522 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



101. Ectopistes migratorius. Wild Pigeou. 



Tolerably commou summer resident of wooded regions ; countless 

 flocks inEed River Valley late May and early June, 1873; breeding; a 

 few seen in Turtle Mountain (Coues). Dufferin : Arrived May, 7, 1874 

 (Dawson). Winnipeg: Summer resident; tolerably common (Hine). 

 Ossowo: Eare: breeding; 1885, first seen, two, on April 18; next seen, 

 April 19; seldom seen here (Wagner). Oak Point: 1884, arrived June 

 20 (Small). Portage la Prairie : Common summer resident; arriving 

 about the first week in May, departing at the end of September; on 

 May 21 fresh eggs were found (Nash). Sardeu Island, Lake of the 

 Woods ; Pennawa Kiver ; Fort Garry, 1858, pigeon nets were in use near 

 Fort Garry; Portage la Prairie, 1858, June 17, pigeons were flying in 

 vast numbers over the Assiniboine ; Souris River, near Spencer Knob, 

 27 June, 1858, vast numbers of pigeons were flying in a northwesterly 

 direction (Hine). Found a few breeding on Waterhen River in 1881 ; 

 about a dozen nests ; in early fall saw great numbers in the Swan River 

 region (Macoun). Carberry: Tolerably common spring migrant ; prob- 

 ably breeding; south slope of Riding Mountain (Thompson). Twcf 

 Rivers: 1885, on May 14, saw several; they did not alight (Griddle). 

 Shell River: 1885, first seen, five, on Jane 15 ; odd pairs breed here (Cal- 

 cutt). Qu'Appelle: Occasional; May 10 (Guernsey). 



On May 17, 1884, saw flocks of wild pigeons flying westward, and on 

 July 22, Portage la Prairie, saw a number in the woods along the river, 

 j^pparently they breed in this region, and if so, no doubt as isolated 

 pairs, for I am not aware of the existence of any extensive rookeries in 

 the province. 



Pigeons of a small size, not larger than a thrusli, are, in some summers, found as 

 far north as Churchill River. The bill is of a flesh color, legs red, and the greatest 

 part of the plumage of a light lilac or bluish. In the interior parts of the country 

 they fly in large flocks and perch on the poplar trees in such numbers that I have 

 seen twelve of them killed at one shot. Tbey usually feed on poplar buds and are 

 good eating, though seldom fat. They build their nests in trees, the same as the Wood 

 Pigeons do ; never lay but two eggs, and are very scarce near the seacoast in all the 

 northern parts of Hudson's Bay. (Hearne.) 



Merne rouck pigeons. The first species I shall take notice of is one I received at 

 Severn, in the year 1771, and, having sent it home preserved to Mr. Pennant, he 

 informed me it was the migratoria species. They are very numerous inland and visit 

 our settlement to the southward in summer. They are plenty about Moose Fort and 

 inland, where they breed, choosing an arboreous situation. The gentlemen number 

 them amongst the many delicacies Hudson's Bay affords our tablss. 'T is a hardy bird, 

 continuing with them till December. In summer their food is berries, and when 

 these are covered with snow they eat the juniper buds. They lay two eggs and are 

 gregarious. * * * About twenty-six years ago these pigeons migrated up as high 

 as York Fort, but continued only two days. (Hutchius MSS.; Observations on Hud- 

 son's Bay, 17S2.) 



A few hordes of Indians that frequent the low flooded tracts at the south end of Lake 

 Winnipeg subsist principally on the pigeons during a period of the summer when the 

 sturgeon fishing is unproductive and the Zezania aquaiica has not yet ripened, but 



