Part 26

A closet-naturalist was quite surprised, I have been told, when he read in one of my volumes that Grakles form no nests in one portion of the United States, being there contented with merely dropping their eggs in the bottom of a Woodpecker’s hole; while in the Middle States the same species forms a very snug nest. That his astonishment was great I do not in the least doubt, especially as I know how surprised I was to find the Larus argentatus breeding on fir-trees forty feet above the ground, and to see three eggs, instead of one, placed on a bed of small pebbles beautifully arranged, and every one belonging to a single pair of Black Guillemots. Yet, good Reader, as I have also been told, the same person had no doubt whatever that ermines turn from brown to white in winter, that snakes and crabs cast off their skins and shells, and that “fleas are not lobsters;” but then the reason of his belief was simply that he had read of these things; and his doubts as to the Grakles arose from the facts having been recently reported by a stranger from the “far west,” who, it seems, talked of things which he had not read of before.

Whilst in Labrador, I was delighted to see with what judgment the Black Guillemot prepares a place for its eggs. Whenever the spot chosen happens to be so situated as to preclude damp, not a pebble does the bird lay there, and its eggs are placed on the bare rock. It is only in what I call cases of urgency that this trouble is taken. About fifty or sixty pebbles or bits of stone are then used, and the number is increased or diminished according to circumstances.

The eggs of this species, which appear disproportionately large, measure two inches and three eighths in length, by an inch and five-eighths in breadth. Their form is regular; they are rather rough to the touch, although not granulated; their ground colour an earthy white, thickly blotched with very dark purplish-black, the markings larger and closer towards the great end, which, however, is generally left free of them. The shell is much thinner than that of the egg of the Foolish Guillemot or Razor-billed Auk. As an article of food they are excellent, being delicate and nutritious.

The parents pluck the feathers from a space across the lower part of their belly, as soon as incubation commences; and this bare place, when the bird is taken alive, it immediately conceals by drawing the feathers of the upper part of the abdomen over it, as if it were anxious that it should not be observed. When driven from the nest, the Black Guillemot at once runs out of its hiding-place and flies to the water, on which it plays, bathes as it were, dives a few times, and anxiously watches your retreat, after which it soon returns and resumes the arduous task of incubation.

The young, which are at first quite black, are covered with soft down, and emit, although in an under tone, the same lisping notes as their parents. Their legs, feet, and bill are black. The red colour of the legs of the old birds is much brighter during the breeding-season than at any other time, and the mouth also is bright red. About the first of August the Guillemots lead their progeny to the water, and although at this time neither old nor young are able to fly, they dive deeply and with great ease, which enables them to procure abundance of food, for at this season, lints, shrimps, and marine insects are plentiful in all the waters.

While in Labrador, I made a severe experiment to ascertain how long the Black Guillemot could live without food,—an experiment on which I have never since been able to think, without some feeling of remorse. I confined a pair of them in the fissure of a rock for many days in succession. After the entrance was securely closed, I left the place, and for eight days the wind blew so hard that no boat was safe on the waters without the harbour. Many a time I thought of the poor captives, and at last went to their retreat one rainy afternoon, over a great swell of the sea. The entrance of the fissure was opened, and a stick pushed into the hole, when I had the pleasure of seeing both birds, although apparently in a state of distress, run out by me, and at once fly to the water.

The flight of the Black Guillemot is rapid and continued. As they proceed in their course, they alternately shew the black of their lower parts and the white of their wings. They walk on the rocks with considerable ease, using short steps, and whenever they wish to remove from one crag or block to another, make use of their wings. When their nests are very high above the water, they fly directly into them; and from such heights, if necessity demands it, they at once dive towards the water.

I kept many alive on board the Ripley. They ran on the floor in an erect position for a few yards, fell down on their breasts, rose again, and continued their exertions to escape, until they got fairly concealed behind a chest or barrel.

The winter plumage of this species differs so greatly from that of summer, that I have been induced to present you with a figure of the bird in both states. It is difficult to perceive any external difference between the sexes, only the males are rather larger than the females. Their flesh, although black and tough, is not very unpalatable.

The trachea is flattened, with numerous close, transparent rings. The gullet, as in all the other species of this genus, is very dilatable. The gizzard, which is small, has its inner membrane thin and of a yellow colour. The intestines are about the thickness of a goose quill, and measure two feet eight inches in length.

URIA GRYLLE, Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 797.—Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 423.—Swains. and Richards. Fauna Boreali-Americana, part ii. p. 478.

BLACK GUILLEMOT, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 523.

Adult in Summer. Plate CCXIX. Fig. 1.

Bill shorter than the head, straight, rather stout, tapering, compressed, acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight and sloping, towards the tip slightly arched, the sides sloping and towards the end a little convex, the edges sharp and slightly inflected. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, partially concealed by the feathers. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line ascending, straight, the sides sloping upwards, slightly convex, flat at the base, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute.

Head of moderate size, oblong; neck short; body full, depressed; wings rather small. Feet placed far behind, short, of moderate size; tarsus short, compressed, anteriorly scutellate, laterally covered with reticulated angular scales; toes rather slender, scutellate above, connected by entire reticulated webs, the outer and inner with a small marginal membrane; the first toe wanting, the third and fourth about equal, the second shortest; claws small, arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the middle toe with a dilated thin inner edge.

Plumage soft, close, blended and velvety; feathers of the head very short, on the back broadly rounded, of the lower parts more elongated. Wings rather small; primary quills curved, the first longest, the second little shorter, the rest rather rapidly diminishing; secondary incurved, broadly rounded. Tail short, narrow, rounded, of twelve rather pointed feathers.

Bill black, inside of mouth vermilion tinged with carmine. Iris deep brown. Feet of the same colour as the mouth, claws black. The general colour of the plumage is deep black, on the upper part tinged with green, on the lower with red, there being only a large patch on each wing, including the secondary coverts and some of the smaller feathers pure white, as are the lower wing-coverts. The quills and tail are tinged with brown.

Length to end of tail 13-7/8 inches, to end of claws 16-1/4, to end of wings 13; extent of wings 21-1/2; wing from flexure 6-1/2, tail 2; bill along the ridge 1-1/4, along the gape 1-7/8; tarsus 1-2/12, middle toe 1-1/2, its claw 3/8. Weight 13-1/2 oz.

Adult in winter. Plate CCXIX. Fig. 2.

The bill and iris are of the same colour as in summer, but the red of the feet is paler. The general colour of the plumage is white, the sides of the head, the neck all round, the lower parts, and the rump being of that colour, more or less shaded with grey. The upper part of the head obscurely mottled with greyish-black; the back and scapulars black, each feather tipped with greyish-white, those of the latter more broadly. The wings and tail brownish-black, the former with the conspicuous white patch, as in summer.

Young a few days old. Plate CCXIX. Fig. 3.

Bill and feet black, the former tinged with red; iris dark brown. The general colour of the soft thick down with which the whole body is covered is brownish-black.

THE PIPING PLOVER.

CHARADRIUS MELODUS, ORD.

PLATE CCXX. MALE AND FEMALE.

During the spring and summer months, this pretty little Plover is found on the sandy beaches of our extensive coasts, from the southern point of the Floridas to the confines of Maine. As you proceed towards Labrador, you find it in every suitable place, as far as the Magdeleine Islands, on the sands of which I saw many that were paired and had eggs on the 11th of June 1833. It breeds on all parts of the eastern coast of the United States, wherever the locality is adapted to its habits. On the 3d of May, this bird was found with eggs on the Keys of the Floridas; about a month later, you may meet with it in the States of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Those which leave the south at the approach of spring, return to it about October: and during the whole winter you may find them on the sandy beaches, from South Carolina to the western coast of the Floridas. The species, therefore, may be considered as resident with us.

While migrating eastward, the Piping Plovers proceed in pairs; and should one of these on its way find a convenient place for breeding, and remain there, several others are often induced to take up their abode in the neighbourhood. In autumn, they go in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals, and at times associate with other species, particularly the Turnstone, in whose company I have found them abundantly on the coast of Florida, in the winter months. They never proceed to any distance inland, even along the sandy margins of our largest rivers; nor are they seen along very rocky shores or places covered with deep mud.

The favourite breeding stations of this species are low islands, mostly covered with drifting sand, having a scanty vegetation, and not liable to inundation. In such a place many pairs may be found, with nests thirty or forty yards apart. The nest is sometimes placed at the foot of a tuft of withered grass, at other times in an exposed situation. A cavity is merely scooped out in the soil, and there are deposited in it four eggs, which are in a great measure hatched by the heat which the sand acquires under the influence of a summer sun; but in rough weather, and always by night, the female is careful to sit upon them. Her mate is extremely attentive to her during the period of incubation, and should you happen to stroll near the nest, you are sure to meet him at his station. The eggs, which are four, and have their points placed together, measure one inch and one-eighth by seven and a half eighths, are pyriform, broad, and flatly rounded at the larger end, and tapering directly to the smaller, which is also rounded. They are of a pale bluish-buff colour, sprinkled and lined nearly all over with dark red, brown, and black. Only one brood is raised in the season. The young, which go abroad immediately after they are hatched, run with remarkable speed, and, at the least note of the parent bird indicative of danger, squat so closely on the sand, that you may walk over them without seeing them. Their downy covering is grey mottled with brown; their bill almost black. If taken up in the hand, they emit a soft plaintive note resembling that of the old bird. The strange devices which their parents at this time adopt to ensure their safety, cannot fail to render the student of nature very unwilling to carry them off without urgent necessity. You may see the mother, with expanded tail and wings trailing on the ground, limping and fluttering before you, as if about to expire. It is true you know it to be an artifice, but it is an artifice taught by maternal love; and, when the bird has fairly got rid of her unwelcome visitor, and you see her start up on her legs, stretch forth her wings, and fly away piping her soft note, you cannot but participate in the joy that she feels.