12 Berrier on Birds at Fort Hamilto>i, L. I. 



of a late prominent politician. However, in the fall of 1S77 it 

 was very common here for about ten days. It was also abundant 

 in the adjacent parts of New York and New Jersey. Thus, at 

 Tarrytown, an acquaintance of mine took a hundred and four 

 specimens, and my friend Gerard Hardenberg, Esq., found it 

 very plentiful about New Brunswick and Princeton. Unless I 

 am mistaken, it was recorded in considerable numbers from the 

 south side of Long Island in the winter of 1877 and 1S7S. In the 

 fall of 1 878 I saw only two or three individuals of this species, 

 and during the last autumn I shot but one. 



The fall of 187S was also remarkable for the unusal number of 

 Red-bellied Nuthatches (S/tta canadensis), White-bellied Nut- 

 hatches {Sitta carolinensis) , Brown Creepers (Certhia famil- 

 iaris) , and Chickadees ( Parus atricapillus) . Excepting the first- 

 named, which had hitherto been rather scarce, the rest had 

 always been regular fall visitants, but never in such hosts as came 

 that autumn. The little fellows were everywhere, — about the 

 trees, on the fences, climbing the sides of the houses, and running 

 about the shutters. Thev remained with us through the winter 

 and first half of the spring. I may here remark that I shot a Red- 

 bellied Nuthatch at Fort Hamilton, July 20. 1S77, in lull breed- 

 ing plumage (see Brewster's " First Plumages," this Bulletin, Vol. 

 Ill, pp. 20, 21). What this bird was doing on Long Island in 

 mid-summer I can not imagine, as its southern breeding limit is 

 far north of here. During the past autumn and winter I have 

 seen not one Red-bellied Nuthatch, or Chickadee, and only two or 

 three W T hite-bellied Nuthatches. Why such a common bird as 

 the Black-capped Tit should have been wanting I cannot imagine. 

 It would be interesting to know whether this species wintered in 

 unusual abundance north of Long Island. 



In the fall of 1S79 the Water Thrush {Sinrtis na>vius) was the 

 characteristic bird of this neighborhood. Fort Hamilton is hardly 

 the locality where one would look for the W r ater Thrush. Almost 

 every pond in the township of New Utrecht has been drained, on 

 account of the malaria that formerly prevailed, and there are no 

 streams. Nevertheless from the middle of August to the latter 

 part of September Water Thrushes were very abundant. They 

 were found in dry woods, in pastures and orchards, and in yards 

 and gardens. In fact, I found them more plenty away from than 

 about moist ground. Heretofore the Water Thrush had been 



