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BULLETIN

NuTTALL Ornithological Club

% @imrt£rlg Journal of # rnitljologu.

VOLUME IL

O^Mtor,
J. A. ALLEN.

^gjsodatc (IPiiitors,
S. F. BAIRD AND ELLIOTT COUES.

CAMBRID(JE, MASS. :
1' U E L I S H E D BY THE CLUB.

1877.

University Press : Welch, Bigelow, & Co.,

Cambkidge.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

NUMBER I.

Page
The Black-and-Yellow Warbler. By William Brewster ... 1

GEOGEArHiCAL Vakiation IN TuKDUS MiGEATOBius Bv Robert Ridfjivay 8

Unusual Abundance of the Snowy Owl in New England. By Ruthven

Deant 9

Distribution of New England Birds. — A Reply to Dr. T. M. Brewer.

By //. A. Purdie 11

Occurrence of the Barnacle Goose (Bernicla leucopsis) on Long Island,

N. Y. By G. N. Lawrence 18

Capture of a Second Specimen of Helminthopiiaga lawrencei. By

Hu7-old Herrick 19

Notice of a few Birds of rare or accidental Occurrence in New

England. By U. A. Purdie 20

EECENT LITEBATURE.

Notices of five recent Ornithological Papers, 23. — Vennor's Rapacious Birds
of Canada, 24.

GENERAL NOTES.

A Humming-Bird new to the Fauna of the United States, 26. — Note on Podiceps
dnminicns,2Q. — Eastward Range of the Ferruginous Buzzard {ArcMbuteo
ferrugineus), 26. — Occui-rence of Leconte's Bunting { Coturniculus lecontei)
in Iowa, 26. — Audubon's Warbler in Massacliusetts, 27. — Occurrence of
the Sooty Tern in Massachusetts, 27. — The Black Gyr-Falcon (Falcu sacer
var. labradora) in Massnchufetts, 27. — Notes on Birds new to the Fauna of
Maine, etc., 27. — Northern Range of the Sharp-tailed Finch {Ammodi-onws
caudacutus), 28.

NUMBER II.

Corrections of Nomenclature in the Genus Siurus. By J)r. Elliott

Coues, U. S. A 25

Notes on the Breeding of the Black Tern {Hydroclielidon lariformis).

By T. S. Roberts 34

Two Undescribed Nests of Californian Birds. By William Brewster 37
A Contribution to ^the Biography of Wilson's Phalarope. By E.

W. Nelson 38

A Defence of his Catalogue of New England Birds. By Dr. T. M.

Brewer 44

RECENT LITERATURE.

Burroughs's "Wake-Robin," 48.— Minot's "Land and Game Birds of New
England," 49.

GENERAL NOTES.

Western Range of Connrus carolinensis, 50. — Fecundity of the Carolina Wren, 50.
— The Louisiana Heron in Indiana, 51. — Note on the Cinnamon Teal
( Querquedula cyanoptera), 51. — jEgiothns exilipes in Europe, 51. — Note on
Cvpidonia cupiilo var. pallidicinctus, Ridgway, 52. — Capture of the Egyptian
Goose on Long Island, N. Y., 52. — MacCowu's Longspur in Illinois, 52.

iv CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

NUMBER III.

Dkscription of a New Species of Humming-Bird from California.

Bv //. \V. Ilenshaw 53

The iSiiiOs of Guadaloupe Island discussed with reference to the

PRESENT Genesis of Species. By Robert Ridgway .... 58

An Undescribed Hybrid between two North American Grouse.

By William Brewster 60

RKCENT LITERATURE.

Nelson's " Birds of Northeastern Illinois," 68. — Salvin on the Procellariidm, 69.
— Catiilogue of the Birds of the Islands of Malta and Gozo, 70. — Ridgway's
" Studies of the American Falcuiiida;'' 70. — Recent Ornitliological Articles
in American Journals, 73. — Californian Ornithology, 76. — McCauley's
"Notes on Texan Ornithology," 76.

GENERAL NOTES.

Nest and Eggs of Towosend's Flycatcher, 77. — Persistency at Nest-Building in a
House- Wren, 78. — A New' Bird to Massachusetts, 78. — A New Form of
Surnia to New England, 78. — Capture of the Philadelphia Vireo in New
Hampshire, 78. — Occurrence of P((sserculus princeps in New York, 78. —
The Pigeon-Hawk (Falco cohimhnrius) at Sea, 79. — Capture of a Second
Specimen of Helminthophac/a leurvbrvnrJiialis, 79. — The Mottled Owl as a
Fisherman, 80.— Breeding of Leach's Petrel on the Coast of Maine, SO. —
Nest and P>ges of the Alaskan Wren, 82. — Junco wef/omis in Illinois, 82. —
Leptoptila alhifrons. a Pigeon new to tlie Unite 1 States Fauna, 82. — Mtlo-
pelia leucoptera in Colorado, 83. — The Rntf and the Purple GaDinule in Ohio,
83. — Notes on Nyctale acadica, 83. — Probable Breeding of the Saw-Whet
Owl in Massachusetts, 84.

NUMr>p:R IV.

Notes on Molothrus ^neus. By J. C. Merrill, Assist. Surg., U. S. A.
On Seventy-five doubtful West-Coast Birds. By J. G. Cooper, M. D.
Remarks on Selasphorus ali.eni, Henshaw. By D. G. Elliot .
The Yellow-throated Warblek (Dendroeca dominica). By William
Brewster .............

RECENT LITERATURE.

D'Hamonville's Enumeration of the Birds of Europe, 106. — Merriam's " Revisw
of the Birds of Connecticut," 107.

GENERAL NOTES.

Note on Doricha enicura, 108. — Occurrence of the Black Vulture or Carrion
Crow in Ohio, 109. — Occurrence of the Western Nonpareil and Merlandier's
Wren at Fort Brown, Texas, 109. — A Cuckoo's Egg in a Cedar-Bird's
Nest, 110. — Occurrence for the first Time in England of the Robin
{Tardus niujratorius), 110.

[ Ph otographic rep rin t . ]

BULLETIN

OF THti

NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

Vol. II. JANUARY, 1877. No. i.

THE BLACK-AND-YELLOW WARBLER {DENDR(ECA
MACULOSA).

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

First impressions are apt to be most lasting, and in many cases
are engraved upon the memory with a vividness that defies the
effacing influence of •time, Thus the Blftck-and-Yellow Warbler
was one of my earliest bird acquaintances, and I shall not soon for-
get our introduction.

My Axmily was spending a few days in a quiet little country town
in Now Hampshire, when, one hot summer afternoon, finding time
hang heavily on my hands, I borrowed an old gun, and at the coun-
try store, where everything was sold from a patent coffee-mill to
the latest specific for rheumatism, 1 purchased a supply of am-
munition, and, thus equipped, took to the woods and searched a
long time in vain for game. At length, entering a grove of thickly
growing young spruces, I sat down to rest on a mossy log. I had
been there but a short time when I became conscious of faint
sounds in the trees above and around me, — chirpings, twitterings,
and occasionally a modest little effort at song. W^atching atten-
tively, I soon spied a movement among the branches, and a tiny
bird hopped out into the light, presenting a bright yellow breast
and throat for just a moment before flying into the next tree,
Here was a revelation I I already knew a few. of the most familiar
birds, — the Robin, the Bluebird, the Sparrow, the Oriole, and some
others j but it had never occurred to me that dark forests like
these might be tenanted by such delicate and beautiful forms.

2 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Only the tropics surely could boast such gems. With enthusiasm
now fairly aroused, and animated withthe spirit of an explorer, I
went at once to work to investigate, and in the course of an hour
or two more my ammunition was nearly exhausted, and qixitc a
line of poor, lifeless, mutilated little birds lay arranged along the
old log. Resting my gun against a neighboring tree, J examined
long and carefully the results of my work. Scarcely any two of
my specimens were alil^e, and as I contemplated in amazement their
varied forms and coloring, 1 felt like the discoverer of a new world,
and doubted whether human eyes had ever beheld the like before.
Finally, the deepening twilight brought an end to my reveries, and,
collecting my prizes, I took my way homeward. Taxidermy being
to me then a sealed book, ] had recourse to pepper and salt as pre-
servatives, but a few hot days settled the matter and proved the
ruin of my collection. I can recall with sufficient distinctness for
identification but a single bird of them all, — a fine adult male
Black-and-Yelluw Warbler, which at the time I considered the
liandsomest, and which 1 still think cannot be surpassed in beauty
by any New England representative of the family. That aftenioon
was an imlucky one for the birds. It laid the foundation for a
taste that has since caused the destruction of thousands of their
tribe.

The Black-and-Yellow Warbler arj-jves in Massachusetts from the
South about the 15th of May. Din-ing the next two or three weeks
they are abundant everywhere in congenial localities. Willow
thickets near streams, ponds, and other damp places, suit them
best, but it is also not unusual to find many in the upland woods,
especially where young pines or other evergreens grow thickly.
Their food at this season is exclusively insects, the larger part con-
eistmg of the numerous species of Dlpteni. The males sing freely,
'^specially on warm bright mornings. They associate indifferently
with all the migrating warblers, but not unfrcquently 1 have found
large flocks composed entirely of members of their own species, and
in this way have seen at least fifty individuals collected in one small
tract of woodland. By the first of June all excepting a few strag-
glers have left. If we follow them northward, avc find a few pairs
passing the smnmcr on the mountains of Southern Maine and New
Hampshire. In July, 1875, I found them breeding, in company with
the Blackburnian WaiV)ler {Dendraca hlackbiirnice), the Snowbird
(^Junco hi/emalis), the Golden-crested Kinglet {^Regulus satrapa), and

ORNITnOLOGICAL CLUB. 3

several other birds of the Canadian Fauna, on Mount Monadnock,
New Hampshire, within tiftcen miles of the Massachusetts State lino.
Throughout the White Mountains -of New Hampshire they are
everywhere common during the summer, but it is not until we
reach the latitude of the Umbagog Lakes, in Western Maine, that
we find them evenly, distributed over high and low coimtry alike,
In this region summer- succeeds winter so quickly that there is
almost no spring. Thus when I reached Upton on the 25th of
May, 1876, I found that the lakes had broken up but four days
previously ;" not a leaf had unfolded, even in the most sheltered
places, and snow lay in large masses everywhere in the hollows and
on northern exposures. Yet many species of Warblers, had already
arrived, and among them the subject of the present sketch was well
represented.

They kept closely about the buildings, and although the day was
warm, maintained an almost perfect silence. Dozens at a time
were hopping about the manure" heap behind the stables and around
the sink-spout, while all showed a certain apprehensiveness of man-
ner, as if they feared the issue of their temerity in penetrating into
so bleak and dreary a region. Taking a short walk into the woods,
I found them untenanted, save by a few Titmice, Woodpeckers, and
some of the earlier Sparrows. But in the course of the next week
wonderful changes took place. The birches first, afterwards the
maples, beech-trees, and poplars, put on a feathery drapery of the
most delicate green. The shad-bush. {Amelanchier canadensis) and
the " monse-wood " (Comns circinata) became white with clustering
blossoms, and looked at a distance like fleecy summer-clouds en-
tangled among the trees. Underfoot, beautiful trilliums of both
the purple {Trilliuvi enxtnm) ixn6. white {7\ <jrandiJIoriivL) species,
were consi)icuous among a host of other wild-flowers. Bees hummed
among the blossoms, and butterflies flitted airily" through the' forest
glades. Everything was fresh, lovely, and suggestive of the calm,
peaceful security of summer. Tlius in one week were consummated
changes that, farther south, are often extended through nearly
thrice the time. All this while the birds had kept ample pace with
the advance of the season. Hundreds were daily arriving, passing
on, or settling into their accustomed summer-haunts, and the woods
fairly rang with the first burst of their melody. During the next
week all the Warblers, and most of the smaller birds generally,
were occupied in pairing and constructing their nests. Then came

4 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

the liarvcst-tirae for the oiilogist, and rarities wore in order. But
how brief it all was ! A dozen or so days only, and the young
were hatched out ; the woods swarmed with mosquitoes, black flies,
and other bloodthirsty insects, and " the season " was at an end.
Nothing remained biit,to pack upthe accumulated treasures, and get
them safely home for future comparison and investigation.

Before taking out our cabinet specimens, however, arid diving
into the dry details of description, let us return to the woods, and
bontcmplate for a few moments the undisturbed nest. We shall be
most likely to find one along this old wood-road, for the removal of
the taller trees has let in the sunlight a little, and birds love such
places.

You will rarely find the interior of a forest so well peopled as
the edges and little openings, and the birds are not singular in this
respect. Men always choose the shores of rivers, ponds, or the sea,
for their first settlements in a new country, and I fancy it is not
entirely from considei-ations of utility, but partly because they
crave an adjacent breathing-space, where the sun and wind may
have fair sweep. -There ai-e some exceptions to the rule among the
l)irds, of course, there being some morbidly disposed individuals
that can find no place too dark or too secluded.

As we follow the old wood-path, you shall take one side while I
make good the other. These little clumps of fir and spruce shrubs are
the likely places, and, judging from the numbers of Black-and-Yellow
Warblers that I hear singing, our chances are good, but you must
remember that not above one male in three or four of this species
is blessed w'th a mate, so do not let your hopes rise too high. They
are a gay lot of bachelors, though, ai-e they not 1 chasing one another
through the branches, more in sport than anger appai-ontly, and ut-
tering their queer, emphatic little songs on all sides. She knew she
tvas right ; yes, she hieiv she teas ri(/hf, they seem to say ; but what all
this means I never could imagine. Some idle gossip of theirs j)rob-
ably,- which it will not profit us to inquire into. Ha ! I have it,
even so soon. 1 thought yon fellow, singing so gayly in the fallen
tree-top had more the air of a Benedict than any we have pre-
viously seen, and here, almost inider my hand, sits his modest
little wife on her nest. Be careful how you shake that branch, for
I woidd have you take a good long look ere we disturb her. See how
her dark little eye glistens, and note the rapid pulsating motion of
her. back. Underneath those puffed-up. feathers a poor little heart

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 5

is beating wildly with fear and apprehension, but still she sits
bravely on her trust. . She would say, if she could, with the Roman
mother, " These are my jewels," and would entreat us to spare them.
Now I will advance my hand cautiously. See ! I almost touch her
tail with my finger-tips ; but the next instant she is gone. How
quietly at the last moment she slid over the edge of the nest, barely
eluding my grasp ! A faint cry or two, and there comos the male ;
but he, gaudy little braggart ! is far better at singing bravo deeds
than performing them, and will not trust himself very near, though
he keeps up a constant chirping. His mate, however, is bold enough
for both, and in her anxiety almost comes within reach of our
hands. Now look into the nest ! Beauties, are they not I Four
of them ; rosy white, spotted prettily with umber, lilac, and a few
scattered dashes of black. Observe how cunningly the whole affair
is concealed, — built close to the stem of the little fir, resting on
the flat horizontally disposed rows of "needles," and arched over
by the flake-like layer of twigs above. One long rootlet alone
hangs down in full view, and had it not caught my eye I might
have passed without discovering the nest. It seems, indeed, a pity
to disturb it, but we shall regret it next winter if we leave it be-
hind. Naturalists are probably not hard-hearted by inclination,
but of necessity. I dare say the female will commence another
nest before wo pass here on our way back, and the male will be
singing as joyously as ever in an hour or two. Birds' gi'ief, like
their average lives, is short, though apparently intense for the time.
It is only the end, however, that can ever justify the destruction of
a nest, and unthinking persons might, in many cases, be benefited
by contemplating a little more closely the sufiFering which they in-
flict.

As the published descriptions of the nestirjg of this species are
meagre and more or less conflicting, I shall go somewhat fully into
the matter.

Location of Nest. — The nest is usually placed in a small fir or
spruce, and rarely at a greater elevation than five or six feet. The
average height would probably not exceed four feet, and I have
found some barely twelve inches above the ground. It is usually
laid somewhat loosely among the horizontal twigs, from which it
can in most cases be lifted intact. Favorite localities are the edges
of wood-paths, or roads bordered by woods, and clearings grown
up to small evergreens. Exceptional situations are the interior of

6 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

th6 woods, where, in some cases, the nest is phiced in the top of a
young hemlock ten or fifteen feet up. In one instance I found a
nest on a liorizontal spruce limb in the very heart of the forest, and
at least thiriy-five feet above the ground. This nest contained four
eggs, and the female bird, which was sitting, established its identity
beyond question.

Composition of Nest. — The framework is wrought somewhat
loosely of fine twigs, those of the hcmhick being apparently pre-
ferred. Next comes a layer of coarse grass or dry weed-stalks ;
while the interior is lined invariably with fine black roots, which
closely resemble horse-hairs. In an examination of more than
thirty examples I have found not one in which these black roots
were not used. One specimen has, indeed, a few real horse-hairs in
the lining, but the roots predominate. This uniform coal-black
lining shows in strong contrast with the lighter aspect of the outer
surface of the nest. The whole structure is loosely put together,
and bears a no distant resemblance to the nest of the Chipping
Sparrow {Spisella sacialis).

Among iiests of the Si/lvicolii!cp, it finds, perhaps, its nearest ap-
proach in that of the Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendrccca pennsyl-
vanica).

Audabon, describing a nest from Labrador, affirms that it was
lined with " a great quantity of feathers." As regards this state-
ment, I can only say that it is entirely at variance with my own
observations, and the employment of feathers in a nest of this
character eeems to me almost as mal a propoa as it would in that of
a Heron or Cuckoo.

J)es<rr{jJioii of Egrji, etc. — The time of laying with this species
varies, in rel.ation to the season, from Juno 8 to June 15. Four
eggs commonly constitute a set, though in some cases but three are
laid ; and 1 know of an instance where five were found in one nest.
They measure about .62 of an inch in length by .50 in breadth.
The iTBual shape is a rounded oval, and the ground-color almost
invariably creamy white after the renjoval of the contents. The
markings are most commonly blotches of rich, warm umber, with
smaUcr dottings of pale lilac or brown, disposed about the larger
end. Some specimens are, however, thickly sprinkled over their
entire surface with fine brownish spots. One set of four eggs differs
from any of the others in having a decided tinge of bluish in the
ground-color ; while upon the large patches of umber which en-

ORNITnOLOGICAL CLUB. 7

circle the greater ends are drawn numerous wavy lines of black,
precisely like the characteristic pen-markings of some of the Oriole's
eggs. With an extensive series of specimens before me, I am led
to the inevitable conviction that eggs of D, maculosa are in many
cases indistinguishable from those of D. virens, D. jjennsylvaiiicay
and D. discolor; and an examination of an equal number of au-
thentic eggs of the other Dendroec(v would, I am satisfied, result in
adding many more to this list. In the eggs of each of the above-
named species there is an almost endless variation, and many sets
are consequently quite unique, but the type — if, indeed, any can
bo established — finds equally near approaches among them all.
Nests may, however, in most cases be relied upon, especially when
procured from proximate localities.

In the case of the young, both before and after they leave the
nest, this bird displays no exceptional traits. Both old and young,
when the latter have become able to take care of themselves,
join the immense congregations of mingled Warblers, Wrens, Tit-
mice, Sparrows, and Woodpeckers, which collect in the northern
forests in early August, to be dispersed — most of them south-
ward — by the first frosts of September.

In Eastern Massachusetts this species occurs as a fall migrant
from September 21 to October 30, but -it is never seen at this
season in anything like the numbers which pass through the same
section in spring, and the bulk of the migration must follow a more
westerly' route. Its haunts while with us in the autumn are some-
what different from those which it affects during its northward
journey. We now find it most commonly on hillsides, among
scrub-oaks and scattered birches, and in company with such birds
as the Yellow-Rump {Dendrceca coronata) and the Black-Poll (Z>.
sfriata). A dull, listless troop they are, comparatively sombre of
plumage, totally devoid of song, and apparently intent only upon
the gratification of their appetites. It seems, at first thought,
strange that the birds, at a season when all the i-est of Nature puts
on its most gorgeous coloring, shoidd array themselves in their
dullest ; but it must be borne in mind that many of them played
their part before these brilliant leaves had burst their buds, and
now, like ushers and orchestra, whose duty has been performed,
they stand aside among the audience, and watch the shifting
glories of the final transformation-scene. So let us leave them
until, attired in fullest costume, they come again to herald, with
overtures of joyous song, the rising of the curtain on a new year.

BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

ON GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION IN TURDUS
MIGRATORIUS.

BY ROBERT RIDf;wAV.

Certaik differences between Eastern specimens of the common
Robin and those from the Rocky Moimtaius were first pointed out
by Professor Baird, in- his "Review of American Birds" (18G4,
pp. 28, 29), in the following words. • " In highly phimaged speci-
mens from the East the feathers of the interscapular region are
frequently, even generally, tinged with blackish in their centres,
passing gradually into ash on the edges, and the black of the head
ccas:;s to be abruptly defined. There is. also usually a well-defined
whitish tip, half an inch long, to the outer tail-feathers. In Rocky
ilountain skins the tail is either black, except a very narrow
whitish edge, or the white tips of Eastern specimens are replaced
by a dull gray. The black of the head, too, is better defined, the
interscapidar feathers more unifoi-mly ash, and the upper parts
without the fain.t brownish wash so frequently seen in Eastern
specimens. There are, however, some exceptions to these features
in specimens from each locality. The colors generally of Western
birds appear to bo paler." Again, in the "History of North
American Birds" (Vol. T, p. 25), the same and additiotial difterou-
ccs are alluded to, as follows : " There arc some variations, both
of color and proportions, between Eastern and Western spcci-
r^ens of the Robin. In the latter there is a tendency to a
longer tail, thoiigh the difference is not marked , and, as a rule,
they slightly exceed Eastern specimens in size. The broad white
tip to the lateral tail-feather — so conspicuous a mark of Eastern
bii'ds — is scarcely to be found at all in any Western ones ; and in
the latter the black of the head is very sharply defined against the
lighter, clearer ash of the back, there hardly ever being a tendency
in it to continue bacKwaid in the form of central spots to the
feathers, as is almost constantly seen in Esistern examples; of
Western specimens, the rufous, too, is appreciably lighter than in
Eivstern."

Very extensive material received at the National Museum since
the above was written tends to confirm the constancy of most of
these diCFerences between Eastern and Western Robins, while other

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 9

points of diversity, previously overlooked, have been detected, the
most important being the much blacker tail of Eastern birds, and
their decidedly shorter wing.

Upon the whole, the two forms seem to constitute two veiy
strongly marked geographical races, which may be distinguished as
follows : —

T. migratorius. — Wiu^, 4.85-5.33 ; tail, 4.10-4.60 ; bill, from nos-
tril, .48 -.51 ; tarsus, 1.20-1.35; middle toe, .83 -.92.* Inner web of
outer tail-feather with a distinct white terminal spot. Tail-feathers of
adult male dusky black, with slight edging of plumbeus. Habitat.
Eastern region, including the whole of Alaska, Eastern Mexico, and the
eastern border of the Missouri Plains.

T. propinqiLus, Ridgw. (MSS.). — Wing, 5.35 - 5.60 ; tail, 4.60 - 4.70 ;
bill, from nostril, .50 -.55 ; tarsus, 1.30-1.35 ; middle toe, .90. Inner
web of lateral tail-feather with merely a narrower terminal edging of white,
or with no white whatever. Tail-feathers of adult male dusky slate, with-
out distinctly paler edges. Habitat. Western region, including eastern
base of Rocky Mountains.

We find the character of blackish centres to the interscapulars in
Eastern specimens to be too inconstant a feature to serve as a
character. No specimens of the Western series are so marked, but
many Eastern ones, otherwise typical, have no trace of these mark
ings. It is a well-known fact that the eggs of the Western Robins
average considerably larger in size than those of Eastern birds.

UNUSUAL ABUNDANCE OF THE SNOWY OWL (NYCTEA
BCANDIACA) IN NEW ENGLAND.

BY RUTHVEN DE.\NE.

In a recent number of this Bulletin (Vol. I, p. 95), Mr. N. C.
Brown gave some interesting notes respecting the variable abun-
dance of birds at the same locality in diflCerent seasons. I do not
think a more forcible illustration of his remarks can be cited than
the recent great abundance of the Snowy Owl in New England.
This bird is regarded as not a rare winter visitor to New England,

* Eight specimens.

10 BULLETIN^ OF THE NUTTALL

where it is confined mostly to the coast, although occasionally taken
throughout the interior. About the first of November, 1876, how-
ever, large numbers suddenly appeared along our coast. This be-
ing the season when sportsmen and the market gunners were in
pursuit of water-fowl on the sea-shore, dozens of Snowy Owls were
shot by them and sent to the markets and to taxidermists, so that
during the three following weeks it was a common thing to see
them hanging with other game in the markets, or confined alive,

I first heard of them on our Massachusetts coast as frequenting
the ishmds off Kockport, where numbers were taken. One gunner
spoke of seeing fifteen at once on a small island one foggy morning,
nearly half of which he procured. As the Owls flew around over
the rocks uttering their weird cries, they presented- a scene of rare
occurrence in New England. Specimens were soon after captured
in nearly every town in this vicinity (Boston), and were sent to the
city from various other parts of the country. Several were shot in
the very heart of the city of Boston, where they were occasionally
been perched upon the house-tops or church-spires.

I learn from Mr, George A. Boardman, of Milltown, Me., that
they were at this time very abundant in his locality, where they
appeared as early as September. Mr. Simeon F. (/heney, of Grand
Menan, also informs me that they were never before so abundant
there as during the present season, arriving there about October 20.
He reports that eight w^ere seen together at one time, and that on
another occasion a flock of fifteen was noticed.

Mr. N. C. Brown, of Portland, Me., i-eports that about one hun-
dred and fifty wore shot in the immediate vicinity of that city, and
that five flew about the buildings of the city for a week unmolested.
Mr. J. M. Le Moyne also writes me that the unusual abundance
of these birds about Quebec, Canada, has been the subject of gen-
eral remark.

The migration seems also to have extended far to the southward
of New England, as 1 learn from Mr. Boardman that specimens
Lave been taken as far south as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Wash-
ington. In Philadelphia Mr. John Krider, the well-known taxider-
mist, had forty sent to him for preparation during October and
November. One was taken near Baltimore during the last of Sep-
tember, I have heard of some five hundred specimens that have
been seen, the majority of which have been shot.

Many of the specimens were in exceedingly poor condition. Of

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. \l

some two hundred of these Owls examined by me, nearly all were in
very dark plumage, and none wore that almost spotless dress which[
we occasionally see.

The cause of the sudden visit of such au unusual multitude of
these boreal birds, coming as they did when the weather for a
few days was unilsually warm for the season, the thermometer stand-
mg at 75° at noonday, is a question not easily solved. Scarcity of
food would seem the most probable solution, or perhaps an early
severe cold snap started them on their southward flight. If so, it
seems strange that other less hardy species should not be affected
in a similar way, as but few Geese and Brant had passed south
when the Owls had been with us for a week.

About ten years since there was a somewhat similar migration
of this species into the British Provinces and New England, but
the birds appeared later in the season, and not in such great num-
bers as in the present instance.

DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ENGLAND BIRDS. — A REPLY TO
DR. T M. BREWER.

BY H. A. PURDIE.

Whkn asked, some time since, to review a " Catalogue of the
Buds of New England," by Dr. T. M. Brewer, I at first declined,
feeling that if I e.xpiessed myself conscientiously, I should give
some d\spleasure to its author But I finally consented, and penned
the short article in the third number of this Bulletin, bearing the
signature " H A. P " I intended to give the writer of this Cata-
logue all the credit due him , but in this, according to his reply m
the following number, I have signally failed. The tone of Dr
Brewer's article, and the demand he makes that I must produce
something of more weight than " unsupported assertions," " sweep-
ing generalizations," opinions and conjectures unsupported by facts,
and " positive dogmas given out quite ex cathedrd," renders it neces-
sary for me, in defence, to reply somewhat in detail. He must,
however, be aware that reviews are generally limited as to space,
and especially so was the case in this instance, so that full citations
in support of my difTerences with him were out of place. He now

11 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Bays he gave the list for what it was worth, expecting and desiring
to have it amended and improved; and elsewhere he has said,
'' however lenient we may be even towards errors and incorrect
statements that apparently might have been avoided, we should
also, all of us, never hesitate to expose and to correct whatever we
know to be wrong." Unhappily such an attempt on my part has
not been very graciously received. He also says " it was but an
initiative towards a complete and reliable list of ,the birds of New
England," and that it was " at the last moment, and when it could
only be done briefly," that " the character of the presence of the
species " was added, and that of course the additions were " never
exhaustive." Now I will respectfully ask how the general reader
was to know this. I received the list " for what it was worth."
There was nothing in the introduction to show that it was not con-
sidered complete or correct.

Of course, after all that has been written upon the subject, I was
aware that generally a species is not resident individualli/ in a
given section of territory. His remark respecting the Robin, that
the birds found with us in winter are not the same as those that
pass the summer here, but " are of a very different I'ace" is not at all
to the point at issue. As a species, I say Ihirdus migratorhis is a resi-
dent of New England. If, however, as he holds, the birds found in
winter are another and very different race, — as race is now under-
stood. — he should have so indicated it in the Catalogue, perhaps
as " Turdus hyperhoreus. Arctic Robin. Winter visitant." I in-
tended in reply to cite at length all the facts that bear upon the
points in dispute, but found that to do so would require quite too
much of the valuable space of the Bulletin ; but I trust that I have
brought forward sufficient evidence to show that my statements
were not altogether " conjectures " and " unsupported assertions."

The following -five species, among others. Dr. Brewer claimed
had never been taken in New England, and therefore should be ex-
cluded from the list of New England birds. In respect to this, I
simply asked "if previous record did not show that these at least
could be retained," intending thereby to imply that I considered
this to be the case. Tho following are the birds and their
record : —

Quiscalua major. Boat-tailed Grackle. — "Q. 6an7ns, Bonaparte.
Thrush Blackbird. New Haven. Of the Thrush Blackbird one speci-
men only has been observed, by Dr. Whelpley at New Haven, and of

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. I3

course is rare in Connecticut." (Rev. J. H. Linsley, Cat. of the Birds of
Conn., in Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts, Vol. XLIV, 1843, p. 249.) "Acciden-
tal. Have heard of one that was killed in Cambridge a few years since.
Mr. E. A. Samuels tells me that a pair bred in Cambridge in 1861." (J. A.
Allen, Proc. Ess. Inst., IV, p. 85, 1864.) Both these and the Connecticut
bird are cited by Dr. Coues (Proc. Ess. Inst., V, p. 285, 1868) as valid.
But I understand that more recently the authenticity of the specimens
taken is doubted, they being referred to the Crow Blackbird (Q.purjmreus).
As Mr. Linsley also gives Q. picrpiireus as common, I see no reason for
doubting his record. Of Mr. Samuels's birds, I have always understoo
him, and he still avers that two of them, in the flesh, were brought to hii
by Professor Jeffries Wyman, and that to his best knowledge and belit
they were shot in the Cambridge salt marshes ; that their rarity was com
mented on at the time, send that they were not Q. purpureas.

Corvus ossifragus. Fish Crow. — *' Stratford," Conn., Linsley (1. c).
" An occasional visitor along the southern coast of the State of Massachu-
setts." (J. A. Allen,. 1. c.) "Very rare visitor in summer" to Massachu-
setts. (E. A. Samuels, Descriptive Catalogue of the Birds of Mass., in
Ilept. of Sec. Board of Agriculture of Mass. for 1863.) " A rare summer
visitor, chiefly along the more southern portions of the coast" of New
England. (Coues, Proc. Ess. Inst., V, 1868.) "Coast of the United States,
from New England to Florida." (Coues, Birds of the Northwest.) And
now, as confirmatory of the above, Mr. Brewster gives an instance of his
seeing it in Cambridge, March 16, 1875. (See this Bulletin. Vol. I, p. 19.)

.2Egialitis wilsonius. Wilson's Plover. — Allowing that this spe-
cies has not yet been found in Massachusetts, we have : " Stratford," Conn.,
Linsley (1. c). "Appears to be rather rare, and perhaj)S only occasional,
as far north as Massachusetts. (Coues, 1. c.) " Dr. Wood informs me that
Wilson's Plover is abundant in August on Long Island, and Mr. Linsley
has recorded it from Stratford, Conn. It hence seems unquestionable
that they sometimes occur in Southern New England, and it would not
be strange if they should occasionally reach the coast of Massachusetts."
(Allen, Am. Nat., Vol. Ill, 1869.) "North to Long Island and Con-
necticut, probably' to Massachusetts, but rare beyond Nevv Jersey." (Coues,
Birds of the Northwest.)

Nettion crecca. European Teal. — At a meeting of the Boston
Society of Natural History, April 18, 1855, Dr. Bryant remarked that a
specimen of the European Green-winged Teal had been sent to Mr. E.
Samuels to be mounted. • It was shot in Massachusetts, the first he had
ever seen in the State. (Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. His., Vol. V, p. 195.) This
instance is cited by Allen (Proc. Ess. Inst., Vol. IV, 1864) and by C. J-
Maynard (Naturalist's Guide, 1870), "A European species, but so often

14 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL .

taken on the coast aa to be fairly conpidered as more than an accidental
visitor." (Coues, Proc. Ess. Inst., Vol. V, 18G8.)

Sula fiber Boobt Gannet. — " Guilford," Conn., Linsley (1. c).
"September. Bare." Essex Co., F W.Putnam. (Proc. Ess. Inst., Vol.
I, 1856.) Both these cases are cited by Dr. Coues in his Birds of- New
England, and the last by C J- Maynard. (Naturalist's Guide, 1870.)

I think that the above-named five birds have as much right to be in-
cluded among those that have occurred with us as have the Mealy Red-
Poll {/E'jiothus canescens). Small-headed Ylycatcher {Myiodioctes minutus),
AVillow Ptarmigan (Lagopus albus). White-fronted Goose {Anser (jamhdi),
and Hutchm's Goose {Bernicla hidchmsi), Avhich are all retained by Dr.^
Brewer There are also two other birds, namely, the Blue-gray Gnat-
catcher (Pohopttla crerulea) and the Blue Warbler (Dendrceca ccerulea),
expunged by Dr Brewer, whose record of occurrence in New England
is as good as any just cited, which I am prepared to show have recently
been taken in Connecticut and Rhode Island. (See this number of the
Bulletin, p. 20.)

In regard to the Robin {Tardus migratorius), the Crow {Corvus ameri-
caniis), the Hairy Woodpecker (Picais rnllosus), the Long-eared Owl {Ohis
mlsonianm), the Short-eared Owd (Brachyofus cassini), the Acadian Owl
{Nijdalt acndica), and the Sharp-shinned Hawk (Nisns fuscus), which Dr.
Brewer classed as summer residents of New England (he saying of the
Crow that a few winter), but which I stated must be-considered as con-
.stant residents, at least of the southern portions, and some of them also of
the northern, I will say that a reference to the often cited local lists, and
to other writings on New England birds, quite fully confirms my remark,
these species being given as residents, some of them occurring in smaller
numbers in winter, as is to be expected, while again others are found more
frequently in winter than at any other season. I notice a slight exception
in the case of Nixus fmcus, a few writers regarding it as only a summer
visitant, even to Massachusetts ; but that it, as well as the others, remains
in greater or less numbers in certain sections the year round, is well known
to collectors.

In the "History of North American Birds," by Messrs. Baiid, Brewer,
and Jlidgway, we find the following respecting the winter distribution
of the Robin : " In the winter months it is most abundant in the South-
ern States, while in the Middle and even the Northern States, in favorable
localities, it may be found throughout the year ; its migrations being
influenced more by the question of food than of climate. In the valleys
-iipong the White Mountains, where snow covers the ground from October
to June, and where the cold reaches the freezing-point of mercury, flocks
of Robins remain during the entire winter, attracted by the abundance of
berries. In Massachusetts a few Robins remain throughout the year, but
the greater proportion leave early in November, returning late in February
or early in March."

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 15

Also in respect to the Hairj Woodpecker, we read in the same wort
(Vol. II, p, 506) ; " It is a resident and not a migratory species, and wher-
ever found it alco breeds."

Also (in Vol III, p. 46) of Nyctale acadica: "Mr. Boardman and Pro-
fessor Verrill both give it as resident, and as common in Maine."

Other Rpecies, namely, the Short-billed Marsh "Wren {Cistothorus stel-
laris), the Warbling Vireo {Vireo gilvus), the White-eyed Vireo {V.
noveboracensis), the Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), the Carolina Dove
{Zerurdura carolinensis), and the Quail (Ortyx viryinianus), which were
given as summer residents, presumably of all New England, I said seldom
reached Northern New England. With the exception of Orlyx virginianus,
I did not make the positive statement that the above-named species never
did so, knowing that one or two of them had been found sparingly at
certain localities in that section. Here again, the published record, with
but slight exceptions, supports me in my assertion. As to Vireo gilvus
and Spizella pusilla, though given by Mr. Verrill as summer visitants at
Norway, Me., and by Dr. Coues as summer visitants to all New England,
the former is rare, and the latter does not occur at all, at Calais, Me., nor
does C. J. Maynard give either a-s found in Coos County, N. H., or Oxford
County, Me. He considers the White Mountain range as forming their
northern limit of distribution. Mr. William Brewster did not find them
at Fran con ia, N. H.

~ Respecting V. noveboracensis, I quote the following from the " History of
North American Birds " (Vol II, pp. 385, 386) : " In the last-named State
[MassachusettsJ it becomes exceedingly rare, and beyond it is apparently
not found, none having been met with either by Messrs. Verrill or Board-
man in any part of Maine. Mr. Audubon states that he himself found
them^long the coast in Maine, Nova Scotia, and Labrador. This, how-
ever, I am inclined to consider a misstatement, as they have not since
been detected north of the 42d paralleL"

From the same work (Vol II, p. 5), respecting S. pusilla, is the follow-
ing : " In the summer it breeds from Virginia to Maine, as far as the
central and western portions. It is not found near Calais, but occurs and
breeds near Norway, Oxford County."

Again of Z. carolinensis (Vol. Ill, p. 384) : " It is found in the southern
part of Maine as far to the eastward as Calais, but was not collected by Mr.
Verrill at Norway, and is not known to occur in the northern part of that
State." I said it was not "rare," meaning of course in Southern New
England, and by looking up the matter, such ■« ill be found to be the case.
Citing again from our standard work on North American birds, we find
this of Ortyx virginianusr: '• This bird in probably found in all the Ne-.-.
England States, though its presence in Maine is not certain, and if found
there at all, is only met with in the extreme southwestern portion. It \a
also rare in Vermont and New Hampshire, and ooly found in the southern
portions. It Ls not given by Mr. Boardman, nor by Prr.feaior VerrilL"

16 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Observations made in the nesting-season during the last five or six
years in New Hampshire and Maine, by such experienced collectors as
Messrs. Brewster and Maynard, and, to a less extent, by Bailey, Deane, and
myself, show the absence of the foregoing species from the Fauna, and the
presence of the five following, namely, the Cape May Warbler (Pcrissoglossa
tigrhia), tho Mourning Warbler {Geothlypis Philadelphia), ihe Olive-sided
Flycatcher {Contopus borealis), and, in lesg abundance, the Black-backed
and the Banded Three-toed Woodpeckers {Picoules arcticus and P. ameri-
canns).

What had already appeared in print respecting the distribution of these
birds, added to the observations of the above-named gentlemen, I thought
warranted me in saying that at letxst P. tigri^a, G. Philadelphia, and C.
borealis, were " generally," that is, usually, if, perhaps, not universally,
common, and bred regularly in Northern New England.

The Worm-eating Warbler {Hclmitherus vermivorus), the Blue-winged
Yellow Warbler (Helminthophaga pinus), the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria
vii-ens), the Hooded Warbler (Myiodioctes mitratus), and the Great-crested
Fly^^atcher {Myiarchus crinitus) have generally been considered rare birds
in any part of New England, but in the "American Naturalist" (Vol. VII,
1873, p. 692) I mentioned, on the authority of Mr. J. N.Clark, of Saybrook,
Conn., that they were found at that locality regularly in numbers and b]ee(l-
ing, though he had not actually found the nest of H. vermivorus. 1 also
spoke of a Water-Thrush that occurred there, and inferred that it was prob-
ably the Long-billed Water-Thrush (Siurus ludovicianus). Subseijuent
correspondence, and a visit to Saybrook in June, 1875, confirmed my sus-
picion, proving that ludovicianus was the species that summered there, and
that it vvas common, as were all the others, with the exception of //. vermi-
vorus. Mr. C. M. Jones, now of Eastford, Conn., has written me that he
observed all but S. liidovicianiis and H. vermivorus, at Madison, in that
State, where he formerly resided.

The Golden-winged Warbler {Helminthophaga chrysoptcra) and the Yel-
low-winged Sparrow (Coturnicuhis passerinus) are two species that Dr.
Brewer still denies can be considered as breeding regularly, or in numbers,
in any portion of New England. As far back as June, 18G9 (Am. Nat.,
Vol. Ill, p. 497). and again in 1870 (Samuels's Orn. and Oiil. of New Eng-
land, revised edition, 1870, Appendix), I showed that the Golden-winged
Warbler was far from uncommon in Massachusetts. Observations made
every year since have not altered. my opinion, I find it in the i)ro])er
places from May to August. It is apparently less plenty after the first of
June, but is still not a bird of the Canadian Fauna.

In "History of North American Birds" (Vol. I, p. 193) we' read ; "Oc-
casionally specimens have been obtained in Massachusetts, and, of late,

these occurrences have become more common or more observed Mr.

J. A. Allen has known of several specimens taken within the State. Mr.
Jillson has observed it spending the summer in Bolton, and evidently

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 17

breeding, as has .also Mr. Allen at Springfield, and Mr. Bennett at Holy-
oke." (See also Am. Nat., Vol. Ill, 1869, p. 575 ; Maynard's Naturalist's
Guide, 1870 ; and this Bulletin, Vol. I, p. G, for accounts of the nesting of
this species in Massachusetts.)

I had no idea that any one acquainted at all with New England birds
could say that C. passerinus was rare, or even uncouimon, in Southern
New England. Why, it absolutely swarms, so to speak, on Nantucket. I
presume Dr. Brewer will allow that island to be included within our
limits. On Cape Cod, and, indeed, in various portions of Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and even northward to Concord, New
Hampshire, it may be found in plenty at all suitable localities. At Say-
brook, Conn., its notes were to be he.lrd in every field. (See History
North American Birds, Vol. I, p. 554, and local lists of New England
birds, south of Northern sections, in confirmation of this statement.

The Long-billed Curlew {Numenius longirostris), ihe Yellow Rail {Por-
'zana novchoraccnsis), and the Coot {FuUca americana) I considered spring
and fi^ll migrants, rather than as sunnner residents. The lists show this
statement also to be true, while the gunners and collectors further confirm
it. Perhaps a few may summer on the extreme northeastern coast of
Maine,

But my space is becoming limited. That the Golden-crested Kinglet
(Regulus satrajya) winters in numbers in Southern New England, that the
Snowbird {Junco ■'hycmalis) does not do so in Northern New England, that
the Titlark {Antlms ludovicianus) docs not Aviuter (perhaps with rare ex-
ceptions in the southernmost parts), and that JJc^op's^csmz^/raiona regu-
larly sunmiers in different portions of New England, are all statements
demonstrable by facts already in print, and by the observations of those
-\vho speak of that which they do know.

A word about the Stilt Sandpiper {Micropalma himanfo^ms), and I am
done. In the "American Naturalist" (Vol. Ill, p. 639) is recorded the
first supposed instance of its occurrence in New England. In the same
periodical (Vol. VII, p. 727) is given the first supposed* instance for
Massachusetts. Again (in Vol. VI, p. 307) Mr. Brewster says : " The Stilt
Sandpiper {Micropalma himantopus), which I see was recorded in a recent
number of the 'Naturalist' as new to our Fauna, I consider by no means
rare in its migrations. Indeed, I have seen as many as six or seven sent
into Boston market at one time, from Cape Cod, and, in the course of a
few weeks' shooting in August, at Rye Beach, N. H. (just north of our
State limits), secured no less than ten specimens." Not only has he since
shot it, but he, as well as myself and others, find it frequently in the
Boston markets.

* Mr. F. C. Browne, of rramingham, has a specimen taken at Plymouth lu
1852.

18 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

OCCURRENCE OF THE BARNACLE GOOSE {BERNICLA LEU-
GOPSIS) ON LONG ISLAND, N. Y.

Bl GEO. K". LAWRENCE.

I WAS recently informed, by Mr. Harold Herrick, that a specimen
of this species could be seen at the store of Mr. Couway, taxidermist,
in Carmine Street, said to have been killed on Long Island. I called
there and was shown a nicely mounted example of this Goose in
perfect plumage. Mr. Conway said that it was brought to him in
the flesh, in good condition, and was eaten by his family ; he spoke
very favorably of its edible qualities.

I learned from him that its possessor was Mr. J. K. Kendall of
this city. I had an mterviewwith this gentleman, and requested
that he would ascertain all the facts possible as to its capture, and
send me the information, I received from him the following letter
giving the result of his inqtiiries : —

New York, November 29, 1876.
Dear Sir, — About October 20 I saw a specimen of the Barnacle
Goose hanging in a restaurant in this citj, — bought it and had it stuffed.
I questioned the proprietor, and learned from him the place where he
bought it, — from a produce-dealer near Washington Market. After-
wards I interviewed the marketman, and he recollected the bird well,
although he had no idea what it was. He told me he bought it from a
Long Island farmer, who brought it to the city in his wagon, and who
eaid that it was killed by a boy in Jamaica Bay. Unfortunately he did
ribt know the farmer, — never saw him before nor since, so I was unable
to trace the bird any farther, but I am fully satisfied the story was true.
Yours truly, '

J. K. Kendall.

This Is the second instance of this species having been procured
on the Atlantic coast ; the first was obtained in Currituck Sound,
North Carolina, in 1870, and is recorded iu Vol. Y, p. 10, of the
" American Naturalist." *

♦ In Dr. Brewer's " Catalogue of the Birds of New England " (from Proceed-
ings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XVII, March 3, 1875) he
excludes this species from our New England list, and also states that the speci-
men recorded by Mr. Lawrence as having been taken in North Carolina was

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 1&

CAPTURE OF A SECOND SPECIMEN OF HELMINTHOPHAGA
LAWKENCEI.

BY HAROLD HERRICK.

In 1874 I had the pleasure of publishing in the " Proceedings of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia " (p. 220, pi. xv)
a description of a new species of Uelminthophaga that I had just
been fortunate enough to unearth. It has remained unique up to
the present time, and although its friends have stoutly maintained
itn validity, the " hybrid " theorists have sorely tried their faith ;
therefore I am more than pleased to be able to set the matte? per-
manently at rest by announcing the capture of a second specimen
of Helmmthophaga lav/rencei. The specimen, oddly enough, was
secured by Mr. Lawrence himself, who sends it to me with a letter
of explanation, from which the following is an extract : —

" I obtained the specimen of H. Lawrencei last fall from a dealer, who
called my attention to it as having a black throat, differing in that respect
from any species he had ever before met with. He said it was sent to him
last spring from Hoboken, N. J., with a miscellaneous lot of "Warblers.
I think the acquisition of a second specimen of this species should put at
rest all doubt of its validity."

This specimen agrees precisely with the type, with this slight ex-
ception, that the type is an adult male, probably in the second or
third year, while the bird under consideration is unquestionably a
yearling male, and still has the immature yellowish tips to the
coal-black feathers of the throat-patch. A slightly similar effect is
seeu in the yearling males of Dendroeca vireits. I cannot better
describe it than by republishing the description of the type.

probably one of eight specimens wliich escaped from the grounds of a gentleman
in Halifax in the fall of 1871 or 1872.

From Mr. Lawrence's record (Am. Naturalist, Vol V, p. 10) we find this
Goose was captured on OctoLer 31, 1870, one or two years previous to the es-
caping of the Halifax birds.

In view of this fact may not Mr. Lawrence's speximen still remain aa the
first authentic instance of the occurrence of the Barnacle Goose in the United
States ; at all events, until we hear of a confined specimen having escaped pre-
vious to that date ? — Rutuven Deane.

20 bULLETlN OF THE NUTTALL

"Upper parts and rump olive-green, a shade darker than in -pmus.
Wings bluish-graj, with two white bands, the upper not so clearly defined
as in pinus. Tail bluish-gray, with the three outer tail-feathers with most
of the web white, also a small white «pot un the end of the fourth feather.
Crown and under parts, from breast to vent, orange. A broad black patch
extends from the bill through and behind the eye. Chin, throat, and fore-
part of the breast black. A yellow stripe, commencing under the bill,
extends back between the black eye- and breast-patches, and increases in
width upon the shoulder. Length, 4.50 : wing, 2.50 ; tail, 2,00. Meas-
urements from the mounted bird."

The measurements of the two birds aric as nearly identical as is
possible when one bird is mounted and the other a skin. Of its
habitat, the plumage of the female, and its nesting peculiarities, we
can only conjecture, but it seems not unreasonable to prestmie that
its habitat is similar to that of its near congener, IJ. jjinus, and
that New Jersey may some day produce its nest and eggs, as it htvs
already produced the only two known specimens of the bird.

The female, I believe, will be found to be not unlike that of H.
pinus, and a close inspection of supposed specimens of the latter
bird now in collections may develop some interesting facts.

In conclusion it may be well to add, what by inadvertence I
omitted when the description was first published, namely, that for
the correct delineation of the bird in the plate I am indebted to
Mr. Robert Ridgway, of the Smithsonian Institution, to whom I
take this opportunity of tendering my thanks.

NOTICE OF A FEW BIRDS OF RARE OR ACCIDENTAL
OCCURRENCE IN NEW ENGLAND.

BY II. A, PURDIE

The following data respecting the occurrence of the following
fourteen species so far to the northeastward as New England are of
special interest, I am indebted to Messrs. Frederic T. Jencks of
Providence, R. I., Erwin I. Shores of Suffield, Conn., F. C. Browne
of Framingham, Mass., and J. N, Clark of Saybrook^ Conn., for facts
relating to eleven of the birds here mentioned.

L Poiioptila ceerulea. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, — Mr. Jencks
writes : " Two w(!ro shot at Wauregan (Windham County), Conn., by

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 2J

Mr. C. M. Caixenter, — a male In 1874 and a female in 1876. Three or
four were seen by me at Providence, R. I., May 23, 1875."

A male was also shot, by Mr. Shores, at Silver Spring, near Providence,
June 24, 1875, and several others have been seen by him at different times
in Providence and vicinity.

2. Helmitherus vermivorus. Worm-eating Warbler. — Mr.
Shores shot a male at Suffield (Hartford County), Conn., August 22,
1874. This is, I think, its most northerly record in the Atlantic States
yet noted.

3. Helminthophaga celata. Orange-crowned Warbler. — Mr.
Jencks writes me that '"a specimen, was shot in Cranston, R. I., Decem-
ber 3, 1874." This is the fifth specimen reported for New Jlngland, and
the second taken in the winter season.*

4. Dendroeca caerulea. Blue Warbler. — A male was obtained by
Mr. Shores at Sufheld, June 12,4875. This species and PolioptUa ccerulea,
though previously recorded as occurring in New England, have not been
recently taken here.

5. Myiodioctes mitratus. Hooded Warbler. — A male was shot
at Suffield, Conn., by Mr. Shores, July 8, 1875. This bird, though found
regularly along the Soimd shore of Connecticut, has not been noticed so
far northward before in New England, This, as well as a few other spe-
cies characteristic of the Carolinian Fauna, will probably be found to
e.xtend up the river-valleys of Connecticut, though not passing farther
eastward.

0. Pyranga aestiva. Summer Redbird. — Mr. Jencks informs me
that a male was shot a few years since on Ten-Mile River, six or eight miles
northeast of Providence. , It has appeared before, but is sufficiently rare
here to merit notice.

7. Stelgidopteryx serripennis. Rough- winged Swallow. — A
female of this species was shot at Suffield, Conn., by Mr. Shores, June 6,
187^4. At last this bird has been taken within our limits. It will be
interesting to determine whether it ])roves to be in future a regular visitant
to New England.

8. CoUurio ludovicianus var. excubitoroides, White-rumped
Shrike. — A typical example of this variety was shot by Mr. Jencks in
Cranston, R. I., September 2, 1873, and is now in his collection. Its pre-
vious record of having been found within our borders is somewhat doubt-
ful. I believe it is hardly found regularly much east of Buffalo, N. Y.
In this connection I would say that the CoUurio taken in Massachusetts,
recorded by me in the "American Naturalist" (Vol. VII, 1873, p. 115),
was a typical " Loggerhead " Shrike (C. ludovicimnis).

9. Milvulus forficatus. Swallow-tailed Flyc.\tcher.— Mr. Jencks
informs me that a specimen of this species was shot by Mr. Carpenter, at

* See this Bulletin, Vol. \, p. 94, for its previous New-England record.

22 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Wauregan,. Conn., about April 27, 1876. The "bird first attracted Mr.
Carpenter's attention by its opening and closing the tail while flying
about a small sheet of -water in quest of insects. The only other Eastern
United States capture of this species is a male taken at Trenton, N. J.,
a few years ago. as recorded by Dr. C. C. Abbott.* Of course its appear-
ance here is entirely accidental.

10. Porzana jamaicensis. Black Rail. — I have lately seen a skin
of this species belonging to Mr. Browne, of Framingham. The bird was
picked up dead, in August, 1869, by a relative of his, on Clark's Island,
Plymouth Harbor, and was forwarded to him as something entirely new
to our shores. This instance • adds a new bird to the Fauna of Massa-
chusetts.

Of this species Mr. Clark, of Saybrook, Conn., also writes me that a
neighbor of his, while mowing at that place, July 10, 1876, swung his
scythe over a nest of ten eggs on which the bird Avas sitting, unfortunately
cutting off the bird's head and breaking all but four of the eggs. The
only previous New England record of this species is that given by Dr.
Brewer (Proe. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVII, p. 477).

11. Rallus longirostris. Clapper Rail. — In the Natural History
store of Brewster & Knowlton, Boston, I recently saw a mounted specimen
of this species. The bird was captured Ijy its flying on board a vessel in
the harbor, May 4, 1875. Though recorded from Maine and Connecticut,
it being in the latter probably quite a regular summer visitor (about the
Sound), I believe its appearance before in Massachusetts has been ques-
tioned.

12. Rallus elegans. King Rail. — In the collection of Mr. George
O. Welch, of Lynn, Mass., is a mounted specimen shot at Nahant, No-
vember 21, 1875. This is a second species new to Massachusetts, and
has been but once or twice before recorded from any part of New Eng-
land.

13. Sterna fuliginosa. Sooty Tern. — Mr. Clark informs me that
he has this species in his collection, mounted from a bird that last summer
flew against the side of the steamboat-wharf depot at Saybrook, Conn,
Stunned by the concussion, it fell and was picked up. It had been
noticed for several days flying about the mouth of the riv^r as something
unusual.

14. Pelecanus trachyrhynchus. "White Pelican. -At the Natural
History store of Mr. A. J. Colburn, Boston, I saw, a fc v months since, a
skin of this species, freshly made up I'rom the flesh. The bird was shot
at North Scituate, October 6, 1876, l)y Mr. George Pratt. It was a male,
in fine plumage and good condition. Thouyh not new to the State, I
think its presence with us worthy of notice.

* Amor. Nat., Vol. Vl, r- 3C7.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

%t(tnt %ittv^Xx\xt,

Notices of five recent Ornithological Papers. — The first three
numbers of the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London " for
1876 contain several important papers upon the anatomy and classifi-
cation of several groups of birds, by Mr. A. H. Garrod, while among the
numerous other ornithological articles of more or less special interest are
papers by Mr. Howard Saunders, on the Skau Gulls and on the Terns ;
by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, on the Anaiidce of " Neotropical " America ;
an abstract of a memoir by Mr. W. K. Parker on JEgithognathous birds ;
and a paper by Mr. W. H. Hudson on the habits of some of the Rails of
the Argentine Republic. Among the numerous new species of birds
figured and described are quite a number from the Andean Region of
South America.

Among Mr. Garrod's contributions is a short paper (1. c. pp. 275 - 277)
on the anatomy of the Courlan (Aramus scohpaceus). He finds it to have,
on the whole, decidedly closer alfinities with the Cranes (Gnts) than with
any other group, especially in respect to its osteology, notwithstanding its
many external resemblances to the Rails. Hence Mr. GaiTod's researches
confirm the views of recent systematists in respect to the affinities of this
peculiar and interesting form. Mr. Garrod also Avrites (1. c. p]i. 335-345,
pis. xxvi - xxviii) concerning the anatomy of the Darter (Plotus anhin(ja\
a bird whose anatomy, aside from its skeleton, had previously received
little attention, ^fr. Garrod finds in its visceral anatomy several quite pe-
culiar features, one of which is the protection of the pyloric orifice by " a
mat of lengthy hair-like processes, much like cocoanuL fibre, which nearly
half fills the second stomach." These hair-like fibres are found to consid-
erably resemble in structure true cutaneous hairs. In general terms, the
Darter may be said to present many of the features characteristic of the
Gannets, Pelicans, and their allies, in an exaggerated degree.

The most important and interesting of Mr. Garrod's contributions is
a paper "On some Anatomical Characters which bear upon the Major
Divisions of the Passerine Birds" (1. c. pp. 506-519, pis. xlviii-liii).
Mr. Garrod attaches great importance to the mode of insertion of one of
the muscles of the wing (the tensor patarjii brevis), to the character of the
syrinx, the absence or presence of either the femoral or the sciatic artery,
etc., to which points the researches here detailed are mainly directed. He-
concludes his paper with a tabular arrangement of the larger groups of
the Passeres, expressive of his views of their affinities.

Mr. Howard Saunders's paper (1. c. pp. 317-332, pi. xxiv) on the
Skau or Jager Gulls (Stercorariince) is devoted to the synonymy and
range of the species, with incidental remarks on their progressive changes
o\ plumage. Mr. Saunders recognizes six species, all of which he refers

24 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALl

to one pcnus, for which ho adopts the name Stcrcorarius as bc'inf:j the only
proper and tenable one. Two of these species, belong to the Southern
Henusphcre, the other fonr to the Northern, all of which latter occur in
the boreal parts of North America, as well as in the Old Woi-ld. The
nomenclature adopted by Mr. Saunders for two of the Nortb..-rn sj)ocie3
differs from that commonly employed, Mr. Saunders maintaining, and
apparently with good reason, that the Linncean name parasiticus belongs
not to tlic bird commonly so called, but to the bird usually called cipphv.s
or. buffonL Thus Stcrcorarius crcpidatns Saunders- is the S. parasiticus of
Coties and most recent authors, while the iS". parasiticus Saunders is the
a. hijfoni of Coiies and others, which is again the S. ccpphv.s of Gray and
other Avriterg.

Mr. Saunders's paper on the Terns (1. c. pp. G38-G72, pi. Ixi) is .similar
in character to that' on the Jager or Skau Gulls, treating mainly of no-
menclature and distribution, being, like the other, preliminary to a mono-
graph of the Laridcc. The genera recognized . are Hydrochclidon, Sterna,
Nwnia, Gifjis, .and Anoiis. Of the forty-eight species recognized, thirty-
eight are placed under Sterna. The most noteworthy change of names
among the North American species is the substitution of the name
fMvioAilus of Nauniann for the hitherto almost universally accepted
hirundo of Linnceus for our Common Tern, which name he considers as
originally embracing both the hirundo and the macrura of recent authors.
The Sterna portlandica of Kidgway is referred to S. nuicrura, in accord-
ance with Mr. Brewster's views, and the Least Tern is considered as
specifically distinct from S. supcrciliaris, of which Dr. Coucs deems it to be
merely a variety. In most other cases Mr. Saunders's names as respects
the Nortli American .species agree with those recently adopted by Dr.
Coues in his " Birds of the Northwest."

' Messrs. Sclater and Salvin's " llevision of the Neotropical Anatida) "
(1. c. pp. 358-412, pi. xxxiv) is a most valuable synopsis of the Ducks
and Geese of Middle and Southern America, and embraces also a large
proportion of the. species of North America, including as it does all that
reach Tropical America in their migrations. The paper includes notices
of sixty-two species, of the greater part of whiclrare given short descrij)-
tions, accompanied by pretty full lists of bibliographical references.
Twenty-three of the species are considered as " Nearclic," leaving thirty-
nine as properly " Neotropical." The paper closes with a very convenient
Uvbular synopsis of the geographical distribution of the genera and
species. — J. A. A.

Vennor's Rapacious Birds op Canada. —With the title " Our Birds of
Prey -, or, The Eagles, Hawks, and Owls of Canada," by Henry G. Vcnnor,
Messrs. Dawson Brothers have published an elegant royal octavo volume
of one hundred and fifty-four pages, with thirty photographic illustra-
tions. While these illustrations are probably as excellent as the photo-

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 25

graphic art can supply, they cannot be regaKled as a very valuable addition
to the work, certainly not in proportion to their cost. They do not sup-
ply those shades of tinting so essential to the student, and, being neces-
sarily taken from mounted specimens, cannot remedy the inevitable short-
comings of their models. The text, which is largely compiled from the
notes of other writers, gives -a fairly digested summary of the individual
history of each species.

Mr. Vennor includes two forms of Gyr-falcons, the candicans and
the labradora of Audubon, but adds nothing of moment to our knowl-
edge of the history of the former, and does not include, except inferen-
tially, Hierofalco islandicus as among the birds of Catiada. He gives, as a
separate form, the dark Gyr-falcon, described by Audubon as labradora
but he is mistaken in several of his statements in regard to this variety.
It is probably not so very rare a bird as has been supposed, although it is
little known in North American collections. The supposition that the
two specimens in the Montreal Museum ate the only ones known in all
North America is incorrect Mr. Boardman of St. Stephen possesses at
least two very fine specimens, the Boston Museum has a very fine one, and
there is at least one in the National Museum oi Washington. Nor is Mr.
Vennor the first to represent, in plate, this species (or variety ?).
, In the "Ornithological Miscellany," edited by Mr. George '^ Dawson
Kowley, and published by Trubner & Co., of London^ Mr. Henry E.
Dresser pre=«ented a vnry interesting memoir of this Hawk, accompanied
with a very fine illustration, I am not aware that any copy of this work
is in this country, and the writer can only refer to it from memory. From
this it would appear that for several yeaia past collections of skins received
in Europe from Labrador have always contained skins of this bird. One
of the museums of Germany was especially fortunate in securing a fine
series of this bird, and Mr. Dresser, having learned the source from which
it had been enriched, has himself since procured several very fine specimens.
So far as is known it seems to be confined to Labrador, and its specific
peculiarities, if it has any, are not publicly known. At present we know
too little in regard to it to discuss the question whether it is to be regarded
as a species or a race, or whether it may not be a melanistic form. It is
much more distinct, in its external markings, from any of the three other
forma, gyrfalco, islandicus, and candiccins than they are from one another,
and, so far as is known, there is much less variation in the markings of
individuals. The writer has no doubt that the birds referred to (North
American Birds, Vol. Ill, p. 311), under the supposition that, they be-
longed to the Black Rough-legged Hawks, were really of this group.

In this connection it maybe mentioned that Mr. Dresser refers the
form of Hierofalco found on Anderson Eiver, not to H.' candicans, but to
the more common Norway form of H. gyrfalco". — T. M. B

26 BULLETIN OF TEE NUTTALL

A HoMMING-BlRD NEW TO TiTK FaUNA OF THE UhITED StATES. — I

have again tire pleasure of adding another bird new to our Fauna. A
Humming-Bird (male), taken within the limits of Fort Brown, Texas,
August 17, 1876, and forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution for iden-
tification, has just been determined to be Amazilia cervineiventris. It much
resembles Pyrrhophwna riefferi, and has rustT (instead of white) leg puffs.
— James C. Mereill, Fort Brown, Texas, December 4, 1876.

Note on Podicep3 dominicus.* — This species was long since attrib-
uted (perhaps erroneously) to " California," by Dr. William Gamhel ; it
was included by Baii-d among Birds of the Mexican Boundary, apparently
on strength of its eggs found at Matamoras, and figured in his " Birds of
North America" (ed. of 1860, not of 1858). It was also formally pre-
sented by nie as North American (Birds of the Northwest, p. 736, where
its habitat is given as north of the Rio Grande). — Eli^iott Codes.

Eastward RANas of the Ferrcginous Bdzzard (Archibuteo ferru-
ginem). — During the past summer (1876J I found this bird to be common
on the prairies of Nebraska and Wyoming, where it might almost be con-
sidered as one of the characteristic species. In 1873 I observed it on the
Pembina Mountains, in Eastern Dakota, near the Red River of the North ;
and in 1874 I found it nesting in Northern Montana, on one of the Two
Forks of Milk River. In years previous I had only seen it in Arizon;'.
and Southern California. I can now record its range still fartlier east-
wanl, — beyond the Mississippi, as I lately saw one in Illinois, a few miles
from the river. The great size of the bird, its white tail, almost a?, con-
epicuoua as that of the Bald Eagle, and white under parts, render it un-
mistakable at any ordinary distance. Its geographical distribution 13
apparently nearly coincident with that of the Lanier Falcon {Falco polya-
grus Cass.), a bird which I have also found very numerous in Nebraska,
Wyoming, and open portions of Colorado. Both species a,re prairie Hawks,
subsisting largely or chiefly upon the small rodent mammals which abound
in sr.ch regions. — FrxiOTT CouEs, Washington, D. C, October, 1876.

OcccttttENCE OF Leconte's Bunting {Cotumiculus lecontei Jjon?) in
Iowa. — One of my correspondents, Mr. E. W. Newton, of Franklin
Grove, 111., writes me that when on a recent collecting trip through Iowa,
he had tlie good fortune to secure twenty-two specimens of this species in
a small slough situated in Colo, Story County, near the centre of the
State, one of v.hich he kindly sent me for identification. The date of cap-

• Sec this Bulletin. Vol. 1, p. 88, November, 1876.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 27

ture recorded on tte label is October 10, 1876*. Although he hunted
carefully over equally desirable situations in other parts of the State, thia
was the only place where it was found. This forms its most eastern rec-
ord, excepting the single specimen taken by Mv. E. W. Nelson at River-
dale, 111.* — H. B. Bailey.

Audubon's "Warbler in Massachusetts. — While collecting in the
neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass., November 15, 1876, I was fortunate
enough to obtain a fine specimen of Audubon's Warbler (Dendrocca auclu-
honi). It was a male, and the yellow of the • throat was very plainly
marked. Dr. Cones, in his " Birds of the Northwest," gives Laramie Peak
as about the eastern limit of this species. Its occurrence here •mnst, of
course, be regarded as entirely accidental. — A. M. Frazar.

Occurrence of the Sooty Tern in Massachusetts. — In Mr. Al-
len's " Catalogue of the Birds of I\Iassachusetts " we find the Sooty Tern
(Sterna fuliginosa) given, on the authority of Mr. E. A. Samuels, as a
rare summer visitor to Muskegat Island. But for some reason Dr. Brewer,
in his recent " Catalogue of the Birds of New England," withdraws this
species from the New England list, and challenges its.right to be regarded
as in any sense a New England bird. I have the pleasure of replacing
this species by recording the capture of a fine adult male on the Merrimack
Eiver near Lawrence, Mass., on October 29, 1876. I e.xamined the speci-
men at the store of Mr. Charles I. Goodale, taxidermist, who has finely
preserved it, and it is now in the possession of Mr. A. W. Howland of
Lawrence. — Ruthven Deane.

The Black Gyr-Falcox (Falco sacer var. labradora) in Massachu-
setts. — A fine specimen of this Falcon was shot on Breed's Island during
the latter part of October, 1876. It proved to be a male, in nearly adult
plumage, and is now in the collection of Mr. C. I. Goodale, through whose
kindness I have had the pleasure of examining it. — C. B. Cory.

Notes on Birds new to the Fauna of Maine, etc. — Of the follow-
ing five species, three are here for the first time recorded as birds of Maine,
another as found for the first time so far in the interior, and another as
found for the first time breeding on the New England coast.

1. Ammodromus caudaciitus Sicain. Sharp-tailed Finch. — I
have found this species, now, I believe, for the first time recorded as a
bird of Maine, a rare inhabitant of a certain part of the great marsh in
Scarborough.

2. Passerculus princeps Maynard. Ipswich Sparrow. — On the
9th of October, 1876, 1 met with one of these birds on a sandy point on the
northwest shore of Lake Umbagog, in New Hampshire. I should hesitate

* See Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. 1, p. 40.

28 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL CLUB.

to record the occurrence of this species in a locality so far removed from
its linown haunts, it not having been before observed so far in the interior,
since, from the miss-fire of two cartridges in succession, I failed to captnre
my bird, were I, not perfectly acquainted with it3 almost unmistakable
habits.

3. Stris: flammea var. pratincola Bonap. Baku Owl. — Mr. L. C.
Daniels, of this city (Portland), has in his possession a epeaimen of this
owl which he shot in Falmouth, June 10, 1866. It was iilled while fly-
ing across an open field. It has nut, I think, been before recorded as found
in Maine.

4. Tringa bairdii Copies. Baird's Sandpiper. — My brother, Mr.
Philip G. Brown, shot a young male of this species as it was flying along
Scarborough Beach, on September 9, 1875. It was in company with an-
other bird, apparently of the same species, which escaped. This is its finit
recorded appearance on the coast of Maine.

5. Thallassidroma leachii Bonap. Leach's Petrel. — This Petrel
breeds in large numbers on several of the outer islands of Casco Bay,
southeast of Portland. Although I have often been told by fishermen
and sportsmen of the existence of colonies of these birds on certain of our
islands, I never was able to verify their reports until the middle of last
August, [when I made three visits to two barren rocks known as the
" Green Islands," once in company with Mr. E. N. Atwood of Cape Eliza-
beth. I found about forty nests, half of whicli at this late date were
empty, the remainder containing squabs in different stages of develop-
ment.— Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Mc, November 12, 1876.

Northern Range op the Sharp-tailed Finch (Ammodromus cau-
daeutus). — My friend, Mr. William Stone of Cambridge, has recently
presented me "with five specimens of the Sharp-tailed Finch which he
shot at Tignish, Prince Edward's Island, on August 2 and 3, 1876. The
locality where they were taken, as he describes it to me, was exceptional,
— a wide waste of marsh, dry, and at some distance from the sea, grown
up to bushes, with a few scattered dead pine stubs, remnants of a former
forest. Throughout this tract these birds were abundant, the males singing
on all sides from the tops of the bushes. The individuals examined are
all adults in very pale, Avorn breeding plumage. Dr. Coues, in his " Birds
of New England " (Proc. Essex lust., Vol. V, p. 282)^ gives Ammodromus
miritimus as occurring at Rye Beach, No-W Hampshire, but this record, he
informs rae by letter, was a mistake, the bird Avhich he found there being
A. caudacutus. The finding of the Sharp- tailed Finch in numbers at
Tignisi, taken in connection with the f^ct of its recent detection at Scar-
borough, Me,, by Mr. N. C. Brown [see above], lenders it extremely
probable that it may occur regularly, at suitable localities, all along the
intermediate line of coast. — William Brewster.

H^^^ The continuance of the Bulletin beyond the present Volume
is necessarily contingent upon the pecuniary support -it receives from the
public. We trust that our present patrons will not only all promptly
renew their subscriptions, but will use their influence to extend its cir-
culq,tion. We hope it will soon be possible to permanently increase the
number of pages from twenty-four to thirty-two in each issue. In
order to do this a considerable increase to our subscription-list will be
necessary, and we therefore appeal strongly to all friends of Ornithology
to aid in extending its circulation. This being the only journal in this
country devoted exclusively to this subject, it is hoped that our appeal
for pecuniary support will meet with a prompt response.

In order to assist in defraying the expenses of publication, advertising
sheets will be issued with future numbers, relating mainly to Natural
History, and especially to Ornithology. The attention of dealers in
specimens of Natural History and collectors' and taxidermists' materials,
and of publishers of works relating to Natural History, is hence called to
the Bulletin as a desirable advertising medium.

A NEW MANUAL OF TAXIDERMY:

An illustrated book, board covers, giving complete instructions in Tax-
idermy, besides Hints on Collecting and Preserving Eggs and Insects,
and other valuable receipts.

From J. W. P. JENKS, Prof, of Natural History at Brown University.

"Having perused yoiir MS., I feel free to say that its suggestions are eminently
practical, and cannot fail to render sucii aid to the beginner as he most needs, and
indeed must have from some source, at the outset of his efforts to acijuire the beau-
tiful art of preserving and mounting specimens of Natural History."

Every Naturalist and Beginner should get it. Sent, post-paid,
on receipt of 50 cents.

W. P. MANTON, 17 Beacon Street,

Boston, Mass.

BULLETIN

OF THE

NUTTALL OENITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

Vol. II. APRIL, 1877. No. 2.

CORRECTIONS OF NOMENCLATURE IN THE GENUS SIURUS.

BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S, A.

The genus itself, and all three of its species, requii-e names dif-
ferent from those now generally used.

1. Name of the Genus. — Originally written Seiurus by Swain-
son, who invented the term ; also found under the forms Seiurus,
by ignorance, inadvertence, or typographical blunder, and Siurus, the
latter being correct. The word is compounded of the Greek o-ftw,
"I wave or brandish," and ovpov, " tail " ; it is precisely equivalent
to the Latin mota-cilla, French hoche-queue, English ivag-tail.
According to the rule that Greek « becomes long i* in Latin, the
word should be spelled Siurus, as was first done, I think, in the
Ibis for 1859, by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, and A. and E. Newton,
so nearly simultaneously that I do not know to which of these schol-
ars we owe the corrected orthography. Seiurus has been objected
to on account of its identity in sound, though not in orthography,
etymology, or signification, with Seiurus, "a squirrel," by German
purists, who have proposed to substitute Enicocichla or Henico-
cichla ; but this is inadmissible : Siurus and Sciui-us being as differ-
ent as thee, objective case of second personal pronoun, and the,
definite ai'ticle.f (Lat. Seiurus = Gr. aKiovpot = " shadow-tail,")

* So, also, MelopcUa, Chamoepelia, chrysoparia, etc. (accent the penult), in-
stead of Melopchia, Chamcepeleia, chrysopareia, etc.

+ I am not of those rigid constructionists who require preservation of the
original shape of a name, however faulty. "While we cannot of course make
actual substitution of one name for another without other than philological

30 BULLETIN OF THE NUT TALL

2. Name of the Golden-crowxed Thrush. — Originally find
usually written cmrocapillus, which should give way to auricapiUus.
The word moans simply "gold-hair," i. e., "golden-haired." The
point is here : that the ablative oi aurum, "gold," which is auro, is
only to be used when the word with which it is compounded is an
adjective or participial ; otherwise aim is the correct form. If we
were to employ the participial adjective capillatus, it would be correct
to say aurocapillatus, i, e., literally and correctly, " haired with
gold," auro being the ablafivus instrumenti, that with or by means
of which the bird is " haired." So we say rightly aurocristatus,
aurostriatus, auropunctatus, crested, streaked, or speckled tvith gold,
(color understood), but auriceps, auricollis, Auriparus, etc. So also,
if we were to compound wath the adjective aureus, " golden," we
should say, e. g., aureicauda, not aiireocaudatus. Either aiireicapillus
or auricapillus is correct, but aurocapillus is not.

3. Name op the Small-billed Water-Thrush. — It is to be
noted that Motacilla noveboracensis of Gmelin, 1788, is precisely the
same as Motacilla na^via of Boddaert, 1783, both being based upon
Planche Enluminee 752, fig. 1, which is the Fauvette tachetee de la
Louisiane of Buffon, afterward the Neiv York Warbler of Pennant
and Latham. G. R. Gray seems to have observed this fact, but
neither he nor any other author, according to my recollection, has
acted upon the obvious requirement of the case, namely, that we
must say Smrus ncevius (Bodd.), instead of >S'. noveboracensis (Gm.).
Very curiously, Gmelin in another place made this species out to be
a variety of the Cape May AVarbler, Perissoglossa tigrina ; for,
Gmelin's Motacilla tigrina var. /3 (and so, also, Latham's Sylvia
tigriyia var. jS) is based exclusively iipon the Ficedula doviinicensis
fusca of Brisson, Ornith., iii, 513, which is the Small-billed Water-
Thrush. Yieillot, in 1807, noticed this curious circumstance, which
authors have generally overlooked, and correctly allocated the
synonymy. The name ncevius is unobjectionable, has priority, and
must obtain.

4. Name op the Large-billed Water-Thrush. — This is properly
Siurus motacilla (Vieill.), Bp., for the Turdus motacilla, accurately
described and recognizably figured by Vieillot in 1807, is unqucs-

reason, common sense certainly tells us to spell correctly if we can. If we are
always to preserve the original forms of names, we must, for example, say Scopo-
lax instead of Scolopax — it so stands in LiKN. Syst. Nat. i, 1766, p. 2-12.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 31

tionably this species. Vieillot knew the other species, ■which he
figured and described in the same work. Bonaparte called it
Seiurus motacilla in 1850, though in 1824 he had called the other
species Turdus motacilla, and Cabanis, in 1857, Henicocichla mo-
tacilla ; but writers have usually adopted Audubon's term luclovici-
anus, proposed in 1832, notwithstanding that this author soon
abandoned his species, under the wrong impression it was not dif-
ferent from S. iKxvius. " Siurus motacilla " is not a very choice
name, meaning " wagtailed Wagtail," but it is no worse than 3his
muscidus, Xanthocephalus icterocephalus, Columha pahmibus, Regidus
satrapa, and a host of other names, the two terms of which mean
the same thing ; nor as bad as Sialia sialis, Ciqndonia aqndo, the
sense and sovmd of which agree.

I append the synonymy of the species of this genus, the list of •
names here to be given being much more accurate, more extensive,
and more nearly complete than any hitherto collated :

, 1. Siurus auricapillus.

Motacilla aurocapilla, Linn., Syst. Nat. i, 12th ed. 1766, 334, No. 29

(based on Brisson and Edwards, as below cited).
Turdus aurocapillus, Lath., Ind. Orn. i, 1790, 328, No. 6.
Sylvia aurocapilla, Bonap., Journ. Philada. Acad, iv, 1824, 35.
Seiurus aurocapillus, Swains., Philos. Mag. i, 1827, 369 ; Zool. Journ. iii.

1827, 171.
Seiurus aurocapillus, D'Orbig., Ois. Cuba, 1839, 55.
Siurus aurocapillus, ScL. & Salv., Ibis, i, 1859, 9. — A. & E. Newt., ibid.

142.
Enicocichla aurocapilla, " Gray." (Reference not at hand as I write.)
Enicocichla aurocapillus, Brewer, Proc. Best. Soc. N. H. vii, 1860, 306.
Henicocichla aurocaptillus, Caban., Mus. Hein, i, 1850, 16.
Turdus auricapillus, LiCHT., " Preis-Verz. Mex. Vog. 1830, 2"; Journ. f.

Orn. 1863, 57. (Orig. ref. not verified by me.)
Accentor auricapillus, Rich., Rep. Brit. Assoc, for 1836, 1837, 172.
Seiurus auricapillus, Bonap., Consp. Av. 1850, 306.
Henicocichla auricapilla, Sclat., Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856, 293.
Siurus auricapillus, CouES, Birds Colorado Valley, 187-, (MSS. ined.).
Turdus citreus, 1 1 ? Muller, Syst. Nat. Suppl. 1776, 141 (very problem-
atical).
Motacilla canadensis, Boddaert, Tabl. PI. Enl. 1783, 24 (in part; the

first ref., to P. E. 398, f. 2, and the ref. to Edw. Gl. 252, are to this sp.,

but the other rets, are to Dendroeca coronata).
Turdus minimus, Bartr., Trav. Fla., 1st Am. ed. 1791, 290bi3 (not of

Lafr., nor of authors).

32 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Turdus coronatus, Vieill., Ois. Am. Sept. ii, 1807, 8, pi. 64.

Anthus coronatus, Gerhardt, Naumannia, iii, 1853, 38.

Ficedula pensilvanica aurocapilla, Briss., Orn. iii, 1760, 504, No. 57.

Figuier d teste d'or de pensilvanie, Briss., op. loc. cit.

Golden-crowned Thrush, Edw., "Glean. 91, pi. 252." (Not verified by me.)

Grivelette de S. Domingue, Buff., "Hist. Nat. Ois. iii, 317." (Not verified

by me.)
Petite Grive de St. Domingue, of Blanche Eulum. 398, f. 2 (see the citation

of Boddaert, above).
Grive couronnee, ViEiLLOT, op. loc. cit.
Land Kick-up, Gosse, B. Jam. 1847, 152.
Golden-crowned Accentor, Golden-croxoned Wagtail, Orange-crowned Accentor,

Oven-bird, of Authors.

2. Siurus naevius.

Motacilla ncevia, Bodd., Tabl. 1783, 47 ; based on PI. Enlum. 752, f. 1.
Siurus ncevius, Coues, Birds Colorado Valley, 187-, (MSS. ined.).
Motacilla noveboracensis, Gmel., Syst. Nat. 13th ed. 1788, 958, No. 69

(based primarily on P. E. 752, f . 1 = ncevia Bodd.).
Sylvia noveboracensis, Lath., Ind. Orn. ii, 1790, 518, No. 33. »

Turdus noveboracensis, 1 — Peabody, Rep. Orn. Mass. 1839, 306.

Turdus {Seiurus) noveboracensis, NuTT., Man. Orn. orig. ed. i, 1832, 353.

Seinrus noveboracensis, BoNAP., Comp. and Geog. List. 1838, 21.

Siurus noveboracensis, ScL. & Salv., Ibis, i, 1859, 10. — A. & E. Newt.,

ibid. 142.
Seinrus noveboracensis, Henshaw, App. LL. Ann. Rep. Chf. Engr. U. S.

Army, for 1875, p. — (p. 59 of sep. paged pamph. List B. Arizona).
Enicocichla noveboracensis, " Gray." (Ref. not at hand ; probably Gen.

of B.)
Henicocichla noveboracensis, Caban., " Schomb. Guiana, iii, 1848, 66";

Mils. Hein. i, 1850, 16.
Motacilla novceboracensis, TuRTON, Syst. Nat., English mal-version, i, 1806,

589.
Turdus (Seiurus) novceboracensis, NuTT., Man. 2d ed. i, 1840, 402 (in part;

includes another species).
Seiurus novctboracensis, ? — Prattek, Trans. Illinois Agric. Soc. i,

1855, 601.
Seiurus nova;boracensis, PuTNAM, Proc. Essex Inst, i, 1856, 209.
Motacilla tigrina var. fi, Gm., Syst. Nat, 13th ed. i, 1788, 985, No. 153 )3

{= Briss. iii, 513, No. 62, pi. 28, f. 5).
Motacilla tigrina, 2, Turton, op. loc. cit.
Sylvia tigrina var. ^, Lath., Ind. Orn. ii, 1790, 537, No. 110 /3 (= Gm.

No. 153 ^).
Motacilla Jluviatilis, Bartr., Trav. Fla. 1st Am. ed. 1791, 291.
Turdus aquaticus, WiLS., Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 66, pi. 23, f. 5.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 33

Semnis aquaticus, Sw. and Rich., Fn. Bor. Am. ii, 1831, 229, pi. 43.

Turdus aquatius, Boxap., Journ. Phila. Acad, iv, 1824, 34.

Sylvia anthoides, Vieill., " Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. 1817, 208." (Not

A'erified by me.)
Turdus motacilla, Bonap., Journ. Phila. Acad, iv, 1824, 35 (not of Vieill.).
Seiurus tenuirostris, Swains., Philos. Mag. i, 1827, 369.
Sciurus tenuirostris, Game., Proc. Phila. Acad, i, 1843, 261.
Seiurus sulfurascens, D'Orb., Ois. Cuba, 1839, 57, pi. 6.
Enicocichla sulphurascens, " Gray."
Seiurus sulphurascens, Bonap., Consp. Av. i, 1850, 306.
Henicocichla sulphurascens, Gundl., Journ. fiir Orn. 1855, 471.
Anthus Vherminieri, Lesson, " Rev. Zoologique 1839, 101." (Not verified

by me.)
Seiurus gossii, Bonap., Consp. Av. i, 1850, 306.
Fauvette tachete'e de la Louisiane, Buff., " Hist. Nat. Ois. v, 161 " ; PI.

Eulum. No. 752, f. 1 (is the basis of Bodd.'s and Gm.'s names).
Figuier brun de S. Domingue, Briss., Orn. iii, 1760, 513, No. 62, pi. 28,

f. 5 (obviously this sp. ; sole basis of Mot. tigrina var. |3, Gm.).
.Ficedxda dominicensis fusca, Briss., op. loc. cit.
Neio York Warbler, Lath., Syn. ii, pt. ii, 1783, 436, No. 29 (= Mot. nove-

boracensis Gm.).
Spotted Yelloio Warbler, var. A, Lath., Syn. ii, pt. ii, 1783, 483, var. A

(= Sylvia tigrina var. /3, Lath.).
Fauvette brune, V., 0. A. S., I. s. c.

Bessy Kick-up, River Pink, GossE, B. Jam. 1847, 151 (basis of S. gossii Bp.).
Grive de rouisseaux, ou Hochequeue, Le Moine, Ois. Canad. 1861, 173.
Water TJirush, New York Water Thrush, Aquatic Wagtail, Aquatic Wood-
Wagtail, Aquatic Accentor, of Authors.

3. Siurus motacilla.

Turdus motacilla, Vieill., Ois. Am. Sept. ii, 1807, 9, pi. 65 (not of Bp.,

1824).
Seiurus motacilla, Bonap., Consp. Av. i, 1850, 306.
Henicocichla motacilla. Cab., Journ. fiir Orn. 1857, 240.
Siurus motacilla, Coues, Birds Colorado Valley, 187-, (MSS. ined.).
Turdus ludovicianus, AuD., Orn. Biog. i, 1832, 99, pi. 19 (afterward merged

in S. noveboracensis).
Seiurus ludovicianus, Bonap., Comp. Geogr. List. 1838, 21.
Siurus ludovicianus, Sclat., P. Z. S. 1859, 363.
Sciurus ludovicianus, Trippe, Proc. Bost. Soc. xv, 1873, 234.
Henicocichla ludoviciana, Sclat., Cat. Am. B. 1860, 25.
Henicocichla nuijor, Caban., Mus. Hein. i, 1850, 16.
Enicocichla major, Brewer, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, vii, 1860, 306.
Grive hochequeue, Vieill., I. s. c.
Louisiana or Large-billed Water Thrush, Authors.

3 J: BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF THE BLACK TERN {HYDRO-
GHELIDON LARIFORMIS) IN MINNESOTA.

The Black Tern is the most abundant representative of its fiimily
in this State, making its appearance in the vicinity of Minneapolis
about the middle of May. Stragglers remain until the first week
in September, but the majority leave during the latter part of
August. For a short time after their arrival they are to be seen
flying leisurely around the larger lakes ; but as the nesting-season
approaches they select some prairie slough or marshy lake, and
there spend the greater part of their time until the young are able
to fly. Late in May or early in June the nest is built and the eggs
are laid, or the eggs are deposited without any nest, as the case
may be. Dr. Coues mentions (Birds of the Northwest, 1874) meet-
ing with a colony breeding along the Red River, and states that
there were no nests whatever, the eggs being placed on beds of
decaying reeds. Such is their habit under some circumstances, but
only two instances of the kind have come under my notice as yet.
Once, I found three eggs laid directly on the mud on an abandoned,
broken-down muskrat house in the midst of a large slough. The
same day I found another set of two eggs on a bed formed by the
bending over of the tops of some tall dead grass. They were thus
raised more than a foot above the water, which was of considerable
depth. There was no indication of a nest, the eggs being held in
place by resting among the coarse grass. A very interesting and
valuable note on this subject occurs in a short article by Dr. P. L.
Hatch, published in the Bulletin of the Minnesota Academy of
Natural Sciences for 1876. It is an extract from a letter written
by Mr. E. W. Nelson of Chicago, and although the observations
were not made in this State, I will introduce them here : ** I have
seen the eggs of Sterna 2)lu7nbea deposited on masses of floating
weeds in several instances, but only for the third brood, the bird
having previously built two nests and deposited the eggs in both,
which had been removed by myself to ascertain how many they
would lay. The result was almost invariably as follows : first nest,
three eggs ; second nest, two eggs ; and the third, one egg. In

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 35

several instances I found the nests floating in two and a half to
three feet of water without the least sign of floating rushes in the
vicinity ; in fact, there were no rushes or anything else except fine
swamp gi-ass growing anywhere near, and of this the nests were
built."

As already stated, they build in this section (vicinity of Minne-
apolis) in the latter part of May or early in June, usually placing
the nest in a prairie slough or marsh bordering an open pond. The
material used in the construction is short bits of grass and reeds
disposed in such a manner that a neat, but loose structure is
formed. Occasionally greater skill is displayed, longer material
being used, which is slightly interwoven, so that the nest may even
be i-emovcd alone without injuring it. These frail structures are
sometimes found upon floating masses of decayed debris, and when
so situated it is necessary, with but few exceptions, to detach a por-
tion of this underlying bed in order to remove the nest intact. But
they are oftener placed upon the tops of small mounds of partially
decayed vegetable matter. These n^ounds, undoubtedly made by
the Terns as foundations for their nests, are seven or eight inches
in diameter, and rise one or two inches above the surface of the
water. They are placed over beds of live moss, and are partly sup-
ported by the water and partly by the moss below. It takes but a
slight motion of the water to rock them, and they would undoubt-
edly often go adrift Avere they not generally protected by the grass
growing around them. To obtain the nest in good condition the
hand may be inserted beneath the pile and the whole lifted up.

The average external diameter of the nest of this Tern is aboul
five inches ; internal diametei', three inches ; while the depth varies
from a slight depression to three fourths of an inch or more. The
eggs are either two or three in number, perhaps oftener three than
two. Their ground-color varies from deep brown to greenish white.
The markings consist of blotches, dots, etc., of various shades of
brown. On some specimens there are a few, and on others numer-
ous, obscure pale spots in the shell. Frequently the markings are
nearly equally distributed over the entire surface of the e^^, but
usually are aggregated to form a wreath around the larger end. So
far as my observations have extended, all the eggs taken from one
nest have about the same ground-color and character of marking.
The average measurement of fifteen eggs before me is 1.35 inches
in length by .98 inches in width.

36 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

During the day the parent birds sit on the nest very Uttle, leav-
ing the incubation of the eggs greatly to the heat from the sun and
the warmth arising from the damp decaying vegetable matter upon
which they rest, for the nests are almost always moist inside.
When the site where a colony is breeding is approached nearer than
the parent birds deem safe, they make a great clamor, and dart
repeatedly at the head of the intruder, occasionally venturing within
a foot or two. If the nest of a pair be removed, and the birds
left to themselves, they show considerable distress at their loss.
Hovering over the spot from which the nest has been taken, they
utter incessant cries and frequently alight to look in vain for their
lost treasure. All the Terns in the neighborhood join in the cries
of the bereaved pair, and the lamentation becomes general.

I once had the fortune to meet with a young Tern of this species
which had evidently^ entered this world but a few hours before. It
was a curious-looking little creature, and could swim very well. The
following description may convey some idea of its appearance: body
covered with a soft, fluffy down ; beneath, pale sooty ; above, obscure
yellow, washed with grayish, and tinged with rufous on the posterior
parts of the body. Scattered over the upper parts were irregular
spots of black. The under surfaces of the wings, lores, and feath-
ers next the base of the upper mandible were white. The bill was
black, with a white spot at the end of the upper mandible. Legs
very dark flesh-color, with a reddish tinge.

I am of the opinion that these miniature Terns leave the nest
very soon after emerging fi-om the egg. The one just described
was found swimming about several feet from the nest, while just at
the time one of his brothers was working his way into the world by
neatly cutting the shell into halves with the point of his bill.

As soon as the young Terns are able to fl}^ they are conducted to
some suitable situation around a pond or lake, where they can sit
while the parent birds supply them with food. I once counted
thirty-seven sitting thus at one time on four or five panels of fence,
which extended from the shore a short distance into a lake.

MixxEAPOLis, Minn.

ORNITnOLOGICAL CLUB. 37

TWO UNDESCRIBED NESTS OF CALIFORNIA BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

The following nests, previously unknown to science, were collected
for me by Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, Marin County, Califor-
nia : —

1. Californian Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus var. californicus,
Baird). Two nests of this variety of the Purjjle Finch taken at Nicasio,
Marin County, California, are before me. The first, with a set of five
eggs, was collected May 10, 1876. It is a somewhat smaller structure
than the nest of the Eastern bird, and is much more closely compacted.
It measures externally 5.75 inches in diameter, by 2.75 in dejith. Inter-
nally 2.00 inches in diameter by 1.50 in depth. The outer framework is
composed of rather fine weed-stalks and coarse grasses firmly interwoven,
while the inner nest is fitted smoothly and warmly with a peculiar fibrous
hemp-like material of a rich bay color. This nest was found in a garden
in Nicasio. It was placed in the fork of two limbs at the height of about
eight feet above the ground. The eggs difi'er very materially from those of
Carpodacus purpureus var. purpureus, and much more closely resemble eggs
of the House Finch (C. frontalis). Their ground-color is white with a
scarcely perceptible shade of bluish, about as much, in fact, as obtains in
average eggs of the Indigo Bird {Gyanospiza cyanea). A very few lines
and dots of black or dark brown about the larger ends constitute the only
markings. They are in shape a blimted oval, and measure .73 of an inch
in length by .55 in breadth. The other nest contained young, and as it
was not secured until after they had left it, is in rather poor condition.
It, however, agrees very closely with the one just described, and is lined
with the same peculiar material. The parent bird — a male — sent with
these nests is quite typical of the variety which it represents.

2. Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Peucwa ruficeps, Baird). — A nest of this
species collected by Mr. Allen on Black Mountain, near Nicasio, July 10,
1875, presents the following features : It is outwardly composed of
coarse grass and weed-stalks, and lined somewhat scantily with horse-hair.
It is verj' loosely put together, and the original shape is so nearly de-
stroyed that measurements are almost impracticable. An approximation
would, however, be nearly as follows : External diameter, 4 inches ; inter-
nal, 2.25 inches. External depth, 2 inches ; internal, 1.25 inches. It
contained three pure white eggs, which measure .89 of an inch in length
by .65 in breadth. The locality was an open heathy tract on the moun-
tain-side, and the nest was placed on the ground under a bush. Mr.

38 BULLETIN OF THE NVTTALL

Allen, having only his rifle with him at the time, was unable to secure the
female, but as she sat closely and was distinctly seen by him, there seems
little reason to doubt the correctness of the identification, especially as in
position of nest, color and size of eggs, etc., we find nothing incompatible
with the corresponding breeding characteristics of the other and better-
known species of this genus.

Mr. Allen has since informed me, by letter, that a nest satisfactorily
determined as belonging to this species, and which agrees closely with the
one just described, was discovered by Captain Charles Bendire in Ore-
gon (?).

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIOGRAPHY OF WILSON'S
PHALAROPE.

BY E. W. NELSON.

Although this species [Steganopus vnlsoni, Coues) is more or
less common in portions of the country frequently visited by
Ornithologists, it is remarkable that its life-history should be so
little known. The account of nearly every author who has men-
tioned the species contains more or less error, and none give any-
thing like a complete history of it. To remedy this to some
extent is the object of the present paper, since I have had abundant
opportunity for observing the bird in the field.

But first I wish to make a few quotations from and remarks upon
the principal accounts of the species. Ord, in his edition of " Wilson's
Ornithology (Vol. Ill, p. 205), states as follows : " Our figure of this
species \_Phalar02ms lohatus, Ord] beai's all the marks of haste ; it is
inaccurately drawn, and imperfectly colored ; notwithstanding, by
a diligent study of it, I have been enabled to ascertain that it is the
Coot-footed Tringa [Phalarope] of Edwards, pis. 46 and 143, to which
bird Linnaeus gave the specific denomination of lohatus." Thus far
Ord is undoubtedly correct, as is evident by a comparison of the
plates in question. As Dr. Coues has already stated (Birds of the
Northwest, p. 467), Tringa lohata, Linn, is Lohipes hi/perboreus, (L.)
Cuv., and I perfectly agree with Ord in referring Wilson's plate to
the same species ; but farther on Ord describes an undoubted speci-
men of Steganopus wilsoni, taken near Philadelphia, as being identi-
cal with Wilson's plate of lohatus, which is certainly a bad case of
mal-identification. From references I have been enabled to make, I

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 39

think it extremely doubtful that Wilson ever saw a specimen of
S. uilsoni.

Audubon's account of the sexes of this bird is quite erroneous.
Concerning a pair taken near Great Egg Harbor, in June, 1829, he
states that, " on examining the birds when we returned, I saw that
the female had been sitting " ; * and on the opposite page, " I ob-
served scarcely any difference in the coloring of the sexes, the
female being merely larger than the male " ; and he again states :
" The female, which is somewhat larger, is in color precisely similar
to the male," The few specimens seen by Audubon during the
breeding-season were apparently all females, and, taking it for
granted that the males were equally bright, he so stated. In his
plate of this species he figures a " female " young of the year and
an adult " male," which is, in reality, a female in breeding plumage.
Audubon's statement regarding the likeness of the sexes in the
breeding plumage has been accepted as true by subsequent authors,
even when they have had the opportunity to settle the matter for
themselves in the field.

Nuttall adds considerable to the known range of the species, but
makes his statements curiously conflicting, as the following quota-
tions show : " Taking the interior of the continent for its abode, it
is seen not uncommon on the borders of lakes, in the vicinity of the
City of Mexico. In these situations, choosing the shelter of some
grassy tuft, it forms an artless nest, in which it deposits two or
three pyriform eggs, between yellowish-gray and cream-color, inter-
spersed with small roundish spots and a few larger blotches of um-
ber-brown somewhat crowded towards the obtuse end." He also
states that " it is unknown in summer beyond the 55th parallel,
passing the period of reproduction on the plains of the Saskatche-
wan, being also a stranger to the coasts of Hudson's Bay " ; and
again, that " in the United States it can only he considered as a sti'a(/-
gler." t

Dr. Coues, in his " Birds of the Northwest," arranges the synon-
ymy of the species in a very satisfactory manner, but makes essen-
tially the same statement as Audubon regarding the sexual plum-
ages, and adds nothing of importance to the life-history of the
species. To Mr. A. L. Kumlienj: is due the credit of being the

* Birds of Amer., Vol. V, pp. 229, 230, pi. 341.
+ Man. Orn., Vol. II, pp. 245, 246.
t Field and Forest, July, 1876.

40 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

first to announce the true relations of the sexes of this species.
His statements that " the male attends to the duties of incubation
almost entirely alone," and that "not only is the female much more
brilliant in plumage, but also considerably larger," are certainly
true, but that the females " pursue " the males during the pairing-
season seems to me to be rather doubtful, unless, as might be the
case, Mr. Kumlien has mistaken for this their habit of flying rest-
lessly about the marsh in small parties of three or four individu-
als, when the males are usually in advance. At these times the
nearest approach I have observed to pursuit is in a habit they have
of suddenly darting off for a short distance at right angles to their
general course, but this appears to be in mere sport, for nearly the
same relative positions are kept by the birds, and this erratic course
is rarely pursued beyond a few rods.

In fact, throughout the pairing-season I have always found the
Phalaropes veiy undemonstrative toward each other, the choice of
mates being conducted in a quiet, unobtrusive way, quite unlike
the usual manner among birds. Neither have I ever seen the
males " drop as if shot, within two feet of me, and feign the most
distressing pains," when the nest is discovered ; nor even when the
newly hatched young have been captured do they evince any such
emotion, and at no time have I ever seen any more anxiety shown
by the male than by the female. Mr. Kumlien describes the nest
as being built in a tussock of grass, "much in the same manner as
the Agelceus phoenicetis" which is certainly a considerable variation
from the situations chosen by the birds in Northex-n Illinois, as a
comparison of the above statement with my description of the situ-
ation of the nest will show.

My experience with the species has been to prove that during the
breeding-season, at least, they are averse to any large body of wa-
ter, and I have never found the young away from the midst of the
grassy marshes until fully fledged. The last author before quoted,
however, states that " the young are conducted to the shore soon
after they are hatched, and if suddenly surprised take to the water
and swim and dive with the greatest ease."

In Northern Illinois, where the following observations were made,
Wilson's Phalarope is the most common summer resident, occurring
about grassy marshes and low prairies, and is not exceeded in num-
bers by even the ever-present Spotted Sandpiper. As is the case
with several other species of birds, Lake Michigan appears to form

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 41

a limit to its common occurrence in the eastern portion of its range.
On the west it extends to the Rocky Mountains, and between these
limits it has been recorded during the breeding-season from the Sas-
katchewan to the Arkansas (Coues) and to the city of Mexico (Nut-
tall). It is more closely confined to its favorite haunts than most
water-birds, and this may, in a measure, account for the little hith-
erto known regarding its habits. During the first two weeks of
May, the exact date varying with the season, this beautiful bird
first makes its appearance in Northeastern Illinois. Its arrival is
heralded by a few females, which arrive first, and are found singly
about the marshes. At this time the females have a peculiar harsh
note, which I have heard but a few times, and only from solitary
individuals before the arrival of the main body.

A few days later small flocks, embracing both sexes, may be
found along the borders of grassy pools, or lying at midday on the
sunny side of some warm knoll in the marsh. As the breeding-sea-
son approaches they become more restless, flying from place to
place, and finally separate into small parties of two or three pairs.
About the middle of May their love-making commences, and is at
first indicated by the increasing solicitude they show for each
other's welfare. The appearance of a person in their vicinity at
this time is the signal for all the birds near to come circling about,
though generally not within easy gunshot. By a careful approach
one may now and then find a small party swimming about in some
secluded pool. The charming grace of movement exhibited at such
times, combined with their tasteful elegance of attire, form one of
the most pleasing sights one could witness, as they swim buoyantly
from side to side of the pool, gracefully nodding their heads ; now
pausing an instant to arrange a feather, or to daintily gather some
fragment of food, and now floating idly about, wafted by the slight
breeze which at intervals ripples the surface of the water. A more
common, but scarcely less pleasing sight is presented when, uncon-
scious of observation, they walk sedately along the border of the
water, never departing from their usual easy grace of movement.
Their food is generally found in such places, where the receding
water furnishes a bountiful supply. The only demonstrations I
have observed during the pairing-time consist of a kind of solemn
bowing of the head and body; but sometimes, with the head low-
ered and thrust forward, they will rvm back and forth in fi-ont of
the object of their regard ; or again a pair may often be seen to

42 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

salute each othei- by alternately bowing or lowering their heads ;
but their courtship is characterized by a lack of the rivalry and
vehemence usually exhibited by birds. A male is often accompa-
nied by two females at first, but as soon as his choice is made the
rejected bird joins her fortunes with some more impressible swain.

The nesting-site is usually in some thin tuft of grass on a level
spot, but often in an open place concealed by only a few straggling
blades of small car ices. The male scratches a shallow depression in
the soft earth, which is usually lined with a thin layer of fragments
of old grass blades, upon which the eggs, numbering from three to
four, are deposited about the last of May or first of June. Owing
to the low situations in which the nests are placed, the first set of
eggs is often destroyed by a heavy fall of rain, causing the water
to rise so as to submerge the nest. In this case the second set,
numbering two or three, are often deposited in a depression
scratched in the ground, as at first, but with no sign of any
lining. Accidents of this kind cause the second set of eggs to be
sometimes deposited as late as the last of June.

The young usually appear about the third week of June, and are
able to fly in about three weeks. Generally a number of paii's nest
upon the same marsh. In some instances as many as fifty may be
counted within the radius of a mile ; but, notwithstanding this,
their nests are extremely difficult to discover, the material and
the color of the eggs correspond so closely to the appearance of
the surrounding surface. If they are disturbed while building,
the nest is usually abandoned. Incubation is attended to by the
male alone.* The female, however, keeps near, and is quick to
give the alarm upon the approach of dangei'. The females are fre-
quently found at this time in small parties of six or eight; and
should their breeding-ground be approached, exhibit great anxiety,
coming from every part of the marsh to meet the intruder, and, hover-
ing over bis head, utter a weak nasal note, which can be heard to

• [As above stated by Mr. Nelson, Mr. Kumlien was the first to call atten-
tion to this fact, as regards the present species, as well as to the fact of the
female being larger and brighter-colored than the male. European authors
have recorded the same sexual peculiarities of plumage in the Red and the
Northern Phalaropes {Phalaropus fulicarius daii Lobipes hyperborcus), and also,
in respect to the former, that the male alone undertakes the duties of incubation.
In these species the male is said to show much greater devotion to the young,
when exposed to danger, than does the female. —J. A. Allen.]

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 43

only a short distance. This note, which is possessed by both sexes,
is nearly always made while the birds are in the air, and its pro-
duction requires apparently considerable effort ; the head and neck
being inclined downward, and then suddenly raised as the note is
uttered, the flight being at the same time momentarily checked.
The movements of the birds usually render it an easy matter to
decide whether or not they have nests in the immediate vicinity.
After the first alarm, those having nests at a distance disperse,
while the others take their course in the form of an ellipse, some-
times several hundred yards in length, with the object of their
suspicion in the centre ; and, with long sti-okes of their wings,
much like the flight of a Killdeer, they move back and forth. As
their nests are approached the length of their flight is gradually
lessened, until at last they are joined by the males, when the whole
party hover low over the intruder's head, uttering their peculiar
note of alarm. At this time they have an ingenious mode of mis-
leading the novice, by flying off" to a short distance and hovering
anxiously over a particular spot in the marsh, as though there were
concealed the objects of their solicitation. Should they be fol-
lowed, however, and a search be there made, the manoeuvre is re-
peated in another place still farther from the real location of the
nest. But should this ruse prove unavailing, they return and
seem to become fairly desperate, flying about one's head almost
within reach, manifesting great distress. If possible, still greater
agitation is shown when they have unfledged young, — they even
betraying their charge into the hands of the enemy by their too
obvious solicitude, they then hovering directly over the young, and
uttering their notes of distress. The young have a fine, wiry peep,
inaudible beyond a few feet. They are very pretty little creatures,
covered with yellowish-buff'-colored down, with black spots on the
upper surface of the body. Even when first hatched they are quite
lively and difficult to capture.

About the middle of July the females suddenly disappear, and a
little later the males and the young also leave, with the exception
of a few stragglers, which occasionally remain until the last of
August. The main portion rarely remain as late as the 10th,
and are usually gone by the 5th. The males commence their fall
moult before they leave ; but I have never taken a specimen in
which the winter plumage was very evident.

44 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

A DEFENCE OF HIS CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS OF NEW
ENGLAND.

BY T. M. BREWER.

Messrs. Editors : — There were two objects set prominently in view
in my list, and distinctly stated. One was to furnish a list that shall
be reliable so /ar as ii f/oes. The otter was to present a separate list of
those birds attributed to New England, but in regard to which, up to May,
1875, I could* "find no evidence that would Avarrant me in retaining
them." These statements seem sufficiently intelligible. The one sug-
gests the incompleteness of the list and my expectation of additional facts.
The other explains the challenged list as one given, after many years of
careful investigations, as my own conclusions, for which. I alone am
responsible. It is my indisputable right, having made my own investiga-
tions, to form and to express my own conclusions.

In confining myself to what is reliable I necessarily had to omit all
generalizations where the data were ojien to conflicting constructions.
Thus in referring to seven species I confined m^^self to the single promi-
nent feature in their New England life, their residence here in summer.
The record shows (North American Birds, passim) that I was also well
aware of their more or less limited presence in winter. To my mind their
occasional presence does not necessarily prove them to be, properly speak-
ing, resident, a term only applicable to cases where the same individuals
are both generally and constantly present. It should not be applied, ex-
cept with careful qualifications, to species where this presence is limited
to a small proportion, or where it may be altogether doubtful.

* My friend Mr. Deane, in recording the capture of Sto-na fuliginosa near
Lawrence, Mass., speaks of my having for some unknown reason withdrawn
this species from the New England list and of its being now replaced. I object
to this phraseology as calculated to give an erroneous impression. If the bird
liad been rightfully in the list, it was not in my power to withdraw it. If there
is no evidence in favor of this right, it cannot be replaced. It was first men-
tioned by Mr. Samuels as breeding in Muskegat. Every one familiar with that
island knows that there is not even a probability that it has ever done so. The
whole statement was obviously incorrect. So well satisfied was Mr. Samuels
himself of the incorrectness of his information that in his "Ornithology of New
England " he omits this species. This Tern is now generally regarded as a cos-
mopolitan, intertropical species, rarely occurring north or south of the two
tropical lines, and is not known to have occurred on Long Island, the coast of
New Jersey, or anywhere noith of the Chesapeake prior to the present record.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 45

To my mind it is simply an absurdity to speak of a species as resident
when not one individual of the entire species resides in any part of New
England more than a fraction of the year. The word " race " is still a
good English word, the meaning of which is so obvious that there is no
occasion for misunderstanding it. According to Worcester it is " a series
of descendants from one stock." In this sense, and in this only, our Sum-
mer and our Winter Robins are of diflerent races, though specifically the
same.

Corvus americanus, considered as a bird of all New England, is almost
exclusively a suijimer resident. The few that winter are the exception,
not the rule ; are restricted to a very small part of New England ; and are
probably merely winter visitants from bej^ond our borders, and therefore
not residents. What your correspondent quotes from my language in ref-
erence to Picus villosus had reference to all the United States, and not ex-
clusively to New England, though in a more restricted sense it is also
applicable. I cheerfully admit that in this case it would have been
more correct, on my part, to have given it qualified as partially a resident.

It is not safe to assume, because a limited number of individuals of the
other four species named are occasionally taken here in the winter, that
they are necessarily resident. Without attempting to generalize, on data
to my mind insufficient, I confined myself to that feature in their New
England life in regard to which there would not be two opinions, leaving
in abeyance all that admits of controversy. These birds are probably
only winter visitants, and in no proper sense resident, or only very ex-
ceptionally resident.

Your correspondent takes up nearly a third of his second article with
various opinions as to the occurrence in New England of the five species
that formed the subject of his interrogation in his first article. But when
I ask for bread he gives me only a stone. I ask for facts, and he gives me
only opinions. He does not cite a single reference that I had not already
fully considered. In one instance, while he goes back several years to cite
opinions then expressed, but long since given up, he omits to quote the
views now entertained by the same party, and in entire variance with
what he does cite. In reference to Quiscalus major, he quotes Dr. Coues's
opinion given in 1868. Twice since then Dr. Coues has publicly given
his opinion against the occurrence of this species north of the Carolinas ;
first, in his admirable biography (Ibis, IV. 1870) of this bird, where he
speaks of it as " restricted to a narrow belt along the coast of the ocean
and gulf from North Carolina to Mexico, and as rarely ever occurring
north of the Carolinas"; secondly, in a work with which, judging from
his quotations, your correspondent seems to be sufficiently familiar (Birds
of the Northwest, p. 204), where he speaks of it as " not authentic in New
England." Why rake up an opinion given nine years ago and long since
disclaimed ? Why omit his real opinion now ? Dr. Linsley was a cor-
respondent of mine, and from his o\vn account of this species I was satis-

46 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

fied that his opinions as to its occurrence were based wholly on hearsay
and nnrcdiable testimony, and subsequent claims, when tested, were inva-
riably of the same vague, inconsistent, and contradictory character. Posi-
tive proof, such as the preservation of the alleged species or reliable wit-
nesses, was never forthcoming. The occurrence of this peculiarly semi-
tropical and local species in New England, when totidly unknown north
of the Chesapeake, was in itself so improbable that in the absence of any
proof I could only discredit such claims. In this opinion I am fully sus-
tained by your correspondent's strongest witness, Dr. Coues.

The same is eminently true of Corvus ossifmgus. Your correspondent
can cite only opinions. Even Mr. Brewster's record of its occurrence,
though he is an expert as little likely to be mistaken as any one, does not
even now, to my view, bring this species into the list of those whose occur-
rence with us has been indisputably proven, though it may make its future
capture more probable.

In regard to ^^gialitis wilsonius, we have the opinion of Mr. Linsley,
wliich rested upon no evidence ; of Dr. Coues, given inferentially and with
a "perhaps" ; of Dr. Wood, on Long Island (!) ; of Mr. Allen ; and again
of Dr. Coues, the latter again speaking c^ualifiedly (" probably "). What
I have said of this species still stands uncontroverted by any facts, and
the opinions cited are in full accordance with my own given in my list.
Nettion crecca, as I state, " is a bird liable to occur in New England," but
the only instance cited was founded in error on hasty, and, as I satisfied
myself at the time, incorrect conclusions. The specimen had been taken in
North Carolina and not in Massachusetts. Sula fiber, from Mr. Linsley's
own account of the specimen, which was not preserved, proved to be an
immature Sula hassana. Mr. Putnam wrote me that he could give me
no authority for his reference.

Your correspondent is skeptical in regard to Mgiotlms canescens, Myiodi-
octes minut'us, Anser gambeli, Bernicla hutchinsi, Lagopus albus. In regard
to the last-named I feel somewhat doubtful myself. The first rests on the
high authority of Mr. G. A. Boardman ; the second, waiving the specimen
I took myself in 1836, and which was identified by Mr. Audubon, rests
on the excellent authority of a good ornithologist. Dr. Charles Pickering,
confirmed by no less authority than that of Mr. Nuttall himself. Anser
gambeli, between 1836 and 1846, was much more common than it ap-
parently is now, but even now there is no lack of evidence of its pres-
ence, though it may have escaped your correspondent's notice. A fine
specimen in immature plumage has been recently taken in Gloucester,
and is now in the collection of Mr. William Jeffries of Boston. In the
winter of 1836-1837, Hutchins's Goose was abundant in our market from
this neighborhood, as was also the Pied Duck, the Harlequin, and others
now rarely seen. Several specimens were procured by me, preserved in
alcohol, and sent to London for Mr. Audubon's anatomical investigations.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 47

In my list are six or seven species given without defining the extent of
their distribution, — some of them, though found to my certain knowledge
all over New England, and beyond its borders, are only foimd in favorable
localities ; others probably have a more restricted range. In regard to all
these, my views as to the extent of their range are fully given elsewhere,
and, as your correspondent shows, are sufficiently known to him. Yet in
spite of this knowledge he did not scruple to attribute to me views which
he now shows he knew I did not entertain. This is especially noticeable
in the case of Vireo novehoracensis. Here, as it seems, he knew that it is
my recorded opinion that this bird rarely, if ever, goes north of Massachu-
Betts, yet he professes to understand me as signifying all New England,
when I had not said so, and when I had elsewhere — imrestricted as to
6pace — stated that I did not so believe !

And where are his facts demonstrating that Helminthophaga chr'ysoptera
is not a rare bird in New England? We have again only an opinion th^t a
bird must not be called rare if it regularly breeds here in numbers. The
numbers must be very small in this case, and the finding of the fourth
nest during ten or twelve years' search by hosts of collectors, is to be
spoken of in the future tense ! A bird that has only been found in a very
restricted area, perhaps a thousandth part of New England, and so un-
common that only two or three of its nests have ever been taken, must
not be spoken of as rare !

In the case of Coturnicuhis passerinus your correspondent is excusable
for misunderstanding my real meaning, as it is somewhat blindly ex-
pressed. What I intended to convey was, that while it is chiefly confined
to Southern New England, it is, as a general rule, rare throughout a very
extended region into Avhich it sparsely spreads itself. Wherever found it
is a species of very irregular and unequal distribution. It wanders into
Northern New England, and occurs even as far to the northeast as St.
Stephen, N. B. In all this extended area the localities in which it can
be said to be at aU common are restricted in area and few in number.
Your correspondent refers to its being exceptionally common in Nan-
tucket. All this while he well knew that the fact of its abundance on
that congenial island was well known to me. (See North American Birds,
Vol. I, p. 554, lines 20, 21 and 22.)

More than forty years ago I ventured to 'publish a supplementary list
of the birds of Massachusetts (Boston Jour. Nat. Hist., I, 435). In this list
I placed inferentially and with a ? Polioptila ccerulea. From that day to
the time of the publication of my catalogue I have vainly sought for any
confirmation of my supposition. Your correspondent is the first to come
to my support and to confirm my conjecture, but, prior to May, 1875,
there is no " record " whatever confirmatory of its claim to be counted as
a bird of New England. Yet because, nearly two years after the prepara-
tion of my paper, your correspondent hears of its having been taken in

48 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Connecticut, he speaks of " its record of occurrence having been as good
as any of those just cited" ; that is, a suhsequcnt occurrence can establish
a prior record !

The same indefensible claim is made in behalf of Dendrceca crerulea.
This was given by Mr. Putnam as a bird of Essex County, on the supposed
authority of Mr. Brickett of Portland. Mr. Brickett, when appealed to,
wrote me that he had been misunderstood, that he only referred to D.
ccerulcscens. So D. ccerulea fell to the ground, and was left with absolutely
no record. Its record is now wholly ex 20ost facto. The fact remains in-
disputable that there was no authentic record of its appearance in New
England at the time I so stated.

Having exhausted the all too insufficient limits to which I am re-
stricted, I am compelled to omit nearly all that I have written in refer-
ence ta Micropalaina himantopus. I will only state that in characterizing
it as " migratory, Mass.," I should have added " N. H.," in which it has
been taken twelve miles from our boundary line. Though invited to do
so, your correspondent is unable to give any data to show that it is migra-
tory along the entire New England coast. It has not been found in any
part of that coast from St. Andrew's to Rittery, or from Buzzard's Bay to
East Eiver, and the sweeping statement of your correspondent still re-
mains an entirely unsupported assumption.

Here all controversy, on my part, with your correspondent ends. What-
ever reference I may hereafter make to any facts or opinions bearing upon
any of our New England birds, will be without any reference to a contro-
versy that has been forced upon me, but in which I cannot do full justice
to myself without becoming an infliction upon your readers.*

^tcttxt ilittnttttr^

BuRROUGHs's " Wake-Robin." — Hurd and Houghton have reprinted
Mr. John Burroughs's charming little volume "Wake-Robin," wherein
the wild wood-life of the birds, from Washington to the Adirondacks, is
picturesquely sketched. Mr. Burroughs has a keen eye and a loving heart
towards the birds, and it is encouraging to know that this volume of his
ornithological essays finds a continued sale. The present edition differs
from the original (although it is labelled " revised ") only in the addition
of a chapter on the Bluebird, the addition of a copious index, and in the

* By some oversight, which I can neither explain nor excuse, Dendrceca black-
hurnicc is omitted in my catalogue. It should have been given as breeding at
least as far south as Massachusetts. The hitest instance was noticed by Mr.
Geo. 0. Welch of Lynn last summer.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 49

insertion of some wood-cut illustrations from Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's
large work, which, with the excej^tion of the frontispiece, by Miss Brydges,
almost uniformly mar, rather than beautify the volume. The very first
cut is of an inconsolable Olive-sided Flycatcher, which is written down
" Hermit Thrush " ! But this is the fault of the publishers, who also
betray their ignorance in the bad spelling of the preface, and not of the
author, who did not see the proof-sheets. It is to be hoped that Mr.
Burroughs will collect his later essays on birds into a second volume,
which would meet with a very hearty welcome. — E. I.

Minot's " Birds of New Ekgland." * — It would not be generous, or
even just, to criticise this work as a scientific treatise or as a mature pro-
duction. We prefer to side with the youthful author, who is evidently a
lover of birds, keenly alive to the delights they are capable of affording,
and enthusiastic in the pursuit of his favorite study, who has in an in-
credibly brief period trained himself to become a really good observer,
and who shows that he possesses qualities which go to make a first-rate
ornithologist. In this volume he not only imparts to others the knowl-
edge of birds he has acquired, but also endeavors to awaken the same
pleasurable emotions he has experienced in the acquisition : the former
design is carried out with fidelity, precision, and detail, while the fresh-
ness, ncvivete, and no little good taste which the literary execution of the
work displays will go far toward meeting the latter indication ; for the
color of personality — if it be the genuine thing, as it is in this case un-
questionably — always lends a charm to natural-history narrative. The
wofk, moreover, shows traces of kindly interested supervision during its
preparation, and the contributions to its pages are not the least valuable of
its contents. There is very little technicality, chiefly taken from Baird
and another writer ; the descriptions, however, are tersely original. The
instructions for collecting eggs diff"er from those ordinarily given mainly
on the score of humanity, showing what may be accomplished without
destroying the parents ; but we waver here, saying frankly that as be-
tween a bird's life and the identification of an egg we are merciless. Next
after the biographies of the birds, which are conveniently divided into
sections relating respectively to the nest and eggs, the general habits, and
the song or other jiotes, and which embody no little information not
abeady the property of ornithologists, — on the night-habits of some spe-
cies, for instance, — the most prominent and most original features of the
work are the artificial "keys," in one of which the birds themselves
are analyzed somewhat after a method lately introduced, the eggs of

* The Land-Birds and Game-Birds of New England, with Descriptions of the
Birds, their Nests and Eggs, their Habits and Notes. By H. D. Minot. Salem,
Mass.: Naturalist's Agency. Boston: Estes and Lauriat. " 1877 " [i. e. Dec,
1876]. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. xvi, 456, figg. xylog. 29 (on 1 pi.) + 22 (in text).

50 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Massachusetts birds being similarly handled in the other. Those who are
familiar with these " short cuts " know that it is a stand-off between con-
venience and fallibility ; but the reviewer is the last person who should
find fault with them. To appreciate Mr. Minot's work as a whole, we
may say that its defects are in no way the author's fault, and that they
are of the obtrusive and superficial rather than of the grave or serious
kind, much easier to pass over than to dwell upon ungraciously ; and that
its merits entitle it to full recognition by ornithologists, while they com-
mend it very highly to the student and amateur. The mechanical execu-
tion of the volume sustains the high reputation the Salem press deserves
for good work. — E. C.

Western Range op Conurus carolinensis. — Mr. E. L. Berthoud,
of Golden, Col., writes under date of December 2, 1876 : " I saw the
Carolina Parrot, at this place (lat. 39° 45' ; long. 105° 8') and at Denver,
on the S. Platte, in 1860-61, and on the Little Thompson River, Col.,
in 1862. It was abundant in Kansas in 1865-67, since which year I
have seen but few, on Smoky Hill and Republican Forks. I have also
seen it near old Fort Lyon, on the Arkansas River." I am not aware
that the species has hitherto been reported as occurring so far west as Col-
orado. — Elliott Coues, Washington, D. G.

Fecundity of the Carolina Wren {Thryotlwnis ludovicianus). —
About April 25 I found " our pair of Wrens " very biisy, the male being
followed by five nearly full-fledged young, and the female actively engaged
in constructing (under the rafters of our stable) another nest, in which she
soon deposited five beautiful eggs, and commenced sitting, cheered by the
loud and happy notes of the male, who had by this time got rid of his
noisy brood. In due time five more young Wrens made their appearance,
and never did birds work harder than did their parents to supply their
insatiable appetites. Spiders, bugs, and larva) of every description, were
brought in quick succession, and, as a consequence, a rapid growth was
the result,»and the brood was out by the fore part of July, following the
male and " quivering " their wings in supplication for food. The female
immediately set herself at work on another nest, this time under the eaves
of a porch. Large quantities of dry leaves and coarse grass and weeds
were carried up, and a compact oval structure was made, with a round
cavity in the top, partly roofed over. On the 19th of July I found five
eggs in the nest, and the female again sitting. Are three broods in a sea-
son commonly reared by this species 1 — Charles Dury, Avondalc, Ham-
ilton County^ Ohio.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 51

The Louisiana Heron in Indiana. — My friend Mr. F. T. Jencks,
of Providence, R. I., -writes me that on the 26th of June, 1876, while pass-
ing through a hirge marsh between Plymouth and Hanna, on the line of
the Pittsburg and Fort Wayne Railroad, in Northern Indiana, he saw a
fine adult specimen of Demiegretta lucloviciana spring up close beside the
railroad-track and fly off in full view. As Mr. Jencks is well acquainted
with the species in question, I have no doubt of the correctness of his
identification. — E. W. Nelson, CJiicago, III.

Note on the Cinnamon Teal {Querquedula cyanoptera). — A small
lake, which feeds one of the headwaters of the North Platte, in North
Park, Colorado, was found to be a breeding-place of large numbers of wild
Geese {Branta canadensis) and other water-fowl, among which Wigeons
(Mareca americana), Shovellers (Spatula clypeata), and the species the
name of which heads this paragraph, were the most numerous. I was
on the spot too late in the season to take eggs, but newly-fledged birds
of each of the three sj^ecies of Ducks mentioned, as well as old birds in
moult, were secured or observed. The Cinnamon Teal here seemed to
replace the common Blue-winged, none of which were ascertained to
occur. The spot was on the Atlantic side of the main water-shed, though
practically on the divide, as it was only a day's march from the edge of
Middle Park, the waters of wdiich area flow into the Colorado of the West
and so into the Gulf of California. The Teal associated as usual with
various other kinds of Ducks, and no peculiarity of habits was noted.
Two young birds were captured alive, in a natural excavation of an em-
bankment, in Avhich they had apparently crawled to hide, as the hole
showed no traces of a nest. — Elliott Coues, Washincjton, D. C.

jEgiothus exilipes in Europe. — It may be interesting to the read-
ers of the Bulletin to learn that one of the two Redpoles procured upon
the Petchora River in Northeastern Russia, in 1875, by Mr. Henry See-
bohm and myself, and on a former occasion, at Archangel, by Mr. E. R.
Alston and myself, has turned out to be identical with ^giothihs exilijoes,
Coues. We are thus able to extend the distribution of that species ino
European Russia as far as Archangel (40° E. longitude from Greenwich).
This species was also procured by M. Severtzoff", in Turkestan. In our
papers in the "Ibis," January, 1873, p. 64, and " Ibis," January, 1876, we
have erroneously named this bird ^. rufescens, which name is only appli-
cable to the form found in Great Britain, and migrating southward in
winter. The other species found in North Russia is true Linota linaria,
Linn. JEgiotlms cxiliptes, Coues, will thus probably be found to be almost
circumpolar in its distribution, as it is reasonable to suppose that it is the
common species occurring throughout Northern Siberia in summer. Ref-
erences to notices of this species in Europe will be found in the " Ibis " as
above quoted, in the "Zoologist" for January, 1877, and in an Appendix
Mr. Seebohm and myself are preparing to our " Notes of the Birds of the

52 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL CLUB.

Lower Petcbora " ; and it will be doubtless still more fully treated of in
a forthcoming; part of Mr. H. E. Dresser's " Birds of Europe." — J.
A. Harvie Brown, Cor. Mem., Dunipace House, Larhert, Scotland.

A Note on Copidonia cupido var.pallidicinctus, Ridgway. — In the
latter part of January, 1877, I found in Fulton Market about thirty speci-
mens of this form ; they were generally unlit for preserving, but I got two
in good condition. On examination they agreed accurately with Mr.
Ridgway's description (N. Am. Birds, Vol. Ill, p. 446). I ascertained that
they came from Pierce City, Southwestern Missouri. I have been unable
to make much inquiry for others since. I lately learned from a large dealer
that they had been quite abundant in market, all coming from Southern
Missouri. The marketmen objected to buying them on account of their
small size. I found their average weight to be one and three-fourths pounds,
some weighing but one and a half pounds. All I talked Avith said they had
not noticed them before this winter. — George N. Lawrence, New York.

Capture of the Egyptian Goose on Long Island. — On the 3d of
January, 1877, I received a remarkably fine specimen of a species of
Goose entirely unknown to me. The bird was killed in a pond of fresh
water near Carnarsie, Long Island, and has every appearance of being a
wild bird. The plumage is in fine condition, and the feet are free from
warts. On exhibiting it to our well-known ornithologist, Mr. G. N.
Lawrence of New York, he expressed great surprise, and promised to
investigate the matter. I have since received from him the following
communication : —

"The Goose shown me yesterday is the Egyptian Goose {Chenalopex
(egyptiacus, Linn.). It inhabits all of Africa, and numerous specimens
have been killed in Great Britain. Its acquisition is worthy of being
noted, and whether a straggler or an escaped specimen may be ascertained
in the future."

The specimen will be placed in the Museum of the Long Island His-
torical Society of Brooklyn. — John Akhurst, BrooJdyn, N. Y.

MacCown's Longspur in Illinois. — While looking over a box of
Snow-Buntings and Shore Larks in the market, January 15, 1877, 1 found
a specimen of Plectrophanes maccowni, shot at Champaign, Illinois. Jan-
uary 17, another box containing Lapland Longspurs was sent from the same
place, and among them was a second specimen of P. maccowni, which is
now in the collection of C. N. Holden, Jr., Chicago. January 19 1 ob-
tained a third specimen from the same source, which has been sent to Mr.
E. W. Nelson, of this city. They were all males, showing plainly the
chestnut coloring on the bend of the wing and the peculiar white
markings of the tail. This is, I think, the first record of the occurrence
of this bird in Illinois, if not east of Kansas. — Henry K. Coale, Chicago,
Illinois.

BULLETIN

NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

Vol. II.

JULY, 1877.

No. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF HUMMING-BIRD
FROM CALIFORNIA.

BY H. W. HENSHAW.

Selasphorus alleni, Nobis.

Sp. Char. — Adult Male. Two outer tail-feathers very narrow, linear,
the outer nearly acicular ; second only slightly larger ; third abruptly
larger. Upper parts bright golden-green, dullest on the crown. Under
tail-coverts, sides, and belly rufous, paler along the median line. Jugulum
white. Wings purplish-dusky. Tail-feathers cinnamon, tipped and edged
with purplish-brown. Throat and ruff bright coppery-red, with brassy-
green reflections. Female similar to the female of S. rufus, but smaller ;
tail-feathers narrower, especially the outer.

Habitat. Coast district of California ; northward ]

Differential Diagnoses.

S. RUFUS. — Male. Tail-feathers successively graduated in size, the outer
the smallest ; fourth from the outer abruptly attenuated, and with a deep
notch at the base of attenua-
tion on the inner web. Crown
(only) metallic-green. Up-
per parts clear cinnamon,
sometimes with flakes and
patches of metallic-green on
the back.

S. alleni. — Male.
Smaller. Two outer tail-
feathers very narrow, linear,
the outer nearly acicular ;

S. alleni, (f

* These figures were kindly drawn by Mr. Ridgway, and afford a very exact
idea of the differences in the form of the tails of the two birds.

54 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

third abruptly larger ; the fotirth intermediate in length between the third
and fifth. Entire upper parts to the tail golden-green.

Some time since my attention was attracted by a specimen of the
above-described bird, in the collection of Mr. William Brewster,
which had been received from Mr. C. A. Allen, of Nicasio, Califor-
nia, the locality where it was taken. Experience in the interior,
especially in Arizona, had afforded opportunity for the examination
of hundreds of the Selasjjhorus rufiis, and this specimen, an adult
male, differed so decidedly from any I had ever seen that I was led
to the belief that there might be on the west coast a variety pecul-
iar to that region. The examination of specimens, however, show-
ing what I considered intermediate phases of coloration from this
same locality, led me to conclude that the form was not sufficiently
distinct to receive a name, an impression which I now think was
wholly erroneous. The reception of new material and a reconsid-
eration of the question has convinced me that the form in question
is quite distinct specifically from >S'. rufus, from which it is separable
by perfectly good and stable characters of external structure. As
might be expected in a family where the females of totally different
genera are often distinguishable only with difficulty, it is in the
males that the differences are chiefly to be noted. The narrow
outer tail-feathers are in the case of S. alleni sufficiently peculiar,
however, to enable one to distinguish the females and even the
young birds.

The adult males are at once separable, not only by the bright
green back, the green extending partially over the upper tail-coverts
and contrasting sharply with the rufous of the tail, but even more
readily by the very peculiar characters of the tail, as above indi-
cated. These are perfectly constant in all the specimens I have
seen, and have proved to be so also in all of the many individuals
which have passed under Mr. Allen's notice.

In reference to the coloi-ation of the »S'. alleni, I can state that the
amount of variation in the adult males is veiy small. The back is
always of a pure metallic green. Mr. Allen, whose authority is un-
questionable, and who has had ample opportunity for ascertaining,
writes me that the variation is extremely slight, and that a series of
thirty males then before him showed no differences. On the other
hand, I can assert with equal positiveness that the S. rvfus never
assumes this complete green phase of coloration. Of specimens

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 55

from the interior, I have seen at least two hundred adult males, and
they all possessed the bright rufous back, only au occasional individ-
ual showing a faint trace of the green. In California, however, where
the S. rjifus occurs in its typical condition, that is, with an unmixed
rufous back, specimens are not uncommonly found which exhibit a
strong approach to the coloration of S. alleni. In these the rufous
is seen to be mixed with green in varying proportions. Beyond a
certain point they appear never to pass, and all such specimens have
the peculiar tail characters of S. rufus as strongly marked as in the
most typical examples of the species. We find the same difference
between specimens of S. rufus taken in California and on the
west coast generally, and those from the interior, that usually ob-
tains in species possessed of a similar range, — that is, the coloration
is appreciably darker. The locality of specimens, whether from the
coast or the interior, may by this means be readily told.

In Mexico only the S. rvfus appears to occur, and Mr. A. Boucard
informed Mr. Ridgway that, having examined hundreds of the Selas-
phorus from there, he had never seen an example of the Green-
backed form, which, however, he was familiar with from California.
One of the strongest proofs of the specific distinctness of the two
is seen in the fact that the two birds, in their typical condition,
occur at the savie locality and at the same season. Both breed about
Nicasio (situated about twenty-five miles north of San Francisco),
though Mr. Allen finds the S. alleni very much more abundant than
the other. Thus, during the present season (1877), he has shot
about forty-five of the former bird, and has only succeeded in taking
four of the rufous-backed species. Last year's experience was a
similar one.

This gentleman, whose investigation of these two birds baa
extended over several years, and who, it is but proper to state, has
always believed them to be distinct, has found a constant difference
in size, the ^S*. alleni being the smaller. Such I find to be the case
in the several specimens I have measured, and the discrepancy
between them is quite considerable when the diminutive size of the
birds of this family is taken into account.

Habits. I am in possession of but few notes bearing upon the
habits of this Hummer. Mr. Allen remarks incidentally in a letter
that the Green-backs are much the livelier and more active of the
two, keeping constantly in the open, and always perching upon the
most prominent dead twigs they can find. Their extreme shyness,

56 BULLETIN OF THE -NUTTALL

as contrasted with the unsuspicious nature of the Rufous-backed, is
quite remarkable. They seem to possess a larger share than usual
of the courage and pugnacity which is so constantly displayed in
birds of this fixmily. Not only do they always come off the victors
when chance encounters take place between them and the Rufous-
backs, but Mr. Allen has seen a pair attack and put to rout a Red-
tailed Hawk ; while, as he remarks, " Sparrow-Hawks have no
chance at all with them." He has often seen the little fellows in
hot chase after these latter birds, and their only care seemed to bo
to get out of the way as soon as possible of foes so determined.

The Rufous-backed Hummer, on the contrary, frequents the
thickets, and is always unsuspicious and readily approached. The
different localities they affect may indicate a difference in the flow-
ers from which they obtain their food.

Habitat. The habitat of Selasphorus alleni seems to be con-
fined to the coast district of California, though subsequent investi-
gation may show that it extends its range to the northward. It
appears to be strictly limited to the western slope of the Sierras,
and may indeed wander but a short distance from the coast. It is
thus very local, while the *S'. rnfus has a very widely extended habi-
tat. Few species, indeed, of the family range over as many degrees
of latitude as this, which appears equally at home in the valleys
and elevated table-lands of sub-tropical Mexico and in the less invit-
ing regions of Southern Alaska, while it occupies in summer most
of the intermediate ground. Specimens are in the Smithsonian
collection from Sitka, which forms its most northern recorded local-
ity. In the interior it appears to be of less general occurrence than
in the region Avest of the Sierras, though this apparent absence is
doubtless due in part to our lack of knowledge of the Avifauna,
especially of the northern interior. The eastern slope of the Sier-
ras is apparently occupied by it throughout their whole length. Mr.
Ridgway found it in autumn in the East Humboldt Mountains, and
Dr. Coues in Montana, and it may be said to occur over most of the
Rocky Mountain region, either as a summer resident or as a fall
migrant. Dr. Coues is the only one who has found it breeding in
the interior, but I think it probable that not only the mountains
about Fort Whipple, which formed his field of observations, but the
mountain-fastnesses throughout the Territory of Arizona, and also
in New Mexico, and perhaps in Southern Colorado, may furnish the
species a summer home. Certain is it that in August this Hum-

ORNITnO LOGICAL CLUB. 57

ming-Bird is found almost simxiltaneously over all the more inviting
parts of this lower country, and in certain sections where flowers
abound, as in the mountains of Eastern Arizona, their numbers far
exceed all other species put together.

Tliough apparently so hardy, and though pushing its migrations
in spring in search of its summer home to a point attained by no
other species of its family, it yet in winter retires far south, and
appears to find the climate, even of California, too rigorous for its
endui-ance. Possibly, however, the winter flora is not suited to its
habits, and this may govern its choice of a winter residence, rather
than inability to live in a climate which appears well adapted to
its less ftistidious rival, the Anna Humming-Bii-d {Calypte ann<x).
However this may be, it is certain that the great proportion,
perhaps all, of the two species of Selas2)horiis leave our terri-
tory entirely in fall, and if any remain they are but a very limited
number, which take refuge in the warm interior valleys of Cali-
fornia.

Below is appended a table of measurements of the two species.
The specimens of S. rufa are purposely selected from diff"erent
localities, and the measurements give a good idea of the amount of
variation : —

Ses.

Date.

Locality.

Collector.

Wing.

Tail.

BiU.

S

rufus, cf ad.

March 29, 1877

Nicasio, Cal.

C. A. Allen

1.59

1.23

.61

(f ad.

March 29, 1877

11 11

1.62

1.33

.63

" (f ad.

— — 1876

SanFrancisco,Cal.

F. Gruber

1.67

1.28

.65

d- ad.

— — 1876

" " "

"

1.60

127

.65

" e ad.

May 29, 1855

Columbia River,

J. K. Town send

1.52

133

.63

d" ad.

- — 1855

Mirador, E. Mex.

Dr. Sartorius

1.52

1.27

.66

" d ad.

April 21, 1851

Steilacooni, W. T.

Dr. Suckley

1.57

1.27

.63

d- ad.

August 25, 1873

Apache, Ariz.

H. -W. Henshaw

1.58

1.32

.63

" 9 ad.

July 24, 1873

El Moro, N. Mex.

" "

1.75

1.22

.72

August 12, 1874

Ft Garland, Col.

C. E. Aiken

1.77

1.25

.68

" 2 ad!

August 17, 1875

TejonMts.,Cal.

H. W. Henshaw

1.66

1.17

.63

" ?^"^-

August 18, 1875

11 11 11

" "

1.73

1.21

.67

s

alleni, cf ad.

March 24, 1875

Nicasio, Cal.

C. A. Allen

1.47

1.21

.64

c? ad.

March 31, 1877

1.48

1.17

.63

d- ad.

March 31, 18771

11 11

II II

1.50

1.17

.67

d" ad.

March 31, 1877

SanFrancisco.Cal.

II 11

1.52

1.17

.63

" 5 ad.
" $ ad.

May 18, 1876

Nicasio, Cal.

" "

1.63

1.15

.68

March 17, 1877

" "

1.61

1.16

.67

R TiTfnfl Avprac'p of picrlit malp* ...._..-..

1.58

1.29

.64

" " " four fema
S. alleni, " " four male

Igg

1.72
1.49

121
1.18

.68
.64

" " " two females

1.62

1.15

.67

The number given of *S'. alleni is less than would have been de-
sirable, and I regret that I have not at hand the large number of

58 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

measurements taken by Mr. Allen. As he informs me, however,
that the variation in this respect is very small, it is probable the
average would be little changed by their addition.

In bestowing the specific name, I have paid but a deserved com-
pliment to the zeal and enthusiasm of Mr. C. A. Allen, but for
whose efforts in obtaining the specimens necessary for comparison,
and careful field-notes, the species might have remained for a long
time still unrecognized.

THE BIRDS OF GUADALUPE ISLAND, DISCUSSED WITH
REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT GENESIS OF SPECIES.

BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

The importance of insular faunae in their bearing on ^the sub-
ject of the derivation of species, has been recognized by eminent
writers ; and certain islands, remote from the mainland, among
which may be mentioned the Galapagos, have received marked
attention. An excellent memoiu upon the birds of the latter group
has lately been published by Mr. Osbert Salvin,* who discusses the
relationship of certain peculiar forms to their continental allies,
and even goes so far as to point out among the latter the present
representatives of the parent stocks from which the genera now
peculiar to the Galapagos have been derived. That Mr. Salvin is
probably correct in his conclusions, is very strongly indicated by
certain facts developed from a study of the fauna of Guadalupe,
where in the case of almost every species, precisely the same local
modifications ai-e observable ; the process of change in the latter
case, howevei*, has been either more recent or more gradual, since
close affinity to continental representatives is clearly seen in every
species, the extreme diff'erentiation met with in the Galapagos types
not having yet been reached.t

* On the Avifauna of the Galapagos Archipelago. By Osbert Salvin, M. A.,
F. R. S., etc. Transactions of the Zoiilogical Society of London, Vol. IX,
Part IX, pp. 447-510, pis. Lxxxiv - Ixxxix. May, 1876.

+ These modifications seem to be, (1) enlargement, or elongation, of the bill
and feet, (2) abbreviation of the wings and tail, and (3) darkening of the colors

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 59

The island of Guadalupe is situated off the coast of Lower Cali-
fornia, between latitude 28° 45' and 29° 10' north, and about two
hundred and twenty miles southwest from San Diego. Until very
recently nothing was known regarding the ornithology of this island,
biit in the spring of 1875 a collection of birds was made by Dr.
Edward Palmer, and forwarded to the National Museum at Wash-
ington. This collection, embracing eight species and seventy-two
specimens of land-birds, was placed in the hands of the writer for
identification, and reported upon in the Bulletin of the U. S. Geo-
logical and Geographical Survey of the Territories, Vol. II, No. 2,
April 1, 1876 (pp. 183-195).*

As above stated, the land-birds contained in the collection from
Guadalupe embrace only eight species, so that the founa of the
island is by no means fully represented ; indeed, the collector ob-
served a Humming-Bird, two kinds of Owls, and a Hawk, of which
no specimens were obtained. This is to be regretted, since most, if
not all, of these would doubtless have proved new. It is altogether
likely, too, that other species escaped notice, and thus remain to
be discovered ; a rich field is therefore left to the future explorer.
The affinities of the birds of Guadalupe are, so far as known, almost
entirely with those of "Western North America, there being no
peculiar types, each species having a more or less closely related
representative on the continent. The species thus far known are
the following, their continental representatives being given oppo-
site : —

GuadalujiC Species. Mainland Representatives.

Sylviidae.

1. Kecjulus obscurus. Eea:ulus calendula.

of the plumage. The following remarks by Mr. Salvin are those which refer
more particuhirly to these peculiarities : —

" In the formation of its bill, it [^Gcosjnza^ hardly differs at all from some spe-
cies of Guiraca, as G. concreta and its allies. The legs and feet, hoivever, are
much lovger and stronger than in any species of Guiraca ; and the tail in pro-
portion to the wings is very short" (1. c., p. 478).

" From Conirostrum [the continental representative genusl Ce.rthidca [of the
Galapagos] differs in having much shorter wings and tail" (1. c, p. 476).
[^Italics our ow?i.]

* Ornithology of Guadeloupe [lege Guadalupe] Island. Based on Notes and
Collections made by Dr. Edward Palmer.

60 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Troglodytidge.

2. Thryomanes Lrevicaiula. Tliiyoiiiaiies bewicki.

3. Salpiiictes guadalupeusis. Salpinctes obsoletus.

Fringillidae.

4. Carpodacus amplus. Carpodaciis frontalis.

5. Jimco insiilaris. Junco annecteiis.

6. Pipilo consobrinus. Pipilo iiiaculatus.

Picidae. /

7. Colapjtes rufipileus. Colaptes luexicanus.

Falconidae.

8. Poly boms lutosus. Polyborus tharus.*

The more prominent characteristics of these Guadalupe birds, as
compared with the mainland forms, are (1) increased size of the
bill and feet, (2) shorter wings and tail, and (3) darker colors ;
these variations are by no means uniform, however, in the several
species, the differentiation being in some slight, while in others it
amounts to ahnost generic distinctness ; but, what is very remark-
able, and of great interest in connection with the subject in hand
is, that no matter how great may be the modification of form and
proportions, the specific characters, so far as coloration is concerned,
are in every case strictly preserved ! t Thus, Carpodaciis ampins has
the wing and tail barely longer than C. frontalis, but the bill is
three times as large, and the feet twice as stout, while the colors and
marhings are substantially identical ; Junco insularis has precisely
the same plumage as J. annectens (except that the shades of color
are just perceptibly darker), but the bill is so elongated, and the
wings and tail so much abbi-eviated, that in form it is much more
like the species of Ammodromus than those of typical Junco ! Thry-
omanes brevicauda does not differ more than just appreciably in
colors and marking from 7\ beivicki, but the difference in form is so
great as to render it necessary either to institute a new genus, or,
as the only alternative, to draw up a generic diagnosis entirely

* Singularly enough, the Pohjhorus from Guadalupe resembles much more
closely tlie South American species than that from Mexico (P. chcriway),
though it is very distinct from either.

The only water-bird collected on the island was a specimen of Cohjmbus pa-
cificus, in perfect breeding plumage, found dead on the sJiorc.

t With the sole exception of Polyborus lutosus.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

61

diflferent from that heretofore considered to embrace the most im-
portant characters. In the case of Carpodacus, there has been
reached in the Guadalupe race almost, if not quite, that degree of
diilerentiation which distinguishes the Galapagoan genus Geosjyiza
from continental Guiraca, the modifications being moreover of pre-
cisely the same character. Junco insularis may likewise be com-
pared with the species of Cactornis, in which the bill has be-
come so extremely produced as to have almost lost its fringilline
character.

The three species above-mentioned exhibit the local modifications
to the greatest extent, but the rule may be traced through the
whole series ; and to show the exact extent of these modifications
of form we present the following table of measurements of each of
the Guadalupe species compared with those of the mainland repre-
sentative form, the measurements representing the maxinmm and
minimum of a large series of each : —

SPECIES.

MAXIMUM.

MINIMUM.

Wing.

Tail.

Bill

from

Nostril.

Tar-

Middle
Toe.

Wing.

Tail.

Bill

from

Nostril.

Tar-
sus.

.80
.65
.70
.63
.80
.73
.75
.62
.80
.80
1.00
1.05

3'.56
3.20

Middle
Toe.

Regulus obsamis *

" calendula

Thryomane.i brevirauda. .

bewicki

Salpinctes guar/alupensis

" obsoletus

Carpodacus amplus

" frontalis....

Junco insularis

" annectens

Pipilo consobriiius

" megalonyx

Colaptes ru/ipiieus

" mexicanus

Polijborus liitnsus

'" cheriway

2.20
2.45
1.90
2..38
2.75
3.00
3.35
3.20
2.85
3 43
3.25
3.G0
6.25
7.00
16.40
16 50

1.95
2.03
1.80
2.70
2.30
2.42
2.90
2 90
2.60
3.40
2.80
4 60
5.30
6.00
11.65
10.00

.25
.22
.50
-.45
.60
.50
.45
.35
.38
.30
.40
.40
1.60
1.25
1.35
1.48

.80
.76
.75
.80
.90
.90
.85
.70
.85
.80
1.08
1.05
1.10
1.20
3.75
3.75

.40
.35
.50
.50
.55
.58
.65
.50
.60
.60
.75
.75
.92
.85
2.10
2.10

2.00
2.20
1.85
2.00
2.50
2.65
3.10
2.85
2.50
3.00
2.90
3.30
5.90
665
15.00
14.60

1.70
1.60
1.80
2.00
2.00
2.20
2.60
2.40
2.30
2.80
3.25
4.00
4.75
5.50
10.50
9.00

.22
.20
.45
.38
.55
.50
.40
.30
.35
.28
.35
.35
1.35
1.15
125

..38
.35
.50
.45
.50
.55
.58
.50

:tt

i'so

1.90

* The Guadalupe species are in Italics.

A close perusal of the above figures leads to the discovery of
some exceptions to the rule of variation in proportions. Thus,
Regxdus obscurus, while conforming in other respects, does not have
the tail constantly shorter than R. calendula, although it averages
shorter. There is also no appreciable difference in the absolute
length of the tarsus in the two forms of Thryomanes and Salpinctes,
though the compar^ative difference in favor of T. brevicauda and *S'.
obsoletus, when contrasted with the length of the wings and tail, is
very marked.

62 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

These exceptions we are unable to explain, but even unaccounted
for they do not detract from the high importance of the variations
we have noted. It will also be observed that there is no essential
difference in dimensions or proportions between Folyhor-us lutosus
and P. cheriway, the modifications being almost entirely in the
plumage, which in the former species is so distinct, at all ages,
from that of the other in corresponding stages that it may be re-
garded as one of the most completely ditferentiated birds of the
whole series.

Not only in proportions, but also in colors, do the modifications
pi'esented by these Guadalupe bii'ds correlate with characteristics
of the Galapagoan forms. A conspicuous character of the latter is
their sombre plumage of black or fuliginous-brown ; now, excepting
only Poli/horus lutosus, precisely the difference in plumage of the
Guadalupe birds from their Continental allies consists in their
darher colors. Carpodacus ampins, altliough a bird of at least double
the bulk of C. frontalis, is so nearly identical in plumage that
positively the only difference consists in the slightly darker shade
of all the colors ; Junco insularis is darker than J. annectens, but is
otherwise similar in plumage ; Begidus obscurus is much darker
than R. calendula; Thryomanes brevicauda and Salpinctes guada-
lupensis are likewise darker in colors than T. hewicki and S. obsoletus,
while Colaptes rufipileus diff'ers from- C. mexicanus in having one
half more black on the under side of the tail, besides being darker
generally. In Pipilo consobrinus, however, the black portions of the
plumage are hardly so intense black as in the mainland forms of
P. maculatus, but the female is almost if not quite as blach as the
male,* while in the others she is more or less conspicuously differ-
ent, being some shade of brown or gray instead of black. As
remarked before, the only real exception to the rule is Polyborus
lutosus, but this has a quite different distribution of colors from
the two Continental species; it may be obsei'ved, however, that
while the black markings are replaced by dark brown, the lighter
markings are pale clay-color instead of white ; and further, that
there is far less diff'erence between the young and adult stages.

Not the least interesting fact concerning these Guadalupe birds

* The similarity of the sexes in birds having a black plumage is remark-
ably prevalent among the West India birds, as Professor Baird has somewhere
noted.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 63

is their anomalous geographical relation to their mainland repre-
sentatives, the latter being the Rocky Mountain or Middle Province
races instead of those from the intervening coast districts ! Thus,
Carpodacns ampins agrees with C. frontalis in the restriction of the
red in the male to sharply defined and limited areas, the coast form,
G. frontalis rhodocolpus, having the red " spread," as it were, over
the greater portion of the plumage ; Junco insularis is a perfect
repetition of J. annectens so far as plumage is concerned (except
that the shades of color are somewhat darker), and does not at all
resemble J. oregomis of the coast. Thryomanes hrevicauda is colored
more like T. heivicki leucogaster (the Upper Rio -Grande form) than
T. heioicki spihirus (the coast form) ; while Salpinctes guadahipensis
differs in the same way from S. obsoletus, w^hich, moreover, is 7iot
rejyresented at all in the coast district, except perhaps rarely and
locally in Southern and Lower California.

The peninsula above mentioned also presents in many respects
closer affinities to the middle region than to the coast district, espe-
cially in the fauna found at Cape Saint Lucas ; but on the western
side many of the true Californian forms replace those of the Middle
Province, Carpodacns rhodocolpus being a case in point, this species
thus entering as a separating w^edge between G. frontalis and G.
amplusi Now very similar anomalous cases occur among Galapagos
birds, an entirely parallel instance being afforded by Dendra^ca au-
reola, of which Mr. Salvin (1. c, p. 474) remarks : " The bird from
the Galapagos [meaning the above-named form] is the same as that
from Jamaica,* whereas on the intervening continent two other (so-
called) species occur — namely, D. cestiva as a winter migrant, and
D. vieilloti as a resident — but never, as far as we know, D. 2)efechia.^'
Another quite similar case is afforded by Myiarchus 7nagni?'ostris
of the Galapagos, since Mr. Salvin says that " its nearest allies are
perhaps the island races of the Antilles rather than those of the
continent ; and in this respect the affinities of Dendrceca aureola
are, to some extent, repeated ; but in the present case the specific
characters of M. magnirostris are well defined" (1. c, p. 492).

In the paper above referred to, are incorporated notes by the col-
lector. Dr. Habel, on the habits of the species ; and in these refer-

* We do not agree with Mr. Salvin in considering the forms of this species
from the West Indies and the Galapagos absolutely identical, but recognize in
them well-marked races, differing from each other about as much as the Gua-
dalupe birds do from those of the mainland.

64 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

ence is made to the exceeding tameness of certain Galapagos birds.
A similar confidence in man was likewise fomid to be a characteristic
of some of the Guadalupe species, as an instance of which we quote
the following from Dr. Palmer's notes regarding Junco insularis [see
imge 189 of our paper, cited at the head of this article] : "These are
the most abundant birds of the island, and are so tame that they may
be killed with a stick or captured in a buttei-fly-net. While I was
looking for insects under stones and logs, these birds would sometimes
join in the search, and hop almost into my hands. They gathered
chiefly ants and their eggs. At times they even enter the houses,
picking up anything edible they can find. Numbers boarded the
schooner as we neared the island, and made themselves perfectly at
home, roaming over every part of the vessel in search of food." It
seems, however, that not all the birds of the island were thus unsus-
picious and familiar, since Dr. Palmer remarks that it is difficult to
secure Thryomanes hrevicauda, on account of its shyness.

In conclusion, a few words regarding the derivation of these insu-
lar forms may not be out of place. As to those of the Galapagos,
Mr. Salvin expresses the following opinion : "Considering their purely
volcanic nature, it cannot reasonably be doubted that these islands
have always been islands since they emerged fi'om the sea. Such
is Mr. Darwin's view ; and it is fully indorsed by Dr. Hooker and
others. The birds that are now found, being related to American
birds, must have emigrated thence and become modified by the dif-
erent circumstances with which they became surrounded. The oldest
immigrants seem to be indicated by their generic difference from their
continental allies, the more modern comers by their merely specific
distinctness, and the most recent by their identity with birds now
found on the adjoining continent. On this view the islands were
first taken possession of by individuals of the parent stock of Cer-
thidea and Conirostmm, Geosjnza and Guiraca, Camarhynchus and
Neorhynchus. Then came perhaps the ancestors of Buteo [galopa-
gensis'l * ; after these followed Mimus, Pyroceplmlus, and Myiarchus,
Strix and Asio, Zenceda, Larus and Spheniscus. Then those of Den-
droeca, Progne, Butorides, Nycticorax, and Porzana, and, finally, Doli-
chonyx oryzivorus, Ardea kerodias, and the Ducks, Flamingo, Gan-
nets, Plovers, and Sandpipers, though of these last a constant stream

* The nearest ally of the Galapagoau Butco is B. poliosomus of the ratagouian
region.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 65

of immigrants may have been maintained from the earliest times.
It must be remembered, however, that no precise order of immigra-
tion can be laid down, even approximately ; for one term in the
proposition is an absolutely unknown quantity. We know nothing
of the rate of change that has taken place in any one species.
Outward circumstances may have acted on one species, so as to
leave it little changed in a given time, whilst in the same time an-
other species may have assumed distinctive generic characters.
Viewing the very peculiar physical characters of these islands when
contrasted with the neighboring American shores, it would seem
reasonable that the rate of change demanded of an immigrant
species would be high ; consequently the origin of the islands need
not be dated back to a more distant period than seems indicated by
their volcanic origin."

Considered in connection with the subject discussed above, the
birds of Guadalupe are of extreme interest, since they apparently
represent a transition stage through which those of the Galapagos
once undoubtedly passed. Nothing, unfortunately, is known to the
writer as to the geological structure of Guadalupe ; the character of
the modifications presented in its birds, however, point strongly to its
volcanic origin, and render it extremely probable that the upheaval
took place at a more recent date than that of the Galapagos. The
earliest immigrants to this island were probably the ancestors of
Polyhorus lutosus, which has become completely differentiated in
plumage but not perceptibly altered in the details of structure,* and
those of Carpodacus amplus, whose modifications of external struc-

* The case of tliis species presents a very curious problem. Its origin from
P. clieriway, the only species now inhabiting Middle America, and even north-
ern South Ameiica, can scarcely be doubted ; but the modifications which the
Guadalupe species has undergone tend toward the distinguishing characters of
the South American form {P. tharus). The two continental representatives of
this genus have undoubtedly had a common origin, the differences between them
coming under the scope of ordinary geographical laws of variation in this
family, as at present understood. The differentiation of the Guadalupe form is
of a most remarkable kind, however, being apparently a partial reversion to the
features of the Southern form ; but some of the characters which distinguish
the latter from its Northern analogues are even greatly exaggerated in this North-
ern insular form ! In this instance, then, the differentiation has been a kind
of retrocession, with no change in details of structure, while in all the other
forms of the island the differentiation has been of the opposite kind, affecting
the proportions more than the colors.

66 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

ture have almost, if not quite, reached generic distinctness, while
the colors have remained essentially unaltered. The same may be
said of Junco insularis, Thryomanes hrevicauda, and Colaptes rnji-
pileus, while the remaining species, Regalus ohscurus, Saljnndes gua-
dahiperisis, and Pipilo consohrinus are either more recent arrivals or
species in which the process of change has been comparatively
slow.

AN UNDESCRIBED HYBRID BETWEEN TWO NORTH
AMERICAN GROUSE.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

In the pi'eparation of the following paper I have hesitated not a
little as to the propriety of giving a name to the bird about to he
described. That it is a hybrid between the Pinnated Grouse
{Cupidonia cupido) and the Southern race of the Sharp- tailed
Grouse (Fedioecetes phasianelhis var. columhiamis) is unquestionable,
and, further, I consider it almost equally certain that offspring
resulting from such unnatural connections are of regular, perhaps
even not uncommon, occurrence wherever the two just mentioned
species are found together. Indeed, I am aware at the time of
writing, of three other similar specimens in private cabinets, and I
have heard of additional ones. Although I have examined but one
besides my own, I understand that they are all in every way nearly
identical, and the fact of their having been'procured from different
localities must go far towards proving that their occurrence is by
no means exceptional or luiique. Granting this to be a fact, it
seems reasonable that so distinctly specialized a form should bear a
distinguishing name, for though certainly the result of a mesalliance,
and combining in itself characters peculiar to two different species,
it is yet unlike either.

But I do not claim originality for a system that has been long
established among European authorities. In respect to the name
to be adopted I shall follow the practice of Mr. Eobert Collett.
This gentleman, in writing upon the " Rakkelhane," a hybrid be-
tween Tetrao urogallus and T. tetrix, says,* it " is a compound and

* Remarks on the Ornithology of Northern Norway by llobert Collett. From
the Forhandl. Vidensk. Selsk. Christiania, 1872. (Page 50 of the reprint.)

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 67

not a simple species, and should, therefore, as such, have a com-
pound and not a simple name." The propriety of this must, I
think, impress every one, but in endeavoring to carry out liis plan
in the present instance I have experienced a serious ditficulty.

In naming hybrid forms Mr. Collett makes use of the generic title
of the male parent alone, the 'Woinjoound" part being made up
from the specific appellations of both parents. Thus he calls the
offspring of the male Ptarmigan {Lagopns albvs), paired with the
female Black Grouse {Tetrao tetrix), Lagopus tetrici-albus, the numer-
ous recorded facts at his disposal enabling him to decide upon the
respective specific relation of both parents with almost absolute cer-
tainty. But in the present case the entire absence of any facts
bearing upon this part of the problem reduces me to the somewhat
dangei'ous limits of mere conjecture, or, what is little better, the
relative preponderance of specific resemblance exhibited by the speci-
men before me. Not to weary the reader by a too exhaustive pre-
liminary discussion of detail, I will restrict myself to the simple
statement that after careful examination I believe the hybrid
Grouse about to be described the offspring of a connection between
Cupidonia ciqndo, male, and Pedicecetes ^>/ias^a^ie^/«s var. columbi-
anus, female, and I accoi'dingly bestow upon it, provisionally, the
compound name Cupidonia cupiidini-columhiana.

Distinctive Characters. — Adult male, from a specimen in my col-
lection, obtained in Iowa. Size and general proportions of Pedioscetes
phasianellus var columbianus. Tail of sixteen feathers exclusive of tico
central projecting ones. Tarsi feathered as in Cupidonia. Neck-tufts 1.50
inches long. Upper tail-coverts coextensive with the rectrices. Above
similar to Cupidonia ciipido ; wing-coverts (but not the scapulars) white-
spotted, as in Pedioecetes. Breast and sides barred transversely, as in G
cupido; abdomen white, sparsely covered with obtuse V-shaped spots of
brown. Head, neck, and throat-markings precisely as in C. cupido. Neck-
tufts dark bro^vn ; the longer ones not so stiff as those of C. cupido, the
shorter dull yellow. Tail generally similar in shape and color to that of
C. cicpido, but with a central pair of elongated feathers " with parallel
edges and truncated ends," which project .52 of an inch beyond the next
pair. These projecting feathers are tipped with light brown like the other
rectrices ; subterniinally for the space of about an inch they are solidly
black, — anteriorly, with ragged rusty-yellow bars. The outer webs of the
outer pair of rectrices are irregularly white. The measurements, taken
from the dried specimen, are as follows : Wing, 8.57 ; tail, 3.25, — two
central feathers, .52 longer ; bill, depth, .40, length from nostril, .50 ; tar-
us, 2.03 ; middle toe, 2.75.

68 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

It will appear from the above description that this bird combines in
nearly equal proportions the characters of Pedicccetes and Cujndonia. In
the general pattern of coloration of the plumage it most resembles C. cupido,
but the abdomen is spotted like the breast of Pediwcetes, and the wing-
coverts are marked precisely as in that species. It has the neck-tufts of
Cupidonia and the projecting tail-feathers of Pedicecetes, both of these
characters, however, slightly modified. A remarkable feature appears in
the extension of the upper tail-coverts nearly to the tips of the rectrices.

Nelson's "Birds of Northeastern Illinois."* — ^ Under the above
title Mr. E. W. Nelson gives us the results of three years' investigation in
Cook and Lake Counties in the northeastern corner of Illinois, "a belt
about twenty-five miles wide, bordering Lake Michigan in Illinois," in-
cluding the field considered. As he remarks, the locality seems to form
"a kind of four-corners where the avian faunte of four regions intergrade" ;
hence we find a somewhat novel juxtaposition of species. On or near the
lake occur many birds formerly considered as more or less exclusively
maritime. Notably among those of this class found in summer are Am-
modromus caudacutus and JEgialitis melodus ; during the migrations,
Strepsilas interpres, Trimja maritima, T. canuta, Calidris arenaria, and
Micropalama himantopus ; in winter, Histrionicus torquaius, Harelda gla-
cialis, Somateria mollissima, S. spectabilis, Larus glquciis, and L. kiicopterus.
As might be expected, the species properly belonging to the Carolinian
fauna which reach this point are, with a few exceptions, of either uncom-
mon or rare occurrence, and they here seem to touch the extreme north-
ern limit of their range in that longitude. But most interesting are the
records of northern birds breeding so far south, especially Limicoline and
Natatorial species. Thus Mr. Nelson has found nesting in greater or less
abundance, Triwja minutilla, Totamis melanoleucus, T. flavipes, T. solita-
rius, Mareca americana, Fulix affinis, F, collaris, Erismatura ruhida, Mer-
yus servator, and some others.

• It is not, however, from the simple enumeration of species, that this list
derives its chief value and interest, but from the unusually complete and
satisfactory character of the biographical annotations, which embrace good
descriptions of the habits of many birds previously but little known.

Thus Mr. Nelson describes the songs of Turdus alicice and Oporornis

* Birds of Northeastern Illinois. By E. W. Nelson. Bulletin of the Essex
Institute, Vol. VIII, 1876, Xos. 9-12, pp. 90-155, April, 1877.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 69

agilis, the eggs of Totanus melanoleucus, and tells lis of Night Herons
{Nijdiardea grisea nivcea) breeding in the open marshes of Fox River,
placing their nests among the wild rice. Emphatically there is no lumber
about this paper. It gives, in clear, concise language, the results of ex-
tended, carefully and intelligently conducted observations in a region
almost wholly umvorked, and from its geographical situation and topo-
graphical character and surroundings, most rich in results. As an impor-
tant and valuable faunal contribution to our knowledge of North American
Ornithology, Mr. Nelson's list cannot fail to take first rank. — W. B.

Salvin on the Pkocellariid^. — In the fourth part of the "■ Ornitho-
logical Miscellany," edited by Mr. G. D. Rowley, Professor Osbert Salvin
has given the first of a valuable series of papers, in which he seeks to
throw all possible light upon this very obscure family. This paper is in
two parts. The first is devoted to an examination of the unpublished
" Banks' drawings," and the manuscripts of Dr. Solander, so far as they
relate to the Petrels. These drawings are sixteen in number, and are pre-
sumed to have been drawn by Sydney Parkinson, one of the artists in the
emplo}^ of Sir Joseph Banks, in the " Endeavor," under Captain Cook.
The manuscript notes of Dr. Solander are in the British Museum. As
Bonaparte and Gray have introduced Dr. Solander's names into our orni-
thological nomenclature, even where unaccompanied by descriptions and
unpublished, Mr. Salvin has done the world good service in testing the
vitality of these names.

Procellaria oceanica of Solander stands as Oceanites oceanicus of Kuhl.
It is better known as Thalassidroma wilsoni. Procellaria cequorea of Solan-
der, (= P. marina of Latham, and confounded by Kuhl with P. fregata,
a distinct species, in which he was followed by Gray, and for a time by
Coues), stands as Pelagodroma marina. Procellaria fregata of Solander stands
as Fregata grallaria. Procellaria turtur (Sol.) = Prion turtur. P. velox
(Sol.) " must continue doubtful." P. gigantea (Sol.) stands as Ossifraga
gigantea. P. fuliginosa Mr. Salvin traces with some difficulty to Maja-
qtieus (Bqninoctialis, but without doubt. P. sandaliata, a " long-lost " spe-
cies, now reappears in the CEstrelata armingoniana of Giglioli and Salva-
dori (Ibis, 1869), and to their name Mr. Salvin gives the preference, fol-
lowing the Golden Rule in questions of nomenclature.

P. Ivgens of Solander cannot be placed. Kuhl and Gray made it the
same with P. grinea = CEstrelata kidderi Coues = (E. brevirostris Lesson,
— the latter being the proper name, and the same as P. tristis Forst.
and P. amaurosorna Coues ; but, according to Mr. Salvin, incorrectly.
P. lugens must thixs be left in abeyance. Nectris fuliginosa of Solander
Mr. Salvin is convinced = Puffinus griseus Finsch. Nectris munda
Solander may apply to P. gavia Forst. (= P. opisthomelas Coues), but
this is regarded as doubtful. Diomedea antarctica (Sol.) is probably =
B. fuliginosa, and Diomedea profuga possibly = D. chlororhyncha.

70 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Mr. Salvin's second paper is a careful examination of the new species
of Petrels obtained V)y Dr. H. H. Giglioli during the voyage of the Italian
corvette " Magenta " round the world, and described in the " Ibis " in
1869. Mr. Salvin examined the type specimens, and accompanies his
review Avith fine illustrations drawn by the well-known bird-painter,
Keulemans. These species, according to Mr. Salvin, should all stand as
good and novel species. Their names are as follows : XEstrelata marjentce,
(E. armingoniana, (E. trinitatis, (E. dcfdippiana, and Puffimis elegans, —
T. M. B.

Catalogue of the Birds op the Islands of Malta and Gozo. —
The Boston Public Library has recently received a copy of Mr. Grant's
catalogue of Birds found on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Naturally,
a list of the birds occurring in these islands, situated midway between the
northern coast of Africa and the southern shores of Europe, divides into
three principal groups : migratory birds, properly Eurojoean ; visitants,
from Africa ; and resident species. Besides these, not always distinguish-
able, are purely accidental or chance callers. Among the most noticeable
of this small group it is interesting to note such purely American species
as Tringoides macularius, Aditurus bartraviius, and Larus atricilla. Tryn-
gites rufescens, American, but not uncommon in Europe, has also been
found there. We also notice the occurrence in these islands of birds that -
are somewhat cosmopolitan as well as North American, such as Rissa tri-
dactyla, Larus marinus, Plectrophanes nivalis, Tringa canutiis, T. maritima,
T. subarquata, T. mamlata, Strepsilas interpres, Anom stolida, and several
species of Ducks, common to both continents. — T. M. B.

Ridgway's "Studies of the American FALCONiDiE." — During the
last two years Mr. Robert Ridgway has given lis, in a series of special
papers, some of the results of his protracted investigation of the American
Falconidre. In June, 1875, appeared his " Outlines of a Natural Arrange-
ment of the Faleonidw" * based on an extended examination of the oste-
ology of the leading types of raptorial birds. In this paper he indorses
most fully the classification of the Birds of Prey proposed in 1867 by
Professor Huxley, Avhich unites the Old- World Vultures (Vulturidce of
most authors) with the Falconidce, separates the Secretary Bird as an inde-
pendent family {SerpentariidcB), and makes the Vultures of the New World
a fiimily (Carthartidm) distinct from the other Diurnal Birds of Prey.
Mr. Ridgway recognizes among the Falconidce only two subfamilies, —
namely, Falconinre and Buteonince, — thereby differing very widely from
most previous writers, some of whose classifications he rather sharply
criticises. The subfamily Falconinm he arranges in four minor divisions
or " groups," under the names Falcones, Pohjbori, Micrasfures, and Herpeto-

* Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey of the Terr., Vol. I, No. 4, pp. 225-
231, pis, xi-xviii, June 10, 1875.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 71

theres^ and similarly divides the subfamily Buteonince into three " groups,"
which he calls Pandiones, Perms, and Buteones. While Mr. Ridgway en-
deavors to make use of all available characters as the basis of his divis-
ions, his classification is based primarily upon the character of the coracoid
apparatus, particularly as to whether the scapular process of the cora-
coid is produced forward so as to meet the clavicle, or is separated from it
by a wide interval ; and also upon the character of certain bones of the
skull, especially the supra-maxillary, the nasal, and the superciliary pro-
cess of the lachrymal, of which parts are given numerous outline illustra-
tions. Whether Mr. Ridgway has quite hit the " natural arrangement "
here aimed at, and whether he has not placed undue value upon the modi-
fications of the scapular process of the coracoid, are matters respecting
which there is evidently room for honest differences of opinion.

This paper, which closes with a synopsis and diagnoses of the genera
and subgenera of the Polybori, is followed a few months later by his
" Monograph of the Polybori." * This is strictly an American group, of
very peculiar appearance and habits. They are chiefly tropical in their
distribution, inhabiting all parts of South America, where they most
abound, and do not extend northward beyond sub-tropical limits, a single
species only (the Caracara, Polyborus cheriwmj) reaching the southern bor-
der of the United States. About ten species only are recognized by Mr.
Ridgway, which he refers to four genera, namely, Polyborus, Phalcobcenus,
Milvago, and Ibycter. The more important generic characters are illus-
trated by outline figures, and the various phases of plumage of the species
are quite fully described.

A little later, under the general title " Studies of the American Falcon-
idce" t Mr. Ridgway continued his account of the American Falconidce,
descriliing in detail sixteen genera and some forty species, besides a num-
ber of varieties. Thirteen species are referred to the single genus Nisus
(=Accipiter of many authors), while twelve other genera have each but a
single species. A few only of the species described in this paper are
North American. These are, ^^ Nisus" cooperi, " N" fuscus, Onychotes
gruberi, Anterior unicinctus var. harrisi, and Elanoides forficatus, only three
of which range very far into the United States.

Mr. Ridgway also, in the mean time, published a paper " On Nisus
cooperi (Bon.) and N. gundlachi (Lawr.)," J in which he maintains the en-
tire specific distinctness of " N." gundlachi, which had been previously by
several authors, including Mr. Ridgway himself, referred to " N." cooperi.

This paper is immediately followed by another, " On the Buteonine

* Studies of the American Falconidce: Monogi-aph of the Polybori. Bull.
U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey of the Terr., Vol. I, No. 6, pp. 451-473, pis.
xxii-xxvii, February 8, 1876.

t Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey of the Terr., Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 91 -
182, pis. xxxi, xxxii, April 1, 1876.

X Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1875, pp. 78-88.

72 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

Subgenus Craxirex (Gould)," * a group repi'esented most numerously in
South America. Two species only (Buteo sioainsoni and B. fennsylvani-
cus), of the six referred to this subgenus, range far into North America.
This group is distinguished from the ordinary Buteones by having only
three (instead of four) of the outer primaries emarginated on their inner
webs. While agreeing in this feature, they vary considerably in respect
to the relative length of the wing, the size and length of the tarsus, and
in other details of structure ; and it is perhaps an open question whether
our author does not place too much iniportance upon what he regards as
the distinctive feature of the group, namely, the number of emargi-
nated primaries. The various phases of plumage presented by the different
species is described in considerable detail, with very full citations of syn-
onymy. The account of Buteo swainsoni is particularly full, nearly one
half the paper (about fifteen pages) being devoted to this species alone.
Among its prominent synonymes are Buteo bairdii of Hoy, B. insignatus
and B. oxypterus of Cassin, and B. fuliginosus of Sclater.

A little later appeared his " Monograph of the Genus Micrastur," t of
which seven species are recognized, and of which are given detailed de-
scriptions. The group is mainly restricted to Central and Northern South
America, being pre-eminently tropical in distribution. While the species
are said to present " no appreciable sexual variation," they exhibit " two
well-marked growth-stages," the young birds generally greatly differing
from the adult. In addition to this, several of the species are dimorphic,
being subject to erythrism, analagous to the dimorphism met with in Syr-
nium aluco of Europe, in Scops asio, and in the several species of Glaucid-
ium, among the Owls. Shortly after this appeared another paper on this
genus, by Mr. Ridgvvay, entitled " Second Thoughts on the Genus Micras-
tur." J This is mainly a summary of his " Monograph." The " Second
Thoughts" relate to his earlier revision of this genus, published in 1873, §
— in which only five, instead of seven, species were admitted, — rather
than to the " Monograph," to which there is in this j)aper no allusion.

During the elaboration of these important papers on the American Fal-
conid(e, Mr. Ridgway has had access to the material contained in all the
larger public and private ornithological collections of the United States,
and has been kindly favored with the use of specimens from abroad. He
has in this way been able to base his investigations upon the examination
of a larger amount of material than has, in most cases at least, fallen un-

* Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1875, pp. 89-119.

t Studies of the American Falconidcc: Monograph of the Genus Micrastur.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1875, pp. 470-502, figs. 1-9.

J Ibis, January, 1876, pp. 1-5.

§ Revision of the Falconine Genera, Micrastur, Geranospiza, and Rupornis,
and the Strigine Genus, Glaucidium. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVI,
pp. 73 - 81, December, 1873.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 73

der the inspection of any other investigator in the same field. In these
papers we have the results of much hard and patient study, and while
experts in the same field may differ from him in respect to minor points
of classification and nomenclature, no one can question the fact of his hav-
ing immensely advanced our knowledge of this large and difiicult group.
We trust that he will soon be able to give us further instalments of his
work on this family, and that eventually we may have the whole reissued
connectedly in a well-rounded monograph of the American Falconidce. —
J. A. A.

Recent Ornithological Articles in American Journals.* —
Among the varied contents of the last and current volumes of the "Amer-
ican Naturalist," f we note the following original articles relating to birds.
The number for January, 1876 (Vol. X) contains a note on the " Proper
Specific Name of the Song Sparrow" (pp. 17, 18), by David Scott, who
claims for this species the name /asczato, Gmelin, 1788, in place of melodia,
Wilson, 1810, the probable tenability of which had been previously sug-
gested by other writers. Also an article on the "Availability of Certain
Bartramian Names in Oriuthology" (pp. 21 -29), by J. A. Allen ; a note
on the extinction of the Great Auk at the Funk Islands (p. 48), by the
same ; on the occurrence of Bewick's Wren in the Atlantic States, and
the breeding of ihis ordi at Camp Harney, Oregon (p. 48), by Dr. Elliott
Coues ; on the Early Nesting of the Anna Humming- Bird (pp. 48 - 50),
by Dr. J. G. Cooper ; and on the occurrence of the European Tree Spar-
row (Pyrgita montana) at St. Louis, Mo. (pp. 50, 51), — where it has been
introduced with the P. do7nestica, — by Dr. J. C. Merrill. The February
number (same volume) contains notes on the " Summer Birds of the AVhite
Mountain Region " (pp. 75 - 80), by H. D. Minot ; an article on " Califor-
nian Garden Birds" (pp. 90-97), by Dr. J. G. Cooper ; a reply to Mr.
Allen's article in the preceding number on Bartramian names (pp. 98 -
102), by Dr. Elliott Coues ; also, by the same, notes on the " Breeding
Range of the Snowbird," J"w?ico hyemalis (p. 114) ; on "Protective Resem-
blance in the Yellow-Bird," Chrysoniitris tristis (p. 115), by Henry Gill-

[* In addition to notices of papers published in the transactions of different
scientific societies, or as special works, it is intended to note in the Bulletin all
original ornithological articles appearing in various periodicals (beginning with
the year 1876), thereby making the Bulletin a complete i-ecord of North Ameri-
can ornithological literature. Owing to limited space, it will be impracticable
to give generally more than the titles of articles. The record here begun will
be continued in future numbers. — Eds.]

+ The American Naturalist. Edited by Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr. Boston :
H. 0. Houghton & Co. ; New York : Hurd and Houghton. Vol. X and Vol.
XI, January to June. (The departments of Ornithology and Mammalogy are
now in charge of Dr. Elliott Coues.)

74 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

man. In the March nuinher, Dr. W. Wood writes of the "Game Falcons
of New England : the Goshawk" (pp. 132-135); J. A. Allen appears
with a further note on Bartramian names (pp. 176, 177), and E. E. C.
Stearns speaks of the abmidance of Pelicans in San Francisco Bay, Cal.
(p. 177). In the April number are notes on the breeding of the Red
Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) at Riverdale, N. Y. (p. 237), by E. A. Bick-
nell ; on Bewick's Wren in New Jersey (p. 236 j, by Dr. C. C. Abbott ; on
"Habits of Western Birds," — Buteo sioainsoni, Icterus biillocJci, Stellula
caliope, Corvus americanus, and C. corax, — (p. 238), by Dr. W. J. Hoff-
man ; on " Unusual Nesting-Sites of the Night- Hawk and Towhee Bimt-
ing (p. 239), by Dr. Elliott Coues ; and on " Small Birds [CJirysomitris
tristis and Dendrosca coro7iata] caught by the Burdock " (p. 239), by A. K.
Fisher. The May number contains a call for information respecting the
distribution of the Labrador Duck, Camptolcemus labradorius (p. 303), by
Dr. Coues. In the June nunrber is a record of the capture of the Euro-
pean Woodcock in Virginia (p. 372), and a note on change of habits in the
Bank Swallow (p. 373), by Dr. Coues ; also remarks on the food of the
Chapparal Cock, Geococcyx californianus (p. 373), by V. T. Chambers. In
the July number J. Clarence Hersey notes the occurrence of the Little
White Egret (Ardea candidissima) in Colorado (p. 430). The August num-
ber contains an account of a brief sojourn of large numbers of Wliite Egrets
at Trenton, N. J. (pp. 469 - 473), by Dr. C. C. Abbott ; Robert Ridgway here
states that the Bank Swallows (p. 493) referred to in the June number are
the Cohjle serripennis, instead of C. riparia, as first stated. In the September
number appears an historical article on " Progress of Ornithology, in the
United States during the Last Century " (pp. 536 - 550), by J. A. Allen, and
a note on Bluebirds feeding on the berries of the Virginia Creeper (p. 556),
by Henry Gillman. The October number contains a note on the egg of
Chionis (p. 628), by Dr. J. H. Kidder. An article in the December num-
ber, by Dr. Elliott Coues, on the " Destruction of Birds by Telegraph
Wire" (pp. 734-736), concludes the ornithological articles of Volume X.
In Volume XI we find, in the January number, "Notes on some Ore-
gon Birds " (p. 44), — seven species, — by George R. Bacon, and a note on
the Whistling Duck, Bucephala americana (p. 44), by J. F. LeBaron. In
the February number, notes on some of the birds of the Fanning Islands
(pp. 68 - 72), by Dr. T. H. Streets ; in the April number, record of the occur-
rence of the Raven and the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa) at Williams-
town, Mass. (p. 243), by Sanborn Tenney ; in the May number, " Glimpses
of Mind in Birds " (pp. 276 - 286), by Dr. C. C. Abbott ; some observa-
tions on the winter birds of Arkansas (p. 307), by H. S. Reynolds ; and a
note on a carnivorous propensity of the Red-headed Woodpecker, Mela-
nerpes erytliroceplialus (p. 308), by Charles Aldrich. In the June number
Judge J. D. Cat on writes of the " Wild Turkey and its Domestication "
(pp. 321-330).

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 75

r " Field and Forest " * contiin;es to devote a considerable portion of its
space to ornithology. Volume II (beginning July, 1876) contains the
following : " On the Habits of Steganopus wilsoni" (pp. 11, 12), by A. L.
Kumlien (already noted in this journal, Vol. I, p. 71) ; "Notes on Fors-
ter's Tern " (pp. 29 - 31), by Pierre Louis Jouy ; " Sexual, Individual, and
Geographical Variation in the Genus Lcucosticte " (pp. 37 - 43), by Robert
Eidgway ; " Drumming of the Rufl'ed Grouse " (pp. 57 - 60), by David
Scott ; "Crows Seeking Water" (p. 65), by N. B. Webster ; "Sexual Va-
riation in the Genus Leucosticte " (pp. 76 - 79), by J. A. Allen ; the " Ten-
dency of Birds to A'ary in their Habits " (pp. 107 - 114), by David Scott ; a
Congress of Birds (p. 122), by L. F. Ward ; " Unusual Accidents to Birds "
(p. 106), by A. J. Kumlien ; "Ornithological Notes from Texas "(pp. 154-
156), by Ludovic Kumlien ; " Catalogue of the Birds of the District of
Columbia" (pp. 154-156, 178-181), by Pierre Louis Joiiy, — a nominal
list of 240 species ; Remarks on the Birds of the District of Columbia
(pp. 191 - 194), by Drs. E. Coues and D. W. Prentiss ; " Mrs. Maxwell's
Colorado Museum, — Collection of Birds" (pp. 194-199), by Robert
Ridgway. — J. A. A.

Since January, 1876, several ornithological lists, of more or less impor-
tance, have appeared from time to time in " Forest and Stream." f While
our space will 'not permit of a lengthy notice of these lists, a simple enu-
meration of them will be useful for reference. In Volume VI, pp. 99,
132, 163, 214, 266, 318, 354, 402, and Volume VII, pp. 147, 164, 276,
Mr. Adolphe B. Covert, of Ann Arbor, Mich., has given an interesting
List of the Birds of Lower Michigan, including two hundred and twelve
species. In this list are recorded specimens of Dendrceca kirtlandi, Scolo-
pax rusticola (one specimen obtained by Dr. Wm. E. Lewitt, May 9, 1870),
and Camptolcemus labradorius (one specimen taken at Delphi Mills,
Mich., April 17, 1872). In Volume VI, p. 148, Mr. G. Aug. Smith gives
a List of the Birds of Fort Wayne, Ind., including tifty-two species. In
Volume VI, pp. 233, 284, 337, 402, and Volume VII, pp. 36, 52, 84, 180,
230, Mr. H. G. Fowler, of Auburn, N. Y., gives a Partial List of the Birds
of Central New York, from observation made in the counties of Cayuga,
Seneca, and Wayne. In this list Mr. Fowler records the capture of Quer-
qucdula cyanoptera on Seneca River. This, we believe, is the only record
for this species east of the Rocky Mountains. He also notes the occurrence
of Sterna fuliginosa on Owasco Lake, a specimen having been taken there

* Field and Forest. A Monthly Journal devoted to the Natural Sciences.
Charles K. Dodge, Editor. Washington, D. C. Vol. II, Nos. 1-12, July,
1876, to June, 1877.

t Forest and Stream, a Weekly Journal devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports,
Practical Natural History, Fish Culture, the Protection of Game, etc., etc.
New York : Forest and Stream Publishing Company.

76 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

on September 20, 1876. The list comprises one hundred and sixty-eight
species. In Volume VI, p. 300, Mr. H. Ernst, of Cleveland, Ohio, gives
a List of the Warblers of the Western Eeserve, in which he notes thirty-
one species. In Volume VII, pp. 389 and 404, Colonel A. S. Brackett,
U. S. A., gives a List of Birds of Southeastern Wyoming, including
eighty-four species. In Volume VIII, pp. 33, 49, 96, 113, a List of the
Birds of Webster, N. H., and adjoining towns, is given by Mr. Chas. F.
Goodhue. This list comprises one htmdred and thirty-three species. In
Volume VIII, pp. 176, 192, 224, 241, 261, is a List of the Birds of the
Coteau des Prairies of Eastern Dakota, by Chas. E. McChesney, M. D.,
U. S. A., of Fort Sisseton, comprising one hundred and three species.
— R. D.

Californian Ornithology. — Dr. J. G. Cooper has recently published
a paper * of fourteen pages, entitled " New Facts relating to Californian
Ornithology. — No. 1." This" is supplemental to the same au.thor's
" Ornithology of California," and " includes only observations not pre-
viously published, and such opinions as differ from those of later authors."
About fifty species are noticed, the notes respecting them relating mainly
to their seasonal distribution and habits, but include descriptions of the
nests and eggs of several species, with occasional remarks upon disputed
points of nomenclature. He claims the name nanus for the species of
Thrush usually known as Turdus pallasi (as has also Dr. T. M. Brewer),
but inclines to the opinion that the name cjuttatus of Pallas (1811) will
finally prove to be the only tenable name for the species. He also claims,
on the ground of priority, that sandioichensis should take the place of
savanna for the species of Sparrow, commonly known as Passerculus sav-
anna. The paper is replete with interesting matter, and forms a valuable
contribution to our knowledge of Californian Ornithology. — J. A. A.

McCauley's Notes on Texan ORNiTHOLOOY.t — Lieutenant C. A. H.
McCauley has just given us the results of six weeks' observations made in
May and June, 1876, on the ornithology of the country about the source
of the Red River of Texas, embracing a portion of the region known as the
Staked Plain. The paper includes notices of about one hundred species,
with quite copious notes respecting the habits of a considerable proportion
of them, with, in some cases, descriptions of their nests and eggs. This
is almost the first special paper treating of the ornithology of Western

* Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., 1876. Only the author's separates have yet been
seen by the writer.

+ Notes on the Ornithology of the Region about the Source of the lied Fdver
of Texas, from Observations made during the Exploration conducted by Lieuten-
ant E. H. Ruffner, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. By C. A. H. McCauley, Lieu-
tenant Third United States Artillery. Annotated by Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A.
BuU.U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey, Vol. Ill, No. 3, pp. 655-695, May 15, 1877.

ORmTHOLOGICAL CLUB. 77

Texas, and forms a most welcome contribution to our knowledge of the
ornithology of that region. The list shows an unusual mingling of east-
ern and western species, and, as would be naturally expected, a consider-
able proportion of strictly southern forms. On the barren Staked Plain
few birds were met with, and these mainly about water-holes ; along the
timber-skirted streams, however, bu-d life was abundant. — J. A. A.

Nest and Eggs of Townsend's Flycatcher. — In July, 1876, while
rambling with my brother over the mountains of Summit County, Colo-
rado, it was my good fortune to find, at an altitude of about ten thousand
feet, the nest of Townsend's Flycatcher (Myiadestes townsendi), and as
no description of its eggs has as yet appeared, perhaps the following may
not be uninteresting : The nest was very loosely, and, externally, shabbily
built of long dry grasses, straggling two feet or more below it. It Avas
placed in the upper bank of a minei-'s ditch (running from the Bear River,
above Breckenridge, to the Gold Run and Buffalo Flat diggings), and was
partly concealed by overhanging roots ; yet it was rendered so con-
spicuous by the loose swaying material of which it was composed, as well
as by that which had become attached to the overhanging roots during its
construction, as to attract the eye of an experienced collector when yet some
rods away. On nearing the nest the bird immediately took flight, and
alighted on the topmost branch of the nearest pine. Resting uneasily here
for half a minute, it then, in short, uncertain flights, worked its way down
the mountain side and out of sight. Withdrawing to a convenient cover,
we had only to wait a few moments for the bird to return, perch herself
on fi branch a few feet from liie nest, peer anxiously into it, and then
quickly resume her task of incubation. Moving cautiously along the
bank above the ditch, we tried to capture the bird by placing a hat over
the nest, but, miscalculating its location by a few inches, the bird eluded
the stroke and made good her escape, as she did also on our second attempt
to capture her. Again retreating to cover, we waited for half an hour for
the bird to return, when suddenly we espied it flying from branch to
branch, displaying by its restless motions more anxiety and suspicion than
before, yet constantly working nearer its home, which it soon reached and
settled quietly again to business. After the last unsuccessful attempt to
catch the bird, a stick was placed on the bank directly over the nest,
to mark its exact locality, and this time, moving with less haste and more
caution, we gained the desired position, lay down on the bank, and taking
a hat in each hand quickly covered the opening and secured the unfortu-
nate bird, and also the opportunity of giving to ornithologists an authentic

78 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

account of the number, size, and coloration of the eggs. The nest con-
tained four eggs, very closely resembling those of the Shrikes. The ground-
color is dull white or bluish, thickly blotched or freckled with reddish-
brown. The measurements of the three specimens preserved are 1.01 by
.66, .94 by .68, and .88 by .66. Incubation had been going on for about
ten days, and unfortunately one egg was destroyed in cleaning. — Wil-
bur F. Lamb, IlohjoJce, Mass.

Persistency at Nest-Building in a House-Wren. — A House- Wren
(Troglodytes aedon) has this season manifested a strong predilection for the
nozzle of a pump for a nesting- site. The pump being in daily use, the
nozzle, much to our surjirise, was repeatedly found to be obstructed with
sticks. An investigation of the novel incident led to the discovery of the
cause, it being found that a House-Wren was industriously at work carry-
ing materials into the pump for the construction of its nest. The bird
was finally left one morning to carry on his work, when, at the end of two
hours, it was found that he had filled the pump so full that water could
not be obtained until a part of the sticks had been removed. The nest,
through the necessary use of the pump, was three times destroyed before
the persevering little fellow abandoned his work. — Abbott W. Frazar,
Watertown, Mass.

A New Bird to Massachusetts. — Mr. Charles W. Townsend, of
Boston, shot, July 28, 1876, a male specimen of Pledroplianes ornatus.
It was taken in Magnolia, near Gloucester, Mass., in a field near the sea-
shore, and has been by Mr. Townsend presented to the New England col-
lection of the Boston Natural History Society. It is an adult male, in
worn plumage. — T. M. Brewer, Boston, Mass.

A NEW Form of Surnia to New England. — Two fine specimens of the
Hawk Owl have recently been taken in Houlton, Maine, and have been
mounted by Mr. Welch in his usual superior style. They are both males,
and while one is in the plumage usually known as Surnia Imdsonia, the
other is in that distinguished by the separate name of Surnia ulula, and
supposed to be exclusively Palcearctic. — T. M. Brewer, Boston, Mass.

Capture of the Philadelphia Vireo in New Hampshire. — A
specimen of this bird (Vireo jphiladelphicus) was shot in Hollis, New
Hampshire, May 26, 1876, by Mr. A. F. Eaton. It was feeding in com-
pany with two other birds of the same kind, in some low oak-bushes. —
W. H. Fox, Concord, Mass.

Occurrence of Passerculus princeps in New York. — One of my
correspondents, Mr. Frank E. Johnson, of Gravesend, Long Island, ^^Tite3
me that when out collecting, on December 20, 1876, on Coney Island, in
New York harbor, he shot thi-ee specimens of a Sparrow new to him,

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 79

which "were shown to Mr. George N. Lawrence, and pronounced to be the
Ipswich Sparrow (Passeradus frincejis). They were shot on the salt
meadows of the island, and were in company with Savannah Sparrows
{Passerculus savanna) and Swamp Sparrows (Melosjnza jyalustris). This is
the most southern record of this species.* — H. B. Bailey, Neicton, Mass.

The Pigeon-Hawk (Falco columharius) at Sea. — While returning from
a trip to Labrador, last summer, I observed small Hawks, undoubtedly of
this species, at a considerable distance from land, on two occasions.

The first occasion was on the 5th of September. "We were crossing the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and were in sight of the coast of Newfoundland,
which was about twelve or fifteen miles distant. As many as four Hawks
were seen, which came so near that we were able to recognize them as
Pigeon-Hawks. They seemed to be perfectly at home, flying over the
water, and showed no fear of the vessel, several times alighting on the
rigging.

The first that appeared had a Leach's Petrel, dead, in his talons. He
alighted with this, on the fore-crosstrees, and proceeded to eat it. The
Bailors were unwilling that we should fire into the rigging, so a young
man went up the fore-rigging, and nearly caught the Hawk, which flew
off, leaving his prey behind him. Three other Hawks came off to the ves-
sel during the day, and were all shot, but all, unfortunately, fell into the
water and could not be secured. The day was bright, clear, and warm,
with a light Avind from the north, so that we made very little progress.
The Hawks appeared to come from the direction of Newfoundland.

The second occasion was during our run from Cape Sable to Boston,
about fifty miles from the nearest land. It was the 10th of September, a
bright day, with a strong northwest wind. A small Hawk, probably a
Pigeon-Hawk, passed the vessel, flying to windward. Dr. Coues, in his
" Notes on the Ornithology of Labrador," mentions that a Hawk of this
species came on board their vessel during their return voyage, in a very
exhausted condition. This bu'd, however, was very shy, and was imme-
diately frightened away from the vessel. He also mentions seeing sev-
eral Sparrow-Hawks while in the Gulf of St. LawTence, off Cape Breton
Island, which " circled quite closely around the vessel, showing but little
fear." — John Murdoch, Cambrichjc, Mass.

Capture of a Second Specimen of Helminthophaga leucobron-
CHiALis. — In the first number of the Bulletin for the year 1876, Mr. Wm.
Brewster described a new species of Helminthoj)haga (H. leucobronchialis) ,
which he obtained in Newtonville, Mass., on May 18, 1870. He says in
his article, " Whether it must be placed in the same category with the

* For other records of occurrence of this species see this Bulletin, VoL I,
pp. 18, 52, and Vol. II, p. 27.

80 BULLETIN OF THE NUT TALL

unique Euspiza toimsencU, Regxdus cuvieri, etc., or, like Dendrceca Icirtlandi,
will turn up occasionally in the future at different points, or still again,
as in the case of Centronyx bairdii, will be found in large numbers, time
alone can decide." It is with pleasure, therefore, that I can announce the
capture of a second specimen of this species, so new to Ornithology, and
particularly also because it was taken in a locality so far distant from
where the first one was obtained. The specimen under consideration was
shot by Mr. Christopher D. Wood, on the afternoon of May 12, 1877, in
an apple orchard near Clifton, Delaware County, Pa. It proved to be a
male, and answered to the desci'iption given by Mr. Brewster. It is, with-
out doubt, a veritable specimen of H. leucohroncJiialis, and goes to prove
the species a good one. It was first called to my attention by Mr. Wood
himself, who told me that he had shot a specimen of H. leucohronchialis
near Clifton. He afterwards showed me the bird, which he had been com-
paring with the plate of the former specimen, and found it to be identical.
Whence these rarities come, whether they are abundant in certain sections,
and the characters of the females, are matters not yet known ; yet it is more
than likely that at no very distant day both the present species, as well as
Helminthophaga laivrencei, may prove to be nearly if not quite as abun-
dant as the other species of the same genus. — Spencer Trotter, Phila-
delphia, Pa.

The Mottled Owl as a Fisherman. — On November 29, 1876, I
took from a Mottled Owl's hole (Scops asio) the binder half of a Woodcock
(Philohela minor). Within two weeks after I took two Owls from the same
hole, and on the 19th of January last I had the good fortune to take an-
other. After extracting the Owl I put in my hand to see what else there
was of interest, and found sixteen Horned Pouts (Amiurus atrarius), four
of which were alive. When it occurred to me that all the ponds in the
vicinity were under at least two feet of snow and ice, I could scarcely conjec-
ture where the Horned Pouts could have been captured. After visiting all
the ponds, I found they had most probably been cajstured in one fully a mile
away, where some boys had been cutting holes through the ice to catch
pickerel bait. The Owl probably stationed himself by the edge of the
hole and seized the fish as they came to the surface. What a busy time he
must have had flying thirty-two miles after sixteen Horned Pouts ! I may
also state in this connection that I once found the ground under a Great
Horned Owl's nest (Bubo virginianus) literally strewn with fish-bones. —
A. M. Frazar, IVatertoivn, Mass.

Breeding of Leach's Petrel on the Coast of Maine. — In the Jan-
uary number of the Bulletin (Vol. II, 1877) Mr. N. C. Brown refers to
the Leach's Petrel (Thalassidroma leucorrho:a, Linn.) "as found for the first
time breeding on the New England coast," and mentions meeting with its

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 81

nests on the Green Islands in Casco Bay. That Mr. Brown was not the first
person to find it breeding even on the Green Islands would not be a fact
of sulficient moment to call for correction did not his statement suggest
the quite important error implied : that it is not known, and has not been
known, to breed elsewhere on the coast of Maine. That this Petrel breeds
along the greater part of the coast of Maine has been known as a fact for
many years. Whether Casco Bay is its most western point remains to be
ascertained.

In June, 1850, I made several weeks' explorations in the neighbor-
hood of Eastport, and found this bird breeding in all the Grand Menan
group — which geographically, if not politically, are part of the Maine
coast — on the island of Eastport itself, and on a small island between
Eastport and Machias. An account w\as published (Bost. Jour. Nat.
Hist., Vol, VI, p. 297). On the following year, in company with Dr.
H. R. Storer, I continued these explorations, and ascertained that this
species breeds abundantly on every suitable island as far west as Mt.
Desert. Several years afterwards, in the summer of 1855, and again in
1856, in company with Dr. Dixon, of Damariscotta, we traced their breed-
ing, in considerable numbers, as far west as Round Pond harbor, in Bris-
tol, and in the Damariscove Islands, in the ocean, not far from the mouth
of the Kennebec. In 1873, on Peakes Island, I saw specimens of the eggs
and birds taken by Messrs. Franklin Benner and Spencer Baird Biddle in
Casco Bay the same summer. On the strength of these observations, made
by others as well as myself, in my Catalogue of the Birds of New Eng-
land (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol XVII, p. 450), I spoke of this
Petrel as a summer resident on the coast of Maine. I have by me, in
MS., the letters of both these gentlemen in regard to their observations.
I subjoin a brief extract from the notes of Mr. Benner : —

" The first visit was made to Junk-of-Pork Island, about three miles
northeast of Peakes, in Casco Bay, on July 16, .1873. The island has an
area of half an acre at low water, and in the centre is an almost perpen-
dicular piece of rock about forty feet in diameter and nearly twenty-five
feet high. A dozen or more burrows of this Petrel, each with their single
egg, were found in the earth that had accumulated on the top of this rock.
The eggs were about half incubated. In two nests young were found only
a day or two old. One of the parent birds was found in each burrow, and
in one instance both.

" On the 22d of the same month I visited White Bull Island, located
twelve miles farther to the eastward, and comprising a much larger extent
of surface than the first. Here were also found the nests of the Petrel
among many of the Terns. Young birds were found in many of them, and
some eggs."

He speaks of having found them " abundant," and probably breeding in
several other " of the many barren islands in the neighborhood." — T. M.
Brewee, Boston, Mass.

82 BULLETIN OF THE NVTTALL

Nest and Eggs of the Alaskan Wren, — In a small collection of
birds' skins, nests, and eggs recently accj[uired by the Mtiseum of Compara-
tive Zoology, collected at the Pribylow Islands, Alaska, is the nest and
two eggs of the Alaskan Wren {Troglodytes partmlus var. alasce^isis), which
are believed to be the first ever seen by naturalists. The nest is quite large
and very compactly built, being composed externally of fine moss of a
bright green color, interwoven with fine roots, and lined heavily with hair
and feathers. Conspicuous among the latter are the rosy-tipped feathers of
the LeucostirAe griseinucha. The hairs are rather coarse and white, three
to four or five inches in length, and appear to be hairs of the Polar Bear.
The nest was obtained in June, 1876, on St. George Island, by Mr. W. J.
Mclntyre, to whom it was brought by a native. It is said to have been
placed deep down in the crevices of large rocks, and to have originally
contained twelve eggs, all but two of which were broken before they came
into Mr. Mclntyre 's possession. These measure, respectively, .68 by .51
and .60 by .50. Their general color is dull white, with a very few
minute dots of reddish, so few and small as to be easily overlooked. The
nest is represented to be very hard to find, being placed so deeply among
the rocks, this being the only oue Mr. Mclntyre could obtain during two
years' residence at the Islands, although he had a standing offer for them
of about ten dollars in gold each. — J. A. Allen, Cambridge, Mass.

JuNCO OREGONUS IN ILLINOIS. — October 14, 1875, 1 saw a flock of some
dozen birds in a willow-tree, and killed one with a sling. The rest flew
off, and were not seen again. The specimen w^as sent to Mr. E. W. Nel-
son, who identified it as Junco oregonus, the first one of this species cap-
tured in this State, its extreme eastern range as heretofore known being
Kansas. — H. K. Coale, Chicago, III.

Leptoptila albifrons, a Pigeon new to the United States Fauna.
— Mr. George B. Sennett, a diligent and zealous ornithologist, who has
been making collections and observations in Southern Texas, writes as fol-
lows from Hidalgo, Tex., under date of May 2, 1877 : —

" I have a dove which I do not identify, and accordingly send you a
description of a specimen killed April 18. This is a male. I have secured
four specimens, and hope to find the nest, as I am satisfied they breed
here. Their cooing is low and short, ending with a falling inflection, and

is easily recognized by its peculiarity Length, 12.50 ; extent,

19.50 ; wing, 6.35 ; tail, 4.50 ; tarsus, 1.37, middle toe and claw the same ;
bill, .62, black. Iris yellow. Orbital space small, faintly red and blue.
Tail square, of twelve feathers. Upper parts greenish-olive, the metallic
coloring purple with bronzy-green reflections, and restricted to back of
neck. Crown drab, shading to nearly white on the forehead. Chin white.
Foreneck creamy-slate. Belly white. Sides ashy. Wings brown, slaty
below, and whole underwing-coverts are bright chestnut, which color ex-

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 83

tends even on the sides. Middle tail-feathers like the back ; others brown
above, and tipped with white in increasing amount, till the outer ones are
white for half an inch ; tail below black, with the white tips, as just said.
Under tail-coverts pure white. In general habits, the bird is quiet and
not readily alarmed ; it associates with the White-wiiiged Doves (Me%je/ia
leucoptera), and prefers tall trees to undergrowth."

I sent my correspondent's letter to Mr. Ridgway, who kindly compared
the description with specimens of Leptotila alhifrons in the National
Museum, and made this identification. — Elliott Coues, Washington, D. G.

Melopelia leucoptera in Colorado. — Mr. E. L. Berthoud, writing
from Golden, Col., March 7, 1877, informs me of the occurrence of this
species near timber line on the head of Cub Creek, Jefferson County. He
saw a dozen or more of the birds — rare in this region — in July, 1869.
This verifies my surmise (Birds of the Northwest, p. 386) of the actual
occurrence of the sjiecies beyond hitherto recorded limits. — Elliott
CouES, JFashington, D. C.

The Ruff and the Purple Gallinule in Ohio. — Dr. Theodore
Jasper, of this city, obtained, November 10, 1872, at the Licking Reser-
voir, thirty miles east of Columbus, a Wader which remained uniden-
tified till recently. I was of the opinion that it would prove to be either
Philomachus pugnax, or a nondescript. On communicating my views to
Mr. H. W. Henshaw, of Washington, he kindly offered to compare the
specimen with others in the National Museum. He writes that the bird,
which was a male (probably young), is positively identical with specimens
of that species in the collection of the National Museum.

I have also just received from my friend, Dr. Howard E. Jones, a fine
skin of the Purple Gallinule {Porphyrio martinica), killed by him at Circle-
ville, Ohio, May 10, 1877. This bird is now recorded for the first time, on
unimpeachable authority, as a visitor to this State. Dr. Jones tells me that
it has been seen before in the vicinity of Circleville. In my Catalogue of
the Birds of Ohio (Ohio Agric. Rep., 1860), it was inserted on what I after-
ward discovered to be insufficient authority, and for that reason it was
omitted from a subsequent list (Food of Birds, etc. 1875). I have several
times been favored with reports, and once or twice with skins, presumed
to be of this species, which proved, however, to be those of the Florida
Gallinule, which is not a rare summer resident throughout the State. —
J. M. Wheaton, Columbus, 0.

Notes on Nyctale Acadica. — Although not generally common in
any locality, the Acadian or Saw-whet Owl has been of quite frequent
occurrence in Chicago and immediate vicinity during the past three years.
A female of this species in my collection was caught alive while sleeping
on one of the lower branches of a pine-tree, June 23, 1874. In July of
the same year three adult specimens were shot by a boy, who saved only

84 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL CLUB.

the wings, as he did not understand preserving skins. November 4 an
adult female was sliot in a small grove of pine-trees near the south city
limits. It measured, 8.12 X 18.60; wing, 5.50. March 26, Mr. C. C.
Whitacre caught an adult male at the same place. It was kept alive for
several days, when it died from being caught between the bars of its cage.
He afterwards shot two adult females in the same grove (which has since
gone by the name of the Acadian Grove), and also found one dead in
his yard. March 28 Mr. J. B. Osborne shot an adult female, and June 15
a young female, both of which are now in my possession. The latter
measured, 7.37 X 19.25 ; wing, 5.62. Disc dark brown ; forehead, wings,
and tail beginning to show white markings, as in the adult. July 10 a
second young specimen was brought to me alive. Although just cap-
tured, it showed no fear on being handled. In the shade the iris was
hardly visible, while in the sun the pupil contracted so much as to appear
as only a small black spot. The bird always sat, when perched, with two
toes before and two behind, puffing out its feathers at times so that it
looked nearly as round as a ball. The white markings were more clearly
defined than in the other, extending farther back on the forehead, and
entirely round the outer edge of the disc. This specimen is in the collec-
tion of Dr. J. W. Velie, who also found one dead on the lake shore at
Hyde Park, 111. July 16 a third juvenile was shot in a poplar-tree oppo-
site my residence. It was still more advanced toward adult plumage than
either of the others, especially about the head and wings. J. Strickland
(taxidermist) has a young specimen which was caught here about a year
ago. December 20 Mr. G. F. Clingman shot an adult female in Aca-
dian Grove, and March 4, 1876, a second specimen was shot in the same
place. These, with one male and two females which are also in collections
here, make a total of twenty, including two adult males, fourteen adult
females, and four in immature plumage. — H. K. Coale, Chicago, III.

Probable Breeding of the Acadian Owl (Nyctale acadica) in
Massachusetts. — The capture of this species in the adult state is by no
means of rare occurrence in Massachusetts, but its presence is generally
detected in the winter months. Of its breeding so far south in New Eng-
land I think there has hitherto been no instance recorded. We are now
able, however, to note the capture of three specimens in the plumage of
the so-called " alhifrons." The first was taken in Newton, Mass., on June
28, 1876 ; and the second at Hingham, Mass., on July 5, 1876 ; the third
was captured in one of the cells in the Penitentiary on Deer Island, Bos-
ton Harbor, on the 8th of the same month, by an inmate of the prison.
These localities being some ten or fifteen miles apart, it would seem hardly
probable that these three Owls belonged to the same brood. On April 4,
1877, a specimen in adult plumage was captured in the Penitentiary on
Deer Island, where the above-mentioned immature specimen was taken. I
am indebted to Mr. Wm. J. Knowlton, of Boston, for the above facts, and
from him I obtained one of the young specimens. — Rcthven Deane,
Camhridge, Mass.

BULLETIN

OF THE

NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

Vol. II. OCTOBER, 1877. No. 4.

NOTES ON MOLOTHRUS ^NEUS, Wagl.

BY J. C. MERRILL, ASSISTANT SURGEON, U. S. A.

The occurrence of this species north of Mexico was noted in the
Bulletin of November, I87fi (Vol. I, p. 88). It is now more than
a year since it was first observed, and during that time I have had
ample opportunity to study its habits, a short account of which
may be of interest. This Cowbird is found in Mexico, Guatemala,
and Veragua, as well as in Southern Texas ; how far it penetrates
into the latter State I am unable to say. My first specimens were
taken at Hidalgo, on the Rio Grande, seventy miles northwest of
Fort Brown, where, however, they are not so abundant as lower
down the river. Here they are common throughout the year, a
small proportion going south in winter. Those that remain gather
in large flocks with the Long-tailed Grackles, common Cowbirds, and
Brewer's, Red-winged, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds ; they become
very tame, and the abundance of food about the picket-lines attracts
them for miles around. 3f. ceneus is readily distinguishable in
these mixed gatherings from the other species by its blood-red iris
and its peculiar top-heavy appearance, caused by its habit of puffing
out the feathers of the head and neck. This habit is most marked
during the breeding-season and in the male, but is seen throughout
the year.

About the middle of April the common Cowbird, Brewer's, and
Yellow-headed Blackbirds leave for the North ; the Long-tailed
Grackles have formed their colonies in favorite clumps of mesquite
trees ; the Redwings that remain to breed have selected sites for
their nests ; the dwarf Cowbirds [Molothrtis pecoris var. obscurus)

86 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

arrive from the South, and M. ceneus gatlier in flocks b}' themselves,
and wait for their victims to build. The males have now a variety
of notes, somewhat resembling those of the common Cowbird
{Molothrus pecoris), but more harsh. During the day they scatter
over the surrounding country in little companies of one or two
females and half a dozen males, returning at nightfall to the vicin-
ity of the picket lines. While the females are feeding or resting in
the shade of a bush, the males are eagerly paying their addresses
by puffing out their feathers, as above noted, strutting up and
down, and nodding and bownng in a very odd manner. Every now
and then one of the males rises in the air, and, poising himself two
or three feet above the female, flutters for a minute or two, follow-
ing her if she moves away, and then descends to resume his puffing
and bowing. This habit of fluttering in the air was what first
attracted my attention to the species. In other respects their
habits seem to be like those of the eastern Cowbird [M. pecoris).

My first egg of J/, cejieus was taken on May 14, 1876, in a Car-
dinal's nest. A few days before this a soldier brought me a similar
egg, saying he found it in a Scissor-tail's (Milvulus) nest ; not rec-
ognizing it at the time, I paid little attention to him, and did not
keep the egg. I soon found several others, and have taken in all
twenty -two specimens the past season. All but two of these
were found in nests of the Bullock's, Hooded, and small Orchard
Orioles {Icterus spurixs var. affinis). It is a curious fixct that al-
though Yellow-breasted Chats and Red-winged Blackbirds breed
abundantly in places most frequented by these Cowbirds, I have
but once found the latter's egg in a Chat's nest, and never in a Red-
wing's, though I have looked in very many of them. Perhaps they
feel that the line should be drawn somewhere, and select their
cousins the Blackbirds as coming within it ; the Dwarf Cowbirds
are not troubled by this scruple, however. Several of these parasitic
eggs were found under interesting conditions. On six occasions I
have found an egg of both Cowbirds in the same nest ; in four of
these there were eggs of the rightful owner,* who was sitting ; in
the other two the Cowbird's eggs were alone in the nests, which

* It would be interesting to know what would have become of tlie three
species in one nest, and had the latter been near the fort, where I could liave
visited them daily, I should not have taken the eggs. It is probable, however,
that M. ccncus would have disposeil of the young Dwarf Cowbird as easily as of
the young Orioles.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 87

were deserted : but I have known the Hooded Oriole to sit on an
egg of M. ceneus, which was on the point of hatching wlien found ;
how its own disappeared I cannot say. Once two eggs of (enens
were found in a nest of the small Orchard Oriole (var. ajfinis). Twice
I have seen a broken egg of cfneus under nests of Bullock's Oriole
on which the owner was sitting.

Early in June a nest of the Hooded Oriole was found with four
eggs and one of M. ceneus, all of which I removed, leaving the nest.
Happening to pass by it a few days later, I looked in, and to my
surprise found two eggs of ceneus, which were taken ; these were so
unlike that they were probably laid by different birds. Still an-
other egg, and the last, was laid in the same nest within ten days.
But the most remarkable instance was a nest of the small Orchard
Oriole, found June 20, containing three eggs of ameus, while just be-
neath it was a whole egg of this parasite, also a broken one of this
and of the Dwarf Cowbird (var. ohsciirus). Two of the eggs in the
nest were rotten; the third, strange to say, contained a living
embryo. As the nest was certainly deserted, I can only account for
this by supposing that the two rotten ones were laid about the first
week of June, when there was considerable rain, and that the other
was deposited soon after, since which time the weather had been
clear and very hot. On one occasion I found a female ceneus hang-
ing with a stout thread around its neck to a nest of the Bullock's
Oriole. Tlie nest contained one young one of this Cowbird, and
it is probable that its parent, after depositing the egg, was entangled
in the thread on hurriedly leaving the nest, and there died ; it had.
apparently been dead about two weeks. This case supports the
view that the eggs or young of the owner are thrown out by the
young parasite, and not removed by its parent, though I could find
no trace of them beneath the nest.

Twenty-two eggs of J/, ceneus average .90 X •'i^, the exti-emes
being .95 X -75 and .82 X .65, The color is a greenish-white, iin-
spottecl, soon fading to a dull opciqtie lohite. There is more than the
usual variation in shape. Some are almost perfectly elliptical, others
are nearly round ; some are quite pointed at the smaller end, while
othei's still are there abruptly truncate.

The young, soon after leaving the nest, have the plumage uniform
dull black ; cheeks and sides of head bare ; iris brown.

Fort Brown, Texas.

BULLETIN OF THE NVTTALL

ON SEVENTY-FIVE DOUBTFUL WEST-COAST BIRDS.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

In Ornithological works written previous to 1860 we find many
species of birds mentioned as from " California " and the " North-
west Coast," which have not been confirmed as from that region,
and are therefore not referred to in more recent works. It is an
interesting question whether they were always wrongly allocated
there, or whether they may not, in many cases, have actually occurred
as stragglers, and deserve, therefore, a place in our Fauna. As an aid
in deciding these questions, I have compiled a list of all I can find,
with such remarks as seem required respecting the chances of their
occurrence, based on my own experience as a collector there for
more than twenty years, and the observations of others on their
usual range of distribution.

In 1852 Professor Baird published in Stansbury's Report of his
Exploration of the Great Salt Lake, p. 327, a list of such species as
were then known, including all given by authors as from west of the
Mississippi, but not figured by Audubon. The one hundred and
fifty-three nominal species included ninety-one from the Pacific
slope, of which only twenty have not been since confirmed as
belonging to our Fauna. Most of these were referred to again in
his " Birds of North America." Mr. Cassin undertook to figure
and describe " all " of these in his " Illustrations," but was un-
doubtedl}' saved from the repetition of many errors by the extensive
collections soon after made by the Pacific Railroad Expeditions,
although he has introduced several not since found in the United
States.

In Volume XIT, Part II, p. 288, of the Pacific Railroad Reports
(" Natural History of Washington Territory ") Dr. Suckley and
myself, in 1859-60, printed a hastily prepared list of birds, not
confirmed by us as from the " Northwest Coast," most of which,
however, do not require to be excluded at present, only twenty
out of one hundred and twenty-three coming into this list. I
have carefully reviewed every accessible authority, and included
only such as are distinct species and not represented within the
regions named by geographical races or near analogues, which might

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 89

reasonably be mistaken for them. The older authors in confound-
ing the races were quite excusable in giving them the same
specific names. Those now to be noticed come under three divis-
ions as to geographical distribution, viz. : first, those of tropical
and South America ; second, those of Asia ; third, those of the
Eastern United States. All circumpolar species, even if not re-
cently found on this coast, are omitted as very likely to be found.
The probability of the occurrence of the others varies chiefly with
the nearness of their usual range and their powers of flight, so that
we may frequently consider their occurrence r.s next to impossible,
as with the Mexican Quails and Jays which have been so often
credited to " California."

What we know of the Asiatic stragglers to Alaska shows that
they are usually strong flyers, and I may here mention two of the
Raptores found only in California so far, and each but once, which
have a very Asiatic aspect, viz, Biiteo cooperi and Onychotes ijru-
heri.

The first doubtful West coast birds were given by Gmelin as from
" Unalaska, Nootka," etc. ; the next came from " Oregon" ; and not
nutil 1830 did species begin to be credited to " California." At that
time the peninsula was included in this name, and yet very few
species, if any, were wrongly located on that accoimt, most of those
not found in "Upper California" being now unknown on the
peninsula, though often found on the West Mexican coast. The
cool sea-breezes of the coast act as an obstacle to the northward,
migration of many tropical species occurring on the Atlantic coast
in summer much farther north, while the Colorado Desert, over
one hundred miles wide, debars many more from the hotter
interior.

A few have been called " Californian " which occur about the
Gulf, but not within sixty miles of our line, though of course the
water-birds may follow so far up the Colorado River. Many were
no doubt carelessly labelled by collectors, or designedly misi-epre-
sented as from regions then almost inaccessible, to increase their
value.

As to "Oregon" of authors before 1853, it must also be re-
marked, that they included under the name the whole country
drained by the Columbia River ; and even now the State includes
part of the " Middle Province " of Baird, in which are found birds
not known from the coast. Captain Beudire is now for the first

90 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

time collecting thoroughly the birds of Eastern Oregon ; and his
published notes, as well as those of Allen and Henshaw for Utah,
of liidgway for Nevada, and Cones, Henshaw, and others for
Arizona, show very clearly what species distinguish the Middle and
Western Provinces. Although about fifty species of Land Birds
are given in the first volume of "Ornithology of California," which
belong properly to the Middle Province or to Lower California,
their habitats are so carefully described there that it is not neces-
sary to include the species hero, except in a very few striking
cases.

As shown by Professor Baird from the Xantus collection made at
Cape Saint Lucas, the Middle Province birds become common on
the coast and peninsula south of latitude thirty-five degrees, to the
exclusion of most of the characteristic Californian species, while
very few of those of ti'opical Mexico occur on the peninsula, so that
the chances are largely against the occurrence of the latter within
our limits. Assistance derived from original observations and
investigations by scientific friends, often unpublished before, is ac-
knowledged by giving their names as authority.

1. Tardus flavirostris, Svxdns., 1827, =; T. rufopalliafus, Lafres.,
1840, " Monterey, Cal." An abundant West Mexican bird, which may
straggle northward with flocks of T. inifjratorius, which it closely resembles
in habits.

2. Harporhynchus rufus var. longirostris (Lafres.), 1838. " Cali-
fornia and Mexico." The occurrence of this Eastern Mexican form is not
improbable, and it may have been the l>ird seen by me at Clear Lake, Cal.>
as recorded in History of N. A. Birds, III, 500.

3. -Slgithina leucoptera, VieilL, 1807, "North Amierica," ^ ? Mote-
cilla leacoptera, Vig., 1839, "Western North America," Baird, List, 1852
(not of Quoy and Gaimard, which is a PalsDotropical bird). If = Sylvia
leucoptera, Wilson, Index, it is Dendrccca cwrulescens, not known far west
of the Mississippi (Cones). [^■Eyithina leucoptera, Vieill., according to Gray
(Hand-List), is from India, while M. leucoptera, Vigors, is from Persia
(Lawrence).]

4. Sialia sialis {Linn.). " Columbia River," And. Syn., 1839 (error ?).
Not mentioned from there Ijy Townsend nor Nuttall, who wei-e then
the chief authorities. Still it very probably will occur west of the Rocky
Mountains. Some specimens of S. mexicana are stated to approach very
near it, from which Audul>on's statement may have arisen.

5. Parus caroUnensis, Aud. " Oregon," Nuttall, 1840, by error for
P. cdricapillus var. occidentulis, which is very near it.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 91

6. Geothlypis velatus {Vieill.) = Trichas delafieldi, Aud., 1839,
Nutt., 1840, Heerniami, 1858. " Oregon and California." It seems
strange that a bird so common as G. trichas is in the East should be con-
founded with such a different South American species. Townsend's speci-
men was doubtless from South America, but Heermann's were only G.
trichas. Lately recorded from Mazatlan, Mexico, and may therefore reach
the Lower Colorado.

7. Siurus auricapillus (Linn.). "Oregon," Nuttall, 1840, and recently
recorded irom Idaho, as well as Alaska and Mazatlan. "California,"
Bonap., Notes Delat., 1853, but may have been obtained in Nicaragua.
Still it very probably migrates occasionally through California.

8. Dendroeca montana (TFils.). " California," And., 1839-41, Nutt.,
1840. There is no further information respecting this very rare and
scarcely known bird than is given by the above-named authors.

9. Dendroeca striata (Forst.). "Oregon," Aud. Syn., 1839. Not
given by Townsend nor Nuttall, though it should pass west of the Rocky
Mountains in going from Alaska to the tropics. Yet it is not recorded
as from the Rocky Mountains or Mexico.

10. DendrcBca caerulea (JrHs.) ^ azurea, Ste-ph. " Oregon," Towns-
end's List, 1839, Aud., 1839, Nutt., 1840. Recently found west of the
Rocky Mountains, so that it may not have been confounded by Towns-
end, etc., with Polioptila, as I ^suspected. It has not been detected near
the coast.

11. Setophaga ruticilla (Xmih.). " California," Bonap., Notes Delat.,
1853, but was perhaps from Nicaragua. Still, as it is common through-
out the Rocky Mountains in summer, it may occur in California, though,
not known from Western Mexico.

12. Collocalia ? unalaschkensis (Gmel.). According to Cassin (II-
lust., 1855, 251), Gmelin's bird belongs to the genus Collocalia, which is
peculiar to the Pacific (tropical) islands, Japan, etc. If really found on the
Aleutian Islands, some may be expected to straggle to our coast in winter,
with other Asiatic species found there by Dall.

13 Hypocolius ampelinus, Bonap., 1850 (Consp.). "California."
This tpecies is now known to be from Sennaar, Upper Egypt, and is un-
doubtedly to lie removed from the list of West-coast birds.

14. Lanius lahtora, Sijkes, = L. elegans, Swains., 1831, Nutt., 1840.
Supposed to have been received from Northwest America, but it inhalnts
Siberia. Stragglers may, however, cross Behring's Straits, like several
other birds. " L. elegans " of other American authors is Collurio ludovi-
cianus (L.) var. rohiistus, Baird, 1873.

15. Vireo agilis, Licht., 1823, = V. virescens, Casl., not of Vieill., which
is V. bartrami. Swains., 1831; not of Aud., 1839, nor Nuttall, 1840.
This species, confounded by former authors with V. gilvus var. swainsoni,
has not been found north of Mexico, nor perhaps in North America, unless
Douglas really found it at the Columbia River, as supposed by Swainson.

92 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

16. Coccothraustes ferreirostris, Vigors, 1839, ^'papa, Kittl., 1830.
"California," Baird, 1852.* [This is now recognized as the papa of Kit-
tlitz from the Bonin Ishinds (Allen).]

17. Pyrrhula inornata, Vigors, 1839. "Northwest coast of America,"
Baird, List, liS52. Probably Asiatic ; certainly not North American.

18. Ramphopis flammigerus, Jard., about 1830, "Columbia Eiver."
[Now kn(nvn to be South American, — Columlda, Sclater and Salvin ;
New Grenada, Gray (Allen).]

19. Chrysopoga typica, Bonap.,\^bO. "California." [A Mexican and
Central American species, not yet confirmed as from California (Allen).]

20. "Emberiza" atricapilla, Grml, 1788, Aud., 1839-41. These
authors confound this Sandwich Island bird with the Zonotrichia coronata,
Pall., a common California bird described in 1831.

21. "Fringilla maculata," Aud., 1839 (Townsend's List), was a con-
fusing of Hedymeles melanocephalus. Swains., with some foreign species,
perhaps Pipilo nviculata, Swains. It occurs only in Audubon's plate, t

22. Pyrgisoma biarcuatus (Lft/res.), 1855, "California," is a Central
American bird.

23. Saltator rufiventris. Vigors, 1839, " West coast of North Amer-
ica," Baird, List, 1852. [A Bolivian species (Allen).]

24. Icterus baltimore (Linn.), "Columbia River." Aud. Syn., 1839.
No authority is given, and it is not mentioned ^by Townsend or NuttalL
Like the Sialia, it can only be a straggler.

25. Icterus pustulatus, Licht., " California," Bonap., Notes Delatt.,
1853, probably for Nicaragua. Some of these .species may be looked for
along the Colorado River.

26. Icterus " californicus " {Lesson), 1844; "California," Bonap.,
Consp., 1850. [This is a synonym of /. pustulatus (Lawrence).]

27. Icterus icterocephalus (Linn.), Bonap., 1825, Nuttall,1832- 40.
This well-known South American bird was only at first confounded with
our Xanthocephalus, and should not have been credited to California by
NuttalL

28. Xanthornus mexicanus (Briss.). " Pacific coast of (North ?)
America," Baird, List, 1852. [Probably Gymnomystax melanicterus (Vieill.)
of tropical America (Allen).]

29. Trupialis militaris (Linn.). " Monterey, Cal.," Neboux, Voy. de
la Venus, 1855 ; " San Francisco," Cutts, in Baird's N. A. Birds, 1858.

* Chrysomitris yarrdli (Aud.) and Hypocanthus stanleyi (Aud.) are now
generally believed to be (if not hybrid cage-birds) from South America, and as
he gives no authority for " Upper California," they may be omitted.

t P'<cdrophanes maccovmi, Lawr., is quoted from "California" by Ca.ssiu
(TIL, p. 229), but has not lately been found west of Arizona. Cnlamosjnza
bicolor, Towns., before reported doubtfully from "California," has been found
as a rare bird near Tulare Lake, by Mr. W. A. Cooper.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 93

Although not recently obtained in North America, it has thus been twice
reported from California.

30. Quiscalus major, Vieill " California," Gambel, 1847, but he
obtained it only at Mazatlan. It may be looked for on the Lower Colo-
rado.

31. Quiscalus purpureus (Bartr.). " Oregon," And., 1839, without
authority. "California," Gambel, 1847, Newberry, 1857, who probably
both mistook Scolecophagus cijanocephalus for it ; no specimens are known
from the west slope. S, ferrugineus (Gm.), " Oregon," Townsend, was ob-
tained there by Peale, and is common in Alaska.

32. Corvus ossifragus, JVils. "Oregon," Townsend's List, Aud. Syn.,
1839 ; "California," Woodhouse, 1853 ; all mistaking C. americanus var.
caurinns for it.

33. Cyanocitta beecheyi (Vigors), 1829. " California," Botta in
Eydoux's Voy. de la Favorite, 1839, but not known from the peninsula
recently, or found north of Mexico.

34. Cyanocitta ultramarina (re7?iTO.). Audubon (1839-40) and
Nuttall (1840) confounded this Mexican species with C. californica (Vig.).
The var. arizonce, Eidgw., may reach California at the Lower Colorado
River.

35. Calocitta colliei {Vigor), 1829, = Pica hullocH, And., 1831-42
(not of Wagler), Nuttall, 1840, both of whom described it as from the
"Columbia River," but without good authority, while Nuttall denies
ever having seen it there or in California. It probably does not even
straggle north of Mazatlan, Mexico.

36. Cyanocorax geofifroyi, Bonap., 1850. "' California." [This is
a synonym of Ciianocitta beecheyi (Lawrence).]

37. Sayornis fuscus (Gmel.). " Oregon," Townsend's List, 1839, but
it is not now known west of long. 100°. He may have mistaken S.
nigricans for it, as that reaches Southern Oregon.*

38. Antrostomus? macromystax (IFaf/^.), Cassin, p. 240. "Cali-
fornia," from a label in Mus. Phil. Acad. A well-known Mexican spe-
cies.

39. Antrostomus nigrescens ? Cab.,=A. " californianus," BonaY>.,
1850, New Grenada. I think some of the larger tropical species of
this family may stray into California, as I saw what appeared to be one as
large as A. carolinensis in Ventura County in 1872, but could not obtain
it, and heard no note.

40. Picus lineatus, Linn. " Oregon," Aud., 1839-41, from a speci-
men in Edinluugh " sent by Dr. Gairdner." Not known from North
America, and w^is probably collected in South America.

* Saurophagus bairdi, Gamb., 1847, has been attributed to California, but
was given by the author as from the Gulf Region of Mexico. It is South
American, and has not recently been reported from Mtixico.

94 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

41. Dryotomus delattri, i7o?trtjj., 1854. Doubtless labelled " Califor-
nia" by eiT<ir I'ur Niiaiai,nia.

42. Campephilus imperialis {Gould), ISZ2. "California," And, 1839,
Nutt., 1840, Cassin (figured), 1855. Although Nuttall states that Towns-
end shot a specimen in the Rocky Mountains, near the head of the Colo-
rado River, it is not mentioned in Townsend's List, nor figured by Au-
dubon. Townsend, however, states that he shot, but lost, a Woodpecker
resembling this on Malade River (now in Idaho). Cassin gives reasons for
supposing it may also occur in California, and it is to be looked for in
Arizona.

43. Melanerpes erythrocephalus {Linn.). " California," Gambel,
1847, Baird in Ornith. of Cal., 1870. Dr. Gambel does not seem to have
preserved any specimens, and as no later collectors have found it west of
Salt Lake City (" one seen," Ridgway), its occurrence in California must be
merely accidental.

44. Ceryle americana {Gmel). " Colorado River," Coues, 1866. As
Dr. Coues only thought he saw this species along the river, and as such a
large bird could scarcely escape the many collectors who have been at Fort
Yuma and along the Gila River (whose clear waters are better suited for
it than the muddy Colorado), we may doubt its occurrence until speci-
mens are obtained, its range in Texas not being north of lat. 30°.

45. Haliaetus pelagicus {Pall.), 1831. "Aleutian Islands." Al-
though not obtained by late collectors in that region, its occurrence as a
frequent visitor from Kamtschatka is more probable even than that of H.
alhicilla to Greenland, and it may be looked for at least as far south as
lat. 50° on our coast.

46. Syrnium nebulosum {Forst.). "California," Woodhouse, 1853.
The birds seen by him in Arizona, also, were probably S. occidentale,
Xantus, 1859. See Baird in Orn. of Cal., 1870, p. 431. There are several
instances besides this in which southern species of Owls do not extend
across the continent, although those of the arctic regions, being mostly
circumpolar, are common to both sides. Thus Nyctale tengmalmi might
have been included in the Orn. of Cal. instead of this, it having been found
in Oregon by Townsend.

47. Catharista atrata {Bartr.). " Columbia River," Douglass in Faun,
Bor. Am., 1831, Aud., 1839, Peale, 1848, Cassin, 111., 1853, 1858. It is
possible that these references Avere to the young of Ehinogryjjhus aura,
although an actual specimen seems to be alluded to. Dr. Gambel found
it quite common about the Gulf of California, but does not add California
as in other cases, nor has it been detected, though very likely to be, along
the Colorado.

48. Sarcorhamphus gryphus {Linn.). "Southwestern States,"
Bonap., l«28-33; ''Rocky Mountains," 1832-40, quoting Lewis and
Clarke's " l)ustards," and the bill and talons brought by them to Peale's
Museum. These were, however, probably those of Pseudognjphus calif or-

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 95

nianus, and from the Lower Columbia River. The Condor is doubtless
confined to South America, though quite able to visit our latitude.

49. Melopelia leucoptera {Linn.). This species, common in Ari-
zona, has not been collected in California, but in 1853 I saw white-winged
wild Pigeons, which I then had no doubt were this species, in the San
Francisco market. As they are often caged in Mexico, these may have
come from there, but it is also very probable that they may wander so far,
like the little Ground Dove, which has been shot at San Francisco.

50. Ortyx fasciatus, Natterer MSiS. "California," Gould, 1843, but
it is not now known north of Colima, Mex., and not at all likely to be found
north of that point.

51. Lophortyx elegans (Lesson), 1831. " Upper California," Nuttall,
1840, who, however, did not see it. Found at Mazatlan, but not much to
the northward. L. douglassi, Vig., is probably young of L. californicus.

52. Eupsychortyx cristatus (Linn.)= 0. neoxeniis, Vig., 1830, And.,
1839 - 42, Nutt., 1840. " Northwest coast of America," Beechey ; " Califor-
nia," Audubon. This species is not given in any recent lists of birds of
western tropical America. Beechey's specimen may have been a cage-
bird, or obtained in Costa Rica.

53. Gambetta flavipes (Gmel). " Oregon," Townsend, 1839 ; " Cali-
fornia," Woodhouse, 1853, Newberry, 1857. Although some undoubtedly
occur for a considerable distance west of the Rocky Mountains and in
Alaska, it is a curious fact that no specimen seems to have been collected
in California, Nevada, or Arizona, nor have I seen it, while the larger
species is alamdant.

54. Haematopus ater, VieilL, = H. toumsemU, And., 1839. " Oregon,"
And., not Townsend, Doubtless collected in South America, but, like
other shore birds, may be also more or less comuxoA to the coast of North
America.

55. Numenius rufiventris, Vig., 1828. " Pacific coast of North
America." The name would apply well to a common variety of N. lon-
girostris ; but it is not yet quoted as a synonym of that species, though
there seems to be no other species on the coast to which it is referable.*

56. Grus americana, Forst. " Oregon and California," Townsend and
Audubon, 1839. The error arose from confounding G. canadensis with
this, which is not now known to go west of long. 100°.

57. Audubonia occidentalis (Aud.). " California," Gambel, 1847,
" to Columbia River " ; Newberry, 1857. No specimens were obtained, and
they no doubt mistook the large var. " californica " of Ardea egretta for it.

58. Platalea ajaj a, Zi inn. ==" P. 7Jiexicfma,"? Willoughby. "California
to San Francisco," Gambel, 1847. Not seen since then north of the Gulf of

* Adodromus "boiuqxtrtei," Cassin, 1858, not of Schlegel, was coiifouiuleJ by
him with A. bairdi, Coues, 1861, and is still doubtful as a West-coast bird, as
is the more northern and Alaskan Adltunis barti-amiiis (Wils.).

96 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

California, and not very likely to straggle so far north, although Tantalus
loculator visits San Francisco Bay and vicinity every year. Could he
have been deceived by hearing Spatula clypeata called " Spoon-bill " ?

59. Anser segetum (Gmel.). " Probably on Northwest coast in winter,"
Nuttall, 1832. The evidence for the occurrence of this species anywhere
in North America is very slight, although it is quoted by Swainson and
Richardson from Hearne. [Doubtless A. canadensis (Cones).]

60. Anas obscura, Gmel. " Oregon," And., 1839, Townsend's List,
" California," Woodhouse, 1853. This, probably a melanistic form of
the Mallard, has not recently been found west of Utah. (See Henshaw,
Kept., 1875.)

61. Dafila urophasiana {Virj.), 1829. " Northwest coast." This
South American species has not been confirmed as from North America,
and, if found, occurs only as a straggler.

62. Iiarus belcheri, Vig., 1829. " Pacific coast of North America."
Though confounded by some with L. heermanni, this species is probably
limited to South America, and the range of the two species does not
meet.

63. Chroecocephalus atricilla (Linn.). " Colorado River," Coues,
1868, but not yet obtained on Pacific side north of Cape Saint Lucas.

64. Sterna antillarum (Less.). In exactly the same category as the
last.

65. Hydrochelidon nigrum (Linn.). "Oregon," Towns., 1839;
" California," Heermann, 1858. According to Coues (Mon. Laridse), the
common American bird is H. lariformis (Linn.), so that the H. nigrum is
not likely to occur, except as a straggler, in the West, where all I have
seen were the common kind. [This is probably what Townsend and
Heermann meant by " nirjrxim" (Coues). Saunders (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1876,
p. 642) makes them identical (Lawrence).]

66. Xema furcatum (Nehoux), 1840. " Coast of California." As this
remarkable species has not been confirmed from the West coast, the
locality may well be doubted, like too many recorded by the same author.
[Recently stated by Salvin to be an inhabitant of the Gallapagos (Law-
rence).]

67. Graculus carbo (Linn.). " Nootka Sound," Nutt, 1834, " Ore-
gon," Towns., 1839. Not confirmed by collections from the West coast,
and no doubt confounded with other species.

68. Sula bassana (Linn.). "Northwest coast of America," Nutt.,
1834.

69. Sula fiber (Linn.) ^^fusca, Vieill. " Off coast of California from
San Francisco south," Newberry, 1857. The species seen were probably S.
piscator (Linn.), and S. cyanops, Sund., which have been obtained from the
West Mexican coast, but not farther north, and I have not seen them
along the coast north of lat. 30° during several voyages.

70. Diomedea chlororhyucba (Gmel.). " Off the coast of Oregon,"

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 97

Towns., 1839, And., 1839-44. Audubon's figured type proves to be D.
culminata, Gould, and was probably obtained too far from our coast to be
included in its Avifauna, as none have been found lately alongshore or in
sight of land. Townsend does not include it in his list of Oregon birds.

71. Diomedea fuliginosa, Giml., = D. fusca, And., 1839-44. In-
cluded in Towusend's List, but not recently confirmed, and as he does not
mention D. nigripes, And., he may have referred to the type of that
species. The South Pacific D. exidans and Daption capensis should also
be excluded.

72. .aistrelata haesitata (KuJiL). " California," Lawrence, 1853, by
error for Priojinus cinereus (Gmel.). No record of the former from the
Pacific.

73. TufRnus ohscuTua (GmeL). "Northwest coast of America," Nnt-
tall,^1834. No late record of its occurrence in the Pacific.

74. Podiceps minor {Gtnel.). "Oregon," Townsend, 1839. Given by
Nuttall as North American, but not lately obtainetl, being a common
European species, and confounded by Townsend with either P. cornutus or
P. auritus.

75. Podiceps dominicus (I, win.). " California," Gambel, 1847. Prob-
ably not obtained north of the Gulf, and not confirmetl as living north of
lat. 32°.

REMARKS ON SELASPHORUS ALLEN J, Hej^shaw.

BY D. G. ELLIOT.

I HAD commenced an article in reference to the two forms of the
Selasphorus rufus of authors, as obsei'ved in Califoniia and Mexico,
when the July number of the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological
Club reached me, containing an interesting paper by Mr. Henshaw,
on the California bird, which he describes as new under the name
of S. alleni. That there are two well-defined sjiecies, as the terra is
usually understood nowadays, I have for a long time been well
satisfied in my own mind, and the peculiar shape of the lateral
rectrices would seem to be sufficient to establish the specific differ-
ences of the two birds. Mr. Henshaw has done good service in
pointing these out ; but unfortunately he has conferred a new name
upon the wrong bird, for it is the southern form that requires to be
designated, and not the northern, or to be perhaps more exact, it is
the red-backed bird with the broad tail-feathers, and not the green-
backed one with the narrow tail-feathers, that is in need of a name.

98 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

To prove this it would be necessary to go back in the history of the
species, and commence at the beginning. Gmelin seems to be the
first author who conferred a Latin name iipon the Rufous-throated
Hummer, which he did in his " Sj'stema Naturte " (1788), Vol. I, p.
497, sp. 57, and described it as follows: " Trochilus rufus ....
rostrum pedesque nigri ; colli pennte laterales nonnuUse elongatse mo-
biles ; tectrices alarum obscure virescentes ; rectrices splendide rufse
acuminatce, linea media longitudinali et apice nigris; cauda cu?ieata."
Moreover, he gives the habitat as "in sinu Americse Natka," and
quotes as his synonyms the Ruffed Honey-Sucker of Pennant's
"Arctic Zoiilogy," Vol. II, p. 290, No. 177, and the Ruff-necked
Humming-Bird of Latham's " Synopsis," Vol. II, p. 785, No. 56, t. 35,
whose specimen, as Latham informs us, came from Nootka Sound.
Now, as it is well known that the southern bird with the broad rec-
trices has a wide dispersion, going far to the north on the Pacific
coast, it might be said, " How are we to know that the specimen from
Nootka Sound was not this species, and that it was the one called
alleni by Mr. Henshaw 1 " Fortunately this can be satisfactorily
determined, and all doubts removed, by turning to the " Fauna
Boreali Americana" (Birds), and on page 324 we find that Swain-
son, in his article on the Trochilus (Selasphorus) rufus of Gmelin,
makes the following statement : " The discovery of this superb
species in the cold and inhospitable regions of Nootka Sound is due
to our great. navigator, Captain Cook, while to Dr. Latham belongs
the honor of first making it known to science. By a singular chance
we have at this moment before us one of the identical specimens, in per-
fect preservation, collected by the naturalists of that exp>edition ; it was
presented by the late Sir Joseph Banks to Mr. Bullock, and was
purchased by us at a very high price at the dispersion of that col-
lectors museum by public auction." In his description of the/or??i
of this bird, he says : " The tail, although short, is more cuneated
than rounded, the two middle pairs being longest, all are narrowed
and obtusely pjoitited at their extremities, but the two outer pairs are
particularly narrow^ It will thus be seen, I think, that the species
described by Gmelin from Nootka Soiuid was, without doubt, the
bird with narrow rectrices, as Swainson's specimen was a typical
one, if indeed it may not have been the original type ; and he was
too keen a naturalist not to have noticed the peculiar notch in the
rectrices next the median pair, observed in the bird with the
broad tail-feathers. He also speaks of the throat as being equally

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 99

brilliant with that of T. moscMlus (!) (which, so far as I have seen, is
never the case with the other species), and it has, he says, more of
a red than an orange gloss," and the tints are " exquisitely splen-
did" ; a perfectly accurate description of the California bird, but not
of the other, which has the gorget orange, and not at all brilliant. To
come a little nearer to our own time, we have Audubon, who, in his
"Birds of America" (8vo edition, Vol. IV, p. 202), thus describes
the SelaspJwrus rufus as he knew it from the specimens collected
on the Blue Mountains of the Columbia River and at Nootka
Sound by Messrs. Nuttall and Townsend : " Tail rather long,
broad, graduated, the lateral feathers four and a half twelfths of an
inch shorter than the cetitral ; the latter are extremely broad,
measuring four and a half twelfths across, and the rest gradually
diminish to the lateral, which are very narrow, all obtusely pointed."
Not a word, it will be noticed, is said of the notch on the first
rectrices from the central ones. The throat is also stated to be
"splendent fire-red," etc. Baird, in the "Birds of North America"
(1860), p. 134, in his description of the S. rnfns, says that "the
tail is strongly cuneate ; the outer feather .40 of an inch shorter
than the middle, which projects .14 of an inch beyond the rest. T/te
outer feather is very narrow, not exceeding .11 of an inch in ividth ;
the rest widen and lengthen rapidly to the central one, which is
very broad (.35 of an inch) ; the central feathers, are all ovate-acu-
ninate. The entire throat, including a short ruff on the side of the
neck (about .40 of an inch long), is metallic red, of the same shade
as in the Ruby-throat, although with brassy reflections in some
lights." Gould, in his " Monograph of the Trochilidrx',^' has appar-
ently confused the two species together, but he makes no mention
of the notched rectrices, but states they are all of a " broad lanceolate
form," and his figures would seem to be taken from the California
bird. I might go on and multiply the instances where writers in
their descriptions of S. rvfus have spoken only of the birds with the
narrow rectrices, although, as in Mr. Gould's case, they may have
had both Californian and Mexican specimens before them, but,
regarding them as one species, they have always selected for their
descriptions the specimens with the brilliant throats (as being in
more perfect plumage, as they supposed), rather than the duller-
throated examples, and so these last have escaped receiving a dis-
tinctive name, as they deserved. But I think enough has been
said to show that authors generally, and the older ones especially,

100 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL.

always described the bird with all the lateral rectrices narrow, and
destitute of any notch.

I have not said anything, in comparing the species, about the
color of the back, as I consider this is not altogether a satisfactory
character by which to distinguish the birds, though Mr. Henshaw
makes it one of his principal ones. Latham, in his original descrip-
tion, states that the " crown " was " glossy gi'een," and also that there
was a "greenish gloss between the wings." In the first place, the
females of both are entirely green in their upper surface, and this is
not always pure green, as I have specimens now before me, collected
by Boucard at Oaxaca, Mexico, in which the back is a yellowish-
bronze, precisely like young males in my collection from California
of the other form, collected by Dr. Heermann. Again, I have
young males, also collected by Boucard at Oaxaca, which have the
back of such a curious reddish-cinnamon that it is difficult to say
•what color it exactly is ; and Mr. Henshaw says, in his article
(p. 55), that " in California, however, where the aS'. rufus occurs in
its typical condition, that is, with an unmixed rufous back, specimens
are not uncommonly foimd ivhich exhibit a strong a2)2^roach to the colora-
tion of S. alleni " ; although, as he farther says, " they never apppear
to pass beyond a certain point.", It is, however, indisputable, that the
two species do vary in the amount of green upon their upper sur-
face, and also that at times they approach each other in coloration
so nearly that, were there no other differences existing, it would be
impossible to separate them. For this reason I do not place much
reliance upon the amount of green on the back as a specific charac-
ter. But there are other differences, I think, not mentioned by Mr.
Henshaw, to be observed in the females, by which this sex of the
two species can be distinguished. The female of the Mexican *
species has the rectrices broad.

In addition to the superior width of its rectrices, the Mexican
bird has the lateral tail-feathers, for more than a third of their
length in the central poi'tion, jet black, the base light rufous, and
the tips white, so that when the tail is closed, and looked at from

* I use the terms Mexican and Californian to designate the birds with broad
and narrow rectrices respectively, for the term rufous lias been so misapplied that
I cannot employ it at present without risk of adding to the confusion. At the
same time the bird called alleni is not restricted to California, as I have al-
ready shown, but goes as far north at least as Nootka Sound, and may iu winter
pass into Lower California, i)erhaps into Mexico.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

101

beneath, it appears all black, tipped with white. In the other
species the rufous of the basal portion is more extended, and the
blackish bar narrower, and does not occupy all the space between
the tips of the under-coverts and the white tips, at least on the
lateral feathers. I do not think that the females have any metallic
feathers on the throat ; those mentioned as females, with these
feathers, being usually young males. These last generally' have the
median rectrices cinnamon, the tips only being metallic green. As,
therefore, it will be necessary to bestow a new name upon the bird
with the metallic-orange throat and notched recti-ices next to the
central pair, the synonymy of the species will stand somewhat as
below.

The descriptions are taken from specimens in my collection from
California and Mexico respectively.

(1788.)
Lath., Gen. Syn., Vol. II, p. 785, pi. 35.

Faun. Bor. Amer., Vol. II, p.

Selasphorus rufas.

Trochilus riifus, Gmel., Syst. Nat., Vol. I, p. 497.

Ilaff-necked Humming-Bird,
(1781.)

Trochilus {Selasphorus) rufm, Swains.
324. (1831.)

Selas2)horiis rufv.s, Aud., B. Amer., 8vo ed. Vol. IV, p. 200. Baird,*B.
Amer. (1860), p. 134. Gould, Mon. Troch., Vol. Ill, pi. 137 (partiiii).

Selasphorus ruher^ Bon., Consp. Gen. Av., p. 82.

Ornismya soisin, Less., Hist. Nat. Ois. Monch., p. 190, pis. 66, 67.

Selasphorus alleni, Henshaw, Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. II, p. 54
(1877).

Habitat. In summer the
Pacific coast of America from
California to Nootka Sound.
In winter — ?

Male. Top of head and
back brouzy-green, dullest
on the forehead. Sides of
the head, rump, flank, abdo-
men, and under tail-coverts
rufous. A gorget of metal-
lic feathers, covering all the throat and extending on to the sides of the
neck, brilliant coppery-red, with brassy reflections in certain lights. Up-
per part of breast white. Wings purplish-brown. Tail short, cuneate,

* Figures reprinted from Mr. Hensliaw's article (this volume, p. 53), with
change of names.

S. RCPUS, cf .

S. HESSHAWI, (f.

102 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

all the feathers acutely pointed. Median rectrices rather broad, lateral
ones narrowing rapidly to the outermost, which is extremely narrow.
Bill straight, black.

Female. Above entirely green, with a slight cinnamon shade on the
rump. Under surface grayish-white, with a slight brownish tinge on tlie
breast. Tail-feathers rufous at base, then a narrow subterminal bar of
violaceous-black, and tipped with white.

The next species I propose to call

Selasphorus henshawi.

Trochilus rnfus, Henshaw, Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. II, p. 53
(1877).

Habitat. Mexico, northward along the Pacific coast to Sitka.

Male. Top of the head metallic-green, rest of ui)per parts cinnamon,
but some specimens have green feathers intermixed with the rufous on the
back. Throat metallic-orange, not brilliant as in the other species. Breast,
and the centre of the abdomen, white ; flanks and under tail-coverts
rufous. Tail rufous, tipped with dark brown ; feathers pointed at tip,
median pair broad, lateral ones growing narrower to the outermost, which
is the most attenuated. On the inner web near the tip of the rectrices next the
central pair is a conspicuous well-developed notch. Bill black. Total
length, 3| inches ; wing, \h ; tail. If ; culmen, f .

Female. Entire upper parts shining grass-green, dullest on the crown.
Throat white, spotted with brown. Under parts white ; washed with
rufous on the breast and flanks. Under tail-coverts buff". Median rec-
trices green ; lateral ones rufous at base, then a band of metallic-green,
succeeded by a subterminal broad black bar, and tips white. Bill black.
Length, 3| inches ; wing, 1| ; tail, 1| ; culmen, f . Young males similar
to the females, with a few metallic spots on the throat.

THE YELLOW- THEOATED WARBLER {DENDRCECA
DOMINICA).

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

It is indeed surprising that a bird so generally distributed through-
out the Southern States as the above-named species should be so lit-
tle known. In " Histoiy of North American Birds" (Vol. I, p. 241),
Dr. Brewer prefaces his account of its habits by the remark that
its history " is very imperfectly known," and then proceeds to draw
upon the meagre and conflicting descriptions given by Wilson,
Audubon, and Nuttall. Although I cannot myself claim an ac-

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 103

quaintance of very long standing -with this beautiful little species,
still for five or six weeks during the past spring scarcely a day
passed that I did not see one or more individuals. I first met with
them at Mellonville, Florida, where, on ^March 14, I shot two speci-
mens, both females, in the pine woods near the town. They were
associated with Pine Warblers, Nuthatches, and Woodpeckers.
During a trip up the Wekiva River, March 19 to 23 inclusive, I
heard at frequent intervals a Warbler that I did not recognize sing-
ing in the cypresses, but from the impenetrable nature of the
swamps, and the great height of the trees, I was unable to get even
a glimpse of the bird. A week later, while descending the St,
John's River by steamer, I again constantly heard, both from the
cypress swamps and the open piny woods, the notes of this, to me,
unknown species, and although I felt almost certain of its identity,
it was not until I reached St. Mary's, Georgia, that I proved to my
satisfaction that my suspicions were correct. There, from the 6th
of April to the 4th of May, I enjoyed abundant opportunities of
studying its habits, for it was everywhere, in suitable localities,
if not one of the most abundant, at least a generally distributed
species. At the time of my arrival the males were in full song and
mating. A few individuals haunted the moss-hung live-oaks that
shaded the village streets, but the open piny woods were their fa-
vorite abode. There, with the Summer Redbird {Pyranga (estiva),
the Pine Warbler {Dendroeca innus), the Brown-headed Nuthatch
{Sitta pusilla), and a variety of Woodpeckers, they frequented the
beautiful Southern pines. Indeed, so great was their attachment
to this tree that, with the exception of those heard in the cypress
swamps of the Upper St. John's, and the few that inhabited the
oaks in the town, I do not remember to have seen one in any other
tree. So marked and unvarying was this preference, that on more
than one occasion I made use of the notes of this bird to guide me
out of some bewildering thicket, feeling sure that beyond where it
was singing I should find the more open pine-clad country.

Nearly all the authors who have written on the Yellow-throated
Warbler from personal observation compare his movements along
the branches to thoseof the Black-and-white Creeper (J/?«?'o<t7^a varia).
At first I was inclined to the same opinion, but after my eagerness
to secure specimens had somewhat abated, through success in col-
lecting them, I felt more at leisure to watch the pretty little birds
before taking their innocent lives, and, having spent many hours in

104 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

carefull}^ studying their habits, I became convinced of the error of my
earlier impressions. Their movements are much slower than those
of the Mniotilta, and there is less of that crouching, creeping motion.
They do, indeed, spend much of their time searching the larger
branches for food, but it is much more in the manner of the Pine
Warbler, and their motion is rather a hopping than a creeping one.
I have never seen them ascend the trees from the roots to the top-
most branches, as Audubon relates, but I occasionally observed one
clinging against the main trunk for a moment, to seize an insect,
as will the 'R\neh\v(\ {Sialia sialis) and many of the Warblers. Their
hunting-ground is for the most part, however, among the higher
branches, and a considerable part of their time is spent at the ex-
tremities of the limbs, searching for food among the pine needles.
Their Vjright yellow throats, brought out by contrast with the dark
evergreen foliage, give them a certain resemblance to the Black-
burnian Warbler (^Dendnxca blacl-burnue). The males are not veiy
persistent singers. I rarely heard them during the warm hours
of the day, even when pairing was almost their sole occupation.
Their song is very pretty ; it may be nearly imitated by the syl-
lables Tivsee-twsee-tivsee, twsee-see, the last two rising and terminat-
ing abruptly. It most nearly resembles that of the Nashville
Warbler {Ilelminthojyhaga ruficapilla), beginning in almost the
same waj^, but ending differently, and, indeed, throughout the notes
are much sweeter. Both sexes utter a chirp similar to that of other
Warblers, but sharper.

By the middle of April there was a marked decrease in the
number of Yellow-throated Warblei's about St. Mary's. This was
partly owing to my having shot many for specimens, but not en-
tirely to this, for extended researches over new ground convinced
me that the greater number had passed on, probably to the north-
ward. A few, however, still remained ; perhaps on an average one
pair to every hundred acres of pine forest. While collecting near
St. Mary's, April 18, I was in the act of shooting a female when I
noticed that she was gathering material for building, and, tracing
her flight, I was fortunate enough to discover her half-completed
nest. Visiting the spot at frequent intervals, I invariably found
both birds feeding among the pines in the vicinity, although the
nest, as far as I could judge, seemed finished. At length. May 2,
a friend, ascending the tree, found the female sitting. She remained
on the nest imtil he nearly touched it, although the limb shook

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 105

violently under his weight. When she did finally leave it she sailed
down into a smaller tree a few rods oflf, where she remained a silent
and seemingly unconcerned spectator of what followed. The nest
and its contents being safely lowered to the ground, I shot both the
female and her mate. The latter was singing, as usual, a short
distance off, and apparently took no more interest than the female
in the destruction of their mutual hopes. Embryos of small size
had already formed in the eggs, so that incubation must have
begun three or four days previously. This nest was placed at the
height of about thirty-five feet from the ground, on the stout hori-
zontal branch of a Southern pine, one of a thinly scattered grove
or belt that stretched along the edge of a densely wooded hummock.
It was set flatly on the limb, — not saddled to it, — nearly midway
between the juncture with the main trunk and the extremity of the
twigs, and was attached to the rough bark by silky fibres. It is
composed externally of a few short twigs and strips of bark bound
together by Spanish moss {Tillandsia usneoides) and a silky down
from plants. The lining consists of a few hair-like filaments of
moss and soft cottony vegetable down. The whole structure is
neatly and firmly compacted, though essentially simple in appear-
ance, and, from the nature of the component materials, of a grayish
inconspicuous color. In size, shape, and general formation it very
nearly resembles nests of the Black-throated Green Warbler (Den-
drceca virens) in my collection. It measures externally 2.80 inches
in diameter by 1.70 in depth; internally, 1.77 inches in diameter by
1.30 in depth. The eggs, four in number, measure .69 by .53 of an
inch. They are quite regularly ovate, wnth fine dottings of pale
lilac scattered thinly and evenly over a grayish-white ground-color.
A few spots or blotches of burnt sienna occur about the large ends,
while occasional irregular penlike lines of dark brown diversify the
remaining surface.

Upon referring to published accounts of the nesting of this
Warbler, I find the statements by the different authors most con-
flicting, and the authenticity of many of the specimens open to
gravest doubt. Both Mr. Maynard (in " Birds of Florida," Part II,
page 61) and Dr. Coues ("Birds of the Northwest," page 67) base
their descriptions upon alleged specimens sent to the Smithsonian
Institution by Mr. Norwood C. Giles, of Wilmington, N. C. Dr.
Brewer refers to these specimens as " eggs supposed to be of this
species," and Dr. Coues describes the nest as " built in a large mass

106 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

of Spanish moss," and as " composed chiefly of that material. A part
of the moss which hung from an oak bough, two feet downward
and a foot across, was caught up and closely woven together with a
little fibrous substance and much plant-down, to form a swing-
ing bed for the nest, with a lateral entrance which will admit the
hand. Inside is the nest proper, of the usual dimensions, very
neatly wrought of the moss, with a smooth even border, and lined
with plant-down and a few fine grasses." From the great difference
in the position and structure of the nest, there seems little reason
to doubt that Mr. Giles was mistaken in his identification. Nut-
tail's account of " its curious. fabric, suspended to a kind of rope
which hangs from tree to tree," is manifestly fabulous, while
Audubon's description is, to say the least, very vague and unsatis-
factory, though, as ftir as it goes, it certainly most nearly approxi-
mates to the specimen before me.

From the number of individuals I saw near Savannah, Ga., May 5
(I heard in Bonaventure Cemetery four different males singing at one
time), I am led to believe that the Yellow-throated Warbler breeds
more abundantly in Northern Georgia (and perhaps in South and
North Carolina) than farther south.

^tttwt ilttcratitrr,

D'Hamonville's Enumeration of the Birds of Europe.* — The
writer is indebted to his friend and correspondent, Baron D'Hamonville,
for a copy of bis recent Catalogue of the Birds of Europe, which deserves
more than a mere mention on account of the admirably comprehensive
manner in which it has been prepared. Wliile it enumerates every form
that has been claimed to have been taken within the limits of Europe, it
is careful to designate in a significant manner the writer's mode of dis-
sent. Thus, names believed to have no specific significance, or to rep-
resent a race rather than a species, are marked with a Greek minuscule ;
those whose presence is questioned are given with an interrogation sign,
and those whose occurrence is exceptional are also designated. Thus
divided, the Baron makes the whole number 658, as follows : —

* Catalogue des Oiseaux d'Europp, ou enumeration des especes et races d'oi-
seaux dont la presence, soit habituelle soit fortuite, a ete dument constatee dans
les liniites geographiques de I'Europe, par J. C. L. T. D'lliunonville. 8vo.
pp. 74. Paris : 1876.

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB.

107

Species resident or of regular migration .
Species of fortuitous occurrence .
Species whose capture in Europe is disputed
European races ......

. 425

156

. 22
55

658
The number of accidental visitors is surprisingly large, being about one
fourth of the whole Catalogue, and is verj^ nearly equally divided between
Africa, Asia, and North America, These do not include those whose
presence is disputed, though the number of the latter should probably be
enlai-ged. Thus Haliaetus leucocephahis is accepted without dispute, though
its right to be included is generally questioned.

Appended is a list of the portion of the visitors to Europe from North
America, with the region where taken : —

Tritiga lionapaiiei, England and France.

Tringa pusi/la, England.

Trifngites riifescens, England, France,
Heligoland.

Gamhetia flacipes, England.
Rhyacophilus solitai-ius, Scotland.
Actltis macularia. Western Europe.
Bartramia lo))f/icauda, Central Europe.
Si/mphemia semipalmata, Sweden, France*
Botaurus leiitiyinosiis, Germany, Eng-
land.
Pufflmm ohscurus, France, England.
Puffinus fidi(ji)iosus, France, England.
Thalassidroma leucorrhoa, Western Eu-
rope.
ChnEcocephalm atricilla, France, Eng-
land.
CkrcFcocfiphafus philadelphin, England.
Xema sabinei, Northern Europe.
Mareca amerlcana, England.
Qnerqitedida dlscors, France.
Aix sjioiisa, England, France, Germany.
Fulix collarls, England.
Fidix (iffints, England.
C/anfftda albeola, England.
(Edemia perspicillata, Western Europe.
Mergus cuad/atun, France, England.
Uria columba, Greece (Von Heuglin).
Simorhynchus psittaculus, Sweden.

T. M. B.

Merriam's " Review op the Birds of Connecticut." * — Through

Nauderits furcahis, England.

Acclpiter atricapdlus, Scotland.

Scops asio, England.

Picus villosus, England.

Picas pnbescens, England.

Corcyzus americamis, England.

Coccyziiserylhrophth'dnuts, Italy (Lucca).
Alcedo alcyon, Ireland.

Agelceus phaniceus, England.
Loxia leucoptera, England.
Anthus ludovicianus, Heligoland.

Tardus fuscesc.ens, Pomerania.

Tardus pallasi, Switzerland.

Tardus sivainsoni (not given).

Ilarporhynchus rufus, Heligoland.

Regulus calendula, England.

L)endr(tca virens, Heligoland.

Prague purpurea, England.

Ilirundo bicolor, England.

Ectopisles migratorius, Russia, Norway,

England.
Charadrius virginicus, Heligoland.
C/iaradrius fulvus, Malta.
^Egialilis voclfera, England.
Numenius hudsoni'cns, Iceland, England.
Nunmiius boreaJis, Scotland.
Macrorhamphus griseus, Northern Eu-
rope.
Tringa maculata, England.

* A Review of the Birds of Connecticut, witli Remarks on their Habits
Hart Merriam. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, Vol. IV, pji. -

ByC.

1877.

108 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL

the kindness of tlie author we have received advance sheets of the above-
cited ])aper, shortly to be issued under the auspices of the Connecticut
Academy, as the first of a proposed series on the Fauna of that State.
Since the appearance of Linsley's " Catalogue of the Birds of Connec-
ticut" in 1843, no detailed enumeration of the birds of that State has
been published. Hence the advent of Mr. Merriani's paper must be hailed
with interest by all engaged in the study of New England Ornithology.
The author gives in all two hundred and ninety-two species. Of these
he arranges under special lists in tabular form, one hundred and thirty-five
as " summer residents " ; twenty which probably breed occasionally, but are
not known to do so ; forty-one resident species ; ninety migrants ; sixty-
seven winter visitants ; thirty-one irregular summer visitants ; forty-six
rare accidental visitants ; and nineteen rare and irregular visitants. Fol-
lowing these is a tabulated analysis of Linsley's Catalogue, in which he
eliminates sixty-three species given by that author on apparently insuf-
ficient authority, though many of these are afterwards included by Mr.
Merriam upon more recent and tangible evidence. The Avifauna of Con-
necticut, though essentially Alleghanian in character, has been long known
to embrace many Carolinian forms, but the relative extent of this " tinge,"
geographically as well as specifically, has been considerably developed by
Mr. Merriani's careful researches. Thus, upon unimpeachable authority
are given as birds of Connecticut, Dendrceca dominica, Loylioplianes bicolor,
Oporornis formosus, Cardinalis virginianus, Empidonax acadicus, and Cen-
turus caroliniis, while, singularly enough, several species known only in the
more northern New England States as spring and fall migrants have been
found breeding. In the careful elaboration of interesting details culled
from personal experience and the note-l>ooks of well-known and trust-
worthy field collectors, this paper is most rich. Indeed, if we may be
permitted to qualify otherwise undiluted praise by a little censure, we
should say that a judicious summarizing of data and incident would divest
this paper of a great deal of unnecessary cumbersomeness. Still, it is
perhaps Ijetter to err in this direction than in the other and too common
one, and Mr. Merriam certainly deserves much credit for his ai\luou3
labors. — W. B.

Note on Doricha enicuka (Vieill.). — About two years ago Mr. H.
W. Henshaw submitted some birds to me for determination, among which
Avas the female of a species of Humming-Bird obtained by him in Arizona,
which I considered to be Doricha enicura, and it is so recorded in United
States Geograj.hical Survey AV. of 100th Meritlian, Vol. V, Chap. III. On
a re-examination lately made, I find it was not properly referred, aiid a
comparison with the female of CalothoniK lucifer (Sw.) shows it to be that

ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 109

species, which must now be included in our Fauna in place of D. enicura.
At the time of my first examination I had no specimen of the female of C.
lucifer, and was misled by the general similarity of coloring of the two
species, especially the distrilmtion of colors in the tail, both having it
rufous at base, black in the middle, and white at the end ; D. enicura has the
tail-feathers narrower, and the rufous on their bases rather more in extent.
The females of Calothorax j)ulchra and of Myrtis fcmnia; closely resemble
the same sex of the species spoken of above in general plumage, and in
having their tails of the same pattern of coloration. In many allied forms
among the Trochilidxe, the females resemble each other so much that a
satisfiictory determination of them is quite difficult, except with authentic
examples of the different species to compare with. — Geo. N. Lawrence,
New York City.

' OCCURREXCE OF THE BlaCK VuLTURE OR CaRRION CrOW IN OhIO. —

On or about December 20, 1876, I came upon three individuals of this
species {Gathartes atratus, Less.), feeding on the carcass of a hog, in a
wooded ravine near Madisonvillej; one of them I shot at and wounded, but
lost sight of it in the Avoods, and the other two remained in the immediate
vicinity long enough to give me an excellent opportunity to observe their
peculiarities of form and flight, although I could not approach within
gunshot of them. On January 1, 1877, however^ I found a specimen that
had been killed a few days previous, in the same locality, by Mr. Edwin
Leonanl, of Madisonville, under circumstances rendering it probable that it
was the^one I had wounded ; its skin is now in my collection.

The occurrence of this bird in Ohio, or in fact anywhere in the Missis-
sippi Valley north of the Ohio Eiver, has heretofore rested solely on
Audubon's account of its range, which has been quoted by all subsequent
writers ; and, being essentially a southern species, its capture here, at a
time when the Ohio River was frozen over and the ground covered with
several inches of snow, seems worthy of remark. I have identifietl this
species here satisfactorily to niyself, on two previous occasions, both in
winter, but have never seen the "Turkey Buzzard" (C*. aura) at that season,
although it is quite common during the sunimer. — Fr^\nk W. Langdon.

Occurrence of the Western NoNPAREri. and Berlandier's Wren
AT Fort Brown, Texas. — Dr. J. C. Merrill, U. S. A., in a recent letter
to the writer, says : " I have recently (April 2.3 and 24, 1877) taken two
fine males of Gyanospiza versicolor, a bird new ta oui* Fauna, although
included in Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's ' Histoay of North American
Birds.' I have also heawl and seen several others. They frequent mes-
quite chaparral, and betray themselves by their notes, which somewhat
resemble those of G. cyanea. Berlandier's Wren {Tkryothorus ludovicicmus
var. berkmdieri), also new, but included in Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's
work, I find to be a rather common visitant." Di-. Merrill also states that

110 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL CLUB.

he had ju?t found a beautiful nest of Spermoiihila moreleti, which proves
to be a rather abundant species. — J. A. Allen, Cambridge, Mass.

A Cuckoo's Egg in a Cedar-Bird's Nest. — On July 19, 1874, while
collecting in a piece of swampy second growth about four miles from
Utica, N. Y., I discovered a nest in a small sapling about eight feet from
the ground, Avhich, on examination, I found to contain four eggs of the
Cedar- Bird (Ampelis cedrorum), and one egg of the Cuckoo. From the
damp situation, from the appearance of the egg itself, and from the fact
of my having found the nest of that bird in the same piece of wood the
previous year (1873), I am led to believe it was that of the BLack- billed
species {Coccyzus erythrophthalmus). The nest was deserted and apparently
had been for some time, as all the eggs were addled, nor could I see that
incubation had begun ; certainly it had not in the Cuckoo's egg. I can
find no mention in print, nor have I ever before heard, of such a case. —
Egbert Bagg, Jr., Utica, N. Y.

[The laying of our American Cuckoos in the nests of other birds is
doubtless not so rare an occurrence as has been supposed. Two instances
have been observed recently in this immediate vicinity, and I have heard
of others. Mr. A. M. Frazar, of Watertown, Mass., informs me of one in-
stance where the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) deposited
an egg in a Robin's nest, and another case of the laying of the same
species in the nest of a Wood Thrush. In the March number of the
" Odlogist" (Vol. Ill, p. 3, published at Utica, N. Y.) an anonymous writer
records (since Mr. Bagg's note was received for publication) the ilnding of
two eggs of the " Cuckoo " (species not given) in the nest of a " Redbird "
at Gambler, Ohio. — J. A. Allen.]

Occurrence for the first Time in England op the Robin (Tnrdiis
migratorius). — Mr. J. E. Harting records the first occurrence in England
of this species in an article in " The Field " (published in London, Eng.),
of December 23, 1876, and also in the "Zoologist" for January, of which
paper he is editor. The bird was taken alive, owing to its exhausted
state, when reaching land at Dover, during April or May.

Mr. Harting is a well-known authority on stragglers, having published
in 1872 a Handbook of British Birds, in which was recorded 212 speci-
mens of American birds, belonging to 42 different species. Since that
time some of these have been discredited, and others added, until at the
present time the list embraces 220 instances of the occasional appearance
in Great Britain of North American birds. Of the species referred to in
this list, there are five birds of prey, fourteen Pasgeres and Picarice, one
Cohnnba, fourteen Grallatores, and eight Natatores. The prevailing winds
of the Atlantic being westerly probably accounts for the greater abun-
dance of American stragglers in Europe than the contrary. — H. B, Bailey,
Orange, N. J.

INDEX

Accentor auricapillus, 31.

Accipiter atricapillus, 107.

Actitis macularia, 107.

^gialitis vocifera, 107.
" wilsonia, 13, 46.

■^giothus canescens, 14,46.
" exilipes, 51.

" rufescens, 51.

J?5githina leiicoptera, 90.

^strelata haasitata, 97.

Agelffius phccniceus, 107.

Aix sponsa, 107.

Akhurst, J., capture of the Egyptian
Goose on Long Island, N. Y., 52.

Alccdo alcyon, 107.

Allen, J. A., note on breeding-dress of
Phalaropes, 41 ; nest and eggs of the
Alaskan Wren, 82; on Cuckoos lay-
ing in nests of other birds. 111.

Ammodromus caudacutus, 27, 28.

Anas obscura, 96.

AnatidiE, neotropical, notice of Sclater
and Salvin's paper on, 24.

Anser gambeli, 14, 46.
" segetum, 96.

Anthus coronata, 32.
" I'herminieri, 33.
" ludovicianus, 17, 107.

Antrostomus macromystax, 93.
" nigrescens, 93.

Aramus scolopacens, 23.

Archibuteo ferruL'ineus, 26.

Audubonia occidentalis, 95.

Bagg, E., Jr., Cuckoo's egg in a Cedar-
Bird's nest, 110.

Bailey, H. B., occurrence of Leconte's
Bunting in Iowa, 26 ; occurrence of
Passerculns priiiccps in New York, 78 ;
occurrence for the first time of the
Robin in England, 110.

Bartramia longicauda, 107.

Bernicla hutchinsi, 14, 46.
" leucopsis, 17.

Botaurus lentiginosus, 107.

Brachyotus cassini, 14.

Brewer, T. M., a defence of his Cata-
logue of New England Birds, 44 ; a
new bird to Massachiissets, 78 ; a new
form of Suriiia to New England, 78 ;
breeding of Leach's Petrel on the
coast of Maine, 80.

Brewster, Wm., the Black-and- Yellow
Warbler, 1 ; northern range of the
Sharp-tailed Finch, 28 ; two unde-
scribed nests of Californian birds, 37 ;
an undescribed Hybrid between two
North American Grouse, 66 ; the Yel-
low-throated Warbler, 102.

Brown, J. A. H., on jEyiothus exilipes
in Europe, 51.

Brown, N. V., notes on birds new to the
fauna of Maine, etc., 27.

Bubo virginianus, 80.

Bunting, Chestnut-collared, 78.
" Leconte's, 26.

" MacCown's, 52.

Burroughs, J., notice of his " Wake-
Robin," 48.

Buteo cooperi, 89.

Buzzard, Ferruginous, 26.

Calamospiza bicolor, 92.

Calocitta colliei, 93.

Cardinalis virginianus, 108.

Carpoducus ampins, 60- 66.
" frontalis, 60-66.

" purpureas, var. californi-

cus, 37.

Catharista atrata, 94.

Cathartes atratus, 109.

Centurus carolinus, 108.

Ceryle americana, 94.

Charadrius fulvns. 107.
" virginicus, 107.

Chat, Yellow-breasted, 16.

Chenalopex regyptiicus, 52.

Chroecocephalus atricilla, 96, 107.
Philadelphia, 107.

Chrysomitris yarrelli, 92.

Chrysopoga typica, 92.

Cistothorus stellaris, 15.

Clangula albeola, 107.

Coale, H. K., MacCown's Longspur in
Illinois, 52 ; Junco ore<jonus in Illi-
nois, 82 ; notes on Nycta/e acadica, 83.

Coccothraustes ferreirostris, 92.

Coccyzus americanus, 107, 108.

" erythrophthalmus, 107, 108.

Collocalia unalaschkensis, 90.

Collurio ludovicianus var. excubitoroi-
des, 21.

Contopus borealis, 16.

Conurus carolinensis, 50.

112

INDEX.

Cooper, J. G., notice of his " New Facts
relatintr to Calitbrnian Ornithology,"
76 ; on Seventv-tive Doubtful West-
Coast Birds, 88.
Coot, 17.
Corvus anicricanus, 14, 45.

" ossifragus, 13, 46, 93.
Cory, C. B., the Black Gyr-Falcon in

Massachusetts, 27.
Coturnicuius lecontei, 26.

" passerinus, 16, 47.

Coues, E., note on Poc/iceps dominicus,
26 ; Eastward Range of the Ferrugi-
nous Buzzard, 26 ; corrections of no-
menclature in the genus tSiitms, 29 ;
Western Range of Comirus carolinen-
sis, 50 ; note on the Cinnamon Teal,
51 ; a pigeon (Leptoptila alhifrons)
new to the United States Fauna, 82 ;
Me/opelia leucoptera in Colorado, 83.
Cowbird, t'omnion, 85.

" Dwarf, 85.
Crow, Common, 14, 45.

" Fish, 13, 46.
Cuckoo, Black-hilled, 110.
Yellow-l)illc(l, 110.
Cupidonia cupidini-culumbianus, 67.
" cupido, 66.

" var. paliidicinctus, 52.

Curlew, Long-billed, 17.
Cyanocitta beecheyi, 93.

" ultramarina, 93.

Cyanocorax gcoffroyi, 93.
Cyanospiza versicolor, 109.
Dafila mophasiana, 96.
D'Hanionville, Baron, notice of his
" Catalogue des Oiseaux d'Europe,"
106.
Deanc, R., unusual abundance of the
Snowy Owl in New England, 9 ;
note on the Barnacle Goose, 18; oc-
currence of the Sooty Tern in Massa-
chusetts, 27 ; probable breeding of
the Acadian Owl in Massachusetts,
84.
Dendrceca auduboni, 27.

" blackburniaj, 48, 104.

" caerulea, 14, 21, 48.

" coronata, 31.

" dominica, 102, 108.

" maculosa, 1.

" montana, 90.

" striata, 90.

virens, 105, 107.
Demiegretta ludoviciana, 51.
Diomcdea chlororhyncha, 96.

" fuliginosa, 97.
Doricha enicura, 108.
Dove, Carolina, 15.

" White-crowned, 82.
" White-winged, 83.
Dryotoraus delattri, 94.

Dury, C, Fecundity of the Carolina

Wren, 50.
EcTOPiSTEs migratorius, 107.
Elliot, D. G., remarks on Selasphonts

alien!, 97.
Emberiza atricapilla, 92.
Empidonax acadica, 108.
Enicocichla, see Henicocichla.
Eupsychortyx cristatus. 95.
Falco columbririus, 79.

" sacer var. labradora, 27.
Falconidai, notices of Ridgway's papers

on, 70-73.
Finch, Californian Purple, 37.

" Sharp-tailed, 27, 28.
Flycatcher, Great-crested, 16.
" Olive-sided, 16.

" Town.send's, 77.

Fox, W. H., capture of the Philadel-
phia Virco in New Hampshire, 78.
Frazar, A. M., Audubon's Warbler in
Massachusetts, 27 ; persistency at
nest-building in a House-Wren, 78 ;
the Mottled Owl as a Fisherman, 80.
Fringilla maculata, 92.
Fulica americana, 17.
Fulix affinis, 107.

" collaris, 107.
Gallinule, Florida, 83.
" Purple, 83.

Gambetta flavipes, 95, 107.
Gannet, Booby, 14, 46.
Garrod, A. H.", notice of papers by, 23.
Geothlypis Philadelphia, 16, 17.
" trichas, 89.

" velatus, 89.
Gnatcatcher, Blue-Gray, 14, 20, 49.
Goose, Barnacle, 18.
" Egvptian, 52.
" Gambel's, 14, 46.
" Hutchins's, 14, 46.
Crackle, Boat-tailed, 12, 45.

" Long-tailed, 85.
Graculus carbo, 96.
Grant's Catalogue of the Birds of Malta

and Gozo, notice of, 70.
Grebe, Saint Domingo, 26.
Grouse, Hybrid, 66.
" Pinnated, 66.
" Sharp-tailed, 66.
Grus americana, 95.
Guadaloupe Island, birds of, discussed
with reference to the present genesis
of species, 58.
Gulls, Skua or Jager, 23.
Gyr-Falcon, Black, 25, 27.
Gyr-Falcons, 25.
H^MATOPCS ater, 95.
Haliaiitus leucocephalus, 107.

" pelagicus, 94.
Harporhynchus rufus, 107.

" " var. longirostris, 90 .

INDEX.

113

Hawk, Pigeon, 79.

" Sharp-shinned, 14.
Helniinthojjhaga celata, 21.

" chrysoptera, 16, 47.

" lawreneei, 19.

" leucobronchialis, 79.

" pinus, 16.

Helmitherus vermivonis, 16, 21.
Henicociclila aurooapillus, 31.
" ludovicianus, 33.

" major, 33.

" motacilla, 33.

" noveboracensis, 32.

" suiphurascens, 33.

Hcnshaw, H. W., description of a new
species of Humming-Bird from Cali-
fornia, 53.
Heron, Louisiana, 51.
Herrick, H., capture of a second speci-
men of Hehnhdhojihaga lawreitcei,
19.
Hierofalco candicans, 25.
" islandicus, 25.

" labradora, 25.
Hirundo bicolor, 107.
Humming-Bird, Green-backed, 53.
" Rufous-backed, 53.

Hydrochelidon lanformis, 34, 96.

" nigrum, 96.

Hypocanthus stanleyi, 92.
Hypocolius ampelinus, 91.
]CTERIA virens, 16.
Icterus baltimore, 92.
" ealifornicus, 92.
" pustulatus, 92.
" spuiius var. affinis, 85.
JuNCO annectens 60-66.
" hycniaiis, 17.
" insuUiris, 60-66.
" Oregon us, 82.
Kinglet, Golden-crested, 17.
Lagopus albus, 14, 46.
Lamb, W. F., on nest and eggs of

'I'ownsend's Flycatcher, 77.
Langdon, F. W", Black Vulture in

Ohio, 109.
Lanius elegans, 91.
" lahtora, 91.
Larus belchcri, 96.

Lawrence, G. N., occurrence of the Bar-
nacle Goose (Bernicla leucopsis) on
Long Island, N. Y., 18; note on
Cupidonia cupi'do var. pallidicinctus,
52 ; note on Doricha enicura, 108.
Leptoptila albifrons, 82.
Lobipes hyperboreus, 38, 42.
Longspur, MacCown's, 52.
Lophophanes bicolor, 108.
Lophortyx elegans, 95.
Loxia leucoptera, 103.
Macroriiampuls griseus, 107.
Mareca amcricana, 107.

McCauley, C. A. H , notice of his Notes

on Texan Ornithology, 76.
Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 94.
Melopelia leucoptera, 83, 95.
Mergus cucullatus, 107.
Merriam, C. H., his " Review of Birds

of Connecticut " noticed, 107.
Merrill, J. C, a Humming-Bird new to
the Fauna of the United States, 26 ;
notes on Mololhnis ceneiis, 85 ; West-
ern Nonpareil and Berlandier's Wren
in Texas, 109.
Micropalama himantopus, 17, 48.
Milvuliis forficatus, 21.
Minot, H. D, notice of his " Land-Birds
and Game-Birds of New England," 49.
Molothrus ffineus, 85.
" pecoris, 85.

" " var. obscurus, 85.

Motacilla aurocapilla, 31.
" canadensis, 31.

fluviatilis, 32.
" leucoptera, 90.

" niBvia, 32.

" noveboracensis, 32.

" tigrina, 32.

Murdock, J., the Pigeon-Hawk at sea,

79.
Myiadestes townsendi, 77.
Myiarchus crinitus, 16.
Myiodioctes minutus, 14, 46.
" mitratus, 16, 21.

Nauclerus furcatus, 107.
Nelson, E. W., a contribution to the
biography of Wilson's Phalarope, 38 ;
the Louisiana Heron in Indiana, 51 ;
notice of his " Birds of Northeastern
Illinois," 68.
Nettion crecca, 13, 46.
Nisus fuscus, 14.

" gundlachi, 71.
Nonpareil, Western, 109.
Numenius borealis, 107.
" .hudsonicus, 107.
" rufiventris, 95.
Nyctale acadica, 14, 15, 83, 84.
Nyctea scandiaca, 9.
QiDEMiA perspicillata, 107.
Onychotes gruberi, 89.
Oporornis formosus, 108.
Oriole, Baltimore, 92.
" Bullock"s, 86.
" Hooded, 86, 87.
" Orchard, 86, 87.
Ortyx fasciatus, 95.

" virginianus, 15.
Otus wilsonianus, 14.
Owl, Acadian, 14, 15, 83, 84.
" Barn, 28.
" Great-horned, 80.
" Hawk, 78.
" Long-cared, 14.

114

INDEX.

Owl, Mottled, 80.
" Sliort-Oiircd, 14.
" Snowy, 9.
Parrot, Carolina, ?>Q.
Parus carolineiisis, 90.
Passerculiis priiiceps, 27, 78.
Pedioecetes phasianellus var. columbi-

anus, 66.
Pelecanus trachvrhynclius, 22.
Pelican, White, '22. *

Perissoglossa tij,frina, 16.
Petrel, Leacli's, 28, 80,
Peuciea ruficeps, 37.
Phalarope, Northern, 38, 42.
Ked, 38, 42.
Wilson's, 38.
Phalaropus fulicarius, 42.

" lohatus, 38.

Philomachus pugnax, 83.
Picoides amcricanus, 16.

" arcticus, 16.
Pious lineatus, 93.
" pubescens, 107.
" villosus, 14, 45, 107.
Pipilo eonsobrinus, 60, 66.
maculatus, 60-66.
Platalea ajaja, g.^.
Plectrophanes maccowni, 52, 92.

" ornatus, 78.

Plotus anhinga, 23.
Plover, Wilson's, 13, 46.
Podiceps domir.icus, 26, 97.

" minor, 97.
Polioptila crerulea, 14, 20, 47.
Poly bonis cheriway, 61-66.
lutosus, 60-66.
" thariis, 60-66.

Porphyrio martinica, 83.
Porzana jamaicensis, 22.

" noveboracensis, 17.
Procellariida;, notice of Salvia's paper

on, 69.
Progne purpurea, 107.
Puffinus obscurus, 97, 107.

" fuliginosus, 107.
Purdie, H. A., distribution of New
England Birds, a reply to Dr. T. M.
Brewer, 1 1 ; notice of a few birds of
rare or accidental occurrence in New
England, 20.
Pyranga restiva, 21, 107.
Pyrgisoma biarcuatus, 91.
Pyrrhopliaina riefferi, 26.
Pyrrhula inornata, 91.
Quail, Common, 15.
Querquedula cyanoptera, 51, 75.

" discors, 107.

Quiscalus major, 12, 45, 93.

" purjjureus, 93.
Rail, Black, 22.
" King, 22.
" _ Yellow, 1 7, 22.

Rallus elegans, 22.
" longirostris, 22.

Ramphopis flamigerus, 92.

Recent ornithological articles in Amer-
ican journals, 73.

Redbird, Summer, 21.

Regulus calendula, 59, 61, 107.
" obscurus, 59, 61.
" satrapa, 17.

Ridgway, R., on Geographical Varia-
tion in Turdus mi(/ratorius, 8 ; the
Birds of Guadaloupe Island discussed
with reference to the present genesis
of species, 58 ; notice of his " Studies
of the American FakonicUe," 70, 73.

Roberts, T. S., notes on the breeding of
the Black Tern, 34.

Robin, 8, 12, 14, 110.

Ruff, 83.

Rhyacophilus solitarius, 107.

Salpinctes guadalupensis, 60 - 66.
obsoletus, 60 - 66.

Saltator rufiventris, 92.

Salvin, O., notice of his paper on Pro-
celluriida, 69.

Sandpiper, Baird's, 28.
Stilt, 17, 48.

Sarcorhamphus gryphus, 94.

Saunders, H., notice of his papers on
Stercorariin(B and Sternince, 23, 24.

Sayornis fuscus, 93.

Sclater, P. L., and Salvin, O., notice of
their paper on Neotropical Anatida,
24.

Scops asio, 80, 107.

Seiurus, see Siurus.

Selasphorus alleni, .53, 97, 101.
" henshawi, 102.

" rufus, 53, 97, 101.

Setophaga ruticilla, 90.

Shrike, White-rumped, 21.

Sialia sialis, 89.

Simorhynchus psittacula, 107.

Sitta pusilla, 99.

Siurus, corrections of nomenclature in
the genus, 29.

Siurus auricapillus, 31, 90.
" ludoviiianus, 16, 33.
" motacilla, 33.
" na?vius, 32.
" sulphurascens, 33.
" tenuirostris, 33.

Snowbird, Eastern, 17.
Oregon, 82.

Sparrow, Field, 15.

" Ipswich, 27, 78.

" Rufous-crowned, 37.

Yellow-winged, 16, 47.

Spermophila mureleti, 103.

Steganopus wilsoni, 38.

Stelgidopteryx serripennis, 21.

Sterna antillarum, 96.

INDEX.

115

Sterna fulipnosa, 22, 27, 44, 75.

" plunibea, 34.
Strix flaminea var. pratincola, 28.
Sula bassana, 96.

" fiber, 14, 46, 96.
Swallow, Rough-winged, 21.
Sylvia anthoides, 33.
" aurocapilla, 31.
" leucoptera, 90.
" noveboracensis, 32,
" tigrina, 32.
Syrniuni nebulosum, 94.
Tkal, Cinnamon, .51.

" European, 13, 46.
Tern, Black, 34.

" Sooty, 22, 27.
Terns, notice of Saunders's paper on, 24.
Thalassidroma leachi, 28.

leucorrhoa, 80, 107.
Titlark, 17.

Tinnunculus sparvcrius, 112.
Trichas delafieldi, 91.
Tringa bairdi, 28.

" bonapartei, 107.
" lobata, 38.
" maculata, 107.
" pusilla, 107.
Tringites rufcscens, 107.
Troglodytes aedon, 78.

" parvulns var. alascensis, 82.

Trotter, S., capture of a second speci-
men oi Helminthophaga leucobronc}ualis_
79.
Trupialis militaris, 92.
Thryomanes bewicki, 60 - 66.

" brevicauda, 60 -66.

Thryothorus ludovicianus, 40.

" " var. berlan-

dieri, 109.
Thrush, Golden-crowned, 30, 32.

Long-billed Water, 16, 30, 33.
" Short-billed Water, 30, 32.
Turdus aquaticus, 32.
" aurocapillus, 32.
" citreus, 31.
" coronatus, 32.
" flavirostris, 89.
" fuscescens, 107.
" migratorius, 8, 9, 12, 14, 110.

Turdus minimus, 31.
" motacilla, 33.
" novaiboracensis, 32.
" pailasi, 107.
" propinquus, 9.
" rufopaliatus, 90.
" swainsoni, 107.
Uria columba, 107.
Vennor, H. G., notice of his Canadian

"Birds of Prey," 24.
Vireo agilis, 90.
" gilvus, 15.

" " var. swainsoni, 90.

" noveboracensis, 15, 47.
" Philadelphia, 78.
" virescens, 91.
Vireo, Philadelphia, 78.
" Warbling, 15.
" White-eyed, 15.
Warbler, Audubon's, 27.

Black-and-Yellow, 1
Blackburnian, 48, 104.
Black-throated Green, 1C4.
Blue, 14, 21, 48.
Blue-winged, 16.
Cape May, 16.
Golden-winged, 16.
Hooded, 16, 21.
Mourning, 16.
Orange crowned, 21.
Pine, 99.

Worm-eating, 16, 21.
Yellow-throated, 1C2.
Wheaton, J. M., on the Ruti and Furple

Gallinule in Oliio, 83.
Woodpecker, Black-backed Three toed,

16.
Woodpecker, Banded Three-toed, 16.

Hairy, 14, 15, 45.
Wren, Alaskan, 82.
" Berlandier's, 109.
" Carolina, 50.
" House, 78.
" Short-billed Marsh, 1,5.
Xanthornus niexicanus, 92.
Xema furcatum, 96.
" sabinei, 107.
Zen.eduka carolinensis, 15.
Zonotricbia coronata, 92.

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