Vol.XXII-J General Notes. 77 



during a large part of this summer on a chain of three ponds connected 

 by the Patagansett Stream, township of East Lyme, near this village. 

 Two were recorded on July 22, and until August 18 from one to ten were 

 present on one or another of the ponds every day. After August 18 they 

 disappeared until Sept. 7, when two returned and were then seen for the 

 last time. 



I personally observed them from July 25 to July 31 inclusive and on the 

 28 took one, which upon dissection proved to be a female. The crop was 

 full of small fish, species not determinable by reason of decomposition. 

 This specimen is now in the county collection of Mr. James H. Hill, New 

 London. 



The birds were not very wild, and gave me an opportunity to watch 

 them from a short distance. It has been sometimes said that they are 

 silent except on the roost, but I heard them on several occasions, while 

 feeding on the pond margins, utter a low chuckling or croaking sound. — 

 P. J. McCook, Niantic, Conn. 



Little Blue Heron in Massachusetts. — The Boston Society of Natural 

 History has recently acquired for its New England Collection, a fine speci- 

 men of the Little Blue Heron (Florida ccerulea). It was shot by Mr. Ben- 

 jamin Pease on Chappaquiddick Island, Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, 

 on April 14, 1904. The morning when the bird was shot was cold, the 

 ponds .were skimmed with ice, and a snow-storm came two hours after the 

 bird's capture. The specimen is unsexed and is in the blue and maroon 

 plumage. I am indebted to Mr. C. W. Johnson, curator of the Society, for 

 permission to record the above facts. — Glover M. Allen, Cambridge, 

 Mass. 



Description of Second Michigan Specimen of Cory's Least Bittern. — 

 This bird (Ardetta neoxena), taken on the St. Clair Flats May 14, 1904, 

 by Mr. E. Craven of Detroit, Mich., and now in the possession of Mr. J. 

 L. Childs of Floral Park, N. Y., is an adult male in full breeding plumage 

 and shows no very decided departure from what seems to be the typical 

 plumage of the species. A close examination, however, shows both the 

 color aberrations common to this species, and in view of the peculiar 

 interest attached to the variations of individuals of this species, I append 

 the following detailed description of the specimen. 



The melanotic tendency is shown only on the head, and is not as erratic 

 in this individual as in many others previously taken, and in the regular- 

 ity and plan of the black spots resembles specific markings more than 

 aberrant patches. It appears on both sides of the head nearly equally, and 

 a description of one side will do for both, though a close comparison 

 shows that the right side of the head is a little more strongly marked than 

 the left. 



The black of the crown shades off softly into the chestnut of the ear 

 coverts, giving that part a peculiarly rich, warm coloring. Below" and 



