384 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jvm 12, 1884. 



htt[xl Jjii$targ. 



THE RED-HEADED DUCK. 



BY. "REV. J. H. LANGILLE. 

 [From advance sheets of Birds in Their Haunts.] 



ON the 30tk of March (1882), while Niagara River was 

 lashed into a tempest by a raw west wind. J saw from 

 the north side of Buckhorn island a floek of hundreds of 

 redheads {Fuligula ferina var. aiaenmna) riding down the 

 middle of the current iu the most perfect repose Nearly 

 every one had the head resting on the back, the bill under 

 the scapulars. Only occasionally was there one which seemed 

 to act as sentinel. 



Several widgeon, also, whose white crowns rendered them 

 quite conspicuous, were in the flock. There was something 

 peculiarly impressive in this long line of many abreast of 

 living creatures, rocked and tossed on the foaming billows, 

 and yet reposing as sweetly as if on some inland lake of 

 glassy smoothness. Long did I scan them and much did 1 

 admire them, as the powerful field-glass brought them just 

 before me. 



A more complete study of these interesting ducks was 

 reserved for me, however, on St. Clair Flats. Here they 

 are most abundant iu the migrations, and not a few remain 

 to breed. In the bright hot days of June very considerable 

 numbers may be seen diving leisurely for food along the 

 deeper and more rapid channels, thus procuring their fare of 

 small mollusks and fishes, the larvae of aquatic insects and 

 the roots and leaves of certain aquatic plants. Not infre- 

 quently the males are quite noisy, loudly uttering their deep- 

 toned me-oic, which is the precise imitation of the voice of 

 a large cat. The female, especially if risinc from her nest 

 or out of the water, has a loud, clear squak, on a higher 

 tone than that of the mallard or dusky ducks, and so pecu- 

 liar as to be readily identified by the ear even if the bird is 

 not in sight. The gray aspect of the wings in flight is also 

 very characteristic of this species. 



The nest is generally built in the thick sedges over the 

 water, and consists of the leaves of the cat-tail and of vari- 

 ous kinds of marsh grass, a slight lining of down being 

 added as incubation proceeds. The eggs, generalty about 

 nine or ten, but sometimes as many as fifteen, some 2. 45x1. 75, 

 are nearly oval or oblong oval, having a very smooth, firm 

 shell, aud of a rich light brown tinge, sometimes slightly 

 clouded, scarcely, if ever, tinged with blue or green. When 

 moistened a little and rubbed with a dry cloth, they are sus- 

 ceptible of a high polish. The young in the down has the 

 crown of the head and the upper parts generally, of a clear 

 olivaceous green, the cheeks and underparts bright yellow. 

 The eggs are fresh or nearly so the first week in June. 



A stately and beautiful bird indeed is the male, as with 

 head well up he rides upon the water. A little over 20.00 

 long, the bill, which is about as long as the head and rather 

 broad, is blue, shading into dusky or black at the tip; the 

 male has the head and more than half the neck brownish red 

 with a violaceous gloss above and behind; the lower part of 

 the neck, the breast, upper and lower parts of the back 

 black; beneath, white sprinkled with gray or dusky; sides, 

 scapulars and space between, white and black in fine wavy 

 lines of equal width , giving a gray effect in the distance; 

 wing coverts, gray speckled with* whitish; speculum gray- 

 ish blue ; iris orange. 



Female similar, with the head and neck grayish brown 

 and the breast more or less mixed with gray, or whitish. 



Resembling the canvas-back, it is quite distinguishable by 

 its shorter, broader bill, depression at the base of the bill, 

 absence of black on the head and back of the neck, and 

 broader lines of black in the penciling of the back. Abun- 

 dant on the seacoast of the middle districts, but becoming 

 less common northward and southward, it breeds in the in- 

 terior northward, moving southward in October and return- 

 ing north late iu March or early in April. 



THE COUESIAN PERIOD? 



lo the Clmirman Section, of Avian Anatomy, A. 0. U.: 



Stu— Your recent article entitled "The Couesian Period" 

 has aroused in me some curiosity, and I should therefore. 

 like to ask a few questions, which I expect you will be kind 

 euough to answer, as I am a member of the A. O. U. 



1. In your paper you subscribe yourself as "Chairman 

 Section of Avian Anatomy, A. O. TJ.," and date it "Amer- 

 ican Ornithologists' Union. 5 ' Does that mean that the docu- 

 ment has any official connection with the said committee? 

 Do the members not only agree with you, but have they had 

 knowledge of the letter before sent? The answer to this is 

 very important, as some one might think that the title men- 

 tioned had only been appended in order to give increased 

 weight to your propositions, as coming from the chairman 

 of the anatomical committee of the A. 0. U. 



2. Is it logical to name an epoch before the epoch has 

 expired? You have fixed as its terminus the year 1900. 

 How do you know that it will end there, aud how do you 

 know that no greater ornithologist will impress his name on 

 the epoch when the time comes to name it? Whence comes 

 the right or privilege of a professor of botany to name epochs 

 in ornithological history before they are ripe for history? 



3. Is it logical to say that a period commenced with a 

 text book (the "Key," 1*882), and that it closes with another 

 of the same author (the "Key," 2d ed., 1884)? Is this to be 

 regarded as a condemnation of the second edition? When 

 the first edition started a period, the second edition ought to 

 start a second period; how then can it close it? 



4. You assume that you speak in the name of all the 

 American ornithologists; have you ever conferred with any 

 eminent ornithologist about the matter before making your, 

 proposition? 



5. When speaking of the Bairdian epoch as ending in 1872, 

 are you aware that three volumes of the great "History of 

 North American Birds by Baird, Brewer aud Ridgway" — cer- 

 tainly the grandest; work on North American ornithology 

 since Audubon's days— were published in 1874, the fourth in 

 1884, and that the fifth is still unpublished? 



6. Are not the leading features of the present North Amer- 

 ican ornithology still "Bairdian" in the broadest and best 

 sense of the word? Who is the North American ornitholo- 

 gist who can proclaim himself free from the mighty influ- 

 ence of that great genius, and is not following in the foot- 

 path trodden" by Professor Baird? What are the scientific 

 features distinguishing the new epoch from the past? 



7. And in conclusion of the last question, who is the orni- 

 thologist—not botanist— who dare say that the Bairdian 

 epoch has ended? 



Mr. Chairman, Section of Avian Anatomy, A. O. TJ. : If 

 you can satisfactorily answer these questions, then are we 



willing to accept your propositions. If not, we will drop 

 "the Couesian epoch" and "the Couesian period" until the 

 year 1900, or at least until "the Bairdian epoch" has ex- 

 pired. 



Of course, it is not our intention to depreciate Dr. Coues's 

 great merits as an ornithologist, but we contend that these 

 can be duly acknowledged, without detracting an atom from 

 the honor due to the father of modern North American or- 

 nithology. We protest against prejudicing history, and we 

 protest against the untimely and tactless intervention of a 

 botanist seizing the opportunity of making himself agreeable. 



Amicus Sockates, amicus Plato, magis amica Veritas. 



BIRD NOTES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



May 1. — Observed first chimney swallow and first sand 

 martin; also, first brown thrush and first wood pewee. 



May 2.— Mounting doves, white-bellied swallows and 

 sandpipers seen to-day. 



May 3. — Saw the first white-ruraped shrikes. 



May 6. — Saw first bobolink this morning; first myrtle bird 

 or yellow-sided warbler. 



May 7. — Saw white-eyed vireo; wood thrushes abundant; 

 first catbird. 



May 8.— White-throated sparrows plenty. 



May 9.— The orioles as punctual as ever, arrived this A. M. 



May 10. — Warbling vireo and worm-eating warbler. 



May 13. — Yellow-throated flycatcher abundant. 



May 14. — Saw first summer yellow bird, first night hawk, 

 first great-crested flycatcher; two male rose-breasted gros- 

 beaks were killed to-da3 r . 



May 15. — Saw first large flock of warblers, noticed the 

 black-throated blue warbler, American redstart, chestnut- 

 sided, black and white creeper, myrtle warbler. Found a 

 golden-winged woodpecker's nest in au old apple tree. First 

 white-crowned sparrow. 



May 16. — Saw first humming birds at 5:30 o'clock A. M. 



May 17. — Saw first blackburnian warblers, first spotted 

 warbler, Wilson's thrush, first hermit thrush; also, killed a 

 wild pigeon that measured 17-J- inches in length, 251- in alar 

 expanse. Saw first indigo birds. 



May 18. — A large flock of red crossbills made a short stay 

 in our orchard. Saw first scarlet tanager. 



May 19.-£Saw two blue martins ]by the Onondaga creek; 

 also saw a warbler of a very curious kind — orange-colored 

 body and dark brown wings and tail — about size of myrtle 

 bird. First black-bill cuckoo. 



From May 20 to 27 I saw a flock of crossbills each day; 

 have never seen any until this year. 



G. Albert Ksapp. 



Onondaga, N. Y. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Below please find result of my observations of the arrival 

 of Insessores, as recorded by request of Dr. H. K. Fisher, 

 Superintendent of the American Ornithological Union. 

 Though not complete, it embraces nearly all of the S. R. of 

 this order visiting us: 



March loth, robin; 16th, crow blackbird; 18th, bluebird; 

 20th, meadow lark; 22d, night hawk; 23d, plover and chip- 

 ping bird: 29th, cat bird; 30th, red-shouldered blackbird; 

 31st, chewink. April 1st, purple finch; 10th, belted king- 

 fisher; 17th, purple martin; 20th, cedar bird. May 3d, 

 brown thrasher; 12th, barn swallow; 15th, chimney swift; 

 16th, bank swallow, crimson-throated humming bird and 

 Baltimore oriole; 17th, scarlet tanager; 18th, house wren; 

 19th, golden wren ; 20th, kingbird; 28th, bobolink; 30th, yel- 

 low bird. 



The local conditions are not favorable for noting the 

 Natatores or~ GraUatores, and I know of but three of the 

 order Sasores found in this vicinity, and they are all R. 

 Of the order Scansores grouped as S. R., we have only the 

 cuckoo, and it may be classed as rare. 1 have not observed 

 a single individual. Of the Eaptores found there I believe 

 only the brown hawk, the osprey, and the "little corporal" 

 should be considered as S. R., aud I have not seen either as 

 yet. L. F, Spencer. 



* Spencerport, N. Y. June 1, 1884. 



Hen and Partridge.— A Maine paper reports that a man 

 in Damariscotta discovered that one of his hens had strayed 

 her nest and was sitting upon eight eggs in a pasture lot, but 

 he also found that a partridge had added to the stock twelw 

 eggs and was sitting in company with the hen. 



Recent Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden.— Pur- 

 chased—One hippopotamus (H. amphibia,;). two sleuder-bil 

 atoos (L. tenmrostris), one roseate cockatoo . ( '. ms, icapillrn. two 

 black swans (C. atratus), one night heron (N. grisea) three SarKaney 

 teal (Q. erecea), three tutted ducks (F. cristata), two red-headed poo 

 chards (F. ferina), one alligator (A . mississippieusis). one black sns ke 



(B constrict 

 common macaque ( 

 mice, one prairie dc 

 tana), three flying 

 ferina ameriecena) 

 hawk(-B. pennsylvt 

 son's buzzards (B. t 

 one land tortoise <C 



attlesnake (C. ad( 



manteus). Presented— One 

 lomroon rabbits, a'pht white 

 leven opposmus </>. 



. volucellaX oi,c j red-heade 

 ech owls (S. osi'o), one br< 

 : turtledove (T. risarunX 



clan 



mi). 



• a, hi, nsts), 



ula). 

 sgica). 



is rufus). 

 eryihroce.pi '/ a In s) . 

 rfftwt). 



dis). 



(Deiidrceea virens). 



■sen, one water snake (T. fasciatt 



.„ two alligators (.-I. mifssissippie 



In Garden— Twelve prairie dogs (ft Imlocicianm), »ne swift fox (P. 



■<elox). 



monster (H. suspect urn), 



Inch ./■'. 

 -winged 

 »Swain- 



llllllUIS). 



Bom 



Us *n& 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Report of bird observations during May: 

 T.v. 



May 1— Black and white creeper (Mniotilta varia). 



May 3— Yellow redpoll warbler (Dendreeea polmarum). 



May 4 — Common American crossbills (Loxia cvrvi rostra). 



May 4 — Yellowshanks (Totanns fiaripes). 



May 0— Water thrush (Sutras ,uevius). 



May 8— Rubv-erowned kinglet. (Regnlus calcncl ulii)—lexnale only. 



Mav 9— Maryland yellow throat (Geothlypis trieluis). 



May 13— Chestnut-sided warbler (X>. pennsylvanica). 



May 14— Nashville warbler (Hetrninihopl<a,/a ruficapilla). 



May 14— Black-throated blue warbler (JD. caerulescens). 



May 15— Black and yellow warbler (D mar, a, 



May 15— Blue yellow-backed warbler (Panda 



Hay 17— Canadian fiycatehing warbler \Myiad 



May 18— Morning warbler (Geothlypis pkilade 



May 19- Bay-breasted warbler (Deitdi 



May 31— Blaekbum's warbler (Dendra-ea blaei 



May 21— Black-throated blue warbler (Dendr, 

 males, 



Mar 2S -Olive-backed thrush (H. ustuiataswamadni). — 



May 23 — Yellow-bellied flycatcher (jSriipidanaa; Jlawvenh 



May 20— Blackpoll warbler (Dendraea striata). 



May 26— Brotherly-love greenlet ( Vireo ph iladelph icus). 

 S. R. 



May 2— House wren (Troglodytes domesticus). 



May 3— Kingbird (Tyraiiuus carolinensis). 



May 4— Baltimore oriole (Ictei ma i/uli 



May 5— Chimney swift ( Ch&tura pel, 



May <y-Catbird\Mimus caroli, icasis 



May 6 — Brown thrush (JHa/rporhyneh 



May 6— Red-headed woodpecker (21. 



May 0— Yellow warbler (Dendra-ea a 



May 0— Red-tailed hawk (liuteo bore 



j[a,y 10— Black-throated green warble , 



May 11— Scarlet tanager (Pyranga rubra). 



May 12- Wilson's thrush ('J'urdusfnseesiins). <— " 



May IS— American redstart (JSIetaphaga rutieitla). 



May 15— Red-eyed greenlet ( Vireo olivaceus). 



May 15— Sparrow hawk (FalCO sparverius). 



May 16— Humming bird (Truc/iilns colubris). 



May 16— Pewee flycatcher (Gontopus virens). 



Slay 16— "Wood thrush ( Turdim mustelinus). 



May 10— Indigo painted bunting ( Fasserina eyanea). 



May IT— Nighthawk (GhorOeiles popefae). 



May 19— Rose-brensied grosbeak' (Zn nielodia htdoviciana). 



May 81— Green he.rou (Bntorides rirescens). 



M;o 23— Bobolink (Uolichonyx oryzio. <•■;-:,. 



May 28— Bank swallow (Cottle riparia). 



J. L. D. 



Lodkpobt, N, Y., June 1. 



New Bird Books.— We are informed that the second 

 edition of "Coues's Key to North American Buds," has 

 been published, but as we have seen no copy of the work 

 we are uuable to review it. 



DEER DRIVING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have for 3 r ears obtained much enjoyment from the weekly 

 perusal of the Forest and Stream, and I have been espe- 

 cially interested in the articles by C. H. Merriaiu, M.D., on 

 "Deer in the Adirondacks" recently published by you. I 

 have for the past thirteen years passed from three to ten 

 weeks yearly in camp in the Adirondacks, and fully appre- 

 ciate what he says regarding the various methods of hunting 

 practiced there. But I think a little might be added to his 

 remarks about "driving." He says, "Of the three methods 

 of huuting heretofore considered, driving is the least sports- 

 manlike, and affords the deer the smallest chance of escape. 

 It requires neither skill ( nor cunning on the part of the ex- 

 ecutioner; for patience and a very ordinary amount of com- 

 mon sense are the only essentials." This is all very true as 

 regards the particular method of driving which he describes, 

 but I think that the following method, which our party and 

 many others whom I could name generally pursued, is both 

 sportsmanlike, and requires a considerable amount of skill 

 on the part of the "executioner." 



The last of September or first of October usually found 

 our camp pitched either near one of the tracts of hind -which 

 have been burnt over (called a slash), or on the banks of one 

 of the smaller rivers. At daybreak we were Usually around 

 the table partaking of our morning cup of coffee and a hastily 

 prepared breakfast. As soon as possible we depart for our 

 watch-grounds upon the slash, taking positions where the 

 deer are in the habit of crossing the open land. The sports- 

 men generally watch alone, so that as many runways as pos- 

 sible may be "watched, After a time, from the distant moun- 

 tain side comes the faint note of the hound's first bark as he 

 strikes a fresh track; now fainter, as he circles around the 

 hills and through the valleys. The watcher must be on the 

 alert and cannot relax his watchfulness for a moment, lor he 

 knows not how soon the deer will rush by on the run, and if 

 he is so fortunate as to obtain a chance, it requires a quick, 

 sure shot, to insure venison for camp. He cannot sit on the 

 watch-ground, read or sleep, and leave the watching to his 

 guide, and when the deer take water, be rowed within a lew 

 feet of the deer and then bang away until he succeeds in kill- 

 ing him; but he must depend entirely upon himself and must 

 be able to shoot quickly and accurately. 



If one wishes to enjoy the most exciting pleasure of all 

 Adirondack sport, let him try this method of driving and 

 experience the keen excitement which he will feel when he 

 sees a fine buck coming toward him and realizes that he can 

 only shoot once or twice, and that upon his skill depends 

 the state of the camp's larder. H any one wishes to enjoy 

 this sport, let him camp next autumn, with good St. Regis 

 guides, near the open land to the south of Round Pond, on 

 the north branch of the Saranac, or upon the shores of Fol- 

 lansbee Junior, which is on the border of a large tract of 

 burnt slash, and, if the deer have not been driven from that 

 section of the Adirondacks within a few .years by the great 

 number of summer visitors (not sportsmen), he can have it 

 in abundance. 



In the case of river hunting, it is nearly the same, except 

 that the deer runs up or down the river or crosses it, giving 

 but a moment in which to shoot. 1 have known parlies to 

 camp on the Meacham River and to have venison in camp 

 all the time and to kill no deer except in the manner men- 

 tioned above. I could name a party of quite noted sports- 

 men who did that very thing only last September. To be 

 sure, it is not as lazy a way as killing deer in large wafers, 

 but it is more sportsmanlike, gives the deer a chance to 

 escape and affords the sportsman much more real gratifica- 

 tion if he is successful. Ampersand. 



THE PERFORMANCE OF SHOTGUNS. 



Editor Fotesb and Stream: 



One who has been familiar with firearms almost since the 

 time he shuffled off his swaddling clothes, as I have been, 

 could not but be interested in the discussion in your columns 

 concerning the performance of shotguns. I have more than 

 once been on the point of adding my mile to the contribution, 

 1ml so far have been deterred from doing so by my almost 

 unconquerable bashfuluess, and an unwillingness to vaunt, 

 my own exploits. Furthermore, I feel as all sensitive old men 

 must' who look on this roaring, surging tide of modern 

 progress, as if I were a lumbering old craft, stranded on the 

 shoals of old-time ideas. However, it is possible that I may 

 give a hint or two of value to some of those who are tossing 

 so gailv clown stream. 



1 have used many guns from the hands of all known and 

 many unkuown makers, and though the best gun I ever shot 

 (except one of my own invention, described some time since 

 iu my Adventures) was a Manton-Richards Greeuer-Tolly- 

 Scott-Lefevre-Colt-Remington-Baker-Parker-Sneider-Eng- 

 lish-American hammered and hammerless, single and 

 treble-bolted, rebounding breech, top, side, and under-snap 

 action, muzzle and breechloading, cylinder-choke. gauge 

 and twenty-four pounds weight, ordinary charge, one pi mud 

 best blasting powder aud four pounds condensed shot with 

 six gilt-edged spherical wads on powder, and two half-moon 

 wads on shot, iu paper and brass shell— I have never found 

 any difficulty in making any gun shoot tolerably well, and 

 just as I wished it to shoot up to a certain distance. No 

 gun, save such rare and exceptional ones as the two above 

 mentioned can be expected to kill a chickadee clean over one 



