f • im • )
R O S E A T E SPOONBILL.
I'l.ATAI.i'.A AJAJA, LINN.
1*1.ATK CCCXXI. AUI'LT MAIS.
THIS beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the
southern extremities of the peninsula • of Florida,^seldom extends it«
journeys;1 in an eastern dfréctioli beyond the State of North Carolina.
Indeed it is of extremely rare occurrence there, and even in South Carolina,
my friend JOHN BACHMAN informs me that he has observed
only three individuals in the course of twenty years. He ortc.o obtained
a specimen fH full plumage about ten mile's north of Charleston. It is
rarely seen in the interior of the country, at any distance from the waters
of the Atlantic, or those of the GuIf'Of Mexico. A •specimen sent
to WILSON at -Philadelphia from the neighbourhood of- the city of
Natchez, in thé State of Mississippi, appears to have lost itself, as
during my stay in that section of the country ! never heard of another;
nor have I ever mot with one of these birds farther up thé Mississippi
than about thirty miles from- its mouths. Although rather abundant ofi*
some parts of the coast of Florida,: I found it more.-so along the Bay of
Mexico,"particularly in Galveston Bay in the Texas, where;, as well as
on the Florida Keys, it breeds in Hocks. The Spoonbills arc so sensible
of cold, that those which-spend the winter on the Keys, near Cape Sable
in Florida, rarely leave those parts for the neighbourhood of St Augustine
before the first days of, March. But after this you may find them
along most of the water courses running parallel to the coast, and distant
about half a mile or a mile from it. I ¡s^w none; on any part of
the St .John's Hiver ; and from all the answers which I obtained to my
various inquiries respecting this bird, I feel -confident that it never
breeds in the interior of the peninsula, nor is ever seen there in winter.
The Roseate Spoonbilhis found for the most part along the marshy
and muddy borders of estuaries, thé mouths of rivers, ponds,, or sea
islands or keys partially overgrown with bushes, and perhaps still more
commonly along; the shores; of those singular salt-water bayous so
abundant within a mile or so of the shores, where they can reside
R O S E A T E SPOONBILL. 189
and breed in. perfect security in the midst of an abundance of food.
It is more or less gregarious at all seasons, and it is rare to meet with
fewer than half a dozen together, unless they have been dispersed by
a tempest, in which case "tuuof them is now and then found in a situation
where you would least expect it. At "the approach of the; breeding
season, these small' flocks collect to form great bodies, as is; the
m«inner of the Ibises, and resort to tlieir former places of residence,
t 0 which they regularly return',- likfS-Herons. During the moult,
which takes, place in Florida late in May, the young of the preceding
year conceal themselves among the -close branches of the mangroves
and other trees growing' over narrow inlets, between secluded keys, or
on bayous, where, they spend the whole day, and whence,it is difficult
to start them. Toward night they return to their feeding grounds,
generally keeping apart from the old birds. In the same country the
old birds pass through their; spring moult early in March',after which
they arc truly beautiful,- presenting the. ¡appearance- which I have attempted
to represent in flu» i plate before yon. Thfit sight of a floek
of fifteen or twenty of these full-dressed birds is extremely pleasing to
the student of-nature,- should lie conceal himself from their view, for
then he may Observe their -movements and manners to advantage. Now,
they, all stand with their wings widely extended to receive the sun's rays,
or perhaps to court the cooling breeze, or,thev enjoy either seated on
their tarsi. Again, they all stalk about with graceful steps along the
margin of the muddy pool, or wade in the shallows in search of food.
After a while they rise simultaneously on wing, and gradually ascend
in a spiral manner to a great; height, whore you see -them crossing
•OiU'h other in a thousand ways» like .so many Vultures or Ibises.. At
length, tired of this pastime, or perhaps urged by hunger, they return
to; their feeding' grounds in-a zigzag course, and. plunge through
the; air, as if displaying their powers of. flight before yon. These
birds fly with their necks stretched forward to their full length,
and their legs and feet extended behind, moving otherwise in the
manner of Herons, or with easy flappings, until about to alight,
when they sail with expanded wings, passing once or twice over the
spot, and then gently coming to the ground, on which they run a few
stops. When travelling to a distant place they proceed in regular ranks,
but on ordinary occasions' they fly in a confused manner. When the
sun is shining, and they are wheeling on wing previous to alighting,