UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AFIELD 83 



Among albino birds, in addition to the white 

 robin, I once saw a robin with a large white spot 

 on his shoulder, extending down one wing. The 

 rest of his plumage was natural, so I figured that 

 possibly this peculiar feathering might have re- 

 sulted from a bruise, as I always have noticed that 

 bruising or rubbing the hair from the skin of a 

 domestic animal is very apt to result in the injured 

 spot becoming covered by white hair. 



I also have seen a large flock of English sparrows, 

 of which two were a solid dusty cream colour, and 

 up to 1919 I have seen two white blackbirds. 



I once worked with a pair of robins, one of whose 

 young kept its head extended above the top of the 

 nest, waving it and crying unceasingly, even im- 

 mediately after the old bird had been to the nest 

 with food. In the absence of the parents I climbed 

 to the nest and discovered that the young one had 

 been fed something of a poisonous nature, which 

 had irritated its throat. A big water blister closed 

 the entire food canal, while the wind pipe was 

 badly crowded from the swelling in the neck. 

 The bird could not shut its mouth, and could not 

 swallow. I pricked the blisters, letting out the 

 water, and tried the soothing influence of oil in 

 the throat, but the bird died a few hours later in 

 much distress. I wish now that I had taken the 

 pains to see what its crop and gizzard contained. 

 Undoubtedly its trouble arose from something it 

 had been fed, as its entire body was full of inflam- 



