184 



General Notes. [A^rU 



local taxidermist ^vho mounted the birds. Further investigation shows 

 that thej are really the White-faced Glossy Ibis. — W. W. Cooke, Ft. 

 Collins, Col. 



Colinus virginianus in Peculiar Plumage. — A Bobwhite recently killed 

 in the vicinity of Washington, and now in the possession of Mr. Blair 

 Lee of this city, presents such an unusual appearance as to seem worthy 

 of permanent record. All the dark rufous tints of the normal plumage 

 are replaced by pale fawn color, the buffy shades by white or grayish 

 white. The ground color of the rump and tail is almost pure gray, and 

 the bird is very much paler and more grayi.sh throughout than even 

 Coltnus V. texamis. None of the black markings, however, seem to have 

 undergone change; and especially on the lower surface, scapulars and 

 innermost secondaries, they are brought out in conspicuous contrast by 

 the lightening of the background. The pattern of coloration appears to 

 be perfectly preserved, the black jugular band being, however, somewhat 

 broader and the black markings on the breast more numerous than in 

 ordinary specimens. — Harry C Oberholser, Washington, D. C. 



The Passenger Pigeon (^Ectopistes migratoi-ius^ in Wisconsin and 

 Nebraska. — Our records of this species during the past few years have 

 referred, in most instances, to very small flocks and generally to pairs or 

 individuals. In ' The Auk ' for July, 1897, I recorded a flock of some fifty 

 Pigeons from southern Missouri, but such a number has been very unus- 

 ual. It is now very gratifying to be able to record still larger numbers 

 and I am indebted to Mr. A. Fugleberg of Oshkosh, Wis., for the follow- 

 ing letter of information, under date of Sept. i, 1897 : " I live on the west 

 shore of Lake Winnebago, Wis. About six o'clock on the morning of 

 Auo-ust 14, 1897, I saw a flock of Wild Pigeons flying over the bay from 

 Fisherman's Point to Stony Beach, and I assure you it reminded me of 

 old times, from 1S55 to 1880, when Pigeons were plentiful every day. 

 So I dropped my work and stood watching them. This flock was fol- 

 lowed by six more flocks, each containing about thirty-five to eighty 

 Pigeons, except the last which only contained seven. All these flocks 

 passed over within half an hour. One flock of some fifty birds flew 

 within gun shot of me, the others all the way from one hundred to three 

 hundred yards from where I stood." Mr. Fugleberg is an old hunter and 

 has had much experience with the Wild Pigeon. In a later letter dated 

 Sept. 4, 1897, he writes: "On Sept. 2, 1897, I was hunting Prairie Chick- 

 ens near Lake Butte des Morts, Wis., where I met a friend who told me 

 that a few days pi-evious he had seen a flock of some twenty-five Wild 

 Pigeons and that they were the first he had seen for years." — This would 

 appear as though these birds were instinctively working back to their old 

 haunts, as the Winnebago region was once a favorite locality. We hope 

 that Wisconsin will follow Michigan in making a close season on Wild 



