618 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



trail here are vocal with the merry warble of the Yellow Warbler. 

 It is one of the commonest birds of the district, and is to be found in 

 all the poplar and dry willow clumps. A specimen collected was a 

 male in full song and very rich plumage, in its stomach was a mass of 

 various insects. 



September 8th : Yellow Warblers are singing and going southward. 



230. Dendroica coronata. Myrtle Warbler. 



Abundant migrant; a few breed here; abundant in September; 

 along Mouse River at the Boundary (Cones). Dufferin: Arrived be- 

 tween April 20 and 25 (Dawson). Winnipig : Summer resident ; abun- 

 dant north (Hine). Shoal Lake May 18, 1887 (Christy). Portage la 

 Prairie : The most abundant Warbler we have, in spring and autumn, 

 arrives about May 1, re appears in August and departs about the end 

 of September (Nash). Lake Manitoba, eTune (Macoun). Carberry: 

 very abundant migrant; Souris River; Turtle Mountain ; Portage la 

 Prairie; breeding, common on Duck Mountain (Thompson). Shell 

 River, 1885, first seen, niuteen, on April 30 ; afterwards seen every 

 day in migration ; a transient visitor, only passing north and not breed- 

 ing (Calcutt). Cumberland, May 28, 1827 ; House (Richardson). 



May 5, 1881 : Flocks of male Myrtle birds have made their appear- 

 ance. The bare branches of the yet leafless trees are enlivened by 

 them everywhere, as they flit about in pursuit of the myriad insects, 

 they look like small Flycatchers and the partial illusion is increased by 

 the oft-repeated mote, which is much like that of Empidonax minimus. 



On June 10, Duck Mountain, shot a male Myrtle bird. The species 

 evidently breeds here, its song is frequently heard in the spruce woods, 

 it partakes of the same general character as that of other Warblers. 

 It resembles the syllables, '■^ pheo pheo pheo plieo pheo plico plico^ phew 

 pheo, phew phee^ phew phce^ phew phec, phew phee, phew phee.^'' The first 

 part being uttered very rapidly, and the last with more deliberation. 



September 12, Portage la Prairie : The town to-day is fairly flooded 

 with Warblers in autumnal plumage, passing southward. Yellow- 

 rumps constitute a very large proportion of the host that is making 

 the return journey. Their ranks are now swelled by great numbers of 

 the young, whose liveries are so various and often so very un-yellow- 

 rump-like, that they may cause the beginner no little perplexity. 



231. Dendroica maculosa. Magnolia Warbler. 



Rare; migrant. Winnipeg: Summer resident; common (Hine). Found 

 at Duck Bay, Lake Winnipegosis (Macoun). This is a common bird 

 on the banks of the Saskatchewan : Cumberland House, May 26, 1827 

 (Richardson). Carberry : I observed a small flock, and secured a single 

 specimen in young plumage, August 24, 1884 (Thompson). 



