8o JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



There is another member of this family named the Pine Gros- 

 beak, which has long been known as an occasional winter visitant. 

 The young males and females of this species resemble each other 

 in their plain attire of smokey grey, but the adult male, blushed all 

 over with purplish crimson, is a most pleasing object when seen 

 against a background of the sombre Norway spruce which they fre- 

 quent. They were very common along the north shore of the lake 

 from Kingston to Toronto. At Hamilton very few were seen, and 

 those few did not remain. The reason of this was the absence of 

 the mountain ash berries, which is their favorite fare. The moun- 

 tain ash trees are numerous around Hamilton, and last fall the crop 

 of berries was large ; but near the city there is now a great deal of 

 shrubbery, among which the robins nestle and raise their young. 

 As soon as the berries are ripe the robins use them daily. If the 

 frost sets in early these birds retire to the south, leaving many berries 

 on the bushes, but if the fall is open they remain till the last berry 

 is used up ; therefore, when the Pine Grosbeaks 2ixnwtd, there was 

 nothing for them to eat, and they went elsewhere in search of food. 



The last of this species was seen on the 21st of February, which 

 is about their usual time for returning to the north. 



Another northern visitor which seldom comes our way is the 

 Bohemian Waxivitig. I found three of this species in company with 

 the Grosbeaks^ and secured two, the third going quickly out of sight. 

 I rested my gun against a small dead tree and went about picking 

 off some twigs of the red cedar with their beautiful glaucous colored 

 berries for parlor decoration, when, on turning round, there was the 

 missing waxwing perched on top of the bush against which I Ifad 

 rested my gun, and there he sat and preened his plumage in perfect 

 security. Twice I tried to reach my gun, but he raised his crest and 

 turned his full dark eye on me so reproachfully that I had to satisfy 

 myself with admiring his many graceful attitudes till it pleased him 

 to go off, which he shortly did in safety, and was seen no more. 



During February there was quite a gathering of Eagles around 

 the shores of the bay, which at that time was only partly frozen over. 

 They were the bald-headed species, one or two having the white 

 head and tail shewing maturity. As many as twelve were said to 

 have been in view at one time, and I knew of four having been shot 

 and obtained. They used to frequent the dead trees along the 

 banks of the Niagara River, and were a marked feature in the wild 



