126 



THE OOLOGIST. 



expected in the (leology, flora and 

 fauna. A floral or faimal catalogue 

 made in one portion of the state will be 

 so different from one made in another 

 portion, that one might think it belong- 

 ed to another state. 



Glancing through the article referred 

 to I notice names of birds either very 

 rare or unknown in my portion of the 

 State— the South-eastern. 



I have not yet found any of the fol- 

 lowing species: 



Cape May War))ler, Tennessee War- 

 bler, Orchard Oriole, Red-bellied Nut- 

 hatch, Wilson's Black-capped Warbler, 

 Golden-winged Warbler, Oven-bird 

 Hermit Thvush, Magnolia Warbler, 

 Canadian Warbler, Nashville Warliler 

 and Maryland Yellow-throated and 

 Black-throated Blue Warblers. 



As birds are by no means scarce here, 

 aud of many species,! am led to believe 

 that a comparison of the catalogues of 

 the species found in Eastern and West- 

 ern Michigan, Avould be of a decided 

 interest to the Ornithologist. 



It may be well to remember that 

 while the upper Peninsula may be bur- 

 ied beneath theee to six feet of snow, 

 and snow shoes be in every day use, 

 the ground may be bare in the South- 

 eastern portion of Lower Michigan, and 

 rain may be falling. The ground here 

 has been bare more than ^alf of the 

 time this winter, while in the Upper 

 Peninsula the snow has been three feet 

 or more deep. 



Pine woods are scarce here, still there 

 is one some, fifteen miles to the North- 

 west upon the rather level summit of 

 the great moraine or ridge that crosses 

 South-east Michigan. Perhaps a fur- 

 ther study of these pine woods Avould 

 reveal many of the species I have not 

 met with where I reside. Here upon 

 the eastern slope of the great ridge just 

 noticed, I find a journey of a few miles 

 shows a great diftereuce in both flora 

 and fauna. For instance a few miles 

 cast, and the plains of South-eastern 



Michigan with their characteristic flora 

 aud fauna — to me a decided monotony 

 — are reached. 



Eastward and Northward hills and 

 valleys succeed each other in rapid suc- 

 cession, the hills steadklly increasing in 

 height and steepness of slope, and an 

 immense number of lakes are found, 

 — 450 in Oakland Co. alone — and of 

 course many streams. So a great var- 

 iation of flora and fauna are found in a 

 journey of but a few miles. 



Wilfred A. Brotherton. 



Rochester, Mich. 



A Duty to Perform. 



NoAv that the collecting season is 

 actually here, and other things claim 

 our attention, let us still not forget to 

 do our duty by the English Sparrow. 



As winter presents a specially good 

 opportunity for the direct destruction 

 of the bird. So summer presents an 

 equally good opportunity to pi'event 

 their increase. 



This is something that every collector 

 in the land can aid in, there being no 

 one, who cannot prevent these birds 

 from breeding in his special domain, 

 and the hearty co-opei"atiou of all col- 

 lectors, cannot but leave a marked 

 effect on the numbers of the "pest." 



Let us then not neglect a duty, so 

 easy of accomiilishmeut, but each cov- 

 ering as much territorj'- as possible, de- 

 stroy alike, nests, eggs, and young. 



This may seem somewhat cruel, but 

 we should remember that it is the ruf- 

 fan element among birds. That we are 

 destroj'ing those who if left to multiply 

 unchecked, will go on with the woi'k 

 already so keenly felt in many of our 

 cities and villages. 



The first Bluebird seen here this 

 spring, had scarcely been noted, before 

 the English Sparrows pitched on to 

 him, and foi'ced him to move on. 



A correspondent from Rochester 

 writes me that the first Robin which he 



