388 



General Notes. To"!' 



lecting a tew sets of eggs of the Common Tern. While walking around 

 the island, I tiushed a female Red-breasted Merganser {Merffanser serrator) 

 from her nest, which contained ten eggs, and was composed of a quantity 

 of dry grass very warmly lined with down and feathers. It was situated 

 on the ground under a clump of umbelliferous plants {Hcracleuin laiia- 

 tiim Michx.), which grow very commonI_y on the islands of Penobscot Bay. 

 The eggs are of a peculiar drab color and measure 2.65 X 1.76, 2.66 X 1.72, 

 2.49 X 1.70, 2.60 X 1.76, 2.50 X 1.76, 2.60 X 1.77, 2.54 X 1.74, 2.60 X I. So. 

 2.68 X 1-75. and 2.60 X 1.76. — Ora W. Kxight, Bangor, Mahie. 



Breeding of Somateria dresseri near Isle au Haut, Maine. — On June 

 26, 1895, I found three nests with eggs of the American Eider on Spirit 

 Ledge, a small island about five miles from Isle au Haut, Maine. The 

 nests were placed on the ground in the midst of a clump of umbelliferous 

 plants, which were growing near the center of the island, and contained 

 two fresh eggs, and incubated sets of three and six eggs respectively. 

 The two latter nests were found by flushing the females. Later in the 

 day I found a fourth nest, containing four eggs, on Saddleback Ledge, 

 about three miles distant from Spirit Ledge. This last nest was on the 

 ground in plain sight, but the eggs were hidden by a thick covering of 

 down. Incubation Avas advanced about foiu- days. The eggs are a green- 

 ish drab color and measure 3.05 X 2.10, 3.17 X 2.05, 3.06 X 2.05, and 3.16 X 

 2.05 inches. 



The captain of the boat which conveyed me to the islands informed me 

 that the fishermen considered the eggs a great delicacy, and collected 

 them for cooking purposes. He also informed me that the ' Sea Ducks,' 

 as he called them, used to nest in much greater numbers near Isle au 

 Haut, but that the constant persecutions of the fishermen had lately 

 caused the birds to nest on the ledges in greatly reduced numbers. — Ora 

 W. Knight, Bangor, Maine. 



The Scaled Partridge {Callipefla .s(///a;>/(ifa) in Colorado. — In 

 ' The Auk ' for July (XII, p. 298), Mr. Willoughby P. Lowe records the 

 capture of a Scaled Partridge in the Wet Mountains, in south-central 

 Colorado. His is undoubtedl}- the first record for the State and extends 

 the range of the species about one hundred and fifty miles north of its 

 recorded range in New Mexico. In the winter of 1892-93 I was shown 

 a freshly killed bird of this species by a Denver taxidermist who told 

 me that it was shot on the Platte River, a short distance east of the 

 city. I could get no further information, and as the location was so far 

 from the known habitat of the species I concluded that it was an escaped 

 bird or had been introduced on some of the ranches along the river and 

 so did not publish the record. I am still of the opinion that the 

 species does not normally wander so far north, but I cannot learn of 

 any Scaled Partridges being introduced into that State. — A. W. Anthony, 

 San Diego, Calif. 



