Occurrence of Phalaropus lobatus at Syracuse, N. Y. — September 3, 
1886, an adult male Northern Phalarope was shown to me by Mr. Charles 
Noxon of this city, who procured it September 2 on Onondaga Lake, on 
the outskirts of Syracuse. 
The bird, in company with another (female), which was also secured, 
was discovered swimming gracefully about in the middle of the lake, and 
both were so tame as to be shot without trouble. Two days after (Septem- 
ber 4) another specimen, a male, was shot in the same locality by Mr. 
E. M. Hasbrouk; on September 25, following, another was seen, but not 
procured. Previous to this the Northern Phalarope has been recorded 
but once in this County. — Morris M. Green, Syracuse , N. T. 
Auk, 4, Jan., 1887. p, 7 1 . 
B “' ;Not wi 1 f r.stesS*” d ’ N ' T ' 
7. Phalaropus lobatus. Northern Phalarope. — ^Since my last record 
of this species in May, 1884,71 have obtained a number of records and 
also specimens, both in spring and fall, all from Montauk Point, the ex- 
treme southeastern end of Long Island. It would seem from this fact 
t rat these Phalaropes do not, in migrating, follow the outline of the coast 
as most of the Limicolse of Long Island do, but in coming northward in 
the spring leave the coast in the neighborhood of Delaware or lower New 
Jersey and by taking a northeasterly route reach Cape Cod. During the 
southward migration the reverse obtains. A few only of the great body 
ot these migrants approach the land, even at Montauk, except in case of 
heavy and adverse winds. September 3, 1886, three individuals struck 
Montauk Point Light, one of which was sent to me by the keeper, Captain 
J. G. Scott. He informed me that there were about twenty of the same 
kind of birds about the light and that some of the same species were seen 
on the beach the next day. He stated they are not uncommon in 
August and September. May 5, 1888. two specimens were sent to me 
by Captain Scott. He reported about fifty around the light when these 
struck, and that there were “Lots of them hovering about the light from 
midnight to four a. M.” Captain Scott thought these a new species, as he 
had not before seen them in their spring plumage, and consequently did 
not recognize them as the same species of ‘web-footed snipe’ that he had 
seen, not uncommonly, in the fall of the year. Both of the specimens 
sent to me were females in very high plumage. The ova in both were 
very small. May 29, 1888, three additional specimens were sent to me 
from Montauk, which struck the tower that night, during a fog, with an 
east wind. There were about twenty in the flock. The specimens were 
all males, but were not in such high plumage as the females that were 
migrating nearly a month in advance of them. That they were adult 
birds and would have bred was indicated by the testes, which were about 
fully developed. August 13, 188S, the return migration had commenced, 
as three out of a flock struck the same light at 3 a. m. and just in advance 
of a southeast storm which commenced shortly after. 
The specimen taken October 22, x 888, by Mr. Baker, is the latest sea- 
sonal record that I have.' How much longer this pair would have remained 
it is hard to conjecture, but it is fair to suppose that if the food supply 
continued satisfactory to them, only a marked and unfavorable change in 
the weather would have hurried them on their southward journey. & The 
status of this Phalarope on Long Island may be briefly described as fol- 
lows : In the spring, rather rare except when driven shoreward bv storms. 
In the fall, not uncommon in the eastern and middle south shore, and 
rare at the western end of the Island. On the Sound side of the Island I 
have only one record, — of one which was caught alive by the keeper of 
Little Gull Island Light, some years since.* 
Mr. Giraud says of them :f “With us,, it is seldom observed. The last 
individual that I met with, I came upon while engaged in shooting Terns 
on the inner beach, in the latter part of June. I observed it at a distance 
in company with a party of small Sandpipers, which I was scrutinizing 
through a glass that always accompanies me in my collecting tours” 
Appearing longer than its associates, and too small for the Yellow-shanks, 
or other familiar species of which we have spoken, I immediately set 
. about ascertaining to what species it belonged-and as I advanced" was 
much pleased to find that an opportunity offered to secure another specimen 
of one of the rarest of our birds. It was very gentle, and seemed to have no 
disposition to take wing, although I had arrived quite near. It was stand- 
ing in a shallow pool of water, and during my observations remained in 
a listless attitude, scarcely changing its position until alarmed by the ex- 
plosion of the cap of the first barrel of my gun, which missed fire— when it 
sprung up, uttering a low whistling note; and while passing slowly from 
me, with the other barrel I secured it. On dissection it proved to be a male, 
and from its plumage I considered it the young of the year. In its stomach 
I found particles of shells and sand.” Mr. Giraud’s inference that the speci- 
men in question was of the “young of the year” seems hardly correct in 
view of the fact that the date he gives is “the latter part of June.” It is 
probable that it was a more than usually dull plumaged adult male. bird. 
+Auk, Vol. Ill, p.436. 
‘ An additional Sound record may be found in Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club Vol V n in 
of one taken Sept. 29, 1879, at Flushing, Queens Co, by C. A. Willets the ’record 
being made by Robert Lawrence, 
t Birds of Long Island, pp. 248, 249. 
Auk, Tl. April, 1889. p. 
