46 Birds of Lewiston-Auhurn 



the usual time of arrival. The North calls to its nesting 

 ground in April. 



Soft twitterings and musical cherees resembling the 

 notes of the goldfinch are cheerful sounds on a winter day. 



77. (522) WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL 



A rare and very irregular visitant more often seen in 

 the autumn. I suppose I saw two immature birds Octo- 

 ber 23, 1916, at a bathing place south of Riverside Ceme- 

 tery. Some seasons it has been quite plentiful. 



78. (521) AMERICAN CROSSBILL; RED CROSSBILL 



An irregular, erratic visitant. Seen any season but 

 more frequently in spring or autumn. It rears its young 

 in the woods very early. 



Olive Thorne Miller says of the crossbills that one 

 season they make glad the bird student in one place and 

 the next drive him to despair by their absence. While 

 this crossbill is more common than the preceding species, 

 it has been so erratic the last few years that I have never 

 seen one. Consequently I am still in pursuit, for an 

 enthusiastic bird-student must sooner or later solve such 

 problems. 



79. ( ) ENGLISH SPARROW; HOUSE SPARROW 



This sparrow was introduced from Europe between 

 1850 and i860. It has made very wide invasions and be- 

 come a much berated nuisance. A permanent resident 

 especially in the city. There may be those who like 

 to witness this bird-life in winter, but bird-lovers have 

 no use for an English Sparrow. It drives other birds 

 away that formerly nested about our homes, disfigures 

 any place where it roosts and instead of making musical 

 sounds (it does make a few in February and early 

 spring) utters only bickerings and quarrelsome notes. 



