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Bird - Lore 



Evening Grosbeak in Northern New 

 England 



Never have I known the Evening Gros- 

 beaks to be so abundant in northern New 

 England as they are this winter. February 

 29, I found a flock of four at Woodsville, 

 N. H., feeding on mountain ash berries. 

 The following week, at Hanover, N. H., 

 I observed a flock of seven eating sunflower 

 seeds at a feeding-station. March 14, 

 when in Lebanon, N. H., I found a flock 

 of thirty-six. A flock of thirty is reported 

 from Meriden, N. H., another flock from 

 Concord, N. H., and three individuals 

 from Nashua, N. H. Reports have come 

 to me of these birds having been noted at 

 Dorchester, Milton, Brookline, and Lex 

 ington, Mass., and at Westbrook, Maine. 

 I noted that the birds I observed at Han- 

 over and Lebanon, N. H., were first 

 attracted by the fruits on the box-elder 

 or ash-leaved maple trees (a food upon 

 which these birds largely feed in the West) 

 and that when this supply was exhausted 

 they were induced to remain for weeks by 

 sunflower seeds offered in feeding-boxes 

 and on shelves at windows. — Manley B. 

 TowNSEND, Nashua, N. H. 



Evening Grosbeak in Maine 



Bird-lovers in Lewiston, Maine, and 

 vicinity have been having unusual and 

 interesting experiences with Evening 

 Grosbeaks. Two years ago, several visited 

 different sections, but last winter none 

 were here. December 31, this winter, one 

 immature male appeared in one of the 

 trees on one of the side streets of the city. 

 In a few days, flocks of eight were reported 

 in different places. Occasionally they 

 would stop three or four hours, but usually 

 they would feed a short time and fly away, 

 making it impossible for those who were 

 anxious to see them to reach the place 

 before they had gone. As soon as a bird- 

 lover would see them telephones would be 

 busy till all were notified. The last two 

 weeks in January a flock of seventeen 

 visited a lawn in the suburbs every morn- 

 ing. 



The ground was bare, as we had had 

 mild weather, and they fed on seeds that 

 had fallen from what the people called a 

 linden tree. Then a little snow came and 

 they disappeared. When the lawn was 

 bare again, the flock returned, increased 

 to thirty-five or more. Since snow came 

 in February small flocks of individuals are 

 seen about the residential sections of the 

 city. A beautiful male comes to one place 

 every day and feeds on the sumach. The 

 immature males and females far out- 

 number the adult males. Nearly every 

 bird-lover has seen them this winter. 

 Flocks have been reported in South Paris, 

 Farmington, Rangeley, and Winthrop. 



On February 17, four Prairie Horned 

 Larks were seen in Auburn, our sister 

 city. This is earlier than usual, as they 

 appear most years on Febraury 22. One 

 year they were seen as early as February 

 9, while last year March 4 was the earliest 

 record. We consider these our first birds 

 to arrive on the spring migration. — Carrie 

 Ella Miller, Lewiston, Maine. 



Evening Grosbeak in New Brunswick 



A new arrival has been seen of late 

 (February 28, 1916) in small flocks about 

 the town, feeding on fruits of the various 

 trees, preferably box-elder and crab- 

 apple. Their beautiful coloring, bright 

 yellow and black, has attracted much 

 attention. Even people who are most dis- 

 interested in birds have been attracted by 

 another feature, and that is their utter 

 disregard of the presence of man. With- 

 out the slightest difficulty one can come 

 within very close range and thus obtain a 

 good view of plumage and habits. 



These birds are Evening Grosbeaks, 

 and this is the first record we have of their 

 ever visiting the province of New Bruns- 

 wick. — Helen V. Burnett, St. Stephen, 

 Charlotte County, New Brunswick. 



Evening Grosbeak in Vermont 



As visits of Evening Grosbeaks to New 

 England are of such special interest, I 

 send this account of their occurrence in St. 



