A.2A. Getieral Notes. [October 



Troglodytes aedon. Zonotrichia albicollis. 



Empidonax minimus. Zonotrichia leucophrvs 



Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Seiurus aurocapillus. 



Merula migratoria. Vireo olivaceus. 



Turdus ustuiatiis swainsonii. Seiurus noveboracensis. 



Geothlypis trichas. Tachycineta bicoior. 



Geothlypis Philadelphia ($). Anthus ludovicianus. 



Harporhynchus rufus. Mniotilta varia. 



It is hardly necessary to state that many of the above species are com- 

 monly found on the ground, but all of these birds were profoundly affected 

 by the weather, allowing an approach which would be next to impossible 

 under ordinary conditions. The Warblers could easily have been taken 

 in a small hand net. — ^Joseph L. Hancock, Chicago, Illinois. 



Reason or Instinct.' — I made some observations last summer on the 

 habits of the Blue Jay (^Cyanocitta cristata) which, if not showing reason, 

 certainly show a degree of sympathy and kindness worthy of imitation by 

 animals of a higher order. Last August (1887) on an old farm in Jeffer- 

 son County, Wisconsin, my attention was attracted by the notes of a Blue 

 Jay, not the ordinary cry, which could be heard at almost any time, as they 

 are very numerous there, but a series of regular calls followed by answers 

 from a neighboring tree. There was something so peculiarly suggestive 

 of a communication of thought about the sound, that I went to the place, 

 and saw an old Blue Jay perched on a fence some distance from a tree 

 where there were several others. 



On my nearing the bird, the calls from the tree became more frequent 

 and loud, changing from a low, pleasant, communicative tone to a shrill 

 alarm which became more frequent and intense as I approached. Think- 

 ing that he must be injured in some way, I went cautiously up to him 

 when I found that he was at least partially blind. The eyes were blurred and 

 dim, and the lids nearly closed. I had little difficulty in catching hinj and 

 found him to be an old and helpless creature with scarcely a vestige of his 

 former beauty. The beautiful blue feathers were much faded, in fact, the 

 general appearance of the bird was so different as to be apparent at a 

 glance. The claws were very much worn, the bill dulled, and the prima- 

 ries and tail-feathers ragged. Every feature suggested old age and feeble- 

 ness. Yet he was cared for and watched as tenderly as was ever a young 

 bird in the nest. No sooner had I caught him than there were at least a 

 dozen Jays close at hand, whose sympathy and interest were manifested 

 as plainly as could be without words. After a thorough examination, I 

 liberated him, when he flew in the direction of the sound of the others but 

 did not succeed in alighting among the smaller branches of the tree and 

 finally settled on a large limb near the ground. I saw him every day after 

 that (from August 10 to August 17), and never did his companions desert 

 him ; some one of them being always near and warning him of approach- 

 ing danger; whereupon he would fly in the direction indicated by the 



