Vol^^IVJ General Notes. 325 



A novel Idea of a Tufted Titmouse. — On April 10, 1S97, while wander- 

 ing leisurely along the border of a wood outside of Beverly, N. J., my eye 

 caught sight of the peculiar actions of a small bird ahead of me. Walking 

 cautiously to within a reasonable distance and using my field glasses, I 

 obsei:ved a Tufted Titmouse (^Partis bicolor), as I supposed trying to drive 

 a red squirrel away. The squirrel was lying flat on the upper side of a 

 large sloping limb, and the Titmouse would approach cautiously from 

 behind and catch at its tail. It -was not long before I noticed that the 

 bird had collected quite a mouthful of the hairs, with which it flew off to 

 a hole near by where it was deposited. This is certainly one of the most 

 interesting novelties in relation to nest building that I ever met with. 

 A friend who was with me also observed the occurrence. — J. Harris. 

 Reed, Beverly, N. J. 



Absence of Tardus aonalaschkae pallasii at Tadousac, Quebec, in 

 1896. — The almost complete absence of the Hermit Thrush from the 

 vicinitv of Tadousac during the summer of 1896 was very noticeable. 

 During six weeks spent there in June and July, the only evidence I found 

 of the presence of the birds was a single family seen one day late in July. 

 In other vears this species has been nearly as abundant as the Olive- 

 backed Thrush {T. 11. s-vaisoitii), and many of each could be heard 

 every day, but last summer the Olive-backs alone were heard, and I 

 wondered where the Hermits had gone. The freeze of a couple of 

 winters ago which was so destructive to the Bluebirds in the Southern 

 States, doubtless is responsible, in part at least, for the sudden diminution 

 in the number of Hermits, and I have already seen some allusion made to 

 this species as one of the sufferers. — Jonathan Dwight, Jr., M. D., 

 Ne-M York City. 



A Great Flight of Robins in Florida. — Mr. James K. Knowlton of 

 Swampscott, Mass., informs me that he saw an enormous flight of Robins 

 (^Merula migratoria) on February 14, 15, 16, 1897, at Hawks's Park, 

 situated on a branch of Indian River, about one hundred miles south of 

 St. Augustine, Florida. They came from a southerly direction, and 

 were continually passing, alighting and repassing, on the above dates, the 

 general movement being in a northerly direction. The air was full of 

 them, and their numbers beyond estimate, reminding him of bees. Mr. 

 Knowlton heard that this movement of Robins had been noted for a 

 distance of ten miles away, across the flight. Mr. K. shot about one 

 hundred as they flew past the house where he was staying; he could have 

 killed a thousand, he says (so there is something to be grateful for ! ) and 

 reiterates that, " he saw more Robins than he had heretofore supposed 

 existed in the world." Though a sportsman all his life, and frequenting 

 localities where large numbers of birds congregate, like Currituck 

 Sound, he states, without hesitation, that this was the largest flight of 

 birds he had ever seen in his life. — George H. Mackay, Nantucket, Mass- 



