Notes from Field and Study 



III 



reporting the discovery was not absolutely 

 certain that the bird seen was a Robin. 



This winter, however, has been an excep- 

 tion to the rule, and great numbers of 

 Robins have been seen everywhere; not- 

 withstanding the fact that the ground 

 has been covered with from six to eight 

 inches of snow, and the thermometer has 

 registered as much as 28 degrees below 

 zero. 



On Christmas Day, which was rather 

 mild, I was somewhat surprised to see a 

 flock of forty-eight Robins, and attributed 

 the cause of their presence to the fact 

 that for some weeks the weather had 

 been warm. But when, the next week, 

 the snow came and the temperature went 

 down to extreme cold, and the Robins 

 were yet everywhere in evidence (on 

 January 16, with the thermometer stand- 

 ing at IS degrees below zero, I saw one 

 flock of 32 and another of perhaps 50, 

 or more, all in unprotected localities), 

 I had to seek for a new cause. 



The question of food was one that pre- 

 sented itself to me. Upon what were 

 these birds feeding? I began to investigate, 

 and soon came to a satisfactory conclusion. 



Last summer this locality was blessed 

 with a bumper crop of apples. There 

 were more than could be gathered and 

 disposed of, and, as a result, there are many 

 bushels yet remaining upon the trees, 

 and I found that upon these frozen apples 

 the Robins were feasting, and I at once 

 came to the conclusion that the abundance 

 of this kind of food accounted for the 

 presence of so many Robins at this 

 season of the year. — W. H. Wisman, New 

 Paris, Ohio. 



Winter Robins IV 



Have the Robins been changing their 

 habits, or is it force of circumstances that 

 has made it necessary for them to seek 

 new winter quarters? 



On January 13 — our coldest day of 

 winter at that time (8 below at 7.30 a.m) — 

 I saw a flock of from 50 to 60. They were 

 in a compact flock, and had apparently 

 come from a clump of pines and other 



trees along a small stream, where later 

 I saw several birds scattered about; not 

 feeding, but calling lustily, and all appar- 

 ently in good condition. 



From Washington county, at about the 

 same time, a report came of a flock of 

 1,000 (an estimate, no doubt). Similar 

 reports have been common from near-by 

 districts. On February 11, I saw four. 



From Mt. Vernon, Ohio (central), 

 reports of very large flocks are even more 

 common — of 500, one of 50, of sixes and 

 dozens. Today I received a letter in 

 which the writer states having seen a 

 flock last week in which were "hundreds 

 and hundreds." 



Up to this year, I've never seen a Robin 

 during January nor before February 22, 

 and in Ohio, where I formerly lived, an 

 occasional winter Robin was a big event. 



How about other sections of the coun- 

 try? Have others similar reports to make? 

 What might be a plausible explanation? 



On February 1 1 , 1 also saw great numbers 

 of Horned Larks (about 200). Some were 

 feeding on the ground that the wind had 

 cleared of snow, others were chasing about 

 in pairs, while many were soaring high 

 in the air, singing just as I've heard them 

 do at nesting season. If only their song 

 was worthy of the sustained effort with 

 which it is voiced! 



Is this usual at this season of the year ? 

 No doubt these were all of the same kind, 

 the Prairie Horned Lark. — ^V. A. Debes, 

 900 Hill Ave., Wilkinsburg, Pa. 



The Starling in New Jersey 



The European Starling (Stum us vul- 

 garis) is becoming very common about 

 Trenton and Lawrenceville. The farmers, 

 and bird observers in general, have asked 

 me to identify these birds many times in 

 the past year or two. As nearly everyone 

 interested in ornithology knows, the 

 Starling was introduced into the United 

 States in 1890, at New York, and for 

 years thereafter the species remained 

 about Central Park, several pairs each 

 spring building nests under the eaves of 

 the American Museum of Natural History. 



