Vol.^Xin General Notes. 293 



Mr. Siblev, who is an ardent sportsman, and shoots large numbers of 

 ducks every fall in this same location, writes that he has never seen but 

 this one pair of Old Squaws, though he has heard of two single birds 

 killed at different times in the State. The pair in cjuestion, Mr. Sibley 

 had mounted, and they are now in possession of a friend in Denver. — 

 RuTHVEN Deaxe, Chicago., Ill- 



The Old Squaw {^Clangula /i ye ma lis) on the Coast of South Carolina. — 

 The winter of 1S94-95 was remarkable for its se\erity. The thermom- 

 eter in December was S° above zero, and in February 15° above zero. 

 Several flocks of Old Squaws were daily seen near the ocean, and am-ong 

 them many adult males. They were very wild, and it was very difficult to 

 get a shot at them, even at long range. On February 26, I was fortunate 

 enough to shoot an adult female. This was the only one taken. I can 

 find but one record of this duck being taken in the State, viz. : Smythe, 

 Auk, Vol. V, 188S, p. 203.^- Arthur T. Wayxe, Mount Pleasant, S. C. 



Aythya marila or A. m. nearctica ? — In separating the American Scaup 

 Duck as a subspecies from its European cousin Dr. Stejneger (Orn. Expl. 

 Kamtsch., 18S5) gives as the characteristic difference between the two 

 forms the coloring of the primaries from the fourth quill, which have " a 

 distinct white area on the inner web " in A. marila, and " a grayish — but 

 not white — area on the inner web" in .4. jn. nearctica. A. marila has 

 not, I believe, been as yet recorded from this country. 



Early in December last Mr. A. II. ^'crr^ll called my attention to the 

 extensive white spaces on the primaries of a male Scaup Duck, which had 

 been sent him by Mr. E. M. Cooper of Stony Creek, Conn., whom v,e had 

 asked to forward us ducks in the flesh, and suggested that it might be 

 the European bird. We determined to investigate the subject, and re- 

 quested Mr. Cooper to send us male Scaup Ducks noticeably white on the 

 primaries. The following small series was selected b}' Mr. Cooper in 

 accordance with our wishes, all having been killed at Stony Creek on or 

 about the dates given with the specimens, and most of them having been 

 shot by Mr. Cooper himself. 



In the following descriptions of this bird I have merely attempted to 

 point out the main differences between them, giving particular attention 

 to the coloring of the light spaces on the primaries. 



Xo. 1330, Coll. L. B. Bishop, Dec. 15, 1S94. Interscapulars brown 

 spotted with white, with a few black feathers spotted with white inter- 

 mixed. Feathers of chest whitish barred with brown and tipped with 

 white, a few black feathers interspersed; flanks white heavily vermicu- 

 lated Avith black, mixed with many entirely brown feathers ; abdomen 

 posteriorly hair brown with most of the feathers tipped with white. 

 Rump, tail-coverts and tail brown with many black feathers interspersed, 

 under tail-coverts tipped ^yith white. Pale space on inner web of prim- 

 aries becoming distinctly white only on the inner edge of the basal por- 



