Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of AmericaAudubon, John James
Science
Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- North America
The Snake-Bird is a constant resident in the Floridas, and the lower
parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Few remain during winter in
South Carolina, or in any district to the eastward of that State; but
some proceed as far as North Carolina in spring, and breed along the
coast, I have found it in Texas in the month of May, on the waters of
Buffalo Bayou, and the St Jacinto River, where it breeds, and where,
as I was told, it spends the winter. It rarely ascends the Mississippi
beyond the neighbourhood of Natchez, from which most of the individuals
return to the mouths of that great stream, and the numerous lakes,
ponds, and bayous in its vicinity, where I have observed the species at
all seasons, as well as in the Floridas.
Being a bird which, by its habits, rarely fails to attract the notice
of the most indifferent observer, it has received various names. The
Creoles of Louisiana, about New Orleans, and as far up the Mississippi
as Pointe Coup, call it “Bec à Lancette,” on account of the form
of its bill; whilst at the mouths of the river it bears the name
of “Water Crow.” In the southern parts of Florida, it is called the
“Grecian Lady,” and in South Carolina it is best known by the name
of “Cormorant.” Yet in all these parts, it bears also the name of
“Snake-Bird;” but it is nowhere with us called the “Black-bellied
Darter,” which, by the way, could only be with strict propriety applied
to the adult male.
Those which, on the one hand, ascend the Mississippi, and, on the
other, visit the Carolinas, arrive at their several places of resort
early in April, in some seasons even in March, and there remain until
the beginning of November. Although this bird is occasionally seen in
the immediate vicinity of the sea, and at times breeds not far from
it, I never met with an individual fishing in salt water. It gives
a decided preference to rivers, lakes, bayous, or lagoons in the
interior, always however in the lowest and most level parts of the
country. The more retired and secluded the spot, the more willingly
does the Snake-Bird remain about it. Sometimes indeed I have suddenly
come on some in such small ponds, which I discovered by mere accident,
and in parts of woods so very secluded, that I was taken by surprise
on seeing them. The Floridas therefore are peculiarly adapted for this
species, as there the torpid waters of the streams, bayous, and lakes,
are most abundantly supplied with various species of fish, reptiles,
and insects, while the temperature is at all seasons congenial, and
their exemption from annoyance almost unparalleled. Wherever similar
situations occur in other parts of the Southern States, there the
Anhingas are met with in numbers proportioned to the extent of the
favourable localities. It is very seldom indeed that any are seen on
rapid streams, and more especially on clear water, a single instance
of such an occurrence being all that I have observed. Wherever you may
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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