VoLXXIIj General Notes. 83 



Another Deformed Bill. — On page 279 of the April number of 'The 

 Auk', 1904, is figured and described an abnormal bill of Corvus ameri- 

 canus. This brought to mind a bill deformity in the English Sparrow in 

 my collection, of which I herewith append a description : — 



Passer domesticus, $, Snyder Collection, No. 5399, San Jose, Calif., 

 Jan. 3, 1900, coll. by Ernest Adams. Plumage and lower mandible nor- 

 mal ; both mandibles of usual color. Upper mandible : Length, 18.5 mm. r 

 width, 6 mm.; depth 4 mm.; notched on both sides, the notch being back 

 4.5 mm. from tip. Tip of mandible broken off abruptly. Mandible from 

 base to tiu of equal depth and width throughout. — W. E. Snyder, Beaver 

 Dam, Wis. 



Clay-colored Sparrow in the Cariboo District, British Columbia. — On 

 the 3d July, 1901, at 158-Mile House, Cariboo District, I shot two spar- 

 rows which I identified at the time as Sfiizella bretueri. I now find these 

 to be Clay-colored Sparrows, Spizella -pallida, — another instance of the 

 infusion of the Great Plains element so noticeable in that District. 



These were both singing males but they were not breeding though the 

 sexual organs were great! v enlarged. I had worked the locality where 

 they were taken very thoroughly for about two months previously with- 

 out hearing their very peculiar song, which as soon as heard at once drew 

 my attention. — Allan Brooks, Comox, B. C. 



Henslow's Sparrow in St. Clair County, Michigan. — Up to the present 

 season Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus lienslozvii) has been treated by 

 me as a rare summer resident in southeastern Michigan. The only 

 authentic record of the occurrence of the species here was made by Mr. 

 Jas. B. Purdy of Plymouth, Wayne County, who detected a pair breeding 

 in a hay field near his home on July 27, 1S93, and discovered the nest in 

 the tall grass, containing eggs which were destroyed by the mowing 

 machine. Mr. Purdy secured the female. (Auk, 1897, p. 220). 



On the Canadian side of Lake St. Clair, near the mouth of the Thames 

 River, Mr. W. E. Saunders found a small colony of about ten pairs on 

 May 24, and June 12, 1898. On July 2 lie met with two males near Sarnia, 

 Ontario, which is directly across from Port Huron. (Bull. Mich. Ornith. 

 Club, Vol.11, p. 38.) 



The above records gum up all available data with regard to this species 

 here. 



Lake St. Clair, in southern St. Clair County, is bordered by an exten- 

 sive stretch of grassy meadows which practically extend the entire circuit 

 of the lake. This territory is flat, very wet in places, and is intersected 

 with an occasional slough or dredged cut bordered by a growth of willows. 

 In this section of the country I was convinced that Henslow's Sparrow 

 would be found, if anywhere, especially with the Ontario records on the 

 Canadian side. 



On June 18, 1904, Mr. Percy A. Taverner and I were working in the 



