FOREST AND STREAM. 



country was over 200,000 cases, or double thnt of the pre- 

 vious year, find tlie same ratio of increase is being kept up, 

 leaving altogether apparently only about 00,000 cases for 

 the present twelve monlhs r consumption, which last year 

 exceeded 100,000. This would indicate that the price of 

 canoed salmon will advanced, and comparatively reduced 

 sales will be the consequence. 



—The steamer Zealaudia, which sailed from San Fran- 

 cisco for Australia and New Zealand "February 5, took out 

 180,000 white-fish esres from Lake Michigan for the latter 

 colon}'. Trout eggs from Cliarlestown, New Hampshire, 

 were also fowaru'ed, together with California deer and 27 

 short-tailed grouse from Utah, and by the next steamer prai- 

 rie chickens, Oregon grouse and pheasants will follow. 



^Httttnl §isforg. 



Golden Pheasants.— A. correspondent who has paid 

 much attention to breeding golden pheasants in this coun- 

 try encourages their propagati on when hcjitates th at I hey 

 ■will thrive irTthis country - with good treatment and become 

 quite tame. He says:— 



"I have an old hen nine years old that never had a male. 

 It was brought to Wisconsin by an English spoilsman 

 named Poole. She knocks around with my common fowls 

 — only she will be boss over the yard, cocks and all. She 

 ranges wide for food, bugs and worms constituting four- 

 fifliis of it; but she comes home every night. I cau raise 

 them in domestication, and will turn a few loose and watch 

 the results, provided the experiment don't cost too much." 



—We have received frofift Hartford, Conn., Wade's 

 Weekly Exchange and Mart, an advertising sheet to accom- 

 pany the Fancier 's Journal. It contains a large number of 

 advertisements relative to fancy breeds of poultry, pigeons, 

 etc., and must prove a valuable medium to those dealing 

 in fancy fowls. 



Forty numbers will complete the year, making, with 

 twelve of the fancier's Journal, fifty-two numbers. Sin- 

 gle copies per annum 50 cents. Apply to Joseph M. Wade, 

 Hartford, Conn. 



<•» 



Snakes in Winter.— A correspondent writes us from 

 Btoverstown, saying: — "Mr. Jacob K. Shell, of Stovers- 

 town, North Codones Township, York county, recently 

 cxhibited to a friend four large snakes of the water-snake 

 variety, which he had hung across a pole near his spring 

 house, where he had killed them on the 18th of January. 

 This is certainly a strange circumstance to occur in mid- 

 winter, and is an incident which the Editor of Fokest 

 and Stream, or some one of the many intelligent contrib- 

 utors to "our" popular sporting paper may probably be 

 able to explain. 



■♦♦♦> : 



Antleeed Does.— E. Dickersou, Esq., of Springfield, 

 Mass., writes to us to say, that Dr. G. M. Levelte, Assist- 

 ant State Geologi-l of Indiana, has at his office in Indian- 

 apolis, the skull of a doe with beautiful antlers. They 

 are about half the usual size of antlers of the buck, and 

 are. perfect in form. 



Another Antleeed Doe. — A correspondent sends the 

 following note: — 



"An article in your paper of 25th ultimo, on "An Ant- 

 lered Doe." reminds me that, in the fall of '59 or '00, 

 stopping at "The Forks" of the An Sable, on my way 

 "in'' to the Adirondack^, I was shown as a great curiosity 

 — the head of a deer with a horn growing out of the left 

 side. The head was kept in brine for preservation, and 

 was vouched for as the head of a doe, and as such was 

 considered a great curiosity." \V 



The Champlain Pickerel,. — Wo have received from 

 Doctor J. R. Romeyn, of Reeseville, New York, a box of 

 the fish which occupied the attention of the Hon, Robert 

 B. Roosevelt and Winton C Watson in our paper last 

 week. Theie is no doubt whatever as to the identity of 

 the fish. They are the esdz faeiatus, and are described in 

 Appk-ton's Encyclopaedia, They are also to bo seen in the 

 tanks of the New York Aquarium. They seldom even 

 grow to exceed a pound and a half in weight. 



— The old State House at New Haven, Conn., is devoted 

 to a variety of uses, literary, social and reformatory; and 

 various offices are located there. Prof. Marsh has had his 

 collection of fossil remains from the "bad lands" of Dakota 

 housed in the basement. 



— Noticing the southward migration of the Snowy Owl, 

 the Montreal Witness says that the tribe are invariably ac- 

 companied by flocks of while grouse or ptarmigan, and it 

 has been observed that when either or both of the birds 

 have been unusually abundant around Montreal and Que- 

 bec, the winter has been more than ordinarily severe to the 

 northward. 



An Inquiry.— Our correspondent, G. . H. Ragsdale, 

 writing from Gainesville, Cooke county, Texas, says:— 



"Can you name the following owl from the description 

 which follows? Sex, male, Size; length, 0.3; extent, 24; 

 wing, 0.7; tail, 8.3; nearly square; no ear tuti'ts; Tarsus, 

 1-0; scantly feathered in front; ltd., 7; 3tcl.,l.l; bristly; 

 claws black; weak and but moderately curved; 3d, pri- 

 mary, the longest; 1st and 2d (only) enarginatc on the 

 inner web; eyes with light yellow' ring; bill. 65; lead 

 color; cere darker and tumid; nostrils circular-, eyelids 

 white; ears moderate; superciliary hue while; the general 

 color above and below is dark brown (I no color of Prairie 

 Hen); the wings, lail and under pails banded with while, 

 head, dorsal areas and rump spotted with white, chin 

 pure white, middle throat with a collar of brown and while-, 

 lower threat pure White; lining of wings and under tail 

 coverts buff. I have never seen one like it. I dug it out 



from under a flat, rock in open prairie, but, near a creek. 

 Fur two weeks we have had birds singing and grass grow- 

 ing like spring. Harris Sparrows, Lecontes Sparrows, 

 Goldfinches and many others that appeared to he gone 

 while it was so cold, are here now ." 



The measurements and proportions seem to agree most 

 nearly with those of the Burrowing Owl, Bpeotyto ewnieu 

 laria var. hypogaen Ooues. The fact of its hiving been 

 dug out, from under a rock seems to favor its reference to 

 this species 



OUR PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE 

 NID1FICATION OF THE AMERICAN 

 KINGLETS. 



IN the hope of eliciting from some of the many readers 

 of The Bulletin further information concerning the 

 breeding habits of the American Kinglets, or at least put- 

 ting them upon the alert for further information, I have 

 deemed it well to bring together what is at present 

 known respecting the niditication of these birds. 



Of the breeding of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Begulus 

 efflen&ulita), not much U known, although the bird is found 

 ai different seasous in all parts of Nortu America. In the 

 Rocky Mountains it breeds among the most elevated 

 ioresis. Mr. J. A. Allen found young in July near Ml. 

 Lincoln Col,; Mr. Ridgway gives it as breeding among the 

 peaks of Northern Utah; and Mr. Heushaw in Arizona. It 

 is also supposed to breed in Northern New Jersey, in West- 

 ern New York, in Maine, and in the islands of 'the Bay of 

 Fundy. In Western New York a, nest which contained 

 young was reported to have been built in the fork of a 

 tree. Males and females have both been observed in sum- 

 mer about Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Mr. Gentry 

 thinks it, nests on the wooded heights along theWissahickou. 

 Dr. Ooues in his "Birds of the Northwest" considers thai 

 he has sufficient evidence toshowabreediugrange through- 

 out the mountains of the west from 9.0U0 feet upward, 

 thence breeding eastward along the northern boundary of 

 the United States to Maine and Labrador, and probably 

 sending a spur southward along the Alleghany Mountains. 

 Northwestward it reaches Alaska. 



The most satisfactory information is furnished by Mr. 

 J. H. Batty, who found a nest near the Buffalo Mountains 

 in Colorado, on June 21st, 1873, which contained five young 

 and one egg. The ncst was on the branch of a spruce tree, 

 about fifteen feet from the ground, and was so largo ''that 

 it could scarcely be got into a good sized coffee cup. It is 

 described as "a loosely woven mass of hair and feathers, 

 mixed with moss and some short bits of straw." The egg, 

 Mr. Bally tells me, was very much like that of the com- 

 mon House Wren, but a Utile lighter in. color. Both par- 

 ents were assiduously bringing larva-' of insects to the 

 young, wdiose appetites were unappeasable. Mr. Henry 

 \V. Heaehaw also reports finding a neatly finished nest, on 

 a mountain near Fori Garland, Gol. It was built on a low 

 branch of a pine, and the male was singing directly over- 

 head; but although he wailed some time,, Mr. Henshaw 

 did uol see the female. "The nest was a somewhat, bulky 

 structure, very large for the size of the bird, externally 

 composed of strips of bark, and lined thickly with fealhers 

 of the Grouse." Of the eggs of this Kinglet nothing 

 further is known. 



Liltle more can be said in respect to the Golden-crested 

 Kinglet {lieyutus satnq/a, Licht). lis lange is nearly as 

 extensive, but more northerly; it docs not descend ill win- 

 ter beyond Mexico. Nothing is known with certainty of 

 its breeding anywhere in the United States, although it 

 may be found to do so in the northern mountainous por- 

 tions. Mr. Thomas G. Gentry is confident that it nidifi- 

 cates in cavities in the tall trees which crown the heights 

 of Eastern Pennsylvania, despite the generally accepted 

 notion that it follows its foreign cousin in building a pen- 

 sile uest and laying while et?gs, finely sprinkled with buff 

 dots, in size about equal to those of Humming birds. It 

 has also been inferred that this Kinglet raises t,wo broods 

 in a season. Mr. Nuttall and Dr. Gosper both found it 

 feeding fuil-fledged young on the Columbia river, on May 

 Stst; and Audubon observed the same thing in Labrador 

 iu August. Mr. Maynard found it common at Lake Bin 

 bagog, Me., iu June; he says it breeds there, and that, 

 judging from the condition of female specimens dissected, 

 il deposits its eggs about, June 1st. beveral pairs were 

 found iu the thick woods there, but no nests could be dis- 

 covered; he thought they built, probably, in the long hang- 

 ing moss so abundant on the trees in those northern foresls. 

 Mr Heirick puts it down positively as breeding on the 

 island of Grand Menan, and Dr. Brewer in Maine. Mr. Allen 

 informs me that he met with young, altended by the par- 

 ents, the Ihird week in August, 1870, on Moo.nl Monad- 

 nock, New Hampshire, Which he has no doubt were 

 hatched in the immediate vicinity. Mr. J. K. Lord states 

 that these birds were abundant on 'Vancouver's Island and 

 the adjacent coast, Where he found them building pensile 

 nests suspended from the tips of high pine branches, in 

 which they laid from five to seven eggs. He does not de- 

 scribe the eggs, which was hardly to oe expected, perhaps, 

 considering the half -use he seems lo have made of his op- 

 portunities. 



Herr F. W. Baedeker has figured the egg in the journal 

 fur Omithologie (1850, p. 33, PI. 1, Fig, 8), and also in his 

 targe work on the eggs of the birds ot Europe. Di. Cones 

 observes, in a private communication to me, "The plate 

 indicates a rather touudish egg, though the two specimens 

 figured differ noticeably in size and shape; they arc spoken 

 ot in the text as 'nitdliclie kluine Birchen mil lehmgelben 

 ben Fleksehen auf weissen Grunde,-' and compared with 

 those of other species illustrated on the same plate." 



llegulus cueieri, described by Audubon from a specimen 

 n the banks of the Schuylkill river, has remained 

 unknown lo ornithologists ever s'lnee.— Ernest Iiir/erwll in. 

 Bulletin of the iVultaU OrnWwlogieat, O'lvO. 



«♦«♦ 



OCCURRENCE OF THE BLACK RAIL 

 IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



FriTTon Forest and Stream . — 



1 read Willi much interest the article on our Rails, in 

 the number of Fokkst and Stream for November 9th. 

 Believing it desirable for tiny one who can furnish an item 

 which may contribute lo ibe advance ot ornithological 

 Kuowledgeto do so, and noting y< i to the rare 



, of the Black Rail ( /' , 1 write to 



say that I have a specimen of the above, obtained in this 

 State in August, 1800. it was picked up dea 



shore of Clark's Island, Plymouth, by a cousin of mine 

 who, in a residence of sixty-flve years on the island, had 

 never seen the like before, and forwarded it to me as a 

 rwa ams, which, indeed, it proved to be. By request of 

 a member of the Nuttall Club, of Cambridge, I sent the 

 skin to be exhibited at one of their meetings where it was 

 pronounced the first and only specimen for Massachusetts 

 sod the third for New England, and so put on record, vide 

 Article oy H A Piirdie on "Bird* of Bare Oeourn ,„ 

 N. E., p. 23, Vol. II, No. 1, of Bulletin of Nutlall Club 

 lours truly, F. C. Browne, 



Jira/ning/iam, Mass., January 28(h, 1877. 



< ■ ► . 



THE BIRDS OF WEBSTER AND AD- 

 JOINING TOWNS, 



BY CHARLES F. GOODHTJIi. 



rrURDIDiE-- THE TUBC8HB8. 



Tardus mlgralorius, Robin. Common summer resident; breeds. 



TurUus PaUanii. Hermit thrush. Common; breeds, one of the Bios i 

 Common of the thrushes. 



Tardus fusccscem . Wilson's thrush, Not so common as T. PaltasiL 

 but breeds. 



Turdvs SwainscnU. Olive-backed thrush. Quite rare; haTo taken 



but o 



met. 



s-Uir.j.iaurocopiUus. Golden-crowned thrush. Oven bird; common 

 breeds in the woods everywhere. 



SsUruanemhoraoenSis. Water thrush. Not common; may breed as 

 I have taken it in midsummer. 



■.■'■'.'. «i- rufus. Brown thrush. Common snmmer resldent- 

 breeds. 



Mimus carolinensis. Catbird. Common; hreeds abundantly, 



SAXICOLllWB— BOOK INHAe. [IB I !S , 



Stalia stalls. Bluebird. Very common; breeds everywhere. 



SYLVIIIUs— TBK WARBLERS, 



Jleyidus calendulas. Ruby-crowned kinglet. Common spring and 

 autumn migrant. 



Regahia mtrapus. Kolden-crowncd kingtet. Abundant in winter; 

 may breed, as I found it on Kcarsarge Mountain on Jane 2Z&, I8T5. 



Panes jTudsonlciis . Hudson Bay titmouse. Very rare; took one in 

 November, 1875, 



CERTHII0.15-- THE CRIJKI'ZHS. 



CertKia familial It. Brown creepers. Resident; common in winter, 

 but rule in summer. 



S1TTID*:— TUB NUTHATCH IIS. 



SUM carolinensis. Whito-uellied nuthatch. Common resident; breeds, 

 found uest, the :ast of May in a red oak. The nest was- in a cavity ten 

 inches deep, dug out of the solid wood, forty reel, from the ground. 



Sitta canadensis. Red-bellied nuthatch. Resident, but not common. 

 In the summer of 1875 found ihe birds building on Kearsarge Mountain. 



Troglodytes anion. House wren. Summer resident; has been rare, 

 but more common this year. (1876). /' 



Atto> thura hymalis. Winter wren . Common during the migrations, 

 Took one specimen Jnno 22d, 18715;' on Kearsarge Mountain; It was a 

 male iu full plumage and song. 



aiOTACiLr.m.r:— tub waotaim. 



&n(lm ludODlelams, titlark, Bare migrant; have taken It: but 

 once, May 10t.li. 1875. 



M-.noHila i.o.ria. Black and white creeper. Common in the migra- 

 tions; less so in summer. Breeds, nesting on the ground; the nests 

 that have come under my observation have been so placed that the herb- 

 age of the year before formed a roof, as it were, to the nest, 



Panda americuna. Blue yellow-backed warbler. Common in spring 

 and autumn. May breed, but have not fonnd tlie nest as yet. 



Cfeothlypis tiichas. Maryland yellow-throated warbler. Abundant 

 summer resident. Breeds, nesting in swampy places. r , 



Hehmnthophaga ruficapilla. Nashville warbler. Common summer 

 resident. Breeds, nesting uracil in the manner of the preceding. The. 

 female lays from four to six eggs, usually the latter number. 



/ J .-.-,.A.-.'f,.a cirtir*. 'Ri-iH, ib ,-:ja[,:i! .; veu warbler. Abundant summer 

 resident. Breeds, usually in pine woods. Three nests found in 1874;" 

 were all placed in pines; two of the, nests were built in folks close to 

 the trunk of the tree and about twelve feet from the ground; the other 

 was bnilt on a horizontal limb some Ave feet ft om the main body of the 

 tree and fifty feet from the ground ; the cumber of eggs were four, which 

 is, I think, the number usually laid. 



TJe,idi\bci fiiiraV.Tiiu. BlacK-throttted warhler. Rather common in 

 summer. Breeds; places the nest on a horizontal limb of the hemlock 

 six feet from the ground. 



lieudrty.'-i mionata. Tellow-rumped warbler. Very common spring 

 and autumn migrant. May breed; have seeu the adult here in mk; 

 Btimmcr. Were very plenty on the mountains June iMd.and probably 

 had nests, but did not find any, as I did not have lime to leek carefully. 



/...,./,'.,,,- cnttanta. Bs-y-Ureueted waibler. Rare, probably breeds 

 sparingly, as 1 have seen the young heing fed by the old ones in tuo 

 latter part of July, they being at that time hardly able to fly. 



Dendraoa BlaekbUrnia. This beautiful warbler is quite common iu 

 summer. It breeds without doubt, as I have seen the young often, bat, 

 owing to Ihe secluded habits of the bird have not been able to find its 

 ncst, as they keep iu the deep woods and largo trees I think they must 

 breed in such places. 



Dendraca pittas. Pine creeping warbler. Not common; think it, 

 breeds, as it remains through the summer. 



Dendrmca prnmssytaanica. Chestnut-sided warbler. The most com- 

 mon of tie Bendraeae; breeds everywhere in low boshes. 



Pmdraea striata. Black-polled warbler. Common in 

 tlons. 



Dendraca mtlva. Yellow warhler. Common summer resident, 

 Breeds usually near a stream of water in meadows and in intervals. 

 The cow bunting often deposits its eggs in the nests of tills , 



DmdioicamacutOiO.. Black and yellow warbler. Common spring and 

 autumn migrant; often remains through the summer. 



Deialroica palmarum. Red-polled warbler. Common iu spring and 

 fall. 



't ttgrina. Cape May warbler. Exceedingly rare; have 



,i/,/. i .';,., ,-,',." pv8tillys. Black-capped fly-catcaina warbler. Not com- 

 mon; exceedingly shy, keeping in low bushes. 



Mytodiocles canadensis. Canada fly-catching warbler. Common tu 

 lite migrations; hj|s so in summer; think n breeds. 



I ,, ,,',,,,, Redstart. Ccmmon summer resident; breed 



usually iu a young growth of birches, pines and the like. 



Ulnmdo horreorum. Barn swallow. Common summer resident. 



Uieeds, nesting in barns and out-buildings. A friend once »hOi 



two eggs of this species no turgor tbun those or the least flycatcher, and 

 thickly spotted at the smaller end. 



PetrockeSidon limifroihi . Cliff swallow, Eave swallow. Common 

 resident In summer; breeds under eaves of barns and under sheca 

 sometimes as many as tidy pair breeding under the eaves of a singlo 

 barn. 



iblcoior White-bellied swallow. Abundant snmmer re 

 sldent. Arrives sometimes before the s now il »ne on the 



Sth day ot April, when there was but v,i , l| ' 



cold. 



