[This is apparently the first known occurrence of this species on the Atlantic Coast south of New England.—Edd.]
An Addition to the Maine Fauna.—On October 8, 1881, I received from Mr. Alpheus G. Rogers, of Portland, an immature specimen of Rallus elegans, the King Rail, which he shot on Scarborough Marsh, on the morning of that day. This species is new to the State of Maine, and has occurred in New England only about half a dozen times.
Its previous New England record is as follows: (1) Stratford, Conn., breeding, Linsley, Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts, Vol. XLIV, No. 2, p. 267. (2) Portland. Conn., one specimen: (3) Saybrook, Conn., one specimen, Merriam, Rev. Birds Conn., p. 115. (4) Nahant, Mass., one specimen, Purdie, this Bulletin, Vol. II. p. 22. (5) Sudbury Meadows, Mass., one specimen, Purdie, this Bulletin, Vol. III, p. 146.—Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Maine.
Capture of Larus leucopterus near Boston.—In November last Mr. Charles I. Goodale showed me an immature specimen of Larus leucopterus in the flesh, which he stated was shot near Boston. The bird is now in my collection.—Charles B. Cory, Boston, Mass.
The Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) from a new Locality.—Mr. Howard Saunders, in his excellent synopsis of the Larinæ (P. Z. S., 1878, pp. 155–212), p. 180, in defining the known range of this species, says that there is “no record from the American side of the Pacific,” but that he had “examined undoubted specimens from Japan,” this being considered “a very great extension of its previously known range.” During the present year the National Museum has received specimens of this species, in alcohol, from Herald Island, in the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Behring’s Straits, and from Port Clarence on the American side of the Straits, the former collected by Captain C. M. Hooper, of the U. S. Revenue Cutter “Corwin,” the latter by Dr. T. H. Bean, of the National Museum.—Robert Ridgway, Washington, D. C.
The Snake-bird in Kansas.—Prof. F. H. Snow, of the University of Kansas, writes as follows: “I have the pleasure of informing you of the capture of a specimen of the Snake-bird, Plotus anhinga, in the Solomon Valley in Western Kansas. It was taken in August of this year by C. W. Smith, Esq., of Stockton, and the skin is now in my possession.”—Elliott Coues, Washington, D. C.
Capture of the Sea Dove 150 Miles from the Sea:—On November 8th, 1881, a Sea Dove (Alle nigricans), was shot in the Hudson River, at Lansingburg, by Alfred Benjamin of that village. The bird was mounted by William Gibson of the same place, and is in his collection.—Austin F. Park, Troy, N. Y.
Additions To the Catalogue of North American Birds.—The following list includes all the species that have been added to the North American fauna since the publication of the “Nomenclature of North American Birds.” The numbers given these additional species indicate their position in the list; and I would suggest that any author publishing a species new to our fauna do the same, so that collectors and others may know its number.
440.* Buteo fuliginosus Scl. Little Black Hawk.
440.** Buteo brachyurus Vieill. Short-tailed Hawk; White-fronted Hawk.