Vol i90? IV ] General Notes. „ 213 



The Stilt Sandpiper, — a Correction. — On August 13, 1902, I took 

 what I then thought to be a Stilt Sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus) 

 on Matenic Island, Knox Co., Maine. The record as such was published 

 in ' The Auk,' January, 1903, p. 65. Upon a more recent examination I 

 find I am in error, and respectfully ask that the same may be corrected. — 

 Hubert L. Spinney, Seguin Light Station, Popham Beach, Me. 



The American Rough-legged Hawk Breeding in North Dakota, — a 

 Correction.— In the October number of 'The Auk,' 1901 (Vol. XVIII, 

 p. 393), I recorded a supposed instance of the breeding of the American 

 Rough-legged Hawk in Nelson Co., North Dakota. Soon after the publi- 

 cation of this note I examined a series of Ferruginous Roughlegs, in the 

 melanistic phase, and became convinced that my record was erroneous. 

 I should have published more promptly a correction of my error, except 

 for an interesting question, raised by Dr. Louis B. Bishop's experience 

 with some young Roughlegs, as to whether the black Roughlegs were not 

 worthy of recognition as a distinct species, rather than as a mere color 

 phase of Archibuteo ferrugineus. 



On June 17, 1902, he found, near Lake Washington in North Dakota, 

 a nest of black Ferruginous Roughlegs with four young. He killed the 

 male parent bird and kept the four young alive until July 26, 1902, when 

 all four were in melanistic juvenal plumage. A male and a female were 

 then killed and the other two, also a male and a female, were left with our 

 guide, Mr. Eastgate, to be reared to maturity in captivity. In December, 

 1902, the female killed and devoured the male; and on August 2, 1903, 

 she was killed and preserved, after she had completed a moult into an 

 adult melanistic plumage. This experience naturally suggested the idea 

 that melanism is hereditary and, if it could be proven that the melanistic 

 birds always breed true, there would be good grounds for supposing that 

 these black hawks might eventually prove to be a distinct species. Pend- 

 ing further investigation and more evidence I postponed the matter; but 

 during the past season we obtained sufficient evidence to overthrow our 

 theory. We secured two young Roughlegs from a nest in Saskatchewan 

 and reared them in captivity, with the interesting result that one devel- 

 oped into a melanistic bird and one into a bird of normal plumage. Whereas 

 a vast amount of evidence would be necessary to prove the validity of a 

 distinct species, this evidence seems to me conclusive as to the correctness 

 of the color phase theory. I am therefore satisfied that the nest I reported 

 in 1901 belonged to a pair of Ferruginous Roughlegs, and I must apologize 

 for my error in recording it. 



By way of additional evidence, I might mention another case which 

 came to our notice this past season in Saskatchewan. We found a nest 

 of young Ferruginous Roughlegs on June 27 and saw both parents plainly, 

 one of which was melanistic and one normal. Dr. Bishop visited this nest 

 again on July 24 and flushed from beneath the nest one black and one or 

 two normal young. I am indebted to Dr. Bishop for the use of his notes 



