122 THE NATURALIST OF THE ST. CROIX 



Robin, and says : "He acts as if he were going to be an albino. 

 His new tail is about half grown out, and is nearly white, with a 

 black stripe down each feather. His breast, head, neck and back 

 are jet black, but very much out of feather. He would now make 

 a funny specimen — part albinic, part melanistic." The parents of 

 these young were not peculiar in color. Since the above paragraph 

 was penned, the bird has been killed, stuffed and sent to the 

 Smithsonian where I have seen it. It is black, with white wings 

 and tail. — December 15, 1877. 



Previous to writing to Prof. Coues about this black 

 robin he had written to Prof. Baird, as appears from a 

 letter to Mr. Boardman, dated September 26, 1877, in 

 which he says : "I would not interfere with the move- 

 ments of the Black Robin. I^et him turn himself into a 

 white one if he chooses. Do not kill him until he has 

 completed his vagaries. You must write out the whole 

 subject in detail and publish it. It will be of very great 

 interest." On December 5, 1877, Prof. Baird writes: 

 " Much obliged to you for sending the robin and I shall 

 probably be able to acknowledge its receipt before closing 

 this letter. In your article about the bird give first its 

 history ; how it came into your possession ; what its 

 coloration was when you had it ; when it moulted ; what 

 change took place then ; how long this was in operation ; 

 whether the single feathers changed their color from 

 white to colored, or the reverse ; whether the change was 

 in new feathers coming out," etc. Writing on December 

 12, of the same year, he says : " The Black Robin was 

 received and is a great curiosity, greater than I antici- 

 pated from your letter." What an interesting thing is a 

 bird, especially if it be a black robin or a white crow. 



While Mr. Boardman's greatest love of natural history 

 objects was for that of birds, he was well informed upon 





