<I>Pelecanus occidentalis</I> versus <I>P. fuscus</I>

i7

8

^GeneralNotes. TAuk LApril

it has a shorter wing and shorter tarsus,though itsentire length is greater; ithasalso a squaretail insteadof a forked one. It measures seven inches anda halfentire length: from thecarpus tothe end of thewing, liveinchesandthree quarters;tarsus,three-quartersofaninch.

I havecalleditThalassidromacastro, as^I

am

notawarethatit has ever beendescribed before."

(A

Sketchof Madeira,1S51, 123.)

The

specific

name

is derived fromthatof "Roque de Castro,"givenbythe natives.

The

type locality is the Desertas Islands, near Madeira.

— Cm

as.

W.

Richmond,

Washington,D. C.

Pelecanusoccidentalis vs. P.fuscus.

—

Although ^"Pelecanus fuscus,"

creditedtoLinnaeus,Syst. Nat., ed.12,1766, 215,has stoodinour^'Check- List' since1886,aglanceatthe first-mentionedwork-will convince any onethatLinnaeususednosuchname.

He

divides Pelecanus ouocrofalits intotwo varieties,a.orientalis,andp.occidentalis; underthe latter are cited the ^"Onocrotaluss. Pelecanus fuscus" of Sloane's 'Jamaica,' the

"Onocrotalus americanus" of Edwards, the "Pelecanussubfuscus,gula distensili" of Brown's 'Jamaica,' etc.

The

habitat of p is given as

"America," and the references belongmainlyto the

Brown

Pelican of Eastern North America. Varietal names, as used by Linmeus, were italicizedanddesignatedbyaGreekletterinstead of aseparatenumber, but all such

names

were binomial marginal ones, and ought to be recognized. Ifornithologistsacceptthisview our

Brown

Pelicanshould stand as Pelecanus occidentalis; otherwise the P. fuscusof the^'Check- List^'mustbe credited to Gmelin.

—

Ciias.

W. Richmond,

Washington' n. c.

Old

Squaw

(Clangula kyemalis) in Indiana.

— A

few records have beengiven of individuals taken in the State,and in allinstances they wereprobablyblown inland byseverestorms off

Lake

Michigan,where they are usuallyabundantinthewinter season.

On

Feb. 12, 1S99, duringintenselycold weather, aflock of thirteen waskilled atEnglish Lake,Ind.,

some

thirty-fivemiles directlysouthof Lake Michigan. There was no open water, except a smallspace,

some

thirtyyards square,wheretheicehad beencutandtaken out forstoring, and here the flocksuddenly alighted.

They

were evidentlyin anex- hausted condition,hunting foropen water, as they paid no attention totwentyor thirty

men

working around the hole andfloating out the ice,and onlydove

when

struck atwith pike poles.

A gun

was soon procured,andthewholeflock dispatched,andamale specimenwas sent tome.

The

following morning, February13,three

more Ducks

of this speciesattemptedtoalightinthesame hole,which had been kept open bythe icecutters,buta hungry BaldEagle,

who

has anesta half mile distant,stoopedtothem,without success however,andtheycontinueda hurriedflightover the frozenmarshes.