Vol. XXII-I General Notes. ?2I 



1905 J o 



stomachs, were empty, but in a majority of the specimens, the intestine, 

 including even the duodenum, was as well filled with food material as in 

 a migrant warbler shot in the evening after feeding all day. This proves, 

 at least for the species examined, that the birds do not make any special 

 preparation for the migration flight in regard t,o the amount of food they 

 carry. This is the rational supposition and is supported by the observed 

 fact that birds are seen busily feeding on evenings which as shown by 

 subsequent events are just prior to migration. The empty condition of 

 the stomachs of birds killed in migration is easily explained by the rapid- 

 itv with which the digestive process is usually accomplished in birds. — 

 W. L. McAtee, Washington, D. C. 



Hybridism between the Shoveller and Blue-winged Teal. — I have 

 recently examined a very interesting hybrid, and the first I have heard 

 of between these two species. Mr. James P. Catlin of Ottawa, 111., in 

 whose possession the duck is, writes me as follows : "It is an entirely new 

 cross to me and was shot by the keeper of the Greenwing Gun Club on 

 their preserve along the Illinois River at Bureau Junction, 111., on April 3, 

 1905. He had a few decoys set out in a small opening in the flooded tim- 

 ber and this bird came in with a Blue-winged Teal hen. He killed the 

 pair." 



The specimen is a male about half way in size between the two species. 

 The head shows the greenish reflections of the Shoveller, the spotted 

 breast of the Teal, the chestnut abdomen, the speculum and under tail 

 coverts of the Shoveller, and the upper wing-coverts of the Teal ; the 

 crescentic patch across the anterior portion of the head is normal for the 

 Teal but not as pure white in color; the legs and feet have the bright 

 yellow of the Teal. The bill is .65 in. longer than in a normal Teal, but 

 is a miniature of that of the Shoveller in other ways. 



Every specimen of hybrid duck which has come to my notice has been 

 a male. The cross between the Mallard and Pintail is not uncommon ; 

 the last record was a specimen sent to me in the flesh by Mr. Charles M. 

 Carter, shot at Bigelow, Mo., Feb. 25, 1905. Mr. Manly Hardy of Brewer, 

 Me., has in his collection two examples of crosses between the Mallard 

 and Dusky Duck, one favoring the plumage of the former, the other of 

 the latter, one example each between the Gadwall and Widgeon, and the 

 Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal. — Ruthvex Deane, Chicago, III. 



