12 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



thrush family, known under the various 

 names of Oregon Robin, French Robin, 

 California Robin, Winter Robin and Var- 

 ried Robin, is a common winter visitor 

 to most parts of the United States, lying 

 west of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada 

 mountains, as far south as San Fran- 

 cisco, and occasionally straggling to the 

 Colorado Valley. How far East its nor- 

 mal habits extends, does not appear to 

 be well known, especially in its northern 

 portion. Dr. Cooper found it common 

 on the Copur d'Alene mountains in Sep- 

 tember. It has been met with on the 

 Mackenzie river. There are several in- 

 stances of its straying to the Atlantic 

 coast, specimens having been taken at 

 Ipswich, Mass., Hoboken, N. J., and 

 Islip, Long Island, Dec. 21, 1889. I re- 

 ceived a tine male from Port Jefferson, 

 Long Island, that had been caught in a 

 rabbit trap. 



They are rather a timid bird, seldom 

 coming around houses, prefering the soli- 

 tude of the evergreen forests, where their 

 low whistle often gives notice of their 

 presence, when they would otherwise 

 pass undetected. They are said to some- 

 times sing very sweetly, but I have never 

 been able to hear any song from them. 



By the latter part of March, most of 

 these birds have left winter retreats for 

 their summer homes, a few remaining to 

 breed in the evergreens along the coast, 

 in the vicinity of the Columbia river, and 

 from there northward through western 

 Washington. They breed inlimited num- 

 bers. It is quite probable that some lin- 

 ger and breed in the mountains for a 

 ■considerable distance south of Wash- 

 ington but their principle breeding- 

 grounds are north of the United States. 

 In many parts of Alaska and British 

 Columbia it is a common suminervisitor. 

 ^r. W. II. Dall, who was the first to de- 

 scribe the nest and eggs of this bird, 



found it breeding on the Nulato, May 

 22d. The nest was built in the midst 

 of a large bunch of rubbish in a clump of 

 willow about two feet from the ground 

 and close to the river bank. Eggs blue- 

 ish, speckled with brown. May 5, 1885, 

 I was fortunate enough to find a nest of 

 this bird containing three fresh eggs. 

 The locality was at the head of a small 

 swamp, about one mile north of Fort 

 Camby, Washington. The nest was 

 built about eight feet from the ground, 

 on a horizontal branch of a large spruce 

 tree. It was composed of weed-stalks, 

 leaves and moss, lined with moss. The 

 cavity was not more than one inch deep. 

 The eggs are of a pale greenish blue, 

 mach paler than those of the common 

 robin, sparingly sprinkled over the 

 whole egg, with small spots and dots of 

 r'edish brown. There are also some shell 

 markings of a lavender shade. They 

 measure 1.23 x 88; 1 .20 x 87; 1.16 x 87 

 inches. A. H. Helme. 



Lockport, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1891. 

 Mr. C. H. Prince, Dear Sir:— 



I am much interested in birds, although 

 I do not pretend to be much of an Orni- 

 thologist. 



I have a collection of between 300 and 

 100 mounted specimens, mostly secured 

 in this vicinity, also their nests and eggs, 

 some of which are rare in the eastern U. 

 S., for instance, Dendroicu caerulea, (see 

 the Auk, Oct., 1888.) of which specie j 

 took the nest and eggs in 1888 near this 

 city, one of which I sent to the Smith- 

 onian Collection, Washington, D. C, it 

 being the first nest and eggs of this spe- 

 cie the museum had ever received. Capt. 

 Chas. E. Bendire, the curator, wrote me, 

 asking if they were to understand that I 

 donated them to the museum. They 

 could not believe it, as they had never 

 yet received the nest and eggs of this 



