General Notes. 
[April 
I 24 
or painfully injured, utterly refused all food until, in a moment of passion, 
he flew at his captor, who had barely time to strike a blow with a heavy 
stick which he had with him. Fortunately for the hunter the blow was 
fatal, and in this condition the late “ monarch of the mountain forests ” 
was brought to me. Owing to sickness, I was unable to prepare the Eagle 
myself, and so sent it to Mr. C. J. Maynard to be mounted for my collec- 
tion. — G. A. Lintner, Albany , N. T. 
Wintering of Sora Rail at the North. — Mr. L. S. Ward of 
Rochester, N. Y., writes me that he received a female Porzana Carolina 
caught in his vicinity on Dec. 12, 1882. The bird was brought to him 
by a farmer who said that while hunting rabbits with a ferret on his farm, 
which is watered by a creek where Rails abound in season, this bird was 
driven from a hole in the ground. “ It seemed to be in a partially torpid 
condition, and w r as easily caught as it crouched on the ground.” This 
was nearly in the midst of winter, with cold weather and plenty of snow 
and ice. On skinning the bird it proved to be much emaciated. While 
I do not wish this paragraph to be held up in evidence that I believe that 
Rails hibernate in the mud, or even turn into frogs, the circumstances 
of the case seem quite worthy of record. — Elliott Coues, Washington, 
DC. 
Nesting Habits of the Canada Goose ( Bernicla canadensis ). — 
In view of the various statements made in regard to the nesting of the 
Canada Goose in the Northwest, I will briefly give the results of three 
seasons’ observations on the Upper Missouri, Yellowstone, and Big Horn 
Rivers in Montana. Just how far down the Missouri River their breed- 
ing range extends, I am unable to say, but from the mouth of the Yellow- 
stone, up both rivers, pairs are very often seen as one ascends the streams. 
These Geese usually arrive in Montana early in March, and many of 
them are paired at that time ; by the first of May the nests contain the 
full complement of eggs, generally five in number. 
Some of the published accounts would lead one to infer that this Goose 
commonly and habitually nests in trees, but this, in the region I now 
refer to, is by no means the case. Their favorite nesting sites are on the 
numerous low sandy islands in these rivers, covered in the higher parts 
with a growth of young willows. Among these the pair scratch a slight 
hollow in the sand, around which they place a few sticks and twigs, the 
eggs being separated from the ground by a layer of gray down furnished 
by the parents. Occasionally the nests are placed on the banks among 
high grass or on piles of drift-brush, but this is uncommon, as few nests 
would escape the ever present coyote. One nest was made on top of 
a pile of brush that had collected in the top of a fallen tree that had floated 
down and lodged near the middle of the river, — a very conspicuous place 
but quite safe from four-footed enemies. I have also known a pair to nest 
on a rocky ledge about three hundred yards from the river, and this nest 
was occupied for several successive years. 
