«S8S-J General Notes. 1 09 



are aware that an Owl has any commercial value, although every one 

 shoots the despised bird at sight. Thus for every one preserved a dozen 

 were probably thrown away. As instancing this, I quote the following 

 from a short note in 'Forest and Stream',* signed Ned Norton, and dated 

 at Colebrooke, N. H., Dec. 1 : — "Hawk Owls came three weeks ago in 

 greater numbers than ever seen before. Farmers" sons have been killing 

 them all over the country." 



The account of this species in -New England Bird Life' (Part II. p. 96) 

 would lead one to inter that while "a rare and irregular winter visitor to 

 Massachusetts," it is of regular and rather common occurrence through- 

 out Northern New England. This is certainly a mistake, as every col- 

 lector who has any practical knowledge of our fauna knows. Indeed the 

 bird is ordinarily one of the very rarest of our Owls — so rare, in fact, that 

 during an experience of some twenty years previous to 1884 I hat! never 

 seen either a living or freshly-killed specimen. 



In respect to the remarkable migration just described, it may be well to 

 add that all the specimens which I have examined belong to the American 

 form. Surnia funerea (L.) Rich. & Sw. — William Brewster. Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. 



The Turkey Buzzard in Central New York. — I have lately examined all 

 that remains of a Cathartes aura which was killed in Oneida County, N.Y.. 

 in May, 1S79. When first seen he was in company with three others in a 

 small grove in Westmoreland Township, and was shot by Mr. Lavello J. 

 Groves, of that town, who had him. mounted and preserved. This is cer- 

 tainly the first record for the Countv and. I think, for this part of the 

 State. — Egbert Bagg, Jr.. Utica. X. )". 



Recent Occurrence of the Black Vulture in Ohio. — A Black Vulture 

 (Cat //arista atrata). in company with some Crows, flew into the Zoolog- 

 ical Garden on the afternoon of Dec. 4. 1SS4. Spying one of the same 

 species in one of the outer aviaries, it deserted its companions and 

 alighted on the wire netting covering the aviary. From thence it flew 

 on to the lower limb of a large tree just opposite, and becoming fright- 

 ened at the attempts of the keepers to capture it. circled to a great height 

 and slowly sailed off in an easterly direction. — Frank J. Thompson. 

 Zoological Garden. Cincinnati. O. 



A New Bird for Illinois.— In a letter from Mr. Ridgway, dated Oct. 25, 

 1884, he says: "Among the lot of birds you sent us last week was a 

 specimen of Buteo boreal is krideri (orig. No. 575). a very typical speci- 

 men, from Halfday, Illinois, July 25, 1S76. This specimen is particularly 

 acceptable since the race was previously unrepresented in our collection. 

 It also adds one bird to the fauna of Illinois!" Referring to my Record I 

 find that No. 575 was one of two large Hawks (the other a Buteo borealis) 

 brought into camp by one of our party while on a collecting trip along 



* Vol. XXIII, No. 19, Dec. 4, 1884, p. 368. 



