72 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 6 



been accomplished. For this survey in 

 the Ornithological field, talents of no or- 

 dinary character are required, but such 

 talents we venture to think Dr. Coues 

 possesses in no ordinary degree. Criti- 

 cism may lay hold of some detail of his 

 work, but must be silent when it is con- 

 sidered as a whole. To the Ornithologist, 

 Dr. Cones' " Key " will be a dictionary 

 with much of the usefulness of an 

 encyclojDsedia. 



The Death of Edgar A. Small 



Took pkice a t Hagerstown, Maryland, 

 Ajaril 28, 1884, in the twentieth year of his 

 age. He was the son of Albert Small, a 

 prominent Maryland lawyer. He early 

 formed a great love for Natural Science, 

 which intensified through the few years of 

 his life. About eight years ago a spinal 

 disease, resulting from a slight injury, 

 fastened upon him. He bore frequent 

 operations with characteristic patience, but 

 its course resisted all the efforts of medi- 

 cal skill and finally resulted in his too ear- 

 ly death. 



Edgar Small, though but a boy in body, 

 was a man in mind. He was a thorough 

 student of Nature, and his progress was 

 wonderful, in spite of the obstacles result- 

 ing from his illness. In his maturer 

 years it was seldom that he got into his 

 favorite woods and fields except by car- 

 riage, but his thirst for knowledge was so 

 intense that such brief excursions showed 

 him more than could be seen by ordinary 

 people. When unable to do even this, he 

 would lie on his back and paint the ob- 

 jects he was unable to visit in their native 

 groves. "We have in our possession a fine 

 oil painting of a Sparrow Hawk made in 

 this way. He had mounted the bird on a 

 piece of New England white birch previ- 

 ous to painting. This and other matters 

 in our possession showed a genius promis- 

 ing a valuable life we can ill spare from 

 among us. We found him a reserved, 

 cautious boy, a careful student of Nature's 



ways, with an intuitive knowledge which 

 enabled him to see with the mind what 

 others failed to see with the eye. His 

 statements were made in a plain, unas- 

 suming manner, and errors were promptly 

 and cheerfully acknowledged. His early 

 death, if a loss to the science he loved, is 

 to him a blessed relief from, a life that 

 must have been one of continuous 

 suffering. 



To his parents, bereaved of the object 

 of their love and solicitude, we tender the 

 sincere sympathy of the Ornithologists of 

 the United States, many of whom had 

 learned to appreciate his worth and the 

 value of the labors promised, had his 

 life been lengthened. 



Birds of Silver City, New Mexico. 



The latter part of November found me 

 located in Silver City, a thriving mining- 

 town, situated among the foot-hills of the 

 Eocky Mountains, in the southwestern 

 portion of New Mexico, some sixty miles 

 from the Mexican boundary. The coun' 

 try in the immediate vicinity is broken 

 and rolling ; to the north and west foot- 

 hills and mountain peaks, and to the west 

 and south the prairie. Pine, Pinon, Cedar, 

 Scrub Oak. short Gram grass and a variety 

 of Cacti are the principal forms of vegeta- 

 tion, while of water there is none, except 

 a few scanty streams far back among the 

 mountains. Other matters interfered with 

 my observations of the bird life until Jan- 

 uary, and doubtless many additions could 

 have been made to the subjoined list the 

 greater portion of which were taken with- 

 in a few miles of the town : 



NOVEMBER, 18S3 



1 Californian Bluebird, (Sialia mexicana,) 22, 23, 29. 



2 Eocky Mountain Bluebird, (Sialia arc.lica,) 23, 29. 



3 To\vn9end's Solitaire, (dfyiadcstes townsendi,) 29. 



4 Wollweber's Titmouse, (Lophophanes wollweberi,) 29. 



5 Lead-colored Titmouae, (PmUriparus plumbem,) 29. 



6 White-rumped Shrike, (Lanius ludoiicianus excubito- 



lides,) 22. 



7 House Finch, (Carpodacus frontalis,) 23, 29. 

 S Oregon Snowbird, (Junco oregomts,) 22, 23, 29. 



9 Pink-sided Snowbird, (Junco omnectena,) 2, 3, 29. 



10 Gray-headed Snowbird, (Junco caniccps,) 13, 29. 



11 Canon Towhee, (Pipilo fuscus mesoleuctis,) 22, 23, 29. 



