246 .SMDVKI.l.Kit IJUCK.
very moderate #¡¡56 compared with that observed in many other diifikfe
The rings an- 98 ; those at the lower part" broader and much stronger,
but all of them ossified. The bronchial half rings about, 35,
In another individual, the; stomacji in 1J inch long,, 1-& liroad ;; the
right lateral muscle 6 twelfths thick. Contents, pgrtieleji pf quart?.,
and fragments of shi)ll,|. Intestine 11 feet 6 inch® long; cpoca fij
inches k jng; reGtom inches. •
I.ong intestines, like long bills, often exhibit great differences in
the same species ; for which reason «'hamcture taken from the length
of these parts must be received with latitude. Even in the Rapacious
Birds, in which the intestine is generally very short, considerable differences
are observed in individuals of the same sex and. fie. It will
he seen from the above statement that the Shoveller lia's a longer and
more slender intestine than any other American duck. In this respect
it is analogous to Pandion and Haliaetus among, the Raptores; .gene,
ralizing vaguely from the consideration,®!' which, as some have- done,
one might he: apt to conclude that it is more piscivorous than the
Canvass-back and Pochard, which however is by no means the case.
Although in some birds and mammalia a very elongated intestinal
canal is connected with piscivorous habits, yet many birds,which feed
exclusively on fish, such as Gannets, Auks, and Guillemots, have the intestine
of only moderate length or short. It appears simply that when
for some reason resulting from the economy of the species, the intestine
must fee: elongated, it is made proportionally narrow; whereas if it be
expedient that it should be short, its calibre is increased.
(. 247 |
BLACK-NECKED STILT.
HIMANTOPUS NIGBICOLLIS, VIF.ILL.
PLATE CCCXXVHI. ADULT M»t.>:.
A KEW individuals of this singular ijWefes¡occasionally pass the
winter in the Wwe* parts of Louisiana, especially in theseefaon called
I B M I have also found it at the same period in the Flortdas
b i t the greater number follow the H | of the Gulf of g g g and
- profeee® beyond our Southern M In April 1837, I observed therr
first appe a r an d Galveston Bay in H where many remaaned
until our departure They were in small flocks, seldom composed of
more than seven or eight individuals, which almost immediately:^^
rated into parties of two or three, and eommeflced their seaxeh ftr fc«L
They kept about « « small «haliow braekish ponds: on tie elands of
• W to were observed Mowing the s i n u « of
bayous in company with other birds. They-were much more .shy than
— while breeding, fed it was with some difficulty that we procured
specimens. • Wh e n one H killed, the H g g j g to a considerable
W W — n u Ht o mm m a7'd
manner, with regular beats of ,he wings, their necks and legs extended.
On such « s t e h s they u t t e r e i a whistling cryv different from, the »fei,
H cteek, which they emit when they have nests or young.
All the writers who have described the haSifa of this btrd, allege
that it walks with a I staggering g a i t f but this is by n o means the
• for they a p p e n d to us to walk as firmly as any otter B U
birds, such • Herons,; Curlews, and fte American Avoset; and I had
many opportunities of observing them, as had my friend EOWAKD
HARRIS, M B and all the n,embers of our party.
Towaid the end of April, flocks of this bird reach the Mtddle Dtsm
by following the coast, for they are very rarely met with at any
great distance from the sea shore. They generally betake themselves
to extensive marshes abounding in muddy inlets and small ponds m
the vicinity of which they usually pla*e their neste. About the middle
of May, parties of from ten, to twenty collect, and • seen wadtng
sometimes up to their breast, in search of food, which is extremely