94 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 6 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST.^'^OdLOGIST 



A Mdiitbly Magazine of 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



KSl'ECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STI'DV OE 

 BIRDS, 



THEir, .VESTS AND Er.(;S, 



ami to tile 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS 



Under tlie Editorial .Management of 



FIl.Wlv K. WEHSTER. 

 J. P.^lllCEIl .XOIIRIS, 

 KKANK A. HATES, 



Hyde I'arli, Mass. 



I'iiiladelpliia. Pa. 



lioston, Mass. 



PUBLISHED .4.T THE 



MUSEUM AND NATURALISTS' SUPPLY DEPOT 



OF THE 



FR.WK BL.VKE WEBSTKI! CO.UP.WV, 



INCORPORATED, 



Hvi>E I'ARK, .Mass., U. S. A. 



The O. & O. is mailed eacli issue to every paid sub- 

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



Brief Notes. 



Clippings. 



It'iAi) lU.ofKED liv C.vTp;upir.i,.\RS. — Trains 

 OH tlie .Milwauliee road were (li!iaye<l for liiMirs 

 by miUioHS of caterpillars which had crawled 

 upon tlie rails to sun tliemselves. Sand boxes 

 wei'e soon exhausted, ami two eiif;iiies were 

 hardly sufficient to move trains. Tlie cater- 

 pillars liave lieen a pest, in that locality for two 

 weeks. Mankato, Minn., May 2;!, Is'.M. 



The W.atki! Otsei,. — .•Vway up on the 

 mountain side where the numerous streams 

 lind their way through deep, dark .can )ns 

 down to the pulse beat of old ocean, is the 

 natural summer home of the Water Ousel, the 

 strangest of all straiioe birds. You seldom 

 see more than one of them at a time, 

 accordinj; to the Taco'na Ledui'V. They are 

 of a dark blue color, an 1 are easily recognized 

 by a peculiar quick, jerkinu; motion, which 

 they never seem to tire of. And as they Hit 

 from rock to rock they are continually bolibinsi' 

 up and down, performing such a polite little 

 courtesy as would cause you to smile to see it. 



Owing, to tlieir peculiar habits and the iso- 

 lated spots they select to build their nests, no 

 one but the most ardent sportsmen and natural- 

 ists succeed in tinding them. Hence a Water 

 Ousel's nest with two of tlieir eggs in it has 

 a commercial value among nest collectors of 

 S25.* They always build their nests just back 

 of some waterfall or under some ovei'lianging 

 bank, where they have to go througli or under 

 the water to get to it. 



• Dealers quote t2.50. 



Another strange habit of this bird is the 

 deliberate manner in whi(di they appear to 

 commit suicide. They will start slowly, very 

 slowly, to wade riglit down into the water un- 

 til they disappear from view, but if the water 

 is clear and you have a sharp eye, you can 

 still see their little dark form clinging to the 

 bottom in search of their morning repast, 

 which consists of periwinkle.s. 



Killed by Electric Wikes. — A dispatch 

 from Oedar Kapids, Iowa, says: "A migrating 

 bird wave, which was passing over here Satur- 

 day night, encountered a terrible rain and 

 thunder storm, and attracted by the electiic 

 lights gathered about them on tlie streets and 

 attempted to tly into the stores, and as a con- 

 sequence over a thousand birds fell dead in 

 the streets from coming in contact with the 

 wires and glass fronts. 



"A great majority of these birds do not 

 inhabit this region, and some very rare speci- 

 mens were captured alive and caged, ,\mong 

 thcui was a lledpnll Warbler, one of the rarest 

 birds in the UuitiMl States. This bird nests in 

 ■Manitoba and Alaska in the summer time, and 

 in the winter goes as far south as the Carib- 

 bean Sea,, the only place it is foiuid during the 

 winter season being along the Lower Kio 

 Grande and Eagle Cafion, Texas. Over fifty 

 different species were found." Chicago, May 

 20. 



The K.we.ns of Alaska. — The raven is a 

 biril deserving of respectful attention. He is 

 a bird of very ancient lineage, dating hack to 

 the deluge, if not to Eden, and appearing in 

 the history of England as the ]u'ominent figure 

 on the banner of the hardy Viking de\astators. 

 In Euroi>e and among the Mohammedans there 

 is a widespread dislike to ravens; in fact, they 

 are regarded as birds i>f ill omen and carrion 

 feeders. But qidte the reverse is thought of 

 the bird in Southeastern Alaska, where the 

 natives regard it as a very unfortunate event 

 should one lie killed. 



One of the otticers of the United States rev- 

 enue cutter service, who has paid several visits 

 to the saucheastern and other porticuis of the 

 Territory of Alaska, mentioned to a Clirimirlr 

 reporter the following facts about the raven 

 of our .\rctic province: 



" My first experience with ravens in Alaska 

 was at, 0(nialaska. There the birds tiy around 

 the beach and village in large numliers. 'On 

 the hilltops surrouniling the harbor they breed 

 unmolested, and were it not for their scav- 

 enger work the lisli otTal that lays -.iround the 

 shore and houses would soiui engender ilisease. 

 The Alaska raven i.s a fine-looking bird, as 

 large as a turkey, .and upon closer acquaintance 

 a really handsome fellow. His coat is indeed 

 black, iint of a bla(^k glossier and more rich 

 than silk and softer than velvet, while in a 

 semi-shade the feathers are tinged with that 

 peculiar color so often seen on well-preserved, 

 blue-black bronze. 



" It is very funny to see these birds holding, 

 as it were, a conclave. Ten or a dozen alight 

 on the ground and walk to the meeting place 

 with a stately, erect step, their evei-y move- 



