296 NOTES ON THE 



ors the most noticable objects above the russet of autumn, or 

 the snowy whiteness of winter. Often some prominent tree 

 in the very heart of the city becomes the temporary place of 

 their appearence and when many eyes are turned upon them, 

 they may drop down as suddenly as if some hawk was hover- 

 ing over them into a thicket of raspberry or currant bushes, 

 just over the fence nearest the observers. They are not shy, 

 being often approached very closely by the inquisitive looker-on 

 if he have no dog at his heels. 



There seems to be a most reasonable presumption that they 

 breed to some extent within our borders, yet not as early as is 

 claimed for other sections of the United States in much the 

 same latitude. Rev. J. H. Langille of Buffalo New York in 

 his charming book. Our Birds in Their Haunts, says: "It is 

 well demonstrated that in this country these birds breed in 

 winter, or early spring." 



He quotes Audubon's opiaion to the same effect based on 

 the assurance of "many persons in the State of Maine" who 

 followed lumbering in the pine regions of that State. It is a 

 familiar bird to Minnesota lumbermen too, who are largely 

 from Maine, who although noticing it so frequently have never 

 mentioned either eggs or young. The flocks met with during 

 winter are made up principally of the young of the year, with 

 just a presumptive representation of paternal adults. Mr. 

 Wm. Howling, a local taxidermist of great experience, tells 

 me that the full plumaged adult males are only met with com- 

 paratively rarely in his business. Now, the flocks have ap- 

 peared here as early as the tenth of September, with appar- 

 ently no old males at all. They remain until late in April 

 with no indications of breeding, although in the light of all 

 observations, I am inclined to believe the great body of those 

 which have spent the winter months in this locality leave 

 about the first of that month, and may at once enter upon in- 

 cubation in their proximate nesting places which I presume 

 to be the pineries somewhat to the north and east. Mr. Wash- 

 burn, who has been employed to collect birds and notes in the 

 interest of this report in the Red river valley (and a most 

 scrupulous observer) says "on July 27th, at Herman, Minn., 

 I observed a flock of these birds feeding on the "galled" 

 beans of some young poplars in the village. The galls were 

 quite large, and the birds were eagerly biting them open witb 

 their peculiar bills to obtain the minute insects within. It has 

 a strong, loud note, resembling somewhat those of the Ameri- 

 can Goldfinch," 



