76 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 6 



I attempted to obtain possession of it, but it had been sent 

 to the Denver Exposition and I was unable to learn any- 

 thing further in regard to it. Could it have been the same 

 species as those described? Charles Tl. Marsh, Silver City, 

 New Mexico. 



Great Northern Diver or Loon, (Colymbustorquatus). 

 A fine specimen was brought to me alive to be stuffed, It 

 was captured in a somewhat curious manner on Lake Wau- 

 ramaug, Litchfield Co., Conn. Some fishermen observing 

 him upon the lake, gave chase in a sail boat, and after some 

 time they succeeded in coming up with him and taking him 

 alive. He was brought to me from New Milford, a distance 

 of nine miles, in the back end of an open buggy, untram- 

 meled in any way, making no effort to escape. When taken 

 from the wagon he gave utterance to two or three long, 

 mournful cries, as if singing his own requiem. I could not 

 discover that he was injured in any way, and am at a loss to 

 account for his passive condition. Geo. C. Jones, Brookjield 

 Center, Conn. 



History of a Magpie.— About the middle of June, 1SS0, 

 I slightly wounded a young black-billed magpie. I brought 

 him home and placed him in a cage, feeding him on fresh 

 meat, which had to be cut in small pieces, and fed to him by 

 hand. 



In a short time he learned to pick a bone, but always pre- 

 ferred being fed in the former manner. 



When he had eaten all he wanted, he had the habit of fill- 

 ing his throat full of meat and hiding it in the corners of his 

 cage. He would do this as long as one would persist in 

 feeding him. 



We kept him in this manner until the Spring of 1881, when 

 we let him out to forage for himself. When he had been 

 loose for about a month and had finished his moult he was 

 as fine a bird as one would wish to see. His wings and tail 

 shone in rich purple, green and bronze. 



He was a very knowing fellow, following one about every- 

 where. When weeding in the garden he would accompany 

 me picking up insects and their larvae and pulling weeds 

 himself. 



He was a deadly enemy to all the Summer birds, pursuing 

 the first blue-birds, and having scrimmages with the tame 

 pigeons. 



At that time I had some Red Polls in a cage, which I had 

 captured during the Winter. He persisted in lighting upon 

 the cage and trying to strike them, as they fluttered about. 

 In Summer he always roosted on top of the screen door 

 under the porch. In Winter going into the barn and taking 

 possession of the horse's back. 



He would eat out of the same dish with the dogs and cats, 

 very often driving them away by pulling their tails, or other 

 cunning tricks which they did not know how to account for. 

 He never would stand imposition from any body. As an 

 example I may mention the following: One day a bare- 

 footed boy came into the yard to look at him. During his 

 inspection he picked up a stick and began to tease him. 

 Pretty soon Jack began to scold in his peculiar manner and 

 darted at the boy's bare-feet. That boy cleared the fence, 

 the bird picking at him at every jump. 



He had a particular tree near the pigeon boxes where he 

 used to sit, chattering and whistling in his peculiar manner. 

 The harder the wind blew the better he seemed to like it, 

 and the louder he would whistle. 



After a while he got into the habit of going into the hen- 

 house and eating the eggs, but he was so sharp that it was a 

 long time before we detected him in the act. 



On this account we were obliged to give him away ae cold 

 weather was approaching and we did not wish to keep him 

 in the house another Winter. 



We did not hear of him again until the Summer of 1S83, 

 when he suddenly appeared while I was weeding onions, 

 and commenced his old trick of pulling weeds, not without 

 pulling the onions also, for which he received a cuff. 



At this he flew away and we have never seen him since. 



Poor Jack ! he was a fine pet, but was always in some 

 mischief, hiding anything that was laid where it would catch 

 his eye.— H. G. Smith, Jr. , Denver, Colorado. 



Albino Rorins. Howard Buchane, Glasco, X. T , writes: 

 "To-day I saw an Albino-Robin. For three seasons back 

 this same Robin, (I suppose it to be the same) has been 

 with us." A lady friend recently mentioned to us that she 

 had noticed when visiting at New London, Conn., an Albi- 

 no Robin, which had an Albino mate — the latter not so 

 white as the other. It would be very interesting to know 

 whether their progeny show white feathers also. 



Great Grey Owl. E. S. Bowler, Bangor, Me., say she 

 received from Katahclin Iron Works a perfect specimen. 

 Length 25^' ; wing 17.^ ; tail 12. Extent 55 inches. 



Spotted Robin's Eggs. I recently found a robin's nest 

 containing four eggs. Each egg was spotted with fine, pale 

 brown spots, some of the largest the size of a pin's head. 

 I have been collecting nine years and have never seen any 

 robin's eggs before that were spotted. F. A. Lovejoy, Hollis, 



X. H. 



♦ 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Red-tailed Hawk. (O. and O. IX. P 5T), D. D. Stone, 

 Oswego, j\ r . F., writes: "My experience differs from that 

 of J. M. W. I have taken a good many sets of Eed-tailed 

 Hawks, and, except when the first set had been taken, have 

 never found a set of two eggs that were at all advanced in 

 incubation, and three has been the number with me, and in 

 one case four." See Dr. Gibbs, p 67 of this number. 



Nest to be Identified. Albert H. Hawley, Garden 

 City, N. Y., writes : " While out after Crow's Eggs, we dis- 

 covered a large nest about thirty feet from the ground. My 

 friend went up and pronounced it an old crow's nest, hut 

 soon found an opening, and supposing it to be a squirrel's 

 nest, he removed from the top a pile of leaves and bark, 

 finding at the bottom a white egg about the size of a hen's, 

 or a little smaller, and the same shape. It was fresh. The 

 nest looked like an old Crow's, inhabited by Flying Squir- 

 rel's. Can any one tell me what it is?" 



Moss Bird. D. D. Stone, asks : "Can you or some of 

 the readers tell me the name of a small bird known, in the 

 Carolinas and Ga., as the Moss Bird— a local name ? " 



Lice among Eggs. "Hell-diver." "If. W. Oilman, 

 Stonghton, Wis., asks : what is best to do when little brown 

 lice get among eggs ? " ISaphtha would probably extermin- 

 ate them. Blake's Cones we have found a good preventive. 

 He also asks " the scientific name of what is commonly 

 called the ' Hell-diver' round here." 



New York Laws as to Bird Collecting. S. B. Loom- 

 is, Geneva, N. Y., asks whether it is possible for him to 

 obtain papers authorizing him to collect birds and eggs 

 without being liable to the law." We are unable to add 

 anything to the note in May O. and O. (p 62). Perhaps 

 some N. Y. collector will give the information our corre- 

 spondent asks for. 



J. P. Loose, College of St. Javies, Mi., sends usan account 

 of his finding a nest of the Tnftod Titmouse, (Lojihophanes 

 bieolor). We are sorry we cannot nud room for his letter. 



Notes from Julius Hurter, Ira W. Shaw, A. M. Drum- 

 mond, H. A. Talhot, and C. S. Phillips. 



