103 Thk Wilson Bulletin — No. G3. 



tlic structural side llic (l('V('l(»|)ui('iit of feathers lias been worked out; 

 and the developuient of inijaient in the feather, which was cleared 

 up by the researches of Dr. K. M. Strong, has just been followed by 

 a demonstration of the underlyinjr iirinciples of the distriliution of 

 that pigment in the feathers, in a paper by Dr. Oscar Riddle, in the 

 Biological Bulletin for May. Dr. Riddle lias also worked out "The 

 Cause of the Production of "Down" and other "Down-like Structures 

 in the Pluniages of Birds," and the results appear in the Biological 

 r>ulletin for February of this year. On the side of color change and 

 molt. Mr. C. William Beebe has experimented with birds in captivity, 

 and his results seem to indicate that molt and the sequence of i)luni- 

 ages, in the birds experimented with are "jiot in any way predes- 

 tined through inheritance bringing about an unchangeable succes- 



sio]i but that it may be interrupted by certain external factors 



in the environmental complex." On the psychological side Professor 

 Francis II. Ilerrick has contributed several articles to Sci- 

 ence relating to "Cyclical Instincts" of birds — migrating, courting 

 or mating, nest building, incubating, care of young, etc. And still 

 there is abundance of room for other studies by as many people as 

 may have the inclination to enter njion research within this group 

 of animals. 



FIELD NOTES. 



The "Farthest North" Record of the CarL/IAaL in Iowa. — On 

 the bottom lauds of the Mississippi River at the mouth of Sni Magill 

 Creek, w'hicli is four miles south of the 43d parallel of latitude, on 

 April 17th, 1908, a pair of Cardinals was seen by me. The female 

 singing in a tree was noticed first, and she was soon joined by the 

 male, also in song. From a resident of that locality it was learned 

 that birds of their description were seen on a neighboring island on 

 April !»th of this .year. These birds are believed to be several miles 

 farther north in Iowa than any of their species hitherto reported. 



Althea R. Sherman, National, Imca. 



A Quail Tragedy. — On the morning of February 27, 11>08, near Sid- 

 ney, Ohio, a flock of quails was noticed flying at full speed directly 

 toward a house. .The next instant they struck the building with a 

 thud. We then observed that they had been pursued by a large hawk, 

 possibly a Cooper's, although it seemed to be as large as a Red-tail. 

 However, we failed to identify it. An examination showed that four 

 quails had been killed instantly liy the impact, and that two more 

 had been stunned, one of which died in a few minutes. The other 

 soon recovered, and upon hearing one of the scattered fiock calling, 

 we turned it loose. The ground was covered with snow and the suu 



