110 



ORNITIlOLOCiJST 



[Vol. IG-No. 7 



different species came under my notice; — the 

 great jack rabbit or mule ear, the swamp 

 rabbit and the cotton tail. 



" Deer abound within reasonable distance of 

 any point on the railway or coast. On one 

 island where I camped for three days I saw 

 from bve to thirty deer every mornin"' when 

 goinj;' to a tank of water, and one was shot 

 witli Xo. 4 duck shot. 



Wild turkeys roosted on the windmill. This, 

 "tiie noblest of American <;a.me birds, and tlie 

 orisinal ancestor of the domesticated turkey," 

 is still common in most parts of .Southwest 

 Texas. The ran.»e has lieen gradually con- 

 tracted by its extermination in the more settled 

 parts of Texas, but the va-it region between 

 •San Antonio and the gulf being little settled 

 and proilucing pecans, acorns, wild tomatoes 

 and peppers in abundance, together with the 

 seclusion atforded by immense cattle pastures, it 

 will be, in my opinion, several generations be- 

 fore the wild turkey will be considered a rare 

 bird here Throughout the entire country 

 cpiail shooting may be put down as the finest 

 in the world. I have taken three different 

 species of these birds within twenty-five miles 

 of San Antonio. 



Fishing on the waters around Aransas Pass 

 ceases to become an art. They bite at any- 

 thing. We caught them at any time and any- 

 how. At several places where we anchored 

 to prepare meals, plenty of oysters were found 

 while wading around the boat, and were 

 ad<led to our liill of fare. 



The following list of game liirds and otliers, 

 many of which I prepareil skins, will prove 

 interesting: 



Wild Turkey — Mpledr/rix ijiilhipavn mcriranii. 



Quail (Texan Bob-white) — Ctilinnx rinjini- 

 anus te.ranns. 



Scaled Partridge (Blue Quail) — Ciilliiwphi 

 N(piamata. 



Whistling Swan — Oh>r cnlniiihianus. 



Trumpeter Swan — Olor hiirciuiitor. 



r'ana<la Goose — lirdnta cdiuidciixix. 



White-fronted Goose — Anser dlhifronf: 

 tjfluihcli. 



Snow Goose (called Brant here ) — C/ini 

 hype.rhnreii. 

 . Blue Goose — Chen ccerulesccnx. 



Hooded Merganser — Lnphodyirst cvctiUntiin. 



American Merga.nser — Mrrf/tniKrr iiiiicfl- 

 c.nnufi. 



Mallard — Anas bocan. 



Black Duck — Anas obscura. 



Gadwall — Anns strepera. 



Baldp ite — A nas anwrlcana. 



Gn'cn-winged Teal — Anas cariilincnsis. 



Blue-winged Teal — Anas disoors. 



Shoveller — Spatula cb/pcatii.. 



Pintail (Sprigtail) — Dafila acuta. 



Wood Duck — Aix spnnsa. 



Bedbead — Aytht/a amcrlcana. 



Canvas-back — Ay thy a valisneria.. 



Blucbill (Scaup Duck) — Aythya inarilii 

 nearctica. 



Little Blucbill (Lesser Scaup) — Aylhya 

 aflinis. 



' Butterl)all (Bufllehead) — r;//«r)7o?K7ia al- 

 beola. 



Groat Blue Heron — Anh-a hrradias. 



(ireat Wliite Egret — Ardea eyretta. 



Whooping Crane — Grtis aniericana. 



.Sand Hill (^'vano— Grus mexicana. 



King Kail — Itallus eler/ans. 



Virginia Bail — Ralliis viryinianus. 



Florida GaUinide — (iaUinula rjalcata. 



Coot — Fiiiica ami'rlranu. 



Wilson's Sni|)e — Gallinai/o delicnta. 



Yellow Legs (Plover) — Totaniis flaviprs. 



Greater Yellow-legs — Tiitanus jnelanohucits. 



Long-bill Curlew — Nuiiir^nius lonyiroslris. 



Killdeer — yE'jialitix vocifera. 



Semipalmated Plover — JE-jlalitls si-mipal- 

 niata. 



Oystercatcher — Hmmntopus paUiatns. 



Loon — Urinatnr imhir. 



American White Pelican — Pclccaniis cry- 

 flirorhynrhiis. 



Brown Pelican — P(decamis fuscus. 



Flamingo — Phniricopterus ruber. 



"To the Hon. Richard Wood, mayor of 

 Rockport, I am much indeljted for courtesies 

 received, and valuable assistance in the pur- 

 suit of my investigations; also to I. C. Fulton, 

 Esq., and Mr. E. L. Imlay who furnished me 

 with much valuable infnrmation, etc., and to 

 you, sir, for introductions and other material 

 help rendered. 



"In conclusion, I would say to strangers 

 who visit this part of Texas with a view to 

 shooting and hunting, they will not be con- 

 fronted in the whole great region I explored 

 with club liouse game-keepers, or trespass 

 notices, and I can truly add from personal ex- 

 perience tluit the region may rightly be termed 

 the "sportsman's i)aradise." I remain, 

 "Yours respectfully, 

 "//. P. Attwater, Naturalist. 

 "San Antonio, Dee. 10, 1890." 



(In Te-xas Commercial Rt-port.) 



Correspondence. 



Editar i>r O. A- O. : 



I have just noticed the rcipiest that I 

 describe the difference between the alligator 

 and crocodile. 'I'lie greatest difference I could 

 oversee is in the sliape of the head, which is 

 more elongated in the crocodile, measuring at 

 tlie articulation of the jaws only about two- 

 thirds the width of the alligator. The large 

 [(uirth tooth on each side of the lower jaw is 

 received into a groove in the upper jaw, the 

 large lower tooth of the alligator into a cor- 

 responding hole in ui)per jaw; and I cannot 

 see anything nuue characteristic than the 

 narrowing of the muzzle behind tlie nostril, 

 caused by the groove just alluded to. The 

 feet in Imth are nearly the same, also the 

 articulation of the jaws. There is a long- 

 nosed crocodile in some of the West Indies, 

 St. Domingo and northern South America 

 said to grow to a, great length, also one in the 

 (ianges called (!avial, a liead so narrow as to 



