THE BIRDS OF WISCONSIN. 
129 
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 
Cepphns sp? GUILLEMOT. 
We are confident that some species of guillemot occurs on 
Lake Superior in winter, and possibly also on northern Lake 
Michigan. There is no positive evidence of a specimen ever 
having been taken in Wisconsin waters, however. While on 
Lake Superior we made diligent inquiry among people who 
had reasons for knowing, and several spoke of a small white 
"duck," seen in winter. One man in particular was very posi- 
tive in regard to a duck "big as a teal and speckled in rings all 
over'' that frequented Whitefish Bay in winter. This inelegant 
description fits the winter plumage of either C. grylle or 
C. mandtii very well. Dr. S. Kneeland, Jr., of Boston, makes 
mention, in his list (1) of the Birds of Keweenaw Point, Lake 
Superior, of the reports of a nearly white merganser or "saw- 
bill" in that vicinity in winter. He did not think it likely that 
it could be Mergus albus, and as no specimens were procured 
he was inclined to think ''the bird was some white plumaged 
duck." We think it probable that these birds will prove to be 
some guillemot, in winter plumag*e. The occurrence of several 
other species of Alcidae on Lake Superior, as noted in some 
Michigan lists needs verification. 
Rissa tridactyla (Linn.). K1TTIWAKE. 
This species has been given a place in former Wisconsin 
lists on the evidence of Dr. LToy alone. In an early day Hoy 
stated that this bird was "met on the lake November, 1853," 
but later, in December, 1870, he had the opportunity to care- 
fully observe with a strong glass a single individual which 
remained about Racine harbor for a number of days. An 
account of this is given in Nelson's Birds of Northeastern 
Illinois and more fully in a letter later to L. Kumlien. W 7 e 
have no doubt that the doctor's identification of this bird was 
correct, but it is hardly evidence enough to include the species 
in the list, as we are not aware of any specimen having ever 
been taken. We examined a young of the year, mounted, at 
Ashland, which was said to have been shot among the Apostle 
Islands, but the party owning it, a Canadian, was recently from 
the St. Lawrence River country, and this record is considered 
of no value. 
1. Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. His., 1856, p. 239. 
