THE NIDOLOGIST 
Captain Bendire were firm friends and Dr. 
Coues was at swords’ points with both. 
Besides the written testimony, Major 
Bendire on several occasions expressed to 
_ me his intense dislike of Dr. Coues in as 
strong language as he was capable of using, 
and always On account of Dr. Coues’ abuse 
of his friend Dr. Brewer. Dr. Coues’ state- 
ment, in the article quoted, that Dr. Brewer 
was “a narrow-minded, prejudiced and tact- 
less person’’ proves that Major Bendire was 
correct in saying that Dr. Coues was ‘‘not 
satisfied to let him rest in his grave.”’ 
Dr. Coues claims to have secured Major 
Bendire’s collection for the National 
Museum. Ina letter dated Fort Klamath, 
January 26, 1883, or some eleven years after 
Dr. Coues states that he began to try to 
secure his collection, the Major writes ma 
regarding this same collection: 
“JT don’t know exactly how many I have 
got; somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000 
specimens. I found a single set was of 
little or no use, and that series of sets were 
wanted; and that is what Iam now at. 
The whole collection will eventually be 
donated by me to the National Museum in 
Washington or to the Museum of Compar- 
ative Zoology in Cambridge.”’ 
If Dr. Coues was the consulting physician 
in this case, he must have used a very slow 
medicine to show no effect in eleven years 
after he began treating the case. As to his 
claim of ‘‘discovering’’ Major Bendire, the 
Major’s friends always have supposed that 
he discovered himself, as other men have 
done, and by his own ability and force of 
character. Dr. Coues had about as much 
to do with discovering Major Bendire as 
the dog did in discovering the moon—the 
moon shone too brightly for his peace of 
mind, and he barked at it. 
MANLY Harpy. 
Brewer, Maine. 
Se ee 
Individuality in Eggs. 
N reading the article in the N1pDOLoGIs’, 
regarding individuality in the eggs of 
particular pairs of birds, I ain reminded 
of an instance in my last season’scollecting, 
an occurence which I ¢/en regarded as mer- 
ely a coincidence. 
On May 23, ’96, while hunting for a nest 
of Sylvania mitrata, 1 flushed an Indigo 
Bunting from her nest in a tangle of bram- 
bles. The set I secured was one of those 
107 
remarkable ones, with which /asserina 
cyanea, sometimes surprises us. 
Three of the four eggs were immaculate; 
the fourth, delicately dotted with cinna- 
mon-brown. 
Twelve days later, I passed the place, 
and discovered the same* pair, finishing a 
second nest, within twenty feet of the first 
site. Another visit on June ro and I 
secured the second set of four eggs; one 
with the sprinkled brown markings, and 
three plain ones a perfect reproduction of 
the first set. 
A comparison of the two sets as they lay 
together, certainly shows a marked indivi- 
duality. 
True, this is not conclusive evidence, that 
these particular pair of birds, will a/ways 
produce sets corresponding with those in 
my possession. Yet, were I sure I would 
“stumble onto’’ a complete set from this 
same pair of Buntings the coming season, I 
would expect to find three of the eggs im- 
maculate; and one sprinkled with minute 
dots of brown. 
Opportunity is lacking for a true study of 
this individuality in the smaller birds, 
because of the almost impossible chance of 
recognizing a particular pair, after a winter's 
absence. 
It zs possible, however, to procure two, 
or even ¢hree sets from the same pair of 
birds in a single season; and these could be 
employed with a degree of accuracy toward 
establishing the fact of individuality, if 
existing. 
Philo, Ills. 
Isaac E. HEss. 
Wingless Birds Doomed. 
The wingless birds so characteristic of 
New Zealand are rapidly becoming extinct; 
the government is doing what it can to pre- 
serve them, but they areso easily run down 
by dogs that they must speedily disappear. 
I have seen but one Kiwi, and that I am 
not quite sure of as the light was fading and 
I had but a passing glimpse of it as the bird 
crossed the road in front of my horse; but 
one frequently meets with ‘‘Wekas,’’ (as 
the Maories call them) a rich brown wing- 
less bird that runs with amazing swiftness. 
—Herbert L. Grieve in ‘*The Wombat.’’ 
*) Evidently the same pair, as no others were 
n Sting near. 
