562 General Notes. [o" t k 



Mr. McAtee, and recently winged one of a flock of five, which he followed 

 and almost overtook. He was within a few feet of it before it got under 

 the ice and escaped, and is confident of the identification. 



The Barnegat specimen of the Ruddy Shelldrake secured by Mr. Eddy 

 was killed November 14, 1916, while he was gunning on the east point of 

 Sloop Sedge in Barnegat Bay. It was mounted and is still in his possession. 

 It was recently again examined by Dr. Stone, who detected in the specimen 

 no evidences of past captivity. It seems in all respects normal. 



A "Yellow " Duck, quite unlike any bird known to old gunners who saw it, 

 was killed last winter near Poplar Branch, Currituck Co., N. C, but the 

 specimen was not preserved. 



These reports suggest that at any time we may learn of other examples of 

 Casarca ferruginea taken on the Atlantic Coast. — Geo. Bird Grinnell, 

 New York City. 



Exanthemops Elliot an Excellent Genus. — The name Exanthemops 

 Elliot (New and Unfig. Birds North Amer., II, pt. IX, 1868, pi. XLIV 

 and text; type, by original designation, Anser rossii Cassin) is now used in 

 subgeneric sense under the genus Chen, for Anser rossii Cassin. It was, 

 however, originally proposed as a generic term; and the group somewhat 

 recently has been rediagnosed and revived by its original describer (Elliot, 

 Wild Fowl U. S. and Brit. Poss.. 1898, pp. 268, 269). That this, moreover, 

 is well justified is evidenced from an examination of the three species, Chen 

 hyperborea (Pallas), Chen cozmlescens (Linnaeus), and Chen rossii (Cassin). 

 The first and second of these are strictly congeneric and constitute the 

 genus Chen Boie; but the last differs so much and so fundamentally, that 

 it ought not to remain in the same genus. The group that it represents, 

 to which of course the name Exanthemops Elliot is applicable, may be 

 diagnosed as follows: Similar to Chen, but bill relatively as well as actually 

 shorter and not as long as the head; commissure not widely gaping; base 

 of maxilla much wrinkled and warty in adult; anterior outline of the feath- 

 ering on the sides of the base of the maxilla nearly straight, instead of tri- 

 angular or strongly convex; tarsus If (instead of 1|) times the exposed 

 culmen; wing about 8| (instead of 7) times the exposed culmen. One of 

 the characters given by Elliot (Wild Fowl U. S. and Brit. Poss., 1898, p. 268) 

 — " depth [of bill] at base less than half the length of the culmen," appears 

 not to hold, since there is no difference in this respect between Exanthemops 

 and the species of Chen. The genus Exanthemops as here recognized is 

 monotypic, and its only species will now stand as Exanthemops rossii 

 (Cassin). 1 — Harry C. Oberholser, Washington, D. C. 



Notes on the Structure of Anseranas semipalmata. — The remark- 

 able Australian Pied or Semipalmated Goose has been variously regarded 

 as a member of the Anserinse (Newton, Dictionary of Birds), as an inde- 

 pendent subfamily, Anseranatinse (Salvadori, Catalogue of Birds), and as 

 of family rank, Anseranatidse (Stejneger, Standard Natural History). 



