Vol i9of HI ] General Notes. 457 



GENERAL NOTES. 



The American Egret (Herodias egretta) in the Catskill Mountains. — 

 On July 18, 1906, I saw at East Windham, New York, three of these birds 

 on the topmost branches of a tree near a hemlock swamp and secured one 

 of them, and another on the following day. Both birds were young females, 

 and undoubtedly, according to a peculiar habit of the family to wander 

 northward during the latter part of the summer, were erratic visitors in 

 this locality. Upon inquiry among several inhabitants, I was informed 

 that this species had never been seen by them in this locality before, nor 

 had they bred there, and that the flock consisted of six birds on July 16, 

 two days before my arrival. — J. A. Weber, New York City. 



A Second Yellow-crowned Night Heron {Nycticorax violaceus) at 

 Portland, Maine. — A female of this species was shot at Thompsons Point, 

 Portland, Me., April 11, 1906. It passed into the hands of Mr. Thomas 

 James, foreman of the W. D. Hinds taxidermy establishment, and was 

 obtained from him by Mr. Walter Rich, who very kindly gave it to the 

 writer. The other specimen, also a female, was taken April 13, 1901, 

 and recorded by Dr. H. H. Brock who now has it (Brock, Auk, XIX, p. 

 285). — Arthur H. Norton, Museum of Natural History, Portland, Me. 



A Late Spring Record for the Yellow Rail [Porzana noveboracensis) 

 in Massachusetts, with Remarks on the 'Ornithological Mystery.' — 

 On May 26, 1906, Mr. John J. Haley had the good fortune to secure a 

 female Yellow Rail, which was found and retrieved alive by his dog while 

 working over a fresh water meadow in Dedham. The bird was given to 

 Mr. G. E. Browne, an experienced taxidermist, and he tells me that he 

 found an egg started in the oviduct of the bird which he believed would 

 have been laid in three or four days. 



This instance, though not a positive breeding record, is of additional 

 interest inasmuch as it may throw some light on the 'Ornithological 

 Mystery ' or 'Kicker' (Brewster, Auk, XVIII, Oct., 1901, pages 321 to 328). 

 I had always supposed that the identity of the 'Kicker' was disclosed by 

 Mr. J. H. Ames, Auk, XIX, Jan. 1902, page 94, where he describes the 

 notes of a Yellow Rail, which he had in captivity, as identical with those 

 of the 'Kicker' which Mr. Brewster had heard in Massachusetts, but Dr. 

 Charles W. Townsend, in his 'Birds of Essex County,' published in 1905, 

 refers to the 'Ornithological Mystery' as the Little Black Rail, after talking 

 with Mr. Brewster about a bird that he heard in July, 1903. 



To anyone not familiar with the 'Kicker' and acquainted only with the 

 material published on the subject, this non-acceptance of Mr. Ames's 

 solution seems to require some explanation. Mr. Brewster tells me that 



