^ov. 1889.] 



AWD OOLOGIST. 



lo: 



A Collecting Trip to Lac-qui-parle 

 Co., Minn. 



(Continnetl.) 

 On the 14th it rained, and as I had not pre- 

 pared all the birds I got the day before, 1 was 

 kept busy till noon. The rain nearly ceased in 

 the afternoon, so I put on a rubber coat and 

 went out to look for Longspurs' nests. While 

 out in a field where a man was ploughing- I 

 was watcliing the Black Terns following him 

 and picking up the worms and insects turned 

 up by the plow. Presently I heard the unmis- 

 takable cry of a Franklin's Gull, which soon 

 was also following the plow, and also picking 

 up worms. As it was only a short distance to 

 the store I ran back and got my gun. Upon 

 returning to the field I found two of tlie gulls 

 sitting on a furrow at the other end of tlie 

 field. The farmer assured me his horse would 

 not get scared and gave me permission to 

 shoot. When witliin about tliirty yards I shot 

 at one and killed it, and shot tlie other as it 

 hovered an instant over the dead one. On 

 having the birds in my hand I was greatly im- 

 pressed with their beauty. Tlie beautiful pink 

 bloom on the underparts, the carmine bill and 

 eyelids set in the deep black of the head, and 

 above all its trim graceful figure so elegantly 

 displayed in fiight. The farmer joined me in 

 a short time: he said they were known as 

 Prairie Doves, and assured me that he had 

 killed them with a whip while following the 

 plow. 



While on the way back I came upon a speci- 

 men of the Western Kingbird, but did not 

 shoot it, being too much absorbed with my 

 gulls. Upon dissecting tliem their stomachs 

 were found to contain angle-worms and grubs, 

 principally the former. Afterwards whenever 

 I wanted any Franklin Gulls I would go out and 

 find some one ploughing and would most al- 

 ways find from one to fifty following it. I 

 collected a large series of these birds and 

 noted but little variation, it being principally 

 in the size of the bill and the black markings 

 on the tips of the wings, but the species is 

 unmistakable. Females collected on the loth 

 had eggs in them the size of a quaiFs, but by 

 the last of May I could find no nests. 



On the the 15th I was out, with a horse and 

 buggy, with my father. We went to the same 

 swamp I was at on the 18th. On the way we 

 came across a flock of about one hundred 

 Franklin's Gulls sitting in a field. Having 

 onlv two I wanted more. When I brought 



down the first bird all the gulls in the vicinity 

 began to hover over their dead comrade, and 

 it was no trouble to kill as many as I wanted 

 so when the eighth one fell from the flock I 

 stopped, but the gulls continued to fly ner 

 vously around long after we had left. 



When We reached the swamp we found more 

 birds than on my previous visit. The first 

 thing I shot was a pair of Wilson's Phalarope 

 as they flew by me; being close together I got 

 them at a shot. As I proceeded I found these 

 birds very plentiful, collecting as many as I 

 wanted. They were generally found in flocks 

 of eight or ten swimming around in the shal- 

 low water, now and then thrusting their head 

 under water in search of food. They kept up 

 an incessant croaking sound, not unlike that 

 of a duck, and fully as loud. I kept a sharp 

 lookout tor any Xorthein Phalarope, but could 

 find none. A few of both varieties of Yellow- 

 legs were scattered around but were very wild. 



While watching some Sandpipers that were 

 flying around I thought I saw some with a 

 large amount of black on their plumage: so 

 when they settled I crept up near enough and 

 got a shot, killing three Red-backed, two White- 

 rumped and one Pectoral Sandpiper. I was 

 quite surprised to find the Red-backed Sand- 

 pipers so common here, for in a few days the 

 Pectorals left and quantities of Red-backed 

 and White-rumped put in an appearance. By 

 the way I don't believe that the White-rumped 

 Sandpiper (Actodromas honnparti) has been re- 

 corded in the state before. I accordingly add 

 it to the list. 



The Godwits were very plenty this morn- 

 ing, and I took advantage of the opportunity 

 and collected a few, four of the Marbled and 

 another Hudsonian. There is a decided differ- 

 ence in the length of the bill of the Marbled 

 Godwits, the female having the lonj;est. Be- 

 fore going home I stopped to get a few Black 

 Terns. Out of eleven birds of this species, 

 that I collected while there, three had white 

 patches on the throat at the base of the lower 

 mandible. It seemed strange that this slight 

 albinism was in the same place in the three 

 birds. 



The next day, the Kith, I went out in the 

 country in a wagon with a man who was buy- 

 ing up cattle; was gone all day and had a 

 pleasant trip. While riding through a pasture 

 I saw a strange bird sitting on a rock, which 

 I soon made out to be a male McCown's Long- 

 spur. I got out and spotted it, and as I did 

 so an old horse standing near, in his frantic 

 effort to get out of the country, slipped and 



