122 
G-eneral Notes. 
United States upqn only three previous occasions. The first knowledge of 
its occurrence north of old Mexico was furnished by Capt. John Feilner, 
who found it at Fort Crook, California. The second instance of its cap- 
ture was by Dr. C. G. Newbery, near Camp Apache, Arizona, in 1873. 
The third, by Mr. C. E. Aiken, of this city, who found the bird sitting on 
its nest, with one egg, near Poncho Pass, Colorado, in 1875. This discov- 
ery threw the first light upon the breeding habits of the species. The 
egg, which is the only one known, is preserved in the National Museum, 
at Washington.” (See also Deane, this Bulletin, Yol. IY, p. 188.) — 
Ernest Ingersoll, New York City. 
Capture of the Great Gray Owl in the Adirondacks, N. Y. 
— In March, 1879, a fine female of this rare Owl ( Syrnium lapponicum 
cinereum ) was shot in the Adirondacks by a guide, and forwarded to a 
gentleman in New York City. It arrived in poor condition and was not 
mounted, but a skin was made of it. This is, I believe, the first record of 
the occurrence of this bird in this State. The specimen is now in my 
collection. — Robert Lawrence, New York City. 
Capture of the Northern Phalarope (Lobipes liyperboreus ) in 
Massachusetts. — Some time since I received a communication from 
Mr. C. C. Hitchcock, of Ware, Mass., noticing the capture of several 
birds new to that section. Among those recorded was the one above 
mentioned. I have recently written to Mr. Hitchcock for further particu- 
lars, as the record of this bird in a locality at such a distance from the 
coast is most surprising, when it is so comparatively rare even on the 
coast itself, being confined chiefly to the waters off shore ; and I enclose 
his reply : “ I had no doubt at the time of the capture of the Phalarope 
in regard to its identity ; but to make sure I have again looked it up (as I 
have the bird in my possession), and find I was correct.” The bill, he 
adds, is “ not lance-shaped, and is under one inch.” This fixes the iden- 
tity of the species. The bird was taken October 13, 1875. — W. A. 
Stearns, Fishkill-on-the- Hudson, N. Y. 
On the Supposed Identity of Ardea occidentalis, Aud., and 
A. wiirdemanni , Baird. — Having learned that Dr. J. W, Yelie, of the 
Chicago Academy of Sciences, had, during one of his collecting trips to 
Florida, obtained specimens of the Great White Heron ( Ardea occidentalis , 
Aud.), I recently wrote him with a view of obtaining a specimen of this 
very rare bird for my own collection. In his reply to my letter he makes 
the very interesting, and, in view of certain curious facts which I had 
already brought to notice,* very suggestive statement, that in two instances, 
once in 1872, and again in 1875, he found about half-grown young, one 
each of A. occidentalis and A. wiirdemanni , in the same nest! This 
* See Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr., Yol. IY, No. 1, Feb. 5, 
1878, pp. 229-237. 
