56 



General Notes. 



occurrence in Massachusetts are not as jet sufficiently numerous to render 

 additional captures entirely devoid of interest. 



I have latelv examined a fine specimen in the possession of Mr. Arthur 

 Smith, shot by that gentleman in Brookline, Mass.. in February, 1879. ^ 

 is a voung male, with the under parts finely vermiculated with rusty. 

 The rump is scarcely lighter than the back and the specimen is otherwise 

 nearly as tvpical of var. ludovicianus as are average specimens from 

 Florida. — William Brewster, Cambridge. Mass. 



A Third Capture of the Philadelphia Vireo ( Vireo philadel- 

 p/u'eus) in Massachusetts. — In the collection of Mr. Charles B. Cory I 

 have lately seen a Philadelphia Vireo which was taken in Brookline, Mass., 

 by Mr. Arthur Smith. Upon asking Mr. Smith about it he told me that 

 he shot it late in September, in second-growth oak woodland when it was 

 quite alone. 



This makes the third Massachusetts record, and all these specimens have 

 been taken in the same month — Septemher. The species should he care- 

 full v looked for in the spring, but it is probahle that, as with the Connecticut 

 Warbler and several other birds, the vernal migration is made by a more 

 westerly route. — William Brewster, Cambridge. Mass. 



Occurrence of Vireo philadelphicus in Mercer County. New 

 Jersey. — On September 21, 1S76, I took an adult male of this species in 

 an orchard in Princeton, and on the 28th of the same month I saw two 

 others in the same orchard together, one of which I obtained. This 

 proved also an adult male. These are the only instances that have 

 come under my observation during six years at this point. — W. E. D. 

 Scott. Princeton. N. J. 



The Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra americana) in Tennessee. — 

 The morning of August 7, 18S0, found the writer collecting in the woods 

 near Rugby on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. Coming to 

 a clearing, I observed, among other birds, two which at first I did not 

 recognize. The ■•clearings" of that section differ from those in other 

 parts of the country. Lumber being comparatively valueless in that 

 region, the settlers kill the trees by girdling, leaving them standing. In 

 time all but the largest limbs fall, and the trunks brcome rotten and filled 

 with vermin; thus they are the resort of Woodpeckers for both feeding 

 and breeding purposes. It was in such a locality, and on the top of one 

 of the largest trunks, that I saw a small bird, whose plumage I could not 

 distinguish against the sky. hopping up and down and around the trunk. 

 seemingly extracting insects from the decayed knot-holes. Supposing it 

 to be a species of Nuthatch, I shot it. when I was greatly astonished to 

 pick up a Red Crossbill. The report of my gun revealed the whereabouts 

 of four more, the remainder of the flock. Observation of their habits 

 showed me they kept near the tops or broken ends of the limbs, hopping 

 about and crawling under them after the manner of Woodpeckers. As I 



