TEE OOLOGIST. 



15 



irondacks, are frequently at a loss to ac- 

 count for the disappearance of some of their 

 stock of provisions, which had been inad- 

 vertently left unprotected for a short time, 

 and conclude, if the real miscreants — gen- 

 erally tlie Jays — are not discovered, that 

 the mischief was done by animals. Occa- 

 sionally in winter, from scarcity of food, 

 they will appear about settled districts, and 

 Mr. Trippe says they are often fouud in 

 the mountains of Colorado in an almost 

 starved condition. 



In appearance, the Canada -Jay is very 

 different from Cyanura cristata. Its gen- 

 eral color is a dull brownish-drab, lighter 

 qn the under parts, and nowhere contrasted 

 with briglit markings. It works about 

 among the trees, much in the manner of 

 the Blue Jay. Its flight is generally short, 

 somewhat undulating, a little unsteady, 

 and performed as much as possible in the 

 forests and luulerbrush. This bird is not 

 an exception among the Jays in the prac- 

 tice of devouring the eggs of small bii'ds, 

 for he is a most cruel and greedy robber 

 when opportunity places him in possession 

 of a nest. 



A Note on tiir House- Sparrow. — 1 

 have just observed a new and not very de- 

 lightful trait in the character of the House 

 Sparrow, which ought to condemn him for 

 " murder in the first degree." A pair of 

 Blue Birds had built a nest iu one of my 

 bird-boxes, and had hatched out a brood of 

 five young ones, which were about half 

 fledged. A pair of Sparrows came and 

 ousted out the entire lot upon the side-walk 

 below, and they were immediately killed by 

 the fall. The Sparrows have now appro- 

 priated the box for their own use. Other 

 persons witnessed the operation, and "see- 

 ing is believing." I am no longer a lover 

 of the little Sparrow, but put him down as 

 a murderer and a thief, besides being a 

 general nuisance. 



J. A. Severance. 



[Though perhaps the scene our corres- 

 pondent describes may justify the use of a 



severe invective against the House Spar- 

 row, we have omitted one or two phrases 

 that were deemed a little unsuitable. — Ed.] 



Flocking of Quiscalus purpureus. — 

 It seems to be a natural propensity of the 

 Crow Blackbird to seek the companionship 

 of a number of his species, and this is true 

 to a greater extent, than one's ordinary ob- 

 servations on their flocking in the spring 

 and fall would lead him to believe. It may 

 be truly remarked, that, outside of the lim- 

 its of tlie time occui)ied in building the nest, 

 laying the eggs, and rearing the young, they 

 remain flocked the entire season ; indeed, 

 when the locality permits, sociability is 

 carried to even a greater extent, for they 

 will always breed in communities wheu 

 possible, foraging together and protecting 

 one another in common, or collectively de- 

 fending the nest or young of one pair of in- 

 dividuals. As early as the first of June, 

 they commence to collect together for the 

 remainder of the season, first appearing in 

 scattered groups of four or half a dozen, 

 and conducting their expeditions more quiet- 

 ly than later on, when having increased iu 

 numbers to perhaps forty or fifty, they jour- 

 ney about with restless flights, alighting of- 

 ten and making their presence known by 

 their repeated cries ; about the first of Au- 

 gust the flocks appear greatly increased, 

 numbering from one to five hundred or 

 more. At this time, they appear very shy, 

 and are difficult to approach, the informa- 

 tion of one alarming the entire troop, when 

 off they fly witli loud cries, perhaps to some 

 other locality, but oftener to alight a few 

 hundred yards away. 



A correspondent of the Forest and 

 Stream writes of the taking of two albino 

 Robins, and observing three others at Nash- 

 ville, Tenn. The same journal published 

 an item recently concerning abnormal por- 

 tions of a Hawk and one or two other 

 species. 



