98 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 



ing the undeveloped eliange from their Winter 

 plumage. This would seem to indicate that the 

 further north a bird goes to breed, the more per- 

 fect must the condition of the bird become, each 

 feather seeming to obtain greater vitality than in 

 the more southerly species, and, as a consequence 

 of this, the gradual change of color is extended 

 further down each feather, till the whole of the 

 feather, with the exception of that portion which 

 wears off, becomes black. Probably the change 

 from Spring to Sununer and from Summer to 

 Autumn plumage is etiecled both by means of 

 change of color in the feather itself, and by 

 moult, according to the physical condition of the 

 bird at the time. 



It seems probable tli;it the lljeory which holds 

 good with regard to the changes of plumage in 

 the true Falcons api)lies also to the case of the 

 common Buzzard, {Butm ruli/itm), and perhajis 

 the following notes on the plumage of the latter 

 species may be of interest : 



During the months of May and June, 1ST8, my 

 lirotlier and I obtained many beautiful specimens 

 of Ijolh old and young Conunon Buzzards in tlie 

 large woods near Ilesse-Cassell, in Central Ger- 

 many. They seemed to be very common there, 

 piobably because they were iiuile unmolested. 



On May 11th we found a nest containing 

 two down-clad young, which were pure white, 

 and one egg hatching ; both the old birds were a 

 uniform dark-brown, the male being much the 

 smaller of the two. 



On May 2Glh we f<iuiid two nests, each ciin- 

 tainiiig two eggs; in the one case nearly hateli- 

 ing, in the other (piite fresh. We trapped llie 

 old birds, and found them in similar plumage to 

 tliose already described. 



On June 8th found a nest containing two half- 

 grown young. Their breasts were a spolless 

 cream-color, their backs mottled not unlike an 

 unfledged Lesser Black-backed Gull. We reared 

 these two young ones ; by the beginning of July 

 they had moulted their nest plumage ; the breasts 

 and \mder parts coming mottled brown, but di- 

 vided by broad pale yellow sti-ipes running longi- 

 tudinally down the back. The tails were already 

 a fine russet color, barred with brown. We kept 

 these two birds till the Autumn of the year after 

 they were hatched, and at this time they still 

 maintained the plumage ol the first moult un- 

 changed. Their irides, however, which h.ad been 

 a pale transparent blue, were now gradually 

 turning yellow. This change in the color of the 

 irides seems to be, in some cases, contemporane- 

 ous with the cliange of color in the plumage of 

 the bird's head, and is especially conspicuous in 

 the case of the Marsh Harrier, {Circus cerui/iiiosus) 



and Red Kite, (Milvus ictinus). In both of the 

 latter the irides change with the head, being 

 nearly black when the head is very dark-colored 

 (as in the young Marsh Harrier,) hazel when the 

 head is brown, and pale yellow, approaching to 

 white, when the head becomes white, as in the 

 old birds. 



With regard to the plumage of the parent birds 

 of the two young ones which we reared, nothing 

 could exceed the beauty of the male. Willi the 

 exception of a fsiwn-colored bar across the breast, 

 the dark primaries and secondaries, a few bold 

 blotches of brown cm the back, and a golden-col 

 ored tail barred with brown, his whole plumage 

 was nearly pure white. The female had a cream- 

 colored breast and under parts, a handsome 

 brown and white checkered back, the head 

 brown, and the tail as in the male. 



Though I have seen a good many nests of 

 both the Rough-legged and Common Buzzard, I 

 never saw the former nesting in a tree, or the lat- 

 ter otherwise than in a tree, usually rather high 

 up. All the nests of the rough-legged species 

 which I have seen have been on fell-crags, nor 

 does the ])lumage of this species seem to exhibit 

 nearly so great a variation as in Btileo vult/drin. 



The irides in B. lagupus darken in color with 

 the age of the bird, the adults having a hazel iris, 

 those of the immature birds being yellow. This 

 is certainly a striking anomaly, and shows how 

 difficult it is to establish, even from observation, 

 ;iny reliable code for Nature's rules. — The Zoohf/isl. 



Observations on Faunal Changes in 

 Franklin Co., Ind. 



liV A. W. BITI.EU. 



T/iri/oiiiiiiies hewkki, (Aud.), Baird— Bewick's 

 ^Vren. — In 18oG Dr. Haymond had seen none of 

 this species; between this time and 1809 he iden- 

 tified a few specimens. From that time to 1877 

 no specimens were recorded. In April of the 

 latter year E. R. Quick identified four exami)les 

 of this Wren. From that time to 1881 a few 

 specimens were occasionally seen ; since the latter 

 date, however, (^ach year has shown an increased 

 number of specimens. At this time I consider it 

 to be a Summer resident and not uncommon. 



DindnEca aeruka, (Wils.), Baird.— Cerulean 

 Warbler. — Formerly unknown from this locality. 

 A few years since it was considered a rare bird 

 here ; now, excepting the Redstart, it is the most 

 common of the tree inhabiting Warblers. 



Pelroclielidun lunifrons, (Say), Lawr. — Cliff 

 Swallow, Eave Swallow. — "These Swallows first 



