THE OOLOGIST. 



13 



America, besides a large mass of material 

 connected with all the sciences, arc excelled, 

 probably, by no similar institution in the 

 world. It employs a large corps of scien- 

 tists, and has an enormous correspoiidonce 

 throughout the world. 



'J'he Institution may be said to have been 

 built by Proiessor Henry, and stands to-day 

 a moTuiment to his untiring and unseltisli 

 labor in behalf of science. 



Reflections upon the Habits of the 

 Purple Finch. 



'3/|f tl E life of Curpudacun piirpureiis is 

 jll , not, perhaps, more interesting, nor 



^^ does it possess a larger field for stud- 

 y, tiian that of any other of our commoner 

 birds ; yet, as is often the case witii other 

 species, one may always fuid something 

 novel to him by continued observation of 

 any one species, however common, and lime 

 spent in watching the habits, even of a Pur- 

 ple Finch, cannot be termed time lost. 

 Withal, this bird in its everyday life exhib- 

 its traits of peculiarity and e<-centricity. 

 He is neither the bold Robin or the meek 

 Chipping Sparrow, nor yet the modest Bhie 

 Bii-d, but is an odd, fussy, somewhat irri- 

 table fellow, sometimes very sensitive to 

 surrounding events and objects ; at others 

 utterly careless of his whereabouts and ig- 

 norant of his neighbors. He oiten travels 

 about alont!, making the neighborhood re- 

 sound with his unrestrained song, uttered 

 usually from a prominent tree-top ; at oth- 

 ers, he is one among a flo(tk of his compan- 

 ions, hopping about here and there, per- 

 haps in a staiil manner, perhaps excitedly, 

 singing, gleaning for seeds or buds, or work- 

 ing about as if perfectly independent of tlie 

 avocations of his companions. All at once, 

 as if impelled by some wild idea, it utters 

 a short note and darts off all aloue, soon to 

 i-eturn if his companions do not seem in- 

 clined to follow. Occasionally he will work 

 for days almost unceasingly, at the cones 

 of a fir or the seed-balls of the button-wood, 



not even condescending to utter a chirp. 



and only desisting when compelled to by 

 the proximity of man or a tyrannical fel- 

 low-species. 



Petty quarrels are of frequent occurrence, 

 though confined to the species ; other birds 

 are seldom or never disturbed. It really 

 is a picture to see two knights of the pur- 

 ple, with crests erect and attitude fierce, 

 facing each otiier, and presenting an ap- 

 pearance very similar to that of a pair of 

 game cocks ; but their disputes are of short 

 duration, and generally end in both contes- 

 tants taking an unceremonious departure 

 in different directions. Jealousy appears 

 to be a prominent characteristic of his ; in- 

 nocent and peaceable though one bird may 

 seem, he is liable at any moment to be the 

 object of a furious and probably wanton at- 

 tack from one or more of his fellow-species. 

 Especially during the mating season, they 

 appear to be more restive than any other 

 species, though this may be an exaggera- 

 tion due to their utter disregard for the pub- 

 licity of the ])lace in which they quarrel ; for 

 they have, many times, been known to flut- 

 ter uncomfortably near passers-by, and to 

 continue their disputes upon the verandas 

 and steps of houses. 



It has been stated by Mr. Gentry, that, 

 in his experience, the Purple F'iuch has been 

 found to be " comparativel}' songless," and 

 that singing is to it an exception, rather 

 than a common occurrence. What should 

 excite such a supposition cannot be conceiv- 

 ed, for, among our song bii'ds it ranks very 

 favorably, and is often caught and reared 

 by bird fanciers ; moreover, from the mo- 

 ment of its appearance in spring to the time 

 the young leave the nest, its life seems to 

 be greatly employed in singing. It is often 

 amusing to watch and listen to the struggle 

 for superiority of vocal accomplishment be- 

 tween two promising singers. They occu- 

 py the highest positions attainable, — the 

 higher the tree-top the better — and without 

 any preliminaries, they both start off as 

 nearly together as the circumstances will 

 permit, using all the strength possible in 

 the effort, and exerting themselves as if 

 their very lives depended upon the issue. 



