September, 1893.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



131 



the ring, and I believe Preston had some- 

 thing in the June number ; but where is 

 J. M. W. and his"hawky" (Red-tail) notes. 

 He has not gone back on the Red-tails, has 

 he? Why not something from his quill 

 again? Let Preston tell us how he found 

 White Cranes' eggs in northern Iowa again 

 — would much rather they were another 

 set — and stir up the rest of our old writers. 



Shooting along the Illinois has begun, in 

 fact it never stopped. Sandpiper and Vel- 

 low-legs were quite plentiful along the Illi- 

 nois not long ago, and the former are now. 

 Jacks have arrived in goodly numbers since 

 the rains, and the market has an abundance 

 of them. ir. E. Loucks. 



Peoria, 111. 



The " Forest and Stream " issue of Decem- 

 ber 2 1 contains a photograph of a pair of 

 Capercailzie mounted by George E. Browne 

 of Dedham, Mass., who is connected with us. 



NO'IES FROJI BERRESSA, CAL. 



I notice in July " O. & O." a correspond- 

 ent from Riverside asks about the range 

 of the Black Rail. I have seen several on 

 the marshes at the southern end of San 

 Francisco Bay. While walking along a 

 slough at high tide on December i, 1892, 

 I flushed two together and secured them 

 both. On February 29, 1892, I secured 

 another, and also a Yellow Rail. At one 

 spot on the marsh near a small stream of 

 artesian water I have seen specimens of the 

 Black, Yellow, Yirginia, California Clapper 

 and Sora Rails. I would like to know how 

 far west the Yellow Rail has been reported 

 as occurring. I have been informed that it 

 has never before been taken in California. 



I have taken two and have seen one or 

 two others. I see Mr. F. H. Renick, of 

 Seattle, Washington, speaks of having never 

 seen the Black Swift on any but fresh water. 

 A couple of years ago a friend of mine shot 

 several flying about the cliffs on Monterey 

 Bay, and I have seen those and the White- 



throated near the same place, often in the 

 company of Cliff and \'iolet-green Swallows. 



R. //. Beck. 



The Flight of Birds— A Reply. 



In response to Mr. James Smith's query 

 in the July Orntihologist and Oologisi, I 

 would say that the true Falcons are perhaps 

 the swiftest aerial navigator among the Avian 

 fauna. As to species, we are led by exten- 

 sive personal ob.servation to doubt if any bird 

 can excel the Duck Hawk in swiftness of 

 flight. While seeking and taking the eggs 

 of this Falcon we have had ample opportu- 

 nity to observe its habits. The rapidity of 

 its progress when upon the wing is almost 

 inconceivable. At one moment it may be 

 within range of an ordinary shot-gun ; in an- 

 other, it is a mere speck in the sky; and in 

 a third, it is lost to human vision. Again it 

 may be observed to shoot downward from the 

 region of the clouds with a velocity compar- 

 able to that of an arrow leaving the bow of 

 an archer. The Duck Hawk is remarkable 

 not only for its swiftness but also for its power 

 of flight. It is probable that this bird is 

 capable of traveling at a rate of one hundred 

 and fifty miles an hour, and it has been as- 

 certained with certainty that it can maintain 

 for a considerable time a rate of at least one 

 hundred miles an hour. Hence it is not 

 strange that it is often seen far from any of 

 its native haunts and breeding places — a 

 fact which gave it the name Peregrine, from 

 the Latin pcregriniis, " a wanderer." 



Among other birds which possess great 

 power of flight are the Petrels ( Proccllaria ) 

 including the Albatrosses, the Stormy Petrel, 

 etc., which maintain themselves upon the 

 wing for long periods of time. Other oceanic 

 birds are remarkable for both power and 

 swiftness of flight. An Eider Duck has been 

 known to cover ninety miles in an hour. 



Those acquainted with the principles and 

 mechanism of aerial navigation can demon- 

 strate by physical examination and dissection 

 of the species mentioned that they are ana- 



