THE COLOGIST. 



141 



X)WD, — ileridedly an interesting l)inl. 

 Bitterns are also fairly common in 

 Some localities. Loons make the 

 hights about many inland lakes hideous 

 "with their weird shrieks, during their 

 ■Spring migrations greatly to the disgust 

 tjf early campers. One who has never 

 experiencetl a nigiit in such localities, 

 fan not imagine the horril)le noise a 

 tlozea Loons can make. It is terrifying 

 to one not acquainted with it. Coots 

 are still numerous and decidedly bold, 

 as they will swim about on the mill- 

 ponds in cities or villages, as will also 

 the beautiful little Dipper Duck. Gal- 

 liuules and Rails are not yet extermi- 

 nated, as I met both last year. 



But what has become of the millions 

 t)f Passenger Pigeons that literally pass- 

 fed over here in clouds twentj' years 

 ftgo, when making their migrations 

 from and to the south V Had any body 

 predicted in those days that in a year 

 lor two, those mighty flocks would cease 

 t^> journey north and south, he would 

 have been called a fool. Yet tliese 

 hiigrations suddenly ceased. What 

 \vas the cause? Where have the Pass- 

 enger Pigeons gone? Where do they 

 breed now? Have they become exter 

 minated? If they still have breeding 

 plact!s, where are they and what route 

 tlo they take to reach them? Since 

 1874, few Pigeons have been met with 

 here. In 1871 or I87i they began to 

 tlecrease, but tin! great migrations 

 ceased suddenly three or four years 

 later. I sometimes tind breeding places 

 where three to ten pairs build their 

 bests and rear their young. Unlike 

 the Mourning Dove, so solitary in its 

 liai)its, the Pa.ssi'iiger Pigeon prefers to 

 have the company of its fellows, and 

 single pairs are seldom found nesting 

 here. 



Wild Turkeys, once very numerous 

 hei'e, suddenly disappeared about the 

 Banie time that the Pigeons did. Once 

 they were met with in nearly everj' 

 \voods, now tlicy have utterly dis- 



appeared, and 1 liave not heard of one 

 siui'c tlu'ir sndilen disappearance. 

 Wheie have they gone? Are thej' ex- 

 tinct in Michigan r [While waiting for 

 a train at Lawton, Van Buren Co. a 

 year ago — an old sportsman, from the 

 country told me he heard one call that 

 morning and that they were not uncom- 

 mon in his neighljorhood. — Ed.] Where 

 are they abundant? 



When tiiey were alnmdaut, I often 

 met with hyl)rids or cross-breeds be- 

 tween the wild and domestic Turkejs, 

 — hyl>rids. if the Mexican Turkey, the 

 parent of most of our domestic Turkeys 

 is a distinct species-, cross-breeds, if it 

 is not. It is my o))inion that they are 

 distinct species, for a critical compari- 

 son of the two when pure T"e veals a 

 great difference in general appearance. 

 Still the Bronze Turkey is evidently a 

 descendant of the northern wild Tur- 

 key or a mixture with it, — if the latter, 

 a possible example of a fertile hyl)rid. 

 soiiiething not entirely unknown. 



A l-areful research will show that 

 Pigeons and Wild Turkeys disappeared 

 inuiiediately after the timber was re- 

 moved from a large portion of Michi- 

 gan by lumbermen and by the terrible 

 lire of 1871; and without a doubt the 

 removal of the forests caused the dis- 

 appearance of the birds. 



Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasteti 

 Grosbeaks, Wood Thrushes and per- 

 haps the Wiut(?-breasted Nuthatch are 

 on tlie increase. All these are now 

 found in or near cities,- a decided 

 change in the habits of the two first 

 named. The Indigo Bird also some 

 times enters ^illages. The Browu 

 Thrasher is less abundant now. New 

 species of birds have also appeared in 

 this stat(^ Conspicous among these 

 is the Black-throated Bunting— a wel- 

 come addition, and the European 

 House Sparrow — a nuisance. 



I have written this hoping that other 

 observers may give us more light. 



WiLKKKI) A. BltoTIIKKTON, 



Rochester, Mich. 



