The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 19, No. 550, June 2, 1832 by Various
page 8 of 45 (17%)
page 8 of 45 (17%)
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bird, are very short; the lesser quills ending in a point. The tail is
rather lengthened and considerably rounded, each feather lanceolate, and gradually attenuated to a fine point. The tarsi are somewhat elevated, thickly clothed with feathers to the base of the toes, and over the membrane which connects them. The length of this bird Mr. Swainson thinks to have been 25 inches. The female bird, it should be added, has neither the scale-like feathers nor projecting shafts of the male. [5] See the Rhinoceros Bird, page 312. _The Mirror_, No. 547. The CLAW is that of the PILEATED WOODPECKER, (Picus _Dryotomus_) _Pileatus_, SWAINSON, which has much less power than the claw of the typical Woodpecker; the anterior toe (i.e. middle toe,) being longer and stronger than the posterior--a structure the very reverse of that which characterizes the typical species. LEGS AND FEET of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED GROUSE, (_Tetrao Franklinii_, DOUGLAS,) which are thickly covered with long and hair-like feathers. The bird inhabits the valleys of the Rocky Mountains from the sources of the Missouri to those of the Mackenzie, and Mr. Douglas informed Dr. Richardson that it is sparingly seen on the elevated platforms which skirt the snowy peaks of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Baker. He adds, "It runs over the shattered rocks, and among the brushwood with amazing speed, and only uses its wings as a last effort to escape." The birds of North America include about 320 species. They are divided into migratory and resident; though comparatively few in the fur countries are strictly entitled to be called resident. The raven and Canadian and short-billed jays were the only species recognised as being |
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