° 1914 J General Notes. 397 



wavelets and I realized that the bird was moving its feet preparatory to the 

 dive. The next instant as my friend approached, the bird sUpped quietly 

 from the alders and disappeared head first beneath the surface. The 

 actions of the two birds were so absolutely alike that I think they must 

 constitute a regular practice on the part of these Grebes. — Delos E. 

 Culver, Addingham, Pa. 



Herring Gulls at Sea.— On page 182 of 'The Auk,' Dr. Strong says, 

 "Herring Gulls do not wander far from land relatively, and they are proba- 

 bly usually within a reasonable distance from fresh water." 



On February 8-16, I was on a voyage from New York to Madeira. As 

 we left the American coast, a flock of about forty Herring Gulls accom- 

 panied us. 



They decreased in number, gradually, and, as their numbers decreased, 

 they fell further behind. Herring Gulls were identified for fully half the 

 distance to Madeira, but on the sixteenth when the birds came close to the 

 ship they were found to be yellow-legged gulls which had doubtless come 

 out from the islands. — • Robert Barbour. 



Glaucous Gull {Larus hyperboreus) on Fresh Pond, Cambridge, 

 Mass. — Mr. Brewster in his "Birds of the Cambridge Region" records 

 an occurrence of a Glaucous GuU on Fresh Pond in the * hutchinsii ' plumage 

 on November 29, 1899. I am able to furnish a second record. On March 

 2, 1914, in the middle of the forenoon one appeared among the Herring 

 Gulls which were coming in from Boston Harbor to rest and bathe. It 

 was an entirely white bird and much larger than the Herring Gulls. Ice 

 covered most of the surface of the pond, but about an open area reaching 

 to the shore, where the water is received by an entrance pipe, was a col- 

 lection of Black Ducks and Herring Gulls with a pair of Golden-eyes, a 

 Mallard Drake, and three Great Black -backed Gulls. Other Herring 

 GuHs were arriving, and with a squad of these came the Glaucous Gull. 

 It remained to bathe, successively took two or three flights about, but 

 returned after each flight to the open water or to the edge of the ice, where 

 were gathered the Black Ducks. Its position among these at times made 

 the bird very striking in its complete whiteness. It was still present when 

 an hour later I came away. The next day again this Glaucous Gull was 

 present, arriving with Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls at 11.20 

 A. M., but the following day it was absent, and it was not seen again. — 

 Horace W. Wright, Boston, Mass. 



European Widgeon (Moreca penelope) at Boston, Mass. — On Octo- 

 ber 24, 1913, two young male European Widgeon appeared on Jamaica 

 Pond. When first seen, they were very shy and swam restlessly about in 

 close companionship, occasionally giving the characteristic call of the 

 species, consisting of two notes, "Whee-yoii." They were still present 

 the following day, and were afterwards viewed from time to time during 



