178 



The Canadian FielekNaturalist 



[Vol. XXXVI 



Field-Naturalist" for October, 1920, 1 have received 

 from Dr. C. McLean Fraser of the University of 

 British Columbia, Vancouver, a vial with many 

 full grown and some new born specimens "collected 

 by one of the university students in a small lake 

 or pond on Botanie Reserve (near Kamloops), 

 B.C., about a dozen miles from Spence's Bridge, 

 at an elevation of 4000 feet." The collector states, 

 "that the females were carrying the young under 

 the flexed tail of the abdomen, and hence were 

 unable to swim readily. To get over the difficulty 

 they were hauled along backward by the males 

 who grasped them with their anterior legs, and 

 pulled them along quite readily." (July 6, 1922). 



On my way from Gaspe to Newfoundland in the 

 autumn of 1922, I stopped over at Charlottetown, 

 Prince Edward Island; and in the freshwater lake 

 in the west end of the town I secured, among the 

 vegetation along the margin, a number (20) of 

 specimens, from young to full grown, of Gam- 

 marus (Dickerogammanis) fasciatus Say, on August 

 22. The Amphipod was apparently very common 

 in this lake; and its occurrence here is rather 

 interesting, because hitherto it had not been 

 collected anywhere else in Canada except in the 

 Great Lakes area (see "The Canadian Field- 

 Naturalist" for October, 1920, p. 129). These spec- 

 imens from Prince Edward Island have been ident- 

 ified by Mr.C. R. Shoemaker of the U.S.N.M., who 

 has also verified my identifications of the other 

 freshwater amphipods mentioned in this note. 



We now come to the new records for the third 

 species, Hyalella knickerbockeri (H. azteka), in 

 addition to those given in "The Canadian Field- 

 Naturalist" for October, 1920, pp. 131-132; and for 

 February, 1921, p. 36. When I visited St. Helier 

 on the north coast of the Gaspe Peninsula (between 

 St. Anne de Monts and Gaspe Basin, P.Q.) on 

 August 15, 1922, 1 secured a dozen specimens (new 

 born to half grown) of this species under stones in 

 the shallow part of the outlet of Grant Etang 

 Lakes, next to the old water-mill here. These are 

 the first records from the part of Quebec Province 

 ^ying south of the St. Lawrence. 



In the footnote, p. 131 of "The Canad'an Field- 

 Naturalist" for October, 1920, 1 expressed the sur- 

 mise that, owing to its occurrence on Cape Breton 

 and the Magdalen Islands, H. azteka would pro- 

 bably be found to occur also on Newfoundland; 

 and by visiting this island in the end of August and 

 the beginning of September, 1922, I secured 

 definite evidence of this. Thus 3 new born speci- 

 mens and one half grown specimen were collected 

 under stones in Burton's Pond, St. John's, on 

 August 25; and a dozen specimens, from new born 

 to half grown, on the same day among vegetation 

 in the pond at the sand-pits outside St. John's; 



and two days later 60 specimens, from new born 

 to half grown, were secured by turning over stones 

 at the margin of Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's, near 

 its outlet. Also 22 specimens of the same ages 

 were collected in a swamp pond near Sugar Loaf 

 Hill, north of (outside) St. John's on August 28. 

 Finally two dozen specimens, from young to half 

 grown, were secured in Rocky Brook, a stream 

 emptying out into the west side of Grand ake, 

 near its north end, in the western part of New- 

 foundland, on August 31. 



It will thus be seen that freshwater Amphi- 

 pods are as common in the lands surrounding the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence as farther west in Canada; 

 and we have now good reason to suppose that they 

 also occur on Anticosti Island. F. Johansen. 



A Unique Bird Tragedy. During the past 

 late summer and autumn months (1922), Pine 

 Siskins have occurred in great abundance in 

 Nova Scotia. 



Some weeks ago I was driving by auto near 

 Bedford (Halifax County) and at a point where 

 there was elaborate road construction going on I 

 was held up by one of the workmen who informed 

 me that a dynamite charge was about to be fired' 

 He pointed to a pile of brush about 150 yards 

 down the road which was placed in the customary 

 manner over the charge. As I waited I heard the 

 familiar sweet notes of a rollicking flock of Pine 

 Siskins. Glancing upward I saw them coming 

 toward me, about thirty in number, and straight 

 for the ominous brush-pile. At a height of about 

 60 feet they passed directly over it at the instant 

 the charge went off and the air was filled with dust 

 and bits of flying rock. The birds appeared to be 

 literally swallowed up in it and as none were seen 

 to emerge in any direction I believed that many 

 if not all were killed. R. W. Tufts. 



Some Northern Records op the Turkey 

 Vulture. 



Mr. L. H. Cole, of the Mines Branch, Ottawa, 

 took a specimen of the Turkey Vulture, Cathartes 

 aura septentrionalis at Dawson Bay, Lake Win- 

 nipegosis, Manitoba, on September 15, 1913. 

 His excellent manuscript notes of the occurrence 

 identify the bird beyond peradventure and include 

 a life-size sketch of the head, as well as a sketch 

 with measurements and colour notes of the dorsal 

 aspect with wings spread. 



In August, 1921, at Dauphin, Manitoba, Mr. 

 P. A. Taverner and I were shown a photograph of 

 a young bird from the nest. We were told by 

 Mr. R. M. Watt, Forest Supervisor, Duck Moun- 

 tain Forest Reserve, that the nesting had recently 

 occurred in the Duck Mountains. 



