THE 



WILSON BULLETIN 



No. 42 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 

 ORNITHOLOGY 



Vol. X. AL\RCH, 1903. No. 1. 



NOTES ON THE LEUCOSTICTES— GRAY- 

 CROWNED AND HELPBURN'S. 



p. M. SILLOWAY. 



(FROM THE writer's MANUSCRIPT OE A FORTH-COMING I.IST OF BIRDS 

 OF FERGUS COUNTY, MONT.) 



The Gray-crowned Leucosticte, [Leiicosticte tcphrocotis^ 

 is a regular winter resident at Lewistown, where it is known 

 as the "brown snowbird." It generally appears about the 

 first of November, though in pleasant weather it may not be 

 observed before the 8th or loth of that month. It is gre- 

 garious, moving about daily in flocks of varying size, usually 

 scattering about town in smaller troops until severe weather, 

 when most of the troops unite into one large flock, often 

 containing from two to three hundred individuals. 



The Leucostictes are our English Sparrows in social man- 

 ners. They feed fearlessly at the door-steps or in the yards, 

 though they are likely to whir away when the door is opened 

 or when anyone appears unexpectedly at a window near by. 

 On a warm winter morning I have seen from forty to fifty 

 of these birds sitting on a wood-pile in the door yard, sun- 

 ning themselves and gleaning from refuse on the ground. 



Late in the afternoon the individuals of a flock scatter 

 out to nooks they are accustomed to use for the night. A 



