270 General Notes. fAuk 



Two Sharp-tailed Sparrows I took near Tarpon Springs, Florida, 

 in the early spring of 1897, are referable to the new race. 



In general plumage A. c. dh'efsns has the richest coloring of 

 any of the group, including even spring specimens of A. nelsoni. 

 Typical examples of this form in winter resemble very closely 

 some specimens of nelsoni in the coloring of the upper parts — 

 much more than they resemble typical examples of A. caudacutus 

 — but may be easily distinguished from the former at any season 

 by their larger size, longer bill and very conspicuous dark stripes 

 on the breast and flanks. 



In measurement diversus and caudacutus are practically the 

 same, and intermediates in coloring occurred on Pea Island in 

 winter. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Holbcell's Grebe on San Francisco Bay. — On November 30, 1900, three 

 Grebes, which were strange to me, were seen swimming near the shore of 

 the Presidio, one of which I shot. The bird proved to be Colymbus hoJ- 

 bcellii \x\ adult plumage and a female. No others have been seen by me 

 since this date, although a great part of my time is spent upon the lower bay- 

 The only other specimen I know of is a male, No. 1867 of the collection of 

 the California Academy of Sciences, taken December 25, 1882, at Oakland. 

 The Academy also has a single specimen taken at Monterey on Decem- 

 ber 31, 1894, which is labeled a female and is No. 1433, a record of which 

 is found in ' California Water Birds,' No. II, on page 14. Mr. Leverett M. 

 Loomis, in his extensive work off Monterey, has found this bird very un- 

 common. It seems to be very rare on lower San Francisco Bay, that is, 

 that portion bounded by the ocean and where the bay branches to spread 

 north and south. If is possible, but not probable, that it occurs on other 

 portions of the bay. — Wm. H. Kobbe, Fort Mason, San Francisco, Cal. 



The Question of the Generic Name Gavia. — In the September, 1900, 

 number of the ' Ornithologische Monatsberichte ' (Vol. VIII, page 135), 

 Dr. Anton Reichenow claims that the name Gavia Forster is a synonym 

 of Urinaior Cuvier, basing his assumption on the use of the name Gavia 

 for a species of Gull by S. G. Gmelin in his ' Reise durch Russland ' (Vol. 

 I, page 152). 



