180 General Notes. 



A letter by tlie writer of tlie above to a friend continues the history as 

 follows : — 



"I have postponed my visit to for a few days; and for a 



reason whicli perhaps no one but an ornithologist would be likely to ap- 

 preciate. 1 am detaint-d by a Rohin, and though its visits are paid at a 

 neighbor's window, still I am fascinated. Its first three Hays' vi«it is de- 

 scribed as accurately as my mother tongue would enable me to do in ihe 

 enclosed paragraph published in our dady of yesterday. It still persists. 

 The shade was left up last night, and when 1 awoke this morning, soon 

 after daybreak, it whs knocking loudly at the chosen window. Our home 

 is (juite near, and when my window, which is nearly opj)osite, is open, I 

 hear it very plaiidy. Jt continued with but slight interruptions until about 

 eight o'clock, when the lady of the house opened the window. It then 

 flew down, but even now it is hopping about in the grass near by as though 

 watching for the window to close. 1 have never made ornithology a study, 

 but this seems to me a very unconuuon proceeding. If you know any 

 ornithologist to whom you think it would be interesting, please impart." 

 Later information states that the same proceedings continued until the 

 writer of the above left town, — nine days in all ; but that on the ninth 

 day the tappings were more feeble, and were not continued later than 

 7 A. M., after which time the bird was not seen that day. 



As these sheets are passing through the press, a male Yellow Warbler 

 (Denifroica cesticn) is behaving in a (juite sinnlar manner at my own house. 

 For several weeks the bird has been in the habit of frequently visiting a 

 grape-vine trellis in front of a window of the dining-roum, from which he 

 has been accustomed to sing, wdiolly undisturbed by the people or the 

 proceedings within the room. Although tlie trellis has been a favorite 

 resort for the bird, his behavior was not especially noteworthy till June 7, 

 when he began to persistently Hy against the window-panes, often striking 

 them with considt- rable violence. 



The trellis stands about eighteen inches from the window, and the 

 portion innnediately in front of it is nearly bare, and consists of two hori- 

 zontal bars, about three feet apart. These form his perch, from which he 

 usually makes his dive at the window. Innnediately in front of the win- 

 dow is an ojjen field with a group of five large a])ple-trees, all Avithin 

 twenty to fifty feet of the house. These, with the trellis and ])ortions of 

 the grape-vine it supports are vividly mirrored in the window, as well as 

 the <'-eneral landscape, and of course the bird himself whenever he visits 

 the trellis. But his own r<- flection does not seem to be the point of 

 attraction, as he iisuaUi/ strikes the pane two or three feet above the point 

 opposite his perch, but sometimes dives down from the upper bar of the 

 trellis to the lower panes of the window. Occasionally he flies directly 

 from the apple-trees against the window, but generally first alights on the 

 bars of the trellis. For several days liis visits have begun with early day- 

 break, and have been continued throughout the day till after sunset, he 



