Fragments of Natural History. 19 
%, 
Arr. Il—Fragments of Natural History ; by J. P. Kietianp, 
M. D., Prof. Theo. and Prac. Phys., Medical College of Ohio, 
Cincinnati. 
**T write that which I have seen.”—Le Baum. 
No. Il— Ornithology. 
eS 
Tue feathered tribes of our country have been so thoroughly 
investigated by Wilson, Bonaparte, Nuttall, Audubon and Town- 
send, that the young ornithologist ean hardly expect to meet with 
anew species, unless it be some straggler or accidental visitor 
from other parts of the world. An ample field is however fur- 
nished him, in which he may successfully employ his talents. 
The habits of some of our most interesting birds are but very 
imperfectly understood. If we take for instance the migratory 
Sylvias, we can obtain but little more than their names and scien- 
tific characters from those authors—and in regard to*their habits, 
less than we have been able to discover by our own observations. 
On investigating this subject, it may perhaps be discovered that 
in some instances, errors have been imbibed and perpetuated by 
mistaking the accidental. movements of an individual bird under 
unusual circumstances, for the common habits of the whole spe- 
cies, 
The term of life of no one person is of sufficient duration to 
allow him to complete a full and perfect history, even of our 
American Species, from his own researches and observations ; 
such a work must be the production of the joint labor of several 
ages and many individuals. Many facts remain to be supplied 
before it can be successfully completed. The opportunities for 
observing the movements, and obtaining a correct history of the 
habits and characters of the more rare birds, arfenly occasional and 
fortuitous, and are as likely to fall in the way of one who knows 
hot how to improve them, as of one who possesses the talent for 
correct observation that distinguishes the author of the “ Birds of 
America,” ; 
It is not to be expected that the public generally will ever turn 
aside from their usual pursuits to make observations on matters 
relating to natural science. The energies of some idle gunner 
may perhaps be aroused sufficiently by the appearance of anew 
°F rare bird to induce him to destroy its life ; the careass will be 
