:5(i 



THE 00L0GI8T. 



exhil'itioiis < 1' tliiit luculiar vultmiiie li-ibit 

 of dip^'orgiii}: tlie fuofl, couviiiced me that 

 I did uvt wniit a varied iissovtinent of 

 skills. 



It is impossible to say whether tliis liird 

 will become almndniit in the future. Imt 

 reasouing from the climate and various 

 causes not inviting to this family of hirds, 

 I should say not. As yet, I have not heard 

 of the apiieaiance of this species beyond 

 tlie 44 - north latitude, but it may readily 

 be conjectured that the tireless wings of 

 this rapidly soaring ghoul may have taken 

 it to our northern confines. 



Birds have >)een taken in the mouths of 

 April, May up to the l.'Jth. July, August 

 and September. Ouce two birds were 

 taken in this ccjunty in July, which h^d 

 only quitted home and mother during the 

 past month, and the imperfect quills sug- 

 gested that they were Mich'^gan birds; a 

 view that was to be disi)roved by the man- 

 ner in which they s( ared away when 

 liberated. Over the Indiana line, less than 

 KKt miles from here, this species is plenti- 

 ful, showing that a few miles may make a 

 vast difference even with birds endowed 

 with great endurance and expanse of 

 wing. 



r.VLl'ONID^ . 



Vultures, Falcons, Hawks, Eagles etc. 

 EUinrndes fnrfkatus (Linn). Swallow- 

 tailed Kite. First mentioned by Hou. D. 

 D. Hughes, in his valuable Mss. notes on 

 Michigan birds, to which I have had suc- 

 cess. \V. H . Collins, the Detroit Ornithol- 

 ogist snd Taxidermist, writes me: "One 

 specimen taken seven miles from the city 

 in the summer of 1878, now in the museum 

 of the Detroit Scientific Association.' 



The Wild Turkey. 



It is imposs ble for me to treat this sub- 

 ject properly, from lack of observation: 

 but, perhaps, what little can be said may 

 inteiest some. 



This row rare game bird may still be 

 found in some of the Eastern States, biit 

 li^ doesn't appear on every occasion. The 

 writer caught a glimpse of oue tlu^ past 



fall, but was oliliged to coiiti-nt himself 

 with that. 



'l"he locality visited was in the Pi<'dmont 

 region of Ya., about Homihs from the city 

 of Wa-h.ngtou, D. C. Here ciuite large 

 tiiicks arc to be found in the 'old field' 

 woods, which stretch away for miles, broken 

 only by occasional deserted clearings. The 

 timber is pine, broken by hard wood on 

 knolls an along streams. 



The natives of this region wage success- 

 ful war on this noble game in earlj' autumn 

 from 'blinds" erecttd near favorite feeding 

 grounds. The writer counted 20 of these 

 structures in a day while hunting. Some 

 few of the backwoodsmen still set log-traps: 

 with what success I do not know. 



Taken altogether, the " bird of Thanks- 

 giving " has a hard t me of it. From the 

 time when h.s mother hides her speckled 

 treasures from the mink and raccoon till 

 he falls before the ride or shot gun of the 

 hunter, he is besei by snares and dangers 

 of all kinds. 



Wet weather thins the flocks of young 

 birds, as docs also the "varmints."' When 

 a little larger, he is lured to an eaily death 

 by the call of the hunter ficni the blind, 

 but should he survive the perils of two or 

 three seasons, what gamier bird stejjs the 

 woodland"/ Monarch of the llock, his 

 call is obeyed as he treads the fragrant 

 pine needles, always alert for hidden danger 

 be it fox or hun(er. At a near approach 

 he lises and sails or runs as fast as his long 

 legs will carry him to a safe retreat. Lucky 

 the hunter whose (juick and steady hand 

 and eye can bring him down. It is not all 

 who are thus gifted. Some must be con- 

 tent with grouse, quail, raVibits or squirrel 

 until experience has taught its lesson. 



The boundless woods and pure air give 

 the hunter a pleasant sensa ion which is ap- 

 preciated by those who have felt it, and a 

 tremendous ap[)etite is the usual result of 

 a day's turkey hunting. 



Jome down from your snowy North and 

 Western plains and hunt with us in the 

 pine forests of the Old Dominion for 

 Mebiinri" (jcllojuiro ameriaani. 



A. ii. F., Beiinii gs, D. C. 



