I Hov. 3. 1882. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



268 



ever seen a creature of the kind before; certainly they had 



not learned how 

 ■would have lef 

 bird often spoil 

 tig toot 

 Sparrow ; nftd f 



in tiro )>••> 



white man i-. or they 



the mother 



low, soft, 



of the Co* 



hirrupped comfOriabl} Co each 



other, as if liny had had theii' doubts of me, but were entire!, 

 reassured h whs a pityto kill them, after all th 

 Indeed 1 needed all the specimens I could get during thi 



• tiles. 



unlucky cruise, i 

 and money. Nor wcr 

 that 1 destroyed the a 

 points aloe 



lai summer resort far] 

 patches of fir. pine 

 It was rather lal 

 gnce with these grosbeaks began and ende 

 heard their song. A1 leasl Ljudged they hai 

 ful season for thai year, though they are sa 

 nearly (he whole summer. Thus Audubon i 

 of iheir musical triumph-, and pays 9 hCl 

 the power to please their strainB r. 



.f a simw for mv time 



the only birds of ll.'i! kind 

 ime summer. I found them at various 



; ho thai i he country must be a fceeru 

 large numbers, which And in the thick 

 1 jumper a congenial 1 



tL 



acquaint 

 .1 I nevei 

 the tunc- 



Dealer," h 



beak is a char 



her how delighted*! t 



Of Newfoundland, n 



continuous lay, -•• fat 



ahum sunset. I was 



erly enjoyed on the bank 



"Well 



So T remem- 

 ■ lying on the moss-clad rocks 

 leorge's Bay, 1 listened to its 

 uiddle of August, particularly 

 1 of the pleasure I had form- 

 of the clear Mohawk, unih 



nflcent. 



nearly similar circumstances, when lending the atteutivo 

 r to Ihc mellow notes of another grosbeak. But. reader, 

 Newfoundland I was still farther removed from my 

 belowd family, the sceuery was thrice wilder and more 

 lie stupendous dark granite rocks, fronting 

 if bidding defiance to the wintry tempests, 

 tees to my heart, as I thought of the hardships 

 Se intrepid travellers who, for the advance- 

 had braved the horrors of a polar winter, 

 lis of the 'western skv. and the brightening 

 over the water- of the great Gulf, rivetted 

 mil the longer 1 ga>,od, the more i wished to 

 larkness was gucMenly produced by the ad 



magi 



to the nortt 

 brought a chill 

 endured by the 

 ment of soienci 

 The glowing i i 

 stars twinkling 

 lie to tile snot, 

 remain; 1 

 vunce of 

 and all oi 



bin 



chi 



ased its 



great si 



.■]'.] i 



damp lag, ti 

 1 transformed 



i' beach, and soon reached the Ripley." 

 • ''buncombe," this passage from the 

 ipare favorably with orrytMttg in his 

 work; I should nr>t be ashamed of' it myself." if 1 had to 

 "write up'' the sons of a bird I had forgotten all uboui, 

 or perhaps never heard. His experience with dry fogs being 

 s well to state that the mist in which 

 nfastencd the rivets of color, was 

 however, continues with a contrihu- 

 itnaa McCulloch, of Pictou, Nova 

 >e .i< giving the best picture I have 



ni i 



doubtless ext 

 he groped, after 

 damp. Thesami 

 tion from his friend 'J' 

 Scotia, which 1 iran.-c 

 found drawn of the pi 



■■J.a-t win!, r the srmw was exceedingly deep, and the 



> frequent and violent that many birds must have 



squence of the scarcity of food. The pine 



stor 

 perish' 



grosbeaks being driven from the woods, collected about* tf. 

 barns in greal numbers, and even in the streets of Pictou 

 they frequently alighted in search of food. A. pair of these 

 birds, which h, K l been recently laker., were brought me by s 

 friend, but they Were in -itch' a poor emaciated condition, 

 that I almost dg paired of being able to preserve them alive. 

 Being ansfoufi, however to note for you the chances of their 

 plumage,.! determined to make the" attempt, but notwith- 

 standing ail m\ Care, they dad a few days after they came 

 into my possession. Shortly after, I received a male in 

 splendid plumage, but so i madatcd that he seemed little else 

 than a inn-sof feathers. By more cautious feeding, however, 

 hi sbon regained his flesh, and became so tame as to eat from 

 my hand wit hunt the least appearance of fear. To reconcile 

 him gradually to Confinement, he was permitted to fly about 

 my bedroom," and upon rising in the morniug the first thing 

 I did was to give him a small quantity of seed; but three 

 mornings in succession I happened to lie rather later than 

 usual, and each morning 1 was aroused by the bird flutter- 

 ing Upon rryshoulder and calling for his usual allowance. 

 The third morning I allowed hiin to flutter about me for 

 some time before showing any symptom of being awake, 

 but he no sooner observed' that his object was effected than 

 be returned to the window and waited patiently till I arose. 

 •As the spring approached he used to whistle occasionally in 

 the morning, and his notes, like those of his relative,' the 

 :-, were exceedingly rich and full, 

 er, when the species began to remove 

 mer familiarity entirely disappeared. 

 ed a moment, but continued to 



rose- breasted 

 About th,- time, hi 

 to the north, bis 

 During the day he 

 run from one side of thi- 

 ol' escape, and frequetUA' 

 light would fall upon th! 

 flashing against the glass 



last to a'jsort 



could not detect the 1 

 food, while at the san 

 tins wailing cry whie 

 in" for the poor eapli 

 him his release, but \\ 

 careless of availing hi 



fop Of tree in Iron! i 

 and looked about hhn 

 by the door, and 1 wa 

 lest Mum- accident sh>,i 

 Various writers spe 



upon the tarsi and toe 



idndow to the otber seekin t 



window, 1 was awakened by him 

 IS. The desire of liberty seemed at 

 ler feeling, and during four days 1 

 'list diminution in the quantity of his 

 ic time he filled the house with a piti- 

 h no person could hear without lech 

 i -c. Unable to resist his appeals I gave 

 hen this was attained he seemed very 

 mself of it. Having perched upon the 

 >f the house he arranged his feathers 

 for a short time. Me then alighted 

 is at last obliged to drive lum away, 

 mid befall him " 



lak of a (anions disease to which pine 

 supposed by some to be occasioned 

 t»Q the resinous boughs of coniferous 

 inrd irregular excrescences which form 

 Mr. McCulloehaddstothe account 



already quoted, the following observations on this score 

 "Irregulai ly shaped W hitish masses are formed upon the legs 

 and feel ; to the eye these lumps appear not unlike pieces of 

 lime; but when broken, the interior presents a congeries of 

 minute cells, as regularly and beautifully termed as those of 

 a honeycomb. Sometimes, though rarely, 1 have seen the 

 whole of the legs and feet covered with this substance, and 

 when the crust was broken, th,- bone was bare, and the 

 Sinews scene d almost altogether to have lost the power of 

 moving the feet. An acquaintance of mine kept one of these 

 birds during the summer months. It became quite lame, but 

 at last it lost the power of its legs aud died" A lady who 

 seems to have hud some experience with caged piuegiosbeaks 

 also informed Audubon that they were liable to cramps, and 

 died of sores about the eyes and base of the upper mandible. 

 Several males she had in confinement were fond of bathing, 

 used to sing during the night, fed on all sorts of berries and 

 other fruits in summer, and on seeds of various kind in 

 winter, In a state of nature, this food seems to be much 



more \aried than some have supposed, consisting of buda, 

 fruits and seeds of almost any kind. They also take gravel 

 into I he gizzard to facilitate the trituration of the harder 

 substances they eat, and often descend to the ground to pick 

 it up. Thev move cither on the ground or in trees, bv hoppimr 

 with both' feet together, in the usual paSBCfitfe fashion. 

 1'iidcr all ordinary circumstances, t ren When not breeding, 

 their tgmeuesflisfl remarkable trait; thev scarcely seem to 

 think of danger from anv source, and sometimes even fly in 

 its face. They are less decidedly gregarious than many others 

 of the Loxians; still, many pairs may resort to the same tract 

 to breed, and during their winter wanderings they are usually 

 observed in each other's company, often" also associating 

 with crossbills, redpoll linnets and other boreal Fringillines. 



These, beautiful grosbeaks, as may be surmised from what 

 has preceded, are distributed in summer throughout the 

 wooded districts of British, and what used to be Russian, 

 America, where they lead quiet and secluded lives in tin; 

 recesses of uubouuded coniferous forests. From such 

 favored penetralia, where they arc scarcely molested during 

 the period of the. season of reproduction, many of the birds 

 arc inclined to move southward in the fall, while others are 

 content to endure the rigors of a boreal winter as far north 

 at least as Hudson Bay. The extent of their wanderings in 

 the United States becomes a matter of the same interest that 

 attaches to the nomadic lives of the Bohemian wax wings, 

 Crossbills, redpolls, snow-bunting's and the like, all of which 

 scour our country in restless flocks during the off season of 

 the year, searching for their precarious means of subsistence. 

 We have no accounts of the summer residence of pine gros- 

 beaks in the United Slates east of the Mississippi, excepting 

 in Northern New England and New York, and the region 

 of the great lakes, all along which stretches of the pine- 

 woods which the birds love invite them to a congenial sum- 

 mer home. But. doubtless, when we know mote (ban we 

 do now of the whole bird life of our great mountain ranges 

 in the West, we shall find the pine grosbeaks, all along them 

 at certain elevations, as alpiue but no longer boreal denizens 

 of the higher reaches of pine-clad mountains. We already 

 know of their breeding as fur south as the Rocky Mountains 

 of Colorado, as they doubtless also do in the Sierras Nevadas 

 of California. 



We have a number of records of the irregular appearance 

 of the bird on the eastern side of the. continent, as far south 

 as Philadelphia and Washington, which seems to be about 

 the limit of migration. Drs. Coues and Prentiss speak of 

 it as "an exceedingly rare and probably only accidental 

 visitant in severe winters," in the District Of Columbia, Tin 

 parallel of 39 deg. north, maybe given as roughly indicat- 

 ing an extreme of its range, unless in the most exceptional 

 instances. In Pennsylvania, according to Mr. Gentry, the 

 pine grosbeak only occasionally occurs during the winter, 

 reaching such latitude about tlie beginning of December, and 

 inhabiting dense pine woods, which it forsakes in the spring 

 to leave traces of its presence in the damage done to the 

 buds of fruit trees before it takes its leave. The same 

 author, noted for the attention he has paid to the food of 

 our birds, presents a. winter bill of fare which includes a 

 variety of insects, besides the seeds of pines, firs, birches and 

 junipers, to which is added in the spring the buds of 

 maples, the tender young cones of pines, and a new set of 

 bugs, In Southern New England, writes Mr. Merriam, the 

 pine grosbeak is an irregular winter visitant in Connecticut, 

 though Messrs. Cot; and Sage, of Portland, Conn., informed 

 the writer that the bird was to be found there every 

 winter, from the lal ler part of November to the middle of 

 March. Further north than this, it is scarcely necessary to 

 trace the bird's history in winter; for it directly becomes a 

 regular winter visitant, if not resident, though its move- 

 ments still depend more or less upon the vicissitudes of the 

 weather. One of the records, however, may be here tran- 

 scribed, as showing in what multitudes these rovers some- 

 times make their appearance. 



"In the winter of 18;W, and for several following seasons," 

 writes Dr. Brewer, "these birds were exceeding abundant 

 in the vicinity of Boston, [Mass.]. They appeared early in 

 December, and remained until quite late in March, feeding 

 chiefly on the berries of the red cedar, \JWivp6rus Virginian ns\. 

 They were so unsuspecting and familiar that it was often 

 possible to capture them alive in butterfly nets, and to knock 

 them down with poles. Large numbers' were destroyed and 

 brought to market, and many were taken alive and 

 caged. They were tame, but unhappy in confinement, utter- 

 ing mournful cries as the warm weather approached. Iu 

 the winter of 1869-70 they again made their appearance in 

 extraordinary numbers, in a lew localities on the sea coast 

 of Massachusetts, where they did considerable damage to the 

 fruit buds of the apples and pear." 



The Ohioau and llliiini-can authorities concur In accredit- 

 ing Ihc [line grosbeaks to their respective Slates, but only in 

 the usual character of winter visitants, and in the northerly 

 parts alone. It may be. remembered that Dr. Cabuuis 

 records from Illinois a specimen upon which the name 

 Pinioiln canadensis was originally based. It is quoted in Pro- 

 fessor Snow's list as a rare winter visitant in Kansas, as far 

 south as Leavenworth. Turning westward now, we directly 

 find thai the greater part of ithe country is ill adapted to the re- 

 quirements of this bird, aud that consequently it is confined to 

 mountainous regions, where its much-loved conifers flourish. 



1 can present no record as a voucher for its appearance 

 even casually in New Mexico or Arizona, but it is common, 

 and it breeds, in more elevated regions environing the 

 basin of the Colorado River. The bird finds its most 

 southerly extension, and likewise the most southerly breed- 

 ing rang'c, in the Rocky Mountains. I lately had the pleas- 

 ure of first publishing some notes, furnished by Mr. T. M. 

 Trippe. which substantiate these statements, although the 

 latest formal biography of the American bird makes no 

 allusion to the important information furnished through my 

 valued correspondent, Mr. Trippe's observations, made at 

 Idaho Springs, in Colorado, arc to the following effect: 

 The pine grosbeak is irregularly distributed in that part of 

 the mountains, where it was observed throughout the sum- 

 mer and fall months in the woods near timber line. It does 

 not descend much below such elevation, not having been seen 

 under 9,500 feet, even in the depth of winter, though strag- 

 glers probably reach even the foothillB. Its food ie chiefly 

 the seeds of the pine, birch and alder, but the birds occasion- 

 ally descend to the ground to pick up other kinds, and prob- 

 ably insects as well. It has a very pleasing song, clear, sweet 

 and. flowing, like that of the purple finch. "1 cannot say at 

 what season it breeds, but am inclined to think that it must 

 be very, early, as yoUog birds are fully feathered and have 

 left (heir parents in June, before the snow has disappeared 

 from the woods." 



Mr, Nelson has given us the record of the oceurrence of 

 pine grosbeaks in abundance in June and July at Fort 



Bridger, Utah. For California, our principal authority, as 

 would be supposed, is Dr. J. G. Cooper. According to this 

 writer, "this beautiful bird is not uncommon nearthe sum- 

 mits of the Sierra Nevada, lat. 39 deg., in September, and 

 doubtless breed there, as 1 obtained two fine specimens ha 

 the young plumage. . . . Tins wore feeding on spruce 

 vc,i~ when i fjrsl s:iw them, ami -till lingered about, tt'ter 

 two had been shot, as if waiting fortheir comrades Boon 

 descending bo aome shrubby alders to eal tbc'n seeds, then to 



the ground, v. here thev hopped about Eorsomt tine . littering 

 a line chirping nOte, and allowing us tog... within a few feet 



of them." In a later communication, made to the California 



Academy of Sciences. Dr. Cooper thus alludes again to the 

 game birds; "A specimen which 1 shot in August, 1870, 

 near the summit of t he Pacific Railroad pa--, over the Sierra 

 Nevada, was of a fine orange-red color, but beginning to 

 moult. This plumage, which is not described by Baird, is 

 stated by Nuttall to be the most adult condition of the. 

 species, the carmintHrd characterizing yohugct uirda. 11 

 may, however, be a fading change, like ihc yellow seen in 

 caged birds of some other red species," 1 ma. add thai 

 Dr. Cooper's surmise is undoubtedly correct, li- 

 the carmine-rod 18 certainly the normal perfect plumage, 

 other shades of red indicating decay, decline, fading of the 

 plumage, or other ill condition. 



THE BREEDING OF QUAIL. 



£N reading the issue of October 12 of your valuable journal. 

 I was impressed with tie- controversy about the quail 

 breeding twice a year. This fact is so universally acknow- 

 ledged by sportsmen as well as ornithologists, that ".I. E, 

 S.," could have left the truthfulness of this statement for 

 their endorsement, The surprise is thai a doubting Thomas 

 should hail from the Old North State, the natural borne of 

 the quail, and a place eminently lilted for observation ol the 

 habits of this wonderful little game bird, fears ago. while 

 at Chappel Hill, [ often enjoyed a day'.-, -pun among lhe.ni. 

 and my memory now carries me back '■> ■ ti- many shots | 

 made i'nlo Coveys compo.-sed of I wo different broods. But 

 to disabuse any one who may entertain a different opinion, 



I will mention' Iwo notable incidents which' came under my 

 Observation this season. On the prairie part of my larm, 1 

 was having some millet mowed, when the driver called to 

 me, "Here is a covey of birds and 1 believe i have killed 

 the hen." In making an examination the cock bird only 

 could be fouud. This brood, iu charge of the old cock, was 

 seen for several days during the hauling of the hay. Sever*! 

 weeks elapsed before 1 wciit to this field again, and 1 then 

 saw two old birds, a cock and a hen. with two different 

 sized broods in the same covey In the timber part of the 

 tract, where 1 had a new ground containing feu acres "I 

 land, ouc of my hands found a hen bird sitting on twenty- 

 two eggs just tinder the end of a loir in the same row In was 

 plowing. The quail Hew oil: the 'nesl and the mule struck 

 the bird with her fore fool. The boy told me of this cir- 

 cumstance, and after waiting ;, day or s:> and fc iring that 

 the bird might be injured, I went with the boy to the nest, 

 but Ihc bird had hatched. In looking after' this brood I 

 found them in charge of the old cock, and i concluded thai 

 the hen bird was killed, Two or three week- later I came 

 across the old cock with his brood, and with them an old 

 hen with a younger set ail in the same coves. JLow.nues. 

 Clay CiTV.'-'liss.'.'oct. !•■). \n+4. 



There is no doubt but thai the quail hatch and raise a 

 second brood in favorable seasons, as stated by "J. IS. S.," 

 of Iowa. During the past lew weeks quite a number of 

 broods have been seen in this locality that were hardly able 

 tolly, and others but half grown, while all the broods 

 that were hatched in the cany part of the season are now 

 full grown aud strong of wing. A few days ago two gen- 

 tlemen were walking through a woods pasture, and when 

 passiug a clump of small bu.-lns and wool.-, a female quail 

 flew out and acted as though she had a brood of yc.ung in 

 the cover; the men parted the brush and looked iu, when 

 thq -in. ii net full of eggs, upon which -the quail had been 

 sitting. Many of these second broods contain fiom twenty 

 to thirty young birds. R, K. SlEPHEHB. 



Newport, lnd., Out, a, 18S2, 



Tjte White Buffalo. — Upper Marias River, .Montana. 

 Oct. 12, '82.— Editor Forest aiut Sllriam: 1 fear your corres- 

 pondent, "11. S.," who has an article in your issue of 

 Aug. 31, on "White Buffalo, ' has bun misinformed as to 

 the manner in which the Indian- regard, the albino buffalo. 

 Among ihc several tribes of the Blackfoot nation, the. Gros 

 Ventres, Crows and Sioux, the tanned robes id while buffalo 

 have always been regarded as the most valuable pre-cul. that 

 could be g'iven to the sun during the c< rcmony of the medi- 

 cine lodge The Klaekfoot nation „t least ha- always killed 



the white buffalo whenever Ihc opportunity occurred, mid 

 man.", legends are extant of the wonderful speed ol these 

 albinos. If "II. S," will lake the trouble to , past ion some of 

 Ihc old men of Ihc Crow tribe he will Mud thai hi.- statemanl 

 is decidedly erroneous. Many legends of the Blackfeet, 

 which 1 believe to be ai least several centuries old. speoi of 

 the. white buffalo. So long ago a.- thai there were lew. or 

 any, cattle ou ibis side ol the Mississippi, so I can hardly 

 believe that ihc white buffalo is not an albino. Please let 

 "Pistol Grip," of Butte, understand inai I did not write of 

 killing a poor doc antelope and a few ducks in a day as a 

 boast. 1 intended it to be uinli retoOd that t think it better 

 to kill game for home use out of season than to slaughter 

 and waste hundreds of dud,- an I otln r game just because 

 thev are. in sea-on and a person has a righl tOSbOOl them, 1 

 do 'not need to cro-s way over to Unite. Mr. fistoLGrip, to 

 find game. At present the buffalo (plenty oi them) are not 

 thirty miles away, and on the headwaters oi this creek, some 

 fifty or sixty miles distant, we have as much mountain game 

 as you do. Come ovei and I will lake you buffalo hunting. 



Al'-l'E-ltUK-SfV. 



NoTicE.-James Purdey & Sens, el \>, met 

 street. Loud™, gun mannlacnuvrs liy sjieci 



Miije-U- llie (.Hleen. II. U II. liic I'linei' .. 



ie .ten shots of Kinope. trive iioliee I lull on 

 v.iii oiov. to ill. now and large mniiiiiiictory 

 and that after that claf " 



>rd 



,i,l... 



TKbj 



t Hi.-; 



lake 



l'i 



Duanc, 169 Broadway. -New loll;, ami .losi-ph (. i.ini.i. 

 Markel Kim-.!, n.il.elelpl.ia. N. H. Messrs. I'llolev ,\ So"- ai. ■ pre- 

 pared to sell the right or grant a licouse ..-abject to certain eondi- 

 lions) for the sole niaiiufuclure of this gun in the United States.— 

 Mv, 



