Jan. 39, 1885.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



hqal j§i$torg* 



SNAPPING TURTLES. 



IT is not easy to learn much about the Chdydra serpentina. 

 Nor are there many who care to know particularly 

 about bis habits. If he will only leave our young ducks and 

 goslings alone and make no inroads upon our fish ponds we 

 are satisfied. 



But so far as the writer has observed, the difficulty of 

 studying the habits of the snapping turtle in his native 

 haunts comes from the fact that not only is he naturally shy, 

 but also that his life is spent so much beueath the surface of 

 the water. So much more we might say than the life of 

 most reptiles, and particularly his congener, the painted 

 turtle, that is so fond of sunning himself on all the old logs. 



It is not so with Chelydra serpentina. This kind of enjoy- 

 ment in the open air is opposed to his nature, and we think 

 for one of the best of reasons. The locality where we have 

 studied the ways of this turtle the most was on a large marsh 

 bordering Lake Ontario in Jefferson county, N. Y., near the 

 place where life saving station No. 1 now stands. Here this 

 turtle abounds. He usually makes his appearance about the 

 middle of May, sometimes earlier, sometimes later; much 

 depends upon the season. The first one caught last spriug 

 was on the 10th of May. The earliest indication that we 

 have of his "being around," is to find him in the fyke nets. 

 These nets are set in the ponds and creeks of the marsh, and 

 the moment that ft serpentina is astir he seeks to establish 

 himself in the funnel of one of them. And, of course, when 

 he is there neither perch, bullhead, nor pickerel are allowed 

 to find their way iuto the cod or purse. The most we. have 

 ever heard the. fisherman say of him, however, was that "he 

 would not let the fish go in." This seems to be their opinion. 

 But we think there is a reason for his establishing himself 

 here. His idea is to fill his hungry maw after the winter's 

 fast. And he seeks to do this, like creatures of more reason, 

 at the least expense of crawling or labor. But certain it is, 

 there is no chance of fish finding their way to the cod while 

 he stands guard at the entrance. 



About the first of June, the females crawl out of the marsh 

 to deposit their eggs. They are not so particular about 

 where they make their deposit, as they are to find a warm 

 and dry place, where there is a soft loam or sand that does 

 not retain moisture long. To find such a locality they will 

 make quite long journeys. Last spring my friend Mr. F. 

 M. Noble, who has always been more or less a student of 

 nature, found an immense one in his garden looking for such 

 a place. 



This turtle must have crawled over three hundred yards 

 from the water and up hill at that, though we have known 

 them to make much longer journeys. One was found a few 

 years since in this vicinity that must have traveled nearly 

 half a mile to find a sand hill. It is the nearness and dry- 

 ness of the beach upon which Life Saving Station No.'l 

 stands I hat makes it such a favorite resort for turtles, 



When tUey make their appearance, the backs of the older 

 ones are covered with patches of algae. On some of them 

 these patches are quite large aud the algse quite long. Hence 

 they are called "mossbacks" by the "people living in the 

 neighborhood. As you see soi»« of feWm c.iimbir. s ' ap i\u; 

 banks or coming Cowl,, you might suppose that a piece of 

 old. log or a boulder had taken to itself legs and gone on a 

 pilgrimage. 



Their walk is ungainly in the extreme. The head is 

 lifted, the tail drags, the legs are raised seemingly to keep 

 the body as far as possible from the sand. When they are 

 on these walking tours and a stick is pointed at them they at 

 once seize itin their powerful jawsaud allow themselves to be 

 dragged over the sand for a considerable distance before they 

 will let go. We have kuown this chaiacteristic of the snap- 

 per to afford the boys living in the neighborhood of their 

 haunts considerable amusement. The fun was to see whose 

 turtle would hold on the longest. If turned upon his 

 back it is with much difficulty and after many efforts that 

 the snapper can recover himself. 



But apart from the natural shyness of the snapping turtle, 

 we have always thought that the algre on their backs was 

 one reason why they were so seldom seen. Not only as it 

 helps to conceal them in the marsh, but as they cannot ex- 

 pose themselves to the direct rays of the sun, on logs or land 

 like other turtles. And again, as we find them so careful as 

 a general thing in the time they select for laying their eggs, 

 on cloudy days or immediately after a shower," or at night. 

 Though there is another reason why they should come out 

 of the marsh in such numbers immediately after a shower. 

 The sand is then wet and will not cave in as they dig, and it 

 can be packed. For the sand along this beach is remarka- 

 bly fine, and blows and drifts at the least provocation. 



So far as our observation goes (and it is hard to observe 

 here, for this turtle is shy in every way), the hole is dug with 

 the hind foot, which serves as a kind of scoop, making the 

 excavation somewhat purse-shaped. The reason, we sup- 

 pose, that any have ever thought that this hole was made 

 with the tail is because the tail is bent down, perhaps to 

 serve as a prop to the binder parts, while the fore feet are 

 raised to their highest stretch, although the tail may be 

 used in the hard sand in some way, so as to let the foot into 

 the excavation. It is not impossible that its hard extremity 

 may perforate the sand so as to loosen it, and thus give the 

 hind foot a better chance to sink its claws in and scoop out 

 the hole. But of this we know little from actual observation. 

 We were speaking of the alga? on the backs of the snapper, 

 and the time they select for laying their eggs. There is no 

 doubt that the algse, as we have said, helps to conceal them, 

 and gives us a reason why they are not more frequently seen 

 in places where they abound. If they were to come out on 

 logs or land on a sunny day, the sun would dry up these 

 marks of antiquity on their backs and thus render their 

 shells uncomfortable. 



But so it is, that if we see one of these turtles at all after 

 the laying season is over, it is usually floating on the surface, 

 the feet moving occasionally to keep it up, with just its 

 nose (.beaks the fishermen call them) out of water or on 

 the bottom in a shallow pond, or mounted on a bunch of 

 water grass or lily-pads, which its weight sinks just below 

 the surface, and never on old logs. At'least, we have never 

 seen the snapping turtle in this position. 



Nor have we ever seen these algse growing on the backs of 

 snappers that lived in mud bogs or along the banks of slug- 

 gish streams or in ponds that did not abound more or less 

 with water plants. However, others have, and consequently 

 those that we have met may have only reached the age that 

 produces this growth. 



Of course they smell badly. Nor does this come altogether 

 from the algse. Though perhaps the more algse the more 



offensive. On the same principle do boys say, "The older 

 the Billy goat the stronger the smell." However, in propor- 

 tion to their size, perhaps, they do not smell so badly as the 

 little marsh or mud turtle, and it has algse on its back, too, 

 if we remember. 



The snapper is quite, careful in concealing the place where 

 she deposits her eggs. It is hard to find this spot. Not 

 simply because she paws or flattens the sand over the place, 

 but because she has the reputation of digging several 

 holes before her eggs are laid. However this maybe, it 

 sometimes requires the nose of a mink or a skunk to find 

 the right spot. From twenty to thirty eggs are usually laid; 

 may be more than thirty. Much depends no doubt upon the 

 age and size of the turtle. So far as we have learned they 

 arc all laid in one place and at one time, in a kind of purse- 

 shaped hole five or six inches deep, or as deep as the turtle 

 can sink her foot; though may be in different parts of our 

 country these habits may vary, as birds and animals are ac- 

 customed to accommodate themselves to their peculiar sur- 

 roundings. But thus it is we think with the snapper on this 

 beach. So that when the turtle returns to the marsh she 

 does not come out of it. again until the next summer; and 

 those who have seen the lily-pads flop up as though they 

 had been pulled at from below, and had a mere glimpse of 

 something like a sod disappearing beneath the weeds, have 

 seen the most that we see of the snapper, unless she be 

 caught on a hook or in a net after the laying season is over. 

 The young are hatched out in August and September. 

 They arc occasionally seen quite late iu September. May be 

 they were from the first eggs laid, and consequently at the 

 bottom of the excavation, and hence the last to find their 

 way to the surface; or may be they had been covered deeply 

 with drifted sand, which we think was most likely. 



We have not considered it necessary to say to the readers 

 of Forest and Stream that these" eggs from which the 

 young snappers come are about the size of a pigeon's egg, 

 only perfectly round and with quite, a shell on thetn — so 

 much so that the egg can be blown and still retain its spheri- 

 cal form. Of course it is the heat of the sun that hatches 

 them out. 



The moment the young are hatched they at once make 

 their way to the marsh. It is singular to notice how invari- 

 ably they do this; hardly ever turning toward the lake, 

 though it is quite as near to them as the flags and wild rice. 

 We do not remember in all our rambles of ever having seen 

 more than two or three turtles on the shore of the lake or 

 tossed up by its waters. 



When they are first hatched they are about the size of an 

 English penny, with a head and a tail that at once indicate 

 their species. We have never seen any but old ones and 

 those very young. 



The food of the ft serpentina is no doubt mostly animal 

 when they can secure it, though roots and grasses must com- 

 pose a part of their menu. We know they will receive a 

 vegetable diet from that careful student of nature, Dr. A. 

 K. Fisher. The doctor told the writer that, besides findiug 

 fish, frogs aud the remains of animal organisms in their 

 maws, he has also found skunk cabbage' and once elder- 

 berries. His elderberry story is one of those singular inci- 

 dents that naturalists occasionally meet with in their rambles. 

 The doctor was huuting on the edge of a bog. The bog 

 nt tub timo nearly dvy. So much so. that there was only a 

 little water in its wettest place. As he was on the lookout 

 for whatever might show itself, he saw the branch of an 

 elderberry bush pulled down and shaken, This led him to 

 wonder and then to examine. He approached very care- 

 fully, when to his astonishment what should he see but the 

 ugly head of a snapping turtle reached up to peck the over- 

 hanging bunches. Iu this we think the doctor is alone 

 among naturalists. He has seen a snapping turtle picking 

 berries, and that off of a bush. But animal food, as the 

 doctor says, is no doubt the favorite food of the snapper. 

 So we have always found it; be it flesh, fish or reptile. 

 Nothing we conceive that flies, or runs, or creeps, or swims, 

 or leaps, or crawls, goes amiss to him. It is all one to the 

 snapper, though perhaps he has a preference for young wild 

 ducks as a regular diet. But the worm upon the bait hook, 

 or the minnow upon the set line, or a fat water beetle, or the 

 larva of the corydalis, or dragon fly, or a fat bullfrog, or a 

 water snake, or a mud puppy, or a lizard, or a young musk- 

 rat, or even a little one of its own kind that may happen to 

 come within reach of his jaws, it is all the same, we think, 

 and they are relished more or less alike. 



In a former article to Forest and Stream, we were led 

 to speak of the injury that the snapper did to young wild 

 ducks. We had seen them destroy a coot, and had the testi- 

 mony of several farmers in respect to their losses in young 

 mallards and goslings. 



Now we have the witness of a friend in respect to their 

 fondness for the finny tribe, apart from Dr. Fisher's discov- 

 eries. The friend was out fishing one day when, as he passed 

 along the edge of the brook, what should he happen to spy 

 but a suapping turtle concealed in their usual way, under 

 the side of the bank, and partly covered by floating grasses 

 and weeds. Here was a chance for a little fun. He could 

 put a small fish on his line and just let it float down by the 

 snappiug turtle's nose. He did so, and the instant it came 

 within reach of his neck the snapper secured it. This is 

 their habit in brooks, to conceal themselves under the sides 

 of the bank or among the weeds, and make a strike for 

 everything that may come near them. 



On the first signs of frost the ft serpentina disappears. 

 He either buries himself in the mud or sinks himself down 

 among the flags and rushes. A singular incident illustrating 

 this habit occurred last spring on the very marsh of which 

 we have been speaking. 



An acquaintance of the writer was spearing muskrats on 

 this marsh, when, as he made his way among the dead flags 

 and rushes, he came across a small "feeding house." Think- 

 ing that possibly there might be a rat on the inside, he thrust 

 his spear in, down through the roofing and iuto the bog be- 

 low, until he thought he felt a rat's teeth grating on the spear 

 head. He must pull it out now. But here was the difficulty. 

 There was something on it. And it was heavy. What could 

 it be? Had he two rats? He must raise it carefully. He 

 did so. And what should he find when the spear came to 

 light but an immense snapper. The muskrats had built then- 

 house directly over the place where the turtle had buried 

 himself, and in thrusting the spear down it had gone through 

 the house until it lodged iu the turtle's shell. A. H. G. 



Pine Grosbeaks in Captivity.— Lancaster, N. H., Jan. 

 14. — Pine grosbeaks are very common here this winter. 

 They come because food is scarce in the northern regions. 

 They make a very nice cage bird. They become very tame 

 in a few days, and wili take their food from the hand in 

 three or four days.— S. J. G. 



THE BIRDS OF MICHIGAN. 



BV DR. MORRIS (ViBBS. 

 (Coniinued.) 



2. Hylociehla fuscesrens (Slcph.) Brd. — Wilson's thrush, 

 tawny thrush, veery. 



This agreeable songster reaches Kalamazoo county from 

 May 1 to 10, being one of the last of the family to make its 

 appearance. In Montcalm county it arrives considerably 

 later, the earliest date during several years being May 9, 

 while one season it, did not appear till the 17th. It is gener- 

 ally distributed, and is known to occur in nearly every part 

 of both the Upper and Lower Peninsula, and though not so 

 common as the last species, is still well known, but is rarely 

 seen by those not conversant with its habits because of its 

 retiring nature. 



It tea bird much oftener heard than seen, and so carefully 

 does it. generally keep concealed that few strollers observe it. 

 The question is frequently asked "What song is that?" by 

 persons who have heard the pleasing notes for years, but 

 have never seen the singer. One might hear the veery for 

 many seasons yet not get sight of the wary fellow if a thor- 

 ough search was not instituted in the brush and brambles. 



The song is a curious mixture of harmoniously blended 

 notes. One writer compares it to the sound of an iron rod 

 being rapidly drawn through an iron pipe, and this com- 

 parison, though apparently inconsistent, is not inappropri- 

 ate, for, though its notes are beautifully blended, there is a 

 peculiar metallic ring about the song readily observed by 

 the ear educated to detect bird songs. 



The sections in which the tawny thrush is generally 

 found are low, damp woods, though the males are often 

 observed perched oh trees or high ground, but its usual 

 haunts, in my experience, are the outskirts of woods sur- 

 rounding pools of stagnant water over which, from May to 

 September, hover myriads of mosquitoes. 



This thrush was not known to Sager, 1839, and has been 

 omitted from several lists since published, but is now known 

 to nearly all collectors in Michigan. 



At Idlewilde, a small summer resort in Wexford county, 

 the veerys were found i n great numbers, and the pleasing 

 but monotonous songs could be heard on every side. In 

 some localities the species is very common, again, whole sec- 

 tions may be hunted in vain for them. 



The nest of the Wilson's thrush is, so far as my know- 

 ledge goes, placed upon the ground or just above it, among 

 small supporting twigs and shoots, and is composed of mud, 

 leaves, grass and twigs. The eggs are laid about the 25th of 

 May or later. A nest that came under mj r notice in a dis- 

 mal, swampy locality in Ottawa county on June 4, 1878, 

 contained young several days old. This season was an 

 uiiusui'lly early one, however. In such a location the young 

 are raised, and I have found half-grown fledglings in a nest 

 so soggy that it could be stirred as easily as mortar, a result 

 of the damp surroundings and recent rains. 



Four eggs are usually laid, averaging a little smaller than 

 those of the wood thrush, and about the same shade of blue, 

 yet easily distinguishable by an oologi3t. 



With the completion of the nesting duties the singing 

 usually ceases, though a few songs are often heard in August, 

 but in a lower key. About the middle of September the 

 most of the birds depart for the south, a few remaining a 

 fortnight later. 



3. Hylociehla alicim Baird— Gray-cheeked thrush. 



Dr. Atkins of Locke has met with this specimen, and Mr. 

 F. H. Chapin of Kalamazoo has observed the graycheek. 

 It is probably not so rare as is generally supposed, but is 

 seldom identified by collectors, as it is so frequently con- 

 founded with the following species. It may be reasonable 

 to assume that this thrush is quite generally distributed 

 within our boundaries, although probably in limited num- 

 bers. Of its habits nothing has as yet been determined by 

 us. 



4. Hylociehla ustulata swainsoni (Oaban.) Ridg.— Olive- 

 backed thrush, Swainson's thrush, 



This is one of our rarer thrushes, and its habits are but 

 little known, even to the close observer. The information 

 as regards arrivals and departures during migrations is mea- 

 ger, for the species never appears in any numbers, and many 

 collectors pass an entire season in the woods without seeing 

 a specimen. It is a silent, retiring bird, and though a strag- 

 gler occasionally enters the city and remains some time in 

 private dooryards, it is as a rule scarcely seen. Arriving 

 from the south in the early part of May the olive-back leis 

 urely passes northward, but few remaining south of the 

 44th parallel. While migrating its presence is rarely de- 

 tected, except by chance or the closest search by the collector. 

 Although well distributed throughout the larger part of the 

 Lower Peni usula, it is only locally dispersed even in those 

 localities where it remains to breed." 



Cabot, in his list of birds of Lake Superior and vicinity, 

 and J. H. Steere, in his list of the birds of Sault Ste. Marie, 

 omit this species. It is, however, undoubtedly found in the 

 northern parts of the State during the nesting season, and 

 most certainly as a migrant. 



The nests are, so far as observations extend in the State, 

 placed in bushes a few feet from the ground. It has been 

 my good fortune to secure one set of eggs. The nest was 

 placed in a bush about four feet from the ground, and was 

 composed entirely of twigs, fibrous roots, bark and weed 

 strippings. The structure is much more artistic in work- 

 manship than the nests built by any others of the genus. 

 Less bulky than that of the familiar catbird, it is somewhat 

 similar in respect to material, and yet looks entirely different, 

 not being so compact, but far neater in appearance. 



Three "eggs, comprising a set taken in Kalamazoo county, 

 are faintly marked with obscure brown blotches, princi- 

 pally at the larger end; but in four eggs from Wexford 

 county, the entire surface is more or less thickly spotted with 

 umber. In ground color, the eggs more nearly resemble 

 those of the catbird than any other species, but are not of so 

 dark a shade of green. The Swainson's thrush is the only one 

 of the genus which lays spotted eggs. 



In the fall migrations, the birds are found in the southern 

 counties as late as Oct. 1, and a few stragglers occasionally 

 even later. This thrush is undoubtedly the most eccentric in 

 its geographical range of any in its family famed for migrat- 

 ing. We' learn that the olive-back is known to winter in 

 Venezuela, while its northern haunts extend (probably) 

 nearly to the Arctic circle. 



5. Hylociehla unalascce pallasi (Cab.), Ridgw. — Hermit 

 thrush, ruf us-tailed thrush. 



Next to the robin this is the first species to arrive in the 

 spring, and it occasionally appears as early as the last week 

 iu March, although the hermits are rarely seen iu any num- 

 bers till the middle of April, The species appear to migrate 

 with great deliberation, and specimens can often be found 



