86 General Notes. [ j\"„^ 



On the loth of November, 1894, a hoy brought me a Somateria specta- 

 bilis that he had shot on the Mississippi. It was a male in brown 

 plumage, but showing a few white and black feathers. The stomach 

 contained nothing but fine quartz gravel. — Wm. E. Praeger, Keokuk, 

 fo-vd. 



Connecticut Notes. — Through the kindness of Mr. H. Hoyt I am enabled 

 to report the capture here of a male specimen of the Sooty Tern {Sterna 

 fidigiriosa). The bird was knocked over with an oar, in September, 1879, 

 and brought in to Mr. Hoyt. He preserved the skin and it is now in my 

 collection. 



During the summer and fall of 1S94 the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 

 {Empido)iax /iavtvetitris) was quite common. I secured ten specimens, 

 all males, during August and September. 



Lincoln's Finch {Melospiza lincolni) has been observed in Stamford 

 during the past year, and three specimens have been taken — one in the 

 fall and two in the spring. 



On Jan. 19, 1894, a farmer brought in a fine female Duck Hawk {Falco 

 peregrinus anatuni). The bird was shot while eating a pigeon taken from 

 the barnyard. 



During the spring of 1894 the writer took two sets of the eggs of the 

 Rough-winged Swallow {Stelgidopteryx serripenuis) ; one of six eggs on 

 May 26, and one of five on June 9. — Lewis H. Porter, Stamford, Cotm. 



Bird Notes from Springfield, Massachusetts. — Last year, upon a narrow 

 platform, under the cornice of a building six stories high in the center of 

 the business portion of Springfield, a pair of Sparrow Hawks {Falco spar- 

 verius) built their nest and the female deposited therein a set of five eggs, 

 which were successfully hatched. The young wei-e then taken and removed 

 to the roof of the building and placed in a box, and were followed there 

 and cared for by the parents until they were fully grown. Any one going 

 on to this roof and near the nest would be assailed by one of the old birds 

 who would dart at the intruder from the spire of a neighboring church, 

 where one of the parents was usually stationed. These facts seem 

 remarkable when it is considered that the incubation and rearing were in 

 the very heart of a busy city of fifty thousand people. Two of the young 

 are still kept here in confinement. 



Mr. E. H. Barney is devoting several acres of land near his home in the 

 suburbs of Springfield to the cultivation of numerous kinds of trees and 

 shrubs that long retain their seeds, hoping thereby to attract various kinds 

 of birds, that he and others may study their habits. To this place, early 

 in the autumn, a flock of about fifty Red-headed Woodpeckers {Melanerpes 

 erythrocephalui) came and remained several days. Heretofore these birds 

 have not been observed here, except occasionally singly or, more rarely, in 

 pairs. 



