178 



General Notes. [x'tx 



Terns of Muskeget Island. — A Correction. — In mv article on the 

 Terns of Muskeget, published in "The Auk' for January (p. 35, 17 lines 

 from top) for "On May 19, 1S93," read, On June 19, 1893. The first eggs 

 observed in 1S93 were 35, on May 26; on the iSth, 130 were noted. — 

 George H. Mack.w, Nantucket, Alass. 



Breeding Habits of Terns. — I am glad to be able to corroborate two 

 statements in the January number of 'The Auk' in the article entitled 

 'Terns of Muskeget Island.' It is generally accepted, I believe, that 

 two Terns sometimes lay their complement of eggs in the same nest, 

 although, so far as I know, it has never been proved. I have several sets 

 of eggs of Sterna hirundo and 6'. paradiscsa that may add a little to the 

 evidence in favor of this belief. They were collected by myself June 28, 

 1891, on Egg Rock, Popham, Maine, where these two species were 

 nesting alone. First, four eggs taken from same nest. Two eggs are 

 long, narrow and were nearly fresh. The other two are much like 

 Sandpiper's eggs in shape and the incubation was far advanced. Second, 

 five eggs taken from one nest. Three are long, narrow, similar in colora- 

 tion and were muck incubated. The other two are similar to each other 

 in every respect, but they are larger than the others, noticeably different 

 in coloration, similar to a Sandpiper's egg in shape, and were fresh. I 

 think that part of these eggs were laid by 5. hirutido and the rest by 

 ^S. paradiscea. Third, six eggs taken at one time from the same nest. 

 These were all fresh and differ mainly in coloration. There are three 

 eggs of each bird apparently. Those of one bird are as similar to one 

 another as a Tern's eggs ever are, but clearly different from those of the 

 other bird. I believe that Terns very rarely lay more than three eggs. 



On page 46 of the same article is given a description of a Tern's nest 

 consisting of a hollow lined with small stones. I have seen several, 

 perhaps five or six, nests of this kind. In every case the stones formed 

 the only lining to the nest and were evidently collected by the birds 

 as any other material might, have been for the same purpose. ^At^BREY 

 B. Call, Totvnshend, Vt. 



Diomedea exulans on the Columbia in 1813. — In preparing for publi- 

 cation the MS. Journals of Alexander Henry, Junior — a fur trader, who 

 lived for some years at Astoria, and who was drowned there — ^I find tiie 

 following entry, under date of Feb. 13, 1813 : 



" 'We were visited by some natives who came to trade with us. Among 

 other things they produced an Albatros they had just killed. The body 

 and head were white, the tail and wings gray, the bill pale pink, and the 

 legs pale blue. The bill was 7 inches long, formed somewhat like an 

 Eagle's ; the wings were very narrow, but measured from tip to tip seven 

 feet ten inches." This description is somewhat equivocal, as the alar 

 extent is rather that of D. cilhatrns than that of D. cxulcit/s ; but Mr. 



