64 



General ?\fotes. 



During the winter of i8So-Si, no less than seven specimens of the little 

 Acadian Owl (^Nyctale acadica) were taken, all within a few days' time. 

 Two specimens of the Snowy Owl {Nyctea scaiidiaca) were also taken at 

 the same time. During the fall of 1879, '^ ^'^^ specimen of the American 

 Raven {^Corvus corax carnivoriis) remained in this immediate vicinity for 

 nearly a month, but successfully eluded capture. A single specimen of 

 the Canada Jay {Perisoreus catiadensis) was taken in December, 1874. 



Although the recorded instances of the breeding of the Loggerhead Shrike 

 (^Laniiis litdovicianus) in New England are rather numerous, the following 

 notes may not be entirely devoid of interest. One rainy day last season 

 (June 5, 1880) as I was seated on the porch of a neighbor's house, my atten- 

 tion was attracted by a Shrike flying past several times. I watched the bird 

 and saw it fly to the top of an old apple tree. The tree was not more than 

 t-Mo rods from the house, and was densely overrun with a large grape vine. 

 I climbed the tree, and, about twenty feet from the ground, found the 

 nest, and, much to my disappointment, found no eggs, but four nearly 

 fledged young. The old birds were very tame, and flew about within a 

 few feet of my head. 



This season I visited the locality May 16, and was fortunate enough to 

 find a nest and four fresh eggs. The nest was in an apple tree, perhaps 

 three rods from the nest of last year; was composed of coarse sticks and 

 weeds, very deeply hollowed, and lined with wool and twine. I took both 

 parent birds with the nest, thus rendering the identification positive. 



A few days after this (Maj' 23, 1881) some boys told me they had found 

 a " Cat Bird's " nest in an apple tree about a mile from the vicinity of the 

 other nests. They had climbed the tree, and said " the old bird flew at 

 them, and snapped her bill hard'." I knew this to be a Shrike, and, when 

 I visited the place, had the pleasure of securing another nest, containing 

 six eggs, with the female parent. The nest was much like the other, but 

 was perhaps deeper, and lined entirely with feathers. 



The Great Northern Shrike {^Lanitis boreali's) is a rather rare species, 

 being most frequently observed in spring. 



The Scarlet Tanagers {^Pyranga rubra) first made their appearance 

 about here in the summer of 1S75, when a single pair nested. Since then 

 they have gradually increased until probably twenty pairs nested the 

 past season. Strange as it may seem, I have never taken the common 

 Titlark {Aiiihus ludovicianus) during the spring migrations, although 

 they are usually abundant in the fall. — F. H. Knowlton, Brandon, Vt. 



Erratum. — In Vol. VI, p. 199, lines 9 and 10. for "centimeters" read 

 millimeters. 



