54 Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 



bands ; and nothing astonished me more than the immense num- 

 ber of these birds which were migrating northwards, favoured 

 by a southerly breeze, at Red River Settlement, on the 26th of 

 April, 1859. This was also the date that the first was seen at 

 Fort Carlton on the Saskatchawan the previous year. By cut- 

 ting down a hollow tree near Fort Carlton, I obtained the eggs ; 

 they were nine in number, perfectly white of course, and laid in 

 finely chopped dry decayed wood. 



25. Colaptes mexicanus. 

 Colaptes hyhridus. 



Being at the time ignorant of the existence of more than one 

 species of this genus, I did not take any particular trouble to 

 collect specimens in the interior of the continent, and conse- 

 quently I am now in doubt of what species were numbers of 

 " Flickers " which I observed in large congregations on either 

 slope of the Rocky Mountains in the autumn of 1858. M. 

 Bourgeau, the indefatigable botanical collector of Captain Pal- 

 liser^s Exploring Expedition, obtained one specimen on the Sas- 

 katchawan Plains ; but whether it was C. mexicanus of Swainson, 

 or the hybrid bird which is so plentiful on the upper waters of 

 the Missouri, I was not able to determine, as I had not an op- 

 portunity of examining the specimen after my return to England. 



Order III. INSESSORES. 



Trochilus, sp. 



There seems to be some doubt as to which of three species, 

 coluhris, rufus, or platycercus, inhabits the northern interior 

 of the American continent. On the authority of the ' Fauna 

 Bor.-Am.,' Humming-birds are found to range up to 57° N. lat. 

 They are known about the gardens of the inhabitants of Red 

 River Settlement, while I observed certain birds of this family 

 both at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains and in the 

 valley of the head waters of the Flathead River, which lies 

 between the eastern and western ranges of the chain, where I 

 crossed it a few miles north of American territory. All I can 

 say about them is that the general colour was brown, with a 

 light throat. 



