^°1908^^] General Notes. 471 



does not save them in my neighborhood, where all large hawks, 

 lumped together under the name of hen-hawk, have their nests de- 

 stroyed, and their young ruthlessly stoned at sight, even if the parent 

 birds escape being shot. Swainson's Hawk is the worst sufferer of 

 any, because it builds conspicuously in a low tree on the prairie right 

 in the way of passing ranchmen and others, whereas the Red-tail 

 has its nest at an inaccessible height and generally escapes molesta- 

 tion. Like the last mentioned bird, a pair of Swainson's Hawk will 

 eturn to the same tree year after year and repair their old nest, 

 nor will they build a new one unless the other should be entirely 

 demolished. 



If the light-colored birds referred to are not the adult males as I 

 maintain, what then are they ? While B. swainsoni is well known to 

 show every variation of brown, it is rather difficult to believe that 

 some individuals eventually become bluish ash and others do not, 

 I hope to return to the subject at a future date when 1 can submit 

 skins in support of my contention. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Breeding of the Loon in Pennsylvania. — It gives me considerable 

 pleasure to be able to add the Loon {Gairia imber) to the list of birds 

 known to breed in Pennsylvania. At various times unauthenticated 

 rumors of this bird's occurrence in summer have been heard, but my record 

 is positive and extends the breeding range of the Loon a number of miles 

 to the southward. 



The nest in question was found by Mr. Chas. Homan in late May on a 

 large lake near Bushkill, Monroe County. Mr. Homan, who is perfectly 

 familiar with the bird, has kindly favored me with the details and, more- 

 over, accurately described the birds and the eggs to the writer. 



The nest was located on a mass of floating rubbish about fifty feet from 

 the shore of the lake. The birds were frequently seen about the nest and 

 though the two eggs were frequently handled by Mr. Homan they were 

 not deserted. The young hatched in safety but disappeared a short time 

 afterward, although the old birds are still on the pond (July 26). 



Not knowing the rarity of the nest he had found, Mr. Homan failed to 

 secure the eggs but offered to take one of the birds for me. However, 

 I persuaded him to protect them, and it is to be hoped that the birds will 

 return next year in safety.— Richard C. Harlow, LaAnna, Pike Co., Pa. 



