i88 3 .] 
General Notes. 
61 
Richardson’s Owl in Southern New Hampshire. — On December 
15, 1879, I took a female Nyctala tengmahni richardsoni at Hollis, New 
Hampshire. It was in a small grove of white pines, and was sitting bolt 
upright by the side of a trunk about ten feet from the ground. It was 
wide awake, for it watched me closely as I stepped back in order not to 
mutilate it. The weather was mild at the time with about three inches of 
snow on the ground. — William H. Fox, Washington , D. C. 
The Burrowing Owl in Florida. — Mr. Chas. W. Gunn, of Grand 
Rapids, Mich., writes of the abundance of this bird in certain localities in 
Florida. “Hearing of a small Owl living in burrows in the ground, dug 
by itself, in the prairies east of the Kissimmee River, I ascertained beyond 
doubt that it is the Sfieotyto. Mr. Parker, state representative, who lives 
at Fort Bassenger, tells me they are very common on the prairies north 
and east of the Fort, where a dozen can be shot in an hour.” — Elliott 
Coues, Washington , D. C. 
Note on the Mississippi Kite. — Dr. J. H. Mellichamp, of Bluffton, 
South Carolina, sends us a specimen of Ictinia mississi_p_piensis , with a 
letter containing interesting notes on the bird as observed in that locality. 
About the second week in August several of these birds were observed, 
usually in pairs, hovering and soaring at a considerable height over the 
village, from morning till night, occasionally swooping down upon their 
prey among the oak-trees. Their motions were very graceful as they 
poised and floated, with their heads bent down in eager watch for their 
prey, occasionally uttering their peculiar cry. A specimen having been 
brought down from a great height, about the first of September, the rest 
disappeared, and were not seen again. Upon examination the stomach 
was found to be crammed with “locusts” (cicadas), among which were a 
few “ katydids.” A countryman who had killed one of these Hawks at his 
place informed Dr. Mellichamp they were there much less shy than they 
were here over the village, and that his poultry did not show the fear of 
them which they manifested for Hawks of other species. The writer con- 
siders the birds strangers in his locality, which is on the mainland, along 
May River, midway between Beaufort, S. C., and Savannah, Ga. — Elliott 
Coues, Washington , D. C. 
Occurrence of the Swallow-tailed Kite in Massachusetts. — Mr. 
Raymond L. Newcomb informs me that he has in his possession a stuffed 
specimen of Elanoides forjicatus , shot near the town of West Newbury, 
Essex Co., Mass., on the last of September, 1882. This is believed to be 
the first authentic capture of the kind on record for New England. — 
Elliott Coues, Washington . D. C. 
The Baldpate in Rhode Island. — The American Widgeon or Bald- 
pate ( Mareca americana ) has been unusually abundant in the waters of 
Southern Rhode Island during November, and the first week of Decem- 
ber, 1882. About December 1 a gentleman brought in a bunch for identi- 
