187a. 
243 
though the da}' was rain}’ and foggy in the extreme. 
The Americans stayed securely at home during the 
morning, and in the afternoon ventured out to a prom- 
ised review of the Dublin barracks men at Phoenix 
Park. The rain caused a postponement, and after an 
hour spent in a tour of the Zoologieal Gardens, within 
the Paj-k, tlie team and party returned to a quiet evening 
at the hotel. 
The American party are now dividing the honors 
with the Lord Mayor of London, who has arrived in 
Dublin to attend the Lord ^Mayor’s banquet on the even- 
ing of the match. He is attended by the Lady ^layorcss, 
the High SheritI, a number of Aldermen, and an army of 
gaily gilt and powdered lackeys. The several Lord 
Mayors have met in all state, and will visit the range on 
the day of the match. On Wednesday there will be an 
excursion to the picturesque scenery of Wicklow, and it 
is probable Ills Lordship will leave for London on 
Thursday or Friday. Whit. 
The Champi on Sho t of America. 
The announcement that Capt. Bogardus the champion 
shot of America, had arrived in this country soon 
caused .some stir in pigeon shooting circles, and the 
fact of his having sent a challenge to the Ilurlingham 
Club, to shoot the best man they have, proves that the 
stranger is confident of his ability to meet all comers. 
The locale first chosen for Capt. Bogardus to show 
the Britishers how to shoot was Mr. Warner’s, the 
Welsh Harp, Hendon, and, 3Ionday afternoon being 
fine, there was* very fair company present. 
The proceedings commenced with a sweepstakes, Capt. 
Bogardus standing at twenty-nine yards, at which dis- 
tance be held his own against Mr. Fowler, and many 
other well known pigeon shots. A move was now 
•made down the field to witness the first of the exhibi- 
tion matches, viz., Capt. Bogardus to shoot at twenty- 
five pairs of pigeons, and to kill thirty-eight birds from 
two spring trans, forty yards apart; the shooter to stand 
on a line between the two traps, which are sprung at 
the same time. Ail being in readiness, the match began 
by the captain killing his left bird, and twisting his 
body round, his legs being firmly planted. Throughout 
this match the captain took his left-hand birU first, and 
at the finish the score stood thirty-nine kills out of forty 
four pigeons shot at. It should be mentioned that the 
birds were a mixed lot, with many “owls” amongst 
them; but for all this the general impression was that 
the captain could shoot, and as one well knowm pigeon 
crack remarked, “this stranger is no catch.” 
The next part of the programme was to kill twenty- 
five pigeons in four minutes, the captain to load his 
own gun; two birds to be on the wing at the same time. 
The cartridges were laid in readiness on a chair; alse a 
spare pair of barrels, which he changed himself. Young 
Hammond stood twenty yards from the shooter, with a 
pigeon in cash hand. On the signal being given the 
I birds were thrown into the air, but soon came down 
again. With astonishing quickness the gun was re- 
^ loaded and fired, till twenty-seven out of thirty birds 
■ were scored in ten seconds under three minutes. When 
Y half the birds were killed the barrels were changed in 
the stock by the captain himselt. The feat was loudly 
applauded, and no doubt could have been done in less 
time had the shooter so willed it. 
Capt. Bogardus’ style of shooting was very fair in- 
deed, the gun being held below the elbow; and the 
weapon he shoots with kills uncommonly clean and 
well. His gun is a No. 12 choke-bore, by Scott A Sons 
of Birmingham, and the stock is very much bent. He 
used .5 drachms of American powder (Orange Light- 
ning No. 0, which is much coarser than the English 
corre.sponding number), and 1 1-2 oz. of American No. 
U shot. We have weighed and counted the shot in one 
cartridge, and found the measured charge to be rather 
under the reputed weight, being 1 .5-12 oz. The number 
of pellets to the ounce is 470, being between Nos. 7 and 
8 of Walker, Parker & Co.’s London size. 
The Ilurlingham Club have written accepting his 
challenge to shoot with one of their members, on cer- 
tain conditions, and matter^will no doubt be arranged 
upon the captain’s return fi’bm Dublin, for which city 
he started on Wednesday last. Before the company 
broke up, a match for £.50 a side was made by Mr. Ibm- 
mell to shoot Capt. Bogardus at 100 birds, 3C yards rise, 
i usual conditions. — London Field. 
SuBSCP.rBERS are requested to forward names of 
brother sportsmen to whom specimen copies may be 
sent. 
THE .IIIGRATIOA OF I\LAM) BIRDS. 
BV ch.vrt.es c. .vbbott, m. d. 
(Continued from page 330.) 
remarked, “most animals and plants keej) to their 
proper homes, and do not needlessly wander about; we 
see this, even with migratory birds, which almost al- 
ways return to the same spot.” At any rate, the sum- 
mer of 1874, in this neighborhood, was the driest in the 
past forty years, and it seemed as if the cheVink knew 
what was coming. So, at least, we believe. During 
this sea.son we noted the entire ab.sence, during the 
summer, of several migratory birds, common, as a rule, 
and a very marked decrease in the numbers of those 
that did appear; but, at the same time, our note-books 
mention the arrival of one or more individuals of every 
oue of our migratory birdti. Many, like the chewink, 
foresaw what was conning and acted accordingly. It 
would be most interesting to determine if insect-life was 
less abundant than usual during the past summer, but 
concerning this we have only to note, as suggestive that 
it was so, a marked freedom of the fruit-trees and fruit 
itself from the attacks of their insect enemies. 
Another feature of the migration of our inland birds 
must here be briefly referred to; and that is, the failure 
of late years of certain species to come, as a rule, as far 
north as New .Jersey; and also the habit, now fully ac- 
quired by others, of remaining throughout the year, 
when, but a comparatively short time ago, these same 
birds were truly migratory. 
As an instance: tiie summer red-bird {Pyrangn m- 
tim), twenty years ago, was a regular visitor to Central 
New Jersey, arriving about !May 1st and remaining un- 
til October. It nested on trees, frequently in apple- 
orchards. laying pretty puriile-blotched, green eggs. 
It preferred wooded hillsides with a grovi^h of under- 
brush, and having a southern exposure. In such situa- 
tions they were numerous, and to one such locality, in 
particular, we can well remember the charm they added 
to the scene by the bright gleam of their plumage as 
they passed from tree to tree, uttering their peculiar 
but not melodious notes. For the past fifteen years we 
have not seen half a dozen individuals, and recorded no 
nests since 1857. In far scantier numbers the scarlet 
tanager {Pyranga rubra) has taken their place, although 
this bird is not rare by any means, nor was it so when 
the preceding species was abundant. 
It is much the same with the mocking-bird {Mimus 
jxjlyglottix). Formerly, as regular in its appearance, if not 
as abundant, as the cat-bird, it is now among our rarest 
summer visitors. An occasional pair, selecting some 
well-tangled thicket, will come late or early, and build 
their nest, and then half a dozen years may elapse be- 
fore we seen them again. Yet, thirty years ago these 
birds were common. 
As instances of “spring arrivals” as we will class 
them, that have become resident species, we will first 
mention the well-known blue-bird (Sialii sialii), which, 
whatever may be the state of tlie weather, is as lively 
and full of song from November 1st to April as from 
April to November; yet it is still considered as a migra- 
tory species, and formerly, we doubt not, was so, even 
in New Jers<-y. .More interesting are the two instances 
yet to mention, being those of the common yellow- 
rumped warbler {JJendroica coronata), which, in scanty 
numbers, braves our winters and from the tops of the 
loftier pines chirps merrily while the snow-flakes fill 
the air, and later in the winter seeks shelter in protected 
nooks where the noonday sun has melted the snow and 
gives us a breath of spring-like air. In several such 
spots, since February, 1803, when w'e shot the fir.st 
“winter’ ’specimen, we have not failed to find several 
individuals of this species, during each of the winter 
months, and of their number that tlius remain with us 
there seems to be a steady increase. The same remarks 
will apply, in part, to that beautiful hut not well-known 
songster, Bewick’s wren (Thryothorue hewickii). They 
too, in scanty numbers, congregate in sheltered places 
having a southern outlook, and now, while wc are writ- 
ing (October 29th) we can hear the clear notes of this 
lively bird as it sits, braving a chilly westerly wind, 
perched on a leafless branch of a sycamore. 
VVe have noted noiv the more prominent features in 
the migratory habits of our inland birds as they come 
to us in May’from the South, save the one fact, the bear- 
ing of which upon the subjeet we cannot determine, 
that a large proportion of the birds perform the journev 
by night, the otliers wholly by day. At lea.st this is the 
common impre.'sion, but it is difficult to demonstrate it. 
Hoiv little, really, we know of the precise modus ope- 
randioi migration! All through Acril and May, if 
astir at the earliest dawn, W'hen the resident birds are 
just starting their morning songs, we will occasionally 
hear the welcome notes of some summer bird for the 
first time. Has it been winging its wav northward 
through the thick, black hours of night, guided by 
some unknown sense, and no sooner above its old-time 
haunts than it checks its onward cour.se, and fro:n a fa- 
miliar tree sings with grateful heart a loud thanksgiving 
glee? 
If we wander about those quiet nooks and by-ways, 
where the first thrushes and warblers arc likely to be 
seen these same months, we will find all the day long, 
and eveniiig too, these birds “conspicuous for their ab- 
sence.” Not a chirp or twitter, save of the sparrows 
and tits of all the year, and the lingering snow-birds 
that seem to’regret leaving oiir jilcasant places. Far 
into the night we may remain, and only the startled 
chirp of some disturbed or dreaming bird, or the fret 
and scolding of little owls, greet our ears. The silence 
of midnight may pass unbroken, and then, as the first 
gray streaks of light in the hazy east herald the oncom- 
ing day, suddenly a cheerful warble from some tall ce- 
dar or tangled brier-patch breaks the dead silence, and 
we mark the arrival of the first spring songster of its 
kind. Did it reach us at sunset, and, resting a few 
hours, then announce its presence with its cheery song? 
Both by day and by night, it may be, they come, but 
why at all by night, if so, must ever be a great mystery 
in the strange habit of migration. 
Let us next study our birds during the autumn. 
A careful examination of the many notes, jotted 
down at irregular intervals, during the months of Sep- 
tember, October, and November, with respect to the 
departure south of such of our birds as are summer 
residents, and of some that, having passed the summer 
in regions far to the north, are now', likewise, seeking 
their accustomed winter quarters, indicates a similar 
apparent regularity in the southward movement of our 
birds as in spring, and at the same time an actual degree 
of variation in the dates of departure e.xceediiig the 
irregularity of the dates of arrival. 
If w 0 -consider the several circumstances that would 
necessarily influence their migratory movements, this 
actual irregularity, in autumn, is just what should be 
expected; but in the spring, as every bird returns to its 
own home and former nest, if possible, they will not 
linger on the way, as they know too well the length of 
the journey, and the coming duties of incubation speed 
them on, and we wonder why they are not more regular 
in their movements. In autumn, all this is changed. 
Now nothing need hurry them, and, so long as they 
find an abundance of food, they leisurely move along, 
just keeping ahead, as it seems, of the chilling frosts of 
the coming winter, which they can easily endure, but 
which robs them of the food they must have. This is 
especially true of insect-eating birds. Considered in 
this light, we are not surprised to find, then, as a rule, 
that the warblers, swallows, and such other birds as de- 
pend wholly upon insects for their sustenance, leave 
more promptly in larger numbers, atone time, than do 
granivorous birds, and those that can subsist on seeds, 
while they consume insects so long as they can find 
them. 
The weather, both during September and October, is 
exceedingly variable, and this fact causes the southward 
movements of the migratory, insect-eating birds equally 
so, inasmuch as these birds are not larvm-hunting 
species, but depend upon insects that can be caught 
upon the wing, or are to be found resting upon the 
leaves and twigs of the trees; therefore, just so long as 
the heavy white frosts are delayed, these insectivorous 
birds will linger with us. Up to a certain date, about 
October 1st on the average, these birds largely increase 
in numbers, consequent upon the daily accession of 
those from the north, and after the maximum is reached 
(October 1st or earlier, in accordance with the weather,) 
their numbers steadily decrease, until but a few strag- 
glers remain. 
We feel quite confident that in exceptionally mild 
winters many more migratory birds winter in Southern 
New Jersey than ornithologists suspect; and ■we can 
see, in the lingering remnant of the great flight of 
warblers that annually pass through the State, that 
gradual adaptation to surrounding conditions, on the 
part of birds, that as centuries roll by, evolves, by that 
mystery of mysteries, the “survival of the fittest,” new 
species from the old. 
Again, long after the true insect-eaters, such as the 
fly-catchers (Fyra/tnfrf^v,) the vireos ( VireonidoB,) and tho 
swallows {llirundinida;,) with the chimney-swallow, 
humming-bird colubris,) whippoorwill {ArUros- 
tomus \vociferus,) night-hawk {Citordeiles popelune,) and 
the two cuckoos (Coccygus Amcricanus) and erythroph- 
thalmus,) have passed southivard, beyond the limits of 
the State, and scarcely a leaf is left upon the forest- 
trees, when not one straggling fly-catcher, in a day’s 
walk, can be found hovering about the many spots so 
lately tenanted by myrids of their kind, we have yet 
the pleasure of seeing in our rambles, many a blithe 
sparrow, either in the field or about leafless hedges, or 
haunting the still green but nearlv deserted swampy 
meadows, and even, late as it is, an occasional grosbeak, 
as it half conceals its gorgeous ruby and black plumsgo 
in some dark cedar, while it utters in broken cadences a 
fragment of Its glorious song. 
Of our many sparrows, of which several are resident 
species, we have noted down for several years, when 
the severity of the winter was yet to come, even as late 
as December 14th, the jiresence of the pretty bay-winged 
bunting (Pi/ocfetcs grnmineus,) and in less scanty num- 
bers the quiet little field-sparrowj(5;M4eKa pusilla.) In the 
wet, reedy meadows, it is not until winter has encased 
in ice the tangled grasses, that the swamp-sparrow quits 
its home. For two years past we have noticed that in 
the dry upland fields, all through November’s hazy In- 
dian summer, the sprightly black-throated bunting (Eu- 
gpiza amcricaiia,) still remains, in little companies; and 
in the quiet woodlands,) ever and anon, a retiring gros- 
beak {Hedymeles inelatioccphalus) lingers, until biting 
north winds drive him from his summer haunts. Last 
year, the Indigo-bird (Cytniospiza cyanea) until the 20th 
of November remained with us, singing as merrily from 
the have branches of the maples as when, during the 
summer, they cheered their brooding mates with almost 
ceaseless song. The bobolink, in spite of the persecu- 
tion they suffer from sportsmen, hold to their reedy 
haunts, in scattering pairs, often until the first fall of 
snow, and this same bird — “ rced-bird ” in autumn 
(J)olkhouyx oryzicorus) — being seen so early in the spring, 
occasionally, may possibly remain, but if so, very 
rarely, A few red-ivinged blackbirds (Agelaius plusni- 
cuus,) we know, withstand our winters, and seem to find 
food somewhere and how, even wlien the thermometer 
is at zero. [to be coutikued.] 
