General Notes. 237 



same thicket, I stood within arm's length of an unquestionable PolioptUa 

 cceridea. In this case the bird first betrayed himself by his notes, — notes 

 in themselves sufficiently characteristic to indicate their author. 



That either of these specimens were reared or had bred in this State, I 

 do not consider probable. It is more likely that they are examples of the 

 curious retrograde migration which is pretty well known to occur along 

 the Atlantic coast in autumn. And color is lent to this assumption by the 

 fact that strong southwesterly winds prevailed along that coast for sev- 

 eral days just prior to their occurrence. 



Previous numbers of the Bulletin have noted the occurrence of some 

 three or four individuals of this species in each of the three Southern 

 New England States ; but Massachusetts has hitherto been the most north- 

 ern locality attributed to it. — Nathan Cliffokd Brown, Portlaml, 

 Maine. 



Capture of the Carolina Wren and other Rare Birds in 

 Rhode Island. — A friend of mine, Mr. George M. Gray, recently 

 brought me a male Great Carolina Wren (Thryoihorus ludovicianus) , which 

 he shot at Bristol, R. I., August 14, 1880. On hearing its notes he at 

 first thought it was some one whistling, but on answering it the bird soon 

 came within shot, and he killed it. 



I took a male Stilt Sandpiper [Micropalama himantopus) and a male 

 Wilson's Phalarope (Steganopus ivilsoni), both in spring plumage, at New- 

 port, R. I., August 2. Two Bonaparte's Gulls {Chro'icocephalus Philadel- 

 phia), an adult from Newport, and a young one from Westerly, were also 

 sent in to us early in August of this year. I have also to report the recent 

 capture at Newport of a fine adult Black Tern {Hydrochelidon plumhea) by 

 Dr. Henry F. Marshall. — Fred. T. Jencks, Providence, R. I. 



Note on Helminthophaga cincinnatiensis, Langdon. — Having 

 had, through Dr. Coues's courtesy, the pleasure of examining the type 

 specimen of Mr. Langdon's new Helminthophaga, recently described in 

 the Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, (July, 1880, 

 pp. 119, 120, PI. VI,*) I feel constrained to offer a few remarks con- 

 cerning it, as an expression of my own views regarding its validity as a 

 species. At first sight, the bird impresses one with its unique coloration, 

 which on further examination is found to be a perfect combination of 

 the plumage of Helminthophaga pinus and Oporornis foiinosa. The 

 wings and tail are plain-colored, as in the latter, but the wings show a 

 faint suggestion of the wing-bands of the former, in the paler olivaceous 

 tips to the middle and greater coverts. The forehead is yellow, as in 

 H. pinus, but behind and along the postero-lateral edge of this yellow is 

 seen a portion of the black cap which characterizes O. formosa. The 



* [Reprinted in this number of the Bulletin, pp. 208-210, V\. IV. — Ed.s.] 



