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ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 18-N0. 10 



taken in Greenland or America. It is a 

 very common bird in Iceland, and it is a 

 wonder that it has not been taken before in 

 Greenland. I also saw a downy young Bar- 

 nacle Goose, only a few days old. Three 

 young ones had been taken. The exact 

 place of ca])ture of this and the Bean Goose 

 I do not remember. I can only say that it 

 was on the shore of Eastern Greenland, be- 

 tween 65 and 70 deg. N. lat. 



The naturalist of the expedition, Mr. Bay, 

 intended to publish the results of the voyage 

 in " Meddelelser fra Greenland, " but at what 

 time it will be published I do not know. 

 Mr. Winge showed me a skin from Green- 

 land of the European Ilimiido R/tst/ca, 

 which I did not embody in my little book, 

 "Birds of Greenland." 



This is, so far as I know, the first sure 

 American taken specimen of this specie. 



I also saw five Someteria skins from 

 Godthaab, in South Greenland, taken by Mr. 

 Krabbe. I myself do not know Someteria 

 I " nigra and Mr. Winge considers this form 

 a \ariety only of .S'. Mollissima ; but he said 

 that these skins (or at least those of the five 

 which had the most distinct V shaped mark) 

 were perfectly alike and inseparable from 

 the Pacific Eider. The marks on Nos. i 

 and 2 were very distinct as in ^. Spectabilis. 

 On No. 5, the mark was not continuous, but 

 only consisted of a few black feathers, which 

 nevertheless distinctly enough defined the 

 V. Nos. 3 and 4 were transitions between 

 Nos. 2 and 5. 'I'his might strengthen Mr. 

 Winge's opinion, but that you Americans will 

 of course accept it that they should be 

 hybrids between .S'. Mollissiina and S. 

 Spectabilis is quite out of the question. 

 Sooner might No. 5 (and perhaps Nos. 3 

 and 4) be a hybrid between S. Mollissijna 

 and S. I ' nigra. 



I may add that Mr. Winge is our chief 

 authority in ornithology. 



A. T. Hagcrnp. 



Kolding, Denmark, April 10, 1893. 



[Received AprU 27, 189S — Editor.] 



Music on the Wing. 



Shelley, in his "Ode to a Skylark," gave 

 to that bird, for his aerial song, a celebrity, 

 which has never been awarded to some of 

 our less classic birds. 



■ It is true that the English Skylark excels 

 all American song birds, in the altitude he 

 attains and in the strength and continuation 

 of his song ; yet which of our readers can 

 tell those of his native birds that sometimes, 

 " like an embodied joy whose race is just 

 began," leave earth and, soaring upward, 

 send forth melody, which in point of sweet- 

 ness may well vie with that of any bird. 



In writing this article, I desire to call the 

 attention of the readers of the " O. & O." 

 to a beautiful observation which, as far as I 

 know, has received little notice — the sing- 

 ing in the air of some of our common birds. 

 Whether this act comes under the head of 

 instinct, or an inward exultation of which 

 we have no knowledge, I am unable to say ; 

 though it appears to me that the term " in- 

 stinct" is too general, and when I see a Blue 

 Grosbeak spring up from the earth and, fly- 

 ing aloft in the clear blue sky, pour out a 

 song which is usually sung from the top of 

 some low shrub, then, to me, it seems un- 

 reasonable that the word instinct should be 

 applicable to this interesting performance. 



Every bird seems to seek a more or less 

 elevated situation while singing, though it is 

 curious that some will sing while flying, and 

 that others, even though of the same family, 

 never vocalize on the wing. Bearing that 

 in mind, we know not what bird, in a mo- 

 ment of happy feeling, may become trans- 

 formed into a veritable Skylark, and give us 

 a sweet surprise as the following, the first 

 of these phenomena I had seen. While out 

 in a field, I heard, far above my head, the 

 familiar notes of our little Indigo Bunting. 

 Looking up I discovered him, a mere speck, 

 sailing and singing away at that height as 

 though in raptures. 



I had never seen this before, and was 



