502 FRIGATE PELICAN.
extremely short, feathered; toes all placed in the same plane, and connected
by short reticulated webs with concave margins, but running narrow
along the sides; they are scutellate above, broad and papillate beneath;
first toe small, second shorter than fourth, third much longer than
the latter. Claws strong, compressed, curved, acute, that of middle toe
long, obliquely flattened, and pectinate on the inner edge.
Eyelids and gular sac, with the anterior part of the neck, bare. Plumage
compact, on the head, neck, breast, and back, shining. The feathers
of the head, neck, and back are lanceolate and acuminate; of the
breast and sides broader ; of the wings small and rounded. Wings extremely
long, pointed, the first quill longest, the rest rapidly diminishing;
the secondaries very short, obliquely rounded and acuminate, the inner
long and tapering. Tail very long, deeply forked, of twelve rounded
feathers, the outer narrow and abruptly rounded.
Bill light purplish-blue, white in the middle, the curved tips dusky.
Inside of mouth carmine ; gular sac orange. Bare space about the eye
purplish-blue; iris deep brown. Feet light carmine above, orange beneath.
The' general colour of the plumage is brownish-black, the head,
neck, back, breast, and sides, splendent with green and purple reflections,
the former predominating on the head, the latter on the back. The wings
are tinged with grey, the inner secondaries and tail with brown; the shafts
of the former black, of the latter brown.
I have observed in specimens which I considered to be very old, that
the gular sac was covered with pustules, similar to those found at times
around the base of the mandibles of the Cathartes Aura, and which appear
to be the effects of disease, occasioned by their coming frequently
in contact with putrid substances.
Length to end of tail 41 inches, to end of wings 37; to end of claws
wing from flexure 25, tail 18; extent of wings 86; bill along the
back 5 j , along the edge of lower mandible 5T
7
g ; tarsus f ; middle toe its
claw \§. Weight 3 lb. 6 oz.
The Adult Female differs from the male in several respects. The
former has the whole plumage dark-coloured, whereas the latter has a
broad white space on the breast, that colour extending forwards along
the sides of the neck, and encircling it about the middle. The feathers
of the back are less elongated and pointed, and their lustre is much inferior
to that of the male. The dark parts also are more tinged with
brown, and most of the smaller wing-coverts are of the latter colour.
( 503 )
RICHARDSON'S JAGER.
LESTRIS RICHARDSONII, SWAINS.
PLATE CCLXXII. MALE AND YOUNG.
THIS bird, though rare on the coast of the United States, visits the
shores of Massachusetts and Maine, where, during winter, it is seen over
the bays and inlets, to which various species of Gulls also resort at the
same season. It is more shy and difficult to be approached than the Pomarine
Jager. Its flight is rapid and greatly protracted; and, like the
other species of this genus, it harasses the smaller Gulls and Terns, forcing
them to disgorge their food. Dr RICHARDSON informs us that it
breeds in considerable numbers in the barren grounds, at a distance from
the coast, and that it feeds on testaceous mollusca, which are plentiful in
the small lakes of the fur countries. I am unable to afford any information
respecting its habits; nor can I state decidedly the number of eggs
which it lays, although I have procured several of them. They measure
two inches and three-eighths in length, by one inch and five-eighths in
breadth, are of an oval rather pointed form, and have a dull greyish-yellow
ground, patched with umber and faint purple, the markings closer
towards the larger end. I am extremely doubtful as to the right which
this bird has to rank as a species distinct from L. parasiticus.
LESTRIS RICHARDSONII, RICHARDSON'S JAGER, Swains, and Richards. Fauna-Bor.
Amer. part ii. p. 433.—Nutlall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 319.
Adult Male in Spring. Plate CCLXXII. Fig. 1.
Bill about the length of the head, rather slender, straight, the tip
curved. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, toward the end
curved, the ridge broad and convex, the sides separated from the ridge
by a narrow groove, extremely narrow and convex, the edges sharp and
inflected, the tip compressed, rather obtuse. Nostrils in the fore part of
the nasal groove, nearer the tip than the base, submarginal, pervious,
linear-oblong, wider anteriorly. Lower mandible with the angle long and
narrow, a slight prominence at its extremity, beyond which the dorsal
line is straight and ascending, the sides sloping outwards and convex, the
edges sharp and inflected, the tip obliquely truncate and rather obtuse.