THE OSPEEY. 



59 



Indeed, many years ag'o, (in the Bulletin of the 

 Nuttall Ornitholog-ical Club for 1880, p. 82,) Mr. 

 Robert Ridg-way remarked "It may not, perhaps, 

 be g-enerally known that this species is fully 

 the peer of the Condor in size, the leng^th of the 

 wing- £ind tail averg^ing- even decidedly g^reater", 

 althoug-h otherwise weaker. If the measure- 

 ments of Byani are correct, however, the Cali- 

 fornian bird must take second place by a marked 

 interval. 



But in a search afar and above for "the largest 

 bird that flies", one which is often beneath our 

 eyes has been overlooked — the common turkey. 

 The weig^ht that has been assigned to each of 

 the birds in Mr. Harting-'s table is certainly 

 often exceeded by that savory tenant of the 

 farm yard. Althoug-h "the weight of the hen 

 g^enerally averag'es about nine pounds", the 

 male sometimes becomes exceeding- larg-e. 

 Audubon saw one which weig-hed 36 pounds. 

 Bonaparte "ascertained the existence of some 

 weighing- forty". Like Bonaparte, we maj'- 

 reg-ard the reports of -^'eights greater than the 

 last as "fabulous". Nevertheless, very re- 

 cently parag-i-aphs have appeared in the news- 

 papers to the effect that a certain farmer had 

 one weighing- over 70 pounclsl Mr. Harting 

 might well object that the last — if existent — 

 would be excluded from his consideration on the 

 ground that it was not "a bird that flies". In- 

 deed, even the wild turkey is much restricted in 

 his power of flight. 



ENDURANCE OF THE TUKKEV. 



Apropos of the turkey as a "bird that flies", 

 interesting data were published in "Recreation" 

 for June, 1897 (p. 431). Capt. C. J. Crane, U. S. 

 A., in an article on "Wild Turkej' Shooting", 

 has given the results of extended experience in 

 the old Indian Territory and Texas. According- 

 to him, "no other bird in America can run so fast 

 as the turkey, but when caug-ht some distance 

 away from thick woods, they have frequently- 



been run down and captured by a horseman. 

 They cannot rt3' more than from ^'4 to ^ of a 

 mile the first flight, even when thin, and if fat 

 the distance will be less. The second flight will 

 be much shorter; the same with the second run, 

 so that many turkeys have been run down and 

 caug-ht after running and fl3'ing from /z a mile 

 to 2 miles. 



"The ])(M)r thing-s get so exhausted that they 

 cannot fly any more and cannot run faster than 

 a man can walk. Of course the chase would 

 have to be pushed without any let up, in order 

 to be successful. It is said — and I believe it — 

 that the Indians of Arizona sometimes run 

 down and catch turkeys, in their mountains, on 

 foot". 



UTILIZATION OK ZOOI.OGICAr, CAKDEXS. 



The articles by Mr. (Turney on longevity and 

 Mr. Harting'- on the larg-est bird have derived 

 no information from Zoological g-ardens, and 

 yet the largest collection of living animals in 

 existence was readily accessible to them. The 

 investigator may search in vain for information 

 on such subjects in the reports on their condition 

 and progress. And yet just such information 

 ought to be furnished by such institutions. 

 Many animals are born in Zoological g-ardens 

 and their life-histories might be traced and 

 should be recorded. Such simple data as the 

 time of acquisition and time of death of an 

 animal would furnish useful elements for some 

 idea at least of the life of others. But 

 rarely are any such data published. The 

 successive editions of the catalogue of 

 animals living in the gardens of the Zoological 

 Society of London would have been much en- 

 hanced in value if such information had been 

 given. Reports as to the weight of animals 

 would also be valuable and not less so because 

 it w-ould vary with condition. Why won't the 

 ^lardens give the information? 



Letters. 



Rare Birds In Rhode Isi^and. 



Editors of the Osprey: 



Providence. R. I., (7r/., 1899. 



On July 24, 1899, a Little Blue Heron in the 

 white plumage was taken near Wakefield, R. I., 

 and I have added it to my collection. This is 

 the second record for this state. This bird was 

 no doubt one of the flock of seven reported in 

 the October Ait^ as having been seen at Old 

 Lynn, Conn. 



A male American Egret was shot near Tiver- 

 ton, R. I., on the Seaconnet River, Aug-ust 15, 



1899, by an Italian, who saw the bird flying up 

 the river from the ocean and alight on the shore 

 to feed. I was fortunate in securing it for m^' 

 collection. There are now four records for this 

 bird in the state. 



Mr. Fred T. Jencks on October 12, 1899. shot a 

 young Blue Grosbeak in the blackberry bushes, 

 in his g-arden at Drownville, R. I. His attention 

 was first attracted by the bird's note which was 

 new to him, and on approaching", he found the 

 bird scratching- among the leaves in companA' 

 with Field, Song, and White-throated Sparrows 

 and Juncos. It flew into the bushes and was 



