'883-] General Notes. I IQ 



229. Grouse ^Cupidonia cupido'] on Martha's Vineyard. Bj S. C. C 

 Ibid., XIX, No. 18, p. 344, Nov. 30, 1882. 



230. Death of Mr. Willis's ^ttail. Ibid., XIX, No. 18, p. 345, Nov. 

 30, 1882. — Note from Mr. John J. Willis, of Westfield, N. J., announcing 

 the death of his domesticated Qiiail [Oytyx virgi7iiana'\ with an autop- 

 tical report on the dead birds bj the editor [G. B. Grinnell]. (See above, 

 No. 220.) For a further note on the same subject see Ibid., No. 20, p. 384, 

 Dec. 14, 1882. 



231. The Boston Anti-SparroTV Crusade. Ibid., XIX, No. 18, p. 345. 

 — Reprint of a letter bj Wilson Flagg to the Boston "Transcript" of 

 Nov. 18, with an introductoi-y note by Dr. Elliott Coues. The formation 

 of a society for the extermination of Passer domesticus urged. 



232. The Pine Siskin. Chrysomitris finus. By Dr. Elliott Coues. 

 Ibid., XIX, No. 19, p. 364, Dec. 7, 1882. — General history of the species, 

 with cut of Pine Finch and of American Goldfinch. 



233. The Netv Zealand Bird Nuisance. By "M.", Wellington, New 

 Zealand. Ibid., XIX, No. 20, p. 384, Dec. 14, 1883. — The principal 

 offender is the English House Sparrow {Passer do7nesticus) whose rapid 

 increase and ravages are recounted. It is estimated that they annually 

 destroy grain to the value of $66,600. 



234. Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley. By W. W. Cooke. 

 Ibid., XIX, No. 20, p. 384, Dec. 14, 1883. — A digest of observations made 

 by Mr. H. A. Kline of Vesta, Neb. 



235. Strange Haivks' Nests. By T. S. Roberts. Ibid., XIX, No. 26, 

 p. 505, Jan. 25, 1883. — In Central Dakota, composed of buffalo ribs. 



General pote. 



Probable breeding of the Winter Wren {Anorthura troglodytes 

 hienialis) in Eastern Massachusetts. — Mr. George O. Welch tells 

 me that a pair of Winter Wrens once passed the breeding season in a 

 hemlock grove near Lynn. He first noticed them about the middle of 

 May, when their actions led him to suspect that they were preparing to 

 breed. During subsequent visits — which extended well into June — he 

 rarely failed to hear the song of the male, and frequently its mate would 

 be seen hopping in and out among some holes under the hemlock 

 roots. He feels sure that they had a nest in one of these holes but all 

 his efforts to discover it proved fruitless. At length, about the loth of 

 June, he shot both birds, thus definitely settling their identity. 



The authenticity of the above facts is open to no doubt. They do not 

 prove, of course, that these Wrens actually nested, but such an inference 

 is, to say the least, highly probable. Assuming it granted, the occur- 



