288 Genera! Notes. [July 



ing from behind, whereas the flight from the nest was toward the clearer 

 space in front. The sitting posture was not one of absolute rest at any 

 time, as the head was constantly in motion, so that no approach could be 

 made without her knowledge, The flight from the nest seemed to be 

 directly out of it, without any preliminaries. The weather was warm, 

 yet she would remain on the nest from fifteen to twenty minutes, and in 

 no instance was away more than two minutes, while I had her under ob- 

 servation. The male frequently appeared in the vicinity, but neither of- 

 fered food or even deigned to alight on the same tree, yet birds which 

 had a good claim in the neighborhood dared not approach very close, as 

 the combined attack of these active birds always proved so distasteful 

 that they invariably beat a hasty retreat. — Edwin H. Eames, Bridgeport. 

 Conn. 



Snake Skins in the Nests of Myiarchus crinitus.— The habit of the 

 Great Crested Flycatcher of putting scraps of discarded snake skin in its 

 nest is — so far as the nests which I have found — invariable. Nevertheless, 

 in one instance, atTamworth, New Hampshire, I found a nest with one 

 egg in it but with no snake skin visible. I found it about 7 a.m. one 

 beautiful day in early July, 188S. I touched the egg and handled the 

 nest slightly. Shortly before sunset I looked a second time into the 

 hollow limb where the nest was placed, and was much surprised, in fact 

 somewhat startled, by what I saw. Forming a complete circle about the 

 egg, resting, in fact, like a wreath upon the circumference of the nest 

 cavity, was a piece of snake skin six or seven inches long. The part which 

 had encased the head of the snake was at the front of the nest and was 

 slightly raised. It may not be wise to found a theory upon a single fact, 

 but from the moment I saw that newly acquired snake skin, placed as it 

 was, I made up my mind that the Great Crested Flycatcher uses the skin 

 to scare away intruders. When the full set of eggs was laid, I took them 

 and the nest. Only remnants of snake skin remained in the rubbish of 

 the nest. The large skin had been removed or torn to bits. 



The following year the same hollow was again occupied by Great 

 Crested Flycatchers. I found the nest on July 7. It contained four eggs, 

 and some scraps of snake skin were in sight. All the eggs hatched on the 

 morning of the 1 2th. On the intermediate days my visits to the nest 

 were regular. During those days a number of larger scraps of skin were 

 placed on the outer edge of the nest. Their position was changed almost 

 daily. Once some were set up like a fence, and so was a hen's feather. 

 The birds knew of my visits, and scolded me while I remained in sight. 

 These facts tended to confirm ray theory in my own mind. — Frank 

 Bolles, Cambridge, Mass. 



Wintering of the Red-winged Blackbird near Cambridge, Mass. — On 

 the 29th of December, 1SS9, while passing along the edge of a small 

 swamp grown up with cat-tails, low bushes, birches, and maples, not far 

 from Fresh Pond, I heard repeatedly the note of a Blackbird. I was tin- 



