General Notes. 
57 
iss 3 .] 
General Bates. 
Bendire’s Thrasher ( Harporkynchus bendirii ) in Colorado. — On 
May 8, 1882, while collecting near Colorado Springs with Mr. J. A. 
Allen, I made a most unexpected capture. The morning was a stormy 
one and thousands of migrants, driven in from the plains, had sought 
refuge among the foot-hills. So great was the “rush” of birds that at 
times we were fairly bewildered, scarce knowing what to select from the 
swarms that filled every thicket and sheltered hollow. At the height of 
the excitement a shy, pale-colored bird, which Mr. Allen had been pursu- 
ing along a steep hillside, alighted near me, just showing the top of its 
head above a large boulder. Without having the faintest idea what it 
was, I fired, and going to the spot picked up a Bendire’s Thrasher. My 
surprise and pleasure can be best understood by those w'ho have had simi- 
lar experiences. 
The specimen, which is in perfect spring plumage, proved to be a female. 
It is, so far as I know, the only one that has ever been taken north of 
Arizona. From its limited distribution in that territory and the peculiar 
character of the country which it normally inhabits, there is every reason 
to assume that the present occurrence is a purely fortuitous one. — 
William Brewster, Cambridge , Mass. 
The Water Thrush in Confinement. — During the early part of 
the summer of 1881, one of my juvenile attendants stopped me on my 
official inspection around the Garden, remarking that he had captured a 
half-drowned Sparrow, and asked if it should be given to the rattlesnakes. 
On examination, to my surprise, it proved to be a Water Thrush ( Siurus 
ncevius ), with its plumage so water-soaked that it was unable to fly. I had 
it placed in one of the aviaries in company with several specimens of 
Turdus mustelinus , T. fuscescens , Mimns carolinensis , Harporkynchus 
rufus , etc., where it soon recovered and could be seen daily, busily engaged 
in capturing'-the insects attracted by the prepared food placed in the aviary. 
As the cold weather approached and its insect food failed, it changed its 
diet to the prepared food, and is still alive, in fine plumage, having safely 
passed through two moults.: — Frank J. Thompson. Zoological Garden , 
Cincinnati. Ohio. 
An interesting Flight of Pine Finches. — A recent letter from John 
athan Dwight, Jr., of New York, contains the following interesting note 
which I have his permission to publish. 
“When atMonticello (New York), early in October, I saw several small 
flocks of Pine Finches ( Chrysomitris Purus'). At Fort Hamilton, on Octo- 
ber 21, their numbers were phenomenal. There were hundreds, and per- 
haps thousands, in flocks of from a dozen to sixty or seventy. A curious 
fact is that when we first saw them — about nine o’clock A. m. — everv flock 
