192 R O S E A T E SPOONBILL.
my friend EDWAJ S B II ARRIS, and ¡to my soil,' that I thought the eggs
and nests of which I speak were those of the Roseate Spoonbill' and
mot of the Herons. What rendered the fact doubtful, however, was,
that no Spoonbills were to be: seen, as they hud all betaken themselves
to flight on hearing the reports of our guns.
In connection with the procuring of some of these birds, I find a
rather curious occurrence recorded in my journal. On tho 2d of May
1837, my party and I went on shore from the Revenue Gutter the
" Campbell," on the island of Galveston, for the' purpose.'of obtaining
fish and prawns, ¿¡¡ft latter of which are in that country extremely
abundant, and certainif the largest I have over seen. Our fishing over,
we were: on the point of returning, when we saw three Spoonbills alight
on a sand-bar, and almost immediately proceed to. the water In search
of food. My son wM despatched after them, and having waded through
some muddy parts of the inlet on the shore of which we wore standing,
hi! succeeded in getting near, anil killed thejjijiogt of' the three, Almost
at the same instant, the back tins of a large fish, resembling those
of a shark, were seen meandering above the surface of the shallow waters.
My-Sion-received prompt intelligence: of this, to enable him to make
good l i s return. The monster moved about rather slowly, and JOHN
having rammed lionve a couple oMmllots, lodged them in its body, on
which it floundered about apparently in great agony. One of our boats
immediately pushed toward the spot, and my son was taken on board,
while the animal used its' host. efforts to- j p j | into deeper water. Now
sailow and alfejoined inythe chase. 6®].o.gun was again charged with
balls, my son waded once more towards it, aihd lodged the1-missiles in
its body, while from the bow of the: boat ^received several; blows from
the oars and. gaff-hook. The tars all leaped into the water, and the
bleeding fish was latHin^a closely pjptft The boatswain at a single
lucky stroke cut off its tail, and having; afterwards fastened the hook in
one-of its eyes, wn dragged it U> the beach. About a hundred Moxiean
prisoners, Texian soldier?, and officers, were there; hut instead
of our prize turning out a shark, it proved to he: a sawfish, tneasurS
ing rather more than twelve foot in length, from its body we took
out alive ten young ones:. It was cut into pieces by the Mexican prisoners,
and soon devoured. ..Eive or six of the young were put into
rum, and ultimately carried to England.
The feathers of the wings an®-jail of the Roseate Spoonbill Wema-
R O S E A T E SPOONBILL.
193
imfactured into fans by the Indians and Negroes of Florida ; and at St
August'®! these ornaments form in some-degree a regular article of
trade. Their flesh is oily and poor eating.
^ I A T A U S A AJAJA, Lma Syst. Nat vol. I p 231 —Lath IND. Ormth. vol. ii. p. 668.
^iftw^s^s 'i^Jçiliôi Birds of United States, p. 346.
KOSI:»TE SPOOKBII.!., PSATAXEA AJAJA, WUS, .Wr. Omith. vol. V:i. p. 123, pi. 63,
%. I.*, Xutmll, Manual, vol. ii. p. 79-
Adult Male. PliSfcCCXXI.
Bill verylqng, excessively depressed, being when viewed laterally
very slender, but when .seen from above nearly as broad as the head at
the base, considerably, contracted in Wo middle, and at the end expanded
into a large obovate disk much broader than the head. Upper mandible
with the dorsal outline almost çtraight, descending at the base, at
the tip decttrved, the ridge extremely broad and flat, gradually wideningfipyond
the nostrils, at the end terminated by the very small, decurved,
blunt claw; the siîes declinate at the base, horizontally flattened
towards the end, Separated in their whole length from, the ridge
by a narrow groove, their margins soft and blunt, . .Nostrils basal, oblong
linear, of moderate size. Lower *j§ndible with the angle very
long, narrow, rounded, tho crura narrow, and gradually flattened, the
extremity expanded into a. flattened disk as in the tipper. The mandibles
are covered with soft skin, which for half their 'length is rough
with roundish plates having their anterior margin somewhat prominent.
Head of moderate size, flattened above. Neck long and slender.
Body compact, ovate; Legs long and rather slender ; tibia bare in its
lower half, and reticulate ; tarsus rather long, stout, roundish, covered
all round with reticulated subhexagonal scales ; toes rather long, mode^
rately stout, covered above with numerous scntella, but at the base reticulated
; first more slender, articulated On the same plane ; second
considerably shorter than third, which is ill the same proportion exceeded
by the. fourth. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, laterally
grooved, rather obtuse, .
The .head, gular sac, and a small part of the neck, destitute of
feathers. Those -on the neck linear or lanceolate, small, with disunited
barbs:; a tuft on the lower and fore part of the neck recurved
and silky. The feathers oh the other parts are of moderate length,
r" VOL, m-"*"-1? '. - * ;' ; N