236 OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHANGES OF 



Winter Hawk (Falco hyemalis) might, on being preserved in confine- 

 ment for a single 3'ear, be placed where he ought to be ; probably by 

 the side of the Red Shouldered liawk {Falco lineatus). The Connec- 

 ticut Warbler (Sylvia agilis) might claim identity with the once re- 

 jected, but now admitted, Mourning Warbler {Sylvia Philadelphia). 

 The Autumnal Warbler {Sylvia autumnalis), that is abundant in au- 

 tumn, but has been sought for in vain in spring, might then perhaps 

 find a father in the Black Poll Warbler {Sylvia striata). Roscoe's 

 Yellow Throat of Audubon might come to claim relationship with the 

 Sylvia frichas; his Sylvia Childrenii might be found to be only another 

 name for Sylvia sesfiva, and his Sylvia Vigorsii ior Sylvia pinus. The 

 difficulty in preserving several of the genera of birds in confinement, 

 for the purpose of studying their habits, has been considerably overrated. 

 Granivorous birds, as it is well known, may be fed on seeds, and in this 

 manner thousands are annually brought from Africa and the East In- 

 dies. Warblers, Fly-Catchers, and even Swallows, the most difficult 

 (except the Humming Birds) to preserve, are now kept in cages 

 throughout the year in London, Paris, and especially at Rome. They 

 are fed on vermicelli, and occasionally on chopped meat. A regular 

 temperature in the room where they are confined is preserved through- 

 out the winter. The various species of Ducks, which are easily caught 

 in traps or nets, soon accustom themselves to the food of the poultry 

 yard, and become domesticated. By this means several of our wild 

 species may be made to minister to our pleasures and comforts. The 

 Mergansers, Gulls, Lestris, Procellarias, Anhingas and Cormorants may 

 be fed on fish, their natural food. The Sandpipers, and as in the in- 

 stance of the Turnstone already noticed, may be preserved by being fed 

 on various kinds of soft food, easily to be procured. I have seen the 



ttiose of the eastern continent, that our species are unnecessarily multiplied, and that some 

 that are described as identical with those of Europe, are distinct. Lanes minutvs, Lams 

 canus and Larusfuscus, as given in Bonaparte's Synopsis, will probably be found not to 

 exist in the United States. Our species, which has gone under the name o[ Larus minutus, 

 is, I am inclined to believe, the Lams Boncpartii of Richardson ; the Lams capistratus, 

 the young of Lams Bonapartii. The Lams argenlatoides the young of Lams mariniis ; 

 and the species which our authors have considered as Lams Canus, is probably the imma- 

 ture bird of Lams zonorhynchus of Swainson. 



