208 General Notes. ren 
Rhodostethia rosea; it breeds only within the Arctic circle, and even 
beyond lat. 82°. The Brant stock has differentiated along three lines, now 
recognizable, and fairly well represented in ditferent longitudinal areas. 
The most distinction has been acquired by B. zzgrzcans, in which, besides 
the black belly, there is a large and nearly complete white collar, shown 
by neither of the other two; in other words, the Black Brant buttons its 
collar in front, and wears a black vest. This is probably a specific char- 
acter. Waiving the question of taxonomic rank, I wish to call attention 
to the fact that, as shown by Mr. Seebohm (Hist. B. B., VI, p. 508, 1885), 
two races of B. bernicla are distinguishable, and ours is the one which 
needs aname. It is true that the difference between them is not great, 
and not strictly correspondent with geographical distribution; and that 
Salvadori makes no distinction (Cat. B. Br. Mus., X XVII, 1895, p. 119). 
But a difference does exist, it is to some extent geographical, and I could 
name perhaps fifty birds in the A. O. U. List with no better claim to 
recognition by subspecific name. The white-bellied bird, largely or 
mainly North American, is Bernzcla glaucogaster Brehm, Isis, 1830, p. 996, 
nomen nudum; B. brenta, a. glaucogaster Bp., C. R., 1856, p. 648; and 
Anser brenta glaucogaster Seebohm, /. c., where the distinction is pointed 
out in the following terms: “In the Taimur peninsula, in Nova Zembla, 
Franz-Joseph Land, and Spitzbergen typical Azser brenta breeds, having 
the under parts generally as dark as those of the Pacific species [our 
B. nigricans), but with the white on the sides of the neck not meeting in 
front. In Arctic America, from the west coast of Greenland as far 
west as the Parry Islands, and north of lat. 73° as far as land is known 
to extend, the white-bellied form of the Brent Goose (Azser brenta glau- 
cogaster) breeds; it has the underparts below the breast almost pure 
white and the white on the sides of the neck does not meet infront. Both 
the two latter races and intermediate forms between them occur on our 
[British] coasts; but the white-bellied form is much the rarer of the 
two.” This is in substance the evidence upon which I propose that we 
recognize Branta bernuicla glaucogastra in the A.O.U. List. — ELLIoTT 
CouEs, Washington, D. C. 
The Wood Ibis in Virginia and Maryland. — On July 20, 1896, an adult 
Tantalus loculator was killed by Mr. Rudolph Thiele in his barnyard at 
Silver Hill, Maryland, near the District of Columbia line. There were 
two; the other, an immature bird, flew away about half a mile and was 
killed soon afterwards on the same day by Mr. Arthur Suit of Suitland. 
Both were mounted for the above named gentlemen, and I saw the fresh 
skins. On the 27th of the same month another, an immature female, was 
shot in an oat field near Laurel, Maryland, and sold to and mounted by 
Mr. Geo. Marshall of that place, in whose collection it now is. On July 
18, 1896, three others, an adult and two immature birds, were shot by two 
boys at Vinitarville, Goochland County, Virginia, and the wings and 
