As yet Dr. Krukenberg has been unable to extract any green, blue, or purple pigment from feathers, so that he agrees with Bogdanon that blue feathers have no pigment as proved by transmitted light. Of this any one can at once convince himself by holding the feather of a Bluebird immersed in water between himself and a window.—J. Amory Jeffries.
Minor Ornithological Papers.—161. The Ruddy Duck (Erismatura rubida). By Spencer Trotter, Chicago Field, Vol. XIII, p. 23.—Brief general account, including reference to their occasional great abundance in Chesapeake Bay.
162. Bibliographical Manuals of American Naturalists. Chapter II. Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A. By William Hosea Ballou. Ibid., XIII, pp. 92, 103, 123, 189, 205, 221.—Rather more than 400 titles of papers and works, relating mainly to ornithology.
163. Nomenclature of the North American Grouse. By Spencer Trotter. Ibid., XIII. pp. 314, 315.—Common and scientific names of North American Grouse, with their principal synonymy and habitats.
163. The California Quails in Missouri. By H. Clay Ewing. Ibid. XIII, p. 413.—Six or seven pairs, turned out near the junction of the Missouri and Osage Rivers in March 1879, raised broods the following season near where they were liberated.
164. Bibliographical Manual of American Naturalists Chapter III. The Literature of Prof. Edward D. Cope. By Wm. Hosea Ballou. Ibid. XIV, pp. 19, 20.—Contains a few ornithological titles.
165. Can the Pinnated Grouse be successfully propagated? By H. W. Merrill. Forest and Stream, XVI, Feb. 10, 1881, p. 28.—Believes they can be “successfully propagated” with proper “regard to cover, food and range.”
166. Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator, L., V.) and Robin (Turdus migratorius, L.) in Winter [in Nova Scotia]. By. J. Matthews Jones. Ibid., XVI. March 13, 1881, p. 86.—The former “quite common”; small flocks of the latter frequent the spruce woods every winter, in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax peninsula.
167. The “Crane’s Back.” By J. C. Merrill. Ibid., XVI, March 10, 1881, p. 105.—A Cree Indian account of the napite-shu-utle, a bird said to migrate by taking passage on the backs of Cranes. The bird is believed to be a Grebe.
168. A Hawk new to the United States. By Robert Ridgway. Ibid., XVI, Apr. 14, 1881, 206.—From Oyster Bay, Fla., provisionally referred to Buteo fuliginosus. (See this Bull., VI, Oct. 1881, p. 207.)