I lO 



Bird - Lore 



kitchen window all through the month of 

 December. For the first week there were 

 two; but for the last two weeks only one 

 has been seen. I have a table just outside 

 my kitchen window on which I place sev- 

 eral kinds of seed every day. The Towhee 

 prefers the hemp seed to any other, while 

 the Chickadees take the sunflower seeds 

 first. The bird is very tame, and will 

 come to the table while the window is 

 open, and myself not two feet away. — 

 Frank E. Woodward, Wellesley Hills, 

 Mass. 



A November Black-Throated 

 Blue Warbler 



At half-past eight o'clock this morning, 

 when everything was covered with ice and 

 slush after a night of storm, I saw a 

 Black-throated Blue Warbler not ten feet 

 from the window where I stood. It and a 

 flock of English Sparrows were under a 

 large forsythia bush, the Sparrow eating 

 corn cracked by Cardinals, which I feed 

 there daily. The Warbler flew close to the 

 window, and myself and another member 

 of the family watched it for some minutes 

 as it searched the branches. It was a 

 mature male, in fine plumage. 



My latest record previous to this was 

 October 12, 1906. — (Miss) Isabel D. 

 Martin, Princeton, N. J., November 

 IS, 1911. 



Winter Robins I 



It may be of some interest to know that 

 the Robins are here, if, indeed, they have 

 ever been away. Yesterday morning 

 (January 3, 191 2), the Robins were the 

 unusual visitors in our proverbially old 

 apple tree. The thermometer registered 

 3° above zero, and their frozen feast was, 

 on this occasion, some apples that were 

 still clinging to the limbs. The Jays and 

 Cardinals held but a minor interest on 

 this occasion. A few days before this 

 date, a flock of Robins was actually seen 

 (not heard) in a persimmon grove, appar- 

 ently delighted with the fruit. For many 

 years I have observed the coming and 

 departing of Robins, but this is quite the 



earliest I have ever seen them, although 

 one supposed authority says that the 

 Robin is with us all winter. At any rate, 

 these birds in January are a very rare 

 sight in this section of the state, especially 

 for those who welcome and rejoice in the 

 return of the Redbreast. — M. L. Hulse, 

 Carlinville, III. 



Winter Robins II 



The present cold spell seems to have 

 produced an unusual visitation of Robins 

 in this neighborhood. On January 6, I 

 saw eight or more, and on January 7, at 

 least ten in a garden about half a mile 

 from town, the temperature each time 

 being so low, and the wind so fierce, that 

 we could not stop for a more accurate 

 count. On the 7th, we saw two more 

 about half a mile from the others, and on 

 the 14th two more about two miles from 

 either of the foregoing places. There was 

 a Hermit Thrush with the larger flock on 

 the 7th. 



These are the first winter Robins I 

 have seen here, the dates for former 

 seasons being: Last November 21, 1909, 

 first March 5, 1910; last October 31, 1910, 

 first March 13, 19 10. The present cold 

 wave is the most severe of the three 

 winters. — R. F. Haulenbeek, Princeton, 

 N. J. 



Winter Robins III 



It is such an unusual thing for Robins 

 to be seen in this locality during the 

 winter that the person announcing the 

 first Robin of the year is looked upon as a 

 sort of joker, and his announcement is 

 regarded as questionable. In fact, close 

 observation on my part during the past 

 half-dozen years has failed to reveal to me 

 any Robins in "the dead of winter." 

 Reports have occasionally come to me of a 

 single Robin having been seen in certain 

 localities, and upon investigation it has 

 been discovered that the locality would 

 be quite favorable for the shelter of such 

 birds, and very much the kind of place 

 they would be likely to select at this time 

 of year; but, in each case the person 



