344 General Notes. [October 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Merganser americanus breeding in New Mexico. — On and near the 

 head of the Pecos River, New Mexico (latitude 35 45', elevation 6S00 

 feet), I saw, July 2, 18S5, a female American Merganser, with four little 

 ones not over ten days old. I fail to find any record of the birds' breeding 

 so far south, therefore think the 'find' worthy of mention. — N. S. Goss, 

 Toftcka, Kan. 



The Clapper Rail again in Massachusetts. — I have the pleasure of 

 hereby presenting for record a third example of Rallus longirostris crepi- 

 tans obtained in this State; and at a remarkably late date in the season. 



The bird was taken in a small pond-hole in 'Rocky Nook,' Kingston, on 

 Dec. 29, 1885. It was in fair condition, showing no sign of being crippled. 



It is now in possession of W. C. Hathaway of Plymouth, to whom I am 

 indebted for above particulars. 



The dates and places of the previous authentic records are : May 4, 1S75, 

 Boston Harbor (Purdie, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, 1S77, p. 22), and October, 

 1S79. Plymouth {Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, 1SS1, p. 62).— F. C. 

 Browne, Framingham, Mass. 



Ictinia mississippiensis and iEgialitis nivosa nesting in Southern 

 Central Kansas. — While collecting in this State, I found, May 9, 1SS7, 

 quite a number of the Mississippi Kites sailing over and into the timber 

 skirting the Medicine River, near Sun City, Barber County, and from 

 their actions knew that they were mating and upon their breeding grounds, 

 — a lucky find worth following up. On the nth I noticed several of the 

 birds with sticks in their bills (green twigs in leaf), flying aimlessly about 

 as if undecided where to place them, keeping hidden within the trees as 

 much as possible, dropping the sticks when from fright or other cause 

 they raised much above the tree tops. I succeeded, however, in tracing 

 one of the birds to an old nest in the forks of a cottonwood; having thus 

 located the birds, and knowing that it must be some time before they 

 would begin to lay, I left for the salt plains on the Cimarron River, in 

 southwestern Comanche County and in the Indian Territory, where I 

 found the Snowy Plover quite abundant. (See Auk, Vol. Ill, No. 3, p. 

 409, in regard to finding the birds nesting in the same vicinity last season.) 

 I returned to the Kites on the 16th, and remained watching the birds until 

 the morning of the 22d, at which time the nests found, seven in number, 

 appeared to be completed, and I saw a pair of the birds in the act of copu- 

 lation. A business matter called me home, and I hired the man with whom 

 I stopped to climb the trees on the 2Sth for the eggs, but a hailstorm on 

 the 25th injured the nests badly, and in one case beat the nest out of the 

 tree. On the 31st he collected four sets of two eggs each and one with 

 only one egg — it being a hard tree to climb he decided to take the egg 

 rather than wait to see if the bird would lay more. Not hearing from him 



