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Negotiating
Techniques in
Diplomacy and
Business Contracts
Charles Chatterjee
Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy and Business
Contracts
 Charles Chatterjee

Negotiating
Techniques in
Diplomacy and
Business Contracts
Charles Chatterjee
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
University of London
London, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-81731-2    ISBN 978-3-030-81732-9 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81732-9

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to
the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
The opinions expressed in this book are those of the author, and in no way
may be attributed to the institution to which he belongs.
 Contents

1 Introduction  1

2 Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy  5

3 Negotiating Techniques in Concluding Business Contracts 19

4 Women’s Role in Negotiating Diplomatic and Business

Deals 35

5 Negotiating Techniques in Import-Export Trade 57

6 Negotiating Techniques in Ending Armed Conflicts 69

7 Negotiating Techniques in Arranging Project Finance and

Syndicated Loan Agreements 87

8 The United Nations System and Diplomacy117

9 Conclusions157

Bibliography and Additional Reading161

Index167

vii
 About the Author

Charles Chatterjee is Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of

Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, UK. He has published
books and articles on a variety of topics including diplomacy, private for-
eign investments, dispute settlement, banking, import-export trade, pub-
lic international law and other related topics.

ix
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The primary objectives of this work are twofold: to emphasise (a) how
good negotiating techniques may lead contracts or agreements of all
nature to the satisfaction of all parties concerned, and (b) what kind of
expertise diplomats and commercial negotiators should possess in achiev-
ing satisfactory agreements. This work has also dealt with the issues of the
knowledge, expertise and interactive capacity of diplomats and commer-
cial negotiators in successfully negotiating diplomatic and business deals.
It has also emphasised the role of women in effective negotiations of both
diplomatic and commercial matters.
This work has been developed over eight chapters:

Chapter 2: Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy

Chapter 3: Negotiating Techniques in Concluding Business Contracts
Chapter 4: Women’s Role in Negotiating Diplomatic and Business Deals
Chapter 5: Negotiating Techniques in Import-Export Trade
Chapter 6: Negotiating Techniques in Ending Armed Conflicts
Chapter 7: Negotiating Techniques in Arranging Project Finance and
Syndicated Loan Agreements
Chapter 8: The United Nations System and Diplomacy
Chapter 9: Conclusions

In regard to negotiating techniques in relation to economic diplomacy,

it is re-iterated that economic diplomacy is wider in scope than

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2021
C. Chatterjee, Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy and Business
Contracts, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81732-9_1
2 C. CHATTERJEE

commercial diplomacy; however, whereas economic diplomacy is primar-

ily concerned with policy-making for the home country vis-à-vis other
countries, particularly with a view to formulating economic policies, com-
mercial diplomacy is part of economic diplomacy. Foreign policy-making
is very much based on two important issues: (a) how should the govern-
ment of a country be engaged in creating future business prospects with
other countries including investment and security issues; and (b) good
inter-State relationship easily establishes rapport between them even in
regard to defence-related issues. Hence it is maintained that economic
diplomacy to a large extent forms the basis for foreign policy-making too.1
Economic diplomacy’s objectives and scope of activities may be clearly
identified by remembering that it really is an important kind of diplomacy
sui generis than commercial diplomacy although these two forms of diplo-
macy have been used by certain authors interchangeably,2 which should
not really be the case. On the other hand, the interplay between economic
diplomacy and foreign policy-making has become intertwined.3 Whereas
commercial diplomacy has a business tone, in addition to being a vehicle
for foreign policy-making, economic diplomacy has a broader base; it is
also a factor of foreign policy-making of a State.
The controversy surrounding the interchangeability of the terms, com-
mercial diplomacy and economic diplomacy seems to be never-ending.
According to Ruel, commercial diplomacy develops international relations
for businesses;4 however, Narang believes that commercial diplomacy is a
vital component of economic diplomacy.5
This author maintains that economic diplomacy is not exclusively con-
cerned with profit-making when interacting with other States; it also aims
at developing rules of behaviour of States particularly at a diplomatic level.
In addition to developing commercial rapport, representatives of States
also negotiate treaties one of the objectives of which is to strengthen the
rapport between the States in mutual interests.

1
See further C Chatterjee, Economic Diplomacy and Foreign Policy-Making, New York and
Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan (2020).
2
G Pigman, Contemporary Diplomacy, Cambridge, Polity Press (2010).
3
K S Rana, 21st Century Diplomacy, The Continuum International Publishing Group
(2011); see also C Chatterjee, op. cit., at p V.
4
H Ruel, Commercial Diplomacy and International Business: A Conceptual and Empirical
Exploration, Emerald Group (2012).
5
O Narang, Commercial Diplomacy: A Conceptual Overview: A Paper presented to the 7th
World Conference of TPOS, The Hague (2008).
 1 INTRODUCTION 3

Controversies aside, in order to satisfy all concerned, one should con-

sider the following in the main:

• The real forms of economic diplomacy and foreign policy-making;

• The tenets of economic diplomacy;
• Economic diplomacy and commercial diplomacy;
• Emerging markets and changing patterns of economic diplomacy;
• Negotiating techniques in economic diplomacy;
• Economic diplomacy at international fora;
• Economic diplomacy and negotiation of economic treaties including
private foreign investment treaties;
• Developing countries and economic diplomacy; and
• The role of non-governmental institutions in economic diplomacy.

The importance of effective negotiations in both economic and com-

mercial diplomatic matters may not be denied. It is for this reason that the
qualities of a good negotiator have also been identified in this work. The
traditional view that higher bargaining power of a party will win its case in
any of the afore-mentioned fields is over. Developing countries, in general,
are also changing their traditional views on private foreign investments,
import-export trade, manufacturing and agricultural activities.
Furthermore, they have been gradually developing their own ideas
about exploitation of their own very large human resources in addition to
their natural resources. They should also quickly learn how to negotiate
with the other parties on an equal footing.
Finally, with the fast-changing world particularly with the aid of tech-
nology, time has now arrived for developing and middle-grade countries
to change their strategies in regard to cross-border business projects and
in the diplomatic world too. It is with this hope and belief that this book
has been developed.
In writing this book, primary sources of information have been relied
upon, where possible. Secondary sources of information have been
referred to, where necessary.
This work has been addressed to practising diplomats, commercial
negotiators and post-graduate students.
 CHAPTER 2

Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy

2.1   Introduction
Negotiating techniques in diplomacy and those in the commercial world
would be different, as the subject matters of negotiations are different.
However, the qualities of a diplomat and those of a commercial negotiator
would be similar. All diplomats, irrespective of their grades, are required
to possess knowledge and expertise in negotiating techniques. In diplo-
matic studies, training in negotiating techniques is not usually accorded
much importance simply because in the diplomatic world there exists a
strong belief that diplomats need not require special training in negotiat-
ing techniques, which may not necessarily be true. Negotiation is an inevi-
table phenomenon at almost all stages of a diplomat’s work. Hence it is
important for diplomats to formally go through a learning process to
become competent negotiators.
In this chapter an attempt has been made to explain what negotiating
techniques really stands for and how mastery over them may be attained
by diplomats. In negotiating any deal with a counterpart, a diplomat must
remember that he/she must achieve what his/her Foreign Office wants
him/her to achieve through negotiations.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 5

Switzerland AG 2021
C. Chatterjee, Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy and Business
Contracts, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81732-9_2
6 C. CHATTERJEE

2.2   What Is Meant by Negotiation

and the Qualities that a Negotiator Should Possess

2.2.1  What Is Negotiation?
It may be defined as a process to reach a compromised decision which
would serve the purposes of both the parties for which they decided to
negotiate. In a negotiating process both the parties hold equal position. It
is misleading to think that a higher bargaining power would have more
influence; this kind of view of negotiation should not be taken seriously.
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines “bargaining power” as
the “power to negotiate.”1 The reader is politely reminded that the old-­
fashioned idea that negotiators from the Western part of the world, by
virtue of their being industrialised and wealthier than the countries in the
poor world, will have more bargaining power than the negotiators belong-
ing to the poor world, is no longer true. Diplomats from developing
countries should prepare themselves very thoroughly with their strategies
and policies. More of this has received attention in the next section of this
chapter.

2.2.2  The Formalities of Negotiating Techniques in Diplomacy

The discipline of “diplomacy” is multi-dimensional; thus diplomats must
learn negotiating techniques in various aspects of diplomacy: general
diplomacy, economic diplomacy, commercial diplomacy, trade diplomacy
and investment diplomacy, war diplomacy, environmental diplomacy and
so on. When a diplomat may be engaged in any type of the abovemen-
tioned diplomacy, he/she must do and remember two things—(a) his/her
own strategy and demands and (b) other side’s strategies and demands—
and thereafter find the grounds for compromise through negotiations.
What should a diplomat do at a negotiation session? First, he/she must
be smartly dressed; the national dress will also do. If any party to a nego-
tiation session requires any translator, it is for the party at whose location
the negotiation would take place to provide it, although the use of the
same language by both the parties would be better and less
time-consuming.

1
Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford, Clarendon Press (1990) at 132.
 2 NEGOTIATING TECHNIQUES IN DIPLOMACY 7

Second, each member of the negotiating teams must introduce him-

self/herself briefly and clearly. Incidentally, it is always useful to include
female members in a negotiating team. The oral expressions made during
a negotiation process must be simple; members of the teams must not use
any ambiguous terms during a negotiation process. They must exchange
their business cards with their counterparts. There should be an agreed
agenda for each session if, of course, the negotiation requires more than
one session. Body language should be avoided, as such language may be
misinterpreted by certain members of the teams or it may offend the
members of the other side.
Third, each party to a negotiation session must appoint a leader who
should be very familiar with the subject matter for which negotiations are
being held, and whose function would also be to ensure an orderly nego-
tiation process. In the event of any stalemate occurring during a negotia-
tion process, it is for the leaders to give a break to the negotiation session,
and to discuss the points of discontent; thereafter the proposed solution
should be put to the members of the negotiating teams to ascertain their
collective views.
Fourth, in the event of the collective views of the two teams being sig-
nificantly different, a further cooling-off period should be allowed for a
further reflection process, and then meet again perhaps on the following
day. It is important to ensure that no negotiation process fails as otherwise
its consequences would be disastrous.
Fifth, socialisation should be within permissible limits bearing in mind
that in many countries over-socialisation, particularly with the female
members of the teams or with the females of the local community, is often
a taboo, and it can bring a negotiation process to a sudden halt.
Sixth, no party to a negotiation process must make any adverse com-
ments on each other’s country; on the contrary, each party’s members
should provide some of the good features and qualities of the other party’s
country.
Seventh, throughout the entire negotiation process, diplomats from
both sides must remain courteous, polite and must not display their dis-
satisfaction in any way. It is important to bear in mind that once negotia-
tion process is disturbed for whatever reason, it will result in nothing. It is
also important to bear in mind that negotiation is the best way of resolving
disputes on any issue between the two parties.
Eighth, the members of the teams on each side must be chosen in a way
that it includes diplomats each of whom will have special expertise in
8 C. CHATTERJEE

certain issues which have arisen out of the dispute. A dispute is often
multi-dimensional.
Ninth, in a no-alcohol-drinking society, after the day’s session is over,
the members of the team wishing to drink alcohol should first seek the
permission from the leader of the home country team, otherwise the
home country’s team may feel offended, and this will have an adverse
impact on the negotiation process as from the next day.
Tenth, the members of the participating teams should exchange their
curriculum vitae a few days before the actual negotiation session
takes place.
Eleventh, all members of the negotiating teams should be familiar with
the basic information of the other team’s country profile, which may be
obtained from the World Bank’s (International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development—IBRD) website.
Twelfth, finally, after the negotiation process is over, the parties should
exchange gifts (souvenirs) between themselves as a gesture of friendship.
This duty should be performed by the leader of each team.
In writing these items, no particular order has been maintained as it was
not found necessary to do so.

2.3   Preparations for Negotiations

This is the most difficult stage to complete in order to ensure that the final
negotiation process becomes successful. Without a knowledge in the
country profile, and more importantly, the nature of the dispute or differ-
ence between the parties, no negotiation process may lead to any success.
Incidentally, what most people call a “dispute” in reality is a “difference”
of views on the same issue(s) between the parties concerned. A “dispute”
is a legal term, which is concerned with the legal rights and remedies of a
party or of both the parties concerned. Therefore, it is of utmost impor-
tance for the parties to determine what they are about to “negotiate” is a
“dispute” or “difference” of views on the same issue(s) held by each party.
Once the abovementioned issue has been determined, each member of
the team must familiarise himself/herself with the nature of the issue(s)
and the causes thereof. Unless the causes of the differences between the
parties have been identified, no effective negotiation may take place.
Again, if the causes of differences or of a dispute between the parties have
been identified, then each member should go into the historical reasons
for the causes arising for the differences/disputes between the parties. The
 2 NEGOTIATING TECHNIQUES IN DIPLOMACY 9

leader of each team must be thoroughly involved in this exercise, and

where necessary, documentary evidence in support of any argument that a
member of a team may put forward would be very useful.
Mock sessions as a preliminary to an actual negotiation session are often
found useful; these sessions also provide opportunities to learn the weak-
nesses in an argument, and on the basis of that experience, members of a
team should correct their arguments or certain issues. Here, the leader of
a team has to take a real lead on this matter. After the mock sessions have
taken place, each member of a team should prepare his/her dossier on the
issue(s) in which an actual negotiating session would be involved.
During the preparation stage, each party should carefully determine its
strategies and develop its arguments accordingly. Members of a team
should be prepared to accept the other side’s valid arguments on certain
issue(s); by the same token, where necessary, they should also demonstrate
their opposition to certain arguments which may be put forward by the
other side, politely and not in an offensive fashion.
In selecting members of a negotiating team, the leader of the team
should ensure that each member of it is highly qualified in the issues which
would be the subject matter for an actual negotiation process. He/she
must also ensure that no member of his/her team is short-tempered as
such a member might spoil the actual negotiation process.
Each member of a team should demonstrate his/her willingness to
settle the difference/dispute between the parties on the issue(s) with
which a negotiating process would be concerned.
Where it would be appropriate to refer to the established principles of
international law, including the customary rules of international law, each
party should draw the attention of the other party to it.

2.4   Costs of Negotiation

It is for the receiving State to arrange accommodation for the stay of the
guests in the country, although the accommodation costs are usually
borne by the guest party; however, the costs of lunches, dinners, teas and/
or coffees are to be paid for by the receiving State. Usually, the receiving
State also arranges transport both ways from the guests’ accommodation
to the venue of negotiation sessions. Of course, other incidental expenses
such as photocopying of documents are usually covered by the receiving
State. On a future occasion, the sending State would be obliged to pay
10 C. CHATTERJEE

similar expenses when the receiving state’s delegates would be visiting the
sending State on similar occasions.

2.5   The Time Lag Between Preparations

and the Final Session of a Negotiating Process

The time lag between the preparatory sessions and the final session of
negotiation(s) should be described as the time for reflection to determine
the prospects of winning at the actual session(s). By that time, both the
parties must have accepted their proposals for negotiation. During the
“time lag” both parties should once again examine the strategies and plans
for negotiating the differences between them. In conducting negotiation
sessions each party should study the strategies and tactics on which the
other party might rely. After perusing the proposal for negotiation received
from the other side and after holding the preparatory sessions, the parties
may have to change their strategies; thus, the areas of disagreement should
be minimised in order to ensure that the final negotiation sessions would
bring the differences between the parties to a successful end. Incidentally,
there does not exist any objections to changing the strategies of the par-
ties, as strategies are never disclosed to any third party. It is to be empha-
sised that it is the quality of the arguments and friendliness on the part of
the members of a negotiating team that matter most.
The “reflection time” is also important for the leaders of teams. They
should be able to brief their members of the respective teams in a more
effective way. Therefore, this interregnum should be utilised in a profitable
manner. It is for the leader to provide new ideas, if any, to the members of
the team, and give his/her opinions on them.
Members of each team can also do their own research on the conten-
tious issues during the “reflection time” and raise some valuable questions
which should alert the members of both the teams during the actual nego-
tiating sessions. In a negotiating process certain issues raised by the mem-
bers of one side might annoy the members of the other party which should
be avoided, and everybody at the negotiating sessions must remain calm
and patient.
 2 NEGOTIATING TECHNIQUES IN DIPLOMACY 11

2.6   The Negotiation Process

There are certain formalities that each member of the negotiating teams
must observe and the leaders too. It is for the leader of the home (receiv-
ing State) team to welcome the foreign team, and introduce himself/her-
self first, and the leader of the guest party will do the same.
After that each of the members of the home team should introduce
themselves, and thereafter, the foreign party’s members should also do the
same. Each member of the teams should display his/her name on cards in
front of them. Members of each of the teams must pronounce each mem-
ber’s name correctly. Unless so permitted by each member, members of
the teams should not address any member by his/her first name. This is a
matter of courtesy which a party expects of the other party. Throughout a
negotiation process, each member must remain courteous and display
good manners. After both parties have completed what may be described
as the “introduction” session, the real work usually starts. Incidentally, all
members of the teams, male and female, must be addressed correctly and
politely.
The real business, the negotiation process will start then. By this time,
the members of both the teams should be familiar with their mandates; in
the case of any difficulties they should ask their leaders for assistance.
However, at the initial stage, it is for the leader of each team to summarise
briefly the nature of the differences or disputes between the two parties
(each of the parties will represent its own country). Usually, the contract-
ing party (the party that initiates to negotiate the differences between the
parties) opens the negotiation process after summarising the nature of the
difference/dispute in regard to a matter on which the two parties have
decided to negotiate.
After the negotiation process has commenced, the leader of the party
may advise the relevant member of the party to present his/her conten-
tion on behalf of his/her country before the negotiating session. Then, of
course, his/her counterpart will respond to that contention. This process
will be observed throughout the negotiation process, and hopefully, they
will eventually narrow down their differences and bring about a solution
to the problem. Of course, best negotiations take place during tea or cof-
fee breaks, that is, in an informal way, but the result of the informal nego-
tiation can be formalised at a negotiation meeting.
After a negotiation process has successfully completed a joint report in
an agreed language should be drafted in a simple way, and the heads of the
12 C. CHATTERJEE

foreign offices of both the parties must sign it to formalise the negotiated
solution to the differences between the two governments, and exchange
the copies of it between the foreign offices of the parties concerned.
Once again, it is not by instructions only that command in negotiating
techniques may be developed in an individual. Often negotiating tech-
niques need a personal contribution but within limits. Thus, prior to com-
mencing any diplomatic negotiation process, a mandate from the foreign
office should be obtained, which should contain a degree of flexibility
which would allow the negotiators to do a degree of manoeuvre during
the negotiation process.
Negotiators must have a high sense of perseverance to ensure that the
process comes to a fruition, as it is important to bear in mind that if a
negotiation process should fail, the parties will be left with no choice but
to settle their disputes through court proceedings or conciliation or by
arbitration, each of which procedures entails high costs and time.
It would be advisable to take an appropriate advantage to negotiate the
parties’ utmost. Sometimes it proves to be helpful to start with the histori-
cal friendship between the countries concerned.

2.7   Negotiating Techniques in War Diplomacy

Negotiating techniques in resolving inter-State or multi-State disputes or
differences should be a compulsory part of briefing of diplomats at all
foreign offices. Techniques of developing foreign relations and economic
diplomacy will continue to change. Thus the techniques of negotiating all
forms of diplomacy, trade, environment, health, education and, of course,
war diplomacy should be learned by diplomats. This section of this chapter
has been solely allocated to war diplomacy.
The reader is reminded very briefly of the deplorable history of human-
kind which is full of warfares right from the beginning of the communities
of humankind. During the early years of the international community, at
least until the beginning of the First World War in 1914, warfares were not
really based on deadly technology. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the
older societies even if engaged in primitive forms of war were engaged in
warfares, based on various reasons. But however primitive the form of the
war was, all wars killed people indiscriminately. When the use of rather
sophisticated weapons became common, particularly since the First World
War more deadly weapons have been used, in addition to deadly skir-
mishes between people, the consequential effect to the countries have
 2 NEGOTIATING TECHNIQUES IN DIPLOMACY 13

been depicted and remembered in history. The first attempt to abolish

warfares was made by the League of Nations through its Covenant, Article
15(2) which, in particular, provided that:

… the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary-General, as

promptly as possible, statements of their case with all the relevant facts and
papers, and the Council may forthwith direct publication thereof.

Then the entire world experienced the deadly Second World War which
lasted for six years and literally devastated many parts of the world. The
United Nations was established on 24 October 1945. Its Charter was a
very thoughtful document; the primary objectives were many, but briefly,
to abolish warfare, to provide guidelines to the UN Members to enable
them to achieve socio-economic development, rights and freedoms of
people, to name but a few. Unfortunately, the majority of the Member
States of the United Nations tend to disregard the guidelines that the
agencies of it or of the UN itself renders whether in the form of
Conventions, Resolutions or Declarations or Charter unless some of them
have already developed customary norms of international law, which are
then treated to be binding. Article 2, paragraph 4, of the UN Charter
provides that:

All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or
use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the
United Nations.

Sadly again, over the past few years, the international community has
been witnessing too many warfares, for example, the attack on Iraq by the
UK and US, the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the war within
Syria, the Kashmir (in India) problem, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the war
between Russia and Ukraine, to name but a few. In addition to causing
environmental problems, each of these wars has caused untold human
miseries; the victims of these warfares are in most cases refugees, children’s
lives, including their deteriorating health conditions, no opportunities to
gain basic education, terrible poverty and diseases; these are not only their
problems, but the entire international community is now required to pay
attention to their conditions.
14 C. CHATTERJEE

A number of non-governmental organisations, including the

International Red Cross, have been doing their best under their individual
mandates, but they alone cannot rehabilitate the refugees. These acts do
not come under Article 2, paragraph 7, even if their consequences adversely
affect the international community. Article 2, paragraph 7, provides that:

Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorise the United Nations
to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction
of any State or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settle-
ment under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the
application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.

The question remains that although apparently their acts may appear to
come under the purview of Article 2, paragraph 7, in reality, they do not
do so, as the provisions of this paragraph (paragraph 7) must be read with
those of paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the UN Charter. The country that
attacks the peoples within their boundaries or foreign countries is in
breach of the principle of State Responsibility of international law, and it
is also in breach of the Responsibility to Protect the people within their
jurisdiction. Alternatively, if they have shown their atrocities towards the
refugees or foreigners residing within their jurisdiction, then also they may
be accused of criminal acts by making people subject to immeasurable
human sufferings. In the event of their attempts to resolve this issue by
discussing this matter with the State from which they originated, having
failed, the matter should have been referred to the United Nations; fur-
thermore, no foreign State should be allowed to provide weapons or other
forms of assistance to the country that should be accused of causing
human miseries. War begets war, hence the need for diplomatic
negotiations.
Initially, diplomatic negotiations should take place between the home
country and the country from which the refugees have entered into the
home country; if that should not succeed such a matter should be referred
to a conciliation procedure, and if this second option should also fail, then
the matter should be referred to the appropriate Committee or Commission
of the United Nations, rather than people suffering from immeasurable
miseries. At the UN forum, both parties should agree to express their
genuine options and let the Committee or Commission decide on it, and
their decision should be communicated to the Office of the UN Secretary-­
General with a request to send its opinion to the home country concerned,
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capable of producing so much sound. I have never observed this
habit upon a dull or cloudy day.”
Mr Nuttall having presented me with the nest of this species
attached to the twig to which the bird had fastened it, my amiable
friend Miss Martin has figured it for me, as well as the plant, about
which these lovely creatures are represented. The nest, which
measures two inches and a quarter in height, and an inch and three
quarters in breadth, at the upper part, is composed externally of
mosses, lichens, and a few feathers, with slender fibrous roots
interwoven, and lined with fine cottony seed-down.

Trochilus rufus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 497.

Trochilus collaris, Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 318.
Trochilus (Selasphorus) Rufus, Swainson.
Cinnamon or Nootka Humming Bird, Richards. and Swains. Fauna Bor.-
Amer. vol. ii. p. 324.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIX. Figs. 1, 2.

Bill long, straight, subulate, somewhat depressed at the base, acute;
upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge narrow at the
base, broad and convex toward the end, the sides convex, the edges
overlapping, the tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle very
long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line straight, the edges erect,
the tip acuminate. Nostrils basal, linear.
Head of ordinary size, oblong; neck short; body slender. Feet very
small; tarsus very short, feathered more than half-way down, toes
small; the lateral equal, the middle toe not much longer, the hind toe
a little shorter than the lateral, anterior toes united at the base; claws
rather long, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended; feathers on the throat, fore part and sides
of the neck oblong-obovate, with the filaments towards the end
thickened and flattened, with metallic gloss, those on the sides of the
neck elongated and erectile. Wings rather short, extremely narrow,
falcate, pointed; the primaries rapidly graduated, the second being
longest, but only slightly longer than the first; these two quills taper to
a point; the rest are broader, and gradually become less pointed; the
secondaries are extremely short, and only five in number. Tail rather
long, broad, graduated, the lateral feathers four and a half twelfths of
an inch shorter than the central; the latter are extremely broad,
measuring four and a half twelfths across, and the rest gradually
diminish to the lateral, which are very narrow; all obtusely pointed.
Bill brownish-black; toes brown, claws dusky. The general colour of
the upper parts is bright cinnamon or reddish-orange; the head
bronzed green, the wings dusky, the coverts glossed with green, the
primaries with purplish; each of the tail-feathers has a narrow
longitudinal lanceolate median streak toward the end. The loral
space, a narrow band over the eye, another beneath it, and the
auriculars are reddish-orange; the scale-like feathers of the throat
and sides of the neck are splendent fire-red, purplish-red, yellowish-
red, greenish-yellow or yellowish-green, according to the light in
which they are viewed; behind them, on the lower part of the neck, is
a broad band of reddish-white; the rest of the lower parts are like the
upper, the abdomen inclining to white.
1/2
Length to end of tail 3 7/12 inches; bill along the ridge 7 /12, along
the edge of lower mandible 9 1/4/12; wing from flexure 1 7 1/4/12; tail
1 3 1/2/12; tarsus 1 1/2/12; hind toe 1 1/2/12, its claw 1 1/4/12; middle toe
2 1/4/ , its claw 1
1/2
/12.
12

Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIX. Fig. 3.

The Female has the bill and feet coloured as in the male. The upper
parts are gold-green, the head inclining to brown; the wings as in the
male; the tail-feathers reddish-orange at the base, brownish-black
toward the end, the tip white. The lower parts are white, tinged with
rufous, of which colour, especially, are the sides; the throat marked
with roundish spots of metallic greenish-red.

Length to end of tail 3 7 1/2/12 inches; bill along the ridge 8 3/4/12; wing
from flexure 1 10/12; tail 1 1 1/2/12.

The above descriptions are from two individuals shot by Dr

Townsend on the “Columbia River, 30th May 1835.” A “young male,
Columbia River, 29th May 1835,” resembles the female as above
described, differing only in having the metallic spots on the throat
larger. A “young female, Columbia River, June 10th 1835,” differs
from the adult only in wanting the metallic spots on the throat, which
is spotted with greenish-brown.

Cleome heptaphylla.

The beautiful plant represented in the plate belongs to Tetradynamia

Siliquosa of the Linnæan arrangement, and to the genus Cleome,
characterized by having three nectariferous glandules at each corner
of the calyx, the lower excepted; all the petals ascending; the
germen stipitate; the siliqua unilocular, two-valved. The species, C.
heptaphylla, is distinguished by its septenate leaves, of which the
leaflets are lanceolate, acuminate, and of a deep green colour. It
grows in South Carolina and Georgia.
 TENGMALM’S OWL.

Strix Tengmalmi, Gmel.

PLATE CCCLXXX. Male and Female.

I procured a fine male of this species at Bangor, in Maine, on the

Penobscot River, in the beginning of September 1832; but am
unacquainted with its habits, never having seen another individual
alive. Dr Townsend informs me that he found it first on the Malade
River Mountains, where it was so tame and unsuspicious, that Mr
Nuttall was enabled to approach within a few feet of it, as it sat
upon the bushes. Dr Richardson gives the following notice
respecting it in the Fauna Boreali-Americana:—“When it accidentally
wanders abroad in the day, it is so much dazzled by the light of the
sun as to become stupid, and it may then be easily caught by the
hand. Its cry in the night is a single melancholy note, repeated at
intervals of a minute or two. Mr Hutchins informs us that it builds a
nest of grass half-way up a pine tree, and lays two white eggs in the
month of May. It feeds on mice and beetles. I cannot state the extent
of its range, but believe that it inhabits all the woody country from
Great Slave Lake to the United States. On the banks of the
Saskatchewan it is so common that its voice is heard almost every
night by the traveller, wherever he selects his bivouac.”

Strix Tengmalmi, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 291.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p.
65.
 Strix Tengmalmi, Tengmalm’s Owl, Swains. and Richards. Fauna Bor.-
Amer. vol. ii. p. 94.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXX. Fig. 1.

Bill short, very deep, strong; upper mandible with its dorsal line
curved from the base, its ridge convex, as are the sides, the edges
sharp and incurved anteriorly, the tip very acute, and at its extremity
nearly perpendicular; the cere short, and bare on its upper part; the
lower mandible has the angle broad and short, the dorsal line slightly
convex, the edges inflected, towards the end incurved, with a notch
on each side close to the abruptly-rounded tip. Nostrils broadly
elliptical, oblique, in the fore part of the cere, which bulges
considerably behind them.
The head is extremely large, roundish, when viewed from above
somewhat triangular; the eyes large. The conch of the ear very large,
of an elliptical form, extending from the base of the lower jaw to near
the top of the head, being an inch and a quarter in length, with an
anterior semicircular operculum stretching along its whole length,
and an elevated margin behind. The neck is very short and thin; the
body very slender; but both appear very full on account of the vast
mass of plumage. The feet are rather short, and strong; the tarsi and
toes covered with very soft downy feathers, the extremities of the
latter with two scutella. The claws are slender, tapering to a fine
point, compressed, and curved.
The facial disk is complete, as is the ruff. The plumage is full, very
soft, and blended; the feathers broadly oblong and rounded. The
wings are rather long, very broad, much rounded; the third primary
longest, the fourth almost equal, the second four-twelfths of an inch
shorter, the first equal to the seventh; the barbs of the outer web of
the first, of half the second, and the terminal part of the third, free
and recurved. Tail of moderate length, arched, slightly rounded, of
twelve broad, rounded feathers.
Bill greyish-brown, yellowish-white at the end; claws yellowish-
brown, their tips dusky. The general colour of the upper parts is
greyish-brown tinged with olive. The feathers of the head have an
elliptical central white spot; those of the neck are similarly marked
with larger white spots, of which some are disposed so as to form a
semicircular band; the scapulars have two or four large round spots
near the end, and some of the dorsal feathers and wing-coverts have
single spots on the outer web. All the quills have marginal white
spots on both webs, arranged in transverse series, there being six
on the outer web of the third quill. On the tail are five series of
transversely elongated narrow white spots. The disk is yellowish-
white, anteriorly black; the ruff yellowish-white, mottled with dusky.
The throat is brown, the chin white. The general colour of the lower
parts is yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with brown, some of
the feathers of the sides have two white spots near the end; the
tarsal and digital feathers greyish-yellow, with faint transverse bars of
brown.
Length to end of tail 11 inches; wing from flexure 6 10/12; bill along
the ridge 1; tarsus 11/12; hind toe 5/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe 9/12, its
claw 8/12.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXX. Fig. 2.

The Female resembles the male, but is considerably larger.
 SNOW GOOSE.

Anser hyperboreus, Bonap.

PLATE CCCLXXXI. Adult Male and Young Female.

The geographical range of the Snow Goose is very extensive. It has

been observed in numerous flocks, travelling northward, by the
members of the recent overland expeditions. On the other hand, I
have found it in the Texas, and it is very abundant on the Columbia
River, together with Hutchins’s Goose. In the latter part of autumn,
and during winter, I have met with it in every part of the United States
that I have visited.
While residing at Henderson on the Ohio, I never failed to watch the
arrival of this and other species in the ponds of the neighbourhood,
and generally found the young Snow Geese to make their
appearance in the beginning of October, and the adult or white birds
about a fortnight later. In like manner, when migrating northward,
although the young and the adult birds set out at the same time, they
travel in separate flocks, and, according to Captain Sir George
Back, continue to do so even when proceeding to the higher
northern latitudes of our continent. It is not less curious that, during
the whole of the winter, these Geese remain equally divided, even if
found in the same localities; and although young and old are often
seen to repose on the same sand-bar, the flocks keep at as great a
distance as possible.
The Snow Goose in the grey state of its plumage is very abundant in
winter, about the mouths of the Mississippi, as well as on all the
muddy and grassy shores of the bays and inlets of the Gulf of
Mexico, as far as the Texas, and probably still farther to the south-
west. During the rainy season, it betakes itself to the large prairies of
Attacapas and Oppellousas, and there young and adult procure their
food together, along with several species of Ducks, Herons, and
Cranes, feeding, like the latter, on the roots of plants, and nibbling
the grasses sideways, in the manner of the Common Tame Goose.
In Louisiana I have not unfrequently seen the adult birds feeding in
wheat fields, when they pluck up the plants entire.
When the young Snow Geese first arrive in Kentucky, about
Henderson for instance, they are unsuspicious, and therefore easily
procured. In a half-dry half-wet pond, running across a large tract of
land, on the other side of the river, in the State of Indiana, and which
was once my property, I was in the habit of shooting six or seven of
a-day. This, however, rendered the rest so wild, that the cunning of
any “Red Skin” might have been exercised without success upon
them; and I was sorry to find that they had the power of
communicating their sense of danger to the other flocks which
arrived. On varying my operations however, and persevering for
some time, I found that even the wildest of them now and then
suffered; for having taken it into my head to catch them in large
traps, I tried this method, and several were procured before the rest
had learned to seize the tempting bait in a judicious manner.
The Snow Goose affords good eating when young and fat; but the
old Ganders are tough and stringy. Those that are procured along
the sea-shores, as they feed on shell-fish, fry and marine plants,
have a rank taste, which, however suited to the palate of the epicure,
I never could relish.
The flight of this species is strong and steady, and its migrations over
the United States are performed at a considerable elevation, by
regular flappings of the wings, and a disposition into lines similar to
that of other Geese. It walks well, and with rather elevated steps; but
on land its appearance is not so graceful as that of our common
Canada Goose. Whilst with us they are much more silent than any
other of our species, rarely emitting any cries unless when pursued
on being wounded. They swim buoyantly, and, when pressed, with
speed. When attacked by the White-headed Eagle, or any other
rapacious bird, they dive well for a short space. At the least
appearance of danger, when they are on land, they at once come
close together, shake their heads and necks, move off in a contrary
direction, very soon take to wing, and fly to a considerable distance,
but often return after a time.
I am unable to inform you at what age the Snow Goose attains its
pure white plumage, as I have found that a judgment formed from
individuals kept in confinement is not to be depended upon. In one
instance at least, a friend of mine who had kept a bird of this species
four years, wrote to me that he was despairing of ever seeing it
become pure white. Two years after, he sent me much the same
message; but, at the commencement of next spring, the Goose was
a Snow Goose, and the change had taken place in less than a
month.
Dr Richardson informs us that, this species “breeds in the barren
grounds of Arctic America, in great numbers. The eggs of a
yellowish-white colour, and regularly ovate form, are a little larger
than those of the Eider Duck, their length being three inches, and
their greatest breadth two. The young fly in August, and by the
middle of September all have departed to the southward. The Snow
Goose feeds on rushes, insects, and in autumn on berries,
particularly those of the Empetrum nigrum. When well fed it is a very
excellent bird, far superior to the Canada Goose in juiciness and
flavour. It is said that the young do not attain the full plumage before
their fourth year, and until that period they appear to keep in
separate flocks. They are numerous at Albany Fort in the southern
part of Hudson’s Bay, where the old birds are rarely seen; and, on
the other hand, the old birds in their migrations visit York Factory in
great abundance, but are seldom accompanied by the young. The
Snow Geese make their appearance in spring a few days later than
the Canada Geese, and pass in large flocks both through the interior
and on the coast.”
The young birds of this species begin to acquire their whiteness
about the head and neck after the first year, but the upper parts
remain of a dark bluish colour until the bird suddenly becomes white
all over; at least, this is the case with such as are kept in captivity.
Although it is allied to the White-fronted or Laughing Goose, Anser
albifrons, I was surprised to find that Wilson had confounded the
two species together, and been of opinion that the Bean Goose also
was the same bird in an imperfect state of plumage. That excellent
ornithologist tells us that “this species, called on the sea-coast, the
Red Goose, arrives in the river Delaware, from the north, early in
November, sometimes in considerable flocks, and is extremely noisy,
their notes being shriller and more squeaking than those of the
Canada, or common Wild Goose. On their first arrival, they make but
a short stay, proceeding, as the depth of winter approaches, farther
south; but from the middle of February, until the breaking up of the
ice in March, they are frequently numerous along both shores of the
Delaware, about and below Reedy Island, particularly near Old Duck
Creek, in the State of Delaware. They feed on roots of the reeds
there, which they tear up like hogs.”
This species is rare both in Massachusetts and South Carolina,
although it passes over both these States in considerable numbers,
and in the latter some have been known to alight among the
common domestic Geese, and to have remained several days with
them. My friend Dr Bachman, of Charleston, South Carolina, kept a
male Snow Goose several years along with his tame Geese. He had
received it from a friend while it was in its grey plumage, and the
following spring it became white. It had been procured in the autumn,
and proved to be a male. In a few days it became very gentle, and
for several years it mated with a common Goose; but the eggs
produced by the latter never hatched. The Snow Goose was in the
habit of daily frequenting a mill-pond in the vicinity, and returning
regularly at night along with the rest; but in the beginning of each
spring it occasioned much trouble. It then continually raised its head
and wings, and attempted to fly off; but finding this impossible, it
seemed anxious to perform its long journey on foot, and it was
several times overtaken and brought back, after it had proceeded
more than a mile, having crossed fences and plantations in a direct
course northward. This propensity cost it its life: it had proceeded as
far as the banks of the Cooper River, when it was shot by a person
who supposed it to be a wild bird.
In the latter part of the autumn of 1832, whilst I was walking with my
wife, in the neighbourhood of Boston in Massachusetts, I observed
on the road a young Snow Goose in a beautiful state of plumage,
and after making some inquiries, found its owner, who was a
gardener. He would not part with it for any price offered. Some
weeks after, a friend called one morning, and told me that this
gardener had sent his Snow Goose to town, and that it would be sold
by auction that day. I desired my friend to attend the sale, which he
did; and before a few hours had elapsed, the bird was in my
possession, having been obtained for 75 cents! We kept this Goose
several months in a small yard at the house where we boarded,
along with the young of the Sand-hill Crane, Grus Americana. It was
fed on leaves and thin stalks of cabbage, bread, and other vegetable
substances. When the spring approached, it exhibited great
restlessness, seeming anxious to remove northward, as was the
case with Dr Bachman’s bird. Although the gardener had kept it four
years, it was not white, but had the lower part of the neck and the
greater portion of the back, of a dark bluish tint, as represented in
the plate. It died before we left Boston, to the great regret of my
family, as I had anticipated the pleasure of presenting it alive to my
honoured and noble friend the Earl of Derby.
There can be little doubt that this species breeds in its grey plumage,
when it is generally known by the name of Blue-winged Goose, as is
the case with the young of Grus Americana, formerly considered as
a distinct species, and named Grus Canadensis.

Anas hyperborea, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 504.—Lath. Ind. Orn. vol. ii. p.
837.
Snow Goose, Anas hyperborea, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. viii. p. 76, pl. 68,
fig. 3, Male, and p. 89, pl. 69, fig. 5, Young.
Anser hyperboreus, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
376.
Anser hyperboreus, Snow Goose, Richards. and Swains. Fauna Bor.-
Amer. vol. ii. p. 467.
Snow Goose, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 344.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXI. Fig. 1.

Bill about the length of the head, much higher than broad at the
base, somewhat conical, compressed, rounded at the tip. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line sloping, the ridge broad and flattened at
the base, narrowed towards the unguis, which is roundish and very
convex, the edges beset with compressed, hard teeth-like lamellæ,
their outline ascending and slightly arched; lower mandible
ascending, nearly straight, the angle long and of moderate length,
the dorsal line beyond it convex, the sides erect, and beset with
lamellæ; similar to those of the upper, but more numerous, the
unguis obovate and very convex. Nasal groove oblong, parallel to
the ridge, filled by the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils medial,
lateral, longitudinal, narrow-elliptical, open, pervious.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long and
slender. Body full, slightly depressed. Feet rather short, strong,
placed about the centre of the body; legs bare a little above the joint;
tarsus rather short, strong, a little compressed, covered all round
with hexagonal, reticulated scales, which are smaller behind; hind
toe very small, with a narrow membrane; third toe longest, fourth
considerably shorter, but longer than the second; all the toes
reticulated above at the base, but with narrow transverse scutella
towards the end; the three anterior connected by a reticulated
membrane, the outer having a thick margin, the inner with the margin
extended into a two-lobed web. Claws small, arched, rather
compressed, obtuse, that of the middle toe bent obliquely outwards,
and depressed, with a curved edge.
Plumage close, full, compact above, blended beneath, as well as on
the head and neck, on the latter of which it is disposed in longitudinal
bands, separated by narrow grooves; the feathers of the lateral parts
small and narrow, of the back ovato-oblong, and abruptly rounded, of
the lower parts curved and oblong. Wings rather long, broad;
primaries strong, incurved, broad, towards the end tapering, the
second longest, but only a quarter of an inch longer than the first,
which scarcely exceeds the third; the first and second sinuate on the
inner web, the second and third on the outer. Secondaries long, very
broad, rounded, the inner curved outwards. Tail very short, rounded,
of sixteen broad rounded feathers.
Bill carmine-red, the unguis of both mandibles white, their edges
black. Iris light brown. Feet dull lake, claws brownish-black. The
general colour of the plumage is pure white; the fore part of the head
tinged with yellowish-red; the primaries brownish-grey, towards the
end blackish-brown, their shafts white unless toward the end.
Length to end of tail 31 3/4 inches, to end of claws 33 1/2, to end of
wings 31 3/4, to carpus 14; extent of wings 62; wing from flexure
19 1/2; tail 6 1/4; bill along the ridge 2 5/8, along the edge of lower
mandible 3 1/4; bare part of tibia 3/4; tarsus 3 5/8; hind toe 1/2, its claw
4 1/2/ ; middle toe 3, its claw 4/12. Weight 6 3/4 lb.
12

Young Female, in first winter. Plate CCCLXXXI. Fig. 2.

The colours of the young bird, in its first plumage, are unknown; but
in its second plumage, in autumn and winter, it presents the
appearance exhibited in the plate. The bill is pale flesh-colour, its
edges black, and the unguis bluish-white; the feet flesh-colour, the
claws dusky. The head and upper part of the neck are white, tinged
above with grey, the lower part of the neck all round, the fore part of
the back, the scapulars, the fore part of the breast, and the sides,
blackish-grey; paler beneath. The hind part of the back and the
upper tail-coverts, are ash-grey; as are the wing-coverts; but the
secondary coverts are greyish-black in the middle; and all the quills
are of that colour, the secondaries margined with greyish-white; the
tail-feathers dusky-grey, broadly margined with greyish-white. The
dark colour of the fore part of the breast gradually fades into greyish-
white, which is the colour of the other inferior parts, excepting the
axillar feathers, and some of the lower wing-coverts, which are white.
Length of an individual in this plumage, kept four years, to end of tail
26 inches, to end of claws 25; extent of wings 55; bill along the ridge
2 1/4, from frontal angle 2 1/2; tarsus 2 7 1/2/12; hind toe 6/12, its claw
4 1/2/12; middle toe 2 1/4, its claw 4/12. Weight 2 lb. 13 oz. The bird
very poor.
In an adult male preserved in spirits, the roof of the mouth is
moderately concave, with five series of strong conical papillæ
directed backwards. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear,
margined with two series of extremely slender papillæ. The marginal
lamellæ of the upper mandible are 25, of the lower about 45. The
tongue is 2 inches 5 twelfths long, nearly cylindrical, with strong
pointed papillæ at the base, and on each side a series of flattened,
sharp lamellæ, directed backwards, together with very numerous
bristle-like filaments. It is fleshy, has a soft prominent pad at the base
above, and towards the end has a median groove, the point rounded
thin, and horny. The œsophagus; which is 17 inches long, has a
diameter of 9 twelfths at the upper part, and at the lower part of the
neck is dilated to 1 inch. The proventricular glands are cylindrical,
simple, and arranged in a belt nearly 1 inch in breadth. The other
parts were removed.
The reddish tint on the head affords no indication of the age of the
bird, some individuals of all ages having that part pure white, while
others have it rusty. The same remark applies to our two Swans.
 SHARP-TAILED GROUS.

Tetrao Phasianellus, Linn.

PLATE CCCLXXXII. Male and Female.

This is another species of our birds with the habits of which I am

entirely unacquainted. Dr Richardson’s account of it is as follows:
—“The northern limits of the range of the Sharp-tailed Grous is Great
Slave Lake, in the sixty-first parallel; and its most southern recorded
station is in latitude 41°, on the Missouri. It abounds on the outskirts
of the Saskatchewan plains, and is found throughout the woody
districts of the Fur Countries, haunting open glades or low thickets
on the borders of lakes, particularly in the neighbourhood of the
trading paths, where the forests have been partially cleared. In
winter it perches generally on trees, in summer is much on the
ground; in both seasons assembling in coveys of from ten to sixteen.
Early in spring, a family of these birds select a level spot, whereon
they meet every morning, and run round in a circle of fifteen or
twenty feet in diameter, so that the grass is worn quite bare. When
any one approaches the circle, the birds squat close to the ground,
but in a short time stretch out their necks to survey the intruder; and,
if they are not scared by a nearer advance, soon resume their
circular course, some running to the right, others to the left, meeting
and crossing each other. These “Partridge dances” last for a month
or more, or until the hens begin to hatch. When the Sharp-tailed
Grous are put up, they rise with the usual whirring noise, and alight
again at the distance of a few hundred yards, either on the ground,
or on the upper branches of a tree. Before the cock quits his perch,
he utters repeatedly the cry of cuck, cuck, cuck. In winter they roost
in the snow like the Willow Grous, and they can make their way
through the loose wreaths with ease. They feed on the buds and
sprouts of the Betula glandulosa, of various willows, and of the
aspen and larch; and in autumn on berries. Mr Hutchins says that
the hen lays thirteen white eggs with coloured spots early in June;
the nest being placed on the ground and formed of grass, lined with
feathers.”
Dr Townsend informs me that while crossing the north branch of the
Platte (Lorimie’s Fork), he found this species breeding, and that as
an article of food it proved to be a very well-flavoured and plump
bird, considerably superior to any of the other larger species that
occur in the United States.

Tetrao Phasianellus, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 273.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol.
ii. p. 635.—Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 127.
Tetrao Phasianellus, Sharp-tailed Grous, Ch. Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith.
vol. iii. p. 37, pl. 19.
Tetrao (centrocercus) Phasianellus, Swains. Sharp-tailed Grous,
Richards. and Swains. Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 361.
Sharp-tailed Grous, Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 669.

Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXXII. Fig. 1.

Bill short, strong, as broad as high; upper mandible with the dorsal
line arcuato-declinate, the ridge narrow at the base on account of the
great extent of the nasal sinus, which is feathered, the sides convex
toward the end, the edges overlapping and thin, the tip declinate and
blunt, but thin-edged; lower mandible with the angle of moderate
length and width, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the edges
sharp and inclinate, the tip obtuse.
Head rather small, oblong; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet
rather short, stout; tarsus roundish, feathered, bare and reticulated
behind. Toes of moderate size, with numerous scutella above, but
covered over at the base by the hair-like feathers which grow from
the sides and the intervening basal membranes, laterally pectinate
with long slender projecting flattened scales; first toe small, second a
little longer than fourth, third much longer. Claws slender, arched,
moderately compressed, rather obtuse; that of the third toe with the
inner edge dilated.
Plumage dense, soft, rather compact, the feathers in general broadly
ovate; those on the head and upper part of the neck short, but some
on the upper and hind part of the former elongated and forming a
slight crest. There is a papillate coloured membrane over the eye, as
in the other species; and on each side of the neck is a large bare
space, concealed by the plumage, which I have no doubt is inflated,
as in Tetrao Cupido and T. Urophasianus, during the love season.
Wings rather short, concave, much rounded; the primaries stiff and
very narrow, so as to leave large intervals when the wing is
extended; the third quill longest, the fourth next, the second shorter
than the fifth, the sixth longer than the first. Tail short, much
graduated, of sixteen feathers, of which the lateral are three inches
shorter than the central; all the feathers are more or less concave,
excepting the two middle worn along the inner edge, obliquely and
abruptly terminated, the two middle projecting an inch beyond the
next.
Bill dusky above, brown beneath; iris light hazel; superciliary
membrane vermilion; toes brownish-grey, claws brownish-black. The
upper parts are variegated with light red or brownish-orange,
brownish-black and white; the black occupying the central part of the
feathers, the light red forming angular processes from the margin,
generally dotted with black, and a lighter bar near the end; the white
being in terminal, triangular, or guttiform spots on the scapulars and
wing-coverts. The alula, primary coverts, secondary coverts, and
quills are greyish-brown, the coverts spotted and tipped with white;
the primaries with white spots on the outer web, the inner tipped with
white, as are all the secondaries, of which the outer have two bars of
white spots, and the inner are coloured like the back. The tail is
white, at the base variegated, and the two middle feathers like the
back. Loral space, and a line behind the eye, white; a dusky streak
beneath the eye, succeeded by a light coloured one. The throat is
reddish-white, with some dusky spots; the fore part and sides of the
neck barred with dusky and reddish-white: on the lower part of the
neck and fore part of the breast, the dusky bars become first curved,
and then arrow-shaped, and so continue narrowing on the hind part
of the breast, and part of the sides, of which the upper portion is
barred; the abdomen, lower tail-coverts, axillar feathers, and most of
the lower wing-coverts, white. The hair-like feathers of the tarsi are
light brownish-grey, faintly barred with greyish-white.
Length to end of tail 17 1/2 inches, to end of wings 14, to end of
claws 17; extent of wings 23; wing from flexure 8 1/4, tail 4 1/2; bill
along the ridge 10 1/2/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1 1 1/2/12;
1/2 1/2
tarsus 1 7 /12; hind toe 6/12, its claw 6/12; middle toe 1 7 /12, its
claw 7/12.

Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXXII. Fig. 2.

The Female is considerably smaller, but is coloured like the male,
the tints being duller.
 LONG-EARED OWL.

Strix otus, Linn.

PLATE CCCLXXXIII. Male.

This Owl is much more abundant in our Middle and Eastern Atlantic
Districts than in the Southern or Western parts. My friend Dr
Bachman has never observed it in South Carolina; nor have I met
with it in Louisiana, or any where on the Mississippi below the
junction of the Ohio. It is not very rare in the upper parts of Indiana,
Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky, wherever the country is well wooded. In
the Barrens of Kentucky its predilection for woods is rendered
apparent by its not being found elsewhere than in the “Groves;” and
it would seem that it very rarely extends its search for food beyond
the skirts of those delightful retreats. In Pennsylvania, and elsewhere
to the eastward, I have found it most numerous on or near the banks
of our numerous clear mountain streams, where, during the day, it is
not uncommon to see it perched on the top of a low bush or fir. At
such times it stands with the body erect, but the tarsi bent and
resting on a branch, as is the manner of almost all our Owls. The
head then seems the largest part, the body being much more
slender than it is usually represented. Now and then it raises itself
and stands with its legs and neck extended, as if the better to mark
the approach of an intruder. Its eyes, which were closed when it was
first observed, are opened on the least noise, and it seems to squint
at you in a most grotesque manner, although it is not difficult to