Vo1 X S VH ] General Notes 465 



bird and soon saw that my first supposition was wrong. I distinctly ob- 

 served that the bird was about the size of a Kinglet, with upper parts 

 almost uniform bluish-gray, seeming slightly lighter on the upper tail- 

 coverts, wings fuscous, tail black centrally but with white outer feathers, 

 and underparts uniform whitish. It was catching insects on the wing in 

 a rather leisurely way, and I watched it for seven or eight minutes in ex- 

 cellent light with binoculars at distances varying from twenty to thirty 

 feet, and obtained many clear and satisfactory views of it as it perched 

 on the bushes and dead weed-stalks. Owing to the extreme steepness of 

 the cliff, it was always below my eye, and while I thus saw its upperparts 

 clearly, I could not satisfy myself as to whether or not there was black 

 on its forehead. It frequently twitched its tail, and at irregular intervals 

 uttered its note, which was a pe-e-e, low, weak, and rather hoarse. It re- 

 sembled somewhat the mew of a Catbird, but was much lower and lighter. 

 The bird was still among the bushes when I left. 



At 4:15 p. m. the same day I returned and soon found the bird, which 

 I watched for about half an hour, using my binoculars, and often seeing it 

 clearly, sometimes at a distance of but fifteen feet. I verified my pre- 

 vious observations, and when the bird perched in a bush close beside the 

 walk, where it was nearly at the level of my eye, I found that a clear, 

 steady view of its forehead revealed no black. I left it where I found it, 

 but could not rediscover it next day, nor on the day after. 



Undoubtedly the bird was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea 

 caervlea (Linn.). I had never seen the species before, and so do not 

 know just how conspicuous the black on the forehead of the male should 

 be. The only previous claim of this species to a position in the avifauna 

 of Quebec Province appears to be the statement by Win tie (Birds of 

 Montreal, 1896, p. 126), which reads as follows: 



'"Accidental visitant' [at Montreal]. Mr. Kuetzing saw one 'example 

 of this species in Mr. Craig's collection, shot on the island of Montreal 

 a number of years ago,' but Mr. Craig says he 'does not remember having 

 it in his possession.'" 



As this can hardly be considered satisfactory, the present appears to 

 be the first certain and definite record of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in 

 Quebec Province. — Harrison F. Lewis, Quebec, P. Q. 



The Russet-backed Thrush (Hylocichla ustulata ustulata) Taken 

 near Charleston, S. C. — On October 22, 1901, I shot a male of this 

 species near Mt. Pleasant that was feeding upon dogwood berries, and on 

 May 3, 1902, I shot another specimen. These two birds were without any 

 hesitancy labeled by me Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni and packed away. 

 Last year I received a specimen of H. u. swainsoni taken by Mr. Otto C. 

 Hastings at Bridgeport, Conn., which led me to compare my two South 

 Carolina birds with his specimen with the result that the South Carolina 

 specimens were entirely different as regards the coloration of the back. 



