January, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



ORNITHOLOGISTix^^OOLOGIST 



A Monthly Magazine of 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVOTE P TO THE STUDY OF 



THEIR NESTS AND EGGS, 



and to the 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS. 



Under the Editorial Management of 



FRANK B. WEBSTER, Hyde Park, Mass. 



J. PARKER NORRIS, Philadelphia, Pa. 



FRANK A. BATES, Boston, Mass. 



PUBLISHED AT THE 



AND NATURALISTS SUPPIV DEPOT 



FRANK BLAKE WEBSTER COMPANY 



INCl)RPORATED, 



Hyde Pabk, Mass., U. 



S. A. 



The O. & O. is mailed each issue to every paid sub- 

 scriber. If you fail to receive it. notify us. 



Brief Notes. 



During the present year we shall insert clip- 

 pint;s from the press that we think will he of 

 general interest to our readers. We will 

 always give preference to notes that are sent 

 in. 



A Golden Eagle taken at Kalamazoo, Mich., 

 New Year's day. R. F. Judson. 



Rattlesnake Pete and His Pet Coon. — 

 Rittlesnake Pete has had a pet coon for the 

 past three years that was as full of tricks as an 

 egg is of nreat. One of these tricks was to 

 tiifovv hack tlie three holts on liis cage, let the 

 otlier animals out, and go visiting. His favor- 

 ite resort was the Exchange Hotel, where he 

 would hide in the cellar and chase the women 

 when they eu^ered. On one occasion he 

 entered the dining room and frightened the 

 girls so they climhed on the tal>le. He kept 

 guard for nearly a half hour, when the girls 

 cried for help. He performed his last trick at 

 supper time Friday, when he chased one of the 

 girls up the cellar stairs and caught her dress in 

 his teeth. She drew his head tlirough the 

 door, slammed the door shut, and held him 

 there until one of the other girls hrought a 

 cleaver and split his head open. The hody 

 weighed twenty-seven pounds, and the hide 

 will be stuffed. — The Oil City Derrick. 



We received a number of Snowy Owls from 

 Minnesota early in .January. The finest one 

 of the season was pui-chased by Philip 

 Laurent, one of our subscribers. 



His Trap Carried Off by a Buzzard. — 



A boy living at Lewes missed one of his musk- 

 rat traps, the chain of which was broken, 

 indicating that the trap had been carried away 

 by something stronger than a muskrat. Two 

 weeks afterward he found the trap in Russell's 

 woods, and caught in it was a large Turkey 

 Buzzard fastened by the leg. The trap was 

 opened and the vulture rtew away. Alongside 

 of the bird while it was in the trap were two 

 eels, which are supposed to have been brought 

 to the captive by other Buzzards. — ^The Wil- 

 mington Moining News. 



A pair of walrus tusks weighing nearly 

 fifteen pounds was brought to us last week. 

 Although not the largest they were of suffi- 

 cient size to attract considerable attention. 



Annihilated in Mid- air. — Yester^lay 

 afternoon about 3 o'clock, just before the 

 heavy shower, several gentlemen were sitting 

 in front of a store in West Nashville when one 

 of the party observed a large Turkey Buzzard 

 that was sailing majestically across the sky, 

 and remarked that if that Buzzard did not 

 look out he would get wet. Their attention 

 was thus called to the bird, and all were lazily 

 watching its flight, when suddenly, just as it 

 was opposite and above them, they were 

 blinded by a flash of lightning which seemingly 

 exploded on the back of the Buzzard. They 

 were astonished somewhat but recovered them- 

 selves and looked for the Buzzard, but alas, the 

 majestic bird was out of sight. All that was 

 left of him was a few black tail feathers, 

 which fluttered pathetically to the ground. 

 Those who witnessed the phenomenon suc- 

 ceeded in catching several of the scorched 

 feathers, which they exhibit in corroboration of 

 the story. 



The shooting season in Massachusetts is 

 about over, and there seems to be but 

 one verdict: ''The worst on record." It is 

 impossible to ignore the fact that game is 

 growing scarcer each succeeding year, and 

 there is a very strong sentiment among the 

 gunners that game importation on a heroic 

 scale and iron-bound protective laws are the 

 only things to save the game bird shooting of 

 the commonwealth from becoming a thing of 

 the past. 



The dealers are taking the matter up, and 

 it is more than probable that they will con- 

 tribute generously to tlie exchequer of the 

 Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Asso- 

 ciation. Those firms who supply cartridges, 

 guns and other requisites for the sport realize 

 that it will not be to their interest that the 

 Quail and the Ruffed Grouse shall become ex- 

 tinct in this state. 



Said Mr. C. E, Schworer of this city to a 

 Herald reporter: "The time has come when 

 we must import and tuin out annually 

 thousands of birds. The dealers must come 

 to the assistance of the game protective asso- 

 ciation. I believe that it will pay our firm to 

 do so. Instead of turning out a few 

 hundred Quail at a time, thousands should be 

 let loose. I am a strong believer in big 

 ' plantings.' Instead of importing birds such 



