WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
7 
BIRD MIGRATION. 
We intended to have noticed, in the last Bul- 
letin, the work undertaken by the American 
Ornithologists’ Union seeking toward an unra- 
veling of the mysteries surrounding the well 
known but little understood migration of birds. 
The article, however, was unavoidably crowded 
out; so the good that we intended to do by in- 
citing some of our readers to take the field in be- 
half of this grand work of the Union can accrue 
only from observations in regard to the north- 
ward migration of some few late birds and from 
Autumn work. 
The scope of the work undertaken by the Union 
can best be shown by an extract from their cir- 
cular. “It is the purpose of this committee to 
investigate in all its bearings, and to the fullest 
extent possible, the subject of the migration of 
birds in the United States and British North 
America. The work will not be limited to the 
accumulation of records of the times of arrival 
and departure of the different species, but will 
embrace the collection of all data that may aid 
in determining the causes which influence the 
progress of migration from season to season. 
For example, severe storms, gales of wind, pro- 
tracted periods of unusually high or low tempera- 
ture (for the locality and time of year) are among 
the atmospheric conditions that are known to 
exert marked effects upon the movements of 
birds. The opening of the leaves and the flower- 
ing of certain plants, with the correlative appear- 
ance of a mulititude of insects, are also among 
the factors that have to do with the abundance 
of many species. * * * For the purpose of 
rendering the result of the season’s work as full 
and valuable as possible, the Committee earnest 
ly solicits the co-operation of every ornithologist, 
field-collector, sportsman and observer of nature 
in North America. ” 
The United States and British North America 
has been divided into thirteen Districts, each one 
of which is under the direction of a superintendent. 
The chairman of the Committee is C. Hart 
Merriam, Locust Grove, Lewis Co. N. Y. Those 
interested in the matter and wishing to aid the 
work can obtain directions by addressing Mr. 
Merriam. 
The European ornithologists at the “Con- 
gress” held April last m Vienna; also took up 
the migration question. The prospects now 
seem very favorable for a speedy dispeliation of 
the mists surrounding this question; a consumma- 
tion devoutly to be wished for and earnestly 
aided by every live ornithologist. 
We clip the following, relative to the subject, 
from the London Mail of April 14: 
“The proposal to establish stations of observa- 
tion, or to use the meteorological stations for 
the purpose, will be hailed with pleasure by 
those who have given much thought, with small 
result, to the migration of birds. The fact is one 
of the chief miracles of nature, most defying ex- 
planation and even investigation. That the birds 
disappear, that they turn up soon after thousands 
of miles off, and that in due time they reappear 
at their old haunts is nearly the whole we know 
about the mattei’. What is the motive or in- 
ducement, what drives the birds away, what at- 
tracts them to other quarters, how they are 
guided where man would certainly not find his 
way, and how they manage to keep up their 
strength for such long flights, are all questions 
hitherto unsolved. At certain points the difficul- 
ties are too great to be surmounted except by the 
stronger birds, and man catches the poor wand- 
erers at a disadvantage. The quails are waited 
for on the southern shores of France and cap- 
tured by sackfuls, often too fatigued to rise from 
the ground. Some such easy victory is won at 
times on the shores of Sussex and Kent. But it 
would be very interesting to know exactly the 
course of all migrating brds, the distance of 
their flight, in some instances far into Asia, and 
how far they really carry out the idea of two 
homes, so charming to English tastes. How far 
do they adapt themselves to the very different 
conditions of temperature and food? There are 
also the curious questions suggested by the theory 
of evolution. How can these creatures be made 
by circumstance when they divide their time be- 
tween two such opposite circumstances? That 
migration should now be a necessity of existence 
is conceivable enough, but not so that birds 
should have learnt the truth of themselves and 
arrived at it as the only possible solution of the 
difficulties of climate. It will not do, in science, 
to start with a foregone sense of impossibility, 
but the mind is naturally slow to believe that 
for which we cannot even imagine an explana- 
tion. On the whole, Ornithological Associations 
have plenty of work cut out for them, nor can 
there be a more picturesque and interesting field 
of inquiry.” 
NOTES. 
We note with pleasure the manner in which 
Coues “sits ” on the English sparrow, Passer do- 
mesticus L., in his new “Key.” He gives among 
the names by which it is known: “Parasite, 
Tramp, Lloodlum, Gamin'” and speaks of it as 
follows: “ Imported about fifteen years ago, dur- 
ing a craze which even affected some ornitholo- 
gists, making people fancy that a granivorous 
conirostral bird would rid us of insect-pests, this 
sturdy and invincible little bird has overrun the 
whole country and proved a nuisance without a 
redeeming quality.” 
Wanted. 
We wish to obtain from collectors specimens of 
the following animals. The skins should be 
suitable for stuffing, entire and unstretched; and 
should be prepared with salt and alum. Full 
grown animals in good coat are desired. The 
skeletons must all be of full grown (adult) 
animals, from which the flesh has been removed 
so that they will dry up. A tag, with sex and lo- 
cality noted, should be tied to each specimen. 
Felis concolor (Panther), Skins. 
Felis onca (Jaguar), “ 
Felis pardalis (Oscelot), “ 
Lynx fasciatus (Red Cat), “ 
Mustela pennanti (Fisher), “ 
Mephitis macroura (Long- tailed Skunk), . ‘ ‘ 
Mephitis putorius (Little Striped Skunk), “ 
Conepatus mapurito (White-backed Skunk), “ 
Gulo luscus (Wolverine),... “ 
Fnliydra marina (Sea Otter), “ 
Urocyon littoralis (Island Fox), “ 
Cystophora cristata (Hooded Seal), “ 
Alces malchis (Moose), “ 
Cy nomys columbianus { Western Prairie Dog),“ 
Castor canadensis (Beaver), “ 
Bison, Moose, and various Deer heads with 
Iona 1 necks. 
Felis concolor (Panther), Skeletons. 
Gulo luscus (Wolverine)., “ 
Bison americanus (Buffalo), large males “ 
Castor canadensis (Beaver), “ 
Lepus callotis (Jack Rabbit), “ 
Lepus sylvaticus (Wood Hare), “ 
Skulls of Deer, Panther, Wolverine and Beaver. 
Alaskan Birds. 
We have lately acquired the fine series of bird 
skins made by Mr. Nelson, of the Smithsonian, 
while in Alaska. Many of these consist of species 
never before offered for sale. 
The collection consists of about 750 skins em- 
bracing 92 species, all in fair condition and quite 
fresh. We enumerate the following as among the 
rarer of these birds, and as giving a fair idea of 
the scope of the collection. 
Falco sacer, American Gyrfalcon, $6 00 
Astur airicapillus henshawi , Henshaw’s 
Hen Hawk, 7 00 
Picoides dorsalis alascensis , Alaskan Three- 
toed Wood-pecker 2 00 
Budytes flams, Yellow Wagtail 1 00 
Perisoreus fumifrons, Smoky Jay 2 50 
Lagopus rupestris Rock Ptarmigan 5 00 
Grus fraterculus Little Crane 10 00 
Phalaropus hyperboreus Northern Phalar- 
ope ... 1 50 
Phalaropus fulicarius Red Phalarope 3 00 
Tringa accuminata Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 4 50 
Limosa uropygialis Pacific Godwit 4 00 
Numenius borealis Eskimo Curlew 1 50 
Philacte canagica Emperor Goose 20 00 
Polyctute stetteri S teller’s Duck 5 00 
Somatertia fischeri.. Spectacled Eider 15 00 
Somateria Vinigrum Pacific Eider 5 00 
Oceanodroma furcata. .Fork -tailed Petrel 3 00 
Stercorarius pomatorhinus _ .Pomatorhine 
Jager 5 00 
La/rus brachyrkynchus^ Short-billed Gull 2 00 
Xema sabinii Sabine’s Gull 5 00 
Sterna aleutica Aleutian Tern 3 00 
Golymbus adamsi Yellow-billed Loon 15 00 
Colymbus arcticus- .Black-throated Diver 10 00 
Simcorhynchus cistafellus - ^ Crested Auk 4 00 
When this sparrow first became common our 
native birds seemed wholly taken by surprise at 
its pugnaceous character. 
A few have recovered and occasionally take 
revenge on the intruder. One of our rising orni- 
thologists recently noticed a robin hop up to two 
sparrows that were rolling about in the dust fight- 
ing like bull dogs, seize one by the neck and 
shake it as a terrier would a rat. The blue bird 
also occasionally strikes them while on the wing; 
but woe betide Sialia if the combat be upon terra 
flrma, he is sure to be worsted. 
We noticed an account of another unusual an- 
tagonist that has taken charge of the sparrow 
question. A domestic duck was seen to seize one 
of these birds, carry it to a pond near by, hold 
it under water until life was extinct and then 
bolt it bodily. 
Sometimes our pseudo-scientific visitors are 
quite amusing in their endeavors to impress 
their parties with their zoological knowledge. 
One introducing himself as Professor enlighten- 
ed his escort with the assertion that an orang was 
a gorilla, a sea lion a walrus, that the great ant-eat- 
er came from India, that the tiger shark kills its 
prey with its dorsal fin, and when he came to the 
invertebrates spoke of the sponges as vegetables. 
Another mentioned the striking peculiarity of 
a few tropical aquatic birds in having “three 
folds or joints ” to the wing bones. 
The following in regard to the prowess of the 
Screech owl ( Scops asio, L.) we find in the “ Orni- 
thologist and Oologist:” * * * “The following 
night, just at dusk his attention was attracted by 
a great commotion among his fowls in the roost. 
Hastening there he found one of the hens on the 
floor apparently in a death struggle. He per- 
ceived something attached to her neck which he 
supposed to be a weasel, the light being too in- 
distinct to distinguish. In desperation he seized 
the thing in his hands and found it to be a small 
Screech owl with its claws firmly fixed in the 
neck of the hen just back of the head, so firmly 
that he had considerable difficulty is disengaging 
them. In a moment the owl lay beside the dead 
hen, and the contrast was so remarkable that 
scales were brought into requisition and weights 
determined. The hen was a great fat five pound- 
er, but the owl was a poor little attenuated 
starvling and only weighed four ounces.” 
It seems that this little owl frequently preys 
on both the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes) 
and the Flicker ( Colaptes ). 
INVERTEBRATES. 
During the last few months notable additions 
have been made to our already large stock of in- 
vertebrates. We have received two almost com- 
plete series of glass models representing the 
Coelenterata. Any one who has observed the 
beautiful sea-anemones in life cannot fail to 
wonder at these exquisite and extremely close 
facsimiles by the German modeler, Mr. Blashka 
of Dresden. Nor has Professor completely for- 
gotten us in our department of invertebrates. 
He sends us some fine alcoholic preparations of 
the interesting Brachiopod, Lingula anatina. 
Also several large and handsome tests of 
Heterocentrotus mammillatus have come with the 
many other things which he has obtained in 
Europe. We would further call the attention of 
collectors to our fine stock of corals, including 
excellent specimens of the precious species 
( Corallium rubrum ) and representatives of the 
Genera Tubipora and Madrepora, 
