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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA GEORGE M. DAWSON. C.M.G.. LL.D.. F.R.S.. Dirkcxor. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. P.ART I. WATER BIRDS, GALLINACEOUS BIRDS AND PIGEONS. INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING ORDERS : PYGOPODES, LONGIPENNES. TUBINARES STEGANOPOnpc ANSERES. HERODIONES. PALUDICoS LIMI ^'^ COL^, GALLING. AND COLUMM BY JOHJS- MAOOUK, M.A., RRS.O. Naturalist to the Oeological Survey <^ Canada. OTTAWA' PRINTED BT S. E. "^WSO-, PB.™, ^„ ^^^ iiXGELLEJ.T MA.TP'.QTv ^'ELLEI.T MAJESTY 1900. No. 69S. In the Catalogue of Canadian Birds, of which this is the first part (pp. I-2I8) it is intended to enumerate all the birds of the Dominion systematically and to bring together the principal known facts in regard to their distribution, migrations and breed- ing habits. It is intended to complete the Catalogue in a second part, which will be prepared and published as soon as possible. i GEORGE M. DAWSON. Ottawa, April 2nd, 1900. / PREFACE. In compiling this catalogue of tlie birds of Canada the author has endeavoured to bring together facts on the range and ne.thg hab.ts of al! b.rds known to reside in, migrate to or visit the no h ern par of the continent. In addition to the Dominio ' of Canada" he has therefore tncluded Newfoundland, Greenland and Ala" ka Vhe nomenclature and the numbers given in the latest editinn and supplements of the Check-list puWished by the American Orn,tholog,sts- Union have been made the basis of arrangement of the catalogue. The order followed in the notes on eaS btrd C^^bral'd^T^ka tt'"''""--"^''-'- «'-- b' "h .he^E^'gurh^nlr Jf z^ i%'Xr:tr"''' °"^' arranged in their scientific order a linacctdanc 'w;;hrrt": m^of't rt T"\ ''"""'""' *= ' '''^' '«9i. specimens were shot at Ba ff ,nthe Rocky Mountains. The next year it reached Ind an HeTd InrlV" u" '"'*' "" ^''' '^*h- ^' ^hat time the .stomachs of the b.rds shot contained nothing but feathers. Two daysTate one was shot that had an amphibian (.;,W^.,.,„, IvoJ^Z loM mches long m its stomach. By the 30th May they htdTl chsappe^ared. having gone north to Waterhen. or some ot'her fake! A common winter resident along the Pacific Coast. (A««;„« ) Tolerably common in the Fraser valley below Yale in the sp ng do^^o^g^r °:; r:i; -t "i^rrr- r^^i ;;ne';8trr"^ v-' ^^^^' Manitir^^he^er ft: June i8th, 1894, mostly contained five eggs each. (J?au„ ) birdfr'T "^^K '•"/' ^^ '■" J""^' '«94. a large colony of these b. ds was found breeding in Crane Lake, Assfniboia, about i^ ^a tch "f bu 1 Tr. "'' ^'^ ^°'°">' -- ^-^ted in a la g^ patch of bullrushes (Sctrpus /census) about 100 yards from the shore and m about three feet of water. The eggs were pTaced 2 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. on nests made of mud and the old and broken reeds of the last season ; these nests were very rudimentary in form, but in all cases there was a slight depression in the centre where the eggs rested, about six inches above the water. None of the nests had more than five eggs, most of them but four, which seemed to be the usual number. The nests were so placed that they would rise and fall with the water, as indeed is the case with all Grebes. No other birds were breeding in the vicinity and the water around the breeding ground was swarming with individuals which dived, .swam, or sunk themselves in the water so that nothing but their curving necks and long sharp bills protruded above it. They doubtless breed in many other lake.? in Assiniboia and Alberta, but no other breeding grounds are known to the writer. It is claimed to be a summer resident of British Columbia by Streator and Fannin, but neither of them cites a locality. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Our specimens are a male and female taken at Indian Head,- Assiniboia, May i6th, 1892, by Spreadborough. Two sets of eggs— four each — taken at Crane Lake, Assa., June l8th, 1894, by the writer. II. COLYMiJUS. LiNN^us. 2. Red-necked Grebe. Holboell's Grebe. Colymbus holboellii (Reinh.) Ridgw. 1884. This is a very widely distributed species and extends as a straggler from Greenland (/??r/. Man) across the continent to the North Pacific. It is a rare migrant in Nova Scotia {Downs); occasionally seen in New Brunswick (^Chamberlain) ; large flocks seen on Prince Edward Island, August 8th, '888 {Macoun) ; Beau- port, Quebec. (Dlonne.) Seems to be common in Ontario, having been taken at Ottawa (Ott. Nat.), at Mitchell's Bay, Lake Huron {Saunders), and one taken from a flock of fifteen near Plover Mills, Ont. {R. Elliott ) Is a regular spring and fall visitor in Ontario. {Mclllwraith.) This bird arrived in Prince of Wales Sound, Hudson Strait, about June 20th, 1885, and was often seen during the summer. {/ ay.ie.) Summei resident chiefly of the shallow fish-frequented lakes of northern Manitoba. {Thompson.) Breeding in great CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. , numbers in Waterhen Lake and the southern end of L ike Winni- pegoos.s It is found in most lakes of the prairie ; gi .n but pre- r.lr.- 'V'^%^T'* country north of the Saskatchewan. nti^A mT?'' ^"u^-"" "''^'" ^^^^^••" Assiniboia on May /n,.;< i '^"' ''""^^'^^ contained feathers, water- nsects and a specimen of Amblystoma mavortium seven inches long. Early m June a nest was taken containing eight eggs of a dirty wh.te colour. The nest was made of bullrushesfw«! lacustns) and floated on the surface of the water. It has E found breeding by Macfarlane in uat. 68^ 30', Long. 128° west Jo that Its breedmg grounds extend from Lat. 50° to the Arctic Sea Nelson states that it breeds on the Yukon and at Norton Sound and Fanmn that .t breeds throughout northern British Columbia so we may conclude that its breeding grounds are co-exten 'le w.th the lakes of the northern forest. It is a winter resident along the Pacific coast of British Columbia. On Apri 27 887 It was seen in large flocks in Nanaimo harbour and along the whole coast to Comox. A few days later they all disappefred gaTHke. b'c."°'^ *° '^ ^ ^^'^'^^^ ^^^"^^^ ^^^^^--^ - ^"a-- Breeding NoxES.-Common at Indian Head Assa in th. spring of 1892. Breeding in pairs in the reeds atoi^gthen^rrgin: of the lakes Nest made of reeds, grass and mud. aft che^ to^ he growing reeds or masses of dead vegetable matter. \spr^adb2^^ Sh'l'r r^i^ "''■^'" °' ^"^'^^ Lake. Alberta \4Z) A Shoal Lake. Manitoba, on June 9th. 1894, I found thff specks breeding abundantly. The nests contained an average o five ejl each. A 1 the nests had the eggs covered with weeds whidl he usual habit of this family, for all the Grebes cover hlir egg •n the daytime but when suddenly disturbed from their ne ts fhe bud has not time to take this precaution. Two or three pairs breed at Long Lake. Manitoba, and this species also hr^^r abundantly at Gull Lake, northern Alberta. 'S.) My otes record but two nests of this Grebe, one contined four a'id the other five eggs, and both were found at a distance nf 1 50 miles south of Fort Anderson. ml}Jlll^r '° " MUSEUM SPECIMENS Of?awa'ont"V"' T n"' "'^'^ ^"^ °"^ '^^^'^ obtained at Ottawa, Ont., Toronto, Ont.. and at Indian Head. Assa One se HeaTA '^'k 'f '" J""' ^°^^' ^^92. in a small lake at Indian Head, Assa.. by Spreadborough. at inaian 4 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 3. Horned Grebe. Colymbus auriius Linn, i 766. A few immature specimens have been taken in southern Green- land. (Arct. Man.) Taken occasionally in Nova Scotia. (ZJ^^ze^/w.) An uncommon summer visitant in New Brunswick. ( Chamberlain.) A few taken in Quebec. {Dicmie.) Generally distributed in On- tario, breeding notably at St. Clair Flats. {Mclllwraith.) One seen in a small pond at East Point, Magdalen Islands, N.S., 1887 ; undoubtedly breeds. {Bishop.) Rather common at Plover Mills,' Ont., in September and October. {R. Elliott.) Saunders and Morden found this bird breeding abundantly at St. Clair Flats, Ontario. Thompson says it is very common in Manitoba, breeding in all the small ponds, and Macfarlane pro- cured eggs on the borders of a small lake about 60 miles south- east of Fort Anderson, north of the Arctic Circle. Dr. Bell found it breeding at Fort Churchill on Hudson Bay, and Nelson and Turner say that it breeds in Alaska. Brooks found it on Okan- agan Lake, B.C. during the whole winter. The writer has found it breeding from Manitoba to Kamloops in Biitish Columbia; so that its breeding ground practically covers the whole northern part of the continent. Breeding Notes.— Breeds commonly around all small lakes in Alberta. (Dippie.) Common at Crane Lake in June, 1884. Bi eeding in pairs in all the marshes and sloughs. Nests composed of reeds, grass and mud, attached to the reeds, or on floating masses of sticks and sedges. They were also common at Indian Head, Assa., and at Bracebridge, Ont. {Sprcadborough) On June 15th, 1893, 1 found a colony of this Grebe nesting on an island in a small lake seven miles north of Rush Lake, Assiniboia ; I have also found it breeding at Long Lake and Shoal Lake, Mani- toba. This species lays from five to eight eggs, five or six being the usual number. A few pairs breed at St. Clair Flats, Ont. I have rf reived several clutches of eggs from there. {Raiiie.) This is a northern species, and rarely breeds in the St. Lawrence valley. I found a nest containing two fresh eggs at Escott Pond, Leeds Co., Ont., 29th May, 1890; also four eggs at the St. Law- rence on the l8th June, 1896. On the occasion of my visit to the Magdalen Islands, in June, 1897, I met with three pairs, of this bird in a large pond of water— which at times is brackish— CATALOGUE NADIAN BIRDS. S near the east point, and disc, red a nest with two fresh eggs on June 22nd. This nest exactly resembled the one I found on Escott Pond. It was constructed in an exposed position amongst a few rushes, scarcely concealed at all, and the decayed vegetable matter of which it was made was completely soaked with water The birds are readily identified, but most of the eggs present no obvious difference from those of the Pied-billed Grebe ; a few of them, however, are longer and a trifle larger. (Rev. C.J. Young) Breeds in the St. Clair marshes, and in smaller numbers in marshes at Point Pelee, Lake Erie. ( VV. Saufuiers.) On June 15th a few nests were seen in a marsh near Crane Lake, Assa. This species, so far as I know, does not breed in colonies. The nests at Crane Lake were placed on small mounds of mud on reeds floating on the water, and the three taken con- tained four, five and eight eggs respectively. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. We have six skins representing this species, three of which vvere obtained at Toronto, Ont., and three taken at Indian Head Assa., in May. 1892, by Spreadborough. Our eggs consist of two sets taken by Spreadborough at Crane Lake, Assa. One set of eight was taken June 15th and another of nine June 12th, 1894. 4. American Eared Grebe. Colymbus nigncollis californiais (Heerm.) Ridgw. 1885. A specimen in the flesh sent to Dr. Yarmir of Lucknow, Bruce Co., Ont., from Colpoy Bay, Lake Huron. {Mclllwraith.) A common summer resident in Manitoba, breeding in great numbers in many of the lakes and ponds. They make their nests on rushes, composed of the same material. We found as many as SIX eggs in some nests, but in the greater number of nests only four. {Thompson.) This bird is found in all parts of the prairie region here there is suitable water and cover; it occurs'as f north as Great Slave Lake, {Ross) and is found all through he southern part of British Columbia. Unlike the Horned Grebe It breeds in colonies or groups of a dozen or more nests and the writer has often looked down on them in the small akes of h n ne::i:Vll :' "T ^'^'^ ""'''' '''''' ''^ -^'^' ^" --"^ 'Lm in nearly all cases the eggs were partly covered by water. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Breeding Notes.— A colony was breeding in a small pond 'lear Crane Lake, Assiniboia, in June 1894. The outer margin of the pond was chiefly sedge (C(7rex aristata) but witbin vas a growth of bullrushes (Scnpus lacustris), and on the old stems of these the nests were made. The floating nests were almost on a level with the water, and not infrequently the eggs lay partly in the water. No down or feathers was ever seen about a grebe's nest. Each nest contained from three to four eggs, usually the smaller number. Another colony was seen on a small lake in July 189s, on the Milk River Ridge, Alberta. The nests were all floating and the eggs could be easily seen from the shore, which was high. {Macoun.) Breeding in numbers at Burnt Lake, Alberta. A number of sets taken June 14th and 15th, 1896. {Dippie.) I have found this species breeding abundantly at Long Lake and Shoal Lake, Manitoba. On June 9th, 1894, I found a nest containing as many as nine eggs at Shoal Lake, but six or seven is the usual number of eggs laid. {Raine.) Breeding in colonies in sloughs in many parts of the prairie region and British Columbia. Found breeding in lakes at Kamloops, B. C, June i6tii, 1889. {Macoiin.) On June 13th, 1894, saw hun- dreds of nests in a marsh at the west end of a small lake east of Crane Lake, Assa. The nests were composed of rushes and mud, floating amongst the rushes in about two feet of water. Most of the nests had three eggs in them, others four, and some five, while many had one or two. Evidently the sets were, in many cases, not complete. {Spreadborough.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Our specimens are three in number, taken, one in Manitoba and two at Kamloops, B. C, in June, 1889, by Spreadborough. Three sets of eggs of five each taken at Crane Lake, June 14th, 1894, by Spreadborough. in. PODILYMBUS Lesson. 6. Pied-billed Grebe. Dab-chick. Hell-diver. Podilytnbus podiceps (Linn.) Lawr. 1858. Occasionally obtained in the autumn in Nova Scotia, {Downs) A common summer visitant in New Brunswick ; breeds. {Chmn- berlain) Rather common in Quebec. {Dionne ; Hall) Quite CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 7 widely distributed in Ontario, but most common in the autumn. Breeding from the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay, and west to Great Slave Lake. Abundant in all parts of Manitoba, and specially numerous in August and September on the head-waters of Swan River and the surrounding lakes and marshes. Although so common in the wooded portions of Mani- toba it has seldom been observed in the prairie region. One individual was seen near the Dirt Hills, Assa., in October, 1881, by Mr. W. Spreadborough, and Dr. Coues saw it at Turtle Mountain, Assa. Lord, Fannin and Brooks report it as common in British Columbia. Spreadborough reports seeing three in Victoria harbour in April, 1893. It is evidently a forest bird as it is seldom seen on the prairies. Breeding Notes.— I have found this bird breeding at Long Lake, Manitoba, and, like the Eared and Horned Grebes, it often lays as many as seven or eight eggs. I find that all the Grebes cover their eggs with weeds during the day, and the weeds are removed at dark by the bird, which incubates the eggs until the morning sun relieves her of her task. {Raine.) This species commences to build its nest near Ottawa, Ontario, about the first week in May. The nest is built on the edge of a marsh and is about the size of a bushel basket. It is composed of moss, grass, roots and mud. Eggs, five or more in number, are whitish, clouded with green. The nest is very difficult to find, as the old birds cover it over when they leave. {G. R. White.) The Pied-billed Grebe is very common in the River St. Law- rence between Kingston and Brockville. I have seen a number of nests. The nest of this species is a more substantial structure and better concealed than that of the Horned Grebe. In one instance I have known a colony breeding together ; this was on June 1st, 1897, where, in a space less than a quarter of an acre, in a retired bay off the River St. Lawrence below Rockport, I found four nests close together— one with seven eggs, one with eight, and two with nine eggs each. These nests, though floating structures, were quite substantial, and were in about three feet of water ; all the eggs were covered with weeds and were incu- bated from a week to ten days. Nowhere else have I found more than eight eggs in the r, -,t, and that number only once. The usual number is seven. (^Rev. C.J. Young.) 8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. This species is more common on the St. Clair Flats and at Point Pelee than the Horned Grebe. Both species build a float- ing nest among the rushes, and both cover their eggs when they leave the nest. Set 4-6. ( i-V. Sau?iders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. We have four representatives of this species in our collection. Two, a male and female, were shot at Ottawa, Ontario, by Mr. G. R. White, in 1884, another at Toronto in 1875 and the fourth in Victoria harbour, B.C., January 24th, 1890, by Spreadborough. One set of five eggs taken on St. Clair Flats, Ontario, June 12th, 1893, received from Mr. Raine. Family II. GAVIID^. Loons. IV. GAVIA. FoRSTER. 1788. "7. Great Northern Diver. Loon. Gavia imbcr (Gunn.) Allen. '897. This is one of our most widely distributed birds, breeding from Greenland [Arct. Man) in the east to Alaska {Turner) in the west. Macfarlane found it breeding at Fort Anderson, in Lat. 68° 30', and it is frequent as far south as Lat. 49°, so that it is to be found throughout the whole northern part of the continent. Nearly every small lake throughout the country, except in the prairie region, is tenanted in summer by a pair or more of these birds, and the larger lakes by many pairs. All the members of the Geological Survey staff who have found loons' nests agree with Macfarlane that they lay only two eggs, and that no nest is built, but a small depression made in the gravel close to the waters of the lake. In the Laurentian country the eggs are always placed on greenish gravel and are hard to see. In two cases only have nests been found on rock and these were close to the water. Breeding Notes. — Nest always placed near the water, and composed of a little grass. Eggs two. Young usually hatched the last week in June or first week in July. The young are quite helpless for a few days, either riding on the mother's back or hanging on to her tail. I have paddled up to them in a boat on several occasions, and they have sat upon the water as helpless a.) a leaf until I have taken them up in my hand. They soon become able to take care of themselves and can swim and dive CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. g nearly as well as the old one. Common throughout Labrador • one nest found, July 2Sth, 1896, on Clearwater Lake, containing two eggs in an advanced state of incubation. {Spreadborough.) This bird breeds at the south end of Lake Manitoba. I have also received the eggs from Morley in Alberta. It breeds com- monly on the islands in the Muskoka Lakes, Ontario. A clutch of two eggs in my collection was taken on an island in Lake Donaldson, near Buckingham, Quebec. The eggs were taken June 24th, 1895, by Mr. Warwick. This bird is a late breeder. The nest of this species, if nest it can be called, is only a slight hollow in the earth or ground within a short distance of the water's edge. One found on the 21st June, 1897, at Lake of the Woods, was within six inches of the water's edge. It was only a shght hollow in the sand, and the two eggs were placed therein. (0-. A, W/ute.) The loon is a common summer resident in Ontario. It still breeds in many of the retired lakes, and a pair or two frequent the R.ver St. Lawrence for this purpose between Kingston and i^rockville. I have found many of their nests and noticed that they return to the same locality year after year even when their eggs have been repeatedly taken. The situation chosen varies • sometimes it is on the shore of some out-of-the-way island, two or three feet from the water's edge. Several nests I found con- sisted of a mass of weeds and bullrushes piled up in three feet of water, so that a boat could be rowed alongside. They are very punctual in their time of laying ; in one locality in the county of Leeds, Ont I have found the two eggs four years in succession on the 23rd, the 24th. the 25th and the 24th of May. On the River St. Lawrence a little later, from the 1st to the 6th of June By the great resemblance each set of eggs has borne to the pre- ceding one, I have no doubt but that the same pair of birds returns to the same locality year after year. They generally arrive at the end of April and leave again in September or October, noticed two pairs of these birds at the Magdalen Islands in June 1897 and think they breed on the fresh-water ponds of the -eastern islands. {Rev. C.J. Voting.) •^ Found breeding at Lake St. Clair and in the small lakes in the Bruce Peninsula ; also at the Pelee Marsh, Lake Erie. Nest at 10 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. I III the edge of the water but on a solid foundation. Kpps two MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Our collection contains two males, both taken at Toronto by Mr D. A. Herring in 1891. Of eggs we have two sets of two each. One taken by Mr. A. E. Barlow at Snare Lake, Nipissing District, Ont., July loth, 1895 ; the other by Mr. W. Mclnnis at Crow Lake, Rainy River, northwestern Ontario, July 2nd, 1897. 8. YeUow-biUed Loon. Gavia adamsii (Gray) Allen. 1897. Abundant at Great Slave Lake. {Ross.) During the breeding season this species abounds in Franklin and Liverpool bays on the Arctic coast, where several|examples were shot. {Macfarlane ) This fine species, the least known of the Loons, is not a rare- summer resident about the head of Kotzebue Sound. {Nelson ) This species seems to prefer the extreme northwesterly part of the continent and islands from Liverpool Bay on the east to the mouth of the Yukon on the west. Breeding NoxEs.-Selawik Lake and Kunkuk River are the places where it is claimed the greater number breed. The shore of Norton Sound is a breeding place for a few pairs, as is the low coast of Behring Strait from Golovina Bay to Port Clarence. {Nelson.) 6. Black-throated Loon. Gavin arcticiis {l.i^'ii.) Ati^-EK. 1897. Occasional on the coast of Labrador but apparently common, on the shores of Hudson Bay, where they breed. Male and female and young, nearly full grown, shot on Nottingham Island, Hudson Strait, August 28th. 1884. {R.Bell.) Not common at Lake Mistassini, but a few breed. (/. M. Macoun.) Occurs in winter at Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy. (Herrick ) A pair was taken near Toronto and sent to the Paris Exhibition of 1866. {Mclkvraith.) Recorded by Andrew Murray from Severn House, Hudson Bay. {Thompson.) This species is known to breed on the margin of small lakes' and very likely also close to the sea, from Cumberland Gulf on the CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. It east {Kumdin) along the whole Arctic coast {Richardson), and very abundantly along the shore of Behring Sea and in the in- terior of Alaska as far as Fort Yukon. {Nelson.) A few have been taken at Burrard Inlet, B.C. ; also at Dease Lake, Cassiar B.C. {Fannin.) ' Breeding NoxES.-In spring the Black-throated Loons arrive rather late, coming to the vicinity of the Yukon mouth from the 15th to 25th May. They appear singly, and are soon after found scattered in pairs among the numberless ponds in the marshes along the coast. The eggs are usually placed upon some small islet m a secluded pond. There is no attempt at a nest, and frequently the eggs lie in a spot washed by water when the wind blows from the right quarter. In spite of this, however, the young are duly hatched, and by the first of July may be found swimming about with their parents. The eggs are dark olive, blotched with black spots, which are generally confluent at the larger end. Very frequently the spots are crowded into a black patch at the very apex of the larger end. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One specimen— a male— obtained by Dr. R. Bell in Hudsorr Bay in 1884. 10. Pacific Loon. Gdvia pacificits {'LAwvt..) Ai.i.im. 1897. A single specimen obtained at St. Michael, Alaska, August 2Sth, 1876. {Turner.) Quite common at Point Barrow, and evi- dently breeding. The greater number, however, pass to the eastward. {Murdoch.) North to Arctic coast. {Ross ) Only once observed this bird in the lower Fraser valley, during very cold weather, and shot it. {Brooks.) Breeding NoTES.-This is the most abundant diver in the region investigated. Nests were discovered in the wooded coun- try, m the Barren Grounds, and on the shores and islands of the Arctic Sea. In all about one hundred and sixty-five nests, most ot which contained two eggs, were secured in the course of the five seasons from 1862 to 1866 inclusive. {Macfarlane.) This species arrives early in June at Point Barrow, and, as the oonds open, the birds make themselves at home there, and evidently breed ia 12 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. abundance though we were unable to find the nest. One of their breeding grounds was evidently a swampy lagoon, some five or six miles inland, but the nests were inaccessible. {Murdoch.) 11. Bed-throated Loon. Gavia /umme (GvNn.) AhLEti. 1897. This species is a common summer migrant throughout the northern part of the continent. It breeds in Greenland in both Inspectorates (Ara. Man.), and in Newfoundland in small ponds in the marshes, placing its nest in a tussock of grass surrounded by water. {Reeks.) A not uncommon summer resident in New Bruns- wick. {Chamberlain.) Abundant in Labrador, and breeding around Hudson Bay and westward, north of the Arctic circle, to Alaska, where it is the most abundant species of Loon. {Nelson.) Two specimens were taken in Esquimalt Harbour, Vancouver Island in March, 1891 ; in my experience this bird is rare in British Columbia. {Fannin.) It is rarely met with in Quebec, Ontario or Manitoba, and has not been observed in the prairie region or the Rocky Mountains. Breeding Notes.— From the first of June until the first of July fresh eggs may be found. The nesting-sites chosen are identical with those of the Black-throated species. Like the latter species, also, the eggs, two in number, are laid directly upon the ground, and the spot chosen is often wet and muddy. One nest was found on frozen ground, and ice was floating in the pond. The young are led to the streams, large lakes, or sea-coast as soon as they are able to follow the parents, and they fall an easy prey to the hunters until with the growth of their quill-feathers they obtain some wisdom. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. There are three specimens of this species in the collection. One— a young male shot at Ottawa in 1885, another at Toronto in 1884, and a third by Dr. R. Bell at Kingston, Ont., in 1882. Of eggs we have four specimens, two taken at Cape Prince of Wales, in June, 1885, by F. F. Payne, and two collected at Repulse Bay, and received from A. P. Low. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. I* Family III. A.LCIDJE. Auks, Murres, Pukkins. V. LUNDA Pallas. 1826. 12. Tufted Puffln. Lunda cirrhata {^ Ku\..) 1826. This species is tolerably common along the coasts of Vancouver- Island and the mainland of British Columbia ; breeds in the Gulf of Georg-ia. {Fannin.) It is a common species along the whole coast of British Columbia and Alaska and breeds in suitable loca- lities for nearly the whole distance. Turner says it is particularly abundant on the Aleutian Islands and the whole Alaskan coast. Breeds amongst rocks and lays only a single egg. The nest usually on damp earth at the bottom of a crevice in the rock. (^Nelson.) Common on the Prybiloff Islands. (/. M. Macoim.) BREEDING HABITS. This bird has the same habits as the Horned Puffin, and arrives about the same time. It lays a single large white egg of a round- ed oval shape. (Elliott.) The nesting habits of this Puffin resemble those of the Horned Puffin. My own observations show that the former prefers the cliffs and edges of bluffs overgrown with grass which has made an accumulation of soil on the tops and edges of some bluffs to a depth of several feet. This soil is a perfect network of holes and burrows of these birds. The nest is usually the bare earth, whereon a single egg is laid. The young take to the water before they are able to fly. The parent assists the young to the water. {Nelson.) museum specimens. We have three specimens of this species two males and one female-collected by Mr. J. M. Macoun, in September, 1806, on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea. Of eggs we have three also-two collected on St. Paul Island in 1897 by Mr. J. M. Macoun ; and another collected on Queen Charlotte Sound, B. C, 28th June, 1890. The latter specimen received from Mr. Raine, Toronto. 14 liEULOGICAL SURVEV OF CANADA. VI. PRATERCULA Brisson. 1760. 13. Puffin. FraUrcula antica {Ia^h.) Schaff. 1789. This species breeds from the Bay of Fundy northward to the islands in Disco Bay, Greenland. It is not recorded from Hudson Bay. Found breeding in numbers at Bryon Island, one of the Mag- dalen Islands ; in large numbers en Bird Rocks ; also at Wreck Bay, Anticosti, and on Parroquet Island, near Mingan Harbour. {Bmvstcr.) Common on Greenland coast up to Lat. 70^^ at least ; breeds plentifully on the Hunde and Green Islands, Disco Bay! {Kumelin.) A young bird of this species was shot on the Ottawa River towards the end of Octob(.r, 1881. I^Ott. Nat.) Breeding Notes.— This species breeds abundantly on Gannet Islands on the coast of Labrador. Mr. Dicks collected for me a number of eggs on July 2nd. 1895, on these islands. The nests consisted of holes in the ground and the single egg is laid at the end of the burrow. (Raine.) This bird breeds sparingly at Bryon Island, the most northerly of the Magdalen group, and plentifully on Great Bird Rock, eleven miles distant. I met with three nests at the former place,' 23rd June, 1897. One egg was laid in a hole in the crumbling rock, and at that date incubation had commenced. No nest is formed, the egg being laid on the bare earth. At Bryon Island the breeding holes are difficult to reach, and as the bird sits closely there may be more of them than I supposed. One nest was as much as three feet from the entrance of the hole. {Rev. C.J. YoHftg.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two males are in our collection, both obtained on the coast of Labrador by Mr. A. P. Low in 1894. We have one e^g taken by Mr. Guy on the Labrador coasi. in 1896; and another taken on the same coast Ju'-' i.ct, i/igg received from Mr. Raine. ' ' 13a Large-billed Puffin. Frateratla arctica glacialis (Tfmm.) Blasius. Coas!,- i-iT^, islands of the Arctic ocean from Spitzbergen to • Baffin B.y (A. 0. U.List.) One obtained at Grand Manan, New 1862. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 15 Brunswick. {Audubon.) Not ronunon in Greenland ; docs not breed further south than Lat. 63° 30' N. {Ant. Man. Breeding Hauits.— I have eggg of this species in my collec- tion which were taken in Greenland, June 20th. i88g. The eggs are considerably larger than those of the common puffin. {RdttW.) H. Horned Puffln. Fratcrcula cornicuhUa (Naum.) Brandt. 1837. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific from the Kurilc Islands to British Columbia. {A. 0. U. List.) Breeding abundantly on all the rocky islands in Behring Sea. {Nelson.) This species is abundant on all the shore-line of Alasl-a, south of the Arctic circle, and in favored localities it abounds in incredible numbers All the Aleutian Islands with their east and west extensions are a con- tinuous breeding-ground of these birds for over locxD milesOin length. The Prybiloff Islands, St. Matthew and St. Lawrence islands are also great breeding places. {Turner.) Common on the Prybiloff Islands. (J. M. Macoun.) Breeding Notes.— This mormon comes up from the south about May loth to the Prybiloff Islands and always in pairs It makes its nests of dried sea-ferns, grass and moss, slovenly laid together, far back in some deep or rocky crevice, where, when the tgg IS laid, it is ninety-nine times out of one hundred cases inac- cessible. The nest contains but a single egg, large, oblong, oval, and pure white. (Elliott.) f.- «*'. The nests of this species are placed on the ledges of the highest cliffs of those islands where foxes are found, and on islands where foxes are not found these birds breed generally at the base of the bluff under the large rocks which have become detached and fallen down. Their nests are composed of just whatever happens to be there, be it sticks, stones, or earth. A single ^gg of clear white colour is laid on the bare gravel 01' earth. The egg is very large for the size of the bird and when cooked is tolerable eating The bird sits long at a time on the egg and does not leave it until hunger compels her to seek food. {Turner.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. T ^\^/''^ ^'""^ specimens, a male and female, procured by Mr J. M. Macoun on St. Paul Island, September 14th and 1 6th, 1896." i6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. M. Of eggs we have two specimens, both taken by Mr. Macoun, on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea in June, 1897. VII. CERORHINCA Bonap^^rte. 1828. 15. Horned-billed Guillemot. Rhinoceros Auklet. Cerorhinca morwcerata (Pall.) Cass. 1858. Coasts and islands of North Pacific, breeding southward along the British Columbian coast. {A. O. U. List.) Found in the Gulf of Georgia and breeds on the islands around Vancouver Island. {Lord.) Coasts of Vancouver Island. {R. Brozim.) Bischoff secured nine specimens of this species at Sitka during the Tele- graph Exploration. {Nelsofi.) VIII. PTYCHORAMPHUS. Brandt. 1837. 16. Cassin's Auklet. Ptychoramphus aleutiats (Pall.) Brandt. 1837. Pacific coast of North America, from the Aleutian Islands to Lat. 49°. {A. 0. U. List.) Breeds on the Aleutian Islands and is rather common on some of them. {Turner.) This species was seen in the Gulf of Georgia between Sal*- Spring Island and Nanaimo and one shot May 7, 1887. {Maconn.) Seen in numbers and one shot on Queen Charlotte Sound. {Dr. G. M. Dawson.) museum specimen. One mala collected by Dr. G. M. Dawson, Queen Charlotte Sound, B. C, Sept. 1885. IX. CYCLORRHYNCHUS Kaup. 1829. i*?. Paroquet Auklet. Cyclorrhynchus psittactilus (Pall.) Stejn. This species is extremely common in Behring Strait and southward through the whole length of the Aleutian Islands, as well as on the Prybiloff Islands, St. Matthew and St. Lawrence islands. {Nelson.) Abundant on the Aleutian Islands, and breeds in all suitable places. {Turner.) Common on the Prybijoff Islands. (/. M. Macoun.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 17 Breeding NoTEs.-It comes to the Prybiloff Islands early in May, mute and silent, locating its nest in a deep chink or crevice of some maccessible cliff, where it lays a single eg-^, of a pure white colour and oblong-ovate in shape, on the bare r^'ock or earth {Elliott) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. A male and a female of this species procured by Mr. T M Macoun on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea, Aug. 15th, 1891. " 18. X. SIMORHYNCHUS Merrem. Crested Auklet. 1819. Simorhynchus cristatellus (Pall.) Bonap. 1838. Breeding in great numbers on the islands in Behring Straits but their breeding grounds are the whole of the Aleutian Islands • nesting on chffs among loose stones, only one ^^^ to each bird' {Nelson:) Only observed on two occasions at St. Michael • in considerable numbers at Bristol Bay, Alaska ; and among 'the Aleutian Islands extremely abundant. {Turner:) Found in num- bers on the Prybiloff Islands. (/. M. Macoun.) Breeding HAnixs.-This bird makes its appearance early in May and repairs to chinks and holes in the rocky cliffs or deep down below rough basaltic shingle or a large boulder, to deposit Its ^gg, upon the bare earth or rock. Its t^^ is pure white and rather rough with frequent discoloraHons. {Elliott.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. A male and a female, both procured by Mr. J. M. Macoun on bt. Paul Island, Behring Sea ; the male on Aug, 12th, i8qi • the female Sept. i6th, 1896. ' One egg is in the collection, taken on St. Paul Island, Tune 1 8th, 1897, by Mr. J. M. Macoun. 19- Whiskered Auklet. Simorhytichus pyginceus (Gmel.) Brandt. 1869. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific from Unalaska through the Aleutian chain to Kamchatka. {A. O. U. List) Breeds abundantly on the Nearer and Commander islands. {Nelson ) Breeding on Atka Island, 1879. {Turner) 4b 18 20. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Least Auklet. 1862. Simorhynchus pusillus (Pall.) Coues. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan northward. iA^O.U.List:) The most abundant water-fown; Islands. It lays a smgle wh.te egg under loose boulders in a crev.ceonthechff. ^Nelson:) Common along the whole chain of Aleutian slands and as far east as Kadiak ; abundant on St George Island in Beb nng Sea. ( Turner.) Breeding NoxEs-They breed in greatest numbers on about five miles square of basaltic shingle on St. George Island. Thev make no nest, but lay a single ^^^ far down below amongst the loose rocks. The pure white egg is exceedingly variable in S//.) "'"^"^ oblong-oval with the smaller end pointed. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Our collection has three representatives of this species all taken on St. Paul Island by Mr. J. M. Macoun. One was take" August i6th, 1891 ; and the other two August Kth 1806 Four p'auM'nd"- 't ''"'?""' ^^'^" ""^ ^^- J- ^^--n «" s" ^aui island in June, 1897. XI. SYNTHLIBORAMPHUS Brandt. 1837. 21. Ancient Murrelet. Grey-headed Auk. Synthliboramphus antiquus (Gmel.) 1788. 2'SlZr ^"^^fT^ °^ 'A" ^"^^'^"^ ^^^"P' ^"d ^t Sitka; breeds abundantly on the Nearer Islands where a few are resident ; also at the Chica Islets, la Akutan Pass, near Unalaska. ^Nelson) One specimen obtained at Atka Island, June 12th, 1879 breeds m holes made m the turf in the northeast part of the island (r«;w..)S.tka Bay, Alaska. ^Dr.Bean.) One specimen taken Ter^iL's "(!?;:iT '^^^"' ^"^^^^'"■ Breeding Habits.-I have a series of 20 eggs of this bird that were taken on Sannak Island, Alaska, on June 26th, 1894. Up to that time very few eggs of this bird had been taken. Mr Littlejohn found the nests under bunches of rank, matted grass the nests consisting of a slight excavation, and the eggs resting on CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 19 a few blades of grass. The eggs of this species consist of two to the clutch and are unlike the eggs of any other sea-bird The ground colour is of a deep buff colour, with small longitudinal markings of light-brown and lavender-grey, size, 2-35 x 1-45 The bird sits close on its eggs and in some cases has to be forced off the nest with a stick. {Raine.) I was informed that this species breeds plentifully on Atka Island, one of the Aleutian Islands. They breed in holes made in the turf or sod overhanging the brow of the cliffs. {Turner). XII. BRACHYRAMPHUS Brandt. 1837. 23. Marbled Murrelet. Brachyramphus ntarnwratus (Gmel.) Brandt. 1837. Large numbers of this species were taken at Sitka by Bischoff • Dall found them in the Aleutian Islands ; and the writer found them near Unalaska in May, 1877. They probably reach their northern l.mit m this chain, where they breed. {Nelson.-) Found m small flocks in Sitka Bay, Alaska. {Dr. Bean.) An abundant resident along the coast of British Columbia ; breeds on Van- couver Island and on some of the smaller islands in the Gulf of L'Zd Tntr^ r ''•' 1 '^M '"'"^'"^- (^'^'^'^^'•> Abundant in Burrard Inlet, B.C.. in April, 1889; shot on Barclay Sound. Van- couver Island, August, 1887. {Macoun) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. rr^Z '=°""'=*'°" ^°"tains five specimens of this species-four males and one fema e. Four of the specimens were taken on Burrard Inlet in Apnl, 1889. and the other at Comox, Vancouver Island, June 20th, 1893-all by Spreadborough. 24. KittUtz's Murrelet. Brachyramphus kittlitzii Brandt. 1837. The first example of this rare bird known to exist in any American museum was secured by the writer in Unalaska har bourthe last of May, 1877. mson) One specimen wa obtained thrfnn' ' "V\"' 'u"""' ^'"^^^' Unalaska Island-said by the Indian who brought it to me to be abundant throughout the year at Sannak Island, breeding there ; not rare on Amchi ka sland and in the neighbourhood of Old Harbour, o^Atka Island, Aleutian Islands. {Turner) 20 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Breeding NoTES.-The native who brought me the specimen menfoned above told me the bird laid a single pure white egg. The nest ,s placed amongst the roots of the large tussocks of grasa on the edges of bluff and cliff ledges. {Turner.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One young bird collected by Dr. G. M. Dawson, Queen Char- lotte Sound, B. C, September, 1885. XIII. CEPPHUS Pallas. 1769. 27 Black GuiUemot. Ceppkus £ry//e (Lim.) Brehm. 1831. This species is common along the Atlantic coast from the Bay of Fundy (aamder/ain ; Dow,^) northward to Newfoundland {Ree^s), and very numerous on both coasts of Greenland, and said to remam longer than any other bird. Plentif.il on Melville Penmsu a, but not so common in the Polar Sea. (Ara. Man.) Generally distributed, but nowhere breeding in numbers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. {Brewster) Common in Hudson Strait • also east and south shores of Labrador. {Packard.) Breeds abundantly in scattered colonies on most of the Magdalen Islands. (^../..;>0 Seen throughout the year on Prince of Wales Onel^ rr*'"'*- f'^-'"'-^ Common at Quebec. {Dionne.) {Mcllwra^th.) A specimen was shot at Toronto, Ont., about 188; • .t is now m Mr. John Maughan's collection. (/. H. Fleming.) ' Breeding Notes.-A large series of eggs of this bird was ollected for me by Mr. Dicks on Pig Island. Coast of Labrador June 20th, 1895. Another large series was collected for me ir Ungava Bay, Labrador, on July 9th, 1896. This bird lays two collected on Grand Manan, New Brunswick. {Rame) This is a ocal.ties as far west as the mouth of the Saguenay. Numbers of hem breed on the Magdalen Islands as well as near Tignish at he west point of Prince Edward Island. On the ajrd and 2;th June, 1897, we found a number of their eggs in the cliffs of Bryon Island The eggs were mostly fresh, or only incubated a few days at that date. Each bird lays two eggs in a crevice of thi CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 2I rock, sometimes as much as two or three feet in. No nest is formed the eggs being laid on the bare earth. They do not vary much, but where the soil is damp and its colour red they soon become stamed and discoloured. This was the commonest species of sea-fowl I found breeding at the above islands, though on the Bird Rocks several other species are more plentiful. (Rev C.J. Youttg.) ^ MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens are in the collection, both males, taken by Mr A. P. Low m the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1894. We have 14 eggs, all from the coast of Labrador and Hudson btrait, collected by Payne, Bell, Low and Forde. S8. Mandt's Guillemot. Cepphus mandtii (Light.) Bonap. 1856. This species abounds in the arctic seas and straits from Mel- ville Island down to Hudson Bay. {Richardson.) Occurs occa- sionally m Hudson Strait ; plentiful on the eastern coast of Labrador ; also at Fort George, James Bay. {Packard.) Severn House, Hudson Bay. {Thompson.) Quite common in Hudson Bay, remaining the whole year, wintering out in the open water Breeds in large numbers on the outer islands, under loose stones and boulders, laying one or more, commonly two, eggs Fees laid on bare rock, without any appearance of nest. {A P Law) This species occurs on the Arctic and Behring Sea coasts of Alaska and about the islands in these waters. {Nelson.) Occurs rarely at St. Michael ; not observed on the Aleutian Islands. {Turner.) Rare during the season of open water at Point Barrow {M '^ ^°'''"'^'' ^"^ December they were seen in small flocks.' MUSEUM SPECIMEN. the North Atlantic, purchased with the One male taken Holman collection. 29. Pigeon GuUlemot. Western Guillemot. Cepphus cobimba Pall. 1826. This species is one of the most numerous among the larger water-fowl of Alaska. It occurs in great abundance wherever the coast IS bordered by bold headlands or where there are 22 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. precipitous islands. Breeds abundantly throughout the whole region. (Nelson.) Occurs sparingly at St. Michael, but is abun- dant on the Aleutian Islands and breeds in great numbers on the newly upheaved island of Bogoslov. (Turner.) An abundant resident from Race Rocks, Strait of Juan de Fuca, to Alaska ; breeds throughout its range. (Fannin.) In large flocks in Burrard Inlet, B.C. in April, 1889. (Macoun.) m MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen taken at Sooke, Vancouver Island, July 30th, 1893, by Spreadborough. Our collection includes two eggs taken on Sea Bird Island, Barclay Sound, west coast of Vancouver Island, June 1st, 1896, by Dr. C. F. Newcombe. XIV. URIA Brisson. 1760. 80. Common Guillemot. Mmre. Uriatroile (Linn.) Lath. 1790. Common in winter at Grand Manan, Bay of Fundy. (Cham- berlaifi), and on the coast of Nova Scotia. (Downs) Very common and breeding on the islands otf the north coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. (Reeks.) Common on the eastern a.nd southern coasts of Labrador, not observed in Hudson Strait. (Packard.) A few breed in Greenland, (Arct. Man.) Found breeding in only two localities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence — at Bird Rocks and Parroquet Islands. (Brewster.) Found at the Mingan Islands. (Dionfte.) Common in Hudson Bay. (Richardson) Sometimes found after a storm on Burlington Bay, Ont. (Mcllwraith.) I have a specimen shot by Mr. George Pierce at Toronto, Ont., in August, 1897. (J. H. Fleming.) Breeding Notes. — Mr. Dicks collected for me a large series of eggs of this bird at Gannet Islands, coast of Labrador, July 2nd, 1895. It l^ys one large egg on ledges of the sea-cliff. (Raine.) museum specimens. Our collection contains two specimens of this species, both taken in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, by Mr. A. P. Low in 1894. Ten eggs are in the collection. Six of these are from Labrador Coast, received from Mr. Raine, the other four were procured by ' Mr. A. P. Low in Labrador in 1896. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 33 30a. Califomian Guillemot. Murre. Uria troile californica (Bryant) Ridgw. 1884. An abundant resident along the entire Aleutian chain and the mainland coast of the Pacific. Elliott found them to occur on the Pryblloff Islands in small numbers ; birds and eggs have been taken at Sitka and Kadiak Island. {Nelson.) Observed as far north as St. Matthew Island. {Turner) Abundant in Cook's Inlet, Alaska. {Dr. Bean.) The same distribution as the Pigeon Guillemot but not nearly so abundant ; appears to be more com- mon, however, at Victoria, B.C., in the winter months. {Fattnin) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. EGGS.—One egg, said to be collected on the west coast of Van- couver Island, received from Mr. John Tolmie ; also five others taken at Fort Wrangle, Alaska, by Dr. Otto Klotz in July 1889. 31. Brunnlch's Murre. Thick-billed Guillemot. Uria lomvia (Linn.) Bryant. 1861. Abundant in the Bay of Fundy during winter. ( Chamberlain) Quite common along the coast of Newfoundland. {Reeks.) Doubtless the commonest bird on the Greenland coast, but said not to breed farther south than Lat. 64° N. {Arct. Man) Plenti- ful on the eastern and southern shores of Labrador, where it resides and breeds. {Packard) Breeds abundantly on Great Bird Rock, Magdalen Islands. {Bishop) This Guillemot fre- quents the most remote Arctic American seas that have been visited, Greenland and Hudson Bay, and goes south in winter. {Richardso7i) From Resolution Island to Grinnell Bay and Frobisher Strait they are common, even as far as the mouth of Cumberland Gulf, but apparently rare in its waters. There are large breeding places about capes Mercy and Walshingham ; the largest " rookery " being on the Padlic Islands, in Exeter Sound. {Kumelitt) A bird that has become plentiful the last few years in places between Kingston and Brockville. They usually appear in the month of December, and as they are very tame and come almost up to a boat, they are readily slaughtered. Two men ki'led forty in a short time near Rockport, Ont..in December 1896, just before the River St. Lawrence froze up. None of the common species have been observed in this locality. This bird was seen about 34 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Kingston, July 8th, 1897, and was captured. The nearest breed- ing ground is the Bird Rocks, 1,200 miles away, {Rev. C.J. Young.) The first record I know of this species for Toronto was a speci- men shot in the bay on November 29th, 1893 ; it is now in my collection. From this date to the middle of December the birds were abundant, about 40 being killed. They have continued coming every winter since, and in 1894 they were very numerous, but have been growing steadily less in numbers, till this winter (December, 1897) I have heard of only half a dozen. The remarkable facts marking the migrations from 1893 to 1897 were the utter absence of food in the stomachs of all specimens examined, their weak condition, and the ease with which they were procured. Many were found dead on the lake shore— pre- sumably from lack of food. A full report of the first occurrence of these remarkable migrations is given in Vol. I. of the Biological Review of Ontario, January, 1894. (/. H. Fleming.) In December, 1897, there were many large flocks of this species seen around Ottawa and numerous specimens were taken. No such migration had been recorded in previous years. {Macou7i.) Breeding Notes.— Breeds in countless numbers at Cape Wolstenolme, Hudson Bay, also in lesser numbers on Digges Island and at Cape Hopes Advance. Their nesting places are on the upturned edges of the ledges, where they straddle their solitary egg in myriads and when disturbed by the discharge of a gun rise so quickly that many of the eggs are dislodged, and fall into the sea. They remain on the bay all the year wintering in the open water. {A. P. Low.) museum specimens. This species is represented by three specimens, all taken in Ontario and Quebec. One, a male, was shot on the Gatineau River at Wakefield, Quebec, in November, 1887. Another, taken at Kingston, Ontario, February 4th, 1897, was received from the Rev. C. J. Young. The third was captured on the ice on the Ottawa River, close to the city of Ottawa, December 12th, 1807 by Mr. W. T. Lawless. We have two eggs, collected on the coast of Greenland, received from Mr. Raine ; six from the coast of Labrador (one white) procured by Mr. A. P. Low in 1896 and four from Davis Inlet received from Mr, Guy in 1896. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 25 31a. Pallas's Murre. Western Thick-billed Guillemot. Urialomvia arra (Pall.) Ridgvv. 1884. Wherever the coasts and islands of Alaska are bordered by rugged cliffs and rocky declivities, this bird is found in great abundance. It occurs at Kadiak and along the adjacent coasts from Sitka to the peninsula of Alaska. Common around the Prybiloff Islands and the other islands in Behring Sea, and in Norton Sound ; it breeds in small numbers in Chamisso Inlet and Kotzebue Sound and on the cliffs near Cape Lisburne. (Nel- son.) Extremely abundant at Bogoslov where they breed in millions, and throughout the Aleutian Islands. Turner.) Only reaches Point Barrow as a rare straggler. (Murdoch.) Breeding Notes — This bird lays its single egg upon the points and narrow shelves, on the faces of the cliff-fronts of the Prybiloff Islands, straddling over the eggs side by side, as thickly as they can crowd, making no nests. Its curious straddling by which the egg is warmed and hatched lasts nearly twenty-eight days and then the young comes out with a dark thick coat of down, which is supplanted by the plumage and color of the old bird, in less than six weeks. (Elliott.) At Egg Island, about ten miles from the entrance of St. Michael Harbour many of these birds breed every year on the bluffs and ledges. The egg is laid on the bare rock without any pretense of a nest. Only one egg is laid in a season if undis- turbed, but will be renewed if the season is not too far advanced. The egg is very large, having a bluish-green ground with dark- brown mottlings of variable outline. (Turner.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. . "e have four eggs of this species collected on St. Paul Island, ..>ehring Sea, in June, 1897 by Mr. J. M. Macoun. 1758. XV. ALCA LiNNiEus. ?2. Razor-billed Auk. Alca torciahiNN. 1758. Occurs occasionally near Point Lepreau and Partridge Island ; also common near the Grand Manan, N.B. (Chamberlain) Not very common in N. S. in winter. (Downs.) Common throughout the summer and autumn along the Newfoundland shores. (Reeks.) 26 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Not observed in Hudson Strait ; abundant and breeding on the eastern and southern shores of Labrador. (Packard.) Not rare in West Greenland, but unknown in East Greenland. {Arct. Man\ Hreeds, but not in large numbers, on the Great Bird Rock, Bryon Island and Entry Island. Magdalen Islands. Gulf of St. Lawrence. '.Btshop.) Common along the St. Lawrence at Kamouraska, Que. {Dionnc.) Common from the middle Labrador coast to Frobisher Mraits; they are not found in Cumberlnnd Gulf, but are by no means rare on the west coast of Greenland. {Knmclitu) The first notice we have of the occurrence of this species in Ontario is m the published proceedings of the Canadian Institute. 1 he specimen there recorded was taken on December loth. i88q • a second specimen was taken near the west end of Lake Ontario' •n November, I87I, and Mr. J. H. Fleming mentions another as having been taken near Hamilton. Breeding NoTEs.-This species breeds abundantly at Gannet slands, coast of Labrador. Mr. Dick collected a number of eggs for me on July 2nd. 1895. Like the common Murre. this bird lays Its ^g^ on a ledge of the sea-cliff. This species, like the black or Pigeon Guillemot, sometimes lays two eggs, but one is the usual number. {Raine) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen obtained on the Atlantic coast, purchased with the Holman collection. Four eggs are in the collection. Two of these were obtained by Mr. A. P. Low at Davis Inlet, coast of Labrador ; two others were received from Mr. Raine, who obtained them from Labrador. XVI, PLAUTUS Brunnich. 1772. 33. Great Auk. Platitus impemiis (Linn.) Steenstr. 1855. Formerly very abundant around Newfoundland, but now ex- tinct. Last liv.ng specimen seen in 1852; a dead specimen picked up in Trinity Bay, 1853. {Reeks) First discovered in Greenland in 1574; last specimen killed by Eldey off the south- • west point of Iceland in 1844. {Arct. Man) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 2J XVII. ALLE Link. 1806. 34. Dovekie. Little Auk. Aile alle (Linn.) Steijn. 1885. Winter resident at Grand Manan, N.B. {^Chamberlain.) For- merly common but now rare along Nova Scotia. {Dozvns.) A very common periodical migrant in October along the New- foundland coast. {Recks.) Common in Hudson Strait ; occurs plentifully along the eastern coast of Labrador. {Packard) Said to breed no further south in Greenland than lat. 68° N., common in Baffin Bay but rare in the Polar Sea. {Arct. Man.) Common on the coast of Labrador off Resolution Island, Grinnell Bay and Frobisher Straits, but did not see any in Cumberland Gulf; they are abundant off Exeter Sound and to the northward on the west coast of Baffin Bay. {Kumclin.) Godbout, River St. Lawrence, Quebec. {Dionfie.) Breeding Notes. — I have a number of eggs of this bird from Iceland. Dr. Shufeldt has stated in his Comparative Orders of North American Birds that this bird lays two eggs, but my col- lector in Iceland has never found more than one egg to a clutch, and has been collecting for fifteen years. Most British Ornitho- logical writers state this bird only lays one egg. It deposits its single pale greenish-blue egg in crevices of the sea-cliffs. Breeds in Greenland on Smith Sound. (Raine.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One male from the Atlantic coast, purchased with the Holman collection. One egg taken on Disco Island, coast of Greenland, in 1894, received from Mr. Raine. Order. LONGIPENNES. Long- winged Swimmers. Family IV. STERCORARIID.ffi Skuas and Jaegers. XVIII. MEGALESTRIS Bonaparte. 1856. 35. The Common Skua. Mcgalcstris sktia (Brunn Ridgw. 1880. Seen twice on the south coast of Greenland by Holboell. {Arct, Man ) One seen sitting in the water in the Straits of Belle Isle. June 22nd, 1882. {Packard) Not very common in winter and 28 aEOLOOICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. p ng around Nova Scotia. (Dou^.s.) Seen off the coa,t of New unswck (AU..„s.) Occasional in the (iulf of St. I.avv ence^ (D^on,u:) Groat Slave Lake, very rare. (Ross.) App.,rZZoi frequent occurrence on "the George's." NewfoundC. and Nov! Scofan banks .n winter ; seen near Lady Franklin Island Hudson Stra.t. ."Sept.;they then hadyoungoncson the rocks. (Aw« Brisson. 1760. 36, XIX. STERCORARIUS Fomarine Jaeger. SfcTconrrius /xwMrim/s (T EMM.) Vieill. 1819. breeds i'.^ ,^r.^" ^'"7"! '^''''''' "^ '^"^ ^^-"""^ '" ''^^' ""rth; ishnt n R ''\^rT '"^ "^^^ ^'^''^ ^'^^ -t the Parr; n u / '"■'* " "^^'-^^'O'lally -seen in company with the hr^e .us ,, h spend a short time during the severity of the w 2 around the west end of Lake Ontario. (^./W//I) Great Slave Lake, very rare. (Ross.) Not uncommon in the Arctic seas and northern outlets of Hudson Bay where it subsists on put -id fi h it Trk^n^^r^CtTh" -aching Hudson Bay in May. '(^/X'tL. laken at tort Churchill, Hudson Bay, 1845. (/>/• Gi//c Ae Tr\ Rather common on Hudson Bay in the summer ofTstQ b'tno ' Bon"n ^T "m"- /"'• ^- ^^""^ '^^^"■^^' '-^'-^ -- firstl'er -ed at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland, in August, and from this point northward to lat. 71° they were common at nearly all poTn May 13th and became more common until the last of the month ; abundant at St. Lawrence Island and everywhere in borders' tf'.V ^'"^ "T"^"^ ^'^"^ ''^ ^^^'^ coa'ton t e bv the fir!. I -"TP''^-. .^^^''^"'-^ ^^"'^-'^ '' St. Michael by the first week m June ; ,t is a resident of the drier portions of the lowlands, usually solitary, but several may be seen togethe vLrrlr; '"/h^ neighbourhood. (Turner.) i regular sm. n MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One procured at Great Slave Lake by Mr. Macfarlane in 1887. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. jM 37. Parasitic Jaeger. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linn.) Schaff. 1789, Breeds in both Inspectorates of Greenland, but more commonly in the southern ; also on the west coast of Davis Strait and in the Polar Sea. {Arct. Man.) Along the Atlantic coast, in spring and autumn, as far south as Grand Manan. {Hcrrick.) Gulf of St. Lawrence. {Dionnt.) A single specimen was seen July 20th, 18—, near Mingan harbour. {Brewster.) South to Fort Simpson,' lat. 62° 30' ; rare. {Ross.) Not uncommon on the Barren Grounds and at Franklin Bay. Nests occasionally procured in these loca- lities. {Macfarlaiw.) This species inhabits the Arctic sea-coast of America. Numerous specimens were taken on Melville Penin- sula and North Georgian Lslands, as well as in Baffin Bay. Specimens were also taken on the Barren Grounds and at Fort Franklin, lat. 65^ 15' N. {Richardson.) A specimen of the melan- istic form taken at Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay, 1845. {Dr. Gillespie, Jr.) This bird occurs about the entire coast line of Behring Sea, but is most numerous along the low marshy coast of Norton Sound and thence south to the Kuskoquim River. Its breeding range covers the entire region from the Aleutian Islands north to the extreme part of the mainland. {Nelson.) A frequent visitor to the Aleutian Islands, and tolerably common at St. Michael. {Turner.) Not common at Point Barrow ; none breed. {Murdoch.) This species has the same general distribution as the Pomarine Jaeger, but is not so common. {Kumclin.) Breeding Notes.— I have a clutch of two eggs that were taken at Skonntzaz, Greenland, on June nth, 1890. {Raine.) Birds in the black plumage are rare in the spring, but are some- times seen ; and at the Yukon mouth, on May 31st, I found a pair in this plumage mated. The eggs are laid upon the mossv knolls or uplands in their haunts about the sth of June. The nest is merely a depression in the moss, containing two eggs indistin- guishable from the next species. {Nelson.) 38. Long-tailed Jaeger. Buffon's Skua. Stercorarius longicaudjis Vieill., 1819. Said not to breed farther south than lat. 70=" N., in Greenland. {Arct. Man.) A very few of these birds visited the upper waters 30 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. of Cumberland Gulf in June, 1871, and soon disappeared ; I doubt .f they breed there. {Kumelin.) Occasionally seen from Greenland south along the Labrador coast (.Packard) ; Newfound- land {Reeks) ; coast of Nova Scotia (Dowm) ; in the Bay of Fundy (Boa^'dman) ; Gulf of St. Lawrence {Dwm,e) ; occasionally taken in Hudson Bay (Dr. R. Bell) ; south to Lapierre's House on the Mackenzie River. {Ross.) Quite abundant along the Ander- son River and on the Barren Grounds, and also on the Arctic coast. {Macfarhme.) This is the most common of the Jaegers on the Alaskan coast ; rare on the Prybiloff Islands. They are abundant on the low coast of Behring Strait, but, except at Kotzebue Sound, they are not common beyond that point {Nel- son) Arrives earlier at St. Michael and in greater numbers than Its congeners ; rarely seen on the eastern Aleutian Islands, but a few pairs are said to breed near St. Michael. ( Ttirner ) This is the most common species of Jaeger at Point Barrow, and is rather abundant, but none breed. {Murdoch.) Once shot and several times seen during September, 1890 and 1891, at Sumas Lake. B C {Brooks.) ' ' Breeding NoTES.-The pairing occurs with a great amount of noisy demonstration on the part of several rivals, but once paired the birds keep by themselves and early in June deposit their eggs in a depression on the mossy top of some knoll upon a rising ground. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen procured at York Factory by Dr. R. Bell. One ^^g taken at George River, Ungava Bay, Labrador, by T Forde, 1896. ' y i- Family V. LARTD^ Gulls and Terns. XX. PAGOPHILA Kaup. 1829. 39- Ivory Gull. Pagophila alba {Gvn^.) Coues. 1897. A very rare periodical migrant on the northwest coast of New- foundland. Three shot in Parson's Pond January 1867-68 {Reeks.) One specimen observed in Halifax harbour prior to 1869. {Jones.) Rare along the Nova Scotia coast. {Downs ) An immature bird shot at St. John ; a winter visitant at Grand CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. '!»,I Manan,N.B. (C/iami>er/atfi.) Coast oi Labrador. {Dionne.) Seen on the edge of the ice in Hudson Bay near Great Whale River in spring and winter. {A.P. Low.) Occasionally seen on Lake Ontario. I succeeded after two season's work in obtaining a fine specimen of an adult male by getting the fishermen to attach a long line to the stern of their boat with a hook at the end baited with Cisco. (Mcllivraith.) Circumpolar ; eggs obtained on Cape Krabbe, lat. yf 25' N. (Arct. Man.) This beautiful gull frequents Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, and various parts of the northern shores of the American continent, breeding in great numbers on the high perforated cliffs which form the extremity of Cape Parry, in lat. 70°. (^Rich- ardsofi.) A rare visitor at Point Barrow ; only two being seen in the spring, but more common in the autumn. {Murdoch.) Very common in Kingwah Fjord and vicinity just before it froze up, for a few days only ; none seen in spring ; does not breed in Cumberland Gulf. {Kumelin) One specimen taken at Dease Lake, Cassiar, B. C, by Mr. James Porter, in September, 1889. {Fatiniiu) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. The specimen in our collection was taken on the Atlantic coast in 1884. 40. XXL RISSA Stephens. Kittiwake Gull. 1825. Rissa tridactyla (Linn.) Bonap. 1838. Breeds in both Inspectorates, but more commonly in the south- ern part of Greenland. {Arct. Man.) Common along the Atlantic coast, south from Greenland, especially in winter. A rather com- mon resident in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain.) Breeding in considerable numbers at Bird Rocks and on the limestone cliffs at Wreck Bay, Anticosti. {Brezvster.) Breeds plentifully on the northern portions of the Atlantic coast of Labrador ; Verrill reports them breeding in immense numbers on the eastern and northern shores of Anticosti. {Packard.) Common off Great Whale River, Hudson Bay, on the edge of the ice in the winter of 1898-99. {A. P. Low.) Quite common on the River St. Lawrence. Dtonnc), and reaching the western end of Lake Ontario in con- siderable numbers. Mcllwraith.) ■ 32 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. I'll I This species abounds in the interior of the Northwest Terr' (ZL7 r^'Vu""' °' *'^ '''''''' ^-' -here it breed;. (7^ .W..«.) First observed in the Strait of Belle Isle on ou; outward passage in August, 1877 ; from this point northward they were constantly with us and extremely abundant until the ice covered the water ; they are altogether absent from Cumberland bulf m spnng and summer. {Kumelin.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. DiscoTsla'nf r°"'f °;; T ^'^ '"° ^P^"''"^"^' °"^ ^^^en on Disco Island Greenland, by Inspector Anderson in 1894 ; another m Davis Strait ; both received from Prof. D'Arcy Thornpson 40rt. Pacific Kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla pollicaris Ridgw. 1884. Found along the coast of Vancouver Island and in the Gulf of Georgia. i^Lord) The entire coast line of Alaska, with all its numerous islands, both near the mainland and far out at sea are inhabited by this beautiful gull ; it nests abundantly at he head ttt h" :'- T'"i! "" ^^'^'^'^ ^'^^ '' St. Michael when the ice breaks up after the middle of May. The ereat breeding, ground of the species is further south ; on the Pryb off Is a d! and some of the western Aleutian Islands this species br eds In thousands ; breeds sparingly at St. Michael. (Turner.) Breeding NoxEs.-This bird has the same habits as R. brevi- rostns. In building its nests it uses more grass and less mud- cement than that species does. The eggs are more po nt^d at the smaller end and lighter in ground colour, with numerou splotches of dark brown colour. {Elliott.) 'umerous MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Mr^rM"yrc::r"^^'^"°"'^- ^-^^^^-^.BehnngSea, by 4i. Red-legged Kitiwaka Rissa brevirostris (Bruch) Lawr. 1858. Seen in considerable numbers at Unalaska, Ma 26 1877 • abundant on the Prybiloff Islands, especially on "st. Georg^ Island, where they congregate in thousands and breed. (Nelsm^ Not a common bird at St. Michael ; the Aleutian and Prybiloff islands are its home. {Turner) yuiion CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 33 Breeding HABixs.-This bird reaches the Prybiloft Islands about May 9th for the pupose of breeding. It Ls dry gras and moss cemented with mud which it gathers by the fresh water pools and ponds scattered over the islands. The nest is solidly and neatly put up, both parents working. The nests are scarcely be reached except a person be lowered by a rope Two eggs are the usual number, though occasionally three will be found m the nest. The eggs are the size and shape of hens' ggs Xia" ^;^.- ^r' "" "^""' ^^"^^^ -' ''-'''-' " ^' MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One fine egg taken by Mr. J. M. Macoun on St. Paul Island Be nng Sea, Sept^ i6th. 1896. Seven eggs, some of whL are o th>s spec.es and some of the last, were also brought from native h".^ ''^ '''■■ ''^^"""' '^"^ '' ^^ey were procured from natives their identity is uncertain. XXI. LARUS LiNNiEus. 1758. 42. Glaucous GiiU. Burgomaster. Lotus glaucus Brunn, 1764. The most common large gull in Greenland, breeds with the o her gulls. (Arct. Man.) Not rare on Hudson StraitT breeds ("ir c" ^'^ 'T'^ .^"' ^°"^^^^" --^^ -^ Labrador (/^^.W.) Common along the Atlantic coast from Greenland to Newfoundland ^Reeks) Southward it is rare and only in winter ^ZT^ One shot in St. John harbour, N. B. {Chamberlain.) Com-' mon in the river and gulf of St. Lawrence. ^Dion.^ ; dI. HM) During the winter months this bird is not an infrequent visi^/ o Lake Ontario It was shot at Toronto in 1884 and in 188^ (^ ' Ilwratth) Abundant on Great Slave Lake. (.Ross ) A ieat many „ these gulls nest in Cumberland Gulf and are con.mon in other places. (Kumelin.) Large numbers were found breeding ;uV"sS"(/."£l.f " '' """^°" ""''' ""^-" ^- ^" Breeding NoxES.-Altogether some twenty nests of this rankli "^'•:, ^^^h-'^d, chiefly on sandy islets in the bays o islands on the Lower Anderson. Fifteen of the nests contained 34 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 'tl' two eggs each, but five had as many as three. The nest was usually a shallow depression in the beach. In one of them we discovered an egg of the Black Brant. {Macfarlane.) In the summer of 1896 this species was found breeding by the large lakes in northern Labrador. {Spreadborc ugh.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen taken off Resolution Island, Hudson Strait in 1885 by Dr. Bell. There are 14 eggs of this species in our collection Two taken at Disco, Greenland, six at Cape Prince of Wales, Hudson Strait ; three from an island near Great Whale River. Hudson Bay, and three from James Bay. 42^. Point Barrow Glaucous Gull. Western Glaucous Gull. Lams barroviafius Ridgvv. 1886. All the islands of Behring Sea and all its dreary coast-line are familiar to this great gull. In summer it occurs from the Aleutian Islands north to the farthest points reached by the hardy naviga- tors in the adjoining Arctic ocean. Common m the Yukon delta, {Nelsofi.) This gull is the earliest to arrive at St. Michael ; few breed here, but on the Aleutian Islands it breeds in thousands ; at Karluck on Kadiak Island it was in countle ^ thousands in August, 1881. {Turner) Abundant at Point Barrow. {Murdoch) Abundant at Cape Lisburne, Arctic Sea. {Dr. Bean) They do not breed on the Prybiloff Islands, but in large numbers on Walrus Island, about six miles from St. Paul Island, to which island they come to feed on the dead carcases of seals, and from which they carry food to their young on Walrus Island. It is reported that they destroy the young seal pups by picking out their eyes (/. M. Macoun) Breeding Notes.— This bird breeds on Walrus Island where there are no foxer It builds neat nests of sea-ferns and dry grass placed among the tu fy tussocks on the centre of the island. It lays early in June three large eggs of a spherically oval shape, which have a dark grayish-brown ground with irre- gular patches of darker brown-black. {Elliott) This gull nests in a tussock of grass that may grow in the mid- dle of a pond in the lowlands, otherwise foxes might disturb if. The nest is built of grass and other material. The eggs are CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 35 deposited early in June and are two or three in number. Should the eggs be removed the parent will renew the complement, but only one or two will be laid. The period of incubation is about three weeks. The young are downy and pure white on their first appearance, but soon change to gray with darke.- mot- tlings. {Turfier.) ,; On June 4th, near St. Michael, the first nest was found. It was placed on a small islet, a few feet across, in the centre of a broad, shallow pond. The structure was formed of a mass of moss and grass, piled up a foot or more high, with a base three feet across, and with a deep central depression lined with dry grass. There was a single egg. The female as she sat on the nest was visible a mile away, and not the slightest oppor- tunity was afforded for concealment on the broad surrounding flat. Other nests were of the same character and contained from one to three eggs. {Nelson.} Mr. Macfarlane's note under L. glaucous probably refers to this species. 43. Iceland Gull. White-winged Gull. Lams leucopterus Faber. 1882. Breeds in both Inspectorates of Greenland, but more commonly in the southern ; also observed on the east coast, and said to breed on the Parry Islands. {Arct. Ma?i.) Common in the autumn and winter from Greenland to Newfoundland. (Reeks.) Rare on the coast of Nova Scotia. (Dowtts.) A pair shot in St. John harbour in 1881. {Chamberlain.) Godbout River, St. Lawrence River, Quebec. ( 'iofine.) A single specimen taken at Toronto IS in the collection of Mr. J. H. Ames. (/. H. Flemitig.) Several nests of this species, and the parent bird, were procured on the shores of Franklin Bay, arctic coast, early in July, 1863 and 1864. {Macfarlatie.) During Captain Ross's and Sir Edward Parry's first voyages many specimens of this gull were obtained m Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, and at Melville Island. {Richard- so7i) This species is far less common in Cumberland Gulf than the Glaucous Gull ; on the Greenland coasts, however, it is the most common species except the Kittiwake. (^Kumelin.) 44. Glaucous-winged Gull. Lams glaucescens Naum. 1840. During May, 1877, this bird was abundant about Unalaska, and also upon the Akutan and Sannak islands to the east. It 3/^ h % If I m. 36 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. breeds abundantly on the Near Islands, and has been taken at Sitka and Kadiak, and extends south to California. The centre of abundance of this species during summer may be located along the Aleutian Islands. {Nelson.) Occurs sparingly at St. Michael, but is more common on the Aleutian Islands and Kadiak. {Turner.) Common at Port Clarence, Alaska. {Dr. Bean.) An abundant resident in British Columbia ; breeds on some of the islands in the Gulf of G • - .- frequents our harbours during the winter months. {Fan An abundant winter resi- dent in the Lower Fraser valley ....d on Lake Okanagan, B. C. {Brooks.) Abundant in Burrard Inlet, B.C., in April, 1889'; very abundant in the Gulf of Georgia from Victoria to Comox in April, 1887. {Macoiin.) Breeding Notes.— The usual nesting places of this Gull are the faces of rugged cliffs, at whose base the waves are continually breaking, and where the coast exposes its wildest and most broken outline. On ;he other hand, Mr. Dall relates that about the i8th of July, at Coal Harbour on the Shumagins, on a peculiar, high, round island, abundance of eggs were found, but most of them' pretty well incubated. In this case, the island being covered with tall rank grass, the nests were almost concealed, and, either from the dead grass naturally occurring in the depressions, or otherwise, all of them had more or less dry grass in and about them. The gulls built solely on the top of the highest part of the island, in the grass, and never on the lower portions near the shore, nor on the shelves of the rocky and precipitous sides. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three fine specimens, taken by Mr. John Fannin near Victoria, Vancouver Island, January, i8g6. Three eggs, or a full set, of this species were taken on Mittle- natch Island, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, by Dr. C. F. Newcombe, June i8th, 1896. 46. Kumlien's Gull, Larus kumlicni Brewst. 1883. This species is quite common in the upper waters of Cumber- land Gulf, where it breeds ; arrived with the open water and soon began nesting ; the nest was placed on the shelving rocks CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN HIRDS. 37 on high cliffs ; two pairs nested very near our harbour, but were torn down by the ravens. {Kjimelin.) A few specimens taken in the Bay of Fundy, N.B. {Chamberlain.) North Atlantic coast of North America. {A. 0. U. List.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One specimen, procured at St. John, N. B., by Mr. Chamberlain. 48. Nelson's Gull. Lams nelso7ii Hensu. 1884. Type specimen captured at St. Michael, June 20th, 1877. {Nelson.) Apparently not taken since ; the vvriter can find no further record. 47. Great Black-backed Gull. Larus marimis Linn. 1758. Breeds generally throughout Danish Greenland, but most com- monly between lat. 63° and 68° N. {Arct. ALm. ) Reeks says that in Newfoundland it builds its nest of grass or rushes most commonly in freshwater ponds or lakes ; it is said to breed com- monly in Labrador and Brewster saw young on Anticosti and be- lieves it breeds there. Jones says it breeds on islands off the coast of Nova Scotia. It is common along the Atlantic coast, and Chamberlain says it resides in New Brunswick. Common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and ascending the river to Lake Ontario where it is occasionally seen. One has been seen in the vicinity of Ottawa, Ont. Breeding Notes— This specivis breeds on Gannet Island, coast of Labrador, where Mr. Dicks collected for me a number of clutches on June 15th, 1895. The nests were built on the rocks and made of sea-weed and usually contained three eggs each. Sometimes only two eggs are found in a nest. {Raine.) MUSEUM specimens. One specimen procured at St. John, New Brunswick, by Mr. Chamberlain. Seven eggs, one taken on Disco Island, Greenland, by Inspec- tor Anderson in 1894 ; three on Isle de Haute, Nova Scotia, by the light-house keeper, June loth, 1894 ; two from Grand Lake, Nova Scotia, taken May 24th, 1890, by Col. Egan ; one taken on m n J I 'il 38 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Hamilton River, Labrador, by Mr. A. P. Low, 1894 ; two sets of three each taken in Nova Scotia May 29, 1898, by H. F. Tufts. 48. Slaty-backed Gull. Latus schistisagiis Stejn. 1884. In September, 1880, Capt. C. L. Hooper, of the Ccrwin, took the first example of this bird known, from the west coast of Am- erica at the Diomede Islands. Behring Straits. {Nelson) Abund- ant, feeding at the mouth of the river falling into the head of Chernoffsky Bay. Unalaska, October ist, 1880. {Dr Bean) As Stejneger found it breeding on the Asiatic coast, it is doubtless commoner than its present limited known range indicates. 49. Western GulL Lams occidentalis AuD. 1839. Found along the Vancouver Island coast and in the Gulf of Georgia. (^Lord.) A resident of British Columbia ; verv abund- ant on the coast during the winter months ; found breeding m the Similkameen Valley. {Fannin.) Common in Burrard Inlet in April 1889 ; large flocks were seen at Comox Mav 2nd 1887 and a few between Comox and Nanaimo on May 6th.' (Maconn.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two eggs taken on the west coast of Vancouver Island, on i6th June, 1894, received from Mr. Raine, 60. Siberian Gull. Larus affinis Reinh. 1853. Northern Asia. Accidental in Southern Greenland. {Ridgzvay) Only North American as occuring in Alaska and accidentally in Greenland. {Cones) 51. European Herring Gull. Larus argentatus Br'unn. 1764. Exceedingly rare bird in Greenland and not known to have occurred further north than Gotthaab. {Arct. Man) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS, 39 5^a. American Herring Gull. Larus argentatus smithsonianus CouES. 1873. This species is the most widely diffused of all our gulls and is as mucli at home breeding in the far inland lakes as along the coast of the Atlantic, around Hudson Bay, along the shores of the Arctic seas or on the Upper Yukon. We have records of its breeding in Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, throughout the whole prairie region and north to Hudson Bay and the Arctic sea, and across the Rocky Mountains to the Upper Yukon, where Dall found it breeding in numbers. Fannin reports it breeding on the coast of British Columbia and also in the interior. Breeding Notes.— Breeding in large numbers on an island in Crane Lake, Assa., between June gth-iSth, 1894. Nest, a shal- low hole in the ground lined with dry grass and weeds. Eggs, three as a rule ; never more. A number of the young were hatched by June 9th, but the greater number about the i8th, when many young were running about the island, and some took to the water and swam away. {Macoun.) The men on Crane Lake Farm said that the old birds killed gophers {Spermophilus Richardsoni) and fed them to their young. {Spreadborough.) This species breeds in numbers at Buffalo Lake, Alberta. {Dippie.) I found this species breeding abundantly at Shoal Lake, Mani- toba, on June i8th, 1894. The nests were built on the ground on the islands, were composed of weeds, and contained three eggs each. (Raine.) The American Herring Gull is a common species along the St. Lawrence. A few years ago it used to breed on Pigeon Island and the Lower Ducks, Lake Ontario, but owing to constant dis- turbance it no longer breeds in those places, and I doubt if any now nest around Lake Ontario. It is still plentiful in the neigh- bourhood of Parry Sound, Lake Huron, and on other lakes in Northern Ontario. (Rev. C.J. Young.) This gull breeds on the small islands off the coast of Bruce Co., Ont., in the Georgian Bay and off Manitoulin Island. Nest in a dry situation. The fishermen take the eggs for food in con- siderable quantities. I have one egg taken by them which is of %'■') I U r I * ■ I 40 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. ilii 'in a light blue colour, and unspotted. No eggs that I saw were other than this species, though it seems probable that the Ring- billed Gull, which is very common in Georgian Bay, may also breed in the same localities. (W. Saunders.) In July, 1868, the writer found this species breeding on small Islands in Gull Lake, Victoria Co., Ontario, and in 1870 on a small rocky island in Gull Lake, Barry Township, Addington Co., Ontario. All the " Gull " lakes in Ontario were no doubt named after this gull. The writer made a trip on June 22nd to the island in Crane Lake, where Mr. Spreadborough obtained the eggs on the 9th of the same month. After a drive of five miles we reached the margin of the lake, and, as the island was a quarter of a mile from shore, we divested ourselves of part of our clothing and waded out— taking care not to stand long enough to sink in the white mud of the bottom. We had scarcely reached the shore before we were surrounded by multitudes of common Terns, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, Cormorants and various waders. The south end of the island was the lowest, and here the Terns had their little nests placed on the ground amongst the short grass. By far the greater number contained three eggs, but none had four. Passing more to the north, and on a higher level, we found the Ring-billed Gull breeding, also in multitudes, and as we approached their nests they rose screaming, and did not cease till we left the island. Ascending a little higher, but passing to the north, we came among the Herring Gulls but many of their nests were empty, and the downy young were either hidden in the grass or running to the water as fast as possible, while many were swimming about. On the highest point of the island we found 29 nests of the Double-crested Cormorant. The nests, fully a foot high, were built on regular bases of broken sticks. These nests formed a group by themselves, and evidently formed the line of separation between the Herring Gulls and the Ring- billed. The sticks had all been carried for a long distance, as no willows grew within a couple of miles of the lake. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken at Toronto by S. Herring, 1884. Our collection of eggs of this species numbers eighteen. Six of these were taken on Sturgeon Island, Lake Winnipeg by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell on 1st CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 41 June, 1889 ; thirteen on an island in Crane Lake, June 9th, 1894, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. «2. Vega Gull. Lams veg(B (Palmen) Stejn. 1888. Behring Sea and adjacent waters, south in winter to California and Japan. (A. 0. U. List.) 63. California Gull. Larus calif or nicus Lawr. 1854. Great Slave Lake, abundant. {Ross.) Quite a number of speci- mens with eggs were received from Eskimos of the Lower Anderson, lat.68^ 30'. {Macfarlanc) Found along the Vancouver Island coast and in the Gulf of Georgia. {Lord) An abundant resident ; breeds in the interior of British Columbia ; a winter resident along the coast, during which time it appears in great numbers in our harbours. {Faii/iin.) Common in the Lower Fraser valley and on Lake Okanagan, B.C., in winter. {Brooks.) 54. Ring-billed GuU. Larus diiazvarensis O R d . 1 8 1 5 . Common throughout the summer at Newfoundland. {Recks.) Apparently rare around the coasts of Nova cotia and New Brunswick, and not very common in the River and Gulf of St. La\yrence. Very common on Lake Ontario at its western end during the winter. {Mcllwraith) Common at Lake Mistassini, Que., where it breeds. (/. M. Macoiin.) Breeds in the vicinity of Hamilton Inlet, east coast of Labrador. (A. P. Loiv.) Breeds in the small lakes in northern Ontario ; found in the northern part of Addington Co. in 1870, and near Minden, in Victoria Co. in 1868. It bred on islands in the lakes just as it does now in the prairie region, where it is abundant in all large lakes and ponds from Manitoba to the Rocky Mountains and northward. One specimen was taken on Loon Lake, B.C., and it was common on Shuswap Lake, in June, 1889. {Macoiin.) A winter resident on the coast of British Columbia ; breeds in the interior, especi- m I. _ III m 43 GEOLOOICAL SURVEY OK CANADA. ! ! f ally to the northward. I found it on Uea.se Lake during the summer. {Fannin.) Common in the Lower Frascr valley, and on Lake Okanagan, H.C., in winter, lirooks.) Breeding Notes.— Very abundant and breeding in great num- bers on an island in Crane Lake, Assa. Nests on the ground made of dry grass, smaller than those of the Herring Gull. Eggs, never more than three, while a few nests contained only two. A number of the young were batched by June gth, and the bulk of the nests had young by the i8th June, 1894. This species breeds later than the Herring Gull. A few were observed breeding at Deep Lake, near Indian Head, Assa., June 3rd, 1892. (^Spread- borough.) This species breeds at Buffalo Lake, Alberta. {Dippie.) I have found this species breeding at Rush Lake, Assiniboia, and at Shoal Lake, Manitoba. It makes its nest on the ground and lays three eggs. (Raine.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken at Toronto, Ont., by S. Herring in 1882. Sixteen eggs. Two of these were taken on an island in Lake Manitoba by Mr. Dippie in 1893, and fourteen from an island in Crane Lake by Mr. W. Spreadborough on gth June, 1894. We have also three eggs from Labrador taken in 1896. 66. Short-billed Gull. Lotus brachyrhynchus Rich. 183 1. Aspecinen shot in the vicinity of Quebec is now in the mur.eum of Laval University. {Diofine.) More numerous and widely dif- fused than the other gulls. Many nests were procured at Fort Anderson, lat. 68° 30'. {Macfarlane.) Type specimen killed on Bear Lake, May 26th, 1826. {Richardson.) This elegant species is abundant over a large part of the Alaskan mainland. Dall found it at Sitka and Kadiak, and from Fort Yukon to the sea along the Yukon River. It is found nesting from the pen- insula of Alaska north to the head of Kotzebue Sound and from the sea coast region it breeds Interiorly over Alaska into British Columbia. {Nelson.) Abundant on the Aleutian Islands. Turner.) A winter resident on the coast of British Columbia ; during the early part of May 1891 I saw quite a number on the lakes of the Cariboo district where it probably breeds. {Fannin.) Common in the Lower Fraser valley, B. C. {Brooks.) CATALOCiUE OF CANADIAN lURDS. 43 BREEniNc. NoTRs.-At the Yukon mouth and St. Michael May 14th is the earliest date they were noticed in spring. As a rule they are rare until the 20th or 25th May, about which time they find the ponds and slug^Msh streams open in the coast country. They undoubtedly reach interior localities earlier in the sea.son, as spring is considerably earlier there. They nest, like the Glaucous Gull, upon small islets in ponds and lakes. A bulky nest is prepared of grasses and mosses early in June, in which two or three eggs are laid. (^Nclsofi.) The nest of this species is usually a small cavity in the sand by the side of a stream or sheet of water. It also frequently budds < ' a stump or tree, and in such cases dry twigs, hay and mosses are used in its construction. A good many sets of eggs were taken at Fort Anderson, lat. 68^ 30'. {Macfarlane) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. A fine pair taken in Victoria harbour in January, 1896, by Mr. John Fannin. 66. Mew GuU. Lartis catms Linn. 1758. Accidental in Labrador. (A. 0. U. List.) 67. Heermann's Gull. White-headed Gull. Lams hccrtna Hid Cass. 1852. Found in the Gulf of Georgia and along the coasts of Vancouver Island. {Lord.) Not common in the Gulf of Georgia, though they appear to remain during the summer. Four specimens, the young of the year, were taken off the mouth of Esquimault Har- bour in the latter part of July by Dr. Hazell, of Victoria. (Fan- nin) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken in 1885 on Malcolm Island, Gulf of Georgia, B.C. by Dr. G. M. Dawson ; a fine pair taken at Esquimault in January. 1896, by Mr. John Fannin. 68. Laughing Gull. Larus atricilla Linn. 1758. On May 23rd, 1890, a gull was brought to my store. It had been shot on Toronto Island, and, being unlike any of our native 44 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. T I 9 species, I had it thoroughly examined, and it proved to be a male Laughing Gull. This, I believe, is the first record of this bird in Ontario. (William Cross.) Coast of Nova Scotia. {A.O.U.List.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One bought with Holman collection in 1885. 59. Franklin's Rosy Gull. Larus frankliidi Sw. & Rich. 1831. Accidental on Hamilton Bay, Ont., two specimens shot, one in 1865, the other later. {Mclhvraith.) Although no specimens of this species were taken, I am inclined to believe that they breed in the Anderson River district. {Macfarla/ic,) This is a very common gull in the interior of the Northwest Territories, where it frequents the shores of the larger lakes. It is generally seen in flocks and is very noisy. It breeds in marshy places. {Richard- son.) Shot by Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., on May 20th with stomachs full of grasshoppers, showing they had come from far to the south. They are very abundant throughout the marshy parts of Manitoba during summer, breeding in nearly all large marshes. In Assiniboia they are also abundant and breed in great numbers as far west as Cypress Lake, where there are marshes. Later in the season they gather in great numbers around the larger salt lakes, and mix with the Ring-bill and Herring Gulls. After they arrive in Manitoba they follow the farmers in the fields and gather ' cut-worms ' and other larvae turned up by the plough. {Percy Schvy?i.) Breeding Notes.— This species, unlike the Herring Gull and the Ring-bill, breeds in communities in marshes. Hundreds of nests were found June 13th, 1894, in a marshy lake about three miles southeast of Crane Lake ; incubation was far advanced. The nests were very bulky, made of reeds placed on the marsh, and floating in about two and a half feet of water. Eggs in each case, three. {Spreadborough.) Breeds abundantly in the marshes at the south end of Lake Manitoba. {Raine. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Five specimens taken at Indian Head, Assa., in June, 1892, and at Crane Lake in June, 1894, by Spreadborough. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 45 Twenty-two eggs of this species taken in a marshy lake near Crane Lake, Assa., on June 14th, 1894, by Spreadborough. 60. Bonaparte's Gull. Lotus Philadelphia (Ord) Gray. 1863. Frequent on the Atlantic coast as far north as Newfoundland. Apparently quite common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and not rare in Hudson Bay. A spring and fall migrant in Ontario. This species is found from Manitoba to the Pacific and a few doubtless breed in the prairie region, but its ra ge is generally north of that of Larusfratiklinii. No doubt the two are often confounded. Its breeding range is in the wooded country extend- ing from Hudson Bay westward to the marshes of the Yukon where Dall found it breeding. It is rare en the coast of Alaska but common along the British Columbian coast and very common on all the lakes of the interior of that province. Breeding Notes.— Thirty-seven nests were taken between June loth and July loth, in the wooded country, in the vicinity of Fort Anderson and en the Lower Anderson River. The nests were all built on trees, from four to twenty feet from the ground, and with one exception were made of small sticks and twigs lined with hay and mosses. {Macfarlane) Dippie reports this species breeding at Buffalo Lake, Alberta July, 1895. On June nth, 1891, I found a few pairs of this little gull breeding in company with Herring Gulls, Avocets and Common Terns on an island in a small lake north of Rush Lake, Assini- boia. (See " Birdnesting in North West Canada," page 57.) One specimen of the bird was procured to prove identity. This bird usually makes its nests in bushes and willows near the water, but in localities where there are no bushes it makes its nest on the ground like the other gulls. The eggs are similar to those of Franklin's CiuU, but are smaller in size. {Raine.) I noticed one of these birds flying overhead among a num- ber of common Terns on the nth June, 1893. I was visiting some rocks on the St. Lawrence below Rockport, Ont., at the time, and from the way in which it hovered along with the Terns thought h\\ • Mi I'U > 't V i li! I II 46 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. it possible it might be breeding there, though I failed to find any sign of a nest. This is the only time I have observed the bird so late in the season. (Rev. C.J. Yoimg.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen shot at False Bay, Lasqueti Island, Gulf of Georgia, B.C., by Dr. G. M. Dawson, 1885 I two taken at Toronto and Ottawa, and three at Indian Head, Assa. Of eggs of this species we have only one, taken at Black Lake, Assa., June loth, 1891, by Mr. Raine. 60.1. Little GuU. Lotus minutus Pall. 1771. A specimen obtained on Sir John Franklin's first expedition, was determined by Mr. Sabine to be a young bird of the first year of this species, exactly according with Mr. Temminck's description. (Richardson) , 1 XXIII. RHODOSTETHIA Macgillivray. 1842. 61. Ross's Gull. Cuneate-tailed Gull. Rhodostethia rosea (Macgil.) Bonap. 1850. This is both a rare and a far northern species. Four specimens havebeen received by the Museum at Copenhagen, from Green- land, three of which were shot in Disco Bay, and the fourth near the Sukkertop. (Arct. Man) Two specimens of this gull were killed on the coast of Melville Peninsula, on Sir Ed»vard Parry's second voyage. Commander Forster also found this species in Waygate Strait, which is probably one of its breeding places. (Richardsoti.) Found breeding at Ekomiut, in the district of Christianshaab, Greenland, August 15th, 1885. (The Auk, April, i88§.') A young bird of this species was taken near St. Michael, Norton Sound, on October 15th, 1879. (Nelson.') Abundant at Point Barrow, autumn visitors only. They appeared in large, loose flocks, coming in from the sea from the southwest and evidently going northeast. None seen to return in the spring. They likely breed north of Wrangel Island. (Murdoch.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 47 XXIV. XEMA Leach. 1819 62. Sabine's Gull. Pork-tailed GuU. Xemasalnttii (Sab.) Leach. 18 19. Said not to breed further south in Greenland than Lat. 75° 30' N. ; also common at Sabine Island, Melville Bay, Lat. 75° 30' N. {Arct Man.) Occasional as far south along the Labrador coast as Cow Head, Newfoundland. {Reeks.) Quite a large number of nests were found on the shores of Franklin Bay, and a fetv eggs were also received from the Esqui- mo of Liverpool Bay on the Arctic coast. {Macfarlane.) Breed- mg on low islands off the west coast of Greenland and westward to Melville Peninsula. {Richardson.) Found breeding abundantly in the low grounds between St. Michael and Bristol Bay Alaska {Turner.) This gull is especially numerous along theAlaskan coast from the Kuskoquim mouth to Kotzebue Sound, and occurs in small numbers at St. Lawrence Island. {Nelson.) Breeding NoxES.-On June 13th, 1880, about twenty miles from St. Michael while egging in company with some Eskimo, we found a pond some 200 yards across, in the middle of which were two small islands. A gun-shot caused at least one hundred of these gulls to rise like a white cloud over the islet and showed us that we had found a breeding place. On going to the largest island my Eskimo called out that the ground was covered with gull's eggs. The Eskimo found the water waist deep and under it a solid bed of ice of unknown depth. He carried me over on his back, as I desired to see the nests of these birds never having seen them. The island was very low, and the driest spots were but a little above the water. Built on the driest places were twenty-seven nests, containing from one to three eggs each, and as many others ready for occupancy. Four or five nests were frequently placed within two or three feet of each other. In about one half the cases the eggs were laid upon the few grass-blades the spot afforded, with no alterations save a slight depression made by the bird's body. In the majority of the other nests a few grass-blades and stems had been arranged circularly about the eggs, and in the remainder only enough material had been added to afford the merest apology for a nest. {Nelson.) k !l 48 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. XXV. OELOCHELIDON Brehm. 1830. 63. Gull-billed Tern. Marsh Tern. Gelochelidon nilotica (Hasselq.) Stejn. 1884. Accidental on southern coast of New Brunswick. One shot at Grand Manan, New Brunswick, August 1879. {Boardman) XXVI. STERNA Linn^us. 1758. 64. Caspian Tern. Sterna tschcgrava Lepech. 177Q. A tolerably common summer migrant and breeds on many of the islands off the coast of Newfoundland. (Reeks.) Very rare in Nova Scotia. One specimen shot at Cole Harbour. {Doivns.) One specimen procured at Moose Factory, Hudson Bay. Pack- ard.) Not uncommon in the spring and autumn around Hamil- ton Bay, Ont. {Mcllwraith.) Rare on Great Slave Lake. {Ross.) This species occurs as an occasional visitant to the cuast of Behring Sea, from the Yukon mouth to St. Michael at least, and is undoubtedly found still more frequently south to the known haunts of the species along the Pacific coast of Asia. (Nelson.) Breeding Notes. — This bird is occasionally shot in Toronto marsh. It breeds abundantly on small islands in Lake Michigan. On June loth, 1894, Mr. Van Winkle collected a number of clutches for me on Gravel Gull Islands, Lake Michigan. Nests singly in hollows in the sand, containing mostly three eggs each. Mr. Mcllwraith in "Birds of Ontario," says this species nests singly, but he is mistaken, as it breeds in large colonies like other Terns. (Raine.) museum specimens. One specimen, bought with the Holman collection. We have two eggs purchased from Mr. Raine, said to have been taken on Sewell Island, west of Manitoulin Island, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, July 2nd, 1891. 65. Royal Tern. Sterna maxima Bodd. 1783. Northward to Massachusetts and the Great Lakes. (A.O.U.List.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. MUSEUM SPECIMEN. 49 One purchased with the Holman collection, said to have been taken on Lake Erie ; also one egg from the Bahamas. 67. Cabot's Tern. Sterna smuMcemis actiflavida (Cabot) Ridgw. 1884. Accidental along the Great Lakes. In the spring of 1882 Dr. Gamier noticed three individuals of this species coursing around a mill-pond not far from his resi- dence at Lucknow, Ont. He shot one and the writer saw it after It was mounted. {Mclkvraith) 69- Porster's Tern. Sterna forsteri Nutt. 1834. Only a casual visitor on Lake Ontario in spring and fall iMc- Uwraith.) Common ; breeds abundantly on St. Clair Flats {Samiders & Morden.) Summer resident about the large lakes of Manitoba ; nesting among the reeds. {Thompson:) In the summer of 1881 the writer found them abundant on lakes Mani- toba Water-hen and Winnipegoosis where they were breeding in numbers in the bordering marshes. West of Manitoba their place IS chiefly taken by the Common Tern, as only one pair was seen by Spreadborough at Indian Head in a residence of three months in 1892. None have been noted further west. Richardson says they extend northerly to lat. 57°. Breedino NOTES.-On June i8th. 1894. I found an immense colony of these birds breeding on an island in Shoal Lake, Man- itoba The nest was made in a hollow in the sand, and con- tained three eggs, resting on a few straws. {Dippie.) It is not common at St. Clair Flats, Ont., but nests have been taken there by Mr. J. A. Morden, but only a few nests of this species to many of the next. {W. Saunders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two eggs taken by Mr. Dippie at Lake Manitoba, June -'^nd 1893. '■' - "'' i^ 50 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 70. Common Tern. Sterna hirmuio L-i^^. 1758- This is truly the " Common Tern," as it breeds abundantly from the coasts of Labrador southward to the Grand Manan, N.B., on all islands and coasts of Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is also common in the Gulf of St. Law- rence, breeding on the Magdalens, Anticosti and Prince Edward Island. Ascending the St. Lawrence, it nests on the Thousand Islands, where its nest was found by Rev. C. J. Young, in June, 1895. Stragglers are found throughout Ontario, and Saunders and Morden report that this species breeds at St. Clair Flats. A summer resident in Manitoba and breeding. It is common on all the large lakes of Assiniboia and breeds in suitable places. A few breed near Indian Head, but the greatest numbers were found at Crane Lake, about 100 miles east of Medicine Hat ; it was also seen in 1895 ^^ Cypress Lake and southwestward to Waterton Lake near Chief Mountain, and north to Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. One specimen taken at Cowichan Gap, September 15th, 1896, by R. D. McClure, Sidney, Vancouver Island. {Fatmiti.) Breeding Notes. — Breeding extensively on the shores of the Arctic Sea as well as on islets in many of the inland lakes of the forest region and " Barrens." {Macfarlane) Breeding in large numbers on a small island in Crane Lake, Assiniboia, June 9th-20th, 1894. Nest, a shallow hole in the ground lined with dry grass. Of the hundreds of nests that I saw each contained three eggs, except two, and they had four. A number of the young were hatched by June 20th. A few were found breeding by Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assa., June 3rd, 1892. Common from Moose Factory to Richmond Gulf, Hudson Bay ; breeding in June, 1896. {Spreadborough) On June i8th, 1894, on an island in Shoal Lake Manitoba, I found thousands of this Tern breeding ; their nests were hollows in the sand, lined with bits of drift-weed and contained three eggs each. I found it breeding under like conditions on many of the lakes of Assiniboia in June 1891 and 1893. {Rai?ie.) This species was formerly very plentiful in the River St.. Lawrence from Kingston eastward. Numbers bred on Salmon CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 51 Island a bank of shingle, etc., near the foot of Amherst Island, ^ay of Quinte. I found one egg in June 1895, a solitary pair of birds being all that were left of the many that formerly bred there I have not heard of any being met with since that date Another locality a little below Kingston was the " Spectacles "" three small islands in mid-channel. Many pairs also bred at the foot of Wolfe Island, but all these localities have been deserted for some years. Further down the river, below Rockport, a few pairs still breed. They frequent some rocky islets near Chimney Island In 1893 there were about 30 pairs of birds, but since that date they have gradually diminished until in 1896 there were not more than 12 pairs, and in a few more years this locality also will be deserted by these birds. Two or three eggs complete a set. I have seen numbers of lerns nests and never saw more than three eggs in the same nest. When the eggs are laid on rocks, a few stalks of grass or bits of bark are collected and formed into a nest. Sometimes there is no attempt at nest-building at all, but the eggs are laid on the bare rock or ground, usually between the first and third weeks of June. On the Magdalen Islands great numbers of these birds breed on the sand-bars ; in June 1897 I found them abundant on brosse Isle, where on the 22nd June I saw about 60 eggs, most of them recently laid. The nests were made in the short grass and on the beaches near the sea. (Rev. C.J. Young) Besides breeding in numbers in the St. Clair marshes, this species breeds on islands in Lake Ontario. The nest is on gravelly or rocky ground, and built of slight material Ee^s from two to four. {W. Saunders.) ' During July and August of the present year (1899) the writer spent five weeks on Sable Island, which is situated nearly one hundred miles southeast of Nova Scotia. The breeding season was nearly over, but Common, Arctic and Roseate Terns were still incubating, though thousands of young birds were flying around, and still younger ones were hidden in depressions in the sand or behind any convenient cover, while the clamour of the parents overhead was deafening. The chief breeding-ground was on the south side of the island, and this was a wide sand- Hat extending for ten miles or more in an east-and-west direction. Over this flat were scattc jd patches of Arenw^ia peplotdes and a few hummocks of sand-grass {Amtnophila I .: ^i 52 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OK CANADA. v.! aruftdinacea), and occasionally remains of old wrecks. In these localities the nests were placed very thickly, and young birds were in multitudes. Most of the nests were just depressions in the sand, but others were lined with anything that came handy, as broken .shells, grass, seaweed, egg-cases of squid, and other materials. All the species bred together ; but the Common Tern was by far the most abundant, while the Arctic came next, and the Roseate in much smaller numbers. Owing to the presence of foxes on the island, the birds are much disturbed on their breed- ing-grounds, and this year many nests were placed on the sand- hills near the stations, where foxes dare not come. On the sand- hills where grass was plentiful the nests were still mere depres- sions in the sand, and hardly any had even a slight lining of grass. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. We have specimens taken at Indian Head and Crane Lake, Assa. Of eggs we have 27 specimens. Four of these are from an island in Lake Winnipeg, taken by Mr. J. B.Tyrrell ; and twenty- three taken June 20th, 1894, on an island in Crane Lake, Assa., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. VI. Arctic Tern. Sterna paradiscea Brunn. 1764. This Tern, although an arctic bird, seems to be little known in Greenland but breeds in Ungava Bay and southward to Nova Scotia. {Doivns.) Brewster reports it breeding abundantly on the Magdalens, and in June 1897 the Rev. C.J. Young found it there, and it has been found breeding in other parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Chamberlain says it is rare in New Brunswick and only as a straggler. Mcllwraith says it is of rare occurence in Ontario, and all our researches in the western territories never revealed this bird east of the Columbia River. Numbers were seen on Upper Arrow Lake, Columbia River, B.C., June 5th, 1890, but they went north a few days later. Breeds as extensively as the Common Tern and extends as far north. ( Macfarlafie.) This species breeds very abundantly on the shores of Melville Peninsula and on the islands and beaches of the Arctic Sea. {Richardson.) On the sandy islands east of CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 53 Point Barrow. {Murdoch.) They breed in great numbers throughout al! northern Alaska, both on the coast and in the interior, and on the islands in Behring Sea and on the Aleutian Islands {Nelson ) Fannin has seen it off the Pacific coast of British Columbia and reports it from Dease Lake in Cassiar and south to Okanagan. Breeding NoxEs.-On July 15th, 1895, Mr. Dicks collected some clutches of this Tern for me on Green Island, Sandwich Bay, Labrador. Nests in a hollow in the rocks, containingtwo or three eggs each. This bird also breeds on the islands of Mackenzie Bay, Arctic Ocean, where eggs were collected for me on June 20th i8q4. Nests, holes in the sand. {Rainc) The ArcticTern is one of the earliest birds to arrive atSt.Michael, Alaska. They become very abundant by the middle of May' They breed on the low grounds, preferably on a low, damp island, such as those at the northern end of the "canal." On this place hundreds of nests were discovered in 1876. The nest is merely a bare spot on the ground ; sometimes on y a few blades of grass surround the margin of the nest, but these seem to be more the result of cleaning off a bare spot than an attempt to construct a nest. The eggs var>- from one to two. never more. {Ttirncr) On June 12th I found a nest upon a small wet islet near St. Michael. The island was covered with short grass. The nest was lined with a few dry grass-stems and contained two eggs, and the female bore another ready to deposit. Another nest similarly situated was lined with material procured within a few feet, and the ground was turned up in small spots all about where the birds had uprooted the grass, many small bunches being half uprooted and left, the task proving too heav)-. {Nelson) MUSEUM SPECIM.r:NS. We have two specimens taken on Sable Island, N.S., August i6th, 1899. Our t^'g collection contains one set of eggs from the coast of Labrador procured from Mr. Raine ; one from Cape Prince of Wales and another egg from Repulse Bay, Hudson Strait,' taken by Mr. Guy in 1896. In July 1894, Dr. Klotz, Astronomer of the Department of the Interior, took a nest containing two eggs on the border of the Baird Glacier. Thomas Bay, Alaska. There was no pretense of a nest, onlj- a hollow in the ground. iili 54 GEOLOOICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 72. The Roseate Tern. Sterna dotigalli MonTKG. 1813. Rare on the coast of Nova Scotia. {Downs.) Recorded on the authority of Col. Thomas Egan, who assures me a specimen was lately obtained and is now in the possession of Mr. John Rowe, of Halifax, N.S. (Jones.) Not uncommon, and breeding on Sable Island, N.S., August, 1899. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two skins taken on Sable Island, N.S., August 12th, 1899, by the writer. P ,' h. ;M. 11" n is. Aleutian Tern. Sterna aletiHca Baird. 1869. The Aleutian Tern arrives at St. Michael, Norton Sound, by June 1st and remains until the latter part of August. It is very abundant in the vicinity, breeding plentifully on a small island just at the northern end of the "canal." {Turner.) These birds extend their range to the head of Norton Bay and reach the Siberian coast at Behring Strait. They undoubtedly winter in the vicinity of Kadiak Island and the coast of the Northern Pacific adjacent thereto. {Nelson.) Breeding Notes. — The Arctic Tern is so intimately associated with the Aleutian Tern, both in nesting habits and procuring food, that the remarks for the one will apply to the other. Their nests are sometimes placed within two feet of each other, and apparently without causing animosity between the species. {Turner.) This species is strictly limited to the sea-coast, and breeds upon small dry islands along the coast. The Sirds reach St. Michael from May 20th to 30th and are found scattered along the coast in company with the Arctic Tern for a short time, but early in June they gather about the islands where they nest. One of these islands is about a mile from St. Michael, in the mouth of a tide-channel known as the "canal." This island is about half a mile across, rises about thirty feet from the beach in a sharp incline, and has a rather level top covered with a thick mat of grass, moss and other vegetation. The upland is dry, and here the birds breed, laying their eggs directly upon the moss, with I' \ CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN 1)1 RDS. 5S no attempt at lining, which would be entirely unnecessary there. About twenty pairs were found on this island and about forty pairs on another island about i8 miles to the eastward. (Nelson.) 1^' Least Tern. Sterna atitillarum (Lk'ss.) Couks. 1862. Accidental on our Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes. Apparently very rare around Newfoundland. {Reeks.) Very rare in Nova Scotia. Oj.e shot at Polly Bog. (Downs.) Audubon reported it abundant and breeding on the Coast of Labrador. {Packard.) Occasionally taken on Lake Erie and the ^louth- western corner of Lake Ontario. {Mcllwraith.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen bought with Holman collection, locality un- known. Three eggs procured from Mr. Raine. XXVIL HYDROCHELIDON Boie. 1822. '77. Black Tern. HydrochcHdou nigra surinamensis (Gmel.) Stejn. 1882. Accidental in New Brunswick ; three shot at Grand Manan August, 1879. {Boardman.) A few taken at Quebec. (Dio/inc) It is a common spring and autumn migrant in Ontario, but more common west of Toronto. Saunders and Morden report it breed- ing abundantly in St. Clair Flats and marshes. Its chief breeding- grounds, however, are the marshy districts of Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia, where every marsh has many or few nests, and westerly along the boundary to Waterton Lake and Lake Okana- gan. B.C. It extends northwesterly in diminishing numbers, and breeds in marshes. One nest was taken and reported by Dall at Fort Yukon, in Alaska. We have never noticed it in the moun- tains, but Fannin observed it on Burrard Inlet, Gulf of Georgia, in January, 1882, and also in the interior of mainland. Breeding Notes.— Abundant at Raeburn, Manitoba and at Buffalo Lake, Alberta. Specimens and eggs taken at both locali- ties. {Dippie.) Nests very small, floating upon the water among the grass in sloughs and marshes. Begins to breed about the mid- dle of June in Assiniboia ; usual number of eggs, three. On 56 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. June J5th, 1894, saw a number of their nests in a marshy lake near Crane Lake, Assa. The nest was a few pieces of rushes with a little grass mixed in to keep it from floating apart and letting the eggs fall through. Some of the nests were so small and so much sunken that the eggs were about one (juarter in the water. {Spnndborough.) I found it breeding at Long Lake and Shoal Lake in Manitoba. It also breeds plentifully at Swan Lake in northern Alberta. It is a late breeder, seldom having eggs before the middle of June. The nests are usually built on dead, floating rushes in shallow water and contain three eggs each. (Rainc^ This Tern is a summer resident in the St. Lawrence valley. In the County of Leeds, Ont., I first noticed it nrar Gananoque Lake in 1893, about six miles north of the St. Lawrence, where on the 7th July, I found a nest among the flags, containing three eggs on the point of hatching. Each year since I have found two or three nests in the same locality. The birds choose very wet, miry places to lay in. Two nests were found on old musk-rat houses, another on a log of wood in a pool far out in the marsh, others in equally swampy places. Three completes the set of eggs, which are usually laid between the 7th and 14th June. In the spring of 1894 these birds were very plentiful ; since that time not so much so. I noticed a number of them in the Bay of Quinte in July, 1896, and Dr. C. K. Clarke, of Kingston, tells me that a number of pai-s nested in Cataraqui marsh in 1897. {Rev. C.J. Young ^ This species breeds in all the large marshes that I have visited in Western Ontario, and nests on the dilapidated musk-rat houses and other debris, laying from two to four eggs. ( W. Satoidcrs.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. In our museum are three skins of this species. One of these was shot on the Ottawa in 1885, and another at Toronto the same year. The other specimen was taken at Indian Head, Assa., June 1892. There are seven eggs in the collection. Three were taken by Mr, J. B. Tyrrell on Lake St. Martin, Man., and the others were taken in a marshy lake near Crane Lake, Assa., on June 15th, 1894, by Spreadborough. CATALOOUR OK CANAniAN niRD3. 57 fB. White-Winged Black Tern. IlydrochiliiionleucopUra (Meissn. &ScHrNZ.) Boie. 1 8^2. Six specimens of this species, or rather what I believed to he this species, were seen for hours one morning aijout the last of August, 1881, flying over a lake on the western flank of Porcupine Mountains in northwestern Manitoba. One of the birds was shot, but owing to our difficulties at the time (we were hauling our boats over a height of land) it spoiled before it was skinned. On June 9th, 1896, I again had the good fortune to see a pair of these birds, which were evidently mated, but after watching them for an hour I could find no nest. They were circling around a small marshy pool across the road opposite to the entrance to the Experimental Farm at Brandon, Manitoba. I had no gun, and when I returned six weeks afterwards I saw no signs of terns around the pool. . I take the following from my note-book, written at the time. "To-day was again surprised by seeing a pair of Black Terns with the bends of both wings evidently quite white. I watched them for a long time and found them to be identical with those I saw by the pool at Stony Mountain on the 4th inst. When the bird rested and its wings closed it seemed to have a white collar around the black head. There was a marked contrast between the plumbeous back, the white collar and the black head." On June 4th I saw a number of specimens circling over a pool by the road- side not far from the hotel at Stony Mountain, 14 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The white was on the betid of both wings in all the birds seen. {Macoun. •• litl if* Family VI. RYNCHOPID^. Skimmer.s. XXVIII. RYNCHOPS Linn^cus. 1758. 80. Black Skimmer. , Rymhops tngra hi-^^. 1758. Accidental on the South Atlantic coast. A large flock seen in the Bay of Fund)-, 1879. {Boardmau) S! i 58 GEOLOG'CAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Oeder TUBINARES. Tube-nosed Swimmers. Family VII. DIOMEDEIDiE. Albatrosses. XXIX. DIOMEDEA Linn^us. 1758. 81. Black-footed Albatross. Diomedea nigripes Audubon. 1839. Off the coast of British Columbia to Lat. 51° N. {Nelson.) Common as far north as Lat. 52° N. in the open sea. A few reported 300 miles south of Unalaska. (Dr. Bean.) West coast of Vancouver Island. {Fannin.) Breeding Notes. — I have no doubt but that this bird breeds in some locality among the Aleutian Islands, for it is found there from the early part of May to late October. {Turner.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One taken about 100 miles northwest of the north end of Vancouver Island, B.C., July 1891, by Dr. G. M. Dawson. 82. Short-tailed Albatross. Diomedea albatrus Pall. 1769. From Lat. 50" N. in the North Pacific,this fine bird becomes more or less numerous and thence north replaces the preceding species; it is found throughout the Aleutian Islands and is numerous in Behring Sea and extends north to Behring Strait. {Nelson.) From Lat. 52° N., this species increases in numbers as we go north, but the mouth of Cook's Inlet and the Barren Islands seem to be its favorite resort. {Dr. Bean.) Tolerably common on both coasts of Vancouver Island, but more abundant on the west coast , have been taken in Victoria Harbour. {Fannin.') Mr. W. Spreadborough found one dead on the beach at Esquimault, Vancouver Island, June 4th, 1893. Breeding Notes.- -Turner believed that this species breeds in the neighbourhood of Cape Nevvenham, near Bristol Bay, Alaska, as he saw numbers of them there in June, flying and sitting on rocks. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 59 XXX. THALASSOGERON Ridgway. 1884. 83. Yellow-nosed Albatross. Thalassogeron culminattis (Gould) Ridgw. 1884. Accidental on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. One example taken at the River Moisie, Quebec, August 20th, 1885. This bird is now in the museum of Laval University in Quebec city. {Dionne:) Family VIIL PROCELLARIID^. Fulmars & Shearwaters. XXXL PULMARUS Stephens. 1826. 86. Fulmar. Fitlmarm glacialis (Linn.) Steph. 1826. Said to breed no further to the south in Greenland than lat 69 N., occurs also in East Greenland. {Arct. Man.) Apparently common in its migrations along the coast of Newfoundland. {Reeks.) Rare on the coast of Nova Scotia. {Doivns.) On the fishing-grounds off Grand Manan, N.B., in autumn. [Hernck.) museum specimens. Two taken on Resolution Island, Hudson Strait. 86rt. Lesser Fulmar. Ftdmarus glacialis minor (Kj^r. ) Bonap. i 856. One shot at Beauport, Quebec, in 1890. {Diomie.) 86i Mr' James McKvoy, of the Geological Survey, saw one on Kamloops Lake in October, 1894. and Dr. Dawson saw numbers in lakes in the Chilcotin country in June. 1878. These are the only records we have of its occurrence in British Columbia. Breeding NoxES.-Breeding on Lake Manitoba and Shoal Lake, Manitoba, and on Buffalo Lake, Alberta. {^Dippie ) On June i8th, 1894. 1 found a colony of these birds nesting on a sandy island in Shoal Lake. Manitoba. Nest, a hollow in the gravel containing two eggs c. ch. Dr. Shufeldt in his monograph on the Pelican, states the bird lays but one egg, but this is an error as far as my observation goes. {Raine.-) Richardson says they deposit their eggs on small rocky islands, and this accords with our own knowledge as in the cases mentioned above they were breeding on islnids. Their nests are merely depressions in the gravel or sand, generally lined with an algoid matting that is often ound blown up on the shore. Eggs, one to three, very much like that of the Canada Goose, but the surface of the shell is rougher. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen taken on Lake Winnipeg, July, 1884, by Mr. Ihomas Weston. Four eggs of this species taken on a small island at the western end of Lake Winnipegoosis, Manitoba bv Mr.J. B.Tyrrell, in June, 1889. ' ^ 126. Brown Pelican. Pelecamis fuscus Linn. 1766. On the 3iy^ Ma), 1885, a Brown Pelican was seen to alight on a salt water marsh at River John, Pictou Co., Nova Scotia, where 'i tft 70 GEOLOCilCAI, SURVEY OF CANADA. it was approached without much difficulty and killed. Upon examination the body was found to be emaciated and the pouch entirely empty. This specimen is now in the Museum of I'ictou Academy. On the first of June, if'03, an adult male of the same species was shot on Pictou Island by Mr. J. \V. Ho^fg. A third specimen was shot by the same gentleman on May isth, 1895, ** the east end of Pictou Island. MUSEUM SPECIMEN. The third specimen mentioned above is now in the museum of the Geological Survey. m 127. California Brown Pelican. Pelecanus californicus Ridgw. 1884. I was informed by a close observer that a Krown Pelican frequented SumasLake, P>aserValley,H.C.,forsome time. {Brooks.) Not common ; one taken at the mouth of Fraser River by Mr. J. C. Hughes in November, 1880. Since then one was killed near Race Rocks, and in September of the following year, I shot and wounded one on the flats above Seymour Creek, Burrard Inlet, B.C., but failed to secure it. {Famdn.) Family XIII. PREGATID.ffi. Man-O'-VVak Birds. XLII. PREGATA Brisson. 1760. 128. Man O' War Bird. Fregata aqttila (Linn.) Reich. 1852. Accidental on the coast of Nova Scotia and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. One shot at Cole's Harbour, Nova Scotia, after a southerly gale. {Downs.) One shot at Godbout on the St. Lawrence by M. Comeau in 1884. {Dionnc-) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One egg of this species taken in Yucatan, Central America, April loth, iSqo. CATALOfiUK OF CANADIAN BJKUS. ^f OiiDEH ANSERKS. Lamellirostral Swimmers. Famii.vXIV. ANATID^. Ducks. Geese and Swans. Xr.III. MEEGANSER HurssoN. i;6o. 1^9. American Merganser. Goosander. Merganser amcricanus (Cass.) Stejn. 1885. This species breeds in New Hrunswick {Chombcrlai„\ in New- foundland KRccks), in Labrador {Low), Prince Edward Island and Sable Island {Macau,,), and is a common summer resident in Quebec and Ontario. Breeds in the northern part of Manitoba and northwesterly to the I arren Grounds. {Marfarlanc.) Nelson and Turner report . as only a visitor in Alaska, but both Brooks and Fannin report Jt breeduig m British Columbia and wintering abundantly on Ukanagan Lake. Found breeding at Canmore and Banff, Rocky Mountams, May, 1891, and at Jasper Lake, Alberta, in 1898. Breeding NoTRs.-Mr. A. P. Low found it breeding on the shores of small lakes in Labrador ; eggs were taken with the bird from under small spruces on the upper part of the Hamilton River, in the summer of 1896. Fairly common in Alberta, downy young killed June 24th. 1896, at the forks of Blindman River and the Red Deer. {Dippk.) This is a summer resident at Norway Lake, Renfrew Co. Ont • although I never obtained the nest. I have seen the bird, how- ever, fly into a cavity in a pine tree about forty feet from the ground. I have learned that a pair bred every year in the bole of a decayed pine tree on an island in Bolis Lake. Frontenac Co Ont. have reason to believe that this species prefers in Ontario inland lakes bordered by woods and not large expanses of open water. {Rev. C.J. Voting.) ^ MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken by Mr. S. Herring in Toronto marsh and another in the harbour of Victoria, B.C., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Mr. A P. Low took a nest of this species from under low- spreading spruce trees on the Upper Hamilton River, Labrador in June, 1894. The eggs are in the Museum. li' t ':A 72 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 130. Red-breasted Merganser. Merganser serra/or (Linn.) Schaff. 1789. This species breeds in Greenland and across the whole of the wooded region from Newfoundland to the Aleutian Islands. It does not breed in the prairie region, but prefers the clear lakes and streams of the north. Not very common in British Columbia, but breeds in suitable places; breeding at Deer Park and Pass Creek, Columbia River, B.C., June, 1890. {Macou/i.) Winters on Okanagan Lake, B.C. {Brooks.) Breeding Notes. — Nests on rivers and lakes. Breeding at Buffalo Lake, Alberta, also at Lake Manitoba, 1896. (Dippic.) Breeds at Shoal Lake and Lake Manitoba. {Raine.) On an island in the Yukon Delta, Dall found six nests of this bird. They were all carefully concealed under dead leaves, and were generally sheltered by a log of driftwood, in a small hollow, lined with down from the parent's breast. They contained from six to ten rich cream-coloured eggs. On the Alaskan coast they breed everjwhere in suitable places from Sitka north to Icy Caoe, and perhaps to Point Barrow. The first eggs are laid early in June, and the site for the nest, on the marshes, is ordinarily the same as that chosen by other species of ducks with the usual foresight as to concealment and proximity to a pond. {Nelson.) This species used to breed frequently among the Thousand Islands, River St. Lawrence. Only a few pairs now remain to do so, the majority going east and north. In June, 1893, I saw a flock of upwards of twenty about fourteen miles above Brock- ville ; of course, all adults. In the following year, in the last week in June, I saw a flock of about the same number at the "The Ducks," Lake Ontario. I have met with the nest twice at the east end of Lake Ontario, on islands, on the 27th June, 1896, and on the 30th June the same year. On the first occasion I had landed on a rocky island, and while passing some cedars a Mer- ganser flew from underneath. I concluded there was a nest and by searching soon found it, containing six eggs. This nest was well hidden away among thick branches of cedar, and was found in a depression of the rock, it was made of dried grass and well lined with down of the bird. Incubation had commenced seven or eight days. The other nest was in a somewhat similar posi- CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 7, tion, well concealed in a dry place among the rocks, perhaps ten SjaTtVefirr^^^^ *^" ^^^^' ^^ ^ ^ P- I ands .-I f 'P'"'' '' ""''y "°'"'"°" °" the Magdalen islands in summer. I saw numbers of them in Tune 1807 nnH obtained fresh eggs on the 3.nd of that mo th^xky' 'elect there an island or dry spot around the brackish pools at the no h east point of the island and the eggs were deposited in p eds ,y the same way as tnose found on Lake Ontario. (Hev. C.J. VoJ^ anl^felttt'^Tlf"'' °' '''^ ^"^^' "^^"^'>' ^'-^ -'th down buff colour F "^^'' ""' ""' "°''' ^" ""'"^^^' -^ °f - -eamy buff colour. From a nest situated at the Lake of the Woods ten young were successfully hatched on the 20th June 1807 th" young birds were as large as a quail. (G. R. IV/ni] Several nests of this, not particularly numerous Mer^an-'er were obtained in the vicinity of Fort Anderson, and alsoTn "he wooded parts on both sides of the river, north ;nd south oi the post. One was found on the borders of the " Barrens " to he east under a fallen tree, close to a small lake. It was a ;coop d Ten wtV '"''"'' '^'^'^" ^"' ^°^" -^ contamedSeggs Ten was the maximum number taken in a nest. (Mac/ar/am) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. bv M"r' w7 '" ^r°"'\"''''^ ^y ^'- ^- "^'•"■"g -"d two others 35' h isjo 'Mr ITT '":^^?-^--t Victoria, B.C.. January ,i u T" r ■ ^^'''^ t°°^^' ^^veral nests of this species on t: Lt: Mir ' "^" '" "-'-'- - j-- ■«- "-/- XLIV. LOPHODYTES Reichenbach. 1852. 131. Hooded Merganser. Lophodytes cuadlatus (Linn.) Reich. 1852. thJAn'^''''' '' 'T'^^^ "' ^ 'P""^ ^"^ ^"tumn migrant along the Atlantic coast from New Brunswick to Labrador as well a! anv^o7 th!."^' ''"'^'" '^'^ '^^^ "^ ^^^^'-^^ °f 'ts breeding n any of these provinces, except that an Ottawa writer says ft is "known to breed ;'• and Mr. Elliott, of Plover Mills, Middlesex Tune ?88oTh' Tl "7"^' ^'" °"^ "^ ^'^^^ ^^^^^^ °" ^he 28th June, 1889, and alighted on Plover Pond, and from this fact believes it breeds in southwestern Ontario. Bv f J ^ 1 ii .vJttW«ivo other^ that «re kiHedl't "I 'r" ^ '*'='"- years, residence. I. .as never in pair'sl':;f e:::d".t he"™^:;: I s\ I'M 80 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. visitor only. As it has never been seen to the north I am in- clined to believe that it breeds on some secluded island of the Aleutian Islands. {Nelson.) 137. American Widgeon. Baldpate. Mareca americana (Gmel.) Stephens. 1824. Reported as a common migrant in Newfoundland {Reeks) and southern Labrador. {Packard.) Rare migrant in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec ; extending its range to Moose River, where one was observed by Spreadborough in June, 1896, and the south shore of Hudson Bay at Fort Churchill. It is rather more common in Ontario, but only as a migrant. This is a late duck to arrive in the prairie region, and yet, according to Richardson, it breeds abundantly as far north as Lat. 68". It breeds abundantly in the marshes of the southern part of the prairie region, and is still more abundant to the north. It is a common species in Manitoba, and northwesterly. One pair was found breeding at Banff, Rocky Mountains, in May, 1894. Fannin and Brooks report it common in the Fraser valley and interior of British Columbia, while Nelson and Turner say that it is a comparatively rare-breeding duck in Alaska, though it breeds as far north as Kotzebue Sound, according to Nelson. From the species coming late to Manitoba and yet breeding as far north as Lat. 68°, I am led to believe that the race which breeds in Manitoba is different from that which is found in northern Alaska and the Barren Grounds, and that the latter race has its winter home on the Pacific side of the continent. Breeding Notes. — Breeding in the vicinity of Lake Manitoba, 1896. {Dippie.) This species also breeds throughout Manitoba and Assiniboia. The eggs are similar to the Gadwell, but average smaller in size. I have a clutch of ten eggs in my collection which I took at Shoal Lake, Manitoba, June i8th, 1894. {Raine.) A few reached Edmonton, Alberta, by April 17th, 1897, but not until May 5th were they common. On June 1st found a nest contain- ing eleven eggs in a clump of willows about a quarter of a mile fiom water. The nest was of the usual character, and, like all other ducks' nests, was lined with down. {Spreadborough.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 8i at Edmonton* Alberta t„°\t'T Tl°' ""'' """''■ '»!<=" A.SO other e«3 .al-^''- XLIX. NETTIONKaup. 1829. 138. European Teal. Nettion crecca Linn.) Kaup. 1829. a^stt b:::ti,,:d rD^"".^ r ^'^^. ^°"^'"'-- ^ ^- ex. Obtained a fe.aTe in Lab;"adt;^'r3:f;8l^^^^ Atka Island j'ne 28 h 187I rV'^"'" '^'^ ^^^^"-^ ^^ "- at observed. [TurL) ^^^ ^'' ''^^ °"'>' ^Pe^'"'^" ^ ever 139, Green-Winged Teal. Neitio,i carolinensis (Gmel.) Baird. 1858. fcn,a,es have been taien in^re* „,td '^C, ".f i '"' '" mer resident on the coist nf T -,k a ^^^"f^-' ^t is a sum- New Brunswick, but see L to be '• \" ^^-^-"dland and been taken at York R^^ror/ „d cWhiH^St^''^^^' ' '^^ Quebec, butthoughmoderatelvrL I; ^ ""^^ '^''eed in to breed there. "^"^""^^^^'^ '^^'^"^on ,n Ontario is not known From Manitoba to the Pacific Coa«;t fh.-c u- a ■ breeds in greater or lesser abundance LmLa^^^^^^^ toTh""; ^"' Banff, in ^a„ ^891 r:;'d"l;^Tatel ^e S^^^^^^ ^^^T " 1898. Itseemstopreferthevalley of theM.r-L .'■''' •^""^' ern range, as it is known to be a e to the f'," !°'' ''' "°^*h- and Macfarlane says that it is the ra.e ^of theT 1' '''' "^"^^'' Fort Anderson. Its centre JZ a •^'"eedrng ducks at in the territories. abundance ,s from Lat. 50° to 56° 6 82 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANAOA. ■'t a. Breeding Notes. -Riccding in suitable places throughout the northwest. {Dippie.) Breeds throughout Manitoba and Assiniboia. I found a nest containing eggs at Crane Lake, Assiboinia, June 5th, 1893. It is not so plentiful as the Blue-winged Teal. {Raine.) Dall notes this species as one of the first arrivals on the Yukon in spring, and one of the first to lay its eggs. One set of eggs was taken from a nest of dry grass in a sedge tussock, on May 20th, at Nulato. {Nelson) This species waj breeding in great numbers in willow thickets and sparsely wooded ground around Edmonton, Alberta, in the spring of 1897. The nests were hard to find as they were far away from water. The first arrivals were about April 17th and by the 24th these birds were common. On May 25th found a nest in a clump of willows about a quarter of a mile from water. Nest made of grass lined with down. It contained nine eggs, quite fresh. Another nest of the same character was found under a log, on June ist, about 150 yards from water. This nest contained seven fresh eggs. {Spreadborongh^ MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens, one taken at Toronto, by Mr. S. Herring, in 1886; and apairtakenbySpreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., in 1892. Of eggs, we have two sets of seven and nine respectively, taken at Edmonton, i^iberta, in the spring of 1897, by Spreadborough. L. QUERQUEDULA.. Stephens. 1824. 140. Blue-winged Teal. Qucrquedula discors (Linn.) Stephens. 1824. This is a rare bird in Newfoundland and in Nova Scotia, except in the autumn migrations. Chamberlain says it is a common summer resident near St. John, New Brunswick. It seems to be moderately common in Quebec and Ontario during the migra- tions, and a few pairs are reported still to breed on the St. Clair Flats. Wintle says a few may probably breed near Montreal. Thompson says it is very abundant in Manitoba, and our own observations show that it is so westward as well, but it becomes CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. §3 but not extending north ,.f 1 at ,1° p . V "^^^'^atchew.n, side of Great Slave Lak NHso ..d ?::. I'f '^ *'^ ^^^'''^ .n Alaska, and Fat. - s., "s a j; '' T J' ''''^ '"'" Columbia. Brooks ,« h \ ^ '^''' ''"'^ '" ^r'^'sh JJIUIJK.S I His, noWeVfT thaf if 'ta ^ _ resident in the Lower Fraser vaHey """°" '''"'"'^' On May ,oth found 1 nes Lff ' '>'^\^°™n>on by May 2nd. th. Green'vinged Teal ;. con °"' 7"' f"'" """'^ '*« "">' "f she ro.e fro™ 4e „e . / "Xwrr a" ' "''' ""•'' """ ^ mains ,o breed in the St. LjeZ7"fnl buHh "'''"'"""'"y - pass to the north The n,.,t I ,. k 1 ^' ^"^ S^^'er number and one is recorded from ' uT'' '■•' '^'"''"''1''= Lake, Inland, Lake Ontaro (A " cTV "'^'^ ?'' ^"^ of Amher.; was taken Jn„e t^.h ,8 6 at Bu^nt C^'n L^k"^''",'' T^^'" Jn a hollow in a tuft of PrnU Im. i ? / ^ ' ^'berta. It was twenty yards from^d'^^:^: ."rt^Se'dr^r"' '""" nowm the Museum at Ottawa. taZl) T^f twelve eggs, species breed in the marshes at lZ S r. P^"' °' *''= been taken a. Rondeau, Lak" Erit.'t'K W,.'.""" '"= ^''° MUSEUM SPECIMENS r^:^^:Z::':^r^.^S:;^-: -- « Toronto, on.. One set of twelve eggs, obtained from Mr. Dippie. 141. Cinnamon Teal. Qucrqucdula cyanoptcra {Vimi.1..) Cassin. 1855. A vciy rare straggler in Manitoba, onlv a feu. =,.. • havmg been taken in fifteen years rcsid;nce. '(A ^ /^r;^"' BrUrcUmbt"' '^°°'^ '^' ''^ '- regular summer visitor in Only two specimens came under our notice on fh. Thes^e^were m southwestern Alberta. nearThe moltlt.'"'^'"' P w •n^ ^'^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) fe> // A fe & ^ 1.0 [fi I.I 1.25 50 LS6 1^ If m " us ■ 40 25 20 1.8 1.4 - 6' 1.6 & .V /2 m "^ ■cj. ^> ^j- m I %:4\^ r# '*? #^ PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation m WA, •SS 4: fq\ <^ <^ ^ » quite close .0 Point BfrrotonTht Arc'tfctea'C ' '"^"'"^ says they congregate in great flocks in some localities on ,h- coasc ,n winter, but more especially on the Lower Frter €ggs each are in my collection taken at Rush Lake, Assiniboia, 86 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. May 25th and 28th, 1893. Both nests were in hollows in the grass, were lined with down, and found near water. {Raitie.) This is about the first water-fowl to commence nesting. The date when the first eggs are laid varies from May i8th to 25th, according to the season. The eggs are placed in a depression on some tussock or among the grass and other vegetation beside a pool, usually where it is pretty well concealed. The eggs num- ber from six to twelve in a set. They are rather small, and usually pale olive-green when fresh. The nest is lined with grass- stems and feathers. When the young are hatched the parent leads them to the adjacent pool, and they keep in the most secluded parts of the marsh until able to take wing. {Nelson.) Breeding in some numbers at Edmonton, Alberta, although no nests were taken ; two nests of this species were taken at Twelve- mile Lake, near Wood Mountain, Assa., on June 5th, 1895; the nest in one case was made of the dried stems of Eleocharis palustris and lined with down. It contained ten eggs almost fresh. Another was taken amongst some sage-brush a little distance from the water. This nest held seven fresh eggs. A few nests of this species were taken on an island in Cypress Lake, south of the Cypress Hills, June 29th, 1895 ; the nests were in clumps of rye-grass {Elymus condensatus), and one female was shot as she rose from the nest. {Spreadborough) This species breeds at St. Clair Flats and in fewer numbers at Rondeau, Lake Erie. {W. Saunders.) Quite abundant in the " Barrens." The nest was usually a small cavity or depression in the ground, lined with down, withered leaves, and a few feathers. It lays from six to eight eggs. It deserts the nest immediately the eggs are hatched and young and old take to the water. {Macfarlane.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Four specimens taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring, and at Kamloops, British Columbia, by Spreadborough. One fine set of eleven eggs taken at Twelve-mile Lake, Assa.^ and others taken at Rush Lake, Assa., by Mr. Raine. LIII. AIX BoiE. 1828. 144. Wood Duck. Aix sponsa (Linn.) Bonap. 1838. Rare. A few breed in Nova Scotia. {Dowiis.) A rare summer resident. Breeds in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain^ Stearns reports CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 87 •t as common mthe interior of Labrador, but none of our explorers have ever .een a specimen there. Wintle says not many breed young birds. Summer resident around Ottawa, and breeds in Dows Swamp, close to the city. Breeds in uitable places throughout southern Ontario. That it occurs, perhaps in abunH ance in northwestern Ontario is indicated h^ZoclZtr.t numbers in eastern Manitoba and along the shores of Lake Win- nipeg. Thompson shows that it occurs as far west as Carber v oTLarw"" """ ""^ °' ^'""'P^^' -^ '^ has bee s 7n on^ Lake Winnipegoosis, and shot at Cumberland House, in Lat. We have never observed this species on the prairie or in the fZI^ . Lower Fraser, at Agassiz. we found it breeding Fraser ariuml ''cut^'T '"' '"^^'""^ ^^°"^ ^^e Lowe' sa^^ that an Th'k .''•'' T^ ^""""^^y ^'^' ' ^"^ Brooks sajs that an odd bird or two often remains all winrer. This is another species that has an eastern and a western race that are not known to interbreed. wcMern race Breeding NoxEs.-For seven.: years a pair used to breed in a soft-map e stub, about twenty feet from the ground, on the blnk d s'crb .T: ^J^^^^^'^^^' ^"t- I never saw the n;st"so cannot describe It. but have seen the old bird carry her young to "he water in her bill. (5/WW.^/.) This species builds^'n hJles in trees and places where large branches have broken away. The nes ,s composed of dry grass and feathers. The eggs-six to twelve or more^are something between a buff and a pale green in colour. When the nest is built on a broken bran h T is composed of dry sticks, grass and feathers. About the first of May IS the time when they begin to lay at Ottawa, Ont. (G. R. WhS) itt ferrr^^f^'^ '''' '^"'^°"^ '"^' ^^^^ ^^^^ — - "'thi enr. ^ T L '" ""^"^ ^'^^^^ '^^^ «•"" '"^^ ^he St. Law- bids !"f^^^^^"?^ l°f^l't'es now (1898) I scarcely see any birds. A few pairs breed every year at Escott Pond and else- where in the County of Leeds, and I have seen young bird .n June, though I have never seen the nest. ^rI. CJY^';. Regularly distributed throughout western Ontario. Breeds alof g marshes and rivers. {W. Saunders.-) ^ (11 88 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens ; one taken at Ottawa, another at Toronto, and the third— a fine male— at Agassiz, B.C., May 15th, 1889, by Spreadborough. LIV. AYTHYA Boie. 1822. 146. Red-head. Pochard. Aythya americana (Eyt.) Baird. 1858. Rare migrant in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and also rare on the coast of Labrador, none seen in the interior. Rather common in the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, and, according to Mcliwraith, often abundant in Ontario during the migrations. Saunders reports them breeding in the large marshes at Lake St. Clair. This species is very common in Manitoba and in the marshes to the north and west. It is found in more or less abundance all through the prairie region but is more common as we approach the large weedy marshes north of Lat. 51°. This and the next species are so much alike that they are easily mistaken for one another. Our experience, however, is that this duck is more southerly and easterly in its distribution than the Canvas-back. It is a winter resident on the coast of British Columbia, and both Streator and Fannin report it breeding in small numbers around small lakes in the interior. It has not been reported from Alaska. Breeding Notes. — Breeding everywhere I have been through- out the northwest. {Dippie.) The writer has never found the nest of this species anywhere but among the reeds on the margins of sloughs. The nests are bulky, being made of reeds and grass lined with down. Breeds throughout Manitoba, Assiniboia and Alberta, and makes its nest in shallow water. It is a remarkable fact that the Red-head and Canvas-back often lay their eggs in one nest. I have never seen this statement recorded in any ornithological work. This was first brought to my notice on June i8th, 1891, when I found a nest at Long Lake containing eight eggs of the Canvas-back and four of the Red-head. There was consider- able difference in the eggs of the two birds. The eggs of the Canvas-back were larger than those of the Red-head and of a CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 89 thfp H V ; '"^ °^ '^^ "'""' ""'^y &^««"' ^hile the four eggs of ^.ff^ ; .'"^ """' ''"'"'^ *^^" *^°^ °^ t»^^ °therand were of a buff-drab tmt and very glossy. There was not the Zh^est doubt about the eggs being laid by both species. Since hfn mv colectors have frequently found nests containing egg of Z ^« . t S^ '"^ ^'^-^'"^ ^" ^he same nest. On May 20th 897, Mr Ba.nes found a nest at Crescent Lake. Manifoba con tammg nme eggs of the Canvas-back and seven o the Red heaS The nest was built in rushes in shallow water. (7?^.^ 7 A vert common m.grant in western Ontario. Some breed n thf llr'e marshes, especially at St. Clair Flats. (IV. Saunders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Four; one taken in Toronto marsh, two at Indian Head Assa and the other at Edmonton. Alberta. Several sets of eggs' ten the collection, taken at Indian Head and Crane Lake, Ifsa. 147. Canvas-back Duck. Aythya vallistieria (Wils.) Boie. 1826. tif^Hn 0.'f if"' '" ^°'' ^'°*'' '"^ ^^-^ Brunswick ; more plen- tiful in Quebec, and increasingly so in Ontario hefdin "m *^;V^''!f ^^'''^^ '" *^^ ^^"^^ P°"d« ^ith the Red- head in Manitoba and Assiniboia. it is rare in eastern Manitoba but becomes more common as one passes to the we"t west of the iioth Meridian it almost supersedes the Rld:h;ad A tht'stcTe' °" ''^ Saskatchewan, in 1897. Spreadbotugh foutd this spec.es very common, and the Red-head rare and late in Edmon't'' " :ff ^c'°""' '' '^^^^'"^ '" small lakes b ween Edmonton and Lake Ste. Anne, Alta. Macfarlane and Ross record it on Great Slave Lake and th. former says a few sets of eggs were taken near Fort Anderson in the Barren Grounds. Dall found it breeding at Fo^ Yukon n evMtnce"ofTon';"'^"";*'°"^' ^^^^°" '^^^ '^ "^^^rt^^V evidence of it on the west coast. Spreadborough, Brooks and Fannm a 1 mention that it is plentiful in winter fround Vi toria and a the mouth of the Fraser. and Fannin says it breeds"n Okanagr ^"'^' ^^'"'"''^ '' ^^^^^^ ->'^ '* winters on Lai!: Late IndTn'^r 'p' """V '" '""^'"^^ ""■"^^''^ °" Cesser Slave Lake and in the Peace River country, he is satisfied that it breeds 90 r.EOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. from Indian Head northwesterly to Fort Yukon in Alaska. The country northwest of Edmonton suits it well, as there are many marshes full of Scirpus lacustris and tall grasses, among which it likes to breed. Breeding Notes. — Fairly common at Reaburn, in Manitoba, and at Buffalo Lake, Alberta. In both places eggs and birds were procured. {Dipfne.) Nests are always in the reeds growing in the water ; they are very bulky, and made of grass and reeds lined with down. A nest of this species was found on a musk- rat house in a marsh at Crane Lake, June 15th, 1894. It contained seven eggs. {Spreadboroiigh.) I have found this species breeding at Long Lake and Shoal Lake in Manitoba, and at Crane Lake in Assiniboia. It breeds also throughout Alberta. The only othei species of ducks' eggs they can be compared with are the American and Barrow's Golden-eye, which they greatly resemble, both in regard to size and tint. The Canvas-back is a late breeder, nesting toward the latter part of June. I found a nest containing seven eggs at Long Lake, Manitoba, June 29th, 1893. The nest was built, as usual, in the centre of a tuft of rushes in shallow water, as this duck seldom nests in the grass like the Pintail, Shoveller, and Teal. (Jiaine.) Scaups, Canvas-backs and Red-heads undoubtedly breed in the same marshes, and with them the Ruddy Duck. In the marshes at Crane Lake, between June 12th and 20th, the writer found nests of all four species, with eggs of one or two other species in them. The bulky nest mentioned under the Greater Scaup was likely built by a Canvas-back, but the larger number of the eggs were those of a Scaup. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens. One female and two males. One -was shot in Toronto marsh ; one at Edmonton, Alberta, and the other in Victoria Harbour, Vancouver Island, the last two by Spread- borough. Three sets of eggs, taken at Edmonton, Alberta, in the spring of 1897. 148. American Scaup Duck. Big Black-head. Aythyamarila (Linn.) Boie. 1822. A very rare straggler in Newfoundland ; rare migrant in Nova Scotia, and occasionally taken in New Brunswick. Spreadborough CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. a. iT'ou-/'"' °" J^"^- «-y -"d in the interior of Labrador in 1896. Quite .common m Quebec, and abundant in southwcster., Saunders to breed on the St. Clair Flats ; not rare in the St Law rence valley in the spring and autumn. ^' A few breed at Lake Winnipeg (Gum), and the writer found them breedmg on Lake Winnipegoosis. but evidently the g Lte' number go north, and doubtless breed around the lar J ill north of Lake Winnipeg. It is a common duck in A a^ki and tt"eVtfr:;\?^'^"'^" chain.and,according to Turn^rt aTns ofiVrnffp ••^^'^^"^'" British Columbia ; breeds chiefly east of the Coast Range ; wmters on the coast. (Fanmn) Tolerablv O^nT^an^BC ^.r/^- -"^y- and ^.nteriig If La ^ Ukanagan, h.C Brooh.) Breeding in small lakes between Edmonton and Lake Ste. Anne. June. 1898. (Sprea^^orou^/,) l4tt'^LT%^°^^'-~ u^^' ^''^" '' ^"ff^^« Lake. Alberta, June 14th, 1896. Seems to breed in most localities. (Dip/nc ) Nest always near water ; it is a shallow hole in the ground Hned with grass and down. (Spreadborough.) una, imed with oth^eTduck's'h^'T "°^*^"^«^^- Canada, but is rarer than most mth ,«nT : P I t"^, '"°''' commonly further north. On June loth. 1891, at Rush Lake. Assiniboia. I found a nest containing n.ne eggs budt on the ground amongst grass, near water Thf eggs are d.stmguished by their large size Ld drab tint (iei'j the''8th'or''ioth"M"' T^ ''"'°" ^^''^ '""'^ ^^^'^ ^^^ ^^out the 8th or loth May. The nestmg sites chosen are such as the knoll close to some pond ; the only difference being that this spec.es appears to desire a position nearer to the water and the nest ,s frequently at the point of some small jutting cape nest Th^ "''"/'^^ ^^ P^^^"' ^^" -- '- -d from t'he exceed eight in number. The nest is composed of drv ffrass- plucked from he parent s breast. The first week in June is the not laid until nearly a month later. (Nelsoti.) 92 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. On the Magdalen Islands in June, 1897, I met with this species at East Cape, Grosse Isle, breeding, and secured its eggs. A few pairs breed on the small, boggy islands in the large ponds, not far from the sand -banks that separate these ponds from the sea. The eggs are about the size of those of the Merganser, but are more of a buff colour, and their peculiar shape, which is almost invariable, best distinguishes them. They are not laid until late in June. A correspondent wrote me about two nests he found in July, after I left the islands, as follows :— " I found a Blue-bill's nest in a strange place, after you left me. It was in a bunch of rushes at the head of the bay, growing in water that took me up to my middle to reach them. There were two nests, one with two and the other with five eggs. The two were fresh and the others badly incubated." {Rev. C.J. Youtig.) A very common migrant. A few pairs breed at St. Clair Flats. {W. Saunders.) Both the Greater and Lesser Scaups breed at Crane Lake and in and near the adjoining marshes. On June isth, 1894, the writer found a nest of this species, containing ten eggs, it was in a hole in the ground and lined with feathers and grass. Three days later another nest of eleven eggs was taken under the same conditions. In a marsh on the 14th a large nest containing eleven eggs was found among rushes {^Scirptis lacustris) ; nine of these belonged to the Scaup, and two larger and quite blue eggs were referred to the Canvas-back. Passing out of the rushes I flushed another Scaup out of the grass and found a nest made of dried grass and lined on the sides with down. This nest contained twelve eggs, and still another had twenty-one fresh eggs, evidently of three species— Lesser Scaup, Red-head and Ruddy Duck. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One male, taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring. One set of six eggs, taken on James Bay, near Whale River, June i6th, 1896, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. 149. Lesser Scaup Duck. Blue-bill. Aythyaaffinis (Eyt.) Stejn. 1885. A pair was shot in June on Inosusulik, an islet about ten miles from Egedesminde ; it may breed in Greenland. {Arct. Man) A male and a female taken in Greenland in 1872 and a female in CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 93 1891. (IVye.) Breeds in large numbers on Nottingham Island m Hudson Stra.t ; and at Churchill and York Factory. Hudson nay. (JJk R.Bell.) A rare summer migrant in Nova Scotia Once captured a brood of young ones on Grand Lake. (Doivtis ) In New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, this is only a migrani, and I strongly suspect that some of the breeding stations mentioned above are those of the Greater Scaup, which is certainly a more eastern bird than this species. It is one of the commonest ducks in the praine region and northward to the very edge of the Bar- ren Grounds It breeds in all the ponds and by the little lakes from Lat. 49' to the Arctic Circle and beyond. Nelson says this IS a very rare straggler in Alaska. Fannin and Brooks report it tolerably common in British Columbia. The latter savs it winters on Lake Okanagan, B.C. Breeding NoxES.-This species was first seen at Deep Lake Indian Head. Assa., on April i6th. 1892, at which time eight indi- viduals were observed ; they very shortly after came in great numbers, and a pair shot had their stomachs full of water-insects which are very abundant in the lake. On Tune 23rd found a nest containing nine eggs. The nest was in the middle of a " slough " in a mass of last year's rushes {Scirpus lacustns), lined with down from the bird s own breast. {Spreadborough.) Three sets of eggs taken at Burnt Lake, Alberta, June 14th and 15th, 1896; breeds also in Manitoba, but nowhere common. {Dippie.) More numerous than the preceding species, breeding through- out northwestern Canada. In Assiniboia it usually nests on fhe small islands in the lakes. On June 15th, 1893, I found three nests on a small island where a colony of Avocets was nesting The nests were built on the grass in hollows, lined with down. The eggs, ike the preceding species, are dark drab, but of course much smaller in size. (Raine.) Over a dozen nests of this species were secured, They were usually found in the midst of a swamp, a mere hole or depression in he centre of a tuft of turf or tussock of grass, lined with more or less down, feathers and hay. Nine was the general number of eggs in a nest, though a few contained not more than six or seven {MacfarlatieJ) On the 29th June, 1895, this species was found breeding in com- pany with the Pintail and Gadwell on an island in Cypress Lake, f» I" 94 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OK CANADA. on the south side of Cypress Hills, Assa. Of three sets taken, two contained eight and one nine crrs. MUSKUM SPECIMENS, We have ten fine specimens of this species taken in various places. One was shot in Toronto marsh ; five were taken at Indian Head, Assa. ; one at Edmonton, Alberta ; two at Kicking Horse Lake, Rocky Mountains, and one at Kamloops, British Columbia. A number of sets of eggs of this species are in the collection taken at Crane Lake, in June, 1894, and at Cypress Lake, Assa., on June 29th, 1895. 160. Ring-necked Duok. Aythya collaris (Donov.) Ridgvv. 1885. Reported to be rare in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It becomes more common in Quebec and still more so in southwestern Ontario. It seems to be only a migrant in all the eastern provinces. Manitoba and the ponds, lakes and marshes to the north of it seem to be its summer home. We have never observed it in the prairie regions and only know of one breeding haunt— the marshes around Waterhen Lake, Manitoba. Owing to its eastern migration I believe it to breed in great numbers both north and east of Lake Winnipeg. Ross has noticed it occa- sionally as far north on the Mackenzie as Lat. 62° 30'. Turner says this bird is not common in the vicinity of St. Michael. In this locality he never found nest or eggs, but it undoubtedly breeds there. It is rarely seen about the Aleutian Islands. Common in the valley of the Lower Fraser. None of the Red- heads, Canvas-backs or Scaup Ducks were ever found breeding by me in the Fraser valley. This species winters on Lake Okan- agan, B.C. {Brooks) Breeding Notes. — Rarer than either of the preceding species. On June 19th, 1891, I found a nest containing nine eggs at Long Lake, Manitoba. The nest was made of sedges and lined with grasses, feathers and down, a basket-shaped structure, built in the centre of a tussock of rushes. The eggs are olive-gray with a buffy tinge and are very similar to eggs of the Scaup Duck in size and colour. (Raine.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN HIKDS. g. MUSEUM ;..i£CIMEN. One specimen bought with the Holmnn collection. I^V. CLANOULA Leach. 1819. 181. American Golden-eye. Whistle-. Chfigula clangi4la ammcatia Fa.xon. 1896. An abundant winter re.sicl.„t on the Atlantic coast Often breecl.nfj in trees in Newfoundland. (Rech ) Seen ZVu ^ River and Ja.es I^, in J.ne. .897 ; ^f!:: se^ir th Z^Z 7 u r. ' "''^-'^«" ^^y ; seen passing north of Lake M.\ QTeb:cftf:/co^''^^^"^ 3rd.r8l5. In O^^^, naTt^f '^"f"" '•;t«''^':fbly common in Manitoba and in the wooded part of eastern Assm.boia, where it breeds, and northerly TNor r^B r^^^it^:'. ^' Lake Winnipeg, whe. it wasf'oul d y'^D ! the mout^o ;'^/w ,' "^ ^'"'^ breeding-ground is toward ChlrcTirriv: s.' As' te1n"i;.fl^"t/'^^ ''^' '^^•'^°" ^"^ found :generally breeding vtee'hs trel ^r "'■^' ' T'"- '^ coast I the ^^ck^nt^-^tef ;.^:- Z^ ;: ^ ^'° ^^^ ^^^'^ co™^f lUT";!^'"^' ''^^^" ^'^^ --t-n and northern coasts ot Alaska. In four years I saw only four birds It i<, n ommon duck m the interior, and reaches the'^n.outh of the Y .kon n the breed.ng season. ^Nciso,,) It winters on the west "oas^ from Unalaska {Tumer) to the Fraser River and T .L n? where it is abundant. {Brooks.) "'"' ^'^"'^ ^"^ ^ake Okanagan, Breeding NoxEs.-Fairly common in Manitoba and Alberta Downyyoung shot at Reaburn, Manitoba, July 4th ,8qT ?ni,2\ In June, 1892, at Deep Lake Indian F=.H A • " ^^'^^^•) *u: • ^ ^aft.c, iiiuian r-ead, Assa., various npete nf this specie.- were taken in hollow trees On/ZT ? hollow Cottonwood, about fifteen feet fron, .h '".'' '" ' another in a hollow elm tree,TboX r;-r:t%eri the ground. This nest was made of rotten wood lined witrdown! 96 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Another was in an elm stub, and the hole by which the bird enter- ed was about five feet from the ground. The nest itself was on a level with the ground, and made of rotten wood without any down. I think they do not use down until after they begin to sit, and that it is added to keep the eggs warm when away feeding. I also found a nest in a hollow cottonwood log on the ground. None of the nests were more than seventy-five yards from the water, and some only a few feet from it. {Spreadborougk.) Breeds throughout Manitoba, northern AssiniLoia and Alberta, laying its eggs in holes in trees. (Raifie.) A small flock of these birds was observed about the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, in August. 1897, and two or three were shot a little later ; it is very probable a pair or two nested not far off. (Rev. C. J. Young.) This bird prefers to nest in a tree some fifteen or twenty-five feet from the ground. The ne'=*. is composed of grass, leaves and moss, lined with feathers. The eggs, eight or more in number, are of an ashy-green colour. It lays about the middle of May, or later. In 1894 a pair of these birds buiir near a large pond within a short distance of Templeton, Que., a few miles from Ottawa, and raised a small brood of five. On the 2 , d of ]un2 these youngsters were quite able to dive and follow the old b'rd twenty yards under wat-^r. ( G. R. White.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen ; taken at Toronto in 1865. Two sets of .eggs, trken at Indian Head, Assa., in June, 1892. 152. Barrow's Golden-eyo. Clatigiila islandica (Gmel.) Bonap. 1842. Breeds in South Greenland only, apparently not further nuith than Godthaab. {Arct. Man) Stragglers have been taken all along the Atlantic coast from Hudson Strait south to the Bay of I^undy. They are more abundant to the north and become rare in the G-'lf, though they are taken in the St. Lawrence and on Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Ur. Elliott Coues records in his " Birds of Montana and Dakota,' the occurrence of a brood of this species on Chief Mountain Lake, Waterton Lake, Rocky Mountains, on the United states side of the International Boundary. In 1895 the write, saw a few speci CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 9; mens at the north end of the same lake, and in July, 188; a female and young were obtained in Kicking Horse Lak;. Rockv ^ken m the Athabasca Pass, and Mac'arlane took two speci- Alasir but T '' "'"^ ""iT'^^^^"- '' '' '' '^'^ occurrence in by Nebon ^^ ""' '"^"" "' ^'"'^'^ '' '^'^y '' ^P^^ ^4th Regular visitor in British Columbia. (Z^^.) During the brecd- mg season of 1891 J found this duck very abundanf on nearfv every lake along the Cariboo road; it has also been taken by Mn W^ B. Anderson at Port Simpson, on the coast of British Co^um^ b.a. (Famu».) Rare inland e.xcept in summer, but common on the coast of British Columbia. (Brooh.) ^o^^mon on onf nrT'ii^^^^'-"^ ^'''' ^'^ '^^' ^^"^ "^^ ^hich were taken tains^' (Srr "^ " ""''''' '^'^' "'- ^^"^"' ^-^^ ^-"- MUSEUM SPECIMEN, Jo^n Ffunin""'^' *'^'" °" '^" '°''' °^ ^"^'^'^ ^^'"'"b'^ l>y ^r. LVI. CHARITONETTA Stejneger. 1885, 153. Buffle-head., Spirit Duck. Clkiritonetta albeola (Linn.) Stejn. 1885. in?8"oV"'r'^'" Vl' ^°^^'''"" '"^^ another at' Frederikshaab Scotia cT"t\ "■' '"'^'■'"* •" Newfoundland and Nova t: 1! ^^'^^"^^^'•1^!" «^ys 't IS a common resident in New Bruns- wick and supposes >t breeds there. Rather common migrant in Clair FlaTs?^'"' ^"^.^.^P^^^^^ ^^ launders to breed' at St nftlf 7^'''^"'"'' ^'^^ '"^^ Golden-eye, prefers the vicinity o lakes and deep ponds and river valleys where there is tim ber. It .s a summer resident in all the forest country from Mani- toba northwesterly to the Rocky Mountains, and according to Ross descends the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Sea. Nefson and Turner report it as a rare bird in Alaska, but more common on the Upper Yukon. Streator, Fannin and Brooks report it coast, and the latter says it winters on Lake Okanagan, B.C. Breeding NoTEs.-Rare in Alberta but breeds there. Three downy young were shot June 20th, and five more June 22nd, 1896. gS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA, at a small lake about eight miles northwest of Red Deer, Alberta. {Dippie.) Breeds throughout northwestein Canada. One of the rarer ducks. I have both eggs and young taken in the downy stage at Long Lake, Manitoba. A set of seven eggs in my col- lection was taken out of a tree at Long Lake. It appears that when trees are scarce, as in Assiniboia, along the Missouri Coteau, this bird will lay its eggs in a hole in a bank as the Belted King- fisher does. There are no trees in that part of Assiniboia, which accounts for this little duck laying its twelve eggs at the end of a Gopher burrow, in a bank along the side of a small lake one mile north of Rush Lake. Another clutch of ten eggs was taken out of a hole in a tree at Oak Lake, Manitoba, May 25th, i8go. The eggs are more rounded than those of any other duck. The eggs of the Buffle-head are larger than those of the Teal and of a darker and warmer tint. (Raitie.) A common migrant. It breeds at St. Clair Flats, Ont. {W. Smaiders) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Eight specimens. Two taken in Toronto marsh, two at Indian Head, Assa., two at Edmonton, Alberta, and two at Agassiz, British Columbia. LVII. HABELDA Stephens. 1824. 164. Old-squaw. Long-tailed Duck. Harelda hyemalis (Linn.) C. L. Brehm. 1855. Common on the whole coast of Greenland, breeds also on the Parry Islands, and on the land westward of Davis Strait. (Arct. Man.) Very common along the w.iole Atlantic coast south of Greenland. Breeds in Ungava Bay {Turner), and doubt- less north of Hudson Bay. Spreadborough noticed a pair off Cape Jones, in June, i8q6. Payne found them very common in Prince of Wales Sound, Hudson Strait, reaching there about June 1st, 1885. Common in the Gulf and River St. Lawrence and westward to Lake Ontario, and occasionally as far west as London, Ont. Raine reports that in the winter of 1898 thousands of these ducks might have been seen any day in Toronto harbour. Richardson, Ross and Macfarlane report it breeding along the . Arctic coast, and Macfarlane says il breeds in large numbers on CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN 1 99 the Anderson River. Turner, Nelson and 1\ idoch say that this is a common duck from the mouth of the Mackenzie westward all around the whole coast of Alaska. It winters along the entire Aleutian chain and down the Pacific coast of British Col- umbia, where Fannin says it is frequent in winter. Breeding Notes.- This bird is a sea-duck, breeding northerly. A clutch of seven eggs in my collection was taken at the mouth of Mackenzie River June 20th, 1894. The nest was built on the ground under a small willow. {Raine. From the Yukon Delta along the coast, in each direction, their nests are almost invariably placed in close proximity to a pond or tide-creek— the sloping grassy bank of the ponds being a favorite situation. The earliest set of eggs secured by me num- bered five and was taken on May i8th at St. Michael. From that date until the end of June fresh eggs may be taken, but the majority of the young are out by the last of that month. The parents always keep in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest and swim about in the nearest pond when the nest is approached. An unusual amount of dry grass-stems, and down plucked from the parent's breast, compose the nest, and if the eggs are left they are carefully hidden in the loose material. {Nelson.) During the breeding season, at Point IJarrow, each pair seems to adopt a pool of its own, and drives out all intruders. They breed in con- siderable numbers all over the tundra, but the nests are scattered and not easy to find. The nest is always lined with down and generally near a pool. {Murdoch.) This species breeds in great numbers in the neighbourhood of Fort Anderson, along the Anderson River, on the Barren Grounds and the shores of the Arctic Sea. Considerably over one hundred nests were taken, and the eggs varied from five to seven, the latter being the maximum number recorded in any one instance. In its make the nest is very similar to that of Dafila acuta. From personal ob- servation, also, I have come to the conclusion that the usual quantity of down taken from the duck's breast depends on the number of eggs in the set. {Macfarlaiie) Several pairs breed each year on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea. One nest was found in 1897 beside a path leading to a well which was visited many times during the day. The female seldom left the nest when people passed along the path ; indeed, no one else knew of the nest when I took five eggs from it. Unless the bird were looked '}% rn f 100 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. at she did not move. I several times passed within a foot of the nest without looking toward it, then walking back would look at the bird, when she rose immediately. (/. M. Macoun.) Before or about the time that the young are hatched and brought to the ponds by their mothers, the males have forsaken their usual haunts on these and have left for the open sea. This occurs early in August. The nests are placed almost anywhere on the flat ground near the ponds, usually on a little rise. On June I2th I found a nest and nine fresh eggs about forty feet from the village pond on St. Paul. Island. It was placed on a little hillock on the killing-ground. When flushed, about ten feet off, the bird flew directly to its mate. Leaving the eggs, I returned soon to find that she had been back, had covered them completely with down and dry short grass, and returned to the pond. June 17th, before 8 a.m., I found a nest— merely a few pieces of short grass-stems — containing one egg. Each morning thereafter at the same time I found another egg and more nest-material, including, from the second morning, an addition of black down, which was always placed on and around the eggs, not beneath, and which was evidently from the bird's own breast. {William Palmer.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens. One taken at Toronto by Mr. S. Herring, another in Hudson Bay by Dr. R. Bell, and the third at St. John, New Brunswick, by Mr. Chamberlain. Our eggs of this species were taken at Whale River, Ungava Bay, Labrador, June l6th, 1896, by Mr. G. Boucher. LVIII. HISTRIONICUS Lesson. 1828. 155. Harlequin Duck. Histriofiicus histriofiicus (Linn.) Boucard. 1876. Observed on the east coast of Greenland ; most commott between Lat. 62° to 65" N. ; rarer to the northward. {Arct. Man) Breeds at Godhavn, Vestbjord and other places in Greenland. (Winge.) A common summer migrant in Newfoundland, breed- ing on the borders of lakes and rivers. (Reeks.) A rare winter migrant around Nova Scotia. (Dotvns.) A lare spring and autumn visitant in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain) CATALOGUE OK CANADIAN BIRDS. jqi Abundant in Hudson Strait— breeds in Ungava Bay ; plentiful on the eastern coast of Labrador. {Turner) This bird was most numerous durmg the month of June at Cape Prince of Wales Hudson Strait. Apparently it does not breed, as it disappeared after that date. {Payne) Occasional in Quebec and Ontario. Richardson and Ross both speak of this being a rare bird toward the north aitd along the Arctic coast. Richardson says It frequents eddies under cascades and in rapid streams in the north. Dr. Coues found it breeding in turbulent streams entering Chief Mountain i.ike (Waterton Lake), near the 49th parallel ; and the writer, in July, 1885, found a mother and a young brood m a very rapid stream entering Kicking Horse Lake at Hector, Rocky Mountains, on the Canadian Pacific Railway at an altitude of 5,000 feet. Spreadborough found this species breedmg at Canmore, near Banff, Rocky Mountains, in June, 1891. A pair was shot, and others seen. During the summer of 1898, this species was seen in many of the mountain tributaries of the Athabasca .by the same observer. Both Nelson and Turner mention this bird as very common in the bays and along the coasts of Alaska, but it does not breed on the coast. Nelson says it breeds on the clear streams of the interior, which agrees with our knowledge further to the south. Fannin says : " An abundant resident ; breeds along the creeks close to the salt water at Burrard Inlet and Howe Sound, and also in the interior of British Columbia." Brooks says a few breed in the valley of the Lower Fraser. Breeding NoTES.-This species breeds at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, for one of my collectors sent me eight eggs with the skin of the parent bird. The nest was found on June 19th, 1894. It was built on a high bank, near some ice-floes, under sticks piled up by overflow water in the spring. One of the eggs in the nest is a runt, one-third the usual ''size. The eggs of this bird have seldom been obtained in North America. It breeds in Iceland, and lays from six to eight eggs, seldom more. They are similar to those of the Gadwell and Baldpate. but average larger, and are of a deeper buff tint. {Raive.) The nest and eggs of this species were not procured hy me, and the only nest I ever saw was near Iliuliuk village, on Unalaska ill f if 102 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Island. Two immense blocks of rocks had become detached from the cliff above, and when they fell their edges formed a hollow place beneath. Under these rocks I discovered a deserted nest, which the native who was with me asserted was that of a bird of this species. The form was similar to that of the nest of H. hyemalis, and in fact so closely resembled it that I persisted in it being of this bird until the native asked me if I did not know that the " Old Squaw " did not build in such places. {Ttirner.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens. One procured in Hudson Bay by Dr. R. Bell ; the other shot at Banff, Rocky Mountains, by Mr. W. Spread- borough. LIV. CAMPTOLAIMUS Gray. 1841. |! Hi 156 Labrador Duck. Pied Duck. Camptolaimus^ labradorius (Gmel.) Gray. 1841. Now extinct. Formerly abundant on the Labrador coast. Mr. William Dutcher, in an able paper published in The Auk, for January, 1894, shows, although 1852 has been given as the date when the last specimeri of this species was killed, that, from that date to 1875, occasional specimens were taken and vouched for as being seen in the flesh. He can find no trace of the bird being seen since 1875 so that he reluctantly conclude? it is extinct. LV. ENICONETTA Gray. 1840. 157. Steller's Duck. Enkonetta stelleri (Pall.) Gray. 1840. The coasts and islands of Behring Sea may be given as the eastern range of this duck. Westward from there it breeds in tens of thousands on the coast of Siberia. Throughout the Aleutian chain it is a common resident, very abundant in winter, but less common in summer. It also breeds upon St. Lawrence Island and a nest has been taken on Unalaska. {Nelson.) This duck is rare at ^t. Michael ; on the southern and eastern shores of Bristol Bay and the northern shores of Alaska it is plentiful. Among the Aleutian Islands it is rarely seen in summer, in winter CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 103 it abounds at Unalaska. (Turner:) This beautiful little duck is far from a rare bird during the late spring and summer at Point Barrow and vicinity. Their breeding-ground appears to be some distance off, as they leave to breed about the end of June. {Murdoch.) Breeding Notes.— Dall says the pairing season of this species, in Alaska, commences about May ist, and thence through the breeding season they are found in pairs. He also states that if a nest is visited it is abandoned at once. He found a nest on May l8th, 1872, on a flat part of a small island near Unalaska. It was built between two tussocks of dry grass, and the depression was carefully lined with the same material. The nest was en- tirely concealed by overhanging grasses, and was revealed only by the bird flying out at his feet. The nest contained a single egg. {Nelson.) MUSEUM specimens. One specimen shot on Kadiak Island, on the Alaskan coast, September, 1894. LX. ARCTONETTA Gray. 1855. 158. Spectacled Eider. Arctonetta fischeri (Brandt) Blakiston. 1863. The Spectacled Eider has until very recently been credited with a very restricted range on the Behring Sea coast of Alaska. My own observations show this species to be strictly limited to the salt-marshes bordering the east coast of Behring Sea, thus favoring the shallow, muddy, coast waters, which appear to be distasteful to Steller's Duck. {Nelson.) This bird is common in the vicinity of St Michael, where it arrives early in May. Along the coast of Bristol Bay it is very abundant ; it occurs among all the Aleutian Islands, where it breeds and is a constant resident, but extremely shy. {Turner.) This bird wa < found to be a regular, though rather rare, summer visitor at Point Barrow. It evidently breeds not far from the station, as a female was taken in June, 1883, with an egg in the oviduct just ready for laying. {Murdoch. Breeding Notes. — In the vicinity of St. Michael this species rarely arrives before the 15th of May. Very soon after reaching m 104 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. their destination the flocks disband and the birds quietly pair, but the first eggs are rarely laid earlier than the first of June. Most of my eggs were taken fresh between the loth and 20th of this month, and I obtained the young just out of the egg on July 23rd. When first paired the birds choose a pond in a marsh, and are henceforth found in its vicinity until the young are hatched. When the grass commences to show green and the snow and ice are nearly gone, these ducks choose some dry, grassy spot close to a pond, and making a slight hollow with a warm lining of grass, they commence the duties of the season, al- though the other denizens of the marsh are already well on with their house-keeping. One nest found on June 15th was on abed of dry grass on the border of the pond, within a foot of the water, and when the female flew off, the single egg could be seen 20 yards away. Tussocks of dry g'-ass, small islands in ponds, and knolls close to the water's edge are all chosen as nesting places, and as a rule the nest is well concealed by the dry grass standing about. The eggs usually number from five to eight or nine n a set and are small for the size of the bird. In colour they are of a light olive-drab. {Nelson. LXI. SOMATERIA Leach. i8iq. 159. Greenland Eider. Northern Eider. Somateria mollissima borealis C. L. Brehm. 18 30. Common along all the coasts of Greenland ; northern limit unknown. {Arct.Man.) A resident at Ivigtut and very abundant, {Hagerup) Abundant in Hudson Straii ; breeds in Ungava Bay. {Packard) 160. American Eider. Somatena dresseri Sharpe. 1871. The most abundant species of duck in Newfoundland, but rapidly growing scarce owing to the destruction of eggs. {Reeks.) Common. Breeds on Isle Haut, Bay of Fundy. Downs) Common in winter on the south coast of Labrador, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and up the St. Lawrence to Quebec, {Diomte.) Eider Ducks in immature plumage, which I take to be this species, have been occasionally shot at Montreal in the fall. {Wi7itle.) Common in Hudson Strait, and seen at York Factory and Churchill CATALOCiL'K OK CANADIAN IlIRDS. 105 and on the East Main coast of Hudson Bay. {Dr.R Bell) Com rnon from a short distance north of Moose Factory to Richmond Gulf June ,896. {Sprcadborough.) Casual on the Ottawa River Mr. G R. VVh.te. on November 7th, ,889. after a strong easterly gale, shot a young male of this species on the Ottawa River, near nf'.^ 'k- }"- t "• ^'''"''"^' °^ '^°"'°"^°' ^«"'^t^ the occurrence Eiders ""* '''' ^" ^P^'^''"^"^ «^^en by him are King Breedino NoTEs.-Mr. Eraser found the Eider Duck breeding on the small .slands along the coast of Labrador. The nest was bu.lt m a hollow among soft, short grass, or at the foot of a rock where .t was sheltered from the wind. It was composed of b rd''^"^?/'" wT ./ 'i-'°'°"''^ ^°^^" ^'■°'" ^he breast of the b^rd mclhvratth) Hreed.ng on rocky islands in Richmond Gulf Hudson Kay. Nest composed of weeds and grass, lined with atr^th"';^ '':;''•''""" (^S>WW.,./..) BrLds abundanu" along the LabradcM- coast. Sets of eggs in mj- collection were takenjulygth, 1896, mUngava Bay. ^Roiue.) Breeds in great Bav ^r^T^'' "''"'•' '^ ''" '"^"^'^ °f ^^^'•^^^ R'-^'-' j'"^es **^y- U- Jyl- Macoun.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens, both procured b) Dr. R. Bell, at Fort Churchill riudson Bay. ' There are 25 eggs of this species in our collection. Two sets were taken m James Bay. June i6th, 1896, by Mr. W. Spread- borough; four other sets were taken at the mouth of Whale River Ungava Bay, on the .same date, by Mr. G. Boucher. 161 Pacific Eider. Somatctia 7>-nigra Gray. 1855. Along the coast of the North Pacific, both shores of the Aleu- •an Islands, and all the islands of Behring Sea and the coast of the adjommg Arct.c Ocean to the northern limit of the mainland IS the broad area over which the breeding range of this bird extends. ^Ncl.on.) This bird is to be found I. all parts of Alaska that have come under my observation. {Tnnur.) A male specimen of this species was shot by the writer at l' ^'"^"g^t "cat-tails" (Typ/ui lattfoha), while the Scaups and Red-heads preferred to breed among rushes {Scirpus lacustris.) One nest was taken con- taining seventeen fresh eggs, fourteen of which belonged to the Ruddy Duck, two to the Canvas-back and one to the Red-head Bluish-green and creamy white eggs in the same nest made quite a contrast. ^ MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two taken on the Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring Eieht eggs taken at Crane Lake, Assa.. June 15th, 1894. LXIV. CHEN BoiE. 1822. 169. Lesser Snow Goose. Chenhyperborea {^\L\..) Boie. 1822. This handsome goose is uncommon on the coast of Norton Sound and about the Yukon mouth. It arrives in spring, between the sth and 15th of May, according to the season, and after remaining a short time passes north. {Nelson.) This species occurs only sparingly in the vicinity of St. Michael, and remains but a few days till it goes farther north. I am not aware that it breeds south of the arctic circle. {Turner.) All the Snow Geese i" i: 1 ' (1 114 GEOLOGICAL SURVF.Y OF CANADA. taken at Point Barrow were of this species. They are not at all common, but are occasionally met with during the sprmg migra- tions {Murdoch) A winter resident on the coast of British Columbia Tolerably abundant. During some winters large numbers congregate off the mouth of Fraser River. {Fayinm) The rarest of the geese in the Fraser valley. {Brooks.) Have a specimen shot at Calgary, Alberta, in the spring of 1893. {Dippie.) Breeding Notes.— These birds seek a nesting-ground along the course of the Lower Anderson River and the neighbouring region along the arctic coast. {Nelsov.) The Eskimos assured us that large numbers of "White Waveys" annually breed on the shores and islands of Esquimaux Lake and Liverpool Bay, but strange to say we never observed any on the Barren Grounds proper or on the shores of Franklin Bay. The Eskimos brought in to Fort Anderson about one hundred eggs, which they claimed to have discovered among the marshy flats and sandy islets on the coasts of Esquimaux Lake. {Macfarlane.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One fine specimen, shot at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, April 28th, 1897. ]6'.)rt. Greater Snow Goose. Chen hyperborea nivalis {¥ov.?>x.) Ridgw. 1884. A few young birds are taken occasionally in Greenland, in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia ; accidental in New Brunswick. The same may be said of its occurrence in Quebec and Ontario. A very abundant migrant in Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia in the spring. In the autumn it migrates farther west and goes south, chiefly through Alberta and western Assiniboia. Breeding Notes.— The remarks made by me under Chen hyper- borca belong in part to this species, as at the time the eggs were collected the forms were not separated. {Macfarlane) Breeding in immense numbers in the Barren Grounds along the arctic coast. {Richardson.) MUSEUM specimens. One specimen, shot on Black Island. Lake Winnipeg, by Mr. J B. Tyrrell. A set of three eggs taken on one of the Twin Islands, James Bay in 1898, received from Mr. A. P. Low. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. ne iG9.r. Blue Goose. Chen canilesceus (Linn.) Gundl. 1865-66. Two females and a male of this species were shot i ith October 1886, within a few miles of Ottawa, Ont.,by Mr. G. R White The bills and feet were black instead of being lake-red as in Dr Coues description, but the birds correspond with it in every other parti- cular. {Ott. Nat.) A typical specimen was shot by Mr A. Ralph on the River Thames, i6th November, 1888. As one foot was missing and the tissues completely healed over, the bird'was probably an adult and certainly agrees in every particular with the description given in Ridgway's Manual. The bird has been preserved and is in London, Ont. {R. Elliott.) A transient visitor in Manitoba. {Seton-Thompson) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One specimen bought wiih the Holman collection in 1885. 170. Ross's Snowy Goose. Chen rossii (Cassin) Ridgw. 1880. According to Cassin this is the " Horned Wavev," described by Hearne, in 1795. After the description, Hearne'says :- " This species is- very scarce at Churchill River, and I believe is never found at any of the southern settlements, but about two or three hundred miles to the northwest of Churchill I have seen them in as large flocks as the Common Wavey or Snow Goose " Nothing more was heard of this species until Mr. Robert Ken- n.cott and Mr. Bernard R. Ross of the Hudson Bay Company sent specimens taken on Great Slave Lake to the Smithsonian Institution and Mr. Cassin recognised it as a new species and named it after Mr. Ross. This goose has been taken at the mouth of the Fraser River and also on Shuswap Lake, and on Kuper Island, B.C., but I am' inclined to think that its occurrence here is rare. {Fannin.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One procured at Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay, by Dr. R. Bell. f'ifi k, r Il6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. LXV. ANSEB Brisson. 1760. 171. White-fronted Goose. Anser albifroiis (Gmel.) Bechst. 1809. Casual in Eastern Greenland ? {A. 0. U.List.) 171a. American White-fronted Goose. Laughing Goose- Anseriilbifrons gambeli {Hkwii..) Co\iv.9>. 1872. Not rare in fresh water between Lat. 66° and 58" 30' N. in West Greenland. {Arct. Man.) Very rare around Newfoundland. {Reeks.) This species has been noted at Montreal and one was shot at Lac Jacques Cartier, north of Quebec, in the autumn of 1870. {Dioiine.) A friend and myself came across three mdi- viduals of this species on the Isle de la Paix, Lake St. Louis, near Montreal, but failed to secure specimens. {Wiiitle.) Only a casual visitor in Ontario. From the middle of April, or a week later, to the middle of May this species is quite common in western Manitoba and East- ern Assiniboia. It is then passing to its breeding-places which Richardson says are in the wooded districts, skirting the Mackenzie River to the north of the 67th parallel, and the islands in the Arctic Sea. Macfarlane found it breeding on Frank- lin Bay, Murdoch at Point Barrow, Ball all along the Yukon, and Turner in its delta, Nelson along the Arctic coast and Fannin says it breeds on the mainland of British Columbia and that young fledglings have been taken on Cowichan Lake, Vancouver island. The breeding range of this bird is therefore the whole northwestern part of the continent and its peculiar spring migra- tion accounted for. Breeding Notes.— A clutch of four eggs in my collection was taken on an island in Mackenzie Bay, west of the mouth of Mackenzie River, June 5th, 1895. The nest con- sisted of a hollow in the sand lined with down. (Raifie.) When the White-fronted Goose first arrives in the north, the lakes are but just beginning to open and the ground is still largely covered with snow. The last year's heath-berries afford them sustenance, in common with most of the other wild-fowl, at this season. The mating season is quickly ended, however, and on May 27th, 1879, 1 found their eggs at the Yukon mouth. From this date on, until 1? CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 117 tiie middle of June, fresh eggs may be found, but very soon after the latter date downy young begin to appear. These geese choose for a nesting place the grassy border of a small lakelet, a knoll grown over with moss and grass, or even a flat sparingly covered with grass. Along the Yukon, Dall found them breeding -regariously, depositing their eggs in a hollow scooped out of the sand. At the Yukon mouth and St. Michael they were found breeding in scattered pairs over the flat countr)-. Every one of the nests examined by me, in these places, had a slight lining of j>rass or moss, gathered by the parent, and upon this the first egg was laid ; as the complement is approached, the female always plucks down and feathers from her breast until, when incubation commences, the eggs rest in a soft warm bed. The eggs varj- considerably in size and shape. Some are decidedly elongated others are decidedly oval. In colour they are dull-white, but ordinarily present a dirty-brown appearance from being stained in the nest. {Nelson. This species arrives at Point Barrow, Alaska, about the middle of May, and for a couple of weeks is generally found in small parties along the lagoons and the small pools which have opened along the crown of the beach. As the snow cleared off— early in June-they scattered in pairs over the tundra, occasionalh- feeding together in small parties of half a dozen or more. The eggs are always laid in the black muddy tundra, often on top of a small knoll. The nest is lined with tundra moss and down. The number of eggs appears to be subject to considerable variation, as we found sets of four, six and seven, all well advanced in incubation. The last egg is laid generally in the middle of the nest, and may be recognized by its white shell unless incubation is far advanced, the eggs being soiled by the birds coming on and off the nest. {Murdoch.) A considerable number of the nests of this " Gray VVavey " were discovered in the vicinity of fresh-water lakes in timber tracts as well as along the Lower Anderson River to the sea. Some were taken on the Arctic coast, and several, also, on islands and islets :n Franklin Bay. In all, about one hundred nests were secured. The nest, which was always a mere shallow cavity in the ground, ;n every observed and reported instance had more or less of a lining of hay, feathers and down, while the maximum number of eggs in no case exceeded seven. {Macfarlane) r ii8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OK CANADA. MUSEUM SPECIMEN. Our representative of this species was shot at the Red Deer River, Alberta, September I2th, 1896, by Mr. Dippie. 1716. Bean Goose. Anserfabnlis (Lath.) Salvad. 1895. Accidental in Greenland. {Wiuge.) LXVl. BRANTA Scopoli. 1769. 172. Canada Goose. Branta canadensis (Linn.) Bannister. 1870. A common migrant in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It breeds in Newfoundland, in Labrador, in northern Quebec, and on the island of Anticosti, where the writer saw flocks of old and young feeding in bogs on the' berries oi Empctum nigrum \n August, 1883. This species is a migrant as far as known in Ontario, but west- ward it breeds from Manitoba and the prairie region to the Pacific coast. A few pairs breed in almost all the prairie lakes having islands in them and where the water on the outer fringe of a marsh is over 30 inches deep. It was found breeding, by Spreadborough, at Henry House, Athabasca Pass, 1898. Found breeding in the marshes along the Bow River at Banff in 1891, in the marshes of the Columbia below Golden in 1885 and near Revelstoke, B.C., in 1890. Farther to the north it becomes more abundant and breeds in greater numbers throughout the whole wooded country. It is not common in Alaska but breeds in the interior and throughout British Columbia. Brooks reports that a flock of Canada Geese winters every year on Shuswap Lake, B.C. This species breeds throughout the entire wooded region of the Mackenzie River basin. Nests were discovered in the vicinity of Fort Anderson and to the borders of the forest on the east and west sides of the river of that name. None were met with on the "Barrens" nor on the Arctic coast. Severals deserted hawk's nests were found occupied by incubating females. {Macfarlanc.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRIXS. "9 Breeding Notes.— Have seen several nests, some on the ground and others upon old musk-rat houses. Nests made of grass lined with down. Hreeds early ; have seen the young the first week in June, but also found eggs perfectly fresh June 9th, 1894. {Spreadboroug/i.) A nest with six eggs, incubated about one week, was found near the Red Deor River, Alberta, May i ith, 1888. Between Athabasca Landing and Fort McMurray, two females with young about a week old were seen June nth. (/, M. Macou/i.) Breeds in Assiniboia and Alberta and is one of the earliest breeders. Its eggs are often taken and put under fowls to hatch. I have seen broods of young Canada geese that were hatched and reared by turkeys at Rush Lake. When the first clutch is taken the bird lays another, sometimes on the same island. On May 25th, 1893, I found seven eggs in a nest built on an island in a small lake north of Rush Lake. A Canada Goose had nested on this island for several years. It is a remarkable fact that in Alberta this goose often lays its eggs in the nests of Buzzards. Mr. Neuman sent me a set of five eggs he took from a Buzzard's nest on April 25th, 1896. The nest was built in a dead cotton- wood tree 45 feel; from the ground and the bird was flushed off the nest and shot. I have a photograph of the nest. {Rainc.) This species is one of the earliest to arrive in the Northwest. It was first seen in 1894 at Medicine Hat on April 7th, by Spread- borough, and was common by the i6th. It seems to have no fixed place to breed as it has been found nesting on old musk-rat house-: in marphes, on masses of dead reeds, in Buzzards' ne.sts on -«'- ilong streams, and in two instances it nested in trees "t le.. eet from the ground. In one case the nest was in that of , '^;uvk, in the other in an old nest of the Bald eagle. Also bre ^ on rocks along Milk River, Alberta. ] MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One fine specimen taken at Indian Head, Assa., in May 1894, and another purchased with the Holman collection. Four eggs taken at Crane Lake, June 9th, 1894. Two taken on Whale River, Ungava Bay, Labrador, June nth, 1896, by Mr. G. Boucher. 'I t eg I20 (iEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 172a. Hutohin'B Qoose. Bran/a ca/tdJi'/ists /lu/c/ii/isii [Rich.) Coues. 1872. This species, in company with the Brant and Snowy Goose, arrived in great numbers on Prince of Wales Sound, Hudson Strait, September 6th, 1885, but was gone in a few days. {Payne. Common in spring and fall in Manitoba. {Siton-Thonipson.') First seen in small flocks at Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assn , April 29th ; it never became common and all were gone by May 15th. (Spreadborongh.) This species is very common in Alaska, breed- ing abundantly in the Yukon Delta and northward. Fannin and Brooks report it as an abundant spring and fall migrant, wintering on the coast of British Columbia. The former claims it as a resi- dent, and if so it breeds. This species is very common around the shores and on the islands of the Arctic Sea, and does not frequent the fresh-water lakes of the interior in summer. {Richardson.) Breeding Notes. — Over fifty nests of this species were found on the Lower Anderson River as well as on the shores and islands of the Arctic Sea ; almost all were placed on the earth and com- posed of dry hay, feathers and down. The usual number of eggs was six. {Macfarlane.) Dall says they choose, in Alaska, the hill-tops for their breeding places. He secured eggs on June isth and the unfledged young July loth. The nesting-habits, notes, and general mode of life of Hutchin's Goose are identical with those of B. minima, so they ne^d not be specially referred to here. {Nelson.) MUSEUM .SPECIMENS. Two, procured by Dr. R. Bell at Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay. One egg obtained in Repulse Bay, Hudson Bay. i72i!'. White-cheeked Goose. Branta catiadensis ocddentalis (Baird) Ridgw. 1885. Durinj^j my residence on th<=^ coast of Behring Sea this bird was not seen and as hundreds of the two other related species were examined both at St. Michael and the Yukon mouth, it appears evident that it is found in Alaska as a straggler or not at all. CATALOr.UF t)|. CANADFAN IIIRD.S. 131 Dall records specimens taken at Sitka. {Nelson.) Much rarer than the Canada Goose in the Lower I' raser vallcj . Uirooks) I acfic coast region, from Sitka south, in winter, to California. {A. U. U. ust.) il i72t. Cackling Ooose. I^ranta ((uuniciisis iniiiiimi RirKJu. 188: Nelson and Turner report this as bein}r the most generally dis- tributed goose in Alaska. Hrooks and Fannin speak of it as a winter resident on the coast of British Columbia. Breeding Notes. -The Upper Yukon District, the Yukon Delta, and south to the Bristol Bay District abound with these birds in the breeding season. They remain in these places until about the first of October, while in the Aleutian Islands they remain until the middle of November. This b-rd does not winter .n any part of Alaska. The eggs vary from seven to thirteen • they are laid in a carelessly-arranged nest composed of dead grasses and a few feathers. The young remain with the parents until the latter moult by the 20th August, by which time the )Oung are able to fly. The chief food of the birds is the berries ot the l^accimion. {Turner.) The last week of May finds many of these birds depositing heir eggs. Upon the grassy borders of ponds, in the midst of a bunch of grass, or on a small knoll these birds find a spot where they make a slight depression and perhaps line it with a scanty layer of grasses, after which the eggs are laid, numbering from five to eight. The eggs, like the birds, average smaller than those ot other g<,^^^. As the eggs are deposited the female gradually lines the nest with feathers plucked from her breast until they rest in a bed of down. When first laid the eggs are white but by the time incubation begins all are soiled and dingy Ihetemale usually crouches low on her nest until an intruder comes within one hundred yards or so, when she skulks off through the grass or flies silently awa)-. close to the ground, and only raises a note of alarm when well away from the nest The young are hatched from the middle of June until the middle of July. {Nelson) f m I'M 122 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 173. Brant. liranta bermclti (Linn.) Scofom. 1769. Said not to breed in Greenland lower than Lat. 70° but does so in great numbers in th»! Polar Sea. {Arct. Mon.) This species breeds in numbers on the coasts and islands of Hudson Hay and the Arctic Sea, and is rarely seen in the interior. {Riclmrdson.) This species is a very abundant mij^rant on the whole Atlantic coast, filling at times the heads of all the bays and feeding on sea- weed, chiefly of the genus Ulva. It is quite frequent in the St. Lawrence and is known to ascend the Ottawa to thirty miles below the city. It is casual in Lake Ontario and said to be a rare migrant in western Ontario. Occasionally seen in Manitoba ; not seen to the west of that province. MUSEUM S FECI MEN. One specimen shot at St. John, New Brunswick, by Mr. Cham- berlain. 174. Blaok Brant. Branta msrtrffus (Lawr.') Bannister. 1870. About the middle of May this goose makes its appearance about the mouth of the Yukon, and after a week or ten days passes northward to breed. Its breeding-ground lies consi- derably to the north, for during the cruise of the Conviti, in the summer of i88i.we first met it in the vicinity of Point Barrow, where the Eskimos brought many of them on board. {Nelson.) About the middle of May a great stream of these birds pours northward between St. Michael Island and Stewart Island. Few are seen in the fall as they then pass through the interior going south. ( Turner.) This bird appears at the end of the main spring migration of the water-fowl, but not in considerable numbers. A few remain to breed and are seen flying about the tundra during June. After the middle of August they begin to fly across the isthmus of Pergmiak coming west along the shore of Elson Bay, crossing to the ocean and turning southward along the coast. {Murdoch:) An abundant winter resident along the coasts of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. {Fannin.) CATAHKiUK OF CANADIAN IIIRUS. 123 HRKRniNr. NoTKs.— The nfst of this birti; is placed in rather marshy ground and is a simple depression, lined with down with which the eggs are completely covered when the bird leavesthe nest. They sometimes bej,Mn to sit on four eggs and sometimes lay as many as six. {Murdoch.) MUSHUM SPECIMENS. One pair shot at Kadiak Island, Alaska. 175. Barnacle Goose. Hranta Icucopsis (Bkchst.) Bannister. 1870. A rc^'iilar autumnal visitor at Julianshaab, and may perhaps breetl in Greenland ; recorded also from the east coast. (Arct, Man.) I -XVII. PHILACTE Hannister. 1870. 1 7 e . Emperor Goose. Pfiilach- camigua {Sv.vA'^T.) Hannister. 1870. Among the various species of birds, more or less peculiar to Alaska, this goose is perhaps the most noteworthy. The limited area covered by its migrations, its narrow range, reaching only across the area bounded by the Aleutian Islands to the south, and the vicinity of Behring .Strait on the north, and the litile known of its life-histor> caused me to give it much attention at St. Michael. (Ne/so/i.) The habitat of this goose is strictly littoral- maritime, frequenting only the reefs, rocks and shoals of the salt- water and brackish lagoons of the mainland coast. It is never found in fresh-water localities excepting those contiguous to the sea, such as the lower Yukon Delta, mouth of the Kuskoquim River, and the bars lying off the mouth of the Nuskagak River. {Turner.) Occurs regularly on the Pribyloff Islands in summer, but does not breed. {Toz.^/isemi.) One specimen killed at Che- mainus, Vancouver Island, December, 1894. {Fanuiii.) Breedinc Notes.— On May 22nd my Eskimo hunter brought in the first one, a magnificent male in fine plumage. From that time on they became more common daily until the first of June, when they arrived in full force. Soon after their arrival they began to pair, and were seen flying in couples, keeping close to the ground, rarely flying twenty or thirty yards high, and often barely keeping clear of the surface. Early in June they begin depositing their eggs on the flat, marshy islands bordering !i 124 GEOLOfilCAL SUR\ KY OF CANADA. the sea. They nested most abundantly on the salt-aiarshes adja- cent to their feeding-grounds and their eggs were often placed among fragments of drift-wood below the mark of the highest tides. Stray pairs were found nesting further inland in the marshy meadows also frequented by other species of geese, but on the salt-flats, near tide-water, the Emperor Goose held undisputed possession. The majority of the nests found contained from three to Ctve eggs, the full complement ranging from five to eight. As the complement of eggs approached completion the parent made a soft bed of fine grass, leaves, and feathers plucked from her own breast. As a rule, when driven from her eggs, the female flew straight away and alighted at some distance, some- times half a mile from the nest, showing very !ittle concern. (^Ne/sn/i.) MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One, shot twenty miles south of Kadiak Island, Alaska. LXVIII. OLOR Wagler. 1832. T9, Whooping Swan. Olorcygims (Linn.) Bonaparte. 1856. Occasional in Southern Greenland. {A. 0. U. List.) 80. Whistling Swan. Olor coluinbiamts (Ord) Stejn. 1882. This species is a rare and accidental visitor along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland southward. It is not uncommon in the Gulf and kiver St. Lawrence and is a regular visitor on Lake Erie and the Great Lakes generally. Migrants in all parts of Manitoba and westward over the prairie, apparently not breeding south of the Arctic circle. This species breeds on the coast of the Arctic Sea within the Arctic circle and is seen in the interior only as a migrant. (Richardson.) Both Nelson and Turner speak of this bird being a common species in Alaska. Mr. Turner says it migrates about the middle of October and at tb's time the migration is always to the northward from St. Michael and directed towards the head of Norton Sound. From there it evidently crosses to the Yukon and passes up it to the Rocky Mountains. A com- mon migrant in British Columbia, and according to Fannin very CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 125 abundant during the summer in some portions of the mainland interior. The young have been taken on Vancouver Island. Brooks says that a swan, (apparently this species) winters in suit- able localities in the Okanagan district, B.C. Breeding Notes. -This species builds on the ground and the nest usually contains five eggs ; several were also found on the coast and islands of Liverpool and Franklin bays in the Arctic Ocean. {Macfarlam.) The birds arrive on the coast singly or in small parties, and directly after scatter to their summer haunts. At Nulato, Dall found them laying their eggs by May 21st, but on the sea-coast, May 30th is the earliest date I have of their eggs bemg taken. Dall states that they lay two eggs, but this must refer to a single nest, for the ordinary number is from three to SIX. The nest is usually upon a small island in some secluded lakelet, or on a rounded bank close to the border of a pond The eggs are deposited in a depression made in a heap of rubbish gathered by the birds from the immediate vicinity of the nest and is composed of grass, moss, and dead leaves, forming a bulky affair in many cases. On June 14th, 1880, a swan was seen flying from the side of a small pond on the marsh near St. Michael and a close search finally revealed the nest. The eggs were com- pletely hidden in loose moss, which covered the ground about the spot, and in which the bird had made a depression by pluck- ing the moss and arranging it for that purpose. The site was so artfully chosen and prepared that I passed the spot in my search and one of my native hunters coming close behind, called me back, and thrusting his stick into the moss exposed the eg^s {NcisoH.) ^^ * MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One fine specimen taken on Lake Winnipeg by Mr. J. B Tyrrell An egg, which is supposed to be that of this species,' from* Mackenzie River. 181. Trumpeter Swan. Oloy buccinator (Rich.) Waglek. 1832. Stragglers are occasionally seen on the north side of Lake Erie and doubtless on Lake Ontario, but by manv observers this species IS referred to the more common Whistling Swan. Occasionally seen passing over Manitoba, flying high in the spring. More plentiful in the autumn. Only a few specimens noted by Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., in the middle of I- ; '4' 126 GEOI.OGICAI- SURVEY OF CANADA. Ill April, 1892. Seen passing over Revelstoke, B.C., from i8th to 20th April, 1890. This is the most common swan in the interior of the North West Territories. It breeds as far south as Lat. 61°, but principally within the Arctic circle and in its migrations generally precedes the geese by a few days. {Richardson.) North to the Arctic circle, on the Mackenzie River, breeds along the river. (^Ross.) Very rare in Alaska, but is not uncommon in northern British Columbia, according to Fannin. Breeding Notes. — Several nests of this species were met with in the Barren Grounds, on islands in Franklin Bay, and on the beach one was taken which contained six eggs. It was composed of a quantity of hay, down and feathers intermixed, and this was the general mode of structure of the nests of both swans. {Mac- farlane.) A pair remained at Sumas Lake, B.C. throughout the summer of 1891 and swans (apparently this species) winter on Lake Okanagan, B. C. (Brooks.) It occasionally breeds in Assiniboia, although its natural breeding-grounds are much further north. A pair was found breeding at Buffalo Lake, Alberta, on April 7th, 1891. The nest contained five eggs. Mr. Spaulding described the nest as being a large structure, three feet in diameter, composed of sods, grass and rushes and lined with feathers and down. Mr. Sanderson who has lived all his life in Assiniboia and Saskatchewan informs me that wild swans used to breed on some of the lakes in Northern Assiniboia and Saskatchewan before the Canadian Pacific Railway was built. The last nest he found was during the spring of 1885, during the Northwest rebellion. It was at Sounding Lake in Assiniboia, and contained four fresh eggs {Raifie.J MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One fine specimen shot on the St, Clair Flats, Ont., in Novem- ber, 1884, by Mr. G. Warin. Order HERODIONES. Herons. Storks. Ibises, &c. Family XV. IBIDIDiE. Ibises, LXIX. PLEGADIS Kauf. 1829. 186. Glossy Ibis. Plegadis mitumnalis (Hasselq.) Stejn. 1885. A flock ran the gauntlet and came along the coast as far north as Country Harbour, Nova Scotia. (Dozuns.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 127 Mr. John Bates shot a pair at the end of May, 1857, on a creek near Hamilton water-works. These are the only birds of this species ever seen in Ontario. {Mcllwraith.) 1 ^ T . White-faced Glossy Ibis. Plegadis gtiarmina (Linn.) Ridgw. 1878. Found as a rare straggler in British Columbia. Only two speci- mens known to have been taken in that province ; one on Salt Spring Island in the Gulf of Georgia, and the other at the mouth of the Fraser River. {Fa?im?i.) Family XVI. ARDEID^. Herons, Bitterns, &c. LXX. BOTAURUS Hermann. 1783. 190. American Bittern. Botmirtis lentiginostis (Montag.) Steph. 18 19. This species is only a straggler in Greenland but is a summer migrant in Newfoundland. It breeds in Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia. New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario and north- ward to Hudson Bay, in all suitable localities. Westward it becomes more abundant and is found commonly from Manitoba to the Pacific, never being seen in flocks bu't turning up in all marshes and in weedy brooks. Richardson says It IS common in the interior up to the fifty-eight parallel and Bernard Ross says it descends the Mackenzie to the Arctic Sea. Although it is abundant in British Columbia we have no record of its occurrence in Alaska. Breeding NoTEs.-Nests in the reeds and grass in nearly all marshes. On June 29th, 1892, found a nest at Indian Head Assa containing five eggs. The nest was built on a mass of last year's rushes about eighteen inches above th^ water and consisted of the same materials. The bird feeds upon mice, snakes, frogs and almost anything that has life and that it is able to swallow {Spreadburough) A pair breeds every year in Ashbridge's Bay, Toronto, Ont This species lays five eggs, occasionally six. (Raitic.) I have found the nest of this species four times in the County of Leeds, Ont. The bird lays its eggs very regularlv about the m 128 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 24th of May apparently being little influenced by the season, just as in the case of the Loon. It also has a preference for the same locality year after year, even though the eggs are taken. The first three nests I found were in small ponds in a meadow nearly surrounded by woods, and were built thee successive years in one or other of the two ponds among the flags of last year's growth, in one case floating in two feet of water. The complement of five eggs, once of six, was laid by the 26th of May, and in one case incubation had commenced some days previously. The fourth nest I found was in an open, but wet meadow, and the nest was formed of grass in a springy place, very unlike the others. On the 3rd of June the five eggs were much incubated. {Rev. C.J. Young.) This species is rather common in the large marshes in western Ontario. It makes a bulky nest in a dry portion of the marsh and lays four or five eggs. {W. Saunders.) Breeding in large numbers at Crane Lake, Assa., in the marshes. The nest is gen- erally on old dead grass in one or two fe- that it is a summe'r resident in Southern British Columbia, but chiefly east of the Coast Kange, though not so common as the Little Brown Crane which IS, however, chiefly a migrant. Brkedino NoTK.s.-The Sandhill Crane comes to southern Manitoba about the end of April, circling around high in the blue ancl uttering its peculiar call. When mating it repairs to some hillock or knoll and executes a sort of war dance by dancing around and flapping its huge wings. It usually breeds on some tussock of decaying vegetation in t marsh, building quite a large nest of moss aiul rushes. I have never seen more than two eggs HI he nest. These are shaped and coloured very much like those of the Loon, though perhaps, a little more pointed. The youn^ leave the nest almost immediately after hatching. They are clothed with a thick ferrugineous down, and have legs about four inches long. If caught when very young they are easily tamed, readily eating bread or scraps of meat, and are of great service to a gardener. I have seen one about a month old go down a line of onions and take up every cut-worm from their roots, as if an inch and a ha.r of mould were perfectly transparent. After the you.ig are fully grown they gather into flocks of from twenty to thirty and migrate southwards in the early autumn. (Cecil oehvyn.) ^ MUSHUM SPECIMEN. One fine .specimen purchased with the Holman collection in I005. ' f I 138 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OV CANADA. Family XVI II. RALLIDiE Rails, Gallinules, Coots. LXXV. RALLUS Linn^-;us, 1758. 208. King Rail. Rallus clegans Aud. 1835. Casual around Montreal in summer. Dioniie.) This large and handsome Rail, which until recently was con- sidered to be only a casual visitor to Ontario, is now known to breed plentifully in the marshes all along the River St. Clair. It has also been found at other points in southern Ontario, but the St. Clair Flats .seem to be its favourite breeding -place. It arrives in May and leaves in September. {Mclhvraith.) Observed once at Plover Pond, Middlesex Co., Ont. {R. Elliott) Mr. Hine and Mr. E. Seton-Thompson have seen this species in Manitoba, where it is evidently a casual. MUSEUM SPECIMEN'. One specimen purchased with the Holman collection in 1885. 212. Virginia Rail. Ralhis virginianus Linn. 1766. A common summer migrant in New Brunswick. {Chamberlaiiu) Not uncommon along the St. Lawrence. {Dionne.) A casual on the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Com- mon in western Quebec and eastern Ontario, where it breeds. Generally distribirted throughout Ontario. A common summer resident in eastern Manitoba. Not seen to the west of that pro- vince, in the prairie region. Found on both the mainland and Vancouver Island ; not common ; breeds. Fmiiiin.) Tolerably common summer resident in the Lower Fraser valley ; winters at Lake Okanagan, B.C. {Brooks.) Breeding Notes.— A nest was brought to me from a slough near Carberry, Manitoba, July 30th, 1884. It was found in a tussock of coarse grass, and was built of dry .stems of the same. The eggs, eight in number, were quite fresh, and differed from the Carolina Rail only in being of a lighter colour and with reddish instead of umber spots, these chiefly about the larger end. CATALOGUE OV CANADIAN niRDS. 139 The nest was of rushes, and built precisely like that of the Caro- lina bird, but it was situated rather in a damp meadow than a marsh. {Setoii-Thompson) This is the commonest rail in the St. Lawrence valley and breeds annually in the marshes along the St. Lawrence and inland. It frequents larger marshes than the Sora, though occasionally they are found breeding in the same localities. I have found several nests ; two of these were in wet places, formed by rank grass, etc., and placed simply in tussocks of marsh grass. The third was near Gananoque Lake among a cluster of flags and buUrushes, and was formed of last year's stems of the latter, fastened among the rushes and floating in about eighteen inches of water, like a Gallinule's. They .'-e late breeders. The first nest I found, containing nine eggs, on the 17th June, incubation only commencing ; the last one, six eggs, incubation advanced, on ::he 15th July, 1896. {Rev. C.J. Young.) This is a rare bird in Manitoba. On the 12th June, 1893, I found a nest with one egg at Reaburn, Manitoba, and shot the parent. {Dippie.) This species breeds wherever there is a sufificiently large marsh, a small one of an acre being enough to please, and sometimes even less will do. {W. Saunders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three ; two taken in Toronto marsh, and the third at Ottawa by Dr. Charles Saunders. One set of eggs taken in a marsh near Ottawa, by Mr, A. L. Garneau, on May 20th, 1896 ; another set taken at St. Clair Flats, June nth, 1893, received from Mr. Raine. LXXVL PORZANA Vihii.lot. 18 16. 213. Spotted Crake. Porzana porzana (Linn.) Houcako. 1876. One spcv,imen of this species is said to have been shot at Fred- erickshaab, Greenland some years ago. {Ilirgeiup.') One obtained at Godthaab, September 28th, 1841 ; a second taken at Nenortalik was sent to Copenhagen in 18^6. (Airt. Man.) Taken again in 1878. (Winge.) 214. Carolina Rail. Sora- Porzana Carolina (Linn.) Baird. 1845 Casual in Greenland. One killed at Sukkertop, October 3rd, 1823. {Arc/. Man. Several taken in recent years in Greenland. 1 ''SI 140 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. {Winge.) A summer migrant in Newfoundland, rare in Nova Scotia, breeding in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Que- bec and Ontario, apparently increasing in numbers to the west. Stragglers are found on Hudson Bay and Spreadborough found them breeding at Moose Factory, James Bay, June 9th, 1896. This is a common species, breeding from Manitoba westward through the prairie region, Rocky Mountains at Banff, and north to Lat. 55°. British Columbia, from Kamloops to the Pacific Coast. Sir John Richardson places its northern limit at Lat. 62°, and Bernard Ross places it on the Mackenzie River at Big Island in nearly the same latitude. This species is unknown in Alaska. Breeding Notes. — Nesting in clumps of rushes and grass growing in water. Nest rather compact consisting of grass placed from six inches to one foot above the water. Young leave the nest as soon as hatched. A nest was taken at Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assa., on Juuv. 29th, 1892, which contained three eggs and one young one just hatched, the young one was dark slate on the back, below rather lighter, a chin patch of bright orange, almost red, bill light horn-colour, except the base which was red. {Spreadborough.) A well-known species in Ontario and more gen- erally distributed than the Virginian Rail, though apparently not breeding so plentifully in the St. Lawrence district. I met with the bird on the Magdalen Islands in June, 1897, when on the 22nd of that month I found among bullrushes a nest containing six eggs and young ones just hatched. The nest was a neat affair constructed of last year's reeds and fastened to the stalks, in water that was knee-deep and only a short distance from a sandy bar, that divided a large pond from the sea. The first nest I found in 1895, near the St. Lawrence, was built of grass stalks in a tussock, where there was not much water. We have therefore three species, the two Rails and the American Bittern that vary their nesting location as well as the material they use, thus showing that one must have considerable experience before lay- ing down as hard and fast facts, the site and construction of nests. (At, C.J. Young.) Found breeding at Reaburn, Manitoba, and Buffalo Lake, Alberta. {Dippic.) This species, like the Virginia Rail, breeds in all marshes of sufficient size throughout Western Ontario. {W. Sauiuiers.) In a marshy lake grown up with C(7rc.x aristaUr, within a couple of miles of Crane Lake, Assa., the writer took a number of nests CATALOGUE 01 CANADIAN BIRDS. 141 of this species on June 9th, 1894. The nests were near the water and constructed of dead Carex leaves. The eggs ranged in number from nine to sixteen and were but slightly incubated, MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three ; two taken in Toronto marsh, by Mr. S. Herring ; and the other at Ottawa by Mr. W. P. Lett, in 188;. A fine series of eggs taken at Crane Lake, Assa., and Edmonton, Alberta. 215. YeUow RaU. Porzananoveboraceiisis (Gmel.) Baird. 1845. Rare in autumn in Nova Scotia. {Dozuns.) A rare autumn visitor in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain.) Rare migrant in Quebec. {Diotinc.) A rare migrant in Ontario ; occasionally taken in Toronto marsh. {Mcllwroith.) Of late years this bird has been taken at Toronto, Ont., every year and must occur more commonly than is supposed. (/. H. Fleming.) This species seems to be a far from rare summer resident in Manitoba. Ernest Seton-Thompson in his Birds of Ma?iitoba, gives many instances of its occurence and the writer's own obser- vations agree with his expressed opinions. A small Rail that seemed to jump out of the sedge, with legs hanging down, and just as suddenly drop again has been observed as far west as Moose Jaw, but in no case was a specimen obtained. The following is Hutchin's manuscript notice of the bird written in 1777. "This elegant bird is an inhabitant of the marshes on the coast of Hudson Bay near the eflux of the Severn River, about 150 miles south of York Factory, from the middle of May to the end of September. It never flies above sixty yards at a time, but runs with great rapidity among the long grass near the shores. In the morning and evening it utters a note which resembles the striking of a flint and steel ; at other times it makes a shrieking noise. It builds no nest but lays from ten to sixteen perfectly white eggs among the grass." MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens, both taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Her- ring. :i .!■ f! ill i 1 142 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. '21G. Black Rail. Porsamjamaiccnsis (Gmel.) Baird. 1845. The following notes from Mcllwraith's Birds of (9«/<7m include every authentic record of the occurence of this bird in Canada : " Dr. Cottle of Woodstock, Ont., claims to have found a bird of this species at IngersoU in 1856, and from my knowledge of Dr. Cottle I am satisfied his identification is correct." A Mr. Nash, who collected in the Dundas marsh in 1874, writes Mr. Mcllwraith as follows in January 1894 : "Aug. i8th, 1874.— Shot four of these birds this evening at the upper end of Dundas marsh. My dogs put them up where the rushes had been mowed. This is the first time I ever noted them here. After this date I saw several others about the same place, during this year (1874). I also shot a few Yellow Rails, and saw- many." Mr J. H. Fleming of Toronto doubts the occurrence of this bird in Ontario, LXXVII. CREX Bechstein. 1802. 217. Corn Crake. Crex crcx (Linn.) Sharpe. 1884. A rare casual in Greenland. One obtained at Godthaab and sent to the Museum of Copenhagen in 185 1. {Arct. Man.) Taken in Greenland in 1887, 1892, 1893 and 1894. {Winge.) In The Auk for January, 1899, Mr. James McKinley, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, records the shooting of a specimen of this species in a marsh near Pictou nearly twenty-five years ago. The speci- men remained unidentified until a recent visit paid to Pictou by Mr. F'rank M. Chapman, who at once identified it. LXXVIII. lONORNIS Reichenbach. 1852. 218. Purple Gallinule. lonornis marhnica (Linn.) Reich. 1852. A very rare casual in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. {Downs. Chamberlain.) .CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 143 Mcllwraith records the capturing of one individual at Pickering, Ont., in April, 1892. The above are all the records we have of this species. LXXIX. GALLINULA Brisson. 1760. 210. Florida Galliniae. Gallimdo galcatii (Light.) Bonap. 1832. A rare casual in New Brunswick. One shot at Dick's Lake, September, 1879. {Chamberlain.) A not uncommon summer visi- tor in Quebec. (Dionue.) A common summer resident at Montreal, but more plentiful in the autumn. {Wi/itle.) Not an uncommon summer resident in Ontario, and breeds from Ottawa to Lake Krie. Breeding Notes. -A nest of this species with seven eggs, partly incubated, was taken at Kars, on the Rideau River, Ont., 9th July, 1890, by Messrs. W. and F. A. Saunders. A few years ago this was a common bird in many parts of Ontario but is becoming scarcer every year — not by reason of hunters only, but because of the draining and drying up of many of its former haunts. It still breeds in the inland marshes between Kingston and Brockville, and occasionally along the River St. Lawrence. It constructs in the water a nest of last year's stems of bullrushes, well surrounded by a growth of the same. Except in one case I have been able to row in a boat to all the nests I have found. The eggs are usually laid from the middle of May onward, the largest number I have found in one nest being eleven. They exactly resemble in size and colour fhe well known " Moor-hen " of Britain, as does the location of the nest. {Rev. C.J. Young.) This species builds in the larger marshes only. I have found it, however, in the marsh at Toronto. The nest is built like that of a Rail, fastened to the surrounding rushes, and usually high enough to escape the moisture. Eggs six to ten. {W. Saunders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring. Two sets of eggs, one taken by Rev. C. J. Young, on May 27th, 1892, 1 144 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. LXXX. PULICA LiNN/i.:us. 1758. 220. EiiTopean Coot. Fulica atra Linn. 1758. Accidental in Greenland. {A. 0. U. List.) Collected in South Greenland, and now in the Copenhagen Museiwi. Winge.) 221. American Coot. Mud-hen. Fulica a7nenc ana Gmel. 1788. Twice obtained in Greenland in the same year (1854) ; once at Godthaab and once at Disco Bay. {Arct. Man.) One shot on a lake near Nain, Labrador, several years ago. {Packard^ Not very common in the autumn in Nova Scotia. {Dozuns.) A summer visitant, increasing in numbers in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain.) Breeding in the valley of the St. Lawrence and western Quebec and throughout Ontario, and westward to the Pacific coast and Vancouver Island. The writer found it scattered throughout the prairie region, generally in large flocks, but often only a few pairs, or one pair, in small ponds. The chief breeding- grounds are in Manitoba and northwestward. It was breed- ing in Vermilion Lakes at Banff, Rocky Mountains, May nth, 1891. Richardson says its northern limit is Lat. 53®, and Bernard Ross puts its limit at Fort Simpson, on the Mac- kenzie, in Lat. 62° 30'. Although quite common in British Columbia, only one specimen is recorded by Nelson as taken in Alaska. Breeding Notes. — The Coot builds on a mass of old reeds. The nest is composed of small pieces of reeds and marsh grass, with no particular lining. The eggs, six or more in number, are of a clear clay colour, dotted all over with specks of dark brown. As the old bird has a habit of covering the nest over whenever she leaves, it is very hard to find. Breeds in the marshes around Ottawa, Ont. (G. R. White.) Breeds in the same localities with the Florida Gallinule, and constructs its nest in the same manner. {W. Saunders) Nests in reeds and grass growing in the water along the margins of lakes and ponds. The nest is composed of reeds and grass, and rather small and shallow. The young leave the nest as soon as they are hatched. Found breed- CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS MS ing in marshes at Indian Head and Crane Lake, Assa., a. Banff, Rocky Mountains, and at Kamloops, B.C. i^Spreadborough) In a marsh at Crane Lake, composed chiefly of Carex aristata and a few clumps of Scirpiis laaistris, the writer, in the course of an hour's wading, discovered eighteen nests of this species, nearly all of which contained eleven eggs. From ten to twelve was the usual number. The young hatch out very irregularly, and as fast as the)- come from the shell they leave the nest and take to the water. The nests were all made of the dead Scirpiis and lined with the broad leaves of the Carex. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken by Mr. S. Herring in Toronto marsh, and two others at Kamloops, B.C., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. A set of twelve eggs, taken by Mr. Dippie at Long Lake, Man. Also a set containing six eggs of the Coot and two of the Lesser Scaup, taken at Burnt Lake, Alberta, June 14th, 1896, and pre- sented to the Museum by the same gentleman. Order LIMICOL^. Shore Birds. Family XIX. PHALAROPODID-ffi. Phalaropes. LXXXI. CRYMOPHILUS Vielliot. 1816. 222. Red Phalarope. Crymophiliis fiilicarius (Linn.) Stejn. 1885. Said to be the latest summer bird to arrive in Greenland ; very rare in the south and not known to breed below Lat. 68° N., but thence northward, common. {Arct.Mati. ) It is a common migrant in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec, but rare in Ontario and prefers the coast to the more inland waters. It is abundant on the shores of Hudson Strait and a few breed there according to Turner. Only two specimens have been seen on the prairies by the writer, one shot on Long Lake, in July, 1879, and another on Old Wives Lake, in May, 1895. Fannin mentions the species as being taken in British Columbia at Bur- rard Inlet and at Chilliwack only. This species abounds in high northern latitudes, breeds on the North Georgian Islands and Melville Pei insula, and was often seen by northern expeditions swimming in the sea far 10 146 GEOLOOICAI. SURVEY OF CANADA. from land. {Ric/uirdson.') This bird is fairly abundant on the shores of Franklin Bay, where nests were obtained on marshy flats in the first week of July, 1864. {Macfarlmie.) This speci(;s arrives at the Yukon mouth and adjacent parts of the Behri"^ Sea coast during the last days of May and the beginning of June. It breeds abundantly on all the coasts and islands and far into the interior. {Nelson.) The Red Phalarope arrives at St. Michael about the beginning of June. It is not abundant at any time but is rather more common on the mainland than on the island of St. Michael. In the neighborhood of the Yukon Delta it is abundant throughout the summer. {Turner.) One of the commonest birds at Point Barrow, and remaining till late in October when the sea begins to close. {Murdocli.) Breeding Notes.— Very early in June, at .St. Michael, Alaska, the eggs are laid in a slight depression, generally on the damp flats where the birds are found. There is rarely any lining to the nest. Towards the end of June most of the young are hatched and by the middle of July are on the wing. The sites chosen for this bird's nest are very similar to those taken by P. lobatus, except that the latter may pick dryer situations. One nest was taken on June 8th within six feet of a brackish pool, the eggs being deposited in a nest of dried leaves under a dwarf willow. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring. LXXXII. PHALA.ROPUS Brisson. 1760. 223. Northern Phalarope. Phalaropus lobatus (Linn.) Salvad. 1872. Seems to be the commonest species of Phalarope in Greenland, and possibly very far to the northward. {Arct. Man.) Breeds on islets in Ungava Bay and is common along the northern coast of Labrador. {Turner) Observed about a dozen in a small pond on an island in James Bay, June i6th, 1896, where they were evidently breeding. None were seen in the interior of Labrador. {Spreadborough.) A migrant in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In Quebec and Ontario it is a common migrant and is doubtless common in summer in all parts of Hudson Bay, where it undoubt- CATALO(iUU OK CANADIAN HIRDS. M7 «dly breeds in large numbers, although it seems to be a rare migrant in Manitoba. Dr. Coues found this bird in numbers in a pool near the ba.sc of the Rocky Mountains, not far from the In- ternational Boundary, on August i6th, 1874, and thought it might breed there. It was very abundant at Indian Head, Assa., in 1892. Spreadborough says it was first seen there May 15th, but by May 25th to 30th there were thousands at Deep Lake, yet on June 3rd they were all gone. On June 3rd. 1895, specimens were shot at Thirty-mile Spring, and on June ^th others at Twelve-mile Lake, near Wood Mountain, Assa. They seemed to be breeding. Rich- ardson, Ross and Macfarlane agree in saying that this species occurs in immense numbers in the breeding season both in the wooded country and Barren Grounds and extends right up to the Arctic Coast. Nelson and Turner both say that this is a very common species in Ala.ska, breeding throughout most of the coun- try, but especially along the marshy northern coast. In British Columbia it is a common migrant, and Mr. Fannin has taken it in July on Burrard Inlet, so it is probable that a feu pairs breed there. Breeding Notes.— This species arrives at St. Michael, Alaska, about May 25th. Its food consists entirely of aquatic worms, slugs, larvai and flies. It breeds in June. The nest is placed among the grasses and consists of a lot of grass-blades arranged with little care. Four or five eggs, of greenish ground, thickly bloched with dark, are laid. The young are able to fly by the first of August. {Turner) The usual number of eggs is four, which vary considerably in exact colouration. The ground- colour in the very large series before me, obtained in the vicinity of St. Michael, shades by every degree from greenish-clay colour to w-"im, buffy, olive-brown. The spots and markings are very irregular in size and shape, but are usually larger about the large end of the egg. {Nelson) The nest, like that of the Red Phala- rope, is a slight depression in the ground, lined with a few dry leaves and grasses, and is almost invariably situated on the margin of small pools or sheets of water. Upwards of seventy nests were secured, the number of eggs being always four. {Ma£- farlane.) museum specimens. Nine in number ; one taken on Unimak Island, Behring Sea, August 6th, 1891, by Mr. J. M. Macoun; three at Indian Head, Assa., one at Twelve-mile Lake, Wood Mountain, Assa., three at Banff ioy2 m iMji m 148 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Ol- CANADA. and one at Kicking Horse Lake, Alberta, by Mr. VV. Spread- borough ; two others were taken at Toronto, Out., by Mr. S. Her ring. LXXXIII. STEGANOPUS Vikllk.t. 1819. 224. Wilson's Phalarope. Steganopus tricolor Vieill. 1819. Occasional in Quebec. {Dioune.) An accidental visitor in Ontario. {Mclhvraith) This is a common species throughout the whole prairie region, breeding by marshy ponds in all suitable places, from Pembina to the Rocky Mountains. Richardson says it does not extend to the north farther than Lat. 55°. Fannin has not seen it and Brooks only once positively identified it in the Fraser River valley, at Chilliwack.- Breeding Notes. — This species was first seen May i8th, 1892, at Indian Head, Assa., but never became common, although it breeds in large numbers in the " sloughs " to the south of Deep Lake. Its habits are much like those of the Sandpipers as it runs up and down the shore like them and swims very little. On June 23rd, a young one had three black stripes on the back, one reaching from the base of the bill to the rump. The rest of the body was bright buff, almost orange. This species is common from Indian Head to Edmonton, Alberta, nesting among short grass in low damp ground near water. Nest, a shallow hole in the ground. Imed with a little grass. Young leave the nest ;'.s soon as hatched. {Sprcadborougli.) This species breeds at Rca- burn, Man., Rush Lake, Assa., and Buffalo Lake, Alberta. {Dippic.) A number of nests of this species were taken by the writer on June 5th and 6th, 1895, ^^ Twelve-mile Lake, near Wood Mountain, Assa. They contained from three to four eggs each. The nest was a small hole in the ground, generally between bunches of old grass, in a dry spot, either in or on the borders of a marsh. One nest was in a tuft of wild barley {Hordetmi jtibattim.) Quite com- mon at Crane Lake, Assa., and breeding, 1894. Found a nest with eggs nearly hatched on June 7th. Nest on the ground beside a tuft of grass ; breeding also in a marshy pond at the east end of Cypress Hills, June 26th, 1894, and at Cypress Lake and Sucker Creek, Assa., June 30th, 1895. CATALOGUE Ol" CAN AIM AK IlIRDS. MUSEUM SPKCIMENS. 149 Six fine specimens ; one taken in Alberta by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, two taken at Indian Head, Assa., two at Twelve-mile Lake, Assa., and one at Edmonton, Alberta, by Mr. W. Spreadboroufjh. Two sets of epgs taken at Twelve-mile Lake, near Wood Moun- tain, Assa., June 6th, 1895. Family XX. RECURVIROSTRIDiE Avocets and Stilts. LXXXIV. RECURVIROSTRA Linn^.us. 1758. 225. American Avocet. Recurvirostra amerkana Gmel. 1788. A single specimen of this bird was killed at St. John, N.B., and is in Mr. Carnal's collection. {Chamberlahi) I am aware of three individuals of this species having been taken at different times at Rondeau, on the north shore of Lake Erie, but these are all I have heard of in Ontario. {Mcllwroith.) Quite rare in eastern Manitoba, but common throughout the prairie region — chiefly on the borders of brackish ponds, where it breeds in great numbers. Its chief range is from the International Boundary north to Lat. 54°, but it has been taken as far north as Fort Rae on Great .Slave Lake. Breedino Notes. — The breeding range of this species, accord- ing to my observation, is from Indian Head to within a few miles of the Rocky Mountains. It was first seen at Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assa., on May 14th, 1892 ; by June 3rd it was breeding in numbers on a long point of land that ran far out into a small lake in Township 16, Range 13. At various times after June 13th, took numerous nests ; one was taken with two eggs, none with more than four. The nest, in nearly every case, was a shallow depression in the sand between three or four stones, and was lined with a few pieces of grass. The chief nesting places are on the borders of alkali ponds, and the nest is always near the water. Breeding generally commences the last week in Ma\-, and the young leave the nest as soon as hatched. {Sprcadborough) museum specimens. Eight fine specimens ; all taken at Indian Head, Assa., in the spring of 1892 by Mr. W. Spreadborough. I no OEOLOOICAI. SURVKY OF CANADA. Many eggs; our. set taken by Mr. J. H. Tyrrell at Sounding Lake, Alta., in June, 1886. All the others were taken at Crane Lake, Assa., by Mr. W. Spreadborough, on June gth, 1894, Family XXI. SCOLOFACIDiE Snipes, SANin-n-KRs, &c. LXXXV. SCOLOPAX Linn^;u.s. 1758. 227. European Woodcock. Scolopax rusHcola Linn. 1758. A single specimen is said to have been killed in the neighbour- hood of St. Johns, Newfoundland, in January, 1862. (Reeks.) A specimen was shot at Chambly, Quebec, on the nth November, 1882, by a French Canadian, and was secured by Mr. Brock Willett. It was sent to the late Mr. William Couper to be stuffed, who recorded its occurrence in the Canadian Sportsman and Natu- ralist. ( Win tie.) LXXXVI. PHILOHELA Gkav. 1841. 228. American Woodcock. P/iilo/iela minor (Gmel.) Gray. 1S41. Several persons stated they had killed Woodcock on the east- ern shores of Labrador. {Pack.;rd^ This species is common in Nova Scotia and breeds early in sprinj_ Downs.) An abundant summer resident in New Bruns- wick where it also breeds. {Chamberlain.) Found breeding at Georgetown, Prince Edward Island, August 17th, 1888 ; common in Quebec and Eastern Ontario, but more abundant in the western part of the province. It breeds throughout its range. Not so common as formerly in most parts of Ontario. This species is a rare summer resident in Manitoba, and pro- bably does not extend farther west than Brandon, as no specimens have ever been seen or recorded beyond that place — 150 miles west of Winnipeg. Breeding Notes. — A pair nested in a field near Bracebridge, Muskoka, Ont., a few years since, but the species is rare in this district. {Spreadborough.) It is becoming scarcer every year in CATALOCJUE OK CANADIAN IIIKDS. »5i the St. Lawrence valley. A few birds breed in the vicinity of the lake near Macintosh Mills, Ont. I met with a nest on June 3rd, 1891. It was made on a little mossy hillock in a small clump of secmd-fjrowth trees, near a large ^'rove, and at no great distance from the edge of the lake. At that date the eggs— four in number —were greatly incubated. They exactly resembled those of the old-world species. (AVr'. C.J. Vo/ui^i^r.) ()n May 20th, 1895, Mr. Robert Johnson of the Geological .Survey found a nest of this species in a piece of swampy ground on the left of the Chel.sea road, south of the crossing of the Gatineau Valley Railway. It was on a hummock in the swamp and was merely a depression lined with gra.ss and sheltered by cedar bushes. The locality is about four miles from Ottawa. MUSEUM SI'KCl.MENS. Two specimens, one presented by Dr. Charles Saunders, the other purchased in 1885 with the Holman collection. LXXXVII. QALLINAGO Lea( 11. 1816. 229. European Snipe. Gallinago !ralliii(f}!;o (Linn.) Liciit. 1854. One received from Dr. Paulsen in 1845, but the species has been so often ^observed in Greenland that it may very likely breed there. {Arct. Man.) This species and the next are, according to Winge {Greenland Birds, p. 176) about equally numerous in Greenland. Neither is common. Kc thinks they may perhaps breed. 230. Wilson's Snipe. Galiinago dclieata (C)rd) A. O. U. List. 1886. A common summer migrant and breeds in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and abundantly on all the islands in the Gulf of .St. Lawrence, as well as in Quebec and eastern Ontario. Spreadborough found it breeding in a marsh at Moose Factory, James Bay, and at Great Whale River, Hudson Bay, where he saw one with a young brood in July, 1896. In the west, it is found throughout the whole prairie region, especially in all marshes in the wooded country, but never in con- siderable numbers. Seldom more than two pairs are seen in the 152 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. same locality in summer. This species is found in British Colum- bia, from the International Boundary to Alaska, and on Vancouver Island., where it breeds, and according to Brooks a few winter on Lake Okanagan, B.C. Both Turner and Nelson report it of wide distribution in Alaska, and Macfarlane found it breeding on the Anderson River. Breeding Notes. — A few pairs still breed in the county of Leeds, Ont. Early in June, 1892, a nest with four eggs was ob- tained at " Black Pond" near Brockville ; on the 9th, June 1896, I saw one of these birds perched en a stump in a wet meadow ; no doubt the female was nesting in the vicinity. The place where I have noticed this species breeding most commonly was on the Mag- dalen Islands. There it may still be said to be plentiful. I obtained three eggs, incubated, early in June, 1897. It breeds principally in boggy places not far from the sea. and in the breeding season is quite noisy and soon makes its presence known. The nest on the Magdalen Islands is not, as a rule, placed in the wettest part of the bog but near the edge of the growth of spruce, where a stunted tree struggles to live here and there in the shaking bog. Alongside one of these, or even under a branch, a nest may be found, in which respect as far as the selection of a breeding-site goes, it differs somewhat from its very near relative, the European Snipe. {Rev. C.J. You?ig.) I am informed by Mr. John Burk, a farmer near Rondeau, Lake Erie, and an accurate observer, that he has of late years found several nests of this species near the marsh. {\V. Saunders.) The favourite haunts of this bird are the open grassy sloughs or bogs which intersect Manitoba. The position of the only nest of this species that I found was in a slightly-elevated tussock or sod in the middle of a wide muskeg. The nest consisted of a slight hollow, with a few straws for lining and was raised only a few inches above the water. This was in the third week in July, and by the 27th of that month the four young ones were hatched and immediately left the nest. {Setov-T/iompsoti.) In August, 1894, the writer saw a female and young birds of this species in the marsh at St. Patrick's Street bridge, Ottawa, Ont.; ■jarl>- in May, 1890, he found a nest beside a log in a small bog close to the Canadian Pacific Railway water-tank at Revel- stoke, B. C. The nest was close to the water and any one walking along the railway could see the bird, but she hatched out CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 153 her young and led them off in safet)'. Another nest was found in a bog a little south of Donald in the Columbia valley, B.C., in July, 1885 ; this contained four eggs almost incubated. Breeding at east end of Cypress Hills, Assa., on June 24th, 1894. Young ones able to fly. Mr. Fannin writes that the eggs of this species were taken near Enderby, south of Shuswap Lake, B.C., May, 1 891, by Mr. De Blois Green. This species is not particularly numerous in the Anderson River country, as we found comparatively few nests. I may here remark that the nests of all the snipes and sandpipers are much alike in composition, number of eggc.and situation. {Macfarlane.) MUSEUM .SPECIMENS. l''our specimens ; one taken near Ottawa, Ont by Mr. S. Herring, in 1886 ; two taken at Banff, Rocky Mountains, and one at Edmonton, Alberta, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. We have a few eggs in the collection. One received from the Rev. C.J. Young, taken on the Magdalen Islands, June 21st, 1897 ! the others taken in Assiniboia and received from Mr. Raine. 230.1. Greater Snipe. Gallinago major (Gmkl.) Koch. 1816. Accidental in North America. Taken in Hudson Bay. {Coties, Auk, vol. XIV., p. 2og, i8gy.) LXXXVni. MACRORHAMPHUS Leach. 1816. 2!i. Dowitcher. Red-breasted Snipe. Macrorhamplius grisms (Gmel.) Leach. i8i6. Occasional in Greenland. One sent from Fiskenaes to Copen- hagen in 1824. {Ant. Man.) Rare at Fort Chimo, Ungava. Common in southern and western portions of Labrador. {Turner.) J\ summer migrant in Newfoundland and breeds. (Reeks.) Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay. {Wright.) Not uncommon in Quebec. {Dionne.) Occurs in small flocks along the Richelieu River near St. John, Que., but is rarer near Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. (IVititle.) A pair was shot at Ottawa, Ont., by Mr. G. R. White, May 22nd, 1890, and a few others recorded. Mc- Ilwraith says it is a straggler in Western Ontario. n 154 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Its breeding-grounds seem to be to the north and northwest of Hudson Bay. MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring in 1884. 232. Long-billed Dowitcher. Macrorhamplms scolopaceiis (Say) Lawk. 1852. This species takes the place of M. griseiis from Manitoba west- ward. Although not common in eastern Manitoba it becomes abundant to the west, and during migration this species is very plentiful throughout the prairie region. As it arrives in great numbers on the prairie in August its breeding-places are likely south of the Arctic Circle. Besides covering much country east of the mountains it is very abundant in Alaska, breeding as far north as Point Barrow, where Murdoch says it is not common in the breeding season. It is very rare in the Rocky Mountains, only one being taken at Banff in 1891. Both Lord and Fannin say it breeds in British Columbia, and Brooks found it common in autumn in the Fraser valley. Spreadborough found it in large flocks at Stubb Island, west coast of Vancouver Island, August, 1893. Breeding Notes. — This species arrives quite early at the Yukon mouth, often by the lOth May. Towards the end of the month it is plentiful and is beginning to breed. On June i6th, while cross- ing a tussock-covered hill-top, over a mile from any water, I was surprised to see a female of this species flutter from her nest about six feet in front of me and skulk off through the grass with trailing wings and depressed head for some ten or fifteen yards. She stood, nearly concealed by a tuft of grass, and watched me as I pillaged her nest of its treasures. The eggs, four in number, rested in a shallow depression formed by the bird's body in the soft moss, and without a trace of lining. Other nests taken were of the same character. By the last of July the young birds can fly with their parents. {Nilson) A few nests of this species were taken between the 2is't June and July 1st. The eggs were always four in number. {Mtufarlanc.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Seven specimens taken at Indian Head, .Assa., and Edmonton and Banff, Alta., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN lURDS. 155 LXXXIX. MICROPALAMA Baird. 1858. 333. Stilt Sandpiper. Micropalama himantopus (Bonap.) Baird. 1858. Not common at Cow Head, Newfoundland. One specimen killed in September, 1867. {Reeks.) Three seen and one shot at Courtenay Bay, New Brunswick, September 8th, 1881. {Chamber- lain.) Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay. {Wright.) A number of specimens have been taken in Ashbridge Bay, Toronto, Ont., one as late as July 28th, so that it is possible a few pairs may breed. It seems to be rare in Manitoba, as Seton-Thompson records only one positive capture, but Spreadborough found it common at Indian Head, Assa., in September, 1891. In the following spring it was first seen on the i8th May, and had disappeared by June 5th. Dr. Coues obtained specimens in a pond near the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains on August i6th, 1874, in Lat. 49°. Sir John Richardson says it is not uncommon up to the 60th parallel and still farther north. It is frequent in the interior in the breeding season, and resorts to the shores of Hudson Bay in autumn, before going south. It was found by Ross on the Mackenzie as far north as Fort Simpson, but rare. Our records of this species are scanty, but its chief breeding- haunts are likely along the southwest side of Hudson Bay. Breeding Notes.— The Stilt Sandpiper was fairly abundant on the shores of Franklin Bay, where a number of nests with eggs and young were discovered. It is, however, very rare in the interior, only one nest being taken at Rendezvous Lake on the borders of the wooded country east of Fort Anderson. (Mac- farla)te.) MUSEUM specimens. Of this species there are si.x specimens ; one taken in Toronto marsh in 1875 by Mr. S. Herring, and the others at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. XC. TRINGA Linn.*:us. 1758. 234. Knot. Grey-back. Robin Snipe. Tringa camiUis Linn. 1758. Rare in the south of Greenland but often met with in the north ; believed not to breed below Lat. 68° ; reported to :>ave 'i .c||| ''■I • I HI '■ I 156 GEOLOGICAL SURVKY OF CANADA. been found breeding on Melville Peninsula and Parry Islands. {Arci. Man.) A migrant in Newfoundland ; a rare winter visitant in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Rare in Quebec and Ontario. On the 4th June, 1890, Mr. Ernest White, of Ottawa, Ont., obtained eight specimens out of a flock of about seventy, but, strange to say, it has never been taken since. A few specimens are recorded from Hamilton, Ont., by Mr. Mcllwraith. Dr. Coues records taking a few specimens in immature plumage at Henley Harbour, Labrador, in i860. A tolerably common migrant in Manitoba but rare farther west. It is common in summer along the shores of the Arctic .Sea and on the islands to the north. In Alaska it is common in some localities and rare in others. According to Fannin it is abundant along the coast of British Columbia during migration. Breeding Notes.— The Knot breeds on Melville Peninsula and in other parts of Arctic America, and also in Hudson Bay, down to Lat. 58'. It lays four eggs in a withered tuft of grass. (Richardson.) Major Henry W. Feilden, naturalist to the Nares Arctic Expe- dition, says he was not so fortunate as to obtain the eggs of the Knot during his stay in the Polar regions, though it breeds in some numbers along the shores of Smith Sound and the north coast of Ginnell Land. On July 30ih, 1876, however, three sea- men walking by the border of a small lake, not far from the ship, came upon an old bird accompanied by three nestlings, which they brought to Mr. Feilden. Lieut. A. W. Greely, U.S.A., com- mander of the late expedition to Lady Franklin Sound, succeeded in obtaining the long-sought-for egg of this species. The specimen of the bird and egg were obtained in the vicinity of " Fort Conger," Lat. 81° 44' N. The egg was of a light pea-green colour, closely spotted with brown in small specks about the size of a pin's head. {The Auk, vol. 11., pp.ji2jij.) 2:;5. Purple Sandpiper. Tringa maritima Brunn. 1764. Occurs in winter off the coast of Greenland, if the sea be open ; breeds on Melville Peninsula and west side of Davis Strait. {Arct. Man.) Common in winter, and a few breed at Ivigtut, Greenland. {Hagernp.) This species abounds on the Atlantic CATALOCiUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 157 coast to the north and south of Labrador in spring and fall. (Turner.) Only one was procured or seen at Princ. of Wales Sound, Hudson Strait, in 1885. (Payne.) A summer migrant, but rare, at Cow Head, Newfoundland ; an uncommon winter resident on the Nova Scotia coast ; not rare on the coast of New Brunswick in winter; occasional at Beauport, Montreal, and other points on the River St. Lawrence. Occasional at Ottawa. Ont.,— one taken by Mr. N. Forbes on the Rideau River, October 28th, 1885, and another by Mr. G. R. White. The same year one specimen was taken at Hamilton, Ont., by Dr. K. C Mcllwraith. and a few others since. It has never been noticed in the west, and seems to be solely a northeastern bird. Breeding Note.s. This species breeds so far to the north that we can add nothing to what Sir John Richardson said so many years ago— that it breeds abundantly on Melville Peninsula and the northern shores of Hudson Bay. !■ m\ 236. Aleutian Sandpiper. Tritigacoiiesi (Ridgw.) Hartlauu. 1883. This bird nests throughout the Aleutian chain from the western- most island east to the Shumagin group, south of Aliaska. In its autumnal wanderings it extends all along the eastern shore of Behring Sea and even along the coast of the Arctic Sea. Its winter range includes the Aleutian Islands and the coast of Kadiak, with the mainland to Sitka and probably farther south. (^Nelson.) This species arrives at St. Michael early in May, and is then strictly littoral-maritime, resorting to the larger boulders and rocky shelves covered with sea-weed, among which the birds search for slugs and other marine worms. ( Tiiriier.) Breeding Notes.— The Aleutian Sandpiper arrives at .St. Michael early in May of each year and in considerable numbers, being generally, on its arrival, in the dark plumage, which is changed for that of summer by the first of June in this locality. By the middle of June it is rare to see one of these birds in the winter plumage. On assuming the summer plumage, their habits are entirely changed. They build their nests on the dryer places of the marshy ground, and are usually seen singly or in pairs. The nest is comfortably made of dry grasses and a few feathers, placed on a dry tuft of grass, perhaps, surrounded by water. I I' 1^ \m 158 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. The young are able to leave the nest by the loth of July. The number reared in a nest is four or five. They follow their parents until they assume the winter plumage, in the latter part of August or September or even later. {Turner.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens taken by Mr. J. M. Macoun in Behring Sea in 1891— one on St. Matthew Island and the other on Unimak Island. 287. Thick-billed Sandpiper. Prybiloff Sandpiper. Tringa ptiloccnemis Coues. 1873. Mr. H. W. Elliott, the discoverer of this species, speaking of its range, says that besides the Prybiloff Islands, he found it just as abundantly on St. Matthew Island in 1874, 200 miles to the north, where it was breeding in large numbers as it does on the Prybiloffs. A single pair was found nesting (by myself ) on the south shore of St. Lawrence Isi.^iPl in June, 1881. Krause.in winter, secured three specimens at Portage Bay, which is on the main- land near the end of Chilcat Peninsula, but saw no large flocks until April, so that it is probable they winter south along the coast of Alaska and possibly British Columbia. {Nelson.) Breeding Notes.— I may say that this is the only wader that incubates on the Prybiloff Islands, with the marked exceptions of a stray couple now and then of Phalaropus hyperboreus. It makes its appearance early in May and repairs to the dry uplands and mossy hummocks, where it breeds. The nest is formed by the selection of a particular cryptogamic bunch. It lays four darkly- blotched pyriform eggs, and hatches them within twenty days. The young come from the shell in a thick, yellowish down, with dark-brown markings on the head and back, getting the plumage of their parents and taking to wing as early as the lOth of August, {Elliott.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One pair taken on St. Lawrence Island, Behring Sea, by Mr. J.M. Macoun. on August 12th, 1891. 238. Shai'p-tailed Sandpiper. Tringa acuminata (Horsf.) Swinh. 1863. On September 16th, 1877, near St, Michael, I had the pleasure of securing a handsome young female of this bird, thus adding this CATALOCiUE OK CANADIAN UIRDS. •59 species to our fauna. Afterwards it was found to be the most common species of snipe at St. Michael, frequenting the borders of brackish pools and tide-creeks in company with other species At Port Clarence and Kotzebue Sound, single specimens have been taken and these, with those taken by the writer at St Michael, include all the specimens up to date. {Nelson ) Taken at Massett, Queen Charlotte Islands. B.C., Dec. 2;th 1897 by Rev J. H. Keen. {Fannin.) A species of Eastern Asia and 'evi- dently breeding near the mouth of the Yukon. 239. Pectoral Sandpiper. Jack-snipe. Trhiga nmculoia Vieill. 1819. One was received from Greenland in 1851 bj- the Copenhagen Museum, and two others were sent there from near Disco in i8;q {Arct. Man.) Occasional in Greenland. Several skins have been taken since i860. {Winge) A common migrant along the whole Atlantic Coast from Cape Chudleigh south to New Brunswick atid in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, but rare farther west' Only one specimen was seen by Mr. Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa.. in the spring of 1892, and further west, along Milk River, a female was shot, July i6th, 1895. Nelson and Murdoch say that it is common in Alaska, breeding in numbers as far north as Point Barrow. North of the Mackenzie River and along the Anderson River, farther east, it is quite rare as Macfarlane saw very few and obtained no nests. Fannin and Jrooks report that it is not common in the migrations in British Columbia. On Stubb Island, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Spreadborough killed ten at one shot in August, 1893. Breeding NoxES.-This species arrives at Point Barrow about the end of May or early in June, and frequents the small ponds and marshy portions of the tundra along the shore, sometimes associated with other small waders, especially with the Buff- breasted Sandpiper, on the high banks of the Nunava They begin pairing soon after their arrival, and are frequently to be seen chasing each other in the air with a loud chatter The nest IS always built in the grass, with a decided preference for high and dry localities, such as the banks of gullies and streams It is sometimes placed at the edge of a small pool, but always in grass and in a dry place, never in the black clay and moss, like the •if i6o GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Plover and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, or in a marsh like the Phalaropes. All the complete sets contained four egf,'s. {Mur- doch.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens ; one taken at Ottawa, Ont., in October, 1884, by Mr. Ernest White, the other shot by Mr. W. Spreadborou^h on Milk River, Alberta, July i6th, 1895. 240. Wliite-rumped Sandpiper. Tringa fuscicollis Vieill. 18 19. Believed by Holbcell to breed near Julianshaab, Greenland, where both old and young birds have been seen. {Arct. Man ) A few skins taken in Greenland since 1840. Perhaps a few breed. (Wtfige.) A common migrant along the whole Atlantic coast and Gulf of St. Lawrence as well as the river up to Montreal, becom- ing scarcer in Ontario and increasing again in Manitoba where it is common as a migrant. A few seen as far west as Crane Lake, Assa. A few must breed around Indian Head, Assa., as they were observed there from May 9th to July ist, 1892, when Spreadborough left. Sir John Richardson says this species is not infrequent on the shores of the small lakes that skirt the Saskatchewan plains. Murdoch records the shooting of two birds of this species at Point Barrow which is the only Alaskan record. Payne says they occur in large flocks in late summer at Cape Prince of Wales, Hudson Strait, but do not breed. Both Spreadborough and Turner found them in large numbers in Ungava Bay, Labrador, in the autumn, and Macfarlane found a few breeding on the shores of Franklin Bay, Arctic Sea. Their chief breeding-ground would seem to be north of Hudson Bay and northwesterly along the shores of the Arctic Sea to the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Breeding Notes.— Several nests of this Sandpiper were taken on or near the Arctic coast of Franklin Bay. One taken July 3rd contained four eggs with very large embryos. Another discover- ed on the following day held but three eggs. A third found in the Barren Grounds on the 29th June was, like the rest, a shallow depression in the ground, lined with a few decayed leaves, con- taining four eggs, also having very large embryos. A fourth, on the banks of a small river, held four eggs. {Mar/ar/^fic.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. i6i A pair, taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring, in October, 1884. 241. Baird's Sandpiper. Tringabairdii (CouEs) Sci.at. 1867. Accidental at Digby, Nova Scotia. Gilpin.^ Rare visitor at Montreal, one shot out of a flock of .Semipalmated Sandpipers September 17th, 1892. {Wintle.) Prior to 1886, only one speci- men of this species had been recorded in Ontario. One specimen was taken on the 23rd of August, 1886, and two more on the 1st of September. These four are the only specimens known to the writer. {Mclhvraith.) This is a common migrant in Manitoba and westward to the Rocky Mountains. It was first seen at Indian Head, Assa., on May 9th, 1892, was common by the i6th and disappeared on the 2nd of June. Rather rare in Alaska, but more common as we proceed to the north. Nelson found it at pLces along the Arctic coast, north of Kotzebue Sound and at Point Barrow in August, 1881. Brooks found it abundant at Sumas Lake, on the Lower Eraser River, B.C., in the fall, but rare in the spring, on account of the inundation of their feeding-grounds. Spread- borough shot three out of a flock of ten on the 23rd August, 1893 on Stubbs Island, west coast of Vancouver Island. Mr E An- derson took it on Lake Okanagan, B.C.. in October, 1897. Breeding NoxEs.-On the 24th of June, 1864, a nest contain- ing four eggs was found in the Barren Grounds in a swampv tract between two small lakes. It was composed of a few decay- ed leaves, placed in a small cavity in the ground shaded with grass. It is very uncommon in the north, though nests were discovered. {Macfarlane.) This species arrives at Point Barrow about May 30th. After the tundra becomes clear of snow It retreats from the beach and is especially to be looked for on dry grassy portions of the tundra. It is never very com- mon and is always solitary or in pairs. The nest was always well hidden in the grass and never placed in marshy ground or on the bare black portions of the tundra ; it consists merely of a slight depression in the ground, thinly lined with dried grass. All the eggs we found were obtained from the last week in June to !, 'P- l62 GEOLOGICAL SURVKY OF CANADA, the first of July, a trifle later than the other waders. {Murdoch.) There is no doubt that the breeding-ground of this species extends from the west side of Hudson Bay along the Arctic coast to Point Harrow. Spreadborough ^ '\> !hre. mi a small island in James Hay on June i6th, 1896. and believes they were breeding. MUSEUM .SPECIMENS. Nine specimens ; seven taken at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892, and two on Stubbs Island, west coast of Vanconvet- Island, August 23rd, 1893, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. 242. Least Sandpiper. Tnvga mimttilla Vieill. 1819. One shot in the spring of 1867 on Noursoak Peninsula, Green- land. {Arct. Mati.) One taken at Disco Fjord, 1878. {IVingc.) A common summer migrant along the whole Atlantic coast, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and doubtless breeds in small numbers in eastern and northern Labrador as well as on Anticosti and the Magdalen Islands. It is a common migrant in Quebec and Ontario, and extends as a migrant across the con- tinent to the Pacific coast, where it was seen in large flocks on Stubbs Island, west of Vancouver Island, 1893. It is also found in the interior of Alaska, and may be said to be a bird of general dis- tribution, although very little is known of its breeding habits. Mr. Dippie collected specimens at Reaburn, Man., on June 15th, 1893, and believer a few pairs breed there. Hreeding Notes.— Audubon, Vol. V., p. 282, states that he found the nest and eggs July 20th, 1833, in Labrador. Turner believes that a few pairs breed at the mouth of the Koksoak RivL •, Ungava Hay. Spreadborough believes it breeds in James Bay and at Indian Head, Assa. Dr. Coues suspects that it breeds at Turtle Mountain, on the boundnry of Manitoba. The writer found young birds on Anticosti, near Southwest Point, in August. 1883, and very young birds at the east end of the Cypress Hills, Assa., on Augu.st 2nd, 1880. One nest was taken on Sable Island last summer (1899) by Mr. B .utillier, superintendent of lif°-saving stations. This species was found breeding abundantly at Fort Anderson, on the borders of, as well as in, the Barren Grounds, and on the CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN lURDS. 163 M near Arctic coast. iMacfarlanc.) I met with this species on the Magdalen Islands, and was successful in finding its nest there on June 22nd, 1897. We were driving along the edge of the sand- hills, towards East Cape, on that date. When passing a grassy flat near salt water, a bird of this species rose into the air. I hid myself, and soo had the satisfaction of seeing the bird alight in a dry place in the salt meadow I at once walked almost to the nest, and the bird fluttered away from the four eggs at my feet. They lay with the pointed enrls together in a small nest of dried grass, slightly concealed. Incub, tion had progressed about a week. I noticed a small flock of these birds at the Magdalen Islands on July ist. 1897. fhey were running about, among bunches of sea-weed, feeding. It occurred to me these were possibly non-breeding birds, or else males, the females nest- ing in the neighbouring bog. {Rev. C.J. Yoioig.') MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Six specimens, taken at widely separated localities. Three, at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892 ; two on Stubbs Island, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C., August, l893,by Mr. W. Spreadborough ; and one on Uniiuak Island. Behring Sea, by Mr. J. M. Macoun, in August, 1891. 242.1. Long-toed Stint. Tringa damacensis (Horsk.) Svvinh. 1863. Asia, breeding toward Arctic coast ; accidental on Otter Island Behring Sea, Alaska. {A. 0. U. List.) 243. Dunlin. Tringa alpi)ta Linn. 1758. Bird of passage. Taken occasionally in Greenland. (IVingc.) Accidental in eastern N- rth America, west side of Hudson Bav (A. 0. U. List.) 243a. Red-backed Sandpiper. Tringa alpina pacifica (CouEs) A. O. U. List. 1886. A rare migrant alon^ the Atlantic coast but commoner in Quebec and Ontario. According to Seton-Thompson it is tolerably II J^ III I i i64 GEOI.OGICAI. SURVUY OF CANADA common in Manitoba, but the writer has never seen it nor heard of its being seen west of that province. It seems to be common in summer on Hudson Hay and alon^,' the Arctic coast generally, especially in northern Alaska, where it breeds in great numbers, but never far from the sea. Both Brooks and Fannin speak of this species as being common on the British Columbia coast in spring and fall. Breeding Notes.— This bird breeds plentifully on the Arctic coast. Its eggs are oil-green marked with irregular spots of liver- brown, of different sizes and shades, confluent at the obtuse end. {Richardson.) This species is common at Point Barrow, Alaska, and breeds abundantly, although the nest is exceedingly hard to find as the nesting birds are very wary and use every possible strategem to mislead one when looking for the eggs. It arrives about the end of May. Some of them, perhaps, arrive paired, but the majority are pairing soon after their arrival, to judge by their actions. As the tundra gradually clears of snow they become more scattered and spread further inland, deserting the shores of the beach lagoons, although they hardly confine themselves as much to the dry portions of the tundra as Baird's Sandpiper is in the habit of doing. The nest, which is like that of all the rest of the waders, is always placed in the grass, some- times in dry and sometimes in rather swampy places, but never like the Phalaropes, on the black tundra or on the isthmuses be- tween the ponds. Both parents share in the work of incubation, though we happened to obtain more males than females with the eggs. {Murdoch.) In early seasons the first of these birds reach the Yukon mouth, and shores of Norton Sound by the lOth of May, and by the 2S^\\ of that month they are in full force. They arrive in full breeding plumage, and are generally in small flocks, which soon break up and the birds scatter in twos and threes over the moss and grass- grown tundra to pair and attend to their summer duties. They nest from the first of June to the first of July, and in 1877,1 secur- ed a set of four fresh eggs on the srd of the latter month. They generally choose some dry knoll, or other slight elevation, over- looking the neighbouring lakes and pools. Here, upon a bed of last year's grasses, but without the trouble of arranging a formal nest, the female deposits three or four large eggs of a pale green-' ish varying to pale brownish clay colour, with dull chocolate and umber-brown spots and blotches. {Nchon.) CATAI.OGUK OK CANADIAN BIRDS. l5} MUSRUM SI'I':CIMKN. Oiif specimen taken in Toronto marsh by Mr. S. Herring. 244. Curlew Sandpiper. Trin^i! /irntffine(7 Brunn. 1764. Occasional in Eastern North America and Ahiska. Very rare in Nova Scotia One purchased on Halifax market. {Dotvns.) Seen at Halifa.x in October 1864. {(lilpin.) I had the fjood fortune to capture a male in full breeding plumapc, the only one seen, at Point Harrow, on June 6th, 1.SH3. It was in com- pany with a Rood sized flock of Tritiga maculata. {Murdoch) Mr. J. H. Fleming of Toronto, Ontario writes that Mr. Ernest Seton-Thompson idi^ntified a specimen in the old Toronto Gun Club as this species. The bird was taken at Toronto. LXXXV. EURYNORHYNCHUS Nilsson. 1821. 245. Spoon-bill Sandpiper. Eurynorliynclius pygnuens (Linn.) Pearson. 183b. Accidental on the coast of Alaska. The presence of this little .Sandpiper in the list of Birds of Alaska is due to the cap- ture of a single specimen at Chloris Peninsula, during the sum ■ met of 1849 by the captain of the British ship Plover. Chloris Peninsula is a sandy spit which extends out into the head of Kotzebue Sound and is covered with pools of water. {Nelson.) LXXXVI. EREUNETES Illighr. 1811. 246. Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunctes pusilliis (Linn.) Cass. i860. A common fall migrant along the whole Atlantic coast and Gulf of St. Lawrence. In Quebec and Ontario it is equally abun- dant as a migrant, and also in Manitoba and westward, at least as far as the Rocky Mountains. In the spring of 1892 Mr. W. Spreadborough found the first birds at Indian Head, Assa., on May i6th. He remained there until July ist and they were still there, so that he believes they breed there. On May 25th, 1895, ^ P^"' was seen at a pool on the prairie near Old Wives Lake and later, on June 6th, a large i66 OEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. number were seen and a few specimens taken at Twelve-mile Lake, near Wood Mountain, Assa. Their great numbers in the east during the migrations and their late and dilatory spring movement in the west, point to their chief breeding grounds being on the southern and western shores of Hudson Bay, between James Bay and York Factory, as here there is a low marshy shore just suited for nesting. The Severn, where Hutchins found them breeding, is in this district. West- ward cf Hudson Bay it extends to Point Barrow in Alaska, where Murdoch says it arrives in large flocks in July and leaves in August. All came from the east and the specimens taken were young birds. One male taken at Ducks, near Kamloops, B.C., August i8th, 1889, by Clark P. Streator. Not uncommon in the Lower Fraser valley. {Brooks.) Breeding Notes. — Occurs sparingly at the mouth of the Koksoak River, Ungava Bay, Labrador, and from its actions indi- cated breeding. Audubon Vol. V., 278, states that he found them dispersed in pairs and having nests early in June in Labrador. {Turner.) Mr. Hutchins in 1770 writes as follows :— "This species arrives at Severn River (about 150 miles south east of York Factory) by the middle of May in large flocks, builds a nest early in June of withered grass, and lays four or five black and white spotted eggs. Towards the autumn it has a chirruping note, and in September it retires to the southward." {Richardson.) Fairly abundant in the Barren Grounds, but more so on the shores of Franklin Bay, where a number of specimens with eggs were procured. {Macfarlane.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Nine .specimens. One, taken at Toronto, purchased with the Holman collection ; two at Indian Head, Assa., in June, 1892 ; iffo at Thirty-mile Spring and two at Twelve-mile Lake, Wood Mountain, June 3rd and 6th, 1895; one at Crane Lake, Assa., June I2th, 1894; and one at Banff, Rocky Mountains, in May, 1891, all by Mr. W. Spreadborough. 247. Western Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereimetes occidcntalis Lawr. 1864. As soon as the snow disappears on the low ground about Norton Sound, Alaska, these little birds arrive on the shore of Behring CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 167 Sea, in the vicinity of St. Michael and the Yukon mouth. It frequents the Arctic coasts of Alaska in addition to being found throughout the interior along streams where suitable flats occur, {Nelson.) Abundant in all th'^; Aleutian Islands and at St. Michael outnumbers all other waders. (Turner.) A male taken at Ducks, near Kamloops, B.C., August 22nd, 1889. {Streator.) An abun- dant resident ; it is found throughout the year at Victoria, Vancouver Island. {Fannin.) Abundant in the fall at Sumas Lake, in the Lower Fraser valley. {Brooks.) Breeding Notes. — This species arrives at St. Michael by the middle of May. About the first of June it begins to build its nest among the dry mosses found on the low grounds. The nest is only a slight depression in the moss, containing a few feathers. Four or five eggs are laid. The male assists in incubating, as the first specimen which I obtained fluttered from the nest as if it were wounded. His fluttering wings, low piping note, and limping gait caused me to detect the nest almost at my feet. {Turner.) By the 1st of June, and earlier in some seasons, they have eggs, and in one instance young were found as early as June 7th. Their nests are usually on the drier part of the tundra, generally on a mossy hummock or slight swell. A sheltering bunch of dwarf willow or a few grass stems, in a tuft, form a favorite cover. The eggs are sometimes placed on a thin layer of dead grass-stems, or willow leaves, loosely arranged, but very commonly the mat of dry grass or willow leaves afforded by the spot chosen seivcs as the nest without special arrangement. {Nelson.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens — a male and female, both taken on Stubbs Island, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, August 29th, 1893, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. y/' LXXXVII. CALIDRIS CuviER. 1799-1800. 248. Sanderling. Calidris arenario Linn.) Leach. 18 16. Scarce, and said not to breed further south in Greenland than Lat 68°, but the young have been obtained at Godthaab ; breeds at Sabine Island and Parry Islands. {Arct. Man) Winge reports it from several localities in Greenland. It is said to be a much commoner migrant in the autumn than in the spring on the i68 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. whole Atlantic coast, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec and Ontaro along the rivers and lakes. It is also a common migrant in Manitoba. It was found there as late as June I2th, 1881, on the shore of Lake Manitoba by the writer, and in the autumn as early as the beginning of August by Nashjide Seton-Thompson. It doubtless breeds on Lake Manitoba or Lake Winnipegoosis in small numbers. It has seldom been noticed by us further west than Indian Head, Assa., and it was rare here in the spring of 1892, and at Thirty-mile Spring, near Wood Mountain, Assa., June 3rd, 1895. It occurs all around Hudson Bay and along the Arctic coast, being recorded by Ross, Richardson and Macfarlane. Neither Nelson, Murdoch nor Turner found it in Alaska, but Dall says it is very common at Nulato, and on the Yukon to the sea. Speci- mens have, however, been taken at Sitka, in Alaska, and it has been taken at Port Simpson, British Columbia. Brooks say.s it is rare in the lower valley of the Fraser. Breeding Notes.— This bird breeds on the coast of Hudson Bay as low as the 55th parallel. Mr. Hutchins informs us that it makes its nest in the marshes rudely of grass, and lays four dusky-colored eggs spotted with black, incubation commencing in the middle of June. It feeds on marine insects. {Richardson) On June 29th, I863, we discovered a nest of this species (the only one at the time known to naturalists) on the Barren Grounds, about ten miles west of Franklin Bay. The nest was composed of withered hay and leaves placed in a small depression in the ground. It contained four eggs which were quite fresh. {Mac- farlane) Parry found them breeding on the North Georgian Islands, and they undoubtedly breed along the barren Arctic coast east of Point Barrow. {Nelson.) Mr. W. Spreadborough observed a pair on a small island in James Bay on the i6th of June, 1896, which were doubtless breeding. As the mouth of the Severn River, where Hutchins found it breeding, is 500 miles to the north-west, this bird probably breeds on the west and south shores of Hudson Bay and on some of the large interior lakes. museum specimens. Four specimens ; one taken in Toronto by Mr. S. Herring, two at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892, and the fourth at Thirty-mile Spring, near Wood Mountain, June 3rd, 1895, by Mi. W. Sipread- borough. CATALOGUE OF C/ NADIAN BIRDS. 169 LXXXVIII. LIMOSA Brisson. i;6o. 249. Marbled Godwit. Limosa fedoa (Linn.) Sabine. 1823. This species is only a periodical visitor in Newfoundland, especially in the autumn ; very rare in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ; rare in Quebec and Ontario, and always as a migrant. It is a common summer resident from eastern Manitoba to the Rocky Mountains, seeming to prefer the margins of brackish lakes and pools. It is more plentiful north of the Canadian Pacific Railway than south of it, and is particularly abundant on the plains south of Battleford, Alberta. First seen at Indian Head, Assa., April 29th, 1892; after this they kept arriving up to June 24th, when I saw a number in a large marsh. They appeared to be breeding, but I failed to find any nests. {Spreadboroiigh.) Fannin reports this bird from southern British Columbia, in the Similkameen district, and says it breeds east of the Coast Range. Breedixg Notes.— We have never succeeded in finding the eggs of this species, but it breeds abundantly in the prairie region between Lat. 51° -52°, museum specimens. One specimen purchased with the Holman collection ; three taken at Indian Head, Assa., May, 1892 ; and two taken at Medi- cine Hat, May, 1894, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. 250. Pacific Godwit. Limosa lappoidca baucri (Naum.) Stejn. 1885. This bird was found by Dall to be plentiful at the Yukon mouth ; found by me common at Unalaska and St. Michael in the early part of May, {Nelson.) Met with as a migrant on the Aleutian Islands when on their way to the north. It doubtless breeds at St. Michael, but I did not obtain eggs. {Turner) This species only occurs at Point Barrow as a straggler after the breeding season. {Murdoch. Breeding Notes.— This species frequents open grassy parts of the country about St. Michael, ond is quick to protest against 170 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. •SI any invasion of its territory. Its nest was not found, but Dall informs us that it lays two light olivaceous spotted eggs in a rounded depression in a sedge tussock, lined with dry grass. {Nelson,) 251. Hudsonian Godwit. Limosa hcemastica (Linn.) Coues. 1874. This species is a common migrant in spring and fall in New- foundland ; an autumn migrant in Nova Scotia ; occasionally in both spring and fall in New Brunswick ; rather rare in Quebec but more so in Ontario. Its line of migration is from the Atlantic coast to Hudson Bay, as it is frequently taken at Churchill and York Factory. It is rare in Manitoba and Assiniboia, and none remain to breed. It was first seen by Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., on May nth, 1892, afterwards a few stragglers passed north but none remained. Richardson says this species breeds abundantly on the Barren Grounds and on the shores of the Arctic Sea and migrates southward in the autumn. One single specimen from Nulato and two from the Yukon mouth are all the records we have of the occurrence of this species in Behring Sea. A few have been taken in other parts of Alaska but only as stragglers. {Nelson^ Breeding Notes. — This species is not very common on the Barren Grounds, althofugh several nests were taken near the post on the Lower Anderson River. The nests were all mere depres- sions or small holes scooped in the earth, thinly lined with decayed leaves, and in almost every instance they contained four eggs. (^Mac far line.') MUSEUM specimens. One specimen taken on Toronto Island in 1865, purchased with the Holman collection, and two taken by Mr. W. Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892. 252. Black-tailed Godwit. Limosa limosa (Linn.) Ridgw. 1885. Occasional in Greenland. — Wince. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 171 LXXXIX. TOTANUS Bechstein. 1803. 254. Greater Yellow-legs. Totanus melmioleucus (Gmel.) Vieill. 1816. This species is a common migrant in both spring and fall along the whole Atlantic coast In the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Labrador coast it breeds in some numbers. In Quebec and Ontario it 's a common migrant, but there are no records of its breeding. It is an abundant migrant in spring, late summer and fall in Manitoba, but not very common to the west of that pro- vince, although taken all across the continent. It was found by Ross as far north as Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, and neither Macfarline nor Richardson found it near the Arctic Sea. A few specimens have been taken on the Pacific coast at Sitka, but no others in Alaska. An abundant resident along the British Columbia coast in winter; I found it breeding in the summer of 1891 around the lakes at Clinton, B.C. {Fannin.) Abundant in the Lower P'raser valley ; probably breeds. {Brooks) Breeding Notes.— Audubon, Vol. V., 319, states he found this species breeding in June in Labrador. {Turner.) Found in abundance on Anticosti, where it was evident'.v breeding ; about the mouth of the Mingan River it is said to breed regularly. {Brewster.) A pair observed on Moose River, northern Ontario, June 7th, 1896 ; none seen elsewhere that year. Resident on otubbs Island, west coast of Vancouver Island. Breeding in wet meadows among the woods north of the prairie, and in the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. I have seen young, scarcely able to fly, in July. When the old birds are disturbed they will oftc settle in trees. {Spreadborough.) museum specimens. Eight specimens. One taken at Toronto purchased with the Holman collection ; one 1;.^ rs at Ottawa in May, 1885, by Mr. E. White ; one taken at Ottawa by Mr. P>ed. Saunders in May, 1892 ; four taken at Indian Head. Assa., in May, 1892; and one taken at Victoria, Vancouver island, by Mr.W. Spreadborough in March, 1890. If. 172 GEOLOGICAr. SURVEY OF CANADA. 255. Lesser Yellow-legs. Totanns flavtpes (Gmel.) Vieill. 1816. One sent from Greenland to Copenhagen in 1854. {Arct. Man.) This is a common spring and autumn migrant in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, but rarer than the preced- ing. Reeks says it is a summer resident in Newfoundland, arriv- ing in May, and leaving in October, Spreadborough observed a number about a small salt marsh on the shore of James Bay on June 15th, i8g6, and was sure they were breeding. They have been observed on Hudson Bay at other points, and, no doubt, breed there. Mr. J. M. Macoun saw a pair evidently breeding on Lake Mistassini, Northern Quebec, in 1885. This species is a common migrant in Manitoba and wesf.ward through the whole prairie region and is found in the Rocky Mountains and through- out British Columbia as a migrant, though Fannin found it at Burrard Inlet all summer. Spreadborough saw it first at Indian Head, Assa., on April 25th, iSg.?, By May 1st it was common. A few remained to breed as the} were seen up to July when he left. Richardson says : — " This is a very common bird in the North-west Territories, and is seen either solitary or in pairs on the banks of every river, lake and marsh up to the northern ex- tremity of the continent." Previous to going south from Hudson Bay they gather in small flocks on the shores. On the Lower Yukon, in Alaska, this bird is not common, and is very rare along the shores of Behring Sea. In the Upper Yukon region it is, however, more or less common, and skins were brought to me procured at Fort Reliance. Specimens have been taken at Sitka and Kadiak Island, and Mr. Lockhart secured its eggs at Fort Yukon. {Nelson. Breeding Notes. — This is probably the most abundant and certainly the noisiest of all the waders met with at Fort Ander- son, in the Barren Grounds. Nests were taken at Fort Anderson, on the Lower Anderson, in the wooded country, and along the rivers which flow through the Barren Grounds. {Macfarlanc) Mr. Spreadborough thought a few pairs bred at Indian Head, Assa,, in July, 1892 ; and in June, 1897, ^t Edmonton, in Alberta, he saw them often sitting in dead poplars and upon stubs on the borders of wet meadows, but he could never find any nests. Mr. Dippie writes me that he believes the}- were breeding at CATALOGUE OK CANADIAN BIRDS. 173 Reaburn, Man., in June, I893, and at Buffalo Lake, Alberta, in July, 1896. On the 15th June, 1897, about 30 miles from Calgary, Alberta, the writer came upon a small flock at a grassy pond in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and from the actions of the birds it seems certain they were breeding, but no nests were found. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Seven specimens ; one taken near Toronto, in 1865, purchased with the Ilolman collection. Mr. W. Spreadborough took four at Indian Head Assa., in May, 1892, and two at Edmonton, Alberta, in May, 1897. One set of eggs, taken at Fort George, James Bay, in June, 1888, by Mr. Miles Spencer. XC. HELODROMAS Kaup. 1829. 250. Solitary Sandpiper. Helodromas solitariiis (Wii.s.) Sharpe. 1896. A migrant in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. A common summer resident in New Brunswick. Mr. Banks took a nest at Lily Lake in June, 1880. {Chamberlain.) The writer saw several pairs, which were evidently breeding, in July, 1888, along Black River, Prince Edward Island. Brittain and Cox foiuid this bird in the valley of the Restigouche, N.B., in summer, evidently breeding. Mr. J. M. Macoun found it a com- mon summer resident at Lake Mistassini, northern Quebec, in 1885. In other parts of Quebec it is repotted as a migrant. It is recorded as a summer resident at Ottawa, and is known to breed in the vicinity. There is still doubt regarding its occur- rence in summer in western Ontario, and observers there are asked to procure its eggs if possible In Manitoba, Hine and Nash — both close obse /ers— state that this bird breeds there and is abundant. Mr. Spreadborough only saw a straggler at Indian Head, Assa., in the spring of 1892, In the spring of 1897 he saw numbers at Edmonton, Alta , on the borders of bogs, and as they took to the trees he believed they were breed- ing. He also found them breeding at Jasper Lake, Alta.. in July, 189S. While making a traverse of the northern part of Labrador on July 24th, 1896, he shot a specimen from the top of a spruce 174 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. tree near a peat bog close to Seal Lake ; none were seen after this. Bernard Ross says that it extends as far north as Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River. Macfarline does not mention it, but Sir John Richardson says it has been shot as far north as Lat. 64^30'. Nelson, in his Birds of Alaska, says that a few skins of this species were brought to him from Anvik and Nulato, both on the Lower Yukon, and their occurrence here involves their occurrence on the Upper Yukon. Fannin and Brooks record it as being tolerably common in British Columbia. Breeding Notes. — We have very little actual knowledge of the breeding habits of this bird other than that it is solitary in its habits and has a tendency to take to trees when in proximity to its nest. Hutchins found the nest on the shores of Hudson Bay ; and according to Richardson its eggs were deposited on the beach and no nest formed. This tallies exactly with the con- ditions under which its nest was found near Castleton, Vermont, by Mr. J. Richardson, in May, 1878. In the latter case, the single egg was placed in a small depression in the ground, without any attempt at a nest. In July, 1881, the writer, when leading an exploring expedition up the Red Deer River, which empties into the head of Lake Winnepegoosis, came upon a pair of these birds on a point of bare rocks which jutted into the stream, and shot one. On the report of the gun. a young bird —still in the down — jumped up and ran, but was soon caught. On July 6th, 1896, while collecting plants in a swamp near Prince Albert, on the Saskatchewan, 1 saw a bird of this species sitting on a small birch, but could neither raise the other bird nor find the nest, The next day I visited the same place and found two birds sitting on trees, but failed to find the nest. On July 19th, 1895, I came ^cross a pair near Calgary, Alberta, which undoubtedly had young in the grass, one bird kept flying within a few yards of me as long as I stayed in a certain locality. I also observed this species in summer at Buffalo Lake, Alta. It was also seen at Manitoba House, Man., at the end of June, 1895. {Dippc.) Dr. Clarke of Kingston, Ont., in The Auk, Oct. 1898, and rhe Rev. C. J. Young in The Ottawa Naturalist, Dec. 1899, give detailed accounts of the finding of a nest of this species. Mr. Young thus CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 175 describes the nest and eggs : " The nest was in a tolt- rably dry- sandy place, and each time the bird left it, she flew to the creek, where she skulked and hid among the long grass, behaving in a manner unlike its habit during the spring and fall migration. It was constructed of bits of bark, moss, grass and rootlets, a considerable quantity of material being used. The three eggs are bluntly pyriform, the ground-colour drab, and the texture of the shell very fine and delicate ; in fact so much so that they required very tender handling in blowing. They are spotted all over, the spots and specks varying in size from a pin's head to a small pea; thsre are no blotches, but a few shell markings. These eggs are a trifle larger than Spotted Sandpiper's, averaging 1.25 X 1,00 inch." MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Six specimens in the collection, one taken at London, Ont., purchased with the Holman collection ; one taken at Ottawa by Mr. Fred Saunders ; one taken on Toronto Island by Mr. S. Herring ; two taken at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892, and another at Kicking Horse Lake, Rocky Mountains, August 13th, 1890, all by Mr. W. Spreadborough. 256«. Cinnamon Solitary Sandpiper. Hclodromas solitarius cinnamomcus (Brewster) A. O. I U. CoMM, Ms., 1899. Summer resident in the interior of British Columbia ; at Ducks near Kamloops, 1 saw individuals that were not yet able to fly. and must have been hatched in the vicinity. {Streator.) 25 Y. Green Sandpiper, Helodromas ochroptis (Linn.) Kaup. 1829. An individual of this species exists among a collection of birds from the North-west Territories, sent to the British Museum by the Hudson's Bay Company. Pennant says he also observed it among birds collected by Mr. Kuckan in North America. {Rich- ardson.) Accidental in Nova Scotia. {A. O. U. List.) 176 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. XCI. SYMPHEMIA KAiiNEsciUE. 1819. 258, Willet. Synip/uniitt setHipalmata {GuvA.) Wwiii.. 1845. A common spring and autumn migrant in Newfoundland. (Reels.) Common in summer and fall in Nova Scotia. Breeds at Port Pctpiswick. {Doivns.) Rather common at Grand Manan, New Brunswick. {Herriek.) Very little is known of this species in Ontario. On two occasioni. I have seen it brought in from the Hamilton marsh by gunners, but I never saw it alive. {Mc- Ikvraith) 258^?. Western Willet. Syinphemia scmipalmaUi inornata V>v.v.\\i%v . 1887. This is a common species in the prairie region west of Mani- toba. It frequents the margins of saline ponds and brackish marshes from western Manitoba to the Rocky Mountains, and from Lat. 49" to 56°. It breeds throughout its range. One specimen taken at Clover Point, Victoria, August 8th, 1898, b)' Mr. J. Henley. {Fannin. Breeding Notes. — First seen at Indian Head, Assa., May 6th, 1892. It was quite common a few days later, and spread itself through the marshes where it breeds in considerable numbers ; breeding also in great profusio.i in the marshes around Crane Lake in June, 1894. (Spreadborough.) On May 23rd, 1883, on the Alkali Plain, north of the land office at Turtle Mountain, I started a Willet from her nest, which was placed in a slight hollow, shaded on one side by the skull of a buffalo and on the other by a tuft of grass. It contained four eggs, ground color, dark olive- brown, with heavy, round, dark spots of brown and purple, evenly distributed without any approach to a rind about the large end. {Thompson.') This species breeds in both Manitoba and Alberta. In the latter Province, at Buffalo Lake, I found the young in the grass on July 4th, 1895. {Dippe.) M seum specimens. Seven specimens ; two taken at Sounding Lake Alberta, by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in June, 1886. All the others were taken by Mr. CAlALoCiUE OF CANADIAN UIRIXS. •7; W. Spreadborough at Indian Head and Cran.- Lake. Assa.and at Edmonton, / iberta, in the spring of 1897. ■ Cil. HETERACTITIS Stejn EOKR. 1884. 269. Wa dering Tatler. Hctcractitis incanus (Cr ) Stei 1884. This bird has been noted over the entire Pacific north of the equator. It is met with sparingly along the coast of Alaska, and •seems to prefer the k-bound portions. From the records obtamcd it must breed iiearl>'. if not quite, to the Arctic circle. (Nelson.) This species was found to be a rare bird in that part of Alaska visited by me. The natives report that they breed on Whale Island, near St. Michael, and from their actions I believe his to be true. {Turner.) Mr. Fannin finds this species common along the whole coast of British Columbia, where it breeds and is tolerabi - common The writer obtained both young and old birds on rocky ledges m Barclay Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in August, 1887. XCIII. PAVONCELLA Lkac 1.. 1816. 200. Ruff. PavonccUa pugnax (Linn.) Lhach. 1816. Accidental in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain.) This species was killed on Toronto Island in the spring of 1882, and is the only instance I know of its occurrenc in Ontario. {Mclkvraith.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two-a male and female-shot on Toronto Island by a Mr Humphrey in the spring of 1875. Mr. Samuel Herring vouches for their having been killed there. XCIV BARTRAMIA Lesson. 1831. 261. Bartramian Sandpiper. Bartramia longicauda (Bechst.) Bonap. 1857. Occasionally met ,vith in Newfoundland in the spring migra- tions. Casual in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and a rare 1 A %■■ . t flM IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1S» I.I 1.25 — .2 2.5 i2.2 ! -- IIIM ■UUu 111= 14 IIIIII.6 V] ^. ^ Va A / C//J i^W W ^> C'^ <^'^'^ ^ ^ <^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MA'N STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 V iV •s? \\ ^<6 V V ^ ^ 178 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. migrant in Quebec. The only point in Southern Ontario at which I have heard of these birds being seen lately is on the Lake Erie shore not far from Dunville, where Dr. Macallum is aware of at least tw', pairs having raised their broods during the two past summers — 1893-94. {Mcllwraith.) This species is an abundant summer resident in the whole prairie region extending from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, and from the International Boundary to lat. 54® in the eastern part of the region, and northwesterly to far north of the open prairie of the Peace River. According; to Fannin one specimen was taken at Comox, Vancouver Island, August 28th, 1895, by Mr. W. B. Anderson. Its occurrence in Alaska is accounted for by its northwest extension on Peace River. Only a few specimens taken at Fort Yukon are recorded from Alaska. Breeding Notes. — For some years past I have seen a few pairs of these birds every year in the neighbourhood of Kingston, Ont. Favorite resorts are Simcoe Island and Amherst Island, Lake Ontario, as well as eastward. A few sets of eggs are found yearly in the month of May ; in June 1894 a pair hatched out a brood in a pasture field near Lansdowne Station, on the Grand Trunk Railway. A dry rough field is its favorite abode ; in this respect it differs from other members of the family. It makes a nest of withered grass which it partially conceals amidst the dry growth of last year, and lays four eggs, resembling the wood- cock's, but larger. (Rev. C.J. Young) Its breeding centre is in Western Manitoba and Eastern Assiniboia. This species is quite rare in Western Assiniboia and Southern Alberta, and prefers well grassed prairie to that with a thin sod and little water. museum specimens. Five specimens ; one taken on Toronto Island by Mr. S. Her- ring ; one at Nose Creek, Alberta, by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell ; one at Indian Head, Assa, ; one at Medicine Hat, Assa. ; and one at Edmonton, Alberta, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Our collection of eggs is not large. One set ol four was obtained by Mr. J. B. Tyicll in Northern Alberta, on July ist, 1886 ; another was taken at Grenfel, Assa., by Mr. Lake in June, 1894. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 170 XCV. TRYNGITES Cabanis. 1856. 262. Buflf-breasted Sandpiper. Tryngites subruficollis (Vieill.) Ridgw. 1885. This is a migrant along the whole Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as along the river itself. Although a rare migrant in Ontario its eggs have been taken near Dunville, Lake Erie, by Dr. Macallum. {Mcllwraith) Seton-Thompson says it is a rare migrant in Manitoba and no specimens have been observed by the writer west of that province. On the Mackenzie, Bernard Ross reports this bird to be rare while on the Barren Grounds to the northeast Macfarline says it is common. Murdoch found it common at Point Barrow, while Nelson saw only a few specimens at the Yukon mouth. On the other hand Mr. Fannin reports it as tolerably common throughout British Columbia and also a resident. Mr. Brooks says it is a rare migrant in the Lower Fraser valley in the autumn. This species is common on the Arctic coast and on the Barren Grounds east of Horton River. Between the 26th June and the 9th July upwards of twenty sets of eggs were secured, and there were four in every nest, .vhich was a mere depression in the soil, scantily lined with a few withered leaves and dried grasses! When the nest was approached the female usually made a low flight to a short distance. (^Macfarline. ) This is an abundant summer resident at Point Barrow, and was more plentiful in the season of 1883 than it was the year before. They arrived in both seasons in a body about the same time (June 6th to 8th), and were, first seen on the dry banks below the village feeding greedily on the flies and beetles which were out sunning them- selves. By the middle of June they had spread pretty well over the dryer parts of the tundra, but always confined themselves to high and dry banks, or what we called the black tundra. The eggs as might be inferred from their colours, are laid in the latter locality, as a rule, where they harmonize very well with the black and white ground and moss. Like the rest of the waders this bird builds no nest but deposits the four eggs small end down in a snallow depression in the ground lined with moss. Four is the usual number of eggs in a complete set, though we collected one set with five. {Murdoch) 1 80 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA, The nest described by Dr. Macallum in McIIwraith's Birds of Ontario as of this species, is evidently referable to the next. MUSEUM SPECIMEN. One specimen, purchased with the Holman collection, Said to have been taken at Toronto, Ont. XCVI. ACTITIS ILLIGER. 1811. 263. Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia (L.wa.) Naumann. 1836. This is a common species in Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. In all these provinces it breeds, either by the sea, shores of lakes or banks of rivers, but never in colonies. Seldom more than one pair is found in the same place. From Manitoba to the Pacific it is found breeding in suitable situations, both in the mountains and on the plains. According to Ross and Macfarline it extends almost to the Arctic Sea, being common on the Barren Grounds and in the Mackenzie River valley. Only a few specimens have been taken in Alaska, along the Yukon, but there is no reason why it should not breed there. Breeding Notes.— Found breeding from Muskoka, Ont., to Victoria, Vancouver Island, and northeast to Ungava, in Labra- dor. Nest, a hole in the ground lined with grass, and placed beneath a tuft of old grass or small bush, always near water. The young leave the nest as soon as hatched. {Sprcadborotigh.) This species, besides breeding inland in all suitable places, is especially common near the St. Lawrence River. I I'ave found numbers of their nests in June along the gravel bar at the foot of Amherst Island, Lake Ontario ; also on the small islands down the river. They usually construct a nest in a bunch of weeds, of dried grass, chips or anything to hand, concealing it well. I have found the nest twice in a field of grain, away from water and once under a bush among trees on an island in a lake. The first eggs are usually laid about the 20th May, but are occasionally met with as late as July 1st. I met with this bird frequently breeding in the Magdalen Islands, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS i8i found a nest with four eg^s on June 26th, 1897, built in a dry grassy place amongst spruce bushes in just such a place as one would occupy in Ontario. {Rev. C. J. Yout?g.) The writer has found this species breeding in the sandhills at Brackley Point, Prince Edward Island, and on Cape Forteau, near Yarmouth, N.S., where a nest containing four eggs was taken on June 23rd, 1883. On June 29th, 1895, a nest containing four eggs was taken on the shore of Cypress Lake, Assa. The nest was of dried grass con- cealed under a tuft of old grass close to the lake and was only discovered by flushing the bird. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Ten specimens ; two taken at Toronto, Ont., by Mr. S. Her- ring ; the others by Mr. W. Spreadborough at Indian Head, Assa., at Canmore and Banff, Alberta, and at Revelstoke, Griffin Lake and Spence's Bridge, B. C. We have eggs taken on the Upper Hamilton River, Labrador, by Mr. A. P. Low, June 25th, 1894 ; and another set taken at Repulse Bay, Hudson M ait, by Captain A. Manny in June, 1896; a third set was taken by the writer at Cypress Lake, Assa, June 29th, 1895. XCVII. NUMENIUS Brisson. 1760. 264. Long-billed Curlew. Nuwenius longirostris Wils. 1814. A rare migrant in Newfoundland, and still rarer in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Rather more common in Quebec and Ontario, but only known as a migrant. In Manitoba this bird is comparatively rare as a breeding bird, but in Assiniboia and Alberta it is comm.on, and extends its breeding-grounds across the Rocky Mountains into British Columbia, where Mr. Fannin found it breeding at Okanagan and Similkameen. Its range to the north is limited, as we have no notices of it from north of the- prairie districts, and only one specimen is recorded from Alaska. A few specimens have been taken at Victoria and in the Lower Fraser valley, B.C. Breeding Notes.— A nest of this species was taken by Col. Wyndham on the Bow River, about fifty miles southeast of Cal- gary, Alta. Nest just a hollow in the ground, on the bare prairie lined with a few straws. {Dippie.) • 'ill 11 -Mt 1 82 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. This bird nests on the open prairie and its nest is exceedingly hard to find. The male flies towards any intruders and makes the air resound with its cries. It is soon joined by other birds from a considerable distance, who join in attracting attention by their noise and actions. The young are easily found, as at least one parent keeps in their vicinity. This species was found breed- ing at Wood Mountain in June, 1895, and for 150 miles to the west towards the Cypress Hills, upon which numbers were breed- ing in 1894. In the summer of 1897 it was found in southern Alberta, and was breeding, or rather caring for its young, west of Fort McLeod, in the latter part of July. In June, 1889, it was found breeding on the dry hills south of Kamloops, B.C. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Four specimens. One taken at Fort McLeod, Alta., by Mr. A. F. Grant, in 1888 ; the others by Mr. W. Spreadborough at Crane Lake and Medicine Hat, Assa., May, 1894, and at Kam- loops, B.C., June i6th, 1889, Three eggs taken by Mr. Raine near Rush Lake, Assa., June 1st, 1893, and a set taken by Col. Wyndham near Calgary, Alta. 2t)5. Hudsonian Curlew. Nume?dus hudsonicus Lath, i 790. Occasional in Greenland. Abundant in Newfoundland during the migrations, but does not breed on this island. An uncommon autumn visitor in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Brewster saw several large flocks of curlews, which t-e took to be this species, at East Point, Anticosti, on July 7tL Said not to breed on that island. It is a scarce migrant in Quebec and rather more common in Ontario, but is becoming scarcer according to Mcll- wraith. This species is not mentioned by Seton-Thompson in his Birds of Manitoba, nor has the writer seen it in any part of the Northwest. It is occasionally seen on the coast of British Columbia, but appears to be far from common, only two speci- mens having been taken. Hudson Bay and westward along the Arctic coast seem to be its summer haunt. It was common at Fort Churchill in 1884, according to Dr. R. Bell ; and Heme says it was common on the shores of the bay in his time. Macfarlane says it is by no means rare on the Barren Grounds, but is more CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 183 common to the west. From May i8th to 25th these birds begin to make their appearance on the coast of Norton Sound. Alaska, where, however, only a very few pairs remain to nest, the others passing on still farther to the north to the extended open country bordering the shores of the Arctic Sea. Breeding Notes. — The chief breeding haunts of this bird seem to be still unknown, but the fact of Hutchins speaking of it shows that many of the eastern migrants must breed along the south shore of Hudson Bay. museum specimens. Three specimens of this species, all taken on the island at Toronto, Ont., by Mr. S. Herring, 266. Eskimo Curlew. Nnmemus borealis (Forst.) Lath. 1790. By far the most common species of Curlew on the coast of Newfoundland, but a periodical visitor. {Reeks.) Casual in Green- land, and not uncommon in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but a rare autumn visitor in New Brunswick. A rare migrant in Quebec. Accidental in Ontario ; Mr. Mcllwraith says he is aware of only three specimens being taken in Ontario in twenty years. Mr. L. M. Turner observed several large flocks of this species flying over the mouth of the Koksoak River, Ungava Bay ; plen- tiful in the fall in southern Labrador, but the flocks do noi stop. Mr. Spreadborough saw none when he made a traverse of Labra- dor in July, 1896. It was found in large numbers in August, 1884. by Dr. R. Bell, at Fort Churchill on Hudson Bay. Macfarlane found it breeding m great numbers on the Barren Grounds. It is an irregular visitor at Point Barrow, and not a common one, but Murdoch says it is well known to the natives. Mr. Nelson reports this species to be the commonest of the curlews in northern Alaska, more especially along the coasts of Behring Sea and Kotzebue Sound. Breeding Notes. — This curlew frequents the Barren Lands within the Arctic circle in summer, where it feeds on grubs and ■1^1 .'Ml 184 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. freshwater insects and the fruit of Empetrnm nigrum. On the 13th June, 1822, I found one of these curlews hatching on three eggs on the shore of Point Lake. {Richardson) This species breeds abundantly in the Barren Grounds to the eastward of Fort Anderson— and, except when otherwise described, these are the " Barrens" which are invariably referred to, right up to the Polar Sea. The nests, in every obseived instance, were mere holes or depressions in the ground. Great difficulty was frequently experienced in finding them, as the eggs closely re- sembled the surrounding vegetation, and the bird glided off while we were still at some distance. Thirty sets of eggs were gathered, including several from the aforesaid Lower Anderspn " Barrens." {Macfarlane) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens of this species, said to have been taken on Toronto Island, Ontario, in 1864. They were purchased with the Holman collection. 267. Whimbrel. Numetiius phcBoptis (Linn.) Lath. 1787. Nearly a dozen examples sent from all parts of Greenland have been received at Copenhagen. Although Holbcell doubts its doing so. Prof. Reinhardt thinks that this species may breed in Greenland. {Arct. Man.) An example of this species was shot near Assuk, Greenland, on May 25th, 1885. {Hagerup.) Winge believes tnat this species may sometimes breed in Greenland and cites many instances of its having been taken in recent years. 268. Bristle-thighed Curlew. Numenius fakitiensis (Gmel.) Ridgw. 1880. On May 24th, 1880, a pair of these birds settled near by, where I was shooting black brant, on a rising stretch of land covered with large tussocks. I secured the male, which was in fine plu- mage, but could not find the female, although mortally wounded. This is the second known instance of this bird's occurrence on the shores of Alaska, the former record resting on the capture of a specimen at Kadiak Island by Bischoff. {Nelson) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN UIRDS. I85 Family XXII. CHARADRIIDiE. Plovers, XCVIII. VANELLUS Brisson. 1760. 269. Lapwing. Vanellus vanellus (Linn.) Licht. I854. One obtained 7th January, 1820, n'jar Fiskences, Greenland ; a second received at the Museum in Copenhagen from Julianehaab in 1847. {.Arct. Man.) On the islands in Norton Sound, Alaska. {A. O. U. List). XCIX. CHARADRIUS Linn^.us. 1758. 270. Black-bellied Plover. Charadrius squatarola (Linn.) Naum. 1834. Rare in Greenland, but found in both Inspectorates ; said to breed on Melville Peninsula. {Arct. Man.) A common autumn migrant in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A migrant in Quebec and Ontario in both spring and fall. Reversing its line of migration this bird appears in Manitoba, Assiniboia and Alberta in spring, and has been killed by Dippie at Reaburn, Manitoba, as late as June 1st. On Hudson Bay it is common, and extends its range thence westward including the whole Arctic coast and all Northern Alaska and down the Pacific coast to the southern boundary of British Columbia. Breeding Notes.— Our first introduction to this handsome and somewhat rare Arctic plover was on Island Point, in Franklin Bay, on July 4th, 1864. The nest contained four eggs and was composed of a small quantity of withered grass placed in a depression on tlie side or face of a very gentle eminence. Both parents were seen and the male shot. On the following day another nest with four eggs was discovered and a third also met with. In 1865 seven nests were gathered by our party in the same quarter. (Macfarlane) MUSEUM specimens. Three specimens ; one purchased with the Holman collection ; another taken on Toronto Island by Mr. S. Herring, and a third at Edmonton, Alberta, in May, 1897, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. I ,J|j %%: 1 86 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OK CANADA. 271. Golden Plover. Charadrius apHcarius Linn. 1758. One specimen, taken in summer plumage, was shot in the spring of 1871, on the Noursoak Peninsula ; and believed by Dr. Finch to breed in East Greenland. {Arct. Man.) The Director of the colony of Frederickshaab reports taking a young bird of this species in August, 1887. (Hagcrup.) 272. American Golden Plover. Charadrius dominicus Mull. 1776. Somewhat rare in Greenland, but possibij' breeds there as it does in considerable abundance on swampy places in the Parry Islands. {Arct. Man.) A common autumn migrant in Newfound- land, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Que- bec and Ontario. It is rarely seen in the spring and we have no account of its breeding in any of these provinces. In Manitoba and the other prairie provinces it is both a spring and autumn migrant and leaves for the north the last week in May, returning about the middle of August. It is not known to breed in Labra- dor but doubtless does along the western coasts of Hudson Bay. Its breeding grounds are from Hudson Bay westward, including the Barren Grounds and the coasts of the Arctic Sea, to the north of the Mackenzie, Point Barrow and south-westward around the whole northern coast of Alaska, where it seems to meet the Siberian form. It is said to breed in northern British Columbia, and the specimens taken, although not referable, according to Mr. S. N. Rhoads, to C.fidvus, are darker underneath than eastern specimens. Breeding Notes. — The breeding quarters of this well-known bird are the Barren Grounds and the coasts and islands of the Arctic Sea. It hatches early in June, and retires southward in August. {Richardson.) This beautiful species is very numerous in the Barren Grounds from the outskirts of the forest to the shores of the Polar Sea. The nests were found to be precisely similar to those of C. squatarola. They were also as difficult to detect, and for the same reason, a harmonizing resemblance of the egg markings to the surrounding soil and a timeous depar- ture of the female bird from her nest. I find 170 nests recorded in my notes. Except when there was reason to believe that the CATALOGUE OK CANADIAN BIRDS. 1%J full number had not been deposited four eggs were always met with. In one case there were five and in another only one. (Mac/ar/dfie. ) This species arrives on the shores of Norton Sound, Alaska, about the end of May. They soon pair and disperse, so that a few days after the main arrival their nests may be looked for. The nests arc generally in small depressions which may be found among the moss and dried grass of a small knoll, and at times a slight structure is made of dried grass. The grass, and perhaps, a few dead leaves of the dwarf willow are arranged in a circular, saucer-shaped form.about four or five inches across, and contain four eggs, which have a pale, yellowish ground colour, with very dark well-defined umber-brown spots scattered rather profusely over the shell, especially about the larger end. {Nelson.) The Golden Plover arrives at Point Barrow about the end of May. It was nesting before June 20th, both seasons I was at Point Barrow, though I was unable to find its nest before the 22nd. The nest is exceedingly hard to find although it is not concealed at all, but is simply a depression in the bare black clayey tundra, lined with a little dried moss. The only vegetation on this part of the tundra is white and grayish moss, which harmonize so extraor- dinarily with the peculiar blotching of the eggs that it is almost impossible to see them unless one knows exactly where to look. A favourite nesting place is on the high banks of the gullies or small streams. No nests were found in the grass or in swampy ground. {Murdoch.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Eight fine specimens ; one purchased with the Holman collec- tion ; one from the Yukon River, presented by Dr. Bell ; four taken at Indian Head, Assa, in May, 1892, and two at Edmonton, Alberta, in May, 1897, all by Mr. Wm. Spreadborough. 272^^. Pacific Golden Plover. Charadrius dominicus fulviis (Gu'E.i..) Ridgw. 1880. This form and the eastern one seem to grade into each other on the northern Alaskan coast, but C. fidvus is the commoner toward Behring Strait, and breeds along the coasts of both con- tinents around the northern shores of Behring Sea. No speci- mens of this form have been taken on the American coast south M 188 aEOLf)CJtCAL SURVEY Ol' CANADA. of Alaska. It is not uncommon on the islands off the coast, and Turner speaks of it being taken on the Aleutian Islands. Nelson says that on the Siberian Coast of Behring Sea the typi- cal Asiatic form is common, and is of much rarer occurrence on the Alaskan Coast, from the peninsula of Alaska north to Point Barrow. C. iEOIALITIS Bo IE. 1822. 2V3. Killdeer Plover. Olgialitis vocifera (Linn.) Bonap. 1838. This is a rare migrant in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec. In Ontario it is much more common, and breeds in suitable localities throughout the province. Thro ?hout Manitoba and the whole prairie country this bird breeds abun- dantly. It is also common in the Rocky Mountains and British Columbia, and breeds almost to the coast. Its northern limit is very likely the sub-arctic forest, as it seems to prefer open plains where brackish marshes are of frequent occurrence. Breeding Notes.— This bird is to be met with in those parts of Ontario that are in any way adapted to its habits. Its favourite haunts are rough pastures with here and there a few scrubby bushes scattered about ; if there are a few stones and gravel, so much the better ; the birds take kindly to such spots. I meet with a few pairs of this species every year, and notice that they breed comparatively early, the full complement of four eggs sometimes being laid as early as the 26th of April. I have found a number of their eggs, and notice that for a nesting place they usually choose a small stoney or gravelly patch in a pasture ; once I found a nest among small stones and rock close to a quarry where the year before I had taken two nighthawk's eggs. {Rev. C. J. Young.) The Killdeer Plover breeds in small numbers all over western Ontario. It lays four eggs, which are so placed as to be very difficult of discovery. (W. Sminders.) This species nests in the gravel at the margin of lakes and ponds, also on bare ground on the prairie and in ploughed fields throughout the whole prairie region. The nest is a hole in the gravel or ground, usually not far from water. Eggs, four, always standing upon the small end in the nest. {IV. Spreadborough.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN UIRDS. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 199 Righi specimens. ; two taken on Toronto Island by Mr. S. Herring ; the others at Indian Head, Assa., Edmonton, Alta., ReveLstoke and Spence's Hridge, B.C., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Of eggs we have several sets taken at Indian Head, Assa., June 27th, 1892, and Edmonton, Alta.. May igth, 1897, by Mr. W. Spreadborough ; and others from Rc.iburn and Grenfel, Man. 274. Semipalmated Plover. Qigialitis semipalmata Bonap. 1838. This species is a summer migrant in Newfoundland, Labrador and the islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, breeding more or less abundantly. In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario .t is reported as a migrant only ; yet, as Mr. Young shows, it breeds in Ontario, and doubtless in the other provinces also. In Manitoba and eastern Assi' hoia it is a common migrant, and breeds sparingly. The writer saw young birds of this species at the salt springs at the head of Lake Winni- pegoosis on 22nd July, 1881. This bird may be said to make its summer home and bring forth its young from Ungava Bay on the northeast coast of Lab- rador to Alaska on Norton Sound. It is, however, more plentiful east of the Mackenzie than west of it. It is known only as a rare migrant in British Columbia, and not known to breed. Breeding Notes.— This bird is found every fall and spring on the gravelly bars at the foot of Amherst Island, Lake Ontario. There, on the 24th of June, 1895, I found a nest containing four fresh eggs. It was built on a gravelly beach, at no great distance from the water, amongst a spring growth of a little grass and sedge, and in the early spring would probably have been within reach of the high water. I met with two pairs of these birds at the Magdalen Islands in June, 1897, but could not locate the nest though I knew they were breeding. {Rei\ C.J. Young) This bird is quite common on parts of the Arctic coast and along the A uderson and Lockhart rivers, as well as in the coun- try between Fort Anderson and Fort Good Hope, Mackenzie River. Most of the twenty nests taken contained four eggs, and several but two or three. When closely approached, the female i 190 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. glided from the nest and ran a short distance before flying, occa- sionally drooping her wings and pretending lameness. The nest is a mere cavity in the sand, lined with a few withered leaves and grasses. {Macfarlaiie.) In June, 1896, this species was found to be common from Moose Factory, James Bay, to Richmond Gulf, Hudson Bay. On the i8ih June Mr. A. P. Low found a nest con- taining four eggs. Nest in sand, beside a stone, composed of a little dry grass. This bird was observed throughout the interior of Labrador in summer wherever there were large lakes with sandy shores. {W. Spreodborough) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens, both taken at Indian Head, Assa., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Four eggs taken in Labrador by Mr. A. P. Low, and eight by Mr. Payne in Hudson Strait in the spring of 1885, and others taken at Whale River. 2V5. Ring Plover. CEgialitis hiatimla (Linn.) Boie. 1822. Breeds generally in Greenland and found on Clavering and Sabine islands ; said to ' a abundant on the shores of Possession Bay and Regent Inlet, {jtra. Man.) This species was observed on August 15th, 1886, near a shallow lake, about iioo feet above sea level ; a nest and eggs were found near Godhaven, Greenlano, on June 14th, 1880. {Hagerup.) 'm. Little Ring Plover. CEgialitis dubia (Scop.) Swinh. 1871. Accidental on the coast of Alaska. {A. 0. U. List.) ^Tr. Piping Plover. CEgialitis meloda (Ord) Bona?. 1838. This species, besides being a migrant, breeds in suitable places in nearly all the eastern provinces. It was found breeding by Downs a* Port Petpiswick, Nova Scotia ; by Bishop, near high water-mark on the Magdalen Islands ; and by W. Saunders on Pelee Point, Lake Erie. It is not a widely distributed species and seems to prefer the sea coast. I CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 191 Breeding Notes. — A very noisy species that is quite abundant at the Magdalen Islands, where I found four nests in 1897, but I have not observed it in Ontario. It is an interesting bird running along the sandy beach at a great speed and stopping now and again to utter its shrill note. Being so much lighter in color it is at once distinguished from CE. semipalmata, as well as by its note. The first nest I found was on the i6th of June. It was on one of the sandy bars of Grindstone Island. The nest consisted of a little hole scooped out on a small hummock of sand, and was tessellated as it were with broken pieces of clam shells, after the manner of the Ring Plover of Great Britain. No grass or bits of bark are used as with CE. semipalmata. The other nests were identical, the eggs being fresh in the second week in June. {Rev. C.J. Young.) In the latter part of June, 1888, the writer found three nests of this species on the sands of Brackley Beach, Prince Edward Island. They were mere holes in the sand or rather fine gravel and broken shells and without any lining whatever. The bird and its surroundings were so much alike that it was only by accident that any nests were found. Mr. W. Saunders writes that he has an egg which is probably of this species from Long Point, Lake Erie, and also a young bird, only a few days old, taken on Point Pelee, Lake Erie, and that the birds are still to be found in these and other suitable localities in summer. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens, taken at Toronto, Ont., by Mr. S. Herring. One set of four eggs taken on Grindstone Island, Magdalen Islands in June 19th, 1897, by the Rev. C J. Young. I 3710. Belted Piping Plover. CEgialitis meloda circunuincta Ridgw. 1874. This form is quite common on Sable Island nearly 100 miles east of Canso, N.S., and breeds there in numbers every year. The writer procured specimens on the island in August 1899 a"d saw no difference between them and those taken at Indian Head, Assa., in 1892. No doubt this is the form men- tioned under the head of Piping Plover by Seton-Thompson in his Birds of Ma-nitoba. This species did not reach Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assa., until May i6th, 1892. In three days they were common. Shortly after they dispersed to breed, only a few 192 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. pairs remaining at the lake. I am informed by Mr. Dippie that a nest of this species containing four eggs was taken at Manitoba House, Manitoba Lake, in June. 1895, and that downy young have been taken also. This species is occasionally taken at Toronto, Ont. I have two undoubted specimens in my collection taken at Toronto. (/. H. Fleming.) Breeding Notes.— On June 19th, 1895, Mr. Oliver Spanner found a nest of this species on Birch Island near the west shore of Lake Manitoba. The nest consisted of a depression in the sand lined with bits of drift-weed and contained three eggs, which are similar to those of the common Piping Plover; the ground colour is pale buff which is finely spotted with black and purple and gray. The eggs average in size i'25 x roc inches. Both eggs and skin of the parent are now in my collection. Mr. Spanner also obtained young birds in the down at the same time. He saw several pairs of the plovers in company with Solitary Sandpipers, which were no doubt nesting in the vicinity. {Raine.) On June l8th a nest containing three eggs was discovered on a long point extending into Deep Lake, near Indian Head, Assa. It was in a shallow hole in sand behind a large stone, and no grass or weeds within twenty feet of it. {Spreadborough.) Breeding north to Lake Winnipeg. {A. 0. U. List.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Five specimens ; a pair taken on Sable Island, August 1899, by- the writer ; three specimens taken in May, 1892, at Deep Lake, Indian Head, Assa. ; also one set of three eggs taken on the shore of Deep Lake in June of the same year by Mr. W. Spread- borough. 278. Snowy Plover. Qigialitis nivosa Cass. 1858. A casual straggler from the western United States. A specimen of this bird was shot at Toronto, Ont., in May, 1880, by Mr. J. Froman of that city, and identified by Mr. Ernest E. Seton- Thompson. See Mcllwraith's Birds of (hitario, page 166. There is a specimen in Mr. J. H. Ames' collection taken at Toronto, July 6th, 1 897. ( /. H. Fleming:) C. OGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. fOJ 279. Mongolian ^vrer. CEgialitismongola (Pall.) Swinh. 187c, This handsome addition to the Plovers of North America was made by the captain of the ^\{x^ Plover, during his visit to Kotze- bue Sound, m the summer of 1849, when he secured two speci- mens upon Choris Peninsula. It is a common summer resident on the Commander Islands where it was found breeding bv Stejenger. {Nelson.) ^ Breeding Notes.- Nests of this bird were found by Stejenger early m June. A nest was found on June 4th and contained three eggs. It was m a hollow between the stems of four specimens of Angelica archangelica and lined with dry fragments of leaves and stems of the same plant. 280. Wilson's Plover. CEgialitis wilsonia (Ord) Bonap. 1838. Casual north to Nova Scotia. {A. 0. U. List.) 281. Mountain Plover. CEgialitis montana (Towns.) Cass. 1858. Chiefly the plains, from Central Kansas to the Rocky Moun- tains, north to the British Boundary, breeding from Kansas northward. {A. 0. U. List.) Dr. Elliott Coues found this species at the mouth of Frenchman River and westward to near the Sweet-Grass Hills in July, 1874. In June, 1895. the writer was on Frenchman River, Assa., for many miles and did not see a trace of the bird so that lat. 49'' must be close to its northern limit. Family XXIII. APHRIZID^. Surf-Birds and Turnstones. C. APHRIZA Audubon, 1839. 282. Surf Bird. Aphrisa virgaia (Gmel) Gray. 1847. Four specimens of this bird were taken in the vicinity of Sitka by Bischoff. It is a wide-spread Pacific species, occurring nnlv 13 ' ^-' I IQ4 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. as a rare summer or fall visitant on the shores of the North Pacific and Behring Sea, reaching the vicinity of Behring Straits in Norton Sound. A pair were seen one autumn at St Michael and a few others at various times. {Nelson.) Not uncommon along the whole coast of British Columbia. It has been taken in Howe Sound by Mr. R. V, Griffin, at Port Simpson by Mr. W. B. Anderson, and at Nanaimo and Fort Rupert by Lord. It was also found very abundant on Stubbs Island on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in August 1893 by Mr. W. Spreadborough ; it very likely breeds there. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Four specimens, all taken on Stubbs Island, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, by Mr. W. Spreadborough in August, 1893. CI. ARENARIA Brisson. 1760. 283. Turnstone. Arcnaria ititerpres (Linn.) Vieill. 1819. Not common, according to Holbcell, in Greenland. It breeds, however, generally along the coast of Greenland, as well as on Sabine Island and at Cape Brcer Ruys ; also recorded from Winter Island in June, and breeds on the Parry Islands. {Arct. Man) This species is a common autumn migrant in Newfound- land, less so in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is more rare in the Gulf and along the River St. Lawrence, and still rarer in Ontario where it is only an occasional visitor. Not uncommon in Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia as a spring and autumn migrant. It was first seen at Indian Head, Assa., May 15th, 1892, and finally left for the north on June 2nd. Its breeding grounds may be said to extend from Hudson Bay westward around the whole Arctic coast of North America and up to the 75th parallel. It also extends along the whole coast of Alaska, breeding in some places, but as a migrant in others. On the British Columbia coast it is always a migrant and not a common one. Breeding Notes.— In June, 1864, a dozen birds were observed at Fort Anderson, and one was shot. This species breeds on the shores of Liverpool and Franklin bays, and on the Lower Ander- son River. Several nests were secured in the latter region ; but CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 195 none were met with in the Barren Grounds. Four was the maxi- mum number of eggs in a nest, which was similar to that of the other waders. Macfarlitie.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Four specimens ; one taken at Indian Head, Assa., in May 1892 by Mr. W. Spreadborough ; one at York Factory by Dr. Beil,and two at Toronto Island by Mr. .S, Herring. 284. Black Turnstone. Arenaria melanocephala (Vig.) Stejn. 1884. This species is far more plentiful on the coast of Behring Sea than the preceding species and is one of the most abundant waders from Sitka north along the mainland and coast of Alaska. I found it also along the coast of the Arctic Sea from Behring Straits to Point Barrow, and it was also observed sparingly on St. Lawrence Island. It breeds among the brackish pools on St- Michael Island, and is found scattered over the brackish flats everywhere. {Nelson.) Although I did not find the nest and eggs of this bird, it breeds along the entire coast of the mainland of Alaska. It is one of the earliest arrivals in the vicinity of St. Michael and after the ice has left the shores it is ever on the alert for food along the beach. {Turner.) According to Mr. John Fanning this species breeds along the shores of British Columbia and is more or less common on the shores of Vancouver Island. Mr. W. Spreadborough saw several specimens on Stubbs Island, Clayoquet Sound, in August 1893. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two fine specimens taken on the coast of British Columbia by Dr. G. M. Dawson in the summer of 1885. One specimen was taken on Foster Island and the other in Queen Charlotte Sound. Family XXIV. H^MATOPODID^. Oyster-Catchers. CII. H^MATOPUS LiNN^us. 1758. 285. American Oyster-catcher. Hcematopus palliatus Temm. 1820. Aud. Vol. V, page 237, says he found several pairs breeding in Labrador, ^''■urner.) North to Grand Manan, N.B. {A. 0. U. List.) 13^ H 196 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 286. European Oyster-catcher. Hoematopus ostralegus Linn. One specimen was sent to Copenhagen from Julianehaab in Ib47, another in 1871 from Godthaab, and a third from Nenortalik in 1859. {Arct. Man) 287. Black Oyster-catcher. Hoematopis bachmani Aud, 1839. This bird is found abundantly at Sitka and Kadiak and Dall found it a summer resident on the entire Aleutian chain. Its range is not known to extend to the north beyond the Aleutian Islands. {Nelson) This species is found on the islands of Alaska that lie south of the peninsula of Alaska and as far east as the Shumagin Group and to the westward as far as Kiska Island of the Aleutian chain and is a constant resident of this area. It is strictly littoral in its habits and always flies over the sea when moving from point to point. [Ttmier) An abundant resident along the coasts of British Columbia, {hannin) Breeding Notes. — This bird breeds throughout its range. The eggs are laid on the bare rock, just above high water wash. The number of eggs varies from one to three, usually two, and are laid about the loth June. (Turner) Dall found two nests on the Shumagin Group June 23rd, 1872. In both cases the eggs were placed directly on the gravel of the beach ; one contained two eggs, the other one. Mr. John Fannin says that the eggs are generally two and laid on the bare rocks close to the water. museum specimens. One specimen taken on Stubbs Island, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in August 1893, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Two eggs taken on Sea Bird Island, Baiclay Sound, west coast of Vancouver Island, by Dr. Newcombe, on June ist, 1896. Also a set taken on Mittlematch Island, off Valdez Island, in the Gulf of Georgia, by Mr. Percy Smith, in June 1895. GATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. I97 Order GALLING. Gallinaceous Birds. Family XXV. TETRAONIDiE. Grouse, Partridges, &c. cm. COLINUS Lesson. 1828. 289. Bob-white Quail. 'I Coli?ms virginianus (Linn.) Stejn. 1885. The Bob-white may be claimed as a permanent resident in southern Ontario, which is the northern limit of its range, but it has hard work to hold its own against the many influences that are continually operating against it. {Mcllwraitn.) Breeds all through the southern part of the western peninsula of Ontario, commonly below Lat. 43° and more rarely up to Lat. 44". {W. Sauftders.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One pair taken near Chatham, Ont., in May, 1885, by Mr. S. Her- ring. One set of seven eggs taken at St. Clair Flats, Ont., May 2lst, 1889, received from Mr. Raine. CIV. OREORTYX Baird. 1858. 292. Mountain Partridge. Oreortyx picttis (Dougl.) Baird. 1858. Quite common on Vancouver Island. Introduced from Cali- fornia. {Fannin) Saw a small flock of this species on the Sooke hills, about 25 miles from Victoria, V. I., in September, 1893. {Spreadborough.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One fine specimen taken on Vancouver Island by Mr. John Fannin and presented to the Museum. Two eggs taken near Victoria, presented by the Rev. Geo. Taylor. CV. LOPHORTYX Bonaparte. 1838. 294. California Partridge. Lophortyx califoniicus {Suaw^) Bonap. 1838. Vancouver Island. Introduced from California. {Fannin.) They were quite numerous in the autumn of 1892, but the winter I |l m 198 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA, of 1892-93 being very severe a great number died. In the spring of 1893 I only saw one at Victoria, but at Sooke, in the autumn of that year, I saw many fine birds, and learned from the resi- dents that they sheltered during the severe weather under the broom {Sarothammis scoparius), which grew in abundance on Mr. J. Moore's farm, and lived on the seeds of the broom. {Spread- borough). MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One pair of fine birds, taken on Vancouver Island, and pre- sented to the Museum by Mr. John Fannin. Three eggs taken near Victoria by the Rev. George Taylor. CVI. DEN DRAG APUS Elliot. 1864. 297. Dusky Grouse. Dendragapus obscurus (Say) Elliot. i864. We have no specimens of this Grouse in our collections, nor are we sure that this form occurs in Canada. It is more than probable, however, that it is partly the Blue Grouse of southwest- ern British Columbia. In the United States it has been taken in Montana and Idaho and hence may cross the British Columbia boundary. 297a. Sooty Grouse. Dendragaptis obscurtis fidiginosus 'R.ixyow . 1885. Bischoff secured seven of these birds in the vicinity of Sitka, and Hartlaub records it from Portage Bay. There is no doubt that this bird occurs considerably farther north than Sitka along the coast region. (NelsDn.) On my arrival on the coast of British Columbia, in the month of April, 1889, the calls of this species could be heard nearly throughout the day. {Streator.) West of the Coast Range, in British Columbia, including all the larger islands, an abundant resident. (Fannifi.) Abundant on the western slope of the Coast Range, B. C. (Brooks.) Common in all parts of Vancouver Island ; begins to call about April ist ; quite com- mon at Hastings, B.C., in April, 1889, when it made the woods resound with its almost constant calls. {Spreadborough.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 199 MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One specimen, a male taken at Hastings, B.C., April 20th, 1889, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Two eggs taken on Vancouver Island by Rev. George Taylor. 2074. Richardson's Grouse. Demfragapits obsiurus richardsonii (Dougl) Ridgw. 1885. For a notice of the occurrence of this species in Ontario I am indebted to Mr. C. J. Bampton, of Sault Ste. Marie, who has fre- quently seen it brought into market at that place. {Mclkvraith.) This large grouse inhabits the Rocky Mountains up to Lat. 64". {Richardson.) North to Fort Halkett on the Mackenzie River ; only in the mountains. {Ross.) Seen along the trail from Jasper House to Camp River, B. C. ; also at timber line on the moun- tains in the summer of 1898. {Spreadborough) East of the Coast Range, including the Rocky Mountain districts. An abundant resident. {Fatmirt.) This species was found to be a common resident of the interior, and takes the place of the Sooty Grouse. {Streator.) This species is general throughout the mountains from the east side of the Coast Range to the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. It is found in company with Franklin's Grouse at from four to seven thousand feet altitude, and in British Columbia even lower. Breeding Notes.— One nest of this species was taken on the slope of the mountain near Revelstoke, B.C. It was placed on the ground close to a partly rotten log, and the nest was made chiefly of dead wood. There were six eggs perfectly fresh on May 22nd, 1890, when the nest was discovered, and from the con- stant calling and drumming both this and the Gray Ruffed Grouse must have been quite plentiful. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three ; one a fine male, taken in the Bow River Valley, Alberta, in June, 1882, by Mr. R. G. McConnell ; the others, a female, taken on the mountain at Spence's Bridge, B.C., May 28th, 1889, and a fine male taken at Revelstoke, B.C., May 2nd, 1890, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Six eggs taken at Revelstoke, B.C., May 22nd, 1890, by the writer. ail 200 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. CVII. CANACHITES Grant. 1893. 208. Canada Grouse. Canachites canadensis (Lm^.) Grant. 1893. A very rare and uncertain straggler from Labrador to Newfound- land. {Recks.) A common resident in Nova Scotia, but will soon be exterminated on account of its lameness. {Doums ) A resident in New Brunswick, but rather rare in the St. John dis- trict. {Chamberlain.) An abundant resident throujrhout the wooded parts of Labrador, the whole Province of Quebec, and northern and northwestern Ontario. According to Seton-Thomp- son it is common at Lake Winnipeg, and extends northwesterly in the spruce forests ; indeed its range is the spruce forests of the Atlantic coast, and thence across the Sub-Arctic forest to the mouth of the Yukon. Nelson says it is found on the shores of Behring Sea where the spruce forest touches the coast. Its range includes the whole northern spruce forest from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and seems to be almost co-incident with that of the Canadian Ruffed Grouse. Saw a female with young at Richmond Gulf June 30th, 1896. None observed elsewhere in Labrador. Said to be plentiful a short distance up the river from Fort Chimo. {Spreadborough.) Breeds in the northern part of the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario. W, Samiders. MUSEUM specimens. Three specimens ; one taken near Ottawa by Mr. S. Herring, and one procured at York Factory, Hudson Bay, by Dr. R. Bell, the third at Bracebridge, Ont., by Mr. W. Spreadborough. One set of eggs, taken at the Grand Falls of Hamilton River, Labrador, by Mr. A. P. Low, June ist, 1894. 298rt. Labrador Spruce Grouse. Canachites canadensis labradorius Bangs. 1899. Rigolette, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. (/. A. Allen in Auk, Vol. XVL 340.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 201 200. Franklin's Grouse. Canachites fr<7ftklinii {TiovGi.) Grant. 1893. Northern Rocky Mountains, from northwestern Montana to the coast ranges of Oregon and Washington, and northward in British America, reaching the Pacific coast of southern Alaska, (Lat. 60° N.> {A. 0. U. List.) This bird inhabits the valleys of the Rocky Mountains from the sources of the Missouri to those of the Mackenzie. {Richardson.) Throughout the wooded por- tion of the interior of British Columbia, east of and including the Coast Range north to Cassiar. An abundant resident. (Fannin.) This grouse was quite common along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in the Rocky Mountains, in the Bow River Pass and westward, in 1885. It is so tame that it is named the " fool hen," and many are killed with sticks as they sit on the low branches. Reported as common about Jasper House, on the Atha- basca River, in the summer of 1898, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Breeding Notes. — This species seems to nest exactly like the other grouse. One nest found at the base of a tree at Hector, Rocky Mountains, on July 29th, 1885, contained eight eggs. The young were just emerging from the shell and would evidently leave the nest at once, as indeed two of them attempted to do as we stood by them. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens ; one taken by Mr. R. G. McConnell in Bow River Pass, June, 1882 ; the other at Revelstoke, B.C., May 1st, 1890, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. CVni. BONASA Stephens. 1819. 300. Huffed Grouse, " Partridge.*' Botiasa vmbelhis (Linn.) Steph. 1819. From all I have observed, I think that we have in Ontario in- dividuals of both Bonasa umbelhis and Bonasa umbellus togaia, that these two intergrade and produce a mixed race which is found throughout southern Ontario, but cannot properly be classed with either of the varieties. {Mclhvraith) 'S 202 OlOLOGICAL SUKVHY OF CANADA. The writer can add nothing to this except that more than one form is yet awaitin},' a name, as between Manitoba and the Pacific, so far as our observation Koe**. it 's extremely hard to say to what form many of the b'rds beloni,'. 800/1. Canadian Ruffed Grouse. Bonasa umbellns togata (Linn.) Ridgw. 1885. Common on Moose River, James Bay. None observed in Lab- rador in I8g6. I think they ro very little further north in Labra- dor than the birch and poplar. l^Sprcadborough.) This is an abundant resident in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario. It seems to range all through southern Labrador with stragj^ders well to the noith. Westward from Ontario it extends across the whole wooded country, being found in the spruce forest north of the prairie region to the boundaries of the Barren Grounds. The Rocky Mountain district may have this species in considerable numbers, but having no specimens from there its distribution is still uncer- tain. East of and including the Coast Range, an abundant resident. {Fannin) Typical birds of this sub-species as well as B. sabinci occur in equal numbers as well as every intergradation between them in the Lower hVaser valley {Brooks.^ Common in the interior ; found about thickets that border running water in British Columbia. The specimens are identical with those from New Brunswick. {Steeatar.) Breeding Notes. — In the sunny weather towards the begin- ning of April if there be a crust on the snow the Ruffed Grouse resort to the hillsides facing the sun and the males strut about with their tails spread out to their fullest extent and their wings trailing on the ground like a turkey cock If the spring be early the males soon begin to drum and contiiuic dru.nming from a month to six weeks. In the meantime 'A\ ■ *^cru' s have cuusen nesting sites on the ground, usually at the root of a tree but sometimes under a log or beneath a bush. The eggs in a nest vary from nine to thirteen. Upon leaving the nest the female always covers the eggs with dry leaves. In summer the young "I'd old feed upon larvae, insects and berries, and are very fond of clover. In the autumn they feed upon black cherries, haws, CATALOGUE OK CANADIAN BIRDS. 203 mountain-ash berries and rose-hips. In winter they feed, in flocks of from ten to twenty or more, on the buds of birch, maple or ironwood, and seem to prefer the latter. During the winter they feed but (vice a day in cold weather. These times are at dawn, indeed almost before it is light, and just as it is getting dark. As soon as they have eaten their fill, thpy dive under the snow and remain there until their next time of feeding. {Spreadborotigh.) It breeds early, usually commencing to lay in April. In April, 1897, I saw an egg as early as the 14th. Sometimes a strange locality is chosen for a nest. Once I found one containing twelve eggs at the foot of a beech tree, ag linst the trunk and protected by it ; forty feet up was a red-shouldered hawk's nest, which in due time hatched out, as did the grouse at the foot. {Rev. C. J, Voting. ) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens, one taken at Ottawa in 1885 by Mr. George White, one at Toronto in 1882 by Mr. S. Herring, and one, a very good B. togata, at Revelstoke, B.C., April 23rd, 1890, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Two sets of eggs, one taken by Dr. James Fletcher near Hull, Que., and the other near Niagara Falls, Ont., by the Rev. George Taylor aoo/^. Gray Ruflfed Grouse. Bonasa umbellus umbelloides {l^oxiGh.) Baird. 1858. According to the A. O. U. List this form ranges from the United States northwarc? into British America, north to Alaska and east to Manitoba. Mr. Seton-Thompson, in his Birds of Manitoba, makes this form the resident of the aspen woods of Manitoba, and the writerbelievesthistobe the species found in all parts of the wood- ed portions of the western prairie and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, including the aspen forests on the Peace Rivei and northward down the Mackenzie. Mr. W. Spreadborough reports this form to have been common from Edmonton to Jasper House in the Yellow Head Pass in 1898. In Alaska, however, Nelson states that this form is the only one, and that it has its home in the spruce forests and goes north as far as these forests extend. He also asserts that all specimens from north of Great Slave Lake, excepting the coast form, found along the Pacific, are referable to the gray northern form. By a careful sifting of the I 204 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Statements of the various observers it will be seen tha>t- the range of the Gray Ruffed Grouse and the Canadian Ruffed Grouse are not well defined, and that these forms are so olosely related that Mr. Seton-Thompson's line of demarcation seems to be the true test of the form, or rather colour, and that the resident of the ai.pen woods is B. nmbelloides, while that of the spruce forests is B. togata. This leaves the true B. umbellus on the Atlantic coast and B. sabini on the Pacific coast. Breeding Notes. — Two nests of this species v/ere taken by the writer at Revelstoke, B.C., on the 13th and 18th of May, 1890. Both nests were in the same situation, on a burnt hillside beside a fallen log. One contained six and the other seven eggs. Both sets were quite fresh, but in each case the old bird rose from the nest or near it. All the birds shot around Revelstoke were of this form, except one which is good B. togata. This specimen may be a young bird only a year old, and might have changed to true B. umbelloides at the next moult. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two fine specimens taken at Revelstoke, B.C., April i2th, 1890, and another at Edmonton, Alberta, April 20th, 1897, all three by Mr. W. Spreadborough. One set of six eggs taken at Revelstoke, B. C, May i8th, 1890, by the writer. 300c. Oregon Ruffed Grouse. Botiasa umbellm sabini (Dougl.) Coues. 1872. A few specimens of this bird were taken about Sitka by Bis- choff, and others have been found in British Columbia, so that there is no doubt it occurs along the northwest coast as far as the heavily wooded region in the vicinity of Kadiak and the adjoin- ing mainland. {Nelson.) One of the most abundant birds of the coast region of British Columbia, including all the islands in the Gulf of Georgia, Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands. To me this form is quite distinct, but yet I have been told by sportsmen that three varieties have been found in the same covey. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Two fine specimens presented to the Museum by Mr. John Fannin, taken on Vancouver Island, 1885. Five eggs taken on Vancouver Island May 23rd, 1882, by the Rev. George Taylor. CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. CIX. LAGOPUS. Brisson. 1760. 205 301. Willow Ptarmigan. Lagopns lagopus (Linn.) Stejn. 1885. This species and the Rock Ptarmigan with their sub-species are found throughout the whole northern part of the American con- tinent including all the islands on the Atlantic side from New- foundland westward. Both species breed to the north of the thickly wooded country but the Willow Ptarmigan is more southern and less elevated in its range. In winter it enters the sub-arctic forest and often descends to the margins of the northern settlements, but the Rock Ptarmigan is much less common. The breeding range of this species extends across Labrador and the region west of Hudson Bay and stretches northward into the Barren Grounds and southward into the spruce forest along their southern border. In Alaska it is also abundant but is restricted in summer to the barren sea-coast or on the open grounds of the interior. Its winteV range is less defined as it is found much further south in some winters than in others. Mr. Brewster found this species with young birds at Fox Bay, Anti- costi, in summer, so that the southern breeding limit may extend much further south than is indicated above. A transient visitor about Montreal in winter, but common in eastern Quebec north of the St. Lawrence. We have no account of its occurrenee in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. A casual visitor on the Gatineau north of the city of Ottawa, and at Ihe Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Superior. The three points cited above show that it may be looked for in winter in all the northern forest. Mr. Tavernier writes that Mr. Herring of Toronto showed him a freshly killed specimen taken at Whitby June i8th, 189Q. Its winter ictivre westward of Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg is not well defined but Mr. Seaton-Thompson cites many instances of its occurrence in northern Manitoba and west and east of Lake Winnipeg. Thence westward its winter range seems to be con- fined to spruce woods, seldom coming south of Lat. 53'' in the Saskatchewan country. Nelson and Turner unite in stating that it is a plentiful resident on the entire mainland coast of Alaska in summer ; in winter it retires to the forest. The only notice of 206 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. its occurrence in British Columbia is at Dcase Lake, in the northern part of the province. Breeding Notes. — Mr. A P. Low has taken many eggs in Labrador and says that the set ranges from nine to twelve. There is nothing peculiar about the nest that would separate it from that of the Ruffed Grouse. It was always found in a sheltered place, however. First observed in Labrador on June 23rd a short distance north of Fort George. Mr. A. Young on that date found a nest "ith thirteen eggs. Incubation pretty far advanced. After this a few were seen every day on islands in the bay until Richmond Gulf was reached. From there across Labrador to Ungava Bay they were very numerous and numbers of young were running about by the first week in July. I have very little doubt that they pair in the breeding season as we always found both old birds with the young brood, and the male makes just as much fuss a«! the female if one happens to go near their young. {Sprcadborough.) MUSEUM specimens. Five specimens ; four were taken at Fort George, James Bay, by Dr. R. Bell, and the other at Fort Chimo, Labrador, by Mr. A. P. Low. Four sets of eggs ranging from four to eleven, all taken in Labrador by Mr. A. P. Low in 1894 and 1896. 30 1«. Allen's Ptarmigan. Lagopus lagopus alleiii Stejn. 1885. Very abundant throughout the year, and the only lowland species indigenous to Newfoundland. (Reeks) MUSEUM specimen. One taken in Newfoundland in December, 1894, and presented to the Museum by Mr. J. H. Fleming, of Toronto. 302. Rock Ptarmigan. Lagopus rupestns {Gyi'Ei..) Leach. 181 7. The range of this species is more alpine and more northern than that of the Willow Grouse and hence its breeding range is more northerly and its southward movement little beyond the margin of the open country or Barren Grounds. This species is very abundant on both sides of Hudson Strait, breeding in vast num- CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 207 bers on the islands to the north of the Strait. No authentic records of its being taken in Ontario or southern Quebec have been seen, and the same statement maybe made of Manitoba and westward. This bird is found around Hudson Bay, on Melville Peninsula and the Barren Grounds, seldom going further south in winter than Lat. 63° in the interior, but descending along the coast of Hudson Bay to Lat. 58°, and in severe seasons to Lat. 55°. {Richardsofi.) North of the Mackenzie to the Arctic coast rather rare. (Ross.) This species is not nearly so plentiful as the Willow Ptarmigan, and we only met with it in any considerable numbers from Horton River Barren Grounds, to the shore of Franklin Bay. Very few nests were found to the eastward of that river or on the coast or " Barrens " of the Lower Anderson. (Macfar/hie.) This beautiful bird is a common resident of the Alaskan main- land, from Behring Straits to the British border on the east, in- cluding the entire north and south extent of the mainland. (Nelson.) This species is found on all the hills and higher ground along the entire coast region of Alaska. In the interior it is found only on the mountain chains. It is abundant within the Arctic circle down to Kadiak Island. It is the only species of Ptarmigan found on the eastern Aleutian islands. (Turner.) 1 his species is a much less plentiful resident at Point Barrow than the Willow Ptarmigan. It breeds not far from the station, but I never found its nest. (Murdoch.) In crossing Labrador from Richmond Gulf to Ungava Bay, in 1896, only two young ones were seen, and these were near Ungava Bay, on Sept. 14th. Spreadboroitgh. ) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Three specimens ; one taken at Cape Prince of Wales by Mr. F. F. Payne in 1885 ; two taken at Port Burwell, Hudson Strait, by Dr. R. Bell, in 1884. One set of eggs taken at the summit of Chilcoot Pass, Dalton Trail, N.W.T., June 14th, 1898, by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell ; one set of eleven eggs, taken at Ungava Bay, Labrador, June 2ist, 1896, by Mr. F. Boucher, and a set taken at Repulse Bay by Mr. A. P. Low. 302a. Reinhardt's Ptarmigatt Lagopiis riipestris reinhardti (Bkehm) Blasius. 1862. The only species of the genus that inhabit Greenland, where it occurs equally on the east as on the west coast, found on both I 208 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA Sabine and Clavering islands ; in great abundance on Parry Islands and Melville Peninsula. {Arct. Man.) A resident at Ivigtut, but most abundant in winter. {Hagc^up.) According to Sabine, this bird inhabits the islands lying on the south-west side of Baffin Bay. (Richardson.) 302i. Nelson's Ptarmigan. Lagopus rupcstris 7ielsom Stejn. 1884. The types of this race were taken by Mr. Nelson, in spring, at Unalaska, and Dall collected winter specimens at the same place. This Ptarmigan is common on the Aleutian islands at least from Unalaska eastward, where it frequents the mountain tops and slopes, breeding there in June. {Nelson.) 302c. Turner's Ptarmigan. Logopus mpestris atkhemis (Turner) Nelson. 1883. This Ptarmigan is quite plentiful on Atka, Amchitka and Attu islands ; it frequents the lowlands and hills of the western islands of the Aleutian chain. The nest is built amongst the rank grasses at the bases of the hills and lowlands near the beach. {Turner) 302(^. Townsend's Ptarmigan. Lagopus mpestris townsendii Elliot. Kyska and Adak islands, Aleutian chain. The specimens, a male and female, upon which this sub-species is founded were taken on the Sthjune, 1894, on Kyska Island, and on the 4th July, 1893, on Adak Island, by Mr. Townsend. {The Auk, Vol. XIII, pp. 26-29, 1896. 302.1. Evermann's Ptarmigan. Lagopus everinanjii Elliot. 1896. Seven specimens, five males and two females, from Attu Island, one of the Near Island Group, brought by Prof. B. W. Evermann, Mr. C. H. Townsend and Dr. S I. Call are all the representatives of this species yet obtained. The specimens described were taken in May 1892, and June 1894. {The Auk. Vol. XIII, pp. 24-26, 1896.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS 209 303. Welch's Ptarmigan. Lagopus ivelchi Brewst. 1885. ; A truly alpine species in Newfoundland, rarely found below the line of stunted black spruce, {Reeks) When Mr. Reeks wrote as above he believed this form to be the common Rock Ptarmigan. Since then Mr. William Brewster, of Cambridge, Mass,, obtained specimens from Newfoundland, collected in 1883 by Mr. Welch, which led him to separate this form from the Rock Ptarmigan, Mr, Brewster says that according to Mr, Welch these ptarmigans are numerous in Newfoundland, where they are strictly confined to the b'eak sides and summits of rocky hills and mountains in the interior. Unlike the Willow Grouse of that Island, which wander long distances and fre- quently cross the Gulf to Labrador, the Rock Ptarmigan are very local, and for the most part spend their lives on or near the hills where they were reared. :]04. White-tailed Ptarmigan. Lagopus leucunis. fSwAiNS. & Rich.) 1831, Mr, Drummond obtained four specimens of this bird in Lat. 54°, and another was obtained nine degrees further to the north by Mr, Macpherson. They inhabit the summits of the Rocky Mountains. (Richardson.) North on the Mackenzie to Lapierre's House in the mountains. (Ross.) Observed on the mountains above timber line both east and west of McLennen River, Lat. 54°, B.C., in July and August of 1898, {Spreadborotigh) Summit of most of the mountains of the mainland ; Beaver Pass, Mr. George Hyde ; Cassiar, Mr. James Porter, {Fannin.) Resident on mountain tops. {Brooks.) Breeding Notes. — This species was found on the summits of all the western mountains which have been ascended by the writer. On July i8th, 1887, a hen bird with a brood of chicks was found at an altitude of 6,000 feet on Mount Arrowsmith, Van- couver Island ; on August 8-i2th, 1889, numerous broods were seen on the Gold Range, B.C., at an altitude of 7,500 feet ; on August 24th, 1885, three large broods were seen on the summit of Avalanche Mountain, near Glacier, B. C; and lastly a brood was seen on the summit of Sulphur Mountain, close to Banff, 14 210 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. Rocky Mountains, on September ist 1897. In all the cases cited, the birds were quite tame and the chicks had no apparent fear. In only one case was the nest found. It was a slight depres- sion by a large stone with a lining of grass and a few feathers. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Nine fine specimens in both winter and summer plumage are in the collection. A pair in winter plumage taken at Banff Feb. 24th, 1896, and purchased from Mr. Dippie. Three taken on the summit of the Gold Range, B. C, Aug. 8th, 1889, also four others taken in the Selkirk Mountains in August, 1890, all by Mr. VV. Spreadborough. 305. ex. TYMPANUCHUS Gloger. 1842. Prairie Hen, or Pinnated Grouse. Tympanuclnis amcricamis (Reich.) Ridgw. 1886. In the first week of May, 1886, one specimen was shot on Hamilton beach ; from various sources I have learned that this species is still seen along the southwestern frontier of Ontario, but their numbers are decreasing. {Mclhvraith.) Mr. E. Seton-Thomp- son in his Birds of Manitoba gives a circumstantial account of the introduction of this bird into Manitoba, and shows that its first recorded appearance was in 1881 when one specimen was shot near Winnipeg. In the autumn of 1882 one specimen was shot at Portage la Prairie. From that time on it became more and more abundant in Manitoba, and in the autumn of 1895 the writer saw one in the flesh killed at Indian Head in Assiniboia. This species seems to be a true prairie bird as observers speak of it always being found in the open even in the severest weather. MUSEUM specimens. One fine specimen killed near Winnipeg, Man., in the spring of 1889. One set of five eggs procured from Mr. Raine. CXI. FEDIOC^TES Baird. 1858. 308. Sharp-tailed Grouse Pcdioccetcs phasiajicllus (Linn.) Elliott. 1862. One specimen taken at the Saguenay River ; another was ex- posed for sale in the market of Quebec, 1887 ; Mr. Cooper says .CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN HIKDS. 211 it has been taken in the valley of Lake St. John. {Diomtc.) Reported as being found on the market at Sault Ste. Marie by Mr. Bampton. (McI/wraith.) Only one observed during the trip to Labrador in 1896. This specimen was shot, June i8th, a short distance south of Fort George. Said to be common at Moose Factory and Fort George in winter. On Oct. 13th, i8g6, a speci- men was brought to me at Beaumaris, Muskoka Lake, Ont. It had been killed within a mile of the place. Shortly afterwards I heard of two more being taken by Mr. Fraser, of Port Cock- burn, at the head of Lake Joseph. Also of one or more at Bracebridge and several at Parry Sound. The bird I handled was a very dark bird and is evidently to be classed with the northern variety. Since the above captures I have not heard of any other birds being taken in Muskoka district. {Spread- borough.^ Mr. A. P. Low puts its northern limit in Labrador at Lat. 57°. It has been killed in winter at Great Whale River. Since the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway this bird has been seen frequently on the line between Mattawa, on the Ottawa River, and Fort William, west of Lake Superior. It has been sup- posed to be the prairie species working cast, but its dark colour shows that it is the northern bird. It is extremely probable that in coming years it will be a common species in the sparsely settled parts of Northern Ontario. The northern limit of the range of this grouse is Great Slave Lake, on the 6ist parallel. It abounds on the outskirts of the Saskatchewan plains, and is found throughout the wooded dis- tricts of the Northwest Territories. {Richardson) This grouse breeds in the pine forests on both sides of the Lockhart and Upper Anderson rivers, where one or two nests were met with. {Macfarlme!) This bird is mentioned by Dall as a not uncommon species at Fort Yukon and for 200 miles down this river to the Ramparts, below which it was not found. {Nehon) Breeding Notes. — These birds keep in pairs or small flocks and frequent the juniper plains all the year. The buds of these shrubs are their principal food in winter, as their berries are in summer. They generally remain about the same spot, unless dis- turbed ; their flights are short. They frequently walk on the ground and when raised will fly to the top of an adjacent tree. In June they make a nest on the ground with grass and feathers. 312 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. They lay from four to seven white eggs with colored spots. (Hutchuts vide Seton-Thompson) 308«. Columbian Shai'p-tailed Grouse. Pcdioccetcs phasinellus coliimbiamis (Ord) Couks. 1872. Very abundant at Indian Head, Assa., 1892, found feeding in stubble fields and around old straw-stacks. The males collect in large numbers on some hill about the end of April or beginning of May to have their annual dance which they keep up for a month or six weeks. It is almost impossible to drive them away from one of their hills when they are dancing. One day about the middle of May, I shot into a dancing party killing two and wounding another which flew a short distance, I went to get it and before I got back to pick up the dead birds the others were back dancing around them, I fired into them again, killing two and in less than five minutes they were back dancing again as though nothing had happened. {Spreadborongh.) An abundant resident east of the Coast Range ; I found this bird very abundant along the Cariboo Road, from Pavilion Mountain to the 108-Milc post. {Fanning Common in some places in the interior, but said by settlers to be constantly diminishing in numbers. {Streator,') This form is very abundant from Manitoba westward, but is not a true prairie species as in the fall and winter it loves the poplar copse, willow thickets and margins of prairies or coulees where there is brush. We have taken it in the foothills, but not high up on the mountains. Mr. Spreadborough reports seeing the last of these birds 25 miles west of Edmonton, Alberta, in 1898. The .same form is found at Kamloops and Spence's Bridge, B.C., and is doubtl^ common in southern British Columbia. Breeding Notes. — The nest of this species is placed in the long, rank grass under some tuft that will aid in its concealment, and is usually not far from a tract of brush-land or other cover. It is little more than a slight hollow in the ground, arched over by the grass. The eggs are usually fourteen, but sometimes fifteen or sixteen in number. Immediately before expulsion they are of a delicate bluish-green ; on being laid they show a pur- plish grape-like bloom ; after a few days exposure they become of a deep chocolate brown, with a few dark spots. After a fort- night has transpired they are usually of a dirty white ; this change is partly due to bleaching, and partly to the scratching CATAI.OCUE OF CANADIAN HIKIIS. 213 1 they ri-ccivc from the mother's hill and feet. {Scton-Tlumifison.) Our c}^f,'s of this species are exactly the size of the Upland I'lover, being 175 x 1-25. MUSKUM SPECIMENS. Two specimens ; one taken at Indian Head, Assa., in April, 1892, the other at Medicine Hat, Assa., April llth, l«04. by Mr. VV. Spreadborou^'h. One set of etr^s taken at (irenfel, Assa., in May, 1894, and presented to the Museum by Mr. R. Lake. 308A. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pi'diocectcs pfuisitindliis campestns Riixiw. 1884. Plains and prairies of the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains ; north to Manitoba. {A. 0. If. List.) We have no knowledge of this form. All our birds killed in 1895, when on the southern prairie, were pale sriiyish in colour. CXII. CENTBOCERCUS Swainson. 1831. ;J09. Sage Grouse. Ccntroctrciis m'ophasionus (Honai-.) Swains. 1831. In June, 1895, while tiie writer was makini.,' an examination of the prairie rc<,non north of the International boundary between Wood Mountain, Assa., on the east and Chief Mountain in the west, special efforts were made to map out the ran{,^c of the Sa^c Hen! It had been found in the valley of Frenchman River by the Boundary Commission in ir.74, where it was recorded by Dr. G. M. Uawson. On June 14th we went into the " Bad Lands," south of Wood Mountain and had tlu; f^^ood fortune to come upon about a dozen males where there was a little saf:{e brush {Arte- misia aiiia.) They all escaped and a whole day was spent trying to locate the females but none were seen. A week later we reach- ed the valley of the White Mud or Frenchman River, a tributary of the Missouri, and before an hour had seen a number of old birds with youn^, cxnd located a nest under sage brush where the chicks were just emerging from the shell. I-'rom this nest I ob- tained two nearly perfect eggs. Specimens were procured and later we traced the birds up the valley of the White Mud to its source in the Cypress Hills. In no case was any bird found away from Artemisia cana. At Osoyoos Lake where the species has 214 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CXNADA. bten taken the true sag. brush {Arfemma tridentata-) occurs in some quantity We saw no si.ns of this species in the Upper Three specimens were taken by Mr. G. B. Martin, M.P.P.. at Osoyoos Lake B.C., .n October, .864. Mr. Charles de B. Green wntmg from Osoyoos, March 21st, ,896. said he had two most' (Wir^"''' '' occurren. . of Sage Hens in this locality. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 89s, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. Two imperfect eggs taken by the writer on June 21st, 1895. XXVI. Family PHASIANID^. Pheasants, Turkeys. &c CXIII. MELEAGRIS Linn^us. 1758. 310. Wild Turkey. *' Meleagris gallopavo Linn. 1758. VVild Turkeys were formerly quite common in southwestern Ontario but are now getting rare. In 1880 Dr. Gamier, of Luck- now, killed two males " at Leguis farm near Mitchell Bay " and in 1884 saw a dead female at Chatham station which had ju;t been killed. (i/.//w.«//..) Almost extinct. A few may itill be left ,n the western counties of Ontario, but I have been unable to hear of any ,n the last two or three years. {W. Saunders.) Last ImlttT '''" ^^ ^^""^^^ ^'"'" ^"'•' ^^' •" '^7°- (^• museum specimens. Two fine birds taken near .Windsor, Ont., by Mr. S. Herring. 1858. CXIV. PHASIANUS Linnaeus. 3io«. Ring-necked Pheasant. Phasiamis torquattis Linn. 1858. Introduced from China; now thoroughly acclimatized on Van- couver Island and portions of the Mainland of Britir.h Columbia ytatnmi.) CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 315 One pair taken on Vancouver Island and presented to the Museum by Mr. J. Fannin. Order COLUMB.E. Pigeons. XXVII. Family COLUMBID^. Piokons. CXV. COLUMBA Linn/i.:us. 1758. 3 1 2. Band-tailed Pigeon. Colli mbafasciata Say. I823. Never seen in lar^^e flocks in British Cohinibia. {Lord.) A very common summer resident in the coast district ; flocks of several hundred have been seen sitting in the trees at one time. {Streator.) Irregular through the southern portions of British Columbia ; a summer resident ; tolerably common. {Fannifi.) Abundant summer resident in Lower Fraser valley. {Brooks.) Abundant on the south end of Vancouver Island. A summer resident also on the mainland and in the valley of the Fraser River. {Spreadborougli) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. One taken at Agassiz, B. C, May 8th, i88g, by Mr. W. Spread- borough. CXVI. ECTOPISTES Swainson. 1827. 315. Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratorius {L-i^'n.) Swains. 1827. At one time breeding in Nova Scotia, but now scarcely if ever seen. {Doivns.) Very seldom seen in New Brunswick now, but formerly abundant. {Chamberlain) Specimens obtained at Moose Factory, Hudson Bay, by Drexler, August, i860. Verrill saw a single individual at Heath Point, Anticosti, in i860. {Packard.) Fort Churchill, Hudson Bay. {Clarke.) Charlesbourg, possibly breeds in Quebec. {Dio?me.) Common migrant in the district of Montreal, in 1862, {Dr. Hall.) Transient visitor ; scarce. Two Vi^ere shot the latter end of August, 1883, at Chambly, and one was shot September 15th, 1885, on the spur of Mount Royal ; 2l6 GEOLOGICAL SURVKY OF CANADA. and two were shot ut the latter place by myself, otic, Septemljcr loth, 1886, ind the other one September ist, 1888, both of which are now in my collection of bird's skins. Mr. C. W. Johnson, of Lachine, says he shot fifteen wild pi^^eons in the woods, four miles north of that jjlace on the Qth December, 1888. The speci- mens I shot appear to be a female and young male bird. I saw a female or immature passenger pigeon in a tree on Mount Royal Park, June 4th, i8gi. {Wintle.) A summer resident ; breeds. {Ott. Nat.) A few straggling |)airs are still seen in southern Ontario where they probably bri:ed, but the large annual migrations have entirely ceased. {Mcllwrmth.) Breed- ing in an aspen grove at North-west Angle, Lake of the Woods, Man., 1873. (6', M. Dazvson.) This celebrated pigeon arrives in the Northwest Territories in the latter end of May, and departs in October. It annually reaches the 62nd parallel in the warmer central districts, but reaches the 58th parallel on the shores of Hudson Bay in fine summers only. {Ric/inrdson.) North, on the Mackenzie, at Fort Norman ; not common. (Ross.) Probably now extinct in British Columbia. (Fanftin.) Our latest notices of this species are taken from Mr. Seton- Thompson's Birds of Manitoba. In this work he shows that itstill breeds in considerable numbers in northern Manitoba, as late as 1887, and as far as the writer is aware may do so still. While making an exploration in northern Manitoba, in the summer of 1881, the writer had the good fortune to discover a small breeding place of these birds on the 23rd June. It was on the left bank of the Waterhen River, a deep stream which connects Lake Mani- toba with Lake Winnipegoosis. There were less than a score of nests which were variously placed, some of them less than ten feet from the ground, and not in large trees. They were such flimsy structures that the eggs were clearly seen through the interstices from below, and one old bird was shot as she sat. Only two eggs were taken. In the latter part of August and early in September of the same year, on the Swan River, above Livingstone, and also on the upper Assiniboine, we saw large flocks and as food was scarce we shot large numbers for the pot. The low flats along the river were covered with Cormis stolonifera, and on the ripe berries of this shrub they were feeding. CATAI.OfiUR ()(' CANADIAN BIRDS. MUSKUM SPECIMENS. ai; One pair taken in Ontario many years ago. A set of eggs taken at Moose Factory, James Hay, June, 1888, by Mr. Miles Spencc. CXVII. ZENAIDURA noNAPARTE. 1854. 316. Mourning Dove. /icnaidura macroura (Linn.) Ridgw. 1885. Appears to be becoming common. A few killed every year in Nova Scotia. {Dozv/is.) Occasionally taken in New Brunswick. {Chambcflain.) Taken at Chateau Richer, Montmorency Co., three specimens at Godbout,one at St. Joachim, and one at Que- bec. {Dio?inc.) One killed in the district of Montreal, in June, 1838. {Dr. Hall.) The Mourning Dove breeds sparingly through- out southern Ontario. {Mclhvraith.) More common to the west of London, Ont., than in its vicinity. Sometimes comes into the outskirts of the city and breeds in gardens. (W. Saunders.) Occa- sionally seen in winter at Plover Mills, Ont. {R. Elliott.) A rather common summer resident in Manitoba, but rarer westward in the prairie region, though not uncommon. Mr. Spreadborough reports a few stragglers (males) during the last days of May at Indian Head, Assa., in the spring of 1892. Never seen in large flocks in British Columbia. {Lord.) Not uncommon in the interior ; more were seen near the coast. {Strcator.) Mainland and Vancouver Island ; nowhere common. {Fannin) Tolerably common summer resident in the Lower Fraser valley. {Brooks.) The writer has found this bird numerous at only two points, between Manitoba and the Pacific coast. These were Medicine Hat, Assa., and Spence's Bridge, B.C. In both places they were evidently breeding but no nests were taken. Breeding Notes.— A tolerably common summer resident near Portage la Prairie, Man., breeding in small wild plum trees. It arrives about the first of May. Nest found containing two eggs, on which the bird was sitting, June 7th, 1885. {Nash vide Setoti- Thompson.) On July ist, 1899, Mr. Robert Fraser, of Plover Mills, Ont., found a nest of this species in the middle of his clover meadow. This is the first that has come under my notice of this IS 2i8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. bird nesting on the ground. I examined the nest and saw the shells of the two eggs. Nest a poor affair of a few small twigs. {R. Elliott.) MUSEUM SPECIMENS. Seven specimens ; five taken in May, 1889, at Spence's Bridge, B C and two at Medicine Hat, Assa., May, 1894, by Mr. W. Spreadborough. One set of eggs taken at Chatham, Ont., receiv- ed from Mr. Raine. the igs. ige, W. eiv-