208 Deane, Letters of J. J. Audubon and S. F. Baird. [a^i 



I omitted to mention the case of an Astur which we shot on the 

 9th of May last. It is very like the young Male of Astur Fuscus, 

 the principle difference being in size. The dimensions were as 

 follows. Length to end of tail 16 inches, of wings 11 3/4, of 

 claws 13 1/4, From flexure 8 1/2, extent 28. The specimen was 

 a Male. There could be no mistake about the sex, as the testes 

 were large & very apparent to the eyes of both myself and my 

 brother. Can this be Astur Fuscus f The fourth quill is longest. 

 The bird appears at least three times as large as a specimen (Male) 

 of Astur Fuscus. 



S. F. B. 

 John J. Audubon, Esq. 

 No. 86 White St. 

 New York 



Audubon to Baird. 



New York, July 29, 1841. 

 My dear Sir, — 



I have not had time to answer your interesting favor of the 21st 

 until this morning, being now constantly engaged in the figuring, 

 &c, of the Quadrupeds of Our Country; by which I mean that I 

 actually work from daylight every day until I retire to my neces- 

 sary repose at night. 



Your observations upon the birds of passage the last spring are 

 what they have been almost throughout the U. S. The very back- 

 ward spring which we have experienced this year did no doubt 

 retard the coming into the States the millions of passenger birds 

 that come to us from beyond our limits. The Fly-catcher of which 

 you are in doubt is nevertheless the M. Pusilla, and you must not 

 be surprised to find perhaps some discrepancy between the speci- 

 mens you have procured and the descriptions you may have read, 

 as among mine these differences are quite obvious and belonging 

 to either sex or age, as is indeed the case with most of our birds as 

 well as among many of our quarupeds. Thus, the small yellow 

 bellied Fly-catcher of my friend Leib is nothing else than an adult 

 male of this species! As to the Thrush which 1 have of yours it is 

 quite in the same predicament being only a Bird of 12 months old 

 of the Turdus mustelinus of Wilson. I am indeed surprised that 



