168 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 11 



uuder water for two or three hundred yards. 

 They must have wonderful vitality. 



October l(5th, Anthony Magrath shut a 

 Mourning Dove (Zenaidura niacroura) in his 

 potato patcli. It was seen there yesterday, 

 and seemed quite tame and fearless. One was 

 shot here last year, and there are a few in tlie 

 museum at St. Johns, but they are quite rare. 



On Saturday, the 18th, it was rather stormy 

 with the wind northeast, and I went up over 

 the "Lookout" for Ptarmigan. The first 

 flock starte<l at long range, and settled in the 

 tucks on the edge of a big ravine, where 1 

 followed them, but could not locate them for 

 some time. Finally 1 stopi)ed in tlie midst of 

 them and clapped my liands, when up jumiied 

 a bird, and T dropped him about sixty yards 

 away. He struck in tlie bottom of a ravine, 

 and I climbed down the side to get him, 

 finding him curled up under an immense tree, 

 stone dead. On my way up, I started two 

 more, liut could not shoot. 



(Circled around the hill auil had come down 

 the opposite side a few yards wlien a l)ird 

 came up with his " Goback, Goback," and he 

 came back into my game bag. The weather 

 was exceedingly bad, and the wind blew so 

 that I took three shots at a Snipe, before he 

 came to bag, and finally turned back to our 

 lodgings. Large flocks of Robins are going 

 over all the time, also Shore Larks. 



Ootoljer 19th brought in tlie first Snow 

 Bunting of the season, and on the morning of 

 the 20th we found a lieavy frost and ice threc- 

 eigliths of an inch thick on the ponds. Our 

 trami) to-day was toward the traps and over 

 the marshe.s. The ground was frozen just 

 enough to hold one up a moment and then 

 break through. VVitli tlie exception of a Fox 

 Sparrow and a few Chickadees, there were no 

 birds seen on the outward trip. Well out on 

 the marslies we saw some Shore Larks. 

 Robins were in large Hocks and appeared to l)e 

 travelling northward. One Bonaparte's Sand- 

 piper was on the ice in a little pond. 



Wlien quite near the top the dog pointed a 

 flock of Ptarmigan, and Gaboon got one. VVe 

 found six muskrats in the traps and Gaboon 

 got another Ptarmigan. 



The duck ponds were the next objective 

 point, and while passing through a little 

 marshy place between two hillocks, a pair of 

 Ptarmigan rose in front of us, and as quickly 

 came down to tlie crack of a barrel from each 

 of us: and we got another before we got to the 

 river. 



While sitting here we saw a flock of l?lack 



Duck alight about a mile away, and we turned 

 our footsteps in that direction. When quite 

 near I took the dog and located at a " tuck," 

 where I thought tlie birds would come over, 

 while Galloon stalked the birds. After waiting 

 a long time I heard both barrels of Gaboon's 

 gun, and tlie dog jumped to run to him; I 

 pulled him down, and what did the wretch do 

 a bit after but turn on his back and set up a 

 howl that would have waked the dead, and 

 that when the ducks were within a hundred 

 yards; of course they turned off and tlew in 

 another direction. While lying there three 

 duck flew over me at about twenty yards with 

 wings set, but I refrained from shooting on 

 Galloon's account. They pitched in the end of 

 the pond nearest me and commenced calling to 

 the others whicli were being stalked. 



Galloon shot three with his first barrel, and 

 another in the air, which drnjiped in the tucks 

 behind him 



When I arrived on the scene only one duck 

 was to be seen, an<l that was in the middle of 

 the pond. Two had crawled under the over- 

 hanging banks whence the dog dislodged one. 

 which I stojiped with a load of sixes. There 

 was no other way to get the other liird and 

 Gaboon waded in and brought it out, though 

 the water was terribly cold. 



F. A. But ex. Ell. 

 (To be continued.) 



[Ill rei)ly to several inquiries we would 

 explain that a "tuck" is a bunch of low 

 undergrowth, applied here to a sort of semi- 

 recuuibeiit juniper. — El).] 



Taking of a Connecticut Warbler in 

 Genesee Co., Mich. 



iVliout the last of May as I was hiokiiig f(ir 

 a .second set of Ked-shouldered Hawks' eggs I 

 heard a note strange to me im the edge of an 

 almost impenetrable huckleberry swani]), and 

 approaching the swamp and keeping very quiet 

 I soon had the satisfaction of shooting the 

 bird, and that without injuiy to it. I found I 

 liad a stiange iiiril, and not lliinkiiig it was one 

 of the Warblers I did not know wheie to look 

 for a description oi it, but on writing a, de- 

 scription of it to Mr. Ridgway of the Smith- 

 sonian, he said it might be a Connecticut 

 Warbler, and on looking up the description 

 there is no question of its being that sjiecies. 

 The bird was in full song, and there were no 

 others seen or heard. Sininn'l Sjiiccr. 



Goodricli. .^licli. 



