Part 4

Of late years the Sea Gulls have found it so much to their interest to come up to the Thames in our midst that their graceful evolutions around the crowded bridges in ever growing flocks has almost ceased to excite notice. But this year, as never before, they have descended upon the water of St. James Park in such great numbers that their presence must considerably exercise the minds of those responsible for the welfare of the other wild fowl there. They may be seen sometimes resting upon the surface of the eastern half of the lake in sufficient number almost to hide the water. And at the luncheon hour, when released workers throng bank and bridge, bestowing upon the water the scanty fragments of their frugal meals, the gulls, on ready wing, with an agility born of long practice over stormy seas, give the clumsier Ducks and Geese hard work to obtain even a small share of what is going. Not so long ago a piece of plain bread might often float uneaten until it sank waterlogged for the benefit of the fish. It is so no longer. No crumb now goes a-begging or is scouted by any of the old habitues as beneath their notice.--

_London Paper._

SUMMARY.

Page 126.

=KINGBIRD OF PARADISE.=--_Cincinnurus regius._

RANGE--New Guinea and the neighboring islands.

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Page 130.

=PECCARY.=--_Dicotyles torquatus._

RANGE--From Arkansas to Brazil. This specimen was taken in Texas.

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Page 134.

=BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.=--_Tursiops tursio._

RANGE--Arctic ocean and the north of the Atlantic.

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Page 138.

=TUFTED PUFFIN.=--_Lunda cirrhata._ Other name: Sea Parrot.

RANGE--Coasts and islands of the north Pacific, from California to Alaska, and from Japan to Bering Strait. Accidental on the coast of Maine.

NEST--In crevices of rocks, often without lining.

EGG--One.

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Page 147.

=ARMADILLO.=--_Tatusia novemcincta._ Other name Peba.

RANGE--From Texas to Paraguay.

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Page 151.

=RED-HEADED DUCK.=--_Aythya americana._

RANGE--North America in general, breeding from California, Wisconsin, and Maine, northward.

NEST--On low grassy grounds near the water.

EGGS--Seven to ten, grayish white to pale greenish buff; oval in form.

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Page 155.

=GOLDENROD.=--_Solidago Virga-aurea._ The name is common to all the species of the genus _Solidago_.

+----------------------------------------------------------------- + | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. | | | | Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant | | form was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. | | | | Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. | | | | The Butterflies illustration has been moved from page 143 to | | page 145. | | | | Duplicated section headings have been omitted. | | | | Italicized words are surrounded by underline characters, | | _like this_. Words in bold characters are surrounded by equal | | signs, =like this=. | | | | The Contents table was added by the transcriber. | +------------------------------------------------------------------+