140 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXII 



auto trips farther afield. The day before 

 he left he reported a heavy frost. In the course 

 of this season's work he obtained personal notes on 

 183 species, and specimens of 147 of them, which 

 added to the previous year's observations and col- 

 lections, form a sufficient basis for a fairly complete 

 and representative list of the birds of the locality. 



Some few species are herein included upon cir- 

 cumstantial evidence and until confirmatory spe- 

 cimens are secured must be looked upon as hypothe- 

 tical. However, the evidence upon which they are 

 based is fully given and the reader can form his 

 own judgment as to their value, bearing in mind, 

 however, that no record is absolutely unassailable 

 until specimens are secured and examined by com- 

 petent authority. 

 1. WESTERN GREBE, AechmophoTui occidental s 



Though reported by all previous observers as re- 

 markably common we saw none at any visit. The 

 Ward brothers say that they used to breed in such 

 numbers on the marshes that a canoe could scarcely 

 pass between their nests, and Seton reports the species 

 as an abundant breeder and notes that "its shrill 

 metallic cries could be heard from the quill lecds day 

 and night". He further observes "it is the eastern- 

 most breeding place of the species. Most birds peter 

 out towards the limit; but here, at the northeastern 

 corner of its limit, this bird has a sort of metropolis". 

 With the lowering of the water this is all past. 



2. HOLBOELl's grebe, Columbus holboelli. 

 Reported by Gunn "in fair numbers" and by the 



Ward brothers as "never very common". Two seen 

 by Young, May 25, 1918, are all we can report. 



3. ^HORNED GREBE, Columbus auritus. 



Both Arnold and Raine report it nesting in 1894. 

 One only was noted in 1917, on June 4. In 1918, 

 Young found it rather common, noting it almost 

 daily through May and from the end of July to 

 Sept. 2. 



4. ^PIED-BILLED GREBE, Pod'd^mblis podiceps. 

 Seton reports it common and evidently breeding. 



In 1917, we noted but three in September on a small 

 pond, but in 1918 Young observed individuals, 

 mostly singles, April 25 to May 18, and the latter 

 half of August to the middle of September. 



5. ^COMMON LOON, Cavia immer. 



The Ward brothers say that it used to breed 

 though they never found its nest. On both visits we 

 saw single individuals almost daily. They were 

 usually observed flying over and seldom showed any 

 inclination to stop on the lake. 



6. IVORY GULL, Pagophila alba. 



In Mr. Darby's taxidermy establishment in Win- 

 nipeg, I examined on May 15, 1917, a mounted 

 specimen of this species which I was informed was 

 taken at Woodlands, Man., on Dec. 27, 1915, a 

 station on the Canadian Northern Railway just south 



of Shoal Lake, and hence within the scope of this 

 paper. It is a medium-sized, pure white pull, v/ith 

 face and forehead flecked unevenly with light smoky 

 gray, with remains of terminal tail band, dark spots 

 on tips of primaries, and a few dark flecks on 

 tertiaries, bend of wing, and lesser coverts. 



7. HERRING GULL, Larus argenlatus. 



Chapman reports finding a few Herring or Cali- 

 fornia Gulls nesting on Pelican Island and states that 

 they were very troublesome to other birds, destroying 

 numbers of Tern's eggs and even those of the 

 Pelican. Large gulls of the Herring Gull type were 

 seen by us on every visit but were very shy and all 

 we managed to take were Ring-bills. Young tells 

 of a Herring Gull carrying off a Horned Grebe he 

 had shot and was wading out to retrieve, lifting it 

 bodily by the nape of the neck and taking it out to 

 mid-lake where, joined by another, the iwo proceed- 

 ed to tear it to pieces. The Ward brothers say the 

 species bred on one of the rocky islands as late as 

 1916, but as no boats were available were unable 

 to say whether they continue to do so or not. 



The specific status of the larger gulls of the pro- 

 vince has not been well determined. Specimens of 

 both migrants and breeders are necessary from var- 

 ious localities. The Herring Gull and the Cali- 

 fornia Gull, Larus californicus, are so similar as to 

 be differentiated with difficulty. When juvenile, 

 probably careful size camparison between similar 

 ages and sexes is the only guide. When adult, prob- 

 ably the best criteria is the colour of the legs and 

 feet ; in argenlatus these are flesh coloured whilst in 

 californicus they are said to be light greenish. 



8. *RING-B1LLED GULL, Larus delawaremis. 

 Raine reported the species breeding on the islands 



in 1894. We saw a few in the spring of 1917, but 

 were not always able to separate them with cer- 

 tainty from the Herring Gull as the ringed bills are 

 only safe criteria when perfectly adult and most of 

 the large gulls seen on the lake showed various traces 

 of juvenility. Young recognized the species with 

 certainty only during the latter pari of July, August, 

 and September. Four birds were taken and all are 

 juveniles. They probably do not now nest on the 

 lake. 



9. *FRANKLIN's gull, Larus franklini. 



In 1917, common on our first arrival May 17, 

 but became scarcer towards the latter pari of our 

 stay, to June 14. According to Young, it was pres- 

 ent on his arrival on the lake on April 24, reached 

 a maximum on May 7, and then gradually became 

 reduced in numbers to June 7. It returned on July 

 1 and remained until Aug. 27, after which no more 

 were seen. Very large flocks were noted Aug. 8 

 to 10. Chapman notes it as breeding, but there is 

 no indication that it nests on the lake now that the 

 marshes are gone. 



