78 General Notes. \[j^ 



Wild Turkeys in Illinois.— On July 12, 1905, Mr. F. B. Smiley, 407 

 Security Bld'g, St. Louis, Mo., informed me that he and party killed, in 

 October, 1903, five Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the "Sante Fe 

 Bottoms" ("Okaw Bottoms"), eight miles south of Bartelso, Clinton Co., 

 Illinois. He also stated that, as far as he knew, these were the last Wild 

 Turkeys ever seen in Illinois. It will be interesting to hear from others 

 familiar with the subject, and to know whether other Wild Turkeys have 

 since been observed in that State. — A. H. Felger, Denver, Colo. 



Asio wilsonianus in Shelburne, New Hampshire. — A female American 

 Long-eared Owl was shot on the banks of the Androscoggin River in 

 Shelburne, New Hampshire, early in the morning of October 12, 1908, by 

 Mr. C. D. Bullerwell of Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was visiting in Shel- 

 burne at the time and Mr. Bullerwell kindly presented the specimen to me. 

 I have deposited it in the Museum of Mr. William Brewster. 



The town of Shelburne is in the White Mountain region about twelve 

 miles northeast of Mount Washington, in the northern part of the State. 

 Mr. G. M. Allen, in his 'List of the Birds of New Hampshire,' published in 

 the 'Proceedings of the Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences,' volume 

 IV, 1903, page 104, says, in regard to Asio wilsonianus: "All the records 

 which I have for this species are from localities in the southern and central 

 part of the State. I have never seen it in the White Mountains." — - 

 Walter Deane, Cambridge, Mass. 



A Note on the English Sparrow ' (Passer domesticus). — There is consid- 

 erable doubt as to the source of the early importations into this country 

 of European House Sparrows, commonly known here as English Sparrows. 

 It is probable, like many of our human emigrants, that the breed is of 

 mixed origin, some having been brought from England, some from Ger- 

 many. There are certain local differences between the birds from these 

 two sources which need not be discussed here. Our only object is to 

 compare specimens taken in New England between 1873 and 1886, with 

 specimens taken here at the present day, and with specimens taken in 

 England at the present day. 



The number of specimens is too few for deductions, but we wish to put 

 certain measurements on record, as it is possible they may some time prove 

 of value. A great dearth of early specimens of this un-loved bird prevails. 

 Those examined are from the collections of Mr. Wm. Brewster and Dr. 

 Townsend, and were all from the Boston and Cambridge region. The 

 present day specimens are all from New England, for the most part from 

 Arlington, Mass., while the present day English specimens were sent to 

 Mr. Hardy in the flesh from the vicinity of Liverpool, England. 



The early New England specimens are striking birds, clean, with clear 

 whites, blacks and chestnuts. The delicate wavy lines on the breasts 



1 Read before the Nuttall Ornithological Club, Nov. 9, 1908. 



