Mar. 1889.] 



AKD OOLOGIST. 



41 



adults, and all the remainder of the plumage 

 is longer. There are no teeth on the bill. 



Nestlings in the down at first sliow a much 

 shorter curve to tlie bill, and the terminal por- 

 tion of the lower mandible is more prominent, 

 but as the egg-tooth disappears, these pecul- 

 iarities gradually merge into the next stage. 

 In assuming the feathers, the primaries and 

 secondaries appear almost simultaneously, 

 when the birds are a'bout half grown, then 

 come the tail feathers, but the birds are as 

 large as the adults, weighing even more, 

 before the body is clothed with feathers. The 

 head and neck retain the down the longest, 

 and it is not unusual to see fully fledged birds 

 with a tuft of down on top of the head. 



1 will not here give the anatomical struc- 

 ture, as I am preparing a special paper, illus- 

 trated, on portions of the comparative anatomy 

 of three members of this genus, Sula ba.^sana, 

 fiber, and coryl, to appear in the second num- 

 ber of "Contributions to Science." 



Color. Adult. Primaries, first row of cov- 

 erts, spurious wing, exposed portion of sec- 

 ondaries, and middle lower wing coverts, dark 

 brown. Remainder of plumage, tinged with 

 creamy, whicli on the top of the head, and 

 upper tail covers, becomes nearly orange. 

 Outer portion of wing feathers hoary. Bill, 

 purplish blue, more decidedly purple at base. 

 Face and gula sac, bluish, with the latter pur- 

 ple at the base. Iris, brown. Feet, crimson 

 lake. These are the colors in life, but the gula 

 sac dries yellowish and the other parts become 

 paler. Sexes, similar in all stages. 



Younner. Similar to the adult on head, 

 neck and below, but the upper portions are 

 mottled irregularly with slaty brown, and the 

 outer portion of tail is brownish. An unusual 

 plumage. 



Young, 2d cfe od years. Slaty brown, tinged 

 with creamy or yellowish, especially on the 

 head and neck, excepting rump, upper and 

 under tail coverts, and tail, which are white, 

 and many specimens have the lower back also 

 white. Wings, naked parts and iris, as in the 

 adult. 



Fir.'^t plumafje. Sooty brown throughout, 

 darkest on the wings and tail, with the feath- 

 ers hoary outwardly on the former, lightest 

 below, and some of the feathers above are 

 margined with lighter. Bill, face, and gula 

 sac, black, the latter tinged with yellow. Feet, 

 very pale yellow. 



Nestlbuis. Pure white, with the down very 

 thick and long. The wing and tail feathers 

 appear long before the others, then follow tlie 



scapularies, then the feathers of the back, 

 then those of the body, while the head and 

 neck are covered last, and the bird has 

 assumed the first plumage as described. Iris, 

 in this and in the last, blue. Bill and feet, as 

 in the last. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Wing, 14.25 to 1.5.00; tail, 9.00 to 9.. 50; bill, 

 culmen 3.15 to 3.40, depth at base, 1.00 to 1.19; 

 tarsus, 1.20 to 1.40. Charles J. Maynard. 



Climbing Irons. 



I suppose nearly all oologists use climbing 

 irons. They are nice things, very useful and 

 convenient. I remember very distinctly the 

 first time I ever used a pair. When I re- 

 ceived them I was not satisfied till I had tried 

 them. So I went out on the hill and selected 

 a stump which looked as if it would be easy to 

 climb. It was a beech about fifteen feet high, 

 with not a limb on it, and as smooth and hard 

 as glass. There was a bluebird's nest in an 

 old Flicker's hole about ten inches from the 

 top. . Well, I strapped on the irons and started 

 up ; when I had reached the height of about ten 

 feet it suddenly occurred to me that it was very 

 hot and that I had better go down and get my 

 hat or I would get a sunstroke. I have never 

 yet to this day been able to convince my com- 

 panion that I came down after my hat; he says 

 I fell. When I came to, I got my hat, explained 

 to my companion the dangers of a sunstroke, 

 felt myself all over to see if there were any 

 bones broken, and started up again. This 

 time I reached the top, but found that the 

 hole was too small to get my hand in. I got 

 out my knife, enlarged the hole, and had just 

 thrust my arm in to the elbow when suddenly 

 the irons pulled out. There I was hanging 

 with my whole weight on my arm. After fran- 

 tic efforts I at last got a hold with the irons, 

 drew out my arm and came down. I did not 

 stand on the order of my coming down but 

 came down at once. To use the words of my 

 companion "I came down on a run." After a 

 great deal of practice I at last got so I could 

 use the irons fairly well. It is an easy matter 

 to climb small trees, but for large trees I use 

 a strap about three inches wide with a snap at 

 one end and rings about a foot apart, so I can 

 shorten or lengthen it at pleasure. By plac- 

 ing this around the tree and bracing yourself 

 by means of it the largest tree can be climbed 

 with ease. Every time I pass that old stump I 

 can almost imagine I smell arnica and see 

 great sheets of sticking plaster. F. O. 



