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THE OOLOGIST 



Some writers consider our northern 

 bird, which is almost equal to the 

 Ivory-billed Woodpecker in size, as a 

 sub-species and have given it the 

 name, Northern Pileated Woodpecker, 

 Ceophoeus pileatus abieticola. It in- 

 habits the heavily wooded sections of 

 North America from the Allegheny 

 mountains northward. 



John T. Parsons. 

 South Paris, Me. 



Books Received. 



Birds in Relation to the Grasshop- 

 per Outbreak in California, by Harold 

 C. Bryan: University of California 

 publication in Zoology, Vol. 11, No. 1. 



This is a very well prepared article 

 covering 19 pages and is exhaustive 

 in its treatment of the subject. It dis- 

 closes many interesting and valuable 

 thoughts relating to the great assist- 

 ance rendered by birds to men in the 

 destruction of insects. 



Sad. 



The following clipping from a Wash- 

 ington (D. C.) paper is self explana- 

 tory. It is sad indeed that a young 

 man in the morning of life will blight 

 his future by a proceeding of this kind. 

 Subsequent to the arrest, Mr. Reise- 

 berg admitted his guilt of this charge, 

 and owing to arrangements made, he 

 was not prosecuted further, and the 

 case was nolle prossed. 



It is to be hoped that it will be a 

 lesson to himself and to all others 

 similarly inclined, for indeed the es- 

 cape from a term in the penitentiary, 

 at least in this instance, was narrow. 



MUSEUM BOOKS DISAPPEAR. 

 Charges are Preferred Against Former 



Employee — Volumes in Demand by 

 Naturalists — Located in Illi- 

 nois—One Already 

 Returned. 



Charged with appropriating two 

 rare books from the bird division of 

 the National Museum, Harry E. Reise- 



berg, 20 years old, of 1744 Jackson 

 street northeast, formerly employed as 

 clerk at the museum, was arrested last 

 night at his home by Central Office 

 Detective Weedon. He was released 

 on $500 bond for his appearance in the 

 police court this morning. 



The volumes were published in 

 Utica, N. Y., in 1875, and consist of 

 monthly serials bound together. They 

 have long been out of print, and are in 

 great demand among naturalists. 



The books were missed about ten 

 days ago. The museum authorities 

 had the names of several persons who 

 had been hunting for copies, and wrote 

 to them to ascertain whether the mis- 

 sing books had been offered to them. 

 Yesterday they received a reply from 

 R. M. Barnes, of Lacon, 111., stating 

 that he had purchased the books for 

 $35. He returned one, and said he 

 would send the other as soon as he 

 could get it from a friend, to whom 

 he had loaned it. 



The Flycatcher of Eastern Massa- 

 chusetts. 



Massachusetts is credited with 

 eleven species of Flycatchers. Eight 

 of these occur more or less regularly, 

 while three, viz.: The Gray Kingbird, 

 Gay's Phoebe and Acadian Flycatcher 

 are recorded as accidental visitors 

 only. Those that summer with us or 

 pass through the state during migra- 

 tion are the Kingbird, Crested Fly- 

 catcher, Phoebe, Olive-sided Flycatch- 

 er, Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied, Alder, 

 and Least Flycatchers. 



The Kingbird is a very common 

 resident. They arrive from the South 

 early in May, usually about the 5th, 

 but occasionally as early as the 2d. 

 When they first arrive I most frequent- 

 ly find them in the trees and bushes 

 along the river bank, little groups of 

 three to five birds that keep up a con- 

 stant chatter, flying up into the air 

 after passing insects and chasing one 

 another from bush to bush with loud, 

 harsh calls. They soon select their 

 mates, then each pair retires to some 



