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THE OSPREY. 



THE OSPREY. 



An Illustrated Magazine of Popular Ornithology 



Published Motithly exc<>[)t in July and August 



KDITEI) BV 



WAI.THK ADAMS JOHNSON 



ASSOCIATED WITH 



Dk. ELLIOTT COUES 



Subscription: In the United States, Canada and Mexico. One 

 Dollar a year, in advance. Single Copies. Ten Cents. 



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Postage paid to all countries in the Postal Union. 

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Official Organ Cooper Ornithological Club of the Pacific Coast. 



Notes and News of a relevant nature, and original contribu- 

 tions are respectfully solicited, and should be addressed to 

 the editor at the office of publication. 



Copyright, 1897, by The Osprey Company. Entered at the 

 Galesburg Postoffice as second-class mail matter. 



THE OSPREY COMPANY. 

 61 N. Prairie St. Galesburg, III. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Our frontispiece illustration this month is the por- 

 trait of Prof. Daniel G. Elliot, the Ne.stor of American 

 Ornithologists since the death of George N. Law- 

 rence, and one of the most eminent Ornithologists 

 now living, to whom a position in the foremost rank 

 has long been conceded by common consent. Mr 

 Elliott is best known by his numerous large and 

 superbly illustrated monographic works on various 

 families of birds, notably of the Pittidu- or Ant 

 Thrushes, the Pheasants, the Birds of Paradise, the 

 Hornbills, etc. ; and among other works is his 

 famous monograph of the FeUnia- or Cat family, with 

 the illustrations by John Wolf, whose inimitable 

 pencil was also utilized for the colored plates of 

 many of Elliot's birds. His ' New and Heretofore 

 Unfigured Birds of North America,' which appeared 

 in two folio volumes, is another of his classic works : 

 and his technical papers in various scientific periodi- 

 cals of Europe and this country are very numerous 

 and of a high order of excellence. Mr. Elliot is a 

 member of many scientific societies at home and 

 abroad, and has received more decorations from 

 crowned heads of Europe than all other American 

 Ornithologists put together, in recognition of his 

 magnificiently illustrated works. He is one of the 

 founders and ex-presidents of the American Ornitho- 

 logists' Union. His latest popular work, ' The Shore 

 Birds,' has had a gratifying success, and is now being 

 followed by a companion volume on the game birds, 

 published by Francis P. Harper, of New York. Mr. 

 Elliot has been a gentleman of means and leisure, 

 who has resided much abroad, but lately accepted 

 the position of Curator of Zoology in the Field 

 Columbian Museum of Chicago. 



We are glad to herald another victory for the 

 .Vudubon Societies, and this is of a most practical na- 

 ture . a leading house in the sale of millinery in Chi- 

 cago has advertised that it will hereafter use no skins 

 of song-birds for millinery purposes. This seems 

 good evidence that the best class of women, those 

 that set the fashion, are not calling for this kind of 

 ornamentation. It is said that as a result of the best 

 business houses decreasing their stocks of song-bird 



plumage, the show windows of the cheaper stores 

 are fairly loaded down with this class of goods. But 

 the women whose tastes do not require the forms of 

 mangled song-birds are offered an ample assort- 

 ment in the feather line; the feathers of the most 

 ordinary Brahma rooster are metamorphosed into 

 millinery rainbows, and pigeons' wings are made to 

 compete with the most gorgeous plumage of the Birds 

 of Paradise. It is to be regretted that there is still a 

 large demand for the aigrette, despite the most 

 strenuous efforts of the Audubon Societies. Experi- 

 ments are being made in the use of Indian sea grass 

 for artificial aigrettes, but. as yet, with no complete 

 success. 



With the kind permission of Miss M. R. Audubon, 

 Dr. Coues has transmitted to us for publication in 

 The Osprey an interesting letter from Audubon to 

 Bonaparte, which will be found in fac simile on the 

 first page of this month's issue, a little reduced in 

 size from the original now in Dr. Coues' possession. 

 The substance of the letter speaks for itself ; the 

 place and date, " New York, May ist, 1833," appear 

 below the signature, which is a fine bold autograph. 

 Some writing upon the back of the sheet, which we 

 do not reproduce, states that an open duplicate of 

 this letter has been sent to William Cooper, who, 

 Audubon hopes, will give the Prince of Musignano 

 an account of several conversations which have been 

 held on the latter's account. Letters of Audubon are 

 not rare, and several have appeared in print before ; 

 but we can hardly recall one that has heretofore been 

 published in fac-simile. The Osprey's eye is ever 

 on the watch, its grasp is secure, and something of 

 special interest and importance will be found in its 

 talons every month. 



In his forthcoming book. Following the Equator,' 

 Mark Twain writes of the vocal powers of a tropical 

 bird. With a seriousness prompted by that of the 

 author, we here record Mr. Clemen's 'ornithological 

 observations,' which emphasize Prof. Elliot's descrip- 

 tions : "It is a wild place and lovely. From the 

 woods all about came the songs of birds, among them 

 the contributions of a couple of birds which I was 

 not acquainted with — the brain-fever bird and the 

 coppersmith. The song of the brain-fever demon 

 starts on a low but steadily rising key, and it is a 

 spiral twist which augments in intensity and severity 

 with each added spiral, growing sharper and sharper 

 and more and more painful, more and more agoniz- 

 ing, more and more maddening, intolerable, unen- 

 durable, as it bores deeper and deeper and deeper 

 into the listener's brain, until at last the brain-fever 

 comes as a relief and the man dies." 



The Fifteenth Annual Congress of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union will be held at the American 

 Museum of Natural History in New York city, be- 

 ginning on the evening of Monday, November 8, 

 1H97, when will be held the session for the election 

 of officers and members and the transaction of routine 

 business. The following three days will be given to 

 public sessions for the reading and discussion of 

 scientific papers. 



The Elliott Coues' Chapter of the Agassiz Associa- 

 tion was recently established at Dorchester, Mass., 

 with Mr. Frank J. Birtwell at its head. The first 

 work of the chapter will be mostly of a popular na- 

 ture, as a large proportion of its members are ladies 

 not as yet versed in the science of birds. We wish 

 the Chapter prosperity. 



We trust some of our readers will co-operate with 

 Mr. Hornaday in the laudable work of which he 

 writes in this number. When a busy man like Mr 



