^"'gg^^] General Notes. 269 



I suppose it is tlie same Kint^birci which, with .iiuUlier, nests near by. — 

 Thomas B. Bergkn, Cambridge, Mass. 



Habits of the Blue Jay. — It may be of interest to tlie readers of 'The 

 Auk ' to learn that I can add, what is to me, a new bird to tiie list of those 

 making their nests in or about buildings. We have a pair of Blue Jays 

 (^Cyanocitta cristata") in Brookline, Mass., that have this year built their 

 nest in a most conspicuous place, between the stems of a Wistaria vine 

 and the capitol of a pillar, supporting a piazza roof. This piazza is in 

 almost daily use, and the path leading immediately beside it is also used 

 constantly. At the time of building, and even on June 3, when I saw 

 the nest full of young ones, there were no leaves in the immediate vicin- 

 ity to hide the nest, thus leaving it in a very conspicuous position. 



We all know that certain birds change their habits in accordance with 

 the march of civilization, and I was not very much surprised a few years 

 ago, when I knew of a Blue Jay building its nest in a maple tree, imme- 

 diately beside our town hall, in the heart of the town ; but I was surprised 

 at the above incident, and thought that it might be of interest to others. 



— Fred H. Kennard, ^(?5/o«, 71/(-?55. 



Probable Polygamy of the Great-tailed Grackle [^uiscalns macrourus). 



— As evidence bearing upon the supposed polygamy of the Great-tailed 

 Grackle, some observations made at Orizaba, Mexico, in March, 1897, 

 seem w-orthy of record. This species is an abundant bird in manv Mexi- 

 can cities, finding in the plazas or parks suitable feeding and breeding 

 grounds. In the small Zocalo or public gardens in the heart of the City 

 of Orizaba, it happened that only one tree, a densely foliaged conifer, 

 was available for nesting sites, and as an apparent result the gardens were 

 inhabited by only one family of Grackles. I watched these birds for 

 some time on March 15 and 16, seeing ten or twelve females, but only one 

 male. The former were building ; and on one occasion I saw at least six 

 different females bring nesting materials into the coniferous tree at inter- 

 vals. This tree contained several nests ; how many it was not possible to 

 determine, from the path at its base, and its isolation, in connection with 

 the facts I have mentioned, lead me to believe that it constituted the harem 

 of the male who generally' perched in an adjoining araucaria, assuming the 

 ridiculously conscious pose so characteristic of this species. — Frank M. 

 Chapman, American Museum of Natural History, Neiv Vork City. 



McKay's Snowflake {Plectrophenax hyperborcus) at Bethel, Alaska. — 

 Two specimens of this rare bird were recently sent me from Bethel, 

 ninety miles up the Kuskokwin River, in the western part of Alaska. 

 This is probably the farthest inland at which the bird has yet been found. 



The specimens, both females, in full winter plumage, were taken Jan. 

 4, 1S98. — WiTMER Stone, Acad. Nat. Scie/ices, Philadelphia, Pa. 



