514 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



lueinorauduni, made at the time, shows the relative proportions of the above- 

 mentioned phases : 



A. Black raff with rufus plumage 10 



B. Copper ruff, rufus plumage, with copper tail band 2 



C. Black ruff with gray plumage S 



D. Dark intermediate ruff, gray plumage 1 



Intermediates : 



Between A and C 4 



Between B and D 2 



Between A and D 3 



Between A and B 1 



The remainder of those taken exhibit every possible variation between these 

 forms. (Nash, in MSS.) 



98. Lagopus lagopus. Willow Ptarmigan, or White Partridge. 



Abundant winter visitant to tbe wooded regions of the Northeast. 

 Winnipeg : Winter visitor; rare ; abundant at upper end of Lake Win- 

 nipeg (Hine). Swamp Island : 1885, first seen, a flock of about twenty 

 on February 16; next seen on February 21; is common in severe 

 winters only; is usually rare; does not breed here; 1886, first seen, 

 about ten, on January 12; the bulk arrived March 8; last seen, March 

 21; w^as abundant this year (Plunkett). Northern part of Red Kiver 

 Valley: Transient visitor in winter and very rarely (Hunter). Near 

 Lake Winnipeg, at Fort Cumberland and to the eastward, they are 

 common every winter (Brewer). Very seldom to be seen south or west 

 of Lake Winnipeg, but is found in all the country north and east of 

 that lake during the winter season (D. Gunn). Portage la Prairie, 

 1884: Saw three brought from Lake Winnepegosis last winter (1883); 

 it is said to be a regular winter visitant to Lake Manitoba, generally 

 in January and February (Nash). In the year 1819 its earliest ap- 

 pearance at Cumberland House was in the second week of November 

 (Richardson). Common every winter near Fort Cumberland (Blakis- 

 ton). Norway House (Bell). 



These birds are very numerous at the northern settlements, likewise on the eastern 

 coasts of the bay. I have known upwards of ten thousand caught with nets at 

 Severn from the month of November till the end of April. (Hutchins MSS., 

 Observations on Hudson Bay, 1782.) 



99. Tympanuchus americanus. Prairie Hen, or Pinnated Grouse. 



Abundant resident in the cultivated sections. In 1872 Dr. Coues 

 wrote : " I have no reason to believe that it occurs at all in northwestern 

 Minnesota or northern Dakota. * ♦ * i have met with no indi- 

 cation of its occurrence north of the United States boundary." In 1882, 

 when first I visited Manitoba, the species was nearly unknown in the 

 country, the only known specimens having been taken near Winnipeg 

 in 1881. In 1883, Mr. Hine informs me, it began to be common at 

 Pembina. In 1884 it was not only common at Winnipeg, but had also 



