April 29, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
653 
are suitable to their existence. But the condi¬ 
tions on Graham are absolutely unfavorable to 
the caribou. 
I have hunted both the wapiti in Vancouver 
Island and the caribou near Virago Sound. It 
was quite clear why the wapiti should thrive, 
and equally clear why the caribou shou'd not. 
My own and the more recent observations of 
Francis Kermode lead to the belief that the 
caribou on Graham Island are on the verge of 
extinction. 
Their origin must remain a mystery. 
Charles Sheldon. 
European Widgeon on Long Island. 
Bayside, L. I., April 22 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: J. C. Phillips’ article on widgeons of 
Europe and America, in Forest and Stream of 
April 15, and the two good drawings of the 
axillars of the two varieties, are interesting and 
The Crow’s Nesl. 
1 he snow is not melted when the female crow 
begins to look to her nest. If it is a new nest 
to be built, a tree is selected with the utmost 
care—the taller and more branchless it is the 
better—and a particular fork or crotch decided 
upon only after the most mature deliberation. 
If it is an old nest to be repaired, the bird 
spends several days in critical examination of 
it. Sometimes you will see her seated on a limb 
gazing intently at the little pile of sticks; again 
she will be all activity, hopping and prying here, 
there and everywhere. Evidently the occupa¬ 
tion affords her the greatest interest and pleas¬ 
ure, During this time the male is seldom in 
evidence. At length the examination is com¬ 
pleted and Madam Crow proceeds to operations. 
If the gales of winter have endangered the 
foundations of the nest, she will practically de¬ 
molish the structure and then rebuild it. But 
arms in these times and the universal enmity in 
this case which prompts their use. But the day 
is far distant when the crow will have taken its 
place with the great auk, for of all the feathered 
family he is probably the most subtle and cun¬ 
ning. Frank Moonan. 
Expedition to Laysan. 
The Laysan Island expedition, sent out by the 
State University of Iowa to investigate the rook¬ 
eries of Laysan, sailed from San Francisco April 
5. Its members traveled on the U. S. Army 
Transport Sherman, the vessel by the way which 
carried Gen. G. S. Anderson to the Philippines. 
Professor Homer R. Dill is in charge of the 
expedition. Chas. A. Corwin, of Chicago, is the 
artist and Horace Young and Clarence Albright 
the assistants. The expedition is to remain on 
the island of Laysan for about two months and 
is to furnish to the U. S. Biological Survey a 
OLD MALES READY TO FIGHT. 
AN OLD MALE ELEPHANT SEAL. 
useful. I had the good luck to kill a female 
European widgeon last winter while shooting 
with F. Augustus Schermerhorn at Gardiner’s 
Island. There was a good sized bunch of our 
American widgeon in one of the island ponds, 
some of which we killed, and I shot this bird 
as it was passing the decoys high in the air and 
alone. I have this specimen well mounted by 
Rowland who said it was an English widgeon 
and rare. I find the axillars are exactly like 
the one in the drawing of the European widgeon. 
In fifteen or more years of shooting at Gardi¬ 
ner’s Island only two or three European drakes 
have been shot and this is the first female re¬ 
corded. Robert C. Cornell. 
A White Robin. 
Terre Haute, Ind., April 14 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: An albino robin ( Turdus migra- 
torius) was taken yesterday about five miles west 
of Terre Haute. The bill was bright yellow, the 
feet and a few feathers on the wings a pale ash 
color, and a few scattering feathers on the 
breast, the regular robin red. The specimen is 
to be preserved. R. B. Stimson. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
this is seldom necessary, the foundations of a 
crow’s nest being made to last. As a rule a 
little trimming here and there and adding to 
the upper stories will suffice, but the inside is 
completely refurnished. The old lining is thrown 
out and new roots and grasses are introduced. 
While this is being done, the male is more often 
seen, but his function does not appear to be so 
much to help as to scare off thieves, for the 
nest builders love to pilfer from one another. 
The perpetual din of cawing which is heard in 
a rookery is no doubt occasioned for the most 
part by this habit of pilfering, being either notes 
of warning or angry cries of protest. 
Generally a couple of weeks will see the nest 
completed. Then follows an interval of two or 
three weeks more for love making, and though 
it must be confessed that this is not very poetica 1 , 
it is doubtless perfectly satisfactory to the par¬ 
ticipants. By April 1 the eggs are laid and in¬ 
cubation commences, so that ere winter is well 
over, the world is full of young crows. 
An interesting question suggests itself here: 
Are crows increasing? The farmer will say yes, 
but he is not a very trustworthy authority, for 
when he sees one or two crows, especially in 
seeding time, he is apt to think he sees a flock. 
Ornithologists are of the opinion that the race 
is diminishing slowly but surely. Nor is it to 
be wondered at, seeing the distribution of fire- 
detailed report as to the bird rookeries there, 
with special reference to the raids made on them 
about two years since by Japanese feather hun¬ 
ters. The members of the expedition have been 
appointed to act as game wardens during their 
stay, for the island is part of a bird refuge 
created by President Roosevelt. They will se¬ 
cure material for groups exhibiting the bird 
rookeries for the Natural History Museum of 
the University. 
New Publications. 
The Grand Canyon of Arizona, by George 
Wharton James. Cloth, 265 pages, illus¬ 
trated from photographs, $1.50 net. Boston, 
Little, Brown & Co. 
To attempt to describe the marvelous gran¬ 
deur of this wonderland is beyond the power 
of most mortals, but Mr. James is different; 
he lives on the rim of the canon. Further¬ 
more, he does not waste words in description 
alone, but gives the sportsman-tourist all the in¬ 
formation needed in order that he may see all 
that is to be seen. All who have read Helen 
Hunt Jackson’s “Ramona” and Mr. James’ 
“Through Ramona’s Country” need not be told 
that still another treat is in store for them in 
this volume. The photographs are excellent, the 
text is indexed, and there is a map of the canon. 
