General Notes 07 



sects are caught during the summer. I would suppose, however, 

 that the pairs of wrens inhabiting the woods, and not coming near 

 habitations, could readily secure insect food enough from hollow 

 trees, brush piles, under sides of logs, etc., to carry them until a 

 thaw came. 



Harold H. Bailey. 



Newport News, Va., 

 March 27, 1920 



In the Auk, October, 1919, No. 4, pages' 574 and 575, Dr. A. H. 

 Wright has two articles referring to birds seen in Virginia that 

 call for further comment. > 



The colony of Henslows' Sparrow (and there are other col- 

 onies of ihese sparrows in Fairfax county, Va.) shown Dr. Wright 

 near Alexandria, has been known with other colonies to actual 

 " collectors," if I may use the term in place of ornithologists, for 

 quite a number of years, and sets of eggs from those colonies have 

 found their way into many of the large oological collections in the 

 U. S. Dr. Wright does not say he actually found eggs or young 

 of this species, southward of Fairfax county, though they may 

 breed in Prince William county. Dr. Wright also fails to state 

 that actual breeding records were seen or secured by Messrs. Har- 

 per and Holt in the vicinity of Camp Lee. If these two gentlemen 

 can produce breeding records for that vicinity I shall be glad to 

 learn of the southwestward extension of their breeding range; but 

 until they do, I know of no colony in this state further southwest, 

 of that in Prince William county. Non-breeding birds may, how- 

 ever, be found anywhere within "Tidewater" during that time. 



Referring to the other article: While his reference (Wilson Bul- 

 letin) gives no information as to the year, number, page or author, 

 I judge the article referred to is one of mine in the Wilson Bulletin 

 of September, 1918, No. 3, page 91. On reading Dr. Wright's arti- 

 cle one would infer that they were riding in an automobile; did 

 not collect any specimens, and therefore nothing was done other 

 than "seeing it — my first live Dickcissel"; and Dr. Knight hear- 

 ing it. Will such a record from a moving auto stand the acid test? 

 I ido not say that possibly there has not been a Dickcissel in Vir- 

 ginia in twenty years, for in 1917 or 1918, while engaged in work 

 for the U. S. Biological Survey, I also thought I heard and saw 

 a Dickcissel. My train had come to stop on the siding, — to let 

 another one pass. We were in the Clinch River Valley of Virginia, 

 Scott county, and while leaning out of the open window the long 

 forgotten song was heard and a fleeting glimpse of the bird seen. 

 As I remember it, I mentioned the incident in my weekly reporc 



