240 General Notes. 



nest, which was composed entirely of spears of hay. Tlie female was feed- 

 ing the young, and I watched her pass out and in several times. — Harry 

 T. Gates, Hartford, Conn, 



Capture of a South American Finch near Providence, R. I. — 

 I am indebted to Mr. J. M. Southwick, of Providence, R. I., for the oppor- 

 tunity of examining a beautiful example of Gubernatrix cristaiellus, taken 

 near that city, July 7, 1880. It is in perfect plumage, showing no signs of 

 previous confinement, and for this reason it was assumed to be " evidently 

 not an escaped cage-bird." Its habitat being Brazil, it seems beyond 

 probability that it could have reached the locality of its capture without 

 human aid. Its occurrence in an apparently wild state is of interest in con- 

 nection with previous records of the capture of exotic birds under similar 

 circumstances. (Cf. this Bulletin, Vol. V, pp. 119-121.) — J. A. Allen, 

 Cambridge, Mans. 



CoRvus ossifragus on Long and Staten Islands, N. Y. — The 

 idea holds that the Fish Crow is a rare bird as far north as the .latitude of 

 the above-named localities : My correspondents, Messrs. DeL. Bericr, of 

 Fort Hamilton, Long Island, and H. A. Wheeler, of New Brighton, 

 Staten Island, give me interesting information. Mr. Berier writes : " In 

 looking over Vol. Ill [Jan., 1878, pp. 46, 47] of Nuttall Bulletin, I see it 

 was thought worth the while to record the capture of the Fish Crow on 

 Long Island. I do not regard the bird as rare here, and my friend, H. A. 

 AVheeler, Esq., has on several occasions found its nest on Staten Island." 

 Mr. Wheeler writes : " In reply to your queries about the Fish Crow, 1 

 would state that it is not a permanent resident, as it comes from the South 

 in March or early in April, and leaves during October or early No- 

 vember. It nests early, either in the latter part of April (in a forward 

 spring) or during the first fortnight of May. The nests are similar to 

 those of the Common Crow, while the eggs differ mainly in being smaller 

 and slightly more pear-shaped. Most of the nests are found in pine or 

 cedar trees, though I have seen them in the white-oak and the swamp-oak. 

 They breed both near the sea-shore and a few miles back in the country, 

 and as the other Crow is quite numerous the two kinds will often be 

 found quite near each other. They do not seem to associate, though I 

 have seen the two sjiecies following up and harassing Owls. In the 

 spring while breeding the Fish Crow will often be found in newly ploughed 

 fields, after grubs, while late in the season I have seen them in old stubble 

 fields feeding on grasshoppers, etc., though most of the time they will be 

 found on the sea-shore, to which they resort in flocks after breeding. Dur- 

 ing the past five years in which I have collected, I have always found them 

 breeding on Staten Island, and have no reason to doubt that it is a per- 

 manent and regular breeding-place. They are not nearly so numerous 

 as the Common Crow, and I seldom find more than half a dozen nests in a 

 season, if as many as that, though I range over about twenty-five square 

 miles more or less thoroughly." — H. A. Pukdie, Newton, Alass. 



