Winter Notes From Wellesley, 
Mass. 
BY S. W. DENTON. 
I have the pleasure of recording the capture 
of a specimen of Greater Shearwater (Pu.fflnus 
major ), about Nov. 25, 1887, in the town of 
Dover, near the Wellesley line, by a young 
man in the employ of B. P. Cheeney. The 
night preceding the day of its capture had been 
a very windy one, accompanied by heavy rain. 
As Mr. Nilan was passing a hedge near the 
barn, he noticed this strange bird crouched be¬ 
hind it. it was easily caught, but bit furiously 
when taken in hand. Mr. Nilan, however, 
took it home in the hope of being able to keep 
it alive, but as it refused all food and was so 
ugly, snapping at any one who approached 
the cage, he gave it to Mr. Thomas Smith of 
Wellesley, who mounted it for his collection. 
Mr. Smith endeavored to kill the bird as one 
would a Sparrow, by pressing tightly with his 
fingers and thumb on each side of its body, and 
though finally successful, he assured me he 
never wanted to try another, the bird coming 
to life several times after he supposed it dead. 
It was a male, no doubt blown in from the sea 
by the storm, and had evidently been without 
food for some time, as it was in poor condition, 
and the stomach contained absolutely nothing. 
0.&O. XIII. July. 1888 p. 104 
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