^"'sg^^'] ' General Notes. 295 



latter two still remain as American birds w ith white areas on the inner 

 web of the six inner quills. 



Having procured this series I asked Mr. Cooper to select birds ^\■hich 

 have particularly dark primaries. During February the ice at Stonv 

 Creek made it impossible to obtain any of this species, but earlv in March 

 Nos. 1369 and 1370 were received from Mr. Cooper, No. 1373 ha\ing been 

 taken by another sport.sman. 



No. 1369, Coll. L. B. Bishop, March i, 1895. Like No. 1354, except no 

 white on inner web of any of the quills; interscapulars not as white as 

 in No. 1354. 



No. 1370, Coll. L. B. Bishop, March i, 1895. Like No. 1354, except no 

 white on inner web of anv of the quills. 



No. 1373, Coll. L. B. Bishop. March 7, 1S95. Like No. 1354, except onlv 

 a narrow edging of white on inner web of six inner quills. 



Nos. 1369 and 1370 appear to be topical examples of A. w. tiearctica, as 

 Nos. 132S and 1354 were of A. martin; consequently we have from the 

 same locality typical examples of both the European and American sub- 

 species, with a number of intermediate forms. The number of adult 

 birds in this series is probably insutficient to decide whether the Euro- 

 pean variety occurs in Long Island Sound as a winter resident, the 

 American appearing mainly as a migrant, or if the subspecies A. in. 

 nearctica is untenable ; but in either case A. m. marila must be admitted 

 to the list of American birds. — Louis B. Bishop, M. D., Nczv Haven, 

 Conn. 



An Apparently Undescribed Plumage of Oidemia perspicillata. — An 

 adult female Surf Scoter, which I collected at Guilford, Conn., in the fall 

 of 1893, seems to merit description as differing noticeably from the char- 

 acteristics of the adult female as given by standard authors. 



No. 956, Coll. L. B. Bishop, Oct. 13, 1893. Upper parts generallv dark 

 brownish black, becoming almost pure black on the top of head, nape, 

 tertiaries, tip and part of outer web of primaries, outer web of seconda- 

 ries, upper tail-co\erts and tail. Below sooty brown, becoming somewhat 

 lighter on the neck: most of the chest-feathers tipped with gravish white- 

 Chin and upper part of thorax dirty white tipped with brown ; well- 

 defined white spots in both loral and auricular regions, with man\- ot 

 the feathers tipped with brown ; many white feathers mixed with the 

 brownish black of the nape; side of head between loral and auricular 

 white spots almost as dark as back. Bill black with black elevation of 

 knob at base well indicated, tip of nails of both mandibles pale tiesh ; tarsi 

 and toes dull orange rufous, nails and 'jialmations black; irides dark 

 brown. 



I have arranged in jtarailel columns, the description of the different 

 parts of the adult female as given by Dr. Coues in his ' Key to North 

 American Birds,' in 1884, and Mr. Ridg\\ay in his 'Manual of North 

 American Birds,' in 1SS7, with the corresponding parts of my specimen. 



