THE OOLOGIST 



71 



growth in weight, instinctive habits, 

 an<l experimenis on special senses. 

 Owen, on "A Cnplive Hermit Thrush," 

 (A.uk, Jan. 1897,) gives many valuMble 

 hints for the study of young birds. The 

 same observer has reporr.t-d on the 

 growth of the young Song Sp.-tnow. 



7. Feathers.— Under this h'/ad we 

 may study the relative development of 

 the feather tracts, rate of growth in 

 wing and tail feathers, and the pheno- 

 mena of moult. A very simple and 

 easy observation to mak« is the number 

 of feathers casteach day during a moult. 

 Chad bourne, (Auk, XIV, 140,) says; 

 "In the living bird accurate data of the 

 loss before and during the progress of 

 a complete moult are, I believe ua- 

 published " A lookout should be kept 

 for albinis-m, melanism and hybridism. 



8 Variation. — This is a subject with 

 which bnt little has been done; It re- 

 quirt s a very large serits of one species 

 and is best undertaken by those situ 

 ated where two sub speci-^s overlap, 

 that is, where intermediate forms occur. 



Do not think that I decry the makino; 

 of a collection. You should have a fair 

 series of each species found in ycnu" lo 

 cality, so that you may recognize any 

 straggler, hybrid or strange plumage. 

 Collect all the specimens you need for 

 working out an uncertain point. If 

 you do not recognize a bird, shoot it. 

 But do not make a collection to show 

 your friends, or to have more than any 

 one else in the town. Make the most 

 of every bird you kill and when you dis- 

 cover something new or unusual, write 

 it up for publication so that others may 

 know the results of your work. 



Some Winter Birds of the Island of 

 Vieques 



BY B S BOWDISH. 



The Island of Vieques lies about 

 fifteen miles off the eastern end of Porto 

 Rico and in general topography much 

 resembles it on a smaller scale. In ex- 



treme length and width it is about 

 twenty-one by nine miles. Some of the 

 hills are still clothed in forest a portion 

 of which exhibits the dense tangle of 

 vine and bush of innumerable species of 

 the tropical forest, also some of the 

 creek bottoms are likewise thickly 

 grown with small growth, but the vir- 

 gin forest, the giant trees of the prim- 

 eval timber are gone forever, a sacrifice 

 to the cupidity and vandalism of Spain. 



In valley and on hillside in many 

 places acre upon acre of sugar caue 

 waves in the breezu inaa uuiuierrupted 

 expanse Over other like expanses the 

 luxuriant growth of gias.s furnishes an 

 abundant pasturage for numerous 

 oxen. Small tracts here and there are 

 devoted to gardening. Throughout the 

 open country occasional trees and 

 copses of bushes are scattered. The 

 fences are many of them hedges of the 

 "Spanish bayoaet" cactus, and these 

 hedges intergrown thickly with rank 

 grass form havens of retreat for many 

 birds — and also for the Mongoose. 

 This latter and a wood rat, nesting in 

 trees, have undoubtedly tffecierl the 

 avifauna of the island to a very large 

 extent. Ground nesting birds must 

 have been seriously disturbed by the 

 extreme abundance of the Mongoose 

 which in predacious habits surpasses 

 the ermine or mink. A representative 

 of the Bob-white formerly recorded 

 from the island of Porto Rico seems to 

 be rare now if not quite extinct. 



In presenting this list I would say 

 that it is the result of some three 

 months observation in November and 

 December of '99 and January and Feb- 

 uary of the present year, made under 

 many difficulties and that I was con- 

 stantly hampered by military duties. 



The Gulls and Terns seen were none 

 of them secured hence remained uni- 

 dentified and the same was the case 

 with the majority of the water birds. 

 Consequently the list chiefly represents 

 the more conspicuous winter birds of 



