CONCERNING THE FIELD IDENTIFICATION OF THE 
BARROW’S GOLDEN-EYE. 
Arthur P. Stubbs. 
Barrow’s Golden-eye has been frequently reported, by 
several observers, as having been seen at Lynn, Massachu¬ 
setts, during the winters of 1921-22 and 1922-23. A recen 
article indirectly throws some doubt upon the value ot these 
observations as records. 
Mr Ludlow Griscom, in his article “Field Studies of the 
Anatidae of the Atlantic Coast,”* says: “The drake can be 
easily. distinguished from the last [Golden-eye] at close 
range by the different shape of the white spot on the face 
and its relative position with regard to the eye. The female 
and young are absolutely indistinguishable. This species 
is so rare, even in the northeastern states, that it should 
be identified with the greatest caution. A sight record 
would be of little value unless made by a trained field orni¬ 
thologist.” 
My experience with this bird in the field, and considerable 
study of the writings of others, leads me to disagree with 
Mr. Griscom in two important respects :—the best basis for 
identifying the males of the two species, and the possibility 
of accurate identification by the average observer, not a 
trained field ornithologist. 
Mr. E. H. Forbush speaks of the extreme rarity of the 
species in Massachusetts,, saying that Brewster in 1909 rec¬ 
ognized but three records as authentic. 2 He evidently con¬ 
sidered the male easily identified by the face spot, but like 
Griscom considered the female unidentifiable or nearly so, 
and ends by referring his readers to Mr. Brewster s article 
in the Auk. 3 
1 Griscom, Ludlo 
2 Forbush, E. H. 
3 Brewster, William: 
line un wo, »* v * 
: Auk, vol. 26, p. 153-154, 1909. 
27 
