Mahoh 27, 1897.] 
245 
first his shrill peto, peto, peto is rather musical and pleasant. 
After having heard it for ten minutes or so it becomes a 
trifle monotonous, and at the end of a half hour you wish 
you had a gun. Two hours afterward, cominEj back that 
way, you are likely to hear the same bird doing the sam6 
thing with a pertinacity that would be admirable if the re- 
sults were marked by some variety. 
The month of March so far has not been favorable for 
ornithological research. Rain has fallen about every other 
day or night. The woods are wet. The roads are simply 
awful; and the feathered host in Florida and Georgia, ex- 
cept the robins and the blackbirds, seem to be content to 
bear the ills they have rather than fly to others that they 
know not of, unless perhaps by instinct or experience. 
J. L. Kearny. 
FoHBST Hill, Asheville, N. C, March 18. 
WILD BIRDS AT THE SPORTSMEN'S 
SHOW. 
To many visitors to the Sportsmen's Exposition the most 
interesting thing there was the exhibit of live wild birds 
sent by Mr. Treadwell, of Long Island, and Mr. Verner 
de Guise, of Mahwah, TTew Jersey. As many of these birds 
were of kinds unfamiliar to many sportsmen, they were ex- 
amined with the greatest curiosity and interest. 
The wildfowl shown by Mr. Treadwell included two coops 
each of brant, of Canada geese, of snow geese, and of Egyptian 
geese; one each of blue geese, Hutchins geese, black ducks, 
mallards, white c^ll ducks and Cayuga ducks, these last 
being varieties of the domestic duck. Mr. De Guise showed 
several coops containing a large number of pheasants, both 
the ring-necked and the old-fashioned English pheasant 
(P. oolcMcm), together with a coop of prairie chickens — 
pinnated grousef 
The admirable condition of the birds shown was re- 
marked on by all who saw them. Their plumage was as 
smooth and bright as that of wild birds, and the wildfowl 
were very tame and showed no uneasiness or alarm when 
closely inspected. This was hardly the case with the galli- 
naceous birds, which we may suppose to be less accustomed 
to confinement in small inclosures. Some of the ring- 
necked pheasants strove to push their way through the 
wire netting at the back of the cages, and for a time the 
pinnated grouse tried to get out. As soon as cloth was 
placed over the wire at the back of the coops these efforts 
ceased. It is certainly an interesting thing that there are 
in this country two large establishments like those of 
Messrs. Treadwell and De Guise, where wildfowl and galli- 
naceous birds are bred successfully. This and the effort 
made by many wealthy men to establish large game pre- 
serves are tendencies of the present day in America which 
are very suggestive. 
Intimation of Spring in Teza^. 
Petty, Texas, March 12. — The black martin (the harbin- 
gers of spring) are here; I noticed two on Feb. 23. Tbere was 
a wind and rain storm on the night of the 2l8t, and early 
on the morning of the 22d t heard the familiar note of these 
welcome little companions and saw a couple of them circling 
about their last year's residence, as if to see that all was well 
before taking possession of their summer home. 
The wildfowl have begun their northward journey: a 
great many wild geese, brant, etc., passed here this week. 
The red-breast robin has been with us in goodly numbers 
during the last few days, but they seem to be possessed of a 
restless spirit. Thev do not remain here in summer. The 
season when Bob "White will have the cloak of the law 
thrown around him is near at hand, and I will rejoice to 
see it come. F. E. W. 
Papers on Tropical Mammals. 
Two papers by Dr. J. A. Allen, of the American Museum of 
Natural History, justreceived, treatof collections of mammals 
made in Costa Rica and in Mexico. The first represents mate- 
rial a large part of which has been contributed to the Ameri- 
can Museum either by Messrs. Alfaro and Oherrie personally, 
or by the Costa Rica Museum. The material consists of 
about 300 specimens, and represents sixty-five species. Be- 
sides this additional material has been received recently. 
The present paper enumerates sixly-six species of animals, 
of which seven species and one genus are new. 
The second collection, Dr BuUers's collection of Mexican 
mammals, numbers over 300 specimens, and represents fifty- 
five species, of which sixteen were determined as new to 
science. 
Birds and Locomotive. 
A Fort Collins, CoL, press dispatch recently reported 
that as the Denver passenger train was coming from Love- 
land last evening in the midst of a big snowstoi-m and fog, 
' the locomotive encountered a drove of snowbirds which 
drove at the headlight with such violence that the glass guard 
was broken and the light extinguished, and the train came 
from Russell Creek to Fort Collins in darkness. The birds 
were killed by the score by striking the cab and pilot," and 
fell into the engine and tender and floor of the cab, falUng 
so thickly that the fireman scooped them up with his shovel 
' and threw them out. When this place was reached at least 
100 dead birds were taken from the locomotive and tender. 
Snake and Hawk. 
THOMAavTLLE, Ga., March 15.— A few days ago Dr. 
Hodgeman, of New York, and two friends were out shooting 
quail. While eating lunch they saw two hawks sailing well 
above their heads. One of the gentlemen said, "I am going 
to take a shot at the lazy one." He did so, and the hawk 
sailed on. A short lime after, something fluttered to the 
ground near them. On going to the spot they found a hawk 
with a small snake tightly wound around the hawk's neck 
and the lower jaw of the "snake set in the body of the hawt 
After killing the snake in order to release the hawk, they 
killed the hawk because every hunter does. Sayvillb. 
I New York Game Laws. 
Albany, March 20.— -The Governor has signed Assembly- 
man Hobble's bill prohibiting the hounding of deer for ten 
years in the towns of Dresden and Putnam, in Washington 
county. 
Also Assemblyman Post's, allowing the shooting of web- 
footed wildfowl from floating devices, boats propelled by 
hand and sail boats, in Long Island Sound, Great South Bay, 
^jardiner, Shinnecock and Pecoiiic bays. 
^Hg und 0m 
HOURS IN A BLIND.— III. 
A Windward Point. 
The desirable wind for point-shooting is one quartering 
from behind the gunner. This gives the birds abundant 
room to swing over the water and to come up to the decoys, 
offering a good shot to the man in the blind. Sometimes, 
however, ii happens that after one has tied out with the wind 
just right and everything apparently favorable, the wind 
will haul more and more in front of him, or may shift sud- 
denly, so that it blows directly on the point and in the gun- 
ner's face. One result of this is that his decoys, instead of 
riding in a long line head to tail, swing around and now sit 
in the water side by side, their bills of course facing the 
wind. Worse than this is the fact that the fowl which come 
in can no longer swing over the water, but if they wish to 
ahght to the decoys must swing over a marsh and come from 
behind the gunner and soever his blind. Thus they are 
quite certain to see him, or at least some of the strange ob- 
jects that he has brought into the marsh; or if they do not 
spe him, at least they come from behind him, and he is 
obliged to twist around and shoot at them when they are 
eoming toward him and nearly ovpr his heid. For most 
men, J think, shooting of this sort is very difficult, and usu- 
ally when such a shift of wind tak' s place it is better for the 
gunner to take up and to move — if such a course is practi- 
cable — to some other r>oint, where the wind is rieht. 
One of the chief difliculties that I find in shooting at birds 
that come in from behind the blind is that a large proportion 
of them come quite low, and so are not seen until they are 
almopt upon the gunner. By the time he gpts his gun to his 
shoulder the bird ia likely to be almost within arm's length 
If now it flares and goes directly up in the air the shot be- 
comes an easy one; but if, on the otber hand, it keeps on 
over the gunner's head he has to twist around and is very 
likely to shoot hastily at a straightaway, swift-flying bird 
and to miss it. 
I have never yei shot in a blind with a remarkably good 
Phot — a man who took all chances and killed a very large 
proportion of his birds. I know that there are such men, 
but it has never been my fortune to see one of them shooting 
wildfowl. 
Sometimes a bunch of birds coming low over the marsh at 
a tremendous rate of speed un.seen may pass over a man's 
head with a sound which resembles the escape of steam from a 
large locomotive, and which, coming so unexpectedly, has a 
tendency to frighten one out Of several years' growth. In 
my limited experience, canvasbacks and blackheads are the 
worst offenders in this respect, though occasionally an old 
black duck coming low down over the blind will startle one 
by the rustling of his feathers. On several occasions I have 
had a white headed eaa:le ome so near the blind that when 
I rose and shouted at him I could plainly hear his feathers 
creaking against each other as he threw himself over nearly 
on his back, and scrambled through the air to get way. 
Passers-by. 
It surprises one, though, of course, it is only natural, to see 
how many birds there are, which are not wildfowl, that 
come close to the blind entirely unsuspicious of its occupant. 
Hawks and sometimes, during gray days, owls hunt over the 
marsh, eager to prey on the blackbirds and sparrows who«e 
haunt is here. Gulls often pass near the decoys, and occasion- 
ally one sees flying through the air a loon or a cormorant. 
Sometimes one of the latter may be seen perched over the 
water on a stake of some deserted bush blind. Eagles and 
buzzards, of course, and the ever-present crow, are constantly 
searching over the marsh and over the water, looking for 
dead and wounded ducks. 
From the many ducks and geese that are so lost to the 
gunner the eagles and the buzzards no doubt gain a fat live- 
lihood, and the clean-picked skeletons of wildfowl surround- 
ed by the feathers are frequently seen in the marshes. 
Besides these, in and among the reeds live blackbirds, 
sparrows, marsh wrens and rails, any of which will venture 
closfi to the blind. Sometimes a little Carolina rail in its 
peregrinations along the water's edge will even walk into the 
blind, and gaze at its occupant with bright, dark eye, uncer 
lain what he may be. It is amusing sometimes to see two 
or three men and a dog go crashing through the cane in hot 
pursuit of one of these little birds, who must laugh to himself 
at the clumsy efforts made by his pursuers to capture him. 
Often a little whisp of snipe of two or three individuals 
pass within gunshot of the blind, or a single bird, like a bul- 
let from the sky, may drop on some nearby point of the 
marsh, and run briskly about over the mud' at the water's 
edge, probing with busy bill for food which is hidden be- 
neath. In like manner now and then a killdeer plover or a 
pair of yellow-lf gs may fly in from beyond the marsh, and 
hurry along over the mud as if greatly pressed for time. 
Herons, of course, are abundant in the marsh, and are of 
three sorts The night heron — in New England called 
quawk — and the bittern are seen less often here than the 
great blue heron, which in these parts is known by an ap- 
parently unmeaning name — "forty gallons of soup." This 
bird is common here, and often comes close over the blind 
or alights in the water near it. 
It is interesting to watch one when it is fishing. Its huge 
wings and long straddling legs make a great commotion over 
the water when it alights, though there is no splash when it 
puts its feet down. The moment that it has folded its wings, 
however, it straightens its legs, neck and body, and for a 
long time stands b^lt upright, absolutely motionless, look- 
ing for all' the world like a straight, weathered stick standing 
out of the water. In this position it resembles anything 
rather than a bird, and its attitude is extremely ungraceful. 
The position and the entire absence of motion are due, I sup 
pose, first to its desire to see whether any enemy is in the 
neighborhood ; and second to give its prey, which may have 
been frightened by the shadow of its passing body, time to 
recover from this alarm. 
After a period of stillness which may last five or six min- 
utes, but seems to the watcher much longer, the heron, still 
holding its neck straight and stiff and its^ bill pointed some- 
what upward, takes a cautious step and then stands still for 
a moment. 'Then, seemingly reassured, it moves on with 
slow, careful steps, its head turned a little on one side, evi- 
dently searching the water for its food. It does not take the 
conventional heron attitude until it sees some little fish that 
is within reach. Then very slowly it draws initsntckand 
darts out its strong, keen bill, and usually captures its prey; 
not always, however, for I have several times seen one miss 
his stroke. 
These are big birds, and birds too that one seldom has an 
opportunity to kill, yet it always seems to me a pity to shoot 
at them. They can be eaten, to be sure; yet no one who has 
ducks and geese to eat would be likely to prefer heron. Un- 
less the gunner has some use for it, it does not, to me, seera 
worth while to kill any bird. Life is something so mysteri- 
ous that it should not be lightly destroyed, and I have no 
sympathy with the wantonness which leads many shooters 
to try their guns on every robin, swallow, nighthawk or bat 
that may fly near to them. This is commonly done "for 
fun," or to see "whether I can hit it;" but it i? aU wrong. 
Strangars from Afar. 
Besides the birds of all sorts of which I have spoken, and 
the water fowl, which are ao conspicuous, and of which the • 
lucky gunner secures a few, there are killed here occasion- 
all v birds that are altogether unexpected. 
One of the most unusual of these was secured some years 
ago by a local gunner, who of course did not know what it 
wa«i, but shot it; because it looked so strange. This was a 
dovekie, or little auk, a bird of the arctic regions, which is 
said to breed in Greenland, and which occurs in small num- 
bers in winter off all the North Atlantic States. It is rarely 
seen south of New York, and for aU I know its North Caro ■ 
lina occurrence may be a record. 
The white brant, or snow aroose, is found here every year 
in small numbers, one large flock living on the outer "beach 
not very far from the Currituck Lighthouse. These birds 
do not seem to associate with the common gray geese, but 
keep by themselves, and feed largely on the marsh instead 
of in the water. Sometimes I have sailed within gunshot of 
this flock of .500, and their white heads appearing over the 
short marsh grass, which hides their bodies, have a very 
curious appearance. When fairly alarmed, they spring into 
the air and flyaway with sharp, cackling cries, much less 
musical than tho=ie of the common Canada geese. They are 
seldom killer!, I believe. 
Now and then among the birds brought in by the gunners 
will be seen a curious duck, unlike anything known here, 
and which the ornithologist at once recognizes as a hybrid — 
something which is not very uncommon among the duck 
family. I have killed a male hybrid which was manifestly 
a cross between a mallard and the pintail, and have seen 
more than one hybrid between the black duck and mallard; 
I have heard of two or three strangers from Europe hav- 
ing been killed in these waters. These were English 
widgeons, usually found associated with the American bird 
and recognized as something strange only after they had 
been killed and retrieved. 
. The Hairy Crown. 
An abvmdant bird on the waters of Currituck Sound is 
that locally known a'l the hairy crown. This is the bird 
called in the books the hooded merganser. I have never 
seen these birds so abundant anywhere as they are here, and 
flocks of from 75 to 100 are sometimes seen. More often, 
however, the companies are much smaller. 
If you see these birds coming a good way off. they will 
very likely fool you by their manner of flieht, and you will 
at first say "Blackheads." and then "No, canvasbacks." 
Perhaps it will not be until they are almost within gunshot 
that you disappointedly exclaim: "Hauy crowns." These 
birds, though commonly they do not pay much attention to 
the decoys come up without the least hesitation if they 
make up their minds to come, and alight in the water, swim- 
ming about with lowered crest and diving for food, quite 
unconscious that the decoys are shams. If you stand up in 
your bhnd and raise your gun they erect the crest in token 
of suspicion, and then may dive and swim under the water 
for a long way, or perhaps jump up and offer you a shot. It 
is only their swift flight that makes them hard to hit, for . 
they fly very steadily. Sometimes, when a little flock is fly- 
ing across at a distance, they can be called to the decoys by 
an imitation of their note, which is something like that of 
the blackhead— a guttural, grating croak. 
The male hairy crown is a beautiful bird, with his elaborate 
livery of black, white, tan and delicate gray, but as hairy 
crowns are commonly regarded as worthless for eating, they 
are often allowed to pass unharmed by the gunner unless he 
is shooting for count, when he will try to knock down those 
that come to him, as each one retrieved counts as a duck. 
The redbreasted merganser is much less common here 
than the hooded, hut ©ccasionally drops in among the decoys. 
Its local name is sawbill. The goosander I have never seen 
here, nor do the men with whom i have talked about it ap- 
pear to know the bird. 
Calling: Down a Goose. 
During much of the day the music and clamor of the 
geese, softened by distance, fall upon the gunner's ear. It 
may jae that in some channel not far from him great num- 
bers of these birds are resting on the water talking to each 
other, and often 'flocks of traveling birds pass up and down 
the Sound, calling to each other or answering the salutations 
of other birds at rest. Often too a sailboat, passing through 
a great raft of geese, will put all the birds on the wing, and 
they rise in a thick cloud of dark specks against the sky, 
looking like a swarm of bees. When these birds have been 
so disturbed they often break up into small companies and 
fly here and there in different directions, seeking new resting 
places. 
The man who sits all day in his blind As likely to have 
some of these moving flocks of geese pass near him, and 
sometimes they may fly so close that he will have an oppor- 
tunity to shoot into them, and to pick a bird or two down 
from the sky. If he has a couple of goose decoys in the 
water, and if his boatman is a good caller, his chance for a 
shot is, of course, much better. It is extremely interesting 
to see the boatman call down a goose and to watch the 
actions of the deluded bird as it swings lower and lower in 
wide circles, and at length, with outstretched neck and hang- 
ing feet, comes up over the decoys to join its supposed com- 
rades at their head. When the bird is distant the men fairly 
shriek out their calls, but as it gets nearer and nearer their 
voices are lowered, their heads are bent toward the earth, 
perhaps they place their hands or their hats in front of their 
mouths. "The conversations which they hold with each 
other and with the goose are no longer shrill and loud-voiced 
JionJcs, but are chuckhng confidences which the supposed 
geese on the water are sharing with one another. The in- 
coming bird still calls with loud, sonorous tones, as if anxious 
to attract the attention of the wooden decoys, but as he gets 
nearer and nearer the talk of the men becomes still lower, 
until at last, when the gunner jumps to his feet and levels 
his arm, it ceases altogether. 
