Deane on the Winter Wren. 37 



They occur at that season about Peekskill ; and I observed them in abun- 

 dance at Locust Grove, Lewis County, Northern New York, during the 

 hist of December and early part of January, 1878. Several adult speci- 

 mens that I shot had the ventral surface strongly discolored with red, 

 doubtless derived from the oak-trees, though my friend, Mr. C. Hart Mer- 

 riam, assured me that no oak-trees grow in that region. 



16. Colaptes auratus. Ykllow-shafted Flicker. — The " High- 

 hold " is occasional, but of somewhat rare occurrence, in winter, in the 

 Highlands and at Peekskill. Mr. Bicknell speaks of it as " rare in win- 

 ter ; only occasionally seen at that season." 



17. Circus cyaneus var. hudsouius. Marsh Hawk. — Observed 

 during every winter; particularly numerous in that of 1874-75, when 

 numbers were observed in the bluish plumage, on the meadows near Con- 

 stitution Island. 



18. Accipiter fuscus. Sharp-skinned Hawk. — Of quite frequent 

 occurrence all winter in the Highlands ; observed from Rhinebeck to 

 Riverdale at that season. Mr. Huyler states that it is plentiful at Tena- 

 fly, where it builds in the ledges of the Palisades near by, and is called 

 " Rock-Hawk " by some. 



1 9. Ectopistes migratorius. Wild Pigeon. — Of unusual occur- 

 rence in winter ; generally in very mild weather, when the ground is bare ; 

 observed in the Highlands on several occasions. 



20. Zensedura caroliiiensis. Carolina Dove. — The following rec- 

 ord is from ray journal : " January 12, 1878. A Carolina Dove flew down 

 from a ledge above the Garrison's Tunnel, and alighted upon the railroad, 

 close beside me, where it hopped about, looking askance at me, finally 

 hopping on to the rail, where it sat ogling me till a train came along, 

 when it flew on to the ledge. Tlie flagman at the station told me that 

 they were occasionally present throughout the milder winters, feeding on 

 the grain that drops from the cars. 



BREEDING OF THE WINTER WREN AT HOULTON, ME. 



BY RUTHVEN DEANE. 



The finding of the nests of many of our ground-building species 

 is considered by many as a matter of luck ; but a thorough ac- 

 quaintance with the woods and fields in which one is collecting, and 

 a habit of perseverance, often leads to success, and these accom- 

 plishments must indeed be attributed to any one who has had the 

 good fortune to discover three nests of the Winter Wren in one 

 season. 



