NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 251 
this animal they said was larger than the others. Upon investiga- 
tion these proved to be old bulls, who had separated from the 
herd and lived by themselves. 
The hunters in Maine used to assert that there were two kinds 
of moose, a grey moose, and a black one. This difference has 
proved to be only the effect of age and condition. 
Some years since, while hunting in Nova Scotia, I was told by 
some of the most experienced hunters that there were two kinds 
of carribou; one they called the sword carribou, from the shape 
of its horns. It was my good fortune to procure a fine large spec- 
imen ; upon careful examination I found that it was simply a three 
year old carribou, whose horns had not yet become palmated; I 
have the head and horns in my collection. While on this same 
expedition one of the party shot a moose whose horns were only 
prongs; this animal measured six feet, nine inches in height to 
the top of the shoulder. I should think that any one would have 
said that it was a full grown animal, and yet it proved upon ex- 
amination of teeth, etc., to be only three years old. I have the 
head, and it is a little larger than another moose head that I have, 
whose horns spread five feet and have twenty-four points. 
These facts prove that it is possible for a deer to get his full 
growth before he acquires a full pair of horns. The differences of 
length of leg, shape of horn, fineness of coat, color, etc., are 
only individual peculiarities, and are to be found among all spe- 
cies of deer. The Cervus leucurus of the Plains is only the Cer- 
vus Virginianus, and not a distinct species, the difference of name 
originating with an English Naturalist who had not seen the deer 
of the Atlantic States. Careful observers will find as much in- 
dividuality among deer as are found among horses and other 
animals. These facts should make us careful not to jump at con- 
clusions from mere outward appearance, without patient anatomi- 
cal examination. — W. J. Hays, New York. 
ALBINO Swamp BLACKBIRD. — A beautiful specimen of an al- 
bino Swamp or Red-wing Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus Vieillot) 
was shot in July, 1870, on the Detroit river, near Lake St. Clair. 
Its entire plumage was white with the exception of a patch of 
crimson feathers on each shoulder. It was a young bird, and of 
small size, and seemed to me sickly-looking. — HENRY GILLMAN, 
Detroit, Michigan. 
