A Bird Restaurant and other Xotes. 37 



and species of birds, witli extralimital forms (Old World and Ne- 

 otropical). This broad treatment makes of the Key more than the 

 merely favmal work which its title would imply — i.e., while it is 

 still emphatically a Key to North American Birds, it contains more 

 than ever in the past, much general information in regard to birds. 



7. An invaluable feature of preceding editions — the scholarly 

 explanation of the etymology of scientific names — is retained, 

 and will continue to make the key unique among works of its class. 



Throughout the Key — in all departments, life histories, descrip- 

 tions, etc., — Dr. Coues' famouus descriptive powers are fully dis- 

 played as in the past 



A BIRD RESTAURANT AND OTHER NOTES. 



As usual I've been running a daily lunch counter just outside my 

 west windows on an elm tree. Every day there come to it many 

 times Brown Creepers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied, 

 Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Cardinals (I am feeding in the 

 chicken yard four pairs of Cardinals, while over the fence in the 

 corn field 9 Bob-whites are my guests), Carolina Wrens, Tufted Tits, 

 and Chickadees, while at intervals Juncos and Song Sparrows 

 gather up the crumbs. I find that the Red-belliel Woodpecker likes 

 walnuts and butternuts best of all, the other two eat nothing but 

 the suet. The Nuthatch, Tufted Tit and Chickadee probably like 

 the nuts best, but they are almost equally fond of broken oyster 

 crackers. Suet seems to suit the Brown Creepers. I have had 

 eleven birds at once waiting their turn. December 14th a Yellow- 

 bellied Sapsucker was close by for a half hour.. 



January 7th the first Robin. January 25th we saw a Crow and a 



Flicker. But our crowning triumph on last Sunday was a 



Mimus polyglottos! A sure enough Mockingbird. AVe were three 



miles north of town, ground covered with snow, temperature about 



40°. Arrick first saw it in a tangled thicket through which ran a 



stream of water, and as it flew, we both took it to be a strike. We 



actually killed it for fear our veracity might be questioned, and 



ever since we have regretted it. I'm awfully sorry that bird isn't 



alive and well, for what unfold pleasure we might have had, as 



spring opened, with its song among the blossoming hawthorns. I 



won't do it any more. 



C. H. MORRIS, McConnelsville, Ohio. 



