'SS3-] General Notes. ty 



diencral Botes. 



Bendire's Thrasher {Har;porkynckus bendirii) in Colorado. —On 

 May 8, 1882, while collecting near Colorado Springs with Mr. J. A. 

 Allen, I made a most unexpected capture. The morning was a stormy 

 one and thousands of migrants, driven in from the plains, had sought 

 refuge among the foot-hills. So great was the "rush" of birds that at 

 times we were faiiiy bewildered, scarce knowing what to select from the 

 swarms that filled every thicket and sheltered hollow. At the height of 

 the excitement a shy, pale-colored bird, which Mr. Allen had been pursu- 

 ing along a steep hillside, alighted near me, just showing the top of its 

 head above a large boulder. Without having the faintest idea what it 

 was, I fired, and going to the spot picked up a Bendire's Thrasher. My 

 surprise and pleasure can be best understood by those who have had simi- 

 lar experiences. 



The specimen, which is in perfect spring plumage, proved to be a female. 

 It is, so far as I know, the only one that has ever been taken north of 

 Arizona. From its limited distribution in that territory and the peculiar 

 character of the country which it normally inhabits, there is every reason 

 to assume that the present occurrence is a purely fortuitous one. — 

 William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 



The Water Thrush in Confinement. — During the earlv part of 

 the summer of 1881, one of my juvenile attendants stopped me on my 

 official inspection around the Garden, remarking that he had captured a 

 half-drowned Sparrow, and asked if it should be given to the rattlesnakes. 

 On examination, to my surprise, it proved to be a Water Thrush {Sturus 

 7icBvius)^ with its plumage so water-soaked that it was unable to fly. I had 

 it placed in one of the aviaries in company with several specimens of 

 Turdus musteliniis., T. fuscescens, Mimus carolinensts, Harporhynchus 

 rufiis, etc., where it soon recovered and could be seen daily, busily engaged 

 in capturing the insects attracted by the prepared food placed in the aviary. 

 As the cold weather approached and its insect food failed, it changed its 

 diet to the prepared food, and is still alive, in fine plumage, having safely 

 passed through two moults. — Frank J. Thompson, Zoological Garden, 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. 



An interesting Flight of Pine Finches. — A recent letter from John 

 athan Dwight, Jr., of New York, contains the following interesting note 

 which I have his permission to publish. 



"When atMonticello (New York), early in October, I saw several small 

 flocks of Pine Finches (^Chrysomitris fimis). At Fort Hamilton, on Octo- 

 ber 21, their numbers were phenomenal. Thei-e were hundreds, and per- 

 haps thousands, in flocks of from a dozen to sixty or seventy. A curious 

 fact is that when we first saw them — about nine o'clock a. m. — everv flock 



