May, 19201 



The Canadian Fieljj-Naturalist 



97 



stretch of river, upon which no other pair appears 

 to intrude. In conclusion it can truly be said that 

 of the very intimate home life and traits of even our 

 must common birds we know very little, and I have 

 yet to see the text book that gives any definite in- 



formation on the exact incubation period of the 

 Spotted Sandpiper, which in the case of its cousin 

 (Tringa h})polenca) has only lately been ascertained 

 to be twenty one days. See "British Birds," 1913, 

 Vol. vii, p. 146. 



WINTER BIRD LIST FROM LONDON, ONTARIO. 

 (Submitted by the McIlwraith Ornithological Club, through Mr. E. M. S. Dale.) 



Have other localities been as favored with birds 

 as was London last winter? From January 1 to 

 February 8, forty-one species were reported which 

 is about twice the normal number. 



As is the usual practice of our club members we 

 took the 7.40 train to Hyde Park on New Year's 

 morning and walked back to the city, a distance of 

 probably six or seven miles, following roughly the 

 course of the River Thames. We made a list of 

 twenty-two species, and on the following Saturday, 

 January 3, visiting practically the same district, 

 made another list of eighteen, which included six 

 not seen on New Year's Day. Since then "one at 

 a time" has been the usual rule until we now have 

 a total of forty-one as above mentioned. December 

 was quite cold and snowy, and January decidedly 

 so, the thermometer registering zero and below on 

 many occasions, and a snowfall of upwards of two 

 and one-half feet being registered for the month. 

 The list in order of date is as follows: 



January 1. Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nu- 

 thatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bluejay, American 

 Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Black-capped 

 Chicadee, American Goldeneye, American Mer- 

 ganser, Snowbird, Rusty Blackbird, Red-winged 

 Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, 

 Pine Siskin, Junco, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Car- 

 dinal, Crow, Purple Finch, Tree Sparrow, White- 

 throated Sparrow. 



January 3. Hairy Woodpecker, Black Duck, 

 Redpoll, Goldfinch, Northern Shrike, Kingfisher. 



January 4. Hudsonian Chicadee. 



January 5. Robin, Evening Grosbeak, Long- 

 eared Owl. 



January 11. Bronzed Grackle. 



January 12. Sharp-shinned Hawk. 



January 16. Coopers Hawk. 



January 21. Screech Owl. 



January 22. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 



February 1. Ruffed Grouse. 



February 6. Pine Grosbeak. 



February 7. Herring Gull. 



February 8. Red-shouldered Hawk. 



The following notes on some of the species may 

 be of interest. 



American Crossbill. Two rosy ones feeding quite 

 low in a hemlock tree. Others have been seen 

 seen since in Norway spruces. 



White-winged Crossbill. The flock of twelve or 

 fifteen seen on New Year's Day were in a hemlock 

 which seems to be the favorite food of these birds 

 here. There were several rosy ones in the lot. 

 White wings have not been reported since that date. 

 Cardinal. Previous to 1910, Cardinals were of 

 accidental or very casual occurrence here. Since 

 that date they have been gradually increasing in 

 numbers and are now fairly common. One winter 

 one of our members had six or seven feeding at his 

 place. They are a very welcome addition to our 

 bird population. 



Siskin. Pine Siskins were unusually abundant 

 this fall, and since winter set in an occasional flock 

 of two have been seen. 



Rusty Blackbird. This and the Redwing have 

 been keeping each other company at a point where 

 a little stream (which looks and smells like sewage) 

 enters the river. It is our first winter Rusty although 

 Redwings have been recorded twice before. 



White-throated Sparrow. White-throats have 

 stayed with us occasionally in winter, but this bird is 

 living right in the heart of the city, being fed by 

 friends and using a Norway spruce hedge for shel- 

 ter. During December and early January it sang 

 with spring time vigor, and would answer readily 

 to a whistled imitation of its song. 



Redpoll. Redpolls are quite common this win- 

 ter, hardly a trip being taken to the country when 

 they were not recorded. They have been feeding al- 

 most exclusively on birch trees. 



Hudsonian Chicadee. Two specimens were tak- 

 en by a collector near London, and at least two 

 more have visited the food shelves of members of 

 our Bird Club in different parts of the city. 



Evening Grosbeak. First reported by Mr. A. 

 Wood near Coldstream, on January 5th. Since then 

 a flock of some twenty-five have been seen by dif- 

 ferent parties in and near the city, as well as smaller 

 flocks which may be part of the twenty-five. 



Black Duck. An unusual winter duck for us. 

 Has been seen several times in the same locality. 

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. First winter recorded. 



