50 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



breast were nearly as light as the belly, and the sides of the head 

 and body were mottled with white. 



April 1 2th, at the same place in Brunswick, a Fox Sparrow 

 with a white head was noticed by two other observers. A few days 

 after, I saw the bird myself and shot it. The whole head of this 

 bird was generally a dirty white, which ended quite abruptly all 

 around (at the beginning of nape, at the back and at the upper edge 

 of the breast underneath). On each side of the crown, beginning 

 with eye and extending back, were two dark lines. One of the 

 auriculas was somewhat marked with the usual brown, while the 

 other was unmarked. Otherwise the white was symmetrically dis- 

 tributed. 



A Song Sparrow and a Junco, each without a tail, and each of 



which flew about, apparently without any difficulty, have also been 



lately observed here. 



Herbert vStorrs Brioham, Jr. 



Bowdoin College, April 25, 1907. 



Portland Bird Notes: — On account of a succession of cold 

 days in May, the spring migration of birds was considerably delayed 

 this year. The earliest birds came along at about the usual time. 

 Karly in A])ril there were thousands of Fox Sparrows, Juncos and 

 various Sparrows passing through southern Maine. On April Sth 

 there was a heavy snow storm, and on April 9th and loth, these, 

 migrants were hard pressed for food. In the suburbs of Portland 

 several hundred people threw out great quantities of food to the 

 birds which were driven in from the fields around dwelling-hou.ses. 

 In this way there was very little mortality aniong the April birds in 

 this vicinity. In other parts of the State many of them perished for 

 lack of food. In Portland the interest in birds has reached such a 

 height that practically the whole population, especially in the out- 

 lying districts, took a personal interest in helping to relieve the 

 famine. Tree Swallows were here April 14th, when the weather 

 was still very cold. Frequently they were seen feeding among the 

 bayberry bushes which abound along the coast. On April 26th, 



