CORRESPONDENCE 267 



Mr. Boardmau says in a letter to Mr. Ridgway of July 

 1, 1878 : "I was not surprised at what you say about 

 the Duck Hawk breeding so far south for I have for 

 some years been of the opinion that the Duck Hawk 

 and Pigeon Hawk breed far south and perhaps in Florida ; 

 for in my collecting I have found two forms of both those 

 hawks, the size being very much smaller and the color 

 darker. I have seen the northern as well as the southern 

 birds in Florida. I have nev^er seen but three Duck 

 Hawks shot in Florida two were much smaller than any 

 I have collected north. But the difference in the Pigeon 

 Hawk is greater. They are much darker than any I 

 ever see this way and I have no doubt they are the 

 southern breeding birds. Probably your Illinois Duck 

 Hawks would be intermediate between the northern and 

 the Florida specimens. I should like to see them. I 

 have seven Duck Hawks in my collection, and all 

 different from Florida birds. You were fortunate in 

 getting such a haul from one nest. I have never heard, 

 certainly, of their nesting so far south before." 



Under date of December 25, 1878, Mr. Ridgway writes 

 that Henshaw has returned but had a verj^ poor field for 

 work, while a letter from Mr. Turner dated Unalaska, 

 November 10, complains of being in rather a poor field 

 affording no novelties and few desirable species. He also 

 wants Mr. Boardman's assistance in obtaining the downy 

 young (chicks) of any of the swimming birds as " accept- 

 able material" for the work on Water Birds in which he 

 was then engaged. Mr. Boardman's reply tells of his 

 wish to assist him but says: "We do not have one- 

 fourth the swimming birds breed with us now that we 

 did before the pickerel were put in our river, as they 



