I 24 General Notes. [April 



or painfully injured, utterly refused all food until, in a moment of passion, 

 he flew at his captor, who had barely time to strike a blow with a heavy 

 stick which he had with him. Fortunately for the hunter the blow was 

 fatal, and in this condition the late " monarch of the mountain forests " 

 was brought to me. Owing to sickness, I was tmable to prepare the Eagle 

 myself, and so sent it to Mr. C. J. Maynard to be mounted for my collec- 

 tion. — G. A. LiNTNER, Albany, N. T. 



Wintering of Sora Rail at the North. — Mr. L. S. Ward of 

 Rochester, N. Y. , writes me that he received a female Porzana Carolina 

 caught in his vicinity on Dec. I2, 1882. The bird was brought to him 

 by a farmer who said that while hunting rabbits with a ferret on his farm, 

 which is watered by a creek where Rails abound in season, this bird was 

 driven from a hole in the ground. " It seemed to be in a partially torpid 

 condition, and was easily caught as it crouched on the ground." This 

 was nearly in the midst of winter, with cold weather and plenty of snow 

 and ice. On skinning the bird it proved to be much emaciated. While 

 I do not wish this paragraph to be held up in evidence that I believe that 

 Rails hibernate in the mud, or even turn into frogs, the circumstances 

 of the case seem quite worthy of record. — Elliott Coues, Washingto7i, 

 D C. 



Nesting Habits of the Canada Goose (Ber/n'cla canadensis) . — 

 In view of the various statements made in regard to the nesting of the 

 Canada Goose in the Northwest, I will briefly give the results of three 

 seasons' observations on the Upper Missouri, Yellowstone, and Big Horn 

 Rivers in Montana. Just hoAv far down the Missouri River their breed- 

 ing range extends, I am unable to say, but from the mouth of the Yellow- ' 

 stone, up both rivers, pairs are very often seen as one ascends tiie streams. 



These Geese usually arrive in Montana early in March, and many of 

 them are paired at that time ; by the first of May the nests contain the 

 full complement of eggs, generally five in number. 



Some of the published accounts would lead one to infer that this Goose 

 commonly and habitually nests in trees, but this, in the region I now 

 refer to, is by no means the case. Their favorite nesting sites are on the 

 numerous low sandy islands in these rivers, covered in the higher parts 

 with a growth of young willows. Among these the pair scratch a slight 

 hollow in the sand, around which they place a few sticks and twigs, the 

 eggs being separated from the ground by a layer of gray down furnished 

 by the parents. Occasionally the nests are placed on the banks among 

 high grass or on piles of drift-brush, but this is uncommon, as few nests 

 would escape the ever present coyote. One nest was made on top of 

 a pile of brush that had collected in the top of a fallen tree that had floated 

 down and lodged near the middle of the river, — a very conspicuous place 

 but quite safe from four-footed enemies. I have also known a pair to nest 

 on a rocky ledge about three hundred yards from the river, and this nest 

 was occupied for several successive years. 



