62 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 5 



species still in winter plumage— were, as they have been for 

 many weeks, very abundant. Chickadees, Robins, Song 

 and Tree Sparrows, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, were 

 among the lively throng. Crows were lazily passing high 

 overhead, while at frequent intervals the load notes of a 

 Pileated Woodpecker, (Hylotovnua pileatus), although ut- 

 tered nearly one half mile away, were distinctly heard.— 

 C. O. T. 



The Evening Grosbeak, {11. vespertina,) seems to be a 

 regular winter visitor here, but it is not plentiful. Last 

 winter I saw one and this winter I took three from a flock 

 of five. Jan. 22, I was standing in a door-yard in which 

 there was a Boxelder tree full of seeds, when I heard a 

 queer chirping overhead, and looking up saw five birds 

 coming down In circles, all the while uttering their queer 

 note. Alighting on the Boxelder tree they began to pick 

 and shell the seeds. As two males came in range I killed 

 them both. At the report of the gun the others flew off a 

 little way and then came back to the same tree, when I 

 killed a female, then the others left. What I took were 

 fine specimens and beauties, with their great beaks and 

 combination of colors. Their food here seems to be entire- 

 ly the seed of the Boxelder. I never dissected one that con- 

 tained anything else.— Vernon Bailey, Elk River, Minn. 



Note from Grand Rapids, Mich.— We have had an ex- 

 ceptionally pleasant spring and now the woods are alive 

 with birds, all the Sparrows, Pewees, Blackbirds and Chip- 

 ping birds contributing to make as much noise as possible. 

 I have seen but one Warbler, of what species I could not 

 tell. I saw the first Robins March IS, Meadow Larks March 

 20, Phcebe March 25, Blackbird March 21.— Robt. H. Wolcott. 



Tameness of the Golden-crested Kinglet, (Reguhts 

 satrapa). During the last days of September, while pass- 

 ing through the straits of Mackinaw, on a steamboat on 

 my annual collecting trip to the upper peninsula, of Michi- 

 gan, I was struck with the utter disregard manifested by 

 the Golden-crested Kinglet for the presence of man. One 

 morning we found our boat invaded by eight or ten of these 

 birds. It was not long before they found their way into the 

 cabin, attracted there by the large number of flies, and at 

 dinner time they caused no little amusement and some an- 

 noyance by perching on the heads of the passengers and on 

 the various dishes which covered the table. I caught flies, 

 which they would readily take from my hand with a quick 

 flutter. I caught several, and even when in my hand, they 

 manifested no fear, but lay quiet and passive. By next 

 morning they had taken their departure.— .1. H. Wood, 

 Painted Post, K F. 



Migration Note. Eastward trend in migration of 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Scarlet Tanager through Tex- 

 as. I was interested in reading in April number of O. and 

 O. that the Rose breasted Grosbeak and Scarlet Tanager oc- 

 cur at Eagle Pass, Texas, During several years of ornitho- 

 logical observation I have never seen either of those birds 

 at Gainesville, Texas, which is on the north boundary of 

 the State and probably 300 miles east of Eagle Pass.— G. H. 

 R tgsdale, Gainesville, Cook Co., Texas. 



Coues' Key to North American Birds.— Our readers 

 will be pleased to hear that the long promised New Edition 

 of this work, is now advertised to be published this month. 



Publications Received. 



Ottawa Field Naturalists' Clue, Transactions 

 No. 4. Ottawa, Canada, 1883. 



Psyche. A journal of Entomology, No. 117—118, Janua- 

 ry, February, 'S4, published by the Cambridge Entomologi- 

 cal Club. Cambridge, Mass. 



The Naturalists' Journal, Vol. I, No. 2, '84, published 

 at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa. 



The Auk. A quarterly journal of Ornithology, published 

 for the American Ornithologists' Union by Estes & Lauriat, 

 Boston, Mass. Vol. I, No. 2, April, 'S4. 



Random Notes on Natural History. Soiithwick & 

 Jencks, Providence, R. I. 



The Industrial News. Published by The Inventors' 

 Institute, New York, N. Y. 



Pease's Feathered World. Published by George C. 

 Pease, Reading, Pa, 



The Southern Poultry Guide. Published by E. H. 

 McArthur & Co., Meridian, Miss. 



Forest and Stream, New York, N. Y. 



Scientific American. New York, N. Y. 



Cooley's Weekly, Norwich, Conn. 



Newport News, Newport, R. I. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Notes From Hartland, Vt. (O. and O., IS, pp. 35 

 and4S.) Mr. F. M. Goodwin writes as follows : 



11 1 saw in the last issue of the O. and O. some were in 

 doubt as to the Great Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis) 

 nesting in Hartland, Vt, and asked if I had the eggs or 

 birds. The eggs were hatched and so I did not take the 

 birds. I examined them thoroughly and then showed them 

 to Mr. C. O. Tracy, of Taftsville, Vt., and he called them 

 the same beyond a doubt. There cannot be any question 

 against our identification. The case was a rare one truly, 

 but it was an actual occurrence." 



The Black-backed Woodpecker. A. H. Wood, Paint- 

 ed Post, N. Y., says : "In regard to the statement of N. A. 

 Eddy, you may say that the Black-backed Woodpecker is 

 not a very rare bird thirty miles north of Mackinaw on the 

 upper peninsular of Michigan. It makes its appearance 

 there about Nov. 1st." 



New York Laws as to Bird Collecting. A corres- 

 pondent asks how permission can be obtained to collect 

 Birds in New York. We forwarded his inquiry to a legal 

 friend in New York city {Mr. W. B. Carpenter,) who in re- 

 ply recites ITU 12 and 13 of New York Revised Statutes (L. 

 1ST9, Chap. 534,) which prescribe penalties for killing or 

 selling Birds. He points out that the succeeding Section 

 (14) says: The last two sections shall not apply to any per- 

 son who shall kill any bird for the purpose of studying its hab- 

 its or history or having the same stuffed and set up as a 

 specimen, or to any person who shall kill on his own prem- 

 ises any Robins in the act of destroying fruit or grapes. 



Bleaching Bones. D. D. Stone asks us for some good 

 preparation for bleaching skeletons, ""one that will not in- 

 jure the smooth surface of the bones." The following from 

 an old note-book may answer his purpose : 



" Expose to the light under the surface of spirits of tur- 

 pentine, taking care that the article does not touch the bot- 

 tom of the vessel. Time four days." 



Our correspondent also asks for an Al receipt for making 

 Bird Lime. 



Regarding moths, etc., attacking skins, Mr. R. J. Tozer 

 says : " I use no arsenic whatever, preferring a strong solu- 

 tion (in alcohol) of corrosive sublimate with a little glycer- 

 ine added to keep the skins pliable. I cannot say they have 

 kept thirty-five years, as that's before my time. But some 

 specimens have been left lying about in all sorts of places 

 for ten or twelve years, intact." 



