27O General Notes. [£J 



on this occasion my brother and I found a single pair, in worn and 

 blackish midsummer plumage, about the middle of June. 



The winter residents begin to arrive in early November, and by the 

 middle of that month they are fairly common; in midwinter they are 

 doubtless much more abundant. 



Melospiza georgiana. Swamp Sparrow. — This is without doubt the 

 commonest winter bird in Louisiana and Mississippi ; the first birds 

 arrive a little after the first of October, and the species is abundant within 

 a week after that time. The full bulk arrives early in November, and 

 contributes so many individuals to the already crowded thickets, that it is 

 hard to see how so many can find sustenance. About the first week in 

 March they begin to thin out, and in a month nearly all are gone, though 

 near New Orleans I have seen a single one as late as May 3. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Record of a Fifth Specimen of the European Widgeon (Anas penelope) 

 in Indiana. — A specimen of this Duck was killed by a local gunner on 

 the marshes at English Lake, Indiana, on the 15th April, 1S99. The 

 gunner was not acquainted with the species, never having seen one 

 before, but called the attention of Mr. John Taylor, Supt. of the English 

 Lake Shooting and Fishing Club, to a red-headed Widgeon which he 

 had just killed. Mr. Taylor examined the Duck and gave me the infor- 

 mation. This makes the ninth record for the interior. — Ruthven 

 Deane, Chicago, III. 



The Scarlet Ibis {Guara rubra) in Arizona. — When crossing the 

 Rillito about a mile north of old Fort Lowell, with a party of friends, 

 September 17, 1890, en route to Sabina Canon, I saw a small flock of 

 Scarlet Ibis. There were seven or eight of them. They were standing 

 in the running water and were pluming themselves. The day was hot 

 and fearing if I killed any they would spoil before I could get home with 

 them, I decided not to interfere with them till my return a few hours 

 later. To my great disappointment they were then gone. — Herbert 

 Brown, Yutna, Arizona. 



Notes on the Breeding of the Wilson's Snipe (Galinago delicata) in 

 Illinois and Indiana. — With occasional exceptions, northern Indiana is 

 undoubtedly the southern breeding range of the 'Jack Snipe,' jet I do 

 not think it is generally known that many remain, even in this latitude, 

 to rear their young, and the majority of sportsmen, at least, think that 



