298 



General Notes. [J"'y 



No. II. — Female. This bird had tlie .top of its head black, with a tow 

 white feathers interspersed. The feathers of back and scapulars reddish and 

 black, with an occasional gray one. On the throat and entire lower parts 

 red and white feathers intermixed. Under tail-coverts pure red. The 

 lower mandible orange yellow to within an eighth of an inch of the end 

 which was black. The upper mandible orange yellow to within an eiglith 

 of an inch of the end which was black, with a dividing line of black 

 changing to light brown as it nearcd the nostrils. On the breast red and 

 white feathers intermixed, the former predominating. Nails black. In 

 all the specimens taken the white bar on the greater wing-coverts and 

 the color of the legs and feet were constant. 



No_ ij. — This bird, a female, was the Northern Phalarope {Phalarofus 

 lolxitus) in apparently fuUadult plumage. The top of the head was black. 

 Bill black. Throat white. A small spot of white on under eyelids. A 

 deep Chestnut red color separated by a blackish band from the white of 

 the breast which extended over the entire lower parts to end of tail. 

 A bar of white on the great wing-coverts one quarter of an inch wide. 

 Entire back black, striped with deep chestnut red feathers some of which 

 had a white edging at their ends, as did also the black feathers of the 

 scapulars. The upper tail-coverts had black and white spots alternating, 

 there being several on each feather. Feet of a dark slate-color outside 

 and light lead-color on the inside, the nails black. — George II. Mackay, 

 Natituckct, Mass. 



Crymophilus fulicarius in Provincetown Harbor. — May 21 to 23, 1S92, I 

 spent at Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Mr. Outram Bangs of Boston. 

 The number of Phalaropes that we observed was so unusual as to seem 

 worthy of record. 



May 21. — A single CrymophiJus found on the edge of a large pond near 

 the town. The bird appeared to be unhurt, but moved about slowly and 

 awkwardlv on shore. The weather was rainy and foggy with a steady, strong 

 wind from the east. Fishermen who went out to the weirs north of the town 

 reported ' bank birds" (Phalaropes) very abundant, large numbers of them 

 even alighting on the beach. They said that the birds had been unusually 

 abundant a few miles out at sea for some weeks, but these were the first 

 seen near shore. 



May 22. — This morning the wind moderated, but a fog set in, bringing 

 with it numbers of Phalaropes. At about 8 A. m. word was brought that the 

 harbor was full of 'sea geese' (a name applied indiscriminately to both 

 species of Phalarope). The fog was not very dense and the birds could be 

 seen from shore, flying in large flocks close to the water. They moved 

 mostly toward the northwest, very few being seen to ?iy in any other direc- 

 tion. It was noticeable that the flocks did not like to cross the long nets 

 or 'leaders' stretching from the weirs toward shore directly across the usual 

 line of flight. Although these nets rose only three or four feet above the 

 water, the birds almost invariably turned their flight and followed them for 

 some distance before rising to pass over. At a little after nine the fog 



