16 



THE OOLOGIST. 



axiliars, brownish-gray. Scapulars 

 with lighter edgings. No speculum; 

 no white on wings. Tail of fifteen 

 feathers. Nostrils iu basal half of bill. 

 Bill blue at base, blackening at tip; feet 

 livid bluish. Iris brown. Measures, 

 L. 17.50, ex. 29.00, w g. 8.50, 1 1. 2.75, 

 ts. 1.25, B 1. 1.12, undcle toe and claw 

 2.15. It was killed on the Savannah 

 .river. Could it be a female H. glacialis 

 3rd. When will Davie's "Methods in 

 the Art of Taxidermy" be issued? 



C. R. B., Little Rock, Iowa. Queries 

 as follows: 



1st. The name of a gull (?) about 

 thirteen or fourteen inches long, with 

 head and neck black, back brown or 

 light slate color, upper side of wings 

 and tail ditto, ends of wing feathers 

 barred with black and white, breast, 

 abdomen, sides and under side of wings 

 and tail white, bill one inch long, 

 black, feet webbed. 



2nd. Name of gull (?) with black 

 head and breast, back and wing dove 

 eolor or drab, under tail pure white, 

 feet semipalmated, length eight or nine 

 inches. 



Both gulls are common in migrations; 

 following the plows after a rain and 

 eating the grubs plowed out. 



one year or less, they have trouble with 

 their stomach aud cannot keep food 

 down and soon die. But after all it is 

 not much of a loss. Should you keep 

 one a year and give him his freedom he 

 will steal you so poor that you will be 

 willing he should die. 



A. E. Kibbe, 

 Mayville, N. Y. 



Talkative Powers of the Grow not Increased 

 by Tongue Splitting. 



Iu reply to the query in the Nov. 

 Oologist, will say, that I do not think 

 it makes any difference with the crow, 

 except the pain that it gives, whether 

 his tongue is split or not. I have 

 ■raised a great many, and have had two 

 .at one time and I would split the 

 tongue of one and not the other, and I 

 found that the one with the tongue 

 split would not articulate any clearer 

 than the other. My experience is that 

 the male crow will learn to utter a few 

 words if it is something that he hears 

 every day, for instance the name of 

 anyone. My brother had one, he also 

 had a dog by the name of Ponto", and 

 the crow would say: "Hello! Ponto," 

 as plain as I could. The greatest 

 trouble I have in keeping crows is, that 

 after they have been in captivity about 



of the A. 0. U. 

 The eighth congress of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union was held last 

 week at Washington, Nov. 18 to 20, in 

 the Lecture Hail of the United States 

 National Museum. 



The meeting was largely attended, 

 and as will be seen from list of papers 

 given below, was full of interest. It 

 was one of the most successful meet- 

 ings held since the founding of the 

 Union. 



The session of Tuesday was devoted 

 to business and was not open to the 

 general public. At this meeting were 

 read the reports of the secretary, the 

 treasurer and the council. Officers 

 were elected for the ensuing year, and 

 then followed election of new members 

 and reports of committees. 



The officers chosen for 1891 were: 

 D G. Elliot, President; Robert Ridg- 

 way and Wm. Brewster, Vice-Presi- 

 dents; John H. Sage, Secretary; Wm. 

 Dutcher, Treasurer. Chas. B. Cory, 

 H. W. Henshaw, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, 

 Dr. L. Stejneger, Dr. J. A. Allen, Dr. 

 Elliott Coues, Col. N. S. Goss, Mem- 

 bers of the Council. At this election 

 there were thirty-eight members pres- 

 ent and voting. 



The sessions held on Wednesday and 

 Thursday, Nov. 19 and 20, were open 

 to the public, and were devoted to the 

 reading of scientific papers. The first 

 of these, The American Ornithologists' 

 Union — a seven years' retrospect — was 

 an address by the retiring president, 

 Mr. J. A. Alleu, who has occupied this 

 chair ever since the founding of the 

 Union. This was followed by these 

 papers : 



Seed Planting by Birds, by Walter B. 

 Barrows. Phalaropes at Swampscott, 

 Mass., by Wm. A. Jeffries. The Birds 

 of Andros Island, Bahamas, by John I. 

 Northrop. Remarks on a few Species 

 of Andros Island Birds, collected by 

 Dr. Northrop, by J. A. Alleu. An Ex- 

 perimental Trial of a New Method for 



