V ?S 9 f I ] General Notes. 1 77 



The Yellow-crownsd Night Heron in Rhode Island. — In August, 1892, 

 it was my good fortune to procure a Yellow-crowned Night Heron 

 (Nycticorax violaceus), at Newport, Rhode Island. The bird was a 

 young female, and was taken in a small grove of pine trees. When first 

 perceived it was standing on the ground apparently unconcerned as to its 

 surroundings. Upon my approach the bird did not appear intimidated 

 but began to walk along slowly under the trees. It was very easily shot. 

 This is the first one of this species that I have seen in Newport, and I 

 think it rather a rare occurrence. — J. Livermore, New York City. 



High Plumage in the Ptarmigan. — Early in January, I received a box 

 of Grouse in the flesh from Mr. Thomas J. Egan of Halifax, N. S., among 

 which were a pair of Ptarmigan {Lagopus lagofus) from Newfoundland. 

 One of these, a male, had the shafts of the secondaries black and was 

 therefore probably L. alleni, but the most striking thing about the 

 plumage was the very evident tinge of rose-color, which was deepest on 

 the rump and on the sides under the wings. The bird was examined in 

 daylight and there was no mistaking its very high coloration. It was 

 equally clear that the color was not adventitious or due to any external 

 influence. The shading was so delicate that I felt sure it would fade from 

 a skin and so the specimen was not preserved. My attention has again 

 been called to the matter, however, by another male L. lagopus, which I 

 have recently received from Mr. William Clark of Winnipeg, to whom I 

 am indebted for other birds also. This specimen was larger than the 

 first and the rosy tint was more intense being especially clear on the 

 sides, making the bird by far the handsomest one of its species which I 

 have ever seen. Possibly this high plumage may have been recorded by 

 others but it is not mentioned by the authorities to whom I have access. — 

 Hubert Lyman Clark, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Capture of Ceryle torquata (Linn.) at Laredo, Texas. A Species New 

 to the United States. — Mr. George B. Benners of Philadelphia recently 

 brought to me for identification a Kingfisher which he had secured near 

 Laredo, Texas, and which proved to be an adult female of the Ringed 

 Kingfisher, Ceryle torquata, which, so far as I am aware, has not been 

 previously recorded farther north than southern Mexico. 



Mr. Benners states that he shot the bird on June 2, 18SS, about one 

 mile below Laredo on the United States side of the Rio Grande. It was 

 sitting on some old roots which had been washed up into a heap by the 

 current of the river, and was shot immediately, so that he did not see it 

 fly or hear its call. Mr. Benners further states that he never saw one of 

 these birds in the vicinity either before or since. Upon the strength of 

 the evidence just given this species seems entitled to a place in the fauna 

 of the United States, along with the several other tropical birds which 

 occasionally reach the Rio Grande valley. 



Mr. Benners has generously presented the specimen to the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (No. 30,517, Coll. A. N. S. Phila.). — 

 Wither Stone, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pa. 

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