Todd : Birds of Erie and Presque Isle. 535 



the company of the various species of ducks and grebes, but during an 

 immense flight of this species on October 7, 1902, as many as seventy- 

 five were seen in one flock. March 28, 189S, appears to be the 

 earliest recorded date of arrival, but in 1900 we saw none until April 

 10, when a single bird was met with in a flock of Black Mallards. 

 Others were seen later in the month, and one was shot on May 1 5 . 

 An individual seen on May 23, 24, and 26, when it was finally secured, 

 was in worn and faded plumage, but showed no signs of breeding. 

 As this locality is well within the known breeding range of the species, 

 the only reason that it does not nest here would seem to be the gen- 

 eral publicity of the place. However, it has been observed as early 

 on the return movement as September 5, 1875 (Sennett), and Sep- 

 tember 7, 1900 (Bacon), but does not become common until October, 

 and remains well through the following month, the latest date on 

 record being December 6, 1900 (Bacon). 



55. Crymophilus fulicarius. Red Phalarope. 



This is more of a maritime species than the other phalaropes, and 

 inland is the rarest of the three kinds. It occurs at Erie as a very 

 rare transient. In Mr. Sennett's collection there is a female in win- 

 ter plumage shot October 10, 1899, by Mr. James Thompson. Just 

 six years later, on October 10, 1895, Mr. Bacon secured another 

 specimen at the mouth of Mill Creek, which bird is now in the Car- 

 negie Museum. These examples appear to constitute the first authen- 

 tic records for Pennsylvania, although the species has been noted from 

 both sides, at Cleveland and Buffalo (Wheaton, Birds of Ohio, 1882, 

 467, and Savage, Auk, XII, 1895, 313). 



56. Phalaropus lobatus. Northern Phalarope. 



"At Erie bay and about the lake shore in Erie county this phala- 

 rope is found as a rather regular but not common migrant, seen most 

 frequentlyin the fall." (Warren, Birds of Pennsylvania, 1890, 76.) 

 To support this general statement there are, however, only three 

 records positively known. Two specimens, females, taken Septem- 

 ber 29, 1888, and October 10, 1889, are in Mr. Sennet's, collection, 

 while a third specimen was secured by the writer at the mouth of Mill 

 Creek on the occasion of the great storm of August 29, 1893, and is 

 now deposited in the U. S. National Museum (Biological Survey Col- 

 lection). 



