VoL i™ V ] General Notes. 359 



Dissection of the body later, showed no apparent cause of death save 

 that there was little food in the stomach, a condition that could not be 

 considered abnormal early in the morning. But the stomach contained 

 no small pebbles or grit, such as are generally present in the stomachs of 

 seed-eating birds. There had been snow on the ground for several days, 

 so that possibly the bird could not get such material, and this might have 

 been the cause of death. The body was not in the least emaciated, how- 

 ever, so that if this lack caused death, it was rather by something akin to 

 acute indigestion than by starvation. The previous night had not been 

 unusually cold, and weather conditions up to that time were normal. 



That afternoon I picked up a dead Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia 

 melodia) that had possibly met its death in the same manner. The number 

 of birds that are found dead is larger than most of us realize. Last spring 

 twenty-four birds were brought to me by pupils of the Bridgeport High 

 School. The West Haven High School has a very good collection of 

 mounted birds, nearly all birds that were found dead and brought in 

 by pupils. Most of such birds that I have examined have shown no sign 

 of injury. Probably many birds die in this sudden manner, but the 

 chances of an observer actually witnessing such a death must be very 

 slight. — Aretas A. Saunders, Norwalk, Conn. 



Birds and Mulberries. — Though it is well known that mulberries are 

 very attractive to many species of birds, an instance of this attractiveness 

 that seems worthy of record has recently been observed by the writer. 



On the farm of Mr. J. B. Golsan, near Prattville, Ala., is a small orchard 

 of nine "Everbearing " mulberry trees situated only a few rods from the 

 barnyard in a corner of the pasture, and surrounded on three sides by 

 woods and thickets. On April 29, 1918, these trees, covered with ripening 

 fruit, were kept under close observation from 3:15 until 5:15 P. M., and 

 though the day had been mostly cloudy, with some rain — by no means 

 ideal for birds — twenty-two species were recorded in the orchard in that 

 short time. Next day (April 30) three additional species (Towhee, Chat, 

 and Carolina Wren) were recorded by the writer and one (Hairy Wood- 

 pecker) by Mr. Lewis S. Golsan. No attempt was made to count the host 

 of individuals which was constantly passing between the mulberry trees 

 and the surrounding woods. The list of species follows, the asterisk denot- 

 ing that individuals of the species so indicated were seen to actually swallow 

 mulberries (a six-power binocular was used): Dryobates v. auduboni, 

 * Dryobates p. pubescens, *Melanerpes erythrocephalus, *Centurus carolinus, 

 Archilochus colubris, *Tyrannus tyrannus, *Myiarchus crinitus, *Cyano- 

 citta c. florincola, *Icterus spurius, *Icterus galbula, Passer d. hostilis, 

 *Zonotrichia albicollis, *Pipilo e. canaster, *Cardinalis c. cardinalis, Zame- 

 lodia ludoviciana, *Passerina cyanea, *Piranga erythromelas, *Piranga r. 

 rubra, * Vireosylva olivacea, *Icteria v. virens, Mimus p. polyglottos, *Dume- 

 tella carolinensis, *Toxostoma rufum, Thryothorus I. ludovicianus, * Hylo- 

 cichla mustelina, and Hylocichla f. fuscescens. 



