134 GAME BIRDS, WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



theless, a few evidently are authentic, and it is highly prob- 

 able that the females and young come here in larger numbers 

 than the males, but are overlooked on account of their close 

 resemblance to those of the Whistler, as they make a similar 

 whistling noise with their wings in flight and are indistin- 

 guishable from the Whistler, except by an expert. This bird 

 seems to prefer the west or the interior of the continent to 

 our coast. It is, or formerly was, not uncommon in north- 

 eastern Maine, and on the St. Lawrence River in northern 

 New York. 



In the Vermont Agricultural Report published in the year 

 1901, Dr. George H. Perkins and Mr. C. D. Howe give a 

 preliminary list of the birds of Vermont, in which they include 

 this species and note that there is a specimen in the museum 

 at St. Johnsbury which was taken in the State. Brewster 

 (1909) gives but three authentic records for Massachusetts. 



Since the above was written I have come to doubt whether 

 it is possible for any one to distinguish with certainty the 

 females and young of americana in all cases from those of 

 islandica. The differences between the males may be seen 

 at a glance; but such authorities as Brewster and Ridgway 

 have both been somewhat puzzled in determining females. 

 The typical shapes of the bill in each species are illustrated 

 in Eaton's Birds of New York, but these vary, and not even 

 the measurements of the wing can be depended upon. Any 

 one who is in doubt regarding the identity of a specimen 

 should consult an excellent article on Barrow's Golden-eye in 

 Massachusetts by Brewster in the Auk,^ and, if still undecided, 

 should refer the matter of identification to some expert who 

 has access to a large series of skins of both species. 



1 Brewster, William: Barrow's Golden-eye in Massachusetts, Auk, 1909, pp. 153-164. 



