20 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



is much more frequently flattened, the labrum is less rounded, 

 and the whole shell is larger and higher in proportion to its 

 width, and the aperture extends both above and below the 

 penull iin.li ' whorl." 



The shell described and figured by DeKay as PI. corpu- 

 lentus, Say, Zool. of New York, 1843, Pt. V., p. 64, and PI. VIII, 

 Fig. 185, is undoubtedly I'l'. hinneyi, Tryon. DeKay's error is 

 to a large extent responsible for the confusion of the two species, 

 which arc in range as well as appearance quite distinct. 



Of the Sphaeria or "little-ball shells" several species new 

 to the Ottawa list, and some probably undescribed, were collected 

 in 1910. The most notable are Sph. transversum, Say, which is 

 found in great numbers in the Rideau Canal along the right 

 bank just above Hartwell's Locks and in the by-wash from the 

 locks, and Sph. crassum, Sterki. But of these more anon. L. 



BLUE JAY IMITATING RED-SHOULDERED HAWK: 

 ABSENCE OF CONES ON EVERGREEN TREES. 



On December 10th whilst at Bury, Compton County, Que., 

 I was surprised at hearing the cry of a Red-shouldered Hawk 

 thrice repeated, Ke^-o'o; Kee-oo; Ke6-oo. Turning, I expected 

 to see the bird circling above, but a thorough search failed to 

 reveal it. One hundred yards away stood a small district school- 

 house, and beyond, as far as the eve could reach, stretched an 

 evergreen forest, not exactly the locality for lineatus. In 

 the opposite direction were hills, with patches of hardwood, a 

 summer home of the Broad-winged Hawk. As the Red- 

 shouldered Hawk is uncommon in this locality and considering 

 the lateness of the season with the thermometer registering 

 below zero, I was bound to have a look at the author of these 

 (ties. Thinking that the boys might have a wing-clipped bird, 

 I started to search in the rear of the school, when suddenly a 

 Blue Jay appeared to view in the lower branches of an elm. 

 Fifteen minutes' wait failed to reveal any other bird life, and 

 1 became convinced that the Jay was the author of the cries, 

 though it failed to repeat its efforts. 



1 was informed by residents of this district that Red 

 Squirrels have been unusually numerous about their barns this 

 fall. There is an excellent reason for this as there are no cones. 

 I failed to find a. single conifer bearing seed, and these seeds are 

 bread and niea! to the Squirrel, as the nut crop is insignificant 

 and especially so this season. Are these conditions general? 



L. McIver Terrill, Westmount, Que. 



