Notes from Field and Study 
snow to that date. Christmas day I again 
saw the Catbird in the same situation 
It was evidently living on the fruit of the 
bayberry and red cedar, which is abundant 
this season. 
Christmas evening it began to snow, 
with the wind from the northeast. For 
the next twenty-four hours there was the 
most severe storm for years. When it was 
-over, trains were stalled, telegraph and 
telephone poles and wires were down, and 
communication broken in all directions. 
In the old pasture, cedars and birches were 
bowed to the ground and held down by 
the weight of snow, and the horse-brier 
tangles had completely disappeared, being 
so pressed down and covered that where, 
the day before, I could not force a way 
through, I could now walk over with the 
snow well above my knees. 
The Catbird survived the storm, but 
was driven from the pasture, as its food 
was completely covered, unless it cared to 
eat the seeds of the birches, as did the 
Chickadees and Tree Sparrows. Soon 
after the storm, the Catbird appeared at 
a house in the neighborhood, seeking food 
on the piazza. That night the temperature 
fell to 10°. Since then a search of every 
suitable place has been in vain. Whether 
the bird was frozen to death or, concluding 
that the New England climate was too 
strenuous, started for warmer climes, is an 
Open question.—Rurus H. Carr, Brock- 
ton, Mass. 
Tufted Titmouse in Northern New Jersey 
On February 27, r9ro, I found three 
Tufted Titmice at Pine Brook, New 
Jersey. My attention was attracted to 
these Crested Tomtits by their three-note 
song, which they continually whistled all of 
the time I was observing them. All three 
were busily engaged searching for food and 
were very tame. One was particularly 
sociable as he flew to a branch close over 
my head and remained there for a few 
seconds, watching me, and at the same 
time singing. This is the only time when 
I have found this species in New Jersey.— 
Louis S. Koutrr, Bloomfield, N. J. 
1L7 
Notes on New Jersey Winter Birds 
In northern New Jersey, according to 
the observations of the writer, there has 
been during the past winter (1909-10) an 
entire absence of all the irregular winter 
visitants, such as the Siskin, Redpoll and 
Crossbills. 
I have not observed a Purple Finch in 
the vicinity of Plainfield since the spring 
migration a year ago. While, in some 
winters, this species is rare or absent, it 
is almost invariably present in the spring 
and fall. As bearing upon this observation, 
a note in the last Christmas Bird Census 
is significant. Mr. L. H. Potter there 
stated that the Purple Finches were 
plentiful in Vermont (Clarendon) last 
winter, and that he had not seen them 
wintering there before. 
The Golden-crowned Kinglet and the 
Brown Creeper were unusually scarce the 
past winter. No Kinglets were met with 
between about December 1 and March 27. 
Among the noteworthy records was a 
Wood Thrush observed in Ash Swamp, 
near Plainfield, on December 19 and 25. 
A heavy snow was falling when the bird 
was visited on Christmas day, and it was 
not seen after that date. This is the first 
winter record of the Wood Thrush for 
New Jersey. 
A Fox Sparrow was seen in the same 
place on December 25. With the exception 
of the preceding winter (1908-9), this is 
my only record of the Fox Sparrow later 
than December 2. A Dutch Hawk was 
observed on New Year’s Day, its first 
occurence here in winter, in my experi- 
ence.—W. Dr W. Mitter, Plainfeld, 
INGeIE 
A Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher in Prospect 
Park, N. Y. 
On April 7, 1910, my wife and I saw 
a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in Prospect Park. 
We sent word to other members of the 
‘Bird Lovers’ Club of Brooklyn, and four 
members noted the bird on the 8th, oth, 
and roth of the month.—E. W. VIETOR, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
