458 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



lished by Professor Hind in 1860, by the Dominion Government in 1874, 

 and by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company at various times be- 

 tween 1880 and 1890, also those drawn by Mr. Shawe for Phillip's Im- 

 perial Atlas, and those issued by the Tenth Census Eeport of the 

 United States. I have also supplemented these by information gained 

 in my own travels, as well as that supplied me by Messrs. Tyrrell, Nash,, 

 Macoun, Christy, and other observers. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE. 



The general features of the country have been ably and concisely 

 described by Dr. Dawson in the report of the boundary commission 

 (1875), as follows : 



The first or lowest prairie level, is that of which Ihe southern part lies along the Red 

 River, and which, northward, embraces Lake Winnipeg and associated lakes, and 

 the flat land surrounding them. A great part of its eastern border is con- 

 terminous with that of Lake Winnipeg, and formed by the rocky front of the 

 Laureutian ; but east of the Red River it is bounded by the high lying drift 

 terraces surrounding the Lake of the Woods, and forming a part of the drift 

 plateau of northern Minnesota. To the west it is limited by the more or less abrupt 

 edge of the second prairie level, forming an escarpment, which, though very regular 

 in some places, has been broken through by the broad valleysof the Assiniboiue and 

 other rivers. The escarpment, where it crosses the line, is known as Pembina 

 Mountain, and is continued northward by the Riding, Duck, Porcupine, and Basquia 

 Hills. The average height above the sea of this lowest level of the interior couli- 



expeditions outside of our boundaries. Carberry was my headquarters, and except 

 where otherwise stated all observations were made at that place. 



My companions, whose names appear, were Mr. Wm. G. A. Brodie, whose untimely 

 death by drowning in the Assiniboine, May, 1883, robbed Canada of one of her most 

 promising young naturalists; my brother. Dr. A. S. Thompson, with whom I lived, 

 and Mr. Miller Christy. The last was with me during the latter part of the summer 

 of 1883 aiid again for a few days in the July of 1884. He was the first ornithologist of 

 experience that I had ever met, and I have to thank him for correcting in me many 

 wrong methods of study that naturally were born of my isolation. 



My thanks are due to Dr. J. A. Allen, of the American Musenm of Natural History ; 

 Prof. Robert Ridgway, of the Smithsonian Institution ; and Dr. C. Hart Merriam, 

 ornithologist to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for the identification of numer- 

 ous specimens, and other assistance, and especially to the last for placing at my dis- 

 posal the manuscripts of Miss Yoemans, Messrs. Calcutt, Griddle, Nash, Plunkett, 

 Small, and Wagner; to Prof. John Maconn, of the Canadian Geological Survey; 

 Messrs. Christy, Nash, Hine, Hunter, and Guernsey, for numerous manuscripts, 

 notes, and much valuable assistance; to Dr. R. Bell and Mr. James M. Maconn, both 

 of the Canadian Geological Survey ; Dr William Brodie, of Toronto ; Dr. Charles 

 Carpmael, of the Canada Meteorological Department, and Mr. Ernest D. Wentle, of 

 Montreal, for help in various ways; and to the Hudson's Bay Company for access to 

 the Hutchins manuscripts. Indispensable assistance in preparing the manuscript 

 has been rendered also by my father, Mr. Joseph L. Thompson, and my cousin, Miss 

 M. A. Burfield. 



The measurements throughout are in English inches. 



Ernest E. Thompson, 

 86 Howard street, Toronto, Ontario. 



July, 1890. 



