THE NIDIOLOGIST 



99 



make a systematic comparative study of the 

 birds of Michigan, and to obtain reHable notes 

 from all parts of the State. 



E. Arnold. 

 Battle Creek, Mich. 



Eggs of the Great Auk. 



AN English newspaper has the following to 

 say on the Great Auk : 

 " It seems that of the sixty-eight eggs 

 in existence, sixty-six are in Europe and two in 

 America. The Great Auk itself has been out 

 of the egg business for some time, which is a 

 pity now that the industry is beginning to pay 

 handsomely. The last of the race was captured 

 in 1844. We who are not able to bid more 

 than ten shillings for the egg have the consola- 

 tion of knowing that perhaps some navigator 

 will come on a hitherto unknown island covered 

 with Great Auks. If this event ever comes off 

 there will be a most appalling drop in eggs. 

 The break in the market will be something 

 unprecedented. If these items should meet the 

 eye of any Great Auk wandering around the 

 country he is hereby notified that if he will re- 

 turn he will be forgiven and no auk-ward ques- 

 tion asked." 



I'd Like to Know: 



WHY printers will almost invariably 

 spell Cozies Cones ? 

 Why we say " albino eggs" when, 

 properly, we should say unmarked eggs ? 



Why " datas " with sets of eggs (plural), in- 

 stead of data ? 



Why a collector will pay out, in postage, the 

 full value of a set of eggs, by " exchanging " it 

 for another set, and that for another, and so 

 on ? 



Why " bird-ologists " should not jump at the 

 chance to subscribe for such a good paper as 

 the " NiD " — premium or no premium? 



Why such an excellent and peaceable gen- 

 tleiTian should be called Savage (David L.)? 



Why H. W. D., of North Granville, N. Y., 

 thinks some of the ladies interested in birds in 

 North Dakota are " Coy?" 



Why Barlow's Owl looks frightened in the 

 Oo legist 2 



And why "Wm. Henry" is not out with a 



tape line now that the big Owls are nesting? 



Oyes. 

 ♦—♦--♦. 



Look out for some beautiful page plates in next 

 number. 



Arrival of the English Sparrow 

 at Pueblo, Colo. 



IT may perhaps interest your readers to 

 know that while walking through the town 

 of Pueblo on February 20 I saw as many 

 as eight individuals of Passer doviesticus. They 

 were perched on some cottonwood trees and 

 seemed quite at home in their new surround- 

 ings. As I now write, just a week later, they 

 seem to have become tolerably common. Their 

 plumage has a very dingy appearance, so much 

 so, that I am inclined to believe that they must, 

 during the recent severe weather, have taken 

 refuge in some freight cars and so got shipped 

 to Pueblo. The English Sparrow has, espe- 

 cially among Ornithologists in this country, a 

 reputation which cannot be called strictly first 

 class. My observations on this species in his 

 native land are that they destroy both grain and 

 seeds and buds of fruit trees. They also de- 

 vour large quantities of insects, especially dur- 

 ing the breeding season, which is a fact that 

 cannot be gainsaid. Whether this eating of in- 

 sects equals or exceeds the damage done, or 

 whether his habits differ on American soil, I 

 know not. One thing, however, is certain, that 

 despite all our efforts made to exterminate him, 

 he will and must as time goes on, widen his 

 range, until there will not be' a State in the 

 Union that is not blest or cursed with that 

 despised alien, the English Sparrow. 



WiLLOUGHBY P. LoWE. 



Pueblo, Colo. 



A flidwinter Fair flemory. 



THERE are a lot of birds in Harry Tay- 

 lor's free bird and egg exhibit in the 

 Alameda County Building, and some 

 mighty curious looking ones. Among others is 

 the Snowy Owl, a great, pure white Owl con- 

 tributed to the exhibit by Mr. Bennett. 



Two little girls strayed into the bird exhibit 

 the other day, and when one of them caught 

 sight of the great Snowy Owl she stood trans- 

 fixed with amazement. "0-o-oh!" she cried to 

 the other girl, "just come here and look at this 

 great big Parrot! Ain't it just grand!" — From 

 an Alameda paper. 



I, FOR one, am glad you have advanced the price of 

 the " Niu " to $1.50. it is well worth it. 



A. M. Farmer. 



The Fly-Eater, of Cuba, is one third the size of the 

 Hummingbird, and is the smallest bird in the world. 



There are No J\loa. — The party of naturalists who 

 lately undertook to explore the unknown regions in 

 the provinces of Otago and Canterbury in New 

 Zealand, in the hope of discovering a living repre- 

 sentative of the Moa family, have returned unsuccess- 

 ful from their quest. 



