32 



THE OSPREY. 



ever, appeared to breed, and last fall and winter 

 shooting in the vicinity of Washington was 

 scarcely worth the seeking. Owing to the poor 

 returns for the time spent in the field few men 

 attempted to enjoy sport, and consequently what 

 birds there were in the covers were left undis- 

 turbed to a very large extent. 



That the imported birds bred progenies this 

 year is an undeniable fact, proven by many in- 

 stances. One gentleman secured ten dozen 

 Quails, equally devided as to sex, in May, 1899, 

 and liberated them on his country place in 

 Maryland. Diligent hunters for a couple of 

 days last November failed to find more than 

 twenty Quails altogether in the covers when the 

 birds had been let out. Last summer, however, 

 young coveys became prominent by their num- 

 ber, and a recent trip of investigation with two 

 pointer dogs lasting a forenoon resulted in 

 eleven line bunches being found. Similar con- 

 ditions have been shown in other place-, where 

 the Kansas birds were released last year, and 

 apparently disappeared, proving that they have 

 bred this year beyond doubt. The coveys are 

 large in number and unusually well developed 

 in size for this time of the year. The spring 

 and summer could not have been better in a 

 climatic sense for the birds, not only in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of Washington, but in Virginia, 

 Maryland and the greatest of all Quail centers. 

 North Carolina, as well. The dry summer was 

 particularly good for the Quails, and sportsmen 

 will also reap benefits from it, as the cover is 

 not so thick as formerly and movement in the 

 field will be easier for man and dogs. 



Reports from all sections of North Carolina 

 are to the effect that coveys are more numerous 

 than ever known before, and from points on the 

 Atlantic Coast Line and Southern railroads the 

 news comes that the supply is apparently inex- 

 haustible. Both railroads have appreciated 

 these conditions by issuing books especially for 

 sportsmen, replete with information of value to 

 those who anticipate shooting in the old north 

 state. — Evening Star. 



A Mocking English Blackbird. — The Black- 

 bird of England is a member of the same res- 

 tricted genus (Merula) as the common Robin of 

 the United States, and that which is true of one, 

 in a general way. is apt to be true of the other. 

 A remarkable case of mimicry by the European 

 bird has been recorded recently by Jeanne E. 

 Schmahl in The Spectator of London for August 

 4th. The mimicry recalls the allied Mimine 

 or Mocking birds rather than the less gifted 

 Thrushes. It will be interesting in connection 

 with its relation to the American bird. We may 

 add that another case of mimicry by the same 

 bird was recorded in a previous number of The 

 Spectator. — Editors. 



The faculty of imitating sounds and songs 

 not their own must be more frequent in Black- 

 birds than is generally supposed. I remember 

 in the spring of 1879, in the little copse on the 

 side of the Frauenberg, at Fulda, hearing several 

 Blackbirds sing a fragment of the well-known 

 "Du bist verruckt mein kind."' They all sang 

 the same first few notes, breaking off with ex- 

 actly the same quavering, hesitating sound, be- 

 ginning over and over again. I tried to find 

 out how they had acquired this addition to their 

 usual natural repertoire, but could not, until an 

 old lady explained to me that the Blackbirds on 

 the Frauenberg must have learned the air from 

 a tame bird belonging to a soldier, which had 

 been taught by him to warble this tune. I saw 

 this Blackbird in a cage hanging over the cat- 

 tage door, but I did not hear it sing. I have ob- 

 served another instance of this faculty of ac- 

 quisition this year in the Pare de Montsouris 

 in Paris. We have been interested in noticing 

 one particularly good-voiced bird singing quite 

 differently from his fellows. It seemed some- 

 times as we listened in the quiet of the early 

 dawn or late evening as if the bird were trying 

 to invent a new song; it may be he was only 

 imitating. Anyhow, our attention was called 

 to the performance of this particular bird of the 

 difference from the usual Blackbird's song. 



Slaughter of Birds by Storm. — On the 

 night of August 12. after northeast Kansas 

 had been sweltering without rain for over 

 thirty days, the creeks were drying up and 

 the farmers were beginning to grumble about a 

 "drouth," a big- black cloud loomed up over the 

 northern horizon. Horton was treated to a 

 display of electrical fireworks, and then the 

 wind began to blow. A lull followed, and Hor- 

 ton went to sleep. At about 1 o'clock people 

 living- along the creek south of town found 

 water suddenly rising on the bed room floors, 

 and in one instance a man carried his wife 

 through the water waist deep to high ground. 

 The dam which held the town water supply gave 

 way. bridges and culverts were swept out, and 

 all this in about forty minutes. Monday morn- 

 ing ex-Mayor Leverton discovered a dead bird 

 in his path, and a closer scrutiny showed more. 

 A neighbor was called to witness, and a pail full 

 were picked up. More neighbors arrived and 

 took a hand in the unique harvest. Coal scut- 

 tles, wash boilers, pails and baskets were 

 brought and filled. Sparrows, Wrens, Black- 

 birds. Robins and every feathered tenant of the 

 grove was represented. One woman picked up 

 161 birds without moving in her steps. When 

 the count was made it disclos=d 1,800 birds. — St. 

 Louis Globe Democrat. 



Literature. 



The reviews already set up must be deferred to the next number. 

 'The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley." 



Among them is a notice of 



