part i

. p. 192.

Adult Male. Plate CLXXXVII. Fig. 1.

Bill long, straight, strong, tapering, compressed from the base; upper mandible encroaching a little on the forehead, slightly declinate at the tip, its dorsal line almost straight, the sides convex, the edges sharp and slightly inflected; lower mandible straight in its dorsal outline, convex on the sides, the edges sharp and involute, the tip acute and very slightly deflected, the gap-line slightly deflected at the base, and reaching to beneath the eye. Nostrils basal oval, half closed by a membrane. Head of moderate size, flattened, neck of moderate length, body rather slender, the whole form elegant. Feet of moderate length; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with seven scutella, sharp behind; toes rather long, scutellate above, the hind toe stronger, the lateral toes nearly equal, the middle one much longer; claws rather long, slightly arched, compressed, acute.

Plumage soft, blended, silky, highly glossed. Wings of ordinary length; third quill longest, second scarcely shorter, first and fourth about equal; the second, third, fourth, and fifth, cut out on the outer web towards the end; secondaries abruptly rounded with an acumen. Tail very long, graduated, broadly rounded at the end, of twelve rounded feathers, of which the two middle have their webs slightly bent upwards, the shafts and webs of all transversely undulated.

Bill, feet, and claws, black. Iris pale yellow. The general appearance of the plumage is black; but the head and upper parts of the neck all round are splendent deep bluish-purple, the back and breast anteriorly steel-blue, posteriorly bluish-green; the rump and tail-coverts darker. The abdomen, and lower tail-coverts and tibial feathers, plain black. Quills and tail black, slightly glossed with green on the outer webs.

Length 15⅞, extent of wings 23¾; bill along the ridge 1-5/12, along the edge 1¾; tarsus 1-10/12; tail-feathers 8½; weight 7½ ounces.

Adult Female. Plate CLXXXVII. Fig. 2.

The female is smaller. Her plumage is soft and blended, but is not glossed beneath, and on the upper parts is so only in a comparatively slight degree. The tail is graduated as in the male, but much shorter. The general colour of the upper parts is dusky, with slight tints of green and blue; the head and neck dull brown, with a paler band over the eye; the lower parts light reddish-brown, the tibial feathers and lower tail-coverts dusky.

Length 12⅝ inches, extent of wings 18; bill along the ridge 1-2/12, along the edge 1⅜; tarsus 1-7/12; tail-feathers 4¾; weight 3¾ ounces.

Individuals of both sexes, but especially males, differ greatly in size, from the time they obtain their full plumage until they are several years old, the difference sometimes amounting to several inches in the length of the birds, and affording an excellent opportunity of manufacturing new species.

THE LIVE OAK, QUERCUS VIRENS, _Willd._ Sp. Pl. vol. iv. p. 425. _Pursh_, Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 626.—MONŒCIA POLYANDRIA, _Linn._ AMENTACEÆ, _Juss._

The Live Oak has already been spoken of in the article entitled "The Live-Oakers" (p. 236). When left growing detached and free from all other forest trees, it attains a great size, spreading out its large arms to the distance sometimes of twenty yards, but seldom reaching to a proportionate height. Splendid avenues of this valuable tree are frequently seen in Georgia, South Carolina, and many of the sea islands, leading to the planters' houses. A few miles below New Orleans are some, probably centuries old, which are the finest I have seen. I have not observed this tree far above the city of Natchez on the Mississippi, nor farther eastward than the central maritime parts of North Carolina. It prefers flat rich soils, and is rarely found at any great distance from rivers or the sea-shore. The leaves are evergreen, leathery, oblong-elliptical, obtuse at the base, acute at the tip, with the edges revolute, and the lower surface downy; the cupule is turbinate, with short scales; the acorn oblong, sweet, and to the taste of some equal to the hazel-nut.

THE TREE SPARROW.

_FRINGILLA CANADENSIS_, LATH.

PLATE CLXXXVIII. MALE AND FEMALE.

This species seldom if ever resorts to the Southern States during winter, and to the westward of the Alleghany mountains scarcely proceeds farther down the Ohio than the neighbourhood of Louisville in Kentucky; so that it may be considered as quite a northern bird. It reaches Massachusetts at the approach of winter, and is more frequent in the maritime districts of that State than in the interior, where, however, it is met with in considerable numbers. In the beginning of October, if the weather be cold, the Tree Sparrow is seen among the magnificent elm trees that ornament the beautiful city of Boston and its neighbouring villages; and, like the hardy, industrious, and enterprising people among whom it seems to spend the severe season by choice, it makes strenuous efforts to supply itself with the means of subsistence. Many remove as far south as Pennsylvania, and even Maryland; but I never observed one in either of the Carolinas. Their return to the north is marked by a lingering disposition to wait each day for a finer and warmer morrow. They appear, indeed, so perfectly aware of the danger to be encountered during a forced march in the early spring, that on the least change from mild weather to cold, they immediately return to their loved winter quarters. By the middle of May, however, they have begun to move regularly, and their songs announce the milder season at every resting place at which they tarry.

The Tree Sparrow sings sweetly during the love season. I have frequently listened to their musical festivals near Eastport, in the State of Maine, while gazing upon them with an ardent desire to follow them in their progress northward. Twenty or more, perched on the same tree, often delighted me with their choruses, now and then varied with the still clearer notes of one or two White-throated Finches, that, like leaders of an orchestra, seemed to mark time for the woodland choristers. Toward the close of the day their single notes were often repeated, and sounded like those of a retreat. They seemed to hop and dance about among the branches, mixing with the "White-throats," and enjoying a general conversation, when the pipings of two or three frogs would suspend their entertainment. At early dawn they were all on the alert, and if the rising sun announced a fine day, group after group would ascend in the air, and, with joyful feelings, immediately proceed towards their breeding-places in the distant north.

I followed them as far as the Magdeleine Isles, saw some in Newfoundland, and all the countries between it and Maine, but did not find a single individual in Labrador. On the islands above mentioned I saw them arriving in flocks of from five to a dozen, flying widely apart. They dived towards the ground, and at once threw themselves among the thickest coverts of the tangled groves, where, although I could hear their single _chip_, I could seldom see them afterwards. Their flight is more elegant and elevated than that of most of our Sparrows, and they pass through the air in rapid undulations, more regular and continued than those of any other bird of the genus, except the Fox-coloured Sparrow.

On opening several of these birds, I found their stomach to contain very minute shell-fish, the remains of coleopterous insects, some hard seeds, small berries, and grains of sand.

Many of the Tree Sparrows breed in New Brunswick, in Nova Scotia, and, I have reasons for believing, in the northern portions of the State of Maine. A nest given me by Professor MACCULLOCH, had been found a few feet from the ground, on the horizontal branch of a fir tree, not far from the stem. It was principally formed of rough grass, and lined with fibrous roots, hairs of various quadrupeds, and some from the horse. It contained five eggs, of a uniform deep blue, so closely resembling those of the Common Chipping Sparrow, that, had they not been much larger, I might have concluded them to be those of that bird. I suspect that, in a country where the summer is so short, the Tree Sparrow seldom if ever breeds more than once in the season.

When we returned to the United States late in August, the Tree Sparrows with their young were already moving southward. A mere intimation of the rich chestnut colour of the head of the adult in summer was seen. They had already tuned their pipes, which sounded in my ear as their affectionate farewell to a country, where these sweet little creatures had met with all of happiness that their nature could desire.

The pair represented in the plate, and which have been placed on a twig of the Barberry bush, were procured at Boston. The drawing from which it has been copied was made by my youngest son.

FRINGILLA CANADENSIS, _Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 434.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 109.

EMBERIZA CANADENSIS, TREE BUNTLING, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 252.

TREE SPARROW, FRINGILLA ARBOREA, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 123. pl. 16. fig. 3.—F. CANADENSIS, _Nuttall_, Manual,

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