Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5)

by John James Audubon

The vertebræ of the neck have no resemblance to those of Herons, nor does that part curve in the same abrupt manner; and the sternum is in all essential respects similar to that of the Curlews, Tringas, and other birds of that family, it having a very prominent crest, with two deep posterior notches on each side. In fact, the sternum of Tringa Cinclus is almost an exact miniature of it.

The compact form of the body, its great muscularity, the form of the legs, the length and slenderness of the neck, the form and bareness of the head, and the elongation of the bill, especially when it is laterally viewed, all indicate an affinity to the Tantali and Numenii. But the Spoonbills are also allied in various degrees to the Herons and Pelicaninæ; so that they clearly present one of those remarkable centres of radiation, demonstrative of the absurdity of quinary and circular arrangements, founded merely on a comparison of skins.

RED-HEADED DUCK.

Fuligula Ferina, Stephens.
PLATE CCCXXII. Male and Female.

At New Orleans, this bird is commonly known by the name of “Dos Gris.” It arrives there in great flocks, about the first of November, and departs late in April, or in the beginning of May. On the lakes Borgne, St John, and Ponchartrain, it is very abundant, keeping in large flocks, separate from the other species. In that part of the country its food consists of small fishes, in pursuit of which it is seen constantly diving. It is caught in different sorts of nets, and easily kept in confinement, feeding greedily on Indian corn, whether entire or crushed by the millstone. In 1816, many thousands of these ducks as well as others of different species, were caught in nets by a Frenchman, who usually sent them alive to market in cages from the narrows of the Lakes, especially from those called “La pointe aux herbes,” and the “Isle aux pins.” So many of them, however, were procured by this man, that he after a while gave up sending them alive, on account of the great difficulty he encountered in procuring a sufficient number of cages for their accommodation.

Although Dr Richardson informs us that this species breeds “in all parts of the fur-countries, from the fiftieth parallel to their most northern limits,” I saw none of these birds during the spring and summer months which I spent on the coast of Labrador. I was equally unsuccessful in my search for it in Newfoundland. Indeed, I have never observed it eastward of the State of Massachusetts, although from thence it is more and more abundant the farther south you proceed, until you reach the tributaries of the Mississippi. Beyond the mouths of that river, these birds are rarely seen; and when I was there in April 1837, none were observed by my party or myself after we had left the south-west Pass on our way westward. In the Texas none were even heard of. From these circumstances I have inferred that, along with several other species, the Red-headed Duck reaches the Middle and Southern States by passing overland or following our great streams, such as the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi, westward, and the North River, and others eastward, both in its vernal and autumnal migrations. This I am the more inclined to believe, on account of the great numbers which on such occasions I have seen in ponds in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

I found it abundant in the marshes near St Augustine, in East Florida, on the 8th November 1831, when the young males of that year had the breast and lower neck mottled with brown and blackish feathers; and yet whilst at General Hernandez’s, in that district, on the 20th of December, they were in almost perfect plumage. At this latter period they were shy, and kept in company with Mallards, American Wigeons, Scaup Ducks, and Spoonbills, generally in shallow fresh-water ponds, at some distance from the sea shore. In South Carolina, these ducks are now much more abundant than they were twenty years ago, especially on the Santee River, where my friend Dr Samuel Wilson Has shot many of them, as well as of the Canvass-back species.

The Red-headed Duck may be said to be equally fond of salt and fresh water, and is found in abundance, during its stay with us, on the Chesapeake Bay, especially in the month of March, when it associates with the Canvass-back and other Ducks, and is offered for sale in the Baltimore markets in great numbers. There I have seen them sold at 75 cents the pair, which was lower by 25 cents than their price at New Orleans in April 1837.

Although they dive much and to a great depth, while in our bays and estuaries, yet when in the shallow ponds of the interior, they are seen dabbling the mud along the shores, much in the manner of the Mallard; and on occasionally shooting them there, I have found their stomach crammed with young tadpoles and small water-lizards, as well as blades of the grasses growing around the banks. Nay, on several occasions, I have found pretty large acorns and beech-nuts in their throats, as well as snails, entire or broken, and fragments of the shells of various small unios, together with much gravel.

In confinement, they do not exhibit that degree of awkwardness attributed to them when on land. It is true that the habitual shortening of the neck detracts from their beauty, so that in this state they cannot be said to present a graceful appearance; yet their aspect has always been pleasing to my sight. Their notes are rough and coarse, and bear less resemblance to the cries of those species which are peculiar to fresh water than those of any other of their tribe. Their flight is performed in a hurried manner, and they start from the water pell-mell; yet they can continue very long on wing, and the motions of their pinions, especially at night, produce a clear whistling sound.