V0L ™ VH ] General Notes. 579 



Alaska, do not go far south in winter since the climate of our 

 southwestern states and that of Mexico is such that food cannot 

 be procured at that season. Their migratory flights are so much 

 shorter than those of our eastern birds that they have generally 

 poorer proportions for flight these conditions being particularly 

 noticeable in the birds of the southwestern states, where so many 

 are resident. This region then is the metropolis for long-tailed, 

 short-winged, large-billed and large-legged birds. The Florida 

 races are of the same sort but much fewer in numbers. 



Life for the bird is mainly a struggle for food, and this implies 

 a struggle for room, for extension of feeding grounds and breeding 

 places. In this struggle those with good flight abilities and vigor 

 are found to have the widest distribution for it is written in the 

 book of birds that the longed-winged shall inherit the earth. 



406 Stratford Arc, Bridgeport, Conn. 



GENERAL NOTES 



Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli) Breeding in Virginia. — While 

 spending six weeks during the spring of 1920 along the coast of Virginia, 

 I visited every island from Cobb's to Cape Charles, and was surprised and 

 gratified to find the Roseate Tern breeding on three of these islands, 

 namely, Cobb's, Wreck and Isaac's. They were in small groups of three 

 or four pairs in company with Common Terns. 1 found them to be much 

 more pugnacious than the Common Tern, and while darting at an intruder, 

 would come so close that there was no doubt as to their identity. As 

 Bailey, in his 'Birds of Virginia' does not mention this as a breeding bird 

 of the State, I deem this fact worthy of record. — B. R. Bales, M.D., 

 Circleville, Ohio. 



Egret at South Orleans, Mass. — Mr. E. B. Mecarta, of Harwich, 

 has given me the following facts in regard to the capture of an American 

 Egret (Herodias egretta) at South Orleans, Mass. On July 26, 1920, Mr. 

 John Kendrick saw a large white heron in a small pond near the state road, 

 and on July 29 the bird was again noticed in the same pond flapping vio- 

 lently as if injured. Upon investigation the heron proved to have had 

 one foot nearly severed probably by a snapping turtle, and was captured 

 from a boat. Mr. Mecarta amputated the foot, and delivered the bird 

 alive to the Curator of the Franklin Park Museum, where it was left in 

 apparently good health on August 2. Strong southwest winds which had 



