We are not to judge of the advantage or disadvantage of the rattles by their effect upon the nerves of man alone, though no doubt many a man has turned his back and been deterred from making an attack by the sound of these rattles and the defiant attitude of their possessor.

The ability of the snake to defend itself does not consist in its strength or size, or in its power of overcoming its adversary by a prolonged conflict, for most of its enemies are its superior in size and strength. Nor does its deadly poison act quickly enough to secure its own safety when it is attacked, but, in most cases, the victim, after the deadly stroke is given may still revenge itself by the destruction of the snake. But the certainty of the effect of the poison serves as a warning and is advantageous, not in defense after the attack is made, but in preventing an attack from being made. If, then, the color of the rattlesnake were different from all harmless snakes, so much so as to render it conspicuous, this would be beneficial to it, by the readiness with which all animals would recognize it, and thus protect the snake by this notice of the deadly character of its weapons. If then a conspicuous color would be of advantage, it seems to me that any other means which it may be able to use in making known its character to any animal that may come near it, would be advantageous, and would be increased and preserved by natural selection, and that the whirring noise which it produces, in this view of the matter, admirably serves its purpose. In effect it amounts to this, and by experience its enemies learn to understand its language, "I am a rattlesnake, armed with what will be death to you if you come too near; give me a wide berth!"

Prof. Shaler remarks that it is a fact well known doubtless to those who have observed serpents, that many when in a state of excitement vibrate the end of their tail just as the rattlesnake does. This statement reminded me of a South American species described by Darwin in his "Voyage of a Naturalist” (vol. i, p. 123, Harper's ed.), where he says:

"Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus, or Cophias), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and the viper. In conformation of this opinion I observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may

be in some degree independent of structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. The extremity of the tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which is very slightly enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly vibrates the last inch; and this part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, produces a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. As often as the animal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the vibrations were extremely rapid. Even as long as the body retained its irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident. This Trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects, the structure of a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake; the noise, however, being produced by a simpler device."

It was these remarks of Darwin that first suggested the problem of the rattlesnake's tail to my mind, and, as I had thought considably about the matter, of course I was deeply interested in the paper by Prof. Shaler; but I must acknowledge that, while many of his suggestions are correct and highly valuable, I was disappointed to find that the only advantageous use, in his estimation, of this tail appendage of the rattlesnake, is an imitative call-note to allure birds within its reach, and that, otherwise, it is rather a disadvantage than an advantage to be preserved and perfected by natural selection. If it is useful for both purposes, then there is a double reason for the action of natural selection. If it is not used as an imitative call-note, but is useful in the manner I have pointed out, then I have shown that it is explained by natural selection.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE WEST.

BY J. A. ALLEN.

I. NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF KANSAS.

IN the spring of 1871 an expedition to the Plains and the Rocky Mountains was sent out by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, under the charge of the writer. During the nine months spent in the field by the party in question, the department of ornithology received a large share of attention. In the following pages it is proposed to give a hasty résumé of such observations

as may be supposed to interest the ornithological readers of the NATURALIST, reserving a more detailed and formal report for publication elsewhere.*

Leavenworth, Kansas, was the point at which we commenced our labors. During the ten days spent at this locality we collected or observed nearly one hundred species of birds. Although we arrived here May 2d, the country wore the aspect of a New England June. The prairies were already green with waving grass and the forests were nearly in full leaf. The apple trees were some days out of bloom, and the young cherries were as large as very large peas; the vegetation being fully a month in advance of its usual stage in Southern New England at the same date. Comparatively few of the birds, however, were nesting; some had not arrived from the South, and others whose breeding stations were more to the northward still lingered.

We found in the vicinity of Leavenworth a collector's paradise, the forests of the Missouri bottom-lands literally swarming with birds, many of which none of the party had before seen in life, the general aspect of the ornithological fauna being strikingly diverse from that of the northeastern states. The red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus and Centurus Carolinus) revelled among the grand old elms and cottonwoods of the bottom-lands, some of which tower to the height of one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet. The golden-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus) was almost equally abundant, and showed its close affinity with its red-shafted brother of the mountains and the Pacific Slope (C. Mexicanus) by already frequently presenting touches of red in its black check patches. Although the hairy and downy woodpeckers (Picus villosus and P. pubescens) were both observed, they seemed by no means common. The crested titmouse (Lophophanes bicolor) and the merry cardinal (Cardinalis Virginianus) vied with each other in their noisy demonstrations, both being exceedingly abundant and garrulous. Their vocabulary seemed inexhaustible, as they every day astonished us with new sounds, which we often at first supposed to proceed from some bird hitherto unknown to us. The blue jay (Cyanura cristata) was equally

*This report will embrace annotated faunal lists for eight localities, with a general summary list for the whole. Mr. C. W. Bennett accompanied the expedition as taxidermist, and Mr. Richard Bliss as ichthyologist, both of whom, especially the former, greatly aided in the ornithological work.

at home, and as vivacious and even more gayly colored than at the north. While he seemed to have forgotten none of the droll notes and fantastic ways one always expects from him, he has here added to his manners the familiarity that usually characterizes him in the more newly settled parts of the country, and anon . surprised us with some new expression of his feelings or sentiments, some unexpected eccentricity in his varied notes, perhaps developed by his more southern surroundings. The yellowbreasted chat (Icteria virens) disported himself among the tangled underbrush, and seemed highly to enjoy the discomfiture to which he often put us, through his well-known ventriloquial accomplishments, in our search for his exact whereabouts. The Carolina wren (Thryothorus Ludovicianus) was more or less common, and already had young full-fledged on our arrival, while the only other birds then found breeding were the cardinal, the towhe and the brown thrush. Most of these, however, were still pairing and nestbuilding. The common chickadee (Parus atricapillus) and the house wren (Troglodytes aëdon) were both common, but were far less numerous and much more retiring than their more demonstrative southern relatives already mentioned.

Among the warblers three southern forms were the most common, their bright colors often attracting the eye as they flitted through the openings among the trees. These were the Kentucky (Oporornis formosus), the hooded (Wilsonia mitrata Bon.) and the blue-winged yellow (Helminthophaga pinus). They seemed aware that they were especial objects of attention to the collector, and took good care not to exhibit themselves unnecessarily. The golden-crowned warbler (Helminthophaga celata) was also one of the most numerous of the Sylvicolide. The Nashville (II. rubricapilla), the blue yellow-backed (Parula Americana) and the black and white creeper (Mniotilta varia) were likewise moderately frequent. The beautiful cærulean warbler (Dendrœca cœrulea) was met with a few times, the Blackburnian (D. Blackburnia) once or twice, and the yellow rumped (D. coronata) but once, though the latter was doubtless common somewhat earlier in the season. The yellow warbler (D. æstiva) was more or less common along the outskirts of the forests; the chestnut-sided (D. Pennsylvanica) was by no means rare; redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) were seen but a few times, and the Maryland yellow-throat (Geothlypis trichas) was far from numerous.

Of thrushes, by far the most common was the wood thrush (Turdus mustelinus), which was abundant. Although it was the pairing season, they were comparatively quite unmusical, their song being shorter, and, it seemed to me, far inferior to that of the representatives of this species at the North. The birds were also much less wary, being easily approached. I shot five or six in half an hour during one of our excursions, and might have easily got as many more had not rarer species more especially attracted my attention. The olive-backed thrush (T. Swainsonii) was also common, but save the brown thrush (Harporhynchus rufus) and the catbird, which were both tolerably numerous, no other thrush, not even the robin, was met with. The common eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) was frequent, especially near the borders of the forests.

Of vireos, three species only were seen, the red-eyed, the warbling and the white-eyed, all of which were moderately and about equally frequent. The logger-headed shrike (Collurio Ludoviciana) was occasionally seen, generally along the edges of the prairie.

Harris's finch (Zonotrichia querula) was, next to the cardinal, the most abundant species of the family of sparrows and finches, as it was also one of the largest and handsomest. It almost exclusively frequented the damper parts of the woods, associating with the white-throated sparrow (Z. albicollis), much resembling it both in habits and song. The white crowned (Z. leucophrys) and Lincoln's sparrow (Melospiza Lincolnii) were each a few times met with. The song sparrow was scarcely observed; the swamp sparrow was common, as were also the chipping and field sparrows. The beautiful lark finch (Chondestes grammaca) was among the rarer species. The towhe was numerous and the indigo bird (Cyanospiza cyanea) made its appearance in consid erable numbers soon after our arrival. The black-winged red bird, or scarlet tanager, was the only representative we saw of the tanagers. It was, however, abundant, and though so gorgeously arrayed at the north, the intensity of its colors was appreciably greater here.

Of the Icteridae, the Baltimore and orchard orioles were both abundant, the Baltimore indulging in a dialect so different from that of its northern relatives as often to puzzle us to make out to what bird its strange notes belonged. Its colors, also, were