V ° 1 i909 :VI ] Ge ™ ral Notes - 197 



during the summer of 1905, all apparently from one nest, and two more 

 in the summer of 1906 in the same place, all being birds of the year. This 

 park is within three blocks of the writer's home; it is well covered by a 

 large variety of trees, has a considerable water supply, and forms an ideal 

 home for many of our summer resident birds. 



There is no record that any of these albinos returned to the park during 

 any succeeding year. 



A son of one of my neighbors saw a young pure albino robin in the 

 immediate vicinity of my home during the summer of 1907. 



On June 3, 1908, the writer received a live young robin, a pure albino, 

 which was one of a brood of four robins (all the others being apparently 

 normal) raised in a neighbor's yard about two hundred feet from the writer's 

 house. A second young pure albino robin was given to the writer six days 

 later (June 9), it having been raised in a nest half a block to the rear of 

 the first albino's nest, and on June 11 (eight days after the receipt of the 

 first), a third young pure albino robin was presented to the writer. This last 

 one was found about the premises of Mrs. Ernest Knaebel, distant about 

 half a mile from the location wherein were found the first two. These 

 birds were all very tame and allowed themselves to be caught without fear 

 or resistance. Everyone was a typical albino, with every feather pure 

 white, and with pink feet, legs, and eyes, and white bill. 



If any one of these birds were put in such a position that its head was 

 between a strong light (the sun, or a bright lamp) and the observer, the 

 effect was startling, the eye viewed by the observer shining like a glowing 

 coal. This transillumination through both eyes illustrated strikingly the 

 absence of all pigment in the iris and retina, and showed, too, how nearly 

 opposite are a bird's eyes, and demonstrated that in a young bird the 

 interocular septum (the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid) is cartilagi- 

 nous, and remarkably translucent. 



All of these birds were lively, and soon learned to take worms from the 

 hand. They were all given to Mr. Felger who tried to raise them with the 

 help of a friend experienced in successfully raising other young robins. 

 These three albinos, notwithstanding that they all ate well, died within 

 two or three weeks of capture, of an obscure intestinal disorder. The 

 writer is inclined to believe, through the testimony of friends qualified to 

 speak on the matter, that it is not very difficult to bring up nestling robins 

 by hand, and feels that the failure, in experienced hands, to rear these 

 albinos lends color to the belief that albinos are inherently of weak consti- 

 tution. 



It will be seen from the above that we have to deal with an unbroken 

 series of albino robins observed during four succeeding seasons all in an 

 area not to exceed one mile in diameter. 



It seems reasonable to assume that these birds all emanated from a pair, 

 or their descendants, originally and perhaps continually nesting in City 

 Park. The inheritability of albinistic traits is undeniable and it is con- 

 ceivable that this trait may be cropping out in the succeeding generations 



