'J A DuTCHER on Birds of Long Island, N. T. [January 



11. Chen hyperboreus {Pall.) Bote. Snow Goose. — 

 October S, iSSi, a young bird was shot at Shinnecock Bay by 

 C. A. Lane, which he sent me. In answer to a letter requesting- 

 information about the circumstance, Capt. Lane wrote: "The 

 bird was alone. I have never shot any, and have seen only one 

 prior to the one sent you, nor have either of my sons shot or 

 seen any before." Nelson Verity, gunner, of South Oyster Bay 

 considers them very rare, but remembers having seen a few. 

 Carman Cornelius, gunner, of the same place, does not recollect 

 having seen one on Long Island for twenty years. He is famil- 

 iar with this Goose, having seen them in numbers in North 

 Cai-olina, where he has been employed for many winters by one 

 of the clubs. 



12. Sterna anglica Montag. Gull-billed Tern. — I be- 

 came the fortunate possessor of a male and female of this species 

 July 4, 1883. While on an extensive mud flat, on the inside of 

 the beach, at South Oyster Bay, Nelson Verity called my atten- 

 tion to the cry of a pair of Terns that were flying past. He 

 winged one so that it fell some distance oft". Its mate would not 

 desert it, so was easily secured. On examining them Verity 

 said they were the first he had ever seen. Giraud says,* "In 

 this vicinity it is rare ; during my excursions I have never met 

 with it." 



13. Sterna caspia Pall. Caspian Tern. — During a col- 

 lecting trip to Shinnecock Bay, in September, 18S3, I saw six 

 individuals of this species, three of which I secured. None of 

 the professional gunners about the bay knew what they M^ere, and 

 but few of them had ever seen any before. They are birds 

 that would be likely to attract attention, from their large size, 

 large, bright coral-red bills, and peculiar cry. The first speci- 

 men procured, September 7, was one of a pair, an adult male 

 and a young bird, the former of which came near enough for me 

 to break a wing and thus secure it. The next pair were seen and 

 taken on the 13th. They, too, were an adult and 3'oung. Before 

 they were seen, the harsh rolling cr}'^ of the adult was heard, 

 and also the sharp whistle of the young bird. The old bird 

 came near enough to shoot, and my gunner, Geo. A. Lane, 

 called back the young bird b}' imitating the whistle of the 

 Esquimaux Curlew {Numenius borealis) which was a perfect 



*The Birds of Long Island, pp. 353, 354. 



