198 

 REPORT OF THE ZOOLOGICAL BRANCH, 1890. 



(Read Jan. 15, 1891.) 



To the President and Council of the Ottavja Field -Naturalists' Club :■ — 



In making a report of the work of the Club for the past year in that 

 branch of natural history which relates principally to the mammalia 

 found to exist in the neighborhood of Ottawa, we cannot say that 

 any discoveries of particular importance have been made. Many of 

 the larger animals which were at one time quite common have com- 

 pletely disappeared with the cutting down of the forests and the occu- 

 pation of the land by man, whilst several others are seen only at rare 

 intervals, and these are likely also to disappear at no very distant 

 date. Of the smaller animals, many are yet to be found, and, if new 

 varieties are discovered at all, it will most likely be among the moles, 

 the shrews and the little rodents. 



The following is a summary of captures, etc., which have been 

 reported : — 



Mr. Evarts, of this city, caught in his house in an ordinary mouse- 

 trap a White-footed Mouse ( Hesperomys leucopus) in November last 

 and sent it to Mr. W. A. D. Lees, who in turn sent it to Mr. White- 

 aves, of the Geological Survey, who had the specimen mounted. It is 

 now to be seen in the Museum. Several mice of the same sort have 

 been seen during the year in and about dwellings. The mouse itself is 

 common ; but we are not aware of its having been previously reported 

 as having tAen up its abode in such places. 



Mr. F. A. Saimders reports having caught in a trap in Dow's 

 swamp, in November last, three specimens of the Red-backed Mouse 

 ( Evotomys rutilusj, the traps being placed under a fallen tree and 

 baited with apple. 



He also reports having seen a Red Fox in June and another one 

 in October, besides Rabbits, Chipmunks, Red SquiiTels, Musk Rats, 

 Field and White-footed Mice, and one Flying Squirrel in July last. 

 He further reports that he and his brother, Mr. W. E. Saunders, shot 

 several Bats in the early part of July, among which were the Hoary 

 Bat, the Brown and Silver haired, and some others which they had not 



