Urson, or Canada Porcupine, exhibits none of the long and large quills which are so conspicuous and formidable in the European species, and the short spines or prickles which are thickly set over all the superior parts of its body, are covered by a long coarse hair, which almost entirely conceals them. These spines are not more than two inches and a half in length, yet form a very efficient protection against every other enemy but man. This animal dislikes water, sleeps very much, and chiefly feeds upon the bark of the juniper. His flesh is eaten by the savages and American traders. He is still found in the remote and unsettled parts of Pennsylvania, but south of this state is almost unknown. It was formerly found, but very rarely, in Virginia. The porcupine is much prized by the aborigines, both for its flesh, and quills, which are used as ornaments to their pipes, weapons, and dresses. A large collection of dresses, thus ornamented, is exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum.
The Mink is found throughout the country, from Carolina to Hudson’s Bay, and in its habits and appearance strongly resembles the otter. It lives in the neighborhood of mill-seats, or farm-houses, frequenting holes near the water, or in the ruins of old walls. It feeds upon frogs and fish, and, like the weasel, sometimes pays an unwelcome visit to the poultry-yard. The length of this animal is about twenty inches; its feet are broad, webbed, and covered with hair. Hats are made of its fur.
The Skunk is of a brown color, marked sometimes with two white stripes. The faculty this animal possesses, of annoying its enemies by the discharge of a noisome fluid, causes it to be rather shunned than hunted, which the value of its skin would otherwise be sure to occasion. The smallest drop of this fluid is sufficient to render a garment detestable for a great length of time. Washing, smoking, baking, or burying articles of dress, seems to be equally inefficient for its removal. The skunk is generally found in the forests, having its den either in the stump of an old tree, or in an excavation in the ground. It feeds on the young of birds, and upon small quadrupeds, eggs, and wild fruits. It also does much mischief in the poultry-yard.
The American Otter is about five feet in length, including the tail, the length of which is eighteen inches. The color of the whole of the body, (except the chin and throat, which are dusky white) is a glossy brown. The fur throughout is dense and fine. The differences between this species and the European otter, are thus pointed out by Captain Sabine: ‘The neck of the American otter is elongated, not short, and the head narrow and long in comparison with the short, broad visage of the European species; the ears are consequently much closer together than in the latter animal. The tail is more pointed and shorter, being considerably less than one half of the length of the body, whilst the tail of the European otter is more than half the length of its body.’ The fur of the otter is much valued by the hatters and other consumers of peltries, and this animal must ultimately become as rare in North America as the kindred species has long since become in Europe.
II. BIRDS.
The Ornithology of the United States is exceedingly rich and interesting. For their beauty of plumage, variety and melody of song, diversity of form, habits, disposition and faculties, our birds well merit the industrious observation which has been bestowed upon them. They have been highly fortunate in their historians, for no department of our animal kingdom has been so thoroughly investigated as this; and the indefatigable labor, science and genius of such men as Wilson, Audubon, Bonaparte, and Nuttall, have left us but little to expect from future researches.
The vulture called Turkey Buzzard, is found in large numbers in the southern states, where he is protected by law, on account of his services in the removal of carrion. This bird has never been known to breed in any of the Atlantic states north of New Jersey. In the southern cities, during the winter, they pass the night on the roofs of houses, and are fond of warming themselves in the smoke that issues from the chimneys. This bird is about two and a half feet in length, and six in breadth; the upper plumage is glossed with green and bronze, the fore part of the neck is bare. The Black Vulture is smaller, and flies in flocks; the range of this bird is confined by very narrow limits to the southern states. The Condor is not uncommon in the Rocky Mountains; but his peculiar residence is among the precipitous cliffs of the majestic Andes.
The Common or Wandering Falcon lives along the seacoast of the country, and is said to breed in the cedar swamps of New Jersey. The American Sparrow Hawk is found principally in the warmer parts of the states, and builds its nest in a hollow or decayed tree, on some elevated place. In the winter it becomes familiar, and approaches to the neighborhood of man; at this time it lives on such small game as it can find in the way of mice or lizards. The flight of this bird is irregular. It perches on the top of a dead tree or pole in the middle of a field, and sits there in an almost perpendicular position for an hour together, reconnoitering the ground below in every direction for the favorite articles of its food. The bluejays have a particular antipathy to this bird, who punishes their enmity by occasionally making a meal of one of them.
American Sparrow Hawk.
The American Fish Hawk is a formidable, vigorous-winged, and well-known bird, which subsists altogether on the fishes that swarm in our bays rivers, and creeks. It is doubtless the most numerous of its genus in the United States, and besides lining our seacoast from Georgia to Canada, it penetrates far into the interior.
Fish Hawk.
‘The motions of the fish hawk,’ says Mr. Audubon, ‘in the air are graceful, and as majestic as those of the eagle. It rises with ease to a great height by extensive circlings, performed apparently by mere inclinations of the wings and tail. It dives at times to some distance with the wings partially closed, and resumes its sailing, as if these plunges were made for amusement only. Its wings are extended at right angles to the body, and when thus flying, it is easily distinguishable from all other hawks by the eye of an observer, accustomed to note the flight of birds. Whilst in search of food, it flies with easy flappings at a moderate height above the water, and with an apparent listlessness, although in reality it is keenly observing the objects beneath. No sooner does it spy a fish suited to its taste, than it checks its course with a sudden shake of its wings and tail, which gives it the appearance of being poised in the air for a moment, after which it plunges headlong with great rapidity into the water, to secure its prey, or continue its flight, if disappointed by having observed the fish sink deeper.
‘When it plunges into the water in pursuit of a fish, it sometimes proceeds deep enough to disappear for an instant. The surge caused by its descent is so great as to make the spot around it present the appearance of a mass of foam. On rising with its prey, it is seen holding it in the manner represented in the plate. It mounts a few yards into the air, shakes the water from its plumage, squeezes the fish with its talons, and immediately proceeds towards its nest, to feed its young, or to a tree, to devour the fruit of its industry in peace. When it has satisfied its hunger, it does not, like other hawks, stay perched until hunger again urges it forth, but usually sails about at a great height over the neighboring waters.
‘The fish hawk has a great attachment to the tree to which it carries its prey, and will not abandon it, unless frequently disturbed, or shot at whilst feeding there. It shows the same attachment to the tree on which it has built its first nest, and returns to it year after year.’
The Swallow-tailed Hawk.—This beautiful kite breeds and passes the summer in the warmer parts of the United States, and is also probably resident in all tropical and temperate America, migrating into the southern as well as the northern hemisphere. In the former, according to Viellot, it is found in Peru, and as far as Buenos Ayres; and though it is extremely rare to meet with this species as far as the latitude of forty degrees in the Atlantic states, yet, tempted by the abundance of the fruitful valley of the Mississippi, individuals have been seen along that river as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, in the forty-fourth degree of north latitude. Indeed, according to Fleming, two stragglers have even