54 Merriam on Birds of Leiuis County, New York. 
“Surniaulula var. hudsonica. Hawk Owl. — Dr. Kirley has two 
specimens, male and female, taken near Lowville, October 24 and No- 
vember 16, 1877. 
“ Lobipes hyperboreus. Northern Phalarope. — I shota young 
male on Black River, September 6, 1877. One other was taken about the 
same date, near Boonville. 
“ QEJdemia americana. American Black Scoter. — Saw a flock of 
four on Black River, September 27, 1877, and secured them all. The 
gizzards of all these birds were absolutely empty, with the exception of a 
fragment of a shell in one.” 
Much of interest attaches itself to the breeding of two of these 
species (. Eremophila alpestris and Coilurio ludovicianus var. excu- 
bitoroides ) in this the northeastern portion of the State. Regard- 
ing the first of these, Dr. Coues, in his inexhaustible “ Birds of the 
Northwest ” (p. 39), says : “ East of the region above specified [from 
Iowa and Minnesota westward] the Horned Lark is not known to 
breed in the United States; and the only record of its occurrence 
in summer which I have seen, that given by Mr. Maynard, as 
above [Massachusetts in July], most probably indicates a highly ex- 
ceptional instance.” Since the publication of the above (1874) it 
has been ascertained that the bird in question breeds, sparingly, in 
the western and central portions of the State. In the last number 
of this Bulletin (p. 40) Mr. John M. Howey calls attention to the 
fact of its breeding in the vicinity of Canandaigua, in Western New 
York, but states that he does not “ lenow of a previous instance of 
this bird’s nesting in this State,” thus overlooking Mr. Rathbun’s 
record in his “ Complete List of the Birds of Cayuga, Seneca, and 
Wayne Counties,” which appeared in the “Auburn Daily Advertiser ” 
of August 14, 1877. Mr. Rathbun states that it is “resident and 
tolerably common in winter,” and that “ a few breed,” in Central 
New York. Mr. Dayan’s note (on the authority of Dr. C. P. Kirley) 
is particularly interesting, as it extends the known breeding range 
of the species, within the United States, eastward to the western 
border of the Adirondack Wilderness, beyond which it must pass 
to the northward (through St. Lawrence County) into Canada, and 
thence to Labrador. Whether it has for many years bred within 
the limits of the State of New York, or has recently extended its 
breeding range, as seems to be the case with the Lark Finch 
( Chondestes grammaca) and some other species, remains to be de- 
cided ; I incline to the latter view. It breeds about Hamilton, Can- 
