15IS4.] Grncvdl Nofcs. QQ 



iKitural ban-ier against all Pacific sea-birds reaching the Atlantic Water- 

 shed. That the species under consideration extends its summer migration 

 to the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and even east from Bering Strait, no 

 one knows to what extent along the southern shores of the great Polar 

 Sea. there can be little doubt. It seems to me, then, much more reasona- 

 ble to suppose that this rare straggler should come sf)ulh along with the 

 great horde of Swans, Geese, and Ducks which annuall\' pass up the 

 Mackenzie River, through great Slave Lake, thence from lake to lakC; 

 imtil it reached the great Mississippi Vallej, than that, being eminently 

 a bird of the sea, it should leave its natural element to cross a great 

 mountain range. Be this as it may, the fact remains that a full plu- 

 maged adult Black-throated Auk {^SyiitJilihorhamplius autiquus) was shot 

 on Lake Koshkonong, Wis. It was shot bv Rev. G. E. Gordon of 

 Milwaukee, and the stuffed specimen is beautifully preserved under a 

 glass shade at 'Koshkonong Place,' a private shooting preserve, where 

 I had the pleasure of visiting this fall. The circumstances of the capture 

 are as follows: Late in October, 1882, during a northern 'blizzard' — a 

 storm so severe that it drove most of the Ducks out of the lake — Mr. Gor- 

 don was concealed in his blind, shooting Ducks, when he noticed this 

 strange bird circling around his decoys, and he shot it while on the wing. 

 No others vvrere seen in compan3' with it, and at no other time in the mem- 

 ory of the oldest hunters has its like been seen there before. It may well 

 be called a 'strange bird' by the residents and visitors frequenting this 

 charming spot, and the fact of its capture so far away from its habitat will be 

 no less interesting to ornithologists throughout the length and breadth of 

 our land. Many queries could be started here in connection with the ec- 

 centricities of straggling birds not quite in place in connection with this 

 short notice. The more I ponder on the facts of the capture of this strag- 

 gler, the more wonderful it seems to me. Take notice that Lake Kosh- 

 konong is in the south-eastern part of Wisconsin, three degrees east of 

 the longitudinal line of the western shore of Lake Superior, and about 

 sixty miles west of Lake Michigan. If the bird had its habitat in the 

 Atlantic Ocean it would be more natural that it should drift with the 

 fresh waters of Hudson's Bay and thence hy the Great Lakes to this small 

 lake, whose waters flow into the Mississippi, than that, being as it is a 

 North Pacific bird, it should be found here. 



For the benefi^. of those wishing to compare the species. I will give 

 description and measurements carefully taken from the stuffed specimen. 

 I have compared my observations with specimens from the Smithsonian 

 Institution and uTy own collection, and I see nochance for being mistaken 

 about the species. Bill black at base and along ridge of culmen, sides light 

 brown running to blue at tip. .6 of an inch long, .25 inch deep at base and 

 less in width, feathered to, and partly over, nostril. Gape 1.12 inch. 

 Feathers of throat extend to within .19 inch of angle of gonys. Distance 

 from eye to nostril, .87. Tarsus i inch, scutellate in front and on sides, and 

 very much compressed. Middle toe, without claw, same length as tarsus. 

 Wing 5.50, brown-black. Tail 1.50, black. Blackof head extending .37 inch 



