104 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 8 



Snowy Herons were seen, but we could not get a shot at 

 them." The study of E. I. birds has been one of consid- 

 erable interest to me for twelve years, and I know of no 

 authenticated instance of the capture of the Snowy Her- 

 on during this period. Still it is not improbable that they 

 may occur. During the past eight years two young little 

 Blue Herons have been shot and sent to me, and at the 

 time of the capture of the latter more were seen. These 

 birds look precisely like the Snowy Heron and especially at 

 a distance. The distinguishing marks are slight bluish tips 

 to the wings. Last year ('S3) there was quite a flight of 

 American Egrets. These two species appeared in summer, 

 July and August. As Mr. Talbot did not succeed in ob- 

 taining a Snowy Heron, which with a limited experience 

 might easily be confounded with the other two mentioned, 

 I think his occurrence must be annulled as a K. I. record. 

 — Fred T. Jencka, Providence, R. I. 



The Bald Eagle. We have had sent to us for mount- 

 ing a fine specimen of the Bald Eagle. The bird was 

 hatched last spring (1S84) on Cape Hatteras in this state, 

 and taken from the nest by a party of fishermen and 

 brought here and sold to a gentleman of this place who 

 tried to tame it. It grew very fast but resisted all efforts to 

 tame it, and would fight fiercely if molested. It finally 

 pounced on the gentleman himself so fiercely that he had to 

 kill it in self defense. The bird measures 35;^ inches in 

 length with a spread of wing measuring 7 feet 4V inches 

 from tip to tip, and weighed 12 lbs. 3 oz. It is by far the 

 largest bird of its age we ever saw. The men who took it 

 say the old ones would measure twelve feet, and that they 

 have been nesting on the Cape for a number of years, and 

 have been known to carry off young pigs and sheep of 

 quite large size. There is a superstition among the ignor- 

 ant bankers which prevents the killing of these birds— but 

 we hope to get one or both of them ere long.— Clarke <fc 

 Morgan, New Berne, N. C. 



Chimney Swallows. The janitor of the block in which 

 my office is located, yesterday brought me a fine pair of 

 Chimney Swallows, which he captured in the '• dust box" in 

 the basement of the building. The place where they were 

 found is 160 feet from the top of the chimney — and the 

 birds must have been there some time, as they were very 

 weak and made no resistance when captured. They are 

 very tame, and although I have placed them on the window 

 sill several times, they have come back into the building, 

 and seem perfectly satisfied to remain.— Fletcher M. Noe, In- 

 dianapolis, Ind. 



Albino Barn Swallow. July 2, I had the good luck to 

 shoot an Albino Barn Swallow that was evidently not long 

 out of the nest, but still was in good plumage. It was a 

 creamy white on belly, the back of a lighter shade, and 

 contrary to most Albinos, did nor, have pink eyes. I need 

 not say I gladly welcomed it to my collection.— A. J. John- 

 son, Hydeville, Vt. 



The Ruby-throated Humming Bird. I took the nest 

 of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird June 17. There were 

 two eggs slightly incubated. They were larger than I ex- 

 pected. It seems to me they are large for the size of the 

 bird. The nest was on an elm tree about thirty-five feet 

 from the ground. On July 9th, I found another nest about 

 six rods from this— probably of the same bird's. When 

 found it had one bird just hatched, and one egg which 

 hatched the next day. The young were almost black and 

 are yet (July 14,) except a strip of down on their backs 

 which is light brown. I have not seen the male yet, though 

 I have watched closely for him. The old bird is rather shy 

 and will not come very close to me, but buzzes around 

 through the tree-top uttering almost constantly a low chirp 

 which sounds much like the squeak of a young mouse. I | 



did not hear her make any sound while perched.— Vernon 

 Bailey, Elk River, Minn. 



Black-capped Vikeo. I succeeded to-day in obtaining 

 Vireo atricapillus, male and female, and saw two other 

 specimens of the male. The Vireos were found in dense, 

 swampy undergrowth of Pecans and Scrub Oak, and no 

 doubt breed here— although I have searched diligently I 

 have failed to find either their nests or that, of the L. T. 

 Chat, (Icteria longieauda), which is abundant in same locali- 

 ty.— IT. L., SanAngelo, Texas. 



White-throat and White-crown Sparrows Migra- 

 tory in North Texas. Noticing the note in July O. and 

 O., (current Vol."5 concerning the above species being a 

 winter resident in Mason Co., Tex., caused me to examine 

 my date chart for January notes, but I have found none. 

 My chart gives dates as follows : Zonotrichia albicolis— 

 March 16, 1876, Dec. 6, 1876. Dec. IS, 1S7S, March 11, 1879, 

 Feb. 27, 18S4. Z. leucophrys— March. 16, 1S77, May 11, 1877, 

 Oct. 23, 1877, April 24, 1878, Dec. 18, 1878, March 11, 1879, 

 May 2, 1S79, Oct. 21, 1879.— G. H. Ragsdale, Gainesville, 

 Cook County, Tex. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Correspondents making inquiries are requested to be brief 

 and to the point. 



In explanation of our not responding to requests sent us 

 from time to time, to insert Ornithological Notes which 

 have appeared in other papers, we wish to say that we have 

 made it a rule not to reprint from any but Foreign papers, 

 and from these only to a very limited extent. We consider 

 any other course unfair to our readers in general, and quite 

 unnecessary as we always have an abundance of material 

 to choose from. 



Photographs of Scientists. As there are ornitholo- 

 gists who are desirous of securing photographs of promi- 

 nent fellow workers, which if published might prove an 

 aid to that end, I would add that Mr. Gutekunst has the 

 best negative of the late Dr. Brewer ever taken. Whether 

 he is permitted to supply prints to the public I am not pre- 

 pared to say. Dr. Brewer had a very large collection of 

 photographs of the most prominent ornithologists, which 

 I fear were not named at the time of his death and so are 

 probably lost. Respectfully yours, JOS. M. WADE. 



Philadelphia, May 28, 1S79. 

 Mr. Jos. M. Wade. Referring to your inquiry as to pic- 

 tures of prominent naturalists, I have pictures of Water- 

 house Hawkins, Dr. Jos. Leidy— and perhaps some others — 

 and I am this morning in receipt of a kind letter from Dr. 

 Brewer offering me the privilege of copying any of a list of 

 names which he furnishes— of distinguished scientists of 

 Europe. Should you wish copies of any of these I will be 

 pleased to hear from you. F. Gutekunst. 



We insert the above with pleasure, and shall be pleased 

 to hear from photographers who have portraits of promi- 

 nent ornithologists which are accessible to the public. 



C. H. Wilder, Canandaigua, iV. H. The note to which 

 you refer was from the London Graphic, regarding the Eng- 

 lish Robin. 



Nest or the Chewink. Job. Barnard, Washington, D. 

 C, writes us that he has found a nest of the Chewink on a 

 small Cedar about one foot from the ground, and asks 

 whether any of our readers have seen its nest otherwise 

 than on the ground, in accordance with the authorities. 

 Also if it is more disposed than other birds to abandon its 

 nest if disturbed. 



Notes received from Chas. Ewd. Prior and R. B. Scrivcn. 



