130 



GREAT WHITE HERON— ALBATROSS— SKUA— GOLDFINCH. 



when they break the stillness by hoarse and rattling croaks. 

 When disturbed they rise heavily from the ground, and slowly 

 circling upward attain great altitudes. According to Dr. Coues, 

 " thousands of Sandhill Cranes repair each year to the Colorado 

 river valley, flock succeeding flock along the course of the great 

 stream from their arrival in September until their departure the 

 following spring. Taller than the Wood Ibises, or the largest 

 Herons with which they are associated, the stately birds stand in 

 the foreground of the scenery of the valley, the water now reflect- 

 ing the shadow of their broad wings, then the clear blue sky ex- 

 hibiting in outline their commanding forms. Such ponderous 

 bodies moving with slow-beating wings, give a great idea of mo- 

 mentum from mere weight, of force of motion without swiftness ; 

 for they plod along heavily, seeming to need every inch of their 

 ample wings to sustain themselves. One would think they must 

 soon alight fatigued with such exertion, but the raucus cries con- 

 tinue, and the birds fly on for miles along the tortuous stream, in 

 Indian file, under some trusty leader, who croaks his hoarse 

 orders, implicitly obeyed. Each bird keeps his place in the ranks ; 

 the advancing column now rises higher over some suspected spot, 

 now falls along an open, sandy reach, swaying meanwhile to the 

 right or left. As it passes on, the individual birds are blended in 

 the hazy distance, till, just before lost to view, the line becomes 

 like an immense serpent gliding mysteriously through the air. 

 When about to alight, fearful lest the shadow of the wood harbor 

 unseen dangers, the Cranes pass by the leafy intricacies where the 

 Ibises and other less suspicious birds feed, and choose a spot for the 

 advantage it may offer of uninterrupted vision. By nature one of 

 the most wary and discreet of birds, his experience has taught the 

 Crane to value this gift and put it to the best use. His vigilance 

 is rarely relaxed, even when he is feeding where less thoughtful 

 birds would feel perfectly secure. After almost every bending of 

 his long neck to the ground, he rises again and at full length glances 

 keenly on every side. He may resume his repast, but should so 

 much as a speck he can not account for appear in view, he stands 

 motionless, all attention. Now let the least sound or movement 

 betray an unwelcome visitor, he bends his muscular thighs, spreads 

 his ample wings, and springs heavily into the air, croaking dis- 

 mally in warning to all his kind within the far-reaching sound of 

 his voice. 



Great White Heron. (Audubonia occidentalism) 



Fig. 2. 



The Great White Heron is a constant resident of Florida and 

 Cuba. He selects his mate early in March, but it is fully six weeks 

 later before preparations are made for hatching the young. His 

 nest is seldom more than a few feet above high-water mark, is 

 about three feet in diameter, formed of sticks of various dimen- 

 sions, is several inches thick, quite flat, and with scarcely any 

 lining. The eggs are always three ; are of a uniform light bluish- 

 green in color, and measure about 2.75 by 1.67 inches. Incuba- 

 tion extends over a period of thirty days, and the male shares in 

 its labors. He is diurnal in his habits, and never leaves his fishing 

 ground until driven off by the tide. In fishing, he stands motion- 

 less, waiting for his prey to approach, when he strikes it with his 

 bill and swallows it alive, unless too large, in which case he beats 

 it on the water, shaking it violently. He is very shy and wary, 

 and rarely occupies the same roosting place two nights in succes- 

 sion. When roosting, he usually stands upon one foot, with his 

 long neck drawn in and placed under his wing. When surprised, 

 he leaves his roost, uttering a rough croaking sound, and flies long 

 distances out to sea. His flight is firm, regular, and greatly pro- 4 

 tracted, and is performed by slow and regular beatings of the wing. 

 He frequently rises high in the air, sailing in wide circles, and he 

 never alights without first performing this circling flight, unless 

 when approaching his feeding ground. Audubon gives an account 



of two kept in confinement ; each one would in a few minutes con- 

 sume a gallon of fish. They would strike at children ; grown fowls 

 and ducks they would tear up and devour. Once a cat, asleep in 

 the sunshine, was instantly killed by one of these birds. When 

 their bills became broken they would grow again. At last they 

 began to pursue children, when they had to be killed. 



PLATE LXXXVI. 



Yellow-nosed Albatr06S. (Diomedea chlororhynchos.) 



Fig. 1. 



We include this bird on the bare possibility of his belonging to 

 North America. Audubon received a skin from Dr. Townsend, 

 who procured it in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the mouth of the 

 Columbia river. Baird gives his habitat as the Pacific ocean, and 

 coast of Oregon. Dr. Coues says "it is the D. culminata, a 

 species of Australian and other southern seas, said to have been 

 taken ' not far from the Columbia river,' but there is no reason, as 

 yet, to believe it ever comes within a thousand miles of this coun- 

 try.'" 



Common Skua. (JStercorarius catarractes.) 



Fig. 2. 



The Common Skua is a rare bird in the United States, and is 

 only found on the coast of California. He is found in all parts of 

 the northern seas, within and near the polar circle. He is very 

 powerful, both in his wing and beak, and during his breeding sea- 

 son does not hesitate to attack the Eagle. It is claimed that it is 

 even dangerous for man to go near the nest which contains his 

 young ; and when country people are compelled to do so, they 

 carry long sticks, armed with pikes or spears on the top, on which 

 the Skua frequently transfixes himself in his furious descent. He 

 attacks other birds indiscriminately, when on the wing, making 

 them disgorge their food, which he seizes before it reaches the 

 water. There is every reason to believe that he chooses his mate 

 for life. The nest is rudely formed ; the eggs are rarely more than 

 two, varying in different shades of olive, and are marked with a 

 few spots. He is not a sociable bird, rarely keeping company with 

 other than his life-long spouse. His voice is sharp and shrill, the 

 note resembling S-k-u-a, from whence his name. 



PLATE LXXXVII. 



Arkansas Goldfinch. (Chrysomitris psaltria.) 



Fig. i. 



This Goldfinch inhabits the territory lying between the southern 

 Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast, extending north to Salt 

 Lake City. His nest is built in the branches of some small tree, 

 usually about ten feet from the ground. It is a very beautiful struc- 

 ture, symmetrical in form, and very ingeniously fitted to the 

 branches which sustain it. Its base is composed of fine vegetable 

 cottons, grasses, and strips of bark, densely felted together, and 

 lined with the softest vegetable down. The eggs vary from four 

 to five in number, rounded oval in shape, sharply pointed at one 

 end, of a uniform greenish-white, unspotted, and measure about 

 .60 by .50 of an inch. His song is remarkable for the power and 

 sadness of its tone. The ordinary note it is impossible to describe, 

 it resembling a plaintive, mellow whistle ; when he takes to flight, 



