32 



THE OOLOGIST 



General Items. 



— I LATELY took fVoin the crop of a Pig- 

 eon a large angle worm and a green meas- 

 uring worm, besides the usual seeds and 

 grain. Had always thought them entirely 

 gramnivorous. ... A Blue Heron came 

 into the middle of our village and alit upon 

 the chimney of a dwelling house, allowing 

 a large crowd to gather and look at him as 

 long as they wished. As it was Simday, 

 he w'as not molested. Have never known 

 of but one instance of a Heron being seen 

 within two miles of here, which makes it 

 more remarkable than if abundant in the 

 vicinity. Manly Hardy, Brewer^ Me. 



— Sterna caspia in Rhode Island. — 

 In the fall of 1878, about the 1st of Septem- 

 ber, while camping at Noye's Beach, R. T., 

 one of the party, Wm. Gudgeon, had been 

 up on the marsh of Brightman's Pond and 

 returned with a bird that was new to us all. 

 I saw at once that it was a species of Tern ; 

 beyond that I could not identify it. I took 

 the bird over to a neighboring shanty and 

 asked Mr. Chaee what he called it. I knew 

 that Mr, Chace had frequented the beach 

 many years and also been south during 

 M^inters following his business of fishing. 

 He made me his reply : " Pve been on this 

 beach twenty years and shot all kinds of 

 fowl, but 1 never saw a bird like that be- 

 fore." The bird was badly shot, two bar- 

 rels being necessary to secure it, or I should 

 have pi'epared the skin for the cabinet. I 

 was satisfied with a description and the 

 measurements, which I entered in a mem- 

 orandum book at the time. They are as 

 follows : Length, 21 inches : extent of wings 

 from tip to tip, 50 inches ; bill, 2% inches ; 

 tail Qyi inches. Head black ; a narrow 

 white line under the eye ; neck and imder- 

 neath pure white ; back and wings dark 

 lavender ; outer primaries dark gray on 

 the inner webs ; tail of a shade between a 

 .gray and white. Bill very strong and of 



a bright vermilion, paler at the tip. Legs 

 and feet black. Tail forked. I removed 

 the wings, head and tail, and on my return 



home I identified the species as Sterna cas- 

 pia. I can find no other account of its be- 

 ing taken in Rhode Island. 1 send this for 

 publication in the hope that something fur- 

 ther may be forthcoming concerning its oc- 

 currence and habits. B.J.Peckham. 



^tcccnt JHxbli cut ions. 



Dr. E. Rey, 4 Brandweg, Leipsig, pub- 

 lishes a complete catalogue of birds' eggs, 

 skins, and naturalists supplies. He has a 

 very large collection of eggs from Europe 

 and Africa, which he offers for sale. 



0)1 the Present Status of Passer domesticus 

 in America, by Dr. Elliott Coues. — This 

 is a pamphlet containing a collection of titles 

 chi'onologically arranged, of articles that 

 have been written upon the House Spar- 

 row, mainly bearing upon the utility con- 

 troversy. This compilation is to be elab- 

 orated in the coming volume of the Birds 

 of the Colorado Valley. The author's ac- 

 count of the Sparrow in the latter work is 

 expected to be particularly convincing. 



Nests and Eggs of American Birds, Part 

 III, — The general character of this work 

 is sustained in the last part. There is oc- 

 casionally an incongruity, but of course 

 such an extensive work cannot be perfect. 

 The author quotes the egg of the Mountain 

 Chickadee {Parus montanus) to have a 

 white ground color, while the figure is de- 

 cidedly green, if we take the other figures 

 for a criterion. Which are we to believe 

 connect, the engraving or the description ? 

 The rising generation of oologists will look 

 to the egg for information, since the plates 

 are the standpoint from which they usually 

 judge. The plates may be considered very 

 good. The w(jrk furnishes the young nat- 

 uralist with that which his ornithological 

 library has always had room for. 



The Liter attire of Dr. Elliott Coues is 

 ! the title of a paper by William Hosea Bal- 

 j lou, in Forest and Stream, recapitulating 

 I the works published by the Doctor from 

 ! time to time. Ornithological subjects pre- 

 1 vail. 



