Notes from Field and Study 



207 



first nest. Mourning Doves rear several 

 broods, some as late as September. It is the 

 habit of most birds, when one nest is de- 

 stroyed, straightway to build another. It 

 would therefore seem to be true that the few 

 depredations perpetrated by squirrels, and 

 done doubtless more through sheer prank - 

 ishness than from evil intent, do not lessen 

 in any appreciable degree the number of 

 birds. 



It must be recognized, however, that wild 

 creatures, while usually liking company, 

 also like room. Squirrels may become so 

 numerous in a town as to drive many birds 

 away, just as English Sparrows or Grackles 

 may become so numerous as to crowd other 

 birds out; but a 'sprinkling' of squirrels in a 

 well-shaded town does not decrease either the 

 number or kinds of birds. — Craig S. Thoms, 

 Vermillion, S. Dak. 



An Unexpected Bird-Concentration 



On July 17, 1921, four of us, bird-cruising 

 on Mount Monadnock, N. H., were as- 

 cending the mountain along the fire-line, 

 running between the 'Red Cross' trail and 

 the 'Pasture' Trail, when a few yards ahead, 

 in large red spruces, we saw a number of 

 small birds feeding on the ground where a 

 patch of strong sunlight filtered through the 

 trees. At this spot the forest floor was thickly 

 sprinkled with freshly fallen spruce-cones 

 from a tree which, in comparison with its 

 immediate neighbors, was shedding its cones 

 somewhat early. Just previous to this we had 

 seen a small flock of birds fly into the trees 

 some distance ahead and had heard their calls 

 which we had remarked sounded like the 

 notes of the American Crossbill. 



At first glance the birds on the ground 

 appeared to be all adult male Goldfinches, 

 but with them were at least one adult male 

 Purple Finch and three or four adult female 

 or immature White-winged Crossbills, and 

 the latter could be seen extracting seeds from 

 the fallen cones. In addition, Mrs. Whittle, 

 equipped with more powerful glasses than 

 mine, identified two adult male American 

 Crossbills with the other birds and could 

 even see their crossed mandibles. Several 

 Juncos. *>H females or immature birds, com- 



pleted the list, and they, in common with the 

 Purple Finch and the Goldfinches were 

 picking up the spruce seeds which had become 

 freed from the cones. 



Further up the fire-line we ran across other 

 places where freshly fallen cones abounded 

 and here were Chipping Sparrows and more 

 Juncos, and in one place six Purple Finches 

 were feeding on the ground. The Purple 

 Finches appeared to constitute an entire 

 family, an adult male and female and four in 

 juvenal plumage. As we later descended the 

 mountain we encountered still more of these 

 birds so that they were distinctly common 

 among the spruces at this time. 



Of the six species of birds mentioned above, 

 the Goldfinches and Chipping Sparrows are 

 not commonly found in this environment. 

 The former are rarely and the latter are 

 almost never met with in thick spruce 

 woods, at least that is my experience, yet 

 here, on July 17, we found these species 

 and four other species in very unexpected 

 numbers. 



In regard to the Purple Finches, I have 

 often wondered what becomes of these birds 

 which nest so abundantly about the farms, 

 surrounding Monadnock, for they become 

 exceedingly scarce for a season as soon as 

 nesting cares are over and the young are able 

 to feed themselves, that is, in July, and the 

 explanation may be that it is a common 

 practice for the parents to lead their young 

 from the comparatively open farm land to 

 the forest where the seeds of the spruce are 

 usually obtainable and thus introduce them 

 to the vegetable food that will soon form so 

 important a part of the diet of northern 

 wintering birds. The Chippies probably 

 flocked with the Purple Finches and followed 

 them to the mountain. 



Crossbills of both species are celebrated 

 for their erratic wanderings and eccentric 

 nesting habits, both as to season of nesting 

 and as to locality. While both species gener- 

 ally nest well to the north of Monadnock, the 

 Red Crossbill sometimes nests considerably 

 south of the mountain, but inconstantly as 

 far as any given locality is concerned 

 William Brewster has described a case of 

 this species nesting in Marblehead, Mas 

 (See The Auk, Vol. XXXV, p. 225.) 



