Voi. XXI 

 iq04 



"I General Notes. 283 



The Philadelphia Vireo. — Mr. William Brewster's article on this vireo 

 in 'The Auk," 1903, pp. 369-376, is very full and interesting, but at the 

 same time throws discredit and lack of accuracy on other observers. For 

 example, I am absolutely certain that the nest I took at Lansdowne, Ont., 

 in 1895, was not a Red-eyed Vireo's ; at the same time I am as positive as 

 it is possible to be without having the bird in hand that it belonged to the 

 Philadelphia Vireo. 



Mr. Brewster assumes that I do not know the Red-eyed Vireo. I prob- 

 ably know it as well as he does ; as it is a very common bird in Ontario, 

 and not a year passes but that I see its nest. This year, for example, 

 I found a nest in a small maple. I watched the birds closely to be sure 

 of the species, and noted the habits of the pair. This pair was verj^ shy 

 and retiring, whereas the pair of vireos I noted at Lansdowne, in 1895, 

 were demonstrative and noisy. The location was very different as was 

 the finish of the nest, the latter being smaller and not so well finished off 

 and adjusted as the first. I knew from the location my birds were not 

 Warbling Vireos, for which the location was not adapted, — a rough pas- 

 ture field with swamp3' places grown up with willow, spruce, etc., and 

 in the drier places, poplar, and no large woods near. 



A characteristic of my nest was the presence of shreds of birch bark, 

 which as there were no birch trees near, must have been brought from 

 some distance. I am quite satisfied, in spite of Mr. Brewster's strictures, 

 with my nest and its identification, which was a careful one, just as he no 

 doubt feels satisfied that he has the first authentic nest and eggs of that 

 species on record. 



With regard to the yellow shading of the breast, Mr. Brewster must 

 know that the intensity of coloring in both vireos and warblers is a very 

 uncertain element. — -C. J. Young, Sharbot Lake, Ontario, Can. 



A Winter Record for the Hermit Thrush ( Hylocichla guttata fallasii) 

 in Eastern Massachusetts. — This species is sufficiently rare in winter in 

 Massachusetts to make it of interest to record one seen by the writers in 

 Longwood, Brookline, Mass., January i, 1904. The bird was not at all 

 shy, and was observed for several minutes within a distance of a few feet, 

 so that its identification was easily determined. It was hopping about in 

 a clump of trees and bushes at the edge of a small pond, now and then 

 uttering its characteristic chuck. 



Another Hermit Thrush, or possibly the same one, was observed at 

 Chesnut Hill, Mass., on January 8, 1904. It was watched for several min- 

 utes while it was picking at a small crust of bread which lay on the snow. 

 As the two localities mentioned are at least three miles apart, it is impos- 

 sible to tell whether this was the same bird as the one seen on January 

 I or not. Messrs. Howe and Allen in their ' Birds of Massachusetts,' p. 

 95, give only three winter records for the Hermit Thrush for this State. — 

 Francis G. and Maurice C. Blake, Brookline, Mass. 



