34 Bent, Summer Birds of Southwestern Saskatchewan. [ja'ii' 



The males spend much of their time way up in the sky, almost out of 

 sight, and it is only occasionally that one can be seen, as a mere speck 

 against some white cloud; in the blue sky it is almost invisible. But if 

 one has sharp ears its faint song can be frequently heard. When it de- 

 scends to the ground, as it does at long intervals, it is very shy and diffi- 

 cult to approach, flying off in long bounding flights. We succeeded in 

 collecting very few birds, though we spent considerable time in fruitless 

 chasing. 



144. Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Catbird. — Fairly common in the tim- 

 ber and underbrush along the creeks. Two nests with heavily incubated 

 eggs were found on June 25, 1906. 



145. Toxostoma rufum. Brown Thrasher. — Uncommon in the 

 timber belts in 1906. Not seen at all in 1905. 



146. Troglodjrtes aedon aztecus. Western House Wren. — Very 

 abundant in the timber along the creeks, where it was the commonest and 

 most ubiquitous bird and one of the most persistent singers. Nests in 

 nearly every available hollow in the box elders. Numerous nests were 

 found each season, with eggs, as early as Jime 5 and as late as June 

 30, 1906. 



147. Sitta canadensis. Red-breasted Nuthatch. — "Heard twice in 

 a tangled thicket at the summit of the Cypress HiUs on July 29, a Nut- 

 hatch that I believed to be this species. Was unable to get a glimpse of 

 it." (Bishop.) 



148. Parus atricapillus septentrionalis. Long-tailed-Chickadee. — 

 "Tolerably common in the Cypress Hills and the upper part of Maple 

 Creek." (Bishop.) 



149. Hylocichla fuscescens salicicola. Willow Thrush. — Common 

 in the timber along the creeks, but very shy. Its Veery song was frequently 

 heard in the dense shady thickets, but we seldom got even a ghmpse of the 

 birds and succeeded in collecting only two. 



150. Hylocichla aliciae. Gray-cheeked Thrush. 



151. Hylocichla aliciae bicknelli. Bicicnell's Thrush. — In the great 

 wave of migrating birds, that swarmed through the Maple Creek timber 

 on June 8, 1906, thrushes were very numerous. Most of them were probably 

 of these two forms, but only two were collected, one of which proved to be 

 alicice and one bicknelli, so that we were unable to detennine which was the 

 commoner. Neither form was seen elsewhere or on any other date. 



The specimen of bicknelli collected was a female and very small even 

 for this race. 



152. Hylocichla ustulata almse. Alma's Thrush. — "Eastgate shot 

 an ustulata, probably ahnce, in ju venal plumage, in a thicket of young 

 poplars on the summit of the Cypress Hills on July 27. The parent, though 

 heard, was so shy we could not see her." (Bishop.) 



153. Merula migratoria propinqua. Western Robin. — Common in 

 the Maple Creek timber. Nests with eggs were found on June 14, 1905, 

 and June 5, 1906. 



