Vol 'uu8 V ] Norton, Evening Grosbeak in Maine. 175 



occurrence in Portland this season. During March occasional 

 small groups, pairs or single birds were reported as seen in other 

 parts of Portland, but so far as the writer learned none became 

 settled for any length of time, except those at the Western section. 1 



At Brunswick Miss Edith Boardman saw five females on March 

 12 and a male and a female March 20, 1916. On March 14 Philip 

 Cobb wrote: "Seven Evening Grosbeaks on the campus (Bowdoin 

 College, Brunswick) today." Dr. 0. A. Gross also wrote, "I 

 saw a flock of seven on Bowdoin Campus (Brunswick) from 

 March 18th to March 30th, 1916." At Pine Point, in Scarborough, 

 Mr. Fred S. Walker saw five in his garden on several occasions, 

 between March 27 and March 31, 1916. In a letter in the 'Port- 

 land Daily Press' of April 17, Mrs. Reuben Johnson reported a 

 flock of "at least twenty April 14th and 15th on Long Island, in 

 Casco Bay." At South Windham Mr. Fred Shaw saw "about 

 twelve April 11th" (1916). At Westbrook Mrs. F. M. Ray saw 

 two at Saccarappa cemetery which remained all day Feb. 25, 

 1916, while a short distance away, two were seen early in March 

 for several days. On May 6 Mrs. Ray saw a single female. 



York County. — Mr. Wm. E. Bary of Kennebunk reported 

 several single birds, and small flocks of from four to six at various 

 times during the winter in different parts of that town. Mrs. 

 Fred P. Abbott, of Saco, also reported their presence in Saco and 

 Biddeford. 



The season of 1916-17 again found the birds in Maine, from 

 Nov. 4, 1916, to June 2, 1917. 



The winter was one of the coldest for many years, with an unusual 

 amount of snow which covered the ground from December well 

 through the month of March. In the city of Portland, the Rowan, 

 Red, and Black Cherry trees, which in other seasons have afforded 

 these birds much winter food, had borne no fruit. These condi- 

 tions may partly explain the fact that the birds usually appeared 

 in wandering bands, until the ground became bare in late March 

 and April, when they again became settled for the remainder of 

 their stay. But while the snow covered the ground the birds 



l In Bird-Lore, 1916, XVIII: 249. Miss Sara C. Eastman reports the occurrence of 

 the birds at Portland. 



