360 P I E D - B I L L E D DOBCHICK,
The Pied-billed Dobchick may be met with in almost every part of the
United States, at one season or other: in the south and west during autumn
and winter, in the east and north-west in spring and summer, mostly
on fresh waters of all descriptions, yet when these are covered with ice,
on bays and estuaries, where it searches for shrimps and fry, although under
other circumstances such haunts are not congenial to it. It is found
in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but I did not meet with it in Labrador
or Newfoundland.
I had the good fortune, on the 28th of June, to stumble upon a nest
of this bird near the banks of the Wabash river, above Vincennes. It
was large for the bird, raised several inches above the muddy and reedy
shores of a pond, only a few feet from the water, and composed of decayed
weeds, rushes, and earth. On being discovered, the sitting bird
slid over the mud, along a path that led directly to the water, in which it
immediately dived, and I saw no more of it for about twenty minutes.
The eggs, which were five, measured an inch and a quarter, by seven and a
half-eighths, were smooth, rather rounded, and of a light greenish-white
colour. On breaking one of them, I found it to contain a chick considerably
advanced, which induced me to leave the rest untouched, and before I
departed I saw the bird, which I believed to be the female, swimming low
at a distance. I watched it for some time, but could not discover another,
and walked away to allow it to resume its occupation. The nest was fixed
among the stalks of strong reeds, but was not attached to any of them.
In the month of August, while on the Cayuga lakes, I saw one of these
birds with a brood of young about half grown, but could not obtain a
single specimen, as they dived with extreme quickness, and eluded all
pursuit.
Few birds plunge with more rapidity than this species, which, during
submersion, employs its wings, as I had an opportunity of observing while
some were passing under a boat when I was in pursuit of them. On the
water it is almost impossible to catch them, unless they have been injured in
the wing, when they are unable to dive without difficulty. The curious
habit which they have of sinking gradually backward in the water, at the
sight of an enemy, is very pleasing to observe. Not a ripple do they
leave on the spot where they have disappeared, and one unacquainted
with them can hardly conceive that a bird could have escaped in so dexterous
a manner. My friend THOMAS MACCULLGCH gave me an account
of one which, having been observed on a small mill-dam, was pursued by
P I E D - B I L L E D DOBCHICK. 361
the miller's sons, who, after chasing it fully an hour, could not even drive
it on shore. Their father, however, who was as anxious as themselves to
see the curious creature, drained the pond, when the little thing was seen
crawling over the mud in a manner not unlike that of a turtle. It was
now easily caught, as it was not able to rise on wing, the species, it seems,
being incapable of springing from the ground, and was afterwards given
to my young friend, who presented it beautifully prepared to me.
While I was at Philadelphia, my learned and staunch friend Dr
RICHARD HARLAN, received two Pied-billed Grebes alive, which had been
caught in a fishing-net on Brandy wine Creek. We placed them in a large
tub of water, where we could see all their subaqueous movements. They
swam round the sides of the tub in the manner of the Puffin, moving
their wings in accordance with their feet, and continued so a much longer
time than one could suppose it possible for them to remain under water,
coming up to breathe, and plunging again with astonishing celerity.
When placed on the carpet, they ran awkwardly half erect, for a distance
of a few feet, tumbled over, and scrambled along with the aid of their
wings. Nothing could induce them to eat, and after a day or two of captivity,
the little creatures were taken to the Delaware, and set at liberty.
This bird retires to rest on the floating beds of rushes met with in ponds,
or on the edges of the shores; and in such places you may see it sitting upright,
and dressing its plumage in the sunshine. They are extremely unwilling
to rise on wing, unless during their migrations, or when chasing
each other at the pairing season, which- commences in March, when they
manifest a good deal of pugnacity. On such occasions, the males fly, dive,
and rise again on wing, in the manner of the Foolish Guillemot. While
travelling, they pass rapidly through the air, at times at a considerable elevation,
when the movements of their wings produce a sound like that of a
hawk stooping on its prey. They are seldom found in parties of more
than six or seven. The idea of their migrating by water is quite absurd.
How long would it take a Dobchick to swim from the mouths of the Mississippi
to the head waters of the Ohio; and when arrived there, after
six or seven weeks of constant paddling, how is he to proceed farther ?
Yet it is well known that they breed farther north, and are general on
the southern waters early in October.
The food of the Pied-billed Dobchick consists of small fry, plants, seeds,
aquatic insects, and snails; along with which they swallow gravel. On
opening several individuals, in different parts of the Union, I observed in