EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 249 
I saw flying to the alders by the river what 
I have no doubt was the tree-sparrow, with a 
ferruginous crown or head, and wings also 
partly ferruginous ; light beneath. It was in 
company with a few of the Fringilla hiemalis. 
Sang sweetly, much like some notes of the ca¬ 
nary. One pursued another. It was not large 
enough for the fox-colored sparrow. Perhaps I 
have seen it before within the month. 
As near as I can make out, the hawks or fal¬ 
cons I am likely to see here are the American 
Sparrow Hawk, the Pish Hawk, the Goshawk, 
the Short-winged Buzzard (if this is the same 
with Browne’s stuffed sharp-shinned or slate-col¬ 
ored hawk, not slate in his specimen). Is not 
this the common small hawk that soars ? The 
lied-tailed Hawk. (Have we the red-sliouldered 
hawk, about the same size and aspect with the 
last ?) The Hen Harrier. I suppose it is the 
adult of this, with the slate color, over meadows. 
March 28, 1855. P. m. To Cliffs, along river. 
.... I run about these cold, blustering days, 
on the whole, perhaps, the worst to bear in the 
year (partly because they disappoint expecta¬ 
tion), looking almost in vain for some animal 
or vegetable life stirring. The warmest springs 
hardly allow me the glimpse of a frog’s heel as 
he settles himself in the mud, and I think lam 
lucky if I see one winter-defying hawk or a 
