Shankland — On Birds on Otonabee River. 9 



The Otonabee River has its source in the Stony Lake re- 

 gion north of Peterboro ; it flows in a southerly direction and 

 empties into Rice Lake — a beautiful little sheet of water ly- 

 ing- about twenty miles north of Lake Ontario. Thanks to a 

 number of well-built locks, it is now navigable for nearly its 

 entire course and the chances are that it will some day be- 

 come an important commercial waterway. The Indian word 

 " otonabee " means tortuous, and it is peculiarily appropriate 

 as a name for this river, since the Otonabee is one of the most 

 winding and tortuous streams in that region, and in traversing 

 a single mile of its course, one often faces every point of the 

 compass. The waters of this river are deep, black and slug- 

 gish, and they teem with numerous species of fish and reptiles. 

 Its margins are bordered by numerous swamps and marshes, 

 many of which are over a quarter of a mile wide. Among the 

 sedges and reeds of these marshes numerous species of water- 

 fowl build their nests and rear their young, undisturbed by 

 hunters or specimen collectors. Here also, thousands of musk- 

 rats, dozens of minks, and a few otters still make their homes, 

 in spite of the encroachments of civilzation. The fact is, that 

 these impenetrable swamps and marshes have enabled the na- 

 tive birds and animals of this region to escape the destruction 

 that almost invariably accompanies the invasion of man. 



While comfortably installed in the bow of the little steamer, 

 as it ploughed its way swiftly down the river, I maintained a 

 sharp lookout for the birds, and was rewarded by seeing many 

 interesting species. Of the river-haunting birds, the Belted 

 Kingfishers were the most abundant and we flushed them from 

 nearly every overhanging dead tree from Peterboro to the 

 lake. At the approach of our boat, they would sound their 

 defiant rattles and fly rapidly ofif down the river, their blue 

 backs, rufous belts and white under parts showing off to good 

 advantage in the bright morning sunlight. These birds 

 seemed to possess to a noticeable extent the wild untamed 

 spirit of this picturesque northern river, and their every move- 

 ment expressed freedom, happiness and love of their chosen 



