THE OOLOGIST 



13 



maticians who delight in abstruce 

 propositions. 



Fourth Annual Report of State Orni- 

 thologist of Massachusetts, 1911. This 

 interesting publication gives a gener- 

 al resume of the work of this official 

 in Massachusetts, and is embellished 

 by a number of interesting illustra- 

 tions, half tones and diagrams: con- 

 tains likewise much information in 

 regard to the food of the birds of Mas- 

 sachusettts, especially relating to the 

 Pigeons and Brown-tailed Moth. It 

 shows investigation and industry upon 

 the part of the official who issues it. 



The Wanderings of an Editor. 



December 21, 1912, at noon, Ye Edi- 

 tor left St. Paul over the Chicago, Mil- 

 waukee & St. Paul Railway for Spo- 

 kane, Washington. 



December 22d between 7 a. m. and 

 9 p. m. the run was made between 

 Miles City, and Butte, Montana, over 

 a partially rolling, partially level and 

 in some places rough country. Many 

 American Magpies were seen from the 

 train, and one compact flock of about 

 one hundred small birds which were 

 not identified, practically all of which 

 settled in the top of a small pine as 

 the train passed. 



December 23d in the forenoon, a two- 

 hour run over an electric interurban 

 took us from Tekoa to Spokane over 

 a rolling country given over to wheat 

 farming and orchards. One pair of 

 what we took to be Long-billed Curlew 

 were seen. 



December 24th to 26th inclusive was 

 spent in Spokane which is in the 

 midst of a rough, hilly or mountainous 

 territory, covered with coniferous 

 growth, pines, spruce and the like. No 

 birds were seen here. One of our 

 friends told us of picking up a Pine 

 Grosbeak in his yard in that city, 

 dead, last winter. 



The return trip to St. Paul was made 



over the Northern Pacific and Decem- 

 ber 27th from early morning till even- 

 ing we passed from Missoula to Bil- 

 lings over a largely mountainous and 

 semi-mountainous territory. Many 

 American Magpies were seen, another 

 compact fiock of about one hundred 

 small birds were seen, and one Pigeon 

 Hawk or Merlin, we are not certain 

 which, as well as one Red-shafted 

 Flicker. 



December 28th, early morning found 

 us at Mandon, North Dakota, on the 

 wide rolling prairies of the Western 

 part of the state. 



From then until dark the snow grad- 

 ually increased from a mere skift un- 

 til at Fargo it was about six inches. 

 Western North Dakota was a series 

 of rolling sand hills and here several 

 flocks of Sharp-tailed Grouse were 

 seen sitting in the trees. Three or 

 four large Haw^ks soared by and as we 

 passed east of Bismarck, Shore Larks, 

 English Sparrows and Crows became 

 common. 



Such is the ornithology history of 

 what we saw upon this long trip. 



R. M. B. 



Condor of United States. 



Youth's Companion. 



It is not generally known that we 

 have a condor in the United States, 

 yet there is one on the Pacific coast 

 that in weight and spread of wing 

 surpasses all other birds. From tip to 

 tip of wing it measures more than 

 ten feet — considerably more than the 

 condor of the Andes and about a yard 

 more than the largest eagle or swan. 



This condor is black -tinged with 

 brown, except under the wings, where 

 there is a long narrow strip of almost 

 pure white running the whole length 

 of the wing and widening near the 

 body. It has no ruff around the neck, 

 but a fringe of long narrow black 

 feathers on the back of the neck gives 



