except with a strong field-glass was imposssible. On February lo, a large 

 flock was seen just outside of Oberlin. A single individual was seen 

 feeding with a flock of Horned Larks on the same day. Nearly every 

 morning during the month birds could be seen flying over the outskirts 

 of the town, but with the first hint of returning spring they were off for 

 the north again. None have been seen or heard since the 27th of Feb- 

 ruary. 



Horned Lark. — The true alf'eslr/s has been present in considerable 

 numbers during the entire winter, mostly in moderately large flocks. 

 When flushed they have been feeding on the timothy heads which stick 

 up above the snow. The little burrows in the snow where they have 

 passed the night, have been common on the snow covered landscape. 

 Scarcely a morning has passed when they have not been heard flying 

 over town from one feeding place to another. But their real song began 

 on February 27, the day spring opened. — Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio. 



The Barn Swallow. — During the spring of 1893, while watching a 

 pair of Barn Swallows, one of them alighted on a perch. It then 

 stretched its neck and seemed to be choking on something for an instant, 

 after which it gave its head a jerk and threw out a pellet. This was 

 repeated three or four times before the bird was frightened away. When 

 it was gone I examined two of the pellets, and found them to be com- 

 posed almost entirely of the hard wing coverings of very small beetles. 

 I wondered at the time if the bird might have been sick, or whether, like 

 the owl, it was simply ejecting the indigestible parts of its food. The 

 latter seems more probable to me, especially as I found it stated on the 

 authority of De Kay, in "Birds Through an Opera Glass," that the 

 Kingbird is known to eject the hard portions of its food in this way. If 

 any one else has noticed any thing in this line I should like to hear of it. 

 — Virginius H. Chase, IVady Petra, III. 



Wilson's Petrel. — Mr. Lionel F. Bowers, of Columbia, Penn., an- 

 nounces the capture of a female Wilson's VeiveX (Oceajiites ocea?iicus) 

 on August 29, 1893. He states that the specimen has been identified, but 

 the record has never been published. This bird was found on the streets of 

 Columbia, by a Mr. Kauffman, who presented it to Mr. Bowers. There 

 had been a heavy snow, with the wind from the south-east for several 

 days. The bird was almost dead when found. — Lynds Jones. 



