The Audubon Note Book. 



219 



of the toad. They began with great earnestness to 

 tear away the bottom of the nest, and in a very short 

 time the obnoxious thing came tumbling through the 

 hole. He roused himself, and, with a hoarse, pro- 

 testing croak, hopped into the long grass. Then the 

 robins flew away to build another house. They had 

 ousted the toad, but they had no intention of recon- 

 structing their desecrated nest. 



THE LOON IN CAPTIVITY. 



About a week since a loon was caught in a net in 

 the St. John River, a few miles above Fredericton, 

 by a man who was engaged in drifting by night for 

 shad and salmon. The bird was freed from the net 

 and' brought to Fredericton, where it was purchased 

 by Mr. Wilmot Guion. This loon, which has a 

 green ring around his neck, and whose black back is 

 spotted largely with white, probably does not weigh 

 over ten pounds. When first caught, and for some 

 time after, he was very cross, and threatened with 

 his long, sharp bill those who came near him, strik- 

 ing viciously at them with it. In front of the City 

 Hall at Fredericton stands a fountain, the basin of 

 which has a clear diameter of fourteen feet, exclusive 

 of the pedestal in the center; in this the loon was 

 placed. The water falls into the basin from a series 

 of small jets, and he is very fond of taking up his 

 position under the dropping spray. Since he has 

 been placed in this basin he has become very tame 

 and allows himself to be handled and caressed in the 

 most confiding manner. He likes to have the back 

 of his head and neck scratched by the visitor's hand. 

 "When there is a crowd looking at him he comes to 

 the side of the basin where they are. He seems not 

 to care about being in the water for more than an 

 hour at a time; then he wants to be taken out and 

 placed upon the grass; when he is anxious to be re- 

 moved from the water he utters a low cry and 

 readily allows himself to be removed, coming, in- 

 deed, up to the person who is ready to do him this 

 kind turn. As soon as he is out of the basin he 

 begins pluming his feathers. 



After having been out of the water for a length of 

 time he is frantic when he is returned to it. The 

 other day, when replaced, he went three times 

 around the basin without ever coming to the surface. 

 He is very voracious, and yet dainty, as he will eat 

 chub only when just freshly killed, if at all stale he 

 at once rejects them. A few days ago three small 

 chub swimming around in a pail of water were 

 brought to him; he drew himself up, his eyes all the 

 while glittering as he looked at his finny food, and 

 uttering a low note, somewhat similar to that of 

 the wild goose, just as the fish were being poured 

 out into the basin he caught one before it reached 



the surface of the pond. The other two went, one 

 to the right, the other to the left; that which headed 

 to the right got but the loon's own length before he 

 was caught, that to the left got no further than six 

 feet before he shared a similar fate. 



Last evening an eel eighteen inches long was put 

 into the basin, and this, having concealed itself, the 

 loon failed to catch it. This morning, however, 

 while he was diving he brought the eel up, which 

 twisted itself all around his neck, but he held it 

 tightly in his bill, moving it slowly around until he 

 got to its head; he then succeeded in swallowing, 

 head first, about half of its length Avithout difficulty, 

 but was seven or eight minutes getting the rest of it 

 down, the tail meanwhile twisting about his bill in a 

 most singular manner. At the time the loon was 

 put in the basin there was a sturgeon about eighteen 

 inches long in it; this has disappeared and it is pre- 

 sumed that the bird has made away with it. When 

 not otherwise engaged the loon occupies its time in 

 snapping at the flies which hover around the edge of 

 the basin or surface of the water. — Edward Jack in 

 Forest and Stream. 



ALBINO BOBOLINK. 



Editor Audiibon Magazine: 



Squaretop, Wyoming Co., Pa., August 15. — 

 To-day I saw a large flock of female bobolinks (or 

 perhaps male also in their winter plumage), and 

 with them one perfect albino, and it was the most 

 beautiful creature flitting about, and to me it ap- 

 peared to be embodied happiness. I never saw any- 

 thing that suggested a happy creature more than 

 that pure white bird. It was not persecuted by the 

 others, as I have read they sometimes are, but 

 seemed to be an honored member of the flock, a 

 sort of princess among them with a lady in waiting 

 always near. 



How I longed to keep it always near, although I 

 would not have made it a captive for the world! and 

 what a pang went through me as I thought that the 

 same longing for possession would animate others, 

 who would shoot it recklessly to gratify the craving. 

 May A. Walter. 



We are indebted to the courtesy of Dr. C. Hart 

 Merriam of the special branch of the Agricultural 

 Department at Washington, for his report on econ- 

 omic ornithology for 1887, but our notice of it has 

 been crowded out of the present number. 



Who Sent the Money? — On Sept. 2 we re- 

 ceived a letter from Atlanta, Georgia, containing 

 postage stamps to the value of thirty-four cents, but 

 no line to indicate who sent it, or the purpose for 

 which it was sent. 



