May 1890.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



79 



body also. Ten inches of the tail part re- 

 mained. All these facts are noted in a winter 

 exoei)tionally mild, notably so in this section. 



C. C. Maxjield. 



Editor.^ of O. d- O.: 



In my notes on "A Kite New to American 

 Fauna" in your April number, the locality 

 slnudd read Monroe Co. instead of Dade. It 

 was my mistake in copying the MSS. 



J. C. CaJioon. 



Editors of O. & O.: 



On April 2, a fine specimen of Golden Eagle 

 measuring seven (7) feet in extent was brought 

 me to be mounted. It was poisoned in Altona 

 Township, Pipestone Co.. ^Nlinn., by a boy who 

 liad a bait out for prairie wolves. It is the 

 first specimen ever taken in this county to my 

 knowledge. I think it is a rare bird in a tree- 

 less country like this. ^l. D. Brown. 



I'iliestone, Minn.. April 5, 18!)0. 



An Unusually Large Eagle. 



Editors of O. & O.: 



Your letter was over two weeks in reaching 

 me after it was written, and I am very sorry 

 to tell you that during one of our wind storms 

 the door of the house in which my eagle lived 

 blew open and he came out. Before we knew 

 it, he hail attacked a physician, lighting upon 

 his arm and showing so much fight that the 

 doctor killed him with a club and left him 

 lying where he fell. As he did not inform us 

 we did not know of it until the dogs had 

 destroyed the bird, so I cannot give you a 

 sworn statement of his extent. I can only say 

 that the room in which he lived was nine feet, 

 Ihree inches wide straight across, and he 

 (;ould not (piite straighten himself except 

 corner-wise of the room. We think he meas- 

 ured nine and one half feet surely. lie was 

 quite tame with us but was very ui;ly to the 

 doctor. Tiianking you for your interest in my 

 big l»ird, I remain sincerely yours, 



F. E. Can: 



Lewistown, Ferfrus Co., Mont., Apr. 2S, \S'M. 



Editor O. tfc O.: 



Here we are all (). K. and right side up. 

 Friday morning I took a small boat on the 

 Dartmouth side, and with a chai> to do the 

 rowing started out in quest of the Auk family 

 and other members of the feathered tribe. 

 On our way down the harbor 1 spied a boat 

 aiiead of us with two chaps in, who would pull 

 like blazes for about tifty yards, drop their 



oars, jump up, slap their guns to shoulder, 

 and sweep the waters in all directions; this 

 tliey kept up until we caught up, and going 

 ahead we kept eyes open, as we knew by their 

 actions something was on the move. Sure 

 enough, for in a few moments my eagle eye 

 lit on a black object that was going for all it 

 was worth for the shore. We shot our boat 

 in that direction, when the object disappeared 

 beneath the water, and appeared again, going 

 behind us, at about fifty yards distant. I 

 slung up my ten bore, there was a stunning 

 report, and a charge of No. 4 shot swept that 

 animal into eternity. Upon rowing up I was 

 much surprised to find it an American Scoter, 

 with hump bill, orange and yellow, and ph;m- 

 age all black. I was glad to get it, and it's 

 the first specimen of its kind I have ever shot 

 so near home, and it is now mounted and helps 

 to swell my already very large and varied col- 

 lection. After gathering this chap in, we pro- 

 ceed on our way, and meet with nothing furtlier 

 except Guillemots, that would get up far out of 

 shot, until we got well down past McNab's 

 Island, when we spotted four loons hugging the 

 opposite shore. We immediately turned the 

 boat and lit out. When we arrived upon the 

 scene the Loons had deserted, all but one, and 

 he seemed to feel perfectly secure, so we edged 

 in our boat, drove him close to the shore, when 

 he dove. I then stood up. backed out the boat 

 about sixty yards and waited. All of a sudden 

 up came the Loon behind us, but I was there 

 as quick as he was, and a charge of No. 2, 

 with five drams of powder behind it, laid him 

 out cold, so we gathered him' in, and after 

 plugging him up with wool turned again 

 towards the Island. By and by we caught 

 sight of some Cock-a-wee, got pretty well up 

 to them, when up they jumped. One chap 

 took a sweep around us, and in turning to join 

 the others, came rather too close, and again 

 the ten bore spoke, and there was one Cock-a- 

 wee less in this beautiful world. We picked 

 him up and he proved to be a very fine male 

 in the winter plumage. We then made for the 

 lower part of the island and got to our destin- 

 ation, all O. K., without any further interrup- 

 tions from the songsters of the deep. There 

 are just here two narrow strips of land running 

 out into the bay, and the water comes in from 

 the sea through a passage about 150 yards 

 wide. Here we anchored the boat about mid- 

 channel, and with guns in hand waited for the 

 birds to show up. By and by, in comes a 

 Cock-a-wee, and witii the wind after him he 

 cuts through the air at 1,000 miles a minute, 



