.Tmi. 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



<(iiislMiilly ill \no;u\ cii'clcs. You miiy set' llicm, 

 iKiw dose Id till' jjTDiiiul, iKiw skiniiuin^ llu' Uips 

 (if till! lives, iiiul still (illuTs lucre s])eeks in the sky. 

 It is an inteiTsting siulil to see Inimli'ods of tliese 

 iisfifiil sciivcngers, pilliricd mIkhiI some (lend ear- 

 eass, busily ensja^ed in dcvoiu'iiii; il, and yd I" 

 tlioSe 111)1 inlcresled in liird Hie, seaiceh- any 

 lliiii;;- more di.su,nsliiiy is to lie found. In some 

 of my artieles I will ende.Mvor to describe what 1 

 have witnessed more lliaii once, lint my present 

 iiileiilidii is simply to allude to a few of the birds 

 met Willi ill a day's ramble. 'I'lu^ Meadow Lark 

 is here, and niters the same note a;', he does when 

 in the pleasant fields of Central New York, but 

 somehow, it seems to lack the life and viijor here 

 which il expresses when in llie North. Il is IVe- 

 (pienlly lo he met with on sdiiii lillle knoll in the 

 woods, and may be approached within a few 

 yards. The C'ardinal Kcilbird, is also (piite 

 nnmcroiis, and 1 meet bin; every Utile while, 

 inoslly in brier patches near some hoir.e. I have 

 so far lailc.l to catch more than one nole, which 

 sounds very miieli like that of the familiar Chip- 

 pin.;; Sparrow. 1 also identified the \':uied 

 Creeping Warbler and Hlaek-throalcd 15liie. 



I made many iiolcs of interest which next 

 month, 1 will try and weave into something;- 

 worthy of llic allcniion of llic readers of llie 

 (), and <>. 



Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 



liv .los. M. w.\i)t;, nosToN, mass. 



My Kose breaslcd (Irosbeak ".lack," so often 

 mcnlioned in your cohnnns, emnmeneed his sons 

 Ibis year Jan. 28, and within a few weeks was in 

 full soiii;-, which was conlinned nearly n])to()c- 

 lober, after which he saiij; eonsiderable, but in a 

 lower key. This year he has simj; his own notes 

 less than ever; ill fact very little of his own free 

 wild notes, Hut he has been (pule a mimic, iin- 

 ii.alins other birds, but beini; in a elinnfied tone, it 

 was always pleasinj;. He imitated more iiartien- 

 larly .the Wren, the Hlnebird and the Sons Spar- 

 row, and siicecedeil very well — enonudi so lo 

 brill- passers by lo -a li.'dl lo lislen lie slicd the 

 first three lony: feathers .Inly l:!, and eonliiined 

 for si.v weeks or two months, sinnina,- all the 

 while. His eatinj; capacity is something rcmark- 

 alile. II is my impression lli;it llu're arc days in 

 which he cats his wciulit ill cek'iy, beside liis 

 seed and other food. n(^ will eat nr drink any- 

 thinj; tliat he sees the family catinjr or drinkin.n— 

 from medicine, beer, liquor, lo sonr kront. He 

 can be persuaded to twitter and trill any lime 

 during the year. His atTcetionate p(?rforinanres 

 are soniiHIiing remarkable, bill he will not exhib- 



it before strangers. He eats green peasimd opens 

 the pods himself, somelimes eating the |)ods en- 

 tire, or rather the sncciilent part. This he always 

 does with string beans, (irupes ho takes on his 

 bill and will somelimes hold one on his elevated 

 beak until he has iibont finished a whole grape 

 exccpl tlie skill. It is always interest ing to see 

 him place a grape or pea on the perch. Ho will 

 do il with ease, when it .seems impossible. He 

 never uses his feet in eating. lie is now in his 

 sevenlh year, and has iic\cr lost the rose breast 

 when pulliim- on llic female plumage in Ibe l''all. 

 He has never been wilhont several kinds of food 

 in his cage at Ibe same time. He is now, Nov. 21?, 

 gradually monlling for his early Spring song. In 

 Ibis moid I be never sheds his Uins feathers, simply 

 puis on his male plumage. The ro.se breast 

 which came with the iiesi fenlhers has never 

 been clian.ged, except to become slightly speckled 

 in the Fall. 



.Inly :!d, IHSli, he was stolen from his cage on 

 the piazza when in full song. Several days after- 

 wards, I found ".lack" in a bird store in lioslon— 

 a sad looking bird. 



A New Species of Field Sparrow. 



I N/</-'c/Af llnlihi'lli?) 

 IIV (11 Alil.lvS 11. MAIISII, SIl.VKlt CITY, N. .\I. 



( In Ibe llilh of .Inne, I shot on the Hal near the 

 town a new species of Field Sparrow, S/ii:.il/(i 

 iHirt/ii III. The bird was an adult male with pln- 

 inage slightly worn; crown light fnlvous-brown, 

 wilh rufous tinge and no trace of lighter median 

 line. I'ailirc side of llie head nsli-gray, including 

 ■he anteriiu- part of the forehead and whole sii- 

 perciliiiry and supra-auricular region. Eyclid.s 

 while, forming a distinct orbital ring. Bill cin- 

 ii.inKui-brown. Hack and scapulars light fnlvous- 

 brown, broadly streaked with black. Kiimp and 

 upper tail-coverts browni.sh ash-gray, latter with 

 medial streaks of dusky. Wings dusky, feathers 

 edged with light grayish-brown; middle coverts 

 lipped with whitish butr; chin and throat 

 grayish-white ; lower parts brownish-white deep- 

 er in the jugulum; crissum and lining ol the wings 

 nearly pure white. Legs and feet horn-brown. 

 About the size of the Eastern Field Sparrow. 



[We question the name given by Mr. Marsh, 

 having no knowledge of its derivation. — Ed:] 



T.wiDERMAL Note. — Jlr. W'illiam Brewster 

 suggests nearly boiling hot water, poured through 

 a funnel in the stnfling between the edges of the 

 skin, as a ready and efficient means of softening 

 a stnfl'ed bird which it is desired to turn into a 

 "skin." 



