80 Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 



chawan ; and Mr. Donald Gunn sent one^ from Red River Set- 

 tlement, to the Smithsonian Institution. Both Guiraca melano- 

 cephala and Cyanospiza amcena have been obtained from Fort 

 Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone, and may reach British 

 territory. 



PiPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS. 



A specimen from Red River Settlement^ procured by Mr. 

 Donald Gunn, is in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. 



73. PiPILO ARCTICUS. 



This bird, described by Swainson in the ' Fauna Bor.-Am.,' is 

 there stated to frequent moist shady clumps of wood, being 

 generally seen on the ground. I only shot one individual at 

 Fort Carlton C^ Ibis,* vol. iv. p. 7) ; but I noted at the time in my 

 journal (which I wrote from day to day), "This bird uttered a 

 loud harsh note, and, unless disturbed, was usually perched near 

 the top of a conspicuous tree in the woods." The eye, in 

 an adult male, was bright reddish orange. 



DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS. 



The Boblink, or " Skunk-bird" of the Cree Indians, mentioned 

 in the ' Fauna Bor. -Am.' as a summer visitant to the Saskatcha- 

 wan, was only once seen by me, when travelling between Forts 

 Carlton and Pitt. Had I been stationary during the summer 

 (for I defy any one to collect much when constantly travelling 

 by land), with nothing to do besides collecting birds, I might 

 have picked up many more to swell this list ; but, as it was, my 

 ornithological researches were mostly confined to the winter 

 (when there were but a few resident birds) and the spring. There 

 is a specimen of this species in the Smithsonian Institution, 

 from the Red River of the North, in lat. 49°. 



74. MOLOTHRUS PECORIS. 



Although the Cow-bird is noticed in the ' Fauna Bor.-Am.,' 

 no specimen is mentioned. I observed it at Red River Settle- 

 ment on the 28th of April, and as far west as the base of the 

 Rocky Mountains. Three individuals which I shot at Fort 

 Carlton, all males ('Ibis,' vol. iv. p. 7), measured 7 1 to 7|in. in 

 length, and 4| to 4|in. in the wing. They are easily mistaken 



