FOREST AND STREAM 
007 
‘htunil ffistorg. 
The Intelligence op Fish.— At a meeting of the 
Linncan Society of London, lield Nov. 6 th, Dr. F, Day- 
read an interesting paper on this subject, in which he 
endeavored to show that this class of vertebrates possess 
a far higher order of intelligence than ia usually credited 
to them. He said that biologists have given less atten¬ 
tion to the faculties of fish than they have to other'ani¬ 
mals, and up to within a short time they have been re¬ 
garded as totally lacking intelligence, This notion is op¬ 
posed by Dr. Day, who claims that his experience and 
the observations of other writers indicate that fishes 
possess emotions and affections. 
In support of this view he shows that they construct 
nests, transport and. defend their eggs, protect their 
young, manifest then- affection for each other, recognize 
human beings, can be tamed, show the emotions of fear, 
anger and revenge, utter sounds, hide from danger, seek 
protection by attaching themselves to the bodies of 
other animals, and have other peculiar modes of defence. 
He further states that they leave the water in search of 
food, and that they sometimes combine for attack and de¬ 
fence. 
Quite apropos of this is a communication in a recent 
number of Nature, from Mr. J, E. Peal, on “ The Voice in 
Fish.” The writer when the observation was made 
was engaged in the survey of the Disang River, in 
Eastern Asam. Mr. Peal says:—“While seated in a 
small Rob Roy canoe, and very slowly drifting on the 
pool, I became aware of a number of large rnahsir 
(Barbes viaerocephalus) moving about in the water be¬ 
low and around, me. Sitting perfectly still, I had the 
pleasure to see them gradually approach the surface and 
move about me at a foot or so distant, passing alongside, 
under and around the canoe, carefully examining is, bow 
and stern especially. It may not be easy to guess a 
fish’s thoughts, but from the manner in which they ex¬ 
amined my symmetrical gray-colored cauoe, they ap¬ 
peared to think it might possibly be a large fish, and 
dead, of course. While watching their movements I was 
aware of a peculiar ‘ cluck,’ or percussion sound, fre¬ 
quently repeated on all sides, and coming from below, 
but close to me. Eventually I found that this was made 
by the rnahsir, and one, passing close along on my right, 
by itself, made several distinct sounds as it went on, that 
seemed answered by others to the left. If seated, say on 
the bank, the sound would be loud enough to he heard at 
forty feet distance. A large bivalve also is common in 
some parts of Eastern Asam that sings loudly in con¬ 
cert," 
The Blue Jay in the East. —As is well known to all 
ornithologists, the blue jay is, in the New England and 
Middle States, one of theshyest of our birds, while in the 
West, in Ohio, Illinois and the Mississippi Valley, he is 
as tame and familiar as a cat-bird, and builds his nest 
in the front door yard, seeming to fear nothing from the 
presence of man. This state of things is due, of course, 
to the fact that in the East the bird is relentlessly pursued 
by the taxidermist and the small boy, while in the West 
game is more abundant, and the small boy shoots quails 
or ducks, while the taxidermist is, happiLy, far more 
sparingly distributed there than here. 
Wilson Flagg, in Die Cambridge (Mass.) Tribune gives 
some interesting remarks on this subject, which, for the 
benefit of our readers, we append : — 
The question is often asked, why have the blue jays 
forsaken the woods and made their homes among the 
trees in our gardens and pleasure grounds ? For several 
summers past these birds have increased in numbers in 
the very centre of our villages. The blue jay is a shy 
bird, whose natural habitat ia the forest, whore ho feeds 
upon grubs, coccoons, beetles, caterpillars, the cereal 
grains, beaehnuts and little birds’ eggs, There 
is no want of food in the wild woods for his 
ample subsistence. Why, then, has he left the 
woods for the groves and trees in the suburbs of 
our towns and cities? The answer, I think, may 
be readily given. The blue jay, being a very intelligent 
bird, has discovered that there is perfect safety for him 
in the Botanic Garden, in Norton’s Grove, in Hovey’s 
Nurseries and in private pleasure grounds. In the wild 
wood, on the contrary, he is hunted and pesecuted during 
the whole year by sportsmen and infantile gunners. His 
bright plumage and superior size make him a conspicu¬ 
ous object for the aim ; and probably not one in a hun¬ 
dred of those incautious ones that remain in their primi¬ 
tive haunts escapes. 
In our private grounds they are perfectly safe so long 
as they make no foraging excursions outside of them. 
They do but little misohief in their new resorts. I sus¬ 
pect them of robbing the nests of the vireo and linnets, 
and they may cause these and other interesting birds to 
tlee to the woods which they have forsaken. It is a pity, 
I think, that they cannot gain access to the nests of the 
house sparrow, whose eggs and young would yield them 
a bountiful repast, and divert them from the nests of our 
native singing birds. I am disposed to protect the jays 
notwithstanding their predaceous habits. 
Whenever I meet a party of young gunners, as I often 
do in my rambling excursions, I do not reprove them. 
“ Go ahead,” I say to them, “ and kill every bird you can 
see, until our Legislature will do something better for 
their protection than to enact game laws that cannot be 
enforced.” Then, again, I consider it idle to annoy 
young hoys for following the example of their elders. In¬ 
deed, I feel a great deal of sympathy for them. The 
public ought to know that young people will follow 
these sports in spite of any laws that could be devised. 
That the only way to prevent the utter extermination of 
our interesting forest birds, and the equally interesting 
game birds of lakes and moorlands, is one which I have 
several times presented to the public, and that is, to es¬ 
tablish forest conservatories a,11 over the land, at the 
rat© of one for each square degree of latitude and longi¬ 
tude. Each conservatory should embrace from five to 
six square miles of forest and pasture land, to be man¬ 
aged by a superintendent, where birds and other ani¬ 
mals should find protection. I have no space here to 
enter into the details of my project. I have presented 
it once to our Massachusetts Legislature, but I am sure it 
will meet with no favor from that body until it has be¬ 
come a popular measure with the community. legisla¬ 
tive bodies follow the public ; they do not lead. 
Raven in New Yoke.— Through tile courtesy of our 
friend, Mr. John B. Gilbert, whose valuable observations 
on the ornithology of Central New York are so well 
known to our readers, we are enabled to announce the 
capture of a specimen of Cornua coraai near Penn Yan. 
Mr. Gilbert's note, dated Dec. 4th, states that the bird in 
question was killed by F. C. Hyatt, and that it is the 
first, so far as he knows, taken in that locality. We con¬ 
gratulate our correspondent on his prize. 
The Northern Waxwing in Minnesota — Minne¬ 
apolis, Minn., Dec. 3, 1879.—The readers of the Forest 
and Stream, will, no doubt, be interested to know that 
this locality has been visited the present season by the 
Northern Waxwing or Bohemian Chatterer ( Ampclis 
garrulus) in considerable numbers. Rumors were afloat 
during the second week of November, of their having 
been seen a few miles from here : but they were not 
noticed by the writer previous to November 15. On that 
date a small flock was seen, and the day following they 
appeared in and about the city of Minneapolis in greater 
numbers than I have ever seen them before, and they 
have continued here up to the present time. The winter 
of 1875-76, is memorable as one of the few years of the 
appearance here in numbers of the waxwings; they 
came early In December, and remained all winter ; but 
were most common toward spring, when they seemed to 
congregate at this point in numerous flocks of various 
sizes. They protracted their stay until late in Spring 
(April 25). They bid fair to be much more abundant this 
year than in ’76. 
Their food at present, is largely the berries of the 
mountain ash and the high-bush cranberry ( Viburnum 
opulus) and something they find about the limbs and 
twigs of oak trees ; but just what this latter kind of food 
is I have not yet determined. They are also fond of the 
berries of the Wolf or snow berry (Symphoriearpus) and 
of the common smilax. The preference, however, seems 
to be for the berries of the mountain ash ; hut as the 
supply in this locality is limited, the birds are soon forced 
to find other food. 
The unusually early date Of their arrival and their 
abundance this year, are the points to which the present 
note is designed to call attention. 
By reports from various points a general idea of the 
time and extent of the southward movement of this in¬ 
teresting species could be obtained, and we should be 
;lad to hear from observers in other paits of the United 
States where the waxwings might be expected to occur, 
as to whether they are, or are not, present—their absence 
being of interest as well as their presence. 
T. S. Roberts. 
The Potato Bug Bird Identified.— I wish to say 
something confirmatory of the information given by 
“ W,” from Goralville, Iowa, in Forest and Stream of 
30th ult. There are undoubtedly many— farmers and 
others — whose experience would he much more valuable 
than mine, but in the vicinity of St. Paul, Minnesota, I 
have often seen the birds engaged in feeding themselves 
and their young, just as described by “W,” yet I have 
not seen them so acting at any great distance from groves 
or timber. I do not think “ W ” has overstated any of the 
good or pleasing qualities of the bird. It is not, however, 
the bunting suggested by the editor, and known asowhee, 
towhee, ohowee, che-wing, joe-ree, etc., hut is the rose 
breasted grosbeak, (“ May his tribe increase,”) and is the 
only bird of which I have any knowledge or information 
whose first choice in matter of diet is a fresh potato bug. 
Of such is its favorite meal, and it does not often call for 
dessert or condiments when its preferred game is in sea¬ 
son. But few farmers and gardeners make themselves ac¬ 
quainted with their best friends, or the bird with the rose 
tinted bosom, would have his name inscribed well, up 
towards the head of the fist ; so high, indeed, that our 
old friend, robin red breast, would have to put himself 
Upon his good behavior, in order to retain his standing. 
Pembina, D, T., Nov. 30 th. ' m . 
Minnesota — Minneapolis, Nov. 24th.— In your issue 
of November 20th, appeared a communication fromacor¬ 
respondent in Iowa, in regard to a certain bird eating the 
potato bug, or Colorado beetle. The bird i n questiou is 
undoubtedly the rose breasted grosbeak (Goniaphea ludo- 
viciana). The description given by your correspondent 
applies to this species, and the habit to which lie calls at¬ 
tention has been noted in this locality by the writer and 
others for several years past. I have seen a number of 
these handsome birds in and about a single potato patch 
at once, and during the period, when the bugs are at 
work, the grosbeaks are regular frequenters of the pota to 
field. 
But the bugs are legion and the grosbeak’s task becomes 
a mighty one. Yet he seems willing to do his part, and 
should he awarded the hearty thanks and firm friendship 
of the farmers he befriends. x. S. Roberts. 
Illinois— NormdrNov. 32&—The bird referred to in 
the interesting note,of your correspondent, at Goralville, 
Iowa, is doubtless our rose breasted grosbeak ( Guiraca 
tudovieiana), the only bird which, in t he critical examin¬ 
ation of the contents of several hundred stomachs of 
birds, 1 have found to make a practice of eating the Col¬ 
orado potato beetle. In fact, with the exception of a 
single specimen found in the stomach of a robin, I have 
not found tins beetle in the stomach of any other bird. 
This beautiful bird, as attractive for its clear, rich, and 
striking song as for its showy plumage, is increas¬ 
ing rapidly in numbers in this vicinity ; but, hith¬ 
erto I have credited it with good intentions respecting 
the potato pest rather than with any effective service. I 
am glad to leant that it is capable of becoming a real 
protection to the farmer’s crop. Unfortunately, it offers 
temptations to the taxidermists — the pot hunters of or¬ 
nithology—and is becoming too common in sets of fancy 
skins for the good of agriculture. S. A. Forbes. 
State Lab. Nat. Hist., Normal, III. 
Winter Birds of Wyoming Lakes-Cooto, Wyo.,Dec. M, 
—During the summer and fall we have had no lack of bird 
life or birdsongs around Como, but now “the time of 
the singing of birds” is over-. The lake, which was clam¬ 
orous day and night with the' cries of wild fowl, is frozen 
nearly solid, and is as silent as the grave. I walked 
across its surface a few days ago, and the only living 
thing to be seen or heard was a solitary raven who hov¬ 
ered close over my head and croaked over tin's winding 
sheet of nature, eyeing me, as I thought, with some inter¬ 
est as to whether I might not slip in to some hole and 
make a banquet for him. 
Now, if we wake at night, our ears are no longer 
greeted with the ceaseless coyeet! coyeeto ! of the count¬ 
less eared grebes speckling the waters or brooding upon 
their floating nests on its surface. Nor are we kept 
awake by the noisy wild geese or by the bittern mud¬ 
pumping in the reeds. These summer cries have changed 
for wilder music. Yap ! yap ! a hoo-o ! with a chorus of 
demoniacal laughter from bands Of coyotes coursing some 
luckless hare over the frozen prairie, now make “the 
voices” of our winter night, a sound wild beyond descrip¬ 
tion, and in the far distauce not altogether unmusical. 
The last relic of summer birds appeared near our mine 
a few weeks ago, the common shrike, or Lanins borealis, 
A lonely bird he looked, with ail his comrades, friends 
and foes, long since gone South for more genial climes. 
A relative of his, Collurio e.wubitorokies, we have had 
with us ail the summer, in his coat of lincoln gray, and 
his antics in pursuit of small birds, boetles, etc., as well 
as his domestic relations, afforded us much amusement; 
a large family being located in a bush close to our quarry' 
the largest and most noisy family iu the neighborhood, 
their cry seemed ever, “Give ! give,’ T and would not be 
satisfied, 
On the thorns around the nest we found the butcher 
bird's shambles, beetles, mice, etc., carefully transfixed. 
On one occasion we found a small “ homed ’toad,” as the 
little grey lizard of the prairie is commonly called, im¬ 
paled through the entire length of its body, with as 
much cave as a taxerdermist might have employed. 
But now even the Lanius have given this region up, al¬ 
most ; and the only birds that ever appear against the sky 
are the soaring golden eagles, and a very few hawks and 
ravens. Four of the latter fly daily over the cliffs, be¬ 
hind where we are at work, with such punctual regu¬ 
larity, that we can almost tell the time of day from their 
appearance. At 9 A. M. they come croaking along ; their 
gutteral exclamations of groag! groggle ! groag I being 
very remote from Edgar Poe’s sonorous “ Nevermore ” 
A few days ago Mr. R. killed a fine buck, and cut off 
the head. One of the party, on going over to bring 
home this trophy, found it preoccupied by a golden eagle 
who was making a dainty meal off the eyes and brain’ 
whilst a flock of ravens and magpies, Pica melanaleuca, 
were perched at a respectable distance, watchlim with 
hungry eyes and twisting their necks awry as they saw 
one dainty morsel after another vanishing before the un¬ 
limited appetite of this aquiline majesty—uot darirm to 
approach, but waiting with the most comical gesture of 
impatience till he was through. Not many days a°-o a 
small flock of the snow bird, Jtuwo liyemalis, pitched near 
the railroad station : hut I tiave not seeu any since. 
Another, and rarer bird, but one familial' to any who 
may have visited the topmost peaks of the Rocky 'Moun¬ 
tains in Colorado during the winter months, is the grav- 
crowned finch, Leueosticte tephrocotis, a few pan- bf 
which pitched on the railroad track a week ago—their 
gray heads, with a dash of purple on the wing, easily dis¬ 
tinguishing them from other snowbirds, These birds 
preluded a snow storm, which duly arrived next day 
No doubt they were driven by it from the peaks into 
these lower regions, as I have often noticed them on such 
occasions in great flocks in the foothills and valleys of 
Colorado—altitude, (1000 feet. But the miner who is 
snowed-tip half the winter on the top of Mount Lincoln 
South Park, Col., at 14,000 feet, and the thermometer 
many degrees below zero, knows these little birds well 
as life only and constant companions around the mouth of 
the mine. Both summer aud winter they pick up a toler¬ 
able hving from the stables and leavings around the 
miners’ cabins, and during winter ancl summer rob him 
of strands ol guuny-saek to build their nests. These and 
the birds I have mentioned, seam the only feathered 
friends who are preparing with us to weather the severe 
storms of a Wyoming winter. A. Lakes, 
Albixoes— Portland, Or., Nov. 21s/.—During my re¬ 
cent visit to Spokane Falls, 1 stopped some days in Walla 
Walla, W. T., and, while there, I met Captain Charles 
Bendine, a most agreeable gentleman and naturalist. His 
collection of birds' eggs, numbering between thirteen and 
fifteen thousand, is due of the most complete in the 
world. The Captain had in possession, also, an “ Albino ” 
blackbird, perfectly white, which was a recpnt acquisi¬ 
tion, lie having secured it a day or two previous to niv 
visit. This was the first “ white blackbird” it had been 
my fortune to see, but I remember distinctlva number of 
years ago seeing a “ white robin,” but it; 'was shot so 
badly i t was impossible to preserve it. It, was secured a 
short distance above town by a. small boy, who with an 
old musket, literally “ filled it full ” of No. 3 shot I had 
frequently heard of white blackbirds, but never before of 
a white robin. Multnomah, 
AlllllvAl.S AT «MK ZOOLOUUIAI, GARIMtN, CtWBfWATI, I'P TO 
D-ECEmbkb 1st, 1679—One ruffed grouse (fkjrwm umhettus), six 
black snakes (B tuamion constrictor}, three water snakes [Trap 
Hipeiton), two eopperiieufls Unrm/vclon- conlortriiv), two 1'oxsciuir- 
reUScfirns ItgfaviC'tani&h one night heron OXuctlardea gardenQ 
