46 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 3 



ORNITHOLOGlST.^^'^OCiLOGlST 



A Monthly Maj^azine of 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



RSPECIALLV niCVOTKI) TO TIIK SI'l'DY OF 



BIRDS, 



THEIR NESTS AND EG(!S, 



.111(1 to the 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS 



Hiider the Editorial Maiiafi:eineiit of 



FRANK I!. VVEISSTER, Hyde Talk, Mass. 



J. TARlvER NORRIS, 

 FRANK A. HATES, 



I'hiladelphia, Pa. 



liostoii, Mass. 



ri'IlLISHFO Al' 



FRANK B. WEBSTER'S 

 MUSEUM 



AND 



NATURALISTS' SUPPLY DEPOT. 

 Hyde Pabk, Mass., U. S. A. 



The O. & O. is mailed each is.sue to every iniid suit 

 scriber. If you fail to receive it, notify us. 



Brief Notes. 



We call our readei-s' attention to the O. A O. 

 a.s .an advcrtisiiifi mciliuiii. Try it. 



Mr. Watson Hislmii, of Kcntville, Nova 

 Scotia, reports tliat lie still has his doniesticateil 

 SpiuceCi rouse {Dciidriujopus runitilcHxl.-:). They 

 are <loin;4 well. 



lie also has with tliem a Golden Pheasant and 

 three liiridi Partiidoes; .also a Dusky Duck. 

 His success in keepin;^' these birds has been 

 truly astonishina;. 



As for e,L;gs of the f'anada Grouse he is now 

 the recognized headquarters for theiii, and he 

 h.as "r.aised" many sets of them from his 

 domesticated birds. Indeed his eggs will he 

 found in .all the large collections in the United 

 States. .1. P. N. 



We have received invitations to the Ornitho- 

 logical (Jongress, to be held at Budapesth. 

 While it will be inijiossible for any of us to be 

 present, we hope to have a representative there. 

 It is to be regretted that the American col- 

 lectors at large are not in a jiosition to be 

 represented, but we have written one of our 

 foreign correspondents, requesting him to give 

 us reports, and shall enileavor to send sonii! 

 report of the doings of the mass of collect- 

 ing naturalists of this country. 



They all read the O. & O. and comment ujion 

 it; if you do not believe it read this: A corres- 

 pondent, writing to Mr. Frank U. Webster's 



admirable magazine, the Ornithologist and 



0(">i.o(iisT, makes some very pointed suggestions 

 as to the extension of our game laws; among 

 others, the inclusion of (luail, grouse and wood- 

 co(^k, and crows, liawks, and owls, in the cate- 

 gory of " insectivorous birds" over which our 

 laws extend protection. The game birdS men- 

 tioned are, of course, insectivorous, but it can 

 readily be imagined th.at such a classihcation 

 would meet with substantial objection from 

 our sportsmen. As for the predatory birds 

 named, it is stated by this (nirrespondcnt that 

 the American Museum in New York is moving 

 to secure their protection by the laws of that 

 state, and he asks, " Are they not of benefit in 

 keeping down the noxious vermin which devas- 

 tate our tieldsV" — Boston Commonwealth. 



By the way, perhaps it may not be known to 

 our readers that "The Commonwealth"' is 

 making a specialty of reporting the doings of 

 the scientilic societies, and Dr. E. E. Hale's 

 " Tarry at Home" letters tell us what people 

 ■are doing elsewhere. If you want to be up 

 with the times, select your reading intelligently. 



A genuine crocodile, the fifth ever known to 

 have been captured in Fhuida, was taken 

 recently near Punta Gorda. It was 9 feet 10 

 inches long. The animal rcsemliles the alliga- 

 tor very nmcli with the exception of the head, 

 which is much narrower, and the upper jaw 

 works instead of the lower: two of the front 

 teeth project througli the upjicr jaw, and all 

 of the upper teeth resemble pearl. — Bostini 

 .Journal. 



Shot a male Bewick's Wren, .Ian. 1, and saw 

 at least one more. First I hail ever seen, not 

 having noticed it before in several years' col- 

 lecting. As it is rather a soutliern bird, is it 

 not unusual f<u' it to appear so far inu'th at tliis 

 season? F. L. Homer, New Hamburg, Pa. 



Did you ever see a bald-headed man, one of 

 the kind that w.iy, way back some ]>oor children 

 were eaten uj) by l>ears, liecaiisc of the exhilar- 

 ating eflects the sight of hiin had upon them? 

 Well, a few days since wc called ujion one, 

 who.se name, if we should mention, wouhl be 

 recognized at once by Boston ornithidogists. 

 Ii'cnienibcring the sad fate of those little ones 

 (who had no bicycles to escape upon), we have 

 always been vitry cautious never to notice such 

 matters, but on this occasion inadvertently 

 remarked that jierhaps Currier's Tanning 

 Liipior would prove beneficial, as it "set hail'," 

 when with a smile that travelled from both 

 corners of the mouth way up, up t)ver, aiul 

 linally disapix-ared beneath the collar opposite 

 to tlu' scarf-pin side, the object of our interest 

 said, "Why, I am not a circumstance to old 

 I'.ill W. who started an ostrich ranch. He did 

 not have a single hair on his pate, and on one 

 occasion it came very near causing him 

 trouble." Of course, we wanted to know how? 

 " Well, yim see, Bill hail invested his liottom 

 dollar in a drove of ostriclies, and having just 

 landed them, watched them night and ilay. 

 When the sun rose high, P>ill would beconu! 

 drowsy, and sitting on the ground would clasp 

 his knee, and his licad would drop forward. 



