A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 1

The only authenticated nest and eggs (10,433) in the Smithsonian collection were received from Mr. R. MacFarlane, with the parent, taken on the Arctic coast east of Fort Anderson, and having on the label, “Nest situated in a cave in a sand-bank.” The nest is deeply saucer-shaped, and composed of wiry grass-stems, with a few feathers in the lining; external diameter 3.75 inches, internal about 3.00; depth, 2.50 externally and 1.50 internally. The eggs, five in number, are of a dull white, with perhaps a faint bluish cast, sprinkled and spattered with dilute yellowish-rufous, the markings most numerous toward the larger end; they measure .95 of an inch in length by .64 in breadth.

Plectrophanes lapponicus, SelbyLAPLAND LONGSPUR

“Fringilla lapponica, Linn. Fauna Suecica, 1761, sp. 235.”—Ib. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 317. Forster, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 404. Emberiza (Plectrophanes) lapponica, Sw. F. B. Am. II, 1831, 248, pl. xlviii. Emberiza lapponica, Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 473, pl. 365. Plectrophanes lapponicus, “Selby,” Bon. List, 1838.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 98.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 50, pl. 152.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 433.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. A. S. I, 1869, 283 (Alaska).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 178.—Samuels, 300. “Centrophanes lapponicus, Kaup, Entw. Gesch. Europe Thierw. 1829.”—Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 127. “Fringilla calcarata, Pall. Itin. 710, sp. 20,” French ed. III, 1793, 464, pl. i. Centrophanes calcaratus, Gray, List Gen. 1841, App. 1842, 11.

Sp. Char. Male. Head all round, and neck black, extending on the jugulum in a crescentic patch; a broad line from above and behind the eye, sides of neck, a patch in the black of hind head, and whole under parts, white; the sides of body streaked broadly with black. A broad half-collar of chestnut on back of neck, separated from the hood narrowly, and from the auriculars and throat broadly, by the white stripe from the eye. Above brownish-black, the feathers sharply edged with brownish-yellow. Outer tail-feathers white, except the basal portion of inner web, and a shaft streak at end; next feather with a white streak in end, rest black. Legs black; bill yellow, tipped with black. In winter plumage the black and other markings overlaid by rusty and fulvous; beneath by whitish. Female with the black feathers of head edged with yellowish-rusty; the throat white, bordered on the sides and behind by blackish; feathers edged with grayish-white, the rufous of nape obscure, and streaked with blackish. Length of male, 6.25; wing, 3.90; tail, 2.80.

19647 ♂

Hab. Northern portions of the Old and the New World; breeding in arctic and subarctic regions, and in winter descending southward, as far at least as New York, Southern Illinois, and Fort Garland, New Mexico.

Autumnal specimens, of both sexes, differ in having the pattern of coloration obscured by ochraceous borders to the feathers, and a general rusty cast to the plumage.

There appears to be no difference between North American and European specimens of this bird.

Habits. The Lapland Longspur is an Arctic resident, belonging equally to the two continents, rarely descending even in winter to temperate regions, and then chiefly in its immature plumage. In Europe, according to Yarrell, only a few specimens have been found in the British Islands, and these were single individuals, mostly found in company with Larks. They have also been taken in France, in Belgium, and in different parts of Germany. Degland states that these birds are occasionally snared on the coast at Dunkirk, and in the neighborhood of Antwerp, but these are always young males in their winter plumage.

Pennant states that it is found in Siberia, and near the Ural Mountains, migrating in the winter as far south as Switzerland; and, according to Necker, they have also been taken, always in company with Larks, in the vicinity of Geneva. It inhabits Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Spitzbergen, Iceland, and Greenland, in the summer.

Richardson mentions that the Lapland Bunting is common in the fur regions, wintering on the coast of Hudson’s Bay. During its stay it feeds on grass-seed, the fruit of the juniper, and the pines. As he never met with these birds during the winter, he suspects that their principal retreats are on the borders of Lakes Huron and Superior, and the country westward. In 1827 they appeared on the plains, at the Carlton House, about the middle of May, in very large flocks, in company with Shore Larks and the P. picta, frequenting the open spots where the fires had destroyed the grass. In the same season they came a few days later to the Cumberland House, and kept constantly about the furrows of the new-ploughed fields. The year before they had been, in smaller flocks, in the vicinity of Fort Franklin, latitude 65°, in the beginning of May. Their crops were found filled with seeds of the alpine arbutus.

Mr. Audubon met with them in enormous flocks in Kentucky, about February 15, 1819. They were in company with the Shore Larks and the Snow Buntings. None of these were in perfect plumage.

Mr. Ridgway cites this as a common winter visitant in Southern Illinois, abundant in unusually severe winters, either in large flocks by itself, or a few individuals mixed up in flocks of Shore Larks.

Mr. Dall gives May 12 as the date of the first arrival of these birds at Nulato, and adds that it is not at any time a very common bird. He was not able to find its nest at Nulato, but was informed by the Indians that it builds on the bare hillsides, in hillocks of grass, and that it does not leave the nest when any one approaches, but sits perfectly still, and thus often escapes detection. He considers it a very fine singer. Specimens were received from Sitka, obtained by Bischoff. To this account Mr. Bannister adds that it is by far the most abundant of the land-birds found at St. Michael’s. It appeared on that island about the 6th of May, and from that time until about the middle or latter part of September they were observed in great numbers all over the island. He, too, was not successful in finding its nest, though the birds were started up by hundreds on every walk over the island. From this he infers that they must be very carefully concealed. He often searched for them, but always with the same result. Mr. Bannister regarded this species as decidedly the best songster of its family.

In the far North it is an extremely abundant species from one ocean to the other, in the winter moving farther south, to the United States, in large flocks. It has not been found in California, but in the central and eastern regions has been obtained as far south as Leavenworth, Kan., Racine, Wis., Boston, and New York. It is stated by different observers, that, like the Lark, it sings only while in motion in the air, or while suspended, and that its notes are agreeable and melodious.

According to Richardson, they breed in moist meadows on the shores of the Arctic Sea, the nest being placed in a small hillock, among moss and stones. It is composed externally of dry stems of grass, interwoven to a considerable thickness, and lined very neatly and compactly with deer’s hair. The eggs, seven in number, he describes as pale ochre-yellow, spotted with brown. Sir James Ross found them by no means numerous in the higher northern latitudes, and obtained one nest, containing five eggs, in July.

According to Holböll, this bird is common along the shores of both North and South Greenland. They reach Godhaab in the beginning of May, and Godhaven a month later. Their migrations do not take place all at once, but they are constantly arriving during the month. It remains in South Greenland until the beginning of September, and longer if the deep snows do not drive it away. This bird is never met on shipboard until the vessels are in Davis Strait, proving that their migrations must be from America. The Greenlanders call it Narksamatak (inhabitant of the plains),—an appropriate name, as it only lives on the lowlands near the sea-shore, where it builds its nest in the manner of the Lark, in the grass, or among the lichens. Its five eggs, of a dirty olive-color spotted with brown, are smaller than those of P. nivalis. The song of the male bird, as it hovers in the air or rocks on a swaying twig, is very clear and melodious. It is even known as the Greenland Nightingale. Its food is seeds, and it is not known to seek insect-larvæ on the houses of the Greenlanders, as does the P. nivalis. In their winter dress they all resemble the female in her summer plumage, only in the male some black is seen in the head-feathers.

Fabricius describes its eggs as five or six in number, of a reddish-gray with brownish spots. Degland describes their ground-color as an ashy-gray, covered with spots of light brown, with lines and spots of deep brown, and also of clear black.

Eggs from Anderson River exhibit great variations in their appearance, more from the difference in the distribution of their spots than from variations in colors. Where distinctly visible, the ground-color appears to be of yellowish-gray, frequently so thickly spotted as not to be recognizable. The blotches are of various shades of brown, with shadings of olive, purple, or red, and at times almost black. In some, fine olive-brown dots cover the egg so completely as to make it appear as of one uniform deep color. In others the brown is lighter and more of a reddish hue, and again in others the markings are in irregular distribution, and of different shades. They measure .80 by .60 of an inch.

Nest with eggs (7414), collected on Anderson River, Franklin Bay, June 27, by R. MacFarlane, was built on the ground, and is deeply saucer-shaped, measuring 3.75 in external and 2.30 in internal diameter; the depth 2.75 exteriorly and 1.50 interiorly. It is composed of coarse wiry grass-stems, and softly lined with feathers of Lagopus. The eggs, five in number, have the ground-color light umber-drab, this faintly blotched with deeper livid slate, and with a few straggly black lines, much as in certain Icteridæ and in Chondestes. They measure .86 of an inch in length by .63 in breadth.

Plectrophanes pictus, SwainsonSMITH’S BUNTING; PAINTED LONGSPUR

Emberiza (Plectrophanes) picta, Sw. F. B. Am. II, 1831, 250, pl. 49 (spring).—Nutt. Man. II, 589. Plectrophanes pictus, Aud. Syn. 1839, 99.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 52, pl. cliii (Richardson’s specimen).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 434.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. A. S. I, 1869, 283 (Alaska). Emberiza picta, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 91, pl. cccc. Centrophanes pictus, Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 127. Plectrophanes smithi, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1844, 337, pl. cccclxxxvii (winter).

Sp. Char. Male. Spring. Top and sides of head black. A line from bill over the eye, lores, lower and posterior border of the black cheeks, ears (encircled by black), and a small patch in the nape, white. Entire under parts, and extending round neck to nape (where it bounds abruptly the black of head), buff or light cinnamon-yellow; the under tail-covert paler; the inside of wings, white. Feathers of upper surfaces black, edged with yellowish-gray; shoulders or lesser coverts and the greater black; middle white, forming a conspicuous patch. Quills edged externally with white, this involving the whole outer web of outermost primary. Whole of outer and most of second tail-feather white. Bill dusky; lower mandible and legs yellowish. Length, 5.50; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.75; bill, .45.

Female. The markings of male faintly indicated, but the black and buff wanting. Head above brown, streaked centrally with paler. A narrow dark line on each side the throat, and brownish streaks across the jugulum, and along sides of body. Traces visible of the white marks of the head. Bill and feet as in the male.

Hab. Prairies of Illinois and Missouri Plains, in winter; in summer north to the Arctic Ocean.

This species is quite similar in form to P. lapponicus, although with slenderer bill, and perhaps longer hind claw. While the colors of adult males are very different, the females have a decided resemblance; they may, however, be distinguished in all stages by the black or dusky legs of lapponicus and the yellow of pictus, and perhaps by the more dusky upper mandible of the latter.

Habits. This species was first obtained by Sir John Richardson’s party, and described by Swainson in the Fauna Boreali-Americana. It was observed associating with the Lapland Buntings on the banks of the Saskatchewan, but no information was obtained in regard to its breeding-habits. No specimens in the mature plumage are known to have been obtained in the United States, but birds in the immature plumage are not unfrequent, in early spring, throughout Illinois. Mr. Audubon, in company with Mr. Harris and Mr. Bell, obtained specimens of these birds near Edwardsville, and described them as a new species. Mr. Bell states, in regard to these birds, that he found them very abundant on the low prairie near a lake, a few miles from Edwardsville. They were generally in large flocks, and when once on the ground they began to separate. They ran very nimbly, in a manner resembling that of the Grass Finch, and when they arose, which they rarely did unless they were nearly approached, they uttered a sharp click, repeated several times in quick succession, and moved with an easy undulating motion for a short distance and then alighted very suddenly, seeming to fall perpendicularly several feet to the ground. They preferred the spots where the grass was shortest. When in the air they flew in circles, to and fro, for a few minutes, and then alighted, keeping up a constant chirping or call, somewhat like that of the Red-Poll.

These birds were observed in large numbers at Fort Anderson, and on the Lower Anderson River, by Mr. MacFarlane, and a large number of their nests obtained. These were all on the ground, and usually in open spaces, but also in the vicinity of trees. The usual number of eggs found in a nest appears to have been four. The nests, for the most part, were constructed of fine dry grasses, carefully arranged, and lined with down, feathers, or finer materials similar to those of the outer portions. In a few there were no feathers; in others, feathers in different proportions; and in a few the down and feathers composed the chief portion of the nest, with only a few leaves as a base to the nest. They were sometimes sunk in excavations made by the birds, or placed in a tussock of grass, and, in one instance, placed in the midst of a bed of Labrador tea.

They were also obtained at Fort Yukon, at the mouth of Porcupine River, by Strachan Jones. They were much more abundant in the Mackenzie River district.

Specimens of this bird, in the fall plumage, were obtained from Fort Simpson, where Mr. B. R. Ross states that it appears on its way north in May. They resort to the fields around the fort in search of grain. Although these birds keep entirely apart from the P. nivalis, Mr. Ross has frequently observed several P. lapponicus associating with them.

When their nests are approached, the female quietly slips off, while the male bird may be seen hopping or flying from tree to tree in the neighborhood of the nest, and will at times do all he can to induce intruders to withdraw from the neighborhood.

The eggs, five in number, have a light clay-colored ground, are marked with obscure blotches of lavender and darker lines, dots, and blotches of dark purplish-brown. They measure .80 by .65 of an inch.

Plectrophanes ornatus, TownsCHESTNUT-COLLARED BUNTING; BLACK-BELLIED LONGSPUR

Plectrophanes ornatus, Townsend, J. Ac. Nat. Sc. VII, 1837, 189.—Ib. Narrative, 1839, 344.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 99.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 53, pl. cliv.—Nutt. Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 537.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 435. Emberiza ornata, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 44, pl. cccxciv, f. 1. Centrophanes ornatus, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 127.

Sp. Char. Bill dark plumbeous. Male. Crown, a narrow crescent on the side of the head, with a line running into it from behind the eye, entire breast and upper part of belly all round, black; throat and sides of the head, lower part of belly and under tail-coverts, with bases of the tail-feathers, white. The white on the tail-feathers runs forward as an acute point. A chestnut band on the back of the neck extending round on the sides. Rest of upper parts grayish-brown, streaked with darker. Middle coverts with a white patch. Lesser wing-coverts like the back. Legs dusky, bill blue, darker at tip. Length about 5.25 inches; wing, 3.20; tail, 2.30; tarsus, .75.

Female lacking the black and chestnut colors; the black of the breast indicated by dusky streaks and a line of streaks each side of the throat.

Hab. Plains of the Upper Missouri. San Antonio, Texas, spring (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 486).

Habits. This species was first discovered by Mr. Townsend, who procured a single specimen, a male, on the Upper Missouri River. He describes it as by no means a common bird, keeping in pairs and living exclusively on the ground. It was remarkably shy, and Mr. Townsend was not able to procure more than a single specimen.

Mr. Nuttall states that he met with this bird early in May, on the wide grassy plains of the Platte. The birds were already paired for the season. He heard them utter no notes other than a chirp, as they kept busily foraging for their subsistence.

Mr. J. A. Allen (American Naturalist, May, 1872) speaks of this bird and the Lark Bunting as by far the most interesting species seen by him in Western Kansas. They were not only characteristic of the region, but were also among the few birds strictly confined to the arid plains. They were quite abundant, but were only met with on the high ridges and dry plateaus, where they seemed to live somewhat in colonies. At a few localities they were always numerous, but elsewhere would be frequently not met with in a whole day’s drive. They were very wary and tenacious of life, often flying a long distance after having been shot through vital parts. Most of the specimens had to be killed on the wing, at a long range. They are strong fliers, and seem to delight in flying in the strongest gales, when all the other birds appear to move with difficulty, and to keep themselves concealed among the grass. This bird sings while on the wing.

Mr. H. E. Dresser, in his paper on the birds of Southern Texas, mentions finding the Chestnut-collared Bunting in flocks early in the spring, on the prairies near San Antonio, but it was not a common bird there.

Dr. Woodhouse found this species quite rare in the Indian Territory, where he was only able to secure a single specimen.

Captain Blakiston met with this species on the Saskatchewan Plains on the 15th of May, 1858,—a higher range than has been noticed by any one else.

Dr. Heermann, while on a trip to the Rocky Mountains in 1843, met with this species in small flocks and pairs, scattered over the prairies of the Platte River, and was so fortunate as to meet with one of its nests. It was built on the ground, and was made of an interweaving of fine grasses and lined with hair. He describes the eggs, which were four in number, as having a white ground, with black lines at the larger end, and a few faint blotches of a neutral tint scattered over their whole surface.

This description does not quite correspond with the eggs collected by Mr. Audubon on the Upper Missouri. These have a clay-colored ground with the slightest possible tinge of green, and are marked with fine dots of purplish-brown, and larger markings, blotches, and short lines of dark brown. They measure .70 by .55 of an inch, and have a strong resemblance to the eggs of both P. pictus and P. maccowni.

Five eggs of this species, obtained at Fort Hays, Kansas, June 1, 1871, by Mr. J. A. Allen, measure .75 of an inch in length by .58 in breadth. They are small in proportion to the bird, and are somewhat pointed at one end. Their ground is a gray or grayish-white shade of stone-color, and this is somewhat sparingly marked with blotches of dark brown, almost black, and lighter markings of purplish-brown. The nest was placed on the ground, and was composed altogether of fine stems of grasses.

Plectrophanes ornatus, var. melanomus, BairdBLACK-SHOULDERED LONGSPUR

Plectrophanes melanomus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 436, pl. lxxiv, f. 2.—Heermann, X, c, 13.

Sp. Char. Bill yellowish, dark brown along the culmen. Male. Crown, a short stripe behind the eye, and a short crescent behind the ear-coverts, entire breast as far back as the thighs, and the lesser wing-coverts, black. The black on the breast margined with dark cinnamon. Sides of head, chin, throat, and region behind the black of the belly, white. A broad half-collar of dark cinnamon-brown on the back of the neck. Tail-feathers mostly white; the innermost tipped with dark brown; the white ending in an acute angle. Length, 5.30; wing, 3.40; tail, 2.60. (No. 6,290.)

Hab. Eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, Mexico, on the table-lands, north to Upper Missouri. Orizaba (Sclater, 1860, 251); San Antonio, Texas, spring (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 486); Fort Whipple, Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 84); Vera Cruz, plateau, breeding (Sumichrast, I, 551).

As already stated, this bird is very similar to P. ornatus. It appears to be a very little larger, or, at any rate, with considerably longer wings. The bill, however, is shorter and stouter; the hind claw decidedly longer. The chestnut of the back of the neck is darker. The white on the outer web of the tertiaries and secondaries is much purer and wider. The rufous margins of the pectoral feathers we have never seen in P. ornatus. The most striking peculiarity, however, is in having the shoulders black, instead of brown like the rest of the wing-feathers, edged with paler. Both have the white posterior row of lesser wing-coverts.

An immature male (6,291) has the black of the head mixed with brown, and a maxillary series of spots on each side of the throat. A female has a similar series of spots; the under parts generally being brownish-white, the shafts across the breast and along the sides streaked with brown, the concealed portions of the feathers light brown, fading out to the whitish exterior. There is no black on the shoulder, nor chestnut on the nape.

Fully mature specimens of this bird and of ornatus are so rare in collections as to render it difficult to decide positively as to their true relationship. It is by no means impossible that they merely represent different conditions of plumage of one species, but for the present, at least, we prefer to consider them as distinct. The P. melanomus is resident on the table-lands of Mexico.

Habits. Of the habits and general history of this species, very little is known. Its close resemblance to P. ornatus is suggestive of its probably equally close similarity in nesting, eggs, and manner of feeding. Specimens have been received from Mexico, from Fort Thorn, from New Mexico, Pole Creek, and the Black Hills. From the last-named places they were obtained in August and September.

Dr. Heermann, in his Report on the birds observed in Lieutenant Parke’s route near the 32d parallel, mentions having met with these birds, which he calls the Black-shouldered Longspur, at a large prairie-dog village some miles west of Puerto del Dado. They were in flocks, and were associated with P. maccowni. From that point to the Rio Grande he found both of these species abundant wherever they struck isolated water-holes, these being the only places for miles around where drink can be procured. When shot at, they rise as if to go away, but are forced to return, after describing a few curves, to the only spot where they can procure their necessary drink. They may thus be killed in great numbers. Dr. Heermann states that he has seen from a hundred to a hundred and fifty thus brought down in four or five discharges of a gun.

Mr. Dresser states that on the 4th of April a small flock of what was at first supposed to be the P. ornatus was noticed near the town of San Antonio. They were pursued, and found on the banks of the San Pedro. They were not very shy, and specimens were procured which proved to be of this species. This is the only time that they have been observed in that part of the country, though they may have been mistaken for other species.