316 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



for eggs. At the same time I knew of another Dipper's nest containing 

 young ones, so that the structure of this one had probably been delayed 

 owing to the flooded state of the river, the tuft of weeds in which it was 

 placed having been but a fortnight previously submerged under two feet of 

 water. Probably for this reason most of the Dippers' nests I observed 

 this year were much later than usual. The earliest contained eggs much 

 incubated on March 30th, but this was in a situation quite out of reach 

 of even the highest floods. Generally these birds build very early. I saw 

 a nest complete and ready for eggs on March 6th, 1886 ; but a few days 

 after we had the heaviest snow-storm ever remembered in the district. 

 The snow lay drifted in many places over ten feet deep during the whole 

 of that month, accompanied by intense frosts. On the morning of 

 March 3rd the thermometer at Shillalagh had registered 8° Fahr., and on 

 the ground, — or rather the snow, — while the rivers were partly frozen, had 

 fallen some degrees below zero. In spite of this severity the Dippers were 

 able to carry on their nesting" operations. Young Dippers frequently leave 

 the nest before the second week of April, and the nests are sometimes 

 commenced in February, but they may probably be later in some districts. 

 I have frequently heard the Dipper singing on the wing in very early 

 spring-time, while in amorous pursuit of his mate over the river. — Allan 

 Ellison (Trinity College, Dublin). 



Birds killed by Electric Lights at Girard College, Philadelphia.— 

 During the spring and fall migrations of birds many dead ones are seen 

 near the electric towers in the grounds. Last autumn quite a number 

 were found, though not so many as the previous year, when a whole 

 flock struck the electric tower at Ridge and South College avenue, in their 

 migration to their winter quarters to the south. It is now an established 

 fact that most birds migrate at night, and during a dark stormy one they 

 are more likely to be attracted by the electric light. Among those dead or 

 crippled were the Whip-poor- Will, Caprimulgus vociferus (a very rare bird 

 with us), Peewee Flycatcher, Sayornis fuscus, American Robin, Turdus 

 mirjratorius, Maryland Yellow-throat, Ground Warbler, Trichus marylandica, 

 Brown Tree-creeper, Certhia familiar is, Wood Thrush, Turdus mustelinus, 

 White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis, Hermit Thrush, Turdus 

 solitarius, Song Finch, Melosjriza melodia, sometimes called Song Sparrow. 

 Many Woodpeckers and Tree Creepers were in the grounds, more than 

 were ever noted before, the Downy Woodpecker busy at work making 

 his ring of holes around the red elm, Ulmus rubra. The Tree Creepers have 

 been his faithful assistants, though not having the power to make the holes 

 he docs. Both, no doubt, have done much good in ridding the grounds of 

 the eggs and larva of worms that feed on the trees. The Barn Owl, Strix 

 americana, put in an appearance last fall (a whole family of them : they 

 are rare in Girard College grounds. Quite a number of Kinglets and 



