THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



37 



Natural History Catalogue, is the short 

 descriptive notes that preceed the price 

 of each article. In most cases we are 

 told where the specimen comes from 

 and how it is obtained. 



Our eminent contemporary, The Auk, 

 has this to say of us in the April issue. 

 " The 'Ornithologist and Botanist,' ed- 

 ited and published by Joseph E. Blain 

 at Binghamton, N. Y., is a large 8vo. 

 monthly, of which Vol. 1. No. 1., ap- 

 peared January, 1, 1891. It is neatly 

 printed and contains matter of interest 

 to both ornithologists and botanists. " 



Mr. Wm. L. Kells, whose article on 

 the Redstart appears in this number, 

 will shortly make a tour through British 

 Colombia. We are promised some inter- 

 esting articles when he returns. 



PRIZE FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS. 



THE AMERICAN REDSTART. 



BY WILLIAM L. KELLS, LISTOWEL, ONTARIO, 

 CANADA. 



To the person who sends us the largest 

 number of subscriptions, at thirty-five 

 cents each, on, or before, June 15, 1891, 

 we will give a copy of ""Whites Natural 

 History of Selborne," and to the senders 

 of the ten next largest lists we will give 

 a years subscription to this magazine. 

 The "Selborne" needs no commendation 

 from us; every one is acquainted with 

 the name, if not the contents, of this 

 celebrated work. The edition we offer 

 is in two handy volumes of nearly two 

 hundred pages, each, bound in cloth and 

 gilt. 



Subscriptions may be sent as soon as 

 secured, and will be credited to the 

 sender. In case of a tie, the prize will 

 be awarded to the list received first. 

 ■ Your own name may count as one, if 

 you are not already a subscriber. Extra 

 copies of the magazine will be sent on 

 application to those who wish to use 

 them in getting up a club. Every reader 

 of this magazine has several friends 

 who can b3 induced to subscribe and the 

 prize may be won with little efl:ort. 

 Prizes will be awarded in the July num- 

 ber. 



This species is among the most beauti- 

 ful and common of all the warbler family 

 that is to be found in the remnant of the 

 wild-woods of Canada. In length it is a 

 little over five inches. The plumage of 

 the male is a beautiful intermingling of 

 black and orange ; the deep black on the 

 throat and the rich orange on the sides, 

 being especially notable. The plumage 

 of the female, though also beautiful, is 

 dull compared to that of her consort, and 

 when observed at her food-gleaning op- 

 erations, her species may be distinguish- 

 ed by the manner in which she opens 

 and closes the feathers of her tail. 



The song notes of this beautiful spe- 

 cies is a plaintive warble rather than the 

 joyous uttei-ance indicative of content 

 and happiness, so chai'acteristic of the 

 majority of this family; yet its active 

 movements and general modes of life, 

 shows that it enjoys its wanderings and 

 possesses as much happiness as falls to 

 the majority of the feathered race. It 

 is rather shy and seems to avoid the ap- 

 proach of mankind, retiring into the 

 deep brush wood whenever it becomes 

 aware of the human presence. The dis- 

 tressed notes of the female, when her 

 nest is disturbed, will scarcely bring 

 forth the male from his concealment. 

 It is quite expert in the capture of small 

 moths, and feeds on various other spe- 

 cies of insects in all their stages of de- 

 velopment. 



The nest of this species — composed of 

 various fine materials collected from the 

 trunks of decayed trees, and saturated 

 with the saliva of the bird — is one of the 

 most neat, compact, and elegant struct- 

 ures of bird architecture to be found in 

 Canada. It appears to be wholly the 

 work of the female. It is placed in the 

 fork of an underwood, or where a small 

 branch projects from the body of a young 

 tree, at various elevations from the 



