568 Fleisher, Birds of S. E. North Carolina. [qc£ 



respectively. I was talking to Captain Swann of the light house when I 

 saw the twenty-seven. He remarked that he had never seen so large a 

 flock before. The birds were all flying south, toward the cape. April 

 15. 



Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser. Three birds, April 

 14, one definitely identified as serrator. 



Anas rubripes. Black Duck. Four. 



Charitonetta albeola. Bufflehead. A female, probably a belated 

 migrant, April loth. 



Oidema americana. American Scoter. Four, April 15. 



Oidema perspicillata. Surf Scoter. One, April 15. 



Ajaia ajaja. Roseate Spoonbill. One. 



Ardea herodias herodias. Great Blue Heron. Besides the 150 

 mentioned above, a few individuals were seen on Smith's Island and 

 along the shore of the Cape Fear River. 



Herodias egretta. Egret. The twenty birds seen were in and about 

 their nests and I assumed that the nests contained eggs or young though 

 I was unable to verify my belief as my time was limited and the nests 

 were difficult of access. 



Egretta candidissima candidissima. Snowy Egret. Only five of 

 these beautiful birds were seen. They were apparently not nesting yet. 

 They may have been the vanguard of a larger flock. 



Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis. Louisiana Heron. Many of these 

 birds and those of the next species seen in Orton Lake on April 17, were 

 carrying sticks, and some had completed nests. These were in small 

 trees above the water, and a few of those near the row-boat were seen to 

 contain four eggs. Lack of time prevented me from ascertaining to which 

 species the eggs belonged as the birds kept their distance. The dates 

 given by Chapman for the nesting of this species and the next for South 

 Carolina are April 20, and 23, respectively. 



Florida caerulea. Little Blue Heron. All the Little Blue Herons 

 that I saw at Orton Lake were in the adult plumage, and all appeared to 

 be nesting or building. Five of the nine seen at Smith's Island were 

 in the white plumage. 



Nycticorax nycticorax naevius. Black-crowned Night Heron. 

 A single bird in adult plumage flying over Orton Lake. 



Pisobia minutilla. Least Sandpiper. Three on the beach at Smith's 

 Island, April 15. 



Pelidna alpina sakhalina. Red-backed Sandpiper. A flock of 20. 

 A few showed traces of reddish in the back and of black on the belly. 

 The rest were in winter plumage, April 15. 



Calidris leucophaea. Sanderling. Eight individuals, a few showing 

 the beginnings of the summer plumage. April 15. 



Catoptrophorus semipalmatus semipalmatus. Willet. About 

 15 of these handsome but noisy birds were observed along the beech. 

 April 15. 



