with a white band ; 
the greater, farthest from the body, blackish ; quills black, some 
of the middle green outwardly, and tipped with fulyous, forming a 
band across the wing, but those nearest the body white, dotted with 
black ; tail dusky black, margined with white ; legs pale red. 

In the female the head, neck behind, back, and scapulars, wing 
coverts, and rump, are black; some of the feathers with fulvous 
edges, and others with white; throat, fore part of the neck, breast, 
and under parts, black and white mixed ; prime quills black, edged 
outwardly with white; the next green on the outer webs; and black 
within, and those nearest the body black, outwardly banded with 
white; tail as in the male ; legs ash-colour. 

Inhabits the Lakes of Mexico, where it is said to be a general 
feeder, continually dabbling in the mud with the bill for worms, 
dead fish, &c.; fond also of frogs, and not refusing any sort of filth; 
however, its flesh is accounted excellent: said to lay three large eggs. 
Is found also at Surinam. 


109.—TUFTED DUCK. 


Anas Fuligula, Ind. Orn. ii. 869. Lin. i. 207. Fn. suec. No. 132. Gm. Lin. i. 543. 
Scop.i. No.78. Kramer, 341. 12. Georgi, 167. Brun. No. 90. Muller, No. 
129. Frisch, t.171. Klein, 133. 11. “Will. 280. t. 78. Bor. iii. p. 19. 15. 
Fn. Helv. Tem. Man. 568: Id. Ed. 2d. 873. 

Glaucium minus, Bris. vi. 411. t.37. 1. Id. Svo. ii. 156. Gerin. vy. t. 591, 592. Cet. 
Uc. Sard. p. 327? 

Anas cristata, Rati, 142. A.7. Ferm. Surin. ii. 156. 3. 

Roepertje, of Kamduiker, Sepp, iii. t. p. 277.—male and female. 

Die europaische Haubenente, Bechs. Deuts. ii. 721. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 997. Besek. 
Kurl. 51. 4. Bes. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 603. t. 17. £. 5, 6.—trachea. Naturf. xii. 138. 

Morillon, Buf. ix. 227. 231. pl. 15. Pl. end. 1001. 

Tufted Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 540. Id. Sup. ii. 855. Br. Zool. ii. No. 274. Id. fol. 
153. Id. 1812. ii. 249, Arct. Zool. ii. p. 573. G. Albin, i. pl. 95. Will. Engl. 
365. pl. 73. Hayes’s Birds, pl. 26. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 372. Lin. Trans. iv. Pp. 
V7. Lew. vii. pl. 257, Walc.i. pl. 78. Pult. Dors. p.20. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


LENGTH sixteen inches, breadth twenty-nine; weight from 
twenty-two to twenty-five ounces. Bill broad, a little turned up 


390 DUCK. 


towards the end, deep blue grey, with the tip black; irides golden ; 
head feathers three inches long, forming a pendent crest; head, neck, 
and breast, black; the first glossed with green; scapulars deep 
blackish brown, sprinkled with minute cream-coloured dots, or 
points, but not visible at a distance; under wing coverts next the 
body white; wings dusky brewn ; across them a narrow white bar ; 
tail of fourteen brown feathers; belly and vent white, the last mixed 
with dusky ; legs dusky blue, webs black. 

The female is like the male, but the crest is wanting, and the 
black colour verges to brown. 

The young birds vary exceedingly in size and colour; differmg 
as much as eight or nine ounces between the weight of different 
specimens; the plumage in such is more or less tinctured with brown, 
with a greater or less mixture of it on the breast; but the belly is in 
general white, and the white lime across the wing conspicuous; but 
in both sexes, and at all ages, may be noticed the seven sub-axillary 
white feathers, the longest three inches and a half, decreasing out- 
wards to about two inches; and for the most part the minute cream 
coloured specks on the wings may be observed. Young birds of 
this species, as well as of the Golden Eye, may be seen in the 
London markets, with those of the Pochard and Wigeon, under the 
common name of Dun Birds, and nothing but a knowledge of the 
fact would prevent the purchaser from thinking them distinct in 
species ; but in respect to the males of either, they may be easily 
detected, by means of the trachea, which in shape and texture much 
resembles that of the Pochard, but the bony, box-like portion is 
elevated, and scarcely to be distinguished from that of the Scaup, 
except in being smaller; the trachea itself also is of smaller dimen- 
sions throughout. These comparisons can scarcely fail to identify the 
species, if properly attended to. Scopoli mentions three Varieties. 


DUCK. 301 


A.—Less than the Wild Duck. Head black, with a violet green 
tinge; crest as long as the finger; quills white on one side; body 
brown; bill and legs black; wings beneath white; ramp sooty, 
varied with white. 


B.—Size the same. Head and beginning of the neck rufous; 
crest more obscure; the rest of the neck, breast, belly, legs, and 
rump, black; bill yellowish ; back brown; wings cinereous brown, 
margined with white; quills white; thighs brown; at the base of 
the wing a conical white band. 


C.—Head and crest rufous; temples shining green; _ breast 
whitish, spotted with black; belly pure white; under tail coverts 
black ; wings brown at the base, then a band of rufous, after that 
glossy green, and lastly black; quills brown: how far these are 
really Varieties of the Tufted Duck I will not undertake to deter- 
mine. I suspect them to be immature birds, but by no means of 
‘the same species. 

The Tufted Duck is found in the winter in this kingdom, and 
probably in sufficient plenty; as we often see it in the London 
markets, sometimes till the end of March, and the flesh is thought 
delicate; reaches to the west as far as South Devon, and there called 
Black Wigeon: is an excellent diver, and observed to feed on the 
Helix putris, which it obtains by diving, searching for it in the mud, 
into which it retreats in the winter season.* 

Inhabits the Continent of Europe, as far as Norway; common 
also throughout the Russian Empire, going northward to breed ; 
frequent also in Kamtschatka. We have it mentioned also as a bird 
of Surinam, by Mr. Fermin; but as no other author has given it as 


* Orn. Dict. 


302 DUCK. 


a native of this part of the world, we cannot be positive of the 
circumstance; it certainly is found in India, and there called Kuyla, 
and Kra chuckrconah. 


110.—RAFT DUCK. 
Anas fuligula, Am. Orn. vii. 60. pl. 67. f.5? 


LENGTH seventeen or eighteen inches. Bill two inches long, 
a little turning up at the end, and bent into a black nail at the point, 
colour dusky black ; about half an inch from the tip an irregular pale 
blue grey bar, a quarter of an inch broad, surrounded at the base 
by a ring of the same; irides yellow; head and neck bright black ; 
with a purplish gloss; hindhead full of feathers, but not sufficient 
to form a crest; just under the bill a triangular white spot; round 
the middle of the neck a deep chestnut collar about an inch in 
breadth; from thence, all round to the breast, dusky black, but 
without any gloss of purple; back, wings, rump, and tail, the same, 
but with a tinge of brown; under parts of the body from the breast 
white, passing upwards on each side in a line before the wings; in 
the place of a speculum a large patch of pale dove, or pale ash- 
colour, with a tinge in some lights of lilac; and some of the feathers 
composing it frmged with white, with a line of white at the hind 
part; above this very deep glossy green, but neither very bright ; 
vent and under tail coverts deep checelate brown; under wing 
coverts mostly white; sides under the wings and lower belly undu- 
lated with numerous lines of grey; under scapnlars six in number, 
and white, as in the Tufted Duck; legs dusky. 

Inhabits America: met with by Mr. Abbot about Georgia, and 
is frequent in the ponds in the winter; sent by him to England, by 
the name of Black Duck, and called there by some the Raft Duck. 

In the collection of India drawings is a similar bird, having a 
transverse patch of white on the wings, bounded with a narrow 


DUCK. 353 


dusky band; many of the quills wholly white, the rest dusky. This 
jast drawing seems to prove the bird a native of India, but how far, 
or whether at all, connected with the Tufted Species we are not able 
todetermine. In the Amer. Ornith. this is called the Tufted Duck, 
and it is added, that in young birds the head and neck are purplish 
brown; in some the chestnut ring is obscure, in others very rich and 
glossy ; and it says also, that in one or two specimens this ring was 
wholly wanting. This bird has many things in common with the 
Tufted Duck, but is probably distinct.—Among a collection of 
drawings sent by Mr. Abbot, is one by the name of the Female 
Black Duck. Bill much as in the other, tip dusky black ; plumage 
in general pale brown, darker on the back ; the head and neck the 
same in colour, not purplish black as in the other, nor with the 
least appearance of the rufous or chestnut ring; but the nape is full 
of feathers, or somewhat tufted ; the wing coverts are pale ash, the 
speculum exactly as in the other, but the lower series of feathers 
greyish white, not pure; the thighs, and behind them to the vent, 
instead of dusky black, brown; tail in both rounded, the two 
middle feathers darker than the rest ; legs bluish. 


111.—LAPMARK DUCK. 


Anas Scandiaca, Ind. Orn. 11. 859. Gm. Lin. 1.520. Tem. Man. 570. Id. Ed, 2d. 875. 
latirostra, Brun. No. 91. Muller, No. 130. (Skoora). 

Anatra Canone Domenicano, Gerin. y. pl. 594. 

Lapmark Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 515. Arct. Zool. ii. 576. M. 


SIZE of the Mallard; length nearly sixteen inches; weight six- 
teen ounces. Bill broad, and black ; head, neck, and breast, chestnut 
brown; irides white; at the base of the bill pale, inclining to yellow ; 
back, wings, and tail, black ; second quills white, tipped with black, 
appearing as a white line on the wing ; breast and belly white ; lower 
part of the last ash-colour ; sides under the wings ferruginous ; legs 
black. 


VOL. X. ZZ 


304 DUCK. 


Inhabits the Coasts of Denmark and Norway ; commen about 
Christianstadt, also Lapmark, frequenting both sea and fresh waters ; 
extends also to India. 

One, suppesed a female. Bill bluish black; head, neck, and 
breast, brownish cream-colour, approaching to dun; back and wings 
chocolate, with a greyish tinge ; feathers of the back margined with 
light rufous; across the wing a series of dusky red feathers; upper 
tail coverts the same; quills and tail like the back, but plain; - 
beneath from the breast light rufous red; legs blue, with dusky 
black webs. 

In one of these, among General Hardwicke’s drawings, the head, 
neck, and breast, are fine chestnut brewn; middle of the belly 
white ; beyond this brown; vent white; outer webs of all the quills 
white for nearly the whole of the length, ends dusky; tail pale ash- 
colour.—M. Temminck joins this with the Tufted Duck, as a bird 
in incomplete feather. 


112.—AFRICAN TEAL. 


Anas Africana, Ind. Orn. ii. 875. Gm. Lin. i. 522. 

leucophthalmos, Tem. Man.572. Id. Ed. 2d. 876. 

Sarcelle 7’ Egypte, Buf. ix. 273. Pl. enl. 1000. 

Bruine Duiker Eend, Sepp. iv. t. p. 323. 

African Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 555. Orn. Dict. Supp. Lin. Trans. xi. p. 178. 


LENGTH sixteen inches. Bill dusky; head, neck, breast, and 
belly, deep bright rufous brown ; on the lower part of the breast a 
patch of white ; the rest of the plumage black ; above and across 
the wing a bar of white. The female differs in being more dull, 
and the breast waved with brown. 

Inbabits Egypt, and seems much allied to the Lapmark Duck, 
if not the same. Several of these were bought in Leadenhall Market, 
in London ; said to have been taken in Lincolnshire. * 


* Mr. Bullock—See Lin. T’rans. 


DUCK. 309 


113.—NYROCA DUCK. 


Anas Nyroca, Ind. Orn. ii. 869. Gm. Lin. i. 542. NV. C. Petr. xiy. 403. 
Olive-tufted Duck, Br. Misc. i. t. 21. 
Tufted Duck, Gen, Syn. vi. 541. 79. Var. A. 


LENGTH. sixteen inches and three quarters. Bill two inches, 
black, toothed on the edges; irides whitish; head compressed, deep 
glossy chestnut; neck, breast, and sides, the same; lower part of 
the neck behind, back, and ramp, olive black ; belly and vent white. 
sides of the last brown; wings shorter than the tail; some of the 
quills edged, and others tipped with olive black; from the seventh 
to the twentieth white, except at the ends, which are black, forming, 
when closed, a large patch, or speculum; tail pointed, black brown ; 
legs deep lead-colour, claws black. 

The female is smaller, dirty rust, where the male is chestnut ; 
belly whitish, clouded; vent paler brown ; back inclined to rufous; 
the rest as in the male. 

Inhabits Russia ; frequent about the River Don; the male and 
female always found together; lays from six to eight whitish eggs, 
in a hollow, on the rising ground, in May: the female, while sitting, 
drives off the male, lest he should break the eggs, which he is 
sometimes known to do. The flesh is well tasted,.as the bird chiefly 
lives on vegetables. 

This is by many supposed to differ only in sex or age from the 
Tufted Species,* but the tail feathers in the last named are rounded 
at the ends, and in the Nyroca they run to a point. In India it is 
called Chuta-chkrionat. The trachea of the male is not:unlike that 
of the Tufted Duck, swelling out in the middle, but contracting 
into a‘much smaller diameter than in that bird.t 


* Lin. Trans. + See Montag. Sup. plate at the end, ‘f..1, 2, 
Zz2 


306 DUCK. 


A.—Anas ferruginea, Ind. Orn. ii. 866. Gm. Lin.i. 528. 

Anas rufa, Faun. suec. No. 134. 

Red Duck, Arct. Zool. ii. No. 576. N. Br. Zool. Ed. 1812. pl. 45. 

Ferruginous Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 526. Br. Zool. ii. No. 285. pl. 99. Bewick, ii. 359. 
Orn. Dict. § Supp. & App. witha figure of the bird, 


WEIGHT twenty ounces. -Bill pale blue, long, flattened, a 
little rounding at the base, with a nail at the end, serrated on the 
edges of both mandibles; head, neck, and the whole of the upper 
part of the head, reddish brown; throat, breast, and belly, the same, 
but paler; legs pale blue, webs black. 

Inhabits Sweden, said to be found in the rivers there, but rarely. 
Mr. Pennant has received it from Denmark. An account of one 
killed in Lincolnshire, was also sent to him by Mr. Bolton. By 
some it has been thought to be the female of the Nyroca Duck ; by 
others that of the Western Species. ‘The one described and figured 
in the Supp. to the Orn. Dict. was shot in the north of England. 
Colonel Montagu considers it as a distinct species. 


114.—NEW ZEALAND DUCK. 


Anas nove Zealandie, Ind. Orn. ii. 870. Gm. Lin. i. 541. 
He patek, Forst. Voy.i. 168. Cook’s Voy.i. p. 72? 
New Zealand Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 543. 

SIZE of a Teal; length fifteen inches. Bill bluish white, two 
inches long, and somewhat stout; nail black ; irides golden; head 
and neck black ; hind part glossed with purple, changing in some 
lights to blue; upper parts of the body and wings black, glossed 
with green ; under parts of the body pale ash ; quills deep ash; on 
the secondaries a bar of white; tail short, dirty green; legs pale 
ash-colour. 

Inhabits Dusky Bay, in New Zealand, where it is called He- 
patek.—Sir Joseph Banks. Capt. Cook also mentions one in his 


DUCK. 357 


voyage bigger than a Teal, all black, except the Drake, which has 
some white in the wings, but met with only at the head of the bay. 
The above seems to bear some affinity to the Tufted Duck. 


115.—CRESTED DUCK. 


Anas cristata, Ind. Orn. ii. 870. Gm. Lin. i. 540. 
Crested Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 543. 

SIZE of the Mallard; length twenty-eight inches. Bill two 
inches long, black, turning up at the end, edges of the under man- 
dible yellowish ; irides red; top of the head dusky, crested at the 
nape; forehead, sides under the eyes, and neck, pale ash-colour ; 
chin, and neck before, pale cream, transversely spotted round the 
lower part with dusky and ferruginous; back and wing coverts deep 
dusky ash; lower part of the back and rump inclining to rufous ; 
speculum of the wings fine blue, bounded below with white ;* quills 
and tail black ; the last pointed in shape, and longer than the wings. 

Inhabits Staaten Land. From the same drawings as the last. 

In some other drawings is one, answering to the above descrip- 
tion, but with no blue speculum on the wing; instead of which is 
a large patch of white, arising from the second quills being of that 
colour, and some of the greater ones edged with white. 


116—HAWKESBURY DUCK. 


Anas jubata, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. 1xix. 
Hawkesbury Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 358.—pl. in title page. 
LENGTH twenty-two inches; size of a Wigeon; but the bill 
rather shorter and black; head and neck chocolate brown; at the 
nape the feathers are much lengthened, somewhat paler, and black 


* In the drawing is some appearance of a knob on the joint of the wing, but as nothing 
is said about this in the MS the circumstance must remain uncertain. 


398 DUCK. 


at the ends ; upper part of the back and wing coverts brownish ash= 
colour, the Jast palest ; lower part of the back, rump, tail, and 
middle of the belly, vent, under tail coverts, and quills, black ; but 
the sides of the breast and belly under the wings are grey, crossed 
with minute undulated lines; speculum of the wing green, bounded 
on each side with white, but the white is broader beneath than above ; 
the outer webs of the scapulars black; but the most distinguishing 
character is, that the feathers of the breast have silvery grey ends, 
and on each side of the grey a blackish spot, giving that part an 
undulated appearance, spotted with blackish; the wings, when 
closed, do not reach quite to the end of the tail; legs brown. 

The female differs in having the vent white, instead of black, 
and the green speculum smaller, and less conspicuous. 

Inhabits New South Wales, most frequent about Hawkesbury 
River, and now and then seen to perch on trees. 

Some birds have a longer crest than in others; the head and 
neck, too, are fine rufous, not unlike the same parts in the Pochard ; 
from the lower part of the breast to the middle of the belly ash- 
colour, beautifully marked with curved lines of brown; on the back 
four or five irregular large patches of black; legs black. 


117.—DUSKY BAY DUCK. 


SIZE of the Mallard. Bill black ; plumage above ferruginous; 
head and neck black ; speculum of the wing green, bounded below 
with a broad white bar; tail dusky. In the female the head and 
neck are white. _ 

Inhabits. New-Holland : in plenty about Dusky Bay. 


DUCK. 359 


118.—RED-CRESTED DUCK. 


Anas rufina, Ind. Orn. ii. 870. Gm. Lin. i, 541. Pall. reise, ii. 718. Fn. Helvet. 
Tem. Man..560. Id. Ed. 2d. 865. 

Anas fistularis cristata, Bris. vi. 398. Id. 8vo. ii. 465. Gerin. v. t. 587. 

cristata flavescens. Mars. Dan. 108. t. 52. Klein, 135. 26, 

capite rufo major, Rati, 140.2. Well. 279. 

Canard siffeur huppé, Buf. ix. 182. Pl. enl. 928. 

Kolben Ente, Bechst. Deuts. Ed. 2d. V. iv. 1021. Schmid, Vog. p. 156. t. 129. 

Great Red-headed Duck, Will. Engl. 364. 

Barbary Shoveler, Shaw’s Trav. 254 ? 

Red-crested Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 545. 


THIS is a large bird ; length two feet ; weight three pounds or 
more. Bill fine red; irides brown; upper part of the head and 
neck deep testaceous red ; crown pale rufous, the feathers of it thick 
set, standing up, and forming a pretty large globular crest; body 
in general black, but the under parts incline to dusky ; beginning 
of the back, between the wings, grey brown ; bastard wing paler; 
at the base of it a transverse, Junated, white mark ; wings blackish 
brown ; speculum white, in some surrounded with black ; tail short, 
that and the vent dark brown; the margins of the feathers whitish ; 
legs brown, reddish on the fore part. The female is brown, paler, 
with a reddish bill, and without the crest. 

Inhabits the Caspian Sea, and vast lakes of the Desert of Tartary, 
and is a solitary species: sometimes seen in the great lakes, lying 
on the east side of the Uralian Chain, but not in the rest of Siberia. 
I observe this in India drawings, where it is called Bhoora; the 
female has a dusky head; and the male has not so fine a crest as 
“we see in the Pl. end. The speculum of the wings is dusky white; 
legs pale red, with dusky blue webs. 

This species is found in Italy, as Willughby met with it at Rome ; 
inhabits also Switzerland, and if the same with Shaw’s Red-necked 
Shoveler, is found in Barbary. It has also been once shot ina 


decoy in this kingdom.* 
* Mr. Edwards. 


360 DUCK. 


119.—ICELAND DUCK. 


Anas Islandica, Ind. Orn. ii. 871. Gm. Lin. i. 541. 
Hrafn-ond, Muller, No. 131. Isl. reise, 688. Arct. Zool. iu. 574. H. 
Iceland Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 545. 


GENERAL colour black ; head crested ; fore part of the neck, 
breast, and belly, white; legs saffron-colour. 
Inhabits Iceland, and called Hrafn-ond. 


120.—DUSKY DUCK. 


Anas obscura, Ind. Orn. ii. 871. Gm. Lin. i. 541. Amer. Orn. vii. pl. 72. 5. 
Dusky Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 545. Arct. Zool, ii. No. 496. 


LENGTH two feet. Bill narrow, dusky, tinged with blue; 
crown dusky; neck pale brown, streaked downwards with dusky 
lines; back and wings deep brown; breast and belly the same, 
edged with dirty yellow ; primaries dusky ; speculum of a fine blue, 
bounded by a black bar; tail cuneiform, dusky, edged with white ; 
legs dusky, or yellow. The female chiefly differs in having more 
brown in the plumage. 

Inhabits North America; called on the Coast of Jersey, Black- 
Duck, chiefly in the salt marshes, generally migratory, but some 
remain and breed. The eggs eight or ten, most like those of the 
Domestic Duck; the chief food minute snail shells, found in the 
marshes. The flesh inferior to that of the Wild Duck; are in 
abundance from Florida to New England, but chiefly on the sea 

coast. 


DUCK. 361 


121.—SUMMER DUCK. 


Anas Sponsa, Ind. Orn. ii. 871. Lin. i. 207. Gm. Lin. i. 539. Bor. iti. p. 20. 16. 
Bartr. Trav. p. 293. Amer. Orn. viii. 97. pl. 70. f.3. Shaw's Zool. pl. 1037. 
Frankl. Narr. App. p. 702. 

Anas estiva, Bris. vi. BD1. t. 32. f. 2. Id, Svo. il. 455. Gerin. v. t. 579. 

Yztactzon Yahauhqui, Rati, 176. Will. 299. Klein, 134. 21. 

Beau Canard huppé, Bufv ix. 245. Pl. enl. 980, 981. 

American Wood Duck, Brown, Jam. 481. 

Summer Duck, Gen. Syn. vi. 546. Cat. Car.i. pl. 97, Edw. pl. 101. Aret. Zool. ii. 
No. 493. Orn. Dict. Supp. pl. in ditto, f. v.—trachea. 


SIZE of a Wigeon; length from seventeen to nineteen inches, 
breadth twenty-nine. Bill white, the upper mandible red at the 
base, tip and ridge black ; irides hazel; eyelids crimson ; the hind- 
head much crested; the feathers very long, and hang down the neck; 
the head and crest are glossy green, appearing purple in some lights; 
from the nostrils a white line passes on each side, over the eye, to 
the hindhead ; and from the back of the eye a second, tending to 
the same part ; the hindhead, beneath the crest, black; chin and 
throat white, forming a slender curve upwards round the jaw, ending 
in a point at the back of the eye; below this is a second curve, tend- 
ing towards the nape; the neck below the crest, and breast, of a 
ruddy vinaceous colour, inclining to brown behind; the breast 
marked with triangular spots of white; from thence, as far as the 
vent, white; the feathers which fall over the wings barred black and 
white; back glossy brown; scapulars glossed with blue green; 
second quills with blue; sides of the body finely barred with dusky 
_and creamn-colour ; over the thighs marked with black and white: 
tail poited, black; sides of the vent purplish chestnut; legs orange. 

The female is smaller. The feathers round the base of the bill 
white; round the eyes the same, passing in a streak behind, and 
finishing in a pot; chin and throat white; fore part of the neck 
and breast brown, spotted as in the male, but much less distinct ; 


VOL. X. AAA 


362 DUCK. 


back and tail brown; wings the same, mixed with blue green on 
the coverts and second quills; across the wing a narrow white bar; 
quills dusky, edged near the ends with grey, and within with green; 
belly white; legs as in the male. 

The trachea of this sex has some things in common with the 
Pintail, Gadwal, Wigeon, and Mallard, having like them the lower 
part, at the divarication, firm and bony : it may be compared to that 
of the last named bird, but differs in the labyrinthic enlargement, in 
respect to shape, which is irregularly oval, and placed transversely ; 
the utmost length three quarters of an inch; it appears on the fore 
part attached only to one side, but at the back it spreads nearly over 
the whole of the rings; and at the bottom has a narrow connection 
with the opposite side of the bony part. 

This beautiful species inhabits Mexico, and some of the West 
India Isles, migrating in summer as far north as 40 deg. or a little 
beyond. Appears at New York early in spring, and breeds there ; 
makes the nest in the decayed hollows of trees, or such as have been 
made by Woodpeckers, and often between the forks of the branches, 
hence called the Summer, or Tree Duck; when hatched, the mother 
takes the young on her back to the water. Very common in Georgia 
and Louisiana the whole winter, and sometimes breeds there; the 
eggs twelve in number at least,t pale greenish white, and highly 
polished. The flesh is much esteemed; Mr. Abbot observes, that 
if you put the young ones into a tub, they will climb out by means 
of the bill and feet. Are often kept tame in our menageries, and 
breed freely. Of the neck of this species the Americans of Louisiana 
make their ornaments to the pipes, or calumets of peace. They are 
frequently brought into the markets of Philadelphia for sale. ’ 


* Yet some proceed much farther to the north, as one was shot by Lieutenant Hood, at 
Cumberland House, in May 1820. 

+ Twelve eggs were found in Long Island, on the stump of a decayed tree, and put 
under a Hen; eleven were hatched, viz. eight males and three females, the twelfth was 
destroyed by accident. 


DUCK. 363 


122.—_CHINESE TEAL. 


Anas galericulata, Ind. Orn. ii. 871. Lin. i. 206. Gm. Lin.i. 539. Mus. Lev. t. 10. 
Shaw’s Zool. v. 21. pl. 885, 
Querquedula Sinensis, Bris. vi. 450. Jd. 8vo. ii. 478. Gerin. v. t. 599. 


Kinmodsui, Kempf. Jap. 129. pl. 10. f.3. 
Sarcelle de la Chine, Buf. ix. 276. pl. 19. Pl. enl. 805, 806. 
Chinese Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 548, Edw. pl. 102. 


THIS is somewhat less than a Wigeon. Bill dull red; irides 
hazel; bind part of the head and part of the neck full of feathers, 
and elongated into a flattish crest ; top of the head, down the middle 
of the crown, greenish black ; between the bill and eye pale rufous; 
behind the eye white, passing backwards into the crest, which is dark 
glossy green; the feathers round the upper part of the neck, all 
round, are long and pointed, as in the cock, and dull orange; Jower 
part of the neck and upper part of the breast chestnut ; at the bend 
of the wing three transverse black streaks, and two of white alter- 
nate; scapulars black, margined with white; back and rump dusky 
brown, glossed in some parts with blue green; on the wings a blue 
green speculum, bounded below with white; quills dusky brown, 
edged near the ends with pale grey ; one of the second quills much 
broader on one web than on the other, and curves upwards in an 
elegant manner, standing upright, when the wing is closed ; the 
broader web is pale brownish red, tipped with black, the under, or 
narrow one, dusky black ; tail pointed, dull brown, fringed with 
blue green ; sides of the body brownish cream, transversely marked 
' with fine lines of black ; and over the thighs barred black and white ; 
the lower part of the breast and belly white ; legs orange. 

The female is not unlike that of the Sammer Duck, but has two 
bars of white on the wing; the breast seems more clouded with 
brown, and the spots are not of a triangular shape, but rounded ; 
however, there appears at first sight very little difference between 


the females of the two species. 
Aaa2 


364 DUCK. 


This handsome bird inhabits China and Japan, and we believe 
also India, as it appears frequently in drawings from the latter; it is 
a most singular and elegant species, and kept deservedly for the sake 
of its beauty, by the inhabitants. We do not find that it is near so 
common in China as many other kinds, unless the Chinese politically 
hold them dear to the European purchasers; but they are frequently 
exposed to sale at Canton, in cages, and the common price is from 
six to ten dollars the pair; they are not unfrequently- brought to 
England alive, but require much care, being more tender than our 
species, nor can they be bred in this country, though they are suffi- 
ciently familiar. It may not be amiss here to hint, that in any future 
attempt, care should be taken that both sexes are of Chinese origin; 
for the female of the Summer American Duck is so like that of 
China, as to be mistaken for it. This species is called in Japan 
Kimnodsui; in China Yan-iang; and by the English Mandarin-Duck. 


123.—SUMMER TEAL. 


Anas‘ Circia, Ind. Orn. ii. 873. Lin. i. 204. = Fn. suee. No. 130. Gin. Lins i. 853. 
Scop.i. No. 76. Brun. No.83. Rati, 148.7. Will. 291. t.76. Klein, 132. 8. 

Querquedula estiva, Bris. vi. 445.33. Id. Svo. ii. 477. 

Die Sommer Halbente, Bechst. Deuts. 1. 669. Id. Ed.2d. iv. 1150. Schr. de Berl. 
Nat. vii. 457. Besc. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 604. t. 18. f. 4.—trachea. 

Sareelle d’Eté, Buf. ix. 268. Pl. enl. 946. 

Summer Teal, Gen. Syn. vi, 552. Will. Engl. 378. pl. 76. Albin, ii. pl. 103, 104. 
Orn. Dict. & Supp. 


Co 


THIS is thirteen inches in length, and weighs twelve ounces. 
Bill dark ; the plumage on the upper parts greyish brown, margined 
with white on the back; over the eye a white streak ; cheeks and 
throat chestnut; fore part of the neck rufous, margined with brown ; 
under parts of the body rufous white, spotted with black on the 
belly ; scapulars like the back, the larger white down the middle; 
wing coverts cinereous; across the wing a white streak; quills 


DUCK. 365 


brown; speculum green, edged with black, bounded below with 
white ; legs bluish. The female smaller; above cinereous brown, 
feathers of the back edged with rufous; cheeks, throat, and under 
parts, white; over the eye a white line; wing coverts and scapulars 
grey brown, edged with rufous ; the rest of the wing as in the male, 
but no black in the speculum. . 

Buffon seems dubious of its being distinct, yet gives a full 
account of its remaining in France, throughout the summer, and 
breeding there, in all respects like the Teal; and he adds, that the 
male, when the time of incubation is over, becomes so like the 
female, as not to be distinguished, but regains its plumage after 
January. bbe 

This bird has given rise to various opinions. It is thought by 
some to be the young of the Common Teal, by others that of the 
Garganey, which is rarely seen here beyond the month of April ; nor 
do we know for certain that either of them has bred in England, except 
perhaps in the more northern parts. M.Temminck thinks the 
Summer Teal to be the Garganey im complete plumage, and this 
may now be fully ascertamed from the trachea of the male, which 
differs so much in the Garganey and Summer Teal,+ as to furnish an 
unerring guide to those who may have an opportunity of observing 
the same in a recent state, and serve at least to prove that the Summer 
Teal cannot be the Common Teal in any stage of life. 


124.—-GARGANEY DUCK. 


Anas Querquedula, Ind. Orn, ii. 872. Lin. i. 203. Fn. suec. No. 128. Gm. Lin. i. 
531. Scop.i. No.75. Brun. No.8. Muller, No. 125. Kram. 343. 18. Frisch, 
t. 176, Bris. vi. 427. t. 39. f. 1,2. Jd. 8vo. ii. 473. Ratz, 148. 8. Will. 291. 
t. 74. Klein, 132.8. Fn. arag.75. Fn. Helv. Tem. Man. 545. Id. Ed. 2d. 845. 

Anas Querquedula major mas, Gerin. v. t. 595. 

—— Circia, Sepp, Vog. ii. 182. t. 94, 95. 

Phascas forté Gesnero D. Johnson, Raz, 147. A. 4.—female. Weil, 289. 

Die Knackente, Bechst. Deuts.1i. 662. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. p. 1139. 


* Linnaeus in his Fawn. suecica, calls it blue. + See Lin. Trans, V. iv. pl. 13. f. 1, 2. 


366 DUCK. 


Winter halbente, Bes.d. Berl. Nat. iv. 60. t. 18. f.6.—the trachea. Naturf. xii. 136. 

Sarcelle, Buf. ix. 260. Pl. enl. 946.—the male. 

Garganey, Gen. Syn. vi. 550. Id. Sup. ii. 360. Br. Zool. 11. No. 289. pl. 101. Id. 
fol. 158. pl. Q. 9. ‘Id. 1812. ii. 277. pl. 46. Art. Zool. ii. p. 576. O. Will. 
Engl. 377. pl. 74. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 374. Lin. Tr. iv. 108. pl. xiii. f. 2, 3. 
the trachea. Lewin, vii. pl. 259. Walcot, i. pl. 75. Don.i. pl. 21. Pult. Dors. 
p. 21. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


THIS is a beautiful species, and a trifle larger than the Teal ; 
length seventeen inches, breadth twenty-eight ; weight fourteen 
ounces. Bill dark lead-colour; irides light hazel ; crown and hind- 
head dusky brown; from over the eye a white streak passes to the 
hindhead ; on the chin a large black spot; cheeks and upper part 
of the neck pale purple, marked with oblong, minute lines of white, _ 
pointing downwards; breast light brown, with semicircular bars of 
black ; belly white; lower part of it and vent varied with dusky 
specks ; wing coverts grey, the lowest tipped with white ; the prime 
quills are cinereous; the exterior webs of those in the middle grey ; 
second quills green, forming a speculum; scapulars Jong, and nar- 
row, elegantly striped with ash, white, and black; tail of fourteen 
feathers, dusky; legs lead-colour. 

The female has an obscure mark over the eye; the rest of the 
plumage brownish ash, not unlike that of the hen Teal, but the 
wing wants the green speculum, which sufliciently distinguishes 
the sexes. 

This species is found in England in the winter, at which time it 
is also seen in France, migrating northwards as summer advances, 
but rarely remains here beyond the month of April, about which 
time it is taken in the decoys of Somersetshire, and called there the 
Summer Teal.* On the Continent it is noticed as far north as 
Sweden ; is common throughout Russia and Siberia, as far as Kamt- 
schatka; and southward to Italy, and Spain; on the borders of the 
Caspian Sea, and from thence to India, where we believe it is known 


* So called in Leonard Baltner’s fine drawings of birds on the Rhine, in the collection 
of Lord Dartmouth. 


DUCK. 367 


both on the Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel,* and there called 
Krah. The male of this species has a labyrinth at the end of the 
trachea, of the size of the tip of a finger; in shape nearly oval ; it 
appears in one view asa continuation of the trachea, but a trifle 
flattened on one side, to admit of the insertion of the usual muscles ; 
at the upper part, on the side next the breast, it is also flattened ; 
and from thence the two bronchie take rise. 


125. COMMON TEAL. 


Anas Crecca, Ind. Orn. ii. $872. Lin. i. 204. Fn. suec. No. 129. Gm. Lin. i. 532. 
Brun. No. 82, 83. Muller, No. 126. Kramer, 343.19. Frisch, t. 174, 175. 
Georgi, 166. Sepp, ii. p. 147. t. 75, 76.—male and female. Klein, 133.14. Td. 
136. 31. Jd. 132.8. Jd. Stem. 31. t. 35. f. 2. a,b. Fn. Arag. p. 75. Bor. ii. 
13.8. Schafel. t.19. Fn. Helv. Phil. Trans. \xii. 419.51. Schr. d. Berl. 
Nat. vii. 456. Tem. Man. 547. Id. Ed. 2d. 847. 

Anas Querquedula minor, Gerin. v. t.598. Bris. vi. 436. t. 40. f.1. Id. 8vo. ii, 475. 

Querquedula secunda Aldr. Rad, 147. A.6. Id. 192.14. Jd. 148. 9.—female. Will. 
290. t. 74. 

Die Kriekente, Bechst. Deuts. 11. 666. Id. Ed.2d.iv. 1148. Bes. d. Berl. Nat. iv. 
600. Naturf. xu. 137. 

Petite Sarcelle, Buf. ix. 265. pl. 17,18. Pl. enl. 947.—male. 

Green-winged Teal, Am. Orn. vii. 101. pl. 70. f. 4.—male. 

Common Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 551. Id. Sup. 276. Id. Sup. ii. 360. Lin. Trans. iv. 
108. pl. 13. f. 1.—trachea. Bewick, ii. pl. p. 376. Br. Zool. ii. No. 290. Td. 
fol. pl. Addend. Id. Ed. 1812. 1. p. 279. Are. Zool. ii. 577. P. Will. Engl. 
377. § vi. pl. 74. Albin, i. pl. 100. Hayes, pl.29. Lew. vii. pl. 260. Wale. i. 
pl. 76. Pult. Dors. p.21. Orn. Dic. & Supp. 


LENGTH fourteen inches; weight twelve ounces. Bill black ; 
irides pale hazel; head and neck reddish bay; sides of the head, 
behind the eye, green, passing backwards to the nape, bounded 
below with a white line ; lower part of the neck behind, the begin- 
ning of the back, scapulars, and sides of the body, white, marked 
with transverse, fine black lines; fore part of the neck and breast 
dusky white, with roundish black spots; belly white; middle of the 


* View of Hindoostan, ii. 160. 


368 DUCK. 


vent black ; wing coverts brown; quills dusky; speculum green, 
bounded obliquely above with black, and edged with white ; tail 
cuneiform, brown, edged with white; legs brown. 

The female has the head and neck dusky white and brown mixed ; 
the lower part of the neck and sides over the wing brown, edged 
with dusky white; legs brown.* 

The male has not only a slender windpipe in proportion to the 
size of its body, but a very small labyrinth, being not much bigger 
thana pea. See the figure in Lin. Trans. 

The Teal is frequently seen in our markets in the winter, and 
often on our fresh waters; retires to the northern parts in the sammer 
to breed, which it is known to do in the mosses about Carlisle, in 
Cumberland; besides which, we are informed, that it has been met 
with on Wolmer Forest, among the Flappers, or young Wild Ducks; 
several of both of them having been caught alive there in July 
1773; and the late Mr. Boys supposed them to breed about Sand- 
wich, from his meeting with them very late in spring. Mr. Youel 
had four young birds of the Teal hatched at Rudham, in Norfolk. 
The nest is generally of a large size, composed of bents, flags, or 
rushes, and the tenderest stalks of them, with the addition of the 
pith, and a quantity of feathers; and placed so close to the water, as 
to rise and fall with it: the eggs dirty white, the size of those of the 
Pigeon, marked with dusky, or hazel spots. Is said to feed on the 
grass and weeds, which grow on the edges of ponds, or the seeds 
of rushes, also small fish. The flesh is accounted excellent. Is found 
on the Continent as high as Iceland; also in France, Italy, Spam, 
and Germany ; frequent about the Caspian Sea, and extends both to 
China, and India; and we are certain also, that the Garganey, Wild 
Duck, Shoveler, and Gadwall, as well as this species, are found on 
the Coast of Coromandel, and there called Sohn Churucha. 


* Dr. Lamb, some time since informed me, that he has more than once observed a large 
number of female Teals with no males among them. 


DUCK. 369 


Mr. Bullock met with them at Vera Cruz, and about Mexico, * 
im plenty. 


A.—Anas Bulbul, Fn. Arab. iv. No. 12. Gm. Lin. i. 543. Ind. Orn. ii. 874. 4. 


This has a spot of black at the base of the bill; the body cine- 
reous, waved with white, paler beneath ; head brown, with a large 
and long reddish green spot on the temples; on the neck behind a 
blue black spot, uniting with the green one; speculum of the wing 
oblique, green, beneath obliquely black. |The female has the head 
waved with cinereous. 

This bird is common at Cairo, in Egypt, and is most probably 
related to the Common Teal. 


126.—SIRSEIR TEAL. 


Anas Sirseir, Ind. Orn. ii. 877. Gm. Lin. i. 524. Fn. Arab. p. 3. 11. 
Sirseir Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 357. 


THE bill in this is lead-coloured, beneath yellow; chin white ; 
crown brown; back brown, margins of the feathers whitish ; belly 
whitish ; speculum of the wings divided obliquely, above silky green, 
beneath black ; before and behind white; legs grey. 

Inhabits Arabia, and called there Sirszeir. This seems to corres- 
pond with the Common Teal, and is not improbably the male in 
imperfect plumage. 


127.—CHESTNUT-WINGED TEAL. 


SIZE of our Teal; length thirteen inches. Bill as in the 
Wigeon, black ; head and neck to the breast pale brown; the chin 


* The Common Teal and Pintail were exceedingly common about Mexico, and the 
neighbouring parts; but our Common Ducks, or any other kept tame, were rarely met with. 
Bullock’s Mexico. 

VOL. x. BBB 


370 DUCK. 


dusky white; breast buff; belly pale rufous, the ends of the feathers 
chestnut ; under tail coverts white; the back brown, the feathers 
edged with paler brown; wings deep ash, inclining to Jead-colour ; 
upper wing coverts fine rich chestnut; lower part of the back and 
rump like the wing coverts ; under wing coverts and tail brown ; 
legs black. 

A specimen of this was in the Museum of Mr. Bullock, but 
from whence it came uncertain. 


128.—GREY-SHOULDERED TEAL. 


LENGTH thirteen inches. Bill one inch and three quarters, 
blue black ; head and neck white, with slender dusky streaks; down 
the middle of the crown a dark brown streak ; between the bill and 
eye one of the same, passing through the eye, and finishing in a 
point, near an inch beyond it; breast rufous white, marked with 
dusky crescents ; below this paler, with crescents and blotches, but 
more obscure ; back deep ash brown; wing coverts pale blue grey ; 
on the middle of the wing a speculum of green, bounded above and 
below with white, broadest on the upper part; quills deep ash- 
brown; tail pale, the feathers running to a point ; legs pale blue grey. 

One, said to be the female, is very similar, but the brown streak 
on the head obscure; wing coverts very pale, greyish ash; specu- 
lum the same, not green, but the feathers deeply margined with pale 
grey; the rump in both is pale, blotched with brown ; tail darker 
than in the male. 

Inhabits India. Probably related te our Common Teal. 


129.—BILIBI TEAL. 
Bilibi Teal, Lin. Trans. xiii. 331. 


LENGTH..twelve or fourteen inches. Crown of the head dark 
brown; neck cinereous, passing into ferruginous on the breast and 


DUCK. 371 


abdomen ; back blackish, the feathers on the upper part tipped and 
edged with brown; upper part of the wings dark chestnut; quills 


black.—This is very common in the Island of Sumatra, and called 
Bilibi. 


130.—AMERICAN TEAL. 


Anas Carolinensis, Ind. Orn. 11. 874. Gm. Lin. i. 533. 
migratoria, Least Green-winged Teal, Bart. Trav. 293. 
— Crecca var. Phil. Trans. \xi. 419. Fn. Am, p. 17. 
American Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 554. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 504. 


LENGTH fourteen inches, breadth twenty-one. Bill black ; 
head and upper part of the neck fine deep bay; from each eye to 
the hindhead a changeable, broad, green bar; at the nape a con- 
spicuous tuft of glossy black feathers, inclining to steel blue; 
beneath the eye a faint white line ; fore part of the neck and breast 
spotted with black; over each shoulder a lunated white bar; back 
waved black and white, inclining to brown on the rump; wing 
coverts brown; speculum green; on the scapulars a streak or two of 
black ; the lower feathers white at the tips, forming a narrow bar ; 
above these a pale rufous patch ; vent black in the middle, curving 
upwards; sides of the vent and tail pale tawny, or cream-colour; 
body under the wings crossed with numerous slender lines of blackish, 
like the back ; belly white; legs black. 

The female is reddish cinereous brown, spotted with black ; the 
wings as in the male. 

Inhabits America, from Carolina to Hudson’s Bay, breeding in 
the last; has from five to seven young; retires south in autumn: 
found in Georgia in the winter, and frequents ponds in the spring. 
The male called the Green-winged Teal, for the speculum in both 
sexes is green, with the lower half black, bounded before and 
behind with buff-colour. It seems much allied to our European 
Teal. 


Bess 2 


372 DUCK. 


131.—ST. DOMINGO TEAL. 


Anas Dominica, Ind. Orn. ii. 874. Lin. i. 201. Gm. Lin. i. 521. 
Querquedula Dominicensis, Bris. vi. 472. t. 41. f.2. Id. 8vo. ii. 484. 
Sarcelle rousse 4 longue queue de la Guadaloupe, Buf. ix. 283. Pl. enl. 968. 
Chilcanauhtli, Raiz, 177. Colcanauhtli —female. 

St. Domingo Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 554. 


LENGTH from twelve to fourteen inches. Bill one inch and 
a half, bluish, with a black nail; chin, close to the base beneath, 
white ; the rest of the head and neck fine rufous; above the same, 
the middle of the feathers black ; under parts rufous, inclining to 
grey, with a little mixture of dusky, most so, and darker near the 
vent ; quills brown, six of the middle ones white halfway from the 
base, or in some to two-thirds of the length, forming a kind of white 
speculum ; tail cuneiform, dusky purple, the feathers pointed at the 
ends, the two middle ones near four inches long, the outmost only 
two ; legs short, and yellow. 
Inhabits the Isle of Trinidad.—In the collection of Lord Seaforth. 


132.—SPINOUS-TAILED TEAL. 


Anas Spinosa, Ind. Orn. ii. 874. Gm. Lin. i. 522. 
Sarcelle 4 Queue epineuse, Buf. ix. 282, Pl. enl. 967. 
Spinous-tailed Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 555. 


LENGTH eleven or twelve inches. Bill blue; top of the head 
black ; through the eye a streak of black ; beneath it a second of 
the same ; beneath these white; the rest of the plumage dusky 
brown, with a darker mixture, paler beneath, the chin palest ; on 
the wings a small portion of white on the outer coverts ; tail short, 
but each feather has the end unwebbed, and prolonged into a sharp 
point ; legs yellowish flesh-colour. 


DUCK. 37-5 


Inhabits Cayenne and Guiana. Said to be the female of the 
former species. In a dried specimen of the above I observed the 
tail feathers to decline over each other, as in the Common Hen. 


133.—SILEY TEAL. 


LENGTH eighteen or nineteen inches. Bill longish and black. 
the end bent downwards ; nostrils rather elevated, and pervious: 
irides brown ; round the eyelids a rim of yellow ; crown rufous 
brown ; the rest of the head and neck buff; breast, belly, and over 
the thighs pale ferruginous ; back deep bluish ash, the upper half 
with large and deep waves of pale rufous, or buff, the lower quite 
plain; mner half of the wing coverts rufo-ferruginous, the remainder 
deep ash ; the outer part of the wing and quills black ; upper tail 
coverts ferruginous ; vent and under tail coverts yellowish, or straw- 
colour; tail brown ; legs bluish lead-colour ; claws black. 

Inhabits the Coast of Coromandel, and there called Siley. 


134.—MADAGASCAR TEAL. 


Anas Madagascariensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 875. Gm. Lin. i. 522. 
Sarcelle male de Madagascar, Buf. ix. 274. Pl. enl. 770. 
Madagascar Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 556. 


SIZE of our Teal. Bill one inch long, yellow, tip black ; 
irides yellow ; top of the head to the crown, forepart of the head, 
and neck, white, passing on the sides behind the eyes, and there 
ending in a point ; but part of the head and neck dusky, greenish 
black ; on the middle of this, below the ears, a large oval patch of 
paler green, bordered all round with a rim of black, and accom- 
panied with a line of white ; lower part of the neck and breast pale 
rust, undulated with dusky lines, and passing behind in a collar : 


374 DUCK. 


upper part of the body, wings, and tail very dark glossy green ; 
sides clouded with ferruginous ; middle of the belly and vent white ; 
quills dusky ; on the wings a streak of white; legs dusky. 


Inhabits Madagascar. 


135.—COROMANDEL TEAL. 


Anas Coromandeliana, Ind. Orn. ii. 875. Gm. Lin. i. 522. 


Sarcelle de Coromandel, Buf. ix. 274. PI. enl. 949, 950. 
Coromandel Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 556. 


THIS is about one-fourth less than the Garganey. Bill dusky ; 
top of the head black ; the rest of it and neck white, speckled with 
dusky black ; lower part of the neck striated across with fine 
lines of the same; the upper parts of the body and wings brown, 
with a green and reddish gloss ; breast and belly white; sides of 
the vent inclining to ferruginous ; legs black. 

The female differs in having the white on the under parts mixed 
with grey ; the lines on the lower part of the neck broader, and less 
distinct ; and in general the plumage less beautiful than in the male. 

Inhabits the Coast of Coromandel. 


136.—GIRRA TEAL. 


SIZE of the other. Bill and down the middle of the crown 
black ; the rest of the head and neck white, marked on the breast 
with pale brown ; round the lower part of the neck a collar of black, 
broadest before ; across the middle of the wings a broad space of 
green ; back greenish chocolate; wings the same, but more inclined 
to green ; quills deep chocolate, at the base, and tips in the middle, 
white, forming a patch ; tail deep chocolate ; all beneath, from the 
breast and the upper tail coverts, white, minutely speckled with 
chocolate points; vent barred with dusky black; legs dusky 
yellow ; webs and joints dusky. 


DUCK. 379 


Inhabits India; named Girra. Said to build the nest in trees.— 
In the female the head and neck are white, crossed round the lower 
part with dusky lines ; upper parts of the body brown ; beneath, 
trom the breast, dusky white ; down the crown a dusky streak ; the 
same through the eye, from the nostrils; across the quills a narrow 
white bar ; tail black. 

Inhabits India. Met with in various drawings, and probably 
allied to the last. ‘The eggs are white. 


137.—MANILLA TEAL. 


Anas Manillensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 875. Gm. Lin. i. 523. 
Sarcelle de l’Isle de Lugon, Son. Voy. 91. pl. 54. 
Manilla Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 523, 

LESS than the Common Teal. Bill black ; upper part and 
sides of the head and throat white; neck, breast, and wing coverts, 
reddish brown; back yellow, the feathers margined with black; 
those of the belly white, with black margins; quills and tail slate 
black ; legs blackish. 

Inhabits the Island of Manilla. 


138—BAIKAL TEAL. 


Anas formosa, Ind. Orn. ii. 876. Gm. Lin. i. 525. Georgi reise, i. 168. 
Baikal Teal, Gen. Syn. vi, 557. 


SIZE of a Teal; length from twelve to fifteen inches; weight 
eighteen ounces. Bill black; crown of the head the same, edged 
with white; sides of it, taking in the eye, yellowish cream-colour ; 
the eye surrounded with black, passing in an irregular stripe down 
the middle of the cream-colour, and curving to the chin; behind 
this, over the ears, a large curved patch of fine green, bounded all 
round with white; breast rufous fawn-colour, with small black spots ; 


376 DUCK. 


back brown, inclining to dove-colour on the wings; before the wing 
a white bar; speculum first ferruginous, then green, edged with 
black ; after that white, edged above with ferruginous; the scapulars 
are long, narrow, and pointed, some half black, half tawny; others 
plain tawny, and fall elegantly over the wings on each side as in the 
Garganey; above the tail a bar of white; under tail coverts black ; 
tail brown, the feathers pointed at the ends; legs dull red. 

The female very nearly resembles that sex of the Common Teal. 

Inhabits the neighbourhood of the Lake Baikal, and extends to 
India, and among others called Sohn churucka. The trachea of this 
bird is much like that of the Common Teal. 


139.—HINA TEAL. 


Anas Hina, Ind. Orn. ii. 876. Gm. Lin. i. 523. 
Chinensis regione ov ulorum (Maris) viridi, Osb. Voy. 11. p. 33. 
Hina Teal, Gen. Syn. vi. 558. 


LENGTH thirteen inches and a half. Bill blackish grey, and 
soft ; head and chin brown; a white line passes below the eyes ; all 
above them green ; neck and upper part of the back white, spotted 
with black ; the lower, and rump, ash; upper part of the neck 
white, spotted with black ; breast and belly white, spotted with 
black backwards ; the feathers of the ramp edged with white ; legs 
ash-coloured. The female said to have the head, and all about the 
eyes, whitish grey; chin white ; body above black, in some parts 
reddish white ; beneath white, spotted with black. 

Inhabits China: called Hina-a. We much suspect that this and 
the last described are nearly allied. Found also at Bengal, where it 
is called Toolsee. 


NI 


DUCK. 37 


140.—SPARRMAN’S DUCK. 


Anas Sparrmanni, Ind. Orn. ii. 876. 
Alandica, Mus. Carls. fase. ii. t. 60. 
Sparrman’s Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. il. 357. 


LENGTH twenty-three inches. Bill black; top of the head 
ferruginous, spotted with black ; sides of it, nape, chin, and throat, 
cinereous, with brown spots; lower part of the throat spotted fer- 
ruginous and black ; between the shoulders, scapulars, and some of 
contiguous feathers black, with pale ferruginous margins, marked in 
the middle, towards the tip, with two reddish white bands, meeting 
at an angle; upper and under wing coverts sooty brown, with 
whitish margins ; the first prime quill dusky white, with a brown 
tip ; the rest pale brown, with the outer margins and tips blackish 
brown ; rump ferraginous and white, spotted with black; vent 
elongated, white ; tail ferruginous, crossed with five or six bands of 
black ; legs black. 

Inhabits Sweden: found in Aland, towards Abo : called Sjo-And. 


141.--GMELIN’S DUCK. 


Anas Gmelini, Ind. Orn. ii. 876. 
Anas lurida, Gm. Lin. i. 531. S. G. Gmel. It. i. p.'70. 2. 182, t. 16. 
Gmelin’s Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 356. 


THIS is larger and stouter than the Teal ; at the corners of the 
mouth a spot of white; plumage in general black ; head chestnut ; 
breast crossed with reddish lines ; belly whitish, with dusky spots ; 
sides and vent white; the first four outer quills are black, but 
within cinereous ; from the fifth to the tenth wholly cinereous, to 
the nineteenth white, to the twentieth half white, half dusky on the 


von, xX. Ccc 


378 DUCK. 


fore part, hinder cinereous ; the tips of these and the rest wholly 
black ; wing coverts and tail black. 

Inhabits the Caspian Sea and the neighbouring parts of the 
South of Russia. 


142.—K EKUSCHKA DUCK. 


Anas Kekuschka, Ind. Orn. ii. 877. Gm. Lin. i. 531. S.G.Gmel. It. ii. 249. t. 26, 27. 
Kekuschka Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 356. 


LENGTH nineteen inches ; general colour yellow oker; under 
parts white; back ash-colour; rump and tail deep black ; the quills, 
from the fifteenth to the nineteenth, white at the tips. 


Inhabits the parts about the Caspian Sea. The flesh said 
to be rancid. 


143.—ARABIC DUCK. 


Anas Arabica, Ind. Orn. ii. 877. Gm. Lin. i. 542. 
Scar chir, Forsk. Fn. Arab. p. 3.7. 
Arabic Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. i. 357, 


BILL yellow, with the middle part black; the body spotted 
with grey ; beneath and on the ramp whitish, with cinereous spots ; 
speculum of the wings dusky, banded before and behind with white ; 
legs yellowish ash-colour. 

Inhabits Arabia. The name Scar chir. 


144.—ALEXANDRINE DUCK. 


Anas Alexandrina, Ind. Orn. ii. 877. Gm. Lin. i. 542. 
Sau Sarai, Morsk. Fn. Arab. p. 3. 8. 
Alexandrine Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. il. 357. 


IN this the bill and vent are black: neck ash-colour, marked 
with black crescents; belly white; legs yellowish ash-colour. 
Inhabits Alexandria, and is called Sau Sarai. 


DUCK. 379 


145.—GATTAIR DUCK. 


Anas Gattair, Ind. Orn. ii. 877. Gm. Lin. i. 542. Fn. Arab. p. 3. 10. 
Gattair Duck, Gen. Syn. Sup. il. p. 357. 


BILL brown; plumage im general the same; wings black, 
beneath white, margined with brown; the quills from the fourth to 
the twentieth white in the middle; belly and tail coverts white ; 
legs bluish ash-colour. 

Inhabits Alexandria, known there by the name of Gattair. 


Cec? 


380 PINGUIN. 


GENUS CVIII.—PINGUIN. 


1 Cape Pinguin 4 Red-footed 10 Patagonian 
A Var: 5 Little 11 Collared 
6 New-Holland 12 Hairy 
B Var. 
isu 7 Chiloe 13 Woolly 
2 Magellanic 8 Papuan 14 Three-toed 
3 Crested 9 Antarctic 15 Apterous 


IN the Pinguin Genus the bill is strong, straight, more or less 
bending at the point, and furrowed on the sides. 

Nostrils placed in the farrows. Situation undetermined. 

Tongue covered with strong spines, pointing backwards. 

Wings small, and useless for flight, for the most part imitating 
fins, covered with scaly feathers, in a few only a bare stump. 

Jail various, in some scarcely appearing beyond the rump. 

Legs short and thick, placed near the vent. 

Toes generally four in number, united by webs asin the Duck 
Genus; in several the back toe wanting. 

This tribe of birds seems to hold the same place in the southern 
parts of the world, as the Auks do in the northern; but the one, by 
no means to be confounded with the other, however authors may 
differ in opinion on this point. 

The Pinguin is seen only in the temperate and Frigid Zones, on 
that side of the Equator which it frequents; and the same is 
observed of the Auk in the opposite latitudes; and neither of the 
Genera has yet been observed between the Tropics.* 

The Auk has true wings and quills, though small, and, one only 
excepted, capable of flight ; but the Pinguin has mere fins, instead 


* Saw one for the first time in lat. 48. S. Forst. Voy. i. p. 92. Not met with nearer 
than 40 deg. S. Id. Ib.—See Introd. Disc. on Penguin's, Comm. Goett. vol. 3. Clayton’s 
Account of Falkland Islands. Phil. Trans. vol. 66. p. 99. 


PINGUIN. 381 


of wings, and in more than one instance not outwardly apparent, 
and consisting of little more than a stump ; on this account none of 
the Genus are capable of flying at all. The Pinguin, while swim- 
ming, sinks quite above the breast, the head and neck only appearing 
out of the water, rowing itself with its finny wings as with oars ; 
while the Auk, in common with most other birds, swims on the 
surface. Several other circumstances, peculiar to each, might be 
mentioned ; but the above will be fully sufficient to characterise 
the Genus. 


1.—CAPE PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes demersa, Ind. Orn. ii. 879. Gm. Lin. 1. 557. N. Comm. Goett. iii. 144. 2 
Diomedea demersa, Lin. i. 214. Bor. iii. p. 28.2. Spalowsk. iii. t. 24. 

Spheniseus, Bris. vi. 97. Id. 8vo. 1. 385. Tem. Man. Anal. cxiii. 

Anser Magellanicus Clusii, Will. 242. 

Plautus pinguis, Klein, Av. 147. 

Penguin, or Magellanic Goose, Will, Engl, 322. 

Black-footed Penguin, Edw. pl. 94. f.2. . Kolb. Cap. ii. 144. 

Lesser Pinguin, Ph. Tr. lviii. 97.2. Sparrm. Voy. i. p. 24. 

Cape Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 566. 


THIS and the Red-footed Species were, till of late years, the 
only two known. The Cape one is twenty-one inches in length. 
Bill blackish, crossed with a transverse yellowish band near the tip, 
the upper mandible hooked ; from the base, about half way, is a 
furrow, in which the nostrils are placed; the under mandible trun- 
cated at the end; the plumage on the upper parts from head to tai! 
black ; sides of the head and throat dirty grey ; breast, belly, thighs, 
and under the tail, white ; in the place of wings two short appendages 
like fins; black above; white on the lower edge, and white varied 
with black beneath; tail short, and cuneiform ; legs black,* furnished 
with four toes; the hind one placed high up, and inwards. 


* Kolben says pale green. Ina drawing of the late Mr. Edwards in my possession, the 
legs are red; we may therefore conclude that the legs vary much in colour. 


382 PINGUIN. 


A.—Spheniscus nevius, Bris. vi. 99. t.ix. Id. 8vo. 11. 386. Gerin. v. t. 498. 
Manchot a bec tronqué, Buf. ix. 411. pl. 31. Pl. enl. 382. 
Black-footed Pengin, Edw. pl. 94. f.1. Gen. Syn. vi. 567. 5. A. 


In this the plumage on the upper parts is blackish, the feathers 
dashed with deep black down the shafts, and marked with very 
small, whitish grey dots on the margins; on each side of the head 
a stripe of white, beginning at the base of the bill, passing over the 
eyes to the hindhead, and joining with the white on the sides of the 
neck ; sides of the head and throat blackish brown, marked like 
the back, with small, dirty white specks, but less conspicuous ; on 
the breast an arched, blackish brown band, passing in a line on each 
side, quite to the thighs: the wings, tail, and legs, as in the former.* 


B.—Pinguin 4 lunettes, Pernet, Voy. ii. 17. pl. 7. f.3. Id. Engl. p. 243. pl. 15. 
Gen. Syn. vi. 563. Var. B. 


In the Leverian Museum I observed a farther Variety, in which 
the crown of the head, hind part of the neck, and all the upper parts, 
are black ; the under mostly white, except the chin, which is black, 
and surrounds the eye asin the last; but at such a distance, and in 
so circular a manner, as greatly to give the appearance of wearing 
a pair of spectacles: it has the same band over the breast, and 
passing down on each side to the thighs, as the last described. 

The two first are supposed to be male and female, and perhaps 
such as vary from those descriptions may prove the young birds of 
one or other sex. 

These are found in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good 
Hope, particularly in Robben, or Penguin Isle, near Saldanie Bay. 
Like all of the Genus this is-an excellent swimmer and diver, but 
hops and flutters in a strange awkward manner on the land, and, 


* Edwards’s bird differs, in having the black more inclined to brown, and wanting the 
whitish spots ; which also was the case ina specimen in my own collection. 


PINGUIN. 383 


if hurried, stumbles perpetually ; will frequently run for some 
distance like a quadruped, making use of the finny wings instead 
of legs, till it can recover its upright posture, crying out like a 
Goose, but in a much hoarser voice. Said to clamber some way up 
the rocks to make the nest, in doing which has been observed to 
assist with the bill. It lays two white eggs, the size of those of the 
Duck, which are thought to be delicious, and brought in great 
numbers for the table. These birds are often kept tame, but in 
general do not survive the confinement many months. 


2.—MAGELLANIC PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Magellanica, Ind. Orn. ii. 880. Gm. Lin. i. 557. Com. Goett. iii. 1438. 
t.5. J. F. Miller Til. t. 34. 
Magellanic Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 569. 


LENGTH two feet or more; weight eleven pounds. Bill 
black, with a transverse band across the tip; under mandible 
obliquely truncated ; irides red brown ; sides of the head, beneath 
the eye, and the chin, black ; from the base of the bill, through 
and over the eye, a white streak, surrounding the black on the sides 
of the head, and meeting on the throat ; the rest of the head and 
neck, the upper parts of the body, and wings, black ; wings 
beneath, and bedy, from the breast, white, except a narrow band 
of black, which passes at a little distance within the white on the 
breast, and downwards on each side, quite to the thighs; the legs 
reddish flesh-colour, spotted irregularly on the toes ; claws black. 

It seems to be much allied to the last, differing chiefly in having 
the middle of the neck black all round, and the feet spotted. 

Inhabits the Straits of Magalhaen, Staatenland, Terra del Fuego, 
and Falkland Isles, and is a very numerous species ; often seen by 
thousands retiring at night to the highest parts. The voice not 
unlike the braying of an ass. Is not timid, for it will scarcely get 


384 PINGUIN. 


out of the way of any one, but frequently attacks and bites a 
person by the legs so as to fetch blood. These were killed by the 
sailors of Captain Cook’s ships in great numbers with sticks, and 
found not unpalatable as food, but have a musky flavour ; often mix 
with the sea wolves, among the rushes, burrowing in holes like a 
fox; when they swim, only the neck and shoulders appear out of 
the water, and they advance with such agility, that no fish seems 
able to follow them ; if they meet with any obstacle, leap four or 
five feet out of the water, and dipping into it again, continue their 
route.— This is probably the species that Penrose alludes to; when 
he says, the chief curiosity is the laying their eggs; this they do in 
collective bodies, resorting in incredible numbers to certain spots, 
which their long residence has freed from grass, and to which were 
given the name of Towns.** Here, says he, during the breeding 
season, we were presented with a sight, which conveyed a most 
dreary, and I may say awful idea of the desertion’ of these Islands 
by the human species; a general stillness prevailed in these towns; 
and whenever we took our walks among them, to provide ourselves 
with eggs, we were regarded with side-long glances, but carried no 
terror with us. 

The eggs exceed in size those of the Goose, and are laid in pairs ; 
when taken once, and sometimes twice in the season, they were as 
often replaced; but prudence prevented going farther, lest a future 
supply in next year’s brood might be prevented; they lay in Novem- 
ber, driving away the Albatrosses, which have hatched their young 
before them. The eggs were found palatable, and remained good 
for three or four months. 


* The nests said to be composed of mud a foot in height, and placed as near one another 
asmay be. It is possible that they may have different ways of nesting, according to the 
places they inhabit ; or perhaps, the manners of this may be blended with those of another 
species. 


PINGUIN. 385 


3.—CRESTED PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes chrysocome, Ind. Orn. ii. 878. Gm. Lin. i. 555. Com. Goett. ii. 195. t. 1. 

Spheniscus, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal. p. cxiil. 

Pinguinaria cristata, Nat. Misc. pl. 437. 

Manchot huppé de Siberie, Pl. en/. 984. 

Manchot Sauteur, Buf. ix. 409. 

Die Gelbschépfige Fettgans, Schmid, Vog. p. 163. t. 146. 

Hopping Pinguin, Boug. Voy. p. 64, 65. Ph. Trans. |xvi. p. 103. 

Crested Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 561. Cook's last Voy. 1. 82?  Staunt. Chin. i. 222. 
Nat. Misc. pl. 437. 


THIS beautiful species is twenty-three inches in length. Bill 
three inches long, red, with a dark furrow running on each side to 
the tip ; the upper mandible curved at the end, the under obtuse ; 
irides dull red ; head, neck, back, and sides, black ; over each eye 
a stripe of pale yellow feathers, which lengthen into a crest behind, 
and are nearly four inches long; the feathers on each side of the 
head, above this stripe, are longer than the rest, and stand upwards ; 
those of the crest are decumbent, but can be erected on each side at 
will ; the wings, or rather fins, are black outwardly, edged with 
white, within white; breast, and all the under parts, white ; legs 
orange. The female has a streak of pale yellow over each eye, but 
not prolonged into a crest behind. 

TInhabits Falkland Island, or Isle of Desolation, as well as 
Van Diemen’s Land, and several parts of New-Holland, as in 
Adventure Bay; were called Hopping Pinguins, and Jumping 
Jacks, from their habit of leaping quite out of the water on meeting 
with the least obstacle; and indeed do it frequently without any 
seeming cause, appearing chiefly to advance by that means. This 
species appears to be more lively than others, but in fact they are 
very stupid birds, so as to admit of being knocked down with 
sticks when on land,* and are frequently so regardless, as to suffer 

* These were found difficult to kill, and when provoked, ran at the sailors in flocks, 


and pecked their legs, and spoiled their clothes.—Forst. Voy. 
VOL, X. Dopp 


386 PINGUIN. 


themselves to be taken with the hand ;* when enraged they erect 
the crests in a beautiful manner. They make the nests among those 
of the Pelican Tribe, living in tolerable harmony with them ; seldom 
lay more than one egg, which is white, and larger than that of a 
Duck ; but they are mostly seen by themselves, seldom mixing with 
other Pinguins, and often met with in great numbers on the outer 
shores, where they have been bred. The females lay the eggs in 
burrows, which they easily form of themselves with the bill, throwing 
out the dirt with their feet. In these holes the eggs are deposited on 
the bare earth. The general time of sitting is in October; but in 
some of the species, especially in the colder parts, not till December, 
or even January. The length of time for sitting is not known. + 

We learn from the Embassy to China, that they were found in 
vast abundance in the Island of Amsterdam; often basking and 
standing erect on the rocks, in company with the seals. Found also 
im countless multitudes in the Isle of Tristan da Cunha, concealing 
themselves among the long grass, and in the bottoms of the ravines, 
where they open upon the shore; and keep up a moaning noise, 
which can be heard at a great distance. 


4.—RED-FOOTED PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Catarractes, Ind. Orn. ii. 881. Gm. Lin. i. 558. Com. Goett. ui. 145. 
Phaeton demersus, Lin.i. 219. Borowsk. iii. 24. 2. 

Catarractes, Bris. vi. 102. Id. 8yo. ii. 387. 

Spheniscus, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. cxii. 

Le Manchot des Hottentots, Pi. end. 1005. 

Red-footed Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 572. Edw. pl. 49. Phil. Trans. lviu. p. 98. 


SIZE of a Goose. Bill two inches and one-third long, and red, 
both mandibles pointed, the upper a trifle bent; fore part of the 
head dirty brown; the back part and all above the neck and body 
dirty purple; beneath white ; wings brown, fringed with white ; tail 
short, bristly, black; legs dirty red, claws brown. 


* Cook's last Voy. + Disc. on Pinguins, Commentat. Goett. + Lin. Trans. xii. 497. 


PINGUIN. 387 


Inhabits the South Seas, also the Cape of Good Hope; thought 
to be the last in imperfect plumage. 


5.—LITTLE PINGUIN.—PL. cixxx. 


Aptenodytes minor, Ind. Orn. ii. 881. Gm. Lin. i. 558. Com. Goett. iii. 147. 
Spheniscus, Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal. p. ecxiii. 

Small Penguin, Cook’s last Voy. i. 151. 

Little Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 572. pl. 103. 


SIZE of a Teal; length fifteen inches. Bill one inch and a half 
long, dusky, the under mandible a trifle truncated, base blue; all 
the upper parts of the bird cinereous blue, the ends of the feathers 
being of that colour; but the remaining part brown black, and 
the shafts quite black ; round the eye, and a little way below on each 
side, is a bed of pale, brownish ash-colour; under parts from the 
chin to the vent white; wings dusky, beneath white; tail very short, 
consisting of sixteen stiff feathers, but is scarcely perceivable ; legs 
dull red ; webs dusky, claws black. 

Inhabits the rocks in the south part of New Zealand, but in the 
greatest plenty at Dusky Bay. They make deep burrows on the 
sides of the hills, in which they lay their eggs ; these holes are so 
thick in some parts, that a person is scarcely able to walk three or 
four steps without falling into one of them up to the knees. The 
inhabitants of Queen Charlotte’s Sound kill the birds with sticks, 
and after skinning them, esteem the flesh good food; are known by 
the name of Koréra. They are apt to vary in size and colour ; some 
are only thirteen inches long; others larger, and plain lead-colour 
on the upper parts, and the wings black; though all are white, or 
nearly so, beneath; the legs, too, marked with black at the ends 
of the toes. 


Dopp 


388 PINGUIN. 


6.—NEW-HOLLAND PINGUIN. 
LENGTH two feet or more. Bill black, the upper mandible 


hooked at the tip, the under truncated ; plumage above brown, the 
feathers tipped with grey, giving a mixed appearance; chin, throat, 
and the rest of the parts beneath refous white; wings as in other 
Pinguins, and brown; legs pale flesh-coloured brown; webs black. 

Inbabits New-Holland, met with at Port Jackson, but is scarce, 
called there Gur-roo-mul. 


7.—CHILOE PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Chiloensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 881. Gm. Lin.i. 559. Bufiix. 415. iv. Tem. 
Man, Ed. 2d. Anal. exiii. 

Diomedea Chiloensis, Molin. Chil. 210. Id. Fr. Ed. 219. 

Chiloe Pinguin, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 361. 


SIZE of a Duck. The body covered with a kind of ash-coloured 
down, of so fine a texture, as to admit of being spun into threads, 
and made into garments, coverings of beds, and other purposes, for 
which it is greatly valued. The wings in this bird are bare of 
feathers; and the feet are furnished with four toes. 

Inhabits the Archipelago of Chiloé in South America, where it 
is very common, and called Quethu. 


8.—PAPUAN PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Papua, Ind. Orn. ii. 879. Gm. Lin.i. 556. Com. Goett. iii. 113. t. 3. 

Le Manchot Papou, Son. Voy. 181. pl. 115. 

Papuan Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 565. Cook's last Voy. 1. 88. 

LENGTH two feet and a half. _Bill four inches long, and red ; 
the upper mandible bent at the tip, the under moderately pointed ; 


PINGUIN. 389 


irides yellow, or pale red; the head and half the neck dusky black, 
inclining to blue; on each side, over the eye, a large patch of white, 
tending backwards to the hindhead, but not surrounding the eye 
below ; across the top of the head a narrow bar of white, uniting the 
patches on each side; the under parts from the neck are also white, 
and the upper bluish black ; the wings black, the lower edge and 
inside white; tail cuneiform, the middle feather seven inches in 
length ; legs red, in some yellow, webs dusky, claws black. 

Inhabits the Isle of Papos, or New Guinea; likewise Falkland 
Isles, and Kerguelen’s Land. 


9.—ANTARCTIC PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes antarctica, Ind. Orn. ii. 879. Gm. Lin. i. 557. Com. Goett. iii. 141. t. 4. 
Antarctic Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 565. Forst. Voy. i. 98. 


SIZE of the Magellanic Species. Bill nearly three inches long, 
and black; the under mandible somewhat truncated ; irides pale 
yellow ; upper parts of the body black, the under glossy white : 
beneath the chin a narrow, blackish streak, passing backwards 
towards the hindhead, somewhat bent about the ears; wing blue 
black, edge and inside white, tip black ; tail cuneiform, of thirty- 
two feathers, black, very stout, narrow, and imitating bristles; legs 
flesh-colour, soles black. 

This species inhabits the South Sea, from 48 deg. to the Antarctic 
Circle: is frequently found on the Ice Mountains and Islands, on 
which it ascends; and is pretty numerous: voyagers have found them 
in plenty in the Isle of Desolation; and in an Island not far distant, 
the rocks were almost covered with Pinguins and Shags; the first 
were most probably of this sort. 


390 PINGUIN. 


10.—PATAGONIAN PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Patachonica, Ind. Orn. ii. 878. Gm. Lin.i. 556. Com. Goett. iii. 187. t. 2. 
T. F. Miller, Ill. t. 20. Tem. Man. Ed. 2d. Anal, cxiii. 

Pinguinaria Patachonica, Mus. Lev. t. 11. Nat. Misc. pl. 409. 

Grand Manchot, Buf. ix. 399. Pl. enl. 975. 

Manchot de la nouvelle Guinée, Son. Voy. 179. t. 113. 

Especie de Paxara, Gabin. de Madrid, ii. p. 29. Jam. 50. 

First Class of Penguins, Boug. Voy. p. 64. 

Patagonian Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 563. Phil. Trans. vii. 91. pl. 5. Gen. of Birds, 

66. pl. 4. Gent. May. xxxix. pl. p. 489. Naturf. I. s, 258. Wood's Zoogr. i. 
p- 568. pl. 25. 

THIS is the largest of the Genus yet known, being four feet 
and a quarter in length, and stands erect at least three ; weight forty 
pounds. The bill four mches and a half long, slender in proportion, 
and bends towards the tip ; colour black for two-thirds, the rest of 
the length yellowish; beneath orange at the base, and black at the 
tip; the feathers coming very forward on the nostrils; the tongue 
half the length of the bill, and armed on each side with spikes, 
turning backwards; irides hazel; sides round the eye covered with 
feathers; head, throat, and neck behind, deep brown; the back deep 
ash-colour, each feather bluish at the tip; under parts pure white; 
on each side of the head, beginning under the eye, and behind it, a 
broad stripe of fine yellow; this advances forwards as it proceeds 
down the neck, growing narrower, and paler; and at last blends 
itself with the white on the breast ; this appearance, however, is only 
when the neck is stretched, for the state in which the bird usually 
carries itself, is with the head rather crouched in between the shoul- 
ders, when the yellow appears encircling the neck as a collar; the 
wings are formed as in the others, but longer in proportion; tail 
conspicuous, three inches in length ; legs scaly and black, with three 
toes only, all placed forwards. 


PINGUIN. 391 


Some are much paler in plumage, and the yellow less bright than 
in others, and perhaps are the females, if not young birds. 

This species was first met with in Falkland Islands, also in 
Kerguelen’s Land, New Georgia, and New Guinea.* M. Bou- 
gainville caught one, which soon became so tame, as to follow, and 
know the person who had the care of it; and fed on flesh, fish, and 
bread, but after a time grew Jean, pined away and died; the chief 
food, when at large, is supposed to be fish ; the remains of which, 
as well as crabs, shell fish, and molluscze, were found in the stomach. 
This is the fattest of the Genus; most so in January, when they 
moult; lay and sit in October; are met with in the most deserted 
places; the flesh is black, though not very unpalatable: has been 
considered as a solitary species,t but now and then met with in 
considerable flocks;+ are found in the same places as the Papuan and 
Crested ones, and not unfrequently mixed with them; but in general 
associate with their own species, which are said to lay their eggs in 
holes in the ground ; hence we may suppose that the different species 
vary one from another in this particular. 


11.-—COLLARED PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes torquata, Ind. Orn. ii. 880. Gm. Lin. i. 558. Com. Goett. iii. 146. 

Manchot a collier de la nouvelle Guinée, Son. Voy. 181. pl. 114. 

Collared Pinguin, Gen. Syn. vi. 571. 

LENGTH eighteen inches. — Bill like that of the Patagonian 
Pinguin, and black; irides black ; eye surrounded with an oval, bare, 
blood-coloured skin, three times as large as the eye itself; head, 
throat, neck behind, and sides, back, wings, and tail, black ; neck 
before, breast, belly, and thighs, white, extending round the neck, 


* Son. Voy. Forst. Voy. ii. 214. 528. + Bougainville. 
+ Cook’s last Voy.i. p. 87. Pinguins were seen by thousands in New Year’s Island, 
near Staaten Land, of which more than 500 were had by the ship’s company for food. 


392 PINGUIN. 


where the white begins, like a collar, not quite meeting behind ; 
legs black.—Inhabits New Guinea; seen also by Dr. Forster, near 
Kerguelen’s Land, and again on two Isles adjoining to the Island 
of South Georgia. 


12.—HAIRY PINGUIN. 


LENGTH two feet six inches. Bill three inches and a half, 
black, the upper mandible bent at the tip, with a furrow running 
the whole of its length, but no appearance of nostrils; tongue half 
the length of the bill, armed with numerous spikes, tending back- 
wards; in the palate a Jong cleft, passing deep into the bill; eyelids 
prominent, but the parts round them covered with short, downy 
hairs; the whole bird, otherwise, covered with a thick set hair, having 
no resemblance either to down or feathers; for the most part two 
inches in length; wings hanging down, and covered in the same 
manner, but the hair short in proportion; tail not distinguishable 
from the rest of the plumage; colour of the whole uniform brown, 
not paler, as is usual in other birds, beneath; legs very stout, and 
scaly, deep brown, webbed quite to the toes, which are three in 
number, all placed forwards; claws stout, and black, the middle 
one sharp on the inner edge. 


Inhabits South America.—Mr. Bullock. 


13.—WOOLLY PINGUIN.—PL. cLxxx1. 


THE total length of this smgular bird is two feet eight inches ; 
in shape, as it stands upright, giving the idea of a bottle. The 
bill to the gape three inches and three quarters; bare space beneath 
it one inch and a half, pale brownish yellow, with a blackish point ; 
from the base, to about one-third, a finely granulated skin or cere, 
and a seam continued to the pomt, but the nostrils are not clearly 


IPI {CIESOWGE 


Woolly Png 


COO7?. 


PINGUIN. 393 


distinguishable; from the point of the bill to the eye four inches 
and a quarter; whole length of wing one foot; to the bend six 
inches; body in general covered with a kind of downy brown fur, 
in some parts three inches in Jength; orbits somewhat downy, but 
not quite bare; circuit of the body, just above the legs, two feet 
ten inches; round the neck, at the throat, eleven inches and a half; 
round the base of the bill four inches and a half; length of foot 
seven inches; toes three in number, all placed forwards; colour 
yellow; toes and webs, nearest the claws, brown black, the rest 
yellow ; the webs continue quite to the claws, which are nearly 
straight; claws black. 

A specimen of the above is in the collection of Lord Stanley. 
The native place uncertain. In the woolly texture of the plumage 
it seems much allied to the Chiloe Species, but is certainly a different 
bird: the wings covered with a short down, and, when hanging 
downwards, reach to within four inches of the ground; of what length 
the tail was originally does not seem clear. One in the collection of 
Mr. Brookes had several feathers, but worn quite to the stump, 
probably by resting on that part when sitting in an erect posture. 


14.—THREE-TOED PINGUIN. 


Aptenodytes Moline, Ind. Orn. ii. 881. 

Chilensis, Gm. Lin. 1. 559. 

Diomedea Chilensis, Molin. Chil, 220. Id. Fr. Ed. 217. 
Three-toed Pinguin, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 361. 


SIZE of the Chiloe Species, but the neck longer, the head 
compressed on the sides. and small in proportion ; bill slender, a 
little bent towards the point; the feathers on the upper parts of the 
body blue, changing in some lights to grey ; breast and belly white ; 
tail not discernable, being a mere elongation of the feathers of the 
rump; legs furnished with three toes only, all placed forwards, 


and situated almost at the vent, as in others of the Genus. 
VOL. X. EEE 


394. PINGUIN. 


Inhabits Chili, and lays five or six white eggs, spotted with 
black, placing them on the sand; the skin said to separate easily 
from the body, and perhaps, as the plumage consists of fine hair 
rather than feather, might be made use of for clothing. The natives 
give it the name of the Infant, from the manner of walking, its gait 
being unsteady, lke that of a child. The flesh is not esteemed. 


15.—APTEROUS PINGUIN. 


Apterix Australis, Southern Apterix, Shaw’s Zool. xxiv. pl. 1057, 1058. Tem. Man. 
Eid. 2d. Anal. p. exiv. 


SIZE of a Goose; length two feet and a half. Bill yellowish 
brown, long, and slender, somewat in the form of the Patagonian 
Species; length from the gape to the tip six inches and three quarters, 
at the base rather stout, and covered with a kind of cere; it is also 
a trifle enlarged at the end, and somewhat curved ; the under man- 
dible shutting beneath the upper ; the nostrils linear, near the tip of 
the bill, scarcely to be detected, placed at the end of a tubular 
furrow ;* plumage ferruginous grey; the feathers not greatly unlike 
those of the New-Holland Cassowary, but only one from each shaft; 
the wings not perceivable, except on close examination, being only 
asmal]l stump, with a claw or spur at the end, furnished with a few 
straggling feathers, and quite hid in the plumage; some of the 
feathers of which are weak, and four inches or more long, and the 
edges of them incline to dusky, giving a mottled, or mixed appearance: 
there is no appearance of a tail; the legs are short and stout, the 
colour of the bill, but rather darker; the feet have three toes before 


* On examining this bird with Dr. Shaw on his first receiving it, no appearance of nos- 
trils was to be detected, but a furrow ran the whole length, at the end of which were two 


minute holes, into which a bristle being introduced, passed up quite to the base, and no 
doubt were the nostrils. 


PINGUIN. 395 


separate, and one behind,* but the last is placed much within, and 
so high up, as to be useless, with no apparent membrane between 
the toes; claws strong, sharp, very little bent; the inner one almost 
straight. 

Inhabits New Zealand, brought from the south coast by Captain 
Barclay, of the ship Providence, who presented it to Dr. Shaw, as 
an addition to his collection of natural history. The Doctor, it is 
true, has made this bird the basis of a new Genus, and it certainly 
differs in some things from the general tribe of Pinguins, yet it 
coincides with them in so many, as to render this separation less 
needful: and the reader cannot fail to observe, that not only in the 
present instance, but in several others in the course of this work, 
the great desire of the author to accommodate many new species to 
some Genus already fixed; so as to give the least violence possible 
to the general system ; being of opinion, that creating a single new 
Genus, when it can possibly be avoided, will serve only unnecessarily 
to burthen the memory, as well as to distract the mind. 


* The form of the foot is not greatly unlike that of the Dodo, and in the above speci- 
men the toes were not connected by an intervening membrane; yet from certain inequalities 


on the sides, it is possible that there may have been one, and that it had been eaten away by 
insects. 


Err 2 


396 


PELICAN. 


GENUS CIX.-—-PELICAN. 


* 


Bill smooth—Pouch very 
large. 


PELICANS. 
White Pelican 


Rose-coloured 
Manilla 
New-Holland 
Philippine 
Javan 
Black-bellied 
Red-backed 


onortanskwrnre 


Brown 
Charles Town 
A Var. 

B Var. 

C Var. 

11 Rough-billed 
12 Saw-billed 


10 


THE bill in this Genus is long, and straight, 


or sloping. 


** Bill smooth—Pouch mode- 
rate—Tail forked. 


FRIGATES, 


13 Greater Frigate Pelican 
14 Lesser Frigate 
15 White-headed Fr. 
A Var. 
16 Palmerston Fr. 


*** Bill smooth, Tail rounded. 


CORVORANTS. 


17 
18 
19 


Common Corvorant 
Javan Corv. 

Shag 

A Var. 

African Sh. 
Crested Sh. 
Chinese Sh. 
Brown-necked Sh. 
Violet Sh. 


20 
21 
22 
23 
24 


25 Red-faced Sh. 

26 Spotted Sh. 

27. Pied Sh. 

28 Carunculated Sh. 

29 Magellanic Sh. 

30 Tufted Sh. 

31 New-Holland Sh. 

32 Dwarf Sh. 
A Var. 5 

**** With a serrated Bill, and 
slightly wedged Tail. 


GANNETS. 
33 


Common Gannet 

A Var. 

Lesser G. 

Booby 

Tuckey’s B. 

Brown B. 

Brown and white B. 
Lesser B. 


34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 


the end either hooked, 


Nostrils in a furrow, running along the sides of the bill, and in 
most of the species scarcely distinguishable. 
Face, for the most part, destitute of feathers, being covered only 


with a bare skin. 


Gullet naked, in some capable of great distention. 


Toes four in number, all webbed together. 


We cannot but notice here the seemingly different characters of 
the various birds enumerated under this head, by some thought 
sufficient to justify the separating them into three or more Genera ;* 
and to avoid this we have adopted the division of them into families, 


* Brisson. 


PELICAN. 397 


yet comprising the whole under one Genus, as has already been done. 
It is true, that the Pelicans, so called, differ from the rest of the 
species in the length and shape of the bill. The Frigates, too, as 
well as the Corvorants and Shags, vary much in the bills, and the 
same may also be said in respect to the Gannets and Boobies ; but 
these differences alone have less weight, since a precisely similar 
structure of the feet reigns through the whole, added to a certain 
degree of nakedness, and dilatability of the skin of the throat, which 
in many species forms a large pouch, or reservoir; and in most of 
them, likewise, the eye is equally surrounded with a naked skin. 
Having the above in view, we have thought right to continue in our 
former opinion, by retaining the whole under one Genus. 


* WITH A SMOOTH BILL—POUCH VERY LARGE—TRUE PELICANS. 


1.-—WHITE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Onocrotalus, Ind. Orn. ii. 882, Lin. i. 215. Gm. Lin.i. 569. N. C. Petr. 
xv. 471.16. Scop.i. No.97.  Hasselq. It. 288. Georgi, 169. Kramer, 345. 
Bris. vi. 519. Id. 8vo. 11, 497. Bor. iii. p. 40. Fn. Helv. Dod. Mem. iii. 189. 
t. 26. Ratz, 121. Will. 247. t. 63. Phil. Trans. 66. p.29. Id. 57. p. 348? 
Gerin. v. t. 499. Tem. Man. 585. Id. Ed. 2d. p. 891. Robert, Ic. pl. 11. 

Il grotto ossia Pellicano, Cet. Uc. Sard. t. p. 329. f. 2. 

Baba, Bell’s Trav. p. 41. 

Tubano, Wheeler’s Trav. t. p. 304. 

Tacab, Mise, Chard. iii. p. 40? 

Der grosse Pelecan, Schmid, Vog. p. 155. t. 183. 

Die Kropfgans, Bechst. Deuts.1i. 750. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 738. Naturf. xii. 140. Frisch, 
t. 186. 

Pelican, Buf. vilie 282. pl. 25. Pl. enl. 87. Hist. Prov. i. 342. 

White Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi, 575. Id. Syn. Sup. ii. 362. Edw. pl. 92. Will. Engi. 
327. pl. 63. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 505. Penn. Hindoost. ii. 160. Gen. of Birds, 
65. pl. 15. Wood’s Zoogr.i. p. 558. 


THIS bird is greatly superior in size to a Swan, sometimes 
having an extent of wing of fifteen feet ; and weighing twenty-five 


398 PELICAN. 


pounds. The bill is fifteen or sixteen inches long, the apper man- 
dible flat and broad, furnished with a hook at the end; the skin 
between the sides of the under jaw red or yellowish, very flaccid, 
and dilatable, reaching eight or nine inches down the neck, and 
sometimes capable of containing three gallons of water ;* the gape 
of course is very wide;}+ on the top of the upper mandible is a rib 
of crimson, the rest pale red at the base, growing yellow towards 
the point; the under one pale red; tongue scarcely perceivable ; 
irides hazel; sides of the head bare, and flesh-coloured; hindhead 
somewhat crested; the plumage in general white, with a flesh- 
coloured tinge, except the bastard wing and prime quills, which are 
black, with white shafts; legs lead-colour; claws grey ; beneath the 
plumage isa fine soft down. The bill in young birds is wholly 
yellow. 

This species is common in some of the warmer parts of the Con- 
tinent of Europe, but chiefly frequents the Torrid Zone; seen in 
incredible numbers in the Russian Dominions, about the Black and 
Caspian Seas; and sometimes proceed a good way up the rivers which 
fall into them, coming and going with the Swans, Geese, Storks, 
and other birds; are scarce towards the east, and seldom met with 
so far north as the Siberian Lakes, though now and then seen on 
that of Baikal, and on many of the coasts of the Mediterranean, 
and the Islands therein ;{ common in Greece, and said to build in 
some of the rivers which flow into the Dannbe,§ straying sometimes 
into Switzerland, one having been shot at Zurich ; but so rare there, 
as not to be known by common people; is now and then seen in 


* This is often used by the sailors for tobacco pouches, bringing it into form by putting 
in a weight, and hanging the bag to dry in this state. We have, however, seen the pouch 
dressed, and made into a lady’s work bag, elegantly ornamented, appearing not unlike a well 
dressed parchment, or vellum skin, but very pliant. 

+ In one shewn some years since in London, the keeper could easily put in his head; and 
mention has been made of another, shewn in France, whose gape was so wide as to admit 
of the legs of a man with boots on.—Salern. Orn. 369. 

+ Inthe Island of Majorca, § Hist. des Ois. 


PELICAN. 399 


France, as one was killed in the province of Dauphiny, and another 
on the River Saone, in Lorraine.** I find an account of one being 
shot in England, at Horsey Fen, in May, 1663, which measured 
three yards from the tip of one wing to that of the other;+ and some 
years since, a Pelican was seen to fly over the seat of the late Sir 
Gregory Page, on Blackheath, in Kent, but this was of a brownish 
colour. In Africa they are pretty numerous, coming there in Sep- 
tember, flying in flocks, forming a wedge shape, with the point 
foremost, like Wild Geese. Often seen in Barbary, at no great 
‘distance from Tangier, and from thence sometimes visit the coast of 
Andalusia, and this in the winter season; as it is observed by 
Hasselquist, that Pelicans migrate at that time from Asia into Egypt. 
In Damietta and other parts not uncommon, as well as on the Coast 
of Senegal, and parts adjacent ; that of Guinea, and the Gold Coast ; 
also from thence to the Cape of Good Hope, in the bays and rivers ;¢ 
and in many other parts both of Asia and Africa. The female makes 
the nest of reedy grass, in the mossy, turfy places, chiefly in the 
Islands of the Lakes, remote from man, a foot and a half in diameter, 
deeply hollowed, and filled with soft grass; laying two or more 
white eggs, much like those of the Swan, and sits about the same 
length of time. If any person disturbs the bird whilst sitting, she 
is said to take the eggs out of the nest with the bill, and to drop 
them inte the water, returning them to their place, as soon as the 
enemy is out of sight. § 

The chief food of the Pelican is fish; is frequently observed 
hovering over the water, and as soon as it sees a fish beneath, plunges 
in an instant, seldom missing its aim, the enormous gape of the bill 


* Mist. des Ois. + See MS in Br. Mus. No. 1830, 16 E. in a Memoir by T. Brown, 
Norwich, a quere is put here, whether it might not be one of the King’s Pelicans, kept at 
St. James’s, which had been lost about the same time. 

+ In Sea Cow River, in December.—Phil. Trans. \xvi. 29. And by hundreds in Ver- 
loore Valley.—Id. 309. By thousands in Mossel Bay according to Levaillant. “* J’y trou- 
‘< yois par milliers des Pelicans, et des Phcenicopteres ou Flamans.”—Voy. Fr. ed. i. p. 101. 

§ Dec. russ, i. 141. 


400 PELICAN. 


giving a greater chance of securing its prey ; after having filled the 
pouch with as great a number as it can carry, it flies off to some 
convenient point of a rock, to swallow them at leisure ; when several 
are together, they fish in a different manner, especially when in 
company with the Corvorants: these two spread into a large circle, 
at some distance from the land; the Pelicans flap with their extensive 
wings above, on the surface, while the Corvorants dive beneath ; 
hence the fish at last are driven into a small compass, when their 
pursuers find no difficulty of filling their bellies. In this they 
are attended by the Black-cap, and sometimes other Gulls, who come 
in for their share. ‘The Pelican is also observed to make a nest in 
the deserts,** very far from water; for what reason Providence alone 
can seggest, as the bird’s only supply of sustenance must arise from 
that element ; hence it must bring water to the young, by filling the 
pouch with it.; It is said that Camels, and other beasts, take the 
advantage of quenching their thirst, by resorting to their nests, and 
as if grateful for the supply, never do the least injury to the young. 
This bird is said to be used sometimes for domestic fishing, m the 
same manner as the Corvorant, by the Chinese.§_ We do not find the 
flesh much commended for food, though better tasted than that of 
the Booby, or Man of War Bird.|| The Great White Pelican in seen 
in vast abundance in India, every where in Hindustan, particularly 
on the Ganges; as is also the Roseate sort. It is said, that when 
young the plumage is chiefly brown; as it advances the head, neck, 
and under parts, are partially, or wholly white; after this the brown 
on the upper parts is mixed with patches of white, and finally wholly 


* The ancients noted this—** Iam like a Pelican in the Wilderness.’ —Psalm cii. v. 6. 

+ Hence called by the Persians, Kik, Tacab, or Water Carrier. 

+ Osbeck. Voy. The Pelican has been remarked for peculiar tenderness to its young, 
in feeding them with the blood from the breast ; but this has arisen from seeing one of these 
empty the contents of the red water bag, which it does by pressing it on the breast, and a 
person ignorant of the matter might easily be mistaken. § Hist. des Ois. 

§ Dampier’s Voy. Part II. p. 71. Forbidden to be eaten by the Jews, as well as the 
Corvorant.— Levitic. xi. v. 17, 18. 


PELICAN. 401 


white, gaining by degrees a reddish tinge; and at a still more 
advanced period, becoming wholly of a rose-colour.* 

A tame one, in this last dress, made part of a travelling exhibition 
not long since. The bill and pouch were pale; head, neck, and 
body, fine rose-colour ; wing coverts the same, but dusky ; scapulars, 
and second quills, margined with black; greater quills wholly 
black ; legs brown. 


2.—ROSE-COLOURED PELICAN. 


Pelecanus roseus, Ind. Orn.ii. 883. Gm. Lin. i. 570. 
Pelican rose de Isle de Lugon, Son. Voy. p. 91. t. 54. 
Rose-coloured Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 579. 


SIZE of a Goose. Bill black; round the eyes bare and yellow ; 
pouch the same ; the plumage wholly rose-colour ; legs black. 

Inhabits the Isle of Manilla. In the Leverian Museum I 
formerly observed one greatly corresponding, in which the whole 
of the plumage, including the quills, was white; the bill black, with 
some red markings near the end, and the hook also red ; the pouch, 
space round the eyes, and legs, yellow. No further account could 
be obtained. It is supposed by many that the Rose-coloured one is 
merely a very old bird of the white species ; but if so, there must 
have been much change in the quills, which are in all others 
described black ; nor do we find the bill, except in the present one, 
otherwise than brown, or yellow. 


3.—MANILLA PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Manillensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 883. Gm. Lin. i. 571. Lin. Trans. xiii. 330. 

Pelican brun de I’Isle de Lucon, Son. Voy. p. 91. pl. 53. 

Manilla Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 583. 

: THIS is exactly like the Rose-coloured, except in the plumage, 
being wholly brown, and is probably a young bird. 

Tnhabits Manilla, also Sumatra, and there called Lampipi. 


* Sonnerat. Said to live 100 years. 
VOL. Ke ‘FF 


402 PELICAN. 


4.—NEW-HOLLAND PELICAN. 


LENGTH five feet, extent of wings seven. Bill, and round 
the eye, yellow; plumage in general white; the beginning of 
the back, the quills, and tail, black ; inner half of the lesser wing 
coverts white ; legs pale blue; webs dusky; the quills reach to 
above the middle of the tail. 

Inhabits New-Holland, known by the name of Karrang-aba. 


5.—PHILIPPINE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Philippensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 883. Gm. Lin. i. 571. Tem. Man. 685. Id. 
Ed. 2d. 892, Lin. Trans. xiii. 197. 330. 

Onocrotalus Philippensis, Bris. vi. 527. t. 46. Jd. 8vo. 11. 500. 

Alcatraz, Phil. Trans. xxiii. p. 1397. 40. 

Philippine Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 583. 


THIS exceeds four feet in length. The bill fourteen inches 
long, and reddish white, on the top a strong rib ranning down the 
middle, on each side of which are fourteen or fifteen oblique dusky 
marks, having the appearance of a saw ; the bare space round the 
eyes the colour of the bill; the pouch very pale ; head and neck 
whitish ; from the hindhead to the back a stripe of feathers some- 
what longer than the rest, mixed white and brown ; those of the 
hindhead still longer, so as to form a crest; the plumage of all 
these parts very soft and silky; the upper parts of the back, and 
scapulars, cinereous grey ; the lower, and rump, white; wing coverts 
cinereous grey, with the shafts and margins white ; the outer greater 
ones, and bastard wing, darker, almost black ; quills dusky black ; 
base of many of the secondaries white; tail, composed of eighteen 
feathers, greyish white ; all but the two middle ones white within at 
the base, shafts black ; legs red. 


PELICAN. 403 


Inhabits the Philippine Islands, and is probably the bird known 
there by the name of Alcatraz, and by the inhabitants Pagala. The 
natives say, that the skin of the breast, dressed with the feathers on, 
has a sweet smell; and being worn on the stomach of a person 
afflicted with the asthma, proves a remedy for the same: is very 
common at Bengal. We are informed by Dr. Buchanan that it 
roosts in large trees in remote places. In the day time frequents 
lakes and marshes, to collect fish. It is the Garapulla of the Ben- 
galese; Gogaubhere of the Mussulmans. Found also in Java, and 
called there Walang-kadda. The Bengalese name signifies the small 
fishing-basket ; that of the Mussulmans, in the Hindustany dialect, 
means a bird that reaches the sky, for it often flies very high. 


6.-JAVAN PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Javanicus, Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 197.—Horsfield. 


THIS is four feet in length. The plumage white, with an 
obsolete crest, and a broad bill; the prime quills black, the secon- 
daries and feathers of the back margined with black, and the shafts 
white.-—Inhabits Java, and called Bakkul. Inthe Leverian Museum 
was one greatly corresponding with the above. In this the bill was 
yellow ; plumage white, except the quills which were dusky black, 
and the shafts white; the tail white, the two middle feathers a trifle 
shorter than the others; legs black. 


7.—BLACK-BELLIED PELICAN. 
Pelican brun d’Amerique, Pl. enl. 957. 
SIZE large.* Bill pale red; irides red; pouch beneath the 
throat large and pale; head and neck before to the breast white; 
* By the scale in the plate being one-twelfth of the real size, the length should be at 


least five feet. 


Frr@2 


404 PELICAN. 


face and fore part of the head naked and bare; the nape and hind 
part of the neck black, passing round just above the breast, asa 
collar; feathers of the nape a trifle elongated ; the breast and thighs 
grey and black in fine streaks; all the under parts of the body from 
the breast black; upper parts, wings, and tail, greyish white; legs 
reddish brown. 

The above description taken from drawings in the collection 
of the late Mr. Bruce, supposed to have been met with in Abyssinia. 
It appears to be the same as that figured in the Pl. enlum. above 
referred to. M. Buffon, under his article Pelican brun,* refers to 
this plate, though he does not at all describe the bird. But sup- 
posing he could mean that mentioned above from Mr. Bruce’s 
drawings, he must have been indulged with a copy of it by that 
gentleman; who certainly displayed his drawings in Paris, before we 
had a sight of them in England. On this account we have some 
reason for supposing it not to be of American origin. Mr. Bruce’s 
bird was named Gungunnah; and one not far different, in the late 
Mr. Middleton’s India drawings, was called Gungunneer. 


8.—RED-BACKED PELICAN. 


Pelecanus rufescens, Ind. Orn. 11. 884. Gm. Lin. i. 571. 
Red-backed Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 584. 


SIZE of a large Swan; length five feet. Bill thirteen inches 
long, of a pale dirty yellow ; space round the eyes, and pouch the 
same ; the last reaches eight inches down the neck; the hindhead is 
crested, some of the feathers four inches in length ; head and neck 
dirty brownish white; back fine pale reddish cimnamon; wing 
coverts like the neck, but darker; lesser quills the same, with dark 
grey ends, and black shafts; scapulars pale greyish lead-colour ; 
prime quills black ; tail deep grey, the shafts white at the base, and 


* Hist. des. Ois. 111. 306. 


PELICAN. ; 405 


black towards the ends; belly, thighs, under wing coverts, and vent, 
like the back, but pale; the feathers of the breast, wing coverts, 
and Jower part of the neck, are long, narrow, and pointed, especially 
those of the breast ; legs yellow. 

This bird I received from Mr. Lewis, Navy Surgeon, who in- 
formed me, that he had it alive from the Governor of one of our 
Forts on the Gold Coast, where it had been kept tame for a long 
time ; it was reckoned a scarce bird, by reason of its being crested. 


9.—BROWN PELICAN. 


Pelecanus fuscus, Ind. Orn. ii. 883. Lin.i. 215.1. 6. Gm. Lin.i. 570. Georgi, 169. 

Onocrotalus fuscus, Bris. vi. 524. Id. 8yo. ii. 499. Razi, 191.3. Sloan. Jam. 322. 
Brown, Jam. 480. Klein, 142. 1. 

Onocrotalus Americanus, Gerin. v. t. 500. Bartr. Tr. 293. 

Pelican brun, Buf. viii. 306 ? 

Pelican of America, Edw. pl. 93. Ellis’s Huds. Bay, 1. pl. 1. 

Great Gull, Hist. Californ.i. p. 40. 

Brown Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 580. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 506. Gent. Mag. xx. pl. p. 210. 


THIS is in length nearly four feet. Bill fifteen inches, at the 
base greenish blue, mixed with a little red near the end; the pouch 
bluish ash-colour, streaked with reddish lines; irides deep bluish 
ash ; bare skin round the eyes whitish ; the head and neck white; 
the first a little crested at the back part ; back, scapulars, and rump, 
cinereous brown, the middle of each feather whitish ; breast and 
under parts like the upper, but plain; wing coverts like the back ; 
but some of the outer greater ones plain brown; the shape of most 
of the above feathers pointed, narrow, and long; prime quills black; 
the secondaries hoary brown ; tail the same, and consists of eighteen 
feathers; legs lead-colour; claws black. 

This appears to be the bird called a Gull, in the History of 
California, and found in vast numbers in that place, the Isle of 
Assumption and San Roche; said to haye a vast craw, hanging 


406 PELICAN. 


down like the Peruvian leather bottles,** and that it is usual for them 
to bring food toa wounded or sick companion. The natives, there- 
fore, take the advantage of confining one of them near the shore, by 
which means they procure a dish of fish, without further trouble. 

The Brown Pelican is very common in many parts of the Coasts 
of America, but no where more so than in the West India Islands, 
Jamaica, Barbadoes, &e.; also in the Bay of Campeachy, and as 
low as Carthagena. In summer found as far north as Hudson’s 
Bay. While fishing in the water it is sufficiently active, but having 
filled the pouch, and retired to the rocks to swallow the contents, is 
observed to be to a degree stupid and senseless, remaining without 
motion for hours together, half asleep, with the bill resting on the 
breast; when it is no uncommon thing for a person to steal upon the 
bird unawares, and seize it by the neck without resistance. 

It is observed, that none of the true Pelicans are capable of 
diving to any great depth; probably owing to their great levity, 
and consequently chiefly seize their prey by darting their necks 
suddenly into the water; on the contrary, those of the Corvorant 
tribe are not only expert divers, but often make their way to great 
distance under the water. 


10.—CHARLES TOWN PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Carolinensis, Ind. Orn. ii. 884. Gm. Lin. 1. 571. 
Charles Town Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 585. Arct. Zool. 11. No. 507. 


SIZE of a Canada Goose. Bill brown; space round the eye 
dusky; colour of the plumage dusky above; white on the breast 
and belly; with a dusky yellow, dilatable pouch. 


* Now well known by the name of Caoutchouc, and applied to various uses, as a con- 
taining vessel; pieces of it are also used for destroying pencil marks, and called India Rub- 
ber ; also being dissolved in a proper menstruum, serves as a coating to air balloons, or 
other articles, required to be impenetrable to air and moisture. 


~ 


PELICAN. 407 


These abound in the Bay of Charles Town, in America, where 
they are continually fishing. 


A.—Size the same; length four feet. Bill thirteen inches long, 
differing from many, in having the part of the upper mandible which 
is next the base almost cylindrical, and not. flat, though spreading 
out considerably near the end; the plumage brown above; head, 
neck, and under parts, brownish white; the lower half of the back 
striped black and dusky white, the feathers being narrow, and edged 
with the last colour. One of these was in the Leverian Museum. 


B.—Is in most things the same; but the back wholly plain; the 
bag in both of an enormous size, taking up the greatest part of the 
neck before; at the hind part of it, the whole length, the feathers 
much longer than the rest; though the nape of the neck and back 
part of the head, were not at all crested. 

These last were brought from Cayenne. 


C.—Size much the same. Bill yellow, upper mandible dusky 
above, base cylindrical ; back of the neck soft, the feathers short, 
like down; plumage in general white, except the quills, which are 
black ; the lower mandible furnished with a large pouch, as others. 

Inhabits Georgia, in North America, where it is reckoned a rarity. 
One of them shot the 24th of June, in a pond, in company with 
the Wood Ibis, by Mr. Abbot; he informs me, that these birds are 
frequent on the southern parts of the sea coast; and considered there 
as a Variety, or more probably the foregoing in mature plumage. 


408 — PELICAN. 


11.—ROUGH-BILLED PELICAN. 


Pelecanus trachyrhynchos, Ind. Orn. ii. 884. Mus. Lev. 211. t. 51. 
erythrorbynchos,* Gm. Lin. i. 571. 
Rough-billed Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 586. Fn. Amer. p.17. Phil. Tr. \xii. 419. 54. 


SIZE between a Goose and a Swan; length four feet six inches. 
Bill thirteen inches, shaped as in other Pelicans, witb the addition 
of some singular protuberances on the top of the upper mandible ; 
from the base of which, for above seven inches, the surface in plain ; 
at this part an elevated ridge begins, about one inch and a half in 
height, and one-third of an inch in thickness; this continues about 
one inch and a half on the bill, and then other smaller ones take 
rise, of different sizes, and continue decreasing in size, in an abrupt 
manner to the end of the bill; the colour of both reddish yellow, 
here and there inclining to red ; the under mandible and pouch as 
in other species, but on each side, about the middle of the first, is 
a black spot, the size of a silver penny; and the bag is streaked 
with fine lines of black, which are pretty numerous on the fore part 
of it, most so next the end of the bill; the plumage is wholly of a 
pure white, except the bastard wing and quills, which are black ; 
the shafts of the larger ones white; at the hindhead the feathers are 
greatly elongated, forming a crest, of four inches and a half in 
length; the legs are black.t+ 

This species, which appears to be distinct, is found in some parts 
of America. We have only seen three specimens, two of which were 
brought from Hudson’s Bay, and the third from New York; but 
Mr. Pennant mentions its having been also sent from South Carolina. 
The most perfect was in the Leverian Museum; one, formerly in my 


* Tt may be here observed, that M. Gmelin has mistaken the English word Rough for 
the French Rouge, as his specific name means a bird, having a red bill. 
+ In the bird described in the Phil. Trans. they are said to be yellow. 


PELICAN. 409 


own collection, had the elevated part of the bill injured in many 
places, but sufficient to shew the original state. A third in the 
British Museum, has the ridged part reduced to a mere fibrous tuft, 
the rest having been beaten off; hence we may conclude, that Nature 
has intended this additional ridge for defence; and as it is full as 
hard in texture as the rest of the bill, nothing but repeated and 
violent blows could have occasioned the breaches made in my speci- 
men, and especially the total destruction of shape seen in that of 
the British Museum. 


12.—SAW-BILLED PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Thagus, Ind. Orn. ii. 884. Gm. Lin. i, 577. Molin. Chil. 212. Id. Fr. 
Ed. 220. 

Onocrotalus rostro denticulato, Bris. vi. 523. A. Id. 8vo. 11. 499. 

Mexicanus dentatus, Alcatraz, Rati, 122. Hern. Mex. t. p. 672. 

Pelican a bec dentele, Buf. vii. 309. 

Saw-billed Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 579. A. 


SIZE of a Turkey. The bill one foot long, a little bent at the 
point, and indented like a saw on the edges; the neck one foot long, 
and the bird, when erect, stands twenty-two inches high ; extent of 
wing nine feet; the tail short, and rounded ; and the general colour 
of the plumage brown. 

This is said to mhabit Chili, and to bea solitary species; that the 
natives make great use of the membrane, or throat bag, for tobacco 
pouches; and when stretched and dried becomes so transparent, as 
to serve for lanterns, &c. The quills, too, are thought preferable to 
those of any other bird for writing pens. It usually frequents rocks 
near the sea, and lays generally five eggs. The Spaniards call it 
Alcatraz, by which name the Philippine Species is also called. As 
to the bill being serrated on the edges, we must rely solely on 
Molina ; for although the older authors have said as much, and had 


VOL, x. Ga@e 


410 PELICAN. 


even given a figure of the bill, Mr. Ray rather conjectured that the 
indentations might have arisen from injury; we have never seen 
such a bird. 


** BILL SMOOTH—POUCH MODERATE—TAIL FORKED. 
FRIGATES. 


13.—GREATER FRIGATE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Aquilus, Ind. Orn. ii. 885. Lin.i. 216. Gm. Lin. i. 572. Osb. It. 292 ? 
Borowsk. iii. p. 42. Forst. Voy.1. 588. Id.ii. 433. Bartr. Trav. p. 293. Lin. 
Trans. xii. p. 1. 

Fregata, Bris. vi. 506. t. 43. f.2.—male. Jd. 8vo. ii. 493. 

- avis, Rabihorcado, Razz, 153. 192.15. Will. 306. t.77. Td. Engl. 398. pl. 
77. Petiv. Gaz. t.54. 1. Ulloa’s Voy. ii. 304. 

Tachypetes Aquila, Vieillot, Tem. Man. Anal. p. cx. 

La Fregate, Buf. viii. 381. Pl. end. 961. Pern. Voy.i. 125. Hist. Louis. ii. 118. 

Man of War Bird, Brown, Jam. 483. Damp. Voy.i. p.49. Id. iii. pt. 2d. pl. p. 99. 
Sloan. Jam. i. p. 30. 

Frigate Bird, Albin, ili. pl. 80. Gen. Birds, 67. pl. 16. 

Frigate Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 587. Wood's Zoogr. i. p. 557. 


SIZE, in the body, of a large Fowl]; length three feet, breadth seven 
or eight; weight two pounds and three quarters. Bill slender, dusky 
yellow, five inches long, and much curved at the point ; in the place 
of nostrils a fine line, or fissure, on each side of the upper mandible; 
from the base a reddish, dark-coloured skin spreads on each side of 
the head, taking in the eyes; from the under mandible hangs a loose 
membranaceous bag, attached some way down the throat, as in the. 
Common Pelican, and applied to the same uses; the colour fine deep 
red, sprinkled on the sides with a few scattered feathers; the whole 
plumage glossy brownish black, except the wing coverts, which 
have a rufous tinge; tail long, and much forked, consisting of twelve 
feathers ; the outer ones about eighteen inches in length, the middle 


PELICAN. 411 


from seven to eight; the legs are small, all the toes webbed together, 
and the webs deeply indented ;* colour of them dusky red, in some 
black. The female wants the membranaceous pouch under the chin, 
and the belly is white ; in other things resembles the male. 

This bird+ is chiefly, if not wholly, met with between the Tro- 
pics; always out at sea, being only seen on the wing. It is usual 
with other birds, when fatigued with flying, to rest themselves on 
the surface of the water; but from the exceeding length of wing, 
the rising from thence is rendered impossible, as writers inform us, 
and every one with whom we have talked on the subject, assures us 
of the fact; though, perhaps, the bird scarcely seems to require rest, 
for if we may judge from its apparently easy gliding motion (much 
like that of the Kite) it would seem capable of sustaining very long 
flights; as it is often seen above 100, and not unfrequently 200+ 
leagues from land. It has, indeed, been known to settle on the 
masts of ships, but this is not a frequent circumstance; though it 
will often approach near, and hover about the top mast flag;§ 
sometimes it soars so high in the air as to be scarcely visible, yet at 
other times approaches the surface of the sea; and on spying a fish, 
darts down with the utmost rapidity, and seldom without success, 
flymg upwards again as quick as it descended ;|| will also attack 
Gulls and other birds which have caught a fish, which it obliges 
them to disgorge, and will generally seize it before it falls into the 
water. Is an enemy to the flying fish; for, on their being attacked 
beneath by the dolphin, and other voracious fish, to escape their jaws 
these semivolatiles leap out of the water in clusters, making use of 


* In the Planches enluminées the webs are not sufficiently expressed. The figure in 
Brisson comes nearer the truth, the toes are webbed to the second joint. 

+ Also called Tailleur, or Taylor, by the French, from the motion of the tail repre- 
senting a pair of shears when opened ; and when on the wing it opens and shuts the tail 
feathers frequently, in the manner of using that instrument.—Ulloa’s Voy. ii. 304. 

+ Forst. Voy.i. 47. Id. Obs..p. 212. as far as 400.—Perneity. 

§ Cook's last Voy. i. p. 81. || Dampier. He observes, that they do not take 


their prey in_the bill. 
Gaa2 


412 PELICAN. 


their long fins, as wings, to buoy them up in the air, which they 
are enabled to do, so long as they remain wet ; but on becoming dry 
are useless, and of course they drop again into their proper element; 
during their flight the frigate darts in among the shoal, and seizes 
one or two at least. These birds appear to know the exact place 
where the fish are to rise, from the bubbling of the water, which 
directs them to the spot.* In this they are often accompanied by 
Gulls and other birds, who act in concert with them. Said to make 
their nest on trees, if any within a proper distance, otherwise on the 
rocks ;+ lay one or two eggs, flesh-colour, spotted with crimson.t 
The young birds covered with greyish white down; legs of the same 
colour; bill white. 


14.—LESSER FRIGATE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus minor, Ind. Orn. 11. 885. Gm. Lin. i. 572. 
Fregata minor, Bris. vi. 509. Id. 8vo. 1. 494. 
Petite Fregate, Buf. viii. 390. 

Man of War Bird, Edw. pl. 309. 

Lesser Frigate Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 590. 


THIS is less than the last, and only two feet nine inches in 
length; extent of wing five feet and a half. The bill red; the base 
and bare space round the eye, the same; head, neck. behind, and 
upper parts of the body, and wings, ferruginous brown; throat, fore 
part of the neck, and breast, white; tail greatly forked as in the 
other; legs dirty yellow. 

In a bird very similar to this, if not the same, the plumage is 
full black ; the breast and belly mottled with ash-colour; the inner 
ridge of the wing the same; the bill has the long furrow, as is seen 


* Hist. Barb. p. 86. + Dampier. Said to build in numbers on a small Island 
contiguous to Guadaloupe.—Hist. des Ois. note (s.) 

+ Mr. Barton says they lay but one white egg, and that the male sits upon it, and 
hatches the young, while the female is on the wing procuring food: this seems probable, 
since the birds taken on land are all males, and those flying at sea all females.—Lin. Trans. 


PELICAN. 413 


in the greater one, but the nostrils are clearly distinguishable, being 
about half an inch in length, rather broader at the part which is 
next the base. This has a light red pouch at the chin and throat, 
as in the former species. It is most likely that this is a male bird; 
as others, said to be of the opposite sex, have little or no traces of 
the jugular pouch.** Some have supposed, that the Greater and 
Lesser Frigates are the same bird, in different periods of age. 


15.—W HITE-HEADED FRIGATE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus leucocephalus, Ind. Orn. ii. 886. Gm. Lin. i. 572. Amen. Acad. iv. 238 ? 
Osb. Voy. ii. 87? Lin. Trans. xii. 330. 

La Fregate, Buf. vi. pl. 30. 

White-headed Frigate Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 591. 


LENGTH nearly three feet. Bill five inches long, dusky, tip 
nearly white; both mandibles hooked; sides of the head covered 
with feathers; head and fore part of the neck white, finishing in a 
point on the last; breast and belly white; except these, the rest of 
the plumage is brown ; tail forked ; legs pale reddish brown. 

In the Museum of the Jate Dr. Hunter, from whence uncertain. 


A.—In the same collection was one, with the head and half the 
neck all round white, passing before down the breast, and ending 
between the legs; sides of the body, the vent, and rest of the 
plumage, brown; legs reddish brown ; neither of the two were bare 
on the sides of the head, with very little appearance of a pouch 
under the lower mandible. This is probably the one met with in 
Sumatra, and there called Danding Laut. 


* This supposition seems justified from a pair in the late Hunterian Musuem, in both of 
which the plumage was wholly black; the one has a large pouch, the other destitute of it. 


414 PELICAN. 


16.—PALMERSTON FRIGATE PELICAN. 


Pelecanus Palmerstoni, Ind. Orn. ii. 886. Gm. Lin. i. 573. 
Palmerston Frigate Pelican, Gen. Syn. vi. 592. 


- 


LENGTH three feet. Bill black, five inches and a half long, 
and hooked at the end; space round the eyes well feathered ; the 
upper part of the head, neck, and body, brown, with a greenish 
gloss ; wing coverts nearest the body dark glossy green; fore part of 
the neck mottled brown and white ; the rest of the under parts white ; 
vent black ; tail forked ; the shafts of the feathers white; legs dusky 
black ; the middle claw serrated on the inside. 

Inhabits the Island of Palmerston, in the South Seas. From 
the collection of Sir Joseph Banks. We suspect that this and the 
last form but one species, although probably different from the first 
described, as the head in both is entirely covered with feathers round 
the eyes. 


*** BILL SMOOTH—TAIL ROUNDED. 
CORVORANTS. 


17.—COMMON CORVORANT. 


Pelecanus Carbo, Ind. Orn. ii. 886. Lin. i. 216. (Fn. suec. No. 145. Gm. Lin. i. 
573. Scop.i. No. 98. Brun. No. 120. 122. Muller, No. 146. 148. Georgi, 
169. Frisch, 1. 187,188. N.C. Petr. iv. 423. Fn. groenl. No. 57. Bor. iii. 
38. t.40. Fn. Helv. Sepp, t. 98,99. Tem. Man. 587. Td. Ed. 2d. 893. 

Corvus aquaticus, Rati, 122. A.3. Will. 248. t.63. Klein, 144.5. Mars. Dan. 
16. t..36. Besl. Mus. t. 8. 

Phalacrocorax, Bris. vi. 511. t.45. Id. 8vo. ii. 495. Gerin. v. t.501. 

Der Kormoran, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 756. Td. Ed. 2d. iv. 750. 

Seerabe, Schr. d. Berl. Nat. viii. s. 430.* 


* In this Essay will-be found a full deseription-of the bird, as to the internal as well as 
external appearance. 


PELICAN. 4}5 


Le Cormoran, Buf. viii. 310. pl. 26. Pl. enl. 927. Hist. Prov. i, 341. 

Il Corbo aquatico, Osb. Voy. ii. 35. Du Halde Chin. t. p. 162. 

Cormorant, or Corvorant, Gen. Syn. vi. 593. Id. Sup. 279. Id. Sup. ii. 363. Br. 
Zool.ii. No. 291. Id. fol. 159. pl. 1. Jd. 1812.11. 281. Arct. Zool. ii. No. 509. 
Albin, ii. pl. 81. Cook’s last Voy. i. 297. Will. Engl. 329. pl. 63. Bewick; ii. 
pl. p. 3881—888. Lewin, vii. 263. Walcot, i. pl. 92. Pult. Dors. p.21. Phil. 
Trans. 1807. 160. pl. x. f.2,3.—thestomach.  Pitf. Mem. pl. p. 132. Orn. 
Dict. & Supp. 


SIZE of a Goose, but more slender; length three feet, breadth 
four feet two inches; weight seven pounds. The bill dusky, three 
inches and a half long, the upper mandible hooked at the end, with 
a furrow running longitudinally from the base to great part of its 
length, but no appearance of nostrils ; the under mandible is covered 
with a kind of yellowish green membrane, passing under the chin 
and throat, forming there a kind of pouch; and from thence extend- 
ing backwards, and round the eye; irides green; top of the head and 
part of the neck black, variegated with perpendicular white lines; 
at the back part the feathers are longer than the rest, and form a 
short crest; throat white, passing upwards behind the eyes; the 
lower part of the neck, the breast, and all the under parts, greenish 
black; over the thighs a large white patch; back, scapulars, and 
wing coverts, brownish, reflecting purple and green in different 
lights; each feather margined with black; the second quills like 
the wing coverts; the prime ones dusky black; tail the same, much 
rounded in shape, consisting of fourteen feathers; legs black, middle 
claw serrated within. 

The female partakes of the same variety as the male, but in a 
complete state is observed to be paler coloured. This species is 
called by some Cole-Goose, and Skart; by others Brougie, and Norie.* 
We find a remark in the Br. Zoology, that the chin of the male is 
white, and in that sex is also a short, loose pendent crest at the hind 
head, with a large patch of white feathers over the thighs; but this, 
perhaps, is not peculiar, since it has been ascertained, that a speci- 
men with all these markings has proved, on dissection, to be a 


* Orn. Dict. 


416 PELICAN. 


female. May we not, therefore, conclude that these birds vary 
much in plumage, either at different seasons or periods of age; that 
the latter does take place we learn from Colonel Montagu, who 
mentions having one of the first described, with the striped head and 
the white patch over the thighs,* brought to him alive; this was 
perfectly familiar, following any one of the family for the sake of 
a fish. After the autumn, the period of moulting, the plumage 
completely changed to black, losing both the streaked neck and 
white over the thighs; and on a second moulting the year following, 
the same black plumage was renewed, but the streaked head and 
white over the thighs never appeared again ; among those with the 
black plumage, the chin is more or less white ; in some is a portion 
of white on the breast and belly, in others the belly is wholly white ; 
and in one in the Leverian Collection, the hindhead and nape had 
a narrow series of long feathers serving as a crest. We may hence 
probably conclude, that the two, figured by Mr. Bewick,+ form but 
one species, and are Varieties only; for we do not yet learn whether 
the younger birds have invariably the striped heads. 

These birds are sufficiently common in England, and breed on 
most of our rocky coasts, generally on the highest, and most inacces- 
sible cliffs; sometimes in concert with the shags; but the latter are 
by far the most numerous. The nest is composed of a mixture of sticks 
and sea weed ; the eggs generally three in number, dusky, or greenish 
white, about three inches in length, and weighing about two ounces. 
In the winter often found at some distance from the sea. In the year 
1750, one of these perched upon the castle at Carlisle, and soon 
afterwards removed to the Cathedral, where it was shot at upwards 
of twenty times without effect, at last a person got upon the Cathe- 
dral, fired at, and killed it; in another instance, a flock of fifteen 


* We learn from the Orn. Dict. that the Corvorant is plentiful on the Coast of Devon- 
shire and Cornwall, but those with streaked heads very rare; this latter is well represented 
in Hist. des Ois. vii. pl. 26. Pl. ent. 927. and Bewich’s Birds, ii. pl. in p. 388. 

+ Compare Bewick, ii. pl. p. 381. 


PELICAN. 417 


or twenty perched in the evening on a tree, on the banks of the River 
Esk, near Netherby, the seat of Sir James Graham. A person who 
saw them settle, fired at random in the dark, six or seven times, 
without success; surprised at this, he returned at daylight, and killing 
one, the rest flew away. At the end of July, 1793, one of these 
was found sitting on the vane of St. Martin’s Church Steeple, on 
Ludgate Hill, London, and was shot from thence in the presence of 
a number of people. Some other instances might be mentioned, but 
we trust that the above are enough to shew, that they are not easily 
frightened from the places on which they perch. This is m general 
a very wary bird, yet at times is unaccountably torpid or heedless ; 
for, after a full surfeit of fish, or when asleep, it will, like the Peli- 
can, suffer a net to be thrown over it, or a noose put round the neck, 
so as to be easily taken. The chief food is found to be eels, flukes, 
and, as the sea goby has also been found in the stomach, it may be 
supposed that they prey on other kinds of fish likewise. It is no 
uncommon thing to see twenty of these birds together on the sand 
by the river side, with extended wings, drying themselves in the 
wind, and to remain in this position for nearly an hour, without 
closing them; and as soon as the feathers are fit to imbibe the oil, 
they press a portion thereof from the usual receptacle on the rump, 
and dress the feathers with it ; for it is only in one particular state that 
the oily matter can be spread thereon ; not dry, but while damp, and 
the proper moment known to the bird by instinct. It is not an easy 
matter to make the old bird rise from the water, especially if pursued, 
and obliged to dive often, for then the feathers imbibe so much wet, 
as to disable it totally ; and after long fishing is the occasion of the 
bird coming on shore at intervals to dry and dress them. 

We learn that a species of this Genus, described hereafter, is 
frequently made use of by the Chinese for fishing ; and it is also 
said, that the custom was formerly practised in this kingdom, of 
applying a leather thong about the neck, to prevent the bird swal- 


lowing the fish, which it is taught to bring to its master; and the 
VOL. %. Hus 


418 _ PELICAN. 


Corvorant was kept in the house with the same care, as is used 
in respect to the Falcons; but we do not find it to have been 
very common, since it has not been generally noticed by authors. 
Willughby, who mentions the circumstance,* quotes, in the margin, 
his authority from Faber’s Notes on Recchus’s Animals; but on 
inspecting the passage,t we are merely told, that some Corvorants, 
which had been trained for fishing, were sent, with a Vulture, as a 
present from England to the King of France; that they were hood- 
winked, till they were let off to fish, in the manner of the Falcon, 
and would fetch trouts out of the river very dexterously. That they 
were used now and then, is plain, both from the above passage, as 
well as what we learn from the British Zoology.t A circumstance 
is likewise mentioned by Swammerdam,§ who seems to imply that 
the birds, though used in England, were not taught there. It appears, 
that the Corvorant is more or less a general inhabitant of the Conti- 
nent of Europe ; common in Greenland, where the inhabitants, from 
necessity, make much use of it. The jugular pouch serves as a 
bladder to keep their darts afloat after they are flung; for the dex- 
terous natives procure these and other birds by this mode, while 

* Engl. Ed. 329. + See Hernand. Mewic. p. 693. 

+ Whitelock says ‘* that he had a cast of them, manned like Hawks, and which would 
‘come to hand. He took much pleasure in them; and relates, that the best he had were 
** presented to him by Mr. Wood, master of. the Corvorants, to King Charles the First.”’ 
Br. Zool. ii. 610. i 

§ ‘“‘ Some few years ago many of these birds were carried to England, (from Holland), 
“and sold for that purpose. In the first place, they make them so tame, that they nay 
“be brought to perch and stay upon the hand of their own accord ; when after this they 
‘< are inclined to go out fishing with them, they tie to one of their legs a thin bnt strong 
«© cord, which they keep rolled up ina ball: afterwards they hold this ball, by a bobbin- 
«handle, as our girls do their bobbins, while they roll off of them the threads made on the 
«reel: these things being prepared, they put the ring round the Cormorant’s neck, and 
‘“< being now come to the fish-pond, they let the Cormorant fly down into the water; then 
«the cord is rolled off of the ball with a whizzing twirl, and the Cormorant, to the great 
“‘ amazement of the spectators, quickly seizes some fishes: these, however, are stopt at 
“the ring that has been put about its neck ; therefore when the Cormorant is afterwards 


«< drawn out by the cord, he may easily be made to throw out again the fishes it had taken 
“into the mouth, only by squeezing its stomach and throat upwards.” —Bib/. Nat.i. p. 193. 


PELICAN. 419 


swimming; they are also taken in snares and nets; the skins are 
used by them in clothing. The flesh is eaten; but the eggs are 
rejected, as being excessively fetid. Reach even to Kamtschatka; 
are found every where in the Russian dominions; on the shores of 
the Caspian Sea, sometimes in immense flocks; frequent also on the 
Lake Baikal ; common in India, China, the Philippine Isles, New 
Zealand, and other parts; not uncommon at the Cape of Good 
Hope; are frequent in many parts of the Continent of America, at 
Hudson’s Bay, New York, and from thence as low at least as Caro- 
lina; at the last seen especially in March and April, when the 
herrings run up the creeks, at which time they may be observed 
sitting on the logs of wood, which fall into the water, waiting for 
the fish passing by ;* are found also at Nootka Sound. + 


18.—JAVAN CORVORANT. 


Carbo Javanicus, Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 197.—Horsfield. 


LENGTH sixteen inches. Bill blackish, under mandible pale; 
body and wings black, with a hoary, silvery gloss, and the feathers 
margined with black; chin white; neck beneath variegated with 
black, brown, and fuliginous; thighs black; belly marked with 
narrow cinereous bands. 

Inhabits Java, called there Pechuch. 


19.—SHAG. 


»Pelecanus Graculus, Ind. Orn. ii., 887. Lin. i. 217. Fn. suec. No. 146. Gm.,Lin. i. 
574. Brun. No. 121. Muller, p. 147. Fn, Helv. Tem. Man. 590. Id. Ed. 2d.. 897. 

Phalacrocorax minor, Bris. vi. 516. Id. 8vo. ii. 496. Gerin. iv. t. 502. 

Corvus aquaticus minor, Rati, 123. A.4. Will. 249. t. 63. 

Cormoran, Dod. Mem. iii. 213. f.31. Pitfield Mem. pl. p. 132. 


°*® Aret, Zool. Lawson's Carolina. + Cook’s last Voy. ii. 287. 
Hy w12 


420 PELICAN. 


Der Wasserrabe, Bechst. Deuts. ii. 761. Id. Ed. 2d. iv. 762. Naturf. xii. 140. 

Petit Cormoran, ou Nigaud, Buf. viii. 319. 

Le Zaramagullon noir, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No. 422. 

Shag, or Crane, Gen. Syn. vi. 598. Will. Engi. 330. pl. 63. Br. Zool. ii. No. 292. 
pl. 102. Id. 1812. 11. 285. = Aret. Zool, ii. No. 508. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 390. 
Lewin, vii. pl. 264. Walcot, i. p\. 93. Pult. Dors. p. 21. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 

_ LENGTH two feet six inches, breadth three feet eight inches; 
weight four pounds. Bill nearly four inches long, dusky; sides of 
the mouth and chin covered with a yellow skin, minutely speckled 
with black on the latter; the head and neck are black, glossed with 
green; back and wing coverts the same, edged with purplish black; 
belly dusky and dull, in the middle cinereous; tail, consisting of 
twelve stiff feathers, dusky, dashed with cinereous ; legs black, the 
middle claw serrated. 

The female is smaller, and weighs less by three quarters of a 
pound. The feathers on the upper part black, though Jess deep, 
and without the green gloss, but the margins of the feathers of the 
scapulars and coverts are black; under parts of the body dusky 
and grey mixed ; the legs and toes dusky. 

Shags frequent several parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and 
like the Corvorant, will now and then build in trees when growing 
near the water, but more frequently on the rocky coasts, making a 
nest like that of the Corvorant. The eggs are long, oval, and 
white, weighing each about one ounce and three quarters. Isa 
very stupid bird when on shore, but difficalt to shoot while in the 
water ; swims with the head erect, and body almost immersed in the 
water, and when a gun is discharged at it, the moment it sees the 
flash, it darts beneath. It is probable that this bird rarely leaves 
the rocky shores in search of food, in the fresh or brackish waters ; 
as it is not often seen in such places, whilst the Corvorant is fre- 
quently met with far mland.* 


* On September 25, 1794, a Shag was shot on a newly built house of S, Gardner, 
Esq. at Whitchurch, within seven miles of Reading; and another the same week near 
Wallingford, Berks.—Dr. Lamb. 


PELICAN. 491 


Col. Montagu informed me, that on the rocky coast of Tenby, in 
Wales, they are more numerous than the Corvorants; but they breed 
together, having taken the young of both from the same rocks, not 
many yards distant from each cther, though there were at least 
twenty of the Shag to one of the other; and we may conclude, that 
the Corvorant greatly prefers places of more difficult access. The 
Shag, too, is more tenacious of the nest, and less shy than the 
Corvorant, as she scarcely quits it till the hand approaches her, 
shewing many signs of defence, by stretching out the neck, and 
snapping her bill. 

Both the Shag and Corvorant are well known about Sandwich, 
where they are equally called Cole-Goose; and in some parts Green 
Corvorant, and Skart. 

This species inhabits Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, and said to 
have formerly built in the trees of the Wood of Sevenhuys, near 
Leyden, in Holland. 

In the account of the Shag given by Willughby, as also that of 
Brisson, the chin is said to be white, and the under parts more or 
less inclining to ash-colour. Linnzeus observes, that the Shag and 
Corvorant agree in all things but size, and that the whole under side 
from chin to thighs is marked with testaceous white spots; and even 
supposes it to be merely a young Corvorant:* but this bird having 
fourteen feathers in the tail, and the Shag but twelve, seems to decide 
this matter indisputably. This indecision, we believe, has arisen 
from various authors having taken descriptions from younger Cor- 
vorants, which vary exceedingly. 

The Shag said to be found very far to the southward ; Captain 
Cook having met with it in the Isle of Georgia, in vast numbers, 
as well as Penguins, insomuch that one Island has obtained the 


* Linnzus separates the Pelican Genus into two divisions ; the one with the edges of 
the mandible serrated, the other smooth ; but, by mistake, the separation takes place before 
his Graculus, or Shag ; whereas it should not have done so till after the description of that 
bird, or before Peleeanus Bassanus.—See Syst. Nat. i. 217. 


499 PELICAN. 


name of Shag Island. Shags, too, are by no means rare about 
Paraguay, or on the River Plata; oftener indeed single, or in pairs, 
than in large flocks, though sometimes as many as one hundred are 
seen together. 

The bird quoted from Azara, by the name of Zaramagullon, is 
probably a Shag, from having only twelve feathers in the tail. 


A.—Le petit Fou brun de Cayenne, Buf. viii. 874. Pl. enl. 974. Ind. Orn. ii. 888. 


This is twenty-six inches long. Bill pale; plumage dusky, 
brown beneath; on the upper parts the feathers margined with black; 
legs dusky.—Inhabits Cayenne, and the Caribbee Islands : probably 


a young bird. 


20—AFRICAN SHAG. 


Pelecanus Africanus, Ind. Orn. ii, 890. Gm. Lin. i. 577. Tem.. Man. d’Orn. 590. 
Id. Ed. 2d. 899. 

Pelecanus Capensis, Mus. Carls. pl. 61. 

African Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 606. 

SIZE of a Teal; length twenty inches. Bill dirty yellowish 
white, upper mandible brown black ; middle of the back and rump 
glossy black ; scapulars and wing coverts blue grey, each feather 
margined and tipped with black ; the three first greater quills pale 
brown, inclining to cinnamon, the rest brown black ; secondaries 
as long as the quills, dusky black, edged with brown ; in the tail 
twelve feathers, cuneiform, the two middle seven inches long, the 
outmost three inches and an half, the four middle ones and outer on 
each side pale brown, the others black ; chin white ; fore part of the 
neck mottled dusky white and black ; belly much the same, with a 
mixture of brown; legs black. 

‘Inhabits Africa. ‘Thisseems allied: to the common Shag. M. 
Temminck supposes it to be in its first year’s plumage. 


PELICAN. 423 


21.—CRESTED SHAG. 


Pelecanus cristatus, Ind. Orn. ti. 888. Gm. Lin. i. 575. Fn. groenl. No.58. Brun. 
No 123. Strém. Séndm, 250. Olaff. ii. t. 39. Muller, No. 150. 

Crested Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 600. Br. Zool. 1812. ii. p. 284. pl. 47. Id. fol. 159. 
Arct. Zool. 583. A. Orn. Dict. § Supp. 


THIS is a trifle smaller than the last. Bill four inches long, 
narrow, dusky, and hooked at the end; irides fine green; on each 
side of the head a long tuft of dusky feathers, reaching beyond the 
crown, forming a fine crest; head, neck, and lower part of the back, 
fine glossy green; the upper parts of the back and wing coverts the 
same, edged with purplish black; belly dusky ; tail dusky green, 
consisting of twelve feathers; legs dusky black. 

This inhabits Great Britain, and the vast precipices about Holy- 
head; and Mr. Pennant observes, that he met with several in the 
Hebrides, but saw none with the crest; is found in Norway, Iceland, 
and Greenland, but is rare at the last, and only found in the southern 
parts. It is allowed on all hands to be rare, but whether distinct in 
species, or only a Variety, is uncertain.* 

I observe among the drawings of Sir J. Anstruther one appearing 
as the common Shag, under the name of Gyar, in the Bengalese 
tongue, and Banwar, in that of Hindustan. The Darter seems also 
to pass under the same names. 


22.—CHINESE SHAG. 


Pelecanus Sinensis, Ind. Orn. Sup. p. 1xx. 
Leu-tze, Embassy to China, ii. 388. pl. 37. Fd. 389. pl. at the bottom. 
Loofoo, Du Hald. China, ii. 142. pl.in p. 162. Osbeck Voy. ii. 39. 


*In the Supplement to the Ornithological Dictronary, it is said that this birdts no’other 
than a Variety of the Common Shag, differing therefrom in the same manner as the Crested 
Corvorant does from the Common Sort, but of this we cannot of our own experience give 


an opinion. 


424 PELICAN. 


Louwa, Ogilb. China, pl.in p. 92. Id. pl. p. 699. 
Chinese Corvorant, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 364. 3. Nat. Misc. pl. 529. 


MUCH has been said heretofore concerning the bird used by the 
Chinese for fishing; and from what Linnzus had been informed, 
we were led to think that one of the sexes was white, but we owe to 
Sir George Staunton, the entire developement of the true species, 
not only by his own observation while in China, but by having 
brought home various specimens for examination; from whence it 
appears, that the bird is strictly neither a Corvorant nor Shag, but 
a distinct species, though approaching to both. 

The size is about that of the Shag. The bill yellow, irides blue; 
general colour of the plumage brownish black; chin white; the 
body whitish beneath, spotted with brown; tail rounded, consisting 
of twelve feathers; legs black. 

In the journey to Han-choo-fou, on the River Luen, Sir George 
observed, on a large lake, close to this part of the canal, and to the 
eastward of it, great numbers of small boats and rafts, built entirely 
for this species of fishery ; on each boat or raft were ten or twelve birds, 
which at a signal from the owner plunge into the water; and it is 
astonishing to see the enormous size of the fish with which they 
return grasped in their bills. They appeared to be so well trained, 
that it did not require either ring or cord about their throats, to 
prevent their swallowing any portion of their prey, except what the 
master was pleased to return to them fer encouragement and food.* 
The boat used by these fishermen is of a remarkably light make, 
and is often carried to the lake, together with the fishing birds, upon 
poles by the men, + who are there to be supported by it. 


* Mr. Ellis observed one with a stiff collar round its throat to prevent its swallowing the 
fish.— Ellis’s Journ. 1817. p. 278. The name there given to it is Yu-ying, (Fish Vulture) 
or Yu ye (Fish Bird). 

+ See Embassy to China, ii. p. 389.—the Vignette. 


PELICAN. 425 


23.—BROWN-NECKED SHAG. 


THIS is in shape much like the Shag ; length twenty one inches 
and a half. Bill nearly three inches, cimereous, the under mandible 
naked to the base; orbits naked, brown; irides very dark ; front 
and lore black, marked with white irregular spots; the feathers of 
the front erect, and form a kind of short crest; crown and upper 
part of the neck black, mixed with brown, sides of the neck rufous 
brown; the rest of the plumage black, with a degree of gloss; 
scapulars and upper wing coverts sharp-pointed ; tail five inches and 
a half in length, rounded at the end, and consisting of twelve 
feathers, and the wings reach to the beginning of it; legs black. 

Inhabits Bengal, where it is not uncommon, is called there Pan 
Cowree; by the Mussulmans, Ponkoul; is seen swimming all the 
day on the water, and roosts at night on the trees. 

I am indebted for this account to Dr. Buchanan. 

In General Hardwicke’s drawings is a Shag called Pawnkole. 
This has a black bill, with a white tip; plumage black, and glossy ; 
lore spotted whitish, also a small space on the crown, and the whole 
of the nape the same; the sides of the neck are of the same colour 
as the rest of the plumage, not rufous brown. 


24.--VIOLET SHAG. 


Pelecanus violaceus, Ind. Orn. ii. 888, Gm. Lin. i. 575. 
Violet Corvorant, Gen. Syn. vi. 600. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 581. B. 


SIZE uncertain. Plumage wholly black, glossed with violet. 
Found about Kamtschatka and the Isles. One greatly similar was 
in the Leverian Museum, the colour of the plumage as here de- 
scribed, and carrying a most splendid gloss, but the top of the head 
furnished with a long, pointed crest, standing upright ; the bill pale, 
with a dusky tip; legs dusky black. 


VOL, Xs Ii 


496 PELICAN. 


25.—RED-FACED SHAG. 


Pelecanus Urile, Ind. Orn.ii. 888. Gm. Lin. i. 575. ! 
Urile, or Sea Raven, Hist. Kamtsch. 117. Phil. Trans. li. 481. 
Red-faced Corvorant, Arct. Zool. ii. 514. C. 

Red-faced Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 601. 


LESS than the Coryorant; length two feet ten inches. Bill 
three inches and a half long; the base reddish green, the end 
black ; round the eye a bare reddish skin; head and neck dark 
blackish green; on the middle of the neck before a few slender 
narrow white feathers, thinly interspersed among the others, many 
of them two inches and a half in length; back and wings dusky 
black, but glossy, with a lustre of green, as well as copper, on the 
back in some lights, and here and there a slender white feather; 
the belly black; on each side of the rump a large patch of white ; 
tail six inches long, consisting of twelve feathers; quills and legs 
black. 

Inhabits Kamtschatka, chiefly about the rocky and craggy 
places on the sea coasts, where it builds the nest in June; the eggs 
the size of those of a Hen, green, and very ill tasted, yet the natives 
venture to climb the rocks for them at the hazard of their lives; feeds 
on fish, swallowing them whole: they fly well and swiftly, but rise 
with difficulty from the ground ; while sitting on the rocks are stupid, 
and not easily roused, hence the natives catch them easily, by nets 
thrown over them, or nooses at the ends of long poles, and not 
unfrequently these silly birds suffer themselves to be taken, one after 
another, to the very last. As food, every one but a Kamtschadale 
must abhor it, yet these people think it very tolerable; whether owing 
to the method of cooking or not, does not seem certain ; their method 
is to roast it in holes in the earth, whole, without plucking off the 
feathers, or taking out the entrails, and when done enough, they 


=e 


iE CALP:0:0:G 05, 


(GY Si ff 
Spotted . Shag 


~ 


PELICAN. 497 


skin, and eat it. It is said to have no tongue; yet it is averred, that 
it cries morning and evening, not greatly unlike the blowing of a 
trumpet. By some this bird is called the Sea Raven. 


26.—SPOTTED SHAG.—PL. cixxxIt. 


Pelecanus punctatus, Ind. Orn. 11. 889. Gm. Lin. i. 574. Mus. Carls. i, t. 10. 
nevius, Gm. Lin. i. 5795. 

Crested Shag, Cook’s last Voy. i. 151. 

Spotted Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 602. pl. civ. 


SIZE of the Shag; length two feet. Bill three inches long, 
pale bluish lead colour, in some yellow, the tip hooked; round the 
eyes bare and dusky red ; the chin, throat, and forepart of the neck 
nearly black, also the forehead, neck behind, and beginning of 
the back; just over the forehead some long feathers, forming a 
pointed crest, and at the hind part a second, not unlike the first, 
but rather longer, some of the feathers being one inch and half in 
length ; just over the eye begins a streak of white, passing down on 
each side of the neck quite to the wing, growing broader as it pro- 
ceeds downwards; the middle of the back and wings brownish ash 
colour, each feather marked at the end with a round spot of black, 
largest on the wing coverts, but no where bigger than a small pea; 
quills not spotted ; from the middle of the back to the end of the 
tail, and from between the legs to the vent, black, glossed with 
green ; tail three inches long, rounded at the end, or very slightly 
cuneiform; that and the quills plain black; legs deep brown, or 


black. 
In some specimens the bill is reddish, and the legs dull yellow ; 


the chin white, covered with feathers, and without any crest; the 

feathers of the sides, near the vent, streaked with white; thighs 

black ; the stripe on the sides of the neck less distinct, and the black 

on the neck less pure. This is probably a female, or young bird. 
Ir12 


F 


428 PELICAN. 


In others I observe the crest as in the first described, but the 
distensible pouch of the throat not bare, and seemingly much less 
capacious. I have also met with one, in which the white on the 
sides of the neck did not pass above half the length of it. 

Whether the above Varieties constitute difference of sex, or are 
the effect of different periods of age, I am unable to determine. 

Inhabits New Zealand; frequent in Queen Charlotte’s Sound ; 
builds among the rocks, and not unfrequently on trees, when growing 
near the water. The name it is there known by is Pa-degga-degga. 


27.—PIED SHAG. 


Pelecanus varius, Ind. Orn. ii. 890. Gm. Lin. i. 576. 
Pied Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 605. Cook’s Voy. 1. 151. 


LENGTH two feet six inches. Bill four inches and an haif, 
formed as in the Shag, the top dusky, the rest of it, and bare space 
about the eye, yellow ; over the eye a narrow pale streak; the top 
of the head, neck behind, back, wings, and tail brown, the middle 
of the back and wing coverts palest; the margins of the last almost 
white, or very pale; lower part of the back, rump, and thighs very 
deep brown, nearly black; some of them nearest the body have 
pale tips; tail brown black, rounded in shape, and six inches or 
more in length; the outer margins and shafts white; beneath from 
chin to vent white; legs flesh-colour; claws dusky. 

Inbabits New Zealand; met with frequently in Queen Charlotte’s 
Sound. It builds in trees, on which a dozen or more are seen at 
once, being more numerous than the Spotted Sort,** of which it is 
probably the young bird. The egg is two inches and a half long, 
rather smaller than that of a Hen, of a pale bluish white. 

The above description was taken from a specimen in the Leverian 
Museum; and I observe one, differing in a few particulars, among 
the drawings of Sir Joseph Banks. 


* Cook’s last Voy. i. 151. 


PELICAN. 499 


The plumage in this is much the same, except that in the brown 
parts the colour has universally the same shade, but inclining to 
black ; round the eye the skin is bluish; and the sides of the head, 
as well as the under parts, white; legs black. 


28.—CARUNCULATED SHAG. 


Pelecanus carunculatus, Ind. Orn. ii. 889. Gm. Lin. i. 576. Forst. Voy.i. p. 41. 
Carunculated Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 603. 


ALMOST the size of the last. Bill dusky; sides of the head 
bare; between the bill and eye much carunculated and red; the 
rest of the space round the eye ash-colour; the orbits fine mazarine 
blue, and elevated; over the eye a tubercle much larger than the 
rest; irides whitish, or very pale brown; the head somewhat flat on 
the sides, and the crown rather full of feathers; top of the head and 
sides of it, neck behind, and all the upper parts of the body, the 
wings, and tail, black, except a longish patch of white on the wing 
coverts; the forehead, chin, and all beneath, white; legs flesh- 
colour, or very pale brown. 

Inhabits New Zealand; chiefly in Queen Charlotte's Sound, 
though not in plenty; but met with by millions in Staaten Land; 
and said by the voyagers to build in towns. By this is meant, when 
they form themselves into societies, and take certain places to them- 
selves. They make the nests near the edges of the cliffs, on the tops 
of the tufts of grass; which are flat and broad above, occasioned by 
these birds building upon-them from year to year. 


* Dactylis glomerata, Lin,x—See Forst. Obs.i. p. 4). This grows frequently four 
feet high, and is two or three times as much in breadth at top. The Penguins often take 
shelter beneath it.—Jd. Obs. p. 41. 


430 PELICAN. 


29.—MAGELLANIC SHAG. 


Pelecanus Magellanicus, Ind. Orn. ii. 889. Gm. Lin. i. 576. Forst. Voy. ii. 494. 
Magellanic Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 604. 


LENGTH thirty inches. Bill three inches long, black; sides 
of the head and the chin bare, and reddish; but the middle of the 
last somewhat downy; the head and neck, as far as the breast, the 
back, wings, and tail, are deep black ; the head and neck somewhat 
glossy, and the feathers of the first seem full, making that part 
appear larger than it really is; but the head is by no means crested ; 
behind each eye a white spot; the under parts from the breast are 
also white; and the side feathers under the wings striped with white; 
thighs black; quills and tail deep black; the last cuneiform, and 
four inches long ; legs pale brown. 

Inhabits Terra del Fuego; also Staaten Land, and is gregarious, 
like others of the Genus. In Christmas Sound build by thousands 
among the rocks, chusing such places as project over the sea, or at 
least where they rise perpendicularly, that in case the young fall 
out, they may take no harm, only dropping into the water. Said 
to make holes in the rock, suited to their purpose, by their own 
efforts, or at least enlarging the natural cavities so much, when the 
rock is not of the hardest sort, as to make room for their offspring in 
them. Shags, both in this as well as other places, unfrequented by 
man, are so tame as to be very little frightened at the report of a 
gun; for on being fired at, though they seem at first disturbed, they 
immediately return to the nest; and they cause no great difficulty te 
shoot them on the wing, as they mostly fly heavily.* 


* Forst. Voy. i. 494, 495. 


PELICAN. 431 


30.—TUFTED SHAG. 


Pelecanus cirrhatus, Ind. Orn. ii. 890. Gm. Lin. i. 476. 
Tufted Shag, Gen. Syn. vi. 606. 

LENGTH two feet ten inches. Bill two inches and a half long, 
dusky yellow ; round the eye bare; the head and sides above the 
eye, neck behind, and all the upper parts of the body, wings, and 
tail black, with a gloss of green on the back and scapulars; the 
feathers on the top of the head very long, forming a pointed, upright 
tuft or crest, somewhat tending forwards; on the wing coverts an 
oblong irregular white patch; the under parts from chin to vent 
white; tail four inches and an half long, rounded in shape, and 
said to have fourteen feathers; the legs pale yellow brown. 

This was brought with the others from Queen Charlotte’s Sound, 
in New Zealand. In the Leverian Museum. 


31.—NEW-HOLLAND SHAG. 


LENGTH twenty inches. Bill two inches and half long, and 
pale; round the eye bare and pale yellow; plumage on the upper part 
i general black ; the feathers on the wing coverts have pale edges, 
and those of the neck fringed with rufous; under parts paler, and 
mottled ; tail six inches long, composed of twelve feathers, cunei- 
form ; legs black. 

Inhabits New Holland. In some things this corresponds with 
the African Species; but is probably distinct. 


32.—DWARF SHAG. 


Pelecanus pygmeus, Ind. Orn. ii. 890. Gm. Lin. i. 574. Pall. reise, ii. p- 712. 16. 

_ t.G.—male&fem. Dec. russ. iii. 504. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 591. Id. Ed. ii. 902. 
Dwarf Shag, Gen Syn. vi. 607. 

THIS is scarcely so big as a Teal. The bill, legs, and shape 

exactly corresponding with those of a Shag; the body black, 


432 PELICAN. 


with a cast of green about the neck and breast ; wing coverts ob- 
scure brown, the feathers margined with glossy black; about the 
eyes dotted with white, but the spots not very numerous; on the 
neck, breast, and sides are also a few scattered spots, which arise 
from pencils of very tender hairs of that colour, which are inter- 
mixed, and appear here and there among the feathers; the tail con- 
sists of twelve feathers, is stiff, long, and cuneiform, as in the Shag. 
The female is wholly brown, or dull black, and not spotted. 

Inhabits the Caspian Sea, among others of the Genus; also 
seen about Gurjef, on the River Jaick. 


A.—Pelecanus pygmeus, It. Poseg. p. 25. Ind. Orn. ii. 890. 


In this the head and upper part of the neck and sides of it are 
chestnut, sparingly scattered with points of a pure white; chin 
mouse-colour ; lower part of the head, and under part of the body, 
covered with brown feathers, margined with chestnut; belly hoary, 
spotted with brown; wing coverts black, marked on the edges with 
black, denticulated with brown; legs black; edges of the bill 
smooth.—Inhabits Possega, in Sclavonia, 


**** WITH ASERRATED BILL, AND 4A SLIGHTLY WEDGED TAIL. 
GANNETS. 


33.—-COMMON GANNET. 


Pelecanus Bassanus, Ind. Orn.ii. 891. Lin.i. 217. Fn. suec. No. 147. Gm. Lin. i. 
577. Brun. No. 124. Muller, No. 147. Fn. groenl. No, 59. Bor. iii. p. 42. 
Sepp, v. t. p. 301. 

Sula alba, Tem. Man. d’Orn. 593. Id. Ed. 2d. 907. 

Anser Bassanus, Rati, 122. A.2. Will. 247. t.63.  Sibb. Scot. Ill. 20. t. 9. f. 2. 
Klein, Av. 143.2. Gerin. v. t. 515. 


PELICAN. 433 


Rothgans, Schmid, Vog. p. 158. t. 134. 

Sula Hoieri, Ratz, 123. 5. Will. 249.* 

Bassana, Bris. vi. 505. 5. t.44. Id. 8vo, ii. 492. 

Fou de Bassan, Buf. viii. 376. Pl. enl. 278. 

Der Bassanische Pelikan, Bechst. Deuts. Ed. 2d. iv. 765. 

Soland Goose, Will. Engl. 328. pl. 63. Albin,i. pl. 86, Ray’s Select. Rem. p. 191. 

Gannet, Gen. Syn. vi. 608. Id. Sup. 280. Jd. Sup. ii. 365. Br. Zool. 11. No, 293. 
pl. 103. Id. fol. 160. pl. L. Jd. Ed. 1812. ii. 286. pl. 48.  Arct. Zool. ii. No. 
510. Tour in Scotland, 1769. pl. p. 199. Bewick, ii. pl. in p. 393. Lewin, vii. 
pl. 265. Jd. lii. No, 1.—the egg. Walcot, i. pl. 94. Pult. Dors. p. 22. Orn. 
Dict. § Supp. Wood's Zoogr.i. p. 561. 


SIZE of a Goose; weight seven pounds, length nearly three 
feet, breadth six. Bill bluish ash-colour, stout at the base, and 
very little curved at the point, the length six inches; in the place 
of the nostrils a long furrow, but with no perceivable perforation ; t 
inside of the mouth black ; tongue minute; a naked blue skin sur- 
rounds the eyes and base of the bill; throat bare, and the skin 
somewhat dilatable, forming a small pouch, but the oesophagus 
extremely capacious, as well as the skin for some way downward, so 
as to be capable of containing five or six herrings, or fish of equal 
bulk ; irides yellowish, furnished with a nictitating membrane, very 
strong, and almost as transparent as glass; general colour of the 
plumage white; but the crown and upper parts of the neck are 
buff-colour ; the bastard wing and greater quills black; the tail has 
twelve feathers, and cuneiform ; the legs black, marked with a stripe 
of pea-green before, and piaced more forwards than in the Corvo- 
rant; the claw of the middle toe pectinated, as in the Heron. 

The male and female are much alike. Young birds, during the 
first year, are dusky, speckled with white. 

The Gannet inhabits the coldest parts of this kingdom, more 
especially several of the Northern Isles, as that in Scotland, called 

* The Sula Hoieri has some of the secondary feathers black, and the middle tail feathers 

of the same colour. The Gannet of New South Wales, has both quills and tail black ; 


and the wings, when closed, are of equal length with the tail. 
+ On minute examination, an opening will be found at the end of the furrow, not far 


from the point of the bill. 
VOL. xX. K KE 


434 PELICAN. 


Bass, whence the Latin name. It generally makes its first appear- 
ance in March, and departs in August or September, according as 
the inhabitants take or leave the first egg. The nest is composed of 
various materials, such as grass and sea plants, mtermixed with any 
thing that the bird finds floating on the water. It is the general 
opinion that the female lays only one white egg, rather less than 
that of the Goose ;* if this egg is taken away, the bird will lay a 
second, and should this be taken, a third, but beyond that can 
furnish no more for the season. The young Gannets are brought 
to Edinburgh, and sold at 20d. a piece; and being roasted, are 
served up a little before dinner by way of whet; but the inhabitants 
of St. Kilda make these birds a great article of food, and are said 
to consume annually no less than 22,600 young birds, besides an 
amazing quantity of eggs. ‘Fhey preserve both eggs and fowls, in 
small, pyramidical stone buildings, covering them with turf ashes, to 
preserve them from moisture. ‘To procure these birds, the natives 
ran great hazard, in being lowered from the tops of the cliffs by 
ropes, and not unirequently perish in the attempt.¢ The Laird of 
the Bass Island said to make £130 sterling of the Soland Geese 
there taken.t After leaving their breeding places, they are found 
in various parts of our Island, pursuing the herrmgs and pilchards 
round the coast, and returning there in spring;§ it has been observed, 
that when they pass from place to place, which they sometimes do 
in flocks, of five to fifteen each, they keep low; near the shore, but 
never pass near the land ; on the contrary, doubling the Capes, and 
projecting parts, keeping at nearly the same distance. The inha- 
bitants of St. Kilda sometimes: tie a herring io board, and set it 
afloat, so that the Gannet, by falling furiously upon it; may break 
it’s neck in the‘attempt. This, however, appears to be discouraged. 
*-Weiohs three ounces and a quarter.—Orn. Dict. 
+ Br. Zool. See this represented in Act. Zool. Introd. p. xxix. pl. iv. 


+ Ray’s Select Remains, p. 193. 
§ Are seen also in winter, though in‘smaller numbers, but all depart for-their breeding 


places in April. 


“PELICAN. 435 


It isan unusually voracious bird, not caring to eat any thing worse 
than herrings or mackerel, unless it chances to be in a very hungry 
place, which itendeavours to avoid or abandon; 100,000 ‘of them 
are supposed to be round the rocks of St. Kilda, which is far too 
moderate, as 20,000 of them are killed annually for food, including 
the young ones; and we shall suppose that the Soland Goose 
sojourns in these seas for about seven months in the year, and that 
each of them destroys five herrings in a day, a subsistence by no 
means adequate to so greedy a creature, unless more than half sup- 
ported by other fish. Here we have 105,000,000 of the finest fishes 
in the world devoured every year by one Species of St. Kilda Birds. 
During the winter they are frequently found off the coast of Corn- 
wall, and are seen in every part of the British and Irish Channel, 
but generally keep far out at sea. One was shet in February, 1781, 
near Sandwich, in Kent,t and another in January, 1791, on the 
coast of Sussex,t but in both places considered as a rare bird ; one 
was also killed in the winter of 1794, not far from Romsey, im 
Hants, by a man with a stick, as it was fast asleep at the edge of 
the river. Mr. Martin informed me, that he had some reason to 
think the Gannet may sometimes breed near Teignmouth, as he has 
seen it there in summer. 

This race seems to be constant in pursuit after herrings and 
pilchards, whose motions it watches, and the fishermen know the 
coming of the fish by the appearance of the birds. That this is the 
inducement seems probable, as they are likewise seen in December 
as far south as the coasts of Lisbon and Gibraltar, plunging for 
Sardine.|| The Gannet is also common on the coasts of Norway and 
Ireland, and now and then on the southern coasts of Greenland, but 
is rather a rare bird, and never known to breed there. In America 


* See Buchanan’s View of the Fishery of Great Britain. 
+ Communicated by Mr. Boys. -< Linn. Trans. ii. p. 353. 
|| Clupea Sprattus, our Sprat, according to some; but it is more probably a fish 
resembling, if not a.small variety of, our Pilchard.—Br. Zool. 
Kxexn2 


436 PELICAN. 


it is found on the coasts of Newfoundland, where it breeds, migrating 
in winter as far as Carolina. It is probably farther spread than 
we formerly imagined, as a specimen has been met with in New 
Holland.* 

In addition to what has been said above in respect to the Gannet, 
we are greatly indebted to Col. Montagu for a most acute investiga- 
tion of many curious particulars, not before known. It must have 
been observed, that this bird does not dive after its prey in the 
manner of the Corvorant, but appears to be incapable of so doing, 
on account of the comparative lightness of the body in respect to its 
bulk, owing chiefly to the air vessels in different paris of the body, 
communicating with the lungs, whereby it is rendered so remark- 
ably buoyant. This circumstance has been before treated on by the 
late Mr. J. Hunter,+ who informs us, that birds in general are more 
or less provided with such air vessels, and besides, that in many the 
bones likewise are filled with air; but, we believe, that no bird is 
so completely furnished with them as the Gannet; indeed the Gull 
tribe are never known to dive ; for it is probable, that this incapa- 
city may be partly owing to the density of plumage, few birds being 
more fully clothed with feathers. But as the observation of Col. 
Montagu, above alluded to, will be more fully understood in his 
own words, we cannot do better, than recommend the perusal of his 
researches in the Supplement to the Ornithological Dictionary. 

We have also to notice here the detection of an apterous insect 
in the cellular membrane,{ at present, we believe, the only instance 
of such a circumstance. 


A.—Sula major, Bris. vi. 97. Id. 8vo. ii. 490. Tem. Man. d’Orn. 595. Id. Ed. ii. 907. 
Grand Fou, Buf. viii. 372. 
Great Booby, Gen. Syn. vi. 610. 25 A. Cat. Car. i. pl. 86—the head. 
Size of a Goose, but the tail longer. Bill a little more than 
five inches long and grey brown; irides hazel; space between the 


* Drawings of Mr. Lambert. + Phil. Trans. 
+ Wernerian Transactions, vol. i. p.192. pl. 7. f. 1, 2, 3. 


PELICAN. 437 


bill and eye bare and dusky; the head, neck, breast, and all the 
upper parts deep brown, marked with white spots, which are small 
and more numerous on the head, and larger and fewer on the back 
and breast ; the belly and rest of the under parts dirty white ; quills 
and tail brown ; legs black. 


B.—Pelecanus maculatus, Gm. Lin. i. 579. Ind. Orn. ii. 892. 
Fou tacheté, Buf. viii. 375. Pl. enl. 986. 
Spotted Booby, Gen. Syn. vi. 614, 


The bill in this bird is pale brown, yellow towards the tip: 
the plumage in general dusky brown, spotted with white throughout, 
the spots smaller on the head, and larger on the back and wings; 
breast and belly white, waved and spotted with dusky brown; the 
wings remarkably short, much more so than in any other of the 
known species ; quills and tail plain brown ; legs the same. 

These two birds are said to inhabit America; the former frequents 
the shores of Florida, and the latter those of Cayenne; but they 
appear to us no other than the young of the Gannet, which an- 
swers to these descriptions; being, for the first year at least, brown 
or dusky, marked with white spots, and is an elegant bird. One of 
these, answering most precisely to the figure in the Pl. enlum. 986, 
under the title of Fou tacheté de Cayenne, was brought to me 
in September, 1798, taken alive near Salisbury, but died in a few 
days; it weighed three pounds and a quarter, was three feet long, in 
breadth six; irides bluish grey; the rest according to the description 
above. 


34.—LESSER GANNET. 


Pelecanus Piscator, Ind. Orn. ii. 892. Lin. i. 217. Amen. Acad. iv. 239.—female. 
Gm. Lin. i. 578. Borowsk. iii. 43. 
Sula candida, Bris. vi. 501. Jd. 8vo. ii. 491. 


1438 PELICAN. 


Le Fou blanc, Buf. viii.'371. Tem. Man. Ed. 2, Anal. p. cxi. 
Lesser Gannet, Gen. Syn. vi. 611. 


SIZE of a Duck; length two feet seven inches. Bill five 
inches long, serrated on the edges, and reddish; space between the 
bill and eyes naked, and of the same colour; throat naked, dusky 
black; the general colour of the plumage white, except the greater 
wing coverts and quills, which are black; the scapulars also are 
black at the ends; the tail consists of fourteen feathers, cuneiform 
in shape, the base white, but black the rest of the length; legs 
red, the middle claw broad and serrated. 

This is said to inhabit China, where it is called Bubbi,** and has 
been supposed to be one of the sorts of birds trained by the Chinese 
for fishing ; which although we cannot deny, yet weare clear that 
it is not the one commonly used, having to a certainty determined 
this matter, on the authority of Sir George Staunton, who proves 
it a species much allied to the Shag.t+ 

The male of the above is said to be wholly black, with the belly 
hoary, and to have the bill and legs like the other; but we may 
rather suspect it to be the Brown Booby, or next Species; or if re- 
lated to the first at all, may possibly be a bird in the first year’s 
plumage. We have seen a drawing of this supposed male, said to 
be common in the Isle of Ascension; and, in the notes accompany- 
ing, it is observed, that there is no difference of plumage in 
either sex. 

The Lesser Gannet is also found in New Holland, and called 
by the natives Doo ro dang; but in this the bill is pale blue, the 
edges serrated as in the other: legs dull yellow; webs brown. 


* This word seems to correspond so much with our name of Booby, that we may be 
inclined to think it derived from that source. 


+ See Chinese Shag, No. xx. 


PELICAN. 439 


35.— BOOBY. 


Pelecanus Sula, Ind. Orn. ii. 892. Lin. i. 218. Gm. Lin. 1.578. Bris. vi. 495. Id. 
8vo. ii. 489. Borewsk. in. 44. Bartr. Trav. 293. Lin. Trans. xiii. 330. 

Phalacrocorax rostro et pedibus luteis, Gerin. v. t. 503, 

Anseri Bassano congener fusca avis, Rati, 191. 6. Sloan. Jam. 322. pl. 271. f. 2.* 

Plancus Morus, Klein, Av. 144. 4. 

Fou commun, Buf. viii. 368. pl. 29. 

Booby, Gen. Syn. vi. 612. Brown, Jam. 481. Cat. Car. i. pl. 87. 


SIZE of the Lesser Gannet; length two feet six inches. Bill 
nearly four inches and a half long, toothed on the edges, and grey, 
with a pale brown base; space round the eyes and the chin bare of 
feathers, and yellowish; irides pale grey; the head, neck, upper 
part of the body, wings, and tail, cinereous brown; the greater 
quills much darker ; tail brownish at the end, composed of fourteen 
feathers, and in shape greatly cuneiferm; the breast, belly, thighs, 
and vent, white; legs pale yellow ; claws grey. 

According to Catesby, some have white bellies, and others not ; 
and no perceivable difference between male and female. 

~ The young birds have the head and neck white, with a very 
slight tinge of brown; but may be distinguished, from having the 
feathers of those parts downy and soft, and not of the usual texture. 
In some birds the parts usually brown are deep black. 

This is frequent in the Bahama Islands, and we have received it 
from Cayenne, but it appears to be common in many other parts of 
the world. It may probably be the sort mentioned by Dampier, as 
plentiful in the Island of Aves, eight or nine leagues E. ef Buenos 
Ayres, and described as being a very simple creature, that will hardly 
go out of a man’s way. They are said to make the nests‘ on the 
ground, in places where no trees grow; but on the latter, whenever’ 
they can be found. The flesh is black: and ‘fishy, yet is often eaten 
by navigators for want of better food. 


440 PELICAN. 


Is met with in New Guinea ; has been seen at Kamtschatka; and 
is said to be found in the Ferroe Isles; but we rather suspect it to 
have been mistaken for another Species. 

However stupid this bird may in general be, Mr. Abbot gives one 
instance of its ferocity. One of them was met with in a path distant 
from the water in Burke County, in Georgia, and when approached 
by the person who found it, the creature ran directly at him, and, 
before he could make a blow at it, stuck the bill in his leg to the 
bone. This bird is described, as having the white of the under 
parts continued wholly round the middle of the neck; and Mr. A. 
observes, that they are not unfrequent near the mouths of large 
rivers. 


36.—TUCKEY’S BOOBY. 


Pelecanus Sula, (Booby) Tuck. Narr. p. 46. 


THE length of this bird is eighteen inches. Bill conical, 
slightly curved, nostrils very open, being two wide longitudinal 
slits on the sides of the upper mandible; plumage in general rusty 
brown, deepest, and rather glossy on the quills, which are black ; 
but the under part of them dirty white; crown of the head dove- 
colour, lightest towards the forehead; the eye dark brown, surrounded 
by a circle of white feathers ; bill and legs black. 

The female somewhat less ; the colour of the crown deeper, nearly 
mnixing with the genera] brown, and the circle of minute feathers 
round the eye black. 

These were met with in May, by Capt. Tuckey, in his voyage, 
not far from the African coast, near Prince’s Island, having settled 
on the yards of the ship in the dusk of the evening; and though the 
circumstance frequently occurred, only the above two specimens were 
taken. They were observed generally in pairs, and flying close to 
the water, with the neck stretched out, and the tail spread. 


PELICAN. 44] 


37.—BROWN BOOBY. 


Pelecanus Fiber, Ind. Orn. ii. 893. Lin. i. 218. Gm. Lin. i. 579. 

Sula fusca, Bris. vi. 499. t. 43. f. 1. Id. 8vo. ii. 491, 

Anseri Bassano congener cinereo-albus, Sloan. Jam. i. pref. p. 31. pl. 6. f.1. Rati, 
19]. 5. 

Brown Booby, Gen. Syn. vi. 613. 


SIZE bigger than a Mallard; length two feet or more. Bill 
three inches and three quarters, reddish, bent at the point, and 
somewhat serrated on the edges; space about the eyes naked, and 
red; general colour of the plumage pale cinereous brown, darker 
on the back and scapulars, and paler on the under parts of the body; 
the ramp, upper, and under tail coverts, pale grey; greater quills 
dusky ash-colour ; tail of fourteen feathers, and cuneiform; the two 
middle ash-colour; others the same, inclining to brown, with the 
tips grey; legs red. 

Inhabits Cayenne, and other parts of America, as well as several 
of the West India Islands; found also in Africa. 


38.—BROWN AND WHITE BOOBY. 


SIZE of the Common Booby. Bill brown; head, neck, begin- 
ning of the back, the ramp, breast, and all beneath, pure white ; 
top of the head and nape pale brown; middle of back, the wings 
in general, and two middle tail feathers, dusky brown, nearly black ; 
some of the second quills margined with white ; tail long, cuneiform, 
the outer feathers white ; legs pale yellow brown. 


VOL, xX. Luu 


449 | PELICAN. 


A specimen of this was in the Museum of the late Dr. Hunter, 
I also find it copied among Mr Dent’s drawings; the place it came 
from not mentioned, but I suspect it to be from Cayenne, as the Dr. 
had a large collection of birds from that part. 


39.—LESSER BOOBY. 


Pelecanus parvus, Ind. Orn. ii. 893. Gm. Lin. i. 579. 
Le petit Fou de Cayenne, Buf. viii. 374. Pl. enl. 973. 
Lesser Booby, Gen. Syn. vi. 614, 


LENGTH scarcely eighteen inches. Bill pretty straight, and 
the space round the eye bare; bill and legs yellow; throat, breast, 
and belly, white; the rest of the plumage dusky black. 

Inhabits Cayenne. 


TROPIC BIRD. 443 


GENUS CX.—TROPIC BIRD. 


1 Common Tropic Bird | B Var, 3 Red-tailed 
A Var. 2 Black-billed | 4 New-Holland 


BILL compressed, slightly sloping down; point sharp; under 
mandible angular. 

Nostrils pervious. 

Tail cuneiform, the two middle feathers extending for a vast 
length beyond the others. 

Toes four in number, all webbed together. 


1.—COMMON TROPIC BIRD. 


Phaeton ethereus, Ind. Orn. ii. 893. _Lin. 1. 219. Gm. Lin.i. 581. Borowsk. iii. 23. 
t.34. Bartr. Trav. p. 293. Gerin, v. t.516. Tem. Man. Anal. p. cxi. 


Larus rarissimus, Robert, Ic. pl. 6. 

Lepturus, Bris. vi, 480. t. 42. f. 1. Id. 8vo. 11. 48. 

Avis Tropicorum, Razz, 123. 6. Id. 191.4. Will. 250. t. 76. Kalm. It. ii. 149. 
Osb. lt. 291. Tertr. Antill. ii. 276. t. 246. 

Plancus tropicus, Klein, Av. 145. 7. 

Der fliegende Sonnenvogel, Schmid, Voy. p. 152. t. 136. 


Rabijuncos, Ulloa’s Voy. 11. 305. 
Cola de Junco, Gabin. de Madrid, ii. p. 1. lam. 36. 
Grand Paille-en-Queue, Buf. viii. t. 48. pl. 28. Pl. en. 998. Pernet. Voy. ii. pl. 75. 


Tropic Bird, Gen. Syn. vi. 685. Will. Engl. 331. pl. 75. 


THIS bird is about the size of a Wigeon; length two feet ten 
inches to the end of the long tail feathers. The bill more than three 
inches long, and red; the head, neck, and under parts of the body, 
white ; near the base of the upper mandible begins a streak of black, 
which curves round the upper part of the eye, and ends a little 
way behind in a straight direction; the back, rump, and scapulars, 
are white, crossed with curved streaks of black; the lesser wing 
coverts white, some of them transversely marked with black ; greater 


quills black, margined with white; sides over the thighs black, or 
Luis2 


444 “TROPIC BIRD. 


dusky and white mixed; the tail consists of fourteen feathers, twelve 
of which are of a moderate length, the longest about five inches and 
a half long, and shorter as they proceed outwards, hence the shape 
of these is cuneiform; but the two middle ones measure above 
twenty inches, and finish in a point; the colour of all of them white, 
except the long ones; which are black for one-fourth from the base; 
legs dusky yellow; claws black. 

‘The name given to this Genus arises from being found chiefly 
within the tropics, with very few exceptions; but we are not to con- 
clude, that they never stray voluntarily, or are driven beyond them, 
for we have met with a few instances to prove the contrary.* It is 
however, so generally seen within the tropical limits, that the sight 
of this bird is alone sufficient to inform the mariner of a very near 
approach to them, if not his entrance therein. It has also been thought 
to portend the contiguity of land ;+ but this has often proved falla- 
cious, as it is not unfrequently found at great distances therefrom. 
The flight of this bird is often to a prodigious height; but at other 
times is seen, with the Frigates, Boobies, and other birds, attending 
the flying fishes, when they rise from the water, driven from their 
native element into the air, from their enemies beneath, as_ the 
Shark, +* Porpoise,” Albicore,° Bonito,* and Dolphin,® which pursue 
and prey upon them. ‘These birds are sometimes observed to rest on 


* Dr. Forster observes, that they are never seen beyond 28 degrees of latitude; but 
others talk of their spreading far beyond it. In lat. 34.45.—£llis’s Narr. ii. p. 64. 38. 
10. N.—Cook’s last Voy. iii. 178. In 38. 34. Si— Park. Voy. 132. In 38. 29.S.—Hawkes. 
Voy. iii. p. 77. This is mentioned as not being common; but Kalm says, he saw them in 
40 deg. N.—See Jrav.i. p. 22. And a friend of mine assured me, that he once saw one in 
lat. 474. N.; but at the same time observed, that it was the first instance he had known of 
the circumstance. 

+ Ulloa’s Voy. ii. 301. He says seldom above eight or ten leagues from land. 

+ aSqualus Conductor, °Delphinus Phoccena, ‘Scomber Thynnus, ¢Scomber Pel- 
amis, ¢Coryphena hippuris.—See Phil. Trans. |xviii. p. 800. 1t is there observed that 
the Flying Fish is able to fly 60 or more yards at one stretch, and repeat it a second, or 
even a third time, with only the slightest momentary touch of the surface that can be 
conceived intervening ; and it is common in these flights for them to fly against ships, or 
fall on the deck. 


TROPIC BIRD. 445 


the surface of water; and to be now and then seen, in calm weather, 
upon the backs of the drowsy tortoises, supinely floating in the sea, 
so as to be taken by the long boat manned. On the shore they will 
often perch on trees; are said to breed in the woods, on the ground 
beneath them*. Have been met with in plenty on the Islands of 
St. Helena, Ascension, Mauritius, New-Holland, and various places 
in the South Seas, but no where more numerous than at Palmerston 
Tsland, where these birds, as well as the frigates, were in such 
plenty, that the trees were absolutely loaded with them, and so 
tame, as to suffer themselves to be taken off the boughs with the 
hand.t At Otaheite and in the Friendly Isles the natives call them 
by the names of Haingo and Toolaiee. 

As the Tropic Bird sheds the long tail feathers every year, the 
inhabitants collect and make use of them in various manners as 
ornaments. They are worn in the caps and other parts of the dress 
of the Sandwich Islanders, being in great plenty at Taboora,t but 
they appear no where more conspicuous than in the mourning gar- 
ments of Otaheite, where great numbers are picked up in the moun- 
tainous parts, and where the bird also breeds.|| The flesh is certainly 
not good, but was found sufliciently acceptable to sailors who had 
long been confined to salt provisions. 


A.—Lepturus candidus, Bris. vi. 485. t.42. f£.2. Jd. 8vo.11. 487. Ind. Orn. ii. 
894. B. 

Paille-en-Queue de L’Isle d’Ascension, Buf. viii. 355. Pl. enl. 369. 

Tropic Bird, Gen. Syn. vi. 1. A. Cates. Car. App. pl. 14. Brown, Jam. 482. Edw. 
pl. 149. f.2. 


This is less than the last. Bill cinereous at the base, the rest 
of the length yellowish ; plumage in general silvery white; round 
* Breed in the crevices of the elevated rocks, near the shores of the Cape Verd Islands. 


Tuckey’s Narrative, p. 82. + Ellis’s Narr. p. 53. 
+ Cook’s Last Voyage, ii, 232. Id. iti, 172. \| Forst. Voy. ii. p. 92. 


446 TROPIC BIRD. 


the eye a black crescent, asin the other, and the scapulars, Jike that, 
marked with black; legs yellowish ; base of the toes the same; the 
rest of the Jength, the webs, and claws, black.—Found in various 
places, with the other, of which it appears to be a Variety. 


B.—Lepturus fulvus, Bris. vi. 489. Id. 8vo.i1, 488. Ind. Orn. ii. 894. y. Gen. 
Syn. vi. 619. 1. B. 


This is a further Variety, and differs merely in having the plu- 
mage of a yellowish white, instead of being of a pure silvery hue. 
These differences may perhaps arise merely from age, if not the 
distinguishing mark of sex. 


2.—BLACK-BILLED TROPIC BIRD. 


Phaeton melanorhynchos, Ind. Orn. ii. 894. Gm. Lin. i. 582. 
Black-billed Tropic Bird, Gen. Syn. vi. 619. 


THIS is smaller than either of the former; length nineteen 
inches and a half. Bill three inches long, greatly compressed on 
the sides, and black ; plumage on the upper part of the body and 
wings interruptedly striated black and white; before the eye a large 
crescent of black; behind it a streak of the same; the forehead and 
all the under parts of the body pure white; the quills and _ tail 
marked as the upper parts, but the ends of the first are white; and 
most of the feathers of the last dusky black at the tips; sides over 
the thighs striated black and white; legs black. 

It was found at Turtle and Palmerston Islands, in the South 
Seas.—Sir Joseph Banks. 

This had before the eye a large black patch passing over it, 
divided into two behind, and bending downwards. 


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TROPIC BIRD. 447 


3.--RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD.—PL. cixxxiit. 


Phaeton pheenicurus, Ind. Orn. 1. 894. Gm. Lin. i. 583. Nat. Misc, pl. 177. 
Paille-en-Queue a brins rouges, Buf. vii, 357. 

de V’Isle de France, Pl. enl. 979. 

Red-tailed Tropic Bird, Gen. Syn. vi. 619, pl. 105. 


THE length of this species is two feet ten inches, of which the 
two long tail feathers measure eighteen inches. Bill three inches and 
a half long, and red; plumage more or less of an elegant pale rose- 
colour ; the crescent over the eyes as in the others, but somewhat 
abrupt in the middle; the ends of the scapulars marked with black ; 
but what chiefly distinguishes the bird is the two middle long 
tail feathers, which are of a beautiful deep red their whole length, 
except the shafts and base, which are black; the sides over the 
thighs dusky ; legs black. 

This bird is seen frequently at large, as the first, but does not 
seem to be so far spread. Our navigators met with them in various 
places, though they were seldom seen on shore, except in the breed- 
ing season, which is in September and October; are found in great 
numbers in the Island of Mauritius, where they make the nest in 
the ground, under the trees; the eggs two in number, yellowish 
white, marked with rufous spots.* Mention has been made in another 
place,t of the introduction of Paradise Grakles, into the Island of 
Bourbon, from whence they spread into the Isle of Mauritius; at 
first intended for the very useful purpose of destroying the locusts and 
grasshoppers, which swarmed there to a great degree: the result of 
their prodigious increase, and the unlooked for consequence of it, 
has been there likewise mentioned. These birds, we are told, are 
great enemies to the Tropic Birds, and Mt de Querhoent had ocular 
demonstration of it; for being seated beneath a tree, on which were 
perched a number of the Grakles, he observed a Tropic Bird come 
to its hole, in order te go to the nest; but the Grakles attacked the 


* Voy. to Mauritius, 66. Hist. des Ois. + See Paradise Grakle, vol. iti. p. 147. 


448 TROPIC BIRD. 


bird all at once, and obliged it to fly off; it then returned with its 
mate, but without effect, for both were driven away, as the single 
one had been before; when the Grakles returned to the tree, and the 
spectator left them. 

This species has been met with in several places of the South 
Seas; is very common at Palmerston and Turtle Islands ; at Hervey’s 
Island in the greatest plenty, and considerable numbers were killed 
for provisions; and here also they make the nests, in the same 
manner as at Mauritius. The name known by. at Otaheite and the 
Friendly Isles is Twagge and Totto. We are not without our doubt 
whether the abovementioned birds do not belong to one and the 
same species, in different stages of life. M. Temminck supposes 
the Red-tailed one to be in the highest perfection of feather. 


4.—NEW-HOLLAND TROPIC BIRD. 


IN a collection of drawings from New-Holland, is a black-billed 
one, said to be a young Tropic Bird, but without any elongated 
tail feathers; length to the end of the tail eighteen inches. ‘This 
corresponds with our second as to plumage, but differs in having the 
legs yellow, instead of black, and no markings of black whatever 
on the thighs, or under parts; and the inner coverts of the wings 
only spotted with black, but the quills have a sagittated dash of 
black ; at the end of each is a streak of black, continued from the 
black web; the tail feathers are also crossed with three or four bars 
of black.—A specimen of this last has not yet been seen here, but 
from every appearance, it is most probably a distinct species. 

In addition to the above, we have met with one of the long centre 
tail feathers of a Tropic Bird, different from any others; length 
much as in the Red-tailed; the shafts black ; webs buff-colour, not 
continued to a point in the usual way, but rather rounded at the end. 
All we could learn concerning it was, that it was brought from the 
South Seas, but the precise place not mentioned. 


DARTER. 449 


GENUS CXI.—DARTER. 


1 White-bellied Darter | A Var. 4 Rufous-winged 
2 Black-bellied 3 New-Holland ! 5 Black 


BIL long, straight, sharp-pointed. 
Nostrils a long slit near the base. 
Face and chin bare of feathers. 
Neck of a very great length. 
Legs short, toes four in number, all webbed together. 


1.—WHITE-BELLIED DARTER. 


Plotus Anhinga, Ind. Orn. ii. 895. Lin. i. 218. Gm. Lin. i. 580. Borowsk. iii. 25. 
t. 35. Tem. Man. Anal. cxi. 

Colymbus colubrinus, eauda elongata, Bartr. Trav. 130. 293. 

Anhinga, Bris. vi. 476. Id. 8vo. ii. 485. Ratt, 124.7. Will. 250. Id. Engl. 332. 
pl. 72. Klein, 145. 8. Buf. vii. 448. Schmid, Vog. p. 158. t. 135. 

Le Zaramagullon tacheté, Voy. d’ Azara, iv. No, 424. 

White-bellied Darter, Gen. Syn. vi. 622. Id. Sup. ii. 367. 


THIS is about the size of a Mallard in the body; the length 
from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail two feet ten inches; 
extent of wings, three feet or more; the bill three inches long, 
straight, jagged on the edges, colour greyish, with a yellowish base ; 
irides gold-colour ; head very small, the neck slender, of a great 
length, and covered with downy, soft, rufous grey feathers; but the 
throat and fore part of the neck, the upper part of the back and 
scapulars, are dusky black, the middle of the feathers dashed with 
white ; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail coverts, fine 
black ; all the under parts from the breast are pure silvery white ; 
the lesser and middle wing coverts like the upper parts of the back ; 
the larger, nearest the body, black spotted with white ; but the outer 


ones are plain black ; the tail consists of twelve very broad feathers, 
vOL. X. Mum 


450 DABTER. 


ten inches long, and the wings, when closed, reach to about the 
middle of it, the colour glossy black ; legs and toes yellowish grey, 
the middle claw toothed, or serrated, on the inner edge. 

Inhabits Brazil, and parts farther south, at least as far as 
Paraguay, and called Myna. Said to be very adroit in catching 
fish, for, after the manner of snakes, it first draws up the neck, and 
darting forth the bill upon the fish, catches it in the claws. Like 
the Corvorant, it builds the nest on trees, and roosts on them at 
night, in the manner of that bird; and, when not on the water, is for 
the most part perched on the highest branches of those which grow 
in the moist savannas and river sides, bemg scarcely ever seen on the 
ground; when at rest, frequently sits with the neck drawn in between 
the shoulders, in the manner of the Heron; whereby the breast 
appears fuller than it naturally is, and the neck considerably shorter. 
Mr. Bartram adds, that this bird has a way of spreading out the 
tail like an unfurled fan. 

They like to sit in little peaceable communities, on the dry limbs 
of trees, hanging over still waters, with the wings and tails expanded; 
and when any one approaches, drop off the limb inte the water as 
if dead, and fer a minute or two are not seen; when on a sudden, 
at a vast distance, their long slender beads and necks only appear, 
having much the resemblance of snakes, as no other part ef them is 
visible, whilst swimming, except sometimes the tip of the tail. In 
the heat of the day are seen in great numbers, ‘sailing very high in 
the air, over Jakes and rivers. 

' Mr. Abbot, of Georgia, informs me, that this bird is found 
throughout the year in his neighbourhood, having seen it at times 
the whole of the winter. The flesh is very fat, butiof an oily and 
disagreeable taste ; and according to Maregrave, not better than that 
of a Gull. 


. * Wallughby. 


DARTER. 451 


2.- BLACK-BELLIED DARTER. 


Plotus melanogaster, Ind. Orn. ii. 895. Gm. Lin. i. 580. Am. Orn. ix. 79. pl. 74. 
f. 1,2. Lin. Trans. xiii. p. 198. 330. 

Anhinga melanogaster, Zool. Indic. p. 22. t. 12. 

- de Cayenne, Pl. enl. 959. 

Black-bellied Anhinga, Ind. Zool. 4to. p. 53. pl. 15. Wat. Mise. pl. 373. Penn. 
Hindoost. ii. 160. 

Black-bellied Darter, Gen. Syn. vi. 624. 


SIZE of the Common Duck, but the neck extremely long; the 
bill straight, long, and sharp-pointed; above pale blue; beneath 
teddish; eyes very piercing; head, neck, and upper part of the 
breast, light brown; each side of the head, and upper parts of the 
neck, marked with a broad white line; crop very large; back, 
scapulars, and wing coverts, marked lengthwise in equal portions 
with stripes of black and white; quills, belly, thighs, and tail, deep 
black; the last remarkably long and slender, and when spread out 
appears greatly rounded ; the two middle feathers undulated twenty 
or thirty times, and some of the longer scapulars have the same 
appearance; Jegs as in the other. 

Inhabits the Islands of Ceylon and Java, where it sits on the 
shrubs that hang over the water; and in a country where every idea 
is filled with serpents, often terrifies the passengers by shooting out 
its long slender neck, which in their first surprize they take. for the 
darting of some fatal reptile; common also on the coast of Coro- 
mandel, as we find it well represented among the drawings of Sir 
J. Anstruther, and others. In some specimens the chin, throat, and 
fore part of the neck, are white, im others the white is spotted with 
black ; but independent of this, the plumage is much the same. 
Whether this distinction may arise from difference of sex, is quite 
uncertain.—In the above drawings the neck seems to be composed 
of five or six angles, giving an wndulated appearance at the back 
part; and! itis said, that the bird, when alive, carries the neck after 
this fashion. By some it is called Bauber, and by others Lug Lag. 


In Sumatra, Danding Ayer. 
M um 2 


452 DARTER. 


The author of the American Ornithology is of opinion with 
Mr. Abbot, that the two last described are only sexual differences ; 
that they build in the trees in the swamps and islands of the ponds ; 
and the nest composed of sticks. Mr. A. says they lay four eggs 
each, but that he once found a nest with two eggs and six young 
birds, and was inclined to think, that more than one female was 
concerned ; and that they build year after year in the same tree, un- 
less the surrounding spots are dried up. 


PL. CLXxXiIv. 


A.—Anhinga, Buf. vii. pl. 35. Ind. Orn. ii. 896. 8. Gen. Syn. vi. 624. Var, A. 
pl. evi. Mat. Misc. pl. 373. 

Size of the last ; length three feet three inches and an half. Bill 
four inches and an half, dusky yellow, covered at the base witha 
skin of the same colour, occupying the space between the bill and 
eye, and surrounding the latter ; nostrils an oblique slit, not far from 
the base ; the upper mandible finely serrated ; head small, the neck 
long and slender, both covered with dusky white downy feathers, 
inclining to brown, paler on the fore part; back, scapulars, and 
wing coverts the same, but deeper coloured ; the lower part of the 
neck on the sides, and wing coverts, marked with oval spots of 
white, forming regular rows on the latter; the scapulars streaked 
longitudinally with white, giving the bird an elegant appearance ; 
across the lower part of the breast a dull rufous bar; from thence 
to the vent black ; quills and tail the same, the last eleven inches 
long, consisting of twelve feathers, the middle ones undulated as in 
the last; legs clumsy, stout, four inches and an half long, and 
yellowish brown. 

The above said to have been brought from India; the description 
taken from one in the British Museum ; one similar to this was also 
in Mr. Bullock’s fine collection, but this last had the feathers at the 
nape elongated into a sort of crest. 


ATXXX TO" Td 


DARTER. 453 


3.—NEW-HOLLAND DARTER. 


SIZE of the Black-bellied Species. Bill straight, horn-coloured, 
long, and pointed; irides yellow; neck rufous brown; on each side 
- from the mouth, half down the neck, a long streak of white; and 
above this, on the under jaw, another shorter, both streaks edged 
all round with black; throat black, and varying ; at the lower part 
of the neck the feathers edged with brown; back black, shafts of 
the feathers white; upper wing coverts half black, half white, ap- 
pearing for the most part white, the black space being nearly hid ; 
breast black and glossy ; belly black, the feathers here and there 
tinged with rufous; quills black; tail black, pretty long, the fea- 
thers equal in length, uncommonly undulated, and stiff as parch- 
ment, the quills extend almost to the end of it; legs yellow. 

Inhabits New South Wales. In the collection of Mr. H. Brog- 
den, of Clapham. 


4.—RUFOUS-WINGED DARTER. 


Anhinga roux du Senegal, Buf. vii. 453. Pl. enl. 107. Ind. Orn. ii. 896. 2. y. 
Rufous Darter, Gen. Syn. vi. 627. 2. Var. C. 


SIZE of the others ; and differs in having the head, neck, and 
wing coverts dirty rufous and dusky brown, mixed in streaks; the 
rest of the plumage black. 

Inhabits Africa, particularly Senegal, known there by the name 
of Kandar. 


Apt DARTER. 


5.—BLACK DARTER. 


Anhinga noir de Cayenne, Pl. enl. 960. Ind. Orn. ii. 896. 
Black Darter, Gen. Syn. vi. 625. B 


SIZE of the ethers; length three feet. Bill pale yellow ; round 
the eye and throat pale dusky white; wing coverts yellowish white; 
the rest of the plumage black, except the feathers on the beginning 
ef the back, and some of the scapulars, which are streaked down 
the middle with white, somewhat like the others; tip of the tel 
dirty rufeus; legs brownish vellew. 


CONCLUSION. 
—t- Sp 


WE tere close our General History of Birds, with the satisfxc- 
tion of experiencing that it has been favourably received during its 
progress. 

In a work of this extent, some errors must be unavoidable; 
among Which may be remarked a mistake in the first volume, p..32, 
in respect to what is called New-Holland Vulture. A drawing of 
this was, many years since, communicated by our late friend, Gen. 
Davies, under that appellation, but the source he took it from 
cannot now be known. It should appear, that the want of feathers 
on the head and neck had induced the General to suppose it a 
Vulture; yet the shape of the bill and claws scarcely satisfied us 
that it belonged to that Genus, and it is but very lately that our 
doubts have been confirmed, through the kindness of Lord Stanley, 
who put into our hands a specimen for examination. In respect to 
the plate given of this bird, the outline and colour are sufiiciently 
correct, though the bill and claws are not equally so; the former is too 
long, and the upper mandible should be more curved, approaching 
to that of the Gallinaceous tribe; the claws should be shorter; but 
what more pointedly determines it not to belong to the Vulture is 
the tail, which consists of eighteen feathers, whereas the number in 
the Vulture is never more than twelve; in shape tvo it is singular, 
the feathers being decumbent, or placed declining over each other, 
as in the common Poultry Hen, and the tail itself also seems to have 
been carried in an erect situation; hence it can scarcely be reconciled 
to any Genus yet known. But as it clearly belongs to the Gallina- 
ceous order, it night have place after the Menura, and form a Genus 
by the name of Alectura, unless one more appropriate may be found, 
on account of its manners, which at present are unknown. 


456 CONCLUSION. 


It will be found that the Berbice Falcon, p. 292, No. 240, has been 
wholly omitted. The description of this is: Length fourteen inches 
Bill black ; cere yellow; head, neck, back, and wings pale ash, with. 
darker marblings on the two first; beneath the body buff, with 
numerous dusky bars; second quills barred dark ash, the greater 
rufous red, for three quarters of the length barred with black, from 
thence to the end black; tail as the back, with four curved black 
bars; legs yellow. Inhabits South America, by the name of 
Maujacana. 

An unaccountable misrepresentation has also occurred in respect 
to the bill of the Black Skimmer, vol. 10, p. 96, where it is said, 
that the upper mandible is bifid beneath, so as to admit of the under 
one entering the shallow groove ; on the contrary, it should have been 
said, that the under one was bifid, to admit of the upper one enter- 
ing into the cavity of the under, formed to receive it. 

It appears too, that the Yellow-fronted Thrush, vol. 5, p. 64, 
and the Var. A of the Black-chinned, vol. 4, p. 189. are allied to 
Hurruwa Bee-Eater, p. 120. 

Independent of the above, we are not conscious of errors, ex- 
cept those of the press, which may be corrected by the reader in the 
course of his perusal. 


FINIS. 


PRINTED BY JACOB AND JOHNSON, 
WINCHESTER. 


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Directions for placing the Plates. 


—>>——_. 


Plate 1683 RED-NECKED Phalarope - to face Page 


164 
165 
166 
167 
168 


African Finfoot - 
Crested Coot - 
Red-necked Grebe - 
American Avoset - 


Red Flamingo = 


169 Yellow-nosed Albatross - - - - - 
170 Heads of Auks - = = 2 5 s 
171 Marbled Guillemot - = = 5 ie 
172 Chinese Diver - - = = - e 
173 Black Skimmer - - = = & Ly 
174 Sooty Tern - = = = = aa 
175 Arctic Gull - - - = 3 . 
176 Giant Petrel - = 4 = . 2 
177 Hooded Merganser = - - = = 
178 Semipalmated Goose - - = x a 
179 Pink-headed Duck - = = = 3 
180 Little Pinguin - - = = ~ z 
181 Woolly Pinguin - - - - a i 
182 Spotted Shag - = - ~ - is 
183 Red-tailed Tropic Bird - - ~ = S 
184 Black-bellied Darter © - - ° =