General Notes. 191 



Notes on Birds of St. Louis, Mo. — Tlie following extracts from a 

 private letter contain some interesting information respecting several 

 species observed by Mr. Widmann. — E. C. 



Between the 10th and 14th of August, 1879, six Wood Ibises (Tan- 

 talus loculator) have been killed within seven miles of the centre of the 

 city of St. Louis, on " Pittsburg Lake," a small sheet of stagnant water 

 between East St. Louis and the bluffs in St. Clair Co., 111. A fisherman, 

 whose hut is on the edge of this lake, killed four at one discharge of his 

 gun. All those killed were too far gone to be saved, except their heads, 

 which we cleaned for keeping. On the forenoon of the 18th I had the 

 pleasure to see three of these birds myself at the same place, and observed 

 them for some time. They were " every inch " the birds you describe in 

 B. N. W. ; and seeing them circling in the heights, they reminded me 

 very much of the European Stork, Ciconia alba. 



Said lake, though so near the city, is a central seat of bird life. Seen 

 on an August day from the blufis, it is beautifully dotted with hundreds 

 of White Herons (Ardea egretta, and also Ardea candidissima). Nyctiardea 

 grise'a ncevia and Nyctiardea violacea (juv. July 12) have been taken there, 

 and are in the collection of Mr. Jul. Hurter, of St. Louis. A second 

 straggler from the South is Sitta pusilla, which I have seen but once, on 

 May 6, 1878, at Hy Blow's place within the city limits. Thinking it 

 would stay to breed, I did not kill it, which I afterward regretted, as 

 diligent search could never reveal it again ; not even my Great Horned 

 Owl, which generally attracts all the birds of a neighborhood, could bring 

 it to light. By the way, have you ever heard of the Great Horned Owls 

 and a Crow living in peace together? A fortnight ago, I j^ut a live Crow 

 into the cage with my pair of Bubo virginianus, and she is still there ; instead 

 of being eaten herself, she eats the best morsels of the Owls' daily meat. 



Speaking of the Crow, I cannot pass over without mentioning, at least, 

 that immense gathering of Crows on Arsenal Island, opposite the southern 

 part of the city; as early as August they begin to flock in, first by hun- 

 dreds, then by thousands, and in December hundreds of thousands sleep 

 there every night. The roar they make in the morning and evening can 

 be heard for miles around, and the sight of the influx of these multitudes 

 in the evening is something really imposing. Hundreds stay about the 

 river all day, but most of the birds disperse over the fields and gardens, 

 going to a distance of five miles and more every day. 



Another characteristic bird of St. Louis is the European Field Sparrow 

 (Pyrgita montand). I am told that our city is the only one where this 

 imported bird propagates in considerable numbers. Here it is now very 

 common ; when the breeding season is over, flocks of a hundred and more 

 may be met with. There is a curious incident connected with its history 

 in this city, which may show that the Field Sparrow became a field Spai-- 

 row rather by force of circumstances than by natural predilection, yielding 

 up the city to its stronger cousin, Passer domesticus. As these intruders 

 spread from their original starting-point, P. montana appeared in the 



