490 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



(Hunter). Portage la Prairie : 1884; rare; summer resident (Nasb). 

 South slope of Riding Mountain, on Little Saskatchewan River: In the 

 marshes herons, cranes, and bitterns were disturbed iu groups (Hind). 

 Occasionally seen, but not very common; shot on Swan River, April 28, 

 1881; not observed breeding (Macoun). Breeding iu numbers on Rid- 

 ing Mountain (Green). Qu'Appelle: Tolerably common; summer resi- 

 dent; breeds; arrives May G (Guernsey). 



My summer of 1880 was spent iu the Northwest Territory of the Dominion. The •20th 

 of July last found me in the Duck or Riding Mountain, at the headwaters of Bird's Tail 

 Creek, about 51° north, and on the one hundred and first meridian. These moun- 

 tains are covered with a dense forest of tall poplars and birch and thick underbrush 

 of hazel and raspberry, making it impossible to get through without cutting a trail in 

 advance. This 20th of July was a very hot day. We had started at 6 a.m. with a 

 train of thirteen heavily loaded carts, and by 11 a.m. had made about 3 miles, when 

 a very peculiar noise saluted our ears. Knowing this forest to bo full of bears, we at 

 once came to the conclusion that we were in the vicinity of a family (sisters, cousins, 

 and aunts) of those affectionate creatures. The train was ordered to halt while 

 the chief of the party and myself went forward to prospect. As we advanced the 

 noise grew louder and louder, till we called a council of two to decide what had bet- 

 ter be done — face the enemy or draw on our reserves and advance in full force. 

 While deliberating, the chief happened to cast his eyes heavenwards and the mystery 

 was explained. We had struck a heronry ; hundreds of these birds were passing to 

 and fro ; and on going forward a hundred yards or so we found the tops of the pop- 

 lars covered with their nests, the young birds, full grown but not able to fly, perched 

 on the highest branches of the trees. Here in the heart of a dense forest, probably 

 never trodden by man before, were thousands of nests of our common Blue Heron 

 {Ardea herodias Linn.) We cut down several trees and captured the young, which 

 were cooked and eaten by some of our men with relish, probably because it was the 

 first fresh food for three months. The nests were made of the small dead branches 

 of the poplar and were placed as near the tops of the trees as possible. I kept two 

 of the young birds alive for a few days, when, becoming able to fly, they took their 

 departure. 



These mountains are full of small ponds and bottomless marshes, which swarm 

 with lizards and small fish, on which the herons feed, and on getting to an open space 

 near the herony we could see the old birds coming and going in every direction. 

 Those coming home were stuffed to the bill with food for their young, making them 

 present a very ungainly figure, as they lazily flopped their way towards the woods. 

 On pushing our way through this mountain forest, we discovered three good-sized 

 lakes, about one-half mile wide, and from 1 to 2 miles in length each. We tried 

 them for fish, but only caught a few common chub. 



56. Ardea virescens. Green Heron. 



Rather common in the Assiniboine, near the mouth of Shell River, 

 September 25, 1881. This was certainly a heron, and was certainly not 

 the Night Heron, as it was much smaller; it had no plumes, and was 

 green on the wing shoulders; there were at least a dozen of themj they 

 were in the trees along the river, not far from Mr. Henry Denmark's 

 house (Macoun). Taken them at Shoal Lake, near Winnipeg, and am 

 told that they breed in the sloughs around Turtle Mountains; they aie 

 rare compared with the number of Blue Herons (R. H. Hunter). 



