31^^ 



Coircf.poii(h')ice. \ |uiv 



these places ill hundreds for tlie purpose of picking up gravel and small 

 shells; when these places aie covered with ice, as often happens, thej 

 hop about from one piece of ice to another, following the shore line, evi- 

 dently' thinking (if birds can think) there must be something wrong. I 

 have shot several from time to time to see what their crops contained, and 

 invariably found in them small shells, jirincipally minute, blackish whelks, 

 gravel, and the fruit of the mountain ash, and sometimes bits of seaweed. 

 All the birds I shot were in first rate condition. The winter has been a 

 very severe one — Feb. i and 3, 24 and 32 degrees below zero (Farenheit) 

 — but this does not seem to trouble them at all. The reason for their 

 winteri.ng here is possibly due to the enormous crop of mountain ash 

 berries. — Nap. A. Comeau, Godboiit, Province, of Quebec. 



On Two Birds New to Louisiana. — In a small collection of birds re- 

 cetitly purchased from C. S. Galbaith by the American Museum ofNat- 

 uial History, are two f;pecies which have not been before recorded from 

 Louisiana ; thev are : — 



Helminthophila leucobronchialis. — (Am. Mus. No. 54815, Mandeville, 

 La., Spring of 1891. Collector C. S. Galbraith. Sex not determined 

 but the example is evidently a male.) So far as pattern of marking is 

 concerned this specimen agrees with Helminthophila piniis. In coloration 

 it is midway between pinns and typical leucobronchialis. that is, the under- 

 parts are white with a patch of yellow on the breast and more or less of 

 this color on the chin and abdomen, while the upper parts are bluish with 

 a gi-eenish wash. The tips of the wing-coverts are more heavilv marked 

 with vfllow than in normal specimens of piniis. a fact not in Ntrict accord 

 with Mr. Ridgvvav's theory of dichromatism in this puzzling group. {^Cf. 

 Man. N. A. Birds, p, 4S6, footnote.) If with Mr. Ridg'vay we assume 

 this specimen to be a "leuchroic' example of finiis we should not expect 

 that a diminution of yellow on the abdomen and back would be attended 

 by an increase of yellow on the wing-coverts. 



Spizella pusilla arenacea. (Am. Mus. No. 54S09, Mandeville, La., 

 Winter of 1891. Collector C S. Galbraith. Sex not determined.) A 

 typical example of this Spariow. in winter plumage. — F'raxk M. Ciiai>- 

 M,\N, American Museum of Natural History, iVexc 7'ork City. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



yCom'SpouJeiiis are riqiie.^Ud to ivrile briefly and to the poiitl. JVo aiteiiiion ivill 

 he paid to anonyinoiis communications.^ 



Florida Heron Rookeries. 



To THE EdITOUS ok THE AuK : — 



Dear Sirs : Appreciating as one must the notes of Mr. H. K. Jamison 

 of Philadelphia on 'Some Rookeries on the Gulf Coast of Florida,' pub- 



