A Book of the United States. Various
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and in strength and magnitude stands at the head of the tribe. He lives in the cypress swamps, seeking the tops of the most towering trees; his bill is like polished ivory, and his crest a superb carmine. His eye is brilliant and daring, and his manners are said to be dignified and noble. Among the other American birds of this tribe are the Pileated, Yellow-bellied, Golden-winged, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
Nuthatch.—The White-breasted Nuthatch is found almost every where in the woods of North America; his whole upper plumage is light-blue or lead, the under parts are white, and the crown of the head, black. Ants, seeds, insects, and larvæ, form his principal subsistence. There are two other species of this bird found in the United States.
The Ruby-throated Humming Bird is the only species of the genus found in the limits of the states, though there are upwards of one hundred in America. Its approach to the north is regulated by the advance of the season. He is extremely fond of tubular flowers, particularly of the blossoms of the trumpet flower. When arrived before a thicket of these, that are full blown, he suspends himself on wing for the space of two or three seconds, so steadily that his wings become almost invisible; the glossy golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat, dazzling in the sun, form altogether an interesting spectacle. When he alights, he prefers the small dead twigs of a bush, where he dresses and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His flight from flower to flower greatly resembles that of a bee, but is infinitely more rapid. He poises himself on wing, while he thrusts his long slender tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes out by the opposite door or window. He feeds on the honey extracted from flowers, and on insects.
‘The old and young,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘are soon reconciled to confinement. In an hour after the loss of liberty, the little cheerful captive will often come and suck diluted honey, or sugar and water, from the flowers held out to it; and in a few hours more, it becomes tame enough to sip its favorite beverage from a saucer, in the interval flying backwards and forwards in the room for mere exercise, and then resting on some neighboring elevated object. In dark or rainy weather, they seem to pass the time chiefly dozing or on the perch. They are also soon so familiar as to come to the hand that feeds them. In cold nights, or at the approach of frost, the pulsation of this little dweller in the sunbeam becomes nearly as low as in the torpid state of the dormouse; but on applying warmth, the almost stagnant circulation revives, and slowly increases to the usual state.’
Belted Kingfisher.—This is the only species of its tribe found within the United States, where it frequents the banks of all the fresh water rivers from Maine to Florida. His voice is loud, rattling, and sudden. His flight is rapid, and is sometimes prolonged to very considerable distances. He follows up the course of the rivers to their very fountains, and his presence is a sign of abundant fish. Mill-ponds, where the water is calm, are favorite resorts of this bird, and its eggs are generally found in places not far from a mill worked by water. The kingfisher, for many successive years, returns to the same hole to breed and roost. Its flesh is oily and disagreeable.
Belted Kingfisher.
Swallows.—The beautiful Purple Martin is a great favorite of man in all parts of the country. The farmer prepares a little house for him, the Indian hollows a calabash, and as either mansion is to him indifferent, so is he equally acceptable to the husbandman and the hunter. Year after year he returns to the same mansion. In the middle states, the martins prepare their nest about the third week in April, and they rear two broods in the season. There are several other species, such as the Barn, Cliff, White-bellied, and Chimney.
Night-Hawks.—The Whip-poor-will is a remarkable nocturnal bird migratory through nearly the extent of the states. It is well known for its sad and peculiar song. The Chuck-will’s Widow is seldom found north of Virginia, and is particularly numerous in the vast forests of the Mississippi. Its note is strikingly different from that of the whip-poor-will. In sound and articulation it seems plainly to express the words which have been applied to it, pronouncing every syllable leisurely, and distinctly, putting the principal emphasis on the last word. In a still evening it may be heard at the distance of nearly a mile; the tones of its voice being strong and full.
The flight of this bird is slow, skimming about the surface of the ground, frequently settling on old logs or on the fences, and from thence sweeping around in pursuit of various insects that fly in the night. Like the whip-poor-will, it prefers the declivities of glens, and other deeply shaded places, making the mountains resound with echoes the whole evening.
Pigeons.—The Passenger Pigeon is the most remarkable American species. The head, throat, and upper parts of the body are ash colored; the sides of the neck are of a glossy variable purple; and there is a crimson mark round the eyes. These birds visit the different parts of North America in immense flocks. The most important facts connected with their habits relate to their extraordinary associations and migrations. No other species known to naturalists is more calculated to attract the attention of either the citizen or the stranger, as he has opportunity of viewing both of these characteristic habits while they are passing from north to south, east and west, and, vice versa, over and across the whole extent of the United States of America. These migrations are owing entirely to the dire necessity of providing food, and not merely to escape the severity of a northern latitude, or seek a southern one for the purpose of breeding. They consequently do not take place at any fixed period or season of the year. Indeed, it happens sometimes that a continuance of a sufficient supply of food in one district will keep these birds absent from another for years.
Passenger Pigeon.
Their rapidity of flight is wonderful. Pigeons have been killed in the neighborhood of New York, with their crops full of the rice they must have collected in the plantations of the Carolinas, or Georgia, and the flight necessary to account for this circumstance has been estimated at a mile a minute. Another well-known bird of this tribe is the Carolina Pigeon.
Wild Turkey.—This splendid bird is found from the North-West territory to the isthmus of Panama. They abound in the forests and unsettled parts of the Union, but are very rare in the northern and eastern parts. They were formerly abundant in Canada; but as their places of resort become settled and thickly peopled, they retire and seek refuge in the remotest recesses of the interior. In New England, it appears to have been destroyed many years ago; but it is still found in the eastern parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Wild Turkey.
These birds do not confine themselves to any particular food, but eat corn, berries, grapes, barley, tadpoles, young frogs and lizards. Their favorite food, however, is the pecan nut and acorn. Where there is an abundant crop of acorns, numerous flocks of turkeys may be expected. In the fall, they direct their courses in vast numbers to the rich lands on the borders of the Ohio and Mississippi. Before crossing a river, they assemble on the highest eminences, and remain there as if in consultation for a day or two. At length, after due preparation, the leader gives a signal note, and they all wing their way to the opposite shore. Some of the young and weak fall into the water, and many perish. It is observed that after these journeys, the turkeys are so familiar, that they fearlessly enter the plantations, in search of food. Great numbers are killed at this time, and kept in a frozen state to be sent to distant markets.
Wild Turkeys.
The flesh of the wild turkey is of excellent flavor, being more delicate and juicy than that of the domestic turkey; the Indians value it so highly, that they term it, when roasted, ‘the white man’s dish.’ The male of the wild turkey is nearly four feet in length; the female is only three feet and a quarter long. The plumage of the male is very brilliant, and of a variety of hues; that of the female is not so beautiful.53