38 The Wilson Bulletin.— No. 43. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Red-headed Black Duck (Anas obscura rubripes). — Tn looking 

 over the O. S. U. collections, I find that we have no specimens of 

 typical obscura. Four birds taken in Ohio, at the Licking Reser- 

 voir, have heavily streaked throats and larger proportions which 

 would mark them as A. o. rubripes. No data of life colors were pre- 

 served. It would seem quite possible, as Mr. Brewster rather inti- 

 mates, that the newly elaborated species is the common bird of the 

 interior. 



Carolina Chickadee (Parus carolinensis). — Of this species Whea- 

 ton says, writing, of course, from Columbus: "Not common sum- 

 mer resident. Breeds. Arrives about the middle of April, ap- 

 parently departs for the South soon after the breeding season." 

 I have failed as yet to identify the Carolina Chickadee at any sea- 

 son here in Columbus, but came across a merrj' party of them who 

 were transgressing all the rules, while taking my New Year's day 

 horizon near the Licking Reservoir. In the first place, there they 

 were, six of them, mingling freely in a bird troop which included 

 as many more of their cousins, the Black-caps, beside Tufted Tits, 

 Brown Creepers, Bluebirds, etc. The authorities declare them to 

 be solitary in their habits. Then their occurrence so far North in 

 winter is at least unusual. A high pitched note, beginning with a 

 sneeze, and repeated twice, "Kechezawick, Kechezawick," first at- 

 tracted my attention to the bii'ds, but I was soon able to distin- 

 guish them readily in the troop by their smaller size. A specimen 

 secured set all doubt at rest. Hereafter I shall carefully scruti- 

 nize all winter Chickadees occurring along the fortieth parallel. 



W. LEON DAWSON, Columbus, O. 



The Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is generally credited with 

 being a scavenger, but how entirely he lacks fastidiousness in 

 his feeding is shown by the flocks that daily feed in the South 

 branch of the Chicago River where it runs (crawls rather) by the 

 stockyards, and in its "slips," where the vessels tie up for the win- 

 ter. I doubt if a more offensive piece of wateri is found on the con- 

 tinent. Its odor is unspeakable until zero weather, yet from the 

 time the gulls return in the fall until they leave in the spring they 

 circle in all their grace over these filthy waters, feeding from the 

 floating refuse, which they seem to pick from the surface without 

 so much as wetting a feather — they may be more careful of their 

 clothes than of their food. Audubon, by experimenting, decided 

 that crows have little or no sense of smell. I think there can be 

 little doubt the same is true of the gull. Whether the birds pass 

 the night in the stock yards or not I do not know, but in the mor- 

 ning, about 7 o'clock, I frequently see flocks flying from here (about 

 a quarter mile from the lake shore) toward the northwest — the 



