April 28, 1887,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



297 



blood" anyway. Then he was careless about fishing also; 

 he was aruong the first out during the season, walked 

 further, stayed longer and caught fewer fish than any 

 one; somehow his were always beauties, though, and he 

 had the finest tackle to be found anywhere, knew just 

 the kind of flies to use. I often thought he could have 

 taken many more fish than he had use for if he would 

 only attend strictly to business and not experiment so 

 much with turtles, water-dogs and snakes; and quit staring 

 at the mountains, the clouds, the trees and everything 

 else, as though he had never seen anything in Iris life. 

 But that was the kind of a chap he was. Somehow, he 

 was a pretty good fellow, however. Taken all in all, I 

 rather liked his style, and I sometimes wonder where he 

 went, how he fares, and if I shall "see Ms like again." 



Esau. 



Shasta, California. 



Addresss all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co, 



NEW MEXICAN BIRD NOTES.— II. 



FORT WING-ATE, New Mexico, April 17, 1887.— Three 

 or four days ago a good honest six inches of snow 

 covered the rugged hills and broad valleys of this region, 

 and for all I know to the contrary, the country for many 

 miles about. On the night following this storm, standing 

 water froze to the extent of nearly half an inch, and a 

 pair of mountain bluebirds (Sialia arctica), which the day 

 before had been hard at work building their nest in 

 between the adobe bricks and the window frame of a. 

 small house not twenty feet from my study window, 

 looked rather dubiously on the scene next morning, and 

 the male (the bluest of all bluebirds that I know anything 

 about) glanced rather quizieally, I thought, at his mate, 

 as much as to say, "Look here, don't you think we began 

 just a httle too early this year?" (I say this year because 

 to my knowledge this identical pair of birds have built in 

 the same little crevice for two consecutive seasons.) 



On the 14th, however, a warm spring sun vanquished 

 our six inches of snow in just twice that number of hours, 

 as completely as though the heated breath of Sahara had 

 swept across" the country, leaving the earth of the plains 

 dry and powdery again, with only a snowy souvenir here 

 and there in the" shadiest nooks on the mountain sides, as 

 a reminder of this second edition of winter. 



When Saturday came around (the 16th) my time al- 

 lowed me to take a short ramble in the adjacent pine 

 woods, where I hoped to increase my list of spring 

 arrivals among the birds for the "Eeport" from this 

 locality, but no, my most careful scrutiny permits me to 

 recordthe arrival of eight species thus far only. Say's 

 flycatcher is here now, the first one having been observed 

 on the 11th ult., while five days thereafter I shot my first 

 pair of lead-colored bush-tits (P. plumbeus). Then the 

 killdeers came on the 18th, and on April 4, seventeen 

 days afterward, I first saw the rock swifts (M. melano- 

 leucus) — my old friends. A dozen days more went by 

 before I noticed the next arrival, the first warbler (£>. 

 auduboni), and it was followed to-day by a pipit (A. pen- 

 silvanieus), with the Brewer's blackbirds and rusty 

 grackles (S. carolinus and cyanocephalus). So you see 

 the vernal migration is extremely backward here, for I 

 know full well that even the latitude of Boston can beat 

 this, as I saw in Forest and Stream that the bluebirds 

 arrived there fully a month ago. 



But as I was saying, yesterday I was out in the pine 

 woods with my two youngsters, equipped for collecting 

 and making notes. The pinon jays were keeping up a 

 continual racket all about us in the low pines and cedars 

 that covered the hillsides, while in the valley far below 

 loose flocks of western bluebirds {S. mexicana) were on 

 the move. I notice that the note of this lovely species is 

 much louder and stronger than our eastern representa- 

 tive of the genus, but to me not nearly so plaintive nor 

 so winning, but home associations may have something 

 to do with that. 



As we passed through the phlons along the crest of a 

 magnificent rocky gorge, my attention was suddenly 

 arrested by a fluttering in a tree close at my hand, and 

 upon looking into it, to my surprise there sat perched 

 upon one of the limbs a young pinon jay (C. cyanocepha- 

 lus), apparently just out of its nest. He made an attempt 

 to fly, but soon struck the ground, where he was speedily 

 captured. This was a prize for me indeed, for I had long 

 promised one to the authorities at the Zoological Gardens 

 in London, and if this, his lordship, can be reared, there is 

 where he will eventually go. From this I should say that 

 these birds must breed very early in this region, and 

 perhaps rear two broods each season. 



My captive is a handsome fellow for a youngling, and he 

 has a call like the old birds, only not so loud nor so pro- 

 longed. His plumage might be described as being of an 

 entire blue-slate gray, darkest on the head and shading 

 lighter as the lower parts are arrived at, being about five 

 shades paler in the region of the vental space. The inner 

 webs of the primaries are of a deep plumbeous shade, 

 almost black, while the secondaries, and the distal moie- 

 ties of the rectrices, which latter portions have alone 

 ruptured from their pin-sheaths, are of the same color as 

 the feathers of the back. The legs are a leaden hue, as is 

 the bill; the latter is rather darker, however, and the base 

 of the lower mandible is flesh color for its proximal half. 

 Irides are of a warm brown, and the claws of the feet are 

 blackish lead color. In behavior he (for I think it is a 

 male bird) is spirited, and evinces no little confidence in 

 his power to look out for himself. Thus far I have fed 

 him on cracked wheat and little chips of raw meat. 



On our way home I started a small, dark-colored owl 

 from out of a cedar tree as I brushed past it. He flew 

 about in a startled manner for a moment, and then sud- 

 denly bounced into an oak tree of no small size, about 

 80ft. from where I first started him. I carefully scouted 

 around the tree for several minutes, when I discovered he 

 had entered a hole near the top, and my youngest son, 

 climbing up there in a moment, found that we could not 

 possibly reach him, as the excavation was more than a 

 yard deep and the entrance very small. So plugging up 

 this door of his domicile with a couple of stones, we re- 

 turned t© the Fort. 



This afternoon we were over there again early, with a 

 good axe and a shotgun, in case he had gotten out past 

 the stones. But no, everything was just as we had left 



it the day before, and removing my coat, in twenty min- 

 utes I sent the old oak tree over and some little distance 

 down the mountain side from where it grew. Climbing 

 down to it and removing the plugs from the entrance, we 

 found at once two owl's eggs that appeared as though 

 they were nearly ready to hatch. Even now we could 

 not" reach the bird, and I soon had to chop through the 

 trunk lower down, when upon peering into this new open- 

 ing, I saw a pair of bright eyes blinking at me in the 

 most defiant manner possible. Our luck was better than 

 we first supposed, however, for upon baring my arm, I 

 not only secured one owl but another egg, unbroken, and 

 the female bird besides. Her breast was quite bare of 

 feathers, and she had evidently been incubating some 

 time, and as I say, the eggs had all the appearance of be- 

 ing far advanced toward hatching. But it seems to me 

 that three eggs is rather a small complement for Megas- 

 cops, and Coues says (second edition "Key") that they 

 have "five or six" to the set. 



Improvising a nest by tying together the foiu- corners 

 of my handkerchief and filling in with some dry leaves, 

 we put ovu- three eggs therein, with both owls, their legs 

 having been tied too on top of them . Thus they were safely 

 carried to my quarters and the eggs kept warm in the 

 meantime. As to the particular geographical race to 

 which this pair of screech owls belong I am unable to 

 say, not having any skins of Megascops at hand that I 

 might compare them with, and I find mere descriptions for 

 such species highly unsatisfactory. They are both in the 

 gray pliase with the markings unusually black and very 

 distinct, with the dashes and dapplings carried beneath 

 clear to include the under tail coverts, with scarcely any 

 white showing. The toes are feathered to the claws and 

 quite thickly, the size, however, is really what is most 

 puzzling about them, for even the female is under Sin. 

 in length and the male barely reaches 7-Jin. When I first 

 took them the thought immediately arose in my mind, 

 Why, what small and what dark-colored specimens of 

 Megascops asio! 



To-day, if possible, I will devote an hour to making a 

 photograph of the pah-, as well as one of the young 

 cyanocephalus. R. W. Shufeldt. 



MY LAST MEETING WITH BUCKLAND. 



ONE of my first acquaintances in my early visits to 

 London was Frank Buckland. I frequently met 

 him at the Zoological Garden, the Land and Water 

 office, the Aquarium and at his house in Albany street; 

 but never at Jamrach's, one of his favorite haunts, until 

 a short time before his death. 



I had spent a very pleasant hour, one afternoon, in 

 looking over Mr. Jamrach's enormous collection of bric- 

 a-brac, a business which he combines with his well-known 

 animal trade, and accepted, as a souvenir, a rattan cane 

 with a grotesquely carved head, evidently the work of 

 some Chinese artist. On returning to the office, in lean- 

 ing my cane against the desk preparatory to settling an 

 account, I found that it rested against a second one, the 

 head of which far exceeded mine in its singular carving. 

 I suggested an exchange, but Jamrach refused, saying 

 that he had used it for some time and would not part 

 with it. Just then the door opened and Frank appeared, 

 who stared at me as if I were the first specimen of "a 

 live Yankee" he had ever seen. Elnowing his propensity 

 for practical joking, I returned the stare, when Jamrach 

 sprang and introduced us. After a few commonplace re- 

 marks, Frank coolly seated himself with his back toward 

 me and leaned over a tub containing some half-dozen 

 specimens of that curious-looking reptile, the stump- 

 tailed lizard (Trachydosawus rugosus), while I went on 

 figuring up the account with Jamrach. In a few moments 

 I felt Frank's elbow against my ribs, and cautiously 

 glancing over my shoulder, he signaled me to cover him. 

 Hitching my chair so that my body would screen him, I 

 saw one of the lizards lifted from the tub and instantly 

 passed into one of the capacious pockets of his loose sack 

 coat. Turning my attention to Jamrach in order to keep 

 him fully occupied, we went on with the account, when 

 I suddenly received a second signal from Frank. On 

 again looking over my shoulder, I found that the lizard 

 was half its length out of the pocket and making a 

 desperate struggle to rejoin its comrades in the tub, 

 while Frank's face was a study, as he was energetically 

 fighting against any such proceeding. Placing my right 

 hand on the account, and forcing Jamrach's attention to 

 a pretended error, with the left I drew a couple of pins 

 from a cushion on the desk and secretly passed them to 

 Frank. In a few moments a long-drawn sigh of relief in- 

 formed me that the mouth of the pocket had been securely 

 fastened, and I felt Frank slowly turning around hi order 

 to get the remaining pocket ready for a second capture. 

 This was effected without any mishap, as the pins were 

 passed him beforehand. Frank was now in a hurry to be 

 off, and on his rising to start, I protested, and rather 

 bluntly informed him that if he did not remain until I 

 had finished with Mr. Jamrach, so that our newly-formed 

 acquaintance could be cemented in American style, with 

 a drink, I should feel aggrieved. He reseated himself 

 with a curt reply, which was so different from his usual 

 manner, that Janrr&ch seemed somewhat startled at his 

 behavior. 



After badgering him as long as I dare, by finding fault 

 with Jamrach's account, we finally started for the street, 

 and in so doing I telegraphed the cane to Frank, who 

 shook his head, placed a hand on each pocket, and hurried 

 out. On getting outside I remarked: 



"By George! I've forgotten my cane." 



With a broad grin Frank answered: 



"Hurry back and get it, and you will find us in the 

 beer shop." 



Returning to the office I picked up Jamrach's cane and 

 caught the party just in time to cement the newly -formed 

 acquaintance, the expense of which Jamrach persisted in 

 paying. Frank pleaded an engagement, started for the 

 sidewalk, and in bidding me good-bye, said: 



"As I understand you frequently visit London I look 

 forward Avith great pleasme in often meeting you, partic- 

 ularly in the company of my old friend Jamrach." 



"I can assure you that the wish is mutual, and I shall 

 take the earliest opportunity of again mixing with London 

 thieves." 



Frank took the opportunity of darting up the street 

 before Jamrach could recover from his astonishment, 

 while I sprang into a waiting cab and was rapidly driven 

 to the London & Southwestern R. R. station, to catch a 

 train for Southampton. 



On my next visit to London Jamrach acknowledged 

 that he "did not get at the true meaning of my seemingly 

 insulting remark until the next morning, when he found 

 that he had been robbed of a favorite cane and two rare 

 lizards. Frank J. Thompson. 



An Owl in the City.— New York.— A common 

 screech owl put in his appearance a few days ago in the 

 City Hall Park, and being spied by the keen-eyed (and 

 evil-eyed) wielders of blacking brushes, was so pestered 

 and driven about by them from bush to tree and branch 

 to branch, that life must have seemed utterly miserable. 

 A moment after his discovery the air was full of suow 

 balls,' stones, old hats snatched from each others heads, 

 and, in fact, everytliing that could be thrown, the indi- 

 vidual aim being of httle importance in the excitement 

 of the moment. It was growing warm for his owlship 

 when down Bwooped one or two policemen, and the bird 

 —doubtless an eagle, at least, in the eyes of the urchins, 

 who seldom see any feathered thing larger than a spar- 

 row—was safe for the time. Was he a child of nature 

 seeing the elephant, or had he escaped from some sanc- 

 tum? — F'lin. 



Woodcock and Telegraph Wires. — An object was 

 seen by several persons to fall to the ground on Glen 

 street, Tuesday evening, and when picked up by George 

 Orton it was found to be a woodcock in the last throes of 

 death. The bird was fat and apparently in a healthy 

 condition, and it is supposed it struck in its flight one of 

 the many electric fight or telegraph wires with such force 

 as to cause its death. There are different theories ad- 

 vanced for the presence of the bird in this village, one of 

 which is that it was attracted thither by the electric light. 

 — Glens Falls (N. Y.) Republican, April 19. 



Spring Migrants. — Bridgton, Cumberland county, Me. 

 — Crow, March 10; black snowbird, April 5; robin, 10th; 

 song sparrow, 10th; grass finch, 13th; pewee, 14th; white- 

 bellied swallow, 21st; kingfisher, 22d; great northern 

 diver, 22d; red- winged blackbird, 23d; white-throated 

 sparrow, 23d: fish hawk, 23d.— Black Spot. 



\mnt §ng md 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co, 



YELLOWSTONE PARK REGULATIONS. 



RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL 

 PARK. 



Department of the Interior, / 

 Washington, April 4, 1887. j 



1. It is forbidden to remove or injure the sediments or 

 incrustations around the geysers, hot springs, or steam 

 vents; or to deface the same by written inscriptions or 

 otherwise; or to throw any substance into the springs or 

 geyser vents; or to injure or disturb, in any manner, any 

 of "the mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders 

 within the Park. 



2. It is forbidden to ride or drive upon any of the 

 geyser or hot spring formations or to turn loose stock to 

 graze in their vicinity. 



3. It is forbidden to cut or injure any growing timber. 

 Camping parties will be allowed to use dead or fallen 

 timber for fuel. 



4. Fires shall be lighted only when necessary and com- 

 pletely extinguished when not longer required. The ut- 

 most care should be exercisad at all times to avoid setting 

 fire to the timber and grass. 



5. Hunting, capturing, injuring, or killing any bird or 

 animal witliin the Park is prohibited. The outfits of per- 

 sons found hunting or in possession of game killed in the 

 Park will be subject to seizure and confiscation. . 



6. Fishing with nets, seines, traps, or by the use of 

 drugs or explosives, or in any other way than with hook 

 and line is prohibited. Fishing for purposes of mer- 

 chandise or profit is forbidden by law. 



7. No person will be permitted to reside permanently 

 or to engage in any business in the Park without permis- 

 sion, in wiiting, from the Department of the Interior. 

 The Superintendent may grant authority to competent 

 persons to act as guides and revoke the same in his dis- 

 cretion. 



8. No drinking saloon or barroom will be permitted 

 witliin the limits of the Park. 



9. Private notices or advertisements shall not be posted 

 or displayed within the Park, except such as may be 

 necessary for the convenience and guidance of the pub- 

 lic, upon buildings on leased ground. 



10. Persons who render themselves obnoxious by dis- 

 orderly conduct or bad behavior, or who violate any of 

 the foregoing rules, will be summarily removed from the 

 Park under authority of the statute setting apart the 

 Park "as a pleasuring ground for the people," and pro- 

 viding that it "shall be under the exclusive control of the 

 Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be to make 

 and publish such rules and regulations as he shall deem 

 necessary or proper," and who "generally shall be author- 

 ized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or 

 proper to fully carry out the object and purposes of this 

 act. , L. Q. C. Lamar, 



Secretary of the Interior. 



Summer Woodcock. — Worcester, April 17.— I quote 

 the following from Stearns's "New England Bird Life:" 

 "Domestic concerns occupy the birds in the rest of May 

 and in June, after which, with the celebration of the 

 American political idea— now old enough to be less bar- 

 baric in its methods of self glorification— the woodcock 

 season begins; that is to say, a considerable proportion of 

 the young birds are grown strong enough to fly in order 

 to be shot. It is a twin relic of barbarism, that allows 

 them to be killed at this tender age; the close time should 

 not cease before September, in which month, as well as 

 the succeeding one, the best sport may be had. But 

 whether or not July shooting be permissible, woodcock 

 should be let alone in August, when they are moulting 

 and poorly able to take care of themselves." — Pemige- 



WASSET, 



