190 General Notes. \_t^^\ 



which was later identified for me by Mr. Frank M. Chapman, to wh<.!m I 

 sent it, as Melospiza lincobii. 



This, I believe, is the first known instance of the occurrence of the 

 species in New Brunswick. — -Willie H. Moore, Scotch Lake, N. B. 



Rank of the Sage Sparrow. — On page 58 of the current volume of 

 ' T-he Auk,' Mr. Joseph Grinnell states that he found Ainpkispiza belli and 

 Amphisfiza belli 72 evadensis inhabiting the same locality at the head of 

 the Little Tujunga Canon, Los Angeles Count}', California, in July, 1897. 

 This area is on the western slope of the divide, though not more than ten 

 miles from the Mohave Desert. Mr. Grinnell further states that he has 

 never learned of any intermediate specimens between the two forms, and 

 consequently argues that they are specifically distinct. 



On the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, Mr. Frank Stephens collected 

 a number of specimens on the eastern slope of the Sierras, opposite the 

 south end of Owens Lake, which I repoi-ted as being intermediate in color 

 and size (N. Am. Fauna, No. 7, p. 98). 



Taking this into consideration and the fact that Amphispiza b. nevadensis 

 had evidently wandered from their desert home, as Mr. Grinnell writes 

 me they were fully fledged, I cannot agree with him that there is any 

 reason for considering the two forms rnore than subspecifically distinct. — - 

 A. K. Fisher, Washingtofi, D. C. 



Wintering of the Towhee (^Pipilo erytkropkthalmiis') at Rockaway 

 Beach, L. L — On the 29th of January, 1898, I made a collecting trip to 

 Rockaway Beach in the hope of seeing some winter birds, as the weather 

 had been very cold for several days, and on the day in question the air 

 was full of flying snow. While passing through a small thicket of 

 brambles I felt sure I heard the Towhee's note, and started in to investi- 

 gate. Although he was exceedingly wild, I at length caught a glimpse of 

 him, and by remaining quiet for some time eventually secured him. 

 Later in the day, I found three more, all males, as was the one I shot. 

 It is quite evident that this bird occasionally winters much further north 

 than is generally supposed, as there are also records from Longwood, 

 Mass., on Christmas, and Bedford, Mass., on Jan. 2 (Auk, July, 1896). 



Mr. L. S. Foster informs me that he secured a specimen on Feb. 22, 

 near Oradell, N. J. — Harry Webb Floyd, New York City. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak in California. — During a collecting trip 

 last summer in northern California, Dr. C. H. Gilbert and a party of 

 students secured some birds that were new to the fauna of the State. 

 While at Meyer's, Humboldt Co., Cal., July i, 1897, the attention of the 

 party was attracted by a string of strange birds that had been shot some- 

 time before and were already in the early stages of decomposition. Not 

 being able to decide what the birds were, several heads were cut off, 



