April, 1919] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



15 



138. ^GOLDFINCH, Asiragalinus Irisiis. 



None seen in spring until May 27, 1917, after 

 which they became common and were still num- 

 erous in September. Young noted them in 1917 

 from April 29 to his departure on Oct. 2. 



139. *PINE SISKIN, Spirtus p'nus. 



In 1918 Young noted 5 on June 5, 2 on the 21st, 

 and one Sept. 24, taking specimens on the first two 

 occasions. 



140. *SNOW BUNTING, Plectrophenax nivalis. 



In 1918, Young found large flocks on his arrival 

 on April 24, and saw them almost daily until May 

 24. After this, 5 were noted on the 22nd and one 

 on the 28th. Specimens taken on April 21 and 

 May 2 are in high breeding plumage. 



141. ^LAPLAND LONGSPUR, Calcarius lapponicus. 

 A few seen between May 22 and 25. Very 



abundant in the autumn, occurring in large flocks 

 in the long grass of the old marshes and on the lake 

 shore. In 1918, Young found large flocks on April 

 24, but the bulk of the species left after the 30th. 

 One straggler was taken on June 4, In the autumn 

 the flocks of the previous year were absent and he 

 noted but one individual on Sept. 23. 



142. ^CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR, Calcarius 



ornaius. 

 A single bird secured on June 6, 1917, and a 

 flock of seven noted on the 9th. It was not seen 

 by Young in 1918. Seton has a specimen taken by 

 Miller Christy in May, 1887, but the Ward brothers 

 are not familiar with it, and it is doubtless rather 

 rare in the locality or very local in distribution. 



143. ^VESPER SPARROW, Poocaetes gramineus. 

 Strangely absent both springs in the vicinity of the 



lake though from the train one was seen a few miles 

 south of Erinview. In the autumn of both years 

 they were seen about the Ward house in limited 

 numbers between Aug. 23 and Sept. 28. These 

 birds are rather large for the eastern race, and 

 though in rather indeterminate juvenile plumage can 

 probably be referred to the western race P. g. 

 confinis. 



144. ^SAVANNA SPARROW, Passerculus sand- 



fvichensis. 

 Very common indeed during all visits. The local 

 breeding birds show the bright yellow eye-brow 

 common to the birds of the prairie provinces, and 

 certainly do not agree with the described characters 

 of P. s. alaudinus and at present seem without a 

 name. The autumn birds are slightly darker than 

 savanna and are both with and without the yellow 

 loral spot. I suspect that both a resident and a 

 migrant form are represented, but I do not care to 

 refer them to any sub-species generally accepted at 

 present. 



145. baird's SPARROW, Ammodramus bairdii. 

 Though reported by Chapman as very common 



at Shoal Lake and by Seton as common and breed- 

 ing, the species was carefully searched for both 

 seasons without success. Undoubtedly it has de- 

 parted from the country with the lowering of the 

 lake level and the disappearance of the broad 

 marshes. 



146. ^LECONTe's SPARROW, Passerberbulus lecontei. 

 Scattered individuals were met with both seasons 



in widely separated localities both in spring and in 

 autumn. 



147. ^nelson's SPARROW, Passerberbulus nelsoni. 

 The western form, the Prairie Sharp-tailed 



Sparrow, P. n. nelsoni was met with in scattered 

 individuals in various parts of the surrounding coun- 

 try as late as September 25. The juvenile 

 plumage is quite different from that of the 

 adu't and might well be taken for a different 

 species. All strong ochre, slightly paler below and 

 only broken by restricted fuscous centres of second- 

 aries and wing coverts which become fainter and 

 almost concealed across the back, a double crown 

 stripe and a faint bar back from the eye. The outer 

 web cf the first primary is edged with clear cream 

 and the tail is ochracecus-fuscous with dark shaft. 

 One specimen shows adult plumage appearing in 

 the juvenile dress indicating that full plumage is 

 assumed the first winter. 



148. ^Harris's sparrow, Zonolrichia querula. 

 Very common on our first arrival in 1917. Most 



of them left about May 28, though a couple of 

 individuals remained to the end of our stay. Frank 

 Ward reported seeing one carrying nesting material 

 from his chip-yard towards the nearby bluff and 

 suspected that they were nesting in the locality. 

 The same authority tells us that some years ago 

 he found a nest of this species on the ground in 

 the shelter of an old log. On the return visit the 

 same autumn they were common again in their old 

 spring haunts and I was informed that individuals 

 had been noted regularly through the summer. With 

 this possibility of finding breeding birds. Young 

 watched carefully for them during the summer of 

 1918, but between May 28 and Sept. 14 none 

 were noted. They returned on Sept. 14 and were 

 still present when he left on Oct. 2. The most 

 peculiar thing about these autumn birds was the 

 unusual abundance of adults in comparison to juven- 

 iles. Of perhaps fifty birds seen but three or four 

 were juvenile either by plumage or cranial char- 

 acters. This is unusual enough amongst autumn 

 birds to justify special mention, as usually juveniles 

 greatly outnumber adults. 



149. *WHITE-crowned sparrow, Zonolrichia 



leucophrys. 

 In 1917, single individuals seen on May 15 but 



