General Notes. 59 



.The Swallow-tailed Kite in Dakota. — On November 14, 1881, 

 when a short distance west of Jamestown, Dakota Territory, I saw several 

 Swallow-tailed Kites {^Elaitoides forficatus) flying around apparently in 

 search of food. The day was clear and the Kites were much separated ; 

 one even was seen alone skimming along an alkali lake, showing every 

 indication of searching for food. On November 17, farther to the west, 

 about midway between Jamestown and Bismark, near the line of the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad, I saw, some fifty more of these beautiful birds, 

 but this time in a flock, and each movement being common with them all 

 it was a glorious sight. The weather had changed from that of the 14th, 

 and was now cloudy with a brisk wind from the northwest, accompanied 

 at times by a slight shower of rain, but this change they seemed to enjoy. 

 So easily did thev ride the storm, so beautiful were their evolutions, so 

 much at home did they appear in mid-air, that when they had passed out 

 of sight I was pained, for in this northern latitude such a sight is of very 

 rare occurrence. — D. H. Talbot. Sioux City, la. 



A Remarkable Specimen of the Pinnated Grouse (^Ctipidonia 

 ctipido). — W hile overhauling some Grouse in the Boston markets a few 

 years since I came across a specimen which exhibits the following peculi- 

 arities of plumage : 



Adult $ (No. 2691, author's collection, Boston Markets, February 27, 

 1S73 — said to have come from Iowa). Ground-color above warm, brownish- 

 cinnamon. Shorter neck-tufts or pinnate coverts, bright reddish-brown. 

 Breast, reddish-chestnut, becoming almost clear chestnut anteriorly. A 

 band or collar of broad, stift" feathers extends continuously around the 

 neck in front and across the lower portion of the jugulum about in a line 

 with the neck-tufts. These feathers although less stiff than the longest 

 ones in the neck-tufts, are nevertheless quite as much so as the shorter ones. 

 They make a conspicuous ruff" which is mainly black mixed with a good 

 deal of reddish-chestnut. The latter color on the shorter and overlapping 

 feathers occurs in the form of narrow central stripes, which in some cases 

 are nearly orange in tint; on the longer ones as a more or less broad, 

 lateral marginning. 



I ofter the above description solely for the purpose of calling attention 

 to this remarkable specimen for I am entirely at a loss to account for its 

 peculiarities. Several who have seen it have suggested that it may be a 

 hybrid between the Prairie Hen and the Rufted Grouse, but this hypothesis 

 seems hardly a probable one, inasmuch as none of the combined charac- 

 ters which would be expected in such an offspring are here presented. 

 The ruff" does indeed rem.otely suggest that of Bonasa, but otherwise 

 the bird shows all the well-marked structural characters of Cupidonia. 

 To simply say that it is abnormal will hardly, satisfy the numerous inves- 

 tigators of this pushing age of inquiry. — William Brewster. Cambridge, 

 Alass. 



Wilson's Plover (yEgialites rvilso>iins) in New England. — Mr. W. 

 A. Stearns sends me a letter from Mr. Arthur S. Fiske, dated Gurnet, 

 Conn., Ang. 22. 1S77. '"This morning I shot a bird of this species on 



