158 



Bird - Lore 



scratching the falling snow from their faces 

 with their feet — a pretty sight. 



During the last week in January, g Pine 

 Grosbeaks appeared. January 31,6 Even- 

 ing Grosbeaks, which were joined by 6 more 

 on March 1, with an equal number of full- 

 pi umaged and gray birds. February 29, a 

 flock of Cedar Waxwings came, and with 

 them 2 fully identified Bohemian Wax- 

 wings. March 1, either on our place or 

 within five minutes' walk, were 12 Evening 

 Grosbeaks, 9 Pine Grosbeaks, 10 Redpolls 

 feeding on maple buds, 52 Snow Buntings, 

 3 Juncos, 3 Tree Sparrows, 1 Long-eared 

 Owl, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers, 2 Downy 

 Woodpeckers, 1 Flicker, 3 Purple Finches, 

 42 Cedar Waxwings, 10 Starlings, 2 White- 

 breasted Nuthatches, 5 Chickadees, 5 Blue 

 Jays, and 3 Robins. 



There are two flocks of Cedar Birds, the 

 large flock and a smaller one of fifteen with 

 which the Bohemian Waxwings consort; 

 the small flock was not seen on March 1, 

 but came again on March 3. They fed 

 upon the fruit of two hawthorn trees near 

 our house and also upon the few cedar 

 berries which are left. 



The Long-eared Owl was seen by Mr. 

 and Mrs. Alan Claflin, of West Medford, 

 and the Bohemian Waxwings were first 

 seen by them on February 28, and reported 

 to me. I saw them at 8.30 a.m. on Feb- 

 ruary 29, and several times during that 

 day. Many of us here fed the birds all 

 winter and feel repaid by the great pleasure 

 they have given us.— Lidian E. Bridge, 

 West Medford, \fass., March 9, 1920. 



Evening Grosbeaks at Boston 



On Feb. 16, 1920, a flock of Evening 

 Grosbeaks appeared in the garden of St. 

 Johns House, Arlington Heights. Boston. 

 They remained all day. On the 26th, dur- 

 ing a heavy snowstorm, a male Grosbeak 

 came to the library window, evidently try- 

 ing to get in. The window was opened, he 

 came in and c ommeni ed eating a geranium 

 leaf. After a while he gave a clear, loud, 

 flute-like whistle, which one of the Sisters 

 interpreted as a demand for food. Worms 

 and seeds were brought to him, and he 



remained all t he afternoon, not in the least 

 afraid of the Sister.-, or children. When it 

 grew dark he flew off into the pine woods 

 back of the convent. — F. C. Powell, 

 S.S.J.E., Boston, Mass. 



Evening Grosbeaks at Nyack, N. Y. 



A flock of perhaps a dozen Evening 

 Grosbeaks made its appearance in Nyack, 

 N. Y., the last of February, 1920, and at 

 the date of writing (April 12) is still in 

 that vicinity. The birds evidently spend 

 the night at some point farther south, 

 arrive about 9 o'clock each morning, stay 

 for an hour or so, and disappear until the 

 next day, with an occasional visit in the 

 afternoon. — Mary L. Emery, Nyack, X. V . 



Winter Birds at Ridgewood, N. J. 



This last winter was the severest in the 

 memory of most of us, and, while filled 

 with many hardships, it brought great 

 pleasure to some of us living in the country. 

 At Ridgewood, N. J., we fed many rare 

 birds. Our pleasure was, however, some- 

 what marred when we realized that their 

 visits pointed to the fact that they must 

 have been great sufferers from the severity 

 of the season, as so many were utter 

 strangers to this section, the largest num- 

 bers being the Evening Grosbeaks. They 

 were first observed, s in all, on January 23, 

 at the home of Mrs. Carl M. Vail. The 

 next day 11 arrived, and, after that, more 

 and more each day. On February 15, 

 29 were at the feeding-table at one time. 

 and more were in the trees. They were 

 reported at seven different homes here, 

 where the winter feeding of birds is 1 arried 

 on systematii ally. They came, invariably, 

 between 6.30 and 7 \.\i., and ate greedily 

 of the sunflower seeds put out for them. 

 They ate cracked corn, also buckwheat. 

 but preferred the sunflower seeds. Their 

 habit was to remain around the feeding 

 place all the morning, when they would 

 disappear for two or three hours and 

 then return for more seeds. As late as 

 April 9,42 were counted in one place. On 

 April 11, two pairs came, and on the 



