198 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Feb. .|. 



February 19. About a week ago we found a Redpoll W 



unable to fly though in apparently excellent condition. It was '; 



taken into the house and ate well for two days, at the end of ',;; 



which period it died. I found another to-day that went off in m 



the same way. Both of these were in dull plumage. " 



March 4. Another Redpoll was discovered dead this ^* 



morning, a male, in perfect plumage. This had been observed ';;. 



to be weakening for some days past, though like the others it M 

 fed to within a short time of its death. An examination showed Ifc 

 it to be rather thin, but the cause of death appeared to have ^ 



been due to a large clot of blood on the back portion of its skull. 

 These birds all died slowly, and when found were in a sitting ^ 

 position, as if thev had gone to sleep and so died. 



Redpolls have been very plentiful throughout the winter, 

 and as the snow was deep were attracted in large numbers to 

 seeds placed for their use, and consisting chieflv of lambs- 

 quarters, with a small quantity of wild buckwheat mixed in. 

 Is it this abundance of food without the customary exercise in 

 procuring it that has been responsible for this mortality by a form 

 o6 apoplexy' 



March 17. Watched a full plumaged Redpoll courting a 

 female. She sat quietly on a bough some 20 feet from the ground -^ 



while he displaying his bright colours to full advantage remained ^i 

 almost stationary before her by means of a rapid movement of ^, 

 his wings. While thus occupied he indulged in incessant song of 

 a decidedly more variable nature than is usually heard at this 

 time of the year. After continuing this arduous love-making for 

 some twenty seconds he flew to a neighbouring tree where he H 



was quickly joined by his lady love, and eventually they flew 

 off in company apparently mutually satisfied. 



These birds are supposed to leave us in summer time to 

 breed farther north, and according to Macoun's Catalogue their 

 nests have been found in some numbers both in Labrador and 

 Hudson's Bay during May and June. Now, as they seldom all 

 leave us before the middle of May, and as both males and females 

 were observed in the hills among spruce woods on June 11th, 

 1909, there seems to be reasonable grounds for suspecting them 

 of breeding in the province. 



May 10. On a newly ploughed field that had not been under 

 cultivation for two years, White Grubs (Lachnosterna sp.) were 

 very plentiful, but everyone exposed by the plough was eagerly 

 picked up l)y crows, a large number of which were breeding close 

 at hand. A rough estimate places the number of larvae eaten at 

 fully 2,000 to the acre, but the full number consumed probably 

 far exceeds that amount. 



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