68 Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 



western and northern species. It seems to be resident in the 

 interior, and is one of the few birds to be met with during the 

 long and dreary winter. Mr. Ross mentions it as " not rare" on 

 the Mackenzie. The voice of this bird is like the first few notes 

 of the peculiar call of the White-throated Sparrow [Zonotrichia 

 albicollis). In winter, on the Saskatchawan, I found it feeding 

 on the cones of the willow-bushes ; and M. Bourgeau, who used 

 to keep us in food during the rather '' hard times " at Fort 

 Carlton by snaring rabbits {Lepus americanus), declared that 

 this bird ate the eyes of the rabbits when in his snares. 



Parus atricapillus is given by Mr. Ross as rare, but a winterer 

 on the Mackenzie, and is included in the 'Fauna Bor.-Ara.;^ 

 but at the time that work was compiled, P.septentrionalis was not 

 recognized as a distinct species. 



54. Parus hudsonicus. 



This bird, included in my original list (' Ibis,' vol. iv. p. 5), 

 does not seem to range to the western plains ; for neither during 

 winter nor summer did I find it, after leaving the thickly wooded 

 country to the east of Lake Winipeg. I should mention that, 

 although I did not procure a specimen, I have not the least 

 doubt of this bird, as it was an old acquaintance of mine in Nova 

 Scotia, where I had shot many. I now find, however, that Mr. 

 Ross has obtained the Hudson's Bay Tit on the Mackenzie. 



55. Eremophila cornuta. 



Besides my specimen from Fort Carlton {' Ibis,' vol. iv. p. 5), 

 the ' Fauna Bor.-Am.' records one from the same locality, while 

 Mr. Murray mentions some from the shores of Hudson's Bay, 

 whence I have since received specimens myself. My measure- 

 ments range from 7 to 7i in. in length, and 4;^ to 4^ in. in the 

 wing. I found the Shore Lark on the lower part of the 

 Saskatchawan River, in small flocks, for about a week from the 

 4th of October, 1857. In the following spring I observed it 

 near Fort Carlton on the 26th of April, and it was common on 

 the prairies by the 2nd of May. I may here observe that the 

 Calandre Lark given in the ' Fauna Bor.-Am.,' from a specimen 

 presented to the British Museum by the Hudson's Bay Company, 

 is not recognized in later works on American ornithology. 



