John Cassin

“ Wherever a creeping vine opens its fragrant clusters, or wherever a tree-flower 144 blooms, may these little birds be seen. In the garden, or in the woods, over the water, everywhere, they are darting about;—of all sizes, from one that might easily be mistaken for a different variety of bird, to the tiny Hermit (Trochilus rufigaster) , whose body is not half the size of the bees buzzing about the same sweets. Sometimes they are seen chasing each other in sport with a rapidity of flight and intricacy of path the eye is puzzled to follow. ”

“ Almost every color known in art is to be met with in the plumage of some one or other of the Humming Birds, and usually with a lustre more resembling that of the most highly finished workmanship in metal, or of the most exquisite precious stones, than the transient or easily destroyed appendages of a delicate animal organization. ”

“ When, too, we have had our attention directed to the family of Sparrows and Finches, to the beautiful Jays and Magpies, or the various species of Grouse, Partridges, and many other families, we have been almost persuaded to entertain the opinion that the birds of Western America are of a higher grade of organization than those of the Atlantic States. Whether such is the case in other classes of animals, we are not prepared to say, but, if true, it is singularly accordant with the fact that, of the aboriginal American races of men, the West has produced the superior. ”

“ Delicacy of form, beauty of plumage, vigorous and enduring powers of flight, are united with much liveliness of disposition, unusual instincts of precaution and self-preservation, and the ability to subsist on very diversified descriptions of both animal and vegetable food. They are accordingly entitled to a superior position in any system of classification, based, as all zoological systems should be, on the knowledge of functional as well as of organic characters;—on the observations of the naturalist in the field or forest, not less than on the conclusions or discoveries of the anatomist. ”

“ There, in the bleak regions of almost perpetual winter, the Great Sea Eagle reigns, a mighty chieftain, without a competitor, and with power unrivalled: finding ample subsistence in the arctic quadrupeds, and in the fishes of the northern seas, or occasionally levying tribute from the hosts of feathered travellers that make their annual pilgrimage to the places of their nativity, and intrude on his domain. Even the famous Condor of the Andes, the largest of Vultures, scarcely exceeds him in size, and in swiftness of flight, and power of beak and talons, is much his inferior. ”

“ We aspire to no perfection, much less have we accomplished any. Imperfection is a characteristic of mankind. Man exists in this world as an intellectual being, in a rudimental condition only.
Trust not too implicitly in the delights of the wilds, nor of solitude. They are temporary, and only to be as a teacher,—we must return ever to social life as the ark of safety, bringing, we may hope, the olive-branch of peace with knowledge. For all that I have said, or that any one else has said, our greatest and truest interests are in society. There only we acquire true cultivation and elevation. ”

“ The general face of the country is level, and consists of either a crumbling argillaceous limestone, or a coarse grey sand, producing nothing but a sparse growth of sand plants. Water is found only at long intervals, and except at those points there is little cover for game, and apparently less food,—the principal growth being Cacti, of which the most common is Cactus arborescens; yet here, amongst projecting rocks, or on the borders of dry gullies, or in loose scrub, I found the Massena Partridge in all the beauty of his rich and varied plumage. ”

“ Idly reposing on the rocky crag or the sand-bank, or boldly sweeping the surface of the waters alike in the calm and amidst the fury of the tempest, few having the opportunity have failed to mark the sea-birds as a feature in the wild scenery peculiar to the localities for which they are fitted by nature, and perhaps to associate them with the adventurous character of our useful fellow-men whose profession it is, in the beautiful language of the liturgy, to “go down upon the deep.” ”

“ When the winter of our northern climes has abated its rigors, and the season of brighter skies and returning flowers approaches, none of its early tokens are welcomed with more pleasing associations, than the reappearance of those familiar birds, which, like the Wren, the Blue Bird, and the Pewee Flycatcher, come pleasantly into the immediate vicinity of our dwellings, to select accommodations for the construction of their nests, and for rearing their young. ”

“ Nature appears to have exhausted herself in the lavish profusion of colors of every tint and shade with which she has adorned these gems of the animal world. They are the most splendidly colored and at the same time the most diminutive of birds. ”

“ He is however not so abundant as formerly, and with the destruction of the large trees of the forest, which is constantly carried on to make room for the increasing population in the more densely settled States, the time may arrive when the sight of the red-headed woodpecker, with his brilliant plumage, will be an unusual and pleasing circumstance to the young, and serve to remind the aged of perhaps long-forgotten incidents and associations of early life when remnants of the forest yet flourished even in proximity to cities, or varied the aspect of cultivated districts. ”

“ It is, however, entirely erroneous to attribute a noble or generous character to any of the predatory animals, though from an early period of history several species have been so regarded. On the contrary, there is in all these classes, whether of birds or of other animals, a marked absence of the very traits which are in some measure assigned to them, and even more unmistakably so in some of the more celebrated, as the Eagles and Lions, than in the more humble species. Yet the rapacious animals present a study in natural history of deep interest. ”

“ In the group of Cuckoos, which is quite extensive, and species of which are found in nearly all parts of the world, the bird now before us belongs to the subdivision comprising the gallinaceous or walking Cuckoos, and is a striking example of that peculiar form in the great circle of birds, and of the prevalence of a law which is universal, and not difficult to demonstrate. ”

“ Clothed in plumage of agreeable and unusual colors for a Northern species, and habitually frequenting the ground, walking or running with its long tail carried erect, and assuming a variety of grotesque attitudes, it is not surprising that this bird has attracted the attention of nearly all our naturalists and travellers who have visited its native regions. ”

“ We have chatted, not always, perhaps, with sufficient reverence, or possibly sometimes frivolously, of the magnificence of our pathway,—of the mountain and the forest,—even of the birds that sing in the branches. By no means without dignity of subject,—the highest dignity attaches to all created things as the realized ideas of Omnipotence. ”

“ They are active insect-catchers, and may be seen at nearly all hours of the day, patiently searching amongst the leaves and branches of the trees in almost every woodland, hopping from branch to branch, or sometimes making short sallies in pursuit of fugitive moths or butterflies, and occasionally pausing to refresh themselves with a rather quaint but very melodious warble, lengthened in the spring into a cheerful and agreeable song. ”

“ For it appears that this sagacious bird is not all the time thriftlessly engaged in ‘tapping the hollow beach tree’ for the mere idle purpose of empty sound, but spends its summer season in picking these holes, in which it lays its store of food for the winter, where the elements can neither affect nor place it beyond their reach, and it is regarded as a sure omen that the snowy period is 10 approaching when these birds commence stowing away their acorns, which otherwise might be covered by its fall. ”

“ In other words, Europe appears to produce the greatest number of species of birds exhibiting the fullest development of the especial characters of the groups to which they belong. It is very remarkable, too, that species are found almost throughout the world slightly aberrating, as it were, from European forms, or as though a typical form was produced with a greater or less degree of imperfection. Of this description of birds, the various species nearly allied to the House Swallow of Europe (Hirundo rustica) , are a striking illustration. ”

“ We found this bird throughout California inhabiting the most arid portions of the country. It often crossed our path, or ran before us for a short distance on the road, dashing, when alarmed, immediately into the chapparel, in which its swiftness of foot enabled it to readily elude pursuit. It may, however, be overtaken when followed on horseback over the vast open plains in which it is found, if no friendly bush offers it a shelter. When closely chased, if on an elevated point, it will sometimes fly, but appears to prefer sailing downwards. ”

“ The flight of birds, never yet successfully imitated by the ingenuity of man (unlike in that respect the motions of fishes in their element) , is a means of locomotion so entirely peculiar as always to have attracted attention, and, in past ages, wonder, even to such extent as to have assumed an aspect of superstition, not entirely ignorant nor reprehensible, because founded on facts of nature, manifesting itself in auguries and divinations, which commanded respect for centuries erroneously, but expanded into truth at last by the aid of the light of Inductive science. ”

“ We know men who have long been bird-collectors, but who have never acquired the ability to distinguish species by their notes, nor in fact otherwise to any considerable extent. On the other hand, we have gone repeatedly on excursions of several miles, in company with naturalists and accomplished woodsmen, for the sole purpose of hearing the note of a single species with which they had not before had an opportunity of becoming acquainted. ”

“ The natural history of North America has been regarded with especial interest wherever the sciences have been cultivated since the discovery of the continent. There never has been a period, however, in which such extensive and productive research has been carried on, as in that which commenced with the annexation of Texas to the United States, and in which also California and New Mexico have become parts of the Union. ”