November. 1S92.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



171 



blance, but it was a resemblance only. 

 Tlie typical egg of the Mississippi Kite is 

 pointed suhsphcrical in shape, is blue- 

 greenish white in color, when fresh, and 

 measures, within a tenth of an inch, i 03 

 by 1.25. The texture of the shell is finer 

 than that of the Marsh Hawk. But all 

 this I did not accurately know when, grit- 

 ting between my teeth the discipline of a 

 great disappointment, I packed and started 

 for home. Straight north by the Burling- 

 ton Route I came, across the monotonous 

 miles of flooded Iowa bottoms. At Oma- 

 ha, unluckily, I took the Minneapolis con- 

 vention delegate laden express, wheiein 

 was standing room only, in coach and 

 sleeper. But in the early morning we 

 tapped the "Northwestern" at Kasota, 

 and I went flying home in a half empty 

 train, through the sweet but dusty June 

 morning air, three days earlier than I had 

 been expected. Half dead for want of 

 sleep, I plodded homeward across lots, 

 with the lightest and most precious of mv 

 luggage. I opened the dining-room door 

 and stood expectant. There was a rustle 

 of skirts, a sound of hurrying feet, a vision 

 of two bright eyes, and the sound of a voice, 

 " WW/, you dear, dirty old — " 



P. B. Peabodv. 



Singing Mice. 



A four-footed creature that sings is cer- 

 tainly curious enough to have its existence 

 doubted ; and many people do not believe 

 that such a thing as a singing mouse has 

 ever been seen, or, more correctly speaking, 

 heard. It lias, though ; and in a certain 

 house beloved of mice generally, what 

 sounded like the voice of a very small bird 

 was often heard in the wall. A trap was 

 set for the uproarious ones that kept up a 

 constant squeaking and gnawing, beside 

 nibbling every viand that they could possi- 

 bly get at ; and one night the dainty bits 

 of cheese lured into captivity a mouse that 

 looked like other mice and acted like a 



Wren. Such a quivering, musical little 

 warble could scarcely come from any other 

 throat than that of the tiny bird. 



But it soon proved beyond a doubt that 

 mousie did it himself, and that he must be 

 the very singer who gave the mysterious 

 wall concerts, so the next thing was to 

 make him a cage. It was quite an uncom- 

 mon one, as uncoinmon as he was himself 

 — a glass globe covered with netting. A 

 warm nest was arranged in it, and the cur- 

 ious little performer took very kindly to his 

 luxurious quarters. He had, of course, 

 the best cheese to nibble at, and he evi- 

 dently considered himself in clover. He 

 put on airs, too, and seemed to know when 

 he was being watched. At such times he 

 would raise himself up, and try with all 

 his small might and main to act like a 

 canary. Sometimes he would hold up one 

 paw, and then he was a full-fledged prima 

 donna, sending forth such loud notes that 

 it was almost startling to hear him. 



But an easy life did not seem to agree 

 with the amusing little rodent, and possi- 

 bly he pined for the home in the wall, 

 with its boundless freedom, where he may 

 have left " his young barbarians at pla^^" 

 In a few days he died without any appar- 

 ent cause, and the experiment of caging a 

 singing mouse was altogether unsuccessful. 



Other four-footed warblers have been 

 kept in good condition for a much longer 

 time, giving abundant opportunity to make 

 some very interesting discoveries in regard 

 to their musical organs. They do not, it 

 appears, sing with their throats like other 

 songsters, but with their noses. Their 

 vocal chords are vibrating folds of the 

 skin at the outlet of each nostril, and the 

 performer can vary tire tone from high to 

 low by using more or less force in expel- 

 ling the air. When quite by himself, the 

 sound produced by the singer resembles 

 that of an ^olian harp ; but in a cage, 

 when the small prisoner is often singing 

 for effect, the notes are much bolder. 



