Vol. XXII 

 '9°5 



Deane, Letters from Abert to Audubon. I 73 



Skins with corn-meal and has brought them in, in good condition, 

 what should now be done with them. Among these skins are 

 some of a quail or Partridge x which I do not find among your 

 birds of America. It is about the size of our quail, but totally 

 different in color, being ash or lead color. Also the skin of a 

 lark,' 2 not larger than our house sparrow and brown. Also 3 or 4 

 Skins of what I think (but I have not yet compared) is the 

 Shafted Woodpecker, 3 a Skin of the Meadow Lark,* differing 

 slightly in plumage from ours, but totally different in its notes. 

 Some Skins also of (probably) the ultra-marine Jay. 6 



He says our Prairie Dog (a marmot) does not hybernate but is 

 out all winter as lively and as fast as on any Summer day. He 

 has a skin of one. Also a skin of the black tailed hare, and of a 

 rabbit, the latter much smaller than our rabbit, and of a Skunk so 

 differently marked from any that I have ever seen, or have ever 

 seen described, that there may be something new in it. The ears 

 of his hare, differ from those of the drawing you once showed 

 me, being much wider, rather leaf shaped. May not these add 

 something to our contributions to Science. 



Yours 



J. J. Abert. 6 



J.J. Audubon Esq. April 7 '47 



1 In the Report of 1848, Lieut. Abert writes, "December 9, 1846. Spent 

 the morning hunting quails in the vicinity of the ' mesa' below; procured a 

 female ' ortix squamosa.' 1 December 12, 1846. I obtained five beautiful speci- 

 mens of the ' ortix squamosa' as the arsenic that we had obtained in St. 

 Louis has been taken to California I was obliged to fill the skins with corn 

 meal." 



2 Referable to one of several forms of the Shore Lark. In the Report of 

 1848 Lieut. Abert frequently refers to the large flocks of Alauda alpestris. 



3 Undoubtedly the Red-shafted Woodpecker (Colaptes cafer). In the Re- 

 port of 1848, under date of December 8, 1846, is given : " We procured sev- 

 eral specimens of the red-winged flicker picus Mexicanus." 1 " 1 



4 Sturnella neglecta. In the Report of 1848, under date of December 5, 

 1846, is given : "On my return I got five specimens of the Mexican Meadow 

 lark '•Sturnella neglecta '." 



5 Probably referable to Woodhouse's Jay (Ap/ielocoma woodhouseii). 

 6 John James Abert, born September 17, 1788; died September 27, 1863. 



Became Colonel in command of topographical engineers in 1838, one of the 

 organizers of the National Institute of Science, which subsequently merged 

 into the Smithsonian Institution. 



