70 



THE OOLOGISt 



ALBINOS 



Last fall while out walking, I 

 noticed, among a flock of House Spar- 

 rows, one that was slightly affected 

 with albinism. 



The right wing was pure white, and 

 a feather or two in the tail, whitish. 

 It seemed to be a leader among the 

 rest of the flock. 



I was much surprised at seeing this 

 bird, as I did not know "and good 

 thing" could come from a Passer do- 

 mesticus! 



Albinism is not very rare, and 

 partial albinism is by no means un- 

 common, occuring amongst a good 

 many orders of the animal kingdom. 

 The cause is well known as being a 

 lack of certain pigment. Examples 

 occasionally occur among the lepidop- 

 tera also examples of monstrosities, 

 For instance the body and two of the 

 wings being male and the other half, 

 female. Albinism seems to occur 

 more often in black, or dark colored 

 birds. 



Years ago, a flock of a few thousand 

 Crows flew over our home to their 

 feeding grounds in the early morning 

 and back to the roost in the evening. 

 A fine male albino was usually ob- 

 served among them. A good many 

 years ago, one could watch the 

 Grackles and Blackbirds migrating 

 Northward, in a constant stream, for 

 hours at a time! Albinos were often 

 observed among them. 



The onward march of civilization 

 and other causes, has thinned these 

 vast flocks down a great deal, and one 

 never sees more than a thousand or 

 more now, in a flock, at least in this 

 territory. 



Museums contain many strikingly 

 beautiful, as well as curious examples 

 of albinos. One of the most handsome 

 examples I have record of is a white 

 Blue Jay, having a slight touch of 

 blue and black, described in Bird 



Lore of 1910, No. 5. It is seldom in- 

 herited by the offspring, but I know of 

 a few cases. 



Occasionally one will find birds 

 affected with albinism, the color being 

 yellow or brown, instead of white. 

 Maintaining natures balance, has its 

 work here. These inferior specimens, 

 being so conspicuous become an easy 

 prey to hawks, etc., so are kept in 

 check. 



The birds will soon be with us 

 again. Keep your eyes open, and 

 when you discover a partial albino, 

 you have found something unusual, 

 and if perchance it be a pure albino, — 

 you have found a rarity! 



Theodore R. Greer, 



Aledo, 111. 



The editor has just added to his col- 

 lections the following unusual speci- 

 mens : 



A perfect specimen in full breeding 

 plumage of the Whooping Crane (Grus 

 Amaricana) which was killed 15 

 years ago in Northwestern Minnesota. 

 This is one of the largest and most 

 perfectly mounted specimens of this 

 bird that we have ever seen. 



An albino American Crow (Carvus 

 Brachyrynchos) which was killed in 

 Wisconsin 10 years ago. 



An albino American Horned Grebe 

 (Colymbus Auritus). This is as per- 

 fect an albino as can be found any 

 place. There is not a single feather 

 on this bird that is not absolutely 

 pure white. ' It was taken in Northern 

 Minnesota seven years ago. 



Old Time Collection 

 During the year 1889, the Editor re- 

 ceived from a number, of at that 

 time, prominent oologists, lists of their 

 various collections, and it might be in- 

 teresting to know, to the present day 

 oologists, the results. 



