iSS-i-l Com. INS on Xv-v ICin^idfid l.aiidd- <i/i</ I'nicclld iii(hr. ~^J 



certain species of our sea-birds to wliich it seems desiral)le to call 

 attention, since, as T am informed, similar statements, thoiij^h 

 erroneous. lia\e geuerall\ been put foiih as facts 1)\ tlie majority 

 of American ornitholooists. 



It is stated that tiie Greater .Shearwater {Piiffiiiiis iiiajor) — the 

 '•Hag' or '•Ilagdon' of the fishermen — and the 'Black Hag' {P. 

 fuliginosiis)^ both of which usually come and go together, arc 

 winter birds on our coast. Though it may appear egf)tistical 

 for me to question such high authority, I am, nevertheless, com- 

 pelled to say that these birds are not found with us in winter, 

 unless, indeed, a stray specimen might be seen. In thii'ty years 

 of sea-life oft' the coasts of New England and the British North 

 American Provinces, I have never seen any 'Hags' in winter, nor 

 have I learned of their occurrence at that season. They usually 

 come in INIay, the time of arrival being slight!}' varied by the con- 

 dition of the weather. In the spring of 1879 I saw the first 

 'Hagdon' (/'. major^ on May 26, and three days later they were 

 abundant, sitting on the water in large flocks, as is their habit 

 when they first reach the fishing banks, or when they are about 

 to depart in the tall, though at other times they rarely congre- 

 gate except they may be attracted together by the presence of 

 food. They usually leave the fishing grounds — from Cape Cod 

 to the Grand Bank — in October and November ; the first snow 

 starts oft" any of these birds which have remained behind their 

 companions. 



I have no knowledge of where or when they breed. I have 

 opened many hundreds (it would not, perhaps, be an exaggeration 

 to say thousands) , and I never found one with sexual organs in a 

 condition which would indicate that the birds were breeding. 



Dr. Coues also speaks of the Arctic Jaeger (^Stercorari7is 

 buffont) as ''occurring oft' the coast in fall and winter, with other 

 species of the genus." This is the 'Whiptail' of the fishermen, 

 sometimes also called 'Marling Spike,' though the latter name 

 is more .generally applied to the Pomarine and Richardson's 

 Jaegers. All of the Jaegers are most abundant in spring and 

 fall, as I find by consulting my notes; are rarely seen in mid- 

 winter, and are comparatively scarce in mid-summer. The 

 Arctic Jaegar T have not seen in winter, so far as I can remem- 

 ber, and I have no notes concerning it at that season. It is not, 

 however, at all improbable that it ma}' occasionally be seen 



