No. 20.] THE BIRDS OF CONNECTICUT. 185 



a deep snow, and thereby outrun. It weighed, when dressed, 

 twenty-one pounds."^ 



Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus. Starling. 



An increasingly common resident. 



This species was introduced into New York City in 1890, 

 whence it has spread from Central Park through the neighboring 

 country. It is constantly increasing in numbers, and is now 

 firmly established through various parts of the state, especially 

 along the coast. 



Its spread may be shown by the following records of its first 

 occurrence: June 10, 1900, Norwalk (Ells),^ also winter, 1900-1 ; 

 Aug. 25, 1900, Stamford (Smith, reported by Hoyt) ; Dec. 3, 

 1900, North Haven (L. B. B.) ; Jan., 1901, reported from Noro- 

 ton, Stamford, and Norwalk; Oct., 1901, New Haven (A. A. 

 S.) f winter, 1902-3, New Haven, five or six wintered; winter, 

 1903-4, about forty wintered; fall, 1906, flock of about 1500 seen 

 (A. A. S. ) ; Jan., 1904, Bridgeport (Eames) ; spring, 1906, 

 Wethersfield (Morgan) f March, igo6, Danbury (J. C. A. M.) ; 

 1906, New London and Stonington (Buttrick) ; April, 1907, 

 Bethel (Judd) f June, 1907, Middletown (Cady) ; 1908, Port- 

 land (J. H. S.). 



Since these records, they have increased very rapidly and are 

 breeding in large numbers. Mrs. Bonner writes from Stamford ■?■ 

 " They have appropriated not only all the holes in the old apple 

 trees, including those stolen from the Bluebirds by the English 

 Sparrows, but also the holes in all the big lawn trees, hitherto 

 occupied by Flickers, etc." It is not yet numerous in the interior 

 of the state. 



Nest. In a hollow of some sort, or in a church steeple. 



Eggs. 4-6 ; the last of April. 



Nesting dates. Earliest record. May 5, 1904, six young 

 (Perry); May 2, 1910, three eggs (J. H. S.). Latest record. 

 July II, 1904, two young (L. B. B.). 



Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus). European Goldfinch. 

 G. E. Verrill of New Haven writes in the Auk, ix, 3, p. 301 : 

 " On May 9, 1892, I took a very fuU-plumaged male European 



1 Catalogue of the Birds of Connecticut, Am. Jeur. Sci. and Arts, xliv, i!, p. 264, 



1843- 



''Bird-Lore, ix, 5, pp. 207-9. 

 ^Bird-Lore, ix, 4, p. 17J. 



