466 General Notes [j$ 



This spring I made a special effort to obtain an Olive-backed Thrush, 

 and on May 5, I shot a typical adult male near my home. As soon as 

 I lifted the specimen from the ground I was satisfied that the two birds 

 I had taken in 1901 and 1902 were none other than the Russet-backed 

 Thrush ; but to place the identification beyond question I wrote my friend, 

 Mr. J. H. Riley, to send me a specimen of H. u. ustulata from the U. S. 

 National Museum collection. Mr. Riley sent me an adult male taken by 

 Mr. Ridgway on June 16, 1899, at Sitka, Alaska, which is identical in 

 coloration with the two South Carolina birds. Here is a case of a Pacific 

 coast bird occurring in South Carolina, in the autumnal as well as in the 

 spring migration and may prove to be a regular migrant. 



When I collected with my late friend, Mr. William Brewster, near 

 Charleston in 1884 and 1885 I remember perfectly of his shooting Olive- 

 backed and Gray-cheeked Thrushes and of his explaining the difference 

 between these birds from specimens shot in the woods which he laid side 

 by side. My impression is that all the of the Olive-backs he shot were 

 typical representatives of sivainsoni. 



Since I began to collect birds in 1883 I do not believe I have shot six 

 Olive-backed Thrushes, but of the great numbers I have seen at close 

 range the backs seemed to me to be of the same color as the Gray-cheeked 

 Thrush. — Arthur T. Wayne, Mount Pleasant, S. C. 



Remarkable Migration of Robins. — On March 19, 1920, during a 

 rain at midday at Chicago, the wind died out, causing the fog and smoke 

 to settle down bringing total darkness. This condition lasted several 

 minutes when the wind shifted from southwest to north and freshening, 

 brought a heavy fall of wet snow. A large flock of Robins numbering 

 several hundreds was observed on the south side of the city, near the 

 loop, flying northwest. It took fully five minutes for them to pass a given 

 point. A small bunch leaving the main flock would settle on wires, house- 

 tops and vacant lots, apparently to rest before going on. These small 

 flocks were passing for at least half an hour after the main flight had gone 

 on. This is the first time I have seen flocks of Robins, in the daytime, 

 in such unusual numbers. — Edw. E. Armstrong, 2249 Calumet Avenue, 

 Chicago, III. 



Some Rare Birds, for Yates Co., N. Y. — Melospiza lincolni lin- 

 colni. Lincoln's Sparrow. — On October 13, 1901, I secured a male of 

 this species, the only one I have ever observed here. 



Tringa canutus. Knot. — This is a rare bird in Western New York, 

 to say nothing of Yates Co. I obtained a specimen for identification on 

 September 11, 1904, while it was associating with a host of other Sand- 

 pipers along Lake Keoka. This seems to be the first recorded occurrence 

 of the Knot here since 1874. 



Nuttallornis borealis. Olive-sided Flycatcher. — It was my pleas- 

 ure to add this bird which is extremely rare here to my Yates Co. list on 



