226 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March 



This experience was ours exactly; the ventriloquial qualiiv 

 was not so marked, but it was present : the height of the flight 

 was about the same, and our bird also described a circle when 

 near the end of its song. I do not know any more satisfying 

 occurrence in the experience of a bird student, than to open a new 

 page in the life history of a common bird, and this is a chapter 

 that is certainly rarely entered upon by anyone. 



The time of day at which the song occurs, usually finds us 

 wheeling homewards, if not already at home, and the season for 

 this song is doubtless very short, so that it may be counted 

 among one's rarest ornithological recollections. The Ovenbird 

 has a similar song, fairly well known in the aggregate, but which 

 has been well heard by but few persons. And why not? How 

 many persons know the call of the Sawwhet Owl, which is to 

 be heard near most cedar swamps in March and April ? Is it not 

 true that we miss these and many other novel phases of bird lite 

 by spending the evening and early night under cover ? 



NOTES TAKEN IN THE PEACE RIVER, ATHABASKA, 

 AND ADJACENT COUNTRY. 



The following interesting letter from Mr. J. A. Macrae, 

 Commissioner to deal with Indians and Half breeds in the Atha- 

 baska districts in 1900, has been kindly placed at the disposal of 

 the Ottawa Naturalist by Dr. Otto J. Klotz, Astronomer to 

 the Department of the Interior, at whose request the observations 

 were made during Mr. Macrae's official visit to the far north last 

 summer. 



" Ottawa, January 22nd, 1901. 

 " My dear Dr. Klotz— 



I have already lold you how sorry I am not to be able to 

 bring you back more detailed and useful information from the 

 North, but in case the few observations I am able to report m;iy 

 be of use to you I give them here. 



The only thermometrical readings I can give you are as 

 follows : — 



