398 



General Notes. ' [^^|^ 



the contiguous counties of Norfolk and Princess Anne, and thus extend- 

 ing to the northern limit of the Austroriparian subprovince. — John 

 W. Daniel, Jr., Washing-ion, D. C. 



The Proper Name for the Western Sparrow Hawk. — Since Dr. E. A. 

 Mearns, U. S. A., published his review of the American Sparrow Hawks 

 in ' The Auk' for July, 1S92, pp. 263-265, the Sparrow Hawk of the west- 

 ern United States, and the west coast of Mexico to Mazatlan, has been 

 commonly known to ornithologists as Falco sparverius deserticohis 

 Mearns. Our work in Mexico has shown that this bird ranges along the 

 entire Pacific coast of Mexico as well as over most of the remainder of 

 that country. The Western Sparrow Hawk appears to be the only form 

 found along the west coast of Mexico (exclusive of Lower California) 

 north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 



Dr. Chas. W. Richmond, Assistant Curator of Birds, U. S. National 

 Museum, recently handed me volume XX of the L^v^que edition of 

 Buffon's works with the remark that it contained descriptions of some 

 Mexican birds hy Lesson. In looking through these I found under the 

 heading of Tinnu7tculus plialcena Lesson, a careful description of male 

 sparrow hawks from San Bias [Tepic] and Acapulco [Guerrero], Mexico. 

 These places are within the ordinary range of the Western Sparrow 

 Hawk, to which Lesson's description unquestionably refers. This being 

 the case, the name Falco sparvcrius deserticolus Mearns becomes a syno- 

 nym of Falco sparvcrius phalcena (Lesson) in Buffon, CEuvres, Vol. 

 XX, Lev^que ed. 1847 (suppl.), pp. 17S-179. — E. W. Nelson, Biological 

 Survey, Washirigton, D. C. 



The Barn Owl on Long Island. — From Doctor Braislin's ' Notes con- 

 cerning certain Birds of Long Island,' published in the July number of 

 'The Auk', I am led to infer that there has heretofore been some doubt 

 about the presence of the Barn Owl on our island. It may be of interest 

 to Doctor Braislin to know that a pair of these owls formerly inhabited 

 the steeple of the Congregational Church on the corner of Lincoln Street 

 and Browne Avenue, Flushing. For many years I knew of their pres- 

 ence there, but did not divulge the secret for fear that they might be 

 driven away by the church people. No doubt they would still be there 

 had not the church been overhauled and new glass put into the steeple 

 sash where the birds were wont to enter. The owls shared the steeple 

 with a colony of pigeons and brought muskrats and other small mammals 

 to their young, although there were fat young squabs within reach. 



Mr. Langdon Gibson, brother of Clias. Dana Gibson the artist, was also 

 aware of the presence of the Barn Owls in the Congregational spire. 

 Gibson was then a lad and he climbed up to the nest securing Izuo young 

 owls, if I remember aright; at any rate, he brought me one which I kept 

 for some time and from it I made a number of drawings and still have 



