272 General Notes. [J^",^ 



pagination, and I believe we recognize that m jth officially ; if so, the 

 name of tlie Bank Swallow becomes the tautonjm Riparia rifaria, or 

 else R. europcEa, or else R. cinerea. It is but justice to Dr. Stejneger to 

 say that he was aware of this (Pr. Nat. Mus. V, 1882, p. 32), only he 

 "preferred to accept the name Clivicola" though the reason for his 

 preference is obviously a futile one by our rules. It is also due him to 

 add, that he only " supposed " his generic synonymy of Swallows to be 

 correct {ibid. p. 31). But neither supposition nor preference has any 

 place in the A. O. U. Code. I can suppose a good many things that are 

 not canonized in the code, and certainlj' prefer some things that are not 

 canonized. For example, I "prefer" Riparia to Clivicola, and I 

 " suppose " Dr. Stejneger wrong about Hirundo. The case thus raised by 

 Dr. Sharpe should come up for consideration at the next meeting of the 

 Union. — Elliott Coues, Washington, D. C. 



Accidental Death of a Hooded Warbler (Sylvania niitrata).-- On May 

 27, 1898, while wandering along a roadway in the vicinity of Great Timber 

 and Beaver Swamp, Cape May County, New Jersey, in company with Dr. 

 William E. Hughes, a male Hooded Warbler attracted our attention by 

 its uneasiness. 



While searching the surroundings for its nest, the Doctor discovered a 

 female Hooded Warbler suspended by a horse hair tighth' looped around 

 the lower part of the neck, it having slipped up underneath the feathers, 

 and the other end was tangled among some small twigs and briars, where 

 it no doubt Avas caught while the bird was carrying the material to line 

 her nest with. She was hanging about two feet above the ground with 

 her head dropped back exposing her throat, the feathers of which were 

 parted by the action of heavy rains of the past few days. The condition 

 of the bird was apparently fresh, and no nests of this species were found 

 containing more than one egg at this time. — J. Harris Reed, Beverly, 

 N.J. 



Notes on the Nesting of Palmer's Thrasher at El Plomo, Sonora, 

 Mexico. — Palmer's Thrasher {Harporhynchus ctirvirostris palmeri), is 

 one of the most common birds in this region (100 miles southwest of 

 Tucson, Arizona) ; they may be seen in pairs throvighout the year, and 

 seem to remain around the old nest all winter, using it for a roost. The 

 nesting site seems to be in any convenient place. In flat country any- 

 where, but in hilly country generally at the foot of a hill, seldom over 

 quarter way up on a hill or mountain, unless on the bank of some small 

 arroyo. 



Some pairs begin building the latter part of Februarj'. The new nest 

 is generally placed near the old one, often in the same cactus, and some- 

 times on top of the old nest. The nests are large and well made. The 

 body is composed of thorny sticks, three to ten inches in length ; then 



