JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 19 



now in the museum of Brown University, which was caught in the 

 arms of a man as it emerged from beneath a barn where it had pur- 

 sued a fowl. 



The present specimen is considerably darker than the one just 

 mentioned. It was examined by Mr. Nathan Clifford Brown and 

 the writer, both referring it to gyrfalco independently of the other. 

 A photographic print of it was also pronounced gyrfalco by Dr. 

 Robert Ridgway. 



With the presentation of the foregoing record a review of the 

 local specimens seems timely. 



. At the request of Mr. Nathan C. Brown, I have lately examined 

 the specimen recorded somewhat tentatively by him in April, 1882. 

 As a very small edition of the paper containing his original record 

 was issued, I quote from it: "Although I was able to make but a 

 hasty examination of the specimen before it was taken from the city, 

 I should refer it with little hesitation to the islandicus [now rustico- 

 lus\ variety as above. "^ 



While in the minds of those who have ever seen the specimen 

 there has been no doubt, the lapse of time and subsequent interpre- 

 tations'^ of the statement quoted made a critical re-examination seem 

 desirable. Prof. J. Y. Stanton, in whose collection it still is, gave 

 every opportunity to examine it carefully, and with him I am con- 

 vinced that Mr. Brown's identification was correct, and that the 

 specimen is decidedly Falco riisticolus. It may be recalled that it 

 was taken on Cape Elizabeth, Me., October 13, 1877. 



Prof. Stanton called my attention to the fact that the Black 



Jerfalcon in the collection of Mr. Edw. P. Carman '^ was taken on 



the coast near Portland. On tracing the matter, Mr. Carman has 



given me the following data: "The Jerfalcon, or Labrador Duck 



Hawk, I shot in the fall at Spurwink, in the woods across the river 



from Spurwink House, a place known as Mitchell's."^ He has 



since added the following: "The Hawk was in a very tall tree and 



1 Brown, Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. II, p. 2. 



■^ Brewster, Minot's I^and and Game Birds of New Enti;., 2nd Kd., p. 479. 



3 Knight, Bull. Univ. of Me., No. 3, p. 64. 



* Carman, Epist., Jan. 21, 1907. 



