LANIUS LUDOVICIANUS : LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. 211 



head's breeding in Maine and Vermont. The first au- 

 thentic notice of its occurrence in New England was 

 furnished b}' Mr. Purdie, on the strength of Mr. S. 

 J. May's shooting the bird at West Newton, Mass., 

 Oct. 21, 1872. The specimen recorded by Mr. Allen 

 was taken by Mr. N. Vickary ; Mr. Merriam's was 

 secured by W. W. Coe. Mr. Deane's New Hamp- 

 shire bird was taken near Concord, Jan. 20, 1879. 

 According to his Maine record of 1880, a Losreferhead 

 was taken with a nest and four eggs, at Abbott, Me., 

 May 25, 1878, by Mr. H. R. True. Mr. Purdie has 

 been specially active in bringing the history of the bird 

 forward. His notices of 1879 refer to Maine and Con- 

 necticut cases. In the former State, Mr. S. E. Bowles 

 discovered three nests near Bangor ; in the latter, Mr. 

 J. N. Clark, of Saybrook, secured two specimens there, 

 in November, 1878, and January, 1879. ^^' Brewer's 

 valuable account should be consulted for the particu- 

 lars of nesting in Vermont and Maine. 



It is proper to add, that some of these Loggerheads 

 are explicitly stated to resemble excubitoridcs closely ; 

 and in fact it is only by the predominance of slight 

 characteristics one way or the other that any of the 

 smaller Shrikes found in New England can be referred 

 to either variety. 



[Since the above account was penned, Mr. Brew- 

 ster has recorded in Bull. Nutt. Club, vi, 1881, p. 55, 

 another Massachusetts specimen — a young male — 

 shot in Brookline in February, 1879, ^7 ^'"- Arthur 

 Smith.] 



