60 
General Notes. 
picious and easy to secure, as the Red-breasted Snipe usually is. They 
arrive in his locality about May 1, and linger until about the 20th of the 
month. The flocks are small, generally of from six to fifteen individuals, 
among which the males outnumber the females by twenty to one. The 
specimens from which the following measurements were taken were shot, 
May 7-19, on a small pond covering some twenty acres near Vermilion . 
Measurements of Limosa Jicemastica. 
No. 
Date. 
May 
Length. 
Wing. 
Extent. 
Tail. 
Sex. 
Bill. 
Tarsus. 
Tail and 
Claw. 
87 
7 
14.75 
8.00 
— 
3.00 
S 
3.20 
2.30 
1.45 
88 
7 
14.50 
8.00 
— 
3.12 
s 
2.95 
2.25 
1.35 
89 
7 
15.50 
8.75 
— 
3.25 
9 
3.45 
2.45 
1.70 
90 
7 
14.75 
8.50 
— 
3.12 
$ 
2.95 
2.30 
1.30 
91 
7 
14.25 
7.75 
— 
3.00 
$ 
2.95 
2.25 
1.55 
92 
7 
14.50 
8.00 
— 
3.00 
$ 
3.00 
2.20 
1.55 
93 
7 
15.00 
8.42 
— 
3.25 
s 
3.10 
2.20 
1.50 
102 
8 
14.50 
3.25 
— 
3.50 
s 
2.80 
2.30 
1.60 
103 
8 
15.00 
7.75 
— 
3.25 
$ 
2.95 
2.20 
1.55 
104 
8 
14.00 
7.50 
— 
3.00 
s 
2.85 
2.20 
1.55 
105 
8 
16.50 
8.50 
— 
3.50 
9 
3.50 
2.55 
1.55 
127 
16 
16.25 
8.50 
— 
3.20 
9 
3.55 
2.50 
1.60 
128 
16 
14.75 
8.50 
— 
3.20 
$ 
2.95 
2.35 
1.55 
129 
19 
14.75 
8.25 
25.00 
3.50 
$ 
2.90 
2.25 
1.55 
130 
19 
14.75 
8.40 
24.50 
3.50 
$ 
3.00 
2.20 
1.60 
131 
19 
15.00 
8.25 
3.40 
s 
2.90 
2.20 
1.65 
132 
19 
15.00 
8.25 
26.00 
3.25 
$ 
2.85 
2.25 
1.55 
133 
19 
16.00 
8.40 
26.50 
3.50 
9 
3.40 
2.45 
1.50 
Males weigh 1 \ to 8 oz.; females, 9 to 9|- oz. — Elliott Coues, 
Washington , D. C. 
The Black Rail (Porzana jamaicensis ) in Kansas. — As the occur- 
rence of this rare little bird in Kansas rests upon a single specimen ob- 
served by Mr. J. A. Allen, I think its further discovery in the State may 
be of interest. May 3, 1879, a boy brought me a female, caught about 
two miles from this place, while burning off the grass on the upland prai- 
rie, but near a narrow strip of marshy land ; the bird was driven by the 
fire to the burnt land, and was too much exhausted or frightened to attempt 
to fly or run away from him. The body was so badly injured before reach- 
ing me (probably stepped upon) that I was unable to preserve the skin, but 
saved the head, wings, legs, and feet. On dissection I noticed several of 
the ova were enlarged from their normal condition up to the size of No. 4 
shot. 
On the 18th of June, 1879, Prof. H. E. YanDeman, of the State Agri- 
cultural College, kindly sent me a female which he caught in his hands, 
near Beloit, Mitchell County, on the high prairie where water occasionally 
