1^2 General Notes. \_\^^\ 



species. In such a case, we might expect to see them again, in large 

 numbers. This would be analogous to what we see in insects, Danais 

 arckippus for instance. 



The food supply has certainly become less. In this connection it is inter- 

 esting to observe, that in the district where I have seen Wild Pigeons 

 recently, there are some white oak trees and though they are mostly second 

 growth, they succeed quite a forest of old oaks. There has, in this locality 

 probably, been a continuous supply of mast. Mr. S. D. Woodruff of St. 

 Catherines, Ont., writes, that he learned from sea captains that immense 

 numbers of pigeons perished in the Gulf of Mexico, being exhausted by 

 contrary winds and dense fogs. He says the experience of several ship 

 masters was having " myriads of the pigeons alight on the vessel and 

 rigging, and having to cast them oft into the sea." — G. C Tremaine 

 Ward, Napance, Ont.. Can. 



The Occurrence of the Ground Dove in Virginia. — While on a visit near 

 Lynchburg, Campbell County, I flushed and killed a bird which upon 

 examination proved to be this species {Columbigalliiia passerina). This 

 is, I believe, the first instance of this kind occurring in this State. The 

 bird was shot on November 4, 1900, and was a female in fine condition. 

 It is now in the collection of Bertram Roberts of Washington, D. C. — 

 Percy W. Shufeldt, Washington, D. C. 



Rachitis in Young Red-shouldered Hawks. — May 26, 1900, Mr. 

 A. H. Verrill informed me that he had that morning taken four downy 

 young Red-shouldered Hawks {Btiteo lineatns) from a nest near New 

 Haven, wishing to raise them for photographic purposes. He fed them 

 on butcher's meat, and they grew in size and weight, and juvenal plumage 

 soon began to show. May 31 one was so weak that it was put to death, 

 and the others seemed out-of-sorts, though gaining in size and plumage. 

 They were unable to lift themselves to their feet, and seemed to suffer 

 pain when handled. Their characteristic attitude was with the feet thrust 

 forward. These symptoms increased and on June 11 two died. 



In preparing them for specimens I found they showed well-marked evi- 

 dence of rickets. Subcutaneous fat was present in large amounts, but the 

 muscles were flabby and anaemic and the ligaments lax. The epiphysial 

 cartilage was somewhat enlarged, the long bones deformed and unusually 

 soft and flexible, and the tibite of both birds showed subperiosteal frac- 

 tures at the point where the weight of the body would come when seated. 

 Doubtless their attempts at standing aided in causing these fractures. 



As Mr. Verrill and I were at this time collecting in western Connecti- 

 cut, I suggested giving the surviving hawk bird-bodies as a change in 

 diet, thinking that possibly these young birds had been unable to assimi- 

 late the lime necessary for calcification of the bones from meat alone. 

 Under this treatment the surviving bird improved somewhat, but died on 

 June 15, showing on dissection a condition similar to the others. 



