46 
General Notes. 
1878; pp. 106, 107, Feb. 1, 1879 ; pp. 120, 121, Feb. 15, 1879 ; pp. 132- 
134, March 1, 1879; pp. 151-153, March 15, 1879. Quite extended and 
important biographical notes on 27 species, relating especially to their 
breeding habits and nests and eggs. Among the species treated are the 
following : “ Black-crested Titmouse ( Loph . cristatus,” — lege ntrocristatus ) , 
Auriparus flcivifrons , Parula nigrilora, Embernagra rufvirgata, Icterus 
melanocephalus auduboni, Centurus aurifrons, Buteo unicinctus h arris si, 
Buteo albicaudatus, etc. 
17. How to collect Birds’ Nests and Eggs. By Ernest Ingersoll. Ibid., 
pp. 166 -169, pp. 179, 180, pp. 205, 206, pp. 222, 223, pp. 251, 252, 
pp. 268, 269, pp. 284, 285, pp. 297- 299, pp. 315, 316. — An elaborate 
and valuable series of papers on the collection and preservation of nests 
and eggs of birds. 
18. A Substitute for the English Sparrow. By Chas. C. Abbott, M. D. 
Ibid., pp. 255, 256. — Urges the protection and encouragement of our 
native birds, with observations on their fecundity and food. 
In the department of “ Notes and Queries” are several short notes of 
interest, mainly on Texan and Californian birds, principally by George H. 
Ragsdale and Walter E. Bryant. — J. A. A. 
(general Uffttg. 
A Black Robin ( Turdus migratorius'). — I have been greatly interested 
in a case of melanism, — a black Robin. The color is very decided, and 
covers the entire bird, with a very trifling exception. The lower man- 
dible is yellow, but its upper one is black. I noted three specks on the 
breast, of the normal mahogany-red ; but all put into one would not make 
an area of more than a quarter of an inch. The bird is lively, thrives in 
confinement, is a male, and was taken from a nest in Freehold, New Jersey, 
this last summer. There was but one other bird in the nest, also a male, 
which was normally colored. — Samuel Lockwood, Freehold, N. J. 
[For another case of this affection of the same bird, see this Bulletin, 
Vol. Ill, p. 47 ; Forest and Stream, Vol. XIII, Aug. 7, 1879, p. 525. — 
E. C.] 
Interesting Birds found on Long Island, N. Y. — Mimus. poly- 
glottus. — I shot a young Mocking-bird at Gravesend, L. I., on August 9, 
1879, in such immature plumage as to render it probable that it had been 
bred in the neighborhood. I am not sure that this bird can be considered 
rare on Long Island though it is at least uncommon. 
Contopus borealis. — In September, 1877, I shot an Olive-sided 
Flycatcher in my yard at Fort Hamilton. It is the only record of this 
species for Long Island. 
