256 General Notes. [ A ^ 



regularly there, few Surf Scoters frequent this stream. — Arthur T. 

 Wayne, Mount Pleasant, S. C. 



Early Date for the Ruddy Duck.— On Labor Day, Sept. 5, 1910, a 

 single Ruddy Duck was seen in Oldham Pond, Pembroke, Mass., by Mr. 

 A. B. Gardner, who assures me that it was not a cripple, and had not been 

 about the pond before that date. There can be no mistake as to the 

 identity of this bird, as Mr. Gardner is perfectly familiar with the species 

 and paddled to within a few yards of this individual. — J. C. Phillips, 

 Wenham, Mass. 



A Wood Ibis Record for Michigan. — June 19, 1910, a Wood Ibis, 

 Myrteria americana, was taken near Monroe, Monroe Count}', Mich, 

 (on the west shore of Lake Erie), by Mr. J. A. Peterson of that city who 

 brought it in to the shop of Mr. L. H. Eppinger to be mounted, where I 

 examined it in the flesh. It was a juvenile bird, so shot as to be of inde- 

 terminate sex. As a matter of record, a photograph of the mounted bird 

 was made and preserved. The species has been in the hypothetical list 

 for this State for some time but this appears to be the first fully authenti- 

 cated record for it within our Michigan boundaries. — P. A. Taverner, 

 Highland Park, Mich. 



The Nuptial Plumes of Bitterns : A Correction. — In the last num- 

 ber of ' The Auk ' (Vol. XXVIII, Jan., 1911, p. 100) I quoted, from an 

 article written by Agnes M. Learned and published in ' Bird-Lore ' (Vol. X, 

 No. 3, May-June, 1908, pp. 106-108), a paragraph relating to the white 

 nuptial plumes of the American Bittern. This I characterized as " rather 

 curiously incomplete," failing to notice that it is led up to and made per- 

 fectly intelligible by two or three lines which occur above it on the same 

 page in the midst of matter not closely kindred. They run as follows: 

 " Here we saw, one perfect Sunday morning in June (the 9th), the Bittern; 

 but not as we had seen him before, for on his back he wore two clusters of 

 beautiful white plumes that fluttered softly in the morning air." 



I trust that Miss Learned will forgive me for overlooking this essential 

 and gracefully worded passage. How I could have done so is difficult 

 to understand for I read her article no less than three times — as I thought, 

 with care. Apparently my eyes see Bittern plumes better in Concord 

 bogs than in printed text; but then light within doors is no longer what it 

 used to be, as every oldish person knows. — William Brewster, Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. 



Nesting of the King and Virginia Rails ( Rallus elegans et virginianus) 

 in Philadelphia County, Pa.— King Rail. In ' The Auk,' Vol. XXV, 

 p. 218, I reported having found two nests of this species at Bridesburg, in 

 the northeastern part of this county, where it is a very rare breeder, and 

 now desire to place on record the discovery of two subsequent nests. 



