On the status of <I>Lanius robustus</I> Baird as a North American bird

^°i8y^'^] Getieral JVoies.

323

BreedingoftheRose-breastedGrosbeakatBeverly,

New

Jersey.

— On May

2, 1896, ^Irecorded thetirstarrival of this bird at Beverlv, andafter- wards

from

daytodaynotedamale birdwhistling

from

the treetops in the lawns of adjoining properties to whereI live.

Knowing

theywere not early breeders I did not pay any particular attention to

him

until JuneI,atwhich timehe

became

so noisywith hiscontinual outburstsof song, that I concluded to investigate, and soon discovered the female building thenest.

The

male

would accompany

her about the neighbor- hood while gathering material, and perch on the topmost branch of a nearby tree and whistle one strain after another. After incubation

commenced

he

became more

quiet, only whistling occasionally, and goingoffby himselfonfeedingtrips,as Ioftenheard

him

severalsquares

away. _yj

The

nest

was

situated inthetopmost branchesj-'btlfigsof asmallmaple

tree, abouteighteenfeetabovethe ground, andsdrteen feet

from

the rear ofahouse alongtheriverbankwithin thecityviimits ofBeverly.

As

this seems very unusual, as well as the

most

southern recordfor

New

Jersey, so far as I canascertain,Iconcluded to record the note.

—

J.

Harris Reed,

Beverly,

N.J.

On

the Status ofLanius robustus Bairdas a North

American

Bird.

—

Having

recentlyhadoccasiontoagain examinethetypeofLaniicsrobustus Baird,whichI

was

fortunately able to do through the kindness of the authorities of the

Academy

of Natui-al Sciences of Philadelphia,I feel

more

surethaneverthatthe birdis notNorth

American

atall. Itagrees inall characters but two,namely,the larger,

more

strongly hooked bill

and peculiar pattern of the secondaries, with L. algerietisis; and two examplesof the latter intheNational

Museum

collectionapproachit so closely in the last respect that I have little doubt it is merely an

'aberrant' specimen or possiblj'a localform of that species.

— Robert RiDGWAY,

U. S.National

Museum,

Washiugton,

D.

C.

Vireo flavoviridis in

Nebraska —

a Correction.

—

In order to avoid confusion, itbecomes necessary to state that the birdonwhich thenote in^'

The

Auk' (XIII, 263);recording the captureof Vireo Jiavoviridiswas founded,hasbeenfoundto be V. olivaceus.

In explanation of

how

thiserroroccurredIwill statethat thespecimen

was somewhat

abnormally colored, and according tothe

measurements

givenby

Ridgway

(Manual,_470),hadatailatleastoneinch shorter than the

minimum

length in V. olivaceus.

Hence

it was identified as V.

Jiavoviridis. Since that time Ihave found, however, thatthemeasure-

ment

ofthetail, 3-15-3.30,given by

Ridgway

isin allprobabilityanerror.

Alloftheauthorities,Coues, Baird, Brewer, and

Ridgway

himself inhis 'Ornithologyof Illinois^',do not givea

maximum measurement

of

more

than2.50.

—

L.

Bruner,

Lincoln,Nebraska.