i88s.] General Notes. 22 1 



referring the Ptarmigan of Anticosti to Lagopus albus. My single adult 

 specimen from that Island was a female, which, of course, lacked the 

 black loral stripe so diagnostic of the male of L. rupestris. Upon com- 

 paring it with some Rock and Willow Ptarmigan from Newfoundland (the 

 onlv material available at the time) I found it resembled the latter rather 

 closely in general coloration and in this respect differed very decidedly 

 from the former. Accordingly I concluded that it must be L. albus, quite 

 overlooking certain important discrepancies in size and proportions. To 

 tell the truth, the comparison was made very hastily, for, from the fact 

 that the bird had been shot in a dense forest, miles from any open rocky 

 country such as the Rock Ptarmigan is said to inhabit, I had already 

 quite made up my mind regarding it. 



A re-examination, however, convinces me that the specimen in question 

 is really L. rupestris ; indeed, Mr. Ridgway, who has kindly compared it 

 for me with the material in the National Museum, decides that it is indis- 

 tinguishable from the bird found on the mainland of North America at 

 large. 



It has further transpired that the Willow Ptarmigan of Newfoundland is 

 varietally separable from true albus, while the Rock Ptarmigan of that 

 island is apparently even specifically distinct from L. rupestris. Thus I 

 was misled by material which, to say the least, was far from typical. 



Of course it is by no means settled that all the Ptarmigan on Anticosti 

 are L. rupestris. but in view of these developments VerrilPs record of 

 albus there (he saw no specimens) requires confirmation. — William 

 Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 



A Blue Heron's Meal. — There is a heronry not far from my home, and 

 during the breeding season the great broad-winged birds can be seen day 

 and night flying between their nests and the seaside. I once surprised 

 one ready to start back with its finny burden, and becoming alarmed it 

 disgorged ten good-sized fish before it mounted into the air. Is this not 

 an unusual load for this bird to carry? — Francis Bain, North River, 

 P. E. I. 



Wood Ibis {Tantalus loculator) in Eastern New York. — Mr. Howard 

 Burhans, of Glasco, Ulster County, N. Y., informs me that he had a fine 

 adult Wood Ibis sent to him for mounting. The bird was shot by the 

 late Howard Tipp, on July 8, 1884, near Glennie Falls, which is west from 

 Glasco, and about one and a half miles from the Hudson. It was discov- 

 ered in a low swampy meadow, and was so tame that it was easily 

 approached. — A. K. Fisher, M. D., Sing Sing, N. T. 



Wilson's Plover in Nova Scotia. — I shot on Brier Island, April 28, 18S0, 

 a female Ockthodromus wilsonius, and have the same in my collection. 

 The wind was blowing very hard from the southeast, and I think carried 

 the bird off the shore by and beyond her intended destination ; at any 

 rate she appeared tired, alighting directly on reaching the shore, resting 



