General Notes 



BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS AND CLARKE NUTCRACKERS 

 IN NEBRASKA 

 The winter of 1919-20 was marked by an unusual abundance 

 of Bohemian Waxwings {Bombycilki garrula) over the entire state 

 of Nebraska. The first large flocks were noted in the Pine Ridge 

 region of northwestern Nebraska early in November. On Novem- 

 ber 7, 1919, Mr. L. M. Gates noted largo flocks of these birds in 

 that region, where they were feeding on the cedar berries. Dur- 

 ing November these birds were noted in flocks of 75 to 100 among 

 the evergreen trees in the cemetery at Fremont, Dodge county. At 

 about the same time (November 2-23) a few birds put in an ap- 

 pearance at Wyuka cemetery at Lincoln, but large flocks were not 

 noted until early in January. For approximately the month from 

 January 8 on a flock of about 150 of these birds remained in Lin- 

 coln, feeding upon "apple mummies" in the orchards and upon vari- 

 ous berries. About the middle of December large flocks of these 

 birds began to be reported from various points in western Ne- 

 braska, they having come in following a severe snow and wind 

 storm. They were reported from Trenton, Hitchcock county, Ne- 

 braska, as arriving about December 15 and remaining until early in 

 January, feeding on the fruit of Russian olive trees and upon frozen 

 crab apples hanging in ihe trees, uarge flocks were reported as 

 arriving at Gothenburg, Dawson county, on December 17, and feed- 

 ing on the cedar berries. Other reports of flocks of these birds 

 were received from Murdock, Cass county, Crete, Saline county., 

 and Waco, York county. They even reached to Falls City, Rich- 

 ardson county, in extreme southeastern. Nebraska, from where Mrs. 

 Rosa Cleaver reported them present in large flocks for several 

 weeks prior to the middle of February. Toward the end of Feb- 

 rurary the large flocks began to disappear from southeastern Ne- 

 braska, though on February 28 Mr. L. M. Gates noted a large flock 

 near Chadron, from which locality they had been largely absent 

 during January, evidently moving north. A flock of about 15 

 birds appeared on the University Farm campus on March 6 and 

 continued there until March 9 feeding on the berries of Viburnuvi 

 opulus. 



Ordinarily the Clarke Nutchacker (Nucifraga cohimbiana) is 

 a rather rare fall and winter visitor in Nebraska, but during the 

 fall and early winter of 1919 they were fairly common in the north 

 em and western parts of the state. Professor C. E. Mickel col- 

 lected one in Sowbelly Canyon, Sioux county, on September 16. 

 On October 27, Mr. L. M. Gates noted them at Chadron, on the 



