V °! 8 * ni ] General Notes. 26 I 



Since the 23d and 24th of March we have noted the Townee on the fol- 

 lowing dates, — March 25, 28, April 2, 4, 7, 9 (singing), 10, 12, 13 and 16, 

 when he disappeared. 



The occurrence of this Towhee here makes a valid record of the win- 

 tering of this species in Massachusetts, and the female that was taken at 

 Bedford, Mass., on January 2, 1S96, and the specimen taken at Portland, 

 Conn., would seem to show that this bird can stand the rigors of a New 

 England winter, and that we may look for further records of the winter- 

 ing of this species in the future. — Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., Long- 

 xvood, Mass. 



The Nonpariel at Longwood, Massachusetts. — On June 5, 1896, Henry 

 V. Greenough brought me a male Painted Finch (Passcrina ciris) which 

 he had shot at about 8 a. m. The bird was in perfect plumage, its wings 

 and tail showing apparently no cage wear and its feet in perfect condition. 



I examined its stomach which contained white gravel, suggesting cage 

 gravel (although the bird had been seen upon a gravel walk where I found 

 the same kind of gravel), a white worm, a small amount of dark gravel 

 and a few seeds (not canary seed), and the bird was also quite fat. Its 

 testes were very much enlarged. 



The bird uttered only a few notes on alighting and when started, like 

 chit-chit. He was seen the day before, and although fairly tame at first, 

 became quite wild from being watched. 



The probability of course is strongly in favor of this being an escaped 

 cage bird, but at the same time, the weather having been fair and warm 

 for a week, this bird might have strayed from southern climes. — Reginald 

 Heber Howe, Jr., Longxuood, Mass. 



Peculiar Traits of Some Scarlet Tanagers. — Scarlet Tanagers (Pi'rauga 

 erythromelas) are not common in this vicinity (Ridgewood, N. J.) ; for 

 many years I saw only two or three during spring migrations. Within . 

 the last few years a few pairs have bred in this locality, generally on the 

 outskirts of woods ; so I was surprised to see a pair nesting in a Norway 

 spruce, on a branch only about ten feet from the corner of my house, 

 and about the same distance from the ground. In all my ornithological 

 experience I never knew a pair of birds to live and nest so near my house 

 with such secretiveness. 



One of my family first saw the birds from an upper window that looked 

 down on the nest. The nest building appeared to be all done by the 

 female. The male bird was seen usually in the morning, apparently 

 inspecting the work or noting its progress, but was seldom seen during 

 the rest of the day. Both birds when approaching their nest alighted 

 near the top of this high tree and descended through the branches to 

 the nest, which was flat, very evenly built, like a cup of basket work, 

 beautifully woven of material resembling the color of the bark of the 



