European Widgeon {Mareca jbenelope) on Long Island, N. Y.— It gives 
me great pleasure to record the capture of an unusually fine adult male 
English Widgeon at Bostwicks Pond, Gardiners Island, Suffolk County, 
N. Y., on Wednesday, November 27, 1901. This duck, which was brought 
to me for identification, was killed by my friend, Mr. Thomas Newbold 
Rhinelander, while shooting over decoys from an island in Bostwicks 
Pond. The bird was entirely alone, rather wild and a little shy of the 
decoys. 
On Saturday night and all of Sunday preceding there had been a heavy 
northeast storm followed on Monday and Tuesday by high northwest wind 
with clearing weather, and on Wednesday (the day the duck was shot) 
very high northwest wind, freezing hard. There was an unusually large 
flight of American Widgeon ( Mareca americana ) during the two days 
immediately following the storm, many flocks numbering over one hun¬ 
dred birds. A number of American Widgeon were killed. An old 
resident of Gardiners Island informed Mr. Rhinelander that every year 
the Widgeon came to the Pond in large numbers but usually later in the 
winter. The other ducks noted in great numbers were Black Duck ( Anas 
obscura) and Red-breasted Merganser ( Merganser serrator). A great many 
Black Ducks were also killed. — Newbold T. Lawrence, New York City. 
Aak, XIX, April., 1902, p p . . 
Notes concerning certain Birds 
of Long Island, N.Y. 
Anas penelope. A specimen of the European Widgeon was killed on 
Gardiner’s Island, Feb. 5, 1902, by Hiram Miller, of Springs. The cap¬ 
ture of this bird was reported to me by Mr. Ivan C. Byram, a taxidermist 
of Sag Harbor, who mounted the bird and who identified it. To meet the 
question of possible error in identification I requested and received from 
Mr. Miller the following description: “Wing patch green; longer wing- 
feathers and tail dark brown; head and neck chestnut shading to buff on 
forehead; breast gray shading to white belly; under tail-coverts black; 
legs and feet dusky lead.” He adds : “There was another killed the 
autumn before I killed mine here, and another this autumn here.” He 
states that the specimen in question was killed from a large flock of 
Baldpates. 
William C.Braislin, M.D., Brooklyn, jr.Y. 
A.uk, 4>r. ,190 , p-2SS. 
The European Widgeon at Gardner’s Island, New York. — At 
Gardiner’s Island, New York, on December 3, 1911, the writer, in company 
with Mr. Ludlow Griscom and Mr. Stanley Ladow, had the good fortune 
to see two adult male European Widgeons (Mareca penelope). They were 
in the North Inlet with a great flock of waterfowl numbering approximately 
1000 Baldpates, and 300 Redheads, with a sprinkling of Buffle-heads, 
Golden-eyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Lesser Scaups and Black Ducks. 
The Widgeons were observed from a low hill overlooking the inlet, under 
unusually favorable conditions of light and position. They were watched 
through powerful binoculars for many minutes, at a distance of probably 
not over 1.50 or 175 feet, and were most satisfactorily identified.—W. DeW. 
Millek, American Musmim of Natural History, New York City. 
fa. 
