""^'isgl'."'] procei;ding.s of the national museum. 547 



tion.ary over oue place for some time, exactly like a kestrel or our own Sitariow 

 Hawk. 

 Ou November 26, 1SS(>, I saw oue ou the bauka of the Ked River. (Nash, iu MSS. ) 



132. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus. 151ack billed Cuckoo. 



A tolerably common summer resident in woodlands. Breeding in 

 Pembina Mountain (Coues). lied River Settlement (Brewer). Winni- 

 peg: Summer resident; tolerably common (Hine). Oak Point: 1881, 

 arrived Jnue 1 (Small). Portage la Prairie: Tolerably common summer 

 resident; arrives about June 1, departs in August; not observed on 

 the Red River near Winnipeg; in 1884, first seen May 31 (Nasb). 

 Carberry : Tolerably common summer resident ; noted near Shoal Lake, 

 west, and eastward toward Rapid City (Thompson). August 29, south 

 slope of Riding Mountain, American Cuckoo observed (Ilind, 1858). 

 Shell River; 1885, first seen, two, on June 1<5 ; is common all summer 

 and breeds here (Calcutt). One shot on Moore Mountain July 3, 1880 

 (Macoun). Qu'appelle (Guernsey). 



On July 29, 1882, at Carberry, while out in the woods to the east, 1 

 heard the sonorous and to my ear pleasing ^^ koic-kowkow^^ of the 

 Rain Crow or Black-billed Cuckoo, the first I have heard in the coun- 

 try. This specimen measured : Length 11^, extension 15i ; its stom- 

 ach was tilled with vegetable matter and the remains of insects. 



On August 13, at Carberry, shot a cuckoo {erythrophthalmus) iu 

 the afternoon; male; length 11, extension 15; stomach was crammed 

 with caterpillars and grasshoppers; its inner coat seemed to be very 

 slightly covered with minute hairs. Several of the species were seen. 



Ou June 23, 1884, near Shoal Lake, retnrning with A. S. T. from 

 Duck Mountain, for the first time noted the cuckoo. The sonorous 

 " koic-kow-koic " came again and again from a little grove of poplars 

 on the i>rairie. 1 went towards it and presently heard it behind me, and 

 after a little more searching I discovered the bird on a branch about 

 5 feet from the ground and 10 from where I stood ; it was sitting i)er- 

 fectly motionless, watching me closely, and deliberately uttering the 

 characteristic kow-koics, varied with other sounds of the same nature. 



These notes have often been described as hard and disagreeable, but 

 to my ear they are not unmusical and are full of associations with for- 

 est life and odors that make them pleasing to my mind. 



(On the succeeding days of June, I found this species quite abundant 

 in the groves ou the prairies between Shoal Lake, west, and Carberry.) 



133. Ceryle alcyon. Belted Iviugfisher. 



Common summer resident along all fish-frequented streams and 

 lakes ; of general distribution ; Pembina and Mouse River (Coues). 

 Pembina, May 1 (Blakiston). Dufferiu : Arrived between April 25 and 

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

 Swampy Island: 18S5, first seen, one, on May 18; next seen May 19, 



