THE OOLOGIST. 



25 



ing account of this species in Warren 

 Co. Pa., (Oolog., June, "07). 



I found the species in a small woods 

 northeast of Johnstown, N. Y., on Jan. 

 1, 1909. One moderate-sized flock was 

 observed and possibly other flocks 

 were in the woods. I watched them 

 for hours and took several observa- 

 tions on their habits. 



There were at least sixty birds in 

 the flock that I saw, and the sexes 

 seemed to be about equal in number, 

 or the males even slightly prevalent. 

 They frequented the medium-sized 

 hemlocks, Tsuga canadensis, L., ex- 

 tracting the seeds from the cones with 

 their wonderful beaks. The presence 

 of the birds in the trees was shown 

 by the continuous dropping of these 

 tiny cones. They secured the seeds, 

 either 'by sitting upon the twigs and 

 bending down to the cones, or else by 

 clinging with the head downward, 

 chickadee fashion. They seemed to 

 extract but one or two seeds from a 

 cone, and owing to the abundance of 

 cones, they would only take two or 

 three out of a large cluster. 



They had a soft call, approaching 

 that of a goldfinch, but much lower 

 and sounding far distant. While I 

 was watching the flock, two males, at 

 two different times, flew to a nearby 

 elm, and took up in their 'beaks, snow 

 that had gathered, in the crotches. 

 They flew l)ack into the hemlocks, al- 

 most immediately. 



They did not seem to mind the fir- 

 ing of a gun, or the falling of their 

 mates, at all, but occasionally, the 

 whole flock would scurry away with- 

 out apparent cause, and almost imme- 

 diately return to the same clump of 

 trees — very queer actions. They were 

 quite peaceable but two males had a 

 brief flurry while I was watching. I 

 did not see the cause 'but I believe it 

 was something about the food. 



The males are really beautiful when 



worthy in general showy contrasts 

 and individual brilliance. Every type 

 of Red-shouldered is presented, some 

 examples of sharp-shins are unusualy- 

 ly falcon-like in markings, some look 

 like pigeon hawks, while the rarely 

 beautiful series of Broadwing would 

 be a revelation to any up-to-date oolo- 

 gist of to-day. 



Dr. Coues, Dr. Brewer and Captain 

 Charles Bendire all wrote to me about 

 the eggs and habits of this small 

 buteo. Now Frank L. Burns of Ber- 

 wyn. Pa., who is busy with a mono- 

 graph of the broadwinged hawk, has 

 written me in regard to its breeding 

 range and local dispersion in Connec- 

 ticut. This author contends that its 

 nest and eggs are often mistaken 

 for small examples of red shouldered. 

 But not by any ghost of a chance is 

 there any confusion by the close ob- 

 server whose attainments and superb 

 record we chronicle in this short no- 

 tice. But though this series of eggs 

 will be sure to long attract attention, 

 the many facts and substantial infer- 

 ences recorded in the field while col- 

 lecting, would, if published, (by their 

 accurate, authentic and original ob- 

 servation) place Mr. Richards in the 

 front rank of writers on the habits of 

 eastern raptores. C, L. R. 



The White-winged Crossbill in East- 

 ern New York. 



The White-winged Crossbill, Loxia 

 leucoptera gmel; is a rather irregular 

 winter visitant throughout central 

 New York, to judge from the records 

 of its occurence. C. F. Posson in- 

 cludes it as of unusual occurence in 

 Orleans Co., N. Y., ("Auk, April, 

 1S99"'). C. F. Stone reports it as of 

 comparatively rare occurence in 

 Yates county., (Oolog., Dec, '99). W. 

 W. Judd states that it visits Albany 

 Co., in extremely cold winters. Mr. 

 R. B. Simpson gives a very interest- 



