i64 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



of a good horse or gun, ami such 

 accoutrements. Amongst the 

 great and little Osages, and those 

 nations inhabiting tlie coinitries 

 wheie the bird is moie rarely 

 seen, the price is even double 

 of that above-mentioned. With 

 these feathers the natives decorate 

 the stems of their sacred pipes or 

 calumets, from whence the name 

 of the calumet eagle is derived. 

 The Ricaras have domesticated 

 this bird in many instances, for 

 the purpose of obtaining its plu- 

 mage. The natives, on every 

 part of the continent, who can 

 procure the featheis, attach them 

 to their own hair, and the manes 

 and tails of their favourite horses, 

 by way of ornament. They also 

 decorate their war cape or l)on- 

 nets with the^e feathers. 



As to the aquatic birds of this 

 country, we have to repeat the 

 remark, that, as we remained 

 near the coast during the winter 

 only, many birds, common both 

 in the summer and autumn, 

 might have retired from the cold, 

 and been lost to our observation. 

 'tVe saw, however. 



The large blue and l)rown 

 heron : the fishing hawk ; the 

 blue-crested fisher ; several spe- 

 cies of gulls ; the cormorant ; two 

 species of loons ; brant of two 

 kinds ; geese ; swan ; and several 

 upecies of ducks. 



1. The large blue and brown 

 herons, or cranes, as they are 

 usually termed in the United 

 .States, are found on the Colum- 

 bia below tide-water. They differ 

 in no respect from the same spe- 

 cies of bird in the United States. 

 T)ie same may Ue observed of 



'2. The fishing hawk, with the 

 crown of the head white, and the 

 back of a mealy white, and 



3. Of the blue-crested or king- 

 fisher, both of which are found 

 every-where on the Columbia and 

 its tributary waters ; though the 

 fishing hawk is not abundaiit, 

 particularly in the mountains. 



4. Of gulls, we have remarked 

 four species on the coast and the 

 river, all common to the United 

 States. 



.">. The cormorant is, properly 

 speaking, a large black duck that 

 feeds on fish. Captain Lewis 

 could perceive no difference be- 

 tween this bird and those ducks 

 which inhabit the Fotomack and 

 other rivers on the Atlantic coast. 

 He never remembered to have 

 seen those inhabiting the Atlantic 

 states, so high up the river as 

 they have been found in this 

 quarter. We first discovered the 

 corvus on the Kooskooskee, at 

 the entrance of Chopunnish river : 

 they increased in numbers as we 

 descended, and formed much the 

 greatest portion of the water- fowl 

 which we saAv until we reached 

 the Columbia at the entrance of 

 the . tides. They abound even 

 here, but bear no proportion to 

 the numbei- of other water-fowl 

 seen at this place. 



6". The loon : there are two 

 sp«cies of loons : the speckled 

 loon, found on every part of the 

 rivers of this country. They are 

 of the same size, coloiir and form , 

 with those of the /Atlantic coast. 



The second species we found at 

 the Falls of the Columbia, and 

 from thence downwards to the 

 ocean. This bird is not more than 

 half the size of the speckled loon ; 

 the neck is, in front, long, slender 

 and white : the plumage on the 

 body and l)ack of the head and 

 neck are of a dun or ash colour : 

 th« breast and belly are white, 



the 



