404 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 16, 1886, 



Falcons, although not by nature affectionate, often 

 show much attachment for their masters, and even when 

 gorged with food will bate hard from their blocks to get 

 to him if he walks near where they are tied, and are not 

 content until permitted to leap upon his wrist to have 

 their breasts stroked. Eyases when lost in the field fre- 

 quently return home by themselves, and lost hawks have 

 even flown of their own accord to the falconer asleejj on 

 the ground hotirs or days after they have been lost. 

 Eyases have come to lure and call after having been at 



liberty for above two weeks, and haggards have been 

 retaken on game after nearly a week of recovered free- 

 dom. 



Even apart from the stirring sport of hawking, the 

 beautiful and striking appearance of the galla.nt birds 

 upon the blocks on the falconer's lawn or standing upon 

 his wi-ist will amply repay one for the trouble tJie hawlcs 

 give, and there is a charm about jaossessing, training and 

 hunting falcons which belongs to no other "sport. 



Now that game is everywhere becoming rare, it is most 

 ardently to be wished that some less murderous means 



than hound and gun be brought into the field for the cap- 

 ture of game that will at the same time yield sport of a 

 high order, and that means we have in a most spirit-stir- 

 ring form in the keen-eyed "greyhounds of the air," the 

 members of the genus Falco. 



Fig. 1 is a portrait of an adult American mei'lin in full 

 plumage. The attitude represented — the wings tightly 

 closed and the head and breast feathers slightly raised — 

 is one frequently assumed by all the falcons. 



Fig. 2 is a drawing of the wing of the Em-opean merlin 

 {Falco cesalon), and shows the peculiar form of the Aving 

 and its exceedingly close resemblance to that of our 

 species — the pigeon hawk. R. W. Seiss. 



Phtladelphia, May 5, 1885. 



Snowy Owls.— Birds of this species are reported so far 

 this season to be quite rare. Wallaee, of this city, has 

 had none at all sent in to him, and has heard of but few 

 captm-es. One of these birds is recorded from Mumford, 

 Munroe county, N. Y., by Mr. Jay Merrill, a nephew of 

 our correspondent Major Merrill. Mr. Merrill writes: 

 "I have a pm-e white owl, received to-day, which meas- 

 ures 5ft. from tip to tip, which I intend to stuif. It is 

 said that it came here from the Green Mountains, as they 

 have not been seen anywhere but there. The owl is alive 

 ^et; only wounded slightly." Mr, J. L. Davison writes 



from Lockport, N. Y.: "Nov. 17 I pm-chased a snowy 

 owl of Ml*. L. Bigelow. of the town of Wilson, eight miles 

 north of here. On the same day Mr. Hallenbeck, of 

 Royalton, five miles south, reported to me that he had 

 kUled one that moi'ning, wMch I also bargained for but 

 another man got. They were both males and measured 

 22iin. in length, 58ia. in extent, wing iS^in." 



HYBRID GROUSE. 



STORIES about hybrid gTOuse (both ruffed and pinnated) 

 continually float about the country, some in and 

 some out of print. With varying minutiae the central 

 statement about which most, if not all, these stories re- 

 solve, is that somebody has had chickens running at 

 large in new or thinly-settled coimtry and that a cross 

 has been effected between them and a member of the 

 grouse family, resulting in a hybrid. Here are some of 

 the stories that have come to my notice within the past 

 year or two, and which are cited to show their general 

 similarity. 



No. 1. In his "Field, Cover and Trap Shooting," Mr. A. 

 H. Bogardus says: "Last spring, at Omaha, Neb., I saw 

 in the possession of Mr. Geo. A. Hoagland, president of 

 the Shooting Club, a bird of the preceding year which had 

 been shot out of a covey of seven or eight, and which was 

 believed to be a hybrid. There was another of the same 

 brood in the town and both were well stuffed and set up. 

 All the brood were alike as to markings and appearance, 

 and their size was that of a grouse two-thirds grown. In 

 shape they were more like the bantam or barn door fowl 

 than the grouse. The ground color of their plumage w^as 

 a dingy white, bvit they were sjjangled all over with 

 feathers colored and barred like those of tlie grouse. That 

 they were hatched by a (pinnated) hen grouse is unques- 

 tionable, for she was often seen with them. She made 

 her nest close to the house and it was believed that a 

 domestic cock was the father of her young ones." This 

 is the most specific and best authenticated (supjposed) case 

 of the hybridizing of the pinnated grouse of which 1 have 

 any knowledge. 



Case No. 2, Some years ago a farmer living near 

 Fremont, Ohio, had some gray Irish game bantams run- 

 ning at large, and one of the hens stole her nest and 

 brought out a brood of chicks some distance from the 

 house. It was currently rei:)orted and believed in the 

 neighborhood that this hen liad previously mated with a 

 ruffed grouse cock, and that her chicks were hybrids. 

 None of these, howcA^er, reached maturity, or were ever 

 examined hj any authority competent to pass upon their 

 real character. They were very wild, :nid win-e all 

 "potted" when not more than half grown by the murder- 

 ous young vandals in the vicinity. This case, it will be 

 seen, rests merely on common rumor. 



Case No. 3. This is the case noted in the Forest and 

 Stream, of July 29 last, in which -'J. E. H.," of Phillippi, 

 W. Va. , alleged that a friend m a neighboring county 

 * * * last summer had three or four dmigliill hens, 

 each of which brought off a bi-oodof h5^brids. Procuring 

 the name and address of this gentleman from "J. E. H.,"' 

 I wrote Mm something more than two months ago inclos- 

 ing a stamp, and asking for particulars. fSo far I have 

 never received any reply. 



Case No. 4. Last summer a western poultry paper 

 printed a paragraph to the eif ect that Mi-. So and So 

 (name not now at hand) of Greenville, Mich., had some 

 poultry wliich were a cross between the ruffed grouse and 

 the common barnyard fowl. This man I followed by 

 mail to Orlando, Fla., before reaching him, when I leai'ned 

 from him that he was not the man wlio had the alleged 

 hybrids, but a former neighbor. To the latter I wrote at 

 some leng-th, but as in. tlie case of the gentleman in West 

 Virginia, never received any reply. Both these letters 

 bore the usual ' 'retTirn" request, but as they never were 

 returned, it is fair presumption that they were taken 

 from the oflice by the persons to whom they were ad- 

 dressed. 



Case No. 5. In a late number of the Neiv England Home- 

 stead, H. B. Powell (whose address is not given) claims to 

 have a breed of fowls which he calls the "Tappan," and 

 which are said to be from a cross between a prairie hen 

 (pinnated grouse) and a brown leghorn rooster. These 

 birds were received from a brother at Tappan, Oak Ferry, 

 and Mr. Powell thinks should have been named "Cy- 

 clones" from their unceasing activity and restlessness. 

 He has crossed them again wdth the I^lymouth Rock, and 

 says he has a fine breed of cliickens as a result, the (sup- 

 posed) wild blood having thus been diminished to one- 

 fourth. 



Case No. 6. Some four weeks ago, I was informed that 

 a gentleman in this city (whom I knew personally) had 

 some birds which were half game bantam and half ruffed 

 grouse. I lost no time in hunting him up, and without 

 relocating the story directly,, led him up to the subject so 

 that he might a (volimtary) tale unfold. Whereupon he 

 told me that he had some game bantam pullets that were 

 the third remove from a pair of birds brought to Dayton , 

 Ohio, some fom* years ago, which birds were said to have 

 come from Indiana, and to have been a liybrid between 

 the common fowl and "some kind of grouse." Having 

 examined these birds shortly afterward, I came to the 

 conclusion that their resemblance to "some kind of 

 grouse" was more fanciful than real. My letter to the 

 Dayton gentleman, who was said to have OAvned the 

 original pair, was sent back stamped "Retmm to writer." 



These cases show that the belief in the hj'^bridization of 

 both pinnated and ruffed grouse with the barnyard fowl 

 is very common, and that such belief is not confined to 

 any particular locality. But do they prove any such hy- 

 bridization? For myself I am inclined to tJie opinion that 

 they do not. And yet some of these cases (if not all) may 

 have been actually Avhat they were claimed to be. But it 

 will be noticed that Bogardus, who had the Omaha birds 

 in his hands (and who ought to be a judge), cautiously 

 says they were "believed to be hybrids." 



In the summer of 1885, one of my ruffed grouse hens 

 hatched and reared fom- game bantam chicks, her own 

 eggs having been infertile owing to the absence of a 

 male grouse. One of these chicks was a cock, and surely 

 here would have been an oi)portunity for hybridization if 

 it were practicable. But as they grew up the chicks 

 became so quarrelsome and vindictive tov\"ard their foster 

 mother that I was obliged to remove them from the coops, 

 the cockerel last of all, and only after he had repeatedly 

 abused his relative most shamefully. Perhaps some one 

 can give us cleai-er light on tliis interesting question. 



Toledo, O,, Lock Box 110. J-^Y Bebe. 



Bird Migration.— The superintendent in charge of the 

 bird migi-ation work of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union for Long Island has issiied the following circular: 

 "American Oniithologists' Union, Committee on MigTa- 

 tion, District of Long Island. Dear Sir — The superin- 

 tendent solicits correspondence with residents of Long 

 Island, relative to its birds, especially those of rare or in- 

 frequent occiu-reuce. He will consider it a pleasure to 

 give the name of any birds sent to him for identification. 

 Blanks for recording the arrival and departiu-e of birds in 

 the spring and autumn migrations wiU be sent on appli- 

 cation. Address all letters, and send all packages by ex- 

 press to Wm. Dutcher, Superintendent. 51 Liberty street. 

 New York city." It is hoped that all residents of Long 

 Island who are interested in birds will communicate with 

 Mr. Dutcher. 



The Great Squid.— London. England.— E'cZ;Yor Fo7-est 

 and Stream: Can you inform me at wliich of the United | 

 States museums the largest specimens df the Atlantic j 

 squids may be seen and what is the extreme length of one 

 of the feelers or suckers of these creatures? If my mem- 

 ory serves me, one Avas killed a icav years ago Avhose 

 "ai-ms" or "suckers" measured 30ft. So the newspapers 

 said. But I shall be glad of authentic information. As 

 the story went, an arm tin-own over and nearly capsizing 

 a fishing boat was "chopxjed off"" and measured 30ft. 

 Where is this preserved?— Catkepjke C. Hopley. [We 

 believe that the largest sjiecimens of the great squids are 

 at the Peabody Museiuii of Yale College, New Haven, 

 Conn. The ai-m referred to by Miss Hoplev is there, we 

 think,] 



llKOIONT AllRIVAT.S AT THE PlTI F. A IIKLI'IT T A /O( )I;O0 ICA 1, ( i A KDHN. 



—Purcliased— One rhesiiri aioukey {Mncncu:-- I'riilliriiiis), one bi'own 



macaque Qlacacvs arctoUl 

 QCUltcuti), two brown-t'.iroaT 

 one i-inK-neckcd parrukeel 

 ^YOodc^lUck {Arctonii/H -tiui! 

 tus),pnc Acadian ow] ; TVii/ 

 otus iJCiludris). onr- L'^ih'i n r 

 (Anoliaprimi'odliy'' 

 Born— Two nia]<- i 

 liybrid jnacaciuc (.w . <ii m- , 



ivd l,i 



<l--<lh 



nil 



ale din 



oi-s (Alii. 



tci-uiilviitm) and 

 I^vcsented— One 



•t-cEi-ed owl (Brachy- 

 riiisi, iiin- rhaini-Ioon 



(/(/■;• m is:!'^jHi.i)pii'mis). 

 lingi'i) and one 



, female, and M. cjjiiDmdIiius, male). 



§mm §Hfi mnl 



Address cdl communi£ciHon8 to ilie Fortst and Stream Fuh. Co. 



HOSPITALITY AND BOB WHITE. 



MY friend G. T. L., who is engaged in business in New 

 Yorlc, Avrotc to me dru-ing the month of October, 



that he would forego the pleasure of voting for as 



Mayor, and leave for his fatlier's home in North Carolina 

 on tlie first day of November. He and I have long desired 

 an opportimity for a frn^ndiy contest in the field; and it 

 was agreed that I should meet him at Moncure, a station 

 on the R. and A. Aii' Line Ivailroad, on Thursday morn- 

 ing, the -1th, duly cquiipijed fur any struggle which might 

 take place. Accordingly, I left home "that hour o'iiight'8 

 bl^ck arch the keystane," with my httle bob-tailed 

 pointer, of no known pedigree, a Gib. 8oz. hammerless, 14- 

 bore, and over two hundred loaded shells. On reaching 

 the station where I was to debark, I saw my friend, ready 

 to accompany ine; and near him his two high-bred setters, 

 wlio respectively bear the names of Pendiagon and Co- 

 rinne. G. T. L. seems to have a penchant for jieculiar 

 names, and is decidedly classical in his selections. With 

 all respect for hirn, I beg to suggest that he has put too 

 heavy a load on his dogs, for they are incapable of Ijear- 

 ing with intelligence such a sesquipedalian nomejiclatm-e 

 as he has chosen. He knows that, I feel sm-e, for on the 

 field, and when my little dog — whose name is rather 

 classical, too — was taxing all their powers of endurance, 

 he came doAvn to "hard pan" and called them Pen and 

 Rin. But let ail that pass. 



The people of Pittsboro had nearly completed a short 

 railroad, connecting at Moncure, and at the time of my 

 visit a construction train was rtmning within two miles 

 of the town, and within a very short walk of the paternal 

 mansion whose hospitality I wa^i seeking to enjoy. The 

 authorities had kindly offered to run a. locomotive to suit 

 my convenience, and to carry me to the place of my des- 

 tination. Accordingly, we placed our luggage on a flat 

 car, and he and I avading ourselves of this courtesy of 

 the engineer, took a place with him in his cab. The dis- 

 tance we had to go being short of ten mfies, we were not 

 a gi-eat while in makuig the highway on which lived the 

 father of my companion. We were met by him and I 

 had a cordial greeting. Walking to the house I found 

 the "latch string out" and met with a hearty welcome 

 from all the members of the household. Inasmuch as we 

 had not breakfasted, we were soon rejoiced to hear the 

 summons, which advised us that our sharpened appetites 

 were to be gratified. 



Having returned to our room and changed our apparel, 

 we concluded to try some inviting looking fields adjacent 

 to the residence, and putting a few shells in our pockets, 

 we whistled up Pendragon and Ai'go and proceeded to 

 the sportsman's business. Unaccountably, we found no 

 birds in the stubble where we expected them, the reason 

 being, doubtless, that owing to the abundance of food, 

 they had filled then- craws and gone into the woods for 

 wallowing. Crossing the highway both dogs indicated 

 that they "scented birds, and Argoj ranging niore freely 

 than his' noble companion, was soon hidden from view by 

 some high sedge. We hunted him up, however, and 

 found Mm upon a dead point. Approaching, and getting 

 near him, he was ordered on; up rose a nice covey of 

 well-grown strong-flying birds. Each got m two barrels, 

 and but one bird fell; that one did not go into my pocket. 

 The birds sought cover in some thick woods and thus 

 escaped further pursuit. Passing into anothtr field 

 L. flushed a nice covey of bu'ds, from which he got 

 one. They took refuge in a hedge row and adjacent 

 sedge, and then we had a "hot corner" for probably ten 

 shots. Out of that covey we got probably a half dozen. 

 Passmg on another covey Avas flushed (no fault of the 

 dogs) and all of them, except one which I killed, went to 

 an unknown locality, and could not be found. It being 

 about Imich time, we went to the hotel and refreshed. In 

 the afternoon we took another stroll, and succeeded ia 

 getting about ten birds more. 



In the morning, after an early breakfast, with the 

 atmosphere sharp, as it always is immediately after a 

 killing frost, we placed our shells, clothing, and ths' two 



