102 General Notes. 



that a specimen of this species was taken by Mr. W. W. Eager in Newton, 

 Mass., December 1, 1876. These are certainly late dates for the cap- 

 ture of any species of the genus Empidonax in Massachusetts. — J. A. 

 Allen, Cambridge, Mass. , 



The Ipswich Sparrow (Passerculus princeps) on Long Island, N. Y., 



— On the 1st of January, 1878, I took a fine specimen of the Passerculus 

 princeps at Rockaway, Long Island. The bird when taken was in com- 

 pany with Savanna and Tree Sparrows (Passerculus savanna and Spizell a 

 monticola), and was found among a low range of sandhills that skirt 

 the main shore of the bay at Far Rockaway. Another was observed the 

 same day, but, being very wild, I was unable to procure it. This makes 

 the fifth specimen that has been taken in the same locality : the first in 

 December, 1870, the second and third in November and December, 1872, 

 the fourth, November, 1874, and the fifth, January, 1878. — N. T. Law- 

 rence, Neio York City. 



The Stilt Sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus) at Portland, Maine. 



— Mr. H. A. Purdie, in his review of a recent " Catalogue of the Birds of 

 New England," stated (this Bulletin, Vol. I, p. 73) that Micropalama 

 himantopus is migratory along the whole New England coast. This 

 elicited the rather sweeping assertion from the author of the Catalogue 

 that the bird had " not been found in any part of that coast from St. 

 Andrews to Kittery " (Bull., Vol. II, p. 48). I desire to contribute my 

 evidence in support of Mr. Purdie's statement. M. himantopus has been 

 repeatedly taken on the marshes and sandbars in the vicinity of Poi'tland, 

 Me., during the early part of autumn. — Nathan Clifford Brown, 

 Portland, Me. 



Nesting-Habits of Parus montanus.* — The nest was built at the 

 bottom of a seam in a very rotten stump. The top of the seam was 

 two feet from the ground, the bottom about a foot below the entrance. 

 The bird had slightly and irregularly enlarged the passage to the nest, 

 which was composed of fibrous roots, lined with wool gathered from the 

 bushes where sheep had grazed, and contained seven white eggs.t 



I visited the nest daily for some time, and finally found the female 

 sitting. As I neared the stump I was somewhat startled by a loud hiss- 

 ing noise, and looked in at the nest expecting to find a snake, but discov- 

 ered only the owner, who, with wings outspread, mouth open, and eyes 

 glistening, hissed almost continually. I desired to see the nest, and tried 

 to drive her from it by violently striking the stump, but she was not to be 

 dislodged so easily, and I left her, hoping to find her not at home next 



* Communicated by R. Ridgway. 



t It would be interesting to know vvhetlier the eggs are spotted or not ; if 

 unspotted, they form a notable exception to tlie rule in this genus. — R. R. 



