56 
Getter al Notes. 
occurrence in Massachusetts are not as yet sufficiently numerous to render 
additional captures entirely devoid of interest. 
I have lately examined a fine specimen in the possession of Mr. Arthur 
Smith, shot by that gentleman in Brookline, Mass., in February, 1879. It 
is a young male, with the under parts finely vermiculated with rusty. 
The rump is scarcely lighter than the back and the specimen is otherwise 
nearly as typical of var. ludovicia?ius as are average specimens from 
Florida. — William Brewster, Cambridge , Mass. 
A Third Capture of the Philadelphia Vireo ( Vireo philadel- 
fikicus') in Massachusetts. — In the collection of Mr. Charles B. Cory I 
have lately seen a Philadelphia Vireo which was taken in Brookline, Mass., 
by Mr. Arthur Smith. Upon asking Mr. Smith about it he told me that 
he shot it late in September, in second-growth oak woodland when it was 
quite alone. 
This makes the third Massachusetts record, and all these specimens have 
been taken in the same month — September. The species should be care- 
fully looked for in the spring, but it is probable that, as with the Connecticut 
Warbler and several other birds, the vernal migration is made by a more 
westerly route. — William Brewster, Cambridge , Mass. 
Occurrence of Vireo philadelphicus in Mercer County, New 
Jersey. — On September 21, 1876, I took an adult male of this species in 
an orchard in Princeton, and on the 28th of the same month I saw two 
others in the same orchard together, one of which I obtained. This 
proved also an adult male. These are the only instances that liave 
come under my observation during six years at this point. — W. E. D. 
Scott, Princeton. N. J. 
The Red Crossbill ( Loxia curvirostra americana ) in Tennessee. — 
The morning of August 7, 1880, found the writer collecting in the woods 
near Rugby on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. Coming to 
a clearing, I observed, among other birds, two which at first I did not 
recognize. The l ' clearings ” of that section differ from those in other 
parts of the country. Lumber being comparatively valueless in that 
region, the settlers kill the trees by girdling, leaving them standing. In 
time all but the largest limbs fall, and the trunks become rotten and filled 
with vermin; thus they are the resort of Woodpeckers for both feeding 
and breeding purposes. It was in such a locality, and on the top of one 
of the lai'gest trunks, that I saw a small bird, whose plumage I could not 
distinguish against the sky, hopping up and down and around the trunk, 
seemingly extracting insects from the decayed knot-holes. Supposing it 
to be a species of Nuthatch, I shot it, when I was greatly astonished to 
pick up a Red Crossbill. The report of my gun revealed the whereabouts 
of four more, the remainder of the flock. Observation of their habits 
showed me they kept near the tops or broken ends of the limbs, hopping 
about and crawling under them after the manner of Woodpeckers. As I 
