36 Joint Bulletin 2 



A great horned owl was found incubating her eggs, by Mr. G. H. 

 Ross, Mr. G. L. Kirk and Mr. D. E. Kent at Rutland, March 12, 1916. 

 The nest was located in a pine tree, 45 feet from the ground. The 

 ground was covered with snow, and the snow was piled several inches 

 about the nest. The thermometer registered 10 degrees below zero. The • 

 nest contained two eggs. 



A black-billed cuckoo was found on a nest containing three eggs 

 as late as August 29, by Mr. E. J. Briggs of Rutland. This is a record 

 for late breeding, as this bird usually leaves this locality early in 

 September. 



Evening grosbeaks are reported for the past winter from a number 

 of places in Vermont. They remained several weeks in the vicinity of 

 Rutland. They were also observed in Middlebury, Burlington, London- 

 derry, Clarendon, Hartland, Brandon and St. Jolinsbury. The last bird 

 was seen at Rutland, May 17. 



The nest of an American goldeneye was found at Averill, in 1915, 

 by Mr. Owen Durfee of Fall River, and Mr. F. H. Kennard of Boston, 

 Mass. This is probably the first breeding record for this bird in the 

 state. 



Miss Mary E. Jennison reports the presence of bay-breasted warb- 

 lers at St. Albans, May 29-31, together with myrtle warblers and olive- 

 backed thrushes. The same observer reports an unusual number of 

 scarlet tanagers for that locality during the past year. She also found 

 young juncos and white-throated sparrows in a woodlot on Aldis Hill as 

 late as August 15, an indication that these birds breed in that locality. 

 The same report includes a notice of the evening grosbeaks which 

 stayed two or three days about the middle of March, the flock being 

 a small one, containing three females and one male. 



Winter birds are reported much more numerous about St. Johns- 

 bury this year than in previous years. White-winged crossbills, Ameri- 

 can crossbills, redpolls, and snow buntings, having been observed in 

 various parts of the town. Miss Inez A. Howe reports that chickadees, 

 a pair of red-breasted nuthatches, a white-breasted nuthatch, and a 

 pair of blue jays came daily to the food shelves. Mrs. Edward Fair- 

 banks records a brown creeper, a pair of downy woodpeckers, and a tree 

 sparrow which have been spending the winter in the vicinity. In one 

 of the rural schools, where the children are interested in the birds, 

 the chickadees have become so tame that they come to the window-sill 

 and eat from the children's hands. 



