the remainder being English Sparrows. Mr. Sennett spoke also of hav- 

 ing- obtained at Erie, Pa., a few birds interesting as found in that locality. 

 Among them a Caspian Tern {Sterna tschegravd) ; Horned Larks (Octo- 

 cori's alpestris praticola), breeding; Shrikes {Lanius ludovicianus), 

 breeding, and Grasshopper Sparrows {Ammodramtis savannarum passeri- 

 nus) , breeding. 



Mr. John N. Drake mentioned finding parasites resembling grains of 

 rice among the feathers of eight specimens of Red-headed Woodpecker 

 (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) taken by him in Sullivan Co., N, Y., last 

 summer. 



December 7, 1888. — Mr. George B. Sennett, President, in the chair. 



Mr. Frank M. Chapman presented a paper entitled 'Notes on the 

 Mniotiltidae of Englewood, New Jersey.' Dendroica discolor is the only 

 species lacking of the thirty-two which naturally should be found there. 

 Dendroica tigrina and Geothlypis Philadelphia have been taken each 

 once; Dendroica vigorsii and De?idroica castanea each twice. The three 

 Helminthophila leiccobro?ichialis captured have been recorded in ' The 

 Auk.' Twelve species are summer residents. Careful observations made 

 upon Geothlypis formosa, a rather uncommon species at Englewood, 

 show it to be a bird of peculiar song habits. A male was watched for 

 several hours and during this period he was never silent more than three 

 quarters of a minute at a time, uttering his marked five, six, or seven 

 rapid notes every twelve seconds with wonderful regularity. This was 

 early in June, 1886. A week later the same bird was in his usual haunts ; 

 but at a later visit he was doubtless oppressed by family cares, and sang 

 very little. The nest with young of another pair of these birds was found 

 in a bush near the ground by Mr. Chapman and Mr. C. B. Riker and was 

 exhibited. Of special note is the capture of a breeding female Helmin- 

 thophila rnficapilla on June 16. It was not known to nest so far south. 

 Commenting upon this paper Mr. Dutcher said that Dendroica discolor 

 was a common bird on the north shore of Long Island; Dendroica vig- 

 orsii fairly common there and restricted to the pines. 



Thei-e was some discussion about ants annoying birds, but whether 

 they caused the birds to desert their nests and then attacked their eggs 

 and young or only attacked them after they had been deserted, was not 

 demonstrated. 



Mr. Foster spoke of a "barrel-ful" of birds killed by striking the Statue 

 of Liberty on Bedloe's Island, New York Harbor, the night of October 

 S. 18S8. He saw but a small portion of them. 



Dr. C. Slover Allen showed photographs of the nest of a Purple Galli- 

 nule {Ionornis martinica) and its surroundings taken by him at Lake Har- 

 ris, Florida. 



December 21, 1888. — Mr. George B. Sennett, President, in the chair. 



Mr. J. A. Allen spoke upon the Tyrannidae and exhibited numerous 

 specimens, largely from South America and the West Indies. This group 

 is a very difficult one to study and its literature is scattered and unsatisfac- 

 tory, although Sclater's 'Catalogue' of the familv, recently issued, is in 



