160 



THE OSPKEY. 



Second. On page 109 of the Osprky for July, 

 under the title. Vanishing Bird Rates, I find 

 this statement: "The White Pelican is a tradi- 

 tion only, like the Dodo". On page 116 of the 

 August OSPREY, near top of second column, this 

 occurs: "Large flocks of Gulls and American 

 White Pelicans, which evidently do not breed 

 here". (I omit technical names.) 



How reconcile these two statements? or is the 

 American White Pelican a different bird from 

 the one referred to on page 10°)? 



Answer thro' the Osprey. 



Let me say, before closing, that I have greatly 

 enjoyed your descriptions of bird-life as pub- 

 lished from time to time. 



Yours very truly, 



J. C, Ei.UOTT. 



ANSWERS. 



1. The hybrid between the Guinea and barn- 

 yard fowls has been described more than once. 

 Our correspondent will find in the Osprey for 

 September, 1899, the notice of an elaborate 

 article on one by F. E- Beddard, published in 

 the Ibis for July,"l899. Mr. Beddard found that 

 the skeleton and windpipe were "perfectly inter- 

 mediate" between those characteristic respec- 

 tively of Numida and Callus. 



The apparent readiness with which two such 

 distantly related birds mate and propagate is 

 remarkable. Specimens are not very rare; 

 there are half a dozen in the United States 

 National Museum from various places, one 

 coming from Cuba. 



In 1897, Dr. Juan Vilaro, in the Bulletin of the 

 American Museum of Natural History (ix, 225- 

 230, pi. 25, 26), published notices of six such 

 hybrids and figures of four raised in Cuba 

 which he had owned. Four are preserved in 

 the American Museum. All had cock fathers 

 and guinea mothers. 



Dr. Vilaro has given some interesting notes 

 on the peculiarities of these birds which we 

 take the liberty of republishing. 



"In life these hybrids had only one phonetic 

 expression — a single chirping sound, which 

 might be taken either as a complaint, a war-cry, 

 or as a manifestation of fear. These were the 

 only emotions which called forth the sound. It 

 had not the least resemblance to the various 

 notes or cries we are accustomed to hear from 

 gallinaceous birds. It was rather like the creak- 

 ing noise produced by vigorously rubbing to- 

 gether two pieces of iron. When thus agitated 

 they erected the feathers of the head and neck. 



and the tail. They generally, even when per- 

 fectly at rest, keep their mouths open, a sign of 

 difficult, panting respiration. 



"They were all distinguished, especially the 

 first four thyit came into my possession, by a 

 quarrelsome, aggressive disposition common to 

 Guinea-fowls. They gave their companions of 

 the poultry yard no peace, not respecting even 

 the chief, to whom all but the hybrids gave re- 

 spect. For this reason I was compelled to sac- 

 rifice them, one after the other. They never, 

 however, attacked each other. On the contrary 

 they frequently gathered in a group for the at- 

 tack on other fowls, and even relieved each 

 other when persecuting an enemy. Although 

 all but one were found on dissection to be males, 

 none of them had spurs." 



A noticeable feature of the hybrid is that it is, 

 frequently at least, larger than either parent 

 and suggests origin from a Turkey rather than 

 a Guinea fowl. 



2. The two notices of the White Pelican relate 

 to different and distant localities; one to Florida 

 and the other to the Upper Mississippi Valley. 

 Perhaps, however, the assertion quoted from 

 the Flo) iiia Times-Union is an exaggeration of 

 the fact that its numbers in Florida have been 

 greatly reduced and that it has been extermi- 

 nated in or deserted some localities. However, 

 Mr. Ridgway, when in Florida, never saw a 

 specimen or heard of its occurrence there in 

 recent years. 



bi.ue bikd nesting in bank-hole. 



portman, s. c. 

 Editors of the Osprey: 



On April 26, 1899, while hunting for Rough- 

 winged Swallow's nests along some low banks 

 on the side of a small stream, I saw a Bluebird 

 fly from a hole in a bank, about three feet above 

 the surface of the stream and one foot from the 

 top of the bank. Examining the hole I found a 

 nest containing" two young Bluebirds about a 

 week old. Thirteen feet away in the same bank 

 was a Swallow's nest just completed. 



This is the only case of a Bluebird nesting in 

 a bank which has come under my observation. 

 There seemed to be no lack of dead trees with 

 suitable cavities in them near by and I am puz- 

 zled why she chose this site: was it due to the 

 Swallow's example? 



The young were almost fledged on May 9th. 

 J. Rowland Nowei.i,. 



