90 BIRDS OF THE NEW YORK CITY REGION 



Society. Another specimen taken at Roslyn, May 11, 1885. 

 Dr. C. C. Abbott claimed to have seen three of these birds 

 flying off Sandy Hook in February 1864, but his observa- 

 tions are known to have been so unreliable that this cannot 

 be accepted as a definite record. The date renders the 

 suspicion unavoidable that the birds were Gannets. 



BROWN PELICAN (Pelecanus occidentalis) 

 Accidental straggler from the South. A specimen was 

 shot off Sandy Hook about 1837. Seen August 28, 1902 at 

 East Marion (Latham) and May 26, 1912, Jones Beach 

 (Johnson and Griscom, Auk, 1912, p. 389). 



FRIGATE BIRD (Fregata aquila) 



Accidental straggler from the tropics. Two records. 

 Faulkner's Island, 1859 (Grinnell) and Gardiner's Island, 

 August 4, 1886 (Butcher). 



AMERICAN MERGANSER (Mergus americanus) 

 This fine species is an uncommon winter visitant to Long 

 Island, very common on the Hudson River, and occurs 

 regularly on all the larger lakes and reservoirs in our area. 

 It is preeminently a fresh-water duck, and is not so partial to 

 salt water as the Red-breasted Merganser. By all odds the 

 best place to see this bird is the Hudson River from the 

 Palisades Interstate Park, where it is sometimes positively 

 abundant during severe cold waves, when the river is frozen 

 solid further north. It is increasing around New York City, 

 and now lingers in the spring much later than formerly. 



Long Island. Uncommon winter visitant, more numerous 

 locally (October 15) November 4 to April 29. 



ORIENT. Uncommon winter visitant. November 26, 

 1910 (Miller and Griscom) to April 29, 1917. Average arrival 

 about December 1. 



MASTIC. Common winter visitant, November to April 

 24, 1920. 



