June, 1881.] 
AND OOLOGIST 
29 
Ruby Throated Hummingbird. —( Trochi- 
lus coluhris Linnaeus.) Late in Septem¬ 
ber, 1879, near noon, a gentleman brtbngo 
me a female of this bird, apparently quite 
dead and limp, and with the tail feathers 
all missing, rendering it imperfect. I re¬ 
fused to mount it on account of its missing 
appendage. The bird was left lying in a 
large bay window, full of choice house- 
plants,in my place of business, upon a slop¬ 
ing belt of damp green moss, surrounding 
a fountain basin. The weather being quite 
cool, necessitated a fire in the room. There 
the bird lay and was forgotten for about 
an hour and a half. When I picked it upj 
quite damp from the sjiray, I was aston¬ 
ished to see a sort of gas23. I could scarcely 
believe my own eyes, since the bird had 
been found lying upon his back under a 
porch early that morning and was not no¬ 
ticed until swept off. After a pause this 
was repeated again and again. I placed the 
bird in the sun, where these gasjis gradu- 
ually became quicker and softer, until 
within an other hour, these aiiproached 
natural breathing, and soon after it could 
be seen flying about the room uttering its 
low chirp, while sipjiing nectar from the 
many flow^ers; now and then it would come 
to a button-hole bouquet in the lajiel of my 
coat. The next day being warmer, the 
bird was given its freedom. 
I have had live birds of this species, of 
both sexes, brought me on several occa¬ 
sions, which would fly about the room and 
feast on the flowering jilants, as above, 
never missing a button-hole bouquet or 
flowers held in the hand by any one stand¬ 
ing near, while quiet. 
The above remarkable incident was wit¬ 
nessed by several prominent business men 
and my family.—A. H. Mundt. Fairbury, Ill. 
Great Auk. 
A few months ago, the interest of orni¬ 
thologists and oologists in the Great Ank 
was again aroused by the discovery, in a 
collection of eggs which had been sold for 
a small sum by auction at Edinburgh, two 
rather damaged sjiecimens of the eggs of 
the Great Auk. The lucky purchaser sent 
them to Stiven’s Auction Rooms in Lon¬ 
don, and they were sold, one for one hun¬ 
dred pounds, and the other for one hun¬ 
dred and two pounds. 
The late Mr. Proctor of Durham, went 
to Iceland in 1833 and 1837, in search of 
this bird, but was not able to find it, 
though he stayed at Gramsey, a small 
island forty miles north of the mainland. 
There are in this neighborhood two sjieci- 
mens of the bird, one in Durham and one 
in Newcastle Museum. There are thirty- 
four birds and about fifty eggs in various 
European collections. Several years ago, 
during the cleaning of the museum of the 
Royal College of Surgeons, London, a box 
was discovered, and on examination it was 
found to contain several eggs of the Great 
Auk. 
In 1878 some caves were discovered near 
Whitburn, a village on the coast of Dur 
hain, in which were found a large quantity 
of human and animal remains, among them 
were several bones of the Great Auk. This 
is the more interesting as only one authen¬ 
ticated instance of the bird having occurred 
in the neighborhood had before been re¬ 
corded.— J . T. T. Reed, Ryho^ie, Durham 
Co., England. 
Small Green—crested Flycatcher._ 
Dates of the arrival of the Small Green- 
crested Flycatcher {Empidonax acadicns) 
for 25 years in Locke, Ingham Co., Michi¬ 
gan. This species is a common summer 
resident, but I have never found it breed¬ 
ing. The first one ever met with here was 
taken May 3d, 1857. 
May 3, 1857 Apr. 28, 1866 May 5, 1874 
Apr. 29, 1858 Apr. 30, 1867 May 9, 1875 
May 2, 1859 Apr. 29, 1868 May 7, 1876 
Apr. 21, 1860 May 2, 1869 May 10, 1877 
Apr. 23, 1861 Apr. 2.5, 1870 Ajir. 2,5, 1878 
Aj)!-. 26, 1862 Apr. 29, 1871 Apr. 30, 1879 
Apr. 30, 1863 Apr. 25, 1872 Apr. 26, 1880 
May 5, 1864 May 4, 1873 Apr. 24, 1881 
Aj)r. 26, 186.5 Dr. H. A. Atkins. 
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