Jan., 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



The Herring Gull {L. argentatus smith- 

 sonianus) is now plentiful on our river. 

 During the Summer months none are seen ; 

 but with the annual Fall migration up the 

 Saginaw River of the perch, bass and 

 other fish, they appear in large numbers, 

 together with the Bonaparte Gull (.L. 

 philadelphice); both of which species as 

 also the Common Tern (S. fluviatilis,) fre- 

 quent the sand-bars of the Bay shore at 

 i this season of the year in large numbers; 

 in fact, often visiting several breeding 

 places of the Herring Gull and Common 

 Tern on the Maine coast — I thought there 

 could be but few birds left. However, I 

 find myself very much in the wrong. 



The numerous lumber piles, with which 

 the banks of our river for miles are lined, 

 appear to afford very suitable breeding 

 places for the Barn Swallow, House Wren, 

 English Sparrow and Robin, while the 

 Crow Blackbird and Hairy Woodpecker 

 consider it a good feeding ground. 



In the O. and O. for July, 1882, I cited 

 the capture of a Black-backed Woodpecker 

 {P. arcticus.) Nov. 17-22, on the Pine 

 River, in this State. The species has since 

 been noted Sept. 26 at Bay View on the 

 Bay shore and I should not be surprised if 

 we soon learn of its breeding in the south- 

 ern peninsular. The bird is not so rare 

 here as is generally supposed. 



I am not aware that the Surf Duck (_P. 

 perspicillata) has ever been given as a bird 

 of this State. Dr. Morris Gibbs in his 

 list, pifblished in 1879, does not mention 

 it, the other two sinecies of this genus be- 

 ing given as rare. I would therefore add 

 it to the list of Michigan birds, from a 

 specimen taken at the mouth of the Sagi- 

 naw River. The bird was in the posses- 

 sion of a very small boy with a very large 

 gun and a very good string of ducks, who 

 informed me that he took it over decoys at 

 the place stated. It was at once recog- 

 nized as the familiar " Horse-head Coot" 

 of the Maine coast, in good plumage, with 



the local and auricular patches very dis- 

 tinct. The genus CEdemia are not strictly 

 maritime ducks, as I have frequently taken 

 both the Black Scoter and Surf Duck on 

 the inland waters of Maine, and, contrary 

 to my experience on the coast, where they 

 savor strongly of "poggy-chum," have al- 

 ways found them excellent eating. 



Since writing the above, I have purchased 

 at one of our markets a pair of ducks, one 

 of which proves on examination to be a 

 young female Surf Duck, the other a fe- 

 male Black Scoter.— N. A. Eddy, Bay 

 City, Mich. 



Yellow rump Warbler. On the 15th 

 of May last, I winged a Yellow-rump 

 Warbler (Dendrceca coronuta Z.) and, as 

 it was very slightly wounded, I put it in 

 a cage, in order to try whether it would 

 live in captivity. As soon as it got used 

 to the cage, it seemed quite contented, 

 hopping incessantly from perch to perch, 

 and uttering at the same time a harsh, 

 monotonous "tweet." I offered it every 

 kind of food, but the only things it would 

 eat were hard boiled eggs and cooked beef, 

 chopped up fine, of both of which, espe- 

 cially the yolk of the eggs, it was very 

 fond. It also ate a little canary seed, but 

 it did not seem to like it, and swallowed it 

 shell and all. It lived in this way — seem- 

 ingly in perfect health, and with its wing 

 healing fast — for two weeks, when one 

 morning I observed it sitting on its perch 

 looking dull and stupid, and every now 

 and then giving a spasmodic shiver. I 

 took it out of the cage aud held it near a 

 fire for some minutes, when it seemed 

 completely restored. That evening, how- 

 ever, I noticed it put its head under its 

 wing much earlier than usual, and the next 

 morning I found it on the bottom of its 

 cage, dead. — W. L. Scott, Ottawa, Canada. 



Large Sets of Eggs. W. D. Hills, Odin, 

 111., writes that he found a Quail's nest 

 with thirty eggs and one with twenty-eight. 



