^°'„^^'^] General Notes. I <^^ 



/ 

 and engaged in collecting mud and stiaw or in attempted copulation, -was 



a yonng bird! Of this I made sure by the most careful scrutiny with a 

 glass at a distance of only 15 or 20 feet. There were a few old birds in 

 the flock, but they remained constantly on the fence. 



It seems evident, therefore, that the remarkable behavior of the birds 

 which alighted in the road was simply an expression of premature devel- 

 opment, in the j'Oimg, of the instincts and passions of nest-building and 

 procreation. It is, however, the only instance of this kind that has ever 

 come under my observation. — William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 



Remarkable Ornithological Occurrences in Nova Scotia. — Least 

 Bittern (Botaurus exilis). — On March 16, 1S96, an adult male in full 

 plumage was shot at Upper Prospect, Halifax County, N. S., and was 

 brought to me for identification. This species has never before been 

 taken in Nova Scotia and its occurrence is remarkable, particularly when 

 we consider the early period of the year in which it was taken. It 

 usually ranges only as far north as Massachusetts in the East, but 

 stragglers have been taken in Maine and New Brunswick. In the latter 

 Province some five individuals were killed between 1S77 and 18S1 on the 

 Baj' of Fundy coast. 



Little Blue Heron (Ardea caerulea). — A male in adult plumage 

 was killed at Lawrencetown, Halifax County, on March iS, 1S96 — two 

 daA's after the Least Bittern was shot. The bird was very thin. Another 

 specimen, also an adult, was taken at Shut Harbour, N. S., on April 10, 

 1S97. Only once previously has the species been collected in this Prov- 

 ince. In the summer of 1S84 an immature specimen was taken at Cole 

 Harbour, near Halifax. 



Purple Gallinule (lonornis martinica). — This species is an acci- 

 dental visitor. In 1S96 I saw an adult female which had been captured 

 alive on Devil's Island, Halifax Harbour, about January 16 of that vear. 

 It had probably been injured b}' striking the lighthouse upon that 

 island. After being kept alive for about twenty-five days, it died and 

 was mounted. I am told that another of the same species was found 

 dead at Chezzetcook, Halifax Count}', in the same week as that in which 

 the before-mentioned specimen was taken. Previous to this, two Speci- 

 mens had been taken in the Province. One of these was shot near 

 Halifax on January 30, 1S70 (Jones, American Naturalist, IV, 253), and 

 the other was captured alive in April, 1889, and was kept for some time 

 in an aviary by the late Mr. Andrew Downs {vide Transactions N. S. 

 Inst. Nat. Sc, VII, 468). It has been reported as casual in the neighbor- 

 ing Province of New Brunswick. 



Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata). — A partial albino was shot 

 about October 11, 1894, at Canning, King's County. 



Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). — On March 17, 1S97, one of these 

 birds was found, dead, on the sandv shore of Ketch Harbour, near 



