NORTH AMERICA. 



107. 



Purple Gallinulc. 



flight through the reeds is exceedingly low, and they swim and dive with great rapidity. They 



are feeble and delicate in every thing but their legs, their 

 bodies being so remarkably thin, as to be less than an inch 

 and a quarter through transvei'sely, by wdiich means they 

 are enabled to pass between the reeds like rats. No one 

 can detect the fa-st moment of their arrival ; yet all at 

 once, the reedy shores, and grassy marshes of the large 

 rivers swarm with them ; thousands being sometimes found 

 within the space of a few acres. Yet on the first smart 

 frost that occurs, the whole suddenlj^ disappear, as if they 

 had never been. It is probable that they perform their 

 migrations in the night. 



The purple Gallinulc (Gallinula ■JMarthiica) . This 

 beautiful bird is a native of the southern part of the con- 

 tinent of America, though it occasionally visits the United 

 States. It is sometimes found in the rice fields and 

 marshes of Georgia, where it is supposed to breed. 



The common wild goose [Jlnser Canadensis) is well 

 known over all parts of North America, and its periodical 

 migrations are the sure signs of returning spring, or ap- 

 proaching winter. Wilson furnishes us with the following 

 beautiful account of this bird : 



" I have never visited any quarter of the country where the inhabitants are not familiarly acquaint- 

 ed with the passincr and re-passing of the ^viki goose. The general opinion here is, that they are on 

 their way to the lakes to breed ; but tlie inhabitants on the confines of the great lakes are equally 

 ignorant with ourselves of the particular breeding jjlaces of these birds. There their journey north 

 is but commencing, and how far it extends, it is impossible for us at present to ascertain. They were 

 seen by Hearne in large flocks witliin the arctic circle, and were tlien pursuing their way still farther 

 north. They have l)een also seen on the dreary coast of Spitzbergen, feeding on the water's edge. 

 It is highly probable that they extend their migrations under the very pole itself, amid the silent 



desolation of unknown countries, shut out 

 from the eye of inan by everlasting bar- 

 riers of ice. That such places abound 

 with suitable food, wc cannot for a mo- 

 ment doubt. 



" The flight of the wild goose is heavy 

 and laborious, generally in a straight line, 

 or in two lines approximating to a point. 

 In both cases, the van is led by an old 

 gander^ who every now and then pipes his 

 well known honk, as if to ask how they 

 come on ; and the honk of ' all 's well ' is 

 generally returned by some of the party. 

 When bewildered in foggy weather, they 

 appear sometimes to be in great distress, 

 flying about in an irregular manner, mak- 

 ing a great clamor. On these occasions, 

 should they alight on the ground, as they 

 sometimes do, they meet with speedy death 

 and destruction. The autumnal flight 

 lasts from the middle of August, to the 

 middle of Noiember; the vernal flight 



fronn the middle of April, to the middle of Slay. 



" Wounded geese have frequently been domesticated and readily pair vi ith tame geese. On the 

 approach of spring, however, they discover symptoms of uneasiness, frequently looking up in the 

 air, and attempting to go off. Some, whose wings have been closely cut, have travelled on foot in a 

 northerly direction, and have been found at the distance of several miles from home. They hail every 

 flock that passes over head, and the salute is sure to be returned by the voyagers, who are only pre- 

 vented irom alighting by the presence and habitations of man. The gunners sometimes take one or 

 two of these domesticated geese with them to those places over which the wild ones are accustomed 

 to fly ; concealing themselves, they wait for a flight, which is no sooner observed by the decoy geese, 



The mid Goose. 



