18 



TOTJRNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



urnix communis, and eggs of same, laid 

 and deserted in Falmouth, Me. For 

 attempted introduction of this bird in- 

 toNo. America (cf. Smith report Com. 

 Fish & Game Maine 1880 p. 36). In 

 addition to these excellent series illus- 

 trating the plumage and moulting 

 stages of many species of sea birds 

 were also exhibited. AKingEiderdrake 

 in nearly perfect mature plumage, (for 

 description of this plumage cf. Auk 

 XV 11 p. 16.) and many foreign game 

 birds. 



During the P. M. Session two papers 

 were read, one by J. C. Mead, upon 

 birds observed near Charleston. S. C. 

 The other by Prof. Austin P. Larrabee, 

 upon the Olive-backed thrush. 



Meeting adjourned to meet at Ban- 

 gor, Me., Friday and Saturday after 

 Thanksgiving 1903. 



ARTHUR H. NORTON, SEC. 



Judge John Nathaniel Clark of Old 

 Saybrook, Conn., died at his home on 

 January 13th. The Judge was a sub- 

 scriber to our journal and a very en- 

 thusiastic ornithologist. He was a 

 member of the A. O. U. and had spent 

 many years in forming a fine collec- 

 tion of eggs of N. A. birds. His col- 

 lection is considered to be one of the 

 best if not the best private collection 

 in America. He was a very amiable 

 gentleman to meet and never tired of 

 talking about birds and in telling of 

 his experiences among the birds up 

 in New Hampshire where he usually 

 spent his June vacation. He plan- 

 ned to spend a month vacation with 

 us, about the Rangeley lakes in June 

 1900, but his sickness prevented us 

 from receiving the visit from the 

 Judge. Many of our members will 

 miss the extremely interesting letters 

 we received from time to time from 

 him. He was about seventy-two 

 years at the time of his death. 



MERGANSER AMERICANUS. 

 I was recently shown a fine speci- 

 men of the American Merganser or 



Goosander which had been shot at 

 Great Pond a short time before by Mr. 

 Soper of School street, Waterville. 



Great Pond is the largest of a series 

 of ponds or lakes as they would be 

 called in the states less favored than 

 ours, lying a few miles west of Water- 

 ville and furnishing fine opportunities 

 for the hunter and the fisherman. 



Usually the smaller pondsfreeze over 

 first so that any ducks or other water 

 birds in them are driven to Great Pond 

 where they furnish great sport for the 

 gunner; but this year the sudden cold 

 snap we had early in the winter, made 

 short work of Great Pond as well as 

 the rest. 



However, a flock of Mergansers, and 

 perhaps, other birds with them, gather- 

 ed in Great Pond in numbers variously 

 estimated at from turee to five hun- 

 dred, Mr. Soper thinking three hun- 

 dred the more correct estimate. I 

 think these birds are rather rare as 

 these are only the third speci- 

 mens that I have seen in seve- 

 ral years. Of the other two 

 of the second was a beautiful salmon 

 color; of this new specimen the head 

 and upper neck were a beautiful glos- 

 sy green, the breats salmon, the wings 

 black with white bars and the feet, a 

 beautiful pink. Its most distinctive 

 feature, however, was its bill, which 

 was narrow and slender as compared 

 with a duck's bill and armed within 

 above and below with sharp, teeth-like 

 processes directed backward. The use 

 of this apparatus is obvious. It feeds 

 on small fishes and the like and when 

 its food is once grasped every twist 

 and wiggle will only fecilitate its pas- 

 sage towards the digestive apparatus, 

 'i nese birds are quite shy and difficult 

 to approach and this one was shot by 

 creeping carefully towards the flock 

 as they were feeding near a cove. 



A. L. LANE. 

 Good Will Farm, Jan, 5th, 1903. 



