122 General Notes. 



United States upon only three previous occasions. The first knowlednje of 

 its occurrence north of old Mexico was furnished by Capt. John Feilner, 

 who found it at Fort Crook, California. The second instance of its cap- 

 ture was by Dr. C. G. Newbery, near Camp Apache, Arizona, in 1873. 

 The third, by Mr. C. E Aiken, of this city, who found the bird sitting on 

 its nest, with one egg, near Poncho Pass, Colorado, in 1875. This discov- 

 ery threw the first light upon the breeding habits of the species. The 

 egg, which is the only one known, is preserved in the National Museum, 

 at Washington." (See also Deane, this Bulletin, Vol. IV, p. 188.) — 

 Ernest Ingersoll, New York City. 



Capture of the Great Gray Owl in the Adirondacks, N. Y. 

 — In March, 1879, a fine female of this rare Owl (Syrnium lapponicum 

 cinereum) was shot in the Adirondacks by a guide, and forwarded to a 

 gentleman in New York City. It arrived in poor condition and was not 

 mounted, but a skin was made of it. This is, I believe, the first record of 

 the occurrence of this bird in this State. The specimen is now in my 

 collection. — Robert Lawrence, New York City. 



Capture of the Northern Phalarope (Lobipes hyperboreus) in 

 Mass.\chu.setts. — Some time since I received a communication from 

 Mr. C. C. Hitchcock, of Ware, Mass., noticing the capture of several 

 birds new to that section. Among those recorded was the one above 

 mentioned. I have recently written to Mr. Hitchcock for further particu- 

 lars, as the record of this bird in a locality at such a distance from the 

 coast is most surprising, when it is so comparatively rare even on the 

 coast itself, being confined chiefly to the waters off shore ; and I enclose 

 his reply : " I had no doubt at the time of the capture of the Phalarope 

 in regard to its identity ; but to make sure I have again looked it up (as I 

 have the bird in my possession), and find I was correct." The bill, he 

 adds, is " 7iot lance-shaped, and is under one inch." This fixes the iden- 

 tity of the species. The bird was taken October 13, 1875. — W. A. 

 Stearns, Fishkill-on-the- Hudson, N. Y. 



On the Supposed Identity of Ardea occidentalis, Aud., and 

 A. wiirdemanni, Baird. — Having learned that Dr. J. W. Velie, of the 

 Chicago Academy of Sciences, had, during one of his collecting trips to 

 Florida, obtained specimens of the Great White Heron (^Ardea occidentalis, 

 Aud.), I recently wrote him with a view of obtaining a specimen of this 

 very rare bird for my own collection. In his reply to my letter he makes 

 the very interesting, and, in view of certain curious facts which I had 

 already brought to notice,* very suggestive statement, that in two instances, 

 once in 1872, and again in 1875, he found about half-grown young, one 

 each of A. occidentalis and A. wiirdcmamii, in the same nest! This 



* See Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr., Vol. IV, No. 1, Feb. 5, 

 1878, pp. 229-237. 



