82 THE CONDOR Vol. XX sons to pass within thirty yards of it. As Dr. Russell is well versed in' ornitholo- gy as well as in entomology, there is every reason to regard his identification as correct. Of course the question can always be raised as to any one's being able positively to identify this bird in the field. On August 14, 1913, Mr. J. W. Woods, of Houston, who is familiar with the Spoonbill, saw, on the islands opposite Sylvan Beach, a red wading bird which he identified as a Scarlet Ibis. His identification, however, was made at a distance of 300 yards. Such evidence as illustrated in the last three instances quoted could be ex- tended, and there is much less reason for questioning it than when some noisy sport rents a gun and goes out for a day, coming back with a good story in lieu of game. One such man would do much more advertising than Mr. Jones, Dr. Russell or Mr. Woods. It is not surprising that discerning people in general hsten to all reports of strange birds with disinterested indifference. Mr. I. N./-Ieibner, of Houston, reports seeing two of these birds in the last l:ive years. Four years ago his hunting partner killed a Scarlet Ibis. This speci- men, a medium-sized male, was mounted and placed on exhibition at the Isch Ga Bibble Bar. When the business changed hands Mr. Max ?Brock got possession of the bird and took it to his home. Though the bird had been poorly mounted and was in a bad state of preservation, Mr. Brock refused to part with it. No less .than nine mounted specimens of the Scarlet Ibis can be accounted for: two in Houston, two in San Antonio, three in Galveston, one. in Rockport and one in Corpus Christi. Of this number, the one (see fig. 10) in the Attwater exhibit at the City Auditorium, lfouston, is the most available of the really au- hentic birds. This exhibit is open t?o the public every day. It was prepared with great care by Professor Attwater and sold to the Progressive League at a nominal price. Afterwards the city was induced to take over the exhibit and it was lodged .at the City Hall; later it was removed to the City Auditorium. The other specimen in Houston seems to be quite as authentic, as regards capture in Texas. One of the San Antonio specimens is at the Elks Club and while complete data can not be had, it seems to have been taken near Aransas Pass. The other one was at the Plaza Bar and there was no available data. "Bar-room ornitholo- gy" differs materially from scientific ornithology. Of the three specimens at Galveston, one is in a curio shop and the other two are in bar rooms. At one time there was a taxidermist in Galveston who did a thriving business furnishing stufed birds, especially ducks and geese, to sports- men who wanted to take some trophies back home. A man could come there and spend a week at the hotel, loafing and playing cards, then buy some mounted birds or fish and get a good write-up in his home papers. It has not proven possible to get data for any of the Galveston birds. There is no authentic data available for the specimen at Rockport. The one that is on display at a sporting goods store at Corpus Christi was probably killed on Corpus Christi Bay, but it has been on hand a long time and even the year in which it was killed cannot be definitely fixed. It seems that to call a bird rare is equivalent to marking it for destruction. There is no doubt that in many cases the report that a Scarlet Ibis was to be seen along the coast, caused men to get their guns and go out to look for it. Even dis- cussion such as the present, if widely circulated, may serve only to hasten exter~ ruination. Houston, Texas, January 5, 1918.
