Melanism of Tdrdus migratorius. — Another* case of this affection, 

 much less frequent (except in Fakonidm) than lencism, conies to my knowl- 

 edge through the attention of Mr. G. A. Boardman, who desires me to 

 make a note of it for the "Bulletin." The young Robin, "as black as a 

 Grackle," is still living in Mr. Boardman's posses.sion. About two months 

 ago this ornithologist heard of a nest of black Robins being taken at St. 

 John's, and wrote to the owner or collector about it. The person, how- 

 ever, lost his life in the great fire which occurred there, and Mr. Board- 

 man, not liking to trouble the family by writing under such circum- 

 Btanoes, went to St. John's and inquired about the black Robins. The 

 story proved true, and one of the birds was purchased. " When I first got 

 the bird," writes Mr. Boardman, " he was in pretty good plumage, but his 

 feathers are now half out, and I am hoping that he will not disappoint me 

 by coming out red. Most of the feathers on his head and neck are new, 

 I think, and jet black. His tail is now gone, but that was pure black too. 



I see no signs of the normal plumage." Mr. Boardman writes me later, 

 under date of September 2.3, that he has been much interested in watch- 

 ing the moult of the black Robin, and says, " He acts as if he were going 

 to be an albino. His new tail is about half grown out, and is nearly white, 

 with a black stripe down each feather. His breast, head, neck, and back 

 are jet black, but very much out of feather. He w^ould now make a funny 

 specimen, — part albinic, part melanistic." The parents of these young 

 were not peculiar in color. — Elliott Codes, Washington, D. C. 



[Note (December 15, 1877). Since this paragraph was penned, the 

 bird has been killed, stuffed, and sent to the Smithsonian, where I have 

 seen it. It is black, with white wings and tail. — E. C] 



BuU,N.O.O. 3, Jan., 1878. p. //^ - y/. 



Abnormal Coloration in a Caged Robin.— In an account of an abnor- 

 mally colored Robin given in 'The Auk' for January, 1884, p. 90, mention 

 was made of the softness of the bones. Such of these as were not neces- 

 sary to the proper make-up of the skin were submitted to a careful chemical 

 analysis under the direction of Prof. W. O. Atwater, of Wesleyan Univer- 

 sity, who found them to contain only about 25 per cent of mineral inatter, 

 or about one-third the amount usually found in the bones of normal^ 

 healthy birds.— W. B. Barrows, Middletown, Conn. 



Auk, 2. July. 1885. p. JO^ , 



Abnormal Coloration in a Caged Robin.— Through the kindness of its 

 owner, Mi-. .V, R. Crittenden, I have recently examined a caged Robin 

 {Tui'diis migratorius) which is now in peculiar plnmage, and which has a 

 somewhat unusual history. When taken from the nest, about six years 

 ago, it was perfectly noi-mal in color of plumage, and so remained for two 

 years. It has moulted once a year, in earh' autumn. After the fourth 

 moult a few white feathers were noticed, and here and there a black one, 

 but it was not until the following year— after the fifth moult— that the 

 change was marked. The bird then appeared with wings and tail almost 

 completely white, while below he was clear blacl:, except for a side patch of 

 red under each wing, and the usual white belly. The following winter 

 (last winter), he came out in perfectly normal plumage, though Mr. Crit- 

 tenden thinks the colors wei-e unusually rich. 



This winter, again, the abnormal dress has been assumed, but vai-ying 

 somewhat in detail. He now appears as follows: Above clear black; 

 tail mostly white; interscapulars and most of the wing-feathers white on 

 outer webs; chin, throat, belly, and tnider-fail coverts normal. The 

 upper breast shows a somewhat crescent-shaped jiatch of red, and almost 

 as continuations of this on either side are i-ed patches under the wings. 

 A few red feathers down the middle of the bi easl imperfectly separate the 

 black which would otherwise form a single large pectoral patch. The 

 white about the eyes is normal. The bird is a male, apparently in perfect 

 health, and with a voracious appetite, llis food has been principally one 

 part prepared Mocking-bird food to three parts Indian meal, the whole 

 mixed together wilh a teaspoonful of melted lard. In addition to this he 

 has had only a little fruit and a few iirsects, mostly house-flies. — W. B. 

 Barrows, Middlcloxvn, Conn. 



[Two previous instances of melanism in the Robin have been recorded 

 in the ^Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club' (Vol. I. p. .24; Vol. 



lit. p. 47).-Edd.] Auk, I, J*n!, 1884. p. ^o. 



