84 



THE OOLOGIST. 



poivh, each sjjniig roining back to the 

 same place and adding t<>. and building 

 upon their former nest. I Ijecame 

 intimately aequainted with these two 

 birds and know they were the same 

 ones each year. Now, if these robins 

 remained continually mated for four 

 years, why not for life; and if robins, 

 then why not other l)irds? 



Again, it is a liighly significant fact 

 that our winter visitants from the 

 North (those that are non-gregarious) 

 almost always appear in pairs. As 

 examples of tliis, we have the North- 

 ern Shrike and Snowy Owl, which, in 

 this locality at least, almost always 

 appear in ])airs; and when we remem- 

 ber this fact, as well as the fact that a 

 pair of Flickers have not infrequently 

 been known to jointly excavate, in 

 midwinter, cavities for roosting places, 

 the question at least asserts itself — if 

 mated only for a season, then whj^ 

 these mutual interests in miilwinter': 



Finally, let us have a few observa- 

 tions from Aljbott. wliich can be ex- 

 plained only on gi-ounds of perma- 

 nent mating. He sa^s: ^ 



"A pair of Cardinal Grosbeaks were 

 found nesting, June, 1883. and the fe- 

 male was readily distinguished by a 

 peculiarity in the coloring other wings. 

 The pair remained in tiu' locality during 

 the succeeding winter, nested in the old 

 site in 1884, and in 1885 chose a new 

 position in a thicket of smilax a few 

 yards distant. This pair of redbirds 

 were always associateil during the twi) 

 winters that 1 had them under ob-serva- 

 tion." 



"Meadow-larks, if iu)t in loose Hocks, 

 as though two or three Jjroods were 

 united, are always in pairs, and there 

 is ever}' appearance of tiicir close com- 

 panionship during the winter. I have 

 hundreds of references, in my note- 

 bi)oks, to single pairs frequenting cer- 

 tain fields the year through." 



"The familiar little Sparrow-hawk 

 finally otters a striking instance of per- 

 manent !)ird mari'iage. A pair of these 

 pretty falcons have for live years nested 

 near the residence of my neighbor, and 

 when the labor of rearing their young- 

 was end(;d, they retired to the shelter 

 afforde<l Ijy the projecting eaves of my 



neighbor's house and there remained 

 until the following spring. These birds 

 were quite as affectionate and mutuallj' 

 con.siderate in winter, as when they 

 had the connnon interest of olfs])ving 

 to keep them togetlier." 



Now one objection maj* arise. If 

 birds are permanently mated, why do 

 they not migrate together and why do 

 not males and females arrive simultan- 

 eously in the s])ring':' 



This is perhaps the most serious ob- 

 jection, l)nt we have (uily to Avatcli 

 carefully these s«df-same migrants to 

 become more and more convinced of 

 their life-partnership. It is, indeed, 

 hard to realize that many of these birds 

 should renuiin together for so long a 

 time, when but a small part of each 

 year is spent in the rearing of the 

 brood. It is quite possible that they do 

 not retire to other portions of our 

 country in company; but it does appear 

 that they part with a mutual under 

 standing to meet again when separa- 

 tions do take i)lace. It is not simply 

 the same male bird or the same female 

 that reappears spring after spring, liut 

 tiie same pair of birds. 



Of course, every good rule has its 

 exceptions; and I vrould make the 

 exceptions to the rule of permanent 

 mating, certain polygaiuous and pol- 

 yandrious birds as the English Sparrow 

 and some others; anil certain game 

 birds which are subject to great pei'se- 

 cution, and where the chances are 

 against both parents surviving until the 

 following bi-eeding season. 



And now in conclusion let me a.sk the 

 question which I hinted at the begin- 

 ning. What proofs have we for believ- 

 ing, or what reasons for thinking that 

 birds mate yearly or more than onceV 

 Neil F. Posson, 



A Cunning Blue Jay. 



Not many years ago, while I was 

 stopping in a small Kansas town, I liad 

 occasion to witness a very laughable 



