tsf-M, DiOLOGf LiSRAR* G BIRD-NESTING IN NORTH-WEST CANADA BY P^TOTED BY HUNTER, ROSE AND COMPANY. 1892 PRINTED AND BOUND BY UUNTER, ROSE & COMPANY 23 WELLINGTON STREET, TORONTO PREFACE. HOUGH the preface comes first it is usually written last, and to this custom " Bird-Nesting in North- West Canada " is no exception. Now that the last chapter has been written, the time has come to give a few words of explanation. The only time I have been able to devote to this work was during evenings after business hours, and not only had the book to be written, but the illustrations had also to be drawn at night, consequently the work has taken longer to execute than I had anticipated, and I wish to thank my subscribers for their patience and indulgence in waiting so long for their copies. Though the title of the book would lead readers to expect the work to be purely Oological, it will be found to treat on matters not strictly Ornithological. I have branched off and given descriptions of the habits of the more important animals inhabiting the region traversed, and have also given a de- scription of the scenery between Toronto and Vancouver. The book is also intended to be a guide to sportsmen and anglers who intend visiting this territory, and it may even be of some use to intending settlers. I have given accurate descriptions of the birds' eggs, and also given their measure- ments. At the end of the book is an index, so that the book may answer as a reference. The colored plates of birds' eggs are faithful representa- tions of specimens in my collection, and have been drawn on 862512 iv Preface. stone by myself, as well as the other illustrations of birds and scenery. It must be understood that the- book does not describe all the species which inhabit the North-West, for many common species known to be summer residents were not even observed, and the songs of many warblers, vireos, sparrows, and other small birds were heard in the bluffs and along the wooded streams, but I could not recognize the species. At some future time I hope to be able to give a more complete list of the birds of the North-West, and having recently succeeded in obtaining collectors at Great Slave Lake, and at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, on the Arctic coast, I hope, before long to be able to give an account of the birds which breed in this northern region. Though this book claims no literary pretentions, I trust my readers will find it of sufficient interest to be worthy of their perusal, and, with all its faults, I therefore place it before you. WALTER RAINE. TORONTO, 1892. INDEX. PAGE American Avocet 46, 54, 56, 74 Bittern 120, 185 Coot 165, 181 Crossbill 145 Crow 170 Goldfinch 158 Goshawk 178 Hawk Owl 158, 160 Herring Gull 47, 62 Long-eared Owl 192 Pine Grosbeak 143 Robin 27, 140 Rough-legged Hawk 10, 179 Scaup Duck 44, 55 Stint 61 Sparrow Hawk 147 White-fronted Goose . . 80 White Pelican ....... 47 Wigeon 46 Arctic Towhee 28 Baird's Sparrow 33 Bald Eagle 18 Baldpate 46 Baltimore Oriole 141 Barrow's Golden-eye 99 Bartram's Sandpiper 35, 119 Bay-winged Bunting 171 Belted Kingfisher 141 Bittern, American 120, 185 " Least 18H Black Tern 180 Black-billed Cuckoo 140 Blackbird, Brewer's 159 Red- winged.. 27, 112, 164 Rusty 41, 112 Yellow-headed . . 164, 182 Blue-winged Teal 29 Bohemian Wax wing 27 Bonaparte's Gull 56, 57, 62 Bronzed Grackle 26 Brown Creeper 156 Buff-breasted Sandpiper 65 Buffle-headed Duck 62, 15 '> Burrowing Owl 66, 70* Buzzard Rough-legged 10, 179 " Red-tailed . . .194 PAGE Ruzzard, Ferruginous 114 " Swainson's 28, 149, 186 Turkey 44, 69 Canada Goose 45, 57 " Grouse 159 " Jay 159 Canvas-back Duck 44, 164 Carolina Crake 142, 164 Catbird 27, 140 Cedar Waxwing 159 Chestnut-collared Longspur, 53, 146, 171 Clay-coloured Sparrow 147, 149 Coot, American 165, 181 Cormorant, Double-crested 155 Cowbird 77 Creeper, Brown 156 Crane, Little-brown 22, 151, 166 " Whooping 82 Crossbill, American 145 White-winged 145 Cuckoo, Black-billed 140 Curlew, Long-billed 66, 119 " Esquimaux 114 Duck, American Scaup 55 Canvas-back 44, 164 Buffle-headed 62, 155 Harlequin 99 Lesser Scaup 44, 55 Pintail 49, 82 Duck, Ring-necked 182 Ruddy 146 Shoveller 43, 44, 61 Wood 64 Summer 64 Hawk ' 12 Eagle, Bald 18 " Golden 12, 17 Evening Grosbeak 144 Esquimaux Curlew 114 Falcon, Peregrine 12 Prairie 127 Ferruginous Buzzard 114 Field Plover 35. 36 Flicker, Yellow-shafted 158, 192 Foster's Tern . . 56 VI Index. PACE Franklin's Gull 181 Gadwall 59 Godwit, Marbled 31, 59 Golden Eagle 12, 17 Golden-crowned Kinglet 190 Golden-winged Woodpecker. 158, 192 Golden-eye, Barrow's 99 Goose, Brant 113 " Canada 45, 57 " LesserSnow 80, 113 " White-fronted 80 Ooshawk, American 178 Grackle, Bronzed 26 Rusty 41, 112 Green-winged Teal , 93, 142 Oreat Grey Owl 16, 91 " Horned Owl 191 " Northern Diver 153 Grebe, Eared 183 Red-necked 151, 181 Horned 165, 183 Sclavonian 165, 183 " Western 150 Grouse, Canada '. . 159 Sharp-tailed 31, 171 Grosbeak, Evening 144 Pine 143 Gull, American Herring 47, 62 " Bonaparte's 56,62 " Franklin's 181 " Ring-billed 151 Gyrfalcon 128 " Iceland 129 Harlequin Duck 100 Harrier, Marsh 80, 92 Hawk, Pigeon 184 Red-tail 194 Rough-legged 10, 179 Sharp-shinned 193 Swainson's 28, 149, 186 Owl 160 Hooded Merganser 64 Horned Lark 60 Kildeer 29, 37, 142 Kingbird 29, 149 Kinglet, Golden-crowned 190 " Ruby-crowned 191 Knot 187 Lapland Longspur 53, 54 Lark, Prairie-horned 60, 146, 190 " Pallid-horned 59 " Shore 60 Leconte's Sparrow 171 Least Sandpiper 61 Least Bittern 186 Lesser Redpole 143 Little Brown Crane 22, 151, 166 Long-billed Marsh Wren 146 PAGE Long-billed Curlew 60, 119 Longspur, Chestnut-collared. 53, 146, 171 Lapland 53, 54 McCown's . 52, 58, 73, 119 Loon, Common 6, 152 ' ' Black-throated 154 " Red-throated 153 Mallard 59, 164 Magpie, Yellow-billed 116 Marbled Godwit 31, 59 Marsh Hawk 80, 92 Marsh Wren, Long-billed. . . 146, 164 " Short-billed, 146, 182, 186 Meadow Lark, Western 170 Merlin, European 118 " Richardson's 117 Night-hawk, Western 142, 170 Northern Phalarope 56 " Raven 130 " Wax wing 27 Shrike 141 Owl, American Hawk 160 European " 160 Burrowing 66, 70 Great Grey 16, 91 Great-horned 191 Richardson's 91 Saw-whet 161 Short-eared 44, 45 Long-eared 192 Tengmalm's 91 Pelican, White 47 Peregrine Falcon 12 Phalarope, Northern 56 Wilson's... 34, 56,65, 121 Pigeon Hawk 184 Pine Grosbeak 143 Prairie Falcon 127 Ptarmigan Rock 97 Willow 97 " White-tailed 97 Raven 130 Red-winged Starling 30, 112, 164 Red-headed Woodpecker 112 Redpole, Lesser 143 Red-head Duck 182 Richardson's Grouse 97 Merlin 117 Owl 91 Ruffed Grouse 195 Rusty Grackle 41, 112 Sandpiper, Buff-breasted 65 Least 61 " Bartram's 35, 36, 119 Spotted 65, 74 Shoveller 44, 61 Index. PAGE Shore Lark 60, 146, 190 Shrike, Northern 141 Short-billed Marsh Wren 146 Semipalmated Plover 74 Snipe, Wilson's 37, 46 Snow Bunting 53 Snowy Owl 89 Spotted Sandpiper 65, 74 Sprague's Pipit 75 Sparrow-hawk 147 Swainson's Buzzard 28, 149 Sparrow, Baird's 33 Clay-coloured 147, 149 " Leconte's 171 White-throated 190 Vesper, Western 171 PAGE Trumpeter Swan 37 Teal, Blue-winged 29 " Green-winged 93, 142 Turkey Vulture 44, 69 Virginian Rail 168 W T hooping Crane 82 White- throated Sparrow 190 Whip-Poor- Will. . 170 Willet 58, 64 Winter Wren 156 Wilson's Snipe 36, 46 " Phalarope . . 34, 56, 121, 165 Wood Duck 64 Woodpecker, Golden- winged. 158,192 Red-headed.. . 112 ZOOLOG-Y. Antelope 41, 46, 50 Bear, Black 15, 172 " Cinnamon 155, 172 " Grizzly 104, 108 Buffalo 48, 124 Cariboo 110, 178 Deer, Black-tailed 172 Elk 109 Fox 172, 187 Grey Wolf 86 Lynx 175. Moose 175, 177 Puma 10& Prairie Wolf 47, 75, 85, 120 Rattlesnake 95 Skunk 192 Wolverine , 172: ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Colored Plate I. Eggs of Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Red tail Hawk, Pigeon Hawk, Sharp- shinned and Sparrow Hawks, opp. 1 II. Eggs of Knot, Phalaropes, Plovers, Avocet, Sandpipers, etc. - opp. 56 III. Eggs of Curlew, Ptarmigans, Bona- parte's Gull, Turnstone Green-shank, Yellow-shank, Grey Plover, etc. opp. 98 IV. Eggs of Iceland Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Swallow-tail Kite, European Merlin, Kestril, Osprey, etc. opp. 130 V. Eggs of Raven, Nutcracker, Grackles, Blackbirds, Longspurs, Larks, etc. Opp. 148 VI. Eggs of Little Brown Crane, Whip- poor-will, Night-hawk, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Great Shrike, etc. - opp. 170 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Red Rock, Nipigon River 10 Thunder Cape, Lake Superior 12 j Pointe de Meuron 13 \ Lake of the Woods 14 Golden Eagle and Eyrie 18 Kildeer and Wilson's Phalarope . . 38 The Sportsman's Paradise 41 Antelope Hunting 50 Avocet and Nest 55 j Canada Goose, Curlew and Nests.. 59 Shore Lark and Turkey Vulture . 71 Marsh Hawk and Nest 81 Death of the Prairie Wolf 86 j Rocky Mountains near Calgary ... 96 , The haunts of the Grizzly 104 ' Frazer River Canyon 105 | Puma and Grizzly Bear 108 j Banff Hot Springs Ill j American Bittern and Nest 120 PAGB Indians and their Tepees 122 Buffaloes 126 Emigrant Train, Assiniboine Valley 134 Feast of the White Dog 138 Near Virden 142 West of Virden 148 Loon's Nest 152 Peregrine Falcon and American Hawk Owl 160 Nests of Canvas Back and Yellow- headed Blackbird 164 Little Brown Crane and Yellow- shank 167 Still hunting , 176 American Goshawk and Great Nor- thern Shrike 178 The dying Moose 185 The Great Horned Owl and Nest. 191 Skunk . 192 SHARP SHINNED HAWK GOLDEN EAGLE 2 PEREGRINE FALCON 3X7 SPAR ROW HAWKS 3 PIGEON HAWK & RED-TAILED HAWK BIRD-NESTING IN NORTH-WEST CANADA. CHAPTER I. OR several years I had contemplated spending a season collecting Ornithological specimens in north- west Canada, but it was not until June of the pre- sent year, 1891, that I found myself prepared for a month's sojourn amongst the prairies of Manitoba and Assiniboia. Ornithologists, anglers, and sportsmen puzzling their brains to decide where they will spend a fishing or shooting holiday, will do well to be guided by this book. As will be learned by a perusal of its pages, the Canadian Pacific railway offers inducements of no ordinary nature. Florida was once considered the Ornithologist paradise, but of late years the plume-hunters have made sad havoc amongst, the rookeries of the egrets, herons, ibis, terns and other birds, and friends of mine who have recently visited Florida have come away disappointed, having seen nothing of those vast communities of herons and other birds which we read of as once nesting there in large colonies. What are undoubtedly the finest shooting-grounds to be found in any part of North America at the present day, are enclosed within the boundaries of the Canadian North- West No other territory can claim such a variety of game, nor such an abundance of it, nor such splendid facilities for reaching the haunts of the different species, and no other country can offer the daring sportsman such a chance of securing the heads and skins of the nobler game animals, such as Moose and Caribou as trophies of his skill and nerve in their pursuit. 2 Bird-Nesting Although the following pages will be found devoted chiefly to the nidification of birds in the North- West, still I have also endeavored to make this book useful as a guide to sportsmen and anglers who intend visiting this territory, and will attempt to cover some of the best shooting and fishing points in the vast expanse of prairies, brush-lands and lakes, lying between the eastern boundary of Manitoba and the Rocky Mountains. Roughly speaking the prairie country is about 1000 miles wide, while other vast tracts extend far to the north of the Canadian Pacific Railway, offering inducements for special ex- plorations to the Ornithologists who can afford to devote sufficient time to the work, for it is within this region that most of our rarest plovers, sandpipers, swans, ducks and geese, retire to lay their eggs and bring forth their young. Of the birds of this prairie country, i.e., the Provinces of Manitoba, Assiniboia and Alberta, too much can hardly be said. They simply comprise the " happy hunting-grounds " of the Ornithologist dreams, and only those who have tested for themselves their amazing resources, can have any idea of the variety of birds to be found there. But the reader unacquainted with the country may ask : Wherein lies the special superiority of the Canadian North- West, and why is it better than any other region ? The answer is easily found. These rolling, grassy seas of rich prairie-land, intersected with an endless succession of lakes and sloughs, are the natural breeding-grounds now, as they have been for ages in the past, of the swift- winged myriads of migratory water-fowl that every spring, in obedience to their wonderful instinct, rise in blackening clouds from the drained lands, lagoons and rice fields of the south, and fan their long way over states and provinces, league after league, until they have gained these secure and lonely haunts, where they can reproduce their species unmolested by the destroyer. The lakes, streams and marshes are the fitting homes of these fowl, and they break the vast expanses of grass everywhere. There is a practically inexhaustible supply of food, and consequently the birds return year after year to the same points where they In North -W<>*t Canada. 3 were bred, and they will continue to do so as long as there is a flock left. Keen sportsmen were among the first to explore this region, when it was opened for settlement by the building of the railway, for right well they guessed what royal fields were there for the gun. And there is big game also in plenty. The buffalo is nearly extinct, 'tis true, but the giant moose, king of the deer tribe, yet haunts every part of the country where a proper amount of browse can be found. The elk, caribou, jumping deer, com- mon deer, prong-horn antelope, black and brown bears, grey wolf, lynx, coyote, fox, wolverine, beaver, and several other animals valued for their furs, are yet to be found in numbers, and finer variety of game than these, sportsmen cannot ask for. But the amazing variety is among the feathered game. No less than seven species of grouse may be killed, including the prairie chicken, Canada grouse, dusky grouse, pintail grouse, ruffed grouse, ptarmigan, and willow ptarmigan. Among the water-fowl are the trumpeter and whistling swans, the Canada goose, Ross's goose, lesser snow goose and brant ; the mallard, canvas-back, redhead, ruddy duck, pintail, gad wall, wood duck, American widgeon, green-winged and blue- winged teal, shoveller, golden-eye, buffle-head and ring- necked duck ; added to these are the curlew, golden plover avocet, snipe, godwits, kildeer, Bartram's sandpiper, and numer- ous sandpipers and waders of lesser importance. About every marshy bit, the bittern, herons and rails will be found, and in addition to these are hundreds of white pelicans, little brown cranes, Franklins, Bonapartes, herring and ring-billed gulls ; common, Foster's, and black terns, which are found in the lakes and sloughs, while amongst the rushes bordering the lakes and pools may be found nesting hundreds of yellow-headed black- birds, red-winged starling, rusty grackle, and marsh wrens. In the bluffs, where the trees are large enough to hold the nests, may be found breeding, the great-horned owl, long-eared and hawk owl, the rough-legged, redtail, and Swainson's buz- zards, the goshawk, pigeon, sharp-shinned and sparrow hawks, 4 Bird-Nesting crows, and woodpeckers, while in the bushes may be found numerous nests of bronzed grackles, kingbirds, great grey shrike, vireos, thrushes and warblers. Out on the dry open prairie on the ground may be found the nests of shore larks, chestnut-collared and McCown's longspur, bay-winged buntings, Sprague's pipit, marsh harrier, Kildeer and Bartram's sand- piper. This book has been written for the special benefit of young Oologists, and I have tried to make it both interesting and in- structive, but I hope the more advanced Ornithologists, as well as sporstmen, will find something in the following pages to interest them. To those who know nothing of the pleasure and excitement of bird-nesting, or the healthful fascinating pursuit of collect- ing specimens in any branch of natural history, this book may seem to be nothing but prattle, but such persons are to be pitied by the naturalist, for the uninitiated know nothing of the pure solid pleasure to be derived from these pursuits, and to them the beauty of summer is robbed of half its glory. SUMMER TIME. the sunny summer time ! the leafy summer time ! Merry is the bird's life When the year is in its prime, Birds are by the waterfall, Dashing in the rainbow's spray ; Everywhere bright and lovely there are they. Birds are in the forest old, Singing in each hoary tree ; Birds are in the green fields, Birds are by the sea. In CHAPTER II. LET'S AWAY TO THE PRAIIUES. Art sick of the city's rush and strife, And the endless chafe of a business life, The crush and the roar of the busy street, The jar of pavement, and stifling heat, The endless toiling for dear-bought gain. The wearying tension of nerve and brain ? Then cast all from you, and hie away For a glorious, restful holiday. The gun hangs long on the lonely wall ; The tackle is hid 'neath a dusty pall ; The reel has forgotten the song it sings ; The flies would fain stretch their deadly wings ; The basket can boast no tempting spread, And the flask is cold and its spirits fled. Man ! is it right such things should be ? Why clank your chain when you might be free ? The breeze sighs soft with a breath divine, And whispers a welcome from the pine ; The rocks re-echo the syren calls Of a thousand rushing, foaming falls ; The game trout leaps in the shadowed pool ; The deer drinks long of the water cool ; And moose and caribou safely stray, For your rod and rifle are far away. Leave then, the desk, and ease the strain ; Leave the noisy machinery and the doubtful gain. The breath of the woods gives strength anew, And tunes the nerves till they answer true Seek nature's shrine that she may bless, And lose your care in the wilderness ; For the grouse is sounding his rallying drum, And the voice of forest and stream says " come ! " T is the first of June, the happiest month of the year to the lovers of birds. The lilacs and apple-trees are in full blossom, sending forth a delicious per- fume which comes through the open windows as I sit at supper, the last I shall have at home for many days. Several robins are singing their evening song before going to rest, and the nighthawk's screech can be heard 6 Bird-Nesting as they hover in circles in the sky above the house, while the mosquitoes sally forth singing merrily, and make their pres- ence known by an occasional probe in the back of one's neck. The sun has now gone down and supper being finished, 1 again look over my baggage to see that nothing has been for- gotten, and, taking leave of the dear ones at home, I soon reach the street car, and a ride of fifteen minutes brings us to the station. The train is ready and the engine is hissing as if impatient for to start; the platform is crowded with folks who have come to -see their friends off; many apparently are going out to the west to seek new homes. The passengers are all seated ; in a few moments the signal is given, the engine bell begins to toll, and we glide out of the station into the dark. It is midnight, and the passengers soon quiet down, and as the train was very crowded I could not obtain the comfort of a berth in a sleeper, so made myself as comfortable as I could under the circumstances; putting on my slippers and wrapping myself in a rug and placing a pillow in a corner of the seat, I managed to doze for a few hours. We jogged along, and at day-break we find we have reached the famous Muskoka district, the summer resort for Toronto- nians, where, amongst the numerous lakes, excellent boating and fishing may be had. This is also a fine district for the sports- men, and scores of deer and many a large fat black bear find their way into the Toronto market every winter. We pass many lakes studded with numerous rocky islands, with a few pine trees growing on them. Many ducks are seen swimming out on these small lakes, and several Loons are observed, for this is one of their favorite haunts, and I have several clutches of their eggs that have been collected on the islands of these lakes. In this district the loon makes no nest, but simply lays its two large brown eggs, spotted .with black, on the bare rocks a few feet from the water's edge. We soon reach Bracebridge, well-known to hunters, for this is one of the places they get off at, and the woods, two or three miles back from the railway, abound with deep and small game. In North- \Y <'t Canada. 7 We are now going through a very wild, rocky piece of country, and are on the alert for the sight of a bear or a deer. Passing Huntsville, one hour's ride brings us to within sight of Lake Nipissing, an extensive and beautiful sheet of water, 40 miles long and 10 wide, with forest-clad shores and islands. A short ride along the shore of the lake, and we run into the small town of North Bay, and here we have to change cars, having reached the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway. The train from Montreal and Ottawa soon afterwards arrives, and we have to stop here for two hours. The day is very cold and it began to rain. North Bay is a favorite centre for moose hunters, and many a handsome head and pair of antlers have I seen that have been obtained in the forests to the north of North Bay. At this place guides and supplies for shooting expeditions may be obtained. This is also an excellent district for fishing. As it was very cold and beginning to snow, we were glad to get into the train which was now being made up of colonists' cars, and which has to be our home for three days and two nights before Winnipeg is reached. Selecting a car, we find among the new passengers representatives of all grades of society, gentlemen travelling for pleasure, commercial travel- lers, young men just out from England going out seeking for- tunes in farms or ranching, emigrants, sturdy Scotchmen with their rosy-cheeked daughters going to take up farms in the North- West, and land-hunters in plenty, with their pockets stuffed full of maps and pamphlets, gold and silver miners for the mountains, and coal miners for the Saskatchewan region. There is not a sorrowful visage in the party, every face wears a bright and expectant look, and all try and make themselves agreeable, and for the first few hours it's a common expression to hear, " what part are you going to ? " Some are only going as far as Winnipeg, others to British Columbia and California, but most are going to Manitoba or Assiniboia, to settle down to farming. One young woman has come from Scotland and is on her way to Edmonton, in Alberta, to marry a young farmer who had left Scotland three years previously, and now possessed a large farm at Edmonton. Leaving North Bay, we 8 Bird-Nesting run along the shores of Lake Nipissing for 20 miles, and reach Sturgeon Falls. The railway crosses directly over the falls of the Sturgeon river. Sudbury is reached, famous for its copper and nickel mines. Large quantities of the ores are seen in the cars along the railway sidings, and the smoke from the smelt- ing furnaces can be seen a distance away above the tree tops. We now strike out across a wild country towards Lake Sup- erior. The scenery is fine, and in places extremely interesting. We move on through the rocky hills and forests, passing hundreds of lakes which swarm with fish ; the forests are full of game, the lordly moose, cariboo, red deer and bears of the large sort, and of smaller game, hares, swan, geese, ducks, par- tridges and quail. Of fur-bearing animals, there are the silver- gray, red and black fox, the otter, marten, mink and beaver. The climate is clear, bracing and healthy. Biscotasing is situated on an extensive and irregular lake, and is a fine district for trappers, who obtain the pelts of the fur-bearing animals here in quantity. The sun is now sinking fast, and soon after supper I turned into my berth and tried to go to sleep, but the first night in a sleeper one seldom gets a good night's rest. In Norf/i-Wrsf ('a, > of the old birds. The male bird is a very close sitter, and will almost suffer himself to be trodden upon before he will leave the nest, then he flutters along in front of one's feet for some dis- tance as if wounded, making a soft, squeaking noise : he then rises in the air and is joined by the female, who has been feeding in some damp spot not far off, they then fly around in circles, and are sometimes joined by two or three other phalaropes. Most sandpipers or waders have a loud whistle but the phalarope is a very quiet bird, and it has only one soft note, which can be heard only close to it. It sounds some- tiling like the coo of a dove, or the bark of a large dog a long- way off. This is the only note I ever heard them utter, be- sides the squeak they make when frightened off the nest. \Ylien feeding or swimming about the sloughs they are very tame, and will allow you to approach within five or six yards before taking flight or running further away. I collected a fine series of eggs of the Wilson's phalarope. They are almost as large as eggs of the spotted sandpiper, and average 1 .25x0.00. The ground colour varies from pale clay to brownish drab, and is heavily overlaid with spots, blotches and scratches of brown and black, reminding one of the ptarmigan's egg in style of colouring. They have the power to remove their eggs, if they have been handled. On June the 10th, I found a nest of Wilson's phalarope, at Rush Lake, it contained one egg ; this egg I examined, and then put it back into the nest, intending to call a few days later for the full set. I put some stones near the nest so as to be able to lii id it again. Next day I visited the nest and found the egg had gone. About thirty feet away I found another nest and two eggs, one of them I recognized as the egg I had handled the day before, the bird evidently had removed the egg to this nest and laid another one to it. On the high ground above the slough a number of W T illet's and Bartram's sand- pipers had their nests. The Willets were very wary, but the field-plovers were excessively tame, and when disturbed would get up off their nests and walk slowly through the grass. The Bartram's sandpiper, also called field plover and upland 36 Bird-Nesting plover, is a slender, graceful bird ; when disturbed they seldom take flight, but walk or run along a few yards in front of the intruder. In driving over the prairie I almost ran over several, for they do not run out of the way, until the horse is nearly upon them. They keep close together in pairs, and i -amble through the grass, their long necks and heads just appearing over the top of the scanty herbage. They have a soft mellow whistle, and are called " Quaily" by the natives, as their whistle is supposed to resemble this word. The nests are simply depressions in the ground, lined with a few blades of grass. I have a series of one hundred eggs before me, consisting of twenty -five sets, the number of eggs to a clutch is invariably four, and theyare very uniform in size, shape and colour. Tne eggs are not so pyriform or pointed as those of other plovers and sandpipers. They average about 1.75x1.28. The ground colour is pale clay, sometimes light drab or deep buff, spotted all over and thicker towards the larger end, with umber brown, they also have numerous dark, purplish-grey blotches, and paler grey shell-markings. The plumage of both sexes is very similar. As it was dinner time, I went back to the horse and buggy, and put the eggs and birds I had collected at the bottom of the buggy, and loosened the horse so that he could feed on the grass. After having some lunch I waded into the slough and shot several yellow-headed blackbirds. They are handsome birds, the head, neck and breast is a brilliant orange, which stands out well against the rest of the plumage which is black, except the wings, which are barred with white. I did not find any of their nests ; they are late breeders, and I did not collect any eggs of this species until June 19th. A pair of mallard ducks had a brood of young, and so had several shoveller ducks. On the margin of the slough a snipe rose up suddenly and darted away to the other side of the slough. It took me some time to find its nest, which was well con- cealed among the tufts of marsh grass. This nest of Wilson's snipe was made in the centre of a tuft of grass, and consisted /"// Nortk-W^f (. of a circular depression in the ground, lined with bits of rushes. The eggs were four in number, olive greenish brown, blotched and spotted with dark brown and purplish-grey, and measure about 1.55x1.07. Wilson's snipe is not very numerous either in Manitoba or Assiniboia ; I only found a thin sprinkling of these birds be- tween Winnipeg and Rush Lake, they became scarcer on ap- proaching the sou tli, towards the United States boundary, and are more frequent towards the Saskatchewan region of the north. The male Wilson's snipe has the same habit as the Kuropeaii snipe of flying in circles high in the air, and drop- ping down suddenly a few yards with outstretched wings, which cause a drumming noise. I could almost fancy 1 was on some of the Yorkshire moors in England, or on Strens- all common, near York, where I used to find numerous nests and eggs of the snipe, and have often lain on the ground and watched and listened to the snipes drumming high in the air. The trumpeter swan nests on the prairies north of Moosejaw, at Buffalo Lake : they are early breeders : a set of five eggs in my collection were taken on April 7th, 1891 ; another set of two eggs were taken on the same day. The nests were de- scribed as being large structures, three feet in diameter, and composed of sods, grass and rushes, the centres were lined with feathers and down. The eggs are yellowish white, and average 4.25x2.00. As the horse began to get restless, I drove round to the north of the slough. Here I found many species of ducks, and numerous Wilson's phalaropes, kildeers and Bar- tram's sandpipers. The nests of these three species were found some distance from the water's edge, upon the drv prairie. The kildeer is a noisy, wary bird, and is never flushed off' the nest, like the field plover and Wilson's phal- arope. As soon as their nesting quarter is approached, some male bird, who is on the look out, flies toward the intruder and begins calling out " Tewitt," and the cry is very similar to that of the European lapwing plover, being somewhat plaintive and sad; all the kildeers in the immediate neigh- bourhood then leave their nests and begin to fly in the air, 38 calling out " Tewitt," and they do not settle down until the in- truder has retired to a considerable distance. These birds are very annoying, for they alarm the whole neighbourhood with their cries, which cause many of the birds to leave their nests and thus spoils the collector's chances of flushing other birds off their nests. The eggs of the kildeer are rather handsome, and a large series makes a fine display. The ground colour is usually clay, sometimes drab, thickly spotted and blotched with black and grey shell markings : some clutches have a scratchy pattern of lines and spots. In size they average 1.53x1.10. My next find was a nest and four eggs of the yellowshank, the nest consisting of a saucer-shaped hollow in the ground, lined with grass, after the fashion of other plovers. The eggs are smaller and not so broad as those of the Bar- tram's sandpiper, and are more pointed and pyriforin. The ground colour is like some specimens of the field plover, but the markings are bolder. The eggs have a buffy clay ground, and are thickly spotted with various shades of brown, with numerous shell markings of grey. Like the Wilson's snipe, the yellowlegs aiv not numerous on the prairies of Manitoba and Assiniboia: both species become more abundant northward towards the Saskatchewan region. Yellowlegs are more numerous at Bittern Lake, near Edmond- ton, and are common in the neighbourhood of Little Slave Lake. It was now five o'clock, and as my horse was getting restless, and kept turning his head homeward, and moving oft' of his own accord, I concluded to leave this charming spot and return to Moosejaw. But just then a couple of curlews arose, sol left the horse and buggy and went after them. Bang went the gun, but it was a miss this time, and the curlews flew away to some distance. I was searching the spot for their nest, when, looking up I beheld the horse and buggy going at a steady pace across the prairie. I at once gave chase, calling out, " whow, whow," as I ran along, but the horse took no notice, but kept on at a steady trot. After running quarter of a mile he began to gain on me, and I was almost out of breath running and calling on him to stop, and I found KILDEER PLOVER* NEST In Nu,'H>-\Y^t Canada. M it was no joke running in long rubber boots and carrying a o-uii and collecting boxes. After running half a mile I was played out, and began to think matters were getting serious. ] did not like the prospect of having to walk seven miles back to Moosejaw, and then I was afraid the horse would get lost and fall into the hands of Indians. I also knew he had to cross some deep valleys in the direction he was going, and 1 was afraid he might up:s:'t the buggy and take fright, or he might wander until he came to the railway track, and a vivid idea of a railway accident resulting, crossed my mind, but I could run no farther, and so had to content myself with walk- ing, and the horse and buggy w^ere now nearly two miles away ; he was going westward to\vards an elevated ridge of the prairie, and Moosejaw lay Jx> the south-west. I knew if he got over the top of that ridge of prairie he would fall into the hands of Indians, and I should probably never see him again. The Indians would take care of him after that. I began to despair, and wondered what was the value of the horse and buggy, and what I should say to the owner when I got back to Moosejaw. On reaching the foot of the ridge the horse did not ascend, but turned southward and began to walk along the foot of it. So I gained courage and began to run again : the ridge was a half circle in shape, so I took a short cut across the prairie, in the direction the horse was heading for, and in twenty minutes I nearly got up to him, when he saw me com- ing, and the rascal set off running again. Some distance a.way was an old, empty barn, and the horse ran to this place and then came to a halt. I ran along, keeping the barn between the horse and myself so that he could not see me coming, and in getting up to the barn, I ran out from behind and seized him by the rein.' Looking into the buggy, I saw my birds had gone, they had got shaken out, many of the eggs I found broken, and some missing altogether. You can judge how disappointed I was. I got into the buggy and drove back two miles in the hopes of finding the birds laid on the prairie, but I did not find a single specimen, so I returned to Moosejaw and consoled myself w r ith the thoughts that matters might have 40 Bird-Nesting been worse. I passed a camp of Indians on my way to Moose- jaw. Soon the housetops in Moosejaw began to appear and I drove down into the valley, and delivered the horse to its owner, who complained about the splashboard being bent, but I did not tell him of my adventure. After enjoying a wash and a good supper, I visited the ponds near Moosejaw, and flushed a Wilson's phalarope from its nest and three eggs. These I left until the following morning. I rambled around the ponds until it was nearly dark, and then returned to the station house, tired with my day's work. The prairie grasses grow close and sweet Where the prong-horn is bounding wild and fleet. And the sod is worn in deep-lined maze With the mighty bison's forsaken ways. Bones of the race that was swept away Await 'mid thr- herbage their slow decay, But the bleaching skull and the mould'ring horn, To tell of the herds by these pastures borne- Ghastly tokens spread o'er the land To prove the work of the butcher's hand. But sense prevailed in the time of need, And fettered the bloody hands of greed, Ere the nobler quarries of hunters aim Were swept for aye from their native plain. The elk still leads his stately bands, And the moose calls loud in the forest-lands, And the shore of eacfi lake and streamlet clear Is deeply trod by the herding deer, And the mink and otter and beaver play Where the streams flow down on their devious way. Far or, the prairie's unmeasured field, Lakes unnumbered are bright revealed, And the air is filled with rush of wing, Where the myriad wild fowl wheel and swing. Westward majestic Rockies pile Their mighty barriers mile on mile, Where grizzly and goat and mountain sheep Roam at will o'er ravine and steep. Head, horn, and skin each a matchless prize, But gained in this Sportsman's Paradise. u rKv- 4P. /// North -\Y< were seven white pelicans, and the dog made a rush at them through the water, but they turned on him with open mouths and the ugly creatures scared the dog and he return- ed whimpering. They rose and flew over our heads, and Mac- donald fired at them but missed. They look tremendous birds on the wing and fly heavily, taking big sweeps with their wings. They nest on the east shore of the lake, but as they are early breeders we did not visit this colony. Macdonald informed me that about fifty pairs nest on a stony sandbar at the east end of the lake, and they had fresh eggs the second week in May. The nests are made by the birds scraping to- gether a mound of sand six inches high, and on this they place a few rushes carelessly, and lay generally two eggs, occasion- ally three, but two is the regular number : the average size is 3.50x2.30. They are chalky white in colour, with a calcareous^ deposit on them, and are more or less stained. As it was four o'clock, and Macdonald had to be back at the station to meet the train from the west at 5:30, we turned back and reached the spot where we had left the ducks' eggs and birds. We were heavily laden with all our spoils and our guns began to get heavy, so we tramped along for some distance without saying a word. My companion led the way, and I followed close behind with the dog at my heels. Some- thing tearing its way through the rushes caused Macdonald to come to a dead halt, and he dropped his birds, exclaiming excitedly, "give me a cartridge, here's a wolf." I at once dropped my birds and handed him a couple of cartridges from my belt, and in a second he had placed the cartridge in his gun and was trying to get a sight of the prairie wolf. The < log's bark caused the wolf to bolt out of the rushes, and 48 Bird-Nesting Macdonald, tired but the shots did not seem to take any effect and the animal took to his heels, closely pursued by our dog, and both soon disappeared among the rushes. We had dis- turbed the wolf while making a meal of a female scaup duck which he had probably seized as she sat on her nest. Soon after the dog returned, having given up the chase. We now arrived at the creek and put up a marsh harrier which skim- med away a few feet above the ground ; we sought for its nest without success, so we marked down the spot, intending to return some other time. It was now five o'clock and the station was yet over two miles away, so Macdonald said he would have to leave me to bring the birds along, whilst he hastened to the station to be in time to meet the train. So I sat down by the side of the creek and blew the ducks' eggs and washed them out. After blowing over forty eggs, I found my burden lightened consid- erably. I tied the birds together and managed to carry the whole afternoon's spoils along with me. On my return I flushed several ducks and coots from the creek, but did not search for their nests. The smoke of the engine now appear- ed winding its way through the western hills, and soon reach- ed the station. After the train had left, I saw Macdonald coming to meet me. On getting up to me he enquired, " how many birds I had left behind ?" I told him I had got the whole lot, and had blown the eggs which had lessened their weight. He carried my gun, and on reaching the station- house we found supper ready, consisting of beef steak and mushrooms, to which we both did justice. After an hour's rest, Macdonald asked me if I felt like going out again, and as I now felt like a new man, having had a refreshing wash and a good supper/we set out, Macdonald taking his gun with him. We ascended the hills north of the railway, and then turned round and had a splendid panoramic view of Rush Lake and the creek, with the hills in the background. Mac- donald pointed out to me a long white streak on the shore of the lake, and told me that was the nesting-place of the pelicans. In North- West Canada. 49 The dog, which had followed, came limping towards us. I asked what was the matter, and was informed that he had got a cactus in his foot. On my enquiring if cacti plants grew around here, I was informed that they grew abundantly on these hills, and ^there were three or four species. ' We found the dog had got some spines in the soles of his feet, which were easily extracted. Soon afterwards'Macdonald pointed out to me patches of cacti. I saw two species which are great fav- orites in the windows of houses in Toronto. One has a large crimson flower and grows about a foot high ; another species has a large yellow flower. They grow in various shapes and all are covered with prickly spines. Macdonald took me to a pond among the hills and showed me a nest and eight eggs of the pintail duck. The nest was in a bank side close to the water, and was a hollow in the ground lined with down. The eggs are pale grayish green, and average 2.20x 1.50. A kildeer plover came flying towards us, and before long we had a number of them flying above our heads. Mac- donald shot one, and although there must have been a num- ber of nests around, we did not find a single one, although we searched carefully. The kildeer is a very wary bird, and I never yet flushed one off its nest. Buffalo wallows are nu- merous among these hills. They are large circular hollows in the ground, from six to nine feet in diameter, and about a foot deep. They are overgrown with short green grass. They were made by the buffaloes in the following manner: The an- imals, on reaching some damp spot among the hills, would lay down and begin working their bodies round, scraping the ground with their feet. They soon work a large circular hol- low into which the water oozes, here they bathed themselves, and coated their bodies with mud, and a buffalo in this state cer- tainly would appear an ugly, shaggy monster. After one buf- falo had satisfied himself in wallowing, another would take his place, and in this way these wallows are found all over the prairies. There are generally numbers of these wallows together, showing that a herd of buffalo once frequented these places. The prairies are also bisected all over with their trails. D 50 Bird-Nesting These trails are from two to three feet wide, and were caused by the buffaloes running over the prairie, one behind the other in Indian file. The weight of two or three hundred buffaloes running one behind the other soon wore a deep pathway on the prairies. Their skulls and horns are scattered all over the prairies, and those in a good state of preservation are collected by the Indians, who polish them carefully and sell them at 75 cts. a pair. In Winnipeg buffalo horns sell for $2 a pair, and in Toronto they are $4 a pair. As the buffalo is now al- most extinct, in a wild state, their horns will soon become very valuable. An antelope appeared on a hill-top before us, so we crouched down in a buffalo wallow, and, making the dog lie down, Mac- donald said he would bring that antelope close up to us, so he told me to keep myself and the dog out of sight. He then took out his handkerchief and began to wave it in the air, keeping his body down in the buffalo wallow. The antelope saw it and began to advance a few paces, and then stood staring at the moving handkerchief. Macdonald kept on waving, and the antelope walked a few paces closer, still staring at the hand- kerchief, and in this way it gradually advanced until it was within thirty yards, when the setter caught sight of him and sprang out after the antelope, which bounded away as swift as an arrow over the hills out of sight. He told me that this is the way the Indians obtain antelope for food ; they put a stick in the ground and tie a piece of rag to it, and then lie down. The antelope approaches the object out of curiosity, and is then shot down at close range by the concealed Indian. As it was beginning to get dark, we turned round and descended the hills homeward. On arriving at the station-house I found eight railway hands playing cards ; they represented different nationalities, all living under one roof. There was a Russian, a Swede, a Scotchman, a Yankee, a Frenchman, two Cana- dians, and a London cockney, quite an assortment. Every twenty miles eight men are appointed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to look after the tracks and keep them in repair, and these section-houses are built for their accommoda Mftfo,.'Vj^afattlu* m 1 ANTELOPE HUNTING. In North- West Canada. 51 tion. On seeing my birds, the youngest of the Canadians in- formed me "that he knew where there was a lot of those golden plover nests," pointing to the avoset, so I made arrange- ments for him to take me to the place the following day. He told me there was a lake five miles north, and three Sundays ago they had been out there collecting Canada geese eggs, and he saw five or six nests of plover. He described the eggs, and I knew they must have been avosets, so it was agreed that we should visit this lake next morning. 52 Bird-Nesting CHAPTER IX. EXT morning (June 10th), while at breakfast, an Indian walked into the house and offered the land- lady the hind-quarter of an antelope for fifty cents. She asked me if I would like some, and on my approval she bought it. I found it to be excellent meat, and almost lived on it for the next three days. Some Indians had arrived the night previous, and had erected their tepees near the section house, opposite my bed- room window. We were ready to start, so my new guide John took my gun and we ascended the hills north of Rush Lake. It was a lovely morning, and the sun glittered on the lake below us. The prairie was covered with sweet-scented flowers, their names unknown to me. There is a rich purple flower that grows in patches many yards square ; they are found in the hollows between the hills, and when seen from an elevation they look like ponds of purple ink. There is another flower, bright yellow in colour ; I call them wild calceolarias. They also grow in great patches. McCown's longspurs were very numerous, and we found several nests by flushing the birds from before our feet. They flutter along the ground for a few yards, and then, threading their way through the short grass for some distance, take wing. Their nests are made of fine grasses, and lined with a few horse hairs ; they are built flush with the ground, and the brim of the nest is thick, but the bottom is shallow. The nests are usually built at the side of a tuft of grass. I was successful in obtaining a fine series of the eggs of this species during my stay at Rush Lake, and also found several nests at Moosejaw. The eggs can be distin- guished from those of the chestnut-collared longspur by their larger size, and the ground colour is usually darker, and the markings heavier. Some clutches, however, so closely resemble those of the chestnut-collared longspur as to be scarcely dis- In North- West Canada. 53 tinguishable, but are generally a trifle larger. The average size of fifty specimens is 80x60, and the number of eggs to a clutch is usually five, sometimes only four. In my collection I have seven clutches of five eggs, and four clutches of four. The ground colour varies from white to greyish white, pinky white, clay and greyish olive, usually boldly spotted with umber and blackish brown ; many of the eggs are clouded over with dark purple grey which almost conceals the ground colour, and many of the eggs have scratches and hair-line streaks of brown. The male bird has a pleasant song, and sings as it descends to the ground with outstretched motionless wings. It has a black crescent-shaped patch on its breast like that of the meadow lark, and when flying can be easily identified by its white tail feathers. The natives call them ground larks- They were the commonest of small birds found on the elevated prairies. I did not see any chestnut-collared longspurs at Rush Lake, but they were common in the Red River valley towards Winnipeg, where McCown's longspurs are also found in smaller numbers. I was informed that great flocks of snow and Lap- land buntings come around the house at Rush Lake in winter, and are surprisingly tame, but they are never seen in summer ; they go north to the Mackenzie River, Great Slave Lake, and Alaska to breed. I have a number of nests and eggs of the snow bunting that were collected in Iceland, where the birds are common. The nests are strong, compact and neatly built ? and are made of grass, fine roots and hair, and are thickly lined with feathers ; the walls of the nest are an inch thick, and the cavity of the nest is deep. They are built on the ground under tussocks of grass, and sometimes under loose stones and in crevices of rocks. The eggs vary exceedingly both in size and colour. I have a series of fifty specimens from Iceland and Greenland. The ground colour is usually white, greenish white or purplish white, and the eggs are speckled, spotted and blotched with various shades of brown and purple grey. The number of eggs laid is from four to six, but usually five. During the past five seasons my Iceland col- lector has sent me some three hundred and fifty eggs 54 Bird-Nesting of the snow bunting. Out of this number were forty-one clutches of five eggs each, nineteen clutches of four eggs, and eleven clutches of six e^gs, so that five eggs appear to be the regular number. The eggs are laid both in Iceland and Green- land towards the latter part of June. The average size is 0.90x0.65. The Lapland bunting does not breed in Iceland, but is common in Greenland and Lapland. I have four clutches collected June 20, 1882, in South Greenland, as well as a number of sets of four and five eggs that were collected at Tornea, Lapland, June 11, 1888. The eggs are very dark like those of the titlark, with a chocolate, sienna or olive ground, clouded with darker brown ; and some eggs have streaks and hair-lines of dark brown, chiefly round the butt end. On the high prairie above Rush Lake, curlews, willets, kil- deers and Bartram's sandpipers were numerous. We saw a number of marbled godwits, and shot a willet and a marbled godwit. The lake where the avosets breed now appeared in sight, and we were soon walking along its western shore, where we disturbed several Canada geese. John showed me three nests from which he had taken eggs the first week in May. The nests were hollows in the sand along the margin of the lake amongst the grass, and these hollows were lined abund- antly with greyish down and feathers. On the lake were several species of ducks and other water-fowl. Avosets were plentiful, and we shot four handsome specimens. This lake was about a mile and a half long and half a mile wide. Near the north end are two small sandy islands, about which were several terns, Bonaparte's gulls, and a few Franklin's gulls. At the east side of the lake a stony sand-bar ran out towards the centre of the lake, and on approaching this place the avosets became very noisy, flying around making a jelping kind of a noise. We soon found two or three nests, and on reaching the end of the sand-bar the nests became so numerous that we had to be careful not to step upon the eggs. It was a grand sight, and onelshall never forget. There must have been over one hun- dred effffs on this narrow sand-bar. We collected a number of AVOCET 8c NEST. In North- West Canada. 55 clutches that were fresh or slightly incubated, and left those that had been sat upon some days. The avosets seemed to prefer to make their nests amongst the stones ; the buff and white stone being similar in colour to the plumage of the birds, helped to conceal them as they sat on their nests. The num- ber of eerers in each nest was invariably four, and the nests OO * consisted of a hollow scraped into the sand, and lined with a few blades of dry grass. The eggs vary in size, and are not unlike those of the European lapwing, and upon showing them to a Scotchman at Rush Lake, he exclaimed : " Why these are pewitt's eggs, I used to collect lots in Scotland." But they are larger than lapwing's eggs, and are easily distinguished by the oologist. The ground colour is drab, buff, or olive-buff, thickly spotted and blotched with dark brown and black. Some clutches have a greenish olive ground, and one clutch we found had a pale creamy buff ground. Some also have scratches and lines as well as spots and blotches ; they average 1.95x1.35. Of one hundred specimens now before me, two of the largest measure 2.20x1x35 and 2.15x1.57, and two of the smallest measure 1.82x1.25 and 1.87x1.30. The avosets seem to prefer the alkaline lakes to those of fresh water ; they are beautiful birds, with their long blue legs, and long upturned bills, which look like a piece of curved whalebone. The avocet has webbed feet, and is a good swimmer, and looks very singular when fly- ing, with its long neck and bill stretched straight out in front, and its long legs counterbalancing by being carried straight out behind. We collected a number of their eggs and sucked some of the fresh ones, as the water was alkaline and we were thirsty, as the day was very hot, being one hundred degrees in the shade. We were walking around the lake towards the north end, when we flushed a scaup duck from its nest, and nine eggs, which proved to be considerably incubated, although we managed to blow them. The nest was similar to most other ducks, consisting of a hole scraped in the ground and lined with down, and was found amongst the coarse grass growing a few yards from the waters' edge. The eggs are easily dis- 56 Bird-Nesting tinguished from those of other ducks : they are olive grey, with a buffy tinge, and measure 2.30x1.60. Xear the top end of the lake we came across a perfect skele- ton of a large buffalo : at the base of the horns was some hair, and it had evidently only been there a few years, judging from its perfect condition. We tried to shoot some very small sandpipers at the north end of the lake. They ran amongst the grass like mice, and at last John shot one which proved to be a northern phalarope, and soon afterwards we flushed another from its nest, and four eggs. We were surprised to find the rednecked phalarope breeding in this region. The nest was a circular hollow in the sand, three inches in diam- eter, and was lined with a few blades of grass, and the eggs four in number were the smallest sandpipers we had ever found. They have a ground colour of olive brown, and are heavily spotted with blackish brown. They were fresh. We saw several of these small phalarope swimming out in the water with Wilson's phalaropes. We had now arrived at a stony strip of land that swarmed with avosets, but we could not find a single nest. A short distance out were two small sandy islands, and as several terns and gulls were hovering around screaming, we decided to take off our boots and stockings and wade out to examine these islands. In sitting down I almost sat on a nest of Wilson's phalarope containing one egg. We waded out to the first island, and there a sight met our eyes which made our hearts throb with joy. There on the ground were scores of nests of avosets, Foster's terns, as well as a few of those of the Bonaparte's gull. In walking about we had to be careful at every step for fear of treading on the eggs. The avosets fle\v around jelping, and the gulls and terns flying over our heads screaming all these species combined made a deafening noise. The nests of the avosets were simply hollows in the sand, lined with a few blades of grass, and usually contained four eggs, many of which were partly incubated ; some nests only contained two or three eggs, and these were quite fresh. One nest contained five eggs, which is an unusual occurence. The ._,-.;- *-%... . V^Vl rV.\ : V> ^ .."'*.*;> - ' -> 4fe* * - ^ ^ - . ret 1 , *> % >5 r*i * *r " ^yfj&^p '^^i ' --,^M _ --.-. - ^ > '" *- * ^il^ ;*^ i8<2 KNOTS 3 NORTHERN FHALAROPE 4 BARTRAM'S S A NOPIPER 5 GREY OR RED PHALAROPE 6 SPOTTED SANDPIPER 7 WILSONS PHALAROPE 8 GOLDEN PLOVER 9 K I L D E E f? IO WILSON'S SNIRE II AVOCET , . ,. . In North- West Canada. 57 terns' nests were also depressions in the sand, lined with a few blades of grass, and contained two and three eggs each, and many nests only contained one egg, the full complement of eggs not being yet laid as the terns are late breeders. The gulls' nests were also hollows in the sand, lined with grasses, and contained two and three eggs each. The ground colour of some specimens is pale brown, others greenish olive brown, spotted with dark brown of various shades, with grey under shell markings. The average size is 2.00x1.35. At Crescent Lake, in Manitoba, the Bonaparte's gulls make their nests in bushes growing in or near the water, and the nests are substantial structures of twigs and rushes, but at Rush Lake where there are no bushes, the gulls have to be content to make their nests on the ground. We collected a fine series of avosets' eggs, taking care to keep the clutches separate by marking them with a pencil. The first clutch we marked a-4, second clutch b-4, and so on, until we had got pretty nearly through the alphabet. Any clutches that were advanced in incubation we left for the birds to hatch. We also took a nice series of eggs of Foster's tern, and a number of sets of Bonaparte's gulls, and shot three specimens of the latter. We left the birds and eggs and waded out to the far island, and here we also found a number of all three species, but the avosets were the most plentiful, and these two islands must have had close upon four hundred eggs of the avoset on them. At the far end of the sandy island we flushed a Canada goose, which flew along the top of the water with a splash* &nd making a croaking noise. On arriving at the spot we were delighted to find its cosy nest of down, containing five eggs, which were partly incubated, but we were able to make good specimens of them. This was, no doubt, the second clutch of eggs laid by this bird, as the Canada goose is an early breeder, and has eggs soon after the ice melts on the lakes early in May. The nest was a hollow in the sand, one foot and a-half in diameter, and was abundantly lined with grey down. I now have the nest and eggs in one of my cabinets, and it looks well, surrounded with the downy nests and clutches of Ameri- 58 Bird-Nesting can widgeon, shoveller, harlequin, long-tail, eider and other ducks. Early in May my companion collected two clutches of Can- ada geese at this lake. They were taken to the station house at Rush Lake and put under a turkey, which was sit- ting on the eggs during my stay. At the house was a brood of five young Canada geese about two weeks old. The eggs had been collected at this lake the latter end of April, and put under a hen to hatch, and the hen paid them as much atten- tion as if they had been her own offspring. Every spring a number of eggs of the Canada geese are collected and hatched out by turkeys or hens in this way, and when the geese are full grown, they are killed and eaten. This is the only species of goose that remains to breed in this region ; but in the autumn large flocks of snow geese, called waveys by the natives, and white-fronted and Hutchins' geese visit Rush Lake, as well as numbers of trumpeter and whistling swans. We collected a number of sets of terns, gulls and avosets on this island, and then waded back to the island nearest the shore where we had left the other birds' eggs. We filled our hats, boxes and handkerchiefs with eggs and carried them to shore. As we had more eggs than we could carry, we decided to leave most of them until the following day, when we in- tended to return with a large basket. So we scraped a large hole in the sand and laid the eggs in it, and covered them with grass and sand, only taking along with us as many clutches as we could conveniently carry. On the return jour- ney, we disturbed a willet off its nest and eggs, and also flushed a McCown's longspur from its nest and five eggs. The nest of the latter was made of dried grass, and lined with a few hairs and built flush with the ground under the shelter of a tuft of grass. The eggs are pale greyish white, spotted with dark purple brown, and also mottled with purplish grey. After two hours' tramp over the prairie, we reached Rush Lake tired and hungry. After supper, the manager of the farm situated west of Rush Lake, called at the station house, and I was introduced to him, and he promised to drive me next day to a lake ten miles north, near the South Saskatchewan river. CANADA GOOSE * NEST In North-West Canada. 59 CHAPTER X. UNE llth. Soon after breakfast this morning, the manager of the farm drove up to the house with his buckboard and team of horses, accompanied by three deerhounds, two setters and a water spaniel. Taking sufficient victuals to last us for the day, three of us started out with light hearts. The dogs, however, made it a difficult task to find any eggs, as they ran along some distance in front of us, and disturbed the field plovers, curlews and godwits off their nests. On our way we stopped at a small slough where a pair of marbled godwits evidently had a nest, and after some trouble we succeeded in finding it. The nest was built in the centre of a tussock of grass and con- tained four eggs, olive drab in colour, spotted with umber brown, averaging 2.25x1.60. After a twelve miles enjoyable drive over the hilly prairie, the lake appeared in sight and we were soon driving along its southern shore. John and myself alighted and began to scour the beach, while the manager walked his horses slowly around the lake to find a suitable camping ground. This lake was about four miles long by two broad and swarmed with Canada geese, American widgeons, shovellers, scaups, gadwalls, pintails, mallards and other ducks, while feeding along its sandy beach were numerous avosets, curlews, godwits, kildeers, sandpipers and herring, Franklin's and Bonaparte's gulls. Many of the ducks and geese had young ones swimming around them, and had I visited this lake six weeks earlier, I should no doubt have found a number of nests and eggs of ducks and geese. This lake lies sheltered between the hills, just south of the Saskatchewan river, and is seldom visited by human beings, consequently the water- fowl are very tame and were swimming about just a short dis- tance from the shore. Our first find was a nest of the pallid- horned lark and two cowbird's eggs. The nest was made of 60 Bird-Nesting dry grass embedded in the sand, and the top of the nest was flush with the surrounding sand, and sheltered by a tuft of grass. It only contained one egg of the pallid -horned lark be- sides the two cowbirds, and all of the eggs were advanced in incubation. The two cowbird's eggs were evidently laid by the same bird. The egg of the pallid-horned lark is deep buff, sprinkled with olive-brown and measures 92x65. The following day I found another nest of this species, it contained two eggs which were fresh, they are very much like the one found previously, both as regards colour and size. The pallid-horned lark inhabits this region and becomes more plentiful northward through Alberta and the Saskatchewan to Alaska, but does not breed in the United States except in Northern Montana. The eggs are larger than those of the prairie-horned lark, of which I have a large series, collected near Winnipeg and Northern Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. The eggs of the pallid-horned lark are the same size as those of the horned lark which breeds in Northern Europe, of which I have several sets collected in Lapland. A few pairs of the true horned lark, Otocoris alpestris, re- main to nest every spring on the island opposite Toronto, Lake Ontario, although the main body go farther north-east to breed around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Labrador, and Newfoundland. For some time our local ornithologists have been undecided as to whether these shore larks, nesting on To- ronto Island, were prairie-horned larks or the true Otocoris alpestris. We have now come to the conclusion that they are Otocoris alpestris. Early in spring, while this sandy island is covered with snow, and almost before the ice in the bay has broken up, large flocks of larks arrive and frequent the island for some time. By the first week in May the main flocks have left, only leaving a few straggling pairs, which remain to nest. Two sets, with the nests, before me, are considerably larger than the eggs of the prairie-horned lark. The first set, collected on Toronto Island, May 21st, 1886, consisted of four eggs, ave- raging in size 90x64. The eggs have a greenish-grey ground, freckled all over with pale brownish grey. Another nest before In North-West Canada. 61 me is composed of dead, dried grass, lined with feathers ; the top of the nest was flush with the surrounding sand. In this set, collected June 14th, 1889, the four eggs are almost as large as oo o those of the European skylark, averaging 93x65. They have a grey ground, mottled all over with olive-brown and lilac. They resemble in size the eggs of the shore lark from Lapland, and when compared with several sets of the prairie-horned lark from Iowa and Minnesota, it is at once seen that they are considerably larger. As there are a number of geographical varieties of the shore lark; there has always been an uncertainty in their identification and breeding ranges. We carefully packed the eggs of the pallid-horned lark and the two cowbirds, and walked along the beach of the lake to- wards a place where avosets were very numerous, but we were unable to find a single nest. We shot a pair of avosets, and later on, a small sandpiper, unknown to me, but which turned out to be the least sandpiper, tringa minutilla. As we afterwards saw several others around the lake, we concluded they were breeding, but unless these small sandpipers are flushed off their nests, the eggs are difficult to find. A set of four eggs, collected in Labrador, June 20th, 1887, are bufFy drab, spotted with brown and purple grey, they average in size 1.12x82. This bird is also known as the American stint. John shot a curlew and two avosets, and the report of his gun caused a shoveller to fly from a patch of marsh grass to the lake. After some time we found its nest of down and nine greyish buff-coloured eggs. They were slightly incubated. Our companion, with his ' team of horses, had found a suit- able resting-place, so he took out the horses and gave them a drink ; and when we arrived, we decided it was lunch-time, as our long drive over the prairie had made our appetites keen. So we satisfied our hunger with antelope sandwiches, fruit pies and milk. As it began to rain, we took shelter under the buckboard, but the shower was soon over, so John and I set out to explore the lake, while our companion, the farm manag- er, said he felt like having a sleep, so we left him, as we were too much interested in the surroundings to think of napping. 62 Bird-Nesting Behind us was a small pond, surrounded with rushes, it was separated from the lake by a ridge of sand, and this ridge ap- peared to be a place where the ducks, geese and gulls came to plume their feathers, as the sand was covered with feathers and droppings of birds, reminding one of a barn yard. On a sand bar were a number of herring and Bonaparte's gulls, so we directed our steps there and found a number of nests of both species. The nests were simply hollows in the sand, lined with grass, and usually contained three eggs, some nests only contained two eggs. The herring gull's eggs vary in ground-colour and markings. Some have a deep yellowish buff ground, others are pale greenish brown. They are heavily spotted with brown of various shades, and have shell markings of purplish grey, and average 2.85x2.00. The eggs of Bonaparte's gulls are similar to those of Frank- lin's gull, but are somewhat smaller, and not usually so dark in colour. They vary, both in ground colour and markings, Some are yellowish buff, others greenish or olive, others pale brown, spotted with dark brown and dark grey, average 2.00x 1.35. We collected as many clutches as we could conveniently carry, and blew them on the spot, to prevent them getting broken by knocking against each other. We shot a fine adult Bonaparte's gull, and then proceeded round the north end of the lake. Here the banks of the lake were from twenty to thirty feet high, and were overgrown with bushes. The banks were honey-combed with gopher holes, and a few larger holes were no doubt the homes of the badger. Rose bushes were in full bloom, sending forth a sweet fragrance, and cacti plants were growing plentifully on these banks. We were scrambling up these slopes, when we flushed a small duck out of a gopher hole. It flew into the lake and was soon joined by another small duck. W T ith the aid of our field glass, we saw they were a pair of buffle-headed ducks, so we scrambled up to the top of the bank to try and find its nest. There were several holes, or rather burrows, in the bank, and we could not tell which one the bird flew from. I wanted John to put his hand into the burrows to see if he could find the nest, but he replied, In North- West Canada. 63 ~ 4 What if a rattle snake should get hold of me ?" Well, I had to confess myself that I did not fancy putting my arm into the dark burrow, not knowing what the occupant might be, and we stood in silence, wondering what course to take. The duck had flown from this bank, and although the buffle-headed duck is supposed to nest in hollow trees, still I supposed where there are no trees, the buffle-head, like other birds, has to accommodate itself to the country. We got down on our knees and looked into several burrows. In one I thought I saw something, and when my eyes got used to the dark- ness of the burrow, I saw it was a nest of down, so I put my arm in, but could not reach the nest, so we enlarged the opening, and then succeeded in reaching the nest. It contained twelve eggs, which were partly incubated, but we succeeded in blowing them, and making good specimens of the set. The eggs were laid on a bed of down, three feet from the entrance of the burrow. The eggs are now on a table before me. Two of the largest measure 1.98x1.41 and 1.97x1.40; two of the smallest measure 1.95x1.57 and 1.87x1.40. I expected the eggs would be similar in colour to those of the common or Barrow's golden-eye ducks, ashy green, but they are entirely different. They mostly resemble some varieties of the European teal in colour, but of course are larger. They are a warm dull buff colour, with a greyish tinge. Another clutch of ten eggs, taken from a hole in a decayed tree at Oak Lake^ Manitoba, on May 25th, 1890, are greyish buff, and average 2.00x1.45. This nest was found by the bird flying from the hole, which was situated about fifteen feet from the ground, in a decayed limb. The hole was lined with feathers and clown. The buffle-headed duck is not a rare bird in Manitoba and Assiniboia, and the male birds, with their puffy heads, are fre- quently seen swimming about the lakes and sloughs. In some parts of Manitoba, where the lakes are surrounded with pine, tamarac, and scrub oaks, both the buffle-head, wood duck, and hooded merganser are regular summer visitors, and are known to return year after year to the same tree to lay their eggs. 64 Bird-NestiiKj The wood duck breeds at Whitewater Lake, at the foot -of Turtle Mountain, in Southern Manitoba. A clutch of ten eggs taken from a hole in a tree fifteen feet from the ground, on June 1st, 1890, are like eggs of the American widgeon, both in size and colour, being pale buff, and averaging in size 2.00x1.50. The wood or summer duck is a handsome bird, and is well named bridal duck, on account of the beautiful colours and lustre of its plumage. The hooded merganser is another species of duck that lays its eggs in holes in trees. A clutch of nine eggs in my collection were taken at Pelican Lake, Manitoba, May 28th, 1889. The nest of down and feathers was made inside a decayed tree, ten feet from the ground and some distance from the water. The eggs are a delicate pearly white, and average 2.10x1.70. The male bird can easily he recognized by its striking black and white colours, and also by its crest. We carefully packed the eggs of the buffle-head, and John tried to shoot the birds, but they were such expert divers, they were soon out of range of his gun. We returned to the place where we had left our companion with his dogs and horses, and, packing up our lunch-baskets and specimens, we hitched the horses to the buckboard and drove round the north end of the lake. Here we flushed a willet off its nest and four eggs, and several Bartram's sandpipers were nesting, but the dogs disturbed the birds before we reached the place where they evidently had their nests. The dogs proved a great trouble, as they ran along in front of us, frightening the birds away, and the only way to find the nests of plovers and other birds, which make their nests on the ground, is to come upon them unexpectedly and flush them off their nests, just a short dis- tance in front ; it is then an easy matter to search the spot where the bird flies or runs from. We crossed over the prairie to the lake where we had left the avosets' eggs the day previ- ous, and after a ride of four miles we reached the north end of the lake, where the skeleton of the buffalo lay. Our com- panion informed us that it was evidently an old buffalo by its teeth, and it had no doubt got left behind by the herd, and had In North- West Canada. (>5 wandered to the lake to drink, and had probably been attack- ed by wolves and devoured. It appeared to have only lain there four or five years, as the skeleton was in a good state of preservation. We took out the baskets from the buckboard ; these we had brought purposely to take back the eggs we had collected yesterday, and on walking along the beach towards the place where the avosets' and terns' eggs were buried, we flushed a spotted sandpiper off its nest and four eggs, and soon after- wards John shot a buff-breasted sandpiper and a marbled god- wit. The buff-breasted sandpiper, no doubt, nests in this dis- trict, as it certainly does on the banks of the North Saskatche- wan. A set of four eggs in my collection, collected at Prince Albert on June 9th, 1889, may be described as follows : Shape, pointedly pyriform ; ground colour, greyish clay, boldly spot- ted with umber brown, and shell markings of neutral tint. The markings are so heavy at the butt end of the egg as to almost conceal the ground. The nest was a slight depression in the ground, lined with a few blades of grass. The eggs of this species are not unlike some varieties of the European dun- lin, but they are smaller, and the ground colour is paler and clay-coloured, whereas the ground colour of the dunlin is greenish, or olive buff. The eggs of the buff-breasted sand- piper average in size 1.45x1.05. Our next find was a clutch of four Wilson's phalaropes. As usual, the bird stumbled off the nest just in front of my feet. The nest was built in the centre of a tuft of grass, and the four eggs were boldly spotted with blackish brown on a clay ground. John shot a pair of Wilson's phalaropes, and also a northern phalarope ; both species were numerous about this place. The shore of the lake was stony, with tufts of grass growing amongst the stones, and this seemed to suit the phala- ropes and sandpipers. There were two or three other species of small sandpipers, which I could not identify, as we were not successful in obtaining specimens. I have not the slightest doubt that several species of the rarer sandpipers, supposed to only breed within the Arctic circle, remain to nest amongst these lakes, which are numerous. From here northward E 66 Bird-Nesting through the Saskatchewan region there are thousands of them, and so little is known of the avifauna of these pro- vinces, that I should not be surprised if some day,, when this region is better known to ornithologists, it will be found that such species as grey and northern phalaropes, least sand- piper, American dunlin, semipalmated sandpiper and other northern birds, remain to nest regularly in this region, and further south than is generally supposed. Arriving at the place where we had buried the eggs the day previous, we found they had not been molested : we were afraid foxes might have found them, but they were all right, so we filled our baskets and returned to the buckboard and found our companion and his dogs and horses waiting patiently. As it was four o'clock, we turned the horses' heads homeward. On descending over the brow of a slope, *we disturbed a curlew off its nest, which consisted of a saucer-shaped hollow in the ground, lined with grass, and the four eggs were pale olive brown, spotted with dark brown, and measured 2.75x1.80. Later on, the noise of the horses' feet started a burrowing owl out of its hole, and it flew a short distance and perched on a stone. John put a cartridge in his gun and got off the buck- board and shot it. It was only winged, so I handed it to the farm manager to kill, while John and I tried to get at the nest ; we piled up some stones so that we could easily find the place next day, when we intended to return with a shovel to dig down to the nest. On our way home, the dogs caught scent of a jack rabbit and gave chase, and ten minutes later we came upon Dan, the setter, who was sat down guarding the rabbit which lay dead be- tween his paws, and the other dogs were sat around him, waiting patiently, but not daring to touch it, as Dan was boss over the other dogs. Their master got down from the buckboard, and taking up the rabbit, he threw it amongst the six dogs, and in less than one minute the rabbit was torn into pieces, and disap- peared down six hungry throats, and we proceeded home- ward. Shortly afterwards our companion called out : " Look there ! " Glancing in the direction, we saw the hounds in full In North- West Cy a pair of willets, and after some searching came across the nest of four eggs. The eggs of this bird are brownish olive marked with bold spots of various shades of umber brown and shell markings of purplish grey : they are large for the size of the bird, and average 2.12x1.50. Our next find w.as a nest of McCown's longspur, containing four eggs, slightly incubated. This is a pretty set, and heavily marked : the white ground colour is almost concealed by pur- plish grey, and on the top of this clouding are heavy spots of dark brown. A marsh hawk was seen harrying over the prairie, no doubt on the look out for gophers ; it was an adult male in blue plumage. From a hill-top we could see a small lake, nearly two miles away, so we turned in this direction, and on arriving there we found the surface dotted all over with wild fowl. There were numbers of Canada geese, shovellers, mallards, godwits, American widgeons, scaups, and other ducks. The water was alkaline, much to our disgust, but we were so parched with thirst, from the effect of the broiling sun, that we were compelled to take a few sips of the water. It acts like medicine, and is as good as a dose of Epsom salts, but if too much is taken it gripes fearfully, and John informed me he once made himself ill through drinking alkaline water. The alkaline can be seen all over these prairies, coming up through the earth like white flour, and little vegetation grows upon these alkaline tracts. The birds, however, don't seem to be af- fected by it, and avosets and pelicans seem to prefer the alka- line lakes to those of fresh water. There were a number of 74 BL rd- Nesting avosets along the beach, and we disturbed one from its nest of four eggs, which were on the point of hatching. The shells were chipped, and the young ones chirping inside the shells : the parent bird was greatly troubled, and flew around us jelp- ing, so we retired from the spot so that she could return and help her little ones out of the shells. Soon afterwards a spot- ted sandpiper was startled off its nest and four eggs, the nest consisting of a depression in the sand, lined with a few blades of grass. I found a number of sets of this species during my stay in this district, and noticed that the ground colour is much paler than those found on Toronto island and* the east ; perhaps the alkaline district and change of food has something to do with it. I have a large series of eggs of the spotted sandpiper I collected on the island opposite Toronto, Lake On- tario, and when the eggs collected at Rush Lake and vicinity are compared with this series, it is at once noticed that the ground colour of those from the alkaline lakes is almost white, or very pale clay, whereas the ground colour of the eggs col- lected in the east is deep clay or buff; the difference is very noticeable. 1 almost trod upon a young avoset in down ; as it crouched between the small stones I caught sight of its bright little eye or would have stepped on it, the downy plumage corres- ponded so closely with the stones and sand. On glancing round my feet I saw two others crouched down between the stones, motionless ; on picking them up they began to call out lustily, and putting them down again they ran along the sand as fast as their legs could take them. They are pretty little creatures, and I would have liked them as specimens, but I could not deprive the little fellows of their lives, so we moved off and the mother then flew towards them and led them further away to a place of safety. Our next find was a set of four eggs of the semipalmated plover. The nest, as usual in the case of plovers and sandpipers, was simply a hollow in the sand, lined with a few blades of grass, and the eggs are not unlike smaller varieties of the kildeer plover ashy clay, spotted with blackish brown. This species is more numerous In North- West Canada. 75 on the banks of the North Saskatchewan. On walking- through some long grass around the lake we flushed a gadwall duck off its nest ; it flew into the water amongst the other ducks, many of which were swimming about with their young ones. The nest consisted of a hollow scooped out of the sand, which was snugly lined with down, and contained nine eggs, which are pale buff and very similar to those of the European widgeon. The eggs were partly incubated and average in size 2-10x1-60. As it was one o'clock, we sat down and had our lunch of antelope sandwiches, but we were so thirsty we had some diffi- culty in disposing of them, and had to go down to the lake and take a couple of handfuls of alkaline water to wash the sandwiches down. After resting awhile and watching the various movements of the ducks, geese and other waterfowl on the lake, we got up and followed the lake round its north- ern shore, disturbing numerous marbled godwits, avosets, kil- deers, phalaropes, and several species of small sandpipers we could not identify ; we had not brought a gun with us, or else we might have secured several rare species of sandpipers. We spent two hours in rambling round the shores of the lake, and, finding no more eggs, we struck out across the prairie in the direction of home. We met a prairie wolf coming to- wards the lake ; he did not turn back, but kept a few hundred yards to the north of us, he kept stopping and looking at us and then ran along a little farther and stopped again, and eyed us once more ; we hallooed at him, and he ran off tow r ards the lake : probably he was after a duck for his evening meal. While tramping across the prairie we startled up a small bird from the grass and were pleased to find a nest of that rare bird, Sprague's pipit. The nest was like that of a shore lark or longspur, and made of dry grass. It was sunk below the surface of the surrounding soil, under shelter of a tussock of grass, and contained five eggs. They are greyish white, freckled all over with purplish grey, averaging in size 0.90x0.62. Another clutch of five eggs in my collection was taken near Crescent Lake, May 31st, 1890. They are greyish- 7(> Bird- Nesting white, and the purple grey freckles are so thick as to almost conceal the ground colour. This nest also contained an egg of the cowbird. One of my collectors who has visted me this week in Toronto, who lives fifteen miles north of Regina, Assiniboia, informs me that Sprague's pipit, also called Mis- souri skylark, is plentiful around his farm, and can be heard almost anytime early in June, singing and soaring in the sky. During my trip through the North-West I do not remember having heard this bird ; its song is said to be so much like that of the European skylark with which I am so well acquainted that I should not have failed to have noticed it. The eggs of this bird are scarce in collections, but as it is known to breed in Manitoba and Assiniboia, near the homes of some of my collectors, I hope before long to be able to secure a number of clutches of the eggs of this bird. Dr. Coues gives an interesting account of the soaring habits of this species, and they correspond exactly with those of the European skylark, a bird with which I am very familiar, and whose powerful song I have often listened to as I have lain down in some meadow or moorland of heather in the north of England, watching the skylark soaring, and singing all the time, until it becomes a mere speck in the sky, and its song does not cease until it descends to the earth again. Dr. Coues, in writing about the Missouri skylark, speaks of its wonder- ful soaring action, and its inimitable, matchless song during the breeding season. He says : " It is no wonder Audubon grew enthusiastic in describing it. Rising from its nest, or from its grassy bed, this plain-looking little bird, clad in the simplest colours and making but a speck in the boundless ex- panse, mounts straight up on tremulous wings till lost to view in the blue ether, and then sends back to earth a song of glad- ness that seems to come from the sky itself, to cheer the weary, give hope to the disheartened, and turn the most in- different, for the moment at least, from sordid thoughts. No other bird-music in our land compares with the wonderful strains of this songster ; there is something not of earth in the melody coming from above, yet from no visible source. In North- West Canada. 77 The notes are simply indescribable, but once heard they can never be forgotten. Their volume and penetration are truly wonderful ; they are neither loud nor strong, yet the whole air seems filled with the tender strains, and the delightful melody continues long unbroken. The song is only heard for a brief period in the summer, ceasing when the inspiration of the love season is over, and it is only uttered when the birds are soaring." It is not a little singular that the Missouri skylark should have so long continued to be rare in collections, since it is very abundant in the extensive region which it inhabits. The first specimen was taken by Audubon at Fort Union, June 19th, 1843, and long remained unique. Some years after- wards another specimen was taken by Captain Blackiston, on the Saskatchewan, and which is now preserved in the Smith- sonian Institute at Washington. We carefully packed this set of rare eggs and tramped homewards. The only nest we found on our return journey was that of the western vesper sparrow, with four eggs ; they are similar to those of the com- mon vesper sparrow found in the east, but are somewhat smaller ; the nest was also similar. We came across two large fiocks of cowbirds ; there must have been a hundred in each flock. They are known here as buffalo birds, from their habit of following the herds of buffalo. They frequent the ranches, and are always seen amongst the cattle, perching on their backs and feeding on the insects found around cattle : they become very tame and will hardly get out of the way. Like the European cuckoo, they lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and know nothing of the cares of bringing up their young, leaving this for other birds to attend to ; and, like the Euro- pean cuckoo, the cowbird lays a very small egg for the size of the bird, and the habits of both species in regard to nidifica- tion are very similar. I have several times found two cow- bird's eggs in one nest and the eggs so much resembled each oo *o other as to leave no doubt as to their having been laid by the same bird ; but they usually only lay one egg in each nest, and probably lay five or six eggs during the season. Dr. 78 Bird-Nesting Couse's account of the habits of this bird is very interesting : he says, " It is interesting to observe the female cowbird ready to lay ; she becomes disquieted, betrays unwonted excitement, and ceases her busy search for food with her companions. At length she separates from the flock and sallies forth to recon- noitre, anxiously indeed, for her case is urgent and she has no home. How obtrusive is the sad analogy ! She flies to some thicket, or hedgerow, or other common resort of birds, where something teaches her perhaps experience nests will be found. Stealthily and in perfect silence she flits along, peer- ing furtively, alternately elated or dejected, into the depths of the -foliage ; she espies a nest, but the owner's head peeps over the brim and she must pass on. Now, however, comes her chance, there is the very nest she wants, and the owner not at home. She disappears for a few minutes, and it is almost another bird that comes out of the bush. Her business done and trouble over, she chuckles her self -congratulations, rustles her plumage to adjust it firmly, and flies back to her associ- ates. They know what has happened, but are discreet enough to say nothing." It does not appear that the cowbird ever at- tempts to take forcible possession of a nest ; she lays her egg while the owners of the nest are away. On their return, the owners of the nest hold anxious consultation in this emer- gency, as their sorrowful cries and distracted actions plainly indicate. If the nest was empty before, they generally desert it ; sometimes even after there is an egg of their own in the nest, they have nerve enough to let it go, and desert the nest, rather than assume the hateful task of incubating the strange one ; but if the female has already laid an egg or two the pair generally settle into the reluctant conviction that there is no help for it, they quiet down, and things go on as if nothing had happened. Not always, however, will they desert even an empty nest ; for some birds have discovered a way out of the difficulty it is the most ingenious device imaginable, and the more we think of it the more astonishing it seems. They build a two-story nest, leaving the obnoxious egg in the base- ment. The summer yellow bird has been known to do this. In North- West Canada. 79 Another summer yellow bird was known to build a story to her nest, leaving the cowbird's egg in the cellar, and then, finding another cowbird's egg violating her premises, she forth- with built a second story, and finally laid her own eggs on the top flat, leaving the two cowbird's eggs in the two lower stories to addle. The eggs of the cowbird vary considerably both in size, colour and markings, but are so common and well known as not to need a description here. Bird-Nesting CHAPTER XII. UNE 13th. This morning I visited the marshes bordering Rush Lake, and followed the creek for two miles, disturbing numerous broods of young ducks, which were swimming in the creek. If I had visited this creek early in May I should have been able to collect scores of ducks' eggs, as this appeared to be a favourite haunt of the different species of ducks. 'The following August, after my visit to this place, Macdonald wrote me as follows : " About two weeks after you left, mowers were set to work about the point where the creek ends, and they exposed in the vicinity close upon one hundred nests, all ducks'. The creek was for some weeks a sight to delight the naturalist or sportsman, being literally filled with young ducks of the various species. Once fairly feathered and able to fly, they took wing for the lake, which at present is covered with all manner of ducks, geese, swans, and other water-fowl. The season for geese opened the 15th of August, but ducks and grouse do not come in until September 1st. In the meantime there is a great cleaning up of guns." No doubt Rush Lake is a paradise for sportsmen in the fall, for there are myriads of wild-fowl on the lake, and I am informed that 100 geese and ducks a day is considered only a fair bag for one gun, and any one very enthusiastic might kill three times this number. Snow geese, called waveys by the natives and sportsmen, are exceedingly numerous, so are Canada geese, white -fronted geese, Hutchins', Ross's, and Brant geese, swans, and over a score varieties of ducks, to say nothing of the cormorants, pelicans, gulls, grebes and other birds. Truly Rush Lake must be a wonderful sight in the fall of the year. Along the banks of the creek I started a marsh harrier, and found its nest in a patch of rushes. The nest was made of reeds on the ground and was about four inches thick and one foot in diameter : the cen- In North- West Canada, 81 tre of the nest was hollow, caused by the weight of the tiv<> eggs it contained. The eggs are plain bluish white without markings, and measure about 1.85x1.40. Although I saw marsh harriers every day, and at every place I stopped be- tween Winnipeg and Rush Lake, their nests were hard to find, owing to the birds being so wary, and as they make their nests on the open prairie they can easily see objects approach- ing and fly up off their nests while the intruder is some dis- tance away. The marsh hawk is abundant in Miner county, Dakota, and last season 1 received a number of sets from my collector there, amongst them is a set of four eggs which are well spotted with brown all over, this is the only set in which the eggsjiave markings out of a series of over forty eggs, all the rest are plain bluish or greenish white, but in some cases the eggs are stained more or less. The usual number of eggs found in one nest is five or six, although I have a clutch of seven eggs that were collected in Manitoba, June 15th, 1890. In the North-West the marsh harriers in brown plumage are much more numerous than those in blue plumage. In fact I only saw r five or six of the latter, although I must have seen dozens in brown plumage. In some parts of Manitoba it is impossible to walk a mile across the prairie without seeing one or more marsh hawks, and in crossing over the prairie on the railway, these species were frequently seen from the car win- dows. The bird may be recognized at any reasonable distance by its peculiar configuration, produced by the length of the wings and tail, its easy sailing flight, the singular bluish and w^hite coloration of the adult male, and the conspicuous white patch on the root of the tail of the female and young. The marsh harrier belongs to the " ignoble " birds of the falconers, but is neither a weakling nor a coward, as any one may easily satisfy himself by handling a winged bird. It lacks the splendid action that insures success in the pursuit of feathered game, to the dashing falcons and true hawks ; with all its stroke of wing, it acquires no such resistless impetus. Audubon says that " it sometimes attacks partridges and plov- ers," but its ordinary food consists of field mice, small reptiles, F 82 Bird-Nesting and insects. It is particularly fond of frogs. These goggle- yed creatures suffer more from the harriers than from all the school boys that ever stone them on Saturday afternoon. This bird is called harrier on account of .its method of beating, or quartering the ground when in search of prey, putting one in mind of the evolutions of the hound similarly engaged. The clutch of five eggs just collected were blown and then packed in a box, and I then examined the far end of the creek, when I was successful in flushing a pintail duck from its nest of down, containing nine greyish-olive eggs. The nest, as usual, consisted of a hollow in the ground, lined with down from the breasts of the birds, the top of the nest being level with the surrounding soil. The pintail is one of the most elegant and graceful ducks found in the North- West, and can be easily recognized by its long-pointed tail; and its long slender neck. The pintail is abundant in Iceland, from which country I have just received a number of clutches, with beautiful nests of down, together with nests and eggs of harlequin duck, goos- ander, long tail, Barrow's golden eye, redbreasted merganser, scaup, and other species of the duck family which breed in Iceland, as well as in North America. As it was nearly dinner time, I returned to the station-house, and on my way disturbed a Bartram's sandpiper off her nest and four eggs ; this clutch was prettily marked with large umber brown spots, and pur- ple grey splashes on a clear buff ground. Macdonald informed me he had seen a whooping crane fly- ing towards the lake, and asked if I had seen any around there, which I had not. While at dinner he told me of a nest of the whooping crane he once found on the banks of the North Sas- katchewan ; he said he remembered that nest well, as he and his brother came near losing their lives on the same day he found the nest. Seven years ago, just before the rebellion broke out amongst the North-West Indians, Mac. and his bro- ther were camping near Battleford, on the North Saskatche- wan, and were out on a tramp over the prairie, when they came across a nest of the whooping crane containing two eggs, which they left in the nest intending to call for them on their In Norf/i-\\'rsf Canada. 83 return. On reaching the river they walked along its banks for some distance, when they found a canoe, so they decided to cross the river and explore the banks on the other side. Soon afterwards they came across an I in I i; ;in, who was sat down fish- ing, and as they knew the Indian language they walked towards him : he started to use threatening language, and said the In- dians were going to kill all the white men on this side of the river before many more days had elapsed, so the eldest Mac- doiia.ld told him he had better commence the killing now, and therewith drew his revolver from his hip pocket. The In- dian immediately sprang to his feet and bolted through the bushes, and Mac. fired into the air to frighten him, which caused the Indian to quicken his pace, glancing around as he ran. After he had gone, the two brothers considered what they had better do, and decided to return to the canoe and cross the river again, as rumours of an Indian uprising had been talked of for some days, and they began to think, perhaps, there was some truth in the Cree's threats. On crossing the river they dragged the canoe up on the banks, taking the paddle along with them : they ascended an elevation a mile away, and glancing back in the direction the Indian had gone, they saw not far off an Indian encampment of over a score tepees. So they lay down behind the brow of the hill, concealing them- selves in a buffalo wallow. With the aid of their field glass, they plainly saw the Indians were in a state of excitement, running from one tepee to another, and presently over a dozen bucks were seen hastening towards the place where the two brothers had met the Indian fishing. As they came nearer and nearer, their voices and yells could be heard ; presently they reached the spot opposite to where the canoe was, where they came to a halt for a few minutes, when one of their number was seen to be stripping himself of his buckskins, and a few seconds afterwards he plunged into the river with a splash, and swam over to where the canoe lay, evidently intending to paddle it back to bring his companions over, but on finding the pad- dle missing he swam back again, and as the two Macs, thought they had better retire unobserved, they hastened back ' 84 Bird-Nestwu) to their tent, which was five miles away. That same after- noon they packed up and drove towards Saskatoon, and 011 ar- riving there, two days later, they heard that a number of whites had been killed near Battleford, and felt thankful that they had so narrowly escaped a similar fate. Soon afterwards the rebellion broke out amongst the North-West Indians, and after severe fighting for several weeks, the Indians were defeated, and their leaders, Big Bear, Kiel, and others, taken prisoners, not before Canada had lost many of her brave young volunteers. On inquiring what became of the eggs of the whooping crane, Mac. told me that in their excitement they were for- gotten, so were probably hatched. He described the nest as consisting of a flat mass of rushes and grass, about three feet in diameter. The whooping crane breeds throughout Mani- toba, Assiniboia, and the Saskatchewan, northward. On June 17th, at Oak Lake, I bought a clutch of two eggs that were collected by a boy on the prairie, north of Oak Lake : these are yellowish drab, blotched with pale brown and greyish purple, and measure 3.90x2.53 and 3.95x2.55. Another clutch of two eggs in my collection were taken near the mouth of the Red River of the North, near the shore of Lake Win- nipeg ; here are extensive swamps and small lakes. The great marshes about the mouth of the Red River extend for miles, and are probably the largest duck grounds in the North- West. Here, in the fall of the year, ducks and geese congre- gate in myriads, while in summer these swamps offer suitable nesting-places for whooping cranes, little brown cranes, bitterns, western grebes, rednecked, horned, and eared grebes, also three or four species of gulls, and a number of varieties of ducks and rails, and other birds. The eggs of the whooping crane are large and attractive ; the ground colour is light brownish drab, some having a yellowish or olive buff tinge ; they are blotched, spotted, and splashed chiefly around the largest end with pale chocolate brown and purple grey shell markings ; some eggs have little elevations on them like warts. In a series of twenty efirers before me, the largest measures 4.30x2.28 and 4.25x2.37. OO ' O These eggs are very elongated, and pointed at the smaller end: Ill A\>l'l/t-\\'('*f (' ll