250 HOODED MERGANSER.
elongated. Wings very short, small, curved, and pointed; primaries
narrow, tapering, the first scarcely shorter than second, the rest rapidly
graduated ; secondaries short, narrow, rounded, the inner elongated and
tapering. Tail short, graduated, of sixteen rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris yellow. Feet yellowish-brown ; claws dusky. Upper
part of the head, back, smaller wing-coverts, quills and tail, brownish
black ; sides of the head, upper half of neck all round, the broad extremities
of the large feathers on the shoulders, the scapulars, inner secondaries,
and larger wing-coverts, greenish-black. A broad patch of white
behind the eye, very conspicuous in the erected crest. Lower part of
neck and breast also white, as are the speculum and the central part of
the inner secondaries. Sides beautifully marked with undulated transverse
lines of yellowish-brown and brownish-black ; lower tail-coverts
whitish, similarly undulated.
Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 16f, to end of claws
18; extent of wings 26; wing from flexure 7^; tail 4 ; bill along the
ridge 1£§, along the edge of lower mandible I f ; tarsus 1^, middle toe
1^|, its claw Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCXXXII. Fig. 2.
The female is much smaller than the male. The crest is smaller and
of a looser texture ; the feathers of the shoulders not so large; those of
the sides shorter and more compact. The bill is brownish-black towards
the end and along the ridge, orange towards the base. The upper part
of the head, including the crest, yellowish-brown ; chin whitish, upper
part of neck and sides of the head greyish-brown. The general colour of
the back, upper surface of wings, tail, and sides, is blackish-brown, the
feathers edged with paler, the edgings of the fore part of the back and
shoulders larger and pale greyish-brown; speculum greyish-white; breast
and abdomen pale yellowish-brown.
Length to end of tail 17i inches, to end of claws 16^; extent of
wings 24. Weight 1 lb.
The Young resemble the female. The young males after their first
moult still resemble the female, but have the speculum and lower parts
pure white.
( 251 )
T H E S O R A R A I L.
BALL us CAROL JNUS, LINN.
PLATE CCXXXIII. MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.
NOT many years have elapsed since it was supposed by some of the
inhabitants of those districts to which thousands of this species of Rail
resort at particular periods, that the Soras buried themselves in the mud
at the approach of cold weather, for the purpose of there spending the
winter in a state of torpidity. Many wonderful tales were circulated to
convince the world of the truth of this alleged phenomenon ; but the fact
was, as you will naturally anticipate, that the birds merely shifted their
quarters, as no doubt they will continue to do, so long as the climate becomes
too cold for them in winter. Prior to the days of WILSON, very
little indeed had been published respecting the habits of our birds. Superstitious
notions and absurd fancies occupied the place of accurate
knowledge in the minds of people too earnestly engaged in more important
pursuits, to attend to the history of the animals around them ; and
with respect to the Sora in particular, I have no doubt that the settlers
in our original forests cared very little about them, farther than that,
when well cooked, they afforded a very savoury dish. Now, however,
the case is very different. Many of the enterprising and industrious sons
of Columbia have attained affluence and ease, and their children receive
a liberal education. The sciences and arts, those attendants on peaceful
commerce, are now sources of pleasure to many of our citizens, and at the
present day there are not a few individuals among us, devotedly engaged
in the pursuit of zoology in all its branches. So rapid has been the progress
of ornithology in particular, that I should hesitate before asserting
that any American, however uncultured, now believes that Rails burrow
in the mud.
Those who have studied the habits of our birds, or of those of any part
of the world, no longer admit that Swallows are condemned to search for
warmth under the ice; for we have proofs that these birds can with ease obtain
all that is necessary for their comfortable subsistence, by removing on
wing to a warmer region. The Soras and many other species of birds are
similar in this respect to the Swallows. The Vulture that was supposed