584 General Notes. [^ t k 



• 



This appears to be the most northern reported colony of C. stellaris in 



New Hampshire, while the Tennessee Warbler on the same date seems to 



be the most southern summer record of this species in the State. — John 



A. Farley, Maiden, Mass. 



Red-bellied Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in Alabama. — In 1891 

 Dr. William C. Avery recorded the capture, on October 4, 1888, of an adult 

 male Red-breasted Nuthatch at Greensboro, Alabama (Am. Field, Vol. 

 XXXV, p. 55, January 17, 1891). As far as known to me, this is the only 

 published record of the occurrence of the species within the State. 



On January 30, 1919, I assisted Mr. Lewis S. Golsan in the capture of a 

 male Red-breast about two miles east of Prattville, Alabama, in the woods- 

 pasture of Mr. J. B. Golsan, and at the same time heard another individual 

 calling in the pines near by. 



Concerning this species Mr. Golsan writes that he collected a female 

 at the same place on December 22, 1918, and that he saw and heard indi- 

 viduals there from that date until April 23, 1919. Mr. Golsan's actual 

 sight records are as follows: December 22, 1918, one; January 30, 1919, 

 one; February 13, one; March 16, four; March 23, two; April 6, three; 

 April 14, two; April 17, two; April 21, one; April 23, one. The birds 

 were heard almost daily in the pines near the barn lot by Mr. Golsan as he 

 went about his work. A large part of their time was spent searching the 

 cones of Pinus palustris, P. echinata, and P. tazda. Mr. Golsan estimates 

 the number seen and taken at ten individuals. 



It seems remarkable that this boreal bird should appear so far south 

 during the mildest winter the entire country has experienced in years. 

 Seldom severe, the late winter and early spring in central Alabama were 

 exceptionally mild. Rather one would have expected Red-breasted Nut- 

 hatches here the previous winter, which was as rigorous as the one just past 

 was clement. 



In this connection it seems worthy of note that though I observed num- 

 bers of White-breasted Nuthatches in the vicinity of Camp Upton, Long 

 Island, during the past winter, and watched especially for Red-breasts, 

 none were seen. — Ernest G. Holt, Barachias, Alabama. 



The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on Cape Cod. — On November 9, 1915, 

 in Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

 (Polioptila c. cazrulea). The locality was about two miles from Cape Cod 

 Bay. It was an Indian summer day with blue haze and a warm sun. The 

 Gnatcatcher remained for a short time in a tangle of vines and blackberry 

 bushes by a wall. As usual the little Polioptila was the embodiment of 

 nervousness, a pent-up bit of feathered energy. It continually cocked its 

 head and flirted its tail. Now and then it uttered its short, insect-like, 

 unbird-like note. It was not shy. — John A. Farley, Maiden, Mass. 



Strange Conduct of a Robin. — It may not be fair to the bird to report 

 its conduct to the world ornithological, but an apparently perfectly good 



