34 



THE OOLOGIST 



The Bobwhite was shot by a farmer 

 at Stonetown on the morning of Nov- 

 ember 15th in a copse of conifers near 

 the village and he had brought the 

 specimen to a local roadhouse for ex- 

 hibition. This bird was an adult male 

 in perfect plumage except that the 

 whole back from the neck to the rump 

 was a glistening white and extended 

 laterally to the wings. In addition to 

 the white on the back there were sev- 

 eral inconspicuous patches on the 

 lower breast. 



On the same morning I flushed the 

 Grouse near the West Brook, also in a 

 copse of conifers and after firing twice 

 at it, missed both times. I followed 

 this specimen for perhaps a quarter 

 of a mile, flushing it three times before 

 a shot could be made. On the fifth 

 shot I brought him to the ground and 

 on picking him up found the bird to be 

 a perfect albino. The plumage of this 

 bird was a dull white except for a 

 few normal feathers appearing on the 

 back and underparts. The eyes, how- 

 ever, were quite normal, as were also 

 the feet and legs. My last shot had 

 so riddled the specimen as to render it 

 unfit for mounting and, aside from its 

 unusual ap])earance, was a particular- 

 ly tempting dish at a following meal. 

 Louis S. Kohler. 



Unusual December Birds in Northern 

 Jersey. 



During the past month of December 

 four unusual birds have been located 

 on ornithological excursions in North- 

 ern New .Jersey in the form of the 

 Hermit Thrush, Swamp Sparrow, Kill- 

 deer and Red-breasted Nuthatch. 



The Hermit Thrush was observed 

 on Christmas day at Pequannock, Mor- 

 ris County, along the Canal F'eeder 

 and in an open field adjacent to the 

 railroad station. These birds were 

 seen feeding on the berries in both 

 places in company with the Junco and 



Song Sparrow and appeared quite con- 

 tented in spite of the bitter cold which 

 prevailed on this day hereabouts. 



The Swamp Sparrow was found in 

 company with the Tree Sparrow and 

 Junco near the Pompton River at Pe- 

 quannock on Christmas day and was 

 feeding on the seeds of the weeds in 

 the vicinity. 



The Killdeer was observed at Sin- 

 gac, Passaic County, on December 

 13th, in the open fields adjacent to 

 the railroad and were flying about and 

 uttering their plaintive "Kill-dee" con- 

 tinually for perhaps ten minutes when 

 they flew off in a southerly direction. 



The Red-breasted Nuthatch was seen 

 on Federal Hill, Pompton Township, 

 Passaic County, on the 13th, among a 

 growth of cedars, in company with 

 several Chickadees and Golden-crown- 

 ed Kinglets. A single bird was again 

 observed on the 27th near Mud Pond, 

 Passaic County, on the western shore, 

 in the conifers. 



Louis S. Kohler. 



Rossignol on Sub-Species. 



As to sub-species and sub-divisions, 

 the Editor of this magazine in the 

 November issue has most admirably 

 conveyed his thoughts. These are ti- 

 tles which we can well retain, in lieu 

 of anything better, all said to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding, and on this 

 Ornithological subject I will endeavor 

 to establish certain facts that have 

 come under my observation anent in- 

 finitesimal microscopical sub-divisions. 



It is well that we take cognizance 

 of the fact that in the identification 

 of sub-species even in transcendental 

 hands we find in the majority of in- 

 stances gross inconsistencies. 



Taking the case of Seaside Spar- 

 rows, that breed in this County 

 (Chatham, Georgia), we find the or- 

 nithological writers in general clas- 

 sing them as Macgillicray's, their geo- 



