V^ol^-gXXVj General Notes. 225 



Cape St. Lucas.'' That Dr. Coues, at that time, was in the habit of desig- 

 nating types in connection with new species which he described is clearly- 

 shown by his action in the case of Dendroica gracice (p. 67), Vireo plum- 

 beus (p. 74), and V. vicinior (p. 75). In the case of the last, only, does 

 he take the trouble to use the word type ("Type and only known specimen 

 No. 1507 of my collection," etc.); but even if his intent was not thus 

 perfectly evident, the mere fact that only one specimen is mentioned in 

 connection with his original description of the new species (Vireo pusillus), 

 that from Cape St. Lucas, necessarily fixes that specimen as the type, accord- 

 ing to the very general and perfectly correct practice in such cases. His 

 designation, twenty-two years later, of another specimen as type may 

 properly be regarded as a mere lapse of memory; but even if not so re- 

 garded, the answer may be made that an author has no more right to change 

 his type of a particular species than to change its name without (in the 

 latter case) good reasons for doing so. — Robert Ridgway, Washington, 

 D. C. 



Swainson's Warbler (Hclinaia swainsoni).— On the afternoon of June 

 17, 1907, Mr. Howard Ray and myself had the good fortune to see, and 

 hear, the rare Swainson's Warbler. It was found about four miles north 

 of Du Quoin, Perry County, Illinois, in a narrow but tall and dense growth 

 of willows, which bordered a low, wet pastureland. As we entered the 

 thicket, our attention was attracted by the loud whistle of some new bird. 

 Going in the direction from which the call came, we foimd a plain-colored 

 warbler perched about twenty feet from the ground among the smaller 

 branches of the willows. It did not notice us at first, but seemed to put 

 all its spirit and energy into its song. The upper parts of this bird were 

 olive brown, the superciliary line dull white, the under parts dusky white 

 slightly tinged with yellow, and the crown a dull reddish brown, approach- 

 ing the extreme dull color variation described by Mr. Brewster.' LTnfor- 

 tunately we had no gun with us and were unable to make a subsequent 

 visit to that locality. There are extensive areas of low, swampy timber- 

 land along the Little Muddy River, which contain an abundance of aquatic 

 vegetation and dense shrubbery that are doubtless attractive resorts for 

 this swamp-loving species. 



The only other record of this bird in Illinois, as far as I have been able 

 to discover, is that made by Mr. Robert. Ridgway and Mr. Brewster in the 

 vicinity of Mount Carmel, southern Illinois, in the spring of 1878.^— 

 Alfred O. Gross, Urbana, III. 



Late Occurrence of the Black-poll Warbler {Dendroica striata) in the 

 District of Columbia. — As is well known, the belated spring weather of 

 1907 affected the birds in almost every locality in the eastern United States; 



1 Auk, Vol, II, 1885, p. 87. 



2 Bulletin N. O. C, Vol. Ill, p. 163. 



