248 General Notes. [^^^ 



marum) was seen by me on December 14, 1911, and was observed by myself 

 and others upon various days to the end of the month. Mrs. A. M. C. 

 Levey informs me that it was still present on January 3, 1912. The bird 

 remained about the museum building and was always observed in close 

 proximity to it. Sometimes it was seen upon the grass plots in front of 

 the museum and even upon the door-steps, quite as familiarly disposed as 

 a Chipping Sparrow. When under observation it kept much of the time on 

 the ground, as is not unusual with birds of the species, evidently obtaining 

 its food there. Its haunt was backed by a thick growth of young conifers 

 standing upon a bank having a southeastern exposure, in front of which 

 are shrubs of various kinds and crab-apple trees, and at the border a 

 shallow stream flows to the meadow. The warbler was usually feeding 

 around and under these shrubs and crabs, silently, but occasionally giving 

 its characteristic call-note. It was, when first seen, in association with a 

 little company of four White-throated Sparrows {Zonotrichia albicollis), 

 but later was usually alone and unaccompanied. In plumage it was a 

 good type of the species, having a dingy white breast and bright yellow 

 under tail-coverts, with obscurely streaked sides. It constantly wagged 

 its tail. 



The Palm W^arbler is a rare autumn migrant in this section and has 

 seldom been seen after the middle of October. Mr. WiUiam Brewster 

 records one seen by him in Cambridge on October 28, 1895. Mrs. Edmund 

 Bridge informs me that two were present on her home grounds in West 

 Medford on November 19, 1911. Mr. Ralph Hoffmann has a published 

 record of one seen in Cambridge on December 6, 1902 (Brewster's " Birds 

 of the Cambridge Region "). 



As regards the food which has been obtained by this warbler, it is of 

 interest to quote the testimony of Mr. B. S. Bowdish, given in ' The Auk ' 

 for January, 1903, p. 19, where he says of the Palm Warbler, " A large 

 number of stomachs examined in Cuba contained seeds." Again, in ' The 

 Auk' for April. 1903, pp. 193 and 195, Mr. Bowdish states, "So far as 

 I have noticed, few writers have given much attention to the extent to 

 which many birds of families which in the States are considered more or 

 less strictly insectivorous, feed in the West Indies largely on fruit and seeds 

 .... I also found seeds in the stomachs of the Black and White, Parula,. 

 Myrtle, Palm, and Prairie Warblers, particularly the Myrtle and Palm, 

 the latter feeding almost exclusively on seeds of weeds near Santiago and 

 Guama, Cuba." 



Mr. Harold L. Barrett later informed me that he had observed this 

 warbler in its chosen haunt on November 26, 27, and 29 and on December 

 4 and 9. So the presence of this bird, based on records, extended from 

 November 26, 1911, to January 3, 1912, thirty-nine days. After this time- 

 it could not be found. Snowfalls occurred followed by severe cold weather. 

 — Horace W. Wright, Boston, Mass. 



