130 The Wilson Bulletin— No. 113 



erable defiiiiteiiess. An all-red bird with black chin and a 

 red crest. Then, on July 4, 1917, Mr. C. L. Fenton, who 

 was then president of the Califor Naturalist Club, reached 

 my lionie much out of breath. '' Get ready at once and 

 come along with me!" was liis command. Naturally, I 

 wondered the reason for the excitement. When I ques- 

 tioned him, he only said, " Don't stop to argue. Come 

 on ! " When well on our way toward Wildwood Park he 

 said, " I just left here this morning, just before coining to 

 your place. I saw a cardinal." 



It was very amusing to me, for Mr. Fenton had been 

 one of the strongest opponents to the record of the year 

 previous. T tried to convince him that he had seen 

 " crooked," but he would not be convinced and the cardinal 

 went down on his annual list that year. It was the second 

 definite record for our region ; this is, the second record 

 given b}' trained observers. 



1 did not see the cardinal that year, as it had appar- 

 ently left the region in which Mr. Fenton had seen it soon 

 after his de])arture. At any rate, it was not to be seen in 

 that wood when we arrived. 



The latest report of the cardinal for Charles City, 

 was on January 3, of this year, (1920), when a pair was 

 observed near the home of Mr. Clement L. Webster. Mr. 

 Webster's home is only a few rods from the edge of the 

 Cedar Eiver; and it was there, in an orchard that Mr. 

 Webster first discovered the pair. Kegarding the discov- 

 ery of this pair, Mrs. Mary A. Dutton, Bird Bureau Ee- 

 corder of the local Naturalist Club, wrote, " I had the joy 

 of my life Saturday morning. What was it? Oh, it was 

 a genuine thriller I Only nature lovers can imagine what 

 it means. We were veiw busy when a phone call inter- 

 rupted our work. Mr. Webster announced that there was 

 a pair of cardinals in his apple trees. It was bitter cold, 

 snow deep, and walks icy, but I started with another club 

 member, ^Master John Bums, for the orchard, which had 

 been mentioned. Work or no work, I speedily made my 



