Fragments of Natural History. 23 



The buff-breasted sandpiper, (Tringa rufesceris,) which seems 

 to be a rare species in most parts of our country, was seen in the 

 vicinity of this city in three different instances during the last 

 autumn. I secured two specimens, one of which I presented to 

 the New York Lyceum of Natural History ; the other is retained 

 in my own collection. 



This bird was unknown to Wilson and Bonaparte, and also to 

 Mr. Audubon, until he received a specimen from England. It 

 seems to be extremely shy and wary in its habits ; and when 

 watched by a gunner, will skulk behind some little hillock or 

 tufts of grass. The individuals seen by myself were on a sandy 

 fiat not immediately contiguous to the water. In one instance 

 Dr. Terry met v/ith it in the public highway near this city. 



The dunlin, ox-bird or purre, (Tringa alpina,) visited us in 

 large flocks during three or four weeks of last autumn, and it has 

 again appeared in a few instances the present spring. I have 

 specimens preserved both in the summer and winter plumage. 



Mr. Audubon informs his readers that he has "never found one 

 far inland." 



The Cape May warbler, {Sylvia maritima,) visits the northern 

 parts of Ohio in small numbers every spring. A solitary indi- 

 vidual may be seen here and there, busily employed in catching 

 insects about the cherry and apple trees at the time they put forth 

 their blossoms. 



According to Mr. Nuttall, it "has only been seen near the swamps 

 of Cape May, in New Jersey, and near Philadelphia." 



The chestnut sided warbler, {Sylvia icterocephala,) is not un- 

 common with us for a few days in spring, and in one instance I 

 saw a pair in a cranberry marsh in Boardman, Trumbull county, 

 on the first day of June. The male was warbling its soft notes 

 from the top of a young maple, and the female skipping about 

 the bushes below. I am convinced they were preparing for nest- 

 ing in that vicinity. Its note is rather loud, but soft and pleasant 

 to the ear. Mr. Audubon seems to have met with it only in one 

 instance. 



The bay breasted warbler, {Sylvia castanea,) is still more com- 

 mon with us in the spring, and in some seasons protracts its visit 



