80 



THE OOLOGIST. 



will find that each minute branching vessel j 

 has its peculiar function ; some supply the ! 

 horny material, others the coloring matter, | 

 which is always when present, very appar- ', 

 ent to the naked eye, but much more rich- 

 ly perceived under the microscope. Now, ; 

 upon examining a growing white feather, ■ 

 we find that although it is supplied with all 

 the material for producing a perfect feath- 

 er, yet we can find no trace of the coloring 

 matter, the vessels which supply this being 

 defective (as in albino featl.ers normally 

 colored) or absent (as in normally white 

 feathers). It is possible that they are al- 

 M'ays absent, for I do not think that a feath- 

 er system which has once lost the power of; 

 supplying the coloring matter, ever regains 

 it. 



Birds may be hatched having tliis pecul- 

 iarity, or they may acquire it after a lapse 

 of time. A good fact bearing upon this 

 subject has recently come to light. Mr. G. 

 A. Boardman, of Milltown, Maine, had a 

 living specimen of the Robin ['Tnrdns lui- 

 gratorius)^ which when captured, was black 

 throughout, being in a melanistic stage of 

 plumage, but upon moulting Avas mottled 

 with white, in this case, the arterial ves- 

 sels of the leathers became dei'eclive, and 

 would not supply the requisite coloring mat- 

 ter, even though the entire system was over- 

 charged with it. 



Second, birds which are more strictly al- 

 binos. These are always pure white, or at 

 least only slightly cream colored, and are, 

 I believe, invariably born in this condition. 

 In these cases the entire system lacks color- 

 ing matter, for there does not appear to be 

 the slightest particle of it in the blood, otli- 

 er than the usual red which supplies the iris 

 with a peculiar color, in place of the normal 

 hue, producing the so-called pink eyes. 



Destruction of Robins in the 

 South. 



BY W. H. BALLOU. 



We notice in the Forest and Stream sev- 

 eral interesting notes on birds. An article 

 on the Wild Pigeon, and items on the nest- 

 ing of the Robin upon the gi'ouud, and 

 "Florida Notes," are among the freshest 

 and most important. 



IN what is called the Mississippi Bottom, 

 -*- opposite Cairo, 111., on the Kentucky 

 side of the river, tliere are occasional clumps 

 of cane-brake ridges. These canes are of 

 various sizes, from the tiniest shoot up to 

 taller specimens of twelve feet high. They 

 afford a warm roosting place for birds, and 

 being <ireen during the winter season are 

 especially sought after by Robins. The 

 predominance of the Robin over other spe- 

 cies, as a marked feature of Cairo ornith- 

 ology, has already been stated in a previous 

 article on the " Peculiarities in the Migra- 

 tions of Crows." Even as the Crow black- 

 ens the heavens of eastern Missouri, so too 

 tlie Robin swarms the densely wooded bot- 

 tom hinds of the opposite shore of Kentucky. 

 Here it digs out an existence familiarly with 

 many otiier species, along the muddied banks 

 (tf miniature streams, and the broad mar- 

 gins of thousands of slender inland lakes 

 whicli lie just back from the Mississippi. 

 These lakes and streams spread out over a 

 \ast surface, and are often so shallow as to 

 form a simple layer of w^ater over acres of 

 mud. In these muddy retreats then, Ave 

 hnd our Robin, scratching up a living by 

 no means scanty. Here too is the conflu- 

 ence of two mighty rivers, which, coming 

 together, the one with tales of an eastern 

 civilization, the other with the mighty pro- 

 ducts of the unlimited west, sweep with a 

 majestic curve in one grand imited body, 

 whicli forms an impenetrable barrier to the 

 cold winds of the north. Often have I 

 passed from a cold winter climate in Cairo 

 which is sometimes experienced there, a- 

 cross the river into a region warmer by 

 five degrees. With these facts in view we 

 can commend the selection of the Robin as 

 the choice of wisdom. 



To say that countless thousands of these 

 birds congregate here during the Avinter, 

 Avould not be far from the truth. About 



