Occurrence of Coccothraustes vespertina in Iowa. — Among other 
visitors from the north, during the winter of 1886-87, numbers 'of Evening 
Grosbeaks appeared in this neighborhood. About the middle of December 
several were observed a short distance north of the city, but it was not 
until the first of February that they began to appear in the principal 
streets. When first noticed in the town, there was a flock of twenty-five 
or more feeding upon the samaras which were still attached to the 
branches of the box elders. The kernels of the keys were quickly and 
adroitly removed and the refuse allowed to fall upon the snow beneath, 
which after a short time was thickly strewn with the remains of the feast. 
February 23 a flock of over one hundred suddenly appeared on the 
University campus, and after remaining an hour or more, departed. From 
this date until April 30, nearly ten weeks, it was their custom to visit the 
campus early in the morning and remain until noon, when they would 
fly away and spend the remainder of the day elsewhere. During their 
stay the food of these birds consisted chiefly of the samarje of the box 
elders and sugar maples, the young leaf buds of various trees, seeds, and 
grain ; to obtain the latter, the whole flock would often alight on the ground 
and eagerly devour the scattered grain. As spring advanced they were 
usually seen, especially early in the morning, in the top of some tree, 
singing or chattering noisily, thus attracting the attention of nearly every 
passer-by. Their loud, clear, rather harsh, piping notes, uttered in 
concert, reminded one forcibly of the familiar chorus of a flock of Rusty 
Blackbirds in the spring, and have also been likened to the shrill piping 
arising from some frog pond on a quiet summer evening. In Iowa, the 
Evening Grosbeak may be regarded as a rai'e and erratic winter visitor, 
though its appearance is perhaps most regular in the northern portions of 
the State. It arrives from the north about the middle of November and 
remains until May. Prior to last winter it has been observed in the 
vicinity of Iowa City but once — in February, 1884. Correspondents have 
also reported this species from Charles City, in March, 1879; Grinnell, 
December and April, and Burlington in the southeastern part of the 
State. — C. R. Keyes, Iowa City , Town. Ank | Y. Jan. 1888. p. 
Evening Grosbeaks. 
O.^O. XV , , />■ 
AT SUMMIT, N. J. 
After reading the accounts in the February 
O. & O. of the unusual drift of the Evening 
Grosbeaks into the northeastern states, 1 
thought I would add my experience to the 
list. On March 6, 1890 I was exceedingly sur- 
prised to see a flock of from ten to fifteen 
of these birds feeding on last year’s dogwood 
berries. They were exceedingly tame and 
allowed me to approach and stand under the 
tree where they were for quite a little while, 
being within about eight feet of one. They 
were mostly females. I was unable at the time 
to secure any for my collection, and so had to 
content myself by merely observing them. 
There were about eight inches of snow on the 
ground and the air was quite sharp. This is 
| the first time I have ever seen any around 
here. Wm. Oakley Raymond. 
3*f 
