110 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 14-No. 7 



I then continued my searcli elsewhere, and 



of all the nests that I saw that day, that were 



in any way exposed to the storm, only two 



contained living birds. I suppose that the 



parent birds were driven from their nests by 



the severity of the storm or for want of food 



for themselves and young, which caused the 



slaughter. And as the storm extended over 



the greater part of Michigan the mortality 



must be very great; and I think it is safe to 



say that, as far as the storm reached, more 



than two-thirds of the young birds, which 



were in their nests, perished, and a great many 



heavily incubated eggs were left in their nests, 



forsaken and cold, which adds so much more 



to the destruction of bird life in Michigan. 



Jiunes B. Purdy. 

 Plymouth, Mich. 



A Review for the Past Winter. 



The past winter of '88 and '80 was of more 

 than usual interest to the ornithologists of this 

 state. While most of the winter birds were 

 present, some were totally absent, for the lirst 

 time in several years. Bluebirds were seen in 

 fore part of January. Redwings and Robins 

 were also noted on January 20, but a cold 

 snap soon set in and they left. 



Evening Grosbeaks and Bohemian Wax- 

 wings were very plenty all winter. The Gros- 

 beaks arrived November 20, and remained till 

 April 18. The Waxwings came on January 17, 

 and left about the lirst of April. Cedarbirds 

 have been seen continually since the first of 

 February. 



The Prairie Horned Lark was first seen Jan- 

 uary 3, and was breeding on the 12th of 

 March. Sets of eggs of this species were 

 very small this year, two and three being the 

 rule, formerly five was more frequently the 

 complement. Tree Sparrows remained all 

 winter in the tamarac swamps, something 

 quite unusual. Crossbills and Pine Grosbeaks, 

 abundant the preceding winter, were not seen, 

 also the Northern Shrikes. 



Of the Woodpeckers the Hairy and Downy 

 were quite numerous. Several of the Black- 

 backed Three-toed were seen in tamaracs. 



No Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen, as 

 has been the case in previous mild winters. 

 The same may be said of the common Crow. 



Both the Lesser Redpoll and Snow Bunting 

 were not in their usual numbers. 



White-bellied Nuthatches and Chickadees 

 were numerous as usual. 



Hawks and Owls were very scarce, a Barred 



Owl and Goshawk being the only representa- 

 tives noticed. 



The Leucosticte recorded in the notes of the 

 February, '89, O. &, O., as L. tephrocotis is a 

 mistake, owing to the wrong identification of a 

 skin in my cabinet, to which I compared it. It 

 should have been Leuconticte t. Utoralis or 

 Gray-cheeked Rosy Finch. Mistakes Avill hap- 

 pen with the most careful. 



The migration fairly began April 2;5, 



Yellow-rumps, White- throated Sparrows, Sw.al- 



lows, etc., appearing. Red-tailed Hawks and 



Long-eared Owls were breeding at that time. 



Geo. G. GdufwcU. 

 Minneapolis, Minn. 



Editorial. 



The <). & (). is mailed each issiie to every paiil siili- 

 scriber. If you fail to receive it. notify us. 



The formation of a league by Ornithologists 

 of Massachusetts, if guided with care, will be 

 an organization that will not fail to exert an 

 inrtuence. That there has been a gradual en- 

 croachment of late (m their rights is due to 

 the lack of such an organization by which to 

 present their cause, more than from other 

 reasons. Their numbers, together with those 

 who endorse them, are sufficient to defend their 

 interests and yield a political influence as 

 strong as those who oppose them. We request 

 all who are interested to communicate with the 

 secretary of the league, who will furnish full 

 information of its objects and purpose. 



League of Massachusetts Ornithol- 

 ogists. 



A meeting of a number of ornithologists was held in 

 IJoston, .June 25, 1889. After discussing the subject, it 

 was unanimously decided to organize, and the follow- 

 ing board of officers was chosen : President, Frank 15. 

 \Vel)Ster of IJoston ; vice-president, Charles J. Maynard 

 of Newtonville ; secretary, Frank A. Hates of Boston ; 

 treasurer, Levi W. Newell of Boston ; Judiciary com- 

 mittee, Chas. K. Reed of Worcester, N. Vickary of 

 Lynn, H. W. Mar.sden of Boston. The object of the 

 league is the promotion of the scientific study of 

 ornithology. Frank A. Bates, Secretary, 40:) \Vash- 

 ington street, Boston. 



Brief Notes. 



Now that the collecting season is over, the oologists 

 are busy exchanging and disposing of their duplicates. 

 Notwithstanding that birds' eggs are sold at from one 

 to four hundred times the market value of hens' eggs, 

 it is not profitable work collecting them. The orly way 

 that they can be obtained to sell at the present rates at 



