134 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 7-No. 17 



Notes from St. John, N. B. 



During the Winter of 1879, '80, the Ce- 

 dar Bird {Atnpelis oedrorum) weathered 

 the rigors of our climate as late as the 

 middle of January. Durmg the same "Win- 

 ter I also observed a Golden-winged Wood- 

 pecker {Colaptes ai/1'atus) several mornings 

 in succession feeding on the berries of the 

 mountain ash. 



Large numbers of Robins, ( Tiirdits mi- 

 gratoria), remained here during the whole 

 Winter. The latter bird I have frequently 

 observed here during the Winter, but 

 never before or since have I seen or heard 

 of the Cedar Bird remaining in the Prov- 

 ince later than September, which is their 

 usual time for migrating south. 



I give a few causes that may be attribu- 

 ted to these birds remainingwith us through 

 this jjarticular Winter, not that it was 

 milder than usual, or more broken ; rather 

 the reverse, for several days the mercury 

 reached the cypher. The abundance of 

 food the Cedar Birds found in the berries 

 of the Mountain Ash was a great attraction 

 for them, for on these they fed sumptous- 

 ly ; in fact, gorging themselves to such an 

 extent that they would apparently become 

 stupid, and when in this state allow them- 

 selves to be captured by means of a wire 

 noose attached to a fishing rod. If the 

 wire happened to touch them before you 

 succeeded in placing it over their heads, it 

 would not alarm them in the least. They 

 would pick at it, turn their heads and ex- 

 amine it, as though it were quite a curiosi- 

 ty. When one was captured the balance 

 of the flock would fly away in great alarm. 

 I kept several of these birds in confine- 

 ment that I had captured in this way ; 

 they, however, proved themselves such 

 very uninteresting pets that I afterwards 

 gave them their liberty. 



The abundance of food they found in 

 the berries must have been a great attrac- 

 tion to them, for when the supply was ex- 

 hausted, and they had entirely stripped 



the trees, they disappeared, and did not 

 again put in an appearance until Jime, 

 which is their usual time of arriving from 

 the south. None of the specimens that I 

 captured had the usual waxen appendages 

 on the secondaries, and were mostly young 

 birds which had probably bred farther 

 north and were only then moving south as 

 scarcity of foal and severity of weather 

 compelled them ; but why does not this 

 occur every year ? The berries upon 

 which they fed have since been as abun- 

 dant and no Cedar Birds have appeared at 

 this late season. Their appearance may 

 then be attributed to an erratic migration 

 on the part of these birds. I was quite 

 disajipointed on first discovering them to 

 find they were not the Bohemian Wax- 

 wing, (Ampelis garrula), for which bird I 

 have kept a sharp lookout, but have not as 

 yet succeeded in securing a single speci- 

 men. The Golden-winged Woodpecker 

 may have been a wounded bird and unable 

 to perform its usual migration, although 

 he appeared perfectly strong on the wing, 

 and particularly wild. 



Several instances have been recorded of 

 Woodcock having been shot in the month 

 of December, but they have invariably 

 proved to be wounded birds, which have 

 been unable to migrate to their southern 

 feeding grounds, and which by the succour 

 of an open Sjjring have been enabled to 

 eke out an existence till this late season of 

 the year. — Harold Gilbert. 



The Swamp Sparrow 



Arrives here, (Saratoga Springs), about 

 April 1st and dejiarts, if it does at all, 

 about the first week of October. I have 

 seen it here March 22d. 1879. and Feb. 

 27th, 1880. It is a pleasing songster, but 

 less voluble than its friend and ally, M. 

 melodia. It is not at all shy, and when on 

 the nest can be approached quite close, 

 when it will fly up with a startling whirr 

 and an angry chirp, and after flying a 

 short distance, will alight and run like a 



