Natural
History
Notes
on the Birds
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About the
categories
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Name
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Common name
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Food
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The main food category.
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Feeding Techniques
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How it acquires its food.
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Habitat
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What kind of area does the bird
live?
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Plumage
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Is there similarity between the male
and the female, between winter and spring, young and adult,
or are there variations in the plumage amongst the species.
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Distribution
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Approximately where it is found in the
United States.
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Breeding
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Unique aspects on how the species
breeds.
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About the Notes from A.C.
Bent
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Special notes on the status or natural
history of this bird.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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Selections from the Life Histories of
North American Birds, edited by
A. C. Bent.
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Name
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Food
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Fish,
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases fish which
it catches with its long sharp beak.
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Habitat
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During the winter it is generally
found along the ocean coast and during the breeding season
it nests on fresh water lakes.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
plumage.
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Distribution
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Worldwide
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Breeding
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Builds nest in lakes. Young are
altricial
and sometimes ride on the back of the parents as they get
fed.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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sub aqueous - refers to under the
water
consternation - concern
finny tribes - refers to fish
"We are too apt to condemn a bird for
what little damage it does in this way, without giving it
credit for the right to live."
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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Food: This loon feeds largely on
fish, which it pursues beneath the surface with wonderful
power and speed. The sub aqueous rush of this formidable
monster must cause great consternation among the finny
tribes. Even a party of fish-hunting mergansers
is promptly scattered before the onslaught of such a
powerful rival; they recognize his superior strength and
speed, as he plunges in among them, and must stand aside
until his wants are satisfied. Even the lively trout, noted
for its quickness of movement, can not escape the loon and
large numbers of these desirable fish are destroyed to
satisfy its hunger. Some sportsmen have advocated placing a
bounty on loons on this account, but as both loon and trout
have always flourished together until the advent of the
sportsmen, it is hardly fair to blame this bird, which is
such an attractive feature of the wilds, for the scarcity of
the trout. We are too apt to condemn a bird for what little
damage it does in this way, without giving it credit for the
right to live.
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Name
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Food
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Fish
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases fish which
it catches with its long sharp beak.
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Habitat
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During the winter it is generally
found along the ocean coast and during the breeding season
nests on fresh water lakes.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Winters along the Pacific
coast.
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Breeding
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The Pacific Loon was formerly
considered a race
of the Arctic Loon.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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One of the values that I find in the
works of A. C. Bent are the well written accounts from
various ornithologists. This account describes watching some
Pacific Loons fishing in a harbor.
When Coues refers to "limpid element"
he is referring to the still water of the bay that the birds
are swimming through.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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The ornithologist, Elliot
Coues, provides this account
of the Pacific Loon:
They were very plentiful about the Bay
of San Pedro. The first thing that attracted my attention
was their remarkable familiarity; they were tamer than any
other waterfowl I have seen. They showed no concern at the
near approach of a boat, scarcely availed themselves of the
powers of diving, in which the whole family excelled, and I
had no trouble in shooting as many as I wanted. They even
came up to the wharves, and played about as unconcerned as
domestic ducks; they constantly swam around the vessels
lying at anchor in the harbor, and all their motions, both
on and under the clear water, could be studied to as much
advantage as if the birds had been placed in artificial
tanks for the purpose. Now two or three would ride lightly
over the surface, with the neck gracefully curved, propelled
with idle strokes of their broad paddles to this side and
that, one leg after the other stretched at ease almost
curious sidelong glance, then peering into the depths below,
sought for some attractive morsel. In an instant, with the
peculiar motion, impossible to describe, they would
disappear beneath the surface, leaving a little foam and
water; see them shoot with marvelous swiftness through the
limpid element, as, urged by powerful strokes of the webbed
feet and beats of the half-opened wings they flew rather
than swam; see them dart out the arrow-like bill, transfix
an unlucky fish, and lightly rise to the surface again.
While under water, the bubbles of air carried down with them
cling to the feathers, and they seem bespangled with
glittering jewels, borrowed for the time from their native
element, and lightly parted with as they leave it, when they
arrange their feathers with a slight shiver, shaking off the
last sparkling drop. The feathers look as dry as if the bird
had never been under water; the fish is swallowed head
first, with a curious jerking motion, and the bird again
swims at ease, with the same graceful curve of the neck.
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Name
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Food
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Fish
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases fish which
it catches with its long sharp beak.
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Habitat
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During the winter it inhabits salt
water areas and during the breeding season nests on fresh
water lakes.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Winters along the Pacific and Atlantic
coast.
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Breeding
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Breeds in northern Canada
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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Red-throated Diver - As with most
birds, the name of this species refers to the spring
plumage. During the winter plumage it does not show a red
throat. Audubon uses the name diver when referring to the
loon; diver is the British name for loons.
giddy flight
pinions - the wing feathers
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Notes from A.
C. Bent
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Courtship:
John
James Audubon describes the
courtship of a Red-throated Loon that he witnessed. Reynard
is a friend who was with him.
High over these waters, the produce of
the melted snows, the red-throated diver is seen gamboling
by the side of his mate. The males emit their love notes,
and, with necks gracefully curved downward, speed by the
females, saluting them with mellow tones as they pass. In
broad circles they wheel their giddy flight, and now, with
fantastic glidings and curves, they dive toward the spot of
their choice. Alighted on the water, how gracefully they
swim, how sportively they beat it with their strong pinions
how quickly they plunge and rise again, and how joyously do
they manifest to each other the depth and intensity of their
affection. Now with erected neck and body deeply immersed
they swim side by-side. Reynard they perceive cunningly
advancing at a distance; but they are too vigilant for him,
and down like a flash they go, nor rise again until far
beyond his reach. Methinks I see them curiously concealed
among the rank weeds under the bank of their own islet,
their bills alone raised above the water, and there will
they remain for an hour, rather than show themselves to the
insidious enemy, who, disappointed, leaves them to pursue
their avocations.
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Name
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Food
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Small fish and otehr invertebrates.
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases fish which
it catches with its long sharp beak.
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Habitat
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Southern Texas
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Breeding
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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Dabchick is an older name for the
Pied-billed Grebe.
The scientific name that A. C. Bent
uses for this species is Colymbus dominicus brachypterus
(Chapman). The current (2004) scientific name is
Tachybaptus dominicus. There are five different
species of grebes in the genus Tachybaptus.
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Notes from A.C.
Bent
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As this little tropical species,
the smallest of the grebes, is the only one of the North
American grebes that I am not familiar with in life, I must
draw wholly from the observations of others for an account
of its life history. Unfortunately, published notes on its
habits are very scanty, so the story will be short and
incomplete. Prior to 1899 the San Domingo grebe (Colymbus
dominicus) stood on our Check List, as found in the West
Indies, southern Texas, Mexico and Lower California, as well
as in tropical South America. But Frank
M. Chapman discovered certain
geographical varieties of the species worthy of recognition
in nomenclature and separated it into three subspecies. His
description separates the Mexican form, which also ranges
into Texas and Lower California, from the West Indian bird
under the name of brachypterus, having a much shorter
wing and a smaller bill. This seems to be a well-marked
subspecies in which the characters are constant.
Mr. Vernon Bailey (1902) observes:
These tiny grebes are as common in the
ponds of southern Texas as the dabchick in the North. In
open water they bob on the little waves, and in quiet pools
where the willows overhang the banks swim and dive among the
sedges and pink water lilies. When not seeking food below
the surface of the water they usually keep close to some
cover, and in the middle of the day if not hidden in the
sedges are found sitting close under the shore grass or in
the shade of a bush or low-hanging tree.
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Name
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Food
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Small invertebrates
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases prey which
it catches with its beak.
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Habitat
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During the winter it inhabits salt
water areas and during the breeding season nests on fresh
water lakes.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Throughout the United
States.
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Breeding
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Both parents tend nest. Young ride
around on the back of the parents who feed them during this
time.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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The young of birds are generally put
into two classifications: altricial
and precocial.
Altricial refers to baby birds that are born naked, blind,
and helpless. They need to be kept warm and fed by their
parents. Precocial young are birds that are practically born
with their eyes open, down on their bodies, and the ability
to feed. The young of Pied-billed Grebes, as with most
waterfowl, are precocial.
slough - wetlands
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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The young are very precocious
and leave the nest soon after they are hatched; usually some
of the young are swimming about before the last of the eggs
have hatched. They are expert swimmers and divers, by
instinct, though they can not remain under water more than a
few seconds. I have taken recently hatched chicks out of a
nest, which were too young to have been taught by their
parents, and seen them dive and swim away or hide among the
reeds with only their little bills protruding above the
surface. Sometimes the parent bird carries them on her back
where they cling tenaciously while she dives and brings them
up again, none the worse for their ducking. They are truly
little "water witches" by inheritance. Rev. Manley B.
Townsend writes me that, on June 24, 1910, he saw an adult,
with young, chasing a muskrat on the surface of a slough in
Nebraska, and raises the question whether these animals,
which are generally considered to be strictly vegetarians in
their habits, kill young grebes. Undoubtedly many are killed
by pickerel or other large fishes and by snapping turtles or
large frogs.
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Name
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Food
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Small invertebrates, especially brine
shrimp
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives underwater and chases prey which
it catches with its beak.
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Habitat
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Many diverse water habitats.
Found in both fresh and salt water. Breeds in fresh
water.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Primarily the western United
States.
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Breeding
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Nests in large groups on freshwater
lakes. Builds nest platforms as mentioned below.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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Most birds nest by themselves, but
there are various species that find advantages in nesting as
a colony.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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Nesting - Mr. B. F. Goss (1883) gives
us a very good illustration of this, as follows:
The eared grebe breeds in communities.
The first colony that I found was in a small lake in
northern Dakota. The nests were built on floating debris
about 15 rods from shore, where the water was perhaps 3 feet
deep. Old flag leaves, rushes, reeds, etc., had been driven
by the wind into the point of a bay, forming a mass 2 or 3
inches deep and several square rods in extent. This mass was
firm enough to hold up the birds in most places, but was
full of holes where they could dive through. There were at
at least 25 nests on an area of 10 by 20 feet. They were
made of partly decayed moss and reeds brought up from the
bottom, and were small, not more than a handful of material
to a nest.
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Name
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Food
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Fish, large crustaceans
and other arthropods
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives from the surface of the water
and swims underwater to chase prey items.
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Habitat
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Many diverse water habitats.
Found in both fresh and salt water. Breeds in fresh
water.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Winters along the Pacific coast.
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Breeding
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Breeds in Canada.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
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It is suggested that the process of
the grebes eating their own feathers might help them digest
the fish that they eat. As they eat small fish they end up
swallowing some of them whole. They can digest some of the
smaller bones of the fish, but the larger ones need to be
eliminated by the grebe. The feathers may help in forming
pellets that the grebe regurgitates to get rid of the waste
material, in much the same way that owls and hawks
regurgitate pellets of waste. The Northern
Shrike picture shows a bird in
the process of regurgitating a pellet.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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The most remarkable point about the
food habits of grebes is that the stomachs almost invariably
contain a considerable mass of feathers. Feathers are fed to
the young, and there is no question that they play some
essential though unknown part in the digestive economy. As
they are finely ground in the gizzards it is probable that
finally they are digested and the available nutriment
assimilated. Feathers constituted practically 66 per cent of
the contents of the 57 Horned Grebe stomachs examined.
However, it is not likely that they furnish a very large
percentage of the nourishment needed by the birds. As the
nutritive value of the feathers is unknown, this part of the
stomach contents is ignored. The other items of food are
assigned 100 per cent, and the percentages are given on that
basis. Various beetles, chiefly aquatic, compose 23.3 per
cent of the food; other insects (including aquatic bugs,
caddis and chironomid larvae, dragonfly nymphs, etc.) ,
nearly 12 per cent; fishes, 27.8 per cent ; crawfish, 20.7
per cent ; and other crustacea, 13.8 per cent. A little
other animal matter is taken, including snails and spiders,
and a small quantity of vegetable food was found in two
stomachs.
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Name
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Food
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Fish, large crustaceans
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives from the surface of the water
and swims underwater to chase fish.
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Habitat
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Many diverse water habitats.
Found in both fresh and salt water. Breeds in fresh
water.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Western United States
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Breeding
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Builds island-nest that it can get to
straight from the water.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Very similar to the Clark's
Grebe. The courtship dance of
the Western Grebe is famous for its complexity and beauty.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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Nesting - The large grebe colonies of
the Klamath Lake region in southern Oregon and northern
California have been described by several well-known
writers. The lakes in this region contain probably the
largest western grebe colonies in this country where
thousands of them breed in harmony with Caspian
and Forster's
terns, white
pelicans, and other water
birds. This region has long been famous as a profitable
field for plume hunters, where they have reaped a rich
harvest, making $20 or $30 a day and during the height of
the breeding season killing several thousand birds a week.
The breasts of the western and other grebes were in great
demand for the millinery trade; for the paltry sum of 20
cents apiece they were stripped off, dried, and shipped to
New York. Such slaughter could not have contained much
longer without disastrous results. Through the activities of
the Audubon Societies, the attention of President Rosevelt
was called to the need of protection, and on August 8, 1908,
the Lake Malheur Reservation, thus saving from destruction
the largest and most interesting wild-fowl nurseries on the
Pacific coast.
Courtship -The western grebes reach
their breeding grounds in the inland lakes during May, early
in the month in North Dakota, about May 8 to 12 in southern
Canada, and before the end of the month farther north. I
have never witnessed their nuptial performances, but Mr.
William L. Finley has sent me the following on the
subject:
The first action, which I have often
noticed during the nesting season of the grebe, is when the
two birds swim side by side. They throw the head and neck
back which gives one the impression at a distance that the
birds are preening their plumage. When I saw the action near
at hand, I noticed that each bird arched its neck
continually, the bill turned straight down and the black
crest spread. At the same time, both birds curved and swayed
their necks back in a rythmical manner, touching them
against their bodies. It was like a backward bow.
A second performance, the water glide
of the grebe,was not as common as the antics just mentioned.
However, it seemed to be a climax to the performance above.
As the two birds swam side by side both suddenly stood
upright as if walking on the top of the water and rushed
along, splashing the surface for 20 or 30 feet, with wings
tight to the body. Then they dropped to their breasts in a
graceful glide that carried them along for about 15 feet
farther.
The third peformance might well be
termed purely a wedding dance. I saw it three times within
close range, and each time it was exactly the same. As two
birds were swimming together, both dove. They rose to the
top of the water a few moments later, each holding a piece
of moss or weed in the bill. Instantly they faced each other
and rose, treading water, with bodies half above the surface
and necks stretched straight up. They treaded around, breast
to breast, until they made three or four circles, and then
dropped down to a normal attitude, at the same time flirting
the moss our of the mouths and swimming off in an
unconcerned manner.
The first two peformances are typical
mating or courting antics, while the last is the most
significant wedding dance I have ever seen in bird life.
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Name
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Food
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Fish
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives and swims underwater to catch
fish with its sharp beak.
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Habitat
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Many diverse water habitats.
Found in both fresh and salt water.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Western United States
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Breeding
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Breeds in fresh water.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Split
from the Western Grebe. It can be differentiated by the
black cap which does not cover its eye as it does in the
Western
Grebe.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
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No notes from A. C. Bent are available
for this species since the Clark's Grebe was not recognized
at that time. It is interesting that with the amount of time
that Bent spends discussing subspecies for other species the
different plumages of the Western Grebe was never mentioned.
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Name
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Food
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Fish
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Feeding
Techniques
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Dives and swims underwater to catch
fish with its sharp beak.
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Habitat
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Nests inland but spends much of the
rest of the year along coastal waters.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Primarily found in the north part of
the US and Canada.
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Breeding
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Creates nest on floating platforms on
the water (See below). Breeds primarily in
Canada.
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About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
|
It is certainly one of the shyest of
the water birds. Its hearing must be very acute; for only
rarely would I surprise one in the marshes, when it would
disappear instantly. What few birds I saw were generally
swimming at a distance, singly or in pairs, often far out on
the lake, where they always dove long before I could get
close. Only once did I succeed in surprising one on its nest
and get a fleeting glimpse. Mr. Herbert K. Job had located a
nest in a little cove on a nearby pond; we approached it
cautiously; paddling silently around a little point and into
the cover; we were just in time to see the grebe stand up in
the nest, hastily cover the eggs, glide off into the water,
and disappear in the reeds so quickly we would hardly
realize what had happened. This was a larger, better built,
and probably a more typical nest than those described above;
it was floating in water about 3 feet deep and anchored near
the edge of growing flags (Typha latifolia) and reeds
(Scirpus
lacustris); it measured 24
inches in diameter, the inner cavity was 6 inches across and
slightly hollowed, and the rim was built up 2 or 3 inches
above the water; it was made principally of dead reeds and
flags, with a few green stems of the same, matted together
with a mass of algae and water mosses; it was lined with
well-rotted flags.
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Name
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Food
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Scavenger.
Fish and squid.
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Feeding
Techniques
|
Soars over the ocean looking for food
and then lands and picks food off the surface of the
water.
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Habitat
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Open sea; pelagic.
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Plumage
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The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
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Pacific ocean
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Breeding
|
Nests in Hawaii. From Bent: Incubation
lasts about six weeks, both birds taking turns on the nest
so that the egg is constantly covered. The young are fed, in
the well-known manner, by regurgitation from the throat of
the parent, remaining about the islands until the following
June or July, so that the entire reproductive period
occupies about one-half of the year.
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About the
Notes from A.C. Bent
|
This section from Bent is an
interesting version of the food web. Given that, as we see
above, the albatross young are fed for about a six month
period, it is fairly easy to calculate how much squid needs
to be in the area around the islands to support the breeding
of albatross.
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Notes from A. C.
Bent
|
Food: Doctor Fisher (1900) says of
their food:
Near the forms or nests one not
infrequently finds solid pellets - disgorged by the young in
all probability, and by old birds too - consisting entirely
of squid beaks and opaque lenses of the eyes. These lenses
become very brittle and amber-like under the action of
stomach juices and show a concentric structure. Candle nuts,
the large seed of Aleurites molluccana, were found by
Mr. Snyder in the interior of the island and were almost
undoubtedly ejected by albatrosses. As is well known,
albatrosses pick up all sorts of floating material, and
candle nuts are frequently seen on the ocean, having been
swept seaward by mountain streams.
Elsewhere (1904) he says:
In their hours of toil they hie
themselves off to sea and scour the waves for the elusive
squid, which is a staple article of diet for the larger
members of the vast bird population, the gannets, perhaps,
excepted. About sunrise the main body of the white company
begins to return, and for several hours they straggle in,
tired but full, and seek their sleepy children, who are soon
very much awake. Although the Laysan albatrosses undoubtedly
do a small part of their fishing during the day, I can not
help but feel, from the nocturnal or crepuscular habits of
their food - certain cephalopods - and the prevalent feeding
hours, that the major portion is done In the very early
morning, perhaps from just preceding dawn till light. I
noted particularly during the one day I was on the steamer,
while she was dredging in the vicinity of Laysan, that very
few Laysan gonies were seen at sea after about 9 a.m. That
same day we sighted the island about 5 am., and when I
arrived on deck about 5.30 I distinctly remember seeing many
of the white species (immutabilis) circling about the
vessel. Later in the morning immutabilis almost entirely
disappeared, but some nigripes remained with us all day. On
the following morning we landed and I had no further
opportunity to observe.
As Prof. C. C. Nutting, one of the
naturalists of the expedition, has said, "the most
conservative estimate of the necessary food supply yields
almost incredible results. Cutting Mr. Schlemmer's estimate
(of the total number of albatrosses on the island) in two,
there would be 1,000,000 birds, and allowing only half a
pound a day for each, surely a minimum for these larger,
rapidly growing birds, they would consume no less than 250
tons daily."
From rather extended observations on
the feeding habits, I would place the quantity fed each
young bird every morning at nearer one or one and a half
pounds of squid (Ommastrephes
oualaniensis Less., 0. sloanei Gray, and
Onychoteuthis banksi Fer.). I believe Professor
Nutting's estimate of a million birds is not too great.
Thus, in one day the albatrosses alone would consume nearer
600 tons of squid.
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Name
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Food
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Scavenger
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Feeding
Techniques
|
Soars over the ocean looking for
food.
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Habitat
|
Open sea; pelagic.
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Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
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Distribution
|
Pacific Ocean
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Breeding
|
Nests in Hawaii.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Follows ships for days; seems to sleep
on the wing. All albatrosses are threatened by increasing
amount of plastic found on the ocean
D. nigripes refers to the
scientific name of the Black-footed Albatross
|
|
Notes from
A.C. Bent
|
As is well known, albatrosses are past
masters at soaring or sailing. If the wind is favorable they
are able to skim over the water for a long time without once
flapping their wings. D. nigripes is certainly no
exception to the general rule, and we had ample opportunity
to witness their powers. The long slender wings, with long
humeral bones, are eminently fitted for this sort of
existence, and their construction renders flapping
laborious, for in proportion to its size the albatross is
not a very muscular creature and could not fly a great
distance if obliged to do so by wing beats. When a stiff
breeze is blowing albatrosses can sail only against the wind
or with it, and are able to quarter a breeze, or go directly
across it only for a short distance and when under great
momentum. When we were steaming directly against the wind
the albatrosses had no trouble in following us, and they
would fly all around the ship without flapping their wings
except when the breeze was strong, and then they were
obliged to give a few vigorous beats when turning up into
the wind. When, however, our course lay at an angle to the
wind, they followed us by sailing in a series of ellipses.
They would, in this case, sail directly against the wind,
approaching us on the starboard quarter, go over the stern a
short distance to port, then wheel and scud before the
breeze perhaps 100 yards off the starboard quarter, when
they turned and approached us as before. Their speed was so
superior to ours that they were able to keep up without any
trouble, and their frequent trips astern and rapid
overhauling again made our cumbersome gait all the mere
apparent. Of course as they neared the turning point each
time they had to quarter the breeze a little and for a
moment sail directly across it.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Sometimes follows other birds or
fisherman, to find fish. Very
social bird, the Sooty
Shearwater is generally found in flocks.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open sea; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific Ocean
|
|
Breeding
|
Breed on the islands around New
Zealand.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Can be found in very large flocks
along Pacific coast during August/September.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
It breeds in great numbers on some of
the small islands off the coast of New Zealand, the nesting
places being much harried by the natives, who esteem these
shearwaters as an article of food. The burrows on the
Chatham Islands are usually formed in peaty soil, running
horizontally for three or four feet and then turning. The
nest, a rude structure composed of sticks and dead leaves,
is placed at the end of the hole. A single egg is laid, both
sexes assisting in the work of incubation, and when the
parents return to roost on shore in countless thousands, the
noise they make is deafening. If removed from their burrows
they flutter about on the ground for some time in a confused
way, but eventually make for the sea.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Plunges into the water from a few feet
up in the air
|
|
Habitat
|
Open ocean; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific Ocean. Best seen off Monterey
during fall.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nest site is a burrow on an island in
New Zealand
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
An oologist is a person who collects
eggs. This was a very popular hobby during the 19th and
early 20th century. This is an example of an oologist
providing the only known information on the eggs of the
Bueller's Shearwater. This species like the Sooty Shearwater
breeds in the New Zealand islands.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Eggs: I have been able to locate only
one egg of this rare shearwater. It is in the collection of
Col. John E. Thayer and was collected by William Bartlett on
Mokohinu Island, New Zealand, on October 20, 1900. It is
ovate in shape, dull, dirty white in color, and the shell is
smooth but not glossy. It measures 45.5 by 32
millimeters.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Plunges into the water from a few feet
up in the air
|
|
Habitat
|
Open ocean; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific Ocean. Best seen off Monterey
during fall.
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Nesting: The nesting habits resemble
those of other species of the genus. Doctor Ramsay, in
acknowledging the receipt by the Australian Museum of a fine
series of birds and eggs from the Solitary Islands, gives
the following notes, derived from his correspondence: The
birds arrived early in September, and at once began
excavating their nesting holes, which consisted of short
burrows about 6 inches in diameter and from 12 to 20 inches
in length. The eggs were laid at night, but in no instance
was more than one obtained in a burrow. Although both sexes
assisted in the incubation, out of five specimens taken from
the burrows four proved to be females. The birds arrived in
countless thousands in the evening, and most of them - the
males probably, or those not engaged in hatching - returned
to sea at daybreak.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives short distance from the air to
the water to catch fish. See below.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open ocean; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific Ocean. Best seen off Monterey
during fall.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies on islands off the
coast of Chile.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
shoal - shallow place in a body of
water
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
They are generally seen in flocks
several miles off the shore, flying like the albatross, by
rapid flappings, alternating with sailings. They congregate
quickly around shoals of fish, and dive to a short distance
beneath the water in pursuit of them. They often rest on the
water, swimming very lightly, but not rapidly, and appear to
be the most active when the wind roughens the surface of the
water, enabling them to scoop up small fish from the
agitated tops of the waves. Dr. Cooper further states that
he found this species most abundant and most approachable
about San Nicholas Island, where the water is shoal and
small fish are numerous. The birds were molting about the
first of July.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Wide variety of marine life but
especially jellyfish.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Finds food from the wing and sets down
on the ocean to feed.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open ocean; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Worldwide.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies. There are seven
color variations of Northern Fulmars that go from dark to
very light.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from
A.C. Bent
|
The fulmar is a distinctly pelagic
species of arctic seas, where it is ever associated with
drifting icebergs and floating pack ice. Like the albatross
it spends much of its time on the wing and is particularly
active in rough and stormy weather. It is the constant
companion of the arctic whalers and is well known to the
hardy explorers who risk their lives in dangerous northern
seas, where it follows the ships to gorge itself on what
scraps it can pick up, rests to digest its unsavory food on
some rugged block of ice and retires to some lonely crag to
rear its young. There is little that is attractive in its
surroundings at any time, in the forbidding climate of the
rugged, frozen north, but there it seems to live and
flourish, rising successful and triumphant over adverse
conditions.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish, crustaceans.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Feeds off the surface of the
water.
|
|
Habitat
|
Ocean
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
West coast
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Behavior: Mr. Anthony (1900a) writes,
of the night flight of these petrels about their breeding
grounds, as follows:
Hauling the boat out on the shingle, a
few steps places us in the city of birds, a fact we
discovered by breaking through into the burrows at almost
every step, but the birds themselves are very much in
evidence. Hundreds of inky black objects are dashing about
with bat-like flight, now here, now there, with no apparent
object in their wanderings. Like butterflies they come and
go, flitting so near at times that one attempts to catch
them as they pass.
Others are constantly coming from the
burrows to join in the revel. Each, as it reaches the outer
air, utters its characteristic call, flops along the ground
a few feet, somewhat like an old felt hat before the wind,
and is away, as gracefully and airy as the rest. Those in
the air are constantly calling and from the ground under our
feet come answering cries. The noise and confusion suggests
a busy street in a city.
He (1898) also says:
Both 0. melanie and 0. socorroessis
will at times dive a foot or more below the surface for a
piece of meat that is sinking if they are hungry, but diving
seems to be out of their usual line of business and is only
resorted to when food is scarce. They seem to be unable to
get below the surface of the water without first rising two
or three feet and plunging or dropping, exactly as I have
seen the black-footed
and short-tailed albatrosses
dive under similar circumstances.
In the same paper he speaks of the
notes of the black petrel as follows:
On the first night of my sojourn I had
scarcely fallen asleep, curled up on a rocky shelf just
above the water, when I was suddenly recalled to my senses
by a loud Tuc-o-ree, inc-tuc-a.-roo within two feet of my
head. The call was repeated from a half dozen directions and
as many bat-like forms were seen flitting back and forth in
the moonlight along the cliffs and hillside. One or two
attempts to shoot them proved utter failures, and the black
forms soon moved out to sea, returning at intervals of an
hour or so all night The next afternoon I located one of the
birds in a burrow under an immense rock, as I passed on my
way to camp. It several times uttered a clicking note which
I felt sure was that of a petrel.
He refers to the notes as harsher than
those of the Socorro petrel.
Mr. Howell writes to me:
They begin visiting their nests at
8.30 p. m. and are very active until shortly before dawn.
Pitching in from the sea they come like big black bats
rocking on the breeze and uttering their loud weird call.
This I am unable to describe, except In that it consists of
four notes. D. R. Dickey and A. van Rossem state that,
during the night the bird at or on the nest utters a series
of notes suggestive of the song of the wren-tit.
Mr. Howell also says that the black
petrels suffer "considerably from the depredations of the
duck
hawks, as their dry remains on
the islands bear mute witness.
|
|
Name
|
|
Fork Tailed
Petrel
|
Lesson
Plan
|
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish, crustaceans.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Quite often will gather food while it
flies.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open ocean; pelagic.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific ocean
|
|
Breeding
|
Nest in colonies on islands. During
breeding time the Fork-tailed Petrel is active only during
the night.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Doctor
Grinnell
(1897) who was forced to spend
a night on St. Lazaria Island, had an unusually good
opportunity to study the midnight flight of the
forked-tailed petrel on its breeding grounds, which he
graphically describes as follows:
After the sun set and the long summer
twilight began to make the woods a little gloomy, the
petrels became more active. Their curious calls came from
every direction in the ground, though as yet not a bird was
to he seen. Presently a little stir in the grass called
attention to a petrel which clumsily scrambled from his
hole, and after the usual fumbling put himself in flight and
betook himself speedily out to sea. Soon others appeared and
others and others. The crows, their enemies, had by this
time gone to roost, and as the gloom grew deeper the petrels
became more numerous. Those which had been out to sea all
day began to arrive among the trees, and were even more
awkward than those leaving. They flew against branches and
bushes and into my face, but all ultimately seemed to know
where their respective homes were. The chorus of their cries
was curious and depressing to one's spirits, and the chilly
air was constantly being fanned into my face by their
noiseless wings. The light-colored ghostly forms of the
forktails were much more readily discernible than the dark
Leach's, The ground was alive with struggling petrels, and I
picked up as many as I chose. As the twilight of evening
slowly merged into dawn the height of their activity was
reached. I walked from end to end of the wooded part of the
island, and everywhere the petrels were equally
numerous.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Kleptoparasite.
|
|
Habitat
|
Tropical coastal waters.
|
|
Plumage
|
Male develops giant red throat pouch
during breeding
season.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast coast from Florida to
Texas.
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Not only does the Frigatebird steal
fish from other species, they also steal fish from each
other, as the account below shows. It almost seems like a
game that the Frigatebirds are playing.
Pinions
is another word for feathers.
|
|
|
Audubon
(1840) gives the following graphic account of its fishing
prowess:
Yonder, over the waves, leaps the
brilliant dolphin, as he pursues the flying fishes, which he
expects to seize the moment they drop into the water. The
frigate-bird, who has marked them, closes his wings, dives
toward them, and now ascending, holds one of the tiny things
across his bill. Already fifty yards above the sea, he spies
a porpoise in full chase, launches toward the spot, and in
passing seizes the mullet that had escaped from its dreaded
foe; but now, having obtained a fish too large for his
gullet, he rises, munching it all the while, as if bound for
the skies. Three or four of his own tribe have watched him
and observed his success. They shoot toward him on broadly
extended pinions, rise in wide circles,
smoothly, yet as swiftly as himself. They are now all at the
same height, and each as it overtakes him, lashes him with
its wings, and tugs at his prey. See! one has fairly robbed
him, but before he can secure the contested fish it drops.
One of the other birds has caught it, but he is pursued by
all. From bill to bill, and through the air, rapidly falls
the fish, until it drops quite dead on the waters, and sinks
into the deep. Whatever disappointment the hungry birds
feel, they seem to deserve it all.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives from the air into the
water.
|
|
Habitat
|
Sea of Cortez
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
In the US it is only seen on a regular
basis at the Salton Sea or in Baja California.
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
obliquely - slanting or sloping
direction
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: The food of this booby consists
principally and probably wholly of fish. Mr. Gifford (1913)
describes the methods employed as follows:
The fish were almost invariably caught
by diving, although an occasional flying fish was chased and
caught while in the air. It was a common thing to see
blue-footed boobies fishing in flocks, often all diving
simultaneously. They dive with wings half closed and neck
rigid and straight, striking the water with great force. As
all would not get fish when diving in a flock, there was
usually considerable squabbling over captures. One day a
booby was seen to enter the water obliquely at a very small
angle, appearing quickly on the surface again and continuing
its line of flight without a pause.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives into the water to hunt
fish.
|
|
Habitat
|
Ocean
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Eastern US coast
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Day after day we had gazed, from the
hilltops of the northern Magdalens, across the waters of the
stormy Gulf of St. Lawrence toward the distant Labrador
coast, where we could see looming up on the horizon a lofty
reddish mass of rock, the goal of our ambitions and the
mecca of many an American ornithologist, Bird Rock. At last
the day came sufficiently smooth for us to risk the trip in
our tiny craft, the only boat available. To visit and storm
that almost impregnable seabirds' fortress is risky enough
in a seaworthy vessel, for storms come up without much
warning and the waves thunder at the base of its almost
perpendicular cliffs with such fury, that only during the
calmest weather can a landing be effected with safety on a
narrow beach. At the time of our visit the present
comfortable landing had not been completed. It is now no
longer necessary to be hoisted up in a crate, a hundred feet
or more to the top of the rock.
Gannets were seen flying past us
toward the rock, as they returned from their fishing grounds
and as we drew near we could see a swarm of white birds
circling about it. The setting sun shone full upon Its
towering cliffs of red sandstone, deeply cut or carved by
the elements into ledges and shelves, of varying sizes and
shapes; the broader ledges seemed covered with snow and it
was hard to believe that such wide bands of white were
really colonies of nesting gannets. The whole side of the
rock seemed to be covered with birds; wherever there was
room for them the gannets were sitting on their nests on the
wider ledges; clouds of noisy kittiwakes
were hovering overhead or nesting on the smallest shelves of
rock; razor-billed auks were breeding in the crevices near
the top of the rock and the murres, Brunnich, and the
common, were sitting in long rows upon their eggs on the
narrower ledges. Such was the home of the gannet as I saw it
in 1904.
The history of the gannet colonies of
Bird Rock is interesting as showing the effect of human
agencies in the extermination of bird life. It begins with
Jacques Cartier's account of his voyage to Canada in 1534,
at which time there were apparently three islands in the
group, of which he says, according to Gurney's (1913)
rendering of Hakluyt's translation: "These islands were as
full of birds as any medow is of grasse, which there do make
their nestes; and in the greatest of them there was a great
and infinite number of those that wee cal margaulx, that are
white and bigger than any geese." There is very little doubt
that the birds he referred to were gannets. For three
centuries the persecution of these birds was not
sufficiently severe to reduce materially their numbers, for
when Audubon (1897) visited Bird Rock in 1833 it was a most
wonderful sight, as the following graphic description, taken
from his journal for June 14, 1833, well
illustrates:
About ten a speck rose on the horizon
which I was told was the rock. We sailed well, the breeze
increased fast, and we neared this object apace. At eleven I
could distinguish its top plainly from the deck, and thought
it covered with snow to the depth of several feet; this
appearance existed on every portion of the flat, projecting
shelves. Godwin said, with the coolness of a man who had
visited this rock for ten successive seasons, that what we
saw was not snow, but gannets. I rubbed my eyes, took my
spyglass, and in an instant the strangest picture stood
before me. They were birds we saw: a mass of birds of such a
size as I never before cast my eyes on. The whole of my
party stood astounded and amazed, and all came to the
conclusion that such a sight was of itself sufficient to
invite anyone to come across the gulf to view it at this
season. The nearer we approached the greater our surprise at
the enormous number of these birds, all calmly seated on
their eggs or newly hatched brood, their heads all turned to
windward and toward us. The air above for a hundred yards,
and for some distance around the whole rock, was filled with
gannets on the wing, which, from our position, made it
appear as if a heavy fall of snow was directly above
us.
At that time the whole top of the rock
was covered with their nests and it was regularly visited by
the fishermen of that vicinity, who killed the gannets in
large quantities for codfish bait. The stupid birds were
beaten down with clubs as they tumbled over each other in
their attempts to escape. Sometimes as many as 540 of them
have been killed by half a dozen men in an hour, and as many
as 40 fishing boats were supplied regularly with bait each
season in this way, the birds being roughly skinned and the
flesh cut off in chunks.
When Dr. Henry Bryant visited Bird
Rock on June 23, 1860, the colonies were very much reduced
in numbers, although the lighthouse had not been built at
that time and the gannets were nesting over all of the
northern half of the flat top of the rock. He estimated that
there were at least 100,000 birds in this colony and about
50,000 that were nesting on the side of the rock. Mr. C. J.
Maynard visited the rock in 1872, three years after the
lighthouse was built, and found the colony on the summit
reduced to 5,000 birds. In 1881 Mr. William Brewster
reported only 50 pairs still nesting on the flat top of the
rock, and since that time they have abandoned it entirely,
resorting only to the safer locations on the ledges. In 1881
the total number of gannets nesting on Bird Rock was
estimated at 10,000, and at the time of our visit in 1904 we
estimated that their numbers had been reduced to less than
3,000 birds. Fortunately, they are now protected by the
lighthouse keeper, and will probably not be further reduced
in numbers by persecution on their breeding grounds, but the
soft sandstone cliffs of Bird Rock are gradually wearing
away and it is only a question of time when their old home
will disappear, and it is doubtful if they can find another
suitable and safe substitute for it.
Though not so well known as Bird Rock,
the island of Bonaventure, off the Gaspe Peninsula in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, is fully as important as a breeding
resort for gannets, for it contains by far the largest
colony of these birds on the American coast. Gurney (1913)
records this colony as containing about 7,000 gannets. It
has a similar formation of red sandstone cliffs some 300
feet high and may, at some remote period in the past, have
formed a part of a chain of cliffs or islands of which Bird
Rock is now the surviving outpost. There are many broad
ledges on Bonaventure Island which are practically
inaccessible, offering attractive nesting sites for
thousands of gannets, where for many years to come they will
be safe from molestation. Gannets are said to have nested on
Funk Island many years ago, but after the extermination of
the great auk the gannets probably shared a similar fate.
Another colony of recent existence was on Perroquet Island,
of the Mingan group, off the south coast of Labrador. Mr.
William Brewster noted several hundred birds there in 1881,
but they disappeared soon after that. 'We saw a few gannets
flying about these islands in June, 1909, but were told that
they were not breeding there, having been driven away by
constant persecution. Bird Rock and Bonaventure have both
been set apart as reservations by the Canadian Government
where these birds will be permanently protected.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Diving from the air into the water.
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal waters.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific coast, and Southeast coast
from Texas to Florida.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in colonies along the coast.
Once considered endangered
the Brown Pelican has made a great comeback and in some
areas is quite plentiful.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
The feeding of young pelicans is a
most remarkable performance and in a thickly populated
colony where the struggle for existence is keen it is not
lacking in excitement. The youngest birds are fed on
regurgitated or semi digested food which is allowed to flow
to the tip of the parent's bill, where it can be readily
reached by the almost helpless little bird. As the young
increase in size they are gradually weaned and soon learn to
thrust their heads and necks, sometimes two at a time, deep
down into the innermost recesses of the parental pouch,
where with much struggling and squawking they find a hearty
meal of fish in various stages of digestion. The old birds
have evidently learned by experience just what kind of food
is best suited to the age of the young, feeding larger fish
as the young increase in size, but occasionally they make a
mistake and give the little pelicans more than they can
swallow, which means that the objectionable morsel must be
removed by the parent or left to be gradually swallowed as
the lower end is digested. The parents evidently know their
own young and attempt to drive away others in the wild
scramble which follows the arrival of a pelican with a well
filled pouch. Young pelicans reared in tree nests remain in
the nests until nearly ready to fly, which simplifies the
feeding problem for their parents, but where they nest on
the ground the young leave the nests as soon as they are
able to walk and wander about in great droves. This makes
the work of the parents both difficult and strenuous and
many an exciting struggle occurs in which the poor parent is
besieged by a hoard of lusty young, fully her equal in size,
and either overwhelmed by the excited mob or forced to
retreat.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Usually feeds as a social group. By
swimming as a group and making their circle smaller they
"herd" the fish into a small group which makes it easier for
them to grab the fish by reaching their heads into the
water.
|
|
Habitat
|
Fresh water; lakes.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
White body with black wing
tips. Some argue that the black pigment in the feathers at
the wing tips make those feathers more durable.
|
|
Distribution
|
Summers interior western states,
winters California, Florida coast to Texas coast
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Dr.
Chapman (1908) gives the
following account of one of their aerial feats:
On the afternoon in question a
thunderstorm developed rapidly, the sky became ominously
black and threatening, and a strong wind whipped the tules
into a rustling troubled sea of green. This atmospheric
disturbance acted upon the soaring birds in a remarkable
manner, stimulating them to perform aerial feats of which I
had no idea they were capable. They dived from the heavens
like winged meteors, the roar of the air through their stiff
pinions sounding as though they had torn great rents in the
sky. Approaching the earth they checked their descent by an
upshoot, and then with amazing agility zigzagged over the
marsh, darting here and there like swallows after insects.
On land the white pelican is not graceful, but it walks
well, with a stately and dignified air. On the water it
floats lightly as a cork, on account of its great
displacement, and it swims rapidly and easily, but it is not
built for diving. It looms up large and white even at a
great distance, its color pattern is somewhat similar to
that of three other large birds, the gannet, the
whooping
crane, and the wood ibis, but
in size and shape the four are distinctly different.
White pelicans are particularly silent
birds; the only notes that I have heard them utter are the
low-toned grunts or subdued croaking notes heard on their
breeding grounds and not audible at any great distance.
Doctor Chapman (1908) refers to this note as "a deep voiced,
not loud, murmuring groan," and Doctor
Grinnell (1908) calls it "a
grunting quack." Audubon (1840) likens it to a sound
produced by blowing through the bunghole of a
cask."
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives from the surface of the water to
chase fish underwater.
|
|
Habitat
|
Fresh and salt water areas.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout the US
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Considered by many fisherman to be in
competition with them for the supplies of fish throughout
the country.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Mr. Taverner (1915) says of their
fishing habits:
In the morning as soon as the sun is
well up the cormorants fly in through the narrow channel
separating the basin from the bay, their numbers increasing
until about nine o'clock, when most of the birds are to be
found fishing in the shallow water at the head of the basin.
On first coming in they alight in the water, look about a
minute, and then disappear with an easy gliding dive. They
generally remain under the water for about a minute. If they
have been successful in their fishing, their prey can be
easily seen when they reappear. They catch a fish crossways,
and it takes a little manipulation and sundry jerks of the
head to get it placed properly in the mouth; then there is
an upward flirt of the bill and the fish is swallowed. A few
gulps are given and the bird is ready to repeat the
operation.
He says of their food:
With the exception, then, of a few
wandering birds, the cormorants feed either along the sea
coast, as at Perce, or in the tidal mouths of the rivers. We
collected some thirty stomachs from such localities, but
none of them contained salmonoid remains. The food contents
were mostly capelin, flounder, herring, and an occasional
eel and tom cod.
Of the thirty-two stomachs examined,
five were empty, one so nearly so as to make the contents
unrecognizable, and two were from nestlings with contents
regurgitated from the parents' throat and, having been
subject to double digestive action, were not
recognizable.
Of the remaining twenty-five, sixteen
contained sculpins, five herring, one each capelin and eel,
and two tom cod or allied fish. Nearly all had
ascaris and other parasitical remains. The evidence
indicates that these were incidentally obtained from the
flesh of the original hosts. In many stomachs there were
fragments of eel-grass, crustaceans, mollusks, and pebbles,
but in small quantities and evidently derived from the
stomachs of the prey or taken accidentally with
it.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives from the surface of the water to
chase fish underwater.
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal waters along the Pacific
Coast.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific coast
|
|
Breeding
|
Nest site on coastal cliffs - colonial
breeder. Despite its name the Pelagic Cormorant is not
pelagic.
It stays close to the shore.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Farallon Cormorant is a previous name
for the Double-crested Cormorant
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Nesting: Throughout the whole length
of the Aleutian chain we found this small, slender cormorant
sitting in little groups on the rocks about the promontories
or flying out to meet us and to satisfy their curiosity by
circling about our boat; they seemed far from timid and were
but little disturbed by our frequent shooting for they
returned again and again to look us over. Here they breed in
colonies on the highest, steepest and most inaccessible
rocky cliffs, safe from the depredations of foxes and men
and shrouded in the prevailing fogs of that dismal region.
The nest is placed on some narrow ledge on a perpendicular
cliff facing the sea; it is made mainly of seaweeds and
grasses, is added to from year to year and becomes quite
bulky.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives from the surface of the water to
chase fish underwater.
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal waters along the Pacific
Coast.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Pacific coast
|
|
Breeding
|
Nest site on coastal cliffs - colonial
breeder
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Plumage: The young cormorant, when
first hatched, is blind and naked, an unattractive object
covered with greasy black skin. The down soon appears,
however, and before the young bird is half grown it is
completely covered; the down coat is "clove brown" above,
slightly paler below, mottled with white on the under parts
and wings. The feathers of the wings and tail appears first
and are fully developed before the body plumage is acquired;
the down disappears last on the head and neck, after the
young bird is fully grown. The brown plumage of the first
winter succeeds the downy stage and is worn for nearly a
year, fading out to a very light color on the breast in the
spring. There is a partial molt during the first spring, but
no very decided advance toward maturity is made until the
first complete molt the following summer. At this first post
nuptial molt a plumage is acquired which is somewhat like
the adult, but there is still much brown mottling in the
head, neck, and under parts. During the following spring
there is still further advance, the nuptial plumes are
partially acquired and the young bird is ready to breed; but
the fully adult nuptial plumage is not acquired, I believe,
until the next, the third, spring. The partial prenuptial
molt of adults, at which the long nuptial plumes of the neck
and back are acquired, occurs in February and March; and the
complete post nuptial molt extends from August to October.
Both old and young birds in any plumage can be distinguished
from the Farallon cormorant by the outline of the feathered
tract bordering the gular sac; in the Brandt cormorant the
gular sac is invaded by a pointed extension of the feathered
throat area, whereas with the Farallon the gular sac has a
broad, rounded outline.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Dives from the surface of the water to
chase fish.
|
|
Habitat
|
Swamps, rivers
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast coast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests as a pair or can nest in
colonies with other species.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Called the snake bird because as it
swims its feathers soak up water and it gets heavier and its
body sinks below the water leaving only its long neck and
sharp beak above the water.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
In the swamps and marshy lakes of
Florida, where the shores are overgrown with rank vegetation
and the stately cypress trees are draped with long festoons
of Spanish moss, or in the sluggish streams, half choked
with water hyacinths, "bonnets" and "water lettuce," where
the deadly moccasin lurks concealed in the dense vegetation,
where the gayly colored purple gallinules
patter over the lily pads and where the beautiful snowy
herons and many others of their tribe flourish in their
native solitudes, there may we look for these curious birds.
We may expect to find them sitting quietly, in little
groups, in the tops of some clump of willows on the marshy
shore or on the branches of some larger trees overhanging
the water, with their long necks stretched upwards in an
attitude of inquiry or held in graceful curves if not
alarmed; perhaps some may have their wings outstretched in
the sun to dry, a favorite basking attitude. If alarmed by
the sudden appearance of a boat one may be seen to plunge
headlong into the water, straight as a winged arrow, and
disappear; soon, however, a snake-like head and neck may be
seen at a distance rapidly swimming away with its body
entirely submerged. The anhinga is a water bird surely
enough, but I could never see any resemblance to a turkey,
and I can not understand how this name happened to be
applied to it. The name "darter" or "snake bird," both of
which are descriptive, seem much more
appropriate.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Wide variety of vertebrates
and invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Stalking food, and also waiting in the
water for prey to come by.
|
|
Habitat
|
Many different habitats; usually near
water, but not always.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
West coast, southeast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies in nests located in
the tops of trees.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
The Great Egret was almost wiped out
during the turn of the century as hunters shot them for
their feathers which were used to adorn hats. Hunters were
paid by the pound for the feathers.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Courtship: Audubon
(1840) gives the only account
I have seen of this interesting performance as follows:
As early as December I have observed
vast numbers congregated, as if for the purpose of making
choice of partners, when the addresses of the males were
paid in a very curious and to me interesting manner. Near
the plantation of John Bulow, Esq., in east Florida, I had
the pleasure of witnessing this sort of tournament or dress
ball from a place of concealment not more than 100 yards
distant. The males, in strutting round the females, swelled
their throats, as cormorants do at times, emitted gurgling
sounds, raising their long plumes almost erect, paced
majestically before the fair ones of their choice. Although
these snowy beaux were a good deal irritated by jealousy,
and conflicts now and then took place, the whole time I
remained much less fighting was exhibited than I had
expected from what I had already seen in the case of the
great
blue heron, Ardea
herodies. These meetings took place about 10 o'clock in
the morning, or after they had all enjoyed a good breakfast,
and continued until nearly 3 in the afternoon, when,
separating-into flocks of 8 or 10 individuals, they flew off
to search for food. These maneuvers were continued nearly a
week, and I could with ease, from a considerable distance,
mark the spot, which was a clear sand bar, by the descent of
the separate small flocks previous to their alighting
there.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Wide variety of vertebrates and
invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Actively hunts for prey while in
shallow water.
|
|
Habitat
|
Variety of different habitats, thought
usually near water.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
but the male gets elaborate
feathers during courtship.
|
|
Distribution
|
Along the entire coast of the US and
many portions of the southwest and southeast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: Audubon
(1840) has described the feeding habits of the snowy egret
so well that I can not do better than to quote his words, as
follows:
The snowy heron, while in the
Carolinas, in the month of April, resorts to the borders of
the salt-water marshes and feeds principally on shrimps.
Many individuals which I opened there contained nothing else
in their stomachs. On the Mississippi, at the time when the
shrimps are ascending the stream, these birds are frequently
seen standing on floating logs, busily engaged in picking
them up; and on such occasions their pure white color
renders them conspicuous and highly pleasing to the eye. At
a later period, they feed on small fry, fiddlers, snails,
aquatic insects, occasionally small lizards, and young
frogs. Their motions are generally quick and elegant, and,
while pursuing small fishes, they run swiftly through the
shallows, throwing up their wings. Twenty or 30 seen at once
along the margins of a marsh or a river, while engaged in
procuring their food, form a most agreeable sight. In autumn
and early spring they are fond of resorting to the ditches
of the rice fields, not infrequently in company with the
blue
herons.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Wide variety of vertebrates and
invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Feeds around cattle and other
livestock which stir up food for the Cattle
Egret.
|
|
Habitat
|
Agricultural areas, marshes
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
It's range is expanding; southeast
coast and west coast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Native of Africa that managed to
migrate to the United States around the 1950s and has
increased its numbers tremendously since then.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
No Cattle Egret were present in the
United States during the time that A.C.Bent published the
Life Histories of North American Birds.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Hunting by wading in water or waiting
and watching for food.
|
|
Habitat
|
Variety of water habitats.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout much of the United
States
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies with other heron
species.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Audubon
(1840) says that "it is never seen standing motionless,
waiting for its prey, like the true herons, but it is
constantly moving about in search of it." This active method
may be the one employed when in search of the less active
aquatic animals on which it feeds; but when fishing, I
believe, it usually stands still, in shallow water, on the
shore, or on some convenient perch. I once saw a young night
heron given a lesson in still fishing by, presumably, one of
its parents. Both birds had been standing as motionless as
statues, for some time in the shallow water of a tidal
creek; the young bird began to show its impatience by moving
its head slightly from side to side; then it took a few
steps forward, slowly and stealthily, with its neck
stretched out and crouching close to the water; whereupon
the adult, which had stood immovable, flew at the young
bird, with loud, scolding croaks, and struck it some hard
blows on the back with its bill. The young bird was forced
to fly, but it settled again a few yards away and did not
attempt to move again; perhaps it had learned its
lesson.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages by walking around looking for
prey
|
|
Habitat
|
Mangroves, marshes, cypress
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeastern United States
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Mr. Maynard (1896) says:
The food of the yellow-crowned night
herons is mainly land crabs, which they are very expert at
catching, killing and breaking to pieces. They will eat all
kinds, excepting possibly the large white crab, a species
which often measures 14 inches across the body and claws,
and which weighs about 1 pound. This animal appears to be
too strong and bulky for the herons to manage, but they will
kill the black crab, a crustacean which measures nearly or
quite a foot across the body and claws. But a favorite crab
with this heron is a smaller species, which resembles the
black crab in form, which is, on account of its being a
favorite with the herons, called the galden crab by the
Bahamans. This crab is very abundant. Another crab, or
rather group of land crabs, which I think is exempt from the
attacks of the galden is the hermit crab, for they retreat
within their borrowed shells, and guard the entrance with
their large claws.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates
and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages by waiting for prey while
standing in water
|
|
Habitat
|
Marsh, small lakes, ponds
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Eastern states and Pacific
coast
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: The food of the green heron
varies somewhat with the locality. In birds taken in salt
marshes, I have found the stomach contents to consist of the
minnows common in the little creeks together with a variable
amount of sand. Live stomach worms are also common, a fact
mentioned by other observers. In regions of fresh water,
tadpoles, water insects and their larvae, crayfish, and
small bony fishes are common articles of diet. Food is also
gathered in the uplands by these birds and their stomachs
have been found to contain earth worms, crickets,
grasshoppers. snakes, and small mammals. Grasshoppers in
very large numbers have sometimes been found. B. S. Bowdish
(1902) says of the food of the green heron in Porto
Rico:
"Several stomachs examined contained
respectively, remains of lizards and crabs, and one whole
fish about 6 inches long; a kind of water beetle about three
quarters of an inch long, many entire; crawfish and
grasshoppers; 11 crawfish; small live worms." Oscar E.
Baynard (1912) reports that the stomach of an adult green
heron taken in Florida contained 6 small crayfish, 16
grasshoppers, 2 cut worms and the remains of small
frogs.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages by walking around looking for
prey
|
|
Habitat
|
Wetlands, marsh, open fields,
agricultural areas
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout the US
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
The last paragraph is a great
demonstation of the less than romantic aspect of doing field
research.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
In the nest they are fed by both
parents, at first on soft regurgitated food, later on whole
fresh fish. With the youngest birds the soft soup like food
is passed from the bill of the parent into that of the young
bird; but later on the more solid food is deposited in the
nest and picked up by the young. The young birds usually lie
quietly in the nest, crouched down out of sight, between
feedings; but as soon as the parent is seen or heard
returning (the senses of the young are very keen) there is
great excitement, as they stand up to clamor and wrestle for
their food. The old bird approaches with deliberate dignity
and may stand on the nest for a few minutes with her head
high in the air. Then with crest and plumes erected and with
a pumping motion, she lowers her head and one of the
youngsters grabs her bill in his, crosswise; the wrestling
match then follows until the food passes into the young
bird's mouth or onto the nest. The young are usually fed in
rotation, but often the most aggressive youngster gets more
than his share.
The young instinctively try to void
their excrement by squirting it over the edge of the nest,
but they are not eminently successful at it and the nest,
the tree, and the ground under it are usually completely
whitewashed with their profuse ordure before they are fully
grown. This and the decaying fish which fall from the nests
make a heronry far from pleasant and one has to expect an
occasional shower bath from one or both ends of a frightened
young heron.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages while walking slowly in water.
Uses its long neck and long sharp beak to grab
prey.
|
|
Habitat
|
Marshes, swamps, shores
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
Immature plumage is white.
Adult plumage changes during the breeding season as it adds
extra plumes.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Julian Huxley - (1887 - 1975) British
biologist and writer who was director of UNESCO 1946
-1948
aigrette - french for egret; used here
to refer to plumes of feathers
Louisiana Heron is a former name for
the Tri-colored
Heron
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Prof. Julian S. Huxley tells me that
the behavior of the little blue heron on its breeding
grounds appears to be essentially similar to that of the
Louisiana heron, which is so well described in his notes on
that species. The courtships, greeting ceremonies, nest
relief ceremonies, and emotional displays are much alike in
all three of the small southern herons; they all have plumes
or aigrettes which they love to display. Their flight
maneuvers are also similar. Little blue herons often travel
in loose flocks. A flock of 15 or 20 birds, blue adults and
white young birds, frequented some small ponds near my
winter home in Florida; when frightened away from the ponds
they invariably flew to and alighted on one of two dead pine
trees in the vicinity; if disturbed there, they all took to
wing, circled around in an open flock a few times and then
all set their wings, scaling in unison, and returned to one
of the trees, where they all gracefully alighted. These
trees were their favorite perches to which they returned
again and again after a few returns in the air. I have seen
all the herons set their wings and scale, at times,
especially when returning to their rookeries or when about
to alight.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages while walking slowly in water.
Uses its long neck and long sharp beak to grab
prey.
|
|
Habitat
|
Swamps, marsh, shores
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Coastal waters from Virginia to
Texas
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Enemies: Plume hunters have made no
effort to hunt this species, as it has no marketable plumes:
its plumes might have come on the market, if the demand had
continued after the supply of white aigrettes had become
exhausted. Many young birds and some older birds have been
killed for food. There is, however, a human enemy,
unconscious perhaps of his evil deeds, who causes
considerable havoc whenever he indulges in his supposedly
harmless sport in a heron rookery; and that is the bird
photographer, who sets up his blind in a rookery and keeps
the herons off their nests, often for long periods. I
remember that, after we had spent parts of three days
photographing birds in the great Cuthbert rookery, we left
it in a sadly depleted condition. The crows and vultures had
cleaned out practically all the nests anywhere near our
blinds; the roseate
spoonbills and
American
egrets had been completely
broken up and driven away; hundreds of nests of the smaller
herons had been robbed; and the ground was strewn with
broken egg shells all over the rookery. The egg collector,
who is constantly moving about in plain sight, frightens the
crows away, as well as the herons, and is there fore much
less destructive than the bird photographer. The safest time
to practice bird photography, and the best time too to get
good results, is when the young are partially grown, when
there are no eggs for the crows to steal and when the young
are too large for the vultures to swallow. Probably, when
not disturbed by human beings, the herons' nests are
constantly guarded by one of each pair. Otherwise, it is
hard to conceive how many birds can be raised successfully,
where fish crows are as common as they are in Florida or
where great-tailed
grackles abound as they do in
Texas.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Stalks its food and then grabs it
using its beak. Blends in very well with the marsh that it
lives in.
|
|
Habitat
|
Marsh/wetland
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout the US.
|
|
Breeding
|
Platform nest built by female on the
ground
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Status of this bird is very grave.
Numbers seem to have declined dramatically due to loss of
habitat.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Standing in an open part of the
meadow, usually half concealed by the surrounding grasses,
he first makes a succession of low clicking or gulping
sounds accompanied by quick opening and shutting of the bill
and then, with abrupt contortions of the head and neck
unpleasantly suggestive of those of a person afflicted by
nausea, belches forth in deep, guttural tones, and with
tremendous emphasis, a pump-er-Zunk repeated from two or
three to six or seven times in quick succession and
suggesting the sound of an old-fashioned wooden pump. All
three syllables may be usually heard up to a distance of
about 400 yards, beyond which the middle one is lost and the
remaining two sound like the words pump-up or plum-pudd'n
while at distances greater than a half mile the terminal
syllable alone is audible, and closely resembles the sound
produced by an axe stroke on the head of a wooden stake,
giving the bird its familiar appellation of "stake driver."
At the height of the breeding season the bittern indulges in
this extraordinary performance at all hours of the day,
especially when the weather is cloudy, and he may also be
heard occasionally in the middle of the darkest nights, but
his favorite time for exercising his ponderous voice is just
before sunrise and immediately after sunset. Besides the
snapping or gulping and the pumping notes the bittern also
utters, usually while flying, a nasal haink and a croaking
ok-ok-ok-ok.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates.
Due to its small size eats more invertebrates than
vertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Stalks its food and then grabs it
using its beak. Blends in very well with the marsh that it
lives in.
|
|
Habitat
|
Marsh/wetland
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Eastern states
|
|
Breeding
|
Platform nest built by female on the
ground
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
This pretty little bittern, the most
diminutive of the heron tribe, is a summer resident in most
of the United States and southern Canada. Messers. Dickey
and van Rossem (1924) have recently given a new name,
Ixobrychus exilis hesperis, to a larger race of this
species inhabiting the western United States and Lower
California. It is probably more widely distributed and
commoner than is generally supposed, for, on account of its
quiet, retiring habits it is seldom seen and less often
heard by the casual observer. Like the Virginia
and the sora
rails, it sticks steadfastly
to its chosen home in the inner recesses of the dense
cat-tail and reedy marshes; even when some small piece of
marsh is making its last stand against the encroachments of
civilization, the bitterns and rails may still be found
there, attending strictly to their own business, coming and
going under the cover of darkness and unmindful of their
outside surroundings. I can remember three such bits of
marsh, near the centers of cities in Massachusetts, in which
the rails and bitterns continued to breed until they were
driven out as the marshes were filled.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Vertebrates and invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Very active feeder; may run through
water looking for prey
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal marshes, tidal
flats
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast coast from Florida to east
Texas
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Mr. Cahn (1923) writes:
The life of the young birds is
anything but exciting. Day after day they lie on their
shallow platform of sticks under the sweltering rays of a
June sun, and the monotony of their lives is broken only by
the coming and going of the old birds and, as the nestlings
grow older, by innocent sparring matches among themselves.
Long before they are able to fly, they leave the nest at the
approach of danger and, using beak and wings and legs, climb
unsteadily about in the brush, returning to the nest when
the excitement is over. Before they are able to climb out of
the nest, the babies make a valiant defense against an
intruder by hissing and jabbing vigorously with their bills.
They are so unsteady, however, that they very seldom hit
what they are aiming at. They are a comical sight sitting on
their heels, their great feet sprawling before them as they
vainly endeavor to keep their balance during the violent
exercise of defense. Once they become used to climbing about
in bushes, they are safe, as then it is nearly impossible to
capture them; they can go through the tangle much faster
than you can.
The chief source of mortality among
the young egrets and herons seems to be falling out of the
nest, and a young bird is permitted to die of starvation or
to be consumed by the red ants or a stray coyote that may
reach the island during low water, right under the nest,
without the old birds showing any sign or comprehending what
is going on.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fish
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages in water
|
|
Habitat
|
Wetlands.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
White with black flight
feathers.
|
|
Distribution
|
The coastal areas from Florida to
Mexico.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Wood Ibis is an earlier name for Wood
Stork. The Wood Stork is an endangered species.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
A striking and a picturesque bird is
the wood ibis, also known in Florida as "gannet" or
"flinthead," both appropriate names. It is a permanent
resident in the hot, moist bottom lands of our southern
borders and seldom straggles far north of our southern tier
of States. To see it at its best one must penetrate the
swampy bayous of Louisiana or Texas, where the big water
oaks and tupelos are draped in long festoons of Spanish
moss, or the big cypress swamps of Florida, where these
stately trees tower for a hundred feet or more straight
upward until their interlacing tops form a thick canopy of
leaves above the dim cathedral aisles. One must work his way
through almost impenetrable thickets of button willows,
underbrush, and interlacing tangles of vines. He must wade
waist deep or more in muddy pools, where big alligators lurk
unseen or leave their trails on muddy banks, as warnings to
be cautious, or where the deadly moccasin may squirm away
under foot or may lie in wait, coiled up on some fallen log,
ready to strike. If not deterred by these drawbacks, or by
the clouds of malarial mosquitos or by the hot, reeking
atmosphere of the tropical swamps, he may catch a fleeting
glimpse of the big white birds or hear their croaking notes
as they fly from the tree tops above. Probably he may see a
solitary old "flint heady' perched in the top of some old
dead tree in the distance, standing on one leg, with his
head drawn in upon his shoulders and his great bill resting
on his chest. Perhaps there may be a whole flock of them in
such a tree; but the observer will not get very near them,
for the wood ibis is an exceedingly shy bird, and a sentinel
is always on the lookout. One is more likely to see the wood
ibis on the wing, flying in flocks to or from its feeding
grounds, or circling high in the air above its breeding
rookery. On the wing it shows up to the best advantage,
sailing gracefully on motionless wings, a big white bird,
with black flight feathers in its long wings and in its
short tail.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Use their unique beak structure to
strain organisms from the water
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal marsh
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
There is much debate on the status of
the Gt. Flamingo in the United States. Most of the current
sightings are attributed to escaped birds. There is
disagreement on the historical status of the bird. The only
serious records are birds that were seen in south Florida.
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
The flamingo is no longer to be found,
except possibly as a rare straggler, on the North American
Continent, but in Audubon's time it was fairly abundant in
extreme southern Florida. Even in those days it was
relentlessly pursued and was becoming quite shy. Gustavus
Wurdemann (1861), in a Letter written to the Smithsonian
Institution in 1857, wrote:
The flamingo is known to but a very
few inhabitants of this state, because it is confined to the
immediate neighborhood of the most southern portion of the
peninsula, Cape Sable, and the keys in its vicinity. It was
seen by the first settlers at Indian River, but abandoned
these regions immediately, and never returned thither after
having been fired upon.
In the same letter he refers to a
flock of 500 flamingos seen near Indian Key, in the Bay of
Florida, and graphically describes his experiences in
chasing and capturing, with a native hunter, some hundred or
so of these beautiful birds, which were molting and unable
to fly.
Evidently this flock of flamingos, or
its descendants, was able to survive in this remote and
inaccessible portion of Florida long after the species had
disappeared from other sections. It was supposed to breed
somewhere in that vicinity, but the breeding grounds were
never found. W. E. D. Scott (1887) reported that the last
birds were killed in Tampa Bay in 1885 and that they
disappeared from Cape Romano and all points north of that at
about that time.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small fish, invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages in water using its beak to
strain organisms from water
|
|
Habitat
|
Marsh, lagoons
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Florida, coastal waters from Texas to
Florida
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: Audubon
(1840) has described the feeding habits of this species very
well, as follows:
They are as nocturnal as the
night
heron, and, although they seek
for food at times during the middle of the day, their
principal feeding time is from near sunset until daylight.
To all such feeding grounds as are exposed to the tides,
they betake themselves when it is low water, and search for
food along the shallow margins until driven off by the
returning tide. Few birds are better aware of the hours at
which the waters are high or low, and when it is near ebb
you see them wending their way to the shore, whenever a
feeding place seems to be productive, the spoonbills are
wont to return to it until they have been much disturbed,
and persons aware of this fact may waylay them with success,
as at such times one may shoot them while passing overhead.
To procure their food, the spoonbills first generally alight
near the water, into which they then wade up to the tibia,
and immerse their bills in the water or soft mud, sometimes
with the head and even the whole neck beneath the surface.
They frequently withdraw these parts, however, and look
around to ascertain if danger is near. They move their
partially opened mandibles laterally to and fro with a
considerable degree of elegance, munching the fry, insects,
or small shellfish, which they secure, before swallowing
them. When there are many together, one usually acts as
sentinel, unless a heron should be near; and in either case
you may despair of approaching them. I have never seen one
of these birds feeding in fresh water, although I have been
told that this is sometimes the case. To all those keys in
the Floridas, in which ponds have been dug for the making of
salt, they usually repair in the evening for the purpose of
feeding; but the shallow inlets in the great salt marshes of
our southern coasts are their favorite places of
resort.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small fish, invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages for food while walking slowly
in the water
|
|
Habitat
|
Wetlands, agricultural
fields
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
East coast of Texas, scattered
wetlands in the interior western states and
California
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Behavior: The name, "black curlew" has
been well applied to this species, for at a distance in
flight it certainly appears very dark colored; its long
curved bill stretched out in front and its legs extended
backward give it the shape of a curlew. It can be easily
recognized at any distance. Its flight is strong, direct,
swift and well sustained. 'When traveling in flocks, it
flies in long, diagonal lines, sometimes with the birds
abreast, usually with steady, rapid wing strokes, but varied
occasionally with short periods of scaling.
Dr.
Frank M. Chapman (1908) was
privileged to see flocks of from 10 to 40 of these birds
perform a surprising evolution; he writes:
In close formation, they soared
skyward in a broad spiral, mounting higher and higher until,
in this leisurely and graceful manner, they had reached an
elevation of at least 500 feet. Then, without a moment's
pause and with thrilling speed, they dived earthward.
Sometimes they went together as one bird, at others each
bird steered its own course, when the air seemed full of
plunging, darting, crazy ibises. When about 50 feet from the
ground, their reckless dash was checked and, on bowed wings,
they turned abruptly and shot upward. Shortly after, like a
rush of a gust of wind, we heard the humming sound caused by
the swift passage through the air of their stiffened
pinions.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small fish, invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages for food while walking slowly
in the water
|
|
Habitat
|
Marshes, agricultural
fields
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast coastalwaters
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Enemies: Ibises are not generally
regarded as game birds, but many are shot for food in the
regions where they are plentiful and where they are locally
called "white curlew." That they have other enemies than man
is illustrated by the following account by Audubon
(1840):
The ibises had all departed for the
Florida coasts, excepting a few of the white species, one of
which was at length espied. It was perched about 50 yards
from us toward the center of the pool, and as the report of
one of our guns echoed among the tall cypresses, down to the
water, broken winged, it fell. The exertions which it made
to reach the shore seemed to awaken the half-torpid
alligators that lay in the deep mud at the bottom of the
pool. One showed his head above the water, then a second and
a third. All gave chase to the poor wounded bird, which, on
seeing its dreaded and deadly foes, made double speed toward
the very spot where we stood. I was surprised to see how
much faster the bird swam than the reptile, who, with jaws
widely opened, urged their heavy bodies through the water.
The ibis was now within a few yards of us. It was the
alligator's last chance. Springing forward as it were, he
raised his body almost out of the water; his jaws nearly
touched the terrified bird; when pulling three triggers at
once, we lodged the contents of our guns in the throat of
the monster. Thrashing furiously with his tail, and rolling
his body in agony, the alligator at last sank to the mud;
and the ibis, as if in gratitude, walked to our very feet
and there lying down, surrendered itself to us. I kept this
bird until the succeeding spring, and by care and good
nursing, had the pleasure of seeing its broken wing
perfectly mended, when, after its long captivity, I restored
it to liberty, in the midst of its loved swamps and
woods.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Wide assortment of vertebrates and
invertebrates. See below.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
|
|
Habitat
|
Coastal waters
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
East coast
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: Mr. Baynard (1913) made a
careful study of the food of the young glossy ibises; his
itemized summary of 194 meals gives the following totals:
412 cutworms, 1,964 grasshoppers, 1,391 crayfish, and 147
snakes. He says that the adults feed "principally on
crayfish, cutworms, grasshoppers, and other insects and
young moccasins," from which it would seem that they are
very useful birds. He figures it out in this way:
Total of 3,914 vermin in 194 meals, or
an average of 20 to each meal. As the young would average
seven meals apiece each day this would mean 28 meals, and 20
vermin to the meal would make 560 vermin for a day's feed
for the young alone. The parents fed these young for about
50 days, making the total of vermin destroyed by this one
nest of birds about 28,000, and this is saying nothing of
what the old birds ate, which would be at least half of what
the youngsters devoured, making a total of 42,000 vermin
eaten while rearing one nest of young. When we stop to think
that there were about 9,000 pairs vf ibis, including both
the white and glossy on this lake in 1912 that successfully
reared nests of young, one can hardly conceive of the many
milions of noxious insects and vermin of all kinds
destroyed. The vast amount of good to any section of the
country where this vast army of ibis nest can hardly be
reckoned in dollars. The cutworms and grasshoppers, we all
know what great damage to growing crops they do; the
crayfish destroys the spawn of fish, which in turn live off
the eggs and young mosquitos. The deduction is self-evident
to anyone when we consider the vast amount of territory in
Florida that is covered with water. The crayfish also
destroy levees on the rivers and cause the destruction of
millions of dollars damage to growing crops.
Snakes, especially the moccasins,
which, by the way, comprised 95 per cent of the snakes
captured by the ibis, do lots of harm. Moccasins in
rookeries destroy thousands of eggs and young birds, and
even if they didn't they are so deadly poisonous that
anything that helps to keep them down to reasonable numbers
is welcome.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Feeds on dead animals.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Circles in the wind using its long
wings, looking for dead animals. Keeps an eye out for other
vultures who might have found a dead or dying animal to feed
on.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open grassland, wetlands.
|
|
Plumage
|
The adult Turkey Vulture has a red
head. The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout the United States.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in cavity, quite often a
cave
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
turkey buzzards - nickname for turkey
vulture
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Behavior: On the ground the vulture is
an awkward bird, hopping clumsily, sometimes with a hitch
sideways; it has a gawky walk. To get into the air it leans
forward, stumbles onward with a few steps or hops, gives a
push with its legs, and, with a visible effort, flops its
wings, until at last it is under way and sails
off.
In the air the vulture wins our
admiration. Its great wings, long and broad, hold the bird
aloft like a kite. Adjusting its wings to the wind, it
progresses for miles with never a wing beat, or rises very
high in the air, nearly out of sight from the ground. While
soaring, the vulture raises its wings to a slight angle
above the line of the back, making a shallow V in the sky,
and often the wind pushes upward the separated tips of the
primary feathers. As it moves along it sways a little from
side to side, not rolling like a ship at sea, but teetering,
balancing like a tight-rope walker, but slower. When the
bird sweeps past us just above the treetops, we see the
flight as a steady rush through the air; we see the head
turn as the bird studies the ground. Usually we see the
turkey buzzards flying alone at no great height, but
sometimes they collect in the sky, dozens together, and
wheel about. The habit of gathering into flocks is much less
marked than that of the black vulture, and they do not go in
packs during the day as the latter birds do.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Feeds on dead animals.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Circles in the wind using its long
wings, looking for dead animals. Keeps an eye out for other
vultures who might have found a dead or dying animal to feed
on.
|
|
Habitat
|
Open country
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast of the United States.
Expanding range into the northeast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in cavity, quite often a
cave
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Simmons (1925) describes the courtship
of the black vulture as observed in Texas:
During February and to the middle of
March, the love-flight or courtship flight of the two birds
may often be seen at the breeding grounds, lasting from two
to ten minutes, in rapid, prolonged, wide-spreading circles.
In the air over a thickly-populated nesting area, such as a
honey-combed cliff or canyon wall in the hills, as many as
25 or 50 pairs may be seen going through these nuptial
ceremonies during early March, presenting a slowly-moving,
gyrating maelstrom, circling and sailing in close spirals,
one of a pair continually following the other; out of this
maelstrom a female occasionally drops, the male a few feet
behind, and then a chase ensues, dropping, darting, wheeling
with incredible speed, wing tips of one touching the wing
tips of the other in the twists and turns of the play. A
male performing before a female perched high on a dead tree
overlooking the chasm often circles high in front of her,
half folds his wings and dives straight for the earth, his
wings shrilling and whistling until he zooms upward again to
resume his circling.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Feeds on dead animals.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Searches for dead animals while it
glides
|
|
Habitat
|
Open country
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
California central valley - very
isolated
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Illustrating its mastery of the air,
Mr.
Dawson (1923) relates the
following incident, as witnessed by Claude C. L.
Brown:
Just because the sails of this bird
are so accurately trimmed for the utilization of light
breezes, the craft itself is unable to make headway against
a strong wind. Not even by flapping can the Condor negotiate
a breeze above a certain intensity. What the bird does in
such an emergency is best told by Brown, who was once
present on a quite critical occasion. Presently he described
four Condors approaching from the far northeast, but before
they came up a smart breeze sprang up from the southwest,
and presently it whistled over the peaks with increasing
fury. The birds were baffled on the very last mile of their
approach. They tacked back and forth, down wind, or
struggled valiantly in the teeth of the gale, only to be
swept away again and again. The cold sea breeze had it in
for them, and though it was only mid afternoon, it began to
look to the observer like a case of sleeping out that night.
But off to the southeastward some twenty or thirty miles,
the Carisso plains lay baking in the sun. The focal point of
this great oven was sending up a huge column of heated air,
as evidenced by clouds slowly revolving at the height of a
mile or so above the plain. What followed can best be given
in Mr. Brown's own words: "Presently one of the Condors gave
up the fight, sailed a mile or so to the eastward, and,
after circling to gain elevation, made away in a bee-line
for the southeast. In a short time the other three went
through the same maneuver and followed after their
companion. I now brought my telescope into action and I
never took the glass off the birds although they became mere
specks in the sky. The Condors did not swerve from their
course until they entered the spiral cloud. Upon striking
that ascending column of air they rose rapidly, apparently
without effort, as a balloon might rise, being now and again
lost to view in the fleecy folds of ascending vapor, until
within an incredibly short space of time they emerged above
the clouds, into a higher region of absolute clearness, say
three miles above the earth. Here they must have found
themselves well above and quite free from the lower currents
of air which had plagued them, for now they sailed straight
to the westward, descended and: glided triumphantly homeward
on the wings of their ancient enemy, the southwest gale! "I
do not think that more than thirty minutes had elapsed from
the time the Condors gave up the fight till they were safely
at roost in their rookery; yet these birds must have
traveled somewhere from fifty to seventy miles to accomplish
their purpose, and the whole performance took place without
the flap of a wing."
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Variety of vertebrates and
invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forage on land while walking slowly
|
|
Habitat
|
Prairies, wetlands, tundra
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Winters in California, Arizona, New
Mexico, Texas
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Courtship: Of this interesting
performance, he goes on to say:
The end of May draws near, and the
full tide of their spring fever causes these birds to render
themselves preeminently ludicrous by the queer antics and
performances which the crane's own book of etiquette
doubtless rules to be the proper thing at this mad season. I
have frequently lain in concealment and watched the birds
conduct their affairs of love close by, and it is an
interesting as well as amusing sight. Some notes jotted down
on the spot will present the matter more vividly than I can
describe from memory, and I quote them. On May 18, I lay in
a hunting blind, and was much amused by the performance of
two cranes, which alighted near by. The first comer remained
alone but a short time, when a second bird came along,
uttering his loud note at short intervals, until he espied
the bird on the ground, when he made a slight circuit, and
dropped close by. Both birds then joined in a series of loud
rolling cries in quick succession. Suddenly the newcomer,
which appeared to be a male, wheeled his back toward the
female and made a low bow, his head nearly touching the
ground, and ending by a quick leap into the air; another
pirouette brings him facing his charmer, whom he greets with
a still deeper bow, his wings meanwhile hanging loosely by
his sides. She replies by an answering bow and hop, and then
each tries to outdo the other in a series of spasmodic hops
and starts, mixed with a set of comically grave and
ceremonious bows. The pair stood for some moments bowing
right and left, when their legs appeared to become envious
of the large share taken in the performance by the neck, and
then would ensue a series of stilted hops and skips which
are more like the steps of a burlesque minuet than anything
else I can think of. Frequently others joins and the dance
keeps up untill all are exhausted.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Variety of vertebrates and
invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages on land while walking slowly
|
|
Habitat
|
Prairies, wetlands, tundra
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Very isolated areas; winters New
Mexico, Texas; breeds in northern Canada
|
|
Breeding
|
Breeds in colonies. Endangered
species. Current (2000) population under 200.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Fastidious - in this case,
selective
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: The whooping
crane is not at all fastidious in its diet; it is quite
omnivorous
and eats a great variety of both animal and vegetable food.
Audubon
(1840) supposed that the sandhilll
cranes were the young of the
whooping cranes, so some of his remarks may apply to either
species; but he says that: Both old and young may be seen
digging through the mud before the rains have begun to cover
the shallow ponds with water, for during summer they become
almost dry. The birds work very assiduously with their
bills, and succeed in uncovering the large roots of the
great water lily, which often run to a depth of 2 or 3 feet.
Several cranes are seen in the same hole, tugging at roots
and other substances, until they reach the object of their
desire, which they greedily devour.
His plate illustrates a whooping crane
killing young alligators. Nuttall
(1834) writes:
In the winter season, dispersed from
their native haunts in quest of subsistence, they are often
seen prowling in the low grounds and rice fields of the
Southern States in quest of insects, grain, and reptiles;
they swallow also mice, moles, rats, and frogs with great
avidity, and may therefore be looked upon at least as very
useful scavengers.
They are also at times killed as game, their flesh being
well flavored, as they do not subsist so much upon fish as
many other birds of this family.
In the fall whooping cranes resort to
the grain fields and feed among the stubble, with the
sandhill cranes, on various kinds of grains. They are also
said to eat vegetables, plants, bulbous roots, snakes,
frogs, mice, tadpoles, snails, slugs, worms, grasshoppers,
and sometimes a few fish.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Fresh water snails.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages for snails
|
|
Habitat
|
Marsh
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
In the United States it is found only
in the state of Florida
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Bent speaks of the Limpkin being
almost extinct in 1902. With protection throughout most of
the twentieth century the species has made a good recovery.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
"The voice of one crying in the
wilderness" is the first impression one gets of this curious
bird in the great inland swamps of Florida. While exploring
the intricate channels, half choked with aquatic vegetation,
that wound their way among the willow islands in the
extensive marshes of the upper St. Johns, we frequently
heard and occasionally caught a glimpse of this big, brown,
rail-like bird; it peered and nodded at us from the shore of
some little island, or went flying off with deliberate wing
beats over the tops of the bushes; once one perched on the
top of a small willow and looked at us.
The limpkin, or crying bird, as it has
been called most appropriately, was once very abundant in
Florida, but for the past 40 years or more it has been
steadily decreasing in numbers. It is so tame and
unsuspicious, almost foolishly so, and it flies so slowly,
that it has been an easy mark for the thoughtless gunner who
shoots at every large bird he sees, especially if it is good
to eat. The flesh of the limpkin has been much esteemed as
food and in many places it. has been hunted as a game bird.
It was decidedly scarce when I was in Florida, in 1902, and
had practically disappeared from all regions within easy
reach of civilization.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Invertebrates; opportunistic feeder of
garbage.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Very opportunistic feeder. Is able to
easily find food in parks and other urban settings.
|
|
Habitat
|
Generally found in water areas;
especially fond of parks, and areas near human habitation
where people provide opportunities for it to scavenge food.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout the United States. In some
urban areas is considered a pest as its numbers increase in
respect to free food left by people. Known to be a pest
especially around golf courses.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
The following incident is related by
Moses Williams, Jr., in a letter to Dr. Charles W. Townsend:
An eagle after putting a large flock
of ducks and geese to flight in the usual way, approached a
flock of some 200 coots. They crowded together so that from
our boat they appeared to be a solid black mass. When he
came over them, he dropped from a height of about 25 yards
to within a few feet. He did not swoop, but rather,
comparatively slowly, pointed his flight downward.
Immediately the coots set up such a splashing that the black
spot was converted into a mass of white spray. The eagle
hovered over them for a moment, apparently looking for an
individual to strike at and then passed on. The splashing
ceased only to begin again as he turned and again stooped
and the same thing happened three more times and then the
eagle gave it up and in two minutes the coots were again in
open formation and swimming about and feeding in their usual
animated way. We were all quite sure that the flock made no
attempt to get away, but did their splashing throughout on
the same spot. It seemed to me a very intelligent
performance on the part of a bird, which could not escape by
flying or diving as the other fowl can.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Mostly vegetation with some
invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Using its long toes is able to walk
along lilies and other vegetation to acquire food in areas
where other birds cannot feed.
|
|
Habitat
|
Freshwater marsh,
primarily.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Eastern United States and pockets in
the west.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Formerly called the Common Gallinule -
the name that A.C. Bent uses in his notes below.
Dr. Alexander Wetmore - formerly
worked with the US Biological Survey and the
Smithsonian Museum.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: Gallinules seek their food among
the aquatic vegetation where they live. Their long toes
enable them to walk with ease over the lily pads, where they
may be seen picking up their food from the surface; they can
also swim and dive, if necessary to secure it, or travel and
climb with ease among the denser vegetation. Their food
consists of seeds, roots, and soft parts of succulent water
plants, snails and other small mollusks, grasshoppers, and
various other insects and worms. Dr.
Alexander Wetmore (1916) found
that, in Puerto Rico, 96.75 per cent of their food was
vegetable, grass and rootlets forming 90.75 per cent and the
other 6 per cent consisting of seeds of grasses and various
weeds, much of which must have been picked up on dry land.
The remaining 3.25 per cent was made up of insects and a few
small mollusks.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Primarily vegetation with some
invertebrates
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Walks in inaccessible areas using its
long toes to walk on lilies and other vegetation.
|
|
Habitat
|
Freshwater marsh, primarily. Numbers
decreasing due to decreasing habitat.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Southeast coast from Florida to Texas.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Food: Very little has been published
about the food of the purple gallinule. Mr. Wayne (1910)
says that it "feeds largely upon rice during the autumn." It
certainly frequents the rice fields at that season and is
said to do much damage to the rice crop, for it not only
picks up grains from the ground but bends down the stalks to
reach the seeds. Mr. J. G. Wells (1902) says that, in the
West Indies, "they are caught in fish-pots baited with corn"
and that "they do damage to the Indian corn, as they climb
up the stalks and eat the ears; they also climb and eat
plantains and bananas." Probably they live chiefly on
grains, seeds, and other vegetable food, but there is some
evidence that they also eat snails, and perhaps insects.
Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884) say:
"Worms, mollusks, and the fruit of
various kinds of aquatic plants are its food. It gathers
seeds and carries them to its beak with its claws, and it
also makes use of them in clinging to the rushes where the
water is very deep."
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Walks through the vegetation of a
marsh using its long toes to gain access to areas and picks
up food with its beak.
|
|
Habitat
|
Fresh water marsh.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
; juvenile lacks the yellow
bill and has generally buffy feathers.
|
|
Distribution
|
Found throughout the United
States.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
Compared to other rail species, the
Sora Rail is seen more often in the open as it looks for
food.
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
The sora or Carolina rail is
unquestionably the rail of North America. It is the most
widely distributed and the best known of its tribe.
Throughout its wide breeding range its cries are among the
most characteristic voices of the marshes. During some part
of the year it is more or less common in practically every
Province in Canada, every State in the United States, and in
much of Central America and the West Indies. It is the most
popular of the rails among sportsman and, when one speaks of
rail shooting, he generally refers to this species. Being a
prolific breeder, it is astonishingly abundant in favored
localities during the fall migration.
The sora like the other rails, is a
denizen of the cozy marsh; and for this reason it has
continued to live and breed in the midst of civilization
long after so many of the wilder and shyer birds have been
driven away. Man clears away the forests, cultivates the
prairies, cleans up the bushy hillsides and mows the meadow
hay, forcing the birds that live there to move elsewhere;
but he dislikes the quaking bog, which is perhaps too low to
drain, and so he leaves it until the last, when the land
becomes valuable enough to fill in for houselots. Many such
little swamps and bogs, which had long persisted near the
heart of some big city, have been filled in within my
memory. And the rails, Virginia and sora, have stuck to them
to the last; so well hidden were they in the seclusion of
the marsh, that they little cared for the activities of
civilization so close around them; the marsh was their world
and supplied all their needs.
In my college days, in the late
eighties, such a bog still existed near the center of
Brookline, where a friend and I used to wade around in the
mud up to our waists, collecting rails eggs; then, dripping
with mud and water, we would return to his house, jump into
the bath tub with our clothes on and wash off the mud, much
to his mother's disgust. In those days the Fresh Pond
marshes in Cambridge were an oasis of wilderness in a desert
of civilization and both the Virginia and sora rails nested
there in abundance. Both of these marshes were filled in and
obliterated by human "improvements."
As late as 1908, Mr. J. A. Weber
(1909) found both Virginia
and sora rails nesting on the
northern portion of the Manhattan Island in New York City.
He writes:
The marshes inhabited by the rails are
situated at the northern portion of Manhattan Island and
extend northward and eastward from the foot of the hill at
Fort George (One hundred and ninetieth Street and Amsterdam
Avenue). These marshes formerly lined the shore of the
Harlem River, but through street improvements have been
separated from the river and cut up into small
areas.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Walks through the vegetation of a
marsh using its long toes to gain access to areas and picks
up food with its beak.
|
|
Habitat
|
Fresh water marsh. The smallest of the
rails in the United States. Probably the most difficult to
find. Does vocalize a lot which aids finding them. As with
other rails its habitat is disappearing quickly.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Found only in small pockets throughout
the United States. Found along the east and southeast coasts
and in select areas along the pacific coast.
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Although the little black rail was
discovered in Jamaica in 1760 and received its scientific
name in 1788, it was not discovered in the United States
until 1836, when Audubon
(1840) described and figured it from specimens given him by
Titian R. Peale. Practically nothing was known about its
distribution and habits in North America for 100 years after
its discovery in Jamaica. For a full account of the early
history of this species I would refer the reader to Dr. J.
Allen's (1900) interesting paper, in which is told about all
that was known about it up to that time. Much has been
learned about it since and many of its nests have been
found, but its distribution and life history are still
imperfectly known and specimens of the bird are still rare
in collections. Owing to its secretive habits, it is seldom
seen, and it is probably much commoner and more widely
distributed than is generally supposed. William Brewster's
(1901) interesting paper on the "Kicker" furnishes some food
for thought and some suggestions for solving "an
ornithological mystery." I have no doubt that the black rail
breeds in some of the marshes of southeastern Massachusetts;
in fact, a nest is said to have been found in Chatham; but
though I have explored many miles of marshes and spent many
hours in the search, I have never seen a trace of this
elusive little bird.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small invertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Walks through the vegetation of a
marsh using its long toes to gain access to areas and picks
up food with its beak.
|
|
Habitat
|
Fresh water marsh.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Throughout much of the US - winters
along both coasts
|
|
Breeding
|
Nests in marsh
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
The Virginia rail, like most of its
family, is rarely seen except by those who know its ways,
and, even when heard, its strange noises are often
attributed to frogs or other creatures. One who has seen
only the usual short and feeble flights of this bird would
receive with astonishment, if not with incredulity, the
statement that some individuals migrate annually many
hundreds of miles. Such, however, must be the case, for the
Virginia rail winters but sparsely north of North Carolina
and it breeds as far north as Quebec and even
Manitoba.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
Small invertebrates and some small
mammals and other vertebrates.
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
Forages along the ground - stalking
its prey
|
|
Habitat
|
Salt water marsh.
|
|
Plumage
|
The
male and the female have the same plumage.
|
|
Distribution
|
Primarily along the Pacific and
Atlantic coast
|
|
Breeding
|
Nest is placed on the ground at the
high tide mark.
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
Its very long and unwebbed toes make
large chicken-like tracks spaced about 10 inches apart in
the soft mud of the slough banks, and these are very easy to
recognize. The voice, too, is characteristic. It is a harsh,
mechanical cackling: "chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck," or
"cheek-a-cheek-a-check ": uttered rapidly for several
seconds and sounding as if two or more birds rather than a
single one were participating in its production. When
flushed this rail jumps almost straight up into the air for
6 or 8 feet and then flies off in a clumsy manner, its
short, narrow wings moving at the rate of two or three beats
per second. These flights are usually short, the bird soon
dropping down again into the protection of the marsh
vegetation. Like all rails, the clapper rail is, when need
be, very skillful at keeping out of sight. Sometimes
individuals appear shy, flushing at a distance, or running
toward the denser vegetation at great speed, with lowered
head and elusive mien; at other times they walk out into the
open in bottoms of sloughs at close range and view the
intruder seemingly with perfect equanimity. They have a long
running stride, and the body is held close to the ground.
The narrowly compressed body enables them to slip easily
between the rigid upright stems of a sort of rush which
grows in thick beds along the larger salt sloughs. If not
thoroughly alarmed, rails will sometimes stop or hesitate on
open ground, when the peculiar twitching movement of the
tail may be clearly seen. This member is held vertically and
the twitching of it is rendered conspicuous because of the
white color flashed from the undertail coverts. When
walking, the head and tail twitch forward in unison with
each stride. When thoroughly alarmed this rail will take to
water and swim considerable distances, as, in one observed
instance, across a 30-foot slough.
|
|
Name
|
|
|
Food
|
|
|
Feeding
Techniques
|
|
|
Habitat
|
|
|
Plumage
|
|
|
Distribution
|
|
|
Breeding
|
|
|
About the Notes
from A.C. Bent
|
|
|
Notes from A.C.
Bent
|
|