LONG-TAILED duck— barred owl. 



& 



tree, the nests differing in nothing from those of other Hawks. 

 The female lays two and sometimes three dirty white eggs, which 

 are disproportionately thick on the round end and suddenly taper- 

 ing to a point. The flight of this Hawk is a sailing in circles, or 

 a skimming near the ground in search of prey, at which he darts 

 with great celerity either on the ground or on the wing. It is a real 

 curiosity to see him pick up a bird, when flying near the ground, 

 so quickly that it is seldom noticed when he stoops and clutches it, 

 as he seems to fly along as if nothing of the kind had happened. 

 His long and expanded tail serves him as an excellent rudder, when 

 threading dense woods, which he performs with great dexterity. 

 When resting he assumes a very erect position. The young of 

 the first season are destitute of the fine zigzag markings on the 

 breast and belly ; but each feather is marked with a broad longi- 

 tudinal streak of dark brown, while the head is of the same color 

 without distinctness in the markings. 



PLATE XXI. 



The Long-tailed Duck. (Harelda glacialis^ 



The Long-tailed Duck passes on the eastern coast of the United 

 States under the name of South-Southerly, from the singular re- 

 semblance of its cry to those words. The people inhabiting or 

 living near the coasts say that when these ducks are very clamor- 

 ous, it betokens a southerly wind or storm. In New Jersey and 

 in the State of New York they are usually called Oldwives. They 

 are a regular salt-water Duck, inhabiting bays and coasts only late 

 in the fall or in winter. They are rarely found in the marshes, and 

 very seldom ramble far from the sea, keeping always to the channel, 

 where they may be seen constantly diving for small shelled fish, 

 which seem to be their principal food. When passing from one 

 bay to another, often in large flocks, their loud and clamorous cry 

 can be heard at a great distance, especially toward evening. They 

 are lively and restless, and in their swift flight usually make but 

 short excursions. They inhabit corresponding latitudes in both 

 America and Europe, where great numbers of them remain the 

 whole winter, or rather, the whole year round, only a few of them, 

 comparatively speaking, wandering off toward the south in the 

 cold season. Flocks of these Ducks have been found, in the 

 months of October, November, December, January, February, and 

 March, in the Orkney islands. They have also been frequently 

 found in Sweden, Lapland, and Russia. 



One of their chief breeding-places is Hudson's Bay. They make 

 their nests among the long grass near the sea ; these are composed 

 of dry rushes and grass, lined inside with a fine soft down from the 

 breast of the female. Toward the middle of June, the latter lays 

 from ten to fourteen bluish white eggs, of about the size of those 

 of a pullet. The young, as soon as they are hatched, follow their 

 mother to the water, never returning to the nest again. 



On the whole, the Long-tailed Ducks are pretty hardy birds 

 and most excellent divers. Their flesh is not held in great esteem, as 

 it is rather dry, and has, besides, a sedgy taste. Their feathers, and 

 especially those of the breast, and their down, are of the best qual- 

 ity for bedding. 



The wind-pipe of this Duck is similar to that of other Ducks, 

 and rather curiously formed ; the labyrinth is large and is partly 

 of a circular form, and the wind-pipe immediately above it has an 

 expansion of double its usual diameter, which continues for about 

 an inch and a half. This is flattened on the side next the breast, 

 making an oblong space like a window, which is crossed with fine 

 narrow bars, and covered with a thin semi-transparent skin. A 

 similar skin is spread over the external side of the labyrinth. This 

 singular conformation is, as in all other Ducks, peculiar to the 

 males of this species, which have the wind-pipe of nearly the 

 same thickness throughout. On dissection the length of the intes- 



tine was found to be five feet and seven inches, and the liver rather 

 large. 



On our plate the full-plumaged male is represented on the right 

 hand, giving a side view, while the female pilots her young about 

 on the water. Both male and female are in their summer dress. 

 On the left hand of our plate the male and female Long-tailed 

 Duck are represented in their winter dress. 



In conclusion, it may be remarked that the singular voice of this 

 Duck was supposed by some Ornithologists to be occasioned by 

 the peculiar construction of its wind-pipe ; but this can not be the 

 case, for the simple reason that the female of this species is the 

 most noisy, and yet is partially destitute of that peculiarly formed 

 wind-pipe. 



PLATE XXII. 



The Barred Owl. (Syrnium nebulosum^) 



This is one of our most common Owls, and more frequently than 

 any other is seen late in the fall or in winter, especially near the 

 borders of creeks or rivers, or near swamps bordered by woods. 

 In summer it is generally found in dense forests, flying about from 

 place to place during the entire day, seeming not to be a nocturnal 

 bird, but to see better in the day-time than any other Owl. It is by 

 no means a shy bird, but will often, at night, come close to a lonely 

 camp-fire, exposing itself to the glare of the fire, without showing 

 the slightest token of alarm. It will turn its unusually thick head 

 toward you, and scrutinize you with its large black eyes. In Louis- 

 iana these Owls seem to be the most abundant, and in passing 

 through the dense woods the traveler may often count six or eight 

 in the distance of a few miles, and at the approach of night, their 

 cries can be heard from every patch of woods near the plantations. 

 In dark and cloudy days, indicating an approaching rain-storm, 

 their cries are multiplied during the day, and are louder than usual. 

 On the coming on of a storm, they respond to each other in such 

 unearthly and strange tones, that one can not help thinking that 

 something extraordinary is taking place among them. Their mo- 

 tions and gesticulations are, on such occasions, stranger and more 

 lively than usual. On approaching the bird, it at once changes 

 its perpendicular position to a horizontal one, throwing the lateral 

 feathers of the head forward, so as to make it appear as if sur- 

 rounded by a broad ruff, moving it round, and backward and for- 

 ward so quickly as to cause it to look as if it were dislocated from 

 the body. All motions of the intruder are looked at with eyes that 

 seem as if they were half-blind, and with a suspicion of treacher- 

 ous intentions. The bird flies off to a short distance, alighting 

 with its back toward the intruder, but immediately turns to begin its 

 scrutiny anew. If you do not shoot at it, you may follow it in this 

 way for a long distance ; but if shot at and not wounded, it will 

 fly off to such a distance that you will lose sight of it, though you 

 may hear its pompously uttered " wha, wha, wha," from time to 

 time. 



. The flight of this Owl is light, smooth, and perfectly noiseless, 

 so much so that not the slightest rustling of the wings can be 

 heard, even if it flies only a couple of yards above your head. If 

 the occasion requires it, their flight can be greatly protracted, as 

 they have been noticed to fly on one stretch a distance of over two 

 miles. The writer has noticed the Barred Owl several times in the 

 day-time sailing about in the air in small circles, in a manner sim- 

 ilar to the hawk, rising to a great height and then flying off to a 

 distance, in an irregular zigzag line, while briskly flapping its 

 wings. He also several times found the nest of that Owl contain- 

 ing eggs, the number of which, when the bird was sitting, was 

 invariably three. These were of the size of a hen's egg, but 

 more globular, and had a coarse rough shell of a pure white color. 

 All the nests found were snugly built in the fork of some large 

 tree, and among its thick foliage. The nelst was, however, rudely 



