A New England Ornithologist 9 



Empidonax virescens. — One specimen taken, a J', June 24, 1874, 

 at Suffield, Conn. (Coll. W. F. H., No. 1551). The A. O. U. check- 

 list credits this species with breeding casually in Connecticut and 

 once in Massachusetts. Ridgway (Birds of North and Middle 

 America) credits it with a breeding record at Hyde Park, Mass., 

 1888, but does not mention Connecticut at all, although under the 

 bibliographical references it is mentioned from that state (Mer- 

 riam, Trans. Conn. Ac. Sci. IV, 1877). Evidently Dr. Shores' 

 record is the first one from Connecticut, and also for the New 

 England states, and the late June date makes it possible that it 

 bred there as it did so in later years. (Sage and Bishop, B. of C, 

 p. 104.) Another valuable specimen. 



Of the next families, the Blue Jay, the Crow, the Bobolink, the 

 Cowbird, the Red-winged Blackbird, the Purple Crackle, the 

 Meadowlark, the Baltimore Oriole, the Rusty Blackbird are all com- 

 mon birds of that region. The Orchard Oriole (Icterus spiirius) 

 is rare and he mostly met with but one specimen each summer, 

 with the exception of one, and took only six specimens all told, 

 three of which are now in my collection. One Bobolink, a c?, shot 

 July 28, 1876, had grasshoppers and crickets in his stomach, and 

 on June 15, 1875, he mentions finding a Red-winged Blackbird's 

 nest that had two entirely light blue eggs without any markings 

 and one with one black spot only on the large end. The Horned 

 Lark was taken only at Providence, R. I., two J'c^, one 5, February 

 3, 1875, and November 13, 1875, a c? at Pawtucket, R. I. 



Family Fringillidae. 



Passer domesticus. — How uncommon the English Sparrow was 

 in those days is shown by the remark under December 23, 1875: 

 "Was at work skinning birds, when I heard a queer song, so went 

 out and shot these two," viz. two 5? of this species. Surely dif- 

 ferent from what we experience. 



Pinicola enucleator leucura. — Met with occasionally February 

 22, 1875, at Rehoboth, Mass., December 21, 1875, at Suffield, Conn., 

 December 6, 1882, and January 1 and 18, 1883, at West Bridg- 

 water, Mass., and the next winter at the same place as common 

 all winter. 



Pine Siskin (Spinns pinus). — He has four records for this spe- 

 cies, one (^ taken November 24, 1874, a c? taken December 21, 1875, 

 its crop full of frozen apples, and two (^(^ taken December 30, 1878. 

 January 2, 1879, a flock seen. These records are years earlier than 

 any given by Sage and Bishop (B. of Conn., p. 122). The Purple 

 Finch breeds in that region and the records are numerous. 



Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra minor). — The only records are 



