Vol 'wi9 XVI ] Taverner, Birds of Red Deer River, Alta. 21 



77.* Cryptoglaux acadica. Saw-whet Owl. — We have one speci- 

 men in our collection from Alix, December 1914, taken by Horsbrough. 



78.* Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. — Nearly every one 

 who supplied us with information spoke ot the large numbers of Big Horned 

 Owls present the previous winter. I am convinced that these were forced 

 out of their usual winter haunts by the failure of the rabbit supply and are 

 largely responsible for the dearth of Grouse of all kinds this year in the 

 western provinces. 



Just below Camp 8 near the Rosedale Mines we collected an adult male 

 and a juvenile, probably its offspring. None were seen again until Young 

 took an adult at Camp 11, on the Little Sandhill Creek, August 4. Besides 

 these we have the following specimens from adjoining localities, three 

 birds from Morrin and Sonema June 14 and September 24 and 25, 1915 and 

 1916, also one bird from Red Deer, an old mounted specimen taken at 

 unknown date some years ago. Of these the Sternberg specimens and the 

 two breeding specimens taken below Camp 8 are well marked subarcticus. 

 The Camp 11, Little Sandhill Creek, specimen I regard as pallescens as 

 accepted by the A. O. U. or occidentalis as defined by Oberholser's revi- 

 sion of the species. The Red Deer specimen is different from either, 

 being an extremely red bird similar in general to a specimen from the 

 mouth of the Salmon River, B. C, identified as saturatus by H. C. Ober- 

 holser but much redder than it or than any other specimen in our collection. 

 Geographically the only thing it can be reasonably ascribed to is saturatus 

 as is so understood by the A. O. U. list or lagophonus of Oberholser. This is 

 undoubtedly a migrant from the mountains. B. v. subarcticus seems to be 

 the breeding form while pallescens can be regarded either as a straggler 

 from further south or an intergrade. The exact determination of these 

 many Horned Owl forms is very difficult and hardly satisfactory when too 

 great exactness is insisted upon. In the museum is a set of two eggs 

 taken near Red Deer by Dippie, April 10, 1896. Horsbrough records 

 B. v. pallescens as the breeding form in his first list and subarcticus in his 

 second. Probably all breeding birds should be included in the latter form. 



79.* Surnia ulula. American Hawk Owl. — Though not seen by 

 us we have specimens taken by Horsbrough at Alix October 19, 1914, and 

 by Geo. Sternberg, October 17, 1916, at Morrin whilst Chapman in his 

 Handbook cites a breeding record, Red Deer April 16, 18 (?) Horsbrough 

 gives no breeding records but regards the species as common. 



(To be concluded.) 



