BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 



75 



ral History Society, the battered remains of the collection formerly belonging to 

 this society, long since disbanded ; collection of Brookline High School. 



I have also examined the private collections of the following : William 

 Brewster, Cambridge; H. M. Spelman, Cambridge; C. F. Batchelder, Cam- 

 bridge ; W. A. Jeffries, Boston, mostly collected by the late Dr. J. A. Jeffries ; 

 Dr. A. P. Chadbourne, Boston; Dr. J. L. Goodale, Boston; of the late Dr. 

 Charles Palmer, Ipswich; Dr. F. H. Stockwell, Ipswich; C. H. Houghton, Row- 

 ley ; Richard Lufkin, Gloucester ; and my own collection in Boston. 



(4) The gunners who shoot for pleasure or for the market or cater to vis- 

 iting sportsmen with blinds, decoys, and ducking-boats, or the men left in charge 

 of live decoys at ducking-blinds have opportunities that the most zealous scien- 

 tific collector lacks. They are on the grounds with gun in hand throughout the 

 entire season, often staying in the blinds all day long. Their observations, if 

 they could be relied upon, would be of the greatest value, but unfortunately in 

 many cases their lack of scientific accuracy is plainly apparent. With the best 

 intentions, ignorance of the specific differences, often slight, combined with an 

 inaccurate memory and an enthusiasm for the sport, tend to render many of their 

 observations of doubtful value. In fact, I regret to say, some gunners appear 

 to prefer romancing (to put it mildly) to telling the truth, for gunners, like fish- 

 ermen, are noted for their good stories. 



Another difficulty arises from the fact that there are so many names, often 

 very local, for the waterfowl and shore birds. In the following list I have 

 endeavored to record some of these names. Meeting the gunner in the field 

 and actually seeing his freshly killed birds, one obtains of course reliable 

 records. The statement that such and such a bird was shot and is now in a 

 certain collection can of course be definitely shown to be true or false. There 

 is, however, one well known case in Essex County where even this test was 

 found to be valueless, for the wretched collector had obtained rare bird skins 

 from a distance, and fraudulently palmed them off as birds of this locality. The 

 fraud was fortunately soon discovered, and the criminal held up to the deserved 

 finger of scorn in the pages of The Auk (vol. i, p. 295, 1884). This happened 

 some twenty years ago, in 1884. 



I have been so fortunate as to obtain from Dr. John C. Phillips, a good 

 ornithologist as well as sportsman, the careful and accurate records of his shoot- 

 ing-stand at Wenham Lake for the years 1900 to 1904 inclusive, already detailed 

 in Chapter VII. I am also indebted to Mr. Thomas C. Wilson, a professional 

 gunner at Ipswich, for observations, records, and specimens. His knowledge of 

 shore and sea birds, extending over thirty years, is unusually good, and his state- 

 ments I have always found to be conservative and reliable. 



(5) The lighthouse records I have already spoken of in Chapter VIII. 



