6o 
General Notes. 
ed of the Eagles’ carrying off poultry and young pigs, boldly venturing 
near the houses for the purpose. — Charles F. Batchelder, Cambridge , 
Mass. 
Breeding of the Wild Pigeon in Confinement. — Of late years 
the Wild Pigeon has been trapped and kept in confinement for use in trap- 
shooting to a considerable extent, but instances of these captives having 
bred and raised their young is, I believe, quite unusual. 
The following “ clipping ” from the Hartford, Conn., “Courant” of 
August 5, 1880, on this subject, credited to the New Haven “Palladium,” 
which has kindly been sent me by Mr. J. A. Stannis, may be worthy of 
note : 
“ Sherman Potter, the veteran pigeon shooter of Fair Haven, has a pair 
of wild pigeons which he has trained in the capacity of stool pigeons and 
flights. This season, to the surprise of Potter and everyone else, they 
hatched one young one, which has grown to full size, and recently hatch- 
ed another which is now two-thirds grown. This is an unusual occurrence 
for wild pigeons to raise their young in captivity. Potter is delighted, 
and is about to enter into the business of raising these birds on a grand 
scale, as they find a ready market at $5 apiece in Fair Haven, to be used 
as stool pigeons and flights.”— Ruthven Deane, Chicago , III. 
Evidence of the Former Existence of the Wild Turkey at 
Mount Desert Island. Maine. — Last summer (August 14, 1880), while 
searching in an old Indian shell-heap on the east side of Mount Desert 
Island, Maine, I found a portion of the tarsus of a Wild Turkey ( Melea - 
gris gallopavo). This is interesting as showing the former range of this 
bird, which is now extinct in New England. 
In Jeffries Wyman’s account of the Indian shell-heaps of New England, 
he does not mention finding the bones of the Wild Turkey farther north 
than Eagle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts. — C. W. Townsend, Boston , 
Mass. 
Recent Occurrence of Baird’s SANDPiPER(7V/^rt bairdi') in Maine. 
— So far as I am aware, we have but four recorded instances * of the cap- 
ture of this Sandpiper in New England, but the following facts will seem 
to indicate that in certain localities, at least, it may be something more 
than a mere accidental visitor. On the evening of Sept. 4, 1880, while 
returning from a trip up Lake Umbagog (Oxford Co., Maine), and just as. 
we were entering the mouth of Cambridge River, the guide called my 
attention to a flock of small Waders sitting on a mud-flat. I made out two 
of the number to be Ring-necked Plovers, but in the fading light it was 
difficult to distinguish colors, and as the remaining six looked unfamiliar 
I picked out one that stood a little apart and shot it. The others disap- 
* Long Island, Boston Harbor, Aug. 27, 1870. Brewster , Am. Nat., VI, May, 1872, 
306. — Lake Umbagog, Upton, Maine, Sept. 1, 1875. Brewster , Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 
April, 1876, 19. — Scarborough Beach, Maine, Sept. 9, 1875. Brown , Bull. Nutt. Orn. 
Club, II, January, 1877, 28. — Swampscott, Mass., Aug. 27, 1876. Brewer, Bull. Nutt. 
Orn. Club, III, July, 1878, 140. 
