Albinism anil Melanism in North 
American Birds. Ruthven Deane, 
C. cristatus. ^ ~ ^ p/« £ . 
J Hayisi. y^^A. a beautiful specimen of a pe- 
culiar character of albinism, the bright plumage being modi- 
fied as though a white veil had been thrown over it, yet all the 
natural markings of the birds could be plainly seen. 
BuULN.O.O. 1, April, 1876, p . 22 
Albinos. — Mr. J. Calhoun writes from 
Illinois that a white Blue Jay came with 
others to feed on the soaked bread fed to 
his chickens. Noticing its peculiar color 
he secured it on Jan. 30th, and is having it 
carefully mounted. | He writes that he 
also saw a White Crow feeding on the car- 
cass of a dead horse, but was not able to 
secure it. i At a later date Mr. C. writes : 
“ We have been having fine, balmy weather 
for ten days. Most of the Spring birds 
are here. They came from one to two 
weeks earlier than last year. The Mead- 
ow Larks came Feb. 3d, Blue Birds 6th, 
Bobins 9th. The Brant, Geese, and 
Ducks came by the hundreds, the latter 
on the 11th and 12th. The sportsmen re- 
port all kinds of Water Fowl very plenty 
on the prairies, in the sloughs and ponds. 
I saw a great many Wild Pigeons on the 
3d inst. flying in all directions. William 
E. Hart and George Hunt killed an Owl 
with a steel trap to his leg the 5th inst. 
It measured four feet from tip to tip of 
wings, and was spotted. 
,k a goc 
indents. 
Q.&o. VII. May. 1882. p. ns'. 
Boston Scientific Society.— At the meet- 
ing of the Boston Scientific Society, June 26, 
the subject of albinism in birds was discussed 
by Mr. F. A. Bates. He inferred the remote 
cause of the phenomenon to be a disease in the 
: birds. The immediate cause is the failure of a 
supply of coloring matter or pigment. Climate 
at any rate is not the cause, as specimens are 
found in various latitudes. He exhibited sev- 
eral specimens, one of which was a pure white 
jay of the species known as the blue jay . 
Another was a “rusty bl ackbi rd,” which was 
partly white. 
9.&0. Sill, j u l y . 18 88 p. ll:. 
We recently received the following Albinos : 
Blue Jay — Q hot near Lynn, Mass., about 1857. Pure 
white, with slight pearly indications of the regular 
markings. 
O.&o. XIII. Aug. 1888 p.H: v 
[Some three years since we had an Albino 
Blue Jay, white as a bird could be. On the 
I wings a faint tracing in white could be seen of 
j the usual markings. — Ed.] 
Q.& O. Vol.l7,Jan.l8ea p. 14 
z-e< 
I have recently mounted an Albino Blue Jay I 
and would be glad to know if any readers of j 
the O. & O. ever came across one of the kind, j 
This specimen is of a rich cream color and I 
regard it quite an acquisition to my collection. f 
/d 
O. as O. VoL 17 , Jan. 1892 p. 14 
MvwC &rrv~sa^ , 71. H ■ . . P . U) ulclo TU^Ji . 
I * I l‘ a d something new, to me at 
least, sent in last week. A Blue Jay, with a 
pure white collar, half an inch wide all around 
the neck just back of the crest, crossed on the 
sides by the usual black line, the crest in front 
being made up largely of pure white feathers, 
making a very curious looking bird. 
Biids are not plenty here this winter, ow- 
ing, 1 suppose to the severity of the weather, 
indeed, so far, l have not seen a single Nut- 
hatch, though I have been in the woods a great 
deal. ' 6 
I here are a few Blue Jays, but they do not 
appear like their usual saucy selves, but half 
frightened as if they expected an avalanche of 
snow. Redpolls have been fairly common 
among the gray birches. I have noticed some 
Crossbills on Moat and Middle Mountains. 
( 9 , 
.I**?.)*. ioH- 
