Vol. XVI I IT Ge7ieral Notes. I QQ 



1901 J -^ ^ 



Notes from Northern New York. — At Chateaugay Lake, Clinton Co., 

 N. Y., on Dec. 24, I saw a typical specimen of Uria lonivia which had 

 been shot on the lake just before it was closed by the ice — that is, about 

 Dec. 12 or 13, 1900. 



On the 24th also I found the body of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), 

 from which the wings had been cut off, lying on top of the snow on the 

 margin of the lake. As the last heavy snow in that section fell on Dec. 12, 

 1900, the bird could not have been killed before that date. The plumage 

 was immature. — Geo. C Shattuck, Boston, Mass. 



Florida Bird Notes. — The greatest migration of birds that I have ever 

 witnessed occurred here during about two hours of the morning of Jan. 31. 

 The movement was composed exclusively of White-bellied Swallows, thou- 

 sands of which passed headed south ; wind fresh S. W., thermometer 

 80°. This migration was evidently caused by a cold wave in the upper 

 portion of the State. 



Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been with us all winter, also Bona- 

 parte's Gulls. This is the first season I have observed the latter here.— 

 E. J. Brown, Lemon City, Florida. 



Notes from the Magdalen Islands. —I had the pleasure the past season, 

 with Mr. C. S. Day. of spending three weeks at the Magdalen Islands. 

 We devoted most of the time to Coffin Island and East Point, as being 

 least known, arriving there on June 12. For four days we were isolated 

 from the world at the wonderful Bird Rocks. The following are a few of 

 the more noteworthy of many observations. 



On June 13 Mr. Day was so fortunate as to flush a Least Sandpiper 

 (Tringa jniniitilla) from her nest with four half-incubated eggs. The 

 nest was a mere hollow in the ' barrens,' just back from the edge of a 

 slough, among sparse growth of coarse grass and moss, the structural 

 part consisting of simply a few dry bayberry leaves. The eggs were of a 

 light grayish buff, marked rather sparsely, except at the crown, where 

 there was a thick mass of spots and blotches. The markings were of a 

 rich dark brown, verging on blackish at the crown, with occasional sub- 

 dued lilac. In size they varied only from i.iS to 1.20 inches in length, 

 and from .82 to .88 in breadth. The owners were both present, and so 

 exceedingly tame that I photographed one of them upon the nest. The 

 love song is beautiful, a mellow twittering, emitted as the bird circles 

 about. I met the species several times, and it is considered by the fish- 

 ermen a regular and frequent breeder. 



The same is their opinion regarding both the Scaup Ducks. I saw 

 Scaups occasionally, and finally discovered a nest of the Greater Scaup 

 {.Aythya marila nearctica) with nine eggs, June 29, on a small island in 

 " the Great Pond," flushing the female at very close quarters. The nest 

 was a bed of down in the grass, the eggs fresh and notably larger than 

 the manv of the Lesser Scaup I have found in the West, ranging in 



