1920 J General Notes. 601 



subspecies scolopaceus. Both Dowitchers are rather rare migrants here, 

 but I think the Long-billed is the commoner bird. The bird mentioned 

 above is now in my collection. 



Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Blackbird. — 

 On April 24, I saw a flock of about fifty birds of this species in the rushes 

 in Hyde Lake. More arrived later and to a large extent supplanted the 

 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). These birds were at one 

 time very abundant in the marshes and sloughes south of Chicago, but 

 since the advent of the large factories and chemical plants, many of their 

 best nesting grounds have been destroyed. At the present rate, the 

 birds will be very rare in a few years. 



Spizella pallida. Clay-colored Sparrow. — On May 8, several 

 friends and I noticed a small sparrow unlike anything else we had ever 

 seen, at Wolf Lake. The bird was very tame, and allowed us to study it 

 at very close range. Unfortunately I had no gun, but the brown on the 

 sides of the head and the markings in general were so well defined and 

 distinctive as to leave no room for doubt as to the bird's identity. This 

 bird is an accidental straggler from the west, and has been taken in the 

 Dunes by Mr. Stoddard. 



Spiza americana. Dickcissel. — This bird breeds locally west of 

 Chicago, but I have included it in this list because of the peculiar cir- 

 cumstances under which I saw it. On May 10, I was walking along Lake 

 Park Ave., on my way to Jackson Park, at about five o'clock in the morn- 

 ing, when I noticed a flock of English Sparrows (Passer domesticus) across 

 the street, and although one of the birds impressed me as very light, I paid 

 no heed and went on. Hardly had I gone twenty yards when the birds 

 flew across the street and two of them lit on a small tree. Now to my 

 great surprise, one commenced to sing. I immediately retraced my steps 

 and saw that the bird which was singing was a male Dickcissel. It seems 

 strange to meet this bird of the fields and meadows in the heart of the city. 



Dendroica discolor. Prairie Warbler. — On May 6, I saw one 

 male of this species. The Prairie Warbler is always regarded as a rare 

 migrant, but I have seen several in the Park. — Nathan F. Leopold, Jr., 

 4754 Greenwood Ave., Chicago, III. 



Items Relative to Some Costa Rican Birds. Catharista urubu 

 braziliensis. — Apropos the articles in recent numbers of 'The Auk,' 

 bearing on the subject of the power of the various senses of the 

 Black Vulture. I may be allowed to record an incident, concerning 

 the Central American form of the species, that came under observa- 

 tion of the writer and his wife, while located near Juan Vifias, 

 Costa Rica, in April, 1920. We occupied a house, which was of con- 

 siderable pretensions, and in good repair but had not been occupied, 

 other than temporarily, for several years. Soon after settling there, 

 we noted a particular Vulture, that came almost daily to the garden, 

 surrounding the house, where it was usually to be seen perched on a fence 



