68 Mr. E. S. Cameron on the 



four times, during the last ten years — both species exclusively 

 during Juue^ and in very small numbers. 



On May 21st of the present year an extraordinary invasion 

 of Plialaropes occurred^ and examples of both the above-named 

 birds continued to arrive in greater or less numbers until the 

 end of the month. At first the Red-necks predominated, and 

 Mr. H. Tusler, whose ranch adjoins mine on the south and 

 who Avas the first to observe their advent, brought me three 

 specimens of Phalaroj)us hyperboreus on the date above 

 mentioned, shot, as he informed me, out of at least three 

 hundred birds, which included (as I subsequently learned) a 

 few of P. wilsoni. All the birds were swimming about in 

 shallow lakes, formed by the recent rains, on the prairie. 

 The relative numbers of the two species were subsequently 

 reversed, for, the main flight of Red-necks having passed, 

 only a few were afterwards seen sprinkled among the 

 Wilson^s Phalaropes, wliich continued to arrive daily in 

 considerable flocks. These later flocks were, however, less 

 in size than the immense flight of P. hyperboreus described 

 by Mr. Tusler, which I unfortunately missed. 



Both species frequented the temporary ponds formed by 

 the abundant rains in the depressions of grass-lands, but 

 seemed to shun the i^egular creeks and water-holes altogether. 



I procured several specimens for skins, a task of small 

 difficulty, as the birds were so tame and showed so little 

 fear that, when some members of the flock were shot, the 

 remainder would make two or three big circles and alight on 

 the water beside their dead companions. Similarly, Avhen a 

 Marsh-Hawk hovered above them, they made equally wide 

 sweeps, and descended on the same place from which they 

 had arisen. 



At the moment of alighting they were so thickly disposed 

 that a large number might have been killed by one shot, but 

 immediately after reaching the surface of the water they 

 scattered in all directions over the pond. Their tameness 

 was indeed remarkable. When 1 forced them to rise, either 

 on foot or horseback, they merely flew around me to alight 

 again ; and in some marshy ground on the ranch I was able 

 to drive two females of P. ivilsoni to where my wife waited 



