104 General Notes. { January, 2 
variation. In whatever sphere the scientist may direct his inves- — 
tigations he finds the word change engraven upon each object. 
This is especially marked in animate nature, and so reveals its 
presence in the feathered creation by readily observed effects. 
The agents through whose operation, either singly or collectively, 
this is traceable, are both numerous and varied. Civilization has 
modified or entirely changed the architectural structure of the — 
nests of the barn and cliff swallow, &c. Peculiar surroundings” 
leave their impress in certain departures from the general charac ~ 
teristics of any species, e. g., purple grackles inland construct — 
their nests of weeds, sticks, &c., whereas their relatives near the 
sea shore confine themselves almost entirely to eel grass in 
building their homes. But again, it sometimes occurs that mem- — 
bers of the same species under almost identical exterior surround- — 
ings will still evince great inconstancy with no tenable explana- 
tion to account for the fact. The black and white creeper (Mnio- — 
tilta varia) affords an illustration of this. There has been mote — 
or less controversy regarding the nest of this species. A plain, — 
careful statement of facts alone are of value in all such cases. 
Many writers who are the theoretical exponents of the erratic of 
-capricious habits of various members of the ornithological king- 
dom practically ignore all this and farther statements so positive 
and sweeping in their nature as to exclude the recognition of 
actual conditions of adverse nature, which obtain in anothers 
ments of Drs. Coues and Brewer, quoted on page 98, of the Lane 
and Game Birds of New England, and also Mr. Minot's owt 
observations on the same page. The statements of Mr. Maynar 
im Birds of Eastern North America,” and Mr. Samuels # 
Birds of. New England and adjacent States,” may be also con 
sulted at leisure. During the past season, 2. e., in the latter pan 
of April, 1882, the writer detected a pair of black and white 
creepers busily engaged in excavating fora nest in a white birc! 
stump about five feet from the ground. The location was a clump 
of trees in a rE swamp in Middlesex county, New Jerse) 
After having carefully and with much interest watched their moe 
