544 ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 
winters birds overcome all their fear of man and come into 
the gardens of the town ; for in the winter of 1878-79, which 
was so very hard, both these gardens were uncommonly poor 
in birds, while during the very mild one just past I compiled 
a list of species which, considering the position of the locality 
where they were seen, is remarkably full. 
Before enumerating them I will divide the period of ob- 
servation into two sections, namely, from January lst to 
March 1st, and from March 1st to April 80th. I should also 
mention that I killed with a small collecting-gun some 
specimens which struck me as being particularly dark. These 
birds were all so blackened by the smoke of the town that 
they looked quite peculiar. This blackness, which yielded, 
however, to an application of soap, occurred chiefly among 
the Sparrows and Woodpeckers. 
From January 1st to March 1st I observed the Great 
Spotted Woodpecker (Picus major), much blackened, the 
Middle Spotted Woodpecker (P. medius), the Grey-headed 
Green Woodpecker (P. canus), the Goshawk (Aster paliim- 
barius), the Sparrow-Hawk (A. nisus), the Robin (Erythacus 
rubecula), the Blackbird (Turdus merula), the Common Wren 
(Troglodytes parvulus), the Golden-crested Wren (Regulus 
cristatus) , the Fire-crested Wren (R. ignicapillus), the Crested 
Lark (Alauda cristata), the Chaffinch (Fringilla eelebs), up to 
the beginning of February only females, afterwards males. 
Also the Siskin (Chrysomitris spinus), the Common Sparrow 
(Passer domesticus), much blackened; the Tree-Sparrow 
(P. montanus), the Greenfinch (Coccothraustes vulgaris), the 
Bullfinch (Pyrrhula europea), the Hooded Crow (Corvus cor- 
nia), the Rook (C. frugilegus), the Jackdaw (C. monedula), 
the Great Tit (Parus major), the Blue Tit (P. eeruleus), one 
specimen of the Coal Tit (P. ater), the Marsh-Tit (P. palus- 
tris), the Crested Tit (P. eristatus), the Long-tailed Tit 
