2Q2 General Notes. [J"'y 



IS not Lamtis cristatus Lin. (^Otomela cristata Bp-)» but a nearly allied 

 species, viz., Phoneus brachyurus of Pallas, the oldest name of Lanius 

 bucepkalus Temni. & Schleg. (Fauna Japonica), as I have pointed out in 

 Cabanis's 'Journal fiir Ornithologie'(i876, p. 215). The occurrence of this 

 Japanese Shrike in Wrangel Island is of great interest. In a little ac- 

 count of this bii-d (Journ. f. Orn., 1881, Meeting of the Germ. Ornith. 

 Soc. of Febr.) I have referred to the specific differences between 

 Otomela cristata and Phoneus brachyuru'^. The Gray Shrike noted 

 by Nelson and named Lanius borealis Vieill. (p. 67), I suppose to be 

 not this bird, but probably Lanius major of Pallas. The great gray Lanius., 

 which has been collected by Dr. A. Krause, near the mouth of the 

 Chilcat, Alaska, now in the Berlin Museum, which has been described, 

 too, by Dr. Hartlaub as L. borealis (J. f. O., 18S3, p. 270) is certainly L. 

 major Pall. Professor Cabanis has confirmed my opinion (c/. J. f. O., 

 Meeting Germ. Ornith. Soc, March, 18S1). — Herman Shalow, M. G. 

 O. S., Berlin. 



Probable Breeding of the Red Crossbill (^Loxia curvirostra americatta') 

 in Central Maryland. — May 23, 1884, Mr. George Marshall shot two 

 Crossbills, a male and female, from a flock of five, near Laurel, Maryland. 

 The female showed unmistakable evidence of having recently incubated. 

 Two days afterward another male was shot in the same locality. The 

 three specimens are now in the National Museum collection, two of them 

 having been mounted for the exhibition series. Their measurements 

 are as follows : 



Mus. Sex 

 Register and Locality. Date. Wing. 



No. Age. 



97967 $^d. Laurel, Md. May 25, '84. 3.60 



97972 $3id. " " " 23, " 3.60 



9796S 9 ad. " " " 23, " 3.40 



From their dimensions they would therefore be referable to americana 

 proper, although representing about the maximum of size in this form. 

 (See Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. Vol. II, 

 pp. 101-107.) 



This species probably sometimes breeds in various portions of the State 

 of Maryland. In fact, I have been assured by Mr. A. WoUe, an experi- 

 enced and reliable collector and bird-fancier of Baltimore, that he had, on 

 several occasions, found the nest of this species in the immediate vicinity 

 of that city. — R. Ridgway, Washington., D. C. 



The Probable Breeding-place of Passerculus princeps.^The National 

 Museum possesses a considerable series of eggs labeled '■'■Passerculus 

 savana. Sable Island, Nova Scotia, July, 1862 ; J. P. Dodd," which are 

 uniformly so much larger than those of the Savannah Sparrow as to 

 strongly suggest the probability that they may be in reality those of the 



