204 Getieral Notes. I Apr. 



A Remarkable Specimen of Bachman's Sparrow [PeuctEa cestivalis 

 hachmanii). — I shot on February 5, 1902, an adult female of Bachman's 

 Finch which has thirteen rectrices. The bird may have had more, but 

 upon closely examining the ground where it fell 1 failed to discover any 

 more tail feathers. In the family Fringillidie the rectrices always number 

 twelve^ but this specimen, taken near Mount Pleasant, S. C, is indeed 

 an anomaly. — Arthur T. Wayne, Mount Pleasa/it, S. C. 



Henslow's Sparrow on Shelter Island, N. Y. — On November 20, 1901, 

 as I was crossing a rather barren, hilly pasture field, with a somewhat 

 sparse covering of grass, I was much surprised on flushing a small bi'own 

 sparrow, on which I had almost placed my foot in taking a step, which I 

 at once recognized by the peculiar corkscrew flight as Ammodrmnns ken- 

 slowt, having observed and taken numbers of them in the Southern States. 

 A snap shot at long range (my astonishment at seeing the species so un- 

 expectedly having banished at first all thought of shooting) wounded, but 

 failed to kill, and the bird dropped flutteringly into another bunch of grass, 

 and was out of sight in an instant. Knowing their habits, I thought the 

 specimen lost to me, but rushing to the spot and stamping quickly about, 

 thanks to the scanty grass, the specimen was flushed again, and finally 

 secured, making the first record for eastern Long Island. The bird was a 

 female, and in good condition. I took an Ipswich Sparrow on the same 

 day, and another Nov. 22, and on December 18 a Lapland Longspur. — 

 W. W. WoRTHiNGTON, Shelter Island Heights, New York. 



The Field Sparrow in Arlington, Mass., in Winter. — On February 14, 

 1902, I saw a small sparrow on the Arlington Heights which I am confi- 

 dent was a Field Sparrow i^Spizella pusilla). I watched him at close 

 range through my glass for fifteen or twenty minutes, and got all his mark- 

 ings, including the peculiar color of his bill. In size he was distinctly 

 smaller than a Junco with which he was feeding, while the Tree Sparrow, 

 the only other bird I know with which I could have confused him, is 

 larger. 



I have also seen, off and on all winter, two Red-winged Blackbirds 

 {Agelaius pkcenicetis), four or five Swamp Sparrows {Melospiza georgiana), 

 and one Long-billed Marsh Wren [Cistot/iorus palustris) in the Fresh Pond 

 Marshes, Cambridge, Mass. — Richard S. Eustis, Cambridge^ Afass. 



The Length of Life of the Chipping Sparrow and Robin. — It is so 

 rarely that one gets a chance to estimate the length of life of many of our 

 birds that this bit of information may be worth presenting. The late Prof. 

 Alpheus Hjatt has kindlj' sent me the following note on the Chipping 

 Sparrow {Spizella socialis) from a friend of his, Mrs. H. S. Parsons, who 

 lives in Annisquam, Mass. "The bird you wish to know about," she 

 writes, "came to notice first in the door yard. It seemed quite tame and 



