Winter Birds in Northern New Jersey. 21 



the patch they were most strikingly conspicuous. They were 

 never seen on the western or pig-weed side ,of the patch, but 

 appeared on its eastern border or in the slough grass. The 

 only time one was seen feeding it was eating the seeds of a 

 sunflower; having finished that repast it mounted to the top 

 of the stalk, and flew from it to a field of ripened clover some 

 eight or ten rods away. At the same time another of this 

 species was making its way to, the top of a small willow about 

 eight feet high, which was the highest point any one of them 

 was seen to have attained. 



OBSERVATIONS OF BIRD-LIFE IN NORTHERN NEW 

 JERSEY DURING THE WINTER OF 1910-1911. 



BY LOUIS S. KOHLER. 



Bird life this past winter has been unusually abundant 

 throughout Northern New Jersey. In fact, my records have 

 surpassed those of any year within the past decade, and it is 

 my opinion that this profusion of residents and visitants was 

 almost wholly due to the mildness and openness of the season. 

 Owing to the lack of sufficient time, observations this season 

 were curtailed to a large extent and were! only made on those 

 days available, whereas in previous years observances were 

 made daily, and in view of this curtailment, it is my opinion 

 that many species went unrecorded. 



December began with cold, bracing weather and ice formed 

 on a majority of the shallow ponds in this vicinity. This 

 weather continued through the month until December 27th 

 when it moderated slightly. Snow fell on the 4th to the depth 

 of nine inches and again on the 11th and 12th three inches 

 more fell. On Christmas Day, which was clear and cold with 

 a biting westerly wind, a large portion of this snow still re- 

 mained on the ground. On the 29th the temperature dropped 

 below freezing and remained so until New Year's Eve. New 

 Year's Day was marked by heavy clouds during the morning 

 and a drizzling rain accompanied by a cold northwest wind in 



