496 General Notes. [£"£ 



Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in New Hampshire. — Four Starlings were 

 seen at Hanover, N. H., on April 17, 1915. As this is the first time these 

 birds have been seen here, I thought the record might prove of interest. — 

 E. Gordon Bell, Hanover, N. H. 



Bachman's Sparrow near Chicago, Illinois. — The scene of this 

 discovery is not Chicago proper, but the suburb of River Forest. Near 

 my home in this fine suburb is an eighty acre tract of land, which I call 

 " Waller's Park," for although a piece of real estate held for speculation, it 

 is in reality a beautiful park, as it has been surrounded by the owner with 

 an eight foot fence and for over twenty-five years planted up with many 

 kinds of trees and bushes, so that, besides having in the course of these 

 years become a park, it is also an ideal bird preserve or sanctuary, unin- 

 tentional as this phase of the project may have been on the part of the 

 owner. On May 9 I went into this idyllic spot, which, however, had up to 

 this time not been resorted to by flights of migrants as much as would be 

 expected, owing to the unseasonably cool or cold weather. The tempera- 

 ture for May recorded by the Chicago weather station was two degrees 

 lower than that for April, if I am not mistaken, the coldest May since the 

 establishment of the office. After seeing several Palm Warblers, Ruby- 

 crowned Kinglets, Field Sparrows, Baltimore Orioles and the here inevitable 

 Cowbirds, my attention was suddenly arrested by an unusual song. On 

 going to that part of the grove from which it came, I noticed ten to fifteen 

 reddish sparrows, which were busily feeding on the ground among the 

 grass and then, as though they could not keep their exhilaration for them- 

 selves or that it could not be given vent to on the ground, some would 

 mount to the lowest branches of the adjacent trees and pour out a ringing 

 song. The song resembled that of the Chewink at its best and also that 

 of the Field Sparrow, being, however, louder than the latter and sweeter 

 than the former. Approaching to within fifteen feet of several of the 

 singers, I saw that they were Bachman's Sparrows (Peuccea aestivalis bach- 

 mani), a species with which I had become familiar during a stay in southern 

 Illinois. It was hard to believe, but looking them over again and again, 

 with and without the glass, one could, also by elimination, arrive at no 

 other conclusion, which was corroborated by the skins in my collection 

 when I came home. That flock stayed there, in the same spot, for several 

 days, for I saw them again on May 12. Knowing that this species is one of 

 those which are gradually extending their breeding range northward, I 

 still thought that these birds would not remain to breed, for the gap between 

 here and the nearest locality to the south from which they are reported as 

 breeders, would be too great. I thought they had in their migratory ardor 

 been carried along by other sparrows until they found themselves farther 

 north than they wished to go, and would retrace their flight fifty or more 

 miles southward. However, on May 23, 1 noticed one again which behaved 

 very much as though it were at home. On June 29 and 30, I heard twc 



