184 
General Notes. 
I cannot now recall an instance of the breeding of Owls in confinement, 
but the present occurrence would apparently indicate that it might be 
accomplished with Saw-whets, which, as captives, seem to be more anima- 
ted and cheerful than most of the members of their sedate family. — Wil- 
liam Brewster, Cambridge , Mass. 
Buteo brachyurus — A Correction. — An inaccuracy, comparatively 
so unimportant that I have hitherto neglected to call attention to it, will 
be found in the paper “On a Tropical American Hawk to be added to the 
North American Fauna” (this Bulletin, Vol. VI, p. 207). The Hawk in 
question was shot Feb. 22, 1881 — not Feb. 1, as stated in the article re- 
ferred to. I was at Palatka at the time, and saw the bird in the flesh the 
day it was shot. It was secured on the outskirts of the town, early in the 
morning, by a young taxidermist, Mr. Wm. Dickinson, since deceased. 
We could not determine the species, and he would not part with the spec- 
imen, a very fine one, but “set it up” for himself. A short time after- |l 
wards he presented it to Mr. G. A. Boardman. — T. Dwight. Tr., New 
York City. 
. 
The Turkey Buzzard in New Hampshire. — A specimen of Cathar- 
tes aura was shot this spring near Hampton Falls, N. H., by Mr. Frank 
Percell. The bird was killed April 6th or 7th, and received by Mr. C. I. 
Goodale on the 8th. When I examined it on the 10th it was still quite 
fresh. — Charles B. Cory, Boston. Mass. 
Rapacious Birds in Confinement. — In the winter of 1874 I spent 
several months with a friend who had a number of rapacious birds in 
confinement. There were a couple of Barred Owls, a Great Horned Owl, 
and a Rough-legged Hawk, living together upon excellent terms in one 
apartment; in another, half a dozen Mottled Owls; and in another a 
superb Bald Eagle. Most of these birds became quite tame after a short 
period of captivity, tolerating our presence in their quarters, taking food 
from our hands, and even submitting to caresses. One little Scops devel- 
oped especial docility. My friend, who was a taxidermist, used to place it 
upon a perch at his side and copy strigine attitudes from nature. The 
accommodating bird would sit content for half an hour at a time, and never 
objected to any sort of gentle handling. One of its brethren, however, 
was vicious and untameable. He nipped our fingers whenever occasion 
offered, snapped and spat if even approached, and finally sealed his own 
doom by decapitating his gentle associate. 
We did not succeed in cultivating a spirit of great tractability in the 
Eagle. Aside from the amusement he occasionally afforded in tackling 
living quarry, generally some superfluous cat, he was a rather uninteresting 
captive. One morning we omitted his breakfast, but in the course of the 
forenoon introduced a kitten into his apartment. He eyed her sharply for 
a few moments, then persistently ignored her, and in the evening she was 
removed unscathed. Upon this we instituted upon the royal bird a brief 
