20 



ORXITHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 12-Xo. 2 



which ilots not commaiul respect, but an Eider 

 is an intelligent bird and of jsuch a quiet dispo- 

 sition, that it really seems as tliough their 

 "Createst failing was their seeming coufideuce in 

 man. They are persecuted witli relentless en- 

 ergy by both man and beast tVom the time they 

 arrive up to the time they leave, and the count- 

 less hordes which once inhabited this coast are 

 fiist disappearing, and it will not be long before 

 the Eider of Southern Labrador, like the Eider 

 of Grand Manau will be but a memory of the 

 past. 



Oiilemia americaiKi, American Scoter. A few 

 seen regularly about Cape Whittle, where thej- 

 spend the summer. Though none appear to 

 breed, those seen were mostly immature birds. 



Oidemia fiisca. Velvet Scoter. Eather more 

 common than the preceeding. Seen mider the 

 same conditions. 



Oidemia perspiciUata, Surf Scoter. Quite 

 common; the most of any of the Scoters, and 

 summering about Cape Whittle, under the same 

 conditions as its two relatives. They follow 

 their food wherever it goes, and were rare or 

 common accordingly. Once when the bait 

 struck into Wolf Bay, the ''Coots."" Ducks and 

 Eiders were there in thousands, but it lasted for 

 only three days and when their food struck out 

 they vanished with them. 



Branta canadensis, Canada Goose. One or 

 two pair were said to breed on a large island oft' 

 Wolf Bay, called the "Beacon,"" but as there 

 was a camp of "eggers"" there I did not visit it. 



CripnophUus fuh'carius, Ked Phalarope. A 

 flue adult male, the only specimens observed 

 I killed at Cape AVhittle June 25th. It was 

 swimming about in the water near the shore of 

 an island, and although it observed my ap- 

 proach, it kept on feeding in utter disregard of 

 danger. 



Phalaropus cobatus. Northern Phalarope. 

 Killeil one at Exquinuuix Point late in May. 

 Also two at Musquano on June 5th. Saw no 

 evidence of their breeding. 



(To be conchuieil.i 



Notes from Raleigh, N, C. 



BV C. S. BRIMLEY. 



Kentucky Warbler {Oporornis formosa). 

 Have only taken three specimens of this 

 species, all males, on May 13 and 27, 1SS5 and 

 June 5, 1S86. The only occasion on which 

 this bird was observed, before this year were ! 

 the days on which specimens were taken last ! 



year, and in each case only one bird was ob- 

 served and that shot as soon as seen. This 

 year, however, the species was heard nearly 

 every time I explored the neighborhood of a 

 small swamp on Walnut Creek, during the 

 month of June ; but though often heard, it was 

 not often seen, but exhibited the "invisilnlity"' 

 which according to Dr. LeMoj-ne characterizes 

 it in the mountains of Tennessee. The speci- 

 men taken had been pursued for nearly half an 

 hour, when at last I perceived a bird hopping 

 about on the ground by the side of a log and 

 shot it on the chance of its being a Kentucky, 

 and so I obtained the desired specimen. After 

 this one was killed another male took his place 

 and I used to hear him singing whenever I ap- 

 proached his bailiwick, but he was even more 

 invisible than his predecessor and I failed to 

 secure him. I have but little doubt that this 

 species nested somewhere near the swamp re- 

 ferred to, but the mosquitoes effectually cured 

 me of attempting to find a nest. 



Mountain Solitary Vireo ( Vireo aiticola). We 

 have taken two specimens of this variety of the 

 Solitary Vireo this fall, one a female on Oct. 

 13, and a male on Nov 3, both were identified 

 as above by Mr. William Brewster of Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. The prevailing characteristic 

 was tliat the plumbeous of the crown extended 

 over the remainder of the upper parts to a con- 

 siderable extent. I am tolerably sure that I 

 have takeu similar specimens both in spring 

 and fall in former years, but cannot be quite 

 certain as I have no skins to refer to. 



Golden-winged Warbler {Helminthopha(ia 

 chr(/soptera), a male of this species, the first I 

 had ever seen ; was taken by us on Aug 26, of 

 this year. 



Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula). We took 

 two females of this species this fall, one each 

 on Sep. 2 and 17, which is its first occurrence 

 in this locality to our knowledge. After taking 

 the first specimen we kept a sharp lookout for 

 males but did not observe any. 



We have also taken the following rare birds 

 this year: Short-eared Owl (Nov. 11); Pigeon 

 Hawk (Oct. I) : Pileated Woodpecker (Oct. 4) ; 

 the two first of which are first occurrences for 

 this locality. Purple Finches have been tolera- 

 aly common throughout this mouth (Xovem- 

 ber), and Pine Finches have been observed on 

 about half a dozen occasions; the last Blue- 

 headed Vireo was takeu Xov. 15, but disap- 

 pomted us by not belonging to variety alticola. 

 A Field Sparrow i^Spizella ptisilla) was taken 

 on Nov. 3 which sported a white tail. Eed-bel- 

 lied Nuthatches have been taken on Sep. 13, 



