Part 78

Another time we caught a fine Porpoise, which measured about two yards in length. This took place at night, when the light of the moon afforded me a clear view of the spot. The fish, contrary to custom, was grained, instead of being harpooned; but in such a way and so effectually, through the forehead, that it was thus held fast, and allowed to flounce and beat about the bows of the ship, until the person who had struck it gave the line holding the grains to the Captain, slided down along the bob-stays with a rope, and after a while managed to secure it by the tail. Some of the crew then hoisted it on board. When it arrived on deck, it gave a deep groan, flapped with great force, and soon expired. On opening it next morning, eight hours after death, we found its intestines still warm. They were arranged in the same manner as those of a pig; the paunch contained several cuttlefishes partially digested. The lower jaw extended beyond the upper about three-fourths of an inch, and both were furnished with a single row of conical teeth, about half an inch long, and just so far separated as to admit those of one jaw between the corresponding ones of the other. The animal might weigh about four hundred pounds; its eyes were extremely small, its flesh was considered delicate by some on board; but in my opinion, if it be good, that of a large alligator is equally so; and on neither do I intend to feast for some time. The Captain told me that he had seen these Porpoises leap at times perpendicularly out of the water to the height of several feet, and that small boats have now and then been sunk by their falling into them, when engaged with their sports.

During all this time flocks of Pigeons were crossing the Gulf, between Cuba and the Floridas; many a Rose-breasted Gull played around by day; Noddies alighted on the rigging by night; and now and then, the Frigate bird was observed ranging high over head in the azure of the cloudless sky.

The directions of the currents were tried, and our Captain, who had an extraordinary genius for mechanics, was frequently employed in turning powder horns and other articles. So calm and sultry was the weather that we had a large awning spread, under which we took our meals, and spent the night. At length we got so wearied of it, that the very sailors I thought seemed disposed to leap overboard, and swim to land. But at length, on the thirty-seventh day after our departure, a smart breeze overtook us. Presently there was an extraordinary bustle on board; about twelve the Tortugas light-house bore north of us, and in a few hours more we gained the Atlantic. Æolus had indeed awakened from his long sleep; and on the nineteenth day after leaving the Capes of Florida, I was landed at Liverpool.

THE KING DUCK.

FULIGULA SPECTABILIS, BONAP.

PLATE CCLXXVI. MALE AND FEMALE.

This beautiful species rarely advances farther south along our eastern coast than the neighbourhood of the Bay of Boston. I have, however, been assured by old and trustworthy gunners that the King Duck, about thirty years ago, was by no means of rare occurrence there during winter, and that a few had been known to breed in company with the Eider along the coast. At the period of my arrival at Labrador, the greater number of the King Ducks had proceeded farther north; and although some were seen there, we found none of their nests. I can say nothing of the habits of this bird, which, although they may be similar to those of the Eider, must yet differ in many particulars, as is the case with all birds that are nearly allied in form. The eggs of the King Duck collected by Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, R. N., measure two inches and five-eighths by one inch and three-fourths, and have a smooth shell, of an uniform dull greenish-colour.

ANAS SPECTABILIS, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. ii. p. 198.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 845.

FULIGULA SPECTABILIS, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 389.

SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS, KING DUCK, Swains. and Richards. Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 447.

KING DUCK, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 414.

Adult Male. Plate CCLXXVI. Fig. 1.

Bill shorter than the head, much deeper than broad at the base, somewhat depressed towards the end, which is broad and rounded. Upper mandible with a soft tumid compressed substance at the base, extending perpendicularly upon the forehead, and by a medial band of feathers divided into two broad lobes, the dorsal line beyond this descending to the unguis, then slightly curved, the ridge broadly convex, the sides sloping and convex, the edges perpendicular, with about forty-five narrow internal lamellæ, the unguis very large, broadly elliptical. Nostrils submedial, oblong, large, pervious, near the ridge. Lower mandible flattened, with the angle very long, rather narrow and rounded, the dorsal line short and slightly convex, the edges with about fifty lamellæ, the unguis very large and elliptical.

Head large, compressed. Neck rather short. Body bulky and much depressed. Feet very short, strong, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly having a series of narrow scutella in its whole length, and a partial series above the fourth toe, the rest reticulated with angular and oblong scales; hind toe small, with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes longer than the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes having a sinus at their free margins, the inner with a broad lobed marginal membrane, the outer with a thickened edge; all obliquely scutellate above; the third and fourth about equal and longest. Claws small, arched, compressed, obtuse, that of first toe very small and more curved, of middle toe largest, more depressed, and with a dilated inner edge.

Plumage short, dense, blended. Feathers on the fore part of the head extremely small, on the upper part very narrow, on the sides of the head very short, stiff and hair-like. Wings rather short, narrow, and pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering, the second longest, the first almost as long, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries short, broad, rounded, excepting the inner, which are elongated, tapering, and curved outwards. Tail very short, much rounded, of fourteen stiff narrow feathers.

Bill flesh-coloured, the sides of the upper mandible and the soft frontal lobes bright orange. Iris bright yellow. Feet dull orange, the webs dusky, the claws brownish-black. The band of feathers separating the frontal lobes, and those along their upper and posterior edges, black; lower eyelid, and a forked patch on the throat, the same. The upper part of the head light purplish-grey; the hair-like feathers on the sides of the head pale bluish-green; the fore neck cream coloured; the sides and hind part of the neck, a patch on the wings, and another on each side of the rump, white. The hind part of the back, the scapulars, the larger wing-coverts, and the secondary quills, brownish-black, the latter glossed with green; primary quills and tail blackish-brown. Breast and abdomen blackish-brown; lower wing-coverts white, the outer brown.

Length to end of tail 25 inches, to end of wings 23; wing from flexure 11-1/4; tail 3-3/4; bill from the base of the tumid part 1-1/4, along the edge of lower mandible 2-5/12; tarsus 1-3/4; middle toe 2-10/12, its claw 4/8.

Adult Female. Plate CCLXXVI. Fig. 2.

The Female differs greatly from the male. The bill is shorter, its tumid basal lobes narrow and not ascending perpendicularly, so that the forehead is low as in most Ducks. The feathers of the head and upper part of the neck are small, soft, and uniform. The colour of the bill is pale greenish-grey; the iris dull yellow; the feet dull ochre. The head and neck are pale greyish-yellow, with small lines of brownish-black. The feathers of the back are brownish-black towards the end, with yellowish-grey edges, the scapulars brownish-red on the margins. The quills and tail-feathers are deep greyish-brown; the recurved secondaries broadly edged externally with yellowish-grey. The fore part of the lower neck and breast, the sides, and lower tail-coverts, have a central mark and submarginal band of brownish-black, the middle of the breast scarcely spotted, being of the general colour of the lower parts, which is pale yellowish-brown.

Length to end of tail 20 inches, to end of wings 17; wing from flexure 10-1/2; tail 3-3/4; bill from the separation of the lobes 1-1/4; tarsus 1-8/12; middle toe 2-1/2, its claw 4/8.

HUTCHINS’S GOOSE.

ANSER HUTCHINSII, RICHARDSON.

PLATE CCLXXVII. ADULT.

In the first article in this volume, that of the Canada Goose, in which I have described the habits of that bird at considerable length, I had occasion to allude to a small species called by the gunners of Maine the Winter or Flight Goose, which they described to me as resembling the large and common kind in almost every particular except its size. Although it was not my good fortune while there to meet with the bird spoken of by men who were well acquainted with it, I have no doubt that it is the very species which has been named in honour of Mr HUTCHINS, and that its periodical appearance along our eastern coast will ere long be fully established. This is the more to be expected as Dr RICHARDSON informs us that it is abundant about Hudson’s Bay, where it was long mistaken for the Brent, or an emaciated Canada Goose. In the mean time, having been presented with a specimen of the bird in question by my highly esteemed and gallant friend Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, I have embraced the opportunity thus offered, of laying before you a representation, the first I believe that has yet appeared, of HUTCHINS’s Goose.

For fifteen months, rendered trebly long and wearisome by heavy and difficult marches, under the most distressing feelings, that most amiable and accomplished traveller, carried with him many specimens of rare birds, with the view of contributing to the advancement of our knowledge. Would, Reader, that you could sympathize with me in the feelings of pride and pleasure with which I call him friend. May his name be as extensively known as his worth deserves!

Some weeks after my drawing was finished, and when I had arrived in Edinburgh, I had the gratification of receiving a long and most interesting letter from him, of which I present you with an extract. “I have very great pleasure in having it now in my power to offer to your acceptance the specimen of this interesting species from which your drawing was taken. It was the child of my solicitude, and my constant companion during a long and tedious journey, after the abandonment of our ship, until our being received on board the Isabella, an interval of fifteen months; and this will account in a great measure for the miserable plight in which the specimen first came into your hands. I will dispose of it according to your wishes, and am most happy to place it in the hands of one who knows so well how to appreciate the interesting associations connected with it.

“These birds arrived in flocks about the middle of June, in the neighbourhood of Felix Harbour, and soon dispersed in pairs to their breeding place. At Igloolik, the only place where we had before met with them, their nests were found in the marshes near the sea; but on this occasion several pairs constructed their nests on a ledge of rock near the foot of a high precipice; immediately above them the Dovekies, Loons, several species of Gulls, and near its summit, the Jer-Falcon and Raven, built their nests.

“From three to four eggs were found in each nest, of a pure white, and of an oval form, measuring 3.1 inches by 2.1, and weighing from 1800 to 2000 grains.