.--In the past three autumns,
more records of the Dickcissel (Spiza americana) on the Atlantic coast of Canada
have come to my attention than all the records for other years combined. Unusual
numbers on the north Atlantic coast of the United States have been recorded by
Griscom (Audubon Field Notes, 611]: 5, 1952) and others. The Canadian records,
however, substantially expand the known extent of this remarkable autumn wander-
ing and indicate that considerable numbers were involved.
On October 5, 1950, J. Mitchell Campbell observed three Dickcissels in a clearing
on the lower Moisie River, Quebec, 17 river miles [eight air miles] north of its mouth
on the north shore of the Guff of St. Lawrence. These three were seen until October
7, but only two were seen on October 8 and 9. On the latter day, Campbell left
the area. An excellent photograph of one of these birds is in the National Museum
of Canada. Again, on September 25, 1951, a Dickcissel appeared in the same
clearing, and it was promptly collected by Campbell. It is a first-year male now
in the National Museum of Canada. These occurrences were recorded by Campbell
(Can. Field-Nat., 65[6]: 210, 1951). On October 6, 1952, Campbell observed an-
other Dickcissel in the same clearing in which the 1950 and 1951 observations were
made! At that time Campbell was leaving the locality temporarily, and when he
returned six days later, he found the bird there dead. Although he airmailed this
specimen to the National Museum of Canada, it could not be preserved. However,
the incomplete ossification of the skull showed it to be a bird of the year. It is
remarkable that in each of the past three years Dickcissels should appear in this
remote clearing.
Some 150 miles farther east on the north shore of the Guff of St. Lawrence at
Baie Johan Beetz (Piashti Bay), Quebec, another Dickcissel was collected on Sep-
tember 25, 1951, by Alan G. Loughrey of the Canadian Wildlife Service. The
specimen is in the National Museum of Canada. Mr. Loughrey was not there in
1950 or 1952.
In central eastern Newfoundland, at Terra Nova, Tuck (Can. Field-Nat., 66[2]:
68, 1952) closely observed a Dickcissel, apparently an adult male, on November
3, 1951. About an hour later he found another dead on the railroad near by. The
wings of the latter are now in the National Museum of Canada. The Moisie River
and Bale Johan Beetz birds are the northernmost known occurrences of this species
and the Terra Nova ones are the northeasternmost.
Campbell, Loughrey, and Tuck may well have been the only observers in 1951
on the north shore of the Guff of St. Lawrence and in Newfoundland who would
recognize this obscure (in autumn) bird. They all chanced upon Dickcissels that
year in the small and widely-separated areas that came under their scrutiny. How
many others went unobserved in the vast intervening areas cannot be estimated.
Mortality among these northern nomads appeared to be high.
The writer is indebted to Robie W. Tufts for the following heretofore unpublished
sight records from Nova Scotia. On November 30, 1952, two Dickcissels appeared
at a feeding station in Halifax. One, thought to be a male, disappeared next day.
The other became quite tame and was seen until December 7, often with English
Sparrows. They were identified by C. K. Allen and Lloyd Duncanson. On De-
cember 4, 1952, one was seen feeding with English Sparrows at Liverpool, N. S.,
by Miss Verna S. Dunlop. She reported this to Mr. Tufts who commented (in
littO that she "gave such a perfect description of the Dickcissel that I had no hesi-
tancy in accepting it at face value."
There are recent sight records also from southwestern New Brunswick. At
Mathias Seal Island, one was seen on August 20 and 21, 1951, by Glen Woolfenden
and recorded by Squires in 'The Birds of New Brunswick' (The New Brunswick
Museum, Monographie Set. 4, p. 134, 1952). Two, perhaps the same, were observed
there on August 31, 1951, by Arnett and Corson (Records of New England Birds,
7[8]: 161, 1951). At St. Andrews, N. B., Miss H. W. Mac Coubrey reported one,
apparently a male, on September 21, 1952, according to Squires (Nature News,
3151: 2, 1952).
Rand (Auk, 46 [2]: 247, 1929) summarized the Atlantic coastal records from
northeastern United States and eastern Canada through 1928. To his summary,
the following Canadian records may be added. Dwight (Auk, 20 [4]: 440, 1903)
recorded a young male collected on September 13, 1902, on Sable Island, Nova
Scotia. Smith (Auk, 55 [3]: 549-550, 1938) reported a specimen killed by a car
at North Sydney, N. S., on December 3, 1929. Ball (Can. Field-Nat., 5711]: 4,
1943) carefully identified one, apparently an immature male, near Cape Gasp6,
uebee, on October 18, 1940.--W. EARL GODFREY, National Museum of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario.