July, 1886.] 

or for scenery, build the frame of wood, arrang- 
ing to have the wood come where the leg wires 
are to goin. Fill in with excelsior and tack two 
or three layers of thin cloth over all. Give it 
several coats of glue, produce the irregularities 
with papier maché and then sand and paint to 
suit taste. 
ICEBERGS and snow scenes can be made on the 
same plan. Paint (receipt given in previous 
chapter), and use plaster of paris, glass frosting 
and mica snow. Powdered burnt alum can also 
be used. Icicles can be obtained from any dealer, 
and grass immersed in strong alum water will, 
by the alum adhering, have a decided winterish 
appearance. If a scene made by this causes a 
shiver in July it may be considered a success. 

List of Birds Observed in the Vicini- 
ty of Santa Barbara, Cal., During 
the Year 1885. 
READ BEFORE THE SANTA BARBARA SOCIETY 
OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
BY CLARK P. STREATOR. PART IV. 
(The nomenclature is that of the Smithsonian Check List, 
by R. Ridgway, 1881.) 
Uria columba, (Pigeon Guillemot). 
on the islands. Breeds. 
main land. 
Lomvia troile californica, (California Guillemot). 
Rather rare. 
An additional list of the land birds observed 
since February 1st up to date (May 12th,) will in- 
clude the following: 
Sialia artica, (Arctic Bluebird). 
have only collected one specimen. 
Common 
Never saw any on the 
Very rare. I 
Vireo solitarius cassini, (Cassin’s Greenlet). 
Rare. <A few seen this spring. 
Contopus borealis, (Olive-sided Flycatcher). 
Have seen this bird only once. 
Selasphorus alleni, (Allen’s Hummingbird). 
Common summer resident ; more abundant than 
S. rufus. 
Passerella tliaca unalescensis, (Townsend’s Spar- 
row). Saw one individual of this species on San- 
ta Cruz I., last March. 
Buteo lineatus elegans, (Western Red-shouldered 
Hawk). Not common. I have seen only three 
specimens of this beautiful Falcon. 
Buteo swainsoni, (Swainson’s Hawk). 
mon. Probably a resident bird. 
I desire to correct an error in my list in the 
May issue of O. and O. [have there given Hinpi- 
donax hammondi, (Hammond’s Flycatcher) as a 
“common summer resident”; it should be #. def- 
Com- 
AND OOLOGIST. 
as Hammond’s Flycatcher has been found in 
different parts of California I expect it may oc- 
cur here. I have seen at least a dozen species of 
birds which I have not been able to secure, and 
therefore could’ not identify, but as fast as I am 
able to do so they will be reported in these 
columns. 
——— i ——___—_— 
Migration of the Coot. 
BY W. C. AVERY, M. D., GREENSBORO, ALABAMA, 
A fact, relative to the migration of the Coot, 
(Fulica americana,) known here by the French 
name, Poule-d’eau, may, perhaps, be worth re- 
cording. About the middle of April, 1885, as I 
was going out of the house, at sunrise, my atten- 
tion was attracted to a bird sitting within a few 
feet of the porch. It proved to bea Coot. In- 
stead of trying to escape, as any other bird would 
have done, when I extended my hand to catch it, 
the poule-d’eau showed fight. I confined it in 
a chicken-coop in the yard, and supplied it with 
some corn-bread and water. If it ever ate or 
drank while in my possession, I was not aware of 
the fact. It took, to my knowledge, neither food 
nor water. It seemed to spend every minute of 
the day and night in perpetual motion. Its ef- 
forts were not in vain. 
“ Omnia vincit improbus labor,’ was, doubtless, 
the motto of my prisoner. By thrusting the 
head and neck through every opening within 
reach, the restless bird at last forced off a slat and 
recovered its freedom. On the third day after it 
had been placed in “durance vile,” I saw it 
standing on top of its prison pluming itself. I 
advanced towards it, expecting to capture it again. 
Imagine my surprise when it rose on strong pin- 
ions, flying high and: going in a northerly direc- 
tion, as far as I could see it. This was not the 
first time that I had seen in the spring this, to me, 
apparently silly bird offering battle to its captor. 
I had believed that “ coot” and fool were justly 
synonymous. 
The coot has been slandered; it does not fly 
because it cannot fly. Not because it wants the 
sense of danger, but because it has not the power 
to escape, does it allow itself to be taken, when it 
drops exhausted, on its long migratory flight, and 
rests till its tired wings have recovered strength 
to bear itonward. 
i 
Auprno Rosin. <A neighbor of mine has in 
confinement a robin, pure white, pink eyes. It 
was raised from the nest and has never had any 
stage of plumage save the white. Perhaps the 
reason of this plumage could be traced to defi- 
ciency in the egg.—D. F. L. 
