148 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXIl 



encountered the flaring red margin to the eye and 

 the comparative darkness of the species, especially 

 the male, impresses one greatly. Next, if the 

 observer has formerly pitted his cunning against the 

 Ruffed Grouse of the east he will be very agreeably 

 surprised at the utter confidence the bird exhibits 

 when closely approached. With perfect nonchalance 

 he remains perched close overhead, blandly survey- 

 ing the newcomer stretching his neck to full extent, 

 and moving his head in different directions, fearing, 

 I suppose, to miss anything of interest. In fact many 

 birds are so foolishly confident that Indianas and 

 others call them "fool-hens" from the display of this 

 excessive tameness. 



I was told that the Indians killed many with 

 simply a stick, or snared them from the tree, catching 

 them by means of a small wire noose on the end of 

 a pole, manipulated by the hunter. I tried this 

 myself and was so nearly successful that I was 

 satisfied it could be accomplished. 



These birds afford excellent eating and are largely 

 taken in the wilderness for the benefit of the traveller. 

 The flesh of this species is darker and the heart 

 larger than that of the Ruffed Grouse. Their crops, 

 as winter approaches, are found to contain an in- 

 creasing proportion of pine needles, for instance the 

 crops in specimens taken in December were found to 

 be entirely filled with these needles. 



(3) What I haye already written of the Spruce 

 Grouse is largely applicable to the Gray Ruffed 

 Grouse (Bonasa umbellus umbelloides) of this 

 region. They, too, are a comparatively fearless 

 bird but not to such an extent as the former species. 

 They are quite numerous and occur in about equal 

 ratio with the Spruce Grouse ; if there is any differ- 

 ence I believe it would be in favor of umbelloides. 



(4) Numerous small flocks of the SharP-TAILED 

 Grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus campesiris ?) 

 were observed during October upon the bald open 

 crests of the lesser hills, where conditions more 

 nearly approached those of the prairie. Unfortun- 

 ately I failed to collect any specimens, so am unable 

 to state whether these were the northern variety 

 phasianellus, or what is more probable, the prairie 

 form campesiris which is common at Edmonton, 

 two hundred miles east. Spreadborough, in 1898, 

 according to Macoun's Catalogue of Canadian 

 Brds, failed to observe the species farther than 25 

 miles west of Edmonton. The extension of the range 

 of this species, during the intervening fifteen years, 

 can I believe, be attributed to the extensive settle- 

 ment of the country during that time. 



The birds were extremely wild and took to wing 

 at the first sign of approach, emitting their familiar 

 cac}(, cac}(, cadi I'l^e the grouse of the prairie but 

 unlike them, did net fly to near-by tree tops, pre- 

 ferring rather to fly away until lost to view. 



(5) Goshawks (Accipiter atricapillus) , were 

 not uncommon thoughout the region. The complete 

 isolation and ruggedness of the country, with abun- 

 dance of small game, suited their rapacious natures 

 to a nicety. I collected both adult and young 

 birds; one of the latter shot on October 30th, 

 measured 22 inches in length, with a wing expanse 

 of 3 feet 5 inches. The immature birds are dark 

 brownish over the back instead of the bluish gray 

 of the adult. 



(6) Golden Eagle (Aquita chrysaetus), were 

 frequently observed. One fine specimen which 

 accidentally found its way into one of our fox traps, 

 afforded us a lively and interesting time before 

 we finally liberated him. Measurements of the bird 

 were: length three feet, expanse seven feet one 

 inch. The region is well suited to these large birds 

 of prey. 



(7) Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus subarticus) 

 were evidently permanent residents as I frequently 

 heard them hooting on fine nights during my entire 

 stay. They prey largely on that scourge of the 

 wilderness the Varying Hare. 



(8) The Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula caparoch) 

 was the first bird noted on our way to the Hay river. 

 The first individual and the first one I had ever seen 

 was perched upon a slivered stump about fifteen feet 

 from the ground. At first sight I thought I had a 

 hawk under observation due to the trimness of the 

 bird and the long tail, but the big face presently 

 turned towards us soon convinced me of my error. 

 I was much amused at the habits of this little owl, 

 as he sat so upright there in open day, as our outfit 

 shambled down the trail almost below him, and 

 except for a casual turn of the head, exhibited but 

 little interest in the party. They were tolerably 

 common throughout the region traversed. Their 

 food consists largely of the smaller mammalia as 

 their action about low beaver meadows wouM in- 

 dicate. One day I flushed a Hawk Owl from the 

 ground and found that he was feeding on a full 

 grown hare. If, as I suppose, the bird killed this 

 animal itself, the action was certainly a creditable 

 one for a bird of this size. 



(9) One individual only of the PiLEATED WOOD- 

 PECKER (Ceophloeus pileatus abieticola) was ob- 

 served and it was collected. They are very shy 

 and retiring. 



(10) The only other wocdpecker noted was the 

 Northern Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobales villosus 

 leucomelus). It was common in all heavy timber. 

 The three-toed species should no doubt have been 

 observed here, but none were seen although at 

 Edmonton they occur occasionally. Richardson* 

 states, "The Hairy Woodpecker exists as far north 

 as 63. It remains all the year in the Northwest 



*Macoun's Catalogue of Canadian Birds. 



