122 
lost the use of his wings, and_ perished. 
Poor bird! Sad monarch! We too mourn 
thee thy sad mishap. Can we wonder at 
thy desire for death, at being thus dis- 
graced before all thy associates. To hear 
the saucy Murres and Grebes, scream at 
theein passing and tauntingly cry ‘‘Fie 
upon thee! Fie upon thee!’ Draw thy 
shroud around thee and lay thee down, 
seeking peace in death. 
Special interest attaches to this bird 
which is now doubtless extinct; largely 
through human agency. It formerly 
Inhabited the coast from the southern 
boundry of Massachusetts northward, 
as attested by earlier observers and the 
occurence of the bones in numerous shell 
heaps On our shores it was probably 
last seen alive at Funks, a small island 
off the coast of Newfoundland. A speci- 
men has been reported as ‘‘found dead”’ 
in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Labrador, 
in the winter of 1870. This specimen was 
sent to Europe and sold for two hundred 
dollars. There however seems to be 
some guestion respecting the character, 
description, date, and disposition of this 
specimen, and it seems very improbable 
THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
that it should have lived as late as 1870. 
There are but four specimens in this 
country that! know of. One in each of 
the following institutions; viz. Smith- 
sonian, Philadelphia Academy, Cambridge 
Museum, and Vassar College, Pough- 
keepsie. (This last being the original 
from which Audubon made his <uts ) 
There appear to be about 50 skins pre- 
served in different museums with perhaps 
as many eggs, together with about a 
dozen more or less complete skeletons, 
and other bones, representing perhaps half 
a hundred individuals. The specimen in 
the Cambridge Museum measures; Length 
30.00 inches, Tail 3.00 inches, Bill along 
gape 4.00 inches Tarsus, 1.50 inches. 
There is alarge white spot between the 
eye and bill. The bill is black with white 
grooves like in (4/ca torda.) The hook 
and mantle are dark, —hardly black,— and 
the white of the under parts extends to a 
point on thethroat. This variety closes 
the chapter on the Auks; and next month 
we will consider the Laridae or Gulls. 
(to be continued) 
A GREAT PHEASANT AVIARY. 
BY THE EASTERN EDITOR. 
Until one tries, there is no telling where 
the breeding of Mongolian pheasants will end 
The Massachusetts fish and game commission- 
ers decided a year ago to breed a few as a 
means of replenishing the state game resources, 
and they have now the most extensive estab- 
Chair- 
man Brackett is, }erhaps, responsible for it, 
lishment of the kind in the country, 
and his aviary at Winchester has grown from a 
small original p'ant suited to the wants of a few 
breeding birds, to affording accomodations for 
a hundred breeders. To do this one must have 
a little land, a lot of enthusiasm 
appropriation, 
and an 
three things with which Mr. 
