Passerella iliaca - large flocks - Newton -Warren
MASS. (Middlesex Co.) [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
1876.
(March 7 [March 7, 1876]) that he saw numbers of red wings and one very
large flock of Quis. purpureus [Quiscalus purpureus] this morning.
He has been out regularly every day of late
but has seen no spring birds before this
morning. My own watch has been so 
carelessly kept that I should have hesitated
to believe the previous arrivals really the first:
so sudden an appearance en masse of our
first installment of spring visitors is not 
less unusual than pleasant: oftener, they
appear at first in small numbers straggling
along as if half afraid to announce their
presence: so emphatic an assurance of bird
faith [delete]is at least[/delete] in better times to come, [delete]is[/delete]
cannot but be cheering to short sighted mortals
hoping for an early spring. An unwanted aspect
of activity was everywhere manifest this
morning among our winter sojourners. 
The little titmice were drawling out their plaintive
te derry on all sides & two Certhias were
almost constantly bursting into suppressed song
as if unable to quite restrain their feelings &
yet perfectly conscious that such outbursts of 
fine feeling should be reserved for listening
mates in Northern forests. A single Pinicola which 
haunted me the whole morning seemed perfectly
frantic with anxiety, flying restlessly about 
and almost shrieking out its notes: I imitated
its call once or twice and it came straight to me calling
out in joyous tones, and seeming more distressed than
ever when it discovered the deception: it had probably 
been left behind by its companions & was searching
for them. Heard a Colaptes uttering its long
laughing calls: I do not think however that any
Southern birds of this latter species have yet arrived
Reached the town by noon with only one bird a Certhia.