General Notes. 
I 24 
lower part of the body. The alternate shade and light thus produced upon 
the pure white of the breast and abdomen seen against the October blue 
of the sky presented a remarkably interesting view of a living panorama. 
Occasionally the clear, shrill whistle of the leader was sounded, and in the 
quiet air of the morning was heard at a distance of more than a mile. 
— Elisha Slade, Somerset , Mass. 
The Harlequin Duck and the Glossy and Wood Ibises in South- 
ern Illinois. — In looking over the additions I made last year to my col- 
lection of birds, I find there are three that may be of interest to the readers 
of the Bulletin. The first I will mention is the Harlequin Duck {His- 
trionicus torquatus ), a specimen of which was shot by Mr. Sybold, in a 
small lake in Illinois (Marion County), seven miles from St. Louis. The 
bird was in company with a flock of the Lesser Scaup Duck ( Fuligula 
affinis ) . 
The second species is the Glossy Ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus ), a fine male 
of which was shot by Mr. Sybold, February 27, 1880, at the small lake 
already mentioned. It was shot from a flock of three, flying northward, 
two of which fell but only one was secured. 
The other species is the Wood Ibis ( Tantalus localator ), which was 
very plentiful here last year. I counted about fifty of these birds at one 
place, namely, on an island in the lake already alluded to. They were 
resting on some high sycamores and could be seen at a long distance. 
About noon they circled about high in the air. They remained here 
throughout the month of August, but all disappeared about the 5th of 
September. — Julius Hurter, St. Louis , Mo. 
The White-winged Gull ( Larus leucofiterus) in Massachusetts. — 
Although this species has been included in various local lists of our birds 
as a rare winter visitor, there appears to be no very explicit record of its 
capture in this State, or at least no recent one. It may therefore be of 
interest to state that we procured an immature specimen off the Boston 
Milldam on the 31st of January, 1880. It was in company with another of 
the same species and from twenty to thirty Herring Gulls. — E. A. and O. 
Bangs. Boston , Mass. 
The Caspian Tern in California. — The National Museum possesses 
two specimens of this bird from California. One of these was shot at 
Stockton, in December, 1880, by Mr. L. Belding, and is in immature plu- 
mage ; the other came from Woodward’s Gardens, San Francisco, and was 
obtained in exchange from another party. The label was inscribed Sterna 
regia. Shore of California.” This is also a winter specimen, but is in 
adult livery. — Robert R idgway, Washington , D. C. 
The Short-tailed Tern ( Hydrochelidon nigra) in New England. — 
In former numbers of this Bulletin I have repeatedly insisted that the Short- 
tailed Tern is a much commoner New England species than writers have 
been willing to admit. This opinion has been greatly strengthened by the ex- 
periences of the past season(i88o), for, in addition to a number of specimens 
which were received by the Boston taxidermists from various points along 
