Cambridge, Mass.
February.
(No. 8).
Zonotrichia albicollis. On the morning of February 4th
when the ground was covered with about four inches of
fresh fallen snow I saw a White-throat eating bread
crumbs from a dish on the kitchen steps in company with
a number of English sparrows. An hour later I heard it
chirping and, as I was confident at the time, another
bird of the same species answering it. But after this
date only one bird was seen - on the 12, 16, 17, 18, 19,
21, 22, 24 & 25th. At first I supposed that this indiv-
idual was one of the pair that had been seen together so
often, earlier in the winter, but on examining it closely
I discovered that it was unlike either having the pure
white head stripes of the one combined with the dull
gray throat of the other. Unless it may be assumed that
one of this pair had changed plumage the bird seen after
February 4th must have been a new comer to the garden.
5. Passer domesticus. The cold and snow of the 12th & 13th
banished nearly all the Sparrows from our neighbourhood.
The half dozen or so that remained were evidently sorely
pressed. Two came down the chimney of the Museum on the
night of the 13th and were found next morning in the
large room. The others spent the greater part of both
days in the pigeon loft. This led me to hope that the