Notes from Field and Study 



227 



the walls. The female bird laid four 

 eggs and brought off a brood of three 

 Warblers, one of the eggs evidently being 

 infertile. The accompanying photograph 

 shows the size and construction of the nest, 

 which has been opened sufficiently to show 

 both of the unhatched Cowbird eggs. — 

 E. S. Daniels and Geo. F. Tatum, Si. 

 Louis, Mo. 



The Evening Grosbeak in Minnesota 

 in Midsummer 



Last summer, during the months of 

 June and July, Mrs. Lange and I occupied 

 a forester's cabin within a quarter of a 

 mile of the international boundary line 

 between Minnesota and Ontario. Our 

 cabin was located on the rocky shore of 

 North Lake, which is one of a chain of 

 deep, cold lakes running east and west 

 in a general direction, and including Gun- 

 fiint Lake, Little Gunfiint, North Lake, 

 and South Lake. 



On Jul}' 15, 191 7, we saw a male Even- 

 ing Grosbeak in full breeding plumage at 

 the east end of Gunflint Lake. The bird, 

 when first seen, was sitting on a bare patch 

 of gravel in front of a settler's cabin. After 

 he had been picking gravel or small insects 

 for a very short time, he flew to the roof 

 of a nearby house, remained there a few 

 minutes, and then flew away into the 

 timber on the Minnesota side. The bird, 

 when first seen, was sitting only a few 

 yards south of the Canadian line, but flew 

 into the mixed timber on the Minnesota 

 side. Mrs. Lange and myself stood within 

 20 feet of the bird, which displayed his 

 plumage in the open all the time that we 

 observed him. A week later, on Sunday, 

 July 22, we went to the place, thinking 

 that we might see the bird again, and that 

 we might possibly find the nest. We spent 

 several hours looking through the young 

 growth of spruce, balsam, and poplar, but 

 we saw no signs of the Evening Grosbeak. 



Two settlers who live near the east end 

 of Gunflint Lake, one on the Minnesota 

 side, and one on the Ontario side, told me 

 that they had seen these birds there for 

 several years. Although we moved around 



on these lakes quite a little and saw many 

 northern Warblers and an abundance of 

 Hermit Thrushes, this was the only speci- 

 men of the Evening Grosbeak that we 

 observed. 



I am not sure whether this is the first 

 notice of the Evening Grosbeak in Min- 

 nesota during the summertime, or whether 

 the bird has been found before along the 

 international boundary. The place where 

 the bird was seen was about 30 miles 

 north of Lake Superior. It seems likely 

 that the Evening Grosbeak nests very 

 sparingly along the international border 

 in northeastern Minnesota. 



The timber in this region consists 

 principally of spruce, balsam, birch, and 

 poplar. There are some open spots where 

 fire went through some years ago, but a 

 large portion of the region still contains 

 the original growth of timber, except that 

 the scattered pine has been logged out. — ■ 

 D. Lange, St. Paul, Minn. 



Pine Siskins near Edmonds, Wash. 



The Canadian observer who reported 

 Pine Siskins from British Columbia in 

 the November-December, 1917, Bird- 

 Lore prompts me to send in my observa- 

 tions of this bird. 



Each winter, for three years, I have seen 

 near Edmonds, Wash., large flocks of 

 Siskins, but I did not know that their 

 appearance was unusual. On November 

 4, 1916, I noted a flock of about three 

 hundred, and from that date on until 

 March 24, 1917, they came to our fruit- 

 farm early and late, day after day. 



Possibly one reason why I observed 

 large numbers of them so often is the 

 presence of fifteen alder trees in a ravine 

 just south of our house. In the Middle 

 West I have been accustomed to think of 

 the alder as a good-sized bush, but here 

 alder trees are larger than the average 

 Cottonwood or birch of the East. Our 

 alders are from 50 to 60 feet high, and some 

 more than 18 inches through. Their 

 spreading tops, loaded with fruit catkins, 

 offer a tempting breakfast to hundreds of 

 the little twitterers. 



