A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3

O. montana. 111 Above deep orange-rufous, without bright reflections, but with an opaque gloss of reddish-purple on the back and nape. Beneath ochraceous, inclining to vinaceous on the jugulum. Cheeks without distinct whitish bar bordered below by reddish. Wing, 5.70. Hab. Atlantic region of Middle America from Xalapa to Brazil; West Indies.

Oreopeleia martinica, ReichKEY WEST PIGEON

Columba martinica, Gmelin, I, 1788, 781 (not of Temminck). Geotrygon martinica, Bonap. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 74.—Cab. Jour. IV, 1856, 108. Oreopeleia martinicana, Reich. Syst. Av. 1851, page xxv.—Ib. “Icones Avium, tab. 257, fig. 1431.” Columba montana, Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 382, pl. clxvii.—Ib. Syn. 1839, 191.—Ib. Birds Am. V, 1842, 14, pl. cclxxxii.—Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 756 (not of Linnæus). Zenaida montana, Bonap. Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. “Columbigallina montana, Temminck.” “Columba mystacea, Lembeye,” Bonap. (not of Temminck). Oreopeleia martinica, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 607.—Cab. J. IV, 109 (Cuba).—Gundl. Repert. Cub. I, 1866, 299 (Cuba).—Reich. Handb. Taub. 31, tab. 257, fig. 1432.

Sp. Char. Ground-color of the upper parts, including wing (both surfaces), and tail-feathers, chestnut-rufous; the upper part of head and neck with metallic reflections of green and purple; the back, rump, and wing-coverts, with reflections of metallic light-purplish or violet. There is a white band from the lower mandible along side of the head, bordered below by purplish-red, like the forehead, and a similar band through the eyes, which are without metallic lustre. The breast is very light purplish-red, fading to white towards the tail and chin. The feathers of the under tail-coverts are dusky-brown at the base. Length, 10.70; wing, 6.00; tail, 5.75.

Hab. Key West, Florida; Cuba and Martinique, perhaps elsewhere in the West Indies.

41876 ♂ ½ ½

Oreopeleia martinica.

Habits. The Key West Pigeon is found within the fauna of the United States only in the extreme southern portion of Florida, and, so far as known, only on the island of Key West, where Mr. Audubon met with them, and enjoyed a limited opportunity of observing their habits. He describes the flight as low, swift, and protracted, as he saw them passing from Cuba to Key West. They moved in loose flocks of from five or six to a dozen, and so very low as to almost seem to touch the surface. They were fond of going out early in the morning from their thickets to cleanse their plumage in the shelly sand, but on the least approach of danger would fly back to the thickest part of the woods, throw themselves on the ground, and run off with great rapidity. Their movements of the tail and neck are similar to those of the Carolina Dove. Their coo is said to be neither so soft nor so prolonged as that of the common Dove, and may be represented by the syllable whoe-whoe-oh-oh-oh. When suddenly approached, they utter a guttural gasping sound. They are said to alight on the lower branches of shrubby trees, and to delight in the neighborhood of shady ponds, always inhabiting by preference the darkest solitudes. Whatever may have been their abundance on Key West, in Mr. Audubon’s time, it is certain that they are very rare there now, as I am not aware of their having been taken of late years by any of the numerous collectors who have visited South Florida since Mr. Audubon’s time.

Oreopeleia martinica.

The nest is described as formed of light dry twigs, in shape much resembling that of the Carolina Dove. Occasionally it is placed on the ground, and is then less elaborate. Some are placed on large branches near the ground, while others are built among slender twigs.

Towards the middle of July, according to Mr. Audubon, they become so abundant that sportsmen are able to shoot a score or more in a day. They feed on berries and the seeds of various plants, and are especially fond of the fruit of the sea-grape.

Genus STARNŒNAS, Bonaparte

Starnœnas, Bonaparte, Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Columba cyanocephala, L.)

Gen. Char. Bill short; culmen about one third the rest of head, measured from the frontal feathers. Legs very stout and large; tarsus bare on the entire tibial joint, and covered with hexagonal scales, largest anteriorly, longer than the middle toe and claw. Inner lateral claw the larger, reaching the base of the middle claw; all the claws short, thick, and blunt. Hind toe and claw short; half the middle. Wings short, broad, and concave; much rounded. Tail short, broad, nearly even, but slightly vaulted.

The single species of Dove composing the genus in many respects resembles the Partridges or Quails, both in external appearance and in manners.

Starnœnas cyanocephala, BonBLUE-HEADED PIGEON

Columba cyanocephala, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 282.—Gmelin, Syst. I, 1788, 778.—Wagler, Syst. Avium, 1827, Columba, No. 112.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 441; V. 1839, 557, pl. clxxii. Starnœnas cyanocephala, Bonap. List, 1838.—Ib. Consp. II, 1854, 69.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 193.—Ib. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 23, pl. cclxxxiv.—Gundlach, Cab. Journ. IV, 1856, 108.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 608.—Cab. J. IV, 108 (Cuba).—Gundl. Repert. Cub. I, 1866, 299.—Reichenb. Handb. Taub. 30, tab. 257, f. 1431; 266, f. 2879–81. Starnœnas cyanocephala, Reichenbach, Systema Av. 1851, p. xxv, pl. xxiii.—Ib. Icones Av. tab. 260 and 266. Geophilus? cyanocephala, Selby, Pigeons, Jard. Nat. Lib. V, 216, pl. xxvii. Columba (Lophyrus) cyanocephala, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d. ed.,) 1840, 769. Columba tetraoides, (Scopoli,) Gmelin, I, 772. Blue-headed Turtle, Latham, Syn. II, II, 651.

Sp. Char. Bill blue, the fleshy part at the base carmine. Iris brown, scales of feet carmine, the interspaces white. Above and on sides glossy dark chocolate-olivaceous; beneath brownish-red, lighter centrally. Chin and throat black, with a narrow border of white below. A white line begins in the chin, and passes under the eye to the occiput. Sides of head above this and forehead black; crown blue. Length, 10.70; wing, 5.40; tail, 4.35.

Hab. West India Islands; according to Audubon found occasionally at Key West, Florida, and other southern keys.

2827 ♂ ½ ½

Starnœnas cyanocephala.

The axillars and under surface of the wings are like the belly. The crissum is most like the back. The outer tail-feathers have a bluish tinge above.

The hind toe in this species is not strictly in the same plane with the others, but placed a little above their point of insertion.

Habits. This handsome Pigeon belongs to the fauna of the West India Islands, and is only an occasional visitant of Key West and other southern keys of Florida. They are a common species in Cuba, from which island a few are stated by Mr. Audubon to migrate each year to certain of the keys of Florida, where, however, they are rarely seen on account of their living only in the most tangled thickets. Mr. Audubon saw a pair on the western side of Key West. They were near the water picking gravel, but they would not suffer a near approach. He saw a pair, also, that had been taken, when young, on “Mule Keys.” These fed well on cracked corn and rice, but he was unable to obtain any further information in respect to them.

Though abundant in Cuba this species does not appear to have been found in Jamaica, except as an imported bird from the former island, contrary to the assertions of various writers, as Temminck, Brisson, and others. Mr. Gosse was not able to trace its presence, though its existence among the precipitous woods on the north side of that island he regards as quite possible.

Starnœnas cyanocephala.

Like Oreopeleia martinica and Zenaida amabilis, this species, though described by Audubon as not being rare on the keys of South Florida, has not been met with in that State by later explorers.

An egg of this species laid in confinement in the aviary of Dr. Bachman, in Charleston, S. C., is of a rounded-oval shape, and of a uniform creamy-white color; it measures 1.43 inches in length by 1.10 in breadth.

Family CRACIDÆ.—The Curassows

Char. Body large, but rather slender; bill more or less arched; tail lengthened; legs long, robust, without any spur. Toes moderate, slender, the hinder scarcely elevated. Naked spaces frequently occurring on the head and throat.

Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, in their masterly and model monograph of Cracidæ (Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1870, 504), define the subfamilies as follows:—

A. Post-acetabular area narrow; upper mandible higher than broad; culmen compressed … I. Cracinæ.

B. Post-acetabular area broad; upper mandible broader than high; culmen depressed.

Top of head covered with feathers; space between the nostrils naked; nostrils exposed … II. Penelopinæ.

Top of head with a bony tubercle; internasal space densely feathered; nostrils concealed … III. Oreophasinæ.

By the term “post-acetabular area” is understood that portion of the dorsal aspect of the pelvis which is bounded in front by a line drawn through the acetabula.

The Cracinæ, or Curassows, are found in Mexico, in Central and in South America; the Oreophasinæ are represented by a single species, Oreophasis derbianus, a bird nearly as large as a Turkey, occurring in the wooded region of the Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala, at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Of the Penelopinæ one species only is found in the United States.

Subfamily PENELOPINÆ

This is the most extensive section of Cracidæ, embracing, according to Sclater and Salvin, no less than thirty-nine species. The genera indicated are as follows:—

A. A central fold of skin on the throat.

Outer quills narrow, but entire.

Throat feathered … 1. Stegnolæma.

Throat naked.

Sexes similar … 2. Penelope.

Sexes different … 3. Penelopina.

Outer quills emarginated.

Gular fold short … 4. Pipile.

Gular fold lengthened; linear … 5. Aburria.

B. No central gular fold.

Throat feathered; outer quills emarginated … 6. Chamæpetes.

Throat naked; with a central line of bristly feathers; outer quills entire … 7. Ortalida.

Genus ORTALIDA, Merrem

Ortalida, Merrem, Av. rar. Icones et Desc. II, 1786, 40 (Gray). (Type, Phasianus motmot, L.)

37977 ♂ ⅓ ⅓

Ortalida maccalli.

Of Ortalida, as characterized above, Messrs. Sclater and Salvin enumerate eighteen species; like the rest of the family, all American. Of these only one has so far been detected within our limits, although it is by no means improbable that the O. poliocephala, Wagler (Sclater and Salvin, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1870, 537), may yet be detected in New Mexico or Arizona.112

Ortalida vetula, var. maccalli, BairdTHE TEXAS CHACALACCA

Ortalida vetula, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, 1851, 116. (Not Penelope vetula, Wagler, Isis, 1830, 1112, and 1831, 517.)—Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, 538. (Considers it the same as P. vetula, Wagler). Ortalida poliocephala, Cassin, Illust. I, ix, 1855, 267, pl. xliv. (Not Penelope poliocephala, Wagler, Isis, 1830, 1112.) Ortalida maccalli, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 611.—Ib. M. Bound. II, Birds, 22.—Dresser, Ibis, 1866, 24 (S. E. Texas, breeding).—Lawr. Ann. N. Y. IX, 209 (Yucatan).—Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, 538 (Honduras, Vera Cruz, Guatemala).—Reichenb. Handb. der sp. Orn. Lief, viii, 145. (Describes more adult specimens.)

Sp. Char. Body above dark greenish-olive; beneath brownish-yellow, tinged with olive. Head and upper part of neck plumbeous. Tail-feathers lustrous green, all tipped with white, except the middle one. Feathers along the middle of the throat black; outer edge of primaries tinged with gray. Eyes brown. Bill and feet lead-colored. Length, 23.50; wing, 8.50; tail, 11.00.

Hab. Valley of the Rio Grande, and southward to Guatemala.

This form is distinguishable from O. vetula, as restricted, of which it is the northern representative, by the paler and less fulvous colors, and lighter—often nearly white—tips to the tail-feathers, besides other minor differences in coloration. The two cannot be separated specifically, however, since they undoubtedly grade into each other.

Habits. This very remarkable bird, belonging as it does to a form peculiar to this continent, is the only species found within the limits of the United States, and only within a quite restricted area in the valley of the Rio Grande. Numerous species of this family are found in the warmer countries of America, especially Mexico and Central America, all or nearly all of which appear to be capable of domestication, and some of which, including the present species, have, in repeated instances, been quite as completely domesticated as our common Turkey.

Ortalida maccalli.

Birds of the family to which the Texan species belongs differ in a very marked manner, in habits, from most Gallinaceæ, inasmuch as they not only live almost exclusively in deep forests, but are also remarkable for habitually frequenting trees, feeding upon their foliage, and building their nests within their branches, more in the manner of the smaller birds. They are all said to have loud and discordant voices, and are generally of a black or dark plumage.

Specimens of this bird were taken at Boquillo, in New Leon, in the spring of 1853, by Lieutenant Couch, who speaks of them as gregarious and as seeking their food wholly or in part on trees. According to Mr. Clark, they do not occur higher up the Rio Grande than the vicinity of Ringgold Barracks, inhabiting the deepest chaparrals, which they never quit. They are inactive, and for the most of the time sit about in flocks in these thickets, feeding on leaves. The Mexican name of Chacalacca is supposed to be derived from the noise with which at times they make the valleys ring, and which may be well imitated in kind, but not in strength, by putting the most stress upon the last two syllables. No sooner does one take up the song than others chime in from all quarters, till, apparently exhausted, the noise gradually dies off into an interlude, only to be again renewed. These concerts take place in the morning and evening. The birds are quite gentle, are easily tamed, and are said to cross with the common domestic fowl.

Mr. Dresser states that the Chacalacca is very common near Matamoras and Brownsville, and that in the autumn great numbers are exposed for sale in the market of the latter place. The Mexicans are said to hold it in high esteem for its fighting qualities, and often keep it in a domesticated state and cross it with the common fowl, making use of the hybrid for cock-fighting. Mr. Dresser was so informed by many Mexicans, upon whose word he placed reliance, and was an eyewitness of a fight in which one of these hybrids was engaged. Mr. Dresser had a tame one, when at Matamoras, that became so familiar that he could hardly keep it out of his room. This bird would occasionally go away for a day or two, and pay a visit to the poultry belonging to a neighbor; whenever he missed it, he had only to go to a poultry-yard near the house, where it could generally be found.

This species was first taken within the United States by Colonel McCall, who obtained it in Texas, and who enjoyed and improved unusually good opportunities to observe the habits and manners of this bird. From his notes, quoted by Mr. Cassin, we give the following:—

“This very gallant-looking and spirited bird I saw for the first time within our territory in the extensive forests of chaparral which envelop the Resaca de la Palma. Here, and for miles along the Lower Rio Grande, it was abundant; and throughout this region the remarkable and sonorous cry of the male bird could not fail to attract and fix the attention of the most obtuse or listless wanderer who might chance to approach its abode. By the Mexicans it is called Chiac-chia-lacca, an Indian name, without doubt derived from the peculiar cry of the bird, which strikingly resembles a repetition of these syllables. And when I assure you that its voice, in compass, is equal to that of the Guinea-fowl, and in harshness but little inferior, you may form some idea of the chorus with which the forest is made to ring at the hour of sunrise. At that hour, in the month of April, I have observed a proud and stately fellow descend from the tree on which he had roosted, and, mounting upon an old log or stump, commence his clear, shrill cry. This was soon responded to in a lower tone by the female, the latter always taking up the strain as soon as the importunate call of her mate had ceased. Thus alternating, one pair after another would join in the matutinal chorus, and, before the rising sun had lighted up their close retreat, the woods would ring with the din of a hundred voices, as the happy couples met after the period of separation and repose. When at length all this clatter had terminated, the parties quietly betook themselves to their morning meal. If surprised while thus employed, they would fly into the trees above, and, peering down with stretched necks, and heads turned sideways to the ground, they would challenge the intruder with a singular and oft-repeated croaking note, of which it would be difficult to give any adequate idea with words alone.”

Colonel McCall adds that the volubility and singularity of its voice is its most striking and remarkable trait. While on his march from Matamoras to Tampico he had encamped, on the 30th of December, at the spring of Encinal, whence, a short time before sunset, he rode out in search of game. Passing through a woodland near the stream, his ears were saluted with a strange sound that resembled somewhat the cry of the panther (Felis onca). He was at a loss to what animal to ascribe it, and, dismounting, crawled cautiously through the thicket for some distance, until he came upon an opening where there were some larger trees, from the lower branches of one of which he ascertained that the sound proceeded. There he discovered a large male bird of this species, ascending towards the top of the tree, and uttering this hitherto unheard sound, as he sprang from branch to branch in mounting to his roost. In a few moments his call was answered from a distance, and soon after he was joined by a bird of the year. Others followed, coming in from different quarters, and there were in a little while five or six upon the tree. One of these discovered the intruder and gave the alarm. The singular cry of the old bird ceased, and they all began to exhibit uneasiness and a disposition to fly, whereupon Colonel McCall shot the old bird.

Colonel McCall also states that the eye is a remarkable feature in the living birds of this species, being full of courage and animation, equal, in fact, in brilliancy to that of the finest gamecock. He frequently noticed this bird domesticated by the Mexicans at Matamoras, Monterey, etc., and going at large about their gardens. He was assured that in that condition it not unfrequently crossed with the common fowl.

In the wild state the eggs are said to be from six to eight, never exceeding the last number. They are white, without spots, and rather smaller than a pullet’s egg. The nest is usually on the ground, at the root of a large tree or at the side of an old log, where a hole several inches deep is scratched in the ground; this is lined with leaves, and the eggs are always carefully covered with the same when the female leaves them for the purpose of feeding. If disturbed while on her nest, she flies at the intruder with great spirit and determination.

Eggs of this species, from Matamoras, are of an oblong-oval shape, equally pointed at either end, and measure 2.35 inches in length by 1.65 in breadth. They are of a dirty-white color with a light tint of buff, and have a slightly roughened or granulated surface.

Family MELEAGRIDÆ.—The Turkeys

Char. Bill moderate; the nasal fossæ bare. Head and neck without feathers, but with scattered hairs, and more or less carunculated. An extensible fleshy process on the forehead, but no development of the bone. Tarsus armed with spurs in the male. Hind toe elevated. Tail nearly as long as the wing, truncate, of more than twelve feathers.

The family Meleagridæ, or Turkeys, as at present known, is entirely confined to North and Middle America, and represented only by the genus Meleagris. It forms, in combination with the Guinea-fowls (Numididæ), the Pheasants and common fowls (Phasianidæ), and the Grouse and Partridges (Tetraonidæ), a peculiar group, to which the name Alecteropodes has been given by Professor Huxley; this group is well distinguished from the Cracidæ and the Megapodidæ (which form together an opposed group, called Peristeropodes), in addition to the characters enumerated under the family names, by salient characters developed in the sternum. In the present family and its relations, as all may recall from experience at the dinner-table, the sternum, or breast-bone, is divided into a long narrow keel (lophosteon) extending far backwards; while towards the front, from each side, and separated by a very deep notch from the median portion, a wing (pleurosteon) originates obliquely, and, soon splitting in two, extends also far backwards; in front, two processes (called costal) project well forwards. In the Cracidæ and Megapodidæ, on the contrary, the sternum is not so split, the keel and wing, as above, being more continuous and the notch comparatively shallow; the costal processes are also comparatively small and obtuse.

Externally the Turkeys have considerable resemblance to the Guinea-fowls (Numididæ), but they differ from them in having a backward process of the second metacarpal bone, and in the form of the costal processes of the sternum and of the acromial process of the scapular; while they are distinguished from the Guinea-fowls and all others by the form of the pelvis (the post-acetabular area is greater than the pre-acetabular, and is also longer than broad), and by the furcula (wish-bone), which is very weak and straight, with its point (hypocleidium) straight and rod-like. To Professor Huxley we are indebted for having first pointed out most of these characters.

Although the number of known species of Meleagridæ as we understand them, is limited to two now living, the family was apparently well represented in former geological periods, no less than three having been already described from more or less perfect remains; of these, two have been found in the post-pleiocene of New Jersey, one of which (Meleagris altus, Marsh, or M. superbus, Cope) was taller than the common Turkey, while the other (Meleagris celer, Marsh) was much smaller. The third species (Meleagris antiquus, Marsh) lived at a still earlier date, its remains having been obtained in the miocene beds of Colorado.

Genus MELEAGRIS, Linnæus

Meleagris, Linnæus, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, Meleagris gallopavo, Linn.)