394 AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF NEW ENGLAND. 
In many cases, however, it seems impossible to assign any reason 
for these irregular migrations. What caused the chestnut-sided 
warbler to become so abundant in the eastern states, where it for- 
merly was so rare ; what influenced the Carolina parrakeet and the 
raven to desert regions where they were once common; and what 
caused the appearance of the great-crested flycatcher about 
Orange, where for years it had not been seen; and why the hairy 
woodpecker shuns the same region, are questions that will puzzle 
an ornithologist to answer. Certainly, in none of these cases, was 
persecution, or lack of proper shelter and food, or change of cli- 
mate the impelling cause. It may have been the same motive that 
influenced them, that ofttimes has impelled the races of men to 
migrate en masse, as in the days of the Huns and Goths,—the mere 
desire to see and possess new countries, with the vague expecta- 
tion of bettering their condition thereby. Certain it is that, what- 
ever the motive, the tribes of birds migrate here and there, invade 
and hold new regions, and disappear from others; and move to 
` and fro, upon the face of the earth, in the same manner as do the 
tribes of men. 
DISCOVERY OF AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE 
COAST OF NEW ENGLAND. 
BY PROF. A. E. VERRILL. 
One of the most interesting of the numerous discoveries made 
during the dredgings carried on in the Bay of Fundy last summer, 
in connection with the work of the U. S. Fish Commission, was à 
fine new species of Octopus (O. Bairdii Verrill) which inhabits 
the deeper waters of that region. It seems to be not uncommon 
below seventy-five fathoms, judging from the fact that we met W ith 
it in five different localities. All the specimens obtained were 
males, and it is probable that the females are much larger than 
the males, as in other species of the genus. 
Most of the specimens were kept alive for several days, in order 
to observe its habits. Several good drawings were made by Mr. 
J. H. Emerton, showing its different attitudes. When at rest it 
remained at the bottom of the vessel, adhering firmly by some of 
