Passer domes t icus . 
Lobster Lake, Piscataquis Co., Maine. Ply-catching 
1899. A peculiar observation which I made in the city streets 
Sept. of Bangor has bothered me a good deal, as I have never heard 
of its occurrence elsewhere. In that city I noticed English 
Sparrows in considerable numbers engaged in flycatching! 
Perhaps there is nothing unusual in this; and perhaps I was 
mistaken either in the identity of the birds or in their oc- 
cupation. But, if the fact is of usual occurrence, I have 
failed to hear of it or to dee it. And I occupied ten or 
fifteen minutes (all that remained before train-time) in try- 
ing to be perfectly certain both of the bird and of its occu- 
pation. Of course the English Sparrow in fall plumage or 
female feathering is much like a number of other birds es- 
pecially small flycatchers. And I heard but failed to see, 
one Pewee in a nearby street. But, nevertheless, though the 
day was dull, I obtained such exact and close sight of the 
birds in question that I would not hesitate to call them 
Passer domes t icus and to stand by it until proved wrong by a 
competent observer. And as to the birds' occupation, it cer- 
tainly was an exact reproduction of the flycatchers 1 foraging 
The perches used were twigs of shrubs or trees and also tele- 
graph wires; the sallies were made swiftly and with a leap; 
the chick of the bill was marked; and the return to the same 
or a nearby perch immediate. These "sparrows" were in flocks 
