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THE ATLANTIC SLOPE NATURALIST. 



16th, the scarcity of birds was still quite 

 pronounced. I was out for a number of 

 hours at various portions of the day in 

 sections where ordinarily at this season of 

 , the year many varieties can be observed, 

 but on this particular day I was able to 

 record only the following species: — 



sEgialitis vocifera. — Killdeer. 



Accipiter cooperi. — Cooper's Hawk. 



Dryobates pubescens. — Downy Wood- 

 pecker. 



Colaptes auratus. — Flicker. 



Corvus americanus. — American Crow. 



Agelaius phceniceus. — Red- winged 

 Blackbird. 



Sturnella magna. — Meadow Lark. 



Quiscalus quiscula. — Purple Grackle. 



Spizella socialis. — Chipping Sparrow. 



Passer domesticus. — English Sparrow. 



Passer el la iliac a. — Fox Sparrow. 



Progne subis. — Purple Martin. 



Mernla migratoria. — American Robin. 



Sialia sialis. — Bluebird. 



These were the only species I was able 

 to find, although, of course, there must 

 have been some others, but at this season 

 of the year we should find many more. 

 Some of the above birds on this date 

 seemed common, while in other instances 

 but a single bird was noticed. It is pro- 

 bable that some of these birds, as the 

 crow, for example, were not particularly 

 affected by the storm, as it occurred dur- 

 ing their breeding season, and it is not 

 likely that they would leave their eggs or 

 young. The Fox Sparrows, of which 

 there was a small flock, were of interest, 

 as at this season of the year they have 

 usually passed northward on their Spring 

 migration. They may have been driven 

 backward. The next day the number 

 had decidedly increased, both as to species 

 and individuals, and by the following day, 

 the 18th of April, the distribution of bird 

 life for this time of the year in this region 

 seemed about normal. 



The importance of storms on the geo- 

 graphical distribution and also the migra- 

 tion of birds has been variously estimated 

 by ornithologists, some considering it to 

 be an important factor and others a com- 

 paratively slight one. 



This we do know: Storms modify tem- 

 perature, and temperature certainly has 

 an effect on the distribution of life. 



Peculiar Site for Robin's Nest. 



While at Grenlock, New Jersey, 

 during the latter part of March I 

 came across a robin's nest in a most 

 peculiar situation. Near the summit 

 of a hill a farmer had built a triangu- 

 lar fence around a small tree, for pro- 

 tection, I presume. On a rail that 

 projected through the post and abutted 

 against it, was the mud and grass nest 

 of mernla migratoria. The usual 

 complement of four eggs was present. 

 The nest could be seen for quite a dis- 

 tance, it being about two feet two 

 inches from the ground. Two weeks 

 later I returned in anticipation. But, 

 alas! Some vandal had been there. 

 Nothing remained. 



W. A. Poyser, 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



The Late Paul B. Du Chaillu 



Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, the explorer, 

 naturalist and author, died at St. Peters- 

 burg, Russia, on April 30th, last. 



Many years ago his announcement of 

 the discovery of gorillas and pigmies in 

 Central Africa led to a fierce controversy 

 among naturalists, many of whom de- 

 nounced his accounts as pure fabrications. 

 Later discoveries, however, fully vindi- 

 cated him. 



He was born in New Orleans, La., July 

 31, in 1838. He was early taken to Africa 

 by his father, who held a consular ap- 

 pointment in the Gaboon. He was edu- 

 cated in a Jesuit institution and acquired 

 a smattering of many natiye dialects. In 

 1852 he visited the United States with a 

 cargo of ebony and published a series of 

 newspaper articles about the Gaboon 

 country which attracted much attention. 



In 1855 he returned to the west coast of 

 Africa to explore the territory lying on 

 both sides of the equator, and traveled, 

 unaccompanied by any white man, a dis- 

 tance of 8000 miles in a practically 



