54 



THE OOLoaiST 



times be seea upon the shore in half a 

 day's ramble, each pair pursues its prey 

 alone, and their breeding places are isolat- 

 ed. 



The Large-billed Water Thrush is at 

 home among the rocks and boulders of a 

 wild gorge, where the rushing torrent al- 

 most defies one, and leaps in mad confus- 

 ion down the slippery and treacherous 

 bights, foaming, and dashing in glee at the 

 thousands of sparkling gems it sends into 

 the air ; over and under the tumult of 

 water it is to be seen, hopping cheerily 

 and sprightfully here and there, in a score 

 of difficult positions, prying into rocky 

 crevices, now rocking iu exultation upon 

 the summit of a projecting rock ; then, with 

 a jnnc of satisfaction, flitting through the 

 spray, around through the tortuous wind- 

 ings of the cascade, dodging here and 

 there and finally alighting upon the edge 

 of a dainty, rock-bound pool, where it 

 disports to its heart's content, knee-deep 

 in the water ; or, with a salutatory jerk of 

 the body, flies off out of sight. Here the 

 Wagtail builds its nest and rears its young, 

 free from the troubles and dangers of ex- 

 posed places, and in the midst of a scene 

 whose natural beauty and freshness gives 

 life and vijror to all around. 



Night Herons. — During January and 

 February, 1879, myself and a friend shot 

 four specimens ; two adult males, one adult 

 female, and one young bird of the previous 

 year. The weather was cold, the ground 

 covered with snow, and the creeks frozen. 

 In the evening numbers of them could be 

 seen flying over the frozen creek and alight- 

 ing in the springy places, that do not freeze, 

 to catch the small fish on which they 

 were feeding at that time. Numbers 

 were roosting in the swamps during the 

 daytime. Previous to this time I had al- 

 ways supposed that the Night Heron was 

 purely a Summer visitor. Would be pleas- 

 ed to hear from others on this subject. 



Shelter Island. m. b. g. 



The Great Gray Owl. — Symhmi 

 Cinereum. 



Mr. John Noble of this city, while vis- 

 iting his farm in the township of Ponson- 

 by, shot two young specimens of the above 

 species(/S'yr««<»i Cinereum). They left 

 the nest about the last week in July, and 

 are not larger than the adult Barred Owl ; 

 the plumage is downy, retaining the gener- 

 al markings of the tail and wings of the 

 adult. I believe this is the first instance 

 of the discovery of the young of this Owl 

 in Canada. A fact interesting to ornithol- 

 ogists, as heretofore its nesting locality 

 was not positively known. An occasional 

 adult bird is shot in the woodlands near 

 this city in the fall, and it is always con- 

 sidered a rare species. Now that the 

 breeding range is discovered oologists 

 should keep a record of this notice in or- 

 der to procure the eggs, which are valuable 

 and a desiderata in all collections. 



Montreal. Wm. Couper. 



California Quails in Missouri. 



A correspondent in Chicago Field., from 

 Jefferson, Mo., after stating that 6 or 7 

 pairs of California Quails were turned out 

 in March, 1879, previous to severe freez- 

 ing, further declares that great apprehen- 

 sions were felt for their safety, increased 

 by the fact that it was some months before 

 they were again seen. 



There was no very satisfactory informa- 

 tion concerning them during the Summer 

 and Fall of 1879, although seen at inter- 

 vals. From October, 1879, to May follow- 

 ing, I could find no one, after frequent en- 

 quiry, who had seen them ; but in June 

 and July, this year, I have had repeated 

 and reliable information from different 

 sources that there are two or more good 

 coveys of young, nearly half-grown, in the 

 fields, not over half a mile from where they 

 were first set free. 



This would seem to be sufficient indica- 

 tion of success, to induce others to try the 

 experiment. The law protects them ab- 



